Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Puppet of Entropy ❯ Zanarkand? ( Chapter 2 )

The Puppet of Entropy.

 

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Sakura Hayakawa.

 

 

Chap 2: Zanarkand?

 

Sakura regained consciousness slowly. All her body felt like she has done her routine physical education non-stop for at least a week. All her muscles and joints protested as she tried to get up. The teenager slowly explored the place she was.

 

She was resting on a bench in a small park. Around her buildings of grey matter surrounded her. Some bystanders wandered around the neatly cut passages. Those persons were the first false note: Their clothes were not standard for her culture. The cut, the colours and apparently the materials used were different from even the counter-cultures of her world. The second false note was that they were all gaijin. She didn't see any Asian features around her and curiously, she didn't attract undue attention because of her appearance.

 

The Japanese schoolgirl felt completely lost. Where was she? What happened to…? She suddenly remembered the massive explosion of the gas reservoir and staggered back on the bench. Did she dream the incident and the resulting darkness? She pinched herself and the small pain proved that she was not dreaming. She blinked as she considered her wrists.

 

Made from a lightweight black metal that seemed to absorb the light, a pair of chainless manacles was fused around her wrists. Yes, it was a pair of manacles, there was even the eye that should hold the restraining chain. She tried to find the mechanism to unclasp it but the metal seemed to be without any seam. The polychromatic gem on each of them was very curious. She didn't see anything like that before.

 

She sighed and slumped on the bench. The movement brought her attention to her throat. She traced delicately a collar around her neck. It was not tight but seemed also made of one piece, without any seam, with apparently an oval gem like those on the manacles. Her reflection in the water of a nearby fountain revealed its crimson colour. Those three pieces of jewellery were impossible to take off for now.

 

She sighed again. First thing to do was to find the proper authority in this city and asked to be returned to her family. She got up and began her search of the city. She rapidly saw that she was nowhere anything she knew. It was a technological city near the ocean but not of the East or the West. In fact she was seeing unknown technology…No, make that impossible technology.

 

Above her, in a gigantic stadium, a giant sphere of water was defying gravity. Inside of it, people clad in loud colour were playing a game with a blue and white ball like a futurist version of water-polo. According to the animated comments around her it was a match between the Zanarkand Abes and the Duggles. The main player of the local team was known as Tidus, the son of the best `blitzball' player of all time: Jecht whose figure was displayed on giant billboards in the city.

 

This game was rather violent and very physical when she saw Tidus knocked an opponent out of the water. She frowned as she remarked that none of the players need to take their breath. Perhaps the water was not really water or the players have a trick to breathe underwater.

 

Speaking of the water, she frowned again as she advised a puddle near her foot, the water lifted out of it and headed toward the ocean around the city. She followed the water with her gaze and her eyes widened when she spotted what appeared to be a massive tidal wave heading toward the city.

 

“A TSUNAMI!”

 

It was worse than a tsunami because suddenly, several energy bullets fired out of the mysterious object, and smashed into the city, destroying the stadium in the process. Sakura screamed as she took cover. The blitz pool collapsed and a rush of water drenched the teenager. After a minute, the explosions died down and the terrified schoolgirl risked an eye out from her hiding place and gasped as she noticed just how extensive the damage was.

 

The whole city, for the most part, has been damaged in some way, shape, or form. Buildings lay crumbled around and the stadium was completely ruined. She advised Tidus as he stood up from the ruins of the stadium. He was the only person around her who was not wounded or screaming in terror and running everywhere but in a secure place. Her very instinct of preservation pushed her to follow him.

 

They ran down the path away from the stadium, Sakura following Tidus. The blitzball player then noticed a powerfully built man clad in a red coat with sunglasses and a sword in his back. He seemed completely immune to the pandemonium around him and Tidus ran over to him. Sakura felt a little better. She could probably find a much needed help with those two in this strange and dangerous place.

 

“Auron! What are you doing here?” The yellow clad youngster gazed intently to the older man.

 

“I was waiting for you.” The voice was devoid of any fear and almost of any emotion.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

Auron turned abruptly to look at the approaching Sakura. The Japanese girl saw then that the sunglasses were disguising a closed and probably ruined eye with a nice vertical scar. The warrior frowned at the seemingly confused and strange girl before spinning on his heels and walking away. Tidus took off after Auron and didn't remark the presence of the young girl. Appealed at their seeming obliviousness to the danger around them but having little choice in the matter, Sakura sprinted off after the duo.

 

Running down the streets, she saw with a dismayed heart that it was no different that the stadium. The streets were cracked and broken, and panic reigned as people rushed in terror in one direction or another. Suddenly time just stopped. People were frozen in mid-stride, mid-fall, anything and everything they were doing was just frozen. Tidus and Sakura just looked around, stunned and confused at what happened. Tidus took a double-take as he remarked for the first time the Asian girl clad in a blue pleated skirt with a sleeveless white shirt.

 

“It begins.”

 

The two teenagers whirled around to a little boy clothed in purple. The heartbeat of Sakura climbed up as she saw that he was not totally material and looked like a ghost.

 

“What?” Tidus was quite lost at where this conversation was going.

 

“Who…Who are you?” Sakura was shaking in fear but knowledge was a proper weapon against the unknown.

 

“Don't cry and take heart.” Time suddenly went back to normal, the boy vanishing without a trace.

 

“What the....Hey! Wait!” Tidus continued to run down the street followed by Sakura. They suddenly saw Auron again as they reached the end.

 

“Hey, not this way!” Sakura was of the same advice as the blitzball player. They were too near the ocean and the formidable creature was still looming over the horizon.

 

Auron gazed up at the ball of water hovering over the city. “Look!” When Tidus stared at it, he continued to speak. “We called it `Sin'.”

 

“Sin?”

 

“Who or what is Sin?”

 

Auron turned to the young girl. “You shouldn't be here.”

 

The finality of this statement iced the blood of the Japanese. “Please…Tell me where to go…I…I don't know what to do…”

 

Before Sakura could say anything else about it, a large blue spear-like monster covered in tentacles smashed into a nearby building and numerous organic pods rocketed off it. Each of the odd capsules morphed into a large creature that looked like vaguely avian and insectoïd. They surrounded the group in a semicircle emitting a chilly chatter.

 

Tidus tried to fight them off with his hands but lost his balance and fell flat on his rear in the process. The terrified and weapon less teenager fell back to the rear letting the two men facing the monsters.

 

“Take it.” Auron suddenly handed Tidus a sword with a long and red blade as he got up. Tidus held it high, before apparently noticing how heavy it was and dropped it straight down. “A gift from Jecht.”

 

“My old man?” Tidus charged forward then, swinging the blade, which caused the monsters to back off a few feet.

 

“I hope you know how to use it.”

 

“You have nothing for the pretty girl? She's too lovely to finish as a sandwich.”

 

“No.”

 

Sakura didn't have any choice but to pray that the two men were good enough to protect her. She distantly thought that it was strange that they didn't use firearms against those monsters. Auron drew his sword, a no-dachi, alongside Tidus, who was still adjusting to his own blade.

 

Auron made the first move by charging at the first creature and cleaving it square in two. Tidus then darted in and cut the next one in half diagonally. The third was cleaved in four parts by a combined attack of the two fighters.

 

It was then that something happened to Sakura. The slain creatures burst into clouds of opalescent lights. The fireflies-like particles then were draw to the young girl and were absorbed by the polychromatic gems on her black manacles and crimson collar. The phenomena was alarming but not damaging.

 

“These ones don't matter! We cut through!” Auron sliced another monster down, as more moved to take their place.

 

Tidus and Auron proceeded to cut a path among the dangerous creatures. Sakura was numbed mentally and could only follow the battle and pray that they will reach safety soon.

 

“Don't bother going after all of them. Cut the ones that matter, and run!”

 

With the guidance and amazing demonstration of swordsmanship of the red-clad warrior, the little group ran along the ravaged streets. Suddenly, a loud noise sounded over the chaos of the fight. Auron paused for a second, before running in the direction of the noise. Turning a corner, the group noticed the huge tentacle sprouting out of the centre of the road. It was also surrounded by 3 more monsters. Tidus just stared at the large creature, as Auron got into a fighting stance once more.

 

“Get outta my town!”

 

Auron shot Tidus a sidelong glance. “Some can't wait to die.”

 

“Stand back. I'll handle this.” The warrior thrust his left hand forward, pulling his sword back as he did so. He jumped high into the air and spin his sword around, before falling back down and planting it into the ground releasing a wave of fiery energy. Explosions erupted over each of the creatures and the tentacle killing the lesser monsters instantly. The monster counter-attacked and unleashed a wave of gravity energy. The local gravity suddenly decupled around the group and Sakura screamed as her internals organs were crushed by the intense field.

 

Tidus was pretty ticked now by the unfair attack on the pretty girl and he clenched his fists before charging the monster doing a series of acrobatic back flips and twists before slamming the sword down on the creature finally killing it.

 

Sakura cried as she attempted to get up. The energy attack of the monster has been fairly painful. As Tidus helped her on her feet, the two men remarked the cloud of pyreflies being absorbed by the three jewels on her.

 

“Wow! What is that?”

 

The phenomena was worrying Auron. Pyreflies normally regained the Farplane. Nothing should be able to contain them. “Who are you?”

 

Trembling, the Japanese turned to the red warrior. “I…I am Sakura… Sakura Hayakawa.” Her face paled when she remarked a group of creatures falling from the nearby buildings on the road. “LOOK OUT!”

 

Tidus and Auron retook stances in front of the dozen of monsters. Sakura withdrew, shaking in fear. They were surrounded. The road in their back was too damaged to enable a retreat. They were going to die. It was then that a sharp pain clacked inside her body alongside the major nerve trees.

 

With jerking movements, the young girl walked in front of the fighters. She was terrified as her body refused to obey her. It was as if she was a puppet. Only her eyes and voice responded to her will.

 

“What's going on?!…I…I can't control myself!”

 

She remarked the glowing jewel on her left manacle. “It's shinning?” She then loose her voice as her left arm raised to her heart.

 

“SOULS! BE MY STRENGTH!”

 

A dark blue light exploded around the manacle which suddenly fragmented into thousands of pixel-like blocks. The blocks reassembled themselves into a dark grey sword. It was a strange blade with a round hilt around the polychromatic, and now beating like a heart, gem. The edge was almost blunted and two chains of black metal secured it around the left wrist of the Japanese schoolgirl.

 

“Demon Sword! Ready!” Sakura couldn't control her voice. It was not her that was talking. There was a deepness in the voice that she was not normally capable of. She then pointed her right hand to the monsters. “I have chosen the element to deal with the likes of you!” She cupped her right hand and a globe of blue light appeared. “Frigid light that freezes everything!” Sakura inserted the globe into the polychromatic gem and the blade acquired a light blue sheen. “Be still for all eternity. ICE BLADE!”

 

The young girl rushed with unparallel speed among the creatures, slashing each one of them in turn and reappeared in their back. She turned to see all the monsters transformed into ice statues which shattered a few seconds later. She regained then the control of her body and the sword clattered on the ground.

 

“Wha…wha…WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!”

 

She tried to loosen the chains around her wrist but they were too tight. She couldn't let go of the dark grey sword. Once again, Auron and Tidus witnessed the clouds of pyreflies being absorbed into the three polychromatic jewels.

 

Tidus caught the picture of his dad smiling on a nearby billboard. “You had better not be laughing at me, dad.” He then turned to the red warrior. “Auron, let's get out of here!”

 

“We're expected.” Auron seemed calmed and unconcerned by what happened before. Only a raised eyebrow betrayed him as he looked to the young girl. “Take your sword.”

 

“WHAT? You can be serious! Did you see what happened to me?”

 

“You need a weapon.”

 

“Well…yes…but…”

 

“The sword protects you.”

 

“…but…”

 

“Do you want to die?”

 

Sakura was shocked by the crude and direct statement of the swordsman. She sighed and gathered the sword. It was surprisingly light in her hand. The blade was almost one meter and should be heavy especially for a teenager like her. Another thing funny was that she was right-handed and she felt no awkwardness to hold the weapon in her left hand.

 

Once again, the group ran along the road. By now, Sakura was seriously considering abandoning the two men but then she remembered that they might be her only chance to reach safety unharmed. Then, another rain of creatures fell from the sky, and a huge swarm of the same monsters surrounded them. The yellow blitzball player and the red swordsman hacked at their attackers for a while helped by a reluctant blue Schoolgirl but more kept coming and Auron smirked to the situation “Humph, this could be bad.”

 

“Oh really, you think?” Tidus was very unhappy with the situation.

 

The swordsman quickly surveyed the situation and noticed a fuel tank hanging haphazardly off the side of the bridge. “That! Knock it down!”

 

As Tidus obeyed his instructions, Sakura was alarmed. “What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? This tank might explode!”

 

“Exactly.”

 

As the young girl feared, the tank exploded on contact with some fire. All the creatures died in the explosion but then the bridge started to collapse. Auron caught and pushed the two teenagers on the only part still intact. “Go!”

 

With horror, Sakura lose once again the control of her body as she ran alongside Tidus, matching his speed. She then understood why. The sword or something else was stealing her body to enable her to follow the blond. If she was still limited to her basic physical skills, she would have die earlier.

 

The two teenagers threw themselves at the ledge just as the last remnants of the bridge collapsed from beneath them and found themselves hanging above the abyss by hands or by a conveniently placed blade.

 

Auron slowly stepped to the ledge and stared down at them while the giant sphere of water that was Sin hovered directly overhead.

 

“Auron! Auron, what are you doing?” Tidus was worried about the situation and looked anxiously to the swordsman.

 

Sin's form changed to a giant energy wormhole that was swallowing everything around it. The two teenagers continued to struggle as the swordsman stared up at the living vortex and addressed an invisible interlocutor. “There is an uninvited guest.”

 

“WHAT? I'm here against my will!” The fear was making Sakura loosing her normal reserve and politeness. Beside to whom was he talking?

 

“Is this all right?”

 

Auron lend a hand to Tidus in getting up from the ledge. “This isn't anybody else's. This is YOUR story.” He turned to Sakura. “And perhaps yours as well.”

 

In a burst of bright light, they became consumed by Sin.

 

As if in a state of hallucination, Tidus floated above the city, eventually finding an image of him. `I remember thinking about various things, like what's happening and where I was. Then, all of a sudden, I fell asleep...'

 

As for Sakura, she was floating in a dark abyss and she was sensing enormous presences around her.

 

“Good, good. I choose well.”

 

“Yes, she's not bad for a mortal.”

 

“The results are better than what I have expected. Even the Unsent did not object or take action against her.”

 

“However, I thought that you didn't want the first Seal to be broken so early.”

 

“It was her terror. `He' appreciates things like that.”

 

“And now, it's time for the second act.”

 

“Good bye, slave.”

 

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Notes: AAARRRGHHH!! I loose half my work due to a stupid error of mine. The last half of the chapter does not satisfy me but I was unable to rewrite exactly what I lost.

 

Yes, the Demon Sword is almost the same as the sword of White Cloud in Final Fantasy Unlimited. The Ice Blade is the first type of overdrive of Sakura. She can do elemental-type melee attacks with her sword.

 

As you can imagine, Sakura has ZERO skill in the blade. Everything depends on the presence controlling her body. She will be `thrilled' by that. Especially when she will be forced to do something that she doesn't want to do.

 

Read and review please.