Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ What's This Life For? ❯ Trouble Rears its Ugly Head..... Again ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1: Trouble Rears its Ugly Head.......... Again

Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy IX characters and I'm not making any money off this fic.......... if either of these weren't true, I'd be a much richer person.........

A loud pouding echoed down bare hallways and made its way to disrupt peaceful slumber. "Zidane! Zidane Tribal! Please answer the door!"

Zidane, not wanting to anything to disrupt his rest, groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. "Go away!" came the muffled cry from under the pillow.

Some murmering at the door, then a pounding that shook the walls and nearly knocked the door off its hindges. "You scoundrel! Get your lethargic rear out of bed and answer the door this instant, or prepare to face the wrath of the Royal Guard of Alexandria, the Knights of--" a thud followed by a pause, "Never mind about answering the door......."

There was only a select few people who interrupt Zidane's sleep so efficiently. This intruder was a master of said talent. Zidane dragged himself doggedly out of bed. "Stupid Steiner," he muttered.

He stumbled into the foyer area of the simple rented apartment. Steiner stood behind the broken door, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Rust-y......." Zidane whined, "You broke my door down."

"That is exceedingly obsevant of you, Monkey-boy. Perhaps, if you answered the door in a reasonable amount of time, I could have left it intact." he smirked.

Zidane scowled at him. //I wish I could wipe that stupid sneer off his face. Or maybe just give him the business end of the Ultima Weapon...........//

"Mr. Tribal, if we could have a word with you?" Beatrix stepped around Steiner.

"Sure General," he gave her a wink, "anything for a pretty lady." Steiner visibly tensed and Beatrix shot him a glance.

"Its about the Princess...... excuse me, Her Majesty. She's......... dissapeared. We've looked everywhere for her, and still our search has been futile. We were wondering if you may have any idea where she could be." Beatrix explained.

Zidane shook his head, "Haven't a clue. I haven't seen her in at least a year." //Fate may have brought us together, but it sure tore us apart. Dagger.......//

"I express my deepest gratitude to you for your assistance in this search, but I must ask you to not breathe a word of this to anyone, for Alexandria's sake."

"My lips are sealed," he grinned, "and I'll keep an eye out for Dagger."

Beatrix nodded, then stepped out of the room. Steiner stood there for a moment, then lifted up the door and put it back in place, sort of.

"G'bye Rusty!" he shouted at the crooked door, "And good riddance." He stalked back to his bedroom and flopped down, draping an arm over his eyes. "Dagger......" he muttered to the empty room, "Why'd ya have to run away like that? Now I'll have Rusty breathing down my neck again."

//Why did you have to run away on her like that?// his mind countered.

"She didn't need me anymore. She's 17, she can take care of herself."

//But you loved her.//

"She only thought of me as a friend!" he shouted, sitting up and opening his eyes.

A moogle, that had apparently came in through his busted door, jumped. "A-A message for you from Regent Cid!" it squeaked.

"Cid? Why is he sending me anything?" Zidane took the letter and opened it. His blue-green eyes scanned the page, growing wider toward the end. "Oh no......." he said softly, "Eiko's been kiddnapped........ Does everyone else know about this?"

"I think so, kupo."

"Good." he leapt out of bed. //Dagger, you sure chose a crappy time to disapear.// He grabbed the Ultima Weapon and pulled it out of its sheath. The razor-sharp blade caught the light. He then slid it back into the sheath and strapped it to his belt opposite his other dagger. A small bag of gil on the table was retreived and Zidane exited his temporary home.

The streets of Treno were bustling with nobles and beggers alike. Even though it was midmorning; the stars twinkled over the "City of Eternal Darkness". Zidane pushed his way through the crowded streets towards the city gates. As he reached the enterance, he glanced back at the illuminated water surrounded by the homes of the nobility. And with a small chuckle, Zidane left the Dark City Treno behind him and headed west toward Lindblum.

----------

Steiner and Beatrix pulled up their chocobos to a halt on the Treno/Lindblum side of South Gate. The Gate area, usually full of life, was strangly desolate.

"What's going on?" Beatrix asked, dismounting and looking around catiously.

"I'm not quite sure, but its downright eerie. There is not a single soul here......."

"Steiner! Look, the gate is wide open!"

"Where are the gate guards?!"

Beatrix shook her head and nervously fingered the hilt of her sword. She cautiously crept toward the deserted gate. She peered around the corner, then gasped. She stumbled back into Steiner, color draining from her face.

"What is it?" Steiner helped her regain her footing, then looked inside. A pile of bodies at least three feet high stood in the middle of the weapon-strewn field.

"What..... happened?" Beatrix whispered.

"I don't know. Maybe-"

"General! Captain!" An Alexandrian soldier rode across the barren field on a chocobo. She halted it, sending a swirling cloud of dust into the air. "Alexandria's under attack!"

"What!?" Steiner and Beatrix both yelled at the same time.

"I don't know. The city's in flames. Genaral, Captain, we need you at the castle!"

"Who did this?!" Beatrix demanded.

"I'm not sure. I left to get you-"

"You mean you didn't even see who it was?!!"

"Well........"

"Beatrix, come over here. You need to see this." Beatrix turned and walked over to the pile of bodies where Steiner was knelt down.

"Come on, Captain! We don't have time for this!"

"These bodies..... all burnt. It looks like the work of a Firaga spell. An extremely powerful one."

"They have a powerful black magic user....... So what!?"

"Not just any kind of black magic user," he pushed aside a few bodies, displaying a dead Black Mage, "Someone's gained control of the Black Mage army. We have to get back to Alexandria."

----------

Zidane entered the aircab terminal and looked around. "They sure have changed things around since I was last here." he turned and entered a aircab destined for the colorful Theater District. The aircab screeched and groaned, then shuddered to life. Zidane looked out the window, watching the locals milling about. Most of the adults ignored the common occurence of an aircab leaving the terminal, but a few of the children paused to stare up in wonder before their parents pulled them along.

"Ah..... innocence......" a voice sighed whistfully from behind Zidane.

"Freya!?" he whirled around.

The Dragon Knight smiled at him. "Its been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. What brings you here? I thought you were and Fratley lived in Cleyra now."

"Yes we do, but I got an urgent message from the Regent, which I must assume, is why you're here."

Zidane nodded. "Dagger's missing too." he said, off-handedly.

"What? Both of them? That's odd." Freya looked out the window, "Both summoners dissapearing-"

"That must be it! Someone's trying to gain control of the eidolons!"

"But for what reason?" The aircab screeched to a stop at the Theater District. Zidane stood to leave. "Are you going to visit Tantalus?" Freya asked.

"Yeah. I figured I should see what trouble Baku's got himself into." he grinned.

"I'll be in the Grand Castle." she said, dismissing him with a smile.

Zidane exited the terminal, squinting into the bright sunlight. He headed down the road toward the Tantalus troupe's playhouse. He stopped for a moment, and looked up at the large clock face on the front of the playhouse. //How much time has passed since I was last here? Will anyone still reconize me? Why did I even come here to begin with? Dagger's in trouble! She comes first..........// Without another thought, Zidane turned and walked away. He boarded an aircab and headed toward the Grand Castle.

"Freya! Hey Freya! Wait up!" he finally caught up with the Burmecian.

"That didn't take long."

"No one was around." Zidane shrugged, "Have you seen Cid yet?"

"No. The guard told me to wait here."

"Man, I hate waiting!" Zidane scuffed his boot over the red carpeted floor. He paced for a minute, then wandered over to the statue. He looked up for a moment, tapping his foot. All of a sudden, a soft, melancholy melody reached his ears. //That sounds so familiar.......//

"Zidane?" Freya's voice broke Zidane's daydream, and the sound disapeared, startling him back to reality.

"Yeah?"

"We can see Regent Cid now."

"Oh, right! I knew that!" he laughed weakly. Freya gave him a strange glance, then turned and followed the guard to the lift.

When they reached the top, they found the distressed man pacing the floor before his throne. He paused when they entered the chamber.

"Ah, Zidane and Freya, I'm so glad you could make it!" he walked up to Zidane, "You probably already know my predicament."

"Yeah, the moogle told me..... Who do you think is behind this?" Zidane asked.

"I have no idea."

"Queen Garnet of Alexandria is also missing." Freya added.

"Garnet's been kidnapped!? Who told you this?"

"Steiner and Beatrix stopped by my place earlier. They were looking for her. I thought they would have come here next."

"They never made it to Lindblum. Perhaps they found her-"

"Regent Cid!" Minister Artania burst into the room, "Alexandria's under attack by the Black Mages!"