| No matter who is above you, everyone bows to the same higher power. -Rules of Life, pg. 33 Part 32 We watched helplessly as Kuja sent his Mist creatures after Brahne. She fought valiantly, with a will born of greed, and fell to Kuja�s greater strength. Garnet couldn�t take the sight and left to find the Eidolon trapped here. She had a brief but fierce argument (about mothers) with Zidane, who stared after her as she ran off, face twisted in pure anguish. He looked at me and the torment seemed to intensify. He didn�t know what to do. I could offer no help. I had never had first-hand experience with being torn so many different ways at once. My focus had always been centered around one being: Zidane. He had always been the center of my universe and nothing, to date, had been able to change that. I shook my head. �I have no advice, Ziaden. However, I will follow you no matter what path you choose to go.� That seemed to help him and he smiled gratefully. Turning to the others, he yelled over the noise, � Come on! We�re going after Dagger!� We ran down the root, keeping ahead of the slow Mistodons Kuja had sent after us but having to fight the faster ones. By the time we reached the bottom, the Eidolon had already been summoned . . . in a way. � No!� Garnet wailed as she acquired a gemstone. There was nothing more that could be done, obviously. Garnet�s shoulders began to shake and Zidane did his best to comfort her without getting either of them too emotional. A bright streak of light appeared from Brahne�s ship. It formed a hauntingly familiar shape, as if I should know it from somewhere. Then it solidified and I realized why I�d felt so uncomfortable. Bahamut. King of Dragons. I automatically dropped to a bow as Vanel and Tiovex did. Zidane hesitated for a long moment, then knelt beside me. � Why am I doing this?� he asked under his breath. � Because Bahamut is the King of Dragons,� I snapped back. � He knows a dragon when he sees one, no matter what they look like. Though he�d probably let you get away with not doing it, I wouldn�t take the chance.� The majestic dragon looked back and forth calmly, assessing the situation. His gaze drifted over us and momentarily locked on Zidane, who shifted uncomfortably at the scrutiny. Apparently satisfied, Bahamut focused on Kuja and his silver dragon that so defiantly stood against him. Evidently, Kuja�s power over it was immense. Only an idiot dragon would not bow to Bahamut. The battle between Kuja and Bahamut was powerful, to say the least. Neither gave in until Kuja performed some kind of spell, turning Bahamut on his summoner. The Dragon King quickly dispatched Brahne�s fleet. Garnet choked back a scream and a sob at the same time, renewing my faith in her strength. After the mass destruction, we decided to return to Alexandria. Along the beach, looking for something we could use to get there, we found Brahne�s escape pod in pretty good condition. Brahne herself was all but dead. Garnet ran off to be with her and Zidane looked at me. � What?� � Do something!� he pleaded. � Zidane, I can�t bring people back from the dead.� � You can�t do anything?� I shook my head. � I could offer no comfort. I never had a mother.� That thought gave way to another. I turned. � Tiovex. Your mother . . .� He nodded, standing. � I�ll do my best.� It went well. Garnet was familiar with Tiovex, and vice versa, and didn�t snap at him as she probably would�ve with anyone else. He put a supportive wing around her shoulders and spoke to her in low tones. She nodded a lot, so Tiovex was evidently making progress. In the end we took Brahne with us back to Alexandria. Despite her size, she didn�t weigh as much as she appeared and Tiovex and I, with Zidane and Garnet on either side making sure we didn�t slip, carried her up onto the small ship and set her carefully where Garnet ordered. *~~* I messed around with the human spell, finally succeeding in making myself a human. I straightened my clothing, then turned to Tiovex. � Have you seen Zidane at all since we got here?� [No. When he was sure we wouldn�t need him, he walked off.] I frowned, looking up at the door that eventually led to Garnet�s bed chambers. � Where would he go . . .?� [Maybe he went looking for those friends of his. I heard they were around.] � The Tantalus Troupe?� [Yeah, them.] � Thank you. I�m going to go find him.� [With those?] � With what?� [Look.] He nodded at my back. I twisted to look over my shoulder. �. . .� [That�s what I figured.] � . . . Oh dear.� [Would you like me to take care of it?] � What are you going to do?� [Use Vanish so nobody sees them.] � All right.� He did so and I watched the snowy white, angel-type wings disappear. [I do believe that will suffice. Just be careful about people passing too close behind you. Allow at least two feet of space.] � Understood.� I set out into Alexandria, searching high and low. I ran into Vivi often and each time we�d pause to talk. But he hadn�t seen Zidane either. � What about the Tantalus Troupe?� � Well, yes. I saw them come out of the pub. Blank ran into me.� I thanked him and headed for the pub. <--Part 31 Part 33--> |