| Always be aware of everything around you and you can never be caught off guard. -Rules of Life, pg. 60 Part 38 The citizens of Treno didn�t seem to mind my being there. Since all of them were snobby nobles, they probably figured I was just an exotic pet. Even with that mindset, they gave me a wide berth. That was fine with me. Whatever kept them from bothering me. Zidane signed up for the card tournament, but when he tried to go in, they stopped him. � Uh, I�m sorry, but you can�t take the dragon in with you.� � Why? She�s my good luck charm.� � Public peace of mind.� � Oh for crying out loud,� Zidane muttered, rolling his eyes. � I�ve been all over Treno and this is the first place that wouldn�t let me take my pet dragon into the building.� � Aw, let him take it in,� the human�s friend said. � It�s not hurtin� anything.� So I continued through, my head level with his hip. He reached out and stroked the side of my face absently. [Stop worrying about that,] I snapped softly. [You have to concentrate on the tournament.] Unloading all his worry on me, he settled in for the tournament. His first opponent was good, but easily beaten; Zidane is too much of a Tetra Master nut to lose to him. The second was just a tad more difficult, but once more, Zidane knew exactly what he was doing and won again. The champion was semi-difficult because all she had was oglop cards. However, Zidane had evidently heard about her because he beat her with almost as much ease as the two times before. After leaving the building, we ran into the ex-champion and her oglop friend, who turned out to be our good ally Regent Cid. We spoke for only a moment before Eiko came running up. � It�s awful!� she cried. � A moogle from Treno just told me that Alexandria is being attacked!� Zidane began to choke and I had to thump him on the back several times before he could breathe clearly again. [I . . . I can . . .] [Can what?] [Taste it.] [Taste what?] [Blood. I can taste it . . . smell it. It�s everywhere.] [Get on!] I ordered. He did so and I took off for the Regent�s airship. When I got there, the others had already boarded. The Hilda Garde 2 took off, but was slow and unstable. An inexperienced hatchling could�ve beaten it in a race, which is saying a lot. A while later, the pendant Garnet had given Eiko began to glow and draw in power. She ran up to the prow and looked down, then jumped off, much to everyone�s horror. Zidane, stumbling as though he were dizzy, went as far out on the nose as he dared. � Kiti, follow her. She�s going to Alexandria.� � And what do you want me to do once I arrive?� � Take down whatever�s destroying the place.� I put my head against his. � I will take care of it.� Then I leapt from the nose and made a beeline for Alexandria. *~~* Tiovex woke to explosions. Racing out of the room, he made his way out to the overlook where Dagger was. He rose onto his rear legs and leaned on the rail as he stretched his neck out as far as it would go. Was that . . .? It was. � It�s Bahamut, isn�t it?� � Yes.� He climbed up onto the rail. � What are you doing?� He looked at her as though it should have been obvious. � I�m going to fight him.� � Tiovex! You can�t!� � Why?� � Because he�s stronger than you and he�s your king!� Tiovex put a hand on her shoulder. � Garnet, my word is more important than him. Besides, I don�t plan to fight him directly. If I can distract him long enough, you and the others can get the Alexandrians out.� � Thank you.� She gave his head a brief hug. � Fear not, Garnet.� Tiovex lifted his head and stared off in a seemingly obscure direction. � I sense their coming.� With that he dove away from the overlook and rushed for Bahamut, ramming him in the back. The Dragon King roared angrily and turned. [Who dares?!] Tiovex was only somewhat surprised that he spoke in a much older tongue than what the dragons now used. [I challenge you, Bahamut! You dare to destroy my city unprovoked?!] [I shall do as I wish! And for attacking me, I shall kill you!] As Tiovex had hoped, Bahamut tried to charge him. He turned and flew just ahead of the other dragon, weaving back and forth to avoid any fire bombs, and led him from Alexandria. However, Bahamut recognized the scheme and turned back. Tiovex followed, picking at him and insulting him every chance he got. He flew over Alexandria and up into the night sky, knowing that Bahamut would go no farther than the boundaries of the city. Then a streak appeared from nowhere and knocked Bahamut out of the sky for a bit. Tiovex could hardly contain his curiosity, fear, and hope. Curiosity of who or what had attacked Bahamut, fear that it wasn�t what he thought it was and was actually much worse that the Dragon King, and hope that it was who he prayed it was. From a cloud of smoke rose a dark figure, purple scales dulled by the soot in the air. It was a dragon, but it wasn�t Bahamut. Tiovex�s eyes widened in surprise. It definitely hadn�t been who he�d thought it was. [Vanel!] <--Part 37 Part 39--> |