The man who replied to Bloodstone lowered his arms, allowing the red storm to calm. He sighed. “Topaz, that you?” he asked, folding his arms. The man wore a long, red cloak and had dark, smooth hair that fell around his shoulders gently. “Yes, y-yes,” Demyx choked out. “What the hell was that for, Vincent?” Vincent sighed again. “I forget that you’re out of the loop so much.” That was a cheap dig at the fact that Demyx was low down in their organisation, but Demyx was too exhausted to react. Now, for any matter.
“Basically, a coupla rats out of your group of hoodies have gone off with some stuck up summoner, and we’ve been ordered to erase them. Unfortunate that I ain’t allowed to kill ya, but that’s the way things go. Once you fall from favour, then I can break you. But yeah. Axel and Zexion, right? They’ve wandered off with big ideas in their little heads and they’re just being a pain in the neck.” Demyx nodded, and shrugged. “I didn’t care that much, you know. No need for a freaking dissertation about it.”
Vincent rolled his eyes. “I came to tell you that ‘He’ knows you ditched out on the squad, and He isn’t happy with you. You missed your shot on finding the chamber. So watch your back. Now, they’re waiting for you. Scram.” And with that, Vincent leapt into the closet tree, and glided away through the forest effortlessly. Demyx watched him, cursing silently. He thought he had gotten away with it…but then He knew everything.
As they arrived at the Castle, Zidane bade the party to stop. “I’ll go to the Throne Room and talk to his Majesty. You guys just… do whatever. But keep out of trouble!” He sped off across the drawbridge, and was inside the castle for moments before the drawbridge rose, blocking the other party members’ access. “Umm, like, I guess I’ll hit the shops?” Rikku said, twirling her hair between her second and forefingers. She waltzed off casually. “Apparently they’ve got a competition running soon, I might check it out.” Seifer stated, swinging his Gunblade to and fro. He strutted off in an easterly direction, leaving Blank on his own. “Guess I’ll just wait here.” Blank thought, “I know this place so well anyways…”
Zidane entered the Throne Room, but his Majesty King Cid was nowhere to be found. “Odd…” He began, and walked further in. “I know he was an Oglop but I’m positive we cured him of that…” The door to the left was ajar, and sounds of wheezing and heavy breathing could be heard from within. Someone was in pain… The King!
Meanwhile, Demyx stormed across the lakeside, punching every tree he came to. How dare the Bloodstone attack him, and then bring him news such as this? He had failed his Master, this he would get punished for, but punishment was something he could handle. What he couldn’t handle was Moonstone ditching him like this. He vented his anger with another snap of a branch, and continued his raging. “Honestly Topaz. Have you no subtlety?”
Demyx twirled around, and caught the intruder by the throat. “How dare you! You don’t get to just show up here and act the same way you always do! You’re always so calm and cool and so god damn annoying!” he shouted. Kuja simply looked down at him with disgust in his eyes. “Let me go right now or you will sorely regret it.” Demyx raised one eyebrow. “Fine,” Kuja sighed, and clicked his fingers. A blue bolt flew down his arm and into Demyx, who dropped Kuja immediately, cursing and nursing his smoking hand.
Kuja shook his hair out of his eyes. He had landed on his feet, lithe as always, and was now surveying Demyx with distaste. “Honestly, the language is just foul!” Demyx glared at him. “What the hell do you want then, Moonstone?” Moonstone sighed once more. “I was just checking up on you, making sure you were okay. Bloodstone said he singed you a little.”
Demyx clicked his neck. “Ugh, that’s disgusting!” Kuja cried. “I’m just here to be nice to you, after all. I mean, the boss man is truly unhappy with you. I would hate to be in your shoes…ugly shoes that they are. Hmph.” Demyx forgot how fussy Kuja could be about fashion. “Look, the shoes came with the coat. Get off my back, will ya?” Kuja rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’m off. This was a waste of time. Just go find your new found friends, okay?” He mounted the silver dragon nearby and flew away into the sky. On the ground, Demyx punched one more tree, upsetting a nesting bird enough to drop its excrements on his head.
So Kuja had another dragon. Whatever happened to the Black one? Demyx clicked his fingers, and dashed into a black portal that had appeared by his side. His Master would be after him, that’s for sure. He’d have to escape whichever thug He’d send. Moonstone and Bloodstone had warned him, so Tiger Eye was a good bet, but he could never be sure…
As Zidane entered Cid’s private quarters, the wheezing got less chesty. Cid looked up from his bed, his eyes watery but relieved at Zidane’s entrance. “My lord, you’re ill..!” The king made a vague attempt at raising his hand, but failed. Zidane dashed over, and knelt by the King’s bedside. “Zi…Zidane… I nee…need your h…help…” Zidane nodded. “Of course, your Majesty, whatever do you need from me?” The king smiled, weakly. “Faithful…to the end… I require a p…plant known… as Ginseng. It has h… healing properties… it’s my on…only hope…” Zidane jumped up, nodding. “I’ll be back in a flash!” he promised, and ran out. They hadn’t much time…
Zidane sprinted through the crowded streets of Lindblum. If he couldn’t find this plant, then the king would…No. Don’t think about it, just keep searching. “Do you know where I can find the Ginseng plant?” he asked anyone desperately. He never got a response, and so started to despair. “Why won’t anybody listen to me?!” he yelled, and punched a wall in frustration. He immediately wished he hadn’t, and rubbed his throbbing hand. Who else could he ask? There was no hope…
“Zidane? Y’alright? Watcha doin’ down there now, ya daft fool!” Zidane recognized the voice, but didn’t make an effort to greet his old friend Ruby. “Aw, come on now, Zidane. Get your daft butt up off the floor and start grinnin’ like y’always do!” Zidane hadn’t realised he had done it, but he had sank to the cobblestone floor in desperation. “Hey, Ruby. Have you heard of the Ginseng plant?” he asked feebly. It was worth one last attempt. “Ginseng plant, eh? Umm…can’t say I have actually. I guess if it’s a plant you’re after then you’ve tried Alice in the business district already?”
Alice! Why hadn’t he thought of her before? Zidane started to sprint away, to the air cab station. “Zidane! Where you off ta now?” Zidane ignored Ruby and kept running. He would explain later – if she wasn’t too angry, that is. “Alice!” Zidane cried when he reached her shop. “Alice! Have you heard of the Ginseng plant? Do you have one? Do you know where I can find one? Help me, please! This is important! Tell me, please?” Zidane spluttered over the counter. Alice looked shocked, but spoke calmly. “The Ginseng plant, you say?” Zidane nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard of it…”
“You disappoint me, Topaz.” The dark voice roared like thunder. “I give you a simple task, find the Golden Chamber, and you fail. I put you in a group of six adventurers, all you had to do was follow them around. AND YOU FAIL!”
Demyx trembled before the dark, cloaked figure. Though his Master could have a soothing voice when He wished, He was definitely deep in rage. “I tried, Master, but other members of my Organization-“ “SILENCE! You DARE give me excuses? You failed me, Topaz, and you pay the price. I, myself, will not harm you. However, when Tiger Eye is through with you, I’m sure he’ll be very pleased…” Demyx winced. He knew it’d be Tiger Eye. The man stood forward from the shadows. The smooth, lordly voice agitated him. “I may not be a fighter,” Tiger Eye began, “But I do love to win. Besides, the Leading Man must have the glory, no?” Tiger Eye walked further forwards, into the bright light. Shook the shackles binding Demyx down. His earrings glinted in the light, a few rings on his fingers showed his skill at piracy. Shaking his head slightly, he looked down with pity at Demyx, struggling underneath his chains. “Please, no… No!”
Demyx’s eyes clouded over with fear. “Don’t…please…please don’t…” he murmured repeatedly. Tiger Eye sighed. “Shut up for God’s sake!” he yelled, firing a pistol into the ceiling of the room. The crack resonated off the walls, and shook Demyx into quiet tears. “You and your pathetic whining! You’re always going on and on and on and you just – won’t – shut – up!” he cried, striding around. He flipped on Demyx again, aiming his pistol straight between Demyx’s watery, turquoise eyes.
The door behind Tiger Eye swung open. “I am so sorry to disturb you, Balthier, but He wants to see you. Right away, preferably. And you know that when He says preferably, He really means you have no choice.” Balthier turned away from Demyx again, running a steady hand through his thick hair. “Ah, fine. I’ll be right there – but never use my old name again!” he growled, and walked out of the room purposefully, ignoring Demyx completely.
Demyx sat, cowering, in the dark. And then he felt someone fiddling with his chains. “It’s okay, I’ll get you out of here, Topaz. Tiger Eye is crazy; I can’t believe He set him on you.” Demyx struggled to recognize the voice in the gloom, but it just wasn’t familiar enough. “Who…” he whispered. A light laugh sounded next to him, and the chains on his arms slackened. “It’s me, silly. Garnet.” Demyx gasped. “Literally or nickname?” he breathed in awe. The laugh came again. “Both. Hold still for a sec,” she whispered, and finished freeing Demyx. She put an arm around his shoulders to steady him as he stood up, and Demyx struggled against her. “You have to go now!” she urged, pushing him through the door.
Demyx emerged from the building, blinking in the sudden sunlight. He looked around for Garnet, but couldn’t see her anywhere. Where had she disappeared off to? He shook his head. It didn’t matter; he had to get out of here before Tiger Eye realised he had gone. And with that, Demyx hurried away clumsily.
Zidane didn’t even let her finish. “Do you have any? Please tell me you do!” Alice looked around. “Hang on. I’ll check the storeroom.” She began walking off, slowly as could be. Zidane rapped his knuckles on the counter, looking at the clock on the wall every few seconds. Couldn’t she tell he was in a hurry, that this was… well, Life or Death! She reappeared several minutes later, a dusty sprig in her hand. Zidane looked at it, apprehensively. “Is this…?” Alice nodded. Zidane’s face lit up. “How much?” Alice’s face fell. “You see, this is a very rare herb, and I can’t let it go for free… Due to the properties of the plant, and the hurry you are in, I take it someone’s in danger, but I cannot, cannot let it go for less than a thousand Munny.” Zidane’s eyes darted to his coin purse. He shook it. A few rattles. How much Munny did he have?
Garnet rounded the corner, just in time for Demyx to not see her. He wouldn’t approve of what she’d done to her hair. It was thanks to that boy… the one she loved, that she had changed her name to Dagger, cut her hair, but no-one apart from the Three Higher Stones could see. She needed to protect her new identity. For Garnet had dyed her hair a fiery, flaming auburn. She gazed across the expanse that lay before her, who would have thought that turning a corner would cause such… pain…
Garnet gazed across the barren wasteland before her, still taking in the devastation. It happened weeks ago, but the emotional scar would never heal. He, the Emperor, had decided it was for the best, and so He had sent Tiger Eye, Moonstone and Bloodstone to destroy the land, ravaging it, creating what lay before her watery eyes. A solitary tear dropped, rolling down her cheek before splashing on the bare earth beneath her feet. No more. This would be the last tear, the final tear she would shed… for Alexandria.
Zidane tipped his coin purse out onto the counter. “Is that enough?” he asked urgently. Alice slowly counted out the Munny, and then looked up at Zidane. “…I want to help. I really do, you’re a decent guy. But what can I say, it’s hard to come by these plants, and they truly don’t come cheap. You’re a fair bit short.” Zidane seemed to deflate. “There’s no time…” he breathed. “It’s all over.” Alice shook her head. “Cheer up. Look, I’ll do you a deal. You deliver this for me, and I’ll give you the plant. But you have to promise not to look inside the package.”
Zidane nodded. “I’ll do it. Where’s it going to?” he asked, in a hurry to get this job done. “The synthesist down the old alleyway. Here’s the package – but remember; don’t open it under any circumstance!” she warned, handing him a small, square parcel wrapped in grey paper and old string. It didn’t look anything special, but Zidane wasn’t going to argue. He grabbed the parcel and sprinted out of Alice’s shop.
Zidane burst into the synthesist shop to see the synthesist and his son standing in front of the fire, shouting at each other. Suddenly, the old man collapsed, and Zidane jumped over. “What’s happening?” he asked quickly. The synthesist’s son looked at him in alarm. “I don’t know. Hey, is that the parcel from Alice? Open it up, will you? I need you to do this to help my dad!” Zidane’s hand hovered over the string, but then he remembered Alice’s words. ‘don’t open it under any circumstance!’ Zidane was unsure of what to do. “Open it!” the son urged. “Please!”
The Emperor sat atop his Golden throne. He turned the objects over in His hands. An emerald scythe, a crimson blade, and an inscription on the shaft. Of course, He knew the scythe’s origin, and its owner, and where it would lead him. He handed the scythe back to His latest pawn. “Well done, Pearl. You’ve proved your worth. Now, you must return this scythe to the weapon shop and give this back to the owner. Pay him well.” The woman nodded. “Yes, my Liege. I will do it at once.” The woman nodded, turned and stalked off into the darkness. He had chosen well with this one.
Rikku looked around the town. She had checked pretty much every shop, but couldn’t find anything she wanted. Only thing left was the Synthesist’s shop. She head in. Stepped back, gasping. An old man lay before a fireplace, wheezing. A younger man stood before him, and Zidane behind. The younger man was begging Zidane to open a small parcel he held, but Zidane was looking down as if the thing was strange and foreign to him. “Zidane, what are you waiting for?” Rikku began, “If he needs the parcel, open it!”
After Blank had spent enough time by the Castle, he decided to check out the shops, for the (thousandth time?). He walked around for a while, checking around the weapon and item shops, before he heard an outcry at the Synthesist shop. Rikku? He ran over. Through the window, he saw Rikku and a young man begging for Zidane’s help, which he wasn’t giving. He ran in. “What’s going on?” The young man turned. “This boy won’t help my father, I know what’s in the package and I know my father will die if he doesn’t get it!” Blank turned to Zidane. “You must have a good reason, Zidane, but surely this man needs help?” Zidane simply stared at the package he held.
Zidane stared. The young man, Rikku, and now Blank were against him. Why? He promised, promised he wouldn’t open the package. “You open it!” He held it out to the man. He shook his head. “I can’t, I burnt my hands yesterday and they still haven’t healed, it has to be you!” Zidane growled. What could he do? He promised Alice, but this man looked like he was dying. And then, to make it worse, Seifer came in through the back door. “What’s going on?” That was the final straw. “NO!” Zidane shouted, threw the parcel on the ground, and ran out. The young man smiled. “Well done, Zidane…”
