Final Fantasy IX: First Strike

* Just a little note on the story. Shortly before the events of this fan-fic take place Tantalus was a lot larger, consisting of four more group members. A man called Cassius, a man who used to be a senior librarian at Dagguero; who moved to Lindbum to set up a small herbal shop, but happened to meet Baku instead. He became a very senior member of Tantalus, and it was clear for a long time before the split that certain Tantalus members’ loyalties lay with Cassius instead of Baku. One of these members is Ren, a native of Treno, and subsequently a gambling nut and a bit of a tom-boy. Her close friend Bolen also favoured Cassius’ way of doing things. Originally a warrior monk from Esto Gaza, the towering hammer-wielding easily dwarfs Tantalus’ resident hammer-wielder, Cinna. And the last member of Tantalus that left with Cassius after the split is a little guy called Cassius. He doesn’t say much and tends to shrink away from a lot on interaction with his fellow troupe but he’s a god fighter nonetheless. This fan-fic opens in the Regency of Lindblum…



                                                                ‘Chapter One: Old Friends’

The sun beat down on the walkway flagstones, almost bleaching them of their warm terracotta colour. On any ordinary day this walkway would be all-a-bustle with the comings and goings of townsfolk who had business with the regency; and even some who had not.

But today was no ordinary day. Word that had stemmed from the more talkative palace guards seemed to indicate that the regent was neither seeing guests, nor in a very good mood. Due to this, the hum of excited chatter in the gossip spots of Lindblum was a lot more prominent, and the only townspeople on the walkway were simply there to enjoy the view and the magnificent weather.

Apart from one solitary soul, it seemed. This curious character seemed to be making a bee-line for the gargantuan gates of Lindblum Castle. Not at any sort of speed, of course; nothing more than a stroll. Walking at this pace certainly had it’s advantages…momentarily eavesdropping on groups of middle-aged women was always worthwhile, one always learns something new’ and today was no exception. This curious fellow, upon hearing the whisperings, did not appear graven or curious, but rather amused, laughing away softly at a joke that only he was aware of. He did get a rather large amount of inquisitive looks as he approached the guards at the gates.

“You know, you would think that if telling an old man to bog off was the most exciting part of my morning, I should probably seek a change of career.” The guard glanced over at his fellow guard, halfway through his point. The second guard chuckled. “But in fact; it gives me immense job satisfaction”. At this the second guard let out what sounded like a sneeze, mingled in with a splutter of suppressed laughter. The ‘old man’ had approached them and stopped. The first guard realised that his partner had in fact chocked on his chuckle after realising that this stranger dwarfed them both. He was tall and pearlescent white, and had snow-white hair paired with a snow-white beard. He spoke, in a very clear, articulate manner.

“I have been requested to make an appearance in front of the regent of Lindblum. My name is Cassius.”

The effect was immediate. The two guards stood perfectly still, with gaping holes where their mouths should have been. They had heard of him; and believed in him too. He rested in their minds somewhere between urban myth and cold, hard fact. With their stupefied expressions fixed on Cassius’ eyes, they outstretched their free arms, grasping at thin air with their gloved fingers until they found the large brass handles of the gate, and pulled with all the energy a single arm could muster; as their other arm and hand was gripping their shield handle so tight the shields reverberated and shook uncontrollably along with the rest of their bodies. Cassius nodded courteously, completely aware of the effect he had had on them, and gracefully swept inside, to the quite chilly interior of Lindblum Castle. Two other guards appeared immediately beside him as the doors shut, reducing the light in the hall, emulating dusk. They led him up a flight of stairs, and into a strange, mechanical ‘elevating’ platform that Cassius had no idea as to what it might be called. Cassius had once accused Cid of not being able to keep his feet on the ground. In retrospect, Cassius felt that he should have specified that the ground beneath his feet also had to be stationary. “Cid and his quirky inventions”, tutted Cassius. The guards on either side of him remained motionless until the chamber halted with a loud clang and a furious shake. The accompanying palace guards marched ahead, under a broad arch, up a short flight of stairs, with Cassius in tow. They came to a stop at a pair of large wooden doors, spun on the spot, and pulled the creaking doors apart, revealing a small hall with ornate decoration and a gleaming pink and violet floor. And sitting in a rather large ornate chair at the very end of this hall, was none other than Regent Cid.
The well-kempt moustache that made up quite a large part of Cid’s face moved and he spoke.

“Do come in.” Cassius bowed slightly. “Thank you, I shall.”
After this short exchange of dialogue, Cid took to staring through the sky-light in the ceiling, apparently lost in thought, as if searching for the words; but this couldn’t possibly be, thought Cassius, as Cid was rarely lost for words. After standing for a few moments, utterly perplexed, Cassius cleared his throat and spoke with and air that could have been mistaken for impatience. “I take it that you did not call on me to ask my opinion on whether that cloud resembles a moogle more than it does a hedgehog pie.” Cid looked as if he had been drawn out from a deep trance’ and he had clearly not heard Cassius’ comment. Cid cleared his throat to speak. “Cassius, I’m worried about Alexandria...” “I take it Brahne’s getting larger then…” retorted Cassius, again with an air that could have been mistaken for one who was losing interest. Regent Cid continued as if he had not heard him. His head was stooped and his forefinger was stroking his bottom lip, as he furiously struggled to put his thoughts into words. He suddenly became alert and continued. “I’ve been receiving very worrying reports from inside Alexandria Castle, Cassius. No doubt you have heard them already. No doubt you heard them before even I.” Cid took to staring through the skylight again, determined to miss the guilty yet highly amused look on Cassius’ face. Cid continued. “I have decided to take things into my own hands, Cassius. Before things get out of hand.” Cassius seemed surprised. “And you are sure that they will?” Cid’s expression was grave. “Oh yes.”

Cassius began to furiously pace across the span of the hall. “Are you suggesting a temporary hostile takeover while investigations take place?” Cid gave up searching for answers in the clouds and followed Cassius’ erratic pacing with his ageing grey eyes and continued. “You should really curb that imagination of yours, Cassius. Far from. I simply want you to bring me my niece. Find Garnet til Alexandros, and bring her to me. With the help of your bandit’s of course.” Cassius interjected. “Actually Cid, we prefer not to be called…” Cid’s fractured into a slight smile. “Cassius… do shut up.” Cassius grinned back, but puzzlement soon graced his face. “Regent, why not simply use some of your men, some of your soldiers? That would be nice, give them a change of scenery…” The regent chuckled. “And risk them being spotted bearing Lindblum’s crest, or being captured and interrogated? Yes; I can see that going down well with her highness.” Cassius abruptly stopped pacing. “I hear she’ll swallow anything these days, Regent.” Cid tried had to not chuckle at Cassius observation. “You know Cassius, one day age will turn around and bite you square in the backside. Yes, I can picture you perfectly as a roly-poly.” Cassius pulled in his gut at the thought. “Oh no, Regent; that will never happen. I’m not invited to nearly enough of your royal banquets for that to happen.”

Both men laughed heartily. It had been a long while since the hall had been filled with laughter of that calibre. Cid drew a content sigh. “It has been good to see you again, old friend. Do join me for lunch; we can discuss the particular’s there.” Cassius bowed graciously. “I would be delighted.” Cid shot a look at Cassius’ belly. “Will you be staying for dessert, Cassius?” Cassius followed Cid’s glance down to his slightly protruding belly. They both erupted into laughter again, as Cassius approached the throne platform. Cid’s throne shuddered into life and carried them both down to the function chamber beneath.

                                                                  
                                                                 ‘Chapter Two: Pub Banter’

Amongst the crowd that had converged at the pub in Lindblum, Ren appeared decidedly non-descript; taking sips from her drink, minding her own business, moving only when the pub door swung open. This happened often. But this time, she saw who she had been expecting. For the past hour. Or rather his general outline, his gigantic silhouette. The inn-keeper had not lit candles yet, so Bolen just looked like any other large dark hooded figure that inhabited Lindblum at this time of night, albeit several feet taller, and a few toes wider, than most. Behind him she could see slivers of the ebbing dusk, a vivid inky blue colour. He came in quickly, as the warm day had turned into quite a nippy evening; and he meant not offend anybody. He went to the bar; still unaware that Orchid was staring at him; and gave a small nod to the inn-keeper, gesturing ‘two’ with his stubby branch like fingers. Orchid tutted. The drinks were served; he paid, and turned. He looked around like a small lost child, until he finally laid his eyes on Orchid in the corner, illuminated by a single candle. His expression broke into a gentle smile, which feigned somewhat when he saw that she had just got herself another drink. He shrugged, took a small sip out of both mugs and walked over, weaving through the crowds. Ren fought back a smile. Bolen reached the table. He let the mugs down with a clatter, and pulled a small stool from under the dark, stained oak table. He took his drink in his hand and grinned a tooth grin, a little wider than usual. Ren knew she wouldn’t like this. “What?”

                                                                       *     * *

Regent Cid lifted the bottle of Scotch inquisitively. Cassius put up his hand. “No no, Cid, I really mustn’t. My letter to Bolen was very brief. And I’m not sure if he will get to see the rest of the troupe tonight. We are short on time, Cid.” Cid laid the bottle of scotch down. “Yes, yes, I understand. We had better call it a night.” They both stood up and strolled over to the banquet doors. Cid walked Cassius as far as the elevator, and they wished each other farewell, for the moment. Cid disappeared out of view as the elevator sprang into life and descended. The castle was completely deserted when he reached the mid-level. The only sound Cassius could hear was from far away; furious footsteps…heeled. From the only source of light at the opposite end of the hall, past the water fountain, came none other than the Regent’s wife; and looking rather flustered at that. She did not even appear to have noticed him until she almost bowled him over. “Excitable evening, m’lady?” She stared at him as if he had three heads, and wanted to rend every one of them from his shoulders. She stammered a response. “Q-quite.” She did not appear to have much time for Cassius this evening. And she certainly did not appreciate being stopped. “Well,” said Cassius, picking up on her tone “I shall leave you. Evening, m’lady.” She did not return a polite farewell, rather she reached out for the elevator button for the upper level in the elevator, and it clanged into life, and she left his sight. Cassius whistled to himself as he turned and walked away. Cid sure was in trouble this time…

                                                                      *     * *

“He’s asked us to do what?”
Ren had not meant for that question to come out so…high-pitched. More than a few heads had turned; many of them belonging to dog’s sitting idly under every other pub table, watching her. Bolen chortled into his beer and managed to bubble a “Yup.” from the frothy head. “He’s crazy, he’s insane!”, Ren retorted. Wide-eyed and bewildered, Ren lay back on the bare plaster wall behind her, looking as if she’d just taken a considerable blow; but there was a certain energy flickering in her eye that told Bolen that she was also wildly excited. She turned towards Bolen. “What does Cassius think about this? What did he say?” Bolen put down his beer. “He didn’t say. And not much else. I expect we’ll see from him tonight. He barely managed to catch the last moogle post.” Ren waved this insignificant fact aside. “Have you heard from Tiff or Delia?” Bolen thought about this. “Umm, nope. Cassius told me to find them and have them meet us tomorrow.” Ren stopped to think. “And do Tantalus know about this?” Bolen shook his head. “Cassius didn’t say.” Ren sat back in her seat. “Hmm, I wouldn’t think so. They’ll know soon enough anyway. Baku has his ear to the ground. I’d love to be the one to break it to him though.” Bolen followed her trail of thought. “Zidane won’t be happy.” Ren tried but couldn’t suppress this smile. It spread for ear to ear. “No, he certainly won’t. Mooglefest has come early, it seems.” Bolen could see the sense of satisfaction in her face. “You’re evil, you know that?

As if from nowhere, Ren produced three cards; all jokers, and started rolling them in-between her dextrous fingers. She always did this when she had lost herself in deep thought.

                                                                        *     * *

They sat there is silence for a short while. Bolen had already started his second beer, which had admittedly gone a bit flat, (as if that didn’t mattered), while Ren hadn’t touched her drink since Bolen had sat down. It was getting really dark now, so several candles were lit in the pub. Spirit’s seemed to rise at this, and with the pale light came crude pub jokes involving Cactuar’s and Queen Brahne and the wild un-suppressible laughter that followed. Ren returned to her beer. Just as Ren was draining her mug of beer, the pub door opened, ever so slowly, creaking and cracking. For some reason more heads turn when a head is opened like this, rather than with a swift bang and a clatter. A cloaked figure strode in, went to the bar, and ordered a drink. Ren could see that the newcomer had a tail. A thin, grey tail…

“Freya! Over here!”
The figure turned, revealing a long thin grey snout. Freya Crescent pulled back her hood and two furry ears sprang right up. Freya strode over and pulled out a stool from under the table. “Evening, guys. What a surprise it is to find you two in here.” Bolen chuckled. Ren, did not. “So, Freya,” Ren continued “ whatcha doin’ in Lindblum?  I saw you in Treno last.” Freya pulled of her large salmon-pink coat and placed it over an empty barstool. “Yes, you did. Did you get to see your brother after all? Is he well?” Ren snorted. “Yeah, he’s doing fine. Lazy bum finally managed to get himself a job. Part of the Security detail at the auction house. Apparently he replaced a real psycho. He says that this guy has even managed to get himself up on the ol’ posting boards. Quite a hefty price over his head.” Freya tried her best to fake intrigue. “Indeed?” Ren picked up on her tone. “Mmm, yeah. So, you didn’t answer my question…” Bolen knew where this was going. He laid down his fourth beer. “Oh, I’m here for the Festival of the Hunt.” Neither Bolen nor Ren were shocked, but they faked it. For effect. Ren went on. “Oh really? So you’re not here looking for Fratley?” Bolen interrupted. “Ren…c’mon.” Ren seemed peeved at his lack of nosiness and support. “What? It’s a valid question!” Freya sighed. “It’s alright, Bolen. Yes, I am also here looking for Fratley. There’s always the possibility that he could turn up here for the Festival himself. Have the both of you been asking around?” Ren looked pleased. “Sure have. I heard from a moogle that there’s this utter kupo-nutcase gallivanting around Alexandria, preferring to travel by rooftop, if yaw get me. And so I thought, yeah, that sounds about right; it would take a real nutcase to go out with Freya Crescent…” Bolen’s fourth mug of beer dropped with a clatter onto the table. “Ren!” Freya interrupted Ren’s scolding. “No, it’s alright Bolen, really. Thanks for the information, Ren. Much appreciated. She turned on her stool. “No, where on earth is my drink?”

                                                                    *   * *

Zidane could be forgiven for thinking that he could see every world and moon from where he sat, as the sky appeared particularly bright that night, lit by the blinding light of uncountable stars; their lights millions of light years late. Zidane stood, all alone, on the stairs beside Tantalus’ hideout in the Theatre District; his be-tailed backside leaning on the handrail, his tail swaying softly, utterly content. And he was indeed content, despite the fact that he was once again searching for answers nobody had been able to give him; where he was from, how he’d gotten here…

The vivid blue light from his dreams was constantly at the back of his mind now…gnawing at his subconscious. As he stared into the sky, he noticed that for the past while he had been fixated on a small ring of planets not so far away that was engulfed by a blue, hazy sort of a light. Was he imagining it, or did it look just like his one? He laughed at the thought…and then retreated back to the hideout, which would at least be warm…it would soon be morning at any rate.



                                                               ‘Chapter Three: The Plan.’

As a Linblum resident, you might be mistaken for thinking that for all its splendour and grandeur, there was a distinct lack of anything remotely describable as spiritual about the regency. There were rumours of the existence of a small chapel, somewhere in the shopping district, of all places, but no-one knew of its exact location. In this way, the church reflected its god. People had a feeling it was there, but upon being asked by a non-believer about its location, one would haphazardly and absent-mindedly turn on the spot and look very confused, while pointing in a confused manner at several possible locations at once.

In truth, the chapel did in fact exist. It sat at the end of a street; a small, slightly shaded street which people almost never travelled down because it was suspiciously silent; there were no calls from street-sellers, no tinkling of coins, in fact no hustle and definitely no bustle of any kind. Besides, the street had a certain aroma; a churchy smell, myrrh or incense or something. Shoppers tended to shy away from that smell and tottered off, refusing to put ‘chu’ and ‘rch’ together.

And it was in this small chapel, at the end of the shopping district, down a slightly aromatic lane, on quite a warm and bright morning that Cassius had arranged to meet his troupe; as this was their first real meeting since the split with Baku and Tantalus the month previous, and they were a little short on official bandit residence. And it was here they all were, having said meeting, discussing how the impossible was going to be done; in private of course, save for a few pigeons cooing softly in the rafters. The church was lit by several stained glass windows, eight foot high, which allowed for plenty of morning light to pour in, and illuminate the stern look on Cassius’ face.
“Thank you all for coming, friends. And on time too.” Nobody there appreciated the surprised tone in his voice. Bolen thought he saw a slight break in Cassius’ serious expression. Cassius continued. “I have already outlined why it is that we are here, what we are here to discuss, and why we are here to discuss what we are here to discuss for.” The whole troupe sat in their aisles with that look that required the slight crossing of eyes, the tapering of the upper lip and the raising of an eyebrow. Again Cassius continued. “We’ve never done anything like this with Tantalus. I say this partly because of the danger. I say it because this mission isn’t for jewels or riches; not directly anyway.” Bolen knew for sure now that he had seen a slight break in Cassius’ expression. “We are doing this as a favour to a very old friend of mine. His niece, known to you and me as Garnet til Alexadros XIII, may well be in some trouble. She could be about to land herself in the centre of a very messy situation. Her mother, Queen Brahne, has taken complete leave of her senses; and may well be about to start a war.”

The whole troupe gasped. For effect and drama and all that. They had heard the rumours, after all. Tiff, who had been sitting at the back of a church, trying to look broody and misunderstood, finally spoke. “So how are we going to get into the Capital, never mind the Castle? When does this have to be done?” Cassius approached the parapet at the altar and reached out to it with his hands, leaning against it. “In order to guarantee the safety of Princess Garnet, we must leave tonight.” The look on Cassius’ face left any of their complaints lodged in their throats. Cassius continued. “The Regent has kindly offered us a mode of transportation to Treno; which I had to politely refuse; we cannot risk being seen on a Lindblum vessel. Therefore we must travel to Treno on foot.” More strained coughs spluttered from the pews. “Tonight we leave Lindblum through Dragon’s Gate. We travel southeast on the Eunorous plains, through the woods, over the river and onto the King Ed Plains. From then, we climb to Bohden heights. Then it is only a short trek to Treno.” Ren’s inquisitive nature and surprise at the mention of her hometown won her over. “What’s in Treno?” Cassius sighed. He knew they wouldn’t like this. “An underground gargant transport system” retorted Cassius; just as he caught the frightened look on Bolen’s face. Cassius avoided his gaze. “I don’t want any of you worrying about any part of this plan. It’s very last minute, there are far too many risks, it involves a long trek. But the Regent chose us over Tantalus and that means he has faith in us. I have faith in all of you too. Have any of you got any concerns?” Bolen gulped. “Gargants.” Ren followed “He’s right. Not to mention the mist, the mist monsters, Alexandrian palace guards, the miles we have to walk with little or no food and water. Cassius, we are in over our heads here!” Cassius expression became even more serious and he raised his voice a little. “Alright that’s enough! From all of you! This mission starts tonight. All of these problems are merely trivial. Pack appropriately yet lightly and we will all be fine. I want everyone at Dragon Gate before it locks for the evening. There will be a moogle there if anyone needs supplies. I will see you all there this evening. And not a word of this to Baku or anyone from Tantalus. No gloating; do you hear me Tiff?” Tiff knew that was coming. He nodded reluctantly. Having said his piece, Cassius took his pipe from the altar and walked down the aisle while everyone else avoided his glare. He opened the door, slipped out and slowly and carefully shut the door. Nobody moved for a long time.