Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Forever... ❯ Going Back ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Forever…

by Karumi

Author's notes: This is an A/U fic and my first for FFIX. It's also angsty; so you've been warned.
Disclaimer: All FFIX characters belong to Squaresoft.




Garnet looked down toward Zidane as the Hilda Garde flew far away from the Iifa Tree. She wanted to jump out; to be with him; but deep in her heart she knew she'd just get in the way. So instead she just stood there, staring at the tree for a while, twirling the chain of her necklace between her fingers. As the Iifa Tree became a dot far in the distance Garnet suddenly heard the explosions booming from it. Her heart skipped a beat as she cover her mouth with her right hand and a single thought escaped her mind "Zidane…"

"Are you alright Dagger?" Eiko asked softly closing the door behind her.

Garnet wiped the few tears that had escaped her eyes with the back of her hand "I'm fine Eiko; it's just that…did you hear something just now?"

"Err, no; why?" Eiko asked slightly confused by the question.

"It's nothing, don't worry, I was just… wondering." Garnet lied "Did you need something?" Garnet said, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh…" Eiko exclaimed caught by surprise "no; its just that the others prepared some coffee downstairs and they were wondering if you wanted some?"

"Coffee?!" the offer of the stimulant made Garnet ten times more tired than she already was. "You know what Eiko? I rather take a nap; can you please tell the others?" asked Garnet.

"Sure, no problem." answered Eiko.

"Thanks for the offer anyway" said Garnet as she went to her chambers leaving a mildly confused Eiko on the deck of the Hilda Garde.


~*~*~*~

Garnet walked slowly with uneasy steps. She didn't know were she was; it appeared to be a city or at least it had been at one point in time. But all that was left now were piles of rubble and the feeling of sadness all around. Yet the place felt oddly familiar; a feeling Garnet didn't like very much. She kept walking until she reached the shore of a body of water, maybe a lake once, unrecognizable now with all the mud and dirt. "Is this a dream? …Am I dreaming? …But it feels so real."

Garnet looked around the lake for any signs of life as the wind blew in her face and caressed her hair. She was about to return to the deserted town when far up ahead she saw what looked like a small hilltop and what appeared to be a person standing on its top. Her hopes raised, she quickly looked around the around the lake; she saw what was left of a small rowboat that still appeared to be floatable and without thinking it twice got on and started rowing towards the small island. She was determined to ask whoever was there all the questions that were burning in her chest. Where was she? What happened to this place? And probably the most important of all, where was everyone? Garnet paddle as fast as she could and after what seem like half an hour she finally reached the other side and was off the boat and into the water in a matter of seconds.

Garnet froze at the bottom of the hill looking up towards it; the person was still there. She could see him/her better now; it was taller than her but she could still not see him/her well since it had a black hood on. And now that she was closer, there was something disturbing about the scene in front of her; there was a big lump on the floor in front of the mysterious person. It had an awfully abnormal shape; in a way it almost looked like… a body. Garnet started up the hill with steady steps but as she got closer and closer to the figure on the top and the strange lump on the ground, a sense of foreboding filled her spirit. But why? This person could be the answer to all her questions; so why was she so…afraid.

"Excuse me…?" murmured Garnet, yet she was positive the person had heard her.

"Umm…could you please tell me where I am? my name is… "

"I know who you are" interrupted the person; with such smoothness that Garnet gave a step back.

"That voice…"

"You are Garnet Till Alexandros the 17th…"

"…it can't be, it's impossible"

"…Queen of Alexandria; Queen…of all this you see."

"NO!…no no no no no no no. This has to be a dream it just has to be" Garnet raised both her hands to her mouth as she stared at the barren land that was once her home.

"Dreams are mysterious things your highness…they might try to tell you something." Said the figure in front of her as she reached for her.

"Don't touch me!" screamed Garnet as she slapped Kuja's hand away. "Stay away from me!"

"As you wish, but what's done its done…" said Kuja returning to the top of the hill to stare at nothing.

Garnet took a few moments to regain control of her emotions and to clear her head enough, so she could think straight again. She loathed the man in front of her; because of him her kingdom was in ruins, because of him her mother was dead; and because of him Zidane had stayed behind at the Iifa tree. But Garnet would not cry; she refused to…she would never show him weakness. "What do you mean…what's done its done?"

"Are you sure this is a dream?" retorted Kuja, changing his view from the barren landscape to the lump on the ground.

"Stop! With the mind games" cried Garnet. "You're not making any sense"

"Am I supposed to?" he said with an obvious mischief in his voice as he kept starring at the lump.

Garnet have had it, she was getting nowhere; the only thing she had gained from the conversation was a headache. He wasn't even paying attention to her. "Fine, then" she said after a few moments and turned to leave. She had her back at him when he finally spoke.

"Loss is a painful thing; yet one must learn to live with it. Death you see…is a part of life. Death is all I know; I was created for it; it is my birthright; yet I have never known what loss feels like…until now. I didn't care for anyone and nobody cared for me. But it's not like that anymore and because of it I now know what loss feels like."

Garnet took a deep breath and closed her eyes after he finished. He still made no sense. She turned around to look at him and saw that he was still starring at the lump. She closed her eyes again as she tried to find something rational to say. Once she reopened them again, she couldn't believe her eyes…Kuja was gone; only the lump on the ground remained. Garnet took a step closer to it, curiosity beating rational thinking. And then it hit her; Kuja had been staring at the lump the entire; his words now made sense "…I know now what loss feels like." Each step got her closer to it and the sense of foreboding was back. Her heart beat faster with each step and it almost stopped when she was three steps away from it and saw a human hand sticking out of the mass of black. It took only a second for Garnet to come out of shock and rushed to the side of the person lying there. She fell to her knees beside it, took its head in her arms and removed the hood to check if the person was still alive.


~*~ End Chapter 1 ~*~