Text Final Fantasy IX: The Novel

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Please read:

 

So...yeah: I started this. I plan to do my best on it, and try to see it through to the end. A word of warning: I have NOT played FF IX, and this novelization is based on a playthrough on youtube. I've taken a few choice liberties with action and sentence structure, so it's not a 100% copy of the game.
But enough of me talking: On with the show.
Critics are welcomed.

 

 

Chapter 1

The cargo hold of a massive, great ship sailing off the coast, filled to the brim with things ripe for the taking. 

Sliding down a pole, his tail tucked up to avoid a repeat of the time he skinned the tip by getting it caught in a gear off the chains, Zidane landed softly on the balls of his feet, catlike. 

He walked off down the hall, past flickering candles in smoky glass holders, and went in a door, letting it slam behind him. 

"Man...it sure is dark in here.." He muttered to himself, his eyes barely able to see the floor, let alone anything ahead in the darkness of the room he'd entered. He took three timid steps forward, looking around in the vain hope of being able to see anything in the inky gloom, no light source aiding this fruitless search. 

"I guess nobody's here yet...figure's they'd all be late." He complained, crossing his arms, his tail flicking, irritated. 

He'd had enough: striking a match, he could only just see by its dim glow. The room was still empty, no matter what he did, so he tried to be patient, walking around with no real aim in mind, and poking around in drawers. After the first few matches burned the tips of his fingers, he light the candle gracing the simple wooden table in the center of the room, the brilliant glow letting him see at last. 

"Who's there?!" A voice demanded. 

"It's...uh...me, Zidane!" He called back. 

The door flew open then, and a group of people rushed in, smirking. 

"Hey Zidane!" A man with dark hair cried, "You sure are late! Sleep in again?" 

"Sorry, Blank...I...ahem.." Zidane cleared his throat. "So, where's the boss?" 

"Ain't here yet." A short man named Cinna grunted, rolling his eyes. 

Just then a door burst open, a big creature with armour that looked a bit like a dragon bursting into the room. It let out an ear piercing roar, as the small group fanned out into battle positions, attacking it from the left and right, swinging at any flesh that was open. 

"To your left, kid! Watch yourself!"  Blank cried, taking a careful jab at the monsters left leg. 

Zidane dodged, feeling the rush of air go by as the monster's punch missed him by inches. 

A final blow broke the head open, revealing a face shadowed by a beard beneath dark glasses. "Oh...my aching head...you people..." The man whined, rubbing a sore spot on his skull. The group took deep breaths, Zidane's left arm hurting from a hard impact with the floor. 

"Hey, fools!" The man cried. His name was Baku, and he was the leader of the group. He strode to the front of the room, and grinned at them all. "You're lookin' a lot better! But you need to work out your doge, Zidane."

Zidane nodded quietly. 

Baku strode into the next room, and everyone scurried after, Zidane still rubbing his aching arm. He'd need a bandage possibly. He hoped it was a sprain. 

"Alright!" Baku bellowed from the front of the room, "Let's start this meeting already!" Everyone took a seat, watching him closely. 

"Here's the plan: Tantalus, that oh so infamous band of merry thieves," He tipped a wink, "That's us, is headin' to the Kingdom of Alexandria." He nodded at a miniature of the kingdom on the table, detailing every spire and window of the massive place.

"Our mission: to kidnap the heir to the throne... Princess Garnet!" 

Everyone was silent. 

"I'll take it from here." Cinna said, getting to his feet. "So listen up! Our ship's about to dock at Alexandria, and when it does, we're gonna put on our costumes, and perform "I Want to Be your Canary", the most popular play in all of Alexandria!"

The others showed little enthusiasm at this. 

Cinna grinned. "Break a leg, Marcus: you're our lead."

Marcus smirked, "Leave the actin' to me. I'm a born thespian. Course, the real kidnappers'll be Blank and Zidane."

"I'll distract the audience from backstage with these." Blank said. He groaned. "Ughh...I can't stand oglops..." He grinned. "But I'll manage. don't you worry your pretty heads about me. And that'll be your cue, Zidane. "

Zidane had been only half listening, and jerked to attention. "Uh... that's when I kidnap Princess Garnet, r..right?"  

"You bet!" Baku declared, "You're gonna kidnap the most baaaabe-ilicious beauty in all of Alexandria, Princess Garnet!" 

Edited November 1, 2016 by Philip Ellwell

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Chapter 2

                                                                   I

Birds trilled peacefully in the early morning sky, as people went about their business in the square, talking together in a low hum that made each voice seem to blend into one monotone whole, the birds cawing over it all as the flew off for less noisy pastures, so to speak. 

Among the crowd was a boy, who was towered over by the rest of the crowd, his floppy hat obscuring most of his face as we walked towards the water's edge. 

He turned at a low rumbling noise, his eyes wide under the hat brim, fear reflected on his face, even as everyone seemed to not notice the sound.  It came from a massive ship, flying over the square, creaking and groaning as it descended, the same ship Zidane and the others were coming in on. 

The boy watched in awe, as with a flourish the ship took off for the castle.

                                                                    II 

 

The docks were crowded, the scream of seagulls echoing over the waves, children and cats racing along past irritated shopkeepers and fishmongers, one after the scent of fish that permanently wafted through out the place, the other simply in it for the chase. Which was which was open to debate, as some of the children could be really weird when they wanted to be. 

The boy in the floppy hat was among them, racing along with them, until a sly foot knocked him onto his face with a smack. A kinda little girl nearby ran over, concerned. "Are you awright?" She trilled, eyes wide. The boy sat up unsteadily, and nodded weakly. 

"Here...you dropped your ticket." She said, handing a golden piece of paper back to him. It had fluttered free of his eager grasp during the fall. The boy nodded his thanks. 

"Bye-bye!" She called, running off along the street. 

Shaking his head to try and get his senses back, still a little dizzy from the tumble, the boy ran off into a nearby house, where an old woman was spinning, wiping her face with a rag. "Whew... just a little bit longer.." She muttered to herself, as the boy watched. 

"Darlin', I'm home!" A voice called, as the door banged open. An old man hobbled in, grinning at them both. "I'm not done with Illa's dress yet, come back later." The old woman said,not even looking up. The old man laughed. "Ev'ry year it's always the same. Spoilin' them grand kids rotten, I say!" 

The boy meanwhile was still feeling dizzy, and the lavish design of the rug hung on the wall only made his head swim worse just to see it.  He hobbled across the room, and climbed a rickety ladder to his loft, getting a few things out of his dresser. The old woman, his grandma, didn't even really seem to notice him. 

Shrugging, he climbed back down, and took off. He was about halfway down the street when someone collided with him, knocking him into a barrel of flowers by a house's door. Both of them tumbled to the cobblestones, the boy wincing at a scrape on his elbow. 

"Oww!" The other boy cried. He got angrily to his feet, shaking a fist. "Why you...get outta my way!" He cried. The boy watched, trying not to laugh at the other's reddened face: he looked exactly like a rat, from his long nose down to his bucked teeth that showed over his bottom lip each time he spoke. He took off running, leaving the boy to just watch in wonder at the odd little scene that had just transpired. 

"Mmm...finally...that's it for today. Time to get ready to go to the play." A man walking by said. "Ahh...my back... stupid fish..." He groaned, rubbing his back from an sprain from lugging fish all day. The boy watched him go, and he nodded a greeting, heading on to his home. 

"Nobles in the square!" an excited little boy yelled. 

A small group was heading along the street, headed by a squat man named Herald, who blinked against the bright sunlight. "Honorable nobles of Treno..." He declared, his voice prim and proper, "Castle Alexandria awaits us this way!" He waved with a flourish at the castle off in the distance. The nobles all nodded, though looking slightly unimpressed, as they moved on to the courtyard. 

Behind them, the boy watched quietly, admiring the lavish clothes on the royals, and fingering a hole in his own raggedy coat. "Nobles are so posh!" A passing man commented, seemingly to no one. The boy stared at this, unsure of how exactly to answer, but wrote it off.  Besides, he needed to hurry: he had to get his ticket stamped if he wanted to see the play.  

The center of town was busy, and the guards weren't too keen on admitting those without tickets. "If you have a ticket, get it stamped at the booth." They said, pointing the boy to the dead center of town, were a makeshift booth had been set up. "Now off with ya, kid. Scram." They said, waving fists. "We've got better things to do than worry about little kids in dorky hats like you."

Several people grumbling about the lack of vacancies at the hotel wandered by, and the boy tripped again, knocking into a small flower cart. Righting it and saying sorry about a thousand times to the highly angry woman running it, the boy was horrified to discover he'd lost his ticket in the mess. 

Now What was he going to do?

Edited November 1, 2016 by Philip Ellwell

[catmaster0116 2,676]

~

 

Once again an amaingly written entry

Read this while listening to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wpt9cGLouk

[Shard the Gentleman 2,891]

This makes me laugh when I realize, the first time Vivi ventured off on his own, he was pranked, the poor guy.

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Chapter 3

He wandered about the courtyard, worrying how he was going to get in: he really wanted to see the play, and it would be starting soon. A small boat caught his eye, but the grizzled old man seated nearby frowned. "Hey..kid!" He rasped. The boy looked over. "Huh? Me?"

"Naw..that post ov'r there. Course you, dummy. Don't even think of trying to sneak into the castle by boat." He grinned, showing off a spectacularly empty mouth, only a few teeth left in old, worn gums, one glinting silver in the fading light. "Tried myself last year. Them guards caught me double-quick!" He rasped out laughter, slapping his knee. 

The boy blinked, and didn't respond. 

"Best be movin' on home, boy."

The boy took off again, running along the cobblestones past people hurrying to the castle. Time was quickly running out, and he still hadn't found a way to replace the ticket, nor get into the castle. 

"Wait a second, boy.." A man called, as he ran along the courtyard. He stopped, blinking fearfully. The man was dressed rather well, but not TOO well: a higher up in the city, yes, but no noble or castle dweller. "You're no city child...too clean.." The man mused, "But you're certainly no noble child, either..."

"I...uhm..." 

"What's your name?"

"Vivi." Vivi said, not thinking twice about this. The man nodded, and waved Vivi off, the woman besides him smiling kindly, and offering a mint from her purse. It tasted sour, but Vivi sucked it as he took off again, still wandering. This was getting stupid now...there wasn't much time, only thirty minutes before opening curtain. He had to hurry. 

"Yes, can I help you?"  The man asked, glancing down his nose at Vivi. Out of desperation, Vivi had decided to check the ticket booth a last time, just to be sure. 

"Uh...What's showing today?" Vivi said, startled. 

"Hmmph." The man snorted, like this was information everyone, Vivi included, should know already. "This year's performance is the astounding masterpiece 'I Want to Be your Canary'. The new Tantalus Company is performing it. "

Vivi scratched his cheek. Tantalus? What sort of group was that? 

"You haven't heard of them, have you?" The man said snootily, laughter in his eyes. Vivi shook his head. "They're only the best there is! Star performers all the way from Lindblum, far into the West, with special accompaniment by Lav Layderce!" 

"What's the play supposed to BE anyway?" Vivi asked, curious as to why everyone was raving so much over a play he'd never heard of. 

The man in the ticket booth sighed dreamily. "A tale of romance between a noble and a peasant. Forbidden love, sword fights..oh..the wedding.." He looked wistfully off into the distance. "You simply must see it!"

"Er...right...will do.."

"Everyone's going to see it... even the Queen."

Vivi nodded. "Queen...uhmm.."

"Brahne. And her beautiful daughter...Garnet. Today is her birthday.. only 16, and easily the most beautiful princess in all of time. Thank goodness her looks come from..oh..never mind." The man blushed. "Best to not speak ill of our beloved ruler..." 

"Hey...that ticket of yours..." The man said suddenly, noticing the paper clutched in Vivi's hand. He swiped it, glaring at the smeared print. "Fake! I've seen so many today, I should know."

"W..what..n.no it isn't!" Vivi cried, holding it to his chest. 

"Now, now...don't cry... I know how you must feel." The ticket man said gently.  He smiled kindly. "There's still the smaller productions later this year." 

Vivi wandered away dejectedly into the alley, knocking over a sign maker busily repairing a pub's garish sign. "Hey, watch it!" He yelled, as Vivi skirted away fearfully. Luckily the man got off duty, and left the alley.

"Hey! You! Shrimp!" A nasty voice screeched. It was the rat boy from before, grinning buck-toothed. "You're the one with the phony baloney ticket, ain'tcha?" 

"It's not my fault..." Vivi said in defeat. "I just.."

"I'll let you see the show if you become my slave!" The rat boy declared. 

"A..alright." Vivi squeaked. 

"Awesome! Go up and see if anyone's comin'...your first mission."

Vivi watched the alley carefully, as the rat faced boy took the ladder the sign man had been using, running off with it. Vivi followed quickly, only falling twice. 

The came to a tower at the back wall of the courtyard, and the rat faced boy smirked. "Now we're gonna climb up the tower!"

He looked up. "Looks really dangerous.. you go first."

Vivi took a breath, and started up the ladder inside the tower. He fell, and the rat faced boy snickered, as he placed the second ladder up the tower to actually reach the ledge Vivi had tried to jump for. Vivi's head ached, but he still climbed up after the rat boy, wondering what was going to happen now. 

Edited November 1, 2016 by Philip Ellwell

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Chapter 4

Vivi and the rat faced boy hurried across the roof tops to the palace, Vivi feeling dizzy. 

"Come on, come on, get your butt in gear!" Rat Boy yelled, jumping a small gap like it was just an everyday thing to be running across the roof. He stopped, and looked back at Vivi, smirking. "Lemme guess... you're afraid of heights, ain'tcha?" 

He laughed. "It's okay! Just pretend you're on the ground!" 

Like that helps.. Vivi thought, rolling his eyes. He carefully crossed the ladder Rat Boy had laid across the gutter, not daring to look down at the alley below. He made it unscratched, the Rat Boy tapping his foot. 

"Come ON, we're runnin' outta time!"  He said, taking off towards the end of the roof, Vivi toddling along unsteadily in his wake.

"Oh, hey, yeah..I don't even know your name." He said suddenly, slowing to a walking pace.

"Vivi."

"Kinda funny name.."  He laughed. "My name's Puck. Pleased to meetcha."

"Isn't it a little late for that?" Vivi quipped. 

"Uhgh...just shut up and come on, before we miss it." Puck said, taking off again. They finally got to a large wall, the impressive standing wall of the castle. Puck tossed up a final ladder, and the two clambered over. 

http://youtu.be/46KcGAWK4kU

 

Night had fallen over the castle, a full moon hanging low in the sky, a wolf's lone howl echoing as the applause and cries of the crowd could be heard. 

Gathered in the castle's vast courtyard, each seated in chairs of the finest red velvet the kingdom had to offer,  they cheered and talked amongst themselves, dressed well and warmly against the chill of the night's air, the last vestige of Summer on it's way out.  The feathers of the ladies's hats fluttered in the wind, and the brass buttons on the gentlemen's coat cuffs shone, polished to a shine by servants beforehand. 

Behind the crowd, along a rough concrete ledge, Vivi  raced by hurriedly, breathing hard, followed closely by Puck.

They slipped in behind the crowd, glancing at each other slyly as the began applauding with the rest, seamlessly adding themselves to the gathering.  Vivi, took a quick glance around the area, making sure no one was watching too closely, blinking behind his hat's floppy brim. They seemed to be in the clear: everyone was too busy acting like gleeful children to notice them. 

Up on stage, her Majesty, Queen Brahne lowered a garish fan, fanning her florid blue face and grinning, her red lips pulling back from large teeth under small eyes that peered almost hungrily out from under an over-the-top golden hat. Guards stood on each side, watching the crowd. 

The Queen grunted happily, and a guard broke his duties by rolling his eyes. 

Besides the...ahem..swelt Queen, a young girl, no older than 17, sat in a smaller throne, a look of sadness on her delicate face. Silver circlets were braided into her loose hair, which fell in a dark curtain to her thin shoulders. She looked far too young to be up this way, an adult forced into a child's body. She closed her eyes, and sighed, turning away. Even now, on her birthday, Garnett felt no joy. 

A guard glanced over at her, his face concerned at her actions: he nodded to himself, smiling. 

With a loud boom the lights went down, and at the flick of a sword from the Captain of the guards, fireworks exploded, the crowd going nuts with applause. The Queen leaned forward in her throne, childlike glee plastered on her face, her eyes squinted at the explosions of lights and colour painting the night above. The orchestral pit raised up, fireworks exploding in dazzling arrays of hues and shapes, dancing along the night's edges like escape embers. 

But the girl was not celebrating with the rest: she only looked down, ignoring it all, content in her misery. 

The Queen danced in a circle, laughing like a fool, and Garnet sat quietly, reflecting. 

A large man in over the top robes came onstage, and, taking a deep bow, cleared his throat: "Ladies and Gentleman! Tonight's performance is a story that took long, long ago.." He looked directly at Garnet as he spoke, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by her. She looked away, uncomfortable. 

"Our heroine, Princess Cornelia, is torn from her lover, Marcus. She attempts to flee the castle of her family, only to be captured by her father, King Leo."

There: He'd looked at her again. Garnet shifted in her seat, her mother not noticing as she hung half out of the balcony, trying to look at everything at once. 

"When our story begins, Marcus, having heard of this, crosses swords with the King."

He smiled widely at the applauding crowd. "And now... Your Royal Majesty, Queen Brahne... Your Highness, Princess Garnet.. noble lords and ladies, and our fashionable rooftop viewers.." He spread his arms wide, taking center stage. "Tantalus proudly presents: 'I Want To Be your Canary'!!"

Edited November 1, 2016 by Philip Ellwell

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

I just wanted to say that I'm open to anything you guys have to say about this, good or bad. I'm trying my best to write this novelization well, so any pointers or critiques are welcomed. 

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Chapter 5

The applause and music blared to a climax, as the play began. A hush fell over the excited nobles, as the players came onto stage center against a slightly bad painting of a hallway, or a vague room looking area.

 "Bereft of father! Bereft of mother!" Blank called loudly, his voice carrying across the courtyard well. "Marcus! Thou has lost even thy love!" 

"Fortune has escaped thee!" Cinna yelled, stepping up, "for what end shalt thy live?"

 "This is really boring so far.." Puck complained, fidgeting. Vivi elbowed him in the gut. "Ow!" This started an all out poking a shoving war, as the play went on with Marcus and King Leo in a sword fight, the clash and clang of steel echoing across the stones of the courtyard, the fact of real swords being used rather than the simple wooden sticks normally presented in plays shocking even the strongest of will in the group, as eyes widened and ladies fanned themselves quicker, a few paying a bit too much attention to Marcus's muscular arms, as each hit tested his strength.

 Garnet did not share the crowd's enthusiasm , but watched silently, hands twisting in her lap as the fight went on across the set of the castle, the swordsmen a bit too good for mere actors, the clang of metal eliciting a gasp from the crowd every time it hit.The crowd went wild, and not one but two encores were performed, Zidane's arms aching by the time it was through, his muscles worked to the limit by the act/training. His skills as a swords man  were improving by leaps and bounds, and Blank gave him a satisfied smirk as the fight drew to its close. The curtain lowered onto the scene, and the Tantalus gang fled behind stage 1, where the nobles coudn't see two guards being punched in the gut. For castle guards, they were easily knocked out: two solid hits, and they were gone. "Finished changing yet, Zidane?" Blank drawled, "ain't got all day, you know." 

"Yeah, but this helmet smells really bad. " He tossed it on the table. "What was in there, a dead whale?" 

"What're you talking about? Mine totally reeks!" Blank yelled, tapping on his own. "and this armour is too big... I got a real fat one, it seems." He itched at the nape of his neck. "and my back's itchy..I think this guy had a rash.."

 "And your boots are wet." Zidane said, smirking with amusement. "ANNNND my boots are wet!" Blank cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "This sucks." 

"It'll all be worth it afterwards." Zidane soothed, picking at a loose strand in his gloves. "You still have the package, right?" 

"Don't worry, I won't screw up." Blank nodded, as he dropped the oglop, and it merrily bounced all over the room as Blank gave chase."We're so screwed." Zidane moaned.

 "Ahhh! got it!" Blank cried, stuffing the creature back into its bag. "won't let it get away this time, don't worry." 

"Ugh...alright. First, I'll go pour the sleeping potion into Princess Garnet's tea.""And I've got a special something for our...ahem..lovely queen." Blank said with a grin. He started for the door, then looked back at the guards. "Sleeping like babies."

 With that, he left, and Zidane sat down to wait for his cue. 

Edited November 1, 2016 by Philip Ellwell

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Chapter 6

 

The cue was simple: a light tapping on the outer wall of the stage room to let Zidane know everything was ready. He took a breath, steeling his nerves for this. He hadn't ever thought this was how he'd end up spending his life when he first came on to the ship years ago, but this was something else, even for a heist. Kidnapping a royal was treason. He'd be beheaded, hung..quarted... if they were caught. 

He stood, his legs slightly shaking, and exited the room, heading after Blank. He walked down a few halls lavishly made up in gold accents and silver wall hangings, before finally catching up to him in the main hall, stairs leading off to various rooms and balconies, as well as to boxes for the royals and higher ups. "'bout time...sleeping on the job, eh, Zinny?"

"No!" Zidane snapped, annoted. "This is a big deal, okay? I just needed to catch my breath.." He fiddled with the loose thread again. "Shut up."

Blank chuckled. "According to recon," he said, looking over a few scribbled notes on an old shred of parchment, "the royal box should be right above these stairs, hard left."

"Got it." Zidane said with a tight nod. 

Cheers echoed from the crowd, as Blank paled. "Uh... the scene were Marcus sneaks into Cornelia's chamber! It's gonna start soon!"

Blank sighed. "Let's get this over with before the finale, okay?"

"Yeah... " Zidane muttered, walking towards the stairs, his heart feeling black at what he was about to do. "Hurry!" Blank called, as Zidane started up the steps to the royals box above.

He wasn't watching where he was going, and collided with a lithe figure in a white robe, red designs sprawling along the edges. He stepped back, startled. 

Sure is dressed funny to be up here, he though. 

"Uhmm...would you please let me by? I'd like to leave.." The hooded girl said, her voice soft and light. 

Zidane frowned, taking a closer look at the girl's face, half hidden under the hood. "Wait.."

"Is there something on my face?" The girl snapped, agitated. 

"Oh..oh, not at all...you see...  I..uh..I just thought maybe you were the one I've been waiting for all this time." Zidane bluffed. He'd never been a very good liar, and bold facedly lying to someone always made him stutter. 

"Excuse me?" The girl said, with a bit of sass in her voice, gloved hands on her slender hips, "you were waiting for me?"

"Yeah!" Zidane said excitedly, "I've dreamt of meeting you here since I was born!" His own fake excitement made him wince inside, but he kept a smile on his face. It made his cheeks hurt.

The girl scoffed. "Do you mock me?" 

"N.no...of..of course not.." Zidane stammered, cheeks red. 

"Then I shall take my leave of you." The girl said, nose in the air. She started forward, but Zidane side stepped into her path, hands raised. "Just a sec.. haven't we met before?" 

"No..I do not know you." The girl said, glancing for any sign someone else was around. Zidane smirked at this. 

"Hmmm." Zidane mused, circling the girl like a shark around fresh prey, as she glanced at him fearfully. "Maybe you're right... I'd never let someone as pretty as you get away. Sayyyy..you wouldn't.." He started, as Blank came racing up the steps in a huff, face red under his helmet. 

"Hey! What's goin' on, Zidane?" He croaked, licking dry lips. The girl looked startled, understanding creeping into her eyes. 

"I must go,"She said, knocking Zidane down as she raced down the steps two at a time, Blank staring after her in shock. "Who the heck was that?!" 

"Get up, Blank! That was the Princess!" Zidane cried, taking off after her. 

"Oh my gods, are you serious?!" Blank cried, huffing to keep up.

Edited November 1, 2016 by Philip Ellwell

[catmaster0116 2,676]

Thanks for this Jack, I thought I should mention to you that Zidane is a huge womaniser.

So with that in mind, I was just thinking that he was trying to sweet talk the princess.

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Thanks for this Jack, I thought I should mention to you that Zidane is a huge womaniser.

So with that in mind, I was just thinking that he was trying to sweet talk the princess.

Duly noted. 

Does he do it often? I know that Zidane and Garnet have a moment coming up.. is it meant to be romantic?

[catmaster0116 2,676]

Duly noted. 

Does he do it often? I know that Zidane and Garnet have a moment coming up.. is it meant to be romantic?

 

Who knows?

He can be quite a skirt chaser at times

but he also has his serious moments as you'll find out later on.

 

Ever wondered why he has a tail? You'll soon know

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Who knows?

He can be quite a skirt chaser at times

but he also has his serious moments as you'll find out later on.

 

Ever wondered why he has a tail? You'll soon know

I can think of a few reasons from certain media I can't describe here, but the actual reason from the game would be nice to know. 

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

I'm sorry this hasn't been kept up very well, but I can promise two chapters either this or next month. They will be posted back to back. 

Edited September 10, 2015 by Jack Vladimir Frost

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Chapter 7:  Emergency Part 1

 

While Zidane and Blank kept up the chase, two odd looking creatures were racing around the main hall in fear, wiping their eyes. They were dressed as jesters, clowns, and were both patterned with playing card designs, the blue with spades and clubs, the red with hearts and diamonds. Whether or not they were human was open to debate, but at this time they were both extremely worried, running around in circles on the main stairs, and hopping from foot to foot worriedly. 

"We are in trouble, Thorn!" The blue one cried, hopping up and down. 

"Trouble we are in, Zorn." Said the other, Thorn, running in tight circles on the rug. They ran together, stopping face to face. "This is terrible!" They cried out together.

"Our heads Queen Brahne will have!"

"We must hurry!" Zorn cried, taking the steps two at a time, squeaking in fear.

"Hurry we must!" Thorn cried, a few paces behind Zorn.  They ran up opposite staircases, racing along the landing, waving their arms and crying out. They headbutted on the turn, knocking each other out in a heap. 

"Trouble..." Zorn muttered in sleep.

 

About twenty minutes later, they awoke, rubbing aching heads. "Trouble!" They cried together, taking off again, raving along halls and dashing down corridors. They raced along the main portrait hall,  getting lost once or twice and arguing loudly, smacking each other with large hands. A few guards watched this nonsense with amusement.

They finally found the correct path, after much fumbling, and ran out onto the balcony of the Royals. 

"Your Majesty!" Cried Zorn, running up to her seat, Thorn behind him crying "See the Queen we must!"

The Captain of the Knights of Pluto, a florid faced man with a barrel build and bushy beard, stopped them at the stairs. "Her Majesty is busy, come back later."

"It is an emergency?" A voice asked. A young woman was watching the pair with narrowed eyes. 

"An emergency it is!" Cried Thorn, hopping from foot to foot.

"An emergency of great and terrible urgency!" Zorn cried, shoving his fingers in his mouth.

Beatrix took a breath, clearly trying not to roll her eyes. "Very well. I'll see what I can do for you. Wait here."

"Very grateful we'll be!" Cried Thorn.

"We'll be very grateful!" Cried Zorn.

"Put a sock in it.." Muttered Beatrix

 

 

 

Updates to this story will be more regular for this month, with the much longer part 2 of this chapter, and a chapter 8. After that, this story will be put of temporary hiatus, as I'm moving, and won't have wifi access for a good three or four weeks.
This has been a bit long in the tooth, but I will see this damn thing to the end, or at least the first three hours of the game.
thank you for reading, and your patience. Also, I would appreciate a Beta reader, if anyone would like to help out with any spelling goofs I might make in this story

Edited November 1, 2016 by Philip Ellwell

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Chapter 8 Emergency Part 2

The Captain watched Beatrix walk off towards the Queen's place on the balcony, and spit, grunting. "Stupid woman...always one uping me!" He shook a fist, beyond her line of sight. 

"What exactly is the problem, anyway?" She said suddenly, turning back to glare at Thorn and Zorn, "you never actually said."

"Her Royal Highness..." Began Zorn

"Princess Garnet..." Clarified Thorn

"Is in danger!" Cried both, holding hands to open mouths in a degree of shock so over blown, Beatrix held her tongue so as not to laugh.  "I see.... wait right here." 

She walked away, hearing Thorn and Zorn gasped and whimper behind her. 

Freaks, she thought.

Queen Brahne, as usual, was pretty much oblivious to everything that had been going on, bouncing in her seat like a child, and waving her arms to the music. Beatrix held her tongue once more, as she tapped Her Highness on the shoulder. 

"NOOOOO interruptions!" The Queen bellowed, spraying Beatrix with spit. "Can't you see i'm watching the beautiful show?!" 

"Your Majesty.." Beatrix began, wiping her face with a gloved hand, "I'm afraid Princess Garnet has-"

"Ah...yes..." The Queen said, with a sigh, "she left her seat a while ago..I assumed to take a drink of water." She fanned herself, eyes closed. "Is it something to worry about?"

"Your Majesty..." Beatrix took a breath, mentally preparing herself for this. "It appears Princess Garnet has run off with the Royal Pendant."

The Queen looked taken aback, fanning herself faster. "Well, of all the.. WHAT could she be thinking?!" She snorted, and sat up straighter. "General Beatrix!"

"Your Majesty!" Beatrix trilled, with a smart salute. 

"And you..Captain...uh..." 

"Steiner, Your Majesty. Captain Steiner. " said Steiner, walking up besides the seat. Well, to be honest, he'd been watching Beatrix closely this whole time, and had run up at the first sign of anything being amiss among them. 

"Captain Steiner!" The Queen bellowed, pretending she knew his name all along. Beatrix rolled her eyes, carefully out of the Queen's sight. 

"Yes, your Majesty?" he replied, bowing slightly. "I am at your service."

"Go find Garnet." The Queen commanded, completely ignoring Beatrix's look of disgust. The girl runs off, and she has to take time out of HER life to find..

"At once, your Majesty." She said, shooting off a tight salute, as she'd been taught. Steiner merely looked lost. "Yes, Majesty, at once.." 

 

 

Steiner walked down the hall after this little exchange, mentally throwing a hissy fit: he was a captain, a guard, a warrior! Not a babysitter for annoying little princesses who stole baubles. It wasn't like Beatrix ever did much...why not have her look alone? Or Thorn and Zorn? Those two idiots couldn't do anything useful..make them look!

Not that they had stuck around long, rushing off the second they'd delivered their little message, and messed up Steiner's whole night. He wouldn't even get to see the ending to the play!

He figured he'd get  together a team of two other knights from their usual post at the doors, and start off on the search at once, as the echoes of the play and audience made him wince.   Stupid Jesters..ruining his evening...bah!

"Guards! Assemble!" He bellowed.  Forget two, he'd need all the guards for this mess.

The other two knights weren't there. Steiner blinked at the unguarded doors, astounded.

"Huh? Where's my men?!" He thundered, stamping around the balcony. "Those lousy, good for nothing.."

"Here Captain!" A thin knight, clad only in grey boxers, came running from a room, followed by a portly knight. Steiner about had a heart attack, right then and there. "You idiots! I asked for all eight of you, not just two! And why are you half naked?"

"Well..uh..." The thin one began.

"You see..." The portly one said.

"Enough! I bring orders from the Queen! Get dressed at once, and ship out! We need to find Princess Garnet."

"Sir!" The knights tipped salutes, and rushed off. 

Edited November 1, 2016 by Philip Ellwell

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Chapter 9: Guards! Guards! Oh, forget it... 

 

"Must I do EVERYTHING MYSELF?!" Steiner yelled, as the knights hurried along, trying not to get on his bad side again. He'd never really forgiven them for last weeks incident with the dancing girls at the pub, nor for the scandal of the First Commander and the Baron knight...

But, anyway, more important things, he thought, striding along the hallway. A dozen portraits of the Queen were hung here, and each one seemed to leer angrily at him. There'd be no easy way out of this one: Garnet had done it good this time. 

 

He shoved open the door to the knights quarters with his shoulder, just in time to catch the tail end of the skinnier knight's sentence: "....so I guess they really did." He shrugged. 

 

"Wow, really?" The shorter one exclaimed, his face red. "How do you always get the best news?!"

 

"Men!" Steiner roared, making the two jump and fire off salutes. "Sir!"

"Sound off!" He cried, forgetting their names, as usual. The guards came and went, he couldn't be expected to remember all the damn names, could he? 

 

"Blutzen, sir!" The taller one cried, saluting. 

"Kohel, sir!" The shorter offered, his salute off center. 

 

Steiner glared at them, and took a deep breath. "I thought I told you two to look for the princess! Why in Blue blazes are you standing here gabbing like two fish-wives at market?"

"But captain...Weimar got with Barbara at the pub, see, and they were.." 

"Blutzen... why do I need to hear this? We're guards, not gossips."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep his anger in check. "I told you two nitwits to go search for the princess, and that's what I expect you to do!" 

The two men tipped salutes, looking guilty, and a bit afraid of Steiner's anger. "At once sir." Blutzen cried, taking off at a run. "S..sir." Kohel muttered, rushing past with a shiver. 

Great, now they're afraid of me, Steiner though, with a sigh. Well, it doesn't matter..there's more important things about. If anything happens to Garnet, it'll be all our heads for break fast tomorrow!

 

 

Steiner ran all over the castle ,looking in every nook and cranny, every room, every hall, and even, by accident, the ladies washroom. Barking orders at his men, he finally started up a tower, hoping to catch a glimpse of Garnet from above. 

About twenty minutes later, red faced and out of breath, Steiner crawled up the last of five thousand, seven hundred and two steps. 

"Ugh...guh...I..have..to..go on..." He got to his feet, his knees wobbling. Now he knew why no one ever bothered with this tower. "The princess..must be..found!" He panted, leaning on a statue for support, as he made his way to the tower's balcony, overlooking the water. He took a deep breath of the night air, and gazed out over the kingdom: it was quiet at this time of night, everyone asleep or at the play. It was peaceful, the stars over head seeming to wink at him. He could almost, but not quite, forget his troubles here. 

A giggle caught his attention, and he looked over towards the tower across the courtyard. Two figures raced around the central pagoda, one of them very obviously female. He squinted, trying to get a better look. He gasped, as he realized

"Good god, it's the Princess!" 

Edited November 7, 2016 by Philip Ellwell

[catmaster0116 2,676]

Lovely read! I love the scenes with Zorn and Thorn, Jesters of the moon they truly are ~ amusing and entertaining to watch

I love how they complete and reword each other's sentences

 

And yes....knights of Pluto are quite disorganised lol....Steiner goes 'clunk, clunk, clunk' in the games.

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Lovely read! I love the scenes with Zorn and Thorn, Jesters of the moon they truly are ~ amusing and entertaining to watch

I love how they complete and reword each other's sentences

 

And yes....knights of Pluto are quite disorganised lol....Steiner goes 'clunk, clunk, clunk' in the games.

Does he? I didn't notice.

And is his name Steiner? I used the name the playthrough gave him. 

[catmaster0116 2,676]

Does he? I didn't notice.

And is his name Steiner? I used the name the playthrough gave him. 

 

Yup, his name is Adelbert Steiner, captain of the Pluto knights.

The Main playable characters of the game are Vivi, Steiner, Garnet/Dagger, Zidane, Freya, Blank, Amarant, Eiko and Quina/Quenn (thingy with a big tongue that eats anything/everything)

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Yup, his name is Adelbert Steiner, captain of the Pluto knights.

The Main playable characters of the game are Vivi, Steiner, Garnet/Dagger, Zidane, Freya, Blank, Amarant, Eiko and Quina/Quenn (thingy with a big tongue that eats anything/everything)

Oh crap...should I go back and fix it to say Steiner? The player changed it to Bennet, and I didn't think it really mattered

[catmaster0116 2,676]

Oh crap...should I go back and fix it to say Steiner? The player changed it to Bennet, and I didn't think it really mattered

 

Its no biggie, can be easily done by using the word replacement function on a word processing softwre

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

Its no biggie, can be easily done by using the word replacement function on a word processing softwre

That I don't have...and I've already deleted the earlier drafts, and can't fix them now. 

*insert colourful swearing here*

[Joker 1,560]

That I don't have...and I've already deleted the earlier drafts, and can't fix them now. 

*insert colourful swearing here*

hello! been a while Jack Frost. er Jack Snow as u go by now

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

hello! been a while Jack Frost. er Jack Snow as u go by now

Oh, hey