Part I

Sweat beaded beneath his white locks as Mini paced the floor of his inn room. Books lye carelessly scattered about the floor and bed, left open at pages of interest or closed for disappointing information. He took a seat on a stack of books that promised information on the stars beyond, then removed his feathered cap and wiped away the sweat from his brow.

"Small wonder the people are in a panic, and I'm no closer to solving this damn thing than when it first showed it's accursed red face in the sky!" he muttered, throwing his hat across the room.

Silence took over him for a few moments before he finally reached within one of his pouches and pulled out a small linkpearl.

"Emelyn….Emelyn! Pick up you stupid cat!"

"Now that's just rude." Came a purring voice over the line.

"Whatever. Listen, I need to know what information you've gathered for me about Dalamud over there in Gridania."

"Huh? I was supposed to be getting information?"

"..." Mini held his pearl in front of him in disbelief, "DON'T TELL ME YOU-"

"Relax shorty, I was just playing. Geez, this whole 'Dalamud' thing's been making you awfully cranky. Maybe you should have Stud buy ya a beer?"

Mini sighed and slouched, "Yeah, I'm sorry…but I can't help being frustrated over this. In case you haven't noticed, a giant red ball of death has been making its way towards us for the past few months!"

"And how do you know it's a ball of death? What if it's a ball of red gelatin promising a free treat for a year?"

"…Gelatin? Seriously?" Mini could not keep his face from flying into his free palm, "Em…I just don't know how you can be so calm about this."

"Well, we go into battle almost every day not knowing when we're gonna die…or you never know, you could be run over by a chocobo! It's just not worth dwelling over what might happen."

"That's the thing…this isn't a might, Em…this is a WILL happen. It's been growing…slowly but surely. There's no telling what this thing really is; if it's a planet, a meteor, or Azeyma herself! Anyway, I get the feeling that if we don't find a way to stop it or alter it's course, we're gonna end up dead in a few more months. Gods! I haven't even bed a woman yet!"

Emelyn chuckled over the line, "I could fix that for you ~3"

"Don't even joke." Mini said knowing full well that she was, "Anyway, did you find out anything or not? I would think the conjurer's there would have something on the matter."

"'fraid not. They're just as stumped over here as anywhere. Besides, I wonder if they're truly right in the head. Some of them go on about talking with the forest."

"Hmm…well…just keep those fuzzy ears open, and get back to me if you find anything."

"Okie dokie! And Mini?"

"Hmm?"

"Go get a drink. You need a break, Mr. Grumpy pants." Then the linkpearl went dead.

Mini crossed carefully across his room avoiding the scattered books, then picked up his hat and settled it on his head, "Maybe she's right…guess I better find the tall bastard."