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If you wish, you may play music to accompany the events in this story. The suggested music tracks will be shown in [these brackets]. As this is rated for teens, it may contain content inappropriate for younger readers.

Sunday 9th March

11:30 – Conde Petie (P.O.V – Carl)

[FF9 OST - Conde Petie]

Whenever I would read the books that my elders shove into my face, the protagonist always proclaims that they're bored with their lives and want something more; that they are incredibly bored doing the same things day in and day out, only dreaming of visiting every place except home. I can't believe I even envisaged myself to be like that after what's been happening the last few weeks. In all honesty, I haven't the slightest idea how this happened.

Well, that may be untrue…I know what happened, but I have no clue why.

"Carl! Where are ye lad?! Ah'm waitin' fer ye tae brin' ma stuff an' yir weapons! " a voice bellowed from down below.

"Coming! Just hold your chocobos for a minute!" I bawled in response. For all of the care of that dwarven man, he has been extremely quick to jump onto the 'everybody panic!' bandwagon, even though I question the point of it all.

This mess all started when those outsiders came to town; they weren't here for long and I was hunting when they were here, so I never even saw them, but they managed to do…something to the Lifa Tree which got everyone spooked. Fast forward about a month and a dense fog clouded all of Conde Petie and the surrounding area and the elders began to say that the apocalypse was upon us.

While I felt that asserting something like that was nothing short of delusional, I will admit that the fog was somewhat surprising. In order to appease the elders and stop them from opining their religious nonsense at me, I agreed to travel with them to the Black Mage Village nearby for the time being to live with them until we can move back.

As I continued to load my rucksack full of various knick-knacks from around our house (more like a cave but still…), I stumbled upon a few things that bring back so many memories. My first bow, crafted by my adoptive father. My high crown hat, the first thing I ever bought with my own money. All of these things remind me of my most valued item, the jewel that I have retained since birth, the only thread left between me and my former home. To this day I still haven't the slightest clue where this home is and, even more amazingly, the beautifully cut birthstone (which I'm told is topaz) still retains its pristine shine even 19 years after it found its way into my hands. Speaking of which, I should grab that while I have the chance.

…

Wait…where is it?

Where is it?! Oh gods! Where the hell is it?!

"Granin! Where's my topaz gone?!" I cried in desperation, hoping for him to have it, or at the very least have seen it.

"Ah dinnae ken lad! Ye told mae nae tae tooch yir jewel didnae ye?" he replied with confusion.

"If you haven't got it, then where is it?!" I shrieked to no-one in particular. It's official. I've started to panic. I begin rummaging through every nook and cranny of my home in search of the gem, searching through the seemingly endless amounts of miscellany we decided to leave behind. I hunt through boxes, bags, boxes in bags, but to no avail.

"No…it can't have gone…it just can't have disa-"

"Looking for this, kupo?"

I look towards the door to find a moogle staring at me; more importantly I see my prize…and become consumed with rage.

"Hey! That's mine!" I bark, attempting to frighten the yellow fuzzball, but my efforts were in vain. It instead ran away giggling at the top of its lungs.

"Get back here before I turn you into dinner!" I yelled, anger flooding my voice. "I'm warning youuuuu!"

17:30 – Black Mage Village (P.O.V – Carl)

[FF9 OST - Black Mage Village]

After a tedious and tumultuous journey, carrying what felt like a bag of rocks, I and the millers arrived at the Black Mage Village. Due to the large amount of things that needed to be taken to the village, and since I just happen to be the tallest (which the other dwarves translate to 'the strongest' person in Conde Petie, I had to stay behind and do all the heavy lifting while my folks transported goods between the two settlements. Even during times of peace, I was always advised against wandering too deep into the forest, lest I get lost. Even though if I were to get lost, I wouldn't be for long.

Speaking of which…

"Hurry up, lad!" the shopkeeper exclaimed, huffing with her hands and her hips, "Ah dinnae ken why ye cannae just warp here like before!"

"It doesn't work like that…" I explained, placing the rucksack on the floor, ready to unload, "I've never been here before, so I can't teleport here."

Even after I found out about this little trick of mine a few years ago, the locals have completely failed to understand it's limitations; to be honest, it sounds so simple to me. When I was 13, I got the hiccups and was convinced that I was intermittently passing out, because I would hiccup and end up in a different location about 2 feet away from the previous one; that's when I found out that I have the ability to teleport. After more fiddling around with it, I was able to reliably warp to specific locations or certain people, although there is always a danger with using the ability as I could technically warp into a wall, or even worse, into another person. To this day, I have no clue how I gained this power, or even what to do with it.

"Ah dinnae understand ye at times lad…" she wondered aloud, "Oh well, Ah'm gonna set up ma store over there, near tell big group o' pyntie-hets. Come visit tae buy yir potions an' whatnae." With that, she turned away to tend to her new store and abandoned me with nothing but my thoughts.

It's only now that I begin to take it my surroundings. This black mage village, seems more like a 'black mage and co.' village right now since there aren't only black mages and dwarves here, but some weird monkey people too, all with blond hair and yellow tails; strangely, all of them have this odd look on their faces like they have no idea nor interest in what's going on around them.

[FF9 OST - The Evil Within]

However, without warning, I feel a giant rumbling between my feet. It's so intense that everyone stops what they're doing to assess the situation.

"The apocalypse has begun! Pray tae the gods fer oor salvation!" one of the elders shrieked, sending all of the dwarves into a blind panic. The black mages tried their best to calm them all. The monkey people…still appeared uninterested. After a short while, the rumbling subsided and whilst the elder spread fear like a disease, I instead opted for something a little more practical.

"I'm going to check it out." I informed my elder. "With my ability, I can be there and back before you know it."

"Ye an' yir faerie mejick. Fine then, be back befer nightfall," he answered reluctantly.

So with that, I hold my fingers to my forehead (it helps me concentrate for some reason) and imagine my one little spot just outside the village, secluded enough so that no-one will find it but still nearby. After a little bit of focusing, I begin to feel my senses tingle as I close my eyes firmly and imagine myself in my secret alcove.

Then I open my eyes to find myself there.

…Then I blink a few times and rub my eyes in utter confusion.

"What…?"

17:45 – Somewhere over Outer Continent (P.O.V – Garnet)

[FF9 OST - Endless Sorrow]

(I can't just walk away. It goes against my nature.)

Those two sentences have been bouncing around in my head this whole time. I stand aboard the Hilda Garde III, watching him shrink from view until he is just an indistinguishable speck blending into the surroundings. I sigh deeply, allowing his final few words to crash around my thoughts.

(We all have to make big decisions in life sometimes. For me, now's that time.)

Was it really? Of all the times to make an important decision, was this the moment to make it?

(I'm sorry for being so selfish.)

I should have been the one to apologise. If it wasn't for me, you would have never even been involved in all this…

(I can't just walk away. It goes against my nature.)

You couldn't walk away? Not for your friends?

Not for me?

…

Then again, if I hadn't been so cowardly and just admitted what was obvious for all to see, then maybe he wouldn't have left…

"Princess?" a gruff voice enquired behind me.

I attempt to disguise my concerns to greet the voice behind me, belonging to a certain Pluto Knight. "Yes, Steiner?" I responded.

"He has not been one to go back on his words." Steiner informed, "I assure you he will return."

That's easy for you to say Steiner, but I thought I understood Zidane better than anyone else after our adventures together, but I was sorely mistaken. I take this moment to observe my allies; Steiner is closely flanked by Freya and Vivi, Quina and Eiko appear to be pestering Uncle Cid and Amarant is…well, being Amarant. I know that everyone would worry if they knew my true feelings, so I attempt to hide them.

"I'm sure he will too." I voiced, sighing deeply, "I just hope he doesn't take too long."

"Zidane wouldn't do anything he wasn't capable of…" Freya mused, "but it does seem like an insurmountable task."

"I'm just surprised he didn't want any help," Vivi mentioned disappointedly, "doesn't he trust us?"

"I'm sure that's not it at all Master Vivi," Steiner corrected, "I'm sure he realized the dangers and attempted to dissuade us from venturing into dangerous territory. I would imagine the less dexterous of us would struggle to be effective at times and become a liability for him."

(He has not been one to go back on his words.)

(It does seem like an insurmountable task.)

(Doesn't he trust us?)

(I can't walk away. It goes against my nature.)

By the gods, why can't I think straight?! I'm a queen! The welfare of thousands of people rest on my shoulders, but all I can think about is Zidane.

"Hey," Amarant said nonchalantly in my general direction.

"What is it Amarant?" I enquire, genuinely confused as Amarant isn't the type to strike up conversation.

[Silence]

"Remember that dwarf town?" Amarant inquired, "It's gone."

[FF9 OST - Far away in the Twilight]

Gone?!

"T-That's not possible!" Steiner snapped hastily, "how can an entire settlement disappear?"

"You sure we in place where town was?" Quina asked in his disjointed way of speaking.

"H-How could that happen?!" Eiko shrieked.

The others appeared to sum up all of my queries simultaneously, something which Amarant was ill-prepared for.

"Just look already," he dismissed.

So I did…and he was right. Conde Petie had vanished. The location where the once proud town sat was now bare with only a pair of deep grooves in the mountainside as proof that anything was there to begin with. After a brief thought, I realised what had happened; as Lifa Tree's roots began to thrash, the roots holding up the town must have reacted as well, causing the town to be destroyed. Although, I would have expected to see Conde Petie to be decimated; seeing that it had disappeared wasn't something I ever thought I would see…or not see.

"Look! There's someone down there!" Eiko observed shrewdly.

There was an individual down in front of where the town was, we were quite a ways up, but I could still make out a head of short dark hair and a surprisingly regular appearance considering the locals. As the shadow of the Hilda Garde flew over him, I saw him look towards our vessel and…is he looking at me?

For the briefest of moments, it feels like we made eye contact, but, just for a moment, my attention is diverted from Zidane onto the man I just saw. Who is he?

Little did I know that I would be seeing him again in the very near future...