A/n: Hey there again, Bloodshy Testament here with another fanfiction on the market. I hope you enjoy this one! For those of you who're wondering, no, this does not mean Dawning Destinies is cancelled, just taking a break while I upload this one. I'm planning on releasing a chapter every tuesday, so dance the little upload dance!

Disclaimer: As much as it pains me to say it, I don't own any Final Fantasy Character. I wish I did... I' let everyone take turns borrowing them...

Beautiful Equilibrium

It was another miserably hot day on Gaia- the sun beat down on every living thing on the scorched earth, from plants, to monsters, to the residents of every kingdom and regency. Travelers, however, seemed to get the worst of it- no instincts to guide them to water and shelter, homes thousands of miles away, limited supply of rations and having to carry all their gear on their backs. A young Black Mage traveling across the hot desert like fields between the Qu Marsh and Lindblum's Dragon's Gate knew this very well.

He didn't seem to mind, however- in fact, he had a smile shining in his eyes. Floppy, brown leather hat, comfortable blue jacket with white coat tails and green and white striped pants clothed the surprisingly lanky six foot frame of sixteen year old Vivi Orunitia. Everyone of his friends back at the Black Mage Village were genuinely stunned when Vivi's height seemed to finally top out at five four, and he threw another reeling punch when he grew another eight inches. Luckily, a one Mr. 147 was an extremely good stitch men and was able to keep up with Vivi's familiar attire.

Finally, the mage swung off his pack and sat, laying his Mace of Zeus beside him for a break. He had figured after seven years of isolation from the other continents, it was time to make a re-appearance. He didn't blame any of his friends for not visiting- it's not like he was just a block away. So he packed up, said goodbye to everyone- including his kids- and started his journey.

He sighed, taking in his surroundings. He could barely make out Dragon's Gate from here, which he figured was only a good two miles away. His plan had been executed up to this point- go through the underground ruins by Gargant (although they had a tendency to scare the life out of him whenever they came to close to biting his hand off when he held up a yellow flower for them), walk from the Qu Marsh to Lindblum (which is where he was), visit Eiko(who lived there) and Freya (who was in town for the upcoming Festival of the Hunt), then hitch a ride on an airship to Alexandria. Now he took a quick drink from the flask he so thankfully brought along- that is, he would have taken a quick drink if not for the simple fact that he had run out of water.

The Mage frowned, glancing up. He knew it was only two miles away, and that he could probably make it if he tried, Vivi stood, looking about for a water source. To his left stood a small forest, and where there were plants, there was water. He changed his course for that direction. Besides, he could stop and have lunch.

The blinding sun had strayed twenty minutes westward when Vivi reached the forest. Lady Luck was on his side- he found a stream almost instantly inside, tossing his pack aside and drinking his fill. He refilled his canteen and reached for his pack when he realized... there was no pack.

His pack was gone!

He bolted to stand, but, unfortunately for him, one boyhood trait had never left him as he grew, and he stepped solidly on the hem on his pants and tripped. Before he could recover, however, a weight pushed him back down, digging his face into the dirt below with a sly whisper.

"You picked the wrong forest to wander into, mage."

The weight laughed as Vivi whimpered a little, trying to force out a comprehensible sentence, but his mouth was full of moss and sand. The mavolent chuckle stopped as another voice entered, sighing. "Hitotsu, there's no point to that. For one thing your just fighting dirty, sneaking up on him like that, and for another thing, he's just a mage. What do you think he can do?"

The weight, apparently named Hitotsu, growled. "Then what do you want me to do with him, Dyuetto? Let him dance out of here and expect him not to report us to Lindblum?"

"Of course not, you dolt. But you don't have to be so mean about it. Just look at him, he's- he's-..."

Hitotsu seemed a bit concerned by Dyuetto's mystified tone. "What?"

Vivi was terrified. It hadn't occurred to him, or anyone else in the Black Mage Village for that matter, that because they were hidden away, all of them were sheltered from harm. In traveling, the mage knew there were monsters, but had forgotten everything he had learned from Zidane and the others seven years ago about the other threats- thieves, murders, and bandits, and had forgotten how to fight back. Vivi's blood ran cold as he heard a slice of metal on metal- the familiar sound of a dagger sliding out of a sheathe. Soon the weapon was under his chin, forcing his face up as he spit out dirt and blinked soil from his eyes.

"...It's the kid from the airship." Dyuetto whispered.

...airship?

Vivi managed to shake his head a bit, looking up into the face of his captor.

And the mage's chilled blood solidified to ice.

His giant amber orbs stared into the ruthless eyes of a longtime nemesis he had not forgotten, though put aside. Clothed in ragged, embroidered magicians robes over a simple tunic and pants, a pointed leather hat and almost elegant horns protruding from it, cascading blue and green wings with a single interruption of one smooth golden feather to each appendage, stood one of the assassins sent to retrieve the Princess and kill the others in Dali-

Black Waltz Number Two.

†

Vivi swallowed, his nervous amber eyes wide- though not entirely of fear. Black Waltz Two stood before him- the very being who attacked him and his friends before they could get on the airship to Lindblum, the one who had mocked his abilities as a Black Mage by retaliating the more powerful version of each attack Vivi had thrown at him. The teen still remembered the echoing, taunting voice in his head when he had tried a Fire attack-

"You call that Fire? Let me show you true flame! Fira!"

His thoughts were interrupted as the Waltz spoke, narrowing his eyes a little. "I thought Black Mages had life span limits. A year, right, Hitotsu? It's been... what, six?"

Vivi had forgotten the form that sat on his back, keeping him pinned to the ground. He couldn't help the confusion from his eyes as Hitotsu spoke, "Ah... If it was the same year as when I fought that blonde kid, it was seven."

Blonde kid? Who...?

"Mn... alright then. Get off him, Hito."

The weight complied. Vivi didn't get the chance to act before Black Waltz Two had the blade to his throat, lifting it slowly, forcing him to follow it into a standing position. All the while, the evil magician whispered, "There we go, easy now..."

Hitotsu, still hidden from Vivi's sight, grabbed his hands- and Vivi made his desperate move. He rambled out a familiar set of incantation and yelled out the initiation word, "Firag-!"

His voice left him. There was no explanation for it; he had felt the magic spring to his hands, felt them get hot as they surged the magic power he had learned to harness- but then it was repressed. And not by his doing. It took him a minute to realize that the feeling he experienced now was not a foreign one- he had felt it before.

"Careful there boy scout." Hitotsu growled, grabbing Vivi's stunned hands again and tying his wrists together with the thick piece of cord that had been the closing piece for the mage's pack. "Magic's dangerous in woods. 'Specially fire magic. Duh."

In front of him, the dagger wielding Waltz smiled almost apologetically. "We picked up a few new tricks since our last fight, mage. Did you know that, or have you forgotten what it was like to be Silenced?"

Vivi's face flushed angrily. He was doing it again! That smile wasn't apologetic at all- he was taunting him again! Making fun of him when he couldn't defend himself- just like the last time! He glared, narrowing his eyes at him.

Black Waltz Two seemed a bit taken aback, but lifted the knife again, touching it to his throat and backing him up against a tree, then making him sit at the base. Now the other figure came into his line of sight- torn and sewed brown jacket, the form in it hunched over, almost as if he were crippled, light gray pants with snowflake patterns lightly dancing across them, and a steeple crowned hat. He had a little golden bell looped and tied around his right wrist, small wings seeming to just... be there, as if someone had added them as an afterthought. Although his dark face and evil eyes were not familiar to Vivi, he could tell one thing for sure- this was a Black Waltz.

The new Waltz crossed his arms, the little bell giving out a tinkling note. "Let's kill him."

The taller one glared. "Let's not. You can be a real savage when you want to be."

"What's the matter with that?"

Black Waltz Two rolled his eyes. "...I can tell you one thing, though. If Mittsu finds him, your bloodlust will be satisfied."

The spoken to Waltz looked aside comprehensively. "Woops, forgot about him. Yeah, he'd have a field day with this one."

"...you go distract him."

The shorter waltz rocked back on his heels. "What!"

"You distract him while I get rid of the kid." Black Waltz Two retorted, matter of faculty, "Get him out of our hair before Mittsu finds him. It's better for everyone."

"..." The belled one sighed. "Fine. But If I get my head lobbed off, I'm coming back to haunt you, Dyuetto." He turned and disappeared in the trees.

Vivi had been glaring at them both this whole time, questions running through his mind. How did Black Waltz Two survive their battle? Why were they living here? How many other innocent victims had they mugged that passed through this forest? The Waltz glanced at him worriedly, his eyes playing the expression his shadowed face couldn't quite manage. "I've got some questions I'd like to ask." He stuttered, kneeling in front of the mage. A glint of sun sliding down blade reminded Vivi of the dagger he still held as amber orbs glared rebelliously at the sympathetic figure.

Black Waltz Two continued. "But, as you can probably tell, I have some doubts about un-silencing you. You have to promise me you wont try anything." At Vivi's untrusting gaze, he grimaced. "I have no intention of hurting you. Unlike my brother, I'm... more of a pacifist."

The teen sighed inwardly. He really didn't want to barter with this villain, but it seemed he had no choice. He nodded, promising silently. The Waltz smiled, but produced an Echo Screen from somewhere inside his robes. The glare returned to Vivi's eyes, and Black Waltz Two blinked. "Hm? Oh, I- I assure you it's fine... look." He unstopped it, poured a little into his talon-like hand and drank it at a view where Vivi could see it. After wards he offered the vial to the mage, and, regrettably, he drank it.

After a moment, the waltz spoke. "Now, my first question. Why are you here?"

Vivi took his time in answering, not looking at his enemy when he finally did. "I was going to Lindblum. To visit my friends. Not that it's any buiessness of y-yours."

The Waltz smiled kindly despite the comment. "Still holding on to the stutter, I see. Well, that brings me to my next question... the mage's, their life span. How did-"

A sudden harsh yell pierced the robed figures sentence, "Two!"

He sprang upright, his eyes wide. "Mittsu!"

Vivi blinked, glancing over at the trees around the clearing, the direction Two's accompaniment had gone earlier. But the figure he saw there was definitely not him. Heat instantly sprang to the mage's face, his fists tightening behind him. Glaring down at him with the fury of every monster on Gaia stood the most menacing figure Vivi had ever known, a form that had haunted his nightmares for years- dark blue jacket, gray pants, huge, beautifully glossy black and blue wings, brown leather hat and nefarious crimson eyes, the infamous, the hated-

"Black Waltz Number Three." The words slipped from Vivi's mouth with such a hate attached it directed Two's attention to him. The teenager hadn't forgotten the murder committed by Three, the atrocity preformed by the evil waltz on the cargo ship to Lindblum. The mages who had fallen to their deaths were always on his mind, who they were, what they could have become at the Village of Black Mages... dreams cut short, because of this, this slaughterer!

Two bit his lip nervously, wringing his hands. "Um, Mittsu, please... just let me handle him, I'll take care of it, alright?"

The waltz didn't even seem to hear him. In his eyes one could almost see the rage flaring inside him as he narrowed them to a deadly gaze. "You."

Before Vivi could do a thing Three was on him, the mage's throat in one hand as he hauled him to his feet, slamming the back of his head against the tree. A gasp of pain escaped the teen's lips- but that wasn't all. He rambled off the incantations for the first spell in his mind.

"Fire!"

An eruption of flame burst from the mage's open palms, incinerating the cord biding his hands. He grabbed the Waltz's wrists with flaming hands- but it simply wasn't enough. Three's growl only intensified, choking the life out of Vivi with a true killer's ferocity. "Your dead, mage!"

"Y-you-!" Vivi lashed out with his feet, catching the Waltz in the stomach and throwing him off him. He coughed, glaring up at his opponent. "All those innocent l-lives!" He charged without thinking, his anger taking him completely- the combatants forgot their magical heritage in their wrath, punching, biting, kicking, scratching- and suddenly Vivi found himself fighting for his life literally tooth and nail.

Somewhere in the middle of the fight, the shorter Waltz had made a reappearance, panting like a fang, Two glaring at him contemptuously. The belled form glowered back, catching his breath. "It wasn't my fault. He cheated. You know how he is!"

His companion growled. "If we're all still alive by the end of this, your dead."

Meanwhile, the two fighters had pressed back into the forest a ways, ignoring all else. Vivi's anger quickly soured, fermenting into fear. His adrenaline rush had left him, and he was barely able to block the blows being dealt. He took advantage of a misstep by Three, turning and running farther into forest. He realized he was a coward, but when one is fighting for their life, they don't tend to think about honor so much. He stumbled along, his breathing rushed, panic setting in- yes, Black Waltz Three was a murderer! He wouldn't hesitate to take Vivi's life- in fact, he'd probably do with a passion! The mage chanced a glanced behind him- his fatal mistake. His shoe caught on an risen tree root, going down hard. His face slammed into dead foliage and moss, knocking the wind square out of him. He ignored it and tried to stand, but was caught by the collar of his jacket. He was dragged upwards and punched square in the jaw in one fluid motion, backing up against the rocky wall of a cave jutting out in the middle of the forest.

Groggy amber eyes glanced upwards as he tried to disregard the blood pooling in his mouth, watching fearfully as the Waltz approached him. Again he grabbed him around the throat, glaring animosity and spitting malice.

"End of the line, Mage." He bung Vivi back, then slammed his head against the wall.

Then all hell broke lose.

Vivi screamed in agony- he felt the lightning bolt of pure pain racing down the back of his head- a loud noise, crashing- Three's clenched hand left him, but more pain, something heavy, dark, panic set in, more fear- he was fighting again, fighting to breathe, to escape, he needed to escape-

Crack!

...Darkness set in, and Vivi was alone.

†

Two was completely horrified.

He was staring at the remains of a cave, Rocks that had been collected naturally at the top having come crashing down, destroying the entrance and blocking it from outsiders.

Or Insiders.

He had seen the battling Vivi Orunitia and Black Waltz Three go in- but not out.

"...Shit." Black Waltz One muttered, but he sounded far away. The shorter Waltz hop-skipped oddly to the wreckage, his crumpled form seeming panicked. "Shit! Mittsu! Three! ...kid?" Two watched dismally as his brother clenched his fists, starting to pull down rocks from the debris.

"Come on, Dyuetto!" He growled over his shoulder, still working with surprising speed for his figure.

The taller Waltz, though, was still in shock. He suddenly felt his strength leave him as he dropped to his knees, hopelessness filling him, whispering softly. "M-Mittsu... he's... gone, Mittsu's..."

One stopped, turning in time to see his comrade bury his face in his hands. He sighed expressively as he growled, "Oh, come on!" He hobbled over to Two, drew his face upwards and backhanded him. The pacifist's widened eyes darted to him as he spoke. "Come off it, Dyuetto! Do you honestly think that Mittsu's gonna die that easy! That Odin-damned monkey-tailed freak threw him off an airship for Shiva's sake! He almost got hit by a freakin' train! And you're worried about him dieing in a rockslide! What the hell is that matter with you!"

Two blinked rapidly, looking down. "You... Your right. I'm sorry..."

His brother shook his head. "Just come on and help me. You can grovel at my feet later."

The sun had almost set when One collapsed. Soon after, Two sat next to him heavily, both of them breathing hard. They hadn't taken a break since they started in early afternoon, and now, at dusk, they had found that they had gotten nowhere. One's head lolled wearily so that he gave Two a lazy smile. "I think we're gonna have to go for help."

The Waltz was taken aback. "B-but Hito-!"

He shook his head argumentatively. "We can't do this alone, Dyuetto."

Two bit his lip. This was true. By the time they got to Three, he'd be dead. But on the other hand... "Do you even remember why we're out here, Hito?"

One rolled his eyes. "Not this again..."

"Because we're hated everywhere we go. The only reason I help you and Mittsu steal from these people is because we need it for our survival. Where were you thinking of going for help, hm? Lindblum?" Two frowned shaking his head. "Hah, they wouldn't help us for a million Gil. Alexandria almost fell to the man who created us, no help there. Dali was alienated for their violence towards they Black Mage's they created, and we look allot like those mage's, may I remind you. And Treno, forget tha-"

"ahem..."

"-ate us even more than Dali, seeing as it was their auction house Kuja-"

"...um, Dyuetto..."

"-and was prosecuted for crimes against other kingdoms when he was found out-"

"Two!"

The Black Waltz snapped out of his ramblings, glancing over for what One was so impatient to show him- and was met face to face with a beautiful gold and ash staff. Two narrowed his eyes. "Where did you find that."

"Over there."

"...and it's important...how?"

"It's that mage kid's."

The taller Waltz glared, "Oh, Eidolons One! Now is not the time to be thinking of the Black Market, thanks very much. Mittsu's dieing, remember!"

He sighed frustrated, not for the first time that day. "No. Do you know what this is?"

Two glanced at it with a dubious brow raised. "...A staff?"

One shook his head, shutting his eyes tightly. "No. Try again."

"...a...pretty staff?"

"No! Geez-" He glared outright at his brother, who almost flinched. "How could you call yourself a Waltz! Or even a magic user, for that fact!

Two covered his face from his brother's onslaught. "S-sorry!"

One shook his head, sighing. Again. "No, Dyuetto, this isn't just a pretty staff. It's the Mace of Zeus. There's only one like it in Gaia. Chances are that the mage kid's little friends are going to know he's the one who has it."

The pacifist blinked. "Proof that Vivi is buried in the cave with Mittsu. They'd have to dig him out." He brightened. "Brilliant!"

One grinned proudly, almost secretly. "It'nd it?"

"Question, though."

He rolled his eyes again. "What."

"Where do we find his friends?" Two asked curiously.

The smaller waltz polished a dark spot on Vivi's staff, narrowing his eyes in thought. "Ah..." His eyes almost flat lined. "...Two, state your mission."

Almost instantly, said Waltz's voice came back- but completely different. Instead of the lighter tone he was carrying, is turned darker, each syllable rapped out in harsh staccato. "Retrieve the princess, kill all others." He shut his eyes tightly, shaking his head and glaring at his company. "Hey! Didn't we agree we'd stop doing that to each oth-" He blinked. Princess Garnet."

"Queen Garnet." One corrected, heaving himself to his feet. "Ruler of Alexandria. That's where we find them."

Two was hauled upwards by his comrade, being surprisingly light for his length. "...Another question."

"Hm?"

"That staff... what do you think of it?"

He raised a brow as he shook his wings free of dust. "Well... it's nice, I guess. Powerful, very powerful."

Two rolled his shoulders, stretching. "Do you think it's... pretty?"

The shorter waltz blinked. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

He grinned at him smugly. "See, I was right." He took off without another word, bound for Lindblum.

It took a moment to register, but when it did, One growled. "Your a dumbass!" He sped off after him.

†††††