Kinda songfic-ish, or at least based on the rough idea of the song The Cage by Sonata Arctica. I don't own a thing. FF6 is owned by Square. The Cage belongs to Tony Kakko and Sonata Arctica.

Timeline: After the defeat of Kefka, I guess. The story assumes Moblitz is adjectant to the Veldt, which isn't the case in the world of ruin.

I plunge on my bed while outside the moon rises into the night sky. It's a soft bed, a luxury I didn't know until a year or two ago, when I first met Cyan and Sabin.

First, we slept in the inns of various towns and cities whose names I can only vaguely recall. They didn't strike me as too important back then. Yeah well, back then was back then. Much has happened since then. So much that my prowess in the human language could be considered a minor development.

Later, in the rooms of Setzer's spacious airship. Or airships, as we managed to wreck one of them during our adventure. Not like we were really to blame though, when some mad clown tore up the world itself by moving some crazy statues.

And now, in Moblitz with Terra and her many protegees. They're an adorable bunch. I can understand why Terra devotes herself so thoroughly to their well being. Or our well being, I should say, since I can consider myself the most recent addition to this family. She's also the one who taught me to speak - beyond the point of a few words thrown together in any order I saw fit.

I can't really remembered how exactly it came to be that I'm here right now. It was somewhere in the bliss after the victory and the successful escape from Kefka's tower, that we came to discuss what everyone was going to do, since the war was over and all. I had never really spent a thought on it before. I had assumed I'd return to the Veldt and continue the life I had lived there. But that's not what happened, evidently, as I'm currently lying on a bed in the village of Moblitz.

I'm lying still as a stick, yet I'm bursting with energy inside and finding no way to fall asleep. I look up, but once again I have to state the lack of the calming sight of stars on the black night sky. Only dark brown planks. There are no animals to share warmth and comfort. Though most people consider the Veldt a dangerous place because of its savageness, animals can also be great company. But here, only cold brick walls surround me. I just can't calm down in this unaccustomed environment. My muscles are itching and twitching and it's all I can do not to go berserk and tear them down to the last brick. Those walls, they surround me like menacing things that keep me trapped. They spin around my field of vision until I'm dizzy, round and round and coming closer to cage me in...

''Gau...?'' When the sound of a high pitched voice saying my name pulls me out of my anxious trance, it almost feels like a physical pull. The walls are back to where they were ten minutes ago, and where they have been for the past few years. I don't know what I'm thinking. Of course they're still there. They never moved an inch.

I must have jolted up or made some other startled movement, because the voice coming from the open doorframe calls, ''Are you alright?''

There's a not quite four foot tall figure standing on the verge to my room, and the bunch of straw blonde locks I manage to make out belongs to Anny, one of the younger children. Of course, I make an inviting motion for her to come in. ''Anny...? What is it?'' I put up what I hope is a brotherly-concerned voice, but my only model for this is Duane, and he's not really the one to go by. The children tend to go to either Terra or Katarin with their problems most of the time. Duane tends to be a bit harsh in his wording, though that could be just my personal impression.

Anny's face is puffy and her eyes are red, as though she's been crying. ''I... I had a bad dream and I'm scared. But mama seems so tired lately, so I let her sleep and I came to you.''

Why didn't she go to Duane or Katarin? She has known them all her life and they're older to boot. I see no reason to say that to her, though. Who can say what goes on in the head of little children anyways. Maybe she just likes me. She's usually one among the kids that are present when I return to the village. Being able to lift some weight notably speeds up the process of gathering wood, so I made that my task, lest I just sit around all day. Sometimes I'd go hunting on the Veldt, which is connected to Moblitz again since the world has returned to balance. When I get back, usually there are children waiting for me and they applaud when they see me return with something heavy slung over my shoulder. And more often than not, Anny's one of them.

Right now she's obviously in need of some form of consolation, and I have no idea how to do that. So I'll go for physical comfort, then the mental stuff will come by itself sooner or later. Hopefully. So I pick her up and put her next to me under the blanket. She immediately snuggles up to me and rests against my torso, so I guess that can't have been all the way wrong. I feel a smile creep onto me as I listen to her steady breathing. I lie like that for a few minutes. I start to get the impression she's fallen asleep, but barely has the thought crossed my mind does she prove me wrong by looking up to me and asking, ''Gau?'' I make some questioning sound so she continues, ''Can you tell me about the Veldt?''

The Veldt. To these kids it's only the area over the hill, where their parents wouldn't allow them to stray while playing because it's dangerous. To me, it was a home for thirteen and some odd years of my life. They know I used to live there, but nobody has ever asked me anything more specific. Katarin once inquired about my parents, but I didn't have much to say on the topic. Heck, the only thing I know about my dad is that he's alive and off-kilter, and I know flat out nothing about my mother. I don't even know her face.

But about the Veldt I have plenty of stories to tell. I talk to Anny about the endless sees of grass, about many plants and many more animals. They seem to be mystically attracted to the area. Animals that normally only live in the desert or high up on mountains seem to be willing to make an exception here, whatever the reason. I also tell her about Mount Crescent, which isn't crescent-shaped anymore ever since the catacalysm. Though most is back to normal, some things will take a very long time to return to how they were. Maybe they'll never be exactly the same again. Take the Serpent's Trench for example, which is below sea level again, but only barely. A tall man could stand on it and keep his head above water. Not like you could pass over it like that though, with the Trench's current and the general tides.

While I'm talking about all these things, she's watching me with big eyes. At some point, she asks: ''Will you show me the Veldt?'' I guess I have no reason not to, and I'd actually like to show her too, so I nod. ''Tomorrow,'' I add. ''Now we should get some sleep.

She doesn't know, but she also helped setting my own mind at ease. My talking calmed me and I have something to look forward to tomorrow. That night, I manage to get a good night's rest, one arm around her short figure.

x-x

The next morning Anny's unholdable. She's literally bouncing around the town's former inn, which is currently occupied by nine hungry children, including myself, plus Katarin, Duane and Terra, eating breakfast. She's beaming while she's telling everyone within earshot, which is actually everyone, about the plans for our trip. It could just be me, but I think Terra is frowning slightly. Indeed, after we finished eating, she comes over to me and takes me apart. She gives me a doubtful look. How funny, I'm looking down on her now. When we first met, we were the same height. I didn't notice how much I've grown.

''Gau, are you sure this is safe to do?''

''I lived on the Veldt for almost fourteen years, Terra. I know it better than anyone. As long as she's with me, and I'm not planning to let her run off alone, nothing will happen to her.''

I can see in her eyes she still has doubts, but she must have seen my point as she doesn't protest any further.

Short before noon, me and little Anny are standing on the top of the hill that hides the Veldt from view. She's never been even this far, made evident by the big eyes she watches the landscape. I had surely not promised too much. An endless green stretch of land, only now and then interrupted by a slim line of blue from a creek. And on it, animals in all shapes and colors grazing, drinking or just moving over the plains. I can't help but smile, half at the wonderful familiar sight, half at the impressed noises the little girl is giving off. She hasn't seen half of how good it is yet.

While we're decending the hill, a Megalodoth comes stomping towards us. Anny's breathing speeds up hearably as it approaches us and her hands grip my arm more tightly. She must have noticed I'm completely calm, though, as she doesn't scream, nor does she run away in panic. She does, however, take a step back and hide behind me as the large animal reaches us. It doesn't make any prompt to attack us. It reached out its snout for me to pat. Anny mumbles something incomprehensible, but clearly sounds surprised.

''It doesn't eat meat. It's harmless,'' I clarify. ''Come, you can pat it too.''

She moves around me to pat the Megalodoth, but lets out a surprised yelp when it presses its snout against her palm, probably with more force than she expected.

''It's curious. It wants to know your smell.''

Her look tells me if you say so as she reaches out her palm once again.

''Are you ready for the ride?'' I ask. Then, without further warning, I grip her around the torso and I jump. A second later, I sit safely on the Megalodoth's back. The animal, surprised, promptly turns around and storms ahead, over the plains, scaring some smaller animals and making the larger ones look up in surprise. This time, Anny does scream, but it sounds more like surprise than actual fear. If I am anything of a judge with these things, anyways. But soon, the screaming passes over into laughing, and I can't help starting to laugh uncontrollably myself. This great feeling is unlike anything else in the world, this wild, untamed feeling of joy, of delight, of freedom.

x-x

Anny soon got the taste of it and we spent that whole day on the Veldt, returning only after sunset. We had missed dinner, but Terra, mindful as always, had set some food aside for us. It was cold, but it was something. She did scold me for staying away for so long, but you could feel her heart wasn't in it, and that she was just happy we were back in one piece. I'm glad, but I'm sorry to have worried her. She was delighted to hear we had a great time, though.

Meanwhile, life goes on in Moblitz, and I'm doing my best to fit in and make myself useful. The last thing I want is sitting around on Terra's hospitality. So I have taken up maintaining the buildings of the village, which soon proved to be direly needed. Terra has too many other things on her hands to do maintainance, and some of the houses seemed like they'd fall apart any moment. Duane had done the most acute repairs, but he turned out not to be much of a handyman, resulting in none of them holding for all too long. Therefor, the village had been in about the same state Kefka's blast had left it. This gave me a task to occupy myself with most of the time, and soon, the buildings were more or less stable in their foundations again, though they still look rather run-down.

It's almost become a habit for Terra to thank me after a day's work and to tell me how thankful she is for having me around. And she hugs me. That was rather awkward the first time. I already knew hugs were a sign of friendship and affection, but I had only been hugged once before. That had been when my friends found me again on the Veldt after the catacalysm. Sabin had thrown his arms around me and almost pressed all air out of my lungs in his bearhug. This is a completely different kind of hugging, of course. It was tender and warm. But every time she says 'I'm glad you're here' I can't help but feel that deep down there is something profoundly wrong with that fact. With me being here, I mean. I keep telling myself it isn't wrong at all, but I can't deny that feeling, no matter how much I try.

Anny comes to me at night every now and then. I obviously gained her trust and I must say I like her a lot too. I don't know if her nightmares really come this frequently, or if she does it for my company. I don't mind though. It helps me with my own sleeping problem. It still pains me to be stuck inside a room, and rarely ever can I get a good night's rest, except for when Anny's there.

That's why I end up sleeping outdoors more and more often. At first, it was only once, to put my nerves at ease. However, it's just the way it is with painkillers, once you had one you need more, and taking it away only makes the pain come back twice as bad. So soon I slept under the stars more often than not and the grass in my usual spot under my window has flattened against my weight. I always wait as long as I manage to see if Anny would come, but 'as long as I manage' feels like it is growing shorter with the day.

So I had known it was inevitable that I wake up now, after sleeping on the ground, while there is still no sign of dawn, to my own name being spoken in an anxious way by a high-pitched voice, the sound fleeing through my open window. I pull myself up by the windowsill and call out softly, ''I'm over here.''

Her face lights up when she sees my, and she runs towards the window. ''What are you doing there?'' she asks.

''One moment.'' I proceed to heave myself up and sit down on the windowsill. She places herself on my lap and looks at me expectingly. I shrug in an attempt to seem nonchelant. ''I just couldn't endure it inside anymore.'' But however hard I try to hide it, there must be something, in my voice or in my expression, giving away that there was more to it, as she doesn't cease to stare at me questioningly. Perceptive child. I could lie to her, but for some vague reason, I feel like I should talk about it. Of everyone in Moblitz, she's the one I've grown closest to, maybe that's got something to do with it. Anyways, the truth it is then.

''I feel like I'm losing my mind. Losing it very rapidly. I just can't be stuck inside. I – I feel like I'm trapped in a cage.'' I can't help but let my head hang and start sobbing quietly. Saying it in my own words seems to have been the last drop in the barrel. I'm having a breakdown, and I'm fully aware of it. However, I can do nothing against it, I can't stop sobbing and soon, tears are falling to where Anny sits in my lap. ''Anny... I can't take it any longer I... I'm going mad!'' I manage to push out.

She sits there, perfectly calm, reaching a hand up to run her fingers over my cheek, and then she says in a perfect sisterly-concerned voice that puts everyone else's to shame, ''It's all right.''

Heh. Inverted world. I'm sitting here, being consoled by a six year old child. Go figure. However, she does the consoling part rather well, and I feel a bit better. We sit in silence for a while. How long I don't know – Ten minutes, an hour – For me it felt like an eternity.

She doesn't stay to sleep. She leaves through the door she came through, going back to her own bed or maybe not, leaving me on my own. I sit there for another while, but not very long. I don't find it very hard to make up my mind. I have known for some time now that it would eventually come to this. But you know what's really weird? I think she knows, too.

x-x

I wake up by someone pulling at the sleeve of my night clothes. I open one eye to see a young girl with blonde locks standing besides my bed. ''Anny?'' I mumble, still half asleep. ''Did you have a bad dream again?'' I already thought that had passed. It's been a while since she came to me at night. But to my surprise, she shakes her head.

''Mama...'' she whispers, and I can hear sadness all over her voice, so thick it's almost something physical. She isn't crying, though.

''Gau's gone.''

A/N: Aaaand there it is. Actually took me much longer than expected. I'd be very thankful if you tell me what you think. Constructive crticism is especially appreciated. I might actually write a sequel, though I'm not sure yet how I'm planning to do that.