All was quiet in the auditorium. A small group of people, no more than 20 stood erect, each with their own instrument in hand. There were trombones to trumpets, violas to violins, and a tonne of other "Sound Makers" that nobody even knew their name.

Vivi Orunitia sat in an uncomfortable seat, seemingly made of a material who's sole aim was to cause such discomfort, flute in hand and stared at the music stave standing before him. After watching "I want to be your Canary" (Legally this time, for the ticket was in fact real) he was amazed at the orchestral music playing. So much so, that he had a burning desire to join such a band, and felt it appropriate that he played an instrument; as is a necessity when one joins a band.

Not that this passion made him any good. After the conductor called out his name, he tripped over the metal tripod in front of him and fell flat on his face.

"Ow..." He winced, picking himself up amidst the chuckling of his peers. Clutching the flute for dear life, and replacing the stave, Vivi let out an almighty blow into the whimsical tube and started to play. For the first few seconds, one would consider him a success. However, soon after the nerves and general lack of playing ability got to his head, it took a turn for the worse. Note after note was hit in a seemingly random order, and the flute emitted a vile screeching sound every so often.

"Oh no...Oh no I can't do this!" He thought, and immediately stopped playing to lower his head solemnly.

"That was a good try Master Vivi" Said the conductor sympathetically

"But you need more work. Take some time off, maybe take in some lessons in Lindblum."

Vivi let out a sigh, and walked to the door.

"O-Okay...thank you.." He said, and left. It was about and hour's flight by transport ship to Lindblum from Alexandra, and Vivi only hoped he had enough Gil to take him there.

He had been playing, or trying to play, the flute for bout 3 months now. He's been teaching himself from manuals, audio CDs/Tapes, through watching people play and by sheer determination upon trial and error. The flute itself was a masterpiece too; carved from the Lifa tree, it was given to him by Zidane (Who in turn stole it from Baku, wouldn't you know) and though Vivi adored it, he felt inadequate against it.

So lost in thought was the little Mage, that he failed to realise he had reached the Airdocks, and only noticed where he was when he crashed into the ticket booth. Standing up, and dusting himself off, he gingerly put the Flute in it's soft-leather case, and fished around in his pockets. Placing three shiny coins on the desk, the ticket master issued a ticket, and Vivi took it with haste; the ship was about to take off. He was panting when he reached it, for he had to run lest it take off without him.

The ship was nothing fancy. A simple "carrier" ship, converted from a Cargo ship.

"This looks familiar" Remarked Vivi, as he tried to open the 'treasure chest' and failed. It was a part of the ship, funnily enough.

"Must be my imagination" He decided, and walked on-deck to admire the view. The clouds rushed by, as the mountains just missed the bottom of the ship closer. He saw smaller, personal ships, designed to suit the rich people in Treno, dotted here and there about the skies; until his attention was drawn to the South Gate. It had been repaired and strengthened after Zidane's 'escapades' and the inside seemed to house a few thousand people, such was the size of it. The back gates opened as the enormous gears pushed against each other, and Lindblum was the sight of awe to those aboard. The Dragon's Gate had been doubled in size, and the city-cum-castle itself had been increased in size so much, that it put Alexandra to shame.

The Ship's captain requested clearance, and was apparently given it when the immense gate opened up revealing the inside. Not much had changed, Vivi thought as he took in the sights. There still existed the three Districts; the Business, Theater and the Industrial, but they had been re-built and made so much bigger. The Clock Tower, where Vivi guessed Zidane would be was still there, though it had been repaired.

Upon reaching the docks (Where the Hilda Garde IV was under construction) the ship came a a juddering stop, causing Vivi to fall.

"Hey kid, are you okay?" Came a familiar voice, and the mage found himself being picked up by none other than Cinna.

"Oh hey! If it ain't Mister Vivi! How ya been?!" He said cheerily, scratching his belly with his hammer.

Vivi, taken aback, clutched his flute tightly.

"Oh..Uhh...H-hello Uncle Cinna" He said, only just remembering

"I've been okay, I guess..."

Cinna started walking, and Vivi walked with him.

"Good ta hear!" He said

"What brings you to Lindblum then?! Not really a place for vacation now, is it!?" For some reason, he talked fiercely, ending each sentence with a !; it reminded Vivi of Baku

"Erm...I've come for some -" He began, but was interrupted

"YO! CINNA!" Came yet another recognisable voice

"What's the hold-up?"

Cinna jumped slightly, and leaped off the ship, leaving Vivi startled.

"Hey Marcus, look who is is!" He said, pointing to the Blue-clothed boy

Marcus squinted, and a look of profound stupidity washed across his face as he tried to put a name to the face looking at him. Realisation struck soon after, however, after a blow from Cinna's Hammer was received.

"Oh! Master Vivi!" He said, when he walked over to the Tantalus members

"Good to see you, how have you been?"

Vivi sighed. It was going to be a long day. He repeated the speech he had had with Cinna, and again was interrupted when asked why he was here.

"Let's go get something to eat!" Said Marcus

"Yeah! I want something to drink!" Said Cinna

"I want to go home!" said Vivi, and was reluctantly pushed ahead of the two, and after a lengthy travel in the Air-Cabs, was seated on a rough bar stool in a small Pub in the Industrial District.

Marcus had a routine here, and it was well known; it went something like this:

Seat, Sit, Fish Money, Place said money on desk, order a drink, get steaming drunk, get thrown out, forget last night, sleep in the Air-Cabs and wake up refreshed as ever.

Cinna's routine was a little different.

Seat, Sit, Fish Money, Place said money on desk, order food, get ill off too much food, get thrown out, stager home, sleep grumpily and wake up feeling peckish.

Not that this had changed with company, and sure enough each were soon gorging themselves of cheap ale and food. Such was the spectacular display of gluttony, than Vivi was in a state of awe at the sheer quantity they were consuming. Needless to say, this soon changed from awe into disgust, as it became aware Cinna wasn't actually chewing his food. Slipping from his stool, and pushing his way through the crowd, which had gathered to witness the pair's antics, the little mage dived heroically to the door.

"Phew...I n-never knew they could eat so...much..." He sighed and decided that it was time for a rest, and thus headed down to the hotel.

"What?!" Came a thundering voice, that as before seemed all too familiar

"How dare you refuse me! I must quench my appetite on your delicious Gyshal Pickles!"

Vivi walked slowly towards the voice, and sure enough the worn, heavy bulk of Steiner's armour came into view.

"Master Vivi!" The knight yelled, and ran towards him

"Oh, how delightful to see you again! How are you?"

"Hello Steiner" He said, making the effort to drop the nickname Rusty

"I'm...okay I guess. I'm just heading over to the Inn"

Steiner thought about this, deeply. The Oglop he had for a brain rattled against his thick skull, until..

"What are you doing here anyway? This is no place for a child such as yourself to be walking around alone"

"Erm...Well I'm here to learn how to..play the..flute" Vivi replied, and showed Steiner the instrument. The knight in 'shining' armour took it, and stared at it with awe.

"Why..this is the most fabulous piece of musical instrumentation I have ever placed my eyes upon! Tell me Master Vivi, where ever did you get this?" He asked

"Erm..Zidane gave it to me as a gift, a few months ago.." Vivi said, expecting fireworks.

And sure enough did he receive them.

"Grr..that scoundrel! I wager my own life that the stole it off a high class musician. Maybe from the Treno auction house...Argh! It doesn't matter where he stole it from, but the fact that stole it! Tell me, where is he, I shall have his neck for this!"

Vivi quickly took the flute back, lest it get crushed by the enraged knight, and attempted to placate his anger.

"Erm...He d-didn't steal it..." He said, trying to think up a good excuse

"He...It was an heriloom! Yes, it was passed down to him by his...dying old relative..." He said, hoping that Steiner would buy it; which he did.

"Ah, my apologies for my outburst. Tell me Master Vivi, do you play it well?"

Vivi sighed and bowed his head once more.

"No...I'm pretty bad at playing...Maybe it's the flute.." He said hopefully.

"Hmm...that's a possibility, let me see it" Steiner said, and took the flute. Taking a deep breath, he blew into it and started to play. Such beauty came from the instrument, that Vivi had to sit down. A small crowd had gathered around to hear the majestic melody. He stopped abruptly and handed it back to Vivi

"Nope, it's not the flute. I daresay that's the finest one I've ever played" He said smiling, and offered a hand Vivi, who took it and stared in amazement.

"Well! I must be off, I have things to attend to" Said Steiner, and began to walk away, amidst the applause of the audience. It took Vivi a moment or two to react, but eventually, he yelled at the knight

"W-Wait! Can you...teach me h-how to play it like that?!" He said, panting from having caught up with him.

"I want to join an orchestra, and I can't until I can play it well!"

Steiner thought for a moment.

"I shall tutor you in the ways of music" He announced, and Vivi let out a leap of joy

"However! Upon one condition!"

"W-what is it?"
Steiner pointed to the pickle stand

"I shall teach you how to play, if you can get me one of them Gyshal Pickles! I shall wait in the Inn" He said, and walked away.

"What's that!?" Said the decrepit old woman who ran the stand, when Vivi made his order

"I said, I want a Gyshal Pickle!" Vivi said, louder than before.

"You want a what?" She said again

"A Gyshal Pickle!!" He said, louder once more

He sighed deeply.

"A GYSH-"

"Alright, I 'eard you the first time! No need to yell..." she said, reaching for a Pickle, handing it to Vivi, who in turn gave her the money.

"Thanks!" He said, rushing off to the inn. He heard the old women ranting about 'youth today, and how it's all going to the dogs' but ignored it.

"You have it?" Said Steiner, appearing suddenly before Vivi.

"Waah!?" He said, surprise taking him to the floor.
"Y-Yes.. here" He handed Steiner the foul vegetable, who ate it with such ferocity as Cinna would a chicken.

"Very well" Steiner said, much happier than before

"Come with me, and I'll show you the way to play"

Many hours later, and many pickles later too, Vivi emerged from the Inn, flute in hand, ready for anything; which was just as well, as the audition was later that night.

Spending the last of his coins on the familiar ship, and once again falling for the 'treasure chest', he made his way to the room, where he stood outside and breathed heavily

"Okay...I can do this now!" He said, and practiced for a few minutes.

"Master Vivi?" Said the conductor.

"Everyone is waiting, I hope you have something to show this time"

"Y-yes..I hope so too" He said, and walked in.

--

A round of applause signified the end of the orchestra, as roses were flung at the stage. Such was the level of playing that the Nobles brought it on themselves to shower the band with Gil as well

Vivi applauded too, wondering what it would be like to be a Conductor, and waved a small stick around in a fashion similar to what he saw in his own audition; Yes, it went bad. He played flawlessly for the first few seconds, like before. But the flute snapped soon after and the Conductor had gotten angry, telling him to take 'more care to beauty!'

Seemingly Steiner had squeezed too hard...What irony.

"Oh well..." Sighed Vivi

"I wonder if anybody can teach me how to conduct..."