Disclaimer:
1- Final Fantasy IX characters are propriety of Squaresoft.
2- Some occurrences from the original game were altered (Vivi and Kuja are alive, for example...)
3- English is not my first language, actually, I´m still learning it, so it may have grammatical mistakes, sorry...
I- DREAMS CAN FLY HIGH
Although it was already late at night, there were two men still working hard in the great hall of inventions of Lindblum. There was no inhabitant of the greatest nation in the Mist Continent who didn´t know this place, the craddle of all the airships that, since Hilda Garde 3, a revolutionary creation that no longer needed mist to fly , spread out and become popular by several other nations.
The first man was Cid Fabool, regent of the city and also a great inventor, the one who just made such discovery, and the other one was the real engineer Zebolt, Cid´s conrade in his inventions. They´ve been working for hours and it was already possible to see a sign of fatigue behind the old inventor´s always alive and excited eyes.
- Sir, it may be better to rest, you´ve been here for a long time- said the engineer.
- Rest?-Cid said, I have already rested for years, stuck in that pathetic form which inhibited me from thinking I have to regain the lost time.
Zebolt quickly agreed, his years of coexistence with the regent´s temperament knew that he had no intention of stopping there.
- Lindblum lost so much time while I continued in that way- said Cid- I couldn´t do anything, I tried to follow my father´s image and govern this nation by valuing our people, who are the most precious thing we´ve got and what could I do when that Eidolon attacked us? Nothing...I failed with my father, with my kingdom and with myself...
-Don´t be so harsh with yourself, sir. The city is largely restored now, just like South Gate and I´m sure nobody blames you because everybody in Lindblum loves his regent.
-...
"Poor regent- the engineer thought- He always welcomed every kind of people to his castle and always was a fair and gentle king, such an admirable person like his ancestors...I think I can understand the huge pain he must have felt when he couldn´t avoid the destruction of Lindblum, Burmecia and Alexandria"
-Well, let´s go- Cid continued- You can go if you´re tired, but I´m staying here at least until we define the main structure of Hilda Garde 5. Oh, Zebolt, I just can´t believe we´re about to finish my latest airship!
-That´s true, sir, and you´ve been more excited since the success of nº3.
-Of course! It will be another great historical moment of this nation!
They weren´t completely alone, though. Both of them haven´t noticed yet, but a tiny shadow kept watching them from above, hiding itself behind a large gear. and, suddenly, jumped on Cid´s back.
-OOOOOOOOOOOHHHH hi daddy, you´re right, it´s gonna be a historical moment, so what about a big party to celebrate it? May I? May I? May I?
Hanged on his cloak, there was a little blue-haired girl who must be at least 6. she had a small horn on her head and a beautiful pink ribbon around her neck.
-Eiko!-exclaimed Cid, trying to get rid of her, while the engineer laughed-How long have you been here, you wicked little kid? You should be sleeping by now.
-I can´t sleep, so I decided to play "where´s daddy in the castle?" But it was way too easy since you´re ALWAYS in this room full of old stuff-she anwered
-Ok, you´ve found me, so, go to bed now.
-I´m not going until you promise we´ll have a party to celebrate your new flying thing.
-Hmmm sir, if you allow me to say...I think it´s not a bad idea at all...-Zebolt said
-...celebrating?...it´s ok, I can think about it, but, of course, we also have to get...
-...mom´s permission- Eiko completed- Since when she turned you back to a human, you don´t make any move without asking her first, hehe...
-What!?...hahahahahaha well, well, maybe you´re right, we ought to celebrate this new step...actually, I was already thinking about celebrating...
-But you must invite everybody, ok? I mean Garnet, Zidane, Quina, Freya...hmm...you may forget about Steiner and Amarant if you want...ehehe, just kidding, you have to invite them too- she said
-And...what about Vivi?- Cid asked, with a intriguing look at his adopted daughter.
-Eh...you may invite him as well...oh, and don´t forget the guys from the theater.
-No problem, these ones I´ll call through Baku...-he said, and turned himself to the big table where was the new project- But we have to finisht this before and make sure everything is gonna be fine and...huh, where´s Eiko?
-She already left- the engineer answered- She said we "gotta find the purple mog and ask for his help".
-That energetic girl...but, to tell the truth, I think Hilda and I did pretty well at adopting her. She fills this castle with joy and life, sometimes it´s hard to believe that she used to live alone in that village...
-And you and Lady Hilda look a lot happier since when you adopted her last year, sir.
-Yeah- Cid agreed, going to the window and watching the peaceful night sky of the city- Lindblum began to rebuild itself and nowadays there are just a few traces of that attack. So, we have to enjoy this peace, because one thing I´ve learned is that we never know how long it will last.
He stayed there, lost in his thoughts for a couple of minutes, then turned back to his table and to his loyal friend:
-Come on, let´s finish this. After all, we have to show something real and concrete to our lovely guests-said the cheerful regent, going back to work.
***IX***