Disclaimer- I don't own the Final Fantasy characters in this story.

Author's Note: Well, my classes have slowed down for Spring Break and I've decided to try to get some work done on a long overdue chapter. I know that my last few updates have been a little erratic, so to counter this, I've made a live journal account where I'll post my progress on my newest chapters weekly, as well as complain about classes/morons I have to put up with/etc, and all that kind of stuff. There's a link in my profile.

Next, I have to give a big thanks to everyone who left constructive criticism for me from the last chapter. All of it was helpful in one way or another, so thanks to everyone for doing that. :D I implore that you keep it up since it's so helpful. I really appreciate it.

Next, I have wonderful news! NewtThatGotBetter has submitted some drawings of her own, which I thought were really good. Along with the artwork Yuleen75, that brings the total count up to 3, which is more than I ever thought I'd get for this story. :P Here are some links so everyone can enjoy them.

http: /i251. photobucket. com/albums/ gg311/NewtThatGotBetter ?t=1205390298

http: /i251. photobucket. com/albums/ gg311/NewtThatGotBetter ?t=1205390277

Other than that, I hope you find this next chapter interesting. I tried doing something a little different, so you might want to refer to the last section of the last chapter (after Trevor was healed) to refresh what happened. I'd post a recap, but it would be over 1000 words, and I thought that might be a little wasteful of space.

Either way, I hope you enjoy the next chapter of Shattered Mind: Anger.

Chapter 2- Waken from a Nightmare

XXXXXXXX

What the hell happened? I pondered to myself. What happened after I blacked out?

As I lay on my back in the rain, the weight of the situation hit me like a truck. My lung was blasted open, I was dying, and Kaiten wasn't anywhere as far as I could tell. I knew Zidane was coming to help with an elixir, which should heal me completely, but I couldn't help at my fearful thrashing.

"No!" I heard Zidane call out. Before I knew what happened, he had jumped on top of me and was pinning my arms down. With what little awareness I had left, I saw him open the vial of the elixir and place it against my mouth. I bit down on it, knowing that my only chance of survival depended on actually drinking this stuff. Fortunately, it didn't taste bad. It was something along the lines of over-sugared Sprite. I drank it, knowing full well that if I didn't, I would die and I wouldn't be able to help anyone else again.

Even before I finished drinking the entire vial, I felt it beginning to work. My lung began to reform, but it was extremely uncomfortable. It felt more like my organs themselves were shifting around inside my chest. I could feel the motion like friction of my new lung brushing against the muscle and sinew pressed against it. I silently prayed that I wouldn't be able to remember this after a short while. This was going to keep me distracted for some time.

As I drank the last few drops of the elixir, I felt the rain coming down against the newly regenerated skin on my chest. I gasped heavily, relieved to be back to normal and that I wasn't going to die. I could still feel my lung moving inside my chest, but I did what I could to ignore it. My new lung felt cold, unused, but I tried to link that to the cold air wafting around us and ignore the uncomfortable sensation.

Now, fully healed, I brought my hand up and took the vial from my mouth. Zidane didn't give any resistance and let me toss it aside.

"Zi…Zidane…" I said weakly, trying the words slowly.

"What is it Trevor?" he asked. He grabbed the collar of my shirt and leaned closer. A thought came to mind about what we must have looked like. Creepy as it was, I couldn't help but crack a smile at the absurdity of it.

""…If you're not careful…and you pin me down like that… the fangirls will start squealing…" I laughed softly. My voice sounded like it was mixed with gravel. I saw Zidane raise an eyebrow before pulling himself off of me.

I placed a hand over my lung, pressing against it lightly to make sure it didn't hurt at all. Surprisingly, there wasn't any pain. Not only was there no pain in my lung, but I didn't hurt anywhere. The elixir really had restored me to perfect health. As I relished in my newfound health, I heard a clinking sound, like glass. I looked over and saw Zidane pulling out a pair of potions and offering them to me.

"Trevor, you're the fastest right now, so you need to give these to Vivi," Zidane said.

I sat up with surprising ease. Turning around, I saw that Vivi was still bleeding on the ground across the courtyard. I would have yelled at them for not telling me sooner, but I didn't see the point. Reacting quickly, I grabbed the potions out of Zidane's hands and rushed towards the little mage's side.

Dammit Vivi, I thought as I ran. Be okay.

"God…DAMMIT!" came a voice harshly and suddenly. It surprised me so much that I actually stumbled a little bit as I ran.

Kaiten? I asked as I recovered. Is that you?

"That fight was MINE!" he yelled.

Fight? What fight?

"If that bastard hadn't interfered…" Kaiten continued.

I didn't know what Kaiten was talking about or what had happened. Apparently, he had gotten into a fight, using my body again. I would have to ask him about it later, but for now, saving Vivi was all that was on my mind.

I stooped low as I reached the mage. His eyes were shut and all that was left of the wound on his chest was a bleeding dent mixed with cloth from his jacket. Lucky for him though, his jacket was still in one piece. I was going to have to buy a new shirt sometime later.

"C'mon Vivi," I pleaded as I picked him up in my arms. I cradled him carefully, making sure not to irritate the wound on his chest. "Just be alright."

I popped open one of the potion vials and placed it against where I assumed his mouth was. It was hard to tell since his head was just a large, featureless black ball when his eyes were closed. Fortunately, I guessed right. Vivi showed signs of consciousness and began drinking. When he was finished with the first vial he opened his eyes. He blinked softly a few times before looking up at me weakly.

"…Trevor…" he said softly.

"Not now," I said, opening the second potion. "Just drink this."

I offered the second vial to Vivi and he drank it, same as the first. He coughed a little, drinking a little too fast. I guess I let myself get too worried about him and forced him to drink too quickly.

"Ohh…" Vivi moaned as he finished the potion.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"I don't like the way potions taste," he said with his eyes half open.

I laughed at this. Vivi was still a little weak and would need more attention, but he wasn't going to die for now, which was all we needed at the moment. I picked him up and carried him over to the others. Zidane and Freya had managed to crawl a little closer to Vivi and myself. I walked towards them and met them halfway. Zidane was sitting up on his knees and Freya was holding herself up on her spear.

"Are you guys going to be okay?" I had to ask.

"We'll be fine. Just stay near me," Freya instructed. I nodded and kneeled, letting Vivi down. He had recovered enough to stand on his own, but I let him lean against me anyway. He seemed tired after all.

As we sat still, Freya swung her spear over my head. As she finished, a green light grew on the ground beneath our feet. A pair of green, translucent dragons shot out of the ground, heading up into the air. As they flew, a light green light covered over us, healing the others. I wasn't hurt anymore, so I only felt a warm sensation coming over me, like a blanket. The spell lasted a few seconds before fading.

I knew this was Freya's spell, Reis's Wind. With it, everyone else would be healed a little and would be doing a little better.

"Does that take care of everyone?" Freya asked. She stood up shakily and leaned on her spear for support.

"Can you stand Freya?" Zidane asked. He was able to stand better than her and Vivi didn't seem to have any problems of his own.

"It is nothing," the proud Burmecian said. She rose to her feet and was able to stand well enough, but kept her spear close for support.

"So what do we do now?" Zidane asked. "The King of Burmecia is still alive."

"We'll need to find him," Freya replied. "And when we do, we'll need to build an effective resistance against Brahne's next attack."

"To Cleyra then?" I asked. I didn't know I had made a mistake until Zidane and Freya gave me a curious look.

"Yes, but how did you know that?" Freya asked.

I had forgotten, in the game, the player only knew that Cleyra was the next destination when seeing a cut-scene from Zidane and Freya's perspective. Since I wasn't there when that info was given out, there wasn't supposed to be any way for me to know that.

"Uh…" I began nervously. "I, uh… I learned about the history between Burmecia and Cleyra a while back in a history class. Considering the situation, I think Cleyra would give the King of Burmecia clearance into their city, despite their touchy pasts."

I stood rigid, frozen in fear in that the others might start suspecting something. I hoped that they would buy my continuing lie about being a student at Alexandria University.

"So you're already back to screwing up?" came a condescending voice.

Shut up Kaiten, I said to him, rolling my eyes up to my head reflexively.

"It's bad enough that I lost that fight, but now you need to start rubbing it in with your own failures!"

Do you ever stop?

"Uh, um…" I heard Vivi stutter, breaking me from my thoughts.

"What is it Vivi?" Freya asked. She lowered herself and put a hand on the little mage's shoulder.

"Do you think well learn more about those mages if we go to Cleyra?" Vivi asked.

"Yeah," Zidane said. "I think we'll learn a lot about them as long as we follow Brahne and that Kuja guy."

"Okay, I'm going with you," Vivi said confidently. I noticed the confident smile Vivi seemed to have. He seemed different from what I remembered him acting as from the game. Maybe it was because I was here. I chuckled to myself at the thought. My ego could have used the boost though.

"Oh," Vivi began again. "What about the princess?"

"Dagger?" Zidane asked. He stopped for a moment and folded his arms across his chest confidently. "I'd never forget about her!" he said. "She might not be here in Burmecia, but I know we'll find her soon."

"Confident, aren't you?" I joked. Zidane always seemed so full of optimism and life. I could see why so many people looked up to him for inspiration, myself included.

"It's what helps me sleep at night," Zidane joked back. We both had a small laugh at this until the thief began walking forward, heading out of the arena. "Well, let's move out!" he called to the rest of us.

Vivi ran to catch up to Zidane's heel and Freya pressed herself onward, not wanting to be the last one out. I couldn't help but sigh in relief that we had all made it through that fight alive. Watching the others leave, I began to move myself.

As I walked, I felt the cold air press against my chest. I cupped my hand over the hole in my shirt, remembering the wound I had gotten. My chest was soaked and freezing from the rain and wind, but it left me wondering what had happened. Even the armor Wayne had crafted for me had been destroyed. I could see the effect of the attack that had apparently been used against me. The armor had been forced outwards, like it had been ripped out. Whatever happened, I had to know so I could avoid it in the future.

Kaiten, I began. At this point, he was the only person I could go to. I knew he had to have taken over my body again from his earlier talk of losing a fight. I didn't want to talk to the others about what happened because they might get suspicious of my ignorance. I didn't need them poking around my business to find out what was wrong.

Kaiten, I tried again. What happened earlier? You mentioned a fight.

"Oh, that," Kaiten began snidely. "Why would you want to know that?"

So I could know what happened, I explained. If the others ask me about it, telling them that I just blacked out for the whole thing would raise suspicions.

"So then make something up," he suggested. "Tell a lie. Do whatever."

I'd like to avoid lying to my friends more than I have to.

There was a moment of silence before I heard Kaiten sigh. He was clearly aggravated about something, although I thought he was more professional than this. A single loss shouldn't have bothered him this much. Maybe it was because I had expected to lose, but I didn't see what the big deal was. The important thing was that we were all alive and well enough to continue traveling.

"Fine," Kaiten finally said. "If you want to know so badly, I'll show you."

If I had been given enough time to react, I would have asked Kaiten what he was talking about. But before I had the chance to, a rush of images came at me. They were projected in my mind like a movie, flashing past. Each minute felt like a blip of time, showing me all I had to see in that instant. I saw Kaiten standing up again, using my body after Beatrix had knocked me down. Kaiten unleashed a flurry of attacks I had no idea he could do as Beatrix struggled to keep up with him. Blow for blow was traded back and forth until Beatrix had finally been beaten in the end. Then, as Kaiten stood over her, I saw a massive Holy spell blast though his chest, or rather my chest. It explained what had happened, but I had no idea how I was going to explain me being able to answer any questions the others had about my fighting like that. The whole thing was like a surreal nightmare.

As the images left, I felt a rush go by me, like a sudden wind. I couldn't help the array of questions that I still had for Kaiten, but I didn't get a chance to ask. As soon as the images of Kaiten's memory left me, a pulse of pain hit my head. I felt it quickly grow in intensity until it felt like a huge air bubble was swelling in my head. It was much like the pain I had felt when Kaiten first took over my body. I grabbed the sides of my head, clawing at the temples in a desperate attempt to get the pain to die down. It soon became so intense that it forced me to the ground.

"Trevor!" I heard Freya call out suddenly. I didn't need to turn my head up to know that she and the others had run up to my side. I could hear them just fine, but moving my eyes and head hurt too much for me to do.

"My head…" I started. "It's killing me…"

As my headache intensified, my vision blurred. Everything became fuzzy as I collapsed onto my stomach, still clawing at my head. The taste of bile rose in the back of my mouth as I held back a scream.

"We've got to get him out of here," Zidane said. "We need a doctor. There might still be one in town!"

"No, don't move him!" Freya argued. "I think he just has too much water inside his lungs."

"Then what about his head? He says it hurts!"

"I…I don't know," Freya said hesitantly. "But we need to-"

I interrupted Freya unintentionally by vomiting. I heard the two of them stop talking, presumably to see how I was doing. As graceless as it was I instantly felt the pressure leave my head, expelling the pain.

"Trevor?" Zidane asked carefully. "Are you alright?"

I responded by vomiting once more before picking myself up on my shaking arms. I looked down and saw that I had coughed up mostly blood and water, no doubt from the injuries I had sustained while Kaiten was fighting. I pushed myself away from the mess and fell onto my back straining to calm myself.

"Yeah…" I said slowly at first to answer Zidane. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I looked up as a raindrop fell into my eye. I did a quick mental check of myself to make sure I was alright. After a few short seconds, I knew that I didn't ache anywhere, there wasn't any pain in my body and I could breath easily. As far as I could tell, I was fine.

As the rain collected on my face, I saw Zidane offer a hand to help me up. I took it and was on my feet in a second. I just looked at the others and tried to avert my eyes in order to avoid any questions they might have had. If the display from the last few minutes wasn't a sign that something was wrong with me, I didn't know what was.

"Ok guys, we might as well head out," I suggested as I walked to the exit.

"Hold it!" Freya called out from behind me. I froze, worried that she had finally noticed something. She always did seem like the most observant of our group. Curse her years of military training!

"Freya, I'm fine," I insisted as I tuned to face the others.

"Not after a reaction like that," she said forcefully. "You need to take it easy."

"But we need to get to Cleyra as soon as possible," I argued. "I'll be fine. I took an elixir, remember?"

"And threw up after it!" she pointed out.

"You really should just relax Trevor," Zidane agreed. My shoulders slumped as I heard him take Freya's side against me.

"Ugh, not you too Zidane."

"Hey, after coughing up that much blood, you should be amazed that you can even stand," he reasoned.

Reluctant to continue the argument, I laid my head back in defeat, looking up at the raining sky. "Fine, I'll take it easier," I said. "But can we get out of the city at least? I hate rain. It ruins my hair," I explained as I flicked a wet strand of hair from my face.

"Very well," Freya agreed. "But there's one thing you've got to do for me to feel assured."

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

XXXXXXXX

"You know, you didn't have to make this seem so dramatic," I protested as we crossed the plains outside of Burmecia. "It's kind of a comedy relief moment really."

The situation wasn't that bad really, but Freya had insisted on my getting some rest while riding Choco. Our chocobo companion didn't mind and I wasn't about to complain about not having to walk, but I knew Vivi was going to get tired before too long. I kind of felt guilty about taking Choco, since it was the easiest way for him to travel, not to mention the fact that Vivi liked riding Choco.

"After an injury like that, you should be thankful that you're not dead," Freya said. "Just stay still and get some rest."

By now, I knew how persistent Freya could be, so I didn't bother arguing. I leaned against Choco's neck and let my body just sink down. I was tired from all the fighting we had been doing, but I wasn't so tired that I couldn't walk. However, if I tried to fight it, Freya would just get mad and would start yelling at me again, which I didn't need. I decided to take it easy and get what little rest I could.

As our group walked, a small breeze came at me. It was only strong enough to brush my hair back, but I could feel it run along my chest from the hole in my shirt. It made me shiver and move my arm to cover myself. I was going to have to get a new one in Cleyra, not to mention new armor. The stuff Wayne had made for me was good, but Cleyra should have better. I'd enjoy seeing Dante's face again when he saw me wearing a brand new piece of mythic armor.

As I thought about my engineering friend, Zidane slowed his gait and started walking by my side.

"How're you feeling?" he asked. I turned my head to look at him.

"I'm fine," I said. It was true as long as you didn't count the Terran stuck in my head.

Zidane laughed with a smile of relief as I said this. "Good," he said. "When I woke up the first thing I saw was you with a hole torn through you. I was worried you weren't going to make it."

"Oh, me? I'm way too awesome to die that easily." I joked. "I'd need to lose most of my torso before I died."

"You were missing most of your torso."

"…Oh."

Zidane just laughed. I rolled my eyes and started laughing as well. Maybe it was just because I was relieved to be alive and with my friends, but I didn't see anything wrong with the situation as it was.

"Well, you should get some rest," Zidane said. "It's still a long way until we reach Cleyra."

"Right, right," I muttered. I watched as Zidane picked up the pace a little and walked up to Freya. I heard him beginning to talk about how to help the Burmecians in Cleyra get to Lindblum before I started thinking to myself. I just wanted someone to believe that I was okay. If it wasn't for that coughing up blood thing, I'd be walking like everyone else. I was stronger than this.

My thought began to race as I remembered the events that led up to this point. Running through Burmecia, fighting Beatrix for the first time, seeing Kaiten fight Beatrix through my own eyes as he possessed me. The whole thing seemed to blur together. And as if that wasn't enough already, I also had little to no skill in combat against humans, a war to fight against a very powerful nation, a psychotic bastard living in my head, this really disturbing reoccurring dream-

The dream!

The image of the burning house in the field of blood flashed by my mind once again. I sat up on Choco so suddenly that I nearly fell off. After a quick second, I righted myself up and inwardly addressed a question to Kaiten.

Kaiten, have you made any progress on finding anything about that dream of mine? I asked. There was a gruff replay as Kaiten's voice resounded in my head.

"And why the hell should I do that?" he asked.

Kaiten's curt response threw me back a bit, but I replied by pointing out: You said you would. I thought we agreed to help each other out until we found you a new body!

"I'll keep you alive, that much is true, but only because I'll die if you die. I'm not getting enough out of this 'partnership'."

Not getting enough? I asked, perplexed. But I have nearly complete knowledge of the game and I know a few things about sword fighting. That's like really credible Intel for you, isn't it? On top of that, I'm willing to help you get revenge on that…Hart guy, was it?

"Hart Innural," Kaiten corrected. "And don't assume we're friends just because we're stuck together. As soon as I'm gone, you can roll over dead for all I care."

Hey, you don't have to be an asshole about it!

"You've just been thinking about yourself! Asking me to spend my time for something for you! Try being a little less selfish before you start criticizing others!"

Selfish! What have I done that's selfish? I've allowed you to stay in my head, look at some of my memories to occupy yourself, and I haven't even complained when you took over my body and used it to fight! And all I ask is that you help me understand something that I don't! You're the one being selfish by refusing to help anyone else!

"Refusing to help?" he blurted out suddenly. "Do you even know how you survived that attack from Kuja?"

I recalled the image of myself lying back with my lung gone. Surviving that was certainly unusual, but still, this was a video game world. Maybe things were different here.

"Once I fell, it took all my concentration to keep us alive and you out of pain. You didn't feel any during that time, did you?"

I thought back and realized that I didn't feel nearly as much pain as I should have. There was some pain, yes, but compared to what it should have been, it was only a mild discomfort. I didn't know what Kaiten was getting at though. What did he do to reduce the pain?

So you're saying you gave me a painkiller or something? I asked.

"No." Kaiten said at first. "Since there are two souls in this body who can switch places in consciousness, we can transfer certain abilities back and forth. I give you my Chi attacks, you give me your memories, and so on. Not only that, but the physiology allows us to switch control and feeling of different parts of this body back and forth."

My eyes widened as I realized what Kaiten was talking about. If my suspicions were right, then I owed Kaiten for more than just saving my life.

So… you took control of that part of my chest and absorbed most of the pain yourself?

Kaiten was silent for a short moment before he talked back. "Do you have any idea how much it hurts to feel your lung explode inside your chest, but live to talk about it?"

I didn't reply right away. The anger I felt at the arrogant voice in my head before was diminishing, but it was still there, if only a little bit.

Fine, I'm sorry, I said with an agitated sigh. Let's just go along with the storyline until we get you out of my head.

"Fine," Kaiten replied. "And I did find something out."

What? I asked, unsure what he was talking about.

"About the dream moron. Try to keep up."

But I thought you said-

"I never said I didn't do it. Now are you going to listen or not?"

I didn't say anything back. I just sat still and let him talk. Kaiten took the silence in stride and began explaining his findings.

"So far, I haven't been able to find anything from before you were five," he said. "My guess is that something happened to you before then and caused you to block your memories. I've seen the same thing happen to soldiers after experiencing trauma."

I don't have any memories from before then? I asked. That's crap! I remember plenty of things from before then.

Hearing Kaiten tell me this unconsciously prompted me to recall some of the things from my early childhood, like playing with my friends or going to the park. In a way, it felt like I had to prove it to myself. The explanation, although disturbing, seemed plausible.

"Those weren't memories. Those things were from your imagination. Thoughts pieced together from stories people told you."

Hearing this was enough to send me over the edge. I was so stunned by it that I lost my balance and fell off of Choco. I landed with a hard smack as I hit the dried dirt beneath me. Everyone turned to see me picking myself up and slapping the sides of my pants to get rid of the dust.

"You okay Trevor?" Zidane asked as he approached me.

"Yeah," I told him. I was still a little shaky from Kaiten's report, but I could stand well enough. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't look like it," Freya spoke up. "You're awfully pale."

"Really, I'm fine," I said. I'm just a little tired from riding Choco here."

The large yellow bird let out a curious 'Kweh' as he heard his name. He cocked his head to the side, clearly wondering what we were talking about. I just patted him and turned back to Freya.

"I'll be fine. I just need to walk around and stretch my legs."

"I think you should keep resting," Freya argued. "I've seen too many people die because of over-confidence."

"Oh, he'll be fine Freya," Zidane said. "He just needed a short rest. Plus, Vivi's getting tired," he said, pointing at the little mage, who had taken to sitting down rather than stand like the rest of us.

"I'm okay," Vivi said. "I just need a minute."

"We need to keep moving," Zidane pointed out. "And the best way to do that is if Vivi rests on Choco and Trevor walks with us."

Vivi, Choco and I looked at Freya pleadingly, curiously and sternly respectively. She just rolled her eyes and turned away, tossing her hands in the air.

"Fine, do what you want," she muttered in defeat. "As long as we get to Cleyra, I don't care what happens."

With her back turned to us, Zidane, Vivi and I looked about ready to break into celebration. Vivi smiled at being able to ride Choco again and I gave Zidane a pat to the shoulder in gratitude.

"Thanks man," I said.

"No problem," Zidane said back. "Freya can just get a little bossy sometimes. You just need to know how to deal with her."

A second later, Zidane flinched as a small pebble flew into the side of his head.

"I can hear you," Freya reminded us, juggling another pebble in one hand.

"Heh, sorry," Zidane said, scratching the back of his head. I just smiled nervously and didn't ay anything, lest I incur Freya's anger like Zidane did.

XXXXXXXX

It was dark a few hours later.

We had settled down for the evening and were making camp as the roar of thunder resounded overhead. I winced, my hair still slightly damp from our trip through Burmecia.

"Great," I muttered. "As if we didn't get enough rain before."

"It's just a heat storm," Freya said. "Only thunder and lightning. No rain to worry about."

After a long day of marching, we had made pretty good progress. The giant tornado of sand surrounding Cleyra was faint, but visible in the distance. With another day's hard march, we could make it there before sunset.

Zidane was busy trying to get a fire going so we could get dinner started, which wasn't easy considering the lack of trees anywhere near us, and Vivi had fallen asleep while riding Choco. The two of them were napping on the far side of camp from the tent. Freya and I were setting up the tent as a crash of thunder came overhead. I gazed upwards to see a bolt of lightning soar from the air into a small forest across the plain.

"The wind pushes the dry desert clouds here into the plains," Freya explained. "The clouds then mix with the moisture Burmecia is known for and it fuels the friction. That's what causes the thunder and lightning."

"Huh, interesting," I said, only paying half attention. I loved science, but I hated learning it.

Freya and I had had a strained relationship ever since we met. I left only a few minutes after meeting her in Lindblum and she had been in a panic ever since we learned of the siege on Burmecia, which made it harder to get to know her. She was always leading us around as fast as we could go. Now that things had settled down, she was much nicer and easier to talk to.

"Freya, you mind if I say something?" I asked out of nowhere.

Freya finished driving a spike into the ground for the tent and looked back at me. "Sure. What is it?"

"I wanted to apologize for making you worry in Burmecia," I said. Freya's expression of surprise didn't shock me in the least. "I know you were just looking out for me and that you've probably lost friends to combat in similar ways, so for that, I'm sorry. I should've been thinking more."

Freya didn't say anything for a moment. She just stared blankly at me until she put a hand to her mouth and began chuckling softly.

"What?" I asked, confused. "Did I say something stupid?"

Freya calmed down before answering. "No, but I appreciate the thought." She tied the last rope of the tent down to the post she had just driven, finishing the project. "I've never actually lost a friend to combat, or combat related injuries, but I've had plenty of friends who were injured and just brushed it off, only to get hurt worse later on.

"I had a comrade named Seki once. It was because of her that I was able to make it through military training. We leaned on each other for support and sparred with each other daily. The only reason I became such a good Dragon Knight was because she was with me.

"One day, we went into battle to fight off a group of Bandersnatches that were attacking merchants outside of Burmecia. There were more Dragon Knights than monsters, but we still had our share of casualties. Seki was one of them."

I stood quietly as Freya paused in the middle of her tale. I could only imagine how bad it must have been fighting a whole horde of Bandersnatches. Those giant, pink, flat-faced dogs creeped me out. Seeing them in real life was going to be vastly worse than seeing them in the video game. She drew a long breath in before continuing.

"One of the Bandersnatches managed to break through our defenses at one point in the battle. It made a charge for Seki and got a hold of her leg before I had a chance to stop it. It bit down on her leg and cut through to the bone. I was able to kill it when it left itself open soon after that, but the damage was done. Seki's leg was severely damaged and she kept yelling out for my help.

"The monsters didn't last too long after that. It was a good thing too. If I didn't give Seki a hi-potion when I did, she might have died from blood loss. The wound closed up enough to stop her from bleeding, but not enough for her to walk on. She insisted that she was alright and that the pain wasn't that bad. I tried to get her to slow down and to take her time, but she wanted to get home as soon as possible. She only made it back halfway to the city before she collapsed.

"Her wound hadn't completely healed, so walking actually worsened it. By the time we got back to Burmecia, the wound had become so serious that it almost had to be amputated."

"Was she alright?" I had to ask.

"She was off-duty for a month before she was allowed back," Freya explained. "She nearly died, yet she just tried to brush it off like it was nothing. I got so angry at her that I didn't speak to her for a long time."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

Freya sat down on the other side of the tent before answering. She seemed slightly more fragile than she usually did. I took it as a sign of trust that she would show me this part of her personality, rather than her constant military-style attitude.

"I left the city soon after to search for my love, a proud Dragon Knight known as Sir Fratley. I haven't seen Seki ever since then."

"Oh…" I said. I didn't expect her story to have such a sad ending. It made sense that she would associate reckless behavior with seeing a friend getting hurt. I was going to have to be more careful in the future.

"But… such is life," Freya said passively. "Friends grow apart and move on. She probably died defending Burmecia."

Although it was a sad thought, I turned and saw that Freya was wearing a sad smile, looking up into the thundering clouds calmly. Somehow, she seemed…happy.

I smiled myself and tried to help Freya however I could. "Well, if she did die, I bet she took out no less than twenty of the Black Mages!"

Freya smirked at me and corrected me. "Try a hundred."

Our smiles both grew until they changed into chuckles, then soft laughter.

I didn't know if Seki really was dead or if she managed to make her way to Lindblum, but Freya seemed content with the memories she had of her.

And that was good enough for now.

XXXXXXXX

Well, I got this done over Spring Break, rather than go to Cancun or Florida like every other college student in the country, so you guys owe me! Leave a review on your way out.

:)

Just kidding. ;)

In other last minute news, I've decided to take advantage of Final Fantasy IX's ATE (Active Time Event) system. Since the party starts dividing in several situations from here on out, I'll be making bonus scenes and adding them to my livejournal page. They won't add anything to the story and they'll be pretty short, but I'm hoping that they'll be amusing little skits. This week's skit is: Zidane, the Chocobo and the Fire. Enjoy!