Disclaimer: I wish I could own Final Fantasy...mainly Balthier, Vaan and Basch...but then "Final Fantasy" would have turned out more like "Yaoi Fantasy" or something as equally uncreative as that.

Note: Yes! I'm still alive (what? No one noticed me gone?) and I bring another chapter as an offering. I have to get this off my chest...I hate Ashe. I don't know why, and I want you to know, that no matter how...um...intense a Basch/Ashe pairing may seem in this one, I will never pair those two together. If you want go on thinking about 'What if', and have Ashe have lots of Basch babies, I don't care. But this is just my bad planning showing...Sorry!

Chapter Four

'Penelo looked about with wide and terrified eyes, hugging herself just to make sense that she herself was even here. Darkness, pitch black darkness, surrounded her. She couldn't see a thing, not the hand she had waved around in front of her in hopes to find a solid surface, not the sweat damp hair that was falling about her face. She couldn't even tell the difference between having her eyes closed or open.

But she could hear.

Not that she wanted to listen to the snarls and the sound of something, something big, getting closer...and closer...

Penelo screamed in terror as something large, hairy and sharp nailed grabbed her and dragged her once more to her death.'

.:leGasp:.

Ashe woke to screaming.

Loud, ear splitting screaming.

And it was hers.

It terrified her that she herself could make that screeching sound come from her throat. Suddenly, the left side of the bed sunk a little as someone quickly sat down.

"Ashe! Lady Ashe!" As hands grabbed her forearms and gently but forcibly dragged her into a sitting position, Ashe lashed out.

She struggled against whoever held her, biting, kicking, scratching, and beating at the solid form. Whoever it was didn't really fight back, but they tried to hold her arms down. When that was obliviously not going to work, a sorrowful whisper of "Forgive me..." was heard.

Then Ashe felt something large, tough, and solid as hell smash into her left cheek.

Reality was slapped back into the young women. 'It was a dream! Nothing but a dream, a nightmare...' Ashe thought in relief, slumping against the person holding her up. A trembling hand slowly patted her on the back, a little unsure of what to do in this moment.

"Ashe?" Ashe knew that voice. Basch. He sounded worried. "Ashe? Please, answer me."

"Hmm..."Ashe muttered, liking the way his chest moved when he talked. It was comforting and warm.

"Ashe, what happened? Are you alright?" His voice was scared now. He probably thought he'd hit her to hard and killed her...

Which, Ashe had to be honest, was possible to happen with those hands.

"I'm...I'm f-fine..."Ashe mumbled, her throat insanely horse from screaming. She coughed a little, trying to get rid of the pain.

Basch took the cough as a sign of uncomfortable closeness, and let her go quickly to stand over her like the honorable knight he was. It was nearly pitch black in the room, but Ashe could see the blush covering Basch's cheeks like a beacon.

"What happened?" Basch asked gently, looking at her intently. Ashe felt her cheeks start to flame at the look. 'I acted like a child! Screaming at a nightmare?! What kind of Queen can I be if I can't even keep myself calm in my head?'

"It...it was nothing. A nightmare," Ashe explained quickly. "Nothing to fear."

Basch didn't look convinced. "You should talk about it. Dreams are said to convey our deepest desires...and fears..." He mumbled the end. Ashe's sub conscious was saddened, knowing full well he suffered from nightmares often.

"Well...I don't think it's that important...besides, we need sleep." Ashe said sternly. She really didn't want to think about what she'd seen in her mind, let alone talk about it.

"Sleep can wait." Basch stated firmly, once again sitting next to her on the bed. 'His bed' , she noted, growing somewhat annoyed as she remembered how he refused to let her sleep on the floor, or sleep in the same bed. Hell, he would have rented another room if one was available. Basch's bedroll was spread out on the floor in a disarray, proving how quickly he'd jumped to help her.

"Lady Ashe, please tell me what you saw." Basch pleaded.

"..." Ashe looked at the man who had somehow become one of her most trusted friends. Of course, she only had five or six actual friends...but that was beside the point.

Sighing as she looked a the almost puppy dog eyed knight, she gave in. "I was in a room, a dark room. Pe-penelo was there too..."

Basch nodded encouragingly, telling her silently to continue. "She...she didn't know I was there, s-she was b-b-blind..."Ashe shivered as she remembered the white eyes looking around fruitlessly. "Her clothes were torn and splattered in...blood...hers...ours...everyone's..." Basch gently patted her on the back, a little less awkwardly. He was calm as usual, but his eyes were wide, his mind bringing him pictures he wished he couldn't see.

"Then, Vaan ca-ame...He-he...oh god!" Ashe cried, tears finally flowing down her cheeks. She curled into the warmth of Basch's arms, startling the poor man nearly out of his mind. "He...he killed her, Basch! Slashed her throat like it was normal! He was Vaan, but, but he wasn't! Something is wrong, I just know it! Something is going to happen to them!"

"Ashe, please calm down!" Basch wispered, wiping her tears away like he was her father. He gently drew her into a hug, just to let her know he was there, to tell her it was fine, that nothing was going to happen.

Why couldn't her heart slow down and believe him?

"Ashe, if you're that worried, we could go and see the children." Basch commented, still hugging his Queen like she was a little girl once more. "They are fine, and I'll go with you to prove it. Please, calm down. Stop crying."

Ashe shivered in fear. Why didn't she want to see them? Why did her heart break at the thought of them, pale and damn near lifeless, not able to defend themselves against kittens? But, something told her she needed to go. Call it women's intuition.

"Yes...I'd like that, Basch." Ashe leaned back, and her Knight quickly let her go, still blushing like a cherry. "Shall we get ready?"

Basch nearly passed out when it finally dawned on him that he wasn't wearing pants.

.:OhWeAreOffToSeeTheWizard...OrPeasentKids:.

"Yes? What is it?" Ktjn sniffled sadly, looking at them. The young Viera had answered the door when Basch had knocked. She had startled them, with her even redder eyes and her heartbroken voice, she was obviously upset about something. "Oh, Lady Ashe, Lord Gabranth! What are you doing here?"

"We're here to see the children," Basch answered while Ashe nodded. "We would like to spend the night with them, if Migelo would allow it?"

Ktjn looked at them both, her lower lip trembling, then she sank to the ground. Basch caught her as she fell, his face full of shock and worry as the poor young women started to sob.

"Ktjn?! What is it?" Ashe asked, gently placing a hand on the Viera's back. "Has something happened to the children?"

Ktjn opened her mouth to say something, but only a sob came forth. She simply nodded as she covered her face with her hands, trying to cover her tears.

Ashe's voice was gone as well, her hand flying to her mouth. Basch simply took one look at his Queen, then quickly picked Ktjn up bridal style, and carried her inside. Ashe rushed past him up the stairs, ignoring the crying Bangaa sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

'No...please...no...' Ashe prayed as she took the stairs two at a time, trying to get to the top of the stairs faster. She tripped once, smashing her cheek against the hard wooden stairs, unfortunately on the side Basch had slapped, but got up once again and pushed on. The stairs seemed to long, much to long, even though she was at the top in seconds. The door to the room was ajar, but it took Ashe a moment to will her trembling hand to grab the door knob, and push the door open all the way.

The first thing Ashe saw was Vaan's bed. She looked at it for a moment, not comprehending.

Then she sank to the floor and sobbed with the rest of the shop as Basch made his way up to her.

.:VanishingInLargePuffsOfSmokeWouldBeAnAwsomeSuperpower:.

Fran had been up for awhile, sitting in her room reading a book on battle tactics. She couldn't get to sleep that night for some reason, and, simply for the fact that Veira's didn't need as much sleep as Humes, she gave up on trying to sleep.

'Something is here...' She thought, frowning as she looked out her window at the other airships docked alongside the Strahl. 'It is not disturbing the mist...it is simply...adding to it...I don't understand, this is has never happened before. Could I be loseing my ability to sense the mist as well?' Fran was a little worried. Was she going to lose something that important? She didn't know if she'd be able to funtion in the world without it.

Fran shook her head. 'Nonesense! Other Veira have been out of the wood longer then I, and they have not had this happen. I'm letting my fears get to me. But still...I cannot explain this...'

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the hull door. Fran looked out her window, which gave her a clear veiw of said door, and saw a very worried looking Basch standing there, pounding away on the door. Fran sighed. Really, had the Knight learned nothing from the time he spent in Balthier's company? The man hated being woken up from his 'Beauty sleep', as he refered to it.

Fran got up quickly, and made her way to the door. Entering the password, she opened the door with a graceful flick of a switch. Basch was nearly crushed as the door came down suddenly, but he hopped back just in time to avoid said disaster. Fran looked down at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain way such an honorable person was banging on someone's door in the middle of the night.

"F-fran!" Basch gasped. So he'd ran here, judging from the labored breathing and sweat. "Va-vaan! We need to...go as soon as possible! Vaan!"

"Captain, what are you talking about?" For once in her life, Fran couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Vaan! He's gone!" Basch stated, looking almost feverish. "We need to go to the sewers as soon as possible!"

Fran took a moment to store the information away in her mind, nod to Basch and turn on her heel. She had better wake the sky pirate...

Balthier, who had been dreaming of gold and beautiful women, was woken by two very long, very sharp, and very mean nails pinching his cheek.

.:OwwThatsGonnaSting:.

Notes: Wow...I didn't expect this chapter to come so quick (What the hell do I mean!? I've been taking my damn time with this story!!). I was expecting this chapter as the next one, at least, but Vaan really wanted to disappear... I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I had some fun writing it!

For anyone who is worried, Penelo and Kytes are still in there beds, and completely unharmed. Vaan is just...gone...where you ask? A good question, one of many you could be asking. One that I always ask when I play the game is "What Happened to Al Cid? Who is Balthier's mom? Are Basch and Vaan distantly related? Where the hell are Balthier's cuffs?! Seriously, I can't see any!! The damn man is losing it, and poor Fran has to be his babysitter...