Author's note: This is a compilation between Ceara Ivory and Asirainis. We do not own Final Fantasy IX! This is not a Disney crossover! Alex merely loves Disney to pieces.

Distant Memories

Disc 1 Part 4:

Airship Chase

Airlia left Steiner to his own thoughts as the trio of women went to the deck of the ship to look over the kingdom in awe. While the mist did obscure some, they were still able to see the land below. Garnet gazed in awe as she brushed a lock behind her ear. Yet all was not easy as Airlia frowned, putting a hand on the hilt of her sword. Something didn't feel right.

The handmaiden turned to Alex, "You never got a weapon, did you? Because of how quickly we had to move along." Alex shook her head as Airlia frowned. She saw a discarded mage staff and grabbed it.

Alex accepted the stick. "I'll be honest, I don't really know how to fight in combat." She looked at the weapon. "I don't know any magic either."

Airlia smiled. "It's okay Alex. I'm going to show you how to at least use it like a bo staff. It's not much, but at least it will keep you safe from harm for the most part. It keeps your enemies at a distance."

Alex gripped it like a weapon. "Um, okay. I'll do my best. And I think 2 was right. I feel something coming."

"Something?" Zidane asked. "What do you feel? Where is it coming from?"

Alex closed her eyes, pretending to feel the energy speaking to her, and pointed to the bow of the ship. Beyond it, in the distance, a large figure could be seen flying towards them at a fast clip. "Garnet, hide your pendant. It might give us away. We fooled one of them, maybe we can fool this one too."

Garnet quickly put the pendant in a pocket. "I hope we can. I think we should avoid all fighting that we can. Fighting draws attention."

Airlia nodded as she sheathed her sword and threw her cloak on to cover the presence of her weapon. She frowned. "I hope Steiner doesn't ruin this or he will be Rusty by name going forward. A reminder of sorts on what his hot temper does in our travels."

Zidane nodded as he growled at the coming presence. He didn't have to be a seer to know this one was really bad. "Vivi, stay behind me. He might not be like the last one we met."

Vivi nodded and Alex took a deep breath, preparing to welcome the creature aboard. Congenially, she stepped forward as he landed. "Good afternoon, friend. Tell me, do you know the way to Lindblum from here?" She asked politely, leaning on the staff she'd been given as if she might have a bad leg or ankle.

He growled. "I'm looking for the princess who had gone missing. Seems her handmaiden kidnapped her and she may be in terrible danger. So before I can direct anything, I must search the ship."

Alex nodded. "Well I assure you, there is no princess here. I do hope you find her, it would be absolutely terrible should something happen to the princess."

He shook his head, "No, I must search the craft. I promise to make it quick if you truly don't have her among you."

He peered at the woman deeply before moving to the next woman. However, when he came to Garnet, Airlia heard the unfortunate sound of Steiner's steps as he rushed up to the deck.

Steiner tramped up the deck, about to say the word, until he remembered Airlia's threat. He had no doubt she would make good on it. "Lady Dagger, I sense danger!"

Garnet breathed a huge sigh of relief for the moment. "No danger Guard. You are simply being paranoid as usual. This person is looking for a missing princess. Have you seen her? This fine creature seems to think she may have been kidnapped."

"Um…" Steiner paused. What was the right answer to this question? He was about to answer the question when the ship rocked from a moment of air turbulence.

Everyone reached for a rail when Garnet's pendant fell from her pocket. She scrambled to quickly get it before the winged visitor could see it, until he growled darkly. "You tried to lie to me. Wretches! Now I will make you all suffer for kidnapping the princess."

He turned first to Vivi and with a flick of his wrist, sent the poor lad against the cabin behind them. Zidane growled as he launched himself at the winged warrior, grabbing a small bag at his waist, and landed a small slash there to make him think twice before attacking his friends.

Airlia tried to run to Vivi until the creature growled at her. "You are the handmaiden then… My orders are to bring you in so that you might face justice. But they never said if it was alive or not…" He cackled as he moved around to face her directly. Sending a wave of ice at her, it hit her directly, sending her reeling backwards.

Alex ran forward, the pacifist in her determined to try and reason with the creature. "Stop please, this is all a big misunderstanding. Airlia did not kidnap the princess! Garnet and Airlia ran away and we've been helping them. Garnet must get to Lindblum, please listen!" Alex pled with the creature.

He shook his head. "Not the way I heard it girl. And since rumors of the handmaiden being trained by Lady Beatrix, she's known to be strong. Easy enough for her to force it, and make the princess play along."

He sent another wave of ice to stop the group from attacking him as he sent another magical pulse, pushing Airlia over the rail. "Aiiii!"

Trying to grip for the side proved fruitless as she plummeted towards the ground at a neck breaking pace. However, as she braced herself for death, something swooped over and caught her. Blinking, she looked up into the face of the one she had helped. "You… you saved me… why?"

She couldn't see his expression, but his voice carried to her as he raced towards the ship. "I knew you lied to me. I wanted to see why. I can tell I was lied to by Queen Brahne. Because someone with your kindness and intelligence wouldn't force someone to leave as a kidnapping victim. You helped me though you suspected that I was a villain. Now it's my turn to help you. Let's go."

Reaching the ship, he placed her back down on the deck as he turned to his kin. "She wouldn't kidnap the princess. We were lied to brother."

"Impossible! Queen Brahne would not lie. And even if she did, our orders are to bring back the princess," 3 declared.

"But Brahne did lie," Alex insisted. "I know Airlia would never kidnap the princess. We have to get to Lindblum because something is wrong with the Queen. We need Regent Cid's help to figure out what is wrong and how to help her. Please believe me. We lied because we wanted to avoid a fight."

Zidane stepped forward. "She's telling the truth. Queen Brahne attacked the ship we were on with a Bomb, with no concern for the people in the crossfire. What kind of good queen would do that?"

"While I don't think Airlia kidnapped her, I too think the Princess should return to the castle," Steiner voiced his opinion. "Her strange feelings about Brahne are merely nerves, paranoia. She should talk to the queen about this."

Garnet frowned. "No Steiner. I want to know why she cut off relations with Burmecia, with Lindblum. It simply doesn't make sense! I know I'm sixteen and I need to be married off. But the party… it felt like I was being shown off as an object rather than as myself! It's not right, not natural!"

Airlia nodded, "I agree Steiner. The queen who saved me wouldn't have done that with Garnet on her birthday. She also wouldn't have cut off ties with them. Then all of those footprints we saw outside that gate. How do you explain that?! More of it being 'just nerves?'"

Steiner frowned. "That was...some scourge...pretending to be the Alexandrian Army. Maybe to start war between our nations. Brahne would have never done that."

Alex reached up and pulled off his helmet and slapped him upside the head. "Wake up already! You blind, idiot!"

Airlia had to nod in agreement. "Steiner, it's okay with you not wanting to think ill of your queen, but I promise this. When Brahne reveals what she's really after, what then? What if she's no longer the queen you once served? What does the cost have to be? Garnet's life? Beatrix's life? Mine?"

Steiner looked down and away. "You...you haven't even given the queen a chance to explain herself. You just ran away. You didn't try talking to her or anything. Doesn't she deserve that chance? I can't think ill of the queen nor can I condone any of this without just cause."

Alex couldn't really argue with that logic, though she was surprised he was making a logical argument. "Well, we really should see Cid first. I think Garnet would feel safer talking to her mother if she had his support. Right Airlia?"

Airlia nodded. "I agree, Cid is wise beyond his years and he would know if our reason to be distrustful is just. Still." She turned back to the mage who had attacked her. "Are you still going to fight us now that you see why we ran?"

The mage paused. Almost like he was frowning in thought. "No, I can't blame you. I would be happy to guide you to Lindblum on one condition. That if Cid doesn't give you cause to stay from Alexandria, that you two return to the castle and deal with whatever problems you have with the queen. If he does give you cause to stay away, then we will not force you back."

Airlia smiled as she walked over to the mage and tended to his wound similarly to the way she helped Black Waltz 2. "Do you two have names by chance?"

"We were not given names. Simply Black Waltz 1, 2, and 3. 1 is down below currently deactivated because he failed his mission to locate the princess."

Alex scowled. "That's terrible. We happened to be one step ahead of him so that's worthy of being deactivated? Can he be reactivated?"

"You want to reactivate him?" 3 asked warily. "Why?"

"Because it's not fair why he was turned off," Alex said. "It's not his fault that they obviously delayed in deploying him. Don't you agree?"

3 looked at 2. "You are strange. And...why do you look like the princess?"

Alex shrugged. "Coincidence?"

Airlia frowned, it was true there was a striking resemblance except for a shade of hair color. But it was something that had to be put aside. "Does it matter? We should really go if we're to keep up our end of the bargain Black Waltz 3." Something felt funny, and she just couldn't put her finger on it for the life of her. And somehow, she feared, somehow it could end up costing our lives.

2 thought about it, "Yes, there is no harm in restoring him since it's obvious why he couldn't pick out the princess now at any rate. She had a double."

Steiner groaned. He realized that at any rate he was now without any allies in getting the Princess back to her home.

Zidane took the helm of the airship, now that they had no other obstacles. Save for one. "We need to figure out how we're going to get through. We have no gate pass. They'll probably try and shut us out."

Alex thought about it. "Black Waltz 3, how would you like the scare some humans away from their posts?"

Black Waltz 3 considered it. "Sounds like fun."

Black Waltz 2 seemed to smirk, "I will join you after reawakening our brother." He went down the stairs into the hull of the ship.

Moments later, the two came back up as the three mages prepared to take flight. Airlia rushed over to Black Waltz 2. "Please, be careful, and don't kill anyone!"

He turned and nodded his head before taking flight to scare the humans so his friends could get through the gate safely.

Alex watched them fly off. She always knew AI could be taught. "Give a machine true artificial intelligence, they always grow a capacity to feel as well as think."

Vivi watched them fly off. "They became our friends instead of our enemies. How did you do that?"

Alex looked back at him. "Did I do something strange?"

"Here, if we're threatened we just fight, you talked," Steiner said.

"I don't know," Zidane said. "I think she did good reasoning with them. That could have been a really nasty fight and who knows what could have gotten hurt or busted. We really didn't want to fight on this thing."

Garnet nodded in agreement while Airlia just observed. They had both changed three enemies into allies. This could get very interesting if the queen really does have ill intentions for Garnet. The flight had gone smoothly until they saw the gate where people were running in fear from the Waltzes doing their work to create fear amongst them. Finally, they could head towards Lindblum at long last...