Flames of Treno

"What? Whom ever could have gotten to my tower?" Dr. Tot asked, alarmed.

"Whomever it is, sir, he is still in Treno. Your tower was not the only building destroyed. The auction house, slums, they are both gone. I fear they may ruin all of Treno," Erin replied.

"Well, we shall not alow them! Let us go and save Treno!" Captain Steiner cried.

"Indeed, the city in dire need of us," General Beatrix joined in.

"What about Zidane? We just can't leave him!" Eiko cried, her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"I'll stay, it's only right," Dagger said softly, her gaze not leaving Zidane for a moment.

"No! We need your Eidolons!" Eiko said in a final sort of way.

"Who else can watch Zidane?" Freya asked.

"We need everyone's power; we will already be at a disadvantage with Zidane out of commission," Sir Fratley.

"I must command the Hilda Garde 4, and my wife has to drive the Prima Vista 2," Regent Cid said, alarmed.

"If we don't hurry, there will be nothing left to save!" Dagger cried.

"I-I can stay.... It's my fault Zidane got hurt in the first place!" Vivi said.

"No, no, no, that will never do. What if you go into Trance again? We also will need your enhanced black magic," Dr. Tot said gently.

"Then who will stay?" Freya asked.

"I will," a voice called from the doorway. It was Kuja. "I'll watch him, and you go. Do not fail, I want to at least have the dignity of being beaten by powerful foes, not a gaggle of weakling nitwits."

"No! Who knows what you'll do to Zidane while we're gone?!" Eiko ran to Zidane protectively.

"Well, dear, we're out of options, let us give him a chance...." Lady Hilda said softly, picking her daughter up.

"But-but-but, Mother!" Eiko stuttered.

"No 'buts', Eiko, we have no choice," Regent Cid said firmly.

"Yes, Father...." Eiko cast her eyes down. Regent Cid turned to Kuja.

"We are counting on you; do not betray our trust," Regent Cid stated, his voice thick with a royal tone.

"I will not," Kuja replied. Regent Cid nodded, and reluctantly, the rest of the warriors filed out. Vivi and Dagger hesitated, but Vivi took Dagger's hand and gently pulled. She shot a look that was mixed with sorrow and despair at Kuja before she let the young Black Mage lead her away.

Kuja shook his head and smirked. "That was too easy." He chuckled to himself and looked at his almost-brother. "This should be interesting."

~¤~

So, what's the plan? Vivi asked eagerly.

everyone else asked back.

Kindly, Dagger informed him, We don't plan. We'll face whatever's out there when we get to it. But we do split into groups, just in case. I'm going to go with Eiko because we're Summoners.

Her announcement alarmed Regent Cid. No, that doesn't seem good. Please, Dagger, Eiko, come with us, this is no place for children to go!" He had cried.

"I am no longer a child, Uncle. I am a queen now, and I have been through much. I can protect myself, I have my summons to help me," Dagger replied firmly.

"I am not a little kid either! I am a very sophisticated lady and I have Mog to protect me!" Eiko looked very cross.

"Then promise us that you'll both come back alive," Lady Hilda said softly.

"Done!" Eiko shouted.

Captain Steiner said, Vivi, you will come with General Beatrix and I. Do you know the magic sword ability? Vivi shook his head. I'll teach you on the way, Captain Steiner replied.

Freya smiled; it was her turn now. Sir Fratley and I, the Dragon Knights, will be pairing off together.

Next to speak was Amarant, who said, Lani and I, the bandits, will pair off as well. If Zidane were well, he would be coming with us.

Lady Hilda then said, Quinta, Regent Cid, and I will be on the airships, out of danger which is where children like Dagger and Eiko should be.

We already said NO! Eiko shouted firmly, and Dagger nodded in agreement. Eiko then grabbed Dagger's hand and dragged her off. Lady Hilda turned to her husband.

"I would feel better if Zidane was there to protect them," she whispered.

"As would I, Baku has good men working under him, indeed,"

~¤~

As Fratley led the group into Treno, at first all he saw were the tall towers of fire reaching out to the sky from the once-great city. His sharp eyes, trained from being a Dragon Knight, caught a part of something that had just scuttled past. He ignored it, thinking it could have just been a citizen. He led the parties in. Not until it was too late did he see his mistake. The city was swarming with Mistodon!

Mistodon! Quickly, split up, and whatever you do, do not let them catch you!" Fratley instructed, and the different parties parted without hesitation.

As it turned out, Vivi II was not the coward his father had been. While Steiner and Beatrix ran, he took the tail and cast spells at an amazing rate. Before long, two of the four attacking Mistodon were disabled, and one was dead. Beatrix saw this and stopped to help. Steiner followed. Within several minutes, they had finished the attackers off. Vivi gasped and sat down; he had been poisoned by one of the Mistodon's attacks.

"Master Vivi! We must get you help!" Steiner cried.

"I-I'm fine, and please don't call me that... That title is for my father alone," Vivi said as he tried to get up, but his body was so shaky that he failed and fell face first onto the ground. Steiner picked him up and bit back a chuckle.

"Master Vivi, I will always call you by your father's title because I can feel him within you. You are more like him than any of your brothers."

'No!' Vivi thought, 'I wanted to help my father's legacy continue, not become him! No! This is not right at all!'

~¤~

The summoners were making short work of the Mistodon near them. Eiko had quickly summoned Carbunicle, Madeen, Fenrir, and Pheonix. Dagger had followed by summoning Bahamut, Ark, Odin, Leviathan, Rumah, Ifrit, Shiva, and Atomos. The Mistodon didn't stand a chance. Not only did the Eidolons surround their summoners, protecting them, but they also attacked viciously. "Eiko, we better go help the civilians," Dagger whispered.

"Alright! Carbunicle! Ruby Light!" The shields surrounded the two girls as they fled from the fight. The Mistodons made no move to pursue; they were too busy fighting off the Eidolons.

"Eiko! I hear someone crying! It's coming from the slums!" Dagger yelled and nodded to Eiko. Eiko whistled and Fenrir came bounding in.

"Fenrir, go dig and see if you can find the person who's crying!" Eiko commanded. Fenrir howled and began to dig.

"Eiko, I'm going to see if I can find anyone else!" Dagger began, "If I don't come back... you get Zidane." Dagger called, " Leviathan!" Leviathan left the party of fighting Eidolons and joined Eiko and Dagger, who said, "Leviathan, let's circle the city looking for civilians." Dagger climbed onto Leviathan's back.

"See ya, Dagger! Be careful! Be careful not to come back! I want Zidane!" Eiko yelled back at her.

They both knew that they both were joking, so it helped lighten the mood of the current situation. Leviathan and Dagger had almost soared out of view when Eiko hear Fenrir howl. She spun around and saw a little boy in the rubble, crying. A moogle sat beside him.

"Mario? Hey! You're that moogle that told us about Alexandria's attack! Are you guys alright? Here, we better get you to the gate. Can you walk?" Eiko asked Mario. Mario shook his head. "Hmm.... Your leg is probably broken, um... this could be a problem," she noted as she saw a Mistodon coming towards them from afar.

She turned to Fenrir and asked, "Hey, Fenrir, you think you can carry us?" Fenrir nodded and barked. "Great!" Eiko helped Mario and the moogle onto Fenrir's back, and then got on herself, "To the front gate!" Eiko laughed as they galloped off, leaving the Mistodon in the dust.

~¤~

Lani and Amarant had no trouble with the monsters; Lani had set one of her beautiful machines on them to distract them. Amarant casually helped a noble woman up, handed her baby to her, checked them over, and led them to the other injured residents.

"Amarant, how can you take this so calmly? The city is burning!" Lani exclaimed as she helped a small boy to his feet. She had fussed over all of the wounded, and was shocked by the ruins of the once-grand city.

"And if I whine, cry, fuss, and curse, that will help?" Amarant shot back. He scowled at her as he cut through some fallen timber to get to the auctioneer.

"A lot has happened you know, just when I thought you had gotten rid of the enemy, you screw up," Lani stated. Both of them were in a foul mood now.

"We don't know who we're dealing with, how do you know we screwed up?" Amarant was getting a bit annoyed by Lani's attitude.

"How many villains that can to create spawn of the Mist do you know?!?! If there are more, tell me now!" Amarant admitted to himself that she had a point.

"......."

"I thought so," Lani replied, "Look, we better head back before they beat my machine," She pointed to her mechanical monster, now it was shooting sparks and had blown a few fuses.

"Right, lets split," Amarant helped gather the residents as they headed to the rendezvous area.

~¤~

Freya and Fratley leapt and dodged, Fratley was keeping pace, but Freya was gasping for breath. Freya tripped over a wooden pole that had toppled over, a Mistodon was on her in a minute

"Freya!" Sir Fratley cried.

"L-leave, go save the towns people.... I-i will be alright!" In her head she thought, 'You do not care for me anyway, you do not even recall ever seeing me before the destruction of...' Freya fought back tears, pain ripped trough her leg as a Mistoden clamped down on her leg.

"I refuse to abandon you!" Fratley cried as he began to advance on the attacking Mistodon. Another Mistodon jumped from a rooftop and blocked Fratley's path.

"Fratley, go! I can fend for myself, I am a Dragon Knight too," Freya yelled as she drove her spear into the monster currently casting Mist upon her. Fratley shot her a tortured look.

"I will come back for you, Freya, I promise," He said as he dodged an attacker and leapt a few feet away.

"I have no doubt, I trust you," She gazed longingly at him, and cursed the Mistodon keeping them apart. 'Perhaps he still loves me, even without memory, perhaps.... Perhaps Vivi, our Vivi, was right....' Sir Fratley leapt away into the forever darkened skies of Treno, Freya watched him until he was out of sight, and turned back to the Mistodon, to her dismay, half of the swarm was behind her, the rest surrounded the area, Freya didn't stand a chance, she never stood a chance and she had known that, 'Sir Fratley, be careful, stay alive...' Before she was ambushed by the monsters, she heard the sound of cloth rippling in the wind, she turned her head, she saw the flash of white clothing and the faint, but unmistakable form of a tail. Then, a horrible cry erupted from all sides as the Mistodon pounced. Freya's reality came to a screeching halt as darkness met her mind.

~¤~

The first at the rendezvous point was Eiko, Mario, the moogle, and Fenrir. Eiko called most of her Eidolons back except for one which would serve as protection until the others arrived, Phoenix, seeing that Mistodon can't fly. Soon, Lani, Amarant, and the few citizens they managed to save came to the scene, Beatrix and Steiner whom was carrying Vivi followed close behind. Eiko called Phoenix back.

"Where is Dagger?" Amarant asked.

"She and Leviathan went off on their own. Don't worry, Mistodon can't fly, Leviathan can," Eiko tried to smile bravely, but she was scared, Dagger had been gone for a long time. Just then, a great winged serpant landed, Dagger jumped off and helped an old man, Queen Stella, and the town drunk off.

"I could only find them," Dagger sighed, as she called Leviathan back.

"Well, I didn't have any better luck," Eiko replied as she pointed to Mario and the moogle. Dagger wasn't listening, she turned her head to the scorched skies of Treno. Flames licked the evening sky, the air was thick and foul. The fire made it seem like day in Treno, though it had been the city of eternal night. A soft 'thump' behind Dagger made her jump. She spun around and found herself facing Sir Fratley.

"Is Freya here?" He asked.

"No, was she not paired with you?" Dagger asked.

"Yes but...." Fratley closed his eyes, as if in pain.

"What happened to Freya?!?!" Steiner demanded.

"We were running from the Mistodon.... She tripped and they were on her in a minute. I began to go back for her but a handful of Mistodon got in the way. She told me to run, she told me that she would be fine because she was a Dragon Knight as well, so I ran, I promised I would go back for her, I am going back for her," Sir Fratley was preparing to leap back into the ruins of Treno when the Hilda Garde 4 landed.

"Hurry! Come on! The city is in flames, there is nothing you can do, bring those you have onto the ship, we have to go before those Mistodon come!" It was Regent Cid.

"We counted well over a thousand and there are at lease twenty thousand climbing up the mountain as we speak!" The Prima Vista transmitted to the Hilda Garde, "There are the most at the Terra Master arena,"

"That's where I left Freya! I must go!" Fratley began to leap but Amarant grabbed him.

"Yo, what are you trying to do, get killed? Your comin' with us, worry about your girlfriend later," Amarant said to him.

"How can you be so cruel?!?! Our friend is trapped in there!" Dagger cried.

"Do you think getting ourselves killed is going to help Freya? We'll come back for her! But now, we need to go back, lord knows what Kuja might have done to Zidane," Reluctantly, they all followed Amarant, They had to hold Fratley to keep him from going back into the city. No one saw the figure that silently crept to the spot where Freya laid, it's tail swinging side to side.

(Please thank DayShadow for her support and help on editing this chapter!)