Here we go, next chapter, enjoy.
Freya had forgotten how dank it was down in the Roo. Well, at least there weren't any more monsters, she thought. But all of the Gargant paths had been remade, so she had next to no idea where she was going, or where she was leading her party for that matter. But she had her hunches. Though it was hard to tell in the dim light, she thought she could make out muddy footprints that were quite similar to the ones she had seen when they first entered the swamp. So, they went in that direction, and found the place that Vivi and Eiko had left from. There was no cart; only tracks. Freya thought about the situation for a moment, then turned to address her party.
"All right, does any one here know about anything that Regent Cid has been doing? In the areas of steam travel, I mean."
One person spoke up. "I saw a finished prototype of a weird thing shaped like a Chocobo carriage, but it was a bit longer and had this big contraption in the back. I think it was supposed to be some sort of steam-powered device for crossing distances too short for an airship but too long for walking."
"That sounds great! See if we can get one of those things down here. If my guess is correct, we're going to need something fast like that to catch up with Eiko and her captor. Also, see if we can send some forces on an airship to the other end of the Roo. My guess is that they're headed to the Outer Continent. We'll stay here in case they decide to turn around."
With that, they all sat down and rested for a while, and a few of them left to go speak with Regent Cid. Further down the tunnel Freya was staring into, the Gargant that pulled Eiko and Vivi's cart had come to a slow halt, and was now snoozing. Somewhat ironically, Eiko chose this exact moment to wake up, and after standing, stretching, and yawning loudly, she kicked Vivi softly. In the midst of their kiss, they had both started slumping against the seats in the cart, and eventually they had both lost all of their energy and had fallen asleep on the floor. Fortunately for them, it was quite a roomy cart. Vivi stirred, and with a small moan, stood up.
"Ah, it was just you, Eiko. For a while, I thought an owl was pecking me, for some reason. Are we still in the Roo?"
She nodded. "Yup. And, by the looks of it, mister Gargant won't be awake for another few hours."
Vivi sighed softly. "Bummer." A loud rumble could be heard from his belly. Eiko snickered, while Vivi chuckled a bit.
"Guess I'm pretty hungry. What about you?"
"Yeah, I guess, but what are we gonna eat?"
Vivi smirked. "Just wait here."
And with that, he hopped out of the cart, Eiko sitting down and watching him. Walking back along the track, he looked along the wall for signs of vegetation. And, soon enough, he located some Gargant grass. Eiko guessed in disgust that Vivi would make her eat it raw. However, after he plucked a few stalks, he returned to the cart and held them at arm's length.
"What're you doing, Vivi?"
"Just watch," he told her, putting his other arm up to the stalks and sending fire magic through it. A fireball of sorts formed in his palm, roasting the grass and producing a delightful aroma.
"Smells good, doesn't it, Eiko?"
She sniffed it a bit, then smiled and nodded. "Yeah. But now it must be really hot..."
Vivi shook his head, chuckling softly. "Naw. I didn't use the fire to burn it; I used a special, magical fire to alter the taste. That special fire isn't very hot at all. In fact, I suspect this grass will be at the perfect temperature for eating."
Eiko's eyes grew in size a bit. "Wow. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!"
She snatched a few portions of the stalks and started munching them. Vivi hopped into the cart with the rest of them, and nibbled softly. Wow, she can really eat fast, Vivi thought to himself. As Eiko reached over to grab another stalk from Vivi's hand, however, she was interrupted by a low moaning sound and the head of a Gargant leaning down from above them to pluck all of the stalks right out of Vivi's grasp. Amazingly, it was able to hold on to the vine with only two of its legs, and bent downward with the other four loose. With that done, the Gargant went back up to the vine and started munching the grass happily. Eiko laughed, as Vivi looked slightly startled.
"Seems someone likes my cooking!" Vivi said, joining in with that laughter. Eiko smiled at him, blushing softly. "Two people, actually..."
The Gargant finished its meal and continued onward once again. At the other end of the tunnel, though, an airship was already landing, and a few Lindblum guards were making their way through the Roo. And, behind Eiko and Vivi, Regent Cid had showed up with his steam-powered transport, and they were already fitting it onto the rails. They would soon be off to get Eiko back. Little did they know that she had no intention of going back.
In the cart, Eiko and Vivi shared what little grass he had kept from the Gargant. Their lips met as they munched the last of it away, but Vivi had to break off to wonder.
"Eiko... didn't you used to love Zidane?"
Eiko looked startled, and blushed a bit, embarrassed. "Err, well, yeah, but I was just a little kid, and I had been alone for so long..."
Vivi stared hard at her. "Am I supposed to assume that I was your second choice next to him, and that you only like me because Zidane is married now?"
Now Eiko was just shocked. "No! Not at all! I told you, I was just a little kid! Besides, if I could go back and choose, having all of the knowledge I do now, I would probably have picked you over him."
Vivi's face softened up. "Really?"
"Really."
"Thanks, Eiko."
She nodded. "Any time."
Vivi reclined against the back of the cart. Suddenly, he remembered the search party.
"You know, there's no way we can hide from them. And when they find us, they'll probably throw me in jail or something. It really is too bad we couldn't have done this some other way."
"Don't worry, Vivi! I'll make sure that you don't get blamed. I'm a princess, remember?"
Vivi grimaced painfully. "That's what I'm worried about."
Eiko's face grew long. "Oh. I guess you're right on that... Vivi, I'm so sorry!"
Vivi dismissed the thought with a wave. "Hey. Don't worry about it. I don't blame you, okay?"
Eiko sniffed a bit. "Okay."
"Besides, what matters is that we're here, together, and having a good time, right? This has actually been pretty fun."
Eiko sighed in relief, smiling. "Yeah."
Vivi took a moment to take stock of his magic. He actually felt quite revitalized after that grass, and thought he could move them along at quite a faster pace with his Aero spell if they weren't attached to the Gargant.
"Say, Eiko?"
"Yes, Vivi?"
They stared into each other's eyes. Suddenly, Vivi didn't care about getting to the Outer Continent as fast as he could. In fact, Eiko seemed to occupy his every though, and she became his every concern. He sighed softly, leaning in close to her.
"I love you, Eiko."
Eiko smirked widely, and just before initiating yet another kiss, got the words, "That's what I've been wanting to hear," out. This time, they reached yet another level of passion, hands wrapped around each other, and searching for a place to get underneath so that they might start a back rub. As it happened, this was not possible; Eiko was in a one-piece dress, and Vivi was wearing his black mage outfit. Only black mages new how to put on or take off those particular kinds of clothing. So it was that they just gave hearty back rubs to each other, lips pressing together tightly around tongues that licked each other inside the other person's mouth.
This continued for some time, with occasional breaks to catch breath and other changes in the routine, with kisses going to necks and ears, and hands rubbing in different spots then the back. It was during this period of intense passion that the Gargant made its way to the end of the track, maneuvered its loop off of the hook, and made its way into the winding tunnels of the Roo. The two had dozed off into a light sleep in each other's arms, but unfortunately for them, were about to be awoken.
OH YEAH! Cliffhangers, baby, gotta love em! Now, if you all act as good, responsible readers, and review, maybe you'll get to find out some more of this super-duper story!
