Separation Anxiety By FlowerPower1o1

A/N: I'm so happy! I made someone's favorite story list! General- Beatrix666, you made my day *grin*

Okay, so weird things amuse me. Get over it and read the new chapter :)

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Chapter 6 - The Battle Of South Gate

"Damn it!" Eiko said as the new Black Waltz began blasting his way toward the Hilda Garde 4. "Quina! Keep the ship steady!" Quina saluted as Eiko, Vivi, Blank and Amarant ran out on deck.

"Oh look, it's my new play toys," Black Waltz 2-3 said as the four advanced on the deck, falling into battle stances. "I didn't realize it was playtime."

Eiko raised her Angel Flute, prepared to cast her White Magic at a moments notice. "Why are you doing this!?" she shouted. "These are innocent people!"

"My master was innocent, too," the Black Waltz said. "At least, that's what he says. I tend to not believe him, but you know how it goes . . . he made me, and now I must obey."

"Four to one," Vivi said as he twirled the Mace of Zeus. "It could get pretty pointless.

"Four to one?" The Black Waltz reared its head back and let out a shrill scream. In that instance, a number of Black Waltzes rose over the mountain and advanced on the airships grouped around South Gate. There were probably thirty of them in all.

It was a Black waltz army.

"Count again," Black Waltz 2-3 laughed as he cast Flare Star.

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Beatrix shattered the door leading down into the factory with her Save The Queen sword and hurried down the path. She had been in charge of the group of soldiers that sealed this place up six years ago, and she had the layout of the entire factory in her head.

What she wanted was in a small room next to the Mist Engine.

A Black Mage appeared in front of her, and Beatrix raised her sword. Part of her wondered if it was really a good idea, coming down here with an unknown number of Black Mages lurking about. Another part of her wished that she was still in Trance.

Another part cast Stock Break, slicing the Mage in half.

Beatrix ran forward silently, coming to the chamber with the Mist Engine. There were two more Black Mages in this room, which she quickly took out with her Climhazzard attack. Then she twirled and kicked open the door behind the machine.

Yes! It was still there - the teleporter that Kuja had used to transport his Black Mage soldiers to the Desert Palace. It was like the teleporters on board the Red Rose, docked at Alexandria Castle. You thought about the place you wanted to go, and it took you there.

The cave rumbled, sending sand and small rocks sifting to the floor. Beatrix jumped out of the doorway and onto the teleporter, pressing a button. iLindblum Grand Castle/i, she thought.

The general slowly disappeared from view.

Two seconds later, the caverns collapsed, swallowing the village of Dali and every citizen and Black Mage within.

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"Fenrir!" Eiko screamed, holding up a Maiden Prayer. "Manipulator of Earth and Air! Come to me now! Grant me the powers of your primal wind to crush my enemy!"

A torrent of green-tinged air swept around Black Waltz 2-3, threatening to blow it away. The attack, however, did minimal damage to it.

"Let me show you a wind attack!" Black Waltz 2-3 shouted. It held its hands out and yelled "Snort!"

A part of Eiko's mind realized how ridiculous this attack was, since the only creatures she had fought that had a Snort attack were Yans. Then she was blown across the deck and out of sight.

"Damn!" Amarant said. He pulled back his arms and summoned his Demi Shock ability, casting a dark ball of energy around Black Waltz 2-3. The creature laughed as it shattered Amarant's energy.

Blank reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny white sphere. "Hey, Waltz!" he shouted. The Waltz looked over, and Blank flung the ball into his face. It erupted in a loud BANG! And a rush of fire. Black Waltz 2- 3 shrieked as his robes set on fire and summoned a Water spell on himself to put out the flames.

"Baku's been experimenting with the stage tricks we use in the plays," Blank said to Vivi. "He made a defective batch that actually wound people instead of doing nothing. I brought a bunch of them along. Figured they would come in handy."

"That's what you think!" Black Waltz 2-3 shouted, casting Flare on Vivi. The Black mage was thrown back by the force of the attack.

Then his body started crackling with energy.

Vivi had grown in the past six years. At the age of 15, he was nearly as tall as Zidane had been at that age, although he still wore the same shabby blue felt coat, orange shirt, pointed yellow hat, and green and white striped pants. Somehow his clothes grew to fit him.

But when the glow of Trance faded from him, Vivi was almost twice as big as Black Waltz 2-3, dressed all in purple. He had white wings, like a giant dove, and his eyes were glowing twice as bright as normal. Amarant and Blank gaped at him as the Black Mage fluttered into the air, twirling his staff.

"ULTIMA!"

Magic too powerful to be controlled flew from Vivi's outstretched staff. The only other time in history that this spell had been cast, it had destroyed Memoria, but somehow the Black Mage retained perfect control of it. The killing magic swept out in bolts, striking Black Waltzes that were flying through the air. Many of them vaporized instantly. A few of them staggered in the air before dropping to the ground.

Black Waltz 2-3 was blasted with the largest bolt of all, but somehow withstood the brunt of the force. "You're . . . stronger than my master . . . said . . ." it gasped.

If Vivi had lips, he would have smiled. "Then give your master my regards," he said, raising his staff for another spell.

"BLUE SHOCKWAVE!"

Black Waltz 2-3 screamed as the energy went through him, reducing his energy to the lowest it could possibly go and keep him alive. Amarant walked over to the writhing creature and put his Rune Claws through his head. The Black Waltz's clothes collapsed as a dark shadow blew out of its body, disappearing into the air.

There was another crackling sound, and suddenly, Vivi was Vivi again.

"How did I do?" the little mage whimpered before passing out.

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"Any minute now," Eiko said to herself from where she hung, "they'll remember that I exist and come rescue me."

The 12-year-old had been extraordinarily lucky by grabbing an outstretched metal rod at the rear of the ship. It was meant to stabilize the ship for turns, and now Eiko dangled from it, unable to grab her Angel Flute from her belt to summon Phoenix and lift her away.

"YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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Beatrix teleported herself right onto the elevator while Regent Cid and his wife Hilda were riding it down from the upper level.

"Woah!" Cid said, lifting a spanner over his head as Hilda raised her hand, preparing to cast her Red Magic. They both relaxed when they recognized the general.

"How did you get here?" Cid asked the general as she became oriented with where she was.

"No time to explain," Beatrix said. "I must find Eiko and the others immediately!"

"We just received a dispatch from the Hilda Garde 4," Hilda said. "They had a . . . delay at South Gate. They'll be here momentarily, docking at the airship dock in the mid level. We'll be arriving there any second."

"Wonderful," Beatrix said. "I have just come from Dali - or rather, what's left of it. The Black Mages did a number on the town. There was almost nothing left when I retreated."

"Black Mages!" Cid said. "What is going on?"

"You've heard about Zidane being kidnapped?" When Cid and Hilda both nodded, Beatrix said, "Well, his kidnapped seems to want total domination of Gaia, and he's using Zidane as bait to get a summoner to rescue him so he can remove her eidolons. He's looking to start a full-fledged war."

"So that's where Eiko's been all day," Cid said. "It's nearly night now. You might want to stay in the castle's guest bedroom tonight and set out early again tomorrow."

The lift hissed to a stop as it arrived at the mid level.

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Steiner didn't realize that his queen was missing until he went to inform her that the banquet with the nobles of Treno and the dignitaries from Lindblum and Burmecia and found her room empty, her White Mage cloak gone, and the windows to her balcony open.

"She's been kidnapped too!" Steiner cried when he noticed that none of Queen Garnet's clothes had been packed. He may have believed that the Queen wanted to leave after being confined in the castle for so long - she had always had a bit of a wild streak, even before her adventuring days with Zidane. But she would surely pack extra clothes and at the very least inform her protector of her departure. Whatever else Garnet was, she was responsible.

Steiner rushed to the barracks and rang the bell that summoned the Knights of Pluto. Even as he gave orders to scour the city for the Queen, his brain was thinking.

iMy Queen . . . Dagger. I know you can take care of yourself. Please be safe. /i

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Amarant rushed from the platform, carrying the limp form of Vivi. Behind him came a distraught looking Blank and an irritated, windblown Eiko. Behind all of them came Quina, who sniffed everything she saw.

Beatrix rushed forward with Cid and Hilda behind her. "What happened?" she said.

"We were attacked," Amarant said shortly before continuing past her.

"We can put him in the guest bedroom," Cid said as he guided the tall man back toward the lift. "You can all stay there for the night - I know what the inn down in the business district charges. And perhaps in the morning we should have a council of war."

WAR. It was just an expression, but the word echoed in each of their minds for the rest of the night.