Author's Note: Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews. This is a long one so get comfy. I'm gonna take a break for a week or so, need to catch up with school. I know where I'm going to go with the rest of the story, so I just have to find time to write it. Enjoy and keep reviewing.

Chapter Twelve

"Hey, we knocked him out, let's do this quick," Blank hissed from the door. Zidane snapped out of the memory and turned toward his friend, pulling the hood of his cape over his head, concealing his face. He turned and followed Blank through the maze of the house. He was surprised at how elaborate the house was, full of dark, never ending corridors. They briefly passed a sitting room where they saw Cinna and Marcus with the advisor passed out on the floor.

"You guys doing okay?" Blank asked.

"Never better man." chuckled Cinna, leaning back in a comfortable arm chair and resting his feet on the back of the man on the floor. Marcus was at a table, searching through the drawers. Blank nodded and turned back down the hall, Zidane at his side. "Do you think she's okay?" Blank asked.

"I hope so. She's been trained as a fighter since she was three. She probably got away from him after we left. If we're lucky, she won't even be here. She'll be out on the streets somewhere, better than she'd be here." Zidane replied, following Blank as he turned a right down a hallway.

"Do you really think she'd fight her father?"

"You saw her that day, she'd fight him in a second. Her father hired people to train her, but he'd make her fight him every week or so. I guess that was his way of marking her progress. But she hates him. He killed her mother. She'd had it hard."

At the end of the hall there was a large, heavy wooden door, an empty hook next to it. "Ah damnit.I forgot," Blank cursed, stamping his foot.

"What?"

"We were watching the man when we robbed the house.the key to this room is on his belt. Just wait here." Blank turned and headed back down the hall. Zidane leaned his ear against the door, listening for noises on the other side.

"Ellie," he called, listening hard. "Hey.El?" There was no response. Zidane looked down the hall after Blank.

"Hurry Blank."

"Hey Blank, what's up?" asked Marcus as Blank entered the room.

"Forgot the damn key," he replied, leaning down and working the key free from his belt.

"Hey Blank, stop undressing the guy, we're just here for his daughter," Cinna snickered at him.

"Shut your mouth before I break it again pig," he replied, the three of them laughing as Blank stood up, twirling the key on his finger. He was laughing along with them when something caught his eye.something outside the window. A line of lights was moving down the street. Blank felt his heart stop, all the blood draining from his face.

"Guards! Oh shit!!" he yelled, turning and breaking into a run down the hall. "Everybody move out! Oh shit!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Zidane heard him yelling and running towards him.

"No.no! We're not leaving her again!" he yelled.

"I know I know," Blank said skidding to a stop and thrusting the key into the lock. He threw the door open.

"Go man! Hurry!" he said, running back down the hall to see if Marcus and Cinna were okay.

Zidane bounded down the stairs and stopped when he hit the bottom, stalling as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Suddenly Blank reappeared at the top of the stairs with a torch, illuminating the room, and suddenly Zidane could see her. His breath stopped in his chest.

Oh god, he thought, his eyes looking over her. She was chained to the wall by her wrists, much like he had been. Her head drooped and her hair blocked the view of her face. She hung limply against the wall, her hair mated with blood. He ran to her side and knelt beside her, starting to work the locks on her wrists. Tantalus had spent two tedious weeks practicing lock picking for this rescue, and now that time was on the line, it paid off. He got one wrist free and let her hand drop. She had been unconscious until then, and now she began coughing and waking up. She felt Zidane's hand on her wrist and she began struggling, pushing him away and screaming.

"Hey! Hey! Ellie! Ellie look at me!" he yelled, grabbing her flailing wrists and making her look at him. He saw her eyes focus in the dark and she became quiet as soon as she saw his face.

"El?" he asked, brushing her hair from her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. She was still a moment, then threw herself into his arms, one wrist still chained to the wall, holding her back.

"Hurry Zidane! They're coming!" Blank yelled from the door.

Ellie gasped when she heard Blank. "Not again," she whispered.

"I'm not, but we gotta hurry."

"Okay," she said, watching him work the lock. He was struggling with it, his hand shaking, until she reached up and guided his hand and the pick into place. Zidane could feel how weak her hand was, and was consumed with guilt for leaving her there. But he had no time to think about it as the lock opened and fell to the floor. Zidane bent down, picking her up in his arms. He struggled up the stairs, once again reminded that he wasn't how he used to be. Blank met him halfway down the stairs, and lifted Ellie into his arms.

"We gotta get out of here," he said, turning and running down the corridor with Zidane on his heels.

They were about to round the corner into the entrance hall when they heard the advisor's voice. They screeched to a halt and listened.

"Get off my property! I'll see you hanged for this!"

Zidane reached to his belt for his dagger, and peeked around the corner while Blank and Ellie hid in the shadows. Marcus was holding him at knife point, making him tell the guards to leave. Suddenly Ellie tapped Blank on the arm, and pointed to a door across the hall from where they were standing. Blank motioned for Zidane to open it, and it was a closet, a long dark cloak hanging next to some other clothes.

"I'll never get out of Treno if anyone sees me," she whispered to Blank. Blank nodded.

"Zidane, lets get it on her." They placed her on the ground, and she steadied herself against Blank as Zidane slipped the cloak over her head. She slowly lifted her arms through it, wincing in pain. She then pointed to the closet again. Her dagger that she always kept glinted in the dim light. Zidane slipped it back into her boot and then she nodded at them.

Zidane peeked back around the corner as they saw Cinna and Marcus lead the man over to his couch, sword and hammer drawn. Zidane and Blank each took one of Ellie's arms and slung it over their shoulders.

"Okay guys!" Marcus yelled.

They moved out from behind the corner towards the door and Ellie turned towards her father to look at him.

"Ellie! Don't you dare! You're regret it!" he yelled, and she pulled against Zidane, stopping to look at her father. She glared at him, her purple eyes not moving. The room was silent for a moment and no one moved. Ellie broke the spell, and pulled her arm off of Blank, leaning on Zidane.

"Ellie." Zidane said quietly, his voice full of concern.

"Don't worry father, I'm sure you'll just shrug it off as another hangover." she snickered, reaching up and pulling the hood of her cape over her head, and she turned back toward the door.

"Damnit El-" he began to yell, but couldn't finish his sentence, as he was cut off by Cinna hitting his head again, knocking him out. Blank slung her arm back over his shoulder and they all left the house, locking the door behind them. They hurred through the streets of Treno toward the port, Ellie keeping her head down as Zidane and the rest of the crew made light conversation, trying to look casual. They were quickly approaching the docks, and stopped at the check point.

"Five passengers, embarking for Lindblum, all set," the worker said, looking up at the group. He eyed the character in the cloak suspiciously.

"He okay?" the worker asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, poor little guy doesn't know his limit. Got more ale than blood in him," Blank said, patting Ellie on the back. She was smiling under the rim of the cloak, and groaned to add to the effect.

"Alright you guys, take care," he said, waving them on. They hurried onto the boar. Marcus and Cinna ran to the bridge and started the ship as Blank and Zidane led Ellie down to Zidane's room. They sat her on the bed and Zidane began to help get out of the cloak and Blank left to go get her some food.

"Took you long enough," she joked. He lifted the cloak over her head and set it on a chair. He smiled, glad her sense of humor was still the same.

"Why are we going to Lindblum? Did you go to Alexandria yet?" she asked.

"We go to Lindblum in case they realize we took you. They'll look in Lindblum and you won't be there."

"I'm going to Alexandria?"

"Yeah, until you're back on your feet and we can figure out what you're going to do." Blank came back into the room and set a tray of food on Ellie's lap.

"Thank you," she said.

"Dagger will let you stay in the castle, and hiding you will be no problem. Do you think Treno would look there?"

"I don't know, but with war coming, they'll be there."

"It won't matter if she claims sanctuary," Blank commented. "They wouldn't be able to touch her if she's under Garnet and Alexandria's guard."

Ellie nodded, and began eating while Zidane and Blank talked.

"What if they check the paperwork that went through the docks? Did boss smudge the names?" Zidane asked.

"No, it's gotten too hard to do. He said there were six of us thought and that one was sick and stayed on board. That was her. He went back early so that six wouldn't be going through the checkpoint at once, and since the shifts changed while we were in the house, no one was there to make the connection." Zidane nodded, understanding.

"We'll get to Alexandria in the morning. Get some sleep." Blank said, leaving.

"You go ahead and stay here. I'm going to go hang out on deck," Zidane said, getting up to leave the room.

"Thank you," she said when he reached the door. He turned and smiled at her, and left the room. She was asleep in moments.