[ Chapter II: "The Sapphire of Darkness" ]

Still located in the underground cellar, Zidane and Cinna are working their way through what seems to be the basement of a mansion. Outside the mansion in the garden. Baku, Blank and Marcus are anxiously awaiting for the two to deactivate the locks on the doors. They are getting very impatient.

"I win!" Marcus shouted.

Baku turned his eyes towards him and yelled "Shut up! Or would you like them to hear us?!"

Marcus regretted his deed. But then again, it was the first time in years he had won against Blank in Tetra Master.

"Now give me my Hedgehog Pie card back." He demanded.

It was custom in Tetra Master that the winner could choose one card of the opponent. Blank kicked some dust up into the air. He handed Marcus the card and looked at Baku.

"Now I'm beginning to get worried myself..." He said.

*********

In the basement, Cinna and Zidane have reached a door. It's locked and even Zidane's skills aren't good enough to open it.

"The boss will be so mad!" Cinna yelled while almost bursting out in tears.

"Cinna! Calm down! We just have to bust this door open with something else then." Zidane said.

"But with what?"

Zidane's eyes glittered and he said with a cool and calm voice, "Brute force."

"Here I come!" He yelled while running into the door. Armed and ready with his twin daggers. But it was a painful disappointment, Zidane bumped into the door. It didn't even scratch it...

"Well that was absolutely useless..." Cinna muttered.

The door screeched. Zidane was laying right under it, he looked up and saw the door coming down on him! Cinna was quick enough to grab him from under its path.

The two where now on the other side of the door. Zidane resting up.

"Thanks Cinna." He said while breathing heavily.

"You're welcome Zidane, hey you helped me back there too."

"Well at least we got that door open, now let's go on and find that switch!"

Zidane ran towards a stairway, Cinna didn't move.

"But err Zidane what if there is no switch?"

Zidane stopped, turned around and answered Cinna, "There's always a switch Cinna, these old manors are equal to ancient dungeons. And you know those are filled with switches!"

"Alright then!" Cinna shouted optimistically.

The two thieves ran up the stairway. Not knowing where they'd get themselves into this time. After a lot of running, Zidane and Cinna finally reached the end of the stairway. They where now in the mansion.

"Cinna, look out for guards. There are bound to be guards inside."

"You think so? Regent Wedge is known to think Lindblum is one of the safest nations around. And he rarely surrounds himself with guards."

Zidane was amazed, "Where did you hear that Cinna?"

"I red the Daily Lindblum paper once, there was an article about him in there." Cinna said.

Zidane opened his eyes from amazement and said "You can read?"

They each took a hall, Cinna the left one and Zidane the right one. Hoping to find the switch for the many doors connecting the mansion with the garden. Zidane looked around for valuable things he could pawn at the pawn shop. While Cinna looked for eatable things. Neither of them where paying any real attention to a switch of some sort.

Zidane almost bumped over a expensive vase, the sound of it falling would have woken up everyone in the manor. But luckily he caught it with his tail. He placed it back carefully, then his eye caught glimpse of a board with lots of buttons. He pushed one of them, the doors from the garden opened. And finally Baku, Marcus and Blank could enter the manor. "Finally," Baku said "you boys sure took your bloody time!"

"Easy boss, the most important thing is where all inside." Zidane replied.

"So what was it exactly we where supposed to get?" Marcus asked.

"Some sort of stone, it's really shiny and looks really expensive." Baku answered.

"Where did you get this job from anyway boss?" Cinna asked.

Just when Baku wanted to answer Cinna's question the lights went on. Where they discovered? Panic was the first reaction they all had, as they fled throughout the mansion. In search for a hiding place. Marcus was the only one who headed back outside. Zidane pushed the button for the doors, he hid himself behind an armchair.

Heavy footsteps sounded through the hall. Cinna, Blank, Baku and Zidane where awaiting for the person to come down. So they could find out if they where discovered or not. The suspense was killing them. Finally a man appeared, he was rather fat and had a evening robe around him. In the other hand he had a cigar, he was walking towards the liquor cabin. He yelled for his maid. The poor woman woke up from her sleep in the kitchen and hurried to her master.

"Having trouble sleeping my lord?" She mumbled, she had no trouble sleeping. That's for sure.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Make me something to eat, an omelette perhaps." He ordered.

The maid disappeared into the kitchen again. Baku, Cinna, Blank and Zidane where all hiding behind some sort of furniture. Regent Wedge sat down in his favourite armchair and took his paper. A copy of the Daily Lindblum. Poor Zidane was behind the chair. He was trying to see what Wedge was reading. The fat regent grabbed for a glass, as he already had taken a bottle of brandy from his liquor cabin. He poured some in his glass and took a sip. He was reading an article about the taxes, and how Regent Cid would promise to lower them. Wedge always despised Cid, but there was nothing he could do about it. Wedge's position in Lindblum was that of a lower-ranked regent. Meaning that he was the Regent of Lindblum when Cid would be absent.

The maid came back with her master's omelette. Wedge stuck it down his throat like a pig. Not even saying a thank you. The maid walked into the kitchen again, and Wedge was falling asleep. Zidane slowly crawled from behind the chair and gave the others a signal. He crawled over to Baku's position, which was behind a closet. Cinna and Blank crawled over there as well.

"Boss, I'll take care of the stone. You guys go outside." Zidane said.

"Oh no, Zidane I won't let you play hero again! You do this almost every time! And one day it'll be fatal! I'll send Blank along." Baku replied.

Baku and Cinna headed for the front door, Cinna opened it with the key that was laying on a small cabin in the hall. Zidane and Blank closed the door behind them and slowly walked upstairs.

"Where do you think that fat old man would put a expensive stone?" Zidane asked.

"If I was him I'd put it in a locked room, filled with booby traps and guards."

"Yes, but you have to remember, Wedge isn't you. And he's a retard." Zidane replied while walking to a door, he opened it saw Wedge's room and mss Wedge sleeping.

Blank took the next room, nothing there neither. And so the two went on, until the reached the final room. Zidane opened the door and walked inside. In the middle of the room was a glass container with a stone in it. It was purple, but much darker. Blank walked towards the glass, touching it with his fingers.

"Zidane, there's something fishy about this stone. It gives away a weird aura."

"Blank, don't be so spiritual. Let's grab the stone and escape with the loot." Zidane said while taking the stone out of the container.

"What loot?" Blank asked in amazement.

"The stuff you stole from here off course. What else?" He answered dead serious.

"WHAT?! You stole other stuff from here too?!"

"Well off course, what are you stupid?"

"But, but, but... But!"

"Don't tell me you never did?"

"...It never crossed my mind actually." Blank replied with a sad and disappointed voice.

"Here, I got this from one of Wedge's closets." Zidane said, while handing his old friend a Ralvuimahgo card.

"These are extremely rare?! I can't accept that!"

"Take it Blank." Zidane replied.

Blank took the card, Zidane was hiding a whole deck of valuable cards behind his back. The two headed for the window, Blank opened it and looked down. It was a long way down, but if they could run past the front garden and get over the fence they would be safe.

Zidane looked at Blank and offered him to go first.

"See you at the other side my friend." Blank said while Zidane nodded.

The red haired thief jumped from the window all the way down, landing on a soft patch of grass. He was ok, and ran to the fence. Zidane looked back at the glass, and then at the stone in his pocket. It was shining...? The stone emitted a purple light.

"What the...?!" Zidane said in amazement.

He placed the stone in his other hand and vica versa. The light from the stone wouldn't fade. He examined the stone closer. Zidane was in some sort of trance, he could do nothing but look at the stone. Blank was waiting for him. There was something wrong, Zidane was just standing there in the window opening. Blank was already at the other side of the fence, and he saw patrolling soldiers marching in the street. If they saw Zidane in the window opening with some strange purple light they'd be doomed.

Still there was nothing Zidane could do, the astonishing and bright light of the stone was all he could look at. Regent Wedge woke up, he decided to go upstairs and continue his sleeping there. He walked up the stairs, came into the hall. And noticed the purple light shining from the end of the hall. He woke up completely and walked closer to the room. He bend his head to see what was happening. He saw Zidane looking at the stone, the Tantalus thief didn't even see Wedge spying on him.

The fat regent ran to his room and took out his hunting rifle from a closet. His wife woke up and saw Wedge running to the hallway. When Wedge arrived in the room, Zidane was gone. He looked out the window, seeing Blank carrying Zidane on his shoulders towards the gate. With the stone!

Author's Note: There, I've put a lot more work in this one. After the events in the mansion the story really gets going. Look out for Chapter III: "The Scoundrel"