#Ok sorry for the long wait, I've been EXTREAMLY busy, I'm hoping none of you are THAT mad at me heh-heh#
Chapter Six: The Origin of the Waltzes, and Garnet's Plan
Everyone sat around the table, anxiously awaiting Kuja's explanation about Vivi. Vivi sat, rather awkwardly, in a chair seated next to Eiko. Sarah was sitting on his lap, and holding Eiko's hand. Beside Eiko was Beatrix, then Steiner, after them were Hilda and Cid, at the head of the table, then Zidane and Garnet, then an empty chair, then Kuja, then Quina sat next to Vivi.
"Now then..." Kuja began, "This is what I can remember"
"It was back when Garland first sent me to Gaia; I had found a way to extract the magical properties of the Mist to create beings of pure darkness, Black Mages, I called them" Kuja looked to Vivi as his head slumped down, obviously remembering about what he was made to do. Kuja continued.
"I was working into the night as I pulled together the final preparations to bring forth the first Black Mage. As I started the experiment, I added something very interesting to the mix-"
"Will you stop that" Eiko interrupted, everyone turned to look at her.
"What do you mean?" Kuja questioned.
"Will you please stop talking about it like you're creating a potion? Vivi's a person, not a thing"
"Yes...You're right, forgive me Eiko, Vivi" Vivi nodded to Kuja with a small smile, and then turned to smile at Eiko, silently thanking her for what she had said.
"Anyway, when I preformed the experiment, I...added to him, a piece of something, something known as, a Star Fragment. A Star Fragment is a key part in the worldly order of the Qu clan. Quina, I believe you know more of it then I do?" At this Quina nodded. Each member in the room looked to him. Quina looked at everyone with a confused look. After a moment of silence Zidane spoke up.
"Well, are you gonna tell us?" Quina looked at Zidane and shook his head no.
"No! Why not?!" Steiner yelled as he stood up.
"...Quina forget" there was a collective sigh as this was said and as Steiner sat back down. Kuja chuckled to himself, and then looked to the others.
"Well then, if that's the case I will continue. You see, the Star Fragment is supposed to be a powerful item that can purify any person, place, thing, you name it. When it was added to Vivi, though then I called him prototype, it changed him. The prototype was smaller then I wanted it, and it seemed to act as if it were a child" Kuja's eyes floated to Vivi, "I soon figured out what I did and was able to replicate it, without the effects that the first one had given me. Also, as everything went on, I also figured out that eventually, if things were to go as planed, they would become as human as possible, which, as I see, is fairly close"
"So wait, are you saying that the Star Fragment you put in me is what turned me human?" Vivi asked.
"Basically, yes, but it did more then that, it purified you, you see? It made you have a soul, a heart, all of that. It's why you are what you are"
"Wait, I have a question" Dr Tot's voice rose out. He had gone to the Airship Hanger to look at the new airships when he heard of Vivi's transformation and ran down to find out as much as he could, "The Star Fragment is what turned him human, correct?"
"Yes"
"Well, then why does Vivi have wings?" Everyone once again looked at Vivi's wings, then to Kuja.
"Well, you see, when I first started creating the Black Mages, I...Sigh, you're making this hard on me Eiko...placed a bit to much Black Magic into them, and they became a higher powered form of Black Mages. I named them, the Black Waltzes"
"So-so I'm a Black Waltz?"
"Yes Vivi, you are, I'm sorry" Vivi looked down. As he did, Sarah looked back at him, and touched his face causing him to look up.
"Don't worry Uncle Vivi! I still love you! You're a very pretty Watses!" She said grinning the whole time. Vivi chuckled at her way of saying the word Waltz, and then gave her a hug.
"Thank you, I love you too little one" Everyone smiled at this, and chuckled to themselves. Eiko smiled and looked at Vivi hug the little girl, and began to feel her mind wonder; herself in that hug, Vivi's amber eyes looking down at her lovingly, but then she quickly shook herself out of it. 'Where'd that come from?' she thought to herself, she then turned back to Kuja as he continued his story.
"After I created them, the first mage I created started to show more signs of emotions, such as hope, and caring and, being how I was before, I began to worry. Though the other four Waltzes were showing emotion's as well, they weren't showing what the first one was. As time when on, I began to give them names, though I named the other Waltzes numbers. I named the first two actually names. The first I named Xtradorin, whom the other Black Waltzes called X"
"That's what the other guy called him!" Eiko yelled as she stood, then quickly covered her mouth.
"Who called him that Eiko?" Hilda asked. Eiko looked at Vivi. Vivi just nodded to Eiko, then turned to the others as he began to tell of what happened, Eiko then joined him as they told the story to the others.
"What?!" Cid yelled as he stood up as the finished, his face fuming.
"Why didn't you guys tell us about this when you came in?" Beatrix asked, her voice sounded worried, which was unnatural for her.
"Because they knew I'd tell you all about it later" a voice said from the window at the side of the room. Each head turned there to see the silhouette of the intimidating, yet familiar form of the red haired assassin.
"Amarant!" Zidane said as he stood to greet his friend. Amarant smile a little as Zidane's hand slapped his shoulder.
"It's been a while" Amarant said. After a heartfelt greeting from everyone, he stood next to Vivi, examining his wings.
"Hn...They looked different from a distance" He said as he touched one of the feathers, and then sat in the empty chair next to Kuja.
"Wait, you saw what happened?" Eiko asked.
"Yeah, I was going to help, until I saw Vivi's wings grow. Then I figured that he would have a better chance then I would" Vivi and Eiko nodded understanding.
"How long have you been there Amarant? How much have you heard?" Kuja asked.
"Long enough and I heard everything"
"Alright, so then, as I was saying, I named Vivi Xtradorin, and I named the second Waltz I created Lukam, who was named later Zero by the other Waltzes, this is who I think you met today Vivi"
"Yeah, he seemed to know a lot about me, more then I did anyway"
"Wait" Garnet said, "You said that you replicated the experiment to create the other black Waltzes, but you also said that Vivi was the only one that was 'Purified'. How come?"
"Well you see" Kuja began, "When I did it again, I couldn't use another Star Fragment-"
"Why not?" Cid asked.
"Well, there's...only one..." Kuja said as his cheeks turn a tad pink. Everyone nodded, but Vivi made a mental note to ask him about it later. "So you see I had to use another material. For the Black Waltzes 1-3, I used shards of a material called Magicite to bring them to life, and Lukam...I used...something else"
"What was it?" Eiko asked.
"Oh, nothing important, really!" Kuja said as he began to get a bit nervous.
"Brother? What was it?" Zidane asked as he placed a hand on Kuja's shoulder. Kuja sighed and looked at everyone.
"I didn't use Mist to create Lukam...I used...the essence of Ozma..." as he said this there was a great mummer in the room. Zidane, Vivi, Steiner and Freya each looked at each other as they remembered this creature, the giant mass of dark energy that had taken over Chocobo's Paradise. They had a run in with him before, hardly escaping with their lives, Ozma had disappeared, but no one knew whether or not he was truly defeated.
"That explains why he could cast Doomsday" Vivi said as he placed Sarah on the floor. Sarah ran to her mother and Beatrix took her in her arms.
"Yes, it does"
"Wait...If he was created from Ozma...then...Oh no!" Eiko quickly said as she looked to Garnet for conformation. Garnet looked at Eiko confused for a bit, and then gasped.
"Ozma's created of pure dark energy!" Garnet looked to Zidane, and Zidane just sighed as he looked to the ground.
"That's right...I don't think Zero is gone just yet" Kuja said.
"This is nuts..." Vivi said
"I know what you mean"
"Well...what do we do then?" Zidane asked. Cit coughed as rose from his seat.
"Nothing" Cid spoke, "For now, we must be happy for Vivi's feat, but unless this Zero makes himself known, we shall make no move to get him, for all we know he could be dead". Everyone took in what he had said, and realized he was right, it was only a theory that he may still be alive...still.
"Kuja" Vivi's voice rang; causing each in the room to look to him, "If he does come back, what should we do". Kuja looked at Vivi with sad eyes, then to the floor as he murmured three words that Vivi didn't hope to hear: "I don't know...". Vivi looked down to the ground.
"Wait, Kuja" Steiner asked, "Um, if Master Vivi is now a Black Waltz, does that mean his wings are permanent?"
"No" Kuja smiled a bit at this, "When I first made the Black Waltzes I didn't know they had wings, it just seemed to happen as they progressed, Zero was the first to get his wings, then Black Waltzes 1-3, as far as I saw, X, or Vivi, had never gotten his wings. It was then that I ordered Black Waltz #3 to take Vivi away and...Dispose of him". People gasped as this was said and looked to Vivi. "I'm terribly sorry Vivi". Vivi shook his head and smiled.
"What's done is done, it's alright, don't worry about it" Kuja nodded and smiled.
"So, then Vivi was found by Quan and was raised to be like he is now, correct?" Dr. Tot asked.
"That's correct" Kuja said with a nod, he then turned to Vivi, "I was told by Lukam that the way to get rid of the wings was very simple, all you had to do was concentrate on them disappearing, and to get them to reappear, concentrate on the opposite, why not give it a try Vivi" Vivi nodded, stood and walked a small bit away from the group. He turned, faced them and closed his eyes. After a small bit of silence, and Vivi looking like he was gonna bust a vein, Vivi sighed and looked to the group.
"I guess I can't do it"
"Don't worry Master Vivi, all it takes is practice!" Steiner said encouragingly.
"Yes, but I don't think now is the time for it" Cid said as he walked over and placed a hand on Vivi's shoulder, "Now, it's late, we should all turn in for the night". Everyone agreed to this as the each stood from the table. As each left the said something encouraging to Vivi, and also thanked Kuja for his explanation.
#Outside Lindblum#
He hurt...He hurt a lot, but it wasn't the first time, soon it would subside and he would continue what he had be doing for three years. He climbed to his feet, the pain in him was already subsiding, and he could feel his wounds healing. He looked around and saw his steeple hat lying on the ground a few feet away. He walked over and picked it up and looked at it. It would need fixing. The steeple was broken and it bent down at the front of the hat. He sighed and placed it on his head. The point of the steeple now came to his right cheek. He picked up his staff and looked around him.
He was in a forest; he looked up and saw the high walls of Lindblum. He stretched out his wings then cringed as a sudden pain filled him. He looked back and saw on of them was broken. It would heal, but not fast enough. He closed his eyes and concentrated, suddenly a small glow surrounded him as the wings made there way into his back. He sighed after the glow died and looked to his left. He began to walk. In his eyes a fire glowed. He would find X...if it was the last thing he did.
#Later that night, in Lindblum#
"Dang it...I just can't do it" Vivi said as he and Eiko stood out on the balcony where the telescope is. Vivi sat down on the bench and turned to look out at the city.
"Come one Vivi! I know you can do it!" Eiko ran to look Vivi in the eye. Vivi turned to see Eiko's grinning face and began to chuckle.
"Thanks Eiko, but I think I'm done for the night, I don't wanna hurt myself, remember" he said with a small smirk.
"What do you mean?" Vivi turned to her.
"Don't you remember, it was when I was eleven, your dad gave you the day off so you and I could spend the day together, since we hadn't seen each other in a long time, and when we went to go eat, I couldn't figure out what to get, and you said 'Don't think to hard, you might hurt yourself', remember" Vivi chuckled to himself as Eiko looked confused, then also began to laugh.
"Yeah now I do!" She sat down next to him on the bench.
"That was a fun time"
"Yeah, we played tag then too" Eiko began to giggle, but stopped when she saw the grim look on Vivi's face. She knew what he was thinking, it's something she learned to do while being with him for as long as she had. She bit her lip as she thought. Then she put her face in Vivi's line of view, which startled him a bit.
"Hey, don't look so down, it wasn't your fault" Vivi smiled at this, he didn't know how she knew what he was thinking about, but he was happy she could tell, no matter where she got it from, but then frowned again as his mind wandered.
"It's not that...really..." He said as he looked out to the city. Eiko looked at him quizzically.
"What do you mean?"
"Well...I mean, I was really worried when he took you, I mean, I had to have been right, to make these come" He quickly pointed back to his wings with a small smirk, "but I mean...I don't know what I would do if you were taken away..." Eiko looked at Vivi for a bit, then lightly smiled.
"Vivi, look at me" Vivi moved is head to look at her. After his eyes were square with hers, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. Vivi was surprised at first, then smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. They stayed like that for a little bit until Eiko said something.
"Thanks Vivi, and don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, you can count on that"
"...Thanks Eiko" With that Vivi, reluctantly, let go of Eiko as she did herself let go of Vivi. They sat there smiling at each other for a little until Vivi turned his head to look down at the city below. Eiko continued to look at him, and then sighed.
"Well, I'm going off to bed" she said as she stood up.
"Alright" Vivi said looking at her.
"We'll try again tomorrow, ok?"
"Yeah of course" Vivi smiled. Eiko smiled back then turned to walk away, but stopped suddenly. She looked behind her to see Vivi looking back out to the city. Quickly she walked over to him; before he could react she placed a kiss on his cheek.
"Goodnight" she whispered then quickly left to her room. Vivi was in shock, he just sat there staring blackly into the sky...then slowly a grin came to his face.
"I saw that" a voice said behind him said making Vivi jump. He turned quickly to see Garnet standing there, a grin on her face.
"What? Oh! That...um...it-it's nothing, just a...a-"
"Don't worry Vivi I know" Garnet giggled as she sat beside him. Vivi sighed and turned his body around in his seat to face her.
"So...What's up?"
"Well, ok, listen to this" Garnet looked Vivi strait in the eyes. You know about the play that Tantalus is performing for Eiko's birthday, right?" Vivi nodded.
"Yeah, what play is it again?"
"Lord Gilgamesh's new play, 'The Words of the Wind', it's gonna be spectacular!" Vivi chuckled.
"Yeah, I think it will be, I've read it, it's really good"
"Oh...you've read it huh?" her voice was a bit suggesting as she said this.
"Um...yeah...why?" Vivi began to get a bit nervous.
"Well...Ok here's the plan-"
"Wait..."
"What?" Garnet looked confused.
"If this is a plan to get me and Eiko together, thanks...but no thanks..."
"But...Vivi-"
"As much as I want it to be so, some things just aren't meant to be I guess..."
"Vivi listen" Garnet stood and the kneeled next to Vivi, "If you give up that easily, then...well, why would you anyway, besides...that kiss to the cheek didn't seem like it was anything that is 'just between friends'" Vivi's hand slowly made it's way up to his cheek, the same cheek that Eiko had kissed. He sighed.
"You're right"
"See! Now please listen to it...?" Vivi looked at Garnet, then smiled and nodded.
"Alright...what is it" Garnet then explained her plan; her plan was to put Vivi in the play...Garnet didn't entirely know where things would go from there, that was Zidane's part.
"Well...Do you like it?'
"No..." As he said this Garnet looked down at her feet, "I don't like it, but I'll do it" He smiled as he said this. Garnet giggled then hugged Vivi. To Garnet Vivi had always been like a little brother, now all she wanted to see was him happy with Eiko.
"Now then, we'll talk more about it tomorrow, alright?" Vivi nodded, "Ok, so get a good night's sleep, we have a big day tomorrow" Garnet smiled a bright smile at Vivi, then ran away to go tell Zidane. Vivi sighed after she left, then smiled. If there was any hope for him, this might just be his last chance.
#Eiko's Room#
She sat there combing her hair, her eyes held a glee that she couldn't place. She thought back to when she was talking to Vivi as she stopped combing her hair.
'He was worried about me...well of course he could be but...he risked his life for me, when to no limits to come to rescue me...sigh...Vivi's so sweet' She smiled and outwardly sighed as she began to comb her hair again. She slowly began to hum the song that had quickly become her favorite. It was a song from 'The Words of the Wind' Her favorite play. It was amazing, songs in a play, it was a new thing but people loved it. As she came to the middle she suddenly stopped and dropped the brush. She was thinking about Vivi when she was humming it...and if she remembered right...the song she was humming was a love song between two of the main characters...the line she was singing to herself in her head went.
"A heart full of love...A heart full of song..."
'It can't be...can it?' She thought as she picked up her fallen brush. She looked at herself in the mirror, her light purple hair framed her slightly shocked face. It was then it hit her, the randomly spacing out when they would be talking, when she couldn't stop staring into his eyes when he held her during tag, the thoughts she'd been having about Vivi, when she kissed him on the cheek...
"Oh God..." He face once again got a shocked look, as she turned to the pictures beside her bed. There was one of the whole group, right after Zidane had returned, and there was another. It was taken before Vivi turned human. They were in the park of Lindblum, both eating ice-cream, well, Eiko was. Eiko had dropped her ice-cream, but Vivi had been sweet and gave her his. She had kissed him on the cheek for that too, though it felt different then this time...this time she felt something...like a spark...
"This is to much" She finally said. She pulled back the covers of her bed and laid down and covered herself. She turned to turn the light on her nightstand off, but her eyes lingered on the old picture of her and Vivi and she smiled. She turned the light off and closed her eyes to go to sleep.
"Goodnight Vivi..." She whispered before she fell into her dreamful sleep.
#Ok! There you go, again, sorry for the long wait, it took me so long to get started. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it, again, I don't think it's my best, but if u think different. Please by all means tell me! Ha-ha, flames are welcome, but in the form of constructive criticism in u can. Anyway, I'm done now, the next won't take NEARLY as long, trust me#
