Chapter 46: Lindblum: Nightmares

After a few hours, a guard woke me up. He told me that Cid had summoned us to the conference room. I got out of bed, and made my way towards the conference room. On the way, I ran into Vivi and Eiko. They turned to me.

Vivi spoke "hey, Michael. Cid wants to see us."

I nodded "yeah, I know. Come on, let's go together." They nodded, and we went off to the conference room.

We turned out to be the first to enter the conference room. When I walked in, I immediately noticed that Regent Cid was human again. I also noticed Lady Hilda was here as well.

I bowed my head to the regent. "Regent Cid…I see you're wife has changed you back."

He nodded. "Yes, she has. Gwok!"

Vivi, Eiko, and I both gave him an odd look. The regent looked slightly embarrassed. I smiled. "I see there are a few things you need to get used to."

He nodded "indeed, Ribbit!"

I sighed, and walked up to the table. Vivi stood next to me, and Eiko stood next to him.

After a few minutes, everyone else, except Zidane and Dagger, had arrived. There expressions at seeing the regent were much like my own. They all took their spots around the table, and waited for Zidane and Dagger to show up.

Finally, after a few more minutes, Zidane showed up. He took one look at Cid, and spoke. "Who's that guy?"

Freya and I both spoke at the same time. "It's Regent Cid."

Zidane looked shocked. "WHAAAT?"

Cid chuckled. "Still hasn't got any manners. Ribb-" He caught himself. He tried again "Ahem! Still haven't learned your manners!"

Zidane smiled. "You can stop the frog-talk now."

Now, Cid looked embarrassed, and angry. "S-Silence! Ribbit!"

Zidane shrugged his shoulders "oh well."

Cid shook his head "Ugh... I didn't gather you all to talk about that."

Hilda spoke "I called for this meeting to tell you about what I learned while in Kuja's captivity. It may provide a hint about where he may be. Listen carefully."

Steiner looked around the room. "I don't see the princess. I shall look for her." He left the meeting to go find Dagger.

Cid continued to speak. "I will begin constructing Hilda Garde 3. The Blue Narciss will be used for its construction. Now, Hilda will tell you the rest." He turned to his wife "Hilda?" After that, he left the room.

After he left, everyone turned their attention towards Hilda. Zidane spoke "So? What did Kuja discuss with you?"

Hilda spoke "Some parts of story may be hard to believe, but please hear me out." she paused before she continued. "Kuja plans to use this world as a means of acquiring an even greater power."

Zidane found this curious "Greater power? What would he do with it?"

She shrugged "I don't know...he indicated that he wasn't of this world."

To her surprise, the others didn't seem too shocked by this. She spoke "well…I thought you'd find that news alarming."

I smiled. "It probably would be more alarming to them, if they didn't already know that I'm from another world, too."

This surprised Hilda. "You're from another world as well. Tell me, what do you call your world?"

I spoke. "My world is called Earth."

She shook her head. "That's not where Kuja is from. He calls his birthplace Terra."

This intrigued Zidane. "Terra, huh...?

Hilda spoke "This Terra seems to be connected with a place called the Shimmering Island."

Zidane spoke "I don't know where Kuja went, but maybe we can find him if we go there..." he paused.

Hilda spoke "Unfortunately, you can't get directly to Terra from the Shimmering Island."

"Of course you can't" it was Amarant who spoke. We turned our attention to him. He continued to speak. "Everyone would've discovered this 'other world' by now if it were that easy."

Zidane spoke. "So, what do we do?"

Hilda smiled. "I'll tell you. The gateway that connects the two worlds is sealed, but Kuja said there is a place where the seal can be broken."

Zidane turned to her. "Where's that?"

She spoke. "He said it's an old castle located in the northern area of the Forgotten Continent. An explorer left a record of his trip to this particular castle on the Forgotten Continent. If I remember correctly, he wrote that the cliffs were too steep to explore. Other than that, very little is known about the Forgotten Continent." She paused "Well, since this castle doesn't have a name, let's call it Ipsen's Castle."

Zidane pondered this for a moment. "Ipsen's Castle, huh...? Yeah, we don't know anything about the world beyond our continent..."

Hilda spoke. "That's all I heard. You may find a clue if you go to Ipsen's Castle."

Eiko spoke "Did you ask Kuja about all of this?"

She shook her head. "These are all things he discussed voluntarily. He became very impassioned as he spoke... And he volunteered information without even my asking. He probably thought telling me his plans wouldn't affect his grand scheme."

Amarant nodded. "He's right. His power is great, and we're at a disadvantage."

Vivi was angered. "But I can't forgive Kuja! He toyed with my friends' lives!"

I looked at him. "Don't worry, Vivi. Kuja will pay for what he's done."

Zidane nodded. "Yeah, and now we know where we need to go. The problem is getting there. I guess we'll have to wait until Cid finishes building Hilda Garde 3"

Steiner suddenly ran into the room. We all turned to him. He looked at Zidane "Zidane! I bring troubling news!"

Zidane looked worried. "What? What now?"

He spoke. "I cannot find the princess! I've looked all over Lindblum! The members of Tantalus aided me in my search, but…" he paused.

Zidane thought about this. "She's not in Lindblum?" Suddenly, a look of realization crossed his face. "Then there's only one place."

Steiner looked surprised. "Do you know where she is?"

He nodded. "I think so." He turned to us "you guys wait here in Lindblum. I'll be right back." He ran out of the room.

Steiner looked at me. "What does he mean 'wait here in Lindblum?' Where's he going?"

I smiled. "He's going to the only other place where Dagger could be."

He looked at me. "Where is that?"

Vivi eyes lit up in understanding. "He's going to Alexandria."

Steiner looked surprised. "Alexandria, but-"

I spoke. "She's the princess of Alexandria. I think she just wanted to go there to sort out her thoughts. If anyone can find her there; it's Zidane."

Hilda spoke. "Michael is right. We must wait here for Zidane to return. In the mean time, you can all stay here at the castle." I turned to her "thank you Lady Hilda." After that, we all left the conference room.

Freya, Amarant, Steiner, and Quina decided to go into town. Eiko, Vivi, and I decided to stay at the castle. I still wasn't feeling all that well, so I let Vivi hang around with Eiko, while I got some rest. I entered the guest bedroom, got into bed, and quickly fell asleep.

"Well, doctor…how is he?" I turned, and saw my past self. I looked about fifteen years old. That was when I noticed the area I was in. It was a waiting room. I was at a hospital. I turned back to my past self. I noticed that my Master was there as well. They were talking to the doctor.

The doctor spoke "well, his condition is serious. I'm afraid there's not much we can do. He's not going to pull through."

My past self seemed distraught. "There has to be something you can do? You have to do something for him!"

My Master turned to him. "Michael, calm down, remember your training." My past self quickly regained his temper.

He turned to the doctor. "Can I see him?" The doctor nodded. That was when the scenery changed.

I found myself in a patient's bedroom. I turned, and noticed my past self, the doctor, and my Master standing at the side of a bed. I hesitantly walked over to the bed, and saw who was in it. I already knew who it was, but I had to see him. There he was…my father was lying in the hospital bed.

My past self forced himself to smile. "Hey, dad…how are you feeling?"

He looked up at him, and tried his best to smile "…terrible." He turned to look at the doctor. "Well, doc…how long have I got?" Everyone turned to the doctor.

The doctor sighed, "well, given how quickly the cancer has spread, I'd say you have about…a month tops."

My past self's eyes widened. "A MONTH!" Everyone cringed, even me.

My father spoke. "Michael, calm down."

He turned to him. "Calm down? Calm down? You're lying there in bed, dying, and you want me to calm down!"

My father's voice grew stern. "Michael, that's enough. If I'm to die…so be it."

My past self was surprised. "But…you can't…you can't die…I don't wanna be alone." He lowered his head.

My father grabbed his hand, and tried to smile. "Michael, you're not alone. You have Hiko. He'll look after you when I'm gone." This didn't help him.

He shook his head, and looked up at him. "But dad, Hiko is my Master. He's not my father. He can never fill your place." His voice was starting to break slightly.

My father tightened his grip. "Be strong, Michael. You must be strong." My past self looked away from him.

The doctor cleared his throat. Everyone turned to him. "Well, there is something I must ask you, Robert." He turned to my father.

My father spoke "what is it?"

The doctor spoke. "Well, you have a choice. You can either go home or you can stay in the hospital. It's your choice."

My father spoke immediately. "I'll go back home. If I'm gonna die, then I'd rather die in my own bed at home."

The doctor nodded. "Very well, I'll have the nurses come and get you ready." He turned to my past self and my Master. He spoke "if you two could please wait outside." They nodded, and walked to the door. Before my past self left, he glanced back at the bed. After that, he left the room.

I walked out of the room as well. When I got out into the hall, I saw my past self leaning his back against the wall. He was pinching his forehead with his thumb, index, and middle finger. I could tell that he was deeply troubled.

My Master looked at him. "You know, you can cry, Michael."

He looked up at him and shook his head. "No…I'm afraid if I start…I'll never stop."

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, but I did my best to hold them back. I held them back before, I could do it again.

That's when I felt a strange presence near me. The scenery changed, and now I was in the middle of a black void. "Hello…is anyone here?" That's when I felt that strange presence again. I turned, and saw part of the darkness move towards me. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run, so…I ran.

"Master Vivi, Mistress Eiko, Lady Hilda told me to inform you two that dinner is ready." After those words, my stomach growled.

Eiko turned to me, and smiled. "I guess someone's hungry." I adjusted my hat, and tried to hide the fact that I was embarrassed.

The guard spoke again. "I need to find Master Michael. Do you two know where he is?"

Eiko nodded. "Yeah we know, but don't worry, we'll go get him." The guard nodded, and left.

Eiko turned to me. "Come on, Vivi. Let's go find Michael." I nodded, and we ran off to the guest room.

When we got there, we found Michael lying in one of the beds on the second floor of the room. He was sleeping peacefully. Eiko walked over to him, and shook him. "Michael, wake up, dinner's ready." He didn't wake up.

Eiko shook him harder. "Michael, get up." He still didn't wake up. Eiko grabbed him with both her hands, and shook him as hard as she could. "MICHAEL, WAKE UP!" I cringed, and covered my ears. Eiko sure was loud. To my surprise, Michael was still asleep. Eiko was just as surprised as I was. "What's up with him? I can't believe he slept through that. That usually always works."

I walked up to him. He was still sleeping peacefully. I was starting to get worried. 'Did he go unconscious again?' I thought. I turned to Eiko. "What do we do?"

She looked at me. "I'm not sure…I think we better tell the others." I nodded, and we ran out of the room. We quickly made our way to the conference room.

We ran through the doors, and everyone looked at us. Freya spoke. "What took you guys so long?" She looked around, and noticed that someone was missing. She looked at Eiko. "Where's Michael?"

Eiko spoke. "He's still asleep."

Amarant turned to us. "So, wake him up."

I spoke "We tried, but he won't wake up. Eiko yelled in his face and everything, and he's still asleep."

Amarant looked slightly surprised. "He slept through her yelling…he must've been tired."

Eiko's temper flared up at those words. "What was that?"

I didn't have time for this. Michael could be in trouble, and we were just standing here doing nothing. I had to do something. After a few more seconds of Eiko and Amarant bickering, I've had enough. "STOOOOOP!"

Everyone turned to me. Everyone had a shocked expression on there face. I felt bad for causing a scene, but I shoved that thought aside. "Michael is asleep, and he won't wake up, and were here doing nothing instead of trying to help him. He could be in trouble."

Steiner nodded. "You're right, Master Vivi. We should awaken Master Michael. It wouldn't be right to start eating without him."

I smiled. "Alright, let's go wake Michael up." Everyone, even Amarant nodded. We made our way back to the guest room.

When we got there, I saw that nothing had changed. Michael was still asleep. I was really starting to worry about him. Amarant spoke. "Well, let's get this over with." He walked over to a flower pot near the bed, pulled the flowers out, and threw the water that was in the pot at Michael. The water hit Michael in the face…but he didn't wake up.

This surprised Amarant. He turned to me. "You guys weren't kidding. That should've woken him up for sure."

It's official, now I am worried. 'Michael, what's wrong with you' I thought.

"Can I help?" I turned around, and saw Doctor Tot walk up the stairs towards us.

I sighed in relief. "Doctor Tot you're here. When did you ge-actually, never mind. Michael's asleep, and he won't wake up. We've tried everything, but he won't wake up."

Doctor Tot thought about this for a moment. Finally, he spoke. "let me see him." We moved out of the way. Doctor Tot walked over to him. He opened one of Michael's eyes, and looked at it. Eventually, he closed Michael's eye, and turned to us. "Michael appears to be in a coma."

This surprised all of us. Freya spoke. "A coma? Zidane was in a coma when we escaped from Alexandria. He was badly injured, so it didn't surprise me, but…how is Michael in a coma? He seems fine."

Tot nodded. "Yes, I agree."

He turned to me. "Do any of you know what happened?"

I spoke. "Michael said he wasn't feeling well, so he came in here to rest. That was the last time Eiko and I saw him before we found him like this."

Tot thought about this for a moment. "Well…I'm not sure. The only thing I can think of is that his brain won't let him wake up yet."

I was troubled by this revelation. "When will he wake up?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years." My eyes widened in surprise. Tot spoke "There's nothing we can do. He'll wake up when he wakes up."

After a few seconds, Amarant spoke. "Well…I'm going back to dinner." He turned around, walked down the stairs, and walked out of the room.

Steiner was angry. "That heartless wretch!"

Freya turned to him. "I know, but as Doctor Tot said, Michael will wake up when he wakes up."

Steiner nodded "yes, I suppose..."

I looked at Michael, and turned to the others. "You guys go back to dinner. I'm gonna stay here."

Freya looked at me. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Michael's never left my side when I needed him, and I'm not gonna leave his side either."

Freya nodded. "Very well, Vivi, I think Michael will be safe in your care." Freya turned and left.

Steiner smiled at me. "Watch out for him, Master Vivi."

I smiled. "I will, don't worry." Steiner turned, and left as well.

Tot walked over to the stairs, and turned to me. "Take care, Vivi." I nodded, and he left s well.

Quina looked at me. "You take care of him. I make him something yummy when he wake up." I nodded, and Quina left as well.

Eiko turned to me. "I'll bring you some dinner after I'm finished, okay?"

I nodded, and smiled, though she couldn't see it. "That'd be great. Thanks Eiko." She smiled, and left the room.

I turned back, and looked at Michael. I walked over to him, and put my hand against his face. My glove grew wet, as it absorbed the water on his face. I decided to dry him off. 'Michael, don't worry. I'll watch over you while you sleep.' I thought.

45 minutes later, Eiko came down, and gave me some dinner. She decided to stay with me, and keep me company. Hours passed, and Michael still hadn't woken up yet. Eventually, sleep took over for me as well. I fell asleep on the ground.

I woke up and found myself on the floor. I got up, and looked at Michael's bed…he wasn't there. Startled, I looked around. He wasn't on the second floor. I moved over to the balcony and leaned over. He wasn't on the second floor either. I ran down the stairs, and ran out of the room.

When I got out into the hall, I walked over to the main area. I still couldn't find him. I decided to head up to the conference room. I went to the elevator, and rode it to the top floor. I got off the elevator, and approached the conference room. Before I entered the room, I felt a dark presence behind me. I turned around, but saw nothing. The only thing I saw was a few shadows. I shrugged, and walked into the conference room.

I entered the room, and found myself in a large ballroom. I knew this wasn't the conference room, but something told me that I'd find Michael here.

I walked around, there were couples dancing everywhere. Eventually, I saw Freya. She was dancing with Amarant. They looked at me, and waved. I nodded at them, and moved on. Eventually, I turned towards the stage, and saw Dagger and Zidane on stage. They were singing. I also noticed that Steiner was in the orchestra pit and was playing the tuba, and Quina was playing the trumpet. I found the sight odd.

I turned from them and continued to walk around the ballroom. Eventually, I found Eiko. She was sitting at a table, and since a dirty plate was near her, I guessed that she had just eaten. She looked up at me, but said nothing. She just stared at me. I was confused. "What is it, Eiko?" She yawned, and her hand accidentally knocked her plate off the table. It hit the ground, and shattered. Eiko didn't seem bothered by this. I gave her one last look and turned away from her.

During my wandering, I felt a familiar presence, and turned around. I finally saw him. I saw the dancer's move away from him trying to avoid dancing into him. He was walking towards me. I was so relieved to see him. He was awake, and he was smiling. Michael was alright. I couldn't help, but smile as he approached me.

As soon as he was seven feet in front of me, the lights dimmed, the music stopped, and the dancers disappeared. That's when I saw a shadowy figure emerge from behind Michael. I saw a glint of metal, and saw the point of a sword emerge out of Michael's chest. Michael cried out in pain. My eyes widened in shock. "MICHAEL!"

That's when the shadowy figure retracted the sword from Michael's back. Michael fell to his knees. I was rooted to the spot. I was too stunned to move. He looked at me, and extended his hand out towards me. I extended my hand towards his as well. Our hands were getting closer to each other.

From the look on Michael's face, he was in great pain. "Vivi…" he managed to gasp out. That's when I saw blood trickle out of his mouth. I was scared, I had to do something. I had to help him. That's when I saw his eyes roll into the back of his head, and he fell to the ground. Our hands never touched.

He laid there, face down on the ground. A pool of blood quickly formed around him. He was dead.

My body was shaking. Tears were streaming down my face. I was shocked and terrified. I looked up at the figure who did this to him.

The figure approached me. It still held its bloody sword. I couldn't make out its features, but I saw its eyes. They were glowing red. It looked down at me. "Stay away from him, boy" It said, in a sinister voice. Suddenly, all went black.

I woke up with a start. I quickly realized I had been sleeping on the ground. 'Michael!' I thought, urgently. Eyes wide, I quickly got up to my feet, and looked at Michael's bed. He was still there. I sighed in relief. 'My gosh, I was so worried, but what was that dream. Well, at least Michael's safe. Maybe it was just a dream' I thought.

I heard a noise to my left, and turned around. I relaxed, it was just Eiko. She was sleeping in a chair that was set up next to Michael's bed. I looked over at the table, and saw the remains of our food. We never brought the dishes back.

I turned to the window. It was light out. 'It must be morning' I thought. That's when I heard Eiko yawn. I turned, and saw her stretch her arms out. That's when her hand knocked one of the plates off the table. It fell to the ground, and shattered. My eyes widened in shock.

Eiko was shocked out of her sleep, and looked at the shattered plate. "Oh, no!" she got down, and picked up the pieces.

I was rooted to the spot. 'It's just like in my-' I turned to look at Michael. 'Please, wake up soon Michael' I thought.

Michael didn't wake up that day, nor did he wake up the next day. All of us were worried about him, me most of all. Ever since my nightmare, I haven't left his side for a second, well…except to go to the bathroom, but I always held it as long as I could. I wasn't going to let anything happen to him.

The others tried to get me out of the room by telling me that they'd watch him, but I wasn't going to leave him. I hadn't told any of them about my dream, not even Eiko. Eiko decided to stay with me in order to keep me company. I could tell that she was worried about me. I was grateful, but the thing is…I'm not the one she should be worried about. If she only knew…

"You cannot escape." I was running through a graveyard. I was running from an unseen assailant. I don't know why I was running, but I knew I had to keep running. "You cannot escape." It was that voice again. It wasn't the Angel of Music, and it wasn't anyone else I knew, but I didn't want to stop. I didn't want to turn around. I had to keep running.

Eventually, I tripped over a lose stone in the ground, and fell in front of a grave. I looked up, and saw, to my shock, that it was Mary's grave. "You cannot escape." I got up, and ran again. I could feel a dark presence behind me. It was threatening to swallow me whole if I stopped.

Suddenly, I tripped again, and fell in front of a large mausoleum. I looked up, and realized where I was. I heard the voice again. "You cannot escape…your past." I couldn't resist anymore. I turned around to face what was behind me.

There was nothing there, but endless darkness. That's when I noticed that the darkness was growing. I couldn't move. I wanted to run, but my legs weren't responding. I could feel all my techniques slip away. For the first time in a long time…I was defenseless.

That was when I felt another presence, behind me. I turned to see a great light appear over the mausoleum. The light kept the darkness at bay. I heard a voice from the light. "Miiiiiiiiiiichaaaaaaaaeeeeeel" it was him. Suddenly, all went black.

I woke up, and saw that I was still in the guest room. The sun was still out so I must not have been asleep for too long. Still, I felt fully rested. I tried to get up, but felt something on my chest. I tilted my head, and saw that Vivi's head was on my chest. By the sound of his breathing, he was asleep.

He wasn't the only one who was there. Eiko was sitting in a chair, next to my bed. She was asleep as well. I was beginning to wonder what was going on, when Vivi's head turned towards me. He slowly opened his eyes.

He looked surprised "Michael, you're awake."

I nodded "yeah, I am." He quickly wrapped his arms around me. I was surprised.

He turned his head to Eiko. "Eiko, Michael finally woke up!" Eiko's body shifted, and she opened her eyes.

She looked at me. "Oh, Michael you're awake. We were all worried about you."

I was still puzzled. "What do you mean worried? I told you guys I was gonna go rest."

Vivi nodded. "Yeah, we know, but most people don't sleep for three days straight."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Three days…are you serious?" They both nodded.

Eiko spoke. "Yeah, we tried to wake you up for dinner, but you wouldn't get up. After trying a few more times, Vivi and I ran up to the conference room, and told the others. They came down, and tried to wake you up, too; nothing worked. Eventually, Doctor Tot came over to see what was wrong with you. He said that you were in a coma. He said he had no idea when you'd wake up."

I just sat there and tried to process all of this. Eiko spoke "When you wouldn't wake up, Vivi decided to stay here with you until you did. I decided to stay here, too, just to keep him company. Vivi never left this room once, well, except for bathroom breaks, but he never went out to eat at all. I had to bring him his food while he waited for you to wake up."

I smiled. "Vivi, Eiko, thanks for staying with me. I'm sorry I worried you guys."

Vivi shook his head. "No, it's okay. You really had us worried, though. But you're fine now. That's all that matters." He tightened his embrace.

I looked down at Vivi. He was holding me pretty tight. It was almost as if he was afraid that if he let me go, I'd float away or something. He looked up at me, and I could see the happiness in his eyes. That wasn't the only thing I noticed. His eyes also held a deep distress. Something wasn't right.

I turned to Eiko. "You better go tell the others that I'm awake, Eiko." She nodded, and ran out of the room.

With her gone, I looked down at Vivi. I spoke. "Vivi, can I get up?"

He looked up at me, and nodded. "Sure." He let go of me, and I got out of bed.

As soon as I got out of bed, I knelt down to his level. I gave him a serious look. "Vivi, something is bothering you. I can feel it. Tell me, what seems to be troubling you?"

Vivi seemed uncomfortable. "well…uh…hm…" To my surprise, he hugged me again. That's when I felt my shoulder grow wet, he was crying. He pulled away from me, and looked at me. Tears were streaming down his face. Now I knew something was bothering him.

I tried again once he calmed down. "Vivi…what's wrong?"

He looked uneasy. "Well…I had a dream, and you were in it. You were walking towards me, and a shadowy figure emerged behind you."

I nodded "well…what happened?"

He seemed upset again. "It…it killed you, right in front of me." His body started to shake. I quickly embraced him, and let him cry on my shoulder again. That's when I noticed Freya walk up the stairs. She noticed us, and I quickly shook my head. She got the message, and went back down the stairs.

With that out of the way, I turned my attention towards Vivi. He looked up at me. I spoke "Vivi, it's alright. It was just a dream."

He shook his head. "But it felt so real...and Eiko…when you were still unconscious…she yawned, and knocked a plate onto the ground, and it shattered! The same thing happened in my dream! Michael, I couldn't do anything! You were gone before I even knew it! I don't- I don't want you to die! I-I" His body was shaking all over.

I was really worried. I've never seen him in such bad shape. I tightened my embrace. "Look, Vivi, I'm not going to die. I'll be more careful. Don't worry, I won't leave you." He continued to cry on my shoulder. I decided to try something. "What else happened in your dream?"

He stopped crying for a brief moment. "Well…Ferya was dancing with Amarant, Quina was playing a trumpet, and Steiner was playing a tuba." He started to laugh a little at this. I smiled and laughed a little myself.

His body stopped shaking. He was starting to calm down. I tightened my embrace further "Vivi, I'm sure everything will be alright. Don't worry about this dream."

After a while, he pulled away from me. He seemed much better. I smiled at him. "Feeling better?"

He nodded. "Yeah…thanks, Michael. I really needed that."

I smiled, and placed my hand on his shoulder "anytime, Vivi." That's when a mischievous grin crossed my face.

Vivi looked at me with suspicion in his eyes. "What is it, Michael?"

I looked at him. "Well, since I was out for three days, that means that your three days behind in your training."

Vivi's eyes widened. "You can't be serious."

I shook my head. "I am serious, Vivi. Besides, your training might help take your mind off your nightmare."

He hesitantly nodded. "Alright, let's do it."

I smiled "that's the spirit, Vivi! Of course you're going to have to train three times as hard." Vivi seemed dispirited by this, but was willing to do anything to take his mind off his nightmare. We began training.

After three more days, Cid finally finished the Hilda Garde 3. That was fortunate, since Zidane and Dagger had returned.

Before I boarded the ship, I saw Dagger and Zidane approach me. I smiled when I saw them. "Zidane, Dagger, good to see you finally made it back." I noticed Daggers new haircut. "I see you cut your hair, Dagger. You look great."

She smiled. "Thanks."

My eyebrows rose. "So, you can talk again?"

She nodded. "Yes, I've decided that I really want to stay with you guys."

I smiled. "That's good to hear. We better board the ship." They nodded, and we boarded the ship.

After a few minutes, the ship took off. I stayed outside on the deck close to Vivi and Freya. I could feel that Vivi was looking at me from time to time. He was still worried. I didn't blame him. If I had a dream and he died in it, I'd be worried too. In a half hour, we reached Ipsen's Castle.