Rain continued to pelt away at the war-torn city. The streets were littered with the dead and buildings lay in ruin. In amongst the wreckage was a man, a brown haired Burmecian hybrid. A lone soul burdened both physically and mentally, but determined to undo the damage done by the Alexandrian army.

Frato's first act to try and restore the city was closing the gates that lead outside onto the plains. The front gates had been forced open by the black mages and the Burmecians had opened the western gate to flee the city. Frato shut both gates so that no more monsters could enter and ravage the city. If Burmecia was to be rebuilt then it would have to be safe for civilians and workers to enter. It would be impossible to rebuild the rainy city with monsters running wild and attacking the workers.

Frato then decided to search for and kill the monsters inside the city, seeing as there was no way out for them. However, he figured that he would likely need some help to hunt and slay all the monsters efficiently and whilst he scoured the city he searched the houses and buildings for any survivors who had stayed behind.

Sealed away in the basement of one of the buildings was a group of Burmecian civilians and a few soldiers. They were gathered around in a group talking about what they were going to do and pondering whether it was safe to go outside or not. In the middle of their group conversation, they heard something bang at the door.

Everyone looked up in shock, and the females and children all ran to hide whilst the soldiers readied their weapons. Another bang at the door which had been forced shut and covered up by useless furniture. Then, there was a pause, shortly before the door burst open with a flame forcing it of its hinges. The soldiers advanced, and saw a figure emerge through the open doorway.

The soldiers then backed off when they clearly saw the figure, a Burmecian-human hybrid which many of them recognised.

"Frato?" One of the soldiers called out.

"Did you have to scare us like that? We thought you were a Black Mage, jeez..." Another soldier added.

"Look, I'm sorry about blasting the door open like that, but I had to check for survivors." Frato apologised. "I'm glad to see I'm not the only one left in Burmecia."

"Yeah, it's good to see you alive as well." One of the soldiers replied.

"Okay, the Black Mages have left, but monsters have infested the city whilst the gates were left open. I've shut the gates and taken out a few of the monsters, but I'm going to need some help if I'm going to get rid of them all." Frato explained. "Once we've taken out the monsters we can focus on the reconstruction. Now let's move out!"

"Yes sir!" The soldiers replied and began leaving the basement of the house.

Fratley and Puck had been racing across the desert, eager to reach the great tree city as soon as possible. They had seen the damage that the black mages had done to Burmecia, and Cleyra was surely going to be the next target for the Alexandrians. They had to ensure the safety of their people.

However, other worries had also entered Prince Puck's mind. He knew that Freya would have returned to the Burmecian realm once she caught wind of the attack. She would see Fratley, and discover that he had lost his memory. She couldn't see him like that, but what could he do? Fratley would not stand by and watch his own people get slaughtered.

Fratley's mind was filling with all kinds of feelings. He could not stop thinking about the death of his father, and the face of his brother Frato. How he wanted something to stir in his mind, he wanted to recall a fond memory, he wanted to feel something. He knew one thing, he would not allow the Alexandrian's to get away with this needless murdering, and he would not let them continue their warpath.

After a couple of hours of wandering through the desert, Fratley and Puck arrived in front of the massive sandstorm which shielded the great tree city. Covering their eyes with their hands, they proceeded to walk through the sandstorm, which had lost a considerable amount of power to let them do so without being blown away and having their skin torn away from their bones. Fratley figured that this was to allow the Burmecian refugees into the city. Yet they had to hurry, the Cleyrans would surely be strengthening the sandstorm soon, and the city was still at risk.

The two Burmecians made their way up the Cleyran trunk, Fratley fending off the various sand monsters that had infested the trunk. Fratley pondered for a brief moment just how many Burmecians had fled from his home only to be slain by the creatures in the tree. He cast that bitter thought out of his mind and focused on climbing the tree hastily with his companion.

After climbing for what seemed like an eternity, Fratley noted that it was beginning to get dark on the outer areas of the tree and night-time was fast approaching. The two then decided to set up camp for the night in of the outer areas of the trunk. As the pair of Burmecians sat round their campfire and ate what remained of their rations of food, Puck was quick to spark up a conversation.

"Fratley, when we get to the Cleyran city I want you to stand guard outside of the city. If the Alexandrians are going to attack the city they are gonna have to climb the trunk like we did. I want you to be my scout."

"Okay Puck. That sounds like a good idea, but are you sure you won't need me inside the city?" Fratley asked.

"I'm sure. I'm only going to be asking around in Cleyra anyway. We need to know more about these mages." Puck responded.

"Indeed." Fratley added before giving a heavy sigh. "Those mages have cost us so much..."

"Yeah..." Puck said with a solemn look.

"They killed my father..." Fratley continued. "My father is dead, and I don't feel anything. Why can't I remember my own family?"

"Fratley..." Puck stated, trying to find words. "I wouldn't worry about trying to regain your memories too much. They'll return to you someday. All you can do is wait and hope."

Fratley gave a sigh, what if they didn't come back? But Puck was right; he couldn't keep worrying about it. He had other issues at hand.

The two Burmecians rested up for the night before continuing their journey up the tree. When Puck saw that they were about to enter the settlement he got Fratley to take up a position outside the city. Puck ventured into the city to see what he could find. The young child looked at the great city in awe, admiring the view.

"This place sure is pretty..." Puck said as he walked forward. He then managed to trip over a branch as his vision was drawn away from where he was going. "Ow!"

The young Burmecian prince got back onto his feet and saw that he was standing in front of a whirling sand-pool. As Puck looked into the centre of the pool he could see a creature hiding in the darkness of the centre of the pit.

"What is that thing?" Puck wondered to himself. As he looked at the creature, his ears picked up the sound of a familiar voice.

"Puck!"

Puck turned to the source of the voice and saw a small black mage in a blue jacket and stripy blue pants. The Burmecian quickly recognised the black mage as Vivi, a young friend he had met in Alexandria who had aided him in sneaking in to watch a play.

"Vivi! What are you doing here?"

"I travelled here with Zidane, Quina and Freya." Vivi answered. "How have you been?"

Puck gave a mental curse when he heard that Freya was in the city. He knew he would be right in keeping Fratley out of the city. "I've been better. Say, just what is that thing in there?" Puck asked, pointing into the sandpit.

"That's the antlion." Vivi replied. "It's a monster that lives in the city."

"A monster eh?" Puck responded, a mischievous grin forming on his lips. He then picked up a nearby rock. "I wonder if it's playful..."

"Puck no! The tour guide warned me and Zidane not to provoke it!" Vivi exclaimed.

"Oh come on, it's not gonna do anything." Puck replied reassuringly. He then hurled the rock into the sandpit at the creature.

There was a roar from inside the sandpit and both Vivi and Puck decided it was best not to stick around. The two ran to the path that lead into the city, but Puck was too slow. The antlion emerged from the sandpit, growling with the rage and lunged at the young Burmecian, catching him onto one of its pincers.

"Help me!" Puck screamed.

"No!" Vivi squeaked.

"What's going on?" A voice called out as a Burmecian soldier arrived to investigate the ruckus. The soldier saw how Puck was being mauled and ran back into the city.

"Help! The antlion's mauling a kid!" The soldier cried.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 9 or any characters or locations in it. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing this garbage. Frato does belong to me though.

Author's Notes: I seem to be getting very slow at updating my work. Hopefully I will pick up the pace, but you're going to have to bear with me at the moment.

Dazz Combo: Frato was frightened that the monsters would attack him in his sleep, since he had no means to protect himself when he rested. And yes, April did flee to Cleyra. I'm glad you're enjoying it though.

Lady Freya Crescent: I'm glad you like it! Keep reading!

Breeze of Summoners: It's nice to see that you're back, and with your return comes a lot of criticism. It looks like I may have to check over some of my chapters. Keep reading!