A/n: And the shout outs! Rose Mage, Beastiewolf, Pilotsolver, NeoNaoNeo, Malevalla, and Lori! AVivi-sama plushie for you all. We finally get tosee Eiko in this chapter, hurrah! I'm sorryif anyone doesn't like her character in this, I don't much like Eiko. >. I know what your thinking, this from the author of Love, Violence, and Swim Trunks? And I say yes, and leave it at that. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I owns nofink! Nine, do not kills me! Ja, leave me be!

Beautiful Equilibrium

One of the most over used similes in the history of speech was appropriate for the situation in the collapsed cavern.

The air was so thick with tension you could cut it with a knife.

Both Black Mage and Waltz were almost sleeping on their feet- or in this case, their bums. Both sat silently, the pleasantly warm fire between them, fighting sleep as if they were fighting each other. Despite the rules, each were too suspicious of each other to actually surrender to the slumber that threatened to overtake them, and instead suffered bouts of dropping off only to awake with a jerk and shift positions uncomfortably. Neither of them looked at each other, attempted to start a conversation, or began something to entertain themselves; they just sat quietly, occasionally sniffing, coughing or shifting to keep the other on their guard.

Three had completely lost track of time by this point. With no sun to guide him and boredom setting in, he couldn't decide weather it was night or day, mid afternoon or midnight, and the more he thought about it, the more it disturbed him. If he didn't even know the time of day, what else was going on the outside that he didn't know about? What if... Two and One had adventured off to find help, only to get killed trying to save his life? For all he knew, another war could be starting, Kuja could have returned, the Black Mage's could've gone completely insane- the possibilities were truly endless! What if-

His thoughts were cut off (thankfully) by a rumbling. Soft at first, then continually louder and louder until it stopped completely. He blinked, looking in the direction it had come from- the back of the cavern, the tunnel that was masked in shadow, thinking how weird that was.

"W-What was that?"

He raised a brow at Vivi over the fire, the Black Mage's eyes radiating panic in the soft glow. Three's crimson slants depicted a cruel smile as he let the words roll from his lips. "What, Mage, scared of a little earthquake?"

The teenager glared, his arms wrapping around himself comfortingly, replying with a simple, "N-number Three."

The Waltz glared, thinking he was being addressed. "What do you want."

"No insults, remember? R-rule number three."

He pulled a disgusted face, shaking his head. "Are you that idiotic? I ask of you, Mage, what do you think your going to do to me if I break the rules? Is there some kind of consequence you have planned out in your little rule book? "

Vivi's narrowed eyes silted. "N-no, but I was trusting you-"

"Trust!" Three grinned, sitting back confidently. "Hardly likely! I'll tell you what you hoped to gain by these little guide lines of yours. You were trying to save your own life. You talk, but you can't follow it up, can't enforce your laws." He shook his head, even letting a small laugh escape his lips. "Kahah, you talk of trust, but trust has nothing to do with this, puppet."

Suddenly the mage was standing, his hand out and fingers outstretched, his angry glare turning into an all out raging fury. "Do not call me that!" He yelled, his tone seeming to defy his appearance. "You have no right to speak to me that way, Waltz! You c-call me a puppet, you stamp me a mannequin, but in r-reality you are nothing but a toy yourself!"

It was Three's turn to be furious. He glared, bringing himself up threateningly, his wings almost outstretched, trying to make up for the lost height Vivi had over him- and it worked well. "Hold your tongue, insolent worm!" He growled, his fists clenching. "You know nothing!"

"Oh, I don't?" Vivi sneered, his hand almost shaking with malice. "Then I only have you t-to blame for the death of all those innocent lives you've taken, the m-massacre on the cargo ship!"

Something in the back of Three's head seemed to snap. He grabbed Vivi's wrist, turning it sharply to the side- Vivi cried out in pain, dropping to his knees and clawing at the waltz's deformed talon, which was still twisting his hand in a way no one's wrist should allow. His words dripped of poison, his eyes burning in the pure overall anger he felt as he spat, "I repeat, mannequin, do not speak of what you do not know! The pathetic wretches on that airship were begging to be slaughtered, to be put out of their meaningless existence. I did them a favor, Mage! Do not forget that!"

"S-so that's w-why!" The teenager choked out, despite the screaming pain from his threatened limb, "That's w-why you k-killed them! You h-had pity for them- M-mercy! Y-you d-don't know w-what they wanted- h-how could you! They w-were enslaved, they c-couldn't speak for themselves! Do y-you call yourself t-their s-savoir for that!"

Three leaned down, growling his ear, letting the words slip from his mouth in his rage without his thoughts attached to them, "They were not the only one's enslaved, Mage."

They both stopped. Vivi stopped breathing, stopped struggling in Three's relentless grasp, the Black Waltz halting where he leaned. After a moment of silent pain and quiet recollection, the winged form released the mage, turning his back on him deftly, walking away a ways, but finding no escape, no solace in the steps he took. He knew as he said it he had said to much, uncovered the secret he and his brothers had sworn to protect. He hoped the teenager wouldn't come to the conclusion so evident to him-

But he did.

"Y-you... You were unaware?"

"..." The waltz looked away, closing his eyes as he heard the mage stand.

"The day you... you k-killed all those... you- were unaware?"

Again, the waltz stayed silent, Vivi's temper flared. "Answer me!" He yelled, his voice coming in a harsh staccato he didn't know he possessed. This... this evil form, the overpowering, dark figure of death he had remembered from the airship... was it possible he wasn't...wasn't as evil as he thought? That... that his face... actually matched him? Vivi swallowed his anticipation- he had to know!

From his outburst, though, Vivi thought Three would react in anger- but he didn't. He slowly looked aside, his gnarled hands clenching. "...yes." He said quietly, a voice Vivi didn't know he had. "It was same for... for Two and One. They were ordered to do... something they were incapable of denying. That I was incapable of denying." He fell silent.

Vivi's world seemed to shatter then. He had spent his whole life hating Three, loathing his actions on the cargo ship, and now... now he learned that those actions he hated... weren't his own. He had as much reason to hate Three as he did his own kind, and... His legs failed as he sat suddenly, blinking rapidly and breathing rushed, hearing his own voice echoing in his mind as he spoke softly, "You... were unaware..."

Three was silent. His expression and thoughts were unreadable to Vivi as he watched his turned back, but his wings... were dipped, almost... almost in defeat... and softly, like a dandelion trapped in a summer breeze, he heard the waltz's voice, a voice... that matched his face.

"...I'm sorry."

Vivi's amber eyes widened, feeling heat rush to his face and tears building behind topaz glass, opening his mouth to speak the words which never came, words he didn't know to speak, lost in his head, his heart, his soul... suddenly the darkness pressed upon him as his breathing quickened suddenly, his mind reeling in the numbness, the feeling of spinning, weakness... without warning he dropped back, lips still parted in words he had almost spoken, the feeling that could not be translated to comprehensible speech, and his eyes closed in the pain that came with reality.

†

The air had been thick in the caverns, but outside it was crisp and clean. High in that air was Black Waltz Two, standing tall in his robes and hat, the wind licking his garments, but by some magic they managed to stay relatively in place. Beyond this, though, Two was trying his hardest to present himself as a Black Waltz- but it was incredibly hard in his situation.

His situation being fighting verbally for his life.

As soon as he saw Princess Eiko, he knew One's word's were not lost on her at all. She had heard them all, and had taken each one personally. Now the barely teenage stunning form of purple haired, unicorn horned, elegantly dressed royalty was almost shaking with rage as he fists clenched angrily, and Two was very sorry he had asked for audience.

"Now..." Eiko began, apparently trying to calm herself, "you knew quite well that I was on this ship. You also had a pretty good idea of where I was on the ship. Why in the hell would you haul off and call me a brat child!"

Two cleared his throat respectfully. "In my defense, your highness, It wasn't me."

She glared daggers. "Are you suggesting we just throw your idiot companion off the ship as punishment!"

He cast his gaze downwards, knowing quite well that if tossed off the ship, One's tiny wings wouldn't last till he hit the ground. "No ma'am."

She put a hand over her sparkling green eyes, sighing frustrated. "Vivi told me about you Waltz's... although, 'm starting to doubt his judgment. He told me you were evil. I'm starting to think your not evil, your just stupid."

"Not stupid, just ignorant." Two corrected.

"Shut up!" Eiko growled, glaring at him before rolling her eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Apparently you are stupid, or you would know when to keep your mouth shut!"

"...sorry..."

She took a few moments to calm herself, walking past the sheepish waltz to put her hands on the banister of the airship, leaning against them. "...I... think I understand allot of things." She began, pushing off the railing, "About you, your...'brother', if I can call him that... I know about your past, I know what you've done to Vivi... but there's something I still don't get." She turned, wandering back to stand in front of him. "Why are you helping us? What do you gain from leading us to Vivi?"

Two blinked. He figured that would be an easy answer... unless Freya failed to mention the fact that Three was trapped in the cavern with the Black Mage. The pacifist, however, was curiously good at negotiations, having had to deal with his two hot headed brothers On and Three and interrupting fights between them. "I'll tell you whatever you need to know," he murmured in a respectful tone, "if you do the same courtesy for me. I ask a question, you ask a question, repeat. Deal?"

Eiko blinked, raising a brow, but she grinned slightly, crossing her arms in a haughty position. "...well well well..." She muttered, looking the Waltz up and down with some kind of new tone, "...alright. First-"

"My question." He interrupted, glancing at her from the corners to his eyes. "Since you've already asked yours. How do you know Vivi?"

"I traveled with him, once, Seven years ago." The fourteen year old answered curtly. "He journeyed to the Outer Content with Zidane and Queen Garnet and met me at Madian Sari, my home. This was well after hw met you, though."

He narrowed his eyes. "How do you know-"

"Ah ah." she interjected, "Mine now. Why are you helping us?"

"My brother." Two glanced down, almost thoughtfully. "He and Vivi were the ones who caught themselves in the cave, they were fighting."

Eiko shook her head. "I know that, but why-"

"My turn." He said quickly. "How do you know so much about our relationship with Vivi?"

The purple haired summoner snorted. "From him, of course. When your camping in the middle of nowhere, there's really nothing else to talk about beside past experiences." He blinked, but nodded unknowingly- then she spoke. "Why is it that you want to save Black Waltz Three so badly that you'd come to your enemies for help?"

This made him pause. Was it not obvious to her? Maybe... she didn't quite think of them as what they were. Did she think they were robots, machines of war and nothing else? Two shook his head, looking up at her. "...He..." He narrowed his eyes, speaking the first words that came to mind. "...He is my brother. Mittsu was with me when no one else was, same with Hitotsu. If we don't have each other... we have nothing." Even though his explanation was finished, the waltz's eyes stayed on the ground, realizing... he had never heard himself speak truer words.

"..." She smiled slightly. "You... you really aren't like I thought you would be, Black Waltz Two."

He blinked, glancing up at her, but she put her hands on her hips, erasing the smile instantly. "What's with the nicknames?" She demanded instead.

"Nicknam- oh, the..." He sighed. "I thought numbers as names were too... generic. So we gave each other new names. One is Hitotsu, Three Mittsu, and mine Dyuetto." He blinked. "Hey! I get two questions now!"

She rolled her eyes. "Very well, I've got nothing else to ask, anyways."

"What- um..." He blinked.

Eiko raised a brow. "What?"

Two paused, but eventually shook his head. "I... can't think of what I wanted to say."

The Princess would've fallen over in true anime fashion, but that was very un-lady like for an up and coming ruler of Lindblum. "Err- then p-put them on a rain check or something." She said, her train of thought temporarily derailed. "And... go away."

Two turned on a heel, steered for the staircase, going down promptly. Eiko just sighed, putting her hands on her hips as the Captains voice came from over the intercom, "Now approaching Alexandria, landing time estimated at ten minutes."

"Thank Famfrit." She muttered, shaking her head. "I can't stand another minute with those two..."

†