. . . I'm running out of things to say at the beginning of chapters. …Heh, oh well. I'm sure you don't wanna hear me talk anyway, so I'll just get straight to reviews.

Ameki Elisa-- Hmm, good point. Perhaps I should take that part out. I don't wanna piss anyone off. By the way, you're a Marcus fan, huh? That's cool! You don't see many of those. Yeah, I like Marcus too (I basically just like Tantalus in general). But, of course, Blank is my favorite --sighs dreamily-- Well, glad you liked the changes I made. I was worried people wouldn't like it.

Gem-- Hee hee, thanks!

Aisler-- Lol. That's all I have to say about your review is "lol". Heh sorry if I'm making fun of Eiko too much (I just find that fun to do) And as for the whole not noticing things subject…wow and I thought I was bad. That's funny.


Chapter Eight
Clouded Memories

Blank stood on the bow of the airship as it flew over Alexandria. Son…? he thought to himself. Why did he call me his son? He couldn't possibly be my father. But . . . that voice. It's so familiar. I know I've heard it before. …Could I really be his . . .? Blank's thoughts trailed off as he tried to remember where he had heard Garron's voice. Those dreams. He silently said. His voice is from those nightmares.

(Flashback)

The six year old Blank tossed and turned on his bed as he moaned quietly, but still loud enough to disturb his "brothers" sleeping in the same room. The Clock Tower was a small building with only three rooms. The main room was where their living room/ kitchen was (A/N which would later be Ruby's room as well, but this was before she joined Tantalus). To the left of that room was a hallway leading to a second room which had four beds for Cinna, Marcus, Zidane, and Blank. And then the third room, down the hall a bit more, was where Baku and the Nero bros slept.

Two blurry figures stood in front of Blank. One was kneeling on the ground, keeled over in pain; while the other stood next to the kneeling figure. Blank stood behind a stone building as he watched the two figures. "I told you to kill the boy and you deliberately disobeyed me!" The upright figure said to the kneeling one. Blank could tell it was a masculine voice. "I cannot kill my own son!" The kneeling figure boldly replied, this one being feminine. "Then you shall die as well," the man said. He then held up his sword and struck it through the woman's stomach. The woman screamed in pain and struggle to cry out the words "Run! Run away from here! Save yourself!" With that, the man pulled his blade back out and hacked off the woman's head.


Blank knew her message was for him. He tried to run, but the moment he did he felt a stinging in his eyes. He stopped and winced a little. The pain wasn't too bad at first, but it grew until he could hardly open his eyes. He held up his left hand to wipe away what he thought were tears, but pulling his hand away from his face, he discovered it to be blood. He felt the streaks running down his face as his eyes bled, blurring his vision. He could hear the man's footsteps behind him, as the man searched for the boy he wanted dead. With no other choice, Blank ran. He didn't care that he couldn't see anything; he just ran, hoping he wouldn't run into anything. And hoping that the man wouldn't find him. After running for what seemed like hours, Blank stopped. He could hear the sound of waves and feel sand under his bare feet. He gasped for air, then suddenly collapsed to the ground, from exhaustion and from the severe pain, emitting from his eyes.


"You cant run away forever," a voice called to Blank in his sleep. "You will die."


"Who…who are you!" He asked the voice.


"I'll make sure of it," the voice continued.


"Answer me!" the boy cried, a child-like fear in his voice.


"I will find you…soon!"


The six year old woke up in a cold sweat, screaming as though he were about to die. He sat upright on his bed, gasping for breath

"Blank?" Marcus said out of the darkness of the room. He had still been awake listening to Blank's moans and indistinct babbling. "Blank, what's wrong!" he whispered in a panic but still quietly as to not wake anyone else up. Apparently it hadn't occurred to him that Blank's cry had already done just that. Blank was too out of breath and frightened to answer him. It had only been a few months since Blank had joined Tantalus and Marcus still only thought of him as an annoying younger brother. But that was why he had developed a protectiveness of Blank. Blank was his younger brother; and for some reason Marcus, although he still didn't like Blank, felt closer to him than anyone else in the group.

Marcus, got up, walked over to Blank's bedside, and sat down beside him. "Nightmares again?" Marcus asked.

Blank continued breathing heavily, but was able to answer with a simple exasperated "yeah".

"Same ones?" he asked.

Blank nodded.

Zidane, eight years old at the time, got up and sat on the end of Blank's bed. "It was just a dream, Blank. Why are you so freaked out by it?" he asked bluntly (I kinda picture Zidane as a blunt guy who never thinks before he speaks).

"You would be too if you knew what they were," Marcus defended Blank.

"Well, how can I know when he wont tell me!" Zidane argued.

"They're just so realistic…" Blank said, finally able to speak. "As if it actually happened…"

(end flashback)

"…Maybe it did," Blank said aloud as he felt the airship landing. He looked up to see the form of a castle in front of him. Or at least, what he could make out of it. A tall building with a giant thing sticking out of the top (by that I mean the glass-like sword on the top of Alexandria Castle). That was about all he could tell of it.

"Come on, Blank. What're ya just standin' around for?" Baku said from behind him. "Let's get goin'!" By now, it was about 9:30 at night. They had been flying since early that morning, making their way all the way from the western side of the continent. "I've been piloting this thing all damn day. I gotta get in that castle, so I can finally eat somethin'!" Blank smiled slightly and walked with him down to the dock of the harbor. Zidane, Cinna, Marcus, Kaira, Ruby, Eiko, and Draco were already there; Baku had asked the Nero brothers to stay and take care of the airship.

Just as Blank and Baku walked down the dock, Garnet ran out of one of the doors of castle. She had seen the Prima Vista approaching and quickly got up to greet them.

"Everyone! I didn't know you were coming! I haven't seen you all in so long!" she said as she excitedly ran over and stopped beside them.

"Hey Dagger, I -" Zidane started, but was cut off by Garnet.

"Baku, Marcus, Blank, Cinna, Ruby. It's so nice to see you again!" the queen exclaimed.

"Umm, Dagger what about - " Zidane was interrupted again.

"Dagger!" Eiko yelled.

"Oh, Eiko!" Garnet ran up to the seven year old girl and knelt down, giving her a tight hug. "I didn't know you were here too." She got up and looked over at Kaira and Draco. "And who are you two?"

" . . . What about me . . . ?" Zidane whispered to himself. Marcus and Cinna, who were standing next to him, snickered quietly. Zidane just looked at them with a look that said "Shut up or else!"

Kaira and Draco introduced themselves to Garnet, then she turned around to Zidane and laughed. "And don't think I've forgotten about you."

Zidane just smiled, not remembering anything he wanted to say to her. She walked over to him and gave him a hug. Not exactly what I wanted, he thought to himself, but better than nothing.

"So what did you come for?" Garnet asked them.

"We were wondering if you could help us with something," Baku answered.

The group went inside the castle to eat and discuss the issue. Steiner and Beatrix joined them, Steiner not being too happy about them suddenly appearing in Alexandria. Blank and the others had explained the situation, and Baku whispered to Dagger that the real reason they were there was so Zidane would shut up about missing her. She just laughed at the comment, flattered and yet not surprised that he missed her.

"Hmm, Garron… I don't believe I've heard that name before." The queen (A/N she's seventeen by the way, Zidane is nineteen. I know in the game he was only sixteen but I'm gonna say he was eighteen) looked to Steiner and Beatrix as if asking them if they had heard the name before. They both shook their heads.

"What about Dr. Tot?" Beatrix suggested. "He may know something about this man or about the island that Kaira is from."

"Good idea! Dr. Tot has been here for the past couple of weeks," Garnet explained. "He's been studying various things in his library, but mostly I think he just wanted to visit us. I think he gets lonely in Treno."

"Well, then lets go talk to him!" Eiko excitedly exclaimed.

"Why are you so eager all of a sudden?" Zidane asked her.

"I'm just looking forward to going on another adventure with everyone." Eiko beamed.

"Yeah, but this one has nothing to do with you. I mean, you shouldn't even be here."

"Wh- what! But . . . it has nothing to do with you either, so why are YOU here!" the girl retorted.

"Zidane!" Dagger interrupted. "That was so rude of you!"

"B- but she said the same thing back to me…" he tried to look innocent.

"I cant believe your insensitivity sometimes." Dagger looked away sharply and stood to go the library.

Why is it that I'm always fighting a losing battle…? Zidane silently asked himself. The others followed Dagger to the library, while Steiner and Beatrix returned to their duties; and Eiko wandered off to explore the castle.

"Now lets see." they heard from inside the library. It was a large room with books stored on every wall from floor to ceiling. There were a few tables in the room with four chairs at each one for reading and studying. The lighting in the room was dim, but still light enough to read by. "Where is it? I know it's here somewhere."

"What are you looking for Dr.?" Dagger asked from behind him.

Tot jumped, startled at hearing somebody behind him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Garnet. I didn't hear you coming. And what's this? Zidane and all of his friends are here as well. What a surprise to see you all again!"

"…but what were you looking for?" Zidane re-asked Dagger's question.

"Oh, just an old book about the stars and the constellations of the Eidolons. Nothing too important. Did you need something?"

"Yes." Dagger started. "We wanted to ask you if you knew anything about a man named Garron." Blank told Tot of what had been going on lately, and Kaira added what she already knew.

"Hmm…I'm sorry to say that I've never heard of him. However, I have heard of the Gerudo…a group of mostly female bandits who live on an island off the east coast of the Forgotten Continent. "

" . . . That's right," Kaira said, shocked that he knew where the island was located.

Tot paused to think about all that had been told to him. He looked over at Blank and noticed a black mark on his left arm. "Draco, you're a dragon, correct?" Tot continued.

"Yes, I am," he answered.

"Is it true that the Gerudo train and use dragons to aid them in their thieving?"

"I feel likewe're on trial." Kaira said bluntly. "What are you getting at?"

"Kaira, behave," Draco scolded her. The girl just glared at her companion.

"Yes, they do use dragons," Draco answered.

"But why are you so curious about the Gerudo?" Kaira asked Tot.

"Dragons are very untrusting creatures. …The Gerudo must have strong ties with the dragon race in order for the dragons to live peacefully with them." Tot seemed to be talking to himself; everyone else just sitting, listening, wondering where he was going with this. "Blank, I'm curious to know about that tattoo on your arm. Where did you get it?"

Blank lifted his right hand and rested it over a tattoo of a black dragon just below his left shoulder. "This? I don't know. It's always been there. I don't remember ever having it put on."

"Blank had that when we met him, back when he was only six," Marcus added.

"I see. How curious." Tot stared at Blank's arm intently, studying the mark as though he expected it to move.

Blank then turned his body in a way that blocked the doctor's view of his arm. "Stop staring at me."

"Oh! I'm sorry, my boy. Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." That mark… Tot thought silently. Could it be . . . ? No, it couldn't be. …But what if it is? "Hmm…"

"…what?" Blank was beginning to feel impatient with the doctor's stalling. "Do you know anything, or don't you. Cause if you don't then there's no point in us being here."

"Blank don't be rude," Ruby leered at him.

"No, I agree with him!" Kaira added. She stood up and slammed her palm down on the wooden table. "I'm tired of sitting here listening to all of your stupid questions. If you know something, tell us. If you don't know anything, then let us leave!"

"Kaira…" Draco was getting impatient now as well. However, it wasn't at Tot, it was at Kaira as it usually was. Her impatience with the doctor was making him impatient with her.

"…Okay. …Too much tension in this room," Zidane said as he fidgeted in his seat.

Dagger stared down at her hands and tried to avoid eye-contact with anyone. "Uhm…so do you think you can help us…?" Dagger asked, still staring down at her lap.

Tot hesitated to talk, not wanting to make anyone else mad or in a hurry. "Blank, you said that this Garron fellow called you his son, am I right?"

"Yes, but he probably didn't mean it that way," Blank was still in denial aboutt he whole thing. Admitting that Garron may be his biological father would betoo much to bear.

"Do you know if this Garron fellow had any similar markings on him as to the one onyourarm?"

Everyone looked around at each other, all of them shook their head.

"Well then, I don't think I can be of much more help to you directly. However, I can tell you where you might be able to find some more information. The people of Daguerreo (excuse me if I didn't spell that right) are very loyal to there water dragon god, Leviathan. They have studied a lot about dragons and their history. I suggest you go there."

"But why?" Blank asked confusedly. "Just because I have a tattoo of a dragon doesn't mean it actually has anything to do with dragons. It's just a tattoo."

"That mark may have more significance than you think it does."

They talked for a while longer about various things, most of there conversation having nothing to do with what they had originally come here for. The group spent the night in Alexandria, and the next morning would leave for the Forgotten Continent.

(A/N I find it funny that no one ever noticed that Eiko was missing. I didn't do that on purpose, I just kind of forgot about her. Heh, sorry Aisler...)

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One more chapter to the story. Yay! I just love posting new chapters! Yeah, I know, that sounded really gay….but I do. I like knowing what people will think of it. --smiles-- I love my reviewers. Much thanks to you all!