Disclaimer: I don't own FFXII

With Amalia tagging along, they ran through the waterway at a steady pace. There was a suspicious absence of rats, sterlings and the ever more common gigantoads.

They walked into another open part of the waterway, this time with waterfalls around the edges. They paused in the middle of the room. Something didn't feel right.

There was a sloshing sound.

Three large Flans were coming toward them. Something still didn't add up. The sound was louder than these Flans could possibly make. Unless...

They looked up.

There was an absolutely huge Flan on the ceiling that promply dropped. They were trapped.

The four of them quickly drew their weapons and opened fire.

The ghost hovered around each of the four Flans for a minute or two. He yelled to Vaan. "Though they are large, you will find that these Flan are weak to fire as any other."

That tidbit was enough to change the tide of the battle in their favour. Fran and Amalia were the only ones among the group capable of casting Fire. Vaan and Balthier shot and slashed at the Flans to distract them while the women were casting the spells. It didn't take long to kill the Flans with fire on their side.

With a strong feeling of satisfaction, the party headed forward toward Lowtown. It was taking forever to get out of the sewers. Along the way they fought off some sort of winged creature. Vaan didn't know what they were called but the ghost said they were called Garchimacera. Either way, they were easy to kill.

They headed into the last room before Lowtown. Finally.

Vaan was familiar with this room. He killed rats in this room on a regular basis. The steam in the room was making him nervous. This place was usually cool. This heat was strange. They walked a few paces into the room.

A fireball!

A massive fireball appeared from behind one of the pillars and flew around their heads. It stopped in front of them and hovered before dropping onto the ground. A horse-like creature exploded from the fireball and neighed. It's hoof touched a puddle and made a hissing sound. More steam filled the room.

The creature pranced onto the stone floor that they stood on and charged.

They scattered.

Everyone took a quick swing at it but what wasn't evaded didn't actually cause very much damage.

Vaan felt a cool feeling on his left arm that he welcomed in the heat of the room. He realised that the feeling was the ghost's spectral hand on his arm.

The ghost had to near shout in his ear to be heard. "Vaan! The creature is a Firemane! It is weak to water. Lure it into the puddles and it will be momentarily distracted by it's pain. That's your opening."

They used a herding stratedgy to defeat the Firemane. It mainly rushed or kicked at them. The one attack it had that did a lot of damage was only used twice.

They all took a deep breath when it reverted to a fireball and flew away.

"Stand where you are!"

They all jerked an spun to face the source of the noise. On a higher level were multiple Imperials. Each aiming a gun at them. Behind them, watching the proceedings, was Vayne.

Amalia growled and started forward.

Balthier grabbed her arm and muttered urgently, "Now is not the time."

Amalia just snarled at the guards that descended the stairwell to surround them.

The ghost floated beside Vaan and scowled up at Vayne. "This isn't about the fete. He'll pay for what he's done! That bastard!"

Vaan could only blink at him in utter surprise before the Imperials were on them.

An unusually high number of people stood outside Migelo's warehouse. There were Imperials standing guard around the door of the warehouse. The people of Lowtown muttered among themselves.

"I hope they get what's coming to them."

"They're the thieves who stole into the palace."

"They deserve whatever they get!"

"Is that what the commotion last night was about?"

Amalia was standing with the others before the door. They were protected from the scorn of Lowtown by the Imperials. It was the opposite of the situation that Vaan usually found himself in.

Amalia seemed outraged by the mutterings of the people. "They think me some common thief."

Balthier leaned toward her and spoke in a low voice. "Better than a common assassin." She jerked at his words.

She was urged forward by an Imperial. She walked without a fuss but spoke commandingly. "These people have done nothing. Release them."

The ghost watched her and shook his head. This was the first Vaan had heard from him since their capture. "She intends to hide her identity and behaves like this? She has not even changed her appearance. Foolish woman. She'll get herself killed with that royal attitude of hers."

The monologoue was gibberish to him. He turned his attention to the woman. Vaan hissed at her. "What are you doing?"

She glanced at him, the hauty tone never leaving her voice. "Don't interrupt me, I'm thinking."

Vaan just watched her go.

The ghost cleared his throat. "Vaan." Upon getting Vaan's attention, the ghost directed his focus to their right.

Vayne Solidor was staring at him.

Vaan's eyes narrowed as the man stalked off.

"Wait!"

No! Vaan's head whipped around. Penelo was trying to get passed the guards. "He didn't know what he was doing! You have to let him go! You have to!"

If he didn't do something, they'd hurt her! The Imperials stationed in Rabanastre weren't above causing pain to shut someone up.

"Penelo!"

She looked up at him.

"Sorry." He calmly raised his shackled wrists to show her that he'd known what he was doing. "That dinner'll have to wait."

"Vaan," the ghost chided. "If you keep drawing attention to yourself, you'll be the one hurt."

He knew that. He'd done it for two years. He could handle the pain, Penelo and the younger kids couldn't.

The ghost seemed to understand at his silence. He said no more.

"I told you!" She sobbed.

The Imperial behind Vaan didn't care for all the banter. "That's enough!" A strong, gauntleted hand came down on the back of Vaan's head.

Penelo had never witnessed Vaan's self-sacrificing tendancies. "Leave him alone!" She broke free from the hold of the Imperials. She sprinted toward the crumpled form of Vaan.

She was heading for a world of pain and was too blind to see it.

Luckily for Penelo, there was divine intervention in the form of Balthier. The sky pirate had understood what Vaan was doing and followed his wishes to protect Penelo. He stepped in front of the sprinting girl, forcing her to stop.

He presented her with a hankerchief. "Hold onto this for me, would you? Just until I bring Vaan back."

She held the hankerchief close. It was white linen of fine quality.

Behind Balthier, guards were barking. "On your feet! You, over here!"

Balthier went with them, with a witty comment. "All right, all right. Edgy, aren't we?"

In one of the crossroads behind Penelo were some bangaas, muttering angrily to each other. Nobody payed them any attention.

Vaan was aware he was dreaming. He had this specific dream more often than was probably healthy. There was a window with light pouring in. There was a bed with medical equipment surrounding it. There was a chair infront of the window. In the chair was Reks. Unresponsive, gone.

He could not control his dream. He always said the same things. He asked for answers, if Reks was involved in the king's death. He'd accuse Basch of manipulating his brother. Reks would dissolve into light. Galbana lillies would be left in the chair. The ring that had been on Reks' finger - their father's ring - was now in Vaan's possession. Vaan would leave the room.

This time, the dream didn't end there.

He walked from his brother's hospital room into the ghost's former chambers in the palace.

A man was sitting on the bed. He had pale skin and hair that was so blonde it was almost white. He wore clothing that was a mixture of Dalmascan armor and something else. His face was breathtaking. His cheekbones were high but not as prominent as any citizen of Rabanastre. His mouth was sinful with his bottom lip fuller than the top. He possessed a stubborn chin and a noble's jaw. His nose was perfectly proportioned for his face. His eyes were his most striking feature. They were dark, contrasting with his pale features and emphasised by gracefully slanted blonde brows.

It was with a start that Vaan recognised the ghost that had been his companion since the treasury. He was whole, living and eerily familiar.

Though not familiar enough to recall his name.

The ghost got up and walked out the door. As the door was closing, he did something that had never happened before.

He turned his head and looked Vaan in the eye.

The door closing interupted the stare. Vaan shivered.

The ghost's deep voice drifted through the door. "You must keep an open mind. People other than your brother were manipulated. If you look beyond what can be seen, you will gain an invaluble ally."

The voice faded and the light dimmed in Vaan's dream. His mind drifted into blissful unconciousness.