Duelist of Dawn: Welcome back, previous readers! And if you're new to this story then, what's up!?

Garnet/Dagger: (giggles) You seem to be in a good mood right now.

Duelist of Dawn: When you know some people are out there reading your stories, reviewing and feelin' them, wouldn't you be happy as well?

Garnet/Dagger: Um, 'feelin' them?'

Duelist of Dawn: Oh right, Zidane and I are still teaching you how to speak like the common village folk. In my sense, it means to like and/or to understand something, a slang word, if you will.

Garnet/Dagger: Oh, I understand, I mean get it!

Duelist of Dawn: Good, good! You're really getting the hang of it! Now I thank FF & STH for his review, plus I can't wait to see what he brings to the fanfiction table! And I'll thank Aerith the Evenstar for her review, and it's the biggest one I've received so far. Now then, Dagger, if you would give out the disclaimer.

Garnet/Dagger: Alrighty! The Duelist of Dawn doesn't own Final Fantasy nine, its characters or the music used in the story.

Duelist of Dawn: I thinkshe's really got it down! And now we'll go on to the next exciting chapter! Read on!

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Chapter 6:

The Secrets of Alexandria

(Third POV) ------ (Outside the Ice Cavern)

Approaching the Village of Dali are Zidane, Ron, Vivi, Steiner and Garnet (now taking the alias of Dagger), who are in need of some rest after their chilly trek through the Ice Cavern. But it was only a brief reprieve; they may have reached ground above the mist, but someone else is keeping a real, close eye them……

"So these are peasants who are guarding Princess Garnet?" A sinister voice muses to itself out loud. The voice was a bit squeaky but sinister enough not even care about that. The voice was coming from a being similar to the Black Waltz No.1, Zidane and Ron defeated. Along with the trademark pointed hat, it wore a blue magician's robe and had wings much bigger than the Black Waltz. The strangest thing was its lack of legs, but it didn't matter to it at all. It was also directing its attention to a small flying vehicle were Zorn and Thorn addressing the voice's owner.

"Yes, the Queen says so specifically." Zorn says.

"Eliminate them, the Queen orders!" Thorn commanded.

"At once, masters." The strange being answers. As soon as it about to take flight…….

"Be warned!" Zorn and Thorn yells.

"Hmm?" The strange being stops and turns around to the jesters. "Yes?"

"Do not underestimate the tailed boy and the human void of weapons!" Zorn warned.

"Formidable, they are to have beaten No.1!" Thorn adds in. The strange being laughs at the warnings.

"Which is why….." Less than a second, it appears next to Zorn, spooking him.

"……you created me with….." In another split-second, it appears next to Thorn who is not as afraid as Zorn.

"….teleportation abilities!" The last split second it appears in front of Zorn and Thorn again.

"We have, indeed!" Thorn says triumphantly. Zorn on other hand wasn't pleased.

"When did all of this happen?" Zorn asked Thorn, angrily.

"Told me, Master did, to add a single unique ability!" Thorn answered, smirking. "Besides, you worked on the other one, Master said." Zorn turns around, arms crossed.

"Whatever! Anyway, the objective goes as follows: capture the princess, kill her traveling party, and then return to Alexandria with the princess in hand!" Zorn briefs the being.

"Wait for signal then carry out orders, yes?" Thorn asks.

"But of course!" The being bows formally.

"THEN GO, BLACK WALTZ NO.2!!!!" Zorn and Thorn commanded and in a flash the legless Black Waltz disappears, awaiting his time to strike.

"He will succeed!" Zorn says, smirking.

"Of course, better creation than No.1!" Thorn yells. Then they turn towards a dark cave. "But always a improved version, there is!" Inside the dark cave, two red eyes open.

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(Ron's POV) ------- (Inside the Village of Dali)

We all arrived at quaint little village called Dali, filled with your everyday needs: a shop for essentials, children playing around, and finally, an inn for weary travelers which happens to be our primary destination. Despite being early enough to walk about the place still, the small journey through the Ice Cavern and across the fields afterwards, we were not exactly in the best shape to do that. And speaking of the fields before Dali, we met a pretty nice customer along the way, after some ungrateful ones …….

(Flashback, the fields around Dali)

As the gang and I walk towards Dali, we met up numerous monsters along the way, nothing we couldn't handle. First, those Trick Sparrows were a crafty bunch; those birds suddenly swooped out of nowhere trying to pick at our skins. Luckily, Vivi learned a Thunder spell out of the blue and shocked them all 'til they were extra crispy! Next, there were purple bugs called Carve Spiders. Now, you think you'd be freaked out by normal sized spiders, they are little kittens compared to Carve Spiders! They are way, way bigger than dog! Of course, aside from Steiner slicing them in half, Vivi torching them, and Zidane's stabbing, I actually got the chance to stomp like my mom does plus an Air Stomp Drill for good measure. After that we met an unexpected monster, the nice kind!

"Excuse me kind folk!" A voice said from behind us. After the bunch of monster attacks, we were a little hostile as we turned around, weapons drawn and fists ready, only to find something too cute for its own good: a Mu monster. But this wasn't just any Mu; normal Mus looked liked little blue foxes with a white tail tip, and had a bad habit of throwing stones at ya. This Mu was brown furred all over and had pleasantness in its eyes. No one expected a monster to talk or be nice to travelers.

"Uh, can we help you?" Zidane asked, making sure he heard this monster talk and putting our weapons away.

"Oh yes, certainly!" The Mu jumped up excitingly, surprising everyone except me. "I was wondering, of any of you had any ore stones I could use?"

"Ore stones?" I asked it, which it responded with a nod. I turned to the others to figure something out. "Guys, you know something about the ore stones?"

"They're supposed to be small, blue stones that have minor healing powers."Steiner said.

"Also they are somewhat common around monsters." Dagger said.

"Not worth much, though." Zidane mused. "Don't know why the little guy would want one?" Vivi then stepped over to the Mu and pulled out something.

"You mean something like this?" Vivi asked the monster. We all walked towards them to see what Vivi had, an ore stone!

"Where'd you get that?" I asked him.

"I had it since I came in to Alexandria to see the play." He answered, while looking at the stone. "I didn't know what it was until now." Then he handed it over to the nice Mu. "You can have it." The Mu was overjoyed at the kindness displayed to it.

"Oh, thanks so much!" It said. "I'll be sure to tell the others about you, bye!" Then it ran off to who knows where.

"That was strange…" Steiner thought out loud.

"At least it friendly, I couldn't stand another attack again!" I said. Zidane chuckled.

"Yeah, I figured since the little 'stomping session' you had with the local spiders!" He laughed again causing everyone except me to join in.

"Hey! When a spider THAT big gets into your personal space, I'll go insane for all you care!" I yelled in protest.

(End Flashback)

Vivi brought me out of my crazy flashback, "Gee whiz, there's a windmill!" He said curiously. I chuckled at his child antics. He wanted to get a closer look, but….

"Vivi, the inn is this way!" Zidane called out to him, pointing to a building next to where Steiner was standing.

"Aw, do we have to?" Vivi whined as Zidane nodded " ...But I wanna go see the windmill."

"I know. But let's get some rest first." Zidane told him. "We also need to decide what to do next."

"Okay." Vivi said, reluctantly.

"Let go get this room before it's booked." I told everyone as I opened the door to the inn, and everyone followed.

Inside the inn, we find a man snoozing at the front desk. In the lobby was a small fireplace, and display of breakfast foods. After returning my sight to the sleeping innkeeper, I couldn't believe that a man on the payroll was…

"Sleeping on the job?" Zidane finished my thinking statement. He walked to the innkeeper and lightly shook him awake. The guy snorted a bit before springing awake in his chair.

"Oh, I'm sorr...y. ......" The innkeeper yawned out. "Hmm?" He then stares in Vivi and Garnet's direction. I saw his eyes stare at Vivi, causing me to step right in front of him, glaring at the innkeeper, spooking him a bit. Zidane, Steiner and Dagger had no clue about this, and Vivi was confused a bit but didn't say anything as tired as he was.

"Hey, I know she's cute, but it's rude of you to stare." Zidane spoke to the innkeeper. Due to the glare I was giving him, the innkeeper jumped out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I-I wasn't looking at the young lady." He stammered. "I was just... The room is right over there." He pointed to the door right next to him. "Make yourselves at home." We all walked to the room in question, but Dagger was a bit nervous.

"Um...Zidane?" Dagger asked she scanned the lobby for other rooms. "Where will I be staying?"

Zidane pointed to the room the innkeeper showed us. "In the same room. Where else?" He responded.

"But, Zidane... I mustn't..." Dagger tried to protest. I saw Steiner was livid, as I knew what he was thinking: Zidane having no respect for privacy. But this was beyond the point.

"I understand how you feel, but these country inns don't have private rooms." Zidane assured Dagger. He then opened the door. "Get inside, everyone." He said to rest of us as we walked in. It was a four-bed room, knowing that one us older guys would be sleeping on the floor. Vivi immediately climbed on to one bed and let his dreams take hold of him.

'Man, that's one tired kid.' I thought in amazement, then turned my attention to the rest of my party.

"Tell me one thing before we go to sleep." I heard Zidane say. "Why did you wanna leave the castle, Dagger?"

"If the theater ship hadn't crashed..." Dagger started to say.

"It would've arrived at the neighboring regency of Lindblum." I finished for her causing everyone else to look at her in surprise.

"You were gonna leave Alexandria!?" Zidane asked. "I see. If you hadn't been caught, you would've reached Lindblum by now. But now... We'll have to cross South Gate on foot." He then put on a thinking pose. "Border crossing, huh?"

"Zidane, please listen." Dagger said bringing Zidane out of his thoughts. "There is a reason I must leave this kingdom. I cannot tell you why... But...please..."

"I understand... I'll get you to Lindblum somehow." Zidane said.

"I've heard enough!" Steiner yelled, breaking up the conversation. "Princess, you cannot trust the words of a thief! He may expose you to even more danger, like he did in Evil Forest! I beg of you, Princess. Please return with me to the castle."

Zidane groaned before addressing Steiner. "I know I screwed up in Evil Forest. But there's no doubt in my mind now. I'll protect Dagger with my life!"

"Don't be ridiculous! It is I who protect the princess, now and forever!" Steiner argued back.

"Then tell me. How do you intend to take her back to the castle?" Zidane asked him.

"I-I will think of a way..." Steiner stammered out, possibly trying to one up Zidane, until I broke the slience.

"Okay, listen." I said everyone turned to me. "Steiner, Dagger there are no hostilities between Lindblum and Alexandria, right?" I asked.

"No." Dagger calmly answered.

"Of course not." Steiner added in.

"And Dagger, do you plan on returning to Alexandria after your business is done?" I asked Dagger only.

"Well…." She started, but Steiner interrupted again.

"Forget it! She's coming back to the Alexandria!" He yelled at me. "I thought you of all people would understand the situation better than the thief, despite your actions towards me!"

"Oh, I understand." I tell him. "She has a personal problem she wishes to tell Lindblum's ruler, maybe family ties, but you're just preventing her from speaking her mind."

"Wait." Dagger walks up to me. "How did you know I had family in Lindblum?" She asked, earning me some suspicious looks from the men.

"Yeah, I did you know?" Zidane asks.

"I just figured since she is royalty after all, maybe Lindblum's ruler is her family." I assured them. "Just a simple guess, nothing more."

"Oh, okay…But wait, you still own me some answers!" Zidane quickly says. "About your powers and this sense of familiar air I have about you."

"I should I explain….." I started to say but……

"Zzz... Zzz..." We heard Vivi snore his sleep, looking very peaceful.

"Master Vivi..." Steiner whisperered.

"Sleeping peacefully." I told him.

"He was tired." Zidane said, turning to Steiner. "But you had to go on a tirade."

"What!?" He yelled.

"Let's just go to sleep." I said, tired of Steiner's yelling.

"Wait a sec…"Zidane said, but I cut him off.

"I tell you everything I know, but we really need to rest okay?" I asked him.

"Cool, but how are you sleeping, there's only four beds." He said.

"I got the floor, plus…" I reached under a bed and pulled out a spare blanket and pillow. "I'll have these they put under the bed."

"Well, every thing's settled, have a nice nap!" Zidane hopped on his bed and took his rest, Steiner and Dagger followed suit.

(Hours later….)

[la..lalala…..lalalalala……lalalalala..lalalalalala…]

'Dagger?' I thought in my sleep. 'Is that her singing?' I woke up afterwards to find everyone gone. 'Guess everyone's gone into town…' I started to do my morning stretches and exercises before heading across to the shop. I found a good deal of shirts and bought them for 300 gil. Then, I walked over to a restaurant which also doubled as a pub. Even though hitting the 21-year old mark, I've never drunk any alcoholic beverages and I'm not starting now. I walk into the place to see a little girl tending the place behind the counter, she turns and smiles.

"Hello, may I help you?" She asks politely.

"Yes, are you serving any breakfast foods right now?" I asked her.

"Sure, we have a short stack of pancakes for 275 gil, would you like some?" She says.

"Yes, thank you very much." I say pulling out that amount out of a pouch I gathered from a monster. As for gil, besides gathering some spare change from the play, coming up to 1000 gil, surprisingly, I also gathered up about 2200 gil battling those monsters. I still don't get how they carry any money at all, but every little bit helps! I gave the girl the amount and she led me to a table.

"It'll be ready in a few minutes." She tells me, which I nodded in response. She goes back into the kitchen and prepares the meal. As the minutes past, I hear the door open again and Zidane comes in.

"Oh, there you are Ron." He asks, walking towards me. "I found Vivi and Dagger already, now I was searching for you, what'cha doin'?"

"Having some brunch." I said. Then I see the girl bring up the plate of pancakes and some syrup and silverware. "Right on time, thank you very much." I said to the girl, she smiled and nodded as she returned behind the counter. I poured the syrup over the pancakes and began cutting them up with the fork. "So what's up?" I asked Zidane before taking a bite out of the food.

"You think you could tell me about the abilities you've showing now?" He asked in a prying manner.

'I don't think I can tell him about this universe being a video game, and I was dropped off here.' I thought. 'Still, I could use some knowledge of the game to make my case, here goes.'

"Okay first off, I'm like a wandering warrior, honing my skills against the local monsters around places." I start off. "I really don't have a home, just rest when I'm tired."

"Oh, so what made you come to Alexandria?" Zidane asked intriguingly. "If Vivi wasn't the reason, then what was?"

"The play, never really experience one up close." I told him, taking more bites of my pancakes. "But before I set foot in Alexandria, it felt like time stopped."

"Time stopped?" Zidane parroted.

"Yeah, and then a voice calls out telling me I've become part of an ultimate battle." I said. "Then I was injected with a syringe filled with red liquid."

"Ouch." Zidane winced.

"Heh, no kidding." I remarked. "I passed out and later woke up in Alexandria in front of Vivi."

"So that's how you two met; now I get it." He figured out. "I thought were his caretaker or a bodyguard, considering how you're built."

"Nah! Although, the little guy is growin' on me." I said, smiling. "Anyway, it's how I could use those abilities and use aura in my trance state, the combat skills are all my own." I finished my pancakes soon after and wiped my mouth.

"Okay, I also was wondering…" Zidane started

"…..How I look familiar to you back at the play?" I finished for him, knowing he'd ask that question next. "Sorry, I have no idea on that one."

"Alright, I'll leave that one alone, still strange though." Zidane said. "Come on, Vivi and Dagger are both waiting for us." We rose up out of the seats. Then I got the feeling we were missing something….

"Where's Steiner?" I asked.

"Who cares!? Remember, he doesn't want Dagger going to Lindblum." He says, not really caring for the knight.

"Right." I turned to the little girl and bowed to her. "Thank you for the meal!"

"You're welcome, glad you liked it!" She said cheerfully. Then Zidane and I walked back inside the inn, where Dagger was sitting her bed.

"Did you wait long?" Zidane asked her. "I asked Vivi to head back. He should be back soon. How do you like this village? Pretty different from the castle, I bet."

"Yes. The kids are very energetic, and there are so many things to see. I've never walked around so freely in my life!" She said exuberantly. I chuckled at her happiness.

"I bet it was a drag being cooped up within the castle walls, huh?" I asked her.

"Yes. I know it was for my own good, but I wanted to be able to make my own decisions by myself." She told me. "But something is bothering me about this village... Where are all the adults?" She ponders.

"Yeah... I used to see them tending the farm next to the village." Zidane wondered.

"But that farm is tiny." Dagger informed him.

"Yeah, it's kinda crazy that it's not big enough to produce more goods for the village." I added in.

"Yeah. There's something strange going on..." Zidane thought out loud. "We'll leave once Vivi gets back."

"But... What about Steiner?" Dagger asked him.

Zidane started to chuckle. "I have a good plan for crossing South Gate. It's gonna be easy! They're not looking for the rest of us, so we'll just hide you!" He then hopped up on the bed. "Forget about Rusty. Leave everything to me!"

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(2 hours later…..)

Zidane was telling me and Dagger a story during his Tantalus days, yet Vivi never came back…….

"...As it turns out, it didn't matter that we snuck into their mansion. But the Kings were hiding something in their mansion..." He then looked to me and Dagger, having something on our minds. "What's wrong? Am I boring you two?" He asked us.

"Oh, no. Your story is very interesting." Dagger assured him. "But I'm concerned about Vivi. Why isn't he back yet?"

"You're right. He is late. I'm not worried about Steiner, but Vivi, I'm not so sure about. Let's go look for him." Zidane said. We all left the inn and looked around for any sign of him.

"Wait a minute..." Zidane said. Dagger and I walked up to him.

"What's the matter?" I asked him.

"Last time I saw Vivi, he was standing over there." He pointed over near the windmill shed.

"Yeah, Vivi did want to see the windmill." I pondered. We all go closer until we heard something….

*Kweh!*

"Did I hear a chocobo?" Zidane asked. "Vivi said he heard a chocobo here." Then we heard something else…..

Sniff... Sniff...

"Is someone crying...?" Dagger asked looking around for anyone crying.

Sniff... Sniff...

"Hey, check the pipe." I said, pointing to the pipe. Zidane goes to look at a little pipe by the windmill shed.

Sniff… Sniff…

"It's coming from the hole.." Zidane leaned into the hole. "Vivi...?"

"...Zidane?" It was Vivi!

"Vivi! Where are you? Are you underground? Can you move?" Zidane was in a panic, but who wouldn't when a little kid gets kidnapped.

"They told me to stay here..." Vivi answered.

"Are you hurt?" Zidane asked.

"No." Vivi said.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out. We'll hurry, so stay where you are, okay?" Zidane assured him.

"...Okay."

"What's going on in this village...?" Zidane pondered, and then turned his attention to me and Dagger. "There's gotta be a way into the underground somewhere. Let's look for one."

"Okay!" Dagger said.

"It seems like such a quiet village..." I muttered. "Why don't we check the windmill hut for clues?" I asked Zidane. "I mean, the other buildings didn't have any place leading underground."

"You're right." Zidane said, and snapped his fingers. "And I know where, come on!" Zidane, Dagger, and I ran into the hut. I remembered that a key item was around here and I found it, a Stellazzio coin: Aries. I then turn to see Zidane cracking open a metal hatch.

"Heh, isn't this obvious?" Zidane smirked. "There's a cool breeze...Let's go." Dagger went down first, then me, then Zidane. Once inside, we run down a path to where some light in a little hut streams out.

"This isn't... ...just a regular storage facility." Zidane said. We see a chocobo near a pen who's staring curiously at us and a little hut ahead us. There are some barrels on the side of the hut with symbols on them: a green circle with a white plus inside.

"What's going on?" Dagger says.

"(Shhh!)" Zidane tries to keep quiet as he listens to some people talking inside the little hut.

"Why is it moving? Is it true that the mayor's brother found it?" The first voice asks, a man sounding older than I am.

"I guess they reconciled. His brother's one of us now." A second voice answers, another man having a younger voice.

"...Wasn't he on the old lady's side before?" The first voice asks, with confusion in his voice.

"Oh, about abandoning the farm?" The second voice responds. "He probably only said that because he was fighting with the mayor. Who cares? We need more workers anyway. Hey, let's put this in a box."

"I guess the guys at the castle will take care of it." The voice says.

"Yup. We're only in charge of production." The second voice responds.

"Gotcha." The first voice agrees.

"The castle!?" Zidane whispers. I turn to Dagger.

"You don't think Alexandria's behind this, do you?" I whisper to her.

"I don't know." She answers. She turns to see the barrels and gasps as she see the symbols.

"Come along, now." We hear three sets of footsteps coming out of the hut. We see two men come out of the hut with…..

"(Vivi!)" Zidane and I whisper in shock. The younger man drags Vivi out of the hut.

"Hurry up!" He says harshly.

"That bastard!" Zidane stands up, ready to fight. Dagger looks at me and points her eyes to Zidane, I get was she saying and go to restrain the young bandit.

"Wait a sec, man!" I whisper to him, dragging him back to the entrance of the underground, following Dagger. As soon as we're clear, I let go of Zidane but was punched in the shoulder by him, yet I hardly felt it.

"What was that for!?" He harshly asked. "We could've gotten Vivi back!"

"Dagger told to me so, it looked like had something important to say." I answered, slightly irritated at the younger guy's actions toward me. Zidane walks toward Dagger and asks, "What is it?"

"Did you see the large barrel next to the shed?" She asks us, and we both nod. "I've seen the exact same pattern on some of the barrels at the castle. This place must have some kind of connection with Alexandria Castle. I must know what it is! So please... I beg of you both, don't cause any trouble just yet." She pleads. Zidane sighs a bit.

"...Alright. But I will start trouble if Vivi is in danger. Agreed?" He asks us both.

"Sure." Dagger answers.

"Right." I say.

"Alright, let's go. They went further inside." We follow Zidane past the hut and into a larger room, where we see a large machine producing some weird looking balls. Zidane goes to walk over to it asking, "What the heck is that?" Suddenly, I hear crying…..

"Zidane!" I shout, grabbing his attention.

"What is it?" He asks running back to me and Dagger. Dagger points to a box where heard the crying from.

"Someone's crying..." She says. Zidane and I walk over to the box in question.

Sniff... Sniff... We hear the crying coming from it.

Zidane leans and asks, "...... ...Vivi?"

"Zidane!?" Vivi was inside the box!

"It IS you! We'll get you out!" Zidane yells. He turns to me and says, "Ron, break the lid down!"

"Gotcha!" I say, walking to the box. "Vivi?"

"Yes?" He asks.

"Duck down as much as you can in there and cover you head, I gonna punch a hole in it." I tell him. I hear a sliding noise against the wooden box.

"I..I'm ready.." I could tell he was scared, maybe because of the chance might hit him."

"Alright, here it comes!" I pull back my right fist and….

"HYAH!!!"

I punch a hole in it, and reach inside to pull the wood off the nails.

"Why would they stuff you in a box?" Zidane asks seeing me break down the wood/

"How could they...?" Dagger says sympathetically.

"U-Um..." Vivi tries to say.

"We'll talk later! Hooold on! ...It's open!" I pried off the lid and Vivi jumped out to hug me which I pat him on the head in return. Dagger and Zidane were relived to see the little black mage was safe and sound.

"What happened?" Zidane asked Vivi. He let go of me to face Zidane.

"After you left, some men kidnapped me and brought me here." He started. "They told me to stay put. I was so scared... I didn't know what to do. They asked me, 'Why were you outside?' and then they said, 'The cargo ship isn't even here yet.' I didn't know what they were talking about, so I didn't say anything, and then they said, 'Let's put it in with today's shipment.'"

"And they put you in that box?" Dagger asked, feeling angry at the men who imprisoned Vivi.

"...Yeah." Vivi answered.

"Well, I'm glad you're safe." I said. Zidane crouched down to face Vivi.
"Listen, Vivi. You gotta do something next time. You should try-- screaming back or whatever." He tells him.

"Screaming...?" Vivi asks confused at the thought.

"Yeah, like...'Get off me, you scumbag!'" Zidane tells him. "It surprises your attacker and empowers you!"

"Huh... I see." Vivi said.

"I need to ask you a favor, Vivi." Zidane gets his attention. "We want to check out what's ahead. I know you might not be thrilled with the idea, but..."

"...Zidane, I wanna know more, too. Look... What is that thing?" Vivi points back at the gigantic machine spitting out more of those weird ball, which travels along down the assembly line.

"Alright, we'll all go together!" Zidane said. We all head to the next room seeing many of the same boxes where Vivi was held. I felt disgusted at the fact that people stuffed a living being inside of one. But then I got close to one, and it actually resembled a coffin, I wondered as we continued down path. The next room had those weird balls on the conveyor belt. Zidane thought they looked like eggs, which had the rest of us thinking that, too. As we try to, go to the next room, Zidane takes a peek in hole where the eggs disappear to.

"What do you see I ask?" I ask him.

"I can almost see inside..." He says, trying to get a good look. "...but I can't see anything. I just hear some noise." He puts his ear to the hole. "Are the eggs...hatching?" I do the same as him, and I start to hear something cracking open as well.

"Well, let's go see what's coming out of them." I suggest, to which everyone nods and follows me to the next room. But the thing inside the next room shocked Vivi to the core.

"Ahhh! What is this!?" He screamed. We all see large-scale version of Vivi-like black mages are coming out of the end of the 'egg' machine, and they ride lifeless on hooks that head towards a last machine.

"They're... Some parts are different, but..." Zidane says then whispers the last bit to himself. "(...They look like Vivi.)"

Vivi was still shaking from the shock of seeing other being that look like him. "Wh-What is this...? Are they...dolls?" He asks frighteningly. Then I hear footsteps approaching our direction. Zidane looks to me and points to Vivi, I nod seeing what he meant.

"Vivi! Dagger!" Unfortunately, Vivi was still shaking and Dagger was in thought.

"Why...? Is my mother behind this...?" She asks in disbelief.

"This is the only way!" Zidane says. "Ron now!" I nod picking up Vivi as Zidane picks up Garnet and both run, taking

refuge inside the last machine.

"Ahhh! ...Murf...! !!! ...!!!" Zidane covers Dagger's mouth as we hide.

"Sorry! But stay quiet!" He tells her.

"Hey! Did you say something?" We hear a young man's voice call out.

"Nope. Not me." A young lady's responds to the question.

"Okay. Never mind. It's almost time. Hurry it up, will ya?" The man says.

"I hear ya!" The lady yells. We all hear the footsteps leave, and all of us breathe out.

"That was close." I say. Then, a box drops in through the top of the machine and traps Zidane inside it.

"Whoa!" We hear Zidane being carried outside the machine and into the barrel.

"Zidane!?" Dagger yells, but we fail to notice a second box coming in to get Vivi.

"Ahhhhhh!" Vivi gets put in the barrel.

"Vivi!" Dagger yells again as I try to grab the box to no avail. Then, the awkward part comes: a third box drops in trapping myself AND Dagger inside together.

"Ow!" I say as the box gets sent into the barrel leaving Dagger lying on top of me. (A/N: No one gets any ideas.

"Sorry." She says.

"Oh, it wasn't you, the box landed where my back is." I inform her. I feel the barrel moving on something with wheels, maybe a wagon. Dagger sees the shocked expression on my face.

"Is something wrong, Ron?" She asks sounding concerned.

"I'm kinda claustrophobic, plus it's hard to escape without trying hurt to you in the process." I inform her.

"It's okay." She reassures me. "We're going to get out of this." I nod. Suddenly, we feel the movement stop causing us to knock heads.

"OW!!" We yell at the same time. "Sorry." We say again.

"I wonder what they're gonna use them for?" We hear a guy's voice outside the box. "We've been making lots of 'em since they set up the factory six months ago."

"Six months?" Dagger asked.

"Who cares? This is a piece of cake compared to farming. Better money, too." A second voice says.

"Figures people trying to grab a quick payoff." I say, dryly.

"...... H-Hey! Is that scary guy in armor running towards US!?" The first voice says.

"Scary guy in armor?" I thought out loud. Then it hit me….

"Steiner!" Dagger yells having the same thoughts I had.

"...... Let's get outta here!" The voices outside yells and flee the scene.

"Man, I never thought I'd be happy to see Steiner." I say to myself. Dagger laughs.

"Why don't you like him?" She asks holding her laughter.

"I know he's loyal to you and all, but needs to control and learn to watch himself as well." I say. "I try to get his attention."

"This barrel... What could be inside!? What could they possibly be shipping out from this village?" We hear Steiner says. I then rock the barrel. "What the--Did I just see that barrel move? Let's see..." I hear a sword being removed from its sheath.

"Oh he's not gonna…" I didn't want to finish the thought, Steiner's sword did. It almost hits my back, but it hit someone who I didn't know was close to me and Dagger……

"OW! OOOWWWWWWCH!!!" I hear Zidane yell and break out of the barrel. "What did you do that for!?"

"You!!!" Steiner yelled.

"You almost stabbed Dagger!" Zidane yelled at him

"The princess!?" Steiner sounds terrified as we heard a clanging noise."Ouch!"

"Serves you right, now let's get everyone out!" Zidane yells. He and Steiner break all of us out, but Steiner was livid finding me and Dagger in the same box.

"Princess, what in the world is going on!?" He yells escorting Dagger out, but pulls me out by the collar of my shirt. "You scoundrel! Is this your doing!?"

"No! Get off me!" I say, yanking his arm off of me. He tries to grab me again until Dagger steps in.

"Steiner, please!" She yells at him.

"But Your Highness…." Steiner protested but was cut off.

"He didn't do anything but protect me from being hurt inside that barrel!" She scolds him/

Steiner slumps down. "Yes, Your Highness..."

Dagger walks over to Zidane to talk to him about Vivi. "Zidane, I don't know what to say to Vivi. I never knew anything suspicious was going on at the castle..."

Zidane thinks for a minute before responding. "We still don't know for sure. Let's stay by Vivi's side." Dagger nods, and then Zidane talks to Steiner. "Yo, Rusty, do you know where this airship's going?" He asks.

I see Steiner hesitating for a minute. "...... ...L-Lindblum. Yes, to Lindblum." He stutters out.

Zidane looks thrilled. "That's convenient! Did you ask someone?" He asks.

Steiner points in the direction of a nearby mountain."Th-The old man in the shack told me! So it must be true!" I wasn't convinced.

"Steiner, don't….." I then sensed something coming, something similar to a previous fight. I turned around to see a flying, legless black mage coming. I immediately got into fighting position. "Something is headed this way!" I yelled to the others. The mage fly over but starts teleporting all over the place, trying to intimidate us. Little did any one know, I followed the black mage's exact movements. It wasn't until the thing started speaking did I know where he came from…..

"Princess Garnet, the queen is waiting for you at the castle!" It said in a squeaky, yet deeper voice than Black Waltz No.1, wait that's it!

"You're one of those Black Waltzes aren't you!?" I yelled getting ready to fight.

"You were all sent by the castle!?" Zidane yelled grabbing daggers. We both earned confused looks from Dagger, Vivi and Steiner.

"What? What are you two talking about!?" Steiner asked.

"Remember that blizzard that knocked you out?" I asked. They all nodded.

"A creature caused like this guy caused it." Zidane said pointing at the flying mage. "It said it was a Black Waltz!"

The creature looked in disbelief."No. 1 was defeated by a monkey and a human!? I am Black Waltz No. 2! My power, magic, and speed make me far superior to No. 1! Resistance is futile!" The Black Waltz held its hand out to Dagger. "Come, Princess. The queen awaits!"

Dagger stepped back behind me. "No! I will not return to the castle." She says to the Waltz. It started to growl.

"Come with me, or you'll regret it!" It threatened.

"Wait! I, Steiner, shall escort the princess back to the castle!" Steiner informed it.

"Kee hee hee! You think I care? I won't let you stand in the way of my mission!" It said getting ready to fight. "Princess, stay there while I kill the others."

(Play Divine Spirit of Language-Star Ocean 3) (A/N: This music rocks!)

"Take this!" No. 2 yelled and started to teleport around the front. I was able to follow the movements until….

"Ha!" He almost hits me but I jump back giving it an uppercut to his face. "How did you find me!?" He asked looking shocked as he backed off.

"Heh, I can read your movements thanks to your aura pal!" I said having a big smile on my face.

"Yes, but how about your friends?" The Black Waltz does the same teleport tactic. It thinks that since Zidane and the others couldn't read his movements fast enough, he could do some damage, but….

"Steiner, slash to your right!" I yelled, and Steiner followed hitting the Black Waltz dead on.

It tried to follow up Zidane and Vivi, but with more quick commands from me, they evaded and struck with their weapons.

"AHHH!!" It yelled in pain, and then looked towards me with killer intent. "Fine, you die first!" It charged up its magic and then released it. "Fira!"

This created a miniature tornado of fire which surrounded me and started burn me.

"Ron!!" I heard Vivi and Dagger yell out. As the fire died out, I had burn marks all over my arms.

'No! Can't die yet!' I thought and I felt the Waltz show up behind me trying to score a free hit, but I ended up rolling forwards to dodge as Vivi shocked him with a thunder spell.

"Kee hee hee! This is how a real thunder spell is done!" The Black Waltz charged up magic and launched four thunder bolts at everyone except Dagger, knocking us down.

"Ugh! Man he's tougher than the first one; he doesn't need a buddy to help him out." Zidane groaned. Then was struck in the back, followed by Vivi and Steiner.

"Of course!" No.2 praised. "My power is more than enough for some blasted sea mammal!" It then floated towards me and picked me up charging magic. "Now you die!" It tried to deliver some magic to me but….

"Stop!" Dagger ran over and smacked the Waltz with her rod. It turned around to see Dagger with a angry look on her face.

"Princess! Don't interfere!" It commanded her.

"No, I won't let my friend be killed!" She said ready to swing her rod again.

"Princess, you…AHHH!!" The distraction let Zidane slash the creature's body, causing it to release me. Garnet took the time to heal everyone with Cure spell. I then noticed my hands and arms were glowing bluish-white as the Black Waltz got up.

"I had enough!" He raised his hands to charge magic again, Fira maybe since it's the strongest attack he's done. "My mission is to retrieve the Princess!!"

I took the time to slam my fists into the ground and yell: "ICE TOMB!!" The glow receded from my arms and traveled through the ground in a icy path. As soon as it reached the Waltz, it stopped charging magic and looked to the ground at the ice circle below it.

"What the…AHHHH!!!!" The ice circle sprouted icy spires that pierced through its entire body. Vivi took his time to unleash the thunder spell through the spires conducting it and doing a massive thunderstorm-like attack on the immobilized Black Waltz. We all looked in all at the damage being done. As soon at it was done, the ice cracked and the Waltz fell to the ground having a seizure.

"W-Wh….Why....?" It choked out before it died and evaporated.

(End music)

"Man, that was incredible!" Zidane yelled grabbing me and Vivi in headlocks. "You guys stole the show with that combo!"

"Zidane, let go." I said wincing at my burns. He released us both, apologizing all the while.

"Black Waltz No. 2..." We turned to see Dagger thinking out loud. "Did my mother really send him to capture me...?"

"It can't be! There is no reason to trust the words of some bandit." Steiner cut in, and then pointed at Zidane. "He was just another criminal, scheming to use the princess for some evil deed."

Dagger then looked irritated. "Have I not been careful enough?"

"Your noble upbringing cannot be disguised so easily." Steiner said proudly.

"Shut up, Steiner!" I yelled him while Vivi hid behind Dagger at my outburst.

"What!?" He said look at me.

"That's not true at all." Zidane added in. "You haven't been watching. Dagger is trying really hard." He then pointed a finger at Steiner. "You're the one with the problem! Walking around, yelling 'Princess!' everywhere..." He then turns to Dagger and Vivi. "About the border crossing..."

"Yes?" She asks.

"Why don't we hitch a ride on this airship?" Zidane suggests.

"Sure, Lindblum should not be terribly far by airship!" She says but catches her slip up in her language. "I mean...'won't be too far.' But why don't we get some rest before we go?"

"Okay. Let's head back to the village." Zidane told us and turned to Vivi. "Vivi, you'll be safe with us." We all headed back inside the inn and rested up. Man that was one Hell of battle! I hope we have a better time against Black Waltz No.3, wherever he is……

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Yay, another chapter done, another boss defeated!

Next chapter: We all ride the airship….which heads to Alexandria, but Zidane has other plans for the destination, much to Steiner's dismay. But still we are about to get an unwanted passenger in the form of the last Black Waltz….can we beat someone powerful than No.1 and No.2 combined? Find out in chapter 7: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Riding Airships! Please rate and review, and I'll see ya then!