Vivi never did like flying much. He retreated to a cabin after saying hello to the crew, and sat down on the bed with an apple in his hand, nibbling away to try and ease his nausea. As well as feeling ill, he was feeling angry. "Why Zidane? Why on earth did I have to get stuck with him?"

There was a tap on his door. "You in there, Vivi?" came Zidane's voice through the wood. Vivi did not answer, but continued eating his apple. Eventually Zidane came to the conclusion that he was sleeping, and left.

"Oh, so now he starts being himself again…oh, it's not fair." Vivi sighed heavily, having finished his apple, and lay down on the bed. He felt for the letter from Mr. 140, which was stuffed up his sleeve, and pulled it out to read again, feeling tears spring to his glowing yellow eyes. "Mr. 288…please be okay!"

The little mage woke up a good few hours later, having cried himself to sleep. Rubbing his eyes wearily, Vivi hopped off the bed and opened the door that led to the narrow hall. He was surprised to find Quina onboard; the rotund Qu was sniffing the air in the direction of Vivi's cabin. "I smell yummy-yummies!" he exclaimed. "I smell yummy-yummies in Vivi's room!"

"I ate an apple earlier, Quina," replied Vivi, adjusting his hat. "What are you doing here?"

"I here to oversee cooking and visit Master Quale," Quina said, his ever-present smile stretching across his clownish face. "Also Majesty- or Garnet, or Dagger…which one we call her now? - wish me visit Lindblum, trade yummy-yummies. Is good job!"

Vivi sighed. "At least you're enjoying yourself…"

"You not enjoying yourself?"

"No, not much."

"Why?"

"One of my friends is…w-well, dying, I guess…"

Quina shook his head. "Then Vivi fight, ensure does not happen! You can do it!" Quina patted the mage on the head clumsily. "Must go see cooks are behaving now. Bye bye!" The gourmand bounded off down the hall, leaving Vivi alone.

"You know what," he thought as he stepped on the deck, "Quina is right. I should fight so Mr. 288 doesn't stop moving!" He approached the pilot and asked politely, "How long till we reach the Outer Continent?"

The pilot, a stout middle aged man, pointed ahead of him. "You can see it now. We shouldn't be much longer; maybe half an hour." He looked down at Vivi. "Sir Tribal has wanted to talk to you, by the way."

"Oh, was he?" Vivi's question was bland and uninterested.

"He's in the engine room, talking to one of the girls, I'll bet. I'd best get back to piloting. Excuse me, Vivi…"

"T-Thanks anyway," Vivi said, and left him at the wheel. He'd forgotten that Zidane had been knighted. In fact, he had forgotten that everybody who had helped defeat Kuja and Necron had been knighted, including himself and Eiko despite their ages; due to that, the citizens tended to call the children by name, but everyone else by title. That was how Vivi preferred it anyway; the status pleased him but he hated the special treatment.

The knighting…that had been the last time he saw Eiko…

"She got the life she deserved; she's a princess now!" Vivi still marvelled at Cid and Hilda's generosity and affection for the little summoner. He missed her quite a lot, but hopefully, when they stopped at Lindblum, he would be able to see her after a year.

Vivi sat cross-legged on the deck and watched the birds fly by, images of Mr. 288 and Eiko dancing in his magical mind.

By late evening the Red Rose arrived at the Outer Continent, dropping off Quina first so he could pick up some Conde Petie 'yummy-yummies,' as he said. The black mages had had a large area of the forest cleared for airships, to save them the tiring journey of walking round the hills and through the forest, while cutting through the monsters all the while.

"After all you've done for us," Mr. 288 had said, "there isn't much we could do in return, but clearing the forest would save you time and the energy you need to fight."

There was a black mage waiting in the clearing; he must have seen the Red Rose from the sky and hurried to greet them. Vivi recognised him as Mr. 140, who had sent him the letter, stood beside a chirping chocobo he knew was a grown-up Bobby Corwen. "Eiko hated everybody calling him by his full name," Vivi thought with an inward smile, disembarking and greeting Mr. 140, "but Bobby Corwen sounds better than plain old Bobby." "How is Mr. 288?" Vivi asked Mr. 140 after shaking his hand. The black mage sighed and patted Bobby Corwen's head sadly.

"He moves like a rusted robot, slow and painfully. We worry very much for him now."

Zidane disembarked and flashed a grin. "Hey, don't you worry; we're here to sort 288 out! Where is he?"

Vivi crossed his arms. "He's Mr. 288, Zidane!"

"Oh, uh…sorry, Vivi."

"Follow me," Mr. 140 said. "Vivi, would you like to ride Bobby Corwen?"

"Um, y-yes please." Mr. 140 helped him clamber up and get comfortable; Bobby Corwen twisted his head round and nibbled at Vivi's sleeve affectionately. They set off at a fast pace, Zidane hurrying to keep up, which Vivi was quite pleased about.

Once at the village (which, due to the addition of the Genomes, was now a lot larger and prosperous), they tethered Bobby Corwen to a post so he could eat, while Mr. 140 took Vivi and Zidane to see Mr. 288. The old mage sat in his hut, gazing off into space. His eyes seemed to glow dimmer than usual, and just seeing even this worried Vivi. His gasp alerted Mr. 288, and he turned his head stiffly. "Vivi. You came back early, I see." Even his voice sounded like it was failing. Vivi stepped forward, tears shining in his eyes, and grasped Mr. 288's hands in his own tiny ones. "Keep fighting," he whispered. "I'm taking you to Lindblum so Cid can repair you. He could do you all, so you can keep on going, and you don't have to stop moving! Come with us, and we can-"

"Vivi…peace." Mr. 288 raised his hand to quieten him; it seemed to cost him a lot of energy, for he slumped a little. "I believe my time has come, and it would go against life itself to try and save me…"

But, Mr. 288-"

"Vivi-"

"Are you forgetting that it was Kuja who created you, for the sole purpose of being a monster? You'd rather side with him over how long he intended you to live?" Vivi was close to shouting now. He dropped Mr. 288's hands, tears threatening to stream down his face. "The village would be lost without you! Who could they turn to for advice? There's nobody as wise as you, Mr. 288! If Cid can make me last longer, he can do it for you too, but only if we hurry! I'm begging you, please come with us!"

Zidane hurried forward, grabbing Vivi's shoulders and shaking the hysterical mage slightly. "Vivi!"

"G-Get off me, you bastard! Like you care!" Finally losing all control, Vivi whacked Zidane in the face with his staff (it also happened to have spikes round the top) and ran out of the hut, sobbing his little heart out. He ran to the cemetery and sat on the dusty floor, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, trying to stem the unnatural flow of tears.

He felt hands on his shoulders, and he tensed, ready to lash out again, and he almost did, as for a split second he thought Zidane had come after him.

Instead he was looking into the face of a youthful Genome girl wearing a forest green tunic, cream leggings and silver bangles; he recognised her a moment later as Mikoto, Zidane's (practically) sister. She released Vivi's shoulders and sat down next to him, plaiting blades of grass. "One of our kin tripped and fell some time ago, injuring his leg," she said in her hushed voice, "and liquid began to fall from his eyes, and his chest was wracked with shudders and sounds unlike anything we had heard before. Mr. 288 explained that this was crying…and that it could happen to those who have surges of emotion, whether it be sadness or pain or joy. We had never heard or experienced this before…but now we know. Why do you cry, Vivi?" She set the plaited grass in her lap and stared at Vivi inquisitively with the eyes of one who still had much to learn of the world. Vivi sniffled and sighed, then tried to compose himself so he could answer Mikoto.

"I'm c-crying because I'm sad and angry," he said. "I'm sad because of what's happening to Mr. 288, and I'm angry because Zidane just doesn't understand."

"Ah…Zidane." Mikoto nodded slowly. "He may not understand, but I think I do. You want to help Mr. 288 but he himself doesn't know how to go about it. And Zidane is a little ignorant sometimes, is that what you're saying?"

"Yes."

"Where have you just come from?"

"M-Mr. 288's hut."

Mikoto stood, her bangles jangling. "In that case, I will go speak to Zidane. Maybe you should go home and relax awhile; I daresay you need it." She smiled briefly, which was quite surprising; Vivi could have sworn she didn't possess the ability to do that the last time he saw her, a few weeks ago. Then she left to go find Zidane. Taking Mikoto's advice, Vivi hauled himself up and headed back to his own hut, where his children were playing with some pebbles they had found outside. They all clustered around him, hugging him and telling him how much they had missed him and did he enjoy his visit to Alexandria and he replied that he had enjoyed it very much but he needed a lie down for a while, so they left him to it and he went to his room, flopping down on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

By ten o'clock, Vivi had just finished tucking the boys into bed, when there was a tiny knock on his front door. Putting down his staff, which he had been cleaning previously, he crossed the room and opened the door. Mikoto stood there, hands behind her back and head tilted. "Mr. 288 wants to see you, Vivi." Her face betrayed no emotion. "I think he's made a decision now."

"He has?" When Mikoto nodded, Vivi picked up his staff and straightened his hat. "I'll go see him then. Would you watch the little ones? Please?"

"Of course."

"Thanks!" Vivi hurried past the Genome girl and headed straight for Mr. 288's hut, only stopping to pat Bobby Corwen, who was in his own little field, on the head. Mr. 288 was sat in a chair outside his hut, his eyes closed and his staff across his lap. He cracked an eye open when he heard the young mage's footsteps. "Hello, Vivi," he murmured. "Have you calmed down now?"

"Yes, Mr. 288…"

"You injured Zidane quite badly, you know. The whole left side of his face was cut and bleeding from the spikes on your staff."

"I'm sorry."

"No matter. One of the Genomes patched him up." Mr. 288 beckoned stiffly for Vivi to come closer. "Would you like to hear my decision, Vivi?" When Vivi nodded, Mr. 288 closed his eyes again before speaking. "I have…decided to accompany you to Lindblum. I fear you are right…who will watch over the other Black Mages and the Genomes in my place? The others think so highly of me, they would feel unworthy to succeed me. That is why I will come with you, and if it is successful, I will ask Regent Cid if he will perform the procedure on the other Black Mages." He paused to ponder for a moment. "Of course, we shall have to do Lindblum a massive favour in return…but I will do anything to prolong our lives…" He fixed Vivi with a glowing eye. "Were there any…side effects, when Cid installed your pacemaker?"

"Well," Vivi said, "we only call it a pacemaker; Cid had only just invented it so he hadn't thought of a name for it yet. But n-no, there were no side effects, I don't think…"

This seemed to satisfy Mr. 288, who leaned back in his chair, his dimming eyes closed. Vivi twirled his staff in his hands, waiting for an answer from him.

After a minute, Mr. 288 opened his eyes again. "You should go back to your hut and get some rest. I will ask a few Mages to assist with supplies, assuming there is enough room on your airship?"

"Oh, there's plenty. It's Garnet's finest ship! We wouldn't have you all traipsing through Fossil Roo."

"I doubt the gargant would appreciate multiple people clambering on its back all the time anyway…"

"Yes!" Vivi giggled. "Okay, Mr. 288, I'll go back home now. You get some rest too."

"I will," came the reply. "Thank you, Vivi. But will you do one last thing for me?"

"Of course!"

Mr. 288 became slightly stern. "I want you to apologise to Zidane for injuring him. You will do that, won't you?"

Vivi shifted from one foot to the other and sighed. "…Okay, I'll apologise." He turned to leave. "See you in the morning."

"See you in the morning, Vivi." Mr. 288 slowly dipped his head in farewell, and Vivi started towards the Inn, where he knew Zidane would be.

He found the Genome sat on a bed, humming to himself. A large plaster was stuck to the left side of his face. Nevertheless, he gave Vivi a small smile when he approached. "Hey, little guy," he said, standing. "Listen, I wanna-"
"No, me first," Vivi interrupted, waving his hands. "Mr. 288 told me to apologise for hurting you."

Zidane laughed. "You didn't hurt me! … Okay, it stings a bit, but it wasn't that deep. Mikoto went into a right flap when she saw me." He gingerly touched the plaster and sat down again, motioning for Vivi to sit with him. "No, I wanna apologise too. I guess I haven't spent enough time with you recently. It's just, I'm busy a lot of the time now, what with dating the Queen and everything. I've got work to do and I just can't find the time!" He sighed heavily. "You could have come, though. You could have come to find me."

The little black mage stared at Zidane, blinking a few times. "Well, to be honest, I wanted to come to Alexandria to spend some time with you, but I just got frustrated whenever somebody told me you were busy. Not even Steiner or Beatrix could find you some spare time…and since you started seeing Garnet, it's like you don't care about us anymore."

Zidane looked shocked. "Vivi! Of course I care! It was me who thought of the idea to have Freya and Fratley's engagement party in the castle! And it was me that employed Qualli, so Quina could have a friend to talk to in the kitchens! True, now I'm a Lord I'm a busy guy, but don't think I don't care about you!" He gave Vivi a friendly hug. "You nutcase," he said, tapping him on the head with his knuckles, then gave him a little push. "Go on, go back home. We'll see you in the morning. By the way, what did Mr. 288 say?"

"He's coming with us. They all are."

Zidane grinned. "That's good. Well, I'll get busy loading the ship then." He jumped up and left the Inn. Vivi remained where he was for a few minutes before getting to his feet, straightening his hat and following Zidane out, to go back to his hut and get some sleep.