Filling In The Blanks

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 9 or any of its characters.

A/N: I've had this done for a LONG time! I'm sorry I didn't update forever! I hope you forgive me and still leave me love!

Chapter 42: White Mage

The army was smart. The army was not going to run into a fight they were instructed to stay out of – no matter how many people showed up. They also were not, under any circumstance, going to get in Kuja's way when he was that angry…

And if they thought he was mad before…

They were in for a bit of a shock…

Marcus landed easily on the ground after a simple roll, though dodging Kuja's quick attack was a bit harder. He dove behind a chunk of wood, only to feel it get immensely hot, and burst into flames. He cursed loudly as Ruby's shriek was heard, when he was forgotten, and the attacks were on the next to land.

He glanced around, still pressed against the ground incase he had to spring into action.

He saw Zidane on the ground, still unmoving, and bleeding badly. If they wanted any chance of saving the kid, they needed to get out of there fast. Assessing the army, he figured that even if they did look away from Kuja's powerful attacks, they wouldn't try to stop Marcus, in fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Biting his lip, he knew using the three other Tantalus thieves for bait might have been a bad thing, but their main objective was to get the blonde and get out. He heaved forward, rolling to a stop by him.

"Zidane!" Marcus hissed, shaking his limp being a little. When no movement – not even the flicker of an eyelid – happened, he glanced at Kuja, who cast countless spells one after another, unrelenting, at the three who were trying to take cover among various objects.

The ship still hovered close to the ground – but too far to simply jump into.

His debating ended up causing problems. Kuja whipped around, eyes wide when he saw the thief next to his prey, "What are you doing you idiots?" He demanded of his army, "Attack!" His bellowing voice seemed to echo, and that's when Marcus truly got nervous.

"Shit…"

As the man turned his attentions back to Blank, Ruby, and Zenero, Marcus suddenly had a whole army after him. Cursing once more, he threw Zidane over his shoulder, hoping he didn't further the damage.

Flinching as he felt blood already lead onto his shoulder, he took off at a sprint, whistling loudly to show he was leaving. The others quickly followed his lead, and eventually, the ship saw the mass mob moving away.

"How is he?"

"Terrible. He's not walking, is he?"

"Is he dead, is what I meant!"

"I haven't had time to check!" Marcus tried to keep the snip from his voice, but he couldn't help himself.

The ship crushed another building, and large chunks rocketed from the sky. It was either be trapped with the army, or get a little bit of a head start. He decided to go with the ladder as he raced forward, increasing his speeds.

"Marcus!" Ruby yelled, trying to pick up the pace. But he didn't look back, and kept sprinting, praying he could beat the concrete mix.

His feet pounded into the ground, the rain splashing into the blood as it ran off his body. They were soaked now, and raindrops began to pelt down so hard, they could barely see in front of them.

With Cinna and Baku's piloting skills, he was surprised the large mass in the air (that he assumed was the ship) was still floating, and pushed forward, though is burning lungs were protesting.

Ruby breathed and grabbed Blank's hand, hoping that he could continue pulling her forward. After one look at his face, seeing his determination, yet the loss of hope in his barely visible emerald eyes, she knew she had to do something to help their cause. He would never be the same person again if he lost Zidane one more time… for the last time…

This time, she held her breath as chill condensed in her hand. Once she felt too much power to hold onto, she released it, a blizzard of cold air and ice spewing over the area. Instantly, the liquid froze, and many frontline soldiers slipped and fell, beginning a build up.

At least, since the ice wouldn't stop Kuja – perhaps a mound of soldiers would.

Marcus began to yell, and the three picked up pace as the ship hovered dangerously close to the ground. The landing gear wasn't out, which meant they would need to jump, but if anything tipped them off balance – they were doomed to not fly, and in turn, be caught.

"We have to move!" He roared, gearing up to jump. Blank watched as he leapt, airs dangling midair for a moment, before landing heavily on the area of the ship just in front of the door.

Blank was next to jump, and he let go of Ruby's hand, so he could pounce into the opening. He flew easier than Marcus, carrying Zidane, and easily landed inside. The two left were the ones they had to worry about.

Ruby couldn't naturally jump as far, and Zenero's hefty build caused a harder fall, and a shorter suspension time in-air.

The redhead encouraged Zenero, and he gave a great amount of effort into his jump, though not confident in the least that he would manage to get up. He was correct, and his first attempt almost made him fall over.

His fingertips skimmed the ground, and somehow his feet kept moving, missing only about a half of a beat.

"Come on Zen! You can do it! Just give it one more shot!" The thief puffed as he tried to move, and hopped once more, this time, dangling from the edge of the craft.

The weight seemed to be thrown off, and the ship tilted on edge. It began moving forward the moment Marcus had leapt, so it made it all the more difficult to get the others on board. His legs kicked, trying to find footing along the dusty ground, but extend his legs too far, and he would grind on the ground, falling off.

It was a dangerous gamble, but with the combined help of Marcus and Blank, he got onto the ship, though barely as he rolled away.

Ruby knew she was the last to get on the ship and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. The scenery seemed to zip by them, but her eyes only focused on the red tuft of hair above Blank's head. The cries of the soldiers were close again, and she could basically feel Kuja's breath on her neck. Tears filled her vision as the ship seemed to lurch forward – further from her reach.

It didn't seem like she was going to make it.

?

"After a month of great work…" Cid grinned, spreading his arms.

Leaves rustled around them, blowing them into the large clearing they had chipped out of the forest. Eyes beaming, he began to walk around the object, examining everything about it. "No – more than a great month…" He chuckled, turning back to the crew, "The Hilda Garde III has been finished my friends!"

Dagger's chocolate eyes looked at the invention lovingly. "It looks amazing, Uncle!"

"If this is three…" Bronson tilted his head, dirty blonde hair tilting to follow his head, "Where are the first and second?" He wondered out loud.

"We have the first," Cid explained merrily, "And Lindblum was stolen away just as I was finishing construction on the second…" He nodded sorrowfully, "So here we are with the third!"

"Neither the first or third will be in wonderful condition," Dagger explained, watching as her uncle seemingly pranced back to the device, ogling over the intricate designs with limited tools. "The first is too old, and the third wasn't built with the right equipment… but it'll do its job!"

Before the man could say much more, Vivi walked into the clearing, eyes beaming with a sense of anxiety. Immediately, Dagger went to him, concern etching over her features, "Vivi? Are you okay?"

"I just had a horrible dream…" He glanced at the ship, and yanked down on his hat, as though embarrassed, judging by the look he received from the knight. Dagger shot him a look before kneeling down and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She blew the stray hairs from her face, and looked into his bright, yellow eyes.

"What happened?"

"Bad things happened to Zidane," He turned away, sniffles blocking clear speech, "Kuja found him, and tried to murder him."

She gasped and placed her other hand on his other shoulder, "That's horrible, Vivi!" The man she accompanied before didn't seem to phased, or understand why such a nightmare might have been frightening.

"What if that's what's happening right now?" He whispered, fretful.

She tried to smile reassuringly, but she wasn't sure that's how it crossed as, "It was just a dream, Vivi… I'm sure they're going to be on their way back soon with the ship, and he'll be laughing and floating out the doors, telling everyone they worried about him too much."

"I hope you're right… I just have a bad feeling…"

Dagger understood that Vivi was powerful. And not only that, but he was rare. It wasn't every day that you saw a black mage have a mind, being able to communicate and feel emotions. They weren't sure what exactly happened to Vivi to make him like that, but no one understood the powers that he possessed clearly either – but neither did he himself.

She wondered if his dreams were sometimes right, and almost worked up the courage to ask. But as the wind whispered around her, causing the trees to groan in protest of bending, as they creaked under the heavy wind, she realized that she didn't want to know…

She just prayed that it was a dream, and that Zidane was alright…

?

Stars glittered in the sky, twinkling to their height of brightness, and dulling a little, before their colors once again shot out into the sky. The wind rustled the grass and leaves, creating music only nature could play.

It was a warm night, and the slight breeze was welcome, and Dagger smiled as it reminded her of Dali so many long nights ago. There wasn't much grass in this dessert terrain, but when she was close to the forest, patches scattered the area, and those were her favorite places to sit.

She remembered the long patrolling nights made short when she was with Zidane. Conversation was light and fun, and the atmosphere was beautiful, even the night that rain poured down on them in buckets, and both were soaked to the bone, freezing.

They had walked the area, not really knowing why they were out on patrol – nobody was going to be out in weather like that.

The duo walked along the wet grass, the blades tickling and cold as they moved, and Dagger remembered grabbing onto them and sliding the drops off, only for more to immediately splash back onto it.

"Zidane… Have you ever been in love?" It was such a random and inappropriate question, but she hadn't been able to stop it from slipping.

He walked for a moment, a smile on his face – he would never tell her a question was silly, even if he thought so. She thought for a moment he didn't hear her, and turned away, but then his soft voice rang out.

"I thought I was once…" That sinking feeling that had been in Dagger's chest that rainy night, came back again, though it was from memory, and not from knowledge, "But it was only a short time, and it really was not love…"

"What do you mean?" She asked begrudgingly.

He laughed at her tone of voice, and peeled off his gloves, flexing his damp fingers in the wind. "I went to see a play…" He laughed from the memory, still clear in his mind, "mind you, this was in the dream Alexandria, okay?"

She nodded, "Right."

"And the girl on the stage was so gorgeous, face caked with stage make up, and hair falling in delicate ringlets around her face," he snorted then, "I thought it was love at first sight, and I vowed I'd go talk to her…" He stopped there, chuckling a little.

She was confused, and when she didn't say anything, he continued.

"I did end up talking to her, and mind you she was the bitchiest being I have ever talked to in my life… So like I said, very brief."

"That sounds like a wonderful romance!" She clasped her hands together and bounced them off of her lower stomach as they walked, her own giggle escaping into the air.

"Oh yes, very long lasting!" He crossed his arms behind his neck and glanced up at the sky, "Do you think you know what it feels like to be in love, Dagger?"

The way he spoke the sentence made her smile lovingly, but she shook her head, "I don't think I would even have a clue…"

"I think that it's when you look at someone, and you just can't help but stare, and you smile like an idiot…" He nodded, as though confirming his own belief, "And every time you're with them, you feel like you're going to float away, but they're the only ones keeping you there… I think that maybe if you had the worst problems in the world, seeing them would instantly make your day better…" He was quiet, an embarrassed smile on his face, "I think that's what love might be."

She counted off those things, that memory, lately, forever playing in her mind. She hadn't seen Zidane in a long time, and she found herself, when alone, thinking about his return, and their memories together alone. Shaking her head, she laughed, leaning back on the palms of her hands and closing her eyes.

There she replayed the scene of their kiss – something truly out of a play, and when she opened her eyes, the sky winked at her, as though telling her everything would end up being okay.

And she was believing it as well.

?

"For Heaven's sake Ruby!" Marcus barked, hair whipping his bandana tail viciously, "They're gaining! Just jump!"

"You try runnin' in a skirt and heels sometime!"

He rolled his eyes, reaching out even further, as Blank's foot slammed against the wall of the ship, as he held onto Marcus so he could leave further out.

Finally, with enough griping from the boys, Ruby gave up trying to get closer and leapt. When she was in the air, she watched the ship seemingly float away in slow motion, but as she reached out desperately, a hand caught her fingers, and yanked her forward.

All three tumbled into the air craft, and breathed only for a moment, as they stayed amazed at the results.

"I can't believe we all made that…" Blank spoke, truly amazed. Zenero was the first to recover, and hit the emergency button to seal the doors, just as Kuja's waterga spell shot for them. Only a few spurts of water got inside, and the brother took off to tell Cinna and Baku to lift into the air.

That left the three with Zidane. They scrambled over simultaneously and assessed him.

"This is bad…"

Blood still seeped from him, though he was still completely unmoving. Ruby ripped off her skirt, and wrapped it around his upper leg, hoping to cut off the circulation and the blood flow. "We ain't no medics – we can't do much of anythin'!"

"We have to try! Ruby, go find some sort of a sheet, or something we can use to carry him up – it makes me nervous being so close to the door."

She nodded and sprinted away, leaving the two boys behind. "The moment of truth…" Blank nodded, leaning over the Genome, and pressing his ear against the still chest.

He listened for a while, his own heart sinking in his chest.

"Blank…" Marcus saw the reaction on his face, and pulled him up, clasping his shoulder with a strong hand. "I'm sorry…"

The redhead threw off the band around his eyes, blinking in the harsh light of the ship, no matter how dull it was. His eyes watered, and a tear fell down his cheek, as he scrubbed away at the side of his face, trying to get his best friend's blood off of his skin.

"No…"

Something inside his rarely seen emerald eyes died then. He lost his best friend twice – both times Blank had abandoned him when he knew it was going to get bad. "Someone should have stayed there incase he needed help!" Blank slammed his fist on the floor, denting it.

Marcus stayed quiet, grieving silently to give Blank his space.

"Why did this happen to him? He was the best out of us all! The most kind hearted, the one who would always do things right!" Blank fell back on his butt, curling his knees closer to his chest, and pressing the lower palms of his hands into his eyes, forcing himself to be strong, but failing to do so.

Marcus crawled over to Zidane, examining his body. He wisped the damp hair from Zidane's eyes and looked at his face.

Come on Zidane… Any sign that you're alive… Marcus slowly lowered himself to Zidane's chest, trying to hear anything for himself.

?

As Dagger continued to reminisce, Eiko emerged from the forest, slowly walking closer to her.

"Dagger?" She questioned, her voice a high soprano, but familiar, made the girl open her eyes.

"Hi Eiko! What's up?"

"I have a question for you…"

"Oh?"

She bounced over and plopped down in the grass next to the girl, and stared at her in wonder, "You summon stuff, right?"

The girl quickly turned away, chocolate eyes scanning the area. Since everyone else knew – should she tell Eiko? She turned back, examining the girl who was examining her, and thought that she didn't look like she was going to betray them… She had been captured with them, and stuck with them through everything.

"Yes…" Dagger nodded, finally answering.

Eiko wove her fingers together, and untangled them in a nervous habit. The older girl watched on in fondness as her own hands gripped the blades of grass behind her. Her gloves disabled her from feeling the velvet touch, but she could imagine it being there.

"What other kind of magic do you know?"

Dagger laughed. She hadn't meant to, but she thought the conversation would take on a much more serious tone. "I do white magic, why do you ask?"

Eiko yanked at her short, purple hair, nervously biting her lips and glancing around, "Well see… I know white magic too…"

"Oh?" She tilted her head in amusement, truly wondering where this conversation was going to go.

"Yeah…" She nodded slowly, "But see – I lived with moogles for so long… that I've never had the chance to use any of it… So I don't know if I'm any good." It took her a long time to get her stuttering question out, but she finally made it, and now the conversation all clicked together in Dagger's mind.

"Oh, I see…" She nodded, "Would you like me to teach you?"

She nodded – so small that the raven haired teenager had a hard time seeing it, "I would like that a lot… Just incase people get hurt, and you need help…"

"Right!" Dagger encouraged, standing and dusting off her pants, "Well let's get started then!"

"Now?" She gasped.

The girl nodded, raven hair falling in front of her eyes before she flicked it backwards. It was no longer long enough to pin back, but she would make due. It had already grown out a little bit. "Why not? There's always plenty of people to practice spells on!" She laughed and lead the way, the less shy girl suddenly exploding with conversation, blunt and quickly.

But truly, she was very grateful…

?

Marcus held his head there for a long time. Everything was mostly silent, except for Blank, and the occasional creak of the airship. He could feel them turning, and knew they were headed for the ones who would help them… It was a lot of people.

Where's Ruby with that blanket? He bitterly thought about all those people trampling in, stomping over Zidane, whether he was dead or alive…

For a few more minutes, he tried to listen, but he couldn't hear anything. With a heavy sigh, he sat up again, wincing when he saw the blonde. But he didn't understand… If the Genome was dead, why was blood still leaking so quickly from him.

Finally, it was the breaking point, and Blank let out a full fledged sob. He was always the hardest one emotionally, beating Marcus at times, with his "don't care" attitude, and how he always leaned against things as though he were bored. He had toughened up after he lost Zidane, no more jokes or laughs, for awhile anyways.

He became serious, and stronger, as though trying to absorb the strength and courage Zidane had had before he vanished… but that's not what the blonde would have wanted for his friend, and now, this second time of losing him, Blank would do the whole thing over again… but worse…

Tears began to prick Marcus' own eyes as realization struck him. Zidane was the one who kept everyone up beat and positive, and most importantly – together. It pained him, seeing the kid there on the floor, broken and battered.

Closing his eyes, Marcus, for the first time in his life, felt dizzy and out of place, and he leaned on Blank for support as the youngest thief sobbed.

Zidane was dead.

Seconds turned into minutes, and they didn't move. It seemed as though time stood still, their broken best friend laying in front of them.

A groan escaped into the air, and Marcus leaned away from Blank, trying to give him space. But when he looked up, he found Blank doing the same thing.

"Who the fuck is crying?" The voice was so weak, and barely audible, but Blank and Marcus were staring at each other, and knew neither them nor the other was the one speaking.

The redhead's head whipped towards the blonde. Blue eyes, caked with blood, were barely open, but that trademark smirk was on his lips, and the two Tantalus members froze in shock.

Then suddenly, everyone sprang into action. Marcus began tearing every piece of clothing he could get to, just to wrap Zidane up. He coughed and spluttered, now very conscious of the pain he was feeling.

"Zidane!" Blank's face shielded the light form him, and tear drops felt cool on his warm cheeks. The blonde only smiled up at him, not daring to talk in fear of coughing to death. This was proven by the wheeze just as he opened his mouth.

"Don't speak…" Marcus ordered roughly, though a very plain smile was on his face. Ruby came back panting, as though she ran around the whole ship just to find something to move him with.

"Lay it out on the floor, Rubes!" Blank said, lifting Zidane's head, and pouring the smallest bit of water into his mouth at a time.

It washed down his burning throat, and left a tingling sensation within him, but it felt nice to have something in his system. His hand slowly moved towards his pocket, and painfully, he dug out the treasures he'd found at his own home.

"Blank…" The redhead came to immediately attention, "Hold onto these…" He dropped them desperately into his best friend's hand.

"If I hold these for you, until you wake back up… You better hold on until we can get a cure, okay?"

"Whatever you say…"

Ruby suddenly scampered away, yelling something about having something that might help in her pack. You could hear her clicking heels from a ways off, before Marcus finally glanced around.

"I ran out of cloth… We need to move him now, because I'm pretty sure we're going to get company soon, and he can't be right in front of the door."

"Right!" Blank slipped his hands delicately under Zidane's shoulder blades, as Marcus got most of his legs, conscious and careful of the one laying at a weird angle.

They lifted him slowly onto the white sheet, crimson immediately dying the snow white linen. Marcus and Blank picked up the cloth on both ends, slowly, but steadily moving through the halls.

Sometimes, a light would blink off, or they would have to stop and rest to make sure they were going in the right direction. Ruby came back to help them, and tried to lift the middle of the blonde as best she could.

When they finally emerged into the control center, light shined down on them, and they could see the fresh rain and colorful terrain of the outside. Zidane spluttered, and spat up blood, but was otherwise still breathing.

"Holy shit!" Cinna abandoned his post and ran to the blonde's side, "He's alive!"

Baku glanced over his shoulder and cringed at what he saw, "We need to haul some ass…" He clicked a few buttons, before they began to lower. "They're all waiting for us here… Someone go down to explain exactly where to go…" Their leader ushered Blank to do it, and though he did it grudgingly, made haste so he could come back.

"Now that he's gone…" Zidane groaned out, "What are the chances of me living?"

"Slim," Marcus answered simply, "Unless we can get some sort of a white mage…"

Ruby was in the middle of popping open her potion, and lifted Zidane's head for him to drink it. The bitter taste washed down his throat, and he shuttered painfully, but managed to get about half of it down. It would help him, at least a little.

"Perfect…" The blonde grinned, straining to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to go to sleep, but he was oh so tired…

?

A/N: Well, I wasn't really planning on stopping right there, but the chapter is getting just a little bit long…

I hope you all enjoyed it! :) and I hope that you all find it in yourselves to give me a little feedback! Anything is appreciated! Thank you!

-zesty-