Filling In The Blanks

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

Chapter 56: Something Useful

The blonde waited patiently, Vivi on the other side of the room during the meeting, just like he was instructed to by the man who woke him up this morning.

He'd fallen asleep on the training grounds, trying in vain to stay alert like Dagger had told him. The man shook him awake on his daily patrol, and immediately, the shivering blonde went straight to the kitchen for something hot.

The man then continued to explain that Lysandra wanted to see him and Vivi as soon as the meeting with her people was over… And just like that, the conversation was over – just like the night before – with none of his questions answered.

Freya and Fratley sat closest to him. Fratley's fingers were was around Freya's, while her thumb stroked his skin absent mindedly. They were so private, and yet so obviously in love that it didn't add up to the blonde. Zidane smiled dumbly at them then, still staring. He supposed it didn't have to understand.

Freya's bored eyes landed on him, and he blatantly looked away, still grinning, making it very obvious that he was up to no good. She shook her head at him, but it was so slight that he almost missed it. His grin soon turned into a sly smirk, and for several minutes the two stared at each other, coy smiles on their faces as they tried to get the other to laugh first.

Then, the Bermecian did the most uncharacteristic thing: she actually stuck her tongue out at Zidane, and he erupted in a howl of laughter. The whole room jerked towards him, staring wildly in just a few seconds, and that had both of them bursting with giggles. He tried in vain to turn his laughs into coughs, and then sat up straight.

"Sorry… uhm… went down the wrong… pipe…" He blinked, unsure of what else to say, Freya's quiet and breathy laugh too close to him to be serious. He bit down on the corners of his lips to prevent another smile from breaking out, "Continue."

He then tried to pay attention to the meeting. Lysandra was talking about Kuja, and the threats that he was now posing world wide. Many of the regular citizens of Ipsen's Valley didn't get that information – only the most talented leaders of the village, though looking around, the blonde had to say that that was a lot of people.

The woman had told them that Ipsen's castle, and the valley around it was like a safe haven. It was a place where many skilled fighters, magic users and everything in between fled when the first reports of missing people splashed across the globe. The very finest out there realized what Kuja was doing almost before he started doing it, and swiftly made to dodge… Many people who were present in the meeting would have been obvious choices to become Dreamers… if Kuja had been able to find them.

"I'm sorry about that, Kid…" He remembered Baku's words that second night they had been back after Ipsen's castle, after Lysandra explained to the rest of the rebels why they put those protective spells over the region.

It had been a long day of working on the airship for him, and he wasn't in a particularly good mood (really when was Baku ever in a good mood?) but he pulled Zidane aside and started their conversation like that.

"What are you talking about?" He cocked his head to the side, eyes squinting as he scrutinized,, crossing his arms leisurely in front of his chest.

Baku's eyes were almost pleading as he shifted uncomfortably. "I knew Kuja's plans to gather people to become Dreamers…" He wrung at his hands and shuffled his feet as he began the story.

Zidane had no idea where this conversation was going.

"I had heard rumors you know… Rumors about him abducting really powerful warriors and what not… And I still sent you and Blank to Treno alone…"

"What's your point?" The genome asked him, confusion filling his face. "Why is that your fault?"

He was quiet now, and even more uncomfortable than before, "It's just… I ruled Tantalus out so quick… I had said to myself – I said 'there's no way any of my boys could be that good… No way Kuja would want one of them!' but he did… and he got you, 'cause of my mistake…" There was silence as a shocked Zidane took in his words, before Baku's fist lashed out and slammed into the wall beside them. "Fucking jackass!"

"Baku…" Zidane sighed. "It's not your fault… We were all so young –"

"That's not an excuse…" He shook his head, "I promised myself after we got to your location too late… I promised I would take those things more seriously… And I will… No matter where I am, or what stupid kids I'm with, I won't make that same mistake again. I'm just so sorry it took you going through it to make me realize it…" His voice was gruff, and he sounded highly upset.

Zidane clasped a hand on his shoulder with a grin on his face. He didn't like seeing his normally irritable and ill-tempered 'boss' in such turmoil. So he did the only thing he could think to do – something that he and the rest of Tantalus always silently and mutually agreed to do when things like this came up.

"Are you going soft on us now, Baku?"

He immediately straightened and shrugged the teenager off. "Course I'm not!" He growled. But then his face softened just a little bit. "I know it doesn't seem like it… But all of us - myself included… we were heartbroken that day… And well…" He scratched the back of his head, wrinkling his nose so his beard danced a little. Zidane's smirk grew upon seeing this signature, sheepish move on his leader's part. "I just wanted to say that… didn't mean to go all soft."

"Thank you…" Zidane told him genuinely, "That really means a lot…"

Baku gave him one nod, and made a hasty excuse to book it away from him, too embarrassed to hold a normal conversation after that.

Being called on to fight was tempting to a surprising amount of villagers… and though Steiner and Beatrix wished for as many people to come who wanted to, Dagger understood when Lysandra gave her a pleading expression, saying they did still need people to protect the children, and protect the civilian society whom they dwelled with.

The woman was relaying all of the information about the dreamers – Zidane and Vivi included – Alexandria's castle and their army. And the details from Terra were especially useful in swaying a lot of them. It didn't take long before the meeting was less informational and more like a pep rally. People were cheering and screaming and itching to get on with the next stage of the rebellion… something that the majority of the visiting resistance was happy to comply to.

Nathan sat skeptically next to Lysandra, his arms crossed over his chest, his brows knitted together in frustration. He was obviously not very happy that so many were interested in leaving their village, but his lips were clamped together so tight, that upon observation, even newcomers knew he wouldn't say a word of this to the woman standing next to him.

"When do we leave!?" A man called from the back of the excited room.

"We are aiming for a week so we can get everyone's supplies together!"

Zidane's shoulders dropped. When he'd last talked to the woman, she had said hopefully in the next few days, but then he thought about how disorganized it was when everyone fled from Dali in such a short amount of time, and figured maybe a week to get everyone situated wouldn't be a bad idea. Plus, he had doubts that the airship was completely finished anyways.

He just wanted to get going… Though it was a pretty cool place, and an awesome change of atmosphere from the forest by Conde Petie, being across the ocean was unsettling to him for more than one reason.

Plus, he had an unnerving feeling forming in the very pit of his stomach that was making him itch to move to a different location. Somehow, he felt that Kuja wasn't following them, but something was happening… something that was going to hurt them… a great number of them…

"Ready Zidane?" He was torn from his drifting thoughts at Lysandra's voice, the woman casually leaning against the table. Her posture was almost leisurely compared to when she had been giving her speech.

He hadn't noticed how much time had gone by since his little encounter with Freya earlier, and he nodded, "Are we just talking here?" He spotted Vivi making his way over to the duo, abandoning his earlier spot in the room.

"Here is fine," she answered vaguely, and he narrowed his eyes.

"What's this about?"

"I wanted to talk to you…" She bit her lip, "About the dream world."

He blinked a little in confusion. "Dream Alexandria?" He tilted his head, knowing he spoke for both Vivi and himself. "Why would you want to know about that?"

"Our enemies will be the dreamers you became so close to in Alexandria, am I correct?" She questioned instead of really answering him.

"Well I mean…" He shrugged, "It'll be people, but I don't know if any of my friends in the dream world were real or not…" He choked up a little, continuing in a mumble, "Except Elouise."

"Kuja's spell on them is pretty tough…"

"Spell?" Vivi blinked, eyes shining, baffled.

"Would they work for Kuja otherwise?" She asked him back, running a hand through her cropped hair.

"Yeah…" Zidane nodded, "I've never really thought about it like that before, but it makes total sense. There's no way they'd just openly work for Kuja! Especially if they knew what he was doing!"

"Do you think maybe he's just lying?" Vivi threw out there.

"It's possible…" the woman nodded, "but he'd have to be one damn good liar to get so many to believe him about the Alexandria they lived in being torn apart…"

The black haired woman said nothing for a moment after her statement, just ran her fingers absentmindedly over her lips. Then her eyes suddenly locked back on Zidane, the one that wasn't hidden behind the eye patch a bright, piercing color. "Do you recall the mirrors that Dagger and Amarant found in Ipsen's Castle?"

"Who could forget," he mumbled, rubbing his head begrudgingly.

She gave a sheepish smile and shrugged, "Vivi, how about you? Do you know of anyone in the dream Alexandria who is real? Do you recall the mirrors?"

He shrugged, suddenly becoming extremely shy. "I didn't have many friends… Nobody liked talking to me because I looked like the mean black mages…" Her eyes immediately softened hearing his short story. "But yeah, I remember the mirrors too."

She pulled from the pouch secured around her waist said mirrors, gesturing for Zidane to hold out his hands.

"This is what I wanted to show you…" She smiled a little at the both of them. "These mirrors each have very powerful qualities. Two reveal, and two conceal… Together they show the truth… But when all four are together…"

The two waited on in high anticipation. Just where was she going with this story?

"No magic spell has ever been able to resist these mirrors…" She sighed, answering their unspoken question. "Normally, we save these for emergency measures incase we were attacked…"

"But then why are you giving them to us?" The mage asked, staring up with wide, grateful, yet astonished eyes.

"You see, little one, if we are to jump into Kuja's fray," she shrugged, "we're going to help in any way that we can. If you can get the dreamers out of their trance, then it'll be easier to defeat Kuja!"

Zidane's sapphire eyes shined with respect. "That's a huge favor," he commented, to which she simply laughed.

"What can I say? Your group of rebels has impressed me…"

Zidane smirked, pride swelling for his friends, "Don't be telling me that…" He shook his head, "They aren't mine to lead."

"Even so, the two of you give the others hope… Even the most irritable of them, such as Steiner, look to you for the source of their outcome in this war… They look at you as the hope of winning."

The genome chuckled and scratched the back of his neck, eyes darting around the room. "Ahhh… no pressure or anything." The woman only returned a grin.

Before they could continue the conversation, Beatrix, Steiner, Dagger, and a couple others filed into the room, guided by the same man who had awoken Zidane earlier in the morning.

"That brings us to the next thing on our agenda…" The woman nodded, stepping aside to allow the others room to sit. "As you may or may not already know, Kuja has been very thorough on enforcing the 'papers to enter the cities' rule."

Steiner slapped his forehead. "Why didn't we remember that before we left?! We won't be able to get in –"

"Calm yourself, Steiner…" She smiled at him, chuckling a little bit. "That's why I bring it up…" She held up a large, thick envelope. "Within the next week, we're hoping to fill out papers for each of you, so that you can get into the proper cities… We are one of the few groups left who have access to this sort of thing. Some of us still travel from time to time, and it's very important that they look like the real thing. But some of you will need different names –" she let on a foxy expression –"some of your names are just too memorable for your own good."

"We wouldn't have been able to come up with something like that," Beatrix thought out loud, "We've been out of any major cities for so long…"

"We're here to help you," Lysandra reminded her, dropping the envelope on the table with a loud smack. "But I'll need as much information on each member of your team as possible… Speaking to everyone would be best, but it might take a lot of time… If I could have a couple of you sit down with me before we start the process and just go over the basic facts about your teammates that you know…"

Dagger nodded, "I can help you with that…"

"So can I," Beatrix said too, glancing at the young girl, who shot her a grateful smile in return. "It'll be faster that way."

"Perfect!" The woman nodded curtly, "It's a date! Steiner, I was hoping that perhaps you, Baku, and Beatrix would be able to help familiarize my people with your fighting skills. I feel like it's going to be a lot faster back at your base to fight together if we already know some basics."

"We would be honored to help," Steiner answered quickly, not waiting for the others to speak. "Anything we can do besides sitting for the next week would be grand."

She smirked, "Good. I think that about does it then, you're free to do what you will… Just let me know what time you'd like to get these tasks started so I can spread the word to everyone else."

"As soon as possible, I say!" Baku cheered, slapping Marcus on the back, before they started to make their way out. The others began following suit.

"Oh, Vivi?" Lysandra called to the mage.

Zidane and Vivi stopped and turned, watching the woman suddenly become fidgety and nervous. "I was wondering if you would do me a huge favor…"

"S-sure…" He shrunk back a little bit – something he always did when people asked something of him. He was never sure if he'd be able to complete the request or not.

"You know a great deal of black magic?"

"I guess so…" He shrugged, staring at the floor.

"Are you kidding?" Zidane smirked and ruffled Vivi's hat awkwardly, trying to pretend it was hair. It slid forward on his face, covering his eyes. "Vivi knows tons of stuff! I mean, anything from elemental spells to bio to, to –"

"Zidane! Stop making them seem better than they are," he groaned shyly, and they were sure that if they could see his face, he would be blushing.

"No, Vivi, that's perfect!" The woman praised. "I was wondering if maybe… you could help teach me."

His eyes shot up in surprise. "You know black magic?!"

"I'm very old fashioned…" She shrugged, "I've been the last mage here for a long time, so I haven't had the chance to learn any new spells… When I heard that you were a mage too, I was hoping maybe you'd be able to assist me."

"Of course!" He smiled, "I would love to… Though I don't know how good of a teacher I am."

"You'll do great, Vivi…" Zidane told him with a laugh. He crossed his hands behind his head and meandered out. "See you two later!"

"Bye," The black mage shook his head, watching his carefree friend wander out the door.


The vibration of the thunder rattled everything in the room. Even in the depths of the hallways, the lightning flashed, igniting everything in a white fire for just a moment, before fading away, enveloping everything in blackness again.

The light show reflected off of everything in her line of sight. Every little trinket put in too specific of a place – too neat for someone to actually be living there – for more comfort, no doubt, clattered noisily.

She sighed, sitting up in bed, her hair falling behind her back. Chocolate eyes scanned the room as it temporarily lit up again. She held her breath in the darkness, waiting for the next flash of light.

The girl rubbed the side of her face, her soft hand sliding against her smooth skin. It felt dirty and stressed, and she groaned, falling back into the billows of blankets once again.

Sleep wouldn't take her, no matter how long she let her mind wander in the storm. She wasn't used to the violent light arousing her eyes every few seconds, due to her room being underground at home, and never had she experienced a lightning storm quite like this one while she stayed in the trees.

Dagger flopped onto her side, legs curled loosely towards her body, her arms slumped out awkwardly at her side. She rolled again, staring at the empty ceiling, one hand absent mindedly coiling around her garnet pendent that proved her birth right – the most important thing her mother had left her with that day almost thirteen years ago.

Her finger rubbed against the edge that she had snapped off, and a smile lingered on her lips. She had broken the necklace in two, and dropped the other half around Zidane's neck. She had been looking anywhere but his face when she made him promise to bring it back to her.

As soon as her thoughts turned to the blonde boy, her lips turned into a frown, and her eyebrows creased. She wished he could have been there with her, but it was too late to seek him out after the grueling time dwelling on everyone's personal histories with Lysandra for the papers.

She guessed he had wandered off shortly after the meeting was over, because nobody around the stone halls had seen him. And now, it would be foolish to go looking for him.

Her eyelashes brushed her cheekbones as she let her chocolate orbs flutter shut. She listened to the rain pelt down far away, adjusted to just a pitter-patter this far into the stone. The boisterous thunder rumbled again, but it calmed her now, with Zidane in her thoughts.

She continued to clutch the necklace as she thought of the boy. There was the ever-lingering terror that he would be gone soon, laying, waiting, in the pit of her stomach, ready to explode at any moment. But she pushed those thoughts away and tried to focus on his smile, and the way his lips felt against her, or even the way she felt, wrapped up in his strong, familiar arms.

There were so many private moments that had occurred between them. They were moments from when the resistance wasn't quite in order, and times she had spent faithfully by his side as he healed. Even before he had departed for Terra, they would sneak away for simple moments. He would slip his hand into hers under the table at breakfast, only a few resistance members dwelling in the room, or a compliment would pass between the two of them after training, meaning so much more than words could muster.

Sometimes even after meetings, she'd be walking down the claustrophobic halls, eager to get out into the warm sun, when he'd swoop down from the overhead pillars and capture her in his arms, trying to shush her giggles. She and he were no secret, and yet, the little moments they had together went mostly unnoticed.

Just as thoughts of Zidane were about to wisp her away, there was a pressure on the mound of comforters below her, and her eyes fluttered back open. She wasn't startled, for the most part anyways, and immediately calmed when, in a flash of lightning, she saw Zidane's ridiculously happy face.

"Zidane!" She gasped, sitting up.

"Did I wake you?" He whispered, even though she was sure no one else would hear them.

"No, no… I haven't been able to sleep…" She patted the bed next to her, and he crawled closer, situating himself against the wall, and pulling her towards him. She leaned against him, staring up at his face.

His eyes were sharp in color, even in the darkness, and his pearly white teeth stood out against the shadow of his face.

"How was forging papers?" He mumbled to her, brushing his lips against her hair.

Dagger was instantly comforted by the gesture, and already felt drowsier than she had in the previous few hours. "It was…" For the lack of a better word, she shrugged, "Boring."

He let out a light laugh, "I can't say that was a task I would have volunteered for…"

"You wouldn't have volunteered for anything, you lazy bum," she teased, her voice slurring in sleepiness.

"You sound tired…" He started to shift, "Maybe I should go."

"Don't leave…" She mumbled to him, knowing very well that her voice sounded pleading.

"I wouldn't want Rusty coming in and getting the wrong idea…"

She felt more awake after her mind processed the implied meaning he had made, and she smiled up at him, a spark in her eyes. "Let him assume…"

He raised an eyebrow, "You're more tired than you think!"

"I'm perfectly fine," she told him, stretching up stubbornly to give him a hard kiss. Anything to make him stay. He chuckled and shifted, causing her to fall back to her place in his lap.

"Dagger –"

"Please…" She mumbled, turning over and snuggling into his chest, "stay here."

He smiled a heart wrenching smile. They wouldn't have a lot of time left together – that much he knew for sure. He was already going to break her heart leaving, and probably in more ways than that… So he owed her this, didn't he?

"Okay," he told her, his voice strong. "I'll stay…"

She leaned up again and pressed her lips lightly into his. At first, it was meant to be chaste, before Dagger too, realized the information Zidane had already thought of. They didn't have much time left.

Suddenly, she pushed closer to him, almost clinging to his body, feeling as though she needed to be closer to him, though she was right up against him. His arms snaked around her waist and hugged her tight. Their minds raced as fast as their hearts, both wanting to stay in this moment forever.

Finally, the duo broke apart for air, and panted for breath. Both grinned stupidly at each other, and Dagger even let out a little giggle.

"What are you laughing at?" Zidane asked her, a chuckle in his own voice. Her contagious laughter came from the high they felt when they were together.

"Nothing…" She rolled off of him, and stared, blinking slowly.

"You look tired," he commented again, lying down next to her, just so he could be close to her face again.

She pulled the rugged blanket up over the both of them, and felt the shivers when he pulled her into his arms. "But you don't."

"I'm not," he informed her, a smile still plastered on his face.

"What can I do to make you tired?"

He thought for a moment. Nothing in the world would make him want to leave Dagger like this – if he had his way, he'd stay awake forever, to hold her, watch her sleep safely and happily, or just talk to her.

But then he recalled the one time he went looking for her after a particularly hard training day, all the way back to when they were in Dali. The long weeks they spent sneaking glances at each other, and asking around casually to see where the other was… Zidane wanted to seek her out, using the 'dinner's ready' excuse.

He found her by the babbling creek, sitting with her boots at her side, feet dipped in the stream. She swirled her toes in the water, creating a break in the rhythm. The wind blew her long hair, loose from her sky blue clip, around her face.

But the sight of such a relaxed rebel girl wasn't what stopped him dead in his tracks. Her voice rang out in a little tune, humming just above the chirps of the bugs relaxing by the water. Her whole being swayed lightly with her song, and he could have stood there listening to her hum it forever.

Even the memory made him smile, his whole body relaxing into the pillows and blankets around him. "Sing," he told her lightly.

"Sing?" She asked.

"Err…" His eyes widened a little bit, sleep cowering away from him again as his cheeks burned pink, though she couldn't see it in the unstable darkness. "Hum…"

"Hum what?" She questioned, confusion ringing out in her voice.

"Well… Way back in Dali, I heard you humming… a lullaby maybe?"

It was her turn to blush. "Oh… That song."

"What was it?" He asked her gently, pushing some hair out of the way of her eyes, before settling his arm around her again.

"I don't even know where it came from… It was a song from a very long time ago… And somehow I still remember the tune of it, and sing it to make myself feel better…"

"Sing it for me now," he seemed to beg, closing his eyes. "I'll be good, I promise."

She was hesitant for a moment, but shut her eyes as well, listening to the rain drops so far away. Slowly, her voice rose into the tune, and she began to hum the melody from her past.

Soon, both of their thoughts tangled around each other, and Zidane was swept off into a world where he and those close to him lived in their own perfect little forever – no worries around to trouble them.


A/N: So kind of just a relaxed ending – I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm getting out of the Ipsen's Castle arc and I am EXCITED! Next stop will be more exciting – I promise! :)

Please leave some love, I'm so excited about this story!

-zesty-