Filling In The Blanks

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

Chapter 75: The City that Never Sleeps

Stepping into Treno was like stepping into a completely different world. While their moods had once been glum on the outskirts of the lively city, people danced by them right away, showering them in petals and spraying fizz from the finest alcohol at them, cheering them up instantaneously. The mood was enticing – none of Tantalus could help being exciting about stepping back into the city for the first time in years.

"Congratulations on your sneaky pass through Kuja's guard!" A man in a mask, dressed in strange clothing you saw nowhere but Treno dancing in front of them, shaking his body and tilting his head this way and that. "Those guards can be a doozy!" He let out a ridiculous, hooting laugh, before tossing a flask at each of the rough looking thieves.

Seeing Vivi clutch his with uncertainty, he plucked it from the black mage's hands, "Nu-ah-ah! Too young, too young!" He waggled a finger in front of Vivi's confused face, before laughing and waltzing backwards. "Explore the sights but blend right in, for Kuja's knights ignite fears and tears and splitting ears! Lend a hand, send a kiss, and you my dear friends, they will truly miss!"

Another howling laugh and away he went, onto harass a lady in a billowing violet dress.

"… What?" Cinna squinted his eyes at the jester who just exited their presence. "I don't remember that the last time I came to Treno!"

"He's telling us to blend in, because if we don't… Kuja's soldiers are still in the city. We have to be careful," Baku explained before turning his attention to the flask in his hand. "The only way we're going to blend in…" He let on a foxy grin before unscrewing the cap and tilting it up, letting the stinging liquid wash down his throat.

"Baku is telling us to drink?!" Cinna gasped, his jaw dropping to the ground.

Zidane stared at the dark liquid in his own flask, debating in his mind. He'd already brought the mood down so low on the outskirts of the city… why not help it go back up? "If it's going to make us blend in… That's how we're going to be safest…" He tilted back the container, watching from the corner of his eye as Ruby turned to Blank, clinking his glass flask.

It seemed she was on his side in making things a little better in the city, because she helped convince them to listen to the jester – for his safety, if nothing else...

"What about Vivi?" Cinna asked, throwing his arm back at the small black mage.

He shook his head rapidly, "No! I couldn't possibly!"

"Suit yourself," Marcus chuckled, finally downing his own drink.

Before the small, exhausted group could argue much more about how essential or not it was to be drinking in Treno, a loud burst of music suddenly overwhelmed their senses and drowned out any words uttered.

A small group with large bottles of alcohol in one hand, home-made instruments in the other gallivanted down the street, singing and laughing and causing a scene while their audience sprang out with noise makers and some of their own music, joining in on the spontaneous parade.

As soon as Vivi turned back around, it was like he was with a whole new group of people. Tantalus was surprisingly rowdy – even more so than they were usually, as they danced around, pick pocketing people who didn't even notice their loud presence. They were basically living targets, and the mage's eyes widened with fear.

Until that is, he glanced at the parties around them. Save for the pick pocketing they actually didn't look any different than the rest of the unruly, rough citizens who dwelled among the streets at such an early hour. Vivi blinked, astonished. Did alcohol really work that fast?

"It's more a potion than anything else, young lad!" Another jester, wearing mismatched colors of lace, ruffles, and dyed fur, appeared beside him, as though reading his thoughts. "Your friends are simply under the spell of our gleeful city! That is all!" He leaned down close, "You look like an intelligent young lad…" he murmured softly – so softly that Vivi wasn't sure he was actually speaking at all. "Alcohol is the only way we can swing such a potion in Treno… The only way Kuja's men cannot legally take it away from us. This city is a resistance in itself – never quite following the rules, and never settled down enough for Kuja to reign in… It's the perfect disguise!"

As the man spoke to him, Vivi saw the gleam of a hidden dagger under all of those ridiculous clothes. It finally made sense to him – Treno's warriors were hidden in the preposterous ideas of these strange people, welcoming them into the city and giving them a little push into the partying direction.

The jester shot him a grin and tossed a potion in his direction. It was smaller than the others, and in more of a vial than a flask. Vivi glanced up at him, his bright yellow eyes wondering. Though it was obvious this man who spoke to him knew he was a black mage, he only wore a Chesire smile, and didn't ask any questions.

"Enjoy the city while you can… While the city sparkles with delight at night, it gets intensely more populated with people not quite as merry during the day…" His words rode on a soft wind into Vivi's ears, and then he vanished, whether back into the crowd, or simply nowhere, the mage wasn't sure.


He never thought he'd see the day… The mage had seen some pretty strange things since waking up from his slumber a year and a half ago… but nothing quite like this.

He stood with the others – Zidane, Cinna, Zenero, Blank, Ruby, and even Marcus, dumbfounded, their jaws slack, eyes wide, shoulders slumped. Everyone had gathered around the bar table, greasy appetizers and drinks having made their way to the rickety piece of furniture.

But that's not what really had them shocked.

Seven pairs of eyes landed on their leader, who was stumbling and mumbling, hiccupping from real alcohol ever since they'd entered the bar, as the whole left half of his body slammed onto the bar, his face leaning in close to a woman sitting on a bar stool. His goggles gleamed in the dirty light, the musty smell of their boss causing the woman to lean to the right, away from him.

Though the room was cluttered with noises – glass clinking against each other, angry shouts from men playing different, competitive games, women laughing with one another, and the shuffling of wooden tables and chairs – they could hear their boss as clear as ever.

"Hey hot stuff… My you're looking lovely in that stunning red dress tonight."

She seemed to stare at Baku for a moment, glancing at him up and down, her large charcoal eyes trying to assess his body language. Did he seriously have the nerve to come hit on her?

"Cat got your tongue?" He winked suggestively at her, before a large hiccup escaped his lips. "Don't worry… I can help with that…"

Some sort of warped smile curled over the woman's lips as she sat straight again. "Could you now?" She asked, amusement in her tone.

"Do you doubt it?"

"Sort of…"

"Can I prove it?"

She sneered at him, leaning close in a challenging way. His troupe flinched back, clearly afraid of the aftermath of flirting-gone-wrong. "You can try…" She muttered to him as a ridiculously goofy grin swept along his face, bristling his mustache.

"I can't believe he's going for it…" Blank mumbled, shaking his head slightly. Though you couldn't quite see his eyes, one could guess from the rest of his face how stunned he was.

There was silence for a moment as large spurts of cheering erupted from behind them. They could only watch as Baku leaned harder on the counter, switching his legs beneath him as the woman moved closer. Her long pink hair cascaded down her back, almost to the barstool, the ends choppy and uneven. The red dress hugged her tightly, completely lace with a nude layer underneath. Ruffles adorned the dress at the bottom, though it was still above her knees. She wore long black gloves reaching above her elbows, and if she leaned at just the right angle, Zidane could have guessed she was an actress.

But as they watched the scene unfold in front of them, horror slowly stirred in their stomachs. With the endless noise behind them, it was hard to hear what was in front of them.

But they could see it.

Gasps emulated from all of them as the woman wrapped her slender arms around his neck, pulling him close.

"Damn!" Cinna yelled, turning towards the games behind him, the others following suit, preferring not to see their drunken boss move in for the kill.

"He's still got those damn moves…" Marcus shook his head, denial ringing in his ears. "Did that just happen?"

"Them simple words couldn't convince me to do nothin'!" Ruby insisted, her eyes still wide, blinking slowly like she still couldn't believe what she'd just seen happen.

Zidane was the first to break into a grin. "For someone so lame, Baku sure knows how to work it with the ladies!" He snickered, elbowing Zenero lightly in the ribs. "Your turn, Zen!"

He chuckled and shook his head, downing the rest of his fizzy drink. "I'm not even going there," he said simply. His ears swiveled back and forth, not quite missing any sound in the bar – sometimes, when he heard unwanted things coming from Baku's section of the room – he flinched.

Zidane had a briefly somber moment as he stared at his dog-like teammate. He had lost Benero some time ago, and yet he still traveled on with Tantalus dutifully. This character, always in the background, had enough support and love for his troupe that he wanted nothing more than to stay with it – to stay where his brother's memory lingered.

He wondered for a moment if that hurt Zenero. It had to have – right? Was the pain, at some point, too bearable to handle? He recalled many times in the forest, when training and rebuilding was happening, where Tantalus would all be together, working hard or goofing around, that his quiet teammate had been silent. But when push came to shove, Zenero had always stayed a part of the team.

The blonde hoped, as his eyes slid back to Blank, that when his time in this world ended, the redhead would continue to be the noisy, bossy menace he was now. He didn't want Blank to change – not again, not like before, which he was reminded of countless times. He hoped that maybe when he was truly dead and not just captured in some cold, murky dungeon somewhere, Zenero would be there for all of them – already having gone through it once – to help guide them back together again.

Blank and himself might not have technically been a part of Tantalus anymore, but that would always be who they were, and what they belonged to, despite their current positions in the Elite group.

He rubbed at his head. All of this sentimental thinking was giving him a headache, so he tried to catch himself up on the conversation, shaking away all thoughts of self-doubt.

"Let's just all agree that we don't speak of this scary night ever again…" Cinna finally concluded with a continuous nod of his head. His eyes were wide and glossed over, "I don't want anyone ever bringing up Baku and this pink haired lady again."

"I don't want to give Baku the satisfaction of proving us wrong when he's sober," Marcus agreed. "There's no reason why any of us couldn't do the same thing… Except Cinna."

"Right!" Said thief agreed, but stopped once he processed the eldest bandit's words, "Heey!"

"Excuse me?" Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Ya'll are so pigheaded ya think ya could get anyone to be yer honeys?"

"Well…" Marcus scratched his head. "Duh… We're young, rugged, and attractive… Not creepy and old like Baku. I don't see how it wouldn't work for us."

Ruby scoffed, "You know nothin' bout no ladies, Marcus!"

"I think you're just jealous!" Blank called out to her, narrowing his invisible eyes, leaning forward with his fingertips pressed heavily into the wooden table. "I think you're just mad because we could pick up girls so easily, that you couldn't do the same thing!"

She huffed. If Blank had intended on riling Ruby up – it had certainly worked. She bristled, crossing her arms tightly over her chest before turning abruptly away from him.

"I don't like where this is going…" Vivi spoke, but the quiet nature of his voice was drowned out in the growing argument between the couple at the table.

"Me either," Zidane admitted quietly. He loved the quick-witted banter of this group, but when Ruby and Blank got into a competitive argument about nearly anything, it never ended very hilariously. He would have to drag himself out of the bar to calm at least one of them down.

"I'd like to see ya try!" She challenged, not really thinking before she spoke, because her tone sounded a little too triumphant.

"Fine!" Blank yelled at her, pushing back from his stool so fast, that it tipped over. The clatter went basically unnoticed around the bar. "I will!" He stomped off, and as soon as he stormed passed Ruby, all of her limbs untangled, and suddenly she whipped towards the rest of the group, her eyes wide.

"He ain't really gonna –"

"You know Blank…" Marcus shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. Vivi still wasn't sure if they had alcohol this time, or some other drink, but he didn't really want to ask. "If you didn't want him to do it, you shouldn't have challenged him."

Ruby's face screwed up in pent-up frustration. "Why didn't ya'll stop him!" She wheeled around on Zidane, "Why didn't ya?!"

He put his hands up in a universal stop motion, flinching back from the girl's loud voice. "I erm… I uh –"

"We all want to see if he can actually do it… duh, Ruby!" She whipped around, her blue hair hitting her in the face, murky eyes narrowing into slits. Cinna scratched his head. "What? You know that's what we're all thinking…"

As soon as Blank left the bar, the blonde scampered up from his stool. "Let's go see!" He couldn't help himself as he scrambled out of the building, tipping this way and that to avoid confrontation with drunk men.

As his crew took their exit, Vivi tripping behind them all, Baku turned as the lady he was with ordered another drink. An all-knowing smile covered his face, as though to tell his young troupe I told you so, but when his eyes landed on their now-vacant table, he drooped.

"What's wrong?" The girl asked, peering closely at his face.

He straightened, glancing to the side for a moment, a flash of panic in his gut. "Nothing…"

"Okay…" She purred, leaning against him while sucking down part of her drink. He tried to get back into talking to her, flirting with her, and maybe a little more – with her, but his eyes kept sliding over to the table, drinks abandoned, and a chair tipped over.

After a few more minutes of the pinkette trying to coax the man from his grumpy mood, he finally snapped. "Gah!" He shoved off the bar, obviously raging at himself. "I'm sorry, I have to go!"

"What?" She asked, her voice irritated. "Then why did you just –" She didn't even have time to finish before Baku was rushing out the door.

"Those damn kids better actually be in danger, otherwise I'm going to beat their little shit heads into the ground to use as a door mat."


The blonde swung from a flagpole, not wanting to admit it, but having more fun trailing Blank than he meant to. Ruby was now nervously wringing her hands together, like Blank would do something foolish and go find a partying, Treno girl, Vivi walking at her side.

The rest of Tantalus, like Zidane, were making a bigger deal out of it. They swung from place to place, hid here and there, even though their hiding spots weren't very good considering all of the bustling people. Something about Blank's determination to piss Ruby off was sort of appealing.

Blank only had to wonder if his friends were going to follow him for a few minutes. Very discreetly, he glanced back and saw Ruby and Vivi trailing him, the others swinging back and forth between different buildings, light posts, fountains, and giant dresses to hide. He had to resist rolling his eyes as he turned back to the front, trying to seek out a target.

It's not like he wanted to actually get another girl… He was plenty happy with Ruby, despite the frustrations she tended to drag into his life, but there was something about wanting to prove her wrong that was too golden to pass up. Bragging rights, perhaps? He did anything to one up the girl and the rest of his team, and tonight would be absolutely no different.

Finding another bar, he jerked to his ride, angling himself so he could slip through the door, passed some men who were blocking it. Running a hand through his hair, he realized he was maybe a little nervous. How long had it been since he and his team set out to do this? And how old had they been? Eleven? Twelve? He blanched, realizing that Ruby had been in his life so long that it just evolved into something more… This time, he would have to work for it.

But seeing a spray of pretty, young girls in groups, their outfits looking like they walked off of a stage somewhere, he figured he could give it a shot.

Squaring his shoulders, and attempting to make himself a little taller, he sauntered towards a girl. She was tall, rhinestones glinting from her outfit, as it fell like a veil around her, some parts cut away to reveal skin underneath. Heat rose to his cheeks, and he felt a little ridiculous approaching someone like this.

Her heels clicked on the floor as she leaned back a little, trying to get a glimpse of the bartender. "Why do we still come here?" She bit out to her matching blonde friend. "The service is terrible."

As if emerging out of nowhere, a mysterious redhead appeared at her side, leaning over the bar, dagger in hand. The bartender's eyes narrowed as he looked at the redhead, who gave a sheepish smile.

"Just a little service for the ladies?"

The two blonde girls glanced at each other. Who was this guy? The one who had spoken before, being closest to the rugged looking teen, leaned close, "Who are you?"

He gave an arrogant grin. "You can call me Blank."

She raised an eyebrow, "Is that like a stage name?" Tilting her head to the side, she flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Who actually names their child Blank?"

That smile turned into a shit-eating grin as he leaned closer to her, tilting his head at just the right angle so she could get the smallest glint of his emerald eyes. "I suppose yours is better?"

"Sylvenia," she answered slowly, her friend nudging her when she didn't answer right away.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sylvenia, and Sylvenia's cute friend," he stepped away from the bar when the bartender finally stepped up to them, expecting an order. Both of them giggled. "Here's the service you asked for," he chuckled, re-sheathing his dagger.

"Don't you want something?" The first girl pondered after offering up her order.

He shook his head, "Nah… I'm meeting some friends in just awhile."

"You aren't staying?" He wasn't sure exactly what kind of an undertone that held, but this was enough to prove to Ruby, whose eyes he could feel burning a hole into the back of his head, that it could, indeed, be done.

" 'Fraid not," he shrugged, "But I'll be in Treno for a couple of weeks… Who knows?" Another grin overtook his face as he folded his arms across his chest, "Maybe I'll see you around?"

"O-okay," she answered with a blink. Normally guys who hit on her at the bar never turned down the opportunity to sit next to her and chat her up.

He gave a half-hearted wave.

"Wait!" She yelled out, but just as he turned, an enormous, very livid, man pounded up to Blank, who was just beginning to feel like his bet was completed.

"You shit eating kid! I am going to pound you so hard your face will be coming out of your ass!" Baku's voice boomed over the suave tone he was about to answer with, and his eyes widened.

Snickers could be heard from somewhere near the door, and then the redhead knew he was in for it. So Baku had come looking for them in a panic, and one of them (probably Ruby) had informed him that they'd just left so Blank could hit on a girl.

The two blonde girls blinked, raising an eyebrow as the gruff man yanked Blank over by the hair. "What the fuck did you think you were proving?!"

Realizing that his best friend was going to make an asshole of himself on both ends of the situation, he leapt up dramatically and dashed between his two arguing teammates, and the two curious girls.

"Ladies! Alas, we must take our leave! Do not fret, we shall meet again if the time be just right, and the moon shines palely on the water! Do not forget our short lived love, but please try and let go of the sorrow and remembrance! It won't work between us! We simply cannot be together!" He pulled the lines out of thin air, making loud hand gestures and ridiculous bows, keeping their attention until Blank could direct Baku's anger out the door and across the street. Out of sight, and out of ear shot.

The girls giggled, tilting their heads to the side.

"Who are you?!" The second girl asked, obviously interested in the ridiculousness that had just happened to them.

"Try to forget!" Zidane persisted instead, disappearing into the sea of onlookers that had grown from all of the shouting, and straight out the door.

He jogged across the street, dodging more people and a broken fountain, water spurting in an awkward direction, making that particular place on the ground somewhere no one in fancy clothing really wanted to step.

He came in on Cinna's pondering.

"Does this mean Blank wins? Or Ruby wins?"

Marcus snorted, shaking his head. After everything their boss had just spouted off to them, that's the question Cinna claimed he had to ask.

"I can't believe you little shits kept me from scoring –"

"Ew!" Ruby covered her ears.

Vivi cringed back. Were they always this rambunctious when it was just them? He was so paranoid about making a big scene, that he still failed to realize they were acting completely normally in the streets of Treno.

As the Tantalus leader continued to argue with his pupils, the black mage turned his eyes towards the northeast where the sun was peaking over the tall mountains bordering the mist continent. As the sun continually rose higher, he realized a change of atmosphere in the city. The people who dwelled on the streets were gradually toning down their clothing choices, and weren't quite noisy in the same way as when they entered the city.

As the partying of the night died down, the bustle of the day was beginning – shopping and working, errands to run and children to play with… It was turning into an even busier Lindblum, and for that, the black mage was secretly grateful.

"Maybe we should find our inn," he suggested, tugging on Zenero's sleeve. "I think we're causing a scene." He seemed to be the only one quiet enough right now to approach, so the dog-creature took it into his hands to mosey the group along, expressing a little more loudly what Vivi had just suggested.

Their first night had been a mess. With heavy eyelids, the mage secretly hoped that no more jesters gave anyone potions, and no bartenders would even think to give this misfit group any drinks…


A/N: Soo… I kind of enjoyed how light hearted that was! Hopefully it turned out okay and wasn't too lame :P

I hope you enjoyed reading! :)

-zesty-