Filling In The Blanks

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

Chapter 83: Hide and Seek

She could no longer count how many pairs of eyes were on her in the city. For the first time out in public, she had more stares than the princess ducking behind her. These were her people, and she was an ex-Dragon Knight – the most renowned group of warriors fighting for both Bermecia and Cleyra. Even those who hadn't seen her since she'd left nearly two years ago, still knew it was her – and some she hadn't seen in many more years than that also recognized her as Freya Crescent.

But behind the gaping gazes, there was a certain curiosity. A curiosity Freya knew everything about.

Where is Fratley?

After he left, many people assumed (correctly of course) that after helping with the attack on Cleyra, he would seek out Freya. So to see her without the other Bermecian was unsettling. Probing eyes asked more questions than she could swallow, so she didn't stop. Besides, she had a group behind her that she had to lead.

Even Amarant stayed close, and Eiko still held tightly on his shoulders. Guards were everywhere and always staring – wondering what the objective of this oddball group was. Even though their identities were never questioned face to face due to Freya's trick with the front guards, everyone had their own suspicions.

"We need to get out of the open…" She murmured, hoping that Beatrix, standing directly behind her, would capture her whisper on the wind. "Come… We need to move faster." She ducked behind a building to the right and leapt onto the roof, hoping that the stunt would evade the eyes of guards.

"Where are we going?" Steiner demanded roughly, but lowly. She appreciated that he tried to be quiet.

"Fratley's old home… It is sure to be abandoned by now…" She didn't say her own home because in complete honesty she could hardly remember where it was anymore… and the last memories she had there were too much to handle in a situation where she needed to be strong.

"Is it far?" Dagger whispered, "I'm not sure if we're going to make it there or not…" She could see below the rooftops that they jumped, a group of guards huddling together and looking this way and that.

"We shall be okay if you follow my lead. Do not stray, and we will not be found out…"

"You better be right about this one…" Amarant mumbled, making sure his hold on Eiko was tight so she wouldn't fall. She had been complaining about being able to walk by herself for a while, but he refused to acknowledge the chance of her being left behind just because she couldn't jump the distance to the next roof. It was too dangerous to slow down.

They ran in silence for what seemed like a long, agonizing period of time. Amarant could almost feel the guards breathing down his neck, even though no one was behind him at all. It made all of them jumpy, wandering around in the damp city, thunder rumbling somewhere in the distance, all blind but their guide.

In reality, it wasn't long before they hit a row of clearly abandoned buildings. It wasn't that they were destroyed, but the grass grew long, and dust gathered, permanent on the windows due to the constant humidity. Nobody dared dwell in these streets, and everyone could only imagine why.

Freya tried to block out the memory of these houses. This was where she spent most of her time growing up – in the neighborhood for the council members. Fratley's parents were two members of Bermecia's council – the small, collective group that helped advise the king on any decisions he might need to make. When Kuja took over, it was very clear that the first target of the soldiers to ignite fear in the citizens (advanced knights or not) was to take down the intricate system and fine living.

The group followed her lead and slowed, realizing that it was so abandoned in these streets, that nobody was likely to see them here. She leapt down from the building ledge, letting her claws dig into the moist earth underneath her. Breathing in the frigid air cooled her lungs and helped her level out her thoughts. Icy blue eyes glanced left, and then right, before heading forward into the openness of the street.

"Where are we?" Steiner asked, his hand having never left his sword. He wasn't exactly the most nimble or quietest traveler, so the journey had been filled with more paranoia about exposing the group than anything else.

"We're in the Council Circle."

"Council Circle?" Dagger parroted, her large brown eyes bouncing around.

The Bermecian nodded, "Very important citizens dwelled here once up on a time… It is abandoned now, so we should not have any problem moving about here." Dagger noticed (and respected, of course) the fact that she avoided going into detail with her answer.

Eiko had finally wriggled off of the shoulders of her protector, and was staring around at all of the slowly-decaying buildings. "So which one are we going into?"

Freya looked around, feeling a little embarrassed that she didn't recognize the place like she thought she would. Of course she could still find Fratley's home, but without any characteristics but long grass and wet roof tiles, it was a lot more of a challenge than she would have expected it to be. Nobody, even if they were to guess her hesitation, was going to question her, however.

"We are heading there now, little one…" She nodded, and used her spear as a walking stick to help her make confident strides forward. Being back in Bermecia was not the long-awaited reunion she would have liked it to be. What made it even worse was the constant reminder that Fratley had, once again, put his duty before her, and had left their group to help protect their brethren in Cleyra.

She couldn't blame him really – it was the right thing to do… But they had just gotten engaged, and they were talking about happier times – times where they could be married, and start a family of their own using Fratley's own parents as a model. And he was just so willing to throw it all away again. She knew it was silly to be mad, but she still couldn't help herself.

Freya forced herself to stop thinking about it. She demanded her mind to shut out the worried thoughts of Fratley and focus on the task at hand. While she poured her efforts into remembering Bermecia the way it had once been, she felt like she was walking into a completely different world.

Her senses lead her down the grown-over path, the wet blades of tall grass sweeping across her legs. They tickled her feet and made damp marks on the sides of her pants. "We are almost there," she nodded to the rest of her party. Marching almost blindly, the Bermecian stayed true to her word: they reached the house in a matter of minutes.

"Let's scout it out, just to be safe…" Beatrix suggested in a tone that didn't leave room for argument. However, no one disagreed with her and the group fanned out, breaking off into small teams as soon as they entered the house.

Amarant followed Freya quickly, knowing she'd take the worst part of the house. They moved quickly through the rooms, all too organic looking for his taste. She pushed through to the makeshift door of woven wood on the opposite side of the house, slipping into the backyard. The grass was even longer out there, and soon enough, he watched her relax her stance.

Her ears swiveled for a moment as she listened to the noises outside: rain falling lightly, creating a tinking sound on the tree bark, and crickets chirping in harmony as the grass rustled with the wind. She walked, as though in a daze, to the side of the backyard, tapping her feet around in the dirt to reveal a cellar. Amarant narrowed his eyes; he would have never spotted that.

Quina, Eiko, and Steiner took the upstairs. The knight stepped protectively in front of the other two, his sword out and at the ready in front of him. Eiko rolled her eyes, clutching her small staff. His exaggerated movement and game-face expressions were a bit ridiculous in her eyes. Quina meandered after them like he hardly realized the danger that could be lurking inside the home. They peered into the rooms on the top floor, the furniture looking familiar, but so unique that they weren't sure what the function of each room was. There were a couple of bedrooms, that much was sure, and something that they guessed could have been a bathroom, but none of them could say for sure. Though most Bermecian houses were similar to regular houses, Eiko suspected that because these houses were especially important, they reflected more on the natural world around them that Bermecians embraced so gladly.

Quina sniffed at the twisted branches that created the bed in the far bedroom. He turned, his star-shaped pupils boring onto his teammates' faces. "Quina smell Freya scent. Freya sleep here!"

Steiner ushered them quickly out, unsure how much snooping in her childhood bedroom she wanted them to do.

Beatrix and Dagger took the main floor. There were strangely shaped rooms on this floor, having to be the support for the rest of the house. The branches and adobe that made up the hallway were warped, and it had a sort of wilting, circular shape to it. They peered into a sunken in room, recognizing it as a bedroom, and knowing they needn't go any further in; the same was agreed upon about the bathroom. The two women gazed intently at the kitchen, the strange storage in the vines of the tree-made house capturing most of their attention. The only other room on this floor was the living room, which they'd been able to sweep over on their way in.

All parties met up in the family room after a short while, confirming that the entire property was indeed empty.

"We can relax here," Freya told them, much to their delight. Steiner and Beatrix were the only ones who didn't let their shoulder's droop in exhaustion. "But stay quiet – we do not wish to attract any attention."

Dagger wondered over to the damp couch and collapsed on it, running her gloved hand through her limp hair. She felt hot because of the humidity, but her skin was cold to the touch. The temperatures here were different than the other parts of the world she'd been in – never had she been in a place so wet, even during the toughest rains of Dali.

Beatrix looked at the girl with a bout of pity. The others spread out in the spacious room, no one up for a lot of conversation. She knew that this journey had been hard on her. After all, they were here doing this mission specifically because Zidane asked for it to happen, and Cid knew as well as the rest of them that they couldn't afford to lose his allegiance. But she knew without really speaking to Dagger about it, that this feeble break up between her and the blonde was wearing down on her far more than she liked to admit. On top of that, the girl hadn't been accustomed to battle. Beatrix had been at it all her life – her family wondering this way and that to settle down because her parents' jobs were that unstable. And when she began training to be a knight, that lifestyle didn't change. Dagger had been born into a world that travel was limited – not that she would have left Alexandria very often had this war never broken out in the first place.

But the brunette didn't go speak to her. She knew that it was the last thing the raven wanted to talk about – with how exhausted she looked, or the pain that reflected this mission in her dulled eyes. So instead she backtracked into the kitchen, finding Freya observing the strange inventions in it.

"Anything we can use?"

"If we can dry up some of this," she let her hand slide across the vines plastered to the wooden, makeshift shelves on the walls, "It might prove useful…" For what, Beatrix didn't ask. She would trust Freya's judgment, but the Bermecian's explanation didn't stop there. "I suspect that the only way to get dry wood – to start a fire, or light a torch to dry out this wood – is in town… Someone is going to have to brave the suspicion of the guards."

Beatrix bit her lip – they were all too well known, except perhaps Quina and Eiko, but she wasn't willing to send either of them out there.

"I can do it," the voice startled the both of them, and the women whipped around to see Amarant standing angrily by the doorway.

"Your picture is –"

"I don't care," he shrugged, "it'll be my way of contributing… I'm sticking to what I said when I told you I wasn't traveling in some big pack to stay safe…"

Beatrix rolled her eyes, back stiffening with superiority. "How can you –"

"Alright," Freya nodded, purposely not making eye contact with the brunette after she spoke. She nodded again as though confirming her own thoughts, "We're going to need it tonight though, which means you have to venture into town while there's still light… I cannot come with you."

"As long as you point me in the right direction," he shrugged, pushing lamely off of the archway and stepping closer. "I can leave now."

"Suit yourself," Beatrix huffed, irritated at his lack of manners and ability to take orders. He ignored her.

She just hoped he wasn't stupid enough to get into any trouble, while the rest of them couldn't come after him…


Rustling outside the door almost caused his heart to skip a beat.

He thought about hiding, but knew that it would prove futile anyways, because Kuja's men wouldn't hesitate to overturn every piece of furniture in the two hotel rooms. But he knew he couldn't fight a group of soldiers – especially when backup was sure to be close by. That left one option: he was thinking fast of an escape route.

Unfortunately, before the mage could scamper onto the windowsill (he panicked, knowing he was far too clumsy to move as quickly as he should), the door swung open, and he let out the faintest of yelps.

"Vivi!" Blank gasped, rushing forward and all but slamming the door. He threw his hood down and shuffled his feet on the wooden floor, puffing out a dusty footprint. "I can't believe you're still in here! Guards are crawling on the streets everywhere!"

He nodded, realizing that it was just the redhead, and now wasn't the time to be scared. "The guards caught up with Cinna, Zidane, and Ruby… They had to flee the city! But they told me to come back and erase all of our evidence here, and stick around until I could tell you and the others where they were going."

"Where are they going?!" The emotion in his voice was rising over his usual limit.

"I directed them northeast, towards my grandpa's dwelling." Blank exhaled, visibly relaxing.

"Will they have cover there?" He asked, suddenly anxious again.

Vivi nodded, "There's a hot spring underneath his actual house so if nothing else they can hide in there."

The thief chewed on this for a moment before nodding, "We need to get out of the inn – any minute now they're going to be swarming in here… We must have more friends in Treno than we thought – the innkeeper has been holding them off for a couple of hours now!"

Vivi's glowing eyes widened. "Hours? Then they've been onto our location that long?"

"I guess so…" He shook his head, "If Marcus, Zenero, and Baku don't get back soon, we're going to have to leave without them, and hope they know where they're going."

The mage thought about his fuzzy memories of his home. He distinctly remembered Quan telling him how difficult it was to find the opening of their cave, because Vivi had been fretful of intruders during the night. He clutched his hat in anticipation; no way would they be able to find it by themselves – especially in a hurry.

But Zenero was keen and Marcus was smart, and he had no doubt that Baku had more geographical knowledge than he let on, so perhaps there was a way for all of them to meet up again…

At that very moment, the door burst open again, loudly this time, clanking against the old, oak side table behind it. The two of them jumped, and Blank unsheathed his dagger, moving quickly to strike a fatal blow.

"Hold it!" Marcus demanded, sweeping out of the way of the swipe. "It's just us, Blank!"

He scrambled to back up so his viscously waving dagger wouldn't slash anyone. "You guys scared the shit out of us!" He barked, obviously annoyed with the statement he was having to make.

"We had to sneak in the back! Guards are everywhere!" Zenero exclaimed, looking around in worry. "We need to find another way out! There's going to be no escape from Treno's only exit if we wait any longer!"

Blank's emerald eyes slid to the golden orbs of Vivi. "Looks like our decision is made for us… Time is up – we have to get going."

"Baku will be alright," he nodded, "We're more of a liability to him than help anyways… remember, he is our teacher."

The redhead rolled his eyes, though bit down on his tongue to stop himself from making a catty remark. "He'd be dead by now if it wasn't for us!" He snorted anyways.

Marcus ignored him, picking up his pack from the ground where Vivi had piled them. "We need to get moving at any rate."

"Yeah, yeah!" Blank shouldered his own pack and bounced it to readjust. "Are you read to lead us out of Treno, Vivi?"

"M-me?" He squeaked as he slipped on his own bag. "I don't even know the way…"

"You'll direct us passed the walls of Treno," Marcus nodded. "Hopefully we'll catch up with the others quickly." He opened his mouth to say more, eyebrows lifting in anticipation to his important statement before the door flung open.

Shouts poured into the room and they all leapt back and Vivi tripped over his feet, toppling loudly onto the wood. The sliding of metal rang out as everyone conjured their weapons, eyes piercing and deadly.

"Please!" Before they could get too close, the innkeeper cowered back. Fear filled his eyes; he was a citizen of Treno, but the uproar these resistance members were causing (and the small fact that he would die if found helping them) was too much for him. "I bear a message!"

Blank pushed through the older thieves and leaned forward. "From who?!" He demanded. His patience was wearing thin – they needed to get out of there… There was no longer any time.

"A man named Boky slipped in just minutes ago, through the guards! I don't know who he is – please don't kill me for that!"

"Boky," Marcus nodded, "what did he say?!"

Instead of speaking, he produced a letter from the inside of his blue vest before backing out of the room, his knees quaking. "Please make haste to leave the inn; I won't be able to hold them back for much longer!" He warned them in a trembling voice before disappearing completely.

The eldest thief ripped open the envelope and hastily unfolded the paper, reading the large and lopsided penmanship scrawled across the page.

Tantalus,

Let me just say fuck whichever little shit and or shits set off the alarms. I'm not happy that your asses are the reason we can't proceed together! But what's done is done. Whoever gets this message, don't wait up for me – I'll meet you in Dali. If you aren't there in a week, I'll come looking for you.

Before you leave the city, make sure the rest of the troupe is accounted for – no one is to be left behind, and that's an order! Be careful – as annoying as you little shits are, I don't want any of you getting hurt. Or worse.

-B

Marcus read it aloud before making his own comment. "That was definitely Baku… Boky must have delivered the message because right now, he's in less danger than Baku is." The others nodded, seeming to agree enough to not have anything more to add. "You heard his orders – let's get the fuck out of Treno."

They slipped out the door, leaving a large sum of gil on the desk of each room for the innkeeper and whoever else had helped them during their stay. Scampering over the windowsill of the back wall, they exited into the grimy ally out back, hiding between stone pillars, and blending in with the hectic group of people. The confusion was their only ally for the time being, and they hoped as they were swept into the crowd, that it would be enough to save them.


"Is it just me, or is it hotter in here than it was outside."

"It's definitely not just you," Ruby stated, fanning her face with her hand.

They'd been inside for less than an hour, scared to make too quick of progress. The eerie sounds of the cave were strange – a sort of steam sound, and water dripping – caused them to move slowly, unsure without the use of their eyes what lay before them.

"We really don't have anything to make a torch?"

"I might have some flint? But I don't have anything wood…" Cinna sighed, rolling his shoulders back to relieve the ache of his hunched back. The creeping was rough on his body – he hadn't had any real time to stretch himself out for a few days. Treno was harder to maneuver than any of them anticipated, and it had kept all of them on their toes.

There was a moment of pondering silence before Ruby's serious voice filled the void. "Cinna."

"What?" He turned towards the direction of the sound.

"Ya've got some wood…"

His eyebrows shot up in confusion. "What? No I don't?"

"Yer mace."

He gasped dramatically and stepped back a few steps, as though being physically frightened. "How could you suggest that I burn my own weapon?!"

"Cinna!" She cried out, hoping to calm him down and let her explain.

He pushed back into Zidane, who hissed in annoyed pain when his friend stomped on his feet. "You can't make me do that! Burn your own weapons! When would I get another one?! I'm useless without that thing!"

"Ya'll know that ain't true! Yer important in more ways than yer damn weapon!" He accent thickened as she spilled her thoughts in a fluster. "We got steel daggers! That ain't gon' work!"

"We'll be in Dali in less than a week, Cin," Zidane told him softly, "you can get a new weapon there."

"But this one –" he cut off, staring at it without really seeing it. The wooden handle was worn specifically in the spots his hands always gripped the hardest, and he couldn't imagine getting used to the weight of a new weapon. This was the first weapon Baku had ever given him. When he was younger, he wasn't strong enough – or big enough – to wield it.

Now they were asking him to give it up?

A few minutes later, Cinna's scornful expression lit up in the blaze. His teammates looked bemused more than anything, but before he could snap at them for their lack of sympathy, his eyes followed the path of their sight.

It didn't have to go very far. If he had backed Zidane up just a few feet further, they would have toppled over the edge of a ridge, straight into what dimly looked to be a pool of water. It suddenly clicked in Ruby's mind where they were, and a glance at the boy's expressions said she had figured it out first.

Cautiously, she stuck her hand over the ridge, not missing the sharp intake of breath by her friends. The air was moist and warm. "Hot springs!" She laughed, shaking her head. "Vivi's grand daddy lived in a cave with hot springs!"

Zidane braved a look over the edge. It was hardly visible, but he could see the ripple of the water. "I wonder if there's a way to get down there… You think they're cool enough to soak in?" Without waiting for a response, he was scrambling down the ridge, hoping to find some pathway down.

"Do you think that's a good idea?!" Cinna called, obviously very nervous about what he'd almost toppled into.

"I'm not finding Vivi's home before he does!" The blonde argued, clutching a large chunk of stone stabbing out from the ridge side, "That's his thing! I want to explore this place while we wait for the others!"

"I feel like this is not so good of an idea…" He mumbled, realizing then that Ruby had already abandoned her post, slinking after Zidane with a little more caution.

It took the heftier thief a long time to reach the bottom. His mace was burning steadily, but the wood proved to be a good idea, as it was lasting a long time, and entirely simple to hold onto. But he didn't want it to go out while he was climbing down to the ominous looking pools of steaming water, so he hadn't reached the bottom before Zidane was yanking off his boots.

"Ya goin' to be the tester?" Ruby asked with a grin.

"We couldn't have you burning yourself, could we?" He winked, "Blank would slaughter me."

"I wouldn't let 'em!"

The genome let out a hearty laugh, "You wouldn't be able to stop him! You know how crazy that guy gets when he's pissed!"

"Believe me," She groaned, "I know!" Their conversation lulled as Zidane finished unlacing his boots and tossed them to the side. He slowly lowered his foot until his skin touched the water. At first, his foot jerked back, and Ruby braced him by slamming her hands down on his shoulders. He shot her a grateful look.

"I'm alright," he assured, before dipping it back in again. It stung initially, but he let his skin get used to the heated contact, and it instantly soothed his muscles. He let out a long sigh. "I think it's going to be okay."

The girl was already out of her boots and long white stockings, shedding her leather gloves lined with lace when Cinna's feet planted firmly on the ground. "What are you doing?!" He shrieked as he watched her unbuckle the belt around her blouse.

"I'm getting in the water darlin', can't you see?" She rolled her eyes, continuing with her quest. Cinna stared dumbly before his eyes shifted sluggishly to Zidane.

"Are you going to – what are you doing?!" He yelled, hopping up and down comically. The thief finally noticed the heap of Zidane's clothing around his boots, and the blonde shoulder deep in the spring.

"Loosen up, Cinna…" He rolled his eyes and lulled back his head, lids fluttering shut as he heard the clink of Ruby's belt hit the cave floor. Cinna's sporadic vision almost landed back on his female teammate, before a hard hit to the jaw sent him stumbling backwards. The fire flickered.

"Keep yer eyes off me!" She growled at him, "What's the matter with ya, Cinna?!" He heard her huff, but didn't dare turn around to respond.

"I can't believe you two are getting naked and going in this sketchy spring!" He sounded stressed – too stressed for the mood the other two were sinking into.

The only response he got was Ruby's deep sigh as she settled into the water.

He took that as a cue to turn back around, and was met with two sleepy faces. "You should join us, Cinna," Zidane mused quietly, "This is great…"

Heat rose to the thief's face as he watched the two of them sink lower into the pool. Zidane's blonde ponytail was lost in the mist, floating at water level to the side of his face. Ruby's hair cascaded around her looking like a thick film on the surface.

"Well I…" How long had it been since they'd been able to relax like this? And wasn't he just complaining about how achy his muscles were?

Zidane caught the look on his face, and a soft smile appeared across his dim features. He lifted a lazy hand and motioned to a pile of rocks diagonal from him. "Wedge the metal part of your mace into the rocks, and the fire should keep going… Then you don't have to hold it."

"And if something lurks in this cave and comes out to eat us when we all have our guard down?"

Zidane shrugged, "Then we die happy."

Cinna puckered his lips as though wanting to disagree, but finally collapsed under the pressure of his friends and the content looks on their faces. He began unbuckling all of his dusty armor, tossing down the clanky metal pieces and worn leather garments.

"You won't regret it," the blonde decided, closing his eyes again.


Amarant dodged yet another guard, his brow creasing heavier with every passing enemy. They were swarming Bermecia, almost like they were waiting for something. He wondered vaguely as he drifted through the dark shadows of the buildings if Kuja's men already knew that they were here.

But if they knew – would they waste time trying to be inconspicuous? That proved futile with this insurgent group for as long as he'd known about them, even when he was a guard on Kuja's side.

These thoughts continued to swirl in his mind, distracting him as his body moved on autopilot, always stuck to the shadows. Something was nagging at the back of his thoughts – something seemed familiar about his surroundings though he'd never in his life stepped foot in Bermecia.

As he joined a crowd of civilians and traders to cross the street, it hit him with staggering force.

"We know that the trail lead us to the path to Bermecia! They aren't just going to go around the damn city!" The soprano voice, and the strange sense of superiority behind it, arrogant and rude.

He ducked his head, wishing desperately he'd even grabbed a damn cloak to hide his hair. He'd seen some long enough for Bermecians in the doorway when he'd left Fratley's old dwelling, and now he mentally kicked himself for being so proud.

So what if his picture was everywhere? He could deal with any suspicious looks with a glare of his own, or make up a simple lie… But this?! If she spotted him, he wouldn't get out of here alive.

"Lani! What the hell are you doing here?!" A man shoved in front of Amarant and he took in a sharp breath; it was cold on his lungs as he continued moving with the herd of people. "This is my station!"

"And your lousy men let the damn rebels by!"

"What are you talking about?!" He snorted, "There are none here!"

The redhead never heard her response. The group he was traveling with took a sharp left, and already the wind, rain, and buildings were blocking out whatever voices picked up in the stillness of this organic city. So Lani was leading a group, tracking the rebels? How long? He hadn't seen her since he'd left Kuja's prison and helped said prisoners escape.

What was worse, was that he hadn't any idea who she thought she was following and that could prove the biggest advantage, or fatal point of all.

He curved off in a less populated part of the city, strolling along on the side of the streets with the deeper shadows, not so worried about people now. His guard was up, he would admit that, and his heart pounded with jumpy anticipation – what if she'd seen him? She would know exactly who he was with… right?

Did she have enough sense to know that he'd be following those who saved him in the first place, or would the brunette figure that he'd been with the resistance the shortest amount of time, meaning he wouldn't go on daring raids such as this. Shivers crawled down his back, tendrils of nerves gripping his insides until he felt ill. If it had been anyone but Lani, he wouldn't have been so worried.

Not only was she ruthless, but she was a bitch – one of those no-good people who would do anything to get what she wanted, even if she had to step on her own comrades to make herself look good… Which was exactly what she was doing intruding on the other general's part of the continent.

He turned the corner, dodging into an alleyway as a group of loud, possibly drunk, guards paraded down the street. His thoughts were filled with what the appearance of this woman meant.

A piercing dread glazed his entire body, and his muscles went rigid, spasms flickering all through his body. His eyes fell to his abdomen.

The gleam of a blade in the hazy rain shined at him like a mocking grin. His eyes shot up into the darkness.

Lani's dark eyes shined at him, narrowed and dangerous. "I saw you long before you saw me, Red."

"What are you doing here?" He choked out, ignoring the ripple of pain as she turned the knife, ever so slightly in his stomach.

"I've been following your trail. You created such –" the knife delved deeper as she put emphasis on the word, "- trouble for me once you bailed out on your position outside of Conde Petie!" She hissed at him, pulling him into the alleyway and away from the guards.

"I have," he coughed, trying to ignore the warm feeling of blood in his mouth, "much better company now –"

She shoved him down into the damp dirt, something in her eyes saying this was far more personal than his betrayal to Kuja. "What are you doing, Amarant?!" She growled at him, bending down in the dirt. "Why did you leave me there in that shitty little place?!"

He closed his eyes, trying to focus. "You loved your power."

She quieted for a moment, cheek bloating in anger. "Were you too stupid to see that I loved you?!" She yelled at him, before going rigid, standing straight and glaring down at him. His eyes didn't reopen, so she continued. "Didn't you care that you were leaving me?!"

"You knew I was looking for my sister," he wheezed, writhing slowly to the side, hoping to stop the pain, but knowing if he pulled out the blade, he would bleed to death. There was more he wanted to say, but he couldn't find the strength.

He knew Lani had cared for him – too deeply if he thought about it for a long time. He knew that he was her soft spot – a silver lining on the dark interior of her power-hungry existence, but maybe it was just that. Perhaps it was because he was evil and brooding and would never treat her with the love and respect any normal person wanted that she "loved" him.

He cared about her yes, but not in the way she wanted from him – at least, not anymore. He used to be able to admit to himself that he had loved her too and they had had their tender moments when Amarant got to experience the person the brunette used to be, maybe before power corrupted the way she operated. He had to turn his back on her. He would probably be dead if he hadn't.

She stared at him, a look of disgust twisting onto her features. Maybe it was the pain that blurred his vision, or the mist from the damp rain that was beginning the fall, but he could have sworn her eyes reflected a deep longing – a longing for the one thing she found familiar in all of her rugged life.

He could no longer give her that comfort.

And she knew it.

"Well," she scoffed, her tone superior and older than he remembered her sounding. She had the authoritive air of Beatrix, and someone with so much confidence and skill would be lethal. She knew who he was with; she knew the Princess and all of her most important court were with her. "Looks like you won't be finding your sister after all, will you, Red?" She slammed her foot down on the hilt of the small sword, sliding it deeper into the wound. The squelch of blood pooling around his skin made him nauseous.

She squatted down next to him, her hair matting to her face as she tilted her head and grabbed his chin, yanking it in her direction. He could hardly keep his eyes open as an act of defiance. He'd been stabbed in the abdomen before – something, he realized painstakingly, he'd told Lani in a moment of soft-spoken comfort with her, long ago. A second wound was doing his body no good.

"I hope this is the noble, brave way you wished to die," She spat at him before pushing her palms off of her thighs, straightening into a standing position. She picked up her axe where she'd abandoned it behind a crate just across the alley, and walked out the way he'd entered, turning in the direction he had been planning to go.

Amarant continued to grip at the blade, his hands shaking as his body went cold, the rain washing his blood away almost before it was spilt.


A/N: There you have it folks! I hope you enjoyed the suspense!

I don't have much to say – leave comments as you will, and as I hope you want to!

-zesty-