Filling In The Blanks

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

A/N: Can I just say… wow… I never knew when I first started this story, technically not even a freshman in high school, I never thought I would come this far. College, work, and just growing up has consumed a great part of my life, but I wanted to stop and take a moment to thank anyone and everyone who has stuck by me for the first 100 chapters (plus a prologue) of this story.

I know last chapter was technically 100, but the title of this one makes it official. Seriously, this story would have ended long ago if it weren't for my readers (especially Jesters, who reviews faithfully – if not always late ;) – thorough and wonderful as always; I hope everything is okay with her and that she makes it back soon), and if I hadn't been able to get to these parts of the stories – the ones that first came to me before the 10th chapter of FitB was even written, I would not be anywhere near as proud of myself in terms of writing accomplishments and growth as I am. So thanks all You rock!

On another quick side note: I wrote a little drabble for Atariel Tsukai called Because I Love Him – another FFIX story and a quick read if you'd like to take a peek!

On with the show, there is too much going on for me to take time being a sap!

Chapter 100: No Hope

The forest was unusually quiet.

The leaves hardly rustled, mourning the pending doom of those who brushed by fallen trees and wilting branches. No creatures scurried under the shade of the canopy, unbeknownst of the sun lurking higher and higher in the sky.

The air was sticky, uncomfortable – like it was there to slow them down.

"We need to stop," Steiner's voice hardly had room for an argument.

"We can't stop now!" Freya responded, throwing her arm out hard to the side. "We need to get back!"

"We need to get Beatrix help now! We can put Zidane down and start healing him too!" The ex-knight argued.

"Are you delusional?" The bermecian cried, shaking her head. "Does no one understand the depth of the situation? Our dreamer is dying!"

"His name is Zidane," Eiko said matter-of-factly. "We saved him because he's our friend! Not because he's just some stupid pawn in the war!"

"She didn't mean it like that –"

"How do you of all people know what she meant, Marcus?!" Blank bit out, crossing his arms. "I'm surprised you don't have your own opinion –"

"Shut it, Blank! We're all stressed here –" Cinna tried to interject, spreading his arm between the two, but the redhead gave him a light shove.

"Stay out of it, Cinna!"

"Don't be so pissy!" Zenero told him, picking the redhead up before he could lunge. He struggled, and suddenly all of Tantalus were arguing and yelping, wrestling one another in an attempt to calm the situation, even though it wasn't helping at all.

Freya and Steiner were still arguing, Baku trying to aid Ruby in nipping the fight with his boys without jostling the blonde in his arms. Dagger continued shaking her head, mumbling about no one ever being able to make a decision, and Eiko continued interjecting herself into the conversation between the older warriors. Amarant just decided not to get involved, because why? It was all stupid anyways.

That left Quina, who wandered off to the edge of the trodden path, staring curiously at various plants, wondering what he could eat or if anything could be useful.

It also left Vivi. One hand was crunched into his jacket pocket, crumpling the letter from his grandpa, like a tangible item that might give him strength. He stared at Beatrix, helplessly flitting her eyes from one person to the next, unable to muster the energy to give a solid command. And then his eyes moved to Baku, who kept throwing his leg out in an attempt to kick at his boys, but having to jump back when they got too close to Zidane in all of their rowdiness.

His yellow orbs landed on his best friend. The genome was limp and unmoving, and this was the first time Vivi was actually able to openly stare at his wounds.

He still looked like he would die at any moment. In fact, he already looked dead. Everything about his face seemed swollen, and the sweat that still beaded down his skin was a clear sign of fever. His eyes were dull, not their usual spunky sapphire –

Wait…

"He's awake!" Vivi cried out, louder than the rest of the fighting. He stumbled and fell on his knees as he tried to run forward, getting up and hardly dusting himself off before he continued on his way.

Everyone stopped to look at him, confusion duping their anger momentarily.

"Zidane's awake!" he insisted, and every set of eyes turned towards the genome.

Baku slowly bent, being as gentle as he could when he lowered his boy's body to the ground. Dagger was on him in an instant. "Zidane!" she cried out.

His eyes hardly moved. Inside his mind there was a muddle of confusion. Nothing seemed to click into place, and the blurry images he was picking up with his aching eyes didn't make sense.

There was a lot of noise, and he guessed that was what stirred him from his restless slumber, stuck in a world where everything was so close, but too far away to grasp.

He saw a face in front of his eyes, checking his pulse, prodding at him. He hardly felt any pressure, let alone pain. Light was all around him, and somewhere in the back of his liquefied thoughts, he knew he wasn't long for this world. The face was light and flawless, enchanting brown eyes staring at him with such a pool of emotion it made him ache.

For the briefest of moments, that dark hair and darker eyes, light skin and gentle touch all made sense.

"Dagger," he whispered, and watched her freeze.

"Zidane," she sobbed, and tears dropped on his face from her cheeks.

He wanted to ask her why she was crying, but as soon as the recognition of his thoughts came, it left again, and he was abandoned with the blaring afterthought of this beauty in front of him. How could such a gorgeous creature be sad? How could something so beautiful inflict the only sort of hurt that could touch him now?

Who was she?

He closed his eyes, but didn't make it very long before there was a light shake to his body, jostling him out of the sleep he was teetering so close to. There was a very bright shine behind the woman – no, the angel – in front of him.

He could hear far away echoes – voices that didn't make any sense. Some were soprano, and others were deeper, and the genome thought it must have been other angels. Others as beautiful as the figure in front of him.

His lips twitched up into a smile for only a moment. He decided that maybe, if death was filled was such a beautiful face, it couldn't be all bad. If he would be with that gorgeous angel, he didn't mind if he passed away.

"Do something!" Blank cried, as Dagger continued to cast cure spells.

"He's been healing all wrong since the very first wound was inflicted – patching him up completely now would leave him probably unable to walk or remember much of anything!"

"We have to keep him alive!"

"We need to do this right," Freya inserted herself, knowing that she was consistently sounding like the bad guy, but hardly caring.

"Quina find help!" he waddled over in glee, a fistful of something in his hand.

While Zidane's thoughts lingered in slow motion, the world around him was moving quickly – hostile and tense about the situation.

"Not now, Quina," Beatrix bit out, still pressing as hard as she could manage on her wound. When Vivi had pointed out that Zidane was awake, she had finally mustered enough energy to grind out words. Her breathing hiccupped and she swallowed loudly, sweat pouring down her face.

He shook his head at her, showing her what he had found growing on the side of the road.

"Stormvine," she recognized, despite the paleness in her face, and the blood leaving her body like a waterfall. Her spirits seemed to brighten, and she pushed herself into a lounging position so she could see better. Quietly speaking to the qu was all she could do. "But… you don't h-have the rest."

"Quina do a little with just this…" he popped it in his mouth and her hopefulness fell.

She let out a big sigh that hurt her ribs.. "You're just… hungry," she half mused.

Steiner turned on his feet, creating a divot in the direct as he crawled the few feet back over to her. "How are you holding up?"

"S-still somehow awake," she told him between breaths.

"That's well," Steiner encouraged. "You need to stay that way."

She didn't have the heart to tell him that the sharpness of her vision was ebbing away at the corners, and it wouldn't be long before she passed out.

"Quina help!" he declared again, and before she could much say anything about it, the qu was untying the fabric that pressed against Beatrix's wound.

She let out a little cry as Steiner slapped his hand away. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Cinna moved to Beatrix, unable to stand the argument about what to do with Zidane, made complex when it should have been simple. Maybe he could be more help with the brunette.

"Quina helping," he said, smacking the stormvine still in his mouth.

"Why –"

"Wait," Cinna suggested. "Look!"

Steiner didn't want to look. He didn't want to see Beatrix's side, slit open and pulsating blood. When Cinna said nothing more, he was forced to look down, and nearly gagged at the sight. But what he could watch was the way the qu spit the chewed up vine on his hand, wadding it up into a small ball of mush, before pressing it onto the wound.

Beatrix's harsh shriek startled everyone.

Steiner nearly tackled Quina, but Baku knew enough to grab him – Cinna too.

"What the hell are you doing you piece of –"

"Stop!" Beatrix wailed, throwing a hand out to Steiner. She was definitely awake now. At first, he thought she was commanding the qu, but as he diligently continued working, pressing the ground vine into her wound and igniting blood-curdling screams, he realized she was speaking to him. "Stay awa-aaaaaah!" her words of advice turned into an ear-splitting scream.

"Is that what would have happened with Amarant had he been awake?" Eiko squeaked fearfully.

Ruby put her hands on the little girl's shoulders, squatting down next to her. "It looks like we're gon' be here a while, darlin'. Why don't we start lookin' for some firewood?"

"Good idea," Freya nodded, allowing the two to wonder away from the path. "Call if anything attacks you!"

Ruby gave a nod, and then pulled Eiko away. Amarant watched them go with weary eyes. He wished for a moment he could scuttle away with them and if it had been Eiko asking him to go, he would have, but Ruby with the girl, he wasn't sure if she'd be that willing to let him along.

Blank pressed his head down to his best friend's chest, his hands clammy under his gloves and his forehead creased in worry. "We're losing a heartbeat!"

Marcus shoved him off, not trusting his judgment, since he declared Zidane dead in Terra too and he still managed to live. He pressed his head also to the genome's chest, hopeful. But to no avail – the rapid heartbeat that had been there before was fading fast.

"Do something!" he cried restlessly to Dagger.

She shook her head. "I don't want him to die either! But his bones have already started to heal! The only way to do this is the right way or he suffers more and may have greater longer-lasting injuries."

"What's the right way?!" Blank demanded, leaning close to her with emerald eyes wild.

She bit her lip, pushing her hair from her face.

"Rebreaking the bones and setting them," Freya said, squatting down. "Blank and Marcus, go get some branches – as straight as you can – and hurry! We are losing him, so we must do this now!"

"Right!" They both said at once.

"Baku, you must hold his head steady. We need to know that if he wakes up again, he will not squirm at the pain, though it is unlikely. We do not want to take any risks."

The man grunted in response, collapsing on the ground like his old body was tired, before nestling the blonde's head in his lap. He shucked his dirty gloves and pressed his sweaty palms lightly to the side of Zidane's broken face.

Freya looked around before realizing she was mostly out of help. Steiner was busy trying to calm Beatrix's cries – cries that were sure to attract a monster, or worse, Kuja's men, Eiko and Ruby had disappeared to find firewood for the rest of them, Quina was trying his best to save the ex-captain's life, and Cinna was trying to hold her steady.

"Zenero," she said, knowing her options were limited as he raised his head. "Are you comfortable with blood?"

He shrugged, "I guess, why?"

"I am going to need you."

He looked at her guardedly, but didn't say anymore. Her eyes flickered to the last two standing around helplessly. "Amarant, can you keep guard with Vivi?"

"Guard?"

"Any time now, something will jump from the forest ready to take their large meal from our group. The threat will not be big, but I was hoping you could ensure we do not find more trouble on our hands."

He shrugged, "I could do that."

Vivi stared at the Bermecian fretfully and she sighed. "You either help Amarant, or you help me," she suggested to him.

He squeaked and whirled around, following Amarant to whatever perimeter he pleased.

Blank and Marcus came fumbling back, dropping their assortment of wood next to the broken dreamer. Freya nodded, "Good."

She didn't take a lot of time trying to size up the straightest sticks, but tried instead to find two that were similar to each other. Dagger sat uneasily to the side, unsure what Freya wanted her to do. "Be at the ready, Dagger."

She nodded, though found she could not speak. Her hands shook as she watched the last bit of life clinging to the genome beginning to leave. He had looked dull and deathly before, but in the deep shadows of the forest, and the way things were looking now, he looked even more so. Her stomach churned in discomfort – in fear – in panic.

She couldn't lose Zidane.

Not now. Not after everything.

"Marcus, come and grab his arm, just below the elbow," the bermecian suggested, and the half-elf squatted over the blonde to get a good grip.

"Like this?"

She nodded. "Hold it tighter, please." Her eyes focused on the way his gloves turned hardly around his swollen and discolored arm. Freya took in a deep breath.

"Is she – oh my god!" Blank moaned, turning away and covering his ears. Zenero shut his eyes, turning his own head to the side. Dagger forced herself to watch.

As quickly as she could, the Bermecian re-snapped his arm, the sound seeming to echo throughout their small group.

The group helping Beatrix stopped for a moment, looking over in terror, suddenly realizing they might have gotten the better of two jobs.

Another snap sounded as she set the bone where it was supposed to be. "Dagger!" she called, and the girl released the cure spell she had been working up to, looking a little woozy.

Blank fumbled to hand her the sticks and Zenero ripped off long strips of his pant leg and wrapped them around his limb tightly. The dog creature couldn't stop staring at the deep purple bruise spreading on his arm. Before he could pull away completely, Freya handed him her sharpest dagger.

"You need to cleanly cut the wound."

"What?!"

She pointed to the jagged, broken skin where his bone had torn through to the surface. Her long slender finger shook. She tried to ignore it. "I felt the bone resist when I set it; I feel there might be a fragment, but I cannot look if the cut is not clean."

He clearly paled as he clutched the knife, staring down at his nearly-lifeless friend. "But –"

"We do not have time! Please!"

He sucked in a tight breath, taking one more look at the boy. "Sorry buddy," he whispered before he pressed the blade to tender skin. It cut easily, blood squirting from it, and slapping Freya's waiting hand.

She clenched her jaw, preparing herself for something she hoped never to have to do. Not once in the war did she have to play medic for injuries as serious as Zidane's.

"The fact that he's still producing that much blood must be a good sign, right Marcus?" gone was Blank's cocky, irritated attitude, replaced with a far more timid, unsure voice. He sounded small and lost, and for a moment, younger versions of Tantalus – mostly orphans ripped away from normal lives – flashed before her eyes.

That gave her the strength to continue. As she pressed her fingers into the opening Zenero had made, she tried to feel for the fragment she could have sworn she saw as the bone ducked back under his flesh. She couldn't let uncertainty stop her from helping. She remembered long ago how broken Tantalus was, even months and a couple of years after losing Zidane. She would not allow Blank to fall back into an unemotional soldier, or Cinna to fall short on his grace of brightness to people's day, or Marcus to run his hands down his face and wonder how he had failed to look out for his brothers, or for Ruby to lose that sparkle that keeping morals and femininity alive gave her… or especially Baku. She would not allow him to gaze off into the distance, never letting anyone get close enough to realize he had lost someone he considered a part of his dysfunctional little family – someone who had failed these lost, scared children of war by not protecting their brightly-spirited brother.

Just like that, she had found the fragment and pulled it out. Her hands glistened red, and Zenero mumbled and turned around completely when he spotted that snow-white fragment among her slender digits.

She flicked it away, trying not to trouble herself with the fact that she had broken whatever small recovery Zidane's body had done since his left arm had been broken. Now the leg she thought to herself as she shifted.

"Where do you want me?" Marcus asked the bermecian.

"Just below the knee," she instructed.

He adjusted himself, kneeling over the blonde has he had done before, turning his head away so that he didn't watch Freya break his right leg again. If his limp had been going away before, it would never fully heal now.

"Please tell me we aren't cutting his leg open," Zenero moaned, a green tinge to his face.

She shook her head, "No."

"Thank god – oh dear –" he continued, having looked back to reply just as she snapped the bone into place.

Beatrix's screams had finally subsided as she passed out, collapsing into Cinna who held her up from behind. His dark eyes flickered to Steiner, who sat in a bundled mess, staring at the woman. Quina finished up soon after she passed out, his tongue falling back onto his apron after a blue magic spell like a finality. They couldn't do anything more for Beatrix until the slow-working stormvine weeded out some of Kuja's powder. It had already, at least, slowed the blood flow.

Ruby and Eiko had appeared again a long time ago, unable to stay away with all of the screaming. Despite not wanting anything to do with the medical scene, both girls worried one of their friends would pass when they were away, and they wouldn't be able to live with themselves if that happened.

The flames of a fire had been licking at the moist air, slow and low, for a while, and it was finally after Beatrix had passed out that Steiner and Cinna moved her closer, and huddled around it.

Ruby, probably the one with the clearest head, shook with despair, wishing she could do more for Zidane, but unable to part of the gore. Besides, Blank and Dagger needed to be close to him then more than ever, and she wouldn't interfere. However, she knew very clearly that they wouldn't be able to spend the entire day on that road.

"Heads up!" Amarant called from beyond the trees, before a fang leapt from the brush, mouth foaming and eyes hungry. It howled as it lunged at the group still working on Zidane.

Blank yelped and drew his dagger, being the only one not busy fixing their friend. He leapt on the creature, yanking him back by the hair until he rose on his hind legs like a horse ready to charge.

He used the dagger still positioned in his right hand to end the creature's life quickly, slicing it on the side of the neck as best he could being paraded around in the air. Dagger and Freya hardly even looked up.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Blank demanded as Amarant emerged from the trees. "You were supposed to be keeping watch!"

"You should see what's beyond the green, pip-squeak! There are a hell of a lot more we aren't letting get through!"

"Pip-squeak?!" The redhead snorted and stormed forward, "Who the hell –"

"Enough!" Ruby demanded, standing and marching towards the two. "Can ya'll not argue?! I'm tired of all the damn loud noise attractin' stuff here in the first place!" She harrumphed, placing her hands on her hips with as much attitude as she could muster.

"He called me pip-squeak!" Blank tried to argue but knew he would lose.

She glared at him, "Ya are on the short side, honey."

Amarant snorted.

"And ya!" she growled at him, turning away from her boyfriend who's jaw hung slack. "Ya need to stop bein' such a darn asshole!"

Blank suddenly had to bite his tongue. Despite the situation he almost wanted to smile. The fact that he knew about their brother-sister relationship made the moment all the sweeter. Amarant turned with his tail between his legs, irritated but not about to stand up to her, and little sister Ruby turned back to Blank in triumph.

"What are ya smilin' about?!"

He shook his head, quick on his feet. "You never cease to amaze me when you need to."

She rolled her eyes. "We got more to worry 'bout right now, sugar!"

"W-wait!" Vivi yelled, "There's another one!"

Blank and Ruby whipped around, watching as two more fangs leapt from the shadows.

"Where are they coming from?"

"They're probably just reaching us, hearing the noise awhile back," Steiner explained, rising. He didn't look like he was in any position to fight, but then again, no one was in the position to stop him either.

As those who were free of duty watched Steiner walk on shaky legs, holding his sword with so much imbalance, they knew they needed a break. Dagger collapsed in exhaustion, her eyes hardly open. Eiko offered to take her spot, but not before trying a small cure spell on Beatrix, whose hand seemed to flicker in what the seven-year-old liked to pretend was gratitude.

The main parts of Zidane's injuries were starting to stabilize, but they still hadn't any idea on his status. He hadn't woken up despite all of the cures, and he was still running a fever. His face was still swollen and none of the bruising was going away. He would need a lot of time. No amount of magic could heal the sort of hurt they suspected he was feeling, and that was the worst part.

Once Freya stood and Baku and Marcus lifted Zidane to carry him closer to the fire, her eyes swept over the small group as she rubbed her hands together, trying to rid them of the scent of blood. "I am going to find a spring. I believe the forest has one somewhere close."

"There is," Baku nodded. "I can take you there if you like. Back when I was learning how to fly, I was part of a rescue team for a ship of inexperienced Tantalus members who crashed out here."

She nodded, "Very well. I think that everyone could use a bit of food if we could find something. Quina, Amarant, and Eiko: do think you could look?" She was satisfied enough when she received small answers.

"Ready to go now?" The red haired man asked the two of them.

Quina was already standing and Eiko was strapping her small pack to her shoulders.

"Alright then," he commented before heading off the path, rustling the dark leaves as he passed into them.

"See you soon!" Eiko told everyone, pushing her purple hair behind her ears as she bounded after him. Quina gave a big wave before following.

Blank decided then to take a seat and wait. He sat on one side of Zidane as Dagger slumped over on the other side. He glanced at her before he looked at his friend, still nearly as battered as when they picked him up a couple of hours ago.

The lull in movement didn't sit well with him. Though there was no immediate threat over the group, he felt like they should be moving, like it was wrong that they were sitting in one place. But hardly anyone was in the position to continue, especially the still-great distance to Dali. He felt like they should be doing something. But he knew there was no cure to the restlessness. Not yet.

"Hang in there, buddy," he whispered to the genome, though he didn't expect an answer.

They sat around the fire, watching long shadows fall over each other's faces. Nobody wanted to talk. Nobody wanted to think. Zenero tried to ignore the blood on his pants, and Marcus tried not to stare too hard at the sticks wrapped tightly around Zidane's broken limbs.

"Do you think we'll make it back to Dali?" Dagger whispered.

The others surrounding the fire seemed to come back to life, as if they'd been statues for centuries and some spell had been broken on them. Limbs stretched and eyes found the girl, sitting in a pool of her own doubt.

"It's not a matter of if," Steiner started, never missing a beat when it came to comforting the girl. "Just when."

"I hope it's soon," Vivi decided, feeling the need to talk just like Dagger did. "I don't think we'll last much longer."

"We just need to keep hoping," Steiner tried again, knowing it was Beatrix who had always been better at being optimistic. "There is a world out there for us yet, not full of hurt or evil things. There is a world where we shall meet in the gaiety of Alexandria, amongst the streets full of children playing and citizens trying to make a living. It will be full of people whose worries revolve around the right style of clothing, wondering what to eat for dinner, and gossip about the next performance at the theater."

Heads turned back towards the fire, looking towards the splintering wood and glinting flames to imagine what Steiner was saying.

"It will be a world where the worst enemies are thieves, or people trying to stir up trouble for the sake of trouble – not dominance or complete anarchy on the world. Airships will fill the skyways again, and Lindblum will blossom in the world of technology, challenging each city-state to try and beat them. Bermecia will be a place of wonder and mystery and Alexandria will be the stable homestead of honest people as it once was. And good will thrive."

Dagger had to let on a small smile, falling slightly to the left to lean on the knight. "I'd like that very much."

The softness of his words settled over the group, and many closed their eyes, allowing Steiner's first visions of a brighter future prod deeper, unconscious desires to see the world look a different way once the war was over.

No one flinched when there was a rustle in the leaves. Freya and Baku's voices carried, and everyone thought it to be them coming back from the springs, hopefully having brought extra for the rest of the small group.

Suddenly, a howl immersed and by the time eyes ripped open, a fang – mutated so much two heads sprung ferociously from its body – was already midair – mid lunge.

"Fang!" Steiner yelled, leaping up. He jumped with his sword up, hoping to slice its belly open as its form almost floated over him.

It landed on Ruby, teeth barred and ready. Her head slammed against the ground as she let out a scream. Her legs thrashed beneath her as everyone moved into action. Blank sprinted at the monster, jumping on its back like before, but once it felt his weight it rolled over, crushing him beneath it.

He groaned and rolled to his side, still intent on making sure Ruby was okay. She still laid stunned, unhurt but shocked on the ground.

Marcus threw a small knife at the creature, hitting it in the shoulder. It bellowed as the blade disappeared in its thick fur, making the thief sure he hit his target. But instead of staggering like one of its cousins would do, its eyes became more enraged and it leapt towards the fire once more. Steiner dropped over Beatrix so the two-headed fang didn't try to attack. Cinna did the same with Zidane.

Its tail whipped at the fire, but it didn't seem to bother the monster when his tail went ablaze, his fur singing in the violent flame. He howled once more, whipping around fiercely as Vivi and Zenero went at it.

His beastly eyes jerked heavily from one threat to the other, and seeing how small Vivi was, already tripping over his feet, he lunged at Zenero unexpectedly.

The dog-creature called out, a battle cry erupted in the air as he yieled his axe into the creature, right between its two heads. The two jaws continued to snap angrily at him as it howled in pain, ringing in the acute ears of Zenero.

As he moved in for his final blow, Freya and Baku running fiercely towards him, one jaw snagged his jacket and dragged him close. He grunted, struggling as he tried to remove it; forced to drop his axe to get his arm out of the sleeve, he squirmed away from the razor sharp teeth behind him. He could hear the others trying to beat on the beast from the side, and Vivi had ignited an even bigger flame, spreading from the fang's tail up his back. The creature thrashed its head with rage.

But Zenero's other sleeve ripped, the tear almost louder than Zidane's breaking bones, and he stumbled.

Straight into the long, sharp fang of the other, nearly forgotten head.

By the time the giant tooth stabbed through his abdomen, the creature was dead – Freya's spear impaled in its head.

"Zenero!" Baku cried.

The thief collapsed to the ground as the rest of the group scampered to him, in shock. How could something like this have happened so fast? How did they let their guard down so fast?

"Dagger!"

She was already trying to conjure a cure when Zenero grabbed her hand. "Don't," he choked out in a murmur.

"But you'll –"

He shook his head. "I know. S'okay."

"What?! But why –"

"Not for that reason," he wheezed. "You guys, my fam'ly," he nodded weakly, clutching his stomach where Baku's hands had been pressed, trying to stop the blood from flowing out. "I love ya. But that's j'st it… Zidane needs ya. We can't lose 'im again. I can't let ya."

"Don't talk like that," Marcus insisted.

"To be hon'st, my minds been slippin' from the mission for 'long time… Losin' Benero…"

Baku's eyes slowly shut as he pulled his hands away.

"What are you doing?!" Blank demanded, throwing himself closer to Zenero so he could take Baku's place, though he was clearly hurting from the fang rolling over him. "Don't give up!"

"Listen to him you asshole," Baku gestured down to Zenero, smiling back up at them.

"So proud of all you. But I w'nted to share this fut're with Benny, y'know?"

"Zenero," Dagger groaned, cupping his face with her hand.

He smiled, looking more relaxed than he had since the last time anyone had seen him and Benero together. "I getta see 'im again. That's all I could ask for. To be w-with my broth'r…"

"Please," Blank whispered.

The rest of Tantalus had already sat back. It was no secret that Zenero had been hurting. Through the toughness, through the laughs – he wasn't the same without Benero, and the truth was finally coming out. Marcus and Cinna, Baku and the others – they were all ready to let him go if that's what he felt needed to be done.

The last of the Nero brothers chuckled, using the last ounce of his energy to raise his arm and salute, "Good luck, boys; 'nd Rubes."

And then the life left his eyes and Dagger turned into Steiner, sobbing. Ruby shed a silent tear, looking away from the latest victim of Kuja's war.

"No," Blank shook his head. "No, no, no, he can't –"

"C'me 'ere," Marcus mumbled, his voice thick with emotion. He grabbed Blank, throwing his arms around the redhead, knowing how much this entire trip had hurt him.

Blank clung to him, his shoulders shaking but no sound coming out. Cinna leaned into his best friend and Marcus expanded the hug. Vivi cried too, so Ruby grabbed his hand and Blank reached out his arm to her. She fell into it, squeezing it and Vivi as hard as she could.

Steiner's arms wrapped around Dagger, whose hand shot out, extended towards Baku. He grasped it firmly, like all of his hope now rested with the princess, because he was clearly failing as a leader. Freya put an arm around Baku, and closed the circle with an arm around Vivi and Ruby's tangled forms.

They sat like that for a long moment, reliving Zenero's last words and the way he didn't want them to be sad. The fire still blazed on the logs, Beatrix and Zidane's forms still around it, and the flames fizzled out on the back of the beast.

All was quiet until Blank pulled back, and the circle slowly unraveled themselves. "He was okay you think?"

"I know," Marcus told him with all the wisdom he'd always wanted the other members of Tantalus to acknowledge.

Blank nodded, "Then we have to move forward… for him."

"He wanted us to succeed," Cinna added. "But he didn't want to go on without Benero."

"And that's somethin' we can respect," Ruby finished.

Baku cleared his throat, clearly having more doubt than his optimistic team. He swiped at his eyes, hoping to rid them of the unshed tears. He was so simultaneously disappointed in himself for allowing another one of his boys to slip through his fingers, and proud of his team – his family – for the maturity and solemnness they showed in this very moment.

"We have to make it to Dali," Marcus continued. "For Zenero. To save Zidane and save Beatrix, and to stop this damn war from taking anyone else," his tone was steady and dangerous.

Steiner stood and turned towards the beast, unsheathing his sword and heaving a swing at one of its heads with an anguished yell. It nearly decapitated the deceased creature, and Steiner continued to hack at it until the job was done. Once the head was disconnected, he picked it up and swung it with all of the force he could off of the road.

"Son of a bitch!" he cried.

Freya retrieved her spear from the other head and with the help of the others, they pushed the creature off of the path. Dagger unpacked a blanket from one of the packs, laying it over her friend's body, wiping more tears from her face. She summoned magic to her hands, and the others watched the hopeful light of a protect spell fall around him – so nothing could get at his body.

Ruby looked around, finding a few red weeds and blue-green leaves and ripping them from their place in the wretched forest. She tried to create a little beauty to go around him, decorating the blanket, sprucing it with the different colors.

Dagger grabbed her hand, "It looks wonderful," she told the older girl with a faint smile.

Ruby nodded, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. "Thanks, doll. I just hope he meant what he said…"

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he did. The Nero brothers were the only ones blood related in Tantalus, and that had to mean something when one of them was taken down… the other was soon to follow – more by choice than by actual defeat.


"Couldn't we just cook up one of the fangs we killed?"

Amarant shook his head, "The fangs are corrupted by the mist on this continent. It doesn't do much to us, but if creatures spend too much time in it, they start to change their behavior. We don't want to eat anything contaminated by it."

"That's sort of scary. How long does that take?"

"A lot of breeding and a few decades for a species to mutate like that, depending on how exposed they are to the mist."

She kicked at the grass, not liking the way her boots seemed to sink into the mud as she moved. "Couldn't everything be contaminated in here then? Aren't the plants effected to?"

He shrugged, "They could be. I think that's why Freya sent us. You scavenged for food with the moogles in Madain Sari, didn't you?"

She blinked, not expecting him to know that. "Some sorts of food. We had a lot of fish because of the river, and it was more picking out natural food for spices and plants!"

"Alright, then I scavenge, and you cook," he nearly let on a grin. "We seem better equip for that." He jerked his thumb at Quina, "though I'm not sure about him."

"He's a chef! Don't you know that all qus are chefs, silly?" She stared up at him, eyes so wide and innocent, even after all they had endured already that day.

He shrugged, "I've never met a qu."

"Quina good," Quina stated, though didn't exploit himself in the situation any further.

The redhead nodded after he thought about it for a moment. He decided to ignore the grinning eyes of Eiko as he replied to Quina. "I think so too."

Before he could say anymore, Eiko gasped. "I know these berries!" she whipped around to the rest of her group. "They're drupe berries!" She hastily began picking them.

"We don't know if they're good or bad!" Amarant insisted.

She shook her head. "My grandpa told me about them – the moogles too! The hard layer surrounding the seed has a sort of filter in it. It lets in nutrients and water, but nothing else so that it can continue to be a pure fruit. That's why they grow almost anywhere, because they never die away from infectious stuff!"

He blinked at her. "Wow… I'm impressed."

"Quina find something too!"

They turned, not seeing the qu near them.

"Quina?!" Eiko called, her voice soprano and echoing in the brush. "Where did you go?!" They began following his voice as he instructed them.

"Quina over here!" he called, trying to be helpful but not really having any effect. "Quina find yummy flower – pretty flower! Can't be toxic!"

"Just don't eat it yet! Let us take a look at it!" Amarant insisted, irritated that the qu never wanted to sit still and wait. His hunger won out over everything else.

They pressed through some wet leaves, the redhead feeling like the water left on his bare shoulder was more like slime from the humidity than anything else. A few rays of sunlight reached them here, and he looked up to see small speckles of holes in the dense canopy.

The light fell onto a small bushel of light green grass. It seemed pure, unlike the mucky dark blades that were tangled around it. A flower grew from the patch, straight up like it was stretching for the sun. The pink petals weren't harsh like some of the strong magenta colors they'd seen flickering fiercely in the light of the fire on the road.

"Strange," he mumbled, leaning towards it.

Quina didn't think before he tugged it off of its stem, inspecting it close once it was free of its roots. "Smell delicious! Can eat?"

"I don't think…" Eiko started, but trailed as they felt a shutter, like the earth was tingling with something ominous and angry.

"We should get back," Amarant advised, turning without seeing that the other two were behind him and sprinted through the leaves.

"Amarant!" Eiko cried, tripping over herself. Quina stopped to help her back up as they padded after him. "Amarant, wait!"

He pushed past twigs, feeling the branches scrap his sore arms, and the earth squelch beneath his worn boots. A feeling of panic was rising in the normally unemotional man – panic that only intensified as another tremor rumbled beneath them.

When he broke from the trees, the others were already on their feet, looking around. Freya was back, having cleaned up at the spring, and Baku was standing next to her.

"What happened?" Freya demanded.

"Nothing happened!" he insisted. "Quina just picked this flower –"

They stopped as some noise started in the distance. Eiko and Quina just broke from the trees as the sound emerged from down the path, the way they came. It sounded like the rattle of a snake.

"Something tells me we should move," Baku mentioned, kneeling beside Zidane.

Though no one wanted to leave, with the last memories of Zenero here, and exhaustion lingering higher than before, but no one argued. They pulled their packs off the ground sluggishly though, feeling like whatever evil was coming could wait a little longer.

Freya and Amarant turned up the path, towards the noise, straining to see. The shadows were moving, flickering like angry snakes. Or maybe insects. Insects trying to defend their nest…

"Oh fuck!"

"Move! Now! Everybody!" Freya cried, leaping over to the fire to help get Beatrix up. Steiner took no time questioning the woman's demand as he swept the brunette into his arms.

More and more of the group were beginning to see the movement behind them. "Oh shit!" Baku cried, not waiting around any longer. "Hurry up you little assholes, we need to move!"

Tantalus followed their leader, Cinna yanking on Dagger to get her tired form moving again. Ruby clung to the back of Blank's arm as he rolled his still-wet eyes. "We just can't catch a damn break, can we?!"

"Come on, Marcus! Leave the pack!"

"It's Zenero's –"

"There is no more time!" Freya pleaded, grabbing onto his arm. "We must move! Now!"

Tantalus and the Elite team were on the run. All around them the forest seemed to quake in fury – something about that flower Quina pulled had royally pissed the living forest off. Out from the sides of the roads, the noises came closer, appearing in the form of plant spiders, large scythe type legs that flexed as they leapt out into the clearing of the road.

A spider soared out in front of Baku, who ran with Zidane nestled in his arms. The branches that were tight around the blonde's arm and leg stabbed at Baku, but he ignored it for the most part. The spider hissed at them, its beady eyes intent on feeding, but Blank flew forward, having shaken Ruby from his grasp to do something dangerous.

He cried out as he stabbed the thing in the face as Baku hustled around it, careful not to touch any of the slicing legs.

Spiders danced on the edge of their path, not wanting to get to close after seeing what had happened to their friend, but not wanting the large group to get away. Dagger heaved her staff at one, smacking it in the face and listening to it shriek as it shrunk back, legs curling into itself.

Freya threw her spear at one that lunged at Amarant and Eiko towards the front of the group, and the spider would have fallen on the young girl had the redheaded man not swooped her up into his arms. Vivi retrieved the spear for her and tossed it back.

If the spiders weren't enough of a problem, suddenly from the trees, sharp vines were shooting towards them, trying to rid the forest of the problem. Quina puffed, smack dab in the middle of the group, the flower still clutched, broken and smashed in his hand.

They could literally feel the absolute rage coming from the living, breathing things around them as howls from the fangs rose up over the trees. Dark colored birds abandoned their perches watching the people wander by to escape the madness that was coming over the dense thicket.

Freya glanced behind her again, expecting to see an angry mass of green coming towards her. What she was finding though, was the most peculiar of tan colors spanned panoramic behind her. She didn't have a lot of time to stare at it, but after running for a few more yards, it clicked.

"The forest! It is petrifying!" She cried. "We do not have much time! Hurry!"

A race against the spiders, the vines, and now, the petrify that was awaiting them, plus the exhaustion that had crept up on them since they showed up in Dali again a week ago was finally taking its toll. Instead of speeding up, their pace slowed.

"I see a light!" Marcus pointed forward, "It must be the ending! We just have a little bit further to go!"

At that same moment, a vine lashed out, snapping onto his ankle, sending him crashing into the ground. His head bashed into the dirt and his vision doubled in front of him. Baku was just passing him as he stamped on the vine. Something screeched out of the forest to their left as the vine retracted, coiling into itself. Baku did the only thing he could with Zidane in his hands – kicking the eldest thief to get him to get up.

Blank came up from behind, yanking Marcus to his feet. Freya had passed them moments ago, momentum pushing her too fast to slow down, so the four of them brought up the rear. Marcus staggered as he stood, and they could feel the stone chill aura right behind them.

Baku shot forward, puffing as he did so, the genome being jostled in his arms. Blank continued lugging Marcus forward, his muscles flexing but protesting, and his own breath labored and hard.

It was a last dash for the two of them out of the tomb of a forest, but Blank knew Marcus wouldn't make it. He continued to lose his footing and would have fallen had the redhead not been holding him up. There were screams from beyond the light, too blinding to make much of anything out yet.

The sun was high in the sky as Blank made his decision. "You keep Zidane alive… you hear me? You save his life!" With that he put on his breaks to shove Marcus as hard as he could, who tumbled and fell out of the last opening of the forest.

A vine lashed out and snapped Blank in the arm, just before he tumbled forward himself. The petrify caught up to them, but the youngest thief put on a brave face, trying to make the rest of the world – Marcus – to see the strength and maturity he had always wanted his Tantalus brothers to acknowledge when they were younger.

Just like Marcus himself.

The sun scorched their battered bodies as Marcus scrambled up, whipping around to see the faintest outline of Blank in the last petrified moments of the forest – almost to the opening, but not quite making it.

"No…" he mumbled, trying to pull himself to stand. He fell over his shaking legs, clawing himself up to the stone.

The others huffed, trying to collect themselves after they too leapt from the forest. Only when Marcus' screams filled the air did they realize what happened.

"No!" He continued to screech until his throat was raw. The word broke his voice as he pounded on the stone, staring straight into the barely visible face of his proud brother. "No! You can't take him too!"

Tears flooded down his cheeks. First Zidane, then Zenero, and now Blank? No… It couldn't be. It couldn't happen – not to them – not again.

"No…" Dagger whispered, hands over her mouth. The others watched on, slack jaws and shock written all over their faces. What had just happened?

"No, no!" He shouted at the stone, continuing to beat at it until his fists were bloody. "This can't be happening! Son of a bitch!"

It was Ruby who couldn't allow it to continue any further. She stepped up, pressing her lips into a thin line before she put a hand on Marcus' shoulder. He shrugged her off fiercely as he turned on her.

"Marcus…" her voice was soft as she stared at him.

"No," he croaked, his spirit broken. "No, no…"

"He's such a damn fool. Such a darn fool…" Ruby muttered.

And he collapsed into her as they fell against the stone, the girl feeling the faintest ripple of stone protruding from the forest in her back – what she felt was Blank's fingertips, just skimming the surface of freedom.


A/N: There is no amount of anything I can say after that chapter. I'm so sorry for the length, and wow, did a lot happen. I won't say much else, just let you all let it sink in.

Tell me what you thought of it! I'm sorry if it seemed a little anti-climatic; I tried to make it not so obvious, but still not rushed at the same time. Hopefully you all don't hate me after that one! Believe me, I'm sad too.

-zesty-