Filling In The Blanks

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

Chapter 123: Dim the Lights

"Uncle Sam! Uncle Sam!" Laughter filled the air as the little girl's shoes pounded on the cobblestone. Her laces flung from side to side with each tap of her feet, always untied.

"Hey there, sunshine!" He laughed and picked her up, making sure not to lose his spot in line. "How did you know where to find me?"

"Auntie Becky's around the corner!" she twisted in his arms and pointed in the direction she had come running. "She told me to sneak up on you!"

He smiled, remembering how she'd come veering around the corner yelling his name. It wasn't very sneaky, but he wasn't about to tell the girl that.

"How are you enjoying your stay in Lindblum?"

"I wish we lived here," she sighed. "It's so pretty! And there are so many more pretty aminals!"

"Animals," he corrected gently. "What kind of animals have you found?"

"Dogs and kitties!" she chirped, "there's not so many of those scary black mages here, either."

"Hush now, child," he said to her quietly, seriousness overtaking his tone. She cocked her head at him, and he placed her gently back on the ground. "There is no place for such words. They are," he tried to think of a way to phrase it, "doing what was asked of them. There's no need to be afraid, but no reason to talk about them either."

She seemed to sense how much he meant those words, because she nodded silently. He tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Uncle Sam," she began, twisting her hands in front of her and digging the tip of her shoe into the stone. He watched her as she fidgeted nervously. "How come you and Auntie Becky are here and not in Dali? Don't you like living in Dali anymore?"

"Of course we do, sunshine. Being in Dali means being closer to you and your mom. But Dali is just…" he sighed, and if she was older she would see the look on his face as regretful – regretful that he had to be so straight forward with someone so young, "Dali isn't safe right now. And if you two are going to visit us, we have to be safe, right?"

She nodded, continuing her silence.

He pulled a gold coin out of his pocket. "Why don't you bring this to your Auntie Becky and tell her I give you girls permission to get ice cream while I wait in line here, okay?"

She stared around them. He was in a long line of all sorts of different people. It extended out of a heavy wooden door to a building labeled "travel". The people coming out of the building were all carrying manila folders and didn't look pleased. She recalled her uncle talking to her mother earlier that morning about 'travel papers' and how you needed them if you were even going to be out past curfew.

But with the call of ice cream on her mind, she dismissed these confusing thoughts and nodded wildly, turning on her heels and zooming away, hearing the small tick of her shoelaces as they continued to hit the ground.

Holding onto the coin tightly in her hands, she skipped around the corner, only to run into the legs of a very tall man. Her face burned as she stumbled back and fell on her butt; she had hit something hard.

"Watch it there, Missy."

She stared up at him, emerald eyes huge. "Who are you, mister?"

He grinned down at her, his gold armor shining in the sunlight. There were many others like him, all marching in the direction she had just come. All of the citizens who were walking the street were backed up into walls and the stone barrier with the canal on the other side, terror in their eyes.

"My name is Felix. Felix Strand. I'm in the army."

She made a big 'oh' face, though no words came out. "My daddy was in the army."

"Oh yeah? Whose side was he on?"

She tilted her head, confused by the question. "He died a long time ago," she answered with instead.

"Sorry to hear that," he said, though she didn't really think that he meant it, because the grin never left his face. "Well, you watch out for me in the future, kid. I'm going to be general of this army someday."

"Wow! That's neat! What's a general? It sounds important?"

"Elouise! Elouise come this way right now!" The two of them turned to see her Auntie Becky, wide eyed and squatting down, her arms out-stretched. A look of panic had overtaken her face.

Elouise shot a smile at the man, "Bye-bye, mister!" And without waiting for an answer, she raced towards her aunt. She heard him laughing in the back ground.


She woke with a start, sweat dripping down her back. Her breath was heavy, though the dream didn't seem all that threatening at the time. That little girl… that was her?

She rubbed the back of her neck, slick with sweat. A restless feeling washed over her, and she flung off her blanket and swung her legs over the bed.

The room was dank. It must have still been night time, because without the sun shining in through the window, it smelt extra musty. The other woman she shared a room with was passed out with her mouth open on the bed on the opposite side of the room, liquor bottle close to tipping and spilling in the bed with her.

Elouise slipped out of the room quietly, unsure where her feet were taking her. Long gone were the sneakers she saw in the dream, replaced with a nimble pair of brown boots that came only to her ankles. Avalanche had suggested them to her – he said it would help her stay quiet.

She tried to think of anything else, but the dream kept popping up in her head. Who were those people? Why did she call that man uncle? Her parents didn't have any siblings, and now, her parents too were dead – gone because the resistance had sacked Alexandria and she hadn't been with them to keep them safe.

Right?

Before long, her feet had brought her to where she knew her confidant would be. There, sitting in a chair close to the wall was Avalanche. His eyes were closed, but she could tell that he was alert simply by the erect way his ears stood. In front of him, not twenty feet, was the qu that an Outer Continent squad had captured a few weeks ago.

He hadn't really responded to anything. Kuja lost interest in him fairly quick, assuming he didn't know anything. And while she didn't really disagree with that mindset, sometimes when she watched the way he sat and stared at the sun setting, she wondered if he knew more than he was letting on. Sometimes she wondered if qus in general knew more than they let on. But she had never met one to ask.

Taking in a breath, she pushed open the door and felt the night air crawl across her skin. It was a little chilly, but the fresh air felt better than the stifling stuff inside of her quarters. Kuja had promised her her own room a few months back, but nothing had yet to come of it.

The elf's eyes opened immediately, though slowly, like he knew there was no threat coming to him. The qu didn't move; maybe he was sleeping?

"What brings you here, Elouise?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and sat next to him on the ground, her back up against the wall. She stretched her long legs out in front of her. She was currently only in her tank and shorts – her underclothes for sleeping.

"I had another dream…"

His eyebrow raised. "Oh?"

"I was a little girl," she said, staring forward at the ground. There was a lone ant moving in a seemingly sporadic way on the stone. "And I was talking with my uncle. We talked about my mother and my "Auntie Becky". Then I ran into…" her voice faded, remembering the man's name in her dreams. "General Strand."

He seemed taken aback, which was uncharacteristic for him. "General Strand?"

"But… before he was a general. He was clad in the golden armor that the chocobo riders wear…" she drifted into thought, suddenly feeling silly for sharing her dream out loud.

"What do you think this dream means?" he asked.

She scratched her head. "It… it felt so real. So familiar – like I've lived it before. But that's impossible; I've never had any aunts or uncles and my parents are dead."

He was quiet for a long time, his eyes resting on the qu in front of him. She wished she was better at guessing what he was thinking.

"I have dreams like that too," he admitted.

"What?" she turned to face him, genuinely shocked.

He nodded. "I dream of a place I've never been on the Forgotten Continent; it's a place called Daguerreo. I dream of an older sister I don't have and a sick grandmother I've never met," he shrugged, "it feels like I'm reliving old memories."

"I don't understand…" she shook her head, resting her temple in the palm of her hand. "These dreams only just started. I haven't been having them the last couple of years."

"We aren't alone," he said gently, "many people are having these dreams…" he left the statement hanging, wondering what she would say next.

She listened to the crickets chirp. There were seldom other noises coming out of the area around them. Everything was still dead, even all this time later. She still wondered why they hadn't bothered cleaning up the town and moving people back in. Why was it that they weren't rebuilding Alexandria with their time between training? She would gladly dedicate her free time to that.

"You don't think… they're…" her face burned with embarrassment. "You don't think they're real, do you Avalanche? If so many of us are having them…"

His shoulders slumped like he was tired. "How much do you know about the story of Alexandria's downfall, Eli?"

She smiled at the old nickname, but it turned to a frown as she tried to recall it. "I just know that we were rounded up in the castle, saved. I guess… I don't know why we were rounded up, but we were… And the resistance members destroyed the city and killed everyone, because they don't like Lord Kuja."

"That's all?"

Elouise nodded, a wavy tendril of hair falling in front of her eyes. A pit was beginning to grow in her stomach. "That's… all there is."

Avalanche didn't say anything more. He crossed his arms in front of his chest again and rested his eyes, much like before she had come out. The stone was cold against her back, but she welcomed it.

Before she even understood what she was doing, she was standing up, her feet taking her closer to the qu.

"Hey, you…"

"Elouise…" Avalanche warned.

"What? He's chained. Hey. You. Qu."

"Quina," his voice sounded strange. She could have leapt back if she wasn't seasoned for that type of thing in the last few years.

"Quina," she said slowly. Sighing, she sat down next to him, feeling this involuntary idea that she couldn't seem to stop. Extending her hand, her eyes became fully alert. "Elouise."

Avalanche sat behind her, holding his breath.

Quina wrapped his large hand around hers, the handshake awkward because of the chains. But he didn't seem to mind in particular. "Quina know."

"Excuse me?"

"Zidane talk about Elouise."

She had to stop herself from tearing her hand away and fleeing from the site.

"Zidane? You know him?"

"Zidane bring Quina yummy snacks. Quina like him. Quina and Zidane friends."

"Friends…" the word sounded sour on her tongue.

"You Zidane's friend, too."

"What do you know about me?"

Despite Quina's, frankly, stupid expression, there was a sharpness to his blank eyes that she just couldn't pin point. It made her quite uncomfortable. However, she was very aware of Avalanche's presence and knew that he had her back.

"You are a dreamer. But not like Zidane and Vivi."

"Vivi…" she recognized the name, though she couldn't decide from where. "A dreamer? What is that?"

Quina shook his head, "You don't know?"

A crease formed in her forehead. "Pointless," she mumbled under her breath, slapping her hands down on her knees, ready to stand.

"Dreamers powerful," Quina continued without being prompted. "Kuja sought powerful people seven years ago. Kuja got some of them, and put them to sleep. He made them a fake world, with friends – sometimes fake and sometimes not."

She was frozen, listening to him despite not wanting to.

"That's where Zidane know you from. Not from the real world, but the fake one. Alexandria." The name of her beloved city sounded foreign rolling off of his long tongue. "Zidane woke up when he wasn't supposed to, from this sleep. Soldiers tried to catch him, but he escaped…" there was silence for a moment. "He came back looking for Elouise and friends."

"Looking for me?" she whispered, completely lost. Her body had gone nearly slack.

"They were gone. Long time passed and Zidane tried using mirrors on dreamers to show them truth about Kuja. It was no spell, just a lie. A very big lie. And Zidane got captured. Zidane almost die many times to get friends back. But friends betrayed him."

"Wh-what truth about Kuja?" she heard herself say, voice trembling.

"Kuja lie to dreamers – say resistance kill everyone. Gaia peaceful until Kuja wanted to rule; he started war and killed many people. Created black mages to help him control world, and grew his army. Kuja took away Alexandria from Alexandros Royals, and took away all other nations from rulers. He took dreamers because they're strong and lied – said that resistance ruined Alexandria so that they would help him fight and win. Resistance is world's only hope for peace again – the good people who are trying to fight back against this evil."

"Is that really what you believe?"

"Not believe. That is history."

She stood suddenly. She was angry, but she could not locate her urge to argue. Half of her wanted to tell him he was wrong, and the other half had this awful feeling that he was telling the truth. She rubbed her eyes, staring back at Avalanche.

He was leaning forward, arms outstretched at her sudden movement. His face was not composed as it usually was, and his eyes were bewildered.

But something in them told her that he believed every word that the qu had just spoken.

Tears of confusion sprung to her eyes as anger and betrayal – of Avalanche, or perhaps herself to the cause she was currently fighting for, she had no idea – overtook her movements. Curling her hands into fists, she fled from the room, running to get away from the words that echoed in her head.

"Whose side was he on?"

That's what the younger General Strand had said to her when she said her father had died. He was grinning sinisterly at her.

Maybe he laughed like he did because her father had been on the losing side. The side opposing Kuja.

Her heart broke, her mind frightened.

Could these feelings mean that she believed the qu's words as well?


"Argh."

She tilted her head up, opening her eyes and tucking her hair behind her ear. "What is it?"

He shook his head, sitting several feet away from her. "Aren't you sick of always being in the sun?"

She took a glance at their surroundings. When there was a break from training, Dagger tried to snag Zidane away as much as she could. Blank and the others usually took some of his attention, but he was careful to remember that she and him needed alone time, too. While she usually tried to block the thought from her mind, she wasn't sure how long they had left together… she wanted every moment she could with him.

But currently, she was basking in the sunlight as it hit the ground in the canyon. Her gloves and boots were off, her fingers spread out in the dirt and her head lilted back so she could feel the warm sun on her neck. She loved the warmth Madain Sari brought; it felt like life and comfort.

Zidane was lounging a few feet away, his body splayed awkwardly over the beginning of the rocky surface that was the entrance to a small cove. It was away from the sun, and he insisted that sitting on the shaded rock was much more comfortable than the burning sand.

"I happen to like the sunlight," she told him, her voice very serene.

"Even just watching you is making me uncomfortable," he said, fidgeting again.

She pointed to him, loving the way the air felt on her hands without her gloves on, "I think that has to do with the rocks you're lying on."

"They're cooler than the dirt," he insisted.

"To each his own," she said, even though the prissy way she said it told him maybe she didn't even believe that.

He flopped over on to his side and rested his head in his hand. "Hey Dagger?"

"Hm?"

"How are your history lessons going with Eiko?"

"History lessons? You mean learning about the eidolons that I can summon?"

"Yeah," he nodded, oblivious, "those."

She nodded, "They're going well. I've learned a lot about these creatures I'm able to summon to our world. Eiko is an excellent teacher."

"Do you… ever think it's weird?"

"What's weird?"

He ran a hand through his messy hair, much lighter than usual because of all the time in the sun. The same could be said about her hair though, much browner than it used to be.

"I don't know how to put it really… That you're learning about your heritage, but we're in a city that doesn't really exist anymore."

She puckered her lips in thought, trying to fill in the holes of Zidane's statement. Obviously, he didn't mean it quite as boldly as it sounded, and she considered that as she thought of her answer.

"I suppose it is, yes. I always thought that learning of my heritage would come when I was back in Alexandria, rebuilding a castle. I never thought it would be in the resistance, let alone all the way out here."

"Does knowing that your mother was from Madain Sari fill in any questions about you being a white mage?"

Again, she thought, but it took less time for her to find an answer. "I guess I've never really thought of it. In a world where it's less about your abilities and more about if you are good or bad, I think I forget that where you come from says a lot about what you can do. The resistance is a big scatter of different people. I always just clumped myself with the scatter."

He nodded, seeming satisfied with her answer.

"I wish I was as accepting as you."

"Believe me, Zidane, if you don't think you're accepting, you are most definitely wrong."

He nodded, "Now, maybe. I've done a lot of growing up in the last couple of months. But before the whole dreamer thing happened, I wondered a lot about myself. When I was young, I didn't understand why I was the only person with a tail. It frustrated me to no end, even though I didn't know why. Every time someone acknowledged it, I cringed. It wasn't that I didn't want it to be part of me, because I loved its advantages, but I didn't understand why I was the only one, you know?"

"How did you overcome that?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I started asking questions. I got so annoying about different races that Baku sat me down one day and told me to stop being a little shit," Zidane grinned, "he told me that there were people with tails who lived in Terra, that was way across the ocean, so I shouldn't feel so special anymore."

"And that fixed it?"

"It fixed any insecurities I had with my tail. But it made me want to dive into my history. Terra was one of the first places that Kuja attacked; so there wasn't really a lot of information available about it. Eventually though, I compiled enough information to satisfy myself. Maybe I finally had a whole speech if someone were to ask about my tail; it was so long ago, I hardly remember where I finally drew the line."

"In comparison of our two situations, I think that saying I'm accepting while you are not is the wrong thing to say."

"Why do you think that?"

She rubbed her hand in the dirt, hating that dry feeling when the powder covered her hands, but loving the feeling of the actual motion in earth that soft, "I accepted my heritage a long time ago as my abilities. I never really linked my past to a place because I didn't have such a blaringly obvious feature to go off of. Yeah, I could summon things, but unless I was summoning something, I never felt like I didn't belong where I was. I can see where the presence of your tail would have you wondering. I don't think there's anything wrong with digging around to find out more about yourself. It doesn't make you an unaccepting person."

He was laying on his back, staring up at the ridge that started the ceiling of the cave as he listened to her. It blocked the sun from his eyes rather nicely. "Maybe you're right. Ugh. It's too hot to have such serious conversations."

She stuck her tongue out at him, "You started it."

He lolled his head to the side, his eyes staring lazily at her. But mischief sparked to life in them as he rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up into a crawling position. "I did, did I?"

"Um," she squeaked, trying to hide the giggle that was about to bubble up from her throat, "Yes?"

He crawled towards her, prowling as his eyes glittered. She squirmed, not knowing what he was going to do, so not knowing how to defend herself. But she knew it was coming.

He pounced on her when he was still an impressive distance away – something she didn't expect in the slightest. She yelped as he toppled her into the dirt.

"Zidane!" she laughed, trying to wiggle out of his hold.

His eyes were primal as he stared down at her, and tension hung heavily in the heat of the day for a minute. Her laugh faded and her grin fell to a small smirk as they stared at each other. She felt his breath on her face and suddenly got the heavy urge to pull him closer to her. Her breath caught in her throat as she started reaching up.

And just like that, the mischief in his eyes seemed to reach a peak and he, in a motion so quick she couldn't even process what was happening, shifted his weight to his knees and used his hands to tickle her mercilessly.

She let out a giggly scream, the tension immediately lifted. Her mind was trying to keep up with the spasm of movement her body was producing, writhing to get away from Zidane's tickling assault. Tears sprang to her eyes and the breath left her lungs as her uncontrollable laughter bounced off of the canyon walls around them.

"Zi-Zidane! Stop!" she laughed, trying to push him away, but he had planted his knees on either side of her hips, effectively keeping her in place.

"What's the magic word?" he asked, the cliché enough to make her laugh harder. Her sides were hurting.

"I don't know!" she admitted, a tear finally falling down her cheek. She realized then that he was laughing along with her. His face was bright with love and light, and this caused an entire second wind of giggles to leave her.

"Tell me you love me," he demanded of her, his fingers still poking into her sides.

"I love you! I love you, I love you, I love you!" she insisted, finally wiggling enough against his grasp to shimmy out from underneath him. She curled up on her side to protect herself from him, locking her elbows down to her sides to stop him from being able to poke at her anymore.

One of his hands rested on her back, the other hovering threateningly over her. His laughter died down to a chuckle as they stared at each other again, anticipating the other's movements. "And I love you," he told her, finally dropping his hands and leaning forward to plant a kiss on her lips.

She flinched at first, but once she realized that the tickling was over, she gladly accepted his affection.

"That was probably the most disgusting thing I've ever witnessed."

Both of them glanced up to see Blank standing about twenty feet away, his arms crossed over his chest, a light blush covering his cheeks.

Zidane kept laughing as he climbed off of Dagger, stealing a glimpse at her to see how red with embarrassment her face was. There was a heavy dusting of red across her cheeks, spreading steadily to her ears.

"She let out a giggly scream, the tension immediately lifted. Her mind was trying to keep up with the spasm of movement her body was producing, writhing to get away from Zidane's tickling assault. Tears sprang to her eyes and the breath left her lungs as her uncontrollable laughter bounced off of the canyon walls around them.

"Zi-Zidane! Stop!" she laughed, trying to push him away, but he had planted his knees on either side of her hips, effectively keeping her in place.

"What's the magic word?" he asked, the cliché enough to make her laugh harder. Her sides were hurting.

"I don't know!" she admitted, a tear finally falling down her cheek. She realized then that he was laughing along with her. His face was bright with love and light, and this caused an entire second wind of giggles to leave her.

"Tell me you love me," he demanded of her, his fingers still poking into her sides.

"I love you! I love you, I love you, I love you!" she insisted, finally wiggling enough against his grasp to shimmy out from underneath him. She curled up on her side to protect herself from him, locking her elbows down to her sides to stop him from being able to poke at her anymore.

One of his hands rested on her back, the other hovering threateningly over her. His laughter died down to a chuckle as they stared at each other again, anticipating the other's movements. "And I love you," he told her, finally dropping his hands and leaning forward to plant a kiss on her lips.

She flinched at first, but once she realized that the tickling was over, she gladly accepted his affection.

"That was probably the most disgusting thing I've ever witnessed."

Both of them glanced up to see Blank standing about twenty feet away, his arms crossed over his chest, a light blush covering his cheeks.

Zidane kept laughing as he climbed off of Dagger, stealing a glimpse at her to see how red with embarrassment her face was. There was a heavy dusting of red across her cheeks, spreading steadily to her ears.

"You're the creep who watched the whole thing."

"Wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be," he retorted, though there was a mild grin on his face. It fell back to his usual scowl as he continued, "Cid has requested a meeting with squad leaders. Naturally, that involves the elites and that, of course, involves you two."

Zidane slowly pushed himself to his feet, dusting off his pants as Dagger laced back up her boots. "What kind of a meeting?"

The redhead shrugged, his eyes squinted in the thick sunshine, "Don't know, he didn't say. Steiner had a pretty serious look on his face when he found me though."

"When doesn't that guy have a serious look on his face?" Zidane inquired, extending a hand to help Dagger up. She took it and he hoisted her before brushing the dust off of her back. She repeated the action with the back of her pants. Zidane held onto her gloves for her as they moved towards the redhead.

"It seemed particularly annoyed today," Blank said. "Maybe he witnessed something similar to what I just did. That's enough to piss anyone off."

"I'll have to let Ruby know you feel that way," Zidane teased, dodging a swipe to his head.

"She doesn't need any more to yell at me about."

"Are you two going to keep flirting all day or can we go to the meeting?" Dagger asked, a triumphant smirk smeared across her face. She knew she was getting the last dig in before they were headed out.

Blank sighed, "What happened to you? You used to be so nice."

"Must be the company," she winked at him, squeezing Zidane's hand in the meantime.

He let out a carefree laugh and squeezed her hand back. "I guess she's the winner, this round."

"Ugh," was all Blank had to say in return.

As they moved closer to the dining plaza, the mood around them began to shift. Gone was the bright day full of laughter. The kids weren't running about and there seemed to be less people out in the open than there usually was. The noise of metal on metal as training commenced was something she had grown accustomed to in the last few months, but the sound was now missing.

Dagger glanced around. The people that were out were relatively quiet, their eyes following the trio as they moved. Her brow creased and the hold she had on Zidane's hand intensified. What was going on?

They were the last three to reach the dining plaza, and by the time they got there, all three of them wore expressions of concern. Beatrix and Steiner stood closest to Cid and Hilda at the head of the table. Baku and Freya were the next closest. Even Amarant was closer to the action than he usually was, Eiko within an arm's length. Other squad leaders were there as well, but the importance of reciting their names in her head faded when she saw the expression Cid wore. His usually goofy face was plastered in a frightful seriousness.

"You're the last three to arrive. Let me fill you in."

Dagger let go of Zidane's hand to move closer to them, a messily scrawled map layed out on the table. It looked like a path of how they'd ended up in Madain Sari and before that, the Southeast Forest. The winding tunnels of Fossil Roo covered another piece of parchment.

"I believe our position has been compromised."

Her eyes widened, "What?"

Cid nodded to Freya, who continued on his command. "Our lookouts spotted a small squadron following faint footsteps towards the entrance of Madain Sari. They didn't seem like they were finding anything, until they recognized, what we can assume, were the sounds of our troops training."

Dagger's jaw hung uncharacteristically slack.

"But…" she trailed, unsure what to say.

"The time to move is now," Cid said. He ran a hand over his mustache, somehow still perfectly groomed. "We must rely on all of the training we have had time to operate. The final battle with Kuja is upon us."

"We must begin evacuating Madain Sari immediately to avoid giving them a confirmed location. Fossil Roo and Qu's Marsh will prove vital in regulating battle plans."

"So this is it," she murmured, a sudden fear clutching her gut. She turned to look at Zidane and discovered that he already wore a darkened expression. They were nearing the end of their story.

That fear mixed with uncertainty in her stomach, and quite frankly, it made her want to drop to her knees and heave. But she clenched her fist and squinted her eyes, trying to look braver than she felt.

"Let's get to it then," she said, making the official command as leader of the resistance to finally begin the last battle.


A/N: So I know that that chapter was a little bit short, but I haven't had a chance with a good cliff hanger in awhile it seems.

I've finally made the jump into the final leg of this story. Don't worry, there's still quite a bit left, but it was time that I stopped procrastinating it.

I can't believe it. I started this story before I went into high school, and I am now officially staring my college graduation date in the face. It's crazy how time flies.

Anyhow, sorry for the delay in updates. Now that I'm done with these filler-sort of chapters, I think things will start moving a little faster now. Thanks for all of your support!

-zesty-