Filling In The Blanks

Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX or any of its characters.

Chapter 125: Wait

"I never thought I would be happy to be back here."

Zidane turned his head, his cheek resting on his upper arm. He was currently laying on the ground with his hands tucked behind his head, tall grass sweeping around him. Vivi was next to him, his hands crossed neatly in front of his stomach.

They were staring up at the stars; that stroke of luck that Blank had deemed too unlikely to happen indeed had and the day had blessed them with sun. Most of the day involved everyone cleaning their armor, weapons and clothing of the horrible amounts of mud stuck to them, but at the end of the day, they felt wildly refreshed.

Vivi and Zidane had snuck away before dinner was ready, the entire resistance this time in one spot felt too crowded and loud.

"Are you admitting that you don't like this place, Vivi?" Zidane teased.

The mage didn't even look at him. "Yup," he said, popping the P on the end of the word. This might have been the first statement that he'd ever made that sounded one-hundred percent confident.

Zidane smiled. "I don't like it much either," he admitted.

Vivi laughed in response – another surprise for the genome. "What was your favorite place we visited?" he asked, changing the subject.

Raising his eyebrows, the blonde thought about this seriously for a moment. He had never really thought of favorites when thinking about the places he traveled, and it seemed like sort of a silly concept.

"I think…" he started, before faltering. "Hmm… Well you tell me yours first."

They listened to the crickets chirp peacefully around them. The breeze was cool, but it felt good in the humidity of the swamp. The hot sun had dried up most of the typical moisture, creating patches of actual, dry places amongst the muck.

After a few more moments of this, Vivi answered, "Lindblum."

"You seem so sure about that. Why?"

Vivi sighed, sounding almost dreamy. "There was so much sense of community. And not just from the resistance – just from regular people. It felt like a regular place until the end. Besides a few things here and there, it felt like a real place, and staying in the Tantalus hideout…" he shrugged, the motion shuffling the dirt underneath him. "It felt like time with friends, without us being allies in a war. Just friends. Just family."

Zidane sat up, his hair stuck in his mouth as he turned his head towards his friend. He leaned back on his hands, but his posture was alert. "Wow Vivi, I didn't think you felt so strongly about it."

Sitting up as well, Vivi finally looked at the genome, his eyes looking especially bright in the darkness. "I didn't either, until now."

Zidane grinned at him, remembering the conversation he'd had with Blank the day before. "When the war is over, Alexandria will feel like that again. If that's where you choose to stay."

"I'll go wherever you go," he insisted. "Because I wouldn't be here without you, and I don't want to be so far from such close friends."

Zidane's grin softened. "You know, I don't think I'd be here without you, either, Vivi."

"What? Why?"

"We've been together since day one. I might have been the one leading you out of that dungeon, but I was just as scared and confused as you were. I think you gave me the courage to keep going when the guards spotted us. Otherwise…" he paused for a moment, letting his thoughts sink in, "Otherwise, I might not have escaped, and I might be siding with Kuja right now."

Vivi contemplated this for only a moment before shaking his head. "What you said was really nice, but," he got up, taking the time to dust off his striped pants before continuing, "I don't think you would have been fooled by Kuja. You're too investigative."

Zidane puckered his lips in thought, "Is that your polite way of calling me nosy?"

The mage grinned even though the blonde couldn't see it, "Probably."


The night was quiet. Quale had been delighted to cook in his home again with the other qus that dwelled in the marsh. Everyone had eaten a feast, and felt more rested than they had in over a week. Fires had been put out and beds had been made everywhere because it was actually dry for once.

Beatrix, Steiner and Dagger walked alongside Cid and Hilda.

"Of course," Hilda continued in their conversation on the upcoming battle, "I will be staying back, but I've been practicing a bit with Eiko on a very simple cure spell. My first aid has never looked better."

"And what of you, Cid?" Steiner asked, gnawing on his bottom lip. The conversation they were currently having was vital, but no less stressful. He seemed to be suffering the worst of it.

Cid nodded slowly, staring at the ground, "I will be in the front lines. Because I certainly know you all are better fighters than I, I won't be out in the first battalion. I am hoping to lead some of the lesser fighters, simply because they will need the rally cry with all of you forward."

"And Dagger? I don't suppose we've talked you out of coming to the front lines?"

She shook her head, "I will not be the leader of this resistance and an heir to the Alexandrian throne only to hold back in the final battle for our home," her voice was hard, like this had been an argument between the two for the last several days. "Besides, two white mages in the field will help with healing people who are fighting."

"That's another thing," Hilda began, her voice soft. "I just don't know if I want such a child as Eiko so far forward in the ranks. Now I know she's part of the elite team but… You must understand, she is only eight years old."

"While I don't want to sound argumentative, you're going to get as far with Eiko as Steiner has with Dagger," Beatrix voiced, crossing her arms. Cid gave a vague nod of agreement. "This is our final push, and if we start holding back our more seasoned fighters – children or not – we won't win. This is all or nothing and everyone here has known that since the start."

Hilda sighed. It wasn't that she didn't agree, but she had grown quite fond of the purple haired spitfire in their training sessions together.

"How is potion production coming along?" Dagger asked, hoping to steer the subject away from her and Eiko in the front of the resistance lines.

Cid shook his head, leading them forward. "Dr. Tot has proved entirely vital. We have enough potions, antidotes, eye drops, echo screens and more for all fighters to have a few in their arsenal. Sally and the other women have upped production for the back of the fight – if someone runs out, they can fall back and have whatever they need."

This time, Dagger let on a large smile. "I cannot believe everyone is so committed to this fight – even those who cannot physically wield a weapon."

It was true. Sally and Dr. Tot's efforts to create more resources for them during this battle had been immensely inspiring. The older women who were unable to fight and the younger civilians who had come with their parents to the resistance (mainly from Lindblum and Dali) were rising up to make sure they were still contributing – saving every life they could. Each and every one of them had practiced simple first aid, how to create items and one younger girl, Marianna, had a natural knack and created a bundle of remedies. They were difficult to make and harder to find resources for, but somehow, she had done it. They would stay back – further back than the outskirts of the battle so they couldn't be ambushed to help any warrior who was falling back for a quick ailment fix.

"Quale was telling me the other day that he wanted to help out as well… for Quina," Hilda said gently. "In case they use that black poison to stop white magic from healing, he has gathered what he needs for multiple different healing pastes. He will be right back there with me, helping any way that he can."

The five of them fell into a comfortable silence then, walking along the paths of Qu's Marsh. They passed a few lounging resistance members and exchanged silent waves as not to disturb the sleep of anyone else. They even stopped to chat with Dr. Tot, who couldn't sleep and wanted to excitedly show them how much work he'd gotten done since being out of Fossil Roo. A few more potions to the very front lines. It was a stunning win.

The more they walked, the more confidence they felt. The resistance was quite a bit larger than they actually thought, seeing everyone together. There was hardly anywhere near Quale's physical house that wasn't littered with a resistance member. It felt encouraging. It felt like maybe they could win.

When they finally passed a sleeping Zidane and a hushed Ruby and Blank, Hilda quietly ushered to Dagger to go to her friends. She smiled at the woman – her aunt that she had missed so dearly for so long – and gave her a warm hug. The look on Hilda's face said to the others how much she appreciated and loved the girl. Dagger gave a soft pat on the arm to Steiner, who was still clearly upset that she wouldn't consider staying away from the most grueling part of the battle.

They watched her move immediately to Zidane's side and brush the hair out of his face. He stirred, but didn't awaken, and she bent down to place a soft kiss on his cheek. Steiner chose not to react – she deserved this time, no matter if he approved of her decisions (all of her decisions) or not.

"I think that tomorrow should be one more day of preparations. Tomorrow night is when we move," Cid suggested with definition in his tone. "We cannot risk the amount of time it will take, nor the visual of us hopping over the mountains with the chocobos. Once we are on the other side, we can rest."

That was probably the biggest advantage to the chocobos being with them. They didn't need to worry about the South Gate, nor the Ice Cavern in order to get to Alexandria. It would take a little bit longer, but the chocobos could get them over the steep mountain tops and back down without a problem. The second positive to all of that was, if Kuja was searching for them, he would have the two passes into his city heavily protected.

This though, was a reason Dagger and Cid had decided they move for their final attack on Alexandria – and Kuja – now. Their location had been discovered in Madain Sari, and they knew, because of his own ego and insistence he could never lose, that Kuja wouldn't be expecting them to bring the fight to him right now. If they were discovered, surely they would hide out for a while longer and regroup? He didn't know the exact location of Fossil Roo – or if it was even real – and he wouldn't bother going into the marshes to try and find it. And more importantly, he didn't know about the chocobos.

If their surprise attack on all other instances failed, Kuja had no idea they had chocobos who could find them alternative routes into Alexandria. If all else failed them, at least they didn't have to take the highly anticipated path from Dali, to the Ice Cavern, up the stream into Alexandria. They weren't even sure if Kuja knew that the Evil Forest had been petrified – maybe he would think they would come that way instead.

Whatever his thoughts were, they didn't involve the route the resistance would actually take. And with the knowledge that there were dreamers on his side beginning to doubt his story about Alexandria's downfall, and more spies at the gates and in Dali, the rebellion was in an impeccably good position.

The brush stirred around them as they talked more in-depth about Cid's suggestion. The small group stopped and watched as Lysandra took a giant step out of the grass.

"It's only been a day and I'm already sick of this marsh again," she said with a grin. "How are preparations going?"

Steiner nodded to the others that he would speak with Lysandra. He and her had been coordinating battalions and battle groups for the duration of their travel through the tunnels. The others gave a small wave before they continued down the path.

"We're ready to go tomorrow evening, when the sun sets and we can take off on the chocobos without attracting any attention."

Lysandra gave a slow nod, "I can't believe it's finally here," she shook her head, "More should have come from Ipsen's Place."

He furrowed his brow and studied her, "You've helped us so much by leading a group here, Lysandra. It's been a long time since we've left. Why the sudden declaration?"

She had her answer right away. "Joining the resistance was something that seemed so right, but so far off. It felt like we were joining a cause that, in truth, didn't have a tangible outcome. But now that this last stand is upon us, I feel like I should have fought harder for others to come."

"You did everything you could – more."

She shook her head and tucked a long strand of black hair behind her ear. "I was so skeptical at first."

Steiner let on a rare grin, "We convinced you pretty fast."

She made a face and motioned for him to walk with her. Her entire demeanor changed, and her shoulders sagged. "I… I wish I would have made Nathaniel come. For me… and for you."

Steiner stiffened at the mention of his brother. He remembered his older sibling being furious that Lysandra was going to join with the resistance's efforts; he remembered Nathaniel swearing to kill him if Lysandra died fighting for him.

"Nathaniel…" he started, before he fell silent again.

"I know the amount of hate in your brother. He hasn't changed," she let on a thin line of a smile, "but you have to understand that through all of that bitterness, his heart has grown, and he's made room for other emotions."

Steiner snorted, sounding bitter, "I didn't think you'd gone this soft, Lysandra."

She rolled her eyes, "He loves me. And he loves you. That much was clear to see when you interacted in Ipsen's Place."

The ex-knight shook his head, not at all believing her words. But he wasn't going to persue it any further. "I am sorry he didn't agree with you. It has been a long time to be away from him."

"Nearly two years," she told him. "It's been two years since I've seen him. And while I wouldn't change that for anything in the world, I miss him."

"You're definitely going soft."

She brushed her hair back again, annoyed at how long it had gotten, "Aren't we all at the final hour?"

He turned to look at her then and saw the grim expression on her face. "I think you might be more pessimistic about this than I am."

Her faced turned back to what he remembered – hard and amused. "Well… You might have finally caught onto something, Captain Adelbert Steiner."

He scoffed at her words and they continued down the path. The silence was short lived, before they delved back into conversations of the upcoming battle organization.


Ruby had always believed that she was one of the five-percent of people who only needed four hours of sleep a night. For a majority of her life she hadn't slept until the early hours of the morning, only to wake a few hours later. She was always the first to rise, especially with Tantalus (especially Baku after a night of trying to get him home from the tavern).

But what delighted her on this particular morning, before the hot sun peeked over the horizon, was her company.

It turns out, Amarant was the same – hardly ever sleeping, though his mood perhaps suffered a little more than hers. She had caught him walking into the brush as she sat awake, polishing her daggers. She'd leapt up, tripping over her green skirt, and then tripping over Cinna, who grunted grumpily, smacked Blank, and then fell back asleep. Hurriedly, she followed after him.

"Amarant!" She whisper-yelled, and at the sound of her strong accent, he stopped immediately and turned, waiting for her to hurdle the logs he could easily step over, so she could catch up.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked.

She grinned up at him as she adjusted her skirts and kicked her boots fully back on her feet, "Darlin', I'm never asleep when the sun comes up."

He grunted in agreement and gestured for her to follow. "I was going to go… um, to this bridge I found out here yesterday…"

Her smile turned a little softer when she saw the uncomfortable effort he was putting in. Instead of teasing him like she usually would with anyone else, she nodded. "Let's go together."

They were silent for a few minutes as they walked, the rustling temporarily stopping the crickets around them, only to allow the croaks of the frogs through the thickness of the early morning sounds.

She let her hands dance along the long grass, watching it bend softly under her touch. Ruby decided she wouldn't do any expectant staring at Amarant – as much as she wanted him to talk to her, she knew he wasn't one for conversation.

"I wanted to say it out loud, before we got too close to the battle."

"What's that?" she asked, glancing at him.

His face was a shallow color in the low light and he didn't look at her. "Be careful, when we go into that battle."

She couldn't help it. She let out a little giggle, and immediately he stiffened, stopping and staring at her in mild offense. Ruby shook her blonde hair, her bangs hanging in front of her right eye, "I apologize," she said, her accent thick and flustered, "but that sounded so darn silly. It ain't my first fight, dear."

His face blossomed into all sorts of shades of red and he scratched the back of his neck. "I was just trying to… what I meant… I…" he dropped his arm and let his hand slap the side of his thigh. A cricket jumped away, startled. "Forget it."

She grabbed his hand when he started to stomp away. "I know ya meant well. Thank ya."

"Yeah," he grumbled, not looking at her.

"I want ya to be careful too, y'know," she cocked her head to the side as she stared up at him, her hair falling over her shoulder and her hand squeezing his, "we've still got lots to talk about."

"Oh?"

She nodded, determined despite what she knew his reaction would be, "Cierradonna is gonna want to be meetin' ya."

He froze, his eyes widening for a moment. She had to bite back a grin; Amarant hardly ever let his nonchalant glare down. "Your Cierradonna?"

She nodded, "Only one I know with a name like that."

"Why would you want to introduce me to her?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, "She's my mama, yer my brother, I dunno where that's so hard."

"She isn't my mother."

"It don't matter, she needs to meet ya all the same. Maybe she coulda been if yer daddy," she sighed, "our daddy wasn't so rotten."

He took in her expression with a guarded look. "Do you think? I wasn't exactly pleasant as a child."

"Dear, ya ain't pleasant now," she grinned at him, ignoring his baffled look – no one had quite challenged him this hard before, "that don't stop any of us." She kept walking, not bothering to wait for him to catch up.

After a couple of moments, he hurried to catch up, the conversation intriguing him more than he would have liked to admit. "Where are you going to go? I mean, after the war is over?"

She shrugged, "Dunno. I thought Lindblum – since that's my home."

"Not Treno?"

Ruby snorted, making a big shrugging gesture with her shoulders and arms, "Treno hasn't been my home in a long darn time," she sighed, "to think of it though, neither has Lindblum. But that's where I met all my family. And there will be lotsa kids to take care of with Tantalus after this whole mess is over."

"You don't ever think about going back to your mother?"

She shook her head, "Maybe to see her, but not to stay. I got a lot I wanna say to her now, but my heart still belongs to those boys," she glanced backwards, smiling towards where she knew the others slept, even though they were too far now to see them.

"They better take care of you," he warned, and his tone honestly surprised her. Sometimes she forgot to link his wild desire to find his half-sister to her. No matter if they'd known each other before or not, that was bound to transfer over.

"They already do," she smiled, kicking at the dirt. She could see the bridge ahead in the morning twilight. "What about you?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea. Maybe I'll travel awhile. I haven't done that in a long time."

"Where would ya go?"

He chewed the inside of his lip, hunching forward a bit in thought. He was shaken back to reality again hearing the sound of their shoes on the small, wooden bridge. The sound of frogs was strong in the bog they were standing over. Amarant watched as Ruby leaned her elbows on the creaky railing, crossing her arms at her wrists and letting her hands dangle.

"I liked the Forgotten Continent," he admitted quietly, mirroring her movements.

She nodded, "It certainly was interestin'."

Amarant didn't feel the need to reply. They stood there in a comfortable silence for a while, watching the world lighten, little by little, around them.

"This might be the last time we get the chance to talk if things don't go well," Amarant told her.

"Aren't ya just the optimistic," she rolled her eyes, pushing her hair over her shoulder. But then her posture changed and she peeked at him through her hair. "If this is the last time we talk though, I just wanna say, I'm glad ya told me I'm yer sister."

The word sister still sent the redhead's mind into a tizzy. He couldn't believe that after all of these long years – searching and serving Kuja and searching and fighting again after the resistance, he had found her, even though he'd met her a couple years ago.

She took her silence as a cue to continue, "I dunno if we'll ever get the chance to know each other like we shoulda, but I'm glad we got to have these talks like we did. I couldn't have asked for a better brother."

If the word sister sent his head spiraling, then the word brother made his heart explode. He never thought he'd ever be considered family by anyone. And here she was, accepting him like it was no big deal even when it was everything to him.

"I think," she continued, not noticing how his heart was in his mouth and all of those unfamiliar, lovey emotions were bubbling just under the surface of his skin, "ya'll should have a nice conversation like this with Eiko."

"Eiko?"

She smiled, "I may be yer sister, but ya two are so close. I see more of a siblin' bond between ya'll than me and you. Maybe it's cause she's so young but…" she trailed then with a faint hum and went back to watching the water.

A frog blinked slowly up at the duo, one eye, and then the next, before he hopped into the water, his long legs extending and his webbed feet making the last splash before he disappeared. Another frog took his place on the log moments later, its skin more of a sage color than the olive of the last. His eyes were half-lidded, as though it too waited on Amarant's response.

He recalled how protective he was of the girl and, grudgingly, admitted that she was able to push his buttons without testing his patience while others could not. She fell asleep on him and held his hand countless times, and he could always count on her to make him feel a little lighter when he was in a bad mood.

And while he was glad he found Ruby, and delighted they were able to share some time together (which was really saying something; Amarant was hardly ever excited about anything), he suddenly realized that he'd been searching for a blood sibling when maybe he'd formed that bond with someone else and had taken it for granted all along.

He chuckled out loud.

"What?" Ruby asked, her eyes narrowing slightly; was he laughing at her suggestion?

"I guess for as much as I feel nauseous whenever this resistance talks about feeling like a family, I fell into the trap myself."

She let out a small laugh herself. "That's what happens," she said. He thought she might add more, but she never did.

"Thank you for being someone I could stand to be related to," he blurted before he could stop himself.

This time, Ruby tossed her head back in full laughter. He watched the way her eyes shut and her hair fell down her back. Her shoulders were petite but she held herself with strength, and he had to remind himself she hid daggers underneath that frilly skirt of hers. Her little lace gloves were dirty, and one whole finger was missing, and she had long stopped caring if her blouse was ever white again. Her boots were dusty and some parts were still caked with dirt from their trudge through Fossil Roo, but she was beautiful. She reminded her of his mother, even though the two of them weren't related at all.

He hoped Cierradonna was like that – hopeful that maybe his mother and her mother were alike, so they seemed more like siblings than they actually were.

"Yer alright, Amarant," she finished her echoing laughter with a small chuckle and a sparkling smile up at the man, "Yer alright."


The next day was a rather technical one.

As soon as the sun was in the sky, plans were moving. People were separating things they would be taking with them into the final battle from their belongings that were hastily packed up after Madain Sari. Once they were separated, things were packed as well as they could be into Quale's hut.

Dr. Tot went about distributing the last of his supply of new healing items, giving most of his extra inventory to the ones who would be further back on the line, running a sort of crude medical station. Marianna shyly gave Marcus an extra remedy, blushing all the while. Sally made a point to tease Marcus about the crush the younger girl had on him before she walked away.

Zidane and Dagger stole a couple of quick looks at each other throughout the day. She had a lot on her plate – she wanted to make sure she talked to every single member of the resistance before they started the last leg of their journey – as the heir to the throne of the city they would be fighting in and as the resistance's leader. She and Cid talked to many rebels they had hardly met before.

Vivi, Eiko and the qus in the marsh, plus a couple others who were trying to get out of any real work or training (like Cinna and Zidane for example) gathered food and fed each and every one of the chocobos. Mog, who had come with Eiko from Madain Sari, translated with the chocobos, explaining why it was so important to eat a good meal and get plenty of rest. They seemed to agree with squees of happiness.

Beatrix, Steiner and Freya – sat together before Lysandra joined them, hoping to figure out their battle plan when they reached Alexandria. The rebellion bustled around them, but they seemed entirely zoned in on their planning.

The chestnut-haired woman sharpened her weapon quietly as Steiner drew a rudimentary map of Alexandria in the dirt. Beatrix could tell by the mild smirk on the bermecian's face that she thought Steiner's drawing was just as unsophisticated.

"The entrance to the castle's dungeon is here," he circled a blob in the soil, "to the right of that is where the river begins. I don't think we should attack from here."

"Why not? That way, any of Kuja's soldiers will only be able to come out of the tunnel a few at a time, and we cannot be attacked on the water."

"But, you forget the inside of the fortress," Beatrix interjected, taking Steiner's side. "The heaviest arc of defense is over the dungeon tunnels."

"Plus, we have a lot of fighters. If we go for that tunnel, there's going to be a lot of standing around in anxiousness while only one small group fights until they are exhausted and start making mistakes. It's too easy for Kuja to utilize this and then send troops around the side of the castle, where there's more room for surprise."

"I understand your point," Freya nodded, tapping the sharp end of her spear. "Then, I think we attack the castle head on."

"The front doors will be well guarded."

"But perhaps not too heavily defended. Kuja may station his men outside for looks – because that is how the castle was designed. It is more strategic for soldiers to stand where they were meant to because they can see more. However, if he has not bothered to rebuild any of Alexandria, and we have never attacked this spot before, he does not have a real reason for defense to be physically high in this area."

"That's right," Beatrix nodded, leaning forward in her seat. Steiner watched as her eyebrows raised and she pushed her bangs out of her face. Her hair was mighty long these days. "Eight soldiers have an optimal viewing spot, but their viewing spot was mainly to make the castle appear to have a stronghold – to have dignity and demand respect. The defense is rather lacking if we're talking about an actual war."

Steiner cringed, realizing how true it was. It's no wonder Kuja's men didn't have a lot of difficulty coming in the front door all those years ago. "He won't send everyone out at once. And we cannot all march in there and give away how many of us there are."

Freya rubbed her chin. "I have two theories on this. The first being that Baku was kind enough to create a smoke bomb when he was drunk a few weeks ago. ("How does he still have alcohol?" Steiner interjected) We have been working on the supplies to create more and have had some success. Now, there has not exactly been a way to test them, but if I know anything about Baku's experiments…"

"They're likely to work," Beatrix finished with a nod. "So that means, I think it's in Tantalus' best interest to go first. They can sneak in and throw some smoke bombs to gather attention. It will be simple for them to back out again."

"What if we have no element of surprise? We're sending a team in with no backup."

"There are going to be a lot of fluctuation that we cannot anticipate," Beatrix said quickly. "We have to trust the skills of Tantalus. I think they will be okay; you don't have to get too close to throw a smoke bomb."

"We can prepare and have a team standing close by. Plenty joined us from Lindblum who possess similar, if not more basic, skills to Tantalus – they can rush in and act as a deterrent delay so if there is a problem, we have enough time to follow."

Steiner nodded, seeming pleased with the two women's answers. "What of our chocobos?"

"I think we give priority to the front lines – the people who need to rush in and make an impact," a long moment of grinding came from Beatrix's sharpening stone before she spoke again, "which will include the Elites, but then who else?"

"Rama's team is the next best skilled," Steiner decided, "unless either of you have a better idea."

"I agree with you," Freya motioned.

"As do I," Beatrix agreed. "Lysandra's team, Boky's team and perhaps Sam's team as well."

"Sam?" Steiner echoed, "The carpenter from Dali? Are you sure that's a very good idea?"

"All of those men are very passionate and strong. They have proven themselves time and time again in battle," Freya insisted. "I think they are ready for it; we have little room with our strongest fighters to be picky."

"I suppose…" Steiner still didn't seem all too convinced and stared with a hard expression and furrowed brows at his picture of Alexandria in the dirt.

"Steiner," Beatrix began, trying to keep the formality of battle talk out of her voice, "there will be a time on the line where our veteran resistance members end and the new ones begin."

His stomach tossed even at the words, "I know. It's just…"

"You don't want to see them walk to their death?" The trio turned to see Lysandra with her arms crossed. Her hair hung around her face in wisps, her aqua eyes sharp in the steely sunlight. "I get it, because I feel the same way," she gestured, "it's pretty surreal that the battle is finally here, huh?"

"Indeed," Freya agreed, clutching her spear and rolling it in between her fingers, watching the wooden end carve a hole in the mud.

Beatrix let out a breath. "All of this time in the resistance and I think we have forgotten what it's like to fight like a regular army." Her eyes were hard and sad, "We are going to lose people, whether we want to or not. Everyone knows this risk."

Steiner looked away, his face upset. His lips were puckered, and his eyes held a strange expression. The women were surprised – they didn't think that out of the four of them, he would be having the hardest time dealing with the unavoidable death.

"I just… hate being the one to make these decisions," he ran a hand, stressed, through his hair. "It's been so long and we could be out of practice… I do not want our mistakes to get more people killed."

"The one good thing we have is their trust," Lysandra offered, taking a seat next to Freya.

"I think that makes it worse," he sighed.

"Let's take a break from this part… Maybe we can get some reports in from you two about battalions."

"Good idea," Lysandra said, staring directly at Steiner. He was silent for another moment until Beatrix nudged his foot.

"Right… let's get to it then."


Dagger wondered if this what was it felt like to be a royal. She wondered if it would be her duty, all day every day, to waltz around and talk to people – give them blessings, share their words in prayer, eat with them, listen to their complaints and fears, reassure and answer questions.

She tried to imagine her parents doing this – tried to picture it from the story that Beatrix and Steiner had finally told her. If Victoria had been as free spirted as she got the impression of, had she hated doing this?

The raven haired girl stopped to assess her question. She felt the need to fix her own thoughts; it wasn't that she hated doing this, but it was so exhausting. She didn't realize how many people were truly touched by her presence. It felt… strange.

Cid was grinning at her, probably knowing exactly what she was thinking from the look she was unable to clean off of her face.

"Having fun yet?"

"Is this what you've done your whole life, Uncle?"

He let out a low chuckle, "Well, the first portion of my life was parties. Most of which your father and I tried to skip out on. We got rather good at it by the time he and your mother were married."

She immediately found herself starry-eyed. "Really?"

"Oh yes. The other portion of my youth was spent getting to know Lindblum. As you may have figured out, I was born in Alexandria, but would become Regent of that portion of the kingdom while Conry ruled as King. And since you've now traveled to Lindblum, I can safely assume you realize why getting to know the city involved actually not remembering much of it at all."

She snickered, even though she hadn't meant to. "I can imagine with all of the art and theatre and music that it was quite hard to stay away from the alcohol."

He knew, of course, she was just trying to be nice (or sarcastic, but he didn't ponder on it much) because she would have no idea what it was really like back then, and what a joy major cities might have been with a drink. He grinned at the thought.

"My point is, dear, that you must find a way to make the chore your own. If you do it by the book, it will get mighty old, mighty fast. You need to do it in a way that works for you." He smiled fondly, "Your mother was so good at that. You may have picked up on Victoria's need for adventure, and that did not stop when she settled with Conrad. But she wove it into her duties instead of actually acting on it. She was very active in the kingdom and treated those she ruled over as a friend and less of a subject. Both of your parents did that."

She tried to remember their day with a different perspective. "I suppose… we still have more people to talk to, it wouldn't hurt to try it?"

"Tell me then if it is less exhausting to you," he smiled at her embarrassed face. He knew all too well what she had been thinking, not just now but the entire day. "I know it's a bore the first time you do it – I was no different."

"But you and Hilda seem to love this kind of stuff."

"I started with falling in love with a good time and good people… ruling them and putting their needs before my own was secondary."

"Hmm…" was all she said in response as they walked.

Cid clicked his tongue, "I do spy someone over there that you haven't spoken to yet today."

"Who is that, Uncle?" she asked distractedly, still thinking about her parents and what he had just told her.

He gestured wildly over to a log where Zidane lounged while Cinna and Blank bickered about something or another. Marcus was stretching on the ground while he counted all of the daggers he usually hid on his person.

"Zidane?" she laughed, "But I talk to him all the time."

"Didn't you set out today saying you wanted to talk to everyone, my dear?"

She beamed at him, giving him a hug. "Thank you. Thank you for being here with me today. And thank you for the future already, if you're going to have to teach me how to do this more."

"Of course, child. It has been an honor." He hugged her tightly, wishing he never had to let her go. They didn't get very much time together anymore, and he remembered all of the times he held her as a child, played with her, and slept next to her. "But we still have a full day ahead of us. Zidane and the others are just a quick stop, so hurry along!"

She grinned at him again and bounded over to them. He couldn't believe the girl was just a year away from turning twenty. One year and she wouldn't be a teenager anymore. One more year and she would be the same age as Cid when Conry met Victoria. His heart sang – he could see so much of them in his niece. She might have seemed like a child to he, Beatrix and Steiner still, but she was very close to rounding out the age he was when he took on more responsibilities. Dagger's decisions weren't all that childish anymore, and he had to start remembering that.

He would be better. If they survived this battle, which he seemed to be the most optimistic about, he would do everything he could to instill in Dagger what Conry and Victoria would want in their daughter as a ruler. And what he would want as well, because if they were still alive and everything was as it should have been, Cid wouldn't let their daughter get away without his influence anyways.


"I'm around Marcus way more than you are. While you're off making googly eyes at Ruby, I'm hanging out with our brothers –" Blank took a swipe at Cinna then.

"Play fair," Marcus instructed coolly.

"You love all of this attention, don't you Marcus?" Zidane snickered at him.

Marcus, in the middle of a pike stretch and just having laid out all of his daggers on the ground, turning his head toward the genome. "How come you don't want in on this bet?"

"Becaaaause," he started, drawing out the word, "I don't really care, nor have I ever been curious how many daggers you carry on you during a typical day."

"Are we going typical day? Or a known battle day?" Cinna inquired, his ears having caught the last clip of Zidane's answer.

"Don't be an idiot Cinna, we're talking about a battle day – surprise or no." Blank rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He didn't usually get involved in petty arguments and bets, but after he accidentally stepped into this gamble, he didn't want to back down.

"For argument's sake," Zidane started casually, knowing it would just push everyone's buttons, "if it was a surprise battle day, wouldn't his amount of daggers be the same as a normal day? Because he was, indeed, expecting it to be a typical day?"

Blank glowered at him, just like he expected.

"Are their variables if he picks up more daggers during the day?" Cinna asked seriously, taking the whole bet too heavily in the first place.

"Is this a day when he's with Mikoto? Because I doubt he carries as many daggers when he's with her," Blank snapped, trying to get a rise out of Marcus.

"He probably carries more to be impressive," Zidane grinned, actually being the one to catch the glare from their elf friend.

"You guys need to grow up," Marcus grunted, though there was a tiny smirk on his face. The others didn't miss him counting his daggers as he stretched his long legs.

"Hi guys!" They all turned to Dagger, who had just chirped her greeting. She seemed tired, but otherwise happy to see them.

"Ah! A second opinion!" Cinna cheered. "Dagger, how many daggers –" he giggled, "- do you think Marcus carries? And is it a normal day, a battle day, and is it a variable if he picks up more during the day?" The others groaned their regrets on having Dagger dragged into the conversation.

But remembering Cid's words to her just moments ago, she took the answer as seriously as she could, though she couldn't stop the grin from overtaking her face. "Hmm…" She tilted her head and cupped her chin in thought, just to exaggerate her opinion on the ridiculous argument. "I'm going to say that because there are so many variables, it needs to be on a typical day at the start of the day."

"That's a good answer!" Zidane agreed, sitting up from his spot on the log. His tail swished behind him as he turned to see the others' reactions.

"I'm going to guess," she cradled the arm that reached to her face at the elbow and allowed her hand to drop from her chin in a pointed position, "he carries one in each boot, but because Marcus is over-precautious and everyone expects a thief to hide a dagger in their boot, there's probably a second dagger in one of his boots. So that puts us at three. Then there's his regular dagger, and of course, his second fighting dagger that he doesn't use very often."

The others' jaws dropped as they stared at the girl.

"There's a double sheath on his right leg, which means there's two more there, and knowing Marcus there's probably one hiding in his arm bands or under his bandana because it's a ridiculous spot."

Even Marcus was shocked now.

"My guess is there's another dagger under his secondary dagger on his back, and there's one more sheath on his left leg, for extra emergencies. So that's –" she counted on her fingers, trying to remember all of the things she just said, "ten."

The boys' heads swiveled to Marcus, wanting him to fact check. He stared down at all of his daggers, then grinned up at the newcomer to the bet, "Eleven."

"Damn," she laughed, brushing her hair back from her face. The boys were too stunned to talk. "Where did I go wrong?"

He leaned forward and tapped the small sword sheath strapped horizontally to the small of his back, "Lower back."

"I never knew Dagger was that attentive to detail," Blank mumbled, realizing the bet was lost to both of them.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "It's my job to know everything about everyone."

He stuck his nose up at her, "You're going to make a good queen then."

She shifted her weight from one boot to another, clasping her hands behind her back. "Thank you Blank, I'll take that as a compliment. I should get going though, I've got a lot more people to talk to."

"Let me walk with you," Zidane said, leaping up from his spot. She smiled, ignoring the light teasing from the others and waited to walk away until Zidane was beside her. "How has your day been going?"

"Well," she nodded, "I had no idea how much people liked talking to Cid, or to me."

"You are nice to talk to. Very uplifting!"

She giggled, shaking her head at him. "I'm going to pretend that wasn't sarcastic."

"Hey now, I'm not sarcastic all the time!" He crossed his arms behind his neck as they walked.

Dagger rolled her dark eyes, "Just most of the time," she poked at his side, making him flinch. "You like to tease people."

"It wouldn't be fun if I didn't tease people. Too serious," he made a face and poked her back. She yelped and moved away. A devilish grin overtook his face as he pounced, tickling her again.

She burst into laughter, trying to push him away but being unsuccessful. Though her suffering, she stuck her hands out, finding his sides and began tickling him as well. He writhed out of her grasp, laughing. She was relentless though and came at him again.

"Okay! Okay! You win!" he laughed, picking her up from the grass. She leaned into the makeshift seat his hands created and wrapped her arms around his neck. They were the same height now, her knees on either side of him. She kicked her legs a little bit to test his balance. "Hey, do you want me to drop you?"

"I have more faith in you than that," she said matter-of-factly, making it sound more like a good thing for her and less of a compliment for him.

"Have you done this with every resistance member today?" he grinned at her.

"Zidane!" she gasped, furrowing her eyebrows but unable to keep all of the smile off of her face. "What are you insinuating?!"

He chuckled and kissed her quickly as she slid down out of his arms and instead pressed herself up against his warm body, her arms still around his neck. "That you could have anyone you wanted in this resistance."

She grinned, "And I picked a goofball like you?"

He rolled his eyes, "Don't you still have work to do?"

Dagger looked a little hesitant, but eventually pulled away. "Your right, I do. And even though you meant it as a joke, I do really need to get going."

"One more thing," he told her and leaned forward, catching her in another kiss.

She smiled into it, trying to pull away. Her laughter bubbled up between them when he wouldn't let her go. Pressing a glove to the side of his cheek, she pushed his head away. "Go back to your important bets," she snorted when he pouted.

"I am not participating in such childish things. You can't say a thing – you definitely participated."

"It's my job," she said earnestly. "Now I've got to get going. I'm sure Cid is waiting for me."

Zidane made a face, "Do you think he watched all of that?"

"He's not a creep, Zidane, don't be weird," she giggled, squeezing his hands again before stepping away and waving. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Bye!" he raised a hand at her, wearing a dopey grin as she walked away. With a chuckle, he turned back towards Tantalus, taking his time walking along the grass. When he finally looked up at the others, he saw them all making kissy faces in his direction. Rolling his eyes, he sprinted the rest of the way, "You assholes!"


"Potions?"

"Check."

"Second dagger?"

"Check."

"Remedies and other healing items?"

"Che –" he stopped, patting around on his person for a moment, "Check."

"I think that's it," Blank stood up, adjusting his own daggers, not used to having two of them once more.

"Hm… It feels like I'm missing something." Zidane scratched his head, staring down at himself.

"Yeah, it's different not carrying around all of our stuff," Blank shrugged.

The sun was casting an orange glow on the marsh. It would soon be dipping below the horizon and turning a sunset into dusk. The first teams had set out on their chocobos with Freya leading them, so they could get over the mountains. With so many resistance members, they couldn't all go at once, and there weren't enough chocobos for everyone. So they would have to go in waves. When they reached a distance from the ground that everyone felt they could get down without the animals, they would stop, fearing being in the open grass if they wanted to stay secret.

Now was their time to rest, because an entire resistance in the open plane would be too suspicious. Dali was certain to be on high alert – after Kuja found their stronghold, maybe the resistance would go back to the little town again – so they couldn't stop there for a break. After everyone was over the mountains, they wouldn't stop moving until they were at the base of the Ice Cavern. They were lucky that place was taboo for friend a foe alike. There, alternating groups going over the mountain could rest on one side or the other, before they started to move again.

"You ready for this?" Blank asked when his friend didn't answer.

Zidane looked up, a hesitant grin on his face, "I'm ready for anything." He stepped forward and placed a hand on Blank's shoulder. The redhead didn't make a face, knowing his best friend was serious. "No matter what happens Blank, don't spiral downwards again. Be there for everyone. Rejoice in the fact that you'll have your life back."

"Not really," he said quietly. "Freedom, but not my life."

"Then build another one," Zidane insisted. "Don't dwell on what happens tomorrow."

The redhead sighed dramatically, wanting to argue but knowing it was pointless. He swung his arm up and plopped it on the blonde's shoulder, staring him in the eyes. "Give 'em hell."

"You too," Zidane's grin was far more confident now, and the two of them stood there for a moment longer.

"Hey guys, it's time to go," they turned to the side to see Vivi on the path, clutching his hat harder than he usually did. "The chocobos are all back. Freya said we should stay on a tight schedule so we don't have to move into Alexandria in the light."

"This is it then," Zidane said. Vivi stared up at him with wide eyes. "Let's kick some ass, Vivi."

He nodded, though didn't say anything else as the three of them walked down the path towards the rest of the Elite. It was time to go.

The final stand against Kuja would begin at daybreak, before the sun was over the horizon.


A/N: So remember when I said that being in Europe meant that I might get to update more? I'm very sorry that I was wrong. However, I have stepped back on track and have loads of inspiration (knock on wood) to keep writing, and I'm making it up to you guys with a slightly longer chapter.

I hope you enjoyed this – just a few moments between characters again before the thick and heavy stuff comes on. What do you think is going to happen in the final battle?

Thanks for sticking with me, as always!

-zesty-