Filling In The Blanks

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

Chapter 87: Formulating a Plan

He threw off his leather garments, feeling filthy and dirty and maybe a little too drunk to be reporting his findings, but he proceeded anyways.

The man, whoever he was, standing with him handed him his breastplate, and black pants before turning and grabbing a helmet and sword off of the table for the man to take next.

"Thanks," he replied sharply, connecting the sheath for the sword around his waist and sliding the steel weapon inside. He eyed the soldier helping him, and saw a blank expression read across his face. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but said nothing.

Instead, he moved from the small barracks out the path towards the castle. The grass was still scarred, not growing consistently with the patches around it, from the attack on the city so many years ago.

The rest of Alexandria was no better. Kuja had decided to keep it in scattered shambles for when he woke his dreamers, to show them that's what had happened to their precious homeland. Only when they'd been awoken nearly two years ago had reconstruction started, and only close to the castle. The dreamers, along with some of his soldiers, had slowly reconstructed some living quarters for everyone the correct way, because the barracks he had allowed be built for soldiers, their families, and anyone else who succumbed to Kuja's lordship were poorly constructed and too small.

They left the outskirts of the city, knowing very well if they did it now, rebel forces could come in and take it down. So, they were going to save that portion for a celebratory project when the war was over. Kuja's right-hand woman, Elouise, had offered to be head of the project.

The guards in the castle stared at him with sorry eyes as he passed, and he knew exactly why. The mishap in Treno, with no success in finding the escaped Tantalus members and dreamer, despite Kuja sending more troops would not make him happy. On top of that, he was reporting for the first time about the second dreamer, who ended up being with Tantalus in Treno, escaped like the rest of them.

He liked to think though, that his news wasn't as terrible as saying they'd escaped, so he counted on his life being spared. Maybestill being drunk from trying to blend in in that wretched, out-of-control city, was the liquid courage he needed to complete his report with the confidence to come out standing.

Through the halls he stomped, losing sureness as he went. Kuja had such a bad temper. He had been on guard outside of the man's office when someone from the South Gate had come in and said that a Tantalus member had slipped through their fingers. After the man was done destroying his office, he came and battered every carved statue of his face that decorated the hallway. He and his buddy at the door stood rigid, hoping not to be addressed, while the whole catastrophe went down.

As he walked through the halls, the red carpet beneath him leading the way, he watched as the decorations – many portraits and statues of Kuja, maps of his demolition of Gaia and what he'd conquered slowly thinned. They lessened the closer to his office the made strode, and he knew it was because tangible items were the first thing Kuja went after when he was angry, save for his bottomless amount of guards.

He strode right into the office because he knew his master was expecting him, and wouldn't have scheduled any war meetings with General Strand, or rebuilding projects with Elouise at the time. It seemed those two were the only ones he spent time with these days. Even his project creating the black mages had been moved to the background with how much the resistance had been on the move lately.

"Ah, Captain Hollander… It's a pleasure to see you…" The man was sitting on his balcony railing, his legs crossed over each other, porcelain in the waning day shining through the opening.

"As to you, sire," he bowed low, but was slow to rise; he was dizzy from the alcohol.

Kuja took this as a larger sign of respect and offered a feral smirk. He adjusted his frontless rope underneath him and sighed. "What news do you bring from Treno? Hopefully it's good…"

Hollander straightened and cleared his throat. "As you know, M'lord, as one of your top spies, I was scouting Treno for information about Tantalus and your escaped dreamers."

"Yes, I know this part," a crease of irritation formed in the man's forehead as he flicked his long, silver hair from his face.

"Right, of course. I blended in with the territory and bounced from bar to bar and inn to inn, hoping to find some sort of information. I spotted the resistance group a week and a half after I arrived in Treno, and you'll be pleased to know that it was a group of seven, the two escaped dreamers among them."

"Two?" He gasped, sliding off of the railing and stepping closer. His black boots clicked across the floor as Kuja loomed ever closer.

Hollander nodded to confirm. "Zidane Tribal and Vivi Ornitier were in Treno. I tracked them as well as I could, but they're better than we expected. The entire group was composed of thieves, and I spotted the girl, the one who escaped from the South Gate, amongst them as well. I'm not sure what they were doing in the city unfortunately, M'lord."

"Sneaking around, abducting my precious citizens I'm sure of it!" Kuja put a hand to his forehead, and in such a drunken state, Hollander couldn't help but notice that he was a bit of a drama queen – dressed for the part as well, if he might add. But he kept these thoughts to himself; he'd be brutally murdered if he was even caught thinking them.

"They slipped passed us, as you already know, M'lord."

There was a flicker of festering rage in Kuja's eyes, so Hollander was hasty to continue.

"But I believe they might be headed towards Dali."

"Dali? Why do you say that?"

The sun was dipping low enough in the horizon to shine directly into the office now, and Kuja's blonde spy had to resist putting his hand up to block out the obnoxiously bright sun. It made his head spin even more than it had been.

"If we were to track their movements… They went from Dali, disappeared into the north where we cannot locate them, and reappeared in Lindblum. We lost them again until the South Gate, then after the scuffle in Treno. I think they will loop back around through Dali. Where else would they go that would provide shelter from our scouring troops?"

Kuja nodded, before turning and staring out over the balcony. The bright rays of sunshine didn't seem to bother him as his deep eyes swept over the grasslands beyond the city. The prairies were hard to see, and nothing beyond the Ice Cavern was visible.

Before he could turn and say anything else, a man opened the doors to the office, evoking Kuja to spin around.

"What do you want?!"

"It's about the progress in Dali, Sire," he swept low to the ground, and Hollander was close enough to see the beads of sweat running down this man's face. He apparently hadn't wanted to be the one to report to the Lord.

"Well?! Go on and say it!" Kuja barked, throwing his hands up.

"They are rebuilding themselves with our limited supplies quite nicely. The first group of scouts just got back; the tunnels underneath the town were all collapsed before they began reconstruction, just as you asked. More and more people are returning to Dali from Treno and Lindblum; soon enough, it'll be a normal little town again. The commanding officer of the scout team met the mayor – it seems even he and his family are back!"

Kuja raised his lip in a silent scowl. He hated the mayor, especially after the fiasco with the resistance the previous year. But, he couldn't get rid of the old, fat man because the people of Dali trusted him and liked him, and the little village was too small – any activity could pass right under Kuja's nose without even knowing if they wanted to resist… He had to keep someone governing the town who the people liked so that they could be kept in line.

Something just clicked in his mind.

The mayor was back in Dali?

Hollander suspected his two dreamers to head to Dali next?

"I have a plan," he stated suddenly, staring at his spy like he was expecting an answer. When Hollander didn't answer right away, Kuja continued. Luckily, his epiphany smothered any irritation at the lack of an answer. "The mayor is back in Dali, you say? With his whole family?"

"That's right – his daughter and wife."

"I want my best troops still in Alexandria to go to Dali and bring me the mayor's daughter! Kidnap her!" He barked. He thought maybe the two didn't understand when they didn't move right away, so he rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically, supposing he could explain it for them. "We will use her as bait! We just have to be patient…" He narrowed his eyes. "The heavens only know that Zidane will try to play hero… She'll be used as bait to lure the fiend to us!"

"What about the other dreamer, Sire?"

"He may come," Kuja nodded, turning again to his balcony and leaning over the side of it. He watched the flimsy reconstruction team building a frame for another house. "But if not, I will not be deterred. Zidane Tribal is the problem, and if I can get the little wench out of the way!" He snarled, "I can focus my attention on gaining the summoning powers of the Princess, and my black mage dreamer back, because they will be too devastated from the loss to argue much with me." He let out a bellowing laugh. "It's perfect." A smile curled wickedly across his lips. "Call for Elouise! She should be close by!"

A guard at the door jogged down the hall, disappearing around the corner. Kuja continued smiling to himself, and even Hollander began to sweat. Nobody liked that strangely dangerous look in his eyes.

Elouise came trotting back moments later, and bowed as soon as she got in the door. "What is it, my liege?" All three of them stood in uncomfortable suspense as their Lord almost danced in front of them.

"Elouise my dear child," he laughed; it was high pitched and frightening, "rally the troops I have supplied for you, for there is going to be a battle in Alexandria soon enough!"

They had won the small battle. It felt like a fight stretching out over an eternity, but it had been won.

Lani and her company were the first to flee Bermecia. The rest followed when they realized the city was more heavily protected than they guessed. The siege was over, and the Bermecians had their city back.

But at what cost?

They sat in the street, still caked in blood and mud, not bothered by the light sprinkle that remained of the rain. Puck was covered with a white sheet, one of eleven casualties in the battle. The man who Dagger first cured when she joined the battle and come back out, telling his wife that if these newcomers were going to help him, he must repay the debt. He lay under the sheet next to Bermecia's prince, peppered with green splotches of poison under his skin.

The only one not out in the street was Freya. She had left, not long after the fight was over, not even bothering to dry her eyes as she disappeared into the shop they'd first been lead into. The others worried about her, glancing at each other and wondering if she needed company, or just time to herself.

Dystria and her brothers, who were forbidden to join the battle, came out after Freya had passed them, and now the three of them huddled together, shedding half-muted tears for their prince – their friend – and his death. Vadin sat in the muddy street, staring at his tearful family. He hunched forward heavily, his arm having suffered a vicious break during the battle. Dagger had healed it, but it was still numb. He had no limb to support himself as he leaned in the mud.

Eiko looked around, her eyebrows risen like she hadn't a clue what was going on, and she kept running a hand through her wet hair. It was dark purple from the rain and her clothes sagged her down as she stared at the bodies, covered out of respect.

How had all of this happened? How had they managed to lose eleven friends so quickly? Her stomach churned and it reminded her of her home – hollow and forgotten after Kuja had destroyed it. She didn't want this to happen anywhere else.

Her head felt hot. What had she been doing during the entire battle? Maybe she could have helped save these people like Dagger had been doing. She turned to stare at the girl. Her own eyes were misted over, but her hands were clasped respectfully behind her back and her head was bowed, hair hanging in front of her face. It was getting long again, but that didn't stop Eiko from seeing her face. She was hurting; she was hurting because she had this entire burden placed on her as the only white mage people knew about.

Eiko realized abruptly, as she stood in the drizzle, mourning with those around her though she hadn't known anything about these people besides their names, that her fear of abduction was a stupid one. Dagger lived with that fear that someone would use her for her power in a terrible way every single way, and she survived. Her friends helped protect her, and here Eiko was, cowering away when she had all of this pent up energy?

The inner turmoil made her head spin, and she turned away from the large ring of people out in the streets. They had won, but if so much death surrounded them, how was it even worth it? She excused herself without a word.

Wandering back towards the shop that was their makeshift hideout, her throat felt dry and her eyes too wet. She felt ashamed and pitiful feeling bad about herself when these families were missing members, and a kingdom was missing their prince. She pushed the door open roughly, and listened to the satisfying sound of it thudding shut.

The shop was nearly empty, which made her wonder how it even kept up its cover-up as a business. She wandered aimlessly around the front area, noticing how there were no windows here – no openings to the outside. She swept her hand across the counter and picked up dust on her glove. It seemed nobody had been using this place for a long time.

Sighing, she ducked behind the wooden barrier and went into the backroom. There was a store of food here, and a small table. She sat in one of the chairs, feeling out of place, as she wrung out her hair.

"Could you not take it either?" Freya's voice made her jump, and she nearly fell off the chair.

"Freya!" She gasped, whipping her head around as her hair smacked her in the face. She ran a finger down the side of her cheek, pulling the hairs caught in her mouth out and back to their place.

The Bermecian didn't answer as she slid an extra dagger into her boot. The girl's brow furrowed. "Where are you going?"

When the ex-dragon knight glanced up at her, Eiko was almost startled. There was a fire in her blue eyes the younger girl hadn't seen before, but despite her age, it wasn't difficult to know what it was from. When she looked closer, so saw the woman shaking very discretely with rage, and a rigidness in her movement that said she had to forcibly stop herself from breaking everything in the room.

She didn't answer her though. "Do not concern yourself with my whereabouts."

"Freya –"

"Stop. You are just a child! You do not understand."

The Bermecian walked passed her and it made sense. Eiko knew she planned to leave the way she stocked herself with food, and shrugged a backpack onto her shoulders. Taken from the Bermecian's stock, no doubt.

"Who are you hunting down?" She asked calmly, visibly stopping Freya at the door.

"I will avenge Puck and my King. It is my duty."

"Your duty was to protect them! Not to kill others in their name –"

"What would you know –" she began to snap, but Eiko bounded in front of her.

"What are you going to do?! Hunt down Lani's party from the prison and kill them? Are you regretting not killing that last scout? Are you angry at yourself because you have some humanity in you, and you feel remorse for killing the enemy? There's nothing wrong with that –"

"You are seven years old, Eiko! You would not understand the workings of a war fought by adults!"

She scoffed. "You're being crazy! Purely crazy! Don't you think everyone is affected by this war? After you're done killing this scouting party, are you going to stop there? Or will you die trying to kill every single one of his soldiers."

"I am going to avenge Puck. Then I will come back."

"No!" Eiko shook her head, and tears sprang to her eyes. Freya took a step back; she did not expect to see the girl so wound up with her decision to leave. "People say they'll come back but they don't! Are you just going to leave us here, always wondering if you were still hunting, or if you were just dead? Are you going to leave Fratley wondering that?! I know you're mad at him, but would you really do that?!"

The fight left the Bermecian and she let her shoulders sag. She stared at this girl, her chest heaving rapidly and her eyes wide with sharp advice far beyond her years. Freya narrowed her eyes as she knelt down, reaching Eiko's height. "What experience do you speak from?"

She shook her head, like she suddenly didn't want to share. Freya stayed put until the girl calmed down a little. She pushed all of her hair from her face with her small, slender hands and dropped them to her side as she peaked up at her superior.

"Madain Sari's demise wasn't that long ago… Do you remember?"

Freya nodded. It had been a rapid strike – no one had seen it coming. Kuja wanted it gone, and wanted it done effectively. He didn't like the mystery revolving around the summoning village, and he destroyed it before he even realized he could use the eidolons to his advantage. The resistance hadn't even reached them to offer out a hand in friendship before he had crushed them. It'd been devastating.

"I was there… Of course I was there, I'm a summoner like Dagger!" She continued, ignoring Freya's realization sort of look. "My grandfather and I were the only ones left. He protected me during the destruction, and we made it out together. The moogles came almost immediately to help. I never had to see anyone close to me who was dead, and I was only five, so I don't even remember much, even though it hasn't been that long." She rubbed her arms, getting the sudden chills.

Eiko glanced up at the older resistance member with a sad look in her eyes. "There was a big mess. We weren't a big population, but there were probably five hundred of us maybe, and only two survived. Two people survived an entire genocide of a race."

Freya's face softened as she planted her other knee on the ground, engrossed in the girl's story. Her turquoise eyes were sad, but they seemed positive in a way that said she was slowly trying to get over the tragedy.

"We stayed like that for a little while. After all of the dead were cleared away and buried, I was finally able to roam what used to be such a happy place." She shrugged, "It felt a little weird to me, but I really didn't understand what was going on. I knew my mother and father were gone, but the concept of death wasn't real to me." She shook her head and wrung her hands together, the squeak of her gloves loud in the silent room. Nobody had come into the shop looking for them yet. "My grandfather was great, really. He kept teaching me white magic and kept trying to learn his own new stuff. The moogles kept me company when he was training, and they made me dinner and made me laugh a lot. But as time went on, I got closer to the moogles, and further away from my grandpa. We stopped playing, and he stopped making it to dinner. It took nearly a year for him to finally give into his rage, and he said he was going to go out searching for the people who killed his family."

There was silence for a moment as Freya realized that Eiko was watching the same thing happen to another close friend. She bit her lip, wondering if the young girl would continue.

"I didn't see him again," Eiko said quietly. "I waited and I waited… But there was no word. I don't know if he's still out there, or if someone got him and killed him or what really happened. The moogles stayed with me… And not long after, I found you guys! They were sad to see me go, but they knew I needed to get out there and have contact with real people, and do something that would help me get my mind off of this whole thing."

Freya stood up and walked deeper into the room, staring at the puddle of water Eiko's hair had left by the chair. She touched her boot into it, and watched the way the water spread away from her at the impact. Her slender hands twitched at her sides, still itching for revenge. But the anger had faded at the girl's story. She turned then, her eyes curious and sad.

"How did you get through such a tragedy?"

Eiko shrugged. "That's just it," a faint smile ghosted over her lips as she clasped her hands together in front of her and rocked back on her heels. "I found you guys."

"I do not understand," she admitted.

"I had my friends to help me through it."

A rare smile passed over Freya's lips as the full circle of the story hit her. She nodded to Eiko and slowly set her spear up against the table. "Thank you."

The girl nodded lightly and jerked her head in the other direction. "Maybe we should go back out there… They might need our support too."

The Bermecian let out a small chuckle and shuffled over to the door, following the girl out. They ducked back out in front of the counter where Freya abandoned her backpack, and stepped back out into the rain. Not many of the Bermecians had moved, but Dystria was helping her father up from the mud now, and both of the girls could see that he had put on a strong face.

"Vadin," Freya called, walking swiftly over to him. His expression was painful when she finally met him, but she kept a straight face. "Is there anything we can do?"

He shook his head. "Dagger told us the story… He died the way he wished to go, and that's the only thing we could ask for."

Her eyes shifted towards the girl whose head was still bowed. She was shouldering a big burden that Freya selfishly hadn't helped with. "She is strong."

He nodded, "Indeed she is. Puck was right; she will be a great queen when this war is over." Her eyes locked onto Vadin's, and she put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"We will win this war. I fight for Bermecia, and I fight for my fallen kin."

He let on a respectful smile, "I shall fight by your side when the time is right," he gestured around him, "but I must help them before we descend to Qu's marsh to join with your other resistance members."

She nodded, and allowed her shoulders to relax in the rain. "They are lucky to have a leader as strong as you."

His stomach churned as he gazed at the ground, looking suddenly embarrassed. "I do wish we had Fratley here to tell us what to do…"

"As do I," she told him and somehow it made him feel a bit better. "We should not stay long."

"I do not expect you to," he sighed, "I am surprised you did not leave."

"I had a friend to help me," both of them turned to see Eiko walking slowly up to Dagger, about to ask her something or another about white magic, Freya was sure. "But I fear the longer we stay, the deeper our sorrow will run. I do not wish for them to think this is their fault."

"Of course not," he nodded understandingly. "This was our fight, and I convinced you to get involved. But please, will you not stay long enough to help us rejuvenate?"

An understanding passed over both of the Bermecians, and Freya accepted his offer. She asked Beatrix to help her, and together, they rounded up the children and brought them upstairs, promising hot drinks and soup for them. Dystria, though tears still streamed down her face, helped them round up her brothers and their friends who had wandered out shortly after the battle.

All of them filed into the shop while Steiner and Amarant got a few older Bermecians' help to move the bodies to a burial site. Eiko distracted Dagger from her thick thoughts with promise of cantaloupe she had spotted in the back store room. Quina followed them quietly, saddened by all of the heartbreak in the streets. He hoped to cheer Dagger up, and maybe Eiko would let him have the knife and allow him to cut it in some impressive, 'only-a-qu-could-do-it' kind of way.

She sat at the table while Eiko and Quina argued about the right type of knife to use, wishing now more than ever that not just Zidane, but the rest of Tantalus was there. They knew how to lift the heaviness off of her spirit and help her stay positive. She sighed, wondering when suddenly Steiner and Beatrix had so much more to do than help console her, and realized, maybe they did all along.

Her heart ached for Blank, strangely, in this time. It was him, before she had met Zidane, that all of her sadness about the war was pushed on, and he took it in stride. Now she wished for the entire company to make her feel better.

As selfish as it might have been, somewhere in the back of her mind, Dagger honestly couldn't wait to reach Dali – to see her friends again.

"We should probably leave here before dawn. I don't think it'd be a good idea traveling during the day with Kuja's goons out all over the place."

Zidane turned his head towards Blank. His friend was troubled, that much was certain, but he wasn't entirely sure by what.

"What's eating at you?"

The redhead glanced at his best friend and searched his expression with eyes blocked off from the blonde's view. He shrugged after a few moments, "Nothing."

"Blank, how well do you know me?"

"What? I know you a lot and –"

"And how well do you know that I know you?"

"Well probably a lot since –"

"There's something wrong. You can't lie to me about that," Zidane told him, a grin in his eyes.

The shorter thief rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's just been a stressful couple of days, that's all…"

"Go on," Zidane pressed, scuffing his boot in the dirt but never taking his eyes off of the brooding teenager.

Blank shrugged and cast his gaze back over the grassland. There was a stream to their right that peeked out from in the valleys of the mountains that he'd never seen before. The view was great – he could see a dark figure in the distance that he assumed were the Ice Caverns. He tore his eyes away, not wanting to think about that part of their journey, even though Zidane was insisting on it.

"Well… Dali is the last leg of our mission, and once we leave here, we'll be headed towards there."

"Thank you for the geography briefing… I don't get why that's bothering you!" Zidane laughed, but it fell short when the redhead didn't share his same spunkiness.

"Well… it's just that… not a lot of people think you're going to live through this mission, and Dali is our last stop…"

The blonde snorted. "You're still worried about my overdramatized death? Really? We made it out of Lindblum despite Kuja's men breathing down our neck, we made it out of Ipsen's possessed castle, and we dodged more of Kuja's lethal guys in Treno by the hairs on our back, and you're worried about quaint little Dali?"

"Things go wrong there… Like Kuja's ambush on us before… What if it happens again?"

"What reason does he think that we'd have to go to Dali? The place was obliterated. I know that sounds insensitive, but it's probably just a few buildings again – two of which I am almost sure are probably bars – without tunnels for a hideout… What could we want there?"

"Dali is rich with supplies…" Blank started, but already his best friend's words were making him feel better. Zidane was right – what could they possibly face in Dali that they hadn't already faced?

"Okay, supplies we could get with or without Dali's help… We could swing through Lindblum again if we really wanted to…"

"Then why are we going back to Dali?"

The blonde shrugged and crossed one ankle over the other, stretching his arms behind his head and interlocking them. His sapphire eyes were drawn in by the stars twinkling above Gaia, oblivious to the turmoil of the world.

"I mean, the supplies are nice."

Blank groaned. That wasn't the sort of answer he was looking for. Zidane let out a snicker before he turned to his friend.

"I think it's for hope."

"What do you mean, hope?"

Zidane wiggled his toes inside of his boots, feeling the earth underneath his feet. It felt stable, and somehow up in this dwelling, he felt safe. His eyes found their way back to the inside of Vivi's home, and he wondered how the mage was doing and what he was finding. "Well… The last time Dali's people saw us, we were all running away screaming… I just feel like if we show our faces again to let them know, y'know, in the flesh, that we're still alive and kickin', it's going to lift their spirits."

"So we're risking your life to give seventy-five people hope?"

Zidane bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. Blank had such a pessimistic view on life that it was hard not to laugh. He let out a loud chuckle despite himself.

"If that's the way you want to look at it, then I won't stop you."

"Tell me what you think!" Blank whined.

"No way! You think for yourself you little mooch!" He laughed, pushing the redhead back.

He lost his footing in all of his clumsiness and fell back on a thick row of pots, clattering them all together and spilling the ancient spices inside. Zidane let out a howl of laughter and leapt over to him.

"Look what you did!"

Blank grumbled for a moment, trying to push himself back up. The herbs were making his head spin as he stumbled to pick himself out of broken clay and smelly weeds. The others scuttled out of the doorway, peeking outside to see what was going on.

In the dim light of the moon, they saw him lying there looking guilty, and Cinna let out a snort.

"Way to go, Blank!"

"Shut your face Cinna or I'll come shut it for you!" He grouched, before flipping over and pushing himself up.

But as he did so, his arm swept against something that didn't feel like a ground up herb.

"Are you still drunk from Treno? What the hell is taking you so long to get up!?" Cinna jested, but seeing the serious look on the redhead's face, nobody seemed to care about his comic relief.

Vivi wandered forward, clutching his hat like a security blanket. "What did you find, Blank?"

"It's a note…"

"A note?!"

He turned it over and read the name out loud on the envelope. "Vivi." Blank stood at his full height and turned around, his eyebrows hidden in his hair. "It's for you…"

Zidane had to nudge the mage forward to give him enough bravery to take the envelope.

"Why would there be a letter for me in the spice jar?"

"Maybe whoever put it there thought you'd find it there if you ever came back, " Marcus suggested, pushing out into the open of the balcony instead of being hidden in the previous crowd of onlookers.

"Open it, darlin'," Ruby encouraged with a smile. She pulled her blonde hair off of her neck for a moment and sucked in a breath, before allowing it to cascade back down.

Vivi's hands shook as he turned the envelope over and stared at it. It was stamped shut with some unfamiliar type of wax, and the mage figured it was probably some old substitute concoction his grandpa came up with.

He bit his lip. What if this letter contained something he didn't want to know? What if it did nothing to quell the curiosity he'd been feeling about his Grandpa for nearly two years?

"Maybe you won't find what you're looking for here, because you won't find your grandpa. But you find it in a way that says he's still out there looking for you, and he hasn't just given up and come home."

Zidane's words suddenly rang out in his head, causing him to rip into the envelope without further thoughts. The blonde was absolutely right. Whatever was in the envelope was going to help him in some way. His grandfather wasn't here, which meant this envelope had to tell Vivi what was going on with him now – good or bad!

The ripping of the paper was the only sound in the dim lighting of the night. Blank and Zidane shared quick glances and a silent conversation. Despite the genome giving the mage all of those inspiring words, he truly hoped it was something good that Vivi would read. He didn't want the mage devastated when they were working so hard on getting his confidence built up.

He unfolded the letter carefully and took in a big gulp of breath before he started reading. Nobody moved as yellow eyes read each word of the letter carefully. All eyes were on his face, but the mage seemed to be in a completely different world.

It wasn't long – only a page of parchment, so they knew he had to be reading it slowly to let it all sink in. But towards the end of the page, Vivi's yellow eyes misted over, and they heard him sniffle. He was crying.

Zidane's hands curled into fists. He tried to wait until Vivi told them what it said before he jumped to conclusions, but he was going to be furious if Kuja took down another person who was so important to one of his dearest friends.

Vivi scanned the last part of the letter, and let out a small cry. The team pushed towards him in a second, worrying about him, and worrying about what the letter said. But he just shook his head.

Vivi,

Quan start with a sorry. Quan wishes that day was different because Quan want nothing more than to keep Vivi safe. Vivi been gone year and a half now, at time of writing letter and Quan about to set out around the world to search for him. Quan use all this time still at home to get information and travel to Treno and Dali, and even made trip to Lindblum, all to find Vivi. Quan found traveling moogle in Lindblum, on way to Treno. Quan going to meet him there and travel with him all over, just for Vivi.

Quan remembers that day like it was just yesterday, and it make Quan so sad; Quan hopes that wherever Vivi might be that Vivi is safe. Quan remembers when he first found Vivi; Quan know that at first he not intend to keep Vivi with him, but time went on and Quan found that he began to love Vivi, love him very, very much. Quan still love Vivi, maybe even more now. That's why he go looking for grandson!

If Vivi reading this now, he knew where to look so no one coming to inspect this dwelling would find it. Quan hope that Vivi safe now, with friends that help him out. Quan know Vivi must, in some way, have found way into war, but he know Vivi do good job. Vivi always had so much talent, and Quan wishes he could have helped Vivi learn more magic. Quan so, so proud of Vivi. Quan see Vivi again, he sure of it. Vivi have every right to be proud of heritage and growth, and magic and past; Vivi have his grandpa behind him, please don't forget that.

Quan don't know where Quan is right now, since Vivi read this letter in the future hopefully, but know that Quan is still looking if he can. Quan will see Vivi again, he promises.

Quan love Vivi,

Quan

The mage handed Zidane the note, and Tantalus squeezed in around him to read it. Ruby opted out of the letter and knelt down next to Vivi, putting a hand on his shoulder and letting on a smile. They'd looked out for each other ever since Vivi saved Ruby from Kuja's creepy guards during the collapse of the resistance tunnels in Dali, and she wasn't about to stop now.

Vivi wiped at his eyes and let on a smile, though nobody could see the expression he wore on his face. His grandpa… He was still out looking, just like Zidane said. And he… he was proud of Vivi. The young mage could tell it was true, just by the tone of the letter. He let out a little laugh, and half the company looked up from the letter.

Zidane had finished and let on a smile. "Well look at that…"

Vivi turned to the side, away from his friends and out across the grasslands. The night illuminated it just enough, and for once he wasn't scared of the distance ahead of his tiny self. It turned out that the genome had been right all along. Everyone believed in Vivi, and maybe it took hearing it from the most important person in his life to realize that he spoke the truth.

I'm going to be stronger now. He turned towards the group of his friends, now elbowing each other and leaning on each other's heads, itching to read the end of the letter. I have people I have to protect… If Kuja wanted me as a dreamer, I have to have some power that makes me strong. I have to trust myself. He gave a faint nod to nobody in particular, and clutched his hat, feeling the worn fabric scratch underneath his gloves. I just have to be confident, just like everyone says. Just like Zidane and my Grandpa want.

The wind picked up then and Blank shivered. "It's getting cold…"

"Our trip to Dali is long… maybe we should take a day of rest and start at sunset tomorrow?" Zidane suggested, turning to Marcus to see his reaction.

The oldest thief shrugged, "If that's what everyone else wants… it will be light before we'd reach the village tonight, so maybe waiting would be best. Kuja's soldiers have to be scouring everywhere they can look, especially after Treno."

"I think I saw some firewood inside," Ruby noted, jerking her thumb back towards the dwelling.

"You know what this means?!" Cinna jumped up and down, excitement bubbling in his body.

"What?" Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"Hotsprings!" he sang, laughing as he bounded inside.

"You're joking!" Blank yelled after him, giving chase.

Marcus shrugged, "As long as nobody is stupid I'm okay with it…"

"I'm going to stay here, if everyone is okay with that," Vivi piped up. "I'd like to take a look at things inside still.

"I'm gon' stay too! Too many rowdy boys for this lil' lady! Ya'll be careful though, okay?"

"We'll be alright, Ruby," Marcus nodded, waving to the three left out on the balcony.

"You can go if you'd like, Zidane," Vivi smiled, "You should be able to relax too!"

"Well…" He scratched his head. "I was already there, and I don't want to leave you guys here…"

"Ya don't think we could handle ourselves?" Ruby huffed, planting her hands on her hips.

His hands shot out in front of him, shaking in the universal "stop" motion. "That's not what I said at all!" he paled at her angry expression. "On second thought, maybe I'll go!" And he bolted inside without another look in either of the two's direction.

Just the way Vivi stood now told him that the mage would be okay, and Zidane wouldn't have to help him do a lot more soul searching. The little guy found it just where he thought it would be all along.

A/N: I thought that might be a nice little spot to stop the chapter. We finally got to hear from Kuja again after a very long time! :D The plot continues to thicken! :D I hope you all enjoyed!

I tried to proofread, but I'm fighting off multiple illnesses, so I apologize if there are still mistakes, or poorly written sentences! Thank you to the anonymous reviewer who beckoned for an update (and reminded it me it has been nearly a month). I wish I heard from you more! I like your opinion! :)

-zesty-