The two of them are very different from one another. But somehow, a father-son relationship formed, despite that the Qu was still fretting over the young mage's lack of fattening up. When the young mage was fished out of the Mist, it was two weeks later that he became... aware of being alive. It had surprised the Qu that had been used to the silence was suddenly answering so many questions the black mage could throw out.

Quan had taken the responsibility of teaching the young one, who he had named as Vivi. Young Vivi still doesn't know how he had been caught on a fishing line, since he had no memories until that point of awakening, so-to-speak. The Qu had been in solitude for so long, he actually enjoyed the company of someone he once thought to eat.

"Grandpa, what's a city?" Vivi asks when Quan showed a city map, one of the many things he had picked up because he could. The black mage had recently grasped the concept of reading, and had seen the city map.

"City is large society, many people live in same community. There a city beyond home, Treno. Many noble people there, though there be two sections of city; poor and rich." Quan had never been there, but he didn't had to, to know of Treno's usual attractions.

"Poor and rich? Why would they want to separate themselves by money difference?" Vivi is confused of that concept. Humans are able to communicate and interact with each other, have the company of others like themselves. Why would they want to make things difficult for themselves?

"Noble people stick noses up in air at those less fortunate. Are believing that they better than others, though few are kind to poor. There still good people, but must find without offend the powerful rich that stick nose in air." Quan looks to the young and not-plump black mage for a minute. "When you explore, best bet to look to kind middle-class people. Be kind, receive kindness back most time. May get opportunity to get something if ask."

Vivi nods, his yellow eyes showing the intelligence that was once never there. "I understand, Grandfather."

Disclaimer

I don't own Final Fantasy IX, none of the characters, storyline, or plot, and what-not. Those that are obviously not of the game belongs to me (Iapis), MoonRhodes, and Kayoni. Sorry for not updating. I... don't have a reasonable excuse other than that my Final Fantasy IX game had finally died and would probably never play again. I had been playing the game and writing the script and action down as I write this story. I had finally been able to find a great script of FFIX that I can use as a reference.
And... well, it didn't help that my sister, Cindy, had been killed in January, so... I've only recently felt like taking back up the challenge of writing new chapters.
Thanks for your patience... and I hope you can forgive me Moon and Kayoni. I sincerely hope that you're both doing alright!

Chapter XI: Ice Carven

Zellen remains in the tent, sleeping off her weariness, as Zidane steps out to the morning, even though the sun is barely showing through the Mist that covers the continent. Rose and Koroku remains around the smoldering campfire, both wide awake. The thief wouldn't know if either had bothered going to sleep. Though somehow, Steiner had fallen asleep. Standing up. Well, that's a first for Zidane, but he figures it has to be all of the armor holding the idiot up. With a quiet 'Heh,' he walks past the campsite and heads for the blocked entrance of the forest.

Garnet awakens, feeling much better now that the seeds were purged from her system thanks to Blank's medicine. Looking around, she could see that Zellen is fast asleep, but Zidane had left the tent. Vivi was awake, so he talked with the princess, in which she is glad for the company. As Vivi yawns, Garnet wonders where Zidane went. Curious, she pushes through the flap of the tent and looks around. Spotting the two people that were awake outside, Rose gave a very small smile before lazily pointing to the forest. With a nod of thanks, she leaves the tent entirely, deciding that she needs to talk to Zidane.

Quickly enough, she found him staring at the entrance of the forest, and she became a little worried. He has to be thinking about his friend. But he quickly puts on a friendly face as he hears her approach.

"How are you feeling?" he asks with concern.

"Good... thanks to that medicine you gave me." She looks to the entrance of the forest, perplexed. "Could this be...?" Garnet said hesitantly as she looks to Zidane.

"Yeah, I was surprised, too," he said as he looks at her instead of the forest. "After we beat that big plant-guy, the forest got completely petrified."

Garnet nods a little, looking sad. "Vivi told me that we were able to escape because of your friend."

"...His name is Blank." Zidane's face fell from the cheerful composure he had on.

"We must go help him." But he shakes his head.

"We can't do anything for him right now."

"But... I can't-"

Zidane smiles lightly, cutting Garnet off in mid-sentence. "We'll come back for him. I'm sure there's a way to cure him." She looks reassured, so he continues, optimized now. "Let's get going. According to the map that Blank gave me, there's a cavern to the south of us." He looks in the direction that he's sure is south. "Maybe we can get above the Mist through that cavern."

But Garnet bows her head, in which Zidane worried at first. "Are you alright?" She only nods in silence. "Everything's gonna be fine. Trust me."

Back at the camp, Vivi had finally wakened Zellen when Zidane announced that they were leaving soon. So she steps out of the tent groggily, rubbing her eyes to rid the sleep. Koroku has been ready since dawn came, and Rose stretches her good limbs the best she can, looking forward to the travel. Everything had already been packed.

"Look! There's something coming!" Vivi said as something flies at them from the forest. But everyone relaxes as a moogle lands and runs at them.

"Wait! Kupo!" he said. It's Monty from the springs, though he had been hiding in the stump that seemed to have been supplying the springs with fresh water. Zidane laughs lightly as Vivi shakes a little from the surprise. "I'm impressed, kupo! First time I've seen anyone escape from Evil Forest. You all must be strong, kupo!"

"And it takes a moogle to tell us something we already know," Rose said softly as she grins.

"But don't get cocky, kupo," Monty said when he heard Rose's comment. "Lots of stronger monsters ahead." As soon as he turned his back on Rose, she stuck her tongue out at him, causing Koroku to chuckle and Vivi to laugh quietly. At least it calmed Vivi from his shakes.

Monty looks to Zidane and then grins as he approaches him while pulling something from a sidebag. "I have a gift for you, kupo. Take this flute." With an eyebrow raised but not asking, Zidane takes the flute. "With this flute, you can call us anywhere in the world, kupo."

"What for?" Zellen said arrogantly. Moogles never seem to be helpful to her.

"We carry supplies you may need," Monty said as his pom-pom bobs in his nodding. "Though the way you said that, I could very well ignore you," he adds, in which Zellen rolls her eyes.

"Well thanks, we'll keep that in mind," Zidane said with a grin. They're about to leave, even though Steiner remains oblivious to all that's happening around him.

"Happy trails! Kupo!" Monty said with a wave while Garnet nods to him.

"Thank you," she said with a most gracious smile.

Monty bounces up for a second, his pom-pom poinging. "Kupopo!"

"Bye," Vivi said slightly shyly as Garnet and the others starts to leave the campsite. Zidane grins as he whaps Steiner in the shoulder as he walks by.

"Kupoo!" Monty watches as Steiner jumps at the hit, and then the sound.

"!! What the..." He looks around, missing the group leaving entirely as he looks at Monty. "Who goes there!?"

"Your friends already left, kupo," Monty said as he points in the direction everyone went. Steiner jumps and runs after them with extra vengeance.

"Princess, wait!!" he yells, his armor clanking as he goes. Rose rolls her eyes as he catches up.

"And here, I thought we were finally ditching him..." Zellen grumbles. Zidane laughs as he pats his sister's shoulder in sympathy.

'It seems there is already an solution made by Zidane,' Rose thought to herself as she could see that he is considerably more cheerful, in which was making Zellen become a little happier. So she decides it might be best to keep her mouth shut after all. If nothing else, she'll offer it if they find no solution after all.

"You're not limping so much today," Zellen comments to Rose, and Rose gives a slight smile. She had noticed that her ankle wasn't hurting very much for the day.

"I heal fast enough."

"Apparently. With white magic, though, you could have healed it, and perhaps your wing," Koroku said. But Rose only shrugs.

"Unless it is life-threatening, I do not usually heal myself. Besides, my white magic is not strong enough to heal broken bones."

"Well, aren't you a pain in your own side." He grins under his mask, though Rose could see it in his eyes, as well.

"Oh, let her do whatever she wanna do," Zellen said as she shakes her head. "(Though I agree with him...)"

"I heard that."

Approaching the North Gate, Steiner demanded to go there and at least see about the smoke they could see even with the Mist. They had no idea it was actually the North Gate, so with grudging acceptance, they all agreed to check and see. It very well could be someone in trouble.

"Where are we?" Garnet asks softly as they finally neared the gate enough to see the entrance, though it was barred and unmovable.

"I think this is the North Gate. It's beneath the Mist," Zidane said slowly as he looks around carefully at the cliffs. "It lies between Alexandria and Burmecia." Then he scratches his head. "I think it's called... Melda Arch or something?"

At this point, everyone looks at the rising smoke, and a waving flag. Rose growls lightly as she continues to wrinkle her nose at the scents all around, some of which was blood. Koroku looks at the flag with a look of disdain in his eyes, but he didn't say anything.

Zidane looks down at the dirt, then kneels down to examine the patterns made. "Fresh footprints... And there's smoke rising." Though before he could say any more on the matter, Steiner then made a exclamation.

"That flag...!" he gasps as he gawks at it. "That is Alexandria's war banner!" He starts shaking, enraged by the thought of someone trying to claim the attack was made by his very city. Jumping up and down a few times in his rage, he continues. "How dare they commit crimes in the name of Alexandria!" Finally, he calms enough to realize that he was starting to upset the princess, so he settles his rage for another time. "I should like to arrest and punish them if the circumstances were different!" he then huffs. But that is all he could do.

Garnet remains silent as she places her hands together in front of her, looking at them. It was like she knew something Steiner didn't.

Zidane knew that they needed to keep going, not to mention the fact that Garnet was going to start doubting herself again. "Let's get outta here," he said as he looks to the others. Garnet nods in agreement while Rose crosses her arms. She was ready to go the moment they stopped to examine the place. "The cavern lies to the left of this arch. We'll follow the ledge!"

"We'll just follow the yellow brick road..." Rose mutters to herself as they move away from the gate. Even if they remained to try and get the people to open the gate, it would be for nothing. After all, they were on the outside, and the people were inside the gate. They would never have won the argument if they tried.

"What was that?" Steiner said in result to her muttering. Rose shakes her head as she uncrosses her arms and continues to walk.

"I was just commenting on what idiots I am traveling with, and how much of an idiot I was to begin with," she retorts when he didn't seem happy with her silence. He turns red in the face and jogs ahead, Rose lightly laughing to herself. It was just too easy to piss him off, especially when she was in the company of Master Kuja and the queen herself.

"That ought to keep him quiet..." Zellen comments to Rose softly before catching up to her brother. Roes can only hope so.

The travel was long, stretching to about three hours with all the small stops they had to take because of Rose, Garnet and Zellen. But eventually, they finally neared the cavern. Even though they only stood at the entrance, all of them can feel the cold, icy winds that were strangely blowing from the cave. Rose wraps her good wing around herself while they look up at the distance between them and the surface above the Misty.

"This must be the cavern..." Zidane said softly as he looks up at the top of the cavern.

"U-Um..." Vivi seems to have something on his mind.

"What's up Vivi?" Zidane asks as he looks at the mage. Rose and the others looks to him as well.

"Have you ever heard of the Ice Cavern?" he asks almost timidly.

"Sure... Is this the place?"

"I think so... It's supposed to be near Evil Forest."

Garnet looks thoughtful. "...I've heard of it. It's supposed to be a beautiful place, covered in ice."

"And eternally cold," Rose murmurs softly with a sigh. She hates cold places, but she won't be complaining in front of her companions. Zellen nods in agreement with Rose, not exactly thrilled with the idea of traveling through ice and snow in a cave.

"My grandpa told me about this place," Vivi continues as he walks forward, looking up at the icy formations forming on the ceiling. "He said the cavern takes travelers to the top of the Mist." He looks back as Steiner comes to life.

"Bravo!" he said with such admiration, grinning. "Master Vivi's grandfather must be quite the scholar! We must thank him upon escaping the Mist!" he then declares. Vivi glances away from Steiner at that.

"My grandpa used to teach me lots of things, but he passed away..." Vivi said quietly. With sudden empathy, Rose walks over and places a hand on his shoulder, knowing the grief all-too-well. He seems to calm a little from her consideration.

"Oh... Forgive my indiscretion," Steiner said with such a large amount of compassion that Rose actually looked at him in surprise.

"Don't worry about it," Vivi said with a small smile, looking to Steiner for a minute. At this point, Zidane knew they need to change subjects.

"Well... why don't we go inside?" he said as he turns back to the cavern. Zellen shivers as she stands next to her brother, wrapping her arms around herself.

"We're going to be frozen before we make it to the end..." she said softly, still grieving on the inside. In any other situation, she'd do this with a grin, demanding for Blank's warmth all the way through.

With some consideration, Rose then sighs to herself as she shrugs out of her long-sleeved top after untying the strings on her back, which closes the flaps around her wings. Underneath is a red top with no sleeves, not to mention that both the red top and the long-sleeved one were showing off her stomach. But because she has the warmth of feathery wings, she'll survive better than her friend.

"Here," she said to Zellen as she presses her top to the girl before walking away, so that Zellen couldn't refuse it. "It is not a blanket, but it will keep the worse of the winds away from bare skin." At least all that is bare for Zellen is her arms and face.

"Thanks," Zellen said softly as she pulls it on after a minute. If she wasn't feeling so bad, she would have thrown it at Rose with defiance, saying that she wasn't weak. So with that, everyone walks into the cavern.

Bypassing the entrance entirely and walking up the pathway, Garnet moves quickly ahead of the others and looks all around her in fascination. "Oh...! What a beautiful place!" she exclaims as the others looks at her. "Seeing the actual cavern is so much better than reading about it!" With her high-enthusiasm, almost everyone lightly smiles and chuckles. She then walks over and examines a icy-colored flower. "Oh, how pretty... I wonder what kind of flower this is?" Rose couldn't argue that the plant is indeed pretty. But Steiner then ruins the mood.

"Princess! Please, don't touch anything!" he said with a worrying tone, in which Garnet sighs and looks at him with a look of regret; if only he didn't get on the ship with her...

"Can we get moving? I'm freezin' here," Zidane complains as he wraps his arms around himself, much like what Zellen had.

"Y-Yeah," she agrees as she continues to move forward.

"Some leader," Koroku said under his breath, Rose hearing him through the mask and the wind. She smiles lightly, but they all agreed with Zidane and continues to walk on.

Throughout the trip, following the pathway in the snow, they kept running into monsters that could only survive in the harsh environment. And many times, Zidane asked of Vivi for his magic to get through ice when they were blocked. Vivi was happy to comply, since his magic was actually useful instead of a hindrance. So the entire time they walked on for the exit, or perhaps the place to get out of the wind before it got completely dark, it was mostly uneventful.

Steiner seems to have something on his mind as he seems to be placing Rose's face in his mind of where he had seen her before. Then it hits him; she's one of Her Majesty's important guests! Oh, how shame-faced Steiner looked as he glances at Rose guiltily, in which had her looking at him in confusion.

'So he finally recognizes me,' she thought to herself, but she didn't comment. She might as well let him wallow in his own despair; after all, she could report to his queen of how he had treated her the entire time. Though if they do make it back to Alexandria, she wonders who would kill her first - Queen Brahne or Master Kuja?

Spotting a fork in the path, Zidane could see where one is calm, while the other continues to emit a chilly wind.

"Let's go rest in there!" he said to the others as he starts to walk to that pathway. The other were all too-willing to follow, since it meant a place where the wind won't be hitting their faces. They found a dead-end, but at least it was warmer without the wind. They'll need the rest.

"Huh? What's this...?" Zidane said while the others were finding a place to sit and rest, placing their bags on the ground. Only Zidane remains standing, looking at an odd ice. "Hey, Vivi!" he calls to the mage, who stands back up.

"Y-Yes?" he said as he walks to stand next to Zidane.

"Vivi, do you think you can get him out of the ice?" Zidane asks. Vivi looks to the ice again, and realizes that it's actually a moogle trapped in the ice.

"I can try..." Vivi said, though he was going to try his best. After all, he likes moogles. Walking over to the ice, he then uses his fire magic. The ice quickly melts, and the moogle instead instantly came to life.

"Whoa!" Zidane said as the moogle dances around.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" the moogle cries out, in which everyone looks at it in surprise and amazement. "You bastards!!!" the moogle then shouts, not thinking clearly just yet. Then he evaluates what just happened. "Oh, I can move again! Thanks, kupo!" He jumps down and shakes hands with Vivi as an apology. Even Zellen lightly laughs, but in sympathy to the moogle.

"I think the fire was too strong..." Zidane murmurs to Vivi, but he had a grin on his face. "Good job, Vivi!"

"T-Thanks," Vivi said with a smile as well.

"I've been frozen in the ice for quite some time, kupo!" the moogle said. "I'm Mois, kupopo."

"N-Nice to meet you," Vivi said to the moogle.

With sudden edginess, Rose stands and moves away to the entrance of the small cavern, her bag in hand out of habit. None but Koroku noticed, so with curiosity, he follows her to the entrance.

"What's up?" he asks her. Between her and the moneky's group, he preferred her company. After all, she isn't very talkative, thus less annoying to him.

"I am not sure..." she said as she looks at him. "It is just a feeling..."

"You get them very often," he notes as he leans against the closest wall of the tunnel, crossing his arms. "You had them throughout the entire time in the forest."

"So you noticed," she said with a light half-smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but at least she smiled.

"Who wouldn't." Koroku leans away from the wall, uncrossing his arms. "I'm surprised you're only getting them now."

"I doubt there would be a large forest-plant monster about to petrify us all here," Rose said with a little bit of humor. She starts to walk further down the tunnel, in which Koroku follows her. Only Zellen looks up to see them walk off, but she didn't think twice on it. After all, those two could be talking about the next part of the plan.

"No, I suppose not." Koroku is surprised at how much easier it was to talk with her than the others. "But there can be something else here, all the same."

"Yeah..." She shivers a little as they near the pathway where the wind is blowing from the other tunnel. Her wing wraps around her again. "That is probably our trouble..."

Suddenly, they heard a faint ringing sound in the wind. The two looked at each other before moving directly into the wind to look up the pathway and see if they could see the source. They were both out of sight of the group, so no one noticed when Rose and Koroku suddenly found themselves falling asleep, and a few figures coming down the tunnel and picking them both up to walk off back in the direction they came. Another figure watches the retrieval, not affected by whatever the wind had done to Rose and Koroku. He smiles lightly to himself, then turns at the figure causing the wind.

"Do the same to the others, but take the princess and leave the rest to die," he said softly as he turns away to leave the cave. The mysterious black mage chuckles as he nods and bows his head.

"Of course, Master Kuja. Of course." He watches the black mage minions carry the girl and boy out the cave with Kuja, but they were heading for the direction of a small ship. Kuja has somewhere else to visit, to Dali...

Well, I hope this is good. XD Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and will enjoy the next one that comes soon! See ya then!