Archive of Our Own ^beta

Garnet and Zidane were in love, and their love hadn’t come easily. It had taken a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get to the point that they were at in their relationship. After finally having been reunited (again) in their relationship, they were both eager and willing to settle down (more or less) and tie the knot. However, there were a few slight problems with the happy bride and groom to be’s wishes.

Neither wanted a large wedding. Zidane positively hated fancy dress, and the thought of having to be stuffed into a black tie and tails made him pale with fright. Garnet was, at heart, a shy girl who longed for a small, intimate wedding. But when you’re the adored Queen of Alexandria and the Great Hero that Saved the World, a small wedding is absolutely out of the question.

Enter various dignitaries, nobles, rulers, and then some... all with a very specific interpretation of what the Queen of Alexandria's wedding should be like. Even though Garnet had eventually caved and assigned a wedding planner (actually a wedding department if you got highly technical) she was still assaulted with questions daily. From "the eggshell or the ivory" to "we could go with roses for the centerpiece, but that might offend Lady Lancaster, because her daughter had her heart set on rose centerpieces" it seemed that every other question had to do with what kind of wedding she ought to have.

But truly, she didn't care. She'd be lying if she said that she'd never actually considered what kind of wedding she'd wanted. As a young princess, Garnet knew that it would be expected of her to wed eventually, if only to continue to carry on the Alexandrian line. Heirs and Heiresses had been drummed into her head from the time she'd learned to read, a lesson taught along with astronomy, literature, and arithmetic.  She knew she'd wed, and when pressed to admit, she would like a simple, but elegant white dress. And red roses, in memory of the mother that she'd still loved, despite everything. Mostly, she just wanted to marry because of love, and she was never sure she'd actually have that opportunity.

But she was. That was more than enough for her. Garnet just had to keep reminding herself of that as she got poked by yet another pin as the seamstress made yet another alteration on her gown. Despite the young queen's pleas for simple and elegant, the dress was anything but. At last count, at least six petticoats were going to have to be worn underneath it, and enough lace for a small army had been commissioned to trim the gown. She was pretty sure she was going to look like a great mess of fabric on her wedding day. At her last inquiry, the train alone was nearly six feet long.

But it would be worth it. Or so she kept reminding herself. It would be worth it. So long as the dratted seamstress stopped pricking her with pins during each and every fitting.

"Are we finished for the day yet?" asked Garnet, even as she was trying to not fidget under the miles of heavy white fabric. "I have a meeting to attend shortly."

The seamstress nodded around a mouthful of pins, carefully bringing assistants around to help Garnet out of her dress. Once it was off, she let out a sigh of relief before allowing herself to be helped into her regular garments. They were tricky enough sometimes, and not for the first time, she'd thought of being Dagger again. Sometimes, all she ever wanted again was to roam around in the simple coveralls, not wearing twenty layers of clothes on any given day. It was a happy thought, and she often entertained herself with it during especially boring meetings.

Not that it was a proper thing to wish for.

No, it was not at all, but that was part of the reason why she wanted it so. Still, she had things to attend to. Garnet slipped back into her shoes and after gently telling her attendants that they did not need to follow her quite so closely, she slipped into the hall to make her way to the chambers for her meeting with the nobility.

“Took you long enough.” There he was, leaning against the stone wall, looking as carefree as could be. “Are they weaving the fabric for your dress as well?”

“Sometimes, it feels like it.” Garnet smiles at him, and pauses. The meeting can wait a little while longer.

“There’s still time,” he said, unfolding his arms from over his chest and reaching for her hands.

Garnet shakes her head. “I know. But we can’t elope.”

“Even though it would be over and done with, Dagger?” he asked. “This is making you miserable.”

Garnet stepped forward, her hands still gripping his tightly. “If they’d just stop asking my approval for every single detail! Planners were hired to ease the burden, not make it worse.”

“Can’t you just tell them that?”

She shrugged. “I tried. But it’s just ten more days, Zidane. Surely we can manage that?”

“We’ve managed for longer. I still don’t get it, not exactly,” he admitted, but obligingly wrapped his arms around her for a hug.

“Appearances to keep,” says Garnet with a frown. “Too many to please, and none will be happy.”

“Are you happy?”

“Yes, because I am able to marry you. That is all I want. No matter how that happens, so long as we’re wed at the end of the day.”

Zidane hugs her more tightly, and kisses the top of her head gently. “We do get a honeymoon, right?”

“That is one of the few things I insisted upon.” Garnet pulls away just enough to give him an impish expression. “Two weeks.”

Zidane gave a low whistle of approval. “You managed two whole weeks, babe?”

Garnet smiles at him. “Sometimes, it is good to be the queen.”

---

Mikoto did not want to have to be there. She will attempt to put on a happy face for Zidane’s benefit, especially considering the several tumultuous years commonly associated with their getting to know each other phase. She may not understand her… brother’s motivations, but it is his wedding day.  Or will be tomorrow, provided she can get to Alexandria in time. Also, Garnet (or is it Dagger? She is never sure which…) has asked her to serve as one of the bridesmaids.

“I hate this bloody dress,” she muttered under her breath, giving the frilly pink fabric a glare. What on Gaia was the wedding attendant smoking when she declared pink to be the best color for bridesmaids? And the silk lily pinned to the waist of the dress just looked sad.

Mikoto gave herself a wry grin as she studied herself in the mirror before gathering up the dress and tucking it neatly in her one bag. She was skinny, not petite or svelte or even thin. Just skinny, with knobbly knees and no chest to speak of. Still, it suited her well enough (and made dressing up as a boy to sneak about in Lindblum last night pretty damn easy), so she spared no time wishing for a prettier look as she smiled at her reflection.

Instead, she gave a sarcastic wish of luck for the poor woman in charge of making her look lithe and female for the wedding as she stomped out of her hotel room in Lindblum. She had an airship to catch if she ever expected to make it to Alexandria in time.

---

Marcus rolled his eyes as he headed out towards the airship docks. Bad enough that the boss had made him come back late after last night’s heist, but nobody could damn well bother to wake him up before they all left for Alexandria? Instead, he’s left alone in the hideout, with a place to be by tomorrow, and no fucking way to get there.

Well, except for the utter hell that is the new public transport. Last year, in the interest of furthering bonds between the recently rebuilt nations of Lindblum, Alexandria, and Burmecia (or some shit, Marcus hadn’t actually read the proclamation, he left that up to Ruby, who actually cared about such things), and to celebrate the progress between the nations, blah blah blah, there would now be a twice-weekly airship service between the three major capital cities of the three major nations. As soon as repairs on Cleyra were accomplished, it would likely be added to the route as well.

In any way, it meant that Marcus had exactly twenty minutes to make it to the port and hope like hell they still had a seat left on that day’s airship ride to Alexandria. Or he’d be stuck begging with the Regent for a ride to his bro’s wedding.

Things had been going smoothly until he nearly toppled over some girl in his way as he attempted to round a corner way too fast. “Hey—watch ou-- …I’m sorry… Mikoto?”

Mikoto glared up at him from where she sat, sprawled over the cobblestone path of the Business District. “I thought you had better manners than that, Marcus. Or at least, that’s what my brother tries to convince me of.”

“Zidane’s a liar,” said Marcus easily, even as he held out a hand to help her up. “He always had the worst manners of us all anyway, though.”

Mikoto give a rough snort and refused the hand, preferring to reach for her bag and use that to help her steady her balance. “That’s probably true, given how much time he’s forced me to spend with him over the past few years. Nearly three since his return, and five since I’ve been living around and about.”

“Are you in Lindblum these days?” asked Marcus as he easily fell into step next to the other girl.

“Just passing through from Burmecia,” said Mikoto. “This was the only way I could obtain a ride on the public transport in time for the wedding.”

“Even you can’t catch a bloody ride from that brother of yours?” joked Marcus as he led Mikoto to the skycabs.

“I probably could have, but despite his claims to the contrary, I am sufficiently independent and more than capable of escorting myself wherever I please.”

“Travel bug?” said Marcus easily as he headed to a seat near the front of the skycab. The cab was mostly empty, save for him, Mikoto and another set of people toward the back of the cab, which was not altogether unusual for mid-morning. He paid it no mind, which in hindsight, may well have been their undoing.

Mikoto slid into a seat next to him. “I suppose you could say that. I felt that I needed to learn through …life experiences. Easier said than done in a time of peace and prosperity.”

Marcus was prepared to reply, but suddenly, his vision went black, and before he could manage to defend himself, his mind went just as blank.

---

“Tell me,” said Mikoto in a drawl when Marcus could hear things once more, “do you always drug acquaintances? You could just ask them out on a date or something instead.”

“Ha ha,” managed Marcus, who cracked one eye open to stare up at his companion. “Zidane always said you never had much of a sense of humor.”

“That’s because most of my humor is at his expense,” she replied, dusting off her skirt before curling up against the wall of the room they were currently sitting in. “He finds that not particularly amusing.”

“Of course he wouldn’t. Ziddy’s always been a little… sensitive.” Marcus smirks and sits across from Mikoto. “How long have I been out for?”

“About four, five hours,” said Mikoto as she peered through a crack in the wood wall. The tiny hole let in the only view not obscured by barred skylights in the room, and it seemed that Mikoto had been practicing staring out of the peephole for the better part of the time she’d been awake and alone.  “I’ve been awake for an hour or so.”

“Do you know anything about where we are or what’s going on?” he asked, lying down on the bare floor once he realized that sitting up wasn’t going to help the pounding in his head. He let his eyes drift close as he stared up at the ceiling.

“Is that a good idea when you might possibly have a concussion?” asked Mikoto from his right side. “I’m rubbish at magic, so don’t look at me to get you out of any fixes.” With a crick of her back, the young woman sighed and folded her arms under her head to serve as a pillow while she settled back to think.

“Aren’t you able to use magic?” asked Marcus absently. “You’re Zidane’s sister and all, and he can do a whole hell of a lot of freaky-ass shit.”

“I am not a mage.” Mikoto’s tone is firm, complete with a scathing glare for her companion.

Marcus knows well enough to let the subject drop, and heavy silence settles over the two of them for a while. Eventually, it grew so uncomfortable that he felt compelled to break it. “What’s the situation at the moment, Mik?” asked Marcus hesitantly. “You know Zidane and Dag are going to freak the frick out.”

“I know that.” Mikoto kept her expression carefully neutral as she rapped experimentally on one of the wood walls.  “The walls are sturdier than they would first appear to be. You haven’t got a sword on you, by any chance?”

Marcus gave her a flat look.

"I take it that's a no," said Mikoto quickly. "Good to know. It was worth a try to ask."

"We've been kidnapped, right before our bro's wedding. I'm pretty sure it was deliberate. That means someone doesn't want the happy couple to be wed. Of course they'd frikkin' take away anything on us that might remotely be considered a weapon."

Mikoto glared at him again before smoothing out her dark skirt again. Her fingers tapped along the wall for a few minutes until a proverbial light bulb went off in her head. "I have it, Marcus!"

"Have what?" said Marcus.

She pointed to her hair, which had been twisted up into a braided knot on the sides of her head. "What do you think is keeping this bloody mass of hair in place. Surely not gravity."

"Hairpins! Of course." Marcus grinned at her. "A thieves' best friend is a good sturdy hairpin. Do you know how to pick locks, little miss?"

Mikoto rolled  her eyes at the nickname, but nodded. "My brother tried to teach me a good many things, and luckily for us, lock picking was the lesson I was best at.” She moved her fingers up to the mass of tendrils, intent on untangling it as quickly as possible. "It is fortunate for us that I hadn’t cut my hair all off, like I keep threatening to at least once a day. However, as soon as I get home, I may actually follow through on that particular threat."

"How many pins you got?" asked Marcus, quickly sidestepping the issue of her hair. Some things were far better left untouched, and that issue in particular was no exception.

"A dozen," she replied, surveying the neat pile in her lap. "That should be enough, right?"

"Maybe." Marcus took a minute to peer through the crack in the wall. "I think we're on the first or second floor of this building, whatever it is. Honestly, I'm not sure if we're not meant to get out easily. The place is freakishly quiet."

"I think we might be expected to try and free ourselves. We're just the bait." Mikoto tapped one fingernail, chewed to the quick, against the pile of hairpins as she thought. "I have a feeling they want one of our friends instead. Of course, they don’t realize that we’re perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. I might not have saved the world, but I’m no fool."

“So we’re just the bait, you say?” Marcus considers this carefully. “But what if I don’t want to be the bait? It sounds like a pretty crap job to me.”

“Oh it is,” agreed Mikoto. “Which is why we need to be, dare I say it? Sneaky.”

“You’re talking to a bona fide member of Tantalus,” replied Marcus. He stood up, leaning against the wall for support. “I can do sneaky in my sleep.”

“Rest.” Mikoto tucked the hairpins in the pocket of her skirt and waved him down. “No sense busting in when we’re not even one hundred percent yet. At the moment, our best course of action would be to wait.”

“I hate waiting.” Marcus rolled his eyes, but obliged her request, lying back down again. “Waiting around is the worst part.”

“We need to make sure we strike at the best possible moment,” replied Mikoto. “We only get one chance to make this work, Marcus. It has to be at the most advantageous time for us. Remember, at the moment, we’re just two against the world.”

“So we wait?” Marcus snorted, but sighed. “We wait. What do we do while we wait?”

“Sleeping sounds good.” Mikoto turned to her side, curled into something resembling a fetal positon, pillowed her hands under her head, and proceeded to do just that.

Marcus watched the entire process with clear amusement. “She’s something else.”

---

“Where is my sister?” Zidane was pacing back and forth across a small waiting room just outside of the grand ballroom, as wedding planners and caters scurried around him. His tail kept twitching anxiously as he tried to capture the attention of anyone who would listen to the soon-to-be Prince Consort of Alexandria.

“Miss Mikoto? I know not of her,” replied one particularly skittish waiter. When Zidane shook his head and allowed him to leave, the waiter was so flustered that he toppled over into the ice sculpture currently being assembled over the dining table.

“Are you tormenting the staff?” came a cool voice from the ballroom wings. “I thought living in the palace was teaching you some manners, Zidane.”

“Can it, Freya.” Zidane gave a frustrated sigh. “I haven’t seen Mikoto. She promised to get here early to help me out, and this isn’t like her at all.”

Freya considered Zidane's words carefully, her arms crossed over her chest in quiet contemplation. "Are you sure that's what she said, Zidane?"

His tail twitched in obvious agitation before he replied. "She was all, Zidane, I'll be there early on the day of to help with any last minute details, and for Terra's sake, don't still be in bed mid-morning. It won't end well if you still are."

"I always did like your sister." Freya adjusted the hem of her dress carefully. "This is serious. But you already know that. Should we ask Steiner and Beatrix about the situation?"

"Why do we need to talk to Rusty?" Zidane rolled his eyes.

"Because, perhaps, the two of them are the head of your security?" Freya gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head. "No matter. I will discuss the implications behind your sister's disappearce with them myself. Is there anyone else from the wedding party who is presently unaccounted for?"

Zidane's expression grew harried as he considered the implications behind Freya's words. "None that I know of. Why? Do you know something that I don't?"

"Maybe," replied the dragon knight carefully. "It appears that Marcus has been considered missing as well."

"What? One of my bros? What gives? And why didn't anyone tell me about this before?" Zidane sighed, completely taken aback by the latest revaluation. All that he wanted right now was to go find Dagger. She'd probably still be dressing over in her room right now. He could make it there pretty quickly... just a few windows to break and a wall or two to climb....

"Zidane!" Freya's impatient tone broke through he daydreams. "Are you even listening? I was trying to explain that Marcus apparently did not arrive on the airship from Lindblum, as expected."

"Yeah, yeah, I gathered that much," Zidane said briskly, ducking out of the way of a well-timed slap to the back of the head, courtesy of Freya. "But what does this all mean?

"I think it means that a few investigations are in order," admitted Freya carefully after a few moments of thought. "Unfortunately..."

"It means I'm going to have to cancel my wedding, isn't that what that means?" Zidane begins unloosening the tie around his neck, more than a little eager to be rid of it.  "I can't say I'm going to be upset at a chance to get out of that freak show."

"What are we going to tell everyone?" Steiner busts into the waiting room, his armor clanking around like usual. Apparently years of peace had done little to ease the jangle in his walk, made even more disturbing by the fact that he was wearing a fine, rust-free, shiny suit of armor, unmarred from years of travel and hardship. Freya supposed that Beatrix had helped him into the far more formal armor set earlier that day.

"Tell 'em that the groom decided he couldn't get married without all of his brothers and sisters at the ceremony," suggested Zidane sarcastically as the fine jacket was tossed off and into a pile with the tie. "Dagger wouldn't want that, either. Especially if Freya's right and something horrible's happened to them."

"We don't know that--" Freya tried to correct, but she was cut off.

"We don't know that? Freya. You just came in here and told me that Mikoto and Marcus were both missing. That's not like either of them. Okay," said Zidane, "it's kind of like Marcus to oversleep and miss his ride over, but he has got like the best sense of timing ever. There's no way he'd just abandon his family on a day like today. He'd be damn sure to be on time for whatever it was. Something just isn't right."

"No, it's not." Steiner sighed and his armor clinked together. "But what can we tell the people? Again, there are hundreds of people out there, wanting to see their queen and her beau wed. Despite how much of a rapscallion the groom is, I don't think it would be best to disappoint the people so."

"Nice to see the love's still there, Rusty," said Zidane as his cuff links joined the rest of the discarded clothing on the floor. "Maybe we can just postpone the wedding a few hours? Give everyone some food and some booze, and it'd be all right, dude."

"He may have a point," said Freya carefully. "No need to state it so crudely. But perhaps we can entertain the guests with some entertainment and a little refreshment while we have a group do some searching around in Lindblum as to the cause of the current situation."

“Sounds like a plan.” Zidane is off and running, skipping out of the room without missing a beat.

Both Steiner and Freya exchange a glance at each other, identical exasperated expressions upon their faces.

---

“Dagger!” Zidane entered the queen’s chamber at a breakneck pace, causing her handmaidens to react unkindly to his appearance.  Some of the younger maids (who found the soon-to-be Prince Consort rather fetching) giggled, whereas the few older attendants scowled at Zidane for daring to break a decades-old tradition.

“Hey, hey!” Zidane held his hands up in defeat as he tried to weave his way through the piles of snowy white fabric. “It’s an emergency, so stop looking at me like I’m about to make off with somebody’s head or something.”

“Or their chastity,” replied Garnet smoothly as she ushered her attendants out of the room quickly. Once it was just her and her fiancé in the dressing room, she awkwardly moved bunches of skirt and train out of the way so she could lean against her wardrobe.

“I already made off with that.” Zidane’s tone is definitely not lacking in smugness.

Garnet ignores the blush blooming over her cheeks and coughs. “To the point, Zidane, what is this emergency that you speak of?”

“Mikoto isn’t here, and neither is Marcus. I have no idea what’s happened to them, and Freya isn’t sure either.”

“You’ve already consulted with Freya on this?” Garnet tapped her fingers along the wood of the wardrobe side, currently thinking the situation through. “Does anyone else know?”

“Steiner said he and Beatrix could stall the guests if we wanted to go to Lindblum to investigate. Maybe it’s something as simple as a missed fight,” said Zidane carefully.

Garnet shook her head, already trying to squirm out of the pounds of fabric. “You think otherwise.”

“Call it a hunch.” Zidane started helping her out of the gown, but Garnet’s hands slapped at his, pushing his fingers away from where it was currently trying to rub against the exposed skin along her spine. His tail was not to be deterred, however, and it slid under the miles of skirt, rubbing along her ankle with practiced ease. It worked of its own accord, sliding along her leg, along to the back of her knees before Garnet managed to tug her leg free.

Not a good idea,” she said. “Knowing you, your hand or more likely, your tail, will undoubtedly roam to other areas, and if your hunch is correct, then time is most definitely of the essence. Your need to grope every inch of my exposed skin will have to wait."

“I thought you liked it,” said Zidane cheekily, but he obliged her, moving out of the way so she could undo the knots herself.

“Time and place,” replied Garnet. “There is always a time and a place. This is neither of those times. Tell me, what do you think is going on with Mikoto? Or Marcus? Have you any hunches?”

Zidane waited patiently for her to change into something more suitable for investigating. “A few hunches, I guess you could say. I’m not sure if they’re going to be good hunches or not, but I think the first thing to do is to get to Lindblum. That’s where Mikoto was going to be flying in from, and Tantalus was there last.”

“Why didn’t Mikoto come with Freya? I had thought she was in Burmecia!” Garnet tugged on a blouse and pants before slipping into well-worn boots. “She is something else.”

“She likes to travel,” said Zidane easily as he quickly changed as well. “He’s something of a nomad, I guess. Can’t stay in one place for too long, save the Black Mage Village. But she’s a good kid, more like a young woman these days, I guess, and hell, I went through a whole couldn’t keep my feet still phase when I was younger too. It must be in the blood.”

Garnet chuckles wryly. “And here you were so worried that neither of you would have anything in common.”

“We don’t have a whole lot in common,” said Zidane. “But she’s family. You take care of family. Even if they don’t think they need you to.”

“Because that’s when they need it most.” Garnet reached for his hand, squeezing it gently as they walked down the hallway together.

“Right, Dagger.” Zidane smiled at their joined hands. “Now. Let’s figure out how to get to Lindblum so we can do some investigating.”

---

Mikoto stared at the wall carefully. "Marcus. I think it's time to act. No, I know that it is time to act. We've got to move. The time is now.”

Marcus, who had been sleeping on the cold wood floor rather fitfully, quickly sat up and cracked his back. “This floor sucks.”

“Hush,” said Mikoto sharply as she pressed her ear to the crack in the wall. “I’m trying to stage an offense here. You’re not being helpful.”

“I’m supposed to be helpful?” said Marcus carefully.

“I need a warm body,” she replied, her tone just as cautious.

"That's all you need me for?" Marcus leaned against the cool wood of the wall, his foot tapping impatiently against the dirty stone of the floor. "Really?"

Mikoto didn't answer. She was pounced along the floor, eager to make her own move. Her torso remained ramrod straight as she kept listening.

"Mik?" Marcus settled down along her side. He was significantly taller than she, so he leaned over her head, peering through cracks in the wall as she kept looking. "I think we're all alone. Have we been all alone this whole time?"

"I don't know." She had moved to the door, her hairpins wiggling furiously in the knob as she tried to jimmy the uncooperative lock open. "I thought I heard voices earlier, before we tried to rest. But now it's ...too quiet. I think that something bad is about to go down. It's too quiet. Too calm. Things aren't meshing."

"So you want to go out and bust into the middle of things? Unarmed. Mikoto, that's pretty stupid." But Marcus was already easing her out of the way so he could undo the lock more quickly.

"I need you to be my warm body." She pointed out, rubbing her side as she glared at Marcus. The glare softened, however, when he managed to get the door unlocked far faster than she possibly could have.

"Your shield?" said Marcus dryly as he tried the door experimentally.  "Touche, Mik."

"Well. I would have healed you." Mikoto smirked, but carefully opened the door, letting her eyes peer down the hallway cautiously. "It's really empty out there. I don't think that's good. What the heck is going on?"

"Do you really want to question it? Let's get out of this hellhole and try and figure out a way back to Zidane and the rest of the gang." Marcus stepped out of the doorway, out into the hall. "Normally, I'd be all ladies first, 'cause Boss did teach me some manners, but in this case..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you find a weapon?" asked Mikoto in a whisper.

Marcus scanned the hallway. "Not unless dust bunnies can be used for a lethal offense."

"Damn." She took a careful step out of the room behind Marcus, her senses on high alert.  

Together, the two of them took careful steps down the dim hallway. Mikoto kept one hand along the wall as she followed her sense of direction, pointing out the way that Marcus should lead the duo as she took careful steps behind him. Eventually, they came to the end of the hall, where a heavy wooden door blocked the way. Marcus sighed and knelt down to undo that lock as well. This door led to a peculiar staircase that led both down and up.

Mikoto considered it carefully. "We should go up."

"To the roof?" Marcus gave her a curious look. "But we need to get out so we can go home. And honey, even you can't defy gravity."

"I can at least try to fly," she said airily as she started lightly making her way up the stone staircase.

"Mik! That doesn't make any sense." Marcus followed her anyway. If they didn't trust each other, then where would they be?

True to Mikoto's prediction, the staircase led up to the roof, and she had to blink at the sudden onslaught of bright light. "Goodness. I think we're on the um.... looks like the Outer Continent."

"How would you know that?" Marcus followed her outside through the trapdoor, sitting carefully in the center of the roof.

"Because I do." She carefully walked toward the ledge, looking down at the ground below them. "I think we're only about two stories up, maybe three. I could jump it in a pinch. If I needed to."

"You are a strange lady." Marcus sighed. "Does that mean we need to jump?"

"Unless you know some other way of getting down." Mikoto closed her eyes and held her arms out. "Better now before they realized we've let ourselves out."

“You are not seriously going to try and throw yourself off, wait, don’t answer that,” said Marcus. “I know the answer to that.”

“Don’t ask questions when you’re not sure about the response.” Mikoto pressed her lips together. The drop down was a lot farther than she anticipated. However, the sound of clunky footsteps behind her had her hesitating ever so slightly. Marcus, despite his bulky stature, was an artist and a thief by trade. His footsteps were quiet and unassuming, so as not to attract attention to himself, or away from a scene at hand. No. The footsteps coming up behind her were that of something else.

Most likely guards, she thought as he toes curled over the ledge. From the sounds of it, Marcus was attempting to fight with at least three of them. Knowing Marcus, he’d probably go down swinging, and that wouldn’t do anyone any good. That left Mikoto with only one choice, as far as she could see.

It was time to take that chance. Whirling around quickly, Mikoto closed her eyes, and felt herself enter the fray. It didn’t take much, just a few good hits here and there, and soon enough, Mikoto could feel the beginnings of her Trance. She didn’t care for it, and thought of it as a kind of cheap trick on the best occasions. It was her ace in the hole, the secret she never ever told anyone about before.

But sure enough, there she was, aglow in a deep purple haze of feathers and just… glow.  The agonizing pain associated with this state of hers made her cringe a little, and she bit back a scream as she felt the feathery fur cover her from head to toe. Once she felt like the change was complete, she pounced. Knowing that her time was limited at best, Mikoto grabbed Marcus and did what she had intended to in the first place.

She finally let herself jump.

The landing wasn’t perfect. Mikoto wanted to keep Marcus from harm, so he landed gently, whereas she took the brunt of the blow. Even though she was covered in sparkly purple feathers and the equivalent of a fur bikini, she was not meant to fly. It didn’t help that she hit the ground hard, tumbling over the packed soil and grass around her as she tried to make sense of things going on around her.

She shivered once the word stopped spinning around her, but when she tried to sit up, the spinning seemed to center exactly on around her head, and when Mikoto brought her head up to her face, she paled slightly at the sight of the blood that appeared on her palm.  She’d never been good with blood.

“My landing needs work.” And with that understatement of the year, Mikoto allowed herself to black out.

“Geez, woman,” said Marcus, taken aback at the bruised and bloody form of the girl before him. Taking care to not jostle her wounds further, he picked her up and carted her away to the forest in the distance, needing to take cover while the two of them considered their next course of action.

He hoped that she would wake up soon. Her face was growing paler, but her breathing remained steady, so he tried not to worry. Marcus swore under his breath and hoped someone realized they were missing by now. But how long would it take for the search party to find them? They were stranded in the middle of nowhere. He pushed those dark thoughts aside as he looked for a good hiding spot. There were more important things at stake right now.

---

Zidane was pacing back and forth along the deck of the simple airship he and Dagger had used for the journey to Lindblum today, his mind calculating a plan feverishly in his mind. Somehow, he had to figure out what was wrong with his sister and his close friend. All of his instincts were on high alert, and all seemed to believe that something was most horribly wrong. Things just weren’t making any sense.

“How are you feeling?” whispered Garnet as she ventured into his personal space, her heels clicking along the wood of the floor as they made their way to the airship docks at Lindblum Castle. She stopped just in front of Zidane, not eager to get in the way of his frantic pacing.

Zidane’s tail twitched back and forth and he kept pacing, his thoughts moving a million miles a minute as he tried to make sense of all that had been happened so far. Had things not gone so horribly screwy, he could have been marrying Dagger right about now. The thought sent a chill down his spine, and he stopped his pacing, instead reaching out for her hand.

Dagger made no attempt to break the silence or ask another question, instead curling her fingers around his. She managed a soft smile as his tail curled around her waist. Together, the two of them watched as the airship docked, and they remained joined together as they waited to figure out what to do next.  

---

Mikoto was wounded, and this was going to make things difficult, realized Marcus as he struggled to support the young woman as the two of them took shelter in the leafy forest. As far as he could infer the forest was directly north of where they had been taken hostage, and it was a convienent enough place to lie low while they waited their next course of action.

Still, it wouldn’t do them any good if Mikoto bled out in the meantime. With a sigh, he ripped his shirt at the sleeves, creating a temporary bandage along her left leg as he worked to stop her bleeding. “Seriously, how the hell did you fuck yourself up so badly?”

Mikoto gave a rueful little laugh and remained as still as possible as Marcus did his best to administer first aid to her. “This is why I say I’m not a mage. Magic never ends well with me.”

“You could have died.” Marcus sighs and bandages yet another wound. “I’m sure falling off the roof of a building didn’t help.”

“It’s not the fall, but the landing that kills you,” said Mikoto quietly. “And it was the safest thing to do at the time.”

"What do you mean it was the safest thing at the time?" asked Marcus, raising an eyebrow at Mikoto curiously. "Next you'll be telling me you're part psychic or something."

"Well." There's a long pause. Mikoto closes her eyes.

"Wait." Marcus ripped off his other sleeve and started bandaging more of Mikoto's wounds. "You're telling me you are psychic?"

"A little bit psychic," she replied softly, eyes still closed. "I guess you could say. I personally like to think that I'm slightly deranged. Perhaps a bit of an oracle."

"You are one weird girl." Marcus stared at her, his heartbeat racing as he considered their next course of action. Sure, he didn't save the world like Zidane had, but he did help, in more ways than one. Who was sent out to get the Supersoft for bro? Who managed to free old Rusty from the palace. That's right. He had helped, with a rusty broadsword and his quick wit, and he'd be damned if he let anything happen to one of his bro's little sisters.

Besides, Mikoto was a formidable person, thought Marcus wryly. What she'd been through would have most grown men flat on their asses for a week or more, after being in a coma for twice that length of time. Sure, she wasn't about to go participate in any marathons anytime soon, but she was fairly alert and fairly mobile. It was more than he could say of himself sometimes.

"Yes, I am," said Mikoto quietly. "I'm weird. I like weird."

"No arguments here," said Marcus quickly. "Now, you know where we are, right? How do you suppose we get to Alexandria? Or Lindblum? Or pretty much anywhere that isn't here."

Mikoto shook her head and opened her eyes. "We shouldn't go anywhere. There are still people after us, and I need to keep up my strength. Or rather, I need to rest. You should to. We need to find a safe place to rest while we wait for reinforcements."

"Did your little psychic brain tell you that?" asked Marcus.

"You could say that, maybe." Mikoto attempted to stand, but she was wobbly on her feet. Marcus immediately leaned into offer support, and she sighed, but accepted the help, wincing as her leg and her arm were jostled on the uneven terrain. "The landing really is what hurts."

Marcus offered a soft chuckle. He really wasn't in that much better shape than she was, having been punched around quite a few times over the course of their grand escape. "Do you think we can even find somewhere to hide?"

"We have to. There is no can, there is just do." Mikoto sighed and walked on, her eyes scanning the terrain feverishly for any sign of a cave, hole, or other slightly adequate hiding spot.

"You know, you're really not so bad," said Marcus conversationally as he gently guided her further north. She might be the one who was a little bit psychic, but every single bone in his body was telling him that they needed to go north in order to make this work. She didn't have a monopoly on instincts, and as a thief, he felt like he knew a fair few things about staying alive in dire situations.

"Oh, I'm so grateful you think of me that way," said Mikoto, her tone dripping with sarcasm. However, the tiny smile made it perfectly clear that she was starting to warm to her unlikely companion as well.

They walked for what seemed like miles. Things eventually settled into a comfortable silence between the two, and the quiet that surrounded them was calming. Together the two of them discovered a small stream. Exchanging satisfied smiles, they knew that following the stream would lead to some kind of salvation.

"Streams are good things, right?" asked Marcus softly, speaking for the first time in several hours.

"It's a good thing to follow." Mikoto leaned against Marcus's side, her body growing weary from all of the physical exertion she had done already today. I do not think that we are being followed, but a stream would be good at helping us cover our tracks if it were to be the case."

"You've got a point." Carefully, Marcus helped her into the shallow stream. Fully dressed, the two of them carefully tried to scrub off as much dried blood and dirt that they could manage.

"That's disgusting," muttered Mikoto softly as she watched the trails of mud and gunk trail downstream in swirls of black on top of the clear water. "Really gross."

"It's life." Marcus pooled water in his hands before using it to scrub the back of his neck. "Looks like I'll get a few new scars from today."

Mikoto sat in the stream, studying the mark on her leg curiously. She had taken off the makeshift bandage to clean it, which enabled her to stare at the long thin line running around her knee and thigh. Cure spells and potions could make all the difference in the world when it came to helping heal life-threatening injuries, but they were only useful when used immediately after the injury was obtained. When time passed, like in this current case, the chances of the wound healing quickly and cleaning diminished significantly.

Mikoto knew that she wouldn't die, but she would definitely be held up for a couple of days while trying to let her various bumps and bruises heal. She already wanted to sleep for at least a week. However, they had to keep going. The adrenaline was wearing off, which made the goings even more slow and difficult. She glanced at Marcus out of the corner of her eye as she retied her bandages. He already had a brilliant black eye forming under the bare edges of  his bandanna, and his arms and legs were covered in a fascinating array of bruises and cuts. She figured the cuts were shallow, but she worried about bruising along his ribs.

The thoughts about checking for bruising were quickly pushed aside when Marcus actually took off his shirt to wash it, revealing decent muscle definition and even more colorful bruises. Mikoto bit her lip, then shook her head abruptly when she realized she was staring at him and not inspecting the bruises like she should be doing. With a sigh, she dusted off her skirt and stood, splashing over to him in the calf-deep water. Now was not the time to find one's brother's friends moderately attractive.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, wringing out his shirt.

"Better. Tired. Sore." Mikoto blew a piece of hair out of her face and offered him a tiny, careful smile. "How are you? Those bruises look terrible."

"Not that deep," insisted Marcus. "I'm a lot better off than you were. You shielded my fall, more or less. Your face is getting some color back in it."

"And your eye is horrible," replied Mikoto. "How can you see?"

"Not very well," admitted Marcus as he slipped his shirt back on. "But now is not the time or place. Are you ready to head out again?"

Mikoto nodded. "Yes. Shelter. We need shelter. "

---

Zidane skulked around Tantalus's hideout in Lindblum, figuring it to be a sensible place to start looking for clues. Garnet tried to help, but once she realized that he was on a tear of his own, she realized that her time and effort would be far better spent staying out of the whirlwind that was currently masquerading as her fiancé. Taking care to not trip over his tail as it swished back and forth along the dirty floor, she jumped up to the top bunk and left Zidane to continue his investigations.

"Find anything?" Garnet dared to ask only after a few tense minutes had passed, most of them spent watching Zidane tear apart the already fairly messy hideout.

"No," said Zidane after a few moments of quiet contemplation. "I don't see anything here. That means Marcus wasn't abducted from the hideout."

"Does Mikoto ever come to the hideout?" asked Garnet as she nimbly hopped down from her perch, reaching out for Zidane tentatively.

He offered a small smile and wrapped his tail protectively along her ankle. "Once. That I know of, at least. I wanted to teach her how to play poker."

"And?" asked Dagger, lips quirking into a smile as she formulated her own conclusion as to what happened next.

Zidane's tail tapped her calf. "She beat the pants off of all of us. Literally."

"I'm not surprised." Garnet untangled her leg from his tail and brushed her gloves across her pants. "Come on now. We've got to go investigate Mikoto's room at the inn."

Zidane linked his arm through hers and led them both out into the bustling Theatre District. "Well, let's go then already."

Together, the two of them set off for the aircabs to the Business district. The cab that they had taken to Tantalus's hideout had been full of people, what with it having been near the end of the lunch rush. This time, though, it was very quiet at the station. The hairs on the back of Zidane's neck perked up as he began to get the feeling that something just wasn't right.

He held Garnet close to his side and whispered in her ear. "Something seems off. I'm wondering if the air cabs might have had anything to do with it. Don't you think it's way too quiet? Play along."

Garnet didn't have to be told twice, and her arm curled around Zidane's waist as she made it appear to any outsiders watching in that her lover was simply whispering sweet nothings in her ear instead of useful information. Zidane shamelessly kissed her on the mouth, attempting to act playful and carefree. The way his fingers tensed around Garnet's hip was the only outlying indication that things were not right in his world.

"We're in public," hissed Garnet, a blush that she couldn't fake grazing her features.

"Work with me, Dagger," whispered Zidane back. He nuzzled her nose gently before pulling away and leading her over toward a bench near the farthermost corner of the station. Attempting to look nonchalant, his tail ducked under the seat in a valiant attempt to search for anything resembling a clue.

"Find anything?" she asked, her head curling over his shoulder as she took in a careful study of the view behind them.

"Nope. You?" Zidane moved his arm down slowly to rub her back, letting his fingers trace along the edge of her spine.

Garnet shivered, but kept her expression neutral as she swatted his hip. "Be nice, dear. And not really."

The aircab lurched toward them just then, and Zidane reluctantly peeled himself away from his fiancée in order to climb aboard. There were a few people on the cab, mostly merchants and one mother with two small children. Zidane took an empty seat near the back, and Garnet primly sat next to him.

The cab jostled to life shortly thereafter, all clunky movements and loud noises. Zidane wrapped an arm around Garnet again to steady her while they made their way to the Business District. Garnet leaned back in the seat when something most peculiar poked her in the side. Arching an arm back to investigate, she felt her fingers brush along fabric, which she tugged at, twisting in her seat to get a firm grip on it.

"So, what did you find, Dag?" asked Zidane, letting go of her to get a closer look.

Garnet set the token in her lap and gave him an odd look. "It looks like a bandanna, and a... oh!"

"Oh what, Dagger?" asked Zidane.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "This is the hair pin I had made for all my bridesmaids as a present. It must be Mikoto's."

"I think the bandanna looks like one of Marcus's," said Zidane quietly after staring at the fabric for a long moment. "That means they were here."

---

“Where are you taking me?” asked Mikoto as she rolled her eyes and hobbled after Marcus, her left leg throbbing with pain. “Did you find shelter?”

“Something like that.” Marcus sighed and pointed west. “I think there’s a little clearing past this. It looks like there was a path here once. It’s gonna rain soon, and I don’t want to be out in this muck and shit.”

“We’re going to be out in it,” muttered Mikoto under her breath, but she kept that to herself before curling up her tail and letting it flick at a branch in the way. “Okay. Fine. Shelter. Lead the way.”

---

They eventually made their way to shelter, a thick little alcove hidden behind some trees  that looked to provide enough of a sanctuary from the rain that would be sure to fall soon. It wasn't pretty, but it was dry and warm. After taking a good look at Marcus, he knew that dry and warm would have to be enough for now. Taking the trembling Mikoto aside, he carefully helped her settle in under a makeshift bed of leaves. The small ledge of rock would prove to be as much coverage as they were going to get, and he hoped the coming storm wouldn't be too fierce.

"There we go Mikoto, a nice place for you to rest. Rest, away from whatever's been chasing after us and making our lives kind of whatever the hell it's been the past few days. Do you have any idea who those kind of guys were?"

Mikoto is hurt, and potentially feverish at the moment, and it's pretty clear that she's not planning to talk anytime soon. She's shivering, and at the moment, she can barely talk.

"Oh, right." Marcus sighed and tapped his fingers along the rocky ledge. "You're in no shape to be company at the moment. But the silence is seriously creeping me out."

"Yeah." Mikoto blinked, her eyes opening cautiously as she glanced up at Marcus. "You said something."

"Nothing that important." Marcus set about trying to figure out a good spot for a fire, away from anywhere where the rain could potentially soak it out, but also somewhere with decent ventilation. Mikoto was injured enough. Surely she didn't need to add burns and smoke inhalation to her myriad list of injuries.  However, he was having a terrible time figuring out where or how to start the fire.

"I wonder if they're still chasing after us." Mikoto tried to sit up, but she groaned and stayed down on her little leaf and moss bed. "Duke and the Lord. That's who they are. I know it."

"How the hell do you know that, Mikoto?"  Marcus gave her a very startled glance. "Mik?"

"I haven't a clue." She let her eyes close. "Do you think it's safe if I fall asleep now?"

Marcus finds a corner, close enough to where Mikoto is lying, but far enough away from the rain, which has just started coming down in sheets, soaking the ground around them and creating a loud, disconcerting rumble in the air. "I think so. The rain's going to keep anyone from searching for us today, for sure. As for the rest, well, I don't think you've got a concussion. Some nasty scrapes, and a fever, but I think sleep will do you good, Mikoto."

"Right." Mikoto cracked her eyes open, and wrinkled her nose at the half-assed attempts he's making at starting the fire. Even though she knows that she probably shouldn't, she's using a little black magic to the kindling going, and soon enough, a comfortable fire is providing warmth and light in the small hiding place.

Marcus watched the whole thing with a mix of admiration and amusement in his eyes. "Not a mage, my ass."

"You weren't doing a very good job of it on your own," she replied.

"Oh, I think that sounds more like the Mikoto I know." He sighed, glad to hear the familiar sarcastic bite in her voice. "And here I thought you'd need me to be your personal nurse for a while longer."

"I bounce back quickly," Mikoto said, offering a wry smile to cross her features. However, another attempt to sit up caused another wince, and with a sigh, she settled back down. "But not that quickly yet."

"You get some rest," said Marcus gently, reaching over to tug at her pigtail, now a frazzled, frizzy mess, gently. "Heal up so you can go kick some more ass if you need to later. We gotta keep our strength up until Zidane comes in with the calvary."

"I know Zidane will find us," she said gently, tugging her jacket over her in lieu of a blanket. "I have a very good feeling about it."

"And you always have very good feelings about that kind of stuff, I'm quickly figuring out, you know?" Marcus smiled and added his jacket to Mikoto's. "The fire's almost ready. That'll help you stop shivering. I hope. So yeah, just like sleep and stuff, and I'll keep an eye out. You can do your freaky genome magic stuff in the morning, like, if you want to."

"Oh, geez, thanks for that," she mumbled, but she clutches the jacket tightly and is already practically asleep. Her eyes drift shut with a quiet smile.

"You know, she looks almost innocent when she's sleeping. Almost. Good thing I know better. " Marcus chuckled and tended the fire slightly.  

He still wasn't sure how Mikoto had managed to get the name of their two nefarious kidnappers, but he also knew it wasn't something to inquire about until she had rested some. He only hoped her freaky genome powers worked well as a signal. Otherwise they'd have a hell of a time contacting Zidane. With a sigh, he pushed those thoughts aside and reached over for his makeshift club. It was his turn to keep her safe.

---

Zidane sat up in his bed on the Alexandrian airship. "Dagger!"

"Uh, what, er?" Garnet hadn't intended to fall asleep, but somehow she had anyway. And from the feel of it, the sleep had been deep, complete with a dream of herself and Zidane lounging on the beach, happy and content. It had been a lovely and soothing and absolutely wonderful dream. However, judging her fiancé's haggard expression, he'd not slept at all. She knew she probably shouldn't be surprised by this, and she mentally scolded herself for allowing herself to doze off so solidly during such a situation.

"Dagger, wake up!" He tapped her shoulder gently. "I know where Mikoto is."

"You --do, what?" Garnet sat up in the bed, sleepiness edging away as the urgency of the currently situation crept back into her sleep-deprived brain. "How?"

"You fell asleep," he said. "And I wasn't about to wake you, because you needed your rest. Yes, you did, Dagger," he added quickly when she opened her mouth to protest. "It's okay, really."

"But I was going to stay up with you! Two members of your family are missing," she protested. "It somehow seems wrong for me to sleep in my nice warm bed."

Zidane kissed her cheek gently. "Being sick isn't going to help the search any, Dagger. And what if they are injured? You're the best white mage I know."

"You're biased," she managed after a few flustered seconds.

"Of course I am. I'm marrying you, right?" Zidane rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Anyway. My point is that I moved you to the bed so you'd be comfortable, then I went to sit down with you, and anyway, I fell asleep. Or something, because Mikoto spoke to me. Like a dream? A vision? A hallucination? I don't really care, but whatever, I saw her. And she was hurt. There was a bad storm, and Marcus was with her, and they'd hidden in the forest, you know the one we met Ragtime Mouse in ages ago?"

Garnet carefully processes all of this information, then managed a nod. "And you think you remember the area where they're hiding?"

"Yes. I know it." Zidane looked honestly hopeful for perhaps the first time since Freya had told him both Mikoto and Marcus were nowhere to be found. The wedding had long since been canceled, no longer merely postponed, and Dagger was eager to find Mikoto and Marcus before she was forced to return to Alexandria.

"Well, inform the airship driver, then. Shall I wake him up?" asked Garnet. "I'm going with you."

"I'll wake him up, and thanks, Dagger. You know I want you with me. Can you stay away from Alexandria for a few more days? I know you're going to have to explain the wedding fiasco to the stuffed suits...."

Garnet kissed him gently, interrupting his rant most effectively. "I'll worry about that after your family is safe. They're going to be my family too soon, right? Unless you'd rather not reschedule the wedding."

"Oh, we're definitely getting married," said Zidane quickly as he started tugging on a clean shirt and fixing his unkempt hair. "This whole situation has only made me even more sure of that than before."

----

The storm isn't nearly as fierce when they arrive in the forested area, but it's still drizzling and miserable and just overall pretty disgusting. Garnet is clutching her racket tightly, she tucked more potions into her small bag before wrapping it securely around her. "We need to be prepared before we go gallivanting off into the wilderness, Zidane. I know you want to save them. I know you have to save them. But there are people out there who have a grudge against both of us. They tried to ruin our wedding." Garnet made a displeased face at that. "So hand me another potion."

"You're clearly taking your duties as best white mage I know seriously," quipped Zidane as he stuffed every potion he could find into her bag. "I think I might have a lead on who's leading the charge against this crime."

"Oh?" Garnet looks intrigued.

"I didn't mention it earlier in all the excitement." Zidane looked sufficiently sheepish.  "I was so excited that Mikoto and Marcus were all right that I forgot the rest of it."

"Well, you've remembered it now, then?" She raised her eyebrow, trying to encourage him to continue.

Zidane nodded. "Yeah. A duke and a lord. I think those are their aliases, but they could also be their ranks. Mikoto knew that? She mentioned it or something. I think she picked it up from when she escaped whoever had kidnapped her and Marcus. It was like she just ...knew."

"Intuitively?" asked Garnet. At Zidane's nod, she continued on with her thoughts. "Okay. That's odd, but considering some of the stuff I've seen you do, you know what, I'm going to go with it. However, psychic powers won't stand up as proof in front of the Council members. I'm going to see if I can send a letter to Beatrix via the moogles. She and Steiner and Freya can do some investigating. If we point them in the right direction, perhaps their network can provide the concrete evidence."

"I love it when you get all logical on me." Zidane attempted to kiss Garnet, but she merely smiled and walked over to the door frame. "It's nice to see that you're acting like yourself again I was really worried. However, now is not the time."

"Oh, you're just playing hard to get," he teased, but made no move to kiss her again. "Anything else I can do in the meantime, Dag?"

"Not yet. We'll be landing at the coordinates you gave the pilot in the next couple of hours, and then all that's left to do is find Mikoto and Marcus. All things considered, we're making the best of it."

"We're not out of the woods yet, because we don't have them back yet. And we still need names and proof for whoever did this to them," said Zidane carefully. "So don't relax just yet."

"Of course not." Dagger rapped her fist against the wood of the door frame twice before heading out in search of the moogle on board the airship.

---

The night passed with relative ease for Mikoto and Marcus. The rain had proved heavy, but their little makeshift shelter did not flood, a fact that Marcus was grateful for in the morning. Mikoto, however, was feeling far less relieved in the light of the morning. Her sleep had been fitful at best, full of wild, feverish dreams. She'd alternated between being hot and freezing all evening long, and she looked haggard as the sun rose the next morning. The day was still gray and gloomy, with the sun hiding behind the clouds for the most part.

"You look terrible, girl," said Marcus when he glanced at her carefully in the hazy light of the fire the next day. "Did you sleep at all?"

"You haven't slept either," said Mikoto, her tone clipped but lacking in its usual bite. "Were you really keeping guard all night long?"

Marcus shrugged and poked at the fire gently with a stick, pleased that the rain had not caused it to flicker or become extinguished over the course of that long, fitful night. "It wasn't like you were in any shape to take care of yourself."

"I would if I had to," she snapped, bristling at his implication. Her tail was standing up on end, hairs prickling anxiously.

"But then you'd be in even worse shape then you are now." Marcus tapped his club along the stone wall with a sigh. "You've got more tricks up your sleeve than I do. But in order for them to work, you actually have to like, you know, be healthy. Healthier. Not at death's door."

"I was hardly at death's door." Mikoto said, but her hands trembled nervously.

Marcus shrugged. "It was scary, Mik. Zidane's my bro, and you're his little sister, and dammit, you looked so tiny."

"T-t-tiny?"

"Yes, Mikoto. Tiny." Marcus said, with a sigh. "I know you're a short thing, but you're usually all fire and spark. You chew out Zidane, tease all the bros, shout out some sarcastic reply, all of these rough edges and refined class. A big contradiction, but a vibrant one. Then yesterday, you just looked ...tiny. Like a teenager. Which you are, and it's weird, because you cover it up all the time and just seem so old and wise. So yeah, it was scary seeing you without that spark of yours."

"Oh." She blinked, unsure of what to make of this particular admission. "Well. I'm sorry?"

"You're not sorry, Mikoto. You never apologize, and that's part of what makes you well, you." Marcus coughed, and shook his head. "Come on. Let's figure out what we're going to do today. We have to get to a town or something so we can send a moogle out to Alexandria, and we're in the middle of nowhere, so..."

"Zidane's going to find us," said Mikoto quietly. "We need to stay where we are. He and Garnet are coming to us."

"Another psychic genome connection?" replied Marcus wryly. "Good for that."

"Hey, don't discount it. This makes things a great deal easier for us." Mikoto managed to sit up this time, and she leaned back against the uneven stone wall. "I could travel today if necessary, but the rest will be good for us both. And the awful weather kept our captors from looking for us today, but I doubt we'll be done with Duke and Lord yet."

"I can't believe you know who our kidnappers are." Marcus sat down next to Mikoto. She was right, they could both use the extra time to rest.

"I can't really believe it either," she admitted as they settled in to wait.

---

Zidane found Mikoto and Marcus, huddled together behind the fort of trees, both of them dripping wet and shivering madly. It was clear that it had been raining for hours before Zidane had been able to find them, and he cursed whatever fates had bandied together to hurt his sister and one of his closest friends so badly. With a sigh, he joined the two of them, holding each other closely, offering as much support as he could muster at the current time.

"Dagger's coming," he finally said after a long moment. "She'll heal, a little. Some of the injuries. How bad are you guys?"

Marcus shook his head. "I'm all right, just some bumps and bruises, but Mikoto? Mikoto isn't well. She like cut her leg real bad earlier and I think she either sprained or broke her wrist. Now she's so cold, Zid, and ...I think she's sick. Like with a cold or the flu or something."

"You look like hell, man," said Zidane after a moment. He took in the sight of the two of them, both resembling drowned rats, with a frown. He carefully tugged off his jacket and offered it to Mikoto. She was already wearing Marcus's vest, shivering violently and looking twice as pale as usual. It nearly made Zidane blanch with fear as he took in the sight of his little sister.

Mikoto remained silent, using what little strength she could muster to keep herself upright. Still though, she dreamed of warmth, of a cup of hot tea, a roaring fire, a nice cozy bed. Any of those little luxuries would be most welcomed right now, and those simple thoughts kept her going as she dazedly let Zidane wrap her up in the thick raincoat.

Garnet navigated her way through the bramble soon afterward, her hair getting caught in the pull of vines and branches that tried to impede her path. Zidane had cleared the way as best as he was able to with his daggers ahead of her, but the forest was merciless and Garnet had to do her best to keep up with it. Soon though, she found her fiancé with his arms wrapped around two lone figures who she immediately determined to be Mikoto and Marcus. Based on the look of things, something was definitely not right.

"Dagger!" Zidane's voice rang through the tiny space like a shot, one arm releasing its hold from around Marcus to gesture her forward. "Mikoto's really hurt, Dag."

"I'll see what I can do." She removed her cloak, setting it on the damp ground as Marcus and Zidane helped Mikoto lie still on top of it. With a sigh, Garnet dug in the pockets of her bag for several potions, which she politely handed to Marcus. "I tried to convince Zidane to carry a few to give you first, as he was leading the way and all, but he was so worried and went about it all in such a hurry that I was left carrying everything like a pack mule."

Zidane, at least, had the decency to look sheepish. "I was worried."

"I know you were." Garnet shook her head once before checking to see that Marcus was indeed taking his potion. Satisfied, she reached for her racket, using it to aid her as she gently cast a few high-level cure spells at the frazzled younger woman. The magic didn't heal her wounds completely, but color did return to her cheeks.

After a second casting, Mikoto was able to sit up on her own, and she'd stopped shivering so violently. "I want ...to get out of this damned rain."

"I hear you loud and clear," said Zidane as he helped his sister to her feet.  

Mikoto didn't particularly want her brother's help, but her legs still felt unsteady under her, so she was forced to accept the assistance with a sigh as the four of them made their way back through the maze of the forest towards the airship. Marcus, thanks to several potions and a healing spell from Garnet, was looking almost back to normal, save the tired look in his eyes and the faint flush of fever over his cheeks. In any case, Mikoto was very sure he looked far better than she did. She kept her eyes forward and her arm on her brother as she kept walking.

Garnet walked alongside Marcus, keeping a careful eye on the young man. He was so caught up in watching Mikoto that he didn't notice the queen's gentle stares. Garnet smirked and made a careful note of that in her head. Perhaps the time together had done them both some good.

---

“Now,” says the noble, Lord Harrisen, with a cough, “There is the matter of the Queen’s …second wedding. The people demand a state affair. It is their queen, and she should have all of the pomp and circumstance. What are we looking at, timetable wise, Branton, sir?” He glances over the rim of his square glasses towards the portly man to his right.

Harrisen quickly shuffles through some papers and eventually pulls out a calendar. “Another six months, at the very least. Nine would be better. We’ll have to order new flowers, speak to the symphony about playing again, hire more seamstresses to create new outfits…”

Garnet’s face grows more and more disappointed as Lord Harrisen keeps reading though his laundry list of preparations. Somewhere between “make new candles to float in the fountains” and “speak with the farmers about planting more crops” she has to bite her lip to keep from crying out.  

Zidane fumes on the other side of his fiancée, and after ten minutes, he’s had enough. He stands, prepared to tell every single one of those stuffy nobles to piss off, when the chamber doors open. A dozen heads turn to the disruption, various states of bemusement, annoyance, and impatience keenly present on their faces.

Zidane’s expression brightened considerably at the sight of his little sister. “Mikoto!”

She hobbled in, one leg still sore, despite the countless Cure spells, clutching a cane for support over bandaged hands. Someone scurried over with a chair, but Mikoto brushed it off, taking another careful step forward until she was standing right in front of the board, her expression carefully neutral. “Good nobles, if I may, I would like a moment of your time, in regards to my recent… situation.”

Lord Harrisen, the beaked-nose noble with the square glasses, coughed, but nodded.  “We thought you had agreed to talk it over with General Beatrix and Captain Steiner?”

Mikoto nods. “And I have. There is a matter that I must bring up with you, again, however. It is of the utmost importance.”

“All right then.”  Lord Harrisen sits down in his chair and gestures toward her.

“Zidane and Garnet must be wed at once,” says Mikoto clearly. “Those that hurt me, they did it because they did not approve of the queen’s upcoming nuptials. Yes, they are still at large, but they mean to strike again, and again until their task is complete. Another big wedding would simply be too great of a security risk.”

The rotund noble, Lord Branton, to the council leader’s right gasps. “Then we must delay the wedding indefinitely!”

“And delay the arrival of legitimate heirs?” said Mikoto coolly. “Have more nobles fight to declare themselves a better husband than Zidane, the great hero who saved the world? Create more conflict? No. The thing to do is let them wed, but quietly. Let the wedding happen under the radar, as an emotional blow to their assailants. Carnivals for the people of Alexandria and balls for the nobility can easily be scheduled once the matter has passed.”

Garnet vaguely considers leaping out of her seat and kissing Zidane’s sister. Instead, she settles for squeezing Zidane’s hand tightly. He, however, has no social graces, and grins like a loon as his sister keeps speaking.

“It’s about bringing these criminals out of their hiding space,” Mikoto said. “But in a safe manner. Balls and even festivals can be contained to specific locations. But the wedding of a beloved queen and her fairy tale beau won’t be so controllable.”

Lord Harrisen, acting as council leader, nodded, then considered her words carefully. “Do you have a suggestion as to where the wedding should take place then, Miss Mikoto?”

She leans against her cane for a long moment before replying, her tone as composed as ever. “The Black Mage Village,” she said. “It’s small, out of the way, and could accommodate small wedding. No more than twenty-five, or thirty people.  And the genomes and the black mages are settling there just nicely. Think of the diplomatic implications. It would be something enticing to bring back to the great cities of Lindblum and Treno.”  

“You have a point,” said the nobleman after a few moments. He adjusted his glasses and gave her a nod. “Any more ideas in that head of yours?”

“None at the moment,” said Mikoto, her tone just a touch dry. “But I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“Do,” replied Lord Branton. He turned to the council member on his right and they both exchanged a look before he continued. “Should you have any further suggestions, of course. Just what do you do, Miss Mikoto?”

Mikoto shrugged and turned on her heel ever so slightly, offering the council a tiny bow before she made her way out of the chamber. “I’m just a diplomat, I suppose you could say.”  She exits the chamber with as much grace and poise as she can muster, but there’s a hint of defiance in her gait, despite her still-healing injuries.

The door shuts with a resounding click, and the members of the Queen’s council all turn to face her before they huddle around each other to consult. Eventually, they break apart to address their Queen.

“Your Highness,” says Lord Harrisen. “I believe Miss Mikoto has a point. Do you object to having a wedding in two weeks’ time at the Black Mage Village?”  

Garnet resisted the urge to leap from her seat and give a joyous yell in delight. Instead, the young queen nodded at Lord Harrisen and the rest of the council members. “I have no objections.”

“Very well,” he replied, giving Lord Branton a nod. “I suppose we need to discuss a few matters before you make haste for your wedding, your Highness.”

“That I shall be happy to see to,” said Garnet. “After I check on Miss Mikoto. I doubt anyone will object to that.” She grabbed Zidane by the hand, and they both quickly fled the chamber before any of the nobility could object.

Mikoto is slumped in a chair just outside of the chamber proper, Marcus on one side and a concerned Eiko on the other. “Did I do well?”

Zidane beamed and tugged her hair lightly. “More than, little sister. How’re you feeling?”

“Poorly,” said Mikoto honestly. “But I will live.”

“To bed with you,” said Garnet firmly. “I know, I know, you do not wish to be there, but given the situation before us and what you have recently put yourself through, Mikoto, I suggest you take a nap.”

“A nap?” Mikoto scowled, but eventually relented enough to lean against her brother. “I suppose. Just a little one, though.”

“The more you rest the quicker you’ll heal,” said Zidane. “And I know that makes you happy, sis.”

“There is a point there,” admitted Mikoto. “Very well. But then I want to help get things ready for the new wedding.”

Garnet nodded. “I don’t think you’d let us have it any other way.”

---

The day of Garnet and Zidane’s second planned wedding dawns bright and clear, almost as if knowing it would be offensive to have anything the weather be anything but perfect. The bride and groom are not due to arrive via airship until noon, along with Beatrix and Steiner. Cild, Hilda, and Eiko would also arrive from Lindblum around the same time. So in the meantime, the Black Mage Village is crazy with preparations for the last minute wedding. Simple had been the order of the day, but a simple wedding is still hectic when only given two week’s time to plan.

Mikoto, despite assumptions to the contrary, is meticulous about the entire process. From overseeing several genomes who were grooming Bobby Corwen and Choco in honor of the big day to clearing out space in the inn for friends, most of which who had arrived the night before, she tried to remain on top of every aspect of Zidane and Garnet’s wedding. She had healed remarkably, thanks to several days of Cure spells and a few dozen potions, and ignored urges to rest.

“I’ll be all right,” she snapped politely when Freya came over around midmorning with a mug of tea for the girl. “Just …I want to do this. Zidane is my family, as much as I loathe to admit it sometimes, and he’s done so much for me. I need to do this, Freya.”

“I was not about to tell you to do one thing or the other.” Freya briskly set the warm mug into her companion’s hands. “I too understand a little about personal duty and the need to do something. There's nothing wrong with wanting to support your family."

"I sense a but," mumbled Mikoto as she set down the flowers she was arranging into a bouquet. "What's the rest?"

"No buts," said Freya. "You're doing the best you can, Mikoto. I was just offering some assistance."

"Oh." Mikoto frowned. "Can you trim the thorns from some of the roses? I need to get the bouquet ready for Dagger to carry."

"Certiantly," replied the dragoon. Things settled into a companionable silence as the two worked side-by-side.

"I would like to travel," said Mikoto, surprising herself with her need to break the silence. "You have traveled much, right?"

Freya smiles and gives a wry nod. "Yes. I have traveled a fair bit in my day. Around the world and back, one could say."

"Oh, yes. How silly of me." Mikoto reaches for white ribbon and lace.

"No, not silly. It is far from silly to be inquisitive." Freya neatly trimmed the thorns from her last rose, then set about placing them into a neat pile. "You've been mostly isolated here in the village since your arrival, yes?"

"Zidane and Garnet tried to have me stay with them in Alexandria," said Mikoto as she started construction on the bouquet. "That only lasted for a month. I was absolutely miserable."

"City life is not for you?" asked Freya.

"I'm not sure. I do know that Alexandria is not for me, sadly enough." Mikoto neatly weaves ribbon and laces around the roses, before setting the completed arrangement into a vase. "I'm not so sure about the rest of the world. What do you think, Freya?"

"I think that is up for you to decide," she replied. "I do think that traveling will do you good, though. I find that life has always been my best teacher. It allows little room for missteps. Have you ever visited Daguerro?"

"No," she said. Mikoto gave the older woman a curious look. "What is there?"

"Something you will like quite a lot," assured Freya. "I am sure. Now, what am I to do as official officiant?"

"I like the sound of that." Mikoto gives her a smile. "I think, aside from the food and the cake, which I have been ordered to keep my nose out of for fear of dire repercussions, everything is going pretty smoothly. Quina apparently does not like to be bothered while hard at work. Dagger's dress should be nearly ready, but she needs to get here before we can do any final alterations. I suppose that just means we should check on the bridesmaid's dresses."

"There are bridesmaid dresses?" asked Freya. "I thought we were going for simple."

"Simple and small still means that Dagger can have a few attendants," said Mikoto. "Not too many though, as we still need guests! Those are also of great importance, wouldn't you say?"

Freya smiled, rolled her eyes and nodded at the girl. "Well, perhaps. If you truly do insist. Now let's go see to them. I can see you're anxious about it."

“I am not!” Mikoto tried to smooth her dress, but was unsuccessful at hiding her nervousness. "I just want it to go well. This may well be the only wedding I ever get to plan."

"Do you like planning weddings?" Freya followed her up the stairs of the inn to her room, where the dresses were being kept.  

"No. I like helping my friends. My family." Mikoto studies the fabric with a sigh. "Is the color all right?"

"Lovely," said Freya. "It will all be lovely. You've done all you can, Mikoto the wedding planner. Go out and say hello. I think Tantalus' ship just arrived."

Mikoto didn't miss the elder woman's wink and she just shook her head. "There is nothing going on. We were kidnapped together, I'll have you remember, Freya. And besides, you have your Fratley and your own family."

"I never said a word, Mikoto." Freya turned her back, set on smoothing wrinkles from the freshly ironed dresses.

Mikoto rolled her eyes one more time for effect before she left the room and headed back outside. Sure enough, the theater troupe was just arriving into the village, Zidane in tow. Not expecting that,  she walked toward her brother and his "family".  "I thought you were coming with the Alexandria group?" she asked, by way of greeting.

Zidane pouted. "Nice to see you too, sister dear."

"You're hungover."

"I am not!" Zidane crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a dispirited expression. "The bros took me out of my friggin bed last night. Because the bride's not supposed to see the groom on her wedding day or some crap like that. Then they gave me booze and that was all right, I guess."

"You are so hungover," repeated Mikoto.

"I am not. I only had uh... Boss?"

"Ten," supplied Blank, his tone overly-cheerful. "Did Dreadlocks ever show?"

Mikoto pulled out a notebook to study the guest list. "Oh. You mean... Amarant."

"Dreadlocks," supplied Blank again. Zidane smacked him in the back of the head.

"Not yet," said Mikoto. "Who knows if he'll show up or not. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have things to do. That don't involve refereeing your hungover brawls."

Zidane glared at her. "Sis, I'm--"

"Not hungover. Right. And I'm the next queen of Gaia." Mikoto said, before quickly running off in the direction of the synthesis shop.

Blank hit Zidane back. "She's totally your sister, dude."

Marcus just lingered behind, next to Ruby, wanting to say something, but unsure of the words to use. Instead, he settled for waving at Mikoto as her figure grew smaller in the distance. She was on the go, off to the next great thing on that ever growing to-do list of hers. He wasn’t quite sure how she did it.

---

"Are we ready?" asked Mikoto. She'd been doing her best to avoid Marcus all day today. Yes, they needed to talk at some point. Especially after her dramatic near suicide almost three weeks ago. Well, she was fine, and she'd thought she'd pull throw it, and guess what, she did. But there was the matter of the ...well. She shakes her head. There are more important things to worry about now. Like getting her brother and his lovely lady wed.

So, with that thought in mind, Mikoto slips out, all dressed for the wedding, and trying not to tug at her uncomfortable bridemaid's dress too much. It's red and although sleek and clean-cut, still a great deal fussier than nearly all of her own clothes. She's trying to not trip over her feet in the blasted heels as she teeters out of the the village, dead set on doing one last security check before allowing the wedding to proceed as planned.

It's Dagger's dream wedding, and she'll be dammed if that stupid psychotic Lord attempts to ruin everything again.

Careful not to disturb anyone, Mikoto scrambles over a tree and treads off the path. Cursing her decision to change before doing the spot check, she slips off her dress shoes before she continued walking. Everything looked clear. Carefully, she stepped past some debris and toward the main path again.

The hand over her mouth was no doubt the scariest feeling she had ever experienced in her life, and in that instant, she deeply regretted her decision to walk out alone. Still, she had learned a thing or two from her previous encounter, and with no hesitation whatsoever, Mikoto reached out and sharply elbowed her assistant in the chest.

Only his chest was rather... firm, and instead, Mikoto is pretty sure that it left a bruise of some sort on her elbow. Screaming against the hand, she starts nipping at the skin furiously, desperate to free herself.

“Hey,” says the voice, as he pulls away and turns Mikoto around so he can get a glimpse of her. It’s Marcus, and her gaze narrows as recognition dawns. She raised her hands to make it clear that she would stop struggling, and Marcus drops his hand from her mouth.

“Jerk,” she says, her eyes narrowed as she tries to get her breathing under control. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Mikoto.” Marcus frowned, then shrugged and let his hands fall to his sides. “I’m sorry, really. But I didn’t want you to scream.”

“And you can’t say: Hi, how the hell are you?” Mikoto resisted the urge to bring a hand to her chest, instead, choosing to glare at him.

“You’re wandering around the outskirts of the Black Mage Village, barefoot and in your bridesmaid’s dress,” said Marcus easily. “It’s clear you’re up to something.”

Mikoto shrugged. “Just a quick security check.”

“By yourself?” Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Okay, maybe that was dumb. You still didn’t have to scare me.” Mikoto begrudgingly slipped her heels back on. “Want to help me finish up while you’re still here?”

“I was planning on that.” Marcus walked up, and gestured to her arm. “Need some help, or are you going to continue to try and wobble around in those damned shoes?”

Mikoto rolled her eyes, her tail swishing around her ankles as she considered it. “I’m okay for now. Promise.”

Marcus doesn’t entirely buy it, but he gave her a slight nod. “Fine. Can I walk alongside?”

“I’m sure you are very capable of it.” Mikoto smirks, lets her hands drop to her sides, and continues walking. “Keep up if you can.”

“Wait a sec, Mik. You hear something?” Marcus stopped walking halfway to her. “I hear something.”

She paused, mid-step, even as her head cocked in the direction Marcus was pointing. Crouched down low as not to be in the way, Mikoto paused and tried to listen. She struggled to keep her eyes open, and worked to keep herself aware of her surroundings as she carefully crawled forward, ducking as low as possible.  “I think I see something.”

Not daring to speak, Marcus carefully moved behind Mikoto, and what he saw made his blood run cold.

With a nod, Mikoto scrambled into an upright position. Her shoes were yet again kicked off, left behind a tree as she caught the expression on her friend’s face. Marcus had clenched his fist, the only real indication that he had seen what Mikoto had seen. Not willing to risk what would happen if the Lindblum ship were allowed to get too close, she ran.

“To the village?” Marcus was close behind her, and even as he said it, he knew there would not be enough time. Their captor’s airship, the mysterious Lord, was close. To the untrained eye, he knew it would be mistaken for the Alexandrian Queen’s very own Red Rose.

Only, it had just been decided two days ago that Queen Garnet would not be arriving in the Red Rose today. The queen’s personal airship would be far too obvious, especially for a wedding that everyone on Gaia was trying to keep low-key. Surely the Lindblum air fleet knew that? They were not acting like it, and this realization made Marcus run faster.  

Mikoto was faster still, though, and light on her bare feet as she scrambled up a tree for a better look, her blue eyes keen to figure out what was going on. Her heart begged to see Beatrix upon that airship, but it was not the case. She could physically feel her stomach sink when her tiny periscope revealed that it was Duke, the mysterious second-in command leading that ship today.

“What’s going on?” Marcus, down below, didn’t realize how serious the situation is.

Mikoto squeaked and climbed out of the tree with a single nimble leap. "Duke!"

"You mean the crazy guy that kidnapped us that you saw in a dream, right?" asked Marcus the minute his brain put two and two together.

"Exactly," she said, running past him quickly, her mind off in another direction entirely as she tried to figure out how to keep Garnet and Zidane safe from the potential invasion. Another potential attack, this soon? Something just wasn't making sense, and she couldn't understand why. Leaving her shoes under the tree she had climbed into, she quickly traipsed through the forest back to the Black Mage Village. Someone had to warn them.

Marcus was hot on her heels, desperately trying to keep her from doing anything potentially reckless again. Sure she was kind of freaky strong or whatever, but that didn't exactly give her license to just go off and do something stupid. Mikoto might have been nimble and quick, but he was no slouch either, and they made excellent time back to the village. He was panting (although doing his best to hide it), but she'd barely broken a sweat.

"Freya!" shouted Mikoto, screeching to a stop mere inches in front of the talented Burmecian, who had been standing in the doorway of the weapon shop, clearly in the middle of some kind of errand. "Freya! We've got to act quickly. There's an airship. It looks like the Red Rose, but it's clearly not. It's going to attack the village!"

"Oh?" said Freya quickly, her composure as collected as always, "and where is Beatrix? Steiner?"

"No idea," said Marcus. "They should be coming with Eiko and the Lindbum group, right? It was just the freaky decoy in the sky."

Freya cursed quietly under her breath, then straightened her posture and nodded. "I see. Where are Zidane and Garnet?"

"How should we know," snapped Mikoto angrily. "I was out scouting. We saw the Duke. You've got to trust me. I know, absolutely, that he was the one who kidnapped Marcus and myself. He may not have actually committed the crime himself, but you understand what I mean."

Freya nodded, then quickly ducked around to reach for her lance. "We must go create some kind of defense. Security is abound in full force today, so why are they choosing to attack now?"

"Because of the wedding, duh," grumbled Marcus, but even he was rummaging around the weapon's shop for a sword of some kind. He found a broadsword and sheathed it quickly. "Now where's Tantalus? I know they're around, and they'll definitely help."

"Just like the Silver Dragons," muttered Mikoto as she rooted through the shop's shelves, looking for any sort of weapon that she felt she could use competently. "Well, this time, I'm going to fight."

"Are you even-- no, never mind." Marcus went running around towards the item shop in search of potions and other healing items. "I won't even bother to argue."

"Smart." Freya managed a wry smile for the briefest of moments, before her stern, ready for battle expression settled on her face.

"Gather up the townspeople!" cried Mikoto. "Everyone! Genomes, any of the Black Mages! We must keep Zidane and Garnet safe."

Marcus and Freya both exchanged a glance and nodded before running off in opposite directions, prepared to sound the alarm all throughout the tiny Black Mage Village. Satisfied with the knowledge that any and all capable allies would be joining her in a matter of minutes, Mikoto grabbed a rod and a bow for herself before racing to the item store. Frowning at the fact that her very tattered and messy bridesmaid's gown lacked pockets, she settled for stuffing the (not terribly ample) bosom of her dress with potions.

Still barefoot, with adrenaline keeping her from noticing the scrapes along the soles of her feet, Mikoto raced through the town and toward the inn. She climbed up the stairs two at a time toward Garnet's room. Wrenching the door open, she raced into the queen's chambers, her eyes scanning the room desperately for any sign of her.

"Dagger!" shouted Mikoto, her stomach sinking as she took in the sight of the strewn-about room, with no sign of the queen. Her wedding dress was half-hanging out of the closet, and broken bottles of lotions and perfumes littered the floor. There wasn't even a sign of her handmaidens or her guards. Mikoto slumped to the floor. Something wasn't right. It wasn't making any sense.

Then suddenly, Mikoto felt herself jumping up into the air about six feet when she heard footsteps in the hallway. Whirling around as quickly as possible, she had her rod out, ready to wallop anyone who dared to try and attack her. "Who's out there?"

Quietly, deliberately, the footsteps stilled on the wooden floor. Senses on high alert and adrenaline flowing, Mikoto turned around and stared out into the dim light of the inn beyond the queen's room. Carefully, weapon poised and standing on her tiptoes, Mikoto dips her head carefully out into the hall.

And nearly was sliced by the razor-sharp glint of an Ultima Weapon.

"Hey!" shouted Mikoto, whacking at the blade with her simple rod. "Hey! It's your sister, dumbass."

Zidane immediately lowered his weapon. "I thought you were ...the whatever it was, come back for a second round."

"I thought you were whoever had destroyed Garnet's room!" Mikoto huffed and lowered the rod to her side. "You are so very fortunate that I am unable to use a bow and arrow indoors."

"Like that's ever stopped you before." Zidane gives her a nod and sets his swallow blade at his side. "What's going on, Mikoto? I  heard crashing and where the hell is Dagger?"

"She's not with you?" Mikoto's face fell.

"No," said Zidane. "She's not with me. Does that mean..."

Mikoto nodded, hesitantly, already wincing in anticipation of his reaction. "I don't know where she is."

"Damn!" he shouted, his blade immediately slashing into the railings along the second-story hallway. "The Duke and the Lord, you said, right? They're the ones that have her."

"If they have her," said Mikoto. "She's a clever woman. I suggest we stay together and look around the rest of the inn before we attempt to call her kidnapped just yet."

"You're being surprisingly optimistic," said Zidane dryly as he reached for his weapon again. "This is highly unlike you."

"Even I can be optimistic in the face of sound logic and superior evidence," she said, gripping her rod tightly as she followed Zidane down the hallway.

The inn was small, with only a few rooms total, and all of them occupied by the queen and various members of her (scaled-down but still large) wedding party. The rooms were all in a similar state of disarray, with clothes and trinkets scattered around the floor, with no trace of the occupants. Mikoto bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out when the ball of her foot stepped on shards of broken glass. From what she could surmise, they had once been a perfume decanter, but now they were just causing her foot to bleed uncomfortably.

"Mikoto, you're bleeding." Zidane raised an eyebrow at his little sister curiously. "Are you still wounded?"

"I'm well aware of the fact that I'm bleeding and barefoot," she muttered, glaring at him as best as she could. "Do you have some other obvious facts to point out in the meantime?"

"Why are you barefoot?" he asked, then shook his head, tail twitching nervously behind him. "Never mind. We need to go find Dagger."

"Your one-track mind is admirable," she said, using her tail to remove further potential obstacles from her path as they both carefully searched around the room.

A tense silence settled over the area, and Mikoto could sense the proverbial 'calm before the storm'. Tail twitching just as nervously as her brother's, Mikoto raised her eyebrow at him. "Do you sense it too?"

"Freya's leading the charge outside, right?" said Zidane. "She's capable. We need to find Dagger."

"You do sense it." Mikoto isn't asking a question, and she frowned. "However, you are right. We need to find Dagger. I ...sense that she is near. Around. Don't laugh."

Zidane refused to even reply, his eyes closed in careful concentration. More than a little started by the intensity radiating from him, Mikoto quickly scrambles out of his way. She can feel the inklings of Trance within him, and although she's desperate to tell him to wait, to save it for the battle brewing outside, she knows that she can't. However, Mikoto realized that although he's near, he's not there yet, and she swiftly opened another door.

They're inspecting another room at the inn, and for all intents and purposes, it looks much like the other rooms they've searched. Disheveled belongings, signs of a struggle, but no sign of any occupants. With a sigh, Mikoto and Zidane are about to turn around and continue their search outside, when a small dangling rope catches Zidane's eye.

"What's that?" asked Mikoto curiously as she followed her brother's line of vision and realized just what he was staring at.

"A rope," said Zidane. "I think it leads somewhere." Without further pause, he's jumped up to stand on the desk and is tugging frantically at the rope.
It doesn't budge after the first tug, but the second, then the third attempts show slightly more promising signs. With a sigh, Mikoto climbed on the desk to stand behind her brother, grabbing the knot at the end of the rope as tightly as she was able to. While Zidane yanked at the rope, Mikoto hopped off the desk, providing just enough momentum to cause the trapdoor to open. A ladder is revealed, which presumably leads up to an attic.

"Jackpot!" shouted Zidane, and quick as can be, he's about to climb up the ladder to inspect the confines of the dusty attic.

However, before he can even climb in, he's whacked solidly in the face with a racket. Comically, he managed to fall backward off of the ladder and onto Mikoto. To her credit, she tried to move out of the way, but wasn't nearly fast enough.

"Ow, ow, ow!" shouted Mikoto miserably as she attempted to push her brother from on top of her. "Get off me, you big oaf!"

A head of dark hair tentatively peeked out from the edge of the attic opening. "Mikoto? Is that you?"

"Yes, Dagger!" she shouted, attempting to stand and wave up at her future sister-in-law. "Are you all right? Zidane and I are here!"

"Oh!" Garnet's mouth went comically wide as she realizes she's very nearly knocked her fiancé unconscious. "Oh! Zidane. Are you all right? I certainly did not intend to..."

"It's okay, Dagger. It's all right. You're safe." Zidane has started climbing the ladder again, and this time, he's able to hug his beloved tightly.

Mikoto carefully averted her eyes for a few minutes, before twitching her tail against the ladder as she coughed. "Not that I mean to interrupt," she lied, "but are you ladies-in-waiting all right? What happened here? I feel that I am sorely lost."

"There were men, in black, but not mages. Not the Black Mages," said Garnet quickly. "Freya had shown me this trap door earlier, so I helped the civilians into the attic to hide for now. Had the situation proved dire, I would have not hesitated to summon."

"However, you were trying to prevent further property damage in the meantime," said Mikoto with a nod. "Or something like that, I suppose. Is everyone all right?"

"As far as I know." Garnet said, but she hesitated. "The security? The guards, are they... do you know if they are all right? I thought we were moving out here to be safe! Not put more people at risk."

"We are trying to keep you safe," said Mikoto bluntly. "You and Zidane. As far as your staff goes, I assume they are out in the melee, with the rest of our friends and allies at the present time."

"Then that is where I want to be as well," said Garnet forcefully as she climbed down from her hiding place. "I can be useful, and I must offer assistance. I meant to help as soon as I had gotten everyone in the inn settled safely."

Zidane nodded and reached for his fiancée's racket. "Then I'm going too, Dag." 

Mikoto smiled at her brother and future sister-in-law, nodding in agreement. "Then let us be quick, and perhaps there can still be a wedding tomorrow. Perhaps at dawn, or maybe dusk."

---

Mikoto lead the trio out of the inn, weapons clenched beneath her fingers as she moved nimbly, all grace and poise and energy as she ran through the Black Mage Village toward the sounds of the approaching battle. Friends and alllies were already out in full force, armed and already actively engaging the enemy, from what Mikoto could tell. Without hesitation, she pulled out the bow and arrows and climbed up to a sufficiently tall perch as charged right into the fray.

Beatrix took one look at Mikoto and shook her head, momentarily entranced by the sheer poise under pressure she was accomplishing. Still, the swordswoman would not allow herself to be distracted, and quickly finished her scuffle before turning toward Zidane and Garnet. He had already leapt into a battle poise, tail up and expression focused. Garnet was quickly surveying the scene before her, looking for allies in desperate need of white magic.

"I know better than to ask either of you to stay out of the battle," said Beatrix deliberately. "That is not in your natures. But."

Zidane gave Beatrix his most determined gaze, desperate not to falter under her stoic, hard to fluster personality. "Remember it's our goddamned wedding that they're ruining and that they want us. Got it. Don't be stupid. I'll work with Dagger."

Garnet nodded and quickly started throwing potions around to wherever they would be of the most usefulness. "We can be useful, and we will be useful."

Beatrix considered saying something more, but shook her head and reached for her sword again. "Very well. But for the sake of Alexandria, I beg you, to please be careful." And with that warning, she was off, already ready to take on three more without breaking a sweat.

Steiner also appeared practically out of nowhere, already taking on four as he glowed brightly, a sure sign that he was under some kind of super magical power up. On the outskirts of the battle, Freya landed one of her infamous Jumps. The skill took her high enough to take on some of the people battling in that mysterious airship, which awed more than a few.

"We need to get to that airship," muttered Mikoto as she sent another barrage of arrows upward. She wasn't the best with bow by far, but from her relatively safe perch, she was doing bout as well as could be expected. Like a well-oiled machine, she kept arrow after arrow headed upward, toward the mysterious source of the conflict. "The airship needs to go down. That's where the leader of all this is being held. We need the airship."

Well, Mikoto supposed as she took inventory of how many arrows she had left, they might be able to beat back the siege with just their ragtag band of heroes and mages. A half-dozen on their side had helped to, quite literally, save the world, and they'd had another capable dozen on top of that, plus twenty or thirty more. It wasn't like they were exactly hurting at the moment. Sure, Duke and the Lord's side had what appeared to be a hundred, but they surely overpowered on sheer strength. The trick of the matter, realized Mikoto, was stopping the leaders in order to stop the uprising, and the battle. It would make Alexandria safe again, and the wedding could go on without a hitch.

Incredible how it was all about the wedding still at this point, but damn it all, thought Mikoto, they'd saved the word for each other. She damn well was going to make sure they got their fairytale happy ending. No matter what.

Marcus caught sight of Mikoto as she leapt off her perch, and determined not lot let her get into some crazy ass situation again, he started chasing after her. "Mikoto!"

She didn't pause, didn't even acknowledge his existence, instead she kept racing along the ground, moving as swiftly as could be against the various scuffles going on around her. Marcus recognized that look. She had a Plan. Considering what had happened last time she let loose with one of her Plans, he had visions of a broken and battered Mikoto on the ground. Maybe this time she'd attempt a death-defying leap from the airship.

So he kept following her. He knew that she full well knew he was following her as they entered the clearing outside of the wooded maze of the village. Marcus figured her lack of acknowledgement of this was some kind of silent approval, and he kept chasing after her. Mikoto scrambled up another tree, much to his amazement.

"Damn, she's quick. I know we always said Zidane was monkey boy, but she's unmistakably feline." Marcus took the briefest of seconds to admire the situation before he caught glance of Zidane out of the corner of his eye. He'd just delivered a potion to Blank and appeared to be heading back towards where Freya was fighting, but he paused and stopped on catching sight of Marcus.

"Marcus? What the hell are you doing out here?" asked Zidane as he made his way over. "I thought you'd be back in the village."

"I followed Mikoto out here," he replied quickly. "She just climbed up that damn tree. I think she's going to try to leap on the airship or something equally harebrained. She really is your sister."

"Well, of course!" Zidane dropped the weary battle-worn determined expression for a second, just long enough to give Marcus a wink. "Oh. You want me to help her."

"I remember the last time she tried to jump from a high ledge," said Marcus with a shrug as he reached for his sword. "I'll cover you both from below, and I know Blank will too."

Zidane saluted, offering a nod, before vaulting into the tree and racing up to the uppermost branches. This tree was no Iifa by a long shot, but it was still tall and stately, and definitely offered a good view of the action below. His sister had picked a good place to implement her plan, whatever it was.

"Zidane!" cried Mikoto, who was standing awkwardly on the topmost branch. "Good. I'm going to need your help with this."

"My help?" Zidane climbed up to join her, careful not to sit on the same branch she was relying on. "What great and epic idea has your brain come up with this time, Mik?"

"You're close to Trance." She says it flatly, leaving no room for argument.

"How do you..." Zidane shook his head. He could grill her about that all he wanted later. Right now they needed to win. Save the day, get married. Just a typical major event for the hero that saved the world. He sighed.

"I am too." Mikoto curls up on the branch and gestures to the impostor Red Rose above them. "I can fly when I Trance. The landing is the rough part, but for a few blissful moments, I am in the air, Zidane. I can fly. And I am going to take that airship down."

"Does that mean I need to help you?" he asked, already climbing up toward the topmost branch. "Because you know I will."

"That, my dear brother, is exactly what I was hoping for." She stares at him, all wide-eyed and full of focus and determination. "I am going to leap. I am going to Trance, and that ship is going down. I need your Trance, your Dyne, to help me. If we both used the cheap trick, then nothing can stop us."

"You think of your Trance as a cheap trick?" He raised an eyebrow, taken aback by her confession.

"It's a power meant to destroy the world," she said, posture as regal as can be, never mind the fact that she's standing in an exceptionally tall tree. "Angels of death, Zidane."

"We've overcome that, haven't we?" he asked.

"We are always going to have to work to overcome it." Mikoto crouched, eying the airship and readying herself for the attack. She'd have one chance to do this right, and it could not fail. "Things... there are things that make it easier to move past our original purpose in life. Like love. Family. Friendship. Foreign concepts to me a few years ago. I still don't understand them completely. But I feel. I've felt things and learned. That is why you are going to get married. So you can continue to make your own destiny! And so I can too!"

"She does have feelings after all." Zidane beamed at his little sister. "I knew you'd see it my way eventually, sis. Together. You and me. On three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

There is a brilliant crash as the tree branch finally breaks beneath them. However, they're up in the air, leaping, swirls of purple and pink, all primal and furious, racing toward the airship above them. With the power of the Trance, it's easy for them to actually to the make it to the fake Red Rose, and soon enough, taking out the enemy onslaught in quick succession, one, two, three. There's no time to think, no time to process, just time to move.

"I know where they are! Lord and Duke," said Mikoto in a frantic whisper after they had cleared away the top deck of the ship. "Up! At the top. We need to stick together."

"You're not getting out of my sight," said Zidane as the two of them clambered up past the helm of the airship, toward the ladder that lead up to the topmost alcove. “We need to take them down together. Tribal-style.”

“Oh, so I am a Tribal now,” she says wryly, offering him the barest trace of a smile. “Is that how it goes?”

"You're not getting out of my sight," said Zidane as the two of them clambered up past the helm of the airship, toward the ladder that lead up to the topmost alcove.

Their Trances were fading, and the blur of purple and pink had dimmed. All that remained were Mikoto, still barefoot and bloody, in the tattered remains of her second bridesmaid's dress, and Zidane. He looked no better than his sister, with a brilliant bruise blossoming above his right eye, and his own clothes fairly tattered. Fortunately, at least he had not gone out to save his wedding and his queen in his wedding clothes. For better or for worse, he'd chosen to enter the fray in his pajamas. (Mikoto made a mental note to mock him about this later, when it was all over and done with.)

Zidane paused jut outside the door to take in his breath. “We need to take them down together. Tribal-style.”

“Oh, so I am a Tribal now,” she says wryly, offering him the barest trace of a smile. “Is that how it goes?”

"You've always been my sister," replied Zidane. "I just never thought you'd want the name before now."

Mikoto pauses, oddly touched by the sentiment. "Oh. I suppose ...I suppose that I would not have wanted it earlier. But we are, and I am. I suppose Dagger isn't going to be the only one taking a new last name in a few hours."

"Ha ha." Zidane ruffled her pigtail gently, before settling into a serious stance just outside the door to the only room on the topmost level. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Mikoto goes to open the door, but much to her surprise, when she goes to try the handle, the door is unlocked.

Zidane raised an eyebrow, and the two of them carefully crept into the dimly lit room, weapons out. They were hypersensitive to their current situation, and guards were up as they quickly took heed of the situation. What they were not expecting was to find both men sitting calmly in identical armchairs, as if waiting for them.

"What is the meaning of all of this?" hissed Zidane, his eyes burning as he stared deeply at the two men responsible for the past two days' trials. "Why?"

"Alexandria has gone to the dogs," replied one, who Mikoto surmised was the Lord. "The queen is not the princess, but merely a copy. She is not of noble blood, and should not be on the throne."

The other, who clearly had to be Duke, said, just as haughtily, "There is also the matter, of you, her beloved beau, savior of the world. Well, you are no better than a common thief! A petty, lying, cheating, thief is bad enough, but you are also an alien. One like Kuja."

"How... how the hell do you know these things?" Zidane remained where he was standing, but he tensed dramatically. 

"There are libraries," said the Lord. "And rumors. If you ask the right people in Treno, and Lindblum, and everywhere else..."

The Duke nodded in agreement. "Skeletons have a way of coming out of closets."

"But the people of Alexandria know, and they do not care," said Zidane cooly. "Instead, you come off like a jackass, guilty of treason and kidnapping and who the hell knows what else."

"What happens if you kill us? Stop our little attempt to stir the peace?" said the Duke. "The future Prince Consort becomes just as guilty as us."

"Enough!" roared Zidane. He couldn't bear to hear anymore of this.

"Don't you dare," hissed Mikoto. Before her brother could do something completely foolhardly, she'd moved forward, quick as a blink, and knocked both of the men out with a rap to the back of the head, courtesy of her rod. "Don't rise to their bait, Zidane. The Alexandrian courts will see to them. Now that Dagger knows of the rumblings, she and her councils can do their best to make Alexandria safe again. Do not add further fuel to the fire."

"I hate it when you're right," muttered Zidane angrily as he slumped to the floor. "But you are right."

Mikoto tapped her rod on the floor of the airship. "This was just a game to them. I am glad you did not fall into their trap."

"Do you think they expected you to come along?" said Zidane softly.

"I would suspect that they thought you and Dagger would confront them," said Mikoto carefully as she efficiently started ripping up curtains in the room so she could tie up the two men. "For better or for worse, they had to make do with you and I."

"Maybe you aren't so bad after all, Mikoto," he said, rolling over so that he was lying flat on his back on the wood floor.

"How kind of you to say that." She finished tying up both Lord and Duke. "Now, come on. We've got a wedding to attend."

---

They spent the rest of the night healing the wounded, clearing debris, and making Mikoto a new dress. The head seamstress had taken one look at Mikoto and nearly quit right on the spot. Instead, the poor old woman fainted and someone had to unearth smelling salts for her. Then she'd dragged Mikoto by the ear back to the inn and set right to work making a brand-new dress for the girl. (Mikoto will later call this the most unpleasant part of the whole kidnapping ordeal.)

Luckily, injuries had not been too severe, and a night spent administering potions and white magic, courtesy of the flower girl and the bride to be had helped ease the worst of the aftermath. The inn had taken the most of the damage during the battle, and that had been cleared up in just a few hours, thanks to a highly efficient team lead by Beatrix, of course.  Other villagers and wedding guests spent the night scurrying around, reorganizing flowers and repairing arches, cooking food, and restoring the village to how it had been just mere hours ago. Everyone had wanted the wedding to be at sunrise, but Garnet had taken one look at all her friends and the villagers, and ordered everyone to bed in her most queenly tone. They'd survived two setbacks already, so surely the wedding could wait until everyone was alert enough to appreciate all of their hard work.

So the wedding was preformed by Regent Cid against a brilliant sunset that evening in the forest. In many ways, exactly as Garnet and Zidane had wanted it to begin with. It was small, with only their closest friends in attendance, plus the citizens of the Black Mage Village. Eiko had made a brilliant flower girl, and Steiner, Beatrix, Blank, Freya, Marcus, and Mikoto were finally serving as groomsmen and bridesmaids, just as they had promised. (Amarant would deny it whole heartedly later, but if one looked in the tallest branch of the one tree Mikoto and Zidane had climbed earlier, he could be seen, watching the ceremony from a safe distance.)

Hilda wept from her seat and hugged Quina tightly. (The Qu had asked if marriage was something one could eat, then balked and offered to prepare the feast for the reception.)

Regent Cid beamed as Garnet walked slowly down the aisle, the orchestra playing. She chose to escort herself, wearing a simple but elegant white gown that she could walk in herself.  Zidane waited for her, dashing in his dark suit, his tail twitching nervously as he kept staring at her tenderly.

"Do you, Garnet, take Zidane to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

She does not bother to wipe away the tears prickling at the edges of her carefully applied make-up. "I do."

"And you, Zidane?" asked the regent, grinning wholeheartedly at the young man. "Do you take Garnet as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

"Of course!" he shouted, which caused all of the guests in attendance to laugh. "I mean, uh, I do."

"Then you may kiss the bride."

Even Mikoto was crying when Zidane leaned in to kiss Garnet, bringing the perfect fairy tale moment to light. She didn't even protest when Marcus reached down to take hold of her hand. Somehow, for some reason, it just seemed right today. Tomorrow would be another day, full of struggles and consequences to face and deal with. But for tonight? There was love, and that would be enough.