Cursed Treasure (Open)

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves Zidane rolled his eyes as Atla professed his joy with a giggle, and Zuko clearly reveled at his troubles as well as the man burst out in obnoxious laughter. It did not bother the young, tailed thief, heck he would have laughed were someone else in the situation rather than him. Moogle were tough customers. Alta seems to have calmed down and landed on the ground. Zidane settled down and put his dagger back into his holster. Zidane looked around, his body shifting animatedly. There were a lot of people about working hard to help with reconstruction. Some helped out of a sense of guilt, while others felt it was their duty to assist their fellow brothers-in-arms. Burmecia was a long time ally to Lindblum, so it was only natural they would come to help. Alexandrians had a bit more to answer to. He was sure the Alexandrian Queen sent help out of a bit of both. They were thoughts that made him embarrassed. He would reach up to sheepishly rub the side of his head, wet hair sticking to his fingers and forehead. The rain always brought back memories. He wondered how Freya was doing. Was it difficult for her as well? Zidane looked to Zuko with a pout. "You try being facehugged by a Moogle." It was rough! Zidane looked to Noctis when his question came to pass. It was not a big deal to let it bother him, but it sure as hell a surprise, to say the least. The younger thief would nonchalantly shrug it off, but come to realize that, even with the warmth of this rain: they were getting soaked and that long trip was pretty exhausting. Zidane was not one to be bothered by much, but he had a strange feeling he could not shake, like something was watching them. There were too many eyes here to make sure of his suspicions though. Zuko brought up his questions to the rowdy Moogle who seemed to fluff up and giggle. As the pink fairy was about to open his mouth he gave a startled squeak. "Kupo! It's very nice to meet you! Oh, kupo!" Alta cried. "We should head inside." With the Moogle emitting a signature squeak: he turned around and hurriedly waddled into his home. Zidane lazily rubbed the side of his head as a sigh escaped him. Something was bugging him. "Let's take his offer." He suggested. "It was a long trip." Zidane shook his head, splashing about the water, grinning smugly to himself as he walked in. The Armory Alta lived in was quite heavily stocked. Weapons, armor and tools needed for war lay present in the once empty store. Zidane could see why they let a Moogle live in here. It was a good idea, but it was troubling too. Humans, unlike monsters, were not always willing to avoid the possible danger associated with harassing the tiny, pink faes. Rubbing at his head, the young thief walked to the back of the room where he dropped down on a dry patch of ground and removed his boots to spill out the collected water. The store was a lot fuller than he last remembered. With war at its end, there was no need to see it empty anymore. It was a good sign to see an Armory full: untouched. Atla waddled over to the side and motioned his paw to encourage the other company in before the tiny Moogle pushed closed the heavy armory doors. Zidane glanced to Noctis as if to encourage the thoughts of the tiny creatures' tenacity. "Ah, Atla, Mogrich got your letter, so we can in his stead." The rogue grinned. The mog brushed his paws to his fluffy cheeks in cheer. "Thank you very much for your concern, ku~poo." He nodded. "It was a big surprise, kupo." He pointed to the door. "Some brutes crashed in through my front door and started fighting in here." He shook his head with a squeak. "It took some time, but they finally separated!" Alta was quite relieved. "I was worried, kupo." He shook his head, his bobble bouncing. "They hung around outside arguing loudly for a while, kupo. Artemicion arrived to pick up mail, so I had him send a letter to Mogrich since he was closest, kupo!" Zidane appeared to be half listening as he pulled his boots back on with that uncomfortable wetness lingering. While Alta explained his situation with the others the redone would continue to fall and flood the ancient city. Large droplets danced upon the marble and gemstone, mosaic surfaces that dotted the whitewashed walls. The rhythmic drumming was a sorting song that chased away the awful memories that accompanied the past. The once silent, body-covered roads were no longer washed with the stench of blood and fear. Voices once again carried through the rains and provided a sense of change. People we living again. Even with their anger and bickering. That distrust showed they were no longer at war and had the leisure to worry about the more petty and is inconsequential nonsense peace allowed. But not all was rainbows and dark clouds. Outside a figure listened in on their conversation with the Moogle. A sly grin drew itself across their face. Hearing them moving about inside they ducked out and slipped back into the amorphous crowds. Inside Zidane stretched and sighed. The Moogle described the man being beat up by his friends to be a smart looking guy that had the soft exterior of a My. The thief pushed open the heavy door and stepped out. "Thanks Alta, we'll see what we can do about these thugs." Not much with so little to go on. Alta bade them a farewell and waved his paw. Back in the rains the young rogue settled his hands on his hips. His drying hair soon found reason to sink and shine as water washed over his form once again. He looked back for the other two and shrugged. "Unfortunately a Moogle's description of other humans is as reliable as me telling apart a girl by the shoes she wears." Because it was not her shoes he would concentrate on. "But it's more than something. It looks like not everyone is agreeing with their boss's methods. And if I know anything about mutinous hooligans is that they mope about where they are dropped. Let's head to the pub for a drink. I'm sure we can score some info there." With that the thief casually headed out. Close behind, snaking after the trio in the crowd was a large, burly figure. They stalked after the curious detectives, pushing through the dense body of people. Zidane felt it again. Something weird was going on. But what?

►TAGS: Next~!

►NOTES: Something crawling on your shoulder...

►SKILLS USED: n/a

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO

[Deleted]

It would appear that despite almost being smothered to death by a flying fluff ball, Zidane was just fine as he calmed down and put his dagger away as the little moogle landed on the ground with a giggle. As the tailed thief sat on the wet ground he would look around the place, swinging this way and that way as he did so. Noctis wasn't sure if ZIdane was just checking the place out or actually stretching out a pain caused from the fall, but in time the guy would eventually raise a hand to rub at the back of his head as an expression of embarrassment passed over his face.

Noctis's eyes narrowed a fraction at this as he wondered just what it was that Zidane was thinking that made him react like that; however, before he could pry or become concerned that the attack from the moogle might've caused some damage to Zidane's brain, the expression left the other's face as he turned his attention to Zuko and pouted.

As the words flowed out of Zidane's mouth, the other thief would grin revealing the four sharp canine teeth within his mouth amongst the other slightly duller teeth as he chuckled lightly at the comment.

"I've already done that and some more when it comes to moogles," he would admit as he shook his head seeming slightly embarrassed, but just like with Zidane the embarrassment lasted only a second and then the man was shaking it off as his eyes focused instead on the moogle.

As Zuko looked at the moogle, Noctis turned his attention to Zidane and asked if he was alright. In turn, Zidane looked up at him as he reached down to help with an expression of light surprise on his face as if he didn't expect Noctis to be worried about him at all, let alone offer help to him; however, Noctis did not let the expression bother him. He knew he could come off as cold or distant when he was guarded. He knew it took a moment for him to get to this point where he could somewhat trust new people and in turn, react naturally to situations. If the tables had been flipped and Zuko had been in Zidane's position, Noctis probably would've done the something similar, but if it were him there he wondered if the kindness would be handed or if both thieves would be laughing at the event.

It was an amusing thought, but one that was so trivial that Noctis pushed it away easily enough as he nodded back and helped the guy back to his feet (if he allowed it. Once the activity was done, Noctis gave Zidane his space back as his blue eyes drifted to Zuko as he heard the man ask his question so openly after the laugh.

Staying quiet, Noctis would simply watch the interaction as the rain continued to pour down upon them causing his clothes to weigh down upon him heavily and force his somewhat wild hair to flop under the water's weight. The rain...while it caused some chills still felt good and made Noctis want to simply close his eyes and enjoy it; however, this urge ended as he felt a strange tug hit him. This tug...the first part of it was caused by something unknown. Something heavy and dark that ran thorough the world before vanishing as it ran somewhere else in this world. The feeling made Noctis uncomfortable, like something bad was about to unfold not just here, but everywhere else too; however, the moment was so fleeting that he did not have time to focus on it, so for now he put the thoughts on hold as he brought himself back to reality.

When he did, the uneasiness kept its claws buried deep within him as he felt more so than saw the familiar feeling associated with being watched by unwanted eyes, but this pull was so faint that all it caused the prince to do was shift with slight nervousness in his spot before the nervousness was buried once more under his tough guy act.

When the moogle began to waddle towards its home, Noctis did not say anything as he simply nodded at Zidane's words agreeing that it had indeed been a long trip and the hard work afterwards just made exhaustion creep back in regardless of getting a slight nap as they traveled. Without complaint, Noctis followed the two thieves towards the home as Zidane shook his head, splashing water off of himself as he grinned smugly at some thought before entering the place the creature had flown out of. Keeping his emotions well hidden, Noctis would enter after Zidane did and then move further into the place as his eyes scanned the area as an expression of open curiosity and wonder crept back on his face despite his best efforts to remain blank. Armor, weapons, tools and other old fashion items needed to wage war were neatly collected within the store room making the place fell a bit small when three grown men and a moogle were jammed in the place amongst all the items collected. Despite how cramped the area felt, Noctis was still amazed at how well kept the items were as he moved to far end of the room scanning everything carefully.

Nothing seems to be out of place, Noctis thought as he settled into a dry spot and turned back to face the gathered group. As he turned, he saw Zidane plop down in a spot of his own before removing his boots to pour out excess water while Zuko settled in another spot across the room and shook only the slightest to get the droplets of rain that had settled on his cloak off. Outside of this, the man was dry. Odd, but something Noctis simply expected when it came to the strange man.

As for himself, Noctis was not bothered about being soaked. His clothing would dry in time and while rain water did sink into his shoes and socks, it was not enough to warrant taking them off to empty them out. So dripping with water, Noctis folded his arms as he carefully leaned back against a sturdy box and watched the moogle with a gaze that showed much respect for the small creatures and their strength. However, despite his respect and amazement for the creatures being able to handle things way larger than themselves, the expression on Noctis’s face remained serious as continued to thinking.

The moogle had sent the letter and seemed like he was in trouble, so they came to check up on the creature only to find that absolutely nothing was wrong. While it was true that this store room had enough in stock to make a human desperate enough attack the place, Noctis could not find anything that would warrant a letter such as the one that was sent. Maybe the moogle had cleaned up the mess that was made before they came and then locked the door to prevent further attacks. Or maybe it simply did not take much to rattle a moogle and cause it to run for help; however, Noctis found it hard to believe that a creature that could knock down a grown man, nearly suffocate him, and close a door four times as big as itself with no problem would simply cry wolf if nothing big had happened. Maybe the thing that startled it was still nearby. Maybe…maybe…

Whatever the case was, Noctis cleared his mind as he settled on simply waiting to hear what was going on. As he settled on this, he felt a pair of eyes on him and glanced calmly to the side to see Zidane watching him as if he was waiting for him to say something, but instead of words the young prince would give the guy a shrug and slight smirk that showed he was indeed impressed with the moogle’s strength and ability to hold down a storeroom alone, but as he looked away and the expression settled back into seriousness, one who could read others well could tell there was something on Noctis mind.
Something that was more than just this strange bit of disconnecting facts when it came to the letter and the condition of the place and the moogle they had come to see.

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After having a good laugh at the scene outside, Zuko had pretty much ignored the glare from the kid as he saw nothing wrong with what he did. In his line of work and in life in general, there were those that would poke fun at the dangers in the world as long as no one got hurt and others like the kid that for whatever reason just couldn’t lighten up. He wasn’t sure if it was a trust matter or something else that kept the kid more serious than himself or Zidane, but then again he really didn’t care what it was either. As long as Mr. Serious didn’t do anything to set him off, he could handle being around the party crasher as long as it was necessary to get his job done and claim the reward.

He had dealt with worse personalities beforehand, so he let the attitude and odd vibes he got from the guy roll off him just as easily as the rain ran off of his enchanted cloak In any case, once the thief had composed himself, he got a more natural reaction from Zidane, who seemed to understand where he was coming from a lot better than the boy seemed to. The small amount of kinship that was felt at the response caused the grin to appear on Zuko’s face and the words that followed to flow out easily.

Once things had settled and questions were tossed out, Zuko followed Zidane and Noctis into the store room the moogle had invited them into taking note that the pair ahead of him seemed to be bothered by something, but by what he did not know. Zidane didn’t seem too happy about the idea of going inside and the kid for whatever reason had become quiet.

Their behavior was odd and didn’t make sense until he had reached the door and began to enter the store room. It was here, as he was crossing over the threshold that he would finally pick up on what the other two already knew. Something was watching them; however, even knowing this, the thief would enter the store room as if nothing was wrong before he would make his way to a dry spot in the leaky place and settle.

He was used to being watched. So used to it in fact that he was numb to the fact when it did occur. He couldn’t pick up on watchful eyes like others could. It was a flaw for sure, but one that Zuko had compensated for in other ways, so the flaw was not that big of a problem. In any case once, they were inside and settled, Zuko glanced around at the gathered group as each one did their own thing to get dry and comfortable.

Or at least he and Zidane did, all the kid did was take up and spot before falling deeper into whatever thoughts plagued him and kept him so quiet. It was kind of unnerving for the kid’s attitude change this way, considering that before he came off as quite a little firecracker underneath all his calmness. Deciding to keep a slight eye on the kid to see if the attitude change was the signal to something bad or not, Zuko eyes eventually drifted to Zidane as the guy began emptying his shoes. There was a brief silent exchange between the kid and Zidane that gave Zuko hope that the kid was going back to himself; however, all too soon the guy was right back at being Mr. Serious again.

Shaking himself lightly both to fling off the water droplets on his enchanted cloak that kept him dry and to shake away the worrisome thoughts regarding the kid, Zuko would eventually become still again as he begun to listen and watch as Zidane began to talk with the moogle explaining why they were there.

As the tailed thief explained, the moogle celebrated in his own way before thanking them for coming. Shortly after this, he dove into answering the question Zuko had posed in the rain. As the thief listened, he nodded to the words as everything clicked into place.

There was not really “trouble” per se that had occurred. It had just been a group of rowdy folks who couldn’t agree upon something and upon said disagreement had accidently brought their fight inside the storeroom startling the moogle. In his panic, he sent the letter to Mogrich who in turned handed it over to Zidane when he spotted them on the roofs of Treno.

Typical moogle behavior that in most cases Zuko would’ve ignored; however, when one was on a hunt for something elusive one did not simply ignore potential clues. Luckily for them, this one was not exactly a dead end. The words proved they were not too far off the mark with their guessing games. If people were fighting then there had to be something big they were arguing over. Something that would blind the ones fighting to the suffering of a city that needed help rebuilding. Something that smelled of lovely gil…

That gold armor is close at hand. All we have to do is to see if the loser was left behind and then get him to tell us what we want to know, Zuko thought to himself happily as smirked inwardly at the thought, but on the outside he remained wearing a neutral expression. As soon as the information was out in the open, Zidane pulled his boots back on before stretching as the moogle not only confirmed that the loser of the argument was still somewhere in the city, but also gave them a description of the person that was not very helpful. Again very typical of the somewhat helpful moogles.

With everything they needed in hand, Zidane got his feet before heading towards the door and pulling it open, letting the sound of scent of rain come into the place fully now. Before exiting, the blonde told the moogle that they would handle the thug problem before heading out in the rain.

Zuko followed close behind the other thief, giving the moogle a nod in turn for the wave. As he stepped back out the thief would stretch lightly in the rain as his eyes scanned the crowds of people, searching for some clue of someone being beat up as he waited for the kid to come out.
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Noctis remained quietly leaning against the box as he listened to the conversation. He was relieved that the only thing that had startled the moogle and caused him to send the letter was simply a fight that had gotten out of hand. The situation could’ve been worse, but luckily for them it was not. As the moogle continued to talk and even describe the one that was beat up (if you could call the vague description… descriptive), Noctis’s eyes would remain locked on the floor until a faint tug from the direction of the door drew those serious blue orbs upward to the sturdy object.

He couldn’t tell what it was, but something was definitely on the other side of the door, but why it was there and what it was doing was beyond the prince. He didn’t like it. What if whatever was out there could hear what they were saying? Or worse yet what if what was out there was actually the culprits?

The questions went on in the young prince’s head as his eyes narrowed so slightly that the action was barely noticeable. In any case, Noctis would remain staring at the door until Zidane stretched and whatever was out there moved from its position taking its presence with it. Blinking calmly, Noctis watched as Zidane prepared to leave, telling the moogle that they would take care of the thugs before he was opening the door and exiting back out in the rain. With ease, Zuko followed behind, but Noctis remained where he was for a second longer, thinking about the situation and that presence for a while longer.

As he lingered, the moogle looked over at him questioningly. Eventually the prince would push the thoughts away as he pulled himself back to reality. Catching the moogle’s eye, Noctis shook his head slightly at the creature as he gave it a small smile to assure the creature it had nothing to worry about. Then pushing himself off the box, he gave the moogle a light bow of thanks before exiting the building and joining the others in the rain that instantly soaked his clothing and washed over his mostly dry skin once more. As the warm rain water washed over him, his eyes flicked to Zuko who was scanning the crowds before those blue orbs were moving back to Zidane as the blonde settled his hands upon his hips looking for all the world like some comical super hero preparing for battle. Heh. The rain even gave him a “shine” to add to the scene picture.

The small amusement caused Noctis to shake his head lightly as a small smile came upon his lips as he thought about some of the happier memories of his childhood…before everything went wrong and he was burden with the things he was burdened with today.

He missed those times of joy and simplicity. Being with his friends and family. Being content with their happiness. Yes. Those times had passed, but with time, Noctis would be sure to win that peace back for his homeland and spread that peace to other places in needed. It was a long shot, but Noctis knew this was what he had to do. As soon as he was equipped with the knowledge he needed to get back home and travel freely in the worlds, he would begin this task. Fixing things the best he could one step at a time.

Sure it would be hard to do this job alone, but Noctis figured that there were others out there that would help him and in turn, he could help. In fact, as he stood there in the rain watching Zidane, he believed that he might’ve found one of those people that would help him in the end. Granted, he wouldn’t dare ask the guy for such a favor until he knew him better, but for the moment the thought was comforting.

He trusted Zidane. A trust that steadily grew the more he spent time around the guy… and this growing trust was enough to keep the prince loyal and motivated to help the guy…and in a way, wanting to protect him if he could. It felt like the right thing to do and so the prince would follow the gut feeling until said feeling was proven wrong to follow. As much as this boded well for Zidane, the same could not be said of Zuko. While Noctis wanted to keep him from going down the wrong path due to the vision he had back on the airship before arriving here, the young man could not bring himself to trust the thief that seemed like he would betray them at a whim. It was…a complicated matter with Zuko to say the least since just being around the guy caused internal conflict within the prince as half of him wanted to give the guy a chance and the other half did not. The constant flipping and flopping between the two sides made it very difficult to figure out what to do with Zuko, so Noctis kept the guy at arm’s length, despite wanting to save him from his meeting with death.

Emotions and headaches aside, Noctis would eventually pull himself out of his thoughts as Zidane looked back at them and shrugged before speaking. As the man spoke, Noctis eyebrows would raise slightly as he heard the way the other describe the moogle’s description of the beat up man with some rather choicely words. Automatically Noctis’s became curious as to what exactly Zidane would remember about a woman that would help him tell them apart and as tempting as it was to ask the somewhat teasing question, a different sort of comment came out of Noctis’s mouth as his lips curled into a slight smile.

"Well that is not very helpful at all then, is it?" Noctis said calmly before giving Zidane a playful smirk as Zuko gasped in exaggerated fashion at the words.

"Oh? Now he talks? I wonder why," Zuko said as he pretended to study him seriously.

Glancing at the other thief, Noctis shrugged lightly.

"I'll let you two figure it out," he poked back gaining a grin and chuckle from the other, who seemed to be happy that Noctis was dropping his guard and loosening up. An act that was welled played since the prince did nothing of the sort under the playful front; however, unless one was extremely perceptive, the act would appear genuine to the casual observer…which thankfully Zuko seemed to be at the moment.

In any case, after the small moment of light-heartedness passed Noctis turned his attention back to Zidane as he continued explaining that the information while little was still helpful enough. From what the blonde was saying, the person who was beaten was probably still somewhere in the city. It made sense.

After all, an injured person, especially one that was tossed from a group, did have the tendency to mope in the area they were harmed or in some rarer cases, the injured party would actually slink off elsewhere to lick their wounds; however, even in these cases, the injured one never went too far since physical damage always hampered travel.

It also made logical sense that when in search of information bars and other areas where locals would gather in great numbers were the places to go to find what one sought. Besides, it was also the most likely place to find the beat up one moping about if he was one to be bitter and linger in thoughts like that over a drink….

Or at least this was the logic Noctis was using when he gave Zidane a light nod and a “Yeah” in agreement to the plan before following the blonde to their next destination with Zuko in tow.

In reality, Noctis couldn’t have been happier to go to get a drink right at this point. Not only would it calm his nerves that refused to untangle themselves no matter how much he pretended to be calm or content, but it was also a good place to start getting to know the pair he was around or at least see how they worked in a more relaxed environment.

In Noctis’s mind, the situation was a win-win all around, so he would followed along quite content with the decision until that sensation of being watched hit him hard once more. It was the same presence he had sensed at the door. Now it was back and closer than before. It was unnerving….

Slowing his pace slightly and allowing Zuko to get ahead of him, Noctis turned slightly to look over his left shoulder bowing his head lightly causing his damp bangs to swing forward and frame his face and providing some cover as the to what exactly he was looking at as he scan the crowds through the spaces in the wet locks as he continued to move keeping people within his peripheral vision so he wouldn’t run into them. He was searching for the source of that uneasiness that hide in the rain and closely packed bodies, but not matter how hard he searched, he could not find the figure that pushed passed people and followed them using the constantly shifting crowd as to mask its moves.

What is it?

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Noctis turned back around and resume his normal pace to catch up with the others as he his senses remained alert to whatever that strange presence following them was bringing with it.
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TAG: Your it! ^^
Note: …I hope that thing isn't violent.....

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves Zidane was never one to openly fret or constantly worried. He believed that what came, was a result of many things coming together into one, narrow path. By the time everything had passed by, and many, at one time or another, had come across that path, it became worn. The easy steps would become a grueling crawl that often ended in a person collapsing from exhaustion and pain by the end of their journey. He felt that this was always the hardest part about adventuring. So many others had come before you, and left no clues as to how to succeed, but perhaps they had nothing to go on either, and for them it was the very same experience. Regardless of how he felt on the matter, it was always worth making it to the end. It was under the blind hope that you were the only one to make it as you did, that kept you pride of the goal you had picked. This path was difficult for him. Though he was torn by the knowledge that the path he took was the much harder one, he understood he did it to help a friend. Truth be told: he did not think twice about it. The moment he had read the tiny, Moogle script he was instantly wrought with worry and gripped by the fear of peril coming upon the Moogle, but he had to keep on his act. For the sake of the questionable company that came to join them on their journey. Though Noctis was suspect, at first, it became clear to the thief, quite quickly, that this boy had no experience in this world. Not in the general sense of traveling between worlds, but this dark Underworld that thieves, bandits and pirates relished. They were not the only sort that sneak about here. Murderers, vile cutthroats also occupied their ranks and were a bit harder to avoid because of their skill. Lies came easy to a thief, but when honesty was necessary it soon became a matter of being conditioned to never trust your neighbor. Zidane was not raised in such a dark setting. Though he was well aware of it, he was granted the luck to have a kind-hearted boss that had a good head on his shoulders. Just because you needed to steal something, didn't mean everyone along the way had to be left a stiff, cold corpse. Noctis was green, but in the sense that he had never stolen a thing in his life. The boy was no crook, he was barely a rebel. Zuko was, from the start, something Zidane realized he had to keep at arm's length. Though the boy, naturally, trusted everyone, always being sure to give them the benefit of the doubt, he knew better than to easily accept the notion that thieves were 'good'. Even his own gang, given the chance, would steal your family heirlooms from right under your skirt! Such things did not matter to them, so with this understanding Zidane knew that Zuko had his own goals and they were just collateral. He was fine with this and understood that everyone had their own way to live. So long as the guy didn't take things too far, Zidane was pretty quiet about the whole deal. He felt that Noctis might become a hindrance, even hurt himself. He got the sneaking suspicion that Noctis might be a noble. Though his clothing were far from the state of a High Class Lord, the fact was he was not from this world and as far as the thief has traveled: not everything could be taken at face value or comparison to his own world. He shuffled through the crowds with a practiced ease that came from a person very used to crowds. His body surfed across the people with a skill that pickpockets often used to get in and out of crowds by misdirecting attention with the natural ebb and flow of these close quarters. The male could have easily loosened someone's gil pouch or pinched a lady's purse right off its strings, but his mind was focused on the task at hand. Why even his hands were strongly tucked in his pockets to prevent the natural wandering of his gloved fingers. It was not long before they managed to find the ramshackle set up. It was only a temporary place while much of the construction remained ongoing. A few stools and tables laid out under a make-shift shelter of wood stopped the rain with the help of a tarp cloth pulled over it and tied down to the ground. by stakes. The clamor of workmen and Engineer from Lindblum and Alexandria could be heard mixing about the native workers, many who had survived and returned to rebuild their lost home. Zidane shuffled under the shelter and snaked his fingers through his sandy, blonde hair to throw back the slick mop to better see the present company. blue eyes would come to spot a figure native to his own home, causing him to smirk. "Hey, what's the stupid special?!" He called out. His harsh shout caused the bartender to turn to attention at the rude behavior. "Hey boy," The familiar Bobo called. "What are you doing all the way out here? Up to no good with the boys?" Not many knew Tantalus were a band of thieves, but him and his brothers had enough of a reputation as Lady Killers and drunken troublemakers to stand all their own in Lindblum. Zidane rubbed the back of his head, a wily smirk painting his features. He turned to Noctis and Zuko, motioning his hand to them. "Nah, was helping some old friends by paying them a visit, see if I could help with construction. Stopped by to see Atla." The boy moved to pull himself onto the counter, always liking to be at center stage. "Yeah right," Bobo denied the boy. "When have you ever done a lick a work?" The two laughed. Zidane shrugged. "Ya got me, so how bout a round of drinks for us?" As Bobo turned to supply the order the Thief would lean forward on the counter. "Hey Bobo, any fights break out yet?" The boy knew, as any adult here, that there were often problems between the races. With Alexandirans having had a hand in the conflicts to begin with, and Burmecians being a proud people on their own: there were fisticuffs bound to start up. "You always out for trouble." Bobo stated, passing the three drinks. Zidane smirked widely and took his drink. "Aww, you know me. I love a good bar fight!" "None of that crap here, or I'll smack you one good." Bobo threatened. And Zidane knew he'd make good of it! The thief sat back and took a swig of his cup, sighing at at the warm sensation burning down his throat. It was a good feeling after along, arduous flight. The young rogue leaned over and looked to his drink, as if concentrating on it. His tail hung low and slowly swayed as his mind started to circle with this new information.. So there was a fight and caused one of the flighty Moogles to respond to it by sending a letter, but a Moogle's letter took days to arrive somewhere and that was if all was going well. Artemicion was not the most accredited Mail Moogle. Most letters reached their destination without fail, but how long has it been? From Burmecia to Lindblum it should have taken no more than half a day. It took them another half day to get here. And there it was again. That presence. Someone was watching them. The thief would order another drink to wash down his first drink with. He was pretty good at holding his own when it came to drinking, at least after the first six rounds. "You two noticed?" he whispered before taking down his third drink. It was one of these guys, but the room looked pretty natural. A mix of ragtag workers, volunteers and engineers filled the crappy pub and no one stood out, but Zidane felt that was part of the problem. A room always had a number of weirdos. It was statistically a normality. But when no one stood out, Zidane felt something was going on. It dawned on him after he allowed his eyes to slowly trace around the room. A weapon sheathed on a hip here, an uncuffed sleeve there. The way these guys sat and how they spoke drew his attention to their manner of inflection, their ability to use the technical terminology for their trade. Zidane lived in a city full of workers and engineers. Half of the crap he heard he could not decipher, but here it was like a night on the bar with his brothers. All these guys were thieves, or crooks of some sort. Though many crooks took temporary jobs among the common worker: their clothing were often old hand-me downs that were pale and worn. Though hygiene among the working class were relatively the same, there were some quirks only thieves took to: such as keeping neatly buttoned and bundled, believing looking more attentive to their clothing, less like crooks. if anything it made them stand out more. "Ahh man!" Zidane groaned loudly. "Be back guys, I gotta take a piss. We'll talk 'bout that mutineer punk." he patted Noctis and Zuko on the back, but the motion had much more to it. He left his hands on the two a few seconds more than they needed to be, begin sure to drag his hands off their backs in an invasive fashion. He acted rather tipsy, but the boy barely kicked back three drinks. He wobbled his way outside, Bobo shouting that he not piss on the building, causing some laughter to bubble up. Zidane headed out back, but when he did someone made motion to follow. Zidane actually did have to pee really bad. He drank a bit too much, too fast. The boy completely disregarded Bobo's threat about his aim and allowed himself a moment of reprieve. It was not until he heard something click did he bolt out of the way. A muted clunk hit against the wood of the ramshackle pub. Looking up the thief saw a blade stabbed into the wall, a chain connected to the blade and linking back to a tall Burmecian, riddled with scars and still-healing bruises. "I see you ain't some run-a-the-mill punk." The man slurred out. Damn, he was drunk and threw that?! Zidane bound his belt as he rushed to his feet, sliding around to face the ruffian. Zidane smirked, remaining partially crouched on the floor. "The mutineer I'm guessing?" The thief sassed with a belligerent smirk. The Burmecian sneered though. He did not find it as amusing as Zidane did. Zidane was quick to sober up, thankful he only had about three drinks down, or was it four? Once he got started it was hard to stop the joy from flowing. The nezumi took a step forward, his bare foot-paw digging into the stony floor. With a snap of his shoulder he reeled back the blade and chain with expert ease. That was something the rogue had never seen before.... The Burmecian stood at an average height. One of his ears were severely torn, but an old wound and healed over through time. His muzzle was scraped up, nearly furless. He wore neat fitting clothing: a dull green vest with a white blouse, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wore loose, tan pants and a beige kerchief around his neck. "Yer a nosy lil monkey...." The man stood ready to attack again. The end of the chain in his right hand and the bladed end in his left. "S'what they tell me." He stood with his hands on his hips. "But I hear you out a gang, maybe I can worm my way in..." Of course the boy was goading the guy on... And it damn well worked as the Burmecian threw out the blade, intent on taking Zidane's foot. The thief shifted his weight and back flipped, easily avoiding the critical attack. Of course this guy had been the one who fought against his own leader. It was an unfortunate turn of events that lead to his defeat. Far too many had decided the plan was safer to follow than disobeying the Captain. Now the Captain was off to Alexandria to find the last piece of the puzzle: A Gold Shield. The Gold Shield was housed in the Noble's District in the part of Alexandria closest to the great Gates. His gang composed of at least six members, including the captain. It was a mix of folks from around the Three Great Capitals. It was rumored the Captain fought directly in the war and faced the terror of the Black Mages. He had a majority of his prize, and only needed to grab two more pieces, the second to the last at an old Noble woman's house. They were going by sea: toward the Alexandrian Harbors.

►TAGS: Next~!

►NOTES: Stirred up some trouble!

►SKILLS USED: N/A

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO

[Deleted]

Worry and concern...

No matter how far Noctis pushed these two feelings down within him, no matter what sort of words of encouragement he gained, always these two feelings remained his constant companions. Maybe it was his sense of duty that caused him to constantly be on edge and ever watchful under the cool exterior he put up. Perhaps it was the fact that Noctis knew what it was like to be the hunted that kept the young man from easily trusting those he met. Maybe it was his want to survive and protect others that caused him to be this way - cautious and yet very upfront with his emotions and feelings. He did not hide his disapproval for things he saw as wrong and he had no problem stepping on toes and speaking out against things that rubbed him the wrong way. Shy or not, the boy knew when he could be himself and when he had to be the strong pillar that held up in the coming storms. He adapted well enough to new things, his own flaw being that he was a bit jumpy at the start due to his distrust of the world and his rather grim outlook on life. While he could indeed enjoy life to its fullest, it did not halt the fact that at times Noctis could see other's death before they happened and while outside of his own world, this ability only kicked in every now and then, it was still a somewhat uncomfortable fact that Etro's grip had remain firm upon him even when he was away from the world that he and the goddess of death came from.

Far from his own home, she had shown him how the thief Zuko would end and while this indeed brought heavy concern to the prince who was all about helping those in need even if they were not exactly one of the good guys, what bothered the young man even more than that was what that vision meant for Zidane and himself. It was true that following the trails of this golden armor had put them in danger before, but just how much more danger would it bring to them now?

Following the trail they had run into strange monsters called Griffons and then a moogle with a letter from another that was supposedly in trouble; however, when Zidane had decided to check on the moogle that was said to be in trouble, they had discovered the moogle was fine and nothing bad had seemingly occurred. All they got in return for all their trouble from the moogle’s vague information that told them that there had been a fight that had startled the moogle and in turn caused him to send the letter that had somehow found its way to Zidane; however, how long did it take for said letter to get to where it had gotten? Noctis couldn't imagine it getting to the destination quickly unless the moogles could teleport or something, a skill they did not seem to possess, but then again what did he know?

The point was it had taken them a while to get to Burmecia and so it was quite possible they had missed the boat and their guy completely...and yet seemingly without being phased by this knowledge, Zidane had taken what he heard from the moogle out the door and back into the rain suggesting that they hit the pub for a drink and information. It was a logical location to start, since if it was like a normal pub, people would gather including their beat up guy if they were not too late in arriving to this location.

Following Zidane and Zuko from the moogle's home, Noctis walked through the rain slick streets trailing quietly behind the two thieves that seemed perfectly content and unconcerned about the situation as they moved amongst the crowds with natural ease. Noctis envied them for their relaxed air. He wishes he could loosen up like that, but his body refused to be calm. His nerves remained in knots as his mind wandered from one thing to another as the situation surrounding this gold armor became stranger and stranger. He was hoping a drink or two would calm him, but it would seem that before they could even reach the pub a presence that seemed to be following them around decided to tag along only increasing the prince's nerves.

Despite looking back and searching the crowds, the young man did not find their stalker and so he had turned back around and hurried after the two thieves that were now a little ways ahead of him. As he caught up and fell in step behind the pair, he did his best to keep his eyes and mind focused on what was ahead; however, that presence that was following them bugged him all the way to the pub...or rather the makeshift shelter that was called a pub. Being a mix of sturdy wood and a tarp that was pulled tightly over the top and held down by stakes to make a cover, there were various tables and such pulled under the shelter were many workers gathered to talk and relax. The smells and mannerism of some of these customers was repulsive to say the least, but Noctis ignored it as he moved under the tent and glanced around the area from under his wet bangs. What he saw made him nervous.

While these people were supposedly workers, there was something in their presentation and way of speaking that reminded him a lot of Zidane and Zuko...and from the way some eyed him as he continued to examine the room, the prince assumed that like his companions these people were not exactly just workers, but instead thieves or some other sort of criminal posing as workers. The sight was unnerving, but Noctis kept his uneasiness hidden well as he pretended at least to casually look for a good spot to sit....
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As the trio entered the pub, Zuko easily sunk into the familiar scents associated with the working class, but even more so than that the criminal class. The smell was welcoming as the strange mage like thief easily looked around the place with slightly glowing blue eyes. He was marking the people in the crowd he thought was trouble, but at the same time he was searching for their target that was probably hiding amongst these "handsome guys"; however, as his eyes scanned the room, he found himself frowning inwardly. Finding their guy was going to be tough. Everyone around here could easily be their guy. What with the fresh wounds that some still bore from previous fights and what not? Trying to find their guy would be a challenge, but one that Zuko was willing to take. After all, if they could find the loser, they could potentially get one step closer to that armor and the key he was sure was following it. Oh yes. That treasure would be his in the end.

Despite how impatient Zuko was becoming with the hunt and getting his treasure, the thief remained calm as his casual observing went from the room to Noctis who despite his best efforts was still giving off the energy of a nervous wreck which in turn would make the guy draw attention. In fact, there were already some “gentlemen” giving the kid some looks that suggested that maybe if they could get him alone or had an excuse to attack the boy they would.

After all, unlike himself and Zidane, Noctis wasn't exactly dressed to blend in. Sure, his clothing weren't the best, but they were far superior to the hand me downs that this group of folk wore and what about the way he carried himself, hmm? Proud and confident despite the nerves, a noble like trait...and if it was assumed he was a noble, then it would only be a matter of time before someone would be itching to steal something from the guy.

Smirking at the thought, but figuring Noctis would simply have to learn to handle himself in this situation, Zuko was on the edge of heading towards a table in the corner when he was completely distracted by Zidane who decided to yell across the room to the old guy that ran the bar asking him about the special of the day. The words were a joke or familiar greeting it would seem since the old guy upon noticing the blonde responded back in a more or less friendly way. Following Zidane over to the counter, Zuko hopped up onto a bar stool easily enough before placing his elbow on the hard surface and leaning his head in his open palm, appearing to be completely relaxed and patiently waiting for the pair to shut up so he could place his order as water lightly dripped from him to the floor and pooled slightly on the counter. Like a good customer of the bar, Zuko did not appear to care about this as he listened to what was being said.

For the most part, the conversation was useless chatter, but then something came up that made the wheels in Zuko's head start turning. Shortly after the blonde had ordered drinks for them, he had asked a seemingly harmless question to the casual listener; however, to one in the loop of things, the casual question weighed much more than its surface value suggested.

As Zidane asked about fights and the bar keeper pretty much told him in his own that none had occurred recently before threatening to whack Zidane good should he start a fight here after the former had teased about causing chaos.

As his drink was passed to him, Zuko smirked slightly as he picked up the glass and within a few gulps had down the first one. Sighing contently as the liquid instantly warmed his body, Zuko remained silent as a light smile stayed upon his lips. He seemed to be enjoying the feeling of the liquid flowing through his veins, but in reality as the thief order another drink, he was already picking apart the pieces the short conversation had left him.

Alright. So he could assume that from the time that moogle arrived to them with the letter from Alta that at least a half a day had passed and if it took another half a day to get to Burmecia then they were a day or so late. The fight had passed, but did that mean that their targets had gone far in such a short period of time? Or had they gotten cocky that their net of lies would keep people confused enough to give them some time to slack off?

Zuko downed his second drink before turning slightly to scan the group of mixed folk gathered here with narrowed eyes as if the two drinks he had was getting him drunk enough to start a fight. Their targets could be any of the folk here, but the question was who was it? While Zuko didn't mind a bit of chaos in life, he rather not start picking fights with people that could be brutes when they wanted to be. No, if he was going to pick a fight with someone, he wanted that someone to be his target or at least close enough to the target to make the culprit reveal itself.

Turning away from the crowd, Zuko was pleased to see another drink before him. As he picked up the glass, he heard Zidane’s whisper and just made a muffled "mhmm" as he downed the third drink, his body becoming more and more relaxed as he continued to drink. Despite the relaxation, the thief was far from drunk yet. Oh no, it would take a lot more drinks or something heavier to get him complete drunk...after all, he was the drinking champion where he came from known to put down things far worse than this rather weak liquid he was drinking now, so instead of getting the usual dizziness and what not that signaled drunkenness, the thief was put into a relaxed state that only opened the thief up to causing trouble.

He could sense the presence of their stalker once more. Sense the pair eyes upon them again, but Zuko didn't seem too concerned about this fact as he finished off his drink and sat the glass down. As he did the bar tender looked at the glass before giving him a questioning look as if hesitating to give him another glass on fear of what it might do to him; however, the bar tender had nothing to fear for the moment since right when Zuko was about to signal for another drink, Zidane (after observing the room) made an announcement out of where he was going and what they could do when he got back.

As the blonde got up, he patted Zuko and Noctis on the back, the other thief not even bothering to acknowledge the way the guy let his hands linger on his back for a second too long as he simply waved Zidane off as if he was slightly annoyed with the slight drunk way Zidane was acting as he dragged his hands off of them. As Zidane wobbled his way outside, Zuko would get a fourth drink as the bar tender warned Zidane not to piss on the building. While this got a few chuckles and a head shake from the Noctis, Zuko downed the fourth drink before placing the glass down and sliding off of his stool. Back on his feet, he stretched before saying something about going to try and find a card game to play. Then letting his hands drop to his side once more, the man scanned the room before he pretty much left the kid alone as he sunk into the crowds once more.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This situation had gotten out of hand rather quickly. While Noctis did indeed sit down with Zidane and Zuko and even drank at least one drink and half of a second, the young prince did not find his nerves settling with the warm liquid flowing through him. No. Quite the opposite happened.

Instead of relaxing, Noctis remained on edge as he kept his back to the suspicious crowd that watched him from the corner of their eyes. He couldn't explain it, but something nagged him from the back of his mind, warning them that they were in danger, but as Noctis peeked back at the crowd, he couldn't find the source of this concern. All of these guys looked like they could be the guy they were searching for and yet at the same time, they could simply be just another crook or so waiting for the right moment to pounce on him or some other unsuspecting victim.

The atmosphere was uncomfortable and was made even more uncomfortable shortly after the conversation Zidane and the barkeeper had. The conversation revealed that perhaps the trio had been too late to arrive on the scene as the young prince had first suspected. It seemed like there had been a calm between the fight that had gotten the letter sent out and the time they had arrived on the scene. Unsure of how much time had passed between the two events, Noctis wondered if being in this pub was such a good idea. Sure, it was a place of information, but it was also a place screaming with trouble. While Noctis was not one to run from trouble there was something about this situation right now that made the prince want to leave the smelly place and be outside for a moment to think. Something he usually wouldn’t do when he was already on edge and choicely liquids were present.

There was someone in this room right now that had been following them around and now waited in the mass of bodies for the right time to strike. As if sensing this too, Zidane had made his comment getting a light nod from the tense prince as Zuko simply made a muffled sound and downed another drink as if it was nothing was wrong. Not bothering to even try to figure out how these two remained so relaxed in this situation, Noctis stayed alert as he moved to finish off his second drink. As he empty the glass and sat it back on the counter, he placed his hand over the top of the glass, letting the bar tender know he didn't want any more to drink, an action that seemed to please the man who had been running between Zuko and Zidane with to refill drinks.

Unlike the other two, who the prince wasn't sure if they were drunk or not yet, Noctis remained sober in the situation knowing that two drinks was his limit. If he pushed himself further than that, there would be an unnecessary mess on their hands. He needed to stay focus and alert, especially if the two with him were going to get any fuller with liquor. Who knew what sort of trouble could unfold otherwise.

Taking in a light breath and releasing it slowly, Noctis did what he could to calm some of his nerves down just as Zidane decided to make his announcement about having to go to the bathroom. After making the announcement, the guy had patted them on the back before sliding his hands off the pair in a fashion that seemed to annoy Zuko, but only made Noctis's nerves flair back up as it confirmed without a doubt that the target that they had been searching for was in this very place. As Zidane left, Zuko ordered another drink and after downing it he decided he wanted to play a card game before moving to do just that.

Not really phased by being abandoned by the other thief, Noctis watched him leave, but as he did this he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned just in time to see a shadow going in the direction that Zidane had went. Not liking the looks of that scene, Noctis slid off of his stool and then after telling the bar tender that he would be back, he went in the direction the shadow and Zidane had gone.

A few seconds later, Noctis was back outside and was just in time to see that the shadow was a strange rat like creature with still healing bruises. The creature was a mess of old wounds and scars making the guy intimidating enough; however, what caught Noctis attention the most outside of the way the guy swayed and lashed his tail in the damp air was the fact that this guy was armed with a chained weapon that ended in a blade...a blade which he was using with ease to try and get at the more agile Zidane.

The pair was in the middle of a heated chat that revealed that the drunken rat guy was indeed the mutineer; however, the way Zidane rubbed this fact and the fact that the guy was no longer part of his own gang in the other's face caused only danger to come towards the tailed thief.

In agitation and anger, the guy made an attack upon Zidane as his weapon sailed through the air before it landed with a heavy clatter in the spot where Zidane's foot had been a second ago as the other flipped out of the way.

"Be still, you cursed monkey!" the rat like man growled as he yanked his weapon off the ground causing it to arc up in the air before he shook the chain in a strange fashion that caused the weapon to change its direction midair and shoot out towards Zidane's chest like a snake.

Whether it hit or not, the guy would eventually, retract his weapon catching the blade in one hand as he coiled the chain in the other. Not bothering to give Zidane time to even recover if he needed to, the guy reared his arm back and prepared to unleash another attack; however, as he did this, Noctis dashed forward and nabbed the guy’s wrist as their bodies collided.

Noctis’s intent was to knock the guy over, but the large rat like man was a lot stronger and sturdier than he seemed. While Noctis did indeed manage to stop the attack and force the guy to stumble forward, the guy managed to stay standing as he lashed out his tail causing the whip like body part to slap uncomfortably against Noctis damp and bare lower legs as it coiled slightly around him before releasing him once more. Not sure if the move was more for balance or something else, Noctis kept a firm grip on the guy's wrist as he struggled to break free, but then seeing that he could not get free, the guy unexpectedly lowered his body as he yanked his arm forward. The action forced Noctis to stumble forward. As he stumbled forward, the guy backed into him hard, bringing his shoulder equal with the boy's stomach.

So as he backed into him, the wind was knocked out of Noctis causing the grip he had upon the man’s wrist to loosen slightly. This in turn gave the guy the chance he needed to free his hand and in turn, wrap the chain he held around Noctis's wrist. Winded and with his hand trapped, Noctis found himself being yanked off of his feet as the guy bent forward pulling his arm and the chains as he performed an over the shoulder throw that easily placed Noctis on his back right at the guy's clawed feet.

There was an involuntary “oof!” from the prince as he was slammed to the ground wet ground.

Growling and lashing his tail violently at the air, the rat like man grumbled something about weaklings challenging him before he was sliding that chain off of Noctis’s wrist and positioning the blade in his other hand to come down upon the young man’s chest; however, as the guy reared back his arm to prepare to strike, Noctis blocked out his soreness as he swiveled around on his back and used his legs to unbalance and effectively trip up the guy.

With a curse, the guy lost his concentration as he fell backwards and to the ground with a splash and a crash, somehow miraculously not piercing himself with his own blade in the process of going down.

Growling, the rat man was on the edge of getting up again as Noctis hopped back to his feet and prepared to do something else to keep the guy down; however, just as Noctis took a step forward an unexpected thing happened.

Seeming to appear out of nowhere, a strange blur appeared right behind the recovering creature and with a light grunt said blur brought something crashing down heavily upon the guy that pretty much shattered in loud chunks and clunks when it struck home.

A bit confused as to what had just happened, Noctis had halted in his tracks and looked down at the wet ground as a piece of whatever had hit the guy rolled to a stop by his boots. As he examined the cylinder like thing at his feet, the young prince realized that the thing was actually a chair leg! Becoming more confused by this discovery, he looked back to the guy that got struck only to find the guy lying groaning under a slightly swaying Zuko’s foot.

As the thief stood there for a second looking like he was about to fall over, Noctis took notice that the human like illusion the guy was using before had completely worn off revealing Zuko to be a creature similar to the one he just took down…the only difference was that his form was more fox like than rat like. Even the white tail that swished lightly from behind to keep him balance was the bushy one of a fox.

The sight was definitely odd, but at least it explained why those other odd traits had started showing up on the airship. This guy wasn’t human to begin with, so then…what was he exactly?

Curious, but even more cautious than before Noctis would watch as the guy would eventually kneel down and pretty much plop to the wet ground as he grabbed the rat guy’s weapon from his hands and used it to tie him up with some difficulty due his intoxicated state.

As the guy worked, Noctis looked over at Zidane ignoring the throb in his back from where he had been slammed to the ground to check to see if he was alright; however, all he got to do was see that the guy was fine rather than ask for a verbal report before his attention was turning back to Zuko who was now sitting on the guy that had begun to recover from the blow. Despite the guy’s wiggling, Zuko managed to stay on top of the guy as he looked up at Noctis and Zidane with a drunken smile as if nothing was wrong with the situation at all.

“So like I got side tracked by the lady with the heavier drinks on her tray and I started drinking a bit more instead of playing a game of cards. I started talking with the lady. She was pretty cute, so why not right? So like, she was telling me about how this knuckle head came in here and started loading up on liquor a day or so back because he was too ashamed to be a man about his beating,” Zuko paused and patted the fully recovered and now glaring rat man on the cheek as he gave him what appeared to be a loving smile; however, as Noctis watched the man, he got the strangest feeling that even though Zuko was drunk, he was still sober enough to actually do something cruel to the guy under him.

As if to confirm this point, Zuko reached into his cloak and pulled out a strange needle and began to examine it in the rain, the sharp point glistening as he moved it this way and that in the damp air.

“So I was like well where did this wimp go and she was like maybe he followed that blonde that was with you. At first I was confused because I thought she was talking about some other beautiful lady, but then I remembered I was traveling with you two okay looking gents and that’s when it hit me that perhaps our little friend here wanted to have fun and stop sneaking around and what not. And whatda you know? I come out here just in time to see you guys having a blast without me, so I guess you can say I was a bit jealous when I brought the hammer down upon our friend here,” the thief said giving them a way too playful grin as he continued to sway a bit and his words continued to be slurred.

“So what are you going to do now?” Noctis asked cautiously as he watched as Zuko shifted his weight upon the guy’s back making the guy wince in pain as he leaned on some spot within the other’s body that made the guy uncomfortable.

Seeming to ignore this, Zuko chuckled as he tested the sharpness of the needle with one finger before looking up at Noctis with a fangy grin.

“Imma gonna slowly poke this guy to death,” he said casual causing his “chair” to tense as Noctis looked at him with narrowed eyes not sure how serious this guy was; however, as Zuko laid down upon the guy’s back and brought that needle dangerously close to the other’s eyes, Noctis found himself wanting to stop him, he didn’t react immediately as he heard Zuko speak to the guy he laid upon.

“I would like to start with these pretty eyes of his. I think they’d make a good collector’s piece, you know?” he said as the needle inched closer to the other’s eye.

Instantly, the rat under him flinched and tried to back away from the item.

“W-Waita minute!” the guy slurred out in fear as Zuko kept teasing him by bringing that needle closer and closer to his eye.

“Whatdaja say?” Zuko said as he continued to toy with him.

“What is it you want?” the guy asked as he tried to knock Zuko off, but the fox wouldn’t budge…or say anything for that matter as he simply grinned at the guy and seemed to enjoy the torment. Not able to take this sight anymore, Noctis was able to unfreeze and took a step towards Zuko as he spoke.

“Enough of that,” he told the guy in anger as he made a grab for the fox; however, the other was quick and easily flipped off the guy and out of range as he chuckled at Noctis from near the wall he remained crouched by his tail flicking mischievously in the air.

“Aww can’t have fun, boss?” the other thief asked sarcastically. Noctis simply frowned at the comment. He wanted to whack Zuko for that, but for the moment restrained himself as his blue eyes looked down at the rat guy who was now laughing at him.

“A softy like you, the leader?” the guy was asking as he began laugh even harder now that his courage was back.

Noctis looked down coldly at the guy as he spoke. He wanted to snap at the guy and put him in his place, but at the same time the words gave him an idea. Keeping his coldness, he began to act like someone who had authority within the group. An act that was a bit easy to do since he did actually rule over a world.

“I could just go back in the pub, chill, and let him have his way with you if you prefer,” Noctis told the guy in overly polite tones letting the guy know he was not pleased with his words. The comment and coldness took Zuko by surprised and seemed to sober the guy up as he tilted his head at Noctis with a confused expression as the rat guy on the ground, flinched, but said nothing as he watched Noctis moodily.

As if to act upon his words, Noctis looked over at Zidane calmly and gestured for him to come with him back inside if he wanted to for a drink or two. The whole time praying the guy would catch on and play along. Then whether the guy came or not, he actually took a few steps back towards the pub and it was those few steps that got the cocky rat to talk.

“N-Now wait. Wait! Don’t leave me with him. What is it that you want?” the guy stammered as he squirmed on the ground and did his best to push himself into a sitting position. Keeping his back to the guy, Noctis pretended to ignore him before he turned slightly and looked at the guy.

“You’re the one that got beaten and left behind right? So where is your former leader now?” Noctis asked coolly as he watched the guy shift uncomfortably in his spot.

“Why do you want to know?” the rat man asked in grumpy tones.

Noctis paused and turned to face the guy fully.

“Do you really want to know?” he asked in a dangerously low tone that caused the rat man gulp in fear before bowing his head and shaking it.

“No. It don’t matter,” he said nervously and then composing himself once more the guy spoke.

“The bastard you seek beat me and left me behind here a day or so ago. He is traveling with a handful of others that are blindly loyal to the old snake. They are making their way across the ocean to the Harbors of Alexandria as we speak. I don’t know what your beef is with old guy, but if you want catch him, I suggest you hurry up and go. Otherwise he will get away with everything,” the rat like man said bitterly to Noctis who continued to watch him coldly for a second before his eyes moved to first Zuko and then Zidane as if to see if they believed the words or not and in turn, would determine the guys fate from their responses and reaction…
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TAGS: You’re it!
NOTES: So a bit of acting must be done to get what we want…or will this acting bite us in the behind?

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves Zidane always had a frightening skill of getting on people's nerves, but even more so pulling himself into unecessary trouble that risked him more than anyone else. He was not your average, everyday reckless. His was a special kind of reckless. Normally he did not take on a task he was not confident he could handle. His confidence was nurtured by a man who knew what happened to those who lost their will to live and fight on their hardest. The young thief was the result of an Orphan of War's desire to live. Zidane always fought the hardest to reach his goal, and right now it was to get information, but it seemed he would have to wrestle it out of his opponent after pissing him off. A wry smirk came from the agile thief, who had just barely evaded the second strike from the scruffy Burmecian. Zidane stood partially crouched, his arms out, in preparation for another attack. At the former pirate's slur the thief could not help but grin. That has become quite a nickname, but words never were things to hurt him because it was a weapon he wielded best. "I don't want to hear that from a sloppy sewer rat." It was probably one of the most offensive slurs one could turn toward a Burmecian. Having a nezumi companion himself he knew it was a pretty hurtful word. It was only something he would use in jest for he knew the beating awaiting him from the lovely Dragoon were it anything but jest! "I've seen bigger ones swimming around in the waterways!" It was not very smart, considering the weapon the nezumi held, when in the hands of a skilled user, could easily reduce the most agile of warriors to a tangled mess. Zidane grinned when he saw the battered Burmecian prepare to launch another attack. When the coiling chain of metal launched toward him like a sea-bound Sahagin: the young male would make the mistake of jumping back. Though he was well aware there was a wall a few feet behind him, something he easily jumped toward, he was not expecting the length of the chain. It was the natural illusion that came with chained weapons. When wielded well it was difficult to gauge the distance they actually held, especially when a majority of the chain was still coiled around the main fist of the wielder. It was the greatest danger of the weapon. It was like feeling a Mu slash into your chest. The blade pushed through the ruffled fabric of his jabot and vest. There was a faint, tearing sound that would only be audible to the one closest, being Zidane, and those with unimaginably sharp hearing. A grunt escaped the thief when his back hit the wall at the same time of the blade striking the center of his chest. The blade was retracted with such speed that the sight of the weapon actually striking Zidane was all but invisible. injury aside the thief pushed on. There was no outward sign of any wound, just a tear in his jabot. But beneath that was the tear in his vest, and beneath that a slash ground into his chest. The blade was tipped with poison. The infectious venom of a Grand Dragon began to eat away at the thief's flesh. The Burmecian was taken down by a combined effort of Noctis and a very drunk Zuko. Zidane pushed his hand against his chest, lining his jobat back up. He seemed relieved he was not bleeding or seriously injured, to his knowledge. The only thing that bothered him was a dull throb against his chest. He pushed it aside as the adrenaline pumping his muscles to ignore the stinging slash. Noctis would motion to him. Zidane was not one to push aside a chance to be a blowhard and pull the metaphorical wool over someone's eyes. Walking up to the pinned Burmecian the boy would crouch, grinning stupidly. He slouched over, allowing his arms to rest over his knees as he chuckled. The thief certainly seemed to fall into his role easily. He was wholly impressed with Noctis' bluff, though he was pretty sure Zuko was not completely kidding on his action, which made it a bit more believable. "No way I can stop him once he's going. His height isn't for show." The boy was pretty short in compare. And if Zidane could push his body to a full ground-to-air flip, there was no telling what Noctis' larger form could provide in terms of punishment, or the sadistic foxkin's fingers could offer in light of the morbid threat. At the nezumi's confessions the thief twisted hsi brow slightly and looked up to the two before looking to the downed rat. No. No way. "Hold up, how is that even possible?" Zidane stood, looking a bit agitated. His tail stiffened and started to sway low to the ground. "The Alexandrian harbor isn't for ordinary vessels." He shook his head. "It's a navy port. There's way too much security that a bunch of burly, smelly crooks could get through." The Alexandrian Harbor was full of the great Warships of the ancient country. Where they lacked in airship technology, the country would excel in its Navy and Land Battalions. There was no question that the country held some of the most deadly soldiers this side of the Mist Continent. Not to mention the outright viciousness of the babe soldiers Zidane knowingly does not hit on when they are on duty. That is a recipe for disaster. Were they crazy?! "They can't just chug into an Alexandria Harbor like it was nothing!" They weer barely able to and they had the Queen with them for Crystal's sake! "He's holding out on us...." He looked back to the vermin in question. Of course he was. The Burmecian trembled and looked away, sweating profusely. Zidane grinned widely and pushed to stand, brushing his jabot back into place. He had to make a conscious effort not to rub at the strange burning sensation. His eyes pinched up into a bright smile as he rested his hands on his hips. He would look to the very drunk, and scarily sadistic Zuko with cheerful suggestion. "Well, I guess he really doesn't want to help out. It's too bad, right boss?" Zidane added that part teasingly as he looked up at Noctis, winking slyly. The trapped Burmecian shook his head. "A'right you screwy monsters! They ain't goin' ta straight land on the Harbor's point!" He would confess, if only to avoid the leisurely sadism of a certain thief. "Reckon they said themselves to land off on the shores, take a way up the mountain on Chocobos. We hauled a plenty from the forest!" He swore. Zidane shrugged and looked to the other two. "So who has rope?" That was his suggestion on how to deal with the hooligan. Leaving him back here should not have stood to be to much punishment. After all it was a pretty high traffic area, which also meant they had to move fast or suffer getting caught in the trouble they would probably end up in for their roughhousing. Zidane would not be the one getting his hands dirty, for he had another idea on how to deal with the situation. Instead of directly confronting the workers for another ride on the airship, they needed a faster way to the questionable locale. He smirked and adjusted the cuffs of his gloves. "You guys be sure to bring some of that extra rope as well. I'ma go see Atla for a minute." The boy was up to something suspicious, but he would walk off with little more to be said. When Zidane returned to Alta's home the boy would begin his attempt to bargain with the Moogle for a few spare things in his abode. After finally haggling with the proud Moogle, who did dearly love the things in his weapon's store, the thief would waltz out with a bundle of items bound in a tarp with a bit of tick twine. The male would sit, waiting for Zuko and Noctis, beneath a lip of ceiling that hung out from over the Armory. He did not seem to want his goods to become too wet. He would patiently wait for their return., rolling his shoulders to loosen his muscles. He felt a bit stiff, tired even, but they were moving around a lot. He felt that he should have eaten a bit. It was a while since he had anything really decent, at least since they boarded the airship hours ago. The boy was, ever sadly, used to being hungry. There were nights when they barely had anything to eat at the hideout. As hard as Baku worked for them and taught them, there were simply nights where you were unsuccessful. Perhaps that was why they never turned an orphan away... It was a pretty harsh reality when even children were abandoned in a world that no longer suffered war. He solemnly rejected the notion, his heart unwilling to soak in the fact that after the most recent war, there were probably many more orphaned or without a family they once had. Though he gained a family, there was still the understanding and feeling that he had to protect those unable to protect themselves. "Will ya guys follow me?" What was he up to? He would not stop to answer any of their questions. Truth be told he rather keep it to himself until he worked out the kinks. Hoisting the wrapped tarp over his shoulder, clearly something heavy wrapped inside, the male marched along. The boy would head for the town's arch, taking pause under its partial shelter from the rain. The boy brushed back his wet bangs to better view the faces of his present comrades. He patted the goods he was toting and smirked. "If they are racing along on Chocobo after the fact, there's no way in hell we're going to be able to catch them. They have a day on us, unless we are faster. I think I know a way." The boy was never brought down by the things he couldn't do, only by the things he failed to try. Zidane was on a mission and he was focused on his idea. It was probably a terrible and reckless idea, but it was far better than sitting around. The boy would lead the two men on a walk. It was a long walk through the desert. The thief had plenty of fresh apples tucked away it seemed. On the way out of Burmecia, the fruit carts were always handy for sticky fingers. As he marched through the Vube desert he seemed utterly unfazed by the heat and sands. He would casually take a sprint away from any sneaky Scorpions that burrowed beneath the sands, snipping around for prey. The nimble footed theif was on a mission and did not give much thought to fleeing from combat. He was not there to prove his strength, but instead offer it up to those that needed it. It was almost night time before they arrived at the coast, nearby some strange monster tracks. The boy tossed down his supplies, which unraveled a bit to reveal several, sturdy sticks. Just what was he up to? Zidane reached into his satchel and fished out a strange vegetable. It was leafy on the top, the body looking like some sort of root. The boy would take a few paces forward and whistle out, holding up the root vegetable expectantly. Pada pada pada.... PADA PADA PADA! The thunderous noise only grew louder and would be followed by a sharp, distinct 'khew'! A large, gold colored bird would rush up to the thief and wrestle the greens away from him playfully before snapping them up in that thick, sturdy beak. Zidane ruffled the hearty beast's golden feathers, laughing. The ratite warbled loudly at his treat and roughly nuzzled the monkey-tailed Genome with vigor. "Hey pal... sorry, am I workin' ya too hard?" A loud warble was tweeted in reply. The thief smirked. "I got a good plan, if yer willing." Of course whatever the rogue had planned, it had to be exciting. Turning he would point off over the mountains. The male settled his hands on his hips. "We're going to fly over those mountains." Zidane patted Choco's back to visually emphasis as the large bird flapped his wings in excitement. But a problem was clearly visible. Choco did not have room for numerous people on his back. Nor did it seem to have any reins or sort of saddle that showed it was tamed in any sense of the word. By the way it plucked at Zidane's hair and bounced around when he was playfully pushed away, it was certainly a hyper and difficult to control bird. So how were they going to fly without an airship and on a Chocobo with no room on his form? He pointed up to the edge of one of the cliffs before lifting his strange gear and hoisting himself on Choco. The boy held himself on the bird with expert ease even without reins. The bird must have trusted the thief to allow such a thing. The seemingly wild Chocobo seemed far too tame with him. He was feeling a bit more tired, but the apples from earlier kept up his spirits well enough. "The ropes you had to get with ya, I'll carry one end up there and tie it off, just climb up, shouldn't take much. I'll let you in on it." The boy would take and end of rope and race off on Choco. There was no time to argue as the bird easily rushed up the slanted face of the mountain side. On the surface was a small section of plateau with a patch of forest. Climbing off Choco he would tie the rope end off on one of the trees and settle himself to build up his little contraption. It was a makeshift parachute that would hold the guys aloft as if in a hammock, to fly across the questionable mountain ranges. It was a terrible idea, but they were already this far right? The thief seemed utterly proud of himself, far too proud. He would wait for the two before explaining his recklessly brilliant plan.

►TAGS: Next~!

►NOTES: Desperate times calls for desperately terrible ideas.

►SKILLS USED: Flee

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO

[Deleted]

The bad thing about chaotic scenes was that one always ended up missing some vital parts that played out in such case. For example, as Zidane went outside accompanied by the strange shadow and Noctis followed, the young prince heard the insults being thrown between the two, saw the strange rat like man lash out his weapon in anger and vengeance towards Zidane's words, and even saw the weapon strike the the blonde in the chest, but as he yelled the word "Careful!" in concerned tones as he saw Zidane hit the wall, he did not have time to see or realize just how bad said blow was. And why was this one may ask? Well, that was because right after the second attack hit home, the large rat like man had retracted his weapon and had begun to prepare for his next attack; however, as he moved to attack, Noctis moved in to stop him.

As he struggled with the rat man, the fight was brought to an end when a drunken Zuko entered the scene with a chair as a weapon. As the chair brought justice to the unruly rat man and the fighting stopped, Noctis got a brief moment to look over at Zidane and see that outside of a tear in his clothing, the man appeared to be fine. As he saw relief wash over Zidane's face at the lack of serious injuries, the young prince found his own self relaxing a bit as the guy fixed his clothing. At least for now, he did not have to worry about anything...or so he assumed as he turned his attention to the drunken and rather sadistic Zuko who had bound the man with his own weapon and now sat tormenting the defeated one with a needle in hand.

When Noctis couldn't take the torture anymore, he had reacted to the scene by trying to stop Zuko and while he had chased the guy off of the rat man, he had gotten a sarcastic remark from the drunken fox that actually played in their favor as the word "boss" was tossed into the mix.

Taking advantage of the title Zuko had so kindly given him, Noctis had fallen into the act of being the “leader of this current gang”. It was easy to slip into the role since leading was familiar territory to the young man who did exactly that for a living. In any case, the acting calmed Zuko down who tilted his head this way and that for a moment as his drunken mind struggled to grasp what had just happened.

Leaving him be for the time being, Noctis had turned his attention to the man who had decided to poke fun at the thought of him being a leader over Zuko or Zidane…and who could blame the guy for his doubt? Noctis was a pretty boy that appeared for all the world to be clueless in these matters and while some of that may have been true what this rat man did not know was that Noctis had a friend or two back home just as wild as the two thieves with him. He had learned to play tough and bluff well enough thanks to them; however, how well it was going to work in this situation depended upon the other Zidane and Zuko.

Thankfully, Zidane caught onto what he was doing well enough as he walked over to the downed rat man and crouch down with a silly grin upon his face. As he leaned down, he chuckled before making a comment that caused Noctis to smirk. The smirk on the surface could be seen as pure confidence in his skills and even confirming that what Zidane said about him was true. If taken at face value, one could believe the smirk to even suggest he had let the rat guy body slam him on purpose and if it weren’t for Zuko perhaps he could’ve really beaten the guy to a pulp.

Even if the real truth was, the young prince would’ve had some trouble on his own with the guy and that the smirk was really one that came about from being impressed by Zidane’s quick thinking skills, the smirk only made the bluff that much more real. On top of this good fortune, Zuko had managed to pull himself quickly out of his drunken stupor and upon hearing the option of “having his way” with the rat guy, a rather cruel smirk appeared on his face as he looked back over at his potential prey. The look caused the guy to start talking rather than take the chance of Zidane and Noctis truly leaving him with the insane thief.

As disturbing and questionable Zuko’s actions were, when they had gotten the information the guy was hiding, Noctis had looked over at the other two to see what sort of judgment call they had to make upon what had been heard.

To what was said, Zidane looked up at him and Zuko before looking back at the down man, a look of disbelief planted upon his boyish face.

So the guy is hiding more something, but what? Noctis wondered before his eyes drifted over to Zuko who had begun to move in the small silence that had fallen between the trio as around them the rain continued to pour.

Zuko had gotten up from his crouch swaying as he moved towards the guy with a grin that became shark like as his lips parted and he spoke.

“Ah, so you prefer pain do ya?” he was asking the other as he moved over to the creature with needle in hand. Doing his best to act normal in this situation to keep the act believable, Noctis watched as the fox like mage crouched unsteadily by the guy’s side, flicked his tail, and then raised his hand before bringing the needle down towards the rat man who was now squirming to get away from the attack, but due to being tied up in a rather strange fashion and drunkenness, the guy wasn’t about to escape his meeting with the needle.

As the needle traveled towards its destination, Noctis’s eyes would turn to Zidane as the other spoke, questioning the rat man’s information as he stood up quite agitated by what he heard. Not understanding what was going on, Noctis kept his expression neutral as he continued to listen to the information being tossed about.

As the prince heard what Alexandrian Port was, he did not really need anymore explanation as to why the information given was not that great. If it was a navy port then it had to be secure…and if it was secure why would crooks run right into authorities’ hands?

As if reading his thoughts, Zidane expressed what the prince was thinking verbally. As he did, the prince’s eyes would move to the rat man who had not screamed out and had fallen silent for some reason. Upon turning, he would see that Zuko had not stabbed the guy, but now had the needle resting lightly on a spot dangerously close to the guy's eye. Despite the guy’s trembling, the fox remained calm as he swished his tail lightly from under the cloak he wore as he listened to the conversation and waited like some dealer of pain for a command to be given. The question was…was this guy acting or really planning to harm the rat guy if given the something to react too?
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Perhaps it was the booze from earlier that had made Zuko’s more cruel and playful side come out shortly after he had brought down the chair upon the Burmecian. Perhaps the torment he was dealing to the guy second by second was a sign that he was actually tired of waiting to get what he wanted.

Whatever the case was, while Noctis and Zidane easily played off of his drunkenness and rather cruel behavior, Zuko never once let up on the fact that he was itching to do damage to the Burecian that was now once again under him.

As he heard the information about the Alexandrian Port, he knew from his knowledge of this land that what the Burmecian said could not be true and so wanting to get to the truth quicker, he had spoken, moved, over to the Burmecian and had planned to deal true pain to the guy to get exactly what he wanted. He did not care if Zidane or Noctis thought badly of the action or even found him insane.

At this stage of drunkenness, the fox like mage had lost his ability to think in any other fashion than cruel and straightforward. He wasn’t about to play games with the guy under him and if pain was how they were to obtain the truth then so be.

So as he raised the needle into the air and brought it down upon the guy, Zuko aimed to take out the guy’s eye; however, as he heard Zidane speak about the port, a very important fact was able to cut through the drunkenness that had clouded Zuko’s mind.

He needed these two clowns to get what he wanted, so how was he going to keep them if he scared them off with his usual tactics? No. No. He had to remember to play nice…even if that was the most boring and disappointing of roads.

Using his original goal and plan to sober up a bit more, Zuko had slowed the needle down and brought it to a gentle rest against the Burmecian’s face. The tip was dangerously close to that wide eye and scared eye. Becoming calm, but still leaving that smirk upon his lips, the strange mage flicked his tail as he listened to the conversation around him and fully fell into the role of being part of Noctis’s gang; however, to anyone watching him only the calm would be noticed. He was still playing the part of the cruel one and his want to draw blood was still very real, so the acting never interfered with the very real threat that was Zuko’s needle.

Staying quiet, he would look up at Noctis and Zidane as the blonde finished his exclamation of disbelief at what had been heard from the rat man. His words were true enough. The Alexandrian Port would not be an easy place to even attempt to head to with a ship load of questionable goods. Oh no. If the guys who beat this loser were smart they would take an alternate route that would keep them and their cargo safe. So that meant...

Zuko’s blue eyes drifted back to the Burmecian who was now sweating nervously and doing everything in his power not to look at Zidane or Noctis as the blonde said a set of words that pretty much sealed the guy’s fate.

Smiling cruelly at the guy as he nervously looked up at him, Zuko would look back at Zidane with a grin as his tail flicked in anticipation as he listened to the words. As he heard the suggestion, he would chuckle lightly as he looked back at the Burmecian as Noctis spoke.

“That is too bad,” Noctis would say in the calmest voice Zuko had ever heard come from the kid. It was almost like none of this was phasing him. A lie of course, but one he played it off well enough. And look! Look!
Noctis was even turning away and actually moving to go back into the pub!

“I guess he really was a waste of time after all,”Noctis said in disappointed tones and then seeming to become cheerful, he would address Zidane. “Come on. I’ll treat you to a drink for your troubles,” he said and then pausing he would address Zuko. “Try not to make too much of a mess,” he said in cool tones as if he truly did not care.

Thoroughly impressed by the kid’s acting skills and willingness to take a risk, Zuko played his part well enough as he nodded at Noctis.

“I’ll be back with you guys before you know it,” he said as he glanced up at Noctis with as a drunken yet respectful grin appeared on his face. In turn, the kid nodded at him causing the fox like mage to look down at the Burmecian under him. Giving the prisoner a fake look of innocence, he spoke.

“Shall we start with the right eye then?” he said as he pressed the needle down slightly on the guy’s face.

That was all it took to get the guy to freak out and finally speak the truth. As the guy started trembling and what not, Zuko could sense that serious injury could come from the guy’s reaction to everything and while it would’ve pleased thief to no end to see the guy squirming and blood being drawn, Zuko kept to his plan as he moved the needle away from the guy’s face just before the guy could begin shaking and potentially impaling himself as he spoke.

He called them monsters, but the word did nothing to phase Zuko as his grin turned into a triumphant smirk as the guy finally told them the real destination of the ones they sought.

So the little run aways were going to land on the shores away from trouble and then carry what they had up the mountain on Chocobos? Well that first part made sense, but the second part made the fox curious. Just where on the Mist Continent were they trying to haul this stuff? And why the mountains? Was there something else within those mountains? Something that even this greedy thief for hire had missed in his wandering of the land?

Now that was intriguing and only made the fox want to catch the moving key even more. Maybe said key would unlock something in the mountain or elsewhere and lead to a treasure even beyond the worth of the armor. Well whatever the case was, this little tidbit of information was juicy and pleasing enough that when Zidane shrugged a moment later and suggested they tie the guy up rather than flat out kill him or something worse, Zuko sighed lightly as if he was disappointed with decision as he decided to play nice. He leaned away from the guy and hid the needle somewhere within his cloak once more.

As he did this, he heard someone step closer to him and look up just in time to see Noctis holding out a thin strand of wire made of some material he had not seen before. Looking from the coiled up item to the young man, he briefly locked eyes with the kid causing a minor stare off in which Zuko eventually submitted to by looking away.

The stare off wasn’t an act from the kid this time. It was a warning. The kid had seen what he did, but thanks to the cruel actions now h seemed even more watchful than ever of him. The only difference now was that the kid had now shown the thief that he did not trust him rather than hide like before…and that coldness that came with it was like a knife in the thief’s plans.

The kid was going to be a pain in the butt should things turn bad. He would have to step even lighter now to ensure his plan worked. He didn’t want to set off the rather jumpy kid and create even more work for himself before getting to his prize. It was annoying, but that was just the price he had to pay for his rather rash actions.

Regardless of these facts, the thief wouldn’t say anything as he got to work on tying up the guy with even more complicated knots and twist than before. About time the thief was done, the guy looked like he had a run in with some strange spider rather than three human like creatures.

Pleased with his work, Zuko got to his feet brushing off his hands as he looked over at the kid with a smug expression as if to prove the kid was wrong for giving him that glare earlier. Still not backing down from whatever suspicions he had built up about the fox, Noctis looked away from him as his eyes focusing elsewhere until with a smirk and a few tugs on his gloves, Zidane spoke breaking the tension that was building.

He was ordering them to bring extra rope...while he went to talk to Alta. Without much more explanation than that the blonde would walk off leaving Zuko with a confused Noctis. Looking over at the kid, he met the questioning gaze the kid gave him and shrugged.

“I guess I’ll go find more rope,” he said and then just like Zidane, the fox thief wobbled off in another direction to do exactly what he said...find more rope.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Noctis was left alone after Zidane left to go talk to Alta and Zuko supposedly left to get more rope. While Noctis was trusting of the blonde, after the little incident with the tied up rat man, Noctis began questioning his earlier thoughts on saving Zuko from his death. If he was cruel, then wouldn’t it be better to just let him die? Wouldn’t that save everyone from whatever he would do in the future? Why bother risking his neck for something that liked to see others suffer? Is this not what he fought against daily? Cruelty and those who would abuse their power?

“…”

Noctis pondered his predicament a second longer before he shook his head and began to leave the area where the strange rat like guy squirmed against his bonds. Noctis understood he had no right to judge people or even decide what their fate should be. He had always fought so hard against the leading paths of fate just like he fought to protect and help others. He wanted to believe that even the cruel people had some goodness within. It was this belief that helped the prince do the right thing when no one else would and give second chances to those considered bad.

Most of the time, Noctis found that a second chance and kindness was all it took to change someone, but he had also learned that sometimes even that did not help one change. Some people and beings were born evil and the only way to put an end to their terror was to destroy them or watch them destroy themselves.

He wondered…if Zuko was one of those beings destined to destroy himself as his vision showed him. Wondered if his earlier plan to help the guy was worth it. Should he even try or just let it be? The prince continued to ponder the question, but did not come up with any answer, so leaving the troublesome thought alone, the prince decided he would just have to adapt to the situation as he went and trust his heart to direct him down the right path when the time was right.

As it stood now, there were too many questionable things around Zuko to think out the right path any longer, so when it came to the fox thief and his fate, Noctis would be following an unsure road with only one terrible end in sight. Besides…maybe that cruel spree was caused because the guy was simply drunk and not thinking right…or at least that was what Noctis was hoping as he moved from the area where the rat man was and went back into the pub. He paid the bar tender for the drinks before he moved on to the main streets and let the warm rain wash away the rest of the heavy thoughts and worry.

Calm once more, Noctis would pause in his walking for only a second as he looked around the wet streets to gain his bearings. As he performed this action, Noctis’s eyes would land on the familiar landmarks he had taken into account earlier, his mind making a mental map of the place as he took in some more of the layout he had missed earlier. When he was comfortable with what he was observing, the prince nodded inwardly as he began to wander the streets searching for a general store of some sort.

When he finally found the place sometime later, he hung around in the shop of wood and tarp long enough to chat with the strange rat like woman that owned the place. As he chatted, he learned about the surrounding area and even got some tips on what was best to buy if he was going to travel far. Listening to the words that he heard, Noctis stocked up on a few items that included potions, food, and even some antidote for venom in this world as a just in case measure. Once he had collected what was needed from the general store and placed them all neatly into pockets and secure pouches on him and his belt, he thanked the lady for her help before going back into the rain to search around for some more useful items. When he came back from his shopping and hunting for items, Noctis was well equipped for travel while appearing not to have changed at all.

Still appearing to be the lost soul he was in this new world, Noctis bumped into Zuko who had indeed found some rope along with some traveling containers full of water. Upon seeing the young prince, the thief had paused in the rain and shifted uncomfortably in his spot as he bowed his head and made some form of an apology for his earlier actions.

Not exactly buying the apology fully, Noctis nodded his acceptance to what he heard nonetheless deciding not make a fuss as he allowed Zuko to lead the way to finding Zidane. It didn’t take long for the now equipped pair to find the tailed blonde standing underneath a small covering that was in front of the moogle’s home. As they were approaching, Noctis could’ve sworn he saw the blonde slouching slightly as if he was tired making him wonder if he should be concerned about the guy; however, this worry was quickly pushed away as he saw Zidane shift his weight and become lively again.

Assuming it was simply all this running around without proper food and rest getting at the blonde man, Noctis’s eyes would drift from the blonde to the strangely wrapped package at the guy’s side as they got closer. Coming to a brief halt under the covering, Noctis would give the blonde a questioning look as Zuko tried to move closer to examine the package; however, Zidane was quick in speaking and acting causing the fox to halt his movement towards the item as the blonde posed a question to them…and then promptly walked off without waiting for an answer.

“Mmmkay…” Zuko muttered as he tilted his head lightly at Zidane who was retreating. The fox like thief seemed to ponder something before shaking his head and then moving to follow. Noctis watched the pair go wondering what it was that Zidane was up to and what on earth he had in that tarp that was heavy and rattled slightly when it had been picked up. Curious and a bit nervous about what was going to happen, Noctis hurried to catch up with the pair.

The trio traveled across the city coming to a brief under the arches of the city’s entrance as Zidane turned to them with a smirk on his face as he patted the covered goods he was carrying. As he patted the bag, he told them about the rate their targets were traveling versus current rate. With a day on them and chocobos (which Noctis assumed were fast by the way they were spoken of) carrying them forward, the thieves with the Gold Armor sounded impossible to catch; however, Zidane had a plan.

A plan that involved whatever was under that tarp.

As the blonde finished speaking, Noctis would ask the question that bugged him the most.

“And what is that way Zidane?” he would ask calmly enough as he watched the guy to see if he would get an answer. Noctis was reckless at times, he would admit that. And sometimes he didn’t think his plans fully through, but the point was no matter the situation, he mostly knew what he was getting himself into. Sure there was room for surprises, but not as many surprises as this secretive plan of Zidane’s was digging up.

In any case, the question was asked, but whether he would receive an answer or not did not matter for shortly after the brief conversation, Zidane would walk out of the city of rain with the thief and prince in tow as he began to lead them on a long journey across burning sands.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If there was one way to quickly sober up someone and potentially make them sick, it was to toss them into the vicious heat of the Vube Desert. While the heat did indeed make the more mountain bound fox miserable and irratable, instead of lashing out at his companions he took his anger out on any desert fiend that got too close for his liking.

Sure, it was a waste of energy in some folks' eyes, but for Zuko it not only helped keep his mind focused, but it helped him resist the urge to bury himself in the sand and sleep. The fox didn’t like the heat, but at least he had plenty to do to keep himself awake and following the pair across the vastness sea of sands. His mind and eye focused always on the key and the Gold Armor with it as he traveled.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Noctis followed Zidane and Zuko into a desert and observed how each either fled or openly confronted the vicious desert creatures that sought to attack them. While the two thieves moved around with too much energy, Noctis kept up with them as he careful picked his way around hazards and desert life alike. He was doing pretty well ignoring the heat that made his dark clothing an automatic absorber of the sun’s rays. Despite being drenched in sweat and getting a work out from the sands, the prince was happy he had prepared for almost anything before he left the city of Burmecia. If he hadn’t picked up the items he did pick up, he probably wouldn’t have made this far even with the desire to help Zidane and see the quest to the end flowing strongly within him.

Moving along at his own pace that kept the two thieves within his sight, Noctis paused only occasionally to take brief breathers and to avoid a fiend of the desert he did recognize...the cacutar. Knowing fully that these small creatures were a pain to deal with, the prince had to take a rather large loop around the creature to ensure he did not set it off and in turn cause the jumpy creature to attack with its painful needle shower.

After avoiding that disaster, he moved on to catch up with Zidane and Zuko who were now a good ways ahead of him. They kept walking under the blaring sun finding their own way to survive off of what they had with them. It took many hours before, under the setting sun, the group exited the desert and came to a rest near the a the sea shore. As soon as they were out, Zuko went towards the water’s edge and pretty much plopped down in the shallow water he could reach with a light sigh of relief escaping him. It was interesting to see the fox behave this way after watching how viciously he had attacked the fiends in the desert throughout the day; however, Noctis supposed that was his way of dealing with his dislike of the desert heat.

In any case as Zuko relaxed in the water, Noctis took a seat on the cool earth and took the moment to wipe the sweat off his face, drink, a bit of water he had with him, and enjoy the breeze that the ocean leant them. As he was sitting there, his attention would be drawn to Zidane and the tarp covered thing he had been carrying. As the blonde dropped the heavy load to the ground near the prince, Noctis looked down at the object just as the bundle unraveled a bit revealing sturdy sticks from under the covering.

What is this? Noctis wondered as his eyes drifted from the revealed objects to Zuko who had come to a stop not too far away now that he was done chilling in the water. Kneeling down, the fox looked at the sticks curiously as he flicked his tail causing water to splish here and there off of the body part as the thief study the objects intently.

Moving his eyes from Zuko and praying the guy wouldn’t try anything funny now that he could somewhat see the covered objects, Noctis would look over at Zidane just as the blonde pulled out a strange root like object from his the satchel. Taking a few steps forward, the tailed thief would whistle as he held the strange vegetable out as if he was expecting something to come and get it from hi…

“Meh?” Zuko would let out the strange sound as he got to his feet, his ears twitching under his hood as he listened to a strange sound that was steadily coming closer and closer to their location. Not sure exactly what was happening, Noctis sat at attention as the noise got louder and louder until from somewhere in the distance, he could see a cloud of smoke, and something golden that moved very quickly towards them.

The golden object was making a strange “khew” sound as it charged onward making a bee line for Zidane and that strange root he was holding. Within seconds, the golden blur was sliding to a halt as it went after the strange food in Zidane's hand.

As the bird and man wrestled and played with each other in greeting, Noctis got to his feet as his eyes took in the large bird that he assumed was a chocobo. The creature was fast! Faster than a horse it seemed and if these were the creatures the targets were riding, then Zidane had been right. There was no chance to catch them by following on foot; however, unless they had an airship, there did not seem to be any other faster way to catch the thieves unless they all had chocobo and ran long and hard without stopping through a short cut spot to get to the harbor before the their targets.

These were the only two logical ways Noctis's mind could come up after he had taken into account the very few ways this world had of traveling. This world was not high tech like his world and so didn't have the convince of cars or quicker vehicles. Walking, running, ship, airship, or chocobo seemed the best methods of getting to places around here so with that being said, how was Zidane planning to catch up with their targets?

Sure he had a chocobo, but Noctis and Zuko did not...although he wondered if more could be summoned like the chocobo that was with Zidane.

Noctis paused in his thoughts as he looked over at the pair and then decided that maybe the idea of summoning more of the large birds was pretty farfetched. After all, as friendly as this bird was, it still seemed very wild and unmanagable. The prince didn't think they would get any more chocobos like this one...

As Noctis folded his arms and tossed one broken solution after another out of his mind in regards to their little issue, Zuko grabbed one of the water skins he had and began to drink a bit of the water there. As the fox did this, Noctis eyes would go back to Zidane as he ended his conversation with the bird and returned his attention to back to them.

Pointing over to the nearby mountains, Zidane would settle his hands on his hips before speaking with a rather proud expression on his face. As the blonde told them what he had in mind, Noctis heard Zuko choke on the water he was drinking in response.

As the fox coughed and fought to catch his breath again, Noctis glanced at the guy briefly to make sure he was okay before turning to face Zidane with a raised eyebrow as he looked from the tailed thief to the bird he patted.

The bird certainly looked big enough to fly and it certainly did look like it could carry a fully grown person on its back while doing said activity; however, the problem was simply that. The bird had enough room for one person alone. How did Zidane expect them to fly anywhere with one bird who appeared to be wild and hard to control? Just what was Zidane thinking?

As the questions flowed through his head, Zuko managed to stop cough as he moved to stand by Noctis as he closed the water skin and spoke the questions in Noctis's head into being.

"Fly?" he said in a hoarsed voice as he looked the other up and down like he was crazy. "How the hell are we going to do that? I mean sure I can cast float or what not, but that is not going to get us over a mountain range," he said as he continued to give a disbelieving look to the guy; however, instead of giving Zuko an answer, Zidane pointed to the edge of one the cliff near by before sweeping the strange bundle off of the ground and mounting the bird.

As he did this, Noctis took note of what appeared to be fatigue in the guy's eyes; however, just like before the fatigued seemed to vanish under the guy's upbeat nature. Shaking his head mentally, Noctis focused on Zidane's words as he spoke about the rope Zuko carried with him.

As Noctis heard the plan, he looked over at Zuko who was carrying the rope. The thief was still studying Zidane, but then shrugging whatever thoughts were plaguing him, he handed the rope to Zidane, who promptly took off with the one end of the rope in hand directly after.

The bird Zidane was on easily climbed the cliff's edge and then disappeared over the edge as the pair reached what Noctis assumed was a flat surface. Zuko who held the extra rope tugged on it after a while and after finding it was secure at the other end, he moved a little past Noctis before turning and handing him the rope with a smirk.

"I am bit too lazy to climb, so see you at the top," the thief said and then before Noctis could even ask what he was doing, the fox vanished with a light pop. He had teleported and left him here. Sure, he could do the same with his sword, but using the quicker method on an uncertain surface, climbing was probably the safer bet.

Standing still for a moment and feeling the weight of the rope in his hands, Noctis pondered the situation for a bit. No matter how much he tried to stay upbeat, there was something deep within that made Noctis feel as if something bad was going to happen before this all ended. It was not just the vision now. It was something else. Something that connected with that exhaustion Zidane played off so well; however, he couldn't place his foot down on what it was about that exhaustion that he saw in the guy that made him so uneasy, but there was something definitely wrong there.

Bowing his head and sighing lightly, Noctis shook his head to clear it before focusing on the task at hand. Moving closer to the cliff's side that the rope dangled from he paused to pull on the rope to see how secure it was for himself. When the rope didn't come undone or pull anything down upon him, the prince began his climb up the tricky rocky surface.

It was a hard climb upon which he had a few slips as weak surfaces decided to crumble under his weight, but in the end Noctis made it up to the top after a few minutes. A bit winded, he pulled himself up onto the small plateau and sat for a moment on the edge as he collected the excess rope and caught his breath. Once he had the rope hanging over the cliff collected in his hands, he got to his feet and began to follow the rest of the rope to the tree where it had been tied off. As he approached the tree, he noticed Zuko squatting down not too far from the spot where Zidane worked on something using those items he had hauled up the cliff on the bird that was now gone.

Walking to the tree, Noctis untied the rope and began to coil the rest of it into a neat pile in his hands as he walked over to the two thieves taking note of the nervous way that Zuko lashed his tail from side to side as he bit his thumbnail and continued to watch Zidane.

Settling in a spot that was a respectful distance from the working thief, Noctis's blue eyes would look over at the thing that the guy was working on. It appeared to be some sort of contraption that looked like it could hold something and maybe fly...

Wait a minute...

Noctis finished coiling the rope in his hand and tied it off before clipping the tightly wound rope onto his belt. Looking over at Zidane who appeared to be very proud as he worked, Noctis would ask his question.

"Zidane...what is that?" he asked in a calm voice, even though inwardly he was dreading the answer as he continued to watch the thief work.
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►TAGS: Tag! ^^

►NOTES: Parachuting! Yay! Should be fun and safe right? ....Right?

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves While the trio made their decisions in the plateaus outside of Burmecia, out in the sea the great ship sailed toward Alexandria. Instead of taking the ship directly to Alexandria it would dock off behind the great mountains that surrounded the mighty country. The anchor was lowered and the men folded the sails. One by one they climbed from the ship. Setting up a plank they would than walk down the Chocobos. While one man tied the reins and saddles on the fire-red birds, the others carried down the loot and would help strap it to the four birds. Atop the ship's poop deck, the Captain stood with his first mate, leering with his one good eye. His first mate came up to his side, looking to the birds in question. “Ya sure this is a good thing cap'n? I mean, there's only four birds and five a us. Reckon one a da boy'll stay back with the ship?” The first mate questioned. “No. You stay with the ship.” He turned to them and placed his hand on their shoulder. “Any come sniffin' to close, ya gut them worthless fish. Just think we'll be rich soon.” The Burmecian limped down the ramp and, with help from his crewmate, was hoisted onto the chocobo. The first mate adjusted their baggy vest and pulled their tricorne had over their eyes. Chuckling they would grip the sword sheath around their waist and grip the hilt of the blade, drawing it. With a smirk the first mate would turn to face the distant sea. This would be their chance to show they had what it took to be a leader! Back on the plateau Zidane had not said a word. When Noctis questioned he thief, he merely grinned. Walking around with the rope he would carefully tie it around the Chocobo's body so that it was secure. His hands were skillful. He could easily steal a man's belt from his pants, or tie a safety rope. After making sure it was secure the makeshift parachute was in place. The rogue mounted the chocobo and patted his side. A wide, proud grin sat on display as he shifted his weight to turn him and the Chocobo to face them fully. “It's a sail!” Zidane proclaimed. “To catch the wind.” He pointed to the ropes. ”When you tie yourelves here, you can use them to catch the wind. Choco here'll catch you wind and we can sail across the mountains.” Why?! This was a terrible idea, horrible idea. An idea likely thought up on the fly! And soon they would be. The rogue motioned behind him and grinned. “Better tie in, I'll lend a and, but the longer we abide this the farther they get. I think I know where they're headed, and if we get there first we might get the upperhand.” He turned on Choco's back. “Ruby's got connections. She might know.” He patted Choco. “Ready to try this out pal?” The chocobo gave a loud and joyous cry! Flapping his wings he hopped up before turning to pad into the forest. Zidane would wait for the two do resign to their fate. This was the fastest way. Zidane was confident in Choco's abilities. They were not travel partner for nothing! Choco would charge into the forest before racing up several branches. Spreading out his wings Choco would kick off the branch and spread his wings. The strong limb flapped away. The opponents may be riding Chocobos, but he was sure they were, in no way, taking flight! The trip to Alexandria would not be long. Cutting straight over the Aerbs Mountains ensured they would arrive in half the time of taking an airship or boat. The busy city was unaware that it was victim to a greater plot yet to unfold. When the boys arrived in Alexandria, their goal would be the Mini-Theater in the alleys.

►TAGS: Next~!

►NOTES: Amidst the thick plots, there is thin ice.

►SKILLS USED: N/A

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO

[Deleted]

While the constantly moving targets docked their ship, loaded up thier chocobos, and made their plans, the three on the plateaus outside of Burmecia stood upon the ground with an uneasy air between them. It was not a fight or anything like that that had caused the tension. No, it was something the blonde man before the pair was doing that made the fox like mage twitch with nervousness and caused Noctis to watch him with an air of caution.

The tailed thief was building something with cloth and rope. Something that made the pair watching him become more and more uneasy as they continued to watched the contraption come together. As ideas and guesses on what that strange object might be came to each one of the two observers' minds, Noctis had asked his question out loud, but as was becoming typical with Zidane, instead of an answer the prince got a grin that only sent his nervousness to all new highs. Shifting casually in his spot and hiding the nervous well, Noctis analyzed that grin, but never showed in expression or anything else what he thought the grin meant. That grin suggested that whatever Zidane was up to had to be crazy or not exactly the best thing when it came to the safety of the pair he was with. The silence when questioned as to what he was doing only confirmed that whatever was next was going to be wild and so in turn, the prince had to prepare for anything. And why would he assume this of the thief?

Well, he had seen a grin similar to the one this thief wore back home. One of his friends that was more of an impulsive actor rather than a thinker always came up with ideas quickly enough; however, whenever those plans involved danger, the guy would give a similar grin when asked what he was planning....and when the plan came out into the open? Heh! Well, it was always entertaining to look back at the whole ordeal after it had occurred, but anything before that always had the chance of causing injury to the ones involved or shaving off a few years of life due to the amount of insanity and near deaths that were involved.

So yes, Noctis knew that Zidane was up to something crazy, but what he couldn't quite say yet as he folded his arms lightly with a light frown forming upon his face. The prince watched as the guy finished putting the contraption together and then taking the rope and securing it to the contraption, he would take some of the extra rope and use it to tie it around the chocobo's body. Once Zidane was done with that he would mount the chocobo as Noctis slowly dropped his arms with a small look of surprise on his face as he put two and two together.

Before Zidane had even opened his mouth, Noctis knew exactly what this contraption was. Sure it wasn't nearly as safe looking as the ones back home, but from the way the cloth had been pulled over those sturdy rods and how the extra rope had been left for him and Zuko...

This is a...

"It's a sail!" Zidane's proud words would complete Noctis's thoughts as the young man looked up at him with the light surprise remaining plastered to his face for a few minutes before it was melting away into a netural expression as Zidane began explained what they were to do with the contrapation. About time the blonde was done, Zuko was back on his feet not looking pleased with the situation as he frowned at the blonde; however, Zidane continued on unphased as he warned them that they could not linger too long in this place lest their targets get further away from them.

In other words, if this was the quickest way to cut off their targets, even if it was a bad idea, the pair had no choice, but to take in order to find and stop their targets quicker. Understanding this, Noctis slowly resigned himself to the path that this adventure was placng him on. He was in too deep now, he couldn't turn back, so he had no option, but to take the plunge and so he would.

Remaining quite calm as he made up his mind, Noctis eventually nodded before listening to where they were going to go. He nodded again as he memorized the name Ruby, a woman (he assumed) that just may have the information they needed to get the moving thieves. Right. At least the last part was simple. All he would have to do now is survive the flight with Zuko....or not.

When Zidane finished, Zuko found his voice again as he nodded and a light smile crossed his face.

“Ruby, huh? Alright then. Well, you have fun dying kid, I’ll meet you in the landing spot and then we can go speak with the gal together,” the fox said before giving Noctis a mischievous grin and then vanished with a small pop much like he had done when the idea of climbing had come about.

Noctis sighed lightly and shook his head at this.

“That guy….is quite a piece of work, isn’t he?” Noctis said to Zidane as he picked up the ropes from the ground and began to work on tying them around himself in a calm manner that made it seemed like the young man had no issues with the plan at all. In reality, Noctis had many issues with the plans. He understood they needed to get to wherever their targets were going in a quick fashion; however, a make shift parachute to fly over a mountain range was not his idea of a good plan.

Maybe Zuko had the right idea about running away, but at the same time, he had shown just how much he valued others when he had vanished without even offering to help out in other ways. Zuko…he was definitely in it for the business and reward and his actions only solidified the distrust Noctis had for him. Still, until the guy did something, the prince would not complain or do anything rash as he finally managed to push away his worry from earlier and regain his usual calm.

He’d simply watch Zidane’s back…and place his life in his and chance’s hands at this very moment. Focusing on his task, he secured the last rope around him and made sure his makeshift “wings” would not go flying off if the wind hit them the wrong way. It was a difficult task with two pair of wings there, but the young prince managed anyway. Once he was done, Noctis looked up to Zidane on his strange red bird.

“Let’s go,” he told him as he gave him a light nod of trust as inwardly he braced himself for anything. With that, Zidane turned around on the bird and after patting it and asking it question, the bird let out what Noctis assumed was a cry of joy and then the bird, thief, and prince were moving towards the forest. The pace started off slow and then it began to pick up as man and bird went up the trees with amazing speed. Noctis who was trailing behind them, used the pull of the bird to get a good start off the ground and make it up the first tree easier than ever as the wind caught the light fabric of his "wings" and lifted him easily enough from branch to branch as he moved along with the momentum of the bird and the pull on the ropes. He let his body run off of instinct as he hopped upward until finally they came to the tree tops and the bird took off into the air. As the bird went upward, Noctis hopped up to the top of the tree he was on and then gave that branch the hardest push he could manage on the shaky landing, letting his body go skyward.

While his jump was nothing in comparison to the bird’s, the young man still got a decent amount of air under him, but it wasn’t enough. Even though he indeed went up, he ended up coming back down towards those treetops as he expected to do. So concentrating on not getting impaled or injured, he found a good way to land on the high branches of the tree and then push off again.

Up he went and then back down. Then up and then down. He gained a light tear in his pants from a rather jagged looking branch as he pushed off another tree and then down a bit he went and then the wind had him. As the wind went under his makeshift wings, it was now up to his own sense of balance and fate to allow him to make it to his next destination in one piece. Was Noctis scared? Hell yeah! But on the other hand he couldn’t deny that he was actually enjoying free sailing through the sky. At least for the time being things were going smoothly.

**

When Zuko had teleported to the top of the mountain and left Noctis to deal with a climb. He had planned on watching the boy climb to see if he’d fall or not just to keep his more crueler self entertained for the moment; however, before he could turn back to go towards the edge of the plateau for this fun, he had glanced in the direction his nose told him Zidane was in and what he saw the guy doing made him forget about his original plan as curiosity swept over him instead.

Bowing to the impulse, he had wandered closer to Zidane who was building something that dealt with the items under the tarp he had dragged along. As the thief crouched down and watched, he took notice of the poles and cloth. Took note of the way Zidane was placing them together and in turn became very nervous as to what it was that he was building. It was in this state of nervousness that the boy, who had survived his climb found the fox thief. As Noctis came to a rest by his side, Zuko barely paid him any mind as those blue eyes stayed firmly locked on the contraption Zidane was building. When the boy asked what the thing was, Zidane did not reply at first. Instead, he had given the kid a grin that caused Zuko to stop biting his nail and then stiffen when he heard the answer a few minutes later.

That thing was a sail?! And Zidane wanted them to do what with it? Fly over the mountains? On a makeshift sail?! Oh no! No! No! There was no way on Gaia that Zuko was about to strap himself to that thing and take a chance with the strange winds that belonged to the mountain. Nope. That was a sure way to die and quite frankly, he did plan not on dying, so as he got up and finished listening to what Zidane said, the fox had stated his choice in the matter easily enough before he had decided to teleport himself to a place near Alexandria where he could easily watch the open skies and in turn figure out where these two would land....if they both survived that is.

Sure, he could’ve taken the kid with him and maybe even Zidane, but to be honest, Zuko was just not that kind and when push came to shove, he had no problem sarcraficing things and people to get to where he wanted to be and claim his prize. Zidane and the kid were no different. In fact, the fox thief would’ve been quite pleased if the kid got "lost" along the way or something. At least with the worry wart gone, he could contend with Zidane himself; however, as the fox stood in his elevated spot watching the sky for signs of the pair, he had a feeling that the kid wouldn’t be so easy to get rid of. Worry wart or not, the kid had some spunk and fight under that innocent and naive act. It made him dangerous and reselient. Two things Zuko did not like when he wanted an easy job.

So as he waited and watched those dark skies, he took the alone time to reformulate his plans to work around the pair and claim his key and gold armor.

**

The trip to their next destination, Alexandria, was indeed a short one; however, as short as the trip was, Noctis would not deny that he was very happy to find solid ground again. Sure, the trip had started off nice with the wind giving a nice gentle brush as it passed across the face and body and ruffled hair and clothing; however, as they continued on their way, the winds began to get choppy and rough making the gentle glide turn into a nightmarish tossing. Doing his best to hang onto his “wings” and stay on course with the bird that pulled him, there were multiple times when Noctis thought for sure that he was going to be snatched off of the ropes that held him and be smashed against the cold rocky faces below. As he dipped and twirled in that wind, he really did believe he was going to die. So when that bumpy ride suddenly came to an end and the bird and thief begin to descend taking the prince with them, it was a wonder how the prince was able to land on the shifty earth beneath him and remain standing as he undid the ropes that bound him with shaky gloved hands.

To run off the nerves and adreline the ride had caused, Noctis busied himself with helping Zidane pack away and hide the evidence of the flight before they turned their attention to the city of Alexandria that sat beautifully under the full moon’s light. As they were making their way towards the city, Zuko joined them greeting them happily and seeming relieved that they were alive and well; however, as the young prince watched that fox swishing his tail and smiling in that almost fake way, he highly doubted the fox was pleased with the outcome at all; however, instead of making a fuss about the ordeal, Noctis kept a more or less neutral air about him as he simply nodded and gave some short responses to the fox when he had asked about the trip as he used the lingering wisps of the rushed to his advantage to make the answer seem like they came from still being shaken rather than being untrusting of the fox.

Whether or not Zuko ate up this act or not was hard to say for the guy simply chuckled before rubbing the back of his hooded seeming to be embarrassed by something, but not fessing up to what it was that embarassed him so. In any case, after the reunion, the trio headed into Alexandria.

As they walked under the large city arches and entered the busy streets decorated by stone buildings and a beautiful fountain, it would be hard for the untrained eye to see the barely noticeable blemishes here and there from this once grand city’s destruction not too long ago. Unlike Burmecia that was still in the process of building up, whoever was in charge of taking care of whatever had befallen this city had made quick work of the mess, leaving nothing, but beauty in its wake.

Taking in the city bit by bit as they walked, Noctis found himself instantly liking Alexandria for some reason. He wasn’t sure why, but some of it reminded him of home while another part of it was simply comfortable to exist in. Sure, one could easily get lost in the sprawling city, but it seemed if one were to simply look up and see the tall spires that marked the castle in the distance, then one could find their path again.

That castle seemed to shine in the dim darkness of the nightscape. As if it was a beacon of hope to all who gazed upon it. Pausing to admire the castle for a moment, Noctis wondered briefly who may rule that castle and thought about asking Zidane for an answer, but then deciding that such curiosities could wait until later, the prince shook his head and re-leveled his eyes with the city streets.

In his studying of the castle, he had lost Zidane and Zuko; however, as he saw a tail round a corner and disappear into a nearby alley, the prince moved to catch up with the retreating pair. Sliding into a narrow alley surrounded on both sides by large buildings, Noctis followed the two thieves to a stairway that led downstairs.

Once down below, the trio entered a dimly lit and somewhat small room equipped with a ticket booth to the left and then scattered around the rest of the room were some tables with candles sitting on them and at the back of this small area a small stage maybe for some form of show.

A small theater then? Noctis wondered as they moved further in. A few steps in a woman wearing a revealing top, a strange asymmetrical skirt, pink shoes, white tights, gloves, and a blue bandana came swishing over to them with a bright smile on her face until she saw Zidane.

Upon her eyes landing on the blonde thief, the woman stopped a reasonable distance away from them as she shifted her weight to the left, planted her feet slightly apart on the ground, placed her hands on her hips, and leaned forward causing the bit of her greyish colored hair that was revealed to flop forward as she gave Zidane a grin that suggest she had a mischievous nature that could matched the wild thief’s own nature.

“Well, well, well. Look what the cat has dragged in!” the woman began in a slightly husky voice as she watched the thief before her. “What brings you and your new friends 'ere, darling?” she asked Zidane before pausing to look up at Noctis and Zuko, her grin only widening as she winked at Noctis and in turn caused him to shift a bit uncomfortably at the gesture.

He wasn’t exactly used to women flirting with him. Circumstances and friends to take the brunt of all that back home shielding him from this rather common thing; however, despite the shift in weight and the discomfort, Noctis managed to push it away as his eyes moved away from the woman to focus instead on other pieces of the theater.

He saw Zuko smirking and shaking his head at this, but for now he ignored the situation, letting them have their laugh if they wanted. If just given a moment, he’d be just fine in this situation…
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OOC: You’re it!

Note: Okay..teleporting all over the place now? Guess Zuko is not as brave as we gave him credit for and he seems to contradict himself a lot. What’s his deal? Oh well, onward to the nice chat with the lovely lady we have here. Surely nothing worse than that trip over the mountains can happen…right?

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves The thief was much used to flying with his pal, so he saw no reason either of them would be against it. Growing up with his troupe he lived in the skies. The airship was his home away from home so walking along the outside of the vessel with rope or tools to check on the equipment was a requirement. No work, no dinner. Every member had to hold his own and participate. Perhaps it was this that gave him, what many called a natural agility. Sure he was small which made him more flexible and his strength allowed him to push straight off the ground into high jumps, but it was the training and a natural fearlessness that allowed him to march along the narrow ledges and jump across bottomless pits without a second guess. Hesitation is what got you killed out there more often than a reckless act. When you hesitated you questioned you abilities, and when you did that it brought weakness to the power you thought you had. When Zuko decided to ditch them, Zidane could only shrug. It was just him and Noctis for the trip! The thief was used to riding the golden bird across the open skies. Sometimes the little bob and weave from the flapping of the mighty wings came with a bit of turbulence, but it was not something he readily regarded. The two seemed on a whole other level together in the skies. They worked in unison and had an admiration for every cloud and mountain top going by. It was like they were speaking their own language between the words and the bird's warbling. Perhaps their long time together allowed them to understand one another, or perhaps it was something magical. Whatever it was, it was a side of the thief that was completely new for Noctis. It was the thief by the side of a close friend, trust apparent as one supported the other's actions with completely faith. After a while of soaring over the mountains Zidane called out to Noctis. “Listen buddy, I been thinking.” The thief turned himself completely around so now he sat facing Noctis. Well the bird seemed to know where it was going without guidance, though the occasional drift of attention was herald by a distracting bird or cloud. The rogue sat with is left leg arched up, the right still holding onto his place on Choco's back. “Zuko and me are thieves, remember that.” He would state. “Never trust a thief. If you see an opportunity, I suggest you take it and run as far as possible. You understand? Running away doesn't make you any less of a man, it just keeps you alive long enough to still be called one.” With that Zidane turned around, remaining silent for the rest of the ride. Zidane was not the sort to betray another, bit neither did he want Noctis to fall into the helpless situation that Rosa and Deshitana had found themselves. They were in a foreign world, wield onto a foreign problem. It scared him, it scared him to death to think that he had brought them into a dangerous situation. They had become his friends, and to feel as if he had seen them for the last time, without saying goodbye... He patted the side of Choco's neck as he re-situated himself to take over piloting the attention deficit bird. A soft warble came from Choco, Zidane smiling weakly to his friend, his back to Noctis. “I'm okay... It'll be good to see that place again....” He had run aware for so long that the thought of going back made him feel so tired, heart strained. By the time they touched down in front of Alexandria, Zidane was feeling the strain of travel. He dismounted Choco and and patted the bird. He made sure that Noctis had an easy time down by pulling the rope of the sail, giving him a bit more runway to land in. Zidane would take the lead into and cross the gates. His hands were shuffled into his pocket as he strode along, his tail swaying behind him. The city was always bustling, noisy. It was a good sort of anxiety that he gladly welcomed over the stomach wrenching feeling of guilt to enter his chest. Spotting the sly fox-faced thief the young rogue would give his brightest grin. “Yer such a punk.” The thief would blatantly utter when Zuko hurried toward them with grins and cheer. “Though it was possible for Choco to carry you all, but I really didn't want a buncha guys held up so close to me.” He sneered and waved his hand off dismissively. Of course it was not that being in close quarters bothered him, after all he lived in a crowded clock tower with countless others, but he did not trust Zuko to not stab him in the back. Something about him told his instincts to keep him at arm's length. He had precious copy of a world map hanging on his person and it was not really something he felt like wrangling about with the hoodlum. Passing the castle the thief looked up, blue eyes solemnly drifting toward a familiar balcony. “She was probably too bust to come to the play...” He seemed to flinch internally at the thought. He shrugged off the annoying thought, casting it off into the pit of his stomach to fester. The male hurried off, not even looking back to see if Noctis was following. His footsteps carried him into the familiar darkness of the alleyway. There he felt he could be himself. Lowering his form to a hunch, sinking into mannerisms that bordered on evasiveness, he would parade down the way, and march down the theater's steps. At Ruby's greeting he seemed to drop all of those defenses and throw open his arms laughing. He suddenly sunk and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I need something...” “Well if ya be needin' help darling you know I'm happy to oblige! Come on now, take a seat, you must be tuckered out, seein' as I heard you were in Lindblum last puttin' on a show!” Ruby was always like an older sister to Zidane, but he would never tell her that or be pummeled for even using the word old. Zidane took a seat at one of the Mini-Theater's tables and looked off to Ruby as she went to gather the three of them drinks. After taking a sip, feeling awfully thirsty and simply out of it, the thief looked to the silver-haired woman and brushed his gloved hand across his sweating cheek. It was pretty warm down in the theater, the candles and locale made it pretty hot, at least he felt that way. “Well, I wanted to ask if you know which Pluto Knight is in charge tonight.” He scratched at his cheek. Ruby took a moment to think. “I think it's ol' Haagen, he was by here stuffin' his face as fast as a Mu goin' for the winter, why?” “Ah!” Zidane laughed. “No reason, was thinking about visiting...” He mumbled over the rim of his drink. Ruby leaned close, her loose shirt making it obvious to the fact she had nothing else beneath. Zidane's eyes instinctively averted, knowing well Ruby's fury. She reached up and placed her hand on the boy's cheek, startling him. “Whoa, Ruby!” He tried to cut in. “You sure you okay darlin'? You seem a bit under the weather. Everything good with your girl?” She urged. Zidane shook his head and motioned his gloved hands. “O-of course! In fact I was gunna go visit her tonight!” Ruby was silent a moment. “Well, alright. But if ya need a place ta hunker down you always got here. You and yer darlin' friends.” “T-thanks Ruby. It's okay... honest.” He knew Ruby was likely aware of each lie that spilled from his lips. “I'll come home soon. I always find my way, right?” She smiled and set the serving tray at her hip. “So reckon you wanna ask me your real question?” Ah, spot on. “Anyone come by that wasn't a regular?” Though the questioned seemed rather odd, considering tourists were always a major part of the Alexandrian economy, there was a deeper presence to it. “Sure have, Ashley's had his hands full with some rowdy ones in Treno. Reckon they're not any good ol' boys I've seen before. What've they done to even get your attention?” She worried that he was a bit in over his head. “They weren't the least bit polite I hear, a buncha Fangs with toothaches!” Zidane chuckled at her comparison. “They're trying to find a treasure, I honestly don't think exists. Ruby, if there was a set of dishes made of paper, only one of its kind and no good for serving, with its set spread across the world, why would you ever want it?” It wasn't something he understood. The kind of treasures he sought were – gone from this world. “There aren't anymore treasures, are there Ruby?” There was silence, the low pitterpatter of feet rushing across the cobblestone steps outside drifted in. Ruby seemed to intimately take the question to heart. “Rightly, the only reason I'd go searchin', is for an excuse not to sit around. It can get pretty lonesome on yer own. Sometimes a war takes more things than it gives back.” She waved her hand. “You boys let me know if ya need anything else, ya hear?” With that the young woman walked back to her usual post. Zidane looked to Noctis and Zuko. “You guys know where the Belltower is? Think you can meet me there? A Mog named Kupo should be hanging around.” The young thief pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. Coughing into his hand he moved to get a bit of charcoal. He turned the paper over to scribble a simple map showing the path to the waterfront. “I gotta go ask a friend a question, so I'll meet you there.” He tapped the paper and hurried off, not giving the two a chance to speak. On the paper was a well drawn set of directions, but on the back was a splatter of blood. When the thief had coughed, he released a bit of unpleasant air. But, he was already sprinting off toward the castle. Guards tipped their heads to the familiar face and before it was trouble or questions were brought, he was on the boat and riding across the moat. The other two were left with the task of finding their way to the Belltower. There Kupo stood speaking with Stiltzkin and Artemecion. The two Moogles seemed to be arguing about the mail. It was not uncommon but Kupo seemed furious, which was unusual. “I haven't gotten a single letter back from Mosh! Is he ignoring me, kupo!?” Well more like scared than angry. Artemicion shook his head. “I'm telling you the truth! I haven't gotten any mail from him today, I wasn't even allowed in his room! He refused to let me in!” The purple-furred Moogle reciprocated. “Are you sure?” Stiltzkin asked. “The last time letters stopped being delivered it was your fault...” Artemicion flailed and shook his head, his bonbon bouncing about. “I'm telling the truth!! The door was even locked! The Guard's room is usually open too!” It was suspicious! He waved his paw sternly. “You can go look for yourself than, Stiltzkin, if you don't believe me!” Stiltzkin sighed. “I'm not saying I don't believe you.. it's just a strange coincidence...” He was a bit calmer about the situation. Kupo was practically in tears, thinking his best pal hated him.

►TAGS: Next~!

►NOTES: He seems to not be doing well, and what has the Moogles in a fury now?

►SKILLS USED: N/A

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO

[Deleted]

While Noctis, Zuko, and Zidane made their way slowly forward as they did their best to keep up with their targets who ran away with the gold armor, on the other side of Gaia, in a spot well known to many, there rested a floating fortress that belonged to a world hopper and treasure collector known simply as Alexia. This floating fortress was hidden by a high tech cloaking device that caused anyone looking out to the ruined area where the Shimmering Isles once stood, believe they were staring out into the vast skies. The ruins of the Shimmering Isles...it was the perfect spot for this treasure collector to wait and hide. And what a fittingly named ruined for this collector's style!

For you see inside of the fortress, the halls, the walls, the floors, ceilings, paintings, tables, and more all glittered and shimmered in the lighting. Everything that rested here was made of gold! Shimmering chairs, comfortable and bright beds, and a throne where a large woman sat dressed in her gold robes clicking her nails against the arms of her seat as she impatiently waited for her tracker to come back. She was agitated, for you see when she had crossed over into this world, she had brought with her two others. A moogle and a thief from an unknown world that she had hired after learning he was the best at his trade. She had heard through her connections of the gold armor in Gaia and so like the greedy and obsessive collector she was, the woman had come to this quiet world to claim the set for herself; however, she could not exactly claim this item on her own.

No. No.

She was no hunter. She was simply a source of great reward if one brought her what she asked for, so naturally she had sent Zuko out for the armor using her most loyal moogle to be his contact as he worked outside of her fortress. The deal had been simple.

Zuko would collect the armor for her and in turn, she would give him a reward beyond his imagination making him the richest thief that ever lived. The strange fox had agreed to the deal easily enough and promised to deliver her prize to her quickly; however, the longer she waited the more she began to wonder if the fox would keep up his end of the deal and when the day came that her moogle did not come to report about the progress that was being made, the treasure collector had become very worried about the situation and so she had sent her tracker to go find the moogle and bring him back to her...dead or alive. However, even this process was taking very long.

With a sigh, Alexia continued to wait until finally about noon the golden hound returned with a squirming and very angry moogle. The moogle was huffing and puffing complaint after complaint wondering why he had been brought by a dog to a strange place.

A bit perplexed at such questioning, Alexia had thought the moogle brought to her was the wrong one; however, as the hound put the fussy furball down, she found that the moogle was indeed hers, but for one reason or another the creature did not seem to remember its master. Highly suspicious of the behavior, Alexia had called upon her golden mage to examine the case.

It took a while, but eventually the enchanted creature of gold told her that a memory spell had been cast upon the moogle thus halting his ability to remember anything; however, the mage assured her that the spell could be undone and they could get the moogle to tell them exactly what had happened. So trusting the mage, she had allowed it to use its magic to undo what had been done to the moogle.

When the long and boring process was over, the moogle calmed as recognition registered in its tiny eyes and the creature bowed to her as it had always done in the past. When asked what had happened, the moogle promptly gave his report, telling Alexia of Zuko's betrayal. Listening, the woman had nodded calmly before dismissing the moogle telling him to get some rest after the ordeal it had been through. She told her servants to pamper the creatures and so without much fuss, the moogle had been escorted out of the room with a small crowd of female moogles to keep him company.

As her throne room emptied and the golden hound took its place upon its pedestal becoming a statue once more. Alexia stayed on her throne a while longer before finally sliding herself off of her seat and turning herself towards a side hall. Waddling forward, she began to head into a room in the back of her large fortress.

Opening the large and ornate double doors, Alexia entered a room filled with gloom and the heavy smoke of incenses. Closing the door quietly, Alexia walked calmly through the thick fog as her eyes scanned the gloom for the one she sought. Deeper and deeper she went until a rustling sound and a light hiss coming from her left stopped her in her tracks.

Pausing where she was, Alexia turned to face the sound as the shadow of a woman appeared in the gloom. The woman was low to the ground, but slowly she rose up into the air, her body unnaturally long as the sounds of scales scrapping the floor and a light hiss filled the air.

Unafraid of the sight, Alexia spoke out in calm tones to the woman who watched her from the shadows.

"Ah, Andromeda. There you are my dear," Alexia began in a deep and husky voice as a small smile came across her lips. "Listen my dear, I have a little fox that has decided to insult my good nature. I want you to find the little traitor and bring him here," she paused to look at the gold paint on her nails. She needed to get them redone. Still examining the chipped paint, the woman continued. "As a trophy for all the trouble he has caused, you understand?"

The woman finished as she eyed the shadow, who simply gave her an excited hiss before it dipped to the floor and shot off quick as lightning and disappeared. Smirking, Alexia dropped her hand to her side as she left the room via a hidden door; however, instead of returning to her throne, the gold obessessed woman headed down a different hall and down a set of stairs where she was soon met with a small locked door.

Pausing to get out a set of keys, Alexia would unlock the door before sliding into the room beyond and grabbing the lit latern from the wall, she began to move down the dark and narrow hall until it finally widen into a dark room. Moving to the side where a small river of liquid rested within the floor, Alexia kneeled down and used the flame from the latern to touch the liquid which causing it to instantly light up as the heated liquid -oil- became ablazed. As she hung the latern on a hook the room became lit with the warm light; however, the scene that it revealed was far from warm. For as far as the eye could see, the fire lit the long room revealing strange cubbies where even stranger statues resided.

Each statue that Alexia passed as she moved further into that room were people and creatures frozen in various states of fear and pain as if whatever had created them enjoyed capturing the suffering of others in pure gold. Feeling comfortable in this strange and creepy scene, Alexia continued to move down the hall until she found an empty cubby and began dusting it off.

When she was done with her cleaning, she kneeled down next to the now glistening plate below the cubby. With a cruel smirk, she blew gently on the plate causing a single name to be carved into the plate in elegant cursive - Zuko.

Pleased with the spot she had chosen for her newest trophy, Alexia moved back out of the hall, humming a happy song. She would wait for her dear Andromeda to bring what she sought back.

"Tick tock, dearie. Tick tock," she sung to no one in particular as she exited the room of trophies for now and retreated to the throne room once more.

**

Meanwhile....

Noctis knew as they left Burmecia after that battle with the rat man that something was very with both Zidane and Zuko. He could not explain it, but there was a strange air that came off of both of them that caused the prince great concern, even though he kept it well hidden. On one hand, he had caught flashes of Etro herself lingering close by watching as they moved through the rain with cold eyes ever following Zuko and occassionally flicking to Zidane. The images were surreal and shimmering like a mirage...images he knew he could only see; however, the fact that these strange images that usually appeared in dreams alone were now appearing when he was awake let Noctis know something very bad was creeping up on them. Something that reeked of death.

However, unlike most times Etro did not show how she would pull Zidane into her net. She simply flickered here and there watching constantly the pair of thieves he traveled with. She had followed them to the arches of the city and when they had left and Noctis turned to look back, the goddess had stayed under those arches watching them leave.

Feeling uneasy about everything, he had gone with Zuko and Zidane to the plateu where Zidane had revealed his dangerous plan on how to catch up quickly with their running targets who had the gold armor. Noctis had heard what he said and agreed on the plan while Zuko "kindly" refused and vanished to wherever he was going to go. Alone with Zidane, Noctis had strapped himself to the parachute with ropes and given himself over to chance. As they took to the air and began the dangerous trip. Things had begun peaceful enough.

While Noctis had never really flown out in the open like this before, he found the feeling of freedom this flight gave him rather nice. It gave him time to try and push down all his worry that flooded him as he gazed down at the beauty of the mountains flowing beneath them, appreciating the details nature painted upon each rocky face. There was a peaceful calm with the only sounds breaking it being the whispering wind that drifted past him and the sounds of the chocobo's strange calls as they continued to fly.

Lifting his eyes from the beauty of the land, he watched as thief and bird communicated to each other in their own strange language. A language that only the closest of friends shared. As he watched the pair interact, a small smile appeared on Noctis face as he saw for the first time that the thief before him held many surprises within. From traveling around with the guy, he saw that he was energetic, reckless, and fun loving; however, he would've never had guessed the guy could be as gentle as he was with the bird he rode upon. The sight was comforting and brought warmth to Noctis's heart. It was a much needed change from the usual stress and for one moment, the prince was finally able to find peace with the world as he finally understood something vital about Zidane.

This guy. He was quite the actor and while he would seem like he didn't care at times, but underneath it all, he really did have a heart of gold that while complicated and confusing was worth the trouble of trying to understand. With new found respect for his blonde companion, Noctis went back to observing the beautiful world as he let the sounds and wind wrap him up in a comfortable blanket. The peace last for minutes before Zidane's voice broke into it causing the prince to look up at him.

The blonde thief turned himself complete around on the chocobo somehow managing to find a balancing point as he sat with one leg propped up on the bird and the other hanging off the side. A bit unnerving, but Noctis did not react to this as he found the thief before him only came off as crazy with his actions, but in reality knew exactly what he was doing.

Focusing on the words the guy said, Noctis would give the guy a puzzled frown as he absorbed what he heard said trying to understand what it was that Zidane was doing with those words. It took a few seconds, but eventually finding some form of a conclusion, Noctis's features would soften as he nodded at what was heard.

"Understood," he would reply back. It was a simple reply, but it was one that held much weight. He understood what Zidane was trying to do when he spoke the words. He understood that in his own way he was trying to protect him from something, but what it was he could not tell and quite frankly, he could would not dare ask either. He would respect whatever secrets the thief had as the other turned from him and the pair fell silent for the rest of the trip, each man lost in his own thoughts.

Some time later, after a rough last half of flight, Noctis was able to find ground again, the landing made gentler by Zidane who tugged on the rope to help guide him down. Once on the ground, the pair had broken down the contraption and stashed it away. As they worked, Noctis could not help but to glance at Zidane occasionally as light worry sunk into him again.

While the thief remained bubbly as usually, he could not help, but believe that the man was tiring out. It was something about the way he was moving now versus the way he moved when he first met him that bothered the prince. Had the blonde been hurt worse than he had assumed when that rat creature struck him?

He wanted to check up on the guy, but the blonde was quick in his actions and when Zuko found them shortly after landing all questions he wanted to ask were put on hold as the jabbering fox moved between them like a happy pup...much to the prince's annoyance.

While Zidane smiled and called the guy a punk which in turned caused Zuko's face to split into a mischievous grin as he thanked the other for the compliment, Noctis noticed how Zidane reacted to the guy using body language and gestures to keep the fox at a distance from him. Not necessarily physically, but definitely there was a wall there. Whether Zuko saw this wall or not was beyond the prince, but he did notice the fox lingered further back than usual as he walked with the pair jabbering all the while.

Zidane didn't trust the fox either. Good. Now he knew for a fact, his instincts about this guy was right. Still despite the pleasing revelation, Noctis never did show his inner thoughts as he took in the beauty of Alexandria. So swept up in its beauty he was that he didn't notice where Zidane looked or relazied until it was almost too late that he had been left behind.

Once he had brought himself to reality again, he hurried to catch up with the pair who had disappeared down an alleyway. Following along, he had gone down a set of stairs with the pair and entered the mini-theater below where they were greeted by the woman who Noctis assumed was Ruby.

It was an awkward beginning with the strange greeting and the flirty wink that made Noctis a bit uncomfortable as he became unsure how to react to the situation; however, things were finally brought back to normal as Zidane who had been quite quiet beforehand suddenly came back to his usual animated self as they were greeted by the woman.

As Zuko moved passed him and further into the area, Noctis watched the interaction between Ruby and Zidane taking note that just like with the chocobo, the thief seemed to share something specail with this woman. As they talked and moved towards a table, Noctis followed behind listening to exchange the pair had.

When they sat down, Noctis noticed the gleam of sweat on Zidane's face. While it was true the air was warm in this theater, it was not warm enough to cause a sweat. Highly suspicious of this, Noctis kept an eye on Zidane as Ruby left for a brief moment to get drinks. When she returned and sat the drinks before them, Noctis had thanked the woman for the drink, but unlike the two thieves that dove right into those drinks, Noctis did not touch his as he studied the liquid in the glass listening and watching instead.

He heard Zidane ask about something called a Pluto Knight and listened as Ruby gave him the information he asked for questioning why he wanted to know the information. It was a valid question that Noctis would've asked himself; however, he remained quiet as he listened to the blonde say he was thinking about visiting the castle as he took a swing from his drink.

Zuko scoffed lightly at this not believing Zidane's words for a second as he looked at the empty glass before him with a bit of longing. Ignore the light jab, Noctis was content to let the questions floating about his mind in regards to this mystery drop as he continued to listen. When Ruby leaned forward and her loose top opened a bit more to show exactly what rested underneath, Noctis kept his eyes respectfully averted from her chest area locking them instead on her face as she moved towards Zidane with a look of concern on her face.

Zuko, on the other hand, took advantage of the situation, stealing glances while the woman was distracted. Not bothering becoming put out with the fox's behavior any longer, Noctis watched the reaction that the check up from the woman caused from Zidane who was not expecting the action.

The woman began to ask about how the blonde was doing saying he looked under the weather....a set of words that only confirmed Noctis earlier suspicion. There was something wrong, but what?

It seemed he wouldn't be getting his answer just yet as Zidane nervously brushed it off saying he was fine before he responded to the question about "his girl". The news caused Zuko to gasp in an exaggerated fashion as Noctis only tilted his head slightly at the news as his mind put two and two together as the pair continued to chat.

So...the reason for the castle visit was to visit the one he loved...Cute if it was true, but it was nothing Noctis dove into deeply. In any case, Ruby watched Zidane for a moment before letting the concern go and offering a place to for them to stay if any should get tired of their travels, but Zidane brushed the offer off for now saying it was okay.

Noctis only reaction to this was to bow his head lightly as he took a small sip of his drink. He didn't like this. Zidane really should rest, but how was he going to get the guy to sit down...especially when Ruby asked for the true reason he asking her the questions.

As the pair talked and brought the conversation back to the problem of the gold armor, Zidane asked a rather interesting question that after a while of pondering, Ruby answered saying the only reason she'd go after anything that useless was to have an excuse not to sit around and be bored and lonely. She said that wars sometimes took things more things than it gave back.

It was a set of words that Noctis could relate to given his own situation. Wars...they brought about many things and changes, but the price they asked for the changes they brought....were they worth it?

Noctis ponder this for a bit before letting the question go as he focused on the rest of what had been said, trying to piece the puzzle together and understand what it was that their targets were trying to do. This all seemed rather eleborate for just some excuse to have an adventure, so what were the thieves going to gain from doing this task?

Whatever the answer was, Noctis wouldn't have long to ponder an answer for shortly after giving her own answer, Ruby dismissed herself and retreated to another spot in the theater leaving the trio alone for the time being.

When they were left alone, Zidane turned his attention to them and began asking about some place called the Belltower and meeting there. While Zuko nodded that he knew where it was, Noctis shook his head no just as the other pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, released a nasty sounding cough into his hand, and then reached in his pocket pulling out another piece of charcoal to draw with. Noctis let his eyes linger on the working theif for a while taking in the exhausted look and the light sweat that still lingered.

Zidane...he thought wanting to do something to stop this madness; however, the thief drew rather quickly and after giving his request to meet at the spot he had tapped on the map, Zidane said he had a question to ask a friend before sprinting out of the door.

Then right behind him a rather upset looking Zuko took off too. Being left alone once again, Noctis looked from the door as he stood up with a light sigh and reached for the map that had been left on the table. He was getting a really bad feeling about this...and it would seem that his bad feeling was right on the mark.

As he picked up the map, he noticed something odd and dark on the back of it revealed by the candle light. Frowning, he flipped the paper over and felt his stomach sink as his body tensed with worry.

On the back of the paper was...

"Blood?" he heard the whisper of Ruby's voice next to him as he kept his eyes on the paper, feeling a variety of emotions flowing through the top one being anger at himself for not stopping the guy sooner. He knew he should've followed his gut, but he had waited too long. Regardless of the emotions inside, he responded calmly to Ruby.

"It is," he confirmed quietly. To this, Ruby sighed in agitation.

"That damned, Zidane! He is always pushin' himself so hard when he shouldn't. He's gonna make my hair fall out with all this worry I 'ave for him and the boys!" the woman said heatedly and then shaking her head, she looked up at Noctis and rested a hand on his arm, causing him to look over at her and see that worry in her eyes.

"I know Zidane is handful, but please, sugar. Please don't let him fall out there, hun. Promise you will take care of him and bring him back safely. I know it is much to ask a stranger for, but..." the woman trailed off looking away very upset.

Crumpling the bloodied map in one hand, Noctis would use his free hand to reach up and gently touch the hand resting on his arm. Ruby looked up at him a bit shocked as he gave her a light smile of reassurance.

"I promise to do my best," he told her getting a light nod in return. Then moving away from the woman, he left the theater and began to head towards the location on the map, praying that he'd be able to find Zidane before reaching the spot.

**

Zuko stayed with the thief and the brat, listening to the silly conversation that was at hand before settling into the free information he was given as the woman spoke freely to Zidane trusting everyone to be on the same page and side; however, as Zuko gained his information and began plotting his next set of moves as Zidane began speaking of bell towers and meetings, Zuko's plans were unexpectedly changed as he felt a light burning sensation on the bottom of his right hand. Shifting the hand naturally to his lap while the other two were distracted by the map, he casually looked down at his hand and flipped it over to see a faint snake like pattern spreading slowly along his hand.

Feeling his mouth go dry and his heart's pace quicken, Zuko remained as calm as he could with the knowledge that his employeer had somehow found out about his betrayal and now sent her huntress after him. Sure, he had heard the rumors of double crossing the gold obessed woman. Had heard what had become of all the others who had betrayed her or failed. He knew what they became and yet he had taken the risk of betraying her, trusting his memory spell to keep him safe....but apparently it had not.

Staying still enough to hear what needed to be done, he let Zidane exit first before taking off on his own leaving the kid behind. As soon as he was out in the streets, he began to move in a different direction to do his own hunting of the thieves they sought. He needed to get the armor quickly and claim him for himself. At least with the armor in hand he could perhaps negotiate with lady death...if he could make it in time and without the kid and Zidane getting in his way.

**

While Zuko raced against time and the huntress that was coming for him, Noctis made his way through the town until his path ended in stairs and water. Checking the map he had to make sure he was in the right place, Noctis's blue eyes moved from the drawing to the buildings around him. Everything matched up nicely, so this had to be the right place. Folding the bloodstained map and placing it in his pocket, he hoped that Zidane was okay wherever he was as his mind officially dropped Zuko off of his worry list. Wherever that guy had gone, he wouldn't even think about it and until they had to face the guy again, the prince did not see the need to keep a look out for the guy.

He would continue on his way with Zidane and complete this mission only worrying about the fox if he showed up again. The fox had already shown his true face, so now all he had to do was adapt. With his mind set, Noctis's eyes that had been locked on the water for those few brief seconds he was lost in thought finally moved from the water towards the muffled sounds of heated voices that sounded like they were arguing coming from the location Zidane had told him to meet at.

Curious as to what the fuss was all about, Noctis entered the bell tower only to come upon three moogles in the middle of an argument.

It seemed that there was some form of a mix up with letter delivering that one moogle - a yellow moogle dressed in animal fur and wear a pack - was wondering if the blame should not be with a strange purple moogle who was swearing that the reason the third moogle who was so upset with him had not recieved any letters from one called Mosh was because said moogle had locked himself up in some place called the Guard's Room. Sounded like a place that belonged to the castle.

In any case, the trio continued to argue until Noctis, who was beginning to believe that stumbling upon this little argument was more than a coincidence, took a breath and spoke, breaking into the conversation.

"Excuse me for interuptting like this," he began as the three moogles halted their arguing and turned to him. Hiding the bit of nerves that came with being the center of attention Noctis continued on.
"I could not help, but overhear your conversation. Is there perhaps something, I can do to help?"

"No, there is nothing you can do to help. Unless you can replace Artemicion as mail deliver, kupo!" the first moogle who had been yelling about the letter in the first place said as he pointed a paw at the purple one. This in turn made the other flare up in anger.

"I am telling you this is not my fault! The door is locked!" the other one complained back thus initating another arguement between the pair. While those two went at it once more, the calmer of the bunch turned his attention to Noctis and waddle over.

Pausing a safe distance from him the little moogle sniffed the air before leaning back and folding his little arms.

"Hmmm...you smell like Zidane. An aquitance of his I assumed?" the yellow moogle asked as he took a step closer.

Noctis nodded.

"You can say that," he responded back calmly. The yellow moogle nodded, the pompom bobbing with the movement.

"The name is Stiltzkin, those two are Kupo and Artemicion, but never mind them for now. You see we are in a bit in a jam here. Artemicion claims he can't get to a moogle who resides in the castle. Says the door is lock and what not; however, I find that hard to believe when the room he is trying to enter is always open. It kind of mandatory to leave it that way, but that is a detail for later. I would love to get into the castle and confirm for myself that this is the truth; however, if I leave these two alone, I think they might tear themselves apart with all this arguing. Hmmm...I could send you, but you don't look like a Gaian to me. You probably don't know where to go and even if you did we have the problem of guards. Hmmm...what to do?" Stiltzkin wondered out loud as he bowed his head and tapped his jaw thinking....

____________________________________________________________________________

OOC: Your turn! And you can control when Zuko meets his end if you like. I don't mind. =)

Notes: I really should help, Zidane, but if I leave and he comes wouldn't that be counter-productive? And what of the moogle? Should I not go and help him too? Choices....

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves It was stressful waiting for the boat to arrive at the castle's entrance. He was seated on the boat's bench, his tail's tip twitched furiously as he bounced his leg rapidly. The guard asked if he was alright, the usually energetic boy seeming tense. Zidane smiled, laughing it off. He notes that he had not been to the castle in a while. He rarely ever went too long without visiting the Queen, so perhaps he was indeed troubled by being scolded. The soldiers thought it was rather cute, their relationship, and could only giggle at the response. She nodded and resumed her duty. “We're arrived.” She would state as the boat slowly edged toward the castle's entrance. The thief felt a tightness in his chest as he exerted himself, kicking to his feet. The moment the boat got to the moat's edge the boy took off, nearly slipping clean into the crystal clear water when the heel of his boot made contact with the lip of the edge. He pushed to keep himself level, hands reaching out and fingertips barely grazing the floor. Stumbling: he hurried toward the castle, passing a number of confused, Alexandrian soldiers. They looked to each other with concern as the thief rushed by without a second glance. The boy was granted allowance to the castle grounds because of his closeness with the Queen, but he was not usually so high strung when he made his way through, he would usually give pause to flirt or tease one of them. No one could ever understand the boy, but he was on a mission. His vision was getting blurrier by each passing second. He only made it over the foyer's risen step by the luck of his hurried strides. He slid across the glossy, marble floors on the soles of his boots, his chest heaving with each inhale he struggled to make. When he arrived at the Guard's room he nearly crashed into the closed doors. The thief had nearly clonked his head because of his unsteady movements. “W-what the hell?!” He heaved out. He looked up and around. This door was never closed, his confusion bubbling from his hazy mind. He pounded his fist against the door in desperation. “Mosh!” Zidane called out before the strain of the shout caused him to cough into his gloved hands. He looked to the smear of blood, but dismissed it by wiping it on his shirt. “Mosh, are you okay?! It's Zidane!” The thief waited silently for an answer, but there was nothing. Zidane leaned his left hand against the wooden door, reaching for his blade with his right. He moved to wriggle the blade into the door's edges to force the knob before he worked on the lock. His hand was unsteady so it made the act difficult. He would finally manage and pop open the door, pushing his way in. -- Back near the grand ship, a small point made its way toward shore. The first mate looked to the waters, taking care to draw their blade., gripping the scabbard tightly. As the figure came closer it became clear that it was a Chocobo. The Chocobo was a deep red color and was harshly pushed through the waters and driven to exhaustion when it was finally led to the coast. The sea salt dripping bird marched onto the land, frustrated with its handler. Powerful legs pulled it onto the sands before the rider hopped off. It was a tall, ruffled Burmecia, the very one that the trio had interrogated. The first mate stared into the traitor's eyes. “They're on the way, and I managed ta strike one of em with me blades.” The nezumi smirked. The first mate adjusted their tricorn and clicked their blade back into their sheath. “Tis good than, mate, reckon you did a good means of repentin' fer yer stupidity.” They assured the attempted mutineer. He lowered his head. “Aye ma'am, I know me place now, never again.” The first mate smirked and tipped off their tricorn, revealing their long, flowing hair. “Aye, he won't.” Like lightning the female drew her blade and lopped off the traitor's head. “No need for your sort to stay about.” She allowed her stance to fall before putting her fingers to her mouth and letting out a whistle. The ornery bird marched up to her and pecked at the air. The woman roughly grabbed his reins and hoisted herself onto its saddle. Wrangling the temperamental bird she pushed him toward the crates laid out from the ship before grabbing a torch. Riding by she dunked it into oil and held it over the fires that kept the camp bright as the evening began to fall. She rode over toward a bale of hay, piled into a barrel and lit it aflame. “Let our revenge burn bright.” She laughed out, the chocobo warking harshly into the skies. -- Stiltzkin blinked as it came to him. Looking to Noctis with a nod. “Right, there's another way into the castle...” The small, skin wearing traveler pointed toward the Belltower. “Some folk use the roofs to cross and watch Plays from the Theater Ships or see the Queen speak. I heard the Queen was on a trip to Lindblum, so there shouldn't be too much trouble.” There was a pause from the Moogle. “Just don't get caught.” With Stiltzkin's advice the traveling moogle would nod his head to Noctis and waddle back to try and get a handle on the situation between the other two. He had a lot on his paws. But the Moogles and streetrats were not the only knows that knew about these rooftop walkways, or the Queen's temporary absence. Ropes lay tethered across the roofs, like tight, walking ropes used by acrobats. The ropes were strained, pulled: having been used. Someone was already sneaking around the castle... With the Queen gone, security was lax on the inside, even the Pluto Knights were training. Zidane stumbled into the room and looked around. There was no one in here. Sheathing his blade the thief staggered to the lockers, shuffling through the First Knight's things. Zidane reached under a few bits of cloth and shirts of chainmail before he finally found what he was looking for. His gloved hand clutched the object, and pulled its glittering form from the clanking metal. In his hand he held the Gold Helm. “Rusty, you sentimental, old fool.” He chuckled before pushing to stand. A rush of blood ran to his head as he fell to his knees. The helm clattered to the floor, but – that was odd: it hardly made a sound. Glancing up the thief looked over, vision fuzzy and lights dimming. A clawed foot sat upon the helm, a cane clapping to the floor with its metal stub. Looking up Zidane found a tall, one-eyed Burmecian before him. His only good eye was a sharp, claret color. A grin was plastered on the nezumi's face. Behind them stood three other goons. “Seems like the boy found our treasure for us. What a good lad.” The captain chuckled before snapping his fingers. Zidane was rushed by the three goons and had his hands tied up. “Reckon this lad is the one we been lookin' for. Top a'da list. Looks like that poison has really started to burn ya system lad.” The captain tapped his cane and urged his men forward. “Hey! W-what the hell?!” Zidane struggled, but he was too weak. The poison had already run its course, leaving him practically envenomed. The captain motioned his head and his boys dragged the monkey out by ropes. The captain picked up the helm and headed out after them. The men crossed the roofs and hurried along the flat tops. Looking across they could see the pillar of smoke signaling their remaining time. They rushed along, toward the city walls... along the tightropes?! --- Whatever had been chasing Zuko drew closer and closer. Suddenly the fox was tackled to the ground, a sharp squeak flying from their lips. Little did the thief realize what had bumped into him, until he found a ball of fluff standing before him. Not just any fluff, but it was Mosh, from the castle! “Run kupo!” Mosh was decked out in a barely fit helmet and wielding a spear. He lunged the weapon at the shadow and cast it away, at least for now. It wouldn't be long before it came after Zuko again. Mosh looked over to the thief and raised his helmet, clearly confused. “You smell like Zidane, but you're not kupo! Where is he?” Mosh shuddered and looked around. He had sensed a shadow, the Moogle having gone out to find some sweets, but some strange men had entered the barracks. Mosh went to find Steiner, or at least Haagen. “Fuuurrryyyyy!” Haagen came rushing in, waving his blade at the strange intruder. “I only found Haagen on duty, kupo.” Mosh looked to Zuko. “You're not Zidane, but you must be a friend if you smell like him, kupo. You better hurry.” Mosh pushed down his helmet and turned to the shadow. “Fuuuury, kupo~!” Zuko would find that the thief had a bunch of wild friends... and threw wild parties for not too far from where the foxkin lay tackled, Zidane was being dragged off by a group of strange men, in particular a Burmecia limping after them with the gold helm lashed to his hip. The gang of men mounted a flock of awaiting Chocobos and headed off toward the fields where their ship laid anchored.

►TAGS: Noctis~!

►NOTES: It seems, the greedy hoarder has a greedy pirate to outdo.

►SKILLS USED: N/A

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO

[Deleted]

Time. It was a cold and firm beast that could not be negotiated with. It flowed ever forward without a care for cries for mercy. Without a care for prayers for extra time. It just moved always in the same pattern and at the same pace – straightforward and casual.

It ticked on for Alexia who sat at her golden table being served on golden plates a meal that seemed equally as gold as fork she used to shove the food into her face. It ticked on for Zuko who ran desperately against the clock and Lady Death while elsewhere time had flown right over the dead body of a certain traitor that was beheaded by a former ally in the hunt for the strange treasure. It even ticked uncaringly by the blonde thief who Lady Death also eyed. The one with poison flooding through his veins.

Time. Selfishness. Brutality. Death. Why had so much come to so many? What was the connecting factor?

The armor. The golden one that was said to be cursed. Ever since it left its former master’s hands, it had brought nothing but trouble to all who was involved with the item that was said to be worthless outside of it weight in gold.

Greed, adventure, or something more drew all to it, but for one particularly nervous prince, gold armor was the last thing on his mind. As time ticked on, the bloodied map that was folded neatly in the prince’s pocket began to feel like a weight as the young prince became more and more worried about the tailed thief.

While it was true he had been told to come to the bell tower and wait, the issues with the moogles mixed with the fact that Zidane had not arrived to the place yet made the young prince wonder if maybe something had happened. He was pretty confident that Zidane knew this place like the back of his hand, so if he was just visiting a friend, it should not take him long to return right?

The young prince felt the inside of his chest tighten as he unconsciously balled his left hand. He did his best to tell himself that things would be okay, but the longer he waited the more his attention was drawn away from the thinking moogle before him and back towards the door.

He wanted…no needed to find Zidane. That was what his gut was telling him and Noctis knew better than to ignore that feeling. Waiting only a second longer, Noctis was on the edge of dismissing himself and seeing if he could get into the castle and track down both Zidane and the moogle on his own, when Stiltzkin finally came to a solution regarding entering the castle. As the small skin wearing moogle pointed up towards the bell tower, Noctis eyes followed the direction. He took note of a ladder within the hollow cylinder that led upward.

As he spotted this item, he listened to Stiltzkin explain the roof tops above. He told him that people used them at times to cross over and watch plays or watch the Queen speak. Currently, the Queen was on a trip, so that meant that the rooftops while probably still guarded were probably not as heavily protected.

After all, royals had the tendency to take many guards and servants on travel, so if that old habit existed here, then trying to get to the castle would not be so hard. As for finding the castle, well that was not going to be too hard. That structure was the center of this city, so he was sure from a higher vantage point the beautiful structure would be easy to spot. The only issue was if he managed to get inside, would he be able to find Zidane or that moogle in time?

The task was daunting, but the prince had to go. It was the only way to calm his worry. Even if it was just paranoia, he wanted to be safe than sorry. So with the information in hand, Noctis looked back at Stiltzkin and thanked him before getting a nod in return. Then as the moogle waddled his way over to the two arguing moogles, Noctis made his way towards the hollow cylinder of the tower where the ladder resided.

**

Elsewhere, a panicked Zuko was running through the back ally ways of Alexanderia, his eyes desperately darting around the area as the fox looked for the quickest way out of the city. He knew the thieves he had been hunting with the brat and Zidane were near the ocean, so he needed to find that ship and raid it. He didn’t care if he would have to beat the tar out of anyone left behind to guard the ship. He was going to get his information and the armor all before his time ran out.

Or at least that is what he had hoped. As the fox ran, he could sense rather than see, the shadow of the huntress getting closer and closer to him. He could smell her strange scent of repetilian skin mixed with gold as she slithered her way closer to him. As she neared, the tattoo on his hand continued to spread counting down the seconds of his doom, so he pushed forward even harder, his lungs feeling like they were about to burst from the small amount of air they were getting.

On and on he ran until he rounded a corner and then –

WHAM!

“Oof!” was the involuntary sound that mixed with a high pitched squeak as something solid, yet soft hit the fleeing thief at high speed. Unprepared for this encounter, Zuko was taken down, his body being sprawled across the ground as something picked itself up off him. Groaning lightly, the thief pushed himself from the ground as he got to his hands and knees and shook his head to clear the spinning view. Once his view was clear again, the fox huffing and puffing looked up at what had hit him with a moody glare. When he found that the creature was actually a moogle dressed in armor, the thief frowned a bit confused at first...but then that confusion turned into fear as he saw the shadow of his reaper come into view.

He heard the command to run, but his body just wouldn’t function as his hair stood on end. The shadow moved in closer and looked like it would’ve gotten its prey; however, at the same time the shadow came for him, the moogle reacted, lunging its spear at the creature the shadow hid.

There was an audible hiss of agitation as the shadow backed off and retreated to some spot around the corner, scared away... for now. Feeling himself relaxed inwardly in relief, the thief’s eyes return to the moogle who had saved him as he pushed his small helmet up and looked over at Zuko asking him about Zidane when he caught a whif of the other thief upon him.

To this Zuko looked down as he let the cloth of his hood cover his face as he shook his head.

“I-I am not sure. I lost him and so came looking for him,” the thief lied, but the small moogle either didn’t notice the lie or bought it instantly for shortly after it had shudder and his ally had arrived on the scene yelling “fury” as the shadow appeared once more in the area and began to move in for another attack, the moogle had spoken once more explaining that the guy that had come in was called Haagen and he was the only guard the moogle had found on duty.

However, that didn’t mean anything to the thief as he heard the moogle warn him to hurry before it was going to join his ally in fighting off the shadow that was his reaper. A bit stunned at his luck thanks to a very wrong assumption on the moogle’s part, Zuko remained frozen for a second longer. And what a good thing being frozen was.

As the moogle and the human fought the shadow of death, Zuko heard a noise from above and looked up just in time to see a group of strange men dragging away Zidane who looked for all the world to be sick or something; however, the other thief’s safety was not his concern. No, what got this fox scrambling to his feet and hurrying to catch the group was the being bringing up the rear of the group. It was a male Burmecian with a limp and hanging from his waist the a golden helm.

**

As Mosh and Haagen fought the shadow that was Andromeda and Zuko hurried after the moving group of thieves that had Zidane, Noctis had made his way to the castle. The journey had not been easy with the tauntly pulled ropes and shaky ladder that laid upon the rooftops testing every ounce of balance that Noctis had as they wobbled, creaked, and moaned under his weight.

Moving as fast and as safely as possible, Noctis had crossed the roofs being careful to stay out of the seeing range of the occassional female guard that patrolled the roof tops with bows in hand. After sneaking his way past them and finding his way to a spot above an open area in the castle, Noctis had remained hidden on his perch as he watched the movement of the guards below until most of the area below was emptied as some guards went off to train while others went to do something else, leaving behind one very sleepy guard to keep watch over the place.

As the guy yawned, Noctis would quietly cross his perch and let himself fall into the shrubbery below. The sound of his impact in the bushes startled the sleepy guard, but was thankfully covered up by the startled birds that flew out of the bush with the landing. The guard stared at the bush for a moment as Noctis who was buried deep within it remained still watching throuh the holes in the plant as the guard slowly began to lose focus and then deciding that the sound was indeed just birds, he walked further up the path leaving the area clear for Noctis to get through.

Working quickly and as quietly as he could, Noctis untangled himself from the bush before cautiously peeking out and around the area from his hiding spot. Seeing the male guard was distracted by a female guard, the young prince hurried out of hiding and made his way to the door that had been left ajar.

Being cautious, Noctis peeked in before finding the area clear of guards and so slipped in making sure to keep the door properly cracked so no one would be suspicious if someone were to come back and check on the place. Keeping to the shadows, Noctis snuck around the inside of the castle staying out of the way of guards and servants alike as he traveled through the castle until finally, he found the area where the Guard’s Room was located.

After making sure the area was clear, Noctis moved out into the quiet area his senses on high alert as he made his way towards the suspiciously opened door at the end. As he neared the door, his pace slowed dramatically until he came to a stop in front of it and examined the scene with dread building in him. The door…it had been forced opened. There was a smear of blood on it from wear a small hand rested upon the door, making Noctis believe that Zidane was the one who opened the door, so was he still behind that cracked door?

Unconsciously holding his breath, Noctis gently pushed the door open revealing the empty room beyond. A bit relieved, but now even more worried than ever, Noctis entered the room and after examining the well kept place, he had begun to think that Zidane never came in the room. Sighing the prince turned to leave, but halted as something odd caught his eye. On the floor near one of the well stocked shelves, he took note that something had been removed from the collection of items. The absence of the missing thing left a hole on the otherwise packed shelf.

Narrowing his eyes, Noctis moved over to the suspicious shelf. As he did his boot crunched lightly on something. Looking down, the prince carefully moved his foot from the item it was on top of only to find his frown deepening at what he saw. The thing he had stepped on was a very small piece of jewelry. Leaning down, he picked up the cracked item carefully and examined the it closer finding it was an earring covered with a bit of blood.

Zidane…? Noctis wondered as his eyes drifted upward a bit catching sight of the almost invisible path of something being dragged out of the place. Not liking where this was going, Noctis began to follow this trail until he lost it at what appeared to be a dead end.

Looking around the semi circular corner he was in, Noctis thought that he was indeed stuck when from somewhere above he felt a draft and heard the light slap of something hitting the stone wall. Looking up, the young prince found the draft and sound was coming from a piece of roofing that hadn’t been placed back on correctly. Hanging from that crack was a rope wiggling in the wind. The rope had been hoisted up in what appeared to be haste, so it was a little out of reach. However, this did not discourage Noctis.

Making sure to give himself enough room, Noctis took a few steps back before making a run for the wall jumping at just the right time to give himself a boost. As he moved towards the wall, he would extend one leg and let his boot make contact with the wall before pushing upward for a second boost and making a grab for the dangling rope. As his gloved hand grabbed it, the prince would come back down to the ground with a light thud as the rope came with him.

Back on the ground, Noctis tested the strength of the rope pleased to find that something above had it still secured. Feeling hopeful, Noctis used the rope to make his climb up the wall only pausing to wrestle with the piece of ceiling that had been moved as he kept himself suspended with the rope tied around him. Once he had moved the slab out of the way, the young prince pulled himself out into the open making sure that he pulled the rope all the way up and re-covered the hole securely before he was blinking as he looked around the area.

He was back on the rooftops and from what he could see, things were pretty much the same, so why did it seem that….?

Hm?!

Noctis snapped to attention just in time to see the strange group of people moving further up ahead. As he watched them, he could see a gleam of something gold reflecting off of the ones near the back, but what made the prince flip even more than that was when the guy at the back moved slightly to the right and Noctis caught the briefest glimpse of thefamiliar blonde and blue bundle being hauled away by the traveling group!

“Zidane!” he whispered as his concern and worry became full fury at the group that was taking his friend away. With no more hesitation inside of him, Noctis began to make his way carefully across the roofs trying to catch up with the quickly disappearing thieves who had Zidane. As he moved, he never did know that Zuko and his huntress were also moving in the same direction.

**

Zuko hauled tail after the thieves, moving along the alley ways like a snake as he did what he could to keep up with the shadows of the group with the gold helmet. He was so close to his goal now that he could not fail, so even when the thief temporarily lost his targets, the fox continued to push on until he managed to make it out of the castle town completely.

As he bursted out of the town and out into the field, he saw the group making their way towards some chocobos that were waiting in the field for fleeing thieves. As each one got on a mount, Zuko made one last dash towards the quickly escaping group, his aim being for one of the thieves that was actually having a bit of an issue with the chocobo he was trying to mount.

For whatever reason, the small guy had slipped up on his mounting and had upset the bird to the point where it was thrashing about and trying to buck him off. It took a while, but eventually the guy got the bird under control. Triumphant, the man was turning the bird to follow the group that had left him behind; however, before he could even move forward, Zuko had made his lunge and latched onto the guy’s leg with so much force that the guy came slidding off the bird with involuntary “AHH!’ escaping him.

Wrestling with the cursing thief on the ground as the chocobo hopped away, Zuko had managed to get the upper hand and with a sickening snap! had broken the man’s neck with raw force. Feeling like he was the winner in all this, Zuko had gotten up chuckling inwardly at his work as his glowing eyes turned to the agitated chocobo.

Grabbing its reins before it could get away, Zuko mounted the bird himself, easily balancing himself under the bird’s shakes and toss. When the bird found it could not be rid of its calm rider, it finally submitted to its new master and calmed. With triumph so close at hand, Zuko was prepared to race after his targets and claim that gold; however, just when things were looking up the unexpected happened.

Zuko heard the running feet and even the light yell as someone leapted towards him and the bird; however, even with all those warning signs, the thief never did imagine that within a few seconds he was not going to be the only one on the chocobo.

Startled by the unexpected second rider landing on its back, the chocobo sqwauked as it flapped its wings and took off running ahead in a panic. Not quite ready for the movement, Zuko barely managed to hold onto the chocobo as from behind him a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Growling, he turned to look behind discovering that the one screwing up his plans was the brat himself –Noctis!

Zuko wasn’t sure how the kid had managed to catch up or how the hell he had managed not to fall off the chocobo when it took off, but at the same time the livid thief didn’t care. This guy was about to make him lose his prize and he wasn’t having that.

“Damned brat! Get off!” Zuko yelled as he freed one hand from the feathers he held onto and swiped down with sharp claws upon the exposed skin of Noctis’s arms. He heard the kid cry out, but unfortunately, the grip upon him did not loosen instead it only tightened as the kid clung to him as the bird continued to race on.
Completely put out with this, Zuko continued to try and get the kid to fall off, but all his efforts were futile. No matter how badly he hurt the kid, the brat still managed to get on the bird fully and then by some miracle, he managed to dismount Zuko from the bird!

Cursing as he fell off, Zuko hit the hard ground and rolled a bit as the kid and the bird continued on ahead.

**

It was a miracle. A miracle that Noctis despite his cut up arms had managed to pull Zuko from his spot on the chocobo and throw him off. As the tratiorious fox hit the ground and rolled away, Noctis didn't look back as he secured his own self to the running bird. After checking to make sure that the bird was actually heading in the direction of the larger group he had seen taking off with Zidane, the young prince used his legs to hold onto the bird much in the same fashion as he would a horse. Staying balanced, he managed to get some extra bandages out of his pocket and even though he was bouncing around, he managed to wrap his bleeding arms to more or less stop the blood from getting all over the bird’s yellow feathers.

He wasn’t sure what Zuko’s nails were going to do to him in the long run, but at the same time he did not care as he eventually took control of the bird and pushed it to go faster. He was running against a clock and messing with Zuko had only delayed him further. Still, he needed this bird if he ever wanted to catch up with the quickly moving thieves.

Noctis rode the bird long and hard before he reached the field where he saw the ship and the thieves he and the others had been chasing all this time boarding with their birds and Zidane. He tried to make it to the spot quicker, but he was too late. With a squwak, the land bound chocobo slid to a halt by the water as it let out a dismayed squwak in the direction of the ship that was now leaving it behind.

Other chocobos could be heard answering its call from the ship, but someone silenced them before a figure appeared at the ship’s edge as the water-bound vehicle began to make its way slowly out to sea. The figure was one of the crew members, a hefty man with a raspy voice.

“That was a good try boy!” he yelled towards Noctis as he smirked. “However, you be a tad too late! Now scurry home before you get yourself into some real trouble,” the pirate was telling him and then laughing he moved further back onto the ship that was slowly getting away.

Not one to give up, so easily. Noctis slipped off the bird that was still squwaking at the ship to come back. Then becoming a bit depressed, the creature bowed its head and began to walk off along the shore. The sight was sad to see and made Noctis feel guilty for not making it on time, but as much as he sympathized with the now lost bird, he had no time to beat himself up over the loss. He had a ship to catch.

Knowing he couldn’t ever hope to reach the ship by swimming to it from shore, Noctis looked around the beach until he spotted a dock jutting out in the water far enough that if he were to jump and swim, he’d catch that slow moving ship. With a plan in hand, Noctis hurried over to the dock. The young prince had just made it onto the damp wood of the dock when unexpectedly something whapped him the back so hard that the prince was forced forward and onto the dock.

With a painful thud, Noctis found himself sprawled upon the dock, the stinking wood pressed to his face as the world around him spun and his back throbbed from whatever had hit him. Lifting his head and shaking it, he tried to regain his bearing when unexpectedly he was being roughly pulled backwards by his leg.

Wincing and shutting his eyes against the pain of the wood scrapping against him, Noctis found himself being hoisted upside down in the air.

With his body aching all over, the young prince opened his eyes only to find them widening in horror at what he saw. Not too far away stood Zuko, battered and bleeding from his tumble, but alive nonetheless. His fur was going everywhere as his torn cloak flowed with invisible power and his eyes glowed a deep red.

The fox wasn’t touching Noctis, but instead using his magical powers to hold the young prince up in the air as he slowly moved forward with a knife in hand. The creature was drooling slightly with the taint of insanity flashing in his eyes as he drew steadily near the trapped prince, muttering just how much he was going to enjoy shredding him bit by bit. A bit panicked, Noctis could do nothing, but watch as his doom got closer and closer.

Then that knife was being risen into the air and prepped to plunge into Noctis’s heaving chest, but the knife never did come down as quite unexpectedly something gold suddenly appeared bloodied and poking through Zuko’s chest.

A bit confused, the fox stopped his attack as he looked down at the item poking through him. With no concentration left on Noctis, the force that held the prince up let go causing the him to slam right back into the docks as gravity took over.

"Oww...” Noctis muttered out loud as he curled a bit as pain hit his left side. Carefully, moving he found that the area the pain came from wasn’t broken, but just extremely sore and probably badly bruised from the constant falling; however, Noctis did not care as he looked up at Zuko just as that strange point pulled itself from his body. As Zuko stumbled forward, the knife clattering to the ground, Noctis watched as a strange gold color began to spread from the hole in Zuko’s chest and began to cover the rest of his body as he continued to move forward, trying still to get at Noctis despite whatever was happening to him.

Picking himself up, Noctis backed away from Zuko watching as the fox’s movements became slower and slower as his body went from living flesh to cold unfeeling gold. Looking at the twisted hunched over statue of Zuko with that clawed hand reaching out in his direction, Noctis eyes flickered from the horrible sight to the golden woman who glided forward. With a smile on her lips, she wrapped her arms around the statue before her resting head against it lovingly with a content smile on her face as she swung her lower half forward revealing the bloodied tip of her golden snake tail.

As the dock itself began to turn to gold thanks to the golden woman upon it, Noctis backed away from the scene before turning and diving off the edge of the dock into the icy waters, leaving the statue and the docks to whatever fate was left in store for them now that lady in gold ruled over them.

**

Back on the ship, the crew members that followed the old Burmecian moved about making the final preparations for a full launch, so busy they were that they never did notice that a black gloved hand had grabbed onto the uneven edges of the ship’s side or that a figure in black was slowly and quietly pulling himself up out of the water with every intent of rescuing the blonde they had captured burning deep in his gut.
__________________________________________________________
TAGS: Ziddy, go!
NOTES: Hang on I am coming, Zidane!

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves It was a difficult state of mind to observe when you tried to look to another person's life goals and say they were wrong. There stood a being with a grand fetish of gold that sought to plate their life with the substance so chased a dream. Another sought to steal for others, paid by promises of true, material wealth, chasing the whispers of the dream. There was the skeptical prince who naively clung to the idea that there was good in all men, who chased the dreamer after the whisper of the dream. There was the rouge dreamer who questioned the established priorities of the naive chaser rushing after the dreamer reaching for the whispers of the dream. Lastly there was a one-eyed ghost who held the key to the dreams, twisting the whispers chased foolishly by the dreamer who was sought after by the naive chaser, denies by the rouge, who were strung along by the grand fetishist's ideal of owning his key. It was always hard to see the truth with both eyes open. The ship roared across the seas. The chilling cross airs only provided pain and suffering to those untempered by its harsh and churning vortexes of wind. Divided by the temperate and cold; the seas were not a kind home to any looking for peace. These mixing airs were just recipe for disaster. Granted the chill of the air crewmen stood with pride as the ship sailed toward their destination out in the Forgotten Archipelago. But, back in the mainland Choco had seen the peril if his friends. There was nothing he could do against such a huge number of enemies on his own, why even Zidane had warned him to run if it was too dangerous. The golden bird padded toward the petrified Zuko, warbling sadly as he pecked at the golden statue. The bird's feathers flattened as his head lowered. There was no saving his fate to fall to the curse. The bird could still, perhaps aide his master and friend. Calling out the wild Chocobo thrust himself toward the water's edge. Padding along the sandy coast the ratite would allow his webbed talons to rest on the foamy surface of the coast before dashing into the sea. Choco raced along, a vision of self sufficiency. The wild 'bo knew what he wanted and who were good people. A blur of black flushed against the water. Choco could see Noctis barely clinging to the ship's edge. He lowered his feathery head and tucked it under Noctis. The bird would flutter his powerful wings and leap against the wooden edge of the ship's walls. Thick, terrain ignoring talons dug harshly against to smooth, wooden surface and bore into it so fiercely that it splintered. He would give Noctis a chance to board. The bird wanted his best friend saved. Choco though: could not. The vessel's speed, coupled with it's size would not allow the currently water-bound bird to take off. Such a feat required a height advantage and dry wings. As soon as the bird made his leap his talons would loosen and his weight drag back down into the waters. All the while, on the ship: the captain limped toward Zidane. The boy was being held tightly by the crewmen, the first mate proudly standing with her blade at the struggling boy's throat. Though his struggling was weak, it still gave the remaining crew a bit of a hassle handling. Something distracted her from her duty though; something at the bow had caught her eye. With blade in hand she marched forward. The captain smirked and held the helmet in his clawed hand. "To think such a troublesome lad had access to the last piece a pie. Reckon I owe ya a mighty thanks lad." He used his free hand to harshly grab Zidane's face. "That brute of a wizard wanted some tasteful armor and I get me promise a revenge at the once. Reckon I'd a done him the favor regardless." The Burmecian explained. Zidane was weak from the poison. His heart was racing, but all that did was pump the poison faster through his system. He did not have a clear view on the rat handling his face, but he was having trouble seeing, pupils dilated and breathing labored. A trickle of blood ran down the edge of his lip and down his chin. The next thing Zidane saw was darkness, the crew struggling to wrestle down the boy. Zidane was strong and even when weakened by poison: managed to trouble a three man crew. "Come off it now lad," the captain urged as he forced the helmet onto the thief's head. "It's the very least you can do for raining e'll on us with ye damn war. Cause of ye an' ya Queen I'm no good for the army now and without a life. Consider it a warm payback, long overdue." With his words the crew forced the gold armor on the boy. Helmet, chest piece, shinguards and armgaurds were forced into place. The captain grinned before stepping back and holding up his cane. He showed Zidane the silver dragon's head that sat upon the staff head. Inside the dragon's mouth was a ruby colored shard, which looked sharp, jagged almost. It was as if it was a piece of an incomplete whole. "That little friend of yours had an interesting gemstone. Reckon this is but a piece, but it's enough." The captain raised the staff overhead and swung it down. The gem shrapnel was dug into Zidane's neck. It was a piece of the red gem Zuko had used to tempt the crowds of the Auction House. "Reckon it entices you in a way only some accursed treasure can. Seeing as yer decked in such finery, you'll keep fightin' til ye death lad." He chuckled as Zidane screamed in pain. There was a faint sound....the beating of a heart. Zidane's body lay flailing on the deck as he struggled to take the armor off, it no matter what he did he found his numb fingers unable to grip the edges of the soft metal. The eyes of Death lingered over the boy. They were the very eyes that haunted Zuko. The shadow was out to retrieve the golden suit, and would like end any who got in its way. The armor was not what was cursed... it was the gem. But it seems that the magical properties of the Gold armor intensified it's magical base of the gem, increasing the power tenfold. The captain backed away and watched with delight as his men were thrown off the thief, but they only laughed and cheered. It was sweet revenge for a group who lost their honor in the field and their place in a world of peace. The first mate ignored the chaos her captain stirred behind her and drew nearer the bow with well. Drawn. She carried an undying devotion to her captain because without him she would have lost more than her pretty face to enraged Lindblum soldiers during the war. The first mate was, formerly. An Alexandrian soldier, but the lashing and hideous scar across her face and neck was nothing of the beauty many claimed of the knights of the country.

►TAGS: Next~!

►NOTES: I never believed the thing was cursed, I guess we know the truth now, but treasure hunting itself can be a curse...

►SKILLS USED: N/A

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO

[Deleted]

With Zuko on the golden deck, the golden lady called Andromeda was hardly finished with her work as she raised her golden head from the statue she leaned upon to watch the young prince splash into the water and make his escape for the ship. She watched his form retreating, but did not give chase as her snake like body slithered calmly to the edge of the dock and looked out towards the sea. She could smell and taste the gold armor her master sought out there and could sense the very thing that drew her to the all her targets – the red gem that Zuko had stolen from her and her master.

Watching the ship calmly the cold salty wind blew, blowing back locks made of gold upon the snake woman’s head. As the wind did this, the golden face was clearly revealed. It was a face of beauty chiseled to perfection by a loving artist, if were not for its only flaw. This deadly beauty only had one eye made of the same material as the jewel that Zuko had stolen and broken. The eye that kept her following the gold armor her master had set her on.

Sensing a piece of her eye on the retreating ship, the golden woman gracefully slid into the water and began to snake her way quietly towards her target. She followed just behind the unaware prince. Shortly after she was gone, a golden bird would appear on the docks to mourn the now golden thief’s death before beginning its own form of daring to aid its friends that were in need.

**

Meanwhile, Noctis had made his way to the ship, catching up with it just as it was beginning to pick up speed. As the ship pushed on ahead with ease, the young prince was slammed and smack by vicious waves created by the movement of the ship and the cold wind that churned up a salty mist and chilled the young man’s bones and skin. Soaked and cold, Noctis hung onto the side of the ship trying his best to dig his wet gloves into the many holds the old ship had; however, due to how slick the wood was, the prince was constantly slipping and sliding into the powerful pull of water around his waist. This climb was a pain in the butt to be sure and not exactly the brightest of ideas on his part, but the prince had no other options. He had to come himself or lose the trial on Zidane…and he could not have that. Not when he knew what he knew about the thief’s condition.

That knowledge of the poison coursing through his friend’s veins kept the young prince moving and struggling as he made his way up the side of the ship slowly. As he did what he could to keep air in his lungs as water constantly assaulted him and muffled most of the noise he made, his mind was focused on getting to his friend no matter what price he had to pay in the long run. He knew he was out numbered. After all, a full crew was on deck and he was only one man. He really should’ve just listened to Zidane and ran while he could, but he could not. His Heart would not let him abandon one he called friend, no matter what their profession. He would fight to the death if that is what it meant to save those close to him.

Determined, Noctis continued his struggle feeling the burn of his muscles as he tried to make it to the railing of the ship that was still so far away. He kept fighting, but his grip was weakening and he was beginning to slip again…

Knowing that if he lost his grip on the ship the event would spell certain doom for himself, the young prince tried to reclaim his hold, but he just kept slipping.

No!No!No! was the panicked thought as Noctis’s gloved hand slipped from the wood he was clinging onto and the young prince began to slid downward into the water. Thinking that he would indeed be pulled under the ship, the young prince was surprised that instead of getting pulled into the swirling mass of water below, something went under him and began to lift him up!

Shocked, Noctis looked down just in time to see the golden chocobo Zidane had been riding earlier doing its best to help him up. Overwhelmed with joy, the prince could not help but smile as he used the bird’s added strength to not only boost himself up, but also reclaim his grip on the ship. The bird made it easy for him as it flapped its wings and dug its feet into the ship’s side splintering it. With the chocobo’s aid, Noctis managed to get to the bow of the ship. Grabbing onto the lower ledge of the bow, Noctis could now easily cross over the railing and onto the ship.

Feeling grateful to the bird, Noctis shifted his weight planning to give the bird the room it needed to climb up on its own; however, as he turned to look at the bird, he saw it loose its grip and fall into the churning water below! As he saw the sight, his heart sunk as his eyes searched the waters for the bird that had not only aided him, but also saved him from death; however, as his blue orbs scanned the rough seas, he did not see the chocobo resurface for several seconds and then a bit further away from the ship that golden head popped up and after looking around and spotting the ship getting away, the bird gave out a small cry almost as if it was wishing him luck as it watched the ship move further and further away.

Sighing quietly in relief, Noctis made a mental note to thank the bird should they ever cross paths again, but for now a cry from the ship drew the prince’s attention back to the problem at hand. Recognizing the voice that cried as Zidane’s, Noctis turned himself so that he was facing the ship’s edge fully once more. Staying low and silent, he looked up just in time to see a woman approach his position and look over the water.

**

The first mate eyes narrowed as her scarred face turned slowly to scan the seas. Staying pressed against the ship and using the shadows as cover, Noctis heard the woman scoffing as she spotted the chocobo who had aided him earlier swimming about in the sea.

“Stupid chocobo. Tryin’ to rescue the wee lad, eh? Heh! Nice try,” the woman muttered to no one in particular as a cruel smirk appeared on her lips as she continued to watch the bird for a moment longer, then finding the bird to be no threat to their own mission, she turned her back on the railing to glance over at the show that was put on by the poisoned thief now clad in gold armor. The others were already laughing at the squirming boy as they watched him fight against the power of the jewel that caused him to want the armor upon him with so much lust that he would probably tear himself apart trying to get it off. All the while he struggled, the poison within him continued to pump through him making the battle futile.

Leaning against the railing, the second mate smirked as she watched the show never noticing the shadow that darted quickly upward and nab her by the back of her clothing and yanked her overboard. The action happened so fast that the falling woman had no time to scream as her feet left the damp wood of the deck and she began to fall through the air.

As she fell, she saw the man in black going over the rails and onto the ship…

**

Noctis had waited out his time and struck out when the female pirate least expected it. As he pulled her overboard, the young prince quietly got onto the ship not really noticing if the woman made a splash or not as she made her short descent. With his mind focused, Noctis quickly and quietly made his way over to some barrels, crouching down, and hiding behind them as he heard laughter and chatter from somewhere near the center of the ship.

Peeking around the corner of one of these barrels, Noctis scouted the area finding the source of the sound easily enough. Most of the crew was gathered near the center of the ship laughing and poking fun at something at the center of the ring dressed in gold and squirming. Narrowing his eyes, Noctis saw that the thing was Zidane!

Feeling fury flow through him at the thought of these guys laughing at Zidane’s suffering, the young prince summoned his weapon before carefully sneaking along the deck towards the nearest pirate in that laughing group.

Just as the young prince reached his destination and raised his sword, the rat like pirate that watched the scene from his position in the crow’s nest opened his mouth to sound the alarm.

“Oi!Oi!Oi! Watch the ‘og behind ya!”he was yelling, but it was too late. About time the laughing bunch registered the call, Noctis had let his sword drop on the first target, laying the guy flat as the hilt of his sword met a particular spot on the back of his target’s head. Not stopping to gloat in his handy work, the prince had become a black blur as he threw his sword near the feet of another target as the laughing group snapped to attention and moved about to defend their turf and catch as weapons were drawn.

However, the group was disoriented as Noctis appeared before his next target and unleashed a powerful kick to the guy’s gut as he twirled and retrieved his sword. Bowing under a blade coming at him from his left, the young prince slid under the deadly weapon as he used the momentum he had to ram into another guy, who cursing lost his balance and flipped over the nearby rail.

Staying in motion, Noctis would continue to use his teleportation skill and graceful spins to keep the disoriented crew on their toes until he had finally made a clearing for himself. Finishing, his effective dance in a slightly kneeled position, Noctis looked around the area and found he was clear to get to Zidane.

Taking his chance while the crew was disoriented, Noctis dashed over to Zidane who was thrashing around, knowing full well that he wouldn’t have long to help the guy out as he dismissed his sword for now.
It took a few seconds, but eventually Noctis was able to get a good enough grip on the thrashing guy to haul him up; however, no sooner had he gotten the squirming bundle up to where he could drag him away, he an agitated scream come from somewhere near the side of the ship.

Looking towards the side of the ship, he saw the woman he had pulled overboard earlier had not exactly fallen in the water like he would’ve liked her too. Instead, she had found her way back onto the ship with her weapon wedge between her teeth! As she landed back on the deck and took her blade in hand once more, she began to approach Noctis in a slow predator like fashion as she grinned at him like a mad woman.

“I’m ma gonna make ya pay for that little toss, boy. Hav’nt Mama warned ya about rough handlin’ ladies?” the woman hissed at him as she closed in. Keeping his grip on Zidane, Noctis looked for an escape, but found that he was surrounded on all sides by the mostly recovered crew. They were all closing in as the leader of the group spoke.

“I most admit, ye’ impress me lad; h’wever, it seems ye miscalculated in the rescue, eh?” the one eyed rat man said as he moved forward through tight circle with cane in hand and a twisted smirk on his face. Keeping his distance, he nodded at his men, who let the first mate into the ring, before sealing it off tightly once more. The woman was already spinning her blade in eagerness to kill as she moved in closer to Noctis who was at a disadvantage with Zidane in tow.

“I hope ye can dance well with dead weight as a partn’r lad,” the captain said from the edge of the ring as the onlookers laughed. As if taking that as a signal, the angered first mate came at Noctis and Zidane with a wild scream and even wilder vertical slash. Acting quickly, Noctis pulled Zidane out of range as he did his best to dodge the blow that narrowly missed both of them and forced them into the laughing and shoving wall of people that surrounded them.

With no escape and no safe quarters given by the woman, it Noctis put up an awkward defense as he kept Zidane away from harm with one arm and as he used his free arm to wield his sword he had resummoned. The affair was tough enough, but only made tougher by the blonde who was thrashing around.

**

Amused at the beating child in black was taking from his first mate, the Burmecian captain smirked as his crew laughed and hollered at the show. The brave little knight in shining armor was doomed along with the thief that had caused him and his crew so much grief. The kid didn’t have a chance of winning as long as he was determined to protect the blonde from harm. Maybe the boy knew this, but still he fought on. It was an admirable thing to do, but a foolish one nonetheless.

Such a waste, the captain thought as he shook his head lightly.

Letting his crew clean up the mess that would soon be the intruder and later that blonde, the Burmecian captain continued to watch the show coldly as he remained leaned slightly forward on his cane, his battered tail swishing back and forth slowly along the slick deck.

Things were going well until the unexpected happened. While the captain did indeed know that the shard he had imbedded in the blonde thief’s neck indeed had the power to drive one insane when around treasure, he did not know that this shard was part of the eye belonging to a certain gold hoarder’s huntress.

So as he was enjoying the show, he was quite shocked when amusement was turned to concern as his good eye looked up just in time to see the watchmen in the crow’s nest move in a strange way. He saw the guy trying to escape something, but all too soon that action was stopped as he was turned to solid gold! Not sure what had happened there, the captain frowned as the air on his ship changed from joy at revenge to panic as a crew member near the back of the ring was struck by a strange arrow that turned him to into gold also.

The guy let out a light yelp of pain before he was turned to gold and this in turn drew the attention and eyes of others around him….and upon seeing what happened to the guy, the others began to panic as they did their best to get away from the now golden man. Becoming more and more confused by the situation, the captain took a step back as he turned his head to the sound of something screeching and shooting out of the ocean. With a loud and heavy thud that rocked the boat, a strange golden creature landed on the ship in a torrent of water wielding a bow in one hand and an arrow of gold in the other.

This strange being lashed its tail against the ship’s wet and cracking boards slinging golden water everywhere. Golden water that was turning whatever it touched into solid gold!

Not exactly wanting his ship to sink before his revenge upon the blonde was completed, the captain turned his attention away from the boy and thief as he instead shook himself out of his shock and worked to get his crew back into some form of order, so they could work together to get the strange beast off the ship quickly.

**

Noctis was becoming more and more tired the more he was forced to dance with the angry pirate woman who was taking pleasure in each shallow yet painful cut she gave the prince. Slowly losing the battle, Noctis thought that he and Zidane were finished when from out of nowhere that golden snake lady appeared once again. Taking out the guy in the crow’s nest before working on the folks on deck watching the show, the snake lady effectively caused panic and chaos as the crew’s attention went from the fight between himself and the mad woman to the new threat on board.

Noctis could hear curses and commands being given as the crowd dispersed and the woman fighting him became distracted. As she got too cocky in her winnings and turned away from him, lifting her sword only the slightest bit away from the prince when she moved, Noctis found his opening and used that chance to attack. Having to drop Zidane for a moment, Noctis gathered up his strength and unleashed a hefty kick right in the woman’s chest causing her to cough and curse as the impact knocked her off balance and winded her. As she stumbled away, Noctis dismissed his sword once more as he gathered the squirming Zidane and dragged him towards a door near the back of the ship. Forcing the door open, Noctis got Zidane in the next room before stumbling in himself and shutting the door before quickly locking it. Once it was locked, he scanned the room for something heavy to put in front of door. Finding a strange chest full of who-knew-what, Noctis dragged the thing in front of the door praying that it would buy him the time he needed to deal with Zidane who was steadily getting worse.

Only briefly recognizing they were inside of the captian’s cabin, Noctis went over to the struggling young man and kneeled down before beginning the tiring process of getting the guy to be still.

It was a hard fight since Zidane was not exactly weak even with poison flowing through his veins, but in time Noctis managed to help him get the armor he fought against off of him before wrestling the little guy into a pin to get that strange shard within him out. It was a dangerous affair, but Noctis did his best to not wiggle the shard in the wrong way as he worked it out of the guy. Once that shard was out Noctis took note that it was a shard of the strange red gem that had thrown everyone into a frenzy at the Auction House!

Wondering briefly if this thing was the real curse and not the armor, Noctis hastily pushed the thought away as his attention returned to his sick friend. While he was no medic, he had learned some basic things that could help out in these situations and since he had been smart enough to stock up and carefully store medical supplies before they left Burmecia, it was easy to find the necessary items he need for the occasion. Thankfully the items were not waterlogged or swept away from his little swim earlier. Working as fast as his shaky hands would allow him to work, Noctis found a vial of antidote in the items he carried and did what he could to get most of it into the guy he had to re-pin.

Hoping the liquid would help Zidane in some fashion, Noctis let the empty vial drop to the ground as he worked on wrapping up the wound on Zidane’s neck using a bit of medicine and the remaining bandages he had to complete the task. When he was done, he quickly packed up the supplies, muttering to thief in tense tones as he moved, “Don’t you die on me, Zidane.”

As he finished stashing his now low supplies of medical items in his pouches and pockets, the young prince jumped and turned in his crouch as he heard something pound against the door, rattling the object on its frame. Not sure how long, the door would hold, Noctis gritted his teeth in agitation as he quickly scanned the room for an escape. For the most part the only ways out were the door and a large glass window that looked out to the choppy seas.

Death by the golden snake woman and angry pirates or death by sea….were there really no other choices here?

Damn it! Noctis thought to himself as his mind darted around for another option. He couldn’t allow himself or Zidane to die on this ship. He just couldn’t!
__________________________________________________________________________________

Tag: You’re it, Zidane!

Notes: I think….I should’ve calculated escape into my plan before jumping in the sea to rescue, Zidane. Great….What to do now?

Skill used: Teleport

[Deleted]

Jovial Prince of Thieves The young man was in agony. The pain that coursed through his body was like thousands of needles flooding his veins: every end finding point. His vision bombarded with a sensory deprivation when the helmet was forced on and with the stone now encouraging a lust he seemed to naturally lack: all he could see was the glittering obsession before him, something he had never felt. He knew what it felt like to want something so bad that you would die for it, but never had he found cause to want something so bad he would kill for it. He knew he had to take it off, but his body would not allow such an action. He screamed in pain only for the helmet to muffle and mute the majority of them. Spasms tore through his envenomated body, the cursed gem throbbing against his neck, pushing unwanted feelings into him, into his heart. The screaming in his ear bade him to run, but his body urged him to sleep. He no longer had strength upon him, the poison having slowly drained his health. The noises that blared from outside had no presence. It was like the empty bowels of the sea as they washed him out, casting him into the abyss. The Captain, on the other hand, was not going to be easily overrun by the serpentine temptress of gold. His men had started to panic, but it did not take long to get the raving lunatics under control.A bit of cursing and using his cane to shove them about was enough. A number of them would manage to avoid the gold naga’s attacks by hiding behind the mast and barrels that lay dotted along the deck. They were not going to be taken in by some damnable monster. The Captain backed away and watched carefully. It was easy to piece together that she was after the gold armor. Her obsession with the shiny metal were obvious by her very attacks and weapons. There was one thing neither knew about the gold armor though. He held his cane and motioned to his men. “Stand down!” He called, the gold huntress being given a chance to head for her quarry. He threw out his hands and let out a sharp whistle. “All hands abandon ship! You, come with me.” He called to his first mate. “We’ll be getting what is ours, aye?” “Aye cap’n!” She bravely declared, proudly puffing her chest and wildly gripping her sword. She would be more than happy to rend that fool through with her blade. While the rest of the crew retreated the Captain and First Mate stayed behind, hidden behind the main mast. The men were quick to take the small number of lifeboats that were on the ship, leaving only one more for the captain and first mate when their time to flee came. With the huntress believing the crew had abandoned ship it left her to go after the two treasure thieves. She pounded at the door, eventually her heavier mass and strength forcing the door to give way under her mighty strokes. Inside Zidane had become deathly still when the shard was removed from his neck. Blood expelled by his silent screams had painted the inner face of the golden helm. His skin was pale, a shocking contrast to his usually tanned face. Stains dried at the edges of the mouth made him look pathetically weak and out of place. He was fed an antidote by the young prince, body forcing it down so it would not drown and cause further duress on an already shocked system. The thick liquid was poured down the boy’s throat. Every inch of his body burned from the poison that had slowly eaten away at his system. Thick coughs escaped his chest as he heaved into a sitting position. He found that his movement was restricted, held back by something heavy. Looking down the thief realized he was still encumbered in a majority the heavy armor. A pounding in his head… no at the door, alerted him to a possibly dangerous situation. He looked to Noctis, eyes trying to focus on the face before him: only to be surprised to see the boy there, with him, in a room of some sort. He tried to to focus his mind as the antidote cleared his head of that forsaken haze wrought by the poison. He remembered he was taken by the pirates and forced to put on the armor, but… “What are you doing here?!” The rogue demanded as he pushed around in an attempt to reach for the straps of the armor that had been forced on him.. “I told you to run!” The thief hurried to take off the heavy, gold armor and free his body of the burden.. Though it was lighter than normal armor, it was still far too heavy for a thief like him. After he pulled the armor all off, allowing it to clatter noisily to the floor: the door pounded in. It did not quite fall off its hinges, but it came pretty close. Now it was crunch time. There was no time to argue about the semantics of who was where and why. It was not long before the door began to splinter. Zidane stood and looked to Noctis. He looked to Noctis and shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to do this together.” It was obvious there was only one way out. So they would use that exit. “Come on, on three--” Wait-- what was he doing? He crouched down and held out his hands in a defenive position, as if he was getting ready to grab something -- oh. Oh! “Three!” As soon as the door was split down the thief tackled the blockade: in this case the huntress. The Captain watched with a smirk, his first mate at his side. They would make time. “Shall we give it a lil push than love?” He hissed. “Aye sir.” The first mate headed off to drop the ships anchor while the captain made his way to the cargo hold to slowly set the ship to sink by setting kegs below, full of bomb ash, to blow. He casually marched his way back up before looking upon his pocket watch. They had ten minutes before it all went up. A clattering noise rumbled as the ship lurched when the anchor fell way. Inside the captain’s quarters the armor slowly rose to life. With all it’s pieces together it clamored into a steady stance. Looking around the suit of living armor looked toward to the captain’s chest. The suit pulled the top clean off, sensing inside that which was his. There it retrieved its golden sword and shield.

►TAGS: Next~!

►NOTES: A Serpent to the East, A Rat to the West, A Virgin to the North, A Knight to the South

►SKILLS USED: N/A

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE; EDITED BY OUREX DRACO