Shadow Fire

Zidane shrugged, before glancing around, giving a low whistle. "Whew..." he murmured. "What a view... Hey! There's a telescope! Let's go check it out. Come on." Ushering over to the telescope, Zidane began to run over to it.

Making his way past the guard at the lift, the tailed boy found himself going all the way to the top of the castle, the singing getting louder. Entering a courtyard, he smiled as he saw Dagger singing, while gently playing with the birds. Such a pretty voice.

Zidane was pacing around, when he finally noticed his chance. A guard was sleeping, and would be a little too groggy to be wise to a plan of attack, so Zidane woke him up under the premise that someone suspicious was in the room. Once the guard had taken the bait, he beat him up, knocking him unconscious, before stealing his clothing. "Heh..." the blond chuckled. "That was easy."

Giving a nod, Zidane watched as Vivi walked off, heading back to the main city. With a soft sigh, he headed towards the lift, only to find the way was blocked. "Sorry..." the guard said. "Only authorized personnel can use the lift." Zidane hmphed to himself, before heading off. "Man, I've gotta get past this guy somehow..." he muttered under his breath. "Maybe if I disguise myself as a guard, he'll let me through."

Nodding, Zidane turned to Vivi. "Yeah..." he murmured. "I gotta find a way... Wanna join? We can both go see her."

The monkey boy nodded, looking around. "That song..." he breathed. "I've heard it somewhere before. That sweet voice... It's Dagger. She's upstairs."

Zidane tilted his head to the side. "I wonder..." he murmured. "I wonder where she went..." To bring Vivi along with him, the blond took his hand and headed out, stopping moments later as he heard singing.

In the original Zelda Gaiden, yes. However this was cut. A few things were cut due to restraints... and even more stuff was changed between versions. If it is redone, I hope the music gets some good remixes.

In spite of his current mood, Steiner smiled over at Vivi when he heard his voice. Suddenly, he glared as he saw Zidane with him. "You!" he snarled. "What have you done with the princess!? Where is she!?" Zidane raised his hands defensively. "Whoa, take it easy..." he said. "I just got here." The knight took a breath, but he was still irate. "The princess is gone!" he exclaimed. "She was supposed to stay in this room." The tailed boy simply shrugged. "Well..." he offered. "Maybe she went out for a little walk." Steiner's eyes narrowed again. "How can you be so calm!?" he shrieked. "This is a very serious matter! Have you forgotten all the danger she faced just to get here!? What if something terrible happens to her!? What am I doing here!? I must go find her! Out of my way!" The armoured man rushed outside, leaving Zidane and Vivi behind.

Giving another blink, Zidane stopped, glancing back at the mage. "A fool?" he repeated. "Someone who acts impulsively, lacking the wisdom necessary for their judgements. Why do you ask though?" Suddenly, he smirked. "I see..." he laughed. "Freya still refers to me as a fool."

Zidane nodded, before looking over at Freya. "Thanks..." he said softly. "...for keeping an eye on him." With those words, the thief set off for Lindblum Grand Castle, with Vivi in tow.

Zidane had just drawn his daggers, anticipating trouble, when he noticed it was only Freya, who had Vivi with her. "There you are..." he panted, putting his blades away. "I'm sorry about Bunce and Lucillia... they mean well..." Casting his warm smile back over at the mage, he held his hand out. "C'mon Vivi..." he said softly. "Let's return to the castle."

The tailed boy looked around, before giving a sigh. "I want to head back to the castle..." he muttered. "But I can't leave Vivi out here all alone." The blond set off in search for the mage.

Zidane held his hand out and made to call for Vivi to wait, but to no avail. The mage had disappeared quickly. He turned to face the other two. "That wasn't very nice..." he scolded. "Vivi is a friend of mine. His power helped me to kidnap the princess." Bunce gave a soft squeak. "Oh!" he cried out. "So, the plan worked?" Still looking in the direction Vivi had run off in, Zidane nodded. "...Yeah..." he murmured. "Princess Garnet is at the castle."

"Yeah..." Bunce chirped. "Check this out." The youngster showed Zidane some of the 'treasure' he and Lucillia had collected. "Wow, those are trick sparrow's wings!" Zidane exclaimed, flashing a thumbs-up. "That sure is some treasure you've found, alright!" The blond glanced over at Vivi and gave his usual 'everything will be okay' smile.

The young boy, Bunce glared half-heartedly at Zidane. "Why didn't you tell us that you were back?" he whimpered. "We're in Tantalus, too, you know." Zidane raised an eyebrow. "Wait..." he murmured. "What?"

Snapping back to reality, Zidane gave another smile. "Oh... it's nothing..." he assured. "I just... I wonder what Dagger's doing." Suddenly, Zidane could hear voices approaching.

The older male smiled, placing his arms around Vivi as if to shield him from any harm. "It's okay..." he said. "Those bells mean that a performance has ended. To be quite honest, the times I spent here alone, these bells were my only companions."

Pressing his other hand atop the younger male's, Zidane gave a smile. "Well, then..." he said, chuckling softly. "Don't worry. You're with us now, and I'll be here for you. I'll teach you everything I can."

Taken off-guard, Zidane couldn't answer for a moment, but then gave his honest answer. "I don't know..." he mumbled. "More importantly, do you regret coming with us?"

Zidane blinked down at the mage. "Hm?" he pondered. "What is it, Vivi?"

Zidane raised his hands defensively, before mumbling an apology, and taking Vivi to the Tantalus hideout. "Well..." he muttered. "That was kinda... wounding."

Zidane grinned. Vivi was just too adorable for his own good. "I'm Zidane!" he proclaimed, before gesturing behind him. "...and the little guy behind me is Vivi. Say... how would you like to see the view of Lindblum from an airship?"

Chuckling softly, Zidane shook his head. "Fans of mine..." he whispered to Vivi. "Iguess they want an autograph or something. Maybe you should ask one out..."

Zidane blinked as Vivi held his hand again, but shrugged it off, and began to lead the way through Lindblum.