Shadow Fire

Espio walked towards the elder's tent, his whole body tense and rigid. This will be just like last time... Sonic adjusted Shadow on his shoulders, before glancing over at Sheko. "You okay over there?"

Ryuichi burst through the doorway, his eyes still sparkly. He looked around hyperactively, a big smile coming to his face when he saw Shuichi. "Shuichi!" he called, lunging for the younger male. "Shuichiiiiiii!"

Umbra's eyes glowed mysteriously. "I appear to have gained power since returning..." Cupping his love's cheek in his hand, the darker male gave a slight grin, before moving in to kiss the other.

The 'king' gave a carnal growl as he felt his love release inside him, feeling himself surpass his peak and let his essence shoot out across their abdomens, coming down from his euphoria with a grin. "I love you..." he purred. "I always will..."

Ryuichi nodded some more, before turning tail and rushing out of the room, crashing through the doorway.

Espio nodded, glancing over at Sonic, who grumbled under his breath about Shadow being heavy. "I really wish we didn't have to come here..."

Steiner piped up, seeming to stammer. "Y-yes!" he proclaimed. "I-I shall go ask them!" Zidane put his hands on his hips. "Oh, really..." he said in slight amusement. "How come?" Steiner shifted his glance to the princess, before staring back at Zidane. "I-It is not for your benefit!" he claimed. "I am only doing this for the princess!"

Zidane glanced around, and then to Vivi, before shaking his head. "We can rest on the airship..." he said softly. "Frankly, it gives me the creeps here now... and then there's Vivi."

Steiner glanced at Dagger, giving a sad smile. "Princess..." he said in a comforting voice. "Your noble upbringing cannot be disguised so easily." "That's not true at all!" Zidane immediately interrupted. "You haven't been watching. Dagger is trying really hard. You're the one with the problem! Walking around, yelling 'Princess!' everywhere..." Ignoring Steiner's indignance, the tailed boy turned to Dagger. "Now, Dagger..." he continued. "About the border crossing..."

Steiner widened his eyes and shook his head fervently. "It can't be!" he protested. "There is no reason to trust the words of some bandit. He was just another criminal, scheming to use the princess for some evil deed."

Zidane came out of his Trance, glancing over at the others. Dagger seemed a little concerned. ""Hey..." he said softly. "Are you okay?"

From within his Trance, Zidane smiled towards Vivi. Empower yourself, Vivi... Scream at the Black Waltz as you attack. Steiner rushed in to attack, dealing a hefty blow to the taller mage, watching afterwards as Zidane attacked with everything he had. The knight raised an eyebrow. It would seem that this ruffian has become a little protective of Master Vivi. Once again, he has Tranced.

Zidane clenched his teeth together and balled his hands into fists. "You made a big mistake..." he growled. "Now, I will kill you myself...!" He began to glow, once again in Trance as he helped Vivi up with a Hi-Potion. "Vivi..." he said, his voice seeming to echo. "Remember what I taught you..."

At this, Steiner moved forward and held his sword out, shielding the princess. "Wait!" he boomed. "I, Steiner, shall escort the princess back to the castle!"

Zidane narrowed his eyes dangerously, stepping in front of Vivi as if to protect him. "So..." he growled out. "You were all sent by the castle!?" Steiner glared at Zidane in suspicion. "What?" he demanded. "What are you talking about!?" Zidane still kept his gaze on the tall mage, his tail poised as if to say he was ready for battle. "You were all unconscious from the blizzard..." he explained. "He said he was a Black Waltz!"

Zidane gave one of his heart melting smiles to Vivi, before turning as he heard Steiner's stammering. "...L-Lindblum..." he mumbled. "Yes, to Lindblum." Zidane raised an eyebrow in interest. "That's convenient!" he exclaimed. "Did you ask someone?" Steiner's eyes widened, before he took a breath. "Th-The old man in the shack told me!" he lied. "So it must be true!" The blond's eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you sure?" he murmured. "You're acting strange..."

"Yes, your highness..." the knight said apologetically. "Please excuse my behaviour." Zidane noticed Vivi's silence, and approached the mage, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Vivi... " he said softly. "I don't know exactly what's going on, but... I will stay by your side, okay?"

Zidane felt himself being moved, and sometime later, he could hear the sounds of someone mumbling. That does it. I'm getting out of here one way or another. Unbeknownst to Zidane, it was Steiner's voice he heard. The knight had noticed the barrels. "I've seen this pattern somewhere before..." he murmured, gasping as it began to move. "Ah! It's moving!" Moving closer to inspect it, he heard a muffled voice. "Alright!" Zidane exclaimed from inside. "Give it another push!" Shrieking in amazement, Steiner jumped back, just as Zidane managed to burst out of the barrel, before helping Vivi and Dagger out from within their prisons.

As the voices faded away, Zidane turned to Vivi and slung an arm around him comfortingly. Giving a smile, it faded suddenly as a strange cylindrical object dropped down at him. "Whu?" he gasped. "Whoa!"

Noticing that Vivi looked absolutely crushed, Zidane was about to comfort him, when he suddenly heard a noise. "Someone's coming!" he hissed under his breath. "Vivi! Dagger!" The tailed boy once again grabbed a hold of Vivi and Dagger's hands.

Zidane gasped up at the black mages, which were being sent across the assembly line. "They're..." he choked out. "Some parts are different, but..." He suddenly glanced inconspicuously over at Vivi. ...they look like Vivi...

Zidane grabbed Vivi's and Dagger's hands, before racing forward, suddenly screeching to a stop. "A chocobo and...gysahl green?" he pondered aloud, looking at the bird happily running on its wheel, trying to get the gysahl green. "The chocobo is powering the conveyor belt... Why don't they just use a machine to do it...?" Letting go of the others' hands, he moved towards the conveyor belt and attempted to look through to where it went. "I can almost see inside..." he murmured. "...but I can't see anything. I just hear noise. Are the eggs... hatching?"

Although he had given his warm smile at Vivi's understanding, his face went serious again. "I need to ask you a favor, Vivi..." he murmured. "We want to check out what's ahead. I know you might not be thrilled with the idea, but..."

The blond grinned, giving a nod. "Yeah..." he chuckled. "Like... 'Get off me, you scumbag!' Like that! It surprises your attacker and empowers you!"

The older male seemed surprised at Vivi's actions, but said nothing to discourage him. Instead, he comforted him. "Well, I'm glad you're safe..." he said, before offering words of advice. "Listen, Vivi. You gotta do something next time. You should try - screaming back or whatever."