High above the city in a ship that flies on air, a young be-tailed thief named Zidane goes over plans for the kidnapping of Alexandria's princess with the rest of Tantalus, a thief guild posing as an acting group.

Far below, a strange, small child with a huge hat shadowing a dark face looks up as the ship passes over the city of Alexandria, cloaking those below in its shadow. Amazed, the young child can't help but stare up at the sight. When the ship finally moves on, lifting its shadow from the city below, the child continues on through the streets and alleys of the busy city.

As he passes through one particular alley, a group of children run past in such a flurry he's knocked to the ground as a result. One of the children stops and turns back, helping him to his feet and handing him the ticket he dropped. She quickly hurries off.

But even as he makes to continue on, he is hit yet again by another swift-travelling child. Shaking his head, he continues on his way to the city square. There he heads up to the Ticket Booth and presents his ticket. To his great disappointment, it turns out to be a fake! The ticket-master takes pity on him, giving him a few playing cards so he won't get too upset.

The child wanders around the square, not sure what to do with himself. His ventures find him walking down one of the many alleyways about, where he trips and accidentally upsets a repairman's repair-work. The The repairman mumbles and curses at him, coming down from the ladder he was perched upon, apparently too annoyed to continue his work.

Puck § Hey you, shrimp! You're the one with the phony ticket, ain'tcha?

Just as he's lifting himself from the ground, the boy finds himself face-to-face with a rat kid. The rat kid offers his help, in exchange for the boy to become his slave. The boy meekly agrees, and is immediately set to his first task: that of making sure no one's coming anywhere near them any time soon. Meanwhile, the rat boy grabs the ladder the repairman was using and runs off.

The boy follows, and the two run between the crowded houses and through the back alleys of Alexandria. The rat boy enters a church, and they head up the tower at its center to reach the rooftops above. They cross the roofs via rickety planks, the rat boy laughing all the while at his slave, even when he nearly falls when one of the planks break loose.

A sudden thought comes to the rat boy, and he asks the pointy-hat kid's name: it's Vivi. The rat boy calls himself Puck.

The two continue on their journey across the rooftops. Finally, as they reach the great wall surrounding the Alexandrian castle, the rat boy's purpose becomes clear: they're about to sneak in to see the show! As they hurry inside, the show is just beginning.

As Zidane, Garnet and Steiner burst onstage, Vivi and Puck look on in wonder. Just then, two guards spot them on the precipice and give chase. Vivi and Puck run for it, but klutzy Vivi trips.

Puck § Fool! I'm outta here!

Puck runs off to save his own skin, leaving Vivi for the guards. Frightened, Viv runs on stage, warning the guards not to come any closer. But the guards chase him around the stage, and he has no choice but to use his fiery powers on them. Instead of hitting the guards, however, he sets Garnet's robes on flame, forcing her to throw them off and reveal herself to the crowd.

As Vivi runs off, Garnet faces off against Steiner, ordering him to cease pursuing her. When he insists he can't, Zidane leads her off the stage, but not before stopping to ask Vivi, who's tripped and fallen yet again, if he's alright.

Steiner doesn't let them go too easily, and they battle, with Garnet, Zidane and Vivi emerging victorious. But when Tantalus makes to leave, Queen Brahne will have none of it, and attacks the flying theatre with huge iron chains and a fire bomb. Stubborn Steiner attacks again, not realising the bomb has landed behind him and is growing ever larger...

Finally, the bomb blows up, and though Tantalus manages to get out of the city, the great ship crashes into the Evil Forest.

The Forest Keeper Elsewhere in the forest, Garnet and Vivi are running from some unknown creature. Vivi trips, and Garnet turns back to help him, but a shadow falls over her...

Zidane rushes off into the woods, eventually coming across a frightened Vivi. Ahead is the vine-like monster, and inside of it is Garnet. Zidane pairs up with Steiner to tackle the beast, but it runs off.

Vivi § I was too scared to cast any spells...That monster's probably gonna eat her...

While Vivi's feeling remorseful, another monster strikes from above, grabbing him up like the other did Garnet. This time, Vivi doesn't let fear overtake him, and casts fire spells from inside the monster. After few beatings, the monster goes down. But even as it does, it unleashes a putrid green powder on all three.

Later, back on the Tantalus, Blank administers a syrum to Vivi, telling him that if he doesn't drink it, he'll be eaten alive by the seed offspring the monster planted in him. Vivi gulps back the gross potion, hoping he's not about to die.

Some time goes by, and Zidane comes along to check up on the little black mage. Vivi thanks him for his help, but Zidane tells him not to mention it.

Zidane § You know, you've got some major power for such a little guy.

Vivi is depressed by his words, knowing that he could have helped save Garnet if he hadn't been so scared of the monster. Zidane tries to cheer him up by promising to find her, and Vivi thanks him for it.

Much to his surprise, Zidane soon returns with Steiner and a request for his assitance in rescuing Garnet. Although he's less than sure of his abilities, Vivi meekly agrees to tag along. Before the three head off into the woods, Steiner pulls Vivi aside to discuss a merging of their powers.

The three then head off into the Evil Forest, hoping to find Garnet, and soon. When they enter a dark cave, they come face-to-face with a giant pollen monster. Blank arrives just in time to help out, and they dispatch of the beast. Zidane gives Garnet the potion to cure her of the seeds, but more monsters surround them, forcing them to flee the woods as quick as they can. Before long, Zidane realises something more is going on — the forest is quickly petrifying itself! The others escape, but Blank is caught by the vines and petrified.

As night descends, the party camps out in front of the frozen forest. Steiner blames their situation on Zidane, but soon Garnet comes around to set matter straight: she wanted to be kidnapped. After some reminding of his sworn duty to the princess, Steiner agrees they should hold camp for the night.

The next day, the party makes there way to the Ice Cavern. There, Vivi tells him stories he's heard about the cave from his grandfather. Steiner is delighted to hear Vivi's grandfather was a scholar. Vivi becomes suddenly quiet:

Vivi § My grandpa used to teach me lots of things,
but then he passed away...

Steiner apologises, but Vivi shakes it off, and the group enters the cavern. As they move throughout the cave, Vivi uses his fire magic to gain access to ice-encrusted treasures. Eventually they finds themselves outside in the chilling wind. Vivi seems to be having a rough time, and accidentally falls off a short outcropping. But when Steiner investigates, he too falls, and then Garnet as well. Lastly, Zidane finds himself falling asleep...

In the distance, a bell rings out, and when Zidane pulls himself together enough to investigate, he discovers the source of the blizzard: Black Waltz No. 1. After a battle to the death, Zidane rushes off to make sure the rest are all right.

The crew emerge from the ice onto a cliff overlooking a great plain. In the distance, they see a village, and Zidane wonders if he's been there before. Garnet suggests they head there, but not before she assumes a new identity: Dagger. Zidane tells her she also has to brush up on her peasant-speak:

Zidane § (What would Vivi say...?)

When they reach the town of Dali, Vivi really wants to go see the windmill...but Zidane insists they check in at the inn first and figure out what's going down next. As Zidane and Steiner argue about the fate of the princess, Vivi quickly falls to sleep on one of the beds.

• Go on to the next part •

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