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((Here's the other story I have on fanfiction.net, in its' entirety. I've recieved about 40 hits, but no reviews...so, tell me how bad this is, okay? Should I contnue, or what?))



i!Disclaimer!i I do NOT own the characters in this game, any towns associated with it, any original scripts directly from the game, anything else directly from the game, Square Enix, any juice, and - still - the Sol Blade. I may strike it rich someday soon, though! I'll cross my fingers for that!

Chapter 1: A Not so Clean Slate

"Kick their as-"

And she was gone, her words still stuck in her throat. A flash of moving light, a strangely quiet boom, and then empty space filled the area where the Nu Mou once stood. And as the last of her vanished, Montblanc wondered why...why she had broken the law to save him. Why she would do such a thing, her of all people. It just wasn't like Watz at all.

A whistling sound above him brought his mind back to the battle, as well as the attention of the other members of the clans. He had just barely avoided being struck by another arrow - and as he sacrificed a moment to gaze at it, quivering in the ground, a new thought formed in his mind. He decided that he wouldn't let these poachers get away with what they've been doing. He would bring them to justice, for Watz.

"Continue the battle!" the judge cried, although the members of Clan Yellowthorn had already advanced upon Tia and Beltran. They leapt out of the way of a hurled item, and fought back with a succesful arrow hit and punch to the side. One of the Yellowthorn members fell, unconscious from the sudden pain. Another - a Bangaa in armor - jumped on top of Beltran, banging him over his helmet with the handle of his sword. It was a moment before Beltran was able to shake him off, and Mack managed to knock the Bangaa out with a Fire-based tech. Tia helped Beltran to his feet - he had fallen to the ground in a daze.

During this time, the leader of Yellowthorn had come forward to face Marche. They clashed steel against steel, as both were Soldiers of nearly the same experience. The poacher managed to get a succesful strike in, and actually tore through some of Marche's clothing under his breastplate. Marche winced as the blade sliced through the air mere inches from his head.

"Marche! MOVE!!!"

He barely had time to roll out of the way of Montblanc's Thundara spell. The ground where he had just stood sparked violently, then quickly settled. The Moogle then gazed at the opposing clan's leader - he was kneeling in mild shock at the sudden, unexpected attack. Still, he stood and turned to face Tia, who had her back to him. He was not beaten yet.

"Oh no, you don't!" Beltran cried, stepping in front of the Soldier's blade as it came down, hard. Despite the force packed behind the blade, Beltran managed to deflect it with his bracer, and follow-up with a powerful hit to the stomach. Again, the man was forced to crouch down it pain, and again, he managed to stand. Not out yet.

Desperate, the leader of Clan Yellowthorn began to strike at anyone who came near him. All frontal attacks were blocked with ease, albeit forced. This went on for a while before another Thundara hit him from behind, finally letting him fall to the ground in a heavy daze. And as Montblanc lowered his arms, a look of mental discomfort could be seen. He was upset, confused, worried...mad.

"Blast it, you...I could have made a fortune with these...skins..."

And that was it. The Soldier of Yellowthorn allowed his head to plop to the dirt. He passed out just as Marche finished speaking - "Doing bad things will only get you in jail."

Montblanc gazed as the Soldier's form disappeared the the way Watz had just moments before. "...Not bad things...not always..." he muttered as March and Mack went to the judge to recieve their reward.

An hour passed before the team finally made it to the town of Sphrom, where the prison was located. After spending a few minutes with the head Bangaa-guard, he allowed the group of five into the prison to visit their friend. Watz was seen in a dark corner of her cell, mulling over what she had done.

"Hey, Prisssoner 0297. You have sssome visitorsss. Don't take long, hear?" the guard said, moving back to his desk.

"Oh! You guys came! Hi!" Watz cried. She seemed awfully cheerful for someone in her predicament. Typical of her; nothing could keep her down.

The following few minutes were spent with casual conversation, and even laughter. Watz was smiling a lot more than anyone else in the prison. The clan told her of how the remainder of the battle had unfolded, and - needless to say - she was very pleased. After Marche had relayed the story, he, Tia, Mack, and Beltran went back up to the surface at Montblanc's request. Odd of him...he hardely ever asked something of them. In fact, he brought up that point when they questioned him.

"So, what's on your mind, Montblanc?" Watz asked, eyeing her friend with suspicion.

"I need to know something, Watz," he began, gazing back at her. "Why did you break the law to help me, kupo? You knew that Holy was forbidden in that battle, yet...you still healed me...twice, kupo. You've never been one to break the law, ever. But here you are! ...In jail!" He said that with a nervous chuckle he quickly smothered. "Also, kupo, you went to prison after breaking the law two times. Was there a third I didn't know about?"

The Nu Mou blinked at the mass amount of words that jumbled forth from the Moogle's mouth. When he finally finished, there was a silence, followed by her light giggling.

"Yeah," she began, embarrassed. "There was a third time I violated the law. Obviously, you weren't there - you were on a dispatch mission, remember?"

The Black Mage before her nodded, both in agreement and as a motion for her to continue.

"Well, that time, I made the mistake of attacking with my staff. I didn't know they were forbidden. That was my first Yellow card. And you know of the two times I healed you...heh, strike two and three."

"Well, yeah, I understand that, kupo. But why did you break the law today in the first place?"

Watz's eyes flashed with a hidden thought, but she recovered with another truth. "Let's just say I have a certain loathing for poachers. Plus, I knew you could help out more that I could, so I healed you...er, twice, at that. I think you should take up running again," she added, giggling slightly at the memory of a slightly younger Moogle running along the streets of Cyril, his odd antennae-like ball bouncing around maniacally.

Montblanc's embarrassed laughter was heard. "Heheh...ehh... So, um...even though you knew I would be revived after the battle if I fell during the battle, you still healed me, knowing that I couldn't cast many more spells? Even though I couldn't really help out much, kupo?"

"Hmm, let me think about tha-YES."

The two mages, Black and White, laughed together for a moment. As their outward joy died down, Montblanc finished the conversation.

"Well, Watz...thank you, kupo. I still don't quite understand why you helped me at the cost of your clean police record...but I'm glad you did. Thank you, kupo."

A small hint of a blush crept up to both their cheeks, but niether noticed in the dim light. "No problem, Monte."

"I'll- er, we'll get you out of here as soon as we can. In fact, kupo, I'm sure Marche has negotiated with the warden for your pardon and release. It might tak-"

"Wait, wait, wait," she cut in. "Pardon and release? Do you know how much that will cost, Montblanc?"

The young Moogle was slightly surprised - even disappointed at the quick loss of his pet name. "Well...wait, kupo, when was the last time you took a look at our funds?"

"..." Silence was the reply.

"Yup. The clan's gotten bigger, better, and richer that ever! That poacher mission we completed? Out reward included about thirteen-thousand gil, along with the items, kupo. No worries about cost, my friend," he concluded with a chuckle. "We've...got...plenty, kupo."

With that, the two said their farewell's, and Montblanc walked back up to the surface. He was glad for this, despite his friend being imprisoned. Their chance to talk - which is surprisingly rare for the two of them - was very comforting to him, and, strangly, embarrassing. He tried not to think of why.



A full week had passed before the Nu Mou was allowed to be released with a full pardon. During that week, the clan had encountered at least three other opposing clans, wishing for their territory. They had all been thwarted with steel and stone.

Watz had constantly breathed one sigh of contentment after another after she had stepped out of the prison lobby, enjoying the warm air, the bright sun, and the good company. Twice, however, she had tripped on something on the way back to the pub for some R&R. Montblanc, who was walking next to her during that time, had managed to catch her both times. When asked why she was so clumsy after the second, she had a simple, truthful response.

"Prison food. It's horrible stuff...never get arrested, Monte. Horrible!" she laughed, standing upright and - reluctantly - taking her arm back from around the Moogle's waist.



Author's comments: Hey, what do you think of this? I know it's a far-cry away from some of the other romance fics around. A Moogle and a Nu Mou! How about that? Oh, here are the names of the people in my game's clan - the Soldier ((Not Marche, obviously)) is Mack; the Archer is Tia; the White Monk is Beltran, and the White Mage is Watz. Human, Viera, Bangaa, and Nu Mou, respectively. Alright, well, let me know what you think of this so far, okay? If it gets good feedback, I'll continue - I've got some big ideas in store!

Oh, shoot...you're right, he can't...I guess I'll have to edit it some, huh? Thanks for the input, and I'm glad you like it.

I was thinking that very thing...besides, on my game, Watz is the second-most important character in my Clan. ((Of course, the first is Marche, since he must do everything.)) She's definitely strong enough to handle a Dispatch. Thanks again.

I liked it. Very good. Most of the FFT:A fanfic's I have read have been complete crap, but this one is very well written, descriptive, and well thought out. Please write more!!! @_@ I really wanna see what ideas you have for it. biggrin