A large rotund pig-creature stepped out onto the main deck after the party settled down. It spoke with a hearty laugh, "So, do you have this kind of luck everyday? Or is it us who are the lucky ones?"
"Thank you, sir, for pulling us out of there; we owe you a great debt." Delita said formally.
"Sorry, I'm not the one you should thank; I was napping while this was going on. My right-hand-star is the guy you owe your lives to."
"Who are you talking about?" Delita asked.
"My star pupil actor, pulled your butts out of the fire for sure, Zidane's the man!
"Actor? You mean you belong to the legendary Tantalus Theatre Troupe?! I didn't know you had an airship?" said Ramza.
"He doesn't just belong to the troupe, he's big enough to be the troupe..." said a cocky two-bit voice behind them.
"Zidane, will you cut it out for once, I am trying to lose weight."
The party spun around to see a short, yet strong looking young man, yet strangely he owned a tail, which was swinging about casually. "Yeah right, the only weight you're trying to lose is me off the side of this ship."
"So you're the one who saved us?" asked Alma inquisitively.
"Yeah, so, you ask as though it was a bad thing." Zidane remarked, then after looking Alma up and down, noting her figure, said, "So, you guys staying a while?"
Seeing where the conversation was going the pig followed up, "my name is Baku, the top-banana, that's Zidane, and then there's Scarlet, Blank, Marcus, and...aw heck you'll meet 'em later..."
The party began to finally settle down and clean themselves up. It was a long ride south to Alexandria, so the party had plenty of time to talk to the acting crew. They seemed to get along very well. Ramza and Beowulf went to check out the head engineer, Cinna, to see how in the world the ship worked. Reis had taken off her armor and was sunning herself, much to the pleasure of Zidane, although he was more interested in Alma who was taking in the breeze from the ship's upper deck. Delita and Gildenstern were taking a grand tour of the theatre portion of this customized airship. Gildenstern said, surprising Delita, "If I wasn't you're personal advisor, sire, I would truly like to be in the acting business. The theatre seems to be my dream."
"Well, Gildenstern," said Marcus behind on the stage, "we could always use another actor in this troupe, but you're gonna hafta learn that it ain't always easy to act a part."
Delita looked at Gildenstern and said, "when this so-called war is over, I promise you, you will get to fulfill your dream."
Gildenstern looked pleased, "Thank you, sire, you are an honorable man."
Inside the captain's quarters Baku was chasing Agrias around the room, "Come-on baby, we're meant for each other--"
Agrias drew her sword and said, "this is a holy sword, it can cut things very easily, you don't want me to cut yours, do you?"
"ulp Uh um....just a kiss?" Baku pleaded.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Agrias shouted and stomped out of the cabin.
"Hey wait, honey, I love you....!" Baku ran after her.
"I DON'T DO PIGS!" she shouted back.
"I'm not a pig, I'm a gentleman! Come back!"
The day very quickly turned into night and the troupe was preparing for entering into Alexandria. "We understand," Baku said in one of his actually serious tones, "the Glabados church almost arrested a few of my men just for playing a comedy at Igros castle. We owe them big time."
"The reason behind our going to Alexandria," Ramza stated, "is that Queen Alexandros possesses two of our Zodiac stones, which we'll need to fight in the upcoming Zodiac War."
"So it's a gem heist, eh?" Baku commented, "there's a little secret about us that you don't know is that in some countries we're thieves. We just need to get in and get out before the Queen realizes."
Zidane suddenly interrupted, "Baku, that's not necessary, Garnet and I are close and I can get you guys those stones.....for the right price."
Beowulf growled at Zidane, who grinned greedily, Delita sighed then replied, "Name your price...."
Zidane grinned, he was looking at the former King of Ivalice, and they were overflowing with money. "Five million gil..." he said, "in advance."
Delita looked at him reluctantly, and then said, "A deal is a deal, those stones are more important to us than any Gil we currently have." They shook hands to seal the deal and Delita gave Zidane the money.
The party knew that the play would begin in a few hours or so, so they hurriedly ran down the main street of Alexandria, towards the main castle entrance. Two guards blocked the way to the palace, but Zidane quickly showed them his official Guardian pass, which immediately let him through, but the party had to stay behind for lack of trust.
Seeing the problem, Agrias spoke, "Is Lady Beatrix there? Or Sir Steiner? We wish to see the captains..."
The guard blew a small whistle which summoned another guard, "Ask for Lady Beatrix or Sir Steiner, the madam wishes to speak with them." The other guard ran off quickly, then, a few minutes later Beatrix and Steiner both came and spoke with the party.
"Lady Beatrix, is that you? I've not seen you in ages!" Agrias said, excited.
"Nor I, you, Agrias, it's been so long, how are things in Ivalice?"
"Yes, Agrias, tell us what has become of you since the Lion War." Steiner added.
"Not good, fellow knights, King Hyral was ousted from his throne and is being protected by us. We seek an audience with the queen."
Steiner did a double take at Delita who smiled and nodded.
"Your majesty, we apologize. Guards! Clear the way for his majesty King Hyral! We shall give you audience with her majesty and accompany you." Steiner was overly dramatic and gruff, but he meant well.
