black mages hide their faces in darkness. they hide below their hats and high collars, and everyone thinks that they are just souless golems. but the truth is, they aren't that unusual. most of those built in dali were hairless creatures with albino skin, for it was easier to make many that way. to make them dangerous, they all projected a mask of blackness over their faces, only their glowing eyes visible. the prototype had been different. he had been made to look human. but the prototype saw the others in blackness, and copied them. then he was lost. he was not a great loss, for he had served his purpose. but still, it hid behind the mask of darkness, copying the others unknowingly.

~~~~~

the party had made their way through the ice caverns, to the village of dali. stiener had decided to patrol the town to make sure nothing threatened the princess, relying on vivi to keep watch on zidane and the princess while he did so. as a result, the three were sitting in the inn, waiting for stiener to return. garnet had spent much of the time ignoring zidane's efforts to flirt, and vivi had sat in silence.

'vivi, what do you look like?' garnet asked. she was getting bored of zidane's efforts.

'what?' the puzzled mage said.

'i don't mean to be rude, but what do you look like? i've never seen you without your hat.'

'yeah. i was gonna ask the same thing.' zidane said.

the yellow glowing eyes looked at his feet, then took his hat off. for a second there was just a black shadow around his head. the shadow vanished, and what was revealed was an almost normal looking blond boy. he had short clipped hair, a thin face, small ears and nose. but his eyes were different. instead of the iris being a colour like blue or green, they were golden, and still glowed. he kept staring at his feet.

'you look quite... normal.' zidane said.

'and handsome!' garnet said.

vivi quickly glanced up at her then at zidane. the older boy shrugged as the princess giggled.

'well, yeah, when you grow up, the ladies will love you.' zidane said.

vivi looked at him puzzled.

'why?'

'like garne... dagger says. you're handsome.'

'why do you hide your face anyway, vivi?' dagger asked. vivi looked at his feet again before answering

'because.' he murmered

'because what?'

'because i always have.'

'even when you're alone? or in the bath or something?' zidane asked. the smaller blond nodded then hid behind shadows again, only for garnet to grab his hand as he reached for his hat.

'no, vivi. please. you don't need to hide yourself. not just now. just because you've always done it doesn't mean you have to keep doing it. like for instance, just becuase zidane has always been a flirt with women doesn't mean he always has to flirt with every woman he meets.'

'that's different! and anyway, i only flirt with really good looking women, not every one i meet.' zidane protested

vivi put his hat back down, and the shadows went away.

'well... maybe for now i'll not do it.'

after that night, vivi did not hide in darkness when he was alone with his friends, but in crowds, he still hid his face. garnet did not press him on the matter nor did zidane voice his thought that maybe if he did not try to look like any other black mage he would not be regarded as the same as them. the day after the revelation had been worrying enough, to see the other black mages apparently being manufactured, and only zidane had so far seen another black mage without shadows hiding its face. he was honestly thankful vivi had not looked like them, the strange pale faces far more worrying than the empty black spaces with glowing eyes

~~~~~

in burmecia some time later, zidane, freya, vivi, and quina were fighting their way into the city, trying to find if the king of burmecia was still alive, when a battle with another black mage saw a fireball hurled at vivi. the blast threw him off the balcony of the building they fought on, and vivi yelled out as he landed on the ground below. he could smell something burning. it was his coat! he panicked and jumped up, running away down the street. the others did not see him as he ran, but searched the street below when the other mage had been stopped. however, by the time the other black mage had been beaten vivi had ran away and around a corner. he threw his smouldering coat away, then realised it wasn't burning, just burnt. the rain had put it out. he went over to get it, only for the ground below him to collapse.

the fall had knocked him out for a few moments, but when he recovered he found himself in a basement. he had landed on his coat, so he quickly put it back on, then found a way out, a ladder leading into a building. from there, he could only find one way out, to a courtyard. the rain grew heavier, soaking vivi to the skin even through his coat. by now, he had not bothered to hide his face with shadow, and so to anyone, vivi looked like a normal boy.

he looked normal to the black mage that saw him as well, but the mage saw the staff vivi carried and saw the boy as a threat. it dived down in front of vivi, who fell down in shock, but quickly stood up minus his hat and readied the weapon that had made this mage see him as dangerous. the other mage cast first. vivi looked at the mage and screamed as he recognised the spell, his own attempts to cast disrupted by the surprise. break. vivi whimpered as he felt his arms grow heavy, and his back grow stiff. his legs felt like lead weights. he heard a crackling sound. he was already cold, the rain had made sure of that, but now he grew colder. his whimpers stopped. his throat was petrifying. vivi had never been petrified. he had come close, a basilisk at the city gates had glanced at him, but freya had quickly thrown a soft at him then killed the creature. vivi wanted to run or cry for help but it was far too late now.

from behind his blank and no longer glowing petrified eyes, vivi stared at the mage, who now looked very confused. the mage stared at the human-looking boy, having never noticed the eyes. he was frozen trying to prepare his staff, but the mage realised the boy had been trying to cast a spell. he looked at the boy. the hair was matted down, being wet when petrified, his hat not stopping it getting through. rain dripped off the petrified slope of his nose and his stone ears. it flowed down his face, pooling at his marble eyes, making him look like he was weeping, and ran off his petrified coat in rivers. his mouth was frozen in an 'o' of a yell of shock. the mage walked over, looking at the stone cloak and picking up the soaking hat that vivi had dropped. he also looked at the staff held tight by the petrified black mage.

'you were one of us? why do you look human?' the mage asked, puzzled.

i don't know! vivi thought. just go away!

'why do you have hair? why did you have human coloured skin?'

i really don't know!

vivi's hopes that the mage would leave were in vain. a second mage appeared.

'what's this?' the second asked, meaning the petrified form of vivi.

'i'm not sure. i think he's one of us.' the first said.

the newcomer looked at vivi, walking in circles around the mage-turned-statue. vivi felt very nervous as the second mage walked past.

'impossible. it's too short. and it's human. why did you petrify it anyway?'

i'm not an it, you're an it! vivi complained. anything to try and take his mind of the terror he felt.

'he had that staff. he was going to cast a spell but i got him first.' the first mage said.

that's better, why can't your friend call me he?

'and why did you petrify it?'

'we were told to. anything alone, petrify it and capture it.'

don't you start!

'so why haven't you taken it to general beatrix?'

vivi felt the terror grow worse. he had heard of general beatrix from stiener and dagger. even freya had mentioned her. she didn't sound like a nice person.

'um...' the first one said.

'don't tell me it's too heavy. it's half your size. you can carry three of them.'

'we only have one though.'

'and that might be lucky for you. if it was on our side you're in serious trouble.'

the first one sighed and picked vivi up.

no, wait, put me down! i like it here, general beatrix doesn't need to see me!

the two mages began walking to the castle, vivi growing more frightened by the moment. all he could hear were the footsteps of the mages and the rain bouncing off the cobblestones and himself. he could not see anything past the mage who carried him until after a few minutes he was put down, turned around, and had his hat put back on. the second mage noticed this.

'what are you doing?'

'if he was on our side, i think he should have his hat on. they complain if we take our hats off.'

'but we hide our faces with them. if we take them off we're exposed. what did hit look like before it's hat fell off?'

'like this.' the first admitted. the second sighed.

'then it's not one of us, is it?'

'well, the general wants the prisoners, and if he is one of us, he'll be turned back and need his hat.'

the second stared at vivi, then at the first mage.

'why do you call it a he?'

'i think he is a he. i'm a male. i think he is too.'

vivi then realised the second one had a slightly higher voice. was the second one female?

'how are you certain?'

'females have long hair and other differences. he has short hair.'

i've seen some women with short hair and differences. at least i think they're the differences you mean.

'it's also shorter than you. small humans genders are unclear unless you ask i find. it might be female like i am.'

well, to be fair until you said i had no idea.

'we could turn him back and ask?' the first said.

more like i could run away!

'more like we can turn it back and it can run.'

hey, can you hear me?

the first was silent for a moment, and was about to speak when a lance struck the cobblestones in front of him. the two mages panicked and fled. vivi wondered what it had been, only for freya to land in front of him and grabbed her lance. she then saw the statue more clearly.

'...vivi? hold on a second.' she said, pulling a soft out. a few seconds later, vivi felt himself turn back to flesh.

'thanks.' he said. he then realised that while he was stone at least the fact he was cold wasn't so bad, but now he was cold and wet. zidane arrived shortly after freya had saved him.

'freya, slow down, i can't climb roofs as well as you!' he complained.

'and you call yourself a theif?' freya smirked.

'hey, vivi, i see freya found you. are you okay?'

'um, yeah.' he said.

'he'd been petrified and two mages were surrounding him. i think he might have been in trouble.' freya said.

'nah, i don't think so. vivi probably had a plan, right?' zidane joked. vivi simply ignored him. the three then went to look for quina, who had been told to wait for freya and zidane to return a few streets away. naturally, quina had not waited.

'where is that useless lump? it can't obey a simple instruction!' freya fumed.

'i think it's a he.' vivi said.

'why?' she asked.

vivi paused.

'...actually, maybe we should ask.'

'be my guest. if we can find him or her or it.' zidane said. the three then began to look for quina, unsurprised to find s/he had wandered away to find a pond full of frogs...