Author's Note: Hey there everybody, and welcome to "Episodes of Gaia"! ...Yeah, not the most creative of titles, but I couldn't think of any others. But anyway, this is my first fanfiction over here in the Final Fantasy IX section. I find it rather hard to find catergories I'm comfortable with writing fanfictions for, but it felt incredibly easy making this for FFIX (not to mention I find it to be a shame that this section has so few fictions in comparison to FFVII and FFVIII). But I digress. This is pretty much going to be a series of isolated events that take place after the game is over. Do bear in the mind that its been over a year since I've last played the game, and even longer since I actually beat it, so I apologize if there's any discrepencies here. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this first chapter of my "story".

"Reconstitution"

Ahh. Man... Seriously, nothing could beat a lazy day at Ruby's Bar.

He had Cinna and Marcus at his side, ready to shoot the breeze whenever someone decided to bother saying something... But really, what needed to be said? The three of them sitting there, wasting away the afternoon at Ruby's place... Talk about the definition of bliss.

"Hey Ruby! Ya got any Bundt cake on ya!?"

"Not today Hun, sorry!"

"Damn..."

Ah Cinna. You and your need to disrupt beautiful silence in the pursuit of cake. Oh well, maybe twenty minutes of just sitting around was long enough. It was time they started talking about something.

"Hey Marcus, how'd things go with that girl the other day?" Zidane asked, leaning back in his chair as he rested his arm over the back of it.

"Not so great," Marcus replied as he folded his arms. "When I told her I was friends with you she just went ballistic."

"Seriously?" Zidane responded with a slight frown, though he was obviously smirking on the inside. "Sorry man. I guess I'm just too ridiculously good looking for my own well being."

"Whatever you wanna believe Zidane," Marcus muttered as he looked at his mug of coffee that rested before him on the table. "I'm thinkin' about just disownin' ya altogether. Maybe I could get a date then."

"Gee, thanks."

"What're you boys over here mumblin' about?" Ruby asked as she emerged from behind her bar counter and sat herself next to Marcus at the table filled with her favorite and most consistent regulars. Business was slow that day anyhow and it seemed like nobody else would be coming in anytime soon.

"Marcus over there's feelin' the after-effects of Zidane's womanizin'," Cinna answered bluntly, causing Zidane to bring his chair back down on all fours.

"Well that's not very fair," Zidane spoke up defensively. "It's not my fault that I'm just a natural genius when it comes to women. I wouldn't say I was a 'womanizer'."

"I would," all three of his table mates replied in unison, causing Zidane to lean forward on the table, feeling slightly betrayed by his friends.

"Oh come on guys, I'm not that bad, am I?" he asked, queuing himself up for a round of answers he didn't want to hear.

"Hell yes you are."

"You better believe it."

"Have you met yourself?"

"It's not really a particularly bad thing Hun," Ruby spoke up in an attempt to comfort a rather defensive Zidane. "You just have a way about'cha that gets ladies all riled up. You might not intend ta do it, 'specially now that you got such a great girl like Dagger, but you try ta manipulate women all the time."

Manipulate? Wasn't that a bit of a harsh word for something he never even meant to do? Seriously, those days were far behind him. He was a changed man after his journey came to a close. But...did he really do it that often?

Nah, they were just trying to make him feel bad.

"Come on guys, you all know I've changed since I met Dagger," Zidane defended himself further. "I mean, Ruby, do I ever put the moves on you at all?"

"You kiddin' Hun? You flirt with me like there's no tomorrow," Ruby answered as she grabbed Marcus's mug of coffee and took a small sip out of it. "I'm just used ta it by now, so it doesn't phase me."

Really? Well damn. Zidane thought he'd changed his ways completely since his journey came to a close, but, apparently, he still regressed back to his old self quite often... If only he could notice when that happened...

Then it was decided. He would have to go out, find some girl, and strike up a conversation with her. Only this time, he had to be aware of every move he made. He would have to nip that problem in the bud right away if he hoped to have any chance of overcoming it.

"I'll be back later guys," he announced as he suddenly stood from his seat and began to exit the bar. "I've gotta find a girl to talk to." And within a matter of seconds, he was gone, leaving behind Ruby to let out a disdainful groan.

"Last time I checked, I was a girl," Ruby muttered just before taking a rather large swig of Marcus's coffee and slamming the mug back down onto the table quite harshly.

"Ya sound jealous," Cinna made the mistake of commenting, quickly earning himself a mug of coffee that was violently embedded into his face.

"Looks like you won't be gettin' any Bundt cake for a while," Marcus snickered as Ruby folded her arms in a huff, glaring at the nearest wall with malicious eyes.

Cinna promptly fell out of his seat to lie on the floor, unconscious.

–

"Yeah, if you're looking for a dagger, I'd have to recommend this one," Zidane commented as he picked up a foot-long sheathed dagger, pulling it out of its hilt slowly to show to the woman he was speaking with. "It's not too thick and not too heavy, so you can definitely wield it if you need it for an emergency situation."

The woman appeared to seriously consider Zidane's words as she took the weapon from him and evaluated its weight for herself. As she inspected the dagger more closely, Zidane folded his arms and leaned back against the shelf of weaponry.

"So, mind telling me what a pretty lady like you would need with a dagger?"

That's one...

"I'm visiting my mother in Treno soon, and I don't have the funds to afford an airship...so I'll have to walk," the woman explained with a small sigh as she replaced the dagger on the counter. "I figured I'd need some protection, even though the Mist is gone now."

"Ah, I see. That's a good idea; it's never bad to be prepared," Zidane responded as he looked over at the newly replaced dagger. "Not gonna buy it? It's a really nice weapon to have."

"It's a little too expensive for me..." the woman admitted with another sigh as she slowly moved over to a selection of cheaper, weaker weapons. "I can't afford to spend too much Gil in one place."

"Well, I don't want you to have to put your safety at risk just because of money issues...so tell ya what, I'll go ahead and buy that weapon for you."

That's two...

"Oh, no, I couldn't ask you to do that..."

"Really, it's fine," Zidane persisted as he picked up the dagger and took it to Genero, who waited patiently behind his counter. The woman came up to Zidane's side as he handed Genero two thousand Gil even for the weapon, telling him to keep the four hundred extra as a tip. The woman certainly appeared to be impressed with Zidane's ability to so easily toss money about as he turned to hand her the dagger.

"Thank you so much!" she said happily, taking the sheathed weapon and fastening it to her waist immediately. "What could I ever do to repay you?"

"Well, it'd be nice if I could get your name."

That's three...

"It's Coralee," the woman answered with a bright smile that quickly turned to a nervous, flattered gaze as Zidane grabbed her hand and placed a formal kiss upon it.

That's four...

"A beautiful name for an equally as beautiful lady."

That's five...

"Thank you," Coralee said as her face flushed a bright red and she brought her hand back to her side as Zidane released it.

"I hope you have a safe journey out to Treno," Zidane continued, looking Coralee in the eye as he did so. "I would offer to escort you there myself, but, unfortunately, I have several matters of my own to attend to around here.

That's six...

"Oh, no, you've already been so much help, I'd just feel terrible if you escorted me there too..." Coralee explained, though something in her voice obviously hinted that she really did wish he could accompany her. However, despite her eagerness to hear Zidane turn around and say that he actually could escort her, Coralee slowly headed for the exit. "Thank you again for the dagger. And...maybe I'll see you again sometime when I come back...?"

"It would be my pleasure," Zidane answered, causing Coralee to shed a bright smile before finally exiting the building.

And that was seven...

Zidane soon turned around and looked over at Genero, who was silently staring right back at him.

Okay, so, when he actually paid attention, Zidane did make several suggestive moves throughout the course of his conversation... Seven to be exact... But it wasn't really that bad, right? It wasn't that big of a deal...right?

"Did you and Queen Garnet break up or something!?" Genero suddenly shouted.

"Damn it!" Zidane yelled as he smacked his palm against his forehead. Everyone at Ruby's bar was right! He was still a womanizer! Gah! He had to do something right away!

–

"Ah, another beautiful day in our fair kingdom," Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto, commented with a satisfied sigh as he presided at the base of the steps next to the canal that separated Alexandria's castle from its town. The birds were chirping. The water flowed by at a leisurely, calming pace. Guards patrolling the grounds occasionally stopped to have some friendly chat, which Steiner had grown more lenient about over time. Everything was so-

"Yo Rusty!" Zidane shouted as he fell from the sky and landed on Steiner's head, kicking himself off and causing the armored knight to fall over into the canal with a rather booming splash.

Steiner began to shout and gasp for air as he waved his arms about uselessly, his heavy plated armor working thoroughly against him at the moment. Reacting quickly, Zidane stepped forward and bent down, extending a hand that grabbed on to one of Steiner's. With a hearty tug, Zidane managed to pull the heavy knight back onto dry land, and both simply sat for a moment, breathing heavily after the ordeal.

"What was the meaning of that!?" Steiner barked as he caught his breath and quickly stood back up, stomping his foot angrily as Zidane collected himself off the ground. "I was having the most pleasant of days, and you just-"

"I need your help Rusty," Zidane cut him off, causing Steiner to quiet to a silence as he waited for Zidane to elaborate. "You're a pretty structured guy right? You know about being able control yourself, right?"

"I am the Captain of the Knights of Pluto, so it is my duty to-"

"I need you to teach me how to not charm every woman I meet," Zidane cut him off for a second time, causing Steiner to trail off into silence once more. "See, I keep flirting with every girl I talk to, but I never realized it until today. I'm a changed man though; Dagger's the only girl for me. So I need to learn how to turn women off when I talk to them."

And he came to Steiner to learn that...? How very flattering... Still though, Adelbert could probably do something for the guy. But only if he was willing to commit to the job.

"Well, if it's self-control you're looking for," Steiner began after clearing his throat, "I suppose I could allow you to become a temporary Knight of Pluto. Blutzen is on leave this week and you could probably fill his spot until he returns."

...A Knight of Pluto...? Eh...

"As a temporary Knight of Pluto, you will be required to attend our daily meetings and follow a strict set of rules that, in the end, may ultimately benefit you in your endeavor to change your ways," Steiner explained as Zidane stared at him with an eyebrow raised in disbelief. Becoming a Knight of Pluto wasn't exactly Zidane's dream temp job.

...But, as a KoP, he would be forced to discipline himself, plus he'd be working around the castle all the time, meaning he'd be near Dagger a lot more often. Not only would it be nice to see her as he worked, but it'd also greatly deter him from having eyes for other women.

Okay, maybe there was some merit in the idea after all.

"Alright, I'll do it," Zidane responded eventually before placing his hands on the back of his head in a relaxed fashion. "So, when do I start?"

"Immediately," Steiner answered to Zidane's surprise before roughly pushing him in the direction of the castle. "Get to the break room and change into your suit of armor. We meet back out here in the courtyard in ten minutes for our daily congregation, so move."

"Alright alright," Zidane muttered, nearly falling over as a result of a second shove from his new temporary boss. He could only hope Steiner wasn't like that all the time anymore. He'd gotten better since the adventure came to an end, but if he reverted back to his old self around his troops...well, it'd be a long week indeed.

–

"At ease soldiers!" Steiner commanded, prompting seven of the eight knights to drop their arms to the side immediately, leaving Zidane behind to glance over at everyone else before performing the action himself. It almost felt like deja vu for him, wearing that suit of armor that smelled slightly musty and was a bit too large for him. It had been so long since he first infiltrated the castle in hopes of stealing away Garnet, and now...he was joining the ranks of the very knights he evaded so long ago. Needless to say, it felt quite odd.

"As you've all probably noticed, we have a new temp amongst our ranks," Steiner continued as he stepped over to Zidane, hands behind his back as he stopped in front of the soldier in question and faced him. Everyone soon looked over at Zidane, who glanced around and decided to give a small wave. "His name is Zidane. You should all know who he is, for Queen Garnet praises him highly, as do I. He will be with us until Blutzen returns. Make him feel welcome and assist him if he needs any help."

The fact that Steiner was basically commanding his soldiers to be nice to Zidane made him feel slightly better about being there at all. It was nice to know he still garnered respect from the knight, even after so much time had passed wherein they barely saw each other.

"Zidane is with us for quite the noble purpose," Steiner continued, beginning his pace down the line as all the soldiers looked forward once more, "And I think that purpose is worthy of being the subject of our meeting today, for I have noticed your actions these past few days. He wishes to conform his ways and learn to control himself in the face of the fairer sex so he may remain wholly faithful to our queen."

Having reached the last knight in the line, Steiner ceased his walking and turned to face Weimar, the soldier that happened to occupy that particular spot, and the perfect person to speak with about the current matter.

"Of all the Knights of Pluto, I can't help but notice that you, Weimar, are the one that attempts to win over women the most often," Steiner pointed out, prompting a snicker or two from a couple of the other knights. Steiner promptly ignored them. "From our allied female force of Alexandrian Soldiers to townswomen that cross your path, it seems your endeavors in wooing never come to an end. And if I'm correct, you are, quite a bit more often than not, unsuccessful in your attempts?"

"Ouch," one of the fellow knights whispered.

"Burn," another added.

"Yes Sir! I am very often unsuccessful in wooing members of the opposite gender Sir!" Weimar answered with an embarrassed salute.

"Then may I ask why exactly you make so many of these vain attempts?"

"Because I continue to hold out a faint glimmer of hope that I will find a lady who will fall for my lines Sir!" Weimar answered, holding his salute firmly.

"But you do agree that, as a Knight of Pluto, your time would be better spent protecting our fair castle and our queen?" Steiner pressed on, remaining in his calm position as Weimar continued to salute.

"Sir yes Sir! I whole-heartedly agree with that statement Sir!" Weimar responded, causing Steiner to finally walk back down the line and allow the pressured soldier to drop his salute.

"Then that will be your goal this week everyone," Steiner announced as he made his way back to the center of the line. "If I catch any of you even looking at a woman in a manner that suggests that you would flirt with them at all, you'll be running so many reps up and down the tower that your eyes will hurt too much to see anything at all. Am I clear?"

"Sir yes Sir, eyes will hurt too much to see anything at all Sir!" every soldier yelled out and saluted, minus Zidane, who wasn't expecting such a simultaneous outburst and simply stared at everyone else.

"Good. Then you are dismissed," Steiner concluded. Every soldier immediately fell at ease and soon, the entire group dissipated, headed for their posts. That is, the entire group except Kohel, who stayed behind and simply stared at Zidane. Feeling rather off-put after being looked at for ten seconds straight, Zidane felt the need to break the silence with some kind of small talk.

"So, how's it like bein' a full-time Knight of Pluto?" Zidane asked somewhat nervously, shifting around in his hefty armor uncomfortably.

"I don't like you, but I'll deal with that," Kohel admitted out of nowhere, though Zidane wasn't exactly surprised. Kohel was one of the two knights he and Blank took out when he first arrived to kidnap Garnet so long ago, plus Zidane was taking the place of Blutzen, Kohel's work partner and best friend. So, in the veteran knight's eyes, Zidane had quite a large pair of shoes to fill. "Come with me, I'll take you to our post."

–

"So...what exactly do we do around here?" Zidane asked, having spent roughly fifteen minutes in utter silence in the thin corridor that rested just outside of the soldier's quarters, Kohel standing to the opposite of him.

"This," Kohel answered simply, causing Zidane to look around in a vain attempt to see if anybody was coming their way to provide some kind of momentary distraction. But, alas, there was no one.

"We just stand here like this all day?"

"Yep."

"...Awesome."

Damn, how did these people live!? Was it really that boring and simple to be a castle guard? All they had to do was stand and look attentive, but nothing ever happened. Hell, nobody even walked by... Zidane was willing to bet that the day Tantalus stole Garnet and the day Garland put up his attack against Alexandria were the two only exciting times the guards in that castle had ever seen.

"I knew you would understand Princ... Ahem, excuse me, I meant Queen Garnet," a somewhat high pitched, yet refined and familiar male voice could be heard echoing from the walkway above Zidane.

"You're still not used to 'Queen' Professor?" a second voice, undoubtedly Garnet's, spoke up with a small chuckle. "It's been several months."

"I know Queen Garnet, it's just...I still find it difficult to accept that you've truly grown up and taken your mother's place," the first voice, that could only belong to Professor Tot, responded with a nostalgic sigh.

It was a matter of moments before the pair emerged into the corridor, Garnet wearing her extravagant formal dress and Tot in his usual crimson robe and black top hat. Like always, Garnet looked absolutely gorgeous, and, as she turned to greet her guards, Zidane couldn't help but look over at her and shine his brightest smile in anticipation.

"Hello Kohel, how are you today?" Garnet asked with a pleasant smile as Kohel dutifully saluted her.

"I'm fine today Queen Garnet, thank you," Kohel answered, prompting a nod from the young queen before she turned to the remaining guard

"And how are you Blutz..." she stopped short, obviously surprised to find not Blutzen standing there waiting to salute her like usual, but instead Zidane, giving her the wonderful smile she so rarely had the chance to see those days. "Zidane? But, what are you doing here?"

"Just doin' some scab work," Zidane answered nonchalantly before playfully saluting his queen. "All in the name of protecting you my liege."

"You're so silly sometimes," Garnet responded with an amused giggle. "Did Steiner put you up to this since Blutzen is on vacation?"

"Oh yeah, he practically begged me to fill the guy's spot," Zidane answered as he began to become a bit too comfortable. "He came right to me, asking me to step in because he knew how great of a fighter I was. So, being the giving, caring guy I am, I decided to help him out. And besides," he continued in a slightly quieted voice as he pulled a willing Garnet closer to him, "It was an excuse to be near you more often."

With that, Zidane wrapped Garnet into a rather deep kiss, bringing a smile to Tot's face as Kohel let out a silent scoff. As the two pulled away, Garnet let out a small giggle and stepped away from Zidane, teasing him a bit by cutting their intimacy short a fair bit sooner than he would have liked.

"Well, I don't want to distract you from your job," Garnet said with a smile. "Steiner may like you, but he doesn't cut any of the guards any slack, so be careful okay?"

Sure thing Dagger. It'd be easy for Zidane to sneak by the rules every now and then. Sure, he was there to learn to restrain himself, but he figured he was at least allowed to flirt with Garnet. She was his girl after all. His one and only. And besides, even if he wasn't allowed to act intimate with her, it's not like Steiner would ever find out. The guy wasn't the most observant owl in the trees, and Zidane was a master thief. He'd be able to get away a few times.

At least, so he thought...

"That's right Captain Steiner; Zidane openly disregarded the rules you set out for all of us within the first twenty minutes after our meeting," Kohel reported as Zidane stood by, looking quite ticked off that his own temporary work partner sunk so low as to rat him out to Steiner the minute he came by to make his rounds. Steiner gave Zidane a brief look of disappointment before ordering Kohel to return to his duties. And with a salute, the Knight of Pluto returned to his post a whole two steps away and Steiner turned his attention to Zidane.

"Already Zidane? I thought you wanted to change for the sake of the queen," Steiner muttered with a sigh.

"Come on Rusty-"

"That's 'Captain Steiner'," Steiner corrected immediately, causing Zidane to roll his eyes.

"Sorry, Captain Steiner, but seriously, I was flirting with Dagger-"

"'Queen Garnet'."

"Yeah," Zidane muttered, forgetting to remember that he had to call everyone by formal names for the next week. "But can you really blame me? I mean, we are a couple after all."

"While I can understand the urge to be intimate with someone you have feelings for while on duty," Steiner began, since he really could understand; there was Beatrix after all, whom he was forced to work alongside almost constantly, "You must remember three important things: one, Queen Garnet is your superior, and while you are working under her, it is highly inappropriate to openly express affection for her. Two, we, as a unit, are focusing on concentrating our energy on protecting this castle, not flirting with women. Three, you are here in the first place to change. Even if you and the queen are already an item, flirting with her does not help in your endeavor to discontinue flirting with every woman you meet. It may be tempting to do so every time you see the queen, but I'm certain she will understand if you just explain to her."

"Alright, I get it," Zidane finally spoke up, feeling exasperated and somewhat guilty after the lecture. "It won't happen again, I promise."

"I'm sure it won't," Steiner muttered. "But regardless, it's time for you to get started on your reps."

"...Reps?" Zidane asked, raising an eyebrow as Steiner nodded and Kohel shed a sneaky smile.

"Twenty-five reps up and down the west spiral tower's staircase," Steiner clarified, bringing a look of utter shock to Zidane's face. "One rep is equal to reaching the top and getting back to the bottom. Hop to it."

Dear God, was he serious? That tower was nothing but a huge staircase... Most of the other Knights of Pluto probably couldn't even get all the way to the top of that thing one time! How was Zidane supposed to do it twenty-five times!? Sure, he was fit, but...damn!

Zidane was never breaking the rules around Kohel again...

–

"You alright Zidane?" Blank eventually asked after about five minutes of ignoring Zidane's nearly passed out body lying just inside the entrance to Ruby's Bar during the early evening, after his temporary shift came to an end. Along with Blank were Marcus, Cinna, and Ruby, Marcus having ignored him for so long because he was waiting for him to just get up, Cinna was suffering temporary short-term memory loss, and Ruby was still too upset with him to care.

"I'm in...so much pain...my eyeballs hurt..." he muttered pathetically into the floor, not even pretending to make an attempt to get up. Or move.

"That's a shame," Ruby spoke up without an ounce of sympathy in her voice.

Marcus took a sip of his coffee.

–

That next week couldn't have gone by quickly enough. Rusty was freakin' everywhere when Zidane just happened to even glance at a girl. The only possible way he could have sneaked past Steiner's radar was if he saw a girl in a dream (and even then Zidane was nervous that he'd have to run yet another set of reps).

He became quite well acquainted with that tower over the course of those seven days. Fighting Necron and Ozma at the same time would not have amounted to the sheer terror Zidane felt every time he had to run up and down that spiral staircase. And the amount of times he had to do it was absolutely ludicrous.

Two hundred twenty-five reps... Just thinking about it made him want to cry...

It certainly drove the point home though. With the constant threat of having to run up that tower looming over him, Zidane tried his absolute hardest not to even look in the general direction of anyone or anything that mildly appeared to be female. Old habits died hard though, as was obvious by the amount of times he had to run, but, aside from his newfound will to not flirt with women, he found another reason not to bother with them: he was simply too tired to even try. Seriously, at the end of the day it was rare for him to even leave the soldiers' quarters, for he was too stiff and sore to move. So he spent many nights sleeping within the castle and simply waiting for his next shift to bother moving again.

In short, that week was pure Hell on a stick. And even after Blutzen came back to retake his post, it took Zidane an additional two days of resting to have the energy to drag himself over to the canal and take the boat back to town. But he could finally rest assured...the entire ordeal was over. And, hopefully, it would prove to be worth it.

He would have his chance to see soon enough, for, the next day, as he strolled about the town's square, feeling a bit better and finding that he had no urge to flirt with any woman whatsoever, the girl from the weapon shop made her appearance on the scene. With the same dagger Zidane bought for her sheathed at her side, she approached the young man with a smile on her face.

"Hey you, fancy seeing you again," she greeted as Zidane's eyes widened ever so slightly as she spoke. "While I was gone, I was thinking about you a lot, and I realized, I don't even know your name."

…

"Twenty-five reps," Steiner's voice echoed in Zidane's mind. And he promptly passed out on the spot.

The week-long training was a resounding success.

Footnote: I never intended for the chapter to be as long as it turned out. It just kinda happened...heh. Anyway, hope you liked it! See you next time!