Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX, only this plot.
It had been only a few months since Zidane had come back to Dagger and things had calmed down to a gentle, bustling rhythm. Dagger, or rather Queen Garnet, was quickly becoming a leader to be reckoned with, making all of her friends proud of her. However, though certainly strenuous, her duties did not occupy 100 of her time, which allowed her to spend time with the people she cared about. Naturally, this made Zidane very happy, as she spent a good deal of her free time with him when he wasn't out on the landscape on missions, consisting mainly of hunting monsters, for the city.
When Dagger was not with her favorite be-tailed boy, she could usually be spotted training with Steiner, helping Beatrix and Freya pick out wedding dresses and decorations, learning to cook with Quina, or simply playing around with Vivi and Eiko. Today was one such day. Zidane was off taking care of a Mistodon sighting when Dagger had finished with her duties for the time being, so she set off to find the young mages. She located the two of them in Alexandria Castle's vast library, looking over several old tomes and whispering excitedly. Silently, Dagger stole up behind the unsuspecting kids.
"Gotcha!" she yelled, grabbing both of them from behind and laughing. The two mages yelped in surprise then spun around to face their 'attacker.' Seeing the young queen, they laughed as well then immediately scooted over to make room for her at the table. They then began to show her their discoveries.
There was a story on an old scroll about a king who had once saved Alexandria from a horde of giant insects. Then there was a portrait of a man who could have been an ancestor of Amarant, followed by several other tidbits of offhand interest. The thing they were the most excited about, though, was what appeared to be a spell written in Old Standard. Dagger bent her head over the words with interest.
"We haven't been able to decipher what exactly it's suppose to do yet," explained Vivi, "but we're pretty sure that it is a status effect of some kind."
"Yes, I can see what you mean," Dagger responded as she studied the ancient script. "But it is impossible to tell if it is a status enhancement or ailment."
"What's more," Eiko piped up, "it looks fairly powerful. It will probably take both of us to cast."
"Hmm…" Dagger mused. "So, considering what we do, and more importantly, don't know, using it in a battle would not be a good idea."
"So let's just ask someone and test it out on them," Eiko suggested. This earned her bemused looks from her companions. "What?"
"Who are we going to get to agree to that?" asked Vivi. Eiko thought about this for a moment.
"Well, how about Steiner?" she said. "He's…um…sturdy… and would be happy to do anything for you…" she trailed off as Dagger shook her head. When she had been training with the captain a few days ago, something had gone slightly wrong with one of her spells. Now Steiner had a Shell over him that not only repelled any and all magic, including Dispel, but also lasted for a good deal of time after it was supposed to have faded. Last she had heard it still hadn't worn off.
When she told the two young mages this, all three of them got to work on the problem. Who could they convince to be their guinea pig? Granted, this was a very questionable request, possibly even dangerous as well, since they didn't know what the spell actually did. Someone would have to be more than a little crazy to agree to this. Well, crazy or…
Three heads snapped up at once as the mages all came to the same conclusion. They looked at one another, grinned, and nodded.
"Um…Are you guys sure about this?" Zidane asked nervously. He was standing in the middle of the huge courtyard of Alexandria Castle, quite uncomfortable, his tail fidgeting in apprehension.
"Don't worry! You'll be fine!" Eiko responded cheerfully. She and Dagger were standing, at some distance in front of their nervous friend, preparing themselves for the casting.
"We are both right here, ready to perform Esuna, if need be," Dagger put in with the exact smile she had used to rope her boyfriend into this. Zidane winced.
"Are you sure about this?" her asked again, tail nervously twitching from side to side.
"Trust the queen! She knows what she is doing!" Steiner stated resolutely. Zidane glanced over to where the rest of their friends were standing. They had all been found and told about the mystery status spell whilst Dagger, Vivi, and Eiko had been looking for him and had all decided to come and watch. Some were curious about the new spell, whereas others simply did not want to miss out on the fun – and possibly the chance to laugh at Zidane. Said monkey boy ruefully noted that, while everyone was trying to be so reassuring, they were making a point to watch from a fairly sizeable distance and behind the white mages.
He swallowed uncomfortably and help asking one more time, "Are you guys really sure about this?!"
"It will be alright, Zidane," Freya said with a slight grin. "We even have a Remedy right here, just in case."
"You be fine, Zidane!" Quina added. "It is as Qu say: 'Recipe gone bad can always be put back together.'" Zidane blanched at this and his voice seemed to leave him. His mouth opened and closed several times but no sound came out.
At that moment, Dagger and Eiko assumed spell-casting stances. Dagger looked at Zidane. "Ready?" she asked. Zidane, still very apprehensive, nevertheless assumed a very serious expression and made a very low and stately bow.
"Very well. I place my life into the capable hands of my most beautiful queen and a lovely princess." Freya, Beatrix, and Vivi all snickered at the dramatic declaration. Steiner and Amarant just shook their heads.
The white mages began reciting the incantation in unison, moving staff and flute in time to their chants. Eiko then put her instrument to her lips as Dagger made one final gesture towards their target. Zidane felt his body grow hot as the magic surged around him. And then…
BOOM!!!
Zidane disappeared amidst a shower of blue sparks and silver smoke as a terrific explosion knocked everyone to the ground. As they began to get shakily to their feet, Eiko turned to Dagger.
"D-did that feel right to you?" she asked tentatively. Dagger peered into the clearing smoke.
"Zidane?" she called. No response. "Zidane?!" she called again, fear beginning to rise in her throat. The smoke finally lifted and everyone stood dumbfounded for a moment. Where Zidane had stood only a moment before, all that could be seen now was a pile of what appeared to be his clothes.
There was a very heavy pause.
"…OH MY LAND!" Dagger cried in panic, "I'VE KILLED MY BOYFRIEND!!" She then rushed forward frantically, followed by everyone else.
About ten feet away, a small sound was heard that made them all stop short. They looked around in confusion.
"…What was that…?" Vivi asked in apprehension. The tiny cry was heard again, turning everyone's attention back to the bundle on the ground, their eyes widening in growing shock. As they watched, a little tail, about a foot and a half long, snaked floppily out of the pile. At the other end of the bundle, a tiny pair of hands appeared and began pawing at the cumbersome cloth. After a moment, the material was finally pulled away to reveal a tiny infant with a full head of golden hair and big blue eyes. He was lying on his back, still mostly tangled in the clothes.
No one moved; all they could do was stare in shocked disbelieving. The baby, becoming quite distressed at being left on the cold, hard stones, began to cry piteously.
Amarant was the first to voice what everyone was feeling. He summed it up quite well.
"…No…Way…"