"Garnet?" A young child's voice was heard echoing through the halls of the castle. Eiko and gang were searching for the queen and Zidane, and they had been doing so for roughly ten minutes. "Where have we not checked yet?" asked Freya. Eiko had to ponder the thought for a few moments. "Hmm...we got the cafeteria, the library, the main hall, and even the chambers...I don't think they'd be in the dungeon, do you?"
"Very unlikely," replied Freya, trying to force the image of a "naughty" Zidane and Garnet out of her head. "I suppose there's nothing else we can do. We'll have to wait for them to return."
"Man...I hate waiting," fussed Eiko.
It turns out, the queen and future king weren't at the castle at all.
"Zidane, what do you think about this one?"
Garnet had been looking through wedding dresses for their special day. They passed by a hefty number of dresses that just didn't seem to cut it for her. Zidane, on the other hand, thought she would look breathtaking in just about anything. His eyes were glued to the dress his fiance' pointed to. "Hey...it looks really nice!"
"So if I were to slip this on, you'd like it?"
"Well, yeah, but I'm just gonna take it off later."
"Oh, Zidane...You wish." She lightly punched his shoulder, shedding a slight laughter from him. "Hey, I can try, can't I?"
"Hmm...I don't see why not." She licked her lips, her tongue swerving to give Zidane a sign.
"Yeah, I thought so." He winked at her and moved in for a kiss, which she gladly returned. As they broke away, they began to set up arrangements for the dress she had decided to get. It would be slightly identical to the one she normally wore at special occasions; that white dress with emerald decorum. It was still a gorgeous shade of white, but it had a shining pearl jingle to it. The drapes of the dress were a dark blue, almost a sapphire. The store clerk had come to aid the couple with arrangements for purchase. "So, this is the dress you want, yes?"
"Yes, please," the queen giggled. "It's so beautiful."
The store clerk turned her head to face the Genome. "So, you're the lucky man?"
His face lit with a grin. "Absolutely."
"Congratulations to you both. The dress will be 250,000 Gil."
"Two...Two-hundred fifty thousand!" the queen stuttered.
"Yes, 250,000. Can you pay?"
Garnet pulled Zidane back to have a moment alone with him. "Zidane," she whispered, "What are we going to do about this? I don't have that kind of money on me..."
"What about the money at the castle?"
"No. I cannot take that money yet. Alexandria doesn't have a king as of right now, and their queen is currently not at the kingdom. What should we do?"
Zidane glared at the dress for a few moments, and finally, he looked over to the store clerk with a smile. "How long do we have to get the dress?"
"Hmm? There's no time limit. Well, for now, anyway. Someone else with the money can always walk in and ask for it, though."
"Huh...Well, that's reassuring."
"Zidane? What're you going to do?"
He placed a hand on her cheek. "I'm gonna earn that money for your dress. First, I'm taking you back to the castle."
Her face twisted with confusion. "What're you talking about? Wherever you go, I go with you."
He shook his head. "Nope. You're not coming with me this time. It's too dangerous."
She placed her hands on her hips as if she was disappointed. "Zidane, you DO realize who you're talking to, right? I'm one of your companions from our journey. We went through everything together, so there's nowhere else in the world too dangerous for-"
"I'm going to Memoria."
She felt a chill run down her spine. Memoria? Why there? Maybe because it was the easiest place to get some quick Gil. But despite that, she knew the risks of going to Memoria; it's the most dangerous place in the entire world. But how did he plan on getting there in the first place? The path to Memoria was destroyed during the final battle. What possible alternative did he possess?
"Zidane, how do you plan on going to Memoria? The Iifa Tree..."
"I know. The Invincible has the ability to teleport me to Memoria. I COULD go to Terra, but..."
"That world was...totally destroyed..."
"Yeah...Anyways, I'm going to Memoria to earn some Gil for your dress. Let's get back to the castle."
The store clerk cleared her throat to gain attention. "I see your intentions are true and pure, young man," she complimented. "I'll make sure it's YOU who gets this dress; no one else will dare lay their fingers on it."
"Really? Oh, that's wonderful! Thank you!"
"Hey, yeah, thanks a lot!"
"Not at all. You, young lady, are very lucky to have such a compassionate man at your side."
Garnet turned to face Zidane and pecked him on the cheek with a warm smile, and she looked back at the store clerk. "Yes. I am."
He grinned, his cheeks a slight hint of crimson. "Hey, c'mon. I'm not THAT-" His words were cut off by a sudden elbow to the chest, causing him to lose his breath. It appears his beloved still had some work to do to rebuild his confidence.
"Thank you very much, ma'am! We'll be sure to swing by once we get the money!"
"Take care, now!" She watched them as they exited the store. "Ahh...young love. So pure, so innocent...and...aggressive."
"Zidane, are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Garnet asked, worried for her fiance's well-being. They were aboard the Invincible once again, heading back for the castle.
"Like I said, babe," started Zidane, "I don't want you getting hurt. After our journey, the path to Memoria was destroyed. Who knows what I'll run into once I get there? I care about you too much to let something like that happen to you."
"Zidane..." She walked closer to him, carressing his cheek with the gentle touch of her hand, her soft, creamy skin enducing within him a feeling that he would not dare live without. "But...what if you get hurt? You'll need a healer. And just attacking a monster won't always do the trick. You'll need some kind of magic, and-"
Her words were cut off by a sudden embrace of her lips, and they shared a kiss that seemed to call out a signal to her, telling her that everything would work out somehow. Powerless against the man she loved, she gave into his kiss, participating with all of her heart in sharing the moment with him. In the end, if there's anything they have left, it will always be their memories together.
"Relax, babe. I've got this."
It was only moments later that their destination was within eye's reach. Landing before the front gates to the city, the two exited through the hatch as before, walking along together to the castle. As they approached the castle gates, they were greeted by their comrades, who had still been searching for them all morning.
"WHERE have you been?" demanded Eiko. "You two weren't off playing with birds and bees, were you?"
The couple couldn't help but blush.
"I don't think we need to rush to conclusions, Eiko," added Freya rather calmly. "Although..."
She glanced over to Zidane, a rather undesired image once again emplanting within her brain. She shuttered as the mind photo forced its way through her thoughts. "It wouldn't surprise me."
A cheeky grin lit across his face. "No, Mom, we weren't doing anything like that."
"That's right," nodded Garnet. "We were in Lindblum looking at wedding dresses."
"Oh?" Added Vivi. "Umm...but...isn't it the girl's job to look for the dress?"
"Normally, yes," replied Garnet, walking over to Vivi and kneeling to his level.
"So why did Zidane have to go with you?"
She rubbed her hand atop his pointed, steepled hat, and she lit with a smile. "Because he wanted to."
"Wow," he blurted. "Zidane must really love you..."
"Hmm?" she blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I dunno a guy in the world that would voluntarily go along with a girl to do something like that," added Amarant from behind them.
Garnet glanced over to him, and she stood to her feet with a huff. "Well, shows how much you know about MEN."
"Say what? I AM a man."
With a grin, Eiko walked over to Amarant and patted his knee. "Nah. You're still just a boy, compared to Zid-" Her words were cut off by a cry of pain, as Amarant started to noogie the top of her head, where it normally hurt the most.
"Shut up, kid."
"You bastard!" she shouted, sticking her tongue out while running behind Zidane. "Oh, my hero! Protect me from that evil little boy!" She gestured her finger to Amarant.
"Eiko!" exclaimed Garnet, turning to see her crouched behind Zidane. "I understand you want to act like a child, but please, refrain from hiding behind MY man!"
"Zidane! Help me! The evil witch lady is gonna hurt me!"
"E...Evil witch lady?" She was filled with what must have been an unspeakable limit of rage. "How DARE you!" Her feet started to stomp her towards Eiko, but as she glanced up to see Zidane, she was puzzled. Rather, she was stunned. His face was darkened with what had to be the most serious look she had ever seen in her life. When Garnet stopped, Eiko glanced up to see Zidane, and she shared the same reaction. "Zidane?"
"Guys," Zidane finally said, "I'm going to Memoria."
"What?" demanded Eiko. "Why? That place was destroyed!"
"Memoria will exist as long as The Invincible does. That's the only way I can get there from here."
"Why are you-" Freya attempted to say, but was stopped because Zidane had already turned and ran further ahead.
He turned back around with a grin on his face, just as they would normally see him. "Take care of Garnet while I'm gone, okay?" He turned back around and started again for the Invincible.
As Zidane boarded the ship, his feet moved him quickly into the transport chamber, the room he would always call "Amarant's Room," since this is always where he and Freya would be standing. By standing on the gylph on the floor, it could be activated and used to transport him anywhere he desired, provided the place still existed. It was with this ability that he used the transporter to take him back to Memoria.
But when he finally got to the realm in question, he immediately started to regret the choice he had made.
There was barely anything left of Memoria; only bits and pieces of the world that he and his companions had once entered. That was only a year ago...but this place was absolutely devastated. With the defeat of Necron and the destruction of the Iifa Tree, it was actually a miracle that the place even existed at all. The final battle had most certainly taken its toll on the realm of memories.
Luckily, the first thing Zidane noticed was the arrival of a few familiar monsters, all in which carried innumerable amounts of Gil upon being defeated. The Iron Giant, the Chimera, even the Ash and Veteran-they all managed to live in this broken, nearly empty world. He reached for his daggers, the weapons he had stashed on both of his sides, and combined them together to form the legendary Ultima Weapon, and his face lit with a determined grin.
"Come n' get it!"
He charged for the group of monsters, which shared the same action in turn. With vicious roars and numerous spells being cast his way, Zidane had to think fast against such fearsome enemies...but he also had to keep in mind that for this battle, he was completely alone. There would be no healing, no spells at the enemies, no special skills, and definitely no summoning. All told...
"This is gonna be one hell of a fight!"
His feet leapt him into the air, his two daggers already combined to form his true weapon. Spinning the blade in his hands, he darted back down to the ground, stabbing the Iron Giant straight into its helmet, crushing the helmet and spewing a cerulean liquid, which could only be the monster's blood. It flowed violently from its head, and it would appear that Zidane had managed to stab the creature in its brain. He winked at the sight of the defeated monster.
"Lucky shot."
But just as he declared himself a hotshot, Zidane felt a sudden burst of heat energy below his feet. Knowing exactly what it was, he backflipped away from the spot on the ground, dodging the Firaga the Chimera in the distance had cast to burn him to a crisp. He smirked as he performed his backflip, and in the middle of it, he detached one of his daggers and wrapped it inside of his tail. Spinning in midair, he released the dagger from within his tail and propelled it forward at top-speed, eventually landing a blow on the Chimera and stabbing straight through the middle head. This instantly killed the center, but the two other heads it boasted only grew more angry and dangerous.
The Chimera started a ferocious charge, preparing something upon getting close enough to Zidane. The Ash, however, was sitting back and taking things easily, casting a Reflect spell in case Zidane tried anything funny. Of course, seeing as though he couldn't exactly cast spells unless he was in Trance, Zidane would often wonder-even through the past battles with Ash-why on earth it would even expend the effort in doing so, when his opponent did not possess the ability to use magic?
Nevertheless, Zidane was preparing himself for the worst, if any past encounters with the Chimera told him anything. Sure enough, the beast's right head exuded a purple, disgusting fluid from its mouth, and it spat out of it smouth like a water gun. Managing to just dodge the attack, Zidane once again leapt into the air, only this time, he landed on top of the Chimera. Using both of his hands, he pulled the dagger out of the obviously dead middle head, and combined it back with his other one to form his complete weapon. He stabbed the right head with one end of the sword, and the left with the other side. He ducked under the blade and started to pole vault on top of it, violently yanking the sword out from the beast's mouths and tearing off their heads. The Chimera was, undoubtedly, defeated.
Now, all that was left was the Ash. Zidane dashed over to the monster, who was already attempting to cast a spell. No doubt, it was going to be the Doom enchantment, which would kill the young hero in a matter of seconds unless the caster was killed. But instead, the beast used a Snowstorm spell, blowing Zidane away and damaging him in the process. Managing to stand back up, he once again dashed over to the monster. However, it was prepared for this, as well, as it started to cast yet another spell. This time, it would be far more powerful than anything Zidane could expect from the beast. He glanced up into the sky to see a massive hunk of rock plummeting down at almost incredible speed.
"Meteor?" Zidane didn't have the time to ponder; all he knew was that it was heading directly for him. If it was Meteor, it would take some kind of miracle to block it. (But instead,) he thought, (Why not try dodging it?) He was going to put his theory to the test, and so, he ran as close as he possibly could up to the Ash and jumped into the air, landing on top of the beast's head. Struggling to free itself from Zidane's grasp, the beast flailed and spazzed around as if there were no tomorrow. Even though Meteor would not hurt its caster, Zidane was determined to find a way to walk away unharmed. The second before Meteor hit the area, Zidane jumped as high as he possibly could into the air, and thankfully, he managed to avoid even the aftermath flames of the massive impact. Afterwards, he plummeted to the ground, stabbing straight through the Ash monster and cutting it right down the middle, spilling an untold amount of blood and revealing the beast's inner organs.
All three beasts were defeated, their corpses laying on the ground around their slayer. Zidane broke apart his weapons and started to place them behind him, when suddenly-
"Augh!"
A sharp beam of light had shot straight through the skin on his arm, shedding the flesh and revealing a portion of the bone of his arm. He kneeled to the ground in pain, looking around for any possible signs of an enemy. When instead, he noticed a currently unknown figure walking towards him. The figure was cloaked in a hood that covered his face, and his body was dressed in what seemed to be clothing similar to Garland's. Zidane recognized the garments, at least. But the one under the hood? Not in the least.
"I see you're just as strong as ever."
Zidane glared at the hooded man with a sneer of hatred. "Yeah, and I see you're TERRIBLE with first impressions!"
"First impressions? Oh, but we've already met."
"What?"
The hooded man chuckled at his downed adversary, and as he did, his hands motioned to the edges of the hood of his cloak. The cloak was covering the clothes he was currently wearing. But as the man started to remove the hood, a large, red eyeball sprung open in the middle of his chest. Now, Zidane definitely knew this was Garland's attire, or at least something similar to it. The hood of his cloak flopped off of his head, revealing a large amount of hair. Not only that, the hair was a bright silver, with a sapphire tint at the edges of different bangs and strands. His eyes were an empty red, signaling there was no true life within the man. But as soon as he saw his enemy's face, Zidane couldn't help but feel scared and shocked simultaneously. It was as if though his fears-his nightmares-were about to be relived.
"Kuja?"