A/N: Just need to say a big thank you to my dad! My memory stick, which contains all my work and the next six chapters of Brick by Brick, smashed today. I immediately drove to three different stores and all the 'professionals' claimed it to be beyond repair. I went to my dad and after an hour of filing, soldering and swearing, he fixed it. If it weren't for him you wouldn't be getting any more chapters, because I wouldn't have re-written them. So I owe you one, pops ^__^


(All Down Hill From Here)

"This place…"

Her voice didn't echo, just hung in the air as if captured by a cobweb of time, left to gradually fade like the inscriptions on a forgotten gravestone.

"What is… this place…?"

The melancholy ambience was suffocating too, like a fur coat begging to be shrugged off in sticky heat. The crumbling stones, the broken remnants of furniture… all ghosts of a past life that was so difficult to visualise now it was nothing more than fragmented shadows of its former self.

Garnet entered the ruins of a house, where the roof had caved in and rubble littered the floor like a miniature mountain range. A flight of stairs led to nowhere and in one corner the skeleton of a bed cradled lumps of sandstone.

She picked her way through the debris, morbidly curious despite her heavy heart, and came across a storage trunk. When she opened it she found a faded baby's rattle. Her thoughts slowed and blurred and she closed the lid of the trunk very slowly, numbly wondering if it would ever be opened again and what kind of baby played with that before... before…

"What happened here?"

She departed silently. The floor seemed to drift beneath her feet. She felt as if she were dreaming, oddly detached and acting without control.

The ruins slid past. She saw a temple, its spire still looming over the ruins as if in defiance of the city's end, and a statue of a stern looking man, a horn crowning his forehead, his left arm in shattered pieces on the ground and his eyes staring tiredly into the distance.

Garnet switched off for a while. She didn't remember passing any more desolated housing or ruined landmarks, and when her thoughts became clear again she was staring at lapping waves.

She straightened and surveyed her new environment. She was in a tiny harbour. Up above was the bridge that led to Eiko's home and behind her was a crumbling flight of stairs she didn't remember descending. What caught her interest though, was the little boat bobbing on the waves. Its decking was rotting and its hull was a map of barnacles and crustaceans. The sail shivered in a warm breeze, the material ripped and worn like a flag on a battlefield.

This scene… why does it look so familiar…?

Her thoughts were slowly clearing, and she knelt down and tugged on the rope that attached the boat to the dock. The vessel grudgingly shifted closer. Just as it came to three feet of the protrusion the rotted rope snapped in her hand and she watched the end sink into the clear water.

Oh well, she thought, and leapt the remaining distance. The boat pitched, as if begrudging her for disturbing its long respite from bearing passengers, and she struggled to maintain her balance, arms flailing in a very un-princess-like manner. Eventually, the vessel surrendered its efforts and resumed gently rocking from side to side. The princess moved to the bow and perched on a plank of wood that had acted as a seat for a rower in its past life.

She sighed and stared out to sea, wishing for a moment the boat would simply drift away and take her with it. She could spend the rest of her days staring up at the sky and listening to the waves, not worrying about the future, and perhaps the guilt would eventually erode away, like the ruins of Madain Sari.

She lost herself in this melancholy fantasy for a moment with the boat and waves lulling her into a daze. The sun had disappeared beneath the horizon and the sky was a palette of fiery reds and oranges, making the shadows thick and dark.

Everything about this place is so familiar, she thought numbly. Even this harbour… even this boat… Everything! And the Eidolon Wall… Why does it seem to reawaken something within me? Why does it evoke feelings of longing?

But she knew why. She'd told Zidane so just a few days before. She missed her Eidolons; the beasts that were once a burden to her heart, crowding her mind and soul and filling her with confusion and distaste. She wanted them back. They were part of her… part of who she was. So what did this place mean to her? Was it part of her too?

Gods, she didn't remember!

The princess sighed and stared at the horizon, observing a thin ribbon of red that turned the sea into a vast bowl of blood. Even nature conspired to make Madain Sari appear dismal! Perhaps I should leave… Maybe this place is bad for me. It certainly unsettles my soul and rubs my thoughts into blurs. I feel so low, so sad… so… so…

It was her own voice that shattered her thoughts. She'd been singing without knowing it, but this wasn't entirely unsurprising. The need to sing was almost reflexive, a weather-beaten habit she couldn't shake, lifting her spirits into something bearable. So she continued absently, the melancholy notes settling her soul and allowing her thoughts to unwind like a ball of yarn.

I'm not even sure where this song's from… she thought. It's always been a part of me, just like the Eidolons. At least no one can take this –

Her thoughts were abruptly severed as the sound of footsteps resounded upon the stairwell and her voice broke away. My song must be magnetic, she thought humourlessly when she spotted who it was. It's guaranteed to draw him to me. "Zidane…"

"It's okay," he reassured. His boots clacked against the stone steps and he skipped the last two, hopping onto the dock. "'Cause it's out song, right?"

When did he start calling it 'our' song? she thought, but found the question lacked the bitterness she presumed it would possess, and felt instead a fluttery warmth in the pit of her stomach. Our song…

The thief was staring round at the battered stonework and rolling waves with mild appreciation. "I'm surprised you found this place," he admitted. "You got the talent to be a bandit! How 'bout you and me team up?" A sly smile edged onto his features. "We'll call ourselves 'The Betrothed.'"

Again with the marriage references! Zidane was so fickle. She replied with weary humour: "My talent's up to snuff, but that name isn't."

The thief blinked then chuckled and scratched the back of his head. He met her eyes when he said: "You're really something these days."

She cocked her head, not breaking eye contact. "If I am, I must've gotten it from you."

"Naw…It's because you made the effort to learn," he bounced back.

"No, it's because you stuck by me. Without you I couldn't have made it to Lindblum, much less seen a whole continent." She sighed and looked away. "Everything I tried to do on my own was a total failure. I couldn't stop my mother… At times I almost lost hope… You helped me so much…" And she suddenly felt as if she were rolling down hill. The words were coming quick and easy to her tongue and she felt like she could keep going and going, praising and praising until she finally confessed… confessed what?

Zidane was staring at her expectantly so she quickly ceased her descent before things got out of hand. "And not just you, either," she added brashly, then felt her words might have been too harsh and he'd be hurt, but Zidane didn't seem offended at all.

"Yeah…" he agreed. "Vivi and Eiko helped out at the Iifa Tree. Quina was really helpful when we left the continent. Freya, Steiner…and even Beatrix, who I thought was our enemy."

The names brought with them a sting of guilt so she focussed on the waves, wishing they could wash her emotions into something tolerable. "I haven't forgotten," she told him quietly. "I want to believe everyone's alright, but sometimes I just can't…"

The boat lurched suddenly and she grasped the sides as the vessel voiced its disapproval once more. She looked up at Zidane, who had just leaped onto the deck and whose balance was entirely unaffected by the violent rocking. She settled down again, clasping her hands on her lap. He waited for her to speak. It seemed like everyone was waiting for her. Everyone tried so hard, especially Zidane… Letting down her mother was awful. Letting down her kingdom was terrible… but letting down Zidane… She didn't want to think about it.

"I hope I can live up to the hopes of everyone who has helped me," she said, looking pointedly at Zidane. She didn't know whether he missed the point of her comment or not, but his expression did look somewhat pained when he replied: "You don't have to feel so responsible, Dagger."

"But I do!" she cried. Why couldn't he understand? She was princess of Alexandria; it was her duty to be responsible.

Zidane shifted. He seemed agitated. "No one wants you to feel that way. They didn't do it all for you, either. Each was following his own path."

"His… own path…?" She considered this for a moment and thought it did made sense. Of course, she was being selfish again. Vivi journeyed to discover his origins, Steiner journeyed to fight for Alexandria, Freya journeyed to avenge Burmecia and Zidane…

She blinked up at the thief who returned her gaze impassively. Why had Zidane come along? Because Baku ordered him too? To avenge the destruction of his hometown, Lindblum? Because he wanted to help? They all seemed plausible but still… "Well, what about you?"

He frowned. "Huh?"

"Why did you come with me?"

He brightened suddenly. "Hey, that's Ipsen's line!"

"Ipsen? Who's that?"

"Ipsen's a character from a play," he replied. His voice warmed with passion; a recurring tendency when he spoke of a play he liked or had performed in. "But he's a real life adventurer. I think the play is based on his adventures. It kind of goes like this: Ipsen and his good friend Colin worked in a tavern in Treno. One day, Ipsen got a letter. The letter was so wet from the rain that most of the writing was illegible. The only part he could read said 'Come back home.

'Nowadays, we have airships and stuff, but back then it was really hard to travel. He didn't know why he had to go back, but he got some time off, gathered his things, and set out on his journey home. He walked a thousand leagues through the Mist. Sometimes he was attacked by vicious monsters, but he made it, because his friend Colin was by his side.

'And then, after much time on the road he had to ask Colin something.
'Why did you come with me?'"

Zidane abruptly ceased his story and Garnet leaned forward, enthralled. Despite not having read the play the princess could tell his recollection was hazy at best, but she couldn't deny his captivating story-telling skills, so she eagerly pressed: "And? What was Colin's answer?"

Zidane smiled, a most serious, quiet and wholly un-Zidane-like smile that immediately threw her off balance even before he replied: "'Because I wanted to go with you.'"
Garnet leaned back so abruptly it was as if she'd been struck. Her heart beat feverishly as she stared into his eyes, trying to discern whether this was one of his pranks or worse, a cheap shot to woo her. But she found nothing but deep serenity and warmth, the faint smile strangely wistful on his features now, and she found herself quite short of breath. That feeling of rolling down hill had returned again and she knew if she opened her mouth nothing would stop the descent. And he knew that too. He was waiting for her to respond, to start the tumble and gods only knew where they'd end up when they hit the bottom…

It was a terrifying feeling but alluring too, like she was standing on the edge of a cliff and wondering how it would feel to jump, to feel the wind in her hair and that moment of glorious weightlessness…

She stared up at him, into his staid eyes, and decided right then to begin it where, she thought, it had begun. She decided to tell him what he'd said during his delirium. "Zidane… I…"

La – la, la, la. La – la – la – la, la la.

She broke off and peered round. What…? That song…!

He leaned forward, disappointed at first then suddenly wary as he noted her alarmed expression. "Dagger?"

"Can't you…" La, la, la, la- la. "Can't you hear the song…?"

"Huh!?" He looked round, suddenly noting, as Garnet had, that the boat had drifted out to sea. But that worrying realisation was eclipsed by the eerie notes of soft singing, resonating from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Yeah… It's that song!"

"How? Who's singing it!!??" Garnet stood, feeling panicky and eager at once. The boat lurched crossly and she swayed; Zidane extended an arm and she absently batted it away. Her eyes were fixed on the Eidolon Wall, visible even from the water, and she said in a detached, dreamy voice, "The sun makes the Eidolon Wall look like it's on fire! I've seen this somewhere before…"

(This place…)

(What happened here…?)

"What? Where?"

('Sarah…')

What…?

('Sarah hurry we have to')

…Sarah…?

('in the boat quick')

A storm. Fire. An eye. A giant eye. There was no hurricane just the eye that opened from the clouds and she thought it's like the gods, wait no she hadn't she'd thought it's like the Eidolons are angry with us but mother (mother?) pushed me in the boat and the waves were huge I was gonna drown the mast was creaking and cracking like a tree falling and the Eidolon Wall was on fire burning Madain Sari was… was… burn… burn…ing…

Garnet fell toward Zidane's waiting arms.

"…agg…"

"…ke up…"

…hmm…?

"Dagger!"

Dagger?

"Dagger, wake up!"

My name…

"Dagger?"

…is Sarah…

"Hey!"

Sa…what?

"That's it!"

No. Dagger… my name…

Something sharp, stinging, cold hit her face and she gasped at the shock of it, eyes fluttering and tiny moan escaping parted lips. She thought she'd been slapped but as her head lolled to the side the sting rolled down her cheeks and along the bridge of her nose and she realised it was water.

The storm… the boat… I was gonna drown and –

"Are you awake? Hey don't pass out on me again!"

Garnet groaned and opened her eyes, found herself staring across waves mottled by the last embers of the dying sunset. "Mmm… wha…?"

She felt a hand press firmly against her cheek and her head was righted. She blinked upward and found herself staring into Zidane's worried visage.

"You okay?" he asked.

She gently pushed him away and sat up. Immediately the crumbling stonework of the harbour swerved and dived and the sea began spinning like whirlpools. She swayed and Zidane gripped her lightly.

"Hey, take it easy. What the hell happened?"

"Oh… ah… I-I don't know…. The song…?"

"Yeah I heard it too. What was that about? You remember?"

Remember?

Remember…

She blinked at him stupidly for a moment, her eyes wide and somewhere between elated and frightened. He looked a little startled and tightened his grip in case she passed out again, but she grasped his biceps firmly in return and yelled, "Yeah! I do remember! I remember everything!"

"About what?"

"Just… just… everything!"

She got to her feet with his help but assured him he needn't grasp her so tight because she was feeling a lot better. He asked her to tell but she insisted he wait until Eiko was present too.

She looked him up and down and frowned, suddenly noticing: "Why are you wet?"

"Huh?" He regarded his dripping clothes. "Oh. The boat drifted out to sea so I had to jump in and pull the boat along by the remains of the rope."

"I… I'm sorry for being so much trouble…"

He snorted. "Don't be stupid. It was nothing."

"It wasn't 'nothing', Zidane. Everything's just 'nothing' to you."

"Well, if you feel bad about it then you can make it up to me another time, okay?"

She sighed, not liking the thought of being indebted in such a way to Zidane, especially when his tone wasn't entirely decent, but she could do little more than shrug agreeably and climb the steps to inform him of her past.


Sorry if this chapter was a bit tedious, but I felt this to be an important part in the building of their relationship, even though I said I'd be filling in the 'gaps'.

And once again, I assure you that all these little debts and dresses and sleep-talking will come to close eventually. The dialogue's a little dreary because it's direct from the game, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway :-)

Random fact: In the Japanese version of the game, Vivi calls Dagger and Freya 'onee-chan' – big sister. How cute is that!!???? X3

Please review!