Author's Notes: I am extremely sorry for the huge delay in updating this story. School and work had delayed my writing but once I finally wrote and finished the chapter, I got a PS3 so I kept putting off the update. That will not happen again.

Now on a lighter note, I would like to personally thank Ravyn for basically marketing my story out to the masses. As you can see from the amount of reviews I have now, she was very helpful. If any of you have not read her story OMWF you must…it is the best fanfiction out there, bar none! Ask me for the link if you are interested and have not read it yet.

Also if any of you like to RPG for FFIX or are looking for a good RPG forum, let me know in your review and I will give you the link to the forum. It is a great site and very well organized.

Disclaimer:

Solark: I don't own FFIX or any associated with it. There, I said it. You happy now?

SE Lawyer: Yes.

Solark: I still own my own stuff…right?

SE Lawyer: ………

Chapter 13:
A Coming of Age

Zidane ran his fingers through his blonde hair, stopping near the back of his head to scratch his scalp. He did not have an itch though; the posture was just something that he adopted when he became lost in thought. And he had plenty to think of now as everybody was staring at him, almost as if they were waiting on some sort of miraculous spout of information to come out of him like an answer to what they had just heard. He had just finished telling everybody about everything that happened during their trip, from the stealing of their airship to the destruction of Conde Petie. He really did not want to go through the details again but Dagger personally requested that he tell her uncle and aunt in person.
She had sent a telegram to them directly after their group meeting in the library via mognet. Regent Cid, her uncle, and his wife Hilda had arrived about three hours later. The whole process was remarkably fast which was probably easily explained when Cid arrived. He had brought his new prized airship modeled off of the Invincible. He called the airship Oblivion and the name fit perfectly. The ship was as dark as the darkest night and looked all the more ominous by how quiet and sleek it was. Plus Cid continually bragged about how deadly the Oblivion was, using the same laser technology found on the parent ship, Invincible. The man really never did grow up nor would he ever.
Zidane stopped scratching his head and allowed his arm to fall to his side in a controlled manner. The entire dining room was silent as everybody seemed lost in thought. He looked around the table at the people present around him. He was sitting at the head of the long table with Dagger to his left and Gene next to her. Steiner, Beatrix and a man he had never seen before but was told was a friend of Beatrix rounded out that side of the table. To his right sat Alana then Mikoto, Blank, Bodan and Hilda. Regent Cid sat at the opposite end of the table from him. Doctor Tot was sitting in a chair near Cid but not actually at the table. The regent had both his elbows on the table with his head in his hand. Everybody else had the same solemn look about them as the regent did. Well everybody but one.
Beatrix's guest sat in his seat with his back perfectly straight. His face showed no emotion, not even the slightest. He stared out over the table, his deep blue eyes focused on nothing. Zidane did not know why but he felt a strange feeling move up his spine and flow through his body. The feeling almost matched the strange feeling he had that night in Burmecia when he first saw his brother, Kuja.
He snapped himself out of his thoughts and cleared his mind of the matter. The feeling was nothing and his thoughts were silly. This was a friend of Beatrix and he would not think negatively about them. Everybody had the right to an equal opportunity to prove themselves without judgmental statements tainting their image in advance.
A small noise caught him off guard. He looked to his left to his Dagger, the Queen of Alexandria, sit up. Her chair scrapped on the marble floor as she pushed it out from under her.
"What should we do now?" she said in a very controlled voice. He was still amazed had how mature and even tempered she was for a queen her age. She truly was something.
"What is there to do?" said the Regent from across the table. He was talking into his hands which accounted for the muffled tone of his voice. With now all or most of the eyes in the room upon him, the regent lifted his face out of the cradle of his palms. His face was as drain but there was a certain strength hidden inside.
"I do not understand?" asked Dagger with obvious confusion.
"Well to start," he said clearing his throat as he spoke. "We do not even know who is responsible for this attack or if there was even any one people who are responsible. For all we know the attack could have been a random act by that demon Zidane and they killed. We cannot throw the blame around without any evidence to back up our claims."
"But Zidane told us the monster said 'he was only but a tool' in the attack. That the whole plan was not his and…"
"And you trust the words of this demon monster!" bellowed Cid as he shot up in his chair. His words echoed throughout the dining room and probably the entire castle. The silence that followed left the air completely empty. The regent stared at his niece with a mixture of anger and sympathy. "That thing destroyed a city. It slaughtered hundreds of innocent people. How can words from something so malevolent be trusted?"
Garnet could not even speak. She had never seen her uncle so upset to the point that he lashed out. Her tongue twisted against her brain as she tried to fight the urge to fight back. All she could do was look down at her hands. What type of queen was she if she could not even fight for a cause she believed was right?
As if Cid could sense her inner thoughts, the instant flash of malcontent he possessed earlier was gone from his eyes as he gazed at his niece.
"Garnet my dear, you know how much I care for you. I am sorry to lash out at you but you must understand things like this. We cannot start pointing fingers at anybody until we have more information on the matter. Doing so will only cause insult to anybody we hastily blame. Do you understand, my dear?"
"Yes uncle," Garnet managed to breathe out as she nodded her head. She stole a glance at Zidane next to her, half expecting him to take her side. Instead he just sat there saying nothing. While his silence somewhat angered her, she understood his position. Her uncle was right of course.
She sank back into her chair, ashamed of the position she had taken. While her decision was not made with any sort of evil intention, it was however done so with prior thought to any sort of consequence. She felt embarrassed by her choice. As the queen of an entire country she should have known better.
A light sensation alerted her body from her state of isolation. She looked down to see Zidane's hand slightly touching her knee. She turned her attention to his eyes and was welcomed by the deep turquoise looked back at her. He ever so casually blinks and gave a faint nod of his head. That was all she needed from him. Just that simple reassurance that he understood her intentions gave her the warmest feeling. She loved that part of him.
"Well, something needs to be done," said Zidane as he shifted in his chair, the tip of his tail flicking back and forth behind him. "We must post guards in the surrounding towns near Conde Petie. The Black Mage Village must be protected…as well as Madain Sari."
The last part was said with a glance her way. She could not help but smile at the notion. He felt very strongly about protecting the Black Mage Village due to the genomes living there but he had no ties to Madain Sari…except her. A rush of appreciation swelled up within her.
"I see no reason to post any guards," the regent said as he sat back down. "You and your friends defeated the threat."
Zidane's glare hardened as he looked at Cid. "You see no reason, huh?" he began questioningly.
"I truly do n-"
"Well I do!" shot the blonde, completely interrupting the regent in mid sentence. "Those places over there have no defenses, no army like Lindblum or Alexandria. Not only that but they are also your allies and by that right alone should invoke some sort of protection and support.
"If you even intend on keeping them as your allies or keeping the allies and friends you have now that may have ties to those towns then I suggest you rethink your position on the matter. I have told you my feelings on what had transpired at Conde Petie and the connection I felt between that attack and what happened on the Forgotten Continent. I know what I saw and I know what I heard. I have told you everything I know. Now you must act on that information, whether you believe me or not."
With his last words still sinking into everybody's mind, Zidane slowly stood up from his chair and exited the dining room without another sound. Nobody talked for a while as the weight of what he said sunk in. Regent Cid was sitting down with his elbows on the table and his chin resting on his folded hands.
"Somebody is cranky," mumbled Blank as he shifted in his chair.
"No," said the voice of the regent as he lifted his head off the resting spot his hands were making. "The boy is right. We cannot assume that this was just an isolated attack. We must take the words of that monster seriously until we know more information about what happened or is happening."
"So you will send guard posts to both the Black Mage Village and Madain Sari?" asked Garnet in a hopeful voice.
"I believe that is a wise choice. We shall send a mixture of both Lindblum and Alexandrian troops to keep an eye on those surrounding establishments"

"Thank you, Uncle."
Garnet rose from her seat and straightened out her blouse.
"If you all will excuse me I think I will go check on Zidane," she said as she made her way out of the dining room through the same door that he left from not minutes before.
"Hey Rusty?" whispered Blank, afraid to intrude on the perpetual silence that filled the air. When the big knight did not answer, Blank did not give up. "Pssssst, Rusty?"
Steiner finally snapped his head towards the red-headed thief and met him with a scowl. Probably more at being called 'Rusty' then the rude interruption but Blank did not care; he was on a mission.
"You going to eat that?" he asked point at the knight's plate.
Steiner looked confused as he looked down and then back up again. He gave a slight shake of the head and wrinkle of the brow begging the question, what are you talking about?
Blank sighed. "Your roll, smarty pants."
"Oh, you want this?" said Steiner as he picked up the roll with his thick fingered hand.
"Yea, that's it. Now toss…"
Before Blank could even finish his sentence, Steiner took a huge bite out of the warm beard, nearly cutting the roll in half.
"Mmm, delicious. Would you like the other half?" he taunted as he finished swallowing his bite.
"You're an ass," mumble Blank as he slouched back into his chair. He would get the knight back, oh yes he would.

Garnet made her way to the training area outside of the castle. She had learned from a guard that Zidane went this way and she was sure that was where he went. Outside the night was crisp and clean. The air was so clear she could see every star in the sky and even make out her favorite constellation, Bahamut. She could remember looking up at that cluster of stars all the time when she was out on her travels.
As soon as she approached the training area, he heard a sound she knew all too familiar. The training area was just a large square room on the back side of the castle. The room was made of the same stone as the castle and had a roof but was open on the side walls save for some pillars for support. This design was probably made to help air the area out so the room did not become to hot, or smelly.
Zidane was near the middle of the room, inside a center square pit that had a white sand floor. He had his daggers out and was practicing his weapon combat skills against one of the various attack dummies they had set up around the room.
Garnet watched as Zidane assumed his attack stance before the dummy. With perfected, flawless motions he spun around quickly cutting his target with a backhand swing from one dagger while instantly finishing the attack with a slice from the other. All that happened within the blink of an eye.
Just as he was about to perform another attack on the dummy, Garnet flicked her fingers towards his target. She could not help but giggle as his daggers bounced back with a flash of blue light from the protect spell she cast on his target.
"Very funny, Dagger," he said without even looking to see who it was.
"I thought it was," replied Garnet, still giggling softly.
Her mood turned more serious as she made her way towards him. "I appreciate what you did back there. Saying we needed to protect Madain Sari as well as the Black Mage Village…that means a lot."
"…"
"Why did you do that?"
"I don't need a reason."
"True…but you still did and that counts for something, right?" She stopped walking towards him once she was within two feet of his turned back.
"I guess," he shrugged.
She took another step towards him; a small one at that. "Uncle Cid took to heart what you said. He agreed to help and send guards to both villages as well."
Zidane turned around to meet her eyes, a look of slight shock on his face. Or was it something else entirely, she could not tell.
"He did?" he said questioningly.
"Mhm, I guess you are a pretty good speaker."
"Really, you think?"
"I know. He even said that you were 'right in what you said'."
"Wow," said Zidane, a bit taken back. The regent said he was right. Now that was something. He could not help but flinch his tale ever so slightly as he though about it.
"Perhaps we should head back," said Garnet. "They are talking about the Royal Alexandrian Tournament that's coming up."
"Ha, the RAT Race,' he joked as he assumed his fighting stance in a sarcastic manner.
"Stop calling it that," said Garnet placing her fists on her hips. "Plus you plan on entering."
"I know but it's still funny."
"No its not!"
"Yeah-huh!"
"NO!"
"I wonder if Freya will participate. Then we could really call it the RAT Ra-"
"ZIDANE!" yelled Garnet as she slapped him hard in the shoulder. She could not believe he even said what he just did.
"Okay, okay," he said as he put his hands up in a defensive posture. "I was only kidding, Dagger.'
"Not funny!"
"I guess not…"
"Are you coming?" she asked even though now she did not care if he did.
"One second," he paused as he rubbed the shoulder where she it him. He was obviously playing that one because she knew she could not hit him hard enough to hurt him. "Who is the guy that Beatrix knows?"
"Who, Nathan?" questioned Garnet as her aggravation subsided. Smacking him on the shoulder always helped tame her anger with him. "He is her cousin that has come to visit."
"Oh," said Zidane, satisfied with the answer.
"I also have allowed him to stay in the castle during his visit."
"Ohhh," he said a little more interested. His gazed pierced into her like a knife through butter.
"Hehe," giggled Garnet. "Don't worry. He's harmless. I told him I would never have any friend or relative of my friends staying anywhere else but in the castle."
"Well aren't you just the sweetest thing," he taunted with a flick of his wrist downward, almost too well.
"Maybe…" she teased before walking towards the exit to the training area. "Maybe not..." she added without looking back at him.
Zidane sighed as he dropped his arms to his sides and followed her back to the castle. Why was it always like this?

"S-so there are no monsters at all?" asked Gene still confused. Everybody at the table was trying to explain to her that the Royal Alexandrian Tournament was not the same event that her father had participated in. "If this is like the Festival of the Hunt then there must be monsters. Father said he had to fight monsters during the festival."
"I know Gene," assured the Regent as he wiped his mouth clean of any lingering food with a towel from his lap. The group finally decided to eat and converse while Zidane and Garnet were gone. "Vivi, or rather your father was right about the festival. There are monsters that you fight during that tournament but not this one. When Blank said that the two tournaments were similar he did not mean it in that way."
"Yea, Gene," said Blank with a mouth full of food. He really did not have any table manners what so ever. "I just meant that the tournaments were similar in that there will be a lot of fighting going on. You know?"
"U-um, sure," answered Gene, whom was still a little unsure about what they were saying. "S-so instead of fighting m-monsters, you fight each other?"
"Exactly," replied the regent, happy that the little mage finally understood.
"Then if you f-fight each other, w-wouldn't people get hurt?"
"Well," inserted Beatrix as she put her fork on her plate. "The tournament is non-lethal but that does not mean people do not get hurt. Injuries are unavoidable when you are dealing with powerful magic and weapons to aid great skill. Combatants that enter know the risks and know they will get hurt."
"But not to worry," she added when she saw Gene's yellow eyes grow wide. "Nobody has ever died but some have come close. Matches are called by judges when they feel somebody has won before lethal damage is ever done. It is a safety precaution. Like I said, this is a non-lethal tournament. Once the battle is over, the two combatants are immediately healed so they are as good as new…most of the time."
"S-sounds scary," whispered Gene. "I never want to go in that tournament."
"Not to worry, my dear," reassured Beatrix. "Nobody under the age of eighteen is allowed to register."
"What?!" coughed Blank as he nearly choked on some food he had in his mouth. "Eighteen! He said his is like seventeen years old. At least I think he his seventeen. He never really told us his real birthday. How could Zidane be in the tournament if he is not eighteen?"

"I…I do not know," answered Beatrix as she looked at him with a puzzled stare. "Are you sure he is really participating?"
"He told me himself."
"I see. Well if he is not eighteen then I do not see how he can enter the tournament. The rules state the player must be at least eighteen."
"Rules," came a laugh from near the doorway to the dining room. They all turned to see Zidane coming back in with Garnet right behind him. "You know better then everybody that I am above the rules."
"Hrmph," mumbled Steiner from his seat next to the General. Zidane only gave him a quick glance.
"But these rules are different, Zidane," said Beatrix. "They are not optional so therefore cannot be broken."
"Ha, rules are made to be broken."
"Not these ones," said Beatrix flatly. Her tone changed to a more serious note. "Only the defending champion can make any exceptions to the rules as stated."
"And you are the defending champion," said Zidane in the form of an obvious statement rather then a question.
"Yes I am and I do not intend to make any exceptions to the rules…especially this one."
"I see then," said the blonde has he sat back down in his chair at the head of the table. He looked like he had been hit by a Behemoth as he stared blankly at the air in front of him.
"She does not have to," said Mikoto as her voice grabbed everybody's attention.
"Huh, wait…what?" asked Blank, looking a bit confused by the whole ordeal.
"She does not have to change the rules, or make any exceptions."
"And why is that?" asked Garnet from her seat next to Zidane. The blonde himself had inched closer to the table as he waited for his sister to speak.
Mikoto turned to him and smiled. "Do you not know?"
Zidane looked puzzled by her question. "Know what?"
"What a week from today is, two days before the tournament?"
"…No"
She sighed as she looked disappointed by his answer. "Well I suppose you would not know…how could you?"
"How could I know what?" asked Zidane, starting to get slightly irritated at his sister.
"Two days before the tournament is your true birthday, the day you were released from the incubation tank. You will be eighteen"
Everybody around the table gasped at the news. Even Garnet sat there with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. She could not believe it.
"Nice, a birthday," blurted Blank as he stood up and raised his arms. "Beer all around…and a cupcake for Rusty!"

A/N: There, it's done and yes I do believe that Zidane deserves to have a birthday. Don't we all? Now review and I do hope to get the next chapter up much sooner then this one. Again I am sorry about the delay. Now review please……..please?