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Aftermath

He felt his life energy drain as it was divided between his friends. Vivi appeared, though unconscious, as well as Amarant, Vivi's father, and Quinta. Sadly, Beatrix, Lani, and Fratly remained absent. Zidane felt his HP drain, everything he saw was glazed over. The last thing he saw was the beautiful, precious face of Dagger. She mouthed something to him, but he could not make it out. He allowed his eyes to shut, he fell backwards, golden hair spilling across the crimson ground. Thus ended the life of the greatest hero, the most feared villain.

~¤~

"Zidane!" Dagger shrieked, "Why...?" Her expression mirrored the one she had when Lindblum was attacked by Atomos. Except, then she had Zidane to comfort her. She dropped to her knees, sobbing.

"Master Vivi....s'? Master Vivi! And Master Vivi!" Steiner called.

"Father!" Vivi II shouted.

"What happened?" Vivi asked. (This may get confusing...)

"Zidane.... he used Sacrifice," Freya mumbled.

"That totally insensitive idiot!" Eiko cried, suppressing a sob.

"Sacrifice only works for people in his party..." Amarant muttered.

"...which means we aren't getting Fratly, Lani, or Beatrix back..." Steiner finished, "Beatrix..."

"Fratly..." Freya sighed.

"Lani, you idiot... You jus' hadta come with me..." Amarant shook his head.

"You loved her, didn't you?" Eiko inquired.

"What?!? Me? No way!" Amarant denied, even as a blush crept over his face.

"Yes, you did," Eiko persisted.

"Hmph," Amarant looked away, 'You have no idea...' (Please see sidechapter: Moonlight Dance)

Dr. Tot put a hand on Dagger shoulder, who was still sobbing, "Princess, I'm sorry, I know you are still grieving but I must ask... Who did this? Was it Zidane, like Kuja said?" Dagger shook her head through her tears.

"It was Mikoto..." Dagger choked, "She experimented with all of us. Nightmare treatment for Eiko and I," Eiko shuddered, "and she tortured Zidane. She was a totally different person..."

"Once again, not her fault," It was Kuja, again.

"Kuja?" Dagger asked.

"Yes... Mikoto, her instructions must have been to make sure the rest of us carry out our plans. When Zidane failed to do so, she took command," Kuja tried to explain.

"You still haven't explained how you're alive and why Fratly wounded you," Freya shot at him.

"I do not know how I'm alive. I just sort of.... Woke up," Kuja replied.

"And? Why did Fratly wound you?" Freya prompted

"He... He found out that..." Kuja broke off.

"That what?" Freya pressed on.

"That I loved you," (See sidechapter: Best Left Untold)

~¤~

The silence and tension in the air was so thick, Steiner could probably have sliced through it with his Save the Queen. Freya had dropped her lance in shock. Eiko made kissing noises. Dagger pretended not to hear as she continued to cry for Zidane. Dr. Tot, not wanting to take any part in this, led the two mages and Quinta into the dwelling.

"I'm sorry Freya. I swear I'll help you get Fratly back. I love you, so I'll do anything to keep you happy," The words came to Kuja easier now. Zidane would be proud of him.

"AAACHOOO!" It was Baku.

Eiko frowned, "You ruined the moment, again!" She stomped her foot.

"What? Look, I have great news! We found Cid and Hilda! They have lots of survivors with them! A Bermecian named Wei asked for you, Freya! The little Bermecian kids are just dyin' ta see ya! Whoa! What happened? Dat Zidane...?" Baku stepped back in shock. His son... His eyes landed on Dagger, "Now, lookit. A princess like you shouldn't cry! You'll ruin yer pretty little eyes. Now, come on, stand up now," Baku helped Dagger to her feet, "See, now, yer the daughter in-law that I never had. Whadaya say about joinin' Tantalus? You'd make a pretty nasty thief, no?" Dagger bit back a smile. Blank chose then to make an entrance.

"Hey, boss? Dagger going to replace me or sumthin?" Blank asked. It was all Dagger could do not to laugh.

"Yes, ya bonehead, o' course not! Dagger's yer name, eh? Fitting for a thief," Baku smiled.

"Whoever said I was going to become a thief?" Dagger asked.

"What? You turning us down?" Baku asked.

"Of course not! I want to be a bandit, like Zidane," Dagger grinned.

"P-princess?" Steiner asked, eyes wide.

"Ex-princess," Dagger grinned.

"What?!?!" Steiner shouted.

"I'm queen, remember?" Dagger replied smartly. Steiner sighed.

"You scared me for a moment, Princess," Steiner breathed in relief.

"Now, there is much rebuilding to be done. Until Alexandria needs me, I shall be one of Tantalus. I'm going to make sure they don't steal," Dagger replied.

"What?!!?!" Baku shouted. Everyone laughed, except for Freya , whom was absent from the scene.

~¤~Freya~¤~

Freya sat on the balcony, gazing at the mist.

'Fratly... You're really dead, aren't you? I won't... It's not true. You're on your way back to me right now, right?'

'Right,' He would answer.

'And you'll hold me, you'll never let me go again, right?'

'Of course not,'

'Then I am content'

"Fratly..." Freya whispered, "You can't be dead... You were just with me this morning... You were smiling... Totally healthy and happy, despite what was going on, you were cheerful. Confident that we would make it... Curse you! Curse you for leaving me alone, just when I need you most!" Freya hurtled her lance down into the sea, repenting the action almost immediately. She would have to get Choco to retrieve it for her. Such a careless action. Something tugged at the edge of her consciousness. 'That I loved you...' Oh yes, she remembered now. Kuja. Her sworn enemy." Kuja...? Will you really help me get Fratly back?" She asked the silent wind.

"Yes..." A deep, yet slightly feminine voice whispered behind her. Before she had any chance to react, Kuja glided over to her and tilted her chin up in one, swift movement. He leaned down, and kissed her. (Wanna know what happens? See side paragraph titled 'My Only Gift')

~¤~One Week Later~¤~

The sun rose by Alexadria. Dagger was wearing jeans, an oversized T-shirt, and a red bandanna over her forehead. Two daggers were strapped to her waist, She gazed at herself in a mirror. "Erm... Blank?" She asked softly.

"Can I come in now?" Blank replied.

"Please do," Dagger replied. The door opened a crack, "Blank, come in," Dagger repeated, annoyance coating her voice. Blank stepped in.

"Ya look great!" Blank grinned.

"Do I really have to..." Dagger murmured.

"Yep, ya do," Blank nodded firmly.

"Very well..." Dagger blushed and cleared her throat, "Yo, Boss! We need ya in here!"

"Eh?" A voice floated into the room. Baku stepped in, he yelped in surprise.

"What? Blank asked.

"Now lookit! You've gone and turned the princess inta a hoodlum!" Baku scolded. Blank looked very surprised.

"But you ordered me to, boss!" Blank whined. Dagger giggled.

"Was my slang acceptable?" She asked.

"Yep, it was. Now, lets go steal treasure!" Baku began, "First we-"

"Oh no you don't!" Dagger exclaimed, "You're not stealing anything!"

"You ain't kiddin', eh?" Baku said, looking at her. Amused.

~¤~Quan's Dwelling~¤~

"Catch me if you can!" Vivi II yelled as he ran away from his brothers.

"No fair! You got a head start!" Cosmos, the youngest black mage complained. Moments later, Vivi II was caught by Demise.

"Well, this isn't fair! You have wings!" Vivi II moaned. Vivi laughed, his eyes bright and playful.

"Steiner, why don't we join in?" Vivi asked his old friend.

"What?!?!" Steiner seemed absolutely horrified by the mere though of playing.

"Come on! It'll be fun!" Vivi took Steiner's hand and dragged him over to the other mages.

"We wanna play too!" Wei's children chorused.

"Come on! Eiko, you too!" Vivi II encouraged.

"Alright! Now we're talkin'!" Eiko grinned as she joined in. They all had a lot of missed childhood to make up for.

"You know what grieves me most, Hilda?" Cid asked softly.

"What, Cid?" Hilda asked back.

"It grieves me that no matter how much these children play, they'll never be able to re-claim the innocence they lost to war..." Cid sighed.

"I know, Cid... I know..."

THE END

I dunno about a sequel... It depends on how many requests I get for one. Otherwise, this is truley THE END

WARNING!!! ALL OF THE SIDECHAPTERS ARE FLUFF!!!