The resistances base was unusually quiet. Soldiers were exhausted from fighting
the last battle, even though they had came out triumphant. The victory had been
a major, although temporary, one. And it had cost a lot of lives,
nevertheless...

Zidane Tribal's return had brought amazing hope to the people of the
resistance. For once, they had actually won a battle.

In the Council room, everyone was now conversing. They were all talking about
their latest victory and Zidane's, who was still knocked out,
return.

"I dare say, this is truly amazing. How can someone come back from the dead?"
asked Beatrix.

"I don't know, and I guess we'll never know until Zidane gets here. I don't
know why you waste your time thinking about things you were never meant to
understand." Amarant snorted.

"Amarant, you selfish fool!" shouted Steiner.

Amarant looked at Steiner, his face an expression of anger.

"Who's the fool here?! You're the one who has the rusty armor and the loud,
stupid voice!" Amarant repelled.

"How dare you!!!" screamed Steiner, who was jumping up and down.

"How did I loose to this pathetic group of fucking retards anyway. That Zidane,
dying one day, showing up another. He never changes. The fucking, ignorant
fool." Amarant insulted.

"Hey, you-don't go forgetting you lost to Zidane-" Eiko started shouting.

"Despicable brat." Amarant murmured softly, turning away from the team and
uttering a few cuss words.

-*-

"Fucking hell." Zidane muttered, dragging himself out of the bed.

If there was one part of his body that did not ache, he did not realize it. He
slowly decided this was not worth the effort and slipped back into bed.

-*-

Zidane awoke, cursing himself for not even attempting to get out of bed
yesterday. He slowly took in a quick glimpse of himself. There was nothing
obvious that was severely injured anymore.

There was a high pitched scream from the above room.

Instantly, his mind recognized the voice as Dagger's. Instinct told him it
could not be, would not be. Still. She had guards outside her door, right?
Just how would someone get in there without raising the alarm?

His mind went slightly alert when he remembered the nighthawks and their
amazing potential. They had nearly killed him when they plunged the Ultima
Weapon into his chest...

However, any doubts he might have had were cleared away in the next moment.

"Zidane, come upstairs, quickly. I have the queen. You'd best be quick,
my patience wears thin as a string..."

-*-

Beatrix cluched her sword.

"Let the queen go, fiend!" she shouted.

"Hahaha...Like I'm really gonna listen to you. Just shut up and stay still
until Zidane arrives, my little rose."

There was a loud noise as the door burst open, Zidane running in.

"Zidane!" Dagger screamed.

His eyes skimmed the situation, looking at both Dagger and her captor. He
immediately recognised the captor as Magus, who was holding his scythe to her
neck, where blood was trickling down.

"What do you want?" Zidane demanded.

"Touchy. No idle banter, Zidane?" Magus taunted, bring the scythe closer to
Dagger's neck, blood trickling onto it.

"Shut up and tell me!" Zidane shouted.

"Very well. Give me the location of the Time Matrix. I need it. Give it to me
or..." he added, gesturing a hand towards Dagger, "she dies."

Zidane's mind searched. The Time Matrix, a legendary device that could change
one's wishes and desires within seconds. It allowed for total, absolute
control over time itself. It was the most deadly weapon.

Dagger's face was swelled up. Tears trickled down her face. Fear threatened to
get the best of her and try to escape, which would mean an instant death. She
struggled to fight the rising fear down. Zidane would get her out of this,
wouldn't he?

Zidane's eyes scanned the situation. Obviously, this was a no-go situation, as
he would call it. There was simply no way to win. Save Dagger or save the Time
Matrix...

An impossible choice! If he surrendered the location of the device, there would
be no Gaian's left! Yet if he did not, Dagger would die. Millions of lives
versus one...

"My patience wears thin, Zidane. You have thirty seconds...Starting now." Magus
said with insane glee.

An impossible choice. Save Dagger or the matrix? Why was the fucking world so
unforgiving of everything?!

"Fifteen seconds...."

"This isn't happening!!!" he screamed in his head.

"Five seconds....."

Anything. There had to be a way out of this! There simply HAD to be!

"Three seconds..."

His mind jumped and he saw something Magus did not.

"Zidane, your time is up...."

A single strand of silver hair...