Disclaimer: We do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the related characters, places, etc.
A/N: If you by any chance have read our reviews (which you probably haven't) you probably noticed a review from our good friend 'French Maid'. Thanks Marc! Now, if you have played Final Fantasy VII and know what Cloud looks like, we all know him and Zidane look totally different. He for some reason thinks that Zidane is the reincarnation of Cloud (even though Zidane's hair is a different shade and he has a tail). And since our telling him that he is wrong isn't helping, maybe you could help! Review and yell your hearts out at him! (But leave some room for an actual review, because we like reading them! ^_^)
Silver Dragon Goddess: We are so happy you skipped your homework for stories! (Especially ours!) We do it all the time! Oh! And thanks for the compliment!
Aya yahiko: Do we even need to say it? Thank you sooo much for keeping up with our story! We love you to death for it!
An Unpleasant Surprise
When Dagger awoke the next morning, the first thing she noticed was that Zidane was gone. The second thing she noticed was that Amethyst was lying in his place. "What's wrong sweetie?" Dagger asked rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
Amy looked up at her with the sweetest face she could muster. "I'm hungwy." Dagger smiled and got out of bed, pulling her robe around her.
"Alright sweetie, in a minute." Quickly, Dagger ran a comb through her hair. When she finished, she took Amy by the hand and walked down the stairs to the dining room. She sat Amy in her booster seat and took the chair next to her.
Quina came waddling from the kitchen. "What you want eat?" S/he asked.
"I want waffles!" Amy exclaimed as she bounced up and down in her chair. Quina nodded and turned to Dagger who was staring out into space.
"And you?" Quina asked interrupting her thoughts.
"Oh!" Dagger blushed slightly. "Um, I'm not that hungry this morning. I'll have a bagel." Quina nodded and waddled back into the kitchen.
"Did you have fun last night?"
Amy looked up, "Yeah! I pwayed with Zak. And Daddy and Uncle Marcus and Bwank told me a story!"
"Did they now? Which one?"
"The one about them saving you. Daddy is weal hewo isn't he?"
"Yes, your Daddy is a very brave man." Dagger smiled just as Quina waddled back into the room carrying two plates.
Dagger was spreading some butter on her bagel when the doors to the dining room flung open. Standing there was Beatrix and Steiner. "Your Majesty!" Steiner said as he struggled to catch his breath. "I must talk to you outside!" Dazed and confused, Dagger nodded and walked to the door and shut it behind them.
"What's wrong?"
"Your Highness…" he hesitated.
"What's wrong!?" she was starting to get scared.
"There was reported an airship crash near Madin Sari."
"Zidane wasn't on that ship was he?"
"Please, Your Highness, calm down."
"He wasn't on that ship, right?" Dagger asked, growing more and more agitated.
"……It was one of Cid's ships. We think he was on it."
Silence rang across the Great Hall. Dagger stood in shock for a long time, not speaking, hardly breathing. "Beatrix and I are taking the Red Rose to the crash site right now."
"And I'm coming with you!"
"Your Highness, you must stay with the Princess!"
"She's coming too! She deserves to know what's happened to her father!" Steiner didn't have a comeback for this. Turning on her heel, Dagger stomped back into the dining room. Beatrix was sobbing into her hands, and Amy was patting her back.
"Beatwix, Beatwix don't cwy. Be a big girl!" Amy said through a mouthful of waffles. Looking up just enough to make eye contact she nodded. Dagger ran to Amy's side and grabbed her arm.
"Come one, we're leaving." She said bluntly.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going to see Daddy."
"Your Highness!" Beatrix exclaimed standing up.
"Beatrix, don't you dare tell me what I can and can't do!" Dagger snapped, using her spare hand she pointed a finger at Beatrix. "My husband may be dead, and you are telling me that I can't go to make sure that he's alright?!" Without warning, Dagger collapsed in a heap and started to cry. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she pounded the floor with her fists.
"Your Majesty, I understand." Beatrix said lending Dagger a hand. Dagger took it and stood back up, rubbing the tears out of her eyes with her robe sleeve. Amethyst took off up the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Dagger called after her.
"Getting dwessed!"
"We don't have time sweetie, we're leaving now." The child looked up at her mother with confusion, but didn't question her. Instead, she ran back down the stairs and grabbed tight onto her mother's hand and followed her to the airship dock.
The ride there was very quiet. No one spoke except for Amy. Nobody had told her what was going on, so she didn't know why everyone was so grim.
"Cheer up Mommy!" She waddled to where Dagger sat in a chair. Unsuccessfully, she tried to smile, but she only started to cry again. She grabbed her daughter and pulled her into a tight hug. "Mommy, you're squishing me!" but, despite Amy's complaints, Dagger continued to hold onto her and cry. After several minutes Amy struggled her way out of the embrace.
"What's wrong Mommy?" she asked. To Dagger, it seemed that the child's eyes could see right through her. Feeling ashamed, she wiped her tears again with her sleeve.
"Your father…"
"Don't worry 'bout him, Mommy. I can hear him, he's awight." Dagger stared with amazement and fear at the toddler. Her eyes then darted down Amy's tail, could she be part genome?
"Y-You can hear him?"
"Yeah," she said as if it were nothing, "He says he's awight."
"Can you talk back to him?"
"I don't know…" Amy shuffled her feet nervously. "I never twied."
"Can you try now? Try for Mommy!" Amy nodded and did as she was told. Her eyes fluttered open and shut, with nothing but the whites. It appeared as if she went into some sort of trance. Her little face was pale and tense, showing her concentration. To Dagger, it looked like she was going to have a seizure any minute.
Seconds later, she looked up at Dagger again. "I did it!"
"What did you tell him?" Dagger asked excitedly.
"I told him dat I love him, and we're coming for him." Dagger sighed, wow.
"Good job, Amy!" she praised.
"Attention: We are preparing to land!" the pilot's voice came over the intercom.
"Come sit on my lap, Amy." With outstretched arms, Amy ran to where her mother was sitting and did as she was told. A small thud signified that the ship had landed. Steiner and Beatrix ran into the room Dagger and Amy were waiting.
"We're going out to search."
"And I'm coming!"
"Your Highness…" Steiner sighed but he knew he wouldn't be able to hold her back. "I trust that Princess Amethyst will be staying though."
"I'm coming too!" she argued getting up from her mother's lap.
"It's too dangerous Amy, please stay here, I don't want you to get hurt!" Dagger pleaded. With her arms crossed and her lip puffed out, Amy sat down on the ground.
Tying her robe in a double-knot, Dagger followed Steiner and Beatrix to the crash site. Broken wood was scattered everywhere, and bodies were crumpled up and/or crushed under something. Maybe she was imagining it? Could Zidane survive something this drastic?
"You're going the wong way!" Amy's voice carried over the air. Dagger spun around and to see that Amy had gotten off of the ship anyway and was standing beside the ramp.
"Amy! I told you to stay inside!"
"But Daddy's over dere!" she pointed to the place where the pileup was the heaviest. "He told me!" Giving a skeptical look at her daughter, Dagger followed her finger. Careful not to trip over any of the rubble, she walked on. As she was on her way, she stepped onto a board, and she heard a voice under her.
"Ow!" the sudden voice made her jump, but she knew who it was.
"Zidane?! Honey?! Are you alright!?" Peering through a crack, she could make out the blonde hair and an eye peering back at her. She desperately tore through the debris. When Steiner and Beatrix saw her, they helped.
Before long, they had uncovered him. His hair looked brownish with all the dust, and he had dirt all over his face. Steiner helped him stand up. When he was successfully on his own two feet, he turned to Dagger and hugged her.
"Aren't you hurt?" she asked into his shoulder. She pulled away so that she could look at him. Apart from being very dirty, she couldn't find one thing wrong with him. No bruises, not even a scratch. "No one else survived…" she mumbled, almost so he couldn't hear.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Amy ran across the wreckage so that she could also hug him.
"Amy! You're still in your jammies!" he chuckled, then he looked at his wife, "So are you!"
"We came as soon as we heard."
"Thanks." He said as he wrapped an arm around Dagger and picked up Amy with the other hand. I really am the luckiest man on Gaia.
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