Title: Somewhere I Belong
Series: Final Fantasy 9
Pairing: Zidane/Dagger
Rating: T
Summary: (ZidaneDagger) Garnet is injured during their travels, to what lengths will Zidane go to save her life? Would he be willing to die for her? I also do change a bit of the storyline, ok, a lot of the storyline.

Disclaimer: All is owned by the entity know only as Square-Enix, and they reserve all rights to these characters and their likeness.

Author's Note: For those of you that are unfamiliar with my writing style, I'll warn you. I have a tendency to write from the first person of specific characters and then jump into the third omnipotent narrator person. So please bear with me. This jumping allows me to get inside the character's head and really tell you how they're feeling from their point of view. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the angst.

Author's Note 2: This is my first Final Fantasy 9 fic, so please consider that I haven't played the game in awhile. This story is my response to the somewhat amateurish stories out there that only have about 50 words as a chapter or try to use 'netspeak' as a language in the story example: 'u' instead of 'you', etc. While I do admire these writers for trying, I feel that they could have put a little more effort into the writing of their story since many of them have wonderful plots, its just the language used that kills the story. I don't mean to offend, but that's just they way I feel about that.

Now, on to the story, assuming that you're still with me.

With an effort I turn away from the ceremony. Today is the long awaited crowning of Princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII as Queen of all Alexandria.

Queen, I say to myself with a snort, she'll always be Dagger to me.

Resting my weight on the small wall of the terrace, I return my gaze to the ceremony.

Dagger is kneeling before the priest as he places the crown on her head. After reciting a prayer with the priest she rose. The cleric raising his arms to proclaim her the new Queen.

All around me there were shouts of joy and applause, with some reluctance I added my own applause, my weight still supported by the wall. I give her a small smile as she glances over to me, before her attention is drawn to Beatrix and Steiner approaching her.

Deciding that now would be the best time for me to leave, I quietly make my way from the terrace, all my skills as a thief coming in handy as I left the jovial atmosphere.

With a sigh, I limp down the steps from the recital of Dagger's ascension to the throne. The journey from the Lifa Tree having taken its toll on me.

Walking away, I hear the sounds of the recital fading into the distance. In 2 days time, she will be forever taken away from me, she will be Queen. And me, I shall still be a filthy thief, unfit to even glance in her direction or say her name.

"Zidane," my name being called stops my slow progress. I turn towards the voice, already knowing who it is, and yet wondering how she was able to escape her entourage. There, standing before me with an inquisitive look on her face is the Raven haired, brown-eyed beauty that I love, but can never love me in return.

"Your Majesty," I say as I turn, dropping the best bow I can manage without falling over.

"Zidane, please .. call me Dagger." She softly said as she approached me. Her dress pulled up to prevent the hem from dragging in the dirt.

"I'm sorry Dagger," I say with a forced grin.

"Why did you leave the recital early? We need to practice it at least once more."

"Dagger, I .." I begin but she cuts me off gently.

"Zidane, you know that I want you there. I need to know that you're ok with me becoming Queen and having to end our adventures." Having to leave you, she silently adds.

"Dagger, you were born to be Queen, that's your destiny. I have to accept that, as much as I wish you could keep traveling with us. You're place is here, with the people of Alexandria, as their Queen."

"But why are you leaving?"

I sigh before answering her, what am I supposed to tell her, the truth?

Dagger, I'm leaving your recital because I know that once the real thing takes place, I'll never see you again. As much as you may desire it, we could never see each other. Steiner will see to that personally. Dagger, I couldn't bare to spend a day without you, I love you. I love you more than my own life, I'd die to protect you! Yeah, I can just see her reaction to that now, she'd laugh at me. A thief marrying a Queen? Maybe in a Disney cartoon, but this is real life, not a cartoon.

"My leg is acting up, I was going back to the Inn to rest," I lie.

Well, it's a partial lie, my leg does hurt. During our trip back from the Lifa Tree, I was wounded by a falling piece of what once was an Alexandrian Battleship. I'm just lucky it didn't crush my leg or kill me, I was lucky to get off with just a sprain.

"Oh, well I will see you when you feel better then," with that she nods her head to me and returns to the recital.

"Yeah, maybe," I say once she's out of range. "but then again, maybe not."

I turn back to the direction I was originally going, the Inn in which Vivi, Amarant, Eiko, and myself are staying. Quina, is a different story, s/he took off once we arrived back in Alexandria. Fortunately for me, the Inn has a nice little tavern, and that is my ultimate destination, the bottom of an ale mug.

After what seemed an eternity, I managed to make it to the Inn. Since they knew who I was they didn't even bother to ask, they knew by now that I'd be wanting an ale, or a beer, or whatever it was they sold.

Sitting down at a table in the far corner, I gratefully lookup at the barmaid as she placed a mug on the table, that was over an hour ago.

Now I sit nursing what may be my third ale, I can't remember anymore, one mug looks like another, and so long as it has ale in it, I don't care.

Finishing off the mug in front of me, I decide I've had enough. Placing the gil on the table, I slowly make my way to the stairs, my progress hampered only by my leg. Long ago I learned a tolerance to liquor. Living with Tantalus, you'd almost have to, especially with Baku and Cinna.

Placing my foot on the bottom stair, I stop as I realize something, tomorrow is the big Card Tournament in Treno. I've been wanting to attend for years but have never been able to. Now that any chance I had with Dagger is gone, I have nothing holding me back.

With this realization in mind, I turn back to the door, destination Alleyway Jack. I'm hoping he may have some good cards I can buy off him.

So, with that as my goal, I limped out of the tavern and towards where Ruby had setup her mini-theatre, the moons granting light unto my path.

The next morning, as I was about to enter the Inn, I heard the voices of my companions. Curious as to what they were talking about, I decided to wait outside and find out.

"That Zidane.. Where did he go?" Freya asked in exasperation.

"Who knows.." Amarant replied from where he leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

"I'll go look for him.." Vivi said as he turned and ran into Eiko as she was coming down the stairs.

"Ahh! Hey, watch it! I'm NOT in a good mood right now! Stay out of my way!" She said with some heat, causing Vivi to take a step back. Before he could apologize Dr. Tot came in.

"Excuse me. Have you seen a young lady named Eiko?" Tot asked Freya.

"Oh! It's the nerdy guy!" Eiko said as she showed herself from where she was hidden by the shadow of the stairs, still chewing out Vivi.

"Ha ha ha.. You're as energetic as ever." Tot said with a good-natured laugh.

"Yup! I'm always energetic!" She said with a smile. But I'm actually hurting on the

inside from being rejected by Zidane.

"Did you say something?" Tot asked, thinking he heard the little girl mumble something.

"No, I didn't! Didn't you come here to talk to me about something?" She asked trying to get him to forget that she may have said anything.

"Oh, yes. I almost forgot.. Your village.. What was the name..?" Tot asked as he took out a piece of paper and a pen.

"Madain Sari," she answered with some pride, Tot jotting the name down on the paper.

"Yes, I wanted to ask you a few questions about Madain Sari," he said as he put the paper away and turned to face her.

"Sure, I'll tell you everything I know. You helped me out. But why don't we go to your place? We can relax there," Eiko suggested, Alexandria was getting boring.

"To my home?" He asked in surprise, "My home is located in Treno. It's a bit far from here."

"Treno? Sounds like a cool place! I'm really interested in sightseeing! I wanna go there," Eiko said, having found something new to keep her entertained.

Deciding that this could work to my advantage, I speak up.

"I'm coming too," I say as I walk through the door, or limped is more like it.

"There's a card game tournament going on in Treno right now. I wanna participate," I explain when I receive strange looks.

"A card game tournament? That sounds fun. I wanna go, too." Vivi said with enthusiasm.

"I'd like to go, as well," Freya added, just sitting here was beginning to bore her.

"Treno, huh..?" Amarant said from his corner.

"Ha ha ha.. Quite a party this is becoming. It would be my pleasure. We shall go to Treno," Tot said as he led the way to the Gargan Roo.

"Zidane," Freya whispered to me as we walked to the entrance to the Roo.

"Yeah," I said as we waited for the Gargant to arrive.

She moved closer until she was whispering in my ear.

"Where were you last night? When we came back to the Inn you weren't there."

I wasn't sure how to answer her question. After leaving Alleyway Jack, who did have a few good cards for sell, I pretty much just wandered the streets of Alexandria.

Well, wandered until I came to the Castle, that is. Reluctantly I silently made my way into the Castle grounds, avoiding the somewhat incompetent guards led by good old Rusty himself.

Scaling the wall using various trellises and balconies, I came to the one I knew better than any other. My room at the Inn had a perfect view of this window, Dagger's room.

I didn't knock, I made no noise what so ever, I just sat outside her window watching her sleep. All night I just sat there, watching her chest rise and fall with each and every breath she took. Not once did I become tired, not once did I fall asleep, and not once did I not want to open her window and go to her.

Sadly, or is it luckily, I managed to restrain myself from going to her, but as the first light of the new day reached her window I knew that it was time for me to leave. Standing, I took a single rose from my pack and placed it against her window, away from the soft breeze that threatened to steal it from Dagger.

Making my way quietly out of the Castle grounds, I passed several sleeping guards. Stifling a small laugh I creep past a snoring Steiner, asleep beneath Dagger's window.

Making my way back to the Inn I hear my friends talking, which leads me back to the question that Freya asked me.

"I went for a walk around town, to clear my head," I told her. She watched me for a few seconds before nodding and accepting it.

Sighing inwardly, I watch as the Gargant arrives.

"This is a Gargant?" Freya asks in astonishment.

"Yes. Shall we?" Tot says as he enters the Gargant's carriage.

Arriving a short time later, we all go our separate ways, Eiko with the promise to meet Dr. Tot later.

I head towards the arena where the tournament is being held, today is the last day to register.

After registering, I mean, who wouldn't when they learned the champion was a cutie in a sailor uniform?

Anyway, after registering, I play my first two rounds, winning both. After taking a small break to get a drink and a snack, I return to the arena to challenge the champion.

A short time later ..

"Congratulations, you're the winner!" The usher says as I play the final move, winning the match.

"So the champion was an airship pilot from Lindblum." I say to the girl as I stand and shake her hand.

"I'm Erin, the airship pilot! Nice to meet you." She says before a familiar Oglop hops into view.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm the champion!" Cid says with some heat, a 'Gwok' escaping in his haste to clarify whom the champion is.

"Hey, Regent Cid. Still an Oglop, I see," I say to the Regent, knowing that would tick him off. Sometimes I can be such a pain.

"And you still haven't learned any manners," he retorts.

"Cut me some slack, will ya? What are you doing here, anyway?" I ask as we begin to leave the arena, taking to talking in the street.

"Mainly participating in the tournament but there was something I wanted to test." Cid explained as he hopped onto a table.

"What are you testing?" I ask, knowing that's what he was waiting for. Hey, you don't live in Lindblum for most your life without knowing how Cid thinks.

"Our new airship, Hilda Garde 2!" he says proudly, swelling out his insectoid chest in pride.

"The one that can fly without Mist?" I ask him, surprised that they got it finished so fast.

"Correct.," he replies with what passes for a smile, "We can't go very fast yet, but we made it to Treno."

"Why now?"

"I have a funny feeling there'll be more trouble on the horizon," he answers, his voice in a whisper for just Erin and myself to hear.

"Don't you worry. I'm sure our almighty Queen Garnet will take care of everything," I say, my voice taking a mix of sadness, love, and a strange bittersweet longing that doesn't escape the Regent's notice.

Before he can comment Eiko runs up to us, her face showing absolute fear.

"Oh no! This is horrible!" she said as she stopped by my side.

"What's up, Eiko?"

"Oh, it's horrible! A moogle from Treno just told me-" she gasped out before Cid interrupted her.

"What's wrong? 'Gwok!'"

"It's Alexandria! Something horrible is happening!" she said as she began pulling me towards the Gargant.

"My friends, I may have a faster way than the Gargant," Cid said as Erin picked him up and began running to where they had docked the Hilda Garde 2.

As the ship approached Alexandria the devastation was obvious, as was the cause, Bahamut.

The King of the Dragons was currently laying waste to the town, the Castle his next target. As the Hilda Garde 2 passed over the Castle, Eiko jerked to attention. She began mumbling something about Alexander and Judgement, the next thing we all knew she had thrown herself from the prow of the ship.

Rushing to the side of the ship, we all watched to see her smash into the ground, but she was suspended in air, being drawn towards Dagger.

DAGGER! My mind screamed, but it quickly shutup as we all watched Dagger and Eiko summon what must have been Alexander.

As we watched, amazed, Alexander defeated the mighty Bahamut with Holy missiles fired from his impressive wings.

After we land the ship, Vivi vows to never ride another airship again. But the important part is that we overhear that Dagger is missing, along with Eiko.

Realizing that I should never have left her side, Cid, Amarant, Vivi, Freya, and myself all begin searching the Castle for them. first place to look is the balcony where we last saw them standing, at the very highest point of the Castle.

"Gee.. What is this?" Vivi asks when we arrive at the stairs that Dagger used to reach the hidden balcony.

"'Gwok!' So, this is the secret of Alexandria Castle," Cid said as he stared at the gigantic machine that had protected the Castle.

"Are Dagger and Eiko up there?" Freya asks as she points up the stairs.

"Maybe. Let's go see," Cid begins to say, but cuts off as I run up the stairs. "'GWOK!' What are you doing?"

"There's no point in all of us going. I'll take it from here," I say as I begin to move at my best speed possible.

"Wh-Why? I wanna go with you. I wanna help Dagger and Eiko, too," Vivi asks as he takes a step towards me.

"Kuja might destroy this Castle at any minute. Get out of here while you can. Go on, Vivi. Don't worry about me. Someday, you'll probably do the same thing for someone's who's really important to you. Dagger is more important to me than anything else," I explain to him and the others, Vivi accepts that with a nod, as do the others.

"Man, you make sick. I'm outta here. Next time you wanna play hero, don't even bother calling me. Later," Amarant says as he vanishes back into the Castle.

"I guess there's no way to stop you. But remember, this is not just your war, so don't even think about fighting Kuja now. As soon as you find Dagger, leave," Freya says as she places her hand on my arm.

"Alright," I reply.

"Come on, Vivi. Let's go," she says as she too disappears into the Castle.

"Freya. Wait," Vivi said quickly.

"Let her go, Vivi. He'll be alright," Cid reassured the young mage before he too left.

"Sorry I can't take you with me. But I have to go with my instincts on this one. I don't know what else to say," I tell him, hoping that he'll understand, he does.

"Okay, Zidane.. Good luck."

I only nod as he enters the Castle. Turning my eyes to the stairs in front of me, I ascend them as quickly as I can, making my way to the only place Dagger could be, the top.

As I approached the top, the entire thing began shaking.

"This can't be good," I say as I struggle to keep my balance.

As I regain my balance and continue up, I see a giant eye in the sky. I watch as it fires a beam at Alexander, and I watch horrified as he disappears.

The all hell breaks loose, I can see Dagger from where I stand. I can see that something is wrong, she staggers and falls. That's when the Castle around us begins to fall apart.

Realizing the danger they're in, I rush to save them, ignoring my leg when it protests.

Sadly I'm too late, I watch as the balcony Dagger is laying on breaks away from the Castle. As if in slow motion I see her sit up and realize that she was going to die there. I watch as she begins to cry out for help, but there's no one to help her. Eiko can't do a thing being trapped where the balcony had split.

Seeing a rope much like the one we used to swing to the Prima Donna when I kidnapped her, I grabbed it and dove off the Castle.

I landed with a small thump directly in front of her. Her eyes widen as I grab her to me. As she buries her head in my shoulder, I can feel her tears seep into the fabric and I can feel the smile forming on her face. Glancing up I see that Eiko had grabbed onto the rope a few meters above us. Tightening my grip around Dagger, I brace us for the rough landing that awaits us in the Castle courtyard.

Biting back the pain as my leg twists itself again, I stagger forwards and place Dagger on the ground, Eiko landing behind us.

"Dagger.. I'm sorry.. I don't know why I wasn't honest with you," I tell her as I clutch her to me in a hug I never want to end. She doesn't answer, but only smiles.

"Zidane.. We really made a big mess, didn't we?" Eiko asks as she comes up to us.

"We'll talk later! Let's get out of here!" I say as I try to stand, my leg buckling at first before I regain control of it.

"I'm all right," I say when I see the concerned look on Dagger's face, "come on."

I begin pulling them away from the crumbling Castle, but Dagger trips and I lose my grip on her.

As I limp to a stop, I turn to help her up, only to freeze in my spot. She hadn't tripped, she'd been caught by a piece of falling rubble. She now lay half-buried beneath the shattered rock, her blood seeping from between the pieces.

"DAGGER!" I scream as I put all my strength into getting to her side and getting her out.

As I begin moving the rubble, I feel my body enter into a Trance all on it's own. The strength I need to lift the bigger pieces coming easily now.

"Dagger," I softly say as I remove the last piece and take in her condition. Just from the looks of it, she probably has several broken bones, some internal bleeding, and a concussion. But I'm no Doctor, I can't tell for sure.

"Zidane, we have to get out of here," Eiko says at my elbow. Much as I hate to admit it, she's right. But I know I shouldn't move her, I could make it worse. Deciding that if I leave her it'll be much worse, I gently pick her up and cradle her to me.

"Let's go," I say to Eiko who takes the lead and takes us directly to Cid.

"Get them on the airship," he says as I stumble before him and slowly lower Dagger to the ground. "Call the medic, we must 'gwok' get out of here."

The last thing I am aware of before my strength and consciousness leaves me is Eiko patting my head telling me that Dagger will be ok. With a small smile I succumb to the black oblivion.

I'm pulled from the darkness of the oblivion I found myself in by a gentle hand touching my forehead.

Slowly opening my eyes I see an image blur into focus.

"Dagger," I say with a throat dry from not being used.

"Shh," she says as she takes a cloth and wipes the sweat from my head. "You've been unconscious for nearly a week."

"Dagger, I .." I manage to say before my eyesight clears. Sadly it isn't Dagger tending to me, but a nurse. She smiles when she sees my eyes focus.

"There, that's better. I'll go inform the Regent that you are awake." With that she leaves me to my thoughts.

The last thing I remember was falling at the feet, such as they were, of Cid as I carried Dagger from Alexandria, everything after that is dark.

Shaking the cobwebs from my head I look around the room I found myself in. I have no doubt that I'm in an infirmary, and from what the nurse said, it appears to be in Lindblum.

Taking a moment to look around, I take in my surroundings. There's a window next to me, showing me a grand view of the city. Attached to my arm are several needles and IVs, she said I was out for a week so they'd have to feed me somehow.

Feeling my strength returning, I toss the sheets aside and pull the saline bag stand closer to me. Planting my arms on the bed I manage to throw my legs over the side of the bed, my feet hitting the cold tile as I shakily stand. Using the bag stand as a support I make my way to the window, looking out I can see the repairs to the city. While it will take some time to be rebuilt, I have no doubt that it will be even more beautiful than before.

Raising my eyes at the sound of the door opening I come face to face with a worried Recent Cid.

"Regent," I say in way of greeting, turning back to the window and the view of the sunset.

"Zidane," he replies as he hops onto the bed I just left.

"How's Dagger," I ask him, not turning around so that he won't be able to see my anxiety. Hey, I do have a reputation to keep.

"Well, 'gwok' that's the problem. She's not waking up, the doctors have no idea why 'gwok'."

"Do they know if she will wake up?"

"I don't know," Cid replied, his moustache twitching.

I continue to stare at his reflection in the window, even though he's an Oglop right now, the worry over Dagger is still palpable.

"Take me to her," I say as I turn around, the nurse from before jumping as I quickly approach Cid.

"What?" he said in surprise.

"I said take me to her, I need to see her."

Cid only nods as he hops off the bed and begins leading me to Dagger.

"Regent, I must protest," the nurse said as she approached us. "He only just woke up, he needs his rest."

Cid looked at me a moment before answering.

"He seems 'gwok' strong enough, he is walking around 'gwok' after all."

"But sir," she began again.

"Hush," Cid chided her. "If he falls they're be a million nurses to help him, don't fret."

That had the power to effectively end the conversation. Cid began hopping again and I followed.

He led me down the hall to this floor's ICU. This hospital was designed with an ICU on every floor, they figured that would make it easier for the patients that needed treatment from that floor.

As I entered the room, I could feel a draft every time my tail swished behind me. Wishing that I had put on some pants, I entered and stopped dead in my tracks.

Before me was Dagger, bandages covering most of her body. She was hooked up to the respirator, so there were several tubes shoved down her throat, she also had more IVs than I did.

With a sigh I pulled a chair next to her bed and sat down, pulling the IV stand behind my chair, out of sight out of mind.

Raising my hand to her bed I gently take the limp hand lying there. Holding it in my own I gently run my thumb over the top as I watched her breathe.

It's ok Dagger, I'm here for you. I thought as I stared at her battered face.

".. multiple internal injuries, but they have been repaired with minimal invasive surgery. She has no signs of head trauma, for which we are thankful. Multiple broken bones and several fractured ribs. She may never be able to use her right leg again, the bones were too badly shattered. We've put it back together the best that we could, all we can do now is wait and pray."

"Thank you 'gwok' Doctor," Cid said once the Doctor had finished filling Zidane in on Dagger's condition.

"My pleasure Regent, if you need me please send the nurse to get me," with that the Doctor left the two alone with Dagger.

"It's lucky she's not dead," Cid said trying to console me.

"She should never have been injured in the first place," I say as I continue to hold her hand, occasionally stroking her face.

"My boy there was 'gwok' nothing you could have done to 'gwok' prevent it."

"I could have been there, then I could have done something."

"What could you have done?" Cid asked gently, trying to make me realize there was nothing I could have done.

"Something," I reply without looking up, "Anything. Anything is better than nothing and that's what I did for her, nothing," I spit out as guilt overtakes me.

"You saved her life, what more could you have done?"

I look at him in astonishment, Life? he calls this life?

"You call being hooked to machines to breathe life? Is this how Dagger would have wanted to live out her years? Hooked to a respirator for the next fifty or sixty years? No Cid, that's not life, that's not what she would want. She'd want to be able to walk, to sing, to dance, and to laugh! That is life."

I put her hand down as I realize I can do no good just sitting here. I'll admit, what I said is true, her being a vegetable breathing through a tube isn't living, but on the same token I wouldn't let her die either. I love her too much to not give her a chance.

"Where are you going?" Cid asked as I approached the door.

"To find some answers. Cid, promise me that no matter what happens, don't let them kill her."

"What?" He says as his bug eyes bulge in shock.

"Promise me!" I snap at him, let him figure out what I meant later, for now I don't have time for this.

"I 'gwok' promise Zidane. I won't let them kill her."

Nodding at him, I leave the room and make my way back to my own room and my clothes. For what I'm going to do I'll need to be dressed.

Leaving the city is easy to do, no one tries to stop me. Now, getting out of the hospital, that was not as easy. I had intended to just walk out of the building, considering I was well enough to travel. But the doctors and nurses tried to stop me, they tried to tell me that I wasn't well enough to leave.

Excuse me? But is this my body? I think it is, I'll be the one to tell you if I'm well enough to leave or not, thank you very much. And I say I'm well enough. Thankfully Cid came along and gave them an order to let me leave, I'll have to do something for him later.

Now as I am walking across the Mist shrouded lands, I keep an eye out. Not for monsters, which I'm watching for anyway. But I'm looking for some very special plants.

During my journey to find my home I came across an old women, well I guess she could be called a Witch. She studied the forbidden magicks.

I remember that I had fallen in a swamp, too tired from battling all the monsters to go on. When I woke up I was in a hut made of mud and reeds. I remember that I wasn't tired any more, but felt that I could walk the entire Mist continent several times.

I turned my head to see an old women watching me as she stirred a pot.

"Did you save me?" I asked her, she merely nodded. "Thank you, how can I repay you for your kindness?"

"Repayment is not necessary young one," she said as she ladled some of the broth into a bowl and hobbled over to me, placing it in my hands.

"Thank you," I said as I took a careful sip of the warm broth. I was surprised to find that it was rather delicious, full of meat juices and herbs no doubt found in the swamp. Finishing the soup I place the bowl back into her waiting hands.

"Surely there must be some way that I can repay you," I said again. To which she once again began to say it wasn't necessary when she stopped in mid sentence.

"You wish to repay me?" she said with a thoughtful look, to which I nodded.

"Very well, there is a way. But, I must warn you, it is difficult."

"I'll do whatever it takes, you saved my life and for that I am grateful."

"As you wish," she said as she hobbled over to a bookshelf and pulled a large leather bound tome from the dusty shelves.

"I am old, I do not have many years left on this planet. Before I die I wish to pass on the dying art of forbidden magick."

My breath caught in my throat when she said this, it was rumored that these magicks could transfer the life force from one being into another. It was also said that they could make gold from lead.

"I see you have heard of these magicks. Let me tell you this now, some of what you have heard is lies, and some is truth. As I teach you, you shall learn which is which. There is only one thing you must know before beginning; these magicks must only be used to help otherwise they shan't work at all. These spells come from your heart, and if your intentions are true the spell will be cast. If they aren't nothing will happen."

I only nodded my understanding as she placed the tome on my lap, instructing me to read. I read that tome and several others before she showed me how to cast the spells themselves. The books were merely the explanation of what the spells could do and when they should be used. The real magic was in the intentions of the person casting the spell and in the ingredients of the potion that accompanied the spell.

I stayed with her for several months, learning all the magick that she could teach me. Finally when she deemed me ready, I left her hut and returned to the world once again. I returned to Lindblum, my quest having proven fruitless. Upon my return Baku beat me before he allowed me to rejoin my family.

Now as I walked the lands once again, I was gathering the plants that I would need to make the potion. As fate would have it, I ended up in the very same swamp where I met the old woman.

As I moved through the swamp I managed to find every plant that I would need. I suddenly realized that was why she had lived out here, for access to the plants she needed. Finally I came to the same hut that I had studied in all those years ago.

With a smile on my face I entered through the closed door. But the smile soon faded, for lying there on the bed was the skeletal remains of the woman. I hope that she died peacefully in her sleep.

Turning around the room, I saw that all the materials for making the potions were still there. Knowing what I must do I set to work making the potion that would save Dagger's life.

Setting the heavy pack across my back, I watched as the hut was engulfed in the licking flames. I watched as the hut burst into flames as the dried materials inside caught and ignited.

Farewell old one, I thought as I turned my back on the inferno and began making my way out of the swamp, the potion securely tucked into my belt pouch.

It took me longer to get out of the swamp and back to Lindblum than it did to arrive in the swamp. My progress being hampered by the pack full of musty old books.

But within a few days I had arrived back at the gates of Lindblum, which opened upon my arrival.

"Where were you?" Eiko demanded as she stood waiting for me on the Castle steps, her hands on her hips.

"Out," I replied as I walked past her.

"Zidane," she called, but I ignored her until her next sentence caught my attention.

"Zidane, Dagger's worse, she's going to die soon."

I was frozen in my tracks when I heard this, had all my efforts been in vain? Would I lose the only person that I ever truly loved?

No! No, that wouldn't be the case, I wouldn't allow it.

"Eiko," I said over my shoulder. "I will be in to see Dagger in a few minutes. Please tell Cid that I've returned."

She began to respond but I was already out of range, making my way back to the room that Cid had given me.

Placing my pack on the bed I quickly scribbled out a note for Blank and Tantalus. Placing the note on the pack I left the room for the Hospital.

Upon my arrival, I was met with chaos. People were running everywhere, some of them not sure about what they should be doing.

Fearing the worst I made my way to Dagger's room where I found Freya and Eiko in tears.

"What's happening?" I asked, getting their attention.

"Zidane!" Eiko said as she threw herself at me, still in tears. "Its awful, they think Dagger is going to die soon."

I gently patted the little girls back as I removed her arms from my neck.

"Don't worry, I won't let that happen," I told her as I patted her head and moved towards the room.

"But how?" she asked, to which I did not respond. I had to get into that room no matter what.

Forcing my way past the crowd I was able to push into the room and see the chaos that existed there. Doctors were running around, injecting her with various needles, hoping to stabilize her without taking her into surgery.

"Cid," I said as I approached the Regent.

"Zidane, did you discover a way to save her?" he asked through tear-filled eyes.

"I did, but I need everyone to leave. The doctors can not help her now." I said in way of explanation.

Cid only nodded, realizing that there was no use asking questions. Calling to some guards he forced the doctors from the room, leaving me alone with Dagger.

Locking the door, I moved to stand by her side.

"Dagger," I called softly, knowing she couldn't hear me.

"Dagger, I love you and I want you to know that I'm doing this because of that love." Leaning down I gently kissed her lips, pulling away after a second.

Removing the potion from my pouch, I undid the stopper and poured the liquid down her throat as best I could. Kneeling by her side I began reciting the words of the spell I wanted to cast, my body beginning to glow with a pink color as the spell began to cast.

After half and hour of pacing, Cid was ready to order the door broken down.

"I can't 'gwok' stand much more. Guard, break the door down!" Cid ordered as one of his burly guards gave the door a good strong kick, shattering the lock and knocking it from it's hinges.

As the doctors rushed in the sound of crying assailed them. Jaws dropping in awe as they stopped a few feet inside the room. There on the bed was Dagger, crying as she held the lifeless body of Zidane.

"Zidane," Dagger said softly as she ran her hand over the engraved name. "Why did you sacrifice your life for mine?"

Dagger kneeled before the stone tomb of Zidane, the man that had given his life for her. She cried as she rested her head against the cold stone of the tomb door.

Everyday for the past six months, she had come here, asking the same question over and over again. Why?

Now as she sat there, everything the same as it had been each time she had visited before, her heart hurt as it pumped in her chest. His sacrifice had saved her life, his life force had healed all the injuries as though she had never been injured. As the doctors checked her over they couldn't even find any scars, something that Dagger knew she had once had.

"Your Majesty?" Beatrix said from behind her. "It is time to go, you are needed at court."

Dagger only nodded as she stood and brushed off her orange jumpsuit, before making her way back to the castle to change. Following Zidane's death, she'd had a new mission, to stop Kuja and end the killings.

Along with her friends she had succeeded, now Kuja would never harm anyone again. But now Zidane would never know his true purpose in life, or the very reason he exists. And in many ways it is better that he doesn't.

Now they were at peace, the Mist was no longer a threat and Kuja was dead. All that they had set out to do had been achieved, without Zidane.

Sniffling again, Dagger ran her sleeve over her nose as the sniffled, catching the tears that fell.

"Zidane," Dagger whispered as she took one last look at the tomb, "I'll always love only you."

Making her way to the castle and her awaiting duties, she was unaware of the tomb door slowly opening and an enveloping light spilling from the entrance.

"Your Majesty," a courtier began as Dagger took her seat upon the throne, her attention turned to the business of state.

"Yes?" she said as she lifted her eyes from the paper to look at the man in front of her.

"Your Majesty, you're birthday shall be coming up soon. We have arranged to have Tantalus perform a play for you in your honor."

"What play?" Dagger asked with feigned interest.

"I Want to be Your Canary, we have heard that it is a favorite of yours."

"Indeed," Dagger said in a non-committal tone. "When will the play be?"

"A few days Majesty, they will be arriving tomorrow and will be setting up all day. After that, they will perform the play. I've heard that they just recently added some new members to the troupe." He went on, thinking that he had her attention, but he had lost her when he mentioned new members.

They've replaced him, Dagger thought as she continued to nod to what he was saying, not hearing a word. But of course they would, he died, they would need someone to play his part. No one will ever be able to play it as he did.

Dagger was snapped from her thoughts when Beatrix placed her hand on her arm.

"Garnet," she whispered softly so that the court wouldn't hear. "You must focus, you need to run the Kingdom now."

"Yes, you are correct," Dagger whispered back before turning her full attention to the man that was still rambling on in front of her.

With a silent sigh, she settled into the tedious matters of running the Kingdom.

"Will you hurry up, we're gonna be late for rehearsals." Blank said to the man behind him.

"Relax, I know the play by heart," he replied with a negligent wave.

"That may be the case, but Baku will still have your head. He doesn't like new members to be late."

"I'm not all that new," the other man replied defensively. "I have been acting all my life."

"If you say so," Blank said with a shrug. "I just hope you know what you're doing. This role is difficult to play."

"Yes, but it will be worth it, trust me," he answered as he gave Blank a hopeful grin.

"'Bout time you showed up," Baku said as the two ran into the small rehearsal room in the back of the Prima Vista 2.

"Sorry," they replied in unison.

Baku only nodded and told them to start practicing.

Several days later, Dagger was in her chambers when Beatrix came for her.

"Your Majesty, Tantalus is ready to begin. They await your presence," she said with a bow.

"Thank you Beatrix," Dagger said as she stood from the chair that she had been resting in, looking out the window at the slowly rebuilding city.

"Come, let us go," Dagger then led the way to the balcony where she would watch the performance.

Arriving, Dagger took a moment to look over the newly rebuilt theatre ship, she was even more magnificent than her predecessor. She was gilded with gold around the stage and proscenium, the curtains were a fine red velvet edged in golden thread. Cid had not spared any expense in building this ship, for now she bore a multi-leveled stage and several more trapdoors and new special effects.

Dagger thought that Tantalus deserved a new ship like her, they did after all lose a friend and member when Zidane died. Not only that but they had done so much to help her during the quest to defeat Kuja.

"It's been so long.. I can't wait to see everyone. But.. It'll never be the same.. I have to let

go of the past.. I have to move on, just like he taught me," Dagger said under her breath as she stepped onto the dais where her throne was seated.

With a wistful sigh, Dagger sat and waited as Baku came out dressed as King Leo and announced the beginning of the play.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Tonight's performance is a story that takes place long, long ago. Our heroine, Princess Cornelia, is torn from her lover, Marcus. She attempts to flee the castle, only to

be captured by her father, King Leo. Tonight's story begins when Marcus and Cornelia decide to run away together. And now, Your Royal Majesty, Queen Garnet, Lord Steiner, Lady Beatrix.. ..noble ladies and lords, and our rooftop viewers, Tantalus proudly presents 'I Want to Be Your

Canary'!" With a bow 'King Leo' disappeared behind the curtains as the stage lights dimmed and the play began.

The Lights return as the curtain is drawn, revealing Cornelia and Marcus.

"Marcus?" Cornelia says hopefully.

Marcus in a robe, enters and embraces Cornelia.

"Sweet Marcus, I fear I love thee more than I should," Cornelia said as she buried her head in his robe.

"Princess.. Wilt thou be happy, married to a lowly peasant such as I?" Marcus asks as he gently pulls her away from him so that he can see her face.

"Prithee, call me 'princess' no more! Marcus, wilt thou truly cherish me, the king's only daughter? Or is such a desire too dear to wish for? After the nuptials, shall I become no more than a puppet? A mindless puppet, never to laugh, never to cry? I wish to live my life under the sky. At times I shall laugh, at other times cry. For no life is more insincere than that lived as a masquerade."

"So much consideration thou hast given it! But worry not! Cast away thy trappings of royalty, and I shall swaddle thee in a gown of pure love! Never again will I part from thee! Pray, my love, make me thy canary to keep me forever in the cage of thy bosom! Let us embark on the first ship tomorrow, before dawn can tell of our elopement!"

"All my fortunes at thy foot, I lay, and I shall follow thee throughout the world!" She said in promise.

"No cloud, no squall shall hinder us!" He replied.

With one last long look, Marcus then vanished offstage, leaving Cornelia alone with her thoughts and their promise.

"O, love is the sweetest joy and the wildest woe. All I wish is to be by my sweet Marcus's side."

"Fie! It shall be war again unless this marriage is stopped. Ne'er will I let their plan come to fruition," Blank said to himself as he entered the stage.

"Good day to ye, Highness," he said as he addressed the princess

"Good day.." she replied.

"Wist thee of Marcus?" he asks as he steps closer to her.

"Marcus? What news dost thou bring?" she asks in joy as she grips his arm.

"This!" Saying that Blank knocks her unconscious and takes her away offstage.

The lights fade on their scene and rise moments later s King Leo walks out on stage.

"Where is she? Where has mine only daughter gone?" He calls as he looks around for Cornelia. Blank enters from offstage, approaching the king.

"Blank, good man! Hast thou seen Cornelia?" he asks the young man.

"Worry not, Majesty. I shall make sure Cornelia marries Prince Schneider. Be thou at ease." Blanks assures the man.

"At ease, sayest thou?" King Leo says suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at Blank. "How can I rest, not knowing she is safe? Could it be..thou hast betrayed me?"

"But my troth, sir," Blank said in shock, "I betrayed none other than poor Marcus!"

"Thou had the gall to betray thy dearest friend. Wouldst thou not betray me as swiftly?" the king asks as he reaches for his sword.

"Stay thy hand, I merely.." Blank says as the king draws his sword and slashes him.

"I merely sought a lasting peace between the two kingdoms!" Blank said with his last dying breath.

Benero and Zenero enter from off stage and approach the body of Blank and King Leo..

"The traitor is dead!" Zenero says as he kneels beside Blank's still form.

"O, cruel fate!" Benero says as he too mourns his death.

"You two.. " King Leo says as he gains their attention. "Quickly, find Cornelia and bring her before me!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Benero said with a bow.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zenero echoes as he too bows, before both exiting the stage.

"Wretched daughter! How dare she disobey her father's wishes!" Leo bellows before he too leaves the stage. The lights dim, allowing Blank time to exit before they once again rise, this time showing Marcus waiting.

"The time for our departure is long past. Where is Cornelia?" Marcus asks to the winds.

"Marcus, the ship soon embarks! Board ye this boat alone, and peace could come to both kingdoms, as Blank so said. Speak, Marcus!" Cinna begs of him companion.

"She told me that she could not live without me. So, the sun is our enemy, too. The eastern sky grow bright. Will we not spread our wings, as yonder birds in joyous flight?" Marcus replies to Cinna's demand.

"Hark, Marcus! They cannot wait any longer! The ship departs!" Cinna says as he leaves the stage, leaving Marcus to his thoughts.

"Could she have betrayed me?" He asks himself, pausing a moment to consider. "Nay, ne'er would my love speak false. I must have faith! She shall appear if I only believe! As the sun lends me no ear, I pray instead to the twin moons! I beseech thee, wondrous moonlight, grant me my only wish!"

Marcus then pauses again for full effect, reaching to the front of his robe as he begin to deliver his last line.

"Bring my beloved Dagger to me!" He says as he rips the cloth from his body, revealing Zidane, very much alive, standing on stage.

The audience lets out a collective gasp when they see him, many knowing that he had died.

Zidane's eyes turn up to the balcony where he knows that Dagger is watching from. He frowns when he no longer sees her, but soon turns his thoughts to the person forcefully making their way through the crowd of people.

I watch as she pushes people out of her way, tears rolling down her face as she runs towards the stage. At one point she gets knocked back by some people in front of her. I watch as her eyes goes wide when she realizes her pendant is flying off her neck. I see her hesitate for a moment, in that moment I know that this decision will tell me where her heart truly lies; her kingdom, or me.

She hesitates but a moment, her eyes watching as the pendant bounces along the ground, before she makes her choice. Returning her eyes to me, she continues to run to me. I let out the breath I wasn't even aware I was holding, as I see her toss her crown to the ground and race up onto the stage.

I open my arms as she runs to me, her arms open and tears continuing to fall. She crashes into me, wrapping her arms around me, proving to her that I am really there. The force of her impact makes me stagger a bit, countering the possible fall I spin her around so that we can both regain out balance.

Setting her back on the deck I look into her tear filled eyes and give a small smile and a shrug. She returns the smile but then her hand balls into a fist and begins pounding on my chest, letting out the pain she felt when I left.

I only close my eyes, allowing her beating to continue, I deserved it after all. I left her when I promised that I wouldn't.

I open my eyes when she her fist stops hitting me, looking down I see her shining eyes looking back at me.

"Are you really here?" she whispers as she stares at me.

"I am," I reply as I hug her to prove it.

Ironically that's when I become aware of the cheering from the audience. In our moment I had forgotten that they were there, I can tell by her face that she had as well.

She smiles up at me and slowly pulls away, her hand trailing down my arm until it reaches and grasps my hand.

"Come on," she says as she begins to pull me towards the castle.

With a laugh I follow her through the crowd, enduring the good-natured mauling from those that are happy to see me alive. Somewhere along the way she retrieved both her crown and the pendant.

Throwing open the door to her private chambers she leads me in. closing the door behind us, I barely have time to turn when she has once again thrown herself at me.

"Dagger," I say as I stroke her hair. "It's okay, I'm here and I am never going to leave you again."

"I .. I .. saw you die. You were .. dead." She managed to say through her tears.

"I know, but I had to save your life," I told her as I slowly pulled her toward the bed. Sitting her down beside me I continued to hold her.

"Zidane?" she said after a few more moments of crying.

"Yes," I said as I looked down into her face, already knowing the question she would ask me.

"How .. you were dead," she repeated, I merely chuckled.

"The same way I saved your life, Forbidden Magick."

She only nodded, not questioning how I knew forbidden magick, not yet anyway.

"Before I went to your room, I wrote Blank a note and sent him the book that taught me the forbidden magick. In the note I told him exactly what to do and when to do it."

I paused to take a deep breath before I continued on, pulling her closer to me.

"I knew that the spell I was going to cast would kill me, it was supposed to transfer my life energy into you. It would strengthen your energy and heal you, while I would die. But from reading the many books that my teacher had, I learned that only spells done out of love, true and pure love, would the one casting the spell not die. I knew that some life force would remain with me, but not much."

"But how did you survive? You were dead, your energy was transferred to me."

"Yes, it was. The note I sent Blank told him how to make a potion that would slowly allow me to regain my strength. After you put me in the tomb, he sneaked in and gave me the potion, saying the spell I wrote out for him. It took a while for the potion to work it's way throughout my body, three months in fact."

"Why so long?" she asked as she looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes, the tears no longer flowing.

"Well, I was technically dead, Dagger. It takes awhile for the potion to be absorbed by my body. After those three months it was only a matter of time before I regained my strength. How long it takes depends on the person who cast the spell and the one the spell was cast on. Blank truly wanted me to return, and since there was still a spark left in me, it didn't take as long as some of the other recorded castings did. Some of them took years to regain their strength."

Dagger was silent as she sat next to me, my arms still around her shoulders.

"When did you wake up?" she asked in a small voice.

"The day before Tantalus arrived in Alexandria. Blank setup a way for me to exit the tomb when I awoke. When I got outside he was waiting for me, and from here we took a cart to be picked up by the Prima Vista 2. Once onboard I convinced Baku to let me play Marcus, and you know the rest."

"Zidane," Dagger said after several minutes of silence, time in which I left all that I told her, sink in.

"Yes Dagger?"

"Why? Why did you sacrifice your life for mine." She asked as she began to cry again.

My heart broke to hear the pain in her voice. Gathering her against my chest I held her as she cried.

"Dagger, I didn't want to see you die. You have your whole life ahead of you. You are the Queen of Alexandria and must rule. Me, I'm just a thief. My life is expendable compared to yours."

"No!" she screamed as she pulled away and hit my chest. "NO, don't say that! You're not expendable, you're not! I need you, if no one else does, I DO!" she cried as tears rolled down her face even harder, soaking her white gown.

There was nothing I could say to her, no words to express how much her words meant to me. In my heart I knew that she loved me, and that I truly loved her. There was only one option left to me as I watched her cry.

I once again pulled her against my chest as I held her, my hand gently cradling her head as my other arm held her against me.

"Dagger," I whispered when her tears began to taper off. "Dagger I love you."

She sniffled and looked up at me.

"Zidane," she said softly before she pulled my head to hers. As our lips touched it was like a thousand bolts of lightning were travelling along my body. I could tell she felt the same for both our knees gave out and we fell back on the bed.

While we were aware of the soft, pillowy mattress beneath us, we didn't care. We only cared about splattering kisses across each other's face.

Slowly and reluctantly, Dagger pulled away from me. For a moment she looked deep into my eyes before gently kissing me one more time.

"Zidane," she said as she pulled away. "I love you too."

No amount of words could express the joy I felt when she said that. I could only smile as she leaned down to me once again.

The End.

So, that really wasn't that horrible, was it? Remember, read and review.