A/N: NEW! Yes, this is another chapter where things will be slowed down and I will add stuff.

Updated: 13/02/05

Disclaimer: (sigh) if I've said it once, I've said it before. I don't own Final Fantasy XI. The plot is mine, and that is copyrighted! And now, the chapter you've all (not) been waiting for!

Dagger wanted to scream in rage and fright. She could barely lift her feet! How was she supposed to fight? She glanced at Garland, who was far away, safe, at the control panel. He was shaking his head, perhaps in disappointment.

Suddenly, Dagger felt something flare inside her, something that felt very like Trance, but not quite. She gripped her Rod tighter. Abruptly, she knew what she was feeling. Determination. The fiery determination to win, determination to triumph against impossible odds and determination to prove to Garland that she was not weak. Newfound strength coursed through her, she didn't even think for a moment about summoning, not that that would have helped much, and Garland had restricted her from doing so.

She broke into a run, heading towards her attackers not at a very fast speed, but fast enough. The energy and strength she that coursed through her came not from her weapon, but from her heart, her will to succeed. She leapt high up, trying to imitate Freya, and landed on the nearest reptile's back. Or at least its lower back. If not for her training, she sincerely doubted she would have gotten off the ground.

As it was, Dagger landed somewhere below the wing joint. For a split second, she scrabbled frantically against the slick scales before her brain caught up with her. With a quick flick and twist, she hooked her scythe through the dragon's thick hide and in to its flesh, flipping herself up as she'd been taught. Landing on its neck she swiped it over and over again. With the aid of her Rod to propel her and a good deal of luck, she leapt from one dragon to the next, stabbing and slashing their weak points furiously.

She gasped in pain as one of the great claws ripped through her flesh, tearing the back of her jumpsuit. She could feel the poison entering her bloodstream, but she couldn't be bothered with that now. To be constantly on the move was crucial, as it was, many a Thundaga and Firaga had grazed or glanced her, tiring and weakening her considerably. She knew that if it hit her point blank, she was doomed.

She used her Rod to pierce the monsters again and again. Finally, the second Dragon collapsed. She stood up, shakily rasping out a Cura to try and seal up her many wounds while gulping down an antidote that she had gotten from her pocket. Although tired, she faintly realized that her magic wasn't working quite as well as usual, but she dismissed the thought due to her exhaustion.

She turned to face Garland triumphantly, not showing any of the pain that she was feeling despite the fact that she was on the brink of collapse. Even from a distance, she could see his mouth opening and closing in astonishment. She crossed her arms and lifted her head in defiance.

……

What.

On.

Gaia.

Just.

Happened?

Garlands mouth hung open like a goldfish. How could she adapt so fast? How could she take the pain so easily? The Dagger he thought he knew would have been knocked out from one Poison Claw attack! Never in his life did he expect this to happen, he thought that he had seen in it all when his previous student astounded him by managing to get used to the heaviness a week after he cast it, and the boy had been in training much longer than her!

Queen Garnet was a much faster learner than he imagined. Let's just see how fast, he thought with a grin.

……

Dagger knew that something was up the moment she saw that smile. Even as she tensed up her already weak body, she couldn't help noticing from the back of her mind, that she had survived the attack. She was sure that she would have been rendered unconscious by the numerous cuts and the huge slash on her back. Many of them had yet to heal, but she was still standing, and that was a lot of difference from before.

The sound of thunder broke her thoughts. Wait a second, she wondered, there isn't even a sky in here! She turned around slowly, not of weight of body, but of dread of heart. She gaped at the scene before her. Gods of Alexandria, eidolons of life, summons of Madain Sari, help me, she prayed.

Charging at her and forming a ring around her to ensure no escape, was almost every beast imaginable. There were dragons, Earth Creatures, Metal Men, undead monsters, and many more that she had long forgotten, all surrounding her. There were far too many to count, she didn't even want to know how many there were! All she knew was that she was doomed.

"Garland!" she screamed frantically. "I can't handle this many! Take them away!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Garland leaning against the controls smugly, and smirking. She felt anger burning in her chest and wash over her. How dare he mock her so? Maybe she shouldn't have been so defiant, but she was just trying to prove a point! If there's one thing I'm sure of, she thought angrily, I'll win this match or die trying.

Most likely die trying.

……

She gasped in pain as a Zaghnol rammed into her, flinging her aside. A wave of zombies and other undead creatures came rushing after it, trying to trample her. She narrowly avoided being pounded into the ground. Throwing Phoenix Down at the Undead while knocking out an Ash, she leapt around in total disarray; being pierced by Cactuars that she couldn't see didn't help either. Dagger tried to defend and attack at the same time, only to fail completely. Many creatures fell at her feet, but many more avoided her panicked thrusts and got to her. For every creature she killed, another two more attacked.

Already, her body was getting more and more sluggish, as the creatures finally broke down her defenses; she fell to her knees under the unbearable rain of blows. She screamed something incoherent before her body failed and her mind blacked out.

……

Garland watched in amusement as Dagger fought desperately. She was only acting out of instinct, and obviously was not at her best. She had killed or mortally wounded over twenty monsters by now, judging by the corpses littered around her lithe figure. He winced as a Tonberry's knife narrowly missed her.

Suddenly, she seemed to have gathered her wits and held back the endless wave of attackers, ignoring her deep wounds. Then, she faltered and they washed over her.

Before the mass of monsters covered her completely, he could distinctly make out the words she yelled. "ALEX... PROTE- SARI-"

He sighed, obviously she wasn't all that good, as he suspected. Still, she had already done far better than he thought she would. Then again, who could be that good? He doubted that even he could defeat such great numbers, with or without magic. Not even an eidolon could stop that frenzied mass.

He pulled back the lever, to take the monsters back in. Nothing happened except that their attack became more violent. He frowned in confusion and pulled the lever down again. Still nothing happened.

Sweat formed upon his brow as he jabbed buttons and controls, the machine didn't respond! It was obviously malfunctioning, or either that, the monsters were too close to killing the young summoner that they refused to give up until she had drawn her last breath. What kind of teacher was he to have his student killed in a mere month?

Abruptly, he stopped as a movement from the field caught his eye. It was a body, slowly rising. A body! He turned around to gape at the miracle taking place before him. As Dagger's bloodied and bruised body floated above the midst of horrors, light began to glow of her, a rainbow hue that the monsters paid no attention to. They continued to jump, trying to tear her apart.

As yet another claw pierced her already broken body, the seemingly motionless Dagger screamed suddenly. She screamed and screamed. A high- pitched inhuman sound. Garland covered his ears even while he stared at the jerking, bucking figure.

A blinding burst of light caused him to throw one arm up to shield his eyes. Even with both arms held protectively in front of him and eyes closed, he could still feel the searing light through his eyelids.

With an almighty, explosive boom, the ground shook and trembled, the force of explosions and movement flung Garland of his feet. He lay huddled against the wall, afraid to rise should something happen again. When at last he thought that it was over, he stood up, blinking dust out of his eyes.

He stepped forward hesitantly, rubbing his eyes and blinking several times, as though he wanted to make sure that he wasn't being deceived. Through swirling clouds of dust, he could see the bodies of the monsters he sent, dead on the ground, just like that. But, that wasn't what amazed him, he thought he saw a very mirage-like building... one that he had no trouble remembering. He shook his head; it couldn't be... Not that one.

Still shaking his head, he picked his way over corpses, carrying his shallow-breathing pupil away. Not even an eidolon, eh? He reflected, remembering his thoughts moments ago, he didn't expect to be proven wrong so fast. This would require some thinking...

……

It was early morning in the city of Alexandria, shops were opening, children were running about in the bright sunshine while their mothers frantically chased them, merchants were bossing customers around. Yes, it was a typical morning in the kingdom.

This was not so for a beautiful lady who stood on a balcony. Her medium brown hair shone in the early sunlight, and her eyes (one of them was covered by some sort of decoration.) had bags under them, evidence that she had not gotten a wink of sleep the for the past few nights.

General Beatrix sighed and massaged her head gently as the two behind her began arguing again.

"If it was not for you in that armor, we would have caught her!" yelled Eiko.

"What?" squawked Steiner. "Me? You were the one jumping up and down like a monkey! Whining like a Metal Man with rusty joints!"

"Me?" screeched Eiko, putting her hands on her hips. "You were the one making more noise than a herd of Zaghnol! You're getting old!"

"Old?" sputtered Steiner. "You're the one who-"

"Well, you're the one who-" shouted Eiko.

"Will both of you please stop yelling!" shouted Beatrix, cutting them both off with a murderous glare, both of them shut up, knowing that it wasn't wise to challenge the general in such a mood. She sighed; none of them had slept since their disastrous failure to follow Queen Garnet weeks ago. What was truly annoying was the fact that Steiner and Eiko kept dragging up old battles.

"Look." she said in a calmer voice. "It was nobody's fault. We shouldn't even have followed her in the first place. We might as well be ready to explain what happened to Freya and the rest when they-"

She stopped abruptly, both she and Steiner were gazing at Eiko who was standing rigidly.

"Dagger..." mumbled Eiko, eyes sliding out of focus before she collapsed.

"Eiko!" Steiner and Beatrix yelled, hoisting the girl up. She was shaking and trembling all over, she couldn't seem to concentrate, and her eyes were looking at something invisible to others, rolling wildly.

She gasped, as she saw something in her minds eye. "Nooo!" she screamed, writhing in the two knights' iron grip. Beatrix put a gentle hand on the convulsing girl's horn, a muttered spell brought Eiko back to her senses.

Eiko held her head in her hands, breathing rapidly. "There's something happening," she mumbled, refusing to meet their eyes. "Something's going on with Dagger."

"Eiko," said Steiner, panicking. "What is it? What just happened to you?"

She raised her head, and they could see tears in her eyes from what she had just witnessed. "I just had a… a premonition" she began, seeing the blank looks on their faces, she continued. "A glimpse of what was to be. My grandpa once told me that... that I'd experience this when something big was about to happen. I saw everything clearly, but I didn't understand it."

"Tell us what you saw," said Beatrix calmly, despite the fact that she wanted to scream and cut some monsters down for the sake of it.

"A huge, dark cloud, there were no images. My grandpa said that there usually are pictures, but...but this has to mean something! I just saw that cloud, it was terrifying, making dark promises that evil shall be unleashed," she blurted out, unable to control her fear. "It was evil. There was even a voice, someone was there trying to stop the cloud! He sounded kind of like...like Zidane."

Both her listeners gasped at her statement, thinking that perhaps they should bring the young girl to Doctor Tot for the sake of her mental health.

"But, it wasn't him," she continued, oblivious to the stares they gave her. "It sounded like him, but it definitely wasn't. Whoever or whatever it was, he just said, 'Many before you have died for Life, but one of your lost tribe, the very being that may change the course of the future might live for Death, Gaia will end if help is not found. You young Carol, Die for Life, or Live for Death? Help her choose.'"

"You can't possibly mean, that you believe that he was referring to," began Beatrix who had just found her voice.

"I didn't tell you two this," said Eiko, interrupting her. "But last night, I heard a faint laugh. It was… I don't know how to describe it, but it was… cold. Just cold and cruel, I… I could hear the satisfaction it felt for something, and it was as though it came from a twisted being. I know this sounds mad, b-but that actually reminded me of-"

She stopped suddenly, making odd movements. Then all three of them heard the slightest sound of someone screaming in the distance, they gasped in shock as they thought that they knew who it was. Beatrix charged towards the balcony, leaning over to try to see where it came from. She was thrown off her feet as the ground shuddered dangerously, she clamped her hands over her ears as blasts sounded.

Minutes later, it all stopped. Beatrix rose cautiously, dusting herself. Everything was quiet, but the citizens of Alexandria were doing their usual duties, many assuming that it was an Earth Creature throwing a tantrum.

This was not so for the three who stood on the balcony.

They had heard the cries of an important 17-year-old girl. They had seen the faintest outline of a pair of great wings.

Author's note: Hey people, you guys had better review! I hope that I'm not turning Garnet into a Mary Sue. If you notice, I did not let her win all the time, or let her get away virtually unscathed. I guess that I'm just saying this 'cuz I love Final Fantasy XI so much, that I would never try to change their characters into Mary Sues or Gary Sues. Although I do admit that I'd like to toughen up Garnet a bit. I mean, I wasn't exactly thrilled by the way she always relies on people.