Re-Updated: 26/02/05

A/N: Again, nothing much here.

Disclaimer: So what if I don't own it? I still deserve credit I say! I mean, sure. I didn't think up the game but I'm still writing aren't I? Shouldn't I get at least a little credit? (insert pitiful face)

A/N: I decided to stick with making Garnet black haired and brown eyed. If you ask why, it's because I've been examining pictures of her and I like black hair better than dark brown, no offense to brown haired people out there. Just ignore the descriptions on how she looked like in the first few chapters.

Dagger hobbled towards her own bedroom, still leaning heavily on her Rod for support and very conscious of the breeze around her bare legs. She limped slowly on the red velvet carpet, one of her legs was still rather weak and the huge magic weights that were there didn't help matters. When she had been on the training ground, with energy electrifying every cell in her body -was it somewhat like a trance?- it hadn't really bothered her. She shivered slightly, remembering the delicious feeling of power steal over her as she rushed towards the huge hoard of monsters and... barely got out alive...

How did I even get out alive? She wondered with a frown. The last things she remembered was an enormous searing pain that ripped through every inch of her skin and within her body and soul. Razor sharp teeth biting her tender flesh and claws ripping her muscles apart, her own Rod a blur as she swung it blindly over and over again.

As the blade of her weapon made the air sing a song of Death, she had thought hazily, knew even, that that may very well have been the end of her. Blood flowed from her wounds, everything began to fade, become distant and blurred... darkening... darkening...

A light in the darkness she saw, though she had been unconscious then, she could still tears well up in her eyes. Zidane and- and Vivi. That was who the light reminded her of. Although she remembered Zidane comforting smile and constant reassurances that everything would be fine, her memory of him was becoming blurred and faded to her dismay. But, it was still the little 'Black' Mage who shone as the darkness of her own mind threatened to consume her and render her speechless like before. Those images were still fresh and painfully clear to her. She focused on the light that she saw in her mind's eye, she thought she saw an angel's wing... or no... was that a spire..?

"Dagger?" a hoarse voice snapped her out of her train of thought.

Her head jerked up and she saw Garland looking at her with a worried expression on his wrinkled face. She realized that she must have been thinking so hard that she had just sat down in the middle of the hallway. She stood up quickly and began brushing imaginary dust of her already spotless clothes.

Garland was staring at her with a queer look in his eyes; she glanced down quickly to make sure that her skirt wasn't revealing anything that it shouldn't. Amazingly, it was still in place.

"You're the exact opposite of Kuja," he answered finally after several tense moments of silence. "He was gleaming white on the surface, but his heart's black core knew no bounds. You, my student, have a shining soul and the darkest material upon your delicate form." He reached out and brushed away a few strands of her raven hair which had fallen across her face.

"Cut the crap, Garland," Dagger managed at last. "I want to know why -in the name of Alexander- did you turn me into Kuja the 2nd, only blacker?"

Something she said seemed to make Garland stiffen, but it was gone almost before she could catch it, "For your information, my extremely ignorant apprentice, those clothes are designed to be slick and will accumulate no dirt nor dust on its surface-"

"Not that there's much of a surface to accumulate on," she pointed out snappily, folding her hands over her bare stomach.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," he continued with an icy glare. "It's flexible, easy to move in and very suitable for battle."

"Whatever," grumbled Dagger, not feeling too chatty after being beaten to a pulp. Suddenly, a frown found its way to her fair face and she glanced at Garland. "You said battle. How did I-"

She stopped talking as she saw him staring at her like an eagle, eyes never leaving her. His face was troubled, but he finally beckoned her to follow him.

……

"Let me start from the beginning," began Garland, watching the young lady before him stretch out her body on the red plush couch. "Firstly, you have been asleep for three days."

"Three DAYS!" repeated Dagger shrilly, casting her weapon aside and getting on her feet. "How long do I have left before the play? How's my kingdom? Are Steiner and Beatrix managing it well? Are-"

"Calm down," said Garland firmly, motioning her to get back in her seat. He noted the stiffness in her walk and the way the muscles of her face twitched every time she moved, and knew that it would not be wise if she strained herself right now. "Your kingdom is in no apparent danger, it is now daytime in Alexandria. You, on the other hand, need rest."

Dagger slumped back on the couch and moaned, "My muscles hurt."

"I dub it unlikely that you would be jumping around after sleeping for three days and three nights straight," said Garland dryly. "Particularly after nearly being murdered by over a hundred beasts in addition to the magical weights that are attached to your body."

"Speaking of which, can you take them off? I mean, you said that I was going to study magic now, surely I don't need them," pleaded Dagger, unable to stand the thought of having to go any longer with difficulty to even move. Abruptly, her expression changed from sad puppy dog face to suspicion. "Wait, where did you say all the monsters went?"

"I don't think that you should go into the field of magic so soon. Right now, you are under my training, you will follow my schedule and what I say," said Garland, looking at her calmly, as though she were some sort of fascinating bug inside a jar. "You have only been here for several months. That play of yours isn't for until the waning of the fawn moon, plenty of time for physical training."

"Garland. Monsters," growled Dagger through gritted teeth, tired of having to repeat herself over and over again.

"I managed to control them and send them back," he replied, with a stony mask.

"You're lying," she countered angrily. "I can sense very few beasts left near the training ground. If you had managed to get them back, I would be able to feel their aura," she looked at him, hoping that she was right. She could sort of sense the creatures when she focused on a certain place, a trait of hers that had always been a mystery to Doctor Tot when she was young. Still, the replies to her magic were very vague. She was depending mostly on her instinct... and the tiny part of what she remembered.

"You can sense their auras?" asked Garland sharply, turning to face her. When she simply gave no reply he simply sighed. "Alright, let's see how you find this version of the story," he said briskly, not at all like someone who had just been caught in a lie. "The monsters knocked you out. I tried to call them back into their cage, but my control system was overheated and malfunctioning. As they swarmed around you and went for the final blow, your miserable remains of body suddenly rose above the frenzied lot."

He stopped, his ice-blue eyes stared off into some dark corner of the room.

"And?" Dagger prompted, wanting to know more.

"You glowed," he whispered almost inaudibly, as if he were talking to himself. "You glowed all the colors of the rainbow and more!" his voice was rising now, getting steadily louder and his eyes widened in excitement. "It almost seemed as though you were in a trance, but- but it simply wasn't possible!"

He leapt to his feet and paced around Dagger, circling her like a bird of prey. "Don't you see? You were unconscious! Yet you glowed! And it wasn't even you own trance, your own is gold! No... someone else helped you. Someone else lent you power," he hissed, leaning so close to her that she cringed.

"Who?" she choked out at last, trying to keep the quaver from her voice.

That made Garland stop his pacing. He gave her a penetrating stare, "I don't know."

"Yes, you do," said Dagger, standing up and wincing, Garland just continued to stare at her. "Or at least, you have a suspicion."

"It is something I need to study further. It will be of much use in the near future," he answered finally. "You should get your rest while you can. Your training will begin at dawn." Without another glance, he turned and walked away.

"How the hell am I supposed to know when it's dawn?" she yelled furiously, not caring about her language as she gestured angrily towards the dim lights and the unforgiving stone that surrounded her. She got no reply except for the echoes of her question, seeming to tease her as they rang out in the empty room.

……

For a week or more, Dagger was trained to accustom herself with the Reaper's Rod against live enemies. This time, Garland was very careful with her training schedule, not wanting to have her sacrificed merely because of a few moments of anger. One day, it was a group of Ash, the next, a bunch of Cactuar, so on and so forth.

He was very precise with the kind and number of creature that was sent as a challenge. He was thrilled with Dagger's progress, her strength and stamina was rapidly increasing. During the day, (or at least what seemed like day.) she would be trained from dawn to dusk with sufficient food and rest. At night, she would be taught battle tactics, special moves and the weakness and specialties of different creatures.

For Dagger, each day was a new challenge, and each time, she succeeded. She was slowly growing used to the weights attached to herself. After some time, she didn't even notice that they were there. She also found Garland's claims about her clothes true, they were very easy to fight in, though very revealing, she was growing fond of them.

On a day that dawned like the rest, even though you couldn't really tell whether it was day or night in Garland's forever-dark lair, she got up as usual. When she was done changing, she went off for breakfast.

Garland's idea of breakfast wasn't the sitting down at the table and munching on toast kind. He wanted to make sure that Dagger could survive in the wilderness if she were stranded with no food or water. She had gone hunting all around the continent. Like the planes of Lindblum, dark fields of Treno, Alexandria platue, the Evil Forest and more. Each time, she was supposed to examine various plants and edible roots, and eat them. She still remembered the time she had walked headlong into a bush of poison ivy, or the time when she had accidentally eaten a poisonous mushroom in Alexandria's land. She hadn't forgotten the reprimanding she had received from Garland for not even knowing the territory around her own kingdom.

Dagger walked briskly towards the room a few hallways from her own. When she opened finished tapping the code in a panel at the side and opened the brass door, she nearly choked as a strong wind fought to push her back out. She struggled through and slammed the door shut, glancing around her. It appeared that Garland had programmed his numerous systems to take her away from the Mist continent this time. She squinted in the harsh wind, shielding her eyes from the swirling sand as she tried to figure out where she was.

At last she caught side of a strangely shaped building, seeing the canyon walls rising steeply before her and the golden light that bathed the entire setting, she put two and two together and concluded that she was in Oeilvert. She hurried to a spot that showed signs of life, she only had half an hour before Garland teleported her back, regardless of whether she had found anything to eat or not.

"WAAAHHHH!" she screeched suddenly as she was yanked of her feet none too gently and sucked into a portal that had suddenly opened above her.

THUMP.

Dagger landed headfirst on the cold hard stone. Ignoring the pain in her head, she held her Rod before her, prepared to spring at the slightest movement.

"Dagger."

"EEK!" she screamed, viciously swiping the direction the voice had come from.

Garland barely leapt out of the way, "Calm down, you foolish girl!" he snarled, narrowing his eyes angrily. "You're back home!"

"Huh?" Dagger straightened from her defensive crouch. He was right; she was just outside the Teleportation room. "Garland, I was barely in that continent for 5 minutes! I wasn't done yet!"

"Come," he said, leading her down yet another hallway.

She followed with a puzzled expression. Despite the fact that she wanted to protest for having to follow him like a little dog and given no reason or explanation, she had learned some time ago that argument was quieted by rather -painful- measures. They entered the dining hall here she always ate lunch and dinner. On the mahogany table were delicacies and foods of every kind, her eyes widened as she examined the rows and rows of cakes and goodies. "Garland? I always hunt for breakfast remember?" she asked, still astonished. This was a far cry from the harsh meals and food that she was used to having, all with the purpose of strengthening her body.

"Eat," he said simply, gesturing for her to sit. He waited until she was stuffing herself before continuing. "Today, I want you to be fully prepared for the challenge I have for you," he paused when Dagger looked up, fear and apprehension clearly mirrored in her dark eyes.

"This past month, you have improved with a speed that I find astonishing," he looked at her with unmistakable pride. "You have taken on my every task and succeeded, excluding a few minor mistakes..." he frowned, remembering the time when she had fought a few Ring Leader's and had tripped, fallen flat on her face and nearly skewered herself. "Today, I test not your strength or bravery, but your will and mind. This may be your hardest challenge yet. Prepare yourself and don't disappoint me."

Dagger put down the scone she had been eating and watched him leave, playing nervously with a muffin. She found that she had no appetite left to speak off. What could possibly make Garland this worried for me? she wondered. He didn't even act like this before when I fought that Yan and almost got snorted all the way to Chocobo Paradise, she reminded herself with a shudder. It took me a week to learn to avoid their Snort attack and dodge all their elemental attacks... She continued thinking letting her thoughts wander.

……

Dagger walked towards the training ground, fingering her Rod's smooth surface lightly. She had left the breakfast table after managing to choke down a slice of toast and had stared dumbly at the wall for several moments, thinking. She had thought of Garland's words that week or so before... not my own trance, she had mused, wondering what he meant. Maybe Vivi had lent her power! The thought struck her suddenly.

Vivi. The very thought of his name still brought a searing pain to her heart. Where were the small gloved hands that used to hold her when she wanted to cry from frustration and loneliness, but knew that she had to hold back her tears, for she wasn't even allowed to cry? Where were the comforting words that had soothed her dilapidated soul... especially at Zidane's funeral? She held back a sob as tears began to mist her eyes.

There would never be any more Black Mages. Eventually, the Mages of Black Mage Village would stop... Vivi's own children would stop! She felt like slicing something apart at the very thought of that. She had never been close to them... everything they did or said reminded her of her beloved companion. The way they straightened their large hats nervously when talking, their stuttering and the shy way they spoke to people.

She had never wanted to get to know them and love them. In fact, she refused to. She refused to look at their bobbing hats and glowing lamplight eyes. Refused to listen to their soft voices, with higher tones that differed from their father's, but the way they spoke ... was exactly the same, which was even more painful. She remembered the many times when they had wanted to see her, but she had given hurried excuses that she was tired, she was too busy and so on.

Unknowingly, she had closed her heart and shut her soul in an impenetrable fortress with walls, spikes and barbed wire covering every inch of it. She had unconsciously sworn never to care for anyone again, her original companions didn't matter, it was too late to change the fact that she loved them. Even so, she had been drawing away from them since their journey, hiding inside the shadow of her heart that she believed to provide her protection, solitude and comfort which she had lost time and time again.

Everything that she had cared for was being pushed out... Slowly, but surely... Nothing was allowed in. For, she knew that she would only be hurt when they passed away. Garland's training had kept her body so busy and her mind so occupied that it was almost easy not to worry about the kingdom and her friends, to forget them.

A tiny sound brought her wandering mind back to earth with a crash. She realized that she had been spacing out. Badly. Like she had been doing many times since she arrived here. She made the rest of the way to the grounds slowly, taking cautious steps, afraid that Garland might have sent this great challenge to spring at her out of the dark corners and crevices.

Dagger made it to the field without any unexpected creature jumping out at her. As she neared the dome that she always fought in, Garland was waiting patiently for her at the entrance.

"Go in," he said, eyeing her seriously. "Go, but be prepared. Be ready, never get used to an ordinary routine. Expect the unexpected."

His words sent a chill down her spine and heightened a fear a notch or two up. She wanted to say something, to ask what was in there... But found her throat stuck from fear. Instead, she nodded, gripping her Rod tightly, she entered the dome.

The moment Dagger entered, she felt her heart leap to her throat. The sunny field of lush grass that she was used to was gone! In place of the sunlight and plants was a very dim light and rough stone floors and walls. She had no idea how this happened, but she assumed that Garlands machine could change the image of the room. So that's what Garland meant by never getting used to an ordinary routine, reflected Dagger, taking a few small steps into the darker part of the cave-like area.

Suddenly, she heard a strange grating noise, like stone rubbing against stone, or bone grinding together, that made her whirl into her battle stance. The slight rumbling continued, slowly... Oh ever so slowly... a block like thing with carvings in the front came into view.

An Epitaph! Thought Dagger incredulously, watching the stone figure struggling to approach her. This is what Garland believes to be a challenge to me? This thing?

She let out a harsh laugh and snorted divisively as she flipped towards it easily, slashing at it and causing it to fall dead on the ground immediately. She wanted to scream with laughter. I've fought Yan. I've fought the toughest creatures there are! And Garland thinks that there's even the tiniest chance I can lose?

She felt like yelling at him to tell him that he had underestimated her terribly. Unfortunately, her past experiences of gloating had resulted with pain. So, she kept her mouth shut. She heard more grinding noises and grinned to herself, thinking that a few more would be no trouble at all.

She stepped forward calmly, like quicksilver, sliding towards the Epitaph that had just appeared at the corner of her eye. Abruptly, as she neared it, a flash of light caused her to throw up her arm to shield her eyes when it opened its doors. Right in front of her stood the Captain of the Knights of Pluto, Adalbert Steiner.

"I am Steiner," he rumbled, his deep voice commanding and confident.

She gaped. Her mind working furiously, trying to remind her of something. But her brain had turned to sludge and his unexpected appearance had shocked her. What is he doing here? Oh lord, what's he going to do when he finds out that I've been training under Garland?

As she was still thinking this over, Steiner charged and attacked, slashing her arm. The wound wasn't deep, but she was amazed. How dare Steiner, the most loyal of her knights, the most dedicated, almost to the point of annoyance, actually attack the one he had sworn to protect? She was unwilling to strike back, believing it to be merely an accident. Finally, something in her mind clicked and she recalled that Epitaphs could generate images of people whom their victims cared for. She felt her stomach twist in to a big hard not for no particular reason, so she paid it no heed.

She smiled in relief, trying to assure herself. She charged towards the stone block, killing it first and dodging the look alike Steiner's blow at her head. She crouched to the ground and swung out her legs, catching him on the ankles so that he fell with a crash. She could even hear the rust on his armor scraping against the rough ground. She closed her eyes as she drove the sharp end of her Rod home, chanting in her mind, "That isn't Steiner. That -isn't - Steiner."

She jumped back, averting her eyes as was unwilling to look at the steadily fading corpse. A good thing she did, or she wouldn't have caught sight of a flash of purplish blue hair.

"I'm Eiko!" came the child's high-pitched squeal. The exact replica of the young summoner hopped from one foot to the other before rushing at her with her flute raised.

Dagger ducked, avoiding the hit while deflecting another before finishing the image off. She searched frantically, where was the source? Something at the back of her mind, some primitive instinct, was nagging her, telling her that something was definitely up. Telling her to watch out.

She slashed an Epitaph that she had just spotted. But there was another, and a second, and a third, and a... She was eyeing her surroundings, twisting her head as she tried to count how many there were, when she suddenly heard a voice that made her heart stop and her blood turn to slush.

"I'm Zidane."

She made small sounds of astonishment, her large brown eyes grew wider and wider, watching the blonde boy that she had thought about almost constantly for the past year and more.

Zidane attacked her, she didn't make any move to block or avoid, instead she just stood there dumbly. Watching the blood seep out of the wound he had inflicted upon her hip. It wasn't deep, and it didn't hurt though it should have, mostly because her mind was frozen. Her brain was having an argument with her heart. Her heart was jumping and thudding, telling her, "He's back! He's come back for me!"

Her brain on the other hand was busy giving her the painful realism of the Gaia by telling her, "He's just an image! He hit you! Survive this test and kill him! This is exactly what Garland knew will happen and you will -not- lose because of your constant bawling over a dead person!"

She began to walk to him stiffly, not caring about killing the Epitaph first. She just closed her eyes, tears running in steady streams down her cheeks and stabbed him. She could hear the heavy thud as his body fell to the ground, opening her eyes at last, she saw his bluish-green orbs staring lifelessly yet accusingly at her.

"Why did you do that Dagger?" said the same voice that she had longed for day and night. She turned, startled. There was yet another picture perfect imitation of Zidane, coming towards her and trying to hit her. This time, she barely managed to duck his swift blow, her rage and fury mixed with disbelief was building up steadily within her. Without warning, she allowed her emotions to explode.

"NO! Nonononono!" she screamed loudly, charging forward, chest heaving. "You are -NOT- Zidane! You're not him! NOT HIM!"

She attacked, her anger causing her to deliver a max damage blow. She blinked as more and more images appeared before her. Each and every single one of them playing an important part in her life.

"I am Beatrix!" yelled the voice that greeted her every morning.

"I Quina," said the Quan as s/he waddled up to her.

"My little canary..." whispered someone right next to her, she could feel the hot breath on her cheek. "Why did you kill my brother, Canary? Do you not care for-"

The voice was cut off as she slashed him like a wild reckless animal, caught up with her whirlwind of emotions. She felt no regret as the silver haired man fell to the ground. Still, her troubles were far from over.

"I'm Amarant," hissed someone with a voice of cold steel.

All these people kept on multiplying. There had to be numerous Epitaphs in there, each generating a beloved figure of hers. She tried to concentrate on finding her enemies that blended in perfectly with the gray surroundings. Her body was a blur of motion as she leapt and attacked. She felt exactly like so in her first battle against all those beasts, but now, it was a hundred times worse. To have to kill... And kill those people over and over again...

She tried to concentrate on killing the source of all the imitations first... but it was so hard to see the people that she loved and cared for trying to skewer her with various weapons. Her mind was reeling and her vision blurring, however, her body remained strong and lethal.

Her tears mingled with her sweat and blood freely now. Her wounds were many, but shallow. She forced herself to look as she killed Zidane again... and again... and again... There came Freya, sneaking up behind her with her spear raised. She spun her Rod without a thought, causing the length of it to bash into the Burmecian Knight's head. She could hear the disgusting sound of bones cracking under her Rod. The smell of blood was everywhere, the imitations before her were talking to her, distracting her from her true goal.

She saw lights when Quina punched her on the cheek. She could taste the blood in her mouth, her brain wouldn't function properly. The only thing it told her was, 'Garland didn't underestimate you, he overestimated you! You can't do this. You'll never survive! You cold-blooded murderer, you're killing your friends without a second thought!'

The voice was causing her head to hurt, in addition to the spinning room before her, other voices rang out.

"Dagger, why are you doing this? Don't you like us?"

"This is no way to treat a lady! Aren't I like a sister to you?"

"Queens should not act like this! I have never seen such disgraceful actions!"

"You aren't even our -real- queen. You're just a homeless little orphan belonging to a tribe that's been blasted to smithereens years ago! You're a worthless piece of filth!"

"You've only caused everyone pain! It would be so much better if you didn't even exist!"

She was already close to fainting, she couldn't help it. She was forced to destroy the people she loved, watch the die and cover her Rod and hands with their blood. Her clothes were already stained with her own life-giving liquid and others, the ground was slick and slippery, a violent shade of red. She wasn't thinking anymore, it seemed that her mind had detached itself from her body. She was watching her own figure that was swathed in black dancing the most horrendous dance with her victims, her weapon was a beautiful prop that was handled with ease as she twisted and turned, killing everything in her path.

Finally, she skewered the last of the imitations, one who resembled a blonde genome who still possessed a large piece of her heart. She watched as he fell to the ground with a reverberating thud. His closing eyes focused on Dagger's weary face and he struggled to speak.

"I lo- I- love..." Before life left his body and his head lolled back.

Dagger finally collapsed on the ground, falling on her knees and covering her ears with her hands while squeezing her eyes shut.

"You're not Zidane. You're not real. You're not- not," she choked and ended her sentence with a sob. After what seemed like forever, she finally opened her eyes and scanned the area. It was over. She had killed every living being in the dome, their carcasses' were littered on the ground. She gave another loud sob, not bothering to hide her feelings any longer, she threw herself on the Genome's imitation body that was next to her.

"I never knew. You never knew. I did and I still do..." she muttered incoherently, almost deliriously, her body kept shaking violently, her head buried in his chest. "To others, you're dead, but I still believe you'll come back. You'll live forever in my heart... I lo-"

She stopped abruptly at hearing a small voice. A voice that made her snap her head to its direction immediately. A familiar floppy brown hat bobbed towards her, golden eyes peered at her from a dark shadow that was supposed to be the creature's face. The dusty, blue coated figure approached her, accidentally tripping over its own feet before getting up and brushing itself off.

"I'm Vivi."

"Vivi..." she gasped, raising her Rod, eyes widening to their maximum extent, "Vivi... no... Vivi..."

"Why are y-you crying, Dagger?" asked the little mage that she remembered so well. She raised her Rod to kill it. He shuffled closer and closer to her. Her muscles tensed up and she gazed into those glowing eyes, so trusting, so innocent, she got ready to... to...

"VIVI!" she screamed at last, instead of attacking him like she was meant to, she cast her Rod aside and flung herself on him, bringing him into a tight embrace. "Vivi! Oh, Vivi! You left us, yo-"

She said no more, when he, with surprising strength, knocked her unconscious by swinging the blunt end of his staff to her head.

……

Garland examined the abused, naked figure before him with an unreadable expression on his face. He watched as she was cleaned gently by caring hands, her wounds wiped clean and ointment spread over her bruises. For the first time in many years, he wasn't sure what to do. In his opinion, she had failed and passed at the same time. His face lit up as he permitted a sly smile to cross his lips. She was ready for the second stage which would start as soon as possible. His eyes met another's and he nodded, signaling his approval. Time for her real training to start.

Author's Note: Everyone! I am so sorry! I wanted to update about a month ago when my parents were out of town but couldn't because the decided not to go out! Then, the next week, I managed to type out most of it, just as I was about to finish, I was locked out of the computer by my brother. Ever since then, we've been wrestling for control. Finally I can update, sheesh, you know how much work I have to go through just to got -on- the computer? YAY! Harry Potter book came out! My mom won't let me read mine till I start studying 24/7, like I actually listen. Hah, she didn't think that my friends who have it would let me read theirs? Poor Sirius! How could Rowling kill him? WAAAAAHHHHH!