Garnet stood there for a moment, dumbfounded and wondering if what she saw was really true. She peered down at the bright lights of the stage and saw the same familiar, blonde hair on the ragged old fool who ran off and left her. Her heart pounded and she fled from the balcony and swept past Beatrix. Beatrix smiled warmly as she watched Garnet push her way through the guards who blocked the doors.
Garnet pulled up her dress slightly to keep her from tripping and flew down the stairs in a flash. She opened the castle doors to the bright stage lights that beamed over her eyes and she shielded them at first. A crowd blocked her view of her lover, and she brushed past them all. One man was leaving from the audience and thrashed into her side, and her crystal pendant was knocked from her her neck.
She watched it fly into the air and gently land on the ground several feet from her. She moved forward to retreat it, then turned the other direction towards the stage. She tore her crown from her head as tears poured down as face and she jumped into Zidane's arms. He caught her and spun her around. She wore a questioning look as how he returned, and he smiled, simply shrugging. For giving her quite a fright, she punched him several times in the chest, proving that she still had strength even after several months and had kept in shape since last fighting.
After hitting him several times, she let her tears fall from her face, and Zidane held her close. The audience roared at what they thought was just part of the play, but the characters that Zidane traveled on their long journey knew it was a cimema of reuniting.
Beatrix joined Steiner on stage as they took the sword that Beatrix served Queen Brahne with for so long, Save The Queen, and held it up in the stagelights as a reflection between the two bonds formed between the two main roles at the end of the scene.
Even after the crowd stood to leave from the stands after the play, Zidane and Garnet stood back stage, Zidane holding her tightly and looking into her eyes. She couldn't stop smiling.
"But how..?" she started.
"How'd I make it back?" Zidane asked.
She could only nod.
"Well," he said, "I couldn't stop thinking about you. I thought I would die right there, but then I heard your song, and it gave me hope, so when I felt discouraged, I just kept singing it."
She looked down to the ground, still leaned closely against him. "Don't ever do that.. again. I thought you were gone forever."
He smirked. "I would never leave you, Garnet."
She looked up and smiled. "My name's Dagger."
He scratched his head. "Er, right."
"Excuse me," Sora said, walking to Zidane's side. He noticed Garnet and yelped. "So sorry, Your Majesty! I should be more.. appropriate?" He knelled to her feet.
She giggled. "It's really not necessary. Anyone who helps Zidane out is a big help to me."
Sora stood and nodded, looking to Zidane. "What about Terra?"
Zidane winced. "Well, I finally met up with Dagger--"
"Zidane, you're not going to make a promise then break it, are you?" She looked away from Zidane and to Sora. "Why must you go to Terra?"
"Have you heard of.. other worlds?"
"Come on, Sora," Zidane started, "we don't have time--"
"Why, of course I have," Garnet ended.
Zidane's jaw dropped. "You mean there are other worlds?"
She nodded. "Sure, Doctor Tot taught them to me. There is supposed to be 'one with a key who unlocks the doors to other worlds.' As of now, they are disconnected."
Sora held up the keyblade and grinned. "You mean this key?"
Garnet gawked. "Yes! In Terra, there are three indentions where you place three crystals to open the door to Kingdom Hearts." She frowned. "But I warn you: be careful with what you do there. You decisions could be disasterous. The key could be used for good or destruction."
"But where do I find these crystals?" Sora asked.
"Dagger! I'm so happy to see you!" Eiko said, running to their location. "You dropped your pendant," she said, holding it up in her hands. Sora also noticed two sparkling earrings in her ears.
"Eiko, thank you for the pendant," Dagger said, taking it, "but I'm going to need to borrow your earrings for a while."
"No way! My grandpa gave these to me!" she cried.
"If you give these to Dagger," Zidane said, "you can go out on a date with Sora."
Eiko turned to Sora, staring up at him, her eyes wide. "Really?!" she squealed.
"Uhm--" Sora started.
"Of course," Zidane said, nudging Sora in the side. "He'll be happy to."
Eiko quickly displaced the crystals from her ears and handed them to Sora. She then winked. "See you tonight, hun," and she trotted off.
"Don't worry," Zidane said, "you'll be long gone by the time she comes looking for you."
Dagger's lip pouted. "That was kinda mean."
He shrugged. "If Sora needs help, I'll help the kid. I can't break a promise, afterall."
"So, when do we get outta here?" Sora asked.
"Anytime," Zidane replied.
"Can we go now?"
"Sure," Zidane said, then looked to the back of the stage. "Alright, pull 'er up!"
"Wait, what are you doing?" Just then, Sora felt the stage start to shake.
"You didn't know the stage was part of the airship? Better hold onto something."
The airship rose into the sky and Garnet held onto Zidane. Sora stumbled backwards a bit and found himself plopped down on his butt. She airship rose over the grand city, Alexandria, and Sora heard a voice call from the inside.
"Yo, Zidane. Where to?" Blank called.
"Take us to the Shimmering Islands," Zidane concluded, and they were on their way in a flash.