All right and here is the next chapter for your enjoyment. However, before that, I decided to put my replies to your reviews in the beginning instead of at the end this time. To tell you guys the truth, I was kind of hoping for more reviews than this. But maybe the reviews always start out slow and then cumulate later on? We'll see, but I would definitely be more motivated to write more if I had more people encouraging me. But, I'm hoping to hit 25 reviews by the 5th chapter. If I don't, I'm probably not going to get chapters out very often. Just a hint!

DreamCherry66 – I'm impressed. You did sort of manage to guess what happens between Garnet and Zidane. I hope you like this chapter too.

Ravyn Crescent – You are currently my favorite reader, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm glad you like my story so much, and I hope the others do as well.

Wonwingangel – You forgot the rest of the team! I haven't gotten to all of them yet. Almost all the characters in FF9 will make an appearance, though a few of them will die. I hope you do keep reading, and the plot will soon be revealed. (For the moment, I'm just drawing people into the story with a tidbit of info on the plot and a lot of action.) To answer your questions, Garnet ordered the death of any Burmecian that was found in Alexandrian territory. I didn't mean that she marched troops to Burmecia and slaughtered them all. Sorry about the confusion. But, in a war, she has to prevent spies from learning her plans. She's also kinda naïve, so I just made it so that her outlook is, "Either you're with me or against me." She's not evil or anything, just way too innocent. (You must be thinking that innocent people don't order others dead, but hey.) To answer your second question, I kind of dozed off at the end and wrote it in first person by accident. I changed it though, so you can go back and reread it.

Kd Zeal – Thanks for the review, and I hope you like this chapter too.

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Chapter Four – Fight for your life!

"This is where you end, Garnet!" Zidane shouted and launched forward from his stance, charging her head on. Garnet braced herself and met the attack with her impressive defensive skills. Back when Zidane had first kidnapped her, her defensive skills were pathetic and her combat experience nonexistent. Zidane had changed that. Whenever they weren't battling monsters or saving the world from destruction, Zidane had sparred intensely with her. It didn't take long for her defense to become the highest on their team. Now, with Trance giving her increased strength, her defense would be incredible. She only hoped that it was enough to stop Zidane from killing her.

Zidane's blows were powerful and accurate and with his Ultima Weapon and Trance on his side as well, he was and still remained, the strongest member of their original team. If Garnet had used any different weapon, the third blow would have broken it long ago. But she was armed with the Whale Whisker, a powerful staff with enormous magical capabilities. She doubted that even Steiner's Weapon Break could shatter her Whale Whisker.

"Damn it!" she heard Zidane mutter. "Just one opening! That's all I need!"

Garnet smiled slightly in spite of herself. Zidane always talked to himself, whether in battle or in his sleep. Some things would never change. But his one opening would be denied. Garnet would not allow herself to make a mistake. But soon, that vow was forgotten. As blow upon blow rained down upon her, she felt herself weaken with each successive attack. Even if her Whale Whisker was indestructible, it didn't amount to much if her arms lacked the strength to defend herself.

"WHAT'S THAT!?" Zidane shouted, gesturing in the sky with his free hand. Up in the sky behind her, Garnet could feel the enormous presence of…something. The temptation to look was incredible. Even if he didn't have the aid of his unique thief magic, his acting was still incredible.

"Don't look!" Garnet's mind screamed at herself. She knew that there was nothing there; after all, she had seen Zidane use this skill numerous times so that he could attack his opponents in the back. But, in the end, the temptation to look was far too great, and she whirled around to face…nothing.

"Die!" Zidane screamed and pain ripped through her back as his Ultima Weapon scored a lethal strike on her back. She spun around to face him, only to have her Whale Whisker knocked out of her hands as his blow knocked her to the ground. Zidane lunged forward for a killing stroke. Garnet could only raise her right hand to defend herself.

"Like that's going to do anything," Zidane thought to himself.

"Blind!" Garnet shrieked. The word of power instantly took affect, and Zidane's world suddenly became black. His Ultima Weapon fell from his grasp as he fell on one knee, one hand over his face and one hand searching for the counter medicine. As he struggled to find some Eye Drops, Garnet picked herself up and grabbed her Whale Whisker.

"Curaga," she hissed through gritted teeth. The healing magic instantly closed the wound on her back, leaving only a scar behind. She would have to deal with the rip in her clothes later. Zidane had, by this time, finally found the Eye Drops and quickly used them to rid himself of the Blind spell. He looked up…just in time to see Garnet's Whale Whisker slam hard into his face. He fell in a heap on the ground, not quite unconscious but very dazed.

Garnet stepped away from Zidane's body and began to gather her magic strength. On the ground, Zidane regained the ability to think and picked himself slowly off the ground. He looked over at Garnet, once again, just in time to hear her voice shout the name that would be his demise.

"Bahamut!" Garnet shouted, her trance state calling forth the Eidolon itself, instead of just its attack. High, high above her, an enormous vortex appeared and if anybody had been standing directly beneath it, that person would have been able to see Bahamut's, the Dragon King, home. Zidane looked upwards, just in time to see an enormous pair of wings unfold from the dragon's body as Bahamut plummeted towards him. Zidane braced himself for the oncoming attack.

"Bahamut!" Garnet cried, "Attack!"

"This…is gonna hurt," Zidane whimpered slightly and fell back into a defensive stance. The next few minutes were nothing more than blurs of vision for Zidane. Bahamut opened his massive mouth and let loose a series of scorching fireballs. Zidane ran around in a million different directions, trying desperately to dodge the blazing attacks. Garnet was cheering for her dragon on the sidelines. And then, after what seemed like an eternity of jumping, running, and dodging for his life, Zidane slipped up and took a fireball straight in the chest. He was blasted fifty feet away and landed hard on the ground.

"Yes!" Garnet screamed, her face flushed with victory. "Now, finish him with your Mega Flare!"

Bahamut stopped his current attack and began hovering in the air above the fallen warrior, all the while, gathering energy for his ultimate attack. Down on the ground, Zidane pulled himself onto one knee. He was alive…but just barely. The fireball, though it wasn't Bahamut's greatest attack by a long shot, nevertheless had a powerful punch, and he was lucky to still be conscious. Eyeing the dragon above him, he estimated that he still had around ten seconds before Bahamut would launch its attack. Within his mind, he changed his normal abilities to Auto-Haste and Auto-Regen. As his strength quickly returned, he waited for his opportunity to strike. It came soon enough.

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Freya found her spear thrust parried by Steiner again as their smaller battle raged on, completely oblivious to the much larger battle going on around them. In every direction, one could see the Gaian soldiers battling with the Genome soldiers. Scores of them already lay dead on the ground, but the battle wouldn't stop until one side was completely destroyed.

"Shock!" Steiner shouted and released the knight skill from his sword. Freya nimbly dodged the powerful attack, and it cut a great channel in the masses of the troops behind her.

"Lancer!" she countered and suddenly surged forward with a huge burst of energy. Her spear was raised perfectly to gut Steiner, but he deflected it with a twist of his sword. Now, the two warriors were inches apart from each other. The only thing stopping their weapons from slicing off the other's head was the other's weapon. The two stood at a draw, both trying to get an opening to use their weapons.

"Thunder Slash!" Steiner suddenly hissed and lightning coursed through his sword. As fast as Freya was, she was no match against the speed of lightning. The attack threw her backwards by twenty feet. She was up in a flash; the attack had barely hurt, thanks to the Reis's Wind spell that she had cast earlier. The two warriors took a moment to glare at each other as they assessed their wounds.

"Steiner! The primary target! Kill him!"

Steiner turned around to find himself face to face with three Genomes. All three were carrying daggers, and all three looked as if they knew how to use them. They didn't even give him a moment to prepare for their assault. The Genomes shot forward simultaneous, coordinated and deadly. However, that didn't even faze Steiner. He waited until they were in range, and then he leaped towards them!

"Climhazzard!" Steiner yelled and the physical energy contained in his sword blasted the three Genomes to nothingness. He turned back with a grin to face Freya. She wasn't there.

"What the hell?" Steiner said aloud. Freya was a Dragon Knight of Burmecia. Her honor would not allow her to flee the battle. No one else on the battlefield was even a match for her, save Beatrix, so she wouldn't just run off to fight someone else. Where would she be? The answer hit him a second later…literally.

Freya fell back to Earth after her insanely high jump. She had been planning to use her Jump attack since the beginning of the fight, but Steiner would have simply blown her out of the air with his Shock attack. The three Genomes, stupid as they were, gave her the perfect distraction. Now, falling back to Earth with the speed of a bullet, she drew back her hand and let fly with her spear. On the ground below her, she saw Steiner look up, but it was already far too late. The spear hit home, deep in Steiner's chest. Freya smashed into Steiner a moment later, sending his body to the ground and using it to absorb most of her velocity; she yanked her spear out of his chest and leaped backwards. Steiner tried to get up, but he didn't seem to realize that his body had already given up on him. He lifted his head to gaze at Freya one last time, before his head fell back down…and stayed down.

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"Destroy him!" Garnet screamed at Bahamut. The dragon king roared in agreement and opened its massive mouth. Countless amounts of energy began to condense into a ball in Bahamut's mouth, the beginning stages of its ultimate attack. Zidane, almost completely healed by his Auto-Regen ability, tensed up and prepared for his counter-attack.

"Bahamut!" Garnet thundered. "Mega Flare!"

"Now," Zidane hissed.

The dragon king opened his mouth and let forth a beam of massive destruction. It completely incinerated everything it touched. Bahamut's attack lanced towards Zidane, who stood up to face the attack head on! He didn't even have his Ultima Weapon up to defend himself with!

Time slowed for Garnet as she watched the attack bear down on the one she had once loved. Half of her wanted to scream at him to get out of the way. The other half craved his destruction. Even with Bahamut's Mega Flare coming straight for him, Zidane did not seem particularly worried. Instead, he actually looked over his shoulder at her and grinned. That was the last thing she was of him before the Mega Flare attack completely engulfed him.

"So it was my eidolon that killed him," Garnet murmured. "How ironic. He was the one that gave me the strength to use my eidolons, and I kill him with the power that he helped me to harness."

Bahamut ended his attack and roared with victory. Garnet looked up to watch one of her greatest eidolons soar around in joyous flight over killing her foe. The vortex that led to Bahamut's home opened again, and Bahamut slowly began to fly towards it. As she lowered her gaze from her dragon, she spotted a light below Bahamut. Suddenly, the light exploded outward, lighting up everything within a thirty-meter radius. She would have recognized that particular shade of pink anywhere.

"Bahamut, look out!" Garnet screamed, but it was far too late.

"Grand Lethal!" Zidane bellowed. Zidane's most powerful Dyne attack shot towards Bahamut with speed attainable only by light. The attack came in the form of a million streaks of deadly light that simply sheared through everything they hit…including Bahamut. The dragon king roared in agony, but he could only take five streaks of light before disappearing in defeat. But Garnet did not have time to grieve over her defeated eidolon. Zidane, despite everything Garnet could throw at him, was still alive.

By now, both of their Trance states had worn off, leaving both tired and incapable of fighting well. Garnet brought forth her Whale Whisker and prepared to battle once more. But she discovered that she didn't need to defend herself. The moment Zidane's Trance wore off, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. He did not so much as twitch. Not even his tailed moved.

However, Garnet had already been tricked once today, and she was determined not to be fooled again. She walked towards him slowly and cautiously. When she was within reach, she prodded him gently with her Whale Whisker. He did not budge.

"Thank goodness," Garnet breathed and turned around…only to come face to face with Zidane! Garnet screamed and fell backwards onto Zidane. Garnet suddenly felt very confused.

"What the–?" Garnet stammered, but her sentence was cut short as everything suddenly made sense. Garnet looked up to see Mikoto, not Zidane, standing before. She was still the same as the last time Garnet had seen her. She still wore her bright flashy clothes. Her body size, hair, eyes, and tail were almost identical to Zidane, which is why she had mistaken Mikoto as Zidane the first time she saw her. Her face was still emotionless, though Garnet thought her eyes looked a little older.

"Quite a show you guys put on," Mikoto commented. "I'm surprised that you were able to hurt Zidane so badly, though he seems to have gotten you pretty well."

"Are you here to finish the job?" Garnet snarled.

Mikoto replied, "Of course not. I'd never rob Zidane of his destiny."

"What?" Garnet asked, shocked.

"Oops, did I say that?" Mikoto said sarcastically. Mikoto walked past Garnet to kneel by Zidane's head. Garnet took this chance to roll away and get to her feet, her Whale Whisker at the ready. However, Mikoto did not seem to notice. She checked Zidane's pulse and nodded slightly. Then, with astounding ease, she picked Zidane up and hefted him onto her shoulder like a rag doll.

"You got lucky today, Garnet," Mikoto said emotionlessly. "But be sure, the last sight you will ever see will be my brother with his sword poised to kill." And with her ultimatum delivered, Mikoto closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

"Teleport!" Mikoto cried, and she and Zidane vanished from view. Garnet, not trusting her eyes, closed her eyes and concentrated slightly.

"Scan."

Information about her surroundings filled her mind. Sifting through it carefully, she learned that Mikoto had seriously disappeared from the area. Blinking her eyes to clear her mind, she walked carefully into Oeilvert.

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"Our job here is done," Freya thought. She gazed thoughtfully at the fallen body of Steiner. He had proved a greater challenge then she would have ever imagined. If all of Garnet's allies turn out like this, then the war would turn very bloody indeed.

"Fratley!" Freya called. He glanced over at her, nodded, and then jumped away from Beatrix. The Alexandrian general was caught off guard and almost fell on her face. She looked at Fratley and Freya, slightly confused, until she noticed the female Burmecian Dragon Knight standing over the corpse of Steiner. Within a millisecond, Beatrix had sheathed her Save the Queen and was at Steiner's side. Freya was shocked at her speed.

"Incredible!" Freya whispered, but Beatrix did not seem to hear her, though they were only a foot apart. She was kneeling besides Steiner, constantly casting Full-Life on her beloved. Normally, healing magic, such as Cure, Cura, and Curaga, is capable of healing an injured person. But, sometimes, when an unconscious soldier is on death's doorstop, no amount of healing magic can heal them in time to prevent death. This is when Life magic is used. Life magic is peculiar in that it can bring a soldier that is an inch away from death back to "life", but it can only work when the soldier is unconscious. Unlike healing magic, there are only two forms of Life magic: Life and Full-Life. Life restores a warrior's health partially, while Full-Life restores all of a warrior's health. Eiko and Beatrix are two of the very few mages that know how to use Full-Life.

"No," Beatrix sobbed, giving up on casting Full-Life and now simply clutching Steiner's broken body. Her tears cut channels through the dirt on her face and her entire body shook with grief. Fratley walked over to the two female warriors and stood beside Freya. Slowly, Fratley extended his spear until its tip touched Beatrix's throat. The tears did not stop, but her eyes filled with anger instead of sadness.

"Pass this message to Garnet," Freya instructed Beatrix. "Steiner has fallen and the rest of you will follow. The end of Gaia and its inhabitants draws near. All of you will soon die."

"Freya. Fratley. Is it done?" a gruff voice asked.

Freya glanced over her shoulder in surprise to see Amarent. The warrior monk was dressed exactly the same; he was even armed with his most powerful weapons: his Duel Claws. His red hair covered his eyes, but left the rest of his face uncovered.

"Why are you here, Amarent?" Fratley asked.

Amarent replied, "Zidane fought with Garnet at Oeilvert like he said he was going to do. He says that Garnet is still as dangerous as ever. She managed to hurt him pretty bad, but he dealt out his fair share of damage to her. Mikoto teleported him back to the Black Mage Village to get healed up. He wants a full report from you two when you get back."

"That's fine," Freya said and jumped high into the air and disappearing among the clouds. Fratley and Amarent watched her sail away before turning back to the female general of Alexandria. Beatrix was kneeling besides the fallen Steiner, but her Save the Queen was still sheathed.

"What are you waiting for?" Beatrix hissed. "Kill me as well, so that I may join my beloved in death."

"When we fought, all those long years ago, I would have been glad to pierce your heart with my lance," Fratley muttered. He pulled back his lance. "Back then, you were the greatest swordsman in all the lands, and all warriors spoke your name with respect and fear. But now, you've been reduced to nothing. You aren't worth dying upon my spear. I will show you mercy and let you live. But to you, living is worse than dying, isn't it? It is your fault for not fighting better and giving me a reason to kill you. You're no danger to us now."

Fratley turned away and jumped in the same direction. Soon, he was gone as well. Amarent glanced at the shocked Beatrix before turning to the Genomes that were left.

"Retreat back to Pinnacle Rocks where you will await pick-up!" Amarent bellowed, his voice heard over the sounds of battle. The Genomes soon beat a hasty retreat, but they left with hundreds of soldiers dead in their wake.

"You're not taking Lindblum?" Beatrix whispered.

Amarent snorted, "Zidane could take over Lindblum anytime he wanted. He sent us here to kill the best defender that Garnet had. Now that he is dead, we have no reason to be here, for the moment."

"Flee!" Amarent muttered under his breath. Blinding lights appeared and forced everyone to look away for fear of being blinded. Under the cover of this powerful distraction, Amarent slipped away unnoticed.

"Damn them!" Beatrix cried when she looked and saw that all three were gone. She stood up and pulled out her Save the Queen. Holding the blade parallel to the ground, she held the sword up to the sky, as if sacrificing it to the gods.

"I swear, upon Princess Garnet and the grave of my husband Steiner, I will not die until I destroy Zidane and his allies and armies!"