O.o Whoa…it's been a long time since my last post. I had almost forgotten this story until Ravyn told me to update it. Anyways, sorry about that. School's been out to get me, so I haven't had much time for anything nowadays. This one is going to be kind of short, sorry. But anyways, on with the story.

Chapter Nine – Prelude to Battle

Garnet sighed deeply and collapsed onto her bed. Eiko had returned to Alexandria castle in a mess; her clothes were torn, she had wounds all over her body, and she was on the verge of hysteria. After Garnet had healed her and forced Eiko to tell her what had happened during her training, Eiko had recalled her horrific battle: the clashing power of Flare and Holy, the intensity of Vivi's rapid casting, and the sheer energy that was Ultima. When Eiko was done, Garnet had sent her to her room and then headed for her own. Now, facedown in her own bed, Garnet pondered her next course of action.

"With the power of Ultima at his disposal, Vivi is almost equal to Zidane in strength," Garnet thought. "Even our Eidolons can't combat against both Dyne and Ultima at once. What can I do?"

The answer hit Garnet at once. She shot out of her room and raced to the library. There, after searching frantically for a few minutes, she found what she came for: Dr. Tot. The old scholar had moved to Alexandria after Garnet had convinced him that Treno was no longer safe. Now, he could prove to have information that could turn the tides of war.

"Dr. Tot!" Garnet called out urgently. "I need your help!"

"Ah! Queen Garnet!" Dr. Tot replied back with a smile. "How may I help you?"

"You are the most knowledgeable person on Gaia about the summoner tribe and Eidolons," Garnet told him. "I need your advice on something."

"Anything, my dear, anything," Dr. Tot told her. "I will help you in anyway that I can."

"Well," Garnet began. "Here is what I had in mind…"

(Scene Change)

"Zidane!"

The blonde hair genome glanced over his shoulder quizzically as Vivi burst into his room. He had been standing at the window, looking out upon the village in a weird, lethargic sort-of mood. But, the sense of stress in Vivi's voice had forced all the tiredness out of him.

"What is it?" Zidane asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No, no!" Vivi replied hastily. "I'm fine. At least, for now."

"For now?" Zidane questioned.

Vivi whispered, "Zidane…I think…I think that I'm going to stop soon."

"You better not stop until you've finished telling this story of yours," Zidane said back, half-joking, not understand what Vivi had meant. In his frustration with the genome, Vivi stamped his feet angrily.

"That's not what I meant!" Vivi shouted. Zidane took a step backwards. Vivi hardly yelled, and if he did, he wanted to say something important. "Zidane. I think I'm dying. Very soon, I think I'm going to stop moving."

"What?" Zidane whispered. "Why do you think so?"

"Do you remember when we first encountered my brothers?" Vivi questioned. "Remember how they were asleep and when they awoke, they didn't remember anything they had done? Well, the same thing happened to me when I fought Eiko earlier. I fell asleep. And when I woke up, I had no idea what I had done."

"Vivi…" Zidane started, but Vivi cut him off again.

"Zidane, that's not it," Vivi said. "While I fought Eiko, I felt this massive power within me. When I released it, it came out in the form of Ultima."

"Ultima, huh?" Zidane said thoughtfully and started pacing slowly. "Interesting. Very interesting. In fact, I've got a new technique I want to try with you, Vivi. It's called Fusion…" (A/N: Not the Fusion from DBZ)

(Scene Change: Several Days Later)

Garnet sighed and collapsed into her bed. The past few days had been exhausting, both physically and mentally. But, she smiled to herself, it was worth it. Zidane was going to be in one heck of a shock when Garnet and Eiko released their newest technique.

"No rest for the weary, Garnet."

Garnet's head snapped up to glare at the form of Zidane perched on her window. He didn't carry his Ultima Weapon and though he had his Orichalcon, it was sheathed at his side. His intentions were clear; he had come to talk, not fight.

"What do you want?" Garnet snarled and rolled off the bed to face him. Even if he had come only to talk, Garnet still didn't trust Zidane enough to just lie there while he was in such close proximity.

Zidane grinned and replied, "Such hostility. You must learn to be a better guest, Garnet."

Garnet screamed and grabbed the nearest thing to her, which happened to be a comb on her table, and threw it with all her might at Zidane. Zidane's grin actually widened even further as he step sided the projectile with such speed that the comb actually hit afterimage! Garnet's rage was instantly replaced with cold fear at Zidane's remarkable speed.

"Incredible!" Garnet thought to herself. "His speed is beyond sight. He could cover the distance between us in the blink of an eye. Even Eiko's Hastaga can't match that!"

Zidane walked towards Garnet with confident steps, his tail swaying side to side and his grin never faltering. He plopped himself down on her bed and crossed his arms behind his head. He didn't say anything, but Garnet didn't take her eyes off him for a moment.

"So Garnet," Zidane said suddenly, startling the Queen. "Are you and your troops ready? I think I've given you quite enough time."

"If that's all you're here for, you can leave," Garnet replied angrily. "My troops and I are always ready."

"Good. In ten days time, I will launch an assault upon Alexandria with a force and power that has never been witnessed before upon the face of Gaia. You will be utterly crushed."

"You just gave up the element of surprise, Zidane," Garnet said with a smirk. "We'll crush you, not the other way around." When there was no reply, Garnet looked down at the bed, only to find that Zidane was gone. However, when she turned back around, she found herself face to face with Zidane in a light kiss. The contact between their lips was hardly there, but it still felt like lightning had shot through her. However, before she could even move a muscle, Zidane leapt through the air like a bird and landed on her balcony. He had a small, slightly demonic smile on his face.

"That was for the tiny part of my heart that is the love-struck genome that you fell in love with years ago. Zidane is no longer in control. From now on, you'll be dealing with the Death Angel."

And then, with the speed that could move him faster than the eye could see, he simply disappeared.