Something to See

SakuraRibbons: Thank you to all my reviewers for well…reviewing!

Blank: You're thanking a few reviewers, counting the ones who've reviewed more than once…

SakuraRibbons: It's better than having no one review. Idiotic retard…

Blank: What did you say? (Pulls out Iron Sword)

SakuraRibbons: Nothing, nothing… (Evil grin)

Eiko: Here's chapter eight!

Note: Italics are thoughts.

Chapter Eight

Dagger's POV

No…he's dead…and it's all because of me. If only I had thrown that stupid stone away! Zidane… I get up and wipe my tears. "No use crying," I tell myself. "It won't bring him back. Now, how do I get out of here?" Suddenly, I hear a 'BOOM!' "Huh? What's going on?" I ask myself.

"Dagger?" It's Amarant! How'd he get here? "Dagger, what are you doing here?" Amarant asks.

"I should ask you the same question," I reply. He looks up at the hole in the ceiling that he made.

"I left Burmecia and came to Cleyra to do some work. Some of the people were asking me to find out what the noises underground were," he explains. "What were you doing here?" Amarant suddenly sees all the blood on the floor and Zidane's body.

"We…were transported here," I say softly. "Garland did all of this. Zidane died…protecting me…" I finish, trying to get the memory to disappear.

Amarant kneels down next to Zidane. "I can't believe this punk is actually dead…" he says slowly. He shakes his head. "You'd better get outta here." He jumps out and slides down a ladder. "Here."

"What about Zidane?" I ask. I don't want to leave him behind.

The redhead sighs. "I'll get him for you." I thank him and climb up. There are a couple of other people here. Some Burmecians and some Cleyrans that survived.

"Excuse me, but are you Queen Garnet?" A young Burmecian man comes up to me.

"Ummm, yes. What is your name?" I ask looking confused. He laughs slightly.

"I'm Dan. I'm guessing you know Zidane Tribal," he said setting down his stuff. "He helped us out in Burmecia. I'm just helping out in Cleyra for a while but I actually live in Burmecia." I nod. So this man knows Zidane.

I see Amarant walk up to me carrying the genome. "Here you go Dagger," Amarant says setting him down gently.

Dan bends over and jumps back in shock. "Is that…Zidane? He's…dead," Dan says looking scared. Tears well in my eyes and I sniff.

"Today, a man named Garland transported us to a room beneath Cleyra and…killed Zidane," I say turning the other way. I just want to die right now…I can't live without the man I love…

Dan shakes his head slowly. "You guys should get back to Alexandria. I'll check out that place underground. If I find anything interesting, I'll contact you."

I smile at him. "Thank you so much! What do I owe you?" I ask. Dan shakes his head again. "Zidane is a friend. You don't owe me anything."

Amarant leaves for a minute and comes back with a Chocobo. "This is the only way you can get back home. You'd better hurry up. People are waiting for you," he says gruffly. Amarant slings Zidane's body on the end on Choco. "Make sure he doesn't fall off."

I really don't want to carry a dead body but it's Zidane, so I manage. I had Choco land straight at the castle because I don't want the citizens panicking after seeing a dead body.

"Dagger! I have terrible news!" Freya runs up to me. "Vivi has…" she cuts off when she sees Zidane.

"Zidane…is dead, Freya. Garland transported us to a place and Zidane died protecting me!" I sob, unable to hold my tears any longer. Eiko runs up to me as well and her eyes are all red and puffy.

"Dagger? What's wrong?" the violet haired girl asks. She turns her head and sees Zidane. "Oh no…he's dead…too!"

I look at Eiko confused. "What do you mean 'he's dead too?'" I wipe my tears for the umpteenth time.

Eiko sinks down and I can see she's crying. "Vivi…stopped…" she says putting her head in her hands. "This has got to be the worst day ever!"

Vivi…stopped? Wait a minute. So…both of them are gone! "Oh no…we've lost two people in one day…" I kneel down next to Eiko. "I'm sorry about Vivi, Eiko. I know you, well, you know what I mean. I can't believe he…stopped."

Eiko nods and smiles at me. "Thanks Dagger. But, how did Zidane…die?" she asks.

Before I say anything, Mikoto, Steiner, Beatrix, and Kuja come up to us. "Your Highness! Where did you go! We were worried sick!" Beatrix says saluting me. They all notice Zidane and they freeze up.

"Zidane? My…brother…" Mikoto and Kuja say in unison. "What…happened?" Mikoto asks, holding back tears. Steiner and Beatrix look at me, waiting for an answer.

I look at all of them and take a deep breath. "Alright. In Bran Bal, when it was destroyed, a stone that contained some of the blue light was mixed into our inventory. I found it and put it in a small room. However, Garland is after it and he transported the stone, me, and Zidane to a small area under Cleyra. He…tried to kill me but Zidane protected me and…he died. Amarant said he was helping out in Cleyra and he helped me get here," I finish my long explanation.

Steiner kicks the wall. "That monkey-boy may have been nuisance but he took care of you. I shall take him into the castle." I watch as Steiner carries Zidane inside.

Beatrix comes up to me. "Your Highness…I am…sorry for the death of…Zidane. If you'll excuse me." The general follows Steiner into the castle and I hear a soft sob come from her.

"I cannot believe…two people have died…in one day…" Mikoto says walking away from our group. "Zidane…and the black mage Vivi." She spins around and she goes up to Kuja. "This is all your fault! If you had not made the black mages…" She stops suddenly, her eyes widening. "Eiko, I really didn't mean anything by that statement!"

Eiko just glares at Mikoto, stifles a sob, and runs into the castle. "Mikoto, you really do have a way to make things worse. Don't you?" Kuja stares at his sister.

"You two," I cut in. "This…day has been a…very stressful one. Everyone needs rest and some time to get there feelings in order."

Freya nods. "Dagger is right. Why don't we all go inside for now. We…need to prepare…certain things," she says patting my back.

We all head in and Steiner comes up to me. "Your highness, do you want to see…um…" he doesn't know what to say.

I just nod and the Pluto captain directs me to a bedroom with two beds. One has Zidane and the other one has Vivi. I see Eiko sitting on a stool in the middle of both beds and crying. I go up to the small girl.

"Eiko…this must be very hard on you," I say carefully. "Vivi and Zidane have been with us for so long. And…about what Mikoto said. I don't think she meant it in a bad way."

The summoner smiles at me. "Yeah, I know. I gotta say sorry to her later. But…four people have disappeared from my life. Mother and father, Vivi, and Zidane," she says.

"We'll help you find your parents," I promise her. "As for Zidane and Vivi…I don't know…but we'll defeat Garland again. At least Zidane and Vivi are in the same place," I reassure her.

"Yeah," Eiko says sadly. "By the way, I wasn't crying you know. I just…uh…poked my eye!" I smile at her.

"Okay."

TBC

Authors Note

As a quick note, Amarant was VERY OOC! Yeah I know, I'll do some more editing but I'm trying to keep the swearing to a minimum. Anyway, some sadness here, Eiko wants to act like an adult so I added the last couple comments to keep her in character. Wasn't it kinda DaggerxAmarant in this chapter? Bye for now!