I'm going to begin this off with a letter of sorts, to explain why I haven't posted any new chapters.

Dear readers,

As you may have noticed, I haven't updated this story in quite a while. Don't worry - I will eventually, and I have no intention of letting it die whatsoever. However, for the past few weeks I've been killed by seemingly endless end-of-the-year tests and am only starting to recover. That's the first reason there's been a distinct lack of new chapters. The second is, that when I write, I often use music as inspiration. Unfortunately, Ipods (as we all know) are more messed up than a small child on crack. Hence my screaming at it and considering throwing it in a pool (I didn't ultimately). Because of my lack of music (damn you Apple!) any chapters that I've written have been basically utter crap.

While we're on the note of crappy chapters, some people have pointed out to me that the previous two are rather short and error-filled. That's because I wanted to post them as soon as I could... Maybe not such a good idea in retrospect. I might go back and edit the whole story, once it's done - but who knows. Some good news is that I've finished the concept are of Zidane's new look, and I'll be posting it on Deviantart when I get the chance. Err... I guess I'll post my account too.

Anyway, I want to thank you all for being such great reviewers, and giving me such good feedback and support. It's a really nice feeling, knowing someone likes what you write, and is willing to help you improve it. Without being mean, that is. You've all been very courteous, and kind, and I really do appreciate it.

I've also found out that entire chapters aren't supposed to be taken up by author notes... Which I didn't before... And I also feel a bit guilty about not posting anything. So, here's a little Omake that is strangely angsty AND related to the story! Oh yeah - and if you can't figure out who the character(s) are, and where it takes place, then... well, I don't own them.

YAY OMAKES!

Zidane's Dream

Well... this is odd.

He blinked as he looked around at his surroundings, a place he had never seen anything quite like before. It appeared to have been some kind of city years ago, and must have been very impressive... But now the whole place was in ruins and covered in vines and plant life. Something in the back of his mind said that it was for the better, and he shrugged mentally. He didn't see any people, or signs of life other than the green forest that was surrounding him... Nor were there any signs that anyone had been here in a very long time. Not really sure what he was doing, he put his hand in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeey! Anybody here...?"

There was no answer - not even an echo. He sighed, knowing that further calls would be useless and crossed his arms. Where the heck was he, anyway? And why was he there? For that matter, how did he get there in the first place? As if sensing his frustration, a calming breeze blew past him, caressing his face and making his hair dance in the wind. He closed his eyes as it blew past him, as if it were pulling him forward. Vaguely, something in the back of his mind told him that he was dreaming, but he ignored it and walked forward. His feet silent on the moss and grass, he blinked as he saw a child dart out from behind what had once been a building and behind another, giggling.

"He-- Hey! Wait!"

He rushed after the child, his tail whipping out lightly behind him. He dashed around a corner and skidded to a stop, seeing the child in front of him. It was a little girl, with short brownish-red hair and deep blue eyes. She wore a simple white dress with blue and purple edgings, that tied at the back of her next, and a simple necklace with what looked like a small golden-white stone hanging from the black thread. Her shoes were simple, not quite like anything he had ever seen before, with out any thing to fasten them at all, and blue soles. The rest of them were white with purple and indigo stripes. She giggled at Zidane's clueless look, then darted out of sight again. With a slight gasp, he followed after her, chasing her as if they were playing tag instead of being two strangers in a random city covered in foliage.

What am I doing...?

Finally, she stopped running. He felt like his lungs were going to explode, he had been chasing her for so long.

How does one little kid run for so long?

"Are you okay, mister?"

She said with a smile and a barely concealed giggle, her hands clasped in front of her. Zidane, who was panting with his hands on his knees, looked up at her.

"Ah... sure. But what are you doing out here? I mean..."

This time the girl cocked her head to the side, looking at him questioningly.

"You really don't know, do you?"

"Huh?"

She smiled softy, as if hiding a secret. Zidane stood up straight now, and looked down at the little girl, confusion evident on his face. She walked up to him and then around him in a circle, as if evaluating him.

"You remind me of a friend of mine. He didn't know either."

She laughed again, clapping her hands together.

"You've got really similar eyes, too. That same blue."

Now completely confused, Zidane crouched down to her level.

"Okay... so... do you know where we are?"

She nodded, but said nothing.

"Alright then - where are we?"

She giggled again, Zidane realizing that it was something the little girl had a rather large habit of doing.

"Oh, neither of us our really here. You're just dreaming."

He raised an eyebrow at the smiling girl.

"Dreaming?"

"Yup..."

She turned around and started to walk away, leaving Zidane to follow.

"You'll be going through a lot again, soon. And your friends won't be there to help you, this time. But you'll have new ones. They'll help you make it home to where you belong, don't worry."

She paused as they reached a clearing, a strange green liquid sparkling in a pool in the center. Zidane gasped as light danced off of it, looking like liquid magic. She looked up at him, her smile a little wider from his obvious wonder.

"That's the Lifestream. It's not from your world, or mine. But we both have a lot in common with it."

She faced him now, his eyes torn away from the green sparkles towards her sudden somber expression.

"There was another, not unlike you once. He had power that he didn't understand or want... He was from this world. And like you did with your home, he fought to save it. But in the end..."

She frowned slightly.

"Though he and his friends succeeded, he realized one day that they were growing old and dieing, and he wasn't. He could do things that other's couldn't, and now the words of the one he had defeated came to haunt him. He said to him, "You are just a puppet... You have no heart... and cannot feel any pain". He was like you... a puppet, whose purpose was something he had never wanted."

He took a hesitant step back, suddenly a little frightened by the child.

"But now... with his strings cut, and no master, there was no one to tell him what to do with his power - no one who could possibly understand, save one. He suffered."

He found himself suddenly wishing he was somewhere, anywhere, else. It wasn't that he was afraid of the girl... it was that he was afraid of what she was about to say... what she knew.

"Your strings, though not nearly as tight as his were, have been cut as well."

The Lifestream suddenly exploded out of the pool, making him yell and fall back onto the ground as it floated around the girl like some kind of nebula.

"You've both denied your given purposes. He made a new one, one for himself - and he still lives. And you have to, too. Or else..."

She closed her eyes as the world suddenly erupted in green light.

"You will break."

But what about... her? Isn't she enough...?

"No. I'm sorry."

And then there was nothing.