Eventually I pulled myself together and stepped out into the warm sunlight trickling through the surrounding forest. The air was so clean and sweet here – nothing like air of a big city like Lindblum and still an improvement over Alexandria.

Zidane was nowhere to be found – not that I had any particular desire to search for him at this moment. Instead, I elected to take a stroll through the village to visit the inhabitants and check their progress. And they had progressed. The village had doubled in size since I'd last seen it. There was even a quaint stable and paddock where six well-cared for chocobos grazed. A genome had a younger bird in halter – training it, by the looks of it. I smiled at him and he nodded as I stopped near the fence to feed a handful of grass to the nearest chocobo.

The giant bird had the most soothing eyes I'd ever seen. They looked deep brown from one angle, then almost gray when they hit the sunlight. He (or she) made a gentle cooing noise as I stroked beneath its chin.

"Do you recognize Bobby Corwin?" the genome asked, suddenly standing beside me.

I turned and lifted my eyebrows. "This is Bobby Corwin? He's grown so big."

"We just celebrated his third birthday last month. That chick I'm training over there is one of his."

"My, my. So you're a father now, Bobby?"

The chocobo let out a gentle 'kweh' before nudging my with his beak. I turned to the genome chocobo trainer.
"What's your name?" I asked.

"David. And you're Princess Garnet, right? I remember you from… well, back then."

"I'm flattered, David."

The genome smiled. "You're here with Zidane, right? He used to talk about you so much when he was living here."

I might've blushed, had the situation between Zidane and myself been less up in the air. As it was, I managed a polite nod. "Did he?"

"Yep. All the time. Say, where is he? I thought he'd come see the chocobos. He helped me train Bobby Corwin. That's how I learned to do it."

I took a step back without realizing it. "I'm… I'm not sure where he is at the moment. As a matter of fact, I must take my leave as well. It has been lovely chatting with you, David."

"Alright. Come back soon."

I nodded even as I jogged to put distance between me and the choc obo corral. Something had caught my eye – something I needed to investigate. Further down the path, a small hut stood somewhat off on its own near the tree line. I'd seen a black mage enter it a moment earlier and thought nothing of it. But when he came back out, he'd opened the door slowly and peered around before locking the door and fleeing.

My eyes were now fixed on the hut as I made my way toward it. I stopped then. There were too many people around for me to approach the hut without being noticed. Trying to appear casual, I turned slowly toward the woods and headed in that direction. I made my way through the trees until I could just barely see the village, then followed the curve of the settlement until I thought I must be near the mysterious hut.

Pushing my way back through the branches – and catching one or two in the face – I found myself directly behind the hut of my interest. I paused for a moment and listened. The voices were distant and so I was certain nobody would hear my approach. Tiptoeing, I managed to find a window that faced the woods. I inched closer, trying to make as little noise as possible.

When I did reach the window, however, I realized it was up much too high for me to see inside. I let out a sigh of disappointment, then began slowly circling the hut in search or another means of infiltration. The porch wrapped around nearly to the back and I stepped up onto it cautiously. There was a second window… but I would be partially in sight of anyone who might be looking this direction.

Weighing my options, my curiosity eventually won out, and I edged closer to the window. Standing on tiptoe, I lifted my eyes over the sill and peered into the darkness. At first, I saw nothing. The hut had no lamp, no fire. Then my eyes fell upon something. Fabric, moving fabric.

I squinted, testing the limits of my vision.

The genome stood then and, with soulless eyes, turned toward me. For a moment we stared at each other. Finally I realized the childishness of my skulking around in the woods, and straightened so that I was standing directly in front of the window.

"Hello," I offered gently.

The genome tilted its head slightly. "You… you don't look like me or the others. Who are you?"

I blinked. Surely the genomes – all of them – would remember me. "It's Garnet," I said. "Don't you remember me? We escaped from Terra together. I'm… Zidane's friend."

"I don't know anybody named Zidane," it said, its voice growing more agitated. Suddenly another genome appeared beside it.

"Who is that?" it asked.

"She calls herself Garnet," the other replied. "She claims we have met before. Could she be proof of what the others have told us?"

"We should inform Mikoto at once. This is an intruder."

"Yes, you are right. We must call for Mikoto."

"No, wait!" I called after them. But it was too late.

"You shouldn't be here!"

I spun to find Mikoto running toward the hut. She glared at me, then rushed inside. I followed her to the door, and stood there as she worked to comfort not two – but three – upset genomes.

"I apologize," she said in a gentle tone. "This woman is no danger to you. You mustn't be afraid."

"She said we knew her before," one of them cried. "Why can't I remember?"

"I've explained this already," Mikoto continued. "Your memories are gone but, in time, you will come to know the things you've forgotten."

"If this is what my life is going to be like, I would rather be dead!"

Mikoto turned slowly toward me, her face livid. "You should go. You're only upsetting them."

I stammered something incoherent, then spun and ran as fast as I could away from the hut. By the time I reached the inn, I was out of breath. I sat on the bed, chest heaving, for a moment before the familiar sound of Zidane's footsteps approached. Frantically, I made an attempt to collect myself – and failed.

Zidane appeared in the doorway then, his face as sullen as the last time I'd seen it. I could tell he knew where I'd been and what I'd seen. I wanted answers.

"Zidane… what is going on in this place?"

He sighed and came in the rest of the way, closing the curtains behind him. For a moment he stood, propped against the wall, arms folded across his chest. At length, he said, "we're dying."

My heart seemed to stop momentarily. "Wh-what?"

"The genomes… are dying. Like the black mages, we weren't built to last forever."

"Nobody is built to last forever, Zidane." I hesitated before asking the question I knew had to be answered. "How long do you live for?"

"About twenty-five years."

I sucked in a deep breath and held it. Zidane was twenty-one. "So… four years, then." Was this what he'd been so upset about?

"Actually…"

"Don't say it. Please don't say it."

"…Mikoto says I'm closer to twenty four. Maybe older. I was just another soulless genome on Terra before Garland chose me. I didn't begin to age until I came to Gaia."

Tears stung at my eyes as I let my head fall into my hands. "Zidane…"

He dropped his guard at last and rushed over to me, pulling me close. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just found out myself recently…"

"It's not fair, Zidane. After all you've done, all you've sacrificed. All that just to… to die?"

"Maybe not," he said, a glimmer of hope in his tone. "Those genomes you saw… they've undergone what Mikoto calls a Life Extension procedure. Somehow the genomes and mages were able to team up with the workers in Dali who knew something about how the black mages were created… and came up with a way to extend their lives."

I lifted my head and scanned his face eagerly. "Then you… that's why you wanted to come here?"

He nodded slowly.

"Why didn't you just tell me all this before we left Alexandria? Why hide it?"

"I don't know… I was afraid of how you might react. I'm so sorry. You don't know how hard it was to keep it from you."

"How soon can you have this procedure?"

Zidane rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it's… not that simple. There were some unexpected side-effects from the treatment."

I recalled the genomes in the hut. "Amnesia?"

He nodded. "Three out of four lost their memories."

"What about the fourth subject?"

Zidane swallowed audibly. "He didn't make it."

I shook my head slowly. "Zidane… I don't think I can live without you," I muttered hopelessly.

He squeezed me more tightly. "Don't give up on me yet," he replied quietly. Then his whole posture changed and I could feel him trembling. "I'm scared, Dagger. I'm really scared."

That was the first time I'd ever seen Zidane cry. I held him close to me and rubbed his back comfortingly. Suddenly I found a strength I never knew I possessed. There was no urge to cry, no despair. Only the need to make him feel safe.

"It's going to be fine, Zidane. You're going to be fine."

"I don't want to forget you," he said in a trembling tone.

"I won't forsake you, Zidane. Even if you forget about us, I will never give up on you. I'll find a way to make you remember and, if that fails, then we'll start over. I'll make you fall in love with me all over again."

That made him laugh a little. "That won't be difficult," he said, sniveling. He pulled away then and wiped his eyes dry quickly. I put on my most radiant and assured smile for him then. "Especially not if you look at me like that," he added. "Nobody could say no to that face."

He leaned in and kissed me then. Once again I tasted that bittersweet desperation. This time, I understood it.