Again, I wanted to add some more side scenarios, so I hope that you enjoy! :D

III- The five newest members of Class Zero meet SnakeEyes for the first time.

ANIII1: Takes place during the epilogue. Main characters in this are the five optional members of Class Zero, who can be recruited into the class. :) (Though they aren't playable) Some OOCness, but then I couldn't find much on their personalities (bar the Final Fantasy Wiki (I do have an account there btw, just to let ya know) and TVtropes)

IV- SnakeEyes on the various stages to completing his focus.

ANIV1: Takes place a long time before the story begins. Has a small crossover bit, what with Etro, Lightning and another FF character appearing, but apart from that it mainly focuses (excuse the pun) on SnakeEyes. I apologise for any inaccuracies in this.

V- Arecia cannot help but see SnakeEyes in Ace.

ANV1: Again, takes place a short while before the story begins. Arecia in this !verse has probably seen and met SnakeEyes before the story, and so knows of his existence.

I hope that you enjoy it!

TMGxx

III- New Beginnings

Machina and Rem led SnakeEyes out of the Palace of All Magic, and back towards the Susaku Peristylium of Magic. Silence filled the air, as they were all thinking of the dead members of Class Zero.

However, they knew that they couldn't dwell on the memories of the dead forever- after all, there were the five newest members of Class Zero that needed to know the truth. SnakeEyes had never met them before, as they hadn't been recruited into Class Zero when he was Ace. All he had to go on was their reputations.

The Merchant of Flames was the first one SnakeEyes thought of. She had worn the light blue mantle of Class Second, and was famous amongst the Academy for selling goods and information for ridiculous prices. There was a joke that you could be literally dying on her feet, and she'd still charge you a fortune to have the cure.

Ryid was the next one he could recall, and the only one whose name he could remember, before Rem and Machina had filled him in on the new members. A member of Class Five, his imposing build hid a gentle heart, according to Cinque...

"Cinque." SnakeEyes muttered. He missed her so much. He'd been mostly alone for all these years, travelling across the various worlds training in order to fufill his focus. It was only now that he realised this.

-Line Break-

Meanwhile, in the Peristylium, the five other living members of Class Zero were waiting for news on their classmates. After Machina's disappearance, and Rem becoming a L'Cie... They were worried for the others.

"They're dead...they're dead..." Mutsuki paced up and down, whispering those words as if they were almost a chant. She didn't want to believe it, she couldn't believe it...but... What they were going up against...there was no way that could survive.

Ryid approached Mutsuki, realising that she was apprehensive over the fate of their Classmates. He didn't like seeing her in this state. He didn't like seeing anyone in his state.

"Suki!" Ryid gently tapped the other student gently, "They'll be fine, they are just late coming back, that's all."

"No, Ryid. They're dead. I should have been there. I could have used my bombs to blow their enemies apart." Mutsuki muttered, while playing with one of her bombs.

Ryid paused, and with a sigh replied, "Not all stories have to end like that."

Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, Quon was thinking to himself. He would have loved to have been there with Type 0. They would have become the Agito! They would have had access to the ultimate magic! Oh, how he would have loved to have seen it!

He then started to theorise on what the magic would have been. Was it a powerful spell, which was stronger than even the Ultima spell of old? Would the magic allow them to become Gods on Earth? Argh, he just wished that he knew the answer!

Just then, the five could hear footsteps down the corridor. Carla's ears perked up. Was it Class Zero? Had they come back alive? And if so, what had happened down there with Cid, the leader of the Milites Empire? It sounded like she could make a small profit from selling her friends' stories, which could then go to helping her mother get better.

Naghi already knew what happened, of course. His sources had told him that Machina and Rem had walked back into the Peristylium alive. With them was a L'Cie. Apart from that, no other member of Class Zero had made it out alive.

He shut his eyes, with tears slowly trickling out of them. Even though he had been in Class Zero for a couple of weeks (and in fact was the newest member of the Class) he had gotten to know some of them very well, and enjoyed their company. It wasn't fair.

Finally, the door opened. Machina and Rem walked in first, looking serious, and not even muttering a word. Behind them, the L'Cie hid.

Mutsuki turned to look at Ryid, mouthing "I knew it", before she looked at the other class members. She was devastated. She would never have conversations with Ace again. Nor would she be able to talk about weapon design with Trey. Or have girly time with Cinque. The list continued on what she would miss now that Class Zero were...

Ryid tried to fight back the tears, but he was losing. He had already lost his relatives on Lorican, and now his friends had been taken away from him. How was this even fair? He would miss helping King protect their friends whilst on missions, as well as sparring with Eight. However, his tears were stopped when Mutsuki grabbed him from behind, and pulled him into a hug. They both needed it after all.

Carla tried to push this out of her memory. This never happened. This never happened. But of course, it had happened. Class Zero had given away their lives. They would never be coming back. Queen...Jack...Nine...Cater... None of them, apart from Machina and Rem would be coming back.

Quon punched the wall. He should have been there. He should have been there! The military in Susaku could be thick at times! The more people that went into the Palace of All Magic, the more likely that they would have all got out alive! He was furious, both at the stupidity of the military, and the twisted nature of the cosmos. He was bitter that the majority of Class Zero were no longer alive. He was just angry at the world in general.

When Rem and Machina realised that their class mates had began to calm down, they beckoned SnakeEyes into the room. When he came in, the five other members of Class Zero looked up, confused.

"Ace?" Mutsuki asked, looking at SnakeEyes curiously.

SnakeEyes looked down at the ground, obviously feeling guilty. "I'm...I'm...I'm not Ace. I haven't been for over a million years. I'm no longer your classmate, I'm no longer a soldier of Susaku. Hell, I'm not even human anymore. I'm SnakeEyes, a L'Cie, a monster. I failed my focus again. I couldn't save my friends, I couldn't..."

"What does he mean, he couldn't save his friends?" Ryid muttered, "From the looks of it, he saved Machina and Rem. Yes, the others aren't here today, but at least you got two out alive."

SnakeEyes smiled weakly, "That's true. I never saw it that way... If I hadn't tried to intervene, then maybe we wouldn't be here discussing it..."

Machina and Rem noticed then that their newer classmates didn't know the whole story, and so decided to fill them all in. When they had finished, one of the newer members of Class Zero smiled.

"We can form a new Class Zero between us!" Carla exclaimed, "The eight of us can help the world in its new beginnings!"

"I'd like that..." SnakeEyes beamed.

"To the New Class Zero. May our friends never be forgotten, but may we strive to build a better future!" Quon declared.

"And if anyone tries to stop us, I'll blow them up with my bombs!" Mutsuki grinned happily.

Everyone else slowly agreed to this plan, before they looked out of the window of their Classroom. Outside, the light blue sky harkened a new dawn for the people of Orience.

IV- Dreams of Crystal

SnakeEyes could faintly remember when he had first been taken to the realm of Valhalla. He remembered being a L'Cie, he remembered going to fight the Lulusath Army. Then, nothing.

Blackness. A sense of freedom. Finally free of the L'Cie bonds which had shackled him to a doomed fate.

He had thought that he was dead at first, when he woke up in the unseen realm. After all, he had heard legends of this place. The dead came here after their lives had ended, in order to be reincarnated back onto the world of Orience.

As he walked forward, he noticed that what he was wearing wasn't his Class Zero outfit, and instead was wearing some weird casual outfit. The white shirt and light blue trousers felt comfortable, but he wasn't wearing this when he died.

What was going on?

That's when he heard her.

"Ace...come here..." The voice muttered. He knew who it was. Etro, the goddess of the dead, the guardian of the unseen realm. He continued thinking. Why did she want him? Was he alive, and not dead? If so, why?

Finally, he decided to follow the voice, and he walked away from the clear crystal laden waters of the beach that was near him.

Eventually, he reached Etro's temple, which was at the summit of a mountain, and overlooked the deserted metropolis below.

He paused, took a deep breath, before muttering, "I am here, Etro. What do you want of me?"

"I want to give you a good life, Ace. You have suffered too much, and you don't deserve it. I opened the gate to the unseen realm just to save your class mates, though I could only save you in the end. I have found a world that you can be safe, happy in even. I want to..." Etro replied softly.

"Do you know what I want to do?" He muttered in reply, "Etro, I want to save my class mates. I won't be happy there if I know they actually dead. Please, Etro, help me to save them!"

Etro countered, "But if you'll die even if I help you save your classmates."

"Not unless I become a L'Cie." He replied angrily, surprising both the goddess and himself.

"I made you normal again, I freed you from your L'Cie past." Etro stated, shock evident in her voice, "Are you prepared to give that up for your friends?"

He nodded, before the words, "I am." escaped from his mouth. Etro looked stunned, before she finally decided to brand him as her own. He could feel the burning pain of the brand being seared onto his elbow, and he could feel Etro's power coursing through his veins. He shut his blue eyes, allowing the change to take place.

Suddenly, his focus appeared in his mind. He saw his classmates happy, living long and fruitful lives. And most importantly, he saw what he was fighting for. Their futures.

When he opened his eyes, they flashed silver.

And that was the moment that he became SnakeEyes.

-Line Break-

SnakeEyes of course, could easily remember the first time he tried to complete his focus.

He had gone back into Orience immediately after he had been changed into a L'Cie by Etro herself. He was wearing a lighter armour, the colour of silver (though SnakeEyes doubted that it was made out of that material) with Etro's eye carved onto the brestplate.

Etro had also given him a new deck of cards, which were much stronger than even his strongest set. Not only did the cards offer amazing offensive, healing and defensive capabilities, but they also allowed him to summon his own War Gods/Eidoloeons into battle at will.

It was because of this that SnakeEyes felt confident that he could complete his focus.

However, the truth was that he wasnt ready yet.

SnakeEyes wasn't prepared for the strength of the other L'Cie in Oriense. He wasn't strong enough to defeat The cyborg L'Cie Nimbus. He wasn't quick enough to dodge Qun'mi's attacks. Heck, he just wasn't ready to even challenge half of them.

They were just more battle ready than he was.

But that didn't even prepare himself for his worse mistake.

He allowed Arecia to see him. As his armour didn't have a helmet, his face was not obscured. She now knew what SnakeEyes was now. That mean that she'd be more prepared to allow her plans to exist (whatever they were)

Eventually, Class Zero decided to become L'Cie again, and they failed (again) in defeating the Lulusath army.

SnakeEyes had failed for the first time. And it wouldn't be the last time that it would happen.

-Line Break-

SnakeEyes blinked, before getting up from the ground. Where was he? All he remembered was falling through... Something. He couldn't remember the name of the phenomena exactly.

He had faint recollections of what had happened before. He'd been fighting a L'Cie named Gilgamesh, and they both fell through the thing as a result. If that was the case, then where was Gilgamesh at this moment?

SnakeEyes could still see his brand glistening under his armour. He was still a L'Cie, even though he was...lost?

Just then, he could see a brown haired youth walking past him in the distance. SnakeEyes paused- maybe this youth would know where they were?

SnakeEyes started jogging in the guy's direction, whilst trying to grab his attention.

"Hello? Can I talk to you?" SnakeEyes asked. The youth turned around, and faced SnakeEyes.

The youth turned around, "Sure! I have never seen you around these parts before! I'm Bartz Klauser, and you are?"

"Pleased to meet you Bartz. I am known as SnakeEyes." SnakeEyes mumbled.

"Nice to meet you too, SnakeEyes!" Bartz replied cheerfully, "So, what is it that you wish to ask?"

"Where...am...I?" SnakeEyes asked, a confused look obvious in his voice.

Bartz smiled, "I guess you have amnesia too, huh? We're just outside of Walse. It's a lovely place to visit, if you want to come with me!"

SnakeEyes nodded, grateful for the offer that Bartz had made.

He'd spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know Bartz (he was especially surprised to find out that Bartz had saved the world) as well as learning more about the world that he was in.

Finally, evening was upon them. As the two walked out of the city, SnakeEyes turned to Bartz.

"Bartz. Can I ask of you another favour?" SnakeEyes asked, nervously.

The other man smiled, before replying, "Sure, SnakeEyes! Tell me what it is, and I'll do my very best to help you!"

SnakeEyes paused, "I came here accidentally from my own world. There, I was tasked by a Goddess to save the world I came from, as well as my friends, from the fate forced upon it. Please, can you help me get stronger, so that I can succeed in my task?"

Bartz looked slightly confused, but eventually nodded, "Sure, of course! I can try and help you defend your world! Is there anything that you'd like to know?"

-Line Break-

SnakeEyes smiled, as he returned back to the temple of Etro. Even though he often associated the place with failure, it was good to be back.

After all, it was the only way that he could get in and out of Orience regularly. The only way that he could try and use his new skills to try and save his classmates regularly. It was...

"Who are you?" The feminine voice snapped SnakeEyes out of his thoughts. He turned around, and saw a rose haired woman looking at him, curiosity and anger flashing through her eyes. In a way, she reminded him of Seven, as she appeared independent and strong on the outside. She then continued "Do you work for him!?"

SnakeEyes replied cooly, "I'm SnakeEyes, a L'Cie to Etro, originally from the Fifedom of Rebrum, from the land of Orience. I don't work for this 'him' that you mention. And you are?"

The female paused, slightly taken aback. She quickly recovered her composure, before answering, "I am Lightning, Etro's Champion, and an ex-L'Cie of Pulse. Have you ever met a man named Caius Ballard?"

"I don't know the name, and I guess that is the 'him' that you mentioned?" SnakeEyes guessed, before continuing, "And Etro's Champion, huh? Wow. I guess that means that we're allies?"

Lightning nodded, before she voiced the question that was on her mind, "You're not from Pulse or Cocoon?"

"It is very complicated..." SnakeEyes muttered, before he explained that her own world was just one of many, and that he came from a different world. He then finished that his task was to save his own world from its fate.

Meanwhile, Lightning was thinking how similar they both were. Like her, SnakeEyes was using a nickname, not his real name. Like her, he was doing this in order to be strong. Like she had been, he was a L'Cie tasked with saving the fate of the world.

"Do you want me to teach you how to use a gunblade?" Lightning finally asked, "If it will help you to save your world?"

"I know the basics from a man named Squall Leonheart." SnakeEyes admitted, "But having thorough tuition would be nice."

Lightning gave a rare smile, before murmuring, "Sure, I'll teach you."

-Line Break-

And now, it was all over.

SnakeEyes knew that Arecia had removed the crystals from the history of Orience. It was only a matter of time, before he entered crystal statis. But he didn't care.

Ace would, and could, have a future, free from war and death. He could marry Cinque, if he was in love with her. Cinque herself could have a future, and that made SnakeEyes even happier.

SnakeEyes as a Etro L'Cie, and a very old one at that, had forgotten many things about his life. He couldn't remember every world that he had visited, or every person he had talked to. However, he remembered his classmates before the war, when they were innocent, and clueless about the horrors that they would one day face.

He remembered the simple things, such as Deuce's smile, Trey's lectures, and the rest of his classmates' quirks.

And finally, his Classmates were free to be happy, without the threat of a dark future overcoming their lives.

Finally, SnakeEyes could feel the process began. He was finally entering crystal statis. He was fine with that, as he had nothing to live for here anymore. He had spent the best part of a million years trying to complete his focus.

And, at last, it was all over.

V- Guilt

"Moher, moher!" A three year old Ace smiled cheerfully, as he saw Arecia entered the room. He couldn't pronounce the word correctly, but the affection the little boy had for his mother was evident in his voice.

As he ran towards her, seeking to be picked up, Arecia weakly smiled back, before picking up and hugging Ace, "Hey there, kiddo. I'm home."

She had adopted this version of Ace a year previously, after his parents had died in a scientific experiment they were conducting for the Peristylium. She had never adopted any of the children of Class Zero before, but she was eager to try and be a proper mother to Ace.

As she looked into Ace's blue eyes, she wondered what his future would be like in this cycle of Orience. It would probably be short again. It'll probably end with him becoming a L'Cie again.

She felt guilty over this.

At times, she wished that she didn't have to follow Pulse's orders, that Orience could be free from its fate. However, she had to follow her orders, she had to obey the Goddess.

She had to doom Ace to his fate.

As she looked into Ace's blue eyes, she couldn't help but see SnakeEyes within him. That bitter L'Cie, bound to Etro's orders to save Orience and Class Zero. He hated her with a passion, for what she was forced to do by Pulse. To try and use the cycles of Orience to open Etro's gate into the unseen realm. They had nearly succeeded one before, with SnakeEyes. She just had to do it again.

Then, and only then, would the people of Orience would be free to carve out their own fate.

She looked, for one final time, into the face in front of her. She could see the future the boy had if he wasn't doomed to die so young. He'd grow up, and have a life free from all of this mess. He could get a job, marry the person (male or female, Arecia didn't mind) of his dreams, and probably have children as a result of this. Finally, he'd be able to grow old, and die surrounded by the people he cared most about.

"We've taken that away from him," Arecia mumbled, "He doesn't deserve this."

"Moher?" Ace beamed at his adopted mother, "Can we play togther? I wanna play with you!"

She shook herself out of her thoughts, and grinned wildly at her adopted son, "Of course! What do you want to play?"

Ace smiled, before saying, "Pwese can we play hide and seek?"

She nodded, and she hid her face behind her eyes. Ace ran to hide as she was counting up to twenty five.

"One...two...three..." Arecia counted, while she tried to enjoy Ace's joy. After all, it wouldn't be too long before he lost it in the tides of war.

ANIII2: This ended up longer than I thought it would be. People rarely write those five characters on this site, so I thought I'd add them into the story. :) This is kinda sad, but also hopeful in its outlook.

ANIV2: Yes, Bartz appears. :) I've played FFV- and I thought as because that was the game where Gilgamesh first appears, it would be appropriate for SnakeEyes to go and meet Bartz. If either Lightning and/or Bartz are OOC, I apologise.

ANV2: I kinda see Arecia as a kind of L'Cie/Fal'Cie in Type 0 and Agito. She was tasked by Pulse to try and get into the Unseen Realm, through any means. I guess in the alternate ending, she finally gained the free will to defy her task/focus. I know Arecia is more quirky than I portrayed her, but hopefully I got the mother aspect of her correct. :)

I have plans to write 25 of these Side Scenarios for this story, so I'm currently 1/5th of the way through. I also plan to get as many characters from the Game in as per possible. I have ideas for Side Scenario Six, but if anyone has any requests, I'll write them!

Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this, and I'll try and write more soon!

TMGxx