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Memories, Hopes, and Nightmares	By : bigtrw Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy IX Views: 935 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Memories, Hopes, and Nightmares
- 1
Disclaimer: I don�t own any of these characters. They are the property of Squaresoft
Inc. This is the sequel to my other
story �Other Worldly Love�. Hope you
like it.

Memories, Nightmares, and Hopes

Queen
Garnet retired to her room for the evening.
It had bee exh exhausting day.
For the last two weeks, refugees from around Treno, and even Lindblum
had been flooding into Alexandria.

Some
unknown force had attacked Treno two weeks ago and nearly obliterated the once
proud city of thieves. All that
remained of the great city was the auction house and Dr. Tot�s tower.

Then,
last week, Lindblum had been attacked.
Once again, no one knew by what.
It hadn�t been the black mages or any member of Kuja�s old force. Lindblum�s air fleet had been thoroughly
wiped out. The castle had been badly
damaged, and all that remained of the town was just a small portion of the
business district. Not even Tantalus� hideout
was sparedm dem destruction.

Now,
the only major city left that hadn�t been touched yet was Alexandria, and its
young queen was under tremendous stress.
She�d spent most of the day listening to eyewitneeporeports of the
attacks. They all came from the sky,
but no one saw who had fired at them.

�Why�why
would someone do this? We all worked so
hard to rebuild this world!� Garnet gazed at herself in the mirror and found
her thoughts drifting to someone that she missed terribly.

�Zidane,
where are you? The world needs you; I
need you!� He�d been gone for a month now, and each day seemed to go by slower
and slower. She covered her face with
her hands and let her tears fall.

�NO!�
she gasped and mentally smacked herself while wiping away her tears. �I won�t
act like a weak child. Zidane taught me
better than that! I must remain strong
for my people�and for him.�

A
long way from Alexandria, a young man approached the door to a large
fortress. He gazed up at the massive
stone structure and brushed his blond hair out of his eyes. His tail flapped behind him, and he clutched
his double-bladed sword.

Zidane
took a deep breath and prepared himself to enter Oeilvert. He knew the dangers that lay hidden inside,
but he also knew that what he needed to know was hidden inside.

It
had taken him a long whio reo realize what his message meant. He finally remembered where he�d heard the
phrase �Witnesses of Terra� before- Oeilvert.
He�d stay with the nearby Mog the night before to refresh himself and was
now ready to face whatever lay ahead of him.
Stepping up to entryway, the massive stone doors opened for him without
hindrance.

Zidane
made his way to the upper levels where he knew they were waiting for him. Entering the large chamber, the young
warrior made his way to the circular platform.
Upon stepping on it, the platform lit up and carried Zidane up towards
the ceiling until he was floating in front of several masks that had various
expressions on them.

�Welcome
Zidane, we have been expecting you��

�So
you�re the ones who have been calling me.
What do you want?�

�It
is not what we want, Zidane, it is what you want. You want to know about yourself� then ask us, and we shall tell
you.�

The
thief froze in mid-thought. He�d wanted
to understand who he was for the longest of time, and now, he had the chance,
but�the question was�did he want to find out?
What if it wasn�t what he wanted to hear? No, he needed to know; whether it was good or bad.

�All
right�my first question is�who am I really?
I know that I�m a Genome, but I want to know who my people are, and why
I was chosen to be different?�

�You
come right to point, young one, that is good.
Perhaps, we should start at the beginning��

�Zidane,
we know that you spoke with Garland while you were on Terra and that he told
you about how our planet remains alive by assimilating other planets. However, he did not tell you
everything! It is true that Terra
absorbs a planet to remain alive, however, we never use a planet that is
already inhabited.�

�Wait
a minute�then why did Garland try to assimilate Gaia?� Zidane said angrily.

�We
are sure that Garland told you that he was created to oversee Terra and revive
the souls of our people. That is true,
but his objectives changed after we went to sleep. He became obsessed with controlling the planet and took it upon
himself to doing anything necessary to remain in power. However, the more power he attained, the
more he wanted; so, he set out to take over a world aside from Terra.�

�The
original rulers of this world were peace-loving people who only used violence
as a last resort. When Terra needed to
be rejuvenated, they would select a planet that was compatible but
uninhabited. They refused to destroy a
world just to save their own.�

�Then
why was Garland able to reek havoc on my planet?� Zidane could hear a heavy
sigh coming from the faces.

�He
murdered the former ruler and his family.
Only one member of his family survived, and that member�is you.�

�You
mean I�m�� Zidane was dumbstruck.

�Yes,
you are the prince of Terra. Your
father saw Garland kill his wife and daughter; so, he took measures to protect
you. He found a world rich with life,
and a place that he knew you would be happy in. That world was Gaia. Your
father had your memory erased and sent you to Gaia when you were very young.�

�Hold
on�Garland told me that he created me as an angel of chaos�just like Kuja.�

�He
lied to you, my boy. Garland did create
Kuja, but he did not create you. You
were born from your mother and father.
But�Garland used your DNA to create a clone of you�that was Kuja.�

�Wait
a minute�Kuja was another �me�!�

�Exactly. Every inhabitant of Terra has their DNA
sequence recorded in the public archive�even the royal family. Garland needed a member of royal family�s
DNA to create �an angel of destruction� as he called it.�

�Why
me? What�s so special about me?�

�Zidane�as
we told you, your parents were peaceful people, but they did possess incredible
power. Something unusual happened
though. When you and your sister were
born, you received all the power that your parents possessed, and your sister
was born �normal�. Garland felt you
were the best choice to use.�

�Slow
down a second�I have a sister!�

A
beam of light emanated from the wall, and three transparent figures appeared
before Zidane. One was a middle-aged
man with short brown, deep green eyes, and a face that radiated both gentleness
and power. The second was a woman in
her late thirties (by human years) with long, blond hair, soft brown eyes, and
a loving smile. Lastly was a little
girl about six or seven years of age.
She had brownish-blonde hair down to her shoulders and the same eyes as
her mother.

�You�ve
grown strong, my son,� the man stated.

�Father?�
Zidane gasped as he took a stepped towards them.

�Yes,
my boy, I am Shinju, the king of Terra and also�your father. This is your mother Marina and your sister��

�Mikoto,�
Zidane interrupted.

�Ah,
so I see that you�ve met her clone.�

�Yes,
I was wondering why she was different from the others.�

�Father,
what is this place? How did these
memories of Terra show up on Gaio:p>o:p>

�After
I sent you here, Garland challenged me for the throne of this planet. He defeated me in battle but did not win
entirely. With my last breath, I
transmitted archarchives of Terra and also the memories of Terra to this
location. I�m sure Garland told you
about how the souls of Terra sleep until a new world is assimilated.�

�So,
the witnesses are actually the inhabitants of Terra?�

�Correct. When Garland realized that he couldn�t rule
the true inhabitants of Terra, he used the Invincible to destroy them all and
cloned them all from the DNA in thcordcord center.� Zidane was grinding his teeth by now.

�Father,
there is something that doesn�t make sense.
Why do I remember things from Dagger�s past? I wasn�t even alive then.�

�Dagger�ah
yes�the young woman that you�re in love with.� The older man chuckled, and
Zidane blushed.

�Garland
knew that the eidolons from Gaia posed the greatest threat to him so he wiped
out the summoner tribe to eliminate them.
As Dagger and her mother were escaping, they were caught in a violent
storm. The mother died, but the baby
survived. However, there was something
else that happened to her that no one knows.�

Zidane
felt a strange sensation inside him. It
was like something had just been awakened from hibernation and was trying to
rise to the surface.

�Uh,
what�s happening to me?�

�Your
eidolon is awakening,� Shinju stated.

�My
what!�

�When
I saw what Garland had done to Maiden Sari, I crossed to this dimension and met
with Dagger�s mother that night. She
knew that she was dying, and I offered to save her memories in our �databank�
as a small token of reconciliation. She
accepted my offer but said that she wanted her eidolon preserved as well. She said that it was the ultimate guardian
of healing, and that this world needed it to exist. So, I embedded her eidolon into you.�

�You
mean that I can summon a guardian!� Zidane gasped.
<
<
�Yes,
I�m sure that you can feel its energy rising inside you this very minute.�

�Father,
I wish that I could tell you about everything that�s happened to me.�

�Zidane��
this time it was his mother speaking, ��we have been watching you since the day
you arrived. We have not missed a day
of your life; so do not feel bad.� Her voice was like soft music, and Zidane
knew without a doubt that she was his mother.

�Now,
I�m glad that Kuja destroyed Garland back on Terra. He didn�t deserve to live!� the thief shouted.

�Yes,
Kuja�s independent thinking was quite an achievement for him. I was astonished when I saw him use a
full-powered trance. Apparently, he did
inherit some of your power.�

�Why
wouldn�t he have gained all of my power, father?�

�Zidane,
a clone is a copy of a person, but it�s an imperfect copy. Not everything is exactly the same. That is why you have an advantage; Garland
measured your power according to Kuja�s.�

�At
least Garland was destroyed.� Shinju let out a long breath.

�No
Zidane, he wasn�t. Garland is still
alive.�

�What? How can that be?� Zidane�s mind froze; he
remembered hearing the old man�s voice while he and the others fought through
Memoria.

�Damn
him!�

�My
son, he has returned to Gaia with revenge on his mind. We�ve been watching for the last month or
so. He�s destroyed both Treno and
Lindblum and is approaching Alexandria.� At the mention of the city, Zidane�s
eyes exploded with anger.

�What? He won�t touch Alexandria or Dagger!� He
clenched his fists tightly. Dammit, how
could he have let this happen? But he�d
been on the Lost Continent for several weeks and heard nothing about this.

�Zidane,
you must be careful. Garland is much
more powerful than you believe him to be.
When you fought him before, he wasn�t using his full power. He wanted to see you manifest your true
potential so Kuja would be destroyed.
However, he does not know that you have double the power of any of the
royal family. Garland believes that you
can�t be any stronger than I once was.
He believed that your sister also carried hidden powers; that�s why she
was cloned as well.�

�But,
if you couldn�t beat him father, then how am I supposed to?�

�My
boy, you�ve got a lot more power that you can begin to imagine. Like the caretaker told you, yosorbsorbed
the power from both your mother and me.
You have the power to defeat him; now, go do it! But�there�s something that I wish you to
have.�

A
sphere of light appeared before Zidane, and it formed into two blades. They appeared to be made of some type of
crystal and curved back towards the edges.
Zidane clutched the sword hilts in his hands and felt the power in them.

�What
are these?�

�Those
are the swords of Terra, my son. You
can use them separately or as a double-bladed sword. You�ve become the man that I�d always hoped for, Zidane; now,
finish what I could not�destroy Garland and free our people from our own
foolish mistake.�

�I
will father�I promise you.� Zidane looked at his family�s image and smiled
warmly.

�Zidane,
beat that old man�he�s so gross and mean,� his sister piped up. He chuckled at the little girl.

�You
bet I will, little sis. Mom, Dad, I
love you both and Mikoto too. I swear
that I will avenge our planet and set things right.�

�We
love you too, Zidane,� his mother and father said at the same time.

Zidane
sheathed his new swords and put his hands at his sides. His father said that he had the power within
him; now, he had to harness it. In an
instant, a blue cylinder surrounded him, and Zidane teleported out of
Oeilvert. It didn�t matter if there was
a magic barrier around the place; Zidane�s power broke through itp>

�He
learns quickly, Shinju,� Marina said happily.

�Yes,
I believe that Zidane can learn to harness the true power that he has within
him.�

�My
brother�s gonna kick that old guy�s butt!�

Zidane
appeared next to the Invincible, which he�d left on the shoreline. The teleporter pad brought him inside, and
Zidane raced to the bridge. He had to
make it back to Alexandria before it was too late. He knew that Dagger would die to defend her kingdom and so would
everyone else along with her. He would
not let that happen!

�Hang
on, Dagger, I�m coming!�

In
Alexandria, a distraught Queen Garnet paced back and forth in her throne
room. The doors to her chamber swung
open, and she nearly jumped in surprise.

�Your
majesty!� It was Steiner and Beatrix. �Your majesty�they have arrived.�

Garnet
gave an inward sigh of relief as she saw all her old friends enter her
chambers- Vivi, Eiko, Freya (who had also brought Sir Fratley along with her),
Quina, and even Amarant had come.

�Welcome,
all of you, thank you for coming.�

�Of
course, we came Garnet�you think we�re gonna let some bad guy tear up your
town!� Eiko said with a determined look on her face. A smile drew across the queen�s lips.

�All
the black mages came with me as well.
They say that they owe you a lot for helping them escape from Kuja�s
rule,� Vivi added.

�Hello
Garnet.� The queen looked past her friends to see Cid and Hilda entering the
room.

�Uncle
Cid!� she gasped and ran to him. She
hugged him tightly and did the same to her aunt. �Are you two all right?�

�Yes,
my dear, we managed to escape on the new Hilde Garde, but the rest of the air
fleet was demolished,� Hilda said sadly.

�Regent
Cid, did anyone see who attacked you?� Steiner asked.

�No,
I spoke with several of the soldiers who fought, but they said that all they
said was just some type of moving sphere�a sphere of energy I believe.�

�Like
Memoria?� Vivi said out of the blue.
Everyone stared at the black mage, and he quickly regretted opening his
mouth.

�Vivi�s
right. It does sound like Memoria, but
that means that Kuja is still alive!� Steiner gasped in horror.

�Kuja
is dead.� All eyes went to the Queen of Aleria.ria.

�My
queen, how do you know this?� Beatrix inquired.

�Zidane�he
told me�he said that he saw Kuja die in his arms�inside the Iifa Tree.�

�Speaking
of which�where is the furry-tailed young man?� Cid asked. Garnet tried to control her emotions.

�He�he
left about a month ago. He said that he
was going to find who he was; I haven�t seen him since,� Garnet choked out.

�CAPTAIN
STEINER!!!� a guard shouted as he ran through the doorway.

�Soldier,
how dare you show such disrespect!�

�I�m
sorry, Captain, but I have disturbing news.
Something is approaching Alexandria; it looks like a floating sphere.�

You
could hear everyone gulp as the tension in the room rose to new heights.

�Call
out the guards�man the battlements!� Steiner ordered.

�NO!�
Garnet countered.

�Your
majesty?� Beatrix gasped. The young
queen shook her head.

�No,
we must not fight in the city. Everyone
has worked so hard to rebuild it; I won�t let it be destroyed again. We must intercept the enemy outside of
Alexandria.�

�Majesty,
you don�t mean that you�re going?� Steiner screeched in horror. In a flash, Garnet dashed into her private
quarters behind her throne room and quickly changed her clothes. She ran back out with her magic rod and
skidded to stop.

�My
queen, you cannot go out there!� Steiner continued.

�Silence
captain!� she commanded. �I am not just a queen, but a fighter and healer as
well. Only Eiko and I have the power of
summoning, and we need as much power as we can get.�

< sty style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-s10.010.0pt'>�I
hate to say it, Steiner, but the queen is quite right,� Beatrix confirmed.
�But�but��

�Everyonlet�let�s go!� Garnet ordered. Everyone
followed after her not daring to counter her orders.

The
band of warriors took up a position a quarter mile outside the main gates of
the city. They could see the energy
spherproaproaching them, and the sky around them grew darker as it drew closer.

�I
can sense powerful magic at work�dark magic,� Eiko stated.

�I
know�so can I,� Vivi added.

Out
of the sphere sprung hundreds of dragon-like creatures. It was indeed�just like Memoria.
�Vivi,
can the black mages handle them?� Garnet asked.

�Yes.�
Vivi quickly directed the other black mages to counteract the incoming hoard,
and they quickly took aim.

The
sky lit up as the pointy-hatted mages cast spell after spell. From afar, it would�ve looked like a huge
fireworks display.

Even
with the black mages help, there were still a hefty amount heading towards
Garnet and the others.

�Everyone�stand
back!� she commanded. Garnet cleared
her mind and said a silent prayer inside her head.

�BAHAMUT
ARISE!� At her command, the king of dragons appeared and used its mighty breath
to blast away the hoard of monsters.

�Well
done, majesty,� Steiner said happily.

�That�s
not all of them!� Amarant pointed out.
The group could see a new wave of dragons approaching them.

�Spread
out�keep them away from the city!� Garnet ordered.

The
fighters branched out in pairs to watch each other�s backs. The fought back beast after beast, but the
evil hoard seemed never ending. Hours
passed by, but the noble fighters refused to give up.

�ENOUGH!�
a loud voice commanded. The dragons
withdrew back to the energy sphere, and the weary warriors took a moment to
catch their breath. An image appeared
before them, and you could hear them all gasp.

�It�s
Garland!� Garnet gasped. The old man
sneered slightly.

�I�m
pleased that you remember me, Queen Garnet, but then again�I suppose since
you�re Zidane�s little tramp�you would remember me.�

�How
dare you call her that!� Steiner shouted.
- 1
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Memories, Hopes, and Nightmares

Disclaimer: I don�t own any of these characters. They are the property of SquaresoftInc. This is the sequel to my otherstory �Other Worldly Love�. Hope youlike it.

Memories, Nightmares, and Hopes

Disclaimer: I don�t own any of these characters. They are the property of Squaresoft
Inc. This is the sequel to my other
story �Other Worldly Love�. Hope you
like it.