Welcome to Once More With Feeling! Part 1 of the Once More With Feeling Trilogy! (The next story is OMWF: Lunar Findings. If you started with Lunar Findings... it probably made very little sense, hm? This is the first story and will better explain Lunar Finding. The third story is still a WIP and not complete enough to start releasing)

This fanfiction is set directly after the game! Pretty much starting with the last FMV. If you have not played Final Fantasy 9 (FFIX), this story will contain spoilers! (sorry Dissidia fans. I LOVE Dissidia, but you kinda need to know FFIX for this story to work)

Description: Zidane has returned and his happily ever after is about to begin, he hopes, but fairy tales are usually just that... stories told to reflect an event, but hardly ever cover the details and tragedies of life itself. An old enemy he never expected has returned and Zidane has to live with the revelation that his carefree lifestyle might need to end.

He'd hoped to sweep Garnet off her feet and live happily ever after with her, but the reality of the situation is that Princesses don't just get to marry Thieves… especially not when a 'better' choice is around in the form of a Dark Prince from Daguerreo named Drake, and the World Leaders are tricked into seeing Zidane as a potential threat to Gaia.

Zidane learns more about Terra from Mikoto, and also learns about being an Angel… he learns that Garland left something for him in Oeilvert. A mysterious power claimed to outmatch any existing force, called The Secrets of Terra. It is hidden behind a door only Zidane can open... and his enemies want that door open for them.

However… Zidane isn't greedy, he doesn't want the responsibility of that power and knows it must stay locked away forever… but when his whole world turns against him… what will he do?

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Square Enix owns it all! I own some characters (Such as Drake) and 90 percent of the follow up story that'll be posted at the end of OMWF (It goes with OMWF and pretty much gives info on everything missing in this story and is a story in itself! I own it except Square-Enix names and places are used, so... it belongs to them.) called The Real Lunar Findings (OMWF: Lunar Findings for short). You'll see!)

My name is Ravyn! When you review, tell me what to call you! You can call me Sherah, Ravyn, Sharada, Rave... Hey You, Writer Girl...

ON WITH THE FIC!

Chapter 1: My Life Needs A Do-Over

The crowd cheered. Zidane could see all his friends in the audience gasping and smiling; they were all so excited, so happy. With Garnet in his arms, he looked off stage to see Blank laughing at him and Marcus smiling. Baku, who was sitting in the audience with the Regent of Lindblum and his family, laughed and smiled and was berated by Eiko for not telling her that he had this planned. Even Amarant, who was Eiko's new guard, was smiling.

Everything went perfect, just like planned.

Zidane led Garnet back behind the stage while Blank, Marcus, and Ruby continued the play.

"How… how is this possible?" Garnet sniffled, trying not to cry again.

Zidane held her, stroking the back of her hair and letting her hang on to him as if she were afraid that if she let go, he would vanish forever.

"It's been months! We thought you were dead!" Garnet sobbed.

"Shhh, easy, it's all right now. Everything's all right," he assured her.

"How?" she asked one last time before tears broke through. She rested her head against his chest, not at all ashamed for crying or worrying that she should get back to her seat.

Zidane smiled, even though he knew she couldn't see his face. He had been waiting for this day for a long time and decided to get straight to the answer. Straight to the story of him getting back.

"After you and everyone left, the Iifa Tree started to really act up. You guys made it out just in time." Garnet tugged at his vest, her mind reliving that day. "I ran into the tree. By the gods, I ran faster than you would have thought possible. I've been in races, and have always won; I knew I was fast, but wow. I didn't know anyone could be that fast!" He laughed, trying to cheer her up. When he found it wasn't working he continued, "I found Kuja. He asked if you all had escaped un-harmed, he had used his magic to make sure you could escape. I told him you had. Thanked him. He was dying, and I didn't know any spell that would help. It seemed, at first, that my presence there was useless."

"Then why didn't you come back? Why didn't you run back?" Garnet whimpered.

"As I said, he was dying. I… I didn't want him to." Garnet turned to look up at him, a questioning expression on her face as Zidane continued. "I know, sounds crazy. After all he had done, but that's why I went back for him. It wasn't that he was getting off easy for all the damage he had done, it wasn't that I wanted to drag him back here so he could face trial or be imprisoned for the rest of his life. Or even that I wanted him to change, to become a different person like everyone else had. To grow inside. I just wanted my brother to be alive, no matter what that meant. He wouldn't have gone back for me, but I didn't care. No one should have to die alone. So, I figured I could get him out, get us both out of there, back to Lindblum or here."

"Why didn't you just do that? I understand you forgave him, so why didn't you two just head back?" Garnet asked.

Zidane sighed, "Because he stopped talking. I panicked. All I could think about was that I had finally done it. I beat the bad guy, and found my family. I didn't want to lose it. I couldn't. The tree started moving again, a huge vine came at us. Kuja wouldn't wake up, but I couldn't just leave him there, so I dove in front of the vine, protecting my brother, even as the vine hit. I woke up at the bottom of the tree. Miles down. Alone."

"Oh! Were you hurt?"

"I fell a few miles, hitting every vine along the way. How could that not hurt?" Zidane laughed, and then shrugged. "A few broken bones. A concussion. Sprained my tail, twisted it pretty bad too, and ripped most of the muscles in my back. Maybe more, I can't really remember. I just remember lying there, trying to move and not being able to. I thought I was paralyzed. Thought I was a goner. I laid there trying to remember any medical knowledge I had to survive. Don't move, don't sleep. Problem was… those options would have killed me eventually. I was so battered I couldn't move, not even an inch, even three days later."

"You must have thought you were going to die."

Zidane shook his head, "No. I was delirious. Dehydration makes you crazy, but I saw a ship. I heard voices."

"Voices?"

"Yeah. You know how Steiner is always complaining about me being a thief and that I hang out with the wrong crowd? Well, that wrong crowd stole a ship and came back for me. Mikoto helped them, she had been looking since the very first day, but there were still some monsters so she couldn't look too far. I heard her, in my head, calling for me. Physically I was a vegetable, but I Tranced, using all the damage I took to my advantage. I fired some spell. Grand Lethal, I think, up in the air before I blacked out. When I woke up next, I was on a ship with Ruby sitting next to me telling me we were going to an Infirmary nearby. She said they had the best doctors there, that I would be okay. Took a few months, but she was right." Zidane smiled, looking out at the stage.

"And then?"

"I took an Airship back to Lindblum and walked into the hideout. I told the Boss that I wanted to come see all of you in Alexandria, let you know I was okay. And, knowing us, we came up with a pretty surprising way to do it. Cinna wanted me to walk up behind you while you watched the last part of the play. Blank said I should wait by the castle entrance for when you go to thank the Boss for performing. Marcus said we should do the play like normal, surprise everyone right from the beginning, and complete the play. Ruby, however, whacked them on their heads for those ideas and said we should do… well… what we did. She's a romantic at heart and a Prima Donna in life. She wanted to surprise everyone. So… surprise!" Zidane smiled his familiar, wicked smile. A smile that could shatter even the hardest sorrow and grief or mistrust. A thief's smile, but his own.

Garnet hated herself for ruining the moment, but she had to ask. "What happened to Kuja?"

Zidane sighed, his smile gone. "Kuja died. The vine had somehow missed him, but he was already gone. That's why he wouldn't wake up."

Garnet swallowed hard. "You're sure?" She felt awful asking. "You're sure that tyrant is gone?"

"Yes. I know you still hate him, no matter what I say, it won't change that. He killed your mother, after all. Kuja's story is over."

Garnet and Zidane walked around the Theater ship and back into the castle. Into the main hall, by the front entrance.

"Zidane… I hate Kuja for what he did to everyone. For all the pain he caused. He is your brother, though, if you came back with him, I would not condemn him; he would have to face what he did, of course, but-."

"Easy girl! But he's not coming back. Dead people don't come back. Oh, sheez, that sounded mean of me, I'm sorry about your mother and all the responsibilities you were forced to deal with, but hey! We're married! We shall rule, king and queen over all of Alexandria. Perhaps we'll fire Steiner?"

Garnet giggled.

"My Steiner joke was that funny?" Zidane asked.

"First of all, we're not married. Not legally. We left before signing the marriage license-,"

"Drat."

"Second, there is something I should mention-." just then, Steiner ran in.

"Princess Garnet! We were worried when you didn't come back. Zidane that was a very reckless and immature thing to do!"

"It's all right Steiner. It finally is. Everything's perfect."

Zidane ignored Steiner's insult and Garnets happy words. He was stuck on one word, just one. "Princess?"

Then Queen Brahne walked into the room.

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