Author's Notes: Welcome! It's been an extremely long time since I sat down to write a story, or pretty much anything for pleasure. The idea came to me when I was re-playing Final Fantasy 9 over Christmas and it's been sticking with me so I thought I'd see where it went. Even I'm not sure how it'll end, but then again, that's half the fun! It is essentially a what-if scenario based on the premise of Zidane getting trapped within the Evil Forest instead of Blank. How would that change the story? Would Dagger still become the woman that she did in the game? Are Zidane and Dagger still meant to find love in the end? Will there even be a world left for anyone to enjoy without Zidane's presence in it? I do hope that you enjoy it, and if you have any questions or comments feel free to get in touch with me.

The Promise

Chapter 1: Retracing Footsteps

The trees quivered within the Evil Forest, leaves shaking, branching leaning down to whip at the retreating party. The earth cracked, crumbling away from ancient burrows as minions of the Plant Brain arose to seek revenge. The air smelled of anger and retribution.

Four figures ran as if their lives depended on each step forward – a fact that was true. Each step took them closer to the fading light at the entrance of the forest, a step towards being able to draw another breath or live another day. In the lead was a tall, looming figure clad entirely in battle-worn armor. In his arms he gently clasped a pale, dark-haired girl who lapsed in and out of consciousness. Behind them hurried a small black mage of blue attire and a drooping hat. Though far shorter than anyone else in the party, he moved with a surprising speed. They started to draw away from the final two of the group.

A blond-haired youth with lightly tanned skin and a tail came to a halt as he looked around the forest, a perplexed look crossing his boyishly appealing features. His companion, a brunette just slightly taller than his companion came to a anxious halt next to him.

"What are you doin'?!" the brunette, Blank, asked as he gasped for air.

"Something's wrong…" Zidane, the blond, replied shaking his head.

"What?"

""The entire forest is coming after us. Blank... Take care of everyone."

Zidane took off at a run after that, not giving his friend a chance to reply, but Blank just stared at the empty spot where his friend had stood, his brow wrinkled. What did he mean by that? Blank wondered as he took off at a run after the rapidly moving group.

Diminishing sunlight poured through the large gap in the trees, promising a way out. The armor-clad knight, Steiner, and the small black mage, Vivi, made the final mad dash out of the forest and into the open air, both turning to stare back to those who still had not found their freedom.

"Hurry!" Vivi shouted, waving his small arms around. "Hurry!"

It took no encouragement for both Zidane and Blank to pick up the pace. Blank, with his longer legs, began to slowly overtake Zidane, but he reached out to grab the blond by the arm and jerk him onward. Behind them a large swarm of Plant Spiders stampeded, mandibles snapping at the prospect of gathering a meal.

Zidane risked a brief glance over his shoulder to the enemy behind him and blanched. It wasn't just a herd of Plant Spiders. Even as they ran, many started to fall to the ground, victim to the entire forest's slow petrification. "Blank, go!" he shouted.

Blank only gave a small cursory nod to show that he had heard, focusing all of his attention on his speed and dodging the vine-like arms that snaked out of nowhere to try and stop his escape. He didn't stop to look behind him, or to watch his friend's heroic and idiotic defense.

It had only taken a moment's thought before Zidane turned hard on his heel, sliding a few inches as he pulled out his twin daggers in preparation for the onslaught. The flashes of steel arced down to block and attack simultaneously. He drew the attention of the monsters, allowing Blank the briefest opportunity to escape, even as the petrification chased at his heels.

Blank came tumbling out of the forest, immediately turning around to look for Zidane, but saw no blond hair running towards him. Still fairly deep within the forest were the now stone statues of a proud youth making an impossible stand against a large onslaught of monsters. But even this was a brief vision to be burned into his memory as the snaking vines tangled themselves together, forming a solid petrified barrier between the Evil Forest and the outside world.

Rising on unsteady legs, Blank moved towards the entrance, banging a fist. "Damnit, Zidane!" he shouted. "Damn you. You had to go be a hero again…"

"Mister Blank?" Vivi asked hesitantly, coming up beside the grieving thief.

Silence was his only response.

"This is all of your fault! You and that insidious monkey," Steiner raged, coming up on the other side of Blank, even as he still carried the unconscious Garnet in his arms "If you had not tried to kidnap the princess, none of this would have happened. And now Evil Forest has become completely petrified."

Blank whipped around, an anger filming in his eyes. "You wanna start something with me?" he growled, one hand grasping for the sword at his side.

"Guys…" Vivi meekly mumbled. But the two larger men would not be swayed from their snarling.

"Once we return to the palace, I shall see you hanged!" Steiner fumed.

Blank merely laughed. "You're a long way from the palace now, Rusty," he said mockingly. "How exactly do you plan to get back there? You're surrounded by mountains in every direction and last I heard, North and South Gate were closed. Not to mention the princess is too weak to move. She hasn't even woken up yet. So what's your great plan so you can see me hanged?"

"I just… Um… You…" Steiner fumbled for his words, but fell into silence as he felt Garnet stir in his arms.

"Oh…" came a weak voice as Garnet's dark brown eyes slowly fluttered open. "What happened? How did we make It out of there alive? Steiner?"

Steiner slowly let the weak princess back down to her feet before falling to his knees before her. "It is my sworn duty to protect you, Princess."

"I thank you, then," Garnet replied with a soft smile.

"What are you talking about? If it hadn't been for Zidane, none of us would be here," Blank snorted. "To say nothing of my sword and Vivi's black magic. That rusted bucket had nothing to do with it."

"Why you…" Steiner started, but was cut off by Garnet raising a hand.

"I thank all of you," Garnet whispered. "But I must rest. I am greatly fatigued."

"I shall stand guard over you, Princess. Never fear," Steiner said, rising slowly to his feet. "Come, rest by the fire until you are healthy enough to travel."

***

Blank stood in silence in front of the Petrified Forest, arms crossed over his chest. "Damnit, Zidane… Why'd you have to do that?"

Silence was his answer.

"Is this really the Evil Forest?" came the sweet voice of Garnet. She moved slowly, a fatigue still weighing down her face, but it did nothing to diminish her breathtaking beauty. Blank had to tear his gaze away from her seemingly endless brown eyes before responding. "Yeah, I think so. How are you feeling, Your Highness?"

"Much better now, thank you," Garnet said with a nod. "Your friend…? He was the one that saved us?" she asked hesitantly.

"His name was Zidane. Zidane Tribal. He was a brother and a friend," Blank said roughly.

"I did not know him well, but he seemed to be a very good person." Garnet smiled faintly. "He promised to kidnap me." She studied Blank's face a bit closer. "You were with him that night. You helped him succeed in the kidnapping, didn't you?"

"Yeah… the entire gang was there to help with it," Blank shrugged. "We were all just following orders. But Zidane. He has to do things differently and he had to go be a hero with you from the get-go. He could never say no to a pretty girl."

"Well… I must thank him for it," Garnet replied with a sigh. "He helped so much, and did his best to protect me, even though it was not his duty. I… I have to get to Lindblum. I cannot tell you why, but it is of the utmost importance."

Blank stood silently for a moment and then nodded. "In honor of Zidane, I'll get you to Lindblum, Your Highness. No questions asked."

Garnet bowed to Blank. "Thank you," was her soft response.

"If you'll excuse me. I'm going to go warm up and get something to eat," Blank said. "I wouldn't stay too close to the Forest by yourself though. Never know what evils it'll try and through at you."

"I shall take utmost care," Garnet promised. "I shall return to the fire soon."

Blank just nodded and walked back to the small camp, leaving Garnet to her thoughts.

"Why did you help me?" Garnet whispered, staring up at the massive, petrified trees. "It was so peculiar. It was as if I had known you from a previous lifetime. You were a familiar friend even before I knew your name. Zidane…" She sighed.

Garnet took a step back, rubbing at the back of her neck. "Are we truly just meeting for the first time? In another life, perhaps you had made it out of that forest alive and we could have known each other better. Been friends. But that will not be now. We cannot risk waking the Evil Forest again… I am certain that you would agree. Though one day, perhaps… one day I can help save you the way that you saved me."

The royal heir to the Alexandrian throne stepped further back and took a bow to the entrance, in her mind seeing the laughing face of the blond-haired young man. "Good bye, Zidane. And thank you."

End Notes: Well, that's Chapter 1! I know it was probably a bit boring but I'm still trying to get back into the feel of this. Next Chapter will be the Ice Cavern and possibly the beginnings of Dali. We'll also get a chance to make up some background and history for Blank. Maybe even give the poor man a last name. I'd love your comments and praise (hopefully) in some reviews! Thanks and happy new year.