[@Shoryu Magami]

>The deconstructionist in me usually does end up finding plot holes or mistakes pretty quickly, so it's probably good I noticed this before it was too late, yeah?

Yes. Very.

The biggest thing about Zidane being a possible traitor is that we have Marche already who might turn out to betray Mateus; But if we keep the same concept of Zidane only having Garland's words to go on, he'd end up on Chaos' side regardless. Except as more of a general opponent to the Warrior's of Cosmos aside from Terra; Which his relationship with her might swing the same way, except without an initial bad impression. It'd also allow Zidane to be a lot more independent in the Warriors of Chaos, mainly due to not having to bargain for information; He finds Terra and tries to protect her from the other Warriors of Chaos. He'd end up fighting them eventually, as well as the Warriors of Cosmos the others sooner or later, especially with groups Terra isn't in; This way I can certainly keep Freya, as well, which would be a relief because I actually like her a lot. 

That comparison is really accurate; There's a lot to work with there, I'd be interested in learning more about it! Though I wouldn't want you to have to spoil anything, so we can leave it in the dark for now. I'm certain when it comes up we'll be in agreement regardless; You haven't pitched anything even remotely bad yet, so I trust whatever you decide to do will be entertaining and good for the plot.