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Chapter XXI:

Sister dear!

"Are you gonna make a helpless little girl like me go all by herself!?" Eiko said as the gang had reached the bottom of the tree. She began running a little further down, and Zidane warned her about monsters lurking further down. Vivi followed Eiko just to make sure she was alright, Dagger looked around. She asked Zidane and Melodi if Mog was right when he sensed life.

"We all sensed it too, right?" Zidane said as he looked at Dagger. "We don't even need Mog to tell us that there's life down here."

Dagger nodded her head, and she knew there was something down at the bottom. Eiko and Vivi made their way a little further down, while Dagger and Melodi stayed on top. The young spy wasn't feeling at all well at this pointed, and decided to sit down on something. Dagger noticed and asked if she was really all right.

"I can't think straight," the young spy said. "I'm using all of my strength just to keep up with you guys."

"We'll slow down, so you don't hurt yourself!" Dagger said. She was really concerned for her friend and wondered why she was feeling the way she did. Melodi just shook her head though, and told her to not worry. She didn't want to be a burden, and she wasn't going to be anytime soon.

Down below, where Eiko, Vivi and Zidane stood, was a waterfall of sparkling water. Eiko asked Zidane to watch the water with her, and he reluctantly agreed. When he started watching the water he noticed she wasn't and asked why.

"I'm watching the sparkling water through the reflection in your eyes, Zidane," she said. He dropped his shoulders, and wondered if he put Dagger and Melodi through the same thing. He sighed, and made sure to go easy on them. Well, he was only interested in Melodi anyways. He decided to go back upstairs to see what the other two girls were doing, and found Dagger staring at the plant-like thing in the middle, and Melodi sitting down. He asked what they were doing and Dagger wondered if what she was staring at was a plant or machine.

"Machine? What do you mean by 'machine'?" he asked. It didn't look like any normal tree, and Zidane agreed with her. It was weird enough that the inside of a tree looked the way it did. He looked over to Melodi, who looked deep in thought. He tapped her shoulder, and she looked up at him. She was very pale-looking and he was getting really worried. "You don't look good at all."

"I'm fine," she assured, but he wasn't buying it. He told her to wait for a moment, and did a second look through the place. He thought he saw something move, but he figured it was his imagination.

"Well, so much for Kuja," he said as he looked around one last time. "None of his lackeys are here, either. Let's just—"

"Zidane!" Eiko called out. He looked over to her, and asked what was up. "M-mog's saying... something's coming from above!"

Zidane wondered about it for a moment, and quickly looked up above. He shouted for Melodi and Dagger to come down, but when the two started walking the whole area began to shake, and Melodi fell down. Dagger tried to help her up, but the area kept shaking. Zidane ran up when he didn't hear anything, and saw Melodi hanging onto Dagger's shoulder. "What's wrong!?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just startled," Melodi stated. She let go of Dagger's shoulder, and asked what was going on. Eiko shouted that it was coming, and Zidane asked Melodi if she could stand. Melodi started moving and nodded, and the three of them followed Eiko and Vivi. When they made it they saw the wall shaking, which only caused Melodi to become dizzier. Something fell from above, and a giant, demonic tree appeared.

So it wasn't Kuja.

"Huh? What's going on?" Vivi asked as he looked at everyone. "I can hear a voice inside my head!"

Zidane asked where Kuja was, but the tree didn't know. Dagger tried asking some questions, but it didn't answer her. Zidane asked if he was the one causing the mist, but the tree told them that mist was a by-product of the refining process, and it is discharged through the roots. Melodi was way too dizzy to understand what that meant, but Dagger put it in simpler words saying that the mist was sent to other continents through the roots. Zidane asked why, and the tree told them that it was meant to stimulate fighting instinct. He then told them that Kuja used the mist for other uses, like making weapons. Weapons like Vivi.

"He's really ticking me off! Can I kill him?" Eiko asked, obviously furious. Zidane told her to wait for a minute, and asked what kind of weapons Kuja made. It a simple answer: the black mages.

Defeat me, and no more mist.

And then no more weapons like this puppet here will be made.

Answer me, puppet.

Do you deny your very birth?

Zidane was beyond furious, and wanted to kill it already. Vivi stood quiet, and shook his head when he looked at the tree. He shouted that he wouldn't let anyone make any more instruments of murder, and Eiko agreed with him. They all prepared to fight the tree, but only Melodi seemed unsure, since she wasn't feeling good, and she was dizzy. The tree only growled, and told them that they could not defeat him. Zidane was ready to prove him wrong, and the rest agreed. Vivi took the first hit, and chanted his strongest fire spell. Zidane came in with attacks while Dagger and Eiko healed. Melodi was at her limit, and she tried lifting her sword. A splitting headache appeared, and she clutched it. Dagger noticed, and quickly ran to her side.

"Melodi!?" she shouted. She fell to her knees, and the headache, along with the dizziness and rather weak feeling caused her collapsed. Dagger tried a couple of healing spells, but nothing was working. Eiko also noticed, but because they were fighting a monster, she had to focus on Zidane and Vivi. Melodi kept shaking Melodi to wake up, but nothing seemed to work. She only hoped her friend would wake up soon.

ȶ

Kuja watched the Iifa tree while being on his silver dragon, and noticed a figure standing at it's entrance. He landed a bit near the tree, and climbed down from his winged friend. When he walked closer to the figure he knew who it was, and scoffed as he walked a little faster.

"And what brings you here, Blade?" Kuja asked as he took his usual stand. The older man turned around and stared at Kuja. He wasn't at all fond of him, nor Queen Brahne. They were both just pawns, something he realized a long while ago. He turned back around, and continued to stare at the tree.

"I had found it quite ironic how a tree of life can drain the life of a certain race," he said. He dug his hands into his pockets, and sighed. "But now I hear that it was really only the soul driver who drained that race's life. I wonder what would happened of someone got rid of it?"

"I hope you don't intend to do anything idiotic," Kuja warned. As much as he hated Blade for the sole reason that he made him feel like a child, he needed his loyalty. At least for now.

"And just how would I do that if I cannot go deep within the tree's roots?" Blade asked. He shook his head at how Kuja was trying to be threatening, but he knew well he was just a child playing with a bunch of cool new toys. Kuja scoffed, and told him to report back as soon as he was done 'sight-seeing'. He left with his dragon, and started flying to his hideout. Blade watched as he left, and returned back to looking at the tree. He brought his hands together, and chanted a spell. A few sparks appeared from his hands, and a little light started flying it's way into the tree.

"You cannot die just yet, my dear sister," he said as he looked at the tree. "I have a much bigger role for you."

he watched as the mist surrounding the three began to fade, and looked over to see if it was fading from the mist continent. He was able to see the continent clearly, and the mist from the tree was completely gone. He began walking away and had a slight smirk on his face. He was glad to see everything going as planned.

ȶ

Zidane, Dagger, Vivi and Eiko all quickly made their way out of the Iifa tree. Zidane had been carrying Melodi as they did, and Dagger made sure she was breathing. They didn't understand why, but she had collapsed on the floor, and when it was looking grim a speck of light appeared from the above and made it's way towards her. They didn't know what it was, but it made her look normal and healthy. She was no longer pale, and her breathing seemed to grow rapid again. Once they made it to the entrance, Eiko commented on how the air was so clear, and then looked down towards Zidane and Melodi.

The young spy was sitting down, and Dagger was making sure to see if she was still breathing. They waited a while, and Zidane began to worry about it. He should have done something the moment she turned pale, but with her ability to fight well and her stamina he figured she would be fine. She wasn't superwoman, so he shouldn't have assumed so. She was a normal human being like everyone else. She started fluttering her eyes, and they began to open. She groaned, and sat up straight as she grabbed her head. When she got a sense of where she was, she got up, and noticed everyone looking at her. "What happened...?"

"You fainted back down in the tree, are you alright!?" Dagger asked. Melodi looked around, and noticed they weren't even in the tree anymore. She noticed the mist was gone, and the air was so clear. She shook her head, looked back at Dagger and nodded to her question. "What made you faint?"

"I'm not sure, but even before going down I had a bad feeling about the Iifa tree," Melodi said. She wasn't sure why it only affected her, but she wasn't going to ask. Instead, Zidane had gone and asked that question for her.

"If going down there made you faint like that, I wonder why it didn't do the same to the rest of us," he wondered. Dagger began to think about it, and even Vivi. Eiko took a hard look at Melodi, and wondered what she was hiding. She really only thought of her as a fierce, warrior type woman, but now she was rethinking some things. What was she hiding?

"It doesn't matter," Melodi said. She crossed her arms and looked around. "Has Kuja shown up?"

Zidane shook his head, and told her that they probably had to wait. With the mention of Kuja's name, Vivi lowered his head, and Zidane noticed. "...Vivi?"

"Did I... do the right thing?" he asked. When the tree said that the mages were only used for murder he didn't want Kuja having his way, no matter what. But thinking about it, there won't be anymore new black mages, and he was scared that the other ones would hate him for it.

"No way!" Eiko intervened. She jumped down from the rock she was standing on, and walked towards Vivi. "Listen to me. You should never lie to yourself! After all, your brothers wouldn't want you to do that."

Vivi was skeptic, but Eiko assured him that they would understand, since they were his brothers. Melodi took that to heart, since she began to think of Blade. Did she need to use violence for revenge, did she really need to kill him? Maybe he suddenly had a change of heart? She sighed. There was no way. One of the moogles from Madain Sari came, and informed Eiko of something. She gasped, and told the moogle she would be there soon.

"You guys are going to wait for Kuja, right?" she asked. "I gotta go back to the village!"

Zidane stopped her, and asked what was going on. She told him that someone entered the village and stole something important. It was obvious where they needed to be, and the gang agreed and decided to go with Eiko to stop the person. She was grateful, but wondered about Kuja.

"Madain Sari isn't that far, so he can wait," Zidane assured her. She thanked everyone, and soon enough they were on their way to the village.

ȶ

Everyone arrived at Madain Sari, and Eiko announced that she was home. All of the moogles came running in, and Eiko asked if everything was alright. They had no time to talk, and dragged Eiko with them as they left. Zidane called her out, but she didn't reply. Melodi quickly walked ahead of them and told them they needed to follow her. They agreed, and began to run to her. They hurriedly followed close behind, all the way towards the kitchen. All the moogles were surrounding a small room down below, and they walked inside to see a tearful Eiko. Zidane asked if she was alright, but she stuttered a bit.

"The precious stone that has been passed down in this village for generations is gone!" she shouted. She tried hard not to cry, and lowered her head. "My grandparents said... They said that we should take care of it because it's a symbol of the summoner's heritage."

Zidane noticed that she wanted to cry, and told her that she should, since it could help. She placed her hands on her hips and turned around and shouted at him. "I'm not gonna cry! I'm a grown-up now, and crying won't help one bit!"

Zidane, Dagger and Melodi offered to look for clues, and looked around the room. Eiko was still saddened, and wondered if it was her fault because she opened the seal on the Iifa tree. Zidane assured her that it just happened that way, and that it wasn't her fault. The real villain was the person who stole the stone; not her. She turned around, and looked at Zidane. "You know, I wasn't going to cry! I'm a grown-up!"

"We know, Eiko," Zidane confirmed. "But if you feel like crying, just cry."

She shook her head, and told them she was going to pray to her grandparents. She left, and Zidane looked over to Melodi and Dagger, and told them they could cry as well. He looked over to Melodi and told her that his shoulder was available anytime. She raised her eyebrow, and rolled her eyes as she thanked him. But she was curious. "What about you, Zidane? What do you do when you need to cry?"

Dagger left the room, and Zidane smirked at the young spy. He brought up his hands, and looked at Melodi. "Oh, I get real clingy when I'm sad!"

Melodi heard a soft scoff from above, and new Dagger was listening in. she chuckled, and looked at Zidane. "Well, thanks for the warning."

Zidane scratched the back of his head, and told him he was pretty serious. Melodi was about to laugh, but she and Zidane heard a scream. Dagger came down, and told them that it sounded like Eiko. Zidane realized that the thief was still here, and soon enough Vivi came down as well. "Zidane, I saw her! It's that girl from Fossil Roo! She took Eiko... and they headed to the eidolon wall!"

Melodi wasn't at all happy to hear that Lani was the one behind it, but the gang had to move quickly to help out Eiko. They quickly made their way towards the eidolon wall, and saw some of the moogles there. They were able to peek inside, and definitely saw Lani holding a captive Eiko.

"This is no way to treat a lady!" Eiko protested. Lani just snickered, and wondered what was with the wing ornament on her back. It made Eiko so easy to pick up, and the young girl shouted for Lani to get her 'grubby' hands off it.

"Oh, shut up," Lani said. "Just be still until he gets here."

they stopped peeking and wondered where Mog was. Luckily, he wasn't captured, and Zidane asked if he could help them save Eiko. They needed his help. Mog was too scared however, so that plan wasn't going to work. Zidane decided they should all head inside, and they prepared once they did.

"Well, so there's my good sir knight," Lani said as she looked at Zidane. She looked over to Melodi, and gave a little cackle. "And rose's pathetic so-called student."

Melodi glared at the woman, but Zidane intervened as he demanded to know what she did to Eiko. Lani scoffed, and told them that she was making too much noise, so she put her to sleep using sleeping weed. Zidane commented on that, stating that she would be sleeping quite well. Melodi shook her head, and Dagger told Lani that if it was her pendant she was after then she shouldn't have to harm anyone else.

"No way. This is way to convenient to pass up!" Lani said. She looked over to Zidane and the others. "Hand over your pendant, and I'll hand over the girl, capice?"

She asked where the pendant was, and Zidane told her that he had it. Lani only scoffed, but Zidane asked if she was the one who stole the jewel from the village. Lani explained that the queen wanted the pendant and a few other things taken care of, but when she saw a jewel similar to the pendant, she had to take it. She was quite glad to have followed the crew to the new continent. She once again told him for an exchange, and he slowly walked up to her. She was quick to figure out that he was plotting something, so she told him to stop.

"You, black mage," she ordered. "Bring me the pendant. Remember, do as I say if you value this brat's life!"

Vivi was unsure, and asked Zidane. He wasn't liking this, but told Vivi to do it anyways. He gave the pendant to Vivi, who in turn walked up to Lani. Right when he was about to give it to her, someone shouted from above, and came jumping in between them—making Eiko and everyone else move back a bit. Luckily, Zidane was able to catch Eiko. He looked over to the man who was in a green tunic with red hair, and thanked him. Eiko started to yawn, and Zidane asked if she could stand. When she realized what was happening, she jumped down. "Where's that old hag?!"

"Oh, that's it! Who are you calling a hag!?" Lani shouted. Eiko gladly told her who the hag was, and Lani just growled. Zidane told her that she was way outnumbered, and demanded that she return the jewel that she stole. Lani growled again and looked at the man. "What are you tryin' to do, Red!? I thought you were supposed to be the number one bandit!"

Everyone averted their eyes towards the man in green, and both Melodi and Dagger knew who he was. "I've seen him before...!" Dagger exclaimed.

"Yeah, he's the guy with wanted posters all around Treno," Melodi said with a calm voice. The man didn't look at the crew, but simply said he wasn't trying to help. He only wanted it to be fair, but Lani wasn't understanding what he meant.

"Leave the jewel and get out of here," he said. Lani was taken back by what he said, and told him that they were partners-in-crime on the job. But he made it very clear. "I don't work with hostage-taking scumbags. Now, get lost. Or... would you rather fight me?"

"Mark my words!" Lani growled. "I'll collect the bounty on you someday!"

Melodi placed her hands on her hips as she said that, but the bounty huntress was already gone. The man in the green tunic jumped and was now in front of Zidane and everyone. He got into his fighting stance and ordered the blond to fight him, but he was confused. The man reminded him that he wasn't there to help, and that he just wanted to level the playing field. Zidane took a moment to think, and Melodi looked at him. He wasn't going to...

"Fair deal. Let's do it!" he started stretching as he prepared and Melodi called him out on it.

"Zidane, you can't be serious," she said. What was that going to accomplish?

"It's okay. I'll be fine," he assured. She looked at him with disbelief, and he returned the look with a wink. "I was just looking for more ways to impress you!"

With that said, he took out his dual-blade, and ran towards the man in green. Vivi and Eiko ran behind Melodi and Dagger, who simply watched as they fought. Dagger noticed that Melodi's face was red, and she knew she was blushing. At the same though she was worried because he was fighting an unknown enemy. They seemed to be leveled, with each of them being quick on their toes, but Zidane was just a bit stronger. Melodi wasn't afraid to step in if things got real tough, but for the most part Zidane was doing pretty well. They kept on attacking and healing, and eventually Zidane got the last hit. Melodi gave a sigh of relief, as well as everyone else. When the man admitted defeat, he told Zidane to end it, but the blond wasn't so ruthless.

"Can you stand?" he asked him. The man got up, and Zidane asked for the jewel. He handed it over to him, and gave it to Eiko. The man was still determined to have Zidane finish him, but he just shrugged. "You wanna die that bad? I just spared you life."

The man wondered if he was going to banish him, but Zidane just shrugged again and told him he could leave if he wanted. No one was going to follow him. The man was determined that Zidane was tricking him, but he was just confused now. The man couldn't understand why Zidane was letting him go if he tried to kill him, but Zidane explained that they were both alive and that was all that mattered. Along with the returned jewel, of course.

"Listen to you. I lost to some spineless thief," the man retorted.

"The sly eagle doesn't kill at whim," Zidane replied. The man stood in silence for a moment, and then suddenly left. Melodi was a bit concerned about it—letting someone intending to kill go, but as long as everyone was safe she didn't mind that much. Zidane walked over to Eiko, and smiled as he told her to keep that jewel in a safe place. She quickly left with Vivi, and the three teens followed close behind.

ȶ

Zidane, Melodi and Dagger followed Eiko and Vivi to the room below the kitchen, and Vivi mentioned how she had been quiet the whole time. Zidane walked up to her, and Eiko told him that her grandfather told her not to leave the village until she was sixteen, but she really wanted to go with everyone else. She asked him if she should leave, and Zidane told her that he would agree if it was really what she wanted. It really didn't matter what he said though, since it seemed like she had already made up her mind. He looked over to Vivi, and told him to say something. The young boy was a little confused, but eventually told Eiko that she should never lie to herself like she told him.

"I'll try to be more honest with my own feelings... You should, too, Eiko," he continued. She gave it some thought, and quickly enough she smiled and thanked Vivi for reminding her of her own advice. She was going to with them, and that was final. Melodi and Dagger noticed Mog making noises, and Dagger looked at Eiko.

"Eiko, I think Mog wants to talk to you," Dagger moved out of the way along with Melodi, and Mog came in and talked to Eiko. The little moogle was scared that Eiko would be mad with him, and he was right. Eiko was furious that he went off without her, even though they promised. She shook it off though, and forgave Mog as she was glad they were both commented on how she was so nice to Mog, and Eiko told him it was because they were best friends. They had their friendship ribbon, and Mog showed it to everyone.

"It's too big for her now, but once we're both sophisticated ladies, we'll wear them together!" Eiko said. Mog agreed with her, and Eiko looked over to Zidane. "Maybe then, Zidane, you'll dance with me?"

Eiko looked up at the blond, and called his name. Zidane only stared at Mog. "I didn't know Mog was a girl..."