Oh yeah, here we are, finally, the fight with Tiamat. Buckle in, boys, because not only are we getting the whole group together, but we're also beating the crap out of the Queen of Dragons! Let's take bets on who lands the killing blow, huh?
The entire Qu camp chattered loudly among themselves as a giant shadow loomed above them. The multiheaded monster screamed loudly, shaking the very ground with her roars. "Stand your ground!" the Qus called, and they immediately set to the task of moving into different groups, some to focus on guarding and some who were preparing more offensive magics.
Tiamat raised her red head towards the heavens and let out another angry roar, but before she could dive down to tear apart the blue mages, a shot came out of the sky, slamming into her green head with such force that her entire body followed suit. Quale looked up into the sky as a tiny black gnat leaped from the dragon and thrust back down, slamming Tiamat to the ground with an indignant scream.
The black dot leaped away, sailing through the air before landing at the foot of the other Qus. Freya Crescent twirled her lance and dropped into a fighting position with a snort. "Even a queen of dragons is no match for one who was trained specifically to fight them! Come, monster of darkness, and I shall..."
Quina wagged their tongue at the Burmecian with a snort. "...You here to fight?"
"What...?" Freya turned lightly, her expression one of bewilderment. "Wh-why else would I be here? I'm a *Light Warrior*!"
"You here to fight?" Quina asked again, ignoring the dragoon's tirade, "If you fight, then you stop talking!"
...Freya's jaw hung open for only a moment, suddenly humbled. When she turned to face the dragon, she noticed that Tiamat was already standing. Well then, she decided to take the Qu's words to heart, and she leaped back into battle.
Tiamat let out an enraged scream that seemed to tear apart the sky itself, and she opened her mouth to spew a glob of acid onto the dragon knight. Freya braced herself, but when the acid sloughed off of her like water off of a duck, she knew the Qus were assisting her with their Mighty Guards. She took the opportunity to slam into the green head's eye, thrusting her lance so far into the now pus spewing goop that she pierced the nerve.
Tiamat was livid, and Freya could tell so as the black head chomped down on her and the red head hurled a giant cone of fiery death at the mages. The protection kept Freya from getting chewed to pieces, but she was dragged away from the dragon's eye and tossed unceremoniously through the air as the Qus began to roast. Luckily, their own Mighty Guards were up, and the moment the flames died down, three more of their number set to the task of sending a healing White Wind through the encampment. Tiamat screamed at the indignity of it all, and her white dragon tore into five different ones, ripping them apart and tossing them around the area. She did not expect them to crawl up into tired fighting positions, as if her teeth hadn't just impaled them in multiple places. "What devilish magic is this!?" she screeched, befuddled. She had never encountered such incredible, dangerous magic before, "Why won't you all *die*!?"
"Hard to kill Qu," Quina said matter-of-factly, "Plus, always wanted to know what god taste like." They couldn't die when such a succulent meal just *landed* in their camp.
The earthquake that the warrior Qus cast caused Tiamat to lift into the air to avoid it, but that only made her susceptible to their tornadoes. Some of the revived ones even had just enough health to reach out and crush her in their Limit Globes. In desperation, Tiamat began to launch her breath attacks all at once, covering the ground with fire, ice, choking gas, and lightning. Finally, her enemies retreated to a safer distance, and the queen of dragons let out a mighty roar. "None... NONE can challenge me!"
Freya shook her head as the dragon's triumphant cry sounded through the battlefield, and she leaned on her lance. Her ankle was very clearly broken... perhaps she could try to bind it; with the way the Qus were (intelligently) sounding a retreat, she wasn't sure she would get healing anytime soon.
Something glinted in the air, flashing into Freya's vision and blinding her for just a moment. When the dragon knight looked up, she saw that there was a gleaming, golden airship catching the sun's rays. The Nautilus had arrived, and with it, the Dark Warriors...
"We've arrived!" Desch shouted as the Nautilus soared above the camp.
Garnet stood up and Zidane charged forward to look down at the chaos that was ensuing. "Holy- she's even bigger than I imagined!" he said, his voice cracking, "How in the world are we even..."
Zidane whirled around when he heard the Nautilus' door being opened, and the Light Warrior had to grab at the console as the air began getting sucked right out of the airship. Once equilibrium was reached, Steiner latched onto the side of the doorway with one hand and wrapped a free arm around his princess's waist. "I hope you know what you're doing, my lady."
Zidane turned and tried to call out to the princess, but Garnet was too quick: "I *always* know what I'm doing," the princess insisted, and she reached out to the sun and sent out a prayer... "Darkness upon Darkness. Blot out the sun with your platinum scales. I call upon thee, Bahamut, King of Dragons!"
There was a strange glint that came from the sun, and then something began to approach, one that was huge enough to block out the entire sun with just a wing. The Qus were rushing to escape into the volcanic tunnels and Freya was just regaining her bearings when the dragon of darkest night, the king of dragons, the platinum dragon Bahamut, descended upon the battlefield.
No one could prepare themselves for the sheer majesty of the king of dragons: his scales were dark platinum, and they caught the light of the sun in such a way that white streaks appeared on every ridge and scale. His horns curled backwards, as they were used for grooming rather than goring, and when he spread his wings to stop his free-fall dive, they were each nearly two Nautiluses in length!
Tiamat noticed his appearance and prepared herself for battle, "Well well, if it isn't my brother! Come to stop me at the crystals' behest, I take it!"
"Beloved sister, you know this cannot continue," Bahamut rumbled, his voice pleading as he hovered above her, "we are too powerful to fight; we will tear the planet apart. The crystals are correct: our power must be kept in check!"
"Let the world die!" Tiamat screamed with all five of her throats, "Let the universe burn! I will never bow to another's power! If you insist on 'preserving' this world, then lay down and let me *tear you apart*!" They wouldn't be able to destroy the world if they never fought, and she would *never* give in.
However, Bahamut couldn't give up either. His life wasn't his own, not any longer. There was a young girl he had to protect now. He snorted smoke from his nostrils, and the flames licked at his tongue and mouth as he spoke. "So be it, my love. You have made your choice."
"And so have you, crystal whore!" the queen of dragons shot into the air, and the battle began in earnest. Bahamut lobbed a fireball that struck her head, but the smoke did not deter her; the other four heads had no trouble seeing him shoot off to the side. The two siblings twirled in the air, like deadly dragonflies, and the multiple breath attacks came screaming through the sky, fire and ice and sleep and lightning and-
Bahamut saw Tiamat's white head spew a torrent of ice, and he swerved mid-air to dodge it, but it was a feint...! Tiamat's green head spat a huge lob of acid where he dodged to, and it hit him in the shoulder. The king of dragons cried out and fell backwards, off balance, towards the earth. That was all Tiamat needed; her tail swept up and lashed across Bahamut's face, and he breathed the rest of his fire to keep her at bay. It was a desperate gambit, one that Tiamat saw through instantly. She sacrificed her white head, which dove into the flames and latched onto Bahamut's neck. He writhed and screamed as the fire in him began to die, and Tiamat took the opportunity to grab and subdue him with three of her other heads. She slammed Bahamut to the ground, and he flailed about with what little power he had left in his body.
This time, it was Tiamat who looked down on her sibling, her red head chuckling softly as she pinned her brother to the floor. "The time for mortals is *over*, Bahamut. I will tear it all down and recreate this world in *my* image!" Bahamut opened his mouth with a biting response, but Tiamat bit down on *him*, ripping him apart with such brutal ferocity that Bahamut's scream was one of unbridled pain.
"What happened!?" Desch shouted, still unused to the way summoning drew people out of existence. The last thing he remembered, Tiamat was tearing through the Qus, and now he was staring down at her roaring in victory. ...Wait, victory...?
Zidane's blood ran cold when he heard Steiner's anguished howl. It wasn't his usual screaming shout when someone set him off; that scream was filled with despair and sorrow, and the Light Warrior knew exactly what it was about. He whirled around to see Steiner clutching at the frail, limp body of Garnet Til Alexandros XVII like it was the last thing on earth.
Desch was trying to ask what was going on without actually looking away and crashing the ship, "What's going on? Did Tiamat win? Is Garnet okay!?" His answer was another wail from Steiner, and Amarant spent his time grasping the side of the doorway and looking down over the battlefield with an expressionless face. Zidane, meanwhile, rushed forward and slid along the floor to kneel at Garnet's side, and he trembled when he remembered what the Crystal of Water had told them back at the very beginning of their adventure...
"One is the leader who shall bring Gaia into an era of greatness, and the other is to protect the leader through the entire journey."
...Steiner's whole job was to protect the leader of the Dark Warriors, to keep Garnet safe. He had trusted her judgment when she insisted on summoning Bahamut, and the fact that he didn't stop her meant that he had failed in the duty he was given by the Crystals.
"Crystals of Fire, Earth, Wind, Water..." Desch prayed as he began swerving to avoid Tiamat's lightning breath. She seemed to have spotted the Nautilus despite its small size, "We're sitting ducks out here! I have to pull away!"
"We may have to abandon ship," Amarant muttered, "If we want in on any of this action..."
Zidane, meanwhile, was trying out this "leadership" thing as he reached out to take Steiner's shoulder, "Steiner, Steiner, listen to me, this wasn't your fault," they had all made the decision to let her try summoning Bahamut, and they all took that risk, "Steiner, come on, snap out of it! Desch, hurry and land this damn thing!" The ancient reached out to take Garnet's hand. Even now it was colder than he remembered, and he fought to keep himself from wrapping her up in his arms and falling into the same depression that Steiner had.
Speaking of, the dark knight suddenly snapped his head up. "Zidane!" Steiner roared, thrusting the corpse into the ancient's arms, "Take care of the princess!" Zidane stared in complete and utter bewilderment, clutching Garnet to him while the dark knight stood.
"What in the world... Steiner, what are you...!?" The Light Warrior was cut off when Steiner approached the still open doorway. The ancient tried to ask what he was planning, but Steiner jumped from the airship, causing Zidane's question to turn into yet another strangled shout. Amarant curiously watched the dark knight's descent, whereupon he turned and looked at Zidane with a shrug. "He Tranced."
Zidane's mouth dropped. "He *what*!?"
Tiamat snapped and chuckled at the Nautilus's retreat, and then spent a little time tearing off her own, dead, white head. She had no real way to staunch the flow of blood, so she cauterized the wound with her own flames, but her blue head suddenly looked up and swerved around to see a small speck descend from the airship. When Steiner landed, a shockwave emanated from his point of impact, and all four heads whirled to face her newest challenger. The dark knight was devouring the light around him, so much so that he resembled a black hole. He was absorbing everything, including light, until he seemed little more than a shadow with red, pinpoint eyes. "A Dark Warrior," she realized, clucking her black tongue as all four heads reared up to their tallest height. "I must be close to the Warrior of Wind. Tell me where he is, insect, and I will make your death swift!"
"I will never tell you where he is!" Steiner roared, his voice sounding like a gong reverberating through the earth as he took a rumbling step forward and raised his sword in both of his hands. He charged forward, his darkness trailing behind him like a comet. "For Alexandria!" he cried, "For the queendom! For my lady!"
Tiamat lowered her red head to breathe fire on him, but three chakrams flew down from the Nautilus; two of which bounced off of her scales, but one actually landing *in* her nostril, causing her to rear back in pain and rage. Steiner raised his sword and drew all of his power into it before sending a huge wave of darkness straight at her; she may have been immune to fire and ice, but she wasn't immune to the coldness of absolute dark. The queen of dragons screamed out as he tore the very scales from her chest, and she fell upon him with impunity, grabbing at the dark knight and picking him up in her green head's teeth. With a horrifying crunch, she bit straight down onto him and tossed him away, straight towards the side of the volcano.
Freya, meanwhile, looked up at the knight as he sailed through the air. She furrowed her brow and tried to determine what her trajectory should be, given she only had one leg to launch with...
...Yet she didn't have to bother, as another tiny streak appeared from nowhere, and Sir Fratley, the second dragon knight, dropped down, intercepting the dark knight and grabbing him from the sky. Freya opened her mouth in light surprise before letting out a snort and hopping through the sky, landing where Fratley and Steiner dropped to the earth. The Burmecian had taken the brunt of the fall by allowing the dark knight, now *very much* wounded, to fall on him, and Freya would be surprised if every single one of Fratley's ribs weren't broken.
She turned to look up at the queen of dragons as one head looked for the Nautilus, and another bore down upon them. She steeled herself for the end and held up her lance. There was only one thing left to do, and that was die.
The Gulgans heard the pounding of the fighting above them, as well as felt the footfalls of the Qus as they retreated into the tunnels, "What news of the battle, Quale...?" the elder asked as Quan jogged up to their fellow tribe members, finally full of mushroom soup.
"We lost. We low on energy. Everyone had to protect Quina when retreating." Quale whirled and tasted the darkness all around, until they came upon the deep darkness of the small Black Mage. "God came for Black Mage. I say we give it."
Vivi, who was holding a little wisp of fire in his hand so he could see, looked horrified and sorry for the battle. "People are getting hurt because of me...?" he asked, his eyes filled with worry. "I-I don't know how my sacrifice can save you. Do you really think Tiamat will stop her rampage...?"
"Once she kills you, she will remake this world by destroying everything she considers unclean," the entire Gulgan tribe said in unison. "We all will be devoured."
Vivi considered this. He didn't think that the Crystal would have begged him to live if he was just supposed to die like that... Perhaps... He looked up at the point of light that was the entrance to the caverns, and he took a deep breath. "I have an idea," he said resolutely. He could *feel* No. 776 standing with him. It wasn't his idea alone; it was No. 776's as well. The black mage looked around at the Gulgans and the Qus. "I'm going up top. Will anyone accompany me?"
Quan let out a barking laugh. "You fight god by yourself?" they asked with a chuckle, "I want to see!"
"Me too," Quina replied. Plus, as a Light Warrior, they were kind of obligated to protect people, even if it was only to make sure they *kept* having these sweet powers, "We finish this and dine well tonight!"
The Qus watched as Vivi waddled forward and then hopped up the stairs out of the caves, and Quina and Quan accompanied him, weaving a few defensive spells so they would be prepared the moment they left.
Given that Vivi was underground for so long, the light was nearly blinding, just like when he first arrived on Terra, but he kept the brim of his hat down and surveyed the landscape as he poked his head out. What he saw surprised him; two furry rat people were standing over an unconscious Steiner, and there... By the Crystals, Tiamat was so *huge*, and her scales... they would surely cause his spells to bounce harmlessly off, as she herself was also filled with magic...
Oh! Her chest! Some of her scales had been shaven off, perhaps from a previous attack...! I got it! Both he and No.776 said in unison. Now, Brother. Do you remember my spell? The one I warned you never to use...?
Vivi had a feeling he knew where this was going. "Just tell me the incantation," he said aloud, holding his hands out. "The Crystals will guide the rest. Lady Tiamat of Wind!" he shouted causing Tiamat to swerve and face him. He trembled; he really did feel like a gnat compared to her size. He continued holding his hands out, his gloved hands visibly shaking. "I won't... let you hurt my friends... any more!"
"The Warrior of Wind!" Tiamat crowed in jubilation, "I knew you would show yourself! You cannot hide from me forever!"
"Tiamat," Vivi intoned, and for a moment, it felt like there were two voices that came from his throat. A great darkness welled between his two hands as he continued, and Tiamat, ever haughty, wished to hear his last words before she devoured him, "your strength is great, but your heart pumps hard to keep all of your heads working..."
Tiamat's red head reared when she realized just what that meant. "No. It can't be! No!" She dove down to snatch up the child in her mouth...
"Lady Tiamat, I say to your wicked heart... STOP!" Vivi sent out his spell of Death, the most forbidden of all black magic, and Tiamat tripped over herself as her chest erupted in pain. She hacked and coughed, and she crawled forward as her four heads writhed and desperately tried to breathe in vain. Quina and Quan were there, collecting the black mage and retreating to a safer place; little Vivi took deep hyperventilating breaths as Tiamat roared and screamed and *pled* as her heart continued to fail her. "No! Please, you can't do this to me!"
"I will end you!"
"Remove this curse!"
"I can't die like this!"
"You filthy *troll*, I will...! I WILL...!" Tiamat clawed at the floor and let out one last, desperate scream...
Quan could *taste* Vivi's tears as the black mage continued to tremble. He had never killed anyone before, especially not with magic that was forbidden by his people... "I'm sorry," he whimpered, "I'm so sorry."
"No need," Quan huffed as Quina jogged over to the wounded knights, "No sorries. Death comes to all."
Vivi hugged himself as Quina wagged their tongue, taking in the damage. The one that tasted of darkness also had shed the most blood, and they raised their hands. Quan raised their own free hand, and together they cast a Double White Wind, enveloping the three in a healing wind that knitted Freya's and Fratley's bones back together. Vivi looked down as Steiner began to breathe easier, and the child was reminded at what a blessing simply breathing could be; he sailed from Quan's grip and threw himself onto Steiner's breastplate with a wail. "Steiner! Steiner, you're okay! You're alive!" he cried, literally, as the sadness and fear and stress all spilled over and the black mage released it all on the only person around that he actually knew.
Fratley stood up and dusted himself off before looking shyly at Freya. "Ahh- Lady Freya... I know I probably shouldn't have saved a Dark Warrior, much less a Gaian, but..."
"Save it," the dragon knight said quickly, cutting him off. Fratley flinched, but Freya's nose twitched, "I would have done the same." She looked down at the crying child and the dazed dark knight. The two had fought to protect the lives of these people; perhaps... perhaps they weren't all as bad as she assumed...
Said dark knight, meanwhile, was beginning to regain consciousness, and the first thing he registered was a sobbing black mage hugging his armor. "Vivi...?" Steiner asked, reaching up to place a gauntlet on his hat. "Ah. ...You're safe."
"I missed you so much!" Vivi said, pulling away to look at the knight face-to-face, "Where's Zidane and Amarant, and Garnet?"
Steiner blinked a bit, trying to remember just what happened, and his eyes widened when realization hit. "Princess!" he shouted, sitting up all while Quina shouted and Quan snorted, "My lady!" He dragged himself up, even as he coughed up a dollop of blood and Vivi reached out to keep him from tumbling back into the dirt or slipping on his own blood. At this rate he was going to reopen all of the wounds that the Qus had worked to close.
Freya rolled her eyes and waved her lance about, "Lady Reis," she said, calling upon the Guardian Dragon of Light's regenerating winds, "Keep him from reopening his wounds, please."
It was around that time that the other Qus began poking their heads out of the caverns. When they noticed that Tiamat had indeed fallen, they all charged out to tear the scales from the dead dragon and prepare a great feast. As they worked, Steiner and Vivi moved slowly across the former battlefield, and despite the fact that the dark knight was no longer coughing up blood, he still struggled to keep from passing out from exhaustion. Garnet was just too important... He hoped so desperately that his princess was only unconscious... She couldn't be dead. She *couldn't* be. "My lady, *please*," he pled.
As Vivi and Steiner crossed the field towards the golden Nautilus, they noticed that Amarant and Desch were waving them down, and Steiner picked up his pace when he saw Zidane behind them, carrying Garnet in his arms. The ancient was working hard to keep her head up, as if she were a baby who was incapable of lifting her head. Despite everything, he still wanted her to look dignified.
Steiner's heart sank when he approached the ancient, who looked up at the dark knight in despair. "She... she's not waking up," Desch said, as Zidane seemed to overcome with despair to even speak. The Lindblum prince rubbed his arms and looked away, unable to look at the distressing sight. Vivi trotted up and looked up at Zidane, looking full of worry.
"Wh-what happened? Can't we heal her...?" the black mage asked. He looked around for any healers and watched as Quina and Quan spoke to Freya and Fratley. Vivi turned to gesture at the four for Zidane, "The Qus over there can cast magic! They healed Steiner! Maybe they can bring Dagger back!"
Zidane and Steiner whirled to look across the way, and Steiner snatched Garnet from the ancient ("Hey!" Zidane shouted indignantly,) before charging back across the way.
Fratley was the first to notice that Steiner was returning. "The big scary knight is coming back..." Fratley murmured to Freya as the dark knight approached, "And it looks like there's a wounded lady there too!" Freya looked up as Quina turned (Quan seemed disinterested), and the dragon knight shouldered her lance to regard Steiner appropriately.
"Please, please, bring back my lady!" the knight begged, gasping deeply when he finally stopped running. Reis' Wind had kept him from falling apart again, but despite the fact that Garnet had absolutely no wounds on her, she was completely devoid of life. Fratley seemed startled, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the girl. She was the white mage who protected them and used her magic to save people. Of all the people from that filthy dark world, she appeared to be the one who least deserved to die.
He opened his mouth to ask what had happened, but Quina interrupted the Burmecian by tasting the air around Garnet, "She already gone."
Quan explained what Quina meant when Steiner snapped his head up to glare at the Qu, "We come back only if we use magic first, then die. This too late. We not white mages." Auto-Life wasn't any form of natural Raise, after all. "It more like... extra heart that starts when first stops."
Steiner froze, his arms trembling as he clutched his princess close to him. "You... can't do anything...? B-but my lady... I-I..."
Zidane and Vivi finally arrived as the knight drew Garnet's corpse close so he could mourn into her hair. The black mage heard what was said, and he grasped at his hat. "Isn't there anything? Anyone? Someone has to be able to help!"
"You heard him. ...Her?" Zidane said, blinking at the Qus and nonverbally asking for their gender. They stared back with completely expressionless faces, and the ancient shrugged and went back to Vivi, "We need a white mage to bring her back. Steiner, you know what that means, right?" He crossed his arms and gestured to the airship that had just arrived on the scene. The Red Rose was just above them, its engines getting louder as it approached and prepared for a landing. "We just need to ask."
"Ask that *witch*?" the dark knight howled, whipping his head to snarl at Zidane. Vivi actually ran to hide behind the ancient, so afraid of Steiner's face he was, "She is an *assassin*, her whole life has been devoted to *slaying the people of Gaia*. Even if I prostrated myself before that slattern, which I would never, *ever* do, she would never save the princess!"
Freya's nose twitched at the mud-slinging, and all eyes were on Steiner. It was hard to tell if his rage came from his stress or from his hatred, although Zidane could tell it was a little of both. "I'm not saying to talk to Beatrix, you idiot." The Light Warrior crossed his arms and shrugged, "Eiko's *her* princess, and she's also a white mage. She's gotta know some resurrection spell, and if I put in a good word for you, I will bet money she'll do whatever she can to help me." And Zidane never bet money on anything but a sure thing.
Steiner pulled his face out of Zidane's, and he looked up at the Red Rose as it made its landing on the blackened field. The dark knight looked down at Garnet's still form, and he let out a deep sigh, one filled with regret at what was about to transpire. He then sucked in another breath through his teeth and turned towards the Red Rose. "Let's just get this over with." Zidane couldn't have said it better himself. He motioned for Vivi to follow him, and the three moved across the field towards the airship.
Beatrix walked down the plank onto solid ground, and despite her protests beforehand, Eiko stood at her side and put her hands on her hips as she surveyed the damage. "They really did a number on that dragon!" the princess noted.
The paladin snorted, "You're lucky that they did, or she might have already crashed the Red Rose." She shouldn't have brought her charge *at all*, but she couldn't deny that they might have needed her eidolons. She turned and saw that there were three men approaching, and she instinctively stepped forward to put herself between them and Eiko.
The aggressive stance she took made Vivi pause his advancement, and even Zidane snorted at her, "Lady, we're not here to hurt you. We need Eiko's help." He gestured to Steiner, who hugged Garnet close to him, as if trying to protect her from the paladin (not that there was much she could do to a corpse).
Eiko was the one who sprang forward the moment that Zidane asked for help, and she held her hands behind her in a faux-bashful pose. "...Do you need me to help her?" she asked, peering up at the woman in the dark knight's arms. "...Did she... die...?"
"What happened?" Beatrix demanded, placing a hand on Eiko's shoulder and drawing her back, "She has no wounds. How could she have died?"
Steiner shook his head, "S-she summoned a powerful eidolon, but he couldn't... but what does it matter!?" he cried suddenly, so loudly that Beatrix reached out and grabbed at Eiko, dragging her a step back in fear. The Dark Warrior thrust his hands out, and Garnet flopped uselessly in his arms, "She's everything... everything to me, to Alexandria, to *Gaia*. She only wanted to defend people, to save Terra, to end our war. She doesn't deserve... she can't..." Zidane and Vivi watched as he dropped onto his knees, desperately holding his princess out and pleading with the woman he called his greatest enemy. So much for "never, ever" begging before the "slattern". "Please, I'll do anything. Save her...!"
Beatrix's jaw dropped. She could not believe what she was seeing. The last time a Gaian made her this surprised was... that time, when she chased away that very girl that Steiner held before her. The young woman's fearful, scared and worried face when she pursued them into the darkness... She had assumed that Gaians were brutish and savage. To have such loyalty, such fear and despair... The paladin opened her mouth, "I-I..."
"I know what I can do!" Eiko cried suddenly, startling both Steiner and Beatrix as she raised her hands up, "I heard him calling to me! We just need some of his feathers!"
Zidane cocked his head, "Can you do something, Eiko?" he asked. He looked up at Beatrix, who seemed just as confused as the Gaians, and everyone looked down to see what she would do.
The princess huffed at the insinuation that she *couldn't* do something to help her idol, and reached up to the sky in prayer, "Please, Lord of the Flames. Fiery King of Rebirth... I beg of you. Let us borrow your ashes! Phoenix, Come To Us!"
A blazing inferno surrounded the five, and Steiner stood, clutching Garnet close to him as everyone but Eiko began to panic. "What's going on!?" Vivi cried, grabbing at Zidane's pant leg and trembling.
"What did you do!?" Beatrix shouted, whirling around as the fiery tornado rose into the sky. It came together and formed a giant ball of fire, and from within the raging cocoon, the ancient lord of rebirth and flames spread his wings, his flames creating a light much like the very sun itself. Phoenix sang a crooning song, twirling and swirling in the air like a ballerina. His feathers were aflame as they fell to the earth, and they were reduced to ash before they could reach the floor.
"An eidolon of light..." Zidane whispered, but his words were drowned out by the roaring of the flames, and it became such that the gawking onlookers could *feel* the heat that emanated from the bird. Everyone watched, speechless and motionless, as Phoenix twirled straight into the air, spread his wings, and exploded into fire. The flames screamed and roared, and they only began to die when Phoenix died as well. The entire field became covered in red feathers and black ash. The strangest part was that the ashes didn't cause anyone to cough or hack. In fact, the more the people breathed, the less tired they felt; Phoenix had sacrificed himself to revive the warriors who had fought Tiamat just moments before...
Vivi took a few deep breaths of the revitalizing ashes, and he looked up at Zidane. The black mage followed the ancient's eyesight, and the two's eyes fell upon Steiner, who clutched softly at his princess... ... ...
...Garnet coughed loudly enough that Steiner let out a surprised squeal, and the princess began hacking so heavily that the dark knight pumped on her chest to help her along. She finally started breathing deeply, and she was soon surrounded by Zidane, Vivi, and Eiko as Garnet slowly opened her eyes. She tiredly lifted an arm, but without any more energy, it limply dropped onto her stomach. Steiner was speechless as his princess blinked a few times, and her eyes focused on her protector's... "...Steiner..." she whispered hoarsely when she recognized his big, sad eyes. Her own eyes filled with tears, "...I'm so sorry..."
Vivi cheered, and Steiner dropped back to his knees, as he had lost feeling in his legs. He hugged her close and began to laugh to hide his own tears. "You're forgiven as long as you're okay... as long as... my lady..."
Zidane reached out and took her hand, and she turned very softly to face the Light Warrior's own misting eyes, and her tears were renewed. "I-I didn't mean... to make you worry. I just wanted..."
The ancient shushed her softly, shaking his head and smiling, "As long as you're okay," he said, mimicking Steiner's own feelings, and Eiko watched as they stared into each others' eyes... Lindblum's princess let out a light sigh, and she turned to jogged over to stand back at Beatrix's side. She felt she was intruding in a private moment as Vivi approached and hugged all three of them, and the Gaians (for indeed, there was no way Zidane could be seen as anything else) held each other close, finally reunited after so much hardship.
Beatrix knelt down to Eiko's level, and she took her princess's hand and wiped a tear from her eye. Some things just weren't... meant to be...
There is so much stuff to talk about in here, let's go down the list.
First, I wanted to have last chapter go up to Bahamut and leave Garnet's death on a cliffhanger, but while I kind of love the drama, I figured since I always leave things unfinished for so long, it wouldn't be fair to my readers to leave her dead for like a month. Thus, I went with a safer option.
Second, Original FF1 had Tiamat being immune to basically all magical damage, since most Black Magic focused on Fire, Ice and Lightning damage. So how did you beat her? Well, she was weak to Instant KO, just enough so that if you saved your high level spell casts you could conceivably just hunker down, keep everyone healed, and have your Black Mage spam Death until it stuck. There was no way I *wasn't* going to use it for this battle, especially since it would make Vivi, the Warrior of Wind, be able to beat Tiamat, his "Dark Side", if you will.
Third, I had a little bit of trouble deciding on Phoenix's gender. In FFV they were a dragon and in FFVI she was a hot girl who died, came back, and died again. Those were okay, and I usually think of "life summons" as feminine anyway, but what always nagged at me was that Rachel in FFVI wasn't really *old*. The idea of the Phoenix is that yes, they die, but you never really see one die of old age and then recovering in Final Fantasy. That is, until FFXIV, whereupon (spoilers?) an old dude turned out to be Phoenix. He was kind of a badass and also old and also Phoenix, so I stole his gender for this one. It just feels more complete to me.
And here is the part where we finally start getting into the home stretch. We only have the Earth Fiend Lich and Kuja, as well as whatever final boss the story decides to throw at us right after the "official" main enemy is defeated. How will our heroes beat the two greatest Masters of Magic in the world!?