Alright guys we're in the final stretch! It's going to be the ending soon so let's get a whole bunch of stupid stuff out of the way and get to the final battle! Who's ready for some fighting!?

...Next time because *plot*!


When the warriors left the land of Eureka, they had to mentally prepare themselves for the inevitable ascent up the Crystal Tower. Beatrix still hadn't completely recovered, but she was by no means unable to assist the others as they traveled up the huge stairways. The place was filled with twists and turns, and because of the reflective nature of the walls, there were even a few hidden pathways that lead onward. There was no doubt that the ancient... well, ancients, built the place as a maze to keep any Gaians from passing through the portal at the top of the tower and attacking Terra. They'd have to travel down a huge maze if they wanted to enter Terra, and now, here were the Warriors of Light and Dark, traveling through the maze to get *up* to the top...

There were strange contraptions that allowed the group to ascend quickly through the floors of the Crystal Tower, but the tower was so tall that even then, they had to spend the night camping in the middle of the reflective mirror-rooms. It was nice to rest and recuperate, especially for Beatrix, who practically passed out the moment they set out a cot for her. Steiner immediately set to the task of watching over her as the others gathered around to eat cold soup and bread. They had run out of lumber back at the base of the tower, and while the tower was constantly brightened by beautiful crystalline lanterns, they had no way to start a real fire and so were stuck with just setting up tents and taking what would probably be their last rest before the end of all things.

While Steiner watched over the resting holy knight, Princess Eiko came upon the two of them and looked over her protector with a "harrumph". "Stupid Lich. We wouldn't even be in this mess if it weren't for him." She paused and glanced over at Vivi, who was resting on Zidane's lap as the ancient talked with Garnet, "Don't tell Vivi I said that though, okay?"

Steiner let out an affirmative noise and continued to stare at the wall in front of him. His own scowl stared back at him. Eiko watched him for a little while before looking down at the resting Beatrix. She looked up at Steiner, then back down at Beatrix... "She's going to be fine. She always is. One time I wandered out into the forest and a malboro found me."

Steiner blinked and turned to the princess, "...What's a malboro...?" he asked, perplexed.

"They're these big plant monsters with tentacles. They have this really sickly smell, like rotting meat, I guess, in order to attract scavengers to devour them. I had a cold so I didn't even notice it until it was too late."

"You were alone without supervision?" Steiner asked. His surprised face relaxed into his normal scowl when he realized what that entailed. "You and my lady aren't much different."

Eiko smiled and shrugged, "Perhaps. Anyway, I thought I was going to get eaten, but Beatrix was there. I didn't even realize she had followed me..." Steiner wasn't very surprised, as there would have been nothing stopping him from trying to find Garnet the moment she was missing. The dark knight shifted to look at the sleeping holy knight; they really weren't all that different either, to be honest. "She fought off the malboro and kept me safe, but it managed to breathe its horrible breath all over her. I managed to keep away, but after the monster fell, Beatrix nearly threw up her own stomach and was just rolling all over the ground... I thought she was going to die, and I didn't have any spells I could use to help her..."

Eiko shook her head when she remembered that day, "But then she managed to find her feet just enough to walk me back to the castle." She went very quiet and a cat-like smile curled on her lips. "And then she passed out for an entire night."

Steiner went quiet as he considered this. She was certainly made of sterner stuff than most people he knew... "Be that as it may," he decided aloud, "I should at least repay the favor by watching over her as she recovers."

Eiko's cat-like smile didn't change one bit. In fact, it seemed to widen. "As long as you let me watch over her too!" Just like a good white mage!

Steiner snorted, but nodded and turned back to scowling at his reflection in the wall.

Garnet, meanwhile, was happy to see Steiner interacting with someone aside from her for once. He had been so focused on her, especially after her little "accident" with Bahamut and her small episode with mutedom, so the fact that he was able to focus on something else was a welcome change. She turned away from her guardian and tried not to stare too much at Zidane as he rubbed Vivi's back gently. The black mage was really tired after seeing No. 1 killed so, and the ancient was always there to lend a shoulder to his friends. Garnet wasn't sure what to make of the sight before her, however, especially since it stirred feelings she wasn't sure how to process.

She had been so intent on trying to figure out what her feelings were that Zidane caught her staring, and he smirked knowingly in her direction. He gestured to his other shoulder with an unspoken invitation, and Garnet, without even thinking, slipped across the way and dropped next to him with a soft, tired sigh. She flopped against his shoulder and closed her eyes, taking in the moment of peace as she felt, rather than saw, Zidane move his hand to rub the sleeping black mage's back. "I...I don't want this to end..." she said. She had meant for it to be quiet, but since the rest of the group had quieted down, it came out to be louder than she expected, and Zidane leaned his head against hers.

"I know how you feel," he replied, focusing on a crystal chandelier above them as it drank the reflected light and magnified it, "...If there was some way to stop all of this fighting..."

"Not just that," Garnet interrupted, reaching up to take his free hand and hold it in hers, "When this is finished, we're going to go our separate ways. You're a Light Warrior. Terra will need you, whereas I will return to Alexandria and do what I can to rebuild."

"Why, Princess Garnet til Alexandros, when all is said and done, will you *miss* this filthy vagabond?" Zidane asked, pulling away to look at her raven hair, and she squeezed his hand.

After all of this time... she remembered back on the Misty Maiden, the two of them had the talk about having to separate after their adventures were over, and now, much more than before, she couldn't even imagine not being with the Light Warrior. "...I don't want you to leave me, Zidane," she confided, "I wish I could go with you... I want to be where you are, all the time, every moment..."

Zidane was quiet as he looked at their hands, fingers entwined with one another... and a thought came to him, wild and pure. "Well, I mean, my brothers in Tantalus are still back in Alexandria. I can't just leave them alone..."

Garnet pulled away and looked Zidane square in the eyes, her own eyes misting with tears, "Don't say something you can't take back, Zidane Tribal. ...I wouldn't be able to handle it if you-"

The Light Warrior interrupted her by placing his forehead against hers, and the two reveled in each others' quiet touch for just a moment. "Gaia is my home, now and forever. Mikoto is my sister, but *you* are my sovereign, in more ways than one." Garnet opened her eyes wide at those words, surprised at what Zidane implied. She turned away with a red face as the ancient chuckled and turned to shake the child on his lap. "Isn't that right, No. 777?"

"Huh, what...?" Vivi asked, blinking golden eyes as he pushed off of Zidane's leg to sit upright and rub his eyes, "Isn't what right...?"

The Light Warrior guffawed out loud as Garnet stood to retreat to Amarant's side and try to keep her face to return to some semblance of normalcy. Vivi stared at Zidane with sleepy eyes, trying to figure out what was so funny, but before he could ask, the ancient reached out and helped the black mage to his feet, "Come on, let's head to bed. We're going to need ourselves at our best." Vivi rubbed at his eyes, but he nodded and let him be led to their tent.


There was an unsettling pall that fell over the warriors as they packed up for the final time. There was no sun that came into the tower, so they basically waited for Beatrix to wake up after five hours, and together, they mentally prepared themselves for the final battle. Steiner moved to stand at Garnet's side, and she turned to look at Amarant. The monk looked on ahead, his stoic mask never changing. Vivi stepped forward, his trembling hat belying his fear. The Alexandrian princess looked up at the final stairway to the top of the Crystal Tower.

"We've been through so much," she mused, remembering her own escape from the castle and the moment she was told her destiny. Outrunning a vicious army, crossing the dimensions to another planet... It was almost too much. "Let's go, Warriors of Dark. We will end this for good."

"Not without us Warriors of Light, you aren't!" Zidane proclaimed, jogging forward to smile at his friend, "I've been here since the beginning, so don't leave me out!"

"We may not have been with you from the beginning..." Freya began, crossing her arms, "But we're here for the end."

"We all eat yummy tasties after this! I make them for friends!" Quina announced, nodding at Garnet.

"I need to get home as soon as possible! I only have a little time left with Uncle Desch, and I'm not going to let some stupid mage get in the way of that!" Eiko shouted, slamming her fist into her palm.

Garnet turned to look at the eight people who stood by both her and Zidane this whole time. She tried not to cry; she didn't deserve all of these wonderful friends... Steiner clanked as he slammed his gauntleted hand against his hat in salute, "We're with you until the end, my lady. You and Zidane."

Zidane was there, by her side, one last time, and the two of them looked back up at the final doorway. Garnet took his hand, just like she did during their final break. They were there since the beginning, and they would be together until the end.

When the nine walked up the staircase and entered the highest room in the Crystal Tower, they were greeted by a most peculiar sight. The entire place, while still reflective, was completely empty save for a large mirror surrounded by five crystal statues of large dragons. Garnet looked confused as she took a few cautious steps forward. Steiner clanked ahead first, just in case Kuja was lying in wait behind one of the statues...

Something felt *off* about the statues, and Eiko inspected them as the Warriors of Dark moved forward. Vivi looked up and peered into the mirror, and when the other Dark Warriors approached the mirror, the entire room became awash in Light-filled magic. The dragons did not move, but from their locations, five voices reverberated through the crystalline room. "Did you honestly think you could hide your hearts from the Guardians of the Ancients of Light!?"

The Terran Warriors recoiled and stared at the statues, their horror plastered on their faces, "Who was that? What's going on!?" Beatrix cried as Eiko rushed to her side.

The five warriors pulled their weapons out as the dragons continued to speak. "You stand upon Holy Ground, Creatures of Evil! Your hearts shall always be reflected in the Mirror of the Five Wyrms, and our curse will keep her trapped here forever!"

The Light Warriors turned to look at their counterparts, and Zidane froze when he realized that the Dark Warriors weren't moving. They had been trapped by whatever magic the dragon statues possessed! Zidane rushed forward, reaching out to shake Garnet out of her stupor, but nothing seemed to work. She was rooted to the spot and frozen in place, just like the other Dark Warriors. Zidane whirled around and shouted at the voices in the room, "But they're not evil! They want to save this world! They want to save Gaia *and* Terra! What are you doing!?"

"Warrior of Light, you cannot see into their hearts. There is darkness, hatred, *rage*," the dragons replied. "The Curse of the Five Wyrms sees all and judges perfectly. These four wish to *kill*. The man on the other side of the mirror is their target. They are all of them out for *blood*."

Zidane turned back to the frozen Dark Warriors. Whether or not they were cognizant, the Terrans couldn't tell. They couldn't defend themselves, and all Zidane had was the word of some ancient magical artifacts, but... if their words were true, it meant that all of Garnet's words about trying to save Kuja, about trying their best to stop all of this bloodshed...

...Could she have been lying about it just to placate him?

"These Gaians are impure: their hearts wish only for violence, for death and destruction. We, the Five Wyrms and guardians of the Ancients of Light, must do whatever we can to save our world from filth like these."

Beatrix clutched at her sword and looked back and forth between the statues... but then she sheathed her sword, "How does one remove your curse, wyrms?" the paladin asked, "Surely there must be some way to change your mind about these people. It would be foolish not to create a backup plan in case something went wrong."

There was silence for a bit, as the wyrms considered this. "We are never wrong. We were created to never *be* wrong. And yet... we have never had to use our abilities before. For several millenia, we have waited, and no one has come. Perhaps... there is a very *slight* possibility that our magic has waned, and we are not as we should be." The group looked at each other as the statues went silent again, perhaps to convene with one another, until they eventually spoke up again. "Five wyrms have passed judgment, thus, five souls with pure hearts shall be the ones to revoke it. So shall it be done."

That was... awfully convenient. The Light Warriors even had a perfect amount of people in the area, and if they were chosen to be heroes and saviors, how could they be anything *but* pure in the eyes of the wyrms? "Yo, dragon wyrm people!" Zidane shouted, rushing forward and grabbing at the statue nearest him to implore it to reconsider. "You can't assume they're bad just because of where they're from! They don't want to hurt Terra! They want to *help* it, but Kuja... Kuja's misguided enough to think that he's protecting our world when he's going to destroy it! They want to *stop* him!"

"Little black mage very strange. Uses magic that destroys and leeches," Quina said, "However, little black mage also fight off giant monster that tried to kill all Qus! Vivi hero, not monster!"

Freya shook her head. "I used to think that any person from Gaia was irredeemable; that there was nothing they could do to prove their goodness." She let out a sigh, embarrassed and repentant for the way she treated her new friends, "But the man you have captured, and the people he accompanies... they taught me that anyone from Gaia can do good, just as anyone from Terra can do terrible things." People like *Kuja*.

"If you lock them away and curse them, then you have to lock *us* up too!" Eiko shouted, shaking her fist at the statue before her. Beatrix watched her princess as she raged against the wyrms, "Sir Steiner and Princess Garnet are like Beatrix and I! We're people who just want to protect our home!"

"Princess Eiko has the right of it," Beatrix admitted, nodding solemnly, "I, fool that I was, could not imagine that Gaians could possess any emotion other than spite and hate, but then I was taught that they are just like us, that *we* Pure Souls of Terra are just as passionate and hate filled as those of Gaia, just like Gaians are capable of purity of the highest magnitude."

Zidane finished off with a final announcement, "Five Wyrms, you'd better let the Dark Warriors go, because you're *wrong* about the all! There are no other people in the universe more pure of heart than those four!"

The voices seemed very confused at this turn of events when next they spoke. They certainly didn't seem to expect anyone to actually take them up on their offer. "...V-very well. Warriors of Light. Your friends shall be freed. Kuja lies on the other side of the mirror. If you hurry, you may yet catch him. Perhaps it is time for us to rest..."

Zidane charged forward as Vivi fell forward and tumbled to the floor. Steiner barely caught the princess before she fell forward, and the leader of the Light Warriors slid along the crystal flooring to stand next to the princess. "Dagger! Dagger, you okay!?"

"Zidane...!" Garnet cried, reaching out to take his arm as Steiner moved to help Vivi up. The Dark Warrior looked up into Zidane's eyes, and she trembled, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped. The Light Warrior seemed to realize that she was at least aware of what was said when the four were trapped by the wyrms' curse. "I'm so sorry..." She said quietly, her eyes beginning to fill with tears, "I...I wanted to understand. To not be angry, but I..." She couldn't help but *hate* the man who had killed her mother. He hadn't even tried to consider that he was being too drastic, and always insisted on blaming everyone else for his actions. ...Perhaps she didn't know it herself, but deep down...

Zidane shook his head and took her hand, "Don't worry, Dagger, I know that no matter your feelings, you'll do whatever it takes to do what's right." Garnet was the most amazing person he knew, and whether or not those wyrms honestly could see into the Dark Warriors' hearts, that didn't mean that they would act on their desires. The Light Warriors walked forward, and soon they stood together, staring at the mirror. "On the other side, Kuja awaits," Freya said with a tone of finality.

This was it. Together, the nine made their way into the mirror, and what they saw on the other side...


...The light was blinding; it was the very top of the tower, and from there, the reflective mirror-like glass were actually windows that allowed anyone to see far enough to notice the actual curve of Terra, if the mountains weren't in the way. The clouds drifted by, lazily dancing over the giant peaks. However, no one's eyes were on the beautiful vista; the silver-haired ancient before them, standing on an altar-like stage, was sprinkling some sort of magical powder in a line on the floor. After finishing his work, Kuja turned around and wiped his hands off. "Oh? Jidan, I thought you were going to speak to the Wind Crystal. Or did you decide that, as a Warrior of Light, you were *above the law* imposed upon you?"

"Cut the bull, Kuja!" Zidane shouted, snarling at his brother, "You're going to destroy all of Terra, and you claim *I'm* above the law!? What sort of savior do you think you are!?"

"We are ancient, naturally attuned to the Crystals of Light," Kuja began, muttering an incantation that allowed him to float in the air, "When I summon the Great Mother, Terra will be awash with light; of course, some *lesser* beings may be swallowed by the light, but the pure, the great... will transcend this filth and darkness, and we shall all become one with the Light!" Kuja raised his arms and howled with delight, "We shall all transcend! The Great Mother will bring us all glory!"

"He's mad..." Freya hissed, "He intends to genocide a planet, *two* planets, if his plan falls through!"

"You can't do this, Kuja!" Zidane shouted over his brother's chanting, "The Great Mother wishes to live in harmony with the darkness! She wants us to live *together*!"

"Is that what she *told* you!? Is that what the *Crystals* told you!?" Kuja screamed, his prideful words giving way to rage as all of his hatred spilled forth without warning, "You, who were chosen by the crystals, and for what reason!? Why would they choose you over me!? Why would they choose Mother and Father to live the way they had!?"

Garnet opened her mouth, but she stopped when she realized his rage stemmed from something quite different... "You-you wish to be a Warrior of Light...?" she asked incredulously.

Kuja lifted his hands and began to recite a prophecy from memory. "The Gulgans thus prophesied, 'The Premier's Sister and the General of the Ancient Army shall become one, and from their union, the Warrior of Light shall be born unto Terra'..." Kuja's powerful, authoritative voice twisted into one of malice as he hissed, "It was *I* who was born first, and it was *I* who was trained to become the greatest mage, the greatest warrior... a man of purest Light!"

"But then Zidane was born, wasn't he?" Amarant grumbled, beginning to realize where this was going.

"Mother and Father, despite being nothing alike, despite never knowing or caring for each other, had to live together and raise not one, but three children! When you and Mikoto were born... when the Crystal of Wind named *you* the chosen warrior... What could you possibly have been born with that I could not do!?"

Zidane blinked when something came to mind, and he pulled out the diary that he had kept since the Temple of Light back on Gaia, and he flipped it open. "Premier Aerith said she entered Gaia to look for me because someone kidnapped me... people thought that the kidnapper was from Gaia, and that they had meant to kill me, but..." He closed the diary and glared at the ancient, "*You* were the one that kidnapped me, weren't you? You were hoping that if I died, *you* would be chosen as the new Warrior of Light! You killed Premier Aerith! You started this whole war and killed everyone! How can you not see what you've done? What you're going to do!?"

Kuja shook his head, a smile on his face, "All I care is that I keep you talking as long as possible. I had already finished the ritual by the time you arrived, and now it's too late to stop it!" He gestured as the powder, drawn in the shape of a rune, began to glow. The Warriors of Light and Dark gasped and tried to charge forward to stop the ritual, but it was far too late. The entire tower became awash in Light, so much so that the Dark Warriors had to look away and scream in pain as the portal began to open. Kuja shouted in delight, his tail flicking back and forth as a feminine hand reached through and spread a clawlike hand. "Yes, Yes, Mother Crystal, come to us! Shower us with your Pure Light!"

The creature reached out with another hand, they pulled the portal open further, and a feminine figure with wispy, shocking white hair and a sickly green skin pushed themself through. The two twin snakes that twisted around their waist and fanned out on either side of them looked ethereal, as if they were made of fog, and they were all "garbed" in a robe of red and white that appeared to have tassel-like accessories that floated off into the aether and disappeared into nothingness, making them look like they were nothing but a wisp of cloud that could vanish at a moment's notice.

As the creature crawled through the portal, the portal closed around them, cutting off what would have been their legs, if they even had them. Everyone stared as the light that came from the portal disappeared, and the Dark Warriors looked up at the creature that floated before them and cackled.

"You fools! What did you expect to find when calling upon your 'Great Mother'!?" the creature howled, nigh literally, as the wind swirled around them like a miniature tornado whenever they spoke, "We must thank you, however...! To be sealed away for so long while the Crystal kept tabs on us... Finally, we can return everything to the void!"

"Crystals Preserve..." Beatrix began, "It's the Cloud of Darkness!"

"Cloud of-?" Steiner asked, looking at the creature with a frown. Well, it *did* look ethereal enough to be seen as a cloud, and yet... "On Gaia, we call it..."

"...The Devourer of Darkness..." Garnet finished, her voice cracking in fear, "One who wishes to devour everything on Gaia, all of the Darkness we live in..."

"All of the Light on Terra, she will cover with her clouds..." Eiko hissed, her brows knitting, "She will destroy everything on Terra, and..." And Gaia as well... she will destroy them all, "and return them to..."

"...to the void!" the Cloud of Darkness screeched as everyone stared in disbelief, Kuja included, "Neither the Dark nor the Light can keep us contained, for Mortal Life cares for nothing but war, and there can be no balance in war!"

"The Great Mother creates balance to keep *you* contained!?" Zidane shouted, swerving to glare at Kuja. "This is the 'glory' that will come to Terra!?"

Kuja growled, incensed at the fact that this creature was ruining all of his plans for a perfect world. He raised his hands and conjured a Holy spell so gigantic that the divine flames licked even at the nine warriors below the stage. "Ugly monstrosity! I cannot allow you to reduce Terra to nothing; it is *I* who will protect it, as I was *born* to do!" The Cloud of Darkness showed not even one hint of emotion as the spell was sent in their direction, "Fall and rue your fate, creature!"

The Cloud of Darkness twirled their clawed hand at the balls of light. The portal they dwelt within seemed to swirl around in themself like a vortex, and the spell was devoured as if by a black hole. "You attack us with *parlor tricks*, when our shield is made of *Light Itself*?" They crowed with laughter as their yellow snakes slithered up their arms, "You should know what we are made of, Mage, for you *gave* us this power!" They drew their hands together, and the snakes opened their mouths as they all charged a Particle Beam. Kuja barely had enough time to gasp before he took the full brunt of the attack, sending him flying across the room. He crumpled against the wall, completely broken, and Beatrix immediately broke off from the rest of the group to see if he was still breathing.

The Cloud of Darkness, on the other hand, turned to the Warriors of Light and Dark, a chuckle on their lips, "And you are next, Warriors of Dark. How fabulous you are, to come before us to be sacrificed to Nothingness! The void shall take you, and all will dream no longer!"

Vivi took a step forward, and he twirled his hands together, creating a deep red fireball, "If Light doesn't work, perhaps Dark will!" the black mage cried, throwing his Flare at the Cloud of Darkness. The feminine creature didn't even bother looking at the spell as the Light around them devoured the attack and absorbed it into them.

"Do not resist!" they said as their snakes began winding around their arms once more, "and stand still, we will make this quick!"

"We cannot destroy its shield..." Steiner grunted, pulling out his sword as Zidane actually *sheathed* his daggers.

"Yo, I got an idea! Light Warriors!" The ancient hopped forward. "We *are* the Light! The Crystals gave us their power! We can absorb that thing's light and destroy the shield!"

"Are you crazy!?" Freya demanded, "You want us to *stand* in that beam's way!?"

"Nothing ventured...!" Quina shouted, jumping up next to Zidane, "Nothing gained!"

Eiko was there too, and Freya let out a hiss as she slid in on their side, "Sainted Crystals, defend us!" she shouted as the Particle Beam came straight at them...

...The four Warriors of Light were not harmed in the slightest, for just like the mages could not strike at the Light within the Cloud of Darkness, neither could their Particle Beam destroy that which they were unsealed with. Zidane, Eiko, Freya and Quina reached out their hands and *drew* the power of Light into themselves, and the Cloud of Darkness' jaw dropped, "How is this possible? How can this be *happening*!?" they shouted. They pushed it all, their whole strength, all of their Light, into their attack. "You cannot be this resilient! You are *Mortal*!"

Zidane didn't respond. In fact, none of the Warriors of Light said anything, but they were groaning from exertion. Whatever they were absorbing, it was an intense amount of energy, and Garnet was beginning to realize the four weren't going to be able to handle that amount of power. "Zidane! Zidane, be careful! Please, don't get hur-"

Something shattered. Garnet wasn't sure what it was, but she could hear the tinkling sound of glass along with Beatrix's scream. Garnet watched as Zidane fell backwards, and she stood, frozen in place, as she watched the light fade from his eyes. It was then she realized the shattering sound was her own heart as she watched the man she loved die in front of her.

The Cloud of Darkness reeled and flopped forward slightly, too stunned to move from the sudden loss of her Light shield. The other Light Warriors lost their lives as well: Freya crumpled to the floor and Quina slumped forward a little. Eiko looked gone as well, and Beatrix, who was still tending to Kuja, whipped her head to look at Steiner, her eyes pleading. Garnet had already fallen on Zidane's corpse, and she screamed and wailed and pled as Steiner moved to pick up Eiko's limp hand. It flopped lifelessly to the ground as Garnet wept, "Zidane no, please, Zidane, wake up, please. Zidane, you can't leave me, I *can't lose you*!"

She felt someone grab her arm in an attempt to pull her away, and the princess screamed, "Leave me! Leave me with him! Zidane, Zidane!" Amarant slapped Garnet across the face and Steiner shook his head, closing Eiko's eyes as he stood.

"The Devourer of Darkness is stunned, her shield is gone. They gave their lives to give us a fighting chance, and we must *take it*." He shook the princess's arm and Garnet looked up at him with wide eyes. She could see the fear in his eyes. Amarant was *scared* that this might be the end, that they might not be able to defeat this monster, and that they wouldn't be able to finish this. It helped Garnet realize what the stakes were, and she came down from her hysterical high, and Amarant growled. "You are our *leader*, Princess. *You* must be the one to finish this."

Garnet's eyes shone with unshed tears as Vivi walked forward and Steiner moved to stand with them. The four turned as the Cloud of Darkness shook off their foggy head and looked up at the four Warriors of Dark. "You think that will stop us? Do you think you can fight back the tide of the void?" they howled, enraged.

Garnet touched her forehead, and, for the first time since she lost her horn, she could hear the Eidolons speak as clear as day. She could feel the darkness swirl around her, and her Trance was deep and full as she howled at the enemy before her. "We don't think, Devourer...!"

The Eidolons were there. She could feel them as if they were physically standing by her side, and together, each one of them spoke so that the room was filled with several voices all at once. We *Know*.


So um, there's a lot of stuff to say here. First off, what is even up with the curse of the five wyrms? Like, it's in FF3 and I don't even know why a light tower would have a curse that traps the Light Warriors like that, unless it was corrupted by darkness. But then why would you need five pure-hearted people to break the curse? If darkness was so "evil" when Xande controlled it, why would they need good light people to stop it? It was a mess, so I went with a "It's possible after many eons for the magic to screw up and not be correct," so I figured it was more of a trap to capture people of darkness, especially given the new Crystal Tower background in this story, but after thousands of years the magic got bad enough that it ensnared anyone who came into view.

Second, There was supposed to be a fight with Kuja ala fighting with Xande in FF3, but womp, time was running out and honestly? Kuja in this story is an idiot and a villain but he wasn't a *bad* guy, just a pompous idiot who needed to be taught a lesson. So he got hit by a Particle Beam instead. He might still die though, I'm not going to spoil anything.

So uhm, Cloud of Darkness. CoD is actually *technically* genderless because they're some intergalactic force of the Void and will blow the universe up, so even though they look feminine they're technically not? It's weird. Also they refer to themselves as "We", which people suppose means they're referring to themself and their snakes? It could also be the royal we, CoD is weird as crap, but I guess that's why we love them?

Also whoops all the Warriors of Light are dead. But I mean Kuja managed to kill everyone in FF9 and then something weird happened, so three guesses as to the boss the Light Warriors get while the Dark Warriors square off with CoD?

The first two don't count.