FRODO LIVES!!! But Legolas is still my favorite. n_n *starts singing about elves* Yes! Go see The Fellowship of the Ring! Best movie in history I tell you! Oh! Read and review first! :p




*Black Mage Village…
Mikoto watched the Invincible take off. You fool , she thought bitterly of Zidane. You are not even likely to find Kuja . There had been one species other than the Terrans that Garland had recreated: the Silver Dragons, the protectors of his work. Mikoto knew that upon the destruction of Bran Bal, every single last on of those dragons had probably retreated to the Gaia side of the Iifa tree. She doubted that even the Invincible could hold up against myriads of angry silver dragons. You won't even reach the Iifa tree. Mikoto was actually quite concerned about her "older brother." No one had spoken a kind word to her in her life… "That's a nice name." And no one had ever smiled at her before. She wasn't even quite certain what smiling meant. They need help, but who can help them? She suddenly recalled the conversation that she had overheard between the girl and the knight. Cid, then, in Lindblum, must be alerted. She turned and went off in search of "Mr. 288," the only one who would be able to tell her anything. It was quite interesting, she noted, that while all the other golems had eventually received new souls to go with their weak minds, Mr. 288 had apparently been inhabited by a wandering one, like the genomes were meant to. She wondered idly if her peers would eventually receive virgin souls or would they be inhabited by bodiless persons on this planet were souls flow. She approached Mr. 288.
"Where is Lindblum, and what is the fastest way to get there?"


*Memoria…
"Dagger! I just saw a little girl on a ship and—" Zidane pointed to the vision, only to see that it was no longer there. "Huh? …I guess it was my imagination. Yeah, it had to be. What I just saw definitely isn't one of my memories." Garnet had been staring at the horrid recollection just as Zidane pointed it out to her. What's going on? That was my memory. Why was Zidane able to see it? Quickly, she ran to catch up to him.
"Zidane," she ventured, almost afraid of the answer.
"Yeah, what's up?" he looked at her, curious.
"…You didn't imagine anything," she gulped.
"Wait," the light bulb went on, "you saw it too…?! That means that little girl was you?" Garnet only nodded. "But…why was I able to see something from your memory?"
"I don't know…" she replied softly.
"Hey, Garland!" Zidane shouted, suspecting another lesson. "What's going on?! …Garland, can you hear me?!"
I feared Gaia's eidolons more than anything… Garland answered in this new "story-telling" tone, However, I decided to deal with them before they became a major problem. Zidane was about to ask what the relevance of that statement was, when Garnet suddenly grabbed his arm, uttering a small cry of alarm. Zidane looked up to see a huge red eye emerging through the clouds that formed the wall just ahead of them.
"What is that thing…?" he asked, confused.
"That eye…" she murmured in a trembling voice. "It's the same eye I saw on the night of the storm at sea." Eye? Zidane wondered… Didn't they say something about an eye at the Iifa tree and at—
…Zidane, can you hear me? Garland interrupted his thoughts. And sounding as if he had grasped the true meaning of Zidane's question: Zidane, what you just saw was from your memory. Not Garnet's.
"What?!" Zidane shouted. Please don't let that mean… "I don't remember ever being in a storm at sea."
You still don't understand… then a "sigh" of sorts, You will find out soon enough…
"What do you mean?" Any explanation but that! "Can other people's memories become a part of my own? Garland!!!"
Once you accept everything, the answer will appear before you, Garland answered before continuing on about history again. Zidane was only half listening, because he was currently beside himself. No!…no… but everything points to that. The "eye" is not an eye to me, and has never been, because it has always been the main weapon of the Invincible, which I myself operated. But how can I accept that I destroyed Madain Sari? How can I allow myself to believe that I killed Dagger's family?! The truth is what's fair to everyone…but— Zidane jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around to see Garnet, smiling sadly at him.
"Dagger…" he sobbed. "I—"
"I forgive you, Zidane," she smiled more. "And I still trust and believe in you. We still have our whole lives ahead of us, so we mustn't dwell on the past." But we should still learn from it… Zidane smiled.
"Thanks, Dagger," he bowed his head. "Really." Living a life that tried to understand everyone, I've found someone that understands me .
***
*the Crystal World…
I think that I understand now. It's not about learning just from each other, it's about learning from everyone. And when we learn and understand, we share memories. And when everyone shares these memories, it is everyone who is moving forward in true understanding. Such is the manner in which society progresses towards the truth.



*the Gate of Non-existence…
Necron could have laughed, but he was too busy gathering energy against this pathetic group of lesser beings. Strong they may have been, but still hopelessly fighting against the now proven truth. He was definitely not prepared for what happened next. The dark haired girl stepped to the side, looking questioningly at the leader of the group. He nodded as he charged at Necron again. She clasped her hands around her weapon and bowed her head against it. Then he felt… the dark wind.
[Good of you to come,] he sneered, as the presence of technology hovered above him.
[What exactly do you think you are doing?] Ark asked, with an extremely arrogant tone in his metallic voice.
[Life has discovered the truth,] Necron said patronizingly. [Garland may have summoned me for a purpose, but I had a greater one all along. Just as you did.]
[Quite, and here I am.]
[Why do you deny what has just occurred?] Necron growled. [At long last, my theory has been proven correct.]
[Why,] Ark snickered, [do you fail to see the true results of that experiment? Here it stands in front of you.]
[Kuja may have failed, but the truth is undeniable.]
[Then why do they continue to fight you?]
[They are deluded by fear.]
[If they were fearful,] Ark set his target, [then why do they face their fears now?] Necron said nothing. [We are legends, Necron. We are the proof of their hopes and dreams…and their fears. There is a hierarchy there, for although we were created to have more power, we are less real.]
[So you sell your soul to a human girl?]
[I gave it to the spawn of the stars,] Ark corrected, as he brought forth his main weapon. [Now, let me show you true Eternal Darkness.]

* Memoria…
Kuja fell through time. From the dawn of existence he fell and on the way down he beheld all of history. Everything that had transpired in the solar system flew by and he eventually saw his own birth, his life, and—when he arrived at the present, he was still falling.
He then fell through the branches of Iifa, hitting many of them on the way down, freeing bluish light from the ones he broke. But he paid for releasing the soul power. His body became broken as well. And when he finally came to a stop, after falling through the roots, he felt there wasn't much left. Of course, there isn't anything left. I've lost everything. Pure and simple, he sighed and released the Gaian souls from himself. They were immediately returned to the planet, which had been stripped of most of is life. The brilliant red of Kuja's trance faded into a dull silver and purple. For once, Kuja was quite satisfied that he did not have a mirror.
Well, that's it. I'm finished. He lay there, watching the roots of Iifa moan above him. He knew his fate now. He would lie, unwept for, watching the destruction above him, while he suffered the slow, painful death of each of his cells erupting, one by one. Unwept, unsung, such is my fate… Did I really deserve it? …from birth I was…"Selfish, egotistical, narcissistic runt!"Selfish me? Why not? Who else ever thought of me? Egotistical, narcissistic me? Of course. If I didn't love myself, who would? Not Garland. Not Beatrix. Not…"we have a right to live."Zidane?"You don't care about anything." …Zidane? "My friends had better be alright!"Zidane… "Damn you, you bastard!"Yes, I know. "Kuja…"I know . "Kuja?"I am the useless runt, not you. "You never take me seriously."I'm…sorry."Why do you hate me?" Because… I was jealous. "My will meant nothing to Garland." Kuja cringed as he remembered his response. He felt…guilty. You never hurt me until recently, Zidane…when I was hurting you more. Did you…care?
Suddenly, Kuja was consumed with the need to find Zidane. Was he all right? Was he alive? Were his friends all right? He weakly stretched his awareness back into Memoria. Zidane was not there. Frantically, Kuja felt everywhere until, he went back into Memoria and felt…a portal within a portal? Zidane and company was there, fighting… the spirit of the Iifa tree? Zidane… How do you do it Zidane? How can you just stand up to one opposition after another? Memoria began to buckle beneath his conscious. A portal within a portal was definitely not the right place to be when the first one was about to collapse. Zidane…please accept my apology. Using the last of his power, Kuja teleported his brother, Garnet, and then all the others to the relative safety of Gaia.
Mikoto…


*the Hilda Garde 3
Zidane wouldn't make a promise he couldn't keep, right? Garnet continued to convince herself. Eiko came over and patted her arm.
"He'll be okay!"
"Yes, I know," Garnet smiled. "I believe in Zidane. I just… I fear it will be…" she started choking on tears. The entire group came to the stern of the ship to watch the raging Iifa tree slowly disappear from view. And each wondered if Zidane could survive…

*Beneath the Iifa Tree…
"No one's useless…" Zidane said softly. "You helped us escape, remember?" Kuja didn't say anything for a while. He simply couldn't take the kindness. So, you shouldn't necessarily sow what you reap because you reap what you sow. It's my fault, because I didn't try to make a difference.
"After you guys beat me," Kuja sighed, his voice barely a whisper, "I had nothing left…nothing more to lose. Then, I finally realized what it means to live…" He could feel his body giving out, and right now he felt so tired. "I guess I was to late." Kuja relaxed and closed his eyes.
"Hey! Don't you go dying on me, alright?!" Zidane shouted. There was a groan and the live roots, the ones that held the Gaia soul stream, invaded their shelter. They had come to destroy the Terran souls, Kuja knew. The spirit of Iifa was gone, and now the two soul-streams were battling to the death. Then he felt a warmth fall over him—Zidane. Kuja opened his eyes. Zidane's were closed tightly, expecting the blow. And in a split second…
***
I don't want to die. No, not here, not now! I promised Dagger! And I'm young yet! No! I will not die now! What are you to decide that I die now? Who are you to take my life from me? I REFUSE to die now! STOP! You cannot touch me! You cannot so, STOP!
***
As Kuja gazed on in awe as multicolored lights, an aurora of words appeared around the two and, just as the roots approached, entwined themselves into an intricate pattern—an enclosed sphere. The roots slammed into this sphere and splintered with loud bangs. It was as if it were solid. Then… Zidane moaned something unintelligible. The pattern split open and traced itself down each of the roots, peeling them back as it went. Then, when there was some distance, a huge explosion, and the world was flooded by Gaian blue light.
Zidane opened his eyes and looked around, panting heavily.
"Zidane?" Kuja questioned, although he knew what was happening. Zidane was coming into his inheritance as a highlander. The pair looked up as the soul-stream claimed the new energy thirstily, and more roots came tearing through the roof. Quickly, the younger one grabbed his brother around the torso, and leaped out of the way, grabbing one of the roots. He held on as it tried to throw them, and leapt through a hole in the floor of the cavern as it tried to brush them off. Down they fell, towards the center of the planet itself. The faint blue-green glow intensified until Zidane reached out and caught the two of them on a ledge. After some struggling, he managed to hoist the larger genome to safety before clambering up himself. He sat awhile, catching his breath, until the completely terrified Kuja found his voice.
"You are insane!" he accused. His younger brother simply chuckled.
"For sure," he laughed and looked around. "The roots down here are quiet. Do you think the assimilation has been stopped?"
"Delayed," Kuja frowned and closed his eyes. "The tree will not stop trying until it is destroyed."
"Is there an easy way to destroy it?"
"Not that I know of," Kuja relaxed against the ground. "I truly doubt that Garland would be careless like that."
"Oh," Zidane sighed.
"However," Kuja's expression softened, "what you did back there was truly amazing. Perhaps, if you are up to the challenge…" Zidane sighed again.
"Maybe," he said with a half-hearted smile, "if I knew how I did that."
"You don't—oh," Kuja stopped himself. Of course he doesn't know… "Zidane?"
"Yes?"
"If you had the knowledge…and the power to defeat Iifa, would you?"
"Of course."
"No matter," Kuja whispered, more curious than anything else, "how long it might take or how hard it might be?" Zidane took a second before answering.
"Come rain or come shine, as they say."
"Are you aware that you already have both?"
"…what?" Kuja groaned as he raised his hand.
"If you trust me," he said weakly, "I can show you." Zidane looked at his outstretched hand, then at his face, then his tail, and back to the face…and finally:
"Then show me."
"Come closer," he commanded gently. Zidane complied and Kuja placed his hand on his brother's head. He entered Zidane's mind. The boy recoiled at first but then held still. Kuja gently sensed through Zidane's mind, being careful not to look at his memories… until he found what he was looking for: the first five years of Zidane's life, all neatly packaged away in a corner, shrouded in the blue light.
This may hurt…just accept it. He then pulled away the curtain and retreated back to his own mind, exhausted. Zidane held his head in his hands for a few minutes, while Kuja watched. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and smiled.
"It all makes sense now…" he murmured.
"Happy Birthday, Zidane," Kuja smiled.
"Thanks…" the boy-turning-man nearly laughed. "I can really use this."
"Use it well, and…" Kuja coughed.
"Yes?" Zidane questioned.
"Zidane? …keep your promise to the queen. I would've given my right arm to have someone who understood me…"
"You can keep your arm, brother," Zidane whispered. Kuja closed his eyes again, but smiled.
"Zidane…" he sighed, then, "I have…amassed… great wealth…in Treno. I want you…to have it."
"I have no need—"
"You will," Kuja sighed. "It's all I can…offer you now, anyway…I am so…tired."
"Me too." There was a brief silence.
"Zidane…" Kuja choked weakly, as he felt his life ebbing away. "I must sleep…"
"Me too," Zidane nodded, stroking loose strands from Kuja's face. "I have a rite to perform before I get started." Kuja didn't ask. It was a little late to start understanding dyne anyway.
"Good…night."
"Sleep well, my brother," Zidane whispered before curling up next to him and going to sleep himself. The two brothers slept silently beneath the dueling roots of one tree. Only one would ever awake.





Finished? maybe.... maybe not. You, the reader decide! or maybe I will...