Return of the Destroyed

by Black Mage Dad

Three years have passed and Garland wreaks havoc upon Gaia once more. Now it is up to Zidane, Kuja, the crew, and some lost ghosts of Terra to keep their world from repeating its mistakes. [Complete]

47. The Final Battle Part 2: Redemption

A/N: Well, this is it . . . The last real chapter . . . sniffle Just about everything is revealed in this one . . . and we finally get to see who wins . . . and who loses . . . This is also the official longest chapter coming it at thirty pages! This is definitely the chapter I know almost everyone's been waitin' for . . . 'cept for me. Hehe, just a warning, don't be surprised by ANYTHING that happens in this chapter. I remember laughing when I first constructed the ending because it was such a messy, unusual finish. But it's not like anyone reading this was expecting a NORMAL last chapter, right? I mean, come on! I built this story on randomness . . . I just wanna say though, that the reviews for the last chapter were SO SWEET!!! I'm glad to know you guys enjoy and appreciate this story (and LordK . . . reels that review was so kind of you! But, alas, the chances of a Final Fantasy IX-2 are slim to none sigh. Still, that had to be one of the sweetest things anyone's ever said to me TT I appreciate it!). And because I love ya guys so much for all this, if you read the second author's note I'll tell y'all somethin' cool. Till then, read on! It's time to find out who deserves to DIE!!!

Disclaimer: C'mon Square! This is my last god damn chapter (other than the epilogue, heehee)! Couldn't you at least let me own your company for a DAY?!! No? Jerks . . .



"I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

– Messiah, Nanase Hikaru ("Angel Sanctuary" soundtrack)

Zidane sat there gaping wordlessly.

"Oh . . . my . . . gods . . . What . . . the . . . HELL . . .?!!"

All action within the Fire Shrine had ceased. Zidane, Eiko, Garnet, Steiner, Beatrix, Freya, Fratley, Amarant, Lani, Megan, Vivi, Garland, Drakja, and every last living geonome within the arena had stopped where they had fallen and sat there, staring. Some had been knocked down while still in the heat of combat. Nearby, Chikara finally – after being thrown viciously from his feet – released his hold on Fratley's neck. The latter gagged and gave Chikara a reproachful look. Several feet away, Eiko had been knocked out completely and Garnet was shielding the young girl fearfully, her eyes flickering occasionally back to Vivi to make sure the other child of the group was alright.

All eyes were locked upon the one figure still standing. Kuja was snarling, his lip curled. What had happened to him, none knew. They'd just seen him DIE . . . They'd watched him collapse to the floor, they'd heard his screams of pain, and then they'd heard him go silent in death . . . Yet here he stood . . . a trembling monolith of darkness.

Where his silver hair had once flowed, there was now a layering of ebony feathers. His body, as well, was furred with black, his clothes shredded and torn, giving the sorcerer the appearance of a battered flag on the losing side of a battle-field. The very aura of his presence had nearly quintupled; he was pulsing with vicious, dark energy.

Zidane was the first to speak.

"K . . . Kuja . . .?"

Kuja hissed, his black eyes wild, as he whipped in Zidane's direction. His teeth were bared, fists clenched. Zidane recoiled. His brother looked like a maddened, wounded animal. Did Kuja even know who his brother was anymore . . .? It didn't appear that way . . .

"Zidane . . ." Kuja growled. "Stay out of this . . . This is MY fight . . ."

Garland was breathing heavily, scowling, as he lay back against the greasy stone wall. There was a dull clanking coming closer, a limping sort of tap as if one of the creature's legs was shorter than the other. Garland's forehead creased and he looked up.

And then the overlord saw the pair of feet coming to a halt before his own. Garland gazed at them. They seemed almost bare; only a black ring was wrapped around the sole of each as if the frame of the person's shoes had been torn off. A white and black-ringed tail was sweeping the ground between them in an agitated motion. Raising his eyes slowly, Garland took in the muscular frame, the ripples of black fur and feathers, the torn rags of clothes, and the ebony-feathered hair. The creature's charcoal-black lips twisted into a grin. Its teeth should have been a blinding white against the dark lips, but they were stained red with blood. Then Garland's eyes met his nemesis's and his breath hitched in his throat. The eyes were like endless pools of darkness and there was nothing contained within them but cold, wrathful anger. All rationality was gone. It was then, for the first time, that Garland realized the monster he had created.

". . . Kuja . . ." Garland whispered, gasping for the words that wouldn't come. He cowered beneath his creation's pulsing gaze. That crimson grin grew wider.

"It's fun, isn't it, Garland?" Kuja queried softly, staring down his nose at the man who had once ripped the very soul from his body. "Isn't it wonderful to sit there and know your life is coming steadily to a close?" Kuja waited a moment, smiling. Then his face flared with a fury even the likes of the gods had never seen and a furious wind exploded from the warlock's body, wrapping about the entire room. His feathery hair billowed in the minute storm, his shredded hakama flapping against his legs.

"ANSWER ME!!!" the genome screamed, his eyes wide and hideous as they turned upon their master. Garland shivered like a frightened animal and drew himself closer to the wall's traitorous sanctuary. For a moment, Kuja stood there, a twisted, vengeful monster. Then the winds died down and he pulled back, sniffing disdainfully.

"You are a pathetic excuse for a mortal . . ." He snarled bitterly, spitting at Garland's feet. For a moment, the chamber remained still. None of the onlookers could speak, for they were far more stunned than Garland himself. Kuja clenched a fist at his side, eyes flashing.

"I would delight in watching you die . . . If not just for the pleasure of knowing I will take you down with me . . ."

Nearby, Zidane was trembling. "What . . . What HAPPENED to him?!!"

"He Tranced," a sly voice responded. Zidane gasped and looked up from where he sat to see Saishoja standing at his side, a faint smirk etched upon his pale lips.

"Tranced?! But the souls – "

"Exactly," Saishoja grinned. "Kuja doesn't have the souls to allow him to Trance anymore. This is what Kuja's Trance REALLY looks like. The souls were what turned his Trance red, probably induced by the insane blood-lust they gave him. But this is what the REAL Kuja looks like when he's mad: corrupted by darkness and pain, not the need to spill blood . . ."

Garland's milky eyes widened. He had forgotten in his fear that Kuja was on his last threads. The souls were gone – the only thing that had sustained him for the past three years – and the limit was drawing forward at an alarmingly rapid pace. But if that was true, then how had Kuja Tranced? If he had ever been able to do so at all? His question, oddly enough, was answered once again by the notorious Saishoja.

"Do you see now what I had intended, Zidane?"

Zidane looked up dazedly at the dead-man. "Wh-what do you mean . . .?"

"Why, it's simple," Saishoja explained. "I knew that by allowing Kuja to die, he would see his life flash before his eyes. Of course, I knew that from past experience . . . Then he would see all the horrible things that had happened to him and become so furious he would Trance. The powers that the Trance gives him will be able to sustain Kuja for several more hours at least! Which, of course, will be just long enough for him to finish Garland off,"

Garland blinked, then chuckled, shaking his head sadly. Every last soul within the room was watching, some fascinated, others scared out of their wits.

"Oh, Kuja, you sadden me . . . You always tried so hard to live . . . I could still save your life, yet you choose to kill me instead,"

Kuja smirked, eyes flashing wickedly. "What have I to live for?" he queried, a low growl rising within his throat. "They can go on," He signaled to the crew behind him; Zidane, Garnet, Freya, Fratley, Beatrix, Eiko, Vivi, Steiner, Amarant, Lani, and yes, even Megan. "They will fight on . . . And they will beat the geonomes," Kuja signaled now to the dozens, possibly hundreds, of beings sitting up and cowering fearfully by the walls. Several lay sprawled upon the floor, dead. And even among the crew, one face remained missing . . .

Garland trembled, staring at his spawn. Never before, in all the years he had known the wretched thing, had Kuja seemed so confident. All the fear and doubt – once hidden behind a mask of make-up and a sneer – were now snuffed for the first time. There he stood, Tranced from his own dying soul, and still he was smiling. For once Garland knew . . .

He wasn't going to win this battle . . .

"Well, are you going to finish it, Kuja?" Garland snapped. "Or will you stand there gloating for the rest of the day until you finally drop dead?"

Kuja chuckled, and in his hand glowed a single, fatal Ultima. The gift from the Souls . . .

"So I shall end it . . . And so I shall end our suffering . . ."

But as Kuja raised his arm – the torn rags of his sleeves shifting as he moved – the sorcerer suddenly stopped. For a moment he stood there as if hesitating from his task. Garland eyes were still slammed shut tight in fear. He opened one lid fearfully and for a fleeting second thought Kuja was reconsidering the punishment. Then, suddenly, a single tear fell from Kuja's eye. It cut the air with a swoop, and the moment it made contact with the floor and broke, a gasp passed from his lips.

There was a cry from behind him like the sound of a strangled dog. For a moment Kuja stood there, disbelieving, and then something exploded from his midriff. In the chamber, Garnet screamed and clutched Zidane. Other than her, there was silence. No one had yet to comprehend what had happened.

Kuja looked down slowly as all eyes became focused on him. The reddened blade of a sword stuck out from his body like a bloody flagpole. He blinked and – as if in a trance – finally looked over his shoulder.

Drakja stood there, stooped and clutching the hilt of his dulled sword. His emerald eyes were wild as he stared at the entrance-wound; straight through Kuja's back. He was gasping for breath, trembling with inexplicable, loyal rage. His eyes and that of his victim's locked and suddenly it seemed to everyone in the room that Kuja's eyes had returned – if not for a second – to their milky blindness. But there was something else that none of them could explain. It seemed a hallucination as they watched. Drakja, breathing hard, wrenched the sword from Kuja's body. Blood splattered to the floor as Drakja stared at the weapon in his hands. Then, as if his hands were shaking too hard to hold it, he dropped the blade and put one trembling claw to his eyes. When he withdrew it, it was wet.

He was crying . . .

A hush fell upon the chamber. Garland's black eyes widened as he gazed lethargically at Kuja who stood there, his eyes flickering with some strange thought. Garland didn't even flinch as a drop of crimson blood dripped from the black-haired sorcerer's wound and splashed upon the fleshy side of his face.

At Zidane's side, Saishoja gasped with . . . delight?

"It worked!" the soul panted, seemingly unable to contain his joy. "I knew it! I KNEW the fool would do it!"

"You . . . BASTARD . . .!" Zidane grit his teeth. Saishoja just shook his head, laughing.

"I'm still on your side, Zidane! You just watch!"

But Zidane didn't believe it. He was too busy watching the horrors unfolding only twenty or so feet away from him to care about anything else.

Drakja was shaking, green eyes blazing as he stared down upon his tear- stained hand.

". . . Why . . .? Ngh . . .!!!"

The geonome gasped, clutching his head before collapsing to his knees, screaming in agony as the memories began to return . . . shattering his fragile sanity.

/Flash/

"I thought I told my soldiers not to let you in . . ." Saishoja was growling, his white eyes piercing into Drakja's with a look of pure death, willing the other man off his camp-grounds simply with his countenance.

Drakja snorted. "As if . . ." Saishoja frowned.

"Your teleportation would be useless if I were to kill you now . . ."

"Would you?" Drakja arched a delicate eyebrow, green eyes boring into that of his enemy's in war.

"If it would mean victory for my people . . ." Drakja hesitated, a light frown creasing his face.

"The people of 'Shi', you mean? You use the word 'my' when referring to them?"

"Don't start with me . . .!" Saishoja warned, empty eyes flashing dangerously. Drakja grinned, leaning back against a tree and folding his arms across his chest.

"Wasn't gonna . . ."

"You were so!!" Saishoja began to grope for his sword-hilt, teeth bared. "Get out of here! I don't want to talk to you! We will end this on the battle-field! AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE!!!"

Drakja gasped. "Don't you DARE imply such a thing! We are going to settle this NOW!"

Saishoja laughed coldly. "You want to settle this now? There is nothing to settle! We fight to the death!"

And with that, the Great General of Shi whipped around and gave Drakja the coldest snub in the history of war. It sent icicles creeping along the trees, stabbing Drakja painfully in the heart. He stood there, trembling with fury.

"How dare he . . ." the green-eyed man hissed. "How dare he . . .!!! TO THE DEATH!!!"

Sword in hand, a great cry rang out through the forest. Drakja felt warm blood gush across his hands as the blade pierced flesh and burst through Saishoja's chest, straight from his back. Saishoja gasped in pain, then stared, dazedly over his shoulder at Drakja.

"You . . . you stabbed me . . ." the general murmured, disbelieving. Drakja was breathing heavily.

"And I would do it again, you BASTARD!!! I would do it again!"

Saishoja moved his head trance-like, gazing down upon the sword. "Remove the sword, Drakja," he said softly. Nearby, a young girl with fire-red hair was standing within the trees, hands clamped over her mouth. She screamed and raced into the clearing.

"Oh my god!" the girl sobbed. "Oh my god!!!"

"M-Madeline . . . Stay out of this . . ." Saishoja hissed, clenching his teeth with pain. "That's a . . . that's an order . . ."

Drakja was growling, still clenching the sword. With a great heave, he slid it from Saishoja's back and threw the weapon down into the wet grass. Saishoja coughed and sagged to his knees. He was smiling sadly.

"So this is how we choose to settle our rivalry, eh, Drakja?"

Drakja was whimpering. "You had it coming . . ." he choked. "You had it coming . . .!"

Saishoja nodded faintly, sighing. "Yes . . . I did have it coming . . . I guess it's safe to say . . . That for what you have done to me . . . Dad would have been proud . . ."

Drakja's face fell. Stab. "Wh-what . . .? What of him . . .?"

Saishoja smiled, not even holding a hand against his wound to stem the fiery blood that was tainting the grass. "Drakja . . . I still . . . I still . . ." Saishoja coughed and blood flowed down his chin. The Terran's eyes rolled up into his head as he whispered his final words.

". . . I still love you . . ."

Silently, the Great General of Shi crumpled into the grass and lay still. Drakja gaped, eyes wide, and then howled like a wounded beast.

"Saishoja! No! No, my god, no!" He dropped to his knees beside the fallen man, tears pouring endlessly down his face. "Saishoja . . . Gods, I didn't KNOW!!! I-I didn't . . . know . . ."

Above him, Madeline was hiccupping softly, clenching a fist near her chest. The bushes nearby rustled and Drakja saw a familiar face; that man, Garland. That snoop that had followed them around for so long . . .

"What have I done . . .?" Drakja mumbled unintelligently, grasping Saishoja's shoulder with one trembling hand and turning him onto his back. "I can still . . . I could still . . ."

"You can't, Drakja," came the soft reply. Nearby, Garland was staring upon the two with a reserved expression on his aging face. "It's too late for that. Let his soul move on . . ."

". . . No . . . NO!!! YOU BASTARD, YOU DIDN'T KNOW HIM!!!"

". . . Let him go . . ."

". . . No . . .!" Drakja was sobbing hysterically, gently caressing Saishoja's ashen face with one blood-stained hand. "No . . . I don' t deserve . . . GAH!!!"

No one could have stopped him. With a scream that split the heavens, Drakja grasped Saishoja's dagger and plunged the blade deep into his stomach. The Terran raised his face to the sky, crying out in agony as blood splattered upon the dirt. Garland's eyes widened, Madeline shrieked and covered her face. Then Drakja fell forward and collapsed upon his fallen friend, bloodied dagger in hand.

". . . I love you too . . ." he whispered. And as they felt his aura passing, they saw that when he died, he was smiling . . . As was Saishoja . . .

/Flash/

Drakja gasped, plunging back into reality. "No . . . No, I didn't KNOW!!!"

The others (who had absolutely no idea what was going on) watched as Kuja, shivering with pain, reached up and pressed a palm against his chest. When he pulled it back, there was blood spilling over his hand. He smiled faintly.

"It's just . . . It's j-just like how S-Saishoja told me . . . told me it would h-happen . . . Which means I . . . Which means . . ." Kuja took a deep breath and said the words that caused a painful stillness to settle upon the room.

"Which means . . . I win . . ."

With a swooping sound, a wind began to swirl about Kuja's body. As he slowly – gracefully – fell, the roots of his hair began to go white, soaking to the tips, the feathers retreating, the black fur reverting into the torn rags of his traveling cloak from before. Kuja's lips paled, his eyes spurting back to white. Then he crumpled to the ground, no longer in a Trance, and definitely . . . positively . . .

Dead.

No one moved. No one breathed. It was like a giant vacuum had filled the entire chamber and sucked the air from every last mortal's lungs. Everything seemed to darken like night . . . Not a word was spoken.

"Ha ha . . . Ha ha ha . . . AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Garland was laughing hysterically, head thrown back, eyes wild. "AHA! OH MAN . . . OH, THIS IS HYSTERICAL!!! Hehe . . . HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

They all thought he'd gone mad. Finally, after so many centuries, the great Gigahertz Garland had officially snapped. The overlord managed to lug himself back to his feet, still doubled over with hysteria. He seemed to be absolutely beside himself.

"AHAHAHA!!! DRAKJA YOU ARE SO STUPID!!!"

Garland pointed at the cowering geonome, giggling madly. "You have no idea what you have done!!! Saishoja . . . Oh, gosh, I never give Saishoja enough credit for his half-hatched schemes! Where is the fool?!!"

Garland whipped around, searching every face for the soul. But by then, Saishoja had long since vanished. Garland sneered.

"I must say, Saishoja. Bravo! He knew exactly what he was doing! But you, Drakja, my goodness, you have just sealed our deaths!!!"

Drakja winced. "I don't . . . I don't understand . . ." Nearby, Kuja's silver dragon was whimpering, nudging his master pitifully, willing him to wake up.

"Well, of course you don't!" Garland snapped. "Because you're an idiot! No matter how many times I hinted the truth to you, you never got it! You never figured it out!"

"F-figured out what . . .?"

"You have the original Drakja's soul!!! You and he are one and the same!!!"

Drakja stared blankly at Garland. "S-so . . .? Saishoja already . . . already told me that. Wh-what does that have to do with any of this . . .?"

"Everything!" Garland exclaimed. "That's what I mean! You're a moron! I tried to hint to you constantly, but I swear, even if I had come out and stuffed the truth down your throat you wouldn't have understood!"

Zidane was breathing hard. What was the truth? What was it that all this meant?!! Garland smirked.

"Drakja, didn't you ever notice anything about your relationship with Saishoja?"

"Wh-what do you mean . . .?"

"Well gee, let's see," Garland rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring up at the ceiling, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You both have tails, and you're both incredible fighters. Do you see where I'm going with this yet . . .?"

Drakja shook his head silently, still crouched upon the ground. He seemed so small and insignificant sitting there, mahogany tail curled about his ankle . . . Garland laughed.

"Alright, how's this for a hint: didn't you ever notice that in every memory you ever saw – and believe me, I've been watching you, I know what you remember – Drakja always had just a FATHER and Saishoja always had just a MOTHER?!!"

Zidane's eyes widened. /Oh my god . . . Don't tell me that . . ./

Garland shook his head, unable to believe that Drakja didn't see the simplicity of the situation.

"They were BROTHERS, you pathetic excuse for a Terran!!!"

"B-brothers . . .?" Drakja seemed dazed, blinking slowly. Every last living creature within the room was stunned. Of course . . . It all made sense . . .

Garland sighed, rolling his blackened eyes. "It was so obvious! More than six-hundred years ago on Terra, a woman named Isra gave birth to her first child, a son named Saishoja. But that son was born blind. Her husband, Uragiru, was a top officer in the military and couldn't stand the thought that his son could never be in war. So when Isra gave birth to their second son, Drakja, two years later, Uragiru immediately favored the one more compatible to fight."

"But one day, Isra caught Uragiru leading Saishoja towards a cliff. Being blind, the child had no idea what his father was doing. Isra panicked and told Uragiru she was leaving. She moved away to another house in Saishoja and Drakja's home city of Tanjo. But another day Isra found Uragiru with Drakja watching Saishoja getting beaten up by some kids in a park. That night, she took the boy and fled to HER home city of Shi. When the war on Terra started, Saishoja wound up fighting for Shi. This made sense, as – due to the unfortunate circumstances – he grew up there. Drakja took this as a big blow, as he was fighting for Tanjo where he had remained with their father. The two had been inseparable, seeing each other constantly; the best of friends despite their parents' differences. But with the war, the two came to loathe each other. They both felt betrayed by the other. At that point, Saishoja had the Blindsight and became Shi's general. Drakja became Tanjo's. They fought against each other in many battles. They were known as the 'Devil Brothers' and many fights with average citizens were started over which of the two was the better man."

"But one day Drakja went to Shi's campgrounds to try and make peace with his lost brother. Saishoja ignored him and, thus, Drakja killed him in his fury. But Saishoja admitted as he died that no matter what had happened, he still loved him. Maddened by grief and realizing he had just murdered his brother, Drakja killed himself with Saishoja's blade."

Garland smirked. "And the rest is history. Cities that had favored Shi or Tanjo became infuriated, one side furious that Drakja had killed Saishoja, the other furious that Saishoja's death had led to Drakja's. In the end, the world of Terra destroyed itself in their rage. Drakja's foolish actions ended the world as they knew it . . . Leaving it barren and uninhabitable. Which means, dear Drakja, that you have just repeated the same mistake as last time . . . Look around, fool. Look at the faces of your enemies. Do those look like the faces of mortals that will show you mercy . . .?"

Drakja stared timidly at the enraged countenances of the crew. He flinched with fear. Every last non-geonome creature within the Fire Shrine was seething with fury. He'd never seen anything like it before in his life. The room pulsed with a vicious wrath. Lani was clutching her axe and running one finger smoothly along its paper-thin edge. Amarant was flexing his claws. Steiner's mouth was hanging open with a cross between shock and anger. Beatrix seemed to be half-crying, half-growling. The two Burmecians' lips were curled, their noses bunched as they snarled. Garnet was sniffling, reproachful. Zidane's eyes were burning in their sockets. He was clenching and unclenching his fists, trembling with an unmatched rage. Garland laughed.

"You see, Drakja?! You've done it again, you fool! They'll kill you now for sure! Just like last time! Terra was DESTROYED because of your IDIOCY!!! And now you've gone and done it again!!"

Drakja didn't speak. He was staring down at the floor in silence. His hands were smeared with blood that seemed to spell "guilty." Garland shook his head in disgust.

Nearby, however, Zidane was shaking. He couldn't seem to catch his breath, his eyes pulsing with a strange, pale-red light. Teeth bared, he clenched his fists near his sides, growling. He couldn't see anything at all . . . He could only smell the blood of those living within the Fire Shrine. He felt the urge to dig his fingers into their flesh, taste their molten blood.

No, not their blood . . . Somebody else's . . . He blinked as he felt someone fall against him.

"M . . . Megan . . .?"

Megan didn't seem to recognize him. She hung onto his shoulder, shivering, and then dropped to her knees. She collapsed upon the floor, hugging her knees to her chest and sobbing. Zidane repeated her name but she only lay there muttering to herself unintelligently. Zidane felt as if he'd swallowed a rock that had come to a rest somewhere in the pit of his stomach.

He could feel that familiar panic beginning to flutter throughout his body. He'd felt it before; that feeling that all rationality was lost and only instinct had taken over; driving his powers beyond all measure.

Yeah . . . It had been way too long since he'd begun to Trance . . .

The blonde flinched as he felt a frighteningly warm hand upon his shoulder. Saishoja was standing beside him, his face uncharacteristically serious for the personality Zidane had gotten used to.

"Zidane . . ." the soul whispered. "You need to use this to your advantage . . ."

". . . Use what . . .?"

"You're Trancing, aren't you?" Saishoja queried. "Or at least, you're incredibly close without actually being physically injured. I can sense the inner peril in your soul. Listen to me very – carefully . . . Do you sense it with the Trance's heightened perception?"

"Sense what?" Zidane could scarcely think as he watched Garland mercilessly chastising and teasing Drakja.

". . . The anger . . ."

"Anger?"

"Yes, don't you feel it; smell it?" Saishoja was gazing forward as if he could taste something in the air that no one else could.

"I . . . I don't know . . ."

"Then try . . ." Saishoja's hand was still resting on Zidane's shoulder. The silver-haired man squeezed it reassuringly. Zidane closed his eyes, concentrating. The anger, eh? He had to sense everyone's anger . . .

Then it hit him like a battering-ram to the chest. He could hear the voices of all those around him, feel their fury, their pain, their frustration as if they had become one with him, crunching up within him, tearing his innards to shreds.

/Flash/

"How could they . . .?! Look what they've done to us!!!"

"This is horrible – !"

"I hate him – !"

"Bastard – "

". . . excuse for a – "

"– GONNA RIP HIS HEART OUT, THAT – "

/Flash/

Even the geonomes . . . He could even hear the fury of the geonomes . . .!

He couldn't take it anymore . . . The animosity . . .

"It . . . It hurts . . .!" Zidane moaned. Saishoja's sightless eyes gleamed.

"Yes! Yes . . .! Feel their pain and use it, Zidane! You know there is more to power than simply Trancing! Come on! Show them what you've got!!!"

"Show . . . Show them . . ." Zidane stumbled forward slightly. His head was spinning. He could hear his friends calling out to him now, abandoning their anger long enough to notice something was wrong with their friend. Zidane thought he would fall but he managed to stay on his feet. He clutched his head, moaning.

Garland laughed. "Ah, lookie there, Drakja," The overlord pointed at the shivering Zidane. "See that light surrounding Zidane's aura? That's the beginnings of a Trance . . . Let's face it, my dear, dear, Demon of Death: You're dead,"

A fierce wind began to pick up around Zidane's body. He wrapped his arms tightly about himself as he felt the horrible energy beginning to fill the very fabric of his being. Saishoja was grinning with a maniacal energy.

"YES!! YES!! NOW IS THE TIME, ZIDANE!!! YOU, WHO HAVE ALSO INHERITED THE BLOOD OF SAISHOJA THROUGH THE MACHINATIONS OF GARLAND MUST NOW SHOW THEM THE TRUE POWER OF AN ANGEL OF DEATH!!!"

Zidane was doubled over in agony. Already his body had morphed into his typical Trance. The hair that whipped about his face was a bright shade of pink, his clothes shredded to reveal the fuchsia fur. His tail was puffed out in fury, eyes wild. The light that emitted from his body was so blinding that many turned away. It fell momentarily upon the form of Mikoto who had passed out against the wall. She cringed in her sleep as if trying to shy away a bad dream. For a moment, Kuja's body was visible in the darkness, Zidane's energy glistening off the bath of blood that soaked through the sorcerer's ruined grave-clothes.

Drakja's green eyes were closed and he was sitting contently.

". . . This is what I deserve . . ." he whispered. Garland was giggling hysterically.

"Yes! Yes, this is EXACTLY what you deserve! You, who murdered the most beautiful and powerful creature to ever grace the planets! You, who destroyed my poor, dear Terra! You, who returned even now to once again snuff the life of my most gorgeous, flawless, PERFECT creation! Yes, Drakja! Suffer for your sins!"

Zidane was growling as the power began to increase. Tendrils of white and rose winds slapped across the chamber. Chunks of the walls were breaking off, geonomes were cowering in fear. Tremors were racing through Zidane's body.

"GrrrrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!"

The genome threw back his head in a terrifying scream. He covered his ears in agony as the brilliance exploded from his body. The room was engulfed in light as Drakja calmly awaited his sentence.

"Ahahahaha!!!" Saishoja stepped backwards, slipping as far into the dark as he possibly could. "Zidane has finally gone beyond the mere limits of Trance! He has Shocked! Not a creature has been capable of such a transformation since . . . Why, since me!"

"Good day, Drakja," Garland smirked, tilting his face delicately away from the flare.

"No, Garland . . ." a hoarse voice whispered from within the burning core of the light. "Drakja is a mortal that was sentenced to death centuries ago . . . Drakja is obsolete; unimportant. Drakja was not responsible for his actions . . . He was being egged on and lied to by only one person: You! YOU, GARLAND, ARE THE ONLY ONE THAT SHALL SUFFER HERE TONIGHT!!!"

"Wh-what?" Garland's eyes widened with disbelief as he saw the tentacles of energy bundling together, intertwining, blasting in his direction. "What?!! NOOO!!! I CREATED YOU!!! I – BARRIER!!!"

Garland held up his arms in defense and allowed the powerful, translucent magic-shield to power up before him. The light plowed into the magical glass with a shriek and was immediately deflected. More continued to come as the powerful energy spiraled off into the rest of the hall, smashing into the concrete and bringing down entire statues with an earth-shattering crash.

Garland stepped backwards, still holding the barrier up tight in front of him. He sneered.

"Zidane, you'll die if you keep this up!!! The powers of Shock – though awesome – cannot defeat the power of a hundred souls held within a small space! The potential of your Shock will kill you!"

"I don't care!" Zidane screamed back, crying out as the power of his own and everyone else's anger began to ravage him apart. "If I take you down with me then it will all have been worth it!!!"

"Incredible . . ." Lulian exclaimed in awe, quailing alongside her fellow geonomes.

For a full minute at least, Zidane continued to bombard Garland with his fury and Garland continued to counter it. Soon, the foundations of the Shrine would no longer hold. They would all be killed . . .

Until . . .

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Garland let out a horrible, blood-curdling scream as Zidane's might broke through the barrier. The magic glass fizzled and went out. Immediately, Garland vanished within a plume of blinding, burning energy, blood spraying from every possible centimeter of his flesh.

"IMPOSSIBLE!!!" they heard him shriek. "NO!! ZIDANE'S POWERS ALONE NEVER COULD HAVE BROKEN MY BARRIER!!! HOW – ?!!"

But Garland thought he saw, before he became consumed, another faint light glowing somewhere off to the side; a small bit of magic that might have – just maybe – made a BIG difference . . .

"The final blow, Zidane!" Saishoja yelled from the sidelines. "Hurry! I don't think He'll be able to hold out much longer!!!"

Zidane thought, in his slight delusion, that Saishoja meant "Garland" when referring to the "He." As it turned out later, he was very much wrong . . .

Zidane pulled back his arms, preparing for the final blast. Garland was frozen in the center of the chamber, screaming as his body shredded and convulsed from the thousands of blades that seemed to comprise the wind. Then, with a cry, Zidane summoned his Ultima Weapon to his side using the powers of Shock. He gripped the weapon tightly by the middle handle and then, crying out, swung with all his might right into the core of light.

Silence fell. All time screeched to a stop. Garland's face seemed to be trapped in an infinite, silent scream; Zidane's blade was held out before him, his shoulders hunched, his face taut with pain and rage. Most within the Fire Shrine had turned away. Garnet was covering Vivi and Eiko, Fratley had gripped Freya tightly, Beatrix had rushed over to where Steiner had previously fallen. Everything was engulfed in light. Zidane felt a strange gaze upon him that he had not felt in what seemed like an eternity; two sapphires piercing coolly into his soul. He smiled to himself as all around him seemed to end.

"Yeah . . . I knew you had something to do with it . . ."

BOOM.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

An explosion had rocked the center of the arena. A single cry had broken through the silence. Every last person within the shrine lay somewhere upon the floor, unmoving. The chamber took on the appearance of a wasteland. Bodies were sprawled here and there, nothing dared to breathe. Chunks of the wall and ceiling crumbling were the only sounds heard other than the soft whining of the wind. As the silence began to dissipate, life, once more, began to stir. In the center of the room, a small pile of ash was settling. A faint red orb within the dust flickered and then went black. Silenced forever.

. . . Garland had been defeated . . .

The only one left standing was Zidane, though not for long. He was staring at the small mound of ash, breathing hard. Thousands of tiny lights drifted up from the pile of dust, streaming across the room like a million glittering fireflies. The souls of Gaia were finally free . . . ! A faint smile flickered across Zidane's features.

"Hehe . . . Gotcha . . ."

And then, his Trance evaporating from his body, he collapsed. Garnet yelped and leapt to her feet.

"Zidane!" the queen shrieked, running towards his fallen form. But she already knew . . . Had already known . . .

"No! No! No! No!" Garnet gripped Zidane's shoulders hard and turned him onto his back. "No! No, it's not true! It can't be true!"

The others were filing in slowly behind her, looking anxious. Even Steiner, who had received a major head-wound from Kuja's dragon, had managed to hobble over to Zidane's side. The only ones who had not risen were Eiko – who was still unconscious and being carried by Fratley – and Megan, who had not moved at all for quite some time.

"I don't believe it . . ." Beatrix whispered. "He . . ." her one eye snapped up to meet the ghost hovering near the wall. Saishoja was standing silent, gazing into the distance with his eerie white eyes.

"HE DIED, YOU KNOW THAT?!!" Beatrix screamed. A small sob escaped her throat. "The stupid idiot died . . ."

"D-don't say it!" Garnet moaned, tears pouring down her face as she hugged Zidane's limp body to her own. "It's not true! He's not dead!"

Saishoja turned away, frowning. "If all goes according to plan . . ." he whispered. "Then he will . . ." The deceased man glanced over his shoulder at something. "Yes, Drakja will do the right thing . . . I know he will . . ."

All the females within the team were crying. Even Lani, who was typically trying to be such a bad-ass, had buried her face into Amarant's chest. Amazingly, he let her. His head was bowed, fire-red hair obscuring his face. No one knew what the bandit was thinking at that moment . . . Garnet was sobbing, squeezing Zidane with all her might.

"Wh-what will . . . What will Eiko say when she . . . When she wakes up?!! Gods, Zidane . . . Please wake up . . .! WAKE UP FOR ME!!!"

No one spoke a word. The shock had not yet set in. Dead?! How could Zidane Tribal, chaser of the ladies, ex-thief, future king of Alexandria, Shakespearian actor of the Tantalus Troupe, and the most righteous man alive, possibly be dead?! For saving the world?!!

". . . Is he . . .?"

A soft voice reverted the attention of the others. Several people actually jerked around in surprise. Someone had been watching them . . . Someone with the most beautiful opal eyes they had ever seen . . .

"Oh my god, Kuja . . ." Beatrix's mouth was hanging open. "Nobody move!" she raced over to the warlock's side.

Kuja was still crumpled in the position he had fallen. His silver dragon was circling the warlock slowly, whining softly and nosing his master balefully. Beatrix got down on her knees beside Kuja, looking terrified. She carefully turned the sorcerer onto his back. He gasped, clutching the wound in his chest. Blood flood between his clenched fingers and onto the floor. He was as white as a sheet, a dribble of blood running down his chin. It didn't take a doctor or a white mage to know . . .

Kuja was dying too . . .

"Kuja . . . how – " Beatrix fell silent. She couldn't speak anymore. The first two Angels of Death . . . Both dead . . . On the same day . . . Because of the same god damn man . . .

"Zidane . . ." Kuja moaned. "He's gone . . . I don't . . . I don't feel his presence at all!"

Beatrix suppressed a sob. "Kuja . . . Kuja, Zidane's fine . . . Don't worry about him . . ."

"Don't . . . lie to me . . ." Kuja hissed. He turned his head slightly to the side. "Because of the amount of blood I've lost . . . the poison is purged . . . My sight has returned to me . . ."

Beatrix sniffled. "So I've noticed . . ."

"And . . ." Kuja continued. "I still can't see Zidane . . . M-Megan . . . Where's Megan . . .?!"

"She's – "

"Right here," Came a soft reply. Beatrix leapt to the side just in time to see Megan standing beside her, tears spilling from beneath her glasses' frames.

"Megan . . ." Kuja rasped. "I just . . . I just wanted to say . . . That I'm sorry for everything . . . That's ever happened to you . . ."

At this point, all members of the team were watching Kuja tearfully.

"M-mourning for two heroes at once . . ." Freya rubbed her eyes. "What a horrible ending to a great tale . . ."

"No, Kuja . . . I'm sorry . . ." Megan hiccupped, sniffling. "It was horrible of me to make judgments about things . . . Things that I could know nothing of . . .!"

"I don't . . . blame you . . ." Kuja's eyes were faraway. "And if you were to die hating me . . . I would understand . . ."

". . . I never hated you . . ."

"Don't lie . . ."

"No, I could never hate you!"

"L-listen to me . . ." Kuja breathed, wincing. "I . . . I have here . . . S-some money that I . . . That I'm giving to the group . . ." He removed his trembling hand from his wound and reached into his shredded traveling cloak. When he withdrew it, there was an entire bag of gil clenched tight between his fingers, stained with his oozing crimson blood.

"Kuja, we can't – " Beatrix cut in, but Kuja interrupted her.

"No . . . Take it . . . There should be just enough in there . . . To pay for . . . To pay for Quina's . . . and Zidane's . . . proper graves . . . Alongside Queen Brahne . . . in the Alexandrian . . . Royal Cemetery . . . of Honor . . ."

"Kuja . . . Please . . ."

"M-Megan . . ." Kuja closed his eyes wearily, trembling. "No matter what you feel for me . . . I will always love you . . . But I must . . . I must see Zidane . . . One last time . . ."

Then he shuddered and lay still . . .

Megan stood there, eyes wide. "N . . . No . . . NOOOOOO!!!! NO, NOT YOU TOO!!! NOOOOOO!!!!"

She dropped to her knees at Kuja's side, throwing herself upon his body. Kuja's silver dragon howled mournfully, nudging his master's face. Those who had been crying for Zidane now cried doubly hard for the two brothers that had so uselessly perished from their world . . .

What seemed to be a million miles away, Drakja lay upon the cold, stone ground. Zidane hadn't killed him . . . the idiot!

"I don't wanna live anymore . . ." Drakja whimpered. "Not after . . . Not after all that I've done . . .!"

Of course, he could now clearly remember what had happened the last time he'd murdered his brother . . . Killed himself, of course. So why not . . . again . . .? Drakja clenched his eyes shut, reaching towards the dagger in his belt. Suddenly, a hand came down upon his wrist.

"Stop,"

"Huh?" Drakja opened his emerald eyes blearily, staring up into the face of none other than . . .

"Saishoja!!" Drakja jerked up immediately and began inching away. "No! No, you stay away from me! I . . . I can't face you!"

"I won't stay away," said the dead-man seriously. "Now you listen to me. Yes, you've screwed up before in your life, but I'm here now, giving you an opportunity to redeem yourself! Are you so thick that you haven't figured that out yet?!!"

". . . What . . .?"

"Last time, I made sure I died before you could use any of your powers on me. I didn't want to live anymore without my family, and I knew there would be terrible consequences for you if you did anything. But now you've been given a chance to try AGAIN!" Saishoja reached down and gripped Drakja by the collar hard, wrenching the young man fiercely to his feet.

"Be a man! Make the wrong things right! Don't take the coward's way out like you did last time; do the right thing!"

"B-but how . . .?"

"REMEMBER, YOU FOOL!!!" Saishoja glared daggers at his brother. "If you can remember just one more thing about your past, then I will leave . . . My interference with Fate will end and I will gladly step down . . ."

And with that said, Saishoja vanished. Drakja stared down at his blood- stained hands. Remember . . .? Remember what . . .? He looked up slowly at where the two Angels of Death lay, the rest of the crew sobbing and grieving over their bodies. He stared particularly hard at Kuja. Killed him . . . He'd . . . Killed him . . .

/Flash/

"Wh-what have I done . . .? I can still . . . I could still . . ."

/Flash/

Drakja kneaded his forehead in distress. "Still what?! What is it that I must know?!!"

/Flash/

"Drakja's final power. I had hoped by now he would have figured it out, but alas, he does not even realize he has one,"

"Is that so? But if I recall, the original Drakja was not aware of it either?"

"Not so. Drakja was fully aware of it and knew how to use it. Alas, however, he never utilized it in his life. It would have saved the poor fool some . . . nasty situations,"

/Flash/

"OH!!!" Drakja clapped his hands over his mouth.

He remembered! He really, truly remembered! He knew now what he needed to do. But there was only one problem . . .

". . . Zidane and Kuja are dead . . ." Drakja growled in frustration and whipped around, banging his head against the wall a few times and then, dazed, stepping away. "Alright, clear off . . . There's always a way to do everything . . ."

Drakja stepped nervously closer to the party, ignoring the confused stares of the geonomes all around him.

"D-Drakja . . .?" Lulian called out to her partner feebly. The alpha-male ignored her. He brushed past Kuja and moved instead up to Zidane. He stared down at the lifeless young man quietly, eyes tingling. Garnet flinched and glared up at the geonome.

"YOU!!! GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU /MONSTER/!!!!!"

Drakja did not respond. ". . . He is dead . . .?"

"Of course he's dead you MORON!!" Steiner barked, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Because YOUR stupid actions forced him to do something more powerful than his body could handle!!!"

Drakja hesitated. ". . . Is there a White Mage here . . .?"

"I'M a White Mage!" Garnet snapped. "What's it to you?!!"

". . . Is there a White Magic spell to bring back the dead . . .?"

"OF COURSE NOT, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!! DON'T YOU THINK WE WOULD HAVE USED ONE IF ONE EXISTED?!!" Freya was making a frantic leap for Drakja but Fratley, choking, pulled her back.

"No, Freya, no! It's not worth it . . .!"

Drakja's mind was buzzing with ideas. ". . . What about a Summoner? Is there an Eidolon that can bring back the dead?"

Over at Kuja's body, Beatrix was watching Drakja carefully over one shoulder. "Phoenix has the ability to revive those who are mortally wounded . . . But our only Summoner that has access to Phoenix is unconscious. And besides . . . To bring back the dead would take a bond between Summoner and Eidolon that, to be quite honest, I don't think Garnet or Eiko could possibly be strong enough or experienced enough to have . . . And, it would only bring them back to life, not heal them . . . Zidane could possibly be spared with Phoenix under the right circumstances . . . But Kuja . . ."

"No, no . . . That's not important . . ." Drakja's mind was racing. "I just wish I had access to Phoenix . . ."

Someone brushed past him at that moment and fell to her knees beside Zidane.

"Huh? Megan?"

Megan's eyes were closed. She held out one arm, fist clenched. Then, with a sigh, she opened her fingers to reveal a tiny, feeble flame hovering within the palm of her hand.

"A Phoenix flame!" Beatrix gasped.

Megan's eyes opened slowly. They were rather empty looking, like she was in some sort of trance.

". . . This is the last bit of Summoning magic I have left . . ." she whispered. "Since my horn was removed, I've had only a drop of power left in my entire body. I have enough to call to Phoenix. He says . . . He will give them life . . . Though I do not have the strength to offer them much . . ." Megan looked up slowly at the stunned faces of the crew. ". . . Do you accept . . .?"

"W-we couldn't . . .!" Lani shook her head. "That's all the girl has left!"

"No!" Drakja looked desperate. "You, Summoner-girl!" he whirled around on Megan. "Can you keep Zidane and Kuja alive for at least thirty seconds?"

Megan did not speak for a moment. She still seemed to be seeing in another world. ". . . Nothing more . . ."

"Excellent!" Drakja clapped his hands together. "Go on, then! Do it!"

". . . You're wasting her last bit of magic!" Freya looked appalled. "Haven't you done enough damage already?! You're lucky we haven't killed you yet! And most likely the Alexandrian courts will do that for us!"

Drakja ignored the Burmecian's tirade. He got down on his knees beside Zidane's lifeless form. Garnet glared at him, refusing to release her fiancé.

". . . Get away . . .!"

Drakja looked at the queen firmly with an expression that almost made her start. It was a calm, cool, calculated countenance. But it was warm. All the frost had gone from his emerald eyes.

"Trust me,"

"Please, Your Highness," Beatrix had still not moved from Kuja's side. "You have nothing more to lose . . ."

Garnet hesitated, then slowly lowered Zidane's body off her lap and back to the cold, grimy floor. Her eyes were like daggers.

"If you even think about – "

"Shh!" Vivi's amber eyes were shining.

Megan cupped the Phoenix flame within her hands and slowly muttered a spell. Then she positioned herself so that her palms hovered directly above Zidane. A thin sheet of fire burst forth from her hands and washed over Zidane's body, returning color to his skin that had previously been bleached out in death. After a moment of sizzling, the wave dissipated, leaving a cool ash upon the genome's clothes. Megan frowned.

". . . You have thirty seconds . . ."

Drakja nodded, closing his eyes. A small wind began to circle about his body; the precursor to any powerful magic spell.

". . . What are you going to do . . .?" Steiner queried suspiciously.

Drakja laughed. "I-it's the craziest thing!" He clamped both fists near his chest, a translucent purple light coiling within his tightened fingers. "Back when I was on Terra, my brother and I were the most famous warriors alive! Each of us had unique powers never before seen in the world! Saishoja's abilities were to walk through walls, see through solid objects though blind, and sometimes . . . just sometimes . . . he could see the future! That was his ultimate power! I had one too, but I never knew how to use it! It required so much mental exertion that I never bothered!"

"A-and what was that . . .?" Garnet inquired nervously.

Drakja removed his fists from his chest and they saw that the light had reverted to a swirling virgin-white. The geonome held it within his palms as if it were a solid object and then, similar to the Phoenix flame, he allowed the light to wash over Zidane's body. Drakja's eyes were closed and he grimaced for a moment in pain. He trembled and they saw that a faint fog crept from his lips with each breath, like the temperature around his body had dropped a significant number of degrees.

The light vanished as if it had soaked through Zidane's very flesh. The young genome glowed softly for a moment and then everything went still.

". . . The ability to heal . . ." Drakja breathed. He opened his green eyes. They were clouded over in pain. Garnet's face was one of extreme disbelief.

". . . Oh my god . . ."

She reached down, hand shaking uncontrollably, and gently caressed Zidane's cheek.

"Oh my god . . ." she repeated, staring up at Drakja in shock. "He's alive!"

Drakja chuckled weakly. ". . . I know . . ."

The others were murmuring excitedly. "But he won't just die again, will he?" Steiner gaped.

"Not for any reason other than the usual . . ." Drakja shrugged. "He's not completely out of the woods, but if you take him to one of your Gaian doctors he should be fine . . ."

Nobody seemed to know what to say. Garnet's eyes were shining with tears as she cradled Zidane's head in her lap. "G . . . God bless you!" she burst into tears on the spot. Drakja scratched his head unsurely.

"Erm, I'll just go heal Kuja then . . ." he rose shakily to his feet but stumbled and nearly fell back down. Beatrix was watching him suspiciously.

"Summoner-girl!" Drakja called, crouching down beside Kuja. The silver dragon had laid down beside the sorcerer and was whimpering softly, resting his ivory head upon his claws. When Drakja came near, the dragon growled warningly, loyally defending his master's dead body. However, when it saw the determined look upon the man's face, the dragon fell silent and, instead, watched Drakja suspiciously out of the corner of one eye. "I need you to use the last of your powers. How much time can you give me?"

Megan walked steadily over to his side. Her eyes were shadowed.

". . . Thirty seconds . . ."

"Good enough. Do your stuff,"

And thus, the process was repeated. This time, however, when Megan had finished casting her spell, the flames fizzled and went out: its final, last gasp.

The Summoner was now barren of magic forever . . .

Drakja sighed, getting ready to do HIS stuff. A voice, however, abruptly cut off his actions.

"Don't . . . you . . . dare . . ." The geonome glanced down to meet the smoldering sea-blue eyes.

". . .What . . .?"

"It's not worth it!" Kuja snapped, grinding his teeth in agony as he clutched the wound in his chest. He panted, using the last of his energy to give Drakja the Look of Death. "I . . . I know what you're trying to do . . .! Don't!"

Beatrix refused to speak. She understood exactly what was going on. /I won't interfere . . ./ she told herself firmly. Drakja looked crestfallen.

"Why the hell not?!!"

"Because!" Kuja gasped. "If you try to use your healing powers again you'll DIE!!!"

A ringing silence fell. Over at Zidane's body, Fratley was frowning.

". . . That's not good . . ."

Several geonomes were murmuring amongst themselves. Lulian was staring at Drakja with large, dramatic tears in her eyes.

". . . No . . .!"

Drakja growled. "I don't care!" he snapped. "Now just shut the hell up and let me heal you . . .!"

"NO!!" Kuja cried out. "NO, I won't see another death! I've HAD it with watching people DIE!!! You've spared Zidane, he's the one that deserves to live!"

"You idiot!" Drakja retorted. "So do you! I'm not stupid, I know you used magic to break Garland's shield when Zidane Shocked! If you hadn't used your magic to block Garland's powers and tear down the barrier, Zidane would have DIED!!!"

"I've already run my compass!" Kuja yelled back. "There was a limit put on my life for a reason and that limit has finally come! I've done terrible things in my life! HORRIBLE things! And if you save me now, I WILL KILL YOU!!!"

Kuja gasped with pain as the words spilled from his mouth. But he was glaring defiantly. No one said a word. Drakja's eyes were wide. He seemed too confounded to speak; his face was clouded over with a mixture of hurt and confusion. Suddenly, a snarl wrenched through the geonome's throat and, much to the shock of those around him, Drakja snatched Kuja by the collar and wrenched the injured man up fiercely until they were face to face.

"NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU FUCKING FREAK!!! SIX-HUNDRED YEARS AGO I DID A BAD THING! A /REALLY/ BAD THING!! I MURDERED MY OWN FUCKING BROTHER BECAUSE I WAS TOO BLIND TO SEE THAT HE STILL LOVED ME! I MADE A MISTAKE, I ADMIT IT, YOU HEAR ME?!! AND THEN, EVEN STUPIDER, I KILLED MYSELF!! BUT NOW, AFTER SO MANY CENTURIES, WE HAVE ALL BEEN GIVEN A CHANCE TO CHANGE ALL THAT!!! THIS TIME I CAN /SAVE/ MY BROTHER! THIS TIME I WON'T /HAVE/ TO DIE A MEANINGLESS DEATH! SO YOU LISTEN TO ME, AND YOU LISTEN GOOD!" Drakja shoved Kuja down hard, and immediately began to call upon his spell. As the light began to swirl about his body, Lulian cried out.

"NOOO!!!" Several members of the team gasped. He was going to do it! Drakja was going to sacrifice his life for Kuja's! In the shadows, Saishoja watched.

". . . You were never stupid, Brother . . .You're doing the right thing . . ."

Drakja took a deep breath, clenching a fist near his chest and tearing the white light from his very heart. Those within the Fire Shrine understood now how the spell worked. Drakja was healing . . . by giving away his own health! It was suicide! He was saving the lives of two people . . . When he had only one life to give himself! But Drakja had made a decision . . .

"IF I CAN'T SAVE THE LIFE OF EVEN /ONE/ MAN, THEN . . . I DON'T /DESERVE/ TO LIVE!!!!!"

Kuja's body became bathed in light. The warlock sobbed with pain, turning his face away from the blinding luminescence that penetrated through his flesh, forcing his body to heal.

And then the room became flooded with the light. It held for several moments, and then everything returned softly back to normal. Kuja was lying unconscious upon the floor. He still had the horrible wound, but the bleeding had long since stopped and he was, by miracle, alive. Above him, Drakja wrapped his arms about himself, shivering. He was gasping for breath, white as snow. Then, with a sigh, he slumped over across Kuja's unmoving form.

Lulian screamed, racing towards her partner.

"No! Drakja, no!!!"

"Shh!" Beatrix hissed as the alpha-female wrenched Drakja from Kuja's body and began hugging him fiercely to her chest. "Lady, lady, he's alive! Drakja's alive!"

Lulian blinked slowly. ". . . What . . .?"

"He didn't die! He might if we don't get him to a doctor soon, but he's still alive!"

Lulian's eyes were watering. "Oh . . . Oh thank heavens . . ." She clutched Drakja tightly, rocking him back and forth and sobbing. Beatrix's one eye twinkled.

/. . . Thank you, Saishoja . . ./

Several feet away, Zidane was finally stirring. "Huh . . .? Wha . . . What the fuck? Dagger . . .?"

Garnet stared down at Zidane, tears brimming her eyes. Then she burst into tears, throwing her arms around Zidane until he could scarcely breathe.

"Zidane! Oh gods, Zidane, I thought I'd lost your forever!!!"

"Geez, Dagger, it's alright! I-I'm okay!"

Freya surveyed the mess, frowning. ". . . Then . . . Everyone lived . . . Except for Garland . . .?"

Fratley smirked. "Heh . . . I-I guess so . . .!"

"We . . . We won . . .!" Lani blinked, looking extremely confused. Several feet away, Eiko opened one bleary eye.

"W-we did . . .?"

"WE WON!!!" Lani squealed. "We won, we won, we won!!!"

A new dawn was rising. Though they could not see it, they felt it in their very bones . . . Outside the sun was creeping back into the sky. But it was a very different sun. It was slowly, surely, cleaning the shadow off of Gaia. The souls had fled . . . Terra was motionless in the sky once more . . .

"Hey, morons!" Amarant called. "Half the fleets of Gaia are standing right outside the shrine . . ."

"Wh-what do we tell them . . .?" Vivi whispered. Beatrix said nothing for a moment.

"Steiner, help walk Zidane back to the airship. We'll need them to get some stretchers for the injured geonomes; caskets for the ones that died. Tell them we need some top-notch doctors immediately and then have them search the dungeons. There're at least a hundred genomes trapped down there who need a lot explained to them. Also, make sure they've got room on that ship for a dragon. Tell them . . . Simply tell them 'we have lived to see another day,'"

Beatrix surveyed Kuja warmly. Movement at her side caught the general's attention and she glanced at Megan, eyebrows raised.

". . . Is there something you want . . .?"

Megan hesitated. ". . . Wherever they take him . . . May I please come . . .?"

Beatrix cocked her head. Did Megan . . .? Had she really just said . . .? Then the general smiled, her first, true smile in a long, long time.

"Of course,"

The baffled soldiers of the various nations could not, by looking upon the scene, ever deduce what had really transpired there. The ending seemed, indeed, bittersweet. As the various soldiers – women of Alexandria, men of Lindblum, rats of Burmecia, and a few scattered others – went about, it was obvious that it was very painful for them. They understood from what they'd been told that the geonomes were, in fact, not evil at all but simply innocent fools like the genomes that had been confused by the sinister ways of Garland. So, of course, it was very hard for the caring soldiers to have to go around the shrine and figure out which geonomes on the floor were dead and which were simply knocked out.

Beatrix had, at this point, taken charge. She sighed, watching as her own women gently lifted a geonome's broken body into a casket (it was even more painful to know that the soldiers had brought caskets along, understanding full well that people would die). By the end, the death count was forty- three innocent lives. The death count for ALL of Gaia, however, remained forever unknown. The exact number of how many had suffered under Garland's wrath could not even be conceived.

Those on Beatrix's team who were wounded were led away towards the airship. Doctor Tot was standing outside the shrine looking anxious.

An interesting thing happened during all this, however, while Garnet was carefully leading Zidane towards the door. He was leaning against her, still wincing with pain. Doctor Tot looked him up and down, then laughed.

"Took quite a beating, I see?"

". . . You could say that . . ." Zidane responded vaguely. Suddenly, someone grasped the blonde's arm. He flinched and followed the arm to Drakja, who was leaning in a similar fashion against Lulian. Drakja looked absolutely horrible; like someone had come and sucked the very life out of his body (which they had . . .). His usually handsome face was pale and there were dark shadows under his still-shocking green eyes.

Neither Zidane nor Drakja spoke. They stared at each other for several moments, tired aqua eyes meeting even more exhausted green ones. Garnet wondered, fleetingly, if another scuffle would break out. Then, suddenly, Zidane, trembling, released his fiancé and bowed to Drakja in the highest honorable fashion of Alexandria. Drakja's eyes were shining as he watched Zidane straighten himself and clutch, exhausted, onto Garnet once more. The blonde genome's eyes bore into Drakja's.

". . . Thank you . . . For everything . . ."

Drakja said nothing for a moment. He seemed ready to cry. Then, silently, he nodded, sealing the deal. And, much to Lulian's distress, passed out right then. Lulian caught him, whimpering. Doctor Tot scratched his head, blinking.

"Er . . . I guess we should probably put him on my airship along with the others in need of some, uh, medical attention . . ." Tot was still staring at Drakja, smirking. "Your doing I presume?" He turned to Zidane. Zidane hesitated, then grinned.

". . . Heh . . . I guess you could say that too . . ."

So much had happened, so many things had passed. The sky outside had never looked so beautiful. Though not everything was yet made right, there was finally hope. So many wrongs of the past had been fixed, so many had redeemed themselves. So many evils had been purged of Gaia. So many lessons learned . . .

It was safe to say that, in the end, those who were true were the ones who won. Those who believed in the goodness of others had prevailed. It was a lesson Saishoja had missed in his life and a lesson he had then passed onto his brother. Indeed, that had been the plan all along. It was so obvious now what the dead-man had been doing. He had allowed all the mistakes of Terra to be reenacted and then he'd made sure they were fixed this time around. He'd given them all a second chance. None within the Fire Shrine ever saw Saishoja again. Only Kuja, on his death-bed so many, many years later, ever saw the beautiful man again. And that was because Saishoja was, of course, present at the reclaiming of his son. That was the amazing part of it all . . . Drakja had cured the limit on Kuja's life through the heroic sacrifice of his own (though both were, amazingly, spared) . . . Kuja had been, indeed, granted another chance. He could, conceivably, live as long as any normal person.

And, indeed, he did . . .

The crew did not care about the celebrations of Gaia. They did not show up when Garland's ashes were swept from the floor and scattered publicly into the sea. No, there were much more important things to do . . . Injuries that needed to heal, dead to be buried. It would take time to make the wrong things right . . . But they had won a long, hard battle. They'd learned so much, matured so quickly. The entire ride back to Alexandria, Zidane stayed by Kuja's side in the infirmary of the ship. The rest of the crew was in there too, even the ones who were supposed to be getting treated. They refused to leave one another's sides. Megan sat beside Kuja too, eyes closed. It had been such a long, hard battle. But they'd won . . . They'd really, truly won . . . So many things needed to be done, so much lost time needed to be made up for . . . Later on, the slanderous book about the Great War in Alexandria Castle was rewritten. Its final words on the last page were simple and clear:

". . . And Gaia lived to see another day . . ."



A/N: . . .What am I supposed to say . . .??? The body of this fic. It's done. Should I thank the academy or somethin' . . .?!! Maybe I should cry . . . glances around NO, THIS IS NOT GOODBYE!!! THE /EPILOGUE/ IS GOODBYE!!! I WILL NOT PRETEND THIS STORY IS OVER!!! Hmph. So this is just a normal author's note . . . Nothing different . . . The story is not done. So there. So what'd you guys think? The end probably came about a little different than expected, ne? Of course, everyone KNEW I wasn't gonna kill Drakja. I mean, really, couldn't you guys tell I enjoyed him as a character? Why would I kill him?!! And for those of you who didn't guess a million years ago that Saishoja and Drakja were brothers . . . bonk I thought it was kinda obvious before, ehe. Maybe it wasn't . . . I don't know. I think, however, that this was a good, substantial finish for the plot. I mean, when you think about it, the only one who lost was Garland. That's a GOOD thing! There're still a few things that need to be wrapped up about some mysteries, but I'm saving those for the epilogue nod.

Okay, here's my little giftie for my WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, KIND-HEARTED, DEVOTED, EVER-PRESENT, ALL-POWERFUL, SIMPLY-SPIFFING, PURE, ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS . . . reviewers.

I did a fanart! Yeah, can you believe it? I actually did something. Now, I'm going to post the link to it (it's on my otherwise empty deviantart account) in the last author's note of this entire story next chapter and it's gonna be dedicated to all my reviewers! Yay!!!

So . . . I guess that's all for now . . . Ehe. REVIEEEEEEEEW!!!

(I'm gonna say my goodbyes and do all the little icings on the cake next chapter! And answer a few question about my future as a fanfiction writer and all that, so hang on! There are a couple of things I need to say in the next chapter concerning things that have been coming up by reviewers, lol. One of them being the web-comic link . . . sweatdrop)

Oh, an interesting note. Several pages of this chapter were actually written more than a year ago. Just goes to show how well I already knew the ending before I started, lol. Actually . . . er . . . I wrote a part of this chapter . . . before I ever even posted chapter one of this fic nervous laughter. Of course, I can't tell y'all which part; that would kinda kill it. HOWEVER, a HUGE part of this ending was changed from the way I originally had it planned out. On my big document that had everything pre-planned, I realized a disturbing imbalance in the final chapter and had to go back and practically rewrite the ending. Er, hopefully no one (like my dad) who already knew the ending (somewhat) will notice . . . I mean, I REALLY remodeled it. Let's just say, if I had stuck to the original ending I had planned out, this would have been about a twelve-page finale. I just realized later on that my previous ending didn't . . . make any sense, lol. In fact, the part of this chapter that was already pre-written required a bit of remodeling BECAUSE of me being stupid . . . .

Oh, Prexistence, you have proof about Sirius?!! Tell me whine!!! Oh, and Kitsune of Destruction, when you get here, er . . . I don't think that was Mikoto talking at the end of the game . . . I mean, we don't know who it was . . . So I just disregarded that entire scene of the story, hee.