The Song of Eternity
Canto 2 : Gaia
For more info on Amarant, Lani, Eiko, Deklin, Kuja, and Deke, go read the canto 1 summary. Anyway, here goes the canto 2 summary.
The aforementioned characters return from Parm to find Gaia has changed and is being ruled by a reborn Garland and several WEAPONs. Deke gets captured and tortured by the Terrans while the others converge at Treno. There they meet Nathan Starmore, the brother of Travis Starmore (Deke). Nathan has been leading the fight against Terra for the last few years.
Garland tries to use Travis to lure the others in. During his execution the others retake all the cities and he breaks free and nearly destroys the Terran city. Battles between the heroes and WEAPONs ensue, culminating in the battle against an incredibly powerful and indestructible Garland. Travis comes back from the dead and saves everyone, then disappears.
Cliffhangers:
Travis and the Alpha WEAPON speak of a great battle on Earth, then Travis tells Nathan that most of Earth is dead.
Travis disappeared to chase down twelve other WEAPONs Garland sent to other worlds.
Here are the verses:
Returned to what they once left,
The daughter returns home,
To find the truth about her brother,
Too late to save him.
The destroyer returned to the land full of his enemies,
Unable to defend himself,
Taken in by those who would kill him,
If not for one.
Back in the land where the wheels were set in motion,
Long thought dead,
Gazing upon their own memorials,
Surprised by a ghost from the past.
Helpless in the land of his greatest enemy,
Alive because of the evil of one man,
He is used to tempt the hope of the world.
They join to save their world,
Each realizing that they cannot save him,
Reconciling on the way.
They spread to the ends of the land,
To retake what was once theirs,
At the cost of the life of the one.
The evil one makes a mistake,
Angering the one,
Letting emotion control his actions,
Losing advantage in the war.
Others scramble to take advantage of the situation,
To secure their own positions,
As the mortal enemies end their feud.
Faced with destruction,
Fearful of the forces against him,
In desperation he activates his two fail-safes.
They grow closer,
And reaffirm their feelings,
Making up for lost time,
And past mistakes,
With the backdrop of Armageddon raging around them.
The hero has fallen for the third time,
The evil one approaches the gathered heroes.
They battle,
Knowing they cannot win,
Trying to save those they love.
Unable to defeat the foe,
Hope is lost.
He takes all their sadness on himself,
And lives in darkness forever.