EDIT: SEE MY PROFILE!

So…sorry, I'm not going to have the crash. She blacked out.

Another sorry: I guess I owe y'all an apology…I've been finding 'time to write' difficult…sigh So here's a super-long chappy for you. At least it's long for me, or to me, or whatever.

For those who haven't played ANY of the FF games: 'gil' is their type of money. Currency, whatever.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Square Soft's stuff…sob

Claimer: ARI IS MINE! (Even though I've seen her name around, she's still mine!)

The Evil Forest

Arianna opened her bleary eyes, trying to recall what'd happened. The ship had crashed, but then everything went black…

"Ari…"

//yeah../

"Ari…are you awake?"

Ari rolled over, groaning, to see Marcus and Blank leaning over her.

"Yeah, 'm awake…" Ari managed, suddenly realizing how thirsty she was.

"Blank, go get some water," Marcus ordered, and then called out, "Boss! She's awake!"

Baku came storming over, and Ari flinched at the cuts and burns on his face. Then she realized that she must look relatively the same.

"Hey, Dad," Ari rasped, smiling up at him. "Don't you worry, I'll be fine. You go take care of your boys." And so he did.

Then Blank came rushing back, carrying a flask of water, "drink lots of it, there's loads of fountains around here," he advised her as she gulped down the whole thing.

"Thanks, Blank," Ari said, trying to sit up a little. "Um, by the way, where's Zid-?"

Suddenly Zidane walked up, took one look around and asked, "Where's Garnet?"

Ari sat up suddenly, making her head swim. She couldn't see her anywhere, or Vivi, for that matter.

"Why did you jump off the ship!" Marcus demanded.

"I didn't jump, I was thrown off by the impact," Zidane corrected him.

"Marcus?" Ari asked, "Where are they? Garnet and …that kid?" Ari struggled to stand up. "And... where's Freak? He's gone too…"

"Ari lay back down," Blank ordered, but Ari merely glared at him, now clutching at Zidane for support. Blank shook his head, exasperated.

"Zidane, we don't know where they are. Boss is searching inside; you should search the surrounding forests." Cinna told him.

"Alright," Zidane agreed, walking off.

"H-hey!" Ari called after him, "wait for me!" Ari stumbled after him, half limping, half wishing she stayed behind, and another half desperately wanting to go...on her own steam.

Zidane glanced back, rolled his eyes, and went back to her. "Well, if you want to that much, why don't you just cure yourself?" He asked, his eyes bright.

"Um….because…I forgot I could" Ari stated, shrugging. Oo, that hurt. "But…where's my Rod?"

"HEY! ARI! YOU NEED THIS!" Cinna called, throwing a Rod after her.

"Thanks!" Ari called back, curing herself. "Um, Zidane?"

"The dagger I gave you is in your belt," he informed her, then went on again. Ari ran after him, and then they settled to a fast walk. Ari kept up easily, he had a shorter stride than Baku. Suddenly a wolf ran at them full speed, but Zidane and Ari both attacked it and destroyed it with ease.

Suddenly they rounded a corner and saw, leaving Ari speechless, a weird monster that appeared to have a cage on its head. Freak was there, sword out, ready to attack. Suddenly Ari noticed that there was someone in the cage! Oh, crap! Garnet was in it!

Ari ran behind Zidane, willing her hands to stop shaking. When would it stop? Would they have to save the world? Geez, talk about a lot of pressure, but whatever…

Meanwhile, Zidane had turned a funny pink color. Ari shrieked, gaping at him.

"NO! NOT PINK!" And, as she spoke, there were flashes of light around him and he turned more of a blue-ey white…thing.

"Wh-what is that light!" Freak exclaimed, also gaping.

"I don't know, somehow it gives me more power!" Zidane replied, and he might as well have been gaping at himself had he not been fully occupied with giving the cage an evil eye. You could just read 'don't touch her, she's mine!' all over his face.

"Could it be trance!" Freak wondered.

"SURE IT MIGHT BE BUT COULD YOU JUST SHUT UP AND ATTACK IT!" Ari screeched. Whatever this trance was, she felt she could go into one, just to spite him. Ari ran up to the beast and sliced through it. Suddenly Zidane called out, "free energy!" and light flew from him into the …thing, and a white 457 fell from the beast's body. Ari whistled, she'd never seen that before. All she got were 50-60s, and that was actually pretty good.

Ari ran up to it again, whipping her knife through it and jumping back. Zidane did Free Energy again, and then the white light, or 'Trance', left him. Freak hit it again, and it stumbled, and then climbed up the branches and away, far too quickly for anyone to chase it. The battle over, Ari ran to the place where it'd been.

"Oh, no, dangit… ZIDANE! She-"

"She isn't dead, Ari," Zidane assured her, attempting to smile. "That thing was just a minion. It'll probably take her to its master."

They all flung around too see another one, this time with that kid prisoner. "NO!" Ari cried, now positively bursting with anger. Suddenly the anger turned into energy, and her body turned white, much the same way as Zidane's had. "Nee! Pink!" She shrieked, "why did it have to be pink!" But then the same flashes appeared, and she turned the same color that Zidane had been. She let out a sigh of relief, then felt power, unimaginable power, flowing through her. Ari merely grinned, then came back to her senses. That kid was still trapped. Zidane was trying to tell her something, and she turned to him slowly.

"See if you have more abilities, Ari," he repeated, staring intensely at her. Ari nodded and went over her abilities. Maybe something—

Suddenly the kid cast a fire spell on the beast. Ari watched it for a moment, then ran to a place closer to the cage and yelled at the top of her lungs, almost instinctively, "HOLY DAGGER!"

She raised her dagger and rod together, and an amazing white light gathered around them. She pulled them apart, sending the Holy spell directly into the beast's body. It shrieked, and a blazing 348 fell from it. Ari would have smiled if it didn't immediately afterwards suck some of the kid's health away.

Zidane ran up and stole something from it, then Steiner ran up and sliced through it, and then it was Ari's turn again. She repeated the spell, watching the monster collapse as her light exploded within it. She felt her energy leave just as it'd come, her body turning back to its normal colors.

"Ari! That was amazing!" Zidane yelled at her, patting her on the back.

"Ow, um, thanks, Zidane. Yours was better, though," Ari muttered.

Then they both turned back to the kid they'd just saved; he'd climbed out of the collapsed cage. Ari grinned and ran over to him, just as the monster spewed out some sort of green powder. Ari breathed in a mouthful, unprepared. In an instant the world started to dim, and the last thing she saw before falling down was Zidane, jumping down from a nearby tree and watching them nervously.

Ari opened her eyes, and saw Blank peering down on her. "Here, drink this," he muttered, giving her some strange potion. Ari grabbed it, staring.

"What...what is this?" She asked Blank, frowning at it.

"It will remove that plants seeds from your body…" Blank started.

"Eeegh! I've been seeded! Ewww! Gross!" Ari made a face, then drank the whole potion in one go.

"Look…Ari…I've gotta go check up on that other kid, see if he's come to yet, OK?"

"…Blank, that stuff was gross…almost grosser than being seeded…but sure. Go ahead." And so Blank left.

Ari gazed around the room, suddenly struck by how destroyed it was. This ship had been her home away from home. Away from home. Whatever.

Then the door opened again, and Ari's gaze fell too Zidane. "Hey, how come you're not sick in bed?" She demanded, glaring at him.

Zidane walked over to her bed and sat down on it with a sigh. "Ari…I have to go find Garnet. I've already seen Vivi, and I promised him. I'm off to see the Boss next... He's already said that I can't, so…"

"Zidane, can I…could I come?" Ari asked.

"Ari…I'll probably have to leave Tantalus…Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"Zidane, Daddy…um…'The Boss' practically raised me. He'll take me back, don't you worry. But I'm worried! What about you?"

"Ari, you can come if you want. After Boss beats me up I'm gonna ask Rusty if he wants to come, then I'll probably ask Vivi to come."

"Oh, so that kid's name is Vivi? How's he feeling?"

"He's doing fine," Zidane muttered, sighing again, letting his shoulders fall for a moment before jumping up. "I'd better go, Ari…The Boss is waiting."

"Zidane…" Ari made a move to get up.

"Ari, it's fine. I'll come get you after, OK?"

"..."

And then he left. Ari sighed, slumping back down. This was the last thing they needed, a potentially dead princess. Right after they'd kidnapped her, too. They were dead. Oh, so very dead. Ari sat up again, she couldn't stay in bed. She heaved herself to the edge, and then tumbled off, landing clumsily on her feet. She stumbled over to the door, opening it slowly. Finding that nobody was directly outside, she stepped out of the small room.

Hearing noise from the lower floor, she half ran half limped over to the stairs. Then she stood there, staring down them, as they seemed to lengthen by magic. Maybe she should have stayed in bed, but it was far too late now. Shaking her head to clear it, she started down the stairs, first taking small tentative steps then bounding down the last few. She stopped abruptly at the bottom when she saw Zidane and Baku in a dual, though not to the death.

"D-Daddy…?" she asked him, as he stumbled over to slice through Zidane lazily. Both of the thieves turned to grin at her before going back to the fight.

"Daddy, you're not going to let us go without a fight, are you…?" Ari murmured, watching.

"Nyagh! Alright, alright, you win!" Baku gasped suddenly, though he hadn't shown much weakness before. Zidane grinned at him and did a back flip, Ari watching, unimpressed.

"Zidane, when are we going? We should go…"

"Ari, don' tell me you're goin' too!" Baku demanded, glaring at her.

"Yes, I am, Daddy. I'll see you in Lindblum, OK?"

"...A'ight." Baku growled, obviously finding it difficult not to challenge her as well.

"Show-off, where'd you learn to do that?" Ari demanded of Zidane. Suddenly Baku came up behind them, gave Zidane a good whack on the back, then, 'gwahahaha'-ing, he stormed out of the room.

"Agh, he put all his punches into that last one" Zidane muttered, bending over in pain. Ari rolled her eyes, walking over, grabbing a Rod from the side and curing him. "You see, this is why I worry about you. You meet some pretty girl, and instantly you love her, and you chase her until you find someone prettier. Even if Daddy says no! I can't believe you! You're all beaten up, though, not any more, thanks to me," –

"Yeah, thanks"

"-You can walk! What do you have to say for yourself!" Ari demanded, finally finished her rant.

"But she's the prettiest one yet," Zidane complained, punching Ari in a friendly way as he passed her.

"H-hey! You get back here!" Ari cried, running back up the stairs after him, now feeling much better then before.

They first went to see Freak, or rather, 'Rusty' as Zidane referred to him, asking if he'd come. The knight rather over-enthusiastically agreed, and then informed Zidane that they should go get…

… "Master Vivi's assistance!" Freak finished.

"Master? You're calling that kid 'master' now?" Ari asked, slightly amused, as Zidane agreed and they headed off to Vivi's room.

Once inside Vivi's room, the kid rolled into a sitting position.

"Hey, Vi'! We're gonna go rescue ourselves a princess! Wanna come?" Ari asked, for some reason completely jubilant at the thought of leaving Tantalus for the first time in her memory.

"U-um, okay…" Vivi agreed, more nervous than reluctant. And so they headed off, though first…

"Sorry, but now that you aren't in Tantalus I'm gonna have to charge you," Cinna informed them, just outside the ship. Zidane shrugged, giving him some gil in exchange for some potions.

And then they were off, through the forest again, killed a few beasties, and Ari grinned when she saw how they all got stronger with every second and third battle. (I still remember that…LEVEL UP! )

Soon, though, there was no more grinning as great roots leading in the direction they were going in seemed to move of their own accord, growing bigger as they went along.

Ari shuddered and hurried to keep up, and soon they walked into a clearing.

"Well, it doesn't look like there are any monsters here," Zidane commented with slight relief, though the battles hadn't been difficult.

Ari, however, was concentrating on a small, pink ball sticking out of the hollow tree stump.

"Moogle!" She cried out suddenly, running over and peering in.

"K-kupo!" He cried, jumping out. "Oh, good, not monsters, kupo." Then he proceeded over to a small spring and starting drinking from it. Ari followed suit, and found that it was good!

"Hey, Zidane, like, come check this out! It like, like, restores my Health and Magic completely!"

"Like, like, like, like," Zidane imitated her, earning a glare and a laugh. He did, however, come over and drink some, and Vivi and Freak followed. Then they all got up at once, startling the poor Moogle back into his stump.

As they carried on, the roots and monsters reappeared. However, they'd hardly been walking for any time at all, without running into anything, when they were suddenly at the apparent source of the roots. Ari froze, letting her gaze slowly travel up the plant-thing's body.

Roots. Big roots, lots of roots. And up. Weird, roundish body. And up. WOAH, HUGE FLOWER ALERT!

Okay, so this 'thing' was some sort of 'king of the plants'? Ari let her gaze fall behind it and found what Freak had already been making a fuss about, the princess, Garnet, was lying unconscious behind the huge plant.

"Dangit," Ari muttered, drawing her dagger and rod in preparation. "Okay, weird plant thingy, bring it on!" She screeched at it, running up and digging her dagger through it in anger. A startling 76 fell from it, numbers that would have made Freak jealous. Any that was saying something.

As they all attacked, Vivi scoring the highest by far with his Fire magic, the Plant slowly weakened. Suddenly it went on 'super-mode' or something, and soon, Vivi, Zidane, and Steiner all fell unconscious. Ari groaned, trying desperately to stay alive herself as she attempted to relieve them before the next attack.

"Looks like I got here just in time," came a voice Ari recognized.

"BLANK! Y-YOU IDIOT!" Ari screamed at him, for no other purpose than screaming, "YOU FREAKING---!"

"Ari, help!" Blank yelled back, as he took over her work of reviving the others. Ari sighed, bending down next to him again as the Plant continued to attack. Together, they soon had everyone up and running again. This time, Ari was careful to keep them that way with almost constant cures. Her magic would run out soon, she knew.

Then, quite out-of-the-blue, the Plant fell over. Boom. Kibosh. Habwoo. BANG! Ari cheered as the smoke cleared, and Steiner ran and grabbed Garnet. Then all the smoke was gone, and the Plant with it, and a whole bunch of spidery-plants climbed out of a hole that had appeared below the big one. The big one that was dead. Whatever.

They all started to run, Ari somewhere in the middle, but she soon found herself being carried by Blank as she started to fall behind. Zidane remained at the rear, occasionally beating back the bugs. Suddenly they all stopped, looking back. There were hundreds, no, thousands, oh heck, the wholefreaking FOREST was coming after them!

Blank put Ari down, staring for a millisecond before running again. "You guys! The forest is being petrified!" He called, slowing to let them all pass as they ran for their lives. Only Zidane remained behind him, Ari running ahead next to Steiner, constantly staring over her shoulder. Zidane running, Blank ahead of him, also looking back. Suddenly a plant-thing came right up behind Zidane, obviously about to grab him. Blank let out a cry of fear and rage, stopping for a second before throwing himself sideways into Zidane.

((I'm changing to Blanks point of view))

I screamed at Zidane to keep running as I heard that horrible plant coming up behind me. I knew what would happen, even as it closed it's pinchers around me. Zidane kept running, though he was obviously horrified as I looked into his face. Suddenly I had an idea, and I grabbed the map I had out of my pocket and threw it as hard as I could. Zidane caught on immediately, and ran on ahead, leaving me behind. I cried out, watching my legs petrify before my eyes. Then my waist, stomach, arms. I closed my eyes and floated into nothingness as my very face turned to stone in the monster's arms.

((Now Zidane))

I could feel it coming up behind me, and I knew I was doomed. I noticed Blank cry out, pausing momentarily, and I gestured for him to go on. I was nearly going to run past him when he slammed into me full-force, nearly knocking me over. I turned to him, but began running again, as fast as my legs could take me. I watched with painful clearness as the beast closed around my friend, and I nearly hesitated, nearly stopped, but I kept running. I ran faster than I'd ever run, though still looking over my shoulder. Blank was panicked only for a moment, then suddenly grabbed his map, throwing it towards me. I took one last, seemingly endless, look at Blank, memorizing every feature, every scar, even that crazy belt on his head. But then I ran on, even faster, faster, faster, and caught the map, still running. I caught up to Ari and Steiner, but didn't pass them, I wouldn't leave Ari behind, nor Garnet. The ran out of the forest just ahead of me, and I dove out as it sealed up at my heels. I turned back to the forest, now merely a wall of stone, crying out and hitting it.

((Back to Ari))

Ari watched in horror, desperation, and hopelessness as Blank was caught up by the beast, he threw the map, Zidane caught it at a run, and slowly, slowly Blank turned into a painful grey as the petrifaction flew on beyond him, and Ari turned her teary eyes onwards, as Zidane caught up. As soon as she was out of the forest she turned, tears now flowing freely.

"Blank…" She murmured, leaning against the stone as Zidane seemed to be trying to break it, "oh, Blank…" Suddenly she hugged Zidane tightly, looking for support anywhere. She had lost a friend, a coworker, a brother. And now she looked to her other brother for support, the only family she had.

"Zidane, did Daddy get out?" Ari asked, looking for any reassurance.

Zidane held her tightly, obviously trying to find words. "I…I don't know, Ari," he finally answered, truthfully.

Ari merely held him tighter, now sobbing, the others completely forgotten. "C-can we save him?" She chocked out, fighting hysterics.

"I…I don't know that either," Zidane answered again, his voice cracking up. "I just don't know anything…"

PLEASE REVIEW! I hope you enjoyed that, it's 10 pages long, just so you know. Sorry I haven't updated sooner, and sorry again that I probably won't update for a while.

Just so you know, I'm also working on the first chapter of my fic called 'the Betrothed' …The more people who answer correctly where that line is from, the quicker the fic will appear. Promise!

Um, Emzies, sorry, but….um…not yet. I miiiight use the name for a side-character---way later, though.

((I'm still waiting for people to ask for Vivi's intro—and the same person can't ask twice! So invite your friends!))

BYE!