Chapter 33: The Iifa Tree

I watched as I saw a car pull into a gravel drive way. I looked behind myself and saw that I was in front of a two story house. I looked slightly surprised. 'This is Mary's house. That must mean…' my thought trailed off. I turned back and looked at the car that was pulling into the driveway. Sure enough, I was the one who was driving. I watched as I drove my gold colored Saturn into Mary's driveway.

I watched as he stepped out of the car in his suit and walked up to the front door. He knocked and a girl answered the door; it wasn't Mary though. "Hi, is Mary ready?" The girl nodded her head and he walked inside.

I walked inside the house as well. I turned my head to the left, and sure enough, there she was. She was wearing a beautiful Lavender dress with a long skirt. She looked like she had some sort of glitter on her face, and she had eye shadow on. Her hair was gorgeous. I felt a familiar sensation in my heart when I looked at her again.

"Mary…you look so beautiful."

She smiled. "Thanks, Michael. Can we go now?"

He smiled. "Sure, I'm ready when you are."

I watched as he escorted her to the car. I also saw him give her a lavender colored corsage to go on her wrist. They climbed into the car, pulled out of the driveway, and left to go to the Prom.

The dream warped me straight to 'The Outpost' where the prom was taking place. I entered the building and saw Mary and my past self getting their picture taken by a professional photographer. After they got their picture taken, they moved to the dance floor where they danced the night away along with many other seniors.

I sat down in one of the chairs and watched my past self and Mary dance. It started out with a few fast songs, then it changed to a slow dance, and it kept that pattern till midnight. I couldn't help but smile as I watched the two of them dance.

The vision faded and I was warped back to Mary's house. It was night out and I knew it was past Midnight. I saw the car pull up into the driveway. Mary got out and my past self got out as well. He walked her to her door.

She turned to him. "Thanks, Michael. I had a great night."

He nodded. "So did I, and I'm glad to hear you had a good time."

She smiled at me and I could see he was smiling as well. Then I saw their mouths move closer together, until they met in a passionate kiss. The kiss lasted for half a minute before either of them parted. Mary looked at my past self. She had a big smile on her face. "Goodnight, Michael. I'll see you at school." She walked into her house and closed the door.

I watched as my past self slowly walked back to the car. I walked along side him and watched his expression carefully. As soon as he got to the car, he touched his lips with his right hand and looked back towards Mary's house. "I think I'm in love." He said. After that the vision faded and all went black.

I woke up and felt warm and fuzzy yet again. "Mary…" I moved my right hand to my lips. 'That was the best night of my life' I thought.

I tried to get out of bed, but stopped when I felt something on my chest. I tilted my head downwards and saw that Vivi had his left arm across my chest. I turned my head to look over at him and saw that he had his head pressed against my left shoulder. I smiled and decided not to wake him.

Last nights events played through my head. 'I wonder if I should tell the others about this. I know Eiko knows about our bond, but I wonder if I should tell the others' I thought. I had known that Eiko was spying on us, but I decided to let her spy. She was trying so hard not to be detected.

Vivi stirred in his sleep and he opened his eyes. I turned to look at him "morning, brother."

Vivi looked tired, but he also looked happy. "Morning." He said. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

I sat up as well and got out of bed. I stretched and yawned "aaaaaauhaero." After I yawned however a huge gust of wind blew from my outstretched hands and enveloped the ceiling in a green like mist.

I was stunned. I had no idea what just happened. I looked at Vivi and he looked surprised too. "W-what was that?"

I shook my head. 'I don't get it. What happened? If I didn't know any better I'd say I just-' I stopped my thought immediately. I think I understood what happened.

I decided to test my theory. I stretched my right arm out and pointed it at the open window. I said the word that I believed would work "Aero!" sure enough a huge gust of wind flew from my hand and enveloped a rock that was outside my window. The rock was reduced to rubble. I looked surprised and so did Vivi.

"Michael, you never told me you could use magic."

I shook my head. "I couldn't until now, and I think I know what caused it."

Vivi looked curious. "What?"

I turned and looked at him. "Your blood, Vivi; that's the only explanation I can think of that makes sense. Your blood must have given me the ability to use Black Magic."

Vivi was surprised. "Wow, but I don't even know that spell."

I puzzled over this for a moment. "I'm not sure how that happened, but I'm gonna need your help. Do you think you can teach me how to control my magic?"

Vivi looked uncomfortable. "I-I don't know. You're the teacher, Michael, not me."

I smiled at him. "Don't worry, Vivi. I'll train you and you train me. It'll be a fair trade, don't you think?"

Vivi adjusted his hat. "Okay, I'll try."

I smiled. "Good, now let's go find the others." He nodded and we both left the room.

We found the others near the entrance to the village. They turned and looked at us. Zidane smiled "so you guys finally woke up, huh."

I smiled at him. "Sorry, we had a late night."

Zidane nodded his head. "It's okay, don't worry about it."

Dagger spoke. "Zidane, I want to come back here. When I first saw the Eidolon Wall, I was scared... But when I went inside and saw the murals, they calmed me. I want to see more."

Zidane nodded in agreement. "Sure. We'll come back after we check out the Iifa Tree."

Dagger looked grateful. "Thank you."

I spoke. "Have any of you seen Eiko?" They both shook their heads.

"No, I wonder where she is." Zidane said.

Suddenly I felt a presence behind me and turned around. All the Moogles showed up, and then I saw Eiko on the ledge that was on my left. She jumped down from the ledge and landed in front of us.

"You can't break the seal of the Iifa Tree without calling an Eidolon." She said.

I spoke. "So you're going to help us out?"

she looked at me then looked at Zidane. "Do you want me to?"

Zidane nodded. "Of course we want you to come along!"

Now she looked happy. "That's what I thought. Okay, I'll join your team for a while! Vivi, Michael, Dagger, let's have fun! The Iifa Tree is beyond the Conde Petie Mountain Path! Let's go!" She ran out of the village.

Dagger turned to Zidane. "Why are you so nice to everyone, Zidane?"

Zidane looked confused. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Dagger was angry. "Forget I asked…" she paused and walked away from us.

I whistled, "Whoa, someone's got their claws out today."

Zidane turned to look at me. "You think so, too?" I nodded. Zidane spoke "come on let's get going before they get too far ahead of us." We nodded and followed Zidane out of the village. After a few hours we arrived at the Iifa tree.

The first thing I noticed was that there was Mist surrounding the tree. Dagger noticed this as well "there's Mist here…!"

Zidane spoke. "So this place must really be the source of the Mist." He walked up and was repelled by a barrier. Zidane looked surprised. "whoa, what was that?"

I spoke. "I'm guessing that's the Eidolon. Can you call it back, Eiko?"

Eiko nodded her head. "Sure, watch."

She extended her hands toward the barrier. "Boom boom boom! Boom, boom, boom! By the light of our spirits! I call upon thee! Answer my call! Wherever your soul may be!" After that the barrier disappeared and Eiko received a ruby.

Eiko turned to look at us. "Finished! We can go inside now."

Zidane smiled. "Thanks."

Vivi turned to look at Eiko. "Was that the spell to break the seal?"

Eiko turned to look at him. "Nope. All I do is focus my thoughts into my horn."

Vivi looked confused. "Then why were you…?" he paused.

Eiko spoke. "That was just for show! The spell is actually much longer, but the Eidolon asked me to hurry it up."

Zidane looked pleased. "Alright, let's go!" We all nodded and walked on the roots towards the trunk of the tree.

During the walk, I felt Vivi hesitate. I turned to look at him. "Do you need some help getting across?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I hate heights."

I knelt down. "Get on my back, Vivi, and I'll walk you across." He nodded and got onto my back. He wrapped his arms around my neck; I put my arms under his legs, got up off the ground, and followed the others.

"You know, Vivi. After we're through with our adventure, I'm gonna help you get over your fear of heights."

He shifted slightly. "You will?"

I nodded. "Of course I will. You have to learn to face your fear for what it really is."

I could feel him nod his head. "Okay, thanks."

I nodded my head. "No problem."

Eventually we made it into the tree and were standing on what appeared to be a circular platform. Zidane spoke "what's this? It looks old. I wonder who built it." I set Vivi back down on the ground and looked back at Zidane. He turned to look at Eiko. "Eiko, do you know anything about this place?"

Eiko shook her head. "Nope, this is my first time inside the Iifa Tree."

Zidane moved to the center of the circle. As soon as he touched a certain spot, a part of the platform lit up. Zidane quickly jumped back. "What the…" he puzzled over this for a moment, and decided to try getting on.

Dagger expressed concern, but Zidane claimed that he'd be alright. He stood on the platform and it began to descend into the tree. He quickly grabbed the ledge of the platform and waited for the elevator to come back up. When it did, he stood on the platform, got off, and looked at us.

"It works. I'm gonna see where it takes me. I'll call you guys over if everything is alright." Zidane said.

I shook my head. "If you're going, Zidane, we're all going." Everyone else nodded.

Zidane smiled. "Okay, we'll all go." We all boarded the platform, but it wasn't until Zidane stood on it when it started to move.

We descended further into the tree. We found ourselves in a dark area. Unlike the area above us, this place glowed and seemed to be alive. We descended the roots and eventually came to a spiral column that descended deeper into the tree.

Zidane spoke to the group "everything up there looked withered. This place looks totally different. It's so bright I can't see the bottom."

I looked over at the platform. "Maybe we should get to the bottom of this tree."

Zidane nodded "yeah let's go." We all stood on the platform, and it began to descend the spiral column. A glowing powder surrounded the platform.

Zidane spoke "Whoa... It sure freaked me out at first, but there's no wind or anything... I guess that glowing powder is stopping the wind somehow." Zidane turned to look at Dagger "you okay, Dagger?"

Dagger looked at Zidane. "Yes…I wonder where were going."

I spoke. "I'm sensing a lot of life beneath us." they turned to look at me.

Dagger, Zidane, and Eiko spoke at once. "How do you sense that?"

I looked at each of them. "I'm a warrior. I'm supposed to be aware of my surroundings, and I sense life beneath us…and that's not all I sense, Incoming!" I yelled, unsheathing my normal sword.

Three Zombies dropped down onto our platform. We all had our weapons drawn and were ready to fight. I charged at the nearest Zombie and struck him in the neck. I successfully decapitated it, but it still lashed out at me with its arms. I easily dodged them and kicked the zombie off the platform.

I turned around to see how the others were doing. Vivi dodged a punch from his Zombie and quickly cast a Fira spell. The Zombie was reduced to ashes. Dagger, Zidane, and Eiko teamed up on the last Zombie. Zidane struck it across the chest with his Ogre. Dagger quickly bashed it in the head with her rod, and to finish it off, Eiko swept it off of its feet with her flute. It fell off the platform.

I sheathed my sword and turned to the others. I saw that Vivi seemed lost in thought. "Vivi, is something bothering you?" He turned and looked at me. The others looked at Vivi as well.

"Do you remember the factory we saw at Dali?" he asked.

Dagger spoke. "Yes, the factory where Black Mages were made?"

Eiko looked confused. "Huh? Black Mages."

Dagger turned to her. "They look a lot like Vivi."

Zidane was stunned. "Dagger!"

Dagger suddenly realized what she just said. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" she paused, she looked worried.

Vivi shook his head. "It's okay. I'm not upset anymore about being made and everything."

That's when I felt another presence. I spun around and saw a Zombie Dragon heading straight for us. I unsheathed my normal sword. "Guys we got another one heading towards us." they all readied their weapons as the dragon landed on the platform.

I ran at the dragon and performed a "Ryu Kan Sen Arashi." I tore into the dragons head, but since it was already dead my attack didn't kill it. I retreated back to the line before the dragon could strike me. Vivi cast a Fira spell and it seemed effective enough, but I knew what would be more effective.

I turned to look at Dagger and Eiko. "Dagger, Eiko, try using your healing magic on that thing. I'm sure it will hurt him." They seemed skeptical, but nodded. Dagger and Eiko both cast a Cura spell. Both spells hit the dragon, and had a disastrous effect. The dragon roared out in pain as its body began to disintegrate from the girl's spells. After a few seconds, there was nothing left of the dragon.

I sheathed my sword and looked over at Zidane; he was staring over the edge of the platform. "Hey I can finally see the bottom."

Eiko moved over to join him. "It's so deep!"

Zidane turned to look at us. "I don't know what's down there…but we'll soon find out!" The elevator stopped and we got off the platform.

Eiko got off first and looked at Vivi. "Come with me! Are you gonna make a helpless little girl like me go all by herself?" Vivi looked confused, but ran off after her.

Zidane spoke. "Wait! There might be some monsters lurking here!"

I shook my head. "I don't think so, Zidane. I sense a lot of life here, but I sense nothing hostile, at least not yet. Regardless, I'm gonna go down there and keep an eye on them." Zidane nodded and I walked down the stairs to my left.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I walked over and stood next to Vivi. I looked over the edge at the glowing green light at the bottom of the tree. I felt something go through my head. It was small but I could feel it. It was as if I was trying to remember something, but I didn't know what.

My thoughts were disturbed when I felt the ground shake. I turned around and saw Zidane run back up the stairs to check on Dagger. I could feel that something was approaching us from above, something big. "Vivi, Eiko, follow me." They nodded and I ran off to the end of the platform.

I just stood there and waited. The wall was moving, and I sensed that Zidane and Dagger had joined us. I spoke "Its here!" That's when Soulcage revealed itself. It looked like a tree, but had the face of a monster, and it was undead.

"So, it wasn't Kuja." I could feel the creature speak in my mind.

'Maybe it's telepathic?' I thought.

Zidane spoke. "You just said Kuja! Where is he?"

The Soulcage responded, "I don't know."

I spoke. "Are you the one discharging the Mist?"

Soulcage spoke. "Yes, I contaminate the other continents with Mist to stimulate the fighting instinct. This, in turn, leads to war among the leaders of nations, and then to the fall of civilization. Kuja merely puts the by-product to a different use."

"Such as…?" I asked.

Soulcage responded, "I cannot lie. Kuja used the waste product to make weapons…like yourself."

I knew what he was talking about. "The Black Mages?" I said.

Soulcage responded. "Yes. Defeat me, and no more Mist will flow. And then no more weapons like this puppet here will be made. Answer me, puppet. Do you deny your very birth?" now this guy was pissing me off.

"No more!"

I turned and looked over at Vivi. He had a look of intense anger in his eyes. "I won't let you make anymore instruments of murder!"

Eiko was impressed. "Way to go, Vivi! I know it must be hard for you. We can knock off this rat now, right?"

Zidane nodded. "Alright! Let's bust him up! Who knows, it might even lure Kuja here!"

Soulcage wasn't intimidated. "I have seen the end of my thousand-year life, and it is not now. You cannot stop me. It is futile even to try."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. We're gonna kick your ass, and that's that. Zidane, Dagger, Eiko, if you guys could stand back; I wanna try something with Vivi." All of them looked confused. I spoke "I know what I'm doing."

Dagger spoke. "Michael, its dead. Eiko and I could use Cura on it."

I waved my hand dismissively. "I know, but I really wanna hurt this thing, and I know how. Trust me." I turned to Vivi "Vivi, come here. I have a plan." He walked over to me and I bent down and whispered into his ear.

After I was done he nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."

I smiled "alright, Vivi, lets do this."

We turned to face the Soulcage. Vivi cast a Fira spell and aimed at the Soulcage's roots. The Soulcage laughed at our attempt. "You fool's. It'll take more than that puny attack to kill me."

I smiled. "I know, but my plan isn't finished yet. AERO!" I quickly thrust my right hand forward and the spell was cast. I aimed for Soulcage's roots as well. My spell fed the flames and the fire began to strengthen and spread along Soulcage's body.

Soulcage was screaming in pain now. Our combination spell had worked. I continued to feed the fire with more Aero spells and Vivi kept casting Fira. It was in too much agony to fight back.

As the Soulcage was burning I spoke. "Vivi is no puppet! He is a living being! He walks, he talks, he falls, he hears, he sees, he feels, he cries, he learns, he bleeds, and most importantly he LIVES! Unfortunately for you, you won't be living much longer!" my voice was edged with anger.

At this point, the flames had reached its head. The fires quickly consumed Soulcage's head and its body crumbled to ashes. Vivi and I had won.

We didn't have time to celebrate our victory as the whole room started to shake. Zidane spoke "uh oh! Let's get outta here!" We quickly made our way out of the Iifa Tree.

We stopped and looked back at the Iifa Tree when we made it outside. The Mist was gone now and we had a great view of the tree. Eiko spoke "Wow, the air's so clear! The Iifa Tree looks so pretty now. Will this clear up your Mist Continent?"

Zidane nodded "I think so. Now, let's see if Kuja shows up."

I turned to look at Vivi. He seemed sad. "Something wrong, Vivi?"

He looked up at me. "Michael... Did I do the right thing? It said that Black Mages are made from the Mist, right? When I thought about how other Black Mages were being made for war... I didn't want that to happen, no matter what. Now, there'll be no more new Black Mages. I think they'll all hate me."

Eiko jumped down from the rock spire she was on and spoke to him. "No way! Listen to me. You should never lie to yourself. After all, your brothers wouldn't want you to do that."

Vivi didn't look certain. "Do you really think so? Do you think...they'll understand?"

She nodded. "Of course! They're your brothers. It'll be alright."

I smiled and looked at him. "She's right, brother."

Zidane gave me a puzzled look. "Brother?" I decided to tell them about the bond.

When it was done Dagger and Zidane looked surprised. "Wow, so that's how you can use magic now." He said.

I nodded. "Yep." That's when I felt something approach us from behind. I turned around and saw a Moogle flying towards us. "Eiko, I think one of your friends is coming." Eiko turned to see that I was right.

She walked up to the Moogle. "Moco, what's the matter? Why did you come all this way?" Moco whispered what he had to say into Eiko's ear. Eiko looked worried. "No way! Okay, I'll be right back!"

Moco nodded. "Alright, I'll go on ahead and tell the others." He flew off.

Eiko turned to us. "You guys are going to wait here for Kuja, right? I gotta go back to the village!"

She tried to leave, but Zidane stopped her. "Wait, Eiko! What's up?"

She turned to look at us. "Someone stole something precious from the village!"

Dagger looked worried and turned to Zidane. Zidane got the message. "We'll go with you, Eiko!"

She looked surprised. "Thanks, but what about Kuja?"

Zidane waved this aside. "Madain Sari isn't that far. He can wait."

Eiko looked better. "Thanks, Zidane."

He nodded. "Alright, let's go." We all nodded and made our way back to Madain Sari.

I have some new abilities

Black Magic

Due to my blood bond with Vivi, I now have the ability to use Black Magic.

Aero

A spell that does minimum wind damage.

Fire/Aero Combo

A combination attack: done by Vivi and myself. Vivi casts any fire spell and when it hits the target I cast any Aero spell to strengthen the flames.