Chapter 36: Iifa Tree: Confrontation

After a few hours, we arrived at the Iifa Tree, again. There was still Mist around the tree, but it wasn't as thick as it was before Vivi and I defeated Soulcage. Zidane spoke "There's still a little Mist, but at least there's no more coming out. That must mean Kuja isn't here yet."

Amarant came up behind Eiko and spoke. "What happened to the Mist?"

Eiko turned around and spoke. "Vivi and Michael beat the beast that breathes it. So much for the Mist Continent!"

Amarant thought for a moment. "No more Mist…? He turned and looked at me, then turned his eyes toward Vivi.

Dagger looked up at the sky, and spoke. "Zidane, there's a Silver Dragon." We all looked up, and sure enough, the dragon was up there.

Zidane spoke. "It's him! He flew from the ruins of Burmecia riding a Silver Dragon! It's Kuja alright! And he's riding that dragon!" We watched as Kuja's Dragon descended towards the trunk of the Iifa Tree. Zidane spoke. "He landed on the trunk. Let's get him!" We all nodded and followed Zidane.

After a few seconds of running, Zidane stopped us. "We'll pass the trunk if we go farther. Kuja went down that trunk."

Eiko spoke. "Say, Zidane…how are we gonna get up there?"

Zidane turned to her. "Can't we climb there?"

Eiko took one look at what she'd be climbing and shook her head. "Not me!"

Vivi shook his head as well. "M-me neither."

Dagger too, shook her head. "I don't think I can, either."

I smiled and clapped my hands together. Everyone turned to look at me. I spoke. "Not a problem. Here's what we do; Zidane, you carry Dagger, I'll carry Vivi, and Amarant will carry Eiko."

Zidane nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Amarant spoke. "Why do I have to carry the loudmouthed brat?"

Eiko turned to look at him. "Hey, watch your mouth, you jerk!"

I looked at Amarant. "You'll carry her because this will make things easier."

Zidane nodded. "He's right, Amarant, and besides, you still owe me." Amarant mumbled something under his breath, picked Eiko up, tucked her under his arm, and started climbing the trunk. I picked Vivi up and followed Amarant up the trunk.

After a few seconds, we reached the trunk. I set Vivi down, Amarant set Eiko down, and Zidane set Dagger down.

Zidane turned to Amarant. "Thanks, Amarant."

He looked at Zidane. "Now we're even. Show me what you guys can do."

I spoke. "I have a feeling we'll show you soon enough."

Dagger spoke. "There's Kuja!" We turned and saw Kuja as well as his Silver Dragon.

Zidane spoke. "Yeah. Get ready, guys."

I spoke. "I'm always ready."

Vivi spoke. "Kuja…maker of Black Mages…"

Eiko spoke. "Any enemy of Zidane is an enemy of mine!"

Zidane nodded. "Okay, let's go!" We nodded and followed him. It wasn't long before we reached Kuja.

Dagger approached Kuja and spoke. "You are Kuja, correct? My name is...Princess Garnet Til Alexandros. I wish to ask you something. Was it really you who persuaded my mother to start the war-" he cut her off.

"The war that threw the entire Mist Continent into chaos?" Kuja spoke with a voice that was easily distinguishable as masculine. His voice wasn't deep, but it wasn't high pitched either. It was somewhere in between.

Vivi spoke; his voice was tinged with anger. "And you made everyone...the Black Mages into instruments of war?"

Kuja looked at him. "Oh, dear... The princess has such a bloodthirsty little puppet." I narrowed my eyes at those words. Kuja continued "I don't have the power to do such a thing. I just gave them a little recipe. Begin with broth of Mist, add fermented souls, and boil..." He was really getting into this. "Then, pour genuine black magic into a mixing bowl and heat to-" Vivi cut him off.

"Stop it!" he yelled.

Kuja looked disappointed. "I'm not done telling how to make soulless toys out of the dregs of souls!"

This caught Zidane's interest. "Dregs of souls? You mean Mist?"

Kuja turned towards Zidane. "First, you don't want to listen; now you start asking questions? Oh, brother... But you're not ready yet!"

I spoke. "Not ready for what?"

He turned towards me. "You'll find out soon enough."

I nodded. "Alright, I'll let that slide, but I have a personal question for you, Kuja."

Kuja looked curious. "what is it?"

I smiled. "Has anyone ever called you a girl?"

Kuja's eyes opened wide in puzzlement at that. Zidane turned to look at me. "Michael, what kind of question is that?"

I turned to him. "What, you got to ask your question's, why can't I ask mine?"

I turned back to Kuja. "Well, Kuja?" He seemed slightly uncomfortable.

He finally spoke. "Yes, it has happened before."

I smiled. "I'm sure that was embarrassing, but with your face, that hair, and your clothes; I can see why people would make that assumption."

Kuja looked angered. "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, it's just that I don't see very many men wearing that kind of outfit."

He spoke. "I refuse to dress like a commoner."

I nodded. "I see."

Dagger spoke. "Did you start the war on the Mist Continent?" she had lost patience with my question. Kuja seemed more comfortable with this question.

He turned to look at her. "I started the war? No, no! Your mother wanted it! All I did was give her a little push!"

Dagger shook her head. "Liar! My mother was sweet and kind. You changed her!"

Kuja looked over her shoulder, smiled, and laughed. "So the curtain rises! Perfect, my canary. Let me show you the truth about your mother! First Act: The End of the Ugly Desire. It's Showtime!"

He pointed behind us. We turned around, and saw that Alexandria's navy had arrived. I knew Queen Brahne was leading the attack herself. She had come for Kuja.

Dagger shook her head in disbelief. "I…I can't believe it!"

Kuja spoke. "Your mother isn't satisfied with just one continent! Her ugliness and stupidity are truly impressive. Ahh...everything is proceeding as I have foreseen."

Zidane turned towards him. "What're you talking about?"

Kuja looked at him. "You're just the opening number. Time for the real show."

I spoke "you're not getting away!" I placed my hand on my reverse blade sword.

Kuja spoke. "The Mist may be created no more, but it still lurks in caves and forests, right?" Zidane looked confused, but I didn't. Kuja spoke again "I can make monsters with magic!" he raised his hand. "Come forth spawn of the Mist." At his command, four Mistodons appeared. I unsheathed my normal sword, and I felt the others do the same. It was time to fight.

My Mistodon swiped its claw at me, but I managed to dodge it. I had to get rid of this thing, and fast. There wasn't much room to fight on this root. I charged at the Mistodon, performed a "Ryu Sou Sen," and cut it to pieces.

I turned to see how the others were doing. Amarant had stabbed his claw into his Mistodon and threw it off the root. Zidane had stabbed his Ogre into his Mistodon's head and kicked its body off the root. Dagger and Eiko teamed up on their Mistodon. Eiko summoned Fenrir, and as soon as the Mistodon was up in the air, Dagger summoned Ramuh. Thunderclouds appeared overhead, and I could see lightning branch along those clouds. There was a huge flash of lightning and a loud roar of thunder. The clouds dissipated and the Mistodon's body fell from the clouds. Its body was burned to a crisp.

I smiled 'Dang…gotta remember not to piss those two off' I thought. Finally, I turned to see how Vivi was doing. He managed to dodge the Mistodon's claws and was trying to cast a spell. I decided to distract the Mistodon so he could cast his spell. I ran at the Mistodon and struck it in the side. It turned to face me, and I quickly retreated back; it followed.

After a few seconds, I saw a large, green, mass of liquid form over the Mistodon's head. 'So he's using a Bio spell' I thought. The spell landed on the Mistodon's head and the green liquid quickly covered it. In a matter of seconds, the Mistodon was mostly disintegrated. 'Guess the spell was acidic' I thought. I nodded at Vivi and he nodded back at me.

I turned back to where Kuja was standing, and saw that he had left. I turned to Zidane. "Zidane, Kuja's escaped!"

He turned to see that I was right. "Damn, where'd he go?"

Vivi spoke. "He's out there." We turned and saw that Kuja was attacking the navy. He was summoning Mistodons, and the ships were firing on them.

Amarant spoke. "So, two of your enemies are dukin' it out? Why not just leave'em, and finish off the winner. My money's on Kuja."

Zidane nodded his head. "Amarant's right. Let's split before we get dragged in."

Dagger spoke. "No…I can't…I can't let anything happen to my mother."

Zidane turned to her. "Dagger?" he said.

She turned to him "Zidane, I…I have to save her!"

This confused Zidane. "uuh, Dagger? She extracted Eidolons from you and started a war!"

She sighed. "I still don't want her to die!"

Zidane spoke. "But she didn't care one bit whether you lived or died! You don't have to call her mother anymore!"

Dagger was angry now. "She's my only mother! I don't care if you don't understand!"

Dagger turned to look at Eiko. "Eiko, you said there was an Eidolon imprisoned near here, right?"

Eiko thought for a moment. "Um, yeah."

Dagger looked hopeful. "Please! Tell me where!"

Eiko turned around and pointed. "It's a long way down. You see the place with lot's of roots? That's it."

Dagger nodded. "There. I see it." She turned and looked back out at the naval battle, and then she ran down the root towards her destination.

Eiko called after her. "Dagger, don't go alone!" Dagger didn't listen, and just kept running.

I felt the presence of a Mistodon behind us. I turned around and faced the creature. I held my sword at the ready, and moved to confront the creature. I spoke to the others "you guys go help Dagger. I'll handle this."

Zidane nodded. "Alright, but be careful."

I nodded. "Don't worry, now get going." All of them left, save one, and I knew who it was. "Vivi, I got this covered. Go help them."

I heard his voice. "A-alright." He ran down the root to join the others.

I turned back to the Mistodon. It was time to fight.

I decided not to waste anytime with this Mistodon. I cast an Aero spell and it swept the Mistodon off the root. I could see that more were coming. I decided to descend down the root towards the others. I'd decided to fight the Mistodon's only if they get to close to me.

I ran down the root, and started heading towards the others. I could hear the Mistodon's behind me. They were closing in. I ran faster. I eventually made it to the clearing that the others were at. As soon as I got there, I turned around to face the Mistodon's. This was when I implemented my plan. I brought my sword up, shouted "Zantetsu," and cut the root. My sword sliced through the root with some difficulty, but not much. Now that the root was severed, the entire root bridge fell, taking the Mistodon's with it.

'I hope we didn't need this root later' I thought.

I turned to look at the others. Zidane spoke. "Michael, nice of you to join us." I smiled, and looked out towards the sea.

I noticed a ring of fire had appeared on the water. Something large flew up from that ring and ascended into the clouds. Whatever it was, it descended from the clouds and flew towards Kuja. When it stopped I got a much better look at the creature; it was Bahamut, the Dragon King. Bahamut unleashed his Mega Flare attack on Kuja. Kuja survived the attack and flew away from the area on his Silver Dragon.

All of us were in awe of Bahamut's power. Amarant spoke. "I've heard stories, but I never thought summoning could be so powerful."

Dagger spoke. "Wow... Now we can win! And mother won't have to die!"

She turned to Eiko. "Eiko, don't you think…what's wrong?"

Eiko looked worried. "Mog…she's terrified!"

This confused Dagger. "How come? Don't you know? That's the last Eidolon, Bahamut, the Dragon King! He'll win for sure!" I knew differently.

That's when the sky grew dark over the navy, and that's when we saw it; a large eye in the sky. It fired some kind of weapon, and after it was finished; it disappeared back into the sky. That's when Bahamut descended towards Brahne's ship.

To the shock of everyone, Bahamut unleashed its Mega Flare attack and destroyed the ship. Bahamut flew into the air and destroyed the rest of the navy as well. After it was done Bahamut disappeared, and Kuja left the scene.

I looked on in shock. An entire armada was laid to waste in a matter of seconds. They never stood a chance.

I heard Zidane yell, "Dagger!"

I spun around and saw that Dagger had gone extremely pale. She stumbled and Zidane caught her before she fell.

That's when I heard Eiko's voice. "Look, a ship." I spun around and saw that she was right. The ship approached the beach.

Dagger spoke "Th-that…that's my mother's escape ship; the Blue Narciss. We have to get down there, now!" We all nodded and descended the trunk.

When we got to the beach, we found Brahne. She was a mess; her face was badly burned and scarred. Her hair was burned off, she had burns all over her body, she had blood all over her blouse, and her left arm was blown off. The amazing thing was that she was still alive. 'The game really cut back on the details' I thought. As soon as Dagger saw her she immediately broke down.

Amarant walked off towards the ship and I decided to do the same. I knew that Dagger wanted to be alone right now. I'd try and comfort her later, but for now the best thing I could do for her was stay back. Eiko and Zidane eventually joined us as well. Vivi stayed back with Dagger, but he kept his distance. I could tell, even from this distance that he was trying to figure something out.

After a while, night had fallen. Dagger and Vivi both returned to the ship. Zidane and I left the ship and carried Brahne's body back. We left her body in the cargo hold. Her body wasn't going back first class, but it was the best we could do with what was given to us. After we had done that, we set sail for Alexandria Harbor.

I couldn't sleep, so I walked out to the deck. I heard someone singing; it was Dagger. I decided to listen.

"La la la la…la la la la la… la la la la la la la la la la…la la la la la la laaaaaaaaaa… la la la la la… la la la la la la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaaaa… la la la la la la laaaaa." she stopped singing.

That's when I heard her talking to herself. I approached her slowly and stayed in the shadows. She had her hands on the railing, and she was whispering. "It's all my fault…all of this is my fault."

"What's your fault?" I asked.

She immediately spun around and looked at me. "Oh…Michael it's you." She wiped away her tears hoping I hadn't seen them.

I spoke again. "What's your fault, Dagger?" She looked back out to the sea. We were on auto pilot so no one needed to steer. I walked over and joined her at the railing. I looked at her. "If you're blaming yourself for your mothers death; it's not gonna help you. Your mother made her choice. It was not your fault that she died, and if you blame yourself for getting us mixed into this, don't. We all made our choices. Zidane wanted to save you. Vivi, Steiner, and myself accompanied him, because we wanted to help. There were many times where one of us could have left the group and had nothing more to do with the others, but we didn't."

Dagger turned to look at me. "Why did you follow, Michael? Why did you want to save me back in Evil Forest?"

I turned from her and looked back out to the sea. "It's because I had nothing. I have no family and until I met you guys, I had no friends either."

Dagger looked saddened. "I'm sorry."

I smiled at her. "It's okay, I'm glad I followed you guys. I could've turned away, but I didn't want to. I didn't want to lose you guys."

Dagger spoke. "I'm glad you guys came. I don't know what I would have done if I never met any of you."

I smiled at her. "You and me both." We both looked back out to the sea.

After a few minutes, Dagger spoke again. "I still think that some of the events that happened were my fault, in a way."

I sighed and turned to look at her. "If its guilt you're looking for Dagger, I'm not your man. All I can give you is my support…and my respect." She turned to me and smiled.

That's when I heard the door of one of the rooms open. Dagger and I both turned around, and saw Vivi. He had his hand on his stomach. "I don't feel so-" he put his hand over his mouth, ran over to the side of the ship, and vomited over the edge. Dagger looked disgusted and sympathetic; I looked the same.

I walked over to Vivi and put my hand on his back. "Seasick, huh?"

Vivi looked up at me. "What gave it away?"

I smiled. "Call it a hunch. I think I better teach you a few meditation techniques to resist your seasickness."

Vivi looked pleased. "Really, thanks. That'd be great."

I helped Vivi back into his room, but before I entered I turned to face Dagger. "I know it may be hard, but I think you should get some sleep, Dagger."

She nodded. "I'll try."

I nodded and walked into Vivi's room. I saw that Vivi was ready to start his meditation training. I smiled and began instructing him. We spent most of the night training, and we ended up sleeping the day away.

On the third day of our journey we reached Alexandrian Harbor. The guards were shocked when they saw us carry the queen's body off the ship. We handed the body over to the guards and they went off to wash her body for the funeral.

Beatrix, Steiner, Freya, and Tantalus returned to Alexandria after Dagger sent word to them. Beatrix and Steiner both took the news of the queen's death hard, but were relieved to know that Dagger was safe. The queen's funeral was going to be held three days from the current time.

During that time I was able to get Beatrix's permission to use the castle training courtyard for Vivi's training. The training was harder now, and we didn't have to travel half way around the world, so there were no interruptions. Vivi also taught me how to use my magic accordingly, and as a result of his training I learned three new spells, Aera, Thunder, and Thundara.

On the third day of our arrival, the funeral began. It started at the entrance to Alexandria and continued all the way to the lake. From there the queen's coffin was taken by barge to an island that was behind the castle were the queen would be laid to rest. Beatrix called it 'The Resting Place.'

When the funeral was over, Vivi and I decided to stay in the inn at Alexandria rather then stay in the castle. I believed it was time for a change of scenery, and besides, Vivi and I hadn't been to the town of Alexandria since we saw the play. Dagger was going to be crowned queen in a few days, and all of us were going to be there for her.

I have three new spells

Aera

A spell that causes moderate wind damage

Thunder

A spell that causes lightning damage

Thundara

A spell that causes moderate lightning damage