Author's Notes: How's it going, guys? Here's the second chapter up again! I did some tinkering with it. Please stay tune for the next update!

Thanks to Shadow knight1121, Senom229 and cherrynolanii for the reviews! I'm happy to be back. And also I appreciate those who put this story back up in your alerts. It means so much to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX or any of the characters except Egil.


Chapter Two: Leafy Prisons

I wonder if I'm dead again. I'm only half an hour into the game and it's already trying to kill me. I feel someone shaking my hands.

"Mister, are you o-okay?"

As I slowly reopen my eyes, I find a pair of luminous eyes staring at me. Vivi sighs in relief when he sees me regaining consciousness.

"I'm…okay," I groan as I try to sit up. That was one heck of a fall and my head's still aching from it. I probably have a couple of bruises on my body. Heck, if it wasn't for the trees breaking our fall, we would have ended up here already dead. "How about you?"

"I'm f-fine too," Vivi replies. "W-where are we?"

"We're in Evil Forest, and honestly speaking, I don't think we'll like it here," I tell him. Vivi looks even more anxious when I have said that. "Let's find the others, they should be somewhere nearby."

"There's smoke o-over there," Vivi says, pointing at the direction with black smoke rising.

"That must be where the airship crashed," I say. "Let's look around first and see if we can find anyone else before going there."

"Alrighty."

You can say that I'm relieved to have Vivi with me. Even though Vivi's only a kid, him being here helps me keep the tension low at least by a little. Truth be told, if I was to end up alone here, I would have panicked.

Well, I'm still panicking anyway.

Where do I go now? Unlike the game itself in which the roads and paths have already been decided for you, Evil Forest is a damn maze in reality. It's not like when the game automatically guides you to where the next scene is going to take place.

And there could have been monsters everywhere. I almost forgot about the random encounters.

Thinking of monsters, I quickly check my equipments. My bow and arrows are still in place. Good. At least I have something to fight monsters with. I unsheathe my short sword as a precaution.

We start exploring through the woods soon. The humidity here is intense. It's no wonder you can see giant plants and fungus growing everywhere.

The air around here is really strange. It's a completely different sensation from Earth. The air here constantly reeks of danger.

And death.

For some reasons, the woods are unusually quiet right now. I hate to admit it. But we are probably on the right track. Something is emitting a dangerous aura so strong that no other wild beasts dare to come near this area. I grip my short blade even tighter. I can feel my heart throbbing faster. My hands are trembling.

"U-um," Vivi speaks up to me all of a sudden, which nearly gives me a heart attack. "Mister...?"

"Egil Black," I answer. "There's no need for the Mister. And just Egil will do."

When was the last time I introduce myself to someone?

Vivi nods. I've just noticed how the little guy is holding onto his staff in fear, too. His hands are clearly shaking like mine.

"Are we g-going to be a-alright?" Vivi stammers.

"Yeah, we will be alright. We will make it out of this forest," I assure. I just feel some kind of responsibility at this point to comfort him. Knowing the storyline, I know for sure that Vivi will be fine. As for me, I'm not so sure.

But one thing I know is I don't want to die, at least not here in Gaia.

Before Vivi can reply me, a scream pierces through the silence of the forest. The scream belongs to that of a sixteen years old girl.

"Garnet," I mutter. "Come on, Vivi, let's go—"

When I turn to him, I find Vivi shivering in fear. His face looks absolutely terrified from Garnet's scream.

"Come on, I'll be right by your side, don't worry," I encourage, trying to calm him down. Speaking of that, I'm worrying about things myself. What should I do when I see the monster that's going to attack us later? Should I go directly with an arrow?

"A-alrighty," Vivi finally nods. I run towards the direction where the scream came from as fast as I can with Vivi following close behind. It wasn't long before we reach a clearing.

There's Garnet, sitting on the ground, but no monster. I'm relieved to see her still unharmed.

"Are you okay, princess?" I ask, pulling her to her feet.

"I'm fine... You have my gratitude," Garnet says. But then her eyes widen all of a sudden. "How did you know of my identity?" She takes a step backwards away from me.

Crap. I let slipped of something I shouldn't have know. "Zidane let slipped of that right before you fell off. Remember? He said 'At least we've got the princess'. And there isn't any other girl except you."

"You—Him—" Garnet is at a loss for words.

"It's not hard to figure out either. With the harpoons and the Bomb, and not to mention—"

"Save your explanation for later," Garnet interjects. "Be wary, there's something around us."

"W-w-w-what's around?" Vivi asks.

"A monster was giving chase after me a moment ago. It seems to have hidden itself in the leaves," Garnet explains. She, too, is gripping her rod firmly.

I don't think any of us have any real experience in fighting monsters before. We have our backs against each other. I switch to my bow and arrows. If it's something from a distance, then at least I can shoot it down.

That is, if my terribly shaking hands allow me to.

"I think I heard something," I hush. I hear movement from the leaves above as we all quiet down. "It's above us, watch out, I think it's trying to ambush us," I warn.

The two of them look upward for any signs of the monsters. I nock an arrow and aim for the moving leaves above us. I try my best to suppress my fear to ensure stability of the bow and arrow. The arrow's released. It may have gone a bit off track though, with my hands still shaking and all that.

And so there is a inhuman shriek of pain. Somehow I wish I haven't done that.

Something big and brown drops from the trees. The three of us stand side by side as we back away from the thing that fell down. And as we do that, I examine a real organic monster for the very first time.

It's a Prison Cage. It's uglier than I thought. It has dry brown skin with two long vine-like tentacles. Its body is shaped like a giant onion with thick brown leaves forming a prison on top of its head. Its two legs look like dry roots and its mouth is wide and wrinkled. The arrow I shot just now is stuck near its left leg with blood dripping out of it.

The Prison Cage shrieks with anger as it readies its tentacles.

That shriek set off my fear. I immediately pull out another arrow and attempt to nock it without thinking. But because of the panic in me, I fumble the arrow and it drops to the ground.

We are in real shit.

This is different than confronting the Bomb back in Alexandria. Back then, there are other people fighting alongside. But now, I'm all alone. Garnet definitely doesn't help much in offense. And Vivi here is too afraid to move.

My heart is pounding like crazy. I can feel the surge of adrenaline rushing inside me.

The Prison Cage was about to charge at us when all of a sudden…

"PRINCESS!" Steiner bellows, coming out of nowhere and running his broadsword through the monster's body. The Prison Cage shrieks in pain and backs away from us.

"Steiner!" Garnet cries happily. "You are unharmed!"

"Do not worry, princess. I am here now to protect—"

Before Steiner can even finish, a tentacle was sent by the Prison Cage to wrap around his feet. Apparently, Steiner has just made the thing angrier. It then hurls Steiner towards a tree like he was paperweight.

I pull another arrow and nock it, aiming for the Prison Cage. It seems to realize my attempt to attack it and it sends a tentacle at me, whipping me in the chest and sending me flying backwards. It's as if all the air in my lungs has been knocked out.

"Aaaaaaah!" Garnet screams again as the Prison Cage wraps its tentacles around her. The princess hit the monster non-stop with her rod but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. She ends up inside the prison on top of the monster.

I didn't think the monster would be this intelligent. I gasp in pain and wipe the blood off my mouth as I try to stand back up. It hurts a lot. But thanks to the pain, my fear is somehow reduced by a lot. I've become more focused.

It's time to get serious.

"What the hell is that?" a voice comes from behind us.

Zidane arrives just in time with his daggers unsheathed. He rushes beside Steiner, who's already stood back up and now in his battle stance.

"Release the princess at once!" Steiner commands.

"Yeah, like it's gonna actually listen to you. Come on!" Zidane says sarcastically.

Before Zidane could charge, his body begins to emit a blinding light. The light fades and strings of energy circle around his body. Zidane's body turns somewhat pink and starts to glow. He gives off some kind of aura with tremendous power. And not to mention he has gotten furrier with his clothes now replaced by fur.

So, this is a real Trance.

"W-what is that light?" Steiner asks.

"I don't know. It somehow raises my power." Zidane replies. He seems to be astonished himself. Heck, even I don't know how Trance actually works in reality. Concept-wise, you just have to get really emotional.

"It must be Trance!" Steiner says in realization. "It's caused by a huge—"

It's just like what Steiner's saying, Trance is…

"Hey, this is not the time for that!" I cut off Steiner's line. "That has the princess!"

"Right, let's get it!" Zidane says. "I need a distraction, you go, Rusty!" He stretches his arms out, his body forming a T-shape. I can feel energy gathering up in one spot.

"Why should I listen to you?" the rusty-armored knight asks arrogantly. "And do not address me as Rusty!"

"Look, do you want to save the princess OR NOT!" Zidane counters.

"Gah!" Steiner grumbles. Despite hating Zidane, saving Garnet is still Steiner's priority. Steiner charges to the Prison Cage without wasting a moment.

The knight sidesteps to dodge the Prison Cage's tentacles but ends up getting hit by one and falls back. Being a trained and experienced warrior on the battlefield, Steiner quickly pushes himself back up and charges again.

I have to help. Right now, I just hate being helpless. I pull out another arrow and nock it. I aim confidently this time.

Somehow, I have found my instincts to kill. The arrow does not miss this time and it manages to interrupt the Prison Cage from further attacking Steiner.

"I'll cover you. GO!" I yell at Steiner.

Steiner replies with a stiff nod. Once again, he charges towards the Prison Cage. The plant sees him coming and tries to lash at him with its tentacles. Unfortunately for it, my arrows are dealing enough pain to distract it. Steiner manages to close in and get an opening. He slashes the plant with his broadsword without hesitation.

The Prison Cage is furious.

"Move aside!" Zidane shouts as he unleashes a Free Energy spell, sending several spheres of energy to finish the monster off. Steiner got out of the way just in time before the spheres hit the plant. It shrieks in agonizing pain. It looks greatly weakened by Zidane's blow. But I know it's not over yet.

As I have expected, the Prison Cage uses its remaining energy to move its tentacles towards Garnet.

Garnet gasps painfully as the tentacles came in contact with her and drains her of her life force. The sword wound made by Steiner earlier is now healed and it looks refreshed again. The princess faints the moment the Prison Cage's done healing itself.

"PRINCESS!" Steiner shouts in worry.

"It's the tentacles! They're draining energy from her! Go for the tentacles!" I shout, firing several more arrows at the monster.

Then I feel that something is not right. Why is my quiver getting lighter?

Zidane fires another Free Energy spell at the Prison Cage. Using this as a chance, Steiner moves in and swiftly severs one of its tentacles. He has become more concentrated. Though his movements are faster, his mind is still as calm as he can be. The princess losing her consciousness must have driven Steiner to that level of seriousness.

The Prison Cage shrieks in pain as it watches its severed tentacle drops on the ground lifelessly. Seeing that the odds are against it, it decides to retreat by extending its remaining tentacle toward the tree. It pulls itself up along with Garnet and vanishes among the thick leaves. I try shooting it back down, but it escapes to a height that there are so many branches which block off my shots. Clever bastard.

"Princess? PRINCESS!" Steiner shouts, staring at the swaying leaves above.

"What the heck? Where did they go?" Zidane asks. That last Free Energy spell made use of the last of his Trance. Now he is back in his normal state.

"She's gone…I was too scared to cast any spell…That monster's probably gonna eat her…" Vivi says, still shivering.

I nearly forgot about Vivi with all the commotion going on.

"It's not your fault, Vivi… you were scared… don't blame yourself, alright?" I try to comfort the little mage.

He merely nods his head quietly. I guess he needs some time to adapt to all of this.

"How can I let this happen!" I turn to find Steiner kneeling down and constantly blaming himself for not being able to save the princess.

"Don't worry. She's not dead yet." Zidane says, trying to lessen the tension. "That monster was only a minion. He's probably gonna take her to his master."

"I'm running out of arrows," I say, checking my quiver which there's only a quarter of the amount of arrows left. How much of these did Enigma gave me anyway?

"I think we have loads of arrows back at the ship, I can get some for you later, um…" Zidane pauses.

"It's Egil," I fill him in.

"Right, Egil, nice to meet you," he says, shaking my hand. "The name's Zidane. Hey, you're pretty cool with the bow and arrows!"

"Meh, I freaked out back there before you came," I answer him modestly. Come to think of it, it's the first time I've heard people complimenting me after such a long time. Does this means Zidane acknowledges me?

It wasn't long before we hear Vivi scream. We all turn to see a second Prison Cage swooping down and shut Vivi inside its leafy cage.

"Damn it," I curse, readying my bow again. I've completely forgot about the second one. I should have been more cautious.

"H-h-help me!" Vivi cries for us while trying to force the leafy cage open.

"Not another one!" Zidane has his dagger readied and he charges at the Prison Cage. The giant plant beats him to the ground with its powerful tentacle before he can even close in. It's obvious that the battle just now has made him tired.

"Hang on, VIVI!" I shout as I nock an arrow. "Zidane, let's kill quickly! We don't want it to escape again!"

"Right!" Zidane agrees. "Come on, Rusty! Quit sulking!"

"Silent! This is entirely your fault! I'll get you after this!" Steiner says, unsheathing his broadsword.

I initiate the attack by releasing the bowstring. The arrow plunges deep into the Prison Cage's flesh. While the thing shrieks in rage, Zidane and Steiner move in. Zidane, being more agile, circles around and goes behind the Plant Cage while Steiner faces the plant head on. It's an attack from both sides.

Zidane strikes first with a double cut with his daggers. While the Prison Cage's distracted with that, Steiner runs his broadsword through the Cage's flesh. Drowned in pain and anger, the plant lashes its tentacles at both of them, sending them to the ground.

The Prison Cage is swaying weakly already. This one seems to be weaker than the last one. We can probably pull this one off quicker than we thought.

However, things aren't exactly well in our side. Zidane seems unusually exhausted. Is it because of the Trance earlier? I think I can understand that. And with all the commotion back there at Alexandria a while ago, anyone would have been tired.

Steiner supports himself back up with his broadsword. But the Prison Cage wants to prevent that. It lashes its tentacles at him another time before he can regain his full composure. It then does the same to Zidane, making sure the both of them stay flat on the ground.

There's no way I'll let this continue. The two of them has been injured enough already. It's time to shift its attention towards me. I send an arrow straight at it. It turns and shrieks at me.

"That's right! I'm the one hurting you! Leave them alone!" I provoke, firing another shot at it.

Soon enough, the Prison Cage is heading towards.

Hurry up and get up now, guys! I think as I try to hold it off. But it knocks me down using its tentacles before Zidane or Steiner can even get back up.

My senses go numb as I fall to the ground. I can't withstand the impact given, and that's when I loosen my grip over my bow. As I reach for it, the Prison Cage whips me further away from my bow as if it read my mind. I can't help but cough blood. That thing's tentacles are stronger than I've expected. Either that or it's just my body is too fragile.

I can feel it coming to finish me off until I hear it shrieks again.

"Not so tough now, aren't you?" Zidane provokes. His daggers are deep into the Prison Cage's backside.

"I shall put an end to your harm!" Steiner chimes in. He, too, has his broadsword stuck inside the Prison Cage's flesh.

The plant counters by wrapping both of its tentacles around them and hurls them towards nearby trees. They gasp painfully when they hit the trees.

Fatigue is wearing us down. They can't have recover that quick anymore from that. But the Prison Cage itself isn't lively anymore either. It seems to be nearing its end.

And that's when it moves its tentacles towards Vivi.

Come on, I got to move! I crawl towards my bow and try to reach for it. But time is not enough. Damn it, I can't make it! Vivi!

"STAY AWAY!" Vivi screams in fear and set off a fiery explosion right in the Prison Cage's face. That must have been a Fire spell. The Prison Cage shrieks as it was caught surprise by the mage's sudden counterattack.

Why didn't I remember sooner?

"That thing's weak to magic! Keep on doing what you did just now!" I yell over to Vivi.

Before the Prison Cage can even release Vivi, the black mage set off another one of his Fire spell, dealing further damage to the monster.

"It's time to end this, I'm tired enough already," I mutter to myself as I retrieve my bow and stand back up.

I shoot arrows after arrows at the Prison Cage until they all ran out, determined to finish it for good. Soon enough, its body is full of burn marks and arrows. The Prison Cage shrieks its last and dies. Its leafy cage withers with it, releasing a terrified Vivi. I caught him when the little guy almost tripped running to us.

"It's alright," I pant. "You're safe now. The monster's dead."

Vivi simply nods as he wraps his arms around me tightly. I just pat him by the head. The poor guy must have used up a lot of his courage today. No ordinary kid could have burn a full grown Prison Cage to ashes.

"Alright!" Zidane cheers happily as he finally manages to stand back up. "We did it!"

He pulls out a vial containing blue liquid from his pouch. He looks much better after drinking that Potion.

"The princess! We must search for the princess!" Steiner demands as he approaches us, too.

None of us answer to his demand. Zidane then walks over to check what's left of the Prison Cage. Suddenly, somewhere out of the burnt body sprays a noxious-looking—

Gas!

"Not…again…?" I mutter as I feel my consciousness leaving me with the gas entering my nostrils. I was too tired to figure what will happen next in the game.

I don't think I'm going to enjoy this one bit.


A/N: I hope my battle scenes didn't get any crappier! Please drop a review and let me know what you think! See you guys soon.