The rooftop of the Palace. The highest point on Le Palais d'Ordre. Here we stand, and things are almost as we left them. Chaos is gone, though, and Cosmos is seated on a simple stone chair. The roof remains as it was. Only within the Palace of Order are things out of control. This sight should be welcome, it is not.

"Welcome Orlandeau," says Cosmos, reverting to the form of Princess Sarah. "What brings you here?"

"I have come to take your Cids," answers Orlandeau, not even bothering to bow in the presence of this Goddess. "I carry orders from the Choir of Elohim to do so as soon as possible."

"What for?" asks the Goddess, frowning, her face becoming like that of a sad and confused child, her voice warm enough to melt most hearts.

"An insignificant purpose. A member of the Elohim desires that all Cids be counted."

"This is an unusual and badly timed request," says Sarah, "I am assaulted by Chaos himself, and your God demands I relinquish my champions? Should not Faram have sent me aid?"

"The Holy Father does not support this war, and will not be responsible for any part of it if he may help it."

"Strange, though, considering he let Chaos and I to his world."

"And you sowed the seeds which would destroy the Light of Kiltia. Faram does not forget, Cosmos. He will send aid only if he must."

"Then I will send these Cids from me only when it is convenient."

"Your song has no tune."

"Orlandeau, do you dare insult a Goddess to her face?"

"I speak no insults, only truth. Your song has no tune. By order of the Choir of Elohim, I may take these Cids with or without your permission. I may not, however, remove them without their own permission. They have refused to withdraw until their work is done, and so they stay, but at their word, and not your own."

"As you wish. I make no move save it be at the whim of the Highest, long ago did I learn that even Gods may be slaves."

"So sayest thou," say Orlandeau, reaching into his cloak. He withdraws the docket and hands it to the lady, "This is the champion of Minerva, as chosen by you counsel of Cids."

Cosmos takes the docket, opens it, and turns to a seraph to her right. The seraph bows her head, turns, manifests her wings, and flys off with the docket in tow.

"If I might interrupt," I say, "I am also finished with the Champion from The Great Hyne."

"You?" Cosmos asks, "Alone, without your counsel?"

"I know not how many stand free of Chaos, so I must press on alone. They would have done so had they made it here in my place."

"How . . . prompt." Cosmos takes the docket I offer her, thumbs through the pages, my thoughts and scores on these individuals, then turns to another seraph and sends him off with the docket. "You are . . . in luck, Scholar. It so happens that I have the ninth docket with me now."

"Then you will not mind relinquishing it?" comes a voice from behind us. The assembly turns, and there stands Garland once more. "Accept fate Cosmos, understand that together you and I do naught but carve a path of death and destruction. It was our lot to fill the Heavens with our joy, our happiness, not that we should always stand as a testament to war!"

"See how your tyranny has tortured the many, how your maddening and mislead concept of "Order" has caused so many pains," says the Emperor, "Let this be your Final Fantasy, this Conflict of Views, then cast off illusion and see Order for what it truly is."

"Understand that nothing lasts forever," the Cloud of Darkness says, "Relinquish your childish grasp on the light; see what awaits in the embrace of darkness."

"We stand now with Chaos to change our destinies, to defy The Gods," says Golbez, "Your own fate is cruel as well. Join us Lady, see how desire and reward can coincide."

"Welcome this change, Cosmos. Relax your grip, realize that things need not always be as they are, that Eternity and progression are one and the same," Ex-Death continues.

"Then," Kefka says, "Then realize the greatest joke of all: That Eternity cannot last forever, that that which is can never be endangered is the most fragile of all things."

"Abandon your reasons," Sephiroth adds, "abandon even your heart. Give over to the cravings of your flesh, revel in that which you are."

"And then break free of the Endless Cycle," says Ultimecia, emerging from the midst of the others, "burst forth into naked darkness and dance in the rains of emptiness."

"But please," comes another voice from within the throng, "Please don't forget to take your final bow."

Kuja steps out from behind Ultimecia, smiling and even bothering to wave at an angel or two. He laughs, twists his head side to side, and speaks again, "What a prologue, wouldn't you agree? Just moments ago my castmates here were begging you to help us, to save us from our fates. And now, little Cid, we don't even need you alive. You are a nuisance, better broken than healed. Would you like to know why?"

"Given that The Liar wasn't cutting it for you, I'm guessing Chaos decided to just go with the eight of you."

"Haw! Listen to this guy! Ramblin' on like he knows shtuff!" The crowd parts, and from the midst stumbles a man I had not expected to see. He is a great bear of a man, the size of Garland, almost, though his body is unarmored. His manner of walking is of interest, as well, since I was not aware that angels could be inebriated.

"Jecht? You picked Jecht? The Liar really isn't doing his job . . ."

"Bring out the weak one!" Garland roars. There is more shuffling, and a man is thrown to the ground before me. I recognize this man, this being who once worked with me, this man who was once an Angel, who was a member of my Counsel.

"Cidolfas Demen Bunansa," I say, "The Doctor. Oh how far you have fallen. Even the Devil himself now rejects you."

"Silence!" The Liar spits, getting to his feet, "shut up! Just shut up! You think you are so good, you pompous Would-Be-God! Look at you, loathing the very Gods you slave for, you used to stand for something Previa. You used to believe what you did was right. You're as sham now, as empty, hollow, and meaningless as the rest of this farce!"

"How odd," I say, looking at him, "You left when I lost my faith, and here we stand, I regaining mine, and you now losing yours. What a terrible pity."

"I tire of this," Garland says, "If you see a Cid, kill it. Break this palace to the ground. Leave only Cosmos standing."

The demons fan out, and at this same time the Cids drop their cloaks that they can battle more freely. Seeing my chance, I turn now and run. I would bid farewell to Orlandeau, but I know this is not the last time I shall see him. Living he was capable of leveling armies, dead, Orlandeau's might is unrivaled by all save the Gods. His faith is such that entire Circles of Hell live more in fear of him than their own punishments.

Glancing back, I see that I am pursued. The Liar comes after me. So it has come to this, it would seem. Now that all things have lead us back together, it must be only natural that we fight. But I will not yet turn to face this foe. I must find sanctuary. The ninth dockets are in my hands, and now that Jecht has been revealed, I must hasten that I might reach the tenth and final dockets. Soon, so very soon this will end.

I think more often, now, of my family. I have not seen them in so long. How I miss my grandson. What does Mid think of me, after all this time? Would he be glad to see his grandfather still, or will he turn away from me, his heart hardened by the stiffness of my neck?

I have not even seen my wife since I died. I wonder where she is now? Our marriage still stands on record, but it has been so very long since we have seen each other. I miss her almost enough that it hurts. I have been alone so very long. Haven't I? No, I guess I have not. My companions have always been with me.

I hope to The Highest that they are alright. If any of them has been injured I will never forgive myself. I already curse the day I took this job, I do not want to know that it ultimately cost the ever-lasting soul of a friend. Though I suppose, on the greater scale of things, it already has.

"You cannot run from me forever!" roars The Liar, "I am a part of you, Scholar! You made me! I am your past! And you know what they say of your past! The more you run from it, the faster it catches up to you!"

"Funny!" I shout back, "Because it looks to me like you're beginning to slow down!"

"Just you wait! This won't end until one of us ends it, Scholar! This comes down to you, and to me!"

"Don't delude yourself, Liar! You and I are the Ramza and Algus of this tale, not the Ashe and Vayne!"

"Nevertheless, here we end this!"

"Yes, this conversation ends here," I say, finding a doorway and running into the room beyond. I lock the door and prop the furniture in the room against it. Though The Liar stands beyond, shouting in anger and fury, I simply open the dockets and take a seat by the opposite door. The time for work has come again.

Letter from Buremece, God spec. Memory, to Cosmos, Goddess spec. Order:

Cosmos. I know not what to say. Only just have I learned that Kuja has been raised, and, as I check now, I have discovered a horrible truth: The Cleft's Cells have sprung open. That place on the edge of the Void where many terrible beings have been imprisoned was opened just this morning. Chaos gave his agent, The Liar, free run of them, to choose any he might like.

It gets worse: things crawled up out of the Void, and, others, hearing of the gathering, arrived seeking to make Chaos their liege. Is it true? That Chaos is gathering Crystals? What could be his purpose? To change his fate, I suppose, but surely Chaos does not presume to gather all the Crystals the two of you lost and use them to defy the Choir of Elohim?

I do not see the meaning in these things, but my sleep is troubled by all of this. Even I, who remember all, do not know where Chaos is going with this. I send three names to you, Cosmos, to strike against Kuja. Be warned: Kuja may not have broken the laws of Heaven, but he was able to manipulate the laws and very nearly destroyed all the worlds of my realm. His carelessness attracted Necron, one of they whom The Highest condemned to wander from world to world.

I send you these children in the hopes that you are doing the right thing. I recall so much, yet I cannot seem to recall what choice is right anymore . . . The names I send you are these: Zidane and Mikoto Tribal, and Garnet Til Alexandros. Care for them, Cosmos. I dare not consider what would happen to these children in the wrong hands.

Name: Sarah of Madain
Alias: Princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII
Alias: Dagger
Age: 16
Sex: Female
Species: Summoner

Another Summoner? I suppose it's not so bad a calling. The power to summon beings ranging from the simple to the divine to the fiendish is one that would indeed be worth having. Nonetheless, I am not even certain how Summoning will work in this war. Not a single Summoner has yet been selected by either side, so I feel it likely Summons will be open to all.

Eidolons in Garnet's world are an especially powerful force. They were so mighty that even Garland, who was mightier than Kuja, feared them above all else. Though he proved in the end able to thwart them for the most part, that one such as "Garland" was afraid of this power speaks in the Princess' favor. (The Report wishes to distinguish between Garland, physical embodiment and avatar of Chaos and GARLAND, The Genomic Artificial Restoration of Life, Art, kNowledge and Data project, a construct of the Terrans before their fall.)

Garnet was Queen of Alexandria by the age of 17, and all the days of her life the nation prospered. Though, historically speaking, Queen Garnet's reign saw the greatest decrease in lands ruled by the Alexandrian Empire, this is only because during the reign of her mother, Queen Brahne, the Alexandrian Empire conquered much of the world, and, inasmuch as world domination may ever be right or wrong, Garnet saw this as wrong and ceded many of the lands back to their original rulers.

During the Razing of Alexandria, Garnet actually defeated Kuja, driving back his Eidolon by summoning one of her own. Calling upon Alexander to defeat Bahamut seemed as though it would save the day. In reality, it also called down the wrath of the Invincible.

Nevertheless, Garnet is awarded the following:

Team Work: 6/10. Garnet was a bit of a free spirit, and being an excellent politician really is of little use in the coming war. However, it is worth noting that she never had any major quarrels with any team member. The docket places importance on this because of members like Quina, who were extremely . . . different.

Faith: 5/10. It's fair to say that Garnet has a vested interest in the history and sanctity of her world. Neverthelesss, she was a willful woman, and would not stand idly by, knowing that the war itself was two things at once. Therefore we would again, have to bank upon her gullibility. Which is something I ought to address but won't.

Lethality: 6/10. While Garnet's Summons were especially potent, I have already addressed my fears on that subject. That said, her own personal magic type was white, and while there is a useful white magic spell or two for combat (Holy and Harm come to mind), other white magic spells, such as Reraise and Regen are only so useful.

Opposition: 6/10. Garnet is perhaps the best person from her world to oppose Kuja. He manipulated her mother, killed her, and razed her homeland. Kuja is also the creation of Garland, who was responsible for the deaths of Garnet's race. However, there are those who oppose Kuja far better than Garnet.

Name: Mikoto
Age: 15
Sex: Female
Species: Genome

Mikoto's story may be considered a sad one. She is one of a very few Genomes who were granted souls. Many of her people were slaughtered by Kuja's hand, and, lacking souls, The Gods were suddenly faced with a dillema. Here were intelligences lacking that last spark to grant them eternal salvation. They were now among the many higher machines, who also were a part of Heaven's great controversy.

Ultimately The Gods decided the Genomes would be granted that final spark, and they would validate these children of Terra. So, too, did they grant it to the Black Mages of Terra, giving these souls hope of lasting on, of living at last after life had come to an end.

But I digress. Mikoto was the final product of the Genome Project. She was, so to speak, the Ultimate Genome, the end result of her species. She was raised in Bran Bal alongside the other Genomes and prepared for the day she would descend upon Gaia and realize the hopes of Terra.

Mikoto was the fail safe, the Hope of Terra. Should Zidane fail as Kuja failed, she would be sent to complete the mission. Yet, as Garland discovered, giving Mikoto a will proved that she would never be his to control, either. Mikoto sided with Zidane and notified the people of Gaia to the assault on Memoria.

Interestingly, Mikoto never actually saw any combat, and much of her power is latent. She never tranced, and was never put to the same tests Zidane and Kuja were. It is hard to gauge her combat prowess, though the docket makes it clear she was the best of the Genomes, not the worst.

Team Work: 4/10. It's really hard to say. Mikoto was never intended to work on a team, and she never really did. She did manage to persuade others into action on several instances, but the way those moments played out it's possible those people only needed a slight push anyway.

Lethality: ?/10. I cannot gauge this woman's combat prowess. Never in her entire life did she enter into battle. I do not know, and I cannot know. I wish I could, but I can't.

Faith: 3/10. As a Genome, Mikoto never was allowed to think much for herself. When at last she was given an opportunity to do so, the very first thing she did was turn against Garland. Betrayal as a reaction to having freedom is an undesirable quality, and I do not think we would have use for it.

Opposition: 7/10. Mikoto is scored one point higher than Garnet because of her close relationship to Kuja. Being his sister, she might feel compelled to stop him. It is, after all, her destiny to stand against Kuja if called upon to do so.

Name: Zidane Tribal
Age: 16
Sex: Male
Species: Genome

Ah, Zidane. Now here is a name I recognize. The debates over the minds of the Genomes and their futures was attended by Zidane, as I myself also attended. Zidane argued for the Genomes, and it was his words which ultimately saved their kind. Zidane is one of a few people who have been to Memoria, and possibly the one of the only mortals to ever breach what is left of the Crystal World.

While Kuja may be viewed as model 00 of the Angel of Death line of Genomes, and thus Prototype, Zidane was model 01, the Test Type, and Mikoto was model 02, the Production type. Zidane was an experimental improvement upon Kuja's design, and while factors of him were refined in the designing of Mikoto, some parts were also removed, deemed too dangerous.

Zidane was capable of trance, a thing Kuja struggled to achieve, and which ultimately hastened his death. Tribal could trance time and again, however, without any serious draw back. Of the three Angel of Death Units created by the Garland Project, Zidane was the only one capable of such a feat, at least according to the actual dockets.

An interesting point is here listed: Mikoto could withstand blasts of Ultima from Kuja, when Zidane could not. In fact, Zidane was defeated by Kuja's Ultima several times. Nor, truthfully, did he ever defeat Kuja once and for all.

However, Zidane DID stop the Necrophobe on an edge of The Void. This is a feat worth mentioning, because the Necrophobe is, in ways, not unlike Chaos. He was a part of Ex-Death's company in that last effort to tear open The Void, and so he, like Gilgamesh, has been made to wander from world to world, never to rest until all Gods sing their names. Necrophobe has moved much more slowly than Gilgamesh, but his efforts paid off, almost bringing him to The Crystal World.

It's interesting, really. Zidane has, in a way, already finished this war for Cosmos. He has been to the Crystal World, committed that Sin of Cosmos (battling within the Crystal World), defeated his foe, and never took the Crystal and used it for his own. With that in mind, Zidane is so scored:

Team Work: 8/10. Though he was never intended to work in a team, Zidane did, in fact, do that for a great length of time. He was a member of the Tantalus Thieves' Guild, which allowed him the freedom he needed but also allowed him to work with others. After that he was a member of a typical rag-tag team of adventurers out to save the world. In fact, Zidane's ability to work so well with these others is what earns him this score.

Lethality: 9/10. Zidane was intended to wreak havoc and chaos across the face of Gaia, and he was equipped to do so. While his companions were capable of trance just as he was, Zidane's trance pushed his mind and body harder than those of his company. In addition to this, his body was incredibly more agile than others', being able to dodge attacks with great speed and accuracy. His speed, in fact, may have been his greatest non-magical skill.

Faith: 8/10. Zidane has already proven his willingness to ignore the temptations of Crystals and defeat Kuja. Granted there was no grand subplot at that time, so I leave a margin of 2 points for the chance that, upon discovering he can change history and at once change nothing, Zidane may abandon the quest. Still, for a thief such as he to IGNORE the greatest treasure in the world speaks highly to his credit.

Opposition: 10/10. Zidane was always Kuja's nemesis. Though Kuja loathed Garland more, and spent more of his time fighting Garland, it was Zidane which seemed to start all of that. It was the discovery of Zidane which caused Kuja to turn on Garland, and it was the discovery that Zidane would out live him which spurred Kuja to end all things. Kuja was, in all ways, opposed to Zidane, and Zidane, so long as Kuja opposed him, would continue to fight back.

I'll go with Zidane. Seems like a smart choice. Garnet's a summoner, and while Summoners are powerful, anyone can summon in this war. I don't know a thing about Mikoto, but at least I know about Zidane. So Zidane it is. He'll be the champion.