CHAPTER 17:
TERRA
The journey to prepare for Terra was an arduous one. After heading to Ipsen's Castle, and learning about the mirrors they needed to place in shrines around the world, it was decided to pair off and attack the shrines simultaneously. Lani accompanied Freya and Amarant to the Fire Shrine. Harry accompanied Eiko and Garnet to the Water Shrine, where they confronted a massive tentacled beast known as the Kraken. It had been one of the Four Guardians of Terra, and it had been forewarned by Kuja of their arrival. It soon fell in battle, and they were soon on their way, Eiko asking awkward questions about Garnet's relationship with Zidane aside.
They soon arrived at the Shimmering Island, where a portal to Terra opened up. The nine fighters leapt overboard on Zidane's suggestion. What followed was a psychedelic journey through a bizarre tunnel of lights and sounds and sensations. Harry almost felt like his head was going to explode from it all, until they landed.
Zidane and Harry landed together, on a strange path that looked like it was grown from coral. Strange, mushroom-like shapes clawed at a brilliant blue sky. The whole world was almost utterly alien. But it also had an eerie beauty, and coupled with that was a strange stagnancy in the air.
"This light," Zidane murmured as he picked himself off the ground. "I know this light. This was the light I saw in my dreams. Kuja was right."
Harry nodded. "So we're on Terra?"
"That is correct," spoke a resonant, deep voice, old and terrible. What appeared to be a man dressed in black armour walked out of a strange curtain of light that sprang up along a nearby tree. He looked ancient, with a long beard, blank white eyes that nonetheless were far from devoid of expression. In the centre of his armour glowed a red light. "So, you have finally returned," he said to Zidane. "The one who folds time is at last here…"
"Garland, I presume?" Zidane asked.
"You remember me?" Garland looked surprised.
"No, Kuja told us," Harry said. "You're the one who wanted my people dead." Feelings of anger welled up inside him. Kuja may have used the Invincible to do the deed, but it was Garland who gave the order. To murder his people. Only Garnet, Eiko, and himself were left.
"It was a matter of survival," Garland said imperiously. He then looked at Zidane. "Judging by your expression, you have been bewitched by the light of the blue moon, Zidane Tribal. You have gone native. Come…you have a greater destiny than scrabbling around on Gaia. You will see." Garland then vanished in that same curtain of light.
"He seems to think I'll do his bidding again," Zidane remarked.
"Zidane! Harry!" yelled Garnet as she rushed up to him. So too did the others. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine," Zidane said, "but I just met Garland. We'd better head on."
Lani looked around critically, before saying, "This is your homeworld, Zidane? It's a dump."
Few of the others agreed with the assessment. It was a beautiful, if alien, world. Even so, Terra was as much their enemy as Kuja. The problem was, how to stop them?
As they travelled, they saw, a little further up ahead, something unexpected. It was a girl, with a mop of blonde hair, wearing pink and black and white clothes…and with a tail. She seemed perhaps a year younger than Zidane. Her green eyes peered curiously at them. "So…you are the interlopers," she said in a soft, gentle monotone.
"You're like me," Zidane murmured. "You're a Genome, aren't you?"
"You know?" the girl asked. She seemed mildly surprised. "Garland told me that you would have no memories of us or Terra."
"Kuja told me. He told me that he and I were the only Genomes to have souls."
"Incorrect. I am the third, and to date, last to be ensouled. Kuja would not know of me, though, so it is an understandable mistake."
"What's your name?" Garnet asked.
"Mikoto. So you know something of your heritage, Zidane. Though it may be distorted, coming from Kuja. Come. It is this way to Bran Bal."
"Bran Bal? Is that a city?" Eiko asked.
"It is a settlement. There are not enough Genomes in existence to warrant it being called a city."
Mikoto led them along the strange and alien paths of Terra. They crossed bridges that seemed to be made of bone and coral as much as rock and stone, over lakes so clear, it was like looking into the sky above them. They climbed down what looked like glowing spiderwebs, before they came to a plateau overlooking a small settlement. "That is Bran Bal," Mikoto announced.
"It's a bit dull, isn't it?" Zidane remarked. The few inhabitants they could see from here moved rather robotically. Even Mikoto seemed to have more life than they did.
"It is your home, where you belong, Zidane," Mikoto said.
"It's my birthplace. There's a difference between that and home," Zidane said.
"You have gone native," Mikoto observed.
Zidane chuckled ruefully. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
Mikoto merely shot him a look, as if to say, You cannot possibly be this stupid.
The ground rumbled beneath their feet, and then, a loud whooshing noise in the background, they witnessed a massive shape rising from behind a nearby crag. An elegant, even beautiful airship, almost in the shape of some massive whale…but with a glowing red tumour underneath it. Garnet and Zidane stared at it in horror, along with the others. "That's the airship Kuja used at the Iifa Tree," Vivi said.
"And that Garland used at Alexandria," Zidane growled.
"The first of its kind, and the last," Mikoto said. "The last airship of Terra, and its pride. You are looking at the Invincible. The ultimate airship." She frowned. "That is strange. I did not think Garland intended to make an expedition to Gaia at this time."
"Maybe it's Kuja," Harry said. "He intended to return once he found a power he could beat Garland with. He might have found it."
"There is no power that can beat Garland." There was no bragging or admiration in Mikoto's tone. Just a simple statement of fact. "However, if Kuja is on Terra, he may have infiltrated while we were detecting your incursion. I must go and contact Garland. Come and see me in the underground laboratory when you are ready to learn the truth about your existence, Zidane."
"What's up with her?" Eiko asked as Mikoto walked off.
"Considering she has lived with only Garland and soulless Genomes for company, it is fair to say that her psychological shortcomings are manifold," Freya said.
"Sounds like you're in good company, Zidane," Lani laughed.
They made their way into Bran Bal. They found various Genomes, of both sexes, wandering around, or standing around. Almost all of them were robotic in their movements. Graceful, but…it was like being around walking dead men. Few spoke, and when they did, they uttered enigmatic and disturbing utterances in voices devoid of any inflection whatsoever. Even the quiet monotone of Mikoto had more inflection than they did. She seemed alive by comparison. Stoic, restrained, and aloof, but alive.
While some of the others rested in a place one of the Genomes called an 'inn', Zidane, Garnet, Harry and Steiner went to the underground laboratory. Within, naked Genomes floated serenely in tanks, while other Genomes attended to control panels, examining them, and reading out numbers. "What is this place?" Garnet asked.
Mikoto, who was standing nearby at a control panel of her own, said, "This is a laboratory, where we examine ourselves, strive to improve ourselves, in preparation for the day when we regain our souls."
"At the expense of Gaia?" Zidane asked, scowling.
"That is the plan. Do you object to it?" Mikoto said, turning to face them.
"Of course I object to it! There's gotta be another way to save Terra than committing genocide!" Zidane snarled.
"There is no other way. If there was, Garland would have found it," Mikoto said.
"Don't you care about the people dying?" Garnet demanded. "People dying and having their souls trapped?"
"It is not my place to care," Mikoto said. "We are Terrans, not Gaians."
"I'm not a Terran," Zidane said. "I may have come from here, but my home is on Gaia. There has to be another way, Mikoto. Don't get me wrong, I don't want you guys to die, but I don't want my people to die either!" He indicated the Genomes. "And look at them! They're just…zombies! Barely alive, barely aware."
"Why are you not happy, Zidane? You have returned home."
"I told you, my home is on Gaia. And are you any better than them? Have you ever felt happy?"
Harry could tell that the question had hit home to Mikoto, who blinked, astonished. Then, she looked at Zidane. "Come. Garland told me to bring you to the entrance of Pandemonium. And only you."
"Zidane is our friend," Garnet said. "He may have been originally made as an Angel of Death, but he is no longer that. Mikoto, I ask you, please consider that there may be alternative solutions to Terra's plight. Our quarrel is with Garland and Kuja, not the people of Terra."
"Garland is master of Terra. His word is absolute."
Despite Mikoto claiming that only Zidane could come to Pandemonium, she didn't object when Garnet, Steiner, and Harry came along. She indicated a teleportation pad, like that in the Desert Palace. "Only you can go, Zidane."
"Do not presume to tell the Princess where she may or may not go, Mikoto!" Steiner snapped.
"Steiner," Garnet rebuked quietly. She then told Mikoto, "Zidane is our friend, regardless of his origins."
"Dagger, I'll be fine," Zidane said confidently as he walked onto the teleport platform. "Just make like Tantalus afterwards." He winked.
Just as Mikoto activated the platform though, Harry, on an impulse, dashed onto it. "Harry, no!" Zidane yelled, but then, everything faded in a blizzard of letters and numbers…
…Only to come back to reveal a darkened chamber, filled with strange shapes. Zidane glared down at Harry. "You little idiot! I had it under control!"
"Zidane, if you go alone, who's going to watch your back?! Who's the idiot then?!" Harry retorted angrily, annoyed at Zidane calling him an idiot. Though he was angrier at Garland.
Zidane flinched, before kneeling next to him, and saying, quietly, "I told Dagger to make like Tantalus, Harry. Hopefully, she got the hint to sneak in with the others, just in case something does go wrong. Look, I'm glad you're here to watch my back. Just be careful, okay? We're in the bad guy's lair. And I think Garland wants a chat." Louder, he said, looking behind Harry, "Isn't that right, Garland?"
"Indeed."
Harry all but jumped at the voice, whirling to face Garland, standing there. He looked at Harry as if he was an interesting specimen underneath a microscope, before looking over at Zidane. "Many years ago, I lost one of my most prized Genomes. I created him to…"
"Cause death and destruction, be your little Angel of Death," Zidane interrupted him. "Kuja told me. He told me he was the one to leave me on Gaia. And you want to turn Gaia into Terra. My only question is, why haven't you found another way? There's got to be another way other than causing all these deaths, taking Gaia over!"
"There is no other way."
"Have you even tried to look for one?" Harry asked.
"I do not have to answer to primitives," Garland retorted.
"Really? I may come from Madain Sari, but I lived for some years on another world, called Earth. They have electronics, they even made it to the Moon, and you call me a primitive?"
"Electronics? Space travel to a natural satellite? Long before Terra's star faded, space travel between stars and dimensions were reduced to playthings for idle children. You are primitive by comparison."
"Wow, you can smell the hubris from here," Zidane snarked.
"What's hubris?" Harry asked.
"When someone's completely full of crap, and think they're the best around," Zidane said.
"Oh, like Kuja? He must've gotten it from Garland," Harry said with a smirk.
"That'd explain a lot," Zidane chuckled, enjoying their little verbal tennis match at Garland's expense.
"Silence!" Garland snapped.
"Isn't it ironic to yell the word silence?" Zidane asked. "Anyway, we destroyed Soulcage, there's no more Mist coming from the Iifa Tree. Your fiddling around with the souls of Gaia is over!"
"You are mistaken," Garland retorted. "The Iifa Tree you see on your world's surface is but the roots of the true tree, which is growing around Gaia's crystal, the repository of all Gaian souls, where they return to, and where they, normally, would be released. Killing the Soulcage merely prevented the stagnant souls being released onto the Mist Continent. Even as we speak, Gaian souls are being diverted out of the system, while Terran souls replace them. Come, I will show you the truth…"
They came to a gigantic room, where a massive image of a planet with a glowing red core hung above them. Garland walked up some stairs to a raised platform. "You see this? This is an observatory, of sorts, but where most such places look to the skies, this sees into Gaia. Into the centre of the world, where the cycle of souls takes place. For the moment, the red light of Gaia waxes, but soon, it will wane, and the blue light of Terra will take its place. That light is that of the crystal at the centre of all worlds, even Terra's. The Iifa Tree's true form surrounds that. You can't stop the Iifa Tree simply by preventing the dispersal of Mist."
"…And I was created to replace Kuja, to accelerate this?" Zidane asked, gesturing at the hologram.
"Of course."
"And my life, all the laughter and tears I felt, I shared, on Gaia, mean nothing to you?"
"Your destiny is a higher one," Garland said. "You are destined to live amongst the stars for eternity. That is your purpose, Zidane."
"I don't want it to be my purpose!" Zidane yelled. "Don't you understand? No, of course you can't! You're an unfeeling golem, no better than those Genomes you brought to life without souls. You can't feel, you can't think outside of your purpose! You'd even go so far as to murder children who have done you no wrong, simply because they may be a threat to you one day! Children like Harry! What if they weren't? What if they could have helped you get Terra back to life, but without all this?"
"Impossible," Garland retorted.
"That's your problem, Garland!" Zidane snarled. "No imagination, just cold logic! You don't even stop to consider what you might have done to these people! No empathy, no compassion, just 'Terra must survive, no matter what'. If that is the attitude the Terrans had, not caring about others who might get hurt, then maybe they don't deserve survival! You brought pain, death, and misery to all of my friends!"
"You disappoint me, Zidane. I had hoped you would be a perfect Angel of Death."
"I am an Angel of Death. Yours," Zidane said, his eyes narrowing.
"Well, you share your wit with Kuja at least," Garland said. "But soon, you won't even have that." He raised a hand, and made a fist, intoning, "The body becomes a vessel, eager to greet a new soul."
Suddenly, Zidane's eyes rolled up in the back of his head, and he sagged to the ground. "What the hell did you do to him?!" Harry demanded.
"I activated a special mechanism in Genomes, used in case the ensouled ones get rebellious. He merely sleeps, but he will never awaken, not with his soul, anyway. I will take him to where I will extract his soul. Under normal circumstances, he would be too good to make into a regular Genome, but I have no choice. And as for you, Harry, I will end your existence here and now." He unleashed a magical shockwave that sent Harry flying into a nearby wall. "The summoners must die. Any potential threats to my existence and that of Terra must be wiped out. However, you intrigue me. I will fight you into submission, extract your soul, and find out more about this other world you lived on. Perhaps, after Gaia, I can make that a new target."
Harry felt the anger welling up within him at Garland's words. Not that he had many people he could say he liked on Earth: he only really knew the Dursleys, and people at school. But his adoptive parents had loved him, hadn't they? And if Garland succeeded, Gaia would be wiped out, along with his friends, and even his family.
The feeling of Trance, as he had with Kuja, filled his body. He flung out a hand at Garland. "SCATHE!" he roared.
A massive blue beam of light seared towards Garland, who, caught by surprise, unlike Kuja, was consumed by the beam. An explosion rocked the observatory, masonry falling down around them.
As the smoke cleared, an object bounced over to Harry, and rolled to a halt at his feet. It was the head of Garland, his features still set in an expression of astonishment. And then, amazingly, it moved, the features moving. "You were indeed a threat. I just didn't realise how much," Garland rasped, his voice having a metallic edge to it now.
Harry didn't bother to respond. Instead, as the Trance flowed out of him, he went over to Zidane, and began shaking him. "Zidane, wake up! Wake up!"
After a moment, Zidane muttered, "Lemme sleep in, Blank." Then his eyes snapped open, and he sat upright. "Harry! Are you all right?" he demanded.
"I'm okay, Zidane. You?"
"Of course! Where's Garland?"
"He…umm, I lost my head…and then he lost his," Harry said, indicating Garland's head.
Zidane looked over at the scowling Garland, and laughed. "Oh my God, that is perfect! The head of Terra!"
Harry couldn't help but laugh, as macabre as it was. Still, had he actually killed Garland outright, would he be feeling so cheerful? And could they do anything to stop Terra's plans?
Who knew? But that wasn't going to stop him, or the others, from trying…
CHAPTER 17 ANNOTATIONS:
Sorry about the wait. Here you have it, the latest chapter. The fight against Kuja, of course, will happen in the next chapter. But thanks to Zidane knowing about his purpose, and Harry saving him from having his soul sucked out, there's no need for a 'You're Not Alone' sequence.
No numbered annotations this time.