Decisive
Zidane is shocked to find the world filled with people that look like himself. But they're emotionless, seemingly detached from the world. Only one seems to have any sort of control on herself, and leads Zidane through Terra to their hometown of Bran Bal. Zidane realises he's found the birthplace he'd been searching for.
Where the heart is Vivi wanders Bran Bal, trying to talk to its citizens. But like the black mages had been, the monkey-tailed people don't say a word. After much prodding, he gets one to speak, though he doesn't say much. Zidane wanders up to Vivi, tells him there's no point, but Vivi isn't about to give up: he's sure he can get through to him, like he did with the black mages. He sees there's more behind their vacant expressions that meets the eye. But Zidane isn't too sure.
Zidane heads off with the girl on his own, leaving Eiko to fret about him. She goes around Bran Bal and recruits Amarant and Vivi to come looking for Zidane with her. When the trio reaches the girl, she tells him Zidane has labeled himself an enemy of Gaia. Frightened, Eiko runs back to tell the others.
Elsewhere, Garland leads Zidane through Pandemonium, explaining how he'd made Zidane in an effort to create a perfect Genome bent on destruction. He reveals Kuja is Zidane's brother, and that he'd sent him to Gaia to cause chaos, in order to clear the way for the new, revived Terran race. Zidane refuses to accept his fate, remembering his true family and friends he'd made on Gaia, but his fears begin to overtake him, and he collapses into nightmares.
Vivi § I really learned a lot by traveling with you, Zidane.
Zidane § Yeah, right. I have nothing to teach.
Though the voices of his friends speak positively to him, he reacts negatively, overcome by the reality of his existence. But then, he hears real voices, and awakens at a well due slap from Eiko. She and Vivi have come to rescue him. Zidane is angry that they've intruded, even calling poor Vivi a "stupid brat" when he insists Zidane let he and Eiko help him.
Zidane lurches from the room, and Vivi and Eiko are instantly locked in it. Monsters begin to attack him, but he ignores Eiko and Vivi's pleas to let them help. In battle, Amarant and Freya arrive just in time. When the monster's defeated, Zidane ignores them as well and continues on alone.
In the next room, Steiner and Quina are fighting a monster on their own. Zidane helps out, but afterwards heads off on his own, yet again. When he faces off against a tough monster, Dagger arrives and scolds him for being a selfish dumbarse. After they slay the beast, Quina and Steiner head in to give him a bit more of a scolding. Zidane finally accepts the fact he's got friends, and they head back to rescue the others. They're happy to hear he's changed his mind.
Vivi § Don't ever leave us again, okay?
Zidane § Never...
The group heads onward into Pandemonium, eventually finding Garland and fighting him. When he's defeated, Kuja appears and kicks Garland off the podium. But before he dies, Garland tells Kuja the truth of his existence: that he will die very soon, and won't be able to create the perfect eternity he envisions. Enraged, Kuja attacks the group. During battle, he Trances for the first time, and as the knowledge of his power sinks in, he releases his ultimate attack.
Pandemonium is falling to pieces. Zidane and Dagger run off to save the people of Bran Bal while Vivi and the others hijack Kuja's airship, the Invisible. They barely escape and return to Gaia. But Gaia has been covered in Mist.
Vivi runs up to No.288 at the cemetery in the Black Mage Village. He tells the black mage that the Genomes are getting along fine. When he runs back to the village, Zidane walks up to No.288 and thanks it for taking in the Genomes. He ponders Vivi's words of wisdom with the black mage:
Zidane § He said, "If you guys can get along with the Genomes, maybe humans and black mages
can live alongside each other some day..."
Later, the group gathers and makes plans to face Kuja. The Genome girl who had lead Zidane, Mikoto, tells them their efforts will be in vain, given how powerful Kuja is. But no one is convinced they'll be defeated, and so they move forward to where Kuja awaits at the Iifa tree.
As the Invincible steers toward the portal above the Iifa tree, hundreds of silver dragons emerge. From behind, Regent Cid's airship army rises from the clouds and attacks, helping to clear the way. As the Invincible enters the portal, it's attacked by a huge dragon, which the party defeats. Inside, Zidane hears his name being called... Garland, from somewhere beyond death, informs Zidane he's reached Memoria, a place built on the memories of those who visit it.
As the group traverses Memoria, they discover truths about Terra and Gaia's past. The story Garland tells them is of two worlds, one old and one new. When the old world, Gaia, becomes corrupt and used, the citizens reach out to the new world, Terra, to take it as their own. He tells Zidane that all memories go back to a single source: the Crystal. His voice disappears when the party reaches space, and he asks of Zidane two final requests: take care of Kuja and protect the Crystal.
Zidane, Vivi and the others race across the final stretch of Memoria, a place created entirely of crystal. At the end, they find Kuja in front of the central Crystal. When he swears to destroy it, Zidane leads the attack, but Kuja sics Deathguise on them instead of battling them himself.
When Deathguise is defeated, Kuja is stunned. He attacks, and after an intense battle, he's defeated. But not wanting to go alone, he casts Ultima on everyone, including himself. The group falls through the crumbling ground to a platform below. Zidane is the first to arise. From the darkness, a voice calls out to Zidane, telling him that Kuja's self-defeat has helped bring about its own plans: to banish the world and return everything to nonexistence.
Zidane tells it to shut its face, and chooses three others to fight with him. The other party members give up their energy to provide the final group with strength. Together, the group fights Necron and defeats it, cementing their will to live. The group is transported away before the creature blows to bits.
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