"When the planet was created, the power was pushed into the center. There it swirled and twisted and formed into a powerful magic. But no soul was strong enough to hold it, so it sat waited for the right soul. But when they came, it blended with the soul and gave them true magic. The magic went to the one, with the eyes the color of the planet. The eyes of blue…"
The thick branches of the Iifa Tree swayed in the late afternoon breeze. The tree was no longer the evil portal that it was, the transformation process had been stopped. Gaia was saved and the people were safe. The tree now was beautiful thing, to be loved by the world and not feared. I looked like a normal tree. Zidane sighed and whipped the sweat from his forehead. He didn't have any idea how long had been walking from tree to the main land. He remembered talking to Kuja and the giant branch coming to crush them. He remembered throwing himself over Kuja's limp body and closing his eyes waiting for impact. But the bone crushing impact never came; the root made a cave around them protecting them from the impact. Zidane sat up and looked around, the Iifa Tree had spared by why? Zidane shook off the memory and started to climb up the steep cliff. He still wished that Kuja would have made it, maybe they would have found a way to get along…
Zidane had to laugh to himself, maybe there was a way. He secretly told himself to form a relationship with is sister, Mikoto. She was all he had left as a family, a friend that he could relate to. Although he hadn't spent anytime at all on Terra, he still felt like he was part of that life and that world. Zidane pulled himself onto a ledge and took a deep breath. It was very tiring to climb this ledge and Zidane knew that he needed to get in better shape. He sighed and sat down on the ledge and stared at the tree. It was so beautiful now, he just wished Dagger could see it like it is now. Zidane watched the tree sway in the wind, moving so gracefully. He smiled even though his situation looked pretty hopeless. Shaking off his doubts of ever seeing his beloved Dagger again, Zidane stood up and continued up the cliff. It only took him about another hour to make it all the way but when he finally did, he never felt so glad.
Zidane took a deep breath and looked at the tree. Now that he away from it, the tree didn't seem so far away. Zidane watched the tree for a moment his eyes going from branch to branch looking with keen interest. Zidane's eyes fell upon a branch towards the bottom; there was a person on it. Zidane made his eyes little slits and tried to get clearer image but he couldn't, they were too far away. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a tiny telescope and looked through it. He could see them now it was a girl. She had long, jet-black hair and from Zidane could see bright blue eyes. She seemed to be watching him and when Zidane decided in his head to leave, she waved with a smile on her face. Zidane pilled the telescope away and made a face and then put it back to his eye, she was gone. Zidane checked the rest of tree looking for her but she wasn't anywhere in sight.
Zidane sighed and put the telescope away; he didn't have a clue who she was but somewhere deep in his heart he knew he knew her from somewhere. But he didn't where or when. Zidane shook it off and turned his back to the Iifa Tree and walked away. He was walking away from the pain of his past and back into the loving arms of the girl he loved, and the friends that cared about him.
()()~()()
Some Time Later…
()()~()()
"Zidane, is something wrong?" Dagger asked. Zidane came back from the world he was in and looked over his shoulder. Dagger was standing in the doorway a look of concern dotted her face. Zidane smiled, he loved her so much. Zidane gave her a half smile and looked back out the window. Dagger nit her eyebrows together and walked over Zidane and put her hands on his shoulders. He looked up at her and put his hand on hers. They stared out the window together in deep silence together, both thinking about the same thing.
"Come on Zidane, tell me what's the matter. You know you can tell me anything?" Dagger pestered. Zidane sighed and looked up at her.
"Dagger…when I was leaving the Iifa Tree, I saw someone standing among the branches. It was girl and for some reason I felt like I knew her from somewhere. I need to find out who she is." Zidane declared. Dagger had a glint of worry in her eyes and Zidane caught it. He smiled, stood up and took Dagger into his arms. "Don’t worry, you know I love only you. I just have this feeling that she's from my past…from Terra." Dagger smiled and pulled him closer to her.
"You just be careful out there okay?" Dagger replied. Zidane nodded and headed for the door. Dagger waved and Zidane waved back. Dagger blew a kiss and Zidane grinned. He was off to the place that was evil. Back to the place where he had so many memories.
()()~()()
"Good luck Zidane, we'll be waiting for you in five hours. If you're more than two hours late we'll come looking for you!" Steiner called out. Zidane gave him a thumbs up and watched the airship fly off. He smiled, Zidane was happy that Steiner had finally taking a liking to him. During most of their adventure, Steiner was cruel and was always snapping at him. Now, half a year later, Steiner was one of Zidane's best friends. If was pretty ironic in a way, one minute Steiner was threatening to keep the crap out of him and the next he was more than willing to head into the Iifa Tree with him. The whole adventure in general taught him to treat life a little differently. Zidane smiled, looked at the Iifa Tree and sighed. It was going to be a long day
Zidane reached up and pulled himself higher into the tremendous tree. He had been climbing for only about an hour and he was making pretty good time. He sighed and sat down to take a break. Zidane lay back and stared through the branches of the tree deep in thought. He smiled slightly to himself and closed his eyes, although he didn't want to Zidane could feel himself drifting into sleep. He tried to fight it off and before he knew it, Zidane was fast asleep.
()()~()()
He dreamed that he was back on Terra but the planet was still a mess from what Kuja had done to it. Zidane grimaced when he saw the damage the Genome town had taken. The houses were just piles of ruble with items spilled all over the road. Zidane stepped over the debreey and tried to figure out where he was going. He felt like he was just wondering, but also like he had a place to be, to go. Zidane shoved his hands in his pockets and continued down the street. The town was dead silent, nothing moved, nothing spoke and nothing breathed. Zidane sighed and looked at a house. A sudden burst of movement from a mess of house made him jump.
Zidane ran over to the house and started throwing the pieces of house to the side looking for the source of the movement. The pile seemed endless, even though he threw pieces in all directions the pile never decreased. Zidane felt a lump grow in his throat as the pile behind him grew but he never once saw a body. After what seemed like a hour of frantic a hand was found through the ruble. Zidane felt a glimmer of hope as the pieces started flying faster and the body of a Genome. She brushed the dust from her face and picked her up. She looked so familiar; Zidane laid her down in the street and cleared her hair from her face. It was then that he knew who she was.
"Mikoto!" Zidane exclaimed, "I thought you got out!" Mikoto groaned and looked into Zidane's eyes. She let out a tiny smile, reached up and touched his face.
"Zidane…brother…you came back…for me? Why…?" she whispered. Zidane took her hand and looked into her eyes.
"I would never just abandon my only living sibling. I love you so Mikoto and I'm your big brother. I'm supposed to protect you." Mikoto smiled and closed her eyes.
"I'm so tired brother…I need to…sleep." With that Mikoto became limp in Zidane arms. His younger sister lay dead in his own arms and he couldn't prevent it. Zidane folded her arms over her stomach and stood up. He was in a daze, not really knowing where he was going. Zidane glanced down at Mikoto, she looked so peaceful, like she was just sleeping and she would wake up. If he wished enough. But deep down he knew that she wouldn't, she finally had peace. Zidane turned and looked down the street. He blinked and there standing there was Garland grinning at him. Zidane felt his eyes grow large as he tried to blink the image away. A blink, Garland was gone. A blink, Garland was directly in front of him. Before Zidane could react Garland reached and grabbed him by the neck. Garland smiled and lifted Zidane clear off his feet.
"You were made to the perfect killing machine and I see you mourn. Where did I go wrong?" Garland said to Zidane lifting him higher into the air. Zidane struggled to take in a breath,
"You lost." Zidane declared. Garland did not look very happy with that. He tightened his grip cutting all the air from Zidane and crushing his windpipe.
"If I couldn't take the good from you, then I'll settle for squeezing the life out of you. Say goodbye Zidane." Garland making a fist around Zidane's neck. Zidane started to struggle to break free, to have the grip loosened, anything. No relief came and Zidane started to see evening stars dance in front of his eyes. Garland grinned as he saw the life slowly draining from Zidane's eyes, this was the greatest moment ever. To see the one who let you down suffer. Zidane could feel his muscles start to fall limp and he couldn't fight anymore. The stars were now black dots, black dots that seemed to be slowly clouding his vision. Zidane glanced down and saw Garland watching him, a smile of content on his face. Zidane closed his eyes and felt them start to roll back…
()()~()()
Zidane woke up; he didn't have a clue for how long he had been sleeping. All he knew was that he dream was frightening and so real. His throat really hurt and he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Zidane sighed and stood up. He looked at the sun, the way it was positioned he guessed that he had been sleeping for only a half a hour. He was relieved; he still had time to find that girl. Zidane walked over to a giant branch and started to climb again. He didn't more than a few feet when he glanced up and saw a body swiftly move away from him, long black trailing behind her. Zidane picked up the pace and started to chase her jumping from branch to branch and gasping for breath. He finally came to a place in the branches where it seemed that they had been hollowed out. To form a sort of home, Zidane glanced around looking for the girl but she was no where in sight. He put his hands in his pockets and looked up trying to see to the top. Behind him, the girl jumped from her hiding spot and landed silently behind him. She had long jet-black hair down to her waist and bright, glowing blue eyes. She wore a pair of black pants and a navy blue T-shirt. She smiled as she crept up behind Zidane.
"I knew you would come." Came a voice from behind him.
Zidane whirled around and stared into the girl bright blue eyes. She was smiling at him, a smile of content and not evil. Zidane stared back at her, their faces unmoving. Zidane took a step back even though she seemed harmless. When he back up she smiled even wider. She grinned looked at him.
"I knew you would come, I just didn't know how long it would take you to get here." She said. Zidane looked at her,
"Who are you?" he asked. She grinned,
"You don't remember, not too surprising. You were so young back then." She paused, "My name is Sapphire and I'm a Genome just like you. I was the second Genome with a soul. I'm your older sister." Zidane stared at her his mouth hanging open unable to come to words. "Would you like to sit down?" Sapphire suggested. Zidane nodded and plopped down on the ground. Sapphire walked up to him and sat down next to him. There was a moment of silence before either of them spoke up.
"You're from Terra? But how is that possible?" Zidane asked, Sapphire looked down at the ground and spoke in a low tone.
"Three years after Kuja was born, Garland decided to try again and I was born. But he thought I was a default because I had no tail. He later found out that I was different. When Terra was created all of the magic was pushed to the center. It stayed there for centuries growing in power. It search for the right soul, a soul that the magic felt deserved and needed the magic. The planet chose me." Zidane looked at her and tried to put this information together,
"Now that I think about it, I had a dream when I was very young that voices in the distance told me that." Sapphire nodded,
"The magic is called Terra Magic and it gives the person black hair and glowing blue eyes. "The one with the eyes of blue" as the mystical voices could tell you. Well when Garland found out about my magic he knew that I wasn't the killing machine that he needed so he created you. I was only two when you were born and pitted you, to be born with no other purpose beside to dominate. Therefore when Kuja dropped you off on this planet so I followed you." She paused and got directly into his face, Zidane held his breath. "I've always followed you Zidane but you never knew it. I was always one step behind you, lurking in a corner or watching you from behind a book. I knew that I couldn't stop your destiny but I could watch your back." Sapphire stopped and backed away from Zidane coming away from his face.
"Um…what exactly does your magic do?" Zidane asked. Sapphire looked into his eyes, her blue eyes flashing.
"Garland thought that my magic was the most powerful thing in the world, that I could conquer the universe with a single chant. He was half right, it is the most powerful thing in the world but I couldn't conquer the universe with it." Sapphire paused, looked at Zidane and sighed, "Terra Magic creates a pure soul. How do you think that Kuja change so drastically? I found him after you had defeated him, when he saw me, he wanted something that no one in the world had ever been able to give to him. Peace and so I gave it to him. Terra Magic only works on the one who wants it and Kuja wanted it, so I gave him a pure soul. I have never seen anyone so happy than when Kuja felt the change. He said I had to leave, so I did. When you went back for Kuja I watched you from the top of the tree. When I knew what was going to happen I knew that I had to stop it. I talked to the planet and commanded it to stop what it was doing, that destroying you and Gaia would be wrong. The planet listened and spared your life and Gaia." Sapphire stopped talking and looked at the ground. Zidane didn't know what to think, this was all so hard to take in. he swallowed and looked at Sapphire,
"So you've always watched me?" he asked, Sapphire nodded, "Thanks, thanks a lot. It's nice to know that some cares that much to follow me for fourteen years." Zidane placed a hand on Sapphire's shoulder, "Thank you…sister." Sapphire grinned from ear to ear, she had never felt so happy in her entire life.
"Thank you Zidane for coming back." She replied. Zidane nodded and looked out into the world trying to see how much time he left before his ride came back to meet him. Two hours to go, two hours to spend getting to know his older sibling.
()()~()()
Zidane and Sapphire talked for hours about anything and everything. The airship came into few not to far away and Zidane knew that he had to go. He stood up and started to walk away from the tiny house in the tree. Before he left he turned to Sapphire and smiled,
"I'll come back and visit you every month. That's a promise." Zidane stated and Sapphire nodded, "I want you to make a promise to me though." Sapphire titled her head to the side,
"What kind of promise?" she asked. Zidane grinned,
"In four years my girlfriend and I are going to get married, I want you to promise that you'll be there." Sapphire smiled and looked at Zidane with loving eyes.
"I promise." She said. Zidane smiled and started climbing down the tree, with Sapphire watching his every move. Sapphire smiled and went back into the tree.
Four Years Later…
()()~()()
"You may now kiss the bride." The priest declared. Zidane grinned and lifted the vale from Garnet's face. They pulled each other close and brought their lips together. The crowd started to cheer and applaud and Garnet felt her ears grow hot. They pulled away and walked back down the aisle hand in hand, to the back tent to their party. Zidane felt his heart beating a mile a minute, he still couldn't believe what had happened, he was finally chained to his love forever.
()()~()()
Hour's later people were still walking around the tent, drinking and sharing a handshake with the bride and groom. The sun had dipped behind the giant Iifa Tree and shown through the sturdy branches. Garnet smiled, it was Zidane and Mikoto's idea to have the wedding and party there. She smiled as she started to talk with Dr. Tot sharing some information from over the past years.
Zidane stood talking to Blank and the rest of his group of old friends. Although it was against Steiner's judgement, Zidane insisted that they came. They each held a beer or a glass of strong liquor. Baku laughed his big belly laugh and slapped Zidane on the back.
"Hey man this isn't right! How is it possible that you get hitched before I do?!" he yelled, Zidane grinned and looked around the room. He felt betrayed, he hadn't seen Sapphire they entire time and she was no where in the Iifa Tree, he had the Knights of Pluto check. She hadn't come after, she had broken her promise to him. He glanced around the room to make sure she wasn't hiding among the people. She wasn't. Zidane looked at the door and saw a girl with long black hair making her way through the crowds. Zidane watched for only a second and then it hit him.
"Hey Blank, hold my glass foe me. I'll be right back." He handed his wineglass to Blank and started through the crowd. She had such a head start on him that he was shoving people out of the way to catch up with her. She went out the tent door, and Zidane started to push through the crowds even harder, moving faster. He burst through the tent door but she wasn't there, she was gone. He sighed and turned to go back in when he saw Mikoto watching him.
"You're looking for Sapphire aren't you?" she asked, before Zidane could answer Mikoto spoke up again, "You're looking for her because you think she didn't come to your wedding right?" Zidane sighed and looked behind him,
"She didn't come, she broke her promise." He declared. Mikoto smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. Zidane closed his eyes to fight back tears, he felt so betrayed.
"No she didn't, she came." Mikoto declared. Zidane snapped his head around and looked directly into his sisters eyes.
"What?" he asked bewildered. Mikoto smiled,
"She came, she just stood at the back staying out of sight. She didn't want you to see her because you were going to ask her to come live with us right?"
"Yeah…I was."
"Well, she didn't want that so she left without saying anything to you but I got to talk to her before she left."
"What did she say?"
"That all your life she had always been one step behind you, to watch your back. Now you are all grown up and she said that she wouldn't follow you anymore. You are on your own now." Mikoto told him. Zidane looked at the sky, at the stars starting to appear in the evening sky and the moon breaking it's way through the clouds. Mikoto smiled and looked at the sky with him. "She said that she'll write to us but we'll never see her again." Zidane nodded and looked at his younger sister and she looked back. They put their arms around each other and looked at the sky. Garnet came out from the tent and put a hand on Zidane's shoulder. He put his other arm around his new wife and the three of the watched the day turn into night.
Dear Zidane and Mikoto,
For my entire life I have always given others a pure soul but it was just today that I realized that I am not happy. I have decided to go somewhere far away, so far away and so secluded that I will have no human contact. I can't and I won't tell you where I am going but let me tell you that this will be the last time I will ever write to you. You two no longer need me; you both can live your own lives without me hovering over your shoulders. Good luck in future and never forget our true home.
Love Always
Sapphire