The screen switches to Eiko and Dagger.
Eiko: Fresh air! Finally! Zidane is unbelievable.... Asking us ladies to
fight a monster like that... Oh my gosh!!!
Dagger: What's wrong, Eiko?
Eiko: Oh, I completely forgot! And we're all alone, too!
Dagger: Wh-What is it?
Eiko: There's a question I need to ask you! I've been waiting for a
chance to ask you for the longest time! Give me an honest answer, okay?
Dagger: Well, you have to ask the question before I can answer...
Eiko: ...Do you love... Zidane?
Dagger: Wh-What? Why...?
Eiko: You have to answer me! Do you love him or not?
The airship arrived.
Eiko: Hey, it's the airship! Zidane's back!
Dagger: ......
Eiko: Did you just say something, Dagger?
Dagger: Let's go, Eiko!
Eiko: H-Hey, wait! That's not fair!
In the airship...
Zidane: Well, now that we've got everyone, we can head to Shimmering
Island... (saw Amarant) Hey, Amarant. I didn't know you were here.
Amarant: So we'll go to Shimmering Island, then to Terra?
Zidane: Yeah. It's near Esto Gaza. It won't take long.
Amarant: ...... Tell me something... What motivates you to do that?
Zidane: What motivates me...? I want to find out what Kuja is after. I
also want to know more about the planet Terra....
Amarant: Can't resist the urge to step into an unknown world, huh...?
Zidane: What, you think I'm going there just to satisfy my curiosity?
Amarant: Am I wrong?
Zidane: No, I guess you're right.
Amarant: I'm beginning to understand why he won and I lost... I lost
against his way of thinking...
The airship flew to Shimmering Island. In the airship...
Crew Member: Mister Zidane! I'm showing abnormal readings!
Erin: It feels like the ship is getting sucked in!
Steiner: Zidane! It might be dangerous to keep going!
Eiko: Are we gonna bust in on the airship!?
Zidane: All we know is that this is the entrance...
Dagger: I heard the people of Esto Gaza call it the 'Spirit Road'...
Zidane: The path that leads souls to Terra...
Dagger: Maybe it's a teleportation gate, like the one in Kuja's
hideout...
Erin: Mister Zidane! We're going to get sucked in! What shall I do!?
Eiko: What now, Zidane? We may not be able to turn back!
Zidane: Alright, then... Keep moving forward! We're going out on the
deck!
Eiko: What do you mean?
Zidane: If Dagger is right, we can jump into the teleporter!
Dagger: From this height!?
Zidane: We'll be fine! Considering all that we've been through, this is
nothing!
We watch a movie of Zidane's group jumping down into the teleporter.
Zidane's group are now in Terra.
Zidane: Could this be...Terra?
Zidane: What's this light? Could it be...
A flash appeared.
Zidane: !?
The old man appeared.
Old Man: So you finally came. The time has come at last... The one who
folds time is here.
Zidane: Who the heck are you!?
Old Man: Ask my name, will you? Then let us ask... What is your name?
Zidane: Me!? My name is-
Old Man: What is you name?
Zidane: Hey, what's your problem!? I'm trying to tell you my name.
Old Man: So you believe a given name has meaning... Boy, you have been
bewitched by the light of the blue moon.
Zidane: What do you know? You must be from Terra.
Old Man: You know nothing, and that is all. Come and see for yourself...
See what Terra is, and what you are...
Zidane: H-Hey, hang on!
The old man disappeared.
Zidane: He's gone...
Dagger: Zidane!
Dagger arrived.
Zidane: Dagger! Are you alright?
Dagger: Yes. Everyone's fine. Come, let's hurry...
Zidane chose Steiner, Dagger, and Quina for his group. Zidane's group
moves on. On his way, Zidane saw a mysterious girl and follows her.
Zidane's group arrived at Bran Bal.
Zidane: What the heck...? What is this place?
Dagger: It looks really artificial. So different than before.
Zidane: Yeah... But it doesn't seem very lively.
Girl: Welcome home.
Zidane: !?
Girl: This is where you belong. The place to which you shall offer
yourself... ...is here.
The girl disappeared.
Zidane: Hold on a second! What the heck are you talking about!? Wh-What
the-
We watch a movie of Zidane and Dagger seeing the Invincible coming up.
Dagger suddenly see a flashback of the past with the eye scope and she
collapsed.
Zidane: Dagger! Wake up! Dagger! Dammit! What the heck is going on!?
Voice of the Old Man: You are completely oblivious. Just like a newborn
child. You don't know why you were given life, or for what purpose you
exist... You simply shout to emphasize your life...your own existence. You
are completely oblivious.
Later...
Zidane: We gotta find a place for her to rest!
Steiner: Zidane! Leave the princess to me. You must go reconnoiter at
once!
Zidane: Yeah, you're right. There's gotta be some place around here...
Watch over her, Steiner! I'll be right back!
Zidane's group proceeds to the village of Bran Bal. In there...
Zidane: !? Wh-What's going on? Everyone has a tail...and their hair is
just like mine!
Zidane proceeds to the inn. In there...
Zidane: This looks like a good place for Dagger to get some rest.
But...what's up with everyone here? They're all so...stiff. I dunno why...but
I have a bad feeling about this place. Well, first things first. I
gotta bring Dagger back here!
Meanwhile...
Eiko: 'Scuse me... (to the citizen) Do you have any medicine...? ... (to the
other citizen) Hello... Is there a place I can buy some medicine around
here?
Citizen: ...
Eiko: Hello!? I'm asking if you have any medicine! Ngaaa! How come this
place is full of weirdos? Everyone has a tail like Zidane... Aww, if I
could find some Pimo-pimo herbs, I could make some wake-up powder for
her... But is this my lucky day? No! (saw the mysterious girl) Huh!?
Found ya! You're that girl, right? It's your fault Dagger collapsed,
you know... Oh, never mind. Say! Don't you have any medicine at all?
Girl: She will soon awaken.
Eiko: How do you know?
Girl: Where is your man?
Eiko: M-My man? MY man!? Are you talking about Zidane!? Even I never
called him that! But too bad for you! He and Dagger are super hot for
each other! You don't have a chance with him.
Girl: Tell him I am waiting in the underground laboratory.
The girl left.
Eiko: Oh, the nerve! What makes you think I'd tell him that!? Hey,
where do you think you're going!? What a bimbo! Uh-oh! I don't have
time for this!
In the inn...
Zidane: Dagger...
Steiner: Princess... Why must you suffer more...?
Zidane: Dammit!
Freya: What's the matter, Zidane? You haven't been yourself at all.
Zidane: What the heck do you mean, I haven't been myself...?
Freya: ...
Zidane: I'm sorry... I don't even know what's wrong with me. I just...I
just can't concentrate with this blue light...
Dagger: Ah... Uhhh...
Steiner: Princess! You have awoken!
Freya: What made you lose consciousness so suddenly?
Dagger: I remembered.
Zidane: Remembered what?
Dagger: It wasn't the storm that destroyed Madain Sari. It was...It was
the eye on that airship that destroyed Madain Sari. You remember, don't
you? The eye was also there when Alexandria was leveled.
Freya: Yes, there was a large eye in the sky above from which light
emanated.
Zidane: Now that you mention it... It was there when Bahamut went wild at
the Iifa Tree.
Dagger: Yes... It was there in the sky. It must be the same airship.
Steiner: WHAT!? Then that must be the ship that slew Her Majesty...
Zidane: Rusty!
Steiner: Oh... I-I'm sorry, Princess!
Dagger: Don't worry about it. I've already come to terms with that.
That ship took everything from me... It took away my parents, my
homeland, Alexandria...everything.
Freya: How terrible...
Suddenly, Eiko came in the inn.
Eiko: Dagger! Are you alright?
Dagger: Yes, I'm fine...
Eiko: No, you're not! You're still pale! You gotta rest! Hmm? How come
everyone looks so pale? What's wrong?
Freya: No need to be concerned. A strange place such as this is cause
enough for exhaustion.
Eiko: Oh... Hey! Where are you going, Zidane? Oh, that's right! That
weird girl! The girl that led us here said something strange again! She
said she was waiting for you in some underground laboratory! What a
pervert!
Zidane walked out of the inn.
Eiko: Zidane?
Zidane proceeds to the underground laboratory. In there, Zidane talks
to the girl.
Zidane: ... Oh, so that's what's going on... Geez, I should've guessed... So,
this is what you wanted to show me?
Girl: Yes. I am glad you understand.
Zidane: I don't wanna understand! Sorry, but I'm not like that. I mean
all these guys with tails, who look just like me... They're bunch of
zombies.
Girl: They are my peers. We are Genomes. We live in this village.
Zidane: Genomes? Is that what they're called?
Girl: Not just them, but you and me, too. It is the name of the seed
given to all of us. Its name is Genome.
Zidane: Talk about a let-down. Who would've guessed that the home I've
yearned for would be a dump like this. No wonder I never found it. It's
not even on Gaia!
Girl: Why are you not happy? You have returned to the place of your
birth.
Zidane: Happy? You guys can process that emotion? Look at 'em! Look at
all their blank faces!
Girl: What can we do? After all, we are made that way. And we are built
to watch over each other and work together as soulless Genomes.
Zidane: What's it all for!? Get to the point already! How come I grew
up on Gaia if I was born here!? I'm alive! I have a soul! Why is
everyone here so...
Girl: Because you are...special.
Zidane: What!?
Girl: We are mere vessels. You have been given a greater purpose. The
will of Garland is absolute...
Zidane: Garland? Who's that?
The girl went upstairs and Zidane follows her. In the first floor...
Girl: Garland watches over this planet. His mission is to restore the
people of Terra.
Zidane: R-Restore the people of Terra? You mean people besides these
guys here?
Girl: They are merely vessels. So am I, and so are you. But the true
people of Terra have been asleep for ages, waiting for their time to
come. When the time is right, the light of this planet will change from
blue to red, and Gaia will become Terra.
Zidane: Wait a sec! So the people of Terra are out to take over Gaia!?
Girl: What else can there be? Terra has always absorbed new planets to
survive. And when the time comes, the souls of the people of Terra will
occupy the Genomes. Such is the restoration of the people of Terra.
Zidane: Why do they have to be so tedious!? Why don't they just wipe
out with magic like they did Alexandria!?
Girl: Once, Garland tried to use a more forceful method, but failed.
Zidane: Then he should just quit and leave Gaia alone!
Girl: Because of his failure, he was forced to wait a long time. ...To
wait until Gaia's civilizations gained tremendous power. The power to
use eidolons.
Zidane: So that's why you attacked the summoner's village and destroyed
Alexandria.
Girl: Planets have a cycle of souls. Souls are born from the planet,
and then return to it. Garland planned to gain control of that very
cycle... ...and you were supposed to help him achieve that.
Zidane: What!?
Girl: Garland is waiting for you. Come...
Zidane: What do you think you're doing!? I don't care about all this
Terra and Gaia stuff!
Meanwhile in the inn...
Eiko: Zidane isn't back yet. And with Dagger not feeling well... I wonder
where he is.
Dagger: Eiko...
Eiko: No, Dagger! You can't get up yet!
Dagger: I'm alright. Listen, I want to ask you a favor.
Eiko: Oh? Just tell me, and I'll get right on it!
Dagger: I want you to go find Zidane.
Eiko: Huh? Oh, sure. Okay. Oh, I get it! You're getting jealous!
Dagger: No, I'm not... I just have a feeling something terrible is going
to happen.
Eiko: Alright! I'll go and get him. So you just stay here and rest!
Eiko goes out and there, she saw Vivi.
Vivi: Hey, Eiko. Zidane just went-
Eiko: You saw Zidane!?
Vivi: Uh, yeah...
Eiko: Hello!? Why didn't you stop him!?
Vivi: Huh? How come... He was acting kinda strange. If you're looking for
him, I'll go with you!
Vivi joins Eiko. Eiko and Vivi then saw Amarant.
Eiko: Say, Amarant... Did Zidane go this way?
Amarant: Yeah, seems so. He had a real serious look on his face.
Eiko: I knew something was wrong...
Amarant: Gonna go look for him, right?
Eiko: Huh?
Amarant: I'm tryin' to say I'll go with you. Catch my drift?
Amarant joined Eiko's group. Eiko's group moves on and Eiko's group
talks to the girl.
Eiko: Now, you listen to me! Where did you take Zidane?
Girl: He went on his own to see Garland.
Eiko: Garland!? Oooo, THAT's a sinister name! But Zidane wouldn't just
leave us hanging!
Girl: He went... Yes, he went to find out the reason for his existence.
Eiko: Liar! That's a terrible lie!
Girl: 'I am an enemy of the people of Gaia,' he said as he walked
through the gate to Pandemonium.
Eiko: ! We-We gotta tell the others!
Eiko's group went back to Bran Bal.
Girl: Heaven grant the wandering souls eternal repose...
The screen switches to Zidane in Pandemonium.
Zidane: So, this must be Garland's haunted mansion... Talk about bad
taste in interior decorating. Alright... Time to teach this tyrant a
thing or two...
Zidane moves on.
Voice of the Old Man: So, we meet again.
Zidane: !?
The old man appeared.
Zidane: Who are you!?
Old Man: Twelve years ago, I lost one of my most prized Genomes. I
created him and sent him to Gaia to disrupt the cycle of souls there.
You are that Genome... I am glad you have returned.
Zidane: Shut up! Nobody tells me what to do! And I didn't come here to
answer to you! Lemme guess... You must be Garland!
Garland (old man) And what if I am?
Zidane: Then you're goin' down! But first, you're gonna tell me
everything! Like, why did I grow up on Gaia, and why do you want to
destroy it!?
Garland: I have no intention of destroying Gaia. I only wish to make
Gaia to Terra.
Zidane: What did you just say!?
Garland: Of course, not everything went as planned. You growing up on
Gaia, for example. There is another one built as you were. He may be
the one who threw a wrench into my gears.
Zidane: He!? Who the heck are you talking about!?
Garland: Someone you know quite well. Follow me... The time when the aura
of Gaia will turn to the crimson glow of Terra has not yet come. I may
need your help anyway.
Zidane follows Garland.
Zidane: Stop! Now, tell me everything!
Garland: I constructed the Genomes to be vessels for the souls of the
people of Terra when they awaken. About 24 years ago, I gave life to a
Genome that was much like you. His will was too strong to make him into
a proper vessel, and I even considered discarding him. But then I
thought that I should put his strength to use. I sent that Genome as my
servant, to disrupt the cycle of souls on Gaia.
Zidane: Yeah, so tell me who he is already!
Garland: Do you not yet know? You and he are so much alike.
Zidane: Alike? I've never met anyone like me...
Garland: You judge by appearances. I mean someone with a soul similar
to yours. The one I sent to Gaia might also be called your brother... And
his name is Kuja.
Zidane: Kuja!? He's a Genome!? Impossible! He doesn't even have a tail...
Garland: He is only hiding it. He denies his own identity. He rejects
the meaning of his existence and tries to assert his own individuality.
Don't you see resemblance?
Zidane: Shut up! I'm not like him at all!
Garland: He said the same thing when speaking about the other Genomes:
'I'm not like these guys.'
Zidane continues to follow Garland.
Garland: His ambition was unbecoming of a Genome, but it was perfect
for the mission I gave him. To bring war and chaos to Gaia... That was
what I sent him to do. To induce an unnaturally chaotic flow.
Zidane: So then, why-
Garland: The disruption of the flow of souls is best brought about by
war. And what he did for me far exceeded my greatest expectations.
Zidane: What about me!? How did I end up on Gaia!?
Garland: When you received the gift of life in Bran Bal, Kuja could not
bear it. He could not bear to see a Genome with more power than his
own; he felt threatened. Kuja discarded you. He dropped you onto Gaia,
the world he would destroy.
Zidane: So I was to be your slave, just like Kuja, to start a war on
Gaia?
Garland: That is correct. I did not expect Kuja to abandon you, but I
believed it was his nature. And to him, bringing war to Gaia would
prove his victory over you. Perhaps it is because of his desire to
justify his existence that he let you live as well.
Zidane: So, that's why the blood of thousands had to be spilled?
Garland: Are you referring to Kuja's ambition? Or to our plan to
disrupt the cycle of souls?
Zidane: Both! And what exactly do you gain by disrupting that cycle of
souls, or whatever...
Garland: We must sort the souls. I want to disrupt Gaia's cycle and
drain its souls, filling the void with the souls of Terra. To speed the
cycle of souls is to speed the work as a whole. Thus, war... And in time...
Gaia's souls are gone, and Gaia becomes Terra.
Zidane: But...how!?
Garland: You saw it with your own eyes. You saw the Iifa Tree and the
Mist it emits. The role of the Iifa Tree is that of Soul Divider. The
Mist you see comprises the stagnant souls of Gaia...
Zidane: Oh yeah? But we stopped the Mist! So much for that!
Garland: All you saw was the back of the tree... Even now, the Iifa Tree
blocks the flow of Gaia's souls, while it lets those of Terra flow
freely. Come and see for yourself. See the true form of this planet.
Zidane still follows Garland.
Zidane: What is this?
Garland: Think of it as an observatory. A place to measure the radiance
of Gaia and Terra.
Zidane: What are you talking about? And what is this weird light?
Garland: That is the center of the planet. The end and the beginning of
the cycle of souls. The light remains Gaia's, for now, but when the
blue changes to crimson, all will belong to Terra, and its restoration
will be complete. That is why I wrapped up the light in the Iifa Tree,
to prevent the cycle of the judgment of souls on Gaia from inside the
planet. Such is the Iifa Tree's true purpose, its true form. All you
saw was its material form. The flow of Gaia's souls cannot be changed
simply by stopping the disposal of Mist.
Zidane: So...Kuja is just an angel of death who sends souls to the Tree
of Iifa.
Garland: Yes, my angel of death. But only until you came of age.
Zidane: What do you mean!?
Garland: His soul is not eternal... I was going to create you next, after
all.
Zidane: You mean you won't need Kuja's soul once I grow stronger than
him?
Garland: Precisely... Soon, that time will come.
Zidane: ...
Zidane approaches closer.
Garland: Well...now you should be fully aware of the meaning of your
existence... !?
Zidane: Yeah, I'm aware of all the laughter, all the tears I've shared
with the people I grew up with on Gaia.
Garland: Forget all that. You are destined to live among the stars for
all eternity. You have the power, the position, and the motive to do
it.
Zidane: I wouldn't want that kind of power...if I only had a place to
call home... My brothers in Tantalus, Vivi, Freya, Amarant, Quina,
Steiner, Eiko, and...Dagger... My home is with them in Gaia! If you say I
have a motive, then it's to punish all of you who brought pain to my
friends! I'll destroy Terra! That's reason enough for my birth here as
a Genome!
Garland: Regrettable... I thought your soul would be perfect for a new
angel of death...
Zidane: I AM the new angel of death! Yours!!!
Garland: Don't you know what it means to meet your maker?
Zidane: Shut up! I've heard enough of your crap! I'm taking you out,
right here, right now!
Garland: Foolishness... The body becomes a vessel, which greets a new
soul...
Zidane: (feeling strange) What's happening!?
Zidane collapsed.
Garland: He's too good to make into a regular Genome... But I have no
choice.
The screen switches to Kuja.
Kuja: ...... I can't believe I actually returned to this place, but... Soon...
Soon, the power will be mine alone. Mhwahahaha... Just you wait, Garland!
And you too, Zidane! I'll exact sweet revenge upon you both for
insulting me! I'll make the people of both Gaia and Terra know whom
rules over all of them! Ha-Haha... Ahahahahahaha...
Now we are with Zidane unconscious in the room. Zidane is dreaming.