Day 63

Game - Final Fantasy 9, Day 63
Hours Played/Hours Total - 7-1/2 hrs / 17-1/2 hrs
Starting Point - Nearby the South Gate.
Current Goal - Make it through the South Gate and back to Alexandria (with Steiner and Dagger).
Make it Burmecia and try to help out (with Zidane and co).

What Happened - Oh dear me...I got a loooot to type up for this post. Prepare for a long post full of lots of stuff and such. It's going to be fun! (Hopefully...) Let's get started.
     As a reminder of where I was, I (Steiner and Dagger) had just reached the initial area of the South Gate. From here, I had to take a lift to the top of the mountain so that we could (technically) go around the South Gate. The actual South Gate goes through the mountains or something, and I feel like this lift was simply takings us over and to the other side of the mountains. The lift was a train car of sorts, and it worked on a system where one side would descend while the other one ascended. (Makes sense really.) As we head up, Steiner begins to praise the Princess in getting them this far. How they got a Chocobo at the forest and using the gyashl pickles to bypass the guards with ease. Of course, she is all deep in thought at the moment, and then the game switches back to Zidane and co!
     They had just finished up with Master Gizamaluke, and they left the Gizamaluke Groto to find themselves in Burmecia country...place. I'm basically there! I walk around on the world map and do a bit of exploring before heading straight for Burmecia. I found some Chocobo tracks and hopped on Choco. With the Chocograph, I managed to find another chest! However, this chest did something a little different. It put Choco to sleep and took him to...CHOCOBO'S DREAM WORLD! Once there, Choco met with a giant chocobo. He rewarded Choco's progress by making him a Blue Chocobo. This would allow me to cross rivers and shallow bodies of water. (Yaaay!) However, despite having this Chocobo update, it didn't really open any new areas for me, so I just walked around a bit and got in a few battles. However, it didn't seem like I was going to get anything new out of these monsters, so I immediately made my way to Burmecia.
     As I entered the main capital of Burmecia, the game revealed it as Burmecia, Realm of Eternal Rain. Freya mentions that she is finally returning here after FIVE YEARS! As for why she left in the first place, that is to come up later. I continued to search through the city, but it was in great shambles. Quite a few dead Burmecian soldiers were about, and many buildings were thoroughly destroyed. I made it to a large mansion and came face to face with Zorn and Thorn (Stupid jesters...). They ordered some Black Mages to attack us, but of course, I easily defeated them. After the battle, Zorn and Thorn said that the General was going to be quite mad at us, and the two jesters ran off. I looked around the large house that they were just in and never found them. However, I did happen upon several treasure chests. They almost all turned out to be Mimics. (For those who don't know, Mimics are treasure chest-looking monsters. They're generally pretty hard, but this batch was fairly easy. I wish they had given decent items though...) After dealing with the couple of Mimics, I happened upon a dying soldier. He told me to look for the Protection Bell, and that it would open the way to the palace. I didn't have to search long before happening upon it.
     With the Protection Bell in hand, I was ready to proceed into the royal palace. Along the way through Burmecia, I gained a few new Blue Magic spells for Quina. Among these, I got Magic Hammer (a returning power that damages enemy MP) and Angel's Snack (spell that uses Remedy items on all party members). With the bell in hand, I made it through the door. Just as we were getting through, Freya mentioned her fear and sadness of seeing the palace all in ruins. Zidane urges her to continue onward as to protect those few people who are left. Vivi was also scared, but he really wanted to know the truth about himself. Freya questioned him and asked if he truly wanted to know. Vivi felt he needed to know even if he wasn't sure about the answer. As they are talking, a Burmecian soldier comes through with his family. Freya identifies him as Dan and urges him to flee the city with his family. They all run off, and we continue further in.
     I also spotted a wounded soldier near a statue. His wife was waiting there with him, and she didn't want to leave without him. As we were talking, the statue started to come down. Zidane quickly grabbed the soldier (named Kel) and pulled him out of the way. He told the couple to escape Burmecia and head for Lindblum. He said that Cid would gladly welcome the refugees. They run off, and I get to continue on through the palace area. The next area revealed a couple of huts with some new weapons for the group (spear for Freya and rod for Vivi). I also found a Moogle in one hut who was selling items. They were some pretty good items as well! I bought up what I could, and Stiltzkin came in. He's a famous Moogle among the group, and he's popped up a few times now. He sells me a group of items for a modest fee and says that this will help him move along. As we finally reach the actual Palace, Freya goes ahead of the group and jumps to the top with no problem. Of course, this isn't an easy task for the rest of them. Zidane jumps up fairly quickly, but Vivi and Quina are forced to make their way around.
     Zidane and Freya sneak up and hide behind a couple statues. From there, they spot Queen Brahne alongside her leading General...Beatrix. Freya talks about Beatrix briefly, and the game goes into a flashback. We see Freya talking to another Burmecian that she calls Sir Fratley (also hints that this is her lover of sorts). Sir Fratley mentions that Beatrix is known as one of the best swordsmen in the land, and he plans to set out into the world to hone his skills. Freya doesn't want him to leave, but she can't stop him. She asks him to promise her that he will return upon the journey's finish. He promises...but the game's events lead to the idea that he hasn't returned yet.
     Back to the present, a mysterious person enters the area and speaks with the two there. The Queen identifies him as Kuja, and he appears to be the one who supplied Brahne with the Black Mages. Brahne says that they need to hurry up and find the King so they can kill him and prevent an uprising by these "rats". She tells Beatrix to search the area for him again, but Kuja says to not bother since he isn't here anymore. He informs them that the rats have moved to their "sandy tree house". They seem surprised that he knows this and also concerned since Cleyra is protected by some form of magical sandstorm. Kuja doesn't seem too concerned with this, and he says that he can easily get past this. Freya informs Zidane that Cleyra are made up of people who isolated themselves from Burmecia long ago based on some trivial matter. However, Freya believes that the king and her people will be fairly safe there.
     As those two are talking, a pair of soldiers come out of nowhere and try to attack the group. Seeing that this is suicide, Freya and Zidane jump in to assist them. They tell the soldiers to run off, and they do so. As our two allies run in, Beatrix says something about defeating a hundred soldiers single handed in the past. Basically, she thinks we don't stand a chance. BOSS BATTLE TIME!
(Seeing as I haven't many images to add, I figured that I would throw up Beatrix! This is the best & easiest I could find.)

Now THAT is a General. 

There's not too much details to go with this battle of course. I throw everything I have at her, and I try to steal a few items while I can. She has one attack that is a 1-hit kill regardless of anything you do. I had to revive a few people before it was doen though. However, despite everything I do, she says a bit and ends the battle with her attack Stock Break. This knocks everybody down to 1 HP, and the battle ends. The bad guys start to walk away as the group is out of it. Kuja starts to look over the group, and he mentions something about "the boy becoming a problem". Next up....more cutscene! We get a close up look at Kuja, and although he is supposed to be a man, he looks an awful lot like a woman. His appearance and outfit really look like they would belong on a lady person. He climbs aboard his giant dragon, and they fly off. This ends Disc 1. /END DISC 1 (Also insert Kuja picture to make my point.)

Hard to believe that is a man...isn't it?

     I switch to Disc 2, and the game switches back to Steiner and Dagger. Steiner believes the Queen wouldn't start a war, and that she will confirm this when they speak to her. Their lift reaches the Summit Station, and they get off to wait for the other train car to arrive. As I said earlier, the two cars work together so one ascends while the other descends. There is a rest area up at the top, and the two enter there to wait for the other side's train car. I buy some new equipment and talk with the people there. While looking about, a familiar voice is heard outside. I go to investigate and find out it is two of the Tantalus members, Cinna and Marcus. The two of them enter the rest area, and Steiner starts yelling at them. He blames them for everything that has happened to the Princess. Dagger chimes in and scolds Steiner for his yelling at them. She tells him to shut it, and he remains quiet.
     The group only talks for a bit before the opposite train car arrives. Steiner and Dagger board it, and Marcus follows behind us. Cinna was heading for Lindblum and had missed his car down. Marcus informed us that he was heading for Treno for some reason. He didn't initially reveal it to us, but after talking with Dagger briefly, he revealed that he was trying to obtain an item called Supersoft in order to cure Blank. He asks Dagger about Zidane, but she simply says that they split ways a while ago. All of a sudden, the car comes to a halt, and the conductor heads outside. He immediately runs back inside and says something about seeing a demon with a pointy hat. The three of them run outside to find a incredibly broken Black Waltz No. 3. Dagger attempts to ask him why he wants to take her back to the castle, but he is too far gone to answer anything...BOSS BATTLE TIME! There isn't too much of a fight left in him though. I take advantage of Marcus's Steal skill to try and grab what I can off the damaged Black Mage. This battle made me quite happy to have a White Mage again. Dagger's white magic made the battle quite a breeze, and Steiner is basically a brick wall with a powerful sword. Those two alone make this battle fly by. With the battle's end, we continue along our track to the bottom.
     As we are heading towards the bottom, the group talks a bit more. Marcus lets us know about the Black Mage attack on Burmecia. Of course, the group already knows about this, but Marcus adds in that it is quite obvious that Alexandria and Queen Brahne are involved. Steiner stands to question his thought, but Marcus just wonders if he is serious in his stance. Dagger is simply interested in questioning her mother directly. Marcus looks at Dagger and tells her that she has changed quite a bit. When she responds about her way of talking, he said that it was more than just that. As they disembark, Dagger tells Marcus that she plans to accompany him to Treno to help him obtain this Supersoft item. With the group ready, I make my way to Treno. I spent a bit more time in the field than necessary though. This grouping of characters was around four to five levels behind the rest of the group. As we walked about, I came into a strange event battle. Strange and cheerful music blared as a ghost talked with me and requested some Ore. (An item that a huge number of enemies seem to have.) I threw him a piece of Ore, and he told me to say hi to Ladybug. That concluded the battle, and although I got zero experience, I was rewarded a large portion of AP (20 if I remember correctly...). Having my fill of battles, I finally entered Treno, the Dark City (how the game put it).
     The first thing that comes up is Marcus warning us to be careful in Treno. He also adds that the plan for the Supersoft involves stealing it from someone in town. (Quick town description time! It's a circular area where the outside ring is the poor group while the middle area is settled around a water source and the richer group.) Dagger isn't too keen to hear this idea, and she ends up splitting off to try and find another way to obtain it. Steiner is angry with Marcus and doesn't notice her leaving. As he is distracted by her gone status, Marcus slips away to head for his meeting. I take control of Steiner and start exploring Treno. A good group of ATEs follow that involves Marcus heading for his meeting and Dagger exploring the town. At one point, she has money stolen from her, but it comes back around when Steiner runs into the thief. The thief had already used the money though, but he gave me the item he bought instead. It's a rather nice item, so I didn't think twice about the decent exchange.
     While here, I took the time to buy any new equipment I could. I also got my hands on new synthesized goods. You certainly get some powerful things through synthesis. It's possible to not do it, but you'd certainly miss out on some powerful items (or at least the opportunity to get them early). ATE time again! Dagger hits the town's auction house at one point in search of the Supersoft. While there, she spots a face she recognizes (and one I clearly know). It is Kuja! She seems to recognize him from somewhere, but she doesn't know who he is really or his name. Upon leaving the auction house, she meets up with Steiner. From there, I make my way around to a small Inn where the two team up with Marcus to steal the Supersoft. Steiner isn't too fond on the thought of being apart of the crime, and he tries to sway Dagger from this venture as wewll. As it turns out, Baku is also here and coordinating the plan and all. At one point, he asks Steiner if he has any real thoughts of his own (based on words exchanged during). Steiner is baffled by this question and claims he very much does, but Baku feels sad that Zidane didn't seem to change Steiner any. The boat ride to the destination gets both Dagger and Steiner thinking about their own situation. Steiner was obviously jumbled by the idea presented by Baku of course. Dagger is just thinking on Zidane and all the events going on.
     The group makes it to the location (appeared to be the synthesis shop), and they are hurriedly searching to find the Supersoft. However, before they get anywhere, a person comes down, but as it turns out, this person is an old acquaintance of Dagger and Steiner...Doctor Tot! He asks what they are doing there, and the group briefly explains. He offers them the Supersoft (as he seems to have one), but he will have to give it to them later. He asks the group to meet at his place on one side of town. We head off and roundabout to meet Doctor Tot at his research...tower place. He lets Marcus have at the Supersoft immediately. Dagger starts talking with Doctor Tot about the old times. It seems a lot of information is given away during this time. The first thing is that Doctor Tot was an instructor for Dagger. We also learn that the planet's name is Gaia. Before too long, the game works around into a flashback.
     Most of the flashback involves information obviously meant for background thought. Doctor Tot is pacing in a library and thinking about things. He mentions that the two oldest phrases involving the word "jewel" and "summoner tribe". Apparently, they disappeared from the books around 500 years ago though, and he feels that the "jewel" might somehow involve the royal pendant passed down through the rulers of Alexandria. However, he feels the royal jewel is much too small to be the jewel talked about. Then there is a mentioning of there being a relationship between special magical stones and the powerful Eidolons (names of summon creatures in this title). About this time, a young Dagger wanders into the flashback. They start talking about all sorts of things, but most of it isn't gravely important to the game. So I didn't make any notes from that bit. The game returns to the present, and Dagger starts informing Doctor Tot of everything going on.
     Needing a way back to Alexandria, Doctor Tot has just the method for us to get back quickly. Marcus decides to come along as well. He says that getting to Alexandria will allow him to reach the Evil Forest faster and cure Blank as soon as possible. To our luck, Doctor Tot's tower lies above a large underground highway of sorts known as Gargan Roo. It is an ancient travelling tunnel that connects Treno to Alexandria (used before the widespread technology of airships). He said that we had to activate some sort of sequence trigger in order to connect the tunnels appropriately. I went about trying to do so, but it seems the tunnel wasn't completely empty. I fought a couple of monsters while trying to get switches all pressed and thrown. At one point, Dagger's Trance activated!....But it was for naught. Her Trance turns her Summon ability into an Eidolon ability, and as of this time, I couldn't summon anything (lack of MP and probably something story-ish). I managed to activate all the right switches, and this called up a "Gargant". This strange creature had a carriage dangling from it. (It was hanging from a pipe and the carriage was hanging underneath it.) The creature ran about in a circle around us and only stopped when some bait was lowered. As the group climbed aboard, Doctor Tot spoke briefly to Steiner. He told him not only to protect the Princess but to also try to think more for himself and not focus entirely on duty. He said that Dagger was still a tad naive. Steiner wasn't completely sure how to receive, but he promised to do his very best regardless. The group heads off into the strange tunnel.
     They don't make it too far though before the Gargant stops. The reason? Some giant snake-thing was in front of us, and the Gargant wasn't too keen on passing over it. BOSS BATTLE TIME! The monster in question was kinda strange looking, but it was menacing nonetheless. However, my team was able to make quick work of the monster...or would have if it hadn't run away like a damn chicken! With the monster's retreat, the Gargant continued on to Alexandria. As the trip came to a halt, the group found themselves in a strange underground area. Steiner was unsure if they were really in Alexandria, but Dagger said she recognized the place from something Doctor Tot had told her. The place was a stronghold used in the past to hold off invaders. However, they didn't get too far before falling into a giant trap, and out of nowhere pops up Zorn and Thorn. The group demands to be released, but Zorn and Thorn are only here to retrieve Dagger as ordered by Queen Brahne. Dagger wanted to see her anyways, but they acted like she was being taken in a most forceful manner. As I put it in my notes...*le gasp!* Now we switch back to Zidane and company.
     They all awaken in Burmecia. Hearing what was said from Kuja and Brahne, the four decide to head for Cleyra. It was just a short distance to this large swirling sandstorm cyclone though. The group wonders how they are going to get in when the sandstorm opens up briefly to let them pass inside. As it turns out (and for Kuja's little treehouse statment), there was a massive tree inside of the giant sandstorm. I slowly climb up the tree and have to do a few sand puzzles of sorts. They aren't so much puzzles as just switches I have to hit. Puzzle would mean I have to think about it...and you really don't have to. Anyways, nothing too important to really point out during my climb up the tree. I did learn some great new Blue Magic spells though! Matra Magic takes enemies down to 1 HP. Auto-Life casts a status that automatically revives party members. White Wind heals the entire party for an amount I'm unsure of. Moving right along, after a very long climb, I made it to the top where a small village sat. We were welcomed by a group of Burmecians (found out later they are technically called Cleyrans). They informed Freya that the King was expecting her, so she went off. We were offered a tour of their village, but Quina went off on his own in search of "yummy-yummies".
     It was your basic village of sorts...minus being up in a tree. (Of course, that's a basic village type for RPGs I believe!) They had a village market, there was an outcropping looking over the top of the storm, they even had a well and water source. It was explained that the storm's wind power is used to pump the water from the ground below and through the tree. I'm going too much into detail, so I'll try to keep the rest quick. After the tour, I explored as Zidane and did some shopping. Quina found out that there wasn't any yummy yummies to be found. Vivi was mistakened by a Burmecian as one of the Black Mages. I also learned a bit of the back history between the Burmecians and Cleyrans. Nothing too big to be worth mentioning really. The biggest thing we learned was the "How" of the sandstorm. It was created/established/magicked by a Magical Harp with a Magic stone (awful lot of Magic here...).
     As I was exploring, a Burmecian came to me for help. He said a kid was being attacked by this antlion monster. (It was mentioned during the tour. They have an antlion there for some reason.) I ran over quickly to help, and the rest of the group joined me. The kid in question was a certain Puck from the beginning of the game. Freya further identified him as PRINCE Puck of Burmecia! But then it was BOSS BATTLE TIME! Ah the Antlion! We haven't seen you around since Final Fantasy 4! He didn't offer too much of a challenge here though. I had a fully stocked and powerful team. I did my best to steal what I could, but he didn't really have any power moves. The biggest thing he had was a catch-all counter that mostly activated towards physical attacks. Outside of this, he really only used a spell or two and a special attack of Sandstorm. I dealt with him easily, and the battle was over before I knew it.
     As the battle clears, Puck thanks the group but runs off before saying a whole lot more. Vivi goes after him because he wants to talk with him. He mentions Puck as being his first friend. The rest of the group heads to the top of Cleyra to speak with the King of Burmecia, who is currently in the Cleyra chapel. With things going as they are, the Cleyrans want to strengthen the storm to stop any incoming problems. One small bit that is important to both cultures is the power of dance. Apparently, the Cleyrans have kept their dancing the most sacred and more magical than Burmecians. They plan to use their sacred magical dance to strengthen the storm. As they are preparing for this ritual of sorts, Zidane says to Freya that she has changed quite a bit. She claims that it has to do with failing to protect Burmecia, and that she wants to protect Cleyra now in order to fulfill Sir Fratley's wish for peace. She joins with the Cleyrans in performing their magical dance to the playing of the magical harp (with the magic stone of magicalness!...apologies). The dance performed reminds me of a river dance. As the song comes to an end, the strings on the magical harp snap. This definitely doesn't bode well, and I eat those words as things grow very much worse.
     A short cutscene shows the further ramifications of the bad luck. The magical sandstorm surrounding Cleyra comes to a full stop and leaves the tree exposed! OH NOES! (I had to add some emphasis...) The Cleyrans are very much freaking out, and we've been informed that this has NEVER happened to them before. (Hah!) Freya added in that there has never been a known time where Cleyra's sandstorm magic wasn't up. This...doesn't bode well. On top of this, someone just HAD to mention that they hoped nobody climbed up the trunk. Of course, before things can get any better, the game switches back to the other group.
     The first thing I see is Steiner and Marcus hanging in a jail cell in the middle of the air. It makes me think of a giant bell on a chain, and they are both stuck inside. Steiner is fairly angry about all of this, and Marcus is just disappointed that he got involved in the first place. He also mentions to Steiner that he's been betrayed by his own Queen. Steiner is somehow still inclined to believe that the Queen is somehow innocent.
     Switching to Dagger now! She's sitting in her room and wondering why her mother attacked Burmecia and arrested the group as she did. She realizes now that her mother has been acting quite strangely since her last birthday. She remembers a tall man appearing around that time as well (referring to Kuja). She believes everything changed around that time, and that's about the time that Doctor Tot left Alexandria. As she is thinking to herself, Zorn and Thorn enter inside to bring her to Queen Brahne. Dagger "resists" in a way, but it's not what I'd call true resisting. Anyways, she is taken to the Queen. The first thing Brahne asks her is where she has been. Getting right to the point, Dagger asks her mother why she attacked Burmecia. The Queen claimed that she only attacked Burmecia because they were planning to destroy Alexandria for some time. She couldn't possibly wait for this, so she took the initiative. She asks Dagger if she believes her. (The game lets me answer.) Of course, I don't believe her at all.
     The Queen wonders why I could possibly not believe her, and Kuja walks in at this time. He's talking all poetic like and puts Dagger to sleep with magic and such. The Queen looks over to the crazed Jesters and tells them to go prepare to extract the eidolons. Next thing I know, the two jesters are jumping all around an unconscious Dagger and speaking strange things. The only important thing mentioned around this time is something about Odin. Then the game switches back to Zidane and his group. Of course, they are still in full "oh crap" mode from the sandstorm stopping. Freya brings up the fact that the storm has never stopped in a thousand years! The group gets together and heads for the bottom of the tree to investigate. As they head down, they run into Alexandrian soldiers! I fought off several groups while heading for the bottom, but Freya feels like something is wrong. She mentions that the number is too few for a true invasion. Of course, I start to realize this as well, and then Puck comes running in. He informs us of the obvious...the town is being attacked!
     We run back up to the town to find Black Mages teleporting in. With a little luck and correct directioning, I am able to help a few villagers escape to the top of the village near their chapel. (Basically, I helped them choose the correct path to take at certain points.) As we all make it to the top, things seem okay, but then it seems I spoke too soon! A large group of Black Mages come in and surround the group. It doesn't look too good, but then a mysterious man (Sir Fratley) appears and slays all of the Black Mages single handed. Everybody goes inside, and Freya starts talking with Sir Fratley. She talks about missing him so much and asks where he has been all this time. She talks of searching high and low for any sign of him, but never finding anything up until seeing him now. Unfortunately, he says her name and informs her that this is the first time they have ever met. Freya wonders how of all things he could have possibly forgotten her. He does apologize for this, and Zidane jumps in and asks how he could have possibly forgotten his love. Freya asks Zidane to stop, but he questions her saying that she has been in search of him all this time.
     Around this time, the King of Burmecia steps in and asks Sir Fratley if he possibly remembers him. Of course, he answers no. They are all unsure of why this could possibly happen. Puck comes in and explains a few things. He says he found Fratley while searching the world over. Fratley didn't seem to remember Puck or who he (Fratley) was even. However, Fratley seemed to snap to it when he heard about the attack on Burmecia and the possible danger that Cleyra was in. Despite his memory loss, he seemed to recall being a dragon knight of Burmecia...and nothing else. Sir Fratley heads back out to clear up more of the enemy. Puck apologizes to Freya for bringing this sadness up on her and goes to chase after Sir Fratley. Zidane asks Freya if she wishes to follow after Fratley, but she is happy enough to know that he is at least still alive. Vivi and Quina finally join us around this point. Vivi goes up to Freya and asks why if she is crying. Freya is incredibly sad and finds it ironic to find him after all this time...only to find out he doesn't remember her at all. Then, out of nowhere, Beatrix shows up!
     Literally, like an strange ninja of sorts, Beatrix just flies in and steals the magical stone from the harp. She runs outside, and we all quickly give chase. Before running outside, I spoke with all of the villagers I saved. They were quite grateful and gave me a pile of good items. I then went outside to face Beatrix...AGAIN. BEATRIX BOSS BATTLE TIME! I'm not going to draw this out. It's another "plot" battle. I fought Beatrix with all my heart and soul, and then she ends us with her "Stock Break" attack. Gloating that we could never defeat her, she uses one of the Black Mages to teleport out. The group follows swiftly and takes advantage of the Black Mages to teleport after her. Quina skips out on this because he doesn't like heights. As the group is teleporting to the ship, bad stuff happens...Queen Brahne is seen using a strange material referred to as "Dark Matter". She uses it to summon Odin onto the scene. The next cutscene (pretty cool but quite depressing) shows Odin flying out of a giant evil warp of sorts. He charges at the Cleyra Tree and explodes it with his power. After that, he rides (flying actually) off to the side and disappears back into...wherever Eidolons go when they aren't being summoned I guess.
     After the explosion of the Cleyra Tree, the group is reappearing on a large airship (presumbibly the Queen's personal airship). They witnessed the destruction of Cleyra was they were going. It was questionable if anybody could have possibly survived this. Freya is the most affected by this of course, but they don't have long to think as they have to hide under a nearby staircase. Beatrix comes out of a nearby room and begins talking with herself. Despite her attitude just a while ago, she's actually quite sad about the situation. She feels the Queen went too far in destroying Cleyra. She doesn't understand why the Queen is making use of the Eidolons and Black Mages when her troops could have easily handled the situation. She's starting to feel like the Black Mages as well. She simply accepts the orders given to her and isn't allowed to have her own thoughts or will on any of it. Strangely enough, she mentions something about Steiner being right! (The real shocker here if you ask me.) The Queen calls her a moment later and she walks off. I follow behind her swiftly to learn more.
     Beatrix hands over the magical stone to the Queen, who refers to it as a "jewel" at this point. The Queen mentions something about lacking one more jewel and orders Beatrix to find it. Beatrix asks about what is going to be done with Dagger. Brahne says she has no more use for her now that the Eidolons have been extracted. She goes further to say that Dagger shall be executed for her crimes of stealing the jewel. Of course, everybody is quite surprised by this, especially Beatrix. The group stops listening at this point and want to beat Brahne back to Alexandria. They are unsure of how to do this though, but then Vivi gets an idea! He runs off and tells them to follow after him. He leads them back to the strange magical pods that they teleported in on. He figures that they can use them to get to Alexandria. Seeing as it is the only way, each of the three (remember, Quina is gone) hops into a pod and teleports off.
     Now we switch back to our group already at Alexandria. Steiner and Marcus are still sitting in their cell, but Marcus thinks he figured a way out! I start swinging the cell side-to-side. This takes a little bit as I have to time it with Marcus. Eventually, we succeed of course, and the cell smacks into one of the ledges. We make our daring escape and get outside of the dungeon. As we climb the final stairs, Marcus takes off to go help Blank. Steiner yells at him a bit as he runs off into the distance. Steiner feels alone, but this doesn't last long as Zidane and company suddenly teleport in right beside him. They start to run off, but Steiner yells why is everybody running off without him. The run back to inform him of what they just overheard. Steiner doesn't believe Zidane when he first says it, but Vivi and Freya both back Zidane up on this. (Just now realize that I keep switching first and third person...I apologize for this horrid afront, but I'm going to keep going!) As to make matters worse, Zidane mentions that they only have about 30 minutes until Brahne makes it in. So...now I'm timed. DELIGHTFUL!
     I start making my way out of the dungeon area when a couple guards start running after us. As we make it through to one area, Marcus appears to shut the gate right in front of them. He talks with Zidane briefly to explain that he's heading for the Evil Forest to cure Blank. As we part, I begin my search of the castle for Dagger. I run all over, but I'm not really sure where to go. While looking about, I run into the librairy. I've still got plenty of time, so I talk with the people there and search the librairy. While doing this, I happen upon a random event. It's a voice speaking to me from the bookshelf...It challenges me, and I gladly accept for SIDE BOSS BATTLE TIME! As it turns out, you have to specially prepare for this side battle of sorts. The boss is a giant monster book that does two things. It either physically attacks us by smacking us or throwing paper at us (for more damage than you'd think...), or it opens its pages to find nothing. The majority of the battle reminds me of the book monsters from Final Fantasy V. I didn't really find anything out on this try unfortunately. It killed me within just a couple of turns. So...RESTART!
     Lucky for me, I had saved not too long ago, so I mostly had to revisit small conversation scenes. I worked my way back around to this side boss, and this time...I looked up a guide! The guide told me a few things. The most important detail was to wait for something to change and do so in the back row. Heading back to the librairy, I challenged the boss again, but I was ready this time. Had I survived the last battle, I would have seen the true trick to it. After a while, the book opens up to a large blue-looking monster hiding in it. While he is out, I can actually deal a decent amount of damage to him, but he's only around for a handful of rounds before disappearing again. The trick is to strike when I can and wait for his next appearance. This would be insanely easy if I wasn't timed for the whole thing. Regardless of the special conditions, I managed to finish up the entire affair with about 13 minutes to spare. The reward for the battle was well worth the effort too. I missed out on stealing one item, but I got everything else. I also recieved a hefty amount of AP for this venture (can't remember exactly but it was at least 30!).
     After this ridiculous side battle, I made my way to the Queen's room. (Yeah, I already knew WHERE To go, but I had to find it.) Inside her room, it seems like there isn't anywhere to go. Of course, as with all castles, it contained a secret passageway. I went over to a candlestick (the classic!) and switched it over. This revealed a secret passage through the fireplace (another classic!). It lead downward into a secret dungeon. I walked down and found the strange chamber from before. (The chamber where Zorn and Thorn were extracting the Eidolons.) Once inside, the pair of Jesters came at us for BOSS BATTLE TIME! Compared to the book from before, this set of Jesters was no problem at all. All they did was bounce up and down and give each other spells. One would charge up a spell and give it to the other to cast it. As long as you hit the one recieveing the magic as he recieved it, that one would lose it. They managed to get a few spells off, but it didn't do enough damage to really matter. I finished them off with ease, and they ran off.
     I approached the currently unconcious Dagger. Things didn't look good, but she seemed to still be alive but out of it. Steiner blames himself for letting it happen, but Zidane says that he isn't innocent either. They don't take too long to feel bad though, and they pick up Dagger and start making to escape. As we come to the top, Zidane asks the group to wait for a moment. He sets Dagger down to let her rest briefly. Steiner is quite angry at the Queen for causing all of this. Zidane somehow blames himself, but he doesn't even know how to feel about everything right this moment. And then..Zorn and Thorn return, but they aren't alone! They bring Beatrix in with them. Yuuuup, BOSS BATTLE TIME BEATRIX STYLE DELUXE EDITION! Nothing special to say here, but she ends it differently...with Climhazzard! After the battle subsides, Zidane asks Beatrix about her duty to the Princess...and then motions to her current state. Beatrix examines her and realizes now that the Queen was quite truthful about her intentions. Steiner tries to say different, but Beatrix urges himt o accept the truth about the Queen like she has. Beatrix tries to apologize to Freya about Burmecia. Freya says that it is too late for any apologies, but there is still a chance to save Dagger. Using her white magic, Beatrix manages to revive Dagger.
     Dagger is revived, and everybody rejoices! However, the Queen steps in about this time. She is most definitely not happy about any of this. With her situation changed though, Beatrix steps in and helps the group to escape. Freya stays behind to help out Beatrix while the rest of the crew heads out the secret passage. I get to control Beatrix and her ridiculous power for a few battles! Despite Zorn and Thorn's fearsome looking monster, Beatrix is easily able to defeat the enemy with a single attack. For the next bit, I'm getting to switch back and forth between the two groups. Zidane's group is trying to quickly escape out the bottom. I run into a couple of enemies at this point, but they aren't too much to deal with. As I make it to the bottom, Steiner stops and asks himself what he is doing. Zidane tells Rusty to hurry it up, but Steiner plans to go back to help the two above. He asks Zidane to protect Dagger and get her to Doctor Tot. He then runs back up to assist Freya and Beatrix. Unfortunately for me, he was my main power house. The next couple of battles still go fairly easily, but they take a bit more time without Steiner's powerful attacks.
     Going back to Freya and Beatrix, they are currently dealing with several more of the same monster. (It looks like a giant dog of sorts.) They fight off another couple of them before Steiner reappears. He states that it is his duty to assist them and such, and he joins them for another battle. As that battle ends, I'm switched back to Zidane and company. They are about to escape when...they run into the same gated trap as Dagger and Steiner did before. (You would think she would have warned us...) Zorn and Thorn pop out to gloat at us, but they don't get too long. Blank and Marcus both rush in and take the two jesters out. With that done, Marcus flips a switch and lets us get out. Zidane thanks the two, and the group heads into Gargan Roo. We hop aboard the faithful Gargant and begin heading back to Treno. However, it isn't too long before the Gargant stops movie. Seems we have run into our snake friend again, or at least it would have appeared so. BOSS BATTLE TIME! This snake looks to be the same type, but it's obviously a more powerful one. (He has tusks!) He didn't prove too much of a challenge though, and I finished him off quite quickly. With him defeated, the Gargant begins to move again.
     Zidane thinks it is moving kinda slow and urges it to move faster. It does start moving faster, but then it starts moving too fast. They aren't sure what is going on until they notice something behind us...the snake monster is following us! The Gargant quickly picks up speed and rushes forward. Unfortunately, it is moving so fast that it flies right past the Treno stop. Next thing I know, a cutscene pops up. It is showing the first person view of the group flying through this small and winding tunnel. They do eventually come to an opening, but they are flung outward into a strange place...Enough about that! Time to find out the happenings at the Alexandria Castle.
     The game jumps to Zorn and Thorn at the castle. They mention some of the Queen's guests have appeared to speak with her. Of course, they aren't allowed to talk to her directly because she is angered with them. The guests come in, and we find out that she has hired a pair of bounty hunters to search for Dagger. She asks two things of them. She wants them to retrieve the necklace that Dagger has, and she wants them to eliminate Vivi. She believes him to be a malfunctioning Black Mage. One of the two bounty hunters asks about Zidane but doesn't really offer anything up aside from that. As the two bounty hunters head off, one of the soldiers approaches the Queen and mentions that the fleet at sea is ready to go. Then we jump back to Zidane's group
     The group wakes up at a place that Zidane identifies as Pinnacle Rock. He also says that they are nearby Lindblum. This means that they travelled quite a distance through the tunnel. Of course, they are all worried about Beatrix, Freya, and Steiner, but there isn't much they can do about now. As they are talking, a strange floating old man appears. He starts talking with the group, and Dagger identifies him as Ramuh, the Thunder God. (Learned it from a book.) He asks about the Eidolon that recently destroyed Cleyra. He says that an Eidolon will always follow a Summoner's orders, and so that it can't be considered good or evil, only the Summoner. Ramuh asks what they plan to do next, but he's mostly aiming this at Dagger. She isn't quite sure what to do next, but she wants to stop whatever her mother is planning. She asks for his help, and he offers it to her...if she can complete his challenge. He has placed five manifestations of himself around Pinnacle Rock, and he asks that we look about for them. Each one will tell us a piece of story, and at the end, we are to assemble this story properly. If we do it correctly, he promises to lend Dagger his power.
     However, the rest of this story is for another time! I find a nearby Moogle and save my game. Oh damn... I have made quite a post here. I didn't decide to add the images until I was about 3/4ths through this though. I've been awful text heavy lately though, so I decided it needed some color. Final Fantasy 9 is sure adding a lot of details to the going-ons of in-game, and I'm having a harder and harder time finding details that don't really need inclusion. Of course, I realize I could really crap it all down, but I like being able to give those who do read (all five of you) a good glimpse of what is happening. I mean...worst case, you could just go look at a wikipedia and get a general idea, but I think I can do better than wikipedia in that regard! Well, I've said enough for now, and I really should move on.
     I do apologize for the update being late though. I'm clearly the one to blame here, but things kept making the post get pushed back. I've had all the notes to do it ready to go for a couple of days now, but I kept getting interrupted while trying to type it up. The post editor didn't want to load up, and the power kept flashing on and off one night. Enough excuses though...I'll do my best to get these up snappier in the future. That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new post! I'm going to try and get more time in today and have enough to make another post by Sunday! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next episode of... RECURRING FANTASY THEATER! *insert classy music*


Ending Point - Pinnacle Rock
Current Party -

• Zidane - Level 18
• Vivi - Level 18
• Dagger - Level 12

Goals Accomplished - Made it through part of the South Gate. Upgraded Choco to a blue Chocobo. Located Burmecia, Realm of Eternal Rain. Found Queen Brahne there but lost to Beatrix. Met Kuja for the first time. Made it through the South Gate and to Treno. Obtained the Supersoft for Marcus. Used Gargan Roo to reach Alexandria but got caught. Made it to Cleyra and climbed the Cleyra Tree. Rescued Prince Puck from the Antlion. Tried to protect the Cleyra Tree from Alexandria but failed. As Steiner and Marcus, escaped Alexandria Castle dungeon. As Zidane and co, escaped Cleyra before its destruction and made it to Alexandria. Rescued Dagger from the Alexandria secret chambers. Defeated Beatrix and helped to change her mind. Escaped Alexandria while Beatrix, Freya, and Steiner fended off the enemy. Made it through Gargan Roo, but flew past Treno and ended up near Lindblum. Started the Ramuh Quest thinger.
Next Goals - Recruit Ramuh's help. Try to figure out our next course of action.

~May the Crystals Guide Me~