Zidane will end up safe, but on top of a hill. He looks down and sees that the ship is totally destroyed and that he is surrounded by huge trees. Shina and Baku will still be in the ship discussing the damages, but Braunk will run in and tell them that they are lost and can't find some of the people on board. Zidane will leap down and walk to the front of the ship, then decide to go out and look for Garnet and Vivi. At this point, your first chance to do an Active Time Event comes. The mogli behind the tree will fly over and explain how an ATE works. Push select and choose the top option.

The action will switch over to Vivi and Garnet, who are climbing out of a small cave in the forest floor. A dark shadow swoops over their heads...

Back to Zidane's scene, walk over to the mogli and save, then head southeast through the log, and into..

Items: Broad Sword (Steal from the mini-boss)
Enemies: Fang, Goblin

You can steal Potion items from most of the enemies who dwell here, so it won't be too hard at first. If you are low on HP and don't want to finish a battle, you can use the 3rd command of Zidane's and the "Tonzura" ability to flee from battle with 100% success. Steal a Potion from each monster you fight, and fight until you are on level 3 or 4, which should be a few battles. If you are attacked from behind, all damage you dish out and take in will be halved (since you are in the back row). When you are ready, save at the mogli, then advance to the right to enter the next area of the Evil Forest. Vivi will be there, and cringing away from something. Walk forward to catch Steiner, who is just about to attack a beast that has it's life-sucking tentacles around Garnet.

Mini Boss: Prison Cage
HP: ???

As soon as the battle begins, Zidane will go into Trance mode. This means that all his attacks will do slightly more damage, and he will beable to use some special abilites that were not there before under the 3rd command of his. Use the first one, called "Free Energy" for 10 MP. It should do almost 300 points of damage to the target. Also note that Garnet is in this battle, trapped with the monster. Every once in a while, it will suck a few of her HP away (which will be displayed at the top) and make them it's own. Do not let Garnet die; use a potion on her if she is hit more than 2 times by the absorb attack. Use Zidane's Free Energy attack a second time, and it should flee for a momment, still holding Garnet captive. It will return, and grab Vivi this time. Vivi will help out in the fight and cast Fire occasionally. Attack it with Steiner and Zidane until it gives in and sets Vivi free. Remember to use a Potion on Vivi if he is hit more than twice by the absorb attack. When it dies, it will get a last little breath of gas off on Vivi and Steiner who will faint and need to be brought back to the ship. After this battle, the bar under your ATB bar will slowly fill up when you get damaged. When it if full and starts to glow, the character who's bar is full will go into Trance mode.

Items: Ether, 116 Gil, Ether, Rubber Helm, Potion

Vivi will be in bed, and Steiner will be shoved into a separate room, where he takes a sip of a vial he had and sulks a big (it's drinking time!). Baku and Zidane will discuss going back for Garnet, and you will be free to wander the grounds of the ship. There are three small ATEs that you can view. Nothing really all that important, but you should always do any ATEs you come across anyways.

Steiner is ranting on to himself and messing around with what he finds in the room.

Short cut back to Alexandria Town, where Ruby is alone in the town's bar. She wonders where everyone else is.

Shina is walking around outside the ship, and makes a discovery concerning Garnet, as he examines some of the ship's spilt belongings.

Walk down the spiraling stairs and to the right to find the room where Vivi is being kept. Talk to him a few times, and get the Ether and Gil that are in the room, then head out. Zidane will flash back to when he first met Garnet earlier that day when she almost bumped into him as the White-Robed young girl, and feel bad that she is in grave danger right now. The boss (Baku) told him not to go back, and you will be prompted. The top is decide to go back for Garnet, and the bottom is listen to what the boss says.

Choose the top option, and after a short conversation with Braunk, who reminds you that the boss is in charge, go left and down the stairs, the right into the next room and talk to Baku. There are some items along the way; another Ether, and a Rubber Helm. There is also a Potion in Baku's room. Go back to the left, and you will have a small battle with Baku. He isn't too hard, and you can steal a Hi-Potion from him. Use a regular Potion if you need it, and hit him 5 or 6 times to win the fight. You will now be allowed to go back for Garnet, so first head over to Steiner's room and grab him. There are also some items in that room. After some arguing, Steiner agrees that the two of them can work together and rescue Garnet. Zidane also suggests that they get help from Vivi, who can use magic to aid them. Go back to Vivi's room, and they will convince him that there is nothing to be scared of, and he will come along. Steiner also will have a little talk with Vivi about assisting him with his sword techniques, and you will beable to use the Fire Sword skill, as long as Vivi and Steiner are both in the battle, and controlable (not dead, petrified, confused, etc). Using any sword technique ability will only drain MP from Steiner, not Vivi, and only uses up Steiner's turn. Head out out the ship, and braunk will give you some headwear before you leave, but Zidane is already equiped with a similar hat. Save your game at the mogli before you continue. You can buy any items you need from Shina, who is outside the ship as well. When you are ready, head back into...

Items: None
Enemies: Fang, Goblin, Dendrobium, Plant Spider

When you get back to the spot where you fought the Prison Cage, The action will take a break and switch back over to the Conductor, Violin Player, Drum Player, and Cymbol Player who are back in the airship, and they will play a familiar tune that was used in Final Fantasy VII. Baku will walk in and yell at them for making so much noise, and they will hiss and boo at his humbug attitude.

Before you advance even further with Zidane, you might want to stay near the airship and gain a few levels for Steiner and Vivi. when you are ready, advance further into the forest, from where the cage monster was before. The Goblin monsters might try out the classic Goblin Punch attack, which will deal damage depending on how much damage they have taken. Try to get rid of these monsters before any others in the battle, beacause if they are low in HP, the punch might hurt a little. Try not to use Steiner's Fire Sword or Vivi's magic yet, you might need it for the battle that is yet to come. A few screens further, you will reach a small spring, and a mogli will dive into the hallow tree trunk. Some mogli in the game will like to hide, just look for the red sphere sticking out, and save your game. You will be forced into an ATE at this point.

Baku and Braunk discuss the damage of the airship, and decide it might be best if they head back to Lindbulm quickly, so they can repair the damage to the airship and comeplete the mission they were given by Cid.

At the mogli where Zidane is, you can use the Mognet option to communicate with the mogli Monty, and the mogli salesman Stiltskin. If anyone can provide more information on the Mognet, please email me. If you walk over to where the spring is leaking and examine it, you can drink the water and restore everyone's HP/MP/Status. Head to the right, and follow the path onwards yet deeper into the Evil Forest. The monsters will get a little tougher, and have better items (The Dendrobium monsters have Tents). As you advance further, you will see a short FMV of what is yet to come; the forest across the lake appears to be alive and seeking blood. Walk up and into the cave enterance, and you will come across Garnet who is trapped in the vines of a bigger monster, the first REAL boss of the game.

Boss: Plant Brain HP: ??? About 1700

After checking to see if Garnet is ok, the battle will start. The Plant Brain will use a spore attack that will blind your characters, so you might need to depend on the sword techniques and magic of Steiner and Vivi. First you should charge up with Vivi. Then just wail away, and use Zidane to heal with potions, since his attacks will miss alot. If you have the right item, Megusuri or Eyedrops, you can cure the blindness and attack normally with Zidane. After a few rounds of fighting, Braunk will hop in and join the fight too. You can attack normally with him, or use heal to heal if you like. It shouldn't take more than a minute or two to incinerate it into nothing.

When the battle is over, several rose-like creatures will pop up from the ground, and start to close in on the heroes. Steiner grabs Garnet, and they all run to the northeast, with Braunk hesitating for a second. Run down the path, and Zidane will automtically jump down. The roses will follow, and you will get into a battle with 4 Plant Spiders. They are not too tough, but they can use some spells, including Thunder. You might have a problem if Steiner and Zidane are still blind, but hopefully you killed the boss before it could blind Braunk, who will take out the Plant Spiders with one swipe of his mighty sword. Vivi can also take them out quickly with a Fire spell. Run south from the stunned roses, and you will see a scene of everyone running back through the forest, with several hundred Plant Spiders following close behind. Unfortunatly, beacuase the Plant Brain died, the forest can no longer stay alive. Moving quicker than the Spiders can, a cloud of death sweaps the forest and slowly petrifies everything it touches. One of the Plant Spiders grabs Braunk in it's clutches at the last second though, and he tosses a tied scroll over to Zidane, who catches it while fleeing. He races to avoid the cloud, and has to leap and dive over several speeding thorned-vines to escape, but he dives out just in time. The vines close off the forest and freeze solid, while Braunk is still inside, also covered with roots that have frozen over him.

Back at the camp Zidane and company has set up, Garnet finally begins to wake up. Steiner tries to act bold and scolds Vivi and Zidane for getting in his way and taking so long to rescue her. They discuss about what to do in the morning, and then rest. Zidane checks the wall of stiff and petrified thorns once more in the morning, and explains to Garnet about Braunk. She is sorry that she has caused this whole mess. Zidane also explains about the scroll the Braunk was protecting, that is now in his hands. Back at the camp fire, a mogli named Monty slowly walks over, and explains some of the game's functions, and the game cuts into an ATE.

By the lake of a Marshy area, Mogjiro and Mogtaro explain about the game's fuctions, battling, help menus, Using a Mogli, Trance mode, the game's controls, abilities, and the various options under the config menu. Choose each option once, and when you have read or picked them all, choose the bottom one.

Monty hands Zidane the Mogli no Tatebue, which will call over a mogli with the Square button while you are walking around on the World Map. Zidane smacks a confused Steiner as the others walk off, and Steiner who is wondering what happened is told by Monty that his friends are leaving without him..