Editing Final Fantasy IX (section)

==Plot==
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===Setting and characters===
{{Main|Characters of Final Fantasy IX}}
''Final Fantasy IX'' takes place primarily in a world named Gaia. Most of Gaia's population lives on the Mist Continent, named after the thick Mist that blankets the lowlands. Large mountain ranges act as natural borders that separate its four nations: Alexandria, Lindblum, Burmecia, and Cleyra. Alexandria is a warmongering monarchy that controls the eastern half of the continent. One of its cities is Treno, a cultural nexus under perpetual starlight that is home to many aristocrats and paupers alike. The technologically advanced Lindblum, a hub of airship travel, is nestled on a plateau to the southwest. Both countries feature a mix of humans, humanoids, and [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] animals. Burmecia, a kingdom showered by endless rain, is in the northwest. Cleyra, a neighboring settlement that seceded from Burmecia due to its appreciation for war, is situated in a giant tree in the desert, protected by a sandstorm. Both are inhabited by anthropomorphic rats with a fondness for dance and spear fighting.

Players eventually explore the Outer, Lost, and Forgotten Continents as well. Civilizations on the Outer Continent include Conde Petie, home of the dwarves; Black Mage Village, a secret settlement of sentient magician drones; and Madain Sari, once home to a near-extinct race of horned humanoid [[Recurring elements in the Final Fantasy series#Summoning|summoners]] who conjure powerful magical beings called eidolons. Also on the Outer Continent is the Iifa Tree, which disperses the Mist to other continents through its roots. This Mist stimulates the fighting instinct in humanoids and contributes to Gaia's bloody history. The Lost and Forgotten continents are littered mostly with ancient ruins. Scattered throughout the marshes of Gaia are the Qu: large, frog-eating, and seemingly [[Androgyny|androgynous]] humanoids<ref name="mainsite">{{Cite web |title=Final Fantasy IX |url=http://na.square-enix.com/games/FFIX-gamesite/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204065620/http://na.square-enix.com/games/FFIX-gamesite/ |archive-date=February 4, 2007 |access-date=June 9, 2007 |publisher=North American Square Enix}}</ref> who are considered great [[gourmand]]s. Late in the game, players briefly travel to the parallel world of Terra and the dream realm of Memoria.

The main playable characters are: [[Zidane Tribal]], a member of a group of bandits called Tantalus who are masquerading as a theater troupe; [[Garnet (Final Fantasy)|Garnet Til Alexandros XVII]] (alias Dagger), the Princess of Alexandria who runs away with Zidane; [[Vivi Ornitier]], a young, timid, and kind black mage with an unknown origin; [[Adelbert Steiner]], a brash Alexandrian knight captain and loyal servant of Princess Garnet; [[Freya Crescent]], a Burmecian dragoon searching for her lost love; [[Quina (Final Fantasy)|Quina Quen]], a Qu whose master wants them to travel the world so that they will learn about cuisine; [[Eiko Carol]], a young girl living in Madain Sari who is one of the last summoners; and [[Amarant Coral]], a bounty hunter hired to return Garnet to Alexandria.<ref name="mainsite" /> Other important characters include Cid Fabool, the charismatic Regent of Lindblum; [[Queen Brahne|Brahne]], Garnet's adoptive mother and the power-hungry Queen of Alexandria; [[Beatrix (Final Fantasy)|Beatrix]], the general of Alexandria's all-female army; Garland, an elderly Terran male tasked with saving his world; and antagonist Kuja, an arms dealer and pawn of Garland who questions his own existence.

===Story===
In Alexandria, Zidane and Tantalus kidnap Princess Garnet by order of Cid. Garnet does not resist, for she was already planning to flee and warn Cid of Queen Brahne's increasingly erratic behavior.<ref group="q">'''Garnet''': I am actually&nbsp;... Princess Garnet til Alexandros, heir to the throne of Alexandria. I have a favour I wish to ask of you&nbsp;... I wish to be kidnapped&nbsp;...right away.</ref> Vivi and Steiner join the party during the escape. En route to Lindblum, the group discovers that Brahne is manufacturing soulless black mage soldiers that look similar to Vivi. In Lindblum, Cid confirms that he hired the group to protect Garnet from Brahne's newfound aggression. After learning that Alexandria has invaded Burmecia with the black mages, Zidane and Vivi join Freya to investigate. Garnet and Steiner secretly return to Alexandria to reason with Brahne.<ref group="q">'''Dagger''': I have to help Mother&nbsp;... I don't want to see anything happen to her&nbsp;... / '''Steiner''': Very well. Princess, I will follow you wherever you choose.</ref>

Zidane's team finds that the Alexandrian forces, headed by Beatrix, conquered Burmecia with help from Kuja and the refugees have fled to Cleyra. Brahne imprisons Garnet, extracts her eidolons,<ref group="q">'''Queen Brahne''': Zorn, Thorn! Prepare to extract the eidolons from Garnet.</ref> and uses the eidolon, Odin to destroy Cleyra while Zidane's group defends the city. The party escapes on Brahne's airship, rendezvous with Steiner, and rescues Garnet. Meanwhile, Brahne cripples Lindblum with another eidolon, Atomos.<ref group="q">'''Minister Artania''': Yes, Princess. The castle was spared. Regent Cid is alive.</ref> Cid explains that Kuja supplies Brahne with black mages and the knowledge to use eidolons. The party befriends Quina and tracks Kuja to the Outer Continent.<ref group="q">'''Regent Cid''': I believe Kuja is the only one supplying <gwok> Brahne with weapons.</ref><ref group="q">'''Minister Artania''': That he came from the north suggests he's from the Outer Continent.</ref> Brahne hires bounty hunters Lani and Amarant to capture Garnet. On the Outer Continent, the party defeats Lani and meets Eiko, a summoner who lives with a group of moogles in the village of Madain Sari. Eiko leads Zidane and the others to the Iifa Tree. Inside, they learn that Kuja uses Mist to create the black mages and that Vivi was a prototype.<ref group="q">'''Zidane''': What kind of weapons did Kuja make? / '''Soulcage''': Kuja called them black mages, dark spawn of the Mist.</ref> The party defeats the monster that generates the Mist within the Tree, which clears it from the Mist Continent. While waiting for Kuja's reprisal at Madain Sari, Lani and Amarant attempt to kidnap Eiko but Zidane and the moogles foil them. Amarant then challenges Zidane to a duel and loses. He joins the party and Garnet learns of her heritage as a summoner who was adopted by Brahne as a child. At the Tree, Brahne attempts to kill Kuja with an eidolon so she can rule unopposed, but he takes control of it and destroys her and her army.<ref group="q">'''Queen Brahne''': Kuja! So you finally decided to show your girly face here! You're all that stands between me and total domination!</ref><ref group="q">'''Kuja''': Excellent, Bahamut! Power, mobility&nbsp;... You truly are the best! You even hurt me&nbsp;... a little. And you, Brahne&nbsp;... Your tragic role in this drama now comes to an end!</ref>

After Garnet's coronation, Kuja attacks Alexandria Castle.<ref group="q">'''Kuja''': What an auspicious day for Alexandria. Dagger's accession to the throne has brought hope and peace to this kingdom. The people are overjoyed; they believe a wonderful future is ahead of them&nbsp;... But the celebration isn't over yet. It's time to really light things up! Your former master is here, Bahamut. Play a requiem for her and all of Alexandria!</ref> Garnet and Eiko summon an extremely powerful eidolon in defense; Kuja attempts to steal the eidolon as a means to kill his master, Garland, but the latter arrives and destroys it.<ref group="q">'''Garland''': You have gone too far, Kuja. I granted you the freedom to do as you wish in Gaia for one purpose alone. Now that you have lost sight of your mission, I will no longer tolerate your actions.</ref><ref group="q">'''Kuja''': I need an eidolon more powerful than Alexander! An eidolon with the power to bury Garland! His powers are so incredible; I cannot even come close. I must destroy him before Terra's plan is activated, or my soul will no longer be my own!</ref> The party chases Kuja through a portal to Terra, where the antagonists' goals become clear. The Terrans created Garland to merge their dying world with Gaia; Garland, in turn, created self-aware, soulless vessels called Genomes.<ref group="q">'''Garland''': I constructed the Genomes to be vessels for the souls of the people of Terra when they awaken.</ref> For millennia, Garland has been using the Iifa Tree to replace deceased Gaian souls with the hibernating Terran souls, turning the former into Mist in the process; this will allow the Terrans to be reborn into the Genomes after the planetary merge.<ref group="q">'''Garland''': the Iifa Tree blocks the flow of Gaia's souls, while it lets those of Terra flow freely.</ref><ref group="q">'''Garland''': The role of the Iifa Tree is that of Soul Divider. The Mist you see comprises the stagnant souls of Gaia&nbsp;...</ref> Kuja and Zidane are Genomes created to accelerate this process by bringing war and chaos to Gaia.<ref group="q">'''Zidane''': So&nbsp;... 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.</ref> Kuja had betrayed Garland to avoid becoming occupied by a Terran soul. Kuja defeats Garland, who reveals before dying that the former has a limited lifespan anyhow: Garland designed Zidane to be his replacement.<ref group="q">'''Garland''': There's a limit to your life&nbsp;... You'll be dead soon&nbsp;... Even as I die, you'll have died without ever leaving your mark on the world&nbsp;...</ref> Enraged, Kuja destroys Terra and escapes to the Iifa Tree.

At the Iifa Tree, the party enters Memoria and reaches the origin of the universe: the Crystal World. They defeat Kuja, preventing him from destroying the original crystal of life and thus the universe.<ref group="q">'''Kuja''': It's the original crystal&nbsp;... This is where it all began&nbsp;... The birthplace of all things&nbsp;... Once I destroy it, everything will be gone. Gaia, Terra, the universe, everything&nbsp;...</ref> After defeating Necron, a force of death,<ref group="q">'''Necron''': I exist for one purpose&nbsp;... To return everything back to the zero world, where there is no life and no crystal to give life.</ref> the Tree collapses; the party flees, while Zidane stays behind to rescue Kuja.<ref group="q">'''Zidane''':&nbsp;... Kuja's still alive. I can't just leave him.</ref> One year later, the game reveals the cast's fate: Tantalus arrives in Alexandria to put on a show; Vivi has implicitly died as Black Mages only live for a year, but he has left behind several identical "sons," as well as grown to understand the meaning of life; Freya and Fratley are rebuilding Burmecia; Cid has adopted Eiko; Quina works in the castle's kitchen; Amarant and Lani are travelling together; and Garnet presides as queen of Alexandria, with Steiner and Beatrix as her guards. In the climax of Tantalus's performance, the lead actor reveals himself as Zidane in disguise and reunites with Queen Garnet.<ref group="q">'''Robed performer''': I beseech thee, wondrous moonlight, grant me my only wish! ''[removes robe, revealing himself as - ]'' '''Zidane''': Bring my beloved Dagger to me!</ref>