[In the cockpit:]

Baku: "Oww... My back's killin' me. Are you alright?"

Cinna: "Yeah, but the Prima Vista's wasted."

Baku: "Just our luck to crash into this forest... It's gonna get
interesting..."

Cinna: "What do you mean, 'interesting,' Boss? I hear no one's ever
made it outta here alive."

Blank: "Boss! There's fire everywhere! It's outta control!"

Baku: "Quit yer whinin' and get it under control! And get the wounded
outta here!"

Blank: "Alright!"

[Blank leaves.]

Baku: "Get our goods outta here, too: weapons, items, anything we can
use! There's no way we can survive if all our stuff is toast."

Cinna: "I'm on it!"

[Awhile later, Cinna lies outside on the ground. Boxes and some of
the wounded lie there, too.]

Cinna: "Phew... I'm beat... Hurry up and put out the fire! I can't
carry 'em all by myself! What the hell are they doin'!? The
whole ship's gonna burn up!"

Zenero: "They're lookin' for Garnet... Can't find her anywhere. Maybe
she fell off... Got squashed under the ship."

Cinna: "This is great. First we kidnap her, then we kill her. We'll
hang for sure."

[Zidane finds his way down and runs over.]

Cinna: "Zidane, I'm surprised you made it! I can't believe you jumped
off! You're nuts, you know that?"

Zidane: "I didn't jump off. I got thrown out from the impact. So, is
everyone okay?"

Cinna: "Yeah. We've all got the devil's luck. But if we don't find
Princess Garnet, we're all dead meat."

[A moogle flies down and the words ATE appear on the screen.]

Moogle: "ATE, kupo! Active Time Event is a system that lets you see
other events that are happening at the same time elsewhere,
kupo! Press the SELECT button when you see the icon flashing
below. You can press the button anytime while the icon is
flashing. Try pressing [SELECT], kupo!"

[The player sees 'The Forest Keeper' ATE, heading into the forest at
Benero's urging. He finds Vivi on his rear, staring in fear.]

Vivi: "Sh-She's in trouble..."

Zidane: "...What the hell is that?"

[Zidane runs to Steiner's aid, finding a large plant with Garnet
encaged inside of it.]

Steiner: "Release the princess at once!!!"

Zidane: "Yeah, like it's gonna actually listen to you. Come on!"

[The party wounds the Prison Cage, but it flees with Garnet.]

Steiner: "Princess? PRINCESS!!!"

Zidane: "What the heck? Where did they go?"

Vivi: "She's gone... I was too scared to cast any spells... That
monster's probably gonna eat her..."

Steiner: "How could I let this happen!?"

Zidane: "Don't worry. She's not dead yet. That monster was only a
minion. He's probably gonna take her to his master."

Steiner: "That means the princess might still be-- Come! We must go
find her at once!"

Vivi: "WHOA!!!"

[Another Prison Cage swings down and gets Vivi.]

Steiner: "!!!"
Zidane: "!!!"

[The second fight begins and they rescue Vivi.]

Vivi: "Phew... Th-Thanks..."

Zidane: "Are you alright?"

Vivi: "Y-Yeah... I think so."

[The Prison Cage rises up...]

Vivi: "!!!"
Zidane: "!!!"
Steiner: "!!!"

[...and sprays a noxious-looking gas at the three. Zidane jumps over
the spray, though. Vivi goes down.]

Steiner: "UGH! P-Prin...cess..."

[Later on, Vivi is resting in a bed on the Prima Vista. Blank stands
there and appears to have been taking care of him.]

Blank: "You guys are lucky. If it weren't for Zidane, you'd both be
dead. Some of the monsters in this forest reproduce by planting
seeds in other animals. And when the seeds sprout, it's hasta
la vista: you become beef jerky."

Vivi: "Um... A-Am I gonna die?"

Blank: "No. You're gonna be fine. Here, drink this. It'll remove all
the seeds from your body."

Vivi: "Ugh...eeyuck..."

[Elsewhere, a drowsy Steiner is being led to a room by Zenero.]

Steiner: "Princess... I'm coming right now..."

[He runs into Benero.]

Steiner: "...Stand aside!"

Benero: "Room behind you. Go."

Steiner: "The princess...is in grave danger! Do you intend to ABANDON
HER!?"

Benero: "You're in no condition."

Zenero: "Don't worry about the princess. The boss'll think of something."

[They turn him around...]

Steiner: "Hey! Stop!"

[...and push him into a room.]

Zenero: "Get some rest."

Benero: "Yeah, and take that medicine I gave you."

[In the room:]

Steiner: "Dammit... I can't just stand here... The princess's life
rests in my hands. What cantheir boss possibly accomplish!?
This medicine... It smells terrible. And the color... This
is obviously poison! Ugh... I can't
take it anymore... God help me!"

[He chugs the medicine.]

Steiner: "Hey... Not bad."

[Up in the cockpit, Baku and Zidane are speaking.]

Baku: "Forget it. Monsters born from the Mist are crawlin' everywhere."

Zidane: "So what? There's nothing out there we can't handle."

Baku: "Yeah, but what are we gonna do about the wounded?"

Zidane: "We can take 'em with us."

Baku: "How are we gonna carry all of them? Trust me. We go out now,
and we'll all get wasted. My boys come before the princess, you
know. It's too bad..."

Zidane: "!!!"

Baku: "We're gonna stay put 'til everyone recovers. You better not
set one foot outside this ship. You got that!?"

Zidane: "I can't believe you're abandoning her! You're nothing but a
big coward!"

[Zidane storms off, and goes down to Vivi's room.]

Vivi: "Oh... Th-Thank you for helping me."

Zidane: "Ah, don't mention it. Besides, it was your black magic that
saved the day. You know, you've got some major power for such
a little guy."

Vivi: "......"

Zidane: "What's wrong...? Are you peeved at me because I called you
little? Hey, you're a great mage with great powers, alright?
To hell with looks. It's what inside that counts."

Vivi: "I'm sorry. When that monster caught her, I couldn't do anything..."

Zidane: "Hey, don't worry about the princess. I'll get her back. I
promise."

Vivi: "Thank you, Mr. Zidane."

Zidane: "Whoa, that's the first time anyone's called me 'Mr.' Just
call me Zidane, alright?"

Vivi: "Okay...Zidane."

[Zidane walks out of the room.]

Zidane: "Geez... He was pretty down... Maybe I shouldn't have made
that promise. I don't even know if I'll be able to find her..."

[Zidane thinks back to when he first met the princess on the stairway
when she was making her escape.]

Zidane: "She was cute... Then again, maybe I only thought so because
she's a princess. Hmm...... No... She was definitely cute."

[The flashback ends.]

Zidane: "Man, I can't stop thinking about her... What am I gonna do...?"
R1 --> Go look for her
R2 --> Forget her

R1: "Yeah! What's there to think about!? She's cute...and she's
in trouble. That's all that matters." [The Blank scene that
takes place afterwards starts immediately with this option.]

R2: "...The boss is right. The guys come first."

[Zidane walks up to the empty cockpit.]

Zidane: "Geez. I don't know what to do..."

[Another flashback, to when she asks him to kidnap her.]

Zidane: "I don't know why I was chasing her so hard. I
didn't really care about our plan at that point.
And it wasn't just because she's such a doll.
......... I can't explain it. I'm just drawn to
her so strongly..."

[Flashback ends.]

Zidane: "This is crazy. I don't even know her. What am
I gonna do...? Yeah! What's there to think about!?
She's cute...and she's in trouble. That's all that
matters.

Blank: "...There you are. Why do you look so serious? Uh-oh... What
are you up to this time?"

Zidane: "I'm gonna take that knight and the black mage and find the
princess."

Blank: "You're crazy! Man, you don't even know what's out there.
Besides, there's no way the boss'll allow that."

Zidane: "I know..."

Blank: "Sheez... Why do you always gotta play hero? The boss is gonna
kill you. Well, what are you waiting for? Go talk to the boss."

[Zidane finds Baku in the meeting room.]

Baku: "AH! AAAH! AAACHOOO!!! Took you long enough... I fell asleep,
darn it. So, you're leaving, eh?"

Zidane: "Yeah... I promised Garnet I'd kidnap her."

Baku: "Gwahaha! I didn't ask you why! I can't blame you, though.
She's damn beautiful. I guess that's reason enough! Well, I
hope you're ready! 'Cause I'm gonna bust you up for breakin'
the rules."

Zidane: "...Alright."

Baku: "Okay, get your butt over to the cargo room. We got more room
there."

[They go to the cargo room.]

Baku: "You ready!?"
R1 --> Anytime!
R2 --> Hold on

R1: "I ain't holdin' back." [The fight starts.]
R2: "Hurry up!"

[Zidane wins the battle.]

Baku: "I'll be damned... Bravo!"

[He gut-punches Zidane.]

Baku: "Go find your princess! Gwahahahaha..."

[He leaves.]

Zidane: "Damn, that hurt! He pulled his punches 'til that last one."

[Zidane goes to Steiner's room. He's sleeping with Cinna's doll.]

Steiner: "............"

Zidane: "Come on. You're too old to be playing with a doll."

Steiner: "Silence! A scoundrel like you could never understand! I'm
just overwhelmed with concern for the princess! If only you
rogues hadn't kidnapped her... This is all your fault! If
anything should happen to the princess, I will have your
head!"

Zidane: "Take it easy. Geez... I'm gonna go look for her now. I'll
let you come with me if you promise to be good. What do you
say, Rusty?"

Steiner: "RR...RUSTY!!!? I am Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights
of Pluto, and I will never work with you conniving thieves!"

Zidane: "Captain? I figured you were a private, what with that cheap,
rusty armor... Look, this has nothing to do with Tantalus.
It's something I decided to do on my own. I just wanna save
Garnet."

Steiner: "Hmph...! You had better not be lying! Because if you are, I
won't hesistate to kill you!"

Zidane: "Yeah, yeah. I'm counting on you, Rusty."

Steiner: "Make no mistake. I'm only going with you to rescue the
princess! I'll deal with you personally when this is over!"

Zidane: "...Whatever."

Steiner: "It may be difficult with just the two of us. We should seek
Master Vivi's help as well."

Zidane: "Why are you calling him 'Master'?"

Steiner: "You fool. That black mage has unimaginable powers... I don't
want to get him involved, but alas, it can't be helped. We
need Master Vivi's help to rescue the princess."

Zidane: "Alright, let's go talk to Vivi."

[They go to see Vivi.]

Zidane: "Well, Vivi, we're ready to go look for the princess."

Vivi: "Really!? That's great! Be careful, okay?"

Zidane: "Actually, we want you to come with us, too."

Vivi: "Huh!? B-But I can't do anything."

Steiner: "Hardly, Master Vivi. Your magic was highly effective against
that monster. In all honesty, I hold your power in greater
esteem than I do this scoundrel's."

Vivi: "B-But...I'm scared. I couldn't even move last time."

Steiner: "Please, Master Vivi. For the sake of Princess Garnet and all
of Alexandria, I humbly request your assistance!"

Zidane: "Come on! You're a black mage, for crying out loud! Show us
what you've got! Alright, let's get going."

Vivi: "...Okay. I'll...try my best."

Steiner: "Thank you, Master Vivi."

[Zidane leaves.]

Steiner: "Master Vivi..."

Vivi: "Yeah?"

Steiner: "It's about your black magic. I wish to try an experiment.
(I was wondering if...)"

Vivi: "Magic sword...? Okay. I'll give it a try."

[The party goes to leave, but Blank stops Zidane at the exit.]

Blank: "Sheez...you really dig her, huh?"

Zidane: "I can't sit around knowing a girl's in trouble. Goes against
my nature."

Blank: "Whatever. You're full of crap."

Zidane: "Ohhh.... I get it. You're jealous that I'm gonna get me a
sweetie pie."

Blank: "Pshhh... She's not even my type. I came down here to give you
this."

Zidane: "You're always thinking about me...but I won't need a love
potion to reel this one in."

Blank: "Why don't you get your mind off girls for a second? This is
the medicine I gave to that black mage and the knight. It's
sort of like a seed remover."

Zidane: "Cool. This'll really come in handy."

Blank: "Why am I always helping you...?"

[He gives Blank's Medicine to Zidane.]

Blank: "Oh yeah. Here's a little tip from the boss."

Don't forget to set your abilities. Leaving the band is your
business, but you better keep training! Learning more abilities
is gonna make you even stronger.

Good luck,
Baku

Zidane: "Hey, Blank, how do you set abilities again?"

Blank: "Man, how can you forget? It's so basic. Open the Menu, select
Ability, select Equip, and choose the abilities you wanna set."

Zidane: "Thanks, Blank. I'll see you when I see you."

Blank: "How about never?"

[Zidane and company head into the forest, eventually coming to a
spring.]

Zidane: "Hmm... No sign of any monsters here. A spring..."

[An ATE, 'Do As I Say, Not As I Do' plays. The party heads on and
eventually comes to a cavern where a giant plant and an unconscious
Garnet are.]

Vivi: "There she is!"

Zidane: "So this is the master."

Steiner: "Princess!!! You stay out of this! Alexandria would be
disgraced if a mere bandit should rescue the princess."

Zidane: "You think you can handle him on your own?"

Steiner: "......"

Zidane: "Let's get him, Vivi!"

[The battle starts, and Blank arrives during it. They defeat the
creature together. Steiner cradles the princess afterwards.]

Steiner: "Princess!!! Please get a hold of yourself!"

Blank: "Zidane, give her the stuff."

Garnet:

Steiner: "Princess, please try to drink all of it."

Vivi: "Is she gonna be okay?"

[The ground rumbles.]

Blank: "Oh, man! What now!?"

[The place where the Plant Brain sat collapses, and spiders come out.]

Blank: "Sheez! We're gonna be surrounded!"

Zidane: "Let's get out of here!"

Blank: "GO! What are you waitin' for!?"

[They continue on, battling a few spiders as they make their getaway.
Zidane turns around for a moment.]

Blank: "What are you doin'!?"

Zidane: "Something's wrong..."

Blank: "What?"

Zidane: "The entire forest is coming after us. Blank... Take care of
everyone."

Blank: (What did he mean by that?)

[They start running again. FMV: legions of spiders chase the fellows
and the forest starts to petrify itself in an effort to stop them.
A spider attacks Zidane, but he moves out of the way and it catches
Blank. Zidane takes a map that Blank threw at him and runs to the
exit, dodging spiny plant tentacles, and makes it out. The forest
entrance closes and the player sees that Blank was petrified along
with the forest. Afterwards, Zidane searches for a way in.]

Zidane: "Dammit!!! That idiot! Blank..."

[The party makes camp as dusk hits, and they gather around a campfire
on the outskirts of the forest.]

Vivi: "I hope she gets well soon..."

Steiner: "This is all his fault! Have you nothing to say, you filth!?"

Garnet: "...Oh..."

Steiner: "P-Princess!!!"

Garnet: "...Steiner? ...How did I survive...? You brought me here?"

Steiner: "It is my sworn duty to protect you at any cost."

Zidane: "What are you talking about? It was Vivi's magic and my dagger
that got you out of there, Princess."

Garnet: "I thank you both."

Steiner: "That monkey deserves no praise! None of this would've
happened if you and your band hadn't abducted the princess!
And how dare you claim to have rescued her!? When we get back
to Alexandria, I will--"

Garnet: "Steiner... I left the castle of my own will."

Zidane: "What a coincidence, eh? We went to snatch her, and she wanted
to be snatched."

Steiner: "Impossible!"

Garnet: "It's true."

Zidane: "So what do you say, Rusty? Friends? Come on, let's enjoy this
camping trip while it lasts."

Steiner: "Camping--you imbecile! Surely even you must know something
about the Mist! The vicious monsters it spawns! The
abnormalities it stirs in the mind and body! Princess, we
must leave this dangerous place at once."

Zidane: "You've got to be kidding. She hasn't even fully recovered yet."

Steiner: "Silence! Who asked for your opinion!?"

Zidane: "Alright, tell me... How do you plan to get out of here? We're
standing in a valley surrounded by tall cliffs. And last I
heard, North Gate and South Gate were sealed off."

Steiner: "........."

Zidane: "Yeah. That's what I thought."

Steiner: "Grrrrr..."

Zidane: "The princess can barely walk right now. You went through this.
You should know. I think we should rest here for now."

Steiner: "I will never follow your--"

Zidane: "Steiner!!! State your sworn duty!"

Steiner: "What else!? To protect Princess Garnet Til Alexandros!
...Very well. Until the princess recovers, I will guard this
place with my life."

Zidane: "Sounds good to me. Vivi, let's get some rest."

[The next morning, Zidane inspects the forest entrance again. The
princess walks over.]

Zidane: "How are you feeling?"

Garnet: "Good...thanks to that medicine you gave me. Could this be...?"

Zidane: "Yeah, I was surprised, too. After we beat that big plant-guy,
the forest got completely petrified."

Garnet: "Vivi told me that we were able to escape because of your
friend."

Zidane: "...His name is Blank."

Garnet: "We must go help him."

Zidane: "We can't do anything for him right now."

Garnet: "But...I can't--"

Zidane: "We'll come back for him. I'm sure there's a way to cure him.
Let's get going. According to the map that Blank gave me,
there's a cavern to the south of us. Maybe we can get above
the mist through that cavern. Are you alright? Everything's
gonna be fine. Trust me."

[At the campsite, a moogle comes out of the forest.]

Vivi: "Look! There's something coming!"

Monty: "Wait! Kupo! I'm impressed, kupo! First time I've seen anyone
escape from Evil Forest. You all must be strong, kupo! But
don't get cocky, kupo. Lots of stronger monsters ahead. Before
you go out to the world, Mogster will teach you a few things."

[An ATE plays ("Teach me, Mogster!" Lesson 1) and afterwards:]

Monty: "I have a gift for you, kupo. Take this flute. With this flute,
you can call us anywhere in the world, kupo. Press ([]) to play
it. Happy trails! Kupo!"

Garnet: "Thank you."

Monty: "Kupopo!"

Vivi: "Bye."

Monty: "Kupoo!"

[Zidane slaps Steiner on the back and walks off with the rest of the
party. Steiner looks around unwittingly.]

Steiner: "!!! What the... Who goes there!?"

Monty: "Your friends already left, kupo."

Steiner: "Princess, wait!"

[On the world map:]

- Normal Navigation -

(X) :Enter buildings/Ride a vehicle
([]) :Call moogle
[SELECT] :Toggle navigation map
[L1][R1] :Camera control
[L2] :Lock/unlock camera rotation
[R2] :Switch perspective