"They win," comes the slightly-hoarse reply. Kuja pulls his attention away from Garland, a flicker of doubt showing in the old man's eyes as Zidane's assault continues, furious and unchecked, moving with inhuman speed- and already the others are rallying, joining the fray as Garland is forced further and further back.

Kuja looks up at the airships, knowing which one he's got to claim. "Please stay out of the way. I'll bring it down. We don't want to be here when everything goes wrong." He rises, then, propelled into the sky by force of magic alone. It was a trick he hadn't used often- it was taxing without the insane power of Trance, but he'd almost forgotten the simple elation of it, of being unconstrained by such petty concepts as gravity... but there's work to do. Already, the smaller airship is drifting, listing to the side without a pilot to hold the wheel.

On the ground, there's an explosion of lethal, violent energy, and Garland is thrown backwards, as the tailed boy's Trance fades, his body shaking with exertion... and as Kuja rises into the sky, there's an eerie symmetry, for a moment, as another Kuja descends, his face alight with a perverse glee.

The Reaper lands in front of Garland, laughing as though enjoying a private joke that nobody else has got yet.

"I must say... I truly adore you all."