eiko had not managed to get to sleep yet. the beds in this inn were too uncomfortable. she decided to try and have a walk and maybe she would get tired then. she climbed out of bed and almost screamed when the two glowing yellow orbs appeared across the room.

'eiko? why are you awake?'

'why are you awake, vivi?' she hissed.

'i was asleep until you started moving around.'

'oh shut up, you're not any quieter! you're as clusmy as your magic.'

'what?' vivi said.

'you heard me! black magic is stupid!'

'and white magic isn't?'

'well, it heals wounds. what does black magic do?'

'if you use it right you don't get any wounds!' vivi said.

'well, it causes them too! and not always to people who deserve it! and some spells are just weird!' eiko retorted.

'huh? what's weird about them?'

'obviously you can use it to attack people, but what about break and timestop? zidane told me about something he did with tantalus...'

'that thing with the gallery? i think he made that up.' vivi interrupted.

'i asked baku! he said it was true!'

'yeah, yeah. what's the point?'

'giving in?' eiko said.

'no, what's your point about those spells and zidane's story?'

'well, what if somebody used those spells to turn people into statues and collect them?'

'um... well, white magic can be used like that too.' vivi tried.

'how?'

'well, a lot of the spells that transform are white magic.'

'how can they be misued?' eiko asked

'well, what if quina learned some spell to turn things into frogs?' vivi said. eiko turned pale

's/he'd go mad with it. she'd turn everything she saw into frogs and eat them!' she realised.

'see? and mini. you shrink someone then step on them.'

'okay, okay, maybe you have a point. but black magic has all the poisoning spells and the blinding spells. whats the point in them?' eiko said.

'whats the point in confuse?'

'well, if you use it on your enemy they can't tell everyone apart and attack themselves sometimes?'

'yeah, but they still sometimes hit you.'

'it's not perfect!' she protested. vivi waved his hands.

'quiet, you'll wake someone up!'

'well, maybe i should! dagger would agree white magic is bette...' eiko said, but found she couldn't speak anymore. neither could vivi.

dagger was awake, and staring at the two of them angrily.

'whatever you're arguing about, settle it tomorrow!' she hissed.

eiko waved her hands in protest.

'go to sleep. i'm not curing you.'

the two reluctantly put their argument on pause.

~~~~~

'what were you two arguing about anyway?' dagger asked in the morning.

'magic.' eiko said.

'what?'

'white magic is better than black magic but vivi doesn't think so!'

dagger laughed.

'well, of course he will, he's a black mage! besides, both of them are just as useful. some people know a few spells of both.' dagger said.

'yeah, well, we didn't prove what was better!'

dagger sighed.

'fine. we'll resolve it. '


~~~~~

'i'm not so sure about this...' zidane said.

the four had went to a clear area near the town with no monsters around. garnet had convinced eiko and vivi to prove which magic was better by showing the other.

'well, it's hardly going to work if they use the spells on each other!' dagger said.

'yeah, but why me? why not you?'

'don't be so silly, zidane. who heals you from whatever they do?'

'um... what exactly are we supposed to do?' eiko said.

'yeah. i'm not sure either.' vivi said.

'simple. take it in turns to cast some spell on zidane.'

'and that's why i'm not sure about this.' zidane sighed.

'stop!'

vivi first decided to timestop zidane, and the theif froze in place. eiko, however, decided to try something a litle different. vivi was suprised to see a spell bounce off a reflect shield around him and head back for eiko.

'mini-aaaah!' eiko said as the spell bounced back and shrank her.

'i figured one of you would try that, so i cast reflect on both of you.' dagger explained.

'can you at least make me normal size?' eiko pleaded at the top of her lungs.

'no. figure it out yourself.' dagger said.

the two carried on.

'break!' vivi shouted, casting the spell. dagger saw it bounce off his own reflect sheild.

'wait a second, vivi, you don't...' dagger said, but the spell hit her. in an instant she turned to stone.

'mini!' eiko said, casting the spell back off vivi and turning herself to normal size. then she saw the petrified dagger.

'vivi, why did you do that?!' eiko said.

'i was trying to hit you!'

'why?'

'you tried to shrink me!'

'well, i didn't, and now your stupid black magic has turned dagger to stone!'

'why not use your magic to turn her back then?'

'i will, in a second!' eiko yelled and readied a spell. vivi prepared another. both forgot they still had reflect status.

'break!' vivi shouted

'mini!'

vivi turned to stone. eiko shrank.

'oh great.' eiko said. she sighed, and cast stona on dagger. she blinked in surprise, and then bent down to speak to eiko

'okay, has this proved anything, eiko?' garnet asked.

'maybe they're both just as useful?' the shrunken white mage shouted.

'exactly.' garnet said, curing zidane's timestopped status. the theif blinked, and was puzzled to see a tiny eiko and a petrified vivi.

'zidane, carry vivi. i'm going to carry eiko.' dagger said.

'wait, aren't you going to turn us back to normal?' eiko squeaked, then found herself silent again. the reflect had worn off.

'later. once you really believe they're both just as useful.' garnet said, and picked an annoyed eiko up.

~~~~~

a few days later, eiko resume the argument when zidane decided that he, garnet, steiner and quina would go to their next destination, leaving eiko and vivi in the airship watched by armarant and freya. armarant of course paid little attention to the others on the ship, but freya was mindful of the risk of mischeif from the two young mages.

'how come zidane took quina instead of you?' eiko asked bluntly. freya sighed

'i don't have a strong ability to defend against magic. the monsters ahead are all magical and they needed those best able to resist their attacks. why did he leave you two?'

'i think he's still mad at us for a few days ago...' vivi said.

'oh?'

'yeah. we started an argument about whats better, black or white magic, and we didn't get to finish it before vivi lost.' eiko said.

'i was winning it!' vivi said.

'wait. you need to train to defend against magic more, right?' eiko asked freya.

'yes, i do.'

'well. what if me and vivi finished our arguement using you as practice.'

freya pondered it.

'well, there's nothing you can do that can't be undone.' she said.

'um...' vivi was about to say, but eiko cut him off.

'great! i'll show you white is better. i can undo everything vivi does and he can't undo one thing i can do!'

freya braced herself as vivi prepared a weak fire spell. she grunted as it struck, doing some damage. eiko then immediately cast cure and it was nullified

'see? and i can stop it before it even gets too far!' eiko said, and cast another spell. vivi paused

'what was that?' he asked.

'cast something and see.'

'it's not reflect, vivi.' freya said. the black mage cast a thunder spell that did even less damage.

'shell! helps defend against magic!' eiko beamed.

vivi then decided to try something that wouldn't be weakened. he froze freya in time. the burmecian dragoon froze in place.

'easy.'

eiko cast a spell and soon, freya was moving again. vivi tried something similar. this time, every strand of her fur and every part of her body turned to stone, and even her clothes and weapons petrified.

'vivi, you're doing this on purpose' eiko sighed and cast stona. freya was moving again.

vivi then tried another approach, casting soemthing neither of the two had seen.

'vivi, what are you doing?' freya asked, as he cast the spell. she yelled out as she suddenly was encased in ice from head to toe.

'try and cure that, eiko!' vivi said.

'ivi hat ave ou one?' freya asked muffled in her icy coating.

'freeze?! you can cast freeze?!' eiko asked.

'yeah. it's just an ice spell aimed carefully.' vivi said. eiko was puzzled. she tried three spells with no effect.

'urry, is real cold!' freya pleaded.

'i give up, vivi, how is it cured?' eiko confessed. vivi grinned and cast fire. the ice melted away, leaving a releived, but damp, freya.

'well, there's something vivi does you can't undo!' freya smiled. eiko growled.

'well, he can't undo anything i do!' eiko said.

'let's prove it.' vivi said. eiko then cast a spell and freya found herself shrinking.

'how do you cure that with black magic then?' eiko asked. vivi shook his head.

'you don't.' eiko restored freya's size.

'and what about this?' eiko asked, casting another spell.

'that didn't do anything.' freya said, talking to the ceiling.

'what's this?' vivi asked.

'a tortoise.' freya said.

'confuse. freya's completely bewildered now. what are you freya?'

'i think i'll have some cheese.'

vivi sighed, and tapped her lightly. freya shook her head.

'what the?'

'that was an easy one for you vivi. try and cure this!' eiko said, and freya felt herself shrink again. but something was different. she decided to ask what.

'ribbit? ribbit!' freya croaked.

'you turned her into a frog?!' vivi said.

'yep! it's actually the same spell as mini, you just focus on a different shape.' eiko said. she demonstrated. freya grew larger.

'buckaw?!' the chicken freya asked.

'whoa. that's kind of cool. what else?' vivi asked.

'i'll show you if you admit i win!' eiko said.

'yeah, yeah.' vivi said. eiko cheered.

'yay! i win!'

'buckaw...?' freya clucked nervously

'meow?!' she screeched in surprise to find she was a hated cat. a race of ratmen and women generally were not liked by cats and so did not like them much.

'woof?' she barked in dismay. dogs were not much better.

'oink?' freya snorted. now she was a pig. what other madness did eiko have in mind?

'okay, i give in, what am i now?' freya asked. she was now small and green.

'an imp.' eiko said, and cast another spell.

'this one's obvious, kupo.' freya said, and was surprised to hear the last part. then she grew much bigger.

'wark?' she asked in confusion.

finally, eiko undid the spell.

'well, i think i know how to defend myself against some magic now.' freya said.

'how?' vivi asked.

'don't annoy you two. hey, that spell, can it do oglops?' freya pondered.

eiko nodded.

'have you ever thought of playing a joke on zidane or garnet?' freya asked mischeviously.