ITEMS TO GET: Phoenix Down, Elixir, X-Blade, Survival Vest, ? Earring

   Return to Madain Sari. All the Moogles come out, and Eiko runs off. Follow her to the waterfall screen; now the Moogles blocking the cave at the bottom -- Eiko's room -- have left. Go inside and talk to Eiko. Eventually, she'll leave, but then VIVI races in to report that she's in danger. Before you leave, open the two chests (one of them is on the shelf on the left) for a Survival Best and a Phoenix Down. Be sure to also arm Zidane with the Counter ability.

   Head to the Sacred Beast shrine and talk to the Moogle blocking the entrance. Choose the second option first to restore your HP and MP, then choose the first option to receive an X-Blade and an Elixir. The X-Blade probably isn't better than the weapon Zidane currently has, but you can check -- choose the third option to close the menu and check your status screen. Then talk to the Moogle and choose the first option two more times. The party proceeds inside the shrine, where Lonnie is holding Eiko hostage and demanding Garnet's pendant. Salamander comes to the rescue, but he wants to duel Zidane.

   During the battle, Salamander keeps hopping around; you can only hit him when he's up front. If you have the Counter ability, this will be an easy battle; you can damage Salamander nearly twice as fast. Drink Hi-Potions whenever you need healing. Salamander has 10,000 HP; when he's defeated, you'll receive 9 AP.

   Salamander hops off, leaving Zidane and Garnet in your party. Return to Eiko's room; Eiko will give you her earring (it's a Key Item). A Moogle brings some cakes in, and the screen fades out. When you regain control of Zidane, go outside and search the bottom corner of the bridge to find Garnet. There's a lot of dialogue, and eventually you'll end up back at the entrance of Madain Sari. Salamander shows up and joins the group; you can, of course, rename him. You have five characters now, so you'll have to choose one character to leave out -- choose either Garnet or Eiko, since their abilities are so similar.

   Salamander's starting equipment is terrible, so put together a better set of equipment for him between your inventory and the shop Moogle -- while Salamander's equipment choices are always limited, you can certainly improve on what he has. You can also buy boomerangs from the Moogle; these can be activated with Salamander's Throw command (the second one on his menu.)