Final Fantasy IX: The Rose of May (Kuja's Journals)
Prologue: The Son of Terra
His face peered into the glass of the test tube, fascinated at the prospect of seeing more like him. They were rather crude looking, but he was certain that he looked just as crude when he was in their place. The laboratory was rather quiet, but he preferred the silence as opposed to life in the castle. His father allowed him to remain outside of the castle so long as he came back every evening, though admittedly he was unaware when it was day or night as the planet just seemed so still, so bleak, so... lifeless.
Other than himself and his father, he knew no one else and longed for contact with others. His father instilled him with the knowledge that he would one day bask in the glory of an entire planet's worth of people and they would look to him as their savior, but that would not be now nor would it be soon. For now he had to settle for the knowledge that he would soon have a familial relation with someone other than his father.
The boy's father was not so easy to socialize with either, but the boy loved him with all his heart. He had no reason not to love him as the man gave him life when he didn't need to. His father was a harsh man and felt little need to positively support the boy. But the man kept contact with the boy every day and was a difficult taskmaster, asking much of the boy. Not that the boy minded, for without his father he would have no one on this planet. It was just them alone.
The boy, hands and face pressed against the glass, stared at the closed eyes of someone who looked similar to him. The face wasn't quite constructed right like a half formed art project. He was a little anxious to see how it would feel to talk to someone like him. The other tubes were also filled with others, some with more feminine features and others that were clearly male, but one tube caught his eye. The tube contained a small creature in it, much like the others but significantly smaller. It had minimal hair and was pudgier than the others that his father had created. Maybe the thing was like him? He himself was smaller than the others and every year that passed seemed like he would grow just a little bit. The others already looked fully grown, this thing in the tube appeared to be something special.
What am I? That was the thought that lingered in the boy's mind as he left the laboratory. If the others were already finished products and that's what they would look like forever, then what was he? Were they not the same? They all looked the same to him and they even shared the same qualities that he had. Golden locks of hair, a tail that was as long as his other limbs, a lithe body, and fair skin. These thoughts bothered him as his father looked nothing like what he had created. His father was a towering figure, but all of his hair was on his face and his body was clearly not made of flesh like him. What purpose did he serve? Why did his father bring him into this empty life? Did his father think that his future siblings needed an older figure in their life to guide them into the world?
The boy stopped at the still pond outside of the laboratory, looking at his own reflection. His hair was unlike the others as he had longer tresses of hair and his body was thinner than the others. Perhaps he would fill out when he was older. It didn't seem like a crazy prospect as he was growing all the time. He never took too much time to look into his reflection, but today he inspected his own face a little longer. He understood the concept of aging as his father had impressed upon him that he would grow into a fantastic being capable of doing things that no other could. It was the closest his father would come to praising him and it was also the only time that he felt like family to him.
It was getting late or at least it seemed like he was gone for a long time and the boy decided to venture back into his father's castle. The castle used to terrify the boy when he was a bit younger, but he had grown used to the grotesque monstrosity that filled the hallways of the castle. There were creatures that would venture in and out of the castle and despite them being partially intelligent enough beings that they would avoid the boy, they weren't creatures that could speak or associate with him and his father. When the boy once asked why they had kept the creatures, his father responded that they are there to make him stronger and to protect him from outside danger. It was an answer that never satisfied the boy. Whenever dealing with a question, his father had reminded him that everything was there to make him stronger and more capable.
"You're late Kuja," a loud bellowing voice rang throughout the hallways of the castle.
"I apologize father, but I was just inspecting the other... what are they called?"
"Genomes, you should know this by now boy. You yourself are a genome."
It was a minor reminder that he was also created by this man. Kuja trekked forward as he approached his father's chambers. As he entered, his father stood across the room, far from him with his back turned away. There was no movement and no sound coming from the man, but Kuja knew that his father sensed he was there. There was always a feeling that his father knew wherever Kuja was. Without a word Kuja moved towards his father's side and stood still. It was always like this as he was used to following his father's command. He would eventually receive his father's commands and dutifully perform his tasks without mention.
"Today you are ready to begin your studies."
"Studies?"
Kuja was perplexed, he had done nothing but study since he had been created. His father had impressed upon him basic knowledge of the planet and taught him how to conjure basic spells. None of the spells were particularly useful and his previous combat training that he received offered little use in these spells. Of course, Kuja was under the impression that these moments of training were the only ways that he and his father would be able to connect on anything and it would help him defend himself from the monsters that stalked the halls. It was confusing that he would have any need for it if his father would simply allow these creatures to leave the castle. But alas, maybe his father didn't have the heart to kill them.
It was a thought that Kuja had briefly entertained, but he squashed that theory as his father didn't seem like the sentimental type. His father even found the notion of family ludicrous. He paid no heed to the word father and thought neither positively nor negatively of it, but accepted it as a title that Kuja would call him. He would every now and then correct him by saying that he was less of a father and more a creator.
"You will begin your duties as a son of Terra. This planet is your legacy, a dying planet with it's people kept in an eternal slumber until a vessel suits them."
His father's gaze, stoic as ever, never glanced at Kuja. His chambers overlooked the planet, like a guardian protecting the planet from the imminent destruction that should befall them. His face was devoid of emotion and everything he had said was said as if it was a fact and not just some fanciful soliloquy like the villains from his favorite plays.
"Am... am I a vessel?"
"No. You are a different being. I created you unlike the others. You were built with a soul with the purpose of restoring mother Terra to its former prominence. Unlike the others, you can think, feel, reason, and grow. But you also present weaknesses that the others do not share. While you can think logically like the others, your emotions are also tied into your thought processes. It's the soul that makes you different from the others and makes you this way. It is not something that I can easily get rid of nor shall I. As you are and with my tutelage, Kuja you shall become the greatest Terran and the sacrifices you make now shall pay you in dividends."
"I don't understand, what sacrifices am I making?"
"Unlike your fellow brethren that I am creating, you have were grown from infancy and in this stage you are naught but a child. Your childhood is gone Kuja, you may have noticed that or you may not have but it is gone."
"I have allowed you some leisures to alleviate you of the stress caused from this loss. As you may have noticed, I have allowed you to read those fictional books from that foreign planet and I have taught you the language of their people. This is no mere father acting upon the wishes of a child, but a calculated gambit to help nurture your mind and prepare you for the upcoming events."
It was true that it was strange that his father allowed him to read recreationally since his father saw extraneous activity and hapless leisure as useless. Kuja had never thought much of the subject before, since he had readily accepted the reading material as gifts. He was glad at that time that his father was teaching him how to read the books from the foreign planet, it was one of the few cherished moments that he remembered fondly.
"What events are you talking about, father?"
"Again with this 'father' title. I'm no mere patriarch, but you insist on calling me by that title. I have no need to further explain the falseness of that title, but you shall keep insisting on naming me as such. You duties to this planet Kuja. As I have said earlier, Terra is dying and to insure the survival of our planet we must assimilate the life force of another. This was attempted once before, many ages before I had created you and it failed horribly. Our planet is doomed to die and fade into obscurity, becoming absorbed into the planet Gaia. Your knowledge of the Gaian language is no mere mistake as I have made sure that you would be able to infiltrate the planet and continue with my plans."
"What plans are those?"
"I have planned for you to become my Angel of Death!"
Ms. Sweet T: This is the beginning of another epic as this story is going to capture Kuja at his most vulnerable... childhood! Long before anyone is a villain, they were children and I wanted to give a look at what turned Kuja into a villain. Obviously Garland created Kuja to be a villain, but what psychological factors and physiological factors steered him into becoming what he is today (or at least into the villain that he will become in my main story). Now the main difference between this story and the main story is that this will not be written in script form. Also, after the prologue you can expect the story to shift into a first-person POV that will be written as if it was a journal as opposed to the first-person omniscient POV. I hope you enjoy this companion fic! :)