To Be, Or Not To Be, the Lost Journey of a Moogle
A/N
I have lost my mind. xD
My name is Kutop. I am pipapopupo years old. (That's 28 in Human Years.) Today I am about to embark on my own amazing journey through a rotten, evil place us Moogles call "Ku-Hu-Tu-Lu". (That's "Hell" in human words.) I heard a human call it "Midgar", but I will call it Ku-Hu-Tu-Lu, because quite frankly Midgar sounds like a silly name. It sounds too much like the Moogle word "Mid-Gu", which is what us Moogles call our, what humans call, "Toilets."
I would much rather go into a place called "Hell" than a place called "Toilet". I'm sure Ku-Hu-Tu-Lu smells better and is of better hygiene.
Why am I entering, Ku-Hu-Tu-Lu, you might ask? Well, I remember it as if it were yesterday... Probably because it was yesterday.
The wind was blowing in my fur, my Tu-Ho-Po swaying in the breeze gracefully, my wife sitting beside me and our daughter sitting beside her, and all nineteen of our sons running about playing Ku-Ball, when suddenly, from above the treetops a sickening noise was heard: The roar of some sort of aircraft, and the words of a human.
"This place is practically gushing over with Mako! Make room for the reactor A.S.A.P.!"
Being one of the few Moogles in our fair village able to understand Human Word, I rushed to the Elder's Circle as quickly as my feet could carry me after I rushed my small family to our home.
"What did the human say, young Kutop?" They asked me calmly, not noticing my urgency.
"Elders, the humans wish to destroy our homes to build a Like Sucking Machine, like with our last home! They must sense the Lakes of Life that keep our village so prosperous!" I shouted in our language. "Mako Reactor!" I shrieked in Human Word.
A long and silent hour passed before the Elders reached a decision and called our bravest Human Word-knowing warriors in front of the Elder's Circle.
"Young Kutu, Topo, Moggin, Mogun, Potu, Kowu, Kutop, and Ropo, we have called you here today to brief you on your quest as Moogle Warriors."
I breathed deeply and fought back my Moogle Tears (Which are more noticeable than human tears because they are a deep shade of purple), the idea of leaving my small family of 21 behind pulling at my little Moogle heartstrings like mad.
"You are to use your inner Moogle knowledge and strength and embark on a journey across the planet to stop this. Should you fail; the rest of us will flee to the nearby Chocobo forest for safety. While you are away we will create a barrier around our forest to keep the Life Drainer's at bay," the Elder's explained to us, "You will leave tomorrow morning. Until then, young Moogle Warriors, spend time with your loved ones and prepare for your quest."
So now I, Kutop of the Yukupo village, am on quest to go to the Life Drainer's directly and stop their plans. I plan to acquire human partners on the way to assist me in battles and to guide me if I am lost, since us Yukupo's are forbidden to rely on other Moogles during urgent quests such as this.
I expect it may take days to reach Ku-Hu-Tu-Lu
Ku-Hu-Tu-Lu appears to be much larger than I had ever imagined. It reeks of dirty humans and strange food. I am standing outside of the gates. The gates are not very high… I could easily fly over them if I tried, but I wish to reserve my energy and Kupo nuts for any upcoming battles I may encounter.
I see a hole in the ground… Maybe I could crawl under… Yes! I am now inside Ku-Hu-Tu-Lu. It looks so dirty, and I see little plant life aside from small weed sprouts. Why do they have these weeds, I wonder? They have very little nutritional value and they taste terrible. Why do humans grow and eat them instead of nuts and flowers?
Everyone looks so sad… Could it be the lack of nuts and flowers? No wonder. All Moogles in our village would be terribly depressed without nuts and flowers… I wonder if the Chocobo forest has nuts and flowers? They would cheer us up should we fail- No, no. I won't even think like this. I won't fail! I shan't fail. Moogles should never dream of failing. It is not in our nature to fail. We are a powerful race!
Now to search for a human to assist me. I have to walk in the shadows to avoid the nasty ones that reek of alcohol and other strange food.
All of this walking is making my feet hurt. I haven't found any humans that could possibly help assist me. Maybe that one, over there, in the blue top? No… no, that's a child. Sad that a human child is larger than I… What about that one, walking around with a bag draped around her arm…? No, that human female looks far too fragile, barely strong enough to carry her own bag.
This place is so dark. Nothing at all like my wonderful village, where the little Moogles dance and play, and the air smells of flowers and nuts… I miss the flowers especially so much, I think I can almost smell one… No, I do smell flowers. It smells like… Yes, a sweet yellow flower! Where is it? Not to my left, neither to my right… If I'm not mistaken it's… Yes! It's a plucked flower. Oh, if I could just sniff it closely, maybe I could be strong enough to fly…The smell is getting closer, and closer, though I am standing still. This must mean that some sort of walking creature is carrying it.
I… I see the creature! A human with yellow fur on the top of his head, very pokey-looking, somewhat resembling that of a yellow Chocobo. He looks strong, but not mean or greedy. Perhaps he would share the flower with me, and we could eat it together to bond so he would trust me enough to assist me?
I will go speak to him.
"Excuse me," I said to him in Human Word. "That flower… is that yours?" I asked him from the shadows.
"Did you...?" The yellow pokey-looking male said, a dubious expression across his face. "Did you just… say something?"
"Yes, yellow one. I take you have never spoken with a Moogle before, understandably. We Moogles rarely enter the reeking human civilizations. Does that flower belong to you?"
"Y-Yeah," He finally choked out, though he obviously still doubted our conversation very much. "Well, it is, but it's for someone. A very special friend of mine," he said, smiling at the flower. "Why do you want to know?"
"Well, I haven't eaten in ages. I'm very hungry, and the flower smells so sweet…" I explained to him. "I thought there weren't any flowers in Ku-Hu-Tu-Lu?"
"Koo-hoo-what?"
"Midgar."
"Oh… Uh…Yeah. I bought this from a girl a few blocks back," he explained. "She has a flower business. They're real cheap; if you find her you could buy-"
"What is her name?" I interrupted the pokey male to say. My growling stomach is getting impatient.
"You know… I didn't think to ask… Maybe I'll see her again. I bet I will. Women don't forget me easily."
"Would you escort me back to her, human?" I asked him, ignoring his haughty words.
"That's 'Cloud'," He said, rudely correcting me, "…Yeah, I guess I could. But fast. I have to be somewhere."
"Much obliged, pokey Cloud. Now, we must leave." I said as we began to start our journey to the flower selling female.
As we are walking, I can see that this area looks even worse than the area I was previously in. Perhaps the pokey-headed one can explain this to me? I have never seen a habitat change so suddenly.
"Pokey Cloud?" I asked him.
"'Cloud'. What?"
"Why does this area look so run-down and in ruins?"
"It's the Slums."
"Slumps? But I do not see any hills."
"No, Slums. It pretty much means that we're in one of the crappiest parts of town."
"Ah. I see." I still don't quite understand, but I shan't let him know that. In case he is, in fact, an enemy, I will not let him believe that I am inferior. Although, if he underestimates me maybe I could… No. A Moogle warrior such as myself should not stoop to such a low.
Cloud's expression looks strange. His eyes have begun to glow, as we have entered a large area of shadow. In all of the books I have read about humans, none of them has explained that human's eyes glow in the shadow. I shall make note of this and take it to the Yukupo library.
"Cloud, what makes human eyes glow?"
"Well, they don't… Well, mine do. But that's because I'm…" He paused and ran his right hand through his pokey hair. "An ex-SOLDIER."
"Ah. Being an ex-SOLDIER makes your eyes glow. I see." I'm sure the Yukupo's will be very pleased to hear of my new discovery.
The current expression on Cloud's face tells me that something is wrong. He's looking to his left and right nervously. Maybe he lost the flower selling female's scent?
"Can you fight?" He suddenly said.
"Fight? Yes. I am a Moogle War-!"
"Can you fight against people? These morons are about to try and mug us," he said loudly, apparently wanting the 'morons' to hear. The 'morons' are a small group of humans that smell like a mix of vomit and rotten fruit. "Never mind. I'll take them. You can wait over there. This won't take long," he said, gesturing towards a tent-like structure that was covered with a brown tarp. Although I could easily defeat them, I suppose I will observe his combat skills.
When the 'morons' charged at him with utmost speed, he drew out an eccentrically large sword, about twelve times the size of the average Moogle sword. He is very swift with his movements. The first human is defeated and… Success! The second is defeated as well! One more to go and the battle would be… Over!
"Kudos, Cloud! That battle looked effortless!" I exclaimed loudly as the battle came to an end. "You must teach me how to use that sword! It's marvelous!"
"Ha, maybe some other time," he said to me. "We're almost there. Let's go." I nodded and ran up to him.
This area has many large pictures on the walls, of both male and female humans, adorned in cosmetics and strange clothes. It's a shame that humans must always wear clothes. I wonder what happened to their fur? I bet fur is far more comfortable than clothes.
Cloud's new expression looks confused. He stopped walking and is once again looking to his left and right, searching for something.
"She's… Not here anymore." He said. "She must've gone home... Sorry, little guy."
"That's 'Kutop'," I said imitating his rude correction from before. "She is gone… Where could she be?" I asked him.
"Dunno. Home, I guess. If you look for her you'll have to find her eventually." He said. "Either way, I'm leaving."
"Alright," I said. "Cloud, I beg that you do not tell anyone of our meeting. Not a single soul. Not even the flower selling female if you meet her again. Swear."
"Um… Yeah, sure. I solemnly swear." He said while drawing an invisible 'X' over his chest. In a book that I have read about humans, that is the mark of a promise if drawn invisibly over one's heart, and on the ground it marks treasure. Strange, but true, I assure you.
"Farewell, Cloud. As a Moogle warrior of the Yukupo village, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your assistance. You have helped me on my quest against the Life Drainers. Mako Reactors, if you will."
"Not a problem," He said. "Er... Uh… Farewell, Kutop er… Whatever your name is."
Alright. I have already taken a step toward my goal by meeting my first human. Now, I shall find the flower selling female, collect flowers and make my way to the Life Drainers.
A/N
Well, I was playing the Moogle video game in Final Fantasy 7 inside of the arcade in Gold Saucer, and was randomly inspired to write a fan fiction about a super-dramatic Moogle named Kutop.
Am I insane? Just bored? A little of both. And there is nothing worse than an insane bored person.
Either way, thanks for reading! (You read all the way to the end of Chapter 1! Kudos for your patience!)
-Lunatic