A/N: This chapter is a bit silly…

Disclaaaiiimeeer: noooneee ooof theee stuuuff heeereee iiis miiineee!!!

Shadows of the Past

Chapter 6: Desert Aria

Mog sat in his cave, in about as bad a mood a moogle can get – which wasn't very bad. He'd finally gotten together all of the other moogles – they'd ran all over the place when the world was destroyed, and he hadn't had to time to look for them all before. At least he wasn't lonely anymore, kupo. But, still, there was his other friends. He hadn't seen them in ages, kupo. They'd all gone off on their own to their own homes, and, truth to tell, he missed them. Umaro was still hanging around his cave, and he was fun, kupo, but there were twelve others that he hadn't seen in like, a year! Then, when he found out that Thief-Boy, Mask-Man, Lightning-Leotard and Lettuce-Top were here, and not even coming to see him – ! Kupo!

So he'd sat in a huff for a whole hour, then decided he was going to look for them. Pulling out is spear (you never knew what was out there, you had to defend yourself, you know) and straightening out his pom-pom, Mog bid farewell to his moogle kingdom – Kupo kupopo! kuupo ku, ku kupo pokuku!! (I'm going on a trip to look for my friends, see you guys later).

Hop-flying (the way most moogles like to walk) down the mines of Narshe, Mog came out on the bridge and started to look for his friends. His sixth moogle-sense led him to a slightly run-down, but cozy house. He hop-flew across the snow, landing on the doorstep and skidding a bit on the ice – kupo! He placed his spear carefully down on the ground and knocked three times.

Celes opened the door, looking around. Was this some kind of prank, there was no-one –"

"HEY! Down here, Kupo!" Mog said.

"Mog!" Celes cried. "It's nice to see you!"

Mog did a moogle's pout, his pom-pom drooping down in front of his eyes. "You guys didn't visit me, kupo. You hurt my feelings, kupo."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mog," Celes said. "We just didn't have the time –"

"Well then MAKE the time, kupo!" Mog leaned his spear on the inside doorframe and bounced in, grinning.

Fluttering a bit, Mog landed on the sofa. "So, kupo, who's here?"

Celes shook her head. "Just me and Locke, now. Terra left over a month ago, and Shadow left yesterday."

"Just you and Locke, huh? Making lots of kupo, eh?" Mog did a moogle-smirk.

Celes shrugged. "Maybe."

"I want the details, kupo!"

"No you don't." Locke walked in, grinning. "Do I hear endless kupos? Mog!" Locke fell on his behind as Mog ran-flew into his stomach, knocking him over. "Oof."

"Thief-Boy, kupo!"

"Call me TREASURE HUNTER!" Locke thought the moogle was too cute to add the 'or I'll rip your lungs out' part.

"Kupo, Thief-Boy!"

"Aargh…"

~*~

Mog stayed for a while, amusing Locke and Celes with his antics, but after a few days bid them farewell, wanting to find Lettuce-Top, since she was going to see Muscle-Man and Edgar. Edgar didn't have a funny name – with a real name like Edgar, who needed a funny one? Besides, Mog and Edgar had some things in common, and Mog thought he was cool, kupo.

So Mog said his goodbyes, kupo, and hop-flew across the snow (he was so small the crust didn't break under his weight) towards the desert and Figaro Castle. There were a few monsters along the way, but nothing that he couldn't take care of with his trusty spear, kupo!

This desert place was kupoing hot. (Please excuse Mog's profanity, kupo). Mog was sweating through his nice kupo-kup (egg-white) fur. The guards at this castle seemed too dazed and amused to stop him coming in – who was afraid of a moogle, kupo! (Of course Mog was another, story, though).

So the king of moogles just waltzed (literally!) right into Figaro castle. Right when he entered the throne room, who did he see but Edgar and Muscle-Man, happily conversing with Lettuce-Top!

~*~

"KUPO!!!" Sabin didn't even register the noise before he fell with an 'oof!' on his backside.

"Mog?"

"Who else would it be, kupo?! My long-lost twin, kupo?!"

Edgar scratched his chin. "Long-lost twin… that sounds familiar…" Sabin grinned.

"Mog!" cried Terra. "I haven't seen you since we all split up! What have you been doing since then?"

"Well, kupo, all my moogles were split up, running away into hiding-places, kupo! So I have to look for them all, kupo! Now I've found everybody, and I'm bored, kupo! So I say to myself, I'm gonna go looking for the others, kupo! I find Thief-Boy and Lightning-Leotard in Narshe, but Lettuce-Top and Mask-Man have left, kupo! I couldn't find Mask-Man, kupo…" his pom-pom drooped.

"It's all right, Mog." Terra patted his head. "Shadow disappears like that."

"HEY! I'm not a moglet anymore!! I can pat my own head!!" Mog scrunched up his face and patted his head, to prove his point. For some reason or another (he couldn't figure out why) they all started laughing.

"It's really nice of you to be here, Mog, really." Terra choked back further laughter.

~*~

"I've been handling spears since you were in diapers, Mog. Compared to my prowess, you're nothing." Edgar said in a smug tone.

Mog did a moogle-grin. "You'd think with all that practice, kupo, you could actually hit something with that spear of yours!"

Edgar rolled his eyes. "But my kingdom is waay bigger than yours will ever be. Come on, you've got to admit that."

"Your kingdom? Excuse me, kupo, but I rule over the finest moogles in the whole kupoing world! All you've got is, what, hundreds of square miles of land and a few thousand people, kupo. There's just no comparison, kupo!" Mog was stubborn.

"…"

"Tell you what, kupo. I'll quite while I'm ahead. Lets go with me just being kinda better than you, instead of mopping the floor with your kupo."

"…"

~*~

Mog stayed for a few days, as before, and then continued on his journey to find all his friends, leaving behind an amused Terra, Edgar, and Sabin.

"That Mog is quite amusing." Edgar commented as the moogle went on his way.

"A regular comedian," Sabin said dryly. "He should do standup in front of a live audience."

Edgar grinned. "With Mog, it's never regular."

~*~

If there was one really good thing that Terra could say about Figaro Castle, it was the food. No more trail rations, no more watery soups and bread that was burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. She was tempted just to stay here just for the food.

"You eat like a king here, and I have to eat beans and bread! May I repeat, it's not fair!" Terra shoveled another forkful of whatever-kind-of-stew-it-was-this-time with rice.

"Watch out, brother, she's eating like me!" Sabin joked. "You're going to pay a fortune in food bills, I know it!"

"I am a king, that's why I eat like one. But you can stay here, if you like." Edgar suggested. "I certainly wouldn't object." He gave her a wink.

Terra looked annoyed. "Look, enough with the flirting, I'm not interested."

Sabin raised an eyebrow. "I think you hit a nerve, brother. Quit before you mess it up more."

Edgar munched thoughtfully. "Having romantic troubles, Terra? Just ask the Master of Loove."

Sabin gagged. "You're no more the "Master of Loove" than I am a moogle." Edgar just laughed and tossed him a kupo nut. Sabin continued the charade by cracking the nut open and eating it, saying 'kupo' between every bite and spraying nut on the table.

"Argh, eat with your mouth closed, Sabin!" Edgar wiped a piece of kupo nut off his face.

"Sorry, kupo, no can do, kupo!" Sabin took another kupo nut from the bowl.

Edgar shrugged. "I guess that does make me the Master of Loove." He turned to Terra. "So, pilgrim, what's your problem?"

Terra's mood had not lightened, even through Edgar and Sabin's banter. "Nothing you can do anything about."

Edgar waggled his finger. "Are you doubting my abilities? Please, Terra, indulge me. Who is this mystery man who has caught your fancy?"

"I'm not saying anything. It's personal."

"Come on, Terra. Anyone I know?" He persisted.

"Knew."

"Oh." Edgar's attitude turned around sharply. "He's dead."

"Yes. Just let it go, OK?" Terra wouldn't look at his face.

"It's Leo, isn't it."

"Yes. Happy now?" She crossed her arms.

"No. I'm not happy if you aren't, Terra."

Terra rolled her eyes. "That sounds really cheesy and clichéd, you know."

Edgar shook his head. "I'm serious. You're my friend, Terra. Friends aren't happy when their friends aren't. I just wanted to know… I hardly knew General Leo. But you spent a lot of time with the Empire. I wanted to know if, maybe, you remembered him from before."

Terra let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. "Yes. I knew him… very well. Most of my time in the Empire, you know, I didn't have a slave crown. It wasn't until I started resisting… when I was about sixteen. Before then, I was perfectly willing. I remember Celes, vaguely. We never did spend much time together, I don't know, but I guess she considered me weak, because I would show my emotions openly. Well, by Empire standards, anyway. Celes would never even give anyone the time of day. She was very ambitious, and never thought very highly of 'men and their pride'.

Kefka was always an asshole, even back when he was sane. I don't know what made him crack or why, or even exactly when it happened, but after some point in time he was never together mentally. He always had horrible taste in makeup, and his clothes were atrocious. We used to make bets on what color he'd wear – he liked to get a new color every day, but his favorite was red. The color of fresh blood, he'd say.

Gestahl, now, that guy was damned ambitious, but sane. He knew what he wanted and exactly how to get it, with the least amount of effort and money. Gestahl was nothing if not efficient. He never really bothered me so much as Kefka. He just wanted to rule, not destroy.

Leo… how could I put this? He was always so goddamn humanitarian, pissed a lot of people off. I don't know how or why he started with the Empire; he was as out of place there as a tonberry in a chocobo nest. Or, rather, a chocobo in a tonberry nest. Do tonberries have nests…? Anyway, I think it was some kind of family thing for him, but once he started he followed Gestahl out of loyalty. Leo was unbelievably loyal, and that's what killed him. He refused to believe the man he served was evil.

I knew Leo the best out of all of them. We were lovers. I don't know what he saw in me, but I sure as hell know what I saw in him. He was possibly the greatest human being I've ever met in my life. We kept it under the ivy bush; hell knows what something like that could do to your reputation. And shit like that can always be used against you by your enemies – mostly Kefka.

When I started to realize what the Empire was doing and wanted to rebel, Leo wouldn't have any part of it. He was sure there was a fair and logical reason behind everything the Empire did. Right before they put the slave crown on me… he told me that everything had gone between us and none of the past year had ever happened. Once I escaped, I thought that I'd never see him again. As you know, I was wrong. When I saw him again on the boat to Thamasa, everything came flooding back. I wanted to say I was sorry – but what would I say that I was sorry for? I still think that he was the one who was wrong. But maybe I just wanted him to say that he loved me again. I really don't know."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Another epic for you.

I said tonberry, not pug, because godammit they've always been TONBERRIES and not pugs, and I don't know why the hell the translators changed it for VI. It's been tonberries for V, VII and VIII, and I'm pretty damn sure all the other ones, too. It irks me, it really does. That and the Malboro thing. (It's MALBORO, not Morbol or any other crap you come up with!!)