XXI. Identity Crisis.
It all happened too fast. The goddess, devoured by fire in front of their eyes, Chaos, impossibly powerful for all they feared and their time, tightly wrapped to their necks in the search for victory. If this was Cosmos' plan all along, it was certainly the most disappointing outcome.
But she gave the last of her power to Kuja; and Terra immediately knew that this was related to the way he guided them out of the shadows. Everyone somehow made it back to the Order's Sanctuary, or at least what it appeared to be. Nobody seemed to be hurt at all, at least not physically.
They fell unto silence, some of them quietly arguing how did Kuja managed to obtain Cosmos' last blessing, or if he was directly responsible for taking them back. Nobody was answering anybody, and Kuja seemed unable to give answers. He needed a break, for goodness sake!
Terra, still shaking from the awful experience, directed her attention to the Onion Knight, the child was loud about his frustration.
"Cosmos… she was so suddenly an easy target for Chaos… Why did it happen?" the boy groaned, observing the splendor of the green emerald crystal within his hands. Terra walked next to him, observing her red Magicite crystal as if there was a puzzle waiting to be solved, but several seconds passed away before anyone could come up with new words.
Bartz was the first to speak out. "… Maybe the crystals. These crystals are parts of her. Just as you said, Kuja… Right?"
Everyone's eyes were suddenly upon the pale mage, who barely acknowledged their confusion and questioning to him. Even Terra was aware that he left so many links unshared to the recent twist of events.
He sighed slightly and lifted his face up, putting up a most excellent impartial expression. "Indeed, the crystals you're holding in your hands right now are in fact shards of Cosmos' powers. With each one you obtained, she tore her own being piece by piece. In the end, her heart was weak enough to let Chaos pierce through her ultimate defense. In the end she lost what was barely left of her, a cruel shimmering shade. A painfully poetical way of butchering her god-self for her loyal subjects."
The only female among the group shivered through those neutral words spoken by the man she discovered to love. She almost forgot how scary Kuja could be when he revealed one painful truth. Always with the most poisonous beautiful words.
All of the Harmony Warriors were uncomfortable, shocked by the revelation. Zidane couldn't bring himself to look at his brother or anyone now.
"I can't believe it… She gave us these crystals… and she knew what was coming for her?"
"Why? This… this is too much!" Onion cried. "We're basically the reason she died!"
The thespian wasn't finished whatsoever. "And that's not all of it. Since Cosmos disappeared, even though her soldiers have the promised crystals, you all have a limited life-span to win this war. You need to hurry and defeat Chaos and his warriors before time runs out."
Even lacking in emotion, a dim aggression grew within the throat of the Warrior of Light. "You knew it was going to happen, right? Answer."
"Would it have done any good if I told you about this earlier? I just accepted to play under Cosmos' rules, good warrior."
The youngest one rushed to speak out enraged. "How could you do this? You were aware she was going to die and did nothing to prevent it!"
Kuja twisted the corners of his mouth softly, while his gaze to anywhere was absent for the boy; the dark blue marbles were only looking at Terra, she realized. "Trust me I had the intention of letting you know before it was very late, but by request of your goddess, I kept my mouth shut about the matter."
Then she frowned sadly and tightened the grip on the warm red crystal on her hands.
"It's not fair… Why would she choose to do this?" she muttered.
"The crystals have another use, however." The mage's silken voice continued. "Once this war is won, the crystals will be able to bring you back to the worlds you belong to, otherwise, you'd be forever trapped inside this world, even if the war cycles stopped."
He brought them a silence filled with lightness, making everyone look up at him. Terra's grasp on the crystal only tightened more painfully. "... Is that true, Kuja?"
"Maybe; I'd like it to be. You should have done something really special to touch her heart and move her to grant you such a benevolent wish. But as far as we already know, Cosmos' true nature can be… duplicitous. The crystals did help you tear the darkness, but if they can take you back home, that's far too promising from a treacherous entity like she was."
His speech brought them a great discomfort and internal struggle, wherever he was testing the warriors' will or he was being painfully honest on the matter, nobody could tell. It succeeded to make them doubt. When Terra felt such void empowering their hush, she put the crystal back unto herself and stepped forward to say something.
They were meant to die this way? She couldn't afford to believe in that!
But well, she wasn't alone. The brave thief spoke up first.
"I don't know about you, guys… but even if we can't go back home, I'd much like to give it a shot against that Chaos before I disappear."
His brother seemed unaffected by that resolve. "Zidane…"
"I know, I know what you'll say. But right now, if this is how it ends then we've got nothing to lose. I will fight against Chaos with all my might; if that alone would give us a bit of hope, then that's just what I'm going to do."
"Don't you care if you die?"
Kuja's hollow voice made the little man cringe. "I… Of course I care! I'm not permitted to die until I fulfill my promises, okay?"
"Then you've got everything to lose."
What was he trying to do now, anyways? Of course, Kuja wasn't much of the man who'd bring encouraging words, but at this point, it didn't make sense that he wanted to bring everyone's spirits down. It didn't make sense, because he actually tried to give them hope just a few minutes ago.
The girl sighed and walked past the Onion Knight and faced Kuja, as so many times she did in the past. Her inner fire was so intense but tame as she gazed at his icy soul refuged within the blue orbs.
"We're gonna make it. We're going to win, whatever it takes, and I won't let anyone die. I'm going to make that promise, so I cannot die either." When she turned to see everyone of her comrades, she didn't realize how loud her voice sound as each sultry word escaped her throat. Her cheeks turned pink because of her own impression, but didn't make her stop there. "I know, alone I can't do everything… but making a promise binds me to life, I know it does. So, even if I've got the lowest of chances, even if there's too much pain to take… this part of me who made a promise will force me to keep this small body fighting. That's what I'll do, I'll push myself to the limit, but I won't let myself die."
They all were mute to her speech. This was the first time she talked so much in front of the entire group, and as such an inexpert she was, Terra felt a faint tingle of fear. Was it okay for her to be so straightforward at this moment?
"Terra's right." Zidane said, standing by for her, as the good friend who wouldn't fail. "Everyone here has strong reasons to keep on living. Even now when everything is against us, we should push ourselves to the limit too! I don't want to die with my promises undone."
"Me neither." Squall followed.
"I want to see my family and friends."
"I want to return to my loved ones too."
"I want to accomplish my dream."
"I don't want Cosmos' sacrifice to be in vain."
"Yes! Let's do it!"
"Let's do it for Cosmos!"
"Let's do it for ourselves!"
"For everyone!"
She felt so content. Her speech actually managed to cheer them up, not that they couldn't do it for themselves, but she gave one huge step for all of them. It was such an accomplishing sentiment and there were no words she could use to describe it.
Their plain unraveled into going straight to Chaos' Domain and fight their way through their enemies to defeat the God himself as soon as possible since their time was running out.
They marched with their hopes higher than they could reach.
Terra noticed her dear Kuja walking very discreetly behind Zidane and Bartz, but avoiding any way of interaction with them. His brother stopped trying to force a conversation with him, so Kuja was left to be.
She strolled back a little and joined to his less rapid pacing. When the silver-haired mage noticed her approach, he looked at her and tilted his head almost lovingly.
"What a magnificent motivation. Even if they're mere illusions, I'm proud of you, bird." He grinned with a very low whisper. Terra hardened her expression, but kept track of their mutual walk.
"Please… don't call them illusions. You may believe everything is lost, but we don't. Would you ever regain hope?"
"Hope? That's a very cruel word. I gave up hope the moment my heart changed."
"You're just contradicting yourself. How can you bring hope to everyone else when you deny it for you? Do you mean you're being intentionally cruel to yourself?"
"Being cruel is merely a part of my nature, Terra my love. It's something I can't help myself to change at all."
"… Maybe giving hope is a bit cruel, but having it for yourself… I don't think so. It gave me strength when I needed it the most."
He frowned, telling her how tired he was from hearing it. "Don't explain me how it works. I know it well. It takes you where you wish to be, just if you hope hard enough. But you can't see its retributions. When it breaks, it destroys you and everything surrounding you. It eventually takes the blindfold from you, and then kills you."
This bitterness was already well-known, the part that Terra still couldn't decipher from him. That small spot he still concealed from her.
"Kuja… What was it that took the hope away from you?"
"Would you want me to take the blindfold away from you as well?" he answered roughly. His eyes were daring and unkind, so she felt unwelcome to his words. The last thing she wanted was to rise another awful discussion with him, especially in front of everyone.
"… We should go and keep up with everyone. Chaos won't wait forever…"
She drove her steps to a faster rhythm, admittedly irked by his new question. She arrived to the side of her friends Cloud and Onion, uncaring of her interruption to whatever conversation they held. She felt so bothered by Kuja's query that she wished to talk him no more, at least for the next few hours.
She didn't want to think about it. The more she'd dig into it, the regret would grow deeper within, breeding more ineffective negativism to their newfound task.
From their restless parade through the wastelands they finally encountered the mountains that led path to the nefarious black skies of His territory. Yet, it'd still take many more hours to trespass to the side of Chaos parting from their current distance.
They couldn't deny they felt running out of breath. Those who were younger showed the most evident symptoms of tiredness.
"We've been walking for hours, and there's no teleporting stone anywhere nearby. Shouldn't we rest just for a little while?" gasped Bartz, stopping behind Zidane while resting his hands on his slim knees.
The Warrior of Light, normally void of most of emotions, he almost answered with a growl to the young man. "This is a crucial time we're going through! How can you think about resting now?"
Zidane had to intervene, even exhausted. "Warrior, chill-out. We're all tired, angry and stressed, okay? Let's relax, at least for five short minutes!"
Some, like Onion Knight and Tidus really seemed to need the approval of that petition. Others didn't seem as tired, but perhaps they were holding too strong to really show it.
The Lunarian agreed with the idea. "If we continue like this, once we arrive to Chaos' territory we'll be too drained to fight back the most insignificant enemies."
"He's right. We can refresh our thoughts and make up some tactics." added Firion while whipping off the sweat from his forehead. "Please consider it, Warrior."
"… Very well. Who's on favor to take a rest?" He didn't even finish his question and everyone lifted their hand to vote, except for Kuja, hiding behind the tall figure of Cecil. "Just for one hour, no more." sentenced the nameless warrior.
Terra let out a long audible sigh of relief and found the first spot to sit and rest. Her feet hurt so bad she thought they would start to bleed, because she decided to save her magic until the right moment instead of wasting it on float spells to avoid walking. Besides, she knew it'd unnerve her comrades if she spent the whole time floating. Even Kuja seemed to respect that.
The girl shared a seat against a huge rock with the Onion Knight and closed her eyes for a couple of minutes. She wished she could oblige herself to sleep now, but it seemed impossible now. Secretly, her soul wished to capture again those lost dreams about Kuja and perhaps find something to answer her questions right there.
'… No, maybe I'm giving myself false hopes.' The capricious nature of Kuja retained her from fully understanding him, from finding that last thorn that could possibly let her fix the broken soul he was. 'Maybe… he's right. He's been always beyond repair. I can't keep on pretending to be his savior, because he doesn't need one. At least not one like me.'
When she opened again her heavy eyelids she saw Kuja parting away from Zidane, probably after exchanging a few words. Those siblings seemed to be getting along better time after time. Instinctively, Terra followed the way he went, moving to where many rock formations laid to their rest spot.
Kuja chose to sit between the biggest rocks, so nobody would see him and bother him… Of course, Terra didn't care much. She needed to talk to him after what he made her think through.
Probably he noticed it by now, but she still pretended that she was watching him hidden by the rock's height, laying on her chest with her arms crossed. He sighed without looking up at her, and with an unnatural movement he sat down clenching on his temple and breathing heavily. He was never so open about his pains, but since he was hidden from everyone else he didn't mind Terra being the only one to witness his drag.
"Kuja, is it another headache?" she asked softly, her small voice was loud enough for him to hear.
"I'm fine." Kuja grunted, still looking down. "Besides, we do need a rest. Just… let me be."
He seemed so tired now that he wasn't being observed by his little audience. But even when he never stopped being an actor, he allowed her to see beneath the stage. It was the clear sign of his trust placed on her.
She slowly crawled down her way and gently landed behind him. This closeness was perfect for her, because she could sniff the sweet scent of his silken hair. But she didn't let herself get carried away; there was something she needed to discuss with him.
"Kuja… Why would you make me hesitate?" she murmured to his back, blowing tender air behind his head. The beautiful mage moved his head slightly and chuckled in the most subtle way.
"It is healthy to doubt, little pet. If we doubt, it means that we can think. You think, don't you? You have a will of your own, don't you?"
Twisting her mouth in small disdain, she simply proceeded. "What do you gain by making everyone doubt of Cosmos?"
"I just desire you to take a look to the big picture. Every coin has its two sides."
"I know… but it doesn't feel right. Please, stop. Don't destroy this faith now. We NEED it." Her response was unusually harsh on him. "And she gave you something before she died, didn't she?"
Kuja turned his face to look at her, deep blue mysteries pierced against her own purple seas. He displayed with his right hand a faint kind of magical glow, orbiting around his fingers and wrist, but the ghostly shimmering disappeared too soon before she could tell if it had a shape at all. If she expected to see a jewel of some sort, it never materialized on Kuja's hand. It just seemed like unordinary magic, but not exceptional magic of any particular use. She didn't stop leaning to him with curiosity though, she didn't want to pull away from him yet.
"It's not a crystal what I had. Whatever it was she gave me it begun to fade as fast as I helped you out of the Darkness. I guess this was her plan for me all along, and she merely served me with the leftovers of her divinity. Her last resource, she wasted it on me, and my services as her pawn were short-lived. I begin to think… maybe I wasn't really necessary for you to escape the Darkness." His smirk was so terribly depressing, triggering Terra's deepest sorrows. Also, her feeble anger. "You and your comrades are capable enough to save yourselves, without any aid I could provide."
The hand grasped tightly around his arm as she whispered words of despair rising. "Stop. Just stop. I already told you to don't talk like that again." His sheepish smile never faded, as if he mocked her endless anxiety.
"Exactly how else am I supposed to take this then?" he asked.
"You saved everyone more than once. Shouldn't that prove you something at all?" the voice that interrupted their intimacy was noone but Squall's. When did he fall back again to the bad habits? He was just walking near them with a cold stare directed towards the mage. Kuja scowled regretfully to the brunet youth.
"Please, I'm not in the mood for your greasy teenage face, thank you and good-bye." Kuja didn't even bother to sound fake through his irritation.
"Squall, weren't you resting over there?" asked Terra, more discrete about the feeling she shared with her fellow spellcaster.
The young man simply excused himself shrugging. "I was walking by and I over-heard you, okay?"
Unwelcome, Squall left them alone as soon as he appeared. Terra knew it was a bad idea to allow Kuja and Squall interact, since they were always carrying such tension on their shoulders after so many aggressive encounters. But particularly this time, when Kuja would usually take verbal revenge to his enemy, he chilled down pretty fast.
"He's finally leaving some of that arrogance behind. I'm glad." He said, slightly leaning his head against Terra's chest, but she respectfully rejected his misguided affection.
Nervously she replied: "I think he's still seeing things. Now that I think about it, he hasn't complained about it for a long time…"
"Maybe he's not as delusional as everyone thinks he is..." he murmured, switching his body in a way his whole body was facing her. Maybe his position was too suggestive due their mutual closeness, but she immediately directed all of her attention to his face instead. While she was sitting on an upper level than him and he was virtually kneeling to the height of her chest, he had to keep his face up to properly direct himself to her. "Terra, if I tell you something, a secret… would you promise to don't panic?"
She never liked it when he had new secrets; they always meant something bigger to grieve for. "If you tell me to don't panic, it's likely you'll reveal to me something that will provoke me to do so… But, it's alright if you want to wait. If you think it's better that I don't know, I'll trust in your decision."
To her silent approval, he laid his head on her soft thighs, making her tickle because of the scattered feathers of his long hair, so she couldn't help to adoringly stroke his long silver locks.
Finally he murmured against her skin: "Yes, it's probably for the best. To burden you now will harm your mission's success further. I apologize for suggesting it."
Even though it was a nice sensation of vicinity and warmth, Terra felt that there was something wrong. This submission… this stillness… it wasn't like him. After their… little moment of supreme intimacy, his personality begun to tumble down little by little.
"… Ever since that moment, your voice has grown weaker. There's so much of you that has changed, Kuja."
"Doesn't that make you glad?"
"I… don't know. I did want you to change, but I'm not sure if this is what I wanted." At the end of this sentence, he suddenly lifted his head from her lap and sent a discouraged gaze to her.
"What you wanted…? I thought that you yearned for this. I thought I was fulfilling your fantasy of fixing an eternally ruined soul. Wasn't this the kind of change you had in mind?" he questioned, his voice increasingly cracking down. It pained her to see him breaking like that.
"I did want this to happen—" she admitted, shrinked to her conscience filled with guilt. "but it makes me feel so wrong when you change yourself just for me. All I ever wanted was to save you."
He did not even frown, but he stepped back, distancing himself from the warrior girl. "Save me? Save me from what, exactly?"
"I don't know... From insanity… and death."
"My dear girl." He laughed theatrically, almost hysterically, but she could see his hands shivering violently on his chest. "Doesn't matter what I appear to be, for all the actions that precede me and a lifetime of striking evil deeds I'm mostly certain that it'd not be wrong to assort me as an Angel of Death and a madman. Actions and deeds are what define us!"
"No." She sniffed, feeling her eyes watering down. "You're just Kuja."
"I'm not even that… not anymore…" he said, maintaining a profoundly disturbed was breaking her heart. She was losing him.
Her mouth was shaking, she didn't know what else to say, but still gave it a try. "I still want to know the best person you are, without the labels or the burdens. I want to meet you, Kuja. I know I'm almost there."
The tension on his shoulders lessened and he allowed her to advance to him once again. His arms just fell limp to his sides, like a ragdoll.
"Perhaps… but what if you're just molding me to the man you want me to be? The truth can't be always so complicated to see, because we can refuse to accept what simply is in front of us… If I'm not your Angel, if I'm not the Grim Reaper… If I'm not Kuja… Maybe I'm just… a deceitful shade composed by all of those images. It wouldn't be fair if I become who I want to be. The true question here is who am I without all the make-up. To be isn't the same as to want to be… don't you agree, Terra…?" When he spoke her name, that was the only second he looked at her after all of his dissuading speech. She was at loss for words. Just after he finished, his eyes went blank all of sudden, his body halted to keep him upright.
"Oh no… Please, don't faint again…." Terra caught his weight with her body and wrapped him around her arms, taken fully by surprise.
He was completely out, so it took her a little too much of effort to put him down. Terra cried out for her friends' help and they all gathered pretty fast. Perhaps they all heard their confusing argument since they didn't keep such a long distance from each other.
Zidane knelt next to his brother's passed out self. "How does this keep on happening? Just what's wrong with him?"
She checked his forehead again. It was burning, it was so hot that it'd kill a human in a matter of few minutes… well, luckily Kuja wasn't a weak human; but still, this fever was becoming increasingly dangerous. Last time they didn't know what to do with it, and they were lucky enough he recovered from that.
"Terra, can you use an ice spell on him?" Zidane suggested quickly, and she immediately knew what to do; she'd just use a small part of her magic in hopes to cool down his fever.
But something felt weird, the air was heavy and her vision was blurry. She noticed his face turned to her and his eyes were opening, blue was gone, replaced by yellow gold irises. The most diabolical smile crossed his pale lips and made her freeze.
Squall made his first move. "Stay away from him!" Forcefully he pulled both Zidane's neck and Terra's cape from behind and tossed them away from Kuja. The rapidity of his reaction left her dumbfounded for some seconds, before she put herself back on her feet.
And then she saw it. The black nebula, it seemed to embrace Kuja from behind, now floating above the ground. There were several ice spikes still on the air around him, menacingly aiming to every single warrior. His eyes were distilling discord and sadism, and those weren't definitely his eyes.
The mysterious shadow that stalked the white mage ended up being true. "… You were right all along." She said, carefully joining his side. It wasn't required to be a genius to realize the extreme peril of Kuja's newfound power. Maybe he wasn't even Kuja anymore.
His eyes were affectionately directed to the grim teenager, grinning almost victoriously over an unknown won battle.
"Nobody ever trusted you, even when you were right, little Squall. You were never fit for a lonesome life, do you see?" His voice was just as proud and elegant as it ever was, but he wasn't talking for himself.
Zidane was reckless for the sake of his brother, still failing to find a grasp on what was happening. He tried to some closer, but was dreadfully assaulted by the heavy darts of crystal the mage invoked. Luckily, he was fast enough to pull out his daggers and shield himself from what would have been a deadly wound.
"Kuja, what the hell are you doing?" he yelled.
The silver-haired man just answered in his plenty state of wickedness: "He's no more."
"Keep out. He's possessed by Ultimecia." Said the fierce youth once he caught Zidane's attention.
The warriors went silent after hearing the name of the Time Witch. They had to believe in Squall's judgment since he was familiarized with their current enemy, besides, possession would make sense to Kuja's sudden flip-out on them.
"Squall… Sorry we didn't believe in you." Zidane told to his friend, remorse deeply marked on his face.
"The excuses shall come later, children." Unnerved by Kuja's voice, Terra observed how he majestically casted the dark spell of Graviga upon all of the warrior, and she quickly fled out of the way, yet it managed to touch half of the warriors. Only her, Cloud, Cecil, Squall and Warrior of Light were able to avoid it; everyone else was lying on the ground heavily hurt. "Now, Terra, girl of endless power… let yourself be taken by Chaos, and we promise we'll make everything far more simple for you and your friends."
"Leave him alone, Ultimecia!" she cried out, feeling completely discouraged to see Kuja instead of her.
"What do you want with Terra? Your fight is with me!" Squall demanded pointing to the possessed mage with his blade.
They just heard him chuckle and faced a most violent wrath of magic rain upon them. His — Her — attacks wore a more different pattern and were completely different of Kuja's combat style. He put an special focus when attacking those who were already wounded, so they remaining warrior rushed to their rescue.
Terra headed straight to protect Onion and Firion, summoning the mighty tornado spell to parry the ominous spikes of glass, and it came so strong that the winds turned the crystals into dust. But even before she could finish to deflect them all, a great symbol of evil magic appeared just below her and her friends.
The girl didn't waste time and pushed the smaller warrior as strong as she could while telling Firion to jump before it was too late. They both escaped from the magical circle before they could be torched by lethal magic.
No doubt, this was a signature spell from Ultimecia. How could she manage to do it with a person who probably never used that magic in his life? Kuja —Ultimecia— laughed when the girl stared at him with puzzled eyes.
"You shouldn't be surprised. The simple fact that we're both magic users has provided me with comfort over this body. Any magic I desire, it doesn't require much effort for this body even without the experience." He explained while adding an army of iron blades on the air, just like the real witch used to do. They were all fired straight at her.
She immediately invoked a shielding spell, one that she learned to perfect thanks to her now possessed mentor, making the knives and swords deflect to all places. The rest of her companions were probably well-prepared for the storm, so she didn't fear of any inconveniences. At the end of the deadly rain, she was about to counterattack with a different spell, but then remembered she'd hurt Kuja.
Zidane quickly joined the battlefield, refreshed by one potion, he tried by talking some sense back to his brother, but was only rewarded by continuous attacks and sadistic laughter.
Talking wouldn't help at all. She looked at Squall, panting a couple of yards away from her, his shoulder was recently wounded by the last assault. They exchanged gazes, as if they were sharing same thoughts. She silently decided and agreed to whatever plan they had on mind. Needless to say, they wanted to stop Ultimecia from controlling Kuja and they needed to do it without seriously harming his already frail body. Besides, a swift fighter like her could keep up with his torrent of powers plus she was the most powerful magic user inside her team.
She charged against him, not offensively, but pretended to put up a fight with Ultimecia just to buy them enough time. She moved and danced and dodged, keeping the other magic user too occupied to actually detect the missing teammates.
Eventually, Onion joined to the girl's tactics, and not that it was a bother, because it actually helped her in a significant way. The more distractions they could put, the better. But Terra was worried, because her little friend was being a bit more aggressive than necessary; he even managed to kick Kuja —Ultimecia— twice.
Anyways, she couldn't keep on being defensive the whole time, otherwise they'd grow predictable. What she feared was to hurt him, even if just a little.
Kuja grew more violent and radical with his —her— spells, but strangely enough, he didn't seem to even try to damage her, or act in any way that she wouldn't predict. Was Ultimecia the one who was really playing with them?
With one unsuspected move, Ultimecia resorted to an unsuspected chance, using the small moment of Onion's tiredness to kick him right in the middle of his stomach. Payback was cruel. Those boots were pointy and undoubtedly stabbed Terra's dear friend, which made her rage rise to her surface.
Terra leapt back with the boy carried with one arm —an incredible strength that only appeared whenever he was extremely angry— and summoned the magical water torrent, if there was any other spell even more harmless to be used, but the little knight was bleeding profusely and her anger drove her. Ultimecia played with her, to see how long would it take her to make her hurt Kuja.
The water bashed him and made him fall hard against the rocks, causing the girl to cringe. She feared of breaking his bones or make him bleed. But this wasn't time to succumb into fear. She laid the unconscious boy hidden within the rocks and dropped the content of a potion bottle unto his torso.
When she turned back to find Kuja, she saw the body lifting unnaturally from the rocks. He was badly battered and wet because of the Flood spell, but his face didn't seem tired at all.
"Stop. No matter what you do, how do you attack, I'm stronger. And I'm not going with you, Ultimecia." The girl explained, almost in despair. She didn't want to fight anymore. The mage just came up with a crooked smile.
"Yes, and you can entertain me here while your other friends go and track me down to put dear Kuja free from my control." As she thought, the sorcerer already guessed their plan. Squall, Cloud and Cecil were gone in search of her. "You're gravely underrating me, young lady."
Zidane came out of his hiding spot, because he used his only potion on himself and he had to take care of the other injured warriors along Warrior of Light. Onion Knight was brave and reckless enough to aid Terra to distract Ultimecia, but now there he was paying off the consequences of his acts.
The thief seemed ready to interfere in the old-style manner. He was up to stop the witch and save his brother no matter what. His help was accepted by Terra, and this time they were going to use more extreme measures to make their plan work, even if it meant to immobilize one person they both loved and cared about.
Ultimecia, using Kuja's mask, made it obvious she realized their unconventional resolve and then twisted to a slow smile.
He rose his arm up and created all kinds of magic irons around him. But this time the edges were just aiming at himself.
Zidane yelped in shock. "What are you…?"
"You're already aware that he isn't longer under Chaos' protection, aren't you? Hence if he dies now, he won't return to this world again." Ultimecia said with the man's voice. The two warriors halted to the new threat against their loved one. "What's the matter? Come here and let me get this last job done, Terra. Or do you want to see your dear Kuja's body filled with holes?"
She gulped. Maybe if she tried deflecting the spikes with one spell… No, Ultimecia would probably undo any effect to protect Kuja's body. She was too smart to fall for something so simple. Any chance Terra contemplated to save her friend was vanished by all possible scenarios that confronted the Time Witch. To try to fool her would mean suicide.
Calmly, Terra treaded to where the hostage was held. She didn't do any kind of move to trigger the trap of blades. Zidane helplessly looked at her, wanting to stop her from accepting the witch's extortion. "Terra…" However, they both knew nothing else could be done to assure Kuja's welfare.
Briefly she stared back at him. She smiled. "It's alright. It's going to be alright."
It'd be foolish to deny the fear she had inside her heart. She knew what was going to happen if she submitted to Ultimecia's orders…
"Yes, just kneel before me. And do not try anything smart. You may be able to survive these spikes, but as defenseless Kuja is… he'd die quite easily." Said she with the voice of the thespian. Terra's mind was numb to the flawless simulation of him, but she just did as she was ordered.
For one moment, they looked into each other's eyes, while his long boney fingers took a hold of her temples "Ultimecia… is Kefka behind all of this?" she mindlessly asked. The tenebrous shade concealed deep inside his pale veil stopped grinning.
"You, better than anyone, should perfectly be aware of it at this rate." The severe voice murmured, as painful magic waves punched their way into Terra's skull.
A/N: If some details about this chapter seem strange and hurried, I apologize. I really can't focus well when I write after finishing homework and stuff… Next shapter will be even more abstract than ever, so I've got you warned, ok?
It is still too soon to tell you, but I want you to check out the poll I placed on my profile. Maybe if you pick one character, a nice surprise will eventually show in future chapters, ok? Please vote.