The Second Act
Chapter 3
A Discussion of Fate
By: Grand Lethal
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Final Fantasy 9, yadda yadda yadda.
As if a doorway out of darkness had just been opened, Zidane's eyes stung as the first rays of sunlight crept past the cracks in his eyelids. His first instinct was to raise his hand to his face, and shield the sun from his eyes, but attempting to move proved futile. He ached all over, and the groans brought on by the pain only inflicted more damage. He paused, attempting to control his labored breathing, and soon his eyes became used to the light. Still unable to lift his head, he shifted his eyes in various directions, in an attempt to understand his surroundings. He glanced outward, and slightly downward toward his body. His clothes were torn asunder and soaked with blood. As he looked away from his body, he could see the ruins of the Iifa tree in the distance.
"What?" He thought to himself. He did not understand how he could have possibly escaped. He had no memories of the events within the tree, beyond those wicked roots hurling toward him. The last thing he could remember seeing before now was......his brother's face. Had he truly escaped the clutches of those horrid roots, abandoning the very one whom he had risked everything to save?
"Kuja.....I'm....sorry."
The pain in his body had begun to subside, ever so slightly. He tilted his head upward to get a better view of his surroundings. The pain of this movement was tremendous, and he could tell that death was immanent. He let his head fall again, against the stony ground upon which he laid. He permitted his eyelids to fall, and he waited patiently for death to arise. He allowed thoughts of his greatest love, Dagger, to fill his head as laid there, motionless. The thought of her face was extremely comforting, so he kept this picture engraved directly in front of his eyes.
"Ehh...shoo!"
Something had startled him. A slight tickling sensations fluttered across his face. He flashed his eyes open, and reached up to grab the culprit, simultaneously.
"Huh...hehe...just a feather..." Zidane chuckled at himself. He was becoming delirious.
He began playing with the feather; running his fingers up and down it, watching as it's strands separated, and came back together so effortlessly. He repeated this motion several times, with a bizarre interest. He took note of it's peculiar appearance...a beautiful silver, that seemed to shine when it's strands where brushed together, but fade to a certain darkness when those very fringes were separated with a quick downward stroke.
Zidane smiled amidst his loss of rational thinking. He tried to picture such a bird...one that might possess this feather. He could think of none he had ever seen, but his mind told him that this was a completely unique creature...one which desperately needed somebody to stoke its feathers, as he had just done. Zidane could almost see some of it's features, as the puzzle within his mind put together the pieces of this amazing creature.
Suddenly, ignoring the excruciating pain that the action brought about, Zidane bolted up into a sitting position, and twisted his body around...
"Kuja!"
Another body lay there behind him, eyes closed, and hair mangled; strands dancing around with the wind, and covering the pale white face. Zidane noticed that the body was very limp, but not bloody and tattered like his own. Just...strangely peaceful.
"Kuja...."
Zidane watched closely for any sign of life that his brother might exude. 'Please be alive! C'mon! This is your second chance, now wake up!' he thought to himself.
It was the ever so slight rise and fall of the chest that gave Zidane some form of hope...hope for survival. Hope that if they could both work together, then maybe, just maybe, he would see her again.
With his mind now functioning clearly, his thoughts of Dagger sent a powerful, almost painful, surge of energy through his veins. Suddenly his injuries did not seem so incapacitating. He withdrew his daggers from the sheathes that held them, and, with what little strength he had, went searching for some sort of beast that may be in possession of items that could save his brother.
*****
Zidane sat patiently next to Kuja's frail body, waiting for the potion to take effect. He took this time to look around his surroundings, and try to develop a plan to travel by. He had already acknowledged the misfortune of having lost his map, supplies, and most of his weaponry amidst the Iifa tree. His memory alone would have to guide them.
'Hmmm...' he thought. 'The Iifa tree is is over there....so....we'll have to travel south
east.......hmm....but who's to say what side of the tree we're on....'
Zidane realized what a hassle this journey was destined to be. 'Great....' He could only imagine how....interesting....this trip could get. His thoughts were then promptly broken by another voice.
"Z-Zidane?"
Zidane turned to see Kuja's halfway parted eyes focused on him.
"Hey!" Zidane started, "How you feeling?"
His words, however, were completely lost on the other, who had still not completely gained composure. Kuja simply looked around himself, his eyes beaming with confusion. "What...What is this?" He finally spoke.
Zidane shrugged. "I don't know....but where here and not there," he pointed toward the tree's monstrous mass of roots. "And that's good enough for me."
"How am I.....How am I awake?" Kuja inquired further, still not sounding completely in control of his state.
"I don't know.." Zidane responded. "You just didn't die....I gave you a health potion...I think you'll be alright."
"Nonsense!" Kuja snapped. Zidane was quite taken aback by this reaction. Kuja's voice once again became soft. "Just leave. I can't go with you."
"Yes you can!"
"I ...won't go with you."
Kuja tilted his head away from his brother, and looked out across the endless sky. Zidane thought for a moment. He didn't know how to respond, and Kuja was quite stubborn.
"Well...." he finally spoke up, "..I won't go without you. I can be stubborn too."
Kuja sighed at his brother's benevolence. "...After all I've done.. why do you even care?"
Zidane put his arms around his knees, and looked up to the sky in thought. "I care because....because I understand you. I don't want you to be alone, because I know I wouldn't want to be alone....and....and....I know your the reason we escaped... I don't know how....but..."
For the first time since he had regained consciousness, Kuja sat up and faced his brother directly. His blue eyes beamed with a warmth that Zidane had never seen before. it seemed like ages before he finally spoke.
"I can't live. ...It would ruin the beauty of it all. ...The tale of the tragic hero....he saves the world selflessly, only to be rewarded with his own demise. It's a cliche that is so overused....... but somebody had a burst of creativity, and now we have the tragic villain. He didn't live the beautiful life, ...and he never saved lives; only destroyed them to avenge his own awful existence. When he finally discovers the importance of life....the good within himself...it is too late. He dies alone and hated by all...thus making the tale more tragic than any other. You see Zidane, he cannot survive. That would simply ruin the beauty of the tale."
Zidane could not believe what Kuja was saying. He wanted to die for the sake of ....beauty?
"Well" he finally responded, " That's all well and good in plays and fairy tales.....but this isn't a play. This is real life, and in real life everyone deserves a second chance.....even the tragic villain." Zidane thought to himself for a minute. "This is just the end of the first act.....but the whole thing doesn't have to be over."
Kuja smiled. Only his brother could be a stubborn as he.
******
Author's Note: Okay, I know I said that I would include the entire flashback into one chapter....but that's gonna be impossible. I just thought this was such a good way to end my chapter three....and overall I'm quite happy with it. I would REALLY like to know what everyone thinks though...so please please please review me!!! ......I suppose this is probably the last of my dramatic chapters....for now anyway. Thank you everyone who has already reviewed me. I'm glad to see at least some people like it. This story has been an epic floating around inside my mind for a long time now, and I finally decided it was time to share it. I only hope I can make it look as good in words, as it looks in my mind. ..And keep reading because pretty much everything will be explained sooner or later. Thanks again, and sorry for getting long winded.