Chapter Seven
Breathing with an Angel of Death
The tree loomed high above her, for she was at the base of it's roots. No, she wasn't. Kuja was. Zidane, Garnet, Eiko and a small black mage were in front of Clover/Kuja.
"Spare me the lecture," he was saying, "Lives come and go all the time. What's the big deal?"
"How can you say that?" Eiko cried passionately.
"Lives are precious!" Garnet piped in.
He smirked and waved his hands airily at the company. "Maybe. But I've been waiting for this chance for ten years. We shall see what the elephant lady can do."
Kuja climbed onto a silver dragon -- Flare -- and lifted off into the air. "I'll give you a target you can't miss, Brahne," he whispered.
He saw the ships approaching, and he readied himself. Flames swirled around him, stifling him, making him unable to breath.
I have to endure this, he thought, as he felt a sword of fire slash his forehead. Or I can't control Bahamut.
Reality seemed to swirl around her, and then there was blue everywhere. Zidane, Garnet, the little black mage, and a red headed man lay in front of Clover/Kuja, gasping, trying to keep from slipping away into darkness.
"You see this, Garland? Father?"
With that, he delivered a swift kick the man lying to his right, sending him flailing off the mushroom-like pillar they were on.
You think I could let you live? a nasty voice in his mind asked. You will not live, Kuja. Failures die. There is a limit on your life, and you shall not be a part of this planet's future. Or Gaia's.
"I'll. . .die? No. . .NO! I won't let it happen! I won't let the world live without me!"
A rage, mingled with confusion, boiled within him, and it rocked her to the point of breaking. It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair! Wanting only to live, and discovering death was knocking on his door.
Why?
Why was he a failure? What had he done wrong? Need he be replaced? Zidane. That hateful name. It was his fault.
With an inhuman roar, Kuja rose from the pillar, his fury causing him to glow with a ruby light. Crimson emotion burned raw into his soul, and another scream of pain and rage split the air. Scarlet beams of pure power shot from his hands, destroying all they touched. With each fit of rage and destruction, the presence of death pressed closer.
"I won't let it happen!"
He was. . .what was it? . . .Fear. He was scared. Scared of death, of dying. Death was so horrible. . .lives come and go all the time, right? But what happens when that life is his own?
What could he do?
What else?
In a renewed fit of burning rage, he completed the destruction of the planet, his home. No. He had no home. No one wanted him. He was. . .alone. Left alone to die. But, there was still an option. Life would cease to exist for him, but he still had a chance to kill Zidane, to bring the suffering to him as Kuja had suffered . . .
The crystal.
Clover hadn't realized she was crying until she woke up, and her face was buried in wet cloth, cloth that was part of armor. Kuja held her in his arms, murmuring soothing nothings into her hair, his hands wrapped around her sides.
"How could -- I have left you, when you needed me so much?" Clover asked, her voice shaking from both mental and physical drain.
"It's all right. I don't know why you've stayed with me this long. You should have -- left. Left me to die, then. . ."
"Never let me hear you say that again!" Clover all but shrieked, burying her face into his hair. Barely a moment later (Kuja hadn't realized she could moved so fast), her lips were pressed against his. He kissed her back, never needing to feel her as much as now.
Kuja pulled back slowly, his lips barely a hair's breadth away from hers. Eyes half lidded, they stayed there, just looking at her. Clover couldn't pull away from those icy blue eyes, drawing her in deep enough to lose her humanity in a sea of pain.
And at the same time, Kuja couldn't pull his cold eyes away from her warm honey ones, their light and happiness finally giving him humanity. Her body was always warm, radiating a heat and cozy warmth he himself had never felt, until now.
Kuja leaned forward to kiss her earlobe. He then said something he had never said before, maybe never would again.
"I love you."
"They're slow," Eiko complained. "We've been in the forest three days! I have so many mosquito bites I can't count them!"
Zidane laughed as Garnet cooked dinner over their fire. "If they have their way, they won't be back for several more hours," he said, winking at Garnet.
She grinned. "Yup."
"And just WHAT does that mean, Zidane Tribal?" Eiko demanded.
"We'll tell you when your older," Garnet said smoothly.
"Dagger? Have you forgiven Kuja?" Zidane asked, trying desperately to keep Eiko from yelling at the queen.
She pursed her lips. "I don't know. It's strange. I hate him. He's a friend. I'm really confused about him, so I think I'll leave the 'Kuja Emotions' up to Clover."
Zidane chuckled. "Good idea. We can go ahead and eat. I don't think they'll be joining us until dawn, or later."
Garnet smiled. "They'll be hungry, so Eiko? Wanna help me cook breakfast really early?"
"Sure!" was the enthusiastic response.
"Mmmmm," Clover said, being gently stirred awake. A hand was shaking her shoulder, warm lips on hers. "Let me sleep more," she murmured.
"No," Kuja said, laughing beside her. "I'm starved."
She grinned. "So am I. You do that to a person. What time is it?"
"My guess is around five a.m."
"Nwfgew!" Clover cried. "Are you NUTS?! That's too early to get up."
Kuja laid his hand on her flat belly, his lips roaming her neck. "I've never heard you make that noise before. You make as many sounds as a kitten."
Clover, in one swift movement, flipped Kuja onto his back, lay her hand on his belly, and began roaming his neck with kisses. A low chuckled rumbled in his chest.
"What brought this on?"
"You, if I'm not mistaken."
He smiled and leaned his head on the lush green forest floor, simply enjoying the moment. He laid his hand on the small of her back. "I should call you that," he mused.
"Mm?"
"Kitten. It suits you."
She grinned slyly, nuzzled his neck, and seemed to purr, causing Kuja to laugh again. "See? You really can make a lot of noises."
She kissed his jaw line, slowly making her way to his lips. "I can make a lot of noise, too."
Kuja smiled against her mouth. "We'll see," he said.
"Let's get out of this damned forest," Zidane said grumpily.
"Amen!" cried Eiko happily.
"Any idea where we're going?" Clover asked.
"Uh. . .no?" Kuja responded with a grin.
"I don't know where we're going to go, but we need to get Clover different clothes, as well as a weapon. Do you know how to use any weapons?" Garnet asked.
Clover grinned. "Rapiers."
Kuja chuckled. "Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that Clover fences."
Zidane chuckled much like his brother had just done. "Black mage village might have some of those. They're done rebuilding the town now, I think. If we're lucky, they'll have a special one, with new magic you can learn from it."
Eiko smiled. "That's always good."
"The black mages only have a few rapiers," Mikoto said to Clover, gesturing around the store. There were four in a display case, but Clover wasn't looking at them. A voice in her head beckoned to her in unknown silent words, calling her to the windmill. Clover obeyed, leaving the shop wordlessly. Kuja and Zidane followed, a curious look on their faces.
Clover entered the windmill, a blank look in her eyes. Mikoto followed her two brothers, as puzzled as they were. Clover finally stopped, and pulled a chest out from behind the windmill. Mikoto laughed out loud.
"So, you heard the call of the demon."
Clover snapped out of her trance and opened the long chest. A rapier lay inside, it's onyx blade glowing a faint white. She pulled it out and expertly twirled it in the air.
"The demon, huh?" she asked. "Whatever. I want this one."
"I figured you would," Mikoto said. "Take it, it's free. It is cursed. Be careful. If you know how, you will master it. Unfortunately, it's legend was lost. Learn when you make a mistake, and do not repeat it. It will cost you a comrade's life."
Clover nodded. "Got it." She took a pair of gauntlets out of the chest. As she put them on, the weapon disappeared into a small onyx on the side of the right gauntlet. (The 'weapon going into glove' idea was taken from the manga Magic Knight Rayearth. ^^;;)
Kuja chuckled. "I guess we don't have to worry about getting you a weapon now."
"Nope." Clover looked at Zidane. "When this is over, I'd like you to come and see earth. You, Garnet, Eiko." She nodded at Mikoto. "You, too."
Zidane nodded. "I'd like that, and I know everyone else would, too."
Kuja grinned at Clover. "That many people won't fit in the house."
She shrugged. "We can always stick them on the roof."
"So, where are we going, anyway? We need to find Esuna and Flare, right?" Eiko asked.
"Right," Clover confirmed. "Any idea, Kuja?"
Kuja shook his head.
"Well," Garnet said, "Flare often stayed around Conde Petie. But, since we're already around here, I don't think he'll be staying here."
"I could try reading the stars," Clover said. Mikoto looked at her with a puzzled look. "It means that I try to read the future using the stars. Sometimes it works."
Mikoto nodded. "I do not know how you would do it, but it is worth a try."
"Alright."
(If there actually is a way to read the stars that people practice, I'm sorry! I'm sooo sure I got this wrong. But, it at least sounds cool. ^^;;) Clover moved her arms out to either side of her, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She opened her eyes after a minute, and looked up at the stars. They swirled around her, and she struggled to read them, their messages were coming so fast.
Rain.
Blessings.
Curses.
Dragon.
Black hair.
Purple light.
Explosion.
Destruction.
Soul.
Searching.
Silver hair.
Red light.
Indifference.
The words rammed into Clover's mind (she continued to get more), and eventually, a paragraph formed in her mind.
"Okay," she said, "I'm done. I got a sort of prophecy. I did my best to decode it. 'A land of rain, with the blessings of the Water Goddess Ran, and the petrified curse, a dragon waits. A girl with black hair and purple light magic creates an explosion, and destruction of souls. She's searching. . .for Kuja. And she doesn't care who she kills to get to him."
Breathing with an Angel of Death
The tree loomed high above her, for she was at the base of it's roots. No, she wasn't. Kuja was. Zidane, Garnet, Eiko and a small black mage were in front of Clover/Kuja.
"Spare me the lecture," he was saying, "Lives come and go all the time. What's the big deal?"
"How can you say that?" Eiko cried passionately.
"Lives are precious!" Garnet piped in.
He smirked and waved his hands airily at the company. "Maybe. But I've been waiting for this chance for ten years. We shall see what the elephant lady can do."
Kuja climbed onto a silver dragon -- Flare -- and lifted off into the air. "I'll give you a target you can't miss, Brahne," he whispered.
He saw the ships approaching, and he readied himself. Flames swirled around him, stifling him, making him unable to breath.
I have to endure this, he thought, as he felt a sword of fire slash his forehead. Or I can't control Bahamut.
Reality seemed to swirl around her, and then there was blue everywhere. Zidane, Garnet, the little black mage, and a red headed man lay in front of Clover/Kuja, gasping, trying to keep from slipping away into darkness.
"You see this, Garland? Father?"
With that, he delivered a swift kick the man lying to his right, sending him flailing off the mushroom-like pillar they were on.
You think I could let you live? a nasty voice in his mind asked. You will not live, Kuja. Failures die. There is a limit on your life, and you shall not be a part of this planet's future. Or Gaia's.
"I'll. . .die? No. . .NO! I won't let it happen! I won't let the world live without me!"
A rage, mingled with confusion, boiled within him, and it rocked her to the point of breaking. It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair! Wanting only to live, and discovering death was knocking on his door.
Why?
Why was he a failure? What had he done wrong? Need he be replaced? Zidane. That hateful name. It was his fault.
With an inhuman roar, Kuja rose from the pillar, his fury causing him to glow with a ruby light. Crimson emotion burned raw into his soul, and another scream of pain and rage split the air. Scarlet beams of pure power shot from his hands, destroying all they touched. With each fit of rage and destruction, the presence of death pressed closer.
"I won't let it happen!"
He was. . .what was it? . . .Fear. He was scared. Scared of death, of dying. Death was so horrible. . .lives come and go all the time, right? But what happens when that life is his own?
What could he do?
What else?
In a renewed fit of burning rage, he completed the destruction of the planet, his home. No. He had no home. No one wanted him. He was. . .alone. Left alone to die. But, there was still an option. Life would cease to exist for him, but he still had a chance to kill Zidane, to bring the suffering to him as Kuja had suffered . . .
The crystal.
Clover hadn't realized she was crying until she woke up, and her face was buried in wet cloth, cloth that was part of armor. Kuja held her in his arms, murmuring soothing nothings into her hair, his hands wrapped around her sides.
"How could -- I have left you, when you needed me so much?" Clover asked, her voice shaking from both mental and physical drain.
"It's all right. I don't know why you've stayed with me this long. You should have -- left. Left me to die, then. . ."
"Never let me hear you say that again!" Clover all but shrieked, burying her face into his hair. Barely a moment later (Kuja hadn't realized she could moved so fast), her lips were pressed against his. He kissed her back, never needing to feel her as much as now.
Kuja pulled back slowly, his lips barely a hair's breadth away from hers. Eyes half lidded, they stayed there, just looking at her. Clover couldn't pull away from those icy blue eyes, drawing her in deep enough to lose her humanity in a sea of pain.
And at the same time, Kuja couldn't pull his cold eyes away from her warm honey ones, their light and happiness finally giving him humanity. Her body was always warm, radiating a heat and cozy warmth he himself had never felt, until now.
Kuja leaned forward to kiss her earlobe. He then said something he had never said before, maybe never would again.
"I love you."
"They're slow," Eiko complained. "We've been in the forest three days! I have so many mosquito bites I can't count them!"
Zidane laughed as Garnet cooked dinner over their fire. "If they have their way, they won't be back for several more hours," he said, winking at Garnet.
She grinned. "Yup."
"And just WHAT does that mean, Zidane Tribal?" Eiko demanded.
"We'll tell you when your older," Garnet said smoothly.
"Dagger? Have you forgiven Kuja?" Zidane asked, trying desperately to keep Eiko from yelling at the queen.
She pursed her lips. "I don't know. It's strange. I hate him. He's a friend. I'm really confused about him, so I think I'll leave the 'Kuja Emotions' up to Clover."
Zidane chuckled. "Good idea. We can go ahead and eat. I don't think they'll be joining us until dawn, or later."
Garnet smiled. "They'll be hungry, so Eiko? Wanna help me cook breakfast really early?"
"Sure!" was the enthusiastic response.
"Mmmmm," Clover said, being gently stirred awake. A hand was shaking her shoulder, warm lips on hers. "Let me sleep more," she murmured.
"No," Kuja said, laughing beside her. "I'm starved."
She grinned. "So am I. You do that to a person. What time is it?"
"My guess is around five a.m."
"Nwfgew!" Clover cried. "Are you NUTS?! That's too early to get up."
Kuja laid his hand on her flat belly, his lips roaming her neck. "I've never heard you make that noise before. You make as many sounds as a kitten."
Clover, in one swift movement, flipped Kuja onto his back, lay her hand on his belly, and began roaming his neck with kisses. A low chuckled rumbled in his chest.
"What brought this on?"
"You, if I'm not mistaken."
He smiled and leaned his head on the lush green forest floor, simply enjoying the moment. He laid his hand on the small of her back. "I should call you that," he mused.
"Mm?"
"Kitten. It suits you."
She grinned slyly, nuzzled his neck, and seemed to purr, causing Kuja to laugh again. "See? You really can make a lot of noises."
She kissed his jaw line, slowly making her way to his lips. "I can make a lot of noise, too."
Kuja smiled against her mouth. "We'll see," he said.
"Let's get out of this damned forest," Zidane said grumpily.
"Amen!" cried Eiko happily.
"Any idea where we're going?" Clover asked.
"Uh. . .no?" Kuja responded with a grin.
"I don't know where we're going to go, but we need to get Clover different clothes, as well as a weapon. Do you know how to use any weapons?" Garnet asked.
Clover grinned. "Rapiers."
Kuja chuckled. "Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that Clover fences."
Zidane chuckled much like his brother had just done. "Black mage village might have some of those. They're done rebuilding the town now, I think. If we're lucky, they'll have a special one, with new magic you can learn from it."
Eiko smiled. "That's always good."
"The black mages only have a few rapiers," Mikoto said to Clover, gesturing around the store. There were four in a display case, but Clover wasn't looking at them. A voice in her head beckoned to her in unknown silent words, calling her to the windmill. Clover obeyed, leaving the shop wordlessly. Kuja and Zidane followed, a curious look on their faces.
Clover entered the windmill, a blank look in her eyes. Mikoto followed her two brothers, as puzzled as they were. Clover finally stopped, and pulled a chest out from behind the windmill. Mikoto laughed out loud.
"So, you heard the call of the demon."
Clover snapped out of her trance and opened the long chest. A rapier lay inside, it's onyx blade glowing a faint white. She pulled it out and expertly twirled it in the air.
"The demon, huh?" she asked. "Whatever. I want this one."
"I figured you would," Mikoto said. "Take it, it's free. It is cursed. Be careful. If you know how, you will master it. Unfortunately, it's legend was lost. Learn when you make a mistake, and do not repeat it. It will cost you a comrade's life."
Clover nodded. "Got it." She took a pair of gauntlets out of the chest. As she put them on, the weapon disappeared into a small onyx on the side of the right gauntlet. (The 'weapon going into glove' idea was taken from the manga Magic Knight Rayearth. ^^;;)
Kuja chuckled. "I guess we don't have to worry about getting you a weapon now."
"Nope." Clover looked at Zidane. "When this is over, I'd like you to come and see earth. You, Garnet, Eiko." She nodded at Mikoto. "You, too."
Zidane nodded. "I'd like that, and I know everyone else would, too."
Kuja grinned at Clover. "That many people won't fit in the house."
She shrugged. "We can always stick them on the roof."
"So, where are we going, anyway? We need to find Esuna and Flare, right?" Eiko asked.
"Right," Clover confirmed. "Any idea, Kuja?"
Kuja shook his head.
"Well," Garnet said, "Flare often stayed around Conde Petie. But, since we're already around here, I don't think he'll be staying here."
"I could try reading the stars," Clover said. Mikoto looked at her with a puzzled look. "It means that I try to read the future using the stars. Sometimes it works."
Mikoto nodded. "I do not know how you would do it, but it is worth a try."
"Alright."
(If there actually is a way to read the stars that people practice, I'm sorry! I'm sooo sure I got this wrong. But, it at least sounds cool. ^^;;) Clover moved her arms out to either side of her, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She opened her eyes after a minute, and looked up at the stars. They swirled around her, and she struggled to read them, their messages were coming so fast.
Rain.
Blessings.
Curses.
Dragon.
Black hair.
Purple light.
Explosion.
Destruction.
Soul.
Searching.
Silver hair.
Red light.
Indifference.
The words rammed into Clover's mind (she continued to get more), and eventually, a paragraph formed in her mind.
"Okay," she said, "I'm done. I got a sort of prophecy. I did my best to decode it. 'A land of rain, with the blessings of the Water Goddess Ran, and the petrified curse, a dragon waits. A girl with black hair and purple light magic creates an explosion, and destruction of souls. She's searching. . .for Kuja. And she doesn't care who she kills to get to him."