Disclaimer: I don't own FF9. Squaresoft does. Repeat.
In the middle of a forgotten field, a man lay dreaming. The night cast shadows on the cliff face above him. One of them stepped forward revealing a small humanoid shape, shrouded in a cloak black as the sky above. He darted across the fields, stopping before the silver-haired man resting not-so-peacefully on a narrow fault in the ground. His head rested against the Genome's chest, listening to the shallow breathing coming in short, ragged rasps. Satisfied, he took something from the fold of his cloak. The stranger intertwined the item in the other's fingers and vanished as quickly as he had come.
Kuja began to breathe again.
The item in his palm was glowing a steady blue. The stranger, now at the tip of the cliff, looked back once and then headed into Alexandria. The streets and alleys of this great city were more or less deserted, but no one took notice to the small, cloaked figure. He turned quickly into a network of alleys, turning this way and that, and finally paused just outside of a secret entrance to Alexandria Castle. The figure sighed and pulled back the hood of the cloak. The dark brown tip of a tail poked out from beneath the cloak's hem.
Koh looked up at the sky. 'Please be all right, Uncle Kuja.'
With that prayer on it's way to the stars, the young prince entered the palace and snuck back to his room, quickly.
When Kuja woke, he found a small blue mirror in his hands. He drifted suddenly from sub-concious stupor to knowledge of the past days, and his hand drifted to his stomach, where a scar was to remind him. Getting up, though he should be dead, he pocketed the mirror and headed for Alexandria. The passage was dark and damp, but bearable. The jagged rocks of it were perilous and forced the Genome into a crouch most of the way. When he was rewarded with the tunnel's end, he stepped into daylight and the sight of Alexandria. The way it should be.
As he went through the city to the palace's gates, citizens of this gigantic city stared in wonder at him. He ignored them for the time being, but Kuja couldn't help but sympathize with them. For all they knew, and himself included, he should be dead. The Genome vaguely wondered if his brother had told them the story. At first, he thought not, but his opinion was drastically changed when, of all people, a fiery-haired member of Tantalus greeted him.
"Kuja!"
"..Blank?"
The reason for his hesitation was simple. Blank had suddenly swept the silver-haired man up in a tight bortherly embrace.
"Hey, don't ya get it man?"
No response.
"You saved the world! You're a hero now!"
"A hero?" Kuja had hardly been called a hero before this.
"Yeah," Blank continued, then sobered. "We kinda all thought you were dead."
Kuja was notified that it had been two days since the battle with Garland's fierce incarnation, and that the majority of the people in Gaia had greived his death. The Genome wasn't terribly used to being thought of as a hero, and all the attention he was getting made him shy and introvertive. Two other traits that were new to him. Blank reassured him that he'd get used to it. When they reached the palace gates, they were immediately let in without question. Up at the top floor, his nephew, Koh, peered out from his window.
"Mom! Dad! It's Uncle Kuja!"
"What?!"
Kuja could hear his brother's loud reply. Eventually, he got to see Zidane, decked out in the royal wardrobe, with a heavy crown settled on his still unruly hair. Something else troubled him by his brother's appearance, there were bold tear-streaks running down his face. Queen Garnet, ever as lovely, behind him held a handkercheif, and was twisting it nervously in her fingers. Koh was the only one who seemed unfazed, with his father's trademark grin on his young face.
"Kuja!" he heard to his right as he struggled to find something to say to his brother.
"Lila!"
The little girl ran into Kuja's arms and held him tightly, sobbing and smiling the way only little girls can. The Genome stroked her hair as she told him how much she had missed him and how much had changed though it had only been two days. He was as proud of her as a father, and indeed she was the daughter of his soul. She was dressed pristinely in a pink gown, her hair done up in curls. She quickly relayed to him the events of the past couple days, telling him that she had stayed here because Koh told her he'd come back.
Koh.
The little boy grinned even wider, if possible, but his eyes held a mysteriousness that not even Kuja could read. Zidane and his family had come down the stairs, and were standing paitiently beside him. Lila and Koh stood next to each other smiling as if this were all some kind of joke on their part. Kuja stood and turned towards his brother. They clasped hands, then pulled together in a brief embrace. Next, unexpectedly, Garnet held him and sobbed and thanked him repeatedly, making Kuja blush with embarassment and pride.
"How? How did you... live?" she asked.
Kuja threw up his hands in confusion, "I'm not sure. I thought for sure I was..." he eyed Lila's reaction carefully and thought better of finishing the sentence.
The Royal Family and a new found hero and his soul-daughter spent the rest of the day discussing the events and effects after and of the battle.
Meanwhile, outside, a figure was lounging unseen on the roof of Alexandria's Palace. The creature was sleek, with the body and head of a panther, but with three tails that didn't look like a cats, but a wolf's. It was a little larger than a regular panther, and when the sun shone on it, it's fur was a deep deep red. It's ears were pointed, like a housecat's, and one was pierced with a gold hoop earring. An onyx was set in gold and rested on it's forehead. It's coal-black eyes were piercing and cold.
This was the Nightmare eidolon, Chaos.
One of the tails flicked boredly in typical cat fashion. He flexed his black claws on the roof tiles while listening to the converstaion in the room below him. This eidolon had been without a master for many many long years. Having been considered dangerous, he had been trapped between Gaia and Terra for centuries on end. The faults that had condemned Garland had freed Chaos.
Now the world would see why he had been given this namesake.
He padded quietly to the edge of the roof and leaped onto the balcony. He waited for an oppurtune moment, a pause in the conversation, and leaped through the glass.
A giant, lionlike creature burst through the window and stood in battle stance not far from Koh. The little prince had never seen anything like it, and wasn't sure he wanted to when it's black stare rested on him. He quickly scooted away from the thing, gripping onto his mother's waist, while Kuja and Zidane broke their weapons out of their sheaths and faced the beast. At first, the battle was purely physical, another dance as his father had tried to explain battle to him. The creature moved with the grace that only cats could have, and more than once clawed it's opponents. When it finally seemed like one blow would finish it, the thing stopped, sat, and concentrated.
Suddenly, the room filled with a black mist. Koh cried out when he was separated from his mother. The creature spoke into his mind, 'You may not want to look, child.' in a voice that was unmistakably male. The young prince squeezed his eyes shut but heard the sounds of war and torment all around him. There were shrieks of pain, glory, and fear. There was a battle taking place near him, but didn't want to risk a glance to see if it was really his father and uncle. Koh cried out again, and felt Lila's reassuring hand rest on his arm.
Kuja was surrounded by the stuff. It was impossible to see anymore, and he backed up with uncertainty. Around him, the mist began to take shape, he could see the faces of all the people he had killed. A deep voice spoke into his mind, 'Murderer.' Kuja shuddered and tried to close his eyes, but found he could not look away.
'Murderer. You killed your own creator. You would have killed your own brother,'
"I'm not like that anymore!"
'You'll kill the only family you ever had. And when it's all done, you'll kill the little girl, too.'
"No!"
'Murderer. Murderer.'
"Stop! What sorcery is this?" Kuja heard his brother cry out.
"Zidane!" Kuja called, but as his thoughts shifted to his brother, so the scene in front of him did.
Zidane, the fallen King of Alexandria, lying helplessly in a little pool of blood. The Genome shouted his denial, and slashed at the vision with his dagger. The mist swirled around his blade, forming a new picture, one which Kuja closed his eyes tightly and guarded against.
He would never hurt Lila.
Author's Note: I wasn't quite planning on continuing this, so, the beginning is a bit sketchy. Wow! 22 reviews! I'm so proud! Thanks for all your support, and I look forward to reading your story Dragon-Sama. I was going to show the nightmares of all the characters, but couldn't quite think of any. They'll most likely be in the next chapter, for those of you curious. Please Review if you haven't already!
In the middle of a forgotten field, a man lay dreaming. The night cast shadows on the cliff face above him. One of them stepped forward revealing a small humanoid shape, shrouded in a cloak black as the sky above. He darted across the fields, stopping before the silver-haired man resting not-so-peacefully on a narrow fault in the ground. His head rested against the Genome's chest, listening to the shallow breathing coming in short, ragged rasps. Satisfied, he took something from the fold of his cloak. The stranger intertwined the item in the other's fingers and vanished as quickly as he had come.
Kuja began to breathe again.
The item in his palm was glowing a steady blue. The stranger, now at the tip of the cliff, looked back once and then headed into Alexandria. The streets and alleys of this great city were more or less deserted, but no one took notice to the small, cloaked figure. He turned quickly into a network of alleys, turning this way and that, and finally paused just outside of a secret entrance to Alexandria Castle. The figure sighed and pulled back the hood of the cloak. The dark brown tip of a tail poked out from beneath the cloak's hem.
Koh looked up at the sky. 'Please be all right, Uncle Kuja.'
With that prayer on it's way to the stars, the young prince entered the palace and snuck back to his room, quickly.
When Kuja woke, he found a small blue mirror in his hands. He drifted suddenly from sub-concious stupor to knowledge of the past days, and his hand drifted to his stomach, where a scar was to remind him. Getting up, though he should be dead, he pocketed the mirror and headed for Alexandria. The passage was dark and damp, but bearable. The jagged rocks of it were perilous and forced the Genome into a crouch most of the way. When he was rewarded with the tunnel's end, he stepped into daylight and the sight of Alexandria. The way it should be.
As he went through the city to the palace's gates, citizens of this gigantic city stared in wonder at him. He ignored them for the time being, but Kuja couldn't help but sympathize with them. For all they knew, and himself included, he should be dead. The Genome vaguely wondered if his brother had told them the story. At first, he thought not, but his opinion was drastically changed when, of all people, a fiery-haired member of Tantalus greeted him.
"Kuja!"
"..Blank?"
The reason for his hesitation was simple. Blank had suddenly swept the silver-haired man up in a tight bortherly embrace.
"Hey, don't ya get it man?"
No response.
"You saved the world! You're a hero now!"
"A hero?" Kuja had hardly been called a hero before this.
"Yeah," Blank continued, then sobered. "We kinda all thought you were dead."
Kuja was notified that it had been two days since the battle with Garland's fierce incarnation, and that the majority of the people in Gaia had greived his death. The Genome wasn't terribly used to being thought of as a hero, and all the attention he was getting made him shy and introvertive. Two other traits that were new to him. Blank reassured him that he'd get used to it. When they reached the palace gates, they were immediately let in without question. Up at the top floor, his nephew, Koh, peered out from his window.
"Mom! Dad! It's Uncle Kuja!"
"What?!"
Kuja could hear his brother's loud reply. Eventually, he got to see Zidane, decked out in the royal wardrobe, with a heavy crown settled on his still unruly hair. Something else troubled him by his brother's appearance, there were bold tear-streaks running down his face. Queen Garnet, ever as lovely, behind him held a handkercheif, and was twisting it nervously in her fingers. Koh was the only one who seemed unfazed, with his father's trademark grin on his young face.
"Kuja!" he heard to his right as he struggled to find something to say to his brother.
"Lila!"
The little girl ran into Kuja's arms and held him tightly, sobbing and smiling the way only little girls can. The Genome stroked her hair as she told him how much she had missed him and how much had changed though it had only been two days. He was as proud of her as a father, and indeed she was the daughter of his soul. She was dressed pristinely in a pink gown, her hair done up in curls. She quickly relayed to him the events of the past couple days, telling him that she had stayed here because Koh told her he'd come back.
Koh.
The little boy grinned even wider, if possible, but his eyes held a mysteriousness that not even Kuja could read. Zidane and his family had come down the stairs, and were standing paitiently beside him. Lila and Koh stood next to each other smiling as if this were all some kind of joke on their part. Kuja stood and turned towards his brother. They clasped hands, then pulled together in a brief embrace. Next, unexpectedly, Garnet held him and sobbed and thanked him repeatedly, making Kuja blush with embarassment and pride.
"How? How did you... live?" she asked.
Kuja threw up his hands in confusion, "I'm not sure. I thought for sure I was..." he eyed Lila's reaction carefully and thought better of finishing the sentence.
The Royal Family and a new found hero and his soul-daughter spent the rest of the day discussing the events and effects after and of the battle.
Meanwhile, outside, a figure was lounging unseen on the roof of Alexandria's Palace. The creature was sleek, with the body and head of a panther, but with three tails that didn't look like a cats, but a wolf's. It was a little larger than a regular panther, and when the sun shone on it, it's fur was a deep deep red. It's ears were pointed, like a housecat's, and one was pierced with a gold hoop earring. An onyx was set in gold and rested on it's forehead. It's coal-black eyes were piercing and cold.
This was the Nightmare eidolon, Chaos.
One of the tails flicked boredly in typical cat fashion. He flexed his black claws on the roof tiles while listening to the converstaion in the room below him. This eidolon had been without a master for many many long years. Having been considered dangerous, he had been trapped between Gaia and Terra for centuries on end. The faults that had condemned Garland had freed Chaos.
Now the world would see why he had been given this namesake.
He padded quietly to the edge of the roof and leaped onto the balcony. He waited for an oppurtune moment, a pause in the conversation, and leaped through the glass.
A giant, lionlike creature burst through the window and stood in battle stance not far from Koh. The little prince had never seen anything like it, and wasn't sure he wanted to when it's black stare rested on him. He quickly scooted away from the thing, gripping onto his mother's waist, while Kuja and Zidane broke their weapons out of their sheaths and faced the beast. At first, the battle was purely physical, another dance as his father had tried to explain battle to him. The creature moved with the grace that only cats could have, and more than once clawed it's opponents. When it finally seemed like one blow would finish it, the thing stopped, sat, and concentrated.
Suddenly, the room filled with a black mist. Koh cried out when he was separated from his mother. The creature spoke into his mind, 'You may not want to look, child.' in a voice that was unmistakably male. The young prince squeezed his eyes shut but heard the sounds of war and torment all around him. There were shrieks of pain, glory, and fear. There was a battle taking place near him, but didn't want to risk a glance to see if it was really his father and uncle. Koh cried out again, and felt Lila's reassuring hand rest on his arm.
Kuja was surrounded by the stuff. It was impossible to see anymore, and he backed up with uncertainty. Around him, the mist began to take shape, he could see the faces of all the people he had killed. A deep voice spoke into his mind, 'Murderer.' Kuja shuddered and tried to close his eyes, but found he could not look away.
'Murderer. You killed your own creator. You would have killed your own brother,'
"I'm not like that anymore!"
'You'll kill the only family you ever had. And when it's all done, you'll kill the little girl, too.'
"No!"
'Murderer. Murderer.'
"Stop! What sorcery is this?" Kuja heard his brother cry out.
"Zidane!" Kuja called, but as his thoughts shifted to his brother, so the scene in front of him did.
Zidane, the fallen King of Alexandria, lying helplessly in a little pool of blood. The Genome shouted his denial, and slashed at the vision with his dagger. The mist swirled around his blade, forming a new picture, one which Kuja closed his eyes tightly and guarded against.
He would never hurt Lila.
Author's Note: I wasn't quite planning on continuing this, so, the beginning is a bit sketchy. Wow! 22 reviews! I'm so proud! Thanks for all your support, and I look forward to reading your story Dragon-Sama. I was going to show the nightmares of all the characters, but couldn't quite think of any. They'll most likely be in the next chapter, for those of you curious. Please Review if you haven't already!