'I deserve this.'
The snapping and creaking of massive roots could be heard all around as they thundered down from above. Kuja's broken, pale form lay in a heap on a small, platform like clearing within the Iifa tree. The tree screamed in agony.
'Garland knew this was all I'd ever amount to…worthless…'
As the angry limbs grew closer, with the intent of smothering its victims, Zindain threw himself over his fallen brother in a feeble attempt to protect his dying body.
'…silly child…'
Heart beating quickly in his chest, he prepared himself for the inevitable. Darkness closed around the two forms…silence.
He felt cold. So very cold. His body felt stiff and numb. Eyes twitching, he slowly regained consciousness, a moan working it's way from his throat. Sapphire eyes fluttered open to inspect him self. Kuja's clothes were torn and stained with blood. Cuts and bruises decorated his flesh and his once silvery hair was a knotted mass, dull with blood and grim. A pitiful mess he must appear, Kuja humorlessly noted to himself as he struggled to an upright position.
'Well, this is truly odd …'
The scene that met his eyes was far from the dark browns and rich mossy greens that distinctly made up the interior of the Iifa tree. As a matter of fact, it seemed to him that he was in an entirely new environment all together, which of course, he was. In a cave, if you will. Stalactites and soda straws hung low from the ceiling and glittered from the faint glow of green crystal like structures that lined the small cave's wall. Materia, Kuja later learned.
"Magnificent…." whispered Kuja in awe. His voice was slightly hoarse from disuse. The room filled with silence once again. Somewhat unnerved by the utter quietness of the place, he haltingly made his way to his feet, very nearly falling back down on his rear due to a passing wave of dizziness. Steadying him self once more, he made his way around various stalagmites and Materia clusters and approached the mouth of the cave. The narrow, slightly hidden entrance looked out onto a vast crater below, with a series of tunnels and caverns networking throughout the entire expanse of the cliff walls, slowly making a trail downwards to a blinding white light at the base of the pit. The light almost had a holy glow to it, and Kuja, suddenly overwhelmed with curiosity, squeezed himself though the narrow gap and started to pick his way down the path, careful not to stumble.
'So the Gods have spared me my life for this much longer… Finally, to be in control of my own life. No longer am I at the whims of Garland… it feels strange indeed to be truly free… after so long…' a thoughtful sigh escaped his lips as he recounted the dark, painful past he so wished to forget.
And so, with these thoughts in mind, he gradually approached what the world and an odd group of rebels, only a few hours ago, had been so bent on destroying. Little did they know that their nemesis, thought to be obliterated by the legendary Ultima weapon, was in fact, well on his way back to the living world…
