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Here's a clue...I don't own FFIX. Someone else does!
Chapter 4: Never Again
"I think we're safe now," Kuja said to Zidane reassuringly as Garland was slowly disappearing from they're view. Unfortunately, Kuja didn't really believe what he had just told Zidane.
"What if Garland gets the Invincible? He'll catch up with us for sure," Zidane said with a sorrowful look on his face. Kuja could see that Zidane was adopting his pessimistic attitude. He remembered how Garland had said that he was a bad influence on Zidane. Maybe it was true, but at least he wasn't training Zidane to kill people like Garland was.
"Garland can't get to the Invincible," he laughed. "We have his silver dragon. Garland can't even get back to Terra." He tried to sound assuring for Zidane's sake, but there was a noticeable shudder in his laugh.
Soon, the entire island they were on started to disappear from view as they flew out over the ocean. Kuja turned around as if he were turning away from his old life in Terra and looked in the other direction-toward his future. Another strip of land was forming directly in front of them as they continued to travel. The approaching island seemed to be engulfed in some kind of hazy fog. Some parts were clear, but the rest was too foggy to even see the ground. It seemed dangerous to try and land. He didn't know what kind of effects the fog could have on them. He couldn't afford to have anyone knocked unconscious again.
"It's kinda cold up here. And I'm kinda tired. Can we land now?" Zidane whined. He could see that Zidane had his arms wrapped around himself to keep warm from the cold wind.
"We can't land yet. We need to find a place that doesn't have so much fog. It might be dangerous to land in it," Kuja answered. He figured his excuse was a logical and believable one. He didn't want to tell Zidane that Garland would expect them to land as soon as they saw land. He wanted Zidane to continue to think that they were out of danger even though they weren't. Fact was, they needed to travel farther inland to a place that wasn't so predictable and land in a place where there was no fog.
They ended up flying to the other side of the continent before they could finally find a place that was suitable to land. Kuja shooed the dragon away when both of their feet were planted firmly on the ground and turned to the town. "What are you doing?" Zidane asked. "That's our transportation, remember?"
"The dragon is way to conspicuous. The people in the city will know something is not right about us if we walk in with a dragon following behind us. The dragon might also give us away to Garland. We wouldn't want that, would we?" Kuja turned around and motioned for Zidane to follow him into the city.
The city was so much unlike anything he ever saw in Terra. First of all, the overall architecture was different. It wasn't like the creepy blue shiny buildings in Bran Bal; it was more rustic and homey. It surprised him even more that anyone was awake at his time of night. People were walking around with each other and talking. Children were running around, laughing, and playing games. None of the people of Bran Bal seemed very social. They didn't seem to show any emotion whatsoever. He sometimes wondered if the inhabitants were all there. They seemed like they weren't even awake sometimes. Another very unusual sight was the miniature airships that traveled around the city. He never knew that such a thing as miniature airships existed.
The first thing he was planning to find was a place to sleep. They had been gone for only an hour, which was surprising because a lot had happened in that short period of time. It was still night, and even though he didn't show it, he was exhausted. Lucky for him, the inn was right next to the entrance of the city. He walked inside with Zidane following closely behind him. The owner gave them both a strange look. Kuja didn't know if it was because they looked "different" or if it was strange to have a couple of kids wanting to rent a room. He thought that he was careful enough as to not look conspicuous, so he figured that he got the weird look because they were kids.
"Are there any rooms open?" Kuja asked as he stood in front of the man at the counter.
"Nope, sorry kid. I just gave the last vacancy to that couple over there," the man said as he pointed to the old couple that were talking to Zidane. He went over and tapped Zidane lightly on the shoulder.
"Let's go, Zidane. There's no more room for us," Kuja said to him.
"Oh look," the old woman said to her husband as she pointed at Kuja, "the older one has a tail too."
Kuja spun around, looked at his tail, and started to blush. "So that's why everyone has been giving us weird looks," he thought to himself.
"They're both darling," the woman said again.
He gave the woman an odd half smile and spoke to Zidane, "Come one, Zidane."
"Do you two have a place to stay for the night?" the woman asked him with a worried expression on her face.
"No, but I'm sure we'll find something," Kuja answered.
"You can stay with us if you'd like. It's a lot better than going out in the cold."
"No," Kuja answered again, "I wouldn't want to bother you like that."
"Oh, nonsense. It's too dangerous for a couple of children like yourselves to be out at night," the woman insisted. Kuja tried to respond, but the woman was already dragging them down the hallway before he could get so much as a peep in. "Come on now. Don't be stubborn."
They got to they're room and the woman was bending down and talking to Zidane again. The room was small and unlike any he'd ever seen in Terra. It had two beds with maroon blankets draped over them and a small wooden dresser in the corner with a lamp standing on top of it. The walls of the room were painted beige and had wallpaper framing the top. The floor was wooden except for a rug in the middle of the room, but it still creaked whenever you took a step on it.
"Do you two mind sharing a bed?" the woman asked while laying her bag down next to the door.
"No, that'll be fine," Kuja answered politely. "Thank you for having us."
The married couple sat down on the bed opposite of his after the woman gave Zidane one last pat on the head. Then Zidane jumped up on his bed and sat next to Kuja. Kuja lay back and took one last look at the ceiling before he drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note: Sorry that it took so long to write this chapter. I haven't had much time to write because my teachers have been beating me to death with homework. I had a major writer's block too...and that's why this chapter sucks so badly. Oh well. You can all do me a favor and review so you can complain about how bad my latest chapter was. I promise to do a better job next time (don't worry, that didn't sound convincing me either).
-Insomniac-
Chapter 4: Never Again
"I think we're safe now," Kuja said to Zidane reassuringly as Garland was slowly disappearing from they're view. Unfortunately, Kuja didn't really believe what he had just told Zidane.
"What if Garland gets the Invincible? He'll catch up with us for sure," Zidane said with a sorrowful look on his face. Kuja could see that Zidane was adopting his pessimistic attitude. He remembered how Garland had said that he was a bad influence on Zidane. Maybe it was true, but at least he wasn't training Zidane to kill people like Garland was.
"Garland can't get to the Invincible," he laughed. "We have his silver dragon. Garland can't even get back to Terra." He tried to sound assuring for Zidane's sake, but there was a noticeable shudder in his laugh.
Soon, the entire island they were on started to disappear from view as they flew out over the ocean. Kuja turned around as if he were turning away from his old life in Terra and looked in the other direction-toward his future. Another strip of land was forming directly in front of them as they continued to travel. The approaching island seemed to be engulfed in some kind of hazy fog. Some parts were clear, but the rest was too foggy to even see the ground. It seemed dangerous to try and land. He didn't know what kind of effects the fog could have on them. He couldn't afford to have anyone knocked unconscious again.
"It's kinda cold up here. And I'm kinda tired. Can we land now?" Zidane whined. He could see that Zidane had his arms wrapped around himself to keep warm from the cold wind.
"We can't land yet. We need to find a place that doesn't have so much fog. It might be dangerous to land in it," Kuja answered. He figured his excuse was a logical and believable one. He didn't want to tell Zidane that Garland would expect them to land as soon as they saw land. He wanted Zidane to continue to think that they were out of danger even though they weren't. Fact was, they needed to travel farther inland to a place that wasn't so predictable and land in a place where there was no fog.
They ended up flying to the other side of the continent before they could finally find a place that was suitable to land. Kuja shooed the dragon away when both of their feet were planted firmly on the ground and turned to the town. "What are you doing?" Zidane asked. "That's our transportation, remember?"
"The dragon is way to conspicuous. The people in the city will know something is not right about us if we walk in with a dragon following behind us. The dragon might also give us away to Garland. We wouldn't want that, would we?" Kuja turned around and motioned for Zidane to follow him into the city.
The city was so much unlike anything he ever saw in Terra. First of all, the overall architecture was different. It wasn't like the creepy blue shiny buildings in Bran Bal; it was more rustic and homey. It surprised him even more that anyone was awake at his time of night. People were walking around with each other and talking. Children were running around, laughing, and playing games. None of the people of Bran Bal seemed very social. They didn't seem to show any emotion whatsoever. He sometimes wondered if the inhabitants were all there. They seemed like they weren't even awake sometimes. Another very unusual sight was the miniature airships that traveled around the city. He never knew that such a thing as miniature airships existed.
The first thing he was planning to find was a place to sleep. They had been gone for only an hour, which was surprising because a lot had happened in that short period of time. It was still night, and even though he didn't show it, he was exhausted. Lucky for him, the inn was right next to the entrance of the city. He walked inside with Zidane following closely behind him. The owner gave them both a strange look. Kuja didn't know if it was because they looked "different" or if it was strange to have a couple of kids wanting to rent a room. He thought that he was careful enough as to not look conspicuous, so he figured that he got the weird look because they were kids.
"Are there any rooms open?" Kuja asked as he stood in front of the man at the counter.
"Nope, sorry kid. I just gave the last vacancy to that couple over there," the man said as he pointed to the old couple that were talking to Zidane. He went over and tapped Zidane lightly on the shoulder.
"Let's go, Zidane. There's no more room for us," Kuja said to him.
"Oh look," the old woman said to her husband as she pointed at Kuja, "the older one has a tail too."
Kuja spun around, looked at his tail, and started to blush. "So that's why everyone has been giving us weird looks," he thought to himself.
"They're both darling," the woman said again.
He gave the woman an odd half smile and spoke to Zidane, "Come one, Zidane."
"Do you two have a place to stay for the night?" the woman asked him with a worried expression on her face.
"No, but I'm sure we'll find something," Kuja answered.
"You can stay with us if you'd like. It's a lot better than going out in the cold."
"No," Kuja answered again, "I wouldn't want to bother you like that."
"Oh, nonsense. It's too dangerous for a couple of children like yourselves to be out at night," the woman insisted. Kuja tried to respond, but the woman was already dragging them down the hallway before he could get so much as a peep in. "Come on now. Don't be stubborn."
They got to they're room and the woman was bending down and talking to Zidane again. The room was small and unlike any he'd ever seen in Terra. It had two beds with maroon blankets draped over them and a small wooden dresser in the corner with a lamp standing on top of it. The walls of the room were painted beige and had wallpaper framing the top. The floor was wooden except for a rug in the middle of the room, but it still creaked whenever you took a step on it.
"Do you two mind sharing a bed?" the woman asked while laying her bag down next to the door.
"No, that'll be fine," Kuja answered politely. "Thank you for having us."
The married couple sat down on the bed opposite of his after the woman gave Zidane one last pat on the head. Then Zidane jumped up on his bed and sat next to Kuja. Kuja lay back and took one last look at the ceiling before he drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note: Sorry that it took so long to write this chapter. I haven't had much time to write because my teachers have been beating me to death with homework. I had a major writer's block too...and that's why this chapter sucks so badly. Oh well. You can all do me a favor and review so you can complain about how bad my latest chapter was. I promise to do a better job next time (don't worry, that didn't sound convincing me either).
-Insomniac-
