All That's Evil
By Semdai Bloodquill
Chapter Five : Rufus and the Red Chocobo
Throughout the near seven years of his life, Lucius had encountered few occasions where he lost his considerable temper and hit something, either with his fist or his sword. In his current state of mind, he would have been happy to hit someone, but the only someone he had contact with was Rufus. And because Rufus had played no part in the arousal of Lucius's temper, the breaking of one of his weaker bones would give no satisfaction to the irked boy.
Lucius wasn't angry that Aeris was in Sephiroth's hands, although he knew Zack would be when he got back. Nor was he irked that his dragon had unwillingly chased Sephiroth away before they were able to resume their sparring. No, the source of the boy's anger was due to how well Sephiroth had infiltrated the mountain sanctuary so effortlessly. The man was cunning, Lucius would admit grudgingly, but that only made him more agitated.
Rufus wasn't exactly sure what to do in response to the boy he had come to respect. He wanted to say something to try and bring up Lucius's spirits, but fear of the boy's eager fists and hungry sword held his tongue in silence.
" I'm not mad at you," Lucius stated as clearly as if he had read Rufus's thoughts, a feat that seemed not beyond the amazing boy's abilities.
" Did you read my mind," Rufus pressed, not liking the possibility of his mental privacy being desecrated. The strange boy shrugged and shifted from his seat against the wall.
Brushing the dust from his clothes, Lucius said, " No, my mom's the mind reader of the family." A string was pulled somewhere deep in Rufus's hidden thoughts.
" Then how did you know what I was thinking," he asked, waving the unsure feeling that he had some deeper connection to Lucius away. Lucius did look an awful lot like a reflection of himself.
" Because," Lucius explained, letting his head tilt to the left as he spoke, " when I see you, I feel like I'm on the opposite side of a mirror looking at my original image," he stopped momentarily to let Rufus contemplate his words before continuing, " so then I figured that since you weren't speaking, either you were being polite or I intimidated you. Also I can tell by the way your eyes dart when you're contemplating."
" How old are you again," Rufus exclaimed with feigned exasperation. Lucius laughed.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Basil felt terrible. His back hurt. His head hurt. His stomach hurt. Everything hurt. He reached up with his left hand to touch his head, but instead of feeling flesh on flesh he felt bandages on bandages. Most of his arm was covered in thick gauze and he couldn't feel any of the skin on his forehead. When he tried to sit up, a spasm of pain shot through his body and forced him back down. His vision swirled in a hazy collage of color. A hand appeared before him, gently holding him down.
" How do ya feel, Basil," Sephiroth asked his friend. Basil couldn't clearly see Sephiroth's face but he could tell from the change in the haze where his friend was. He reached out for the hand, which rested on his bandaged chest.
" Not so good," Basil groaned. Sephiroth placed his other hand on Basil's forehead.
" You're gonna be fine," he assured, " I won't let you die like this." Basil smiled softly in spite of himself.
" What happened to me," he asked. Sephiroth took his time in replying.
" You were banged up pretty bad," he strained.
" Could I have been banged up ugly bad," Basil jested, trying to make Sephiroth feel better. Though Basil couldn't see it, Sephiroth smiled.
" You need to rest, Basil," he advised, smoothing the young man's brown hair. As if on command, Basil let his head fall to the side and slowly closed his eyes. His chest rose and fell with new-found strength under Sephiroth's hand, comforted by the presence of his powerful guardian angel. Sephiroth smiled at his companion's peaceful sleep.
" He will heal now, I think," Aeris stated from several feet behind Sephiroth. She shifted nervously, afraid of what might happen to her now that she was no longer needed. But, Sephiroth ignored her and continued his silent, self-appointed vigil over Basil.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Osiris warked a warning just before monster leapt at them. Instinct wanted Shivra to roll away from the attack, but because she was mounted her only choices were to pull rein and fight or jump. She choose the latter. Osiris turned sharply and nearly toppled into the monster's attack when Shivra sprang from his back. The black chocobo dug his claws into the ground to halt his movement. Shivra rolled back and sprung to her feet, drawing a curving scimitar from her belt and slashing it at the monster as she did so.
The red blade caught the sunlight and made it sparkle with surrealistic light, and alerting Shivra and her startled bird of the reinforcements hiding in the foliage. All the monsters screamed at the dazzling light. A second blade appeared in Shivra's opposite hand, this one was a beautifully crafted saber. Its blade was black, but it shimmered with the colors of a rainbow. The handle was crafted in the form of a blue dragon's hand and the pommel was made of the dragon's fingers grasping a stunning ruby. This saber that was called Severpaw moved in a semi-circle about its wielder, its partner, the scimitar Fengshue, moving at Shivra's back in perfect harmony with the powerful saber. The brush around Shivra erupted with movement as the entire pack, about twelve mantis-like monsters, attacked in unison. Severpaw spun one way and Fengshue spun the other as Shivra began her dance.
Leaping left, whirling right, feigning center, spinning back, slashing up, ducking down, parrying forward, they were all part of Shivra's motions. Within minutes, all the monsters lay in bits and pieces, carpeting the forest floor in blood and gore. Shivra wiped Severpaw's blade on a nearby bush before sheathing the saber. She cleaned Fengshue on the same bush, making the black dragon engraved on the red blade visible again. The eye- like gemstones in the pommel and hand-guard glinted in the sunlight. She sheathed the scimitar and went to retrieve Osiris.
The black chocobo returned to his rider and knelt down so she could mount. Shivra vaulted onto her bird's back and seized the reins. She goaded Osiris toward the northern edge of the forest.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Rufus reached out tentatively for the chocobo's beak. He looked back at Lucius for support. He'd seen this particular chocobo earlier out in the field attacking one of the other chocobos with its long talons and driving any who opposed it away. Lucius made no movements from his perch atop his own chocobo, Masaaki. Rufus turned back to the chocobo before him.
She stood well over his head, built and bred for unmatched speed and stamina. Her crimson red feathers were ruffled threateningly at the sight of Rufus, making the bird seem very intimidating.
" Get her by the halter," Lucius instructed, " then clip on the reins and hop up as fast as you can." Rufus took a deep breath and stepped closer to the red chocobo. The bird's head shot forward, striking Rufus hard in the chest and knocking him back several feet.
" What's her problem," Rufus asked, rubbing his chest where a nasty bruise was forming.
" Phaestus here," Lucius indicated the red bird, " belongs to my mom and doesn't usually take to strangers too well."
" Can't I ride a different bird," Rufus asked.
Lucius shook his head, swishing his orange-red hair from side to side across his face as he did so, and replied, " Phaestus is the only chocobo we've got that can match Masaaki here," he stroked his mount's inky black feathers with admiration, " and we don't have a whole lot of time to spare."
" I see," Rufus relented. He mustered his courage and approached Phaestus again. This time he reached out quickly and managed to catch the bird's halter.
" Pull her head down," Lucius instructed, " she can't get you if her head is pinned and she'll have no choice but to kneel for you." Rufus took heed and forced a struggling Phaestus to kneel so that he could mount. Lucius offered Rufus the reins, which were promptly clipped to the red bird's halter. Reined and mounted, Phaestus could do little to dislodge her rider and grudgingly accepted the burden.
" Made it in one piece," Rufus sighed. Lucius said nothing but offered a smile of respect to the man who had bested his mother's wild mount. He turned Masaaki and trotted out into the field, pausing only briefly to wait for Rufus before letting his chocobo take off in a southern direction.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Osiris followed the coastline toward the shallower portion of the small sea that separated them from their destination. The thin stretch of sea that was accessible to the black chocobo came into sight several yards ahead of them. They made for it.
Shivra pulled her legs up onto Osiris's back as they charged into the surf. Water sprayed in all direction as the black chocobo's powerful legs pumped, propelling them forward through the surf.
" I am coming..."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The rarity of a red chocobo was great enough that Cloud and his party had only seen one at the chocobo races at the Gold Saucer. Naturally it came as a surprise to them when a black chocobo, which wasn't an uncommon sight to them given their knowledge of breeding the birds, and a crimson feathered red chocobo, its rider looking as if it was ready to be unseated at any moment, crested the ridge before them. Zack all but toppled off Anubis's back from shock when he recognized the black chocobo's rider.
" Lucius," he yelled to the boy. The others looked at him quizzically. The black chocobo charged down the hill and came to a stop several feet in front of the party. Cloud and his friends, with the exception of Zack and Nanaki, gasped at the sight of the boy mounted atop the ebony colored bird. Before them was a perfect mirror image of Rufus ShinRa, only much younger and baring an air of wisdom and experience which they had not known in the presence of Rufus.
" Hi Zack," Lucius replied to his uncle's previous greeting.
" I thought you were dead," Zack marveled, relieved that the statement was not so.
" Not quite," Lucius assured, his azure eyes slowly studying his uncle's companions.
" Everyone," Zack turned to his friends and gestured toward the boy, " this is my nephew, Lucius." A frustrated yell turned their attention back to the ridge where the red chocobo was trying to unseat its rider.
" Grab her crest feathers," Lucius yelled to the red chocobo's rider, who willingly obeyed and was awarded temporary control of his wild mount. Lucius grinned as the red chocobo trotted back down to stand beside him, drawing shocked gasps from everybody present, except for Lucius.
" Rufus ShinRa?!" The surprised cries came from so many mouths that Rufus was startled and toppled over the back of the red chocobo. The bird tried to bolt but Lucius now held the reins in his hand.
" No, Phaestus," the boy said firmly. Cowed by the son of her master, Phaestus dropped her gaze to the ground and waited. " Mom would be disappointed in you, Phaestus," Lucius continued, " trying to ditch your rider even after he bested you." Phaestus hung her head in shame.
If the sight of Lucius scolding the chocobo like a strict mother had been comical in any way, the humor had been lost in the shock of Cloud's party seeing their foe alive and well after two years of being presumed dead. Rufus was very perturbed by the apparent fact that these people knew him when he did not know them. Lucius could tell that his companion was unsettled by more than just his fall.
" You all right, Rufus," Lucius asked his companion, trying to divert the stares of the others.
" Fine," Rufus grumbled, brushing dirt off his clothes as he stood, " damn bird."
" How did you survive," Cloud demanded. Rufus might have had a sign taped to forehead saying, ' huh?' so perplexed was his expression. Cloud continued, " When Diamond blew up the tower." Obviously he hoped that the meager specification would help when in actuality it only made Rufus more confused.
" I really don't know what you're talking about," Rufus admitted. Cloud was unconvinced.
" What do you mean," he demanded almost angrily, " the glow in your eyes proves you're Rufus ShinRa," at this point he unsheathed a very large sword, " and that makes you an enemy!"
" Cloud, wait," Zack yelled, staying the blonde man's hand, " give the man a minute to explain himself."
" Show them your mark," Lucius advised, " I think that scar is the reason you don't know what they are saying." Rufus brushed the hair away from his face and showed them the remnant of the wound that had taken his memories, his own constant reminder of how little he really knew about himself.
" I honestly don't know where this scar came from but I've had it ever since I washed up in Mideel, before that is a blank," he explained.
" For the moment this is trivial," Lucius stated, suddenly remembering why he had ventured from his mountain home and also trying to divert the attention from Rufus.
" Lucius how many times have I told you that nothing is trivial," Zack scolded lightly.
" When Aeris is kidnapped by Sephiroth and we all stand around talking about someone's past then yes, there is a sense of inconsequentiality," Lucius argued in a monotonous voice. Barret, having sat by while too many big words floated around him, exploded.
" Why am I the only one who thinks that we're being controlled by some demented teenager with a thesaurus," he raged. Lucius gave him a look akin to a student listening to a lecture they had already heard numerous times.
" I take after my mother in my choice of words," he offered, purposefully using smaller words than he normally would have. Zack suddenly realized what Lucius had said.
" Aeris was kidnapped!" The outburst didn't raise a single muscle in Lucius but surprised many of the others.
" That's what I said," Lucius confirmed too calmly for his uncle's liking. Zack all but leapt off his mount and tackled Lucius in his rage. At the last minute though he caught himself and stayed on his bird.
" And where were you when this happened," he glared, knowing that Lucius would not treat an attack at the moment as he did in their sparring matches.
" For one thing, I was recovering from my first fight with Sephiroth, for another I'm only six years old and not big enough to repel a sneak attack from Sephiroth," Lucius stated with the same calm he had used earlier.
" You are the finest swordsman I know, and I am inclined to state that you could have easily dispatched Sephiroth even if he did jump you," Zack argued. Lucius seemed to have an endless supply of parries, verbal and physical.
" When I'm at full health and Sephiroth stays for the fight," he snorted. He mimicked a gesture common to his mother, pushing a breath out through his nose at a quick speed and closing the back of his throat, resulting in a short but profound snort-like sound; his head snapped down slightly as he did this but moved back up so fast that his companions had to blink several times to make sure their eyes were working properly. Zack seemed to run out of arguments to make, either that or he had finally realized that even if he could think of a good one, Lucius would only counter it with his usual stoic nature.
" If you've got your steam out could you possibly tell me when we'll be leaving for Mideel," Lucius asked impassively. Rufus smiled and shook his head, knowing it was futile to try and discern the motivation to Lucius's abnormally nonchalant nature.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Shivra and Osiris charged out of the water. The chocobo stopped briefly to shake out his feathers before they continued away from the beach into the grasslands. Toward Midgar. Toward Lucius. Though the latter was unknown to her.
To Be Continued...
AN : I seem to cut off a lot. I wonder if it's in my author genes to do that. well anyway I guess that's all for now. As always, feel free to flame. I'll really deserv it in the later chapters. Hehehe...
Chapter Five : Rufus and the Red Chocobo
Throughout the near seven years of his life, Lucius had encountered few occasions where he lost his considerable temper and hit something, either with his fist or his sword. In his current state of mind, he would have been happy to hit someone, but the only someone he had contact with was Rufus. And because Rufus had played no part in the arousal of Lucius's temper, the breaking of one of his weaker bones would give no satisfaction to the irked boy.
Lucius wasn't angry that Aeris was in Sephiroth's hands, although he knew Zack would be when he got back. Nor was he irked that his dragon had unwillingly chased Sephiroth away before they were able to resume their sparring. No, the source of the boy's anger was due to how well Sephiroth had infiltrated the mountain sanctuary so effortlessly. The man was cunning, Lucius would admit grudgingly, but that only made him more agitated.
Rufus wasn't exactly sure what to do in response to the boy he had come to respect. He wanted to say something to try and bring up Lucius's spirits, but fear of the boy's eager fists and hungry sword held his tongue in silence.
" I'm not mad at you," Lucius stated as clearly as if he had read Rufus's thoughts, a feat that seemed not beyond the amazing boy's abilities.
" Did you read my mind," Rufus pressed, not liking the possibility of his mental privacy being desecrated. The strange boy shrugged and shifted from his seat against the wall.
Brushing the dust from his clothes, Lucius said, " No, my mom's the mind reader of the family." A string was pulled somewhere deep in Rufus's hidden thoughts.
" Then how did you know what I was thinking," he asked, waving the unsure feeling that he had some deeper connection to Lucius away. Lucius did look an awful lot like a reflection of himself.
" Because," Lucius explained, letting his head tilt to the left as he spoke, " when I see you, I feel like I'm on the opposite side of a mirror looking at my original image," he stopped momentarily to let Rufus contemplate his words before continuing, " so then I figured that since you weren't speaking, either you were being polite or I intimidated you. Also I can tell by the way your eyes dart when you're contemplating."
" How old are you again," Rufus exclaimed with feigned exasperation. Lucius laughed.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Basil felt terrible. His back hurt. His head hurt. His stomach hurt. Everything hurt. He reached up with his left hand to touch his head, but instead of feeling flesh on flesh he felt bandages on bandages. Most of his arm was covered in thick gauze and he couldn't feel any of the skin on his forehead. When he tried to sit up, a spasm of pain shot through his body and forced him back down. His vision swirled in a hazy collage of color. A hand appeared before him, gently holding him down.
" How do ya feel, Basil," Sephiroth asked his friend. Basil couldn't clearly see Sephiroth's face but he could tell from the change in the haze where his friend was. He reached out for the hand, which rested on his bandaged chest.
" Not so good," Basil groaned. Sephiroth placed his other hand on Basil's forehead.
" You're gonna be fine," he assured, " I won't let you die like this." Basil smiled softly in spite of himself.
" What happened to me," he asked. Sephiroth took his time in replying.
" You were banged up pretty bad," he strained.
" Could I have been banged up ugly bad," Basil jested, trying to make Sephiroth feel better. Though Basil couldn't see it, Sephiroth smiled.
" You need to rest, Basil," he advised, smoothing the young man's brown hair. As if on command, Basil let his head fall to the side and slowly closed his eyes. His chest rose and fell with new-found strength under Sephiroth's hand, comforted by the presence of his powerful guardian angel. Sephiroth smiled at his companion's peaceful sleep.
" He will heal now, I think," Aeris stated from several feet behind Sephiroth. She shifted nervously, afraid of what might happen to her now that she was no longer needed. But, Sephiroth ignored her and continued his silent, self-appointed vigil over Basil.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Osiris warked a warning just before monster leapt at them. Instinct wanted Shivra to roll away from the attack, but because she was mounted her only choices were to pull rein and fight or jump. She choose the latter. Osiris turned sharply and nearly toppled into the monster's attack when Shivra sprang from his back. The black chocobo dug his claws into the ground to halt his movement. Shivra rolled back and sprung to her feet, drawing a curving scimitar from her belt and slashing it at the monster as she did so.
The red blade caught the sunlight and made it sparkle with surrealistic light, and alerting Shivra and her startled bird of the reinforcements hiding in the foliage. All the monsters screamed at the dazzling light. A second blade appeared in Shivra's opposite hand, this one was a beautifully crafted saber. Its blade was black, but it shimmered with the colors of a rainbow. The handle was crafted in the form of a blue dragon's hand and the pommel was made of the dragon's fingers grasping a stunning ruby. This saber that was called Severpaw moved in a semi-circle about its wielder, its partner, the scimitar Fengshue, moving at Shivra's back in perfect harmony with the powerful saber. The brush around Shivra erupted with movement as the entire pack, about twelve mantis-like monsters, attacked in unison. Severpaw spun one way and Fengshue spun the other as Shivra began her dance.
Leaping left, whirling right, feigning center, spinning back, slashing up, ducking down, parrying forward, they were all part of Shivra's motions. Within minutes, all the monsters lay in bits and pieces, carpeting the forest floor in blood and gore. Shivra wiped Severpaw's blade on a nearby bush before sheathing the saber. She cleaned Fengshue on the same bush, making the black dragon engraved on the red blade visible again. The eye- like gemstones in the pommel and hand-guard glinted in the sunlight. She sheathed the scimitar and went to retrieve Osiris.
The black chocobo returned to his rider and knelt down so she could mount. Shivra vaulted onto her bird's back and seized the reins. She goaded Osiris toward the northern edge of the forest.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Rufus reached out tentatively for the chocobo's beak. He looked back at Lucius for support. He'd seen this particular chocobo earlier out in the field attacking one of the other chocobos with its long talons and driving any who opposed it away. Lucius made no movements from his perch atop his own chocobo, Masaaki. Rufus turned back to the chocobo before him.
She stood well over his head, built and bred for unmatched speed and stamina. Her crimson red feathers were ruffled threateningly at the sight of Rufus, making the bird seem very intimidating.
" Get her by the halter," Lucius instructed, " then clip on the reins and hop up as fast as you can." Rufus took a deep breath and stepped closer to the red chocobo. The bird's head shot forward, striking Rufus hard in the chest and knocking him back several feet.
" What's her problem," Rufus asked, rubbing his chest where a nasty bruise was forming.
" Phaestus here," Lucius indicated the red bird, " belongs to my mom and doesn't usually take to strangers too well."
" Can't I ride a different bird," Rufus asked.
Lucius shook his head, swishing his orange-red hair from side to side across his face as he did so, and replied, " Phaestus is the only chocobo we've got that can match Masaaki here," he stroked his mount's inky black feathers with admiration, " and we don't have a whole lot of time to spare."
" I see," Rufus relented. He mustered his courage and approached Phaestus again. This time he reached out quickly and managed to catch the bird's halter.
" Pull her head down," Lucius instructed, " she can't get you if her head is pinned and she'll have no choice but to kneel for you." Rufus took heed and forced a struggling Phaestus to kneel so that he could mount. Lucius offered Rufus the reins, which were promptly clipped to the red bird's halter. Reined and mounted, Phaestus could do little to dislodge her rider and grudgingly accepted the burden.
" Made it in one piece," Rufus sighed. Lucius said nothing but offered a smile of respect to the man who had bested his mother's wild mount. He turned Masaaki and trotted out into the field, pausing only briefly to wait for Rufus before letting his chocobo take off in a southern direction.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Osiris followed the coastline toward the shallower portion of the small sea that separated them from their destination. The thin stretch of sea that was accessible to the black chocobo came into sight several yards ahead of them. They made for it.
Shivra pulled her legs up onto Osiris's back as they charged into the surf. Water sprayed in all direction as the black chocobo's powerful legs pumped, propelling them forward through the surf.
" I am coming..."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The rarity of a red chocobo was great enough that Cloud and his party had only seen one at the chocobo races at the Gold Saucer. Naturally it came as a surprise to them when a black chocobo, which wasn't an uncommon sight to them given their knowledge of breeding the birds, and a crimson feathered red chocobo, its rider looking as if it was ready to be unseated at any moment, crested the ridge before them. Zack all but toppled off Anubis's back from shock when he recognized the black chocobo's rider.
" Lucius," he yelled to the boy. The others looked at him quizzically. The black chocobo charged down the hill and came to a stop several feet in front of the party. Cloud and his friends, with the exception of Zack and Nanaki, gasped at the sight of the boy mounted atop the ebony colored bird. Before them was a perfect mirror image of Rufus ShinRa, only much younger and baring an air of wisdom and experience which they had not known in the presence of Rufus.
" Hi Zack," Lucius replied to his uncle's previous greeting.
" I thought you were dead," Zack marveled, relieved that the statement was not so.
" Not quite," Lucius assured, his azure eyes slowly studying his uncle's companions.
" Everyone," Zack turned to his friends and gestured toward the boy, " this is my nephew, Lucius." A frustrated yell turned their attention back to the ridge where the red chocobo was trying to unseat its rider.
" Grab her crest feathers," Lucius yelled to the red chocobo's rider, who willingly obeyed and was awarded temporary control of his wild mount. Lucius grinned as the red chocobo trotted back down to stand beside him, drawing shocked gasps from everybody present, except for Lucius.
" Rufus ShinRa?!" The surprised cries came from so many mouths that Rufus was startled and toppled over the back of the red chocobo. The bird tried to bolt but Lucius now held the reins in his hand.
" No, Phaestus," the boy said firmly. Cowed by the son of her master, Phaestus dropped her gaze to the ground and waited. " Mom would be disappointed in you, Phaestus," Lucius continued, " trying to ditch your rider even after he bested you." Phaestus hung her head in shame.
If the sight of Lucius scolding the chocobo like a strict mother had been comical in any way, the humor had been lost in the shock of Cloud's party seeing their foe alive and well after two years of being presumed dead. Rufus was very perturbed by the apparent fact that these people knew him when he did not know them. Lucius could tell that his companion was unsettled by more than just his fall.
" You all right, Rufus," Lucius asked his companion, trying to divert the stares of the others.
" Fine," Rufus grumbled, brushing dirt off his clothes as he stood, " damn bird."
" How did you survive," Cloud demanded. Rufus might have had a sign taped to forehead saying, ' huh?' so perplexed was his expression. Cloud continued, " When Diamond blew up the tower." Obviously he hoped that the meager specification would help when in actuality it only made Rufus more confused.
" I really don't know what you're talking about," Rufus admitted. Cloud was unconvinced.
" What do you mean," he demanded almost angrily, " the glow in your eyes proves you're Rufus ShinRa," at this point he unsheathed a very large sword, " and that makes you an enemy!"
" Cloud, wait," Zack yelled, staying the blonde man's hand, " give the man a minute to explain himself."
" Show them your mark," Lucius advised, " I think that scar is the reason you don't know what they are saying." Rufus brushed the hair away from his face and showed them the remnant of the wound that had taken his memories, his own constant reminder of how little he really knew about himself.
" I honestly don't know where this scar came from but I've had it ever since I washed up in Mideel, before that is a blank," he explained.
" For the moment this is trivial," Lucius stated, suddenly remembering why he had ventured from his mountain home and also trying to divert the attention from Rufus.
" Lucius how many times have I told you that nothing is trivial," Zack scolded lightly.
" When Aeris is kidnapped by Sephiroth and we all stand around talking about someone's past then yes, there is a sense of inconsequentiality," Lucius argued in a monotonous voice. Barret, having sat by while too many big words floated around him, exploded.
" Why am I the only one who thinks that we're being controlled by some demented teenager with a thesaurus," he raged. Lucius gave him a look akin to a student listening to a lecture they had already heard numerous times.
" I take after my mother in my choice of words," he offered, purposefully using smaller words than he normally would have. Zack suddenly realized what Lucius had said.
" Aeris was kidnapped!" The outburst didn't raise a single muscle in Lucius but surprised many of the others.
" That's what I said," Lucius confirmed too calmly for his uncle's liking. Zack all but leapt off his mount and tackled Lucius in his rage. At the last minute though he caught himself and stayed on his bird.
" And where were you when this happened," he glared, knowing that Lucius would not treat an attack at the moment as he did in their sparring matches.
" For one thing, I was recovering from my first fight with Sephiroth, for another I'm only six years old and not big enough to repel a sneak attack from Sephiroth," Lucius stated with the same calm he had used earlier.
" You are the finest swordsman I know, and I am inclined to state that you could have easily dispatched Sephiroth even if he did jump you," Zack argued. Lucius seemed to have an endless supply of parries, verbal and physical.
" When I'm at full health and Sephiroth stays for the fight," he snorted. He mimicked a gesture common to his mother, pushing a breath out through his nose at a quick speed and closing the back of his throat, resulting in a short but profound snort-like sound; his head snapped down slightly as he did this but moved back up so fast that his companions had to blink several times to make sure their eyes were working properly. Zack seemed to run out of arguments to make, either that or he had finally realized that even if he could think of a good one, Lucius would only counter it with his usual stoic nature.
" If you've got your steam out could you possibly tell me when we'll be leaving for Mideel," Lucius asked impassively. Rufus smiled and shook his head, knowing it was futile to try and discern the motivation to Lucius's abnormally nonchalant nature.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Shivra and Osiris charged out of the water. The chocobo stopped briefly to shake out his feathers before they continued away from the beach into the grasslands. Toward Midgar. Toward Lucius. Though the latter was unknown to her.
To Be Continued...
AN : I seem to cut off a lot. I wonder if it's in my author genes to do that. well anyway I guess that's all for now. As always, feel free to flame. I'll really deserv it in the later chapters. Hehehe...