Act 1: Scene 5
To Garland's intense disgust, I eventually recovered, but it was a slow process, as casting healing magic on myself would have defeated the object by weakening me further. So I was forced to rely on potions. Though I hated the fact that the Second was prepared to run backwards and forwards to the small storeroom in Bran Baal, I could not do it myself and was forced to accept his help.
That he stayed around me at all irritated me intensely. He was one person I could not understand. Garland had a motive and used it; my own motive was my eventual revenge on my Maker, but the Second . . . I could not fathom his reasons for enduring my taunts and hatred at all. And I disliked being unable to interpret his thoughts.
During my convalescence, I had much time to mull over what was left to do before my journey down to Gaia. The Guardians of Chaos had left, apparently, each driven to his or her own shrine down below. When I finally breached the barrier and entered the planet's atmosphere for myself, they would act as protection in conjunction with the seal, preventing both unwanted visitors into Terra and direct interference from Garland.
The four Mirrors were ready to be stowed away to activate the seal. I would have to find a suitable place to store them, close to the island where Terra and Gaia were currently linked, but unreachable by ordinary means, so the seal would not be easily broken.
There wasn't much left to do, and I would have to make the drop soon if I wanted enough time to research the ways of Gaia from the planet itself. There was a library down there I wanted to visit for that very purpose. In essence, there was very little else I could do from here. It was time to put forward to Garland the proposition that I was ready. Finally, I could put my own plans into action, and begin taking control of my own life.
It was some time before I was able to even tell Garland this, but as he saw no reason why I couldn't proceed, he didn't deny me the opportunity. I had been in existence for only eleven years, but the time had already come, and I welcome it with open arms.
And so I stood by the teleporter that would take me up into the magnificent Invincible, a ship created by the old lords of Terra for the accumulation of souls, waiting for the Second to join me. For the first time since my awakening, I was taking things into my own hands. Once I reached Gaia, my actions would be my own, and I would discreetly discover a way to preserve my soul before Terra and Gaia became one and my identity lost.
The Second was taking too long.
Impatiently, I began to tap one foot. The silver dragon's presence distracted me from this pose, and I turned to face it.
"How should I follow?" it asked.
"Terra's void will be opened for the Invincible's safe passage," I informed him. "I want you to follow close behind. Don't get lost! Just follow. I will have need of you shortly after we emerge into Gaia's atmosphere."
The dragon bobbed its head, before flinging itself over the side and down out of sight. Obviously, it would wait for me.
But I was growing impatient.
"The Second!" I snapped loudly.
"I'm coming!" a voice cried, and I looked back to see him running agilely towards the teleporter.
"Well, you took your time," I said acidly when he joined me.
"I had some . . . unfinished business to take care of."
"Never mind that now." I held in my arms the four mirrors, and they were heavier than they looked. "Are you coming to Gaia or not?"
"Of course!"
I scowled at him, and stepped onto the teleporter. The world shimmered and blurred, and then the cosy darkness of the ship, Invincible, enveloped me. It wasn't my first time inside, but I still admired the work that had gone into it, the sheer beauty of its construction. Ships and marvels of engineering were one of my few idiosyncrasies.
It was the Second's first time, though, a fact that was apparent from his wide-eyed expression and the way he stared at the interior of the airship.
I wasted no time on him, stalking instead to the cockpit and placing the mirrors carefully on the floor. They crackled with magic when they were so close together, and I didn't want them interfering with the Invincible's systems, so I separated them slightly.
And, finally, we could leave. It seemed so simple. Something I had worked eleven years at, and I'd be off with a simple thought-command. Many of those eleven years had been spent tuning my mind to the waves of the Invincible, so that I would be able to command it even from the ground, but I had yet to practise.
Stepping onto the glowing platform and gazing out through the vast front screen, I matched my thoughts with the Invincible's and commanded it to take off. When it did as I asked, I couldn't help but smile.
"I could get to like this."
The Second walked into the room. Though my back was to him, my mind was currently with the Invincible, and I could feel his footsteps.
"The Eye is amazing . . . it gathers the souls, correct?"
"Yes." I wasn't surprised to discover that the Second had been doing his homework.
And then we breached the void. The ship floated, weightless, but I drove it onwards. All that was visible through the screen was liquid light, streaming and endless. I heard the Second catch his breath in awe, and smiled secretively. He would never see the void again, and I would make sure of it.
From the chaos of the void, the Invincible arose and met pure, clear skies, devoid of the Light and so beautifully clean that I sighed in admiration. I felt an echo of the silver dragon in my mind, and was extremely glad that it had succeeded in crossing worlds with me. The Second didn't know this, however. For a long moment, I kept the Invincible hovering over the Shimmering Island. As soon as those mirrors were in place, it would shimmer no more with Terra's escaping light, but, for now, there were more pressing matters.
On the western horizon, towards the inhabited continent of the planet, the skies were dark with storms and punctuated with lightning and patches of darker colours.
Rain.
Terra had no rain. Its water couldn't flow, and so this was the first time I had ever witnessed the phenomenon.
Grinning maliciously, I steered the Invincible towards that location. The speed with which the ship moved impressed even me, and we were there within only a short period of time.
I could see that the Second was puzzled by my behaviour even before he spoke up about it.
"Kuja, we need to find a remote place to -"
"Yes, I am well aware of that and I do not need you to tell me how to do my job. Understood?"
"But, then, where are we going?"
The Invincible somehow remained stable, despite the intensity of the weather. The silver dragon's complaints at my choice of location were so audible in my head that I worried the Second might hear them. But it wouldn't matter anymore if he did!
"Come with me," I ordered, and left the controls, strolling down onto the bridge where the teleporter was now deactivated. Another teleporter needed to be in range for a person to reach a suitable destination; otherwise they would just be deposited directly below the ship itself. Fortunately, this worked in favour of my plan.
As we approached it, it whirred into life, the circular pad humming vibrantly. The Second glanced at me, one eyebrow raised in question.
"This is the first step," I said coldly. "It's time to get rid of the excess baggage."
"What excess . . ." And then the way I looked at him seemed to penetrate. His eyes widened. "Kuja, you can't -"
My hand flew from my side and my inches in height over my unwitting rival served as an advantage as I made a grab for him. The Second was, however, extremely fast. All I caught was the collar of his Genome uniform, and his movement threw me off balance.
We both tumbled onto the teleporter. Mere seconds later, we were both in the air above the sickly, churning grey ocean, surrounded by the thick Mist this continent was renowned for. We didn't begin to fall until the teleporter's drag released us fully.
"Silver dragon!" I yelled as soon as the pull of gravity caused us to plummet towards the thrashing sea. The Second's face was filled with surprise more than fear, perhaps at my ultimate betrayal to him. But what did I owe this thief? Nothing, that's what!
A feathery silvery-green shape plunged down from above the Invincible's shadow, and I made a grab for it, managing to haul myself onto the dragon's back. Then I watched as the Second disappeared into the Mist below, and further still, the violent waves. Considering the possibility of surviving a fall from such a great height, plus the added factors of the Mist, because breathing stagnant souls isn't good for you, and that the ocean itself would probably drown a person with its current hostility, didn't seem worth it.
I became aware of the rain, then. Cool and refreshing, it pattered against my skin, and I relished the sensation. I suppose it was from that moment that I associated such precipitation with success.
Smiling at the completion of the first phase of my revenge, I commanded the silver dragon to return me to the Invincible, whereupon my real work began.
End of Act 1