Second part. Yays. Please read and review. ^_^
Disclaimer: Again, we don't own FFIX or anything to do with it. We simply own our characters. ^_^
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Chapter Two
The two young Genomes lounged in Kuja's room, having performed healing magic on themselves, fixing the youth's arm and healing any minor injuries. Kuja laid sideways on his bed, propping his head up with his arm and Sephira had settled in an old armchair, her legs draping over the side, her head resting on the armrest.
"We need more help, Kuja. We cannot do this ourselves!" Sephira protested, digging her nails into the armchair in desperation.
"We shall be fine. We shall look over things up here, while he watches things from down there."
"What if he cannot?" she cried and stood, clenching her fists in anger. She gave a sigh of exasperation and turned from him. "Why do you place so much faith in him? I do not even trust him."
"Why should you not trust him? True, I do not trust him completely, but I place my faith in him because I believe in his power. How can you not?" Kuja replied calmly, closing his eyes in thought. He opened them as he heard her shift. She was facing him again.
"I know of his power! I know what he is!" she cried and sat down on the chair once again, crossing her arms and legs. "I do not believe in him because I do not trust him. Why should he seek us out? We are only pathetic" —she spat this word in hatred— "Genomes. As Garland said. Why should—"
"Do you believe what Garland is feeding us?!" Kuja asked in disbelief as he stood. He crossed over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You believe the vile words that come from his mouth? Tell me it is not so!" He tightened his grip as she looked away.
"I sometimes think it is so. Could it be? We face him and he always manages to prevail over us. The both of us. We can fight as well, yet he always seems to have the upper hand over us. Kuja, you must give in to his words sometimes, as I do."
"No. I do not. I cannot. He is vile, wicked, heartless. All he spouts is lies. All of them!" His voice rose as he continued. "He lies! He has always lied to me, ever since he brought me to this world! All he ever told, it was a lie!" He inclined his head to one side and stared at the ground, his hands never leaving the young woman's shoulder. "Lies," he repeated bitterly.
".... Kuja..." She covered one oh his hands with one of her own and stood, bringing her other arm around him, holding him.
"He lies, Sephira. Do not believe him. We are strong. We can live though anything. Together, I know we can."
"That, I do believe."
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They confined themselves in Kuja's room, not wanting to cross paths with Garland for the time being. So they stayed in the small quarters and laid out their plans and reviewed them.
"He says that he is going to work himself into their friendship, yes?" Sephira asked, glancing up at Kuja, who nodded.
"He told me, when we were talking through the crystal by the moon of the previous night, that he had gained their leader's trust." Kuja paused. "He then said something which confuses me. I cannot quite recall what it was, but it was almost as though he were telling me my fortune. He spoke of things yet to come. The battle between the light of the dark and the dark of the light and the defeat of a keeper, a slaver. The release of the prisoners and the death of another."
Sephira shuddered and gazed at Kuja.
"What could he be talking about? I understand none of it."
Kuja shook his head, tapping his index finger on his knee in agitation. "Neither do I. We shall just have to take his word for it."
"Take his word—? Kuja! Why do you place all your hope, all your trust, in him?!" she cried, realizing they were going to have another argument on the same topic. Kuja glanced at her, smiling slightly. He took a hold of her wrist and pulled her down to sit beside him.
"I place my trust in him because he is the only one who can help," he replied calmly. Sephira remained silent as Kuja's smile grew a little. "Have no fear, angel. He knows what he is doing."
She kept her quiet for a moment, before answering.
"Yes, but.... do you?" She stood and left the room, leaving Kuja in a small state of shock. He regained his composure and stood as she strode from him.
"I know what I am doing, Sephira!" he shouted after her in anger. "Do you doubt me?! I know what I am doing!" he cried in desperation after her. She had dug into a part of Kuja that he wanted left untouched. He wasn't quite sure of what he was doing and it hurt his pride. His ego couldn't stand it.
Sephira left him and drifted through the halls of the Invincible, not having a set destination. She sighed and halted, leaning against a wall. Taking a deep breath, she held her first two fingers of either hand to the sides of her head, at the temples. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her mind through the Invincible, seeking out Garland and his whereabouts. He was far on the other side of the airship, the side she intended to stay away from.
"Good. Stay away from us, you pompous bastard," she hissed in contempt, moving off down the halls. She felt the need to visit the cockpit, so she did, halting and staring at the Genome who piloted the craft. The young man stared out the large front window. His hair didn't shine, his eyes were dull, the tail didn't move. It was though he was devoid of life. No, devoid of soul.
She glanced uneasily at her back, relieved that the tail didn't show. She hated it. It made her seem as though she were one of them. But she wasn't. Of course not. She had a soul, a vibrant, vivid soul of her own.
"Not a soul of my own," she murmured. "Not 'mine' at all. It is his. Garland. I loathe you. You may own me, but that does not make me your doll. My tail is a symbol of your possession over me, but that does not make me your pet to cage."
She glared at the lifeless Genome, as though it was his fault. The young woman took a deep breath and turned, leaving the cockpit. It wasn't as welcoming as she had thought before. As she left, she muttered one last word.
"No."
The Genome continued to pilot the airship, unaware of what had passed behind him, unaware of the fact that the young Genome with a soul seemed to loathe the sight of him. He was oblivious to it all. The only thing that mattered was the ship, the destination and the sky before him.
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Kuja sat in his room, contemplating on what his companion had told him before her departure. It was true, he was unsure of the things he did and he hated himself for it.
"Scum. Worthless, unwanted. That is all that I am. Why do I even attempt?" he asked himself contemptuously, loathing the thoughts of himself. Why didn't he just go and 'stop' himself? Put an end to his suffering.
As he dwelled on this idea, the door burst open and his companion ran in, sobbing. Throwing herself into his arms, she cried on to him, burying her face in his cloth-like armor.
"What is wrong? Did he attack you again?" he asked quietly. She looked up at him, her emerald eyes over-bright with tears. She shook her head, unable to speak for the moment. Kuja remained there, comforting her by stroking her hair and whispering consolations to her. As she found the will to stop her tears and bring her breath back, she smiled slightly to him.
"I am better, Kuja."
"What was wrong?" he questioned, staring into her eyes. She glanced away.
"Do we truly own all of us? I do not believe this. I do not own my soul; Garland does. I do not own my body; Garland made it, therefore it is his. I own none of me!" she wailed, burying her face back on the youth's chest. He shook his head, placing his face down to the top of her head, nuzzling his nose in her hair.
"You have no sense. He does not own us, because we shall break free. We do not obey him, we defy him. Therefore, we are our own."
It occurred to Kuja, just then, that he knew why he didn't put an end to his suffering. Not yet, at least. It was because of her. She needed him and he didn't want to abandon her. She would despair without him.
He smiled, her hair brushing his lips.
She made his life worth living.
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"Zidane?
"Mmppfff?"
"Stop eating."
"Mppfff."
"Little punk kid…saying crap like that…"
"Mpf."
"You little chimp! Take this!"
"Mmmm…pppffff! Mmmm!"
"Anyways…look out the front window. Check out that city!"
Zidane swallowed the banana chips and then said, "I've never seen a city like that before…"
Indeed, Zidane hadn't. Most of the city was made of a dark metal, ranging from light gray to pure black. He turned to Viteros and said, "Is this our final destination?"
"Exactly. This is where we get off, and we meet with a friend of ours."
"Who's that?"
Viteros shrugged. "I don't know. But the note said that."
Zidane looked at the magnificent city and said, for lack of anything better to say, he said quietly, "Meh."
"Meh," the other agreed. "Definitely 'meh'."
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They landed at a huge, circular place that seemed to be built exactly for airships like that. Viteros climbed out a small ladder on the side and Zidane quickly followed. Viteros looked around and then said, "Here comes the welcoming committee…I suggest you keep quiet. Sorry…but I think you should talk to them after I explain everything for you."
Zidane nodded, he didn't really have anything to say to these tall, black- shrouded, old-looking men anyways. And so he looked on silently, his hand resting on his pocket. He felt something small and rectangular in there-he realized that he had taken Viteros' little 'diary'. Oh well…he'd need something to do here.
The first of the men removed the shroud from his head, and Zidane could see a wrinkled, old face, with tired black eyes and graying hair. The man gestured with one gnarled hand at Viteros, and then to Zidane, and then to the ground.
In response, Viteros merely laughed darkly and spat on the ground. "You never learn, do you, Yaikin? I respect you as much as a dog respects the hole it sends its food into."
Yaikin's eyes narrowed and he said in a low, harsh voice, "Viteros. As cruel as ever I see. No respect for your elders…"
Viteros shrugged. "Sorry to break it to you, there is a difference between wise elders and senile, overgrown infants, Yaikin."
The older man sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "You never change. Well, an old acquaintance wants to speak with you. Come with me."
Viteros and Zidane followed Yaikin and his entourage into a dimly lit building composed of metal and obsidian, with shining, cold black walls and metal supports. The floor was granite, and the people inside seemed almost as cold and lifeless as the stone itself. When they both walked in, they couldn't suppress a shiver.
In here Zidane thought, "So this is why he's the way he is. He was raised in a place like this…"
Further on, they came to a stone dais with a small red orb on it, with a yellow light that streamed in from above, despite the fact that there was no window there. Zidane looked up in amazement, and then looked more earthward to see Viteros talking with Yaikin.
"Sorry, old man, but you're going to have to clear out. I don't like having my conversations monitored."
"And I'm sorry, but you've proven yourself to be very untrustworthy before, Devil Nine. With fragile equipment like this, I'm not sure I can go away confident that you won't destroy anything."
"How about this, old man?" Viteros pressed some gil into Yaikin's gnarled hand. "Perhaps this little…token of my esteem for you will let you…trust me?"
Yaikin stiffened and said, "How dare you believe that I am susceptible to bribery! If you are willing to spend money, then this conversation must be very secret indeed! What evil heresy are you planning now?"
"No heresy," said Viteros, lifting his hands.
"Don't lie to me!" shouted Yaikin angrily, "don't tell me you don't remember the events at Outer Heaven 3 a few years ago!"
Viteros looked upwards and said, "Now that little term brings back some memories. You cut me real deep there, man."
Yaikin was about to launch into another diatribe, when Viteros' metal-clad hand appeared again, and a quick prick into the old man's arm made him drop.
Zidane rushed over and said, "What did you-"
"He's unconscious for the next few hours. Let's see what our friend has to say, shall we?"
Viteros walked over to the orb and encased it completely in his hands. Then he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then he opened them and said, "Zidane, c'mere. Do what I did."
Zidane did so, and he suddenly saw a new reality, where he was in a massive, swirling black void, while a matrix of green letters and numbers swirled around him. He looked over and saw that his companion was there too, looking around. "What are you looking for?"
"The right frequency. If I am correct, which I might not be, the correct frequency for them is 957.14…"
"Who is 'them'?"
"You'll know when you see them."
Suddenly two figures appeared out of the darkness. A young man, a very unique looking man too, with a very odd type of clothing that revealed most of his midriff and legs, and a young woman who appeared to be wearing very close to what he was.
Viteros stepped forward and a slight, grim smile touched his lips quickly, briefly. "Ah, Sephira. It is good to see you after so long…"
Sephira nodded toward him and said, "Viteros, you do know what happened at Hael?"
"Unfortunately, I was there at the time. That's where I picked up this one." Viteros gestured with his head toward Zidane. Zidane didn't really know what to do, so he gave a small wave and then said under his breath, "Meh…"
The young man who was with Sephira said, "So you are completely sure about him?"
"Of course. I'm surprised you don't recognize him."
He shrugged. "It has been a while. And he has changed, dramatically so."
"It does not matter. That is not the point," said Sephira, "What the point is is that Terisas is starting operations again. And if he is involved then the other-"
"I'm very aware of that." Viteros said softly. "And I think this one, Zidane, is going to be the key to victory over our friend the Angel of Darkness. I watched him for a few days, and I think that his trance is very, very powerful. It could be the deciding factor."
Zidane walked closer and said, "Hey, you're going to use me without anything saying? What am I, a sword? Listen, I'm not fighting unless I know anything. And you-" he pointed at Viteros, "You owe me my friends!"
"If I'm right," said Viteros, "Then your allies are not far off from our exact location. Unless they're with Garland…" he gave the two a quizzical look.
The young man shrugged and said, "Sorry, but I do not have that good information. Our ugly, old master is keeping a close watch on us both…he believes we are conspiring against him. But there was some interesting cargo in a box that moves that arrived a while ago…but I do not know where they put it."
"You better get some better intelligence than that if you're going to make a successful operation, Kuja."
"Look, I am doing the best I can do!" said Kuja, some anger blazing into his eyes, "It is not like I am trying to fail! And-- Do not dare to laugh at me!" he hissed venomously.
"Sorry," said Viteros, "but…despite how very, very right you are you still need to try harder!"
"I am…trying…to! But it is not that easy with Garland always watching over your shoulder!"
"Okay, relax, relax…you don't need to get so worked up, you little fishlet…"
Sephira rolled her eyes and said, "All right, Viteros, just remember your part! We shall send you more updates as it comes along. All right?"
"Are you asking my permission?"
"That is besides the point," said Kuja. "We shall talk again, Viteros."
Viteros cut communications, and then they were back again in that simple room. Viteros turned to Zidane, who said, "No way. You need to explain everything that's going on now."
"Sorry, but nothing doing," responded Viteros. "You'll get the details as we go along."
"Listen, I'm not going to be your pawn," said Zidane, putting his finger against Viteros' chest and glaring into his face. "And I'm not going to be ordered around like this!"
Viteros turned away and said, "Go outside and see the city. You'll learn more later."
As Zidane walked away he fingered the book in his pocket and said, "I'll learn more than you think, Devil Nine…"
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Outside, Zidane went alone to a bench that sat by the road. He sat down and opened the old book again. He read on from Viteros' last 'entry'…
~The Ojikage is, unfortunately, beginning to show signs of extreme rebelliousness inside. He keeps his anger pent up, and there's a lot focused on him, and that's not good for his nerves. If that full rage lets loose something terrible could happen…on the other hand, his psychic abilities are still on the rise. He is also getting smarter, and, as a result, much more secretive. Unfortunately, we're not completely sure what to do about that. And as for that 'insurrection' he was talking about…
It could be happening now. It could be happening here. Devil Nine was apparently correct. Two doctors, Orolis and Pansin, they were killed by Angels. Five were killed by Devils. I don't know what we're going to do. However, this ability to glean information is apparently a good sign of Ojikage's leadership, it means that he was able to get it from other Devils and maybe from Angels. That means Devil Nine makes a fine prototype…a fine leader for the other Devil forces. However, his insubordination and cruelty makes him very not suitable. We will see what happens as we go along.~
The next entry was smudged and written in red. But a dark, deep, dead red…apparently, Viteros, for lack of writing materials, wrote with probably his own blood.
~You didn't listen to any of my warnings! Fools! You're all IDIOTS! There is no escape from the final destruction! If it DOES NOT STOP then there is no future for you, or us. Terminate the project. Terminate all of the specimens if you wish to live! If you wish to preserve the planet and its people!
And I know about that specimen you found as well. The one labeled Avonej. Did you think any of us, with how intelligent we are, would miss that pathetic little anagram of 'Jenova'? The Jenova Project was a failure. I felt it. The people of the Distant Stars tried to work with this best, and they were consumed, they were killed, they were driven insane!!!! Listen to my words! You may yet unleash another more powerful, terrible, destroying creature of mass devastation!
Time runs short. Cut off the experiment now, before they co-~
The record cut off right there, ending in a scribble. While he was writing, someone probably came and took the book from him. That only served to further intrigue Zidane…
He looked up and thought, "I haven't been sitting here for too long, have I?"
He walked through the dank, dark streets glancing around and thinking to himself what a sad place this was. Despite the advanced technology, the great luxuries, it was a terrible place. The whole place stank of death and machinery to Zidane. Most of the life in the ground itself was crushed. No plants except for the occasional tree planted in the middle of the sidewalk…steam that smoked out in white clouds from grates on the ground…. A city populated by angry, paranoid, tense people. Nothing but…exactly that. Nothing.
Through this entire reverie Zidane had been slowly walking the dark streets he accidentally bumped into some people. To be precise, a tall, burly man and a much smaller, scrawny-looking, man with a sharp eyes and a long nose.
"Hey," said the scrawny little man in a dry, nasal voice, "What do you think you're doing, primitive?"
The large man agreed in a thick voice, "Yes. What do you want?"
"Me? I just want to help other people. That's my job." Zidane tapped his chest, the way he was accustomed to. But before he was done, the burly man walked up quickly and picked Zidane up by the shirt. "We really don't care about your job. What we want is that you just stay out of other people's business. What do you think?"
"Hey!" said Zidane, "I'm not the one going around picking people up! Put me down!"
"I don't think so," said the scrawny man, walking up, rubbing his hands. "Gilan, do what you want with him. Break his bones."
"Which bones?"
The thin man smiled cruelly under his long nose. "All of them."
Zidane looked skyward and said, "The man says, 'All of them.' I thought that Viteros said weird stuff…"
Gilan rushed toward Zidane, and the small warrior leapt out of the way and delivered a quick slash with a knife. The burly man roared and fell, bleeding from his leg. Zidane whirled to face the scrawny one, automatically getting into a fighting position. A shadow of a smile flitted across the man's face and he said, "So you wish to challenge me? Well…you defeated my bodyguard…"
Suddenly, laughter echoed from behind them, and the scrawny man whirled in rage, to see Viteros, laughing, apparently, for no reason, walking closer. His whole body shook from the chilling, eerie laughter that kept coming, and didn't stop.
"Viteros! What are you doing here!?" screamed the man.
Viteros merely kept walking closer, closer…until suddenly, his laugh turned into a yell, as he spun in the air and kicked the man in the head, throwing him to the ground. "Viteros! What's-"
"No time to talk, Zidane!" shouted Viteros, "We're leaving!"
"And why are we?" said Zidane, running up to, and then running with Viteros back to the hangars.
"Apparently, our enemies have found us."
"What!?"
"Yes. But I may have a fix on where your friends are located. I'm going to try to bust them out sometime, but hang on!"
They jumped inside the airship, and Zidane could see out of the window soldiers dressed in metal carrying large, thick metal sticks. When they stopped, they aimed the sticks at the ship and fired off bolts of light that smashed into the small craft.
They lifted off, but during the process one of the shots came through the glass. It seemed as if time slowed down, as the bullet made it's way to Zidane, slowly…slowly…and then slammed into his chest, throwing him in a spurt of blood.
Zidane groaned as burning pain ripped through his body. Viteros shouted over the gunfire without turning around, "Sorry, Zidane, but I need to pilot! I think I'm-"
Another blast rocked the airship, and Zidane fell over with a cry of pain. He shouted to Viteros, "I'm…I'm going…I can't believe it's ending already…am I just…"
"You just need time to adjust to the new technologies you'll find," said Viteros. "You just…um…I think I've got a potion or something in the emergency case here…" His hand fumbled around in a small compartment next to him, and he was just about to tell Zidane he couldn't find anything when he heard Zidane's own voice say, "Vit…what…"
Viteros saw a dim red glow at the edges of his vision, and he said, "Zidane, you know what this is…you've done it before. Trance!"
"No…this is…this is stronger, Viteros! This isn't a Trance! It's not controlled. It's just raw destructive energy!"
"What…!"
Zidane looked at his hands, and saw that they were glowing red and gold, and that his body felt like it was full of surging power. He suddenly said, "I know what to do!"
"What are you…"
Zidane rushed down the corridor until he came to a ladder. He quickly climbed up, he felt like the power would unleash itself at any minute, he had to hurry, couldn't do it in here…
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A minute later, Zidane climbed up and out of the small airship and was on the top. He could now really see the enemies, at least 17 airships with large guns, with soldiers hanging out of the side doors shooting their own guns. Zidane clenched his fists, faced them, and let the energy flow. Then he opened his hands and put them forward and shouted, "Versus armor!"
A blue, crystalline sphere seemed to encase the ship for a moment, and then it disappeared. Then Zidane continued, "Dragon Rage!"
A massive oriental dragon of shifting colors appeared above their airship, and when Zidane gestured, the dragon rushed through the enemy ranks.
The soldiers screamed as their bodies were ripped and burnt, the airships exploded in midair showering the other ones with shrapnel. The dragon didn't stop until it had gone all the way through, and then, with a final, defiant roar, it dissipated into thin air.
Zidane stood panting, the cold wind whipping around him. Finally, he went down back into the airship.
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He found Viteros waiting for him at the bottom of the ladder. Apparently, autopilot had finally been engaged.
"How did you do that?" came the dark voice of the enigma.
"I…I don't know," said Zidane. "What is it, anyway?"
Viteros turned away and said, "Something I used to be able to do a long time ago. On another world. In another form. That was when I could use the power, the raw, destructive, mysterious power of Limit Break."
Zidane looked towards the floor and said softly, "Limit break…"
"It is destruction channeled through the human being in the purest form," said Viteros. "Limit Break, which is the more primitive form of Trance, which is the more primitive form of Overdrive. Limit Break, because it is so raw and uncontrolled, is much more difficult to utilize than a Trance. I remember only one person who was able to turn Limit Break to her own uses, healing, but she was a very special case…unfortunately, she's dead now. But Zidane, I've never seen anyone use Limit Break the way you do."
"What?"
"I can use Limit Break. But not the way you just did. I can only do one at a time. You did two. And your…Dragon Rage…it ripped through the enemy forces, and killed them all. Do you have any idea how hard it is to destroy seventeen fully functional angel-type fighter airships? If it were me alone, with my Limit Break, it would take forever. I've got more than one Break, but you utilized a defensive one and then an incredible offensive one very quickly."
Zidane shrugged. "It wasn't that hard…"
"And look!" Viteros pointed at Zidane's chest. "Look there! You are fully healed. You see? Your shirt is ripped but the chest is not, in face, the skin looks like nothing has ever touched it." A half-smile slowly crept onto Viteros' face. "This could change our plans entirely. For the better."
Zidane walked up to Viteros and slowly said, "I am not doing anything for you unless you help my friends. Because to tell the truth, I don't give a dead chocobo about your crazy plans. You're crazy, and I think your friends are too. And unless you help my friends, I'll just sit here and 'Limit Break' you straight back to Satan or whatever."
There was a moment of silence. Then finally Viteros said quietly, "I know. I should have expected that of you. Zidane…to tell the truth…I need your help. And the rest of us need your help. And I promise that I'll help you save your friends."
"Save my friends? Do you think that's all I care about?"
Viteros took a step back and said, "Well, yes, I-"
"Listen," said Zidane, walking closer to Viteros, "I don't need that only. You and those people you work with seem like a really weird sort of people, and you look like a bunch of troublemakers, too. And no matter what happens, ever, I'm going to find out what's going on, and, if I don't think it's a good thing, I'm taking you down, Viteros, and I'll destroy you, I'll crush you so deep into the ground no one will ever remember the mysterious young Devil Nine."
There was another while of silence. Each regarded the other coldly, standing there, not moving. Finally, the low voice of Viteros finally broke the silence. He thrust a hand forward to shake.
"Fine."
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Zidane sat in the back, once again reading the Devil Agenda book. He noted that, finally, there was a picture of a woman. But it was sort of in shadow. He read the entry underneath.
~Apparently, Master Terisas wishes to experiment with his enemies. Unfortunately, he has chosen our friend Garland as the example, and wishes to work with some of his Genome units.
We've already messed with the genetics of some of the Genome Soldiers. They are changing, but many of them have died, and some of the deaths appear to have been very painful. One had his blood seep from his pores steadily until he finally died of blood loss, and others just stop functioning on the spot. However, some appear not to be affected at all, while others suffer radical physical mutations.
We have decided, now, to give the gene to a female, one who appears to be really the only female that Garland possesses. We gave her the Angel gene, but it appears not to have taken effect yet.
We maybe will clone her, so that this other one can receive the Devil gene and we will analyze more.~
The next page was torn out. Strange.
Zidane kept going, until he found another one of Viteros' entries.
~You people are very stubborn. Very stubborn. Unfortunately, that cannot work out. I think the Angelic uprising will occur soon…very, very soon. It's only a matter of days. I am compiling the other books of the Project into this one to make a chronicle. Perhaps in the end it will be all right. Maybe one day I can undo your meddling.~
"Zidane?"
Zidane looked up, slightly startled. "What?"
"What are you doing?"
Zidane looked downwards at the floor. He had no purpose in lying now; Viteros had seen him with the book. "Viteros…I was reading your book. The book about the Angel Project."
Viteros looked down at him, no expression came to his face. "Why?"
"Because I…because I was curious. I wanted to know what was going on." He felt slightly defiant. "You never told me anything!"
"I should have known you had the book. I should have known you were smarter than that, Zidane. After all, any 'superior' creation of my maker's rival would have to be very well made…"
Zidane jumped up and shouted, "Don't just call me that! I'm not some machine they built, you know!"
"But a friend of yours is."
"What, Vivi? He's more than just a creation! If you think of us like this…"
Viteros waved his hand, cutting him off. "Relax, relax. That's not what I meant. I can't be prejudiced against creations. If you've read my book then you would know about my life, and my past…"
"Do…do you still have that tattoo?"
"Tattoo…yes. That is one of the reasons that my arm is covered by this sleeve. One of the reasons that I rarely bring my left arm out of the cloak. It is a mark of my darkness, and of my creation. It doesn't stand out as much as a…tail. We were all designed to be super soldiers, Zidane, but some of us were not meant to be warriors head on. Some were designed to lurk in the shadows and strike like snakes in the grass."
Viteros looked out the window and saw the massive airship. He turned back to Zidane and said, "Are you ready?"
The young man said, "We'll find my friends here?"
"Yes."
"Then nothing will stand in our way."
Disclaimer: Again, we don't own FFIX or anything to do with it. We simply own our characters. ^_^
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Chapter Two
The two young Genomes lounged in Kuja's room, having performed healing magic on themselves, fixing the youth's arm and healing any minor injuries. Kuja laid sideways on his bed, propping his head up with his arm and Sephira had settled in an old armchair, her legs draping over the side, her head resting on the armrest.
"We need more help, Kuja. We cannot do this ourselves!" Sephira protested, digging her nails into the armchair in desperation.
"We shall be fine. We shall look over things up here, while he watches things from down there."
"What if he cannot?" she cried and stood, clenching her fists in anger. She gave a sigh of exasperation and turned from him. "Why do you place so much faith in him? I do not even trust him."
"Why should you not trust him? True, I do not trust him completely, but I place my faith in him because I believe in his power. How can you not?" Kuja replied calmly, closing his eyes in thought. He opened them as he heard her shift. She was facing him again.
"I know of his power! I know what he is!" she cried and sat down on the chair once again, crossing her arms and legs. "I do not believe in him because I do not trust him. Why should he seek us out? We are only pathetic" —she spat this word in hatred— "Genomes. As Garland said. Why should—"
"Do you believe what Garland is feeding us?!" Kuja asked in disbelief as he stood. He crossed over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You believe the vile words that come from his mouth? Tell me it is not so!" He tightened his grip as she looked away.
"I sometimes think it is so. Could it be? We face him and he always manages to prevail over us. The both of us. We can fight as well, yet he always seems to have the upper hand over us. Kuja, you must give in to his words sometimes, as I do."
"No. I do not. I cannot. He is vile, wicked, heartless. All he spouts is lies. All of them!" His voice rose as he continued. "He lies! He has always lied to me, ever since he brought me to this world! All he ever told, it was a lie!" He inclined his head to one side and stared at the ground, his hands never leaving the young woman's shoulder. "Lies," he repeated bitterly.
".... Kuja..." She covered one oh his hands with one of her own and stood, bringing her other arm around him, holding him.
"He lies, Sephira. Do not believe him. We are strong. We can live though anything. Together, I know we can."
"That, I do believe."
----------------
They confined themselves in Kuja's room, not wanting to cross paths with Garland for the time being. So they stayed in the small quarters and laid out their plans and reviewed them.
"He says that he is going to work himself into their friendship, yes?" Sephira asked, glancing up at Kuja, who nodded.
"He told me, when we were talking through the crystal by the moon of the previous night, that he had gained their leader's trust." Kuja paused. "He then said something which confuses me. I cannot quite recall what it was, but it was almost as though he were telling me my fortune. He spoke of things yet to come. The battle between the light of the dark and the dark of the light and the defeat of a keeper, a slaver. The release of the prisoners and the death of another."
Sephira shuddered and gazed at Kuja.
"What could he be talking about? I understand none of it."
Kuja shook his head, tapping his index finger on his knee in agitation. "Neither do I. We shall just have to take his word for it."
"Take his word—? Kuja! Why do you place all your hope, all your trust, in him?!" she cried, realizing they were going to have another argument on the same topic. Kuja glanced at her, smiling slightly. He took a hold of her wrist and pulled her down to sit beside him.
"I place my trust in him because he is the only one who can help," he replied calmly. Sephira remained silent as Kuja's smile grew a little. "Have no fear, angel. He knows what he is doing."
She kept her quiet for a moment, before answering.
"Yes, but.... do you?" She stood and left the room, leaving Kuja in a small state of shock. He regained his composure and stood as she strode from him.
"I know what I am doing, Sephira!" he shouted after her in anger. "Do you doubt me?! I know what I am doing!" he cried in desperation after her. She had dug into a part of Kuja that he wanted left untouched. He wasn't quite sure of what he was doing and it hurt his pride. His ego couldn't stand it.
Sephira left him and drifted through the halls of the Invincible, not having a set destination. She sighed and halted, leaning against a wall. Taking a deep breath, she held her first two fingers of either hand to the sides of her head, at the temples. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her mind through the Invincible, seeking out Garland and his whereabouts. He was far on the other side of the airship, the side she intended to stay away from.
"Good. Stay away from us, you pompous bastard," she hissed in contempt, moving off down the halls. She felt the need to visit the cockpit, so she did, halting and staring at the Genome who piloted the craft. The young man stared out the large front window. His hair didn't shine, his eyes were dull, the tail didn't move. It was though he was devoid of life. No, devoid of soul.
She glanced uneasily at her back, relieved that the tail didn't show. She hated it. It made her seem as though she were one of them. But she wasn't. Of course not. She had a soul, a vibrant, vivid soul of her own.
"Not a soul of my own," she murmured. "Not 'mine' at all. It is his. Garland. I loathe you. You may own me, but that does not make me your doll. My tail is a symbol of your possession over me, but that does not make me your pet to cage."
She glared at the lifeless Genome, as though it was his fault. The young woman took a deep breath and turned, leaving the cockpit. It wasn't as welcoming as she had thought before. As she left, she muttered one last word.
"No."
The Genome continued to pilot the airship, unaware of what had passed behind him, unaware of the fact that the young Genome with a soul seemed to loathe the sight of him. He was oblivious to it all. The only thing that mattered was the ship, the destination and the sky before him.
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Kuja sat in his room, contemplating on what his companion had told him before her departure. It was true, he was unsure of the things he did and he hated himself for it.
"Scum. Worthless, unwanted. That is all that I am. Why do I even attempt?" he asked himself contemptuously, loathing the thoughts of himself. Why didn't he just go and 'stop' himself? Put an end to his suffering.
As he dwelled on this idea, the door burst open and his companion ran in, sobbing. Throwing herself into his arms, she cried on to him, burying her face in his cloth-like armor.
"What is wrong? Did he attack you again?" he asked quietly. She looked up at him, her emerald eyes over-bright with tears. She shook her head, unable to speak for the moment. Kuja remained there, comforting her by stroking her hair and whispering consolations to her. As she found the will to stop her tears and bring her breath back, she smiled slightly to him.
"I am better, Kuja."
"What was wrong?" he questioned, staring into her eyes. She glanced away.
"Do we truly own all of us? I do not believe this. I do not own my soul; Garland does. I do not own my body; Garland made it, therefore it is his. I own none of me!" she wailed, burying her face back on the youth's chest. He shook his head, placing his face down to the top of her head, nuzzling his nose in her hair.
"You have no sense. He does not own us, because we shall break free. We do not obey him, we defy him. Therefore, we are our own."
It occurred to Kuja, just then, that he knew why he didn't put an end to his suffering. Not yet, at least. It was because of her. She needed him and he didn't want to abandon her. She would despair without him.
He smiled, her hair brushing his lips.
She made his life worth living.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Zidane?
"Mmppfff?"
"Stop eating."
"Mppfff."
"Little punk kid…saying crap like that…"
"Mpf."
"You little chimp! Take this!"
"Mmmm…pppffff! Mmmm!"
"Anyways…look out the front window. Check out that city!"
Zidane swallowed the banana chips and then said, "I've never seen a city like that before…"
Indeed, Zidane hadn't. Most of the city was made of a dark metal, ranging from light gray to pure black. He turned to Viteros and said, "Is this our final destination?"
"Exactly. This is where we get off, and we meet with a friend of ours."
"Who's that?"
Viteros shrugged. "I don't know. But the note said that."
Zidane looked at the magnificent city and said, for lack of anything better to say, he said quietly, "Meh."
"Meh," the other agreed. "Definitely 'meh'."
--------------
They landed at a huge, circular place that seemed to be built exactly for airships like that. Viteros climbed out a small ladder on the side and Zidane quickly followed. Viteros looked around and then said, "Here comes the welcoming committee…I suggest you keep quiet. Sorry…but I think you should talk to them after I explain everything for you."
Zidane nodded, he didn't really have anything to say to these tall, black- shrouded, old-looking men anyways. And so he looked on silently, his hand resting on his pocket. He felt something small and rectangular in there-he realized that he had taken Viteros' little 'diary'. Oh well…he'd need something to do here.
The first of the men removed the shroud from his head, and Zidane could see a wrinkled, old face, with tired black eyes and graying hair. The man gestured with one gnarled hand at Viteros, and then to Zidane, and then to the ground.
In response, Viteros merely laughed darkly and spat on the ground. "You never learn, do you, Yaikin? I respect you as much as a dog respects the hole it sends its food into."
Yaikin's eyes narrowed and he said in a low, harsh voice, "Viteros. As cruel as ever I see. No respect for your elders…"
Viteros shrugged. "Sorry to break it to you, there is a difference between wise elders and senile, overgrown infants, Yaikin."
The older man sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "You never change. Well, an old acquaintance wants to speak with you. Come with me."
Viteros and Zidane followed Yaikin and his entourage into a dimly lit building composed of metal and obsidian, with shining, cold black walls and metal supports. The floor was granite, and the people inside seemed almost as cold and lifeless as the stone itself. When they both walked in, they couldn't suppress a shiver.
In here Zidane thought, "So this is why he's the way he is. He was raised in a place like this…"
Further on, they came to a stone dais with a small red orb on it, with a yellow light that streamed in from above, despite the fact that there was no window there. Zidane looked up in amazement, and then looked more earthward to see Viteros talking with Yaikin.
"Sorry, old man, but you're going to have to clear out. I don't like having my conversations monitored."
"And I'm sorry, but you've proven yourself to be very untrustworthy before, Devil Nine. With fragile equipment like this, I'm not sure I can go away confident that you won't destroy anything."
"How about this, old man?" Viteros pressed some gil into Yaikin's gnarled hand. "Perhaps this little…token of my esteem for you will let you…trust me?"
Yaikin stiffened and said, "How dare you believe that I am susceptible to bribery! If you are willing to spend money, then this conversation must be very secret indeed! What evil heresy are you planning now?"
"No heresy," said Viteros, lifting his hands.
"Don't lie to me!" shouted Yaikin angrily, "don't tell me you don't remember the events at Outer Heaven 3 a few years ago!"
Viteros looked upwards and said, "Now that little term brings back some memories. You cut me real deep there, man."
Yaikin was about to launch into another diatribe, when Viteros' metal-clad hand appeared again, and a quick prick into the old man's arm made him drop.
Zidane rushed over and said, "What did you-"
"He's unconscious for the next few hours. Let's see what our friend has to say, shall we?"
Viteros walked over to the orb and encased it completely in his hands. Then he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then he opened them and said, "Zidane, c'mere. Do what I did."
Zidane did so, and he suddenly saw a new reality, where he was in a massive, swirling black void, while a matrix of green letters and numbers swirled around him. He looked over and saw that his companion was there too, looking around. "What are you looking for?"
"The right frequency. If I am correct, which I might not be, the correct frequency for them is 957.14…"
"Who is 'them'?"
"You'll know when you see them."
Suddenly two figures appeared out of the darkness. A young man, a very unique looking man too, with a very odd type of clothing that revealed most of his midriff and legs, and a young woman who appeared to be wearing very close to what he was.
Viteros stepped forward and a slight, grim smile touched his lips quickly, briefly. "Ah, Sephira. It is good to see you after so long…"
Sephira nodded toward him and said, "Viteros, you do know what happened at Hael?"
"Unfortunately, I was there at the time. That's where I picked up this one." Viteros gestured with his head toward Zidane. Zidane didn't really know what to do, so he gave a small wave and then said under his breath, "Meh…"
The young man who was with Sephira said, "So you are completely sure about him?"
"Of course. I'm surprised you don't recognize him."
He shrugged. "It has been a while. And he has changed, dramatically so."
"It does not matter. That is not the point," said Sephira, "What the point is is that Terisas is starting operations again. And if he is involved then the other-"
"I'm very aware of that." Viteros said softly. "And I think this one, Zidane, is going to be the key to victory over our friend the Angel of Darkness. I watched him for a few days, and I think that his trance is very, very powerful. It could be the deciding factor."
Zidane walked closer and said, "Hey, you're going to use me without anything saying? What am I, a sword? Listen, I'm not fighting unless I know anything. And you-" he pointed at Viteros, "You owe me my friends!"
"If I'm right," said Viteros, "Then your allies are not far off from our exact location. Unless they're with Garland…" he gave the two a quizzical look.
The young man shrugged and said, "Sorry, but I do not have that good information. Our ugly, old master is keeping a close watch on us both…he believes we are conspiring against him. But there was some interesting cargo in a box that moves that arrived a while ago…but I do not know where they put it."
"You better get some better intelligence than that if you're going to make a successful operation, Kuja."
"Look, I am doing the best I can do!" said Kuja, some anger blazing into his eyes, "It is not like I am trying to fail! And-- Do not dare to laugh at me!" he hissed venomously.
"Sorry," said Viteros, "but…despite how very, very right you are you still need to try harder!"
"I am…trying…to! But it is not that easy with Garland always watching over your shoulder!"
"Okay, relax, relax…you don't need to get so worked up, you little fishlet…"
Sephira rolled her eyes and said, "All right, Viteros, just remember your part! We shall send you more updates as it comes along. All right?"
"Are you asking my permission?"
"That is besides the point," said Kuja. "We shall talk again, Viteros."
Viteros cut communications, and then they were back again in that simple room. Viteros turned to Zidane, who said, "No way. You need to explain everything that's going on now."
"Sorry, but nothing doing," responded Viteros. "You'll get the details as we go along."
"Listen, I'm not going to be your pawn," said Zidane, putting his finger against Viteros' chest and glaring into his face. "And I'm not going to be ordered around like this!"
Viteros turned away and said, "Go outside and see the city. You'll learn more later."
As Zidane walked away he fingered the book in his pocket and said, "I'll learn more than you think, Devil Nine…"
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Outside, Zidane went alone to a bench that sat by the road. He sat down and opened the old book again. He read on from Viteros' last 'entry'…
~The Ojikage is, unfortunately, beginning to show signs of extreme rebelliousness inside. He keeps his anger pent up, and there's a lot focused on him, and that's not good for his nerves. If that full rage lets loose something terrible could happen…on the other hand, his psychic abilities are still on the rise. He is also getting smarter, and, as a result, much more secretive. Unfortunately, we're not completely sure what to do about that. And as for that 'insurrection' he was talking about…
It could be happening now. It could be happening here. Devil Nine was apparently correct. Two doctors, Orolis and Pansin, they were killed by Angels. Five were killed by Devils. I don't know what we're going to do. However, this ability to glean information is apparently a good sign of Ojikage's leadership, it means that he was able to get it from other Devils and maybe from Angels. That means Devil Nine makes a fine prototype…a fine leader for the other Devil forces. However, his insubordination and cruelty makes him very not suitable. We will see what happens as we go along.~
The next entry was smudged and written in red. But a dark, deep, dead red…apparently, Viteros, for lack of writing materials, wrote with probably his own blood.
~You didn't listen to any of my warnings! Fools! You're all IDIOTS! There is no escape from the final destruction! If it DOES NOT STOP then there is no future for you, or us. Terminate the project. Terminate all of the specimens if you wish to live! If you wish to preserve the planet and its people!
And I know about that specimen you found as well. The one labeled Avonej. Did you think any of us, with how intelligent we are, would miss that pathetic little anagram of 'Jenova'? The Jenova Project was a failure. I felt it. The people of the Distant Stars tried to work with this best, and they were consumed, they were killed, they were driven insane!!!! Listen to my words! You may yet unleash another more powerful, terrible, destroying creature of mass devastation!
Time runs short. Cut off the experiment now, before they co-~
The record cut off right there, ending in a scribble. While he was writing, someone probably came and took the book from him. That only served to further intrigue Zidane…
He looked up and thought, "I haven't been sitting here for too long, have I?"
He walked through the dank, dark streets glancing around and thinking to himself what a sad place this was. Despite the advanced technology, the great luxuries, it was a terrible place. The whole place stank of death and machinery to Zidane. Most of the life in the ground itself was crushed. No plants except for the occasional tree planted in the middle of the sidewalk…steam that smoked out in white clouds from grates on the ground…. A city populated by angry, paranoid, tense people. Nothing but…exactly that. Nothing.
Through this entire reverie Zidane had been slowly walking the dark streets he accidentally bumped into some people. To be precise, a tall, burly man and a much smaller, scrawny-looking, man with a sharp eyes and a long nose.
"Hey," said the scrawny little man in a dry, nasal voice, "What do you think you're doing, primitive?"
The large man agreed in a thick voice, "Yes. What do you want?"
"Me? I just want to help other people. That's my job." Zidane tapped his chest, the way he was accustomed to. But before he was done, the burly man walked up quickly and picked Zidane up by the shirt. "We really don't care about your job. What we want is that you just stay out of other people's business. What do you think?"
"Hey!" said Zidane, "I'm not the one going around picking people up! Put me down!"
"I don't think so," said the scrawny man, walking up, rubbing his hands. "Gilan, do what you want with him. Break his bones."
"Which bones?"
The thin man smiled cruelly under his long nose. "All of them."
Zidane looked skyward and said, "The man says, 'All of them.' I thought that Viteros said weird stuff…"
Gilan rushed toward Zidane, and the small warrior leapt out of the way and delivered a quick slash with a knife. The burly man roared and fell, bleeding from his leg. Zidane whirled to face the scrawny one, automatically getting into a fighting position. A shadow of a smile flitted across the man's face and he said, "So you wish to challenge me? Well…you defeated my bodyguard…"
Suddenly, laughter echoed from behind them, and the scrawny man whirled in rage, to see Viteros, laughing, apparently, for no reason, walking closer. His whole body shook from the chilling, eerie laughter that kept coming, and didn't stop.
"Viteros! What are you doing here!?" screamed the man.
Viteros merely kept walking closer, closer…until suddenly, his laugh turned into a yell, as he spun in the air and kicked the man in the head, throwing him to the ground. "Viteros! What's-"
"No time to talk, Zidane!" shouted Viteros, "We're leaving!"
"And why are we?" said Zidane, running up to, and then running with Viteros back to the hangars.
"Apparently, our enemies have found us."
"What!?"
"Yes. But I may have a fix on where your friends are located. I'm going to try to bust them out sometime, but hang on!"
They jumped inside the airship, and Zidane could see out of the window soldiers dressed in metal carrying large, thick metal sticks. When they stopped, they aimed the sticks at the ship and fired off bolts of light that smashed into the small craft.
They lifted off, but during the process one of the shots came through the glass. It seemed as if time slowed down, as the bullet made it's way to Zidane, slowly…slowly…and then slammed into his chest, throwing him in a spurt of blood.
Zidane groaned as burning pain ripped through his body. Viteros shouted over the gunfire without turning around, "Sorry, Zidane, but I need to pilot! I think I'm-"
Another blast rocked the airship, and Zidane fell over with a cry of pain. He shouted to Viteros, "I'm…I'm going…I can't believe it's ending already…am I just…"
"You just need time to adjust to the new technologies you'll find," said Viteros. "You just…um…I think I've got a potion or something in the emergency case here…" His hand fumbled around in a small compartment next to him, and he was just about to tell Zidane he couldn't find anything when he heard Zidane's own voice say, "Vit…what…"
Viteros saw a dim red glow at the edges of his vision, and he said, "Zidane, you know what this is…you've done it before. Trance!"
"No…this is…this is stronger, Viteros! This isn't a Trance! It's not controlled. It's just raw destructive energy!"
"What…!"
Zidane looked at his hands, and saw that they were glowing red and gold, and that his body felt like it was full of surging power. He suddenly said, "I know what to do!"
"What are you…"
Zidane rushed down the corridor until he came to a ladder. He quickly climbed up, he felt like the power would unleash itself at any minute, he had to hurry, couldn't do it in here…
---------------
A minute later, Zidane climbed up and out of the small airship and was on the top. He could now really see the enemies, at least 17 airships with large guns, with soldiers hanging out of the side doors shooting their own guns. Zidane clenched his fists, faced them, and let the energy flow. Then he opened his hands and put them forward and shouted, "Versus armor!"
A blue, crystalline sphere seemed to encase the ship for a moment, and then it disappeared. Then Zidane continued, "Dragon Rage!"
A massive oriental dragon of shifting colors appeared above their airship, and when Zidane gestured, the dragon rushed through the enemy ranks.
The soldiers screamed as their bodies were ripped and burnt, the airships exploded in midair showering the other ones with shrapnel. The dragon didn't stop until it had gone all the way through, and then, with a final, defiant roar, it dissipated into thin air.
Zidane stood panting, the cold wind whipping around him. Finally, he went down back into the airship.
--------------
He found Viteros waiting for him at the bottom of the ladder. Apparently, autopilot had finally been engaged.
"How did you do that?" came the dark voice of the enigma.
"I…I don't know," said Zidane. "What is it, anyway?"
Viteros turned away and said, "Something I used to be able to do a long time ago. On another world. In another form. That was when I could use the power, the raw, destructive, mysterious power of Limit Break."
Zidane looked towards the floor and said softly, "Limit break…"
"It is destruction channeled through the human being in the purest form," said Viteros. "Limit Break, which is the more primitive form of Trance, which is the more primitive form of Overdrive. Limit Break, because it is so raw and uncontrolled, is much more difficult to utilize than a Trance. I remember only one person who was able to turn Limit Break to her own uses, healing, but she was a very special case…unfortunately, she's dead now. But Zidane, I've never seen anyone use Limit Break the way you do."
"What?"
"I can use Limit Break. But not the way you just did. I can only do one at a time. You did two. And your…Dragon Rage…it ripped through the enemy forces, and killed them all. Do you have any idea how hard it is to destroy seventeen fully functional angel-type fighter airships? If it were me alone, with my Limit Break, it would take forever. I've got more than one Break, but you utilized a defensive one and then an incredible offensive one very quickly."
Zidane shrugged. "It wasn't that hard…"
"And look!" Viteros pointed at Zidane's chest. "Look there! You are fully healed. You see? Your shirt is ripped but the chest is not, in face, the skin looks like nothing has ever touched it." A half-smile slowly crept onto Viteros' face. "This could change our plans entirely. For the better."
Zidane walked up to Viteros and slowly said, "I am not doing anything for you unless you help my friends. Because to tell the truth, I don't give a dead chocobo about your crazy plans. You're crazy, and I think your friends are too. And unless you help my friends, I'll just sit here and 'Limit Break' you straight back to Satan or whatever."
There was a moment of silence. Then finally Viteros said quietly, "I know. I should have expected that of you. Zidane…to tell the truth…I need your help. And the rest of us need your help. And I promise that I'll help you save your friends."
"Save my friends? Do you think that's all I care about?"
Viteros took a step back and said, "Well, yes, I-"
"Listen," said Zidane, walking closer to Viteros, "I don't need that only. You and those people you work with seem like a really weird sort of people, and you look like a bunch of troublemakers, too. And no matter what happens, ever, I'm going to find out what's going on, and, if I don't think it's a good thing, I'm taking you down, Viteros, and I'll destroy you, I'll crush you so deep into the ground no one will ever remember the mysterious young Devil Nine."
There was another while of silence. Each regarded the other coldly, standing there, not moving. Finally, the low voice of Viteros finally broke the silence. He thrust a hand forward to shake.
"Fine."
-------------
Zidane sat in the back, once again reading the Devil Agenda book. He noted that, finally, there was a picture of a woman. But it was sort of in shadow. He read the entry underneath.
~Apparently, Master Terisas wishes to experiment with his enemies. Unfortunately, he has chosen our friend Garland as the example, and wishes to work with some of his Genome units.
We've already messed with the genetics of some of the Genome Soldiers. They are changing, but many of them have died, and some of the deaths appear to have been very painful. One had his blood seep from his pores steadily until he finally died of blood loss, and others just stop functioning on the spot. However, some appear not to be affected at all, while others suffer radical physical mutations.
We have decided, now, to give the gene to a female, one who appears to be really the only female that Garland possesses. We gave her the Angel gene, but it appears not to have taken effect yet.
We maybe will clone her, so that this other one can receive the Devil gene and we will analyze more.~
The next page was torn out. Strange.
Zidane kept going, until he found another one of Viteros' entries.
~You people are very stubborn. Very stubborn. Unfortunately, that cannot work out. I think the Angelic uprising will occur soon…very, very soon. It's only a matter of days. I am compiling the other books of the Project into this one to make a chronicle. Perhaps in the end it will be all right. Maybe one day I can undo your meddling.~
"Zidane?"
Zidane looked up, slightly startled. "What?"
"What are you doing?"
Zidane looked downwards at the floor. He had no purpose in lying now; Viteros had seen him with the book. "Viteros…I was reading your book. The book about the Angel Project."
Viteros looked down at him, no expression came to his face. "Why?"
"Because I…because I was curious. I wanted to know what was going on." He felt slightly defiant. "You never told me anything!"
"I should have known you had the book. I should have known you were smarter than that, Zidane. After all, any 'superior' creation of my maker's rival would have to be very well made…"
Zidane jumped up and shouted, "Don't just call me that! I'm not some machine they built, you know!"
"But a friend of yours is."
"What, Vivi? He's more than just a creation! If you think of us like this…"
Viteros waved his hand, cutting him off. "Relax, relax. That's not what I meant. I can't be prejudiced against creations. If you've read my book then you would know about my life, and my past…"
"Do…do you still have that tattoo?"
"Tattoo…yes. That is one of the reasons that my arm is covered by this sleeve. One of the reasons that I rarely bring my left arm out of the cloak. It is a mark of my darkness, and of my creation. It doesn't stand out as much as a…tail. We were all designed to be super soldiers, Zidane, but some of us were not meant to be warriors head on. Some were designed to lurk in the shadows and strike like snakes in the grass."
Viteros looked out the window and saw the massive airship. He turned back to Zidane and said, "Are you ready?"
The young man said, "We'll find my friends here?"
"Yes."
"Then nothing will stand in our way."