Bwee. Part fourteen. Finally. ^^
Anyway... Viteros wants his email up here, so..without further ado...His email is "viteros@hotmail.com". Hurrah! ^^
Please read and rewiew. ^_~
Disclaimer: We don't own FF9 or anything to do with it, it is property of Squaresoft. We own our own characters though. ^^
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~Part Fourteen~
"Viteros!"
Sephira seemed to have returned to reality. She turned her now frightened, rage-filled eyes to Zidane. "What did you do!?"
Zidane stood there, panting, eyes wide. Was he wrong about the Devil information? Could it be he had just killed the one person who really knew what was going on? The only friend that was near, the only one that could lead him back to Dagger?
Kuja stood and scanned the area. "There is no one here.either our esteemed friend Terisas is dead, or he has left. And Zidane."
Suddenly, the station rocked wildly, lights flickering. A voice came on suddenly, suddenly out of nowhere, and they heard "Outer Heaven-SKY is under attack...activating emergency lights and opening emergency windows.Outer Heaven-SKY is under attack...activating emergency lights and opening emergency windows."
"Finally, some light," said Kuja, looking outwards. "Now we can actually see."
A streak of metal flashed by the window and smashed into the station, and OH-SKY shook again, like an earthquake had hit in the sky.Kuja walked to the window and looked out when he suddenly shouted, "Everyone, get down!"
Trusting completely, they leapt to the floor as a missile slammed into the wall, ripping open a massive hole. The air was quickly sucked out as the air pressure was equalizing, and everyone scrambled to grab hold of something stationary.
Viteros' body, dead and limp, was pulled by the incredible force of air.Zidane tried to grab his corpse, but he was too late, and Devil Nine fell out, into the open nothing.
"NO!"
Zidane felt suddenly empty. Dead. Unbelieving. How could he be gone? Viteros Ojikage? Dead? Impossible.
Was this the end? Without that man, there was no way to win, the plan was gone, and everyone was doomed.
"Wait.what.what is that?"
Zidane glumly turned at the sound of Sephira's tearful voice. Then his heart almost stopped.
A hand gripped the edge. A dark, metal-clad hand.
With full flair, the reckless grin back on his face, Viteros jumped up, laughing. He spread his arms wide and shouted, "Hey, I'm back! What.no hug?"
"How." breathed Kuja, "How are you up here?"
"You guys don't look so happy to see moi," Viteros said, his mad laughter echoing and turning with the breeze. "But I'm still here, nonetheless! All thanks to.my main man Cid! Get up here, Captain!"
An airship slowly floated up into view, propellers churning the skies. It was long, metal, sturdy. It moved closer to the hole in the wall, and finally made contact, completely closing it off. The side of the airship opened, revealing a grizzled, older middle-aged man, with wild, short blonde hair, wearing pilot's goggles above his eyes, leather pilot's uniform, and a half-burnt cigarette smoldering in his mouth.
"Everyone," said Viteros, still laughing, "Meet my old friend, Captain Cid Highwind!"
Cid smiled and touched two fingers to his goggles. "How're you all doing?"
-------------------------
After they had all boarded, the airship had rushed off, streaking into the skies, disappearing, as far as the unfortunate soldiers aboard Outer Heaven- SKY could tell.
Inside the ship, Zidane, Kuja, and Sephira looked around, exploring the wondrous machine. Zidane headed for the cockpit and then Sephira, with Kuja, wandered off into the back.
Viteros stretched and slumped into a chair, looking out into the clouds as they streaked past. Cid walked over, laughing, and clapped him on the shoulder. "You've really gotten yourself into a real mess now, huh, kid? First there was that thing with the Mako Reactors, and then that thing with the SOLDIER program, and don't even make me bring up that episode at Balamb."
Devil Nine looked up with a grin. "Yeah, I'm really in deep now.its fun, huh?"
"Fun.right.you idiot kid!" Cid smacked Viteros on the back of the head. "What were you thinking? You almost got the Highwind scratched!"
"He means, 'I really enjoyed that adventure,'" said a lady a bit younger than Cid, coming out from behind a control pad, wearing a lab coat and large glasses, with long brown hair.
Viteros smiled and turned to her, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah, Shera! How are you?"
Shera smiled back and then sighed as she looked at Cid, the kind of exasperated sigh a person would make if they know someone's flaws, know they won't ever change, but didn't really care. "Well, I'm still with Cid. We're having lots of trouble, but I think if we work with you, we'll get in more trouble, hmm?"
Viteros laughed loudly. "Well, whatever happens, I'm glad I've got you're knowledge with us! With your intelligence, technical skill, and Cid's.um.daring.?"
"Ha, ha, ha," said Cid sarcastically, "So so so funny. I think the words you're searchin' for his 'Captain Highwind, thank you so much for saving my ass again."
"Hey, Cid," grinned Viteros, standing up and punching Cid lightly in the arm. "No swearing in front of the kids!"
Zidane shook his head and sat down and pulled out the Devil Agenda. It had saved their lives back in Outer Heaven. It most likely had more information, more things that would help. He opened the book and was just about to read, when.
"AAAAHH! What is this creature!?"
Viteros jumped up. "Sephira!"
Hurrying, frantic, Viteros and Zidane rushed to the back of the ship. Then they saw her, Sephira, with a massive yellow beast on top of her, with Kuja pulling frantically, feathers scattering.
Zidane stood there staring. Viteros stood there, staring. Then they blinked. Then they blinked a few more times.
Viteros slowly brought up his finger. "We.rushed back.panicking.just because.a chocobo is sitting on her?"
"What the %)^(#(%! I see you've met Fortune." Cid walked in nonchalantly, and then snapped his fingers and said, "Fortune! Back to the pen!"
"Hey, wait!"
Viteros walked forward with a smile and stroked the chocobo's head. "Hey, I haven't seen you for ages, ever since that Crater episode! How are you, girl?"
The bird kicked him and walked off. Devil Nine slowly got back to his feet holding his stomach and said with a weak grin, "No, she never did like me much.lost me a lot of money at the races, she did.liked that guy Strife a lot more." he smiled apologetically at Sephira. "What can I say."
Zidane coughed and said, "What are we gonna do now? We're stuck here on the Highwind, we can't get back to OH-SKY, and right now its probably telling everyone else to be really careful, and we've got no idea where Terisas and Angel-Black are.what now?"
"I need a new airship," said Viteros. "But I'd personally prefer a little while of resting here. Maybe I can clear up a few of your questions."
Sephira moaned and lay there, curling up, her back in agony. No one had bandaged her wounds yet. "Kuja...." she mumbled. Kuja came forward and kneeled beside her. Looking up, his eyes fell on Cid.
"Please, Cid, we need medical attention for her right away. I am too stripped of magic to help her at the moment, so, until I can, we need simple treatment for her." Kuja reached down and picked Sephira up in his arms and held her protectively.
"Right this way....kid..." Cid said, sounding a little confused.
"I am male..." Kuja said dryly, exasperation on his face.
"Yes! Of course you are!" Cid cried, laughing a little nervously and leading them down the hallway to a room where they could treat Sephira.
As they walked slowly down the hall, Kuja looked down at Sephira and smiled at her. She smiled, strained, back at him. Glancing back up at Cid, he followed the man into a small infirmary room, gazing around at all the cupboards and bandages.
Shera entered and glanced at Sephira for a moment, smiling at her, then instructing Kuja to place her on the cot. Kuja obeyed, then looked over at Shera, as if to ask for the next instructions.
Shera smiled at Kuja and glanced at Cid. "I'd like you to leave for a little bit, please. I need to take a look at her back," she said with a smile.
Kuja arched an eyebrow. "Why do I have to leave?" he asked, looking at Sephira. Sephira smiled a little and shook her head.
Shera coughed and smiled at Kuja's ignorance. "I'm going to have to look at her back, and that requires...removing...certain clothes..."
Kuja blinked and smiled. "I shall leave." He backed away and ducked out of the room, taking Cid's sleeve and dragging him out.
Sephira smiled and shook her head.
-------------------------------
Kuja wandered alone through the hallway, up towards the cockpit of the Highwind. Entering, he was greeted by Viteros.
"Hey! Kuja! How's Sephira? ....I really need to get Fortune trained better..." he said, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "Sorry about that..."
"Do not worry. She should be fine," Kuja replied. He smiled at Viteros, then sighed and meandered off again, restless.
"Good!" Vit called after him. He shook his head with a roll of his eyes, turning and striding over to where Zidane stood, at the railing, gazing out at the ground below.
Zidane looked up and sighed. "Now what? I'm confused. We need to do something. But...what's Terisas' motive? What is he up to?" He sighed again. "This is really bugging me. He's up to something, and I don't know what it is..."
Viteros smirked and shook his head. "You'll never know what Terisas is up to, you--"
"Do you know?" Zidane interrupted, rather sharply. He swung his head to look at Viteros.
Viteros shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think I know. I have theories, but no real evidence."
Zidane's shoulders fell and he sighed and bent over, resting his arms on the railing, his head on his arms. He stared out over the green plains below once more, thoughts rushing through his head. His tail flicked irritably, one of his feet tapped a little in anger. Everything about him, from his expression, to his stance, suggested frustration, which was odd to see in Zidane, a normally vibrant being.
Viteros shook his head again and rested a hand on Zidane's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. When we find out what's going on, we find out. It's nothing to lose sleep over now."
"How do you know though? Hm? How do you really know? For all we know, he's out there, doing something that, by the end of the day, will result in world destruction," Zidane mumbled, miffed.
Viteros laughed. "Believe me, if he were doing something like that, we would have heard of it by now. Terisas is not one to keep his plans entirely to himself. Though, then again...he doesn't seem to have told anyone of his current project, does he...?"
Zidane blew a bit of hair out of his eyes, frowning. "Exactly... I wish life were more simple."
-------------------------------
Kuja, wandering through the Highwind, found himself in the Chocobo stable. Blinking, he smiled a little as Fortune came forward, "warking" madly, as though it were overjoyed at the company.
"Hello, gorgeous... Do they keep you here too much, all on your own? Poor caged bird..." he whispered to it, running a hand over it's head, ruffling the feathers on it's crown. The bird, almost cat-like, nudged Kuja's hand, urging the young man to continue petting it.
"You are an odd bird, did you know?" Kuja said, laughing a little, extending both arms and almost wrapping his arms around Fortune's neck, petting it vigorously. Kuja was rewarded with a pleased "wark". Kuja giggled a little and pulled away from the bird.
"You are very friendly." The bird answered by nudging it's head under Kuja's chin.
Smiling, Kuja sat down, the bird rushing over and kneeling beside him, like a faithful dog. It nuzzled him with it's head, happily "warking".
Kuja pet it absently with one hand, his other hand supporting his chin as he thought. "You do not worry about things, such as that which plagues us, do you? You are too innocent...I wish I could be that naive. I might feel more free. Or, at least, much less burdened." He sighed and pulled his chin from his hand and rested his head on the bird, moving onto his side, curling up, almost in a fetal position.
"I wish life were more simple," he said softly, shutting his eyes, one of his hands twined in Fortune's feathers, as though the bird were something he could clutch, like a doll, that would make all his woes disappear.
---------------------------------
Sephira, alone in the infirmary, was also curled up, on a cot, under some blankets, her knees drawn to herself, in a fetal position. Shera had left her minutes before, with a command to sleep.
But sleep was the last thing that came to her mind. Thoughts ran through her head too quickly for her to slow them enough for her to drift off.
Blinking, she raised a hand and wiped away a couple of tears. She sniffled a little, her eyes filling up. Swallowing, she tried to calm herself before she started crying so much that she wouldn't be able to stop.
But life was too hard. She just couldn't do it.
Everything leading up to this point in her life, everything that had happened until now, almost all of it was filled with painful memories. Practically none of it was pleasant. She could remember moments with Kuja that had been happier, and those wonderful recent memories of Angel, who seemed so sweet, and caring, but, what about what Terisas had said?
Maybe that was why she felt she had no place to live now. Maybe that was why she didn't feel like continuing on.
She curled up further, sobbing. It hurt. What that man had said made her feel worthless, like she was simply just something. Not a living being, just an object, to be used. People didn't deserve to be treated like that, so why should she? Had she done something horribly wrong in her life, which she needed to make up for? Or did the world just decide to turn on her?
Sitting up, she sighed, trying to stop her tears. The pain in her back and hands didn't help; it only made her weep more.
Shera had bandaged her, so, all she wore now were basically bandages, which wrapped around her from back to front. Swallowing, she turned her head a little, to look at her back, and, disgusted, saw that the blood was still flowing, seeping through the bandages.
Sobbing again, she tried to think of something other than death. Life was just to hard for her, and she couldn't see why she should go on.
"Life is not simple..." she whispered to herself, her voice filled with tears. "Not at all..."
------------------------
Viteros stared downwards at the rushing trees, and yawned, stretching his arms high above his head. Then he looked back to Zidane, leaning relaxed with his back and elbows against the railing.
"You know," he said, with a smile, "It's been a while since I've had any quiet. Any good quiet and rest, anyway. No one has since this whole cursed adventure started, eh?"
Zidane was still gloomy. "So what's your point?"
"My point is that we should take the chance to relax and just enjoy the wind and our own thoughts for a while. Don't let Terisas bother you, ok?"
The other merely breathed out and looked downwards again. "It's really hard."
Viteros sighed and looked upwards at the clouds. "Take a look. Amazing, isn't it? They're so simple.just blue and white, but they rush by me, and I can't help but watch and be amazed. Do you know how all of that came into existence, Zidane?"
"No."
"Let me tell you." Viteros leaned back further, until he was leaning out over the railing, holding himself there with his legs. "Some people say it was a powerful, omnipotent God that created everything that we see. I don't know if that's true. Would a real, worthy God let his creations suffer like this? Maybe he's a sadistic, evil God that likes to see our pain? Does he set all this up, is our existence an elaborate show for some sick, twisted being that just by an unfortunate twist of fate controls us? Some say he's actually very loving, and does this for our own good, and we just can't comprehend the cosmic meaning of it all. But I think even a pawn wants to know why the king sends him to die.
"Some people believe that this all just came into being out of chaos, somehow setting itself up exactly the way it is. I'm not sure if I believe that either. Isn't all this just too perfect to just be by coincidence?
"And others, like Terisas, believe it is a merge of all these things. There was chaos, yes, but then out of that came an all-powerful God to order and rule it all. And Terisas wants to be such a being."
Zidane pulled a coin from his pocket, slowly throwing it up and catching it. "So he just wants power?"
"Exactly. He wants to have all power, be undefeatable. So he can get away with whatever he wants. Anyone who would disagree would die. That is his dream, his greatest goal, what he wants above all else. To have absolute rule."
Looking downwards, Zidane took in a deep, hissing breath. Then in a sudden fit of rage, he threw the coin downwards, and it bounced on the deck. They both watched as it slowly bounced, bounced again, and then slowly rolled, swaying and pitching with the ship.
"Just for himself, he's willing to kidnap my friends, control you, take Sephira prisoner, and kill innocent people! Why?!" Zidane shouted in frustration, at the sky, tears of rage beginning to well up in his eyes, "Why does a person like this even exist? If there's an all-powerful, all- knowing God up there, why do you let this happen!? Why!?"
Trembling with anger, he sank down, the tears falling freely, pattering quietly on the deck.
The coin rolled again, and rolled off the side, disappearing into the trees.
Anyway... Viteros wants his email up here, so..without further ado...His email is "viteros@hotmail.com". Hurrah! ^^
Please read and rewiew. ^_~
Disclaimer: We don't own FF9 or anything to do with it, it is property of Squaresoft. We own our own characters though. ^^
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~Part Fourteen~
"Viteros!"
Sephira seemed to have returned to reality. She turned her now frightened, rage-filled eyes to Zidane. "What did you do!?"
Zidane stood there, panting, eyes wide. Was he wrong about the Devil information? Could it be he had just killed the one person who really knew what was going on? The only friend that was near, the only one that could lead him back to Dagger?
Kuja stood and scanned the area. "There is no one here.either our esteemed friend Terisas is dead, or he has left. And Zidane."
Suddenly, the station rocked wildly, lights flickering. A voice came on suddenly, suddenly out of nowhere, and they heard "Outer Heaven-SKY is under attack...activating emergency lights and opening emergency windows.Outer Heaven-SKY is under attack...activating emergency lights and opening emergency windows."
"Finally, some light," said Kuja, looking outwards. "Now we can actually see."
A streak of metal flashed by the window and smashed into the station, and OH-SKY shook again, like an earthquake had hit in the sky.Kuja walked to the window and looked out when he suddenly shouted, "Everyone, get down!"
Trusting completely, they leapt to the floor as a missile slammed into the wall, ripping open a massive hole. The air was quickly sucked out as the air pressure was equalizing, and everyone scrambled to grab hold of something stationary.
Viteros' body, dead and limp, was pulled by the incredible force of air.Zidane tried to grab his corpse, but he was too late, and Devil Nine fell out, into the open nothing.
"NO!"
Zidane felt suddenly empty. Dead. Unbelieving. How could he be gone? Viteros Ojikage? Dead? Impossible.
Was this the end? Without that man, there was no way to win, the plan was gone, and everyone was doomed.
"Wait.what.what is that?"
Zidane glumly turned at the sound of Sephira's tearful voice. Then his heart almost stopped.
A hand gripped the edge. A dark, metal-clad hand.
With full flair, the reckless grin back on his face, Viteros jumped up, laughing. He spread his arms wide and shouted, "Hey, I'm back! What.no hug?"
"How." breathed Kuja, "How are you up here?"
"You guys don't look so happy to see moi," Viteros said, his mad laughter echoing and turning with the breeze. "But I'm still here, nonetheless! All thanks to.my main man Cid! Get up here, Captain!"
An airship slowly floated up into view, propellers churning the skies. It was long, metal, sturdy. It moved closer to the hole in the wall, and finally made contact, completely closing it off. The side of the airship opened, revealing a grizzled, older middle-aged man, with wild, short blonde hair, wearing pilot's goggles above his eyes, leather pilot's uniform, and a half-burnt cigarette smoldering in his mouth.
"Everyone," said Viteros, still laughing, "Meet my old friend, Captain Cid Highwind!"
Cid smiled and touched two fingers to his goggles. "How're you all doing?"
-------------------------
After they had all boarded, the airship had rushed off, streaking into the skies, disappearing, as far as the unfortunate soldiers aboard Outer Heaven- SKY could tell.
Inside the ship, Zidane, Kuja, and Sephira looked around, exploring the wondrous machine. Zidane headed for the cockpit and then Sephira, with Kuja, wandered off into the back.
Viteros stretched and slumped into a chair, looking out into the clouds as they streaked past. Cid walked over, laughing, and clapped him on the shoulder. "You've really gotten yourself into a real mess now, huh, kid? First there was that thing with the Mako Reactors, and then that thing with the SOLDIER program, and don't even make me bring up that episode at Balamb."
Devil Nine looked up with a grin. "Yeah, I'm really in deep now.its fun, huh?"
"Fun.right.you idiot kid!" Cid smacked Viteros on the back of the head. "What were you thinking? You almost got the Highwind scratched!"
"He means, 'I really enjoyed that adventure,'" said a lady a bit younger than Cid, coming out from behind a control pad, wearing a lab coat and large glasses, with long brown hair.
Viteros smiled and turned to her, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah, Shera! How are you?"
Shera smiled back and then sighed as she looked at Cid, the kind of exasperated sigh a person would make if they know someone's flaws, know they won't ever change, but didn't really care. "Well, I'm still with Cid. We're having lots of trouble, but I think if we work with you, we'll get in more trouble, hmm?"
Viteros laughed loudly. "Well, whatever happens, I'm glad I've got you're knowledge with us! With your intelligence, technical skill, and Cid's.um.daring.?"
"Ha, ha, ha," said Cid sarcastically, "So so so funny. I think the words you're searchin' for his 'Captain Highwind, thank you so much for saving my ass again."
"Hey, Cid," grinned Viteros, standing up and punching Cid lightly in the arm. "No swearing in front of the kids!"
Zidane shook his head and sat down and pulled out the Devil Agenda. It had saved their lives back in Outer Heaven. It most likely had more information, more things that would help. He opened the book and was just about to read, when.
"AAAAHH! What is this creature!?"
Viteros jumped up. "Sephira!"
Hurrying, frantic, Viteros and Zidane rushed to the back of the ship. Then they saw her, Sephira, with a massive yellow beast on top of her, with Kuja pulling frantically, feathers scattering.
Zidane stood there staring. Viteros stood there, staring. Then they blinked. Then they blinked a few more times.
Viteros slowly brought up his finger. "We.rushed back.panicking.just because.a chocobo is sitting on her?"
"What the %)^(#(%! I see you've met Fortune." Cid walked in nonchalantly, and then snapped his fingers and said, "Fortune! Back to the pen!"
"Hey, wait!"
Viteros walked forward with a smile and stroked the chocobo's head. "Hey, I haven't seen you for ages, ever since that Crater episode! How are you, girl?"
The bird kicked him and walked off. Devil Nine slowly got back to his feet holding his stomach and said with a weak grin, "No, she never did like me much.lost me a lot of money at the races, she did.liked that guy Strife a lot more." he smiled apologetically at Sephira. "What can I say."
Zidane coughed and said, "What are we gonna do now? We're stuck here on the Highwind, we can't get back to OH-SKY, and right now its probably telling everyone else to be really careful, and we've got no idea where Terisas and Angel-Black are.what now?"
"I need a new airship," said Viteros. "But I'd personally prefer a little while of resting here. Maybe I can clear up a few of your questions."
Sephira moaned and lay there, curling up, her back in agony. No one had bandaged her wounds yet. "Kuja...." she mumbled. Kuja came forward and kneeled beside her. Looking up, his eyes fell on Cid.
"Please, Cid, we need medical attention for her right away. I am too stripped of magic to help her at the moment, so, until I can, we need simple treatment for her." Kuja reached down and picked Sephira up in his arms and held her protectively.
"Right this way....kid..." Cid said, sounding a little confused.
"I am male..." Kuja said dryly, exasperation on his face.
"Yes! Of course you are!" Cid cried, laughing a little nervously and leading them down the hallway to a room where they could treat Sephira.
As they walked slowly down the hall, Kuja looked down at Sephira and smiled at her. She smiled, strained, back at him. Glancing back up at Cid, he followed the man into a small infirmary room, gazing around at all the cupboards and bandages.
Shera entered and glanced at Sephira for a moment, smiling at her, then instructing Kuja to place her on the cot. Kuja obeyed, then looked over at Shera, as if to ask for the next instructions.
Shera smiled at Kuja and glanced at Cid. "I'd like you to leave for a little bit, please. I need to take a look at her back," she said with a smile.
Kuja arched an eyebrow. "Why do I have to leave?" he asked, looking at Sephira. Sephira smiled a little and shook her head.
Shera coughed and smiled at Kuja's ignorance. "I'm going to have to look at her back, and that requires...removing...certain clothes..."
Kuja blinked and smiled. "I shall leave." He backed away and ducked out of the room, taking Cid's sleeve and dragging him out.
Sephira smiled and shook her head.
-------------------------------
Kuja wandered alone through the hallway, up towards the cockpit of the Highwind. Entering, he was greeted by Viteros.
"Hey! Kuja! How's Sephira? ....I really need to get Fortune trained better..." he said, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "Sorry about that..."
"Do not worry. She should be fine," Kuja replied. He smiled at Viteros, then sighed and meandered off again, restless.
"Good!" Vit called after him. He shook his head with a roll of his eyes, turning and striding over to where Zidane stood, at the railing, gazing out at the ground below.
Zidane looked up and sighed. "Now what? I'm confused. We need to do something. But...what's Terisas' motive? What is he up to?" He sighed again. "This is really bugging me. He's up to something, and I don't know what it is..."
Viteros smirked and shook his head. "You'll never know what Terisas is up to, you--"
"Do you know?" Zidane interrupted, rather sharply. He swung his head to look at Viteros.
Viteros shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think I know. I have theories, but no real evidence."
Zidane's shoulders fell and he sighed and bent over, resting his arms on the railing, his head on his arms. He stared out over the green plains below once more, thoughts rushing through his head. His tail flicked irritably, one of his feet tapped a little in anger. Everything about him, from his expression, to his stance, suggested frustration, which was odd to see in Zidane, a normally vibrant being.
Viteros shook his head again and rested a hand on Zidane's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. When we find out what's going on, we find out. It's nothing to lose sleep over now."
"How do you know though? Hm? How do you really know? For all we know, he's out there, doing something that, by the end of the day, will result in world destruction," Zidane mumbled, miffed.
Viteros laughed. "Believe me, if he were doing something like that, we would have heard of it by now. Terisas is not one to keep his plans entirely to himself. Though, then again...he doesn't seem to have told anyone of his current project, does he...?"
Zidane blew a bit of hair out of his eyes, frowning. "Exactly... I wish life were more simple."
-------------------------------
Kuja, wandering through the Highwind, found himself in the Chocobo stable. Blinking, he smiled a little as Fortune came forward, "warking" madly, as though it were overjoyed at the company.
"Hello, gorgeous... Do they keep you here too much, all on your own? Poor caged bird..." he whispered to it, running a hand over it's head, ruffling the feathers on it's crown. The bird, almost cat-like, nudged Kuja's hand, urging the young man to continue petting it.
"You are an odd bird, did you know?" Kuja said, laughing a little, extending both arms and almost wrapping his arms around Fortune's neck, petting it vigorously. Kuja was rewarded with a pleased "wark". Kuja giggled a little and pulled away from the bird.
"You are very friendly." The bird answered by nudging it's head under Kuja's chin.
Smiling, Kuja sat down, the bird rushing over and kneeling beside him, like a faithful dog. It nuzzled him with it's head, happily "warking".
Kuja pet it absently with one hand, his other hand supporting his chin as he thought. "You do not worry about things, such as that which plagues us, do you? You are too innocent...I wish I could be that naive. I might feel more free. Or, at least, much less burdened." He sighed and pulled his chin from his hand and rested his head on the bird, moving onto his side, curling up, almost in a fetal position.
"I wish life were more simple," he said softly, shutting his eyes, one of his hands twined in Fortune's feathers, as though the bird were something he could clutch, like a doll, that would make all his woes disappear.
---------------------------------
Sephira, alone in the infirmary, was also curled up, on a cot, under some blankets, her knees drawn to herself, in a fetal position. Shera had left her minutes before, with a command to sleep.
But sleep was the last thing that came to her mind. Thoughts ran through her head too quickly for her to slow them enough for her to drift off.
Blinking, she raised a hand and wiped away a couple of tears. She sniffled a little, her eyes filling up. Swallowing, she tried to calm herself before she started crying so much that she wouldn't be able to stop.
But life was too hard. She just couldn't do it.
Everything leading up to this point in her life, everything that had happened until now, almost all of it was filled with painful memories. Practically none of it was pleasant. She could remember moments with Kuja that had been happier, and those wonderful recent memories of Angel, who seemed so sweet, and caring, but, what about what Terisas had said?
Maybe that was why she felt she had no place to live now. Maybe that was why she didn't feel like continuing on.
She curled up further, sobbing. It hurt. What that man had said made her feel worthless, like she was simply just something. Not a living being, just an object, to be used. People didn't deserve to be treated like that, so why should she? Had she done something horribly wrong in her life, which she needed to make up for? Or did the world just decide to turn on her?
Sitting up, she sighed, trying to stop her tears. The pain in her back and hands didn't help; it only made her weep more.
Shera had bandaged her, so, all she wore now were basically bandages, which wrapped around her from back to front. Swallowing, she turned her head a little, to look at her back, and, disgusted, saw that the blood was still flowing, seeping through the bandages.
Sobbing again, she tried to think of something other than death. Life was just to hard for her, and she couldn't see why she should go on.
"Life is not simple..." she whispered to herself, her voice filled with tears. "Not at all..."
------------------------
Viteros stared downwards at the rushing trees, and yawned, stretching his arms high above his head. Then he looked back to Zidane, leaning relaxed with his back and elbows against the railing.
"You know," he said, with a smile, "It's been a while since I've had any quiet. Any good quiet and rest, anyway. No one has since this whole cursed adventure started, eh?"
Zidane was still gloomy. "So what's your point?"
"My point is that we should take the chance to relax and just enjoy the wind and our own thoughts for a while. Don't let Terisas bother you, ok?"
The other merely breathed out and looked downwards again. "It's really hard."
Viteros sighed and looked upwards at the clouds. "Take a look. Amazing, isn't it? They're so simple.just blue and white, but they rush by me, and I can't help but watch and be amazed. Do you know how all of that came into existence, Zidane?"
"No."
"Let me tell you." Viteros leaned back further, until he was leaning out over the railing, holding himself there with his legs. "Some people say it was a powerful, omnipotent God that created everything that we see. I don't know if that's true. Would a real, worthy God let his creations suffer like this? Maybe he's a sadistic, evil God that likes to see our pain? Does he set all this up, is our existence an elaborate show for some sick, twisted being that just by an unfortunate twist of fate controls us? Some say he's actually very loving, and does this for our own good, and we just can't comprehend the cosmic meaning of it all. But I think even a pawn wants to know why the king sends him to die.
"Some people believe that this all just came into being out of chaos, somehow setting itself up exactly the way it is. I'm not sure if I believe that either. Isn't all this just too perfect to just be by coincidence?
"And others, like Terisas, believe it is a merge of all these things. There was chaos, yes, but then out of that came an all-powerful God to order and rule it all. And Terisas wants to be such a being."
Zidane pulled a coin from his pocket, slowly throwing it up and catching it. "So he just wants power?"
"Exactly. He wants to have all power, be undefeatable. So he can get away with whatever he wants. Anyone who would disagree would die. That is his dream, his greatest goal, what he wants above all else. To have absolute rule."
Looking downwards, Zidane took in a deep, hissing breath. Then in a sudden fit of rage, he threw the coin downwards, and it bounced on the deck. They both watched as it slowly bounced, bounced again, and then slowly rolled, swaying and pitching with the ship.
"Just for himself, he's willing to kidnap my friends, control you, take Sephira prisoner, and kill innocent people! Why?!" Zidane shouted in frustration, at the sky, tears of rage beginning to well up in his eyes, "Why does a person like this even exist? If there's an all-powerful, all- knowing God up there, why do you let this happen!? Why!?"
Trembling with anger, he sank down, the tears falling freely, pattering quietly on the deck.
The coin rolled again, and rolled off the side, disappearing into the trees.