Author's Note: Sorry for the long time between updating. Things do happen. And Happy New Year...all late like. Also, chapter formats are different now, since I don't have word on my laptop anymore.
Tainted Hearts
Chapter 2-Kuja
City of Treno
5:45 P.M.
Kuja:
I was surprised to find out that the inhabitants of Treno held a grudge against me for so long. Not that I'd put it past them. After all, I did destroy some of their dreams...their future. But did that give them a right to destroy mine? Hmm...that was something to think about. Not only after being forcefully removed from Alexandria, I was dragged into a lavish mansison located in a corner of Treno I had never seen before. Considering how long I had actually lived in Treno, this came as a shock to me. Nevertheless, I kept a straight face even as the guards roughly tossed me to the floor. One even tried to kick me in the side, but I caught him with a simple kick to the back of his knees. In repsonse, I was jerked back onto my feet with a kninfe to my throat. I smirked despite the dangers being presented to me. I laughed at danger fifteen years ago and I'll laugh at it now.
"Now, now, be gentle with our 'guest'."
That voice...sounded familiar. A woman with shoulder length purple hair and a pale golden hip-hugging dress walked in. She was a person that I had never seen before, and yet, I couldn't shake off the feeling of familiarity. The woman stopped a few paces in front of me, her red eyes peering a hole into my soul. It was then that I noticed the horn situated in the middle of her forehead.
"What's the matter, Kuja? Don't you recognize me?" She asked.
"I don't know. I don't usually look at other canaries."
"Still being yourself, I see. Well, I am Lady Eiko Carol, ruler of Treno."
Eiko Carol? The same wimpy Eiko Carol, the summoner of Madain Sari? (A/N: Spelling?) Who would have thought? Without warning, i let out a bitter laugh.
"I did better staying with Zoe on Earth," I commented.
Eiko's eyes rose with interest. I bit my lip softly, suddenly remembering how no one on Gaia knew of another planet's existance with the exception of Terra.
"Who is Zoe?"
I wouldn't let her find out about my wife. If she did then Zoe would be executed.
"That is none of your business," I spat.
I felt the knife press against my throat, drawing just a small bit of blood. But the years on Earth had strengthened my body easily. I wouldn't be taken down so easily. Eiko waved her gloved hand at the guard guarding me and sighed.
"Don't worry. I'll find out who it is and I'll have it hang right along with you."
I smirked.
"Is that a threat?"
"Why would I need to threaten you, dear?"
Zoe:
I felt empty somehow. I guess I took Kuja's presence for granted. Now I just wish this hadn't happened. I had to wonder about what happened to Kajin's mother. I didn't want to ask Kajin beccause she seemed bitter about it. But as I sat in the weapons room, I thought less about it.
"How are we going to get him back?" I asked softly.
"I suppose you shouldn't worry about that. I won't let my grandfather down."
"I can't help but worry."
Kajin shrugged and slipped some kind of sword in her sheath.
"Worrying is not good for the little one, but I'm sure you know that."
Of course I knew that, this was my second pregnancy. I wasn't far off the due date either. I didn't need this either, but Autumn was my child. I would be sure to rescue her from Garland's grasp even if it meant death.
"I know...but I love him so much."
Kajin slipped the scabbard onto her belt and stretched.
"Wait for Garnet and Zidane. I'm going ahead."
7:37 P.M.
Treno
Kajin:
Normally typical for the eternal city of night, the streets were dark on the noble's side. Thanks to a previous incident weeks ago, the streetlights refused to work. But did the thieves take a chance to steal from the nobles? No. They left it up to me. I grew up in Treno...and I knew many of the children on the slums of Treno. They befriended me and taught me the ways of a thief. Since I was a Genome, a lot of things they taught me came naturally. And so, I was back home to gather information. There were some in the slums that knew about everything in Treno. They were often called elders simply because of that.
"Kajin, over here!"
In one fluid motion, I vanished into the shadows next to the main road. Waiting for me was my childhood friend, Lei. I could tell it was him by the way his pretty black hair stood up in the air. I could tell by the indentations on the side of his face that he was smiling.
"You have some news?" I asked.
"Of course. We spotted Kuja over by Lady Eiko's house. Seems like she's up to no good again. We thought about bailing him out first, but the elder's told us to wait for you."
Lei smiled again.
"I'll be glad to assist."
I smiled and poked my head out of the shadows. The streets were still deserted, but now I could see the rhythmic flashing of a mirror in the distance.
"A signal. It says that there are guards on Eiko's compound," Lei commented.
"Oh, joy. More fun."
Kuja:
I always knew Eiko was disturbed, but this took the cake. I was forced into a cage in a small corner of the room, surrounded by huge plushies of none other than my brother, Zidane Tribal. Way disturbing. I always knew she liked Zidane. And in a sense, I was glad Garnet married Zidane. It would have been really creepy if he married Eiko. Still...I couldn't help but get jealous of this. It should be my picture on that wall, not his. Ugh...this was splendid. Distantly, I was hoping some random problem with my body would make me pass out. The mercy never came. i bunched myself up into a corner and wrapped my long beautiful silver tail around my ankle. I still despised the damned thing.
"How do you like my room, Kuja?"
I shuddered inwardly and kept my head turned towards the floor.
"It's nice."
I forced myself to keep my biting comments down and for another time.
"I will get him, you know."
"Who?" I asked.
Idiot. Eiko approached my cage with a manical grin.
"Zidane."
"You have a serious problem, Eiko. Maybe you should seek help."
I almost expected her to break out in an uncontrolable rage. Instead, her expression softened and a twisted smile eased across her lips.
"But I love him! Surely, you know how that feels."
I could relate, seeing as that's how I felt about Zoe. Zoe was the love of my life and I would have fought more to have her.
"I can relate, but still, think of his happiness," I said carefully.
'Hmm...maybe you are right."
Kajin:
With one timed strike of my heel, I sent the guard crashing to the floor. I paused for a moment or two, listening out for other signs of life. Lei was off somewhere to my right, dispatching wondering guards. I strained my ears as hard as I could to detect sounds around the compound. It was too quiet.
"Lei?"
"Yes?" A raspy voice sounded.
I moved in the direction of the voice, carefully crawling through the grass.
"Any more?" I asked as I reached his hunching form.
He licked his lips and smiled. Did I see a hint of...blood on his lips?
"None out here, but inside is another question. There is a duct we can duck through. I think it hangs overhead Eiko's bedroom."
Nah...I didn't see anything. So...a duct at the top eh?
"Should be easy for me. I guess this is where we split, eh, Lei?" I commented as I climbed up the side of the building.
Out of the corner of my eye, Lei shrugged and disappeared into the shadows.
"I'll be waiting."
"I know."
Once I reached the top, I caught sight of the grating. I probably wouldn't be able to get back up this grating with Kuja. Hmm...I would have to improvise a little. I quickly fished a small square mirror out of my pocket and used a nearby source of light to send flashes of light down into the compound. There was a tattletale rustling of grass in the dark and then nothing more. Good...he got the cue. I lifted the grating up with the front part of my foot and moved it aside noiselessly. I crouched down and crawled head first into a heating duct.
Kuja:
Just my luck, Eiko had fallen asleep on her bed, whining about her Zidane and how she was going to get Garnet for stealing her man. Sick, sad woman. And I thought I was insane. Luckily, she was a humane captor and she left my cage open, granted that I would be a good boy and not escape. And to further induce the point, she had a bracelet put on my wrist. A magic negation bracelet. Now...where did she get that from? Honestly? My keen ears caught some light movement in the ducts above the ceiling. It seemed to have a light echo so...there seemed to be no way to detect where the sound was coming from exactly. Curse my old age. With each breath I took, I decayed slowly on this planet. Why did I come here in the first place? Oh yeah, I had to save my daughter, Autumn. I crept out of my cage on little cat-like footsteps and stole out of the room. The hallway was more lavishly decorated than Eiko's room. It even had plush carpet on the floor. I was in a deluted heaven, or so I thought.
"Kuja, over here."
I turned in the direction of the voice halfway expecting Eiko to be standing there in all her hideous glory. Instead, I saw shadows...lots of them.
"Seeing and hearing things, aren't you, Kuja?" I muttered to myself.
"No, your not. I'm just up in the vent."
I blinked and looked up at the vent above my head. Sure enough, Kajin's face was bunched up against the grating.
"How did you get in here? You know Eiko's guards are not lazy," I commented.
Kajin pushed and grating out and dropped down.
"They may be lazy, but they are stupid and easily fooled."
Crafty old girl.
"Let us go. Zidane and the others will be arriving soon."
"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere. Now that my Zidane's coming, I'll have to kill you both."
I didn't want to turn around, I just didn't. Kajin did, however.
"That's what you think! Kuja, go! I'll handle the light work over here!" She shouted.
Not wanting to refuse her, I jumped through the open window on the side.
Kajin:
I smiled as Kuja left via the window. I didn't worry about his safety for Lei was lurking in the shadows outside.
"I always knew you were a thief, Kajin. Now I have proof," Eiko snapped.
I snorted.
"You can do whatever you want, but you won't be able to pin anything on me."
I fished a small flash grenade out of my pouch and smiled. I pulled the pin out and threw it down on the floor.
"Have a nice day!" I shouted as I darted out of the window and sat in the shadows.
One set of dark brown eye greeted me and then a pale face joined it.
"Don't stop here! Eiko activated the traps!"
Zoe:
The city of Treno was something definitely not seen on Earth. The city of eternal night Zidane called it. That would sound romantic if the love of my life was here to share it with me. I sighed and rubbed my belly softly. I felt a kick in reponse and giggled. But it wasn't enough to make me really happy.
"Where is he?" I asked, straightening my cloak.
"We have to wait for Kajin to tell us what is going on," Zidane commented.
Kajin:
I danced on my toes back and forth as gingerly as I could to avoid sword strikes. But my luck was about to run out. Big time. I could feel it somehow.
"Kajin!"
The shout made me turn my head to see what was going on. Something hard collided with my jaw sending me down to the ground. I admit I saw stars for a while, but that the pain made that fade quickly. It took a few precious seconds to recover and that's when Eiko snatched me up by my beautiful red hair. I swiped at her to the best of my ability but it was in vain. She only tugged harder than ever.
"Not so bad, are you?"
"Let me go!" I snarled.
All of a sudden, I found myself airborne. As I landed face first into the street, I had to wonder how she got the strength to throw me. I mean, I'm not light. WHAM! My face smacked into the pavement, forcing me to cough up my lifeblood from my lungs.
Kuja:
I knew something was wrong the moment I reached the top of Treno. Although it was good to see Zoe again, I was disturbed when I didn't see Kajin.
"Kuja, thanks goodness your ok! But...Kajin has returned yet," Zoe said softly.
Not good. I knew what could happen if Kajin was left to things herself. She was left like her mother...powerful, but somehow very reckless. Kirika was very tough...and it passed on to her daughter. But there was something different about Kajin. Something made her darker than a normal natural born genome. Something about being intolerant to the sight of her own blood.
"Kuja, you need to get to your daughter before something happens."
I traced the voice to a nearby rooftop where Lei sat calmly.
"Why weren't you with her?" I snapped.
He held up his hands and shook them.
"I had to protect you seeing as you are still wearing that Anti-Magic bracelet. You would have been fodder for the--"
"Fool. You should have stayed--" I started.
"She made me stay with you until you were safe."
Zoe stepped forward, pulling her cloak tighter around her belly.
"Please...tell me where she is. I hope I can help her," She said calmly.
Something should have told me to stop her, but I kept quiet. I had to let Zoe be free to do things. All of a sudden, a small explosion occured in the lower half sending magically enhanced flamess shooting up into the air.
"You are not going a...lone...?"
Before I could put some bite into my wordss, Zoe had ran off into the city with surprising speed.
"Come on Zidane! I need your help!"
Tainted Hearts
Chapter 2-Kuja
City of Treno
5:45 P.M.
Kuja:
I was surprised to find out that the inhabitants of Treno held a grudge against me for so long. Not that I'd put it past them. After all, I did destroy some of their dreams...their future. But did that give them a right to destroy mine? Hmm...that was something to think about. Not only after being forcefully removed from Alexandria, I was dragged into a lavish mansison located in a corner of Treno I had never seen before. Considering how long I had actually lived in Treno, this came as a shock to me. Nevertheless, I kept a straight face even as the guards roughly tossed me to the floor. One even tried to kick me in the side, but I caught him with a simple kick to the back of his knees. In repsonse, I was jerked back onto my feet with a kninfe to my throat. I smirked despite the dangers being presented to me. I laughed at danger fifteen years ago and I'll laugh at it now.
"Now, now, be gentle with our 'guest'."
That voice...sounded familiar. A woman with shoulder length purple hair and a pale golden hip-hugging dress walked in. She was a person that I had never seen before, and yet, I couldn't shake off the feeling of familiarity. The woman stopped a few paces in front of me, her red eyes peering a hole into my soul. It was then that I noticed the horn situated in the middle of her forehead.
"What's the matter, Kuja? Don't you recognize me?" She asked.
"I don't know. I don't usually look at other canaries."
"Still being yourself, I see. Well, I am Lady Eiko Carol, ruler of Treno."
Eiko Carol? The same wimpy Eiko Carol, the summoner of Madain Sari? (A/N: Spelling?) Who would have thought? Without warning, i let out a bitter laugh.
"I did better staying with Zoe on Earth," I commented.
Eiko's eyes rose with interest. I bit my lip softly, suddenly remembering how no one on Gaia knew of another planet's existance with the exception of Terra.
"Who is Zoe?"
I wouldn't let her find out about my wife. If she did then Zoe would be executed.
"That is none of your business," I spat.
I felt the knife press against my throat, drawing just a small bit of blood. But the years on Earth had strengthened my body easily. I wouldn't be taken down so easily. Eiko waved her gloved hand at the guard guarding me and sighed.
"Don't worry. I'll find out who it is and I'll have it hang right along with you."
I smirked.
"Is that a threat?"
"Why would I need to threaten you, dear?"
Zoe:
I felt empty somehow. I guess I took Kuja's presence for granted. Now I just wish this hadn't happened. I had to wonder about what happened to Kajin's mother. I didn't want to ask Kajin beccause she seemed bitter about it. But as I sat in the weapons room, I thought less about it.
"How are we going to get him back?" I asked softly.
"I suppose you shouldn't worry about that. I won't let my grandfather down."
"I can't help but worry."
Kajin shrugged and slipped some kind of sword in her sheath.
"Worrying is not good for the little one, but I'm sure you know that."
Of course I knew that, this was my second pregnancy. I wasn't far off the due date either. I didn't need this either, but Autumn was my child. I would be sure to rescue her from Garland's grasp even if it meant death.
"I know...but I love him so much."
Kajin slipped the scabbard onto her belt and stretched.
"Wait for Garnet and Zidane. I'm going ahead."
7:37 P.M.
Treno
Kajin:
Normally typical for the eternal city of night, the streets were dark on the noble's side. Thanks to a previous incident weeks ago, the streetlights refused to work. But did the thieves take a chance to steal from the nobles? No. They left it up to me. I grew up in Treno...and I knew many of the children on the slums of Treno. They befriended me and taught me the ways of a thief. Since I was a Genome, a lot of things they taught me came naturally. And so, I was back home to gather information. There were some in the slums that knew about everything in Treno. They were often called elders simply because of that.
"Kajin, over here!"
In one fluid motion, I vanished into the shadows next to the main road. Waiting for me was my childhood friend, Lei. I could tell it was him by the way his pretty black hair stood up in the air. I could tell by the indentations on the side of his face that he was smiling.
"You have some news?" I asked.
"Of course. We spotted Kuja over by Lady Eiko's house. Seems like she's up to no good again. We thought about bailing him out first, but the elder's told us to wait for you."
Lei smiled again.
"I'll be glad to assist."
I smiled and poked my head out of the shadows. The streets were still deserted, but now I could see the rhythmic flashing of a mirror in the distance.
"A signal. It says that there are guards on Eiko's compound," Lei commented.
"Oh, joy. More fun."
Kuja:
I always knew Eiko was disturbed, but this took the cake. I was forced into a cage in a small corner of the room, surrounded by huge plushies of none other than my brother, Zidane Tribal. Way disturbing. I always knew she liked Zidane. And in a sense, I was glad Garnet married Zidane. It would have been really creepy if he married Eiko. Still...I couldn't help but get jealous of this. It should be my picture on that wall, not his. Ugh...this was splendid. Distantly, I was hoping some random problem with my body would make me pass out. The mercy never came. i bunched myself up into a corner and wrapped my long beautiful silver tail around my ankle. I still despised the damned thing.
"How do you like my room, Kuja?"
I shuddered inwardly and kept my head turned towards the floor.
"It's nice."
I forced myself to keep my biting comments down and for another time.
"I will get him, you know."
"Who?" I asked.
Idiot. Eiko approached my cage with a manical grin.
"Zidane."
"You have a serious problem, Eiko. Maybe you should seek help."
I almost expected her to break out in an uncontrolable rage. Instead, her expression softened and a twisted smile eased across her lips.
"But I love him! Surely, you know how that feels."
I could relate, seeing as that's how I felt about Zoe. Zoe was the love of my life and I would have fought more to have her.
"I can relate, but still, think of his happiness," I said carefully.
'Hmm...maybe you are right."
Kajin:
With one timed strike of my heel, I sent the guard crashing to the floor. I paused for a moment or two, listening out for other signs of life. Lei was off somewhere to my right, dispatching wondering guards. I strained my ears as hard as I could to detect sounds around the compound. It was too quiet.
"Lei?"
"Yes?" A raspy voice sounded.
I moved in the direction of the voice, carefully crawling through the grass.
"Any more?" I asked as I reached his hunching form.
He licked his lips and smiled. Did I see a hint of...blood on his lips?
"None out here, but inside is another question. There is a duct we can duck through. I think it hangs overhead Eiko's bedroom."
Nah...I didn't see anything. So...a duct at the top eh?
"Should be easy for me. I guess this is where we split, eh, Lei?" I commented as I climbed up the side of the building.
Out of the corner of my eye, Lei shrugged and disappeared into the shadows.
"I'll be waiting."
"I know."
Once I reached the top, I caught sight of the grating. I probably wouldn't be able to get back up this grating with Kuja. Hmm...I would have to improvise a little. I quickly fished a small square mirror out of my pocket and used a nearby source of light to send flashes of light down into the compound. There was a tattletale rustling of grass in the dark and then nothing more. Good...he got the cue. I lifted the grating up with the front part of my foot and moved it aside noiselessly. I crouched down and crawled head first into a heating duct.
Kuja:
Just my luck, Eiko had fallen asleep on her bed, whining about her Zidane and how she was going to get Garnet for stealing her man. Sick, sad woman. And I thought I was insane. Luckily, she was a humane captor and she left my cage open, granted that I would be a good boy and not escape. And to further induce the point, she had a bracelet put on my wrist. A magic negation bracelet. Now...where did she get that from? Honestly? My keen ears caught some light movement in the ducts above the ceiling. It seemed to have a light echo so...there seemed to be no way to detect where the sound was coming from exactly. Curse my old age. With each breath I took, I decayed slowly on this planet. Why did I come here in the first place? Oh yeah, I had to save my daughter, Autumn. I crept out of my cage on little cat-like footsteps and stole out of the room. The hallway was more lavishly decorated than Eiko's room. It even had plush carpet on the floor. I was in a deluted heaven, or so I thought.
"Kuja, over here."
I turned in the direction of the voice halfway expecting Eiko to be standing there in all her hideous glory. Instead, I saw shadows...lots of them.
"Seeing and hearing things, aren't you, Kuja?" I muttered to myself.
"No, your not. I'm just up in the vent."
I blinked and looked up at the vent above my head. Sure enough, Kajin's face was bunched up against the grating.
"How did you get in here? You know Eiko's guards are not lazy," I commented.
Kajin pushed and grating out and dropped down.
"They may be lazy, but they are stupid and easily fooled."
Crafty old girl.
"Let us go. Zidane and the others will be arriving soon."
"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere. Now that my Zidane's coming, I'll have to kill you both."
I didn't want to turn around, I just didn't. Kajin did, however.
"That's what you think! Kuja, go! I'll handle the light work over here!" She shouted.
Not wanting to refuse her, I jumped through the open window on the side.
Kajin:
I smiled as Kuja left via the window. I didn't worry about his safety for Lei was lurking in the shadows outside.
"I always knew you were a thief, Kajin. Now I have proof," Eiko snapped.
I snorted.
"You can do whatever you want, but you won't be able to pin anything on me."
I fished a small flash grenade out of my pouch and smiled. I pulled the pin out and threw it down on the floor.
"Have a nice day!" I shouted as I darted out of the window and sat in the shadows.
One set of dark brown eye greeted me and then a pale face joined it.
"Don't stop here! Eiko activated the traps!"
Zoe:
The city of Treno was something definitely not seen on Earth. The city of eternal night Zidane called it. That would sound romantic if the love of my life was here to share it with me. I sighed and rubbed my belly softly. I felt a kick in reponse and giggled. But it wasn't enough to make me really happy.
"Where is he?" I asked, straightening my cloak.
"We have to wait for Kajin to tell us what is going on," Zidane commented.
Kajin:
I danced on my toes back and forth as gingerly as I could to avoid sword strikes. But my luck was about to run out. Big time. I could feel it somehow.
"Kajin!"
The shout made me turn my head to see what was going on. Something hard collided with my jaw sending me down to the ground. I admit I saw stars for a while, but that the pain made that fade quickly. It took a few precious seconds to recover and that's when Eiko snatched me up by my beautiful red hair. I swiped at her to the best of my ability but it was in vain. She only tugged harder than ever.
"Not so bad, are you?"
"Let me go!" I snarled.
All of a sudden, I found myself airborne. As I landed face first into the street, I had to wonder how she got the strength to throw me. I mean, I'm not light. WHAM! My face smacked into the pavement, forcing me to cough up my lifeblood from my lungs.
Kuja:
I knew something was wrong the moment I reached the top of Treno. Although it was good to see Zoe again, I was disturbed when I didn't see Kajin.
"Kuja, thanks goodness your ok! But...Kajin has returned yet," Zoe said softly.
Not good. I knew what could happen if Kajin was left to things herself. She was left like her mother...powerful, but somehow very reckless. Kirika was very tough...and it passed on to her daughter. But there was something different about Kajin. Something made her darker than a normal natural born genome. Something about being intolerant to the sight of her own blood.
"Kuja, you need to get to your daughter before something happens."
I traced the voice to a nearby rooftop where Lei sat calmly.
"Why weren't you with her?" I snapped.
He held up his hands and shook them.
"I had to protect you seeing as you are still wearing that Anti-Magic bracelet. You would have been fodder for the--"
"Fool. You should have stayed--" I started.
"She made me stay with you until you were safe."
Zoe stepped forward, pulling her cloak tighter around her belly.
"Please...tell me where she is. I hope I can help her," She said calmly.
Something should have told me to stop her, but I kept quiet. I had to let Zoe be free to do things. All of a sudden, a small explosion occured in the lower half sending magically enhanced flamess shooting up into the air.
"You are not going a...lone...?"
Before I could put some bite into my wordss, Zoe had ran off into the city with surprising speed.
"Come on Zidane! I need your help!"
