A/N: Hi. It's me again. Sorry about the last chapter. I know that was
odd of me to do but "it" won't even be mentioned again for awhile. You can
pretty much act as if it was never there. And I think I sorta got flamed
for the first time. It's weird, 'cause I told myself I'd be upset the
first time it happened but . . . I'm not! Weird . . . The person's name
was, like, Ominix or something and they told me I ruined Kuja! *Laughs*
and then they told me I should've made him an alcoholic! *Dies of
laughter* Can you imagine?! Kuja as an alcoholic! Oh my god, that's for a
comedy! Not THIS story! I mean, think about that. Kuja's the graceful
type! Not the falling-down-drunk type! I tried to pick something that
would stick to his personality. I can't picture him snorting or smoking so
I . . . chose the alternative . . . *Snorts* Drunk-Kuja *Sniggers*
BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Disclaimer: ysatnaF laniF nwo t'nod I. Uh . . . No comment . . .
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Garnet stared across the long dining table, eyes taking in each of the passive faces before her. Friends, all of them. Everyone was present. Vivi, Freya, Quina, Amarant, Eiko, Steiner, Fratley, Lani, Beatrix, Regent Cid, Lady Hilda. They all seemed strangely wary.
"If you'll pardon our nerves, your majesty," Freya mumbled, eyes peering out from beneath her large dragoon knight hat. "But the last time we were called into a serious meeting like this, it was to discover that our souls were about to be sucked up and our planet eaten whole. So if you'll be understanding, we would really wish you to proceed,"
Garnet cleared her throat, nodding. "Of course . . ." she raised an eyebrow at Zidane, who was seated next to her. He sighed and stood up, facing the others as he began to address them.
"We've all known each other for a long time," he began, trying not to sound like he was pleading. He noticed Steiner shooting him suspicious looks and decided to cut the crap. "All right, screw that. I'm going to say this now and only now. My brother is alive and well - yeah, that's right, he's my brother and he ain't dead - and you're all going to be nice to him and NOT try to murder him. He's got a girl with him and if I discover that one hair on either of their heads is hurt, you'll be forced to deal personally with ME. Is that clear?" he glanced around at all the stunned faces at the table, each too shocked to speak. He smiled kindly. "Anyhow, how've we all been?"
The outrage began immediately. Steiner was instantly on his feet, sword in hand, shouting out death threats to Kuja as if he were already in the room. Quina was stumbling out of his chair, tongue flapping as he looked for an escape route out of the castle. Lani was standing, bearing her axe and shouting "Let me at 'em!" as Amarant rolled his eyes and remained silent and seated next to her. Freya was probably one of the wildest, clutching her spear and looking around fiercely, tail standing on end. Zidane made a face and nodded to Beatrix who sighed, ready for plan B.
"ALL RIGHT!" she screamed, leaping up and knocking over her chair with Save the Queen pointed straight out and ready for stabbing. "YOU'D ALL BETTER SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP RIGHT NOW OR, I'M NOT KIDDING, I WILL USE THIS THING MOST LETHALLY! NOW SHUT YOUR TRAPS AND LISTEN - TO - ZIDANE!!!"
There was immediate silence. Beatrix's eye narrowed. Lani slumped down into her chair, glaring at the general as Quina obediently spilled back into his seat, looking rather frightened. Fratley was forced to stand up and place an arm around Freya's shoulders, lowering her back down cautiously. The dragoon knight remained stiff, fingers wrapped tightly around her spear, nose quivering. Steiner's mouth was immediately open, ready to object. Beatrix's gaze smashed onto him and his jaw snapped shut like a mousetrap. He sat down hurriedly.
"All right," Beatrix affirmed, nodding. She sheathed her sword and threw a last one-eyed glare around the table before sitting down herself. Zidane smiled dryly.
"Thank you, Beatrix," he cleared his throat, ready to continue. "So as I was saying, Kuja is in this castle. And not completely of his own volition. You can think whatever you want about him but if you act on it you're going to be REALLY sorry,"
Nobody spoke. Vivi straightened his hat nervously.
"But Zidane!" Freya pleaded. "How can you possibly let him roam around free in front of us?! After everything he did!" Zidane frowned, glancing at Garnet. She just shrugged as if to say "You got yourself into this. You deal with them."
Zidane wished he could explain. "Guys, Kuja is a completely different person than he once was. He doesn't want to hurt anybody. If you'd just cut him some slack - "
"Oh, I'll cut somethin' all right," Steiner muttered, growling. Beatrix silenced him with a look. Zidane could see that this wasn't going well. Not that he'd expected it too . . .
"Okay," he said, glancing around the table once more. "You're all free to go. But heed my warning: Don't you dare touch my god damn brother," cheesy grin. "Thanks,"
He turned and walked away; all too aware of the frowns focused on his back.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kuja awoke quite suddenly to find Megan strewn out across the bed next to him, still quite asleep. He blinked with surprise and raised an eyebrow.
/Uh . . . Why don't I remember her winding up there . . . next to me . . .? Whoa . . . I hope we didn't . . ./ he smacked himself on the forehead, glaring intensely.
"Don't be such a perv!" he scolded quietly, trying not to wake the young woman next to him. He noticed her glasses were still on and he gently plucked them off and stared at them. The warlock held the frames up in front of his eyes, looking straight through the lenses. It hurt. All the genomes had been created with beyond perfect vision. He would never need glasses.
Yawning, Kuja set the spectacles down on a nearby dresser and climbed carefully out of bed, trying not to hit Megan on the way out. She mumbled something about pie but otherwise did not stir. Kuja saw that he was still dressed and his clothes were all wrinkled from sleeping in them.
/Oh fiddlesticks!/
He glanced at the door. Maybe it was still locked. He grabbed the handle and turned. Okay, maybe not. The sorcerer looked out into the empty hall, hair falling annoyingly into his face.
/Why am I afraid to go out there?/ he wondered briefly. A furious shout echoed from below, rattling the floor slightly. /Oh yeah. 'Cause this entire castle's out to kill me./
What to do, what to do. Kuja glanced back at Megan. She yawned and rolled over, facing away from him.
/Damn, that girl sleeps a lot . . ./
The sound of footsteps caused the genome to retreat hurriedly back behind the door. Someone was charging down the hall grumbling. All he caught was:
"Stupid . . . Can't believe . . . Kill him . . . Better not mess with me . . ."
/Where have I heard that voice?/
Kuja peered around the doorframe. A rather exotic looking woman with a jaunty hat and a distressingly large axe was stomping furiously, still muttering curses to herself.
/Hmm . . ./ thought Kuja silently to himself. /I remember her. The bandit Queen Brahne hired to kidnap Garnet. What was her name again . . .? Oh yeah. Lani. Lani the Beautiful Bandit some called her . . ./
Just when Kuja thought it was safe, Lani lurched to a halt at the end of the hall. She whipped around, staring at the open door. Their eyes met and he saw that gleam in them. The predator finding the prey kind of gleam. Kuja backed down immediately, lowering his head. He didn't feel like getting into anymore fights. That last Thundaga had pretty much destroyed his magic.
Lani frowned. Kuja chewed his lip, tail swishing behind him.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Lani snapped, taking a step forward. The silver-haired genome shrugged.
"Dunno," he said simply. The female warrior wasn't through with him yet.
"Maybe you'd be better off dead,"
/Maybe you'd be better off shutting up . . ./ Kuja thought blandly. Instead, he said:
"I apologize if I've intruded on your life," Lani's lip twitched.
"Apology accepted and forgotten,"
They stared daggers at each other. Heavy footsteps came down the corridor and they spotted Amarant trudging towards them, head down as usual. He spotted Lani and rolled his eyes.
"Can't leave anybody alone, can you?" he growled, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her away.
"Hey! Let go of me!" the bandit squealed, punching Amarant in the arm. It did nothing to faze the muscle-bound man. "Stop!"
Kuja watched Amarant yank her out of sight and breathed a sigh of relief.
/Thank god . . . But I still have to deal with the others . . ./
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was a beautiful day outside. The city was still celebrating and most of the castle (besides the guards, of course) were out in Alexandria, enjoying the sunshine and festivities. Megan really wanted to go exploring. Kuja told her she could. Then Megan felt guilty because Zidane had told him to stay in the castle that day. Then Kuja gave her a thousand gil and she "reluctantly" agreed to leave.
Now Zidane was entering the same room the meeting had been in previously. Kuja sat at the table, resting his chin in his hands. He looked bored.
"To what do I owe this fabulous visit?" Kuja queried dryly, raising his eyes slightly. Zidane smirked, taking a seat across from him.
"Still the same old jerk, I see,"
"Still the same old smart-ass, I see,"
"Touché," Zidane grinned. Kuja just frowned. His brother sighed and decided the silver-haired man wasn't in the mood for jokes.
"All right," Zidane began, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. "Where have you been?"
Kuja scowled. "What's it to you? I've been here, there, and everywhere,"
"No, seriously. Where did you vanish to?" Zidane seemed genuinely curious.
Kuja scratched his head thoughtfully, glancing at the door on his left. "I guess I didn't really go anywhere," he explained, shrugging. "I left you near the Iifa Tree and then went to a town only a few miles away,"
"But why?"
"To escape THIS place," Kuja gestured towards the interior of the castle. "You wanted to bring me back here. Where I would have been persecuted. Perhaps put on death-row. I couldn't allow that to happen. So I left,"
"Where did you go?"
"I told you," Kuja rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "I went to a town a few miles away from the Iifa Tree,"
Now Zidane just looked confused. "Uh, Kuja. How did you manage to get there by yourself?"
"What do you mean, how did I manage to get there by myself?" Kuja snapped, glaring. Zidane shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"I mean that you were injured. Remember? You had a hard time getting ANYWHERE. I had to practically carry you around the continent. How did you manage the trip alone?"
Kuja's eyes went rather out of focus as he thought about it. "I guess I sort of dragged myself there. I just wanted to find a place to drop dead, probably. I figured the people would recognize me but they didn't. Megan was the first to find me. I think I kinda freaked her out. See, she's afraid of blood and I sorta opened all my wounds again on the way over,"
Zidane raised an eyebrow. "She afraid of BLOOD?"
"Yup,"
"Okay . . . That's just weird . . ."
"Yeah, well, she fainted when she saw me. Her mother and grandmother had to save me. I think my lungs were pretty screwed up from the beating in the Iifa Tree and I guess I sort of killed them trying to get to the town,"
"You always were stupid," Zidane teased, smiling. Kuja wanted to make a snappy comment but didn't. Because at that moment he saw something that caused him to nearly jump out of his seat.
Standing in the doorway behind Zidane, covered in shadow, was a woman with long brown hair and shocking violet eyes.
Kuja stood up immediately, staring over Zidane's head at her. The woman blinked sadly and clutched a fist near her chest. Zidane tugged on Kuja's sleeve, frowning and looking over his shoulder. Then he turned back to his brother, looking more confused than ever.
"Geez, man! What're you doing?!"
Kuja glanced down at his brother in aggravation, then up at the woman. She was gone. The warlock slumped down into his seat, still staring at the spot where she'd been standing. Zidane looked concerned about Kuja's sanity.
"Uh . . . What was that?"
Kuja tapped his lip thoughtfully. "Zidane . . . Do you know what The Metsubo is?"
Zidane seemed quite taken aback by the sudden question. "The . . . The Metsubo?"
"Uh huh,"
"Gee. I dunno. Doesn't it mean something in Ancient Terran?"
Kuja looked up sharply, a light-bulb going on over his head. "Zidane! I think you're right! In modern Terran it's an out-of-fashion word - hardly ever used - to mean a downfall or ruin. But in the Pre-Snow times on Terra it meant something else . . . But what?"
Zidane drummed his fingers on the table, staring hard at his brother. "Why does it matter?"
Kuja suddenly remembered that Zidane hadn't seen the violet-eyed woman.
"Hmm . . . No reason . . ."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Megan grinned as she snapped on the new necklace she'd bought: stunning silver chain with a crystal shaped like a pony on the end. A masterpiece! The young girl couldn't help but smile. Mrs. Yorokobi had always taught her to not strive for material happiness but still . . . Feather had given her so much money! Why NOT take advantage?!
"Hey, pretty lady,"
Megan's head snapped up at the sound of the voice and she spotted a man leaning back against one of the nearby shop stands. He grinned and waved. Megan just stared. Who the hell WAS this jerk-off?
"Can I help you?" Megan snarled, glowering. The strange man's smile seemed to grow even wider. He straightened himself and strutted over.
"Yeah, you can help me," Megan frowned narrowed suspiciously. The man brushed the hair out of her eyes, fingers gracing over her scalp. "I lost my dog," he purred. "Have you seen it?"
"No!" Megan snapped, slapping his hand out of the way. "I haven't seen any stupid dogs!"
"Are you sure?" he licked his lips. "It's a German Shepard. She's almost as pretty as you are,"
"Get away from me!"
Megan turned to run and felt somebody grab her from behind. She screamed and began to flail her arms before realizing no one was hurting her. Instead, whoever had snatched her was trying to calm her down.
"Miss. Miss, what's wrong? Are you all right?"
Megan opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder. It was a knight! Probably one of the Pluto knights! He smiled warmly and released her, bowing low.
"I am sorry, Miss," he apologized. "But I can't seem to understand what it was that frightened you,"
Megan craned her neck to look over his shoulder. The man was gone. She smoothed out her skirt, taking a deep breath.
"It's nothing," she muttered. "Thanks for helping me,"
The knight saluted, grinning jovially.
/Whoa . . . This guy loves his job WAY too much . . ./ Megan thought. She was about to curtsy to the armor-clad soldier (just to make him feel like he was doing a good job) when Megan spotted something darting in and out of the shop booths on the side of the street. Her mouth dropped open in surprise.
It was a German Shepard . . .
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kuja ran his fingers over the innumerable texts nestled in Alexandria Castle's library. So many books! It reminded him vaguely of his Desert Palace. He frowned, searching through the many volumes, going up and down rows and rows and shelves and shelves of old and dusty, clean and new leafs of paper.
"Gargoyles . . . Gremlins . . . Geez, what's with the monsters? Ah, here it is. The Great War," Kuja slid the large text out of its small cranny on the shelf and flipped to the first page, curious.
"A modern-day account of the war that plagued our planet . . ." Kuja snorted, chuckling. "Modern day? It happened three years ago!" however, curiosity got the better of him and he carried it over to one of the nearby tables.
Within minutes he was rooted to his seat in fascination.
"King Elric's rule of the Alexandrian territory caused a national uprising in the numbers of grain and various other crops harvested during the annual flooding of its bordering ocean (possibly caused by irregular tides from the Red Moon now known formally as Terra)," as the warlock read this aloud, his eyes widened with interest. Though he took an obviously active role in the war, he'd never really known much beyond his own part. Still, he continued reading. "Tragically, on the day of his wife's birthday, Elric was stricken with an incurable case of pneumonia and passed away leaving the throne to the queen and no male heirs or any children of his own blood (the throne was to be succeeded by his adopted daughter) . . ."
"Fascinating, isn't it? To read from the other side?" Kuja looked up from the book, surprised. It was Beatrix, and she did not look happy. She slid into the seat across from him, glancing down at the text. "You know, there are many others," she gestured towards the document. "This is simply the biggest,"
Kuja scowled. "And probably the most biased," he glared at it.
"Hate to break it to you, Kuja," Beatrix muttered. "But you're the only one who sees it from the other point of view. The whole world's against you. And you know it,"
"Well you were ALWAYS against me," Kuja pointed out, flipping a page in the book and beginning to read. Beatrix shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Not always . . ."
Kuja said nothing. Finally, he spoke. "The war is over now. I've left all that behind,"
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I was forced here, thank you,"
"By who?"
"Megan,"
"The girl?" a small trace of a smile flitted across Beatrix's harsh features. "What is she? Some kinda girlfriend?"
Kuja made a disgusted face. "No! I just . . . live . . . uh . . ."
"You live with her?!" the general looked ready to burst out laughing. Kuja growled.
"We're not going out! She's a nice girl! She . . . deserves better than me . . ."
Now it was Beatrix's turn to look serious. "Wait. Hold the boat. She . . . Doesn't know . . ."
Kuja looked away, ashamed. "No. She doesn't,"
"Does she SUSPECT?"
"Not at all. I'm just another guy. Another peasant,"
Beatrix seemed strangely nervous. "But you're name. Surely she - "
"She knows me as Feather. Nothing more,"
They lapsed into silence. There were footsteps near the door. The both looked up to see Eiko standing near the threshold. She glared and flitted away, out of sight. Kuja just sighed.
"I hate myself sometimes . . ."
Beatrix lowered her gaze, hands folded in her lap. Silently, she made a vow in her mind.
/I will support you if you can prove your worth. I know you are - and once were - a good person. I will help you . . . If I can . . ./
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Erm. Yeah. I just wanna say that I take your criticism into account. Like, someone told me Megan seemed a bit alternate reality so I'm going to try to make her a little more Gaian. Whatever that is . . . Also, I guess I can cut out a little swearing and stuff. But I can't help but feel that the characters really do that. And I'm still convinced Zidane had the best insult in the game when he called Kuja a "rat bastard." *Laughs hysterically* Rat bastard! That is SOOOOO funny! Anyhow, this is really strange 'cause It shows on my number that I got eight reviews but if you look in the box it shows only three *shrugs* I got all the others via e- mail. And it says I have six pages of reviews but the last page is blank which means the website forgot to put some on. Odd . . . Oh well. READ AND REVIEW!!! Yah!
___ Black Mage Dad ___
P.S. Drunk-Kuja *snort* HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! *Rolls around on the floor hysterical*
Disclaimer: ysatnaF laniF nwo t'nod I. Uh . . . No comment . . .
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Garnet stared across the long dining table, eyes taking in each of the passive faces before her. Friends, all of them. Everyone was present. Vivi, Freya, Quina, Amarant, Eiko, Steiner, Fratley, Lani, Beatrix, Regent Cid, Lady Hilda. They all seemed strangely wary.
"If you'll pardon our nerves, your majesty," Freya mumbled, eyes peering out from beneath her large dragoon knight hat. "But the last time we were called into a serious meeting like this, it was to discover that our souls were about to be sucked up and our planet eaten whole. So if you'll be understanding, we would really wish you to proceed,"
Garnet cleared her throat, nodding. "Of course . . ." she raised an eyebrow at Zidane, who was seated next to her. He sighed and stood up, facing the others as he began to address them.
"We've all known each other for a long time," he began, trying not to sound like he was pleading. He noticed Steiner shooting him suspicious looks and decided to cut the crap. "All right, screw that. I'm going to say this now and only now. My brother is alive and well - yeah, that's right, he's my brother and he ain't dead - and you're all going to be nice to him and NOT try to murder him. He's got a girl with him and if I discover that one hair on either of their heads is hurt, you'll be forced to deal personally with ME. Is that clear?" he glanced around at all the stunned faces at the table, each too shocked to speak. He smiled kindly. "Anyhow, how've we all been?"
The outrage began immediately. Steiner was instantly on his feet, sword in hand, shouting out death threats to Kuja as if he were already in the room. Quina was stumbling out of his chair, tongue flapping as he looked for an escape route out of the castle. Lani was standing, bearing her axe and shouting "Let me at 'em!" as Amarant rolled his eyes and remained silent and seated next to her. Freya was probably one of the wildest, clutching her spear and looking around fiercely, tail standing on end. Zidane made a face and nodded to Beatrix who sighed, ready for plan B.
"ALL RIGHT!" she screamed, leaping up and knocking over her chair with Save the Queen pointed straight out and ready for stabbing. "YOU'D ALL BETTER SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP RIGHT NOW OR, I'M NOT KIDDING, I WILL USE THIS THING MOST LETHALLY! NOW SHUT YOUR TRAPS AND LISTEN - TO - ZIDANE!!!"
There was immediate silence. Beatrix's eye narrowed. Lani slumped down into her chair, glaring at the general as Quina obediently spilled back into his seat, looking rather frightened. Fratley was forced to stand up and place an arm around Freya's shoulders, lowering her back down cautiously. The dragoon knight remained stiff, fingers wrapped tightly around her spear, nose quivering. Steiner's mouth was immediately open, ready to object. Beatrix's gaze smashed onto him and his jaw snapped shut like a mousetrap. He sat down hurriedly.
"All right," Beatrix affirmed, nodding. She sheathed her sword and threw a last one-eyed glare around the table before sitting down herself. Zidane smiled dryly.
"Thank you, Beatrix," he cleared his throat, ready to continue. "So as I was saying, Kuja is in this castle. And not completely of his own volition. You can think whatever you want about him but if you act on it you're going to be REALLY sorry,"
Nobody spoke. Vivi straightened his hat nervously.
"But Zidane!" Freya pleaded. "How can you possibly let him roam around free in front of us?! After everything he did!" Zidane frowned, glancing at Garnet. She just shrugged as if to say "You got yourself into this. You deal with them."
Zidane wished he could explain. "Guys, Kuja is a completely different person than he once was. He doesn't want to hurt anybody. If you'd just cut him some slack - "
"Oh, I'll cut somethin' all right," Steiner muttered, growling. Beatrix silenced him with a look. Zidane could see that this wasn't going well. Not that he'd expected it too . . .
"Okay," he said, glancing around the table once more. "You're all free to go. But heed my warning: Don't you dare touch my god damn brother," cheesy grin. "Thanks,"
He turned and walked away; all too aware of the frowns focused on his back.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kuja awoke quite suddenly to find Megan strewn out across the bed next to him, still quite asleep. He blinked with surprise and raised an eyebrow.
/Uh . . . Why don't I remember her winding up there . . . next to me . . .? Whoa . . . I hope we didn't . . ./ he smacked himself on the forehead, glaring intensely.
"Don't be such a perv!" he scolded quietly, trying not to wake the young woman next to him. He noticed her glasses were still on and he gently plucked them off and stared at them. The warlock held the frames up in front of his eyes, looking straight through the lenses. It hurt. All the genomes had been created with beyond perfect vision. He would never need glasses.
Yawning, Kuja set the spectacles down on a nearby dresser and climbed carefully out of bed, trying not to hit Megan on the way out. She mumbled something about pie but otherwise did not stir. Kuja saw that he was still dressed and his clothes were all wrinkled from sleeping in them.
/Oh fiddlesticks!/
He glanced at the door. Maybe it was still locked. He grabbed the handle and turned. Okay, maybe not. The sorcerer looked out into the empty hall, hair falling annoyingly into his face.
/Why am I afraid to go out there?/ he wondered briefly. A furious shout echoed from below, rattling the floor slightly. /Oh yeah. 'Cause this entire castle's out to kill me./
What to do, what to do. Kuja glanced back at Megan. She yawned and rolled over, facing away from him.
/Damn, that girl sleeps a lot . . ./
The sound of footsteps caused the genome to retreat hurriedly back behind the door. Someone was charging down the hall grumbling. All he caught was:
"Stupid . . . Can't believe . . . Kill him . . . Better not mess with me . . ."
/Where have I heard that voice?/
Kuja peered around the doorframe. A rather exotic looking woman with a jaunty hat and a distressingly large axe was stomping furiously, still muttering curses to herself.
/Hmm . . ./ thought Kuja silently to himself. /I remember her. The bandit Queen Brahne hired to kidnap Garnet. What was her name again . . .? Oh yeah. Lani. Lani the Beautiful Bandit some called her . . ./
Just when Kuja thought it was safe, Lani lurched to a halt at the end of the hall. She whipped around, staring at the open door. Their eyes met and he saw that gleam in them. The predator finding the prey kind of gleam. Kuja backed down immediately, lowering his head. He didn't feel like getting into anymore fights. That last Thundaga had pretty much destroyed his magic.
Lani frowned. Kuja chewed his lip, tail swishing behind him.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Lani snapped, taking a step forward. The silver-haired genome shrugged.
"Dunno," he said simply. The female warrior wasn't through with him yet.
"Maybe you'd be better off dead,"
/Maybe you'd be better off shutting up . . ./ Kuja thought blandly. Instead, he said:
"I apologize if I've intruded on your life," Lani's lip twitched.
"Apology accepted and forgotten,"
They stared daggers at each other. Heavy footsteps came down the corridor and they spotted Amarant trudging towards them, head down as usual. He spotted Lani and rolled his eyes.
"Can't leave anybody alone, can you?" he growled, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her away.
"Hey! Let go of me!" the bandit squealed, punching Amarant in the arm. It did nothing to faze the muscle-bound man. "Stop!"
Kuja watched Amarant yank her out of sight and breathed a sigh of relief.
/Thank god . . . But I still have to deal with the others . . ./
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was a beautiful day outside. The city was still celebrating and most of the castle (besides the guards, of course) were out in Alexandria, enjoying the sunshine and festivities. Megan really wanted to go exploring. Kuja told her she could. Then Megan felt guilty because Zidane had told him to stay in the castle that day. Then Kuja gave her a thousand gil and she "reluctantly" agreed to leave.
Now Zidane was entering the same room the meeting had been in previously. Kuja sat at the table, resting his chin in his hands. He looked bored.
"To what do I owe this fabulous visit?" Kuja queried dryly, raising his eyes slightly. Zidane smirked, taking a seat across from him.
"Still the same old jerk, I see,"
"Still the same old smart-ass, I see,"
"Touché," Zidane grinned. Kuja just frowned. His brother sighed and decided the silver-haired man wasn't in the mood for jokes.
"All right," Zidane began, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest. "Where have you been?"
Kuja scowled. "What's it to you? I've been here, there, and everywhere,"
"No, seriously. Where did you vanish to?" Zidane seemed genuinely curious.
Kuja scratched his head thoughtfully, glancing at the door on his left. "I guess I didn't really go anywhere," he explained, shrugging. "I left you near the Iifa Tree and then went to a town only a few miles away,"
"But why?"
"To escape THIS place," Kuja gestured towards the interior of the castle. "You wanted to bring me back here. Where I would have been persecuted. Perhaps put on death-row. I couldn't allow that to happen. So I left,"
"Where did you go?"
"I told you," Kuja rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "I went to a town a few miles away from the Iifa Tree,"
Now Zidane just looked confused. "Uh, Kuja. How did you manage to get there by yourself?"
"What do you mean, how did I manage to get there by myself?" Kuja snapped, glaring. Zidane shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"I mean that you were injured. Remember? You had a hard time getting ANYWHERE. I had to practically carry you around the continent. How did you manage the trip alone?"
Kuja's eyes went rather out of focus as he thought about it. "I guess I sort of dragged myself there. I just wanted to find a place to drop dead, probably. I figured the people would recognize me but they didn't. Megan was the first to find me. I think I kinda freaked her out. See, she's afraid of blood and I sorta opened all my wounds again on the way over,"
Zidane raised an eyebrow. "She afraid of BLOOD?"
"Yup,"
"Okay . . . That's just weird . . ."
"Yeah, well, she fainted when she saw me. Her mother and grandmother had to save me. I think my lungs were pretty screwed up from the beating in the Iifa Tree and I guess I sort of killed them trying to get to the town,"
"You always were stupid," Zidane teased, smiling. Kuja wanted to make a snappy comment but didn't. Because at that moment he saw something that caused him to nearly jump out of his seat.
Standing in the doorway behind Zidane, covered in shadow, was a woman with long brown hair and shocking violet eyes.
Kuja stood up immediately, staring over Zidane's head at her. The woman blinked sadly and clutched a fist near her chest. Zidane tugged on Kuja's sleeve, frowning and looking over his shoulder. Then he turned back to his brother, looking more confused than ever.
"Geez, man! What're you doing?!"
Kuja glanced down at his brother in aggravation, then up at the woman. She was gone. The warlock slumped down into his seat, still staring at the spot where she'd been standing. Zidane looked concerned about Kuja's sanity.
"Uh . . . What was that?"
Kuja tapped his lip thoughtfully. "Zidane . . . Do you know what The Metsubo is?"
Zidane seemed quite taken aback by the sudden question. "The . . . The Metsubo?"
"Uh huh,"
"Gee. I dunno. Doesn't it mean something in Ancient Terran?"
Kuja looked up sharply, a light-bulb going on over his head. "Zidane! I think you're right! In modern Terran it's an out-of-fashion word - hardly ever used - to mean a downfall or ruin. But in the Pre-Snow times on Terra it meant something else . . . But what?"
Zidane drummed his fingers on the table, staring hard at his brother. "Why does it matter?"
Kuja suddenly remembered that Zidane hadn't seen the violet-eyed woman.
"Hmm . . . No reason . . ."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Megan grinned as she snapped on the new necklace she'd bought: stunning silver chain with a crystal shaped like a pony on the end. A masterpiece! The young girl couldn't help but smile. Mrs. Yorokobi had always taught her to not strive for material happiness but still . . . Feather had given her so much money! Why NOT take advantage?!
"Hey, pretty lady,"
Megan's head snapped up at the sound of the voice and she spotted a man leaning back against one of the nearby shop stands. He grinned and waved. Megan just stared. Who the hell WAS this jerk-off?
"Can I help you?" Megan snarled, glowering. The strange man's smile seemed to grow even wider. He straightened himself and strutted over.
"Yeah, you can help me," Megan frowned narrowed suspiciously. The man brushed the hair out of her eyes, fingers gracing over her scalp. "I lost my dog," he purred. "Have you seen it?"
"No!" Megan snapped, slapping his hand out of the way. "I haven't seen any stupid dogs!"
"Are you sure?" he licked his lips. "It's a German Shepard. She's almost as pretty as you are,"
"Get away from me!"
Megan turned to run and felt somebody grab her from behind. She screamed and began to flail her arms before realizing no one was hurting her. Instead, whoever had snatched her was trying to calm her down.
"Miss. Miss, what's wrong? Are you all right?"
Megan opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder. It was a knight! Probably one of the Pluto knights! He smiled warmly and released her, bowing low.
"I am sorry, Miss," he apologized. "But I can't seem to understand what it was that frightened you,"
Megan craned her neck to look over his shoulder. The man was gone. She smoothed out her skirt, taking a deep breath.
"It's nothing," she muttered. "Thanks for helping me,"
The knight saluted, grinning jovially.
/Whoa . . . This guy loves his job WAY too much . . ./ Megan thought. She was about to curtsy to the armor-clad soldier (just to make him feel like he was doing a good job) when Megan spotted something darting in and out of the shop booths on the side of the street. Her mouth dropped open in surprise.
It was a German Shepard . . .
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kuja ran his fingers over the innumerable texts nestled in Alexandria Castle's library. So many books! It reminded him vaguely of his Desert Palace. He frowned, searching through the many volumes, going up and down rows and rows and shelves and shelves of old and dusty, clean and new leafs of paper.
"Gargoyles . . . Gremlins . . . Geez, what's with the monsters? Ah, here it is. The Great War," Kuja slid the large text out of its small cranny on the shelf and flipped to the first page, curious.
"A modern-day account of the war that plagued our planet . . ." Kuja snorted, chuckling. "Modern day? It happened three years ago!" however, curiosity got the better of him and he carried it over to one of the nearby tables.
Within minutes he was rooted to his seat in fascination.
"King Elric's rule of the Alexandrian territory caused a national uprising in the numbers of grain and various other crops harvested during the annual flooding of its bordering ocean (possibly caused by irregular tides from the Red Moon now known formally as Terra)," as the warlock read this aloud, his eyes widened with interest. Though he took an obviously active role in the war, he'd never really known much beyond his own part. Still, he continued reading. "Tragically, on the day of his wife's birthday, Elric was stricken with an incurable case of pneumonia and passed away leaving the throne to the queen and no male heirs or any children of his own blood (the throne was to be succeeded by his adopted daughter) . . ."
"Fascinating, isn't it? To read from the other side?" Kuja looked up from the book, surprised. It was Beatrix, and she did not look happy. She slid into the seat across from him, glancing down at the text. "You know, there are many others," she gestured towards the document. "This is simply the biggest,"
Kuja scowled. "And probably the most biased," he glared at it.
"Hate to break it to you, Kuja," Beatrix muttered. "But you're the only one who sees it from the other point of view. The whole world's against you. And you know it,"
"Well you were ALWAYS against me," Kuja pointed out, flipping a page in the book and beginning to read. Beatrix shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Not always . . ."
Kuja said nothing. Finally, he spoke. "The war is over now. I've left all that behind,"
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I was forced here, thank you,"
"By who?"
"Megan,"
"The girl?" a small trace of a smile flitted across Beatrix's harsh features. "What is she? Some kinda girlfriend?"
Kuja made a disgusted face. "No! I just . . . live . . . uh . . ."
"You live with her?!" the general looked ready to burst out laughing. Kuja growled.
"We're not going out! She's a nice girl! She . . . deserves better than me . . ."
Now it was Beatrix's turn to look serious. "Wait. Hold the boat. She . . . Doesn't know . . ."
Kuja looked away, ashamed. "No. She doesn't,"
"Does she SUSPECT?"
"Not at all. I'm just another guy. Another peasant,"
Beatrix seemed strangely nervous. "But you're name. Surely she - "
"She knows me as Feather. Nothing more,"
They lapsed into silence. There were footsteps near the door. The both looked up to see Eiko standing near the threshold. She glared and flitted away, out of sight. Kuja just sighed.
"I hate myself sometimes . . ."
Beatrix lowered her gaze, hands folded in her lap. Silently, she made a vow in her mind.
/I will support you if you can prove your worth. I know you are - and once were - a good person. I will help you . . . If I can . . ./
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Erm. Yeah. I just wanna say that I take your criticism into account. Like, someone told me Megan seemed a bit alternate reality so I'm going to try to make her a little more Gaian. Whatever that is . . . Also, I guess I can cut out a little swearing and stuff. But I can't help but feel that the characters really do that. And I'm still convinced Zidane had the best insult in the game when he called Kuja a "rat bastard." *Laughs hysterically* Rat bastard! That is SOOOOO funny! Anyhow, this is really strange 'cause It shows on my number that I got eight reviews but if you look in the box it shows only three *shrugs* I got all the others via e- mail. And it says I have six pages of reviews but the last page is blank which means the website forgot to put some on. Odd . . . Oh well. READ AND REVIEW!!! Yah!
___ Black Mage Dad ___
P.S. Drunk-Kuja *snort* HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! *Rolls around on the floor hysterical*