A/N: Yo! I'm back after my first taste of high school! And I've made my
prognosis . . . It's gonna be a looooooooooooooong year. . . *sigh* Ah,
well! What's life without a little misery, eh? Anyways . . . Low review
count for the last chapter! Meep! Triple meep! I hope I didn't do
something that killed the story . . . *Flips through last chapter* Looks
clean . . . *sigh* Oh well . . . I'm all excited because I finally got to
see the Inu-Yasha series in English! I've only read mangas 1-7 and seen a
handful of the Japanese sub-titled episodes. And now I've seen them on
Cartoon Network in English! The voices are soooooooooooo different! I
HATE Kagome's voice. It's so high! Anyways . . . This chapter begins to
ponder over Garland's motives. It might make you start to formulate your
own ideas. Dunno . . . We shall see . . . *Tents fingers* Cough . . .
Disclaimer: How come I can't own Final Fantasy?! This sucks!
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"Life . . . Dreams . . . Hope . . . Where'd they come from? And where are they headed . . .?"
- Kefka, Final Fantasy VI
Garland sat upon the Indomitable's throne, drenched in deepening shadows. Thoughts raced through his ever contemplating mind. The events of the previous day continued to haunt him. Everything Drakja had said . . . it made sense when it shouldn't have . . .
/Flash/
The whole darn thing . . . just seemed so . . . familiar . . .
/Flash/
"Of course it did," Garland whispered, the lines of his face creasing thoughtfully. "I just don't understand . . ."
The overlord reached over and lifted a thick manila folder from the side of the throne. It was crammed to the point of bursting with papers. Some even toppled out as Garland moved them, however he refrained from picking them up. Swiftly, he turned towards the back and picked his way through the numerous faded leafs. When he had found what he was looking for, Garland set the folder down and leaned back, eyes scanning the page contemplatively.
"The Great Spark of the Devil War . . ." the aged man whispered, frowning. "The beginning of the end . . ."
Garland closed his eyes wearily and allowed his wizened mind to recall the events of that fateful day.
/Flash/
"Sir, I come with urgent news,"
"Tell him to go away,"
"But sir - "
"TELL HIM TO LEAVE - ME - ALONE!!!" the young man shrieked, grabbing a canteen and hurling it furiously at the frightened cadet. The bushes rustled nearby, but the man did not seem to notice or care.
"This could be the end of the war . . ." Garland noted from his hiding place in the forest, peering around a tree at the army's stand-in general. "Send him away or not, my dear Saishoja, he will still find a way . . ."
And sure enough, a small pop alerted the general and his unnoticed specter to a visitor entering the camp-site by teleportation.
He was tall and strapping, with beautiful brown hair, a muscular, battle- hardened form, and the most electrifying green eyes Garland had ever seen. Brushing the ground behind him was a mahogany-brown tail, a common trait among Terrans of his city: Tanjo.
"Saishoja . . ." the newcomer whispered, eyes flashing vehemently. The other turned slowly, frowning.
"Drakja . . ."
There was a moment of silence. Saishoja swept his luxurious silver hair over his shoulder and folded his arms over his chest, waiting.
"I thought I told my soldiers not to let you in . . ." Saishoja said plainly, though a small snarl could be detected in his tone. Drakja smirked.
"As if . . ."
Saishoja sniffed. "You're teleportation would be useless . . ." he commented, piercing blue-eyes grazing the orange-tinged sky above in boredom. ". . . if I were to kill you now . . ."
"Would you?" Drakja queried, taking a step towards his rival. Saishoja glanced at the green-eyed man in a calculated manner.
"If it would mean victory for my people,"
Drakja laughed, shaking his head. "The people of Shi, you mean?" he snorted. "You use the word 'my' when referring to them?"
"Don't start with me," Saishoja warned, his eyes flashing dangerously. Drakja shrugged, leaning back against a tree.
"Wasn't gonna . . ."
"You were so!" Saishoja trembled with rage. His fingers groped near the sword on his belt. "Get out of here! I don't want to talk to you! We will end this on the battle-field! AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE!!!"
Drakja straightened himself fiercely, fury now dancing in his eyes as well. "Don't you DARE imply such a thing!" he fumed, pointing a finger at the silver-haired general. "We are going to settle this NOW!"
Hidden unnoticed in the bushes, Garland's eyes widened. "This is unbelievable," he whispered, writing frantically on a pad of paper. "I'm baring witness to this . . .!"
Saishoja laughed coldly as his tail thrashed wildly behind him. "You want to settle this now? There is nothing to settle! We fight to the death!"
Then it happened: The Spark . . . Garland watched the second unfold, barely able to comprehend what he saw.
Saishoja turned away.
It was the coldest snub in history. Never before had such an icy wrath been projected by someone turning their back on another being. Drakja's eyes widened. But the spark soon turned to boiling rage, to burning, blistering hate.
"TO THE DEATH!"
Garland inhaled sharply. He saw the flash. The splatter. The cry.
It echoed to every cavern of the planet. Hearts ran cold at that moment. It reverberated for miles. Cities cried for reasons unknown to them. And then it was over.
Garland released a breath he had not realized he was holding. His body shuddered from the initial shock. He felt someone brush past him. A girl . . .
"Oh my god!" she screamed, crashing through the bushes. That was when the truth hit him . . .
This wasn't the end of the war . . .
It was the end of everything . . .
/Flash/
Garland clenched the aged paper in his hands tighter. He had scribbled those notes down so long ago . . . over six-hundred years ago, to be precise. Yet he did not need silly little writings to remind him of that event. The disaster . . . Could it be true, what Drakja had said? It was true - the fool hadn't noticed anything yet. But still . . .
Garland stuffed the paper back into the folder, growling. "Drakja is simply suffering from a previous dejá vu . . ." he told himself sternly, willing himself to believe it true. "He did not see anything suspicious in that bar. Nothing happened . . ."
But even as Garland spoke, he felt his usual underlying confidence fade away to nothing . . .
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"This is why you all have to listen to me!" Mr. 41 cried, throwing up his arms. "I TOLD you Dali wasn't safe! Look at it! It's in shambles!"
Vivi's children sniffled as they sat in front of the gates of Dali. They had so hoped to see the fabled windmills . . . But now they were gone . . .
Mr. 41 sighed and stared at the rubble of the once prosperous village. Something strange was DEFINITELY going on. First Mikoto vanished, then a strange black shape had appeared in the sky, now Dali was destroyed! And by people with tails! That was what spooked the black mage the most. The attackers had almost looked like super genomes . . .
"Well, look at it this way," said Mr. 41, turning back to the gloomy children. "At least we weren't hurt. The attack started seconds before we reached the gate,"
"I-I wanted to see the w-windmills . . .!" Nichio-Bi sobbed, his hat drooping down over his face. Mr. 41 sighed again.
"There's just no getting through to you kids, is there?"
Vivi's offspring just continued to sulk. Out of the blue, Mr. 41 felt a small tug on his sleeve. Glancing down, he saw Getsuyo-Bi's lamp-like eyes focused questioningly on the elder mage.
"What's wrong?" Mr. 41 queried nervously, not liking the expression on the young boy's shrouded face. Getsuyo-Bi cocked his head curiously. Mr. 41 took a step back. "What?!"
Now the other children were rising, their eyes curious as well. Mr. 41 fingered his staff anxiously. "What are you all staring at?!" he snapped. Suiyo-Bi pointed at something over Mr. 41's shoulder. The black mage whipped around, but when his eyes caught nothing, he threw down his staff in frustration.
"I don't understand!" he shouted exasperatedly. "What do you all see?!" But then he stopped. Now he saw it too. The air . . . it was . . .
Foggy . . .
"What is this . . .?" Mr. 41 whispered, stepping forward slightly. "It's not going to rain or anything . . ." his eyes widened to saucer-like proportions. "This is . . . this is Mist!"
"M-Mist . . .?" the children mumbled, glancing uneasily at each other. "There hasn't been Mist in over three years!"
"I know!" Mr. 41 gasped, staring at the thickening fog. "But . . . but this is undeniably Mist! How?!"
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"Madeline Hebi," Drakja read off the sheet of paper. "I've heard that name before. Used to be one of the Four Terran Magicians," he glanced at Lulian over his shoulder. "What am I supposed to do with all these files?"
Lulian shrugged as they stood within Drakja's slightly cramped quarters upon the Indomitable. She was a bit disheartened by the failed attempt to capture the Summoners at Dali. After she'd gotten back from Alexandria, she hid in her quarters, afraid of getting the same treatment as her leader. The geonome was almost to sulking point, and had even forgotten to load on her mascara.
Drakja sighed. "Would you just leave if you're going to be like this?"
"YOU leave!" Lulian snapped, baring her teeth. Before she knew it, the woman had the deep red nozzle of Drakja's gun at her throat. Lulian glared at him.
"Don't you dare!" she shrieked, green eyes flaring. "If you even think about using that thing, I'll corrupt you till you kill yourself!"
Drakja blinked and slowly lowered his weapon. "You . . . know about that . . .?" he queried in confusion.
"The gun? Um, duh?"
Drakja stared at the weapon in his hands. "You could corrupt me . . .?" he whispered as if contemplating something. Lulian stuck her hands on her hip, eyebrow raised.
"What's the big deal?" she snapped. When Drakja didn't acknowledge her she smacked him across the arm. "Hello?!" Lulian waved a hand in front of his face. "It's just a stupid weapon! What are you doing?!"
Drakja brushed her away with a faraway look on his face. "Lulian . . ." he whispered. "I think . . . I think I'm starting to see Garland's motives . . ."
The female geonome snapped to immediate attention. "You have?! What is it?! What did you figure out?!" Drakja closed his eyes, sorting through the information in his head.
"That light in Garland's armor . . . It glows fiercely when Kuja transforms," he explained, recalling the situation in Gulug the first time Kuja lost control of himself. "The light is connected to the Invincible . . . And the Indomitable . . ." Drakja's brow creased thoughtfully as Lulian stared at her boss's altering expressions. "Garland told me that when Kuja's eyes turned red . . . it wasn't his ultimate power . . . his ultimate power is Trance: the second most powerful transformation any mortal can have besides Shock. But . . . Kuja can't Trance . . . At least . . . Not before . . ."
Lulian's eyes narrowed. ". . . What are you saying . . .?" she asked suspiciously. "That Garland is trying to kill Kuja for suddenly being able to Trance?"
"No!" Drakja shouted, exasperated. "Kuja didn't Trance then! And besides, he's Tranced before and Garland knows it,"
" . . . And . . . So what? The first angel of death transformed. That's a good enough motive to me,"
Drakja shook his head furiously. "No . . . Kuja DIDN'T transform . . . At least . . . not himself . . ."
Lulian leaned back against the door. " . . . That made no sense whatsoever . . ."
Drakja sighed rolling his eyes. "Don't you get it?! Garland's after something the first angel of death's got! And the Summoners, too! Remember that thing he talked about . . . the magnet thingy . . .?"
"The Theory of Planetary Magnetism?"
"Yeah . . .that. What did he say about the theory? It involved the genomes and Summoners somehow . . ."
"Beats me . . . 's in the files," Lulian pointed at the stack of papers on the desk. Drakja frowned.
"Think . . ." he whispered. "Garland hasn't been filling us in on the plan. Not even me. Yet he's equipped us with all sorts of new Terran technology," Drakja held up the red gun. "Or more specifically . . . he equipped me with THIS,"
Lulian stared at the weapon. "It IS strange . . ." she commented, scratching her head. "Why would you need it?"
Drakja hesitated. "Garland says Kuja is corrupted. Back during Terra's Second Destruction . . . and . . ." Drakja gasped so loud that Lulian jumped and clapped a hand over her heart. "That's what Garland wants from the first Angel of Death!"
Lulian blinked, then looked up in surprise. "What?! Are you kidding me?!"
"What other explanation could there be?!"
"But . . . That's . . ." now it was Lulian's turn to gasp. "Completely possible!" she pointed at Drakja's weapon. "That weapon! It can do it! Oh my god!" she looked at the gun as if in a new light. "I . . . I can't believe you're going to have to use that on a living person . . . Are you seriously going to do it?!"
Drakja frowned. "If Garland makes me . . ."
"But . . . So many . . ." Lulian whispered, shaking her head. "Wait, I thought you were mad at Garland!"
Drakja sheathed his gun and scratched his head. "Well . . . Yeah, but . . ."
Lulian groaned, sighing. "You do this every time . . . wimp," she brushed past the taller geonome and flicked a strand of highlighted hair over her shoulder. Suddenly, she felt fingers wrapping around her arm and something yanking her back.
"Drakja, what - ?"
She was silenced by his lips pressing themselves fiercely upon hers. Lulian struggled for a moment before sinking like butter into his embrace. Dangling her arms over his broad shoulders, she sank passionately into the kiss, eyes closed, a soft moan escaping her lips.
When they finally pulled apart, both of them wore equal looks of embarrassment.
"That was stupid," Lulian whispered, glancing at the floor. Drakja stared deep into her eyes.
"You're me," he mumbled, nodding. "It was stupid . . ."
There was a soft knock on the door. Drakja immediately wiped his lips furiously upon his sleeve in case any of Lulian's blood-red lipstick had come off during the kiss.
It was Dart at the door, and she was smirking. "Ooh . . ." she crooned, grinning. "Drakja and Lulian together . . . in one room . . ."
"You're stepping out of line," Drakja warned, growling. Dart rolled her eyes.
"Whatever . . . What the hell are you two doing in here?"
Drakja held up the files. "Looking over the info on Madeline Hebi. What are YOU doing here?"
Dart laughed. "Coming to tell you that Madeline Hebi left! Garland took her to the Iifa Tree about an hour ago!"
"What?! Why?!" Lulian cried. Dart shrugged.
"Guess he thought there was some sort of time press on the plan,"
"Time press?!" Drakja spluttered. "He blocked Kuja's magic! What could possibly be messing up the plans now?!"
Dart's lip twitched. "You wanna know?"
"Yeah,"
"You REALLY wanna know?"
"Dart, I command you to tell me NOW!" Drakja roared, reaching towards his whip. Dart was not fazed in the least.
"C'mere," she whispered secretively, signaling for him to draw closer. Drakja did so, and when they were nearly touching noses, she suddenly crammed a huge stack of files in his hands and leapt back, giggling.
"You've got to study those now, too!" she laughed, turning and fleeing out the door. Drakja cursed furiously at her retreating form.
"GOD DAMN IT!" he screamed, slamming the files down on a nearby table. "Curse that girl! Insubordination at its worst!"
"You forgot Ummei," Lulian mumbled.
"Oh yeah. Okay, second worst," he groaned. "I can't believe I have to study these now, too!"
"Oh, it's not so bad," Lulian said softly, opening up to the first page. "You know most of this already. And now maybe we can figure out what's going on . . ."
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Garland's feet brushed the dust away from the decaying roots of Iifa. The sun shone brightly above, a faint smoke clouding the sky directly over the tree. The creature across from him was gazing at the Iifa Tree with curiosity, glowing yellow eyes wide with interest.
"So this is Iifa . . ." she whispered, tongue flickering out and tasting the air around them. Garland nodded and folded his arms over his chest.
"This is Iifa . . ." he affirmed. "Can you get inside?"
"If I burn a path through it, yeah,"
"Hmm . . ." The creature flashed Garland a toothy smile, exposing two inch- long fangs. "Do you understand your task?"
The woman nodded, patting the side of the trunk. "Piece 'o' cake . . ."
Garland's brow furrowed. "I expect Mist to be flowing from this thing within an hour. If not . . ."
"Oh ye of little faith . . ." the creature mocked, grabbing hold of two roots that were twisted around the tree and hoisting herself up. "This sounds easy . . ."
"I want that flow going to Terra. The planet is dead; can you still manage?"
The woman let out an exasperated sigh that sounded more like a hiss. "What kind of novice do you take me for?!" she snapped, hurt. "This is EASY! I'm just going to reroute the flow with my magic and open up the roots,"
Garland growled lightly. "Don't screw up . . ."
He received no answer, as she was already scaling high up into the clouds.
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Kuja and Zidane watched the people in the streets closely. Panic was still written all over their faces after the rumored fight in the bar. As a matter of fact, the brothers were just heading back from that. Zidane kept cursing angrily and punching a fist into his palm.
"What is your PROBLEM?!" Kuja snapped, glaring at the blonde. Zidane continued to pound his hand.
"I just can't believe we let that bastard get away!" he cried furiously. "I mean, we had him right - there!"
"No we didn't . . ." Kuja muttered. "You can never have a person that can teleport 'right there,'"
"Oh, shut up . . ."
"Zidane?!"
The two genomes looked up in time to see Garnet, flanked on either side by Beatrix and Steiner, standing at the end of the road. She was - oddly enough - back in her yellow-orange jump-suit. She even had a Tiger Racket strapped to her back.
"Dagger, what are you doing here?!" Zidane demanded angrily, running towards his fiancé. Kuja simply let out a groan and melted back into the shadows.
Garnet looked around nervously as Zidane approached. "I heard there was a fight going on nearby. What's happening?"
"It's nothing," Zidane assured the young queen, putting an arm around her shoulder. "But you shouldn't be out here with the geonomes loose. Who knows what the hell they're after,"
"Is anyone hurt?" Beatrix queried, coming up next to Zidane. Zidane shook his head hurriedly.
"No. Everyone got out of the building safe and Kuja and I managed to take care of the situation,"
An audible grunt was heard from Steiner, but no one said anything. Garnet blinked.
"Kuja? He's out here?"
Zidane glanced over his shoulder but didn't see the silver-haired sorcerer anywhere nearby. "Yeah . . . he's over there somewhere . . . You guys must've scared him off. Why? What's the problem? Still convinced he's out to kill us all?"
Garnet glanced at Beatrix. Beatrix glanced at Steiner. Steiner rolled his eyes and grunted once more. Zidane frowned.
"Is . . . somethin' goin' on that I should know about?" he queried suspiciously.
"Well, as a matter of fact . . ."
Beatrix clapped a hand down on Zidane's shoulder and sighed. "Zidane, we feel that with Kuja's present . . . situation . . . maybe he shouldn't be allowed to . . . um . . . leave the castle . . . at all . . ."
Zidane exploded immediately. "What?! Why the hell not?!"
Hidden behind a nearby restaurant, Kuja stomped a foot upon the ground with fury. "Damn it! Damn it all!"
"Now, now, Zidane," Beatrix tried to quiet the young boy down. "It's for his own good. Just listen to us . . . Are you listening?"
Zidane's teeth were grinding to dust. "I'm listening . . ."
Beatrix took a deep breath and tried to explain the situation slowly. "From what we can tell," she said. "Everything points to Kuja's isolation. He's a wanted criminal and could get hurt by people on the streets. Garland and the geonomes are obviously after him for one reason or another. And those things inside of him . . . they could hurt people. One's already dead. Let's not make it more,"
Zidane stared deep into Beatrix's visible eye. "You can't do this . . ." he whispered. "You act like he's some sort of animal!" Steiner snorted for a third time. Zidane's gaze smashed onto him. "Don't you dare!" he shouted. "That's my brother you're snorting about!" Steiner snorted again.
"Please Zidane," Garnet pleaded. "Please agree with us for once . . ."
Zidane shook his head. "I can't do that . . . I mean, to lock a person up in a castle?! What kind of people are we?!"
Beatrix bit her lip nervously. "Zidane. I really don't want to see him hurt. Kuja . . . Kuja doesn't deserve what's obviously coming . . ."
Zidane hesitated. There was a look in Beatrix's eye that he had never seen before. It was desperate if not near tears. And there was something else there . . . A look he'd only seen the general get when she looked at Steiner . . . His eyes widened as realization sunk in.
/So it's true then, what they say! She really did love Kuja before . . . God . . . If she still has feelings for him, then . . ./
"What do you say, Zidane?" Beatrix queried, staring deep into his aqua-blue eyes.
/But he held them back . . ./ Zidane thought desperately. /Kuja didn't let them come out in the bar . . ./ he opened his mouth to tell them that, when a hand clamped down on his shoulder and someone brushed past him into the group.
"Kuja . . ." Steiner growled, eyes narrowing. Garnet moved instinctively closer to her knight. Beatrix simply frowned.
"You all seem to think you know me pretty well . . ." Kuja articulated smoothly, eyes locking onto each of theirs in turn. "And you also seem to think it's okay to throw me around like a piece of garbage . . ."
"Kuja, that's not - "
The warlock raised a hand and silenced the young general. "I look at it this way," he uttered softly. "No matter what I do, I will somehow wind up confined one way or another," his eyes roved slowly onto Beatrix's. "But I want it known . . . That if I stay in the castle, I won't get persecuted like I was before,"
Garnet's mouth opened to speak, but she was suddenly silenced by a piercing shriek towards the center of the square. Beatrix sighed.
"Don't worry . . . It's just another Mist monster,"
Zidane raised an eyebrow. "A Mist monster?"
"Yeah," the general shrugged. "They've been poppin' up a lot lately. We have a team taking care of it. The monster should be dealt away with in a few minutes,"
Kuja blinked slowly and reached out an arm as if feeling the air. Softly, he brought his hand back in. Swirls of white smoke were curling around his fingers like ghosts. Kuja's eyes widened.
"M-Mist . . ." he mumbled, eyes glazing over with a faraway expression. Zidane had to catch his brother before he fell.
"Whoa . . . You alright?" he peered into Kuja's face. The warlock collapsed to his knees. He looked like he was about to be sick.
"What's wrong with him . . .?" Garnet queried, tilting her head. Kuja grabbed Zidane's sleeve and yanked on it hard. The blonde genome raised an eyebrow and started to pull back. Kuja quickly shook his head.
"Don't . . ." he rasped. "Feels like I'm . . . falling . . . Don't let go . . ."
Zidane glanced at Beatrix questioningly. She folded her arms over his chest.
"It's settled . . ." she finalized. "He stays in the castle . . ."
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A/N: Mwehehehe . . . Poor Kuja. I just slaughter him, ne? Hehe. But this is just the beginning! Wait till you see what I'm going to do to him later around chapter thirty-ish (or later, more likely). As if things couldn't get any worse . . . heehee. Also . . . MEGAN STILL DOESN'T KNOW!!!!! I'm procrastinating, I know . . . I already pushed back the time when she finds out later then I had originally written it (there's a copy of this entire story written with about a three sentence summary of each scene on my computer. I keep having to mark off changes *sigh*). See . . . Things are gonna get really messy after she finds out. So I keep holding off on Kuja telling her. Also, the crew's going to be leaving Alexandria soon, so I have to hurry up. Things are going to start to get bad for the characters. Garland's actually going to start WINNING! I know, kill the author, kill the author . . .
About the manga:
Drakja's design es muy completa y bonita. Not only that, but I've finally drawn out Saishoja and the original Drakja (yes, the ORIGINAL). I basically just took Drakja and Kuja and put them in more army-like clothes. Garnet's new design is done (outfit changes and stuff). Eiko's done. Erm . . . what else? Oh! Freya's done. I'm starting work on Fratley soon. Steiner's ALMOST finished. I'm dying to get to Beatrix. After I've designed out the basics, I'm going to start sketching out small scenes for practice. I've based my style for this series on a sort of Ceres: A Celestial Legend and Inu-Yasha hybrid. Those of you who have read both are probably thinking "Impossible! They look NOTHING alike!" Well . . . I've done it ^_^ I've made both Kuja and Drakja look kind of like a cross between Tooya and Sesshoumaru. Megan comes more from Aya and Kagome. I got Eiko's proportions from Shippou (don't kill me!). So . . . that's all for now . . . R - E - A - D + R - E - V - I - E - W !_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!
Disclaimer: How come I can't own Final Fantasy?! This sucks!
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"Life . . . Dreams . . . Hope . . . Where'd they come from? And where are they headed . . .?"
- Kefka, Final Fantasy VI
Garland sat upon the Indomitable's throne, drenched in deepening shadows. Thoughts raced through his ever contemplating mind. The events of the previous day continued to haunt him. Everything Drakja had said . . . it made sense when it shouldn't have . . .
/Flash/
The whole darn thing . . . just seemed so . . . familiar . . .
/Flash/
"Of course it did," Garland whispered, the lines of his face creasing thoughtfully. "I just don't understand . . ."
The overlord reached over and lifted a thick manila folder from the side of the throne. It was crammed to the point of bursting with papers. Some even toppled out as Garland moved them, however he refrained from picking them up. Swiftly, he turned towards the back and picked his way through the numerous faded leafs. When he had found what he was looking for, Garland set the folder down and leaned back, eyes scanning the page contemplatively.
"The Great Spark of the Devil War . . ." the aged man whispered, frowning. "The beginning of the end . . ."
Garland closed his eyes wearily and allowed his wizened mind to recall the events of that fateful day.
/Flash/
"Sir, I come with urgent news,"
"Tell him to go away,"
"But sir - "
"TELL HIM TO LEAVE - ME - ALONE!!!" the young man shrieked, grabbing a canteen and hurling it furiously at the frightened cadet. The bushes rustled nearby, but the man did not seem to notice or care.
"This could be the end of the war . . ." Garland noted from his hiding place in the forest, peering around a tree at the army's stand-in general. "Send him away or not, my dear Saishoja, he will still find a way . . ."
And sure enough, a small pop alerted the general and his unnoticed specter to a visitor entering the camp-site by teleportation.
He was tall and strapping, with beautiful brown hair, a muscular, battle- hardened form, and the most electrifying green eyes Garland had ever seen. Brushing the ground behind him was a mahogany-brown tail, a common trait among Terrans of his city: Tanjo.
"Saishoja . . ." the newcomer whispered, eyes flashing vehemently. The other turned slowly, frowning.
"Drakja . . ."
There was a moment of silence. Saishoja swept his luxurious silver hair over his shoulder and folded his arms over his chest, waiting.
"I thought I told my soldiers not to let you in . . ." Saishoja said plainly, though a small snarl could be detected in his tone. Drakja smirked.
"As if . . ."
Saishoja sniffed. "You're teleportation would be useless . . ." he commented, piercing blue-eyes grazing the orange-tinged sky above in boredom. ". . . if I were to kill you now . . ."
"Would you?" Drakja queried, taking a step towards his rival. Saishoja glanced at the green-eyed man in a calculated manner.
"If it would mean victory for my people,"
Drakja laughed, shaking his head. "The people of Shi, you mean?" he snorted. "You use the word 'my' when referring to them?"
"Don't start with me," Saishoja warned, his eyes flashing dangerously. Drakja shrugged, leaning back against a tree.
"Wasn't gonna . . ."
"You were so!" Saishoja trembled with rage. His fingers groped near the sword on his belt. "Get out of here! I don't want to talk to you! We will end this on the battle-field! AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE!!!"
Drakja straightened himself fiercely, fury now dancing in his eyes as well. "Don't you DARE imply such a thing!" he fumed, pointing a finger at the silver-haired general. "We are going to settle this NOW!"
Hidden unnoticed in the bushes, Garland's eyes widened. "This is unbelievable," he whispered, writing frantically on a pad of paper. "I'm baring witness to this . . .!"
Saishoja laughed coldly as his tail thrashed wildly behind him. "You want to settle this now? There is nothing to settle! We fight to the death!"
Then it happened: The Spark . . . Garland watched the second unfold, barely able to comprehend what he saw.
Saishoja turned away.
It was the coldest snub in history. Never before had such an icy wrath been projected by someone turning their back on another being. Drakja's eyes widened. But the spark soon turned to boiling rage, to burning, blistering hate.
"TO THE DEATH!"
Garland inhaled sharply. He saw the flash. The splatter. The cry.
It echoed to every cavern of the planet. Hearts ran cold at that moment. It reverberated for miles. Cities cried for reasons unknown to them. And then it was over.
Garland released a breath he had not realized he was holding. His body shuddered from the initial shock. He felt someone brush past him. A girl . . .
"Oh my god!" she screamed, crashing through the bushes. That was when the truth hit him . . .
This wasn't the end of the war . . .
It was the end of everything . . .
/Flash/
Garland clenched the aged paper in his hands tighter. He had scribbled those notes down so long ago . . . over six-hundred years ago, to be precise. Yet he did not need silly little writings to remind him of that event. The disaster . . . Could it be true, what Drakja had said? It was true - the fool hadn't noticed anything yet. But still . . .
Garland stuffed the paper back into the folder, growling. "Drakja is simply suffering from a previous dejá vu . . ." he told himself sternly, willing himself to believe it true. "He did not see anything suspicious in that bar. Nothing happened . . ."
But even as Garland spoke, he felt his usual underlying confidence fade away to nothing . . .
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"This is why you all have to listen to me!" Mr. 41 cried, throwing up his arms. "I TOLD you Dali wasn't safe! Look at it! It's in shambles!"
Vivi's children sniffled as they sat in front of the gates of Dali. They had so hoped to see the fabled windmills . . . But now they were gone . . .
Mr. 41 sighed and stared at the rubble of the once prosperous village. Something strange was DEFINITELY going on. First Mikoto vanished, then a strange black shape had appeared in the sky, now Dali was destroyed! And by people with tails! That was what spooked the black mage the most. The attackers had almost looked like super genomes . . .
"Well, look at it this way," said Mr. 41, turning back to the gloomy children. "At least we weren't hurt. The attack started seconds before we reached the gate,"
"I-I wanted to see the w-windmills . . .!" Nichio-Bi sobbed, his hat drooping down over his face. Mr. 41 sighed again.
"There's just no getting through to you kids, is there?"
Vivi's offspring just continued to sulk. Out of the blue, Mr. 41 felt a small tug on his sleeve. Glancing down, he saw Getsuyo-Bi's lamp-like eyes focused questioningly on the elder mage.
"What's wrong?" Mr. 41 queried nervously, not liking the expression on the young boy's shrouded face. Getsuyo-Bi cocked his head curiously. Mr. 41 took a step back. "What?!"
Now the other children were rising, their eyes curious as well. Mr. 41 fingered his staff anxiously. "What are you all staring at?!" he snapped. Suiyo-Bi pointed at something over Mr. 41's shoulder. The black mage whipped around, but when his eyes caught nothing, he threw down his staff in frustration.
"I don't understand!" he shouted exasperatedly. "What do you all see?!" But then he stopped. Now he saw it too. The air . . . it was . . .
Foggy . . .
"What is this . . .?" Mr. 41 whispered, stepping forward slightly. "It's not going to rain or anything . . ." his eyes widened to saucer-like proportions. "This is . . . this is Mist!"
"M-Mist . . .?" the children mumbled, glancing uneasily at each other. "There hasn't been Mist in over three years!"
"I know!" Mr. 41 gasped, staring at the thickening fog. "But . . . but this is undeniably Mist! How?!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Madeline Hebi," Drakja read off the sheet of paper. "I've heard that name before. Used to be one of the Four Terran Magicians," he glanced at Lulian over his shoulder. "What am I supposed to do with all these files?"
Lulian shrugged as they stood within Drakja's slightly cramped quarters upon the Indomitable. She was a bit disheartened by the failed attempt to capture the Summoners at Dali. After she'd gotten back from Alexandria, she hid in her quarters, afraid of getting the same treatment as her leader. The geonome was almost to sulking point, and had even forgotten to load on her mascara.
Drakja sighed. "Would you just leave if you're going to be like this?"
"YOU leave!" Lulian snapped, baring her teeth. Before she knew it, the woman had the deep red nozzle of Drakja's gun at her throat. Lulian glared at him.
"Don't you dare!" she shrieked, green eyes flaring. "If you even think about using that thing, I'll corrupt you till you kill yourself!"
Drakja blinked and slowly lowered his weapon. "You . . . know about that . . .?" he queried in confusion.
"The gun? Um, duh?"
Drakja stared at the weapon in his hands. "You could corrupt me . . .?" he whispered as if contemplating something. Lulian stuck her hands on her hip, eyebrow raised.
"What's the big deal?" she snapped. When Drakja didn't acknowledge her she smacked him across the arm. "Hello?!" Lulian waved a hand in front of his face. "It's just a stupid weapon! What are you doing?!"
Drakja brushed her away with a faraway look on his face. "Lulian . . ." he whispered. "I think . . . I think I'm starting to see Garland's motives . . ."
The female geonome snapped to immediate attention. "You have?! What is it?! What did you figure out?!" Drakja closed his eyes, sorting through the information in his head.
"That light in Garland's armor . . . It glows fiercely when Kuja transforms," he explained, recalling the situation in Gulug the first time Kuja lost control of himself. "The light is connected to the Invincible . . . And the Indomitable . . ." Drakja's brow creased thoughtfully as Lulian stared at her boss's altering expressions. "Garland told me that when Kuja's eyes turned red . . . it wasn't his ultimate power . . . his ultimate power is Trance: the second most powerful transformation any mortal can have besides Shock. But . . . Kuja can't Trance . . . At least . . . Not before . . ."
Lulian's eyes narrowed. ". . . What are you saying . . .?" she asked suspiciously. "That Garland is trying to kill Kuja for suddenly being able to Trance?"
"No!" Drakja shouted, exasperated. "Kuja didn't Trance then! And besides, he's Tranced before and Garland knows it,"
" . . . And . . . So what? The first angel of death transformed. That's a good enough motive to me,"
Drakja shook his head furiously. "No . . . Kuja DIDN'T transform . . . At least . . . not himself . . ."
Lulian leaned back against the door. " . . . That made no sense whatsoever . . ."
Drakja sighed rolling his eyes. "Don't you get it?! Garland's after something the first angel of death's got! And the Summoners, too! Remember that thing he talked about . . . the magnet thingy . . .?"
"The Theory of Planetary Magnetism?"
"Yeah . . .that. What did he say about the theory? It involved the genomes and Summoners somehow . . ."
"Beats me . . . 's in the files," Lulian pointed at the stack of papers on the desk. Drakja frowned.
"Think . . ." he whispered. "Garland hasn't been filling us in on the plan. Not even me. Yet he's equipped us with all sorts of new Terran technology," Drakja held up the red gun. "Or more specifically . . . he equipped me with THIS,"
Lulian stared at the weapon. "It IS strange . . ." she commented, scratching her head. "Why would you need it?"
Drakja hesitated. "Garland says Kuja is corrupted. Back during Terra's Second Destruction . . . and . . ." Drakja gasped so loud that Lulian jumped and clapped a hand over her heart. "That's what Garland wants from the first Angel of Death!"
Lulian blinked, then looked up in surprise. "What?! Are you kidding me?!"
"What other explanation could there be?!"
"But . . . That's . . ." now it was Lulian's turn to gasp. "Completely possible!" she pointed at Drakja's weapon. "That weapon! It can do it! Oh my god!" she looked at the gun as if in a new light. "I . . . I can't believe you're going to have to use that on a living person . . . Are you seriously going to do it?!"
Drakja frowned. "If Garland makes me . . ."
"But . . . So many . . ." Lulian whispered, shaking her head. "Wait, I thought you were mad at Garland!"
Drakja sheathed his gun and scratched his head. "Well . . . Yeah, but . . ."
Lulian groaned, sighing. "You do this every time . . . wimp," she brushed past the taller geonome and flicked a strand of highlighted hair over her shoulder. Suddenly, she felt fingers wrapping around her arm and something yanking her back.
"Drakja, what - ?"
She was silenced by his lips pressing themselves fiercely upon hers. Lulian struggled for a moment before sinking like butter into his embrace. Dangling her arms over his broad shoulders, she sank passionately into the kiss, eyes closed, a soft moan escaping her lips.
When they finally pulled apart, both of them wore equal looks of embarrassment.
"That was stupid," Lulian whispered, glancing at the floor. Drakja stared deep into her eyes.
"You're me," he mumbled, nodding. "It was stupid . . ."
There was a soft knock on the door. Drakja immediately wiped his lips furiously upon his sleeve in case any of Lulian's blood-red lipstick had come off during the kiss.
It was Dart at the door, and she was smirking. "Ooh . . ." she crooned, grinning. "Drakja and Lulian together . . . in one room . . ."
"You're stepping out of line," Drakja warned, growling. Dart rolled her eyes.
"Whatever . . . What the hell are you two doing in here?"
Drakja held up the files. "Looking over the info on Madeline Hebi. What are YOU doing here?"
Dart laughed. "Coming to tell you that Madeline Hebi left! Garland took her to the Iifa Tree about an hour ago!"
"What?! Why?!" Lulian cried. Dart shrugged.
"Guess he thought there was some sort of time press on the plan,"
"Time press?!" Drakja spluttered. "He blocked Kuja's magic! What could possibly be messing up the plans now?!"
Dart's lip twitched. "You wanna know?"
"Yeah,"
"You REALLY wanna know?"
"Dart, I command you to tell me NOW!" Drakja roared, reaching towards his whip. Dart was not fazed in the least.
"C'mere," she whispered secretively, signaling for him to draw closer. Drakja did so, and when they were nearly touching noses, she suddenly crammed a huge stack of files in his hands and leapt back, giggling.
"You've got to study those now, too!" she laughed, turning and fleeing out the door. Drakja cursed furiously at her retreating form.
"GOD DAMN IT!" he screamed, slamming the files down on a nearby table. "Curse that girl! Insubordination at its worst!"
"You forgot Ummei," Lulian mumbled.
"Oh yeah. Okay, second worst," he groaned. "I can't believe I have to study these now, too!"
"Oh, it's not so bad," Lulian said softly, opening up to the first page. "You know most of this already. And now maybe we can figure out what's going on . . ."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Garland's feet brushed the dust away from the decaying roots of Iifa. The sun shone brightly above, a faint smoke clouding the sky directly over the tree. The creature across from him was gazing at the Iifa Tree with curiosity, glowing yellow eyes wide with interest.
"So this is Iifa . . ." she whispered, tongue flickering out and tasting the air around them. Garland nodded and folded his arms over his chest.
"This is Iifa . . ." he affirmed. "Can you get inside?"
"If I burn a path through it, yeah,"
"Hmm . . ." The creature flashed Garland a toothy smile, exposing two inch- long fangs. "Do you understand your task?"
The woman nodded, patting the side of the trunk. "Piece 'o' cake . . ."
Garland's brow furrowed. "I expect Mist to be flowing from this thing within an hour. If not . . ."
"Oh ye of little faith . . ." the creature mocked, grabbing hold of two roots that were twisted around the tree and hoisting herself up. "This sounds easy . . ."
"I want that flow going to Terra. The planet is dead; can you still manage?"
The woman let out an exasperated sigh that sounded more like a hiss. "What kind of novice do you take me for?!" she snapped, hurt. "This is EASY! I'm just going to reroute the flow with my magic and open up the roots,"
Garland growled lightly. "Don't screw up . . ."
He received no answer, as she was already scaling high up into the clouds.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kuja and Zidane watched the people in the streets closely. Panic was still written all over their faces after the rumored fight in the bar. As a matter of fact, the brothers were just heading back from that. Zidane kept cursing angrily and punching a fist into his palm.
"What is your PROBLEM?!" Kuja snapped, glaring at the blonde. Zidane continued to pound his hand.
"I just can't believe we let that bastard get away!" he cried furiously. "I mean, we had him right - there!"
"No we didn't . . ." Kuja muttered. "You can never have a person that can teleport 'right there,'"
"Oh, shut up . . ."
"Zidane?!"
The two genomes looked up in time to see Garnet, flanked on either side by Beatrix and Steiner, standing at the end of the road. She was - oddly enough - back in her yellow-orange jump-suit. She even had a Tiger Racket strapped to her back.
"Dagger, what are you doing here?!" Zidane demanded angrily, running towards his fiancé. Kuja simply let out a groan and melted back into the shadows.
Garnet looked around nervously as Zidane approached. "I heard there was a fight going on nearby. What's happening?"
"It's nothing," Zidane assured the young queen, putting an arm around her shoulder. "But you shouldn't be out here with the geonomes loose. Who knows what the hell they're after,"
"Is anyone hurt?" Beatrix queried, coming up next to Zidane. Zidane shook his head hurriedly.
"No. Everyone got out of the building safe and Kuja and I managed to take care of the situation,"
An audible grunt was heard from Steiner, but no one said anything. Garnet blinked.
"Kuja? He's out here?"
Zidane glanced over his shoulder but didn't see the silver-haired sorcerer anywhere nearby. "Yeah . . . he's over there somewhere . . . You guys must've scared him off. Why? What's the problem? Still convinced he's out to kill us all?"
Garnet glanced at Beatrix. Beatrix glanced at Steiner. Steiner rolled his eyes and grunted once more. Zidane frowned.
"Is . . . somethin' goin' on that I should know about?" he queried suspiciously.
"Well, as a matter of fact . . ."
Beatrix clapped a hand down on Zidane's shoulder and sighed. "Zidane, we feel that with Kuja's present . . . situation . . . maybe he shouldn't be allowed to . . . um . . . leave the castle . . . at all . . ."
Zidane exploded immediately. "What?! Why the hell not?!"
Hidden behind a nearby restaurant, Kuja stomped a foot upon the ground with fury. "Damn it! Damn it all!"
"Now, now, Zidane," Beatrix tried to quiet the young boy down. "It's for his own good. Just listen to us . . . Are you listening?"
Zidane's teeth were grinding to dust. "I'm listening . . ."
Beatrix took a deep breath and tried to explain the situation slowly. "From what we can tell," she said. "Everything points to Kuja's isolation. He's a wanted criminal and could get hurt by people on the streets. Garland and the geonomes are obviously after him for one reason or another. And those things inside of him . . . they could hurt people. One's already dead. Let's not make it more,"
Zidane stared deep into Beatrix's visible eye. "You can't do this . . ." he whispered. "You act like he's some sort of animal!" Steiner snorted for a third time. Zidane's gaze smashed onto him. "Don't you dare!" he shouted. "That's my brother you're snorting about!" Steiner snorted again.
"Please Zidane," Garnet pleaded. "Please agree with us for once . . ."
Zidane shook his head. "I can't do that . . . I mean, to lock a person up in a castle?! What kind of people are we?!"
Beatrix bit her lip nervously. "Zidane. I really don't want to see him hurt. Kuja . . . Kuja doesn't deserve what's obviously coming . . ."
Zidane hesitated. There was a look in Beatrix's eye that he had never seen before. It was desperate if not near tears. And there was something else there . . . A look he'd only seen the general get when she looked at Steiner . . . His eyes widened as realization sunk in.
/So it's true then, what they say! She really did love Kuja before . . . God . . . If she still has feelings for him, then . . ./
"What do you say, Zidane?" Beatrix queried, staring deep into his aqua-blue eyes.
/But he held them back . . ./ Zidane thought desperately. /Kuja didn't let them come out in the bar . . ./ he opened his mouth to tell them that, when a hand clamped down on his shoulder and someone brushed past him into the group.
"Kuja . . ." Steiner growled, eyes narrowing. Garnet moved instinctively closer to her knight. Beatrix simply frowned.
"You all seem to think you know me pretty well . . ." Kuja articulated smoothly, eyes locking onto each of theirs in turn. "And you also seem to think it's okay to throw me around like a piece of garbage . . ."
"Kuja, that's not - "
The warlock raised a hand and silenced the young general. "I look at it this way," he uttered softly. "No matter what I do, I will somehow wind up confined one way or another," his eyes roved slowly onto Beatrix's. "But I want it known . . . That if I stay in the castle, I won't get persecuted like I was before,"
Garnet's mouth opened to speak, but she was suddenly silenced by a piercing shriek towards the center of the square. Beatrix sighed.
"Don't worry . . . It's just another Mist monster,"
Zidane raised an eyebrow. "A Mist monster?"
"Yeah," the general shrugged. "They've been poppin' up a lot lately. We have a team taking care of it. The monster should be dealt away with in a few minutes,"
Kuja blinked slowly and reached out an arm as if feeling the air. Softly, he brought his hand back in. Swirls of white smoke were curling around his fingers like ghosts. Kuja's eyes widened.
"M-Mist . . ." he mumbled, eyes glazing over with a faraway expression. Zidane had to catch his brother before he fell.
"Whoa . . . You alright?" he peered into Kuja's face. The warlock collapsed to his knees. He looked like he was about to be sick.
"What's wrong with him . . .?" Garnet queried, tilting her head. Kuja grabbed Zidane's sleeve and yanked on it hard. The blonde genome raised an eyebrow and started to pull back. Kuja quickly shook his head.
"Don't . . ." he rasped. "Feels like I'm . . . falling . . . Don't let go . . ."
Zidane glanced at Beatrix questioningly. She folded her arms over his chest.
"It's settled . . ." she finalized. "He stays in the castle . . ."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Mwehehehe . . . Poor Kuja. I just slaughter him, ne? Hehe. But this is just the beginning! Wait till you see what I'm going to do to him later around chapter thirty-ish (or later, more likely). As if things couldn't get any worse . . . heehee. Also . . . MEGAN STILL DOESN'T KNOW!!!!! I'm procrastinating, I know . . . I already pushed back the time when she finds out later then I had originally written it (there's a copy of this entire story written with about a three sentence summary of each scene on my computer. I keep having to mark off changes *sigh*). See . . . Things are gonna get really messy after she finds out. So I keep holding off on Kuja telling her. Also, the crew's going to be leaving Alexandria soon, so I have to hurry up. Things are going to start to get bad for the characters. Garland's actually going to start WINNING! I know, kill the author, kill the author . . .
About the manga:
Drakja's design es muy completa y bonita. Not only that, but I've finally drawn out Saishoja and the original Drakja (yes, the ORIGINAL). I basically just took Drakja and Kuja and put them in more army-like clothes. Garnet's new design is done (outfit changes and stuff). Eiko's done. Erm . . . what else? Oh! Freya's done. I'm starting work on Fratley soon. Steiner's ALMOST finished. I'm dying to get to Beatrix. After I've designed out the basics, I'm going to start sketching out small scenes for practice. I've based my style for this series on a sort of Ceres: A Celestial Legend and Inu-Yasha hybrid. Those of you who have read both are probably thinking "Impossible! They look NOTHING alike!" Well . . . I've done it ^_^ I've made both Kuja and Drakja look kind of like a cross between Tooya and Sesshoumaru. Megan comes more from Aya and Kagome. I got Eiko's proportions from Shippou (don't kill me!). So . . . that's all for now . . . R - E - A - D + R - E - V - I - E - W !_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!_!