A/N: Aha, I'm back Lol, reviews for the last chapter were so random! I had one reviewer say Garland was acting like a child, another saying he was acting like a bimbo (and the reviewer liked that!), two reviewers who both said "the end is coming" as their first sentence, another reviewer who fell off a cliff, and, of course, another saying Garland was an old fart and that I should give him a painful death and then the reviewer was going to stomp on his grave (yay!). And some were happy that Ummei finally did something. Yeah, me too, lol.
But now the fun basically ends . . . Heehee. First of all, this chapter is creepy, sad, and I may wind up dead for it. Second of all, it has a rather graphic (and disgusting) scene that I enjoyed FAR too much for my sanity to be considered stable . . . And I'm sorry this one took a little longer than the last one but that's because I WAS WORKING ON A GUEST-COMIC FOR 8-BIT THEATER!!! So if it goes up (my one-page guest-comic strip, I mean), then I'll give you guys the link (though most of you probably know it already: nuklearpower.com). crosses finger Must . . . have . . . guest-comic . . . appear . . . on . . . disturbingly . . . funny . . . website . . . (second A/N in here is a rant!)
Disclaimer: I may not own Final Fantasy, but since I own this fanfic I can do ANYTHING I WANT TO!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! kills Garland.
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"I have no feelings; I am a mere machine."
Jarvis Lorry, "A Tale of Two Cities" (Charles Dickens)
Zidane and the rest of the crew were being extremely cautious. It had all been too easy, their someday infamous escape from the dungeon. It wasn't like Garland to lock prisoners away in cells that could be opened with simple hair-clips and – to top it all off – not have a guard present in the dungeon. No, there was definitely something else going on . . .
"It's got to be another trap . . ." Garnet whimpered, staying as close to Zidane as possible. "Garland knew we'd escape . . ."
No one spoke as they crept down the dungeon hallway. Gods only knew what would await them once they crossed the threshold into the Fire Shrine.
"Z-Zidane . . . What's that . . .?" Vivi had suddenly stopped walking and had his orb-like eyes fixed anxiously upon a dark room off to the side that all had failed to notice upon entrance, imprisonment, or exit. It was like a branch of the dungeon's rocky corridor had been tucked away into a separate jail that was nearly impossible to notice in the darkness. There was a faint grunting noise coming from within and the rustle of feathers . . . The crew froze.
"I am NOT going to see what's in there," Lani crossed her arms huffily. "That could be where Garland keeps all the monsters he intended to unleash on us later . . ."
"Lani's right . . ." Beatrix was glancing warily into the dark tunnel. "We don't know how far back that thing goes . . . We'd better just . . ."
Zidane didn't hear what they'd "better just" because at that moment he felt a pressure so powerful within his mind that he nearly reeled. The thief dropped to his knees, eyes clenched tightly shut. He was fairly sure the others had rushed to his side, but he couldn't see them. There was a thunderous roaring that screamed within his head, blocking out all other sound. Zidane couldn't make out any words but he knew, deep down, that someone – or something – was trying to tell him something . . . telepathically.
/Oh!/
Zidane jumped to his feet, gasping. "Oh my god . . . No, that bastard wouldn't DARE!!!"
And before the others could stop him, Zidane had plunged into the darkness.
"Crap, where did he go?!"
Garnet clutched nervously onto Steiner. "Oh . . .! Wh-what if something attacked him?!"
The grunting and whining noises from earlier had stopped, sending the tunnel into a complete oblivion of silence besides the rushed footsteps of the crew.
"Maybe it's quiet because whatever's in there is enjoying a nice Terran thief FEAST . . .!" Eiko sobbed.
"Maybe you'd better shut up before I puke," Megan snapped. She gagged, shaking her head and looking slightly green. "Gah, we don't have time for this!"
"Damn it, Zidane . . ." Beatrix whispered. "Your brother could be cremated any minute now . . .!"
"I-is it just me or is it getting lighter?" Freya's nose twitched as she squinted into the gloom.
"It is," Fratley affirmed, frowning. "We must be near the end,"
The corridor got steadily brighter until finally, at long last, the tunnel ended. At the back was, sadly, more cells. But only one of them had anything in it and that was where the strange, eerie source of light was coming from.
Zidane was standing in front of the bars, gently patting the creature's head. The monster nuzzled him softly, whining. When the others had come up nervously behind the genome they gasped.
"It's one of the Terran silver dragons!"
Zidane closed his eyes, running his fingers through the beast's shimmering ivory feathers. It had managed to get its long neck through the bars and was growling softly as it rubbed Zidane's cheek with its muzzle. The dragon's great silver wings rustled with restlessness and agitation. Zidane kept his eyes tightly shut.
". . . It's not just any silver dragon . . . It's Kuja's. It probably came here in search of its master and got captured by Garland . . ."
"Zidane, there's nothing we can do for it . . ." Garnet looked sympathetic. "And if we don't hurry your brother's going to be officially dead,"
"I know . . ." Zidane sighed, pulling away from the beast. "But we WILL come back for it later, right?"
"Of course,"
Zidane gave the dragon another pat and then turned around, signaling for the others to follow him. Zidane hadn't felt Kuja "die" yet, so he knew they still had a little time. When Kuja really did die . . . Zidane would know. But Zidane still felt that faint life-force within himself . . . Kuja's life-force that he'd become bound to since the moment he and his brother had rescued one another in the Iifa Tree. Yes, there was still hope . . . And he hadn't sensed Mikoto's death yet, either. There was still time . . . And in this case, time was everything . . .
Now out of the tunnel, the crew stood before the doors that lead out of the dungeon. For some strange reason, no one was opening them.
"Well? Go on . . .!" Eiko stared expectantly at the others. No one moved.
"Why aren't we leaving . . .?" Steiner queried.
"Isn't it obvious?" Zidane sniffed. "There's GOT to be something on the other side . . . There's a trap, believe me,"
"Well, then we'll just have to leap the obstacles, won't we?" Fratley looked disapproving of the other's inactivity.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Beatrix shoved her way through her comrades and gripped the doors. They creaked open like a death-rattle. Then, with a great heave, the general threw them open . . .
The floor must have dropped out on the crew right then. Or at least that's what it felt like. Everything they'd expected, everything they'd known would await them on the other side . . . It was all wrong . . .
The main chamber of the Fire Shrine – so enormous in size that one could have held the Festival of the Hunt right there inside the room – seemed empty at first. No monsters, no bombs, no traps . . . Not even a geonome.
Except for one person . . .
A human-like figure stood within the center of the colossal hall. His back was to the crew, hooded and cloaked in simple beige traveling robes. The person was not moving.
"H-hello?!" Beatrix called out tentatively. There was no response.
"Who in the world IS that?!" Garnet wondered aloud. "Huh? Zidane, what's wrong?"
Zidane was shivering, his hands over his mouth as he stared, horrified, at the creature in the chamber. Garnet followed his gaze and then let out a sob of fear as well.
A silvery white tail slithered out from beneath the cloak, curling upon the floor. The thin figure turned his head slightly, revealing several strands of ivory hair drifting loosely out of the hood. The one visible eye was white and empty . . .
"K-Kuja?! But how – ?!"
Kuja didn't move from his spot. His eyes, though sightless, were locked upon the crew. Nobody knew what to do.
"This is HIGHLY unusual . . ." Steiner retorted.
"I-I thought he was dead!" Eiko looked demandingly at Zidane. "Why did Garland leave him?"
"He doesn't have a soul . . ." Zidane whispered, eyes disbelieving. "He couldn't possibly have the strength to stand in his near-death state . . ."
Zidane blinked as he felt something brush past him. He froze as Megan suddenly pushed through the crew, walking – as if in a trance – towards Kuja. There was something strange in her eyes. Like she was seeing something they weren't . . .
"M-Megan, come back here . . ." Garnet stared anxiously at the young Summoner's retreating back. Megan didn't make a move to obey the order. She kept walking . . .
Of course, Zidane found this almost as unusual as the fact that Kuja was somehow standing right there in front of them. When Garland had come to take Kuja away, Megan had shown no emotion of sadness or regret. Indeed, it seemed nothing had changed with her (and why should it have?). The only emotion other than fear she'd shown in the dungeons was desperation when they'd removed Mikoto. Though too afraid to speak to the genome, Megan had still shown that she cared for her. But Kuja . . . no, when Garland came she didn't make a sound. Megan's hatred for Kuja seemed matched only by her hatred for Garland . . . Yet here she was, walking towards the ruins of a man as if she was drawn to his very scent . . .
Kuja remained motionless, watching Megan carefully out of one blind eye. He peered over his shoulder as if scrutinizing her. Megan was clutching a fist near her chest, whimpering softly. Familiar . . . this was all so familiar . . .
/Flash/
"He's a Genome . . . and thus, has no soul . . ." So empty, the eyes of the little boy. No thoughts, no emotions . . . Not until the blood of the dragon stained his hands.
/Flash/
/Everything Demeter ever showed me . . ./ Megan thought wildly as she approached Kuja in the manner one would use to sneak past a coiled snake. /She knew this would happen . . . She wanted me to see . . . Wanted me to know . . . This was her warning . . . Only I can tell them, now . . ./
Megan was right behind Kuja. She stared up at him, fear dancing in her mahogany eyes. Kuja said nothing. A great rush of breath passed through the chamber. Then Kuja's face seemed to flash and a hideous smirk twisted and screwed up his features. Zidane reacted a second too late.
"Megan, WATCH OUT!!!"
Kuja whipped around, fierce tendrils of energy spiraling through his body. Megan cried out, the sheer power of the sorcerer knocking her to the floor. Kuja's arms were raised, a Flare Star glowing and swirling within the palms of his hands. He was baring down above her, Kuja's power crushing her body. His hood blew off, his silver hair billowing out behind him. Megan slammed her eyes shut, whimpering as she suppressed a scream of pain. Her lip was bleeding. Kuja was grinning madly. This was the end . . . The cries of the crew were drowned out in the agonizing fear of death . . . And then . . .
"Stop,"
A hush fell upon the chamber. Kuja did not hesitate or make a sound. The Flare Star vanished and the sorcerer's arms dropped limply to his sides. The winds died, Kuja's hair settled back down somewhat wildly in his eyes. Then he looked straight ahead as if suddenly deciding Megan wasn't worth his time.
Zidane clapped his hands over his mouth again, unsure of whether he was relieved or twice as frightened as before. Then he looked up to address whomever had spoken.
Garland stood at another entrance into the chamber, a small smile on his face. His arms were folded across his chest and Zidane noticed – bile rising in his throat as he did so – that the red light pulsating within Garland's armor was much brighter than before.
"Aha . . ." the Terran overlord tapped his chin thoughtfully, gazing at the unfortunate heroes. "I see you've met my latest creation . . . What do you think of him?" Garland began to walk forward, heading slowly in Kuja's direction.
"C-creation . . .?" Zidane was trying to keep his voice steady. "What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?! I-it's another replication?!"
Garland was laughing as he walked, his voice echoing and flooding the chamber. Megan stumbled to her feet as Garland approached, backing up fearfully until she hit the wall; her glasses askew.
"Replication?!" Garland burst into hysterics as if the word were some kind of joke. "Why, why in the world would I make a replication when I have a PERFECTLY stable body right here?"
He had finally reached Kuja and was standing beside him, smirking. Kuja made no motion to move away from his creator. He didn't even acknowledge the old man's presence.
"What the HELL did you do to him?!" Beatrix demanded. She was clutching her fingers into fists with unchecked fury. Garland was so HORRIBLE!!!
"Why, I made him better, of course," was Garland's simple response. "Isn't he perfect? He has all the makings of a flawless being: beauty, power . . . obedience. I could make him do anything I wanted . . ."
Kuja gazed sadly forward, his eyes seeing nothing. Garland gently lifted a strand of Kuja's hair, twisting it around his finger. "You should be grateful, Zidane . . . When I have taken your soul, you will be together with your brother . . . forever . . ."
Zidane felt like puking. That was almost exactly the same thing Drakja had said to him while trying to TAKE Zidane's soul. That was when it dawned on the thief . . . Garland had said "when I take your soul." But Zidane's soul was lost. Drakja had failed in his attempt at using the Metsubo and the cost was that Zidane's soul was fading into the Mist. Did that mean . . . Garland didn't KNOW what Drakja had done?! The statement was almost as pathetic as it was hilarious. Drakja, being the wonderful, faithful, LOYAL servant that he was, hadn't even TOLD Garland what he'd done in a feeble attempt at saving his own skin! Zidane would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious.
"Shut up," the blonde genome snapped, reaching towards his belt where the set of twin-daggers lay. "I'm gonna cut you down, Garland, I'm NOT even kidding . . ."
Garland chuckled, his eyes flickering as he watched the rest of the crew hurriedly drawing their weapons. Amarant was cracking his knuckles almost gleefully.
". . . I wouldn't do that if I were you . . ." the Terran overlord smiled secretively.
"Oh, and why the hell not?" Zidane queried, hissing. "All's fair, Garland. You screwed with me one too many times . . . Now's my payback . . ."
"Ah, indeed, all is fair!" Garland unraveled Kuja's hair from his black- gloved finger and took a step towards the crew. "You don't seem to get it yet . . . I SPARED your brother's life, Zidane! On his last breath I gave him back his pathetic, useless existence! The only thing I asked for in return was complete and utter control of him. After all, I AM the one who made him in the first place . . ."
"Do you think I give a damn?!" Zidane's teeth were bared. He was shaking with sweltering fury. "Kuja is not a PET! He's my brother, not your . . . your ANIMAL!!!"
"Oh, Zidane, you are so foolish . . ." Garland mocked. The others were fidgeting nervously. Zidane wasn't the only one that sensed a trap . . . "You do not seem to understand what I mean by my saying I gave your brother back his life,"
/Flash/
Your soul was given to you . . . Therefore, it can be taken away . . .
/Flash/
"I gave him life!" Garland cried. "And thus, I can take it back as easily as a snap of my fingers!"
"You're bluffing!" Beatrix screamed suddenly, taking a step forward. Her eye was wild with rage. "We don't believe you!"
"Speak for yourself . . ." Lani whimpered.
"Oh, so you think I'm lying, do you?" Garland queried. "Well then, I'll just have to prove myself, won't I . . ." Garland grinned. "Kuja, kill yourself,"
It happened in a flash. Before the others could react, Kuja had reached into his cloak and wrenched the Masamune from its sheathe. He brought his arm swiftly across his body and the sword across his neck. He remained unflinching, eyes empty. The blade pressed into his flesh. Zidane was crying out his name in horror. Kuja was SERIOUSLY going to kill himself! There was a trickle of blood . . . And then . . .
"Kuja, stop,"
He did. The sword slipped from Kuja's hands and hit the ground with a dull clang. Kuja stood there like an empty puppet. Invisible strings seemed to be attached to him, connecting his soulless body to Garland.
"Do you see?" the mad-man smirked. "Kuja's life rests in my hands . . . And my powers are the only things keeping that limit on his life from coming this very second. If you kill me, he will die instantly. I could even snap my fingers or break my concentration and Kuja would die . . ." Garland's eyes gleamed as he gazed upon his first Angel of Death. Kuja stared forward sadly as if he knew some injustice was being done upon him. Unfortunately, what appeared to be a miserable expression was really just an empty, emotionless countenance. Kuja wasn't "thinking" anything at all . . .
"This isn't the end, Garland!" Beatrix shouted determinedly. She seemed to find this whole thing quite irritating. "The real Kuja wouldn't do this! Something in him will disrupt your plans!"
"Hey, yeah!" Eiko yelled. "When Kuja transformed and the souls took over his body he still couldn't kill his brother! A shield went up around Zidane because Kuja was still inside there and knew the difference between right and wrong!"
". . . Well said . . ." Steiner blinked, astonished at the nine-year-old's simplistic words.
Garland laughed hysterically, not unlike a young child who has just discovered that his slice of cake is bigger than everyone else's at the party.
"There's only one . . . little . . . problem with your plan," Garland sniggered.
"Oh, and what's that?!" Lani shifted her axe. Garland grinned maniacally.
"HE DOESN'T HAVE A SOUL!!! THIS ISN'T EVEN ZIDANE'S BROTHER!!! Kuja, KILL THEM!!!"
It happened in a flash. Kuja lunged forward fiercely. Megan was the closest thing to him and he suddenly changed directions as if the scent of her fear gave him his path. She shrieked as the sorcerer slapped her out of the way and then leapt into the air, ready for the final, crushing blow.
"Don't you dare!!!" Zidane flew towards his brother, daggers raised. He slashed at Kuja and the warlock, without so much as a blink, dove out of the way and landed on all fours, skidding. Then he threw himself forward for the attack, teeth bared as if he were a vicious animal. Garland watched all this unflinchingly. He seemed to be enjoying himself. The others were coming now, weapons at the ready.
"Don't even bother!" Garland called after them. "You're only going to make matters worse for yourself!"
They weren't listening. To them, these words meant nothing. But the unfortunate crew was soon going to realize soon that Garland, the master of deception, had honed and carved this plan to perfect, marble perfection.
Kuja drove towards the crew, Masamune in hand. He pulled back the sword and made a clean, unusually precise (even for Kuja) slice in Amarant's direction. Amarant reacted swiftly, pulling back his claws. Garland sneered. He knew EXACTLY what was coming . . . Time to show those little mischief-makers exactly what trash-can they'd gotten themselves into . . .
Amarant grabbed Kuja's arm so quickly that most had blinked and missed it. Muscles trembling, he pushed Kuja's sword away from his own body, snarling. There were several "oohs" and "aahs."
"You go, Amarant!" Garnet gasped.
The bandit then used his other hand to sink his claws deep into Kuja's unsuspecting forearm. Blood squirted from the warlock's wrist, splattering across the cold, stone floor. Megan buried her face in her hands, a sob of distress escaping her lips. Eiko pretty much summed up the whole situation right then and there:
"Eew . . .!"
But Garland was still smiling. Any second now they'd realize the truth. Yes, then they'd be sorry . . . And their unrealistic confidence would probably evaporate on the spot . . .
Kuja snarled, leaning in towards Amarant. The claws were still gouged into his flesh. Amarant looked somewhat disgusted.
"What's the matter . . .?" the red-haired man queried almost nervously (if that was possible for Amarant). "Why aren't you attacking me . . .?"
Kuja smirked. It was the first emotion to caress his face since Garland had revealed him (other than his instinct-induced expressions while fighting). The smirk sent a chill over the entire Fire Shrine. Even distant geonomes, wandering about doing menial tasks as they awaited Garland's orders, sensed it. Some even stopped and sniffed the air, frowning.
/That's not Kuja smirking . . ./ Zidane realized, frozen on the spot. /He can't possibly show emotion because he's just a soulless shell . . . That smile . . . Is Garland smiling THROUGH him . . ./.
The thought was so horrible, so wretched, that it caused all present (even Amarant and Lani) to shiver. Garland was sneering at them . . . through Kuja . . .
But why?
Unfortunately, it soon became clear . . .
Kuja, still grinning, bared his teeth and then – without a SINGLE show of pain – tore his arm straight through Amarant's. Every female on the team (other than Beatrix) screamed to high holy Hell. Megan stared at Kuja's ruined arm, eyes the size of saucers.
"Oh . . . Oh my god . . ." With a gasp, the sadly phobic Summoner slumped over on the ground; passed out.
Kuja had pushed the shocked Amarant violently to the ground and was preparing some sort of magic in his hand when Garland gave an almost relieving order:
"Kuja, stop,"
Kuja blinked and his face once again became empty. His eyes clouded over and he straightened himself, unmoving and silent, tall above Amarant's defensive form. They could see Kuja's arm better now and STILL it caused them to want to retch. Rather than sliding Amarant's claws out of his flesh by pulling back, he'd simply wrenched his arm to the side, allowing the claws to nearly saw his entire arm off! Massive, gaping wounds tore through Kuja's skin, revealing bone and tissue and vein where the very innards of his arm were hanging wide open. There were even gaps in his muscle where one could see directly through Kuja's arm and out the other side.
Garland chuckled, watching the blood splashing tearfully to the floor. Then he glanced meaningfully at the crew.
"Did you like that?" he queried innocently. "Look at him, the poor, stupid thing. He's gone completely white from blood loss yet STILL he's standing. I do believe I've made my point . . ."
"Wh-what in the name of Bahamut are you trying to show us?!" Beatrix shrieked, shaking uncontrollably as she stared at Kuja.
"Don't you get it yet?!" Garland shouted, not a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I thought it was fairly obvious . . ."
"Get to the point already!" Zidane cried, his eyes stinging. Garland shrugged.
"Fine. As I just demonstrated for you all, if I tell Kuja to fight, he – will – fight. He won't STOP fighting. He will do ANYTHING he can to continue fighting, even at the cost of his own life. He can't JUDGE, do you understand that?! He can't THINK like that! So instead, he fights like a cornered animal. Even if you tore his very bowels from his belly, he would NOT stop fighting until – he – was – dead. So, basically, one of two events could transpire if you attempted to battle Kuja: one, he could die by your blade. You could simply fight him and win. Then he'd be dead. Easy. But the OTHER option is MUCH more fun to watch . . . You see, the longer you fight him, the longer you let him kill himself. As you just saw, fighting for him is suicide. He feels pain, but doesn't register it. It's there, but he ignores it. He only cares about killing EVERYTHING he sees. If you continue to fight him, you could literally EXHAUST him to death! As I said, he won't stop no matter what! Pain means nothing to him,"
"Y-you're SICK!" Garnet clapped her hands over her mouth.
"No, just bored," Garland responded honestly. "Kuja, get over here . . ."
Kuja turned around slowly and walked back towards his master like a puppet whose strings have gone lax. His head drooped and blood dribbled on the floor behind him, leaving a smeary red trail. When he had come close enough, Garland seized Kuja's chin roughly in his hand and lifted it so that he could peer into Kuja's face. He turned the warlock's head side to side, inspecting him intently, then pulled back.
"Hmm, you're fine . . ." he raised an arm and muttered some sort of white magic spell in Ancient Terran. The torn muscles and tissue of Kuja's arm began to twist and reshape, bones cracking and mending together, skin growing back over areas where skin had not even been present anymore. The gaping holes sealed and vanished. Not a scar remained on Kuja's perfect, pale flesh. Garland nodded, satisfied.
". . . Kuja . . ." Zidane whispered, staring helplessly at his brother. Garland was laughing, cupping Kuja's cheek.
"My perfect angel . . . So beautiful and fair . . . My Dark Messenger . . . the Messenger of Chaos . . . My Angel of Death. When Saishoja is mine, then I shall make you one with me as well . . . And then I will have enough power to assimilate Gaia and Terra . . . And rule them both . . ."
"You can't do this!" Freya shouted, green eyes flashing. "You'll kill us all!"
"Precisely!" Garland exclaimed. "I'm glad you see what I'm aiming for, then!" He turned to address his new-found slave. "You know, Kuja, you caused some AWFUL problems for me back in Alexandria . . . You battled off my geonomes, attacked one of my prized ships with one of my OTHER prized ships, and interfered in my collecting of souls. I think you owe me a great big apology for all that hassle you caused me, hmm?" Kuja stared vacantly at the floor. Garland smirked. "You are going to go with my geonomes now, fighting WITH them, not against them. And you will KILL every non-geonome creature that you come across. ANY living being that does not possess Drakja's scent will be disposed of. You will CLEANSE Gaia of its . . . of its FILTH! Do you understand?" Garland lifted Kuja's chin slightly, staring at him with an almost loving expression on his face.
Zidane was growling. "D-don't touch him!" Garland peered at Zidane amusedly.
"Oh, don't worry . . . You're next . . ."
As if in response to this threat, Zidane's knees suddenly gave out on him. He felt that lightness, like a vacuum was forming in his chest. He slumped over and clutched onto Garnet's shoulder, keeping himself standing with his eyes clenched shut as he waited for the weakness to pass. Garnet cried out but he waved her away. His time . . . His time was running out . . .
Rather unfortunately, Garland had not been watching at that moment and missed the entire spectacle. If he had seen it, it was more-than-likely he would have become suspicious and realized what Drakja had done . . . Instead, he was facing Kuja, explaining his mission to him.
"I have your Silver Dragon for you to ride," Garland intoned with the air of one who is showing a new driver the latest model of an airship. "I dare say you can still ride him," The Terran overlord snapped his fingers and a large stone wall at the back of the room churned and rumbled open, issuing a cloud of red dust into the chamber. At least six geonomes struggled inside, grasping and yanking the chains of a harnessed and extremely aggravated Silver Dragon. Kuja, who normally would have run up to his faithful companion and caressed it, only stared with about as much interest as a paper doll.
When the dragon had been forcefully subdued and half-dragged, half-kicked over to Kuja, it made a clucking noise of joy at the sight of him, stretching and rustling its wings almost gleefully. The two hadn't seen each other in over three and a half years.
"Alright Kuja, you know what you have to do . . ." Garland waved his slave away irritably and Kuja, without so much as a nod, placed his delicate hands on the nape of the dragon's neck and hoisted himself up and onto the beast's back. But upon landing on the creature, the dragon suddenly became restless and stared up at Kuja out of the corner of one eye with a wary expression.
/It knows . . ./ Zidane thought in his near-exhaustion. /The dragon knows that's not his master . . ./.
But it didn't matter. As soon as Kuja tugged the dragon's reins, the creature lumbered forward towards the open door of the Fire Shrine. Kuja vanished with it. Garland waited patiently for them to disappear beyond the threshold, then glanced, shrugging, at his nearby enemies. With a wave, he and the geonomes evaporated.
And this left the crew all alone, silent and shaking with fear . . . awaiting their own demise . . .
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Drakja was trembling as he stood in the empty room of the Fire Shrine. The chamber was almost completely undecorated. No pillars lined the walls, no pictures or words had been carved into any surfaces. Drakja had come in to check for any stray geonomes and had found none. Then a mysterious cold had overtaken him and now he was frozen to the spot, shivering."Wh-what is this feeling . . .?" the geonome rasped, hugging himself tightly. It had all come so suddenly . . .
/Flash/
"You don't understand me! You don't feel my pain!"
"No! No! Please, no!"
"How COULD you?!"
"Lick the blood from your sword, heathen! Lick it, revel in it, taste the coppery bitterness of his heart!"
"No . . . How could . . . I . . .?"
/Flash/
Drakja gasped. "S-Saishoja . . .! Come out! I know you're in here!!"
There was a great wind within the chamber. Drakja's hair billowed in his face, his trench-coat whipping wildly. The cold disappeared, replaced by a thick yet invisible fog within the chamber. Then he appeared steadily from the air, coming as if out of a mist.
"You've become very sensitive to my presence . . . Drakja . . ."
The young geonome gaped idiotically at the newcomer. If he hadn't known better, he would have said it was Kuja. But Kuja was no more. Kuja was just an empty shell under the control of his master. The real Kuja was in the form of a phantom, slowly becoming a forgotten shadow in the dungeons of the Fire Shrine. This new figure's hair was longer. The shimmering strands of silver – twined into a thick braid – brushed the floor. And no feathers sprouted from his part. But where this man – so like Kuja in appearance – should have had eyes, there was only a thick black cloth; a blindfold.
"S-Saishoja!"
"Yes, that is my name . . ." Saishoja mocked, smiling faintly as if it wasn't terribly out of the ordinary for men who have been dead for centuries to appear out of thin air in the middle of a chamber. "I must say, Drakja, you are quite a magnet for danger . . ."
"You . . .!" Drakja pointed a trembling finger at Saishoja, backing up towards the wall. "Why – ?!"
Saishoja smirked. "Yes? I'm waiting . . ."
Drakja choked. "Wh-when I was battling the second Angel of Death . . . Y- you saved me! Why?!"
Saishoja stepped lightly towards Drakja, his white robe brushing the floor. The badge on his chest flashed, the same pitch-fork symbol as Drakja's, whose was turned upside-down and in the opposite direction of his enemy's.
". . . You are a fool . . ." was all the phantom said. "You think you are something special . . . You think you have free reign to prance around wherever you want . . . But you have a job to do, my dear Drakja. And I'm not going to let you die until you've done it . . ."
"Wh-what's that . . .?"
"Where is Kuja's soul?"
Drakja gulped, noting that Saishoja's previously light-hearted tone had become ominous. "Wh-why should I tell you?!"
Saishoja vanished and reappeared directly in front of Drakja with a snap. "You will tell me now,"
Drakja knew he was in trouble. If this actually WERE Kuja, he could have just whipped out a weapon and turned the man into mincemeat. But this was SAISHOJA. Saishoja was just a soul; a spirit. And there was nothing you could do to them . . .
"H-he's being held by Garland . . . And you can't have him!"
"Oh, but I can . . ." Saishoja whispered, moving in real close to Drakja. Though his eyes were shrouded by black cloth, Drakja could feel Saishoja's blind gaze piercing him through the folds. "You see, my dear Drakja, the thing that you don't understand is: Kuja's soul belongs to me . . . By all rights . . . it's mine . . ."
"Wh-what? How?!"
Saishoja grasped Drakja suddenly by the chin, moving in so close that they were nose to nose. "Drakja . . . I'm not here to kill you . . . I don't WANT to kill you . . . Seeing your blood-strewn corpse would not please me, only make me sick. The only one here who's going to die is Garland . . . What he did to me – to us – is unforgivable. He took it away from me . . . And I'm not going to rest until I have it back . . . I don't care whether it is by my hand or someone else's . . . Garland will DIE before this little . . . rendezvous . . . is over," Saishoja's voice had become lethally sharp. "I rescued you because YOU would have rescued ME . . . at least, one upon a time . . . I don't want you to be killed. The only one that I want to see dead is Garland . . . And believe me, I will make SURE it happens . . ."
He brushed Drakja's cheek with his own as if nuzzling him affectionately (perhaps even lovingly). Drakja noticed that for a dead-man, Saishoja was frighteningly warm. And then the spirit was gone, leaving Drakja with only his thoughts and his fears to sustain him . . .
A/N: Okay, I like Saishoja. I typically don't like original characters in fanfictions (which is why I made sure my story centered around the characters of Final Fantasy IX) but I can't help but love Saishoja. He's so . . . I dunno . . . otherworldly. I mean, he's blind but can see (through a blind-fold, even!), he's dead but still roaming, he can walk through walls, talk to dragons, has REALLY long hair, he's good at swords and magic, and on top of all that he has HIGHLY impressive morals (he's doesn't even want to kill Drakja!). He's nifty Ah, and the plot continues to thicken, ne? There's something Garland took from Saishoja that's keeping him rooted on Gaia . . . what could it be? glances significantly at Kuja88 hoping he/she is catching onto the plot (though I don't expect ANYONE to figure this out) Okay, it's decided. Garland needs a lobotomy. Or a head transplant. Or just a good dose of STAB TIME!!! What a jerk! How dare he! Of course, I had nothing to do with this . . . glances around nervously
Okay, time to rant First order of business. I saw "Van Helsing." Okay, I don't care who liked it and who didn't, I'm HIGHLY recommending the movie RIGHT NOW! Okay, so the graphics weren't a master-piece . . . WHO CARES?! Whoever played Dracula was AMAZING!!! If you haven't seen the movie, I am telling you to go see it RIGHT – NOW!
Next ginormous (shut up, I'm telling you I've been reading too much 8-Bit Theater) bit of info:
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE NEW IMAGES FROM "FINAL FANTASY VII: ADVENT CHILDREN" YET THEN YOU – SHOULD – BE – A – SHAMED – OF – YOUR – SELF! New images were just released on adventchildren.net of NEW CHARACTERS!!! First off, we now are almost positive we know the names of the three new silver- haired guys: Loz seems to be the short-haired one that does the cool Matrix- style fighting, Kadaj would be the first one with the shoulder-length hair and the WORLD'S COOLEST GREEN EYES (he's a Sephiroth clone, let's face it all you "Sephiroth has nothing to do with the story" peoples) and Yazoo is the one with the REALLY long silver hair and the gun that looks like Kuja (the more feminine of the three and, thus, my personal favorite). Characters that we can now see are Tifa doing her classic high-kick (and still with the world's largest Gongagas I have ever seen, lol), a shot of Yuffie looking very young and adorable, the backs of Reno's and Rude's heads (yay, the Turks are gonna be in the movie!!!), some new footage of Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo (if those really are their names) and . . . and . . . oh, god, I can't say it! I almost hyperventilated when I saw it dies . . . VINCENT VALENTINE'S NAME HAS BEEN CONFIRMED AND THEY HAD A FULL CLOSE-UP OF HIS FAAAAAAAAACE!!! screams He has the most gorgeous god damn red eyes, the bandana, the hair, and . . . and . . . and . . . and . . . HE'S SO FUCKING PARDON MY FRENCH HOT!!! keels over GO CHECK OUT THE PICTURES, DAMN IT!!!
Okay, I'm done sweatdrop
Oh, and my dad was reading this and all the sudden he made this sudden noise that kinda reminded me of a squirrel getting run over by a car. I asked him what the heck happened and he said "I can't believe that guy tore his arm straight through those claws!" Then I laughed . . . Heehee.