Gomen.... Where have I been? The simple answer: Florida!
*sports sunburns to prove it* Why didn't I post a chapter? The vague, evasive
answer: It proved difficult. Okay, okay... I know I haven't been on schedule
since I got out of school. Weird, eh? Well, honestly, my class schedules are
what helped me get a chapter a week! Being busy helped me plan in time to
write! Now I'm just randomly playing video games, watching anime, hanging
with friends, visiting relatives... I literally FORGET to write my chapters.
-.- So yeah. No excuse, really. I shall endevour to get back on schedule...
Okay, y'all who wanted to know what's happened to Zidane? (and everybody else)
~Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hoku hoku to kasunde kuru-wa donata kana
{A sound, a sound and that coming out of the mist is who, I wonder.}
(a haiku by Issa, translated by myself)
Space slipped past as though time had upped its pace. Or maybe time had stopped. There was little way to tell. The bridge was so silent that Zidane could hear his own blood pulsing past his ears. His eyelids slid up slowly, and after a quick glance about the place, he allowed himself again to breath. There was no doubt about it: something else was on this ship. Something alive.
Zidane had never been faint of heart. Even now, the primary emotion he felt was annoyance with whatever it was that was causing his ship to malfunction and with himself for not noticing it earlier. However, he couldn't ignore the uneasiness he felt somewhere deep inside of him. Minutes ticked by without anyone bothering to count them. A drifting piece of space rock shattered as it came into contact with the Impossible's indestructible outer shield. Heaving a sigh, Zidane wiped his hands on his pant legs and took a defiant stance at the center of the bridge.
"All right, you!" he called out as loud as he could. "I know you're interfering with my ship! Stop it immediately!" For a split-second, the ship buzzed. Zidane concentrated into the silence that followed. Whatever it was, he had disturbed it. Zidane growled as he concluded that it was ignoring him. He didn't want to try attacking the inside of the ship, so he tried shouting again. "I said enough of this! Your game's up! Making me any madder won't make things better for you!"
Halfway through this last sentence, the being had moved. Zidane's knees fused solid as he felt the alien presence move through the ship, towards the bridge. His heart quickened its pace again with each inch the thing gained in his direction. By and by, it came to a rest just beyond the bridge.
"It figures," said a voice that wasn't really heard by Zidane's ears, but rather by a resonance behind them. "Precisely when I finally decide that your pathetic senses were incapable of noticing me..."
"Who are you?" Zidane interrupted.
"I've no name, breed, specie nor anything else I might attach to myself for your purposes," the voice responded eerily. "But that I exist should be more than enough for you."
"Show yourself!" Zidane called back boldly. "If you can," he added, more softly.
"And if I can't?" the voice mocked.
"Then wait for me to think of an achievable equivalent," Zidane suggested, trying to hide the waver in his voice.
"Sounds as if that would take a while," the voice sighed. "I favor showing myself, although I know not what effect this may have on you."
"Whatever," Zidane grit his teeth, not quite knowing what to do and much less what to expect.
It came through the wall. It didn't appear to have much of a shape, but Zidane's eyes registered some light and shadow from the creature, and determined that it had a body twice as big as his own. The near-black anti-presence came towards him, showing that it had limbs of sorts by its movement. Then its eyes opened, squares of a glaring yellowish orange.
"You're an odd-looking little thing," it said.
"Uh…okay," Zidane blinked twice, and turned his head at an angle to see if he could get a better look at his intruder. "I might say the same for you." He took a step towards it and peered up at the eyes, wondering if that was where its head was.
"You're not afraid?" it seemed surprised.
"Should I be?" Zidane shrugged. "Maybe you should be afraid of me."
"I have no reason to fear you," it said as its eyes suddenly sank to be even with his own. "But I was under the impression that your kind was simple-minded and feared anything they didn't understand."
"Who told you that?" the Terran ambassador raised his eyebrow.
"My maker," it responded.
"Who's your maker?" he asked, trying not to sound surprised or too interested.
"Who was yours?" the thing shot back.
"Garland," he answered contemplatively, "but—"
"And what happened to him?"
"Well…" Zidane's hand slid up to scratch the back of his neck as he tried to think of a way to explain what had happened to the man who had attempted to assimilate Gaia into Terra.
"That is the precise reason that I am not to know who created me," the creature finished.
"You're just spiting me," Zidane frowned.
"Perhaps."
"Then maybe you might just want to come out with the real answer," he growled in annoyance.
"Are you threatening me?"
"Perhaps," Zidane smirked. Then the creature began to laugh, or rather, make an equivalent sound. Zidane really didn't appreciate this, as it made him feel even more uneasy. "What?"
"You threatening me? That is a laugh."
"Apparently," he responded darkly. "Though I must admit, I can't tell why."
"Because I was created to deal with you," it answered. "You are powerless to stop me."
"I…see," he stammered, thoroughly taken aback. It does seem to know a lot about me…
"Do you now?" it mocked again.
"Probably not," Zidane admitted, taking a step back. Maybe I'm dreaming? he wondered.
"Shall I show you?" the creature asked, sinking through the floor.
"My guess is you've begun to without my consent," Zidane remarked nervously.
"Precisely," the thing chortled, from behind him. He forced himself to turn around slowly, trying to ignore the fact that his mouth had run dry. It sat crouched, somewhat, with the squarish eyes peering level into his.
"That's it?" Zidane asked. "You can sink through floors, so I am powerless to stop you?"
"You have a foolish mind."
"Thanks," Zidane grunted.
"Allow me to clarify your lack of power," the thing continued, and thrust its limb through Zidane's chest. The Terran stood stock still for a while, feeling his heart beat around a foreign presence within his body.
"Are you real?" the tremulous question seeped through Zidane's teeth.
"No more than you are," it responded. Zidane then lifted his eyes from the nearly invisible member at his chest to the equally invisible body before him and taking a breath—and feeling the creature's limb inquisitively spread through his filling lungs, he reached his own arm into the mass before him, and recoiled as he felt its organs move about his hand.
"I'm officially freaked out now," he said with a weak laugh as he withdrew out of the thing's grasp, clutching at his crawling skin. "Don't do that again," he added. It said nothing; it merely loomed over him as it…stood up. Zidane happened to glance past it and noticed that the systems of the Impossible were reading "stand-by" rather than "normal" as they had earlier. Immediately, he darted for the controls, and the ship responded, slowing on its path and making to turn around. However, the creature's limbs extended through his and into the controls, and the ship no longer responded to him.
"You see?" the thing asked, sounding quite pleased with itself.
"Yes," Zidane nodded begrudgingly, stepping away from it. "You obviously have more control over this situation than I do." As he said this, he attempted to assess the creature's energies, wondering if he might be able to attack it with dyne. This answer he couldn't tell, and similarly could not tell how the thing might respond to being attacked if it were not harmed. Time to lay on the diplomatic skills, Zidane sighed. "What do you want?"
"Merely to spend eternity flying amongst the stars," it answered.
"So you want my ship then, eh?" Zidane scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"I wouldn't last long without it," it replied, "so yes." Taking note that the creature had admitted that it was not suited for space alone, Zidane tried to strike a deal.
"Well, I merely want to return to my wife and children," he said. "So if you would just drop me off on the planet Gaia, you can keep the ship for all eternity."
"I cannot do that."
"Why not?" Zidane tried to keep a friendly tone in his voice. "You're flying the thing better than me at the moment."
"My maker gave me strict instructions not to let you go back to the planet," it answered, "and if I failed, he would destroy me."
"Oh," Zidane replied. "So you can but you won't. So who is this maker that hates me so much?"
"I am not to say," it answered flatly. "I believe I've told you this."
"So your maker fears me," Zidane deducted, "so much that he refuses to tell me who he is?"
"Yes," it said plainly. "I believe that is the case."
"So can you trust my strength over his?" Zidane asked suddenly.
"Of course," it responded again. "But then I trust his over mine. It's like rock-paper-scissors. You cancel him out, he cancels me out, and I you."
"Only as long as we're in this position," Zidane muttered.
"You'd mess with such a perfect balance?" it asked moving past him, mockingly brushing itself through his arm.
"Tell me," Zidane smirked. "Is it truly perfect balance if I can mess with it?"
"I suppose you'll eventually find out," it snubbed him as an answer and disappeared through the floor.
"You'd better believe it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next chapter: more politics and stuff. When? Dunno.... my bros are at camp this week, so Saturday is actually a good bet, due to peace and quiet.
Okay, y'all who wanted to know what's happened to Zidane? (and everybody else)
~Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hoku hoku to kasunde kuru-wa donata kana
{A sound, a sound and that coming out of the mist is who, I wonder.}
(a haiku by Issa, translated by myself)
Space slipped past as though time had upped its pace. Or maybe time had stopped. There was little way to tell. The bridge was so silent that Zidane could hear his own blood pulsing past his ears. His eyelids slid up slowly, and after a quick glance about the place, he allowed himself again to breath. There was no doubt about it: something else was on this ship. Something alive.
Zidane had never been faint of heart. Even now, the primary emotion he felt was annoyance with whatever it was that was causing his ship to malfunction and with himself for not noticing it earlier. However, he couldn't ignore the uneasiness he felt somewhere deep inside of him. Minutes ticked by without anyone bothering to count them. A drifting piece of space rock shattered as it came into contact with the Impossible's indestructible outer shield. Heaving a sigh, Zidane wiped his hands on his pant legs and took a defiant stance at the center of the bridge.
"All right, you!" he called out as loud as he could. "I know you're interfering with my ship! Stop it immediately!" For a split-second, the ship buzzed. Zidane concentrated into the silence that followed. Whatever it was, he had disturbed it. Zidane growled as he concluded that it was ignoring him. He didn't want to try attacking the inside of the ship, so he tried shouting again. "I said enough of this! Your game's up! Making me any madder won't make things better for you!"
Halfway through this last sentence, the being had moved. Zidane's knees fused solid as he felt the alien presence move through the ship, towards the bridge. His heart quickened its pace again with each inch the thing gained in his direction. By and by, it came to a rest just beyond the bridge.
"It figures," said a voice that wasn't really heard by Zidane's ears, but rather by a resonance behind them. "Precisely when I finally decide that your pathetic senses were incapable of noticing me..."
"Who are you?" Zidane interrupted.
"I've no name, breed, specie nor anything else I might attach to myself for your purposes," the voice responded eerily. "But that I exist should be more than enough for you."
"Show yourself!" Zidane called back boldly. "If you can," he added, more softly.
"And if I can't?" the voice mocked.
"Then wait for me to think of an achievable equivalent," Zidane suggested, trying to hide the waver in his voice.
"Sounds as if that would take a while," the voice sighed. "I favor showing myself, although I know not what effect this may have on you."
"Whatever," Zidane grit his teeth, not quite knowing what to do and much less what to expect.
It came through the wall. It didn't appear to have much of a shape, but Zidane's eyes registered some light and shadow from the creature, and determined that it had a body twice as big as his own. The near-black anti-presence came towards him, showing that it had limbs of sorts by its movement. Then its eyes opened, squares of a glaring yellowish orange.
"You're an odd-looking little thing," it said.
"Uh…okay," Zidane blinked twice, and turned his head at an angle to see if he could get a better look at his intruder. "I might say the same for you." He took a step towards it and peered up at the eyes, wondering if that was where its head was.
"You're not afraid?" it seemed surprised.
"Should I be?" Zidane shrugged. "Maybe you should be afraid of me."
"I have no reason to fear you," it said as its eyes suddenly sank to be even with his own. "But I was under the impression that your kind was simple-minded and feared anything they didn't understand."
"Who told you that?" the Terran ambassador raised his eyebrow.
"My maker," it responded.
"Who's your maker?" he asked, trying not to sound surprised or too interested.
"Who was yours?" the thing shot back.
"Garland," he answered contemplatively, "but—"
"And what happened to him?"
"Well…" Zidane's hand slid up to scratch the back of his neck as he tried to think of a way to explain what had happened to the man who had attempted to assimilate Gaia into Terra.
"That is the precise reason that I am not to know who created me," the creature finished.
"You're just spiting me," Zidane frowned.
"Perhaps."
"Then maybe you might just want to come out with the real answer," he growled in annoyance.
"Are you threatening me?"
"Perhaps," Zidane smirked. Then the creature began to laugh, or rather, make an equivalent sound. Zidane really didn't appreciate this, as it made him feel even more uneasy. "What?"
"You threatening me? That is a laugh."
"Apparently," he responded darkly. "Though I must admit, I can't tell why."
"Because I was created to deal with you," it answered. "You are powerless to stop me."
"I…see," he stammered, thoroughly taken aback. It does seem to know a lot about me…
"Do you now?" it mocked again.
"Probably not," Zidane admitted, taking a step back. Maybe I'm dreaming? he wondered.
"Shall I show you?" the creature asked, sinking through the floor.
"My guess is you've begun to without my consent," Zidane remarked nervously.
"Precisely," the thing chortled, from behind him. He forced himself to turn around slowly, trying to ignore the fact that his mouth had run dry. It sat crouched, somewhat, with the squarish eyes peering level into his.
"That's it?" Zidane asked. "You can sink through floors, so I am powerless to stop you?"
"You have a foolish mind."
"Thanks," Zidane grunted.
"Allow me to clarify your lack of power," the thing continued, and thrust its limb through Zidane's chest. The Terran stood stock still for a while, feeling his heart beat around a foreign presence within his body.
"Are you real?" the tremulous question seeped through Zidane's teeth.
"No more than you are," it responded. Zidane then lifted his eyes from the nearly invisible member at his chest to the equally invisible body before him and taking a breath—and feeling the creature's limb inquisitively spread through his filling lungs, he reached his own arm into the mass before him, and recoiled as he felt its organs move about his hand.
"I'm officially freaked out now," he said with a weak laugh as he withdrew out of the thing's grasp, clutching at his crawling skin. "Don't do that again," he added. It said nothing; it merely loomed over him as it…stood up. Zidane happened to glance past it and noticed that the systems of the Impossible were reading "stand-by" rather than "normal" as they had earlier. Immediately, he darted for the controls, and the ship responded, slowing on its path and making to turn around. However, the creature's limbs extended through his and into the controls, and the ship no longer responded to him.
"You see?" the thing asked, sounding quite pleased with itself.
"Yes," Zidane nodded begrudgingly, stepping away from it. "You obviously have more control over this situation than I do." As he said this, he attempted to assess the creature's energies, wondering if he might be able to attack it with dyne. This answer he couldn't tell, and similarly could not tell how the thing might respond to being attacked if it were not harmed. Time to lay on the diplomatic skills, Zidane sighed. "What do you want?"
"Merely to spend eternity flying amongst the stars," it answered.
"So you want my ship then, eh?" Zidane scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"I wouldn't last long without it," it replied, "so yes." Taking note that the creature had admitted that it was not suited for space alone, Zidane tried to strike a deal.
"Well, I merely want to return to my wife and children," he said. "So if you would just drop me off on the planet Gaia, you can keep the ship for all eternity."
"I cannot do that."
"Why not?" Zidane tried to keep a friendly tone in his voice. "You're flying the thing better than me at the moment."
"My maker gave me strict instructions not to let you go back to the planet," it answered, "and if I failed, he would destroy me."
"Oh," Zidane replied. "So you can but you won't. So who is this maker that hates me so much?"
"I am not to say," it answered flatly. "I believe I've told you this."
"So your maker fears me," Zidane deducted, "so much that he refuses to tell me who he is?"
"Yes," it said plainly. "I believe that is the case."
"So can you trust my strength over his?" Zidane asked suddenly.
"Of course," it responded again. "But then I trust his over mine. It's like rock-paper-scissors. You cancel him out, he cancels me out, and I you."
"Only as long as we're in this position," Zidane muttered.
"You'd mess with such a perfect balance?" it asked moving past him, mockingly brushing itself through his arm.
"Tell me," Zidane smirked. "Is it truly perfect balance if I can mess with it?"
"I suppose you'll eventually find out," it snubbed him as an answer and disappeared through the floor.
"You'd better believe it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next chapter: more politics and stuff. When? Dunno.... my bros are at camp this week, so Saturday is actually a good bet, due to peace and quiet.