Deception?
Pilotslover
Chapter 7 - Attack of an innocent
Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX and all it's related places, people etc, I wish I did. I won't be making any profit from this work, again, I wish I did, I need the cash.
Feedback replies:
La Llama: So you're a Kuja fan, I think there's more Kuja then you could shake a stick at in this story. Hehe.
Gelendra: Thank you very very much, I'm so glad that you are enjoying this. There's still quite a bit more for you to read, I hope you continue to read and enjoy it!
Rifa: The Fire scene was played down for a reason, that reason being a later chapter, infact, it'll be in the next chapter.
DDD
"Vivi, one of the boys has been hurt,"
Startling Vivi, the guard did not seem at all surprised when the mage fell over; Vivi was quickly on his feet again, brushing down the front of his trousers quickly. "Where?!" He snapped, more out of worry then anything else. "Take me to him now,"
"Of course sir, Kuja was also badly wounded."
"I don't give a Mu's ass about Kuja,"
Valian ran after his father, tears in his eyes at the idea of losing one of his brothers. Smoke, charred fur and flesh and the unmistakable scent of magic littered the air, a worrying bouquet. The guard who had been sent to fetch Vivi held open the door for him and the mage rushed to the small prone body on a bed. "Oh no, Turo," He dropped to his knees besides the bed. "Turo, please wake up,"
Dr. Tot moved from a bed nearby, blood on the front of his white doctor's robe. "He's just in shock I think, he doesn't seem to be hurt at all." The academic told him, Nicara was standing to one side in silence, eyes on his brother. "Thanks to Kuja,"
"Kuja?"
"He defended Turo from the blast; he's quite the hero of the moment,"
Feeling very guilty about the lack of concern he had shown before, Vivi moved to Kuja's bedside. "I - Is he gonna be okay?" Valian asked softly, not moving from where he was seated on the bed that housed his brother; he did not like blood and there seemed to be enough of it.
"I have healed his wounds but he'll still have to contend with phantom limb syndrome."
"Why phantom limb syndrome?"
Vivi knew of the condition, whereby someone who had lost a limb felt that it was still there, but he did not see how it related to Kuja. "In defending Turo, the blast caught Kuja's back end, more specifically his tail; I had to remove a little over half of it."
"Who did it?"
Anger bit into Vivi's tones like a crazed beast; realising his anger, Tot took the boy by one arm. "Kuja said something about a forgotten side he didn't want before he lost consciousness, but that's all I know." He did not let go of Vivi's arm, "Listen to me Vivi, you aren't to go after him alone." He looked imploringly into Vivi's eyes but saw only paternal care and concern; he would not allow this impostor to get away with hurting his son. Tot grabbed hold of his other arm, "Orunitia, I want your word that you will not go after this man alone."
Desperate yellow eyes flickered to the prone body of his son, he knew Turo was hurt, there was no way he could be unconscious without being injured somehow. "I won't go after him alone," He pulled himself free of Tot's grasp and moved to Turo's side. "Turo, I don't understand, why are you like this?" He asked in a whisper, one hand on the boys arm. Blood stained one side of the little blue coat but Vivi knew the blood was the wrong shade of red to be Turo's. "Please come back to me, Turo."
There was a weak spluttering cough from the other bed and Kuja groaned in his throat. "Slowly Kuja," Tot warned, moving quickly to his side. "Don't force yourself up too quickly." He helped the wounded Genome to sit up, "You need to take the time to gather your strength."
"How is the boy?"
"He's fine,"
Kuja sighed in relief, his blue eyes going to the boy and they widened slightly. "Please tell me that he only sleeps," A panic entered both Kuja's voice and his eyes; in reply, Vivi shook his head mutely. "My counterpart muttered an incantation, before I could block it out entirely it managed to enter our minds. Turo just stood there blankly, it reminded me of something but I'm not sure what." Kuja shook his head, in part disgusted by his lost memories. "Then he started to cast a Flare spell, I threw myself into Turo to get him out of the way." Slowly his eyes went to his tail and he nodded slightly, "I knew it had gone, something told me it had."
Turo's eyes fell open and suddenly Vivi realised what had happened to the boy; the listless yellow eyes watched him without seeing him and not even a flicker of recognition was clear in them, he had seen the same look before. "H - He's like one of the Golem's," A deep sorrow made itself clear in Vivi's voice as he spoke, his young mind reliving some of the atrocities Golem Mages had committed under Brahne's control. Kuja thought for a while, in part he remembered creating them and Zidane had told him about his part in the war, so he knew what Vivi was talking about. "The spell, how did it go?" The Human Black Mage asked, turning to face Kuja. "Maybe it can be reversed."
"I'll write what I can remember down, if my memory is telling me the right thing then it's best to avoid to speaking it around the boys. It reminds me of a control spell … but that's all I remember, sorry."
"It's not your fault, thanks for saving Turo."
Kuja ducked his gaze, "I wasn't in time, the flare spell was nothing, the damage had already been done." He took up a quill pen and sheet of paper, his neat, highly italicised flowing onto the page. "That's all he said, I think my presence startled him somewhat."
Vivi took the sheet of paper from him;
'Viet Da Quosi, Dyumi ug lvecuz. Cu da zoyy …'
"I - I think I know these words,"
DDD
The castle was uneasy after the attack on Turo; no body, not even the palace guard wanted to be alone at all. Zidane found Vivi and Valian in one of the small side chambers, they had been reading a book together, both seemed to be trying hard not to show the other how upset and worried they were. "Hey Vivi," Zidane started, he had been meaning to speak to Vivi since he had arrived in the castle but so much had happened since. "Nic, Tot and Kuja are working on a translation, it's gonna take them a while, Turo's with them so Tot can keep an eye on him."
"The words, they're a variant of basic spell casting," Vivi told the Genome, opening a hand. "Sudi pu di, p'vi goti zop'vom." A light glowed in his palm. "Fire," The light grew into a spell, Vivi closed his fingers around it, snuffing out the spell. "The way the words are spoken depends on the caster," He looked to Zidane, "The spell wasn't finished, the final key word must be spoken but only the caster can do it." Zidane nodded, what Vivi was telling him made sense. "This wasn't what you wanted to talk to me about was it?" The mage guessed smartly, throughout their journey the two had gained an in-depth understanding of one another; this understanding had not diminished during the time they had been apart.
Blue/green eyes dropped to his lap as Zidane shook his head, he looked anxiously to Sola and Valian but they were giggling about something together a little way away. "I … uh …" He attempted before trailing off and he took a deep breath. "I … don't think Garnet loves me any more." He mumbled, startled by this, the spell caster looked to his friend and waited for him to go on. "She's been really different towards me, kinda snappy."
Vivi sighed slightly, "Zidane, I'm not really the right person to tell." He admitted with an apologetic shrug of his small shoulders. "I … don't understand these kind of things," He ducked his gaze, "S - Sorry Zidane."
"I didn't tell you because I wanted your advice; I just thought you'd better know."
"I - I don't think she doesn't love you, maybe … my coming back's changed a lot of things."
The Genome ducked his gaze, "It's good your back, Garnet's been different for a while now." He shook his head slightly, "I … I guess she's fed up with me." His tone became that of admittance, he knew that he had been a little over the top in his flirtations. "I … Suppose she doesn't want me any more."
Vivi's mind still lingered on Turo and the unfinished spell; he snapped out of these thoughts feeling a little guilty that he was not listening to Zidane. He knew how much Zidane loved Garnet and despite having not seen either of them in nearly four years, Vivi recognised how unusual their lack of unity was. "She can't just stop loving you, that doesn't make any sense at all." The teenager offered all along conscious of the fact that he had no real right to be talking about love, a subject he knew nothing about. "She waited for you all that time, why would that change?"
Zidane shook his head, looking to Vivi, "I don't know." He admitted; abruptly he realised how selfish he was being in telling the already worried mage his own problems, problems that were essentially his own to deal with. "I shouldn't be telling you these things; you've got other things to worry about."
"I - I can't help Turo, I'm not smart enough, it's up to Tot, Nicara and Kuja now."
"I'm sure you're smart enough, but Tot and Nic know research."
Silence fell and Vivi's mind turned inwards; it would be foolish to assume that Turo would be the only one the impostor would try to hurt. "Vivi, I was thinking; Kuja said he distracted the spell caster right? So, the caster used a Flare spell instead; but … why bother with a flare spell? He near enough had Turo under his control." The Genome sounded a little baffled, as if these thoughts had just entered his mind. "If this guy is saying he's Kuja, if something weird is going on and this weirdo is pretending to be Kuja then he's gonna be pretty strong."
'A forgotten side he didn't want'
'Everything changed after the Iifa tree'
Vivi's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet, "That's it," He knew now who the impostor was. Zidane looked up at his friend, thinking that he was hurt or some such. "I think I know who's after me, I just need to check with Tot and Kuja." Valian, Sola and Zidane were soon on their feet too, all keen to hear Vivi's idea.
DDD
Authors Note: Now you're going to have to wait and see what it is that Vivi has worked out. Don't worry, it probably won't be a long wait. Spell casting is a language I made up for this fic, because so much in this fic revolves around this hidden arcane language. It can be translated over time, if you wanted too. However, when the fic is finished I'll add a sublimentary chapter containing the full translations if you want.
Poor Turo, I love that little guy! Hehe.
Pilotslover
Chapter 7 - Attack of an innocent
Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX and all it's related places, people etc, I wish I did. I won't be making any profit from this work, again, I wish I did, I need the cash.
Feedback replies:
La Llama: So you're a Kuja fan, I think there's more Kuja then you could shake a stick at in this story. Hehe.
Gelendra: Thank you very very much, I'm so glad that you are enjoying this. There's still quite a bit more for you to read, I hope you continue to read and enjoy it!
Rifa: The Fire scene was played down for a reason, that reason being a later chapter, infact, it'll be in the next chapter.
DDD
"Vivi, one of the boys has been hurt,"
Startling Vivi, the guard did not seem at all surprised when the mage fell over; Vivi was quickly on his feet again, brushing down the front of his trousers quickly. "Where?!" He snapped, more out of worry then anything else. "Take me to him now,"
"Of course sir, Kuja was also badly wounded."
"I don't give a Mu's ass about Kuja,"
Valian ran after his father, tears in his eyes at the idea of losing one of his brothers. Smoke, charred fur and flesh and the unmistakable scent of magic littered the air, a worrying bouquet. The guard who had been sent to fetch Vivi held open the door for him and the mage rushed to the small prone body on a bed. "Oh no, Turo," He dropped to his knees besides the bed. "Turo, please wake up,"
Dr. Tot moved from a bed nearby, blood on the front of his white doctor's robe. "He's just in shock I think, he doesn't seem to be hurt at all." The academic told him, Nicara was standing to one side in silence, eyes on his brother. "Thanks to Kuja,"
"Kuja?"
"He defended Turo from the blast; he's quite the hero of the moment,"
Feeling very guilty about the lack of concern he had shown before, Vivi moved to Kuja's bedside. "I - Is he gonna be okay?" Valian asked softly, not moving from where he was seated on the bed that housed his brother; he did not like blood and there seemed to be enough of it.
"I have healed his wounds but he'll still have to contend with phantom limb syndrome."
"Why phantom limb syndrome?"
Vivi knew of the condition, whereby someone who had lost a limb felt that it was still there, but he did not see how it related to Kuja. "In defending Turo, the blast caught Kuja's back end, more specifically his tail; I had to remove a little over half of it."
"Who did it?"
Anger bit into Vivi's tones like a crazed beast; realising his anger, Tot took the boy by one arm. "Kuja said something about a forgotten side he didn't want before he lost consciousness, but that's all I know." He did not let go of Vivi's arm, "Listen to me Vivi, you aren't to go after him alone." He looked imploringly into Vivi's eyes but saw only paternal care and concern; he would not allow this impostor to get away with hurting his son. Tot grabbed hold of his other arm, "Orunitia, I want your word that you will not go after this man alone."
Desperate yellow eyes flickered to the prone body of his son, he knew Turo was hurt, there was no way he could be unconscious without being injured somehow. "I won't go after him alone," He pulled himself free of Tot's grasp and moved to Turo's side. "Turo, I don't understand, why are you like this?" He asked in a whisper, one hand on the boys arm. Blood stained one side of the little blue coat but Vivi knew the blood was the wrong shade of red to be Turo's. "Please come back to me, Turo."
There was a weak spluttering cough from the other bed and Kuja groaned in his throat. "Slowly Kuja," Tot warned, moving quickly to his side. "Don't force yourself up too quickly." He helped the wounded Genome to sit up, "You need to take the time to gather your strength."
"How is the boy?"
"He's fine,"
Kuja sighed in relief, his blue eyes going to the boy and they widened slightly. "Please tell me that he only sleeps," A panic entered both Kuja's voice and his eyes; in reply, Vivi shook his head mutely. "My counterpart muttered an incantation, before I could block it out entirely it managed to enter our minds. Turo just stood there blankly, it reminded me of something but I'm not sure what." Kuja shook his head, in part disgusted by his lost memories. "Then he started to cast a Flare spell, I threw myself into Turo to get him out of the way." Slowly his eyes went to his tail and he nodded slightly, "I knew it had gone, something told me it had."
Turo's eyes fell open and suddenly Vivi realised what had happened to the boy; the listless yellow eyes watched him without seeing him and not even a flicker of recognition was clear in them, he had seen the same look before. "H - He's like one of the Golem's," A deep sorrow made itself clear in Vivi's voice as he spoke, his young mind reliving some of the atrocities Golem Mages had committed under Brahne's control. Kuja thought for a while, in part he remembered creating them and Zidane had told him about his part in the war, so he knew what Vivi was talking about. "The spell, how did it go?" The Human Black Mage asked, turning to face Kuja. "Maybe it can be reversed."
"I'll write what I can remember down, if my memory is telling me the right thing then it's best to avoid to speaking it around the boys. It reminds me of a control spell … but that's all I remember, sorry."
"It's not your fault, thanks for saving Turo."
Kuja ducked his gaze, "I wasn't in time, the flare spell was nothing, the damage had already been done." He took up a quill pen and sheet of paper, his neat, highly italicised flowing onto the page. "That's all he said, I think my presence startled him somewhat."
Vivi took the sheet of paper from him;
'Viet Da Quosi, Dyumi ug lvecuz. Cu da zoyy …'
"I - I think I know these words,"
DDD
The castle was uneasy after the attack on Turo; no body, not even the palace guard wanted to be alone at all. Zidane found Vivi and Valian in one of the small side chambers, they had been reading a book together, both seemed to be trying hard not to show the other how upset and worried they were. "Hey Vivi," Zidane started, he had been meaning to speak to Vivi since he had arrived in the castle but so much had happened since. "Nic, Tot and Kuja are working on a translation, it's gonna take them a while, Turo's with them so Tot can keep an eye on him."
"The words, they're a variant of basic spell casting," Vivi told the Genome, opening a hand. "Sudi pu di, p'vi goti zop'vom." A light glowed in his palm. "Fire," The light grew into a spell, Vivi closed his fingers around it, snuffing out the spell. "The way the words are spoken depends on the caster," He looked to Zidane, "The spell wasn't finished, the final key word must be spoken but only the caster can do it." Zidane nodded, what Vivi was telling him made sense. "This wasn't what you wanted to talk to me about was it?" The mage guessed smartly, throughout their journey the two had gained an in-depth understanding of one another; this understanding had not diminished during the time they had been apart.
Blue/green eyes dropped to his lap as Zidane shook his head, he looked anxiously to Sola and Valian but they were giggling about something together a little way away. "I … uh …" He attempted before trailing off and he took a deep breath. "I … don't think Garnet loves me any more." He mumbled, startled by this, the spell caster looked to his friend and waited for him to go on. "She's been really different towards me, kinda snappy."
Vivi sighed slightly, "Zidane, I'm not really the right person to tell." He admitted with an apologetic shrug of his small shoulders. "I … don't understand these kind of things," He ducked his gaze, "S - Sorry Zidane."
"I didn't tell you because I wanted your advice; I just thought you'd better know."
"I - I don't think she doesn't love you, maybe … my coming back's changed a lot of things."
The Genome ducked his gaze, "It's good your back, Garnet's been different for a while now." He shook his head slightly, "I … I guess she's fed up with me." His tone became that of admittance, he knew that he had been a little over the top in his flirtations. "I … Suppose she doesn't want me any more."
Vivi's mind still lingered on Turo and the unfinished spell; he snapped out of these thoughts feeling a little guilty that he was not listening to Zidane. He knew how much Zidane loved Garnet and despite having not seen either of them in nearly four years, Vivi recognised how unusual their lack of unity was. "She can't just stop loving you, that doesn't make any sense at all." The teenager offered all along conscious of the fact that he had no real right to be talking about love, a subject he knew nothing about. "She waited for you all that time, why would that change?"
Zidane shook his head, looking to Vivi, "I don't know." He admitted; abruptly he realised how selfish he was being in telling the already worried mage his own problems, problems that were essentially his own to deal with. "I shouldn't be telling you these things; you've got other things to worry about."
"I - I can't help Turo, I'm not smart enough, it's up to Tot, Nicara and Kuja now."
"I'm sure you're smart enough, but Tot and Nic know research."
Silence fell and Vivi's mind turned inwards; it would be foolish to assume that Turo would be the only one the impostor would try to hurt. "Vivi, I was thinking; Kuja said he distracted the spell caster right? So, the caster used a Flare spell instead; but … why bother with a flare spell? He near enough had Turo under his control." The Genome sounded a little baffled, as if these thoughts had just entered his mind. "If this guy is saying he's Kuja, if something weird is going on and this weirdo is pretending to be Kuja then he's gonna be pretty strong."
'A forgotten side he didn't want'
'Everything changed after the Iifa tree'
Vivi's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet, "That's it," He knew now who the impostor was. Zidane looked up at his friend, thinking that he was hurt or some such. "I think I know who's after me, I just need to check with Tot and Kuja." Valian, Sola and Zidane were soon on their feet too, all keen to hear Vivi's idea.
DDD
Authors Note: Now you're going to have to wait and see what it is that Vivi has worked out. Don't worry, it probably won't be a long wait. Spell casting is a language I made up for this fic, because so much in this fic revolves around this hidden arcane language. It can be translated over time, if you wanted too. However, when the fic is finished I'll add a sublimentary chapter containing the full translations if you want.
Poor Turo, I love that little guy! Hehe.