Time elapsed, 2 months

The cool night air teased his cheeks. The feeling soothed his soul after two months of emotional upheaval. The air tasted of sand and the flowers in the protected gardens beneath him, he knew, if he opened his eyes, the night sky would spread like an unbroken quilt of bright stars above him. He felt peaceful…..and content, for the first time in a long time. 'All that time, I thought the shell was for my protection….and yet it always left me feeling so alone,' he thought.

His ears twitched, shaking him out of his thoughts, a small smile appeared on his lips. "You know, you can't walk quietly to save your life," he informed the person who'd be trying to sneak up on him.

"You cheat," The person complained, plopping down next to him with a huff.

"Admit it, Zidane, I'm just better then you are," Kuja said with a chuckle, opening his eyes to glance at his younger brother. There was still a slight tension between them, one only they would notice, but they otherwise were relaxed in each other's presence.

"Never," Zidane replied with a shake of his head, pretending to be insulted by the very thought, but his smile kept the pose from being very effective.

For a moment, the brothers remained on the roof in companionable silence, one sitting, the other lying down, and both watching the stars.

"What do you think is happening up there?" Zidane asked, looking at the sky.

Kuja shrugged, not really caring. Though there was a glimmer in his heart that he might call affection for his brother, he felt nothing but disdain for his friends.

Zidane rubbed his shoulder, the tip of his tail twitching uncertainly. "I'm just worried about them," he admitted. "I don't want think of what Garland might have done to them."

Kuja snorted softly. "He won't kill them, if that's what you're worried about. The two girls are far too useful to him," he commented, studying the stars and wishing for a different topic. His heart tugged in his chest, in an emotion he was having trouble pinning down. Guilt perhaps or maybe jealousy that Zidane was worried about his friends, or perhaps fear that if Zidane went back to them he'd forget about him.

Zidane changed the subject, perhaps sensing his brother's dislike for the current one, or wanting to escape it himself. "I wonder what the stars think," he murmured.

Kuja snorted again, this time in amusement. "Stars don't think, they're just balls of gas," he retorted.

Zidane gasped "You never told me you were a star!" he exclaimed.

Kuja growled, kicking out.

Zidane yelped, sliding a bit down the roof to nurse his injured leg. "Well, they're pretty, anyway, whatever they are,"

Kuja grunted softly in agreement, deciding it would take too much effort to pursue.

The silence once again fell on the roof, comfortable and warm.

"Kuja....Do you ever think about how things could have been?" Zidane asked, breaking the silence, his tone wistful.

Kuja turned his head to look at the younger boy, studying his face. "All the time," he answered after a moment, which wasn't what he had meant to say at all.

"Me too....Sometimes....sometimes I wish they were," Zidane stated his voice somewhat dreamy.

"What, living in the same house, getting into fights over who's turn it is to take out the trash?" Kuja asked with a slow smile.

"No, not like that," Zidane answered with a chuckle. "But, other things.....Like having a normal family."

"Normality is over rated; we'd tire of it before too long," Kuja replied. "Oh, I wish things were different, granted that, but not too different, or we might not exist."

"That's true. But it would have been nice, to have a mom and a dad like everyone else," Zidane said, tilting his head to look at his brother.

"No one trying to kill you, not being forced to kill anyone else," Kuja agreed, the words again slipping past his lips before he had time to consider them.

"Yeah, it'd be nice if things were life that," Zidane agreed, half closing his eyes.

Kuja swatted at him "Quit being so serious, you'll hurt yourself," he commanded.

Zidane rolled to the side to avoid the swat, laughing.

Kuja found himself smiling in responded, his soul lightening considerably. "You're such a weirdo......." he said, shaking his head.

"Oh, and you're the utter example of normal sanity," Zidane returned, his tone changing to mocking. "'Yes, I am the prettiest boy you ever did see. I'm so-'" his parody was thrown off by another attempted swat, causing both brothers to laugh.

"Better be careful, at this rate you may end up rolling off the roof, and then what shall I do? I'll have to nurse you back to health with two broken legs and an injured pride."

"Oh, hush," Zidane returned with a pretend pout.

"You're impossible," Kuja sighed, shaking his head in mock annoyance.

Time elapsed, 2 months, 3 weeks

The airship responded gracefully to his commands, skimming easily over the surface of Terra.

"What are all those towers?" Zidane asked, leaning over his brother's shoulder.

"Souls, or at least that's what they're supposed to be anyway." Kuja replied. "'the sleeping souls of the Terrans, awaiting a vessel to awaken in'," he quoted softly.

"That's what Garland created the Gnomes for, isn't it?" Zidane asked softly.

"And us, to prepare the way for him," Kuja agreed, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Until he tired of us, anyhow."

Zidane glanced at his brother, worry reflecting in his features. "We can go back, if you want," he offered, concern laced in his voice.

"No, Garland can't continue like this, or there will be nothing left for either of us," Kuja answered, shaking his head.

"But you don't like it here…" Zidane muttered.

"I grew up here," Kuja returned. "I think I can handle it for a few hours at least."

Zidane shook his head. "Alright, Kuja, if you say so."

"We'll set down in Bran Bal, that's as good a place as any to start, Mikato may aid us, if she feels like it. It depends on her mood, really, how this will end," Kuja said, changing the subject.

"She's...our sister?" Zidane asked, trying the words out.

Kuja laughed humorlessly. "I guess you could call her that, she's got a soul, that much I can confirm, so she's like us, she's just seriously lacking in the personality department," he answered.

"Oh boy, I'm not sure if I WANT to know what that means," Zidane commented with a smile.

"You'll meet her soon enough, she's a case, I promise you that you've NEVER met anyone like her before," Kuja said, a smile trying to form on his lips. "Your friends may be there, so be prepared, the last thing they saw of you was you being 'Abducted' by the 'Dark Warlock', they might even assume you're dead."

"Oh great, thanks, Kuja, that just made my day," Zidane answered, plopping into the second chair. "When they find out I'm NOT dead, they'll kill me."

"You sarcasm is heavy, little brother," Kuja said, sparing a glance for him.

"Thanks, I'm glad you could point that out for me," Zidane said with a sigh.

"Cheer up; they may have gone back to Gaia already," Kuja said, flipping a switch.

"No, they won't go back, not till everything they came to do is done," Zidane said softly, after a moment of thought. "And we would know if Garland was dead."

Kuja was silent for a long moment before he nodded. "We should, I've always been able to track him, we should know if he died," he whispered, hands gripping the controls a little tighter.

"Well good, I wouldn't want to come here for no reason," Zidane muttered, almost unbearable.

Kuja felt a smile form on his lips. "What, not even for your friends?" He asked.

Zidane paused, and then shook his head. "I'd rather stay with you," he answered. "We're brothers, after all."

Kuja felt some undetermined emotion grip his heart, and when he moved to speak, found a suspicious lump in his throat. And were those tears in his eyes? No, never, it couldn't be. Those words, in their simple honesty, seemed to mean more to him then everything else he had ever attempted to accomplish. "Thank you, Zidane," he murmured, so softly he could barely hear himself.

Zidane, apparently, didn't even realize the impact of those words on his brother, as he had leaned forward to look out the view port "What is that?" he suddenly breathed, causing Kuja to look as well.

"What the - Shit, it looks like he brought Pandemonium to the surface!" Kuja shouted, his eyes losing the soft look they had held moment before. "Hold on, Zidane!"

Zidane leaned back, desperately grasping the seat as the ship began to shudder as though it would simply fall apart.

T.B.C