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Kawaii Kitsune Club: Yay new reviewer! Hallo:bows: Am glad you like story!

Tc chan: thank you! I try…sometimes…hehe. Am I really that good at creating suspense:looks at Malevalla who's choking and dying due to suspense:

Beastie wolf: oo yay another fanart! Send it to me if you do one!

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed too!

By the way, I think I must've mislead a few people 'cause this chapter ISN'T the last chapter. Though the next one is I'm pretty sure!

Chapter Thirteen
"Cowards die many times before their deaths;
the valiant never taste of death but once."
- William Shakespeare

When a leaf drifts down a fast moving stream, it has no influence on where it wants to go or what it wants to do, but is at the complete mercy of the ravaging currents that toss and turn it this wayand that until it reaches an inevitable fate.

Watching the city being picked apart, piece-by-piece, as if it were constructed of nothing more than toy bricks, Kuja felt somewhat how that leaf must feel.

Encased in a bird's body sometimes Kuja pondered upon the choice of body the gods had bestowed upon him. His brother could be dying, and how was he to help in such a form?

Kuja cocked his ashen head thoughtfully. Unless…perhaps there is one way…

Ruffling his sugar-white wings Kuja caused droplets of water to spray the rooftop. Though they fell unnoticed, for the torrential rain still poured down onto the fallen city.

An explosion erupted to his east and part of the magnificent Alexandrian Castle crumbled and fell away like a wet sandcastle. The Eidolons still continued their terrifying reign of destruction as relentlessly as the rain bucketed from the sky. If Kuja were going to do something, he'd have to do it now while there was something left to save.

So the exquisite owl flapped his wings, testing the air, then took off in a flurry of feathers, just as the rooftop on which he had perched exploded from one of Ifrit's fire attacks. Unbalanced, he swerved as the flames billowed after him with fiery fingers, emerging safely from the thick smoke that choked the air in heavy clouds.

I know now what I must do, he thought soberly to himself.

He sliced through the sheets of rain, ignoring the blinding forks of lightening that streaked the darkness and wondered briefly how Zidane's compatriots were fairing. But before he could ponder it further (there was little he could have done to help them anyway), the bright, iridescent portal yawned before him like the mouth of a monstrous beast.

Kuja swooped down – a blur of white against black – and narrowly missed being wedged between the thick jaws of a leaping Cerberus. He shrieked in surprise and climbed a little higher to avoid any more of those near misses.

Without a second look back he glided through the azure window that loomed in front of him, and into a place that would appear only in nightmares.

The barren land stretched out before him; no doubt it was flat once, but now massive craters dotted its surface and a foul-smelling, black liquid oozed from fractures in the landscape. Kuja was at once aware of the deafening explosions that occurred seemingly everywhere at once. It put the owl in disarray, and he hovered there momentarily before regaining his senses.

Ascending higher into the crimson sky he spotted now a magnificent beast of both scales and fur, dominating the entire landscape with its radiance and power. By a mere glance at this fascinating creature Kuja knew it was Zidane's Eidolon: Amias. He had no idea how it had taken upon its original form but he knew he had no time to figure it out. It was all too clear that the Eidolon was summoning its final attack, one that would not only wipe out the world's inhabitants but also wipe out the entire world itself!

After taking in the bloody corpse of the former Dragon King, and the dying form of the mechanical marvel, Alexander, both of which he had once strived so hard to obtain, Kuja wheeled back around and dived a little lower.

I know he's alive! I can sense him! Kuja thought, scanning the trembling landscape. But he must be badly injured – even close to death! – for my mind cannot reach his!

But Kuja knew Zidane was intelligent enough to realise he had to escape from this world before the inevitable happened. So he circled closer to the portal, watching, watching, for his younger brother.

Another unexpected series of explosions took place – emitted from Amias – closer this time! Chunks of earth were catapulted into the scarlet sky and fell back to the ground like meteorites. The brilliant blueness of the portal seemed terribly out of place in such bleak surroundings.

And then when the dust had settled and when he was least expecting it: There he was!

Down below, no more than twenty metres from the exit to the dreadful place, lay two seemingly inanimate forms. One belonged to his brother and – much to his surprise – the other to his brother's supposedly dead wife, Queen Garnet.

Without wasting another second Kuja plunged to the ground like a crashing plane and landed smoothly on the cracked ground. A little breathless, he cried out urgently to his brother:

'Zidane! Zidane!'

The Genome probably would have jumped clean out of his skin if he had not been to overcome with fatigue. He looked up from his wife's face to the elegant visage of the owl: his saviour and brother.

'K-Kuja?' he choked out in a rasping voice. 'K-K-'

'Zidane!' Kuja repeated. 'You must leave now! You understand? Get up and get moving!'

Zidane was covered in blood, his own and his wife's. He was smeared with dirt and his shirt was no more than a few strips of material, clinging uselessly to his bloodied torso as if it too were desperate to be rescued.

His wife was no better – worse if anything. Thorns jutted from her side like rotten branches sprouting from a dead tree. Her body was slumped on the ground beside Zidane's like a discarded rag doll.

'You must go!' Kuja pleaded again.

His brother shook his head wearily. 'I…I can't…g-go on…Kuja…'

It sounded as if just coughing up those few words drained him of his energy. Though Kuja didn't need to look or listen to his brother to know he had nothing left – he could sense it. His very life force wavered and fluttered like a piece of torn ribbon in a wind.

Zidane was dying.

Yet because of this revelation, Kuja was even surer of what he had to do.

'Zidane you're going to get out, you hear me? But I have to give you something if you're to do that.'

Kuja waited until the next string of explosions were finished before he continued – so close now it made his very feathers quiver.

'The one thing the gods did not take away from me was my inner strength, my power and life force if you will. They made it so I could not use my powers, so instead they would lay dormant in me until the time came for them to be passed on. You understand what I'm saying?'

Zidane managed a nod.

'I'm going to give you my power source so you can make it out of here in one piece, alright? Are you listening?'

'B-but…wh-what…will,' the Genome wheezed, 'happen to…y-you?'

'I will die.'

Through his outer pain, an inner pain blossomed so it great it made his broken ribs seem like a grazed knee.

'No!' Zidane shouted.

'Oh quiet you silly boy, you –'

More explosions shook the ground; so close even Kuja lost his balance and fluttered his wings to stay upright. Zidane fell forward and groaned and panted as he pushed himself up to his knees again. It was only luck that meant the portal wasn't destroyed. Next time the portal and the remaining survivors would perish.

'There's no time!' Kuja shrieked. 'Zidane, this is my purpose, to aid you, to repent my sins. I am giving my life so you can live yours! What use have I now to the world in this useless form? With my strength you can escape and save not only yourself, but your wife too!'

Zidane looked despairingly down at Garnet. Blood stained her china-white skin like tears and he recalled her words earlier about wanting to be with him. He didn't care if he died, not anymore…but he just couldn't let her die. Not like this. Not after everything.

'Please Zidane.'

The blonde looked longingly into the beautiful birds sky-blue eyes. 'Kuja I…alright…I accept your offer.'

And then a blinding light consumed them all.

When Zidane opened his eyes he first thought that it was all too late and the next round of explosions had struck and he was certainly dead. Then he thought that Amias could have finally released his attack and had killed them all.

But none of these thoughts were true, for he was quite suddenly thrown completely off balance. In a dizzying moment of disorientation he found himself transported from the dead recesses of the plain, to an entirely new environment where everything was shrouded in a hazy whiteness. There was no ceiling, no floor, no walls, or no left, right, up and down for that matter. Everything just…was.

'Ah there you are, Zidane.'

A voice called to him. He blinked and then suddenly Kuja stood before him. But he was in human form!

'K-Kuja!' Zidane went to take a step forward but found he could not.

The restored man smiled down at him. 'I want you to live brother. I will give you my life, so you can go on. You deserve to live more than anyone on Gaia now.'

Zidane felt the sting of tears prick his eyes. 'But Kuja…y-you can't die…I…'

Kuja laughed kindly. 'But don't you see? I have finally fulfilled my purpose! By sacrificing my life for yours I will repent for all the sins I have committed.' He smiled. 'Zidane, we've been through so much together, but for the first time in my life I finally feel at peace with myself.'

Zidane felt the hot tears stream down his bruised cheeks as he stared up at the changed man before him.

'Once we fought against each other, then we fought together.' He touched Zidane's forehead. 'And now we shall fight as one.'

'But I – '

'Do not think of it as loss, but a gain. Remember all those years ago when you came to rescue me in the Iifa Tree? You taught me how strong the will to live is, are you now denying what you taught me? Are you going to give up living so easily? Savour this chance, my dear brother. I am indebted to you. Please, don't let me move on to the next life with debts still unpaid.'

Zidane could feel his life wavering. Even in this magical place of light his whole body was weighed down with death and pain. But he understood what his older brother was saying, and he looked up into his radiant face.

'Kuja,' he said, 'thank you. For everything.'

The light surrounding them suddenly became brighter and Kuja's form began to fade. Zidane tried to reach out to him but found to his frustration that he couldn't move.

Kuja smiled tenderly. 'Thank you, Zidane. Thank you. But never forget me, as I will never forget you, brother.'

The last thing Zidane saw was Kuja's blissful smile as the light shrouded him in a blanket of white light, soft as snow.

Xxxxxxxxxx

The blonde's eyes snapped open.

The first thing he saw was the angry red sky and the black blister of the dead sun hanging mournfully in its centre. The remnants of Kuja's last words still drifted in his mind and suddenly he realised the overwhelming sense of new power he had surging through his veins.

He sat up. Looked at his hands. He was still covered in blood, and his wounds still throbbed and stung, but he had energy now! Yet, it felt strange. And he knew why. It wasn't his energy. It…felt lighter…easier to manage. It was Kuja's life force, throbbing through him, keeping him alive.

Kuja…you didn't have to…

And then a voice screamed in his mind, Zidane! I cannot hold it any longer! You must go, quickly now! Before it's too late!

Amias.

Snapping back to reality Zidane shot unhesitant to his feet like a cat when it hears a dog barking. A sound of skin tearing sounded and pain shot through him, but he could handle it now. Easily ignoring the ache in his body he bent down and carefully picked Garnet from the ground. She was so light now, her fragile form felt as if it would slip from his very grasp.

He was about to make a sprint for the portal when a lump on the ground caught his eye. It was the owl.

Despite his panic Zidane felt a heavy load weigh in his chest. An immense sadness overtook him and he stood there for just a moment looking at the bird. Then he bent down and – careful not to drop Garnet – scooped up its feathery form.

Then just as he begun running, the ground began to shake so badly it was as if the entire planet was falling to pieces, and perhaps it was, for massive cracks the size of tree trunks began to snake across the blackened plain, and Amias let out a gigantic roar.

Zidane, who had fallen, struggled to keep his balance as he scooped Garnet and the owl back up into his arms. The ground shook so hard it blurred his vision so now the portal seemed to be just a blue smudge in front of him.

Dammit!

A peculiar crackling noise, like the sound of someone stepping on a dead branch, came from behind him, and with some difficulty he looked over his shoulder. A massive fracture in the land was snaking its way toward him, its black contents spewing up in hot plumes of liquid.

Zidane ran like he had never run before in his life, clutching the bird and his wife closely to his chest. He could hardly run in a straight line, for the shaking had reached its peak, and it took everything just to stay on his feet. If he fell now, the pursuing crack would reach them before he even had a chance to get back onto his feet again.

He was so close to the portal now he could hear it droning!

But much to his horror, the black liquid was flowing at the same pace as he was running toward the azure window…his only way out!

Zidane bent lower and gritted his teeth, pumping his legs as hard as he could manage without tripping. Now he ran to beat the magma, and he ran to elude the crack in the ground.

Explosions were raining everywhere, and through his concentration he prayed to the gods that one of Amais' black balls of fire wouldn't hit the portal.

Come on! Come on!

He heard Amias roar again and the explosions increased, one so close it momentarily blocked Zidane's sight with clouds of dust and rained him with thick chunks of earth. He relied on his hearing to lead him to the portal.

Yet much to his dismay when the smoke finally cleared it revealed what he didn't want to see. The ebony juices had reached the portal first! And it was tilted like a vandalised gravestone on its side, the viscous liquid bubbling and spewing, gnawing at its edge like a hungry animal. Not only that, but the portal was sinking into it!

But he was so close!

The very tip of the crack reached him, and he stumbled slightly as the ground gave way beneath the heel of his foot. He pushed harder, desperation taking over adrenalin, and he had the strange sensation that his legs were no longer his own but someone else's, working on automatic like a machine.

With only an arm's width of the portal left and the crack eating away at the ground beneath his feet, Zidane did the only thing left to do. He made a last attempt to reach the window…and jumped!

To him it seemed that the entire world had crawled to halt. As if the very rubble that showered from the sky like hail, and the earth that shuddered and shook so violently, and the vile jet substance that was burning beneath his feet, was no longer moving. As if he had in fact crossed the barriers of space and time, life and death, and was merely floating in a strange nothingness in-between. In that second of an instant, when all was not as it was, Zidane pondered briefly on what exactly had just happened to them all.

Then everything speeded up again and he was flying faster and faster toward the portal whose blue belly was hardly more than a slither now. Just an angle off and he and his wife would plunge head first into the magma of the planet, with everything gone and wasted in vain.

So close so close so close!

Zidane closed his eyes.

And suddenly he felt the familiar feeling of rain drumming on his face.

The end. Only kidding! Next chapter up soon! Sorry, that chapter was short too, wasn't it? Never mind. Like I said, I don't like to cram everything in. (sniff)…poor Kuja. But I had to have someone die in this story and I'm afraid it was going to be him. I'd actually planned that from the beginning anyway.

R&R perdy please!