This chapter I'm guessing will be SUPER LONG. All me, too. I really dedicated some time into writing up this. I'm confirming that'll be it for a little while on the updates.
Chapter 4: Kuja Creeps Me Out
October 24th, 2005. 8:29AM
Zell
Squall sat at the dining room table, sipping coffee from one of the Markham family's mugs as Zell decided to take the time to practice his moves. "I'm hoping she won't sleep in too late. It's almost eight-thirty." Just then, Marianne had stepped out of her bedroom on cue. Dincht spotted her in the hallway, walking towards the bathroom. "Yo, Squall, she's up." "Hey," Marianne said with a grin. "Good mornin'," he greeted, a smile on his face. "Didja sleep okay?"
Knowing from last night's journal posts between Marianne and Kuja, Squall and Marianne were arguing as to how to reply. Marianne actually admitted that Kuja's over flattering manner towards her were giving goosebumps. Like Irvine Kinneas, Kuja Tribal sure seemed to know on how to sweep girls off their feet. Only Marianne knew better, knowing him "too damn well", as she said to Squall and him on how much she knew about them.
"Yeah, slept fine," Marianne said while she went into the bathroom. One of her cats followed her in as she closed the door. A minute later, she stepped out and passed Zell to go into the kitchen. Squall stood up, holding the coffee mug in one hand. Zell stood in the doorway, watching them both. "See? I told you I usually get up around eight!" Marianne said to Squall as she opened up one of the cupboards nearby to get something. "Whatever," Squall responded in a non-caring tone. Then, he looked to whatever she was holding. "What's that?" Zell walked closer. "It's Lacri-Lube," Marianne said. Zell saw it, a blue and white little thing. "It's supposed to keep my left eye moist, still going through the B.P. phase and all." Zell remembered her explaining that to him, and he had to agree. To just wake up one morning and have one of your eyes burning and red, and the side of your face being stiff, and no known reason as to what caused it? That's one hell of a WEIRD virus!
"I have to do this before bed and when I get up," Marianne explained as she screwed the lid on the little toothpaste tube looking thing and put it back in the cupboard. She had a little gel glob on her finger, but Zell could barely see it. She placed it on her bottom lid of her left eye, and blinked a couple times. "Does that stuff sting any?" he wondered. "Nah, don't feel a thing," she said. "How long have you had Bell's Palsy? No one on Gala's ever had that before," Squall wondered. "Um... I think over a month or two. Yeah, first had B.P. sometime in September I think. Or was it August?" She smiled. "Of course, I'm looking a lot better. Smile's all normal, pretty much, and I can whistle. My left eye can almost fully close on its own." "No pain?" Leonhart asked, just interested to hear about the weird virus. "Never felt any. Of course, I've been through worse." "So you've told me," Zell said. "But...what exactly?"
Marianne shrugged and casually leaned against the counter behind them. "Sprained an ankle once. And one time I accidentally slammed a finger in a car door. Man, my little finger looked all nasty and bled for two days." "Ew..." Zell squinted at the image. "I didn't break a bone yet though," she said, like it was no big deal.
Marianne
"Well, I'm going to take care of the kitty boxes," Marianne announced and left the kitchen to get a jacket on. Somehow, from the way the temperature was in the house, it would be a bit of a chilly morning. She then slipped on her sneakers to go into the basement. Angel was down there, for the black cat followed her downstairs. "Good kitty," Marianne said, watching Angel go into the box and not doing her business on the carpet for once. She put all the stuff she had to toss in the woods of her backyard into one of the litter boxes and walked out the backdoor.
A part of her was nervous. Was it just her, or did Kuja just was looking forward to talking with her only? She didn't know, and thought that maybe Squall thought the same thing. We can read each other alright, just as I always imagined. For a guy who got back to the old Squall after the break up with Rinoa, he's sure been a bit protective over me lately. She insisted to posting to Kuja last night, feeling that Squall would've rubbed Kuja the wrong way. Ever since she talked about Kuja to him and Zell from yesterday afternoon, Marianne observed that Squall was starting to see on her side for a change. This was good, and he wasn't stressing her out.
Now Kuja was. There was a great uneasiness when communicating to the genome on last night. And the fact that he found her instead of the other way around made the more of an unsettling feeling in her stomach. I'm hoping that he'll talk and tolerate the guys. I seriously hope he doesn't...
By the time she was done cleaning the kitty box, something rather unpleasant happened. As she put the purple box down, her right sneaker accidentally stepped in some cat poop on the carpet. "Oh GREAT," she grumbled sarcastically, and began to feel highly annoyed. "Damn it..." Now cat crap was all over the bottom of her sneaker! She would have to clean it up, and whatever was left of the mess on the carpet.
A/N: The cat poop under my shoe part actually happened that day...ugh, it made me sooo mad...
Taking the cat poop stained sneaker in her hand and still wearing the other, she walked up the stairs. She had been so carried away in her suspicions that THIS happened! How very unfortunate. Zell was watching her coming up the stairs. "Dude, what happened?" he asked. "I heard you downstairs." "Accidentally stepped in a little pile of cat crap, and I didn't see it as I was done taking care of the litter boxes." She showed him the shoe, feeling grumpy as hell right now. "Aw man, that sucks... Hey, I'll help clean it up if you want. No big deal. "Yeah, okay," she said, calming down. Zell's so cool... "You can't miss it, right in front of the tannish litter box." "Yeah, you go on ahead and clean your shoe," Zell said and went to get the paper towel roll.
Squall looked at her for a second, and opened his mouth to speak. "Don't," Marianne huffed and held a hand up in front of her towards him, probably knowing what he was going to say, knowing him as much as she knew herself. "My cats just need to be told another quadrillion times to do it in the freakin' litter boxes, not on the damn carpet!" She sighed heavily in annoyance and held her cat poop stained, really smelly sneaker in one hand, and getting out a frying pan and other dishes out of the sink with the other.
She didn't want to hear Squall say anything, knowing that he knew that this situation was not that great when Marianne was still waking up. She saw the blue sponge in the ceramic fish that her dad got as a gift. A plastic bag full of Swedish fish used to be in the bigger fish's mouth when he first got it. Speaking of her parents, they didn't actually mind them of staying over, thank God. Since they didn't go to school or any nearby community college. She guessed Mom and Dad thought it was great for her to have a couple new friends over, for she didn't get out of the house very much before. Now, with Squall and Zell acting and looking real as any other human being, with Kuja on the loose, she'd probably have to be out of the house more than ever. The two needed her help in getting to know Earth and stuff, and needed their help to handle Kuja. If it had to come to sacrificing more of her savings to buy a PS2 for Christmas, then she would just do it. Now she wasn't so eager of playing the FFX series, for that world may be real too. She knew a bit about the characters and their stories, but not enough and never played X or X-2. Oh YEAH...speakin' of X-2, didn't Crystal mention she found Paine's journal! So Tidus, Yuna, Baralai, Gippal, Nooj, and Rikku had to exist too. A somewhat disturbing possibility...
Never the less, she turned on the hot water, let the sponge soak and squirted some dish detergent into it. Not only do I have to clean my shoe, but some dishes as well, she thought, knowing this as she scrubbed the cat crap out of the bottom of her sneaker the best she could, while Zell was doing the best he could to clean what's left of the mess downstairs...
Kuja
He decided to walk it, leaving White Dragon to hide himself from plain sight back at the hotel he stayed at. There was a big department and clothing store in Maine. A "Target". He knew back when on the day of the arrival, in trying to buy some clothes and other necessities and items, Gil wasn't accepted. He didn't have their money. The big problem was that he'd have to put suggestions into a lot of people around him. It wasn't something to be happy about at ALL, but Kuja was doing this for Marianne, to whom he was really, really looking forward to.
While at this Target store, he'd have to pick up something to offer to his canary as a gift. Maybe flowers or chocolates, or anything that seems to catch his eye. He was in the same clothing he wore yesterday, which wasn't that great. He had to wear some clean clothes anyway. He noticed some of the adult humans staring at him. With just thinking about it, he was CLOSE to lightly suggesting for them do something those people wouldn't normally do. ...But he didn't want to make a scene. With his temper, it was difficult in not doing something to make the gaping idiots go away. So he just made them go do other things, such as look at the clothing and that they didn't see a man in clothing that revealed a lot of his skin in public. Yes, Kuja would have to blend in, and stash away his normal clothes.
He picked a long sleeve of a certain shade of green that he liked from the Men's clothing department, and a pair of khakis. Blue jeans, in feeling their rough texture, didn't seem to go with him really well, since he had to hide his damn tail all the time. Such a skinny little unpleasant body part covered in silver fur. He was as human as everyone else, so showing his tail would get others' attention. I hope you'll appreciate what I do for you, canary, he thought, thinking over and over that he was going out of his way to do all this for Marianne. That way he wouldn't get too angry and want to do something he'd get thrown in jail for. Ah, the life and glamour of Kuja Tribal has never been easy, and it never would be.
He looked in an aisle of a costume section of the store. There wasn't much that he'd actually tolerate to wear, but there was a black cape of thin fabric with a hood that seemed okay enough to hide his hair. He been to this area before, but there wasn't much of anything to wear in public. Just what in the world was this Halloween business about, anyway? There were some other adults, looking among the costumes. Women in particular. They stared, so Kuja put ideas into their minds: to go find their own men. Sorry, for Kuja was now taken. He had a special someone, and he knew who was on his mind and all this trouble he had to go through to just meet Marianne. Poor, poor Kuja.
Carrying the bundle of clothing in his arms, trying his hardest to not lose a temper, he kept thinking of the girl still. He promised her a gift, didn't he? When all of this is through, I may have to change some things on this world... He deeply considered this. Why should he have to "fit in" with everyone else? Why couldn't he just go out, dressed as he was? Well, that was something to think about, later on today. Possibly with Marianne, maybe? ...Perhaps.
He started to look for the flowers section of the store, having to deal and work his magic with EVERY SINGLE PERSON he walked past to just find something to give to the lady he had a liking to. Next time, they'll know better than to gawk at Kuja. They'll definitely think twice about them. Stupid pheasants.
He was in a hurry, wondering what time it was, so he just picked something. A little white teddy bear holding a little red heart, stitched between its arms. Yes, he'd figure she'd love something like that. He supposed other females on Earth like her liked teddies.
He still didn't have any Earth money, so he projected thoughts into everyone around him to make them think the items were already paid for. Kuja snatched one of the plastic bags, and put his chosen outfit and the teddy bear into it. Tossing it over his bag, he left the store to hike back to the hotel, which wasn't very far to his relief. No one would ever suspect that Kuja had stolen these things. Boo hoo for them. They'll live. It won't be the end of this happy, busy, busy world for a few of their precious things to be lost to a thief. Shoplifting had to be a common thing on Earth, as well as it was on Gaia.
But probably they weren't used to what Kuja did to them. It's THEIR FAULT for gaping and seeing him on the television, and just now. Their fault that that haven't created the type of clothing he liked to wear. The men's clothing department made him cringe in disgust. Suddenly, he felt he understood why Marianne and her friends had to be so cautious about themselves. Kuja started to think that the kind of attention he'd gotten yesterday wasn't something to be so amused about anymore...
Squall
Zell had told Marianne that the mess one of her cats made on the floor was cleaned up the best he could, with water and ice magic spells. Squall disapproved at first, but then figured, whatever. They weren't on their world right now, and wouldn't be until they would be ready to go back.
As of now, things had gotten more complicated than they have supposed to be. This Kuja was getting to be a pain in the ass to deal with, in Leonhart's opinion. That scared look he saw again told him that this guy wouldn't hesitate to get them ALL directed to Earth reporters from all around Marianne's home world. None of them wanted such attention. Kuja could cause chaos and destruction, too, if they hadn't contacted him. It would be a bad reputation for him, Zell, Seifer, and now Sophia and this "Final Fantasy Ten-Two" person named Paine that Marianne knew a little about.
Marianne got changed and brushed her teeth and hair, and talked about not having to walk all the way to the Wal-Mart in Prince Frederick. They could take the next bus by the Chesapeake Marketplace. A little less walking and complaining for everyone.
She paid for the bus trip, taking her purse along with her. On time, just a few minutes before the deadline, they made it to Prince Frederick and ran across the huge parking lot to stand on the sidewalk. "You ready for this, guys?" he heard Marianne ask. Squall turned, and nodded, resting his hand on the Lionheart gunblade's handle in case Kuja would try to do something he'd regret. "Are you?" he asked, hoping she was. She just nodded. "Let's just get this over with. I'm not exactly thrilled to be doing this." "Make that all of us," Zell agreed with no objections.
Marianne blew out a sigh, as if she'd been holding her breath for a long time, and looked around nervously. She probably knew that they wouldn't let anything bad happen to her, but felt nervous all the same. Had to be scared inside, knowing what she knew. He fully understood how she felt, and then decided to help point out Kuja.
It wasn't long before someone came into view. He couldn't see the person's face real clearly, but saw what the person wore. A black cape and hood around his head, with a dark green long sleeve shirt and light brown khakis. He watched and waited as the person walked closer and closer. What got his attention were the footwear. The sunlight shimmered off of a silver armor material. Some type of boots or fancy shoes. A silver feather dangled and drooped over the figure's forehead. "It's him," Marianne whispered. "Oh God, it's him." Squall's hold around the handle of his gunblade tightened. If Kuja tried to pull a stunt of any kind toward Marianne, then he and Zell would have to defend the Earth girl.
Marianne
She stared at Kuja's face as he returned her gaze, softly smiling as he came closer, walking and not running. Taking his time. Try to be happy to see him. Don't show him you're afraid, Marianne told herself, placing her life into Squall and Zell's hands. She had faith in them to protect her if Kuja made a wrong move. She had to trust them, or else the whole plan she had in her mind would fall apart. But WHAT to say to him made her feel stuck.
The group stood, a few feet apart. Squall, Zell, and Marianne standing next to each other on one side: Kuja standing by himself on the other. She didn't see his dragon nearby, so that was a good thing. He followed her instructions.
"You probably wish you were anywhere but here," Kuja spoke to her. She blinked, confused by the statement, but then it clicked: the code they came up with! Quickly, she spoke the next lyric as if she were reciting the Strata song she loved as a poem. "Remember this now, 'cause it soon will disappear," she said, faintly feeling the urge to sing that song. And yet, the two lines gave her a possible dark foreshadow that made her insides quiver: That Earth may not exist anymore if Kuja... No, that's NOT going to happen. NOT.
Kuja gave her a smile that disturbed her, but she forced a small grin, trying to push away from the fact that her stomach was doing flip flops. Out of the corner of her eye, Squall's form tensed, ready for Kuja to do something. As a matter of fact, he did do something, but not to what he'd expect. He uncovered part of his cape, revealing to her a little white teddy bear. He handed to her, with one hand, and took a gentle hold of the other. He was touching her. Kuja Tribal, the twisted and couldn't be helped villain she knew from FF9, had touched her. His grin remained. "You're not average," he told her. "Your eyes are a lovely shade of blue, mixing in with the green of the salty waters in Gaia. You look very pretty."
Squall was about to move, but Marianne gave a look that said not to. Kuja released her hand, and looked to Squall and Zell. "These are your friends, the other out worlders?" Zell tried to say something, but Marianne cut him off, saying. "Yeah, to my left is Squall, and the other is Zell." Kuja turned to Squall. "The serious type, as you've told me." He noticed the scar on his face, which wasn't hard to notice at all. "Quite a nasty little scar he have there," he mused, almost as if in a laughing manner. He looked to Zell, who was trying to contain his anger. Turning back to Marianne, he quirked an eyebrow, in a dismal expression. "Is something wrong with him?"
"Let's just get on with it," Squall said. Marianne nodded. "So, where are you taking us?" Kuja looked surprised, and then shook his head in amusement. "All of you? No, there's only room on my dragon for two." "Bull," Squall said, perfectly calm by the way, to which made Marianne gape at him in horror. "You're just saying that so you could have your way with her." Shit... Marianne thought, thinking that would start to hit a nerve from Kuja.
She wanted to get behind Squall and Zell, but couldn't. "If you're going to talk, you'll have to do it with us." Kuja gave Marianne an expectant look. She was focusing to the fullest to remain calm. Tribal looked to Leonhart. "What? You don't trust me? You don't trust her? Are you just friends, or are you bodyguards, too?"
Kuja
The man in the leather jacket (to which he really liked) stood his ground, glaring at him. "He's right," the spiky blonde young fool with the tattoo on his face said. Zell was his name, if he heard Marianne correctly. "As far as we're concerned, we've let you stalk us, but that doesn't mean we're leaving Marianne alone with you." Marianne looked to Zell in shock, and then placed a hand on his shoulder. Zell nodded, sharing a private exchange of looks that Kuja did not understand.
"Do you think I'm lying?" he asked Marianne's friends, feeling slightly annoyed. The two men didn't know a thing about White Dragon. They just assumed that he'd be able to fly to Miami with everyone on his back. Yet, the other side of him preferred to converse with the lovely lady without having their stern and withholding angry expressions watching them. Kuja wasn't blind. He could see that they didn't like him, and were being a bit over protective in his opinion. Marianne seemed glad to see him, but felt confused about this at the same time.
"My dragon may be large, but he can't carry anymore than two people at a time. That'll hurt my pet's back. Do you expect to waste our scheduled time to chat, flying back and forth to be all in one place? It's rather far away, this place I had in mind." Squall, the man with the thin dark red mark on his face placed his hand on the weapon strapped to his waist. He didn't know what it was, but probably some type of sword. The hilt was curled backward and strange.
Marianne, gentle Marianne, placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think it'll be okay." Squall turned to her. "No, you're not going alone. We went over this." "I assure you that she'll be perfectly safe with me," Kuja told Squall in persuasion, forcing to tolerate him. It wasn't easy. He shrugged his shoulders, and acted as casual as he could be. "We just want to talk. That is all, besides, didn't Marianne let me know on the journal that she can't be away from home for very long?" He turned to the lovely canary, hoping she would help him out. "He's right. I got dishes to wash, remember?" Dishes to wash? Is that all? Oh my... All by herself? He felt sorry for her.
"Can't your friends do you the favor?" Kuja lightly suggested. "If that's really what is keeping you..." She looked to him. "Um, well, I really have to be home by three. My family doesn't know what we know. It's best to keep it that way. My folks think Squall and Zell are just new neighbors to Calvert County." Kuja nodded once, bowing in understanding. Plenty of time to get to know you, precious...
"Squall, I don't think anything will happen," Marianne said, hoping to get his approval. Good girl, he thought, so that they could feel free to do whatever they liked. Especially on Kuja's part. Squall gave her a look of concern. "I'll be fine," she told him firmly. "Yes, we'll be fine," Kuja confirmed. Squall shot him a look, but Kuja forced himself to not do anything.
Squall turned back to Marianne and said, "Watch yourself." She nodded, and wrapped her arms around him. The look on Squall's face told Kuja he wasn't expecting that. "Thanks," she said, after releasing him, and then blushed. "Sorry..." The moment amused Kuja. "Yo, you better not-" Zell started to say. "Watch out for her," Squall interjected to Kuja. "If you're really just going to talk, do nothing else." Kuja smiled, feeling lucky that Marianne won him over to this. He drew Marianne close to him, an arm around her shoulders as she held on to the teddy bear he gave to her. He said, "Make sure those dishes are spotless, and sparkly clean! I'll have her back to you by three." He laughed, and began to lead her away.
They walked out of the parking lot, and by the side of the road in the grass. When they were out of earshot, he admitted to Marianne, "I personally do not like your friends. They're a bit too overprotective over you, and don't exactly like strangers." And that they seem to be way too cautious and suspicious of me for their own good. What would they think he'd do to her? "That's okay," Marianne said calmly, moving his arm off her. "Not everyone can get along with everybody. But really, they're cool. I understand how you feel about Squall. He's not exactly very sociable. Zell is though, if you give him time, you might get used to him. Can be a goof at times." I don't care about them, and I don't think I ever will. "Really? Well, I'll try to have patience," he lied, knowing he didn't want to warm up to those two.
After a moment of awkward silence, Marianne asked him, "So, where are we going?" Kuja chuckled, thinking about not telling her directly. "It's a surprise, my dear. I think you'll be impressed." She smiled, rolling her eyes playfully. It made Kuja laugh again. "Give me a little hint: someplace far, or not?" "Someplace far," Kuja said. "And that's all I'll be telling you." "Okay then," she said, easygoing. Kuja looked at her, keeping this moment going. "I like the way you are, right now." He saw that he had the teddy bear tucked under one arm. "I see you like the present I gave to you?" "It's cute," she said. "Soft..." Her expression was less happy...
Zell
"Squall...you think it was really okay to let her go with that creep?"
The two SeeDs from Gala watched their friend being led away from them by Kuja, his arm around her shoulders. Zell's seen the way she acted around him, and didn't like being touched by him. No shit, after learning what she's explained about that psycho. He had been cut off from blurting out something that he'd regret. I guess he, in a way, appreciated that because he could never really contain the wild fire-like energy about him. Another part of him he'd been damn lucky to control: the urge to kick Kuja's ass. They let Marianne give him directions, and now she was slipping out of their hands. Zell wasn't allowed to do a goddamn thing about it. It was when Marianne and Kuja were completely gone when he asked his superior that question.
Squall looked like he was spacing out, still staring forward, in the direction as to where the other two had gone. Not a word came from him. "...We could run after them and stop this," Dincht suggested. HOW can you even consider that? She's our friend, and you're leaving her alone with a Hyne damn lunatic! You stupid IDIOT! He wanted to say that, but couldn't. He was just too shocked to absorb what Squall had just decided.
"Squall," Zell called to him again. Squall said, still staring ahead, "I don't think we have a choice. ...We have to trust Marianne on this." "What! Are you even listening to yourself?" Zell said in a panic. "We all know-" Squall faced him, his eyes narrowing. "What do you think would've happened if we didn't let them go?" That stopped Zell for a minute, before he managed to come up with an answer. "She would have still been with US!" "But," Squall added to the statement, "We would've caused Kuja to blow a fuse, and right now I think that Marianne knows exactly what she's doing." "Man, I don't think so," Zell disagreed, worried.
Squall nodded in understanding. "Let's go back to Marianne's house, and turn on the television. If something happens, then it'll be on the news. Kuja would reveal himself publicly if he did something to her. He's a psychopath, right? If you lose your temper, you can't think straight." Zell blinked, thinking that it all made sense. "But, I still..." "It's her planet, Zell. Let her try, and if he violates our friend in any way, then we won't repeat the same mistake again."
With that said, Squall motioned Zell to follow his lead. He hesitated, shaking his head, not believing Squall. He's right though. This risk has to be taken. If Marianne knows Kuja as much as she does, then nothing bad could possibly happen. "Hurry up or I'm leaving you here," Squall said, snapping Dincht away from his thoughts. As they ran, Squall said to him, "I think she'll be okay, Zell. If something goes wrong, it'll be on TV." "But what if she ends up dead?" Squall didn't answer, probably not wanting to think about the outcome of that at all...
Marianne
Marianne looked to Kuja, saying, "Hey, sorry you had to go spend any earnings you had on such short notice. I guess you had enough though. I'll-" Kuja cut her off, telling her, "I didn't need to buy these clothes." His mouth pressed into a thin line. "But some people just don't mind their own businesses." Her eyes widened, shocked, but her voice was surprisingly very calm. "You stole them?" Kuja smiled again. "It wasn't easy, Marianne." His smile grew a little bigger. "I like saying your name. It rolls right off my tongue." Marianne forced a little laugh, to try and continue to sugarcoat herself around him. It was a nervous laugh.
"So, how did you get away?" she asked, just curious. The not quite sane genome seemed happy to explain. "Simple. I can manipulate others, by making them do different things by putting suggestive thoughts into their minds." Well, THAT didn't sit well in her stomach. Kuja, however, kept talking. "I could just easily think it, speaking telepathically and they'll do as I ask. Sometimes it can be very fun. It's sort of a hobby of mine..." He laughed lightly, straining not to lose himself in his laughter it seemed, his shoulders moving up and down as he did. "Whenever I was bored on Gaia, I'd simply go to a town and pick someone a distance away. I'd make him do things that normally anyone would do. But I never use the same person..."
He went on for a little more, talking about these alarmingly incredible ability to take over someone and move him or her around like a puppet. He moved some of his platinum colored hair aside. Yeah, he's definitely a bragger about himself, like me. A bad habit that neither of them could help sometimes. But, knowing that this kind of thing wasn't ordinary to her as it was to Kuja himself, she had listened to every word.
"How much farther until we see your dragon?" Marianne had to ask. A part of her was really eager to see this dragon, up and personal. To what she saw on the TV, it looked so damn cool, flying the way it did. The scales a shiny silvery white, and the wings' feathers were a few different shades of green. Excited and afraid, a part of her knew that she was going to take a ride with Kuja on it.
"Not too much farther," Kuja said. "He's quite magnificent." Yeah, I'll bet! "Okay, cool," was what she actually said, and then finally decided to start telling him on what he needed to know before all this got too intimidating. "Um, listen, Kuja? There's a lot I have to tell you about...on what's going on and all." "I understand," he said, easy going. "I know...a lot about you." He seemed surprised, but not in the way she expected it to be. It was like he was impressed about that or something. "Oh, you do? You've heard about me?" Careful with what you say. One wrong move and I could be dead in one second... "Um, yeah. Actually, not just me, but a lot of people on this world have known about you for quite some time." Kuja raised a brow, somewhat amazed. "Huh. I did not know that."
Just then, Kuja stopped. "Our ride is down there," he pointed, down below past the guardrail they stood next to. A car drove past, but didn't pay attention to them. Marianne watched it speed by, but Kuja didn't seem to notice. "Follow my lead!" he said, causing her to turn her head around as he took a leap over the guardrail. Marianne just stepped over it, and saw him at the bottom of the hill. One of her sneakers slipped on the grass, causing her to slide down the hill. Kuja softened the landing by catching her. "Thanks," she said, and brushed pieces of grass off of her T-shirt. "Not a problem," he said, and took her hand. "This way..." After a few more paces, she finally saw his dragon. "Whoa..." was all she could say, "pulling a Neo" in her terms as the very sight had took her breath away. Kuja walked up the feathered wing, tugging her up there with him. "...How safe is he?" she had to ask, suddenly feeling her guts turn into wriggling Jello. "Very safe. You don't have to worry," Kuja told her with another smile and told the dragon to take off.
Marianne felt the need to kneel as she watched the wings move up and down, rising all of them slowly to the sky. But Kuja pulled her back on her feet, and held her close to him. "Are you frightened, Marianne?" Her whole body twitched by the sound of his voice in her ear. "The chances of falling off White Dragon are slim." "Okay," she said, trying to sound calm, but it was impossible with the Kuja Tribal, standing right behind her, arms around her waist and hearing him speak softly into her ear. But what was more scary? Falling off, that's what.
Higher and higher, Marianne couldn't help but look as everything looked so much smaller as Kuja's dragon found a thermal and rode it to ride the next one. "Oh God..." Marianne moaned Kuja. "Don't let me fall." "I most certainly won't," he told her gently. "Enjoy yourself." Enjoy herself? Like that was an easy thing to do. Kuja released her, and she watched as he walked up to its ear to whisper something. No, he wouldn't dare... She felt very vulnerable, trembling as she felt the need to sit down again. Kuja laughed as he came back toward her. "You think I'm actually going to let my pet go into a dive or something? I know better. It's your first time flying, isn't it?" Marianne nodded quickly, extremely nervous. "Definitely my first time on a dragon." "Then the ride will go smooth all the way. We have plenty of time to get to where we need to be..." Whew, that's a relief...
After a while of getting used to it, Marianne didn't feel so vulnerable on a moving dragon. It felt like being on the ground, except with passing clouds. It was slow and smooth. She was told by Kuja not to look down, and he kept taking her mind off of that by talking to her. "He's quite gentle, and before today, I only allowed myself to ride him," he said, talking about the dragon, obviously. "He likes being talked to like a normal person. He understands our language." "Uh, neat," Marianne said, forcing to smile to push back the fear and nervousness she was feeling. "I kind of treat my cats the same way." "At home, you mean?" Kuja guessed. "Yeah," she replied. "They're at home, probably sleeping." Kuja smiled. "Pet cats are known to do that often."
Kuja
The wind blew back Marianne's dark brown curls, revealing her pretty face. The expression still showed fear, meaning Kuja will have to take her flying often to get used to it. Today, she somewhat adjusted. Adapted, but he had to keep her comfortable. Kuja had to make sure she didn't look down, or else she wouldn't be able to remain standing, fearing that she'd just topple off if she wasn't careful. He knew his dragon too well.
"Tell me a bit about yourself," Kuja suggested, to make his special guest not think of falling. She reacted as if she were being in a interrogation. "Um... I write, love music...Music being a major part of my life..." She writes? "You write?" he marveled. "Like poetry?" She responded, "Yeah, poems, stories... Anything but plays. Not good at those." "Could you recite one of your poems for me, if you can?" Marianne stared at him. "Uh...not right now, no." Kuja nodded curtly. "Maybe later," Marianne said, the faintest of smiles dawning. "I'd like that," he said, and he really would. Probably a very good poet.
"Are we almost there?" she asked. "Yes," he said, taking a hold of both her hands. "You seem a bit squeamish about heights, but I hope you don't mind the place I picked out for us." "As long as it's solid ground, I think I'll be fine," she said honestly, causing him to nod.
White Dragon slowly descended as Kuja instructed him. He showed Marianne how he got off, by sliding down one of the wings. She did, not landing on her feet, so Kuja offered to help her up. She took it. "Wow, that was...exciting," Marianne said to him, rather nervously, her eyes looking at their new surroundings. "We are...?" "In Miami," Kuja simply told her. An eyebrow raised, confused for a moment. "Miami, Florida?" She walked to one end of the roof top of the high building to gaze upon the city, then looked down. "Whoa, don't want to fall and go splat down there," she said, the very statement amusing him. "No, you don't," he said, doing his best to contain his laughter. This girl was funny, in a way.
Marianne sighed, gathered the courage, and turned to him again. "Alright, uh, what I'm having to explain to you is going to sound crazy." She smiled a crooked smile. "It's pretty important information you need to know." Kuja was all ears, wondering what it was she had to explain. He was curious. Marianne had caught his interest from the start, and he wasn't about to lose that anytime soon.
Much calmer than she had been before, she leaned up against the wall behind her, looking down in thought. She looked up, and said, "There's this far off country on the other side of the world, called Japan. And knowing that Earth's technology is more advanced than yours, I don't think you know what video games are." ...Video games? Hm... "There's the TV, to which you know about." "The box shaped device that shows recorded moving pictures," Kuja confirmed. "Well, that's one part. The other..."
Marianne
In this explanation about video games, she had to break it down. Kuja asked questions, and clarified specific parts, and mentioned he was eager to experience what she has experienced. Probably with other games, but not Final Fantasy 9. This, Marianne knew.
"I have quite a collection, but I could show you the games another time. I'm not even sure if you really want to, because this next part gets even more complicated." "Earth is a very complex place. Maybe there are still a few things I've yet to take the time to learn more about," he admitted. "I have to thank you for telling me about what you know on 'video games'." The way he kept looking at her with interest just made her want to squirm, but she held her ground as Kuja said, "Go on..."
She hesitated. Okay, prepare yourself, she silently told him before saying the first thing to come to mind. "...I know you're not quite human." Kuja's blue eyes opened, incredulous, but he didn't say anything. She shrugged her shoulders, adding, "I'm curious as to how you hide your tail..." She saw his hand touch his side, probably touching as to where his tail would be. "You weren't kidding when you said you knew about me," Kuja said. "I'm curious, and confused." He looked at her in the eyes, his interest of what she had to say, never fading.
Marianne, as carefully as she could explain, told him all about Squaresoft and the Final Fantasy series, number nine in particular. Because, duh, because Kuja used to be just a game character before she saw the news yesterday morning. She told him what she knew of Garland, him, Zidane and his friends. And about the world of Gaia. And Kuja listened, abnormally quiet than he'd ever had been since they've met. Very calm and attentive, and she just kept on going, stopping every now and then to expect the anger. Expecting something very bad to happen to her, and the entire world of Earth. But Kuja did none of the above. He kept telling her to go on until she told him everything she could.
He wore a frown by the time she was done, and took a few steps forward. Marianne had started to feel scared again, knowing that this silence was so not like Kuja Tribal-like. His back was turned, gazing at the city of Miami ahead. And after about a few minutes of quiet, his words were, "Well, there will be some changes." Her blood turned cold. Shit... Okay, okay, keep calm...
"What are you going to do, Kuja?" she had to ask, her voice tight in her throat. He turned, his black cape wavering a bit on his back as he did. His expression was grim at first, and then turned into a sinister, cold smile. "I guess since you've been so helpful to me, I might as well share my thoughts with you." He remained where he stood, as he asked, "Would you like to hear them, Marianne?" "Yeah," she said after just a split second of hesitation.
"I love this planet," he said. "I wish to never turn it in to Terra. I'm through with Terra, and Garland. Earth shall be my new home, and I want to own everything in it." She struggled to hold her ground as he talked. "I'm tired of the attention I've been getting. It's not the kind I really like." Marianne spoke up. "Then, I could try to help you." "Help me?" Kuja said. "I'm not even finished with what I have to say." She nodded, apologetic. "Right, sorry. Go on..."
Kuja
Kuja let the too much warmth get to him, as he enthusiastically shared his demands with her. "I don't want to have to 'fit in', wearing not so tasteful garments like this," he said, giving the long sleeve shirt he wore a tug. "I don't mind about the money, just as long as I can wear what I want." Marianne nodded in understanding, which made him feel confidence as he kept talking with her. "And what of my dragon? I don't wish to have to keep telling him to hide. I'd like White Dragon to feel free and safe in this world."
His eyebrows furrowed, thinking back to what he's read online about the situation in a foreign country known as Iraq. "And this war that's going on, with this terrorist business... I'd like for that to be put to a halt." "Yeah, I'd like it too," she said. "But what can you do?" "I could go over there," Kuja said. "And get blown up?" Marianne countered. "No, there's too much risk involved into stopping the mess all over the world, all by yourself." How thoughtful of you, to be so concerned about me. "There's the army, and there's you," Kuja said. "I won't have to worry about getting blown up."
She held up her hands. "Nuh-uh. I don't think so. I'm not the military type." "...You don't have to be," Kuja said. "So, you plan to hunt Osama Bin Laden too?" Marianne questioned, in a sort of humorous manner. "Eventually," Kuja said. Marianne shook her head, disagreeing. "I don't know..." "You don't think I can do it?" he asked, as he walked closer, her uneasiness and lack of confidence in him making his skin crawl. "Everything will turn out for the better, once I take charge," Kuja said, feeling the utter confidence he had from before start to boil back up again. "I'll be respected and admired. Everyone would think twice before ridiculing, hating, and staring at me." "Okay, but before you march into it, I think you should negotiate with the big guy in this country," Marianne heavily suggested. "The president of the United States."
He stopped to consider this. Of course! Why hadn't I think of that before? I could overthrow him easily. Doing a rather poor job of running things... (A/N: So true...LOL! Vote for Kuja! XD) He could go over there, tell his demands, and have them done the moment he's done with George W. Bush.
He smiled, appreciating Marianne in his company. She gives me the options, and helps elaborate the consequences. "Perfect," he said to her. He looked at the time. 2:15PM. Still some time to spend. He wanted to change the subject. "We'll talk to him tomorrow, alright? I think I just remembered that I have a checkup to go to," Marianne spoke up quickly before he could say anything. "Checkup?" Kuja echoed. "It's just a little weird nerve infection along the left side of my face I have called Bell's Palsy," she said. "It's nothing too serious, and I'm healing rather quickly." Kuja considered her needs first, for once, which was something that he'd never done before. He'd have to look up this Bell's Palsy later.
Oh, I almost forgot. There's a little something I still need from you, sweet canary...
Marianne
Well, it's a start. I've prevented Kuja to do something less chaotic. ...I just never expected him to be so calm when I told him all he needed to know... She felt a lot better, feeling that she did alright in prodding and steering Kuja away from the path of chaos and destruction. Maybe after a civilized talk with the president, he wouldn't have to be so concerned about fitting in so much. And it was a miracle that he's been able to not lose a temper at her or anything. No problems at all.
As she was just trying to relax, Kuja said something out of the blue. "Remember when you said that you might sing those lyrics on your journal to me? Do you think you could sing now, after how well everything turned out?" What? Startled and just caught off guard, she wasn't sure if she was in the mood. "Um, after everything we discussed, you think it's alright for me to sing? I think...it's not the time." "Oh? Why not?" Kuja asked, pretending to be hurt. "I just think it's an awkward time right now. Sorry," she apologized. "But I'd really would appreciate it if you sang to me right now," he said. "You've kept your word..." "I know, but, how about tomorrow?" The look on his face told her he wasn't exactly pleased. He frowned, looking disappointed, and then annoyed.
Sing to me, Marianne, my canary, his voiced called...in her head! She gaped, and it was too late to close her mouth before the first line of a certain song had been sung. "You probably wish you were anywhere but here." She wanted to stop, but Kuja wasn't letting her control her own voice! "Remember this now, 'cause it soon will disappear." She tried to hold her breath, and struggled to gain control over her lungs. Dammit Kuja, knock it OFF! STOP!
"You find yourself wishing you're anyone but you." She had little control, and her voice strained to as she tried to gain control of her vocal chords. Kuja smiled as Marianne couldn't help but sing the rest of the first verse. "I'm starting to wish I were anyone but me. And I...will be brohhhhken by this." Not liking this at all, she had no choice but to give in until the whole song was sung, and then she would have to be firm and put her foot down. Kuja just mentally attacked her by surprise and it was just too overwhelming.
Without controlling any part of her body, it relaxed a little, her muscles giving a little slack. "As soon as you wake, you will find me on my way... And soon when it's safe, you may find a love again..." Her eyes closed, and then opened, focusing on Kuja, who looked like he was enjoying himself. Why wouldn't he? Not only was this a damn good song, but she actually had no choice but to put up with this! "And I...will be brohhhhken by this. Sweet dream, it's all I have."
Kuja
"It seems that it oh, always bleeds like this... When nothing feels wrong and nothing feels right, you're knocked down and dying and you'll stand right back up and fall all alone. All in this... Sweet dream, it's all I have... Sweet dream... It's all I have..."
So pretty, and I don't understand why you hide your lovely voice from me, Kuja thought to her, without much effort, and continued to listen to her softly croon a few notes softly. How he managed to make her sing this song? He found out she's sung this numerous times, looking within her memory. It was a nice song, and her singing moved him.
"It's the finest moment that you've ever had...like a falling star in the palm of your hand..." Exactly how I feel right now, Kuja thought to himself, and listened as she finished up the song. "Sweet dream, it's all I have... Sweet dream, it's all I've got..." A band had performed this song, a band named Strata that Marianne enjoyed listening to, from what he recalled by looking and experiencing specific fragments of her memories.
Once she was free to move on her own, she looked very angry. It caused Kuja to smile deviously, knowing she would be upset. Calm and firm, she said to him, "I hope you enjoyed, because that's not going to happen again." "It wasn't too bad, was it?" He was close, in her personal space, to which she was about to step back. Kuja didn't let her and drew her close. He caught the refreshing clean smell from her hair. Then he gazed deep into those glaring, but beautiful eyes of hers and spilled how the song felt to him. "I heard that song as if I were right there, listening to the actual recorded performance. Breath taking," he breathed. "Take me home, please," she told him slowly and very firmly. "Of course, you should be getting back soon, but first." She wanted to break free, but Kuja felt that she was just playing hard to get. "I like you, very much," Kuja said, causing her to stop. He let go then, saying, "But you need to loosen up." "We're leaving, now," she said, her amazing voice as deadly as one of the most terrifying monsters from Gaia. "Feisty too," Kuja mused. "I like that."
The ride was uneventful. He understood the distance she wanted from him. He did a possibly wrong move, but it was for the greater good he believed. He was starting to really like this girl. Impressive, open minded, talented, and had a sense of humor, it seemed. A dark sense of humor, but he liked that. He was feeling something he hadn't felt before. Something that made his heart flutter and so...filled with JOY! Love, I think this emotion is...
Squall
Leonhart kept checking his watch as it kept getting closer and closer to 3PM. He was deeply in concern for Marianne's safety, but if he didn't trust her to try to speak with Kuja like she wanted, then the chance would have been gone to try again, in the blink of an eye. Zell was inside, to keep an eye on the news.
Squall heard the inside door opening behind him. Alert, Squall demanded of Zell, standing there with a look of shock, "Did something happen?" "Yeah, but it's not about Kuja. It's about Seifer, man. I think you should take a look at this..." Great...what else is new, a sarcastic thought appeared on his mind as he followed Zell up the stairs to look at what was on the big, wide screen silver TV. There was a rough sketch that had Almasy's mug on it. A female reporter's voice told Squall WHY this was shown on the screen. "A police officer in Las Vegas, Nevada said this man had shot and killed another and fled from the scene, denying he did it and that he was innocent. He was last seen running into an airport, and had caught the next flight to South Carolina. This man is dangerous. If you see him, please call the following number..."
"Fuck," he hissed, now realizing what trouble Seifer had gotten himself into. If he really killed that man, then Leonhart would have to reprimand him from the mission and send him back to Balamb Garden, back on their world. "I hope Sophia knocked some sense into him," Zell said, angry as well. Knowing her well, she probably already did, Squall mentally assumed.
But what concerned him the most was Marianne. He placed her to talk with the psychopath, alone. He checked the clock on the wall by the dining table. Minutes before 3PM now. He turned to Dincht. "Nothing on Kuja?" "Nope," Zell said, and sat down in one of the two couches on either side of the living room area. "I guess she's okay." Squall stormed out the door, and a huge, silver white scaly leg filled his vision. He looked and watched as Marianne slid down on a green feathered wing. She picked herself up from the ground, the expression on her face not happy. Squall glared at Kuja, who waved. "I told you I'd keep my word!" Neighbors were noticing the dragon, right away. "Just get out of here," Marianne said snappishly. "Walk by tomorrow, by eleven A.M. as promised." "My, look who's moody," Kuja snickered as they took off, the dragon having to work a little to get itself airborne. "See you tomorrow," he called to her in a sing-song voice.
Zell came running out the door. "You okay?" Squall asked in concern. "...I'm fine," she said, her voice low. From how she was acting, Leonhart suspected that something happened. Before he could ask, Marianne told him of Kuja's plans, and that she's reached him and steered away from the path of destruction. "And you're planning to help him?" Squall asked. "I don't have a choice, but we're taking a bus to Washington D.C. next time, for that's where Bush is." If Kuja did something to upset you, why won't you say anything? Do I have to ask?
"Kuja also did something, didn't he?" "Yeah, but I'll get over it. He won't do it again either." She paused, tension building up around her arms and shoulders. "He'd better not do it again." "What'd he do then?" he insisted. She looked to him, throwing her hands helplessly in the air. "He forced me to sing." "He what?" Zell quirked, confused. "He wanted me to sing, I wasn't in the mood, and then he..." She turned from Zell to Squall. "Kuja has this ability to make people do things, by thinking it towards a person. It was an awkward time to be asking after all what was needed to be explained have been said. Then I heard his voice in my head, and I couldn't control my own voice until I the whole song I sang was done."
What she just explained...it made him mad. Kuja had violated her. He was only supposed to just TALK, with her, and that was it. "That son of a..." Zell said, also angry. "But I'm okay," she assured them both. "It's not too big of a deal." "How can you say that?" Squall demanded. "Why are you defending him for that? You didn't want to sing, but he took control over you to do it. He possessed you for a short time." "I know, but I think it's best to just let it go," she said. "Let it go!" Zell repeated. "C'mon, let's go inside," Marianne said grumpily. "It's getting cold, and people are staring." She walked past them, into the house, leaving the two SeeDs to follow.
"It's better this way, because I gained trust with Kuja. You know what he'd do otherwise?" "I don't think the jackass deserves a chance," Zell spat, watching Marianne sit down and huffing out a sigh. Squall seemed to understand, but knew something like Kuja did to her would never be forgotten. "You're not going to be left alone with him again," Leonhart declared, seriously meaning that. "I know, because Kuja kinda freaks me out. He's okay, but not exactly someone I'd even want to be friends with, but I have to keep up the act." Squall nodded, and sat next to her. "You'll be okay though, right?" "Yeah," she said. "So, the dishes are washed then?" "Yup," Zell said. "I did that for ya." They high fived. "Thanks," she said. "Anything else exciting happen?"
"Not exactly exciting," Squall informed, "but we saw Seifer on the news. He's supposedly to blame for the death of another man..."
Yay, done! Man…you know how long this scene was on Microsoft Word? 13 pages and a quarter! Anyhoo, poor me. Damn Kuja… XD But that's just only the beginning. The Washington D.C. stuff…WOOO BOY, REALLY EXCITING. Annnnd, the next scene introduces two new characters I picked to RP as! I won't say who, though. You'll have to find out when I put it up!