Title: Second chances for an Angel of Death

Rating: R for language, and perhaps sexy chapters later.

Disclaimer: I do not own FF9 or any of it's characters. Yes there will be yaoi in later chapters. Thank you all for the reviews! And please be gentle with my horrid spelling and me. I fix what I can.

Chapter 5.

Morning came unfortunately to the two genomes. Zidane woke instantly when the sun hit the horizon; as if it was a natural instinct. Usually he enjoyed sleeping in on mornings. When he was part of Tantalus, the genome was allowed to procrastinate- well… not 'allowed' to, but he got away with it on many occasions. That all changed once Zidane met Garnet though and began roaming the plains of Gaia. It wasn't new to him, but he began getting used to waking up early before the monsters did. Sleeping in wide-open areas on the mist continent- or any other for that matter was dangerous. It was never wise to sleep in while napping out in the open where monsters could find you and easily tear you to shreds while you were unaware.

Zidane knew it was especially important in a place like this.

The blond stirred, sitting up and stretched his arms with a yawn. He glanced around his surroundings briefly again before blinking and glancing down when he felt Kuja roll over on his side. Kuja was still asleep and lay beside the blond. Zidane was mildly surprised he hadn't woken Kuja. Nonetheless he smiled faintly as he looked down at the mage.

Kuja was curled on his side, facing Zidane, his features soft and serine. The expression he had in his sleep however, was something Zidane worried about. Granted Kuja could be a stubborn asshole, Zidane still cared about him. If he hadn't, Zidane wondered why the hell he would even be here to begin with. Kuja seemed to have nightmares in his sleep, the way his brows furrowed together on that pale, strained and weary face. The blond couldn't help but sympathize a little and let his tail brush against Kuja's sides in a soft caress. As if to silently say 'I care'. In reaction to the simple gesture, Kuja cooed lightly in his sleep and his expression seemed to soften, as if the dreams became all the more better for the mage.

This seemed to appease the blond, and Zidane grunted lightly yawning again as he stood up where he was, and stretched once more, then walked over to the blocked entrance of the tunnel.

Curious, he tapped at the rocks and dirt. It didn't seem to be any good. He wasn't even going to bother trying to bust through. It didn't seem like it would do any good anyways. He turned away from the blocked entrance and sighed looking around for another solution. He noticed the tall grasses growing along the edge of the open clearing they were currently in, and walked over, recognizing a few faint yellow-weeded flowers. He furrowed his aquamarine eyes as he studied the plant before confirming that it was Gargant grass.

It seemed to be Zidane's lucky day after all. He sighed with relief and looked back towards the tunnel and noticed the roots went up over it, leading straight up to the top. With the help of a Gargant, they could reach the top of the Lifa Tree in no time, and then be on they're way. Zidane smiled with good fortune and walked back over to Kuja to wake him and give him the good news.

Zidane peered down at Kuja who was curled up in a ball- most likely to conserve body heat, and sighed. Kuja looked peaceful now, after the blonde's small gesture, and Zidane felt guilty about waking the platinum haired man. Kuja's arms were tucked under his body, trying to keep them warm, with his knees brought up in tight to his chest, his tail curling around his legs to keep himself in a warm position. His body was covered in goose bumps, due to the chilly morning air. His long hair fanned out beneath him to form a sort of pillow. Despite the fact that he was grimy and dirty, he still looked beautiful. The peaceful expression on his face was priceless. However the task couldn't be ignored, and Zidane was concerned about monsters that might find them sooner or later. He didn't want to stay and find out.

Kneeling down, he gently touched Kuja's shoulders and shook him lightly to wake him. Soft ice blue eyes drifted open hazily as the man tried to become aware of himself and his surroundings. It was obvious that he was still tired and exhausted from the previous day. Zidane knew however, that today would be no exception either. Kuja groaned lightly, straining his weak muscles to sit up. He shivered to the cool air around them and looked up at Zidane with a slight annoyed frown. He was obviously very tired. He didn't scold Zidane though. Kuja was tired, but he also didn't object to having been woken from his bed of dirt. He just gave the blond a confused expression of mild awareness.

"What is it…?" The older man asked, his tone filled with annoyance as well as his weariness.

"I found some Gargant grass and figured out a way to get us out of here." Zidane responded, standing now.

Kuja's eyes narrowed into slits now. He knew what this meant, and he didn't like it. He despised the idea.

"No fucking way." Kuja growled, moving to stand up. " I am not riding one of those…. Beasts." He sneered slightly, clearly not in love with the idea of having to ride a giant bug- bare back, and wearing very little himself. The mental image of Kuja clinging to the Gargant's back while screaming bloody marry was an amusing thought itself, however the mage was not entertained by this thought.

Zidane sighed, scratching the back of his head. He figured this to be the case and crossed his arms over his chest. Unless Kuja could summon up a spell powerful enough to take down the rocks and dirt blocking the tunnel, they didn't have much of a choice. Zidane wasn't too keen on the idea of spending the rest of his life here either. He had been sympathetic with Kuja up until this point however. Kuja didn't have any reason to really complain or object to this. Unless Kuja had been molested by a Gargant as a child, Zidane didn't care.

"Kuja, it's the only way we'll ever get out of here. If you can magically pull that silver dragon of yours out your ass, be my guest. Otherwise we are riding the Gargant." He snorted.

Kuja didn't have a response to that. He personally couldn't think of any better ideas, but he was not looking forward to riding the back of a giant insect. He had never ridden on a Gargant bareback before. He didn't want to know what it was like either. Unfortunately for him, the time for leaning was at hand and the mage would find out soon enough.

Zidane turned, walking back over to the Gargant grasses and picked one of the flowers, looking back at Kuja and motioned the mage over. Defeated, the older man grumbled as he followed Zidane over to an area with a raised mound of dirt. Zidane peered down over the edge to see that a root vine came up from the bottom, over the mound, twisted around the tunnel nearby and over, leading upwards towards the surface. Zidane smiled a bit at such good fortune, and waved the flower through the air as little pollen particles from the flower drifted down.

Kuja wrinkled his nose at this and eyed the younger genome suspiciously.

"What are you doing?"

Zidane blinked briefly before responding. "You have to wave the flower a bit. Gargants aren't usually very close by right away, so they wont know you're around unless the pollen particles are dispersed into the air. Gargants have a good sense of scent. They can smell things from long distances, so once they smell the flower and grasses they come running. The yellow gold color of the flower also attracts they're attention. To them it means dinner."

"I see…" Kuja wasn't all that impressed by the blonde's knowledge, but it would explain why he was waving his arm around like a moron.

It was awhile before anything happened. Kuja had been growing impatient, wondering when the creature would ever show up- if it ever did. He was cold and tired and just wanted to leave. Kuja craved his own bed at the Desert palace, or perhaps his home in Treno. He wanted to gorge himself with rich luxurious foods like he used to. Chances are however, that he would never live those luxuries again. Kuja contemplated throwing himself off the ledge at that point to just die and wither away. He wouldn't have to live and suffer in the aftermath of his chaos. Granted it was a proper punishment- to live among millions of people who hated you for destroying they're lives. Kuja was also living without his powers. The mage mentally sulked and brooded while the blond tried to get the attention of the Gargant.

Zidane glanced over to look at Kuja and saw the older man was deep in thought. That wasn't a good thing currently and Zidane knew what Kuja was thinking. Mainly because the older man was just staring off into the darkness off the edge of the ledge they stood on. However that wouldn't last long as Zidane's ears perked to the sound of the Gargant crawling up the roots to where they were. This caught Kuja's attention and the platinum haired man gasped, staggering back as the creature crawled up the root by them with incredible speed. It came out of nowhere- and by the time Kuja could even see the damn thing, it was practically in his face.

The Gargant turned and twisted it's head when it caught sight of the yellow flower in Zidane's hand, it's pinchers sliding back and forth as it seemed to practically salivate over the meal that was being waved in front of it.

Kuja shuddered not just from the cold, but also from the appearance of the beast. He had seen Gargant's before in his life, but he had the same reaction he always did. He inwardly groaned as he over looked the large insect like creature. He was not looking forward to this. Zidane simply pet the creature on the head and fed it the flower as a reward. The Gargant took the flower into its pinchers and began to devour its meal, contently pleased with the blonde genome's generosity.

Zidane finally turned to Kuja to see the older man glaring at him now, and sighed, shaking his head.

"Common. Let's go." He waved the mage over to him.

Kuja shook his head. "No way... Zidane, that thing isn't domesticated. Not to mention it's dirty." The older man whined.

Zidane arched a brow some at the other's words. He sighed and laughed lightly. He looked back at Kuja finally and placed a hand on his hip, holding the Gargant with his other hand. He gave Kuja a dubious look.

"Kuja… if I'm not mistaken, you were sleeping in the dirt last night, too. Were you not? Don't be hypocritical. Unless you can summon up some of that magic of yours to knock out the tunnel over there, I don't wanna hear any more bitching from you. Now get over here…"

The mage couldn't respond to that either. His glare turned into a pathetic moping expression and his shoulders slumped. Zidane was right. He hated it too. He despised the blond for it. After he managed to get over his pouting, he straightened and wiped his face clean of any expression of defeat. He still had his pride. Or what was left of it, anyways. Kuja compliantly stepped forward and took Zidane's outstretched hand, grumbling to himself as he went along with whatever the younger Genome wanted.

Zidane smiled after a moment, taking Kuja's hand and pushing the platinum haired man in front of him, shoving him closer to the Gargant. He had to snicker when Kuja shuddered. He took a step up behind the older man and held both of his hands, motioning to Kuja where to grab the Gargant to climb onto it. It took a bit of work to actually get Kuja to grab the thing, and when he did he let out a grunt of disgust.

"Arg…! It smells!"

"Quit your bitching …" Zidane grunted.

Kuja became more cooperative after he had grabbed the sides of the Gargant, his arms looping around the creature's neck in paranoia, not wanting to fall off during the ride. However his attitude changed slightly when he became distracted after Zidane climbed up behind him. He could feel the blonde's body pressed close against his own. When he felt the other's arms loop around his own waist, he felt a little more secure in riding the giant insect beast. He relaxed against Zidane and closed his eyes, pressing his head against the Gargant's shoulders.

Zidane noticed this change in Kuja, and gently nudged the older man with his tail, which curled up around the other man's thigh.

"After this I wont make you ride another Gargant bareback again. Okay?" he reassured.

Kuja simply nodded, keeping his eyes closed shut. "Let's just go already…." He groaned.

Zidane nodded and looked to the Gargant to see if it had finished eating. It was a few moments later before the Gargant had finished devouring it's flower snack and hissed, beginning to crawl up the vine towards the top. It was a little slower, but that was only due to its new passengers.

Kuja clung to the creature when it began moving, feeling somewhat sick to his stomach. He wasn't sure what was worse, the creature's smell, or the fact that he felt like he was going to be thrown off.

They were nearing the top by this point and it was apparent. The closer they got to the top of the tree roots, the brighter it got. From there, on the Gargant, it was a straight shot up. The giant insect's speed began to increase as it crawled up the roots, which in turn, made the ride a bit bumpier for it's passengers.

Kuja whined a little, but otherwise was doing rather well on the trip up. Zidane found it hilarious, but kept his mouth shut for the most part. He didn't want to invoke any womanish anger from the mage.

It wasn't much longer, and they finally came to the top of the tree roots. The brief introduction of blinding light from the sun above sent Kuja and Zidane both into a brief groan of pain. However they recovered quickly enough, as the Gargant stopped, finding some yellow flowers at the top and beginning to munch. This was the genomes' cue to dismount the beast.

Zidane helped Kuja off of the Gargant and pulled him up onto the top of the root. Surprisingly the Gargant had taken them farther than they originally had thought. They were within walking distance of the Conde' Petie Mountain path, just along the edge of the Lifa Tree's roots. Kuja groaned, whining more concerned that he wasn't any dirtier than he was, or making sure the Gargant didn't leave any residue on the mage. Lord forbid if Kuja was going to smell like one of those things.
Zidane smiled, patting the Gargant on the top of the head, then stood back a bit to take in the scenery before him. The Lifa Tree had drastically changed. Not just that the mist was gone, but the roots that used to stick out and form a path to the tree trunk, were now all collapsed, which created a crater around the trunk. The tree itself wasn't in such bad condition, however the foliage at the top of the tree was beginning to wilt away. It was as if the tree itself was dying.()

"Wow…." Zidane mused.

He just stared for a bit longer, somewhat amazed. His attention was brought back to him when the mage began whining again. He looked down to see Kuja fiddling with a buckle on his thigh high boots. He simply rolled his eyes and turned, glancing around. He noticed the Conde' Petie Mountain path not far from where they were. If they could manage it, perhaps they could reach Conde' Petie itself by nightfall. That's if Kuja didn't slow them down with his griping.

He turned back towards Kuja now, mildly irritated.

"What are you doing?"

Kuja Grunted in frustration, fiddling with the strap and buckle a bit more. He whimpered and hung his head. He stayed silent like that, sulking for a few minutes. Finally he straightened his posture, standing to look at Zidane with his own irritation and grief.

"The strap is broken…" He said quietly. "…My skirt is torn. My Armor is busted, my sleeves are ripped, I'm covered in dirt, my feet are sore -and no doubt have blisters, my hair is filthy and has developed split ends, and my nails are broken-"

Kuja was cut off mid rant, as Zidane stepped up to the older man, reaching out and slapping the man across the face. Zidane furrowed his brows slightly in mild irritation and just stared hard at Kuja.

"Quit feeling sorry for yourself. You're a man. Start acting like one." He said sternly. He hated saying it so coldly, but he couldn't keep listening to this self-pity.

Kuja just blinked at Zidane with weary and tired ice blue eyes. He was utterly miserable. His pride had been broken long ago. What stood before Zidane wasn't the proud mage he had fought days before. This was a broken man. Half naked, filthy, and beaten down. Zidane would admit he was irritated with Kuja at the moment, but he found himself pitying the poor man more than anything. Zidane could see the tears of misery welling up in the corners of his eyes. The blonde sighed and pulled the older man into a soft embrace, and Kuja broke down.

Sighing, he rubbed Kuja's back reassuringly, his tail curling around the other man's waist.

"I'm sorry I hit you…" He paused for a moment, soothing Kuja's long platinum hair. " I promise when we get to Lindblum I'll buy you a whole new wardrobe. Okay?" Zidane soothed, trying to calm the other man.

Kuja remained silent, choking back sobs at this point. He had managed to contain himself, but still leaned against Zidane. He didn't want to look at the other. He was ashamed of himself. Disgusted with himself.

Zidane pulled away, but still held onto the mage's hand.

"Common… Conde' Petie Mountain path is just ahead… If we start now, we can probably make it into the village by nightfall." The blonde coaxed, squeezing Kuja's hand softly.

Kuja nodded and kept his head bowed, simply following closely behind Zidane as the blonde turned and began to lead him off, leaving the edge of the Lifa tree's roots and heading off towards the mountains. Crossing the dry wastelands to get there…

End of chapter 5

Author's comments:

It's taken me close to 4 months to actually finish this chapter. As sad as that is, it's true. I'm sorry for such a long wait, but I've had a lot going on in my life. In any case I hope the wait was worth the while, and you've enjoyed this chapter. Gomen once again. ;;

() Okay yeah. I used the different spelling this time. Xx Be happy.