Dark Ice Dragon and HANDHELD Uber Rei Model 05: Once again, this is just my opinion. Hehe. In the game, Eiko says that moogles are fairies, and when I hear fairies I think of elves. (Haha, this is what Tolkien does to you). Elves are immortal and can only die of a broken heart or if they're killed. Other than that, they are completely prone to living forever.
Jkateel: If you ever do anything like post your manga/comics online, be sure to let me know! I'm very interested in that sort of thing and I'd love to see them! (I got a book on how to draw manga for Christmas, maybe I'll figure out how to draw it before I die. ^o^)
SuicidalMage: Another bottomless pit? Wow… But let's put it this way, if I die, then who's going to finish the story?
A/N: Well, I know that I promised a bunch of people that I'd have this up on Christmas, but I lied. Don't get me wrong, I had every intention of actually putting it up, but (as most of you know) I can't upload the stories at my house because of my computer. The plan was to upload the fourth chapter when I got to my Grandparent's house on Christmas. BUT! I…kindasortaleftmydiskathomebymycomputer…. ::Looks around nervously::
Sorry, but here it is! My mom decided to go back to my Grandparent's house today so that her mom could help her figure out her checkbook, (she made a mistake somewhere) so I followed! And this time, I brought my disk! Wahoo!
Just a quick note! Normally Noelle (my Beta-Reader) does the editing for this story, but she only was able to edit my rough draft (the handwritten one…heh) So, based on what she wrote in my notebook as corrections, I typed this up. So, if there are any grammar/spelling errors, please forgive me and be sure to include what/where you found it in the story. I will try to fix it ASAP. I edited the final copy all by myself with the help of Buddy (my Grandma's wiener dog). ^o^ Hopefully I did a decent enough job.
Keep Yourself Alive: Chapter Four
She felt the flames lick her face as she ran back inside the burning house. Screams echoed in all directions as Genomes ran for cover. In the front of the village a gigantic man with blue skin and red dreadlocks was shouting orders. "This city must be empty! Everyone out!" Next to him a little girl with purple hair was going ballistic.
"We have to hurry back to the ship!" she cried, tugging on his green shirt.
"First and foremost we have to evacuate the city. You heard Zidane."
The child's terrified eyes swept over the scene of chaos and destruction. Tears came to her eyes and she looked up at the man. "Is this what it looked like when Madin Sari burned?"
"I can't say," he said coolly, with no hint of emotion.
The child flinched at his cold statement, "Oh, I'm soooo sorry for bothering you. Meanie!" then she took off for the village.
"Eiko! Wait! You'll get yourself killed!" the man called after her. As much as he tried to follow her path with his eyes, it wasn't long before she was lost in the mass of the panicking Genome citizens.
Suddenly, Mikoto heard her door fly open. "Anyone in here? Anyone ALIVE in here!?" the purple-haired girl, supposedly named Eiko, stood in the doorway. "Hey! It's you! The perv!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger at the blond teenager.
Mikoto looked up from her handful of possessions. This was no time to talk, the fire was spreading through the house and she needed to get out.
"Well, even if you ARE perverted or disturbed in any way, then I can forgive you. 'Cuz Amarant is ten times worse!"
Mikoto cocked her head to the side and looked at the girl confusedly. Why was this Gaian child communicating with her when there was an order to evacuate?
"Hey! Lady! Can't you hurry any faster? There's fire here. FIRE! It can hurt you! PAIN!" Eiko was speaking slowly and emphasizing certain words. While Mikoto knew she meant well, she still found it annoying.
"I'm trying to…" she answered in her eerie monotonous voice, reaching for a trinket on her smoldering desk.
"God, you're just creepy! C'mon! Let's go! I wanna get off this planet BEFORE it blows up!" Before Mikoto could wrap her fingers around the item, she felt a small hand grab her by the wrist. "I don't care anymore. You're coming with me! I'm not going back to the Invincible alone!"
Allowing herself to be dragged away by the little girl, she inquired, "The Invincible? What are you doing with Lord Garland's most prized airship?"
"Garland? Psh! He's dead!"
"Dead!?" Her creator? The father figure who had protected her since her awakening? The man who single-handedly brought her life was never to be seen or heard from again? She couldn't believe it! Why should she? Something inside told her that Lord Garland couldn't die, not completely anyway.
"Oh my God! Get down!" Eiko shrieked, yanking Mikoto down against the street. Instinctively, the Genome held her hands over her head as another tower exploded and crumbled nearby. "Jeez! What exactly is Kuja trying to prove!?" Eiko cried, jumping back up after the shock from the explosion had subsided.
"Kuja? He's back!? Where is he!?" Mikoto hadn't seen her eldest brother in years, and the thought of seeing him again excited her. However, Eiko merely stared at her looking astounded. "Well? Where is he?"
"Up there…" The purple-haired girl helped the Genome back up and pointed skyward. For a second, she was confused. Why would Kuja be in the sky? He couldn't fly! But, apparently she was mistaken.
Truthfully, she would probably have never guessed it was her brother had this Gaian child not said so. His formal Terran clothing was tattered and torn, his hair and fur had turned from silver to a scarlet red. As the spheres of energy shot from his hands, Mikoto noticed that his face was that of a tortured soul. Just looking at him, she knew that something had happened; something terrible.
One thing remained a mystery to her: why would he destroy his home planet, his father, even his own sister?
"Let's go! Enough staring! We have to get to safety!" Eiko begged, pulling Mikoto toward the town entrance. Finally, she gave in completely and the two girls ran to the docked airship.
Once the two made it on board she could see the back of Zidane. "Everybody on?" he called out. His blue eyes finally landed on her. "Mikoto! You're all right!" he ran forward and hugged her. She wasn't sure what to think of this gesture, so she did nothing, just stood there. "I thought you weren't gonna make it! You weren't on the ship and I saw the town go up in flames…" Suddenly he was at a loss for words, so he continued to hold tightly on to his long lost sister.
Someone cleared their throat loudly from behind. It was Eiko. "I see, so you're both perverted," she sneered with her hands on her hips. Behind the child stood a woman Mikoto knew as Dagger, she looked very confused.
"No, no, no!" he laughed happily. "Everyone, this is my sister, Mikoto."
"Oh! So you aren't having an affair with her?"
"WHAT!!? What made you think I was having an affair?" he asked, looking at all of his friends.
"Oh, who knows?" Freya spoke up. "Could it be the fact that you're a helpless womanizer that used to try and pick up any girl who was young, naïve, and willing to go with you?"
"Hey! That was the old me! This is the new me!"
"So, are you now picking up girls that aren't willing?" Vivi snickered.
Zidane pretended to be hurt, "I can't believe you would say such mean things to me! I have been nothing but nice to all of you!"
"Zidane!" a new voice blurted out. A man dressed in armor from head to foot came running out of the cockpit. "I need your help! I can't figure out how to get this craft off the ground! If we don't hurry, we'll be sitting ducks!"
"Calm down, Rusty! I'm comin'!" Zidane yelled, running into the cockpit after the knight. As he ran passed Dagger he made sure to slap her butt.
"Wha-? Zidane!" she yelled after him. Soon everyone, including Mikoto, was settled in the cockpit.
"You wouldn't know how to operate it, would you?" the knight interrogated her.
"N-No…"
"Garland never told you anything about it?"
"I don't think so…"
"How can you not think so!? You're a Genome aren't you!? You have to know somet-"
"Oh my God!" Dagger shrieked, "Incoming energy blasts!"
"Zidane! Hurry up and get us outta here!" Eiko pleaded.
The airship jolted and shook as the engine started up. "Everyone! Hold on to something! We'll be taking a few hits!" Zidane yelled over the commotion. Instantly, each person held onto an object near to him or her.
Mikoto clutched onto a bar so tightly, her already pale knuckles turned even whiter. She shut her eyes tight. If this was the end, she didn't want to see it. The entire craft shook violently a second time, throwing everyone forward. No matter how tightly she gripped the bar, the force shocked her and caused her to let go. She was on the floor, with a sharp pain in her back. Someone was standing over her saying her name.
"Mikoto!? Mikoto?"
"Mikoto! Wake up!" she heard a high voice demand, yet she kept her eyes shut. Kuja's hatred, Terra in flames…she didn't want to see it. "Open your eyes! Are you all right?"
Mogzika turned to her cohort; she was at a loss. Mikoto wasn't moving or responding, but she was still breathing.
"Okay, this is going to be our desperate attempt to wake her up, kupo," Moogerz sighed. "Turn the hose on her."
Mogzika did as she was told. Mikoto sputtered and choked then she darted back into a sitting position. Her eyes blurred over, she couldn't make anything out. A wide spectrum of colors invaded her senses, and when her eyes could focus again she realized that she was covered in mud and sitting in the garden. "Did I fall asleep while I was gardening?" she asked, placing a cold, pale hand to her forehead.
"Yup, kupo."
"Was it a bad dream, kupopo? You seemed scared."
"It was more like…a memory."
Both of the moogles knew that she did not want to discuss it any further, therefore they did not push the subject. They had received a letter via Mognet from Mojito saying that she was afraid to express emotions, and the reasons behind her thoughts. However, had she seen her face while she slept she would realize that there was no way she could stop them. As hard as Mikoto could try, it was impossible for her to not feel or express emotions as long as she possessed a soul.
"Hey, Mikoto. You know how you said that you needed to go treasure hunting for items to sell in the Auction House?"
"Yeah, I'll have to worry about that later though."
"Well, we found a way where you may not have to go treasure hunting! Kupo!"
"Really now? What could that be?"
"Moogerz found a bunch of stuff in the storage room that can be sold, and they all look really valuable! Kupopo!"
"That sounds good. You want to take me there, Moogerz?"
"Kupo!" the moogle smiled and grasped Mikoto's cold hand with its paw.
The three treaded back inside the mansion. Things definitely seemed a lot less dirty when the house was lit up. In a few days, the group had managed to completely turn the mansion around. The cobwebs were cleared out, and almost every room had been dusted. Just a few rooms remained, however they mutually decided to work on the outside of the house before conquering the rest of the inside.
The moogle led the Genome up the wooden staircase. Each step creaked as weight was put on it. Moogerz led her to a room at the end of the hallway that Mikoto had not been in to clean yet. Thus she knew that it had to look like a nightmare inside. The door creaked open, and immediately the surroundings looked like the perfect setting for a horror movie.
Dust had accumulated in the most unpleasant way over the years. Cobwebs hung everywhere, and mice scurried around on the floor, trying to find a place to hide now that they had been found. The black curtains in the back of the room had faded to gray were and terribly moth-eaten. "Well, what do you think?"
"I think I'm going to be sick. We have to clean this!?"
"No…look! Over there!" the moogle pointed a pink paw over to a wall, where several objects were hanging. More were displayed around the room on pedestals. Mikoto felt her breath escape her; it was magnificent! Not something she'd expect to find in such a dingy room.
"How'd you find these?"
"We were looking for some clean towels. We didn't find any, kupo," Mogzika laughed. That did not surprise Mikoto; there was not one clean thing in there. She approached the wall and rubbed her finger down one of the dust-covered, metallic objects, leaving a trail of clean silver.
"Well, let's get some rags to dust these off!"
The moogles had come across Zidane's collection of weapons and armor. He had saved everything from his trip around the world that he could. Not only his weapons, but everyone else's as well. From Dagger's simple rod, to the beautiful and well constructed Ultima Weapon. There was no doubt in Mikoto's mind that auctioning these off would bring in a fortune. However, the longer she spent cleaning them off to make them presentable, the more she thought against it.
She could remember Zidane's struggles with his memories. A part of him wanted to remember everything that was taken away. Another part of him knew that memories were too painful, and anything that reminded him of his friends made his heart break when he looked at it. So, he packed up everything he owned that reminded him of his past and took them all to the Treno mansion, somewhere he didn't go very often.
Mikoto also remembered going to Treno with him once after they were first reunited. Together they picked up some money from the Auction House and went to the mansion to get some sleep. She was awoken in the middle of the night when she had heard sobbing coming from down the hall. The night air was cold and she didn't want to leave the warmth of the blankets, yet she got up anyway. She shivered as she wrapped a robe around her shoulders and slipped her feet into some slippers. She padded down the hall and opened the door to the storage room.
Zidane sat on the floor in his boxers and T-shirt, clutching a teddy bear. His face was buried into the stuffed animal's fur and his body shook violently as floods of tears streamed down his face. Mikoto felt her heart sink; she knew she could never take his friends' place. She wondered what it was like; loving someone so much that you would be willing to give your life for them. What it was like to love someone so much, and then have them cruelly torn away.
"Zidane…?" she had asked quietly.
He jolted up and turned his head around to look at her. "I thought you were sleeping," he said as he hastily wiped his face.
"I heard you crying."
He couldn't argue with her and claim he was not, she had seen him with her own eyes. Blushing slightly, he pulled away from the teddy bear and stood up. "It was Amethyst's. I gave it to her for her second birthday." He handed her the bear and she fumbled around with it. It was flimsy with old age and missing a buttoned eye.
In the room that held all of Zidane's memories, Mikoto remembered how terrible she had felt when she had seen her brother cry like that. She remembered how important everything in that room was to him. She couldn't bring herself to sell any of it.
With a sigh, she looked at her moogle friends. "I'll just have to go treasure hunting. I can't sell these."
"Are you kidding!!? There's enough in here for the Jenkinses to be happy with for a looong time! Kupo!" Mogzika exclaimed.
"Perhaps, but I still won't sell them."
The moogles looked at each other, then back to Mikoto, who was polishing an old sword. To them, everything in there looked like junk, valuable junk, but junk nonetheless. Obviously, to Mikoto everything had a sentimental value of some sort.
When the three had finished their cleaning they walked out of the storage room, each one was dead tired. Under Mikoto's arm she carried a few things she had found in the stacks of boxes. A black cloak that Zidane had worn when he returned from the Iifa Tree, a few rings that held magical powers, an old and unused journal, and the teddy bear.
Once she arrived in her quarters she situated all of her new belongings around the room. She threw away her old cloak, it was torn and faded from being used and washed so much, and then hung Zidane's old one in the closet. She placed the rings in an old hand-carved jewelry box, set the journal on her beside table, and lastly sat the teddy bear on a shelf over-looking the room. The bear looked so lonely, as if it had been waiting for centuries to be held by someone again. Fighting to hold back tears she reached up and took the toy back down from the self and hugged it to her chest.
"I'm happy for him…I really am," she sobbed quietly. "I only wanted him for selfish reasons. He's happy now. He's with them…" But as much as she told herself that she was happy, she knew she was just lying to herself. She was lonely, just like Amethyst's old teddy bear.
Pull yourself together, Mikoto! What about Kamikaze? a voice reprimanded her from the back of her head. She gasped and dropped the bear, which made a soft squeak when it hit the tile floor. She shook her head as if to shake all of her emotions away and quickly ran out of the room, leaving the toy behind on the cold stone floor.
"Mikoto? Is something wrong? Looks like you've seen a ghost, kupo!" Moogerz asked as she watched the Genome sprint out of her room. Mikoto, however, did not stop. She continued to run down the stairs.
"What was that all about? Kupo?" Mogzika asked.
"Who knows? Mojito said she was acting strange."
"Shouldn't we go after her?"
"Kupo…" Moogerz shrugged and sighed, "let's hurry and try to catch up."
As fast as they could, the two moogles flew down the stairs after her. They did not have to go very far before they found Mikoto. She was laying on a couch, facedown.
"Is everything all right, Mikoto?"
Mikoto lifted her face off of the pillow, her blond hair was falling over her eyes, "I'll be fine." She then rolled over and sat up. "I'm just…stressed."
"We can tell!" Moogerz said loudly, but was rammed in the side by Mogzika's elbow. Mogzika shot her counterpart a look that said, 'that sure didn't help!'
"Seriously, you two. Don't worry about me. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."
"We know that. But just remember we're here if you need to talk!"
Mikoto smiled at the idea of having a moogle psychiatrist. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind."
The moogles smiled back at her and Moogerz spoke up. "Why don't you get some rest? Kupo? We'll take care of the garden."
"But you still have to help us with the basement tomorrow!"
"It's a deal."
Holding a hand to her forehead, she walked up the spiral staircase. Rest sounded wonderful. Every inch of her body ached from cleaning and lack of sleep. The door to her room was already ajar from her flight.
When she entered, she picked up the bear that she had hastily dropped in effort to get out. Her eyes felt so heavy, she knew her body was screaming for sleep. Instead of placing the stuffed animal on the shelf, she collapsed into her bed, holding the toy to her heart.
"That will be 5,000 gil, Miss Tribal," a plump man said, extending his pudgy hand. Mikoto pressed the currency into his palm and boarded the Red Rose, pulling the hood of Zidane's cloak over her head. "Thank you, Miss Tribal! Come back soon!" he called after her.
She knew she wouldn't be gone long. Already she had spent almost three months in the mansion. She was used to the bustle of Treno, and none of the criminals dared mess with her. She was too fast for them if they tried to harass her anyway.
However, the mansion had run out of food and Mikoto was sick of eating all of the cheap carbohydrates and 'crap food' that Treno had to offer. She was headed to Lindblum for groceries and to put out a few wanted ads for treasure hunters
Lindblum would be a welcome change of pace for her.
* * *
The next chapter, yes, I promise this time, is when I'll be introducing my original character! Until then, I'll leave you all hanging. Please be sure to leave me a review and as always flames and feedback are greatly appreciated. And, again I apologize for my slowness. But you have to admit, I'm not as slow as some authors….but I know I'm definitely in their league. Haha. Review please!
(((Guess what I got for Christmas?? Most of you know that I'm in love with the band Queen from the 70's/80's. Well, I got a DVD of them live at Wembley stadium! Wahoo! And I got a new CD of theirs, plus a T-shirt. I'm all Queened out! Yay! LONG LIVE CLASSIC ROCK!!!!)))
