Disclaimer- I don't own any characters in this story. So there. Shaddap.
Krimson- Sorry I've been gone for so long. I've been working on some Naruto stories lately.
Damien- They suck.
Krimson- My new chapter has more than 6600 words. It's the longest fanfic chapter I've ever written!
Damien- It sucks.
Krimson- I also finally have a beta.
Rashnefein- Hi.
Damien- He sucks.
Krimson- And Damien isn't allowed to have any candy. That's why he's being so bitchy.
Damien- THAT'S NOT IT AND YOU KNOW IT!!! RASHNEFEIN DRANK MY COFFEE!!!
Rashnefein- Mmm. It was good coffee too.
Damien- I'LL KILL YOU!!!
Krimson- Before I lose my beta, this is Chapter 11: Only One Step Left.
Damien- THROAT!!!
Rashnefein- Not the face!
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"Are you sure this is the right one?" Zidane yelled angrily as he jumped onto the Antlion's back. He stuck the Ultima Weapon into one of its legs and pried it off.
"Yes I'm sure." Kuja answered in a voice that was just as angry. He powered up a Flare spell and cast it at the Antlion's head.
"I thought that the entrance into the Desert Palace was the only sand pit that didn't have an Antlion living in it." Zidane hacked at the giant monster's back.
"And I'm supposed to control their breeding now, is that it?" Kuja cast a holy spell which ripped through the Antlion's side.
Zidane sank the Ultima Weapon into the back of the Antlion's neck, ending its life. He jumped off of its back, ran up, and stuck his face into Kuja's. "You've been leading us into an awful lot of monsters lately." Zidane said accusingly. "Maybe I should start leading again."
"Just as we get to the one part in our journey that you couldn't possibly navigate. Brilliant!"
Zidane clenched his hands and teeth, only to stomp away, leaving Kuja to get rid of the Antlion's body so they could get into the Desert Palace. Lani and Mikoto watched the whole event from a safe distance. "They sure act like brothers." Lani noted with a tired voice. "Mmm." was the only thing Mikoto felt like saying.
The truth was that none of them had gotten much sleep lately and they were all a little nerve-wrecked. It had been more than a month since they separated from the Black Mages. Their trip had led them near the Temple of Earth, an area which was always experiencing earthquakes. The entirety of that leg of the trip had taken them a week and a half. Walking around the affected area would have added another two weeks to that. They had only been able to sleep when they collapsed from exhaustion. In addition to that, they had been fighting monsters while on edge. Sleeping in the desert wasn't that easy either. It seemed like something was always crawling out of the sand to eat them or lay eggs in their stomachs. If Kuja had a large comfy bed somewhere in the Desert Palace, blood would be shed as to who got to sleep in it.
Kuja powered up another Flare spell and launched it at the Antlion's corpse, destroying it instantly. "Alright!" he yelled. "Let's get some sleep and look for the book in the morning." The book they were looking for was, of course, the one which would tell them how to save the Black Mages from extinction.
"I have a better idea." Zidane said. "How about we sleep for a week, then look for the book."
"Here, here." the girls agreed.
With the Antlion's body gone, they were able to enter the Desert Palace at last. Kuja drew a small circular symbol in the sand. It was similar to the rejuvenation circles he drew for the Black Mages, but smaller and less intricate. He pooled his magic into the symbol and the sand stopped pouring around the sink hole. The sand receded and a concrete platform with a metal ladder leading down into the palace was revealed.
Kuja was the first to descend. Zidane, Mikoto and Lani followed in that order. They arrived in the room which led to the holding cells Zidane and the others woke up in on their first visit. They stood in the center of the room's T-junction.
"Now where?" Zidane asked impatiently.
"Well, if we're going to sleep first, the master bedroom and the guest bedrooms are this way." Kuja started down the main hallway which led into the palace. Zidane, Mikoto and Lani followed at their own paces behind him.
As Kuja led the way through the base he kept looking around as if he was seeing this place for the first time. "What's wrong?" Mikoto asked with more curiosity than concern.
"There should be monsters running around here." It was true. There were no monsters anywhere. Not that anyone was complaining.
"What do you think happened?" Lani asked for the hell of it.
"I don't know." Kuja answered. There was a hint of worry in his voice.
"Do you care about them?" Zidane said.
"Whatever killed all of them had to be strong. Really strong."
"You're acting like you think whatever took them out is still here."
"Maybe it is."
"Kuja, you've been gone for more than six months. Why would anything hang around here that long?"
Kuja sighed. "I suppose you're right." He led them down a corridor with paintings of what looked like important leaders on the walls. The doors at the end of the hall were enormous and were carved with lots of detail. There were four panels forming a large square, each depicting someone winning battles and gathering lots of power.
"Hey Kuja," Zidane asked, "What's with the pictures?"
Kuja smiled to himself. "This is what was supposed to happen when I put my plan into action." He pointed to the first panel. "This was when I tricked the Elephant-Lady into starting a national war." He pointed to the second panel. "That was when I captured Bahamut and killed the Elephant-Lady." He pointed to the third panel. "This was when I defeated Garland." He pointed to the fourth panel. "And this was supposed to be when I took over as master of both Terra and Gaia."
"When did you carve this?" Zidane asked.
"A little after the Elephant-Lady's death." Zidane looked a little closer at the pictures. The first two panels looked pretty close to what actually happened, but the third panel showed Kuja beating Garland on top of a mountain, which wasn't what happened. The fourth panel, obviously, never happened.
"I didn't know you could carve wood this artistically Kuja." Mikoto said.
"I dabble." Kuja said with a prideful smirk.
"What do you mean you dabble?" Zidane questioned. "When we were trapped in the Iifa Tree that's all you ever did."
Kuja shrugged off Zidane's statement. "I just wanted something to look at whenever I went to bed."
"So then, is that the bedroom?" Lani asked hopefully.
"Mmm-hmm." Kuja responded.
"Alright!" the other three shouted. The mood lightened in an instant as the promise of a good night's sleep entered their minds. They all picked up the pace and rushed down the hall. Upon entering the room, they saw a large, fluffy, ornate, king size bed. There were treasures and research papers scattered on desks around the room. There was even a large vanity mirror on the side of the room. But no one noticed any of that. All they saw was the blue, silk lined sheets covering what could possibly be the best bed in the world.
"Alright, I'll take this room." Kuja said and pointed to the door they just entered. "The guest beds are through there and to the right. Just don't do anything to wake me up." He started for the large bed in the center of the room.
"Hold on a second." Kuja was cut off from the bed as all the others jumped in front of him. "Why do you think you should get the main bedroom?" they asked.
Kuja wasn't set back by this by much. "Because I bought it and this is my house." he said blandly.
"Well I think I should get it because I haven't killed any of you yet." Lani said, putting her hand on the hilt of her axe.
"It'd be nice if you let me sleep here Kuja." Mikoto said using the cutest expression she could. Apparently, Lani was having some affect on her. "After all, I am your little sister."
"I saved the planet. That's all I'm saying." Zidane said as he crossed his arms.
"I don't care." Kuja said adamantly. "This is my house and these are my rules. If you don't like them then you can go back out to the desert and sleep there."
The others were about to press the argument when a loud, annoying shriek sounded out from the hallway. It sounded like a duck being strangled by a king cobra while school girls beat it with fish.
They all turned to look down the hallway and saw a large black monolith floating in the corridor. It was badly scratched and cracked. Clearly battle damage.
"This must be what killed all the monsters here." Kuja said.
"What is that thing?" Zidane asked.
"That's the Valia Pora. It was the prototype to the Valia Pira, one of my security systems. It must have malfunctioned."
"Dammit, I just want to rest." Zidane complained. He and Kuja readied themselves for battle.
They prepared to charge when Lani and Mikoto gave the loudest battle cry either of the two brothers had ever heard. They ran past them in a mad dash. Mikoto jumped with her knife drawn and landed on Lani's shoulders, who had her axe in hand. As they neared their target, Mikoto jumped off of Lani's shoulders and struck the very top of the Valia Pora while Lani swung her axe deep into its lower half. They jumped back, landing side by side, as the prototype started to shake and crack. It slowly crumbled into a heap on the floor as the two girls turned back for the master bedroom. Kuja and Zidane, who were already standing in the hallway, looked on in a combination of amazement and horror. The girls walked by them and grabbed the edge of the door and turned to look at the guys.
"We'll both take this room, okay?" Mikoto asked.
"Uhh…" was all that came out of the brothers' mouths.
"Goodnight." Lani said impatiently.
Zidane and Kuja stood in silence for a moment.
"We must never get on their bad sides." Kuja said.
"Yeah."
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The beds were comfortable. Really comfortable. Mikoto was the first to wake up the next day. She glanced at a grandfather clock across the room. The hour hand and the minute hand were both a little passed the 3. About 3:17. Mikoto thought that the middle of the afternoon was late enough to get out of bed. She forced her self to drag herself out of the incredibly fluffy bed. She fell to the floor, landing on her side. As Mikoto rubbed her eyes, she looked over at Lani sleeping at the other side of the bed. She had her sheets up to her neck and her head tilted to the side. Mikoto noticed that, despite how she acted when she was awake, Lani really did look like a princess in her sleep. Mikoto walked to Lani's side of the bed and shook her gently.
"Lani. Wake up. It's after three."
Lani raised an eyelid and focused on Mikoto. "Good." she said. "That means I can lounge in bed for a few more hours."
"C'mon. Get up." Mikoto grabbed her friend's sheets and pulled them down. Lani groaned a complaint, but pulled her legs over the edge of the bed anyway. She grabbed her axe from the side of the bed and, strapping the axe to her back, followed Mikoto out of the room.
Mikoto knocked on the guest bedroom door and took a step back. They both waited as no response came. Mikoto knocked again. "Kuja? Zidane?" she called. After a moment she heard movement inside. The sound of footsteps came closer to the door. Kuja opened the door, looking as posh as ever. "What time is it?" he asked.
"After three." Mikoto answered.
"Mmm." Kuja said, still half asleep. He turned the lights on in the room and walked to Zidane's bed. Mikoto and Lani saw that the guest room wasn't nearly as well furnished as the master bedroom, but that was to be expected. The beds looked soft. Not as soft and fluffy as the bed in the master bedroom, but anyone would have a hard time getting out of one of these beds.
Kuja was shaking Zidane, trying to get him to stir. After a few tries he shook his head and walked over to the girls, who were still waiting in the doorway.
"It's no good." he said. "We're going to need something to wake him up."
"Why don't I just jump on his stomach again?" Mikoto asked, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.
"That won't work."
"How can you tell?" asked Lani, who was now leaning against the wall next to the doorway the conversation was coming from.
"When Mikoto did that last time, it was only as a last resort. At the time, Zidane was well rested and sleeping in a pile of leaves. Now that he hasn't gotten a decent night's sleep in a month and is sleeping on a silk lined bed, combined with Zidane's odd sleeping patterns, he's two steps away from being classified as comatose."
"What do we do then?"
"We'll need to wake him up the same way I did when we were trapped in the Iifa Tree."
Mikoto's eyes shot open in shock. "Are you sure that's necessary? What if it traumatizes him?"
"Well, that's where he lucks out. Thanks to the Valia Pora, I don't think we'll be able to wake him up for a while."
"Why? Do you need a monster?"
"Yes, but I doubt that any are left in the entire palace."
"Then someone really hates Zidane." Lani said. "Look." She pointed down the hallway as a Grimlock hobbled over the remains of the Valia Pora towards them.
"Perfect." Kuja said with a smile.
The Grimlock, seeing the three of them, ran to attack, as it had been trained. Kuja thought that it was almost cute in how pathetic it looked.
"Mikoto, may I borrow your knife?"
"Uh, sure." she said with the knife already in hand. She handed it over and Kuja rushed at the oncoming monster. The Grimlock roared a tiny roar as it prepared to attack its prey, but Kuja, in surprising speed, managed to stab each of the Grimlock's three faces before it had a chance to do anything. It fell to the ground in a heap.
Kuja picked up one of the sections. "Can you two give me a hand with this?"
Lani and Mikoto gave each other a confused look and walked over to help Kuja. They both picked up their own sections of the segmented monster. They looked at Kuja, wondering what to do next. "Follow me." he said.
Kuja led them back into the guest room and up to Zidane's bed. "Mikoto, can you hold this over him please?" Kuja asked holding out his section of the Grimlock.
"Why? What are you going to do?"
"Disembowel it and pour the entrails onto Zidane."
"WHAT?!? Kuja, that's horrible."
"Hey, the smell wakes him up after a while."
"That's how you woke him up in the Iifa Tree?"
"Yes."
"No!" Mikoto shouted while shaking her head. "No, no, no, no, no! There has to be something better to do than that."
"I have an idea." Lani said. She pushed Mikoto out of her way as she walked up to Zidane's side. She knelt down and gave him a peck on the forehead. Within moments, Zidane was stirring and he opened his eyes. He looked around the room. "Why is everyone standing around my bed?"
Mikoto spoke up. "Well, you wouldn't wake up so-"
Lani elbowed her in the stomach to keep her from telling Zidane what happened. "We just tried to wake you up. That's all."
Zidane shrugged it off as he crawled out of bed. "Alright." he said.
Zidane's stomach growled as he stood up. He patted it to quiet it. "I guess I'm hungry." he said with a laugh.
The others nodded in agreement. "Let's get something to eat." Mikoto said.
They walked out of the room and headed for the kitchen, hiding the Grimlock pieces under Zidane's bed.
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Later, after a quick lunch, they searched the library for the book that would tell how to make Black Mages without the dregs of souls. They had spent the better half of an hour searching, but to no avail. Kuja's library was huge and many of the books took a long time to look through. Kuja's library covered all sorts of sorcery, things like teleportation, advanced technological marvels, and the power of the soul.
Kuja was leaning against a bookcase. There was a growing stack of books next to him. Zidane and Mikoto were sitting at a table. There were several small stacks of books on the table. Lani was sitting on the rungs of a ladder. There was a messy pile of books that had been dropped to the ground next to the ladder. In a way, they looked like a scattered study group.
Lani threw another book to the floor in disgust after a hour of searching. "I'm so sick of this!" she yelled. The others looked at her, feeling the same thing. They must have gone through more than twenty books each, but to no avail. Out of all of them, Kuja was the only one who didn't seem to be getting too impatient.
"Look, why don't you all take a break." Kuja offered. He put down the book that was in his hands and grabbed a new one.
"But what about you?" Mikoto asked.
"No, I'll keep looking."
Zidane, Mikoto and Lani glanced at each other, the at the growing piles of books, then to each other. They picked up their books and continued flipping through the pages.
"Aren't you guys going to take a break?" Kuja asked.
"We'll take a break when we're done." Zidane said speaking for himself and the girls, who nodded in agreement.
Kuja smiled. He was glad that they were so determined. It would make their search much less tedious. He put the book in his hands on the pile by his side and pulled another one from the bookcase behind him.
It was another hour before anyone said anything. Zidane leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.
"Tired?" Mikoto teased.
"Mmm."
It was already late in the day. They were all tired and bored out of their minds.
"It feels like we've searched through half of this library." he said.
"Oh, this is nowhere near half." Kuja said.
"I know. I was exaggerating."
"No, I mean there's three other floors just like this one."
Zidane, Mikoto and Lani froze in place. This floor was already bigger than it had the right to be, but if there were more than this, their search could easily take months.
"What do you mean there's more floors like this?" Zidane asked weakly.
"Of course. You didn't think I could put up having this few books, did you?"
Lani had to stop herself from jumping on Kuja and beating the crap out of him. Mikoto laid her head on the table and almost cried. Zidane, giving into his exhaustion, leaned back in his chair.
"Look out!" Kuja said.
Zidane's eyes widened as he realized too late that he leaned back too far in his chair. He scrambled to get a hold of something to stop his decent, but he only grabbed air. He fell back and fell against the bookcase, causing several books to fall to the floor. As Zidane pulled himself up he glanced at the books on the ground. None of them seemed worth checking out, except the one that caught his eye. The title was Origins of Black Magic.
Zidane grabbed the book and picked his chair back up. He sat at the table and flipped through the pages. "Guys. I think this might be it." he said. He stopped at a section which read, Creating a Black Magic User. The others had gathered around him and read over his shoulder. The chapter went on to describe how to make Black Mages using the dregs of soul.
Zidane let out a sigh. "I don't think this is going to help."
"Let me see that." Kuja said. Zidane gave him the book and Kuja began speeding through the pages. After a few moments his eyes widened and a huge grin spread across his face.
"What is it?" Mikoto asked.
"YES!" Kuja victoriously jumped into the air. "This is it!"
Everyone let out cheers of joy and relief. Now, instead of having to stay at the Desert Palace for months, reading books of topics they couldn't begin to care about, they could leave and save the Black Mages!
"Good job Zidane." Kuja said, patting Zidane on the back.
"No problem." Zidane responded, rubbing the back of his head where he landed.
"Let's get some food to celebrate." Lani suggested. Her idea received cheers from the others.
They celebrated late into the night. Kuja managed to pull a grand feast together. His kitchen was well stocked with non-perishable foods. Dinner wasn't anything too special, but the presentation made everything seem spectacular. The dining hall was fully lit up with candles in every corner of the room. The dinnerware was shining silver. Kuja even pulled out some Champaign out from a wine cellar he had beneath the kitchen. They drank some of it and left the rest for the trip back.
It was well after midnight before they finally went to bed.
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They left at noon the next day. Everyone had woken up early and prepared everything they needed for their trip back to the Black mage Village. Food, water, clothes. Things of that nature.
Even Zidane had woken up on time. He complained of some smell in his room, like rotting monster flesh.
No one told him what was shoved under his bed.
The return trip had taken them a month an a half. They decided not to go past the Earth Temple again. Undoing all the relaxation they got in the Desert Palace like that didn't seem very smart
The reception they got at the Black Mage Village was more than welcome. They were all mobbed by any Black Mage near the entrance of the village. Mikoto noted that many of them looked much healthier. The mist capsules must have really worked. She smiled, knowing that her Black Mage friends were going to live healthier, longer lives.
Lani stayed back, as was her style. She didn't want to get in anyone's way, especially since the atmosphere was so jovial. Instead, she spent a lot of time at the synthesis shop getting her axe improved.
Zidane insisted on Mikoto introducing him to all the Genomes. Now that Zidane had the time, he wanted to learn more about them. He learned about their likes and dislikes, which had expanded significantly since he last checked. Since the destruction of Terra, they were slowly becoming their own people, even if they were technically soulless.
The first thing Kuja did when he got back to the village was have a meeting with Mr. 288 about how to handle the issue on reproduction.
"So how does it work?" Mr. 288 asked patiently.
"Simple." Kuja said. He walked over to the freezer which held the mist capsules. He took one out and held it in his hand. It was absolutely freezing. Kuja knew that if they were kept in that condition, the pills would last a long time. He placed it on the table.
"All you need to do now is add your life force and your magic to this capsule and you'll have a younger version of yourself."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"By 'life force', do you mean blood?"
"Well, all children are created by giving a bit of yourself and adding a little magic." Kuja said with a smirk. "The Black Mages are no different."
Mr. 288 nodded knowledgeably.
"Thank you Kuja. You have done us a great favor."
Mr. 288 picked up the mist capsule and put it back in the freezer.
"You're not going not use the capsule?" Kuja asked in a disappointed tone. In all truth, he had wanted to see such magic happen first hand.
"No. I find that I have no reason to have children."
"And why is that?"
Mr. 288 turned and looked at Kuja with a proud smile. "Because everyone in this village is already like a child to me."
Kuja paused, then smiled back.
----------------
Zidane sat on the handrail outside of the inn looking up at the stars. He remembered that the last time he looked at the stars like that, he was looking at them with Dagger. Now that the Black Mages were safe from extinction, nothing was stopping him from returning to his queen.
Not much longer, Dagger.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice when the big yellow bird walked up behind him.
"KWEH!"
Zidane nearly fell off of the handrail. He got a good hold on the rail again and turned to see his sister riding the village's favorite chocobo, Bobby Corwen.
"If you aren't careful you'll fall off." Mikoto warned.
"Gee, thanks." Zidane said sarcastically.
Mikoto giggled to herself and gave Bobby Corwen a soft pat on the neck. He had grown quite a lot since Zidane had seen him last. He was now about as tall as any of the Black Mages in the village. Mikoto was just light enough to ride him.
"What were you thinking about just now?" she asked.
Zidane glanced at her with a smirk. "Isn't it obvious?"
Mikoto smiled back and glanced up at the stars. "You'll see her soon enough Zidane."
Zidane turned back to the stars.
"How were you going to go back?" Mikoto asked.
"What?"
"How are you planning on getting back to the Mist Continent?" she asked again. "Fossil Roo was sealed off, remember?"
Zidane hadn't forgotten. That was one of the first thing that Lani told him when she rescued him. He leaned his head back. That moment seemed so long ago.
"I hadn't really thought about it." he said, answering her question. Zidane had hoped that something would just happen by, like if Garnet flew by on the Red Rose unexpectedly and picked him up. That would've been nice.
Zidane's eyes flew open as he realized something.
"Kuja's ship!"
"What?" Mikoto responded.
"The Hilda Garde 1. Kuja had it for a while. Maybe it's nearby."
Mikoto rested her head on her chin in thought. She hadn't thought of that. It was entirely possible.
"I lost it."
Zidane and Mikoto turned to see Kuja walking down the pathway.
"What do you mean you lost it?" Zidane asked.
"I mean it's sitting somewhere at the bottom of the sea right now. Near Esto Gaza I would suspect."
"But why?"
Kuja pulled some of his hair out of his face. "After I used it to travel to the Shimmering Isle, I had no one left to pilot it, so I let it fall into the ocean."
"So there's no way to get it back?"
"Not in a reasonable amount of time."
Zidane clenched his teeth. "Dammit!" he yelled. He slammed his fist on the handrail.
"You give up too easily Zidane." Mikoto said.
Zidane and Kuja gave questioning looks to their sister. She slid off of her chocobo friend and walked up to them, smiling from ear to ear.
"I talked to some of the Black Mages earlier. They said they're willing to help build a ship."
"Really?" Zidane said hopefully.
"Yup."
Zidane was ecstatic for a moment before he realized…
"Wait. How long would it take to build a ship?"
"Maybe a month or two." Kuja answered.
"Actually, it'll probably take more like three or four months." Mikoto answered. "No one here knows how to make a boat, so it might take a little longer than normal."
"Not with my ideas." Kuja said, tapping his temple.
Zidane and Mikoto looked at Kuja.
"I can design a ship that will survive the ocean trip and can be built in only a month."
"Really?"
"The only problem is getting the wood for it."
"No it isn't." came a voice from behind them. They all turned and saw Lani walking towards them. She held the handle in her right hand while bouncing the blade in her left. She had a dangerous smirk on her face.
"With the improvements on my axe I can cut down an entire forest in a day."
"No way." Zidane said excitedly.
"You want to find out?" she said, pointing her axe at him playfully.
"That's okay Lani." he answered with a nervous laugh.
Lani just chuckled as she strapped her axe to her back.
Mikoto looked at the group. "So with Kuja's plans, Lani's axe, and Zidane's…" she paused as she looked for the right word. "…enthusiasm, we just might be able to pull this off."
"Awesome." Zidane said. He could hardly wait to see Garnet's face when she saw what he had in store for her. If it only took a month to build the ship, then his plan would work just fine.
"Well, it's late." Kuja said with a stretch. "I'm headed to bed."
The others nodded in agreement. Zidane and Mikoto yawned while Lani stretched her arms. After a quick round of 'Goodnights' everyone headed to bed. Mikoto left for her hut while Zidane, Lani and Kuja walked into the inn.
They had a busy day ahead of them.
----------------
Zidane woke up and stretched his arms over his head. He looked through the window and saw the sun coming up over the horizon. There was probably still time to sleep before the village started construction on the boat. He rested his head back on his pillow, thinking about seeing Garnet again.
"Timber!"
Zidane sat up again. He heard branches breaking followed by a thunderous crash. Zidane jumped out of bed and ran out of the inn.
As Zidane exited the inn, he saw everyone in the village hard at work. Many of the Genomes were working on the farms. The Black Mages were either helping the Genomes or they were carrying lumber. Zidane walked through the crowd in wonder. They started working already?
After a bit of searching, he found Kuja and Mikoto working over a podium. Kuja was scribbling something on a piece of paper while Mikoto told the Black Mages waiting for orders what to do. Zidane looked deeper into the woods and saw Lani chopping down trees.
"TIMBER!" she yelled again. She readied her axe over her shoulder and used all of her weight in her swing. She cut through the tree in one stroke. Zidane was slightly frightened, considering that the tree had to be at least a foot and a half thick. He backed away to the podium where he could find his siblings.
He walked up to the podium and rested his arms on its edge. "Morning." he said in a tired voice.
"Good morning." Kuja said without looking up. He continued to scribble measurements.
"Sleep well?" Mikoto asked.
"Until I got woken up by all the construction." Zidane replied. He let out a light hearted laugh. Mikoto did the same.
Kuja picked up two pieces of paper and gave one each to Zidane and Mikoto. "Here are your lists."
Mikoto took her sheet and walked over to a group of Black Mages waiting to help her. Many of them had saws, but a few of them had hatchets.
Zidane took the sheet of paper and read it. There were numbers listed on it. Quite a lot of them too. "What is this Kuja?"
"You are charged with getting the wood cut into these sizes." he answered, pointing to Zidane's list. He went back to drawing a schematic for the boat.
Now that Zidane looked at it, the list made sense. There were sizes of wood listed and the quantity needed written next to that. But Zidane noticed one problem.
"Kuja, how am I supposed to do this all alone?"
Kuja looked up from his plans. "Don't be ridiculous. Get some of the Black Mages to help you."
Zidane noticed a lot of Black Mages were hanging around doing nothing. He walked over to them. They all had saws. They were sitting on the logs they were meant to cut. They looked at Zidane as he came over to them and stood, ready to help out when they saw that he had the measurements for the lumber.
Zidane glanced at them over the top edge of the paper. "Okay. Is everyone ready?"
The Black Mages responded with a healthy "Yes!"
They set to cutting up the wood which would make the outer layer of the ship's hull.
Later that evening, after everyone decided that they were sick of the smell of sawdust, the whole village had gathered for a huge dinner feast to celebrate a job well done so far. They finished cutting the wood for the right side of the ship and the entire frame. Tomorrow, they would finish cutting the wood for the left side of the ship. The day after that, they would drag the wood to the ocean and start assembling it.
The three Angels of Death sat together at dinner, talking about their memories from the last few months.
"So I collapsed out of hunger on the fork leading to the Iifa Tree. Lani must've picked me up a little after that."
"And she dragged you back to Madain Sari?" Kuja asked.
"Yep."
"That was the first time a girl ever took you home, right Zidane?" Mikoto teased.
"Hey, I've been to Alexandria Castle with Dagger."
Kuja and Mikoto just laughed at Zidane's reaction. After a moment, Zidane couldn't help but laugh too. It had been awhile since they really sat and talked like this.
"What were you doing then Kuja?" Mikoto asked.
"You mean when Zidane was rescued by Lani?"
Mikoto nodded.
Kuja leaned back so that he was resting on his hands. "At that time I was getting a crudely drawn map from the Dwarves."
"That's how you found the Black Mage Village?" Zidane asked.
"Well, it's not like I had ever been there before."
Zidane smirked. He put his plate off to one side and laid back in the grass. Mikoto finished her food and followed suit. Kuja just stayed the way he was, leaning back on his arms.
They were quiet for a few minutes as they looked at the stars. Zidane finally broke the silence as he wondered something aloud.
"Do you guys think Dagger's looking at the same stars right now?"
Kuja and Mikoto just looked at him.
Mikoto decided to answer him. "It's sweet that you're thinking about her Zidane, but…"
Zidane sat up after she paused. "But what?"
"She isn't looking at the same stars as you Zidane." Kuja said in a dark tone.
"You mean you think she's moved on?" he asked in a very concerned voice.
"No. I mean, you're facing east. Alexandria Castle faces southwest."
The three of them paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. Zidane grabbed a pile of sawdust and threw it at Kuja's feet. The laughing continued for a minute until Lani threw a soccer ball at Zidane's head. Mikoto caught it as it bounced off.
"Hey!" Lani called. "Help me teach these guys soccer."
Zidane and Mikoto jumped up and ran over to Lani's side to help her out. Kuja stayed back and laid back on the grass. Images went through his head of the last few months and how much everyone had changed. Mikoto was showing more emotion than ever. Lani was friendly. Zidane hadn't changed much, but he was far more mature. Kuja realized that he himself had become closer to his siblings and was more accepting of others. As he drifted off to sleep in the grass, he wondered what he was going to do after they got the boat built.
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It didn't take as long to build the boat as Kuja had predicted. With all the Black Mages helping, they managed to finish it in just three weeks. In many ways, it looked like a smaller version of the Blue Narcissus. The boat was ready to launch. All the necessary supplies had been carried on; food, blankets, and such. Zidane and Lani stood by it, saying their goodbyes.
"Make sure you visit at least every other month, okay?" Mikoto said as she hugged her big brother goodbye.
"I will." he said as he hugged her back.
Mikoto broke the hug and walked up to Lani. "Keep him in line, okay?"
Lani gave her a thumbs up. "You got it."
Mikoto gave her a smile and a quick hug.
Zidane was standing in front of Kuja. They looked at each other intently.
"Kuja." Zidane began. "When we first met, I thought you were crazy and completely evil."
Kuja raised an eyebrow.
"Even when we escaped from the Iifa Tree, I thought that you still couldn't be trusted. But now that you've saved the Black Mages and helped Mikoto and me, I think you've become a much better person." Zidane stuck his hand out towards Kuja.
"I'm gonna miss you brother."
Kuja looked down at Zidane's hand and grabbed it with his own. They shook.
"Thanks…brother."
"I'll talk to Dagger," Zidane continued. "I'll see if you can be allowed back into Alexandria."
Kuja smiled at his little brother. "Alright then." Kuja broke off the handshake and jumped onto the boat.
Zidane was confused for a moment. "Kuja, what are you doing?"
Kuja turned and rested his arms on the railing. "I'm going with you, what else?"
"But…" Zidane began, then he realized that he had no reason to argue against Kuja's decision. He nodded. "Right."
After a few more rounds of goodbyes, the ship, nicknamed the "Fiji Warrior", sailed off to the south.
After ten minutes of sailing, Lani was fixing the sails while Zidane steered it. The ship was originally designed for two people, so Kuja was standing on the bow of the Fiji Warrior. "Alright!" he said. "Next stop, Alexandria Harbor!"
"We're not going to Alexandria." Zidane said.
"What!" came the cry from Kuja and Lani. They glared at him as he turned the Fiji Warrior to the south.
"Zidane! What are you doing?" Kuja asked.
"We're going to Lindblum."
"But why?" Lani asked.
"Dagger's birthday is in two months. I have an idea."
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Krimson- My eyes hurt from writing on the computer too much.
Damien- Whiner.
Rashnefein- I found a typo!
Damien- What's he doing?
Krimson- Being a beta.
Rashnefein- You call that a sentence?
Damien- Well he's too loud. Tell him to stop it.
Rashnefein- Another typo.
Krimson- If I do that, then my chapters would have more errors in them.
Damien- Like they don't already suck.
Krimson- Shouldn't you be saying your line?
Damien- But why? I say it every time while you just sit around eating or juggling chainsaws.
Rashnefein- What horrible grammar.
Krimson- It's a running gag. They're funny if they're done right.
Rashnefein- Another friggin' typos!
Damien- Fine. Please Read and Review. Happy now?
Rashnefein- No. Krimson's writing is atrocious.
Damien- That's what I've been saying.
Krimson- Great. Now there's two of them.