Destiny in Bagabu
"My dearest wish...to live a life not wasted. To extinguish my light so one greater can take form. I'm sorry it had to be this way. Please take care of Saria."
The words floated through Vik's head and haunted his memories. As meaningless as they were to him, Vik couldn't shake them out of his head. They were the last words heard in his dream. A dream he had been having every night for the past two weeks. Every night he saw it; the palace, the hordes of monsters, the defender's retreat, and pure destruction. Each night, he stood between the opposing forces, both completely unaware of his presence as they fought vigorously. This did not prevent him from getting hurt, though. He would wake up each morning drenched in cold sweat and find cuts and bruises matching ones he had received in the dream from the night before. He was sure there was a simple explanation for all of this, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that he should have stayed in bed today.
"Vik..." Called a tiny voice. "Hey, Vik!" The words entered his ears but got jumbled up in his cloud of thoughts. A small punch to his arm sent him reeling back into reality. Blinking lazily, he turned to the seat next to him and found himself staring into blank space. He was shaking his head in confustion when a loud cough diverted his gaze downwards. Seated next to him was a teenage moogle boy. He was barely as high as Vik's knee and had a small patch of blond hair between two well-groomed bunny ears. A leather-bound book laid open on his lap. He wore a plain white shirt with an upturned collar with gray shorts and vest. Vik immediately recognized him as his best friend. "What's up, Kili?" He asked sleepily. "You were drifting again." The moogle said in a slightly irritated tone before changing it to one of worry. "You haven't been yourself these past few weeks. Is something wrong, kupo?"
"No." Vik said half-heartedly as he turned around and continued to stare thoughtlessly through the window. Kili growled angrily but turned back to his book. He decided it was probably personal business and he didn't want to get involved. "Whatever, kupo. You don't have to tell me. Just stay alive." He said half-seriously to his human friend.
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Fields of corn and Chocobos zoomed past the window. The bus ride seemed endless and the fact there was no air conditioning didn't help matters. Vik's eyes drifted from the repetitive scenery to the front of the bus. The seats before him were filled with restless humans, as well as chatterly moogles, wise-cracking Nu Mou, annoyed Bangaas and quiet Vieras. All were clad in similar gray and white outfits. "Of course they look the same." He thought, "It is the uniform after all." The boy's uniform was similar to Kili's: white shirt with gray pants and vest. The girls wore white blouses and gray skirts. Vik looked over his own uniform. He hated wearing it, since the fabric made him itch. Luckily, freshmen at the Cyril Academy were only required to wear them on special occasions. They wanted everyone to see that they were loyal, well-behaved scholars. Even so, the students found them dorky.
As one might have guessed, this was one of those special occasions. The class was on its way to Bagabu Port for a normal, everyday trip to the Monster Zoo. At least, the closest thing to a zoo that there was nowadays. Nobody had even seen a live monster in the past 15 years. They were on their way to something the government called a "Monster Holding Facility". Technically, it consisted of rows upon rows of glass capsules that contained the lifeless bodies of the monsters along with charts, diagrams, and models showing what it might have done if it were alive. It was more of a museum than a zoo, really. Vik had been there a few times; he found it wasn't exactly one of the most exciting places to be.
"Attention everyone!" Cried a cheerful, high pitched voice, "We'll be arriving at our destination in ten minutes. Please pick up all your trash and dispose of it as soon as we get off the bus!" Some of the kids groaned, Vik and Kili were among them. How their teacher, Ms. Matteya, could keep such a happy attitude in this heat was beyond them all. Then again, knowing teachers, they probably got a kick out of seeing students suffer.
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Vik strained to keep his eyes open. It had only been half an hour and the trip was already a full blown snore festival. Most of the students have been reduced to a zombie-like state; mindlessly listening to the tour guide drone on about Arithman flight patterns and pretending to agree with every statement. Like the other guides, he finally ended his speech with a lame joke and looked expectantly at his audience. The only one who laughed was Ms. Matteya. Not wanting to embarrass the guide any further, she quickly ushered the students to the next exhibit, not realizing two students were lagging behind. "Come along, class." She sang as she waved the class through the next set of doors. When the room was emptied, Vik gave Kili, who had mastered the art of sleeping while standing, a swift kick in the back. "Ow!" Cried the moogle as he snapped back into consciousness, "What was that for?"
"The class is moving on to the next exhibit." He said before turning around and walking towards the emergency exit. "Just thought you'd like to know."
"Thanks. I never would have...wait...where are you going?" Kili asked when he realized Vik probably wasn't following the tour.
"Where does it look like I'm going?" Vik said, not even stopping to look back.
"You're gonna be in huge trouble if you're caught, kupo. Besides, they're probably looking for us right now."
"I'll be fine." Said Vik as he checked if the door was wired to an alarm. "Ms. Matteya is new and still doesn't know us by face. She only takes attendance during arrival and departure. If I leave during the middle and make it back to the entrance before One o' clock, she'll never know I was gone."
"But you where else can you go?"
"I not sure but there's got to be some excitement around here. I don't know if it's even possible to die from boredom but I'm not going to hang around long enough to find out. See ya!" He pushed against the bar handle and walked through the door.
"Wait!" Shouted Kili as he ran towards the door. He was only a few steps away when it clicked shut. Obviously, the designers did not have the moogles in mind. Kili wasn't as short as most moogles, but the bar was still over a foot above his head. He tried jumping for the handle, but it was well out of reach. After giving it a hard kick, he wandered away from the door and back to the center of the room. "Kupo...you never told me which way the group went..."
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Author's note: I know, I know. Not a lot happened in this chapter but you have to start somewhere, right? I'll admit, it sounds like one of those afternoon specials right now but I promise the next chapter would be a bit more exciting. And yes, there are buses in Ivalice now. Just one of its many technological advances.