A.N - Okay, so I have the feeling that this chapter is going to be one of the longer ones. Just as a quick warning, it's highly intense, so make sure you've got some chocolate or something to eat at the end; the next one will be a lot more cheerful... BUT no more spoilers - enjoy this next chapter :) as always, reviews and comments are appreciated as it encourages me to write these more often so... if you want more, drop a review or something; once again, enjoy!
"Kim! Kim the Chocobo's have grown!" Duncan called excitedly as he rushed outside to the small paddock. Kim rolled her eyes in a response, standing in the doorway and frowning at Duncan.
"Duncan, you said you'd start on jetpacks!" she pointed out, crossing her arms unhappily as Duncan temporarily ignored her, completely fixated on the new Chocobo. It was cute, she'd give him that, but it still annoyed her.
Kim turned her back on Duncan and marched into their base, staring in dismay at the smeltery as she realised that, yet again…
"DUNCAN. What did I say about the smeltery?!" Kim complained as she saw the large bubbling quantity of Angmallen residing in it. Duncan had criticised about mixing the two together seconds before but as soon as the Chocobo came in sight, everything else seemed to be thrown out of the window… Kim was beginning to wish that she had never encouraged him with them. Having said that, she couldn't let Duncan kill them… as much as she wanted to kill them, with the amount of attention Duncan was giving them, that was just inhumane.
"What do you want to name them?" Duncan asked happily as he watched them, smiling as she reappeared in the doorway. Kim threw up her hands in a response and tried to sulk, failing miserably as she walked away. She was good at being grumpy but she couldn't help call back a few names, wanting to be a part of the naming process.
"How about Quistis?" Duncan called after her, knowing she wouldn't like it. Kim turned around briefly and even from a distance Duncan could make out the raised eyebrow in disbelief.
"BOB!" Kim responded sarcastically, nodding as Duncan asked if she was serious. Duncan shrugged and fastened the collar around the Chocobo's neck, adding "Bob" in an untidy scrawl.
"What about the female one?" Duncan shouted as she continued to walk away. He watched as she paused for a second as she considered a name. After hearing 'Billy' and immediately denying it as ridiculous, more so than Bob, he agreed to something that sounded like 'Billamina'; at least it was slightly more feminine. By this point, Kim was out of hearing range, or so she pretended to be, so Duncan decided he'd leave the rest to his fate, eventually deciding on 'Radon', 'Chobi' for the baby and 'Boco' for the last.
As she walked out of sight, Duncan sighed and lost the smile on his face as he let his shoulders drop and fumbled in his bag, taking out the spy glass he had made a few days before. Raising it to his eye, he watched as Kim strolled amongst the flowers, picking the occasion few and laughing to herself until she disappeared into a thicket of trees and out of sight. Placing the spy glass back into his bag, he patted the nearest Chocobo (Radon, maybe) on the head before heading into the house and collapsing wearily on the double bed, lying spread out and staring at the ceiling.
'Things aren't too bad' he thought to himself as he considered what had happened in the last few weeks. They had managed to build a home… well… he had built most of it in all fairness whilst Kim complained about the patches in the roof. And he had managed to build some steam engines and a smeltery whilst Kim had made her petal wand. Duncan chuckled to himself as he recalled her trying to place down her strange mana-shooting box until giving up, only trying one more time to find it had managed to work. She had been very happy at that moment…
Duncan sat up and leaned his head against the cold brick wall. Kim had changed since Panda Labs had gone. There was no question about it; she was constantly going off on her own, trying to battle monsters and mine new ores and explore the surrounding area. Duncan liked to think it was because she wasn't ready to accept the fact that this was now their new home, their way of life, away from the danger of Hat Films. He liked to think that because the only other option was that she was trying to be away from him.
Duncan closed his eyes, wearily thinking of everything he had done or said to Kim over the past few weeks. True, they'd shared some laughs over the last few weeks but she had definitely been affected by the nuking of Hat Films and of Panda Labs disappearing more than she was letting on. Whilst Kim might be happy that they got the last laugh and that Hat Films were reduced to dust, he could still see traces of the nightmare that accompanied her so often in her dreams each night on her face every day; he even saw it in the way she spoke sometimes, in the aggressive nature of the Hat Films trio. She wasn't his Kim any more.
He frowned as he dismissed this and looked at his hands, twiddling his fingers and noticing the rough edges around them; hands that worked too hard in machinery, constantly. Meanwhile, he knew, Kim's hands would be delicate and fragile after picking all the flowers and handling all of those strange petals. He turned his hands over before his eyes, studying them closely. They would be so different to Kim's tiny purple stained hands… he'd probably crush them accidently if he ever had the chance to hold them.
A thought entered unwillingly into Duncan's head. She still thinks you're a monster… it whispered to him as he shook his head violently, as if trying to shake the thought out of it. Kim had forgiven him, he knew that. She wouldn't lie to him about holding something so important and meaningful against him, he knew her too well. Yet… Duncan racked his brains, his mind coming up with all kinds of reasons why Kim might be distancing herself away from him. Had he forgotten to smile at her every morning when she woke up? He had taken to going to bed after she was asleep, and getting up before she woke up; she had complained about the beds being together and had wanted to move them at the beginning when the house was tiny. Now that the house was bigger, she could have moved it to the other side of the room if she wanted to… but neither of them had said anything. Still, she seemed to be satisfied with waking up on her own.
Duncan looked at the other half of the bed next to him. He wouldn't lie; it was an amazing experience to wake up early in the morning and find that Kim had managed to curve herself into a ball against his chest, despite falling asleep on the other side of the bed every night… it was what got him through each day. 'It is comforting' he thought as he pulled himself off the bed and went to check on the steam tanks, 'that even if she does hate me when she's awake, in her sleep I can be with her…' Duncan's cheeks flushed a light pink as he opened the steam tank before him, convincing himself that his face was hot because of the steam he had just accidentally unleashed onto it as tears streamed temporarily from his eyes.
As he wiped his eyes and his goggles on his head with the corner of his lab coat, he realised that the room was getting darker; he mustn't have noticed the time pass by while he was thinking about… Duncan looked out of the window on one side of the house and saw that the sun was still light in the sky, whilst setting, and bright. Duncan frowned as he poked his head out of the door in front of the door and turned around the other way, closing the door behind him. His blood ran cold.
"Blood Moon…" he whispered in horror as he saw the tip of a red circle starting to rise into the sky, already seeing the shadows appear as the world started to turn darker. Looking around him, he wondered why he felt so panic; the Chocobo's would be fine, and Kim and him had managed to face one befor… Duncan's eyes widened as he looked out into the growing darkness as he heard a high female scream pierce through the air. "KIM!" he screamed as he ran into the night, forgetting everything else and the danger the Blood Moon held as he ran towards the dark direction where he had heard the screams.
***
"DUNCAN!" Kim screamed desperately as she ran through the trees, branches and monsters stopping her path alike as she quickly darted past them and ran through the ever growing darkness. She had spotted the Red Moon too late, she had headed back as soon as she had seen the sun set but she was still so far away… she was running low on supplies and her sword was useless. She didn't even have armour to protect her as he skin was scratched as she crashed onwards in a forward direction. She managed to reach a small clearing which seemed temporarily void of monsters; hurriedly she stacked some oak planks into a pattern against a tree and crouched beneath it, sealing her off. She held her breath as she heard the monsters around her, knowing most of them were almost blind and focused on movement and noise rather than unusually crafted objects.
Kim shivered as she hugged herself in the small and cramped space. Why hadn't she noticed the Blood Moon sooner? And why was she so poorly equipped… "Duncan…" she mumbled savagely with her eyes narrowed, thinking of all the useless alloys lying in the bottom of the stupid smeltery. Stupid… Duncan. It was his entire fault.
'But Kim, you can make armour out of the iron…" Duncan's voice reminded her in her head as Kim unhappily realised was true. Why hadn't she made herself armour? She was too reliant on Duncan… that was why. Kim nodded to herself firmly as she focused on that reason of blame instead. 'You have no one to blame but yourself…' the voice whispered again as Kim's head sank onto her knees as she started to cry silently. It was true. She needed Duncan.
It was pointless, absolutely pointless trying to fool herself anymore. She needed Duncan for everything. She needed a friend to talk to, to laugh with, to help her… he wouldn't have let her forget about the Blood Moon. She was the one who had walked away, because she was jealous of a few stupid birds. And because she was selfish and impatient. And so stubborn. Kim wiped the tears away, smiling slightly. "When did I become the stubborn one…?" she whispered to herself, thinking of hours before when Duncan's happy face had tried to materialise on her own, and she hadn't let it. Duncan who, whenever she had a nightmare, pretended he was asleep when she woke up beside him so she could hide her embarrassment. "Duncan… help…" she cried softly as she heard the noise of monsters around her grow; they weren't completely blind, they wouldn't ignore the strange structure she had made for long…
Kim raised her head with determined eyes. Duncan wasn't coming. He was probably safe indoors, worrying about her and the Chocobo's… or even worse, he was out looking for her! Kim gasped as the thought crossed her mind; what happens if he was out there, looking for her? He could be badly hurt; it was certain death to venture out in a Blood Moon! "Well, that does it then…" Kim said to herself quietly as she readied herself, bracing her feet against the wooden panel. After a calming breath, and briefly wondering if it was the last one she'd ever take, she kicked the wooden panelling out from in from her, shakily getting to her feet. Out of the corner of her eye she saw hundreds of monsters turn at the noise and bear their fangs, but she was already running… and whilst she was running, despite knowing that it would only attract more monsters, she couldn't bear the thought of Duncan fighting those monsters alone whilst trying to find her; if he was out there, she was going to find him.
"DUNCAN!" She screamed as she ran, repeating it constantly as she managed to dodge the majority of monster attacks, a moving and slightly glowing purple blur in the almost complete darkness as she stumbled and ran. Arrows shot past her head, hands lunged for her backpack, webbed legs dangled in front of her vision whilst all the while she ran and screamed, managing to avoid most of them. Suddenly, slightly to the left of her, she saw a light and without thinking, ran towards it. Her heart nearly burst with relief as she spotted the base… no, her home, her sanctuary as she ran across the clearing, making out the blurred shapes that were either creature or monster as she avoided them. "Duncan!" she shouted, praying she would see his face appear by the window anxiously.
"Kim!" a voice called desperately, and Kim felt a wave of relief wash over her before realising it had not come from the direction of the house; it had come from the left of her somewhere.
"Duncan, where are you?!" Kim shrieked ducking as a skeleton fired an arrow at her and falling to the ground; she dimly made out a figure running next to her and assumed it was Duncan.
"Get to the house Kim!" Duncan called and Kim obeyed, dodging past the skeleton as she heard it place another arrow in its bow; she felt the arrow strike her back of her head but kept running, hearing it die behind her as Duncan hit it with something and ran behind her, Kim unable to think about anything other than the light as she made it to the house at the same time Duncan did, collapsing after shutting the doors behind them.
Kim instantly searched through the chests and placed blocks in front of the door. "It's okay Kim…" she heard Duncan's voice tell her but she ignored it, racing over to the other side of the house and bordering up the doors there too; she was about to start on all the windows when she felt two hands grab her shoulders and pick her up. Instantly she screamed and started to struggle, kicking widely.
"KIM, YOU HAVE AN ARROW IN YOUR HAIR!" Duncan's voice bellowed from directly behind her, so sudden and loud that Kim stopped in shock as Duncan placed her down and quickly removed the arrow, checking to see if her head had been damaged by it and closing his eyes briefly in relief as there was nothing. Kim was still facing away from him and he put his hands on her shoulders again; although she winced, she allowed herself to be pushed and guided towards the steam taps where Duncan promptly placed her under one and turned it on, showering her with hot, blinding steam.
Kim sat, shocked, as she slowly felt her cold body heat up again, landing on her hair and rolling down to her wet feet – the steam burned at first but it made her close her eyes, and she let the heat wash over her for a few minutes, only moving to tilt her head slightly towards the tap so it would cover her face. It was Duncan who eventually turned the steam off, purely as she was in danger of overheating without realising; Kim hadn't even realised how cold she had been. Kim opened her eyes to try and attempt a smile at Duncan, who was standing over her, and covered her hands over her mouth to hold back yet another scream.
Duncan's face was bloodied, and he had a large dark bruise on the side of his chin; she would have blamed this on the flux, but that was on the other side of his face. His coat was torn and ripped and streaked with his own blood and monster blood alike as he watched her carefully, assessing her with his sad and pained eyes that held onto her own. She tore her eyes away from his gaze and noticed his pickaxe propped up by the door, a side covered in blood. Her attention was brought back to Duncan though as he let his backpack fall heavily to the floor; inside Kim could see the broken remains of a sword. She looked back at him, her inability to move no longer due to physical reasons as she heard all the monsters snarling at her from inside her head; this time she saw the surrounding Duncan.
"I tried to find you." Duncan's voice broke the silence as he attempted to wipe away some of the blood that was trickling down his face. Duncan knew he must look terrible but he was glad, as far as he could tell, that Kim had only been scratched slightly across her body; possibly the flux had prevented her from being harmed too badly, acting as a shield…? He saw Kim's questioning eyes as she looked at his bruises and cuts and shrugged his shoulders, wincing slightly as he did so; a skeleton had shot an arrow into his left shoulder before but he had merely snapped it off. He honestly hadn't started to feel any of the pain until now – Kim had been the only thing he had been able to think of.
Kim took a deep, shaky breath and managed to croak out "I tried to find you too…" before bursting into tears, ashamed with herself for feeling so terrible when it was all her fault, when Duncan was hurt more badly than she was and yet she was the one crying, how she was now crying into Duncan's favourite purple shirt beneath his ruined coat as he had quickly taken it off and wrapped her in a hug.
"Shush…" Duncan murmured into her hair gently as her body shook with uncontrollable sobs. "I'm here…" he said, remembering a previous time when he had said those words to Kim when she was half-asleep, safe and sound in Panda Labs. "I'm here, Kim" he promised, clutching the small girl tightly in his arms, remembering the shape and feel of her against his chest, almost as if she was sleeping. He tried to pour all of those calm thoughts into his embrace as she started to calm down, knowing it was stupid and it was possible to channel the remainder of his energy into the small tired person before him, but he couldn't help it.
"I'm so sorry, it's my entire fault…" she repeatedly whispered into his chest as Duncan rested the side of his face on her head. Duncan pulled back at that point and ducked his head to stare into her eyes, holding her face carefully.
Kim watched his mouth form the words as she only half heard them through her ears; "Kim, it's not your fault. Never think it's your fault. It's either my fault, or it's our fault. It will never be yours." Kim blinked back tears as she realised just how serious Duncan's eyes were, and became aware of the hands cupping her face. Leaning into one of them, she allowed herself to forget about everything for a moment and placed her hand on top of it, closing her eyes into the warm and rough feel of his hands. Duncan was thankful Kim had her eyes closed as he had turned red, wondering for a split second if she would mind if he…
Before he had even reached the end of that thought, Duncan gently pulled his hand out from Kim's grasp, Kim opening her eyes and looking at him briefly with sad and slightly guilty eyes. Before she could say anything, even though she didn't know what she would say, he had scooped her up in his arms and had carried her to the bed, laying her gently down on the pillows. As soon as her head touched the sort fabric, her consciousness left her as she closed her eyes and was asleep within seconds.
Duncan turned and sat crossed legged opposite the bed. He knew it was weird for a friend to watch another friend sleep but he wanted to make sure that someone was protecting the house – it was almost impossible to sleep in a Blood Moon due to the noises and the knowledge that there were monsters outside; it was too dangerous to sleep. Kim had managed to because Duncan was there. He smiled sadly, knowing that it was mainly due to her exhaustion and traumatic experience; he recalled his diary entry of meeting her for the first time and the smile turned into a grimace as it stretched the bruise over the side of his face. He had failed to protect her from the taint, failed to protect Panda Labs and now this. He wasn't going to let her down again.
Maybe she'd be so traumatised tomorrow that she would avoid him even more than before… maybe she'd be so scared that she's cling close to her side. Maybe, in a few weeks or months, he might have the courage, when the scars had healed, to ask her why she had looked at him in that way when she had covered his hand with hers. Duncan's chest gave a strange lurch as he pushed the last thought out of his head. It could all wait. For now, he had to think of only her. Duncan promised this to himself as he noticed, with a heavy heart, the Red Moon had risen and was not close to setting – there was still a lot of night to go. At least though, as he looked back at Kim and smiled through the pain, that they were safe.