CHAPTER 14:

IMMORAL MELODY

Harry woke up with a groan, feeling like he had the worst headache. Sitting across from him in a room that was cylindrical and metal (and with a strange spiral shape on the floor), was none other than Zidane and Cid, who were also just waking up. After a moment, recollection followed consciousness. They had gone to Black Mage Village, only to find it mostly deserted. Perhaps half a dozen Black Mages were left, including 288, the leader of the village, and the two who were hatching a Chocobo egg. Indeed, the Chocobo hatched while they were there, with the chick being promptly called Bobby Corwen by his caretakers.

288 was reluctant to tell them where Kuja was, until he saw the newborn Chocobo. At Vivi's pleading, he told them where to find the Desert Palace, Kuja's lair. They investigated a series of Antlion pits…only to be captured when they fell into quicksand.

Harry could hear his Eidolons, but he couldn't feel them like he used to. That strutting narcissist has sealed us somehow, Anima whispered to him. Stay on your guard.

Suddenly, Kuja's voice echoed around the chamber. "So, you're finally awake. I'm so happy to see you again, brother."

"You rat bastard!" Zidane screamed at the ceiling. "Where're my friends?!"

A chuckle from Kuja. "Oh my, aren't we feisty? Your friends are safe…for the moment. They share the same sort of accommodation as you do. Allow me to demonstrate why I consider these rooms to be the state of the art in hospitality."

A hole opened up in the middle of the room, revealing what seemed to be lava boiling down below. The mephitic hot stench of sulphur reached their noses.

"I'm sure even you can hazard a guess what will happen should you fall. Anyway, seeing as I have you where I need you, I require a favour done, in exchange for the lives of your friends. Refuse, and you will be the first to die. Am I understood?"

Zidane ground his teeth, before snarling, "Okay, but if I'm going to be helping you, I also want some answers. About Garland and Terra."

"Oh? So you know something of it already? Hmm…well, I suppose it cannot hurt. After all, while I doubt we can be allies against Garland, I am sure that any opposition to Garland would work in my favour," Kuja said, chuckling. "Bring Harry with you. I am most curious to meet personally with a fellow offworlder."

The door opened, and as they went out, Zidane hissed to Cid, "Look after the others, in case Kuja tries anything."

"Of course, kupo!" Cid said. "Come back safe, all right?"

Zidane and Harry walked to where there were a pair of Black Mages, standing silently, until one of them looked at Harry in some surprise. Harry recognised him as 113, one of the Black Mages who tilled the fields near the Black Mage Village. "Stand between the two Black Mages. They will send you to me," Kuja said.

They did so, and found themselves being transported…

…to an elegant chamber. And there, standing as bold as brass, smiling, was Kuja. "Welcome to my humble abode," he said.

"Doesn't look so humble to me," Zidane snarked.

"Oh my. Please remember to keep your tongue in check, as your friends' lives are in my hands. And Harry, your Eidolons are suppressed, and have been since you entered my abode, so" Kuja then walked over to Harry, his effeminate face unusually pensive. He cast a spell on the boy. "Before you do anything rash, Zidane, I am merely casting a spell not unlike a Scan spell. However, this checks for traces of cross-dimensional flux. In layman's terms, the detritus that clings tenaciously to a man who travels from one world to another. And there it is. Faded, but indubitably there." His eyes widened in shock. "But what's this? There appears to be a stagnant fragment of a soul embedded in his scar!"

Harry knew this. He had known for a while, though he had kept it to himself. Only his Eidolons knew, and Eiko. "The man who tried to kill me when I was a baby had a fragmented soul. Part of it ended up in me," he admitted reluctantly. "It'd be hard to remove it without killing me."

"Hmm. Interesting. Anyway, you are clearly not from Terra, and indeed seem to be a summoner from Madain Sari, despite having travelled from another world." Kuja then backed away slightly, before looking over at Zidane. "You wanted to know the truth about Terra? Well then, here it is. Terra is indeed another world, one that is ancient and decrepit. Countless eons ago, its inhabitants attempted to find a means of immortality for all of their inhabitants. They found it, but in a manner that caused stagnation, decay, and the collapse of their civilisation. By the time they realised their folly, it was too late. They embarked on a desperate plan, to absorb the lifeforce of other worlds, colonising them, and then, when the lifeforce was exhausted, move on. However, when Terra attempted to assimilate Gaia thousands of years ago, something went wrong. Civilisation on Gaia's surface was destroyed, and Terra ended up within Gaia, albeit within another dimension. That is why, for example, there are two moons, one blue, the other red. There are also some structures from Terra that ended up on Gaia's surface. The Desert Palace is one of them. The place I will be sending you to, Oeilvert, is another. And perhaps you have heard of Ipsen's Castle."

Zidane nodded. "I have, actually. That's a Terran building, then?"

"Yes. With the actual people of Terra in stasis, or rather, their souls in storage, they still needed an administrator. They created Garland. Think of him as not unlike a golem, but with a soul. And he's considerably more sophisticated than the Black Mages…or us."

"Us?"

"I did say we were both created, Zidane. You and I are engineered beings, based on the original biological template of the Terrans, but refined and enhanced. Indeed, our species was named for this very template: Genome. You and I are unique amongst the Genomes, however, in that we have souls. I was given one by accident, actually. Garland very nearly destroyed me, but then, he decided that I could be put to a more constructive, or rather, destructive purpose."

"Causing war," Harry said.

Kuja smiled indulgently, like a teacher praising a child. "Yes. Did it ever occur to you why the Iifa Tree exists? It is a Terran creation, designed to absorb the souls and lifeforce of Gaia and its inhabitants, disrupting the usual cycle of souls, and emptying the world, ready for Terran souls to take their place. The stagnant souls were captured and processed by the Soulcage, and discharged through the roots of the Iifa Tree…"

"…To become the Mist," Zidane hissed in horror. "The Mist has been around for centuries…"

"Indeed. The Mist Continent was targeted simply because it was the most populated continent. Therefore, more wars, and more souls being trapped, thus speeding up the process. Garland, however, wanted to accelerate the process, and given the accidental ensouling of yours truly, decided to use me as, well, these are his words rather than mine, an 'Angel of Death', an agent provocateur who could cause more wars and death and destruction. However, Garland worried about my slipping his leash, and, well, rightly so. He began creating a new Angel of Death, one that was, theoretically, more powerful than me. He even made sure that Genome could grow from an infantile state to maturity, whereas most like myself are stuck at a certain developmental stage."

"…And I'm that Genome. Your replacement at being an Angel of Death?" Zidane asked.

"As far as Garland was concerned. You should be grateful to me, you know. It was I who took you from Terra when you were but a babe in arms, and left you at Lindblum for those thieves to find. I mean, would you have enjoyed the life of being an Angel of Death?"

"Not having lived the life I have, no," Zidane said. "But you revel in destruction."

"True, but I have another purpose, other than destruction for its own sake. I want to be free of Garland, and I know he's afraid of the Eidolons. I was ordered to destroy Madain Sari, after all. Which is where you come in, Zidane. I mentioned Oeilvert earlier when I spoke to you of Terran structures on Gaia. That is where I am sending you. It's in Seaways Canyon on the Forgotten Continent. It's not my kind of place, really."

"Oh? And why's that?" Zidane asked.

"Simple. You use unthinking brute force to get your way, whereas I use cunning and a lot of magic. Garland set an anti-magic field around the place, which used to be a museum of Terra. I will even send you on my luxury cruise ship."

"You mean the Hilda Garde, right?" Zidane asked. "Where's Hilda?"

"Lady Hilda is not only alive, but rather well. She's certainly good company. Far more refined than many of those moneyed boors in Treno," Kuja said. "Cid needn't worry, I desire only her company and intellect. She is still annoyingly loyal to him in many regards. Though I think she would prefer him the way he is, as a Moogle." Kuja chortled. "Anyway, given that Oeilvert is infested with monsters, including a rather large one guarding the Gulug Stone, I think you should avoid going alone. I will allow you to bring three comrades of your choice. I suggest that you choose those of a more physical ability, given the anti-magic field."

"But why do you want this Gulug Stone?"

"It's not your concern. However, while I don't doubt that we have no true alliance, I can count on you to disrupt Garland's plans."

Zidane scowled. "Okay. I'll bring Freya, Amarant, and Lani with me."

"Very well." Kuja raised a microphone to his lips, and summoned them to the teleporter. Soon afterwards, the three of them appeared. "Spare me the emotional reunion. Head to Oeilvert, and get me the Gulug Stone. And hurry back soon. Your friends' lives hang in the balance."

"You'd better keep your promise, Kuja. You break it, lay a finger on anyone, especially Dagger or Harry, and I'll be your Angel of Death," Zidane snarled, before joining the others on the teleport.

As they faded away in a blizzard of blue symbols, Kuja scoffed. "My little brother is so unrefined and uncouth."

"Doesn't stop him from being right, you know," Harry retorted.

The effeminate man merely chortled. "Sticks and stones may break bones, but words never harm me. He will prove to be a thorn in Garland's side. You all will be. Everything now is going according to my design."

"So? You're evil. You murdered my family. You orchestrated all of those wars with all those people dying!"

"Dying is for other people. I am immortal."

"Immortal? You mean never dying? How do you know you are?"

"I just do," Kuja said, with the utmost self-assuredness.

"Then why did you suppress my Eidolons? You're afraid, aren't you?"

Kuja opened his mouth to utter a denial, before he shut it. "I said immortal, not invincible. I will not die from old age, but malice and accident are other matters entirely. Scenarios that I do not intend to countenance at all. I am not a fool, and I would appreciate it if you did not treat me like one!"

"You're not a fool. You're a monster," Harry hissed.

"I was created that way, as was Zidane. Don't be fooled by his behaviour. A monster sleeps within him."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't know whether you have noticed, but I have several in me. And they're not happy with you."

"I am familiar with hatred," Kuja said airily. "I know the symphony I play is, by the standards of the dullards that comprise the masses, an immoral melody. But to my ears, it is the sweetest of music!" His grin of pleasure began to fade, before he turned to Harry. "Now, indulge my curiosity, Harry Potter. I am curious about what life was like on the world you called home for so many years."

"Why should I tell you anything?" Harry demanded.

"Because the more you tell me, the longer your friends have to live," Kuja said bluntly. "Each word you tell me is an extra grain of sand to fall through the hourglass. So, think very carefully about what you tell me, Harry Potter. You hold the lives of your friends in your very hands." He smiled. "So, no pressure."

Harry scowled at the hateful, androgynous man in front of him. But he also knew Kuja would hurt his friends on the merest of whims. Eiko, Vivi, Garnet, Steiner, Quina…their lives were in his hands, like Kuja said.

So he began telling his story, and hoped beyond hope that he could help his friends by doing so…

CHAPTER 14 ANNOTATIONS:

Kuja telling Zidane the truth about his origins, and now deciding to have Harry play Scheherazade. Ah, the giddy joy…

By the way, when this chapter comes out, I'll have posted another crossover with this game, Xenophilia. Unlike the previous two crossovers, which start with a pre-Hogwarts Harry, this one starts with an older Harry ending up in Terra, and falling for Mikoto. Well, falling in front of her, anyway, at first…

No numbered annotations this time.