Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ sore kara... ❯ kidou suru ( Chapter 9 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: awwaw 
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 02.15.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 216 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 02.15.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 216 | Status: Completed
Standard disclaimers apply.
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sore kara...
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kidou suru - Author's Interlude
It was the only second night they had spent in this time compressed world.
Yet between their meeting and arrival at Midgar, 500 years had passed.
Just... like that.
"It was just some strange intuition," Nanaki said, swaying his flaming tail left to right, "I just felt I had to come to Midgar, perhaps to show my children what was left of the grand city, the rotting pizza..." He shook his head and smiled sadly. "I... I'm glad to see you again, after so long, Cloud..."
Cloud, however, was not listening.
"Cloud... I... I'm sorry..." Nanaki looked away from Cloud's empty gaze into the campfire they had risen under the former Shinra Building. "... I thought you knew, I thought..."
He stopped, unable to continue, before he felt a gentle hand rest on his head.
"Hey." Zidane grinned, squating down beside the creature with a good natured laugh. "You don't have to feel bad. It wasn't your fault at all, you know?"
Giving him his own little smile, Nanaki was glad for the understanding. Despite being a father and all, he still failed to comprehend some of the more complex emotions the people around him felt. The intensity and extent of their heart was beyond him. He knew he couldn't deal with even those at Cosmo Canyon, less the one and only Cloud Strife. Although having followed him on his quest for a while, he still failed to see Cloud; the real Cloud. While he knew Cloud knew everything he had to share with the world, he never thought he knew Cloud on the same basis.
Cloud was just so distant. Unreachable. Sure, he was with him and the rest almost every other day, but he tried, and failed to see him as a friend indeed. In the heat of the battle, he would save them. In the darkest of times, he would push them on. In the direst of situations, he would provide them. In the saddest of moments, his presence alone was something to be grateful for...
... but somehow, he failed to see any one of the rest doing that for Cloud.
Perhaps... when he saved the world, he forgot to save himself...
"Nanaki." A firm voice called him back to the world. He turned to look at the silver-haired man who had said that. He hated to admit it, but Kuja gave him the creeps. Maybe it was just the long silver hair. Maybe.
"I noticed that you were surprised, not at Cloud being alive, but at finding him in Midgar." Kuja frowned slightly. "May I inquire as to why that is so?"
"Because Vincent said so." Nanaki immediately replied, the answer causing Cloud to look up with a start. Though uncomfortable with having so many strange eyes on him, the red beast continued. "He said that he had been doing some research on the studies of the cells within him. He found out that because Jenova was from a di-"
"Jenova?!?!" Squall and Kuja chimed in at the same time. They then turned to look at each other. "You know her??" They pointed.
"Ahem..." Cloud coughed for attention. "... Do you mind? I'm in the middle of listening to a story that will determine my view of life hereafter. Leave the distractions for later, okay?"
Squall and Kuja simmered down, sat back, and kept silent. Nanaki looked at Cloud and saw the go-ahead.
"Anyway, as I was saying," Nanaki blinked, "he found out that because Jenova was from a different planet, her cells were causing some abnormal reactions within him, some of which included his transformations and strange eye colour. But what was really shocking, was the reaction of the cells and Mako." He looked up and with his eyes warned Cloud to prepare for the information.
"While a little of it would make a SOLDIER out of anyone, heavy dosages apparently stopped growth, setting the physical body into semi-hibernation but releasing the mind to continue as per normal. That is, provided the subject survives the initial bout of Mako poisoning."
Cloud's head swirled. His eyes became as intense as ever.
"Which means?" The lack of emotion in his voice scared his three new companions, but merely told Nanaki that Cloud was entering into his special 'agitation' mode, in which his animalistic fury lurked behind a mask of calm composure, ready to pounce on the next thing that irritates him.
"Cloud," Nanaki closed his eyes, "I met Vincent just last week. That was when he told me all these. Well, what I could remember anyway..."
The beast sighed.
"500 years and he's still alive. Cloud, doesn't that tell you anything about yourself?" He shook his head again, shivering not because of the cold. "I wasn't surprised to see you alive, because I know... I know... Vincent had told me... that I shouldn't be surprised to see him, or Cloud, if I ever did see you. Then he walked away... I had so much to tell him, too..."
Zidane continued patting Nanaki on the head, exchanging glances back and forth between the beast and the now deep in thought mercenary. "You mean," he said, "that because of some cells and Mako thing inside Cloud's body, he's not going to age and die... "
"It's not absolute." Nanaki sounded tired. "Vincent said that it slowed growth, but didn't stop it completely. Eventually, he would probably age and die too, but not before seeing the people he loved disappear before him, one by one..."
They heard a short chuckle, which turned out to be Cloud. "Well, that's Vincent for you, always so optimistic about life." His lips curving into a small smile. He leaned backwards on the tree trunk he was resting on and didn't say anything else after that.
When the silence progressed, the impatient SeeD finally stood up and put his arms akimbo. "Can I talk now?" He sounded urgent, like he really had something to say. Something that would matter. When no one answered, he spoke anyway, "This Jenova entity... how is she related to you?"
Both Cloud and Nanaki looked up at him at the same time, saying, "The world's mortal enemy," before returning to what they were doing. Zidane was trying to smile despite his confusion. He noticed Kuja giggling, but he couldn't tell why. Although all he had to do was ask, he had a feeling he'd rather not know.
"How is she related to you, Squall?" Kuja stopped giggling and asked him.
Squall pouted, only for a while. "If I remember correctly," Squall said, "she was one of the first sorceresses, who disappeared while spearheading the outer space program that was running during her time." He lifted his fingers to stroke his chin. "People said that she was ambitious and uncompromising... she only did outer space research so that she could fuel her desire of ruling over all that was living..."
"During my time," Kuja continued, when Squall looked like he had finished his piece, "she was hailed as the ancient fore-runner of outer space research, which gave the people of the dying planet of Terra a hope... that if they could find another younger planet to absorb they could survive..."
"Wait wait wait wait!" Cloud held both hands up into a cross. "Time out, time out! What are you guys talking about??" He whistled with an irritated look mounted on his face. "This Jenova creature we're talking about has never been part of MY planet. She was foreign, and came crashing down on a space chariot about 2000... well, 2500 years ago. The fact that you guys are quoting her from history books..."
Kuja gently knocked his fist into his palm, with an 'oh-I-see' look on his face. "That explains it all. Why magick is SO different, why places you know turn out to be places I don't... We're not only from different times along the flow of history, but from different planets as well..."
Looking up, he awaited questions and inquires from the interested audience. All he got was a few rather bewildered faces. Zidane was shaking his head in utter confusion.
"I don't get it!" He suddenly stood up and faced Kuja with clenched fists. "I don't get it at all! What... what's the whole point in this time and dimension thing? It wasn't by some freak cause of nature that the four of us were thrown together like this, was it?? I mean, it could have been anyone! Why'd it have to be Cloud and Squall?" Sighing, he grabbed at his hair with both hands. "Why do I feel like I'm acting in someone's twisted attempt at a staged drama..."
"You guys..." Nanaki immediately cut into the conversation, "... look like you've got a lot of things to talk about." He frowned. "Time and dimension, eh? There may be some books about that in Cosmo Canyon. Why don't we all go there tomorrow? I don't think I understand everything you people are saying now, but... I'll do whatever I can to help."
"Thanks, Nanaki." Cloud landed a huge pat on the red beast's head, causing him sudden jitters, having expected Cloud to be the last person to react. He turned to see Cloud beaming. "I'd gladly take the offer. See you all tomorrow." The blond mercenary then turned and got into his tent.
The next to stand and retreat was none other than Mr. Articulate himself, Squall Leonhart; after having been silent most of the evening. He crept into his tent, almost unnoticed, as he blended in perfectly with the shadows of the night.
Which left Nanaki, Zidane and Kuja warming their toes around the fire.
"A purpose to our travelling together, is it..." Kuja murmured, barely audible and hardly coherent. "... perhaps it's true? Perhaps somebody had purposed this... ?"
"And if he had," Zidane quickly caught on, "just what is OUR role in this grand conspiracy he's written?" He frowned in frustration. "If he'd just tell us, it'd make things so much easier. I'm tired of wandering around, fighting monsters and trying to remember my past. I mean, I like travelling with you guys, but... I wish I knew exactly why I'd have to do that!" He punched against the fire, making it flicker for a while. "I don't wanna walk in a road with no destination anymore!"
His companions merely looked on, disturbed.
Especially Kuja.
His thoughts wandered to earlier that day, when Zidane was in his semi-trance prophetic mode, recalling the past and talking about the future. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it made sense.
Zidane had a strange ability. He probably didn't know it himself, but to an observant onlooker (like himself), it had become painfully obvious.
Everytime the monkey said something which he later wouldn't be able to remember, or caused him a great headache, time lurched forward in super-sonic speed. It first happened during the night they spent at the Chocobo Sage's house. He was talking about Baku and Tantalus, something an amnesiatic Zidane wouldn't have been able to. It didn't appear to have happened so quickly or obviously, but the very next day, it was as if they were already 10 years further down the flow of time.
The next time it happened, he remembered it was after the fight with the Midgar Zolom. At that time, he was too shocked to have noticed any change in the scenary to indicate time warping forward.
But by the time they reached Midgar, Zidane had sent them so forward in time, even Kuja was having difficulty believing 500 years had been the gap from when they first met in the Sleeping Forest to when they saw Nanaki.
Someone had protected them from the fast forwarding of history. After hanging out with the guys for so long, the silver-haired man had a rough idea why anyone would want the four of them to band together. Cloud, Squall, Zidane and himself. They were all strong, well balanced warriors in their own right. What one lacked would probably be covered up by the other. In fact, each one of them would probably do very well alone, less in a group with 3 other warriors as strong as they were.
Yes... someone... someone out there had wanted no less than the perfect team of fighters. It didn't matter they were from different times, did it? All he... or she, had to do was to compress time. Make it such that it didn't matter which epoch you lived in. As long as past, present and future were rolled into one sweet temaki, he could pick the strong ones, manipulate events to fire happenings, and get what he wanted.
If time compression had to do with sorceresses, Kuja thought as he eyed Squall's tent with a meaningful stare, then Squall is going to have alot of explaining to do in the morning...
"Well," Nanaki finally broke the silence, yawning, "if nothing's the matter now, I think I'll retreat for some rest, too."
When the red beast picked his cubs and went off, Kuja turned to Zidane, meaning to ask him to go to sleep as well, while he kept the night watch. He was alarmed to see the blond staring monotonously at the cackling fire, never blinking, never moving. It was a familiar, haunting, and horrifying scene.
"Gaia was a moon..." Zidane spoke softly, just as Kuja had expected he would. The latter then quickly sprinted to the former's side, hand raised above his head, ready to knock him unconscious if he had to, just so that he could stop time from decompressing. "... a moon of fire..." The boy managed to finish saying, before Kuja sent him into the land of sweet snores. He then brushed his fallen frindge aside, brow furrowed deep with worry.
"Gaia... was a moon?" He found himself repeating after Zidane. He then raised his head to consider the red moon hanging in the dark blue night sky. "... Gaia was a moon... to those in Terra...
"... so does that mean... Terra was also a moon to Gaia... ?"
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Squall surprised himself by climbing out of his tent at the break of dawn, stretching and yawning as he charged through the thick mist to morning mist to where he thought he smelt food. He usually wasn't so awake, but aaah... food... it was good and always made him hurry. Sure enough, as he approached the campfire, seated just where they had been last night, Zidane and Kuja had a few small sticks of fish cooking to a crisp by the heat. Squall rubbed his gloved hands together and sat down too, observing the fish with curiousity. Where had they gotten these fish? The nearest watery area was a day's walk away...
"Hey Squall, hey Zidane, hey Kuja," Cloud's voice and footsteps was heard coming from his tent. The mist hid him until he was a few metres near the fire. "Wow! Would you look at that! A great breakfast after so many days... um, years, of travelling..." He seated himself down, looking intently at the fish, like Squall had. He then scratched his head, meaning to ask something, but frowned and apparently decided not to. Zidane pulled a stick from where it had been cooking and blew at it.
"It looks like they're cooked." Kuja said, reaching out for a stick himself. Cloud and Squall followed suit, carefully testing their lips and tongues on the heated fish before deciding to try biting it. For a while, they were all silent.
"Hey!" Zidane suddenly exclaimed, scaring (and choking) the rest. "What about Nanaki? I'm sure he'd like some too. I'll go call him." He grinned and, with the fish in his mouth, scampered off into the mist.
Kuja remained strangely silent. Squall had long finished his fish and was wondering if he should reach out for another one. There was something else on his mind, however. He looked straight at Kuja and asked, "Where'd you get all these fish? The nearest area to catch fish is about a day's journey away..."
To this, the silver-haired man looked up with an embittered look etched on his features, taking Squall by surprise. It was as if Squall had asked him a question along the lines of, "What's the square root of 11112863746.387?"
"Well," Kuja then smiled sadly and shrugged, "that's a secret. Until the mist clears, of course. Then I'll tell you."
Deciding that he was now fully justified to grab that stick of fish, Squall did as planned and pouted, only just for the effect. Cloud leant backwards and chuckled.
It was a peaceful, quiet morning.
Disrupted only by the rowdy shouts of the one and only Zidane, as he stomped back to the fire frantically. "Where's Nanaki???" He demanded to know, pointing in the general direction of the tents, causing heads to turn in all directions. "He's not in his tent. Anyone saw him?"
There was silence.
"Maybe he went for a walk with his sons," Cloud suggested cheerfully, finishing his breakfast and throwing the stick back into the fire. "You know, morning exercise. He's a big boy and can take care of himself."
Somehow, Zidane didn't look half as convinced as he should have been. However, further thought nudged him into the conclusion that there was really nothing he could do about it until at least the morning mist receded. He sat down, poking at the fire with a stick.
Then the mist did recede. It receded quickly once the sun rose into the skies majestically, leaving 3 of them staring at what surrounded them with disbelief written all over their faces.
It must be a dream.
Pinch.
Ow.
No, it HAS to be a dream.
PINCH.
OW!
Okay, so it wasn't a dream...
"Kuja," Cloud was still shocked, but somehow had the feeling the ex-villian knew something about it, "you... have got to tell us what's going on."
"Hmm?" Kuja smiled lazily, lightly tapping the surface of the water that now surrounded them with his boots. "Which part of it do you want to hear? Why we're suddenly being circled by water, or the fact that the water's touching everything but us?"
Cloud spun around with an irritated look. "You've thought about it *that* far already? Gosh, tell me EVERYTHING you know, Kuja. EVERYTHING."
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And so the sun rose into the skies and hovered over the land with ease. From the east to the west, north to the south, the entire planet was covered with sparkling, blue water. Some mountains could still be seen, as with some of the taller buildings that had been built. But otherwise, everywhere one looked they would be greeted by the watery deep, whose silence and soft sloshing would be enough to drive any sane person insane, if they had been alone in this vast patch of people-less territory.
Of course, that was not the case for the four who sat by the fire, now burnt to a black pile in the middle of the gathering. They were all deep in thought.
"Wow." Zidane was the first to say something, as usual. "That was complex."
"I'm sure it was." Kuja's smile was unreadable. "I hope I have explained what I have observed so far clearly enough." He looked away graciously, having no heart to tell them that he had omitted the part about his relationship with Zidane as well as the monkey boy's true identity and birthplace. "When Zidane entered into that special mode again yesterday night... he must have sent time forward again, so much so that the person 'Nanaki' had already ceased to exist..."
"I still have some questions," Cloud frowned deeply, "about this whole time and dimension thing."
"As does the rest of us, I suppose." Squall surprised everybody by talking again. He grew irritated at the weird stares and lashed out mildly. "Is it very surprising to hear me speak? I DO have opinions I wish to voice out sometimes, you know."
Kuja chuckled and exchanged glances with the rest. "We know, Squall. It's just that sometimes, you go off into lala-land yourself and don't notice how obvious you are at it, with those long, thoughtful silences and everything. Hearing a person from lala-land suddenly speak up is bound to create some undesired and unplanned expressions, of course."
"We won't do it again!" Zidane promised. Squall looked away, even more irritated, while Cloud folded his arms and got serious.
"Whatever it is, the answers to our questions won't be found 'here'." Cloud took a long, sweeping glance at the forlorn looking environment. "If someone does have some grand plan for us, I expect they'd be needing to have us alive, but trapped enough to be manipulated. I'm not standing for that, and I know you guys won't stand for that either, so we're gonna have to start moving out." He made a sign with his hands. "We gotta keep moving. Even if there isn't a destination. At least we know we have a goal. And that goal is that we don't fall into the hands of the one behind this whole scheme. We're gonna show 'em that we aren't nice little stringed puppets. We're warriors with an attitude."
He paused, only to take a breather.
"And the first thing we do, is go to Squall's hometown, the planet Terra, to find the sorceresses behind this time compression thing. Then, we'll figure it out from there."
"So in the meantime, I try to stop prophesying and in the event hurtling time and dimensions apart?" Zidane's eyebrows went upwards in semi-embarassment, as if trying to quote a quote he couldn't quite remember. Three pairs of evil eyes targetted him.
"It's okay, Zidane." Kuja 'kukuku'ed and gave a malicious smile.
"We'll be more than glad to offer assistance in stopping you..." Cloud chimed in.
"Say..." Squall was saying, "... which one works better on you, spells or attacks?"
While the poor monkey boy could only cower and cry at his 3 travelling companions, hands on his head.
It was going to be a loooooooooooooooong trip...
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kidou shita
24/6/2001
http://cloud-is.ourfamily.com/
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Author's Interlude
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*puts palms together and bows*
thank you all who have given me inspiration for the pair up in Terra. XD you have my eternal gratefulness, Nefas and Braswell, heheh.
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sore kara...
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kidou suru - Author's Interlude
It was the only second night they had spent in this time compressed world.
Yet between their meeting and arrival at Midgar, 500 years had passed.
Just... like that.
"It was just some strange intuition," Nanaki said, swaying his flaming tail left to right, "I just felt I had to come to Midgar, perhaps to show my children what was left of the grand city, the rotting pizza..." He shook his head and smiled sadly. "I... I'm glad to see you again, after so long, Cloud..."
Cloud, however, was not listening.
"Cloud... I... I'm sorry..." Nanaki looked away from Cloud's empty gaze into the campfire they had risen under the former Shinra Building. "... I thought you knew, I thought..."
He stopped, unable to continue, before he felt a gentle hand rest on his head.
"Hey." Zidane grinned, squating down beside the creature with a good natured laugh. "You don't have to feel bad. It wasn't your fault at all, you know?"
Giving him his own little smile, Nanaki was glad for the understanding. Despite being a father and all, he still failed to comprehend some of the more complex emotions the people around him felt. The intensity and extent of their heart was beyond him. He knew he couldn't deal with even those at Cosmo Canyon, less the one and only Cloud Strife. Although having followed him on his quest for a while, he still failed to see Cloud; the real Cloud. While he knew Cloud knew everything he had to share with the world, he never thought he knew Cloud on the same basis.
Cloud was just so distant. Unreachable. Sure, he was with him and the rest almost every other day, but he tried, and failed to see him as a friend indeed. In the heat of the battle, he would save them. In the darkest of times, he would push them on. In the direst of situations, he would provide them. In the saddest of moments, his presence alone was something to be grateful for...
... but somehow, he failed to see any one of the rest doing that for Cloud.
Perhaps... when he saved the world, he forgot to save himself...
"Nanaki." A firm voice called him back to the world. He turned to look at the silver-haired man who had said that. He hated to admit it, but Kuja gave him the creeps. Maybe it was just the long silver hair. Maybe.
"I noticed that you were surprised, not at Cloud being alive, but at finding him in Midgar." Kuja frowned slightly. "May I inquire as to why that is so?"
"Because Vincent said so." Nanaki immediately replied, the answer causing Cloud to look up with a start. Though uncomfortable with having so many strange eyes on him, the red beast continued. "He said that he had been doing some research on the studies of the cells within him. He found out that because Jenova was from a di-"
"Jenova?!?!" Squall and Kuja chimed in at the same time. They then turned to look at each other. "You know her??" They pointed.
"Ahem..." Cloud coughed for attention. "... Do you mind? I'm in the middle of listening to a story that will determine my view of life hereafter. Leave the distractions for later, okay?"
Squall and Kuja simmered down, sat back, and kept silent. Nanaki looked at Cloud and saw the go-ahead.
"Anyway, as I was saying," Nanaki blinked, "he found out that because Jenova was from a different planet, her cells were causing some abnormal reactions within him, some of which included his transformations and strange eye colour. But what was really shocking, was the reaction of the cells and Mako." He looked up and with his eyes warned Cloud to prepare for the information.
"While a little of it would make a SOLDIER out of anyone, heavy dosages apparently stopped growth, setting the physical body into semi-hibernation but releasing the mind to continue as per normal. That is, provided the subject survives the initial bout of Mako poisoning."
Cloud's head swirled. His eyes became as intense as ever.
"Which means?" The lack of emotion in his voice scared his three new companions, but merely told Nanaki that Cloud was entering into his special 'agitation' mode, in which his animalistic fury lurked behind a mask of calm composure, ready to pounce on the next thing that irritates him.
"Cloud," Nanaki closed his eyes, "I met Vincent just last week. That was when he told me all these. Well, what I could remember anyway..."
The beast sighed.
"500 years and he's still alive. Cloud, doesn't that tell you anything about yourself?" He shook his head again, shivering not because of the cold. "I wasn't surprised to see you alive, because I know... I know... Vincent had told me... that I shouldn't be surprised to see him, or Cloud, if I ever did see you. Then he walked away... I had so much to tell him, too..."
Zidane continued patting Nanaki on the head, exchanging glances back and forth between the beast and the now deep in thought mercenary. "You mean," he said, "that because of some cells and Mako thing inside Cloud's body, he's not going to age and die... "
"It's not absolute." Nanaki sounded tired. "Vincent said that it slowed growth, but didn't stop it completely. Eventually, he would probably age and die too, but not before seeing the people he loved disappear before him, one by one..."
They heard a short chuckle, which turned out to be Cloud. "Well, that's Vincent for you, always so optimistic about life." His lips curving into a small smile. He leaned backwards on the tree trunk he was resting on and didn't say anything else after that.
When the silence progressed, the impatient SeeD finally stood up and put his arms akimbo. "Can I talk now?" He sounded urgent, like he really had something to say. Something that would matter. When no one answered, he spoke anyway, "This Jenova entity... how is she related to you?"
Both Cloud and Nanaki looked up at him at the same time, saying, "The world's mortal enemy," before returning to what they were doing. Zidane was trying to smile despite his confusion. He noticed Kuja giggling, but he couldn't tell why. Although all he had to do was ask, he had a feeling he'd rather not know.
"How is she related to you, Squall?" Kuja stopped giggling and asked him.
Squall pouted, only for a while. "If I remember correctly," Squall said, "she was one of the first sorceresses, who disappeared while spearheading the outer space program that was running during her time." He lifted his fingers to stroke his chin. "People said that she was ambitious and uncompromising... she only did outer space research so that she could fuel her desire of ruling over all that was living..."
"During my time," Kuja continued, when Squall looked like he had finished his piece, "she was hailed as the ancient fore-runner of outer space research, which gave the people of the dying planet of Terra a hope... that if they could find another younger planet to absorb they could survive..."
"Wait wait wait wait!" Cloud held both hands up into a cross. "Time out, time out! What are you guys talking about??" He whistled with an irritated look mounted on his face. "This Jenova creature we're talking about has never been part of MY planet. She was foreign, and came crashing down on a space chariot about 2000... well, 2500 years ago. The fact that you guys are quoting her from history books..."
Kuja gently knocked his fist into his palm, with an 'oh-I-see' look on his face. "That explains it all. Why magick is SO different, why places you know turn out to be places I don't... We're not only from different times along the flow of history, but from different planets as well..."
Looking up, he awaited questions and inquires from the interested audience. All he got was a few rather bewildered faces. Zidane was shaking his head in utter confusion.
"I don't get it!" He suddenly stood up and faced Kuja with clenched fists. "I don't get it at all! What... what's the whole point in this time and dimension thing? It wasn't by some freak cause of nature that the four of us were thrown together like this, was it?? I mean, it could have been anyone! Why'd it have to be Cloud and Squall?" Sighing, he grabbed at his hair with both hands. "Why do I feel like I'm acting in someone's twisted attempt at a staged drama..."
"You guys..." Nanaki immediately cut into the conversation, "... look like you've got a lot of things to talk about." He frowned. "Time and dimension, eh? There may be some books about that in Cosmo Canyon. Why don't we all go there tomorrow? I don't think I understand everything you people are saying now, but... I'll do whatever I can to help."
"Thanks, Nanaki." Cloud landed a huge pat on the red beast's head, causing him sudden jitters, having expected Cloud to be the last person to react. He turned to see Cloud beaming. "I'd gladly take the offer. See you all tomorrow." The blond mercenary then turned and got into his tent.
The next to stand and retreat was none other than Mr. Articulate himself, Squall Leonhart; after having been silent most of the evening. He crept into his tent, almost unnoticed, as he blended in perfectly with the shadows of the night.
Which left Nanaki, Zidane and Kuja warming their toes around the fire.
"A purpose to our travelling together, is it..." Kuja murmured, barely audible and hardly coherent. "... perhaps it's true? Perhaps somebody had purposed this... ?"
"And if he had," Zidane quickly caught on, "just what is OUR role in this grand conspiracy he's written?" He frowned in frustration. "If he'd just tell us, it'd make things so much easier. I'm tired of wandering around, fighting monsters and trying to remember my past. I mean, I like travelling with you guys, but... I wish I knew exactly why I'd have to do that!" He punched against the fire, making it flicker for a while. "I don't wanna walk in a road with no destination anymore!"
His companions merely looked on, disturbed.
Especially Kuja.
His thoughts wandered to earlier that day, when Zidane was in his semi-trance prophetic mode, recalling the past and talking about the future. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it made sense.
Zidane had a strange ability. He probably didn't know it himself, but to an observant onlooker (like himself), it had become painfully obvious.
Everytime the monkey said something which he later wouldn't be able to remember, or caused him a great headache, time lurched forward in super-sonic speed. It first happened during the night they spent at the Chocobo Sage's house. He was talking about Baku and Tantalus, something an amnesiatic Zidane wouldn't have been able to. It didn't appear to have happened so quickly or obviously, but the very next day, it was as if they were already 10 years further down the flow of time.
The next time it happened, he remembered it was after the fight with the Midgar Zolom. At that time, he was too shocked to have noticed any change in the scenary to indicate time warping forward.
But by the time they reached Midgar, Zidane had sent them so forward in time, even Kuja was having difficulty believing 500 years had been the gap from when they first met in the Sleeping Forest to when they saw Nanaki.
Someone had protected them from the fast forwarding of history. After hanging out with the guys for so long, the silver-haired man had a rough idea why anyone would want the four of them to band together. Cloud, Squall, Zidane and himself. They were all strong, well balanced warriors in their own right. What one lacked would probably be covered up by the other. In fact, each one of them would probably do very well alone, less in a group with 3 other warriors as strong as they were.
Yes... someone... someone out there had wanted no less than the perfect team of fighters. It didn't matter they were from different times, did it? All he... or she, had to do was to compress time. Make it such that it didn't matter which epoch you lived in. As long as past, present and future were rolled into one sweet temaki, he could pick the strong ones, manipulate events to fire happenings, and get what he wanted.
If time compression had to do with sorceresses, Kuja thought as he eyed Squall's tent with a meaningful stare, then Squall is going to have alot of explaining to do in the morning...
"Well," Nanaki finally broke the silence, yawning, "if nothing's the matter now, I think I'll retreat for some rest, too."
When the red beast picked his cubs and went off, Kuja turned to Zidane, meaning to ask him to go to sleep as well, while he kept the night watch. He was alarmed to see the blond staring monotonously at the cackling fire, never blinking, never moving. It was a familiar, haunting, and horrifying scene.
"Gaia was a moon..." Zidane spoke softly, just as Kuja had expected he would. The latter then quickly sprinted to the former's side, hand raised above his head, ready to knock him unconscious if he had to, just so that he could stop time from decompressing. "... a moon of fire..." The boy managed to finish saying, before Kuja sent him into the land of sweet snores. He then brushed his fallen frindge aside, brow furrowed deep with worry.
"Gaia... was a moon?" He found himself repeating after Zidane. He then raised his head to consider the red moon hanging in the dark blue night sky. "... Gaia was a moon... to those in Terra...
"... so does that mean... Terra was also a moon to Gaia... ?"
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Squall surprised himself by climbing out of his tent at the break of dawn, stretching and yawning as he charged through the thick mist to morning mist to where he thought he smelt food. He usually wasn't so awake, but aaah... food... it was good and always made him hurry. Sure enough, as he approached the campfire, seated just where they had been last night, Zidane and Kuja had a few small sticks of fish cooking to a crisp by the heat. Squall rubbed his gloved hands together and sat down too, observing the fish with curiousity. Where had they gotten these fish? The nearest watery area was a day's walk away...
"Hey Squall, hey Zidane, hey Kuja," Cloud's voice and footsteps was heard coming from his tent. The mist hid him until he was a few metres near the fire. "Wow! Would you look at that! A great breakfast after so many days... um, years, of travelling..." He seated himself down, looking intently at the fish, like Squall had. He then scratched his head, meaning to ask something, but frowned and apparently decided not to. Zidane pulled a stick from where it had been cooking and blew at it.
"It looks like they're cooked." Kuja said, reaching out for a stick himself. Cloud and Squall followed suit, carefully testing their lips and tongues on the heated fish before deciding to try biting it. For a while, they were all silent.
"Hey!" Zidane suddenly exclaimed, scaring (and choking) the rest. "What about Nanaki? I'm sure he'd like some too. I'll go call him." He grinned and, with the fish in his mouth, scampered off into the mist.
Kuja remained strangely silent. Squall had long finished his fish and was wondering if he should reach out for another one. There was something else on his mind, however. He looked straight at Kuja and asked, "Where'd you get all these fish? The nearest area to catch fish is about a day's journey away..."
To this, the silver-haired man looked up with an embittered look etched on his features, taking Squall by surprise. It was as if Squall had asked him a question along the lines of, "What's the square root of 11112863746.387?"
"Well," Kuja then smiled sadly and shrugged, "that's a secret. Until the mist clears, of course. Then I'll tell you."
Deciding that he was now fully justified to grab that stick of fish, Squall did as planned and pouted, only just for the effect. Cloud leant backwards and chuckled.
It was a peaceful, quiet morning.
Disrupted only by the rowdy shouts of the one and only Zidane, as he stomped back to the fire frantically. "Where's Nanaki???" He demanded to know, pointing in the general direction of the tents, causing heads to turn in all directions. "He's not in his tent. Anyone saw him?"
There was silence.
"Maybe he went for a walk with his sons," Cloud suggested cheerfully, finishing his breakfast and throwing the stick back into the fire. "You know, morning exercise. He's a big boy and can take care of himself."
Somehow, Zidane didn't look half as convinced as he should have been. However, further thought nudged him into the conclusion that there was really nothing he could do about it until at least the morning mist receded. He sat down, poking at the fire with a stick.
Then the mist did recede. It receded quickly once the sun rose into the skies majestically, leaving 3 of them staring at what surrounded them with disbelief written all over their faces.
It must be a dream.
Pinch.
Ow.
No, it HAS to be a dream.
PINCH.
OW!
Okay, so it wasn't a dream...
"Kuja," Cloud was still shocked, but somehow had the feeling the ex-villian knew something about it, "you... have got to tell us what's going on."
"Hmm?" Kuja smiled lazily, lightly tapping the surface of the water that now surrounded them with his boots. "Which part of it do you want to hear? Why we're suddenly being circled by water, or the fact that the water's touching everything but us?"
Cloud spun around with an irritated look. "You've thought about it *that* far already? Gosh, tell me EVERYTHING you know, Kuja. EVERYTHING."
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And so the sun rose into the skies and hovered over the land with ease. From the east to the west, north to the south, the entire planet was covered with sparkling, blue water. Some mountains could still be seen, as with some of the taller buildings that had been built. But otherwise, everywhere one looked they would be greeted by the watery deep, whose silence and soft sloshing would be enough to drive any sane person insane, if they had been alone in this vast patch of people-less territory.
Of course, that was not the case for the four who sat by the fire, now burnt to a black pile in the middle of the gathering. They were all deep in thought.
"Wow." Zidane was the first to say something, as usual. "That was complex."
"I'm sure it was." Kuja's smile was unreadable. "I hope I have explained what I have observed so far clearly enough." He looked away graciously, having no heart to tell them that he had omitted the part about his relationship with Zidane as well as the monkey boy's true identity and birthplace. "When Zidane entered into that special mode again yesterday night... he must have sent time forward again, so much so that the person 'Nanaki' had already ceased to exist..."
"I still have some questions," Cloud frowned deeply, "about this whole time and dimension thing."
"As does the rest of us, I suppose." Squall surprised everybody by talking again. He grew irritated at the weird stares and lashed out mildly. "Is it very surprising to hear me speak? I DO have opinions I wish to voice out sometimes, you know."
Kuja chuckled and exchanged glances with the rest. "We know, Squall. It's just that sometimes, you go off into lala-land yourself and don't notice how obvious you are at it, with those long, thoughtful silences and everything. Hearing a person from lala-land suddenly speak up is bound to create some undesired and unplanned expressions, of course."
"We won't do it again!" Zidane promised. Squall looked away, even more irritated, while Cloud folded his arms and got serious.
"Whatever it is, the answers to our questions won't be found 'here'." Cloud took a long, sweeping glance at the forlorn looking environment. "If someone does have some grand plan for us, I expect they'd be needing to have us alive, but trapped enough to be manipulated. I'm not standing for that, and I know you guys won't stand for that either, so we're gonna have to start moving out." He made a sign with his hands. "We gotta keep moving. Even if there isn't a destination. At least we know we have a goal. And that goal is that we don't fall into the hands of the one behind this whole scheme. We're gonna show 'em that we aren't nice little stringed puppets. We're warriors with an attitude."
He paused, only to take a breather.
"And the first thing we do, is go to Squall's hometown, the planet Terra, to find the sorceresses behind this time compression thing. Then, we'll figure it out from there."
"So in the meantime, I try to stop prophesying and in the event hurtling time and dimensions apart?" Zidane's eyebrows went upwards in semi-embarassment, as if trying to quote a quote he couldn't quite remember. Three pairs of evil eyes targetted him.
"It's okay, Zidane." Kuja 'kukuku'ed and gave a malicious smile.
"We'll be more than glad to offer assistance in stopping you..." Cloud chimed in.
"Say..." Squall was saying, "... which one works better on you, spells or attacks?"
While the poor monkey boy could only cower and cry at his 3 travelling companions, hands on his head.
It was going to be a loooooooooooooooong trip...
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kidou shita
24/6/2001
http://cloud-is.ourfamily.com/
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Author's Interlude
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*puts palms together and bows*
thank you all who have given me inspiration for the pair up in Terra. XD you have my eternal gratefulness, Nefas and Braswell, heheh.