Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ sore kara... ❯ hakken da ( Chapter 17 )
[ 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: 02.20.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 193 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 02.20.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 193 | Status: Completed
Standard disclaimers apply.
InSpIrAtIoN oF tHe DaY!.!:
http://www.thegia.com/psx2/khearts/art4/kh-cloud.jpg
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sore kara...
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hakken da
The shadow leapt, undaunted by the severe lack of light in the region, across the freshly made crater. He didn't quite make it, reaching terminal velocity right smack in the middle of the large hole instead and plummeted down with impressive speed. To nobody's surprise, he landed softly on the large thing jutting out of the cleared land and gently somersaulted off onto ground zero.
Admist the silence of the night, only the flapping of his large, weathered cape could be heard.
He turned around noiselessly, facing the rock-like structure and giving it a few quick pats.
"Haven't seen you in a while." The stranger, true to his current identity, spoke strange words. A moment of respite hung over the unlikely pair, the structure staying in it's place and the stranger making waving motions with his hands, as if trying to scrub the ancient dust off from it's surface. As his movements got slower and slower, he turned to look behind him, noticing a presence other than his own.
In the darkness, under the glow of the blue moon of Gaia, it was not hard at all to recognize the spikey-headed mercenary stepping away from the shadows (as if it did anything to help camouflage him in the first place, ha ha. XD), weapon sheathed and armour equipped, as if ready to strike anytime.
Which wasn't necessarily untrue, depending on how things eventually worked out, of course. Wasn't that always the case?
The stranger whipped around fully to face the mercenary, resting his gloved left hand on the artifact Adel had left behind. His cape spread out from beneath him, making it hard to catch his feet, which were enshrouded in shadows. "You're pretty brave to be coming out here alone." He commented blandly, with a barely visible smile playing on his lips.
"I didn't count on running into someone else." Cloud replied, equally blandly. Of course, his well-prepared battle gear did wonders to accentuate that point. He narrowed his eyes to carefully consider the person in front of him.
"Ipsen, am I right?" He finally asked, when he could stand the silence no longer.
The man did not answer, nor did he move.
"Yes? No?" Cloud pushed on, speaking louder than just now. Annoyed at the continual quietness, he took a wide step forward, meaning to confront the man up close. As soon as he did that, however, the stranger moved slightly, withdrawing his hand on the structure and reaching into his cape to retrieve something. Imagining he was intimidated by his actions, the spikey-headed mercenary halted, but continued to stare and hope that the stranger would answer his unanswered question. He noticed a flicker of light from within the fingers of the stranger, just before the stranger tossed the item directly into Cloud's face.
Owing to his well-trained reflexes, Cloud caught the item just before it thwacked him on the forehead. He brought his hand down to examine it, and decided that it looked kind of like a well-polished, newly minted coin. Clasping it gently in his hands he looked up to question the stranger again but was disappointed, although not really surprised, to find that the stranger had already disappeared into a wisp of smoke.
Although still unhappy at being ignored, Cloud slowly made his way towards the artifact, taking the time to think back about the events of the day instead. Adel had left with her wingdings, and the artifact which she claimed would make her supreme!... or something like that, was left in the middle of the crater she had made with that wild meteorite summon. The rest of the day went by in a flurry of events, as the king popped out from nowhere and made the most fantastically un-understandable speech Cloud had ever heard in his whole life which, wonder of wonders, had many Galbadians cry swearing loyalty to the kingdom forever.
There were cheers, applause and general chaos as the crowd cleared from the palace. Still dazed, the foursome were approached by the king with his sincere gratitude, although they weren't exactly sure whatever for. Regarding the artifact as taboo or something, the king decreed that nobody, not even guards, were to near it. Then in another sweep of confounding events, the foursome were rested into their rooms and before they knew it, the whole thingamajig they were supposed to be helping the king with was... all in all, over.
Cloud sweatdropped at the mere thought of it, closing his eyes in disbelief. He took a quick glance at the artifact, decided that the glyphics inscribed on it wasn't worthed his attention - at least not yet, and fell flat on his back onto the chunky ground.
Once again, the stars seemingly beckoned at him with their twinkles. Their light reminded him of the item he had received from the stranger, which was resting in his hand at the moment. Bringing it closer to his face, he examined it.
Yeah, no bones about it. It was a freshly minted, well-polished silver coin. It had a magical feel to it, as well as a magical glow. Cloud flipped the coin back and forth, noticing it's design. On the one side it was smooth and cool - void of engravement other than the thin rim of circumference given it as it were given most coins. On the other side, however, there was a name.
A name Cloud somehow felt intensely towards.
"Interesting." A voice drifted into his ears from the distance, along with the sound of nearing footsteps. Squall's shadow fell over him while he still had the coin in his outstretched arm, and the young SeeD blinked as he bent over and read the inscription on the flip-side of the coin. "Ipsen... again." The morose teenager mulled. He straightened himself and scanned the terrain. "So, where is he?" He asked, none-too amiably.
In quick succession, Cloud tossed the coin into the air and sat up, catching the coin in its descend as he did. Bending one knee, he draped an arm over it and looked up at the teenager, still scanning the area for the now-gone Ipsen. "He's gone already," the older mercenary mentally shrugged, "and he left this coin behind."
Squall turned and glanced at Cloud, who was holding out the coin with his hand and beckoning for the former to take a look. He complied and took the coin up to investigate.
After a while, he returned the coin to Cloud and shrugged, sitting down as well.
As they mulled over their individual problems, Cloud spoke up. "I would ask you what you're doing here at this time in the night," he began with a wry smile, "but you'd just ask the same of me."
"Ditto." Squall folded his arms and continued staring into nothingness.
There was a pause.
"I came to look at the artifact." The dark-haired teenager turned to look at Cloud. "I thought I could find some clues about ............. ...nevermind." He looked away as abruptly as that sentence ended.
For a long time, it was just Cloud staring at Squall and Squall staring at the skies.
Then, Cloud stood up and dusted the sand off his pants, walking away from the by-now silently thoughtful teenager and towards the strange structure. If Squall had something to hide, or something he could not talk about, then he might as well let the boy be, Cloud was thinking to himself. Turning his attention to the structure might yield more results, too.
As expected, the large structure was a jutty, rough and tough piece of rock, looking to be as ancient as the days itself, but in truth was not very possible to be so. It had not been wholly dislodged from the ground, revealing only perhaps the upper part of it's full body - or perhaps even less. Upon closer examination, Cloud could make out an unusual light peering curiously at him as he did at it, from under the dirt. Intrigued, he continued dusting at the structure until a flash of gentle jade caught his attention and stopped him.
The light it emitted was lulling... as if this thing... it had a life of it's own... There was a strange sort of flicker from within it's bowels, as it beckoned at the onlookers belligerently. Cloud blinked, not at all interested in green. There was something not too right about this whole thing. He retreated instinctively, away from the structure.
"?" went the clueless SeeD, who had been busy scuffing his feet around the soil. "What's up?" He raised an eyebrow at Cloud's actions, then turned to look at the ancient thing with a pale gleam of revealed green from where Cloud had been dusting.
"Heeeeey..." the dark-haired teenager stood up, as he recognized something about the structure Cloud apparently had not. "... isn't this-"
At that precise moment, a sharp gust of sudden wind, icy and cold, sent a chill up both their spines, putting an abrupt stop to all conversation. Dead as it already was, the air now stirred up with the pungent smell of something more than death itself. The rattling of withered leaves resounded throughout the peopleless lands, threatening to deafen those who are still awake to hear of it. Squall gulped involuntarily - and from the corner of his eye he could see that his companion wasn't feeling all too well either.
All they could tell, though, was that something very, very bad was approaching.
Suddenly, Cloud darted into the darkness, keeping himself out of sight from whatever was approaching. Squall didn't have to ask to be right there beside him, trying to keep as unnoticable as it was biologically possible. They both peered out from behind their wall of safety, amidst the howling winds that sliced the atmosphere up in all directions.
It was getting closer and closer.
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"Zidane?" Kuja rubbed his eyes sleepily, looking at the genome who stood a few feet away with his back facing him. "What are you doing?"
Slowly, Zidane turned to look at the silver-haired man, with a look that could have frozen him 10 times over.
"You can see me." Zidane spoke, without moving his lips. He didn't seem like he was asking a question. A funny quirk of his lips occurred, the only sign of life he had displayed since just now. "This mortal avatar is beginning to weaken. Looks like time is not being too kind on me..."
A burst of broken wings erupted from Zidane's back, spreading it's featherless joints outwards and then wrapping inwards to hide it's owner. In a whirl of shimmering darkness, the tail-boy disappeared from his original standing place.
"Zidane?!" Kuja stood up quickly and turned in all directions. "Where are you going?" He asked.
Taking the silence to be a reply to search, he began to run. He ran, ran and ran, towards what he thought would be a destination but never really beginning or even reaching, only stopping when he heard a muted cry of quiet despondancy...
*... this darkness is eternal... wake up, Kuja, don't keep falling!*
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Kuja sat up with a start.
Gasping for breath, he put a hand to his forehead, hoping this little action would clear his head and put him in a better position to be thinking.
"What was that?" He asked himself quietly, eyes still boggled with intensity, a mere hint of what Kuja had just witnessed from the dark recesses of his mind. His breath refused to be caught, as he curled his fists tightly into balls and then slowly relaxed them, repeating this for as long as it took for him to calm down.
Was what he just saw in his dreams... his imagination?, or someone's manipulation?
The window beside his room flung open in reply, forced to do so by the hostile winds from outside. The unbinded curtains flared upwards, as the rain slowly, but surely, fell onto the land in an eerie overture.
The silver-haired man had eyes wide-opened, the streak of lightning serving only to enhance the serious glint of realization in his eyes.
In another while, the bed was empty - with overturned sheets telling of nothing but a hasty departure.
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It approached in the form of a shadow - with no depth, and no end.
Dissolving into the rocks, and re-emerging at the bottom of the crater, the formless gloom twisted and turned until it stood right next to the structure with the pale green glow. It stretched into a face of eternal despair, then into a body of prying arms. For a while it continued to repeat this cycle, emulating various parts of the human body until it began to spiral around itself. The thick darkness soon thinned, and in it's place stood a mortal man. When the shadow finished spiralling into non-existence, the man - the boy, with his body, tail and all, opened his eyes.
Cloud and Squall craned their necks in disbelief, agape with horror.
Zidane - or someone; something that looked like Zidane, stretched his hand out and touched the structure. For a long time his hand remained there, as did his expressions remain ominous.
Yet, nothing happened.
Withdrawing his hand, the monkey-boy blinked slowly.
"Not yet..." he whispered in a ghostly voice, "... not yet..." He clasped his hand into a fist, while remaining expressionless, death brimming about in his lifeless irises. "Where... where is the final destiny? How does one go to it... ?"
Cloud turned to look at Squall, who raised an eyebrow and merely shrugged. They had no idea whatever this guy was talking about.
A huge noise from the edge of the crater attracted their attention, when a large boulder dislodged and tumbled it's way into the crater with fanfare. When the smoke cleared, Cloud winced visibly and Squall managed to close his eyes and mumble something to himself. It wasn't hard to recognize the shape of the figure who had stomped the boulder down now, was it?
"You want to go to your final destiny?" The ex-villain was surprisingly, or maybe not - considering the amount of villainous speeches he was obliged to make during his era, loud and clear. "I can take you there, pal." He glowered, visibly unhappy. "Get out of Zidane right now and we'll talk." The silver-haired man pointed.
Squall's voice caught in his throat, although he had meant to ask Cloud something. For now, his attention was so affixed on the current situation that it seemed impossible for him to be able to ask anyone anything, anyway. He forced his raging doubts back, contenting himself with just watching.
It appeared that nothing had happened since the time that elapsed between the last sentence Kuja spoke and until he had gathered his thoughts together, just now. Zidane hadn't even moved a single muscle to at least turn to look at Kuja.
How long was the silence going to last... ?
"Did you hear me you brainless monkey!" Kuja yelled again, temper growing. As it was, he hated to be ignored.
Zidane suddenly shifted his weight a bit. He slowly spun around to meet Kuja's gaze with his own.
Gone, was the playful boy whose tail twitched at every move of the wind. Instead, Zidane's tail now hung low, devoid of movement, sweeping itself along with the ground as if it was just a lifeless extension. As he slowly lifted his half-lidded eyes to consider Kuja, not a single ray of moonlight bounced off his large, unblinking eyes. It was heartrending to see a friend being reduced to a state like this - especially when it was clear it was not of his own will.
Kuja hesitated - but only for a while. This was indeed a nightmare coming true for him, and he was not going to stand by and do nothing. He leapt, hovered, and landed on the area in front of Zidane, who remained unmoving, staring long and hard into his eyes.
"You will fight your friend?" The disembodied voice of someone not Zidane echoed into the region.
The man rose to his feet, hands ready for a spell.
"I twice tried to kill him." He whispered sharply, as if sharing a secret with the mysterious being inside of the boy. "Does it matter for me to try thrice?"
Frowning slightly, 'Zidane' didn't take too well to those words. He bent his knee and was preparing to jump into the shadows again when Kuja's hand caught him by his neck and held him there. He didn't even have leeway to cough and gasp for breath. Kuja was stronger than he looked and had an iron grip that was also, unfortunately, overlaid with a spell ready to blow you up should you resist.
"Destroy the host, destroy the parasite." He said simply, tightening his grip. "Easy, no?"
Zidane gacked, managing to peel an eye open to look at Kuja with fierce determination. Knowing that this wasn't Zidane didn't help much. There was a time when Kuja would crush the boy with no second thoughts, but that time was long gone. He wouldn't be able to do anything more than what he had already done. He just hoped that thing inside Zidane wouldn't find that out. He just hoped Zidane wouldn't chop his tail off when this ordeal was finally over. He hoped many things, but the darkness within Zidane was not granting him them. Kuja closed his eyes in a frown, angry and frustrated at... himself...
Opening his eyes to glare into the eyes of the Eternal Darkness, Kuja suddenly offered a queer question.
"Why don't you take me instead?"
The look on Zidane's face turned thoughtful, traces of chagrin out of the window the very moment Kuja said those words.
"If only it was as easy as you beings make it out to be." He quickly returned to being impassionate again, raising up both his hands to touch the arm Kuja was using to grip him. "Then I would not be tussling with menial affairs with you here, now.
"Seek the sorceress who knows, and we all will get what we want," Zidane closed his eyes, "the will to live never ceases to amaze me..."
Shadows churned from beneath the ground Kuja had Zidane held up in, twisting in a familiar ritual around the boy, evolving into the same wings Kuja had seen in the darkness and then curling up and disappearing into the boy. Unsure of what was really happening, Kuja held still, waiting for a reaction from Zidane.
Of course, he didn't have to wait too long.
"ACK!!!!!" Zidane coughed loudly, face paling dramatically. "KUJA, what in the two moons do you think you're doing?! LET GO! I CAN'T BREEEE-"
Kuja's lips immediately quirked into a funny smile, when he heard Zidane say that. He had never felt so relieved in all his life. The grip on Zidane loosened, and the monkey-boy fell to the ground as Kuja stiffled giggles, then covered his mouth because of the laughter threatening to explode from within him. Somehow, this whole thing felt like a big joke. A big joke he should laugh over. Something they should all laugh over. Oh yes, it was a very big joke indeed.
While still panting desperately, the monkey-boy threw the older man a rather befuddled look. What in the world? This wasn't the first time he was being threatened by assaults of strikes and spells, but this WAS the first time he seriously felt like he was going to die. He swished his tail around lots, noticing the amount of soil he had on it (funny, he never quite allowed the tail to touch the ground when he walked), pouting as he did.
"Okay, I think I missed something important again. Mind filling me in?" He beckoned at Kuja, who was, unfortunately, still laughing. Skid.
"Cloud, Squall?" He turned to the spot where he could sense two other beings hiding. "Don't bother hiding, I know you're there." He grinned dangerously.
A while later, the duo shifted out sheepishly, trying not to look into Zidane's eye so they didn't have to explain anything. The thief was, of course, unhappy with the hostility. By this time, Kuja had stopped laughing though, so all eyes turned to him instead. The ex-villain cleared his throat.
"Nothing Zidane." He was impressively emotionless. "Now, do you mind?" He made a sweeping movement, meaning to tell Zidane to get out of the way, which he did. He then made his way towards the structure, touching the greenish part of it, pondering about it's existence very much.
"What has this thing got to do with the sorceress?" His voice was sombre.
"Nothing much." Squall replied, amazed at how fast Kuja switched wavelengths. "I think this thing is a core part of what became the Lunatic Pandora - which strengthens the pull between this planet and it's moon, causing the Lunar Cry. Apparently, though, it was first discovered in Centra... maybe this is just an offshoot?"
"An offshoot that has not been initialized, I can see that..." Kuja felt around the structure like his hands had sensors installed that could test for reactions within the thing. Zidane got bored and sleepy and decided to sit down to lean against the huge boulder Kuja was examining, still miffed at being ignored. He began drawing circles on the ground.
"........" went Cloud - who wanted to discuss what 'Zidane' had said about seeking the sorceress out just now, but was afraid to do so in Zidane's presence. Digging his hands into his pockets for SOMETHING to do at least, he felt the presence of a smooth, polished coin. "Oh yeah..." he retrieved the coin and flipped it into the air so that it's gleam would be visible for all. "Some wise guy left this coin behind - I don't know, maybe it's a clue." He tossed it into Kuja's general direction.
The man caught it with grace and accuracy.
So accurate, the earth itself trembled with impact.
"Well look..." Zidane suddenly said in a trance-like voice, causing all his companions to groan internally. "... so the final destiny was closer to me than I thought it was..."
They only had enough time to glance at the weird marking of circles and semi-arcs Zidane had doodled on the sand before the world phased forward like a chocobo high on dead peppers.
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hakken datta
2/4/2002
Author's notes: Now that didn't turn out too well at all... *oggly*
InSpIrAtIoN oF tHe DaY!.!:
http://www.thegia.com/psx2/khearts/art4/kh-cloud.jpg
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sore kara...
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hakken da
The shadow leapt, undaunted by the severe lack of light in the region, across the freshly made crater. He didn't quite make it, reaching terminal velocity right smack in the middle of the large hole instead and plummeted down with impressive speed. To nobody's surprise, he landed softly on the large thing jutting out of the cleared land and gently somersaulted off onto ground zero.
Admist the silence of the night, only the flapping of his large, weathered cape could be heard.
He turned around noiselessly, facing the rock-like structure and giving it a few quick pats.
"Haven't seen you in a while." The stranger, true to his current identity, spoke strange words. A moment of respite hung over the unlikely pair, the structure staying in it's place and the stranger making waving motions with his hands, as if trying to scrub the ancient dust off from it's surface. As his movements got slower and slower, he turned to look behind him, noticing a presence other than his own.
In the darkness, under the glow of the blue moon of Gaia, it was not hard at all to recognize the spikey-headed mercenary stepping away from the shadows (as if it did anything to help camouflage him in the first place, ha ha. XD), weapon sheathed and armour equipped, as if ready to strike anytime.
Which wasn't necessarily untrue, depending on how things eventually worked out, of course. Wasn't that always the case?
The stranger whipped around fully to face the mercenary, resting his gloved left hand on the artifact Adel had left behind. His cape spread out from beneath him, making it hard to catch his feet, which were enshrouded in shadows. "You're pretty brave to be coming out here alone." He commented blandly, with a barely visible smile playing on his lips.
"I didn't count on running into someone else." Cloud replied, equally blandly. Of course, his well-prepared battle gear did wonders to accentuate that point. He narrowed his eyes to carefully consider the person in front of him.
"Ipsen, am I right?" He finally asked, when he could stand the silence no longer.
The man did not answer, nor did he move.
"Yes? No?" Cloud pushed on, speaking louder than just now. Annoyed at the continual quietness, he took a wide step forward, meaning to confront the man up close. As soon as he did that, however, the stranger moved slightly, withdrawing his hand on the structure and reaching into his cape to retrieve something. Imagining he was intimidated by his actions, the spikey-headed mercenary halted, but continued to stare and hope that the stranger would answer his unanswered question. He noticed a flicker of light from within the fingers of the stranger, just before the stranger tossed the item directly into Cloud's face.
Owing to his well-trained reflexes, Cloud caught the item just before it thwacked him on the forehead. He brought his hand down to examine it, and decided that it looked kind of like a well-polished, newly minted coin. Clasping it gently in his hands he looked up to question the stranger again but was disappointed, although not really surprised, to find that the stranger had already disappeared into a wisp of smoke.
Although still unhappy at being ignored, Cloud slowly made his way towards the artifact, taking the time to think back about the events of the day instead. Adel had left with her wingdings, and the artifact which she claimed would make her supreme!... or something like that, was left in the middle of the crater she had made with that wild meteorite summon. The rest of the day went by in a flurry of events, as the king popped out from nowhere and made the most fantastically un-understandable speech Cloud had ever heard in his whole life which, wonder of wonders, had many Galbadians cry swearing loyalty to the kingdom forever.
There were cheers, applause and general chaos as the crowd cleared from the palace. Still dazed, the foursome were approached by the king with his sincere gratitude, although they weren't exactly sure whatever for. Regarding the artifact as taboo or something, the king decreed that nobody, not even guards, were to near it. Then in another sweep of confounding events, the foursome were rested into their rooms and before they knew it, the whole thingamajig they were supposed to be helping the king with was... all in all, over.
Cloud sweatdropped at the mere thought of it, closing his eyes in disbelief. He took a quick glance at the artifact, decided that the glyphics inscribed on it wasn't worthed his attention - at least not yet, and fell flat on his back onto the chunky ground.
Once again, the stars seemingly beckoned at him with their twinkles. Their light reminded him of the item he had received from the stranger, which was resting in his hand at the moment. Bringing it closer to his face, he examined it.
Yeah, no bones about it. It was a freshly minted, well-polished silver coin. It had a magical feel to it, as well as a magical glow. Cloud flipped the coin back and forth, noticing it's design. On the one side it was smooth and cool - void of engravement other than the thin rim of circumference given it as it were given most coins. On the other side, however, there was a name.
A name Cloud somehow felt intensely towards.
"Interesting." A voice drifted into his ears from the distance, along with the sound of nearing footsteps. Squall's shadow fell over him while he still had the coin in his outstretched arm, and the young SeeD blinked as he bent over and read the inscription on the flip-side of the coin. "Ipsen... again." The morose teenager mulled. He straightened himself and scanned the terrain. "So, where is he?" He asked, none-too amiably.
In quick succession, Cloud tossed the coin into the air and sat up, catching the coin in its descend as he did. Bending one knee, he draped an arm over it and looked up at the teenager, still scanning the area for the now-gone Ipsen. "He's gone already," the older mercenary mentally shrugged, "and he left this coin behind."
Squall turned and glanced at Cloud, who was holding out the coin with his hand and beckoning for the former to take a look. He complied and took the coin up to investigate.
After a while, he returned the coin to Cloud and shrugged, sitting down as well.
As they mulled over their individual problems, Cloud spoke up. "I would ask you what you're doing here at this time in the night," he began with a wry smile, "but you'd just ask the same of me."
"Ditto." Squall folded his arms and continued staring into nothingness.
There was a pause.
"I came to look at the artifact." The dark-haired teenager turned to look at Cloud. "I thought I could find some clues about ............. ...nevermind." He looked away as abruptly as that sentence ended.
For a long time, it was just Cloud staring at Squall and Squall staring at the skies.
Then, Cloud stood up and dusted the sand off his pants, walking away from the by-now silently thoughtful teenager and towards the strange structure. If Squall had something to hide, or something he could not talk about, then he might as well let the boy be, Cloud was thinking to himself. Turning his attention to the structure might yield more results, too.
As expected, the large structure was a jutty, rough and tough piece of rock, looking to be as ancient as the days itself, but in truth was not very possible to be so. It had not been wholly dislodged from the ground, revealing only perhaps the upper part of it's full body - or perhaps even less. Upon closer examination, Cloud could make out an unusual light peering curiously at him as he did at it, from under the dirt. Intrigued, he continued dusting at the structure until a flash of gentle jade caught his attention and stopped him.
The light it emitted was lulling... as if this thing... it had a life of it's own... There was a strange sort of flicker from within it's bowels, as it beckoned at the onlookers belligerently. Cloud blinked, not at all interested in green. There was something not too right about this whole thing. He retreated instinctively, away from the structure.
"?" went the clueless SeeD, who had been busy scuffing his feet around the soil. "What's up?" He raised an eyebrow at Cloud's actions, then turned to look at the ancient thing with a pale gleam of revealed green from where Cloud had been dusting.
"Heeeeey..." the dark-haired teenager stood up, as he recognized something about the structure Cloud apparently had not. "... isn't this-"
At that precise moment, a sharp gust of sudden wind, icy and cold, sent a chill up both their spines, putting an abrupt stop to all conversation. Dead as it already was, the air now stirred up with the pungent smell of something more than death itself. The rattling of withered leaves resounded throughout the peopleless lands, threatening to deafen those who are still awake to hear of it. Squall gulped involuntarily - and from the corner of his eye he could see that his companion wasn't feeling all too well either.
All they could tell, though, was that something very, very bad was approaching.
Suddenly, Cloud darted into the darkness, keeping himself out of sight from whatever was approaching. Squall didn't have to ask to be right there beside him, trying to keep as unnoticable as it was biologically possible. They both peered out from behind their wall of safety, amidst the howling winds that sliced the atmosphere up in all directions.
It was getting closer and closer.
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"Zidane?" Kuja rubbed his eyes sleepily, looking at the genome who stood a few feet away with his back facing him. "What are you doing?"
Slowly, Zidane turned to look at the silver-haired man, with a look that could have frozen him 10 times over.
"You can see me." Zidane spoke, without moving his lips. He didn't seem like he was asking a question. A funny quirk of his lips occurred, the only sign of life he had displayed since just now. "This mortal avatar is beginning to weaken. Looks like time is not being too kind on me..."
A burst of broken wings erupted from Zidane's back, spreading it's featherless joints outwards and then wrapping inwards to hide it's owner. In a whirl of shimmering darkness, the tail-boy disappeared from his original standing place.
"Zidane?!" Kuja stood up quickly and turned in all directions. "Where are you going?" He asked.
Taking the silence to be a reply to search, he began to run. He ran, ran and ran, towards what he thought would be a destination but never really beginning or even reaching, only stopping when he heard a muted cry of quiet despondancy...
*... this darkness is eternal... wake up, Kuja, don't keep falling!*
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Kuja sat up with a start.
Gasping for breath, he put a hand to his forehead, hoping this little action would clear his head and put him in a better position to be thinking.
"What was that?" He asked himself quietly, eyes still boggled with intensity, a mere hint of what Kuja had just witnessed from the dark recesses of his mind. His breath refused to be caught, as he curled his fists tightly into balls and then slowly relaxed them, repeating this for as long as it took for him to calm down.
Was what he just saw in his dreams... his imagination?, or someone's manipulation?
The window beside his room flung open in reply, forced to do so by the hostile winds from outside. The unbinded curtains flared upwards, as the rain slowly, but surely, fell onto the land in an eerie overture.
The silver-haired man had eyes wide-opened, the streak of lightning serving only to enhance the serious glint of realization in his eyes.
In another while, the bed was empty - with overturned sheets telling of nothing but a hasty departure.
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It approached in the form of a shadow - with no depth, and no end.
Dissolving into the rocks, and re-emerging at the bottom of the crater, the formless gloom twisted and turned until it stood right next to the structure with the pale green glow. It stretched into a face of eternal despair, then into a body of prying arms. For a while it continued to repeat this cycle, emulating various parts of the human body until it began to spiral around itself. The thick darkness soon thinned, and in it's place stood a mortal man. When the shadow finished spiralling into non-existence, the man - the boy, with his body, tail and all, opened his eyes.
Cloud and Squall craned their necks in disbelief, agape with horror.
Zidane - or someone; something that looked like Zidane, stretched his hand out and touched the structure. For a long time his hand remained there, as did his expressions remain ominous.
Yet, nothing happened.
Withdrawing his hand, the monkey-boy blinked slowly.
"Not yet..." he whispered in a ghostly voice, "... not yet..." He clasped his hand into a fist, while remaining expressionless, death brimming about in his lifeless irises. "Where... where is the final destiny? How does one go to it... ?"
Cloud turned to look at Squall, who raised an eyebrow and merely shrugged. They had no idea whatever this guy was talking about.
A huge noise from the edge of the crater attracted their attention, when a large boulder dislodged and tumbled it's way into the crater with fanfare. When the smoke cleared, Cloud winced visibly and Squall managed to close his eyes and mumble something to himself. It wasn't hard to recognize the shape of the figure who had stomped the boulder down now, was it?
"You want to go to your final destiny?" The ex-villain was surprisingly, or maybe not - considering the amount of villainous speeches he was obliged to make during his era, loud and clear. "I can take you there, pal." He glowered, visibly unhappy. "Get out of Zidane right now and we'll talk." The silver-haired man pointed.
Squall's voice caught in his throat, although he had meant to ask Cloud something. For now, his attention was so affixed on the current situation that it seemed impossible for him to be able to ask anyone anything, anyway. He forced his raging doubts back, contenting himself with just watching.
It appeared that nothing had happened since the time that elapsed between the last sentence Kuja spoke and until he had gathered his thoughts together, just now. Zidane hadn't even moved a single muscle to at least turn to look at Kuja.
How long was the silence going to last... ?
"Did you hear me you brainless monkey!" Kuja yelled again, temper growing. As it was, he hated to be ignored.
Zidane suddenly shifted his weight a bit. He slowly spun around to meet Kuja's gaze with his own.
Gone, was the playful boy whose tail twitched at every move of the wind. Instead, Zidane's tail now hung low, devoid of movement, sweeping itself along with the ground as if it was just a lifeless extension. As he slowly lifted his half-lidded eyes to consider Kuja, not a single ray of moonlight bounced off his large, unblinking eyes. It was heartrending to see a friend being reduced to a state like this - especially when it was clear it was not of his own will.
Kuja hesitated - but only for a while. This was indeed a nightmare coming true for him, and he was not going to stand by and do nothing. He leapt, hovered, and landed on the area in front of Zidane, who remained unmoving, staring long and hard into his eyes.
"You will fight your friend?" The disembodied voice of someone not Zidane echoed into the region.
The man rose to his feet, hands ready for a spell.
"I twice tried to kill him." He whispered sharply, as if sharing a secret with the mysterious being inside of the boy. "Does it matter for me to try thrice?"
Frowning slightly, 'Zidane' didn't take too well to those words. He bent his knee and was preparing to jump into the shadows again when Kuja's hand caught him by his neck and held him there. He didn't even have leeway to cough and gasp for breath. Kuja was stronger than he looked and had an iron grip that was also, unfortunately, overlaid with a spell ready to blow you up should you resist.
"Destroy the host, destroy the parasite." He said simply, tightening his grip. "Easy, no?"
Zidane gacked, managing to peel an eye open to look at Kuja with fierce determination. Knowing that this wasn't Zidane didn't help much. There was a time when Kuja would crush the boy with no second thoughts, but that time was long gone. He wouldn't be able to do anything more than what he had already done. He just hoped that thing inside Zidane wouldn't find that out. He just hoped Zidane wouldn't chop his tail off when this ordeal was finally over. He hoped many things, but the darkness within Zidane was not granting him them. Kuja closed his eyes in a frown, angry and frustrated at... himself...
Opening his eyes to glare into the eyes of the Eternal Darkness, Kuja suddenly offered a queer question.
"Why don't you take me instead?"
The look on Zidane's face turned thoughtful, traces of chagrin out of the window the very moment Kuja said those words.
"If only it was as easy as you beings make it out to be." He quickly returned to being impassionate again, raising up both his hands to touch the arm Kuja was using to grip him. "Then I would not be tussling with menial affairs with you here, now.
"Seek the sorceress who knows, and we all will get what we want," Zidane closed his eyes, "the will to live never ceases to amaze me..."
Shadows churned from beneath the ground Kuja had Zidane held up in, twisting in a familiar ritual around the boy, evolving into the same wings Kuja had seen in the darkness and then curling up and disappearing into the boy. Unsure of what was really happening, Kuja held still, waiting for a reaction from Zidane.
Of course, he didn't have to wait too long.
"ACK!!!!!" Zidane coughed loudly, face paling dramatically. "KUJA, what in the two moons do you think you're doing?! LET GO! I CAN'T BREEEE-"
Kuja's lips immediately quirked into a funny smile, when he heard Zidane say that. He had never felt so relieved in all his life. The grip on Zidane loosened, and the monkey-boy fell to the ground as Kuja stiffled giggles, then covered his mouth because of the laughter threatening to explode from within him. Somehow, this whole thing felt like a big joke. A big joke he should laugh over. Something they should all laugh over. Oh yes, it was a very big joke indeed.
While still panting desperately, the monkey-boy threw the older man a rather befuddled look. What in the world? This wasn't the first time he was being threatened by assaults of strikes and spells, but this WAS the first time he seriously felt like he was going to die. He swished his tail around lots, noticing the amount of soil he had on it (funny, he never quite allowed the tail to touch the ground when he walked), pouting as he did.
"Okay, I think I missed something important again. Mind filling me in?" He beckoned at Kuja, who was, unfortunately, still laughing. Skid.
"Cloud, Squall?" He turned to the spot where he could sense two other beings hiding. "Don't bother hiding, I know you're there." He grinned dangerously.
A while later, the duo shifted out sheepishly, trying not to look into Zidane's eye so they didn't have to explain anything. The thief was, of course, unhappy with the hostility. By this time, Kuja had stopped laughing though, so all eyes turned to him instead. The ex-villain cleared his throat.
"Nothing Zidane." He was impressively emotionless. "Now, do you mind?" He made a sweeping movement, meaning to tell Zidane to get out of the way, which he did. He then made his way towards the structure, touching the greenish part of it, pondering about it's existence very much.
"What has this thing got to do with the sorceress?" His voice was sombre.
"Nothing much." Squall replied, amazed at how fast Kuja switched wavelengths. "I think this thing is a core part of what became the Lunatic Pandora - which strengthens the pull between this planet and it's moon, causing the Lunar Cry. Apparently, though, it was first discovered in Centra... maybe this is just an offshoot?"
"An offshoot that has not been initialized, I can see that..." Kuja felt around the structure like his hands had sensors installed that could test for reactions within the thing. Zidane got bored and sleepy and decided to sit down to lean against the huge boulder Kuja was examining, still miffed at being ignored. He began drawing circles on the ground.
"........" went Cloud - who wanted to discuss what 'Zidane' had said about seeking the sorceress out just now, but was afraid to do so in Zidane's presence. Digging his hands into his pockets for SOMETHING to do at least, he felt the presence of a smooth, polished coin. "Oh yeah..." he retrieved the coin and flipped it into the air so that it's gleam would be visible for all. "Some wise guy left this coin behind - I don't know, maybe it's a clue." He tossed it into Kuja's general direction.
The man caught it with grace and accuracy.
So accurate, the earth itself trembled with impact.
"Well look..." Zidane suddenly said in a trance-like voice, causing all his companions to groan internally. "... so the final destiny was closer to me than I thought it was..."
They only had enough time to glance at the weird marking of circles and semi-arcs Zidane had doodled on the sand before the world phased forward like a chocobo high on dead peppers.
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hakken datta
2/4/2002
Author's notes: Now that didn't turn out too well at all... *oggly*