Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ sore kara... ❯ aoi sekai da ( Chapter 21 )
[ 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: 02.23.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 192 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 02.23.2003 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.2K | Visits: 192 | Status: Completed
Standard disclaimers apply.
-------------------------------
sore kara...
-------------------------------
aoi sekai da
Zidane found him sitting opposite some bright blue tubes in the basement area of Bran Bal, with his hands clasped beneath his chin.
The silent churning of the generators in the room; the unnerving noises the bluish liquid was making as it bubbled upwards in the empty tube - all of these constructed an increasingly sad image in Zidane's mind. If he was his usual self he would slap Kuja on his back happily and dragged him out to hit on some girls. Yet as the tail-boy slowly made his way down the stairs which led to the room Kuja had taken to sitting in, he could gear himself up for no such thing. He couldn't even force himself to smile - it just seemed so impossible to.
Biting his lower lip in slight frustration at his inability to do much, Zidane hopped his way; as naturally as he could, to where Kuja was.
As he had expected, the silver-haired man did not so much as bat an eyelid at his noisy arrival. Even after crashing unceremoniously onto an available spot beside the quiet ex-villian, all the older genome did was to shift his weight so that he could broaden his personal space as much as the bench allowed him to.
They both stared in front, at the still blue tubes humming sullenly.
Until cold, hard footsteps disturbed their short-lived peace.
Both of them glanced up to see the dark-clad Garland descend the steps to the basement in that slow, regal way of his. Kuja quickly turned his glance back to the floor, while Zidane continued to stare as the man swept weightlessly across the floor until he came to a stop in front of tubes.
Zidane frowned.
When they had met the old man, he had directed them out of what used to be Balamb Garden - now transformed into a spunky looking airship repeatedly referred to by Mr. Garland himself as the Invincible; final prototype. Of course, Zidane credited all of that to the mysterious time decompression, which had obviously put the pair further into time. And in this time era, as he quickly learnt, Terra had transformed into a deathly quiet planet, where pods arose from the core of the bluish planet to serve as a resting place for the former citizens. Not a single soul could be seen, save himself, Kuja and that man of many poems, Garland.
The many times he had attempted to get some information from Garland had ended up in failure. The old man either ended up explaining some vastly unrelated theory about hibernation and nirvana or just kept so awfully silent Zidane would almost feel like tearing the man's beard out. Although he was sure this time wouldn't be an exception, the younger Genome got onto his feet and marched solemnly to where the taller man was standing.
"Hey Garland." He said in a loud voice which demanded attention. Garland turned to look at him, which he was glad for. "I'm not going to take up too much of your time if you don't start spurting philosophical blurbs. Would you mind explaining what in the world happened to Terra and why are you... well, why are WE the only ones left now?"
It was a question he had repeated from since they trailed the lofty old man to this place he introduced as Bran Bal. Of course, unless he got an answer to his doubts, Zidane was sure that he would keep asking.
And, as expected, Garland pointedly ignored him and turned to look at the tubes once more.
Zidane was then ready to unleash his full vocabulary of curses on the man who was getting on his nerves. Then he noticed something moving from within the tubes. He stared hard at the glimmer of silver, unable to determine who or what it was or represented, for it was only the size of a pea. "What the heck is this?!" Was the first thing to come out from his mouth when he realized he had a voice.
"The Angel of Death..." Garland spoke out, which surprised Zidane, who had not been expecting a reply, "... the one who shall be responsible for carrying out the purpose for which Terra sleeps and for which I was created..."
*BANG!*
There was a loud noise from behind the both of them as Garland revealed the secret behind the tube. Although Garland kept his attention on the so-called Angel, Zidane turned around just in time to see Kuja whisk away, stomping heavily on the organic floor. He disappeared from the basement as Zidane was about to call out to him.
".........." The monkey boy made the most exasperated face he had at the exit of the basement, perhaps believing Kuja could see it. Nevertheless, he turned back to Garland and said, "Sorry old man, would love to hear more about your angel of death, but buddy-problems demand my attention!" He hopped about and eventually up the stairs. "Another day, o' great one!" Were his last words as he zoomed out of the room, footsteps fading together with his voice.
The basement was silent once more - with nothing but the churning of an imagined generator and the sound of blue liquid bubbling around the cylinders.
"Alas," Garland bemoaned, "they exist in a time they do not belong to... they know not what they are doing... they know not where they are going..."
-------------------------------
Of course, needless to say, by the time Zidane emerged from underground Kuja was already nowhere to be seen. Even so, the boy took a quick glance around the 'experimental room', which Garland had introduced it as. He was about to sprint off to continue his pursuit of his maniacally depressed buddy when he saw a flash of spring green from the corner of his eye.
*This wasn't here when we came,* was the first thought which came to his mind as he approached the platform in the middle of the dark room.
A single stalk of a leafy plant stood quietly there, the only other form of life belonging to this place Zidane had seen since Garland. It's existence seemed to bear witness to a deeper truth. And it was something Zidane could not describe.
"So there's life in this undead place after all..." The boy found himself muttering under his breath. He stared at the plant for just that while longer before backing away from the platform and eventually breaking into a run out of the room, to the more important matter at hand.
He did not notice the eerie glow of red that had been pulsating in the corner of the room from since he had noticed the plant.
As Garland stepped out of the shadows, his hardened stare turned to the same plant Zidane had been quietly oogling at previously - a tiny shred of surprise causing his countenance to falter, ever so slightly.
-------------------------------
Terra was a beautiful place, Zidane decided, as he wandered around aimlessly trying to spot the silver-haired man. But beautiful in a very very depressing way. The blond bandit sighed as he made the connection. Blue always had a special place in his heart, perhaps even before he lost his memory. And this place was so blue, he honestly didn't know if it was ever possible to find another place which was vaguely similar. He walked on, listening to the sound of his boots tredding on the metallic ground. Terra was indeed as weird as it was serene.
Finally unable to bear the silence anymore, he cupped his hands by the sides of his mouth and yelled, "KUUUU~~~ JAAAA~~~ !! WHERE IN BLUE BLAZES ARE YOU?!"
He got no reply, as he had predicted, so he took a deep breath... and continued.
"KUUUUUUUUUJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~!! KUJAKUJAKUJAKUJAKUJAKUJAKUJAKUJA-"
In the middle of the Kuja-chant, Zidane was knocked down by a flying boot. No prizes for guessing who that boot belonged to.
"Oouuuuccch..." The monkey boy rubbed the sore part of his head and glanced upwards towards a bluish cliff while holding the boot in the other hand. Considering there were only 3 people alive and walking around on this whole planet, it didn't really take a genius to figure out who had just thrown the boot. "... That hurt, Kuja!"
"Good!" The ex-villian folded his arms across his chest and stared frostily at the noisy bandit. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have thrown it to begin with."
Zidane's blood vessel came *that* close to bursting.
"Now come on up," Kuja gestured, oblivious to Zidane's not-so-well-camouflagued rage, "I've got something to show you. And bring the boot, too." The man winked suggestively, striking a pose as he did. It was a pose which suggested a hideous death should Zidane fail to abide by his words. He was totally unlike the steaming person who had just stomped out of a basement in rage.
Zidane gapped at the order, but could say no more since Kuja had already disappeared from the cliff. "ARGH!" He managed to screech before angrily making off for the nearest path to the cliff.
-------------------------------
Kuja sat by the entrance of the Invincible, putting his boot on. Still as poker-faced as ever, he watched in bemusement as Zidane rounded the airship for the 7th time, bringing up a different detail of the ship each time he did. This time, he was complaining about the apparent lack of ventilation, especially since he hadn't been able to find a single door during his patrol. It was then that Kuja decided it was time to intervene.
Wordlessly, he neared a side of the ship, gesturing at Zidane to take a few step backwards. After he was certain the monkey boy would be out of the danger range, he placed a hand on a squarish area of the surface of the ship. It flashed a deep red, and before Zidane knew it, a door was lowered, allowing passage into the bowels of the vehicle. The boy gasped at how seamlessly the door had fitted into it's post - so seamless no examination, no matter how careful, could reveal that the entrance was there.
There was no time to mull, for the silver-haired man had quickly entered the ship. Zidane quietly followed, for fear that the door-ramp might slam shut in his face if he didn't. To his surprise, however, the door remained just where it was, flat down on the ground with no signs to indicate that it would be shutting. Noticing that technology and mystery sometimes went hand in hand, he then turned and vanished into the long corridor Kuja had gone to.
Along the way the same blue lights of Terra greeted him - from the ground to the ceiling. Taking in as much as he could, he followed Kuja until the latter finally stopped in front of a reddish orb, decorated with intricate designs of the constellations. From there, Zidane noticed that he could take in the whole of Terra - or whatever was currently below the Invincible. Something at the back of his mind nagged at him, telling him that yes, he had been here before. But he didn't want to put too much effort into it, for it would be a nasty shock to blink and find oneself 500 years into the future. Kuja had spun around and was seemingly ready to talk.
"?" Zidane raised an eyebrow.
"How do you find the ship?" Kuja beamed.
"..." Zidane could only turn his eyes in his sockets to consider his position. "... it's blue." He said when he returned his glance to Kuja.
"Oh?" Kuja surprised him by not throwing a boot at his inane reply. "Anything else?"
The bandit considered his circumstance seriously. He dug at the deepest recesses of his mind and came up with the most intelligent answer he had in that store.
"You know, I don't think the door was the proper way to get into the ship..." The words just left his mouth without him really processing it. Noticing Kuja falter slightly, the boy stuck his tongue out. "Whoops, did I just say that?"
Kuja spun around and checked something on the red globe. "Yup," he said, with his back still against the tail-boy, "you just said that, and we're still in the same time frame, so you're safe."
Although Zidane would take some time off to thank the heavens he was not being thrown another boot, he was not entirely oblivious to the tension. "Hey," he finally spoke up, "you're distracted, Kuja. I know you don't like small talk, and you NEVER start a conversation which focuses on small talk... so what's going on? My gut tells me you honestly don't like this place, that Garland guy, and that basically, you're hiding more things than you can bear." He waited for an answer, or a sign of indication that Kuja had heard all that, in vain. Shrugging, he continued, "So what was that thing you wanted to show me, anyway?"
A few moments later, the silver-haired man gestured the boy nearer to the red globe, which was now beginning to be coloured black. Together they stared into it.
From a small corner of the room, a blotch of pitch darkness appeared and spread out evenly to fill a considerable area. Zidane nudged nervously at Kuja, who merely shook his head and basically told the anxious boy to calm down and watch, which Zidane did. Kuja pulled out a spare materia orb from his inventory and flung it at the pulsating darkness. As they watched, the darkness slowly swallowed the orb the same way Cloud and Squall had been swallowed earlier. Kuja touched the orb with his index finger. Immediately it reverted back to the glowing stasis of red which reminded Zidane much of the red orb Garland sported on his armour. In another moment and the darkness folded into itself and vanished without a trace.
Tongue-tied, Zidane could only grip his fists tighter.
"This globe," Kuja slowly began, "is basically the multi-purpose control panel of this airship." As he spoke, he spread his palm out and let his hand hover just above the object in discussion. Immediately it flickered and they found themselves staring at a portrayal of the entrance of the ship they had walked in from. "We can even close the door from here." The man blinked, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. No sooner than he had spoken, the door began to wind itself up and was soon seamlessly integrated into the ship as part of the interior walls. After that, Kuja retrieved his hand and let it hang by his side.
"That's very good, Kuja!" Zidane grinned from ear to ear and clapped - but his actions were definitely part of a show. "But so???" He snapped out of the act and asked candidly. "What has this got to do with anything?"
"OH!" Kuja threw his hands up in disgust. When they came down, he made sure one of it landed right smack on the back of Zidane's head, where the boot had previously left a mark. "I can't believe I'm even TALKING to you!" He pointed at the red globe. "See that? Without someone willing it to move it's just what you see it as, an orb of blood redness! But if SOMEONE was using it prior to our discovery of it, this thing could very well be behind the portal which took Cloud and Squall away from Terra. Following so far? Good! Now, who else is alive and kicking on this planet besides the two of us who might have the slightest reason to want to even do that?"
"Garland!" Zidane replied without even thinking. He did not find the idea of being Flare Starred into Gaia and back particularly appealing.
"Excellent!" Kuja nodded in approval, although his expressions showed otherwise. "So that means Garland most probably opened a rather nasty portal to drag Cloud and Squall into Gaia - now the question is, of course, why."
This made the monkey boy lower his head in deep thought. "Hmmm..." He made a random noise. "... hmmmm... ??! Kuja, how did you know that portal was going to Gaia?" He lifted his head up and asked pointedly. Immediately the exasperation on Kuja's face vanished. His eyebrows knitted together slightly in apprehension and fluster, and his glance turned to the floor. Slowly, he retreated and leaned against a pillar, fingers occasionally drumming restlessly against the walls.
After a moment of silence, he sighed.
"Because this... was the exact method I used to send someone into Gaia... 12 years ago..."
Of course, Zidane completely missed the point of the confession, but he could sense the genuine sorrow in Kuja's voice - so he thought he should just let the issue go. When he tried to open his mouth to say something, however, Kuja stopped him with a commanding gesture.
"Nevermind that." He muttered. "We'll take this ship into Gaia right now. It'll be easier to look for the others this way."
Zidane found that he could only nod at Kuja's words. As different as he felt from time to time, the monkey boy decided that there was only one thing about Kuja in Terra that hadn't changed.
Kuja wanted to get out of Terra as soon as he was able to.
The familiar humming of the engines of the ship began to speed up and thin it's drone into a single, persistent whirl. As majestic as it looked, the Invincible was a portrait of indifference. The bluish texture flashed frigidly, reflecting Terra on it's curved surface as it turned and journeyed towards the nearest teleportation point.
Zidane walked slowly to the walls which showed the whole of Terra beneath them as the ship slowly traversed the land.
"What a cold, cold place..." He could not help but express his thoughts. "I wonder what happened... ? What are in those pods? I wonder what Garland has to do with all of these... ?"
"Who knows..." The silver-haired man kept his tone as non-committal as possible. As much as Kuja wanted to offer a reply, he honestly didn't know if it would be worthed it.
In truth, he was just unable to face his past.
The blonde bandit watched as Kuja tightened his grip on the rails around the globe, trembling a little on occasions. "Why... ?" He thought he heard the silver-haired man ask in a volume that was not meant to be paid heed to. "... why?"
Entirely unused to a Kuja who asked abstract questions like 'why', Zidane could only shift his weight around uneasily. Perhaps the best he could offer for support now was by just keeping quiet. He decided that Terra was not only weird, but it made people weird as well, and made mental notes to himself never to come here anymore unless absolutely necessary. Leaving Kuja to brood and angst on his own, the boy turned his attention back to the ground they were passing by in flight.
The silence... thus continued...
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Nobody was there to notice the dark figure who took big, lofty strides down the corridor of the Invincible to an inconspicuous spot where he could observe the two genomes in their activities.
The orb of red on his armour throbbed in ghostly tones, as if casting a dark shadow over whatever there was to come...
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aoi sekai datta
26/7/2002
Author's notes: If you thought you saw extra angst in this chapter, you weren't dreaming. XD Blame Kurapika(chu).
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sore kara...
-------------------------------
aoi sekai da
Zidane found him sitting opposite some bright blue tubes in the basement area of Bran Bal, with his hands clasped beneath his chin.
The silent churning of the generators in the room; the unnerving noises the bluish liquid was making as it bubbled upwards in the empty tube - all of these constructed an increasingly sad image in Zidane's mind. If he was his usual self he would slap Kuja on his back happily and dragged him out to hit on some girls. Yet as the tail-boy slowly made his way down the stairs which led to the room Kuja had taken to sitting in, he could gear himself up for no such thing. He couldn't even force himself to smile - it just seemed so impossible to.
Biting his lower lip in slight frustration at his inability to do much, Zidane hopped his way; as naturally as he could, to where Kuja was.
As he had expected, the silver-haired man did not so much as bat an eyelid at his noisy arrival. Even after crashing unceremoniously onto an available spot beside the quiet ex-villian, all the older genome did was to shift his weight so that he could broaden his personal space as much as the bench allowed him to.
They both stared in front, at the still blue tubes humming sullenly.
Until cold, hard footsteps disturbed their short-lived peace.
Both of them glanced up to see the dark-clad Garland descend the steps to the basement in that slow, regal way of his. Kuja quickly turned his glance back to the floor, while Zidane continued to stare as the man swept weightlessly across the floor until he came to a stop in front of tubes.
Zidane frowned.
When they had met the old man, he had directed them out of what used to be Balamb Garden - now transformed into a spunky looking airship repeatedly referred to by Mr. Garland himself as the Invincible; final prototype. Of course, Zidane credited all of that to the mysterious time decompression, which had obviously put the pair further into time. And in this time era, as he quickly learnt, Terra had transformed into a deathly quiet planet, where pods arose from the core of the bluish planet to serve as a resting place for the former citizens. Not a single soul could be seen, save himself, Kuja and that man of many poems, Garland.
The many times he had attempted to get some information from Garland had ended up in failure. The old man either ended up explaining some vastly unrelated theory about hibernation and nirvana or just kept so awfully silent Zidane would almost feel like tearing the man's beard out. Although he was sure this time wouldn't be an exception, the younger Genome got onto his feet and marched solemnly to where the taller man was standing.
"Hey Garland." He said in a loud voice which demanded attention. Garland turned to look at him, which he was glad for. "I'm not going to take up too much of your time if you don't start spurting philosophical blurbs. Would you mind explaining what in the world happened to Terra and why are you... well, why are WE the only ones left now?"
It was a question he had repeated from since they trailed the lofty old man to this place he introduced as Bran Bal. Of course, unless he got an answer to his doubts, Zidane was sure that he would keep asking.
And, as expected, Garland pointedly ignored him and turned to look at the tubes once more.
Zidane was then ready to unleash his full vocabulary of curses on the man who was getting on his nerves. Then he noticed something moving from within the tubes. He stared hard at the glimmer of silver, unable to determine who or what it was or represented, for it was only the size of a pea. "What the heck is this?!" Was the first thing to come out from his mouth when he realized he had a voice.
"The Angel of Death..." Garland spoke out, which surprised Zidane, who had not been expecting a reply, "... the one who shall be responsible for carrying out the purpose for which Terra sleeps and for which I was created..."
*BANG!*
There was a loud noise from behind the both of them as Garland revealed the secret behind the tube. Although Garland kept his attention on the so-called Angel, Zidane turned around just in time to see Kuja whisk away, stomping heavily on the organic floor. He disappeared from the basement as Zidane was about to call out to him.
".........." The monkey boy made the most exasperated face he had at the exit of the basement, perhaps believing Kuja could see it. Nevertheless, he turned back to Garland and said, "Sorry old man, would love to hear more about your angel of death, but buddy-problems demand my attention!" He hopped about and eventually up the stairs. "Another day, o' great one!" Were his last words as he zoomed out of the room, footsteps fading together with his voice.
The basement was silent once more - with nothing but the churning of an imagined generator and the sound of blue liquid bubbling around the cylinders.
"Alas," Garland bemoaned, "they exist in a time they do not belong to... they know not what they are doing... they know not where they are going..."
-------------------------------
Of course, needless to say, by the time Zidane emerged from underground Kuja was already nowhere to be seen. Even so, the boy took a quick glance around the 'experimental room', which Garland had introduced it as. He was about to sprint off to continue his pursuit of his maniacally depressed buddy when he saw a flash of spring green from the corner of his eye.
*This wasn't here when we came,* was the first thought which came to his mind as he approached the platform in the middle of the dark room.
A single stalk of a leafy plant stood quietly there, the only other form of life belonging to this place Zidane had seen since Garland. It's existence seemed to bear witness to a deeper truth. And it was something Zidane could not describe.
"So there's life in this undead place after all..." The boy found himself muttering under his breath. He stared at the plant for just that while longer before backing away from the platform and eventually breaking into a run out of the room, to the more important matter at hand.
He did not notice the eerie glow of red that had been pulsating in the corner of the room from since he had noticed the plant.
As Garland stepped out of the shadows, his hardened stare turned to the same plant Zidane had been quietly oogling at previously - a tiny shred of surprise causing his countenance to falter, ever so slightly.
-------------------------------
Terra was a beautiful place, Zidane decided, as he wandered around aimlessly trying to spot the silver-haired man. But beautiful in a very very depressing way. The blond bandit sighed as he made the connection. Blue always had a special place in his heart, perhaps even before he lost his memory. And this place was so blue, he honestly didn't know if it was ever possible to find another place which was vaguely similar. He walked on, listening to the sound of his boots tredding on the metallic ground. Terra was indeed as weird as it was serene.
Finally unable to bear the silence anymore, he cupped his hands by the sides of his mouth and yelled, "KUUUU~~~ JAAAA~~~ !! WHERE IN BLUE BLAZES ARE YOU?!"
He got no reply, as he had predicted, so he took a deep breath... and continued.
"KUUUUUUUUUJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~!! KUJAKUJAKUJAKUJAKUJAKUJAKUJAKUJA-"
In the middle of the Kuja-chant, Zidane was knocked down by a flying boot. No prizes for guessing who that boot belonged to.
"Oouuuuccch..." The monkey boy rubbed the sore part of his head and glanced upwards towards a bluish cliff while holding the boot in the other hand. Considering there were only 3 people alive and walking around on this whole planet, it didn't really take a genius to figure out who had just thrown the boot. "... That hurt, Kuja!"
"Good!" The ex-villian folded his arms across his chest and stared frostily at the noisy bandit. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have thrown it to begin with."
Zidane's blood vessel came *that* close to bursting.
"Now come on up," Kuja gestured, oblivious to Zidane's not-so-well-camouflagued rage, "I've got something to show you. And bring the boot, too." The man winked suggestively, striking a pose as he did. It was a pose which suggested a hideous death should Zidane fail to abide by his words. He was totally unlike the steaming person who had just stomped out of a basement in rage.
Zidane gapped at the order, but could say no more since Kuja had already disappeared from the cliff. "ARGH!" He managed to screech before angrily making off for the nearest path to the cliff.
-------------------------------
Kuja sat by the entrance of the Invincible, putting his boot on. Still as poker-faced as ever, he watched in bemusement as Zidane rounded the airship for the 7th time, bringing up a different detail of the ship each time he did. This time, he was complaining about the apparent lack of ventilation, especially since he hadn't been able to find a single door during his patrol. It was then that Kuja decided it was time to intervene.
Wordlessly, he neared a side of the ship, gesturing at Zidane to take a few step backwards. After he was certain the monkey boy would be out of the danger range, he placed a hand on a squarish area of the surface of the ship. It flashed a deep red, and before Zidane knew it, a door was lowered, allowing passage into the bowels of the vehicle. The boy gasped at how seamlessly the door had fitted into it's post - so seamless no examination, no matter how careful, could reveal that the entrance was there.
There was no time to mull, for the silver-haired man had quickly entered the ship. Zidane quietly followed, for fear that the door-ramp might slam shut in his face if he didn't. To his surprise, however, the door remained just where it was, flat down on the ground with no signs to indicate that it would be shutting. Noticing that technology and mystery sometimes went hand in hand, he then turned and vanished into the long corridor Kuja had gone to.
Along the way the same blue lights of Terra greeted him - from the ground to the ceiling. Taking in as much as he could, he followed Kuja until the latter finally stopped in front of a reddish orb, decorated with intricate designs of the constellations. From there, Zidane noticed that he could take in the whole of Terra - or whatever was currently below the Invincible. Something at the back of his mind nagged at him, telling him that yes, he had been here before. But he didn't want to put too much effort into it, for it would be a nasty shock to blink and find oneself 500 years into the future. Kuja had spun around and was seemingly ready to talk.
"?" Zidane raised an eyebrow.
"How do you find the ship?" Kuja beamed.
"..." Zidane could only turn his eyes in his sockets to consider his position. "... it's blue." He said when he returned his glance to Kuja.
"Oh?" Kuja surprised him by not throwing a boot at his inane reply. "Anything else?"
The bandit considered his circumstance seriously. He dug at the deepest recesses of his mind and came up with the most intelligent answer he had in that store.
"You know, I don't think the door was the proper way to get into the ship..." The words just left his mouth without him really processing it. Noticing Kuja falter slightly, the boy stuck his tongue out. "Whoops, did I just say that?"
Kuja spun around and checked something on the red globe. "Yup," he said, with his back still against the tail-boy, "you just said that, and we're still in the same time frame, so you're safe."
Although Zidane would take some time off to thank the heavens he was not being thrown another boot, he was not entirely oblivious to the tension. "Hey," he finally spoke up, "you're distracted, Kuja. I know you don't like small talk, and you NEVER start a conversation which focuses on small talk... so what's going on? My gut tells me you honestly don't like this place, that Garland guy, and that basically, you're hiding more things than you can bear." He waited for an answer, or a sign of indication that Kuja had heard all that, in vain. Shrugging, he continued, "So what was that thing you wanted to show me, anyway?"
A few moments later, the silver-haired man gestured the boy nearer to the red globe, which was now beginning to be coloured black. Together they stared into it.
From a small corner of the room, a blotch of pitch darkness appeared and spread out evenly to fill a considerable area. Zidane nudged nervously at Kuja, who merely shook his head and basically told the anxious boy to calm down and watch, which Zidane did. Kuja pulled out a spare materia orb from his inventory and flung it at the pulsating darkness. As they watched, the darkness slowly swallowed the orb the same way Cloud and Squall had been swallowed earlier. Kuja touched the orb with his index finger. Immediately it reverted back to the glowing stasis of red which reminded Zidane much of the red orb Garland sported on his armour. In another moment and the darkness folded into itself and vanished without a trace.
Tongue-tied, Zidane could only grip his fists tighter.
"This globe," Kuja slowly began, "is basically the multi-purpose control panel of this airship." As he spoke, he spread his palm out and let his hand hover just above the object in discussion. Immediately it flickered and they found themselves staring at a portrayal of the entrance of the ship they had walked in from. "We can even close the door from here." The man blinked, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. No sooner than he had spoken, the door began to wind itself up and was soon seamlessly integrated into the ship as part of the interior walls. After that, Kuja retrieved his hand and let it hang by his side.
"That's very good, Kuja!" Zidane grinned from ear to ear and clapped - but his actions were definitely part of a show. "But so???" He snapped out of the act and asked candidly. "What has this got to do with anything?"
"OH!" Kuja threw his hands up in disgust. When they came down, he made sure one of it landed right smack on the back of Zidane's head, where the boot had previously left a mark. "I can't believe I'm even TALKING to you!" He pointed at the red globe. "See that? Without someone willing it to move it's just what you see it as, an orb of blood redness! But if SOMEONE was using it prior to our discovery of it, this thing could very well be behind the portal which took Cloud and Squall away from Terra. Following so far? Good! Now, who else is alive and kicking on this planet besides the two of us who might have the slightest reason to want to even do that?"
"Garland!" Zidane replied without even thinking. He did not find the idea of being Flare Starred into Gaia and back particularly appealing.
"Excellent!" Kuja nodded in approval, although his expressions showed otherwise. "So that means Garland most probably opened a rather nasty portal to drag Cloud and Squall into Gaia - now the question is, of course, why."
This made the monkey boy lower his head in deep thought. "Hmmm..." He made a random noise. "... hmmmm... ??! Kuja, how did you know that portal was going to Gaia?" He lifted his head up and asked pointedly. Immediately the exasperation on Kuja's face vanished. His eyebrows knitted together slightly in apprehension and fluster, and his glance turned to the floor. Slowly, he retreated and leaned against a pillar, fingers occasionally drumming restlessly against the walls.
After a moment of silence, he sighed.
"Because this... was the exact method I used to send someone into Gaia... 12 years ago..."
Of course, Zidane completely missed the point of the confession, but he could sense the genuine sorrow in Kuja's voice - so he thought he should just let the issue go. When he tried to open his mouth to say something, however, Kuja stopped him with a commanding gesture.
"Nevermind that." He muttered. "We'll take this ship into Gaia right now. It'll be easier to look for the others this way."
Zidane found that he could only nod at Kuja's words. As different as he felt from time to time, the monkey boy decided that there was only one thing about Kuja in Terra that hadn't changed.
Kuja wanted to get out of Terra as soon as he was able to.
The familiar humming of the engines of the ship began to speed up and thin it's drone into a single, persistent whirl. As majestic as it looked, the Invincible was a portrait of indifference. The bluish texture flashed frigidly, reflecting Terra on it's curved surface as it turned and journeyed towards the nearest teleportation point.
Zidane walked slowly to the walls which showed the whole of Terra beneath them as the ship slowly traversed the land.
"What a cold, cold place..." He could not help but express his thoughts. "I wonder what happened... ? What are in those pods? I wonder what Garland has to do with all of these... ?"
"Who knows..." The silver-haired man kept his tone as non-committal as possible. As much as Kuja wanted to offer a reply, he honestly didn't know if it would be worthed it.
In truth, he was just unable to face his past.
The blonde bandit watched as Kuja tightened his grip on the rails around the globe, trembling a little on occasions. "Why... ?" He thought he heard the silver-haired man ask in a volume that was not meant to be paid heed to. "... why?"
Entirely unused to a Kuja who asked abstract questions like 'why', Zidane could only shift his weight around uneasily. Perhaps the best he could offer for support now was by just keeping quiet. He decided that Terra was not only weird, but it made people weird as well, and made mental notes to himself never to come here anymore unless absolutely necessary. Leaving Kuja to brood and angst on his own, the boy turned his attention back to the ground they were passing by in flight.
The silence... thus continued...
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Nobody was there to notice the dark figure who took big, lofty strides down the corridor of the Invincible to an inconspicuous spot where he could observe the two genomes in their activities.
The orb of red on his armour throbbed in ghostly tones, as if casting a dark shadow over whatever there was to come...
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aoi sekai datta
26/7/2002
Author's notes: If you thought you saw extra angst in this chapter, you weren't dreaming. XD Blame Kurapika(chu).