| Trust in those you know you can trust. They will be your greatest offense and defense. -Dragon�s Words; vol. 7, pg. 69 Part 61 Kuja looked at me, a smirk on his face. � Still with that loser, empress?� I snarled. [The only loser is the one I�m looking at!] He pulled back and blinked. � W . . . What did you say?� [You�re the loser, Ajuk!] Then it hit me. He could understand what I was saying. I took a step back, then thought better of it and stepped forward. What did I have to fear from him? Compared to me, he was only a hatchling! � Why did you call me that?� [That is your name.] � It is not!� [It is.] � That�s a dragon�s name! I�m not a dragon!� � You are,� Zidane put in smugly. � Ask Garland. It�s why we genomes have tails. We�re all dragon souls in human bodies.� � Why use dragon souls if human souls are just as good?� Kuja demanded, desperate to find the lie. Zidane snorted. � Moron. Everyone knows that dragons have better, stronger souls than humans ever will, though you�ll never find a human who�ll admit it even if you tortured them to death. Even that idiotic silver dragon of yours had a half way decent soul in her.� Kuja�s mouth opened slightly. � How did you know it was a girl?!� � Oh come on! I�ve been around dragons my whole life and you think I can�t tell the difference between an emperor and an empress?� He frowned. � I don�t believe you.� � I�m not surprised.� The battle was long and hard. Kuja was strong and would not give in as the silver dragon and Garland had (of course, one was dead and the other was as good as dead). I could tell by his desperation that he was afraid to die. Two-thirds of the way through I went into Trance. It didn�t take much to defeat Kuja after that. He knelt there before us, breathless and hurt and scared. Finally, he lifted his head and gestured for me to get closer. � Don�t do it, Kiti,� Zidane warned, shifting to his other foot in preparation for attack. I went to him anyway, wondering why Kuja would single me out to talk to. I stood just out of arm�s reach, knowing quite well that he could zap me with magic and possibly kill me at such a close proximity. [Yes?] He reached out and touched my face, petting my fur with a mixture of envy and wonder. � I have read about you in many a book. Beauty Dragon, White One, Cursed Dragon. I never believed you were so strong until now, when I�ve had the chance to fight you.� I felt a strange sensation; the one I always felt when Zidane was in some type of distress. A feeling of compassion--motherly concern. I stepped closer and let him pet my neck, keeping my eyes on him. [Why, Ajuk? Why must you kill?] � No one cares about me. No one ever has and no one ever will.� [That�s not true. If you would just stop killing and let someone care about you, you would see that not everyone hates you.] � And who would care about me?� he asked angrily, grabbing my upper horns and pressing his face almost completely against mine. � Certainly not them!� He gestured to the others, who were watching our exchange apprehensively. � Not those mindless genomes!� He let me go and sat back, waiting for my reply. [I would.] Behind me, Zidane made a noise too low for anyone not a dragon or not properly trained to hear. This included Kuja, who hadn�t had his senses enhanced by dragon milk. Being in the body of a human, he had only the dull senses given to him at birth. I ignored the sound. [I would.] � Why? I haven�t done anything for you.� I shook my head. [I don�t want anything.] � Everyone wants something.� [What I want can never be returned to me.] � And what is that?� [My innocence lost at hatching. My parents dead before my hatching. My clutchmates dead before they had completely hatched. All of this I wish to be given back to me. But I know that will never happen.] � That can�t be all you want.� [It is all I have ever wanted.] � You lie.� [I do not lie.] � Ever?� [Not at this moment.] � How can I believe you? I�ve been lied to my whole life.� [You have much to learn, Ajuk. Not everyone lies whenever they open their mouth. I will help you. I will care. I do already.] � Only because I am a dragon.� [Look at them. Most of them are human. I have no qualms with them. I am their friend, their ally, and to some I am an adopted mother.] � Sappy beast.� [True. I can be very sappy. But I will not deny you the same treatment if you will just let me show you that not everyone hates you as you appear to enjoy believing.] His resolve weakened, then strengthened more than what it was before. � I won�t listen!� I leapt back as his power skyrocketed. I had been so close . . . � Mother!� I looked up in time to see a wave of fire come toward me. I stood on my rear legs and spread my wings wide, causing a transparent shield to rise and protect the others. I ran forward and leapt into the air, stopping in surprise when I saw what had happened to Kuja. He had Tranced. Without so much as a warning, he began destroying Terra. � Mother!� I turned. �Get everyone out of here.� �What are you going to do?!� <--Part 60 Part 62--> |