| Nothing can stop you as long as you have the will-power to overcome it. -Dragon�s Words; vol. 10, pg. 96 Part 67 I want you to stop Kuja. � . . . I was gonna do that anyway.� No. Don�t kill him. That�s not what I mean. � Why the sudden change of heart?� I was created to make sure Terra assimilated Gaia. I believe I understand Kuja�s fear and killing him won�t fix it. � Well, aren�t you just a well of knowledge.� Ask your mother. She understands. � Whoa whoa. I�m not done with you yet.� He paused. � Garland? . . . Damn it!� He turned to me. � He said---� [I heard it through our link.] � Then please do explain, since I�m obviously not getting the answer out of him.� I sat. [Kuja is terrified of death. He believes that when he dies, he will be wiped from the slate of Creation and forgotten.] [I won�t forget him,] Tiovex groused. [Never, ever, ever. I�ll go mad remembering him.] [I don�t mean like that. He�s afraid of dying and being forgotten for what he could have been, not what he did. He knows what he�s doing is wrong, but it�s all he�s ever known and he believes that it�s too late for him to change.] � And where did you get all this insight?� I shrugged. [It is simple to read another dragon�s fears and regrets as long as you know what to look for.] � So how do I not kill him when he�s bent on killing me? I was created to replace him, for crying out loud! I�d want to kill someone built to replace me! It�s purely defensive!� [Was Mikoto not built to replace you?] He frowned. � . . . She was, wasn�t she?� [Did you feel the slightest inclination to kill her?] � . . . No.� [Why?] � . . . I don�t know. I guess . . . I guess it goes against everything I believe. I mean, just because there�s someone who�s stronger than you doesn�t mean you absolutely have to kill them.� [Where did you acquire those beliefs?] � You, mostly. They were reenforced by experience.� [Did Kuja have someone to teach him those beliefs? Have time to use experience to strengthen those beliefs?] � . . . Oh.� [Kuja was created to be replaced. That makes anyone want to believe that they are worth more than what they have been told from birth. All he was ever told was that he was going to be replaced. He was, and probably still is, scared of you replacing him. He wants his place to remain as it is.] Zidane�s gaze shifted to the ground as he thought. � . . . I see. Okay then. Let�s get going.� We entered Memoria, as Garland had called it, and were immediately drawn into a memory. . . . There was a boy about eight or ten years old standing just outside the clearing, as though he knew he wasn�t supposed to be there. I glanced back to where the child was sheltered behind a rock and then got as close as I could to the boy. � Do not be afraid,� I soothed, laying down. � I will not attack you.� He took a few shy steps toward me, hesitated, then backed off a step, then came forward and sat beside me, ready to spring to his feet and bolt at any second. � Hi.� � Hello. What are you doing in a place like this?� He shrugged. � Just wandering around.� � It�s dangerous.� � Nah. I�ll be okay.� � Are you sure?� � Yes. Don�t worry about me.� He looked up at the sky. � Uh oh.� � What?� � I better get out of here.� � Why?� � I have to get home.� � It�s much to dark to go anywhere now.� He frowned. � I thought so. Then what am I supposed to do?� � You can stay with me,� I offered. � I promise I won�t eat you.� � Could I?� � Of course.� � Thank you very much.� � Don�t mention it.� Night fell and the boy laid nearby, already asleep. I fed Zidane and returned him to his protective thicket, then went to sleep myself. Some time later, I felt someone moving around. I lifted my head and saw the boy sitting up, shivering in the chill air. � What�s wrong?� � I�m cold.� He shivered. � It gets awfully frigid here.� � It does,� I agreed. � Would you like to sleep next to me?� I asked, lifting my wing. � I�m not sure it can keep you much warmer, but if you�d like to try it, you may.� He crawled over and huddled against my side, trembling. I lowered my wing over him as a blanket and lifted my crest to block the wind coming from the west. It wasn�t long before we were both asleep. In the morning he was gone, but I felt, strangely, that he was all right and unhurt, continuing whatever journey he�d begun. I could vaguely remember him saying good-bye in a whisper, thanking me for the hospitality. Zidane began to cry, shattering my thoughts. I retrieved him and fed him--which shut him up, of course--and watched him as he watched me with brilliant green eyes. . . <--Part 66 Part 68--> |