*****
If Laro’s first trip through space-time had been a velvety blackness, his second was blinding white. He didn’t apologize for squeezing the blood out of Mikoto’s hand as he clung to her. She was holding on just as tightly, lips pressed tightly against her fears as she clung in turn to her brother. On Zidane’s other side was the little mage, who looked positively miniscule when compared to the Selwe Mentor standing in the remaining fifth of the circle. Laro had had his doubts at first, the idea of joining hands and wishing he were somewhere else seemed a mite childish really. No sooner than Zidane had smiled and declared it time to go, however, than the world outside their joined hands promptly vanished.
Looking over the
Mikoto kept her eyes firmly closed against the disorienting experience, the bug droned unhappily about something too softly to be heard above the volume of the torrent they were traversing. Zidane’s eyes were closed as well, but his expression was one of intense concentration, Laro conceded that a bit of focus when hurtling across the universe at ridiculous speed was probably a good thing. God only knew what would happen if they ran into something by accident. But the man seemed to know what he was doing, and Laro for one, didn’t dare to interrupt him. Only he and Vivi dared to look around at their surroundings, the little man craning his head back as he studied the play of light.
“What do you suppose that sound is?” Laro found he had to shout to be heard, even across their little circle.
“The stars!” Vivi replied cheerfully. “If we were going slower they would be easy to tell apart. It’s neat isn’t it, hearing their voices?”
“You’ve done this before?” He stared at the little man in the trench coat.
“Oh yes! Zidane likes having friends along when he goes on adventures, I think he gets lonely.” Vivi helpfully supplied. “But I’ve never been this far from home. How exciting! Zidane can hear the stars, even like this, you know. It’s how he navigates!”
“Oh.” The explanation was lost on him. Laro just shrugged. Moving his shoulder only made Mikoto clench harder on his hand. For such a little woman, she had an insanely strong grip. Between her on the left, and the bug on the right, he wondered if he’d have any feeling left in his hands by the time they had arrived. He leaned over to see if he could get her attention. “Mikoto, you all right?”
“I don’t like this!” She kept her eyes tight shut.
“Don’t worry, Mikoto, Zidane hasn’t ever had a bad landing yet!” The little mage tried to cheer her up.
Her reply was mostly lost in another fluctuation of the ever present noise, but Laro was strangely sure she had said “In that case he’s long overdue.”
Whatever he would have said to her was promptly forgotten as Zidane suddenly opened his eyes with a gasp. The sudden feeling of momentum, after traveling so smoothly for an hour was a definite shock to the senses. Everyone clung tightly, not wanting to know what would happen if they lost their grip, as the genome, for lack of a better term, applied the breaks. The outer edge of their bubble wasn’t white anymore but a kaleidoscope of blacks and bright colors. A particularly large star dominated their view, growing brighter by the second.
“We seem to be in system.” Vivi murmured happily. “What a remarkable place. Which planet is yours, Laro?”
“I have no idea.” He swallowed to moisten his throat, never having had this sort of perspective on his home before.
“That one.” The
Of course he’d know what we look like from space. They traveled through it to find us too. Laro sighed.
Shaking her fist a little bit, he tried to encourage Mikoto. “Do you want to see it?”
“No.” She barely opened her mouth to speak, eyes still tight shut. “I’ll wait until we’re stopped.”
“If you’d all please shut up, I’ll do my best not to bury us in a crater the likes of which God has never seen before.” Zidane curtly cut across Vivi’s rejoinder.
The marble became a blue-brown planet as he stared in amazement, but before he could really appreciate it they were plunging straight down though the atmosphere. The experience was hair-raising, and Laro quickly decided maybe Mikoto had the right idea. He didn’t want to know how hard they’d hit the ground. Zidane was still slowing down, there was no mistaking the tugging sensation, but they were still moving far to fast for comfort.
We’re going to get home alright - like a fly hitting the windshield of a jeep. People will be scraping us off the desert floor and speculating about meteorites for generations to come. Feeling a little giddy he couldn’t do anything but put his trust in Zidane. It wasn’t a particularly comforting moment when the young man began to methodically swear in several languages.
The lurching sensation got worse, sometimes pulling them left, or right, or down as Zidane fought for his landing. Another knee-knocking jerk even got a squeak out of Mikoto, but then came a blissful moment of stillness, followed by a hot desert breeze. Laro opened his eyes in amazement.
Foothills rose into ragged mountains off to his left, and crumbled down into a wide vista of baked brown on his right. The wastelands spreading west into the horizon were not uniquely familiar, but the terrain, and the smells, and the colors were all very comforting. He grinned hugely in spite of himself. “We made it!”
The
After seeing the tight integration between continents on Gaia, Laro had begun to speculate a way of reestablishing the Towers in some sort of non-military capacity. The convenience of a global communication network was truly an amazing thing. Realizing how many of the giant obelisks were probably obliterated in the Queen’s final bombardment, he gave it up as a lost cause. They would have to think of something else when the time came.
“Anything?” He asked the alien, even as he gently attempted to pry Mikoto’s fingers off his other abused hand. She cracked one eye open to squint at him dubiously before acknowledging that they had indeed landed safely.
“Contact with hive sufficient to alert of arrival, insufficient to broadcast message.” The Selwe seemed to have anticipated him. Laro shrugged prosaically at the news.
“Well at least we’re on the right planet. Any idea where we are precisely?”
“A couple hundred leagues from the large city in the eastern mountains.” Zidane answered for him. The genome sank backwards until he could sit on the smooth polished surface of their landing site. “Didn’t dare get closer on a first attempt. Wasn’t sure how big a bang we’d make.”
“You did great.” Laro grinned. “I didn’t feel much of anything.”
“I sure as hell hope not.” The blond offered him a tired smile. “You all were padded from the shock. It was the scenery I was worried about.” Pointing over at a pile of boulders and rocks on their left, Zidane offered the visual evidence.
It took a moment for Laro to understand what he was seeing. Boulders the size of cargo crates had been pushed or rolled or smashed back in a rough circle around them, leaving a clean smooth dent where they stood about two feet down at its center. He blinked at the sight of the mini crater. “Wow.”
“First time is always a bitch.” Zidane scrubbed his face. “I hate jumping blind. Next time will be a snap. With you all along for the ride, and the other factors, I was a little worried. Burrowing half way into a hillside in the middle of nowhere is one thing, guessing wrong and taking out a city block or somebody’s farm would be bad news.”
“No kidding.” Laro had no problem with landing in the middle of nowhere given the options. It did leave them with the pressing issue of what would be done now. Zidane was looking distinctly grey from his recent effort and none of them had thought to pack for a prolonged jaunt through the wilds. “We should find some shelter so you can rest.” Turning around he examined the broken landscape for anything of use.
“Nah. Just give me a second to catch my breath. I’ll scoot us over the mountains at the very least. It’s not that far to get to where Kuja is.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure thing.” The blond stretched out flat, soaking up the sunlight. “Local jumps are kid’s stuff. It’s the big ones that knock the wind out of me.”
It took a bit of an adjustment to his thinking to consider a few hundred leagues ‘kid’s stuff.’ Laro wrestled with it a bit and had to give up. For a man capable of jumping the distance between worlds with magic, he supposed one mountain range would be fairly trivial.
Settling next to the blond he watched as Mikoto and Vivi
wandered around their new surroundings in search of things to study. A lizard
soon caught their interest, and their antics even drew the
“It’s funny how childlike she is sometimes and so completely mature she is at others.” He commented to his companion. Zidane laughed lightly.
“Isn’t it? I think she’s hysterical. Not that I’d tell her so to her face of course.” The genome propped himself up on his elbows. “She’s come a long way, from how she used to be. Wonder what Kuja will make of her.”
“I’m sure he’ll be pleased to see you both.” Laro replied, confused. “Wouldn’t he?”
Zidane shrugged where he lounged. “Who knows _what_ Kuja thinks most days. I told him I was coming, so I don’t think the shock will be absolute, but I don’t know if he was really listening.”
“You spoke to him?!” The dark man stared at him agog. “When? How?!”
“This morning. I had the
“Did he say anything?”
“He seemed really out of it.” Zidane shook his head. “And I wasn’t looking for small talk. I just wanted to get a continent to aim for. We’ll check in on him before lunch, yeah? You and Mikoto can get a head start on fixing him.”
“Remarkable.” Laro could only stare at the shorter man. “All these things you can do so easily. We barely have words for them here. Kuja never did anything like this.” Laro looked back on their months together. “Well he went out to the Selwe command carrier during the final battle, I can’t explain that. But he never teleported that I could see.”
“I don’t think he has the knack of it.” Zidane shrugged. “I only figured out how to do it after he was gone, and as you say, he’s probably been sick a long time. Probably since before he even got here. Now that I’m here though, I have to say, the energy flows on your world are really broken up.”
“Probably the Towers.” Laro mused. “I told you about how the Selwe had blocked off all of our mages, right?”
“Absolutely no magic anywhere underneath the network, huh?” The genome finally pulled himself up into a proper sitting position, folding his legs flexibly in front of him. “Yeah that might explain what I’m seeing. Makes you wonder, whether the absence of magical energy accelerated or delayed the onset of Kuja’s symptoms. We’ll ask Mikoto later when she gets a look at him.”
“Ask Mikoto what?” The woman in question trotted up to them with a desert gecko carefully held in one hand. “And why didn’t I bring any specimen cages? This one is fascinating.”
“I don’t think Kuja will appreciate you showing up with a menagerie in tow.” Her brother drolly commented. “He didn’t strike me as a big animal lover.”
“He would often steal my specimens.” Mikoto frowned at the memory. “It was supremely irritating.”
Zidane blinked. “Did he? What did he do with them?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “He’d just take them to the Invincible and disappear with them, back to Gaia.”
Laro wondered at the odd anecdote. “What exactly did you use the specimens for?”
Mikoto shrugged. “Behavioral analysis, chromosomal extracts, dissection. The usual. Why?”
Zidane rolled his eyes. “Great, so you’d prod them for a few weeks and then cut them into little bits and study them? No wonder he took them away. Jeez, sometimes I worry about you Mikoto.”
She stared at them both as if they had lost their minds. “What did I say? What’s wrong with conducting research?”
“Did you ever take into account whether the things you were
researching _wanted_ to be abducted from their homes and cut apart in the name
of scientific curiosity?” Zidane rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.
“Hell. Forget it. It’s not like you had any say. Kuja was many things, little
sister, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew damn well the same thing would happen to
him the minute
“I wouldn’t have dissected Kuja!” Mikoto recoiled at the idea.
“Sure, you say that _now_. But then? I bet you would have.” Zidane shrugged. “It’s just the way you were.”
The woman fell silent, staring at the lizard she was still clinging to for a long moment. Gingerly she set it back down on the baked clay surface and let it go. Laro sighed in silent relief as the little animal darted off as quickly as its legs would carry it, a brown blur making a bee-line for the closest pile of rocks. When he got his hands on Masa again he swore he’d never overlook an opportunity to hug and fuss over him. The insights he had received during his adventure had done nothing but reinforce the idea that Kuja had lived a very strange and strained life before escaping from Gaia.
Zidane’s expression seemed to echo
a little of his sentiment as the young man stood up. “Kuja would have been a
lot better off if he had just had the balls to run away from
“But where would he have run to?” Laro waved the other two back to their group, preparing himself for another teleportation.
“No idea.” Zidane shrugged. “And probably, neither did he. Which is why he never did. Fool never moved an inch without a plan in place.” The man sighed and smoothed back his hair. “Let’s go. I’m as recovered as I’m going to get without some food and a comfy bed.”
Joining hands again, Laro couldn’t help but notice that Mikoto looked over her shoulder at the escaped lizard as the landscape flickered and disappeared.
*****
When the castle lurched into view Laro was sure he’d never felt so glad to see it as he was at that moment. The day flags were fluttering from the top of the academic complex, and the weather was fine. Somehow they had landed in the northern staging field, just a brisk hike into one of several semi-formal entrances to the main annex. Settling one of Mikoto’s bags across his shoulder, he lead the way in, hoping that everything was as normal as it looked after his long absence from home. The pair of guards lounging in the forecourt stared at him in utter amazement, not even attempting to stop his unlikely procession from ducking into the cool interior of the castle. Laro caught a page as the boy darted down the hall, disrupting whatever errand the child had been on to get him to run ahead and warn the doctors and council that he was coming.
After that it was a simple matter to guide his friends up the serpentine corridors and along the western wing until they came to the academic section. Their progress was anything but subtle. Between the alien, the black mage, and Zidane and Mikoto’s energetically thrashing tails, it seemed every servant and lower courtier in the building stopped to stare as they went past. Plenty of them trailed after as well, giving Laro the strange impression that he was leading some sort of parade through the back halls of the palace. Seeing that his companions were perfectly content to ignore their audience, he did as well, trying to point out the occasional interesting items as they passed in an unofficial tour.
The giant national hospital complex was attached to the university via a discrete portion of garden at its back. Most of the public could enter the building from the city beyond, but those residents of the castle lucky enough to have connections could dodge the inevitable lines and enter through a private courtyard in the rear of the building. Leading his odd little company down a path lined with flowering hedges he came up short at the entrance, grinning at the hastily formed welcoming committee.
Highest ranked among the assembly was the familiarly hawkish face of the king’s principle advisor Duke Riquoi. An assortment of the elderly statesman’s assistants, and several military officers filled one side of the courtyard. Doctor Ing and an excited contingent of doctors and students were crowded into the other side. Out of the corner of his eye, Laro noted a flash of color striding across the gardens from the direction of the Dean’s office. Graying and esteemed she might be the head of the university was proving she was still as fast on her feet as any of her students. Many of whom were forced to break into undignified trots to keep up with her ground eating pace.
Turning back to the duke, Laro offered a half bow to the noble. “Your Grace, as you can see, I have returned home.”
The old man looked a little winded, as if he had just tackled the stairs from his suite down to the ground level in a hurry. Laro received the duke’s out stretched hand of greeting with a worried smile. “You shouldn’t be running at your age, old friend.”
“If you’d come in through the front door like a normal person, I wouldn’t have had to.” The noble replied dourly. “By Meesham’s bones, it’s good to see you again, boy. We had started to-” He cut himself off.
“Well that hardly matters now, does it.” Riquoi continued. “Did you find anything of use on your adventure? You seem to have suffered no damage from the ordeal, and picked up some new companions along the way.”
Always a gentleman, the statesman only allowed himself one curious glance at the most promising of Laro’s new arrivals. Zidane stood unabashed under the speculative glance. Slouching stylishly with his hands in the pockets of his tailored coat, the genome studied them all with equal interest. His tail curled back and forth like that of a lion on the prowl. Oddly the most convincing thing, to Laro’s jaded eye, was still the profile of the blond man’s face. No one who knew Kuja at all could mistake Zidane for anything but some form of close kin.
“Indeed your Grace, I have high hopes that we may have a cure within our grasp.” Introducing each of his party in turn to the key personalities in the crowd he couldn’t help but itch to get formalities out of the way. The gathering, as welcoming and kind as it was, only delayed his real objective.
It was heartening to know that Zidane had spoken with Kuja only hours - days?- before. But he needed to _see_ him. He needed to confirm with his own eyes that he had accomplished his task in good time. That his lover hadn’t suffered unduly in his absence. Judging by Mikoto’s preoccupied look as she allowed various courtiers to complement her and her brothers, he knew she felt the same. Luckily, sisterly concern could voice what would have been rude coming from him.
“Please, Doctor Ing. I would very much like to see Kuja now, if I can. If he is as ill as Laro has described, I feel the sooner I can examine him, the better.”
“Yes indeed,” the doctor was short enough that he and Mikoto were able to see eye to eye, something that seemed to put her at ease. “I would value any insight a fellow doctor can share on the matter, will you all come up?”
It was only after they were half way up the stairs that Laro
realized his long time shadow, the
Even bugs get homesick, I guess. The thought almost made him chuckle, knowing he would have never felt so relaxed around the menacing looking insects a year ago. Following a select mob into the inner cloister of the suite, he pondered what another year might bring.
Kuja was almost lost amongst the pillows of his bed. Looking, if possible, even paler and thinner than when Laro had left. The soldier inhaled sharply at the dismal sight, frightened by the almost skeletal look of his once vibrant paramour.
Zidane, by nature the most resilient of their group hissed softly and then summed up his brother’s condition with blunt honestly. “How the hell is it that he’s still alive?”
“Zidane!” Mikoto swatted his arm in alarm. Hesitantly she stepped forward to the bed, reaching out to grab one of the wrists lying limply against the blanket. Turning it over gently, she inspected the hand and arm before gingerly applying pressure to read his pulse. “He’s fighting,” She murmured. “But doesn’t have the resources to last long at all.”
Turning to the doctor, her expression was all business. “You have been prolonging him with magic, yes? How long?”
“Yes.” Ing blinked at the change in her personality. “Well, three months at least.”
“Three months?” Laro blinked. “How long was I gone?”
“By tomorrow night, it’ll have been five weeks complete since your departure, General Nazer.” Dean Finlay let herself into the room and slid around the various observers to stand his side. “To say we were concerned about you, both of you, would be an understatement.”
“Dear god.”
She smiled faintly. “The king sends his regards, by the way. And welcome back, Laro.”
“Five weeks?” He shook her hand, still preoccupied with the length of time. “How is that possible?”
Zidane didn’t take his eyes off his sister, but was willing to try and answer anyway. “Some of it might have been travel-time. I have no idea how you got to us, but it might not have been as fast as my methods.”
The genome glanced back at him and offered a half shrug. “Honestly my ways aren’t instantaneous either, not over distances that far. Time does funny things when you travel between isolated systems, but I tried to compensate for that.”
Apparently the dean got more out of the blond’s cryptic response than Laro did. She stared at him an avid moment before closing in for the kill. “Do you mean that you’re able to travel through time as well as space?”
“They’re both sort of the same thing, at a certain level, aren’t they?” Kuja’s brother scratched the back of his head in boyish discomfort. “I can’t really explain it. It just works for me, you know? Anyway I’m pretty sure that it’s only been a day or so _here_ since we set out, since I was using Kuja as a target. But there’s no telling how far we’ve shifted from Gaia’s standard time flow.”
“
“Well at worse, we’re going to get home and find a year or two have gone by.” Zidane speculated blandly. “Too late now to worry about it, at any rate. We’re here, we might as well do what we came to do and let me worry about recovering the lost time on the ride home.”
Mikoto only shuddered at the idea of the return trip before distracting herself with more solvable problems. “Doctor Ing, do you have the facilities to collect and transfer blood between patients?”
Delighting in being put to use, the doctor readily agreed. “The only thing we have been lacking, madam, is a viable donor.”
She smiled at the news. “Well now you have two of them. I doubt there will be any fear of rejection. The three of us are genetically identical at the ninety-third percentile. Zidane more so than myself, since he’s male.”
“Obviously.” Snorted her brother.
Mikoto ignored his tease, more focused in digging into one of her bags for a cheerfully-blue syrup filled vial. Handing it to Zidane with a firm, “Here, you’ll need this.”
“Megalixer? What’s this for?” He sighed to find he was ignored again. “Mikoto!”
She turned back to her fellow doctor. “If you would be so kind as to start with Zidane?”
Ing was obviously still trying to digest her earlier comment about compatibility and could only blink at her request. “Excuse me?”
“Kuja needs a transfusion, the sooner the better.” Mikoto explained methodically. “Extract what you need from Zidane. If he passes out, give him the potion in the vial he’s holding. Wait fifteen minutes. Feed him. Wait another fifteen minutes, and begin the process again. When he passes out the second time just tuck him into bed some where. I’ll check on him later. Bring me the equipment to set up the transfusion here and I will handle the rest.”
Zidane, blanching at the idea of being used as sentient blood bank held up his hands in dismay. “Hey hey hey don’t I get a vote in this?”
“You said you’d help however you could.” Mikoto leveled a remarkably Kuja-esque glare at her sibling. “This is what I need you to do. Don’t complain. The effect on you will be only temporary.”
“Your talking about bleeding me dry here, woman.” Zidane made a face. “Can’t we at least take turns?”
“Do you want to be the one responsible for cushioning Kuja through the shock of the transfusion for the next eight hours while _I_ sleep?” She pinned him with a look. “I didn’t think so. My turn to donate will come tomorrow, provided the initial transfusion goes well.”
Looking around Mikoto assessed the rest of the room. “I will need some additional monitoring equipment, if any is to be had. And I will need an adjoining room for myself and Zidane where we can store our bags and rest as opportunity allows.”
Dean Finlay bravely volunteered herself for the task, since Ing was already towing the whining Zidane towards the door. “If you’ll come with me, Doctor Mikoto? I’ll see if we can’t introduce you to the ward manager and a few others while Doctor Ing is working.”
Laro didn’t let out the breath he was holding until both women slipped from the room, little black mage carrying an assortment of bags as he trailed after them. He and the duke exchanged a droll look.
“Intensity of purpose seems to run in the family, it seems.” Riquoi offered blandly as they both stood quietly next to Kuja, watching him sleep.
“She’s a strange one, there’s no question of that.” Laro replied. “But I think we can put our faith in her. She has- well- there’s a lot riding on Masa’s recovery. If there’s even a slight chance of healing him, she’ll give it her all.”
“That’s more than we could have hoped for.” The old duke reached out and patted the mage’s frail hand. “It has been hard, watching him these past weeks. Despite our efforts, he leaves us little by little.”
“Does he ever wake?” Settling himself gently on the edge of the bed, he scooped up the same limp hand that Mikoto had studied and gently pressed it between his own, imparting what warmth he could. The odd breathing apparatus and other equipment had been pushed aside in preparation for the woman’s examination. He was grateful for the chance to sit with his kitten without worry of getting tangled in tubes and masks.
“Very rarely.” Sensing his need to collect his thought, the noble dusted some invisible specks off his formal robe. “Well I think I shall go report to dinner, I’ll share the news of your return of course. Why don’t we plan for a formal presentation late tomorrow afternoon? That will give you and your new friends a chance to prepare things to your liking and get some rest.”
“Thanks.”
Alone at last, he shifted until he could perch sideways on the soft bed. Close enough that he could lean forward and lift Masa’s hand, cuddling it to his cheek if he wanted; and he did want. He wanted so badly he wondered if it might shake him apart. Their corner of the hospital was well isolated, he remembered, sitting with only the sound of his breathing for company. With the outer door closed, he couldn’t hear anything of the hustle and bustle of the hall beyond. Too high up to hear anything from the garden either. It was an eerily silent sort of homecoming.
Tilting Masa’s palm so that he could place a kiss on it, he gently leaned against the little hand again, trapping it between his own and his cheek. “I’m back, kitten. Take heart. You’re going to be well again before you know it.”
It felt funny to speak in a whisper, but stranger still to do otherwise in the stillness of the room. Rubbing his nose against the delicate fingers in a playful gesture, he enjoyed their brief moment of privacy, knowing the doctors would soon troop back in.
“Do you remember,” he whispered, “How I used to bring you seashells? I promised you I’d make you something with them rather than just have them cluttering up your night-table, but I never got the chance. I still owe you a necklace.”
Taking his eyes off Masa’s sleeping face he focused on the trees outside the window instead. It felt strange to be home, half of him was almost convinced he’d never left. His time on Gaia felt particularly dream like when he looked back on it, all of the strange people and places, too much had happened. Maybe tomorrow it would sink-in properly, after he’d had a chance to rest and shower and wear some of his own clothes. Still wearing the dust of the strange world, he found it jarring to be suddenly back where he belonged.
He would have to get up and look busy soon enough. Shower and food and sleep could be obtained once Mikoto and the others returned. He’d only be underfoot with the doctors hard at work. Needing to assure himself that Masa was still there, he cuddled the kitten’s hand once more, careful not to bruise him. “I’ll have to go in a little while. But I’ll try and check on you later.”
If he hadn’t been holding the slender fingers up against his cheek he might not have felt it. Even so, he almost mistook the vague movement as his own doing. Freezing in surprise, he felt the gentle touch again. Masa’s hand moving in a tiny caress, fingers reaching out to brush along his cheek rather than resting limply in his grasp. Looking down he inhaled softly, amazed at the sleepy blue eyes that focused slowly on him.
“Masa? Can you hear me?” He leaned closer to where the man lay, still holding onto his hand.
The silver haired man’s eyebrows drew together in a weak frown, but the expression soon faded into a sort of contented lassitude. Laro reached out and ran a finger along his jaw, continuing the gesture up to comb a lock of hair back from his face. “I’ve brought you back a present.” He mustered a grin. “Just be patient a little bit longer.”
Masa’s eyes slid shut, but the faint smile remained. He took that as a comfort even as he heard the outer door to the suite open and close. Sighing, he settled the genome’s hand back on the blankets as the inner door was propped and two young doctors came in loaded with equipment. Vivi trailed after them a moment later with another armful of items. Laro nodded at them and stood up to give them room to work. Slowly moving to take care of his own needs for a bit, he bumped into Mikoto at the door. “He just woke up a minute ago, but drifted to sleep again.”
“For the best,” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “I’m going to try and keep him sedated regardless. The less he moves the better.”
“Why?” Laro asked, curiously watching as she laid out various wrappings and potions from her bag. “If it’s not rude to ask?”
“It isn’t rude.” Mikoto finished her task before focusing on him. “I believe some of his veins have collapsed in his extremities. We will have to heal those as we go, utilizing the life energy inherent in Zidane’s blood. If we dump too much blood into his system at once, as weak as it is, it’ll just-” She shrugged eloquently, “break apart.”
That didn’t sound pleasant at all, but there was hardly anything he could do about it. Trying to find something positive to focus on he gestured to the equipment. “But the transfusion will cure him. If all goes well. Right? He’ll be healthy again.”
Mikoto gave him an odd look. “Hardly. It will resolve many of the symptoms though, and at present _that_ is my priority. As he is right now the cure would undoubtedly kill him.”
It was hardly an optimistic thought to leave him with. Laro
frowned at the way she calmly turned away to order her assistants to new chores. There was no room in Masa’s
sister for doubts, or for humanity. This
was the _real_ Mikoto, he realized with a little fear. This was the woman as she
had been when Masa had known her, in their former
lives together in service the monster,
Bowing slightly to her as she prepped for her task, he made his exit. “Please take care of him.”
“I will.” She nodded more to herself than to him, already planning what she would need to do. Looking across the bed to where the little black mage stood fussing with his sleeve she waited for him to settle himself. “Vivi are you ready to perform a time-stop if needed?”
“Yes Mikoto.”
“Very well then, let’s get started.”
*****
His left arm hurt. Kuja considered the problem sleepily. Maybe it was his right arm.
Trying to take stock he willed himself to actually pay attention to the confusing painful signals his body was trying to send. It hadn’t actively ‘hurt’ in weeks, not since the healers had gotten to him after his fall. Mostly it had been numb, which had suited him just fine.
It definitely hurt now.
It wasn’t his arm that hurt. It was his legs, he decided. They both hurt; a throbbing feverish sort of pain, like they were swollen for some reason. He couldn’t imagine what that should be. It wasn’t like he had been walking on them. The thought almost made him smile.
His left arm twinged again and he almost had the energy to flinch. It was his arms, definitely his arms. Pins and needles at the tips of his fingers, a bruised sort of aching at his elbows, rationally the symptoms made no sense.
The only good that came of the irritating pain was that it allowed him something to focus on, and kept him awake. His brain seemed to be working better than it had in weeks. Kuja sighed and tried work up the energy to call to the Selwe usually next to his bed. It would know what the hell was going on.
“He’s awake.” He heard someone whisper. Kuja silently thanked the woman for stating the obvious.
“Is he? He doesn’t look it. Still looks like shit if you ask me. You bled me dry for nothing, sadistic wench.” Even as a playful-whisper, there was something familiar about the young man’s voice. Maybe it was Gerrick, returned from patrol or wherever else he had wandered off to. Kuja hated being talked about as if he was a bit of furniture.
“Stop whining. Zidane, it’s not very chivalrous of you.”
“Don’t mistake me for Stiner.”
Surprise had him opening his eyes before he had meant to. Any thought of subterfuge was forgotten with the mention of _that_ name. Eyes cooperatively focused on his audience far faster than he was expecting, but the sight was enough to have him blink in disbelief anyway.
Zidane!
His younger copy looked rather worn out, all things considered. Pale and drawn, with shadows under his eyes, the ‘prodigal son’ looked very much like he could use forty-eight hours of sleep and a stiff drink. Even so, it was unmistakably Zidane.
Kuja checked the ceiling, and windowed-balcony beyond the end of the bed. All was as it had been the last time he had woken up. When had that been? He wracked his brain but his sense of time was all out of joint from sleeping too much. Laro had been there, that much he was certain of. Laro had sat on the bed and petted him and said-
He struggled to remember. Laro had said something, but it was forgotten now. He would have to get the man to repeat himself when he next stopped by. That was, of course, if he hadn’t been some sort of strange dream. Kuja glanced sideways and found his customary alien attendant absent. Zidane would do just as well, he decided and kill two birds with one stone.
Reaching out with a thought, he fought the urge to recoil on contact. There was no mistaking the idiot’s golden-warm presence. The particular characteristics of his brother’s mind hadn’t changed that much since their last encounter. He tried to focus on the important things instead, Laro was really here?
That’s the first thing
you think to ask? His brother
grinned in amusement. Hardly
what I was expecting from you.
He was here, left to get some sleep. He’s really your friend?
Kuja turned the question over in his mind. Yes. It seemed the simplest explanation. He didn’t have the energy for prolonged answers. He just wanted to know if the man was alright. He found you?
“Indeed he did.” Zidane laughed and spoke aloud. “He drives a hard bargain. You must have really impressed him somehow. Do you know that he threatened to continue nagging me for the rest of his life if I didn’t bring him back here with a cure?”
That sounds about right for him. Kuja smiled weakly.
“He’s a crazy guy.” His former nemesis shrugged. “But I think you’d have to be to try a stunt like that. Trusting your fate to a bit of busted up alien technology? Getting flung on a one-way-trip across the galaxy? Yeah. Nuts.”
Laro would call it,
faith. I suppose.
Zidane simply shook his head. “Well whatever the reason. It
worked. Got _my_ attention at any rate. Damn near gave
a couple of people in
How did you get here?
“I jumped.” The thief shrugged at his confused look. “Hard to explain, easier to show. It can wait until you’re a bit healthier. If I demonstrate it to you now Mikoto will have my hide.”
Oh no, we couldn’t have that. Dazed by the surreal conversation with Zidane, the blond’s words took longer to sink in than expected.
Wait. Did you say ‘Mikoto’?
“Hey Mikoto stop hiding behind me and come say hello.” His moronic brother leaned away from him to reach for something just out side of the field of his vision. What he was reaching for turned out to be a slender woman.
Hesitantly stepping closer to the bed, a very familiar face looked down at him, prim lips pressed into a thin line with worry. “H-hello, Kuja.”
Suddenly, the pain made a sick sort of sense. He always
ended up twisted and hurting when Mikoto was around. This was somehow _her_
doing. How the soulless little drone had managed to survive
Zidane, of course, it was always Zidane, sweeping in to the rescue. And then he brought her here? It was unfathomable. Why go through all the effort to send him away from Gaia just to turn him over to her for experimentation anyway. He wondered if this was some sort of fever-dream but he didn’t see how it could be. Fighting back a sudden burst of fury he tried to take a look at the arm currently giving him the most pain, wondering what she had been up to while he had slept. What little he could see of it without being able to move was swathed in bits of bandage and specks of blood.
At least
What the hell have you done to me, you Terran sycophant! Couldn’t you just smother me while I
slept if you wanted some sort of revenge for your beloved master?
“Kuja!” Zidane barked at him. “That’s no way to thank the nice sister who’s been working to save your pathetic life. She stayed up through the night to do it too! Try to have a fucking ounce of compassion, would you?”
I hurt. He flatly
replied. I’ve been bleeding. She’s here. There’s a certain past-precedence
in these situations that I can hardly ignore.
“Well you’re just going to have to trust _me_ then, aren’t you.” Zidane scrubbed his face, exhausted. “You know that I wouldn’t let anyone go cutting anyone up in their sleep, hell, even when they’re dead, the idea sorta gives me the creeps.”
The blond man shook a finger at him. “And for what it’s worth, that’s probably not your blood that everywhere. It’s mine. Before Mikoto started the transfusion, Vivi tells me that you didn’t even have enough liquid left in you to fill a paper cup. They’ve been dumping insane amounts of _me_ into you to make up the difference, hence why I feel like crap, and you probably feel like a human pin cushion.”
“Discomfort should pass in four or five hours.” Mikoto murmured. “You should both rest.”
“Best suggestion I’ve heard all day. Say thank you, Kuja.” Zidane grimly said as he staggered to his feet.
It galled him to comply, but getting on the boy’s bad side
when he was too weak to even lift a finger wasn’t a good idea. Thank you.
“I’m dead on my feet. I’m going to pass out next door. You coming, Mikoto?”
“In a minute.” She backed away from the bed only to return with a vial of green powder that she unstoppered gently. Kuja weakly wished he could bat it away, but settled for glaring at her instead. “It’s powdered purjam root. It’ll help to take the pain away so you can sleep. I can’t cast another cure spell on you right now, it would probably only make it hurt worse.”
Looking past her to where Zidane watched from the door, he caught the blond’s attention. Where’s Laro now?
“Hell if I know, probably asleep. It’s an hour or so until dawn.”
If
you see him. Tell him- Kuja had no idea what exactly he wanted to
say, demanding that Laro not leave him alone with his demented siblings because
he didn’t trust them was hardly a message he could have _Zidane_ of all people
carry. Tell him that I would like to see
him, if he isn’t busy.
“Alright.” Zidane smiled. “But I don’t know what you’re so worried about. He’s already come by to check on you three or four times, I imagine he’ll be back again as soon as he’s awake. That man needs a hobby.”
Just tell him. Kuja obediently raised his head a fraction and inhaled from the tiny bottle Mikoto held out. Please.
The smell of the sleeping powder reminded him of Gaia, not that he had ever needed to use the narcotic on himself. There had been times however when having someone conveniently take a nap in a non-magical way had been very useful. Drifting off as the drug slowly took effect he had to admit, swollen and aching aside, he was definitely _warm_. The novelty was almost enough that he might just forgive Mikoto for popping up and terrifying him after all. Not that he trusted her, of course. But if what Zidane said was true, then maybe she might prove of use for once in her life. He’d try and think it through in a few hours. Maybe his brain would work better then.
*****
Kuja woke a second time with mellow gold of late morning glazing across his face. He blinked a minute, trying to untangle the memories and dreams. It didn’t help that Laro was leaning against the doorframe leading out the balcony. The soldier looked happy. Honestly relaxed and un-frazzled. He didn’t even want to think about how long it had been since he had seen Laro so calm. Certainly there hard been the rare moments after their lovemaking where the man had been unguarded and peaceful. But other than those sparse moments of pleasure, his only memories of the dark skinned man were ones of frantic effort, or preoccupied worry. He smiled at little at the idea that someone else’s quiet relief could bring him a sense of accomplishment.
Between the warmth of the sun and the copious blankets he felt well cocooned where he lay. Had he been less comfortable Kuja would have distracted his lover from the view to come keep him company, but he found he was content to simply watch. Watch Laro watching, whatever it was that brought that bemused sort of look to the former general’s face. Shifting a little, he tried to work a lump of blanking digging into his arm out of the way.
It must have been a dream? The pain is gone. He turned the idea over in his mind as he weakly held his hands up for inspection. They felt shaky and clumsy to use, he was certain he’d have no grip worth speaking of, but otherwise, the seemed to work just fine. The vivid memory of strange bandages and bleeding from the night before was refuted by the whole and unmarred skin of his forearms. But that would mean that Zidane was a dream too? Mikoto? What an odd thing for me to delude myself with.
Looking up again, he settled his eyes on Laro and tried to put the pieces together. Surely, it couldn’t have all been a dream, pushing through the fragments of the past weeks he remembered how the soldier had left, gone off to find him a cure. If the general had gone away, that meant that he must have come back. How else could Laro have returned, except with Zidane’s help? The question was easy enough to answer. All he’d have to do is reach out. If Zidane, or even Mikoto were anywhere on the same planet, he’d be able to feel them. Considering his options, Kuja deliberately didn’t extend his consciousness.
Laro turned back from his study of the sky and looked at him with pleased amazement. “You’re awake! They told me it was likely, but I didn’t believe it.”
“I can go back to sleep if you’d rather.” Kuja murmured playfully, even as the dark man crossed the short distance between them. He surprised himself with his own whisper, and inhaling experimentally, found he had plenty of breath for conversation and more. The feeling of health was hard to ignore.
“Don’t be silly.” Grinning, he settled on the edge of the bed, capturing Kuja’s hand as soon as it was offered. “I’m just in awe. I never doubted they’d heal you, but so quickly…? No, I couldn’t have imagined.”
“They?” It was distracting to have to think of serious things. He would have much rather simply wallow in the sunlight, and in Laro’s pleasure. “I wasn’t dreaming then. Mikoto, Zidane, you brought them here.”
“Well, closer to say they brought me.” His lover shook his head, looking cheerfully resigned. “I couldn’t tell you how he did it if I tried. They used words that have little meaning to me, but the dean was suitably impressed. I think she’d happily study Zidane for a few lifetimes if he was inclined to let her.”
“He’s not the type to sit still for long.” Kuja leaned into Laro’s gentle touches, encouraging the hand that slid over his shoulder and arm to continue as it was doing. Even with his depressingly mundane sort of hospital smock getting in the way, he found he missed the simple gesture.
Somewhere he found the coordination to roll a little bit, surprised at how difficult it was. Laro helped a little, shifting out of the way and providing an additional hand in support. He was tired by the time he was able to curl up on his side as he wanted, tucking himself around where Laro was sitting so as to be a little closer to his familiar bulk.
“I’m supposed to ask you how you feel.” The dark man chuckled, slowly burying his hand into Kuja’s hair. If he had had any native ability to purr, the pressure of Laro’s deft fingers against his scalp would have had him earning the name ‘kitten’ for real.
“Fine.” He closed his eyes to better enjoy the contact. “Rather like I’ve just been mashed to a pulp and put together again, but it’s worth it just to be able to breathe, move, _think_ again.”
“I’m glad.” Laro murmured, thumb sliding along his ear in a momentary caress. “I was- God, when we came back and I saw you- I really thought my luck had run out.”
“Not quite.” Kuja shook his head a little. “Not yet.”
“Mikoto said it was a very close thing. If I had delayed even another week-”
“You didn’t.” Opening his eyes, he looked up to catch his lover’s bleak expression. It only served to make the man look older, tired and worn as he hadn’t been moments before. Reaching out he prodded the man with a weak finger to distract him. “Stop borrowing trouble, Laro.”
The playful comment had the desired effect, making Laro blink in surprise and then break into a smile. “You’re right. Are you hungry? I’m supposed to ask that too.”
“A little.” Kuja considered the problem for a moment. Gingerly raising his hands, he copied Laro’s gesture and ran them through his hair. “Mostly I just feel filthy. Wonder how long it’s been since someone had the kindness to wash my hair.”
“Probably a good long while. From the sound of it they were afraid to move you at all after I left.” The dark man made a face slipping easily back into worried preoccupation. A second poking shook him free of the mood however leaving him thoughtful. “I have explicit instructions about what you can and can’t eat, but they didn’t say anything about you having to stay in bed. Would you like a bath?”
“I’d kill for one.” Kuja sighed dreamily. “But I don’t think I can even hang onto a bar of soap, much less anything more useful. I’d drown myself by accident.”
“Well certainly leaving you alone in the tub would probably be a bad idea.” Laro agreed mildly. “I’m no doctor, but I think I can safely volunteer to assist with a simple cleaning mission.”
“You?” Kuja raised an eyebrow in arched commentary. “Are you offering to wash my hair for me?”
Laro blushed a little. “Only if you want. I’m sure Mikoto…”
“No.” He shivered at the thought. “No, as much as I’m apparently in her debt, I don’t think I would enjoy a bath with her anywhere near as much.” Smiling, he tugged childishly on Laro’s sleeve. “Would you be so good as to wash my back for me, Great Kai? I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
It was worth the silliness to hear the man laugh again. Laro’s grin was just as infectious as it had been when they first met. Batting his eyes in a pathetic ploy, he curled closer. “I recollect you used to rather _like_ bathing me, once upon a time.” For a moment he even forgot why precisely it had been so long since they had teased each other. Catching sight of his own hand, almost skeletal from his recent ordeals he felt his cheerful mood die. “Of course I wasn’t a pallid, half starved wreck of a man at the time.”
“You’re beautiful.”
“I’m a corpse.” Kuja disagreed flatly, daring to peer under his shirt and grimacing at the sight of his ribs.
“Just need to be fattened up a little, that’s all.” Laro refused to be dissuaded. “You’ll feel better after a soak. And it just so happens, I know that this time of day nobody will bother us if we lay claim to one of the baths down the hall.”
Large hands petted what they could reach of his spine and leg through the blanket, relaxing him against his will. Kuja closed his eyes again, preferring Laro’s opinion of his appearance to his own. The idea made him smile again at the simple insanity of it.
“And what’s so funny?” The soldier bent down to kiss his cheek.
“You.” Kuja caught the man before he could pull away. He corrected the chaste kiss with one that they both could enjoy, taking the opportunity as it was presented. Gentle as it was, Kuja pulled away breathless. “You sir, are either completely blind, or madly in love.”
Laro’s raised his eyebrows comically. “Well I thought that much was obvious.”
Leaving him to his own devices a moment his lover picked through a near by chest and then unapologetically scooped him out of bed. Kuja didn’t even try to protest too busy curling close under Laro’s chin and keeping his eyes firmly closed against the disorienting perspective.
“You look like Mikoto with your face like that.” The dark man laughed after setting him down a few minutes later.
Even feeling the firm wood beneath him, Kuja was hesitant to open his eyes to glare. “I do not.”
He was obliged to when he felt Laro shift his grip to reach the buttons on his smock. That would be the first thing to go now that he was conscious, Kuja resolved. He watched it drop to the floor next to the bench with no small joy. Its shapeless form reminded him of his first days with Laro on the beach. He had been subjected to over a month of over-sized or mismatched clothing at the time, and refused to go back to such a humble look again. Better to be swathed in towels for the rest of the day than suffer the indignity of the smock again.
In short order a tub was set to filling, and Laro was pulling off his own clothing as well. It made for a far more agreeable focus than his own faded looking limbs. He refused to be distracted. “And when, exactly did you see Mikoto making a face like mine? Have you decided you enjoy sweeping genomes up off their feet on general principles? I must say I don’t think she’s your type.”
“Your tongue is certainly on the mend.” The soldier looked at him with wry amusement. “I happen to know for a fact that Mikoto doesn’t like the way your brother travels. She was cringing the whole way here.”
“Was she? I’d have paid to see that.” Equally amused, Kuja allowed himself to be lifted the short distance and down into one of many of the room’s tubs. He propped himself on the edge as his lover eased in with a sigh of his own. The water was plenty hot, doing wonders for his residual aches and stiffness. Whatever he had meant to say was forgotten as the heat soaked through him. When Laro reached over to gather him up, he let the water buoy him over to settle against the larger man’s chest.
Content to simply lean against the muscled shoulder, he enjoyed the feel of water and soap being cupped and poured over his head. The soldier seemed to be determined to stick to his word, washing his hair with slow strokes and then maneuvering him to tilt his head back to rinse it clean in the tub, letting the suds float around them. Kuja had to laugh a little at how hard it was to lift his head with the water streaming free of his hair, unavoidably reminded of how weak he was. It felt good to be clean again however, and judging by Laro’s look, the man didn’t mind the chore. The soldier had a thoughtful look about him, despite his pleasant pastime.
Even as Kuja settled back against his shoulder with a sigh, he could feel the man’s worries bubbling up again. “I’m all right, Laro.” He murmured against the warm skin.
“I know.”
Kuja received a kiss atop his damp hair for his efforts. He sighed in amused despair. “So why do you persist in being unhappy? I almost wonder that you preferred me comatose.”
“No!” Large arms enfolded him in a firm embrace. “Not that, never that. I’m just thinking of something she said last night.”
“Who?”
“Mikoto. She said, that she couldn’t cure you yet because it might-”
Kuja blinked at his hesitance. “Might what, kill me? She was probably right.”
“What do you mean?” Laro peeled him off his shoulder to get a better look at him. “Do you understand what she meant by that?”
“Of course.” Grumpy about giving up his comfortable spot, Kuja glared at the man. “Idiot. The shape I have been in lately, any sort of therapy would have been fatal. I could barely breathe for myself anymore up until last night. Once I regain a little strength, she and I could put our heads together and think of a couple different things to try.”
Shaking his head Kuja could only smile at his strange plan. “Not that I can even pretend to understand her motivation for wanting to help in the first place.”
“I think maybe she feels responsible.” Laro murmured, letting him slouch forward again, seeking his shoulder to lean against.
“For things decided and done before she was born? That’s silly of her.”
“You could ask her yourself.” The dark man shrugged, not pretending to know the answer.
“Believe me, I will. But later, Laro.” Kuja pressed his face into the man’s neck, inhaling the almost forgotten scent. “There are some things I find far more important to do, right at the moment.”
“Such as?” Laro chuckled as he ran his hands appreciatively along his spine.
“This, for one.” Kuja grinned as he rubbed his face lovingly against his pillow, knowing it couldn’t be seen. “I’d do more, but sadly I have no energy. So you’ll have to wait little while for the rest.”
“I would rather you refrained from any unnecessary expenditures of energy until after all transfusions are complete.” A horribly familiar and unwanted voice caught them both as they were relaxing into each other’s touches.
Laro nearly dunked them both in surprise, jerking alert at their interruption. The supporting arms let go of Kuja so quickly he almost went under with a gurgle before gaining the leverage he needed to stay above water level. His lover corrected his hold as soon as he noticed the problem, but by then any lingering lazy impulse was replaced with a mix of adrenalin and ire.
Turning to look around, Kuja growled at the sight of the slender blonde at the door. “Mikoto. I was wondering when you would crawl out of your hole.”
“You were not in your room.” She tilted her head. “I was concerned. What are you doing?”
“I felt like going out for a bit.” He drawled. “Laro and I were just going to go spar a few rounds then take a tour of the city after we got clean, you know?”
“Any prolonged aerobic activity will require an additional transfusion.” Mikoto frowned. “I would ask you to refrain from sexual activity as well. I will wait for you back in the room. It is time for your examination.”
“What makes you think we were going to have any?” Kuja sighed dourly as Laro, cowed by her scolding, snagged a bathrobe and discretely removed himself from the tub.
“There is a certain past precedent.” He heard her murmur quietly as she ducked out the door. Wondering if she was deliberately throwing his words back at him to shame him, or whether she was doing the unthinkable, and teasing him, he could only blink in amazement. Either way, he was obliged to go and find out.
*****
*****
I’ve only noticed in ‘fixing’ ch 28 that a lot of my formatting for the last 4 chapters isn’t showing up on ff.net when I post for some reason. This amuses me, but doesn’t make for a readable story. If you’re baffled, try www.roodinverse.dreamhost.com for those who didn’t know. The raw html tends to look a lot better. --Lunar