Streams of Life: Epilogue 
  

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"Bereft of father! Bereft of mother!" 

Zidane recited as he flipped to the next page of the script. 

"Marcus! Thou hast lost even thy love!" 

An old man strolled into the straw hut, holding a mug of warm soup.  He adjusted his glasses, and gave a particular 'beaky' smile to the Tantalus bandit.  He took the mug into the bedroom, and in a minute, came out with an empty one. 

"Fortune hath escap'd thee!" 

The said bandit held out a hand and pointed at the bird-like doctor in particular, as he twirled the script around his other hand playfully. 

"For what end shalt thou live?" 

With that, he put down the thin booklet on the table, and sat down, suddenly looking bored. 

"What?  No soup for me?"  He grumbled as his tail whacked the side of his chair.  The old doctor laughed at the comment and placed the empty mug on Zidane's table before exiting the hut. 

The restless boy drummed his fingers on the table and almost closed his eyes until a pile of dirty laundry plopped down in front of him. 

"Hey!" Zidane said as his gaze rested on the man before him, "you shouldn't be walking around.  You just woke up this morning, you should be still resting and..." 

"Wash these, they're all dirty," came an order which cut him off.  Zidane laughed and did a funny little salute and gathered the pile of dirty clothes in his arms.  His commander raised an eyebrow, rather amused at the fact that his cadet did not complain. 

A small girl, clad in a set of chocobo-printed pajamas walked out of the bedroom and saw the two.  She rubbed her eyes and leaned lightly against the doorframe.  Her untied hair barely touched her shoulders, and she pinched the front of her shirt, looked at a particular chocobo print on it, and then questioningly stared at the older blonde. 

"Mikoto!  You're awake!"  Zidane exclaimed as he hopped over, dropping all the dirty laundry on the floor.  He patted the younger genome's head, ignoring the irritated expression on her face.   

"Zidane, get back to the laundry."  The 'commander' reminded the energetic boy, picked up a shirt from the floor and threw it at the boy's head. 

The hyperactive Tantalus bandit gave a sheepish laugh and turned to face the taller man, who by then, had arms akimbo and a grouchy look on the face. 

"C'mon...Mikoto just woke up.  Lemme just baby her for a while, 'kay?" 

"Zidane, I don't need to be babied..." Mikoto mumbled weakly, while her oldest sibling strolled over and supported her back into the bedroom. 

Two steps were all it took, before the duo tripped over their own feet and fell onto the ground. 

Dr Tot came back into the hut, followed by a long-haired blond girl holding some papers in her arms.   

"Mikoto, you're awake!"  The genome girl exclaimed, and then consulted the elderly doctor, "should I tell the others?" 

"No, Miss Hira.  I would think these three all need a nice rest."  Dr Tot chuckled, as Zidane tripped and fell atop the other two genomes as he rushed over in an attempt to help them. 

"I think I'll be heading back to Treno now that all of you seem fine to me."  Dr Tot announced. 

"Aww...I hoped you'd stay longer, doc."  Zidane scratched his head as a particular silver-haired genome gave him a shove. 

"The genomes and black mages will welcome you anytime in this village, Dr Tot.  Thank you for your help," Mikoto said. 

Kuja looked at the doctor, and smiled one of his less evil-looking smiles.  "I'll have the Silver Dragon give you a ride home." 

Dr Tot nodded at the offer, and left the trio, pondering on how Kuja seemed to look much younger compared to the last time he saw him.  The look of age was not there anymore on the vain Genome's face. 

"Ahh~  I'm the one who's old..." The plump man sighed as he headed on home. 

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"So, why am I wearing this?"  Mikoto questioned. 

"Beats me.  I'm wearing this horrible pajamas too."  Kuja snorted, folding his arms, still refusing to get up for his tail was entangled with Zidane's leg when they fell.  

"C'mon guys, I'm wearing it too!  Hira over there said that it was much more convenient for us to wear simple pajamas while we rested rather than our normal fare." 

"Not with chocobo prints, my dear boy," the grouchy man said. 

"Cheer up, Kuja.  You'll spoil your complexion with all that grumpin' around of yours.  And besides, your fingernail just healed, isn't it?" 

"Err, Zidane," Hira reminded before she headed out, "Dr Tot said you all need to rest." 

"Gotcha." Zidane grinned, as Hira ticked something off her medical report papers and left the hut to leave them alone. 

As if on cue to Hira's leaving, Kuja's grumpy expression became one of firm seriousness. 

"So, update me.  I only woke up this morning."  The silver-haired one demanded. 

"Well..."  

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-flashback- 

"Kuja...don't go away, please...we'll change the ending of the play, so please, don't go..." Mikoto pleaded. 

Kuja could only whisper his a sigh of resignation to fate before he went totally limp. 

Zidane was horrified as Kuja's breathing stopped, and immediately went through all reviving techniques he knew.  When something did seem to work, Mikoto held the dying genome's hand and channeled her thoughts to search for Kuja's, in hope of finding a single strand of consciousness and keeping him there while the medics, who soon arrived, assisted them. 

Kuja's breathing was erratic now, as blood spewed out from his mouth.  Even as he was revived, the pain he went through stopped his breathing after a while.  This struggle went on for quite some time. 
"Hang on, Kuja, don't you die on me!  We went through this once, and we'll get through it again, 'kay?"  Zidane shouted, as he pressed his hands down on Kuja's chest in another attempt to revive him. 

Mikoto kept concentrating, though tempted to panic, she forced herself to keep her calm, wearing her usual expressionless mask. 

"Found you," Mikoto mentally addressed to the unconscious man, "I'm not going to let you go.  Keep talking to me, Kuja..." 

Zidane had resorted to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by then, attempting to get Kuja to breathe by forcing air into his chest.   

After an excruciating hour, The pale genome coughed, and opened his eyes for a while, long enough for an elixir to be fed to him. 
  

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"Well, the elixir worked in healing all your wounds, but you conked out again right after," Zidane shrugged, and continued to explain, "the most difficult part was trying to keep the link with you.  You were unconscious for two whole weeks, so Mikoto and I took turns to talk to you mentally in order to keep you alive." 

"Kuja, you kept trying to break the link I established with you.  You told me you didn't want to live because you were tired.  I thought about letting you go, but I didn't want to...I really didn't want to let you go..." Mikoto was near crying when she explained. 

"No wonder I kept having strange dreams of you two talking to me throughout this whole time."  Kuja mused.  "I wouldn't dream of dying with you two around." 

"We won't let you sleep if you ever dream of dying," Mikoto said, her frown slowly turning into a smile. 

"And you know bro, Mikoto did most of the telepathic work.  She was so tired that she collapsed two days before and only woke up just now." 

With that comment, Zidane earned two strong glares in his direction. 

"That means you've not slept for the past two days!!"  They both exclaimed at the same time, and then stood up.  Though weak physically, Kuja and Mikoto managed to drag the bandit to his bed and ordered him to rest. 

"Heheh..."  Zidane scratched his head, feeling strange to be the one babied.  Kuja still refused to do the laundry, but he managed to get some other willing genomes to help him do it.  Mikoto went to the kitchen to get some soup that Dr Tot had prepared earlier on. 

The monkey-boy grinned as his two fellow Angels-of Death re-entered the bedroom room.  He beckoned them to sit on the bed beside him, and wrapped an arm around both of them. 

"I'm glad you are my family." 

Kuja turned away, feeling awkward before shyly replying, "me too".  Even the normally expressionless Mikoto looked down and blushed, while she nodded her head in agreement. 

Embarrassed with such display of emotions, Kuja pushed his brother down on the bed and growled, "just get some rest, you stupid monkey!" 

Mikoto giggled at the sight. 

None of them knew when death would come, but before then, they would struggle to live each day to the fullest, and pass their memories on.  Kuja and Mikoto spent time helping the genomes in their research of ways to lengthen the lifespan and the natural reproduction processes of the Black Mages.  The experience with the lifestone proved to be immensely useful in their research.  Zidane, on the other hand, kept contact with the Tantalus, using their attempt to steal the Invincible Version 3.1 Beta Experimental as a threat to make sure they kept in touch with him.  At times when they were bored, they would contact Tantalus and have them use the Invincible to tour around different parts of the world. 

And every morning without fail, Zidane would be reciting lines from a particular play... 
  

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Some time later... 
  

"As the sun lends me no ear, I pray instead to the twin moons!" 

The caped youth's strong voice boomed across the stage of the theatre ship. 

"I beseech thee, wondrous moonlight, grant me my only wish!" 

The highest of anticipation was in the next line.  The audience was totally enraptured by the Tantalus's troupe's performance so far, but the climax that would come would rely totally on this particular actor. 

"Bring my beloved Dagger to me!" 

He flung his brown cape onto the floor, and looked in the direction of the balcony where the Queen of Alexandria was seated.  Zidane's eyes glowed with radiance, practically beaming with longing and cheerfulness as the Queen turned her back on him and headed down the castle steps. 

"I won't let any of my loved ones go again..." He thought as he held his beloved tightly, mischievously feigning a little pain as she hit him for not coming back to tell her of his survival.  A slight weary look hung on his face told of what he had gone through in life, but his glistening longing for her shone through the pale blue eyes.  He gave his trademark grin and as she flung herself into his arms and cried. 

Right then and there, Zidane knew he had finally changed the ending of a historical tragic play.  Now, it was a play of reunion and happiness. 
  

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-End Epilogue, Streams of Life-