"I-I think I...finally know what it means...to live..."

So sad, those words. They brought back to him the events on Terra. He too had felt as though he had lost all reason for living. When you're no more than a puppet, what's the point in living any longer? It was a terrible pain that gripped his chest at the thought of his newely-found brother's death.

"Kuja..."

What a terrible twist of fate! Dagger, beautiful, loving Dagger, was waiting for him. He knew that no one expected him to return, but Dagger still hoped. If only he could speak to her one more time...

"Do not...waste your b-breath. I...am not going to make it..."

There was a bitter, metalic taste in his mouth. He swallowed to get rid of it but found that it returned immediately. His chest hurt, his stomach ached, and his head was going to explode. But more than anything, Zidane's heart felt as though it were breaking.

"K-Kuja..." Zidane reached a hand for his brother then drew back, surprised to find that it was stained with red. Blood? Where had that come from?

Crimson eyes met his. Although he could not read his brother's mind, the younger genome felt as though he understood what he was thinking. Not really thoughts, not tangible ones at any rate. More of an emotion...a feeling...a connection...

"You are going to die."

Zidane jerked, ready to protest, to tell him that he was wrong. He was the one lying there in his own pool of blood. How could he even suggest that Zidane was going to be the one to...

But the blood...where had that come from? Lowering his eyes to his own battered body, a wave of shock numbed the genome. He was the one covered in blood. Shocked dark eyes met mournful amber ones.

"B-brother...?" The metallic taste was stronger; he could feel something (a trickle of water?) at the side of his mouth. This was all wrong! He was here to comfort his brother as he died. Why was it that it was he who felt comforted by the presence of this older genome? He couldn't be the one dying; he had to get back to Dagger, dammit!

"Zidane..."

The thief winced. He did not want to hear the concern in his brother's voice. He knew what it meant...

"D-don't...say it...I...I don't want...to hear you say it..." Even that was an effort to say. Now that he knew he was dying it seemed as though the end were rushing towards him at an unimaginable speed. He thought of Dagger's eyes, the look on her face as he told her that he intended to return to his brother's side. It could have been me, under different circumstances...

"Garnet."

Jerking wildly at the sound of his lover's name on this man's lips, Zidane narrowed his eyes. Had he misunderstood his brother? Was the man still dangerous, even now as he lay before him, weak as an infant? If this man, brother or no, meant to hurt Dagger...

"Don't misunderstand me...brother...I mean...no harm to y-your...p-princess."

Wincing at the effort his words required, Kuja paused to catch his breath. He could feel his heart racing, his mind aching, his bones crying out in agony, crying for the release that death would bring. But could he really allow himself to die now that he had an inkling of what it meant to live? It had been his brother who had given him reason to live. Seeing the younger genome, nothing more than a puppet, daring to love a woman...if he could love, who was to say that Kuja could not? If he cared that much for someone...if he could feel that much for anything...who was to say that he wasn't living, that he wasn't real? The very idea gave Kuja a feeling of something warm, something exciting: hope.

The Lifa Tree had rejected all intruders, fearing more damage to it. In his eagerness to rejoin his brother, Zidane hadn't noticed the wounds he'd gained as he had run through the living tree. Creatures that fed off of the tree's power had reacted, lashing out at the genome as he'd hurried to the heart of the Lifa Tree. Nothing had stopped him; he would get to his brother! But not that Kuja had brought them to his attention, the wounds were all that Zidane could think about. He ached; his stomach burned where a poisonous claw had slashed his abdomen; his legs were rubbery from the run through the tree; his heart was ready to burst! He was dying.

"K-Kuja..." Zidane waited until he knew he had the other man's attention before continuing. All he could think about was Dagger and the promise he'd made. He had to return to her, one way or another. "Kuja...I prom-...promised...that I'd come back...to her..." he managed. Even that took the breath from him. He couldn't see anymore; he couldn't breathe anymore; he could barely think, but he knew that Dagger would be heartbroken when he didn't return. And she would never quit waiting for him; she would never marry or have children or let herself feel any warmth for another man ever again. He could not let that happen to her; she was much too precious for that. "P-please...can't we...let her know...? I-I...don't want her...to be...like that..."

A promise of love?

Such an oath might just be binding enough to save him. The question was...did he want to be saved? Perhaps he should give the opportunity to his brother, Zidane. The man certainly had earned it. But there was only one way to save him and that was by giving up his own life for his brother.

Fury; rage; madness...I must feel them all...I must use them all.

Trance.

The force of the power made him tremble like a fragile leaf in a windstorm. He felt his brother stiffen but not retreat. That was good; it was fitting that the one who would remain would be brave and good. He would not run from the threat of danger.

"Zidane, I'm going to help you," Kuja whispered, his strength slowly returning. "You shouldn't die here with me; Garnet...is waiting for you to fulfill your promise." He reached for the power of the Lifa Tree, asking for forgiveness for his foolishness while silently pleading for Zidane's worn body to heal, for the Tree to take pity on the young lover. He had to fulfill his promise.

And he would.

After all, both of them couldn't die.