Kupita's Quest 2

Kupita ran in the general direction she thought H.P. had gone. She found the mercenaries' temporary camp. Following the sounds of warking from the camp, she came upon a gathering of chocobos. They were playing and frolicking on the hillside. Sure enough, in the center of it all, surrounded by yellow chocobos that stood a good head taller, was H.P.

"Hey!" exclaimed a human from immediately behind her. "There's that... uh, thing!"

Kupita decided to play the dumb little Moogle and see what would happen. She turned and looked at the guy and said, "Kupo?" while looking very confused. Then she flew into the air and flew towards H.P. and the other Chocobos. She kept an eye on the guy who sounded the alarm.

Kupita fluttered away as the man chased her, shouting for his fellows to hurry up. Another one of the soldiers dashed out of nowhere, swatting at her as she floated near him. She landed in front of H.P., who looked at her as if in a daze. He was squatting down, warking dreamily. The other chocobos around him crowded Kupita, sniffing and snorting at her presence.

^^Ah, yes. Good Chocobos... I'm a little busy here.^^ She said to the yellows as they gathered about. ^^What's the matter with you H.P.? Come on! We need to go!^^ He looks like he's in love... Kupita thought.

She looked about for his love interest, all the while on guard for the Soldiers. If they get too close she'll fly up out of their range.

H.P. blinked and warked happily at Kupita. She turned and looked at the two soldiers. They were cautiously approaching, making no sudden moves. Watching them, she heard an indignant wark from behind her. She turned and found herself looking at the leader of the mercenaries. He grabbed her, putting both hands around her neck, and lifted her up to his eye level.

"Well, well, not talking so tough now, are ya'?" Kupita choked and wheezed. He grinned wickedly. "Should 'ave figured you'd come over here to steal our rides, ya' stinkin' petty thief. You know, I'm not stupid. I've got you pegged. Hey boys!" he yelled. "Looks like we've killed two birds with one stone!" H.P. jumped to his feet, warking in terror. The rest of the chocobos opened their eyes wide, mimicking his frightened wark. One butted Strom hard, throwing him off- balance while the rest began to swarm in every direction, letting out dozens of rapid warks.

Kupita stuggles to get loose. She yells at the guy, "H.P.'s My Chocobo! You're the thief! Keep all your yellow ones, I'm just after mine!" She ends her statement with an elbow to his guts. If she gets free she'll jump on H.P.'s back and fly away, back to her other firends.

It was easy to pull free of Strom's grip as the charging chocobos unbalanced him. Unfortunately, freedom meant falling into the press of birdflesh. She was knocked to the ground, then kicked under the feet of another rushing chocobo. Sharp claws fell scant inches from her face. She could see little chocobos circling her head...

Return to G6 Chapter 6

Kupita awoke. She tried to stretch, but found she could not move. She was bound in a cramped position. It was dark, but she could make out the bars of a small cage. A cage in which she was now being held.

The cage rocked, bourne by horses. Soldiers were walking alongside, guiding the animals and their prisoner.

^^Whoa! Where am I?^^ Kupita seemed to be saying that more and more often. She glanced around. ^^Chocobos... So many Chocobos... And horses... Ooooh...^^ She tried to rub her aching neck. She called to H.P. ^^H.P.! Are you there?^^ Then the thought dawned on her... H.P. wasn't the only one she should be looking for. "Isianu!" She yelled. "Where are you? Are you alright?" The last she saw of her Lupine friend, she was laying in a broken heap on the ground after not faring so well against their last foe. Gulp! I hope she's not...DEAD! "Isianu! Isianu!" She called frantically and began rocking her cage. It's my fault! She tried to save me!

"It's awake," said one of the soldiers. He grabbed the side of the cage and shook it. "Shut up! If yer talkin' about that wolf monster that attacked the town, it's dead. I'd worry about my own sorry hide, if I was you."

Kupita's stomach rumbled and the caravan pressed on.

They want me to be quite eh! Well, I wont give them the satisfaction! No one tells Kupita what to do! Especially after they kill my friends. A few tears streamed down her face. Kupita then started yelling in Moogle at the top of her lungs, ^^Let me outta here, you good for nothing, butt picking, cheese eaters!!! HELP! HELP! When I get outta here I'm gonna stick my sword up all your...uh, noses! You're as good as dead! LET ME OUT!!!!^^ She rattled the bars of her cage.

For her efforts, Kupita was jabbed with the butt-end of a spear. When it became obvious that she wouldn't be quiet, one soldier grabbed her head through the bars while another gagged her. The morning came, then midday, then afternoon. She was neither fed, nor even allowed to stretch or relieve herself. She thought she heard one soldier say something about the rough way she was being treated, but it was hard to maintain coherant thought after being starved and burnt by the sun for hours.

"Me and my partner got it, boys," said a voice. Kupita was only half-conscious when she felt someone untying her, gently. She blinked, unable to perceive more than a large shadow looming over her. She was carefully picked up, hanging limp in the arms of her benefactor. "My little moogley, look what they done to ya'." After a jarring, painful walk, some water was dabbed onto her face. "Poor little fella'. I brought all the peanuts you can eat... oh, please be okay..."

^^What? Where am I?^^ She said to the voice. She tried to focus on whomever was talking. Her mind was spinning, again. If this keeps happening I may be used to it. Kupita pictured herself, walking down the street bobbing her head up and down, trying to make her mind spin. She imagined other Moogles whispering about her and calling her ^^Bob^^. Oh! I don't want that!

"Easy there, fella'. Try to eat a peanut..." Kupita brought her eyes to focus on the man. He was a soldier, and he was indeed offering her a peanut. She was sore and weak, just barely able to move. She stared at the man a moment longer. Slowly, some memories came back to her. She'd met this human before. 'Ah! The crazy guy from the camp who tried to grab me!'

Kupita opened her mouth to eat the peanut. As long as this idiot is taking care of me, I should be alright. She thought, and relaxed a little bit. As soon as he's done feeding me, I'm gonna have to rest. Sooooo tired. ^^Thank you!^^ She managed to whisper as the man fed her. This loonie may just be nursing me back to health so he can have me as his mascot, She said thinking back. but at least he's taking care of me. Maybe when I escape, I'll take him with me as MY pet. Then it struck her! ^^H.P.! H.P.!^^ I may never see my chocobo again. ^^H.P.! H.P!^^ She sqeaked out weakly. ^^Need...to...find...him...^^ She tried to sit up.

"Just take it easy... have another peanut. We'll have to get some more distance between us and them before they notice you're gone. Here..." He gave Kupita a bag of peanuts and grabbed her, lifting her up onto his back. "Let's get out of here!" He took off through the barren field, weakened moogle hanging on his back.

Kupita got quiet. She hungrily downed the peanuts. ^^Mmmmmmm, Nuts!^^ She whispered excitedly. She tried to hang on to the man while she ate the nuts.

"Wow, yer just like a... chipmunk, or something," said the man, listening to Kupita munch on nuts. "Say, that's a good name for you... Chipmunk! No, that's not quite right. Something that says, 'Come see the moogle!' Hey, I got it, Moogle! Or maybe even, 'The Amazing Moogle.' Come see 'The Amazing Moogle!' We don't really know if you're amazing yet, though, but we'll work on that. Maybe we can even teach you to speak on command. You could jabber like... well, like a moogle, on command..." The man prattled on at great length.

The Young General

^^Oh! Yes! I want to be your little pet...^^ Kupita told him sarcastically. ^^A loony like you makes for good entertainment.^^ Kupita decided that she would play along with this man's plan until she could locate her chocobo, and devise a plan of action. After all she figured, I've lost my way, my friends, and my freedom all it one day, what else can I loose? Besides my sanity, of course.

The man chattered on, carrying Kupita through the fields. As the day wore on, Kupita's eyes rolled back in her head. The banter numbed her mind, making her wish that he'd left her in the cage. At least it was peaceful. He explained peanut farming at great length, giving her a peanut every few seconds. She finally grew tired of chewing them. It started to get dark.

"Aha! A Guard Tower!" said the man, pleased. They approached the Tower, a guard calling down to them as they reached it. "Come down, quick! My partner was injured!" called Kupita's rescuer, waving her still weak form to emphasize his remark. Two soldiers came down as he set her on the ground. "Play dead," he said. The two ran over and looked at her.

"Is... is this a moogle?" said the first.

"Thud" said the second, falling onto his face.

"What the...?" said the first, then he too was struck with a hollow thud. He slumped over his partner.

"Now," said Kupita's human, "we'll just tie these guys up for the night and man the tower ourselves. I'm sure there's supplies up here for our trip. We'll take off in the morning. No one will ever suspect a thing. Except these guys, I guess."

Kupita thought that perhaps she should talk to him, in human, to tell him that they should take the guys that they just knocked out with them just to make sure that they didn't talk. But She decided against it. There may come a time where his ignorance could be a great help. She thought, although unsure what that time could ever be. She tried to indicate to him through panamime what to do.

"You can have more peanuts when I'm finished," said the human, patiently. "Right now Tarkin is busy tying these other nice people up." He painstakingly dragged one of them up the slanted ladder leading into the tower. On his way back down, he tossed Kupita a peanut. "There you go," he said cheerily, grabbing the second soldier and preparing to give him the same treatment. "Phew, I sure wish you could help..."

Kupita felt that she should help, although she was afraid that the man, Tarkin, would make her his slave from now on. She decided to risk it. She walked over to Tarkin and the second guard, and she grabbed the guard's feet. She started pulling him towards the ladder.

They successfully lifted the second soldier into the tower. "Thanks, buddy," said Tarkin. "You're pretty useful. Everyone should have a moogle..." He began combing through the contents of the single room. He opened several compartments and grabbed things off of several shelves. The two soldiers were safely stashed under a large, benchlike bed attached to the wall.

Kupita searched the unconscious men. Other than their swords and armor, they had nothing of value.

Tarkin looked around. "Maybe we need a fire..." He looked around the wooden room.

*GULP!* Is this guy CRAZY?!?!?! Kupita thought about pantomiming that it was a bad idea, but she figured that the man would just assume that she was afraid of fire. So instead she looked about to see if any water was handy if is should come to it.

Kupita did find her water, two barrels of it in a storage alcove. While she did that, Tarkin gathered a pile of paper and a chair in the center of the room and was making some poor attempts to set them on fire.

"The trick to starting a good fire is to find good sticks and rub them together... hm, these don't seem to be working... maybe we should just use that torch..."

Kupita sighed and went over to the bed. I'd better get some sleep before he burns the place down. She lay down on the bed and relaxed. ^^Good night!^^ She said.

A kick to the bunk awakened her. She blearily sat up and looked under the bed. The bound and gagged soldiers were struggling to get loose. The smell of smoke reached her nostrils. She surveyed the room; it looked like a fire had run unchecked through it. Smoke rose from the floor and one corner. Tarkin climbed up from below, his face soot-covered and his eyebrows missing. He held up a pan with some kind of meat on it.

"Hey fella'." He produced a bag and tossed it to her. "Have some peanuts. Then we'll go." He sat down and began eating. Through a mouthful, "You know, one of them barrels wasn't water at all... boy, was that a surprise. Say, I bet that would go great in our act! Unless moogles already have fire abilities. Either way, that's something to think about..."

Kupita ate the Nuts. She thought of her options. *sigh* Here is goes. I hope it works. If it doesn't then at least I'll have some fun. She turned to Tarkin, held her arms out to him and said, "Da-da!"

At the moogle's exclamation, Tarkin stopped chewing and stared at her. His eyes bulged and he grabbed his throat. He jumped up, pounding on his chest, and ran around the chamber.

Kupita sighed, cleared her throat, and said quite plainly, "Oh for Crying out Loud! Hold still so I can help you."

Tarkin stopped short. He turned and looked at Kupita. He stared at her a moment before shaking his head. Comically, he looked like some sort of beached fish. He quickly resumed his panicked rampage around the room.

Grabbing the weakened human, Kupita found it difficult to dislodge whatever was choking him. She managed to sweep his feet in an effort to get to his arms. Lifting them and slapping him didn't help, so she repeatedly punched him in the stomach as he lay on the ground at her feet. It didn't seem to help, either, but it made her feel better.

Gagging, Tarkin spit something out. He choked and gagged for a while, but he was definitely breathing again. On his knees, he looked up at her, gasping, "what...hack did... you... say?"

"Oh, you're alright. What a relief." She said sarcastically, and went to find him some water to drink. Okay, Kupita thought. Time for plan B. "I...um...apologize for not...um...speaking with you earlier. It is just that it is very hard for me to trust anyone anymore. Apparently there is a price on my head. However, I have desided that I must trust someone, and you seem to be the only one around here who cares about my well-being. Let's work out an agreement, shall we?"

"You... talk?" asked Tarkin, confused. He got shakily to his feet, went over to the bed, and sat down. "So, uh, could you talk before, or did you learn it from me?"

"That's just it, I could talk before." she said as she sat down next to him. "But I wasn't sure if I could trust you. My original plan was to make you THINK that I learned to talk from you. But I gave that up because I needed to save you from choking."

Tarkin sat quietly for a moment longer. "Uh... so... what do you want to talk about, um, Moogle?" He discretely pinched himself.

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself, so that you don't have to keep calling me Moogle. The name is Kupita. I am the bravest of the Moogle dark knights. I traverse the world looking for fame, fortune, and adventure. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Tarkin is it?"

"Well, I was born, grew up, became a moogle trainer. In between I was the greatest thief who ever lived and then the Baron himself begged me to join his army, so I did. I'm a master of all forms of combat, but I tend to be something of a loner. Can we go now?"

Wow! Thought Kupita. I never would have figured that. "Sure, we can go...Where to?" But before he could answe Kupita continued. "Hey, What do you say we work as partners? We can set up an act. I'll be your preforming moogle. And while the crowd is watching me, then you can pick pockets. We could split the earnings 50-50, what do you say?"

"Fifty-fifty? But I brought the peanuts... you just let me worry about the earnings. I think he should head for the Thieves' Kingdom. No one would bother us while we worked on our act. It's the only place I can think to go."

"Fine with me. Let's go!" Kupita plotted what to do with the money that they shall earn. But then a thought occured to her. I dunno if this is such a good idea, after all, a thieve's kingdom... We'd all just be stealing from each other all the time. I mean... "Hey, Tarkin," she said suddenly, "Let's join a band of theives when we get there! We both have lots of training and battle expertize. We'd get bigger hauls that way. We could do our moogle act on the side."

"I dunno... I think it might be better to go legit." He stopped gathering his things, looking at the two tied guards. "I think they ought to be ok... but I don't remember the patrol schedules. They might be stuck here a few days." His made a face as he thought deeply.

"Look, Tarkin, why do you want to go to the Kingdom of Thieves? Won't we just have lots of competition? I've got friends out there, who I'd like to find, and I'm almost sure that they wouldn't be going to the Kingdom of Theives! Come on! Work with me here."

"Well, nobody tells you what to do in the Kingdom of Thieves. And I'm sure nobody has a trained moogle act there. No one's ever thought of it before me!"

"You know, we Moogles aren't some sort of animal! Many of us can speak human. Having a trained moogle isn't that big of a deal! I'm leaving." Kupita started down the ladder.

"Yeah," said Tarkin, shrugging. "Uh, you guys... stay put." He quickly followed Kupita. He had the definite feeling he might have hurt the moogle's feelings. Weird. He shrugged again. "Let's go! To the South, and Riches!"