Chapter 3: Waking The Storm

Chapter 3: Waking The Storm

The sound of rain faded in and out across the rooftop of the Mog House as Aura laid sound asleep in his bed, with his arm wrapped around the Automaton's frame. A pulsing clap of thunderous noise traveled through the Mog House, yet the vibrations only caused a slight rustle in the Moogles hammock. Aura laid in a deep slumber, but the Automaton regained consciousness. It sat up, moving Aura's heavy Elvaan limb with its small stringy arms. It then slid down off of the bed and onto its long thin legs and tiny feet. It walked around and looked at the furniture, then at the fireplace with photographs sitting on top of the mantle piece. 

The Automaton climbed up the side of the fireplace to get a better look at the photographs, it then saw one that it felt paticularly interested in. It was a photo of a very young Elvaan boy and a beautiful Elvaan woman with long platinum colored hair complimented by shimmering blue eyes. The woman was kneeled down, hugging the boy and they were both looking toward the camera with smiles on their faces. The Automaton stared at the photograph for awhile, and noticed the left edge near the boy was ripped. The Automaton tilted its head, and jumped down off of the fireplace. It walked over to the door and reached up to the handle, but before opening it, the Automaton turned around and looked at the Elvaan man still asleep on the bed. It turned the knob and continued through the door to the outside world. 

The rain had died down but the thunder was still sounding quietly off in the distance. The Automaton took one step off the stone-covered ground in front of the Mog House, and its little black foot sank into the damp soil under the grass. It turned around once more, to look at the doorway of the small one room Mog House. The fire was flickering off of the walls, creating a cozy feeling that flowed through the door and over the Automaton. Even if it couldn't feel the heat, it still knew what it meant to feel safe. The Automaton felt this coming from the house and its inhabitants despite its better judgment. Its artificial mind was confusing itself. Did it want to leave and be free from the malice inflicted upon it, the commands that it despised so much, or stay and feel safe from the world and its evil? It sat down in the wet grass to think, but it dozed off, shutting down into system hibernation to conserve the power of its unique energy source.

The clouds cleared and the sun rose from beyond the seemingly endless ocean. The warm light illuminated the small Mog House, waking the Elvaan man. He pulled the covers down and stretched out his arms and legs before standing up and walking over to the Moogle in its hammock. He poked the Moogles little pink tummy causing the startled, once sleeping Moogle to flip over and out of the Hammock onto the floor. A familiar "Plop" noise sounded in the small Mog House and Aura grined as the Moogles wings twitched while it laid face-down on the floor. 

He continued preparing for the new day by getting dressed while his Moogle prepared a small breakfast for the two of them. After pushing the last strip of Bugard Bacon into his mouth, his eyes got wide before he began looking around quickly. He then began rambling with a mouth full of food "Mhers... ..mhr..." He swallowed then continued, "Where is the Automaton!?" "I figured you locked it up this time, kupo." The Moogle replied. Aura stood up and dropped to his knees, and crawled over to look under the bed. He then jumped up and swung the closet door open before sighing and thinking to himself "Since when do puppets have the ability to hide themselves...?" He looked around and moaned, "Uuuggh..." then walked to the front door, opened it and started to take a step outside before suddenly stopping. 

The Moogle looked over to Aura, then floated passed him and landed next to the Automaton still sitting on the grass, asleep. Aura continued out and picked up the silent Automaton, its limbs limp like a rag-doll. The Moogle floated over to the doorway and watched as Aura hugged the Automaton. This confused the Moogle, it wasn't like Aura to do something like that. Feeling the Moogles eyes on him, Aura turned around and glared at the moogle before stepping further out into the grass. Just then, the Automaton started moving, its arms and legs, even its head began rattling. Aura panicked a little but still held the Automaton close to him. It's head tilted upward so that its shadowy face was looking at the Elvaan man. Aura felt a shiver run down his spine, but never let go of the cold metal frame of the puppet.

The Automaton suddenly spoke in an echoing voice "Who... is that woman... in the picture... atop... your fireplace?" Aura looked slightly shocked, then a sad expression overcame all others on his face. "It is... ...or rather, was my Mother before the war in my homeland." The Automaton tilted its head then asked another personal question without any regards for his feelings "Why... is the picture... ripped?" Aura kneeled down and set the Automaton on its tiny black feet in front of him. "The General of the Bastokan army was to the left of me in that photo." A sudden tear ran down Aura's face as it changed to an angry look. He continued, "My Father..." he said with frustration in his voice. "He was always giving me orders, he made my Mother move from her San d'Orian homeland to Bastok... so he could continue serving his own country as their General." The Automaton leaned in closer, to get a better look at the drop of liquid running down the man's face. "My Mother didn't want to move away, but she also didn't want to live without my Father. Shortly after she had arrived in Bastok, she gave birth to me. That is when Bastok suddenly went to war with San d'Oria. The San d'Orian King ordered a migration of all of its women and children to it's ally nation at the time, Windurst, for safety. They used only Elvaan archers, warriors and their borrowed Windurstian mages, while Bastok recruited not only the women to fight, but the Galkans for their frontlines in battle as well. My Mother would still be alive if she had stayed in San d'Oria, but I would not have be given a chance to exist. My Father could have gone to San d'Oria and we would all be living together, happily." With the frustrated look still on his face, Aura picks the Automaton back up and turns to the Moogle.

The Moogle looked at Aura. "Master, I don't think the Automaton comprehends anything you are saying, kupo." it said as Aura's sorrow-filled eyes began to dry of tears. Aura looked to the Moogle and replied, "It is nice to get it out, even if no one else understands my pain." The Moogle nodded and turned around, floating back into the Mog House, with Aura following a few steps behind. 

The Automaton clanked as it turned its head up a little more. It spoke in an echoing voice again "I... do understand." Aura stopped right before entering the doorway. "You mean... you understood everything I said?" "Yes, I know... what you are feeling." the Automaton assured him. "Emotions... give us our power... Automatons... use sadness... anger... joy... to control our abilities... and magic" Aura looked deep into the dark oblivion that made up the Automatons face, and smiled to it. "Automatons and I are much alike then." he said. "I... am sorry... for the blizzard... in your home. I... I was angry. I lived... ...existed... with a man... who controlled me... he used... the Animator... to make me... do... very... very horrible... things. I could not... run away... if I refused... to cooperate... he threw... me... into... a battle... arena... I had... to fight... all day... all night... for fourty ...seven... years." The Automatons head moved twitchingly up and down, as if scanning Aura's face, while it told him the story. "We... Automaton... get angry... and sad... I stopped... taking commands...from him... then this man... became... mad..., I disobeyed... and... he found... new ways... to punish... me..., in time... he forgot...about me... he died... I was free..., new people... found me... and sold me... I sat... in a box... for years... now... you found me..." Aura smiled, and the Automaton tilted its head to one side. "We are a lot a like, Automaton. ...Automaton... do you have a name?" Aura asked. "My name... my name is... ...it is... ...Kenbishi." "Kenbishi? Can I call you Ken?" The Automaton tilted its head to the other side. "You... you may." Aura finally continued into the warm cozy Mog House and slowly closed the door behind him.