Chapter 4: Souls Intertwined

Chapter 4: Souls Intertwined

Children were at play in the streets as the sun beat down, warming up the inside of the city. Shop keepers were shouting to passer-bys, hoping to peak an interest in their wares, while birds chirped and the sky hovered over the city in the most beautiful light blue to ever be seen. Aura, Ken and the Moogle all sat at the fountain in the city center square. After finishing up their small picnic, the Moogle packed everything up and floated into the air with the basket. The Automaton hopped off of the fountain edge, down onto its scrawny legs, while Aura stood up and began walking toward the markets. "So, Ken, how exactly does that remote control work?" Ken marched on and simply announced "It is... an Animator." Aura looked up at the Moogle and smiled to which he recieved a smile back, then he continued his chat with the Automaton. "So then, how exactly does the Animator work? I understand it has something to do with elements, but why?" The Automaton, without hesitation, pumped out the information, "The Animator..is a device..used to Activate.., Deactivate.., Retrieve.., Deploy.., and..recommend fighting styles..called..Maneuvers.., to us.., the Automaton's.., from afar..or without..the use..of verbal..or visual..commands. It makes..the Automaton..a highly effective..weapon..for war. We..Automaton..were developed..for war..based on..Marionettes..which were used.. for entertainment, but..we later..we seen..as tools for..entertainment..more than..effective weapons..for war. When..the Empress..fell in love..with..the original..model, ...named... ...Mnejing." Ken stops and does a little twirl, "My... Hero~!" Aura laughs as Ken then continues marching. "Her love..initiated..our fall..as weapons..and rise..as entertainment..like our..ancestors. Our..memories..give us..control..over our..actions. Our..emotions..amplify..our power. The maneuvers..give us..access to..a fighting form. Snowflake..initiates..Black..Magic. Tornado..initiates..Evasive..and Ranged styles. Flame..initiates..Warrior..strategies. There..are..eight elements.., eight..Maneuvers..,eight..forms of fighting." 

Aura, looking intrigued, held his smile while gazing at Ken, as they entered the markets area and walked passed the familiar shop keeper on the way to his Mog House. Aura waved towards the small wooden stand and the shop keeper waved back right before Aura, Ken and the Moogle disppeared into the alley leading to the residential area. The three of them continued down the path to the Mog House, and Aura asked Ken another question, "So, do you still know how to fight after being in that box for so many years?" Ken replied "We... do not forget... what... has been programmed... into... our memory." Aura retorts, "So you can still fight then." "Y-yes... I can... fight." "Are you any good?" "I... I don't... know." "May I see?" "See... me fight?" "Yeah." "...How?" "Moogle can fight pretty well. Wanna see if you can beat it?" Ken stopped on the path in front of Aura and the Moogle and turned around. "I.. I don't know...", Aura looked at him and said pursuesively "Remember the man who tortured you, and made you fight? I'm not like that. You don't have to fight if you don't want to. I was just curious what you had in you. But if you ever want to show me, just let me know." Ken looked down as his own tiny feet with his similarly small hands held together. Ken innocently replied "I... I suppose... I could... show you." Aura excitedly grabbed the basket from the Moogle and said "Alright! Go ahead!" with a big smile on his face. 

The Moogles eyes widened and it looked very afraid. "B-but Master! I don't want to fight a puppet!" Aura grined and corrected the Moogle, "I believe it is an Automaton, Moogle." Ken hopped backward and 'put up it dukes', "C-come.. on!" The Moogle fluttered its little wings and zipped behind Aura, peaking out over his shoulder. Ken put his hands down and looked up at Aura, "I... I can't..." Aura looked at Ken and sighed "How come?" "B-because... I... n-need... commands." "The Animator?" "Y-yes..." "Moogle brought it, it said it didn't feel safe leaving it at home." Aura reached into the basket sitting on the stone path and pulled out the tan colored Animator decorated with a rainbow of colored buttons across it. Ken nodded to him as Aura stepped out from in front of the quivering Moogle. "So what do I press?" Aura asked. "The... button... with... an upward... arrow..., that is... to Deploy. To tell me... my target. Point... the Animator... and press... the button." Ken informatively announced while getting back into his fighting stance. 

The Moogle slowly floated to the ground in a quivering ball, while unaware of what is going on. Aura aimed the Animator at the Moogle, and gently pressed down the button with the upward arrow on it. The Animator beeped and Ken suddenly and forcefully dropped his stance closer to the ground, creating a small cloud of dust flowing outward. The Automaton launched itself forward with one leg and readied a swing with its whip-like arm. The Moogle, hearing the air whistle through the Automatons steel frame, realized it had started. It looked up and jumped in a panic, but suddenly ducked down and covered its little head with its paws, with only its maroon Pom-pom and purple bat-like wings protruding from the pink ball of fur. Ken, rocketing toward the Moogle, sliced it's arm forward in front of it but it slammed into an invisible bubble-like barrier that surrounded the Moogle. Ken stopped and tilted his head to the side while standing there over the quiving Moogle. It hopped back and belted in a strong and steady voice "Relay a Maneuver command!", Aura realized the Automaton was talking to him and pushed a random button. 

Ken was suddenly engulfed in a shimmering crimson light with bright glowing red eyes that appeared inside the dark opening in his metal head. The Automatons echoing voice dropped to a deeper tone, as it said to itself, "Fire Maneuver. Now this brings back memories." the words still completely absent of any hesitation or stutter in its voice. The Automaton lifted up its arm and whipped it down onto the bubble surrounding the fearful Moogle. The arm connected with the bubble, but it didn't stop. The bubble shattered into fragments of almost transparent violet light as the whip-like arm continued down and hit the Moogle, with the impact sending it flying back in a puff of dust, the Moogle cries "Kupoooo!" as it shot backward through the air, slamming into a wall and fell to the ground. With its face in the dirt, it's small bat wings twitched, signifying to Ken that he has won. "Is that any good?" Ken said boastfully, still glowing crimson. Aura smiled at the Automaton and said with confidence, "Moogle doesn't go down that easily."

Just then, out of the corner of their eyes, they saw a golden light flowing downward from the air over the Moogle. The Moogle, engulfed in this light rose upward into the air and lifted its head. The Moogle, now completely void of any cowardice, began to spin and glow a rainbow of colors. "Moogle Beam, kupo!" an orb of light built up around the Moogle's pom-pom as if about to unleash some monstrous force. Ken looked back to Aura, and shouted "Earth Maneuver, use it!" Aura scrambled through the buttons, looking for the familiar brown button that was adorned with a stone. The Moogle hollered now without any modesty "You're no match for Moogle Magic, this is why we don't even bother fighting, kupo!" as the orb of light grew so luminous that the entire residential area was lit with a rainbow of colors.

Aura finally found the right button, and quickly pressed it in. Ken's crimson aura transformed into a milk chocolate color, and its stance moved to one arm in front of its body with its legs bent and its body close to the ground for stability on impact, much like a football player. The Moogle rose its paws into the air as the beam was launched forward out of the orb of light that engulfed the pom-pom. Ken's now brown glowing eyes, looked scared but the Automaton held its stance. The beam shot passed the Automaton, the power so great, that it tore the grass up from the ground in chunks. The wind generated from the beam, blew Auras hair in all directions as he squinted his eyes. He lifted his arm and put it across his forhead, attempting to keep his hair back and the wind out of his eyes, just in time to see something amazing. The Automaton used its stringy arms to slice through the energy beam, and its low stance to hold its ground. The chocolate brown light that enveloped the Automaton seemed to protect its metallic body from any physical damage, but obviously the beam still took its toll. The Beam dissipated and Ken dropped down onto all of its hands and knees with its head hanging low as the light fades away and the Moogle floats over to Aura. "Are you alright, Ken?" the young man said as he stepped forward and kneeled down next to the Automaton. "I... I am... in need... of a... tune-up." The Automaton said as it falls face-first onto the ground. Aura picked up the Automaton, and walked to the Mog House with the lifeless looking puppet in one hand, the Animator in the other, and the Moogle floating behind him with the basket.