Disclaimer: I don't own Mana Khemia or any of the characters.

A/N: This is my first Mana Khemia story, so please be nice to me. It's also really hard because it's Flay centric, and I really don't think there's such a thing as an "emotional Flay." But I'm gonna try it! Let me know how I do!

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They Pulled Me From The River Thyle

Chapter One

Flay's Parents

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"Hey, Vayne, did you see the bulletin in Student Affairs?"

Vayne Aurelius glanced up from his book and moved his attention to the pink haired girl. Jess was fumbling with her hands as she walked into the workshop, which always meant she was excited for something.

"No," he answered. "What did the bulletin say?"

"Well!" she plopped down into the chair next to him, startling Sulpher, who had been sleeping at Vayne's feet. "Since it's almost graduation, and we're seniors now, the school says it's time to show off our senior projects."

His mind reeled back to the grueling hours he had spent on the alchemy of different metals. White, red, blue, and black had more than enough information about them, but when he was forced to study the gold bullions, he was positive that he was near certain death.

Let's not go back to that train of thought, Vayne chuckled to himself.

"Yeah?" he continued, distracting himself from the memory of the horrible project. "What's the big deal?"

"For one day, the school allows the students' parents to come by and see the progress that their son or daughter is making. It's a 'seniors only' kind of thing."

Vayne took a moment to imbibe her words, running them through his mind over and over. So, for one day, parents were allowed to explore the campus and the students' projects for the year.

"Uh…" he forced a smile, "That's great, Jess."

"Huh?" she blinked, and then finally realized the error of her ways. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Vayne. I was so caught up in it and the way that everyone else was acting about it, I totally forgot to consider your feelings!"

"It's not really a big deal," he shrugged. "I never met my dad, and Sulpher's always kind of been like family to me, anyway."

Jess scooted the chair closer, leaning in, "But what about your mom, Vayne? Do you remember her?"

Vayne closed his book for good, figuring that this conversation was nowhere near its end. "Mom? I don't think I have one."

Jess' cheeks puffed out and she balled her fists together, "You have to have a mom, Vayne. How else could you be born?" Vayne appeared confused. "There needs to be both a dad and a mom in order for a child to be born. Even you should know that."

"Should know what?"

Both Vayne and Jess turned their heads to the oncoming voice as the door to the workshop swung open and Pamela and Anna stood there. The fluffy ghost floated in while Anna placed her katana onto its stand, done with the training for that day.

"Oh, hey guys," Jess waved. "We were just discussing whether or not Vayne had a mom."

"Well, of course Vayne would have to have a mom," Anna said, as though it had been the most well-known fact in all of the world. "How else could he be born?"

"But…" Vayne attempted to speak, his entire defense being chopped up into pieces, "…I don't remember my mother."

"That doesn't mean that you don't have one," Pamela said. Then, her face lit up as a thought crossed her path, "Say, I'll bet she was a great mom! She probably gave you lots of stuffed animals, and sang you lullabies at night, and…"

Vayne stooped over and stared at his feline companion. "How about it, Sulpher? Did I have a mom?"

The black cat peeked its head out from underneath his paw, one ear twitching. He meowed, tiredly, "I don't remember you having a mother of any sort, Vayne."

"Oh…I see." Vayne sat back up, where all eyes were on him.

"Well?" Pamela nudged. "What did Sulpher say?"

Vayne dropped his book to the floor beside him and stood up, stretching. "He said that he never met my mom."

"It was never stated if Theofratus had a wife or not in his final years," Roxis walked in, followed by Nikki.

"Yeah, but wasn't it you who said that nothing was even written about his final years?" the beast-woman pointed out.

Roxis stopped to rub his chin, "True, but even if she were alive today, there's no one who knows about it."

"Well, we only just realized that Vayne was his son," Anna spoke up. "There are still a lot of mysteries revolving around the situation."

"How did we get on this topic, anyway?" Nikki asked, seating herself in front of the workshop cauldron. "Roxis and I only caught the last bit of what you guys were saying."

"Oh, we were talking about the bulletin in Student Affairs." Jess turned and jerked a thumb in Vayne's direction, "He asked me the importance of it and I told him."

"Ohhhh," Nikki grabbed her knees and rocked back and forth. "You guys are talking about inviting your parents to the academy."

"That's out of the question for me," Roxis pushed his glasses up with his forefinger and began to move about the workbench in the back of the room. "My family wouldn't come."

"That's not very nice," Nikki stuck a tongue out at him. "You should at least invite them."

"That's not what I meant. My parents are always very busy; if I invited them to something like this, they'd probably just send a representative in their place, anyway."

"I wouldn't want my parents coming," the beast-woman leaned back, stretching one arm over her head. "Then they'd bring all of the kids and it would be one big disaster!"

Anna looked back at her. "Well, wouldn't you want to set an example for your brothers and sisters, Nikki? They might come to the academy, too, one day."

"All thirty-four of them? No thanks!"

The entire workshop was taken aback. Mouths agape, they stared at one another.

"T-Thirty-four?" Jess was scared to repeat the number aloud, but Nikki seemed quite all right with it.

"Yup. Well, they're my half siblings, of course. Mom has many hubbies, and dad's got a lot of wives." The faces around her confused her. "What?"

"Why?" the ghost dared to ask.

"Well, because it's animal instinct, of course!"

"That's right," Vayne mused. "Remember, Flay told us that a while back. Since Nikki's not human, her animalistic instincts kick in and the desire to multiply is more intense than for the rest of us."

Nikki bobbed her head up and down, proud. Jess stuck out her tongue, Roxis snorted, Anna turned her head away, and Pamela hid her face away behind her giant teddy bear.

"That answer scares me," the ghost whispered.

"It's perfectly natural to me," again, all faces turned to the doorway, where a soft bodied creature floated into the room, poking out from within a blue pot. "Every twenty-five years, we reproduce and make many babies."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Roxis groaned, the thought of having to pop all of the Muppy babies coming to mind. "We got into a lot of trouble because of you. Don't forget that."

"I can't help my body," Muppy told him. "And, besides, that's all over with, anyway."

"Over with for you, maybe. How on earth can you possibly be able to watch over that many children?" Roxis momentarily stopped the preparation he had been making and turned his attention completely to the alien. "It must've been difficult for your mother and father to deal with so many of you."

"You act as if you know us," Muppy shot back, acidly. "For your information, I practically raised my siblings. Being in line as the heir to the crown royal family, it requires a vast amount of responsibilities."

"There you go with that 'crown royal' stuff again," the other man rolled his eyes. "Tell us the truth. You're nothing more than a commoner."

"This disgrace!" Muppy shot up. "You dare compare me to them!" Once started, the little creature could not stop, "I'll have you know that it's been a miserable time trying to keep my beloved brother at bay, while it runs the risk of losing my throne, and my father is too busy to resolve our issues. And poor mother loves us all with individual care and compassion. Why, I remember as a child the sweaters she would make as we played in the falling snow. She even gave me my first guitar when I started the band…" At this, he trailed off until he finally fell silent altogether.

Jess leaned over and whispered to Vayne, "I kind of want to know what happened with him and the band."

"Well?" Roxis waited impatiently for Muppy to continue. "What next?"

"About what?"

"I'm interested. What else about your family? You said you practically raised your siblings."

"Ah, yes, that. Well, mother and father, they were very busy, you see, what with the throne to defend, so there were always the negotiations with other planets—"

"Forget it," Roxis interrupted, "I'm bored, now."

Muppy's cheeks puffed out, "Mr. Skeptical, huh? Well, if you're going to be that way, what was so wonderful about your childhood?"

"Mine?" Roxis adjusted his glasses. "I spent a lot of time with my grandfather. He often told me stories of alchemists and their journeys to fame. That's why I took such an interest in Theofratus, but that's beside the point. In my spare time, I read in our library."

Muppy slouched down inside of his small pot. "…That's it? Nothing else? Seems to me like you were just as dull then as you are now."

"Hey! I'll admit that I'm not as much as an outdoors-person as the rest of you may be, but my time in the classroom has been valuable and taught me a great many deal of things."

"You didn't do much with your parents, did you, Roxis?" Jess placed her chin in the palm of her hand, resting her elbow on one knee.

He fidgeted. "That's…not it. Father was gone a lot, and mother was always having…parties. There was just never any time…to…" Nikki sniggered. He immediately turned on her, "If you have something to say, then just say it!"

"I do, actually," she leaned forward. "Have you ever been fishing, Roxis?" He was about to say 'yes,' when she stopped him, "I mean before you met us. You don't seem like the sort. Well, I used to go on gathering hunts with my dad and brothers. Normally, they wouldn't let beast-women like myself go, but I wasn't like the other girls. I learned a lot on those hunts, like how to sleep in trees and avoid things bigger than you. Survival of the fittest! Do you know anything about survival of the fittest, Roxis?"

He scowled and went back to his work at the table.

Jess piped up, "I think I'm still in the process of learning that, Nikki." All eyes were fixed upon her, "When I was a child, I was really sick. There was some strange disease going around the village and I happened to catch it. I'm better, now, but my parents still treat me like I'm walking around half-dead. They never even wanted me to attend this academy for fear that I'd just die on the spot." By the time she had finished speaking, she was laughing hysterically.

Vayne just watched her with sad eyes. Eventually…you will, Jess…

"Man, so you probably never went out much," Nikki sighed. "What a lame childhood."

"I can relate," Anna, who had been quiet most of the time, spoke up. "My village is full of disciplinarians. Though, without them, I doubt we'd have the order in our society that is required for maintaining peace. My father is the village elder, but also a great man and an amazing teacher to me." She gestured to her katana, "He is filled with honor and pride; he is the one who showed me all of my sword arts. However, I am the one responsible for taking over the village when I'm sixteen. Therefore, I must become strong enough to endure marriage and leadership."

"That's right," Vayne nodded. "You're the one who said that they were against you attending the academy in the first place."

She mirrored his nod, "Yes, but only because I was unsure of what I wanted to do. Though…I believe I've decided now." Anna moved her eyes around the room, looking at each person individually, "I'm going to go back to the village when I graduate and take over as the next elder."

"And spend the rest of your life there?" Nikki rocked back and used the momentum to push herself to her feet. "Are all of the people in our workshop that uninteresting?" Then, turning to Pamela, she asked, "How about you? What was your childhood like?"

Pamela quickly made a face and hid behind her teddy bear—an action often illustrating her nervousness. "Uh…I don't remember my childhood much. But mom gave me lots of sweets. Oh, and teddy bears. I remember teddy bears."

"That's not surprising," Roxis poured two substances into one beaker. "It explains your childlike behavior."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Then, peering over his glasses, the blonde said, "You're the only one who hasn't talked about your childhood, Vayne."

"There's not much to discuss, really. I don't remember my dad, and I don't think I have a mother. And if I do, I definitely don't remember her." Looking down at his black cat, Vayne nearly whispered, "Sulpher's been my only family until I came here. That's about it."

"Yup," Nikki folded her arms over her chest. "Just like I thought. All boring."

"Well, what about Flay?" Pamela pointed out. "He's the only one we haven't talked about, yet."

"He's also the only one not here, either," Roxis added.

Anna looked around, bitterly. "It's probably because it's his turn to clean the workshop. I reminded him this morning, but I haven't seen him since."

Jess laughed. "Yeah, I'll bet that's it. But…now I'm curious. Does anyone even know who Flay's parents are?"

"Does Flay even have parents? I'm not sure who I feel sorry for more, him or his parents." Roxis waved his hand back and forth above the opening of the beaker, clearing away the materializing smoke.

"Of course Flaya has to have parents, Roxis. How else could he have been born?"

"You…really…don't want me to answer that."

Nikki ignored him, "Hey, I'll bet Flaya's parents are just like him, only stronger! Maybe they're a rocketing duo, fighting for justice around the world!"

"Or maybe they're from an evil syndicate and are plotting our downfall this very moment," Vayne laughed, thoughts of Flay's determination to keep the "Defenders of Justice" alive filling his head.

"Think they know alchemy?" Anna turned to Vayne.

"Don't be ridiculous," Roxis steadied the beaker and motioned for Nikki to move as he walked toward the cauldron. "Be careful, one wrong move and this workshop is gone."

Nikki trotted off to one side and turned around. "Well, why else would Flaya want to join the academy anyway? It's not like he ever attends his classes, or does his assignments. …Maybe his parents forced him to join?"

"Well…" Vayne tapped a finger against his cheek. "He told me once that he was only here to learn alchemy as…an observer."

"And just what would he mean by that?" Roxis leaned far over the mouth of the cauldron, dumping in the contents from his beaker and waving away the smoke again. He leaned down to start a fire from underneath.

"What are you making, Roxis?" Jess stood up and pretended to peer inside.

"A bendable kind of metal. Nothing that would interest you. Now, anyway, as I was saying…"

Jess sat back down, discouraged, and muttered, "Shoot. If it was medicine, I would've helped."

"…Flay's reasons for joining the academy are not pure, I assure you. If it was his parents' decision, then I wonder what their motives were."

"Ooooh, but still, can't you picture a baby Flaya in his little undies?" Nikki giggled at the thought.

Jess followed up with, "Or, what about Flay in his grade school uniform with high socks and buckle shoes?"

By now, the entire workshop was filled with laughter. Pamela squeezed the teddy bear in her arms. "I'll bet his mom bought him lots of stuffed animals."

Anna, who had been trying to at least be a little serious, could only restrain her chuckling with a hand over her mouth, "I'll bet he had to do chores when he was little."

"That's a sight I would like to see," Roxis waited for the fire to catch and rise before standing up and turning to the rest of his workmates. "Flay acting like a spoiled brat, I'm sure it would make for a perfect photo opportunity."

"I wonder, if we contacted his parents, would they tell us stories about Flay as a baby?" Jess was getting more and more excited by the minute. She turned to Vayne and nudged him a bit. "What do you think, Vayne?"

"About what?"

"Think Flay's parents are as crazy as him, or are they sweet, loving old people living in a cottage on the hill?"

"What? Where did that come from?" Vayne looked back and forth from her to everyone else. "How are we supposed to know what Flay's parents are like?"

"What about my parents?"

All eyes whirled around and Vayne hastily jumped to his feet, careful not to step on the still sleeping cat below him.

"U-Uh…F-Flay! …How much of that did you hear?" The normally timid man forced a wobbly smile, scratching the back of his neck.

Flay failed to find the humor in the situation. "Enough. Instead of sitting here gossiping like a bunch of old geezers, you should be getting to those assignments."

"Aw, come on, Flaya," Nikki lightly slapped his arm. "We were gonna get to them; we were just chewing the fat for a bit."

"Well, unlike you," Roxis glared at her, "I am working."

She shot an equally sour face back at him. "Yeah, whatever."

"Well, aren't you at least gonna tell us?" Vayne edged. "While we're on the subject…that is."

Flay quirked an eyebrow. "Tell you what?"

"About your parents."

Flay appeared upset at first, but then hooted in amusement. He gave attention to each of those who were staring at him and waved a hand, "I'm afraid I can't say. If I did, it would put their lives in danger."

"By who?" Jess asked.

"By those wishing to cause me harm, of course!" Flay turned and quickly walked from the workshop, but not quick enough to add, "No more goofing off! Finish those assignments!"

Vayne stood there, watching the empty doorway where Flay had once been.

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Please RnR if you liked it, but don't flame me.

ML