NOTE: I recommend listening to the song, Daddy's Got the Blues from the FINAL FANTASY XIII Original Soundtrack. Helps to set the mood. I also listened to it while I wrote. Please enjoy and review.

Daddy's Got the Blues

Sazh wiped the sweat from his brow and fastened his pilot's guns to a belt that was above his knee. Sighing, Sazh did a quick healing session and sat down, getting comfortable in the slightly damp soil. A familiar chirp sounded and Sazh's Chocobo chick emerged from his dark afro and landed in his palm.

"I've said this to you before, but, Chocobo, we just can't catch a break, can we?" Sazh said, and gently patted the little bird's head.

The bird chirped in agreement and flew off to join the other Chocobo residents of the Font of Namva. The damp air was refreshing after Sazh's long fight with a group of pesky Sahagins. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the group had vowed to explore less dangerous areas of the Archylte Steppe. Snow had headed off to the Eastern Tors, Lightning to the Faultwarrens, Fang to the Northern Highplain, and Hope and Vanille had gone to explore the Yaschas Massif, where two l'Cie stood a better chance of surviving than one.

"And I got stuck with the Font of Namva, where Fang or Vanille forgot to mention that it was full of Sahagins!" Sazh muttered, though he really wasn't all that mad, especially since he had fought the monsters with the help of his Eidolon.

The Font of Namva was a beautiful area cut out of the Steppe, where most of Pulse's Chocobos made their homes. Small waterfalls, vibrant flowers, small ponds full of bright fish, and a cool lake only added to the tranquility. Sazh had to admit, the Font of Namva was by far the prettiest place he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot in the last couple of weeks.

Sazh watched his long-time companion playing with the other Chocobos. As Sazh watched, he was saddened at the thought that Dajh would never be able to see these Chocobos. Dajh was crystallized and the PSICOM now kept him hostage, though Sazh now knew better than to try to go after his son. There are some things in Life that you wait on.

"Things like these," Sazh whispered as the chick came flying back, black eyes glittering and golden feathers ruffled.

Suddenly, the Chocobo chick began to peck Sazh on the nose until finally Sazh was forced to gently swat his bird away. He held his aching nose and glared at the bird, wishing he could toss a quick Fire spell at him for his antics.

"I'm not giving up again. Never," Sazh reassured the now satisfied bird.

Then, Sazh peered behind the chick and saw Cocoon floating loftily in the air, fearing nothing. The task that lay ahead would be difficult. The journey to their last stand would be long and difficult, too. If Sazh didn't have a son to look forward to freeing from crystal stasis, he would have given up long ago. On that fateful day when he learned Vanille had caused his son to become a l'Cie, he had been on the brink of despair, loneliness, lost hope, and almost suicide. When he remembered that Dajh was still alive, he had stood stout and put the gun down, along with his fears.

No. Sazh would never give up. Even if that meant it killed him, he wouldn't give up.

"Oh, Cocoon. If only you knew that Pulse was this good. If only you knew…" Sazh said, peering at the planet in the pale blue sky.

The chick chirped and Sazh turned his attention back to it. It chirped three times, and somehow Sazh understood the bird.

"Kweh, kweh, kweh!"

"I'm alright, little guy. Just troubled," Sazh said, thoughtful. "All of this l'Cie mess is a lot to handle, little chick. Even with my years on me, I still don't know what'll become of us."

The Chocobo chick made himself comfortable in Sazh's afro, even as Sazh winced at a small claw that scraped his skull. Then, Sazh was left to deal with his troubles. Sazh felt old and weary, ready to just be able to rest without having to deal with the threat of an enemy.

In the end though, Sazh would be all right. Sazh, though he mourned for his son, would be all right, and save his little boy. Before he drifted off to sleep, he spoke one last time.

"I guess daddy's got the blues, little bird."

.:END:.

A Pulsian Chronicle