DIFFERENT

CHAPTER 1: A NEW WORLD

"What is your name?"

"Melody."

Birds passed on the blue sky above. Birds? What are they for? They sound seem joyful. Is that the way they live and stay happy? Flying, singing, getting eaten? I heard someone talking about shooting them... shoot?

The Alexandrian soldier wrote something on a notebook and paused, hoping that the genome would say more than that, but nothing happened. She sighed, feeling awkward, and continued: "Well, thanks. I guess we checked them all." She left in a hurry, but Melody didn't bother looking after her.

Melody finally looked up, watching the birds in the tree. She felt so... empty, and unsafe. She was afraid. Afraid of the place she had ended up in, afraid of what had happened to her home... afraid what would happen to her.

"Melody?"

Startled she stared up at the genome that stood in front of her, and felt her heart beat wildly. Who did she think she was? Sneaking up on people like that?

I cannot live here, she thought, looking down again. I am afraid of my own kind!

"What is it?"

"Is something wrong?"

Yes, everything! I want to get back, back to where I belong. "No Mikoto, nothing is wrong."

"The soldiers are leaving," Mikoto said, "and the black mages has asked us to join them. They will show us the village."

Melody nodded and heard Mikoto leave. The Lindblum airships had helped the genomes in reaching their new home: the Black Mage Village. It was Zidane who got the idea. He was a genome like herself, and had lived here on Gaia almost his entire life. It was easy for him, but Melody was certain that this was not her home, and that it would never be her home.

"They said they would show me a... choco... chowe... chowono, or something like that."

Melody looked up and found that one of the younger genomes stood in front of her - a boy. His tail swung nervously from side to side.

"I thought that maybe you wanted to come?"

She shook her head. "Not now."

He shrugged and leaned a bit on the tip of his tail. "They told me that they are some kind of yellow birds... you know, feathered creatures. Only bigger."

"I am not coming."

"But..."

"NO!"

He jumped back, surprised, and stared at her. Then he turned and ran away, covering his face with his hands. Melody looked after him, shocked by her own reaction. She didn't mean to make him cry!

Filled with anger she stood up and kicked a stone with full force, scaring a flock of birds. She was so stupid. She was not the only one here scared, but she was the only one who did not try to fit in. She only made things worse for everyone else around her, made them cry.

"I hate you, Kuja!" she screamed, and the white birds took flight, filling the air with the sound of their wings. Melody ran away from the village and into the forest. But she did not get far as a hare suddenly surprised her. An owl howled, and another one answered its call. Huge, shiny eyes staring at her from the trees, and she backed away scared. What were these monsters?

"Don't be afraid," a voice said, and she spun around. Behind her a black mage stood, looking funny with his pointy hat and big yellow eyes.

Like the monsters, Melody thought. Family?

"It's owls, only birds," the mage explained. "This forest is full of them. They won't harm you, they usually sleep at day."

She did not answer, but watched the mage closely. It soon got uncomfortable under her stare and moved its feet nervously, looking down on the ground.

"Someone told me that you ran in here. I... I just thought that I would go get you before you got lost."

Still, Melody didn't say a word. After staring a while again she shook her head. The mage had no fault; she was only making him feel bad too. What was it that Mikoto had said? That the mages was created too, like the genomes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

It looked up again and seemed relieved even though it didn't have many facial expressions. Then it turned and pointed. "Just follow that path. It leads to the village... you okay alone?" It looked worried.

She nodded and kept herself from looking at the mage. Then it went back to the village, and Melody looked up at the trees. *A forest?* she thought. *And owls.*

"What is that?" a daring child asked.

"It is our mill," the mage answered proudly. "It helps us in many ways. It gives us water and... um... and..."

"We don't really need it though," another mage quickly continued. "We kind of... well, we don't eat much."

The first mage ran over to another house, opening the gate in the fence. "In here we keep our Chocobo. Our first Chocobo ever!"

Mikoto did not listen much as some of the more daring of the genomes went nearer to see what a Chocobo was. She closed her eyes and thought of Zidane. He got us here, she thought. And now we are left here without him. Her mind also fell on Melody, and her soul was filled with grief and doubt. Zidane... I wonder if you made the right choice. Maybe the genomes can't be saved...

Something - a sound - made Melody wake up from her slumber. She looked around surprised, and discovered that trees and owls surrounded her. She was close to panicking again when she remembered the mages' words: the owls won't hurt you... just follow the path... and the path still remained were it had been all this time.

She had not slept since the arrival on Gaia, and though the sound of the forest was unfamiliar to her, she had easily dozed off. She must have been tired enough that even the alien sound of owls oculd not disturb her sleep anymore.

Surprised she spun around as the sound came again: someone was screaming.

For a moment she hesitated. It could be anything between those trees, and she did not like leaving the path. Maybe it was nothing; she could just ignore it... There was another, shorter scream, and Melody closed her eyes, heart pounding in fear. Something inside of her head was buzzing, making her dizzy. It was someone from her own people, she felt it.*

No, I can not let them die! I can not ignore the danger because of my own selfishness! She opened her eyes, and ran in between the trees. Without noticing the sharp branches cutting her arms, she continued in the direction that she had heard the scream, and felt the genome. And soon she also heard what had attacked it.

Running up a fallen tree that leaned up against its healthier neighbour, she saw the grove beneath her, and the giant carve spider attacking the boy that she had met earlier. He was already caught in its sticky web, and only his right arm and some of his face still remained free. Without stopping or hesitating Melody jumped down from the dead tree, and down upon the giant spider. Shrieking in surprise, the spider jumped backwards, slicing out towards Melody with its long sharp claws. Forced to jump down, Melody landed flat on her stomach, and the spider ran forward to get its original prey. A shadow covered her as the spider stood above her, and she instinctively grabbed out to find a sharp branch nearby before rolling over on her back, thrusting the branch upwards. Warm, green, nasty goo flowed out from the screaming spiders stomach, over Melody's hand. She quickly rolled out from under the spider, as it collapsed, screaming higher and higher in pain.

In a painful rage the spider suddenly rushed forward to take its enemy with it. Melody jumped away in the last second, hearing the spider crash into the tree behind her as she rolled over a couple of times. With a big bleeding hole in its stomach, and a crushed head, the spider was finally dead.

Melody rose and brushed her clothes of as she watched the dead spider. Then she turned towards the trapped genome, removing as much as she could of the web. She managed to get his mouth free and he gasped for air. He fell in her arms, crying.

"No," she whispered. "Don't."

The web from his body was immediately stuck on her clothes, but she did not care.

"Come on, we have to get you washed. I am sure that the mages still want to show you their yellow bird."

END OF CHAPER 1

* Remember when Beatrix thought that Zidane and the others had died in the blast above the Lifa Tree? That was when Mikoto felt that Zidane still lived. Genome speciality!