Disclaimer: Namco pwns it all!

A/N: Here's the second chapter, finally. I'm sorry it took me so long to post it. I had a very busy summer and then when I got back, my computer crashed. Well, enough with excuses, here's the second chapter! I'll be editing chapter one soon for some of you that cared to critique it.

Chapter Two

A New Home

The trek to Meltokio was uneventful. Reid had, apparently, not told Vharley anything of Miyuki's attempted escape. In fact, Vharley seemed to paying her as little attention as possible.

Reid, on the other hand, was doing anything but ignore her. He watched her while they walked, for a time, but then attempted a conversation. "Hey, Miyuki." he began, casually walking next to her. "See that, over there." He pointed ahead of them to a mound in the distance. "That's Meltokio, the Imperial city." He said proudly, as if he owned it.

Miyuki looked where Reid was pointing, but she didn't understand why he was so thrilled. From where she was, it just looked like a small speck in her vision. She tilted her head to one side and looked at him, quizzically.

Seeing the look on her face, Reid proceeded to explain. "It's the largest city in Tethe'alla! The King, the Pope, and the Chosen all live there!"

Miyuki looked at the place darkly, thinking of the things that the pope had done, or the things that were done in his name, to her life.

The two walked in silence for a short while, watching the city become larger as they approached it.

Miyuki and Reid said nothing more to each other until they reached the city gates. Vharley had the other half elves come with him to a camp outside the city, where some extra guards would join them before backtracking to Sybak, and Reid led Miyuki into Meltokio.

Now that she was inside, Miyuki understood Reid's enthusiasm while speaking of the place. It was much larger than she had imagined and there were many people bustling about the streets. Miyuki's jaw dropped at the sight of so many shops and she let out a small gasp as her eyes took in the sight before her.

"This is just the lover level." Reid grinned at her obvious astonishment

"There's more?" she asked amazed, completely forgetting her fear of people.

"Yup, there's three more, but you won't get to see them today, maybe never." He sighed "You'll be working the research laboratory, follow me." And he led her down the street until they reached a large white building. "This is the laboratory. It's where my-"

A pink blur entered into Miyuki's vision and slammed into Reid, cutting off his sentence.

"Kohanna!" Reid gasped, clutching his stomach

A Pink haired girl stood with her back to Miyuki, looking at Reid, hands on her hips. "You didn't come back in time for my birthday!" She pouted.

Reid looked puzzled "Kohanna, your birthday's in March."

"Your point?" The girl asked

"It's October."

"So? You still missed it! You've been gone since last December!"

Reid ignored her and turned to Miyuki. "This is my sister, Kohanna."

The girl turned around and flashed Miyuki a smile. She had bright, happy blue eyes and wore a white lab coat. She looked about ten years old to Miyuki and why such a young girl was working here, at a laboratory, Miyuki didn't know.

"I thought you said that I was the only woman in your life!" Kohanna teased and then winked at Miyuki.

"You are, sadly." Reid frowned "anyway, Miyuki's here to help with Project Corrine." He explained.

Kohanna raised her eyebrows at him and then took Miyuki's hand and pulled her into the building.

Miyuki, who was very confused, asked "Reid's your older brother, right?"

"Yeah, he's sixteen. We have a sister too who's half elf like me. According to Reid's calculations, she should be about thirteen or fourteen by now."

Remembering what Reid had told her before; Miyuki opened her mouth to ask but then clamped it shut. It was not her place to pry into other people's lives.

"You're working on PC too, huh?" asked Kohanna, changing the subject. Miyuki looked puzzled and Kohanna explained, "PC. That's what we call Project Corrine."

Miyuki had head about Project Corrine before from both Reid and Vharley but she had yet to learn what it entailed. "What, exactly, is PC?" she asked, voicing her thoughts.

"You don't know?" Kohanna looked amazed "Well, we're trying to create a summon spirit with our technology but we've never gotten anything solid, or anything real in the passed year we've been working on it." She shrugged. "Anyway, there are a bunch of us in groups all trying for the same thing. Our latest member quite after three days on the job, thank Martel! He was such a know-it-all." She gestured with her hand and said "You can stay in our dorm tonight. There's an extra bunk." And she waved her through a door behind he desk in the entrance room.

When the two girls finally made it to the end of the hallway, Kohanna opened a wooden door and pushed Miyuki through it.

Entereing into a small room with two sets of double bunks, Miyuki saw two other girls, about her age, in the room, both wearing white lab coats, like Kohanna. One, with dark green hair piled on her head and glasses, lay on her stomach, propped on her elbows, on one of the top bunks, staring up at the ceiling. The other, with shoulder length lavender hair, sat on a bottom bunk reading a book titled Summon Spirit Science.

"Hey, guys!" Kohanna called to them.

The two girls trned around to look at Miyuki and the one who was reading pushed her glasses up on her nose "Hey, Kohanna," she smiled "who's the new one?"

"Oh, this is Miyuki. She's new at the lab, so she's up for grabs, I guess." Kohanna explained to her friends. Miyuki didn't quite understand what Kohanna meant by up for grabs but the others seamed to.

"Don't let PC3 know about her or they'll make sure we don't get her." The green haired girl warned then adding to Miyuki, "By the way, I'm Kate."

"I'm Emma!" The other girl introduced herself, getting up, hand outstretched.

Shaking it, Miyuki heard a voice behind her "It's nice to see you're making friends." She turned to see Reid, carrying her bag, which she had forgotten by the front of the building.

Friends. Miyuki pondered the word. Could I really make friends here? Real friends?

Bringing the attention back on herself, Kohanna tugged on Miyuki's arm. "You can have the other top bunk!" and then she dragged Reid out of the room for what she called a heart to heart conversation between siblings. And what He called a lecture from a ten year old.

Once outside of the secret entrance to the rooms, Kohanna whined "Reid, why are you always gone for so long?"

It's my work. You know I don't know how long I'll be gone." He responded, sighing. "Oh, sorry I missed your birthday." He reached inside a pocket in his coat and pulled out a golden chain, a small, pink flower pendant hanging from in, and handed it to his sister.

Clasping it around her neck, Kohanna said, "You didn't have to. Besides, you brought Miyuki here. That's a gift in itself. She may be able to help us complete PC."

"Well, that's good. At least my trip wasn't for nothing, although I'd hoped to find a lead on our other sister." Reid shrugged and then mumbled "There's something about her…"

"Are you sure I'm not the only woman in your life?" Kohanna laughed, elbowing him.

Kate set down her book and looked over at Miyuki. "So, you're a Summon Spirit researcher, right?" She looked slightly worried.

"Or a technology expert?" Emma asked, seaming to dread the answer.

"No!" Miyuki exclaimed. "I know next to nothing about technology! I'd be afraid that I'd blow something up if I touch anything." She looked slightly alarmed by the other girl's assumptions. "As for a researcher, well, I wouldn't go so far as to call it that." She shook her head. Despite having lived by the temple of ice, where Celsius was supposed to dwell, She knew nothing more than what her mother had told her when she was young.

"Then why are you here?" Emma looked puzzled.

"I don't really know." Miyuki confessed.

"You mean you didn't volunteer for the job?" Kate asked, astounded.

"Volunteer? Why would I do that?" Miyuki could not believe that anyone would give up a home and their family for a job.

"The reward, of course!" Emma sighed.

"10,000 gald for each group member to spend as they please." Kate groaned with longing.

"It's the closest any of us will ever get to freedom." Said Kohanna who had re-entered the room, without Reid.

Miyuki did not reply as she climbed up onto her bunk but she though about Freedom. I was free. She thought, wasn't I? Or perhaps freedom is different. And when she thought about the word, hiding from humans and civilization didn't quite come to mind.