Hey there, I`m back! I don`t have much to say here, other than please rate and review if you happen to enjoy! *shameless begging* I`m very excited, I got a favorite and follow and the last chapter, and that`s kinda a big deal for me! Oh, and spoiler warning from here on out since we`re getting into the actual game. Well, that`s pretty much it!

**I don`t own DQ9! But I do own 2 copies of it... c: **
Phoenix was heavy. It was the first thing she noticed when she came to. Her limbs felt like lead, bogging her movements to a sluggish drag. Not that she had much movement. Her very being protested from the effort of sweeping her slender fingers across the purest white sheets that she was laying on. Phoenix thought about that word for a couple minutes. Sheets. That was what mortals put on beds, right? So was she in a bed? Celestrians had no need for things like sleep, so the concept was a bit foreign, but exciting all the same. Mortals were truly fascinating. Unable to sit up, she had no way of investigating her surroundings, even when she heard the aqueak of a door opening and the bustle of entry. When the intruder came close enough to walk directly into Phoenix`s view, she had to hold back an audible gasp. It was that villager girl she had seen before with Aquila! What was her name? Oh, right, Erinn! Erinn smiled cheerfully at Phoenix, so she smiled back, ignoring the painful pull in her cheeks.

"Hi there! I`m Erinn!" the young lady said. "You took quite a tumble down that waterfall! Why were you up there anyway? You look like more of a minstrel than an explorer!" When Phoenix found herself unable to respond due to the weakness of her voice, Erinn continued. "I`m just surprised you`re alive! You must have the guardians watching over you!" Phoenix could thank her semi-immortality for that. "So what`s your name?" The young mortal asked kindly.

"Phoenix-" The celestrian managed to croak out. Erinn`s eyes widened.

"That`s the name of- oh? Never mind, don`t worry. I`m being silly. Why don`t you rest?" At the word, Phoenix suddenly felt even heavier. She fell asleep in an instant, dreaming she was drowning in rose petals.

...
*one week later*

Phoenix was strolling around Angel Falls, enjoying the evening breeze. She had discovered the village shop, which held her undivided interest with all its baubles. She had quickly purchased a set of wayfarer`s clothes with her paltry sum of gold coins and was absolutely thrilled about how perfectly it matched her beloved bandana. She wanted a new weapon desperately, she had finally conceded that she was worthless with a sword, but she had no more gold coins, and there was no way Erinn would let her go fight monsters to earn some. Pondering her predicament, she walked by two boys whose conversation caught her attention.

"I'm telling you, it said Aqui- something before. It`s changed!"

"I dunno, Igor, it`s always said 'Phoenix' as long as I can remember." Phoenix looked at the guardian statue over which they were squabbling. It certainly didn`t look like her. Or even Aquila for that matter.

"Look," Igor said, making no attempts to whisper. "It`s that weird minstrel who`s turned up by Erinn`s place. Says her name`s Phoenix too, probably trying to get a free lunch or something acting like a guardian. At least she`s gotten rid of those ridiculous clothes." 'Why does everyone always have a problem with my clothes?' the celestrian thought irritably. "Of course Erinn ate that up, always on about guardians, isn`t she?"

"You sure you aren`t just jealous Erinn`s giving someone else more attention?"

"Shut up, you Wally!" Igor shouted clapping his hand over his friend`s mouth and glaring at Phoenix. Without a thought, the celestrian headed back to Erinn`s house, skipping as her pastel blue locks caught the light of a setting sun. Erinn coerced her into taking a nap, cooing about how quickly she had recovered and how tired she must be. Late that evening, as night was falling, Erinn came up to her room.

"Igor wants to talk to you, sorry, I can`t very well send him off, he knows you`re here, but it`ll only take a minute." Phoenix walked outside the house to where the blonde, well-built boy was standing.

"Hey, what you heard earlier, about Erinn, that`s not-" he snapped, cutting off. "I mean-there`s a favor I need to ask." Phoenix smiled despite the glare launched in her direction.

"Yep?" Igor looked surprised at her willingness, hesitating a bit before composing himself.

"Well, see, there`s this pass that connects Angel Falls to Stornway, but there was a landslide during that earthquake last week and now the pass is blocked. I figured everyone would be pretty impressed if I cleared it, but there`s monsters out there. I heard you minstrels are pretty handy in a scrap, so I thought you could tag along, be my bodyguard or whatever." Phoenix nodded.

"Okay!" Again Igor looked bewildered, but shook his head.

"Um-great! I`ll meet you by the town gate at noon tomorrow and we`ll go!"

...
**the next day**

Sneaking out from under Erinn`s watchful gaze, Phoenix left the gate with Igor. Immediately greeted by wide lush fields, she ran excitedly down the path towards the pass until they were attacked by 3 slimes, and the two humans pulled out a copper sword each. Phoenix awkwardly swung her sword with renewed passion, missing the slimes, yes, but missing them happily. Igor didn`t look thrilled with his choice of a bodyguard. Finally making it to the pass, something caught Phoenix`s eye. No way...a part of the golden train she had seen from the observatory was laying on the opposite fork of the road. Mouth agape, she only reluctantly went the other way after Igor started yelling. A pile of dirt did indeed cover the pass. Well, pile was a bit of an understatement. It was a small mountain of dirt.

"So, uh...where do we start?" Igor asked.

"Hello there! Anyone there from Angel Falls?" came a response.

"Oh, yes, I`m Igor, no doubt you`ve heard of me."

"Oh good! We`re soldiers from Stornway, sent here to clear this pass. If you could let your village know it`ll be clear soon, that would be excellent."

"No problem, you can count on Igor!"

"Oh, and one other thing, has a woman named Patty come there? She`s gone missing. People were saying she tried to go through the hexagon since the pass was closed."

"That can`t be true, the hexagon`s been overrun with monsters for years now. No one`s used it since the pass was built."

"Oh, alright then, well if you wouldn`t mind asking around about her, I`d be much obliged."

"No problemo!" And with that, they set off back to Angel Falls.

...

Igor took quite a scolding from his father when they got back, and Phoenix was delivered back into Erinn`s care.

"Silly of Igor to drag you off on an adventure like that… But, um, it was Patty that you mentioned before...? Where have I heard that name...?" Erinn snapped her fingers. "Oh! It was the name of one of my father`s friends! I do hope she didn`t want to come see him, she must not have known he`s passed away." She hesitated. "Phoenix, could you maybe-" she shook her head. "What am I thinking? I can`t ask you to do something that dangerous! I`m sure she`ll turn up when the pass gets cleared!" But Phoenix already had a plan.

...

The next day, Phoenix was back at the shop, trying to see what kind of weapon she could buy with the gold she made on her excursion yesterday. She was rather frustrated with her limitations. She had always wanted to be a martial artist. She would always look down at mortals to try and decide how she would live as one, and her favorite mortals to watch were the masters of agility and tension. She got quite a chastisement from Aquila when he found out she was trying to imitate a master named Brusque Lee. Just her luck she`d turn out to be a minstrel.

"Sir, which one of these can be used by a martial artist?" If she couldn`t be one, she would definitely fight like one.

"Well, I suppose some martial artists fight with fans." He said, pointing to one made of pretty pink feathers.

"I`ll take that one!" Phoenix said with a grin, handing him a bag of gold.

...

Deep inside the hexagon, Phoenix was optimistic. She hadn`t found Patty yet, but she had already reached level 4 and had found several useful items in the dungeon. Entering a crumbling doorway, Phoenix saw a purple haired figured tugging at her dress. It appeared that her leg was trapped under a pile of rubble. As she entered, the lady turned towards her, breaking into a smile.

"Aw, sweetie, have you come to rescue me? Didn`t think anyone would come down here. Wouldja' mind helpin' me out here before that dreadful beast comes back?" Making a move towards the woman, Phoenix suddenly felt the ground shake, THUD, THUD, THUD. Phoenix fell back in terror. There stood an enormous monster, at least 15 feet tall. Its mossy body revealed a cracked grin full of jagged teeth. Phoenix knew in a moment, for reasons unbeknownst to her, that it was a hexagoon. With a mighty roar, it began to charge at Patty. The celestrian couldn't allow that. Stifling her pounding heart, she fluttered her feather fan violently, whipping up a rain of flower petals, triggering her flower power ability. They engulfed the hexagoon rapidly, seeming to swallow its massive form. Bellowing and shaking its head, however, the beast dispelled the storm easily. Despite that, it had its intended effect. The hexagoon lowered its curved, cruel horns and charged at Phoenix. She swiftly and smoothly dodged, slamming the fan into the monster's side. It howled, jumping in rage, and sending down a hail of pointed rocks, barely managing to avoid getting trapped under one, Phoenix took some heavy damage. She quickly slashed her weapon across the beast's hide, noting with satisfaction that she was performing much more proficiently than with swords. A howl sounded from the hexagoon as it tackled Phoenix in a rage, scoring enough damage to bring her to dangerous injuries. Casting a quick heal spell, she whacked at the beast's forehead- and with a final blood curdling screech, it dissolved into light.

Third one down! Bit of a plot and dialogue dump though, sorry about that! Just a quick reminder, I'm working on chapter 4 this week, (should be up on Monday if I can keep managing the upload schedule on Mondays) and I want to at least introduce all the party members in that chapter. With that said, if you'd like me to put one of your characters in the main party, I'll probably need information about them in a couple days so I have time to time them in properly, as I'd like the main characters to all be together by chapter 5 at the latest. Two lovely people have already sent in a priest and thief, but I need a warrior for sure, and possibly a mage as well! Please rate and review if you enjoyed, and thanks so much for reading! See you next time I come back from the dead!