Nope. I don't own it.

I seem to have drifted from the original plot a bit. Ah well, I'm sure you'll manage. I think there's a bit of slash in this. Only if you squint, though.

Chapter 11

I sank to the ground, burying my head into my hands. I felt Phoenix crouch down next to me. She rested a hand on the bare skin of my arm and I felt a searing pain as it burnt under her fingers, then healed again. I tried to flinch away and she let me, tucking her hands into her lap. I drew in a ragged breath, trying to stem the tears.

'What the hell is wrong with me?' I thought desperately.

"First Angel...I am so very sorry" I turned back to her, eyes blurry "You should have been told earlier"

"Been told what?" I whispered bleakly. She shook her head.

"Never mind..." She sighed "Haukea, I need to speak to you" She looked over her shoulder to the ice eidolon in the shadows of the room. I could see Shiva flinch at the venom in Phoenix's voice. As she stood up and walked over to Shiva, I struggled to hear what they said. However, Phoenix glanced at me and whispered a spell under her breath. I was asleep in an instant.

Later

"I don't care!" I heard Phoenix screech as I awoke. I kept my eyes shut, trying to figure out what had happened.

"It's not my problem!" Shiva yelled back. I winced at the pitch of their voices.

"Why isn't it? You were sent to guide him! You were supposed to explain to him before he got attached!" I winced again. The heat in the room was unbearable and the fact I was in the room with two angry eidolons did not make it more comfortable. Shiva was silent, and Phoenix folded her arms and gave her a triumphant look.

"I'm a her" I muttered, barely audible. Phoenix heard and smirked, sending me an apologetic look. Shiva merely frowned.

"Why didn't you-"

"No" Phoenix interrupted her "Don't try to shift the blame Haukea. I wasn't allowed to do anything and you volunteered to do it"

"Well, I-"

"And don't say you made a mistake either!" Phoenix snapped. I blinked at her, wondering if she was physic as well as having no control over her power. The temperature of the room had sailed up once again.

"I wasn't going to" Shiva protested weakly. Phoenix scowled and raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"Maybe you should-" Phoenix was cut off when a thin beam of purple light shot down in front of her feet. A message in clearly printed Terran appeared (A.N: Think of Oh! My Goddess when God sends a message. Can't? Too bad). Phoenix crouched down and read it, re-read it, and read it again.

"I'm in trouble" She announced after several silent minutes stretched by.

"As per usual" Shiva added. Phoenix scowled at her.

"But so are you" Phoenix pointed at the third line down, looking smug. Shiva walked over, and then leaned down. She said the words softly to herself, and both Phoenix and I took several steps back, fearing the worst.

"I'm WHAT?!?" She screeched, and then turned to Phoenix "This is YOUR entire fault!"

"Don't blame me" Phoenix held up her hands "It's your fault for not doing something in the first place" She vanished in a cloud of ash and a small flaming bird landed on my shoulder.

"Can't manage anything bigger than that?" Shiva sneered.

"It's easier to keep an eye on both of you like this" Phoenix retorted, talons digging into my shoulder.

"Why do you need to keep an eye on me anyway?" Both me and Phoenix raised eyebrows (if a bird could do that) and she huffed and disappeared, returning to sulk in my mind.

"Child" The firebird huffed.

"What are you in trouble for?" I asked her. She ruffled her feathers in (what I imagine was) indignation.

"Coming down to try and make Haukea see sense"

"So..." I trailed off, waiting for her to finish.

"Once I get back I'll probably be detained"

"Couldn't you just not go back?" I supplied.

"And stay among mortals for the rest of eternity? You must be joking!" The disgust in her voice made me cringe.

"What's wrong with mortals?" I protested.

"You're weak" She retorted, and before I could reply Eiko burst into the room.

"The Invincible is in our sights!" She yelled. I cringed again, reaching up to cover my ears.

"Eiko...I'm right here" I mumbled. So blinked, and then blushed in embarrassment.

"So you are...we'll be able to land nearby, since the HG is really small and quiet but not too close...we'll have to enter the Invincible on foot" She chirped.

"So we...wait a minute, who's we?" I asked Eiko, who looked at me like I was insane, or stupid, or both.

"Me, you and Freya of course" She said.

"You are not coming with me" I said, poking her forehead. The not-quite woman scowled and smacked me with her flute.

"I'm not a little girl! Besides, you can't tell me what to do, and I have to make sure you rescue Zidane" She placed her hands on her hips and frowned at me.

"Why would I have come all this way if I wasn't going to rescue him" I swept out of the room, leaving her behind. I went out to the deck, shivering to the ever-cold air. Phoenix flapped her wings, the cold not affecting her.

"Come on!" Eiko called, jumping over the side and onto the ledge below. I saw the pilots shake their heads, being familiar with her behaviour. I stood on the railing, glancing around to check where she was. I noticed the 'rat' following her down. I shrugged and Phoenix took flight, sweeping down the mountainside after them. I jumped off the railing and (gracefully) missed the ledge. I slid down until I was finally able to reach flat ground, which, fortunately, was where the other two were.

"Very elegant, Kuja" Eiko drawled, and I straightened up and smiled at her.

"Thanks, I thought so too" I walked forward, trying not to stumble on loose rock.

The familiar purple hull of the Invincible came into sight, tucked in between the two mountains. I shivered when I saw the eye in the hull. I wondered whether I could still summon it or not, then decided I'd rather not know.

"Any ideas on how to get on?" Eiko whispered, which was loud enough to wake the dead.

"Nope" I leaned back and sighed.

"I suggest that one of us goes on and scopes it out, then the others follow" Freya suggested, eyeing the ship with apprehension. I nodded, and then looked around at the small party.

"I'll go" Phoenix volunteered "I'm smaller and faster then you" She added, taking flight and fluttering onto the ship. A tense few moments passed, and I let out a sigh of relief as a small red bird flapped out from the ship, changing into a humanoid form. She waved, signalling for us to come up.

"Come on" I climbed up the ladder, tail waving to keep my balance. On closer inspection, Phoenix was pale and her face was frozen in a shocked expression.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. She shook her head and grabbed my hand, pulling me along and into another room, which I rcognised immediately as a lab. I looked at Phoenix in confusion, but she shook her head again and pointed to a figure strapped against the wall, and when I looked I felt like my heart had been torn from my chest.

"Holy Alexander" I managed "Zidane"