Phoenix was walking along some walkways in Kefka's Tower. In several alcoves were empty tanks. Phoenix paused before one to study it. Her face twisted as vague memories came to her mind. They started off as gentle as one would expect. In those vague, foggy memories, she saw a lab of some sort. Tanks similar to the one she had been looking at were in that lab. What appeared to be embryos were in those tanks. The memories started getting more and more clear, causing a physical ache in the chimera's head. She was in one of those tanks but she was fully formed. A child, though. Her mind's eye raised a filly's hoof, pounding on the glass. A faint reflection of herself was in the glass. Her horns were stubs, having not fully grown in.
Phoenix's fuzzy memories bombarded her head, causing her head to dip down and her tail to rise. "Experiment...live birth...success...unicorn-based chimera." an echoing voice in her mind said. Phoenix's tail twitched and she stamped her hooves. "I am not an EXPERIMENT!" she yelled. Her eyes flew open and with a roar of rage, she lashed out and broke the tank she had been studying into shards of glass. She stood heaving over the destruction, her rage running its course, but she did not lash out again. Her ears were pinned back. Footsteps herald someone's approach and Phoenix sent her tail flying again, stopping it just short of the person's throat. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! It's me, Vaan!" said the boy.
Phoenix stared at him for a few seconds. Vaan was a young teen with tanned skin and light hair. He called himself a sky pirate, not that those things meant anything to Phoenix. The chimera took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She retracted her tail just as slowly and lowered it to rest position. Vaan stood up a bit straighter since seeing her tail fly caused him to take an unconscious step back. "Whew. That was close." he sighed before looking at Phoenix again. She had turned her gaze back to the broken tank. "You okay, Phoenix? I heard you yell, followed by a crash, so I came to see what was up." he explained. "I'm fine. Just remembered something from my past, if that was my past." Phoenix replied.
Vaan tilted his head curiously. "Really? What brought it on?" he asked, getting closer. Phoenix lifted a hoof and ground some glass down with it. "This place did. I was looking at this tank when images started filtering into my head. I saw myself in a tank like this one. I was a young filly. The reflection in the glass showed a young chimera whose horns were but stubs. A voice spoke of something about a live birth being a success. I heard the word 'experiment' in there as well. I got angry and I..." she trailed off. "You got angry and took it out on this tank, right?" asked Vaan. Phoenix nodded, looking saddened and troubled.
"How do I know if those memories were real? Am I really some experiment that some human decided to undertake?" she wondered. Vaan put his hands behind his head as he studied her. "Does it matter?" he asked back. She looked over at him. "The way I see it, it doesn't matter how you were made or where you came from. You're alive, aren't you? That's what counts." he said. Phoenix marveled. For one so young, Vaan had some insight. There were times where his youth would show but now wasn't one of those times. The chimera looked back down at the remnants of the tank she had destroyed.
"Still, looking around this place makes me wonder if I am really alive. True, I breathe, sleep, make conversation...but does that prove I'm alive?" she asked. "Look at the guy watching after Cosmos while we're fighting. He doesn't have a name, much less a past. He's not doubting his existence. You shouldn't either. All I care about is that you're here with us, not against us. You've helped us out in one way or another. I don't doubt your existence because I'm talking to you now. If you weren't real or alive, you wouldn't be having the doubts you are. Trust me on this." explained Vaan.
Phoenix was staring at him in a new light. She had come across him before on her journey but never paid him much thought. She had seen him as nothing more than a boy that had no business in this war. But now he was proving himself a good warrior, the more she saw him fight and again when he reminded her of the most important thing. "Thank you, Vaan." she said. Sliding his finger under his nose, the boy smiled. "Feeling better now?" he asked. "Much." she replied. "Great. How about you stick with me for a while? That way, if you ever feel doubts again, I'll be there to remind you of your existence." he suggested. Phoenix tilted her head as she thought about it. "Okay. I will. Even I have to admit that my path crosses with others." she said.
Vaan nodded and started heading off. Phoenix hung back and looked at the destroyed tank. "So what if I was a mere experiment. The experiment gave me life and I must live with that. With friends like Vaan at my side, I can keep moving forward." she thought. "Hey, Phoenix! You coming?" came Vaan's inquisitive call. Phoenix swung her head over to face him. "Coming." she said. She started walking forward, her hooves clinking on the metal walkway as she went to join her companion.