Chapter 8: Family


Stella breathes quietly to herself as the last brush of the comb reached down to the ends of her silky blonde hair. Taking a look at herself, she looked proper for the day. Stella nods and she places the brush down on the dressing table, taking a look around her room.

She felt that it may be too regal, perhaps it could do with more modern feels. The soft queen-sized golden-framed bed, the laminated wooden wardrobe, shelves, sky blue and white walls she painted herself; maybe a new coat should be due in a few months' time. She walks over to the shelves, eyeing a photo in a picture frame.

"...Sister..." she softly murmurs.

There she was, in the image in front of her eyes. It looked like she had a slight of a few years taken off her features; her hair was slightly shorter in there. Beside her, was a slightly taller female human bearing many similarities to her. The woman's hair was instead styled into a ponytail-like fashion. She had on a knee-length white dress that has a single lace sleeve surrounded by a black strap with an intricate design.

Stella's hand went over to the picture frame, gently touching the smooth surface with her fingers. "...It's been years, hasn't it? It's still rather hard to move on, but I know..." her voice spoke with softness. "Ever since... Heavensfall happened, you never returned..."

There was a long pause before Stella breathes again and smiles. "...But I'm doing alright. You know that I'm in the Organization, working alongside others to defend others and worlds around us. Perhaps... I will find the identity of our home along the way... I will never give up on that."

She parts her hand away from the picture. "...Well, I'd be off now. I shouldn't keep the others waiting. Maybe I could share more new things next time."

Stella then walked out of her room, entering the living room and recalling all the information gathered from the past few days. Shinryu has been slain, Omega has been slain. Just... what are they trying to do?

As she reaches the ground floor with the elevator doors opening, she sighed as she sees a small group huddled around someone small.

"...Vivi?" She approaches the group.

A small jump from the center before she could see the little Black Mage. "Oh, Ms. Stella." He greeted.

She looked at the other people gathered around him. "Did they have anything they wanted to inquire from you?"

"Nothing, they just wanted to spend some time with me since they want to have a little brother." He answered while he fixed his hat. "Since we are classmates."

"I see..." she nods, looking over at them. "...Well, it is nice to see that you keep in touch with them while working as well."

"Yeah, I need to since we all wanted to be as good as Mr. Ezperanda." Vivi agreed.

"Yes..." Stella nods, hearing Vivi's words.

"Where you'll be going today, Ms. Stella?" Vivi asked.

"Well..." she began. "I'm heading over to look at this world... it's... you could say, quite odd in a way."

"Okay." Vivi nodded. "See you later then."

She nods as she leaves Vivi alone, heading out of the building. Once she was outside, she looked at the world she was supposed to check out. "Hmm, alright..." the gist of the information was there. A world where mainly creatures inhabit and take on a... certain style of form. She heard that one of Locke and Celes's close friends, a Moogle named Mog, lived there after their own adventures.

She wondered about what to do for this mission. "I suppose I should visit it first." She muses to herself.


Stella looked at herself. At the white feathered wings she now had... on the sides of her body. There are also strong three-toed feet below her. Well, this species is called a chocobo, though in this world, she didn't have that long neck at all. Ultimately, having a cute appearance of a rather small proportion.

Well, in certain worlds, some of the world's effects could alter one's form. Right now, she now took on the regular inhabitant's form. A chocobo, a White Chocobo to be exact. Still, Stella looked at herself and thought of how cute this form was.

Those rather large pupils from her eyes that feel as if ready to glisten from the cute looks, well-styled feathers that look very simple yet having that cute form.

She looked ahead and knew that she had to start her work.

Tapping onto the lush greens, she began to move. Maybe there was a bit of difference travelling as a Chocobo. Probably the difference in walking onto these two rather strong feet for this body. She continued on a steady pace before finally running at a faster pace. She looked at how much different it was having a human body and a chocobo body.

Now getting a better hang of it, she could run over to her destination in no time. She jumped over the river and several trenches ahead of her. This kind of freedom...

It had the feels of speed, a walk to wherever the wind takes the Chocobos.

"...Ow..."

She heard something. Wait, someone?

"Talk about going on a solo mission today, a new world and suddenly, I'm stuck up here... and a bird? What is this..."

She looked up, towards a tree. There... was a Chocobo hanging upside down, stuck in several branches.

He was...wait... rather... familiar.

A regular-coloured Chocobo, a bit of having black on the feathers about his avian body. This was...Noct?

It wouldn't hurt to try. "...Noct?"

The Chocobo was alerted by her call, and just as he turns his head to look at her and open his beak... wood snapped. He yelps, hitting the ground headfirst.

Stella just remained watching as the Chocobo... struggled to get up. His feet kept struggling to stand, kicking dirt instead. He rolled around for several seconds whilst grumbling about not having hands or proper knees.

She sighed as she got her answer of the Chocobo's identity. She walks over and brought her wings forward to pull Noct up onto standing position. Looking at his head, he had a fair bruise on his forehead. Nothing a little Cure wouldn't fix.

"Cure."

He looked as he felt a gentle aura washed over him and shook when he felt something sting at his small bruises. The sting felt like a cotton of alcohol rubbed over them in a gentle manner. He watched as the bruises disappear before him.

"Ow... it's disappearing now..." he mumbles. "...Say, how did you know who I am?"

She lightly pecked his right wing, earning a raised brow from him. "Noct, it's me, Stella." He squawked. "That's you, Stella!?"

He blubbered for a while before speaking coherently. "This is... very awkward."

Stella nodded and gave him a pat. "Add that to the list of the many things you may need to get adjusted to." She quips.

He groaned, like a little brother...She was reminded that she didn't know his age yet.

"...Say, Noct." She questions. "How old are you?"

Noct crossed his wings. "I'm not that sure, but the screening told me I'm about 19 or so. And then again, I don't even remember anything else about my past.

"How about your month?"

"It said... July..."

She is older than him by some slight weeks.

"...Er, Stella? Could you stop patting my head?"

She laughed, a little brother like him. "Alright then." She moved her wing away from his head.

He mumbled for a while, touching his head.

"...Anyhow, I've gotta head over to the nearby settlement. Said that they want me to learn something... as they stated, beneficial in this world."

Stella nods. "Well... I'd feel you could head there on your own, but..."

Noct took two steps and fell forward.

"...Looks like you need to learn from scratch."

Noct groaned as he was to learn how to walk like a baby would learn how to. He looked back. His feet kept kicking behind him pathetically, as if taunting him.

He stared blankly at them. He knew that they were his own two feet but, all of a sudden in these first few minutes; they feel like entirely different feet and not his at all...

...He fell once again. He remained lying facefirst on the soil. He just... How is he supposed to do these? Breathing out, he tried again. Noct put his left leg to the side, scraping on the ground. Afterwards... He looked as Stella taught him to walk. He slowly did as what she told him.

"Left forward... right forward..."

He found the feet working well, better than what he was trying to do at all. He looked at Stella as she held his wing. She was helping him going though the ropes of being a chocobo in this world...

"I'm pretty sure I'm getting the hang of it..." he starts to say.

Stella nodded and released his wing. He continued to walk without some help, like a baby learning to walk and felt the same joy from it. With that, he was growing more confident in his walking, getting the footsteps and balance right... After taking one more step, he jumped with joy and chirped.

"I think I got it, Stella! Oh, uh..." His wing reached the back of his head, scratching it. "That... wasn't too odd, was it?"

Stella looked at him. He had such a habit of scratching the back of his head since the days she met him. Old habits die hard. No matter what form he took, always done that. "No, it was not. Don't worry, Noct."

Noct slowly nods. "Got it. Alright, now that I've got walking in check... Guess we may be going our ways to our tasks, so... see you back in Unita?"

Stella nodded with a smile with the limited facial expressions her avian face could muster. "Yes, we will see each other again after we're done. Good luck with your learning."

Noct nods and he turns to head off, kicking strongly to run over to the stated settlement. She watched as he disappeared into the distance and continued her way to her destination. She looks around as she stops around a mountainous area. Stella looked at the chasm in front of her right now. It would be impossible to cross over the massive gap for a normal chocobo leap.

However, she wasn't that sort of normal chocobo.

Stella shut her eyes and focused. Light gathered around her taloned feet. With a swift turn, she kicked off light over the chasm. After a few seconds, she flickers from the side she was at. At the other side, where light has landed, a white Chocobo reappears from the spot.

She looked over her rapier. Still had it even with her new form.

She weaved it in the air slightly while scanning her surroundings from the other side. There wasn't any detection around before she dismisses it. Coast was clear. She nods to herself and continues onwards. Haste is alright, but too much and it will be costly.

Looking at the map she was provided, she wondered when she'll arrive at this settlement and how many hours it would take her to get her with her own avian feet.

She will know for sure once she reaches that area. With that thought, she sets off with paced kicks.


Once she reached her destination, she looked around the area. The village looks alright, for one thing. The greeting of creatures familiar to many worlds, in rather similar form as to these chocobos here. Even those that are normally rather... ferocious in appearance, can somewhat appear cute.

She looked around some more to do her supposed task. She made her way on a few blocks until something catches her eye amidst the rocky areas.

"Hm?" She looks over at a small field of flowers, compared to everywhere else, it is the only visible vegetation grown here.

Something was affecting the vegetation of this area. Looking closer, this was the source of sustenance for the residences here. She needed to find the source as soon as possible so that the entire settlement wouldn't starve. There were families here.

Family...

Quietly, the only memories she... had of her family, was her elder sister's. She looked down. She reminisced the time she had with them. She remembered the time her elder sister brought her to look at flowers which some became her favourite.

She looked at the flower she always loved, recalling its name.

"They even grow helianthus here... or more commonly known, sunflowers." She looked at them.

They appear vibrant through all they could have gone through... Someone must have treated them well with care...

Need to find the way to save it. Never to let this beautiful flower wilt. Stella set off to find what was the cause of the land's soon-to-be-barren settlement.

As she paced a bit further, she notices the feeling. Something being... drawn over towards the village. And she knows what it is.

A Dulled nest and the type of Dulled was code Greed.

Fighting in this form will be a bit different, but she will manage.

She paced and observed the many treasure chests that are situated around in front of her. She knows otherwise what the 'treasures' are. She slowly paced towards the 'treasure chests', as if contemplating on opening them. So far, nothing. She nears one chest close to her, pretending she wanted to open it. With a minimal distance, she suddenly made a backstep and kicked a needle of light at the 'treasure chest', earning a frightful screech from it.

A Mimic, knew it. She watched as it sprung to life as the gems and gold inside its body flew about with sharp teeth along the edges. It glared at Stella with red sharp pupiless eyes.

It wasn't just one. She watched the other 'chests' come to life, revealing themselves with the cat out of the bag already, one being known as a stronger variant called an Rare Mimic.

She held her rapier close with her wing. They outnumber her but she knew that their intelligence was rather one-track of a mind. Only focusing on one thing and rather not even thinking of changing their tactics.

Outwitting them was easy and the only advantage they had over her was numbers.

Landing a good chocobo kick at the surface of one Mimic, she used the repelling force to jump over and kick off several needles of light in the air. As she lands, she stabs the nearby Mimic coming over at her direction.

She turned to the side and bent backward to evade a lunging Mimic and kicked it into another advancing Mimic. A group advanced at her, perfect timing, she readied a spell. "...Banishra!" After the forming of sigils, she waved and conjured four orbs of light around the group, each orb firing blasts towards the gathered Mimics.

It caused a magnificent explosion that it destroyed the formation the Mimics had to corner her. She needed to finish this as soon as possible.

"...The Rare Mimic is defending the Nest, if it's showing these signs..." She could see that differently coloured Mimic clack loudly, bouncing near the given spot where all that energy is leaking out from.

After a quick feint on one of the Mimics, Stella dashed and kicked a fragment of light across the area and quickly teleported to the location, closing the distance more and giving enough surprise to the nearby Mimics as they tried to register the occurrences.

She took the moment of confusion and her rapier glowed with light. "Lightspeed!" Stretching her wing out at the Rare Mimic, it is suddenly bombarded by increasing stabs despite the paced movement of the rapier being drawn back and thrust forward in appearance.

Stella then rose above the Rare Mimic before she dove down and stabbed it when it opened its' jaws, striking the core clean.

The Rare Mimic gurgled as it began to crumble apart. Stella looked over the nest. She knew that this was far from over. They will keep reproducing until the nest is destroyed. And knowing Dulled, they become more... motivated upon detecting prominent negative emotions.

She needed to use some kind of magic to destroy it. Good thing she always kept enough of the items needed to be able to use it.

Some of the remaining Mimics that are not disoriented from the loss of the Rare Mimic began to stomp their chest-shaped bodies over to Stella. However, they are already too late as she gathers magic at the tip of her rapier and swung, sending a concentrated blast of magic at the nest.

The magic sphere smashes into the nest, tearing out the foundation around it and also releasing several beams which then home onto and strike all of the remaining Mimics in the area, immediately tearing through their shell and disintegrating them.

With that done, Stella sighs as she calls out a Hi-Ether and gulped the entire liquid whole. That's the job done here. The village will be safe right now. She looked around for a few more seconds before she decided to look at the village here before leaving this world.

A family went out and played on the field. The children ran about and admired the flowers around the field. One looked at sunflowers.

Stella smiled softly to herself at the sight of the children able to enjoy these flowers during these times...


"Sister? What are these?"

She was squatting whilst looking at the flower fields in front of her.

"Sunflower, a large flower that require lots of sunlight and its seeds around the florets."

"It's... bright, and looks really nice..." Stella murmurs in response. "It's like... the sun."

"It is...Beautiful indeed."

"Sister?"

"Yes?"

"Is something wrong?"

"...What are you talking about?"

"You were... suddenly quiet just now..."

There was a slight pause before receiving a shake of the head in response. "It's nothing."


Stella never knew the reason behind that silence on that day, and she will never find out ever... With a shake of her head from that memory, she turned to head back to Unita.

"Miss?" A voice called out.

"Hm?" She turned around. It was a little Chocobo chick. She held a small crown of flowers and placed it on Stella's head.

"Thank you for destroying that creepy thing." She thanked. "Everyone was worried about when will they last but you saved everyone."

Stella looked at the flower crown ontop of her head, lightly touching it. She then looked down at the Chocobo chick and smiled. "It's alright. I'm just doing my job." She responded.

The chick nodded and headed back to the village with a happy smile. Stella then made her way back to the path she went through getting here.

The way back was uneventful and short. Within a few moments, she looked at her human form once again with the flower crown going down to her neck. Right, her head was larger in her Chocobo form compared to her human head. The flower crown was just as big.

She sighed softly, touching the flower crown. She'd have to do well to keep this as a heartfelt treasure of gratitude. She looked ahead.

This safe atmosphere to create for others to be able to live on peacefully... she will make ascertain to that they can feel that.


"This is really something, to battle in a different body, what do you think of your first battle in this kind of body?" A deep and menancing sounding voice asked, Noct turned to his companion he met along the way. A black-feathered Chocobo with some red feathers around the stomach and some parts of the wings and yellow eyes.

"Well, it's... something." Noct replies. "Really... wacky in a way, but once you got the hang of it... it's like your body is willing to move."

"Exciting, isn't it? To battle with these restrictions." The companion added with a hint of delight.

"Yeah, I guess. A pain from the very beginning, sure."

He sighed, who was his name again? Right, Diabolos Nightseer the Eidolon of Darkness. Of all the Eidolons there in Unita, it had to be him. He remembered about what Al told him about the Eidolons he was friends with. This Diabolos fellow...

"He enjoys a good match. If you ever meet him, he would..." Al began in his thoughts.

"Can we spar once you finished your mission?" Diabolos asked.

"Er, no thanks." Noct replies.

"...Then how about we spar now?" He asked.

"He thrills for battle and testing an ally's strength."

"...Pass on that, too. Need time to adjust and, you know. Get great hang of things." Noct tells Diabolos.

"...An hour after the mission then."

"You cannot escape his desire for a spar."

"...Alright."

...Why did it turn out like this? He looked at a distance to see a figure watching them. He blinked and that figure was gone.

"...Did you see that?" Noct quickly asks.

"Huh? What?" Diabolos asked.

"Someone... was just... there."

He wondered, who was that hooded figure? They weren't even a Chocobo, unaffected by the rules of entering this world. Who were they?

Diabolos didn't see anything at all, either...

Just who was that?