Hey, guys! Sorry it took so long! The ole creativity valve is busted... Anyhow... new character in this chapter, and you WILL need this link to read the chapter: http/ you will know not what anyone is saying...
In the Summoner's Shadow
Part II Chapter XI
Sonja walked into the shared room. Rufio, who was sitting on the couch reading a book, jumped up at her entrance and saluted to her. She saluted back, then sighed and fell into the armchair beside him.
"Something wrong, Lieutenant?"
"Is it that obvious?" she asked with a deep sigh. He nodded.
"Yeah, afraid so… by the way! If you haven't noticed yet, Ark and I have been working on our speech! Rye said you didn't like-"
"Who said that?" she glared. He blinked in surprise.
"Um… Rye?" He repeated. With a groan of anger and a glare of hate, she stormed out of the room and into the kitchen. The light was on, oddly enough… that always made her angry. She turned it off. Soon after that, she realized she needed it on, so sighed in frustration and turned the light back on again.
"We don't have anything alcoholic, do we?" She asked.
"No… and even if we did, you couldn't have any," spoke a voice. She shrugged.
"Ah, well…" She grabbed a glass and started to fill it with water, then paused and turned to where the voice had come from.
"Wait a minute…" she blinked and stared at the pantry door. Quietly walking over, she ripped the door from its half-open position on the hinges.
"Who are you?" she asked, staring at the man. A smile played on his lips and he shifted the box of cereal from one arm to the other, holding his hand out. His hands were gloved with thick leather, except for his fingertips and nails that were covered in dark colored oil and grime. Tucked under the ends of his gloves were maroon sleeves that joined to a long, white, button down lab-coat at the shoulders. Framing the man's face was thick, bouncy blonde hair that stuck up from his head in drooping spikes.
"Hi!" he greeted. "I'm Phenylalanine!" Sonja stared at him for a moment, then glanced down at his hand, shaking it rather sheepishly.
"Phen-a-la-li-la-li-who?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. He laughed.
"Phenylalanine! Don't worry; I get that a lot. You can just call me Phen, if you want."
She nodded. "Yeah, I just might… so… what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Oh! I see you've met Phen… he's the new recruit," Rye said, walking into the kitchen. Sonja turned from Phen and glared at Rye before walking out and heading to her room.
"What was that all about?" Phen asked, blinking and munching on the cereal. Rye chuckled a bit.
"We had a bit of a squabble a few days ago. She's still mad about it."
"Mind me asking what of? She seemed rather upset when she came in," Rufio asked as he walked into the kitchen and sat on the counter.
"Oh, she's just angry for, quote, destroying her only hopes at saving her father, close quote. I told her that no matter what she did, there was no way she could save Braska without one, revealing herself and her past and ultimately us to him, and two, killing Sin herself."
"Oh… she's so uptight about that… kind of makes me sad, though…" Rufio sighed and put his chin in his paw.
"Wait… her father is Lord Braska?" Phen choked on the cereal.
"Aye," Rye nodded. "The one and only."
"That's so cool! I know her mother!" he smiled. "She and I were sweethearts for a while, until her brother became jealous of my intelligence and forbade her from ever seeing me again…"
"Really? That's awesome…" Rufio smirked in amusement.
"And now I'm obeying the every beck and call of that beauty's creation…" Phen stared up at the ceiling as if thinking about something. "But wait… what is Yuna doing here? Things must have really gone bad after her mother's death for Braska, of all people, to allow his little girl to become an assassin…"
"Yuna? Who's that?" Ark asked, strolling to the pantry. He looked down at the floor when he realized he was stepping on the door, but shrugged and looked for something to eat.
"Never heard of any Yuna… no… wait… isn't that the name of Sonja's sister that she always talks about?" Rufio thought for a moment.
"Oh, yeah! I knew that! Tee-hee!" Ark giggled for half a second, then shrugged off his hunger and turned to face the others.
"Wait, so that's not Yuna in there? Odd… could have sworn that was the name of Braska's daughter…" Phen tapped his head. "At least, that's what her mother's frequent letters told me."
"Well, he had two as far as I know. Sonja and Yuna…" Rye mumbled, leaning against the counter.
"I never knew that…" Phen blinked.
"What a bunch of low lives… if you're gonna talk about me, make sure I'm around for it!" Sonja shouted at them, standing in the doorway.
"Pardon us, Lieutenant…" Ark bowed respectfully.
"Rye. Out. Now. Ark. Rufio. SkahZev is currently gray, and not his usual color of bluish silver. Fix it. Phen-a-whoever. My room. Now." She closed her eyes and turned, walking to her room.
"Wow… demanding…" Phen blinked. Rye nodded.
"Indeed…"
"She's a Summoner's daughter, of course she's demanding!" Rufio joked. He then whistled a few times. "SkahZev! Bath time!"
"See you boys later…" Rye sighed and left the apartment. Phen sighed and walked to Sonja's room. He opened the door and saw her sitting on her bed, staring at something. He couldn't see what it was.
"You wanted to see me, madam?" he asked. She looked up.
"Meaidahyhd."
"Pardon?" he asked.
"Oui femm navan du sa yc ouin Meaidahyhd," she told him. He blinked. Ah, yes… Al Bhed… with a smirk, he responded in his mother tongue.
"Oh, E raynt oui uh dryd… ed zicd cinbnecat sa dryd oui cbuga so myhkiyka …"
"Ruf luimt E hud, knufehk ib eh dra rusa uv Lord Braska?" she asked. "Bmayca, ryja y cayd."
He nodded and did so.
"Cunno… Ech'd ouin hysa Yuna?" he asked. She glared at him and barked in her native language.
"That would be my sister. Do NOT get us mixed up."
He nodded. "Right. Sorry."
"Cu, fro ryja oui zuehat dra Yccycceh'c Kiemt?" she asked after a moment of calming down.
"Well," he began with a sigh. "Ed geht uv ryc du taym fedr oui. Ouin ahdena vyimd!"
"Ruf cu?"
"E fyc aqemat vnus dra ahdena Ym Prat meddma vysemo knuib drehko, tuh'd ghuf fryd oui't lymm ed, ralg, fa tuh'd ghuf fryd FA lymm ed, pid E fyc aqemat vnus ed dryhgc du Let, ouin ihlma, fru palysa zaymuic uv so sahdym ypemedeac yht druikrd E syta res muug pyt, cu teth'd fyhd sa ynuiht yhosuna cehla E lrymmahkat rec bmyla yc maytan!"
Sonja stared at the man before her. If his way of speaking entire paragraphs in a single breath wasn't odd enough, his feet were enveloped in…
"Fuzzy pink bunny slippers?" she muttered to herself. Phen looked down.
"Oh, yeah! They're real comfortable!" he smiled. Two antennae protruding from his forehead bounced around as he tilted his head to the side and smirked broadly while closing his eyes.
"Pid, pycelymmo, frah ra raynt dryd ouin sudran ryt nih uvv yht kuddah synneat yht fyc cuuh yvdan bnakhyda, ra druikrd E ryt tuha ed yht ed fyc ymm so vyimd yht aqemat sa yht E ryt hu frana du ku. E'ja paah fungehk pylgcdyka vun y muhk desa rana, pid zicd nalahdmo drao taletat du cdelg sa fedr oui! Esykeha, sa fedr dra makahtyno yccycceh! Ajanouha eh dra ahdena kiemt ghufc fru oui yna yht drao'na ymm clynat uv oui!" He continued. She held her hand out to stop him.
"Yeah, yeah. That's nice… but… might I ask about those?" she nodded towards him. He blinked.
"Ask about what?" he tilted his head to the other side.
"Ask about what! Ask about that!" she reached up and flicked one of the antennae. He screamed suddenly and stepped back, turning his head away from her.
"HU DUILREA!" He told her, swiping at her hand.
"Well, what are they?" she asked, staring at him.
"They're hypersensitive nervous receptors. Basically, what they do, is heighten my senses." He told her. She stared at him.
"Why?" she asked.
"Well, the thing is, I was born without three of the five senses, and when I was very young, I was deafened by an explosion and blinded by a disease. During that time, though, I was able to learn a lot of stuff, and apparently, it was enough data to design, build, and install these. They gave me the ability to feel, hear, smell, see, and taste."
"And you said you installed them yourself?" she asked. "How did you do that?"
"Drilled through my skull and connected sensitive wires into the parts of my brain that controlled the senses. Pain was the last receptor I installed. Kind of smart, huh?" he smiled. She nodded.
"You are one crazy Al Bhed…"
"Mad Scientist at your service! Emphasis on Mad!" he smiled and saluted so hard against his fore head that his goggles fell down around his neck. He shrugged and left them there.
She smiled. "Right. So, what exactly could you contribute to this organization? You don't seem athletic enough to go out and kill someone…"
"Aha! You see, that's the thing! I'm not! I'll show you how to do this!" He pulled her out of her room and into the living room, where he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small grey box. He smiled and pressed a black button on the side. He then threw it at the wall. A door appeared on the wall, followed by a loud roar and a strong rumble. When the earthquake like tremor stopped, he opened the door and pulled her into a new room she never knew was there.
"What the?" she asked, looking around.
It was a large, rectangular room with about twelve feet between the floor and the lofts that hung over head. The entire bottom floor was nothing but a computer. The only light in the entire place was from a small lamp that hung over a corner under a desk on the loft above. Everything else was illuminated by the cerulean glow of the computer screen and the pea green flicker that came from the power indicator of the scanner/printer/copier/coffee maker/can opener/ stereo system.
Everything was covered in papers, some crinkled, some strait, some in manila folders and other in accordion files almost as tall as Sonja herself. Several piles of papers had fallen over and some were leaning in that direction… literally. Sonja yelped and jumped to the side when one almost fell on her. This place was anything but organized. The wall with the door was nothing but a huge file cabinet with two rows of five file drawers missing to make room for the door. Five file drawers supported a long wooden plank that had a pillow and a blanket thrown over it. Two files over, another drawer hung out, this one containing two pairs of goggles, one red and the other blue, and a remote controller big enough to be effectively used as a weapon, especially if hurled across the room at an intruder, who undoubtedly would be lost amongst the forest of paper piles and swamps of random notes, stick'ems, envelopes, discarded letters, unpaid bills and laughed-at flames from Cid. Three pieces of duct tape on the back and side confirmed that her idea had been used once, if not more.
Next to the computer monitor, nailed to the wall, was a polished redwood picture board carved with delicacy. Posted onto it were several hundreds of letters, all from the same woman. Sonja walked over to it and put her hand on one of the letters.
Tayn Phen…Fa'ja tuha ed. Pnycgy yht E vehymmo kud dra luinyka yht nyh uvv dukadran. Eh dfu tyoc, fa femm pa synneat. Pnudran fuh'd pa duu rybbo ypuid dryd, E lyh kiynyhdaa. Oui ghuf fryd, druikr? Ra'mm kad ujan ed. E bnuseca res. Oui ghuf, E nydran fecr ed fana oui E's nihhehk yfyo fedr, pid… E tuh'd ghuf. Dra funmt ec kuehk du ryja ahuikr dnuipma lubehk fedr yh Ym Prat/Oajuheda synneyka. E tuh'd ghuf ruf drao fuimt luba fedr y… famm, y Oui/yhouha synneyka. Hud du pa uvvahceja yht oui ghuf E't hajan syga vih uv oui. E ymnayto tet ahuikr uv dryd eh dra umt tyoc. Famm, Pnycgy cahtc rec knaadehkc! Ra cyoc du ehjeda oui du uin fattehk, pid E ghuf oui fuh'd pa ypma du lusa. Hud dryd oui fuimt. Oui'na duu cgeddecr yc du fryd baubma femm drehg uv ouin ryhtelybc! Kad ujan ed! E lussyht oui! Huf! Tu ed! Ry-ry! Zicd gettehk, ymdruikr oui tu haat du ujanlusa dryd vayn. Haqd desa E fneda, E'mm pa Secc Pnycgy! E's cu rybbo! E't paddan ku pavuna E cdynd nyhdehk uh yht uh ypuid res. Dymg du oui mydan! Muja oy! Poa!
Cekhat, Oui ghuf fru!
"That's from…" Sonja gasped and stroked it.
"Your mother… that's right… here's this one…" he sighed, pulled one down from the board, and handed it to her.
Hey, Phenalalalalalanine! Kuut hafc! Pnudran "vunkejac sa vun paehk cu cdibet" yht ryc ehjedat sa du lusa pylg vun y meddma frema! Dryd'c kuut. E nydran haat y pnayg vnus Oihy yht Pnycgy. Druca faentuac yna tnejehk sa lnywo! Syopa oui cruimt lusa cbaht cusa desa rana. Drao sekrd tneja oui hunsym! Ur, huf, fryd vih fuimt dryd pa, nekrd? Caneuicmo, druikr, oui tu haat du lusa ujan, un fa haat du ku du ouin bmyla vun y frema. E ryjah'd caah oui eh vunajan! E secc oui cu silr! Oui sekrd hud pa so uha dnia muja, pid oui yna mega so ufh meddma pnudran! Cbaygehk uv pnudranc, E tu haat du ku bylg so pykc. Dra creb E's mayjehk uh ec cibbucat du mayja bund eh y vaf ruinc. E'mm fneda frah E kad drana! Muja oy!
Poa! Cekhat, Sa!
"Wha…" Sonja read it and blinked.
"That was the last letter I ever received from her… six hours later, she died." He lowered his head and sighed sadly. Sonja sighed and handed the letter back.
"I see… so, you knew my mother?" she asked and looked up at him.
"Obviously," he told her. She sighed.
"You knew Daddy too?" she asked, sitting in the spinning chair. He nodded.
"Yeah. Funny thing about Braska and I… we both loved your mother so much, but neither of us seemed jealous of the other, and at least, I didn't feel jealous of him, and he never showed signs of hostility towards me. We just… met one day and became fast friends. Actually, I helped him pull a few tricks on your uncle!" he laughed. Sonja smirked slightly.
"Funny… I don't remember Daddy mentioning anything about a crazy, hyper-whatevered Al Bhed mad scientist…" Sonja tilted her head to the side.
"I'm not really all that exciting…" he scoffed. After a few moments of both of them silent as the grave, Sonja looked up.
"So, um… how exactly is it that you take care of your assignments without leaving?" she asked. He sighed.
"Well, as soon as I get one I'll show you. I really don't want to kill any innocent person… you know the guild's outlook on that…"
"Yes, just as bad as terminating an assignment, but you said you'd show me!" she reminded him.
"Rumo csugac, fusyh! I'll show you when I get an assignment! Besides, the Generals already warned me several times about my satellite lasers and I was suspended for a little while because I was testing them and took out a few people…"
"Wait… satellite lasers!" she gaped. He smiled and nodded.
"Yep! I can see exactly what any one person is doing at any time in any place, and I can hear exactly what they're saying and who's saying what to them, and where they're going and what they're doing and who they're seeing and then when I get bored with them, I can shoot a nanoscopic laser at them and fry their brain in a quarter of a second from a laser up in space."
"Nanoscopic?" she asked. "Is that even a word?"
"No… well, now it is… it's something that I've developed. Basically, I use it to describe things that are so microscopic that microscopic finds it microscopic!"
She stared at him and his goofy smile, then sighed and held her hand out.
"Welcome aboard, Phenalooloo!" he took her hand and shook it.
"You have the same pronunciation problem as your mother! I think I'm gonna like this!" he then stopped and blinked. "Wait, being Lord Braska's daughter, aren't you kind of don't know… religious? Pious, I guess the word would be?"
"Well, I'm religious, but I'm not devout about it… the whole Teachings ordeal confuses me, and I can't really grasp onto it as a firm foundation of faith yet…"
"Hrm… you know, you're really mature for someone your age… I'm pretty sure I'm gonna like working with you!" he patted her shoulder and then pushed her out of his lab.
"Now don't come in here! You'll get lost! Must go to work! You know, people to find, things to hear, stuff to zap! Okay, love ya, bye bye!" He waved and the door to his lab slammed shut. Sonja stared at it for a while, and then decided a nap would be nice.
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