Missing Ronso? The New Lhinx

Tallulah stood up and walked towards her bag. There she found her lovely kimono, the clothing she liked the most. Making sure nobody could see inside the room, she took it out of the bag along with a bra and pink panties. Tallulah tossed this on the bed and got undressed, her body a little marked from the tight, skimpy suit she was wearing. Being naked for a minute she relaxed, stretched and yawned, then put her clothes on. Once dressed, she took her staff and walked out of the room. Most people were now gone to rest, just but a few remained— those were the ones she had to heal now. However, a doctor suddenly ran up to her.

"Lady Tallulah!" he said, trying to catch his breath. "A Demon attacked some Yevon guards! Most of them are badly injured, and two are dead! Please, we need you to Send the goners and heal those who still have a chance."

"A Demon? Don't tell me it was a Tiger Demon...," she said, surprised, suddenly taken aback by fear.

"Yes! The Yevon Guard Captain in Luca says that this Demon wanted to kidnap Lady Serenity and the guards just were trying to protect her!"

"Lies! This Demon is my friend, and Lady Serenity is with him!" Tallulah found herself quite surprised as she was defending both Silver and Serenity... accepting they were together... but only for now. Silver belonged to her and not even Lady Yuna's daughter would take him away from her.

"That can't be!" the doctor replied and Tallulah had to suppress the impulse of smacking him with her staff.

"The Yevonites surely attacked him first! In fact, I believe Yevon is, for some reason, behind the chlorine spill too! Don't go blaming my friend for that!"

"Arrest her!" a creepy voice from behind commanded. "Lady Tallulah is a traitor to Yevon and together with the Demon!"

Tallulah's eyes widened as the butt of a rifle smacked her on the back of her head, and she fell into slumber once again.

Lhinx nodded to Silver and began the trek up the stairs toward the room Silver had specified. As they left the lobby, Lhinx noticed two men eyeing her, a bald fishermen and a rather skinny man.

(What's their problem?) Lhinx wondered. She shook it off and made it to the room, laying Serenity down gently. (You were attacked concerning the chlorine incident,) Lhinx thought.

"What attackers look like?" Lhinx asked Serenity.

"Now's our chance. The Ronso's practically alone," the bald fisherman said in a low voice with a rather broad grin.

"Yeah, and with this little baby she'll be easy to take down," the thinner of the two said while holding up a device that looked much like a dog whistle.

"What does it do?" the bald man asked.

"I just blow it and it makes a very high pitched noise. Humans can't hear it, but creatures with exceptional hearing can. It's rather loud and is able to bring even the mightiest Ronso warrior to its knees." The skinny man twiddled it in his bony fingers. "Got it in Guadosalam. Said it was used by a wandering Guado to ward off any Ronso who attacked back in the days of Vegnagun."

"Ha ha, brilliant." The bald man clapped his companion on the back. "Now let's go." The two began up the stairs, when a female worker carrying a bundle of towels stood in front of them.

"And just what are you two doing?" the woman asked.

"Oh, we saw Lady Serenity injured and wished to give her our regards. Might you know where her room is?" the skinny man asked.

"Oh, why certainly." The woman gave the two the room number. "Please wish her well for me."

"Of course, and thank you very much, madam," the bald man said and the two walked up quite casually.

Serenity let out a sigh of relief as Lhinx laid her down, her body thoroughly ecstatic to be able to relax, especially against something so soft. However, that was short-lived as Serenity sat up with a groan. She held onto the side of her head as if she had a headache— which wasn't completely false, however, it was because she was trying to remember.

"Guards…lots of armed guards…" Serenity narrowed her eyes slightly, thinking harder. "There was this girl, too…with a tube top and skirt…She looked young, too. I wonder why she was with them. The man we saw earlier, the one who spilled the chlorine…he was there also. But…I think they were after him. I…don't know if he is still alive."

Serenity looked up at Lhinx somewhat hopefully, before plopping back down, completely exhausted. "That's all I can remember. All this gave us was injuries and more questions…Did you guys learn anything?"

Silver smiled at Lhinx and walked out of the inn. He sure felt tired, but he wouldn't complain about it. It wasn't the time for one like him to rest; after all, he wasn't a human and he was a lot stronger than they were. He suddenly found himself running, the desire to get the entire group safe and sound at the inn making his weary legs move faster.

And the desire to finally be free...

You talking for the two of us, partner...

As he got closer, he encountered a large crew of people reunited near the clinic, most of them yelling in angry voices at someone.

"Let her go!" one shouted.

"She is innocent! Leave her alone!" another one added.

"Quiet! In the name of Yevon, this woman must be punished. She joined with a criminal, a Tiger Demon that killed two loyal guards and injured a lot more. May Yevon bless the souls of those who died and punish this evil creature of the dark..." The voice gave him the chills. The kind of voice a maniac has when trying to act like an honorable person.

"Lady Tallulah wouldn't do anything like that!" a woman yelled.

"Tallulah?" Silver said, without noticing. Suddenly the people turned around and faced him and a powerful smell of fear suddenly appeared at the time the blood was drained from the human faces, all of them getting too scared. As he walked, the crew moved out of his way and suddenly left him face to face with the Captain of Yevon Guard in Luca and a tied up, unconscious Tallulah being pulled like a dog on the ground.

"How dare you... bastard!" Silver said, drawing his gunblade. "How dare you treat Tallulah like that! You're going to beg me to kill you before I'm done with you!"

No...Wait, Wolfe, we can't go berserk now! There are far too many innocent people now... think!

I care not! Look how they are treating Tallulah!

Wait and let me handle this, either way this bastard won't leave this place alive...

I trust you...

"Take aim!" the Captain called and the guards behind him aimed their rifles at Silver. "Fire!"

Before the guards could even pull the triggers, Silver jumped high in the air, landing on the one that was pulling Tallulah's unconscious body, his head being smashed like an egg on the ground. "You're all paying big time for this!"

Tallulah's consciousness came back very slowly as she heard screaming and shots. On top of that, she could hear a familiar voice standing next to her.

"Silver..." she muttered, weak and still not fully awake. "No...Not again..."

She was almost sure Silver was taken by the rage once again. That day was just one of the worst she had ever had. First the gas spill and now this— not to mention whatever had happened between Silver, Serenity, and the guards from before— those were the reasons they wanted him.

Tallulah considered it for a second. A trap. She was just acting as bait. That captain was a real mad man, but he sure was full of himself if he thought he could beat a Tiger Demon so easy— especially a Tiger Demon like the Silver she knew... or perhaps even Wolfe.

Silver knelt down as he heard Tallulah's weak voice. "Tallulah, it's me, you got nothing to worry about now," he said calmly, even confident. The guards took their chance to aim once again, and again Silver jumped, surprising all of them. Not being able to get a clean target since the Demon jumped in direction to the sunlight, the guards closed their eyes and looked away.

Silver's best way to fight was blinding enemies. If he could blind them, no matter how many there were, he could beat them. But this time there were too many, not to mention Tallulah was just below him.

Time to use 'that', don't you think?

What? The card?

The Summon Card to be exact— Diablos will take care of those guys...

Diablos is as wild as you are, Wolfe, if not even worse! He is a pure Dark Aeon! Nothing like that Valefor bird...

Then you'd rather have them kill both Tallulah and you. If you won't let me out, then take Diablos out! You can control that beast better than you can control me...

You got that right... I won't let them hurt Tallulah!

Silver put a hand inside of his vest, just over his heart, which was on the right side, different from human bodies. He took out a black card, one he had found in a simple walk inside of Lady Yunalesca's chamber long ago and which he kept secret from most people.

"Eternal Darkness, come forth!" he called, chanting the spell to release the Dark Aeon from the card. Right after that, he threw the card in the air and the sky turned to black. Silver landed on his feet, taking the chance to attend to Tallulah while the guards were worried about what was coming next. They would know soon enough, as the card began to shine with a red light, and Diablos, the Dark Aeon, appeared.

"Man who spill chlorine seen with girl who look like that. Clerk say that. She seem suspicious when Lhinx heard about her, now it make sense," Lhinx said. Lhinx's ear went to the door as she heard two sets of feet walking toward the room door. The sound stopped and a knocking sound followed. Lhinx began to open the door, but something within her in the dark recesses of her animal mind told her not to open the door.

(Instinct...I shouldn't ignore this...but...)

The knocking came again, a bit quicker and harder in rhythm, but it couldn't be noticed unless one just sat down and thought about both sounds.

"Hello, is anyone in there?" a man's voice came through muffled by the door.

Lhinx could barely hear a deep huff of air come from the other side of the door, one that would be from rather frustrated individual. Outside the door, the bald man took three paces away from the door and signaled his companion to do the same. "They have to be in there. I heard the girl talking to the Ronso," the bald man whispered.

"Yeah, but they won't let us in. That Ronso musta heard us," the skinny man whispered back.

"Alright then, we bust in and-"

"No! Are you insane?" the skinny man said through his teeth.

"Then what do you suggest?" the bald man sounded angry now.

"They have to come out some time. We'll wait for the beast near the entrance to the Mi-ihen Highroad."

"But the Tiger demon and the other ones traveling with the Ronso..." The skinny man held up a small cartridge with an Al Bhed symbol on the side.

"An Al Bhed flash bomb," the bald man said in near awe.

"Mm hmm. Throw it on the ground, it'll flash, then we use this little baby and get the Ronso." The skinny man held up the Ronso whistle he had mentioned earlier.

During this, a man covered in Yevon symbols watched from the foot of the stairs.

Scared people just ran away as fast as they could when Diablos descended and stood next to Silver. "Get the Yevon guards!" Silver ordered and Diablos nodded, an evil smile on its fearsome face. The once arrogant captain now stood frozen in fear as the dark Aeon walked towards him.

"F-f-f-f-fire!" he ordered to the few guards that hadn't already flee in panic. Another round of bullets was shot, but even before they could touch Diablos they stopped and fell on the ground. The dark Aeon controlled gravity, a really powerful force, and bullets were no match for it. Diablos raised an arm and the captain began floating in the air, then went much higher suddenly, screaming in complete panic.

"Now let him down," Silver said and the Aeon nodded again, moving his arm down. The scared man fell free towards the ground an enraged Silver Fang jumped to meet him on the air, slicing him as he fell. The two pieces of dead meat that once were the captain of Yevon Guard in Luca fell hard on the floor and Diablos was dismissed.

"Are you ok, Tallulah?" Silver asked, turning towards the girl and kneeling right beside her. Now this battle had gotten him even more tired than he already was. He smiled kindly at Tallulah, and slashed off the ropes that kept her tied. "I'll just take you to the inn, Lucine's gone to find Kai I think, and Serenity is with Lhinx inside a room. Better if we stick together for now."

Serenity propped herself back up, using her arms as stands behind her. She watched as Lhinx suddenly moved to the door and put her ear against it, like she had heard something. She was about to ask what Lhinx was doing when someone knocked on the door. But then Lhinx didn't open the door as the person called and knocked louder and faster, and Serenity tilted her head and stood up, walking over to her. "Lhinx…is something wrong?" Serenity asked, somewhat concerned.

"Ronso instinct. Whoever on other side of door dangerous, but gone now." Lhinx said. (Who knocked, and why'd they give up so soon?) Lhinx wondered. She wrapped her paw like hand around the seemingly smaller doorknob. (Two people, normal build... I dunno whether or not it will be safe to open the door or not... I'm not freaking out like I was before when they began to knock. I guess I'm okay.)

Lhinx slowly opened the door and poked her head out. She sniffed the air in the immediate vicinity of the entrance and looked around. The two men from earlier were long gone. (Someone was here. But why'd they leave? Reasoning would tell anyone we were in the room. I guess they decided to not bother. Awe well. No used worrying over it.)

Lhinx felt the hair on the back of her neck stand. She rubbed her hand down on it to smooth it out. (There it is again. That feeling like something's after me. What on Earth is goin' on?) Lhinx wondered.

Serenity lightly went on her tippy-toes to look out the door as Lhinx eventually opened it, but couldn't see past the tall Ronso. Lowering back down flat on her foot, Serenity clasped her hands behind her and tilted her head slightly once again. "Oh…well, if they were really of much danger, I suppose they would have broken the door down, hm?" Serenity said hopefully, trying to cheer Lhinx up for she still looked quite shaken. Turning back around, Serenity grabbed her bag and reached for Silver's as well, though was already finding the weight more than she could handle.

"Let's wait downstairs, then, in the open lobby. Then when Silver comes back with the others we'll all go to the stadium and then head for the Highroad. I think we've overstayed our welcome in Luca. It's time we moved on, anyway, right?"

"Silver... you came for me... oh, Silver!" Tallulah embraced him by the neck and sank her face in his chest. "Silver I thought they were going to kill me...And I bet they still want to. We have to leave Luca as soon as possible." Tears crawled down her cheek as she faced the Demon and suddenly she placed a kiss on his lips, pressing herself against his body.

He froze, feeling Tallulah's familiar lips on his own. His whole body began shaking and Silver fought the urge to return the kiss.

Maybe we should've let her get killed, she will be a pain in the tail until either she gets you back or gets killed in the process...

Yeah... I know... this is no good...

No shit, bro. Better not let your girlfriend watch you kissing your ex or we both are as good as dead...

You got your point...

Silver pulled away, breaking both the kiss and the hug with one movement. "Tallulah!" he began looking deep into her green eyes. "Why did you do that? Listen, whatever happened between you and me is in the past. You decided to dump me for another guy... you hurt me, and now you won't let me be happy? I love Serenity... Tallulah please understand that..." He sighed and stood up, then put his gun blade away and with another movement, he took Tallulah by the kimono bow and lifted her, placing the girl on his shoulder. He knelt once more to grab her staff and bag, and then began walking back to the hotel. "This conversation isn't over yet, but first we need to get out of Luca."

A crystal tear rolled down her cheek as Silver lifted her on his shoulder. In other times, he would've lifter her in his arms, in a soft, warm embrace. He was so true, she had hurt him bad even when she didn't mean to. But then, it wasn't fair that when she gave him her virginity, her pureness, he now didn't want her back. A womanizer... no, Silver wasn't anything like that, but still Tallulah would do her very best to get him back.

One way or another.

Lucine wandered around the Inn's lobby downstairs. Okay, let me see if I can get everything straight... She thought to herself, pacing the floor. Lhinx is with Serenity upstairs. Silver went after Tallulah, Zephyr was still in the hospital, and Kai is still missing... This reminded her..."Ah! I'm supposed to be looking for Kai!" But the truth was, she had no idea where to start. He could be anywhere, and with the Yevonites crawling around Luca, she thought it might be better to stay close to Lhinx and Serenity.

As she was wandering around, she noticed there was a man covered in Yevon symbols, standing at the foot of the stairs. Lucine quickly dashed across the room and ducked behind a near-by chair to get a better look. Up the stairs, she could see two other men standing near a door. She wasn't sure if it was the room where Lhinx and Serenity were, but she had a bad feeling. She tried to listen to their conversation, but all she heard was mumbling. Then something caught her eye. One of the men had just pulled out an Al Bhed flash bomb. "This is definitely not good..." While Lucine was debating whether or not to attack the three guys, they came down the stairs and walked out the door. As soon as they were out of sight, Lucine hurried up the stairs and knocked on the door the men were standing in front of.

As they got to the inn, Silver looked around just to make sure there were no more guards around and he walked inside, then upstairs without ever looking at the innkeeper. He saw Lucine knocking at the room where Serenity and Lhinx were and walked up to her, still with Tallulah on his shoulder. "Lucine, we've got serious problem. Those Yevon freaks even tried to kill Tallulah because they said she was with certain Demon that killed some of their men... Luca is going crazy on us today. I took care of their captain, but that won't hold them back for long. We gotta leave as soon as possible."

He took a step forward and knocked the door again. "I'm coming in, ladies," he said and opened the door.

Lucine turned around when she heard Silver's voice. "Th-the Yevonites tried to kill Tallulah? Oh, man...you're right, this is disasterific! Well, lets get going then!" As Silver opened the door, she saw that Serenity and Lhinx had been in there after all. So who were those three men after, she wondered.

"C'mon guys, we need to leave Luca, like, right now." Lucine searched around the room and grabbed her bags, slinging them over her shoulder. "But what about Zephyr? She's still in the hospital, and Kai is still missing. What are we going to do about them?"

"You stay here and look after Tallulah and Serenity, ok? I'll go look for Kai and bring Zephyr. They already saw me, and are most likely looking for me, it's better if I go alone for now or they could try killing you like they did to Serenity and Tallulah." Silver placed Tallulah on the bed just next to Serenity and smiled at both of them. "I'll be right back... "

Silver walked out of the room, but then when he was stepping o the first step downstairs he felt like everything went black. Too much for him in one day... he was bleeding without even knowing. The wound on his back hadn't healed completely yet... and Silver Fang rolled down the stairs, sinking into darkness.

After Silver left, Lucine sat down in one of the chairs. She barely had time to think before she heard a loud thump outside their room. She got up and peeped out the door. She couldn't see anything, so she made her way to the top of the stairs. And there, sprawled at the bottom was Silver, blood coming out of a wound on his back. She quickly ran back to the room. "Tallulah, Serenity! Silver is wounded. He needs help right away." She ran back out the door and down the steps to Silver.

Lhinx followed Lucine down the stairs and took a stance near his body. "Tallulah can heal him, right?" Lhinx asked.

Tallulah tried to stand and somehow managed to. She walked slowly towards the stairs and saw Silver in horror, blood coming out of his body. Not knowing how she dashed down the stairs and knelt besides him. "I... I can't use my magic... I'm too weak... but I am a good doctor, help me carry him up there."

"I go find Zephyr and Kai. You and others head to plaza near exit and wait." Lhinx headed to the door.

"Gotcha." Lucine said as Lhinx walked out the door. She knew Zephyr would be in good hands. But now back to Silver. She saw that Tallulah was there, trying to lift Silver. Lucine took one of his arms and wrapped it around her shoulder. Slowly she managed to stand up, half dragging Silver. "You can't use magic...but can you lift Silver? If not, we can get Serenity to help."

Silver opened his eyes after a few moments, noticing Lucine and Tallulah trying to lift him. "I... can walk...," he whispered, and let himself fall again on the floor, where he stood in four and finally on his legs. "Wha... Oh... I have to go find Zephyr and Kai."

He motioned towards the door when he noticed something wrong. "My blitzball? Have you seen my blitzball?" His voice was like that of a pup Demon, soft and weak. His eyes weren't completely opened and his body was in terrible pain. The chlorine, the fighting, the transformation into Wolfe, summoning Diablos... all that made him weak and tired, and for the moment even a human could beat him. His strength was now the one of a pup, but still he managed to stand up. "Anybody seen my blitzball?" Silver was so out dizzy and tired he didn't notice his blitzball was right behind him, lying next to the counter.

(I feel bad for leaving Silver like this, but he's in good hands. I can't say the same for Zephyr. It might not be known she's associated with us, but I can't leave her here.) Lhinx thought as she entered the sect of Luca. She began to head towards the hospital when she felt a large, strong hand grab her shoulder and pull her into an alley.

"Hey-" Lhinx began but felt the same hand cover her mouth. Lhinx looked to see the source of the hand. (Zeik?) Lhinx's eyes widened.

Zeik winked at her and removed his hand. "Men after you. Human named Bobba tell me." Zeik said.

"Hey there, Ms. Ronso." The man with the Yevon symbols said as he stepped out from behind Zeik.

"Bobba?" Lhinx asked. Bobba nodded.

"I overheard two men talking about you. Many times actually. The way they talked reminded me of you. The first time I felt suspicious. So I've been sort of following them today. My fears were confirmed when I heard them talking about attacking you. I ran into Mr. Zeik here and told him, knowing Ronso stick together in crisis." Bobba said with a pat to Zeik's back.

"And Zeik come up with good idea. Ronso hard to hide. But not impossible. Men look for Ronso, not mean they have to find one." Zeik's hand went to a pouch at his side and pulled out a rather ornate chain with a pendant much resembling a Ronso incisor. "This pendant I tell Lhinx about."

Zeik held out the pendant to Lhinx who at first back off a bit from it. She then looked to Bobba who gave her a reassuring nod and smile. She took the pendant from Zeik's open hand and looked at it. "Try it out." Zeik said with a rather eager tone for a Ronso and a smile.

Lhinx nodded to the giant Ronso male and began to put the pendant on.

Serenity heard Lucine call at her and Tallulah, and she dropped the bags she was carrying at the top of the stairs and went down after Lhinx and Tallulah. Coming at the bottom of the stairs, Lhinx was nowhere to be found, and Serenity saw Lucine and Tallulah trying to lift Silver up. As Serenity made her way over to help, Silver had awoken and slowly stood up straight.

"My blitzball? Have you seen my blitzball?" Silver had asked, his voice noticeably soft and weak sounding. "Anybody seen my blitzball?"

Serenity glanced around, seeing his blitzball right behind him by the front counter. She looked back at Silver worriedly, as if he must have been really out of it not to notice it right beside him. "It's right behind you, Silver," Serenity answered him gently, leaning in towards him to look at his eyes. "Um…I shall go look from my brother. You really should take a rest Silver, truly." With that, Serenity took a step back so she was standing beside Lucine and Tallulah and whispered at them.

"He looks terrible," Serenity said, taking a look at Tallulah, who didn't look too sharp herself. Didn't Silver say they were attacked as well? "I…may not be centered on magic, but…mother and Lulu, they taught me some basic spells. If you need me to heal," Serenity looked at Tallulah, "I can do so. But he'll need a bit more then that, I think."

Serenity bit her bottom lip lightly. She wished they didn't have to leave Luca immediately. Everyone in the group seemed to be in need medical attention and rest; and they were about to start off on the Highroad. But apparently they had no other choice. They weren't very safe staying in Luca.

As Lucine struggled to get Silver up once more, she heard serenity come down the stairs. "Well, we'll probably need all the magic we can get right now. But I also have some potions and stuff inside my bag." She nodded her head toward a worn old knapsack laying a few feet away. "Or...is there some kind of spell to make Silver lighter? I mean...I've heard of a float spell, but I'm not that good at casting spells."

Silver smiled and took his blitzball from the floor, although he could barely lift it now. "Now when this thing became so heavy," he said, not noticing his own weakening state "And no, you have to rest, Serenity. I'll be back in just a moment..."

He began walking towards the door, very slowly and moving like a drunk guy. "Hey, was it raining? Why do I feel wet on my back?" Silver asked, feeling the blood on his back but not noticing the pain. "Oh, nevermind. I'll be right back, ladies. You stay in the room, be ready to leave when I find Kai... Zephyr... Lhinx too? Give me a break. It won't take that long." Silver put a hand on the wall and began walking out.

At the hospital

"That Guado girl seems to be doing better." A doctor commented to one of his associates as he stepped outside the said patient's room.

"How long will she be asleep though?" one of the associates asked.

"Oh I'd say another day perhaps? We have an oxygen mask on her right now and the chlorine was already pumped out. Time is all we can give her."

"Excuse me doctor?" A nurse came up to the first doctor.

"Yes, Elsa?" The doctor asked.

"A woman is here to pick up the Guado girl. She says their party will be leaving Luca soon." The nurse replied.

"Understandably so. Luca is in a bit of peril. I've heard rumor of a demon running around." One of the associates piped up.

"Could they not wait another day?" The doctor asked.

"She says it very important they get moving immediately." The nurse replied.

"Cross examine the woman's profile with those of any wanted felons within Luca or around the area. It's a bit fishy that someone would be in such a hurry to leave."

"I already did sir. She's clean as a whistle."

"Fine, fine. You get the girl in a wheel chair and take her to the lobby."

Lobby

"Here she is." The nurse announced as she wheeled a very unconscious Zephyr into the lobby.

A young woman with shoulder length brown hair, a white long sleeve shirt, vest, left shoulder guard and an odd fang shaped pendant on waited expectantly for the nurse. She wore an armlet on her right arm and gauntlet on her left arm and two leg guards protecting her shins under a pair of semi-baggy pants tied with ropes at the end of the legs. Oddly enough shoes were absent from the woman's feet.

"She's not fit for fighting off fiends right now." The nurse said to the woman.

"We'll protect her. Don't worry, we're all really strong." The woman said with a soft voice as she turned around and put Zephyr on her back piggyback style.

"You're not gonna travel like that all the time are you?" The nurse asked.

"She'll wake up eventually." The woman said with a bright smile as she walked out with a Zephyr backpack on.

The nurse's eyes widened at the sight of the woman's bright yellow eyes.

"A float spell?" Serenity repeated, feeling as if it was something she heard Lulu talking about, before noticing Silver slowly making his way out of the Inn rather painfully. Running over to the doorway, Serenity stood in his way and held out her arms.

"You are not going anywhere, you hear? You're injured, and I believe it's more than just a wound on your back, something internal…Besides, at the rate you're going, you won't be back for a month," Serenity joked lightly. "Now you are going to stay in this Inn if I have to tie you to a chair myself. Just let us heal you so you can rest and I can retrieve the others."

"Yeah, a float spell. I don't think anybody's used it in a long time. It may even be a forgotten spell. I just remember reading about it in some old book." As Lucine was talking to Serenity, Silver had somehow made his way to the Inn door and was trying to get out.

"Serenity, I think he's delirious, or something! We need to get him to a bed right away. Help me drag him upstairs." Lucine grabbed a hold of Silver's arm, pulling him towards the stairs. It looked like he was able to stand again, but he walked with a slow stagger.

"Hmm, an old book? Do you still have it with you, or know where we can find it? I think it'll be of some use to us." Serenity looked at Lucine and nodded, grabbing onto Silver's other arm and pulling him lightly towards the stairs with Lucine, hoping Silver wouldn't resist and hurt himself further. "Yes, something's wrong. What exactly happened to you two?" Serenity asked Tallulah and Silver, though posed the question more towards Tallulah for Silver didn't look like he would give a clear answer.

"Hey, who you think you are talking to, little girls?" Silver asked, now really sounding as if he was drunk. "I'm older than the two of us, I would have to be the one to tell you to go to bed." Though he wasn't ok with being pulled upstairs, Silver didn't resist this time. "Ok, but you three stay with me. If something happens I'll protect you. I'm sure Lhinx will find those two... although your brother might as well be in progress of finding you a new sister-in-law."

He laughed slightly and looked back at Tallulah. "I don't know exactly what happened... when I arrived they were about to shoot Tallulah. Those jerks are already history, but the bounty on my head will rise three times in one single day... that's like a new record."

Again Silver laughed, not really thinking about it. Either because the bounty on his head wasn't that big or because he was actually a Tiger Demon there were few who dared to try getting that reward. Silver took off his right glove to scratch the back of his head. It had been itching for a while. Just when he touched it he felt the blood coming out from it, not noticing yet. He looked at his now red hand and then at the girls. "Hey, hey, my hair is sacred, who spilled red thingie on it?" It was official, Silver was starting to get delirious.

Lucine thought for a bit about the book. After she had read it...oh! Now she remembered. She had bought it, thinking her Mother would be interested, but that was the day her Mother went missing, so she ended up stuffing in her bag. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have the book. It's with my things. I'll bring it up as soon as we get Silver up there. But I wonder what made the Yevonites want to shoot Tallulah? It seems awful strange.." After that, she tried to ignore Silver's strange comments, like the one about his 'Sacred Hair' or something. But now they were almost up to the room. Just a few more steps...

"A doctor came rushing into the clinic where I was and told me a Demon had wounded and killed some Yevon guards... they told me they fell protecting Serenity from the Demon that was trying to kidnap her. Obviously a lie, and when I told them that the captain dude ordered some jerk to hit me with a rifle and I fell. When I awoke, I was all tied up on the floor just outside the clinic and Silver was already fighting."

Tallulah decided not to mention Diablos, for that card was something dark and secret, a secret between Silver and herself. "Somehow... I think they have something against Silver besides the fact he is a Tiger Demon" she grinned a little then, feeling all better now that they were almost upstairs "I can bet my boobs it has something to do with Lady Yuna too, like if someone was trying to prevent us from finding her."

A usual joke from her, since most would say Tallulah was proud of her body that she worked so hard to keep in that shape. And, of course, her boobs were no different.

Serenity forced a smile at Tallulah's apparent joke. She wasn't sure if the girl was just really confident about herself or just plain egocentric. For the moment Serenity decided to give Tallulah the benefit of the doubt, and shifted Silver's arm as they reached the top of the stairs. Silver was sounding more delirious by the second. Walking around the bags she dropped there, Serenity reached out to open the door and lightly kicked it open. "Let's put him on his stomach. Attend the wound on the back of his head first," she said.

"That is weird. I didn't realize the guards were from Yevon. I guess they attacked Tallulah for siding with Silver 'the Demon.' Must have thought you were a traitor or something. But that still doesn't make sense. If Yevon did have something to do with the gas attack at the stadium…does it have any link to the disappearances…? Well, either way, I think we may have Yevon on our backs. Maybe we shouldn't leave until nightfall. Always a good cover. And it would give Silver a chance to rest. But Luca could be crawling with guards by then. If we leave as soon as the others arrive…we'll need a distraction. What do you guys think?"

"I know, we can wait till the others are here, then we all get as quick as possible to the Highroad entrance... Lucine, do you have some Al-Bhed flashy toys with you? I think those and my fangs can make a pretty scary combination. A holographic cube would do great" Silver grinned slightly, thinking a giant holograph of him would scare the hell out of the Yevonites. As they got him into the room he collapsed on the bed. "Ok, now you telling me who put red thingie on my hair?"

Tallulah sighed softly and went to her bag, where she found an apple. She devoured it hungrily. "Ok, now with some sugar on my body I think I can cast a spell. But in Silver's condition I think I rather cast Silence than Curaga."

She sat on the edge of the bed next to Silver and looked at the wound on his head. It wasn't a big deal for one such as him, but it would be a dangerous, even mortal, wound to a human. "You hit your head pretty bad, Tiger" Tallulah said, almost giggling and then turned her head towards Serenity "Do you mind if I take your man's shirt off, the wound on his back worries me." Her voice had an obvious sarcastic tone. Maybe they were in great danger, but there would be no truce for the girl that had stolen the love of Silver from her.

(This is gonna be interesting to explain to the others...) Lhinx thought as she walked past residents who gave her odd looks. (I guess they've never seen anyone give a person a piggyback ride. Wait, does that make me a pig? Well, I sure am pink, but I'm human now.)

Lhinx stopped and shook her head.

(I can't wait to get back to normal. Bobba said it would be safe for me to once we were down the Highroad a bit.)

Lhinx began going again and could see the Inn from across the crowd. She quickened her pace.

Lucine knew it was no time to laugh with Silver in this condition, but it was so funny hearing him talking about 'flashy toys' and 'red thingies' that she couldn't help herself. So as she was rummaging through her bag, she was also letting out a few giggles. The she looked up at the others. "Yep I have some Al-Bhed 'flashy toys'. They'd make a perfect distraction. And I also have this." She help up a worn looking book that was bound in some kind of leather. It's pages were yellow and frayed at the ends. "This is where I saw the spell."

She sat down in a chair by the bed and started flipping through the pages, laughing softly at Tallulah's Silence joke. She really didn't feel like getting into another Serenity and Tallulah catfight. Oh, yes. She knew it was coming. Because Tallulah was starting the smart-ass sarcastic comments. Ah, well. If it got too messy, she could step in. Once inside the book, she turned straight towards the Table of Contents. Inside there was a whole list of spells that she had never ever heard of. The list read from the simple spell Float, to the unknown Saint Beam, and lastly to one of the most powerful, Ultima.

"It's not anything like hair dye, Silver. The 'red thingie' is blood, your blood. Tallulah's right, you hit your head pretty badly out there." Serenity then put a hand to her hip and leaned to the opposite side, her other hand going to her forehead at Tallulah's last comment. She was starting it again. It looked like Tallulah wasn't going to let up even for a second. Couldn't we just be civil...? Can't we be friends? Serenity wanted to scream that at her.

"Tallulah…" Serenity trailed off, completely drained from having to do this every day. She did not want to start something with her…at least not there, now. "I don't own him like he's some piece of meat. He's not my slave. You're the resident healer in our group. If the wound on his back is of some concern, then of course you could take his shirt off."

Serenity closed her eyes and sighed, going back to a regular stance. "I guess I'll go search for the others now." She walked over to Silver's side, for Tallulah placed herself on his other side and leaned in close to him, brushing some hair off the side of his face. "You just hang tight, okay? You'll be better in no time. You're in good hands." Serenity smiled and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Walking towards the door, Serenity looked over at Lucine pleadingly, as if asking to watch over them in case Tallulah decided to do anything. "Hey, let me see that back later. I'll be back in a few," she said, then walked out the door and down the stairs.

Lucine looked up as Serenity was leaving the room. She nodded slightly. "Be careful Serenity. Those Yevonites are lurking around everywhere." serenity stepped out of the door, so Lucine stood up and put the book up. She could always look at it later. She walked over next to Tallulah and looked down at Silver. "I hope you'll be able to heal him." She got down on her knees so that she was eye level with him. "His eyes are all dilated an' stuff. It looks like he's loosing too much blood."

"Hey, Serenity no go," Silver whispered but she was already gone. He almost jumped when he saw Lucine's face in front of his, looking into her eyes. "I'm ok, it's nothing, and I've taken worst." He tried to get up but couldn't. "Hey... I don't want Serenity to go off alone like that... if something happens... I would never forgive myself."

Pushing the door open, Serenity left the Inn and back onto the streets of Luca. "Now where are you…" Serenity said to herself, scanning around for where Kai might be, and for any sign of Lhinx and Zephyr.

Lhinx was getting closer to the inn. So many people, it was hard to believe that they could all be cleared for a skirmish between guards and an "infamous" demon who "hypnotized" Lady Serenity. (Then again...I've heard weirder.) Lhinx thought as she passed through another drove of people before her eye caught Serenity.

"Serenity!" Lhinx called out, though she doubted the girl would recognize her voice or her for that matter.

Lucine turned her head sideways to match Silver's. "Well, I suppose I could go after her, but she looked like she wanted to be alone." She stood up and looked out of the hotel window. She saw Serenity walking out of the front door and looking around. As she looked further, she saw a young woman running toward Serenity carrying Zephyr. "Is that...no, it couldn't be! Lhinx...?" But there was only one problem. This woman was human, not Ronso. But what would she be doing with Zephyr?

"Serenity!"

Serenity blinked curiously, hearing her name being called. Looking about the crowded streets, it beginning to be heavy with guards, she slowly came across a woman. Serenity wouldn't have though anything of it, until she noticed that this woman was carrying someone. "Zephyr…?" Serenity said to herself before walking over towards them.

"Um…hello," Serenity said to the woman when she approached her. Glancing briefly at a still unconscious Zephyr, Serenity looked at the woman up and down. It wasn't odd for people to know her and for her not to know them, but the woman didn't address her formally, which made Serenity think she knew the woman somehow. There was an odd way the woman chose to dress…from the armlet and gauntlet to the oddly shaped fang pendant and lack of shoes…But Serenity really did feel like she knew the woman…A feeling.

"Are…you from the hospital?" Serenity asked, stabbing in the dark. It didn't look like the woman was from there, but what other reason would there be for her to be carrying her half-Guado friend? "We were just going to pick her up…you didn't have to…carry…her all the way here." Serenity noted the equally odd way the woman was traveling around with Zephyr. "But, thank you," Serenity added, not wanting to be rude, and bowed.

Tallulah grinned when Serenity left the room and took out a knife she kept inside her bag, then cut Silver's leather shirt to look at the wound. It was deep and bleeding badly, but wasn't a danger to his life. "Ok now, this will ache a little. Just like when I used to heal you when we were younger" she said, placing her hands over his back, not touching "Curaga!"

A soft golden light appeared from her palms and a warm feeling was irradiated from her hands. She felt how the strength she had left was taken away from her as the wound on Silver's back closed. With this done, Tallulah moved to his head and healed it as well, feeling sleepy and weak all of sudden. "There you go... Now off the bed, I need a nap."

"It... doesn't aches anymore," Silver said, still feeling a little weak and dizzy from the blood loss, but definitely a lot better. "Tallulah, I owe you big for this," he declared before jumping out of the bed as she had told him. He went to his bag and searched inside. "Hey... I thought I had packed an extra vest. Oh well..." He stood up and smiled at Lucine. "Now where's Lhinx?"

Lucine watched as Tallulah healed Silver. She was excellent at the healing arts, she had to give her that much. She walked over to her own bag and put it around her shoulder. Then looked back at Silver who had just jumped of the bed. "Well, I saw Serenity leave just a few minutes ago. She was talking to a young woman who was carrying Zephyr. It's probably just someone from the hospital." But there was still that nagging feeling that she had seen that woman somewhere before...

Lhinx was almost surprised at just how small she had truly become. Now she was almost the same height if not shorter then the daughter of the legendary High Summoner. "Umm..." Lhinx looked around, trying to see if anyone was eyeing them suspiciously, but noticed little of anything different from the usual glances one could not avoid giving to passerby. "This is going to sound weird..." Lhinx began. "But it's me, Lhinx."

She glanced at Zephyr from the corner of her still yellow Ronso eyes and then back to Serenity. "I'll explain inside." Lhinx said, hoping Serenity would believe her enough to let her explain what was going on with her new look.

Serenity was taken aback by the woman's words, and then started laughing slightly as if the woman was playing some sort of trick on her. But the woman looked quite serious, and Serenity abruptly stopped. "Aha…" Serenity said, speechless. Maybe the she had hit her head, or been around in that hospital too long. Surely the woman must've inhaled some chlorine. Her…Lhinx? "…Weird indeed. Um…no offense," Serenity started, circling around them, "But…the Lhinx I know is a Ronso. And you're…"

Serenity completed her 360-degree turn and stood in front of her again. "Human. I mean…" She laughed nervously as she spoke now. "It's…not possible for that…for you…You're so much shorter…and no fur…" Serenity was totally mind-boggled. She looked at the woman's eyes, and covered her mouth with a hand as she gasped. The woman had yellow eyes. Serenity knew she knew her from somewhere but… "That's unreal…" Serenity whispered. "Lhinx?"

Serenity closed her eyes and shook her head. Get a grip. She can't be Lhinx. Could she…? Why didn't she tell us about this ability? But…it would explain why I'm getting this feeling from her… Serenity reopened her eyes and looked at the woman. "Uh…" Serenity glanced around before nodding. "Yes. I guess we should talk inside. Zephyr must be getting heavy." Taking one last look at the woman who claimed to be Lhinx, Serenity walked back towards the Inn, and held the door open for her when she got there.

"I didn't think you'd believe me if I just told you." Lhinx said and nodded a thanks as she stepped into the lobby of the Inn. "Well... The Lhinx you know indeed is Ronso." Lhinx said. "She always was since she was born. Or rather I have and up to this point have always been Ronso. But alteration can come when one is in need."

Lhinx almost smirked with pleasure at finally being able to speak intelligently. Ronso were intelligent beings, but they did not have the same bone structure in their jaws that humans had for being able to create a spoken language. "I just need to lay Zephyr down somewhere and I can show you who I am." Lhinx said while looking around.

"I really do want to believe you. And I do…in a way. But what you're saying is a bit off the top for anyone, I think, to just take at face value," Serenity said lightly as the woman began to explain as they stood in the lobby. "Alteration? 'When one is in need?' Are you in trouble?" She asked worriedly. Serenity looked about as well. "Well, the others are upstairs, if you wish to see them as well. The bed's full, I believe, though. They're healing Silver. But I can get another room so we can place Zephyr down. Or you could put her down there." Serenity pointed to one of the corners in the lobby, where a couple chairs and a small table was.

Zephyr murmured something in her sleep, as if she were about to wake up, but remained a dead weight on the human Lhinx's back.

"A woman carrying Zephyr! Oh dear..." Silver took his gunblade from the floor as well as his scarf and blitzball. It felt quite weird to be without a usual leather vest on top of his thorax. Now all his scars were visible, small ones, big ones, all kinds. Along with them his black tiger-like straps shared the brownish skin of the Demon. "Stay with Tallulah," he told Lucine before rushing out of the room and practically jumping downstairs, worried that woman could be the one they saw at the docks. If it was, Serenity and Zephyr were in danger.

"Gimme a second, seems Zephyr here is beginning to awaken. Just gotta set her down now." Lhinx said and put Zephyr in a sitting position on a nearby chair Serenity had shown her. "Now." Lhinx stood up straight, and grasped the pendant she wore. "Watch and I'll show you what I mean by alteration."

Lhinx began to take off the pendant, feeling something that had been boxed within her beginning to come out slowly. She pull the pendant over her head and instantly felt her skeletal structure grow, the grinding of bones going into their proper Ronso structure and her muscles and nerves growing to now fit a large Ronso youth frame. Lhinx winced openly. She closed her eyes in pain and her hands went to her sides, trying to massage the pain out of the growing rib cage and muscles. Her forehead acquired a layer of sweat, but the Ronso refused to cry out.

A Ronso tail slowly came out once again, grinding bones being reborn and muscle being forced to redevelop. Her once petite human ears grew longer, and more focused now on the tiny details that she had barely missed during her short period of humanity. Small, feminine hands became large paws capable of taking away the life of any creature unfortunate enough to be within their grasp. Claws grew from the tips of her fingers where human nails once were and tufts of blue/bray fur covered her body. Her brown locks turned white and her gentle human face became that of a fiercesome Ronso. Her breathing grew hard, the pain slowly starting to fade. She finally opened her eyes.

The Ronso smiled.

"Believe now?" Lhinx asked.

Silver stared at the Lhinx transformation speechless. He never heard of a trick like that, not in his entire life. It sure would've saved him some trouble with Demon-hater people. "Lhinx... is that... really you?"

He walked slowly, smiling that his worries were unsettled. Zephyr was on a chair now, and he felt a lot better now. They only needed to find Kai now, and they were good to go. As he looked to Serenity, Silver felt how his face became bright red as he was aware of his lack of clothing on his top middle, and now she could see all his scars.

Yeah, like she didn't see you naked back at Kilika...

That was an accident!

Oh cut it off. You want to marry her, don't you? And to have kids with her? Then she would see that and a lot more you idiot...

I think... you are right in that...

"Good, you brought Zephyr. We only got to find my future brother-in-law and get the hell out of here," Silver said, joking about his future relationship with Kai and smiling at Serenity, still blushing a little.

And, after hours of dark dreams, Raphaela Guado awoke with a start.

To clarify: by "a start," I mean that she leapt to her feet and aimed her rather intimidating huge alchemist's gun at the living thing nearest to her, which happened to be Silver. Her body ran, for a moment, on force of reflex and self-defense. Only after this did she draw in a rattling breath, and as her eyes focused on the demon in front of her, she fell to her knees, gun clattering to the floor beside her. Zephyr clenched her fist over her heart; she closed her hand so forcefully that her long Guado nails inadvertently tore five small holes in her gray turtleneck.

After a couple of seconds to regain her breath and a more or less clear state of mind, she looked up. Her voice was unfamiliar and weak, not the voice of the strong, independent half-breed the group knew. "I'm sorry." She opened her mouth, as if maybe she expected to speak again, but closed it shortly afterwards, deciding that those words were enough.

Zephyr reached with red-tinted nails (she must have broken the skin when she tore her sweater) grabbed her gun and shoved it into place on her belt. She got to her feet unsteadily, trying and failing to regain some semblance of composure. "What happened?" she asked, her voice having reverted to her familiar, pleasant and unerring alto. Shortly Zephyr thought better of it and rephrased her question. "Or rather, what is the state of things right now and what should we be doing?"