b Tittle: /b Melody
b Author: /b Angel-chan
b Catagory: /b Action/Adventure, Humor, Romance
b Disclaimer: /b I do not own FFX/X-2 or Square Enix, nor do I claim any of it's characters. Basically,...anything you recognise from the game, is not mine, anything you don't recognise from the game, is MINE D ((oh, and also note: Keyakku is not made up. If your enough of a game freak like me, you've played the game a million times and know just about everyone in the game XDD )) nor do I own the lyrics in this chapter.
b Contact Address: /b for character pictures, questions, comments, or even if you have any fanart! fanart is LOVED!
AN: Sorry for being so slow writing this chapter up,...had some issues trying not to cliche things XD
oh, and people,...REVIEW! The quickest way to get me to update is for yall to review! Tell me what you'd like to see, let me know what you think!
Oh, and yeah, the story is moving along slowly, because,...wel,...I really have no reason actually XDD
A long time passed, and Phenix began to loose track of the days, which had turned to weeks,...soon it would be a month that she had leant her hands at rebuilding Home. The agrivations of Gippal really didn't phase her as much as it used to, and even the sun didn't blister her too bad anymore.
She didn't really socialise much with the other workers, faction or otherwise, but she had caught wind of word about fiends stalking the road ways between Bikanel and Djose.
Macalania,..the thunder plains,...even the moonflow had become infested with odd fiends. Every now and again a worker would come in with an injury, or sometimes never came in at all,..assumingly killed by one of the beasts.
Gippal had heard from Barrali that fiends had been appearing in Bevelle as well.
This information concerned Phenix, even though she didn't have to travel those, now dangerous, roads, she couldn't help but fear for those who did.
It was these thoughts that went through Phenix's mind as she made her way to Cid's office.
Earlier he said he wished to have a word with her later, and now that her shift was over, she could finally see what the Al Bhed leader wanted. She assumed it was meerly a message from her father. After all, she hadn't heard from him since he dumped her here.
She was crossing a dune, when she heard a sound, foreign to the other sounds of the desert. She furrowed a brow, and got into a defensive stance,
"Oh, shit,.." She groaned as over the next dune appeared a Sand Wolf.
At least, she thought it was,...part of it's body had become fused with some old machina. So this was what the others had seen? Phenix took hold of a grenade from the pouch on her belt. The Sand Wolf lunged at her, and she quickly pulled the pen on the grenade and threw it at the fiend, still in mid-air, as she jumped out of the way of the explosion that was to come.
The thing fell to the ground with a sandy thud, but quickly pulled itself back up. Phenix hastily backed up from the fiend, only to trip over her own feet, and tumble down the dune.
At the bottom, she expected to open her eyes and see the fiend coming after her, but she was supprised to see a grenade fly over her head and hit the pursueing Sand Wolf.
"Get up" Came the gruff voice of Cid.
"Huh?" Phenix pulled herself up, and looked over to the man, and then to the dead fiend, which had turned into meer pyroflies and,...pieces of machina? Cid wallked over to the pile of metal parts, and bent down to examine them.
Phenix followed suit.
"Was that,..what everyone has been talking about? Odd fiends fused with,..machina?" Phenix asked, blinking her smokey-green spiral eyes curiously.
"Yep, I'd say it sure looks it," Cid said, straightening back up.
"I was just on my way to see you,.." Phenix said, brushing her fingers through her hair uneasily. The fusion of Fiend and Machina left her even more unsettled than before.
"Yeah, was just gonna tell ya that I'm sendin' ya to Djose to work there. You'll be safer, and Rin insisted-"
"Sha, safer after the trip" Phenix cut him off, and rolled her eyes. It seemed just like her father,..sending her where she'd be 'safe'. Sure,..she'd be safe. 'after the trip,...' She reminded herself, 'but a certain commuting faction leader won't be if he bothers me.'
Those were her first thoughts when she heard she was to go to Djose. She realised Gippal was only being friendly, but damn did he know how to push her pissed button!
Cid chuckled, "I'll stock ya up on some grenades, potion, and ether. Ya daddy told me you're pretty good with magic,. ya shoulda used it against that wolf fiend a while ago."
Same lecture, different accent, she remembered her father's words before they left for Bikanel;
i "I shall give you a few Potions and Ether. You are good with your magic, you should be fine if you get in to any trouble" /i
Phenix smiled anyway, "Thanks,..when do I get to come back?"
She really did enjoy helping to build Home, directly,..much better than she did building machina to be used in the construction, even if she was better at it.
"When the fiend problem is is solved, of course!" Cid boomed.
"It's gonna be a while then,..." Phenix looked disheartened.
The two had started walking back to camp during the conversation, and were almost to camp. Cid looked over to the saddened girl, seeing buch of his Rikku in that pouting face. Phenix was alot more mature than his daughter though. A side affect of being Rin's child, he supposed. The Al Bhed leader still thought of Phenix as another daughter already though.
Perhaps it was because he had gotten to know her better than he had some of his other people though, but if Rin and his plans that had begun to form took root, it'd just be that much easier to welcome the girl into the family.
--:Abord the Celsius, the next day:--
"Were picking up sphere waves near the Moonflow," Buddy said as he looked at the data in front of him.
This had been the first time in weeks that any spheres had been detected, and everyone was excited.
"Let's go!" Rikku said jumping up in the air.
"To the Moonflow!" Brother said, turning the Celsius around quickly in that direction.
"He-ey, this'll be Tidus' first sphere hunt!" Rikku said as she bounced about, and prodded the other blonde in the stomache.
"Hey!" Tidus playfully slapped Rikku's hand away.
Yuna chuckled, "Well it's true!"
"Don't worry, we'll protect you" Rikku teased some more.
It had been a while since the former blitzer-turned-guardian-turned-sphere-hunter and fought a fiend, and it took alot of convincing, no,..begging to get Yuna to give Tidus back his former sword, 'The Brotherhood'. They had still yet to get Tidus a garmet grid,..they'd have to seek Shinra out for that, but till then, the blonde had his usual attire, and trusty weapon!
It wasn't long before the group had arrived at the Moonflow.
"Woah!" Tidus said, as almost emidiately the four, Tidus, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, were ambushed by fiends. They looked around, and all up in the slowly-dieing branches one could see lurking fiends. It was not a sight you would ever like to see.
After battling through the fiends that had jumped them, the group sat, exhasted, as the Pyreflies flew into the air,..the small pile of charred machina remains going unnoticed.
"What is the matter down there?" Brothers voice came through on the group's transmitter.
"We're fine,.." Paine muttered
"Owie,..speak for yourself!" Rikku whined to Paine.
"Wat's the matter?" Brother asked, in a somewhat exasperated manner.
"There's a lot of fiend activity down here," Yuna replied, getting up from the ground to stand.
She looked to the trees, and let out a gasp,
"Look!" She pointed to the branches, more fiends watched from the shadows.
"Uh-oh,..." Rikku said, biting her lip.
"What 'uh-oh'? What is the matter?" Brother hated when they did this,...
"That doesn't look good,..." Tidus let out an uneasy chuckle, as he took a firmer grip on his sword.
"Wha---at?" Brother was becoming more frustrated, "Tha--ats it! I am on my way!"