Hey there ^^
Yeah, I'm very sorry for making you wait after that cliffhanger. u.u
In the beginning I have to deeply apologize that Phoenix doesn't get that much contact with the other storm riders because I had to kinda reveal a great part of her past in this chapter and in my opinion she has already met the most important riders of Genesis. The chapter would have gotten even longer if I had written more about other riders and my fingertips would be bleeding by now. If you'd like to read it, I could write a chapter were Phoenix starts training with the Genesis-riders. ^^
Meg L.H: I hope you found "When the Wind blows"; i've only read the german version, but I think the original might be at least as good as the german translation. Making Phoenix to embarass Simca didn't really work out because the chapter had a very serious topic, si I hope you'll like it nevertheless. Oh, and maybe you'll get the romance when Phoenix had grown up a bit. ^^
Hitsugi's Lover: I hope you're gonna be alright with the ending of this chapter X3
AZUREciel: Well, I hope the ongoing of the meeting will be okay with, but if you desire to read more about how Phoenix gets affiliated by the other riders, tell. I've suggested to write a chapter about her training. *pointing at the note aove*
Chapter fourteen: Dead Birds don't fly
"When the Wind blows?"
"Yeah, ever heard of it?"
"Nope . . . seems to be pretty strange name for a book, don't you think?"
Phoenix looked up at Spitfire who sat next to her on the bleachers. Almost all the places around the sports field were filled by now. Soft chattering was carried by the wind and Simca was almost finished with the last preparations, so that the meeting would be started any moment.
"What's it about?"
The Flame King lowered his gaze towards the girl next to him. "The book?"
"What else?" Phoenix narrowed her eyebrows and wondered why Spitfire seemed to be that absent-minded though he was the one who had brought up the topic. What has that Nue-guy told him?
"The book was written by the american author James Patterson. It's about a girl named
Max, which stands short for maximum; she lives with other children at a secret research lab in the woods. The codename Tinkerbell was given to her there." He was hoping for any reaction to the name of the little fairy – known from so many fairytales – but he knew that Phoenix didn't know it. Her eyes wouldn't start to sparkle by hearing that fairy's name and there wouldn't be an excited look on her face when she'd remember how Tinkerbell had helped children to fly in the story of Peter Pan. He slightly sighed and continued because Phoenix' look already started to get questioning. At least, he wanted to continue . . .
"What happened at that lab?", Phoenix asked with a serious voice and Spitfire felt hope raising in his chest. She wasn't asking about how the story went on, she wanted to get more information about the lab. Maybe that was a first step.
"Well, there were scientists who tried to add attributes of birds to the bodies of these children. They had wings, were able to fly and laid eggs – theoretically."
"So, Max was a modified human being." The red-haired girl looked down the bleachers and seemed to look at the back of the heads of the other riders, but her view became kinda empty.
"You can put it that way . . .", the Flame King softly answered. He was aware of Phoenix' behaviour and he didn't want to push her too far because he wanted her to tell him about her past of her own will not because he had had forced her to talk about it. "But one day, Max escapes and meets a veterinarian. A woman who had just lost her husband and -"
"Does she return to the lab in the end?"
-+-+-+-+-+-+- Phoenix' POV -+-+-+-+-+-+-
His voice seemed to be very far away that I couldn't even clearly say what he was telling me about that woman. A vet? Yeah, whatever!
"Does she return to the lab in the end?"
"Uhm . . . no, she stays with the woman, I think . . . oh, they're meeting their parents in the end."
They? So, the other children also succeed in escaping . . . what a nice story. I felt a sad smile appearing on my lips. Yeah, a really nice story. It's a great imagination of the author . . . it is taken as an imagination because nobody would ever expect it to be true.
"Why are you telling me this?"
I looked up at Spitfire again and I could see it in his eyes; I could see that he was telling me all this on purpose, but the fact that he didn't try to hide that made me happy . . . somehow.
"Nue told me a few facts about Sleepy Hollow."
"What did he find out?"
-+-+-+-+-+-+- Spitfire's POV -+-+-+-+-+-+-
"What did he find out?"
I told her about experimenting with drugs and that they used homeless orphans for those experiments. Phoenix smiled sadly and whispered:
"So that was why they were always screaming that much."
Surprise filled my eyes when I turned my look towards her while she was still looking down the bleachers. "You didn't know?", I asked puzzled. Why didn't she know anything about those experiments? Well, it could mean that his idea of her being one of the genetical modified children, was true.
"My room was located at the first floor where all those scientists also were living."
I was holding my breath, but after some time my lungs were screaming for air, so I did slowly breath out. It was clear to me that she didn't like talking about the time back at the lab, but I wanted to know about it so badly. I wanted to understand the deep sadness in her eyes which had had appeared in the salon the last week. I waned to know why she was always looking up at the sky every moment when she thought I wouldn't notice; but I did notice. I noticed her sighs and I also heard her crying in the bathroom the other day.
What has happened to her?
-+-+-+-+-+-+- Normal POV -+-+-+-+-+-+-
Simca finally started the meeting. She was talking through a microphone because the sports field was way too big to reach everyone's ears with only the normal volume of her voice. (I hope you get, what I'm trying to say. O.o)
"I hope you already know why I have chosen today for the meeting. It's been now one year that our beloved Storm King Mizuki Takeshima had passed away in hospital after a fight against the top of Trophaeum. He had died a glorious death and we have to carry his dreams to the sky on our wings."
The members of Genesis started to scream in agreement. A few of them even stood up from the plastic chairs on which they had been sitting on the bleachers, then they screamed something Ohoenix didn't understand and bowed down once before taking their places again.
"Someoe had died?", she asked. Spitfire simply nodded and explained with a serious tone in his voice: "Yeah, he had been appointed as Storm King last year around August. Then he had challenged the team Sleeping Forest and was badly beaten."
"The sky is a cruel place", Phoenix whispered while she was focusing on Simca who went on with talking about dreams, flying, a great wind coming their way and wings which would have the strength to carry all riders of Genesis. "You've got no idea what you are talking about, Pinky."
"You seem to know very much about the sky." Spitfire tried to continue their former discussion, Phoenix recognized that and turned her empty look at him. "Want me to tel you another story?", she whispered. He remained silent for a few moments before slowly answering: "Another legend? How about the truth this time?"
A soft chuckle escaped Phoenix' lips. "Their is no such thing as a real legend; those are just stories of far gone days, which were almost forgotten. So, the people remembering them told them to their children like a dream they had had and the children named those dreams legends. That's all", she mentioned, but she didn't seem to be angry at Spitfire, so he returned the smile which started to appear on her lips.
"Well then . . . how about telling me the rest of the story?"
She took a deep breath and raised her gaze at the clear, blue sky. "You remember when I've told you about the four Kings ruling the sky and what had happened to the phoenix?"
"Sure . . . the phoenix' feathers had been burned by the sun and he had fallen down to the earth were he had gotten captured."
"Yeah, he was captured and the falcon was looking for him . . . but that's not the end", Phoenix said with a low voice that made a cold shiver running down Spitfire's spine. "Actually the falcon found the phoenix, but he got captured, too, by the scientists. These scientists were obsessed with the dream of flying. They recognized how strong the wings of those two captured birds truley were; they were more powerful then the ones of any other bird on which they had ever done any research."
Spitfire swallowed hard. Phoenix' voice was so cold that she almost seemed like a killer who was about to pull the trigger while holding a gun against the forehead of one of these scientists. Well, actually it kinda made sense because one of them had raped her . . . but he wasn't happy of this fact making sense. The expression in her eyes kinda scared him.
"Let's think about the problem of the scientists. They had to find a possibility to combine these powerful wings of those two birds with a human organism. They had to find a container, a body, which was able to handle the birds' power."
She stopped for a moment and covered her face with her hands. "They found out that a child's body would be able to handle the power and soul of one of those birds." Phoenix sniffed. "One day I woke up and there was that child standing in front of my cage", she continued, but Spitfire could hear that she was ashamed about what she was about to tell him. Her voice got higher and a desperate tone was mixed into it. "She had been looking at me with those big round, fascinated eyes. I had screamed at her; I had screamed RUN AWAY!, but she couldn't understand me. It hadn't been the first time that I had found da child standing there looking at me and it teared my soul apart to know what would happen to her. The scientists injected a certain drug into her veins and she immediately lost her conciousness. I don't know what they have exactly done to me and her, but I know that I suddenly heard her voice and I saw her face though I knew I had my eyes closed . . . she was reaching out for me, she was trying to touch my wings; I tried to prevent that from happening, but I couldn't. She touched my feathers and suddenly flames covered her body. I thought she would die like all these other children before, but she didn't and when I woke up the second time I looked through her eyes."
She sniffed again and just as Spitfire wanted to touch her shoulder carefully she lifted her head and looked straight into his eyes. He took back his hand and felt how his throat was drie like the sand in the desert. Her eyes were filled with the memories of the countless deaths of those children. They have died because of me.
His thoughts were racing, but he couldn't catch at least one of them. Experimenting with drugs . . . children with wings . . . dissappearance of homeless orphans . . . burning feathers . . . burning flesh . . . screaming children . . . he felt terribly queasy.
"That can't be . . .", he mutterd stunned. His eyes were filled with pure shock as he realized what had been done by these idiotoc men. Phoenix didn't lie, he knew that this story was way too much for someone too simply make up. She was dead serious.
"I'm hearing her crying soul every night."
"Oh my god."
"There's no god in this world . . ." She still looked at him with that expression in her eyes which made her looking so much older and suddenly Spitfire realized that the little girl she seemed to be was a mask; a mask created to fit into society. She had exeperienced how it felt not to be taken serious and she had gotten used to it. She had gotten used to a society that was looking down on her. You wanted to know about my past, now deal with the details, her eyes seemed to be telling him.
Spitfire rubbed his closed eyes, took a deep breath and asked with a hoarse voice without looking at the girl sitting next to him: "What happened to the falcon?"
Phoenix wanted to answer as suddenly Simca's voice did cut her off. The red-haired girl looked down at the pink-haired teen with a puzzled look on her face.
"I have to introduce someone to you today." That Pinky's voice sounded up at the higher ranks of the bleachers. She was smiling broadly at the younger girl who felt like hitting the older one right into the face. What a shitty timing, Pinky.
She obviously expected Phoenix to come down to the middle of the sports field where Simca was standing on a little platform. The red-haired girl looked at Spitfire before raising from her place. "Dead birds will never be able to fly again."
Before the Flame King could react or at least say something Phoenix already made her way downstairs towards Simca. She walked down the stairs with a smile on her face.
So many eyes were looking at her. Most of the riders started to mumble behind her back. Everybody was focusing on the girl stepping down the stairs with her red hair shining in the sunlight. Nobody paid attention to the single bird flying high above the sports field. The sunlight stroke his shining brown-read-colored feathers. The look in his eyes were the tipical grumpy look of ever ordinary falcon, but his heart was pounding so fast. He opened his mouth and screamed; the high, sharp voice of the falcon did cut through the air. A few of the riders sitting on the higher ranks of the bleachers noticed the screaming of the bird, but they only looked up at the sky for a short moment, they spotted the falcon and then lowered their gaze towards the red-haired girl who had almost reached the middle of the sports field.
But Phoenix didn't hear him.
Dead birds will never be able to fly again.
The real meeting actually started in the evening. The teams of Genesis had the tradition of eating dinner together after every official meeting at the sports field. Simca haf introduced Phoenix offically to the teams, so the little girl was allowed to take part in this after-meeting-dinner. The restaurant were they were always eating dinner like this had closed this evening. This way the members of Genesis were the only guests and actually they also filled every free seat.
Phoenix sat between Spitfire and Simca and she had expected it to be an uninteresting evenig, but the different riders were more lively than she had had thought. Nobody cared who belonged to which team; the children of Nue's team (does anybody know the name of that team?) were sitting at a round table with many other riders and they were all watching a man with shoulder-kength, black hair who was doing some tricks with cards. Phoenix had refused to accompany them.
"So, little Phoenix, how do you like the team?"
The red-haired girl turned her view from the now applauding group. She looked at Benkei ho were sitting across from her. "Well, it's a bit early to answer a question like that."
A chuckle escaped the older woman's lips and she grinned amused at the questioning look on Phoenix face. The girl also grinned, but suddenly she remembered something she wanted to ask.
"Oh, would you tell me what has happened to that so-called Storm King. Simca mentioned that he had died a few months ago."
The grin on Benkei's face disappeared immediately and she pressed her lips on each other with so much force that they almost lost all their color. Phoenix knew that it was an uncomfortable topic and that this wasn't the best situation to talk about it, but the death of someone wasn't something she's ignore that easily. She looked straight into Benkei's eyes and the woman looked back at her, but in the end it was Simca who gave the answer.
"He had been a promising young rider with powerful wings."
"He had wings?"
Phoenix narrowed her eyebrows and Simca was about to nod, but Spitfire was faster and placed one hand on the girl's head. He mentioned:
"No, he had been just a very skilled rider."
Simca looked at the Flame King with a bit of confusion in her expression, but the older man slightly shook his head and told her with his eyes to simply accept what he had said. She shrugged and continued to tell the story of the first Storm King.
"He had gained the title of King at a very young age. He was thick-headed, hot-tempered and quite self-confident. It happened that one day he got into a fight with the head of Trophaeum. The Sleeping Forest. He lost and died a few days later in hospital."
Silence grew amongst the rider who listened to that discussion, but nobody else recognized the sudden gloomy mood.
"What is that Trophaeum-thing?" Phoenix' gaze wandered over every face of the people sitting near her. She tried to figure out why that young Storm King had to die. For which purpose had he lost his life?
"The Trophaeum is a great tower which stands for the hierarchy of the storm riders and their teams. There are six ranks a storm rider can reach when he enters the fight for the top."
"And the team at the top right now are these Sleeping Forest-guys?"
Simca nodded and Phoenix lowered her gaze towards the white table cloth. "Why are you fighting, Simca?"
The pink-haired teen seemed to be honestly surprised when Phoenix adressed her with her real name. The girl didn't use some silly nickname this time, so a little smile appeared on the older girl's lips and she answered:
"We wanna reach the top and grab the freedom of the sky. That's why I'm always looking for the most talented riders in Japan."
Phoenix bit her lower lip and formed fists with her hands unter the table, but she remained silent and let Simca continue.
"You know there's a legend amongst the the storm riders who are aiming for the Top of says that the Sky King will appear when the eight Kings of the eight Roads gather again at the Top of Trophaeum and with his power the secret of the legendary Sky Regalia will be discovered again." (If anybody else have a better version of that legend, please tell me. ^^)
Anger boiled up inside of Phoenix, but she stayed calm – deadly calm.
"That is what he had died for?", she whispered. "You are talking a lot of bullshit, you know that, Pinky?"
Simca got angry, too. What did that insolent little thought she was? "Oh, yeah? Well, is looking down on everybody else all you're capable of?", she spitted in response while crossing her arms in front of her chest. Phoenix raised her head and mentioned:
"I'm sorry for appearing to be ignorant and arrogant, but do you really think that the sky can be ruled by only one King?"
How should be one human being be capable in doing something in which four birds with the strongest wings, the sharpest eyes and beaks couldn't succeed from the beginning till now.
Phoenix felt Spitfire's hand on top of her head again and she felt like snapping out of a daze. She realized what she had said and what she had implied by saying it. She quickly bowed her head and mumbled:
"I'm very sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
A waiter came and brought several dishes with nice smelling food on them. Phoenix received a plate with different species of meat and fries. There were also some fried vegetables on it and as Benkei asked "Are you going to eat all that by yourself?" it finally seemed like the former discussion was forgotten. Even Simca seemed like she had accepted Phoenix' apology.
"Nope, I'll share it with Spitfire", Phoenix answered and put a piece of meat into her mouth. Benkei grinned and took a look at her own meal which was spaghetti carbonara. (You know what I mean, right? Btw, they're eating western food because I've got no real idea of japanese restaurants ^^)
Spitfire hasn't said something during the whole conversation because he was still working on what he had gotten to know about this afternoon. Nue was sitting next to Yoshitsune and across from the Flame King this way were aware of the odd behavior of his friend. He closely observed the older men, but didn't say anything.
-+-+-+-+-+- Flashback -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
"Shall I do any further research on the pharmaceutic industry wgich funds the labs?"
Spitfire was silent for a few moments before he answered:
"No, I don't think that it'll be necessary."
The Thunder King was obviously very surprised because his friend had seemed to be very interested in the details of Phoenix' past in the beginning.
"But why? Wouldn't it be better to know more about that child? What if there's anybody looking for her? The whole could get involved unintentionally."
Spitfire bit his lower lip. "Nue, she has lived on the streets for about three years. They could have found her and they could have killed her every day. But they haven't till now-"
"Yeah, till now . . . what if that changes in the next few months or weeks? You are popular amongst teenagers and AT-battles are broadcasted by the internet. She could be easily detected like this. It'd be better if we would know what we're dealing with before that happens."
The Flame King looked at the younger one with a furious expression on his face.
"Oh, and what if you're detected before any of this happens?", he shot back. "What if you get killed because you went too far into the lion's cave?"
Nue blew one of the longer strands of his lavendel-colored hair out if his eyes. His look was dead serious when he answered:
"Let me put clarify something, Spitfire . . . if she'd become a member of Genesis and if she'd enter the Parts War as one of our riders I'd give my live to protect her like everyone els in the team."
-+-+-+-+-+- Flashback End-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
Damn, Spitfire thought, while facing Nue's view. I don't want anybody to die!
But the sky can't be conquered without shedding any drip of blood. While almost all members were sitting inside the restaurant a cold wind started blowing outside, but the boy on the roof of the restaurant wasn't freezing at all. He had piercing yellow eyes and wild brown-red hair. A grin was formed on his lips as he strechted out his arms. Feathers began to grow and his human features tuned into the ones of a beautiful falcon. He looked up at the sky and thought, Oh, dear sky, what a bloody bastard you are.
But there was no human voice coming out of his mouth just a high-pitched scream which couldn't be heard by that little girl with the blood-like red hair inside the restaurant. The howling of the stronger getting wind was way to loud.
That's it for the day. ^^ IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU DIDN'T GET THE WAY I EXPLAINED IT OR IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO TELL ME! ^^v
How did you like the falcon? XD Please leave a Review!
FreakyPumpkin