*WHOOSH!*
*WHOOSH!*
*WHOOSH!*
*WHOOSH!*
Across the grassy plains of the Mi'ihen Highroad, much too far from the actual road to be considered safe, a number of small figures moved like a blur as they sped through the land.
Even as they approached a giant canyon that housed a raging river at its bottom, the figures simply leapt across and kept moving without slowing down in the slightest. Above them though was a solitary figure that flew gracefully through the skies, her white feathered wings spread on either side as she enjoyed the wind rushing through her feathers.
Sun watched on as the mini Saiyans raced below her, a wry smile on her lips as they steadily approached a more forested area. There the one in the lead, the only non-Saiyan of the group, held up her hand and said,
"Let's take a quick break here." With everyone coming to a stop behind her, Alec complained,
"But Myuu, were not tired yet!" With the other Saiyans complaining that they could go on as well, Myuu turned towards them and said sternly,
"I know, but this isn't training. What if a fiend shows up and every is too tired to fight it? We need to take plenty of breaks and make sure we eat plenty of snacks to keep out energy up!" Though she hadn't even turned ten yet, Myuu had matured quite quickly due to her role as everyone else's big sister. So, despite her being the weakest of the group, the rest of the children heeded her words as they sat down to take a break, not that any of them wanted to refuse when Myuu mentioned snacks.
As she watched over them from above, Sun silently praised Myuu's decision to call for a break to refuel, since they did never know when a fiend would show up. As if to prove exactly that, a screech on the wind drew Sun's attention as she looked out over the horizon to see a large fiend flying towards them.
It was none other than the massive Zu, a flying fiend that was as black as night, with a large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth.
As it approached their location though, Sun decide to let the children enjoy their rest as she pursed her lips, and let out a sharp a crisp whistle. Immediately the Zu, infamous for being a deadly and powerful fiend to fight against, exploded in a rain of blood and gore that quickly disappeared as it dissolved into Pyreflies.
And all with the children being none the wiser.
Eventually they all finished eating their snacks, just a drop in the bucket of what they had stored in their own storage rings, before Lizzy asked,
"Myuu, why don't we just fly instead of running the entire time?" Instead of Myuu though, it was Edith who answered as she replied,
"Don't you know anything Lizzy!? It's not an adventure if you just fly everywhere! How are you supposed to have fun then?!" Myuu, Mai, Alec, and Anna all nodded in agreement as, while flying was fun, if you simply flew everywhere then you'd miss out on all the cool things that were on the ground. They could all fly whenever they wanted, but this was their big chance to have a 'real' adventure, there was no way any of them wanted to cut corners by flying.
And as if to prove Edith's point, the brush all around them started rustling as numerous fiends suddenly appeared.
"Alright! A workout after snack time!" Alec cried out excitedly as they all got ready to fight.
Out of the brush came an entire group of fiends that looked at the children like they found a tasty snack themselves, only for the children to look back at them with excitement. Among them were several different colored Flans(slimes), Geckos, Fly Eyes(giant eyeballs with bat-like wings), and a single Takouba leading them.
While her siblings split up to deal with the Flans, Fly Eyes, and Geckos themselves, Myuu turned her attention towards the Takouba that approached her. It had a long slender body with a matching tail, and four long legs that ended on the pointed tips that it balanced on.
Despite not possessing magic or unique abilities like the rest of the gathered fiends, the legs and whip-like tail of the Takouba were instead razor sharp like the edge of a word, making each of its movements deadly if one wasn't careful. Myuu wasn't worried about that though, as she raised her fists that were covered in a silvery metallic material.
"Let's test out the new weapon papa gave me!" Myuu declared as the substance covering her hands and forearms began to move like a liquid according to her whims. When it became still though, Myuu looked as if she now had two long sickle-like blades extending from both of her wrists, both of which possessed a short barb that curved inward on the end.
For a moment neither she nor the Takouba moved, both sizing the other up as they stared at each other, before both suddenly disappeared from their previous positions.
*CLANG!*
A metallic clang rang out as Myuu's sickles collided with one of the Takouba's bladed limbs, only for it to suddenly unfold twice as the extra length curled around her sickles to slash at her.
"!!!" Though alarmed, Myuu swiftly disengaged and lunged back to avoid the elongated blades as it whipped around, which shaved off a lock of her hair as the tip just barely missed her head.
Seeing the few strands of her emerald hair flutter to the ground, Myuu glared at the Takouba with anger as she prepared to attack again. This time however the sickle on her left hand turned into a liquid once again as it flowed back towards her hand, before solidifying as small buckler.
No sooner than when her buckler formed did another clang ring out as the Takouba's bladed forelegs collided with it, only to sink slightly into the liquid metal before it hardened around them again. With its forelegs stuck in her buckler, Myuu flashed a confident smirk before she swung the barbed sickle around one last time, hooking the barb on the Takouba's throat and cutting it open in one swift movement before it tried to use its tail instead.
The fiend shuddered as thick dark red blood poured out of it's neck, before it was replaced by the glowing Pyreflies that all fiends were actually made of. And as the fiend dissolved away in front of her, Myuu took a moment to admire the gauntlets her papa gave her as she tried a few different ways to use them, such as making numerous spikes come out of her knuckles, or hooked claws on the tips of her fingers.
"I love these papa!" Myuu muttered to herself, before turning to see how her younger siblings were fairing against their own opponents, a sight that left her fairly exasperated.
Wether they used magic, their own skills, or simply their fists, the area around them had taken quite the beating as the mini-Saiyans defeated their opponents. Currently the only fiends left were a couple of the Flans that Regal was facing, and were red in color...
"Burn already!" The Phoenix/Saiyan growled in annoyance as he summoned yet another pillar of fire that swallowed the Flans whole, only for them to emerge looking healthier than before. They would then in turn use their own fire magic to attack Regal, which was, needless to say, useless against a Phoenix.
Again the two sides used their own brand of magic, back and forth, with neither gaining ground on the other until finally Lizzy appears to have enough, and waved her heart-shaped magic wand at the Flans while also doing a little dance.
"Freeze my enemies, Magical Li-Li Tan!" With a wave of her wand and a twirl of her skirts, Lizzy then summoned numerous heart shaped blasts of freezing cold wind that froze the red Flans solid, before they shattered into hundreds of pieces.
"They were mine!" Regal immediately whined at his sister, who snapped back,
"Well obviously fire wasn't hurting them! You should have used ice magic!" Regal however appeared offended as he proudly declared,
"I am a Phoenix! My flames will conquer all!" When they heard that the rest of the children just shook their heads at their brother, while Myuu couldn't help but think to herself that Regal needed to worry about his flames torching regular enemies before trying to outdo fireproof ones.
Even Sun shook her head from above since combat 101 was that if one tactic didn't work, switch it up. Every single one of the mini-Saiyans were trained in their own unique abilities, AND physical combat. If his flames hadn't hurt the Flans, then Regal should have just directly pummeled them into goo.
Though Myuu still took a few minutes to scold Regal for his actions, while also pointing out that their father would be disappointed in him struggling against such weak enemies, the children soon left after the battle to continue their adventure.
As the day wore on they covered miles of ground, exploring, fighting, snacking, until the sun began to dip upon the horizon. With dusk settling in the children began to search for an area to camp for the night, as camping was a big part of having an adventure.
They searched the area around them when Mai noticed a ruined tower in the distance, which they all promptly agreed to go and check out. Upon arriving though, they heard something else already moving within.
"Ugh! There's nothing here Pacce!" A young sounding voice cried out, to which another one answered,
"Keep looking then! There has to be a sphere around here somewhere!" The noise of the group searching the interior of the ruined tower grew as the children approached it, until a face peeked out of one of the holes in the wall.
"Uh Pacce, someone's here!" Immediately two more heads poked out to see who was coming, before all three rushed forward to block their way.
"Stop! We found this place first, any spheres here are ours!" Their leader, Pacce, cried out. Edith however cocked her head to the side in confusion, and said,
"Spheres? We just thought this might be a good place to camp. Why would we be interested in any spheres?" When they heard that the trio of children seemed to relax slightly, as their leader hesitantly asked,
"So you're not sphere hunters too?"
"Sphere hunters~Nya?" Mai asked this time, before Lizzy followed up,
"What are sphere hunters?" Pacce and the other two children gaped at them in shock, before one of them remarked,
"Sphere hunters hunt spheres of course!" Pacce nodded and said proudly,
"We're sphere hunters!" Pacce and the one on his right then made a pose before declaring loudly,
""THE KINDERGUARDIANS!""
A second later the other member got into their own pose, and added late,
"The Kinderguardians!"
Watching the display, Edith and others started giggling while Sun shook her head above them with a wry smile. When they got out of their pose though, Pacce then asked them,
"So who are all of you?" Myuu then stepped forward and said,
"I'm Myuu, and these are my little brothers and sisters." She then went down the line to introduce every single one, before concluding, "We're all on an adventure to explore Spira!" When he heard that Pacce suddenly got a serious look, as he told them,
"You should be careful, exploring Spira can dangerous with all the fiends around." This earned him and his companions numerous looks from the children, as Alec retorted,
"What about you three?" Pacce grinned smugly as he declared,
"I was a Guardian for my brother, Isaaru, when he was a Summoner! I was trained to defend him from fiends, and I taught Taro and Hana when we formed the Kinderguardians!" The trio then grinned cheekily while looking smug, making Sun shake her head above them as she watched on, but then something else took her attention that was rapidly approaching the group of children.
Though she was tempted to intervene like she did the Zu earlier, Sun ended up deciding not to since she knew Alex would want to let his children test themselves. They themselves also noticed the rapidly approaching fiend as it made their surroundings shake, and crashed through whatever was in the way of the prey it smelled.
Immediately all of the Kinderguardian's bravado disappeared as they realized what was approaching, while Myuu and the others grew increasingly excited as they awaited the next challenger. When it finally showed itself though, with massive horns, fangs, and claws, rippling muscles, and murder in its eyes, the children grew excited for an entirely different reason as the same thought seemed to cross all of their minds.
"ITS A PUPPY!" Edith cried out.
***
Meanwhile, in a completely different are of the Mi'ihen Highroads, a solitary figure flew through the skies as she searched for her quarry below. Not seeing what she was after though, Anne sighed as she slowed to a stop and contemplated returning to Asora for the night.
She had spent the last few days searching for Chocobos to round up, and bring to Asora to establish their own flocks for the people to ride and interact with. So far she had not only found a few such flocks that she'd brought with her, but also a couple good candidates to bring to Asora with her to raise and care for them, a young girl named Calli, and a young man named Clasko.
Both being Chocobo enthusiasts, they had readily agreed to Anne's offer when she told them who she was, and that she wanted them to care for the Chocobos she brought to Asora.
Now however she was searching for one last decent sized flock to migrate before turning her attention onto the massive Shoopuffs, except it appeared like all of the Chocobos in the area had vanished. No matter when she looked Anne couldn't find even a single Chocobo running about, which was strange because she knew she hadn't taken that many.
Deciding to look around just a bit longer before turning in for the night, Anne descended to the ground to see if there were any tracks that she could follow. What surprised her though, was that not far from where she landed Anne found numerous tracks from what appeared to be a huge flock of Chocobos that had passed by not too long ago.
The thing that caught Anne's attention though was that there was also several strange tracks that she had never seen before mixed in with the Chocobos, making her think that the giant birds might have been fleeing from something and that had been why she couldn't find any. Her decision made, Anne immediately took off in the direction that the tracks led to find the Chocobos and whatever it was that chasing them.
Flying low to the ground, Anne rushed over the plains of the Highroad as she neared a series of canyons and ravines that rose up overhead, following the tracks as they led led straight into these very same ravines. She then wove through the maze-like area as she searched for the large birds, until a sudden cry alerted her that she was close.
Rounding a corner, Anne finally found herself face-to-face with the largest flock of Chocobos she'd seen yet, and the things that were apparently trying to make a meal of them.
There were three of them, fiends that about twice as tall as normal person, but almost the entire main body was composed of their head. They had two arms that extended out for more that twice their body length, and ended with a series of hook-shaped claws designed for grabbing prey without it getting free. And when one turned for her to see its front, Anne saw a massive mouth that had several long fangs, two purple tongues side-by-side, and even several disgusting bugs that were crawling around its teeth.
As the fiend, a Chocobo Eater, cornered its next meal, Anne watched with increasing horror as it swiped the nearest Chocobo with its large talons, and swept the poor thing into its enormous mouth.
"KWEEEEEE-GURK!" The Chocobo cried out in pain and fear as the massive jaws came down onto it, before its cry was cut short as it was crunched to death by the fiend.
Within seconds the fiend had finished eating the poor creature, before it turned its attention towards the next one. With three of them eating like that, Anne knew the entire flock would be wiped out if she didn't do anything.
Using her Sky Dragon Slayer magic to enhance her speed, Anne rushed forward and leapt in between the Chocobos and the Eaters while also using earth-bending to create a short wall between the two groups to protect them. While the Chocobos looked at her with caution and curiosity, the Eaters glared at Anne as if aware that she was going to stand between them and their meal.
"GRAAAAAA!" One roared as it charged her, to which Anne calmly said,
"Sorry, but not today you ugly son of a-" Whatever she said next was downed out by the sound of a roaring inferno as Anne produced a ball of fire in her hand, and turned it into a raging flamethrower right into the Eater's face and open mouth before it reached her, making the fiend screech as it burned.
As the fiend ran off screeching from the pain, the other two Eaters turned their attention towards Anne, their beady eyes narrowing dangerously as they both began to move to encircle, and entrap her. Anne however calmed herself, steadying her breathing as focused on her power over the elements, instead of just relying on her slayer and telekinesis abilities.
The first eater was blasted backwards by a pillar of rock that shot up from the ground, launching back and into the air before it crashed into ground, hard. It wouldn't kill it, but the Eater was dazed enough for Anne to focus on the other one as it closed in. She then drew on a nearby source of water, a small creek that ran down the cliff face, and created three razor sharp disks made of ice.
The Eater didn't even get the chance to react as all three disks slid through its body without any resistance, making both of its great arms fall off, before its actual main body split into two right as the entire thing began to dissolve into Pyreflies. With one dead, the other still on fire and dying, Anne then turned her attention to the other one that she had sent flying.
Rather than do anything fancy though, Anne simply decided to end the lives of both the remaining Eaters at once as she turned her attention towards the cliffs above them. She then used her earth-bending to 'pull' then entire cliff down, bringing tons of rock and dirt directly down onto the two Eaters to crush and bury them alive, which worked if the glowing Pyreflies that appeared afterwards were any indication.
Sighing in relief, Anne then turned her attention towards the flock of Chocobos behind as she told them softly and soothingly,
"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you." As she spoke, Anne reached out to pet them and, surprising her, none of the Chocobos shy'ed away from her touch as she patted the first one on its large beak.
Seemingly knowing she was a friend, Anne soon found herself surrounded by the giant birds on all sides as they clamored for attention, which she tried to give all of them before shocking them with the sudden transfer to Asora.
"I think we'd have enough of you guys now." Anne said jokingly, to which several of the Chocobos cried out as if in agreement.
***
As the night wore on, in another area of Spira known as the Calm Lands, a certain petite figure hovered in the air as she gathered and focused her magic power. With her platinum blond hair flowing in the breeze, the vampiress channeled a shocking amount of her magic power into her spell as she opened her eyes, and uttered,
"...Flare..."
Immediately the entire area she was in was lit up like night had turned into day, as an intense concentration of fire and light vaporized almost an entire mountain that was thankfully devoid of any people.
When the light eventually died down, and her vision returned to normal, the edge of Yue's lips curled up in a smirk as she was actually glad she decided to learn this particular branch of magic.
Before they came to Spira Alex told Yue about the magic they used there, and about one branch in particular. While she wasn't concerned about he other elemental branches of magic, Yue was especially interested in the Flare branch, which Alex said was the most powerful branch in every single Final Fantasy world.
Even the spell she just used, Flare, was only the weakest one in the line, with each one significantly more powerful and devastating than the last.
Yue's small frame shuddered in excitement as she imagined just how powerful the variants of Flare would be once she mastered them, Megaflare, Gigaflare, Terraflare, and even the most powerful, Zettaflare.
Seeing the destruction caused by just Flare though, Yue decided that it would probably be best if she practiced someplace else since Alex most likely wouldn't appreciate it if she accidentally wiped out all of Spira. She then used Regeneration magic to restore the mountain to its previous appearance, and then took off upwards into space to find some barren planet to practice on.