Lost little Fledgling(open)

Lyle had no idea going on a delivery while his sister was gone would end so badly. He had simply went to give out the local paper when a group of kids started to mess with him. As if to make it worse, as soon as he got away from the kids a group of heartless and nobodies found him just outside the shopping district. He fought them off as best as he could crying while sending sparks everywhere. He was tackled by two shadows and dragged out of twilight town to this dark place. He couldn't see anything but black as he stumbled around crying. He created a spark long enough to find a small room to hide in. He settled himself in the corner farthest from the door and pulled his kneels up to his chest. His tail wrapped around his ankles as his wings folded around him, making him look like a shuddering mass of feathers at first glance. He restedhis head on his knees as he wailed loudly. He was so confused and frightened he just wanted to be held by his sister for comfort.

While this was happening a new portal to Castle Oblivion opened before its gates and out from it walked the one known as Kuja as he was still a bit miffed at getting his skin damaged by Talone, but though he wanted to make her pay for it he figured her submissive stance to him would be enough as is. He floated off to go fix himself up but did turn to say "Ratchet take her to your lab and fix her wounds up, I know you can't do it but that medical bot you made can finish the job." With that he flew off without even a wave goodbye, Ratchet though was a bit busy with carrying the bloodied Talone out of the portal and into the Castle and if it did help the malogriff the structure looked very large up close.

When the doors opened they could see large empty halls that crisscross in all directions but Ratchet knew where to go and was quickly running down the halls with Talone in his arms as his worry for the young Malogriff continued to grow. It would only be a matter of time though before she would get the proper medical treatment she needed from him.

In the part of the castle where Lyle was another being was being disturbed by the loud crying the kid was making and it was enough to wake up one of the grumpiest people in the entire place, and that person was Ryoko the younger sister to the great Kuja and far far more temperamental than him. She was now grumbling as her body flew through the air rapidly and when a wall came into view she just went right through it like a ghost, it was thanks to her phasing abilities that allowed such a thing to even be possible for her.

Thanks to those powers it only took her three fourth the time it would have to locate the source of the crying and when she drew near she picked to appear right out of the wall next to the source to nearly kill it, but when she saw it was a kid of some sort she grumbled and said "Hey you little brat, what is all your crying for. Did you get lost in here or something.....if so I'll get you back to the more used rooms but if you don't shut up I'm leaving you here." Ryoko was helpful but she was also grumpy so her treatment of the kid might seen harsh it was the best she could do in the kindness department.

The instant he heard a voice her screamed and scurried off into another corner. He nearly tried taking flight but continued to stumble foreward. He grabbed his tail and began ringing it as one would a drenched towel. He was crying harder now as he spoke up.

"Please...don't hurt me...I -I..."
He stopped to let out a loud wail like that of an injured animal and bolted for the door. He took off as fast as his legs would take him not seeming to care if he became even more lost. He turned a corner and finally collapsed in a heap of loud panting and feathers. He had some how stumbled into the lab in an attempt to get away from the girl that flew with no wings. He closed the door and sat on the floor before the scent of his sister hit his nose. A new panic awoke in him as the smell was mixed with blood.
"Talone! Where are you I'm scared! Why do I smell blood?!"
He was crying again as he curled up following what his sister had told him to do when he smelt her and he was lost. His sobs grew louder with each moment. He almost screamed as the fear of his sister not coming to find him rising.


Talone was for the most part asleep. She was reviving treatment from a medical bot and was unaware of the world around her. She heard her brothers screams in her sleep but was unable to wake, only letting hoarse words leave her lips.
"...Lyle..find Lyle..."

Ryoko had to cover her ears by now thanks to the kid wailing loud enough to nearly shatter glass before she yelled "WILL YOU KNOCK THAT OUT BEFORE YOU GET ALL THE HEARTLESS WOUND UP!" by then though the kid was gone and she said with a yawn and a glare "Feh not my problem.......I'm going back to sleep." With that Ryoko flew back to her room to drink and sleep for a while longer then maybe take a soak in the magically made hot spring in the basement area of the castle.

It was thanks to Ryoko though that Lyle ran into Ratchet's lab and was now found by Big Daddy as the construct was doing its patrols through the Lab when it saw the kid, while it slowly walked toward him its feet made thumping sounds due to the weight of them and when it saw the kid it let out a confused moan as it didn't know who that was but he looked a lot like the Talone being. As it walked closer to Lyle it made sure to look non-aggressive as it could though it was hard since one hand was a giant drill that could rip a hole in a man in a manner of seconds, it was trying to help the kid really.

Ratchet was busy watching over Talone's body getting fixed up by the medical bot but when he heard the screams he jumped a bit before hearing Talone talk about someone named Lyle and that got him to think that the scream was this Lyle person, Ratchet sent out a message to Big Daddy to find the source and bring it back to him all the while not knowing that Big Daddy already found the source. The machine was holding out a hand to help the kid up in an almost fatherly way to make the kid come with him and not run away from him.

His eyes held wide as this monstrous thing in a suit came at him. He didn't make a sound as it drew closer. He curled his body up as tight a he could with tears streaming down his cheeks in a silent cry.
"Please d-don't hurt me...I-I just want my sister!"
He crie out the last line as he was losing more and more control. As the hand drew nearer he kicked at it and latched onto it with his foot. He tried digging his talons into the thick glove but to no avail. He whimpered louder and louder as he started to put a slight spark in his feet.

Talone's eye shot open at the sound of the choked out word sister. She groaned loudly and tried to shift her wings before realizing one was being treated by a machine. She looked around to see she was surrounded by walls and Ratchet watching over her. She could already feel the unease in the pit of her stomach as she began to twitch her toes and fingers. She wanted to get up but thought better remembering her state.
"Ratchet. Those screams...they belong to my brother. He needs me, I-*cringes in pain* I need to find him."
She could still feel there were tissues torn in her left side but thought her brother's safety was more important than her own life.

Big Daddy felt slight pain from Lyle's actions but it wasn't enough to bother it too much as the being simply shook the boy's claws off his fingers before reaching forward once more, it reached his head and softly stroked his head for a few moments then backed up and just to stare at the kid for a while Big Daddy wasn't going to try to force the kid to do anything as it would just cause trouble for the both of them.

Ratchet saw what Talone was trying to do and he spoke up "I-I figured as much....Big D-Daddy might of found him and he is just s-scared of Big Daddy like you was. But you need to let the m-machine finish healing you.....I think your b-brother would freak out more if he s-saw you in this state Talone.....a b-bloody and torn up sister would be scary t-to see." Ratchet was having to be the sane one in this situation it seems.......like he tends to be.

He choked out sobs when his grasp was shaken off. He prepared to be strikes when the hand came foreward again but was treated to a gentle pet on the head. His whole body stilled and he looked up wide eyed at the thing. He relaxed as it backed up and decided to stand. He got to his legs shakily as he took a careful step toward it.
"You didn't...hurt me..."
He suddenly was over come with a case of the hiccups as he reached out one of his frail hands toward the machine suit's gloved one. He was extremely hesitant at first but took hold of it loosely. He could see the indents where his talons just were and stuttered out his words.
"...s-sorry I hu*hic*rt you... Do you kn*hic*ow where my si*ster is...?"
He slightly squeezed the creatures glove as if for security.

Talone was not agreeing with Ratchet in just letting Big Daddy bring her baby brother to them. She decided to at least extend her good arm and try and use it to push herself up only to fall back. She growled at this and glared daggers at the ceiling. She could clearly smell Lyle by the way he always smelt of salt water sdue to his constant crying.
"Just...make sure Daddy is gentle with him alright? He's rather...small for his age..."
She bit into her lip when the machine hit an area at the joint of her wing. It was full of highly tender nerves and she had to fight not to scream herself. A single tear ran down her cheek as she focused on staying strong for when her brother arrived.

Big Daddy watched as the young Lyle calmed down after he had petted the child's head but when the kid tried to talk to him Big Daddy couldn't really say anything back as he only could moan or groan for now, he saw the child move forward toward himself and now look at his hands to see the small cuts he did to Big Daddy's gloved hand. When the child said he was sorry Big daddy gave him another pet on the head and then softly picked the child up around his waist before placing Lyle on his shoulder, Big Daddy was giving Lyle a ride to help get the child to Ratchet and Talone faster as well as to get the kid to loosen up a bit and not be so scared.

Ratchet sighed a slight bit when he saw Talone still trying to get up but when she finally gave up and told him what she thought he said "Don't worry Big Daddy is very soft w-with people, I made sure by having him carry a-around a banana to see if he would bruise it or not. H-he didn't so I don't think he will be h-harmed." It was then that he watched Talone cry a slight bit in pain and so he wiped the tear away with a soft handkerchief before the sound of Big Daddy's footsteps echoed through the lab back to their location. Ratchet smiled and said "I think B-Big Daddy has your brother with him n-now."

He stopped himself from screaming as he was lifted off the ground and placd on the machine suit's shoulder. He gripped the side of it's helmet for support as he felt he would fall off at any moment. The loud steps of the machine's feet filled the void until he saw Talone laying on a table with a machine doing things to her. He panicked and jumped off the machine's shoulder and rushed over to his I'll sister.
"Talone! What happened?!"
He then noticed a heartless standing next to her and he summoned his staff in a flash of sparks. He stood away from it and pointed the charging forked top at it. His whole frame was shaking as he tried to sound threatening.
"G-get away from my sister! W-what have y-you done to her!"
He stood ready to zap the heartless as talone lifted her arm and spoke.
"I'm fine. This heartless is a friend of mine. He wo-*cringes in pain but relaxes again* won't hurt you."
She looked over to Lyle to make him see that she was ok but he was still hesitant in lowering his staff. Once he did so talone becomes him closer. She gently took one of his hands and squeezed it, making Lyle finally relax and squeeze back.
"See? Just fine. Now say sorry to Ratchet."
He looked over to his sister's friend and hung his head as he started to slowly have tears fall again.
"Sorry..."
talone gave a weak smile as she freed her hand from his to wipe his tears away.
"There's no need to cry now, I'm right here Fledgling."

Big Daddy watched the one called Lyle jump off his shoulder and run to Talone when the older Malogriff came into view, when that happened he felt a bit dejected but he saw Ratchet smile at him and give him a thumbs up to show he did a good job. That was enough to make Big Daddy happy again as he went back to patrolling the lab to keep it safe from harm and thieves.

Ratchet now watched the younger Malogriff freak over his sister which Ratchet guessed would happen due to her current condition but then the kid aimed a weapon at Ratchet and scared the poor guy a bit. Ratchet jumped back and had his wrench in his hand ready to defend himself though he shook a tiny bit from fear, but thankfully Talone helped calm the situation down by informing the kid that he was a friendly not an enemy.

It was then that he heard the kid say sorry to him and Ratchet gave a slight nod to the kid before putting his Wrench away and saying "It ok....I-I'm used to the reactions." Ya he was used to them but didn't make him less scared of getting shot at or something, he watched the two have their tender moment as the machine finished up its work on Talone and she was as good as new now.

Lyle tried his best to stop his tears and seem stronger but still had one or two roll down his cheek every so often. He looked back to his sister as she slowly sat up. Her movements still looked pained but it was unbareable. She looked back between both boys as she gave a gentle look.
"As you can guess this is my brother Lyle I've told you about. He's the only connection I have with my home world."
On that note Lyle went to hug his sister and she just held him contently. He then decided to speak up with a quiver still in his voice.
"Tal, what is this place and how did you get here?"
talone pulled him back some and gave him a quizzical look.
"I could as you the same thing. You know I always tell you to stay in the nest when I'm away."
He looked away with a look of somewhat shame as he tried his best to explain.
"But I just wanted to do a delivery on my own. I guess it wasn't too smart since some kids started to tease me and throw things at me because of my looks.*gets look from Talone* I had my magic veil on so they didn't see the true me! I was attacked by some heartless after I got away from the kids and they dragged me here."
He looked ready to cry again as he was highly sensitive about being Albino and being physically weak. She decided to let it rest and pulled him in for a comforting hug. She looked over to Ratchet as she toyed with one of Lyle's braids.
"It's ok now Fledgling, I'm right here to keep you safe. *looks to ratchet* This is Castle Oblivion where Master Kuja lives correct?"

Ratchet listened to the two talk and he felt kinda awkward as he didn't think he should be watching this but he nodded his head to what Talone said about Lyle being her brother and what not. He then watched the two have a touching moment and he sort of wished he was done with Big Sister now though the parts were still coming in for the machine to be done with.

It was then that Talone looked back at him and asked him a question about this place to which he said "Y-yes this is Castle Oblivion though Yuffie, Ryoko, and Kotuetsu live here too as well. It more than big enough for us all as Koutetsu just sleeps in a training room most times anyway."

Lyle has somehow fallen asleep in his sister's hold, giving him no control of his falling tears. His worst crying was done in his sleep as he would whimper or jump as he slept. Talone started to stroke the should of his wing, making the small whimpers stop but the tears still flowed. She sigh as she started to talk to Ratchet.
"As you can see my brother isn't exactly a normal Malogriff. He has little to no pigment and his wings are rather weak. He also has no control of his tear ducts. I'm amazed he made it this far without bruising."
She then looked down at her sleeping sibling and watched his wings shudder with each breath. She wanted to find some sort of cure for his mutation but knew no such thing could happen. She continued to stroke his wings as she hummed.

Ratchet watched Lyle fall asleep in Talone's arm and he felt just a twinge of jealousy toward the boy but knew that wasn't right so he shook it away, after the boy fell asleep completely he listened to what Talone said about her brother and he spoke up "...I-I sorry he suffers like that....I can't r-really help him though....the most we could do here i-is make him a new body.....b-but only Master Kuja knows have to do that......I-I only good with making mechanical stuff not b-biological things..." Ratchet was mostly talking about Kuja making use of his Genome technology to make a new body for Lyle though he would be a genome unless Kuja was allowed to use Malogriff DNA to make the genome body a Malogriff for the most part.

Her good eye opened wide when he said they could creat Lyle a newbody. She looked down at her still slumbering brother then back t Ratchet. She then moved her left arm as best she could and reached over to push some of lyle's hair. She faintly touched the mark under his eye. The contact made it go from black to a pale yellow. When it started to spark she removed her hand.
"As grand as it would be for him to have a healthy body it couldn't possibly work. MaloGriffs with this condition are born of pure elemental energy. The frail body and lack of color show they are pure of heart. My brother is thunder energy. I'm afraid if we tried to transfer his soul into a new body it wouldn't be able to take the strain as this body was born to handle mass amounts of electrical energy."
Lyle's face scrunched up some in a form of discomfort when his wings shuddered. talone went back to stroking his wings before a dark look came over her.
"I don't want Master Kuja to see Lyle. He has enough now to control me..."
Lyle stirred some, smiling as if having a blissful dream. This brought heart ache to Talone at the thought of Kuja using her only family against her.

Ratchet listened to her and started to stroke his head and said "Well....maybe the body would need some mechanical parts to help with that....compassitors and dampeners would help regulate the power......also.....I'm not suppose to say this but......*inches close to her and whispers into her ears* Kuja and Ryoko were made not born......and the bodies he can make are......well they are the same types of bodies as his own so......the bodies can handle large amounts of power at........wait what do you mean master Kuja has enough control over you???" Ratchet was baffled by that as he didn't remember anything able Kuja making Talone his slave or anything but her comment about him not knowing sort of made Ratchet sigh a slight bit.

He looked at Lyle and said "There is a good chance he knows......if your brother is pure elemental energy.....then Kuja would sense it with his sixth sense. He uses that to track Ryoko around as Ryoko can't hide from him even if she phases deep into the ground....but if he doesn't know I won't tell I promise."

She shook her head no as she held Lyle tighter. She wasn't fond of machines to begin with from what Novans had done with them, and she wasn't about to let her brother be part of one. Her thought was final, no new body. She held no look of shock on her features at Kuja not being born as most.
"I'm fully aware he wasn't born. He told me what he was the night we met. With the body for Lyle, we'll pass. I'm afraid he'll be tainted if such a transfer was to take place..."
She then look away from ratchet as if in shame. Such a bond would be seen as strong and compassionate, but Talone saw it as the greatest weakness. Her good wing then draped over lyle as if she didn't want him to hear of her "weakness".
"...Master Kuja, he...he has someone I cherish greatly. I've reached to the point of developing a Malfi, the strongest of bonds, with them. I know when they feel pain,for it effects my heart....I feel compelled to protect them no matter if I die. In order for them not to be hurt or killed, I must obey any order given to me by Master Kuja. I'm afraid he'll take Lyle away too if he ever gets a chance. it's so shameful..."
She wouldn't allow herself to look at Lyle or Ratchet. She was becoming hateful of herself and her weak heart. At this point Lyle waked and tried to look up in his sister's face with a smile on his lips. It broke her heart to say the least. her brother was so innocent when she was nearly painted black.

Ratchet listened to what Talone said about dropped the body subject and as she held the boy close to her he placed his hand on her shoulder and said with a smile "Ok no body thing. I just offered it cause I wanted to help." He did though worry that the boy's lack of strength might make him easy pray for the heartless......and death is far better than being ripped into two beings and becoming a mindless beast and an emotionless shell.

When she said that Kuja has someone she cares about so much that her heart feels that person's pain he sort of felt sad as he figured that would be some other malogriff that she cares about that is in the castle. He looked around for a bit then said "W-who is this person....I-I might be able to get them out of here......."

She allowed Lyle to get up as he stretched his body. talone had a barely noticeable blush on her features before she whispered who was the one allowing Kuja to use her.
"...You, Ratchet..."
Lyle looked back at her and tilted his head to the side in confusion. He didn't push it as a thought came to his mind. He stood with hands on his hips and his face held a serious expression. It didn't allow him to be taken seriously by many due to his lithe frame and childish face. It just made his cute/innocent appearance that much adorable.
"So how did you become friends with a heartless? I thought you told me they were to be killed when spotted, what makes this one so differient?"
Talone still wouldn't look at the boys for a look of distain covered her features. She picked up her head and smiled in Lyle's direction.
"You'll understand when you find one you want to protect deeply."
Lyle then stomped his foot as a child about to throw a tantrum and poured. Talone tried her best to laugh and tussled Lyle's hair, making him smile too.

Ratchet could barely hear what Talone said but he did hear it well enough to know she said his name and that caused him to blink in confusion for a few moments then stuttered out "...m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-me?...." the sound sort of squeaked out of him so it wasn't really that loud as he then just blushed a bit and looked at the ground for a while.

It was then that he heard what Lyle said about him and other heartless to which Ratchet said with a distant look on his face "T-think about it this way......there are good and bad malogriffs right? W-what rule is there that says their can't be good heartless? A-Also......h-heartless are not really evil......n-not the basic ones.......heartless live by instincts......t-they act like animals more or l-less........I would be no d-different if I d-didn't become self aware again...........but I s-still remembered what I had done a-ass a mindless one.........I-I still have nightmares of those times........." Ratchet was shaking now as his memories of those times started to flash in his head.......so many people he hurt.......and even if he couldn't control himself.......it didn't change the guilt that he felt from doing the acts.

Ratchet shook the feeling off though as he had to be strong and get over the past and enjoy his life. He has a home to return too, a daddy of sorts and will soon have a big sister, he has friends, and he has someone he would die for as well. He smiled as best as he could considering the previous thoughts that were in his mind, he then said "So L-Lyle how did you find my lab? I-it not very easy to stumble into really." Ratchet was just curious right now.

Talone sighed as shock hit Ratchet. She finally looked up to see him staring down at the floor. She took it more as a sign he was embarrassed and nothing more. Both MaloGriffs listened to the heartless explain the difference of good and evil in any type of creature.
"I never thought of it that way. Though every creature has dark and light in them, even heartless."
Lyle nodded in agreement as he saw his sister's word as law. He seemed a bit nervous when Ratchet asked how he got to the lab. He folded his wings close to his body as he took his tail in hand. He was wringing it as he tried his best to explain without a tear falling from his eyes.
"Er...well u had stumbled into an empty room and hid there crying when a girl walked through the wall. I was already scared so when she just appeared and seemed to snap at me I screamed and took off. I wasn't really aware of where I was going I just ran. I opened one of the many doors and it ended up being this room...
He had a few stray tears but h held up rather well. He looked up at the ceiling and then to the various equipment before noticing a crystal rose on one of the tables. He walked over to it but didn't touch it.
"Did you make this Ratchet? It's very pretty."
At this point Talone slowly was able to stand. She carefully walked over to see the flower as well. She wondered who it could possibly be for.

Ratchet listened but as soon as he heard the part about a girl that walked through walls he froze up in shock and started to shake a bit. He quickly said "W-we got to get him out of here......." He rushed to Talone and quickly informed her of his reasoning "The girl he ran into was Ryoko, that's Kuja's younger sister. If she is the one that saw him then it means Kuja will know he is here soon enough, though if we are lucky Ryoko will take her time on informing him of Lyle.....but he can't hide here......Hiding from Kuja when he doesn't know you are here is hard enough......but now that he knows that Lyle is here he will find him without a doubt......"

Ratchet then saw they were looking at the rose and said "I-I did make it......it is a gift for a person I care about....I making another gift for that person too..." Ratchet motioned toward the feathers that were plied near the rose and showed how it was being made into a hair piece. Ratchet snapped out of his thoughts though and quickly said "B-but we don't have time for this. We need to know what to do....."

Talone instantly went on the defense at ratchet's words. It startled Lyle and he began fluttering his wings in fear.
"Who's Kuja? What does he want with me?"
He started crying loudly as he didn't know what else to do. Talone quickly pick him up even though it hurt her some as she tried to quiet him down. She looked to Ratchet as she started hearing moving that wasn't there before.
"We best get a move on then before he starts shrieking and casting thunder in any and all directions."

Ratchet held his head as Lyle's crying was starting to hurt his ears from the sound as he then said "The damage his thunder would cause to the l-lab would be small......it all set up to handle shocks since I am an e-electrical being too you know...But the spells and the sound would a-attract Kuja's attention for sure...." Ratchet didn't know what to do though as he couldn't open a portal out of here without turning on a focusing machine and if he did that Kuja would instantly know.

As Ratchet finished what he was saying, lighting suddenly struck in a corner of the lab followed by a shrill scream from Lyle. He nearly started having a tantrum as he swung his arms around in a struggle to get free.
"Let me go!!! I wanna go home!!"
Talone was starting to get twitchy due to her brother's little self control. She sighed before putting her hand over the mark on his face and whispering a few words in what sounded like bird song. It glowed for a moment before Lyle suddenly went limp as his face looked distant. He was no longer screaming but his eyes were still crying like a rushing river. talone held him closer as she though of how they could leave.
"I have no idea how long he'll be like this so we should at least get out of the building. Which way is the front door? Even a back door would work."
She kept looking from the dazed Lyle to Ratchet hoping one of them would have an answer.