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In the harsh, overgrown forest of Kilika… someone let a smile twist their features, scribbling a few sentences down in their notebook. Thirty feet in front of them, a Dinonix nibbled on the remains of a Killer Bee. It was fascinating. Dinonix usually fought alongside the Killer Bee species against invading forces. Namely; Humans. But they seemed to use each other as food sources whenever they weren’t trying to defend their homeland.

They moved to step backwards. And managed to accidentally break one of the small twigs on the forest floor. As soon as the sound was heard, the Dinonix looked in their direction and memorized her appearance. The memory wouldn’t last long, unfortunately. There was nothing important enough to remember about fresh prey.

Female. Purple, messy hair that was left down and two, distinct ponytails that were kept on the front of each of her shoulders. Intelligent, chocolate brown eyes looked her subject of study in the eye with an unconscious squeak. Pale, milky complexion that betrayed nothing of her months spent under the sun. Her outfit was strange. It appeared to be a dress of some kind, attached to what was believed to be a cape, and topped off with matching boots. At her waist was a single firearm.

This was Taika Melete; the Boss of the Sfera Famiglia.

“Eh, nice Dinonix?”

The fiend lunged at her in response, intentions as clear as day. Her hand retrieved the gun at her waist and pointed it toward her opponent, firing a single round. As quickly as the encounter had started; the Dinonix dropped onto the floor unmoving. Taika’s smile from earlier was replaced by an expression of disappointment. “Farplane, I was hoping to study you more. I wonder if there is another Dinonix around here.”

Taika turned away from the vanishing form of the fiend, walking down the path toward the Temple near the heart of the forest. Surely another Dinonix would make themselves known as long as she traveled this route. Her eyes snapped toward her bust as she heard her ringtone playing. Blinking, she retrieved her cell phone and pressed the small green button to answer the call. “Hello, this’ Taika. What can I do for you, Cian?”

“Eric wants you and the rest of the Sfera to come here to Headquarters. We’ll brief you on the reason why once you arrive, ‘kay?” the swordsman replied.

“Understood. I’ll get there as quickly as possible. And Cian, would you mind calling the others for me?”

Cian took a few seconds to consider his answer. “Sure.”

The call was ended on both ends as the purplette turned back around, walking in the direction of Kilika. They had the only airport in the area, seeing as it was the only settlement on the island besides from the Temple. And that place had fallen into disrepair over the years, so it was unlikely that anybody that wasn’t the local wildlife lived there. The researcher was caught by a sudden question that both interested and heavily amused her. Maybe the Temple was the breeding grounds for the Dinonix?

---

As the sun began to ascend on the horizon, a lone person occupied the dining room table. Their posture was that of someone tired, head supported by the palm of their hand as they toyed with the food on their plate. It was their usual breakfast that consisted of eggs, sausage, and bacon. Their coffee was off on the side, almost untouched. As the sunlight filtered through their curtains, their appearance was revealed.

Female. Long, dark blond hair that was kept in a messy high ponytail this early in the morning. Dull, cerulean eyes lazily kept track of the room and occasionally landed on the plate in front of them. Pale, pink flesh peaked out everywhere that wasn’t covered by the small pink nightgown. In the corner of the room, her weapon was discarded without further use for the time being.

This was Kylina Valerie Phrasler; the Ocean Guardian of the Sfera Famiglia and the right hand of their Boss; Taika Melete.

“Mornings are terrible,” the woman bemoaned, shielding her eyes from the sunlight.

Kylina was the perfect subordinate. Few people in or outside of the family chose to question her competency as the right hand of the Sfera, fewer about her prowess on the battlefield. In spite of all that, however, she was just your average person in the morning. A person that highly disliked mornings and would rather sleep in. My, wouldn’t the enemies just cower in fear at hearing that.

Her eyes flew wide open as her ringtone broke the silence, jumpstarting her system as her hand reached out to grab the phone. “Yes?”

“Hey, Kylina. How are you doing, sweetheart -” the blond rolled her eyes at that, “I was calling since Taika asked me to. Eric needs the Sfera Famiglia here, at Headquarters.”

Kylina looked at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was almost nine in the morning. That was plenty of time to check for a plane that could take her to Mount Gagazet. The swordswoman released a brief sigh and nodded unconsciously. “Yeah, I’ll get there. Probably tonight or tomorrow.”

“Great, see ya’ then!”

---

In a hospital in Bevelle, a Doctor smiled indifferently as they looked upon their patient. The man had been sent in for several fractured ribs. Apparently he fell off the roof of his house or something from what they’d managed to gather whenever he was biting his lip in pain. They had to admit, the guy handled his pain fairly well. Not a peep from him the entire time he was being worked on by them.

“You’ll make a full recovery, Mister Grey,” they told him.

As the man looked back at the Doctor, he took the chance to memorize her appearance. He wanted to personally come back and thank the medical expert for easing his suffering. Flowers, as cliché as that seemed, was the first thing that came to mind. It would’ve been a bottle of alcohol or something of that regard but that might send the wrong message. The Doctor probably wasn’t into that sort of thing.

Female. Frazzled, white hair made her seem older than she truly was, and grey eyes sparked with… something. Indifference. A light tan complexion told him of the amount of time she had spent in the sun and the outfit told him that she took her job only semi-seriously. Instead of the scrubs that one would expect from someone in her profession, she wore a plain white blouse and black shirt combo below the Doctor coat. And the oddest part was, on her back, a staff was kept in straps.

This was Ash Burrows; the Glacier Guardian of the Sfera Famiglia and the primary medical expert.

She was responsible for patching the other Guardians, and their Boss, back together whenever they came back injured. She was responsible for diagnosing all the problems they had or making sure that they were in perfect health. And considering their line of profession, she was frequently at work. However, as the family had split apart for two weeks for some down time, she had been working at the hospital in Bevelle. It was kind of rewarding to see her patients getting better.

“Now, to check on the ca-…” she was caught off as her cell phone rang, “-or that.”

Ash took the phone out of her pocket and checked the caller id before, slowly, pushing the accept button. It was Cian on the other end. Inwardly, the woman questioned just why he was calling her. They weren’t particularly close, or even friends as far as she was concerned. The only friends that she had were in her family and that was pushing it.

“Hello?”

“Hey there, Ashy. Eric wants everyone to come to Headquarters. So, are you coming?” the blunette sounded pretty enthusiastic. As unsurprising as that was. Cian was always positive unless the situation demanded that he act seriously.

“Why didn’t Taika contact me, then?”

“Jeez… indifferent much? Anyway, Taika asked me to call everyone on her behalf. Again, are you coming?” Cian inquired.

“Yes.”

---

“Come on, Benny! I want to stop by the store before you leave for Besaid. You can totally wear a new bikini there!”

“Oh my God! Benny, you should!”

“Hurry! Hurry!”

Female. Her orange hair was styled into a bob cut, framing her youthful features. Her dark yellow eyes watched her friends pulling her towards one of the stores in the plaza, a blush gracing her cheeks. Her skin was pale, milky even, and was unchangeable no matter how much time was spent in the sun. Her outfit consisted of a schoolgirl uniform, as she had just recently been released from school for the day and hadn’t had the chance to change into something more casual. Behind her, a small red panda followed her every movement.

This was Benibelle Denir Empola; the Desert Guardian of the Sfera Famiglia.

She was due to return to Spira in two days, in order to report to Taika concerning the happenings in Ivalice. In spite of the fact that Taika kept their operations on the Spira continent, she liked to stay up to date on anything in Ivalice. The simple fact that their Desert Guardian lived there helped in that regard. And seeing as their Headquarters was based in Besaid, beach wear was simply a must. Nobody stopped by that place without spending at least a few hours in the sun.

“Benny, you should get that one!” one of the others gushed.

Her eyes fell upon the swimsuit that was on display. It was covered in ruffles, hiding more from view than a two-piece normally would. The swimsuit itself was covered in strawberry print. And the moment she took notice of that, one thing was clear. She. Had. To. Have. That. Swimsuit.

“Beautiful,” the young Mafioso stated, crossing the short distance in the blink of an eye.

By the time her friends noticed her disappearance, she was already walking out of the store with the swimsuit in hand. None of them questioned the occurrence and simply fell into a fit of giggles as they waited for the orange-haired girl to rejoin them. The red panda watched from his place on the sidewalk, fighting off the shake his head in exasperation.

---

In a shady tavern, right on the outskirts of the Thunder Plains, a man drank his alcohol in silence. The light was flickering from time to time and nobody could really make out the appearances of the next guy, not even when they were two feet from each other. This was the sort of place that the scum of society loved to frequent. Nobody would report them to any of the authorities. After all, they were each as wanted as the next person.

To report one, was to report everybody. And nobody was that foolish.

One of the drunken patrons of the establishment fell backwards, knocking into the man that was sipping his drink. The cup was dropped by accident and shattered on the countertop. Everything ceased any further movement and silence fell upon the normally loud atmosphere. The lightning in the distance was louder than ever. And the man that caused this?

He was slowly moving back, away from the man that he’d just knocked into.

The man at the counter had been going there for the last week. In that brief time, he’d made himself known as someone that others didn’t want to screw with. Hell, the last person that had interrupted his drink was thrown out of the bar covered in bruises and missing a lower arm. Yes, the man was brutal if nothing else. So it wasn’t terribly shocking to see people looking at him and the rapidly sobering patron in horror.

Slowly, the man raised from the barstool. At that point, the light flickered completely on and left the others see his appearance for the first time since he’d started frequenting the tavern. Most of them were able to recognize him on the spot. Such was his reputation was one of the most brutal individuals on this side of Spira.

Male. His skin was dark, beckoning his long hours in the sun or being native to one of the more tropical settlements on the continent. Long, very bright blond hair framed his surprisingly delicate features and matched rather well with his dark cerulean eyes. He was dressed in an outfit akin to a biker, a few tattoos noticeable on his arms. And one thing that was abundantly clear was the voulge, held in place on his back by magnets stitched into his vest.

This was Kintaro Darzalas; the Mountain Guardian of the Sfera Famiglia.

“You made a very, very big mistake,” his voice was barely audible.

The next few seconds went by too quickly for the other patrons to notice. In one second, the previously drunken patron was backed against the wall in fear. In the next, he was flying through the door of the tavern with missing teeth and bruises that had bruises. Satisfied, Kin sat back in his barstool and took the bottle of whiskey from behind the counter. The barman made no move to demand payment, wisely steering clear of him.

Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. They just watched.

A light, entertaining noise broke the silence that filled the shady establishment. Kin paused in his drinking and removed the cell phone from his pocket, looking at the caller id. It was Cianel of the Eclissi Famiglia. He cracked a bothered frown at the sight and wondered why he was being called by that man of all people. The call was accepted.

“Hello?” the man inquired.

“Hey, Taika wants you to report to our Headquarters. And before you ask, she wanted me to call everyone for her since she was busy.”

“Whatever…”

---

There, in one of the popular beach resorts that Besaid was renowned for, a blond man let a sigh escape him. He was young, nineteen at the most. His blond hair was shaggy, ending at his shoulders and seemingly blending in with his chocolate brown eyes. He was outfitted in a plain old pair of swimming trunks, his upper body left bare. He was surprisingly tone but was obviously meant more for speed than strength. Tattooed on his right hip was the emblem of the Sfera Famiglia.

He was Aaron de Maria; the Forest Guardian of the Sfera Famiglia and one of Spira’s most talented thieves.

The person standing in front of him was shorter by three or four inches. Female, at that. Her beautiful raven tresses were kept in a relatively small ponytail, leaving her face in clear view. Amethyst eyes kept track of her boyfriend as he released a sigh of boredom, a playful smile on her lips as she thought of something. She was covered by a towel.

She was Caryn Serengo; the Swamp Guardian of the Sfera Famiglia and loving partner of man previously mentioned.

“Are you bored, sweetheart?” the raven inquired.

Aaron pouted childishly. “Yeah. I was hoping to stop by Macalania or Bevelle. Besaid is fun ‘n all but I’d like to see to visit places every once in awhile. Ivalice sounds pretty fun this time of year from what Benny said.”

The woman chose not to reply and instead released the knot that held the towel, letting the cloth fall onto the floor to reveal the black two-piece bikini underneath. Afterward, she turned from her gaping lover and walked towards the pool to soak for a few minutes. In her wake, the man’s boredom was all but forgotten. Not that anyone was going to blame him. Caryn was obviously one of the most beautiful woman on television. As per her status as one of the Guardians in the second highest ranking Mafia in the world, she was on television often enough.

It wasn’t terribly difficult to find someone that was lusting after her.

Aaron moved to follow after his girlfriend when he was stopped by the sensation of someone tapping him on his forearm. His eyes lurked toward the source and found themselves landing on his younger brother. The child was just as blond as him, if not more so, with eyes the very color of the ocean that surrounded the island paradise. He was Zeflin Sevenwings; younger half-brother of the Forest Guardian and unofficial ally of the Sfera Famiglia.

“What’cha want, Zef?”

The child grinned, “Can we go swimming?!”

Aaron’s eyes found themselves wandering back to Caryn, watching as she went back and forth in the pool. “Sure… absolutely.”

“Why are you lookin’ at Caryn, big brother?”

“You’ll understand when you are my age,” was the only response he gave.

Cianel was unable to reach them, at which point he left a message for them to show up at Eclissi Headquarters.

---

Next Chapter; CH.3 - Meeting of the two Famiglia!