Oh, boy, there has got to be something wrong with me. First I jumped unto the bandwagon of the evil known as High School fics and now I started another story! …Oh well, just go easy on me on the updates for they will be as slow as the updates for Aquios High.
Anyway, this is a What if AU starting off at the POV of a woman who was born and raised in Airyglyph. What woman? You'll just have to read on and find out for yourself.
And of course, I don't own SO3 or its characters and I try very hard to ignore the fact that I never will (sniffles as she hugs all of her Albel and Nel plushies)
Star Ocean: The Alternate Story
"…So we might have some delays, huh?" a voice said dejectedly inside a candle lit room within the mansion in Arias. It was nighttime and the sky was clear, allowing the many stars lining the black-blue sky to shine their brilliance upon the Elicoorians who were out on such a night. There was only one moon out and it shone a faint light, making it the perfect night for spies to listen in on enemy plans.
"I'm afraid so Lady Clair, the Thunder Arrow has a few…problems," the female soldier reported, earning another sigh from the commanding officer.
"…I see. Tell her majesty that we will continue to hold off the Glyphians as long as we can until the weapon is operational."
"Yes, ma'am!"
On top of the roof, directly above the window, a dark figure grinned. So the Aquarian weapon wasn't going to be ready for quite some time. Of course news from Aquios to Arias was a week old and there might be a chance of one of their engineers having a break through, but fortunately should that happen, the Airyglyph spies stationed there would send a carrier bird to alert the three brigades to make an immediate attack before they could set their weapon up. The Glyphian spy slowly sat up and wrapped her black, fur lined cloak tightly around her slender figure as if she was cold. It wasn't long before the sound of chairs scraping across the floor and doors shutting were heard beneath the cloaked figure, alerting her that the meeting was over and the people inside were now preparing themselves for a cautious nights sleep. It was cautious because they feared another sneak attack from Airyglyph.
With nothing else to do, the spy carefully stood up and tip toed her way to the nearest tree to climb down. The black cloak and black clothing she wore underneath camouflaged her well from the patrolling runologists and soldiers as she traveled in the shadows to find a safe place to sleep for a few minutes. She longed to return to Glyphian territory for she had been away for nearly two weeks, but she had to find out more about the 'secret weapon' the Aquarians were going on about. She had enough information about its development so now all she needed was the specifications on it so Airyglyph needed know what they might be up against and so the precious few engineers they had could create a way to counter the weapon. The man she sent to retrieve the information was due to arrive tomorrow and once it was in her hands, she could return home.
She found a cozy spot behind a few crates and settled herself down before she pulled out a beautiful silver engagement ring that hung from a silver chain around her neck. Ever since she was a little girl, her father arranged for her to be married to the only son of a friend of the family. The wedding was supposed to happen when her intended turned 19, but the death of both of their fathers and the war constantly pushed it back. At first, their relationship was forced because their fathers always put them together and made them spend time together. But after a few years of getting to know one another and after they learned how to fight from their fathers, they slowly warmed up to each other with only a few arguments to defend their pride. Their bond had grown even stronger when they hadconsoled each other when their fathers died. Both mothers had died at childbirth and they both were very close to their fathers, so they only had each other to pull them through the anguish when they were suddenly orphaned. Her fiancé promised her that they would get married once the war was over, not to honor their fathers' wishes but because he loved her. Though it would be a cold day in the Urssa Lava Caves to get him to admit that out loud.
Suddenly, a strange loud noise permeated through the darkness. It almost sounded like continuous thunder, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The Glyphian raised her hooded head and managed to catch sight of a streak of light like a tear drop from the stars. The dazzling falling star cut across the sky and left a lingering trail of smoke as it fell to earth. She followed its path until it flew past both the Bequerel and Traum mountains and made a crash landing that could still be faintly heard even to the townspeople out here. The woman's eyes widened as she realized that the object had landed close, if not on top of Airyglyph. The king may be in danger! But before she could jump out of her hiding place, the front door of the mansion opened and several Aquarian women rushed out to see what had happened.
One of the women was Clair Lasbard, the daughter of Adray Lasbard. Adray was the man who had slain her father so many years ago, making the Glyphian spy finger the hilt of her blades as she thought of Lasbard's daughter dying by her hands as revenge for her father's untimely death, but she knew better than to jeopardize her mission. Even though Clair was a Crimson Blade she knew she could defeat her, but once she did, she would then have to face the army stationed in Arias. It was her mission to personally deliver the weapon specifications to the king and she was not one to abandon her mission over personal feelings. She calmed her nerves by taking slow deep breaths. Unlike her intended, she was level headed and calm during tense situations where as he was reckless and ready to fight anyone at anytime. Of course, while they had their differences, they had their similarities too. They were both stubborn, had to have things go the way they want it, and were both quick to anger.
She missed most of the conversation before she recovered from her anger, but was able to discover that the object wasn't the Aquarian weapon as she first had feared.
"Tynave, Farleen, go to Airyglyph and find out more about what crashed in the Glyphian territory. Report your findings to me," one of the soldiers present ordered before the chosen two headed off on their new mission. The spy wasn't sure if it was Clair who had given the order or if it was someone else because she refused to peer around the corner of the crates to see them lest she might be caught. It wasn't long until Clair dismissed everyone and went back inside. The spy was about to move from her position when she felt a lingering presence out in the streets where the Crimson Blade and her troops were. There was one soldier left outside, staring at her hiding place. She couldn't see the face but could make out a slender figure with shoulder length hair in the minimal moonlight. Who ever it was was probably an important person and would be missed if she should dispose of her, so the Glyphian had no choice but to hold her position and pray that the soldier would abandon her suspicion.
The female soldier slowly and cautiously approached as the spy held her breath. Sweat was starting to form on her forehead once the Aquarian was beside the crates looking around for any movements.
"Mika?" A familiar voice echoed out, making the soldier jerk her head up and face the mansion.
"Yes, Lady Clair?"
"What are you doing?"
"I thought I saw something suspicious, but I guess it was just the wind…" the soldier named Mika replied as she walked away. The spy resisted the urge to sigh in relief.
"…You have been working hard lately. I would give you a few days leave, but with the current situation…"
"Oh, no Lady Clair! I'm okay, I'm probably paranoid from the lack of sleep."
"In that case, maybe you should come inside and go to bed. We have a long day approaching," the gray haired Crimson Blade ordered as the soldier bowed and followed her inside.
It was once again silent as the spy's thoughts drifted back to the bright light in the sky. What if it was an Aquarian weapon and the troops here didn't know what it was yet? What if the king was in danger? She needed to return to Airyglyph! After making sure the coast was clear, she approached the gate that led to Peterny and left a small mark on the wood with her blade, a sign for her subordinate to send the information to her in Airyglyph through carrier bird. It was better to meet in person, but the king's safety was more important than the mission so it would have to do. Sneaking around the town to get to the other gate that led to the Aire/Kirlsa Hills wasn't much of a problem until she arrived at her destination. There was quite a contingent of guards, four in fact, standing guard at the gate. She glanced around the ground until she found a rock large enough to cause a disturbance and threw it at a couple of stacked barrels. It was enough to make two of the guards leave to investigate, as for the remaining two, they were dispatched by the Glyphian's daggers.
She continued to jog until she was sure she was in the Kirlsa territory. If she had any pursuers then they would have given up by then. She ran across a few knights on her way towards town, but they recognized her and allowed her to pass without any complaints. Once she was safely within the gates of Kirlsa, she relaxed and pulled down her hood before letting down her previously bound, shoulder length hair. She was in familiar grounds and didn't need to hide her identity anymore. Her journey had taken an hour and the night air was now chillier as the lone moon climbed higher. After her father had passed away, this town had become her hometown as she had lived most of her life here until she had been accepted into the army as a spy for the kingdom. She had many fond memories here…
The trip to Airyglyph should take about a day and if she left now, she would arrive about late morning tomorrow. But it seemed fate had other plans. Just as she was crossing the central square, she sensed someone following her. By the time she was back into the shadow of the buildings, she knew who the stalker was and purposely slowed her pace. She was certain she knew who it was because no one else had that kind of figure and walked the way the person did. She let out a slight gasp as she felt a strong grip on her shoulder and was then pushed up against a nearby wall. The spy didn't realized that she had closed her eyes, but when she opened them, all she could see was crimson with a black blonde curtain over it before she felt her assailant forcibly press his lips against hers.
Had this been any other person then she would have had him thoroughly beaten and bloody on the ground by now, but he was Albel the Wicked and she had no chance in fighting him off. Not that she wanted to fight him off of her. She moaned as her eyes closed and as she willingly participated in the kiss. She could feel him smirk against her lips before he slipped his tongue past her teeth to explore her mouth and push against her tongue playfully. His good hand began to roam all over her body as his thin yet muscular frame pinned her against the wall, allowing her to feel something very hard poking her lower stomach. Apparently he missed her a lot since her mission. Eventually they needed air and reluctantly broke away, but he didn't back away from her and continued to hold her still with his body.
"I missed you too," she panted between breaths, earning a dark chuckle from Albel.
"I knew I'd find you here eventually."
"So I assume you have seen that light in the sky?"
"Yeah, it appears to have landed within the city, but thankfully no where near the palace. I just received summons from the king and was also ordered to go find you and take you to Airyglyph."
"Then let's go," the female spy urged as she vainly tried to push his heavy form off of her. Her attempts ended in a shiver up her spine as she felt his metal claw trace her outer thigh.
"What's the rush? I'm not though playing with you yet," he purred in her ear.
"But the King-!"
"The King is fine Nel, and although I hate giving those maggots any credit, they are capable enough to defend him with their lives. Plus, there is no point in going tonight, unless you want to show up with dark circles under your eyes." The red haired spy was fighting a loosing battle and she knew it. The Black Brigade Captain immediately seized her mouth once again and found no protest from her. That is until he brought his good hand under her knee and lifted her leg up to his waist.
Nel made a muffled sound before she tore her mouth away and hissed, "Albel!"
"What is it now, woman?" He was starting to get annoyed with the interruptions.
"Out here?" she whispered back with a slightly worried look in her eyes.
"You had no problems with it before," he replied with a grin.
"But we're in the middle of a town, not out in the fields!"
Albel grunted as he dropped her limb and slowly pulled away. Nel was torn between feeling relieved or disappointed. It had been awhile since they've been alone together. Suddenly Albel bent down and picked her up bridal style before walking off.
"Where are we going?" she inquired as she struggled to get out of his hold.
"To my room." He was referring to the room he stayed in Woltar's mansion. Nel had her own room there too, but nether one had used them since before the war. Woltar was like the only family they had left and had taken them in after Albel's Ascension of the Flame and her father's fateful mission. It was now upon the old warrior's shoulders to make sure Glou and Nevelle's children were well provided for and to help out in the preparations for when they were to be married.
"Okay you can put me down now. I can walk on my own," she protested once they arrived at the gates to the mansion.
"No can do, Zelpher," he said as the guards briefly stared at each other in confusion and allowed them entry. Albel only called her by her last name when there were other people present, but even that was an honor in a way because he called everyone else a fool, maggot, or worm. Even Woltar was called 'old man' or 'old coot' by him, but never by his title or given name.
"Besides," he continued near her ear, "you might try to run away and I'm not in the mood to track you down before I take you."
She held in another cry of pleasure when he nipped her ear lobe after he kicked the main door closed. It was a slow journey up the stairs and by the time they reached his room, Nel's armguards and the top half of her shirt were ripped open by his claw, but she didn't mind. She had spares and would change in the morning, but for now, it was time to play catch up with her fiancé.
Pre-dawn light bled through red curtains when Nel's eyes opened and focused on the bare chest in front of her. She wasn't too surprised to see that Albel was already awake. She carefully sat up, making sure the blankets were still covering her as she glanced at her shredded clothing on the floor. She counted her blessings that he wasn't too wild with that claw of his. Her eyes traveled to the bedside table where the mentioned claw was resting. Save for the doctors that treated him and the blacksmith who created the gauntlet many years ago, Nel had been the only person who had seen what lay inside the deadly weapon. After the Ascension of the Flame, he had not only lost his father, but most of his left arm too. The doctors that had treated him replaced his arm with a metal one engineered in Greeton that could move like his original arm.
Nel's thoughts ceased instantly when his arms wrapped around her waist and the warm flesh of his chest was pressed against her back. She practically melted in his grasp as he attacked the mark he left on her shoulder last night, biting and sucking on the reddened skin. When he was satisfied, he pulled back and examined his work.
"Ready to go?" he asked in a low voice. Nel smiled before she leaned her head back to rest against his shoulder.
"Sure…once you go retrieve some spare clothes from my room."
"You have two legs, go get them yourself."
"I'm sure that Woltar and the other servants wouldn't mind seeing me running to my room completely naked-" she was cut off when he pressed his lips against hers and then pushed her against the mattress. When she recovered, she found him getting dressed and putting his gauntlet back on his metal arm before he left the room.
One thing Nel had to get used to was Albel's extremely possessive nature. The moment he first kissed her when she was 14 was the moment when she irrefutably belonged to him. That meant that no other man could touch her, stare at her intensely, or see her in the nude, not unless they had a death wish that is. But on the flip side, if she belonged to him, then that also meant that he belonged to her as well.
The crimson haired woman let out a content sigh before she peered over the edge of the bed to search for her item bag. She was glad to find the small black purse escaped the dark warrior's claw and searched the content for some contraceptive herbs. Now was not the best time to bear children for the kingdom still needed her services until the war was over and she wasn't ready to take care of children yet. She didn't hear the door open and ended up stunned when her clothes were thrown in her face.
It took Nel a few minutes to get dressed and ready to go. They were soon out of the mansion and close to the town gates before the sun began to peek over the horizon. Woltar should be awakening soon. The thought of the old man made Nel feel a little guilty. They had stayed the night in his home and yet didn't stay long enough to greet him a good morning. Though it was probably for the best that they had left early, he would only find out what they did last night and disapprove of it. Woltar didn't need to bother himself over trivial matters such as how they spent their quality time with each other. It was better if he remained ignorant to their activities, that is, if he didn't know of them already. There was a high probability he knew all along and kept quiet about it.
Without further delay, the warrior and the spy began their journey to Airyglyph to find out more about the object that landed in their kingdom.
It was four in the morning when the guards that surrounded the Eagle finally drifted off to sleep. Mirage was now able to make her escape. She silently and efficiently tip toed past the medieval like soldiers and surveyed the outer damage. The Eagle was quite thoroughly trashed. It was a wonder Cliff didn't throw a fit when he stepped out. After her analysis of the damage, she slowly made her way to the nearly empty streets. Cliff had ordered her to not go rescue him and the target so she didn't know what to do to pass the time for now. She stripped a few important devices from the shuttle before she left, like a communicator and a first aid kit, and hid them carefully under her jacket.
It was too late to order a room at the inn, but she needed to go inside somewhere before the freezing temperatures began to affect her. She spotted a tavern a few yards away and decided a glass of cider didn't sound too bad right now. While she was there, she could also earn a bit of money arm-wrestling some of the bar flies there.
Mirage glanced at the ominous castle near the end of the city and silently wished the two men inside good luck.
Alright, what do you think? Is this good enough for an update, or should I just leave it as it is? I was curious about how Albel and Nel's relationship would be if they were both on the same side in the war and decided to write about it. Well, anyway I need to go study for tests. The sooner I get those tests over with the sooner I can write more fics…C ya!