Before It Ends
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" or any of its characters. All rights belong to the game developer Tri-Ace and the publisher Square ENIX.
Note: I began loving the Star Ocean series when I played SO3, and I've always had a thing for guns when no one else uses them. So Maria was my first choice. The following takes place after you have already beaten the game, so if you have yet to complete it then I would suggest that you stop here.
-Starts off as Lieber is about to confess his feelings to Maria.-
It was pretty quiet inside of the Diplo's bridge. The fact that Quark was disbanding was a lot to take in. Taking your last look at the cold metal you used to call home was depressing, yet satisfying. The galaxy doesn't really need Quark anymore, and that thought alone made you feel accomplished, like you've done your job…. and a damn good one too. Your team just saved the entire universe! What's not to be proud of?
As everyone made their final good-byes and shared a few more memories with each other, it made the atmosphere within the bridge pretty lively. A weight has fallen off of the crew's shoulders, and it felt good. Finally not having to worry so much and just look forward to taking it easy from now on. Everyone was feeling comfortable…..except for one frantic individual on the verge of drowning in his own perspiration.
'Alright, this is my last chance! If I don't do this now, she'll be out of my life forever!'
The air around Lieber was growing heavy and dense, as if his anxiety formed a bubble around him, slowly filling his lungs and suffocating himself. His arms grew stiff along his torso with his hands tightly gripped onto the cushion of his seat, clawing the underside in an attempt to calm himself down. Just thinking about her now was enough to make him sweat until he began trembling. But the thought of his confession not getting through to her was tearing him in two…..no, she can't reject him now.
'I've gone too far and I've done so much. She has to feel something towards me.'
He's been watching Maria since the day he joined Quark. He doesn't care too much for the Federation and how they run things, hell he could care less. And now, after all these years of working with her, this was his last shot. All those years he wasted his time with this organization could be thrown out the window if he lets her go now…..wait, what about….oh yeah he left, nothing to be concerned of now, because he's far away from here. That bastard, Fat Leinjesus, went his own way and was out of the picture for good.
'That punk isn't here to steal her from me now!'
What the hell did she see in that over-emotional kid anyways! Just because he was a research subject like the captain, doesn't mean he gets any bonus points before meeting her.
'I've been working for her feelings YEARS before that kid ever knew how to SPELL Quark!'
The blue-haired obstacle is gone, so now Lieber is the only candidate left right? That thought made him feel good, real good. Good enough to have that talk with the captain.
'Alright! I can do this!'
"Uh, C-Captain!" Lieber managed to squeeze out of his throat as he stood up to face in her direction. "Th-th-there's something that I want to talk to you about!"
"Hm?" Maria now noticing the man walking towards her.
Yeah, he's in the zone now, gaining more and more confidence with each step. He's never had an adrenaline rush like this, where pride kicks tense's ass out of your system. Hell yeah, he's actually gonna go through with it now.
"Oh, Lieber it's you!" Maria exclaimed as her shoulders slightly drop. "Okay, what is it? Is there something that you need to tell me?"
"C-C-Cap…no Maria, I want to tell you that…"
"Oh before you say anything, I just wanted to tell you something too."
"Wh-what? Really!" His hopes now shining through his eyes.
"Yes. Although brief, these past few years leading Quark has been a once in a lifetime experience for me. I don't think I would have ever been as successful as your captain if I did not have a crew as outstanding as the Quark organization. And I know that you and everyone else put as much…no, more work into this organization than I could ever achieve. So for all of your hard work, I would like to say…..thank you. I thank each and every one of you, for being the most loyal and dedicated crew I could have ever asked for."
Everyone in the bridge salutes with a smile as they look up at their former captain……everyone except Lieber, as he starred at her with an expression of shocked glued onto his face (you know, with the mouth slightly open).
'……..That wasn't the 'something' I thought she was gonna say. And it wasn't directed to me personally! I'm here about to pour my personal feelings out to her and she makes a speech to the entire crew! Does that mean that she doesn't have ANY feelings for me? No, I'm just assuming things. She still doesn't know why I'm standing in front of her yet.'
Maria turns back towards Lieber, "So what did you want to tell me?"
"U-uh, well…you see……..uh, I…"
"….And Lieber, why are you sweating so much? And you look so nervous, Lieber are you okay?"
"N-n-no!....I-I mean yes! I'm fine! I'm j-j-just…"
'Crap! Where did all my confidence go!' Lieber screamed in his head as more and more of that tension began to creep up to from his lower spine to his neck, like a spider slowly inching it's way to his skull, one leg at a time. 'Dammit! I'm breaking down right in front of her! Say something you hopeless wreck!'
"C-C-C-M-M-Maria! I-I-I-I!"
Maria slowly takes a small step back, rising up her guard a bit. Her face riddled with confusion mixed with fear.
'No! No! No! Dammit! She's freaking out! I can't do this! After all I've been through, I still can't do this!'
Steeg and Marietta just stare at the awkward moment silently, taking glances at each other to make sure they're not alone imagining this scene.
"Man, he looks like he's about to cry. And she looks like she's about to make a run for it." Steeg chuckled to Marietta. "You think we should step in and help sort things out? Cuz I don't think this is going to end too nicely."
Marietta was still starring at the scene, as if she didn't hear Steeg. "I'd rather not interfere."
"Oh come on!" Steeg stressed as rubs his forehead. "The least you could say is, 'I hope Maria rejects him so I can have Lieber for myself.'"
Marietta glares at Steeg as he laughs silently to himself.
"Okay, maybe not exactly like that, but you get what I'm saying right? Seriously, the whole crew already knows you've had feelings for him. We're all just wondering…"
"Wonderin about what?" said the stranger as he approached Steeg from behind him.
"Dammit Cliff, why do you have to barge your way into conversations like this." Steeg shot through his teeth.
Cliff just crosses his arms, "Well from personal experience, I never like what was goin on when you start laughin. So I tuned your chatter out." He slowly looks at Marietta and smiles a little, "Then I happen to see her face light up."
Steeg couldn't help but smirk now, "Ever hear that old saying, 'curiosity killed the cat?'"
Cliff smashes his fist against his palm, "Curiosity stopped tryin when I beat the crap out of it on Elicoor."
They both couldn't help but laugh at each other's stubbornness while Marietta was starring at the floor the whole time, silently to herself.
Finally calming down, "So what's up with her?" Cliff asked. "Not like Marietta to act soooo…..not Marietta."
"You've always been soooo good with words. But yeah, Marietta is going through a lot of things in her head right now."
Cliff just raises an eyebrow as he looks down at the poor girl. Then he looks back up at the soap opera going on by the captain's seat. "Oh, you mean about Lieber?"
"How'd you figure that out?" Steeg asked, already knowing the answer. He just wanted to let Marietta know that he wasn't lying about the part where everyone but Lieber already knew about her feelings.
"Well," Cliff scratches the back of his head a little, "No offence Marietta, but it was pretty obvious that you like the guy."
Marietta just looks up at Cliff with a blank expression. Then she glances at Steeg's 'I told you so' look. "Is that so?" Marietta asked while still eyeing Steeg.
"Well, why haven't you said anything yet? You've been with Quark for as long as Lieber has, and I don't think I've ever seen you two talk." Cliff asked.
"We've talked before." Marietta answered as she looked back at Cliff.
"Oh yea? Well my definition of talk consists of more than just a 'hi' and 'bye'"
Marietta stays silent.
"Well?"
"Well what?" Marietta shoots back.
"Go do somethin about it!"
"About what?"
"About that nonsense goin on up there!" Cliff exclaims as he points to Lieber and the Captain.
"I'm not going to intrude. If he would rather be with Maria, then it's fine with me."
Cliff puts his hands back on his belt in an attempt to ease the tense atmosphere a little. "Look Marietta, waiting and sitting around doesn't get you places often. You gotta know when to jump in and do what you gotta do. Trust me, I would know. I had to deal with Fayt's 'don't mess with the planet's development' crap. He would always tell me to don't do this and don't touch that and don't talk to them. It was really hard to keep myself from getting involved at times, but I put up with it and then more and more people were dying. Eventually I told him to shut the hell up and deal with it! Cuz lending a hand to a war torn planet was better than standing in front of a dying innocent as their life slowly vanished inches away from my feet! "
Marietta's gaze returns to Lieber. She wasn't really in the mood for a lecture, but she continues to listen….. because Cliff was right. She's been watching Lieber for longer than she had hoped and she still hasn't really gotten anywhere yet. She knows the selfless thing to do is let Lieber fall for the girl he wants to fall for, and seeing Lieber happy should be enough to make her happy…..right?
"I don't know what it is you see in that wreck," Cliff exclaimed as he crossed his arms, "But if you're just gonna give up now and let him slip away from your fingers like this, then you don't deserve him."
A sense of shock riddled beneath her chest as Marietta jumped a little in her seat. Her eyes widened and she gasped a little as she thought that maybe she was being a bit too selfless. She really didn't want to lose him like this after all these years.
"Uh, Cliff?" Steeg asked while still shocked from what he just heard, "D-don't you think you're being a little, you know, cruel?"
"Seeing people hesitate for stupid selfless reasons like this is aggravating. And then they expect everything to turn out okay by doing nothing? Man that really pisses me off." Cliff forced through his temper.
Marietta simply squeezed the folds of her pants as she was still starring at Lieber.
"Marietta, please don't take it too hard." Steeg explained. "Cliff is just being Cliff. But I can't say I don't agree with him. This may be your last chance to tell Lieber…"
"I don't think that's going to be necessary." Marietta interrupted. "It seems things are going to be settled one way or another…now that he's here." Marietta explained as she circled her chair around away from the drama. Thank God he's here. Maybe now I'll have a chance.
"He? What do you mean he….." Steeg asks, but after he takes a quick glance back at the scene, he just lets out a big sigh. "Oh him."
'God dammit! Lieber you useless coward! Pull yourself together and just say those three words. That's it! It's not that hard!'
Lieber, still stiff armed, now squeezing his upper thigh in an attempt to keep his cool…but it wasn't working. Maria, getting more and more cautious, begins to wrap her hand around her weapon holstered behind her.
"M-M-Maria!" Lieber quirked. His heartbeat was racing beyond safety limits, and his pulse could be seen in his temples.
'Click!' The safety to the captain's weapon was shut off.
Lieber's arms reach out, as if expecting a hug as a reward for what he was about to say, "I-I-I-I LO…!" Lieber tried to let out, but the sound of the bridge's doors interrupted him.
The figure barges in too quickly to be recognized instantly.
"Hey Maria! I found that picture we were looking for." The figure squeezed through his panting while waving a photograph too fast to register what the image was. "Turns out, it WAS in your room. Looks like you owe me that…!"
There was a long awkward silence in the room. Everyone was either too shocked to speak or they were trying to come up with something to say. Nothing but eyes were moving now, just zipping from person to person, in hopes that someone was going to hurry the hell up and say something…..anything. It was too painful to be in this room.
Finally breaking the peace, Maria blushed and stuttered "F-Fayt!"
And so ends the first chapter of what has been playing through my head for the past year. I'll know whether or not to continue if enough people say so. I just wanted to give out a taste and get some feedback before I really get into this story so I won't be doing all this work for nothing. If you hadn't noticed, I hate Lieber and I started at this particular point to I could make him miserable. It pissed me off how I did absolutely nothing wrong and he was all up on me with his 'back off Maria' attitude during my first time exploring the Diplo. So if you despise him as much as me, you might like what I've got in store next chapter