Holy flaming hell. OMG OMG OMGjkshdfai hsfdh 'askhg;ah ;!!!!! I've been working on this FOREVER and it's finally done! This is my serious Gibari centric fic! YAY. It's really long, so I've broken it down into three parts. This is part one. Enjoy. Also, It takes place in both Baten Kaitos Origins and Baten Kaitos. If Some of the info is off, that's because I haven't gotten past the GODAMNED HOLOHOLO BIRD. FOR CHRIST SAKE. OH MY GOD. THAT THING FREAKING SUCKS. Also also, really likes to mess around with my Paragraphs, and it would take for freaking EVER to go back in fix it or add the fancy line, so just blooming deal. I'm much too tired of editing this fic to do it again 8(
Disclaimer: If I owned Baten Kaitos and Baten Kaitos Origins, this may or may not have happened. I haven't made up my mind yet.
My mother was a kind woman, the stern type that wouldn't be afraid to give you a spanking when she thought it was needed, but would always try to cheer you up when your favourite toy broke or you skinned your knee. It had been her that named me Gibari.
It was my tenth birthday, and my parents wanted to teach me how to fish; a good idea for a nice family outing. We took father's boat up to the lesser celestial river, myself bouncing with excitement in the lap of my mother. The trip didn't take very long and we were fishing in no time. I had no idea I would like it as much as I did, my parent's enthusiasm for the art must have worn off on me. We fished until dawn, our two buckets filled with a smaller subspecies of Glubberfish. Pop and I carried the buckets back to the boat as my mother gathered up the rods, hooks and bait. And that's when it happened.
Unbeknown to us, a dangerous man had been watching us from behind a rock to our right. We heard my mother scream and then suddenly stop with a gurgling sound. Pop dropped his bucket and turned around.
"No…" He barely whispered, "Gibari, don't turn around!" He cried, choking ever so slightly. Naturally I couldn't help but look over my shoulder. I dropped my bucket and collapsed to the ground with it. My mother lay choking on the ground; her throat sliced open, her blood pooling around her before running into the river. Her gaze was upon me, her eyes starting at me with a look of pleading. The choking stopped and the light in her eyes dulled. My vision blurred as a foot fell into her blood, blocking my view of her face. I looked up to the owner of the brown boot and met the cold gaze of a man I knew as Richard, a fellow knight of Diadem; a co-worker of my father, if you will. He averted his gaze to my dad, who was trembling with rage.
"You really are a servant of the kingdom, aren't you Rambari." Richard said, spitting my father's name out in an almost acidic tone. Dad blanched.
"How could you…"
"The bastard, stripping ME of MY knighthood because that fucking serving wench…!" Richard yelled.
"Knights do not rape young women! It is our duty to protect them from such dangers, not be a part of them!" Pops interjected. He unsheathed his sword and took up his battle stance. Richard smiled wickedly, and then started to laugh.
"Oh Rambari. I always knew you were a stickler when it came to the codes of the knighthood, no wonder you were the king's favourite." Richard sneered. My father went cold.
"What do you mean…were?" He asked. Richard outright howled with laughter. "What have you done!?" My father yelled. Richard wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"The blood I wear isn't that of your wife, I slit her throat from behind." He smirked. My father cried out as he charged towards the traitor. Richard parried, and then aimed to slash at my father's throat. Dad sidestepped and quickly thrust his sword into Richard's side, slicing in deep and penetrating his lungs. He ripped the sword out, and Richard collapsed to the ground. He looked up towards my father, blood foaming up and out of his mouth. My father repositioned himself in front of Richard.
"His Majesty didn't promote me to Captain of the guard because we were old friends…I pray that you go to where he will never dwell." My father said defiantly as he plunged his sword into that bastard's head. Dad pulled out his sword, and Richard collapsed.
A few minutes later a group of knights showed up and found my father and I hunched over mom; my father softly clutching her hand and myself bawling, the both of us quite stricken with grief. They led us away as they gathered the bodies to take back to Sheliak for the burial preparations.
I held Ladekhan as the pyres with our loved ones burned bright orange in the gloom. We had given them each fare for the ferry to the afterlife; I paying out of my own pocket for mom. Father had insisted that we give Richard a proper burial too; the legends say that a knight who slays a fellow knight must ensure a proper burial for the fallen 'comrade', or his or her ghost will haunt the family of the knight who had slain it. Pops was always so superstitious.
That seemed to be the worst day of my life, and I believed that I would never go through an ordeal that painful ever again. I was wrong.
Ladekhan and I were inseparable from that moment on. My father and I moved into the castle within the month, and soon afterwards pops was training us the ways of combat. We stayed through them the first three years, but during the fourth we started to skip out and sneak off to the dark ends of Elnath. That particular day, Khan rushed off and out of training so that we could watch the daily Glubberfish haul come in. I, of course, followed after him, barely noticing the green haired boy and his two friends standing by the doorway leading into the castle. We ran through Sheliak and didn't stop until we reached the lesser celestial river.
"Gib…I-I don't think we can cross. The river…not safe…to…" Ladekhan said in between breaths. I laughed, equally out of breath.
"True, but it's okay Khan. See that device over there?" I pointed to a machine about two meters ahead of us.
"Yeah." He said. We walked over to it.
"Well, we fishermen use it to jump between the cloud passage and the lesser celestial river when both paths are unstable." I said.
"I see. It allows you to cross at the cloud passage when you can't cross here!" Khan exclaimed.
"Exactly. Now I'll just turn this on…" I cranked the lever downward. Nothing happened. I did it again. Still nothing.
"Are you sure you know how to work that thing?" Khan giggled. I scowled.
"I'll show you…stupid piece of shit, WORK!" I screamed as I jumped up and slammed my feet into it. The machine started to rumble, then shoot out brilliant pink clouds.
"I told you I could get it to work, now come on!" I shouted over my shoulder as I jumped up into the whirling clouds.
We ran quickly through the two passages, until we were almost at Nashira. It was then that I noticed that I had dropped the royal mirror. I stopped dead in my tracks.
"Khan?" I said. He turned around.
"What is it Gib?" He asked with a smile on his face. I swallowed hard.
"I…I lost the royal mirror." I mumbled. His smile faded.
"You lost it!?" He yelled. My heart fell.
"I could have sworn I had it right here, maybe I dropped it. We could still turn back and look for it." I said hopefully. Ladekhan stood silent, his gaze lingering on his feet.
"No, it's okay. If we did that, we'd miss the catch." He looked up and smiled at me, his true sorrow only evident in his eyes.
"But…"
"It's okay Gib! Let's get going then." He said, then turned around and started running towards Nashira.
In Nashira we found not fish but Imperial soldiers. Armoured vehicles littered the small hamlet, blocking off all exits. A patrolling officer spotted us.
"Hey, I thought we told you to get inside!" He shouted. Other officers soon ran over and surrounded us.
"You dare to order me around in my country?" Khan spat. The officers laughed.
"Ooh, looks like we've got ourselves a feisty one. We can't be having that, can we?" A female officer said. She backhanded Khan, snapping his head to his left.
"Don't you fucking touch him!" I screamed and charged at her, only to find myself being held back by two soldiers. The imperialists laughed.
"Take them to the ship." Khan's assaulter said with a waving gesture. We were led through the storehouse and into an imperial ship. I immediately dragged Khan onto the bed that occupied the ship.
"Gib! What are you…"
"Are you okay?" I asked, cupping his jaw line and tilting his head gently to the side. A bruise had already begun to form.
"Gib…" he said quietly, a soft blush gracing his cheeks. I was much too worried to notice.
"She must have hit you harder than I realized." I growled. Suddenly the door was swung open and three other prisoners were thrown inside. Khan and I quickly jumped apart, I banging my head in the process.
"Shit!" I grabbed my head.
"Were you beaten!?" someone asked. I shook my head.
"No, I'll be fine." I said, looking up towards the speaker. It was that green haired boy I saw earlier in the castle. He frowned, and then turned to Khan.
"King Ladekhan, my name is Sagi. These two are Milliarde and Guillo." He first pointed to the brown haired girl and then the…puppet I think it was. "We have been sent here by Quastor Verus to discuss the possibility of an alliance in order to stop Bailheit's 'promachination' attempts across the world." Sagi said with an air of formality. Khan held his chin in his hands, a sign that he was thinking carefully.
"I've met the Quastor on several occasions, and I know him to be a caring man who only thinks about the people…all the people, not just the imperial capital…I understand this must be an urgent and pressing issue, but I'm afraid I cannot discuss the Quastor's proposal while my people are in immanent danger." Khan said carefully. Sagi nodded.
"Of course. How do you suggest we get out of here?" He asked. I smiled.
"Why don't we just break down the door? One two three SLAM!" I said enthusiastically. Everyone present practically groaned.
"No Gib, we need to be tactful. If they heard the noise, we'd just end up back where we started." Khan scolded.
"Yeah Gib, you want the whole army to know you've escaped? I thought by now you'd know better." A familiar voice said. A small whirlwind started up in the middle of the room, followed by a cloud of smoke. A young boy of about sixteen with pinkish red hair stood in the middle of us.
"Damn it Palolo, what the hell are you doing here?" I yelled. Palolo shrugged.
"Helping you guys, but if you don't want me to…" He trailed off. Khan smiled at him.
"Palolo! Just the guy I want to see. Can you help us unlock the door?" Khan asked. Palolo nodded.
"I'd do anything for you King Ladekhan, beloved royal flame of Diadem." Palolo said exaggeratedly as he walked over to the door and unlocked it in a matter of seconds. We grouped together after that, Khan having come up with a plan. After explaining it to us, we nodded our agreement. While Khan went over to Sagi to tell him we had this covered, I pulled Palolo into a nearby corner.
"The blonde woman is mine!" I hissed.
"Is she the one who…?" He trailed off, both of us glancing at the now very dark bruise staining our king's right cheek.
"Yeah." I answered. Palolo nodded.
"No problem Gibster." He replied. We joined the others and slipped out of the ship.
Ladekhan's plan worked perfectly, although Palolo did have to hold me back after about the third or fourth punch to the blonde woman's head.
"Gibari! Stop, it's okay." Khan yelled at me. I ceased my attack and brushed Palolo off.
"I'm sorry Khan, but it's just-"
"I know. But please…" He trailed off.
"….I understand. Let's go." I said. We grabbed our magnus and ran out of the store house.
We sleuthed our way to the bar where Anna let us use the secret passage. We all ran as fast as we could down the cloud passage until we were halted by Giacomo.
"Sagi! We meet again." He said. Milliarde stepped up.
"Oh, it's you again. Did you come for another beating?" She asked mockingly. Giacomo fumed.
"I'll have you know I've become much stronger since our last battle, girl." He spat. Sagi shook his head.
"We don't have time for this! Giacomo, please move." He said, surprisingly in a polite manner. Giacomo laughed.
"Oh HELL no Sagi, I won't move until you're on your knees begging for mercy." Giacomo pulled out his weapon. Sagi readied his.
"But…Giacomo!" Sagi pleaded.
"It's no use Sagi, he won't listen." Guillo said in both the voice of a man and a woman. The puppet took up a very strange battle stance. Sagi sighed sadly.
In all my life, I had never seen such a battle as I had witnessed that day. Milliarde wielded two cudgels, which no one would really expect from a sophisticated girl of Alfard, and even more surprising was how graceful she was with them. The puppet wielded such strange archaic magic, and Sagi move with the sword more naturally then any of the knights of Diadem. The battle was one sided for sure, but it wasn't because Giacomo lacked skill with his strange pole arm. Milly and Guillo attacked the guards that accompanied him, a wise decision no doubt; Giacomo probably would have killed the guards himself if they took a shot at Sagi. With them preoccupied, Sagi and Giacomo battled one on one, a dance that would have been beautiful if it weren't for Giacomo's faltering. It all took a matter of seconds, but if you were watching intently, you could find the reason behind the young imperial's faltering. Giacomo backed off.
"Fine, Sagi…you win for now. Fall back!" He called, and rushed off with his guards. Milliarde immediately started to laugh about how weak Giacomo was and started gloating with her two companions. Sagi seemed distressed by the whole ordeal. I thought he was just sad because he didn't like to fight until Palolo leaned over and started whispering in my ear.
"They're in love." He said simply.
"Who, Milly and Sagi?" I asked. Palolo groaned.
"No stupid, Giacomo and Sagi. Didn't you see how they faltered?" he asked.
"I thought Giacomo was just weak…" I said. "I didn't notice anything with Sagi, he was flawless…why would they fight if they love each other like you say?"
"They don't know it yet..." Palolo said, before beginning to chuckle. "Just like two other people I know." He then started outright roaring with laughter.
"What's so funny?" Khan called over. A menacing smirk spread across Palolo's face.
"Nothing." He said simply. I raised an eyebrow.
"Can I really trust what you say about those two?" I asked him. Palolo frowned.
"I'm called the master of mischief for a reason. Keen observation skills come with the job." He turned from me and walked away. Muffled yelling was heard.
"Do you here something?" Sagi asked. Palolo nodded, and then pointed towards the river below us. My father and Lady Celsica were in a large boat riding the rapids.
"King Ladekhan! Gibari! Don't you move, I'm coming to get you!" Father yelled. Khan and I blanched.
"It's uncle Ram!" Khan shouted.
"Oh man, he looks ticked!" I said. Khan turned to Sagi.
"Sagi, I'll meet you back at Elnath. We'll see if we can't discuss the Quastor's proposal there." He said. Sagi nodded as I grabbed Khan's hand and pulled him into a run.
We had no way of knowing pops was going to beat us to the castle, the odds were against him.
"What were you thinking, running off like that?" He started. "And dragging the king with you?" Khan frowned
"I went by my own decision uncle Ram; it was my idea in fact." He said. My father's attention was shifted to him.
"You need to act more like a king, sire! You must remember that every action you take influences the kingdom and the kingdom's image! You need to think about your people." Pops lectured.
"I do think about my people!" Khan shouted. Footsteps were heard behind my father. He turned around to see Sagi, Milliarde and Guillo run in. Sagi was just about to speak when a messenger ran in with a manner of urgency.
"Sir Rambari, the cloud vents have been breeched." He said. Father cursed.
"Sagi, I'm sorry, but the Quastor's proposal will have to wait yet again, I must deal with this urgent matter." Khan stated before turning to my father. Sagi put his hand on Ladekhan's shoulder.
"No, wait. Let me go. We might me able to talk to them." He said. There was a small pause.
"Alright, I'll give you a head start, but I hope you understand that we simply can't sit back while our cloud vents are in danger." Khan said. Sagi nodded and ran off with his companions.
In Sagi's absence dad and Ladekhan barked orders left and right while I did nothing. I felt useless.
"Khan…do you think we've given them enough time?" I asked about 20 minutes after Sagi had left. He nodded.
"I'd say so, we should get going." Khan said. Dad stepped up to us.
"No, it's too dangerous. You two stay here." Father said before running off with Celsica. Ladekhan and I looked at each other.
"We're going, aren't we?" I asked. Khan nodded and ran off to lead the way.
When we arrived, it was already too late. Celsica was already dead, and father was very close to following her.
"Most of the Imperials have already left except Nasca, but sir Rambari should be our first priority!" Sagi screamed when he saw us. The boy I presumed to be Nasca looked up from the device he was sitting on and waved at us, his face blank and unreadable. The few knights that were with us ran quickly over to dad and lifted him carefully. It was too dangerous to treat him at the scene, so we all ran back to Elnath.
He was carried up to the training ground, for my father insisted upon it. We lied him down. Khan and I collapsed beside him.
"Uncle Ram!" Khan cried. Pops looked over to him.
"King…Lade...khan…you must promise me…that you will…t…take good care of…Dia..dem." father struggled to say. I let out a choked sob.
"Pops, don't die!" I said. His attention stayed on Ladekhan.
"Promise…me…" He croaked. Khan nodded.
"I will." He said with determination. Dad turned his head up to face the sky.
"D-dad?" I whispered. I shook him a little. Nothing. I looked up to Ladekhan, who tearfully shook his head. I let out a loud cry before hiding my face in my hands.
We took the time to burn my father in the training grounds before gathering in the throne room. Ladekhan wouldn't come near me.
"Khan…" I started. He looked up to me, an eerie look or determination upon his face.
"Gibari…I hereby relinquish you from your knightly duties and banish you to Nashira." He said.
"W-what? What do you mean Khan?" I gaped.
"Leave Gibari, and don't come back here again. That's an order." He said more forcefully. I couldn't believe it.
"How…why…?" I asked.
"GIBARI!" He yelled at me.
"….fine. FINE! Who needs you anyway!?" I screamed at him before turning around and walking out of the throne room. Once I slammed the door behind me, I full out ran towards Nashira, not stopping once. I ran to my old home that was located by the outskirts of the small fishing hamlet and locked myself inside. The home wasn't occupied by anyone for we still used it occasionally in the past. I flung myself onto my old bed and hid my head under my pillow and just began to sob uncontrollably. My father was dead, along with the one woman I thought could be his wife…and I had just been banished to Nashira by my best friend. And in that moment I realized how much I hated myself, for I wasn't crying because of my father's death, nor Celsica's. I cried because my Ladekhan was no longer within my reach…that he could toss me aside so easily. My heart had never hurt so much before.
I thought that I would get over my loss with time. I had accepted pop's death eventually, but my heart still ached for Ladekhan. I hurt so much that I had stopped eating. On the fourth day of my fast I heard a knock on my door. I didn't answer. The knocking continued. I still didn't answer. A loud gust of wind swirled around my room before revealing Palolo, his arms crossed. I stared up at him before looking away.
"I don't want to talk to you." I said. He ignored me and sat down beside me on my bed.
"I've been told you won't come out of your house…or answer your door." He began. I didn't answer him. "Gibari, have you been eating?" He asked. I looked away from him. He picked up my arm to examine it, but I snatched it away.
"Don't touch me!" I hissed. Palolo slapped me.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" He yelled at me. I just looked up at him, stunned. Palolo had never laid a finger on me before then. He continued to scowl.
"…I" I started pathetically.
"You what, want to die? Don't give me that shit." He spat at me. I averted my gaze. He sighed. "You're not moping about your father's death, are you." He stated more than asked. My bottom lip trembled. Palolo pulled out a magnus from his pack and summoned a hot steaming plate of roasted potatoes and a juicy pow steak with asparagus. "Eat first, then we'll talk." He said and handed me a fork. I took it hesitantly, picking up a potato with it. I ate slowly at first, gradually picking up speed until I was devouring the food with little time for breathing. After I finished, Palolo took the magna essence of the dirty dishes and handed me a glass of water. I swallowed it just as fast as I did the food. There was deep silence.
"You miss him." He said to me.
"…yes." I mumbled.
"You're wondering why you hurt just as much as you did the day he kicked you out." Palolo stated. I nodded, my throat knotting up and my vision becoming blurry. "Don't you realize?" He asked me.
"Realize what?" I asked, voice cracking slightly.
"You're in love with him." Palolo said. I jumped up off the bed.
"I'm not!" I yelled, tears streaming down my face.
"You are! Don't lie to yourself!" He yelled back, standing up as well. I stared at him for awhile before turning my back to him.
"Get out."
"No."
"I said get out!" I screamed, spinning around to face him. He slammed me up against the wall and pinned me there. I couldn't fight back in my weakened state.
"You can't deny this!" He spat, his face a mere three inches from my own.
"It's not true." I said.
"It'll destroy you." Palolo hissed.
"But I'm not…"
"You are!" He pressed me harder against the wall. I cried out in pain. He then loosened his grip enough so that even as weak as I was I could escape from him if I wanted to. I looked up at him; his face was grimmer than I had ever seen it. Palolo was right, I was in love with Ladekhan; I just wouldn't admit it. I had been denying it for three years, at least. Realization hitting me harder than Palolo had, I flung myself at him and hid myself in his scarf, sobbing loudly. He placed his arms upon my back and rubbed it in a soothing manner.
"Hush now…it's okay" He said softly. We stood like that for a long while. Then, Palolo gently pulled me off him and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"What do I do?" I asked him. He smiled sadly.
"Wait." He said softly. "It will come with time." He led me to my bed and pushed me gently down upon it. I sighed.
"I…thanks." I said hesitantly. He punched my shoulder lightly.
"No problem Gibster. I couldn't stand to see you like this…will you see the others tomorrow?" He asked. I thought for a bit.
"I guess I better." I answered. He stood up and nodded.
"Good. I'll see you later then." He said, and then disappeared is his usual way.
I slept a bit better that night, and I went out to see the others just like I promised. Everyone had been really worried, especially Anna and Reblys. Eventually I began to eat more frequently and would come out of my house on a regular basis. About three years had passed before the others stopped worrying about my health and happiness. Palolo would visit me about two times a month within that time, checking to see how I was. The next 2 years he gradually started coming less and less.
"So Palolo, what have you been up to that's been keeping you so busy?" I asked him once when we were having lunch in Anna's bar. Palolo coughed, having been in the middle of drinking.
"I…well, it's kinda embarrassing." He mumbled.
"Come on, tell me!" I said. "No one's listening." He hesitated, looked around the pub, and then leaned in close to the center of the table.
"I…met a girl." He whispered.
"What!?" I nearly yelled.
"SHH! You want to hear this or not?" He said, waving his arms up and down in a panic.
"Sorry, I promise to be quiet."
"Anyway, I met her in Sadal Suud when I was tailing Sagi that one time, you remember Sagi, right? Green hair, kinda short, fought that blonde kid-"
"Yeah yeah I remember" I interrupted. He talked so much about the kid at our last visits that I would have sworn he had a crush on the guy if I didn't already know he was into busty, outgoing, fiery tempered women.
"Well, I was going to the inn one day and I just happened to bump into her. She was carrying a large basket of mountain apples and they fell all over the place." He rambled.
"So what did you do?" I asked as he paused to take in a mouthful of roasted potatoes.
"Bl, I whnt du hsk-"
"Dude, swallow your food first." I interjected. He chewed quickly before swallowing.
"Sorry. I went to ask her if she was okay, and she hit me upside the head with her basket!" He said excitedly.
"That…um, well-" I started.
"Then we kinda got into a fight and I ended up picking up her apples, carrying them to the magnus shop where she works and washed them all." Palolo said with a huge grin. I raised an eyebrow.
"It sounds like she hates you." I said. Palolo started laughing.
"Oh well, after I kept popping in all the time she eventually softened up a bit." He paused to cram more food into his mouth. "And she asked me out about a month later, we've been dating ever since!" I swear he almost made the room glow he was so happy. I laughed.
"So, what does miss perfect look like?" I asked out of curiosity. Palolo started to swirl a potato around in some gravy on his plate.
"Well, she's got these gorgeous, big, pale green eyes." He started.
"You've always been a sucker for green eyes." I said.
"She's got short wavy vibrant orange hair."
"Yeah?" I said to let him know I was still listening.
"And she's got a beautiful figure…" he trailed off, a blush lightly staining his cheeks. I laughed, knowing exactly what Palolo meant.
"Big boobs?"
"Hell yes, but that's not why I love her as much as I do." He said with a slight glare.
"I know you're not that shallow Palolo. What makes her so special?" I asked.
"She's just so…energetic and smart, and she doesn't take crap from nobody, you know what I mean?" He finished off his drink.
"Certainly sounds like your dream girl, what's her name?" I said while cutting into my steak.
"Monique." He sighed. I patted him on the shoulder.
"I'm happy for you." I told him. He grinned heartily and raised his mug.
"Cheers mate!" he said loudly before we crashed our glasses together.
That night I couldn't get to sleep. I was incredibly happy for Palolo, but his joy had only reminded me of the festering pain in my heart… not that I had forgotten, I couldn't have.
Kay, I'll go Upload part two now. I hope you like it so far...
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