A/N: So yeah, I've written fanfics in the past, but had nothing to do with them….so I just hung on to them with nobody to read them…at least, nobody who understood wtf was going on :x

Now that I have this account, I can actually get feedback about my stories :D yay!!!!

So, yeah, disclaimerz seem to be quite common around here, soooo…………I don't own Star Ocean!! Though it'd be quite interesting if I did…first thing I'd do is give Albel less of a…girly outfit. That way losers will quit making fun of him - he's too awesome to make fun of! D:!

……*shuts up and begins the fic*

Albel frowned. This was incredibly odd. It wasn't often nowadays that the king would call him for something. It was quite inconvenient, too - he'd had to come all the way from Kirlsa for whatever this was. He'd already decided in advance that it didn't matter if it was the king - this had better be important, or someone was going to die.

Or at least be seriously injured. One of the two.

As he rounded the corner to go into the room that had been once used to draw up war plans, he immediately froze and stared, wide-eyed, at the 3 people already seated around the table.

Immediately, all of them looked up at him. One grinned and waved in an over-the-top fashion. "Hi, Albel!" she called in a cheery tone.

He immediately winced as Farleen's voice grated against his eardrums. And he didn't bother to hide it, either.

"Isn't this great?!" she continued, oblivious to his reaction. "We can sit and talk with no worries! We're not enemies anymore!"

That's what you think, maggot… he thought, snickering at the idea of making the annoying runt shut up once and for all.

"I'd suggest you hush, Farleen."

Albel immediately looked over to the source of the new voice. Nel was looking at him, a small smile - wait, no, scratch that, it was more of a smirk - slipping to her face. "If you haven't noticed, Albel's not exactly a….people person."

The girl next to her laughed. "True!" Tynave yelled, running a hand through her short-cut hair. "He looks ready to slice someone's head off!"

Nel laughed quietly. "I wouldn't be surprised…it wouldn't be the first time."

It had been two years since he had seen these girls - and then, they had been his enemies. Hell, he'd already tried to kill them, but that was to be expected. It had been war. And while he hadn't received the nickname "Albel the Wicked" for no reason, that didn't mean he was going to attack three girls simply for attacking his ego like they had.

Quite the contrary - he managed to remain quite calm. Despite the fact that he had no clue why.

"What…are you doing here?" he growled. Just because he didn't plan to attack them didn't mean they didn't annoy him. Especially that Farleen girl, all she had to do was speak a single word…

"Please, allow us to explain."Albel immediately jumped in surprise. It wasn't often that people managed to sneak up on him, and even less often that it happened in the castle of Aeriglyph. It bothered him that it had been so easy.

Upon turning, he saw both his ruler, the King of Aeriglyph, and his ex-enemy, the Queen of Aquaria. It had been her quiet, calm voice that had surprised him so much.

"Take a seat, Albel," the king suggested, gesturing to an available on the other side of the table next to Nel. Scowling - he'd never been a fan of being told what to do - he walked around and sat down. It felt odd, being next to Nel again…

"It appears the kingdom of Greeton has decided to use their advanced technology to their advantage - to our dismay," the queen said quietly. "This not only means trouble for our kingdom, but for yours," she looked toward Albel, who responded with wide, curiously surprised eyes, "as well. They've declared war on us both, for reasons undisclosed to us."

"Are they stupid?" Albel asked, his smug laughter filling the room. "Taking own two countries just because they think their technology is better? Besides, don't you guys still have that…what did you call it? A runelogical weapon?"

"It's not that easy," the king responded. "You may not recall, but that weapon was demolished and rendered useless upon the defeat of those celestial ships. I don't see why you don't remember, seeing as how you would have died had it not been for that strange beam."Albel's gaze immediately dropped. He didn't like to remember that little detail. The helplessness he had felt, the fear that he had been about to die - in his eyes, they had been signs of weakness. And he didn't want to admit to being weak - especially not in front of Nel.

Why was he so concerned? He himself couldn't have answered that question.

"In any case," the queen continued, "we have decided that it would most definitely be in our best interests to join forces…again. And considering how well the two of you," she nodded toward Albel and Nel, "responded to the strange events of two years ago, we figured this would be absolutely no problem for you."

Albel shrugged. "That's fine. But why are they-" he nodded toward Tynave and Farleen - "here?"

"They're my subordinates," Nel interjected, "and a leader is only as good as their subordinates. I need them."

Albel scoffed. "I don't see why. I don't need anybody. Haven't had to worry about the annoyances of subordinates for years."

"That's probably because everybody refused to work under him," Tynave whispered, causing Farleen to giggle.

"That's enough," Nel responded harshly, glaring at them.

Was she defending him? Or was she just trying to make them act respectful in the presence of their queen?

"So," he finally said, glancing up at the king "what exactly did you want us to do?"

"Go into the kingdom…" he began.

"And demolish their machine." the queen finished.

So, how was it? Gosh, I feel nervous, this being my first fanfic published here and whatnot. Is it too short? I don't really knowwww, I'm not used to this!!! Dx

Eh, in any case, I thought that'd be an…interesting place to leave off. Gosh, how I love cliffhangers at the end of chapters. Not when I'm reading them, of course, but writing them is fun. :3

So yes, opinions and supportive CnC is much appreciated! Flames will be shoved into flamethrowers to be used to ward off the forces of future flamers!!! …..Err…the forces of evil…yeah, let's go with that .

*prepares flamethrower* Bring 'em on o.o