Just a little plotbunny that turned into a massive story when I wasn't paying attention. XD FaytxAlbel, which means yaoi, or at least suggestions of it. Hope you like it!
DISCLAIMER: I so don't own Star Ocean, though it would rock so very much.
Fayt's Fate
What heroes do when they're not heroes. Fayt remembers. The choice of Fayt. Second thoughts. Ambushed. Thoughts of soap. Fayt takes fate in his hands. Hauler sickness. The breaking of Fayt. Confession. Hot water is good for many things.
When Albel, some time in the future, looked back on 'That Day', he supposed that he should have seen it all coming. But, he then thought, things would have been a lot less interesting if he had.
It was the fault of Fate. Not only that, it was also the fault of Fayt, and the Fate of Fayt, which isn't something anyone would want to say to often, let alone mess around with.
Everything was, in a sense, finished. The group of heroes (though Fayt always blushed when people called him that) lead by the strange young man named Fayt had saved Elicoor II. But, as with most world threating events, when they are averted, people tell themselves it wasn't that threatening after all. Everything seemed the same, nothing had been destroyed, people argued. Sure, there had been those strange celestial ships, but they'd been put in their place fast enough. As for the new, stronger monsters, well, what were a few monsters to the glorified armies of Airyglyph and Aquaria? And so the people made excuses for the odd happenings of a few short weeks ago, and went on with the more important things in their lives; farming the land, earning livings and raising children.
It was a well known fact that Aquaria and Airyglyph had officially ended the long war between their kingdoms, and with a royal wedding on the way, and Luther defeated, there seemed to be no place for the few that had brought all this about. They were left to find what it is that heroes do when they stop being heroes.
Which was, Fayt decided, apparently get bored out of their minds.
"Only a few weeks since we fought Luther..." he mused, "But it already feels longer then that."
"Whining already? I'd have thought you'd be better than that," came the answer. Fayt sighed and followed after his arrogant companion. Sometimes he asked himself the same thing Cliff had not that long ago. The day their little group, bound closer than Fayt thought possible by everything they had been through together, had... split up.
It had been painful, almost unbearably so for Fayt. While he hadn't known everyone in the group very long, saying goodbye felt as thought he were leaving behind his family, his closest friends. People who knew him, had been with him when he had found the truth about his 'powers', people who had comforted him in their own ways during the hard times, and people who had turned to him when things had affected them badly as well.
Breaking up had seemed almost unnatural. But it had to happen.
He just hadn't thought it would have been so hard. He could still see Sophia's tears and feel the clinging embrace which had transferred those tears to his shirt. His childhood friend, though Fayt knew she had hoped for something more, he knew he couldn't be that for her. Peppita had cried too, and clung to him, while Maria stood stiff and formal and said goodbye to Fayt, but he knew she wanted to cry too.
Adray had tried to blow the whole thing off, slapping Fayt on the shoulder and telling him to visit sometime and maybe Clair would be free later, while Nel and giving him a brief hug and told him with tears in her eyes to be careful, and that she knew he'd live a happy life.
And then...
And then Fayt had turned and seen Albel, standing in a corner against a wall, staring at his feet, seeming so much smaller and more vulnerable then Fayt had ever seen him. Fayt had known then what Albel would say. How he'd fake nonchalance and tell Fayt he was weak for getting teary like a woman over goodbye's, and how Albel would never, not once, allow his loneliness to show in his eyes. Fayt had known that here was no way he could leave now.
And when he'd told Cliff that he wouldn't be going with them, that he'd be staying on Elicoor II, Fayt remembered the pleasure he'd had at seeing Albel's face, just for a second, completely open and unguarded. The hope and something he knew was happiness (from Albel!) had given him wings.
He remembered now Cliff's words then.
"You're staying with him?" Cliff says, and thrusts his chin in Albel's direction.
Fayt smiles at the Klausian. "Yes. It feels right, and I don't really have anywhere else to go. College didn't really interest me anyway, and I'm sure the Federation won't be too friendly towards me, Maria and Sophia when they realize the danger is over."
Cliff nods. "Yeah, they'd realize soon enough that having a few biologically engineered weapons running around the place isn't the best setup ever. Once they realize what power you have, they'll either try to control you and make more, or destroy you. That's governments for you."
Fayt sighs and flicks at a few errant strands of blue hair. "Dad's gone, and I'm sure Mom will understand my decision, when she thinks about. I... like it here. I can do things I couldn't really do back home. At least, not outside a simulator. I don't mind the fact that there isn't any technology here or anything. Besides, I feel like my life is more worthwhile here. And I promise not to break the UP3."
Cliff laughs. A big, easygoing laugh that seems relaxed, but tells Fayt how worried he is. "You and your UP3."
Cliff looks over at Albel again, then turns his eyes back to Fayt. "Don't know how you'll stand him personally. But, I guess, if it's what you want, then who am I to say no? If the Federation asks, I'll make up some story of where you are. And I'll advise the other two girls to keep a low profile too. Guess it's... Goodbye then."
And they'd left. Fayt had run over to Albel, calling him to wait up, and been greeted with a comment on how if he were unable to keep up, he shouldn't have asked to stay. But Fayt had known Albel was glad that he had.
'Don't know how you stand him...'
Fayt was definitely rethinking that part. A sudden smack to the side of his skull with the flat of the Crimson Scourge didn't help either.
"Ow! What was that for!" Fayt demanded, rubbing the side of his head.
"It's because you weren't paying attention, fool," Albel said. "If I had wanted too, I could have killed you just now. You weren't paying attention enough to defend yourself, and one day that might mean you're dead."
Fayt felt the area carefully in case he'd been cut or something without noticing. "What kind of person hits with a sword anyway!" he demanded. "Besides, they'd have to get through you to kill me when I wasn't paying attention, and you claim there's nothing left in the universe that can kill you! So it shouldn't matter if I'm paying attention or not!"
"Worm," Albel sneered.
Fayt sighed and continued trudging after the swordsman. He was really starting to think it might be a good idea to rig up a distress beacon with his communicator and get a ride out of here...
The sun was high overhead when Albel came to a stop some distance ahead of Fayt and surveyed the area. "Not a reliable person around for leagues," he declared.
Fayt looked around as well. There didn't seem to be anyone around, though slight movement a distance away, not to mention the complete lack of local wildlife indicated looks were deceiving.
"So? Did you find the road?" Fayt asked casually.
"No roads, no towns, no villages. Not even a single person around to ask for directions." Albel said, though Fayt should have been able to tell that for himself. That meant they definitely weren't alone.
Fayt cursed mentally. Unfortunately after defeating Luther, they had reappeared in an area of Elicoor II that neither Fayt nor Albel recognized. Nel, Roger and Adray had already left by the time Fayt had decided to join Albel, so the pair had been left to try and find their way back on their own. With Albel's stunning personality, Fayt thought wryly, this wasn't an easy task.
He wasn't even going to think of the boat trip.
"Oh well. If we don't find anything, I guess we'll have to camp out tonight," Fayt said, keeping an eye on the edges of his vision. With both of them facing each other, it was difficult anyone to sneak up without being noticed, but there were blind spots.
"Surely you jest! Not again. I'm tired of being kicked and woken up every night."
Fayt blushed at that. He'd had that one dream...! At least Albel didn't know what he was dreaming about. ...didn't he? Albel was smirking.
Fayt narrowed his eyes, two could play the embarrassment game.
"You know, Albel, say what you will, but you're the one who keeps crying out in your sleep with all those nightmares. Look to your own faults before you find fault in others."
Albel was glaring now, but Fayt knew he'd only just scored level, he needed to get another hit in to finish the 'game'.
"I dunno what kind of dreams you're having," Fayt managed an Albel-esque smirk, "but you scream all night long, and it's annoying. And you know, it's your fault we're wandering around here in the first place. If you hadn't gotten into that brouhaha with the lord of the last town, we could've just brought a map and we'd be in the next town already!"
Albel's lips twitched, and Fayt could have sworn he almost smiled. He seemed to like it when Fayt fought back.
"Look to my faults? Mind your business. If you're done prattling, perhaps I shall be spared carving the tongue from your mouth!" The Crimson Scourge seemed to leap into Albel's hand, and Fayt knew the signal well enough to drop defensively. He trusted Albel more than the other seemed to believe, but a talking sword unnerved him.
"Six of them, right?" Fayt asked in a low voice, keeping his eyes locked with Albel's.
"No, there were five," came the answer. Fayt knew he'd get told off for not paying enough attention later. Still, he had won the verbal duel. Now he just had to win the physical one.
"Well, that's a minor detail," Fayt commented. He could see their pursuers now, approaching cautiously behind Albel. Understandably, none of them wanted to get close enough to take the first swing. "Still, just because you didn't get along with their lord, don't be too hard on them."
"It will be a good lesson for them," Albel scoffed. "Foolsthinking that nipping at the heels of the strong makes them stronger." Fayt rolled his eyes, any more arrogance and he was sure Albel would launch into a 'Cower brief Mortals' act. While the idea was amusing, the bloodshed that would follow such an event wouldn't be.
"Oh man, I feel sorry for the two I don't fight..." Fayt commented. Albel didn't seem to notice, though Fayt thought it might have been because he was busy hurling himself towards the first luckless lackey to approach him.
Fayt winced at what remained of the five men who had attacked them. They would certainly be feeling those in the morning. "That's the third attempt this week," he said aloud. "Maybe you should just be quite in the next town, and we might manage to find out where we are."
"Hmph. The least these lugards could do would be to make our encounters more interesting, but they always send the usual scum and worms. I'm starting to get bored. There aren't even any interesting monsters any more."
Fayt glared at the older swordsman. "This isn't about us finding interesting things for you to fight, Albel! We need to find where we are so that we can get back to somewhere familiar." Fayt rubbed at his hair and made a face. "I don't know about you, but I would like to remain in a town for at least long enough to have a decent bath!"
Albel glared, but Fayt knew he had scored a hit there. Albel was rather fussy about his cleanliness in comparison to most other people Fayt had met (he still cringed when he remembered that the technology level of Elicoor II meant less clean water available, and less baths), but even then...
Plus Fayt wasn't sure he wanted to spend too much time travelling with someone lived in a place that considered 'clean' the same as 'bathes one a month'.
'I hope the UP3 doesn't apply to teaching people to bathe more often,' Fayt mused, 'And I'm sure I could invent some new soaps and,' he grimaced, 'shampoos and things. Ugh! I can't wait 'til we get near some clean water!'
"Are you coming or not, worm?" Albel said, stalking off once more.
Fayt sighed and shoved his washing issues to the back of his mind before following. Surely the next town would be better then the last... he did a quick mental tally, eight. There must be some kind of law that meant they were due for some good luck, right?
Fayt decided that he wasn't going to leave things, as it were, to fate. It was early enough that the sun was just beginning to show promise of rising. Albel was still sleeping at the inn, they had finally located the town well after dark, staggering in exhausted with only enough time to book a room and stagger to their beds. Considering Albel's track record, Fayt figured they'd be chased out a hour or so after the other swordsman woke, so Fayt was getting in early to find directions.
Being able to get a better look around, Fayt realized this wasn't so much a town as a village, consisting of one inn doubling as a bar, a small shop that wouldn't stock anything the pair would consider useful and didn't already have, and a few mangy houses.
"Still, they should know where the next town is," Fayt mused. He approached one of the villagers slowly. The man looked to be a farmer, which was probably why he was up so early, but Fayt knew better than to take people by appearances alone. As did several groups of men sent to pursue two young swordsmen several towns back.
"Excuse me?" Fayt asked cheerfully, "But do you happen to know where the closest large town is? And what it's called?"
The man Fayt had chosen looked much smaller up close, and much older. Fayt supposed that this village had undergone some difficulty recently, if such a withered old man was farming the fields.
"Don't get many strangers 'round here."
Fayt concentrated on keeping his face open and friendly, though he was secretly glad that Albel wasn't here, else he'd be waving his sword around and threatening the locals by now. "Well, we are only passing through," Fayt said friendly and openly, "We're trying to find our way back to familiar areas, so if you could just point me in the right direction, we'll be on our way." He smiled in a friendly and open way.
The old man was watching Fayt carefully now, it was rather unnerving. Fayt smiled a little more, hoping this would assist matters, but it just seemed to make the man even more nervous.
Fayt was on the verge of panicking (and thinking that there might be some merit to Albel's methods), when a young boy, he guessed about thirteen, ran up to the elderly farmer and pulled him aside for a hurried, whispered conversation. The paused once or twice to stare at Fayt before whispering even more fiercely.
Eventually they stopped, and the boy approached Fayt with a caution normally reserved for terrified animals.
"I," The boy pointed to himself. "Can tell you," pointed at Fayt. "Of a place that will. Take you," pointed at Fayt again. "To the. Next. Town," the boy said slowly, making special care to pronounce each word. Fayt wondered if he had a speech problem or something. "It takes you. Under the mount-ains." He pointed to the looming ridges as though Fayt might not know they were there. "Then you will be in a town."
Fayt forced his smile a little wider and reminded himself that he was on a backwater planet, and this was obviously a backwater village. He contented himself with the idea that the poor boy's parents had most likely been related or something, and that was why the child was clearly an idiot. "I think I'm spending too much time around Albel, I'm starting to think like him," Fayt muttered.
The boy stared at him, so Fayt smiled again and thanked them for their help before heading off to the inn. Behind him, another whispered conversation started up.
The sun had completely risen when Fayt returned to the inn, tailed by the boy and watched by several other villagers. The boy waited outside while Fayt went to see if Albel was up yet.
"Albel?"
A slight movement alerted Fayt, and he jerked backward, his back screaming at him, as a blade sang through the air in front of his face.
"Oh, you're back," Albel said lazily and sheathed the Crimson Scourge. Fayt could have swore the sword was laughing at him, but then, it could have been the user as well. Lately Fayt had learned that failure to rise before or at the same time as Albel, would result in being woken by almost being decapitated, just to, as Albel put it, 'teach him that he couldn't lie around if he was in danger of enemy attack'. Fayt had long since decided it wouldn't have been near as annoying if Albel would at least acknowledge that Fayt was getting better at dodging.
"I've found us a guide that claims he can lead us at least part the way to the next town," Fayt said. "Something about a underground route. It might have a few monsters, but nothing we shouldn't be able to handle."
"Good," Albel said. "I'm getting tired or beating up riffraff all day. A challenge might be interesting."
Fayt shrugged, "Either way, it means that we'll be getting straight to the next town, and not wandering lost for days."
"Do you intend to sit around and complain, or shall we get a move on?"
Fayt rolled his eyes, "I guess we get going then."
The boy looked considerably more nervous at the presence of Albel, and when Fayt strapped on his sword. But Fayt thought that his nervousness was well founded, specially when he noticed the obvious sneer on Albel's face.
"How about you show us where that route is?" Fayt said, smiling a little too brightly. Albel sneered at him for that, but Fayt was beginning to wonder if it was just because he'd forgotten to change his facial expression.
The boy nodded, and led them quickly through the village, past many whispering villagers, and eventually to a large cave entrance. "Through there," he said, eyed Fayt once more, and raced back to the village.
"I wonder what his problem was?" Fayt asked, rubbing his hair. It still felt greasy and he was beginning to wonder if shaving his head was the only answer.
"You are a fool," Albel announced. "Didn't you listen to what they were saying? They think you're mad. They want us out of their village before you hurt someone." he smirked at Fayt.
Fayt glared. "Why would they think that? You're just getting ahead of yourself!"
"Really? You were smiling like one crazed. I was beginning to think you had lost what precious sanity you had myself."
"Whatever." Fayt snorted. "I'm fine, so lets just get going. We won't get anywhere just standing here."
Albel shoved past him and stalked ahead into the darkness. "Are you coming, fool? Best hurry, and bring out that Lightstone. I haven't all day."
Fayt sighed. 'I really hope this isn't what my life is going to be from now on. Running after Albel and putting up with his insults. Why did I choose this again?' he thought, then spoke aloud, calling for Albel to wait for him.
The 'Underground Route' turned out to be some sort of disused mining system. Long disused, Fayt decided when they passed several areas where the cart tracks were buried, or missing completely.
"They might have been taken for scraps by the villagers," Fayt said aloud. "Free metal just lying around, specially near such a small village, must have been tempting."
"And why are you babbling about this to me?" Albel demanded, "I hardly care where pathetic worms and maggots get their metals." Fayt sighed gustily and continued trudging. The Lightstone shed almost enough light for them to see by, but the down side was that it didn't shed much towards their feet, and Fayt was beginning to get annoyed with the amount of time he spent tripping over.
"Finally!" Came a cry from ahead, "I was beginning to get bored!"
Fayt ran and stumbled to Albel's location, though he had already guessed what would make the swordsman so happy. A couple of monsters blocked the path before them, and Albel was already swinging into the fray. Fayt was half-tempted to stand back and let him have his fun, but then Albel would probably demand to know why Fayt hadn't been joining the battle. Still, it was good exercise, and the fight wasn't likely to be difficult, or, by the look of things, present much of a challenge at all.
Albel grinned at his gore-splattered sword and glanced sidelong at Fayt. "See? Would you be having this much fun if you had gone back to your 'eeerth'?"
Fayt blinked, it was the first reference Albel had made to his decision to stay on Elicoor II.
"I guess not," he began, then decided the truth was safer. "No. There aren't any monsters on Earth, and sword fighting only happens in games. Then there's..."
Albel looked suddenly curious at Fayt's silence. "Then there's what?" he wanted to know.
"Nothing really." Fayt cursed mentally. He could feel blood filling his face and knew he was blushing like a schoolgirl. Which was odd really, because he'd known several schoolgirls who hadn't blushed much.
"Whatever, fool."
Fayt was relieved Albel had let it drop so quickly, and faintly suspicious. He knew there'd be questions later. Hopefully not at sword point.
After a short distance, and a few more monsters, Fayt was surprised to find they had arrived at... a dead-end.
"Well this was pointless," Albel said. "We should go back and make that brat tell us the truth."
"Seems odd they would tell us to come here though, if they wanted us out of the village..." Fayt blinked, then stared. There was something in the darkness over there, he was sure of it!
Gesturing to Albel to follow, Fayt crept over and directed the Lightstone at the area. "A Hauler! That must be the way out of here."
Albel curled his lip at the suggestion, but agreed when Fayt pointed out it was the only way they could leave this place.
The Hauler seemed pleased to see them, about as pleased as something resembling a giant tortoise could be, and Fayt wondered how long it had been here. And what it had been eating.
"We should make it out of here fairly quickly now," Fayt said as he pulled himself aboard. Albel was looking faintly apprehensive now, but he pulled himself up nevertheless.
"You know how to steer this thing?" he questioned.
Fayt smiled. "We rode some in the Kirlsa Caverns. They're not too bad. I guess you haven't ridden one before?"
Albel sneered. "Haulers are for miners and maggots."
"Guess that explains it." Fayt rolled his eyes.
The Hauler moved off quickly enough, and Fayt settled into the rocking movement with ease. It was rather restful, he decided, scenery moving past and a soft rocking all the time. Moments like this meant the mind could wander freely.
The Hauler was moving at a fairly rapid pace when Albel whapped Fayt on the shoulder, jolting him out of his musings.
"Pull this thing over," came a rather hoarse demand.
Fayt sighed and reined the Hauler in to a rather jolty stop. Almost before the movement stopped, Albel was leaping from the Haulers back and lurching over to the wall. Fayt jumped off himself, suddenly concerned about his companion.
"Albel? Are you alright?"
Albel directed a glare at Fayt, but was forced to clamp a hand over his mouth before he could say anything. He turned back to the wall and coughed a few times. Fayt quickly turned away, suddenly insightful to the warrior's dilemma.
"Albel," he began when the heaving stopped. "Do you get motion sickness?"
Albel gargled some water before answering. "I'm fine," he growled, "Whatever makes you think I'm diseased, fool?"
Fayt turned around, his nose wrinkling as the smell hit him. "Motion sickness isn't a disease. It's when you feel sick after being on a rapidly moving object for a while. Though it's worse if the object lurches around too. It was the Hauler, wasn't it."
Albel glared at the Hauler. "I will teach it a lesson for making me ill!"
Fayt grabbed onto his arm before the swordsman could make good on his threat. "It's not the Hauler's fault, Albel! It just happens to be the first time you've found out!"
Albel struggled free, but didn't attack the Hauler. "I've never felt ill before."
Fayt scratched his head. "But you did say you've never ridden a Hauler before either."
"But I've ridden Dragons many times, fool." "For how long?" Fayt argued. "Short flights and trips probably won't give you any more than a faint stomach ache." Albel looked away and glowered at the wall. "Perhaps you are right," he growled. "I have heard of some of the new Dragon Knights becoming ill after flying, though it fades with time."
Fayt smiled slightly. "If it makes you feel any better, it used to happen a lot back on my world. Probably still does, though our transports don't lurch as much as they used to." He eyed Albel, but there really was no other option. "Should we try it again? I won't go so fast this time, and we can stop whenever you want."
Albel stalked towards the Hauler. "Go as fast as you like," he said over his shoulder. "I don't care. And we won't stop again if I have anything to say about it."
Fayt smiled wryly. Somehow, he doubted it.
Several forced stops later, and Fayt was rather glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel, figuratively speaking. What he really saw was a faint light shining through what turned out to be a caved in exit.
"Wonderful," he muttered, "We'll have to dig our way out."
Albel stumbled off the Hauler and lurched towards a convenient rock, and Fayt turned his attention back to the pile of rubble blocking their path. "Make that, I'll have to dig us out." There was no response from his companion, so Fayt reluctantly began heaving stones aside, grumbling all the while.
After some time, Fayt was aware of two things. One was that Albel was no longer being noisily ill nearby. The second was that Albel wasn't helping him either. Fayt dropped the rock he was carrying and looked around, to find aforementioned warrior watching him with great interest.
"What are you doing?" Albel asked before Fayt could open his mouth.
"What's it look like!" The blue-haired boy retorted, "I'm trying to get us out of here!"
Albel sneered, "Why don't you just use the Disintegrator Ring, fool?"
Fayt's eye twitched. With no input from his brain whatsoever, his right hand reached down, hefted and flung a sizable rock at the smugly sneering face. Albel dodged it easily enough, but it had taken him by surprise.
"Why did you do that, worm?"
"Shut up!" Fayt yelled, "Ever since we started this journey you've been telling me what to do, taking control of everything, and screwing it all up! If it wasn't for you, we would have been back in familiar territory by now! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have had to keep fighting everything we came across! If it wasn't for you, I'd be.." he stopped, took a few deep breaths then said softly, "Just forget it. I know you don't care for anyone but yourself. Once we've gotten through this to the next town, I'm going off on my own."
Albel stared at him, probably out of shock for being argued with for the first time. But it wasn't in his nature to let things go so easily. "Don't act like you're doing me any favours, fool. I wasn't the only one causing problems, and at least I can handle myself on this planet. Do you really think people are going to be nice to you all the time, just because you're nice to them? Don't be naive. The people out there will walk all over you, then who will you go crying too? You can't just leave this planet whenever things get a little rough now. You can't keep pretending this is some game to be played until it gets too dangerous. You can't turn this off."
"Fine. Whatever." Fayt said. "Sooner I get out of here the better."
He aimed the ring at the rubble blocking their path.
Perhaps Fayt was slightly more forceful then he meant to be, imagining the various rocks as a certain someone's over-inflated head wouldn't have helped much, but the pathway fairly exploded, showering the two with dirt and large chunks of debris.
Albel coughed and swung angrily at the air as the dirt cleared. "Are you trying to kill me!" he demanded. He turned slightly to focus on the coughing coming from nearby. The dirt settled, and Fayt appeared, moaning slightly and pressing a hand against a cut on his temple, from which blood was flowing freely.
Albel strode forward and wrenched his hand aside. "Flesh wound," he said, "It'll need cleaning, but shouldn't be too bad." He didn't mention that it was more worrying that Fayt seemed to be having difficulties focusing on him.
After a moment's deliberation, Albel slung Fayt's free arm over his shoulder and started out of the caverns. He'd seen injuries like this before, the best thing for them was sleep. The bleeding on the cut would stop soon enough, but the confusion would take longer.
The sun was setting as they emerged from the newly-opened tunnel, and Albel was surprised to see a town rather close by. At least there was little chance of monster attacks in this distance. Still, half-carrying Fayt as he was, it was almost nightfall when they finally entered the town, and Albel was forced to prop Fayt against a barrel while he looked around.
The sight that met his eyes was one he had not expected to see for quite some time.
"Looks like we came further that we thought, worm," Albel said. At the lack of a reply he turned to examine the slumped form of Fayt. The knock to his head wasn't doing Fayt any favours, and he appeared to have fainted.
Albel cursed under his breath. "As if I didn't have enough to do." He heaved the prone form over his shoulder an set out to where he knew they would be staying the night. Whether the people staying there knew it was a different story.
Fayt dreamed. He dreamed he was floating in a pool of water, listening to the soft sounds of birds above him. It was beautiful and relaxing to just lie there as the warmth of the water leeched all the pain out of his body. It was then that he heard a faint buzzing, building in volume until it resolved itself into a voice that sliced through Fayt's happy dreamscape.
"...pathetic maggot succumbing to a flesh wound so easily..."
Fayt frowned, that didn't seem like something that should be in his nice dream.
"..we'd be there by now...I shouldn't be so weak. I'm strong enough to do this...I will do this.."
A jolt shook Fayt, bringing back those aches and pains - which he'd rather hoped the water had taken away - for an encore performance. The sound of someone persistently kicking something metallic invaded his mind to drive out the few shreds of dream left, and Fayt sunk into a bitter darkness before he heard any more.
Fayt woke. He was slightly confused to find himself lying on a something that must have been a bed, if only because it was fitted with sheets and covered in pillows. It was roughly the size of Fayt's entire bedroom on Earth.
"What the?"
The room itself was also considerably large, making the bed seem normal sized, the walls of which seemed to be lined with a small library of books and also managing to support several large paintings, most of which featured a stern looking man in battle armour, or a beautiful noblewoman robed in intricate, and costly, gowns. Fayt's eyes wandered the room drinking in the details, certain this was a dream soon to vanish. A thickly woven rug adorned the floor in the center of the room, though the stones it failed to cover were icy to Fayt's bare feet.
"Hey, who took my clothes?" Fayt pulled at the cloth of the thin night shirt he was wearing, and a throbbing at his temple send his enquiring fingertips to encounter a bandage wound around his head. "This is... real?"
The room remained as it was, and Fayt was forced to accept that he really was in the chambers of someone who was apparently, from the look of the room, extremely wealthy.
Feeling slightly nervous, and managing to stand upright on the second go, Fayt looked around the room once more before edging to the door. It opened as he approached and Albel glared at him.
"Get back into bed, fool."
Fayt thought the effect would have been rather more convincing if the swordsman hadn't been trying to navigate a tray piled with food at the same time. Fayt jumped up to help Albel, and there was a brief moment of suspense as the tray tilted threateningly sideways, but finely honed battle skills and teamwork saved the food.
"Albel, where are we?" Fayt asked after the celebration of not spilling their meal all over the floor.
Albel glanced up, then returned to his task of slicing an apple with the assistance of his claws. "Where do you think, fool?"
"Stop calling me that," Fayt snapped, "And I wouldn't ask if I knew, would I?"
"You obviously did a very poor job of searching the Kirlsa training facilities then."
"Wait, what? We're in Kirlsa? Were we really that close?"
"I would hardly have carried you all the way here that fast if we weren't, would I?" Albel sunk his teeth into the mauled fruit with satisfaction.
"But... this isn't like anything we saw in the training facility..." Fayt said slowly. "Who owns this place?"
Albel sighed. "There is another private elevator, of which only I have the key now, that leads to this area. It's my bed chamber."
Fayt choked on his fruit salad. "Y,yours! But, it's huge!" The moment the words left his mouth, Fayt regretted saying them. He knew there was no reason why Albel couldn't have a bed chamber this big, but it just didn't seem to fit right.
Albel watched him coolly. "Is that a problem, fool?"
Fayt supposed he deserved that insult. "No, I guess not. I guess I just didn't picture you to have a place like this..."
Albel shrugged. "I had it built after my father died. Most of these things belonged to him."
Fayt looked over the portraits. "So, those are your parents."
"Yes." It didn't seem like Fayt was going to get any other answer then that.
"They must have really meant something to you," Fayt persisted.
"Is it really your business, maggot? You should worry about other, less petty things."
Fayt felt the anger from earlier returning. It had brought friends. "What is with you?" he demanded, letting the anger do the talking for him. "I've been trying and trying to be nice to you, to give you space or whatever, but you just keep putting me down! Does everyone one have to be beneath you Albel? Are you the only one who is allowed to be good at something!"
Albel tossed the apple core to the side and tilted his head. "You ask me, do I need to be better than everyone? Is everyone a worthless maggot? I'll tell you, fool." He stood up and walked around to Fayt's side of the bed to stand over him. "You are worthless. You are foolish, you trust too easily, you're pathetic in battle and you persist in thinking everything is a game! You are pathetic and I hate you!"
Fayt stared. To think he'd actually believed he'd had a chance... No matter. He threw an arm out and pointed at the portraits. "And what about them? Are your own parents beneath you?"
Albel sneered. "They are worse than you even. I loathe them more than words."
"But they brought you life!"
"And that is why I hate them!" Albel screamed. "If they had not brought me into this world, they would still live this day!"
Fayt stood and looked Albel in the eyes, he could almost swear he saw tears glinting there, hidden in the long lashes. "What did you say?"
"My mother died birthing me, and my father gave his life to save mine. If I had not been born, both of them would still live this day." Albel selected an apple and thrust his claws through it to mash the pulp and release the juice to dribble thickly down his arm. "My life is stained with my parent's blood."
Fayt felt something catch in his throat. He'd never known. "All your anger is directed at yourself, isn't it?" he said softly "You don't hate others," he remembered now the trial of the Crimson Scourge, something he hadn't understood at the time, not being able to hear what Albel had said very clearly. Now it made sense. "All this time, you've been hating yourself."
Albel looked up at him, the rage gripping him seemed to subside and he said, "Do you pretend to understand me, fool?" A sarcastic smile tugged at his lips. "Don't get ahead of yourself."
Fayt sighed. Of course, it wasn't Albel's way to let anyone start to figure him out too much. But still... Fayt had the feeling that Albel had let him in on something special after telling him that. It was then he noticed the juice creating a puddle under Albel's arm, and remembered how long the two of them had been travelling.
"I don't suppose this place has a bath?"
I was hardly surprising that the bathroom was just as large as the bedroom, though it looked more like an indoor hot spring then a bathroom. Fayt stared in surprise as Albel spun a couple of handles on the wall to release torrents of hot and cold water into the bath. Catching his expression, Albel merely shrugged and said, "There are boilers in a room next to this," by way of an explanation. Still, the water was deliciously warm, clean, and , more importantly, there was soap. Fayt had forgotten how much he missed soap while travelling.
"Sophia would have liked this," Fayt commented. "She was always talking about visiting a vast palace and being treated like a princess. Something like this would have been exactly what she wanted."
Albel snorted. "She wouldn't have gotten it. I've never had guests here, and I would never have invited her."
Fayt glanced up. "She was my friend."
"She was also a little fool. What does it matter if there's a palace or not?"
"I guess. Maybe you're right," Fayt sighed. He washed his hair as best as he could, then eyed Albel. "Aren't you going to wash that overgrown mop of yours?
"It will keep."
"That's disgusting. When was the last time you washed it?"
"For your information, fool," Albel hissed, "I can't exactly handle it very well with this, can I?" He flourished his metal arm and looked annoyed.
Fayt felt a little guilty. "I can do it for you," he kept going before Albel could argue, "I mean, I know you could probably manage on your own, but it would be easier if I helped, right?" He began unravelling the cloth binding Albel's hair before he could object too much, and did his best to ignore the muttering coming from the hair's owner.
"Done!" Fayt said happily when he'd finished. Now that he knew Albel was clean, he didn't feel so dirty himself. Though, the water was a rather nasty shade of brown from the dirt on them both. Fayt was interested to notice Albel also had a sort of drainage pipe fitted into the bath which emptied it quite quickly, but the fresh water was a blessing.
"You act like a woman," Albel sneered. "Obsessed about hair and clean skin. What does it matter?"
"It matters because it's disgusting," Fayt retorted. "And I am not a woman."
Albel kicked of the side of the oversized bath and glided towards Fayt. "Prove it."
"What's that supposed to mea-?"
Albel stopped Fayt's words with his lips, pulling back as quickly as he had begun. "You even blush like a woman," he smirked. "Fool. My fool."
"I'm a fool? Then what does that make you?" Fayt demanded hotly. The bush comment had really stung.
"Master of the fool."
"Not without a fight." Fayt smirked. Then he stopped. "Albel, does this... mean anything to you?" He looked up at the puzzled look on the warrior's face. "Me and you. I thought for a while now that maybe you liked me, but I've never been sure. I..I stayed because of you, you know."
Albel closed his eyes. "I knew it, fool. But I can't tell you if it means anything," he sneered slightly, "I've never been good at emotions. Don't ask me to tell you how I feel. If you really want to know.." Fayt had to strain his ears to catch the next part, "...I think you could do much better."
"Maybe I could," Fayt wondered aloud, but kept his eyes on Albel's face. Yes, there had been a flicker of emotion for a second, a tiny moment in which Albel had looked.. hurt. "But I don't want to. For me, the best is right here." He smiled as he pressed the palm of a hand against Albel's chest. "You might blame yourself for a lot of things Albel, but I don't think we would have had as much success against Luther without you. You might call me a fool, but I think we're both fools for each other, right?"
"What a stupid notion. You really are a fool, you know that," he paused, then added, "My fool all the same."
Albel smiled, just once, without any anger, resentment or anything other then pleasure. Fayt felt, for the second time, that his heart had sprouted wings and that nothing could ruin this moment.
Albel hooked his claws lightly around Fayt's shoulder and muttered, "Shall we see what else hot water is for?"
And Fayt knew this was going to be a night to remember.