Well, I couldn't help myself! This idea came to me in a dream after playing Star Ocean for 5 straight hours (which is bad for you, do not try at home). I'm still working on the conclusion to Into The Dragon's Den, which is giving me a hard time by the way, so I figured I'd post this to hold you guys over 'till it's ready. This story is only going to be 3 or 4 chapters long, so here's numero uno! Enjoy! And please don't forget to drop a review on your way out!

MelanieStar 3

And no, I don't own Albel, Nel, or anything related to them...sigh.

Chapter 1

Not Hell, But Close Enough

'Just my luck.' Nel Zelpher thought sarcastically as she entered another dark chamber. 'Have I been here already? All these chambers are starting to look the same.'

It had all started when she'd been sent on a mission by her Queen. She was to search an abandoned dungeon and retrieve a treasure that was supposed to be found there. So far, she's had no luck.

'Maybe if I go down there I'll find something...' Nel wondered, sticking her torch out in front of her in a pointless attempt to light the pitch black tunnel she was looking down. She sighed. "Not like I have any other options."

As she was walking down the stone corridor, her thoughts started to drift off subject. 'I wonder how Fayt and everybody else are doing. I haven't seen any of them since we defeated the Creator.' She sighed, careful to step over a pile of rubble. 'I haven't even seen Albel since then...'

Her mood instantly saddened. Nel had allowed herself to believe that her and Albel had warmed up to one another just before they had defeated Luther, and as much as it shamed her to admit, she missed him...a lot. They never did talk much, and when they did, it was usually in an argument or in short, hurtful remarks, but they did share an understanding of one another, much stronger then with any other member of Fayt's had-been group.

Nel was so lost in her thoughts that she was completely taken off guard when she was attacked.

Out of nowhere, someone jumped at her, grabbing a handful of her shirt and pinning her against the wall with such force that she dropped her torch as they lifted her off the ground. Her attacker let out a furious battle cry and jabbed at her with a sword. Nel shut her eyes tight in fear and did the one thing that felt most natural: She screamed.

The blade stopped dead, just grazing the skin of her neck as her scream echoed through the tunnels. The arm of Nel's attacker, which seemed to be made of metal, was pressed hard against her chest, making breathing hard for her as her scream died off. The blade hovered at her neck, it's owner apparently frozen.

-"Z-Zelpher...?"

That voice. Nel opened her eyes and looked into those of her attacker, their faces mere centimeters apart. "Albel...?"

He was looking at her directly, so many emotions showing through his eyes that Nel was having a hard time figuring out what to say. He seemed surprised to see her, probably not nearly as surprised as she was to see him, however.

After a minute, Albel pulled his katana away from Nel's neck and released the pressure on her chest, backing away. Nel fell to the ground, breathing heavily and clutching her chest with one shaky hand.

-"Leave."

His voice was soft and demanding. Nel looked up at Albel, who was staring down one of the darkest tunnels. "I can't Nox, I've got orders from the Queen to retrieve something from these ruins. I can't leave until I-"

-"I don't care about your mission, I'm telling you to leave, as in now!" He was looking at her now, his voice even more insistent.

Nel got to her feet and looked him square in the eyes. "I told you, I can't leave until..." She stopped short upon noticing some of his less obvious body language. His hands were shaking ever so slightly, and his eyes were darting around, searching for sources of every little sound. "Albel..." His eyes darted over to look at her.

-"What?"

-"...Are you...scared?"

He looked away, but didn't respond. He was watching the darkness again. Nel followed his gaze, starting to feel nervous by his strange behavior.

-"There are...beings in these ruins." He spoke quietly, as if he was scared of someone other then Nel hearing him. "They're not human. They look somewhat human, but they're not, they're nothing close."

Nel thought about what he'd just said. 'Is he serious, or just paranoid?' "Albel, I'm not sure if I understand-"

-"Shh!" he cut her off suddenly, staring intently down the tunnel he'd come from. Nel shut up quickly, knowing better, from experience, then to defy Albel when he was in one of his moods.

It was completely silent, except for a small noise that was coming from down that passage. 'What is it?' Nel wondered, but found out moments later. A small, round object was slowly rolling towards them, a tiny red light blinking on it's smooth outer covering.

-"Shit!" Albel cursed and ran at it.

-"Wait Albel, what is-" Nel blurted, reaching out to him.

-"Get down, and cover your ears!" he yelled at her frantically. He got to the ball and kicked it hard, sending the blinking red light flying back the way it had come.

-"Tell me what's going on!" Nel demanded as Albel turned and started running back towards her.

-"Just get down!" he yelled. When he'd gotten back to her and found that she still hadn't listened, he wrapped one arm around her back and pulled her down with him as he crashed to the ground.

The moment they hit the ground, Albel trying to shield Nel the best he could, an explosion sounded from down the tunnel, a flash of light blinding them both momentarily. The ground shook, small pieces of rock falling from the ceiling. As soon as the explosion hit, ear-splitting screams erupted, forcing Nel to cover her ears in pain. Albel's grip on her back tightened as the screeching for louder, making Nel vaguely aware that he was protecting her from the debris rather then covering his own ears. 'What the hell is that!' Nel's mind screamed, her ears on fire.

And then it suddenly stopped. Nel opened her eyes cautiously, and slowly took her hands off her ears. Silence. Dead silence.

Before her mind could register what had happened, Albel pulled her to her feet, grabbed one of her hands, and proceeded to run from the scene. Nel stumbled, but quickly regained her footing to run faster. They were in complete darkness now, Nel had left her torch behind.

-"Albel, what in the name of Apris was that!" she called up to him, trying her hardest to keep up with his increasingly fast pace. He didn't respond right away, glancing at every doorway or passage they passed.

-"I-...I'm not exactly sure..." he said finally, just loud enough for Nel to hear."They appear to be human, but you can't kill them with a blade. If you cut them up, they just put themselves back together..." he paused, slowing down a little so Nel could run beside him. He let go of her hand, which he'd been clutching up until now. "And they have weapons, lots of weapons...I learned that the hard way...I've encountered numerous groups that had guns, those arms that blue-haired wench from Fayt's group used to use, and almost all of them have some form of explosives."

He fell silent, glancing down a hallway as they passed it. Nel was listening, but was having a hard time registering what she was being told. "Where did they come from?" she asked finally.

-"How should I know! When I got here two days ago, the worms were already spread out over the whole area."

-"Wait, you've been in this dungeon for two days! Why?"

-"Fool, I can't find the exit." he spat angrily. Albel turned down a hallway, Nel following close behind. "And every time I feel like I'm getting close, those things attack me!"

Nel went silent, staying close to Albel. 'What have I gotten myself into this time?' "Do you know if there's a way to kill them?" Albel slowed to walk, Nel copying his actions, but not without glancing over her shoulder first.

-"Not that I know of, but..." he sighed. "I suspect that they may already be dead."

Nel looked at him abruptly, shocked. "What would make you think that?"

Albel went quiet again, looking like he was remembering something horrible. "I had the misfortune of getting close to one of those creatures. It's skin was, peeling, from it's body. They wear rags, and in numerous places, their bones are visible." Nel felt her stomach flip. "They breathe, and as you know now, scream, which would imply that they feel pain, but I think it's impossible for them to be alive." He went silent again, glancing into a chamber they passed. "The one I got close to...I could see it's heart beating in it's chest."

Nel was speechless. The was Albel had described these...monsters, was horrible. Was it all true? Albel did look rather sick about all this, why would he lie?

-"Are you okay? They haven't hurt you, have they?"

Albel smirked, looking more like himself for the first time since she'd met up with him. "I'm Albel the Wicked, I can handle anything they throw at me." he said smugly, but Nel knew differently.

-"You may be, but two days of running around in complete darkness, being chased by dead men with weapons without food or water can tire even the likes of you, believe it or not."

Albel frowned at her. "Think you could do better?"

Nel shook her head. "Nope. I'm only human."

Albel huffed. "Women."

They walked in silence, painfully aware of every sound, no matter how small. Albel kept looking in every cell or chamber that they passed, until he finally stopped in front of one. "We'll rest here and think of a plan."

Nel followed him into the large chamber. There were two doors, the one they'd just come through, and another on the opposite side of the stone room. There wasn't anything in the way of furniture, only a small straw bed in one corner and pieces of a broken stool in the another.

-"Any particular reason why you chose this room over all the others?" Nel asked as she lowered herself to sit on the ground.

Albel sat down opposite her, putting his katana down beside him. "This room has two doors, so if we're attacked, there's an escape route."

Nel nodded and leaned back against the hard wall. "How are we going to get out of this place?"

-"As soon as we're ready, we should go look around some more. I've got absolutely no idea where the exit is, so..." Albel sighed. "...it could take forever."

Nel looked at him. 'He looks so depressed...but then again, I would be too after two days of zombie attacks.' "We'll find a way out, I'm sure of it."

Albel rolled his eyes. "Here she is, little Miss Optimistic, thinking she can save the day. Spare me, please."

Nel sat up straight, looking at him with cold eyes. "At least I got a better point of view then you, Mister We're All Going To Die."

-"Don't start with me woman, I don't need your little speech right now."

-"No, I think you need to hear this!" Nel shot back, making Albel look at her abruptly. "I know this doesn't look too good for us, but if we work together, we're bound to get out of this alive." Albel rolled his eyes. "And I'm not just saying that, so don't give me that look. We're getting through this, so don't count us out yet."

They were both silent, just looking at each other. Finally, Albel looked away. "Fine, just don't slow me down."

Nel continued to stare. "Say what you want, you know I'm right."

Albel crossed his arms over his chest, looking like a small, unhappy child, much to Nel's amusement. She tore her gaze from him and checked to make sure she still had both her daggers.

A wave of shivers passed over Nel's body as she touched the blade of her weapon. She looked up quickly, knowing from year's of battle and survival experiences to always listen to one's instincts. She scanned the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Just when she thought everything was clear, she saw it.

Or rather, them.

On Albel's forehead, there were three small, red dots. They were moving ever so slightly, but Albel hadn't noticed them, apparently too busy looking at empty space.

Nel wracked her brain. She knew what these dots meant, she'd seen them countless times before...It hit her. Lasers. The things people use to aim with certain guns...

Nel took action. "Albel! Get down!" she yelled, reaching for a dagger.

Albel jumped, looking at her now. "What?"

-"I said Get Down!" Nel yelled again, taking swift aim and throwing her weapon.

Albel flung himself on the ground just in time. Nel's dagger flew overhead, taking the blow as three bullets ricocheted off the blade. The red dots appeared again almost instantly, this time landing on Nel's bare leg.

She jumped to her feet and ran to Albel, the lasers still following her. Albel was just picking himself up off the ground when Nel flung herself at him, both of them hitting the floor as three more shots flew by overhead.

-"What's going on!"Albel demanded, his nose close to touching Nel's as she reached for her dagger.

-"Isn't it obvious? We're being shot at!" Nel exclaimed, shoving her dagger in it's leather holder and pulling both herself and Albel to their feet. "Come on!" she grabbed his hand, just giving him enough time to grab his sword from the ground before taking off out the other door and down another hallway.