Chapter 1 - After The Storm
Final Fantasy XII belongs to Square-Enix.
He awoke to the lights that filtered in through the many gaps in the broken roof rafters. He quickly drew up his arm to block out the brightness as his eyes adjusted and looked at the area around him; it was a mess. Most of the metallic beams were either broken or bent, half their attachments lost in the piles of debris that scattered the corners of the room. Not too far down, he noticed a tunnel within a pile of wreckage that was brightly lit at the end; possibly a way out. He thought to himself. But where was his partner?
The last thing he could remember was carrying her in his arms as they made their way towards the exit of the once proud and mighty airship, Bahamut. Then the airship had lurched, and everything after that became a swirling darkness; they both must have been thrown by the movement. But where was she now? He envisioned her trapped in the dark, in dire need of help while all he did was lay there and ponder his predicament. He immediately tried to pull himself onto his feet in his moment of panic, and that was when he realised that there was a weight on his chest. He looked down to find a pair of rabbit ears and long locks of white hair. Balthier let out an audible sigh of relief and lay back against the wall. The ears pricked, and he realised that his sudden movement had caused her to awaken. The viera stirred and slowly propped herself up with her hands and raised her head, and was then met with a playful grin.
"Well Fran, I never knew you to be so...intimate."
Her expression of confusion changed to embarrassment as she looked down to find that her own body lay sprawled on top of that of the man's. In a quick reflex, she clambered to her feet immediately but the movement made her head spin, and despite her struggle to stay upright, she toppled over and landed heavily back onto the man. Balthier gasped as the weight hit him,
"I guess you were right," he said breathlessly, "I am more of a supporting role."
His statement caused the viera to smile, and Balthier finally dared to do something that he had always been sure he was going to get a slap in to face from her for; he pulled her close and kissed her. She was surprised by his sudden show of affection, but she did not pull away. As their lips departed, she laid her head back onto his chest and they lay together, comforted by one another's' nearness.
Finally, the peaceful silence was broken by the viera's voice, "We should find an exit. I don't know how long this structure will hold."
She stood up gracefully this time and looked around, taking in the scene of destruction. Balthier pointed towards the tunnel he had seen earlier, "There's a light at the end, it's worth a look."
Fran headed in the direction he had indicated, her heels clicking against the floor as the sky pirate got to his feet and dusted himself off. He didn't not follow, instead he noticed what looked like a barrel of a gun sticking out from under a pile of rubble and became determined to extract it. Piece by piece, he removed the jagged fragments of wood and metal. He finally uncovered his prize, and after examining the state it was in, polished it with the cuffs of his shirt. Fran had not returned yet, so he slung the gun onto his back and scanned the room. In another corner of the room was what he was looking for; a bow. He stepped over and picked it up, it wasn't too worse for wear considering what it had been through, but when he extracted the quiver from under a plank of wood, he found it empty, the arrows obviously scattered in their fall. He looked back at the floor and shrugged, there was no way he was going to search for arrows in this mess. Besides, they could always buy new ones.
The click of heels announced the return of his partner as she spoke, "There is a hole in the side of the airship. It is large enough for us to fit."
"Alright then. I guess it's time we took our leave."
He handed her the bow and empty quiver, at which she raised an eyebrow to, and then followed her towards the expanse of light.
Balthier stared in surprise when he looked out the opening of the airship. Fran, noticing his expression cast him a bemused smile and said, "It seems we may need to swim."
"So much for keeping our clothes tidy…" Balthier added as he looked up towards the city, "I suppose our Princess is now Queen."
"And we are once again sky pirates."
"Right you are Fran. And I do believe sky pirates require an airship."
He gazed at the airships that arrived and departed from the city,
"Rabanastre it is then."