The Sky Pirate's Apprentice

A partner's illness, a vicious foe, a sinister plot and a cursed stone. It's up for the leading man and his new recruit who may not be what it seems.

Set in post-game two years later between FFXII and Revenant Wings.

Disclaimer – This story is my idea. Places and characters are my original. All Final Fantasy XII characters/plot belong to SquareEnix.

Author's Note – Once again...thank you, DarkBelieverAnge ^_^

Chapter 2

Partner for Hire

There was a relief so huge that Balthier smiled broadly. The chaos that Druas had caused with his encounter didn't even bother the sky pirate. He dragged the boy away from the scenes and traveled along the narrow streets of Chivany Breakwater.

'Please forgive me for my erratic behavior earlier, sir.' the boy bowed his head in apology to him. 'Thank you so much for saving me.'

'All's forgiven and you're welcome, young man.' Balthier said in a gentleman-like manner. 'You are too young to be on this dark side of town, boy.'

'Sir, I did not know. The journey I have been on has been long, and I have never traveled in this area before,' the boy replied earnestly.

Balthier crossed his arms over his chest as he studied the boy. Now that he was closer to the boy, he could definitely tell the boy was older than Vaan. 'So you're from Dalmasca, I'd say?' he asked casually.

'Yes, sir.' the boy nodded firmly. 'From the outer Estersand. I was born and raised on a lavender plantation by a distant relative.' he forced a smile. 'How did you know?'

Balthier smirked. 'Your absolute loyalty to your Queen made it apparent, boy. Your name is?'

'Liam, sir.'

'Liam, right.' Balthier cleared his throat. 'What are you doing here in a place like this?'

Liam answered. 'I wanted to explore Ivalice and uncover all of her wonderful secrets.'

'So you're a traveler.'

'Yes, sir. And your name?'

'The name's Balthier. And I'm a sky pirate.' he answered as the boy began a shock of his face as Balthier calm him down. 'Don't worry, Liam. I'm not one of those scruffy-looking hooligans. They're too much reckless to find to justify harming others anytime around this town.'

'I see.' reliefs Liam. 'You're a sky pirate. Is that correct?

'That's right.' he nodded.

'You have a partner.'

'Yes.' he nodded again.

'Where is he?'

'She's taking ill.'

'You have an airship?'

'That's right.' he nodded but became irritated. Are you finished?

Liam gave him a suspicious look of his face. 'You don't look like a sky pirate.'

'Why not?' Balthier asked curiously with raised his eyebrows.

Liam answered seriously. 'You're supposed to be scruffy-looking hooligans like them. You're nothing but a snobbish gentry–'

The arrogant fool...Then Balthier clenched his teeth and gave Liam an irritated look. 'Just drop the subject, boy.'

They moved and walked slowly to the front entrance of the Aerodrome as Balthier continued. 'So why are you here exactly?'

'I'm looking for person who worked with my late father on personal business.'

He grinned and chuckled. 'You're too young for that sort of work.'

'I am following my father's footsteps.' Liam demanded. 'He's a landowner who lives around here. I only want to fulfill my father's dreams.'

'Oh, I understand.'

They stood there in a minutes as Balthier started to move on. 'If you know where the landowner resides, I will make sure that you-'

Liam shook his head. 'No, I'll be fine. I know where he lives.'

He looks cautious. 'I understand, but what would happen is some scruffy looking men spotted you?'

The boy shook his head again. 'I'll be alright, no one will find me. I'll hide if anyone spots me.'

He'll be alright, Balthier thought simply. 'That's good.' he said finally. 'It's time to go.'

'You're leaving?'

Damn it, this kid won't stop with the questions! The pirate inhaled sharply. 'Yes... I have errands to run.. surely you know about treasure hunting?'

Liam's face looked confident. 'Of course, sir. So you are going to go treasure hunting?'

Balthier cleared his throat again in hesitation. 'Yes, that's right. And this time, the treasure is in a very dangerous spot. Would you like to come and appease some curiosity about my career?'

'No, sir. I was just wondering, that's all.'

Balthier finally sighed and bowed. 'Nice to meet you, Liam. Hopefully we meet again.'

'Pleasant treasure hunting, Mr. Balthier.' the boy bowed and he walked away.

Thank Gods he finally left. Balthier finally felt the tension leave his shoulders from Liam's unceasingly amount of questions. It didn't matter, though. Time for treasure hunting...alone.

He walked to the main entrance of the Aerodrome where the Strahl is parked. With his suave and charming manners, he smiled and greeted one of the girls at the reception desk for the weather conditions. Before he moved on, he kept reminding why he was going alone. As he reasoned everything out in his mind, he realized that he could not do this hunt by himself. There was a lot of trouble someone could get into, especially with his track record, and he needed a partner to get out of sticky situations. As he was reminded of what Vaan and Enora had both told him, he could not pull this job off without a partner. One person came to his mind, and in his desperate state, Balthier considered it mentally.

Balthier thought of the arrogant traveler, Liam. The boy had no fighting skills that Balthier could think of, but he was the only one that Balthier knew of. The boy had a gigantic curiosity, but if it was given the right direction, Liam could prove to be a very valuable partner.

Blast it all, he thought angrily. What am I doing!

He had no choice though, as he reasoned it out. It was either work with the boy, or die. Balthier was not about to give up his wealthy desire for life just yet. He mentally shook himself off his slump and went to look for the boy.

'You looking for me?' a voice came from behind Balthier as he skidded to a stop in front of Liam.

Speaking of the devil. 'There you are.' he said in surprise and move toward him with a path of breath.

'Mr. Balthier, is there something wrong?' the boy asked.

He shook his head. 'No, nothing at all. I just have a proposition, if you don't mind.'

'What is it, sir?'

He coughed to he cleared his throat. 'Listen. Have you been all around Ivalice?'

Liam wondered. 'Er...I've been to Archades and Bhujerba...but not around the continent.'

The he smiled in a casual way. 'Do you want the freedom to see every part of Ivalice? If you want the liberty of the skies, why not fly with me?'

'W...huh?' Liam said confusedly with a perplexed look on his face.

'Deep in the crevice of Ordalian Territory there is a place called Necrohol of Cieloáh. It is a legendary place that travelers like you dream of going to. I offer you the opportunity to see it. All you would have to do is to help me. I am in need of a partner, and you can learn from me. You can become my apprentice, if you would like. Do you know how to fight or cast magicks, do you?'

'Yes, I've learned a lot.' Liam said contently.

'I hope this friend of yours is still around. Does he go out often?'

'No, he's a private person. He hates going outside and keeps away from strangers.'

Balthier cupped his chin in his hand and grinned tightly. 'So what do you say?'

'What if I say no?'

Then anticipates. 'Well I'll have to find another partner. What do you say?'

'I don't know.' he stammered. 'Sounds dangerous to me.'

Balthier gave him a sly grin. 'There's a reward.'

The boy placed his chin on his hand and thought hard to he decided to go or not.

'Well, what do you say?' the sky pirate asked him again. 'It's your decision. It's an adventure of a lifetime, you know it.'

So Liam accept him finally the offer as they walked each other to the Aerodrome.

In the same alley where Liam stood, a slender looking female emerged slowly from the dark alley. She wore a red head scarf and her mouth was covered in a hooded black scarf. She's also wore a red kimono with a black waist sash around her waist, like looking in prey. Carefully in her prying eyes, she watched them go toward the Aerodorme.

Like a silent cat, the nameless woman walked into the darkness until it enveloped her.

R&R, s'il vous plait! KUPO!