Author's Note: Taking a break from FF12's storyline...I give you a flashback chapter! After mentioning part of what happened to Balthier during the time after he was taken from Cocoon, I decided to write an entire chapter about it.

My supporters, Joshua Chung and The Giant Daifuku. I loveee you guysss. :3

B a d B r o m a n c e

Chapter Ten

Prey

It was on his hands, staining his skin. Blood.

Balthier could still hear voices around him, whispering, screaming for help. But he remained hidden in the alleyway, desperately attempting to wash off his hands with the water dripping from the drains on the roof above. He was lost, with no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there. His head was pounding, making it even harder to concentrate on what was going on around him.

He and Fran had stopped in Nalbina to re-stock on their supplies before heading out to Rozarria, but during the time he'd gone off on his own he had blacked out. When he had woken up, he was covered in blood and surrounded by the mutilated bodies of people who had been brutally murdered. But, by what?

The blood wouldn't wash off his hands, despite how hard he tried to clean it off. Much to his horror, it was on his clothes and even his face. He could taste it in his mouth, and almost vomited when he realized what he had done.

All those people...He killed them.

Fran would find him in a matter of minutes as soon as she would smell the blood in the air. She'd know that he had been a part of it, but he couldn't let her find out that he was the one who had committed the crime. And so Balthier pulled out the dagger on his belt, the only thing that wasn't caked with the blood of others. The clean blade only meant that he didn't use it after he had blacked out, which in turn meant that he used his own hands to tear apart the innocent people in the street.

Balthier raised the dagger in one hand and shut his eyes tightly, biting down on his other hand to stop himself from screaming when the blade pierced into his skin. Fighting back the urge to vomit again, he wrenched the blade out from his stomach and tossed it aside. Not too long later, he collapsed out of exhaustion and allowed himself to sleep until Fran's quiet voice was in his ears.

"Fran," Balthier murmured as soon as he had awoken from unconsciousness. Fran was sitting at his side on the bed, running a clawed hand through his hair and eying him worriedly. "Where are we?"

"Rabanastre," she answered, just as he sat up to meet her eyes. "I healed your wounds, but your blood loss will take time to recover."

He wanted to tell her that he had lost barely any blood, but then how would he explain how his clothes were stained with red? "Did they...find the one who did it?" He glanced away, rubbing his sore shoulder slowly. "The one who decided to go mad and terrorize the streets?"

Fran shook her head, placing her hand on his own. "There were no survivors to tell the tale. I took you away before the soldiers could discover your presence."

"No doubt being the only one left alive would have made me the main suspect of this crime." Balthier shook his head, pulling his hand away from her and looking in the other direction. "We should quit this place. The sooner we leave, the better. I'd rather stay far from here for as long as we can."

"Then we make for Rozarria."

He said nothing in reply, but when he turned to face her she tenderly touched his shoulder. Fran's eyes said all: what happened? But, as always, he chose to look away from her once more. She left him alone, leaving to prepare the Strahl for their journey to Rozarria. As soon as he was alone, Balthier looked down at his hands and sighed.

It had only been a short time since he returned to Ivalice, but it seemed as if what had happened on Cocoon was nothing more than a memory; a dream. In truth, that was what it was. The ones he traveled with in the other world didn't remember him, the price to pay in order to save their world. It hurt him, to be honest, but he knew that it truly was for the best. If any of them remembered him, no doubt someone would try to find him. The ever-optimistic Snow would more than likely be the one to try to find him, set on keeping his promise.

Balthier had disappeared as soon as Fang and Vanille had summoned Ragnarok, being used as one of the sacrifices from another world to summon the monster, and in that short time he no longer existed in either world something strange happened. Something was taken from him, and for a while he had no idea what it was. But after realizing what had been happening to him, the constant blackouts and the killings, he knew what had been taken away: his humanity.

The fal'Cie had called him Ragnarok more than once, as had Cid Raines, and he almost became the beast before Fang stopped him, despite the fact that it was his burden to bear, not hers. But, now, it truly was his burden. Though the fal'Cie Orphan and Barthandelus had lost their control over the other world, they still had their control on Balthier. Or, something else did. Something had revived him after Ragnarok had been summoned, sending him back to the world he belonged.

And that only meant he was the next Ragnarok, the one to destroy Ivalice.

"No," he told himself. "I'm only exhausted. Still haven't recovered from saving Cocoon, that's all."

However, he found that hard to believe.

They left Rozarria after Balthier blacked out once again. Fran had found him stumbling away from the once-busy street, barely conscious and muttering to himself. He was covered in blood, and she knew that it didn't belong to him. Yet, as always, she chose to remain silent and respect that her partner did not wish to tell her the truth as to what had taken place.

And so, once they returned to the Strahl and fled the country, Balthier finally spoke after cleaning up. "We'll make for Bur-Omisace," he told her when she set the ship on automatic-pilot. "The temple there has a collection of research I require."

"To explain the unexplained?" Fran asked, though the way she said it made it seem as more of a statement. "You tread on dangerous waters, Balthier. Dangerous, even for you."

"I've been to hell and back, my dear. A little sneaking about a place for the holy won't do me any harm."

"Tis dangerous for the damned."

Balthier glanced in her direction, but she didn't look back at him. She kept her dark eyes forward, staring at the endless sky before them. "Fran, you think me damned?" he asked, adjusting his sitting position.

"For one to return from another world...It is not right," she said, closing her eyes. "I fear...I fear that all has changed in your life. Not for the better. For the worse." She turned toward him when she opened her eyes, and touched his hand. "Be careful. Your eyes betray your heart. This desire to know all will end you, Balthier."

He wanted to assure her that nothing was going to happen to him, but something in the back of his mind told him otherwise. And so he only nodded, giving her the smallest of smiles before he left her to her thoughts.

They reached Bur-Omisace faster than Balthier expected, and he wondered if Fran knew how important finding the information he needed was to him. He told her to stay behind with the ship, reassuring her that he wouldn't take long. But, his real reasoning for telling her to stay with the Strahl was that he feared that if he blacked out again, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from hurting her. Fran dying by his hand was something he had always feared, even before the time he spent in Cocoon.

Balthier quickly walked to the temple, wanting nothing more than to leave the place as soon as possible. The blackouts always occured when he was surrounded by many people, and he had no control over how long he would be out for. As long as he kept his distance from the other humes, he hoped that there would be no chance for his mind to slip away.

The library in the temple was much like the one in Archades, but he knew that the information he was looking for wouldn't be in his old home. If there was any place that had intelligence about other worlds, the holy temple of the Kiltias was the place.

He scanned through any books about the mysteries of the gods, making sure that he remained hidden from the eyes of others all the while. Having someone find him by mistake was a risk he wasn't willing to take. And, since he was a wanted criminal, he didn't want to be taken away and arrested before he had the chance to understand what it was that was wrong with him.

A book with the title of The Maker caught his eye, and he quickly scanned to a section labeled 'The Divine'. Narrowing his eyes weakly, Balthier read the contents out loud to himself, "'Masterpiece among the chosen created by the Maker, and the one to bring destruction against her. Prior to its demise, Ragnarok was once a name feared by all. Called the Divine for its angelic likeliness, yet eternally damned to bring the end to our world and the one above. Ragnarok would be bound to a hume body and soul, waking from its slumber at the death of the fal'Cie Orphan. With this, it would rise again and destroy the life held within.'"

Scowling, he tossed the book aside, only to turn around and see Fran leaning against the bookcase. Balthier nearly fell over when he saw her, but he remained calm once he saw her worried expression.

"Fran, I told you to wait in the Strahl," he sternly told her, grabbing her arm and leading her out the door. "Viera are not so easily found in these parts, and seeing someone such as yourself in this place would only raise the suspicion held by the weak minded."

She pulled away from him as soon as they were outside of the temple. "You are ill at ease," she stated. "Something troubles you." He ignored her, walking back to the ship in absolute silence. However, when they reached the ship he turned toward her with a concerned look in his eyes.

"I can't tell you the truth, Fran," he said. "I barely understand it myself, but...There may be a time when I can no longer tell friend from foe. And when that day comes, I don't want you anywhere near me."

"You wish for me to leave?"

"Not until I...completely understand why I was returned to this realm, even when I welcomed death." He rubbed his temple, sighing heavily. "There's not much else I can do, lest I want to give up."

Fran tilted his head to the side, folding her arms across her chest. "Then you seek a distraction," she said with a small smile. "Come, let us return to where we belong."

The Ragnarok summoned by Fang and Vanille to save Cocoon was not the one the fal'Cie's Maker had created. In fact, the true Ragnarok had remained hidden until Orphan was destroyed, waiting until its vessel would make its appearance. And it turned out that Balthier had been the only one there when that time had come. He couldn't blame Fang and Vanille for his sudden damnation; no, he could only blame himself. If he had allowed himself to die sooner, then perhaps he wouldn't have been in his current state.

Balthier stood in front of the mirror, staring at his blood covered form with hollow, cold eyes. He had lost consciousness in a small village in the Dalmascan Estersand, but unlike the times before he had planned to end the lives of people who would not so easily be missed. The entire day his mind had been threatening to depart, and it was only when he knew that Fran was far away that he let it go.

"Given into your thirst, Ragnarok?" he asked his reflection, the corner of his lip twitching. "What will it take to stop you, beastie? My death?"

After washing himself up, Balthier walked into the room he and Fran shared, only to find her already asleep on the small bed. For a moment, he stood there watching her peacefully dream. He touched the side of her face, wondering how much more time he would have until he would have to leave her. It wasn't that he wanted to leave her behind - no, he was forced to part ways with her. To keep her safe, he needed to remain away until he knew how to control the beast within. If only finding out how to do so was an easy thing.

Sighing weakly, he ran a hand through her silver hair. But the moment his skin touched hers he felt as if something was trying to claw its way out of him. Nearly choking on air, Balthier fell to his knees and clutched at his head, shutting his mouth to stop himself from waking Fran. Red clouded his vision; blood red fury. But he forced himself to pull away from the blood lust, biting his own arm to stop the pain rushing through him.

But it wasn't enough. Fran's sleeping form seemed to call to him, call to Ragnarok. He reached a clawed hand toward her, but he pulled away and pushed himself up against the wall. When he did so, something silver fell from the shelf above him and onto the floor. When he turned his wide eyes toward it he saw the lightning-bolt necklace lying there on the floor, shining in the dim light.

Balthier felt himself calm down at the sight of it, the memory of Lightning's face calming the beast within. Breathing heavily, he held the necklace in his hands and stared at it with a blank expression. Without another thought, he clasped it around his neck and closed his eyes.

There was something stronger than his need to kill out there...And he found it.

"Stealing from the palace?" Balthier asked when Fran hid the hover-bike behind the palace walls. "Fran, dear, I had no idea you found interest in such common thievery."

She merely shook her head, leading the way as they snuck around the guards. "There is something here that may interest you," she told him. "Magicite, a stone that will earn you more gold than you can imagine."

"Tch. You spoke of something to distract me, and all you could think of was mere gold?"

The two of them managed to sneak past the guards around the palace treasury entrance, but it seemed all too easy. It was as if someone had already beaten them to it. But, Balthier cast the thought away and followed Fran through the hidden passage. He peered around the corner, narrowing his eyes when he saw a boy rummaging through the treasure. Fran motioned for him to go out on his own, and she went off in another direction in case they needed to make a run for it.

Balthier sighed weakly and pushed the door open all the way, smirking as soon as he stepped into the light. "Quite a performance," he stated, getting the boy's attention.

"Who are you?" the young thief demanded, clutching the stone he held in his hands.

"I play the leading man, who else?" He may have said that, but in his mind he thought: I am no longer a hero. I am the monster threatening to destroy all. Instead, he turned his head and motioned for his partner to step forward. "Fran, the magicite."

She walked out from the shadows, her eyes watching the boy carefully. "Now then, I'll take that."

The boy took a step back, scowling. "No, you won't!" he snapped, "I found it. It's mine."

The sky pirate rolled his eyes. "And when I take it from you, it will be mine." Just as Fran walked up beside him, someone stepped out from behind the statue across from them, and Balthier thought he had gone mad.

Snow Villiers, the man who called himself the hero of Cocoon and Gran Pulse, the one Balthier had left behind and had seen turn to crystal, was standing right in front of him.

Suddenly that rage he held inside for so long threatened to escape.

And so ends the flashback chapter. :D I thought you guys may have wanted to see Balthier's side of the story for once.

We'll be back to the normal storyline in the next chapter. Wooooot. But, I still like slightly-crazy-Balthier. O.o; Is that weird?