Thank you to those who reviewed! It makes me happy to know that the story's all right. The delay was due to a project I had to do for school, and some because I needed time to type. It's only supposed to be 25 degrees here today...ugh... Anyway, here's chapter 12!

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own anything from Star Ocean 3.

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Nel slowed to a walk once she couldn't see Aiden's house. Stupid Albel. Why did he always have to be so difficult? Nel sighed. And why wasn't she mad at him now? Nel stopped walking and stared at a tree. While she thought, Nel began to realize that the forest was very quiet. 'Maybe I should go back…they're probably worried…' Nel turned around and held back a gasp as she came face to face with a few soldiers.

The soldiers leered evilly at Nel, and by what Nel could tell, they thought that she should be easy to capture.

Nel leapt back, getting ready to use runology. They'd find out that it would be harder than they thought. The soldiers merely laughed, and Nel was momentarily confused, until she was grabbed from behind by two other soldiers, who had been in hiding.

'Where did they come from?' Nel struggled as the soldiers dragged her towards the path. Nel was angry with herself for being careless and not noticing the concealed soldiers. Nel finally stopped struggling, and walked along the path, preferring not to be dragged. Nel wondered briefly if Albel would wonder where she was, and why she hadn't returned yet.

Two eyes glinted in nearby bushes, having watched the whole scene. They disappeared as the soldiers headed down the path.

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Albel paced back and forth outside of Aiden's house. Aiden's parents watched his progress from inside nervously. After Nel had stormed off into the forest, Albel had been pacing around, fuming.

'Why'd she run off?' Albel kicked a rock and watched as it splashed into the nearby water of the sea. 'She should be back by now…' Albel glanced at the forest. He halted, seeing Aiden come out of the forest. Albel decided to bug him. "Hey maggot! Did you run into Nel?"

Aiden froze in his tracks and gave Albel a nervous glance. "Um…" Aiden gulped as Albel approached him, standing only about a foot away now.

"Well?" Albel asked, staring down coldly at Aiden.

Aiden fidgeted with his collar, not looking up at Albel. "Y…yes…"

Albel heaved an annoyed sigh. "Why didn't she come back with you then?" He frowned. "Don't tell me that I have to go and get her myself…" Albel studied Aiden's expression. He looked…scared and nervous…Albel suddenly felt uneasy. "Did…something happen to Nel?"

Aiden braced himself, not sure how Albel would react. Aiden had a feeling that Albel may care about Nel, even if he wouldn't show it. Aiden took a deep breath and replied. "She was captured by some of the soldiers…"

Albel stared at Aiden in disbelief, before turning around and storming off towards the forest. 'Foolish women!'

Aiden looked pleadingly at his parents, and they hurried over to intercept Albel.

"Out of my way fools!" Albel snarled angrily. They weren't going to stop him. Nel was in trouble!

"You need to calm down. You'll only be careless if you go off angry." Aiden's mother said calmly.

"Do you even know where the kingdom is?" Aiden's father added.

Albel was silent. 'Damn!' "No." He admitted aloud.

"I know where it is!" Aiden said.

"…" Aiden's parents glanced at each other, then turned to Albel.

"Aiden does know the way…if you'd be willing to allow him to show you." Aiden's mother said.

Albel cast a glance at the forest. He really didn't want to get lost…Nel needed help... Albel looked at Aiden, then said. "Fine…"

As Albel was about to walk off, Aiden's father asked. "Are you sure you want to go?" He was looking at what was left of Albel's left arm.

Albel shrugged. "My katana will be sufficient to deal with foolish soldiers. Besides, one of them may have my gauntlet." He walked off, as Aiden hurried ahead to lead the way.

Aiden's parents watched them leave in a worried silence.

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Albel lost track of how long he and Aiden had been navigating the forest. 'Too long…' Nel could be in even more trouble, and here he was, wandering through a forest with a kid who has a tail! Why was he worried about Nel again? It was her fault for going into the forest alone. Albel glanced up to see where Aiden had gotten to.

Aiden was crouching on a fallen tree and staring, not making a sound.

Albel frowned and made his way quietly over to Aiden. He then saw what Aiden was looking at. A group of soldiers were talking and laughing amongst themselves. Albel scanned the area again. No sign of Nel…

Aiden tapped Albel's shoulder and motioned at the left-hand path, making motions that looked like throwing.

Albel understood. A distraction. Picking up a nearby rock, Albel launched it over the soldiers heads, where it struck a tree with a loud crack.

The soldiers rushed over to the path to see what had happened. With all the commotion, they didn't notice Albel and Aiden slip down a small hill towards the right-hand path.

Aiden maneuvered around a few more trees, then halted in a shelter of a group of close knit trees.

"Why'd you stop maggot?" Albel demanded. Why was Aiden delaying?

"How do you think you will get into the castle to help Nel?" Aiden asked.

Albel was silent. How was he supposed to get into a castle that was most likely crawling with guards? Albel gave a short laugh. "Heh! It doesn't matter. I'll find a way in once I see the castle. Now get moving maggot!"

Aiden shrugged and continued to lead Albel to the kingdom. He had no idea how Albel would get into the castle without being questioned. Oh well, they'd have to worry about that later… Aiden let out a yelp as he fell down a hole into a concealed pit.

Albel managed to avoid it, and grinned briefly at the amount of swearwords Aiden uttered as he climbed out of the pit. Who knew such a young person would know so many? His parents would probably be disappointed.

Aiden flicked a few specks of dirt off his tail, saying. "I'd forgotten about those things…" Brushing the dust off his clothing, Aiden walked along a different path. "We shouldn't have to worry about those traps on this path."

Albel frowned, silent, suddenly wondering if Nel would be all right.

The day went on, and Aiden managed to keep himself and Albel away from the traps. There was one time that Aiden had forgotten about one, which resulted in Albel hanging upside down in a tree, inside a net. Aiden had hurried to try and get him down, as Albel swore profanely.

Albel walked in silence once he was out of the net, and Aiden made sure that there weren't any traps before proceeding in any given direction. Aiden really didn't want to get beaten up by Albel again.

Albel scowled at Aiden's back. Aiden had probably thought it was funny that he had been caught in a net. Albel touched his katana's hilt with his right hand. If any soldier were to show up now, they'd regret it.

Aiden and Albel stopped to get some rest every couple of hours.

Later…

Aiden halted behind some trees near a path. "That path over there leads to the kingdom." Aiden informed Albel. He started walking again, but not towards the path.

"Where are you going?" Albel asked.

"Avoiding the soldiers…Hey!" Aiden replied, yelping when he bumped into something.

Albel swiftly ducked behind a tree and listened as some voices spoke.

"It's just a kid."

"Let's keep going."

"What if someone else is with him?"

Albel swore under his breath and drew out his katana silently. He peeked around the trees and saw the soldiers standing around Aiden.

One of the soldiers looked like they wanted to speak, but didn't as he and the two others turned at a sound. All they had time to see was a swiftly moving katana.

"Get moving maggot!" Albel hissed, glancing around to see if anyone had been alerted.

Aiden hurried off through the trees, Albel close behind. "Almost there…"Aiden murmured.

Albel and Aiden halted outside the kingdom's outer walls. Anywhere you looked, there were soldiers, and they seemed to be irritated about something.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Albel asked, eyeing the soldiers. He wondered if he could destroy them without being attacked and getting injured.

"We can sneak in at night." Aiden answered, as if that had been the most obvious answer in the world.

Albel lay down beneath the cover of some trees. "Hmpf." Was his reply. Albel had wanted to storm the place, but that would probably just get him killed and would accomplish nothing. Albel frowned up at the trees leaves, and dozed off, pretending that the leaves were soldiers, and that he was destroying them, one by one.

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Aiden was woken up by Albel when the sky had grown dark. Aiden cast a quick glance at the wall, before running as fast as he could towards it.

Albel followed, keeping an eye on the higher parts of the wall. He didn't want to be struck down by arrows. He thought about Nel again. 'Fool..'

Aiden and Albel made it to the wall, and Aiden soon found a secret entrance into the kingdom. The two stood motionless as a few people passed by.

Albel watched them silently. They looked human to him…no tail. Albel gazed up at a tower in the distance. "Hey maggot. Is that tower part of the castle?"

Aiden considered the tower for a moment before answering. "Yes."

"Let's get going then." Albel growled. There was no telling what could have happened to Nel, and he wanted to find her as soon as possible.

Aiden nodded in agreement, and, after making sure that no one was around, began to navigate the city. They made slow progress towards the enormous castle that loomed in the back of its surrounding city.

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Nel awoke inside a dungeon. She sat up, rubbing her head. Why did she have to be knocked out just to be thrown into a dungeon? Nel sighed and took stock of her surroundings.

She was in a pretty large dungeon cell, but there was nothing in it. The walls and floor were made out of stone, so it wasn't very comfortable. There was one door with a window, the only place that let light into the dungeon.

Nel lay back down and tried to rest. Her head was throbbing too much for her to think. Before Nel drifted off though, she wondered if Albel was going to help her or not. Nel also hoped that Albel wouldn't get himself killed if he did try to help her.

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Inside the castle throne room, the king was pacing back and forth, absorbing the information he had just received from some of his subordinates.

The king was fairly young, around his mid 20's, wearing clothing that showed his rank. He had semi long hair that was a mix of brown, black and silver. His purple eyes darted around as he thought.

One of the two people who had been caught trespassing near the kingdom had been captured, and was now in the dungeon. The other was free and still at large. They could be anywhere.

"King Ven! Would you like for someone to interrogate the new prisoner?" A soldier asked. Where did they come from?

The king, Ven, eyed the soldier as he paced. "Of course! Why haven't you already?"

The soldier bobbed his head hastily and hurried off.

Ven shook his head. Did he always have to agree to something before it was done? Why was he the only intelligent one in this castle?

"You seem troubled." A calm, mellow voice said from the shadows.

Ven stopped pacing and glanced around. "Stop doing that! Why won't you show yourself?"

No answer.

"Well, what do you want?" Ven asked, irritated. Whoever it was would only speak with him when he was alone.

"I'm here merely to inform you that there is an intruder making their way here." The mellow voice replied after a moment of silence.

Ven shrugged. "So? They'll be caught before they can even reach the castle. So go, and see if you can learn anything useful…"

"As you say…" The mellow voice answered, a hint of sarcasm present.

Ven resumed pacing when the voice didn't speak again. 'Useful…but annoying…'

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Nel awoke when someone opened the dungeon's door. She sat up, and once she felt all right, stood up and glared icily at the few soldiers that came in. Albel would probably laugh at the small number. Nel then noticed that her weapons were missing. Nel knew that she could still do runology, but the soldiers didn't. If things seemed like they were going to get ugly, she'd let them have it. Nel really hoped that Albel was coming to help her escape.

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So, what do you think? Please review and let me know how this chapter turned out! I'd really appreciate it. Any comment would be great. It's nice to know what people think of a story, so that the person writing would know if they should change anything for the next chapter. I don't know when I can update next, because on Monday I have new classes at school. I may be able to update on the weekend though (11/9) or (11/10). Again, please review, I like to know what you think of this story. (As usual, I'll try to keep updating my profile with any new info).