Ugh, another birthday of mine goes by, signifying yet another year past of my life lived on this troublesome earth! Man, it would only be so much better if FFVSXIII came out already, dammit!!

~Disclaimer:~

Everything belongs to Square-Enix!

Tsubomi

~Chapter Fourteen~

Snow leaned against the rocky wall beside him, catching his lost breath. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked down at the far drop beside him, careful not to lose his footing.

"Who could've known," he uttered to himslef, "that there was such a canyon this grandiose beyond the thick forest..."

Finished with admiring the scenery, Snow pressed on, a soft rumbling causing the ground below him to quiver.

"Great," he clicked his tongue, "now I'll have to worry about rock slides as well..."

Small debris were steadily falling at an angle, but no significant pieces were large enough to cause harm nor a life threatening danger. Snow was safe as long as no large commotions or noises were made...

"THERE YOU ARE!" screamed out the voice of Vidal.

"God dammit!" Snow hissed, looking back over his shoulder. "He's going to get us all killed!"

The blonde, followed by Noctis' footsteps, were growing increasingly rapid and near, effecting a sense of pure panic from Snow. There was no way he would allow himself to get caught... Never in his entire career had he been captured! And that lucky streak wasn't about to end today! Pumping his legs harder, Snow made a desperate run through the canyon, the quaking growing more violent as Vidal's voice continuously called out to him and the footsteps became more and more frantic.

"Stop!" Vidal bellowed warningly.

"GET THE HELL AWAY!" Snow finally retorted, his mind crazed and utmost distracted, failing to sense the large boulder aiming down towards his head.

It was a spilt second reflex, but in order to avoid any serious injuries, Snow threw himself off of the ledge, the boulder flying off at a higher altitude, completely missing him. But as Snow began to plummet down below, the look of pure unexpected shock and fear in his eyes triggored a memory reflex within Vidal, causing him to reach out and grasp Snow's jacket sleeve.

Both speachless, the blonde struggled to hold onto the assassin.

"Wh-Why?" Snow stammered. "I tried to kill you!"

Vidal struggled to find words, his heart racing. "I..."

Just then, his footing began to slip as he was being pulled down by Snow's body weight, Noctis quickly grabbing onto the blonde's torso in attempt to hault their decline.

"Let go, fool!" Snow snapped.

"No!" Vidal exclaimed, defiant. "I won't!"

Snow scowled. "I don't want your pity!"

"It has nothing to do with pity!!" Vidal shook his head. "I just... I won't be a murderer like you!"

With that, Snow guffawed loudly and looked at the blonde straight in the eye. "Hahaha! Didn't know you were trying to be the hero! I'm sorry, but..."

He then wrenched himself free from Vidal's hold.

"...This bastard is taking his one way ticket to hell."

"SNOW!!!" Vidal screamed, his hand still outstretched as he watched the assassin being swallowed whole by the darkness of the canyon's mouth, smirking all the while.

Staring idly down the mouth, Vidal stood on his hands and knees, stiff with disbelief.

'Why...?' he thought, clenching his fists. 'Why did he still choose death?!'

"Vidal," Noctis pat his shoulder, snapping him out of his contemplations, "there's nothing more we can do."

Delayed for a few moments from his repressed feelings, the blonde finaly managed a nod and followed Noctis out of the canyonside.

"He... was smiling. Even when Snow knew he was going to die, he was happy!" Vidal spouted meekly.

Noctis didn't respond.

"Was he some sort of mad man? Did he really have no common sense? Or..."

"Or better yet," Noctis interrupted, "if he did seem like such a terrible person, why did you reach for him?"

Vidal morosely looked to his feet and mumbled, "My parents... when they died during those awful war breakouts for the crystals, I could've done something! But... I was a coward. I let them down! What kind of son was I to just stand there and let them be murdered?! Snow, the look in his eyes... they were like those of my father before those soldiers..."

The blonde then fell silent, Noctis watching in sympathy as his partner dragged his feet along the dirt laden path, the blood on his face dry, his opposite arm applying pressure to the wound on the other. He looked like a defeated dog. However, Noctis didn't press on for more of an explination; the tone in Vidal's voice had been enough to pacify his curiosity.

"Then I'm sure," the Prince concluded, "Snow Villiers wasn't that bad of a man afterall."

~...~

When Ezio and Adelais returned to the inn room, a young nurse was tending to a bloody and moaning Vidal, a deep bullet hole in his shoulder, swelling and fresh, while Noctis and the front desk manager were patching up a broken window pane.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Adelais yelled, startling the nurse, who applied too much ointment on Vidal's wound, bringing about a sharp yelp from him.

"A-A-Adelais! Ezio!" Vidal managed to recover with a meek chuckle. "W-Welcom back! Eh-heh..."

Stern, Adelais stormed over to the blonde and shot, "Explain... now."

Sighing, Vidal was about to speak, but Noctis intervened and said, "It was my fault. He took the bullet meant for me from an assassin that encountered us today. I'll certainly have the debts be payed out from my wallet."

Ezio and Adelais looked to one another, then a straight-faced Noctis, and then a sheepish Vidal who nodded.

"It's true!"

Adjusting his glasses, Ezio turned away. "Well, as long as no harm was done..."

'Yeah,' Adelais frowned dramatically, 'no harm to your bank account.'

~...~

Stella was brushing her long, fair hair in her dorm, the lights off but no curtains to open on such a nice weathered day.

"I wish I had windows," she whispered under her breath, cringing at a knot. "It feels as if I'm barricaded..."

A soft knock then came to her door and she permitted entry.

"Excuse me, Miss Fleuret?" one of her servant maids squeaked.

"Yes?" she replied flatly, focusing on the motion of her brush.

"Well, I bring bad news... It seems that, well, we've lost all contact with Snow Villiers."

Stella dropped her brush. "What?! H-how could this have happened?!"

The maid bowed deeply, as if it were in her fault to do so, and closed her eyes with deep sentiment. "I'm very sorry, Miss. We've done everything, but there is no response--not from his cell phone, nor his tracker. Nothing."

Stella was silent.

Her ears had not just decieved her.

Snow was truly gone.

And it was her fault.

Slowly picking up her hair brush, Stella dismissed the servant and heaved a great sigh.

"Snow," she felt her lips quiver, her hands trembling under the sudden great weight of her hair brush, "I'm so sorry, my friend... but you shall not go unavenged! Prince Noctis... He will pay! Fate or not, we shall meet again... and he'll pay dearly for his inexcuseable transgressions!"

~Chapter Fourteen Finis~

Whoo, finally...! A LONG CHAPTER! The longest chapter in a long time! (pats own back)

SNOW IS DEAD?! Who knew! Who could've guessed! Actually, a lot of reviewers wanted him dead... But I wonder how you all feel about his absence now! (And please forgive me, Nipah and MakoRangers! I know how much you two loved Snow... Please have mercy on my soul!)

Ah, and Stella has reappeared! Her character is a little hard for me to portray... I guess she's kinda like a refined type with her own set of morals... Maybe. Eh, but I'm sure I'll be able to smooth out her personality once I get to write about her more. (Yes, that's right... Stella's going to be coming back!)

...

Noctis hardly talks anymore, does he? X'D

Well, that's all for now... Please review and I'll see you next time! (With another yaoi chapter up as well! Please stay tuned!)