Disclaimer: Star Ocean: Till the end of Time, belongs to SquareEnix/TriAce, although I'm trying to find a way to lay claim on some of the characters from the series...

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Chapter 2: Of Gods and Destiny

The Vendeeni were like rabid dogs that didn't know when to give up.

We had successfully left Elicoor II and we were safely boarded on the Diplo, but things were once again taking a down toll. The Vendeeni unfortunately had Professor Leingod in their hands and demanded us to trade the Leingod boy for him.

I had prepared some soldiers for this trade, no matter how much they attempted to convince us that it would be a fair one, I highly doubt that people like them wouldn't have dirty tricks up their sleeves. . I had to plan my moves carefully...one wrong turn and we'd lose both Dr. Leingod and Fayt.

Fayt...

He was different from how I first imagined him to be. He was an optimist, filled with courage that made him charming in his own way. He was what you could consider a born fighter...and an amusing person too. I find myself smiling a lot more then I normally do, when I'm around him.

I could tell that I was growing more and more fond of him, he was one of the few people that I shared my past with, and it pained me to know that it was only one-sided. It was evident that he was rather protective for that girl, seeing how he reacted to the Vendeeni's threat. I wonder how he'll react should I ever be in that kind of jeopardy.

I closed my eyes and my mind wandered back to our conversation before we left Elicoor, while we were waiting for the Elicoorians to prepare their Runological weapon on the gigantic dragon's back, when he came to talk to check on me in the castle's chapel.

"Oh. Fayt. Saying your final prayers?" I asked him, when I noticed him come in and took the place beside me, staring at the deity statue behind the altar. "Well, I can relate."

"Is that what you're doing? Praying, I mean. You don't...strike me as someone who believes in something like this." He said suddenly, I raised an eyebrow and turned to face him. He immediately gave me an apologetic look. "Ergh...Sorry. That didn't come out as I expected, I didn't mean to offend you in any way."

"It's okay." I replied, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips "I don't know..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I don't know if I believe in a 'god'. Well...actually I was going to say that I don't believe in those things, but I..." I turned my gaze back to the stainglassed windows. "Do you believe in destiny, Fayt?"

"Destiny?" He asked, tilting his head slightly as he crossed his arms to his chest.

"Yes...destiny. That is what I believe in. That everything that happens has a purpose, a means to an end. I always believed that ever since I lost my parents..." I paused and looked down at my hand. "...and learned about my powers."

"Maria..." His voice was filled with...what? Concern? Pity? Sympathy? I wasn't sure.

"Fayt, how do you feel...Learning about your new powers? Do you...blame your parents about never telling you anything about it before?" I decided to change the subject, brushing away whatever emotion I was feeling before then. A leader shouldn't be seem looking emotionally distressed, even if there was only me and him in that room, I shouldn't be seen sulking over something that has long passed.

"I'm not sure..." He finally replied after a moment of silence, absently scratching the back of his head. "I should say that I've been surprised at first, even freaked out maybe, but after giving it some thoughts...I feel that I should ask the truth from my parents before I make a final conclusion. It's true that what they've done is wrong, but at least we should hear their side of the story first, right?"

His answer surprised me, but I never knew that he was actually being mature about the situation and not going into denial or something like that.

"By the way, as an answer to your previous question, yes. I believe that some things were meant to be a means to an end as you've said, but I also believe that we're free to choose our own paths. That although destiny motivates us towards a destination, it is actually our own choice to choose which path we'll take to get there from the multiple paths that are lain down in front of us. Each path and turns with different surprises for us to experience and new people to meet, so that life will never be boring." He explained, pausing for a moment once he was finished before he asked "I'm not confusing you, am I?"

"No. You're not." I answered, chuckling slightly "I'm just thinking that the more I talk to you, the more I learn that you're different from how I imagined you to be."

"Really? What have you thought about me?" He questioned, a smile forming on his lips "You've mentioned something like that before too, and I've been wondering for awhile now on what it is."

"It's a secret." I told him in a teasing manner, eyes twinkling with hints of amusement.

"Okay then. Have it your way." He shrugged, before flashing me another one of his half amused/ half disappointed smile that I notice him wear from time to time. "I wonder if I should go check on the others."

"You haven't talked to them yet?"

"Well, I met Cliff on the way here, but originally I intended on looking for you."

I arched an eyebrow, what could he possible mean by that? I felt a bit...happy that he wanted to see me.

"I wanted to ask you if you're sure that this plan would work...I really don't want to cause the Elicoorians anymore trouble then I've already had..." He looked concerned

I shook my head, "I'm not 100 sure, but you could say that I'm...praying. I know that it's stupid, but it wouldn't hurt to try. I mean, if the gods could guarantee that our strategy would succeed, even I'd become a believer in an instant."

"I just hope you're right." He said, before turning around to leave "Maybe all we could do now is pray that the Vendeeni will take the bait..."

The decoy turned out to be a success (or wasn't it?), as I've mentioned before, but we weren't the ones who've initiated the attack that obliterated the Vendeeni warship to nothingness. It was destroyed by an unknown powerful beam of light. I wondered if it was an answer to our 'prayer' from the gods, or rather it was what I was wondering before I learned that this same force was also looking forward to destroy Earth.

I was called back from my flashback session, when Marietta announced that we were once again floating above Elicoor II. I told her to descend to a point that we could transport to the 'meeting place' with the Vendeeni before I turned on the PA and made an announcement that we were ready to teleport to the Kirsla Training Facility.

I'd promise him that everyone would return safely, that everything would be alright, and that's what I intended to do. He had my word on it as both Maria Traydor, his friend, and the Maria Traydor that was the leader of Quark. With this new-found determination, I got up from my seat and made my way towards the Bridge's exit. Unfortunately my determination to rescue everyone safely from the Vendeeni's clutches had made a detour, my wished for everything to turn our alright had completely disappeared when I'd officially met her. If destiny really liked to gave us surprises for us along the way, to make our lives more enjoyable as Fayt had said, she was certainly the most unpleasant experience of them all...

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Author's note: That little scene in the church was a little mixture of a PA in Arlias, which I never actually got, but read from a FAQ and wrote about it on how I imagined it to be and a add in/ edit of Maria's little speech before the final cutscene in Elicoor II.

Jonathan Priest: I sent you a summary of it through E-mail. :D Thanks for your recommendation too, I'll try to include that along with attempting to improve my verb tense problem as much as I can.

OmegaShadow: Heheheh...thanks! It's good to hear that from a Sophia fan, when I first posted this fic, I was afraid that the Sophia fans may burn me alive with flames. shivers in fear at the thought of that

T.M.M.S.: I'll try to lengthen my chapters up a bit more as you suggest. :) and as for Maria's hating Sophia, she doesn't really start out Hating her, more like her dislike for Sophia develops the more time she spends around her, thus evolving into hate...or at least that's what I think.

CodenniumRed: Thank you, I'm glad that you like this story :D

Gorbash: Ooh! Thanks for telling me that, I'll have to update my disclaimer.

Event: Thanks for reviewing me again! BTW I just read your story, and I want to tell you that I really enjoy it!

Tala1: lol I have trouble keeping them in character from time to time too, it's probably because I don't know much about her (thanks the producers not giving us much info about her) and that I'm more used to working with dark mentally challenged or broody characters...I think. And yup, I do use MSN, give me your e-mail addy and I'll add you to my list My screename right now is "Currently obsessed with Albel the Wicked XD" giggles I warn you though, that English isn't my first language, and it may take some time for you to reply to you when you IM me since it's difficult for me sometimes to think up a word for a suitable reply right away.