Author's Notes: Wow, I got more reviews from y'all than I was expecting! :D Good to know there's more Albel/Nel fans out there than previously thought; all I can ever find is Albel/Fayt around here. Well, the shout-outs are gonna be tagged at the end of the chapter so that it doesn't take up space up here. :) Thank you all!

Chapter Two: In Need of Duck Duck Bombs

It was way past midnight (Elicoor time) before Cliff staggered back to his room, exhausted. Maria and Mirage had pestered him into tracking down Albel and Nel both, then making sure they stayed together, a job much harder than it sounded. Cliff thought back on the agony with a groan. Who knew that damn Albel had such strength in so scrawny a body?

After his vow to 'fix it,' Cliff's first stop was to try and track down Nel, who was being much more troublesome than her male counterpart. It wasn't long before he found the redhead attached to Steeg's arm just outside the bridge, his crewmember blushing and trying to dislodge her. Cliff approached as Nel was telling Steeg adoringly that his green eyes were beautiful.

"N-no offense, Miss Zelpher, but... I like Marietta," Steeg stammered. Nel looked up at him, disbelief in her emerald eyes.

"You... you don't like me?" she asked brokenly. Steeg shot Cliff a panicked look. The Klausian shrugged as Nel whispered, "...I see."

"Heeey, Nel, forget about Steeg," Cliff said with affected sympathy. "Can I talk to you a minute?"

Nel nodded, sniffling and rubbing an eye, and let go of Steeg's arm to follow Cliff. He sighed and leg her down a hall.

"Now don't be mad at Steeg," he said slowly. "He's just been cukoo for Marietta since we took him onboard. But you know who's had eyes for you ever since he got here...."

"You?"

Cliff stopped and turned to stare at her increduously. She was staring back, starry-eyed. His thought process immediately screeched to a halt and reversed into, 'Oh, shit, Mirage'll kill me, Mirage'll kill me, Maria'll laugh when she kills me.... Nevermind Mirage; ALBEL will kill me and dance on my remains...!' He held up his hands in retreat.

"No, no, I mean...."

"No need to play innocent, Cliff. I know what you mean." She took a step forward; Cliff backed away fearfully.

"N-no, it's Albel, he...."

"Hmph! Who cares how Nox feels about you?"

Cliff considered bashing his head into a wall until blacking out. "You don't understand, Nel--"

"I think I do," she purred, blushing, and sidled up against him. Shiiiiit...! Cliff looked around himself desperately, hoping to any gods he'd previously ignored (or laughed at) that Mirage would just so happen to be passing by and have a Duck Bomb on her. No such luck; he was alone with a crazed Elicoorian. All. Alone.

So he ran. Nel wasn't far behind him.

As he pelted through the halls of the Diplo, he thought frantically about what he could do. He could lure her back to her room, but she'd just get back out. He could try running past Albel in hopes of the damn potion working, but he had no clue where he could be. 'Damn that Gossam! "Fall in love with the first person they see" my ASS! More like EVERY person they see!' Cliff skidded to a stop as the hall before him suddenly filled with ice, then turned to stare back at the approaching Crimson Blade. She had stopped long enough to cast runology and was now advancing again.

Risking his manliness in favor of his life, Cliff bellowed for help. There was only one person for a job like getting him out of a mess he'd gotten himself into, and that was...

"MIRAGE!"

Doors slid open along the corridor; Mirage, Albel, Fayt, and Sophia poked their heads out into the hall. Cliff, panicking, slipped and slid over to Mirage, his blue eyes wide. Mirage looked startled; she had never seen her partner so worked up before. Unless you counted that time their sensei had chased him through the dojo with a very deadly-looking mace, of course.

"Tell me you have Duck Bombs!" he gasped as Nel began to pick her way across the ice gingerly. Mirage shook her head.

"I think Fayt might."

Cliff skittered across the hall to Fayt's room, sliding right past Nel (who had never looked so menacing in his eyes). Fayt stepped back to allow the blonde man to come in. Albel yowled from down the hall as the door slid shut: "What the hell are you going into Leingod's room for, maggot?!" Fayt slapped a hand to his forehead and locked the door.

"He keeps bugging me," he groaned, nodding back at it. Cliff heaved a sigh.

"I'm gonna kill Gossam," the Klausian growled. "I need Duck Duck Bombs. If I can manage to stun Albel and Nel, maybe that damn 'Fall in Love With Whatever Breathes' thing will work on each other."

"I think it might be that they fall in love with every but who they saw first," Fayt sighed as Nel and Albel pounded on the door. "But if we can stun them, they might stop moving long enough for us to tie them up."

More banging. Cliff sunk onto the table beside the force-fielded plant, frowning. "Somehow, I can't see them appreciating that."

"Yeah.... Think we should tie 'em up and apologize?"

"Are you kiddin'? Then Albel will only make our deaths more painful."

"Ah, good point. Just apologize, then?"

"Would it snap them out of it?" Pound, pound. Albel was showing impressive swearing prowess.

"Doubt it."

"...Eh. Good enough, I guess."

The two apporached the door hesitantly, listening to the continued abuse upon it.

"...Can I knock 'em out and throw them out an airlock?" Cliff asked jokingly.

"Tempting, but no."

"Damn."

The pounding rather suddenly stopped. Cliff and Fayt exchanged surprised looks, then unlocked the door, took deep breaths, and entered the hall.

Shout-Outs!

Shiroko: Hee, thanks! The direction is meant to stay veiled until next chapter, when you'll get to see how all this mess happened. Silly Gossam and his potions. And I'm not a fan of male/male pairings, either, but Miyabi down there and I were talking about how much Fayt/Albel annoys us and I tossed it in as a bit of a joke. ; I'm an Albel/Nel fan all the way. So no worries here! You have my promise on the Crimson Scourge that I'll not finish this up without Albel and Nel together!

Cute Neko Kaydee: Haha, really? I like Farleen too, but Nel is definitely my favorite Crimson Blade. (I like all of them, actually....) Y'know, I might work in a Farleen reference in a later chapter just for you. :D

Miyabi Ningyou: Well, HAR HAR, Hikki! Lookit the update from when I got home from New Jersey! Now Albel doesn't have to murder me! :P

BiBi Tenshi: Yay, thanks! :D Such positive reviews. And see the promise on the Crimson Scourge I made for Shiroko? That applies here, too: They'll be together in the end. Pinkie swear and everything.

Ice Neko: Thank you! The storyline's a bit twisted, but it's very fun to write. Hope you liked this chapter as much and I'll have another update done by the end of the week! :) Thanks for the good luck.

Wow, does that look funny. ; Thank you! As I said before, the plot's twisted, but it's fun. I'm still a little muddled on how I'll tie up my plotholes, but that'll be solved before long.

Magus Black: I'll have you know that your review had me laughing for quite a while. :D Wonderful wording there. And I've continued; next update should be up by Wednesday, by all means, but with Lazy Rohirrim Factor, it could be Thursday. ; Hope you liked this chapter as much as the last!

Liebchen: Haha, glad to know you liked it so much! I'm happy somebody else heard the exact same music I had going in my head while I was writing it; makes it worth humming in math class and getting an odd look from the teacher. And the potion isn't technically working the way it should, but you'll see how it turned out. The next update should be done by Wednesday! :D

Skweeshy: Thanks! The next update'll be up around Wednesday, so you shouldn't have quite the same wait as with this one. As for vial-vs-phial, I think both work. My ninth grade chem teacher would switch back and forth, so I think both're acceptable, but I'm not too sure on that. ; Sorry if it bugged you.