Chapter Ten

Albel woke up and then wished he was still sleeping-his body ached terribly. Sitting up against the wall, he took notice that he was definitely in a prison. The flooring and walls were the same strange metal Cliff's ship had; much better technology than they'd seen in that supposed town.

"You alright?" a voice quietly asked. Albel was surprised-he hadn't noticed Nel was there with him.

"Uh, yeah. You...?" was all Albel would manage to say. Nel was sitting not too far from him on the right, resting up against the wall like he was.

"Been better," she stated tiredly. They were both silent for a few moments. "...You didn't have to come get me." Albel shrugged.

"Bah, like I'd finish the mission when I wasn't even the one originally assigned to it...," he smiled, somehow feeling a little at ease. "Besides, this is much more interesting than some old ruins." Nel smiled at him softly.

"Of course." They were both silent again.

"Do you know why they've taken us, or who they are...?" Albel asked. Nel shook her head. "So now what?"

"What about the others?" Nel inquired.

"You think they know where we are? We don't even know," Albel smirked.

"I guess you're right," Nel sighed.

"Can't you use that runology stuff of yours to get us out?"

"No, I'd probably kill myself trying in this condition. Aside from that, this metal would be much harder to break-if even possible."

"Well, we've certainly gotten ourselves in a fine mess, haven't we?" They both sighed miserably and went quiet yet again.

"So...how'd you get here anyway?" Nel asked finally.

"It's a long story," Albel replied wearily.

"We have the time," Nel shrugged. Albel normally wouldn't have said anything, but for some reason he felt compelled to tell her everything-even his dreams-but he avoided her face while he spoke.


Meanwhile, Fayt, Cliff, Maria, Mirage, and Sophia were encountering some difficulties of their own. They were back at square one and now had even more to look for. None of them had any idea on what they should do.

"They'll be fine," Cliff said, trying to reassure them it'd be alright, but none of them were feeling any better with Cliff being the one to say that.

"Hey, there's footprints here," Sophia said suddenly after she took notice. After they saw it, it seemed extremely obvious-hundreds of footprints all marching in one direction.

"That makes things a little easier...," Maria said, feeling somewhat relieved.

"See, things are looking up already!" Cliff stated cheerfully.

"No help from you," Fayt replied bitterly. With the improvement of their situation, they headed on the same path as the footprints.


Nel was surprised Albel was telling her all this, and Albel was surprised himself. When he finished, he waited for her response quietly and didn't face her, but Nel wasn't sure how to respond. Albel tried his best to be absolutely quiet until she responded; he knew that this was it and he didn't want to ruin it now.

Nel was amazed and how much Albel had been through in his life so far, but more so amazed that he just openly told her that he loved her. Did she love him too? When they had first had to work together, she didn't like being alone with him because she felt nervous all the time since she didn't trust him. But even after she began to trust him, she still felt nervous when she was alone with him. Was that because...because she loved him too?

"...you don't have to answer right away," Albel said suddenly, still calming his nerves. Nel looked at him curiously, trying to figure out her own thoughts. She vaguely remembered one conversation she had had with Elena. What had Elena told her about love? Nel slowly began to remember. "You know when you're in love when you stay with them until the very end, even if sometimes being with that person can be frustrating. If you want you stay with that person, despite anything they may have done, then I think it's safe to say that that person is the one you love. I hope you can experience that someday, Nel. It's a bizarre thing-no matter how bad a situation you may be in, they're the only thing you can think about."

She realized that she hadn't had to stick with Albel on that mission after Fayt and Maria left, she had chosen to do so. And she realized that after she had been taken, she hadn't been thinking about how to escape-she had been wondering if Albel was alright, whether or not they might have taken him, or if they hadn't what he was doing then. It suddenly made sense to her, everything fit perfectly. She looked at Albel and smiled, which Albel saw out of the corner of his eye so he turn looked up at her to hear her answer.

"Albel, I think I love you," she spoke finally. Albel took a moment to comprehend her words, and then felt happier than he had in years. He couldn't help but laugh, even though there wasn't really anything to laugh at. He felt like being this happy had to be a crime against someone.

"I guess everyone figured us out before we did, the maggots," he grinned.

"Apparently so," Nel laughed. Albel was about to speak when he heard footsteps running down the hall. Nel heard the running feet too. Both went silent and stood up, awaiting for whoever was coming. When the figure came into their view, they couldn't believe who it was.


Hm, another short chapter. I actually wanted to have this chapter done yesterday, but it wasn't possible and it's too long of a story to explain here. Even if I hadn't been victim of circumstance, I probably wouldn't have finished it yesterday anyway...I rewrote this chapter like twenty times (at least that what it feels like) because I just couldn't get it right...hm, my computer sounds its going to spontaneously combust...(backs away) We're getting near the end, only a few more chapters left! (in theory)

Next Chapter: The motivation of the kidnapper (oh, and the kidnapper!) is revealed!