---Aramitama soshite Kushimitama---
-Author Note- Well, I guess since Albel won't be reading my fic, I don't have to worry about steppin' on his toes. -sigh of relief- Thank god. Oh, and thanks to Ruine, White Phoenix Eternal, and Lucrecia LeVrai for being my first three reviewers. I love you guys! -teary-eyed-
-Disclaimer- In no way do I own the characters from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. They are property of their respective creator, and I am only taking liberties with their characters. Besides, would you really sue a teenager for writing a fanfic? U
-Journal Entry 002-
SD 772, June ?
Several days had passed since I was captured in those mountains and taken into the capital of the country. Things passed sluggishly down there in the Airyglyph dungeon, and I had lost track of the days I'd spent down there. Pain and hunger were my constant companions, and I had yet to meet the interrogator. Still, at the time, a sense of calm had washed over me, even though my arm and ribcage throbbed painfully.
Twice had I attempted to escape, and both times I had been recaptured, only to have my left arm broken as well as a few of my ribs. They refused me medical attention, at least until I confessed to being an Aquarian spy, which I couldn't rightfully say I was, since I was not.
I hung from the manacles strapped to the wall, my arms lifted painfully over my head, positioned in such a way that it felt like my collarbone was suffocating me. Of course, every time I resisted the pain in my ribcage long enough to stand fully, I was able to take in several deep breaths, so I wouldn't suffocate that soon.
However, as the hours passed slowly into days, I became weaker and weaker from the lack of food. My mind wandered randomly during those days, and I could not help but wonder if they had somehow forgotten I was down here. Then, in the depths of that thought, I would wonder how Sophie and my parents were doing. I hoped they weren't suffering the same fate as me... Heh; would you believe the irony? I was suffering my own fate...
The creaking of the dungeon door opening was what woke me, and I lazily opened my eyes to gaze at the two shadows that had entered. Bright light pierced my eyes, making me wince, and I just then realized that I had been kept in the dark for the past several days ever since my last escape attempt. Of course, I hadn't really known that because of the fever I had developed because of my broken bones; the only plausible reason I could deduce was the fact that there might be alien bacteria on this planet, even if I had been vaccinated for nearly every disease in existence back home.
"This is the supposed spy that worm, Shelby, caught?" A sinister voice echoed against the cold stone walls of my cell, a tingling shiver going down my spine at the cadence in his tone.
"Yes, Captain Nox," a wizened, old voice replied in the blinding darkness, the only source of light lifting up to just a few inches away from my face.
I squinted at the light, trying to turn my face away without much success when a cold, clawed hand shot out and grasped my chin, turning me back into the blinding light.
"Why is his arm bent so oddly? And he looks so pale and withdrawn; have they been even feeding him?" The sinister voice was closer to my face, and I guessed that the metal claw belonged to the voice.
In a small part at the back of my conscious, I marveled at the fact they hadn't searched my person, only deigning to take away the sword I had carried earlier. A good thing, too, because without my communicator, I wouldn't have been able to understand a word they were saying.
"Hmm, I believe he attempted escape twice, and his arm was broken in the first struggle, while his ribs were broken in the second struggle. They left him here without food to 'soften' him up; why, this old fighter could only guess," the old voice was saying in answer to the sinister one and my vision began blurring, the pain returning as well as sanity.
"Ah..." I grit out, attempting to wrench my face away from the claw, my arm and ribs throbbing painfully at the reminder of how I had received my injuries. "Let...let go!"
"So you can speak, maggot," the clawed-hand wrenched my face back to stare at the light, the malevolence in the voice sharpening. "At least we know you can understand our language. Yet, where you are from is still in question... We have never before seen hair quite like yours."
"Perhaps he might be from Greeton?"
"If he was, then he would have succeeded in escaping by now," came the reply, and a sharp tug from the metallic claw on my chin when I tried to relax my aching neck. "I doubt if this worm has enough intelligence to know exactly what kind of situation he is in at the moment."
That got my attention: never before had anyone said I lacked intelligence, not even the usual schoolyard bullies. I prided myself on my brainpower, since I was the son of a genomorphist, a scientist! My anger overflowed, built up with the facts that I was hungry, in pain, and far from my home planet.
"I'm not stupid, you ignorant moron!" I snapped, wrenching my face away from the claw.
"Heh. It looks as if he isn't too dazed to ignore your insults, Captain Nox."
"Be quiet, old man," the one called Captain Nox replied, anger evident in his chillingly sinister voice.
However, my eyes began to get used to the blinding light, and I could barely make out the shapes of two men, one who held the light and the other that had a glinting metallic claw for one arm.
"So, Captain Nox," the old voice was saying, my attention snapping back to the conversation at hand. "Since your methods of persuasion are much more effective than the Interrogator's, perhaps you wish for this blue-haired stranger placed in your capable hands?"
At the time, I thought it strange that they would be coming to my cell, purposely goading me into revealing the fact I spoke their language, and then ignore me like I wasn't even present. But when that old man said those words, I then remembered this was an underdeveloped planet, one that just might have slavery, such as the United States back in the 1700s.
About the only difference between the two situations was that I had a possible chance of escape as soon as my left arm was healed. Despite the many fighting sims I played back on Hyda IV with Sophie, and that thanks to the games I was accustomed to quite a bit of pain (the fighting sims were known for that in the higher levels. Since I was at the highest level, AAA, I guess you could say I would be the equivalent of a normal master swordsman.), I still needed to use my left arm for balance. I was naturally right-handed, but the style of fighting I learned used both hands to swing the sword.
"Hmm...I wish to see how he fares against the Interrogator first, old man," Captain Nox said, a malevolent chuckle echoing in the small, damp stone cell.
"Alright, Albel," the old man murmured, low enough that I strained a little to hear. So, this Captain Nox, the man who might just use me as a slave, was named Albel? Or maybe it was the language's equivalent in English. No matter, I'm still glad for the communicator, what with it's translating abilities. "The Interrogator will see to him as soon as he's done with the other Aquarian spy."
The two left my cell then, taking with them the light so black spots danced before my vision as my eyes attempted to adjust to the dim, practically non-existent light of the cell. What awaited me with the Interrogator, I wondered to myself, relaxing a little now that the sharp pain from my injuries were fading as the endorphins kicked in a little. Thank goodness for natural pain killers, I thought on another mental note.
My eyes drowsed all-too-soon, and I dozed for a few minutes, or at least what felt like mere minutes. However, I was shaken awake roughly, a hand clamping down on my injured arm, wrenching it from the manacle I had been forced to wear. I bit back a scream of pain, not willing to show them how much it hurt me, and was dragged boneless away from my cell.
Out of my cell, I winced at the bright torches in the brackets located on either side of the narrow corridor. The ones who were dragging me were heedless of my injuries, dragging me roughly down the corridor without letting me get over my disorientation. A few sharp tugs now and then made sure that my arm wouldn't set properly unless I was seen to very soon.
Well, on a better note, if I ever got off that god-forsaken planet, I could always attempt to get surgery to fix it, although there was probably a slim chance I would retain full use of the arm.
"Wake up, Aquarian scum!" One of the guards growled, jerking, thankfully, my good arm.
Blinking, I glanced up at him, my eyes mysteriously having gotten used to the light while I was off in my own mind. Had I fallen asleep with my eyes open? Sophie accused me of doing so a few times, so I wouldn't put it past myself.
"Ah, so this is the blue-haired little boy I heard about from Shelby," cooed a fat, giant of a man, stepping into my line of vision. He stood before me, his enormous pot-belly gut hairy and protruding dangerously close to my face.
I inched my face away a little while pretending to be studying the floor, but not before the fat man grabbed my chin in his meaty grip, pinching down on the bruises left there by the clawed hand of Albel Nox. I was forced to look up at him, and I realized then he wore the traditional executioner's mask, basically a black sack zipped down the middle to hide the identity of the man beneath. Great, now I would never be able to return and seek vengeance against this guy if he did something completely horrible.
"Such a beautiful face he has," the Interrogator cooed, fingering my chin thoughtfully.
Disgusted, I attempted to wrench my face away, but he was obviously prepared, because the guards suddenly released me. I fell, only to land on the end of his sharp, pointed boot, right in the injured part of my ribcage, too.
"Gyagh...ughhh…." I gasped, eyes wide as a few droplets of spittle and blood dribbled down my chin, stinging my chapped lips. The boot was tugged away, and I fell face-first to the cold, hard stone floor, my ribs and arm wracking my every thought with pain. Where were those endorphins when I needed them?
"Heh. Already attempting to stop your questioning, my beautiful new toy?" The Interrogator's boot came into my vision once more before disappearing, delivering another blow to my injured ribs.
Spots danced before my eyes, and I swore that I wished I had fainted then, but not even the blessed abyss of unconsciousness as granted me.
Once more, I was tugged up harshly, only to have my wrists shackled in two manacles hanging from two long chain strands suspended from the tall ceiling. They ended too short, though, which made me stand straight, the pain from my broken ribs, and the kicks delivered to said broken ribs, making the multi-colored spots dance before my eyes again.
"So, let us begin with the questioning, hmm?"
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as the fat man disappeared behind my back, not even caring when the thin cotton vacation shirt I wore was ripped from my back. I did not even care when the first lash of the whip fell across my unprotected back. The only things I felt then was the immeasurable pain. At times, I swore I even wished to die, but then an image of Sophia, disappearing into the dancing flames, along with my parents, drifted into my vision. Those times, the pain sharpened and a fresh bout of lashes would fall across my back, sometimes curling around my sides to lick the front, cutting through my flesh like butter. It even split one nipple, but the entire time I did not utter one cohesive word.
Then, when I thought it would never end, I saw the claw-hand of Albel Nox reach out to grasp something behind me. My tired eyes traveled up the arm to the face, to the red eyes of the man that had ended my torture.
With the last ounce of strength I could muster, I spit a mouthful of blood and spit at his face, growling out, "Bas...tard..."
-End Journal Entry 002-
-Author Note- Err... -blushes and sweatdrops- Sorry about the Fayt torture at the end. I have no clue as to why I thought of that. Although it's graphic, it isn't as graphic as it could have been, since I've never experienced it. . Also, just in case you wanted to know, I'm not a masochist or anything...maybe a bit of a sadist, but I'm actually quite normal.
Anyway, thanks to my new fans for reviewing and pointing out my grammatical errors for the advanced copy of this chapter! I hope you all don't want to kill me for this chapter's ending. It'll get better, and fluffier, later on! I promise! I just like stories with a long transition from one emotion to love. -sweatdrop- I found that the best love stories have the two main characters suffer emotionally, and sometimes physically, until they succeed in confessing their love... . Sappy, I know, but hey, what other kind of thing am I supposed to write? Besides, I'm attempting to write a story as close as possible to the character's original personalities (although Albel might be a bit OOC), but also something that is closer to real life. Well, as close to real life a Scifi game can get.
So, yeah, I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of ASK. I'm actually developing the story as I go, so I can't spoil anything for you, since it'll be a surprise, even for me! My stories tend to do that: they develop on their own until they become living, breathing novel-like stories. See you next chapter!
