Disclaimer- I don't own Star Ocean. It is the property of the great Square-Enix and Tri-Ace.

AN: Sorry about the delay. Various problems (school) make it hard to work on fics. If I got Norton's look wrong, please forgive me, as it has been a while since I played.

Chapter 3 Suspicion, Criminals, and Klausians

Fire... blazing infernos as if sprung from the very pits of Hell flared in front of Fayt.

"HELP!" Sophia shouted as the Vendeen closed in on her and Fayt's parents, raising their weapons, shark faces smirking in triumph.

He ran towards the fire, but it was so hot, so painful, he just couldn't cross the crucible of Hellfire and torment...

One of the Vendeen locked eyes with Fayt and smirked wider, as it to say, "You failed."

"FAYT!" They screamed helplessly as the Vendeen prepared to fire.

Fayt ran again, but it was so painful, he was too weak to walk through the fire...

Three shots rang out, and then Sophia and his parents fell to the floor, dead, bleeding, gazing at Fayt with dead eyes. And all he could hear was his own tortured screams, the flames growing hotter and hotter, burning him in Purgatory.

As he screamed, he felt himself wholly consumed by the beast that was fire...

And then he awoke to the blinding light of the sun. Wildly shaking his head from side to side, patting himself to make sure he was okay, Fayt whispered reassuringly, "It was just a dream."

"HELP!"

Pain, burning, agony...

He shook his head again. "Get a grip..." Glancing at his surroundings, he realized he was on a rustic, old wooden bed, inside of a relatively primitive construct, which Fayt recalled was named a cabin back on Earth. Before the thoughts of his home world and his parents could overwhelm him, he tried to get a grip on the situation.

As he was thinking this, a small girl with bobbed, dark red hair almost like the color of blood- and then Fayt cut off that line of thinking again, and realized that the little girl was staring at him, holding a cup and a pitcher of something that Fayt's dry throat hoped was water. The second thing he noticed was that the little girl had particularly long ears, almost like the elves of mythology that he had studied in college.

"Who are you?" Fayt asked slowly, hoping his Quad Scanner was translating.

Instead of answering, and looking away from Fayt, the little girl dropped the tray on the table next to his bed. "I'll leave some water here, okay?" Before Fayt could respond, she scampered off, calling out "Niklas!"

After a moment, the little girl returned with a young boy, who was most likely Niklas, who stood seemingly unconsciously in front of the girl, in a protective manner. In a soft, yet strangely hesitant voice, he asked, "Are you all right? You were groaning in you sleep."

"I…think I'm fine, thanks. Were you the one who rescued me?"

Niklas shook his head. "No, I just carried you here. My sister…Meena," he explained, gesturing towards the little girl, "She insisted…"

"I see. So you were the one who rescued me." Fayt smiled at the little girl, who blushed and giggled slightly. "Thank you, Meena." A new thought broke through his slowly awakening mind. "Where am I?"

"In the village of Whipple," Niklas responded. "What is your name?"

After Fayt introduced himself to the pair, Niklas seemed... uncomfortable, and looked hesitantly at him. After a while, he asked tentatively, "Your clothes…and your ears… Are you one of Norton's men?"

Fayt blinked, and asked if Norton was a person, which Niklas immediately answered with a resounding and quite bitter "Yes."

"I don't really understand the situation here…" Fayt began, trailing off as Niklas' eyes, once slightly narrowed in vague suspicions was now wider and friendlier.

"You don't know Norton?" The long eared boy asked again, more questioning than before, and a hint of confusion layered in his tone.

Fayt shook his head, and asked, "Who is he?"

But Niklas seemed satisfied with the answer and passed the question off easily, stating that Fayt needed to recover his strength and eat. Although he protested, both Niklas and Meena were insistent on him staying, with the boy adding, "Please, rest. Don't worry, it is our way to help each other in times of trouble."

As Fayt quickly stumbled through apologies, again Niklas waved them off and left, asking Meena not to bother him. "He looks so young, but he seems so mature for his age…just like Sophia." The last words of his sentence spilled out from his mouth and immediately he felt a bitter spike of pain stab his heart.

"Fayt, tell me, where are you from? Why are your ears so round? Who's Sophia, huh? Tell me! Tell me!" Meena urged, chanting her words in her squeaky voice, breaking Fayt's depression like a ray of sunshine as he laughed, and began telling the little girl about himself.

Fayt, deciding to step out of the cabin in the afternoon, had briefly wondered where his sword went, and worried over if he would be rescued, but decided to check things out, specifically, to find information about the area and this Norton character. After a few hostile looks and accusing conversations with the villagers, Fayt happened upon the biggest house, which turned out to be the village chief's.

"I am sorry they are treating you so brusquely, but you must understand our situation." The elderly man apologized, explaining that Norton had settled in the west of the village, and that the country's lord refused to give aid to them, since the village was so remote. Fayt, grasping the situation better now, left back for Niklas and Meena's house. Inside, he found Meena looking at a small, almost treasure chest-like box.

Upon Fayt's query as to what she was looking at, Meena exclaimed happily, "It's my treasure box! Daddy gave it to me on my birthday."

Niklas, shaking his head, took Fayt aside for a moment, whispering in a low voice, "That music box was passed down through our mother's family. It is the only thing we have left from our parents. But, alas, it is broken now, and does not make a sound."

Fayt swallowed, sympathy and empathy surging through him, as well as a sense of connection with the two orphans. Hoping that his greater knowledge of mechanics might aid him, he asked, "Can I have a look?"

"Sure!" Meena jumped off the table happily.

As he examined the box, thoughts raced through Fayt's head. The gearbox is broken…but I bet I could fix this. If I can get back to my pod, I should be able to synthesize parts. I don't think the UP3 prohibits repairing the existing devices… "Yeah, this shouldn't be too hard." He mumbled, before turning towards Niklas and Meena. "Want me to fix this for you? It'll be my way of paying you back for rescuing me."

Meena's eyes widened. "Really? Can you fix it, Fayt?" She asked earnestly, a note of real, feverent hope that sent a smile on Fayt's face quickly.

Biting his lip, Niklas looked torn between gratitude and being taken aback. "Can you really do that? It is an expensive music box. They told us it would cost a great deal to fix it." He said motioned to the music box, and glanced at Fayt again.

Quickly, Fayt's mind raced, remembering that on a planet like Vanguard III, such parts would be hard to come by. "If I can get my hands on the right parts, yes, and I think I know where to get them. It's a little ways away but I'll go get them later." Fayt said quickly, but Niklas continued protesting.

"But, we cannot ask you to do something like that for us!"

"You saved my life. It's the least I can do to repay you!" Fayt argued, but Niklas still seemed hesitant.

"Still…" He trailed off, scuffing his shoe, acting more like the child he was than the adult that Fayt could easily perceive him being.

Fayt's agile mind quickly thought up an easy way to break the stubborn boy's defenses. "And I'm sure that Meena wants it fixed, right?" He asked, glancing at the eager little girl.

Niklas seemed torn between laughing and glaring at Fayt, but in the end, he gave in. "Thank you…good sir." He added, swallowing a bit of the suspicion in his eyes.

Remembering the fights against the creatures of the forest, Fayt asked, "In return, do you think I could get my sword back? I won't be able to go through the forest without it." Glancing at the healing bruises on his body, he instinctively wished for his weapon.

The suspicion flared back up in Niklas' eyes. "You swear you are not with Norton and his gang?" He asked again, firmness in his voice, as Meena wandered about the small room, oblivious to the tension burning between her brother and their guest.

"That I'm not." Fayt replied in the same tone, but Niklas seemed unappeased for a moment. "What…you don't believe me?" Now Fayt felt a bit hurt, which might have showed as Niklas' suspicion died out.

"No, I trust you." The young boy smiled warmly at him.

Fayt grinned back. "Thanks."

For a moment, a feeling of warmth was on both of their faces, before Niklas grew serious again. "But be wary. If you are not one of Norton's gang, you will be in even more danger outside the village." He warned, but Fayt shook his head and assured Niklas he'd be fine.

A few hours later, a weary Fayt stumbled towards his escape pod, his sword slightly blemished with the lifeblood of the creatures he had fought. With a bit of morbid cheer however, he had noticed that he hadn't been as tired from these battles. But the sight that lay before him dissolved that bit of cheer.

His silver escape pod lay broken open, the replicator ripped out and several other key parts stripped off. Definitely not random vandalism. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were up to. Giving a cry that echoed throughout the forest, Fayt kicked the pod, not even wincing at the sharp stab of pain and then the following dull ache. Snarling angrily, mostly at the thought of not being able to help Niklas and Meena, he stalked off back to the village.

Upon his arrival, Fayt entered Niklas and Meena's house, fully intent on apologizing and trying to find some way of regaining his equipment.

"Fayt!" Meena shrieked happily, running over to the young man.

"Hey," Fayt smiled, before his smile dimmed. "I'm sorry, I don't have the parts yet."

Niklas waved his hand in dismissal. "What a relief, you are well! Norton's gang was lurking around the forest in the direction you left in. We were worried."

That gave Fayt pause. Could Norton be an off-worlder, like himself? "Niklas… Could you tell me more about Norton and his gang?" He asked slowly, "Who are they?"

After a brief silence of remembrance, Niklas began. Norton had appeared about six months ago, ordering the village to give him food, but when the villagers refused, he used some "mysterious light, and those it touched disappeared, one after the other". Many were lost, including Niklas' father. The lord of the country did nothing, dismissing the idea of the light as foolishness, and now people were actively joining Norton.

"A mysterious light, that makes people disappear…" Fayt fearfully realized that the "mysterious light" might just be a laser weapon. There was only one possible explanation. "Niklas… When you first met me, you asked me about my clothes and ears, right? Why?" Fayt asked, swallowing in fear at the knowledge.

Niklas nodded, a little abashed. "Norton wore clothes made out of a strange material that was neither linen nor cotton," Glancing at Fayt, he added, "Just like the clothes you wear. And his ears were shaped like yours… That is why I did not trust you at first. I apologize." He said, remorse in his eyes.

An immense weight of fear burrowed deep into Fayt's gut. "Don't worry about it." Fayt said distractedly. Quickly, Fayt realized that if someone had been using a laser, then that would explain why they'd steal his pod parts.

Noticing his distraction, Niklas asked quietly, "Is…something the matter?"

Fayt smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing, I was just thinking…" And a new plan had formed in Fayt's head. He had to talk to Norton. No matter how dangerous it was...

He had a promise to keep to a friend. But another promise was tugging at his conscience. "I'm really sorry, but it's going to take me a little more time to fix your music box. Can you wait just a little longer?" He asked softly.

Meena seemed a little disappointed, but quickly responded with a cheery, "Okay!"

But Niklas was smart, and easily made the connection. "That thing Norton's gang carried off... did it belong to you?"

Fayt swallowed. He could not, under any circumstances, break the UP3. On the other hand, he didn't want to lie to Niklas and Meena. But in the end, duty and respect of the law overruled Fayt's heart. " No." He lied, wishing it wasn't so easy to do so. "I thought it might be, but it wasn't. Don't worry, I'll fix your music box."

Although it didn't look like Niklas was buying the lie, Meena, in her childish innocence, demanded food. As Fayt, Niklas, and Meena settled down to eat, however, the young boy continued to glance at Fayt, and bit his lip determinedly.

The next morning, Fayt was getting worried. He hadn't found Niklas anywhere. As Meena skipped along by, it seemed as though she too was a bit worried about her brother. "So, where's Niklas?" He asked her, bending down slightly.

Meena bit her lip worriedly, and shook her head. "I don't know."

"Has he gone somewhere?" Fayt asked, praying Meena would know.

But his hope was in vain. When I woke up, he was already gone. I hoped he hasn't disappeared, too…" Meena's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she fought them back. "Just like Mama and Papa." She half whispered, mostly to herself.

A wave of empathy hit Fayt hard, nearly drowning all common sense. "Niklas would never leave you like that, Meena." He assured her. "It'll be all right. I'll go find him for you." He promised, grabbing her hand.

"Promise?" She asked in a desperate half-whisper.

"Promise." Fayt affirmed, nodding.

Glancing around at the area where the villagers had pointed out to him was Norton's hideout, he quickly discovered it was not what he was expecting. Instead of a singular structure, it was almost a maze of ruins that stretched for almost half a mile. Sighing, Fayt proceeded forward, gripping his sword and feverently hoping he would not have to use it.

As he proceeded through the ruins, he found a few buried herbs that he was happy to gather, just in case. Eventually, he reached a mostly intact building whose ground floor was blocked off by a large amount of rubble. Stepping aside, he went around the back, hoping to find some clue as to where Niklas had gone.

Fayt's clue came in the form of three lounging young natives whom he had never seen before, but were obviously from the village. These must be the villagers that joined Norton. Maybe they know where Niklas went.

One of the natives glanced at him and stood up straighter, eyes narrowing. "Who are you, kid? Whatdya want? This here's Lord Norton's turf, so bear it, or else!" He threatened, probably not noticing the rather large sword in Fayt's hand, or not caring.

Not wanting any bloodshed, Fayt dropped the blade and raised his hands. "I don't want to fight you guys. I just want to know if you've seen a little boy around here."

"A little boy?" A second one asked, and the three exchanged glances, obviously trying to remember if a little boy had come by. After a brief pause, one of them spoke up.

"Oh, you mean Niklas. Yeah, he came 'round here, blabberin' 'bout getting somethin' back, and wantin' to see Lord Norton." He said carelessly, looking annoyed at the memory.

"Then what did he do," Fayt asked, a firmer edge to his voice that hadn't been there before.

The ruffian grinned viciously. "Being the kind-hearted fellas we are, we gave the stupid kid what he wanted." The other two snickered along with him. "I bet Lord Norton's 'reeducatin' the undisciplined lil' brat right now." The obvious implications of the statement were clear to Fayt.

"What?" Fayt half-asked, half-snarled. If they hurt him...

"It's the kid's own damn fault." The thug smirked. "Nothing good can come from messin' with Lord Norton. Don't worry—he'll learn it's better to join us than fight us! It's a shame the apple don't fall far from the tree. Idiocy must run in the family."

Something snapped within him, and the emotional dam that was holding all his worry, fear, and rage broke, releasing a flood of anger. "You little bastard!" Fayt roared furiously, and snatched up his sword, blind rage filling his veins, a strange feeling thundering and resonating within his body.

The nearest thug grabbed a knife from his sheath and rushed Fayt, and the others followed suit. Before even one could swing, Fayt delivered a brutal upward blow to the nearest one, who was barely able to block before he was sent flying backwards into the stone wall and slumped against it, out cold.

The other two brutes, not being very lion-hearted, quailed for a moment, which was all Fayt needed to deliver a downward to a second one's kneecap, sending him crashing to the floor, screaming in pain and clutching his nearly hacked off limb. The third dropped his knife and ran, which only infuriated Fayt further.

"Oh no you don't!" He yelled, racing after the ruffian. Not even noticing that he was moving with incredible speed beyond anything he had been previously capable of, he easily caught his opponent and delivered a brutal side swiping blow, sending a spray of blood flying, painting the grass a morbid crimson as the final underling lay prostrate, holding his profusely bleeding side.

The injured screams of the thugs suddenly brought Fayt back into reality, the red mist of bloodlust finally subsiding and giving way to a blank horror. "Dear God in Heaven... what have I done?" He sank to his knees, letting the bloodstained sword fall to the grass from his numb hands, feeling vomit begin to rise within his throat. "I could have... I wanted to kill them." He swallowed down the bile and the horror. What the Hell was happening to him?

A sudden thought broke Fayt's reverie. Niklas was still inside, most likely being beaten. Slowly, Fayt got to his feet, and glanced fearfully at the sword next to him that still lay painted in the blood of his enemies. After a moment, he gripped the sword, and went inside.

After passing a room nearly full with obviously stolen goods, Fayt found a room that answered all of his questions. His pod parts were all here, all of them being used to make a computer and a replicator. Well, Norton's definitely an off-worlder. Now let's just hope he's reasonable... Fayt could still hear the screams of the injured thugs, and shuddered.

Noticing a single query, asking if he would like to open the door to the cells, Fayt clicked Yes. Exiting the room, Fayt ran into the dungeon, where he found Niklas lying in a cell, decidedly worse for the wear. One of his eyes was completely swollen and shut, and there were several cuts and bruises all across his arms and body, his shirt had several tears in it, and his left cheek was purple. Gripping his sword so tight his knuckles went white, Fayt felt that same rage build within him again, and barely held it in check.

"Niklas..." Fayt swallowed painfully, feeling as guilt fester within his gut. This kind boy had been hurt because of him. Everyone around Fayt was getting hurt...

Niklas raised his head weakly, opening his one good eye. "Fayt…why are you here?" He croaked softly.

"Rescuing you." Fayt replied, and added sternly, "You should never have run off like that!"

"The music box parts…I wanted to get them back. I…I could not ask you to do this for us." Niklas closed his good eye in pain and shame.

"Don't be stupid," Fayt half-muttered.

"It is dangerous here! You…must leave, quickly! He'll…get you." Niklas said urgently, before he collapsed, exhausted.

"Niklas! Damn it kid!" He swore, glancing around for keys.

"Must leave…" Niklas muttered, half-delirious but still urgently urging.

"He needs help... damn it Fayt, think…think…" Fayt closed his eyes, trying to think of something, anything that could help. After a moment, the answer came. Reaching into his pocket, he removed his communicator. "I could short the battery in my communicator, or-" But suddenly a thought cut that rain of excited thoughts. If he did that, he'd lose his communicator. And that meant no rescue.

For a moment, Fayt grappled with the issue, until another thought broke the stalemate. Meena. There was no way he could go back and desert Niklas, not when there were people waiting for him. Swallowing down his doubts, Fayt set his communicator against the door and shorted the battery, which easily blasted the cell door off its hinges.

Running inside, Fayt found an unconscious Niklas waiting for him. "He doesn't seem too badly hurt… That's a relief." But something else cut through Fayt's relief.

Niklas was mumbling gibberish in his injury induced sleep.

"Damn, that's right! My translator was built into that communicator." But Fayt just shook his head. No time for regrets, now. We better get out of here!" Picking up Niklas, he exited the cell, but suddenly a sharp yell cut through the noise and paralyzed him.

"FREEZE!"

Slowly, Fayt put Niklas carefully on the ground, along with his sword. As he began to stand up straight a burst of light slashed through the air, passing by Fayt's cheek and struck the wall, sending a small shower of debris to the floor. Fayt winced as he felt a small trickle of blood began to fall from where the laser had passed by. A second burst of light struck the boxes nearby, a neat, circular hole burnt straight through.

"No funny moves if you wanna stay alive. Play nice and I'll let you live a little longer kid." A voice sneered from the shadows.

Despite himself, Fayt felt oddly calm. "That was a phase gun. So you must be Norton." He couldn't help the slight sneer on his face or the fury that laced his voice.

But Norton didn't seem fazed, stepping forth from the shadows cockily. He was a blonde humanoid, wearing a purple trench coat. He was not much taller than Fayt, but the blood red rifle in his hand made him seem more imposing. "Yeah, that's me. I am Norton the Great!" He boasted, laughing a bit insanely. "Ah, it's so nice to hear genuine Terran being spoken, eh? Seems like ages." Norton added wistfully.

"Why are you here! You're definitely not from this planet!" Fayt said angrily.

Norton smirked, looking smugly superior. "I'm from Rezerb, boy. We're not part of the Federation."

Wracking his mind, Fayt recalled all he knew about Rezerb. "I've heard of that world. That's that planet filled with

joy seekers that keeps rejecting Federation membership. So what are you doing here? This is an underdeveloped planet!" Fayt demanded.

At this, Norton looked amused. "Not much to tell… I …was involved in this er…unfortunate accident." He grinned and shrugged. "Guess it was a bit much even for Rezerb. So I was sentenced to spend the rest of my days in exile on a deserted planet. But… The escort ship they were transporting me on had engine trouble and ended up crash landing here."

A very nasty smirk pasted itself on Norton's face. "Can you believe it?" He laughed viciously. "All I had to do was mess with their engine codes. Those stupid pilots ended up frying their engines!"

But then his face changed to one of distaste. "All I was trying to do was create a distraction so I could make my escape. But we ended up crashing, and this planet's become my prison."

"And the others, Norton!" Fayt nearly yelled. This guy was forcing that emotional dam to crack once more.

The amused look dropped, and Norton fired off a shot that narrowly missed Fayt's head. "That's 'Lord Norton' to you!" He shot back.

Forcing himself to calm down, Fayt asked, "There must've been others. What happened to the other people on the escort ship?"

"Oh, those guys? They're dead, the poor fools." Norton replied nonchalantly. "They were trying to send out a distress signal and a bolt of lighting smote 'em where they stood." A sadistic laugh burst from the criminal's lips as he motioned to his rifle. "That crash was unfortunate, but I'm making the most of it. This planet's going to be my kingdom!"

Rage began to bubble deep within Fayt once more. "So that's why you've been raiding Whipple?" Fayt nearly screamed, wanting to cut that smirk off the criminal's face.

"Yeah, something like that. You're a smart kid. That's why I've been raiding the village, and that's why you gotta die. Sorry!" Norton apologized non-apologetically. "You'll be happy to know I'm gonna make the most of those parts I stripped from yer escape pod."

Raising his rifle, Norton prepared to shoot.

Fayt growled viciously. "It's guys like you…" Now he felt all the anger and rage and hate boil over, and suddenly a power unlike anything he had ever known was flooding him, an ocean of pure, raw, energy surrounding his psyche. A strange, but familiar feeling rose within him, and around him, a destructive glow of cobalt began to grow, an aura that threw Norton off guard. But all Fayt could hear was a roaring in his ears, all he could feel was hate and rage.

"What the hell are you!" Norton asked fearfully, stepping back slowly.

"I'm going to-" But suddenly Fayt's rage was broken by a very calm, very off hand voice that cleaved the tension apart easily.

"Ah, there you are. I thought I lost you when your distress signal went out. Might never have found you if it weren't for those explosions." From the shadows, a well built man with rippling muscles and straw blond hair stepped forth, wearing a tight black jumpsuit without sleeves and jet-black gloves over his hands.

"What do you want? You're not one of them Federation guys, are ya?" Norton asked cautiously.

The man snorted and then laughed amusedly. "Who, me? A Federation soldier? Ha, yeah, that's a good one!"

This seemed to relax Norton somewhat. "Well then, who are ya?"

"Cliff Fittir," The man slightly bowed, "A Klausian and member of Quark."

Both names caused a stirring of memories within Fayt, who had been watching the exchange cautiously, but in Norton, one caused fear.

"A K-Klausian?" Norton sputtered, nearly dropping his gun in shock.

"Sorry, no time to explain." Cliff waved his hand dismissively. "I'm kinda in a hurry. Just lemme have Fayt, that Earthling boy over there and I'll be on my way. I don't plan on butting into whatever ya got going on over here."

Fayt stepped back in shock. "How the hell do you know my name!" Fayt demanded.

"Let's not sweat the details. Suffice it to say, you're my man." Cliff took a step towards Fayt, but suddenly Norton seemed to regain his wits.

"Hold it right there, or I'll blast ya!" Norton half-screamed, raising his rifle towards the blond.

"Huh? You talking to me?" Cliff asked, turning towards the deranged criminal.

Norton seemed over his fear, and now seemed intent on killing both Fayt and his apparent rescuer. "You think you can fool me? There's no way a Klausian would come here! You're probably some sorta spy. It's so obvious!"

Cliff sighed, annoyed. "Look, since I'm such a nice guy, I'm gonna fill you in on a little secret. That gun you have there has no effect on us Klausians. You didn't know that?" He explained slowly, as if talking to a small child.

"Shut the hell up!" Norton screamed, and fired at Cliff.

Fayt couldn't help the astonished gasp that escaped his mouth as Cliff suddenly dodged each laser burst, and, as if by magic, appeared in front of Norton, fist raised and cocked, ready to take the criminal out.

The seemingly unflappable Cliff now had annoyance written all over his face. "All right. I'm done lecturing. Time to teach you lesson!"

Giving a roar, Norton raised his rifle and prepared to fire as Cliff raised his fists. Deciding to even the odds, Fayt grabbed his sword and rushed to join the Klausian.

Cliff moved absurdly fast, dodging another bolt from the criminal and delivering a vicious blow to his gut, causing Norton to double over in pain. Before the deranged "lord" could recover, Cliff disarmed him and delivered a rapid-fire barrage of punches to Norton's chest, sending blood flying from the man's mouth. After a few seconds, the blond jumped backwards, fists still raised, but there was no need.

With a single gasp of "Bastard," the self-proclaimed lord of the area, Norton, collapsed in a heap.

Fayt had only one comment for the battle. "Holy shit!" He swore under his breath, stepping back a bit in awe.

Cliff dusted his hands off nonchalantly, looking unfazed that he had nearly killed someone within a few seconds. "Well, so much for that guy. But I did try to warn him."

Fayt had heard of the Klausian race, who looked Terran but had physical abilities that far outstripped those of any Earthling. And the name Quark rang a bell with him too, it was an anti-Federation group.

The blond stood over the beaten body of Norton and looked him over, and noticed the man was no longer breathing. "Looks like I overdid it. Shoulda held back a little bit." Cliff muttered, sounding abashed. Bending down, he began searching the criminal, and removed a communicator. "This is about the only thing that still works. The rest ruined. …Here." He thrust the device towards Fayt, who glanced over at it.

"This is a communicator?" Fayt asked slowly, not sure at what he was seeing.

"Can't live without one!" Cliff responded, scratching his head in consternation. "I can't figure our why you wouldn't have one with you."

Fayt flushed slightly. "Thanks for getting me out of that mess. You saved my life." He said quickly.

"Whoa there. Don't go thanks me yet." Cliff raised his hands. "Ya see, I've come to abduct you."

Stepping back farther, Fayt sputtered, "What?" Although it might have been in vain, he grabbed his sword tightly.

"Now don't get all worked up…" Cliff chided. "I'm not going to hurt anybody. It's just my boss wants to meet you. That's why I came all the way out here to find you."

Raising his eyebrows, he asked confusedly, "You mean Quark's boss?"

"That's right. Our leader wants to see you. But you've sure made it a tough job. First, I went to Hyda and ran into that mess, thanks to you. Then, I get here and find you poking your nose into matters better left alone…"

"You make it sound like it was my fault Hyda got attacked." Fayt muttered darkly, annoyed.

A silence descended on the two, the only answer to Fayt's comment. Cliff looked decidedly uncomfortable, and finally added, "Just kidding, don't sweat it. At any rate, I got you now. And I did rescue you, so no complaining. And besides, you wanna see your old man, don't you? He's been captured by the Vendeeni."

"What! But why?" Fayt asked urgently.

Cliff shook his head and shrugged. "Hey, don't ask me. All I know is your old man was abducted from the Evacuation Facility on Hyda."

"What about my mother… and Sophia!" Fayt demanded, his tone demanding and urgent.

But the blond didn't seem to notice, still talking slowly and calmly. "Well, we know your mom's safe. She should've already arrived at Remote Station #6. I don't know about the girl." Cliff shook his head. "I've had my hands full just trying to track down your escape pod."

"How do you know all about this? What else do you know?" He demanded, his tone accusing.

"Not much else…sorry. Oh yeah, I do know what yer old man Dr. Leingod, was researching." Cliff added.

"You mean symbological genetics? My dad's an authority in that field, so it's no surprise you've heard of him." Fayt shook his head dismissively. That didn't help any.

"Right, symbological genetics. And 19 years ago…" But suddenly, Cliff stopped. "Ah, never mind. That doesn't matter right now."

Before Fayt could ask any more, Cliff added, "C'mon! Ya don't have any other way off this planet, do ya? Look, I'm sure things will clear up if you just come with me. Besides, you'll be able to see yer old man again."

"But according to you, my Father's been captured by Vendeen. So how could I possibly see him?" Fayt asked. "You're making no sense!"

"Simple! Quark'll go rescue your old man, too." Cliff responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

"That doesn't add up! Why would an anti-Federation group want to help my father?"

"Look, its complicated. Let's not get into that right now." Cliff replied, his tone firmer and a bit harsher than before, as if he was uncomfortable with something. "So, are you coming or not?"

Fayt sighed. A way off Vanguard was a way off. "Okay… I'll go with you. But could we stop by Whipple first? I want to make sure the boy gets back there safely." He asked, motioning to the beaten boy.

"Sure, whatever," Cliff said, waving his hand dismissively. But I still think you shouldn't have gotten involved…"

After Fayt had gotten the Music Box parts, Cliff destroyed Norton's hideout to rid Vanguard III of any traces of advanced technology.

Glancing admiringly at the dancing flames, the Klausian commented, "There, everything's back to normal, huh?"

But Fayt shook his head. "You're wrong, things aren't back to normal. Niklas's and Meena's parents are gone forever." And if I don't hurry up, mine could be too.

When they returned to Whipple, Cliff stood at the edges of the village and crossed his arms. "Finish up quick and get back here. I'll be waiting for you."

Fayt nodded, and turned to walk into the village, Niklas held in his arms.

"Don't keep me waiting too long, kid!" The Klausian called out after him.

"Got it." Fayt replied distractedly.

After a tearful Meena greeted him at the center of the village, Fayt and the little girl brought Niklas into the house, laying him on the bed.

"He'll be fine Meena. He just needs to rest." Fayt assured her.

The child nodded, and sat at the edges of her brother's bed, watching him silently with unshed tears.

Turning his eyes away from the sight, Fayt found the music box, and quietly replaced the parts. It was a fairly simple machine, and took only a few minutes to repair. "Done." Fayt whispered softly, and glanced at Meena and Niklas. At least I got them back together again... Swallowing, the Earthling breathed quietly, "Goodbye."

Quickly, Fayt turned and left the house without a backward glance, small tears of goodbye glistening unshed in his emerald eyes.

The Klausian led Fayt near to where he had crashed earlier, eventually stopping at a cliff.

Pulling a communicator from his belt, Cliff spoke. "Hey, it's me. We're at the location. Transport us up as soon as you can. Hmm? Oh, no problem. I got him." The blonds' eyes rolled in annoyance at whatever the person communicating with him was saying. "I said it's okay. I haven't done anything." A moment of silence followed, and Cliff sighed. "Yeah, I know. Now hurry up and get us outta here."

Turning towards Fayt, the Klausian explained, "My ship'll be here soon. Once we're ready, it's good riddance to this hunk 'o rock. My ship's not so big, but it's packing a gravitic warp engine. …It's quite the speed demon." He boasted proudly.

But Fayt wasn't paying attention, a new though disturbing his already troubled mind. "Hey, Cliff…"

The blond turned towards him. "Yeah?"

"Why does Quark's leader want to meet with me? I'm just a college student from Earth!" Fayt demanded, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Cliff looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Oh…um…'no comment?'" At the look on the Earthling's face, he sighed. "That's not doing it for you, is it?"

"No, it's not." Fayt replied dryly.

"Let's see, well… I guess the biggest reason would be… Our leader wants to chat with you?" That's half-true, Cliff thought to himself, thinking of his commander's feverous desire to meet Fayt.

"Nice try, but that's avoiding the question. Why's your leader want to meet with me?" He asked again.

"Hey, how should I know?" Cliff responded, annoyed. "I just do what I'm told. There's probably something our leader wants to talk to you about." Noticing the look on the Earthling's face, he added, "If you want to know, you'll come with me.

Fayt sighed and nodded as a ship appeared in the sky, and in a flash of light, both off-worlders left the planet.

Thanks to Bobboky, Tristan Amaryllis, Gester, Lloyd (Irving) Aurion, Kira Hibiki, basteng, Theatre-Sama, NaruNaru.O.K., Z.A.G., Halloween Sora, Black Magician Jasura, tocole, zora, gleenthefrog, Sahagiel, Wolf of Light, and Tiger5913 for reviewing!

QA

Tristan Amaryllis- Yeah, that scene kind of bugged me. Any of those scenes I feel lack drama, I'm going to be putting my own spin on them. I like going into character thoughts, and as we move on, there will be more and more of them (specifically, when all three girls begin competing). I've gotten some complaints about the young man and the like, so I'll be trying to stay away from that. Thanks.

Gester- Thanks for the proofread and the constructive criticism. I was a bit hazy on the facts.

Kira Hibiki- Yeah, when I begin those moments, there will be switching of P.O.V.s, but maybe not 1st person. I'll try to support more emotions, thanks for that.

basteng- That's a pretty good idea, and I thought about it. But there are certain parts of the this plot that would need to be changed, or it wouldn't make sense.

NaruNaru.O.K.- Yeah, I am.

Z.A.G.- (laughs) You know what, I think I might just make a Welsh/Fayt one-shot, just for the heck of it. But as for what will happen, I hope, no matter what pairing I chose, you'll stick with me.

Sahagiel- I don't know. Its looking about 15-20 really long chapters right now.

Tiger5913- That makes about two people pulling for SophiaxFayt so far. Yeah, there are very few fics for that pairing, which is a bit strange to me.

IMPORTANT AN: First of all, I'd just like to reiterate how in awe I am of all the constructive criticism you've all given me. Now those are the kinds of reviews I really enjoy. Now secondly, I should make this quite clear. Despite the number of votes for any pairing, that pairing may or may not be chosen. I'm just trying to clear this up now, so there aren't any misconceptions later. Your opinions matter, its just that the final decision rests with me. Thanks for reading and please review!