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

Chapter 6 There And Back

"I hate mornings."

This of course, was the first thing Fayt managed to say, a slight rasp in his voice as he reached for a drink of water. Gulping it down, he staggered out of bed, and went downstairs, finding Nel and Cliff already waiting for him.

"Morning," he yawned.

"Good morning." Nel greeted pleasantly.

"Yo." Cliff grumbled, downing his steaming cup's contents.

They ate breakfast in relative silence, until Fayt finally decided to break one of his concerns. "Nel, can I ask you something?"

The spy cast a curious glance at him. "What?"

"Do you think Tynave and Farleen got away okay?"

Almost imperceptibly, Nel stiffened, but managed a quick reply. "They'll be fine. Those girls can fend for themselves. They are prepared for these eventualities…" she trailed off, not wanting to go any farther.

The blue haired boy said nothing.

After a few slightly tense moments, Nel stood. "Hurry up and get ready. Our pursuers are not far away."

"This is where we need to go?" Fayt asked skeptically, glancing down the darkened tunnel. "What is it?"

"This used to be a mine, but they haven't dug here for decades—not since the ore ran out. These days, it's only used as a passage through the mountains. But even that's become dangerous because of cave-ins and such." Nel explained as she entered the cavern. "Be careful. There are monsters in this area." She warned, and instinctively, the boy reached for his sword, grasping the hilt nervously.

Her words proved to be prophetic as a large assortment of bats swooped down, screeching noisily.

A few swipes of knives and sword, plus a number of rapid punches drove them off, but the incident was enough to prove to Fayt that this was going to be dangerous.

A few monsters attacked them, but were quickly dispatched. The remainder got the message, and left the group alone. Everything seemed to be going smoothly...

Meaning that something was about to go wrong.

Something came in the form a large tremor rocking the tunnel, sending dust and debris crashing down around the trio. As they struggled to retain their footing, Cliff shouted, "That was no ordinary earthquake!"

To prove him correct, a massive, boulder-like creature crashed into ground directly in front of them. Twice as tall and far bigger than Cliff, its skin seemed made out of pure rock. It drew itself up, standing slightly hunched, before its fist lashed out with speed that belied its size.

In their own respective cultures, each let out a vehement oath as they dodged the attack. Cliff, being the fastest to recover, loosed a powerful combo of strikes that caused the monster to howl in agony, pulling its fist backwards.

Nel dove in, her knives flashing like quicksilver as they cut through the skin, but another angry screech and a vicious swipe forced her to pull back before any real damage could be caused.

With a yell, Fayt ran headlong, hacking away at the rock monster's stomach. After narrowly avoiding a blow from the creature, he lunged forward, ramming his sword into the monster's side.

A terrible scream tore itself from the monster's mouth, and out of rage, it backhanded the boy contemptuously, sending him flying into the dirt. A groan passed through his lips, and he lay there, barely conscious.

In a flash, Cliff and Nel both renewed their assault, more to keep the pressure off of Fayt than due to a drive to win. But the rock monster's raging strikes were effective at keeping them at bay, unable to do enough damage to bring it down.

From his position on the ground, Fayt staggered back to his feet, head ringing and muscles screaming. That awesome force that dwelled within him stirred, and was now begging to be loosed. It got its chance when Nel was knocked backwards, and Cliff sent crashing to the floor in a one-two combo by the rock beast.

Grabbing his suddenly lighter sword, he charged again, power coursing through his body. His movements were swift and decisive, hacking away at the beast with demonic speed. As it loosed a powerful uppercut, Fayt leapt to once side, and with incredible force, delivered a series of rapid fire kicks into the creature's side.

Audible snaps from the rock monster's bones breaking echoed around the chamber as it roared. Nel, taking advantage of the creature's lack of guard, unleashed a barrage of Ice Needles, furthering the beast's agony.

After a powerful combo to its solar plexus from Cliff and another series of hacks by Fayt, the monstrosity finally relinquished the fight and died.

Panting audibly, feeling the sweat roll down his back, the blue haired boy managed a gasped, "Didn't expect to run into something like that here."

"Kinda late for that now." Cliff noted sardonically. "Wonder if he's behind that cave-in?"

Brushing herself off and sheathing her knives, Nel commented, "It's a possibility. Don't let your guard down."

After the encounter with the rock monster, there did not seem to be any more truly threatening animals around. As they proceeded deeper into the tunnel, Fayt noticed a large wooden platform with a lever.

"What's that?" the Earthling asked, turning towards Nel, whose eyes brightened with relief.

"That will open the door." The spy replied, pointing towards a large wooden portal. "Now we need to find a hauler."

Before either Fayt or Cliff could ask what a Hauler was, Nel entered the next room, where a series of switches on another platform awaited.

"These will call different Haulers to us. We should take the regular kind." The redhead explained, flipping the center switch.

A low series of rumbles heralded the arrival of the Hauler, a green, turtle-like creature about the size of an elephant.

"Hop on boys." Nel said coyly, grinning as she began descending down the ladder.

Fayt breathed quietly in relief. Riding a Hauler was not his favorite experience. Cliff chuckled, noticing the Earthling's discomfort, ignoring the slight glare the boy sent him.

As they reached the end of the track, an old man in a soldier's uniform greeted them, eyes wide with shock. Nel inconspicuously reached for her knives. "You came through on this hauler!"as Fayt weakly nodded, the elderly man, in awe, shouted, "Amazing! There are monsters prowling about, and the whole place has fallen into disrepair. There's also been some terrible rock slides and holes have opened up in some of the tunnels. It's a complete mess in there."

The Earthling nodded somewhat uneasily, remembering the uneasy ride on the turtle. "Who are you?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself." The man smiled warmly. "I'm Gregory von Dermein III, administer of these caverns. I'm a member of the Glyphian army."

"Gregory… Uhh..." Fayt stumbled over the name and over the fact that this was one of the soldiers who had been hunting him.

Laughing, Gregory said in a friendly tone, "Just 'Gregory' will do. I'm only a rank and file soldier. This is a job suited to an old man such as me. Not that I like being old, mind you..."

"How interesting…" the blue haired boy glanced at Nel, who had relaxed her guard. Obviously this one hadn't heard about the large search for the two "engineers".

"Whoops. There I go bellyaching again." Gregory said, a slight tone of self-depreciation in his voice. "Well now, if you made it here on that hauler, that must mean the tunnels are clear."

Fayt nodded. "There were a few dangerous parts, but nothing that prevented us from making it through."

"I see… Well then, I'll drive this one back. I was a fine hauler driver back in the day." He boasted proudly, grinning. His face turned serious for a moment. "There's a wide expanse of wildlands from here on. Be careful."

"Thanks. You too." Fayt replied, smiling slightly.

Gregory grunted, waving his hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about me. I can still keep up with you youngsters."

Fayt panted, gazing from the hilltop where he had implanted his sword. "Is... is that it?" he asked, sucking in gasps of air. The day of constant travel and battle had worn his body down, which had not full recovered."

Nel nodded in affirmation, not showing her own weariness. "Yes.. this is Arias."

As they descended into the town, Fayt felt a wave of sadness pass over him as he bore witness to a number of devastated homes. It reminded him far too much of Hyda IV...

The redhead noticed his gaze, and said quietly, "That happened during the Airyglyph attack." She paused, and jerked her head towards one of the intact buildings. "The large mansion in the middle of the town is our base of operations here. We'll check in there first."

Fayt stared at the manor as he entered, which looked like an archaic throw back to the Middle Ages. As he was ushered into the dining room, which served as a makeshift briefing room.

Inside, a conference was already taking place.

A gray haired young woman, who sat at the head of the table, nodded to the two subordinates. "Nice work, all. You are relieved."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes ma'am."

As they left, Nel glanced at the commander. "You're looking well."

The woman stood up, smiling widely, obvious relief on her face. "It's you! When did you return?"

"Just now, Clair." The redhead nodded, smiling back.

"Welcome home… Are you hurt?" Clair asked concernedly.

"I'm fine. I see you still worry too much." The spy replied, shaking her head in amusement.

"It's only because you're too reckless. If you don't want me to worry about you, try being a little more careful." The commander admonished.

Nel shrugged. "That's the line of work I'm in. It can't be helped."

"That may be so, still… Are these the ones?" the gray haired woman broke off, and glanced at Fayt and Cliff for the first time.

"That's right. They're engineers from Greeton." The redhead paused. "They're still reluctant to help us."

"I see…" Clair murmured, and stepped towards the two. "I'm commander Clair Lasbard of the Aquaria Runological Unit. I'm honored to meet you."

"The name's Cliff Fittir."

"I'm Fayt Leingod. Nice to meet you."

"I must apologize for forcing our problems on you. However…you must understand our situation." Clair said softly, more like a pleading woman than a military commander. As Fayt and Cliff began to speak, she raised her hand to silence them. "I would like to hear what you have to say, and I will provide a thorough explanation of our situation as well. But, you must be exhausted. Why don't we continue this tomorrow? You need your rest."

"That's right… He may seem fine now, but Fayt is still under the weather." Nel added in, glancing at the blue haired boy.

"I'm fine." Fayt said, almost growling.

Cliff slapped his back, causing him to stumble. "Hey, never pass up a chance to take it easy, kid. It was a real trek crossing those mountains."

The Earthling nodded reluctantly.

"There's a guest room upstairs on the second floor. Please feel free to use it." Clair paused and glanced at the redhead. "Nel, stay behind. We have much to discuss."

"Right."

As soon as the two left, Claire turned towards the spy. "What do you think about them?" she asked, both out of curiosity and military need.

"The blonde one, Cliff, is an enigma. He's obviously experienced in these matters, far more than an average Engineer. Something about him seems off... he's too fast, too strong to be normal."

"And the other one?" the gray haired woman questioned.

Sighing, Nel rested her back against the wall. "Fayt's not as strong or as fast as Cliff or myself. From what I can gather, he seems to be a relative amateur with the blade, though he does have some talent. But..." she paused, unsure how to phrase this. "There's something... strange about him. His Runological powers, if it can be called that, are unnaturally strong, and he doesn't need runes to pull it off. It's like those powers are innately born into him."

Claire nodded, digesting the information carefully. "I see. We should watch that one closely, then."

The redhead nodded, and then looked piercingly at Claire. "There's something else I wanted to talk about."

"I know what you're going to say. And since I already know your mind is made up, the answer is yes."

With a grateful, yet grim smile, Nel left.

Cliff and Fayt had been admiring the nice view their room offered, and briefly discussing their next move. Afterwards, the Klausian glanced at the younger boy. "Well? You gonna go to sleep now?"

Nodding, Fayt yawned loudly. "I'm getting kinda sleepy. The sun's still out, but I think I'll get some extra sleep in preparation for tomorrow."

"That's what I'd hoped you'd say. I don't want you collapsing and making all sorts of trouble for me." Cliff grinned. "Though trouble seems to follow you anyway."

The Earthling shook his head, a slight, wry smile on his face. "I'm not a rough-and-tumble guy like you, Cliff."

The door creaked open softly, barely audible.

Cliff cracked one eye open, his light sleep easily disturbed due to years of combat.

Standing in the doorway, shrouded in light, Nel bowed, and left without a word.

Filing this knowledge away later, the Klausian fell back into sleep.

"I have a feeling things are gonna get hectic today." Cliff announced nonchalantly, stretching in the morning sun.

Fayt paused, glancing curiously at the blonde. "Why do you say that? How do you know?" he accused, narrowing his eyes.

Biting back a smile at the boy's instincts, the Klausian shrugged. "Just…a hunch."

The Earthling rolled his eyes, chuckling. "Oh, we know all about those…"

"Yer a real comedian, aren't ya?" Cliff remarked sardonically.

After grabbing a bite to eat, the two entered the conference room.

"Fayt, Cliff." Clair greeted, bowing respectfully. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you kindly." Cliff said, surprisingly easing into a polite etiquette.

"I'm glad to hear it. Right, let us begin the negotiations." The gray haired commander nodded, gesturing for them to take a seat. "Please, sit anywhere you like."

Fayt paused, and noticed someone missing. "Um… Where's Nel?"

Clair seemed thrown by the question, and looked decidedly uncomfortable. "She's… Uh… She had other duties to attend to." She replied lamely. At seeing Fayt's skeptical look, she added, "Don't worry, I'm taking over her duties as far as you two are concerned."

"Well, all right…" Fayt trailed off, accepting but not quite trusting Clair's evasive answer.

"Let's begin. I don't know what you discussed with Nel and the others, but you are now in Aquaria territory. Even if you refuse to assist us, I can guarantee your safety. We will have to retain custody of you until we reach the royal city of Aquios, but you may provide us with your answer at that point." As she finished, Fayt and even Cliff were gaping. They had been expecting a "Join us or die" attitude, not this accommodating, even generous gesture.

Cliff whistled appreciatively. "You're really bending over backwards to meet us halfway. You should've heard Nel!"

Clair seemed amused by the remark, rather than offended. "Nel is very frank. Although she is extremely skilled, as I am sure you have noticed, she tends to be rather inflexible at times. It can be…problematic." She finished wryly, smiling.

"Yeah, I know the type: mission, mission, always the mission." The Klausian nodded, leaning into his chair.

The commander paused, and added her own opinions. "To be honest, I, too, would like you to work for us, but I realize this is not your war. Our deaths, and the life of our country, are not in your hands—you need feel no obligation, and we have no right to force you to help."

"Now you're making me feel guilty." Cliff remarked truthfully, and Fayt privately agreed. His own thoughts were trained on rescuing his father, and getting back to his family and Sophia "So what do you wanna do? It looks like they'll let us go after we reach Aquios, anyway." The blonde looked over at Fayt questioningly.

The boy closed his eyes, leaning against the chair. His face was troubled.

"Is something wrong?" the commander questioned.

"No, it's nothing…" Fayt said quietly.

"If you have any questions, I will answer to the best of my abilities." Clair assured.

A flicker of hesitation gave the Earthling pause, but he pushed on. "All right, then I'll ask. What is Nel's new mission?"

Clair seemed thrown by the question, and more than a little curious. "Why would you ask that? She is no longer your concern."

"She told us her mission was to take both of us safely to the royal city! How could she just leave us here..." Fayt cut himself off, wondering exactly why this was troubling him so. Nel had been cold and brash for most of their time together, but he admired her strength, and considered her a sort of friend.

"To you, it appears that she has abandoned her mission?" the gray haired commander supplied, casting her eyes over the boy.

"Well…yes. I didn't know her long, but I got the impression that she would never leave a mission incomplete." Fayt finished, scratching the back of his head.

While Clair digested the words of the young man, Cliff cut in. "She went to rescue Tynave and Farleen, didn't she?" while phrased as a question, it was obvious that the words were true.

The words sent the room into an uproar.

"What?"

"Lady Clair, is this true?"

Ignoring the questions, Clair stared straight at Cliff piercingly. "Why would you think that?"

"Last night… She came to our room." The blonde replied, somewhat hesitantly. At Fayt's curious look, he added, "While you were snoring like a babe. I was wondering what she wanted, but all she did was bow and leave without saying a word. I was pretending to be asleep, so I didn't think she realized I was watching her. It makes sense, though, considering the situation. That's probably what you overheard them talking about in Kirlsa."

"Is that true, Clair? I can't believe it!" Fayt stared at the commander with outright shock, unable to comprehend.

"Yes. It is…" Clair sighed. "She left to rescue Tynave and Farleen."

"If you knew what she was doing, why don't you stop her!" Fayt shouted, standing up violently.

"We all have our missions: mine's to bring you back to our leader. And I stick to my missions." Clair said firmly, unflinchingly. As the boy continued to protest, she sighed again. "All right, I will explain. Around the time you arrived in Kirlsa, we received a message from Airyglyph. They told us that the two women are hostages, and they demanded you in exchange. This is not possible… So she went to rescue them."

"But… All by herself…?" Fayt whispered, sinking back into his chair wearily.

"That's Nel for you." The commander remarked sadly.

"Why didn't she tell us? We'd have gone with her!" one soldier protested.

"Perhaps because of the odds of her success are essentially zero. She'll likely walk into an Airyglyph trap. I tried to stop her, but…there was no way. Nel would never abandon those who work for her." Clair finished with a mixture of pride and sorrow, shaking her head.

"She pretends to be all business, but she's the type that can't let go." Cliff muttered, shaking his head as well.

"At any rate, that is our situation. Please do not worry about Nel. We must hurry on to Aquios. Although this is a relatively safe area, nowhere is completely safe."

Fayt didn't even hear the words, lost in his own thoughts. Nel, after all her talk about sacrifice and doing what was necessary, was going to throw her life away. His fist clenched, and his eyes narrowed in determination. "Where'd they demand it take place?" he nearly growled, and even Cliff seemed thrown by his tone, if not his question.

"Why do you want to know that?" Clair asked curiously. "It is not your problem."

"I can't let her do this. Her life is more valuable than that. Do people really think the only way to end this war is to throw away their own lives? I'm going after Nel. I have a few words to say to her!" Fayt said angrily, once more standing up.

Cliff grinned appreciatively and stood up as well. "All right Fayt! I was waiting for you to say that."

"I cannot allow this!" Clair shouted, slamming her fist on the table. " Nel told us of your skills, but this enemy is too strong, even for you!"

The Klausian simply huffed. "Don't worry about us. I don't know what she told you, but we can fend for ourselves! And besides, when he gets riled up like this, Fayt can get even nastier than Nel. He's the most stubborn, hardcore kid around." Fayt blinked at the remark, but Cliff merely grinned.

Clair sighed. "In that case… I'll send some soldiers with you."

"No need." Cliff said dismissively. "We'll just be asking for them to spot us if we march in

there with an army. We'll be more maneuverable in small numbers. And…I doubt you can spare the guards, given your situation." His words were persuasive and well argued, so much so that Fayt was forced to remember that Quark often skirmished with larger, more powerful Federation fleets.

"That's true, but…"

"Nel trusted us; you should, too." Cliff cut in smoothly, and Fayt nodded in agreement, before turning towards the commander again.

"Clair, where are they bringing the hostages to trade?"

"A building on the southeastern side of Kirlsa. It was originally constructed as a training facility, but now they execute people there. It's also the base of the heavy cavalry Black Brigade, one of Airyglyph's three military units."

"How do we get there?" Cliff asked, eyes sharp.

"Return to Kirlsa, then follow the road from the south gate of the city and you'll find it. I think you'll get there faster if you avoid the mountain road you took before, and take the south gate from Arias, head across the wilderness, and enter Kirlsa from that direction." Clair explained.

Cliff and Fayt nodded, and the boy looked at the older man. "We in this together?"

The Klausian chuckled, and messed up Fayt's blue hair. "Of course, kid. Besides," he added, "How could I let you run around on your own? You cause enough trouble as it is."

Fayt grumbled, something about how he hadn't been in too much trouble till he met Cliff. As they turned to leave, Clair spoke up.

"Please, wait a moment." She approached Fayt, looking him directly in the eye, almost pleadingly. "Be very careful. Their lives are in your hands." She bowed, deeper this time, filled with gratefulness and respect.

"Leave it to us." Cliff assured, smiling.

"Don't worry, we'll bring them home. Forgive me if I give Nel a good smack for this." Fayt added. And with that, they turned and left.

Clair looked on after them in a mixture of wonder and awe.

"Do you really think they can do it?" one of the soldiers asked skeptically.

"They have sincerity and determination." Clair replied calmly, still staring at the door. "And that boy, Fayt... he has a strength that is beyond any I have ever seen. They will do it... I just hope they can get there in time."

Review Response

gleenthefrog- I will be including their parts, but I'm not good with writing them in, and if I have all the characters, I'll lose focus on each character.

Sahagiel89- I understand your concern, and I am really hoping to get through the early chapters so I can deviate. I will be altering things, but I need to get the plot grounded and advanced.

Z.A.G. - I'll be trying to include more of that, especially once they rescue Nel.

Fortex- That is true. Nel spends the most game time with Fayt, though Sophia is his childhood friend. I'll try to be including moments for each couple.

Lord Strife- I've only read up to the second volume of the Star Ocean manga, but yeah, it looks that way. Sophia is such a schemer, isn't she?

Jay- I like your argument, and it is well grounded. We'll see where this goes.

Nasuren- That's true, after all, the Inquistor is a position, not a person. Now, I am thinking about creating three separate endings for each girl, but we will have to see what happens.

And also thanks to Goldamon X, asga, darkangelgep, Padawan Anakin, PGW-Chaos, mr-myth310, Macky, Kinzoku, and Scotty Boi for reviewing!

AN: Sorry for the delay. No excuses. I'll try and be faster with the next one.