(A/N: Okay, I am SO sorry it took me so long to get this chapter to you. Just about everything that could happen to put off working on this chapter happened. From catching lazyitis from Myst, to Christmas, New Years, AND my birthday, plus the death of my cat, Sassy, there was no room for writing. I also encountered a bad bout of writer's block, but somehow I pulled through. This chapter is a little immature, I know... but I felt like being funny and perverted. There will be serious chapters, fluffy chapters, even sappy chapters... just not this chapter. Special thanks go to Myst, all the Blues, and my other wonderful reviewers who were able to refrain from pointing a gun at my head to get me to finish this bad boy. Thanks guys, you can give me back the plushies you took hostage now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean: Til the End of Time... Yet.)

Albel acted on instinct, dashing out of the way. In the milliseconds that it takes for the mind to think even the most complex thoughts he figured it'd be fun to watch the wagon crash, hurling whatever maggots from it and see the bodies fly out and land in grisly positions. As he turned to view, smirk already in place, he saw Zelpher, still standing in the wagon's path. She was struggling with her foot, which was stuck in a root, and trying not to curse as she began a fire spell incantation. The spell was activating too slowly, and it wasn't likely the crushing mass approaching her was willing to stop.

Albel muttered a curse as he sprinted to her side and bent down to tug at the root. The root refused to give up its hold on Nel's foot and if he had time, he'd have probably smirked when he dubbed it "the root of all evil" in his mind. It obviously wasn't going to budge and the wagon was too close for him to rely on anything but instinct. He wrapped his good arm around Nel's waist and swiped at the root with his claw, freeing Nel's foot. The wagon was so close now that he could feel it approaching and see it's shadow looming over him. Just in time he flung himself, and Zelpher, to the side, narrowly escaping danger. The wagon slammed into the city gates violently, but the iron gate bore the force, only budging slightly. The runaway wagon crumbled into a heap of wooden debris and he and Nel let out a collective sigh.

Two figures came jogging up to the two of them, gasping for air between warning shouts. Albel inwardly pouted when he realized that the two women must've jumped out of the speeding wagon when it lost control. Pity, he was looking forward to witnessing rag doll physics in action.

Nel sighed with relief once more, seeing that her subordinates, Tynave and Farleen, were alright. She looked at Albel, hoping her expression was one of gratitude, and was about to thank him when the awkward landing position they had fallen into registered in her mind. Albel was looming over her, his face precariously close to hers and his good arm was over the arm she had raised above her head. It didn't help that his knee was between her legs, either. Nel instantly forgot her gratitude as she swiftly shoved Albel off of herself and stood up, hiding her blush behind the scarf she wore around her neck. Albel grunted as he landed on his butt a small way away from her, clearly beyond annoyed. However, Nel ignored him as she ran to her friends and asked for their story.

Tynave flushed deeply and Farleen began laughing hoarsely. Nel looked at the scar on Farleen's throat that peeked out from under the collar of her shirt and frowned. She had been injured during a terrorist attack and almost completely lost her voice. Now all she could do was speak softly. Deep down Nel was ashamed to admit that this particular injury was a blessing in disguise. Before, Farleen's voice was more unbearable than listening to nails on a chalkboard and led to many migraines. Nel inwardly wondered how Tynave could ever get used to the horrible screech.

Tynave's nervous cough brought Nel back from her thoughts.

"So, what exactly happened?" Nel asked, looking back at the wreck that nearly hit her.

"Well... I'd never driven the wagon before and I asked Farleen if she would let me take the reigns.Farleen agreed and let me take over", Tynave began bashfully.

Farleen spoke up, her voice raspy and quiet, but containing mocking delight. "I didn't think it was such a big deal; Driving is easy!" She looked at Tynave, smiling. "But I had no idea that Tynave was such a speed demon! Our poor lum nearly had a heart attack trying to satisfy her need for speed!"

Tynave suddenly became very interested in the dirt at her feet and let Farleen continue to tell the story.

"Well, any engineer can tell you that these transport wagons are not meant for high speeds. All the bumping and rattling around practically tears the whole thing apart. Tynave here wouldn't slow down and kept getting us lost on our way so the wagon had plenty of time to fall to pieces. As soon as we could see the castle the darn thing decided to give. Once we saw the lum break free of the harness we abandoned ship."

Nel was having a hard time holding in her laughter. Sure, she had nearly been crushed, but learning that Tynave had a thing for speed and trying to imagine her driving erased all unpleasant thoughts. She could swear she even heard Albel cover up a laugh with a cough. She took a deep breath before daring to speak.

"As long as the two of you are alright and report this... occurrence... to the castle, I'm willing to forget it ever happened." Nel said, smiling kindly.

"BAH! You two maggots nearly killed us!" Albel barked before turning on Nel. "You're actually going to LET THEM OFF? These worms don't deserve any leniency; They were being reckless and foolhardy!" As the Aquarians were chatting he had gotten to his feet and dusted himself off.

Nel's eyes narrowed and her voice turned cold. "I'm well aware of that, Nox, but I feel that they have already learned the error of their ways and won't pull any more stunts like this one again. Honestly, must you always be so uptight?"

Nel could sense that her comment didn't settle well with the prideful captain of the Black Brigade and was about to smile victoriously when Albel spoke up.

"Uptight, huh? This coming from the wench who acts like the babysitter for those off world maggots."

Nel closed her eyes and cursed at herself for not expecting a comeback. She knew Albel hated being called "uptight", but somehow he was able to counter her yet again. She frowned, noting that she needed new material.

Tynave and Farleen could sense Nel's discomfort and decided to jump in before any more damage could be done. Tynave held the map out in front of Albel and smiled calmly, though she was pretty sure the rabid captain could smell her fear. Albel jerked the parchment from her grasp in one harsh movement and looked at the map inside. Tynave, knowing that Albel had no more use for her since he had the map, backed away slowly. Farleen smiled uncomfortably as she saw Tynave mouth "Bastard" and tried to suppress a snicker. Nel simply nodded her head in agreement before walking over to the man of the hour and crossing her arms.

"Are you ready to go now, or do you need more time to glare at everyone?" She asked sarcastically.

"Bah. I was simply waiting for you and your maggot companions to finish gossiping." He snarled as he turned and began to storm off toward Irisa Fields.

Nel simply shrugged and followed him, waving goodbye to her friends and catching up to Albel.

It took a few moments for Tynave and Farleen to breathe again. Once they did, however, they looked at each other and tried to figure out what they had just witnessed.

Farleen bounced up and down with excitement and clapped her hands together. "Did you see what I-"

She was cut off by Tynave, who looked a bit haggard and confused. "If you're about to ask if I saw Albel Nox just save Nel Zelpher, land in a questionable position, and lean down to... I don't even want to think about it... Then no. I didn't see a thing." She looked at Farleen's elated expression and immediately burst her bubble by saying "And neither did you."

Farleen's face fell, but after a few moments the corner's of her mouth rose again and her eyes got dreamy. "Those two have got it bad." She whispered softly. Tynave rolled her eyes in response, but made no other point to argue.

"Albel, wait up!" Nel spat as she jogged up to Albel, who was already heading out onto the road that went through Irisa fields and into Peterny. He made no move to halt, but his movement did slow down. She caught up to him, slightly winded.

"Someone's a bit out of shape" Albel smirked.

Nel chose to ignore him, enjoying the scenery the fields had to offer instead. There were small monsters grazing here and there and the occasional lum-rider would pass by, saying a quick hello to Lady Nel. Albel would roll his eyes and trudge ahead as Nel would stop to smile kindly before catching up to him again.

Meanwhile, a small ball of white fur was in search of food. Its feet were short and it's body round, with giant green eyes staring out from somewhere near the top of its mass. No other physical features could be seen due to the thick white coat. It wasn't supposed to be there, much less exist, but a certain mischievous off-worlder came across a chemistry set and felt the need to play God. (coughCliffcough)

The fuzzy creature ambled forward and its hidden nose detected a delicious scent nearby. It's large eyes searched for the source, landing on two larger beings that had their backs to the food. The creature let out a squeal of delight and bounded toward its prey with grace seemingly impossible for its awkward shape.

"GAH!"

Nel and Albel had been running a silent race for who would walk in front of the other, since neither wanted to stand side-by-side. Nel had finally taken the lead at the speed of a power walk when Albel let out an exclamation and a string of curses. Nel turned around and began to laugh heartily.

There stood Albel the Wicked; Feared captain of the Black Brigade, with a giant dust bunny chewing on one of his long braids. Albel was cursing and threatening death to the small creature but hesitated in killing the beast. It was probably due to the fact that if he swiped at or stabbed the beast there was a risk of damaging his hair. Nel cast a small spell and hit the beast with it, stunning the creature and causing it to release it's hold on Albel's braid.

"That's what you get for having such long hair. Honestly, it's not the wisest idea; Don't they ever get caught in doors or tripped over?" Nel asked teasingly, though she was curious.

"Only if I was a graceless dunce like you, fool." He seethed. Nel bristled. She had her moments of clumsiness, but she'd just saved his pretty locks. Is it to much to ask for him to just drop it for once? She looked at him and frowned. He was glaring at her with venom. Obviously it is. She sighed and kept walking, wanting to just move on without an argument for once.

Albel was not happy. He's just insulted Zelpher and she had simply shrugged it off. This was not good for the Captain. What good is it insulting her if I can't get under her skin. I want her to get fiery and flustered like she always does. She probably thinks that brushing me off will get me off her case. Albel smirked with an evil glint in his eye. Wrong move, Zelpher.

He jogged up to her side and reached his hand out to touch Nel's hair. She froze instantly as Albel brushed his fingers through the magenta strands almost tenderly.

"Such lovely hair... pity you wear it in the style of a man, Zelpher." Albel said, almost as if in a daze.

He had wanted to startle and insult her, but once he'd touched her silky hair he didn't want to stop. They both seemed hypnotized by what was happening until one of Albel's knuckles brushed against Nel's cheek; Waking them up with a jolt of electricity.

Nel registered Albel's comment belatedly and smacked his hand away. "The style works for both men AND women. I'm a warrior, not a courtesan." She hissed.

Albel ignored her, still in shock over just what had come over him. I enjoyed that... I wanted to continue. Just what is this wench doing to me? He looked at the hand that had been tangled up in Nel's hair and fisted it, still tingling with the warm feel of her locks.

As the two warriors had their "moment" the small fluffball had come out of its daze and recognized that its food was being threatened. The creature curled back its upper lip to reveal a row of triangular serrated teeth as its claws extended from within its paws and its eyes became a vibrant red. The angry little beast took a few steps back before charging forward and slamming into the back of the taller enemy, sending it into the shorter one who fell backward. Sadly, the enraged little monster didn't register the fact that his two opponents were standing on a hill, thus his little tackle was more effective than he had first hoped.

One minute Albel was staring at his hand with an odd expression on his face, the next he had stumbled forward into Nel, causing her to lose her footing and go falling back. The two of them tumbled down the hill for a ways until the earth leveled out. Nel fell onto her back, quickly joined by Albel, (who fell on top of her), and a ball of white, (that landed on top of him). She took a moment to wait for the stars to stop dancing in her eyes before looking at Albel, prepared to scream.

Albel had realized that he was falling and sent his arms out in front to catch himself. He had yet to open his eyes, but he knew something was wrong when the ground in his hands was... soft. He squeezed the ground to try and figure out what was wrong as he opened his eyes. He instantly wished he could close them again, but he was too mortified to do so.

The "earth" in his hands was actually Nel Zelpher's chest. Her chest plate had ridden up over her collarbone, exposing the thin cloth that covered her bodysuit and skin rather loosely. As the captain of the Black Brigade took in the view his show was disrupted when his cheek was met with Nel's fist. Hard.

"PERVERT!" Nel screamed, attempting to punch, kick, and even bite the unfortunate captain.

"Oh, you WISH, Zelpher!" Albel spat as he attempted to get to his feet and avoid further abuse from the enraged woman.

Nel re-adjusted her chest plate and got up, all the time still accusing her companion of being a letch and having him deny every accusation hastily and vehemently. Whilst Albel and Nel enjoyed their healthy shouting match the small being that had originally caused all the chaos to take place righted itself and gleefully chomped down on Albel's braid yet again.

Meanwhile, in Peterny, the usual sounds of hustling and bustling were momentarily disrupted by the enraged roar of a very pissed off Glyphian. After the echo of the scream faded the town erupted with sound once again.

(A/N: I made myself laugh several times when I wrote this. I hope it has the same effect on everyone who reads it. Please review, it gives me the inspiration to continue writing. I love you guys, let me know what you think, tell me where you want things to go... anything: Just be kind to me, I'm sensitive. lol.

Love,

Lor)