Say My Name
Written by vox shade
v/s: Wow... it's been a while. The last time I posted was in the summer! Ouch. Sorry to keep you waiting guys homeworka nd school were my jailers and were feeding me crummy hours of free time. But thanks for all the support for this fic! And keep them coming! XD
Disclaimer: Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix.
Chapter Six
Tranquility.
Nel snapped her communicator shut and tucked it into her leather bag sitting in the chair beside her. The small platter in front of her sitting on the white metal table was empty but for crumbs littering around the rim, fork lying beside it. Nel Zelpher sighed and relaxed into her chair, surveying the sun-drenched central square of Kirlsa. At noon, the square was fairly busy with shoppers, loitering teenagers, and people chatting with each other in a comfortable atmosphere.
Nel and Albel had arrived at Kirlsa three hours ago, and upon arrival had gone different ways immediately. Nel, to check out the outfitter and Albel to go on a few errands he hadn't informed her of. And it was taking him damned long to complete them. While she'd finished shopping two hours ago, she hadn't seen a hair of him anywhere since. This had left her parking her butt outside a café in the square for two hours, stuck between insane boredom and frequently checking her communicator.
She'd confirmed that Count Noppin was indeed residing in Airyglyph through Welch. But one thing stuck out in her mind – Noppin was primarily a writer who invented books. Why would he invent (or ask his workers to invent) a bomb for him, much less a bomb like the Bunny of Doom? It didn't fit, and she suspected a hand from the conspiracy group. That, or Noppin was a member.
Albel had been remarkably quick. Faster than Nel had expected. He'd realized that the bunny had been a disguised bomb even across the table when she'd been studying it, ignoring the ticking as part of the background noise of headquarters. In the end, he'd prevented the harm of herself and her subordinates, if not saved their lives.
Sinking her head into the cradle of her hands propped on the table, Nel was about to drift off when a flash of black and yellow caught her eye in her peripheral vision. Her head shot up and she cursed silently as she rubbed her elbow where she had banged it against the back of her chair.
Albel melted out of the crowd, contrasting the usual earthy colors which were in fashion with his navy blue clothes and steel armour. He seemed decidedly disgruntled and slightly disheveled as he crossed the square, eyes on the table where she was at. Nel squinted – there was something behind him, waving. She realized it was the white end of one of the ribbons Albel used to tie his hair in two cords. This was unusual. He usually kept the impeccably tied and knotted, so that no loose strands fell out.
"Where've you been?" Nel asked lightly, sensing that this was not the time to let her impatience win when Albel was clearly in a bad mood.
He slipped into the third chair, the one opposite her. He arranged his sword and bag to his liking before answering her question. "Speaking to my men. Alerting contacts. What you did in Arias."
"You spoke with Woltar," Nel stated. It was the most logical explanation.
Albel nodded as he noticed her empty plate. "Hungry, were you?"
"You should be, too. We didn't have breakfast today, and we've been traveling."
"I ate already."
"Wonderful. Did you boil the water yourself, or did you have someone else do it for you?"
"Shut up. Maggot."
Nel watched him, noticing the slight tiredness in his pose and the way he seemed to be thinking of something else. He must have run into some sort of trouble while she had been relaxing in the golden sunlight. She found that she was slightly irked that he hadn't asked her to help him. But that was to be expected. His pride barred him from asking honestly for help, she found out. Like in the morning at headquarters in Arias. He could have easily taken a kiss on his own and pretended that they were a couple like they had agreed to be, yet he had made her say his name for him. Insulting as it was, she understood that this was part of who he is. But that doesn't mean I like it, she grumbled to herself.
Albel sighed and closed his eyes. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes. But I don't think you are."
Albel cracked open a crimson eye. "How so?"
Nel stood up and rounded around the table and dragged the chair with her bag on it with her to situate it beside him. He only glared at her warily out of the corner of his eye. Nel raised her hands to indicate nothing was in either, then reached for the unraveled cord.
Albel suddenly shifted. "What are you doing, woman?"
Nel showed him the unraveled end of the white ribbon as an answer.
He snorted. "Leave it. I'll do it on the way."
Nel didn't relinquish her grip and tugged him back down to his seat when he tried to stand. "As tired as you are? You look like you're more likely to collapse of fatigue than be able to fight our way through the Traum Mountains. So be quiet and sit."
Albel eyed her once again, half risen out of his seat. Nel rolled her eyes. "If you don't sit down in the next five seconds, I'll cut them both off."
After a second more of debate, Albel conceded and sat down in his chair. "Don't botch the simple task, woman."
"I'm doing this as a small favor, not as a servant. Don't move."
She took the silky blonde strands in her left hand and the ribbon in her right. Studying the pattern he used to tie the rest of his hair, Nel grasped the idea and simply followed it while her mind was on overdrive. Albel Nox was presenting her with his unguarded back while he dozed. The implication of his trust spoke in volumes with this one simple act. Nel smiled faintly to herself as she worked, feeling a strange yet comforting calm in the sun.
"Omigosh, it's Lord Albel!"
An Intelligence Level Below Room Temperature Is A Dangerous Thing To Have.
Nel winced at the high-pitched and loud squeal and nearly yanked Albel's hair as of result. But she managed to suppress her body's natural reflex and looked up instead.
Standing by their table was a Kirlsa waitress. A scantily clad young woman of about twenty, and it seemed that both of her breasts were competing with the other to see which one could pop out of her low-cut top first. She seemed familiar with Albel, because she chose that moment to set down the glass of water that had been precariously balanced on her tray on the table, then walked her fingers up Albel's flesh arm resting on the table.
Nel couldn't see Albel's face, but she did hear the annoyed tone in his voice as he brushed her fingers off. "What is it that you want, Esme? I thought you were to be married come autumn."
Esme fluttered her long black lashes at him disgustingly. "How could I choose between Gary and you? I can't possibly keep myself pried away from you for so long!"
"Easy. Your chest would have prevented him from reaching the altar. Him and everyone else in a ten meter radius," Nel muttered under her breath as she tugged the ribbon into place and tucked the end to hide out of view. Albel's shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter, and Nel half smiled as she noticed.
Esme didn't seem to notice Nel's comment and her smile broadened because naturally she thought that Albel had laughed at her flattery. "What say you that we spend some time catching up with each other, hm? The park, theatre, then maybe my place when we're tired?"
Apris, this girl is unbelievable, Nel thought with exasperation. Not only was she wasting her and Albel's time, but she was also making her temples throb by the pitch of her voice alone. Plus she was ignoring Nel as if she didn't matter or exist. Sighing because it didn't seem as if they weren't going to go anywhere soon, judging from Esme's unceasing prattle, Nel reached rose and reached over Albel's shoulder for the glass of water.
"Esme, we'll be leaving now. We have a mission to complete."
"Already? But just think of it! The perfect couple – Esme Fontaine and Albel Nox…"
The waitress stared with a comical kind of horror as Albel, the one she practically worshipped, turned in his seat and captured the red head who had been sitting behind him for the longest time in a sensuous kiss.
Then he withdrew and gazed at her almost tenderly. "I hate you."
The infuriating bitch smiled. "I hate you, too." Then she turned her glittering green eyes to Esme and her smile turned cold. "I suggest you reserve your proposal for another man. It seems a waste you turned down your fiancé – Lord Albel will not be wedding you after all the trouble you went through to ask him to marry you in two seconds." She draped her arms around Lord Nox's neck and laced a delicate hand into his thick black hair, all the while smiling. An obvious sign of possessiveness and satisfaction. "Sorry for the late announcement. It was a pleasure to meet you, miss. If it's not too much trouble, could you fetch a margarita for the two of us? One glass, two straws, rim frosted with sugar. Thanks."
Nel held her laughter in as Esme shook with fury, angry betrayal and jealousy clear in her brown eyes, flapping her mouth open and close in an effort to retort but nothing came out. In the end, Esme seemed to settle for quiet dignity because she lifted her chin up and twirled on her heel and walked away without a word, across the square and into another café across the street. Nel finally let out a chuckle. It seemed she hadn't been working in this café after all.
A moment passed by as Nel savored her victory. It was a petty victory, but a victory nonetheless. She'd never liked girls like Esme Fontaine, always prattling about fashion (green isn't in fashion, gold is) and eligible men (only if they had money and of impeccable reputation), tending to their appearances constantly (does this make me look fat?), shying away from such amateur duties such as taking out the trash or starting fires in the hearth at night, standing around and smiling because they really had nothing intelligent to say.
Nel so hated idiots.
"How long are you going to hang on my neck, woman?"
Nel stiffened in surprise. Quickly she withdrew her hand from his silky black tresses and stepped back, suddenly embarrassed with the awareness of her actions. Albel quickly rose form his seat like it was on fire and hastily grabbed his bag and started walking towards the west gate.
Nel quickly followed, staying a step behind. With the full awareness of what she'd just done came slight embarrassment and a surprise at her own daring. Sure she'd been trained to take immediate action when the situation called for it, but even this was more daring than usual. I didn't do anything wrong, Nel reassured herself and her pounding heart. We're supposed to pretend to be a couple anyhow.
So then why was her heart beating so fast?
"Captain!"
Nel looked up at the call and with an uncharacteristic start, realized that they were already at the gate to the Traum Mountains. A knight in full armor was hurrying from the side of the gate, leaving the two guards. "Lord Albel N-"
He stopped in mid-call, staring as the red haired woman clamped her hands over both of his captain's ears. Even stranger, Lord Nox seemed to be suffering from a fever. It was the only reasonable explanation for his flushed appearance.
"Get off of me, Zelpher!" Albel commanded, grasping her wrists above his shoulders.
Nel kept a firm grip on his ears and looked around the taller man's shoulder expectantly at the knight. "You, knight. Don't call Lord Albel by his full name. Please do not question this request, and I warn you now that if you do you will embarrass your captain highly."
"What do you want, woman?" Albel snarled, tightening his grip. But Nel steadfastedly held on, arching a brow at the knight.
The knight fidgeted, not knowing what to do in such a bizarre situation. Wouldn't his captain have normally thrown her over his shoulder by now, as he usually did to anyone who so much as touched a hair on his head? "Erm, thank you for warning me before hand. I shall be careful not to make this mistake."
The woman nodded with approval and finally relinquished her grip on Lord Albel's ears. He rounded on her with fury blazing in his eyes. "What is the meaning of this, Zelpher?" he asked calmly, controlled. Danger emitted from every word.
The knight held his tongue in surprise. The woman called "Zelpher" (was she the Nel Zelpher?) only crossed her arms at his words, and amazingly she didn't seem afraid. The knight glimpsed a defiance in the remarkable woman's green eyes. She nodded to the knight, "he was about to say your full name, Nox." The knight was shocked to detect scorn and slight amusement in her tone. This pretty red-haired and green-eyed woman was insane, and very soon to be dead.
But to further his shock, Albel only seemed to survey the lithe woman and turn to look at the knight with a strangely comprehending look. Then it was gone as he nodded curtly.
"What is it that you wanted to say, soldier?"
The knight straightened and saluted by placing his right hand over his heart. "Lord Nox, I have been sent by Lord Sin to alert you that he has obeyed your request."
Albel nodded curtly. "Give him my thanks."
The knight saluted again and trotted off south of the gate. Albel started off again, and Nel kept up with him in strides. She mulled over the things she'd just heard. Obviously Lord Sin was one of the contacts Albel had just talked with. She frowned. I thought I knew all the lords under Arzei…
Silence reigned as Nel and Albel trekked through the freezing Traum Mountains, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Upon arrival in Airyglyph, they agreed to head for the castle at once.
"I need to take care of some business. You go to the fourth room on the left on the second floor and unpack. I'll be ten minutes." Albel turned swiftly and vanished into a stone corridor of the slightly cold castle of Airyglyph.
Nel rolled her eyes and decided that she might as well get to the room. Since Count Noppin should be located in the workshop in the city, she could afford to keep her stuff somewhere close since they didn't have to go far. And it didn't hurt to escape the people staring at her either in the castle. Apparently word had gotten around about Nel and Albel accompanying Fayt on the quest to save the galaxy.
Ten minutes later saw that Albel and Nel walking out of the royal castle in a flurry of whispers and snow together, walking down the chilly streets in their less-than-suitable-but-preferred clothing.
Nel didn't know about Albel, but she was freezing her butt off. While she could stand such frigid temperatures out of necessity, her endurance had an end. Her motivation to escort Fayt and Cliff had strengthened her endurance, and the other times they had not lingered overlong in Airyglyph. And even then they had periodic rests in a warm house by a fire. Luckily they were heading to the workshop where they had a blazing furnace. Nel looked at Albel's back in front of her, taking the brunt of the chilly wind and freezing snow. How could such a skinny man hold so much strength in such a small body?
Was he warm?
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Albel turned sharply into another lane and spotted the workshop door marked by the Inventor's Guild insignia on the wooden sign hanging over it. With a sharp rap, he opened the door and stepped inside, feeling as if he were doused in a bucket of warm water. He heard the door shut as Zelpher stepped in behind him. The furnace was blazing, people were bustling, some strange smells hovered in the air, the workshop was filled with tinkering noises and punctured by the slams of a hammer against cherry-red metal… and no Count Noppin in sight.
Albel glared around as people started taking notice of them, searching in case the bastard had gotten wind of their pursuit and had hidden underneath a table or something pathetic like that.
Nel walked around him with a scornful look and approached one of the inventors sitting at a desk. "Hello, Stanice. May I ask you a question?"
The purple-haired girl looked up and smile from adjusting her in-progress doll. "Why, hello Lady Nel. You may certainly ask, and I will answer as best I can."
"Do you happen to know where Count Noppin is? I asked Welch, and she said that he was stationed here in Airyglyph, yet I don't see him here."
"Ahh, yes… Count Noppin…" Stanice looked up and a zoned-out expression took over her already half-asleep looking face. Nel frowned and shared a strange look with Albel before waving her hand in front of her face as a trail of drool trailed down the girl's chin. She suddenly spoke with her eyes staring up at the ceiling creepily, her voice sounding far off. "I believe he left at about seven yesterday evening. He said we were not to disturb him because he was meeting with an important client. He didn't say where he was going or when he was coming back, so we just forgot about him… now that you mention it, he's been for quite a while. It's been quite peaceful." Stanice said all this while still staring at the wall, hands fiddling with the doll in her hands, her eyes half closed yet… strangely menacing in the flickering light.
Nel stepped back with an uneasy smile. "Thank you, Stanice. You've been a big help."
The strange girl half turned in her seat and smiled oddly at Albel (picture a mellowed version of the exorcist girl… there ya go). "Any time."
Albel and Nel were gone in half a second.
The Hunt Continues
The bell hanging over the door chimed as Albel and Nell staggered into the expensive tavern from the violent winds outside. Fire blazed in large fire places and threw light across rich maple wood, gleaming tables set with silverware, the scent of sandalwood tinted the air just enough to be refreshing and remind customers that they were visiting a very wealthy place.
Nel scrutinized their surroundings closely. If what Stanice had said was true, then the business that Noppin had gone off to attend would probably be with Daddy's Little Rich Boys. The chances of the group lingering when they had called the meeting yesterday was highly unlikely, but you could never tell what desperate, greedy and not to mention rich men would be willing to do in order to make their ends meet.
Her gaze swept to Albel, who was now talking with the uncomfortable clerk behind the counter. Although his words seemed to be making the other man tense, his own stance was relaxed, as if he didn't care that he was in dangerous territory. Nel frowned as she walked by and looked around at the half filled room, noting nothing really out of the ordinary. Perhaps she was just a bit paranoid…?
"The worm was here yesterday, like that girl said." Albel said as he walked around Nel and up the the little platform to where the tables were, talking as he walked. "Apparently the worm was here with a few nobles for a while, talking the corner."
Nel followed quickly behind him as they wove around tables, making their way to the farthest corner where the light of the fireplace barley reached. There seemed to be a large shape sitting on the table, unmoving. "Assuming that Noppin's still here, when did the nobles leave? Did you find out who they were?"
Albel scoffed as they drew near the table. "The bartender doesn't know. Said that they had fol enough to order enough drinks to sedate a dragon. We'll know soon enough if they were who we're looking for."
Albel slammed his metal hand onto the wooden surface of the table and the huge dark shape jerked up and looked around sleepily. The huge shape had been the man's absurdly large hat with a ruffled feather, and he didn't look any better. His eyes were bloodshot, bags shadowed his eyes, weary lines bracketed his mouth and his skin had a slight grey pallor. Under all the stress, the slumping Count Noppin was barley recognizable.
Nel slipped into the seat opposite the Count while Albel maintained his place beside the table. Noppin's expression was fuzzy, until realization seemed to dawn. "Good evening, Count Noppin," Nel said with false politeness. "How have you been?"
"Made any bombs lately?" Albel growled. Noppin looked up at him with widening eyes. "Wh-what?" he sputtered.
"I asked," Albel slitted his crimson eyes dangerously, "if you made any bombs recently."
Nel watched as the older man squirmed between fear and weariness. Ideas connected in her mind as she remembered the sequence of events from what Albel had said before. "Count Noppin, we are aware that you created a bomb in the shape of a pink stuffed rabbit. What we want to know is why, and how you came across such an idea when we know that you specialize in writing books."
Noppin blinked, frowning now. "A bomb you say? What idiocy is this? I am a writer!"
"Writers do not usually sleep for a whole day in bars, do they?" Albel hissed. Noppin flinched, but glared back. "I do not know what you are talking about. I was merely having a drink with commissioners who were asking about my talents."
"And 'mere drinks' include drinking enough to sleep for a whole day without moving?" Nel wondered aloud, slipping out her dagger to play with it nonchalantly. She caught Noppin's fear in his eyes and responded with a curve of her lip a touch too dark to be called a smile. "Who were they?"
"I said-"
"You can screw what you said, and tell us what we want to hear," Albel snapped. Clearly his temper was rising.
Noppin finally seemed to clue in to the fact that he was dealing with serious people and he straightened and tried to smooth his hair. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because if I don't know this blade will become best friends with your esophagus. They could become more than just 'joined at the hip.'" Albel warned softly.
Noppin cleared his throat, perspiration making his sallow skin gleam. "I-I don't know their personal names. Some people we inventors deal with use aliases, just in case. These boys didn't choose either, strangely, and that's what sticks out. They wanted me to make a bomb. I told them I couldn't of course – I am a writer, not a technician. Yet they kept insisting that I was the only one they would ask, since I am of noble birth as they were, and understood their position. They were losing investments, because you may not know, but many people become rich off of wars, and they had invested heavily into war ammunition and such. But now that peace has been installed, they are out of business. Well, so they asked me for a design of a bomb that they might use for their next line of products, saying that they would use it for clearing tunnels, getting rid of monsters and such."
Nel arched an eyebrow. "Then if this bomb was for construction or monster extermination, then why encase it in a pink stuffed rabbit?"
A frown pursed the noble's lips. "That idea didn't come until a few hours later after I had agreed to try it out. We all had quite a number of rounds… I suppose I agreed to it when I signed the legal contract. Then they must have alerted my team and made the bombs."
"Did they mention any other place where you could meet them if they were interested in another commission?" Nel asked as she watched Albel's face become impassive – not a good sign.
"Well, my memory is quite hazy. Not my fault you understand. But I believe that one of the chaps mentioned the a strange bar in Kirlsa.. I believe they called it the 'Blood Bar'. Not the most elegant name of all, but I hear it is quite infamous," Noppin recounted.
"Anything else?"
"That's it."
Nel sighed and looked at her reflection in her dagger's blade. Her reflection looked grim, and a bit tired, a few strands of red hair sticking out in odd angles thanks to the wind. So Daddy's Little Rich Boys had commissioned Noppin to make a bomb yesterday while he was under the influence of alcohol. They had him sign the contract, then left for his team of inventors and had it made. Then they had traveled to Arias and planted the bomb outside headquarters where Farleen and Tynave had found it.
Something stuck out and Nel realized what it was. "Sorry to ask, but did they pay you?"
Noppin looked up with a strange expression. Then he patted his sides and pockets, then frantically looked around the table (Albel had to move) until he was on all fours and crawling around. "They didn't pay me! But I swear that they had left the bag – oh, those cheap bastards! They had better left it with Alice!"
Case Closed?
"…and so that's how I was cursed." Albel finished off.
King Arzei of Airyglyph nodded over his intertwined hands as he sat at the head of the table in the conference room of the castle. "That sounds a bit like Roger and Cliff to me. But what does your curse make you do?"
Albel flinched and Nel suppressed a smile from the chair opposite him. She suspected that he would never fully be able to describe his curse without being prickly at the same time. Which reminded her, how was the antidote coming along…?
Albel cleared his throat, glancing around the large stone room and at the king, Nel and the advisor standing behind the king. "The curse-"
The wooden door of the chamber slammed open, sending a tremor throughout the room as a tall, lithe and beautiful woman stormed in. Nel had an instant's impression of pale skin, slender form, generous curves, luxurious wavy black hair and ice blue eyes before the woman yelled. "ALBEL NOX, I WILL POSITIVELY KILL YOU!"
Which resulted in:
Albel kissing the shocked spitfire.
The advisor cursing in shock.
The king watching but in a shocked state.
Nel nearly falling out of her chair.
And... was that jealousy rearing its ugly head?
v/s: well, not my best chapter, I'll give you that. Reviews?