Chapter 3

Searching

i apologise to all for nel being girly and albel being tortured. well, not so much the albel being tortured. that's quite fun actually...allows me to take out my anger on him - mwah ha. oh, there will be slight language, just the odd 'hell' and 'bastard', nothing terrible. and OoC. and and OC! a moderatly okay one. no one special. r and r, as always. and, cause i keep forgetting, hear me now.

I WILL OWN SQUARE ENIX AND ALL OTHER MAJOR GAMING COMPANIES WHEN CARROTS TAKE OVER THE WORLD. are we wearing orange suits and green hats? no? then i don't own it. yet...

"Missing? What do you mean, missing?"

The Glyphian soldier lowered his head. "I mean exactly that. Lord Nox was visiting Count Woltar, and a day later his mount, Silver Talon returned bearing his sword and a white feather. The king sent soldiers to investigate, and found the count, murdered, most likely by the same men who took the captain."

Nel fell into a spare seat, shocked and confused. Who would be powerful enough to overpower both Woltar and Albel? And to be able to with such efficiency…until now, she hadn't thought it possible. She had a bad feeling about this…

"Lady Nel, the king has asked your group to investigate – if it's not too much trouble."

She turned to the others. They all nodded, and Cliff shrugged. "Guess we better go help him. Can't have our Team members getting themselves kidnapped."

"Alright. We'll do it." The soldier bowed, and the redhead turned to the rest. "Okay, people. Fayt and Peppita, I want you to find out what he's been doing in the last two or three weeks. I want to know every meal, every walk, his behaviour, even every sniff. Cliff and Sophia, I want you to talk to Silver Talon and the king. Especially the dragon. I'll need an accurate account, so be careful. Mirage, Maria and Roger, you check out the mansion. Take a look at what's happened, get someone to remove the body if it hasn't, and all that. Adray, I'll need you to investigate the Ruins of Mosel for me. I'm afraid you won't be allowed the Aqua Veil though…sorry."

There was silence. Nel never usually did the ordering – that was Fayt's job. But there was a sense of urgency in her voice, and soon the party, as a man to a weird guy and a talking dog once said; 'split up and looked for clues'.

She turned to the soldier, the old thrill of being in charge coming back to her. "You."

"Yes, my Lady."

"I'll need you to take me to Nox's bedroom. He might have left us something there."

"Of course, my Lady."

A few days later, after checking with everyone (except Adray) on the Communicators, and Nel was standing in the entrance to her former mortal enemy's room, all too aware that it had been a week since the dragon had returned without Nox. Like she had expected, the room was simple. A bed, complete with sheets and pillows, a desk, some writing equipment (he had been practicing) and a cabinet with some books in it. On further investigation, she found a secret cubby hole hidden just behind the desk, with a few mementoes of his family. There was even a little family portrait, drawn when he was six, she judged from his face. She had never thought of Albel as a child. It just didn't suit him. She couldn't see a little angel Nox running around and playing nice. Yet there he was, laughing, the picture proving that Albel Nox was indeed human. It was…strange. His father and mother were both tall and beautiful – it was easy to see where he got the looks from. And there! That must be his sister, the one that ran away…

The girl's picture was smudged slightly, and around the edge…they were tear marks. She could see him, sitting in the chair, remembering the family he once had, the carefree boy he used to be. She saw him closing his eyes, tears falling onto the last remnants of his family. He was the last Nox. There was no one else alive from this ancient family, except, perhaps, his sister…but no one knew anything about her. Rumour was she had left with a man and never came back, only a few days after the death of their father. All that had been found was a black heart with wings and a crown, painted on a little white card. And the initials; D.V. Nel didn't know the whole story, but she suspected it was the girl's way of saying goodbye.

She traced the outline of the boy's face with the tip of her finger. Every day she learned something new about him. What his life was like, his personality, his hopes, his dreams…slowly, piece by piece, she was beginning to fit together the puzzle that was Albel Nox. So three of the corners were missing, so the reference picture was all torn up, but the point was, she could start to understand him, more than anyone else in their group. He could have told any of the others, but he had chosen her. Why, was another puzzle entirely.

Turning, she saw something propped against the wall, hidden away in the corner, and smiled.

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Nel turned another corner, entranced. She had heard strange music, like nothing she had ever heard before. It was amazing, yet she could not find the source. It seemed to be coming from…Nox's room? Opening the door, she froze. Albel was playing an instrument, shaped like the lutes the bards carried around. But it sounded different. There was a new kind of energy, a wild freedom that escaped with every note. Albel's eyes were closed, but he stopped suddenly.

"Please," she whispered. "Don't stop." The words escaped her lips, startling her. She hadn't meant to say it, but she couldn't stop herself. At that moment, she would have done anything to keep the music playing.

"Why are you here, Zelpher." His eyes were still closed.

"I…I…what…is that?"

"The blonde ape says it's called a guitar. He taught me how to play it."

"I never thought…I mean…"

Dark crimson met forest green. One filled with confusion and self-hatred, the other curiosity and tenderness.

He smiled, full of self-loathing, finishing her sentence with a bitter voice. "You never though someone as heartless as me could create for once, instead of destroying. You never thought the monster could be tamed, least of all by music."

"Albel…"

He stared at the floor. "I heard him listening to music. It was strange, filled with life and passion, a dark pleasure that makes you want to scream. I wanted to learn. I thought it would get rid of the emptiness. And it has, almost. But it's still there. And it's not going to go away. Not fully. Now leave me, before you get caught up in it too."

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Her hand trailed over the polished wood, remembering those few moments when she had been caught. It was something new, something special. Filled with a wildness that whispered in her ear, dancing through the air with a freedom that only the birds could achieve. She wanted to hear it once more, and, more than anything, she wanted to hear Albel's voice again. It didn't matter what he had done. It didn't matter that he had broken her heart. It just didn't.

Turning towards the desk, she sat down and began to shuffle through the papers. First she would glance over them and separate them into two piles; important and possibly-but-not-as-important. After that was done she'd do the same to the first pile, and repeat it until she found what she was looking for. It was going to be a long day…or several…

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Albel curled up in the corner. Where was he? Who had caught him? The Dark Vengeance? Or maybe, maybe someone else…A rat scurried over his foot and he kicked it away, snarling. He wouldn't give in to the hunger. He couldn't. Never would Albel Nox sink so low.

A small window in the cell door opened, and a pair of eyes watched him. Licking dry lips, Albel swallowed his pride. "Please…water…" he rasped. He hated to do it, but he knew he wouldn't survive. The eyes did nothing, just watched him. He tried again, and when that didn't work, he began to ask questions to keep his mind off of the hunger, and the feeling that the walls were still closing in on him. He had managed to ignore them, concentrating on his adventures, but with those eyes staring at him it was impossible, and his breathing quickened. It's not real, he whispered in his mind. It's just my imagination. It's not…oh gods, I'm going to die! Just like that skeleton, I'll rot away, eaten alive by the rats and maggots, reduced to nothing but bones. How…unexpected, being consumed by maggots. There's no one coming to save me. No one. Not even…not even…Nel…

"Who…who are you? Why are you here? What do you want with me? Please, water…" With each question, Albel received only silence. Slowly the unnerving quiet and those piercing eyes ate away at him, breaking down his patience. Combined with his claustrophobia, it was only a matter of seconds before he snapped.

"WHO ARE YOU? ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!" Screaming, he lunged at the door, coughing as the collar choked him, throwing him to the ground. But madness drove him on. "SHOW YOURSELF! COWARDS!" The eyes didn't flinch, didn't blink, just stared at him. "LET ME GO!" He threw himself at the door again, desperate to get out, to gouge out those eyes. "WHO ARE YOU?" Again and again, until he could barely move from exhaustion. Collapsing, he still dragged himself towards the door, scrabbling weakly at the dirt, tearing his fingernails, until the blood attracted the rats. He threw them at the wall with his claw arm, snarling with satisfaction when he heard their fragile bones shattering against the stone.

And still the eyes watched on.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!"

mind games, my favourite! mwah ha! and albel can play the guitar! one day i will too...

what will happen? will albel stay sane? will nel ever find him? who or what are the mysterious Dark Vengeance? who's watching albel behind the door? find out in the next exciting chapter of...

No One Can Hear You SCREAM.

sorry, couldn't stop me. review and add to favourites now!