Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean or its Characters.
Note: Here you go, the next chapter. I hope it keeps up to the standards I'm trying to put on myself for this story. I put a lot of thought into this and just wanted to see this new friendship blossom more.
Dialog – "Blah"
Thoughts – 'Blah'
Bitter-Sweet Motivations
Chapter 7: Veracity's Residual
Now you have heard of how the friendship started. Yes, the legend of the water was true and as in the legend, it only lends its aid at Apris' will. As is the nature of the human soul, curiosity is bound to us in unbreakable ties. Unknown to our young lass is the fact that our swordsman had gathered some of the water. He had in mind to carry the fluid with him until the time had come to use it once more.
As for the epic battle with the false god, none are privileged to the full account. Our heroes made an agreement among themselves to keep the details of the encounter a secret revealing only a name. Once this Luther was vanquished, our heroes gathered here on Elicoor once more to make their decisions. Each had to choose what path they would follow.
Cliff paced circles around the fountain in the courtyard. They were gathered in Aquaria and there was a tension in the air which hung heavily on each of them. Mirage and Nel simply watched the blonde man who seemed stuck in an endless loop. Roger was to the side observing the flowers and plants. Albel had rested himself in the corner just behind the two seated females.
Cliff had made another round and stopped in front of the trio. "Are they going to be in that room all day?" He was clearly running low on patience.
"Calm down, Cliff," Mirage answered. "We'll know soon what's going on."
"Yes, we just need to give them some space," Nel said softly.
Albel looked up to the sky. It had been at least two hours since the three had requested time to talk alone. It seemed that the blue haired wench had something she had to share and it was clearly connected to only those three.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I still want to know what's going on in there."
Roger totted up to the four of them. "You think they're okay? Maybe we should go check on them."
Nel crossed her arms. "Why's that Roger? Scared Lady Phia won't come out?"
Roger put his hands on his hips. "What's wrong? You aint jealous are ya?"
"Alright, let's not start this again," Mirage broke in.
Cliff nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's my job to argue with the rat boy, not yours."
Roger turned his attention to Cliff. "What was that you big lummox?"
Albel watched the four interact with little amusement. It felt like tension had risen after Luther's defeat. Before, the group had been focused on a purpose. Once that purpose was removed, new problems had arrived.
Mirage had stated earlier that she planned to go home for a while. Cliff had made it clear that he was ready to be back in space. Roger and Nel would be going back to their duties, as would Albel. This only led to the question: what about the other three? All of them were from Earth. Cliff had naturally assumed that Maria would return to her post and that Fayt and Sophia would likely go back to Earth.
'Earth. Bah, sounds like a fool's paradise. Why not go back to Earth and the technology. Elicoor is nothing more then a back water planet anyway.'
"Lummox, heh? You know, you could come up with better insults then that."
"Sorry to interrupt you two," Fayt spoke, breaking the argument. "But dinner is about to be served."
All eyes locked in on the blue haired teen. He simply stood there for a moment and looked at each one of them in turn. Then he started back inside.
"Whoa, hold it there. You goin' to let us know what's goin' on?"
Fayt turned and gave Cliff a short nod. "Let's eat first."
Reluctantly, the group followed the teen inside. No one talked in the hall and once inside the dinning hall, they sat around the table.
"Hey," Roger spoke as he looked around. "Where's Lady Phia?"
"Sorry Roger, but she'll be here a little later. You'll just have to sit without her right now." Maria did her best attempt at a soothing tone.
"Huh? But where is she? Is she okay?"
"Really Roger," Fayt spoke, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Just sit down. She's talking to her dad right now and she needs the privacy."
"Her dad?" Cliff asked, looking up from the plate that was just sat in front of him.
Maria nodded. "We were able to get in touch with him. Seems once everything started, the Federation started to gather everyone they could who was connected to Leingod."
Everyone fell into silence as Fayt took his seat and Roger sat down. After a few minutes the only sound was the ringing of utensils clanking against the plates.
"Excuse me," a maid called from the door way, gathering everyone's attention. "Miss. Sophia asked that I tell you she is sorry but she will be unable to dine with you this afternoon. She said not to worry about her." The maid gave then a weary smile and left the room.
Fayt and Maria immediately shot each other a worried glance. Albel noticed this but remained silent. There was one thing he had learned during his time with the bunch; some of them would not keep quite. Thus, he had no need to ask anything as someone would ask for him.
"Okay, that's enough. What's going on you two?" Cliff asked right on cue.
Fayt shook his head as Maria answered. "Look guys, I'm sorry but it'll have to wait until we find out how Sophia's talk with her dad went."
Fayt looked at Maria. I seemed he didn't agree and was arguing with her without words.
"Humph," Albel grunted, unable to keep quiet any longer. "Pathetic. It should be quite obvious how it went. Losing someone's appetite is never a good sign." He pushed himself back from the table and stood. He gave them all a harsh look and walked toward the door.
"Yo, Albel. Where are you going?" Cliff asked.
"Since when does that concern you?"
"Cliff, just let him go," Nel spoke not looking at either one of them.
"Albel?" Maria called to him before he got out the door. He paused but kept his back to them. "We'll be revealing the details shortly if you're interested. There might not be the need to wait."
"Bah," he responded as he walked out. The last thing he wanted was to sit there and listen to her. He would find out in time what was going on. When the time was right he would know, but not from her.
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Sophia sat alone in the flower garden. For once she was unable to put up her happy façade. Her smile was lost to her. She sat on the bench, her hands knotted in her lap. Despite how she felt, her tears were few and slow to fall.
She felt completely alone and consumed with defeat. All her hopes and dreams were gone. All she knew was non-existent. Her whole future had shattered and the pieces had been stomped on by the same people she loved. Her talk with her father had done nothing but devastate her more.
A shadow clouded over her, bringing her back to the present. She looked up in time to see Albel sitting beside her. He didn't look at her after he was seated. Mimicking him, she fixed her stare ahead of her. After a few moments of silence, she resorted to the habit of playing aimlessly with her hair.
He noticed her actions out of the corner of his eye. He reached across his chest and rested his good hand on her hands.
She looked at his hand, which didn't move from hers, and blushed slightly.
"That," he said while lowering her hands gently to her lap. "Is very annoying."
Her eyes followed his hand as it left her lap and returned to his side. "Oh, sorry."
He raised his eyebrow questioningly. "Do I…" 'No, now's not the time for that question.' "It's not like you to mope."
She felt calmer. She knew that he was asking her what was wrong, but he couldn't just come straight out with the question. In his own little way he was trying to be the friend she needed and the one who would listen. Her heart jumped. He was willing to listen to her.
She took a deep breath, attempting to keep her voice steady. "It's the Federation…" She paused, trying to form her words.
"The Federation?"
"They want us; Fayt, Maria and me to go with them when space travel is opened back up."
"Oh," he responded, turning back to look straight ahead.
"It's horrible, Albel…They want to study us."
All he could manage was a questioning grunt. You see, our swordsman had come to the realization that life was not a timeless thing. When the false god had fallen, it had hit him in a flash just how fragile and short life was. In the seconds that had followed Luther's fall, he saw a future that he feared worst then he did his past. He was coming to terms with his fear and was ready to face it head on. But he knew that was a task he didn't want to take on alone. For the first time he could remember, he was ready to lean on someone for a little help. But right now wasn't the time. She was leaning on him and there was no room for him to lean back. There would come another time and he would just have to be patient.
"We were given three options." She held her hand out, palm up and extended her index finger. "One, we could go with them." Her middle finger joined her index finger. "Two, we could disappear into exile." Her hand shook slightly as her third finger stretched to meet the other two. "Or…we could choose to…give up on life." Her voice had become so shaky that Albel had to strain to understand the last few words.
'So she can't go home or they will kill her. Just like a group of hypocritical fools. Either it's done their way or the penalty is death.' "Humph. How very nice of them," he spoke sarcastically.
"My dad told me to go along with it and not fight. He…he wants me to give up and live with the Federation, but I can't. I won't give up on life, there's still too much I would like to do. I miss my family. My mom…even my dad." She broke down into soft tears. "I'll never see them again unless I go with the Federation. I can't go with the Federation because then I would be nothing more then a lab rat."
She did her best to wipe her eyes, but her efforts were for not. Fresh tears unwillingly took the place of those wiped away. "I feel more alone now then ever."
Those words struck his heart. They hit his core and ripped it to shreds. He turned his body to face her. She sat on his left, so when he raised his hand to her it was his claw. But his momentum was set in motion and unstoppable. Using his claw, he brushed her hair from her face.
She responded in shock. Not at the claw but at the cold touch of metal. Reflectively, he drew back at her jump. Her shock quickly gave in to regret as she reached out and took his claw in both of her hands before he got it out of her range. She looked up and met his eyes. She giggled.
"What?" he asked in irritation. It wasn't enough to see her initial reaction to his touch but now he felt as if she were taunting him.
She shook her head and smiled. "It's cold."
He growled at her, but she could see the hurt in his eyes. She gave him her sweetest smile and rubbed her thumb softly on the metal surface. He almost pulled back but her eyes rang of honesty and his mind was quickly soothed. She wasn't making fun of him at all. It was an innocent reaction and she was trying to take it back. And for the first time someone was touching his claw without fear or hesitation.
They sat in silence for a while. Their eyes fell on the sight of flesh against metal.
"Thank you, Albel," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For being my friend. For sitting with me when I needed someone to talk to. It's helped me more then you'll know." She gently released his claw and stood up. "I think that now I might be able to take a nap. I've been tired for a while but my thoughts wouldn't let me sleep."
She wanted to hug him, but restrained herself. Since that day they had been locked in a room together, neither one had made any physical contact until now. She didn't want to do anything that might make him rethink their friendship. She bowed slightly to him and left the garden.
He watched her go but didn't move. He sat on that bench for a good hour replaying the events that had just taken place.
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Unlike most nights, nightmares weren't the reasons for our swordsman's inability to sleep. On this night, his thoughts kept him awake. He reflected back on himself and on his past. No matter how he reasoned with himself he always came to the same conclusion. He wasn't happy.
He never sought self pity and knew he was on the edge of falling down that path. He needed a distraction. As he dressed he set his mind on where to go. He would resort to his usual distraction and go to the fields and fight until fatigue took him and he could sleep.
After two hours in the fields he no longer felt like fighting, but sleep still eluded him. He had made his mind to walk the grounds when he approached the castle. Once again he found himself in the flower garden. He had just stepped over the threshold to the grounds when his attention was diverted.
It was no surprise to him when he saw her wondering the flower garden at such a later hour. Her feet guided her to no particular destination and her eyes kept a steady focus on the ground in front of her. She looked completely lost and alone.
He couldn't help but to wonder to himself why she was out here alone. Had she not been the one to preach to him about how friends were there the help through the bad times. Was the girl desperate for friends herself? Was that why she had even wanted his friendship? Did she like him only because of the attention, though not all pleasant, that he had shown her?
She was always outgoing toward others and very fast to lend anyone a hand. Why was it that when she needed someone, no one was around? Surely the blue haired maggot would help. As for the others, he was sure none of them concerned themselves enough to really care. But that one maggot should be there. He had been concerned earlier. Maybe he didn't know she was out here wondering around. Perhaps she hadn't felt the need to tell anyone. She did seem the type to take all her own worries on her own shoulders and not burden anyone else with them.
Anger flared in his gut as he thought about it. She insisted on being the crying shoulder to anyone, but refused to look for someone to cry on when she needed it. He didn't know exactly who his anger was aimed at. Was he angry with the others for not seeing her in pain? Was he angry with her for not letting another person know she needed someone? Was he angry at himself for...for just standing there and asking himself stupid questions when he could very well go and try to help her?
He growled softly at himself. Having his mind set on doing something, he walked up to where she was. Her back was to him and she had obviously not heard him approach. He had long ago learned to move with little sound. She had stopped her pacing and stood still, fiddling with her hair.
He reached out slowly, debating on whether to touch her or speak to get her attention. Then he contemplated not even getting her attention at all. He still had time to turn and leave.
"Um, don't you know it's rude to just stand behind a person like that?" She giggled softly, her tone telling him that she was not to be taken seriously.
So she had heard him, or somehow known he was there. "Humph."
She turned and smiled at him. He responded with a frown. How could she smile like that and make it look so genuine when he knew she was hurting inside?
She searched his face with her eyes and giggled more. "Still Mr. Neutral Expression aren't ya?"
"And you just put on a mask to cover your true feelings."
She gave him a questioning look. "A mask"
"Your phony smile proves nothing to me, girl."
She dropped her smile and looked at him with the straightest face she could. "Is this any better?" It took all her concentration to keep her lips pressed in a straight line.
He didn't respond, but glared at her instead. And that's when the staring contest began. She held her breath and did her best, but it didn't take long for her to lose it and start laughing.
He growled, making it known that he truly thought she was putting on a show. "Sorry about that," she said wiping the tears from her eyes. "I really tried to look all serious."
She looked up at him, her smile continued and he grew angry. "Bah. Why do you insist on hiding behind that idiotic smile, girl? Just a minute ago you were about to cry. Putting up this front doesn't fool me." He eyed her cynically.
She sighed and stepped closer to him. "Albel, it's not a front. For a while there I thought you were going to leave me out here alone but you didn't.You came over here."
"You knew I was here?" His voice indicated his disbelief.
"It's hard to explain but I knew you were here when you first stepped into the garden. I got this feeling you were close and I didn't want you to leave so when I saw you from the corner of my eye I-I pretended not to see you. I didn't know if you would just go inside or stay here." She let her eyes wonder over his face as she searched for a reaction to her words. He remained still and unmoving. "I'm not smiling to hide anything. It makes me happy that you came to see how I was. I know we got off to a bad start but I feel like our friendship has really grown and that makes me happy." She let her eyes leave his face and wonder down to the ground between them. "You make me happy. Thank you for – for being here when I needed you."
When he finally moved, his actions caught her attention. She quickly noticed that he had pulled something from his pocket and was studying it. She tried to see what was in his hand but her view was blocked. His attention left the item in his hand and he met her eyes.
"There's something I need to know." He opened his hand enough and revealed to her a small vial of clear liquid.
Almost immediately she recognized the water. Her eyes grew as her eyebrows arched in a questioning fashion. She brought her hand to her chest and took a step back. "I'm not going to drink that!" she said defensively.
He looked at her and laughed. It was very soft but it was a very genuine laugh. She couldn't help but to giggle with him. She had never heard him sound anywhere near happy. But he cut his laugh short when he realized what he was doing. He hadn't really laughed since the day he lost his father. He almost felt as if he were betraying his memory.
He tried to remind himself that his father wouldn't want him to suffer. He knew that his agony was self inflicted. He understood that he was the one who had hidden himself and was reluctant to admit to himself that he was afraid. He was afraid to show his true self.
He didn't fear rejection; that he could deal with. He didn't fear ridicule because he could fight fire with fire. He feared being close to another person because it seemed the people he was close to in his life left him. His mother, his father…both gone. The last time he lost someone he lost a childhood friend to the war that had not that long ceased.
"It's not for you, so don't worry."
She couldn't help but to catch the sensitivity in his voice. Come to think of it, ever since that day she woke up in his arms, he hadn't once called her any names. She would have preferred him call her by her real name; she wondered how it would sound coming from him, but she could deal with being called 'girl' better then the other things he used to call her.
"Then what do you plan to do with it?" she asked softly.
He gave her one of his smirks as he pulled the cork out. "I plan to do just what you're supposed to do with water." He twirled the vial just enough to spin the water without losing a drop.
"You're going to drink it?" Her voice and expression clearly showed her shock.
"Heh, and why not?"
"But after…You know, that stuff might…" She was having a hard time getting her words out. No matter how she tried to start her sentence, it didn't seem she was saying what she meant. "There's no telling what that stuff will do to you."
He almost laughed again. "Are you worried I might jump on you and start kissing you?"
Her cheeks quickly turned bright red as she was sent into an uncontrollable blush. Her eyes darted down to her hand which had taken up its old habit of playing with her hair. "I-I don't know why I did that…I, well. That's wrong, I do know why I did that but I shouldn't have. It was inappropriate."
'That's right. I never did tell her what the effects were.' He transferred the vile to his claw and put his hand on hers. "As I said before, that is very annoying." Once she had stopped and turned her eyes back to him; he took his hand back. "This water acts like a truth serum. If one drinks it then they have no choice but to tell the truth and act on honesty until the effects wear off."
She almost turned her eyes away from him but found she couldn't. As embarrassed as she was for her past actions, his actions dominated her thoughts. 'If he drinks that then he'll be under the influence and be totally open and honest. But why would he do that willingly. If I had known this before then I could have save myself the humility of my actions. And he wants to drink it with me around. Why?'
"Why would I want to do this?" he asked, echoing her mental question. "I need someone I can be honest with but every time I've tried before I could never seem to get the words out," his voice was toneless. It was as if he were trying to pass this whole thing off as a fluke. "If I'm to do this then I need someone I can trust."
She swallowed hard. He trusted her. That's what he had just said. She felt the weight of responsibility on her, but she would happily bare that weight. She had to stop herself from crying. Her tears would have been of pure joy. For the first time in her life someone was willing to trust her completely.
"First, I need you to answer me one question."
"Okay," she managed to respond without hesitation.
"Do I," he started, but clamped his mouth involuntarily. He wasn't sure why that question was so important. All he knew is he had to ask and now wasn't the time to be a coward. "Do I scare you?"
She took a deep breath. "Yes."
He didn't know how to react to her answer. What had he really expected her to say? He just looked at her, unable to move.
She took a step forward and risked touching his hand. "Yes, you do scare me…but not the way you think. I'm not scared that you will do physical harm to me. I'm also not scared of your personality. I know there are things you hide in yourself and those things don't frighten me either." Her fingers were lightly touching the hand he held the vial in. She let her fingers fan out and allowed her palm to rest completely on his skin. He didn't flinch or move away and that gave her more confidence.
"What scares me is that you might go away. I've never had many real friends. When I first saw Fayt after the Vendeeni attack I was so happy. But it he wasn't Fayt anymore. He wasn't the Fayt I knew and I understood at that time that my life would never go back to how it used to be. I had always felt I could go to him if I ever needed someone, but not anymore. I've meet a lot of people, but they only show you what they want you to see. They would claim to be my friend but only wanted to take and never give. And my family…they also have abandoned me." As she spoke she felt better and not once did a tear threaten her. She felt the relief of pure honesty. "What scares me is that one day you'll go away like everyone else has. What scares me the most is…" She took a long breath and willed her words forward. "What scares me the most if being alone."
He took a moment to think through her words. It occurred to him in that moment that there was something they shared. As opposite as they were, he never imagined that they would share a bond so deep. No one would have ever thought it possible. Her greatest fear was the same as his and he understood right then and there that he was coming face to face with that fear.
Determination set in him and he gave her a half smile. "Now it's my turn." He moved his hand away from her and touched the vial to his lips. With a simple flick of his wrist he drank; empting the contents of the container into his mouth.
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(A/N) Well, a bit of a cliff-hanger there. I hope you liked this chapter. I want to see Albel honest with her and justified any OOC in this chapter and the next with the fact that he's been thinking a lot about life since the fight with Luther.