VANISHING POINT
A Star Ocean 3 Fanfic by Ender
Chapter Five: Offense
The tea cooled, untouched on the table.
Fayt watched dispassionately as the steam rose lazily into the air, wind and temperature buffeting the tell-tale mist here and there as they ascended into the heavens. The blue-haired young man wondered idly if the steam had a place to go, and had a brief, irrational flash of jealousy.
"Fayt?"
The young man sighed heavilly. This is what he had been reduced to - jealousy of hot air. What had he thought he would find on Elicoor anyway? He had initially crossed paths with the planet literally by accident, and had dragged unknown numbers of its inhabitants into a war they would never fully understand.
"Fayt?"
Maybe it was time for him to leave... Perhaps as soon as his ships' self-repair functions had rendered it space-worthy, he should take his leave of the planet for good, before he brought more misfortune to the poor plane-
"HEY! MY DAUGHTER IS TALKING TO YOU!"
The booming shout and the slam of a meaty fist against wood jolted the boy back into reality. Adray scowled across the table at Fayt, his scraggily bearded chin thrust forward like the prow of a battleship. From her position beside Fayt, Claire glared at her father.
"Will you please behave yourself? Fayt has a lot of things on his mind - a phenomenon you're probably entirely unfamiliar with!"
The elder Lasbard was unfazed. "That's the boy's problem - he thinks too much! A demon on the battlefield, but take him off it and he gets all mopey."
Claire shook her head in exasperation as she cleaned up some of the tea that had been spilled in Adray's display of fatherly protectiveness. "See what you did..." she muttered to herself, before getting to her feet and raising her voice. "Not all of life is a battlefield Father - at least not to normal people.," with a swish of cloth the silver haired woman walked towards the doorway. "I'll get you some more tea, Fayt," she said, throwing a reproaching look towards her father as she left the room.
Fayt sighed, and setled further back into his seat, but Adray's question kept him from resuming his reverie.
"So... accustomed to living here yet?"
"Ah... yeah... more or less," Fayt vacillated. Claire and her father had been more than willing to put up Fayt at their estate after Nel had practically kicked him out – actually, they had insisted, once they found out he was sleeping at the Palace guest room. Still, he felt awkward about imposing on them... and by the fact he'd become an unwilling captive audience to their numerous father-daughter arguments. Fayt was still halfway convinced that it was genetically impossible for someone as graceful and elegant as Claire could come from someone... well, someone as Adray as Adray.
"Great. Glad to hear it." The elder Lasbard was studying Fayt intently over the rim of his cup. The blue haired boy shifted uncomfortably and tried to mask if by taking a sip from his depleted tea, afraid that the big man was still offended by Fayt's apparent snubbing of his daughter, but the old man's next question took him completely by surprise:
"By the way… Are you seeing that girl, Nevelle's daughter…Nel?"
The tea re-emerged from Fayt's mouth in a spray of brown liquid. "Wha -what...?" Fayt sputtered, between coughs. "Why do you ask that?"
The other man shrugged. "Well, I was wondering why you came back here. I thought that was reason… Was I right?"
Fayt opened his mouth, then closed it again. Adray had the wrong idea... didn't he? Nel... Fayt closed his eyes and shook his head. Just the thought of the redhead confused him. Why had she been so angry? And why did it bother him so much anyway? Well... it was useless to worry about it now. Nel had made it clear that she had no interest in talking to him.
"No... no, it's nothing like that," Fayt said, waving his hands empathically, "We've been through a lot together and well... we're more like companions than anything else."
Or, at least we were, Fayt thought ruefully to himself, Now I'm not sure what we are... That thought brought about a fresh wave of sadness, and Fayt tried to drown the turmoil out with another sip of tea.
Adray however began to sound positively jolly. " Well then, Master Fayt. Does this mean that you are currently… single?"
"Well... yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Ah," Adray said, in an immensely satisfied voice. "Perfect." The elder Lasbard then leaned forward inently, with a gleam in his eye. "Wanna marry my daughter?"
Once more a fountain of tea erupted unwillingly from the young man's mouth. "What! Claire?"
Adray's expression clouded over. "What's the matter? You saying something's wrong with my daughter?"
"N-no," Fayt spluttered quickly, "It's just that, well... isn't that the sort of thing that people usually decide for themselves? Even if I said sure, what would Clair say?" he ended, trying to find some polite way out of this mess.
Adray however rolled over his objections like a tatooed bulldozer. "What are you talking about? I know my daughter well... Trust me - she would not say no." Before Fayt could think up another objection, the older man clapped his hands together. " So it's settled, then! And the Lasbard family line is assured!"
As Fayt's life began to flash before his eyes, a crashing noise from behind the closed door drew the attention of both men. The door opened a crack, and Claire poked her head through the door.
"Uhm... excuse me... Father?" the woman asked in a sweet voice. "Could I have a word with you in private?"
"Ah Claire," Adray said expansively as he stood up. "Perfect timing. I had something to talk to you about as well..."
Fayt sighed with relief, though he did spare a moment of pity as Adray cheerfully followed his daughter out of the room. It was obvious the old man hadn't gotten a good look at Claire's eyes...
Soon enough, the sound of various objects breaking and the startled shouts of Adray affirmed Fayt's suspicions. It looked like the silver-haired woman would take care of the situation more than adequately.
It's not like I've got anything against Claire, Fayt thought to himself, But who in his right mind would want to have Adray as a Father-in-Law?
A few minutes (and a hundred screams) later, Claire walked calmly back into the room, her composed appearance at odds with the violence which had just taken place.
"I really do apologize for my Father," Claire said as she sat across from Fayt. "I'd like to say that he isn't usually like that but..." she shrugged helplessly.
Fayt waved away her concerns. "Oh don't worry - I got used to him while we were travelling together," he smiled, "His... enthusiasm, can be infectious."
Claire smiled. "It's good of you to say so," she said. "But in this case, he's really doing it because he's worried about you, in his own way... and so am I."
The boy smiled wanly. "I'll be fine. As soon as my ship is fixed I'll be off."
The young woman shook her head, and gave him a stern look. "That's not what I'm worried about, and you know it."
Fayt sighed, and looked away. "There's nothing much more to say. I don't even know what I did wrong," he said, some of his resentment seeping in.
"Maybe it isn't a matter of right or wrong," Claire said gently.
The earthboy ran his finger through his hair. If he hadn't done anything wrong, then why was she so angry? Sure he'd gotten himself into trouble - but it wasn't as if he had been out looking for it. "Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't come here..."
The warm touch of Claire's hand on his own startled him, and he found himself looking deep into her eyes. "No... I think you came here for a reason, the first time Fayt... and I think there's a reason you've returned, even now when the whole universe is open to you. I think there's something here that, deep down, you think you need. You just need to discover what that is. Why, of all the places you could have gone to, did you come here?"
A rap on the door interrupted them before Fayt could focus on Claire's question. A young Aquarian soldier stepped into the room and bowed to Fayt aand Claire, proffering a rolled up scroll in his hands.
"Ah, finally," Claire said and rose gracefully to her feet. She took the missive from the messenger and scanned through it quickly, then turned to Fayt with an apologetic expression. "I fear I have to attend to a... disciplinary matter with one of my subordinates," she said, shaking her head silently, "Sometimes, our duties place more burdens on us than we'd care to admit. But, if you're willing, I'd be more than happy to continue this on another day..."
"Uh... sure," Fayt said, taking in a deep breath as Claire left the room. All the same he thought he might be happy if 'another day' never came. It wasn't that he was not touched by the Lasbard's concern... quite the contrary. It was just that Nel... confused him, and the boy was more accustomed to dealing with such confusion alone. But Claire had given him some food for thought - perhaps now he would have some time to himself to reflect.
"Is she gone?"
Or, maybe not.
"Erm, coast is clear," Fayt said, as a bedraggled Adray snuck back into the room.
"Heh... guess I got scolded a bit," the old man said, with several bruises, scratches and a black eye silent testament to the vigor of Claire's 'scolding'. "I swear that child has a violent streak in her... Strange really, seeing how her mother was such a gentle soul..."
Gee, I wonder where she could have gotten it then, Fayt thought silently to himself, hoping that Adray would go away.
It appeared however, that the elder Lasbard would not oblige him. "Well then Master Fayt," Adray said, placing a beefy arm around the boy, and leading him unwillingly towards the door, "Now that it's just us men, I'll show you a little trick that's been passed down our family through generations."
"Uhm, I really don't- " Fayt protested, but before he knew it he was already being hauled out of the house.
"We'll fix you up right well, don't you worry," Adray said, laughing ominously, "All it'll take is one strong dose of the Lasbard Family Remedy! Hahahahaha!"
Nel Zelpher was faced with something of a dilemma:
If she didn't get to punch someone in the face soon, she was going to explode.
The Crimson Blade was in a bad mood. In fact, as far as her infamous bad moods went, this was probably the worst in recent memory. Soon after she had returned from the Paterny mission, Tynave and Farleen had been quick to spread the word - for the foreseable future, Nel Zelpher was not to be approached. Not that most needed the warning - since her return the red-head had been giving off an aura of fury that all but the undead would have found impossible to ignore.
Granted, Nel did try to keep her feelings to herself. She made sure that every word that escaped her lips was carefully chosen so as not to give undue offense, so as to show no indication of her emotions. True, that may have resulted in her sounding cold and abrupt - well, that was preferable to the alternative. The only thing worse than getting so... irrational, was being obivious about it. Still, try as she might, enough slipped through that even the bravest of Aquarians gave their erstwhile heroine a wide berth.
The ironic thing was, that Nel was more angry at herself than she was at any of them.
Not that her reputation didn't have its benefits: Nel doubted she would have gotten this assignment otherwise. Under normal circumstances, a band of a dozen or so brigands. was not a task left to one person, no matter how capable - but when Nel had asked to do it alone, no one even batted an eyelash.
Good thing too, since in her opinion, this was just what she needed. She needed to get all these... unneccessary thoughts out of her system. It had already been a week! She was a soldier, a commander... she needed her focus back.
Even iif that means shutting him out?
The Crimson Blade suppressed the thought violently, plunging through the thick forest undergrowth with hands clenched tightly around her weapons.
Damnit. Where's a bandit when you need one...
A rustling sound from the bushes to her right raised hopes that her prayers might just have been answered. Dropping to one knee, Nel a knife was drawn and thrown inone smooth motion, sending the weapon hilt-first towards the suspicious foliage. The moment it entered the brush however, there was a brilliant flash of light, and Nel's knife clattered backwards harmlessly.
The young woman's eyes grew wide. Runology? she thought tho herself, going for her blades as she prepared for a real fight - before her target stepped into sight.
"You're getting rusty Nel," Claire said, as she dropped her runological shield. "I hadn't truly expected to get this close before you spotted me."
The redhead took a deep breath and stood up. "What are you doing here Claire?"
The other woman raised a slim eyebrow gracefully. Claire was, in many ways, the perfect woman. It was a statement that carried no emotional weight with Nel - merely a fact she acknoledged. For some reason though, today it irritated her.
"I thought I might ask you that question," Claire said. "Don't you think that patrol duty might be too small a job for the leader of the Blades?"
"This is hardly a patrol," Nel replied, taking care not to look at her friend. "It's already been confirmed that bandits have infested the area. This is a search and destroy mission."
"Well, it is now at any rate," Claire said mildly, but it was enough to set Nel off.
"What exactly do you want Claire? I'm sure my frame of mind is well-known by now."
"How could I miss it?" the silver-haired woman replied. "After all, you dumped your problem in my house."
For the first time Nel's eyes met her friend's. "In the first place I did not 'dump' him anywhere - "
"No of course not, you just told him to get out of your house."
"And second," Nel continued, ignoring Claire's interuption, "I never said I had a problem with... that person."
The head of the Shield legion crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "Oh Nel. You're our top operative - I know you can lie better than that."
"I can handle it," Nel said.
"I'm not so certain of that Nel."
"I can handle it."
"Running away isn't handling anything. Fayt has - " Claire began, but this time Nel cut her off.
"Look if - if - I have... difficulties with Fayt, then that's my business and I can handle my business Claire. I've been doing it for years."
Her friend shook her head. "You don't always have to be alone Nel."
Claire's words brought Nel up short. Is that what you're running from? Once more a host of thoughts and images threatened to assault her, but she pushed them away with mental strength born from a lifetime of discipline.
Nel through up her hands. "Think what you want Claire - we're through here. I have a mission to complete." She began to resume her trek, but Claire smoothly blocked her path.
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. I have a mission of my own - to make sure you're alright."
The Crimson Blade's eyes narrowed. "You do not want to do this Claire," she said, in a deathly quiet whisper, "I'm not in the mood."
Claire took a step back, but only in order to assume a fighting position. The runes along the silver haired woman's arms began to thrum with magical power. "Your mood is exactly why I think we have to do this Nel."
Part of Nel realized what her friend was trying to do, and was grateful. The rest of her however, had but one single thought:
Release.
Nel snarled a battle cry, and the battle was joined.
One forest. One spear. One rabid, murderous bear.
"This... is the 'Lasbard Family Remedy'?
Fayt stared incredulously at Adray, as the head of the Lasbard household hefted his huge spear - almost twice Fayt's height - and beckoned the boy to follow him deeper into the forest.
"What's the matter boy? Oh, I get it..." Adray nodded to himself, "Aquarian bears not enough challenge for you after all the uglies you've put down eh? Well don't you worry Master Fayt - the papas of these bears used to roam the Royal Hunting Grounds. These beasts could give Crossel a run for his money!"
"Erm... that isn't what I'm worried about," said the boy, wiping sudden beads of sweat from his brow. "All I'm saying is... how is this supposed to help solve anything?"
"Eh?" Adray said, moving in close and bringing his bearded face nose to nose with Fayt's, "You saying that a rousing afternoon of manly sweat and exertion won't get you out of that black mood?"
"Ah, uhm..." Fayt wavered, trying to find a way of telling Adray that that was exactly what he was trying to say.
"Besides youngster," Adray continued, "I've learned that most problems in life can be related to hunting a bear - expecially problems involving Zelphers."
Fayt blinked. "Oh?" he said, his interest piqued despite himself.
"Watch and learn boy," Adray said, and stalked into the forest.
Ah.. what the hell... Fayt sighed, and, dragging his own sphere behind him, followed the steps of the elder Lasbard.
"I've known four generations of Zelphers boy," Adray began, "And they're a lot like bears when you get right down to it.
"There are a few things you have to understand about bears: First, they're both proud creatures. You don't spit on bears and come out unscathed. Pride is the source of their power - you kick a dog and it whines - but wounded in a hundred different places, a bear will still stand and roar its defiance. Part of the trouble though, is that the prouder you are, the quicker you feel you've been slighted. But then, I don't need to tell you that do I?"
Fayt shook his head as he ducked under a low over-hanging branch.
"The second thing you should remember about these creatures, is that they live solitary lives. They live alone and they like it - neither easily takes to strangers, and even those who they trust are kept at arms length. Maybe if they didn't grow up in the wild, full of creatures more than happy to eat them alive - but as it stands, most of them have learned the first law of Survival: That at the end of the day, you have no one to depend on but yourself."
Fayt was silent for a long moment as they continued their trek through the forest, stopping every now and then to check for spoor and tracks.
"That's... that's a sad way to live," the boy said finally.
Adray shook his head. "Don't be so quick to judge, boy - sometimes that's the only way to live. Not a lot of people are willing to get near such dangerous creatures - and they're more likely to bite you than thank you if you do - even if you're there to fight on their behalf." The older man turned to look at Fayt and gave him a smile. "But if you're willing to risk life and limb, well... I don't think there's any other who I'd rather have at my side."
Fayt blinked once more, then shook his face vigorously to clear it of a sudden heat. Why the heck am I blushing - he's talking about bears! But the earthling couldn't help but see some of the parallels. Nel... Nel was dangerous, in more ways than one. Since they had returned from Paterny he'd been wondering if it was even worth it to try and clear the air between them - after all, he'd have to leave eventually, and truth to tell, Nel might be better off without him.
But... he did want to be by her side. He wanted to prove to her that she didn't have to be alone, that there were people who wanted to help her carry her burdens, who could be trusted to do so. If it took time and effort, and risking the wrath of the Crimson Blade, then so be it. Their time as comrades-in-arms may be over... but Fayt realized that he didn't want their friendship to end. Not now... not ever.
Fayt looked at Adray with new eyes. Lasbard Family Remedy, huh... Maybe, just maybe, the old man had some wisdom to go along with his years.
"Thanks Adr-" the boy began, only to find a meaty hand clamped to his mouth.
"Shhh... hear that?" the old warrior asked.
Fayt blinked, then tried to discover what Adray was talking about. Soon enough he heard it, deep, booing rumbles and the sound of metal against metal.
"And here I thought I'd have to spend the rest of the day spouting nonsense," the bearded man chortled, "C'mon Fayt! Time for battle!"
"But those don't sound like –" the boy called out, but Adray was already charging ahead, bellowing a war cry that probably defeated the purpose of any stealth they'd used up to that point. Fayt took a deep breath, shook his head, and reluctantly followed.
Then again, maybe he is as much of an idiot as I first thought…
Huff. Puff. Huff. Puff.
"So…" Claire gulped out between gasps, "Do you… give up?"
"Very… funny," Nel answered, her breathing as heavy and labored as her friend's.
The two women were seated back to back, in the center of what had, not too long ago, been verdant forest. Now however, streaks of burnt foliage and shattered ground lay around the pair, although the two women, though dirty and tired, looked none the worse for wear.
"It's been a long time since we've let ourselves go like that," Nel said.
"Hm," Claire agreed, "Not since our training days. Why was it that we stopped again?"
"Laselle came down to the school and told us that if we wrecked anymore public property, he'd exile us to Greeton."
"Oh yes… I remember now."
Gingerly, and favoring an ankle that was sure to be sore in the morning, Nel rose to her feet, and helped Claire up. Before she disengaged she gripped the silver-haired woman's forearms tightly.
"Thanks," Nel said, "I needed that."
"Looked like it," Claire said with a smile, rubbing her sore shoulders. "I can understand why Tynave and Farleen disappear whenever you get into one of your moods. Even Cliff and my Father… or so Fayt tells me."
The redhead looked away. "How… how is he?"
"Morose," her friend replied earnestly, staring in dismay at a tear in her cloak, "You really could have handled that better you know. Was what he did so wrong?"
"It was moronic," Nel fumed, "He's the savior of Aquaria – of the Universe! In his condition, risking himself, for the sake of groundless slander…"
"Sometimes our emotions get the better of our logic, when we're dealing with matters that concern the people we care about. Wouldn't you have done the same for him?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Nel stooped down to pickup one of her blades. "I would never lose control over some trivial…"
"Father's trying to get him to marry me you know," Claire said nonchalantly.
The blade dropped back into the dirt, slipping from suddenly nerveless fingers. "What?" Nel snapped, as she whirled to face her friend, who had a huge grin on her face.
"See? Even you can't always be in control Nel…" Claire said. "He's as important to you as you are to him."
The Crimson Blade felt her cheeks turn the same color as her hair, "Alright. Fine," she admitted, "Maybe I was a little too… harsh on him." She sighed heavily. "I guess I need to find a way to make it up to him."
"One step ahead of you," Claire said, and handed a rolled up piece of parchment to her friend.
"What's this?" Nel unrolled the document and saw with surprise it contained the royal seal. Her brows shot up. "Enforced Vacation?"
The leader of the Shield Legion inclined her head. "You deserve it. More than that – you need it. Both the Queen and I are in agreement on this – you've been working yourself too hard Nel. A break will do both you and Fayt some good."
"Fayt?"
Claire put a hand on her shoulder. "Nel, I know you had the best of intentions, but I don't think taking Fayt along on dangerous missions is what he really needs to resolve whatever problems he may have."
"It's always worked for me," Nel said defensively.
"Nel, your answer to all problems is work," Claire chided her, "Try something different for once, if only for Fayt's sake. I think we can both agree that making sure he makes a full recovery takes precedence over any other mission you could be given."
Nel stood in silence for a long moment. Claire was right… Making sure Fayt was alright was of paramount importance. But… The idea of taking a leave, even a short one, unnerved her. She hated being idle – if she wasn't working, it felt as if her life was wasting away by the second.
Still, she'd done it before – and that time had been for Fayt as well. Of course, with all the battles that had followed her leaving Elicoor, she could hardly have called it anything but work – yet, she found that, even if this 'vacation' didn't involve battling demons or four-dimensional beings, the idea that she'd be 'wasting' time with Fayt somehow made the whole thing a lot more palatable. In a rare moment of introspection, she remembered how glad she had been when she had seen him again at the Training Facility – that time when she had leapt in to save him, and the second time just recently… Each time she'd been thinking that they had gone their separate ways, and each time she'd been proven wrong. Nel realized she wouldn't mind being wrong for a little while longer…
Nel's eyes met Claire's and the two exchanged a smile. "What would I ever do without you?"
"Let's hope you never find ou-"
As Claire was speaking though, a terrifying bellow echoed through the woods, accompanied by the sound of a large body crashing through the forest.
"Bandits?" Claire asked. "Now of all times?"
Nel smiled. "Useless to the end. What do you say we put them out of their misery?"
Her friend nodded, and once more, the runes of power flashed in the afternoon air.
"Ice Needle!" Nel shouted.
"Photon Ray!" seconded Claire.
"Aaaaaaargh!" said Adray as both spells hit him squarely on the chest, sending him tumbling back into the brush just as he had leapt clear of it. Both women stood in stunned silence for awhile, before Claire rushed to her father's side.
"Father? Is that you?" she asked, sounding concerned.
"Owowowow… Eh? Claire…" Adray winced, "Fancy meeting you here!"
The young Lasbard whacked her father on the head, "What in Apris' name are you doing here? You're supposed to be back home watching- "
"Fayt." Nel said simply, as the blue haired young man stepped into the clearing.
"Er, uhm, sorry about that," Fayt said, not looking at Nel as he helped Adray to his feet. "We were uhm… bear hunting, and uh, he heard some noises over here, and before I could stop him…"
"Bear hunting?" Claire mused, then her eyes widened. "Oh Father," she said, in a tone of profound disappointment. "You didn't…" She was about to launch another tirade when she saw Nel looking nervously from the vacation order to Fayt and then back again.
"Well, I think I should go and get my Father some medical attention," she said, as she tugged the old man away from the clearing, "You two can find your own way back right?"
Fayt blinked in confusion, but Nel nodded her silent thanks to Claire and said, "Yes, I should finish one last circuit of the area before heading back. Fayt can help me with that."
The two companions watched as Claire dragged away her protesting Father. As soon as they were gone however, Nel felt awkwardness settle around her like a cloak. She'd done Fayt wrong, she knew that – had known it from the beginning really, if she was honest – and she had no idea how to go about setting things right. Apologizing was not something Nel Zelpher had to do often.
Then she saw him rather nervously fingering a long, if crude, spear. She laughed. "Oh I get it – the infamous Lasbard Family Remedy eh?"
Fayt started, and looked at her for the first time since entering the clearing, then joined in her laughter. "You too eh?"
"You forget… I grew up with Claire," Nel said, closing the distance between them with a few short steps. "The last time was when he was trying to convince me that puberty was just another form of bear hunting. I don't think I ever looked at a bear in the same way again."
Fayt grinned. "I know what you mean," he said, then he fell silent, looking pensive. "Listen," he finally said, "I'm sorry about- "
"Forget it," Nel said, dismissing his apology with a wave of her arm, "I'm the one who was at fault. Sorry."
"Oh, no, really it was- "
"Stop insisting, when you know full well- "
They stopped, realizing they both had been talking at once, then laughed out loud. Still chuckling, Nel handed the Queen's missive to Fayt.
"A vacation huh?" Fayt said. "Well you certainly deserve it."
"Yes we do."
"We?"
"We," she said firmly. "I've learned my lesson – you're too much of a troublemaker to let alone. While you're on Elicoor, I'm not going to let you out of my sight."
The boy blinked, then grinned.
"I could live with that."
Author's Notes:
My it's been awhile ;
Thank you to all of you for your patience. It's been a rough start to the year for me – computer troubles and school pressure, not to mention sickness – but as bumpy as the road was, here we are – the fifth chapter. I hope it was worth the wait
Comments on Some Comments:
Jonathan: Yup – small world :P Looking forward to hearing from you too – gotta find time to read your story.
Tristan: Glad you like the concept :) As for Fayt's behavior – well, I think that kind of unconscious self confidence was a result of being, in effect, one of the savior's of the world. If you've gone toe to toe with your 'creator' you might have a bit of a problem with assessing other people as threats – especially when you're emotional. ;) But yeah it was hard to do that scene and stay as IC as possible.
NomadicOne: Yes the Maria and Nel endings are my favorites too
Skweeshy: Thanks for pointing out the typo :)
Pipp: Many, many thanks for all the reviews and encouragement. It warms the heart to see such enthusiasm – really made me try my best to get this done.
Macross-Green: Glad you liked it! And yes, spoiler abound – especially next chapter – so I hope the delays have at least given you the time to complete the game :P
Next Chapter: Nel takes Fayt to visit her childhood home, and we learn a little more about what makes our favorite redhead tick. We also take the opportunity to check in on how the rest of the cast has been doing – and not all are having as swell a time as Fayt and Nel, that's for sure.
And as a further bonus for bearing with the long delay:
VANISHING POINT OMAKE #1:
Adray: Well then, Master Fayt. Does this mean that you are
currently…single?
Fayt: Yeah, you could say so—but why do you ask?
Adray: Ah, perfect.
The camera shows Adray opening his left eye.
Adray: Wanna marry ME?
Fayt: (spews the entire contents of his mouth – and stomach – onto the table) WHAT THE HELL?
Adray: What? You've got yaoi fics aplenty with Albel and Cliff… All I'm asking for is some equal opportunity lovin'!
Fayt: (Kill me now.)
- Yes, yes, pointless I know :P And no, while it's not my cup of joe, I don't think there's anything wrong with yaoi. Unless it involves Adray :P