Seas would Rise: Chapter Two, Pity the Fathers, Lady's New Job

The 38 year old Larsa Solidor turned in his seat to face the Sky Pirate and leader of Belfonheim, Vaan Ratsbane. "So, how have things been with you these past two years since we last saw each other?"

Vaan shrugged as he flicked a couple of switches near his pilot's chair, "They've been fairly standard, to tell you the truth. I've started teaching a couple of youngsters the ins and outs of the trade."

Larsa raised an eyebrow and asked, "And who would the two, "youngsters" as you put it, be?"

Vaan flicked one last switch, and the overhead light display clicked on, showing the words Autopilot Engaged in a pale green light. He then swiveled the chair around to talk to the Emperor of Archadia face to face. "Well, the boy is my son, Reks, and the other is a girl that is a friend of his from Belfonheim."

Larsa chuckled lightly, "I see you're still terrible with names. How nostalgic."

Vaan mock growled at the younger man, "I miss when you were a kind spoken young man called Lamont, you were so much easier to deal with then."

Larsa rolled his eyes, "Whatever you wish to believe, Vaan. Though I'll have you know I have actually mellowed out since then."

Vaan laughed, "I think it's the other way around, Larsa, but whatever."

There was a knock on the door, and a young man with short red hair poked his head out. "Hey dad, where are we going today? You didn't really give us a whole lot of details before we all of a sudden left, you know."

Vaan stood up and made his way to the door, opening it up all the way, grabbing the red head by the scruff of his neck, and dragging him into the cabin. He turned to Larsa and said, "Oh, and before you get confused, yes, this is Reks, my tiny little son."

The sixteen year old red head named Reks shoved his father away playfully, "I ain't that tiny anymore, you little slip of a father."

Vaan pushed his son back through the doorway, "That's enough lip from you, young man. Now go, take care of our other guest, keep him entertained as I talk with my old friend here."

Reks waved his hand in a nonchalant manner, "Yeah, yeah. I'm going I'm going."

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The 18 year old Cidolfus Solidor, Larsa's one and only son, sighed as he rested against side of the airship he was currently riding in.

"Hey, Cid, you holding up all right?" asked Reks as he made his way back down the short passage to the Lounge Cabin in the middle of the airship where the young prince of Archadia was currently relaxing.

The prince nodded at the red haired young man, "Yeah, Reks, I'm doing just fine. I haven't seen you in almost two years, and here I find you finally learning the trade from your dad. How's that coming along?"

Reks shrugged his shoulders, easygoing as he always was, "Not bad. He still won't let me pilot his ship, but he does let me do some maintenance work on her, which works out just fine for me, if you want my opinion."

Cid nodded his head, his short, dark brown hair appearing a murky red in the light given off by the flickering light above the two adolescent males' skulls. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and winced, "Hey, Reks, you got anything to drink? I feel like I'm dying of thirst over here."

Reks nodded and jumped over the counter in the center of the room, landing on the raised section of the room that led to the back part of the ship. "Water all right with you?" he asked.

Cid raised his voice slightly so that Reks, who had already rounded the corner, could hear him. "That's fine with me," he shouted back.

Cid heard the sound of light weight feet making his way towards him, and he turned to look as a young girl of fifteen made her way into the central area. She was wearing light colored pants and shirt, with a leather vest adding extra padding against attacks. Her jet black hair was braided into one long braid that fell over her shoulder, and both of her wrists were covered with wide bracelets.

Cid smirked, before leaning down and picking up his short sword. Unsheathing it with a flourish, he smiled maniacally as he ran and jumped up over the six foot long table that separated him from the young girl, blade poised to strike her while her back was turned.

However, the young woman spun around right before he could slash her, an exact copy of the sword that was in Cid's hands in her own. The sound of the clash of metal striking metal echoed throughout the cabin, and Reks was quick to make his way back into the room.

"What the hell are you two doing?" he shrieked.

Cid laughed and put an arm around the young girl's shoulders, who smiled shyly as Cid said out loud, "Don't worry about it, Reks, that's just how we've grown accustomed to greeting one another." He turned his head slightly to look at the young girl, "Isn't that right, Natalia?"

The young woman rolled her eyes, smiling at the confused expression on Reks's face. "Don't worry, Reks, he's speaking the truth." She shrugged her shoulders helplessly, "Big brothers, can't live with him, can't quite seem to kill them either."

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Larsa ruffled his daughter's hair as they walked away from the airship into the large metal facility. "When I said you could visit Belfonheim, and maybe stay there a little bit, that wasn't what I meant, 'Talia."

Natalia giggled and hugged her father, "It's good to see you too, Papa."

Larsa returned the hug, "Indeed it is, little 'Talia." He took a deep breath, tightening his grip slightly, before continuing, "I don't mind if you want to stay in Belfonheim, or even become a sky pirate, but you could at least write every now and then."

Natalia kissed her father's cheek before breaking the embrace, "Okay then, Papa, I'll be sure to write you more often once I become a sky pirate." Laughing, she then skipped away in order to catch up to Reks and Cid, who were arguing good naturedly.

Larsa groaned and rubbed his forehead, "That's not what I meant, Natalia."

He heard a voice chuckle behind him, and he turned to see Balthier, graying at the temples, walk towards him with a smirk on his lips, "Daughter troubles, young Emperor?"

Larsa nodded tiredly, "Yes." He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, "It's times like this that I miss her mother more than anything."

Balthier slapped the young Archadian on the back, "Chin up, old man. The world isn't coming to an end just yet. Be glad for what you have, old man, and rejoice that the world has decided to leave you with at least that much."

Larsa smiled softly, "You have a valid point as always, Balthier." The young emperor raised an eyebrow, "You seem stressed out, old man, what ever could be the cause of it?"

It was Balthier's turn to groan, "Same problem as you, your highness. I'm a father who has a teenage daughter." He gave Larsa a sidelong glance, "And I'm not too trusting of your son, either."

Larsa raised an eyebrow as he glanced at his son, who at that moment was greeting the half viera, half hume woman along with her viera mother. The daughter of Balthier and Fran had slightly lighter skin than her mother, and the ears that were atop her mother's head were absent from her own. "And why is that?" he said in an amused tone, "Would it have anything to do with the six months that they were trapped all alone together in that other plane of existence?"

Balthier growled, "That has something to do with it, yes."

Larsa slapped the pirate's back good naturedly, "Well then, we should get going and catch up with Gabranth, I'm sure he wants to get us to our destination so that he can sit down and rest."

Balthier began to gesture animatedly as the two fathers began to walk towards the rest of the group, "Ah yes! About that, couldn't you have warned me who he was first? I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw him, you know. I thought Basch had come to collect my bounty, or even worse than that, his dead brother decided to collect it for him...."

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Penelo gave the 18 year old Larsa a weird expression. "What do you mean that Basch is coming back to Archadia? I thought he was going to become the ambassador here!"

Larsa placed a finger on Penelo's lips, effectively silencing her as he spoke in a quiet voice, "That was my original plan, but in order to not raise a giant fuss, a couple of things have to happen before he can become as such."

Penelo batted Larsa's hand away. She huffed and put the backs of her hands on the side of her hips, leaning close to Larsa and saying, "And why would you be worried about a fuss?"

Larsa smirked lightly before reaching out with a gloved hand and placing an errant lock of Penelo's hair back behind her ear, as she had taken out her braids earlier that same evening. "It would be better in the long run for everyone involved if they ended up married, don't you think?" Penelo gasped, startled, and then nodded her head numbly. Larsa continued, "Well then, it's going to take about five to seven years for me to see to it that he is eligible to be her husband. In the meantime, he can stay here in secret for a couple of years before his presence is required back in Archadia."

Penelo blushed slightly and sat back down, "Oh. I thought you meant that he was going to have to come back to Archadia immediately."

Larsa stood up to leave in order to turn in for the night, but first bent down slightly and whispered in Penelo's ear, "You know something, my dear Penelo? You're cute when you blush like that." He then straightened his posture, turned around, and walked out of the room.

Penelo held her hands to her cheeks, "He thinks I'm cute? Where did that come from?"

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"Basch, I think I've found something of yours," said Larsa with an amused tone.

Basch turned around to see Larsa carrying a sleepy toddler in his arms. The older man smiled and shook his head in bemused puzzlement. "Now where did this one run off to this time? I've only known them for a week, but I can tell that this one truly enjoys exploration."

Larsa chuckled as he placed the youngster into Basch's waiting arms. "He told me he wanted to 'talk with the pretty lady and the glove guy', as he put it."

Basch quirked an eyebrow, "I can tell that you're the 'glove guy', but who was the other that he was referring to?"

Larsa shrugged, "Who else but Penelo?"

"You three discuss anything interesting?"

"He wanted to know why I kept referring to you as 'Gabanth'. That and he thinks I had you delivering mail for me while you were in my employ."

Basch glanced at his young son, who at this point was blissfully sleeping in his father's arms. "I did more than that, Noah."

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Ashe gave Penelo a light hug, "It was so good to see you again, Penelo." Stepping back, she glanced at both the young sky pirate and the Emperor of Archadia. She winked and said, "Thanks for bringing home ambassador Gabranth, by the way. I can assure you his presence here will be most welcome."

Larsa smiled at the Queen of Dalmasca, "I do what I can, your Majesty."

Little Noah tugged on the hem of his mother's dress, "Is the glove guy and the pretty lady leaving Mama?"

Ashe smiled at the improper grammar. "That's right, sweetie, they're both going back to Archadia. Penelo's going to assist Larsa with some things since Papa won't be there to help him out for a while."

Noah attempted to nod sagely, but since he was a three year old boy, it turned out more adorable than solemn. This made Penelo gush, and she bent down and gave Noah a quick hug. "Don't worry, Noah, we'll meet again." She smiled mischievously, "Who knows? You could very well become the third Judge Magister 'Gabanth' someday."

Basch shook his head, "If it ever does happen, I think I might faint from shock."

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TBC

AN: Happy New Year, everyone! Hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are most welcome.

(Tracklist – Single track – Mortal Kombat Movie – Theme Song)

(Finish Him!) xP