A Love on the Sidelines

By: 4quintessence

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Square Enix, the fanfiction to me.

Pairing: CliffxFayt

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Nel breaks the sad news to Fayt about what Lord Arzem is hiding and the resistance movement makes contact with them. We check in on how Cliff is faring and discover something bad about those walls that surround Granada. Sophia tries to cheer up Fayt with a humourous story about her snooping around where she shouldn't be. We end with Fayt facing a terrible dilemma...

Shout Outs - Zel: I'm not getting any PM's thru FF net so just e-mail me directly. Anyways thats so funny you have an oral exam! I'm so glad my scene with schoolgirl Fayt and Teacher Cliff will spice up your Spanish :D You know i don't know where my characterization for Arzem comes from. I think i may be subconsciously writing him as a collection of the bad things about people i know (cough mom and stepdad cough). Hahaha no its not Sephiroth :D I can see how she got that though. I mean how many people have white hair...btw i cant believe how much coursework you have! Spectral: YAY! YOUR BACK! Isn't Albel and Cliff great? In a humourous sort of way :D I'm assuming that you died alot by an enemy casting Ultima on you in FFX-2 :D ive always liked it cuz its the strongest magic...of course only when i have it and not the bad guys :D If you find the time could you review chapter 12 and/or ch 14? I'm proudest of those and i want to know what you think. Oh ya! Send me that Fayt pic u drew! My e-mail is in my profile at the bottom. Did you like Fayt in his uniform in ch 16? Mister Cat: Thanks for adding my story to your favourites!

Chapter 17:

Fayt looked up glumly at the person who had spoken to him. His eyes met the concerned gaze of a handsome young man with short snowy white hair, long sideburns, and a strange patch of black hair on the back of his head. He couldn't have been more than a few years older than Fayt. He wore a light vest, also black, with a tantalizingly deep V-neck opening that showed off his lean chest. It looked like there was a dog collar around his neck and he also had a necklace that resembled little bones strung together with a half-moon pendent in the middle. Fayt finally noticed that Nel was standing right behind this mysterious man.

"I'm Haru," the stranger announced, offering the bluenette a hand to help him up off the ground. "I've been trying to find you, but it looks like I'm a bit too late."

Fayt was surprised about what came out of his mouth next, but you can't blame him considering he was a mishmash of emotions from just losing Cliff. "Your name's Haru? That's a funny name," he blurted out, feeling rather light-headed.

Haru simply smirked, crossing his arms. "Ummm, you do know your name is Fayt right?"

Nel couldn't help but chuckle briefly before biting her tongue.

"Shut up, it's not like I got to choose it," the bluenette said sternly, his patience oozing out of him like the sweat from the pores on his temples.

The white-haired man ignored Fayt's blabbering. "Anyways, I'm the leader of the resistance movement here in Granada against the rule of Lord Arzem and the whole monarchy in general. We got word of your group's arrival and we've been secretly following you, but we couldn't get close to you since you spent so much time in the palace. One of my spies notified me about your morning stroll and I went out to search for you...but I get lost easily and I ended up on that path to the lookout on the other side of town."

Fayt stared at Haru with a raised eyebrow as the sun's rays beat down on him.

The stranger continued: "I was hoping to get to you before they snatched Cliff away…" he muttered, his voice trailing off as he caught sight of a cute toddler running to her parents after snatching an apple from a fruit stand.

The bluenette suddenly felt embarrassed. "You didn't happen to follow us to a school did you?"

"Yes, we did, but we didn't go inside. We didn't spy on you if that's what you mean. I like schoolgirl uniforms too, if that makes you feel better..."

Fayt was unsure of whether to trust this man — he had clearly been too liberal with his trust in this city — but he still felt relieved anyway. Nel finally cut through the thick, awkward haze hanging between the two men with a flip of her dagger-like tongue.

"Oh! Fayt, I have to tell you the whole reason we're here in the first place. I bumped into this man on the way from the temple — he already knows so much about us and our situation. But more importantly, I found out what Lord Arzem is hiding from us."

The bluenette's eyes widened and he inhaled deeply through his nose, catching the delectable aroma of freshly baked cinnamon buns from a shop nearby. He knew whatever it was, it wasn't gonna be good. Please say it's not about Cliff, please say it's not about Cliff, he hoped rather naively to himself.

Nel didn't waste any time getting to the point. "They're going to kill him. I found another section in that diary in the temple that suggests there is a quicker way to prevent this predicted invasion from another universe. It says that the saint with the neck markings must be sacrificed to the god who wrote the diary. Apparently this will please him and he will fix all their problems."

A blood-red image of him and Cliff lying in their meadow flashed through his mind as Fayt brought his hand to his suddenly throbbing forehead. This has to be a misunderstanding, she didn't say sacrifice did she? But the frightened look on Nel's face said it all. He felt like running away, from all the bustle of Granada, to hide somewhere where no one could find him. This was a hundred times worse than when Clair kissed Cliff, yet he just felt numb in response, unable to feel after all the awful things that had happened to him on this adventure. But then it came — he felt something overpowering building up in his chest, like a geyser preparing to explode and looking for a way out.

"FUUUCCCKKK!" Fayt screamed at the top of his lungs, releasing all his pent up frustration as he slumped to the ground, hanging his head in sorrow. People passing by stared at him shaking their heads. "Why does this always happen to ME! What have I done to deserve this? Everyone around me is dying! They can't kill Cliff, he's the only one I have now...I don't even know if my parents are alive!"

"Language Fayt," Nel replied impulsively, feeling incredibly sorry for him but unable to express it.

Haru bent down to look Fayt straight in the eye while rubbing his ears since the bluenette's bloodcurdling curse was still echoing within them. "Hey there, snap out of it! Don't worry, we'll figure it out. You have the entire Granada resistance movement on your side now. We don't believe any of that crap in the diary. I betcha anything Arzem wrote that last section himself to rally the people around him. No one deserves to die that way. Especially not for that bastard."

"...I guess you're right. We can't give up, we'll find a way. But what do we do now?" Fayt asked, wiping away a tenacious tear from the curve of his cheek.

"Go back to the palace and get the other members of your team. Then come meet me at the resistance's hideout at the mansion beside the school. You can't miss it. Arzem thinks you're clueless so I don't think he'll treat you any differently as long as you don't threaten him. Moo...that's what I think about this whole situation."

The bluenette looked at Haru curiously as the latter stood back up. "Did you just moo? What are you a cow or something?"

"Fayt! What's your problem?! He's trying to help us," Nel piped in, not having heard the odd utterance (udderance?).

"No comment," Haru responded quietly before disappearing into the masses of people in the shopping square.

"I don't know about him, Nel," Fayt questioned, as he hoisted himself up. "He seems kinda strange...But then again when has that ever stopped us from making friends with someone?"

Nel smiled warmly at him, tucking her chin into the high collar of her shirt. "Good point. I hope you're referring to Albel and not me though."

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Cliff sat all alone on the icy stone floor of a prison cell, both of his ankles clamped to giant iron balls. He was in the backside of the courthouse, a place where 'justice' — as Lord Arzem saw fit — was doled out. It was a dreary atmosphere, dark and damp except for a tiny slit of a window on the left wall that teased Cliff with an unreachable freedom, the bright light from outside both mocking him and giving him a slim shred of hope that he would soon escape into its radiance. The dungeon smelled rancid, like the rotting corpses of a hundred rats, which perhaps wasn't too far from the truth. Contrasting sharply with this misery was the lunch laid out on a platter in front of him made from the finest food in all of Granada, straight from the palace's kitchens. He was a lord after all. He deserved only the best.

It wasn't like Cliff couldn't handle the unpleasantness of imprisonment. Been there, done that, he thought. It was the tedious boredom that really got to him. He was sitting with his legs stretched out, so to amuse himself he tried — without bending his legs — to reach his feet with his hands. Extending his back as much as possible, there was still a small gap between his fingers and his toes. He sighed and leaned back against the wall, tapping his hands on his legs to a tune in his head. Suddenly, he had an uncontrollable urge to sing.

"All by myself, don't wanna be all by myself, anymore…" he droned on in a sad but alluring tone, his deep voice echoing through the dim hallways. "Hard to be sure, sometimes I feel so insecure…" He paused and started grinning to himself. Who writes these songs anyways? Klausians never felt insecure. It was their nature. The only time Cliff had ever felt insecure was after Fayt confessed his love to him in Peterny. But that quickly passed and blossomed into something wonderful. So those few minutes of vulnerability were all worth it.

The blond finally had a shot of inspiration by thinking about Fayt. ULTIMA! his mind screamed. "Of course," he said out loud. Braedon had given it to him for a situation like this. Feeling a sudden warmth flow through him, the Klausian stood up as the chains on his feet rattled over the floor. I hope I can focus this properly, he mused. I don't wanna blow up the whole place. Closing his eyes and concentrating as hard as he could, Cliff filled his lungs with air and held it. Reaching out his right hand, he began to summon the magic with his mind, trying to contain its power to destroy only the cell door. The room suddenly became darker than it already was, a blackness only found in the depths of the ocean. The light from the tiny window vanished. The cell bars began to vibrate violently as a violet energy gathered around the doorframe and a rune symbol materialized in the air in front of his palm.

Suddenly, the magic sparked and fizzled as the light from the torches returned to the room and Cliff was propelled backwards towards the wall.

A high and mighty laugh came from a guard down the hall. "You can't use magic in Granada prisoner. I thought you would have already figured that out. The city is surrounded by ramparts made from magicite rock that is only found in this region. It cancels out all attack spells. Looks like you're stuck, Lord Cliff."

That last address really riled the blond. The guard had said it in such a ridiculing tone, clearly enjoying the fact that Cliff wasn't being treated like a lord at all. 'Scum' was probably what the asshole really meant. The Klausian slumped down against the wall and smashed his fist into the floor in anger. "Owww!" he roared, not caring if anyone heard him. He sucked on his oozing knuckles to soothe the pain and eyed his feet again, determined to reach them before the day was over.

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"M'lord, I just walked past Fayt's room and he looked rather miserable. Guess I was right about him being close to Lord Cliff. Are you sure this whole sacrificial ceremony will swell your support among the people?"

"Yes, Darien it will. They have been brought up on the scriptures, even if we may have 'tampered' with some of them. It is not something so easily cast aside. He is their saviour — just look at the response his arrival has caused! They believe, with all their hearts, that this sacrifice will ensure Granada's eternal greatness and protection. I tell you, religion will always win against the blasphemy of the resistance. Of course...there is always another foolproof way to rally the people around their leader...maybe I should let Fayt make that decision, no? I'm not completely unsympathetic to his plight...hahaha..."

"What are you talking about sir?"

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Fayt was back in his room, sitting cross-legged by himself on the large bed. He slowly ran his hand in an arc along the velvety sheets, feeling the place where Cliff usually slept. It almost feels warm… He stuffed his face into the pillow beside him, trying to tease out any lasting aroma of his lover. Suddenly Coco and Loco jumped onto the bed and started pawing at the bluenette's side, sensing something was wrong. Nel was out finding the others as Fayt had asked for some time alone before heading out to meet Haru again.

Coco slipped into his lap and he stroked her affectionately, closing his eyes to think about the situation at hand. First we have to find where they are keeping him…even then how will we get him out? This is insane. If I really have a visionary ancestor I could use her help right about now. Boy do I ever miss him...

Sophia sauntered through the partially open door and plopped down on the bed beside Fayt, interrupting his reflections. Loco began rubbing against her thigh, using it to itch himself. Sophia lay a hand over Fayt's back and he turned to look into her gentle, caring eyes.

"Awww Fayt, I'm so sorry. I can't believe they just took him like that, in broad daylight, right in the middle of the shopping square! Those stupid Greetoners. They did the exact same thing to me in Arias." She clenched her fist and her arm starting shaking. "Where is that Lord Arzem? When I get my hands on him…I'll find a toilet, some Brussel sprouts and then..."

"No, Sophia you mustn't. Arzem doesn't know that we know what's really going on. We can't attack him, it will only make things worse. We'll work in secret with the resistance to get Cliff back."

Sophia reached over and brushed Fayt's bangs out of his face, noticing a gathering redness under his eyes. "So you're saying he doesn't know that we know what he knows? ...Owww!" she exclaimed suddenly as Loco bit her in the thigh.

The bluenette sat silently making a face like he was constipated as he tried to run what Sophia had said through his mind to see if it made any sense. "…Yes. And he bit you because you were ignoring him."

"Oh, oops," she replied, patting Loco on the back while giving him the evil eye. "Well he's trying to give me fleas. Anyhow, don't worry Fayt. We'll get Cliff back before they do anything to him. It's not like he'd go easy right? He'd fight to the very end for the chance to see you again, I know it."

"Thanks Sophia," the bluenette responded, giving her a quick hug. "I just can't let the last words he ever spoke to me be: 'Hmmm...I dunno, kid. Would kinda get in the way when we're making love'."

Sophia scrunched her nose up as her jaw inched downwards like a snake readying to devour a rodent. "Ummm, what were you talking about anyway? ...Okay, never mind I don't want to know. Well do you wanna know my last memory of Cliff? It's way worse than yours. I need to see him again so that doesn't become the last thing that ever happens between us."

"I guess...sure tell me what happened this morning between you two," he answered, resting his chin in his palm.

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Flashback to the morning, before Fayt and Cliff went on their ill-fated stroll…

Wandering down the hallway, Sophia noticed that the door to Cliff and Fayt's room was open a crack. She tiptoed to the door as quietly as a bunny and peeked into the room. There was no one there.

Just a few moments ago, Maria had dared Sophia to sneak into their room and steal some aquaberries from Cliff's travelling bag. Sophia had accidentally brushed against a poisonous bush in one of the parks in Granada and since she was all out of the berries, Maria the cheapskate decided that it was better to snatch some from Cliff rather than buy more from the marketplace.

Sophia crept into the room, closing the door behind her, and gingerly reached into the bag beside the bed. She suddenly heard a noise coming from the bathroom and her eyes froze on the handle of the door as it started turning in a circle. Seeing no other choice, Sophia flung herself onto the bed and hid under the covers, hoping she wouldn't be caught red-handed. Cliff strode out of the bathroom, buck-naked, whistling to himself and drying out his hair with a towel. Sophia could feel the leftover steam from the shower floating into the room and tickling her under the sheets. Oh god, oh god, I'm screwed, how am I going to get out of this? Why didn't I check if anyone was in there first?!

Cliff headed straight for his clothes which were strewn on the floor beside the bed. Mentally noting the lumpiness of the sheets, he simply thought that they were rumpled up all funny. Sophia could hear him coming nearer...until he was standing with his back towards her curled up body, about to sit down on the bed to get dressed! Cliff began leaning backwards, his hot, beefy ass lowering closer and closer to Sophia's head under the blankets...SMOOSH! Cliff finally sat down on the rather lumpy bed, his butt smothering into Sophia's face, only separated by a thin sheet.

"AHHHHH!!! GROSS!" Sophia screeched, pushing him away with both hands and getting all tangled up in the covers.

"What the hell?!" Cliff roared, jumping back up. "Sca-ree! There's a ghost in my bed!"

Sophia found her way out of the blankets and her skin flushed scarlet as she sat there, meeting Cliff's bewildered gaze. Now most people would use their towel to cover themselves up in this situation. The Klausian couldn't care less. Sophia quickly covered her eyes with one hand and tilted her head downwards.

"SOPHIA! Whaddaya doin' in here, hiding in our bed of all places?!" Cliff bellowed, nonchalantly scratching where her nose had uncomfortably indented into his buttcheek.

Sweat was starting to pour out of Sophia's skin and her heart raced like someone being chased by Nel after touching her ass without permission. "I...I…" she managed, her eyes filling with tears. She began to weep quietly, embarrassed beyond belief from being caught and also since the blond had no clothes on.

Cliff crossed his arms and stood silently, waiting for her to calm down. "Sophia, its okay. Don't worry 'bout it. Actually, I feel kinda sorry for ya…" he snickered, his nipples sticking out nicely from leaving the warmth of the bathroom.

Just then Fayt walked into the room and immediately halted in his tracks. He was carrying a bottle of hair gel in one hand he had borrowed from Albel since Cliff had run out. His eyes scrunched up and he pointed first to Sophia then to Cliff before mouthing 'What?' and spinning around to march straight out of the room. "I don't even want to know…" he muttered, nearly smashing into the door on the way out.

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"So that's what really happened, Fayt," Sophia explained. "I finally told Cliff about the dare and then raced out of the room before he could respond."

The story had lightened up Fayt's otherwise somber mood and his cheeks were sore from laughing. Sophia changed the subject, not allowing Fayt to give a snotty response to her unfortunate circumstances.

"Fayt, did you notice that we can't use magic here? Healing is about the only symbology that works. Mirage and Maria think that is really strange…"

"What?" he replied, surprised they hadn't noticed this earlier. He outstretched one palm and summoned a fire spell. A round ball of flames began to grow but quickly sputtered and disappeared.

"Good thing that didn't work. Otherwise I would have thrown it at you for sneaking into our room," the bluenette joked. Sophia pretended she was going to cry before playfully shoving him off the bed.

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The entire crew — which included Fayt, Sophia, Albel, Maria, Mirage, and Nel — were only a few footsteps outside the palace on their way to see Haru when they noticed a great hullabaloo in one corner of the Freedom Square. Unmistakably Granada's largest piazza, the square was surrounded by three important buildings: the royal palace, the temple, and the army's headquarters. Over by the entrance to the temple, the group could see a gathering of Greetoners surrounding what looked like Lord Arzem...Fayt saw a flash of golden hair behind him and a group of soldiers…Could it be?

The bluenette instinctively bolted off before anyone else knew what was happening. "It's him," Mirage told the others, her Klausian eyes easily making out Cliff in the distance. They all sprinted after Fayt.

Fayt's mind was spinning as he raced towards his target in the distance. The people scattered around the plaza became a blur as he weaved back and forth between them — through an obstacle course that never seemed to end. He finally arrived at the gathering and noticed right away that Cliff's eyes were following his every move. Arzem shooed the smitten spectators away when he saw Fayt, leaving some members of the royal court and a handful of guards as the only barrier between the bluenette and his lover.

"CLIFF!" the bluenette screamed in a long, sorrowful tone.

"Ahhh, just who I was looking for," Arzem declared loudly, his voice laced with an air of pomposity.

Unable to hold himself back, Cliff abruptly turned on the guards around him and began kicking at them since his wrists were handcuffed behind his back. After knocking a few of them out, a swarm of guards ran out of the temple and eventually subdued him. Lord Arzem's laugh echoed across the square.

"C'mon ya lowlife, just one hug…" the blond pleaded to Arzem, gazing at Fayt as the ocean longs for the tidal touch of the moon.

"Now, now, we'll see what Fayt has to say about that. I'm here to give you a choice young one. I know what it's like to have your love torn away from you, plus there's something else I have been dying to do all these years. So answer this: Either I sacrifice Cliff as the scripture commands, or you can have him back and instead I will order a full scale attack on Aquaria and Airyglyph. So what would you have me do?" Arzem taunted, one hand raised and ready to give the order.

The rest of the crew hurled insults at the ruler while Fayt wrapped his mind around the dilemma presented to him — all the time trying to suppress his rising emotions. No! What kind of choice is that? I want him back...I want him with all my heart. We were meant to be together...I'm nothing without him...WHY SHOULDN'T I BE ABLE TO HAVE HIM BACK?! Because...so many people will die...I can't have anymore people dying around me, especially all those I've met on our journey across this world…Still, what if he was right? Maybe I should just choose him and we'll leave this backwater planet since we shouldn't even be involved in their affairs…But no...I could never live with myself being that selfish...my happiness for thousands of lives...people with dreams and aspirations…

Lord Arzem's voice yanked Fayt out of his daydreams. The latter hadn't said a word in almost a minute. "Well, I guess you can't decide then. I'll make the decision for you." With that, Arzem ordered the guards to drag Cliff back to the jail and he turned around to march back into the temple, calling behind him with a wave of his hand: "Good choice Fayt! Tomorrow evening you may watch the sacrificial ceremony in the Plaza of Life and Death outside the courthouse and say your farewells. Don't be late."

Overflowing with a wrath that brought his blood to a boil as it screamed through his veins, Fayt started stomping towards Arzem with his sword drawn — his arms were shaking uncontrollably and in his eyes was a thunderstorm of hatred, the electricity pulsing through the folds of his emerald irises. Albel grabbed him and held him back as he fought to break free. "Only an idiot would attack him now, Leingod. We are totally outnumbered. We must wait for the opportune moment...his time will come."

NO WAY!!! TO BE CONTINUED!

(A/N: I had a lot of trouble writing the last part of this chapter. im not sure why. cuz i wanted to convey it right and because the idea of fake choice hits close to home. so ya Haru makes an appearance in my story! lol i couldn't resist bringing him in. Moo)