A Love on the Sidelines
By: 4quintessence
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Square Enix, the fanfiction to me.
Pairing: CliffxFayt
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Fayt's not doing so good as the reality of the situation hits him hard: Cliff is scheduled to be sacrified tonight. In an interesting turn of events, Albel decides to take things into his own hands to help Fayt out (he has his own reasons too). Haru shows up, an old friend arrives, and with time winding down Fayt finally loses it...
Shout Outs - Zel (aka Faris): Haha our white haired mystery man makes his appearance! its funny cuz Haru liked Momiji in a girl's school uniform so apparently he also likes Fayt in one too :D that fit in well. maybe the resistance isnt doing so well cuz their leader gets lost all the time :D Thanks for the kind words about the end of last chapter! I'm happy how it turned out now. I really hope they update the SO3 manga! im really interested to see how they deal with our couple. Lol thats so funny about your friend's telescope message. Spectral: Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 18:
And the sun was wondering if it should, stay away for a day, till the feeling went away...
Immersed in the relaxing reaches of a dream, Fayt was piloting the Eagle with Cliff by his side as they blasted through the aqueducts of Airyglyph looking for the blond's home planet. It was like some kind of marathon course since their friends were standing at forks in the underground system and pointing them in the right direction. Up ahead the bluenette saw deep space at the end of a tunnel and a beautiful planet orbiting through the beam of twin suns, the yellow light exploding in all directions as it danced along the long, thin clouds encircling the equator. He glanced at Cliff and noticed a plethora of stars reflecting off his eyes — his pupils were mirroring the planet's two moons, each surrounded by blue rings of ice and rock. Almost there…
Reality grabbed him by the shoulders and abruptly pulled him up and out of his dream — the rustling of Coco and Loco by his feet had unwillingly ended his slumber. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at his watch on the bedside table. It was blurry so he blinked a few times until the fuzzy outline sharpened into numbers. 8:44 am. Ugh. He closed his eyes again and weakly willed his body to rise. A ghost was lying over him, pressing him into the bed. The dreariness from the clouds outside seeped through the window and into his skin, suppressing all desire to move. Maybe he could just sleep through the whole day.
Fayt had truly grasped the gravity of the situation after Lord Arzem had offered that fraudulent ultimatum over Cliff's fate. Things seemed pretty hopeless to him at this point, as he lay all alone in the early morning when depression held its victim in the tightest grip. Sometimes he secretly longed for a way out, a quick escape from the pain and injustice permeating his very existence. He stretched an arm out to the place where Cliff should have been, ocean water dripping from the edges of his eyes as the richness of his soul trickled away with every diamond tear lost to the sheets below. Why do all good things come to an end…?
He managed to sit up on the side of the bed and look into the mirror across the room. He quickly turned away, disgusted. Soon Mirage and Maria came to visit him separately to try to cheer him up, the former by distracting him from the situation at hand with a funny story and the latter discussing what they should do next. Fayt half-listened through the dark barrier that hung around him while staring off into space and nodding occasionally. Mentioning something about updating Haru on what happened, Maria eventually left, meeting up with Mirage who was waiting in the hallway.
A thought surfaced in the bluenette's mind, an ancient whisper from long ago. Don't hold it all in Fayt, find a way to express yourself, his mom's voice advised. He stared at the pen and paper on the desk in his room. After giving his head a little itch, Fayt stood up and went over to write something...yes, a letter to Cliff...not that it will ever get to him...but he had to get his thoughts out somehow or they would devour him from within like a terrible flesh-eating disease.
Cliff, I never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Everyday I've loved you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing?
Come back to me and forgive everything
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I will love you, till the end of time
And he continued on, writing the words of his heart that he knew Cliff would never read. And even if he did, he'd be like 'What's this mushy shit?', Fayt mused with a tired grin. How he missed the goofball. Finishing his love note, Fayt wandered zombie-like across the room and slumped back into bed.
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Why am I going to see him again? Albel wondered as he sauntered unhurriedly down the hallway towards Fayt's chamber. What the hell am I supposed to do to cheer him up anyway? I could stab my katana into his pillow and scare the shit out of him again like in Peterny... The beginnings of a smile crept across his face as he pictured the bluenette's exceedingly shocked expression from that night. No, I'll just tell him to get off his ass, stop moping, and get to work on finding a way to rescue the big lug…
For Albel, life just hadn't been that exciting since Cliff had been kidnapped, though he hated to admit it. Messing around with Maria's mind — he had taken her quad scanner from her room and she had torn the place apart looking for it, so he put it back while she was in the washroom and when she found it she had seriously thought she was going crazy — just wasn't as entertaining as bickering with Fittir.
Albel arrived at Fayt's door and quietly turned the handle when he found it unlocked. He sighed and glared into the room, not looking forward to talking to his sad comrade but knowing he had to. When his eyes came to rest upon his sleeping companion, he closed the door, hesitated, and then opened it again as his mind wrestled with what action to take. Finally noticing a letter sitting on the desk beside the door, Albel's curiosity got the best of him as he snuck into the room and snatched up the piece of paper, scanning over its contents. The love note baffled him: Why would anyone waste time writing something like this when they knew it would never get to its recipient?
He glanced over at Fayt and studied the crunched up face. Even when asleep the kid looked distressed. A brilliant idea suddenly blossomed in Albel's mind like a newly formed four-leaf clover. This plan could solve all his pressing problems in one foul swoop. He would go on a stealth mission by himself to infiltrate the courthouse jail and rescue Fittir, delivering the letter along the way. One, it would be difficult and exhilarating, much better than the boredom of waiting around the palace. Two, he wouldn't have to worry about any of the others screwing something up or have to listen to their petty arguments over a plan of action. Three, Fayt would forever be in his debt, a bittersweet revenge for the defeat he had suffered at the hands of the bluenette. Fourth...I know what it's like to have a loved one torn away...the feeling that everything is your fault...I hope that one day I'll be as strong as he is...so I have to help him out…
"Bah!" he inadvertently blurted out loud. He spun around to see if he had woken Fayt up. The latter just snorted and rolled over. Scratch that last part...fool's making me get all sentimental. How about a partially stealth mission...I'll just take out a few of those Arzem loving idiots...my sword has been pure of blood for too long…
Albel folded the letter and stuffed it into his pocket as his crimson eyes flared at thought of ending the pathetic lives of those Greetoners who got in his way. Plus, we need Fittir's brawn for the battles ahead, if not his brains. Something brushed against his feet and disturbed his thoughts...
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"I miss you, miss you so bad. I don't forget you, oh it's so sad. I hope you can hear me, I remember it clearly…"
Cliff's husky singing voice filled some of the emptiness of his jail cell (Haha, he was singing Avril Lavigne - Slipped Away). He paused and contemplated some ideas for escaping on the way to his sacrificial ceremony or even during it since he clearly wasn't getting out of his cell, not without powerful magic. You moron, he mused to himself. I was so distracted by this whole 'saint' thing that I didn't even bother to check whether symbology worked in Granada. Arzem had us right where he wanted us...and we were so oblivious to it all…
The blond heard a rustling noise in a dark corner of the hallway outside his cell door. No, it can't be! Suddenly, a mop of distinctively coloured hair that could only belong to one person flashed in the light of the torches and Cliff's heart skipped a beat.
"ALBEL?!" he whispered loudly. "Boy am I ever glad to see you."
"Oh is that so?" the Elicoorian shot back, the words dripping off his tongue. "Resist the urge to kiss me as part of your thank you, Fittir. I'm still scarred from our last meeting."
Cliff had to cover his mouth so his laughing didn't alert the guards to his visitor's presence.
"First things first. Here's a letter Fayt wrote you; makes me sick, but you might like it." A hint of pink emerged on Albel's cheeks as he motioned Cliff to come to the bars to retrieve it.
The blond looked at him incredulously, the exact same look Albel had given him when they were stuck in the jungle. "'Bel, look at these things attached to my ankles. Does it look like I can make it over there wise guy?"
"Hmph." The Elicoorian reached into his bag and lifted something furry into the light…
Cliff's eyes lit up like stars in a darkening sky. "LOCO!"
Albel plopped the ferret onto the ground and Loco took the letter gently into his mouth. He scampered through the jail bars and bounded over to where Cliff sat before pouncing into his lap and pawing enthusiastically at his stomach. The blond picked up his pet and rubbed him affectionately against his cheek — he never thought an animal would bring him such happiness. Eventually he placed Loco back into his lap and stroked him with one hand while he lifted up the letter with the other to look at it.
"Hey, so how do ya plan to get me outta here?" Cliff asked Albel before beginning to read.
"I'm trying to figure that out right now, mag…I mean just give me a minute," he hissed, studying the bolts on the door.
The Klausian couldn't believe his rescuer had actually held back an insult. Did that mean Nox was started to like him? Oh god...okay just focus. Cliff finally started reading the letter from Fayt. What's this mushy shit? he thought jokingly, trying to mask the true emotions that were rising with every sentence he read. ...But I will love you, till the end of time. The tender words tugged at his heart and refused to let go as he turned his head away from Albel, the tears streaming down his face and diving to the floor by Loco's bushy tail. Fuck, pull yourself together man! The tingling sensation that accompanied his tears soon faded away and he wiped his face with his forearm. Having read the note, Cliff was now more determined than ever to escape his imprisonment and hold his Fayt in his arms once more, caressing that deep blue hair, those bony shoulders, kissing that supple skin while melting under the loving gaze of those green, green eyes…
"HEY! What are you doing in here?!" one of the guards down the hall shouted as he heard Albel rattling the cell door.
"Shit!" the Elicoorian exclaimed as he drew his sword. Two guards came sprinting towards him and he easily finished them off before they had a chance to speak. Albel took a second to admire his katana — the glistening blood seeped along the furrows of the engravings towards the hilt. Much better, he mused as he bathed in the balmy stream of adrenaline that inundated his body. He could hear more yelling down the hallway.
"Ya gotta go man, they'll send in a slew of reinforcements!" Cliff shouted to his companion. For once Albel agreed with the dumb blond. He had seen how many guards were hanging around the courthouse on his way in and although he was cunning, he would surely be overwhelmed.
"Wait a sec," the Klausian urged. He then closed his eyes and Albel watched as a violet energy pulsed from the end of his fingertips and into the letter he was holding. It began to glow the colour of lavender as Cliff stuffed it into Loco's mouth and sent him back over to Albel. "Take this back to Fayt. He might be able to do somethin' with it. Oh, and thanks for comin'...I'm impressed ya made it in here alone...give my love to Fayt…"
"...Literally?" Albel jested with a lopsided grin.
"Get outta 'ere ya jerk," the blond roared with a gesture of his hand. His visitor vanished into the shadows and a few dozen guards came rushing to see what was going on.
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"So how're you doing?"
"Hmmm...okay I guess. I feel a bit better now," Fayt replied as he studied Haru's concerned eyes.
"You know what I don't understand, Fayt? Here in Granada we have such a technologically advanced society, if not the most advanced on all of Elicoor. Yet many Greetoners seem to cling to these backward religious traditions, which include this ridiculous custom of sacrificing to this so-called 'god' who wrote the diary. Convenient for Arzem, yes, but so many people just go along with it, don't protest it. But...we seem to have reached a tipping point. Our resistance movement is growing fast but we don't yet have the power to take on the monarchy, especially with these magicite walls. If we ever take over they're the first thing to go."
The bluenette sat silently, thinking about Earth's own secular society and the small minority of religious people. "No you're absolutely right Haru. It is very strange."
The rebel leader lifted his right foot and rested it on his left knee. "We may not be able to take Arzem on directly but we can still organize a way to rescue Cliff during the ceremony tonight."
As Haru finished talking Nel, Maria, and Mirage walked into the room.
Nodding at his friends, Fayt continued: "Thanks for coming to visit me, I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it to your resistance hideout...but you know what happened along the way."
Before Haru could respond, Maria piped in: "It's probably better that we didn't make it there Fayt. You should have seen the place when we went to tell Haru what happened with Arzem."
"The meeting room was completely trashed," Nel added. They glared at Haru.
"What?" he stated coolly, as if it wasn't anything new. "So I have anger problems...who doesn't? It's difficult running our movement and coordinating everything while being constantly worried about being caught. I never actually hurt anyone…"
"Yes, but you tried to kiss me when I was talking to you," Nel complained, shaking her head. "Heh. I calmed him down though," she grinned, winking at Fayt. Haru didn't respond and tried to hide behind his snowy bangs.
Just then Sophia marched into the room with a familiar man tagging along behind her…
"BRAEDON!" Fayt cried, delighted to see someone he knew. He leaped up and gave him a drawn out hug. When he pulled back he noticed the leader of Wizaria wasn't wearing his Ultima necklace.
"Hello my friend, good to see you again. I ran into Miss Sophia outside on my way to engage in 'negotiation' with Granada over the fate of our village. However, it will most likely be me telling them to leave us alone or else…" he chuckled, elbowing Fayt playfully in the side. "Thanks to you."
"A lot has happened since we last saw you," Mirage began, filling Braedon in on their misfortunes since arriving in Granada.
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"Where's Albel?" Sophia inquired out of the blue as everyone (including Haru and Braedon) strode through the glassy streets towards the resistance's hideout. The morning clouds had cleared, leaving a cerulean blue sky.
Fayt froze. "Oh my god. Do you think he took my letter?"
"Well it wasn't any of us," Maria declared defensively.
Their questions were answered as they approached the Plaza of Life and Death and saw Albel racing towards them and peeling off a guard's uniform. "Here," he panted, "I...took it to Fittir...and he did something wild to it. Said...you might be able to use it somehow."
Eyes widened all around as the crew realized what he had just done. "You snuck in there all alone?" Nel asked, shocked as everyone else.
"Hmph. Easy as pie. Don't underestimate me worm, it will be your undoing." Mirage was going to point out that he hadn't managed to get Cliff back but refrained from doing so since it would only lead to ruin.
The bluenette eagerly took the glowing letter from Albel and immediately felt its magical energy surging into him, warming his exposed arms. No one noticed the purple ring of light that shot around his irises and disappeared. Fayt staggered a bit and fell onto one knee, sensing a strange power flow through him that made him feel stronger than he had ever felt before. Something caught his eye. Off to the left he saw a ghostly image of a man that looked like Cliff, except with dark hair...It's the guy from my visions! The man who started all this, the prophet. He's pointing towards the courthouse over there…
And then he heard an all too familiar voice calling out to him. Fayt…Hear me…. It was the sweetest sound — a heavenly chorus — and it stuck like honey in his mind.
Left by the roadside all alone
I turned to speak to you right there and you were gone
You stood and cried and wondered why
You can't return from where we came
Why are we born, to fade away?
We've never been so close to be so far
There's millions of reasons there is no way out
Shall we give up so easy, shall we give up so easy?
- 'Dusting Down the Stars' by Canadian band Mobile (in Fayt's mind)
Fayt's mind screamed bloody murder as he dug his fingernails into his palms: NO! I WON'T GIVE UP SO EASY! He lifted his head and glared toward the courthouse. His irises had morphed from placid emerald to blazing amethyst and a purple mist was surging in the whites of his eyes, feeding the violet fire in the middle. Up ahead he could see the finishing touches being put on the stage and the surrounding area for the sacrifice of his boyfriend. There were hundreds of guards standing in formation in the plaza — evidently Arzem was worried about an attempt to rescue Lord Cliff. The courthouse itself was a massive building with giant pillars and solid stone doors that were at least 200 feet high. They had just been closed as Albel's infiltration had put everyone on high alert.
The spirit of Cliff's ancestor whispered to him before disappearing: Your power will suppress the magic canceling abilities of Granada's walls. It is your destiny.
The rage that Fayt had experienced after Arzem's terrible dilemma returned and his entire body began to shake as his temperature rose higher and higher, causing him to break into a sweat. His heart began to pump searing hot blood through his veins and his stomach twisted and turned while even his erratic breaths became hot like a dragon's. A vivacious tingle shot up his spine and then burst outwards around his body as he felt himself being enveloped by supernatural energy. Finally, a rune symbol exploded onto his forehead and suddenly he noticed white feathers floating in the air around him.
"HIS POWER IS MANIFESTING!" Maria shouted to the others. "Fayt! No! You can't control it! You'll destroy the entire city!" Everyone started stepping away from him.
Fayt turned to Maria and spoke in a deep voice as his hair began flapping backwards in the gathering breeze: "I can control it Maria. Just watch me. I have someone's help. I'm not alone anymore."
Sensing the arcane realm of the symbological arts — the building blocks of the universe — within his fingertips, the bluenette flung his arms outwards with force and the rune on his forehead instantly expanded upwards to cover all of Granada in its umbrella of sorcery. The walls surrounding the city began to glow red and bolts of electricity were running along the fissures between the rocks that made up the structure.
How many times has Cliff saved my life? It's time to return the favour. Fayt glanced around to all his friends and smiled. They noticed that he was beginning to glow himself, a lilac radiance emanating from within him. The look of his eyes disturbed those watching, but they could still see the real Fayt beneath the surface, behind the fury that was smoldering under his eyelashes.
He spun around and began a resolute walk towards the courthouse, across the Plaza of Life and Death. With every step, the glassy street was cracking underneath him and warping upwards so that he left a small valley in his wake. He came towards the huge gathering of soldiers and they began to rush at him, their weapons drawn. Not a single one would touch him in what ensued. Coming at him in droves, they were all caught within his almighty aura and flung upwards into the sky — there was some sort of barrier protecting Fayt — and they landed across the square like a scattering of snowflakes, knocked out cold. As he approached the densest area of soldiers, the wind picked up to hurricane force and he began to use magic...and it worked!
Outstretching one hand, he summoned a lightning symbology. A dark cloud formed overhead and with a loud crash a colossal bolt of electricity shot down through him and came out of his hand in a wide arc, a myriad of high-voltage tentacles reaching out to zap everyone who got in his way. In his other hand he summoned a fire spell that sprouted without notice beneath soldiers and engulfed them in flames. Soon every single guard was lying unconscious across the plaza. The ceremony stage had been destroyed by the wicked wind.
Fayt approached the towering stone doors of the courthouse and stopped. "ULTIMA!" he cried, calling upon the magic Cliff had transferred to him. Focus...he warned himself. He cupped his hands into a sphere in front of his face so that the doors were enclosed within them as he looked past his palms. The magic began gathering in a massive orb around the entranceway as the sky dimmed and the sun was blotted out. His comrades watched in awe as the area around the courthouse darkened until all light was sucked into the spinning vortex of Ultima's black hole. The ground began to shake. The huge doors shifted and groaned. The wizardry pummeled the stone relentlessly, undoing it at the atomic level. Fayt closed his eyes and snapped his fingers. Ultima detonated outwards in an enormous halo with an orgy of purple, blue, and green as its deafening blast rumbled across the city and beyond. The doors disintegrated into a million little pieces and blew away like dust in the wind. He was in.
He ran to the jail in the back, stunning anyone who got in his way, and blew Cliff's cell door off its hinges with a wave of his hand. The all-encompassing rune symbol faded from the sky outside and Fayt's vicious glow vanished. The inferno in his eyes slowly burnt to ashes and was replaced by his natural green, albeit an extremely worried natural green. He darted over to Cliff who was slouched against the wall.
"Cliff...Cliff…" the bluenette mumbled, collapsing into his lover's lap and desperately kissing him over and over like each smooch was a refreshing gulp of water after a millennia of dehydration. After a few moments on cloud nine, he took out his sword and slashed the iron balls off the blond's ankles with the help of an ice charm. "I heard you…"
Cliff forced a wide smile and pulled the bluenette into his chest, gently brushing his cheek against his sweetie's. "I know, kid," he cooed, his eyesight blurring from the tears. "But it's too late."
Fayt's stomach dropped. "What do you mean…?" he cried, staring into the Klausian's oceany eyes and trembling as he watched them begin to freeze over.
"They poisoned me, Fayt. I guess they knew you were comin' and one of the guards put a needle in my arm while I was napping...saying somethin' about I was going to die one way or another…"
"No, no...not after all that…" the bluenette sobbed, burying his face into the blond's neck. "Everything is against us Cliff, you can't leave me now, we're supposed to be together...for always." Fayt's body floated up and down with Cliff's heavy, strained breathing and he imagined that he was out drifting on a boat over mellow waves like that day in Surferio when he had dreamt of his guardian angel. Cliff's grip around him slowly loosened...the blond's chest rose and fell...rose and fell...rose...
:O TO BE CONTINUED! IT'S NOT OVER YET!