Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean or its Characters.

Note: I'm using the game script and I cut it short in areas because I doubt anyone wants to sit here and re-read the game. I've only included bits of the script if I felt they were constructive to this story and to show what Sophia's up to during the timeline of the game. And, due to the changes I've already made, some of the game script is altered.

Star Ocean: The Untold Story

Chapter 6: The Haunting Past

Albel paced a few times in his room before venturing out. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he was uneasy and unable to sit still. For one, he wanted to track down Vox and beat him senseless. Another issue on his mind was he knew he would have to face the King concerning the situation with Shelby.

He left his room and stood at the door pondering what to do. He glanced down the hall and stared. There was nothing in that direction but the girl's room. He really didn't need to hear more of her lies right now. He knew she was lying. He saw right through it, though he knew not all of it was a lie. It was hard for him to detect which was lie and which was truth. He shook his head and went the other direction.

It would be at least an hour until dinner was ready. He had gone earlier to the kitchen at the facility for a drink, but thanks to the Venus wench, he had been distracted. He clenched his teeth and pushed the thought from his mind. He didn't want to pursue any thought that would make him admit in any way why he wanted so desperately to take down Vox. His hatred for the man had grown in the past few hours.

He swung through the kitchen doors without a further thought. The maids paid him no attention. They were use to his visits. Usually he helped himself to what he needed and didn't take the time to bother a single one of them. Without glancing around, Albel set to the task of preparing his drink.

Drink in hand; he sat himself at the small table in the kitchen's corner. He had just taken his first sip when he noticed something new to the kitchen's normally dull atmosphere. The Venus wench was busy helping the maids in their daily task of preparing the meal.

He leaned back in his chair, amused that she had been too busy to notice his arrival. It was quite obvious that she had been put in charge of the meal currently being cooked. The maids dashed around as they always did. Occasionally, one maid would call her to help with or taste something.

"Oh, M'lady, I never would have guessed that one small change would make that big a difference," one woman said after tasting what appeared to be stew.

Sophia giggled softly. "Do you really like it?"

The head cook looked up. "Most certainly. You have a magic touch when it comes to cooking," she said from across the room.

One maid and one of the cook's apprentices stood near the girl who was stirring the contents of a large pot.

"What is your job in your homeland?" the maid asked.

"Job? Oh, I don't have a job right now. I go to school."

The maid's jaw dropped and the apprentice looked at her in awe. "You mean you're a scholar? So, are you from a noble family?"

"Noble?"

Albel listened in interest, waiting to hear her response.

"Yes, noble. Are you from a recognized bloodline?"

She looked at them with mild confusion. The apprentice smiled at her. "What she means is, is your family rich?"

"I guess you could say that, but I never thought about it much. I mean…" Sophia stopped in mid-sentence.

"Leave the poor dear be," the head cook ordered. "The poor child is probably home sick."

The two nodded apologetically to her and went about their task. Albel finished his drink as he observed her. Since the mention of her family had come up, she had started to move more sluggishly. He didn't fail to notice when a single tear escaped her eye.

He stood and left the kitchen, able to remain unaware to her. He made his way through the halls, determined to find something to keep his mind busy when a guard approached him.

"Sir Nox, Sir Woltar wished to speak to you in his office."

Albel didn't so much as acknowledge the man. He simply kept walking, changing his rout in the process. It was fine by him if the old man needed to see him. He had a few things to say himself.

Without knocking, Albel entered the office and seated himself across the desk from Woltar. Woltar looked up at him, ready to speak; but Albel beat him to it. "The girl was to be confined to her room, old man."

"This I know, but she has willingly offered her help. I think it only fair to show her some trust."

"Trust? Surely you grow senile. She disobeyed orders and being locked in her room was mild compared to the punishment she should receive."

Woltar gave him a hard glance. "Still, my boy, she is young and prone to make mistakes. Even as we age, we still make mistakes." He directed his last comment toward Albel.

"Bah. You want to show her trust when she won't be honest with us?"

"I'm fully aware that she is holding secrets from us. Still, the words that rung with truth were the words that came from her heart. She wants to help us, Albel. We are at war and we'll be wise to take all the help we can get. I can see that her secrets will not affect her actions to help. This I am sure of. One thing I've learned, my boy, is that all ladies carry their own secrets and burdens."

"Are you sure there are no other reasons for your lenience on her?" Albel crossed his arms over his chest and gave Woltar a knowing smirk.

Woltar nodded with a faint smile. "So you have noticed the similarities also."

"Yes." Albel shifted in his seat and leaned forward. "But mark my words, old man. Josephina is gone. Neither that girl, nor any other can take her place."

Before Woltar could respond, Albel left his seat and exited the room.

"Yes, Josephina is gone," Woltar whispered. "But I feel this girl might be what it takes to break that shell you have spent the past seven years building."

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No one talked during dinner, or afterwards. Sophia was allowed to escort herself to her room. She was thankful for the quiet as she changed into her sleeping cloths. Once again, she had been given old cloths to sleep in. Though it felt odd at first to wear boy's cloths, she was beginning to realize the advantages. The women she saw on the streets wore long dresses and though she didn't mind wearing dresses, she preferred the skirts to be shorter. Long dresses often made her feel confined and formal.

She tucked herself between the sheets. Thinking through the day, she let her mind settle briefly on Mirage. 'I hope she got out okay. And her partner. I wish she would have told me what Quark is after. What would they want with me?'

A light tap on the window aroused her from the edge of sleep. She sat up and squinted against the dark glass. There was a figure on the other side. Sophia's heart jumped momentarily, but luckily no sound escaped her before she recognized Mirage.

She sat up and fumbled with the simple latch. The window swung the out silently. Mirage stuck her head in and smiled. "Hello. I think we might want to try this again. Are you ready to come with me?" Her voice was gentle and not demanding.

Sophia shook her head slightly. "Sorry, but I can't come with you this time. I've made a promise."

Mirage grimaced. "You know I have my orders to bring you back safely. If you don't come willingly, then I might be forced to take you with me against your will."

Sophia jerked back slightly. Though the woman in front of her clearly meant no harm, she was serious in fulfilling her mission. "But Mirage, I can't. I can't break a promise and this land needs help. After I have done what I can for them I'll come with you, but not before that." Her voice was full of conviction.

Mirage sighed. "I'll need your promise on that. I fear that it will be harder for you to leave Airyglyph then you claim."

"What do you mean by that?"

Mirage smiled. "Call it a hunch, for lack of a better term. Okay, I'll leave you for now but I'll contact you at the castle in a few days."

Sophia's tension eased. For a short time she had thought Mirage might take her by force. "Okay."

Mirage looked up abruptly. Her eyes left Sophia and locked in on the door across the room. "Gotta go."

Before Sophia could blink, Mirage and ducked away from the window and was out of sight. Sophia hung out the window and watched the woman as she deftly jumped the fence unnoticed by the night patrol. A cold breeze caught Sophia's hair and sent chills through her. She sat back and closed the window, replacing the latch.

"I forgot to ask her to tell me why Quark's so interested in me," Sophia mumbled under her breath.

"Bah. Look who's popular."

Sophia twisted suddenly in the bed to find Albel at her door. "Albel? What are you doing here? Did you…"

He leaned on the door frame and crossed his arms. "Humph. I heard the whole ordeal. Don't get any ideas about running out on us, fool."

"I don't intend to run out on you," she replied.

He gave her a brief questioning look before smirking at her. "Good. Only a fool would carry that death wish." He turned his back to her, ready to leave the room. He tilted his head to the side slightly, not looking at her. "I haven't seen that outfit in years. I'm surprised Woltar kept such old rags." His voice carried a certain amusement.

He closed the door and left her alone. She lay down, trying to sort her thoughts enough to sleep. Old rags? Her night cloths had also come from the trunk her alternate outfit had come from. They were more of Albel's old cloths. She smiled as she drifted to sleep. He clearly found it amusing for her to be wearing his clothing. He seemed the type to be hard to amuse. Sophia couldn't help but to feel that she had somehow helped him in a small way.

The night passed with dreams of anticipation of visiting the castle. Several dreams presented her with several images of what the castle would look like. She had always wanted to visit a real castle and her mind played her a hundred scenarios.

When she woke the next morning she felt relaxed for the first time since the pod had crashed on the mountain. She set quickly to changing and reading herself for breakfast. There was an indescribable excitement in her gut.

After breakfast, Woltar called her to follow him. He led her to the second floor and from there to the attic. She had been with him to the attic one other time to receive the cloths he had given her the day before. This time he stopped at a different chest and opened it after a little hesitation.

"These are the things that once belonged to my daughter." He looked up to meet sorrow in her eyes. She was so much like her in her ways of compassion and empathy. "Do not be sad, she left this world seven years ago. I never could rid myself of her memory, and her things were locked away. She was much like you and willing to help any she thought in need."

Sophia couldn't find a response. The man was sharing dear memories with her and she feared anything she said would only insult those memories.

He dug in the chest, pulling out a few items. "She didn't have your touch in the kitchen. She couldn't cook if her life depended on it, but she was quite the seamstress." He pulled out some garments and passed them to Sophia. "This is one of the outfits she made herself. She was your size when she made this and it should fit nicely."

Sophia bowed slightly. "Thank you, but this isn't necessary."

Woltar rested his hand on her shoulder and led her out of the attic. "No, my dear, she would have wanted you to have this. I thought at one time I needed to hold on to her belongings so not to lose her memory, but I see that I was clearly mistaken. From the first time I meet you I knew that her memory would be with me always. For that I must thank you."

She did her best to give him her brightest smile. "Thank you. When I first come here I felt lost, but now I think I might have a purpose."

He led her to her room and left her to change. "Your purpose may yet to bloom," he whispered to himself as he left the hall.

Sophia changed quickly and examined her new outfit. She felt better to finally be in girl's clothing. The top was a pale shade of pink and complimented with purple around the collar, shoulders and sleeve ends. It cut just past her midriff, allowing the corset to show. The skirt was short and purple; buckling fashionable on the left side. The stockings that didn't reach quite up to the skirt were decorated with a cat print. The ankle high boots were also pink but very comfortable. What she found odd was the buckle at her throat, but she didn't dwell on it. And the last thing she found was a small stuffed cat hanging from a string. She held on to the cat and hung it on the staff Woltar had allowed her to keep during her stay.

For the first time she paused to wonder why he had let her keep her weapon. Reaching no answer, she assumed it was because a staff wasn't the most deadly of weapons. Then her thoughts turned to her new outfit. The cloths fit perfectly and from what she saw, they were different from the other outfits in Airyglyph. Woltar had a truly creative daughter.

She smiled as she left the room. The guard greeted her and directed her to the front. It was time to leave the mansion. She didn't know why, but she knew she would miss the mansion. She had just started to feel at home there.

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Fayt sat on the steps in the central plaza. The sun was warm but the day wasn't too bad. He examined the device he had received from the Inventors Guild one last time before tucking it into his pocket.

He mumbled to himself, thinking hard on the issues he faced. Something in him tugged him to help Nel and her cause. He wanted to help but couldn't shake the feeling that the longer it took him to find Sophia, the further she was slipping from him.

"Are you okay? Are you feeling ill?"

Fayt literally jumped at the sound of a voice he had heard repeatedly in his head. He stood suddenly and turned. He blinked, not believing his eyes. It was her. Cliff was right, they had found her along the way after all.

"Sophia?" He hugged her, pulling her close. "I'm so glad I found you." He released her, still holding her arms. She gave him a confused look. "Are you hurt?"

"Huh? Umm... I'm really sorry, but I think you have me confused with someone else. My name is Ameena."

"Ameena? Is this a joke? Come on Sophia, I've been looking for you for a while."

"Sorry," she responded. "It's not a joke."

Fayt stared into her eyes. She looked just like Sophia. She even sounded like Sophia, but he could see him her eyes that it wasn't. His heart sank. "I'm so sorry! You look just like a girl I know. For a moment I thought..."

"Oh, I see! Sorry if I seemed a bit startled when you shouted like that."

Fayt nodded and took his sitting spot back on the steps. Ameena sat beside him and smiled weakly.

"Sorry about that."

"That's all right. Don't worry about it. Um, well..."

"Uhh, my name's Fayt. Fayt Leingod. Nice to meet you."

"Fayt Leingod?"

"That's right."

"I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Ameena Leffeld."

Ameena Leffeld…Sophia Esteed. If there was a god then he was truly a cruel deity. Fayt swallowed the lump in his throat. "Nice to meet you, Miss Leffeld."

The two talked a while. Fayt found it hard to talk to her. It was like talking to someone through a communication channel but still not knowing if they were okay or not. Just seeing her made him miss Sophia more.

"Please, don't look at me like that. You're making me blush." Her comment broke his trance and he noticed for the first time that he had been staring at her.

"Oh! I'm sorry. But you really look just like her."

"Really? Who is she?"

"She's...an old friend of mine. I'm searching for her now and when I saw you I thought my search was over."

"I see..." Ameena paused for a moment and coughed. "It seems you two are close?"

"Yeah, we've known each other most our lives. Well I've know her for her whole life anyway." Fayt knew his words weren't coming out to smooth.

"I used to have a good friend like that. He'd be just about your age."

"Used to?"

"Yes, I haven't seen him for many years. I was born in this city, but I used to live in Airyglyph for a while..."

"Airyglyph..." Fayt repeated. Was she in Airyglyph? Could she be in the opposite direction? He shuttered. He didn't want to think about her locked in the dungeon. After what was done to him, he didn't want to think about how they would treat a female.

"Yes," She paused again to cough a few times.

"Do you have a cold? You've been coughing since you sat down..."

"I'm fine. Yes-it's just a little cold. It's...nothing. Don't worry about it. So Fayt, I hope you find your friend soon."

"I'm sure she's fine," Fayt said lying to himself.

The sat back a while in silence.

"Hey, whatcha up to?" Cliff asked, breaking the silence. "Whoa, is that her? Yo, Sophia?"

Fayt stood and shook his head. "No, it's not Sophia. This is Ameena. She was born in this town."

Cliff looked suspiciously at the girl. "Sure looks like her."

Ameena giggled a few times before coughing again. "Sorry, once again." She turned to Fayt. "Sorry, but I must get back. If you will excuse me." She bowed her goodbyes to Fayt, Nel and Cliff before leaving.

"Hey, is she sick or something? She sure was coughing a lot."

"Uh, yeah. She said she had a cold."

"Right..."

"All right you two," Nel interrupted. "Is Sophia the friend you said you were searching for at the aqueducts?"

Fayt nodded. "Yeah, but it looks like the search isn't over yet."

Nel buried her chin in her scarf. 'Sophia is the same name my contact gave me. It would seem that these two know the girl but have no idea what's taking place. Is it right for me to enlist their aid without first telling them that the girl has sided with Airyglyph?'

"Yo, Nel? Something on your mind?" Cliff spoke, breaking Nel's thoughts.

"Let's not talk out here. There's an inn on the west side. It would be best if we reserved a room."

Fayt looked from Nel to Cliff and back to Nel. After a pause he replied. "Good idea."

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Cliff entered the tavern and scanned the room. He wasn't a spy, and though he didn't posses the stealth that Mirage had, he was still able to track the red head with ease. Maybe too easily. Something was apparently on her mind.

Cliff ordered his drink and directed the waitress where to take it once she had it ready. He made his way through the bar and to the table Nel sat at.

"What's up?" he asked sitting across from her.

"Oh, Cliff," she said in a short lived startle. "What are you doing here?"

About that time the waitress brought him his order, which he paid for promptly. "I could ask you the same."

"Couln't sleep. You?"

"Same. Look, you've been acting strange since we left the central plaza earlier. Mind telling me what that was about?"

She sighed heavily. "My country is at war. It's not uncommon for one to be on edge during a war. I was curious as to who this Sophia is, but was unsure if I should ask or not."

He eyed her as his suspicion grew. "Right, there's something you're not telling us isn't there, Nel?"

She returned his glance. "You would know when someone's hiding something wouldn't you?"

"Ouch."

She smiled. "Tell me what you're hiding and I'll tell you what I know."

"So you do know something," he said triumphantly.

"And you just proved that you are hiding something."

"Ouch again."

It seemed the two were at a stand still. Cliff pondered if he should open up more to her. Was the information she carried enough to warrant total honesty? She was a bit stubborn and unyielding. He couldn't blame her. He wasn't sure how he would explain the truth to her anyway. He chuckled.

"What?"

"I think we're both too stubborn and hard headed to give in. How about we change the subject?"

"Fine by me."

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Albel was relieved to be out of the wagon. He had spent the whole ride sitting across from the Venus wench. It was bad enough that Woltar had insisted on giving her treatment far better then a prisoner, but he didn't have to give her that outfit.

It had taken most his restraint to keep from staring at her through the trip. She was so much like her. Though the two didn't look alike in the least; they both shared the same personality, some habits, and the same shade of green eyes. Albel could feel resentment growing in the pit of his stomach for her. It seemed that the face he had held dear for the past seven years no longer came to him as clearly as before. Every time he tried to conjure her face, all he was able to see with his mind's eye was the Venus wench.

Albel strolled away from the wagon without a word to anyone. Sophia looked up at Woltar as he watched him leave. "Is he okay?"

"In time, my dear. Time heals all wounds, but some need extra tending to."

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(A/N) I have most of this planned out up to the second disc of the game. I'll tell you this, since it won't hurt the plot twist I have planted through this story: I always saw Woltar like Albel's adoptive father since it seems he took over for Albel's father after his death. I added in Josephina…and who she is exactly will be revealed a little later (though I'm sure you can guess part of her story already). There's a reason for the effect Sophia has on Albel and that too will come out more a bit later.

And my holiday break has officially ended so my updates might come a bit slower in the future. Thanks for reading. :)