Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean or its Characters.
Note: Here we go…sort of. This isn't one of the longest chapters but it does have some added to it away from the game script. I like playing with the script but it's more fun when I can add things that weren't in the script. And yes, there is some Albel/Sophia interaction in this. I'm trying to steer this back in the direction I need to so I can add more of these two interacting. So, future chapters will have more interaction for them – promise.
Thanks to LadyLuck22 who pushed me to update this. Hope I don't disappoint. :)
Star Ocean: The Untold Story
Chapter 15: Dealing With Losses
Cliff stood for a moment in the half open doorway. "Sorry to keep ya waiting. ...What happened?"
A sigh escaped Fayt as he turned toward the Klausian. "It's nothing, really."
"O-kay... I've cleared out all the enemies in the immediate area," Cliff responded. Something seemed to jab him in the back. In response he hastily stepped to the side as Nel entered the room. "Well, we cleared out all the enemies in the immediate area, but we can't waste any time. I'm sure they'll keep calling in reinforcements. And there are still Vendeeni soldiers here and there. Seems to be no end to them. They're like roaches!"
Sophia nearly jumped the red head in an embrace. "Nel! What are you doing here?"
"I had a lot on my mind. So I came here to check into something. Then I saw Cliff fighting in the hall."
Sophia separated herself from Nel and looked at Cliff. "She helped out huh?" she half teased through the tension still hanging in the air.
Cliff smiled back. "She sure has a way of showing up when we're in trouble." He turned to acknowledge Fayt. "Anyway, what's our next move?"
"I think we should destroy the jammer. Otherwise, we don't stand a chance. We'll be picked off one by one." Fayt said to Cliff before looking to Maria. "What do you think? I'd like to hear your opinion."
Sophia watched as Maria responded and contacted the Diplo. She couldn't help but to notice how comfortable Fayt was around Maria. She almost laughed out loud when she remembered what everyone on Earth had thought about her and Fayt. They were always together and everyone at school was convinced that one day Sophia and Fayt would end up a couple. They had never been further from the truth. Fayt was like family.
Sophia couldn't help but to be concerned for him. She didn't know Maria as well as she would like and felt like a sister who had to approve anyone he was around. Right now the two had formed a bond of friendship. Sophia set it in her mind to get to know Maria better should that friendship decided to take a turn into something more.
Sophia was taken out of her trance when Maria's voice escalated in worry. "What happened to the Aquaelie? It should have been here by now..."
"They're being blocked by another Vendeeni ship. They need a little more time." Marietta's voice echoed Maria's concern.
Sophia stepped toward Maria. She would have to get to know the girl better later. Right now she needed to stay focused on the troubles at hand.
"Damn it!" Cliff exclaimed in frustration.
Maria shook blue hair from her face. "I should have known the Vendeeni would have prepared for this."
Guilt once again festered in Sophia's gut. Her adrenaline was pumping too hard to allow her to give in to the tears she was close to shedding. "What can we do?"
"Hey! If the Vendeeni are engaged, maybe they're also too busy to use their transporters."
"Fayt might be right. There's a good chance of that." Cliff kept his voice so calm Sophia had to wonder if he was worried at all; or if he actually enjoyed being in tight situations.
Maria quickly jumped into the conversation. "If so, then they've got all the soldiers they're going to get. Let's take out their jammer then. In the meantime, let's just hope the Aquaelie shows up to lend a hand."
"Replying on the Federation sticks in my craw, but I guess we have no other choice."
Nel just exchanged glances among the occupants in the room. "I'll save my questions for later, but you're not leaving me out of it this time."
Fayt gave Nel a knowing look. "We'll explain it once we're out of here." He turned to Sophia and rested his hand gently on her shoulder. "Are you ready for this?"
She gave him an understanding smile. In his eyes she saw worry but she also knew he had faith in her and that was all she needed. "As ready as it gets." She patted his hand before moving to her uncle. "It's gonna be tough but hang in there."
Robert nodded a wordless response.
In unified silence the group left the room and ventured straight back to the roof. They stayed together in a defensive huddle. Sophia was warmed by how fast they had come to trust each other. It helped to ease her worry.
They made it to the arena with little hassle. Standing at the far end, near the transport jammer was Biwig. It would appear that he hadn't left his spot since they had last seen him.
"You've fought well, I'll give you that. However, it all ends here. Hand over the boy and girl now. I will say it once more. Resistance is futile. I can keep calling in reinforcements, no matter how many of my soldiers you defeat. There is no escape!" Biwig threw his head back and let out a fiendish laugh.
Sophia heard Fayt growl over her own small grunt. Then everything seemed to take on a feeling of being in slow motion as a familiar voice rang from behind the Vendeeni captain.
"That's because of this thing, you fool!"
She didn't trust her own instincts as she immediately identified the voice. First Nel shows up and now the one person she feared she would never see again appears. She had just managed to navigate her eyes in his direction a second before the svelte form of Albel jumped from behind the foreign captain.
Slow motion reality suddenly retrieved time's normal flow.
With katana ready for action; Albel swung the blade and efficiently destroyed the transport jammer.
Both Cliff and Fayt gasped a surprised 'huh' and 'what' at the new intrusion. It was obvious that she was the only one to recognize the voice. For as much time as they had all spent together, Sophia had been the one to hear his voice the most. She suspected she was the only one there who had so much as held a conversation with the swordsman.
"Humph, are you still so confident, now?" Albel snorted staring daggers at Biwig.
Fayt involuntarily took a step back as he finally realized who had come to their aid. "Albel!"
Biwig growled vehemently. "Damn you!"
"Heh!" Albel smirked.
Biwig's response came with actions more than words as he fired his riffle. Instinctively hands flung to her mouth as Sophia gasped her reaction to the disrupter's fire. Albel deftly evaded the first few rounds but was taken by surprise as Biwig fired more rapidly in frustration.
Albel screamed as the beam tore into his side. Pain like fire quickly spread through his torso. Overcome with the sensation; he ignored any pain caused from colliding with the unyielding ground.
Sophia heard Fayt shout something at the Vendeeni captain as she darted across the dirt. Lost to her was any fear of sustaining an injury as she maneuvered toward Albel. Had she stopped to think before acting she might have hesitated to open herself to the possibility of being shot by Biwig also.
Biwig ignored her trek and stared at the rest. "Destruction of our transport jammer means nothing! Our battleship can crush your flagship at any time!"
Sophia had just landed on her knees at Albel's side as the familiar sound of someone being transported filled the air. Apprehension took hold and she twisted her head back. Her fears of more Vendeeni appearing were settled when she saw Mirage and a few other crew members materialize.
"What is going on? Where are the reinforcements?" For the first time worry was evident in Biwig's voice. He pressed the communication device in his hear to better hear. A frightened look passed along the features of his fish like face. "What? The Aquaelie? Damn! Pull us out now! Dasvanu, transport us up!"
Maria grimaced as Biwig vanished and turned to acknowledge her crew members. "Thanks, that was close."
"No problem. I'm just glad we're in time." Lieber responded with a relieved half-hearted smile.
Maria nodded. "Give me a status report. I assume the Aquaelie has arrived?"
"Yes, it arrived a few minutes ago and joined the fight against the Vendeeni. Even the Dasvanu should have a hard time against both our ships."
Sophia closed her eyes briefly in a silent thanks before allowing them to venture to the injured man at her side. When she allowed her closed lids to open in his direction, red eyes immediately greeted her from behind a scowl. She didn't stop the lines of worry that took residence in her expression.
She ignored his twitch as she rested one hand on the top of his head. Her eyes slowly traced the contours of his face before venturing to his injury. "How horrible!" she managed to voice through trembling lips. The exposed skin on his side was decorated with blood and burnt flesh. She resisted the urge to gag.
"What are you doing here?" Fayt asked appearing at Sophia's side.
"What am...I...doing here?" Albel breathed heavily. Each word seemed like a task to form and say. "...This is...my turf. Just thought...I'd drop by... And look what happened. You worms...are...my prey..." His eyes grew lazy and dull as the energy seemed to leave him. He looked from person to person who had gathered around him; starting with Cliff, then moving to Fayt and finally landing his stare on Sophia. "I'm not going to let...anyone else have you..." His lids sunk down.
"Stop joking around!" Cliff responded, trying to keep his cool. "Hey! Open your eyes!"
It did no good. Albel had been unable to fight the injury. He was unconscious.
Sophia hardly drew in air as she set to healing his side. The skin returned its original hue to a point, but the wound would not fully heal. It was all thanks to the advance technology the Vendeeni had. She could cast heal on him all day and the results wouldn't do much more than heal him slightly and stop the pain.
Sophia felt an arm reassuringly drape itself along her back. She didn't need to look to know that Mirage had made her way to the small group gathered and was attempting to provide Sophia with some mental support. "Let's get back to the Diplo. They should be able to do something," she offered.
"You're right," Maria chimed in. She followed up by contacting the Diplo. "Diplo, report."
Marietta's voice rang just loud enough for Sophia to hear. "The Aquaelie has just destroyed the Dasvanu with its creation cannons! We'll be able to transport you in one minute's time." There was a few seconds of silence before Marietta continued. "Just a second. What is this?" Her voice treaded on the edge of panic. "We detected transporter activity right before the Dasvanu was destroyed. We can't tell what they sent, so be careful down there."
Sophia's heart stopped for a second. When Biwig and two Vendeeni soldiers appeared, she was desperate for something to keep her thoughts grounded. In her desperation she pushed herself slightly forward while bringing her hand up; placing Albel's head in her lap before she realized what she had done.
Biwig stepped forward and carelessly waved his rifle around. "If I cannot use you, I shall eliminate you!" His gun stopped; aimed straight at Fayt. "Starting with the boy."
Time distorted into slow motion again as Robert protested his defiance and plunged straight for Fayt. Each heartbeat race painfully through her veins as Sophia watched in horror. Her hands gently held on to Albel; one in his hair and the other wrapped around his arm. She felt helpless as she watched Robert push his son from harm only to be hit in his stead.
As Robert hit the ground, time resumed and she found she couldn't breathe. His head found its resting place on the ground only inches from her. She opened her mouth but was lost to any response. Her mouth became dry and her throat ached as if she had just screamed.
Fayt found his voice where she couldn't. "Dad!"
"Doctor!" Maria yelled as she reached Fayt who had quickly darted to his father.
Sophia finally found her own voice. "Nooooooooo!" Her sudden outburst only cause more raw pain to pulse from her parched throat.
"Fayt... Sophia… Maria... The data...you want...is...at Moonbase. You must...g...g...go there..."
"Dad, save your strength..."
Robert attempted to speak further but managed only a weak grunt. Sophia couldn't do more than stare unbelieving at him. This wasn't happening. It wasn't. He wasn't hurt. Uncle Robert couldn't die.
"Haha, it serves you right for interfering!" Biwig boomed in a boisterous tone. "This never would have happened if you had done what I asked."
"Slime!" Maria shouted back; furiously.
Sophia barely caught a glance of movement as the others rushed to fight Biwig and his men. Her fingers tangled themselves in soft hair as she bit her lip. Her eyes never broke away from Robert as her hands never loosened their hold on Albel. Her world was crashing down fast on her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Robert grunted again and opened his eyes just enough to lock his gaze on her. "...Forgive...me..."
"Uncle," she pushed a weak whisper out as she watched the life leave his eyes.
It was more than she could take. Unable to move, her vision started to blur around the edges before engulfing her sight completely. She was too numb to be afraid and welcomed the dark that overcame her.
"Sophia?" She heard Mirage calling her but her voice was so distant; like a dream. She felt herself drift forward. Someone caught her before she crashed on Albel. She knew Mirage had embraced her. Her worried mind eased and she allowed her consciousness to slip away.
oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo--oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo--oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo
She felt like she was drifting. Not falling, just drifting with no support save air. The sensation of levitation slowly faded as she became aware of the surface under her. Gradually she regained her senses.
First touch returned. Under her was a semi-soft surface. It was too soft to be the ground and therefore she was sure she was on a bed of some kind. Next she obtained her sense of smell. The natural aroma of Elicoor she had last encountered was nothing like the smell that only came with generated oxygen. Her brain quickly assessed she was back in space.
Her eyelids were still too heavy to open as she strained to hear the subtle noises around her. She was rewarded with the sound of familiar voices.
"They're both goin' ta be just fine." That was Cliff.
"Even Nox? He didn't look too good when we got him here."
"Oh! You worried about him, Nel?"
"Not like you are implying. He helped us right?"
"Well, yeah."
Nel grunted. "Past aside, no one should suffer needlessly." There was a pause and a series of shuffles as Sophia detected someone approaching her. "What of Sophia?"
"I think she just passed out. Poor girl, must have been too hard on her."
"I can understand that, but she'll need to toughen up if she wants to survive. From what I understand, these Vendeeni aren't going to go easy on her."
"You are one tough lady. Give her a little slack, okay. She's not use to war like you."
"No one should be use to war. When she wakes up we really need to get her more in the mind set of making it through this. Her nature is something I would desire to have myself. Still, she can't go on with her naive ways. It'll be the death of her."
"Alright, I see where you're coming from. Why don't we go check on Fayt and let them rest a bit longer. Maria wants us all to meet to talk about our next move."
"Do you think," Nel paused and grunted lightly. "Do you think Fayt will be okay? It has to be hard on him to find his father just to lose him."
"The boy's tough. He'll hurt but I'm sure he'll do what he has to do to make it through. Losing the doctor isn't going to make it easy on any of us, but he'll be the one to feel it the most."
Footsteps clanked across the metal floor. The door made its trademark 'whoosh' sound and Sophia knew they had left. She fought to open her eyes and was rewarded with near blindness by the overhead light.
She groaned weakly and shielded her eyes with her arm. Using little energy she was able to sit up. Her head ached dully but aside from that she felt as if she were waking from a nap.
She swung her legs over the edge and lowered her arm. Blinking furiously, her eyes made the slow adjustments required. As she suspected she was in the infirmary aboard the Diplo. In front of her was the door; blocked by one empty bed.
"I heard Nel mention Albel. He has to be here somewhere…" she thought glancing around the room. She found all 5 beds empty except the one straight across from her.
Moving slowly she set both feet on the floor and moved cautiously to the bed's side. His face was lax and like her he was resting on top of the sheets. His whole torso was bandaged. Across his chest his flesh hand rested peacefully as his claw remained at his side.
She turned her attention from him to scan the room again. She had hoped to see her uncle on one of the beds. Any sign to prove he was going to be okay and that she had heard wrong. She didn't want to believe he was gone.
"Hum."
A moan coming from the bed she hovered over drug her eyes back to Albel. His eyes were opened lazily as he looked up at her. She forced a small smile.
"How are you feeling?"
He grunted as he lifted himself into a sitting position. Inspecting the bandage around him, he pressed gently on his side before allowing a satisfying smirk to form. When he was done with his self examination, he chanced a look around. "Where are we?"
"We're on the Diplo." She paused as he gave her a questioning look. "It's Maria's space ship. We're in space right now, probably circling over Elicoor."
He listened to her as he moved to stand. After testing his legs he moved away from the bed and observed the room around them.
"This is the infirmary," she offered.
He let his eyes drift a few seconds more before looking at her. "And why are you here?"
She froze recalling Nel's words. Sudden guilt rained on her and she couldn't help but to feel totally useless and weak. "I-I… If you're up to it maybe we should see what the others are up to."
She turned toward the door with every intent to escape the room. She didn't want to admit her failure; least of all to him. She hadn't taken the first step when he stopped her by turning her back to face him.
"You passed out." His statement was blunt and heartless.
"Y-yeah," she whispered. She swallowed hard; unwilling to linger on her mistake. "How did you know?"
"Humph. I heard every word those two morons spoke before leaving." He crossed his arms and looked down at her. "The Aquarian wench is right, for once. You can't expect to live if you can't stomach the hardships that will face you."
"But first you were hurt and then…" She had felt the need to defend herself. She spoke without thinking but stopped before stating aloud the event that caused her to black out. Seeing her uncle die right before her had hit her hard. She had been caught up in feeling so useless to heal Albel that seeing her uncle hurt beyond repair tumbled her down too far to get back up.
He simply stared at her as she hugged herself and began to tremble. "He's d-dead. I couldn't…" Her knees gave way and she collapsed on the floor. Hardly able to breath, soft moans escaped her lips as tears trailed down both cheeks.
He took her by surprise when he knelt down in front of her. She chocked back her sobs as she peered up at him. He reached out and rested his good hand on the top of her head. His face betrayed no emotion as his hand applied little pressure to her skull.
"It's never easy to see those you know and care about fall. But if you wish to survive this then you must learn to control your emotions. Don't let your emotions control you or it will get you into more trouble."
Was he actually trying to comfort her? His words were harshly spoken. And he had touched her – on his own. How could she not let her emotions control her? She had been an emotional person all her life. She couldn't just turn them on and off like a switch. Maybe he could, but she couldn't. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't at least try to hide them better. Perhaps that would help her not to become the total emotional wreck she felt like being.
"I'll try," she responded simply.
He stood back up and waited for her to follow suit. Once she was on her own feet he waited for her to wipe her eyes. "Now we should see about the others."
"Oh, yes." She led him to the door and glanced down the hall. She hadn't become familiar enough with the ship to direct them but she would try to at least find someone to ask directions from. Determined not to make a bigger fool of herself than she already had, she chose a direction at random and padded down the corridor.
She stopped at an opened door just in time to hear Fayt's voice. She peered around the corner and time froze. Fayt was sitting beside a bed. On the bed was her late uncle. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had to be stronger.
She opened her eyes and wandered into the open doorway. She briefly nodded her acknowledgement to Nel, Cliff and Maria before addressing Fayt.
"Fayt?" Her voice was small but carried well in the small metallic room.
Fayt tore his attention from his father and to the door. He gave her a half smile before returning to his previous posture. "How's Albel?" he asked emotionless.
"He's okay."
"Really? Good." He kept a monotone and sounded more like a machine than a person.
"How long to you plan on moping around?" Maria asked in frustration. Her sudden question caught Sophia off guard but caused no reaction in Fayt.
"That's a mean thing to say!" Sophia retaliated. Her sisterly instincts kicked into gear and she felt the overwhelming urge to defend Fayt. "His father just died, you know! How about a little more sympathy?"
"Fayt, your father left something to the three of us!" Maria responded giving Sophia a glance before resuming her talk with Fayt. "What are you going to do about it?"
Fayt kept his eyes downcast and sat motionless. Sophia took a deep breath and absorbed Maria's words. She had spoken in frustration but there was the smallest hint of worry. Sophia didn't know Maria like she would like to, but she knew enough to know in some ways the girl was a lot like Albel. She was one to hide her true feelings. Getting to know the girl would require a lot of patience and a LOT of understanding.
"I don't care what you do. I'm going to Moonbase. ...Even if I have to go alone!"
Sophia stepped further into the room and looked down at Fayt. "Maria has a point. It's not like you to be so depressed. But...don't be too hard on yourself." She spoke softly hoping he would break from his trance.
Fayt remained silent for a moment before he got up and faced her. "Ok... I'm sorry for worrying you." His eyes still reflected his depression but with a small spark of returning to normal. She knew it would take a while, but he could do it. She knew he could.
"That's okay." She had to also let go of her own depression. This was Fayt's first step and her second. Her first step to recovery had been in the infirmary with Albel.
Fayt turned to Maria. "Sorry. I'll go, too...to Moonbase. We'll go get whatever my father left behind."
Sophia nodded almost too enthusiastically; causing her to nearly miss the sight of Maria wipping a tear away. It warmed her a little to see Maria acting more human than usual.
Cliff cleared his throat. "All right. So it's off to Moonbase, then?"
"Yeah, that's the plan. I've already given the crew the order."
"Moon...base?" Nel asked shifting her attention around the room. "I wonder what kind of place it'll be. Can't wait."
"Huh, what did you just say?" Fayt asked.
Albel finally announced his presence as he entered the room and stood behind Sophia. "Moonbase, hmm? Sounds interesting. I think I'm ready for a new world."
Maria exchanged glances with both the Elicoorians. "Do you know what you're saying? You might never make it back home again!"
"I realize that."
"So what of it?" Albel snorted agreeing with Nel.
Sophia kept her back to the swordsman and covered her mouth in amusement. It was slightly humorous to see the two getting along even if it was indirectly.
"I don't think you understand what you're getting into!" Cliff protested.
"We were able to end the war with Airyglyph…"
"No thanks to you, the war's over, and Vox is dead."
"Now that the war is over, there is no longer a need for me there."
"There's no excitement left in Airyglyph. Means I gotta find it somewhere else."
"I'd like to help you all out."
"You got that, worms?"
It was all she could do not to laugh as the two spoke. They might as well be saying the same thing. Albel would start speaking too fast behind Nel to be copying her, which meant both of them felt the same.
"Yeah, but..." Fayt responded. He was being put on the spot and clearly had no idea of what to do.
"But it's a different matter if you think I'll weigh you down." Albel kept a nonchalant attitude as he finished his argument – finally beating Nel to first comment.
Nel gave Albel a short sigh before giving her own response. "But if you feel that I'll just get in the way, I'll leave."
"You won't be in the way, but still..."
"I think...it's a good idea." Fayt said cutting Cliff off.
"Huh?"
Sophia lowered her hands. "Really?" She tried not to show any emotion. A mixture of excitement and fear rose in her gut. Having Albel there made her feel safer but it also put him in danger. Still, she knew she would have no influence on his decision. Albel Nox did what he wanted when he wanted – no exceptions.
Fayt smiled. "Yeah. I think so. C'mon."
"Fine." Maria took a step toward the door. "If that's how you feel, I've no objections."
Cliff shrugged his shoulders. "Ok, what can you do?" He gave Nel a wink; which she responded to by lightly slapping his back and giving him a warning look.
"Good to have you with us."
Nel returned Fayt's small smile. "Good to be here."
Albel simply 'Humphed'.
As they left the room, Sophia found herself walking closely behind Albel. She kept her hands knotted at her heart as she tried to chase stray thoughts from her mind. She didn't want to think about what had just happened with the Vendeeni. She wanted to remove the emotion of loss from her heart and just keep going with her head held high.
She had to keep her head up. She wanted to be stronger and able to help more. Things would be easier with Nel and Albel there. Both of them could fight. She took a little comfort knowing they really were a team.
It made facing the unknown easier when she thought about the friends surrounding her.
oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo--oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo--oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo-oOo
(A/N) I had to really fight the bite of the OOC bug during that last little section. I almost had Sophia tug on Albel's hair in a sudden impulse to be a bit childish. It was a bit of a struggle to keep everyone IC – so the game script helped a lot. Things are still busy around here but I've been in an extremely upbeat mood and had to keep myself under control. But don't be surprised if she does eventually tug childishly on his hair and giggle.