"This isn't a good plan." I murmur. "They're way too organized…"

"Hey, just loosen up," Cliff mutters back. "Nothin' we ain't handled before."

"oh, shut up, fool," Albel … Albels. "two of those damn flying things I can believe. Four, with a dozen of those metal swordsman, and they've caught on to us."

"grr… why did we take you along on this scouting trip anyways?"

"The blue-haired maggot insisted."

"Now look, Fayt here asks for a lot of things. He asked me for information, and he blows up a Vendeeni battle cruiser. He wants to find his old girlfriend, and she's a genetic experiment. He asks the Queen for that 'Sacred Orb,' and we fight some bloodshot flying eyeball. Now, if you ask me, him asking you to come with us kinda fits the pattern, kapiesh?"

"Why do I even bother…."

"Because you wish you were blond. Now shut up."

"What's that got to-"

"No really, shut up. I hear somethin'."

"Yes, it's called reality. It's saying you're an idiot."

"No, don't you hear tha- oh, great."

"what now?"

CRASH!

An Incapacitator flies through the crate the two are hiding behind and immediately swings it sword at Albel's head.

CHING!

Albel blocks the blow with a lightning quick unsheathing of Crimson Scourge, and rolls back as Cliff slams an iron hard fist into the automation's skull.

CRACK!

SCRAAAAAAaaaaaaaaAAAPPE

That was the sound of the Incapacitator's metal brains being dragged through it's corkscrewed remnants of a head.

"Wait, where's the kid?"

"You dig your flesh fingers through sharp metal and the first thing on your mind's the maggot? Either you're stupidier or stronger than I thought."

"Yeah, love you too. Now seriously, where's Fa- Whoah Kay!"

WOOOSH!

Another Incapacitator swings down, but before it can finish it's midair cleave, Albel stabs it through the chest and slowly rips upward.

The annoying sound of metal-on-metal pierces the air, almost drowning out the bulletfire as three robo-gunners shoot at a white-and-blue streak.

"Haa!" I split another of the buzzards apart and swiftly dodges the incoming projectiles.

"A little help, if you don't mind!"

"Yeah, sure, kid. Say, just what are you doing?"

"Less talking and more slaughter, please!"

"If you insist, maggot."

SWOOOSH!

SLASH!

WHAM!

In no time flat, the remaining twain of robo-gunners and the few Incapacitators left are in shards scattered across the metal-and-hologram floors.

I wipe a bead of sweat off my brow as I turn to the others.

"What took so long?"

"You looked like you could handle it."

"You didn't even notice I was gone!"

"Yeah, and, what's your point. They're down, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but-"

"You really do say that word too much, maggot."

"what, 'but?'"

"That's the one. It would please us all if you'd stop leaving dangling conjugations and just tell us what the hell is the matter with the situation instead of moping about."

"… huh?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Cliff looks left. Cliff looks right. Cliff opens his mouth –

"Not a word, maggot."

Cliff glares at Albel. He opens his mouth aga-

"I mean it. I've had enough prattling for one trip. Now let's go back to the others, and give up this little 'scouting trip' of ours."

I chuckle. "Albel, you've softened up."

"How so," Albel sneers.

"Normally, you'd use less words and more blade."

"hmmm… good suggestion. Thanks, maggot."

"Wait, what are you do-"

CHHIIING!

Albel swiftly swings at Cliff, who is already ducking. This isn't the first time, it seems.

"Haven't we gone through this before? You swing, I duck, you swing again, I –"

SWOOOSH

Cliff rolls forward and starts jogging briskly back to the intersection we left the rest of the party at, Albel closely in tow, occasionally swinging or aiming a kick at the retreating Cliff.

I continue to chuckle, and follow behind them.

----

It really doesn't feel like it's been almost a year since that trip to Hyda IV. So much has happened, that it's like I was never alive before. The Creator was defeated, and we were still alive. We discovered that, for some reason, we could still enter the 4D universe. But, it all seemed dead … in that it seemed like nothing had changed. It was like time had decided to loop around the same 30 seconds for all of eternity.

Rather unnerving, truth be told.

The only place that this looping didn't seem to occur was in the Sphere building. And it was completely deserted, save for ghostly looking security guards and all kinds of defense mecha.

The ten of us – me, Sophia, Maria, Cliff, Mirage, Nel, Albel, Adray, Peppita, and Roger – stayed together, deeming it necessary to determine if any threat remained. It took us a long time, and so far we were only on the 142 level. The elevators had been partially locked, and we had to go up a floor at a time. All kinds of metal – and distinctly nonmetal – things had stood in our way, and all of them bowed to us. In pieces, if necessary. It was often necessary.

We kept running into these weird beings that resembled people or creatures we had fought before. We'd already run into some demonic Crossel that was at least five times as powerful as the one on Elicoor, and a few other folk that I faintly recall from earlier, just after I'd escaped from Hyda IV. Each time, I'd noticed some small girl carrying an obscenely large spear, either summoning the beings or in the background, or hiding where she thought I couldn't see her. Who was she? Why was she bringing these things against us?

In any case, we – that is, the Maria and I – felt that something fishy was going on, and that we needed to stick around and find out what was going on.

And what slow progress we made. Every half-dozen floors or so the foes standing in our path changed, some relatively easier, but usually harder and harder the more we went up.

Thankfully, this was one of the easier levels. Back to the robots, though they were tougher, and they had those small, annoying, buzzing machine-gun-on-rotors things with them. Not to mention the occasional full blown helicopter.

They were getting smarter, too. The last group we had run across was the largest one of our scouting parties had had to face. They were setting up ambushes.

Heh. Listen to me. I sound like some kind of documentary. The important part, the part that's already published in the first edition of my Memiors is already out. I don't need to explain too much anymore. I'll just continue the story, as a story.

----

----

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A/N: Been awhile, ain't it? I've been busy with college and the like, and am on vacation back home with my family.

I honestly have no idea what's going on with this fic, so hold on to the seat of your pants!

The standard disclaimer: I, neither now, in the past, or at any time in the conceivable future, own no facet or aspect of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.

As always, reviews are far more than welcome. Please, let me know if you want more dialogue, more Fayt-thought, or whatever.

Thanks, and peace out.