The Other Side of the Coin
Written by: Somnion
Disclaimer: I do not own StarOcean 3 or its characters
Thank you all once again for reviewing the previous chapters. I had got a lot of complaints and am glad because I am finally getting some creative criticism. Rereading the last chapter made realize that Nel was out of character, so I'll try to get her back again into character. I basically thought that altering her personality slightly would make the story a little interesting. I figured if Nel and Albel had kept their original personalities, I would probably been an old man before anything interesting happened between the two of them. I also would like to state that Kazeryuken is a Battle Skill which I had made up, after watching Kyo fight against Hotaru in Samurai Deeper Kyo. I also learned that some of you had trouble with the Japanese Battle Skill names. I am sorry I can't change the Battle Skill names, however, from now on I shall write the English names next to the Japanese ones, in brackets. By the way, this chapter does have some nice bits in it, but there might be a little OOCness. Another thing I'd like to state is, some parts of the story may seem to be hanging, but those parts shall be explained in the later chapters and instalments of this trilogy. Finally, at long last, I get to write the softer part of Albel.
Chapter 4: The Caves of Doubts.
Albel woke up to the soft crackling sound of a fire nearby. He looked around, observing his surroundings, wondering where he was. Nel was sitting across from him. She appeared to be pounding some herbs in a mortar. He opened his mouth to ask her where they were, but no voice came. Slowly he felt drowsy and tired, his vision growing dim, slowly slipping out of consciousness.
Nel noticed him stirring, before he finally lost consciousness. "This is the third time today," she thought to herself.
As she pounded the herbs, her thoughts slowly began to drift once again. She had been acting rather strangely whenever she was with Albel, aside from having all these thoughts about him. They say people change whenever they are with people they are fond of, or admire. Nel, however, dismissed that possibility. There was simply no way that she could admire, or perhaps, even have feelings towards the captain of the Black Brigade. She was convinced that there was some other explanation for her odd behaviour. Her mind began to recall to the time when she had joined with Fayt and the company to prevent Luther from destroying the Eternal Sphere. It had been a whole year since that incident, and Albel, at that time, was a sadistic, unapproachable warmonger. However, Albel now began to show signs of change. His leadership skills, among the many other traits that Nel had witnessed, had caught her completely by surprise.
Perhaps it was the sudden changes in Albel that had made her act and feel that way for him. "It was probably just a spur of the moment," she thought to herself.
As she looked towards Albel, who lay asleep on the ground, she began to feel those strange feelings of anxiety which she had experienced, vanish like the morning mist at the coming of the morn. "I guess that must be it."
Two hours passed on, and finally Albel began to finally regain his consciousness. He looked around himself, examining the cave he was in. His eyes were slowly getting accustomed to the dim light of the fire, which illuminated the cave. He tried to get up, but a voice stopped him.
"Don't get up. You'll open up the wound."
He looked around to find the speaker, finding only Nel who was sitting across from him.
"I've removed the poison from your body," she said. "I had to use surgical methods because I used up too much energy in that fight earlier, making extraction through the use of runology absolutely impossible."
Albel looked at his right shoulder. Nel had bandaged it, so he cold not see the wound. However, the pain from the wound lingered there, and the aftermath of the poison made his hand feel completely numb.
"What time is it?" he asked.
'It has been six hours since that battle with the bandits. You've been slipping in and out of consciousness, so I guess you are a little confused at the moment."
Nel then brought out a small bowl and passed it to Albel. Albel looked into the contents and was disgusted at what he saw. Inside the bowl was soupy, green mix of smashed herbs and water. "So, today's main course is natural fertilizer, huh? The horse from where this slob came out of must be having some major bowel problems," he said sarcastically.
Putting aside Albel's snide remarks, Nel began to explain. "That is mixture of herbs that should help cleanse your body of any remaining poison, and it also acts as an efficient painkiller."
Looking into the bowl, Albel began to wonder how effective this "mixture of herbs" was. As far as he was concerned, it looked like horse manure, and was loathe to put that stuff in his mouth. He tried to drink the soup, but he couldn't with his right hand. Even if he could move his arm, he was too weak to drink it.
Nel noticed this, and moved up to him. She then took the bowl from him and slowly helped Albel drink the soup. Despite its terrible looks, the mixture actually tasted quite sweet.
As she finished helping him drink the soup, she said to him jokingly, "My, my. You really are a burden, you know that?"
Although that remark was meant only as a joke, Albel, whose mind was still recovering from the poison, took it as an insult.
"You're a fine one to talk," he snapped. "I would not be in this situation if you had dodged that arrow."
Nel was a little surprised, but understood that Albel was a little confused. It would be quite normal for someone recovering from a poison attack to be a little irritable. "I better handle this situation calmly," she thought to herself. "The last thing I need, is Albel going berserk like how he did in the forest." Lowering her tone and speaking rather slowly, she said, "Calm down, Albel. It was just a joke."
"Joke or not, that does not change the fact that I'm stuck in this cave with a wound that I could have easily avoided," barked Albel. "If I was such an inconvenience, why didn't you just leave me where I was?"
Nel did not answer that question immediately. She seemed to be deep in thought. Finally, she began to speak, as Albel glared at her angrily, "In all my years of service as a Crimson Blade, I have never abandoned a partner on a mission, and I don't intend to start now."
This was a first for Albel. Throughout his entire service as captain of the Black Brigade, no one had ever regarded him as a partner. In fact, he never had one. He had always felt at that point of time, that he had no need for a partner. It was only when he joined Fayt and the company, that he began to work with other people. Even then, although he was aware that everyone had accepted him as a partner, this was the first time, that anyone had referred to him as a partner.
Noticing that Albel had begun to calm down, Nel turned to the mouth of the cave, and then said to Albel, "I'll stay on watch to make sure no animals or bandits get in here. You on the other had better get some sleep. It should help you get your strength back."
Albel, though still rather pissed with Nel, slowly lowered himself down on the ground, before finally drifting of to sleep. Nel proceeded to mouth of the cave, sitting herself down on a rock. As she sat perched on the rock, she realised that the cave was slightly elevated, allowing her a much larger view of the area. The moonlight shown down on her, accompanying Nel on her lonely watch, as well as providing her with some light in order to keep her watch.
As Albel, lay on the ground sleeping, his mind was wondering through the many memories which lay in his past. Suddenly, he found himself back at Woltar's mansion. He walked through the large estate, noticing the many soldiers who trained there. Finally, he came to small garden where he saw a young boy around four, lying down on a young woman's lap, who Albel figured, must have been the boy's mother.
"Mother, when are we going back to Aquios, mother?" asked the boy. His mother chuckled as she stroked her son's head. "But Albel, we were there just last week."
How had he not seen it sooner? The boy and woman who were in the garden were none other than Albel and his mother. Albel approached them cautiously, hoping not to disturb them. Seeing his mother again had made Albel realize that he had not visited her in some time.
"Uncle Woltar's house is so boring," the young Albel pouted. "There is absolutely nothing to do here."
"So you want to go back to Aquios so you can meet your new friend there?" she said with a smile.
"Yeah," he said, with a grin that spread from ear to ear. " We'll have so much fun playing together."
"Just so long as you don't neglect your swordsmanship classes," his mother replied. "I want you to grow to be a strong warrior who I can be proud of"
"You can count on it."
As the young Albel and his mother continued to talk, Albel began to wonder who this childhood friend from Aquaria was. Who was this friend, and why was he so eager to return to Aquios because of this person?
As Albel pondered over these questions, he suddenly heard something which he had not heard in a long time. As he turned to face his mother, he found his younger self asleep on his mother's lap. She was singing to him a song that Albel seemed to remember rather well. The song his mother was singing, as Albel recalled, was one which she learned at Aquios. She would always sing this song to Albel when he was a child and Albel really loved it. His mother's was soft and sweet, which brought back to him memories on how kind his mother had always been to him.
He always was very good to her, always trying to impress her, hoping that he would one day grow up to be the man that would make her smile with pride. She never yelled at him, always advising him to be a good man and a strong warrior.
As he slowly slipped out of his dream and back to reality, the song that his mother was singing still chimed in his ears. He opened his eyes, half expecting to find his mother there singing to him. He glanced around to find the voice who was singing the song he had yearned so long to hear. Then, his eyes noticed a lone figure in the moonlight, by the mouth of the cave, singing the words of the song. It was Nel.
To say that Albel was amazed would have been an understatement. He was completely speechless. There, sitting by the mouth of the cave, was Nel singing as beautifully as a nightingale. The moonlight shown down on her, which seemed to make the young Aquarian maiden shine, like a lone star on a moonless night.
But captivated Albel the most was her voice and the song she sang. Nel had the voice and presence of an angel. Albel began to doubt if he was really
awake, as he listened to the words of the song which danced on Nel's crimson lips.
When you feel the touch of the wind,
On the hills we run, bells chiming,
Even your worries, you can laugh them away,
Because for you, tomorrow shall be a fairer day.
Then we gaze at each other,
Then we together, we laugh,
I want to tie our hearts together,
Yours and mine,
For it was you,
Who taught me how to shine.
Let us sing, let us sing once more,
Together, whenever, forever,
So as never to lose our precious treasures,
Sealed forever in time, that passes by.
The song had left Albel completely mesmerized. Her voice still echoed in the halls of his mind, even after she had finished. The moonlight that shown on her seemed to bring out her features even more clearly. Her long slender arms decorated with the runes, which Nel was extremely proud of, glistened in the rays of the moon. The wind, with its many invisible fingers, ran gracefully through Nel's beautiful crimson hair, which was as breathtaking and as red as the sunset. Her eyes were an emerald green, both lovely and serious. Her face, a smooth milky white, seemed to reflect the rays of the moon, as if she were competing with the moon on who was the fairer. She was perfect.
The more Albel gazed at her, the more he longed to hold her. But the only thing he caught hold of was his thoughts. What on earth was he thinking? Why the hell was he suddenly feeling this way towards Nel, all of a sudden? To him, she was merely an Aquarian wench, nothing more. He now began to feel disgusted with himself for even allowing that thought to register itself in his head. But then, she had taken care of him, nursed him, and even helped to feed him when he was too weak.
Dismissing that thought, he figured that it must have been some side effects of the medicine he took earlier. "I knew that horse manure was nothing but trouble," he thought as he turned away from Nel and went back to sleep. But one question kept eluding Albel's grasp, who was this long lost friend of his? "I guess that will have wait for another day," he thought, before finally drifting off into a state of uneasy slumber.
Albel woke up the next day, to the sound of Nel's voice. He had a nightmare the night before, the same nightmare which had plagued for the last ten years.
The creature responsible for his father's death still haunted the dark corridors of his mind. Yet, Albel knew he had only himself to blame for his father's death. It was he who should have perished that day for his failure, not his father. It was Nel's voice who had awoken him from the nightmare, and he was at some point, relieved that it was only a dream. Yet, his mind continued to dwell on the events that had taken place on that day.
"Are you alright?" Nel asked. "You were groaning in your sleep."
Albel gave her no response. The nightmare had left Albel rather irritable that morning and he just wanted to be alone.
Nel had figured that he was not in a very good mood, so she placed some fruits and towels in front of Albel. "While you were sleeping I found a cache hidden here by the bandits. There's your breakfast and some towels. There is a hot spring at the rear end of the cave, so after your breakfast, go clean yourself up."
Despite hearing everything she said, Albel still did not respond. "Fine," Nel thought to herself. "He can sulk all he wants. I couldn't care less anyway." She then started eating her own breakfast. Albel however, was still deep in thought.
Twenty minutes passed, and Albel still had not touched his breakfast. He also had remained exceptionally quiet since he woke up. Nel, noticing him, began to feel that something was not right with him.
"Albel, are you alright?" she asked once again.
Still she received no answer from him. She now began to wonder if he was deliberately trying to ignore her. But then again, perhaps he was beginning to feel symptoms of the poison she believed she had already extracted.
"Better safe than sorry," she thought. Moving up to him, she said, "Albel, I'm going to use an antidote spell on you just to be safe. Just hold still for a while."
As she reached to put her hand on him, Albel clenched the fist of his iron claw, shoving it into Nel's stomach, pushing her away. Although he ensured that he did not hit any of her vital organs, the blow still hurt Nel rather badly.
"What do you think you're doing?" she yelled at him, clutching her aching abdomen. She was completely surprised and angry at Albel's sudden outburst.
"Don't you dare touch me without my permission," he said. His blood red eyes seemed to gleam a bright crimson red, bellying the anger that brew within him.
Nel looked at Albel with disbelief. "What kind of sick joke was this guy playing?" she thought to herself. He had never made an issue of this before, and she could not comprehend why he was so mad, since all she had done was nurse him back to health. Why on earth was he so angry?
"Why don't you just leave me alone for a while and mind your own business," Albel said as he turned away from her.
Nel usually had a very cool and calm demeanor as well as very strong sense of tolerance, and it would probably take a lot of work in order to get her angry. However, in those rare times of anger, everyone would duck for cover. Getting Nel upset was an instant KO.
Being paired up with Albel, who constantly scrutinized and mocked her, had worn her patience thin. That last remark was the last straw.
"Listen Nox," she barked. "I could very well have left you lying in the middle of nowhere, leaving you to suffer at the effects of the poison, but I didn't. In fact, there was a point when I had felt compelled to do so, but instead I dragged your body from the battlefield all the way to this cave. Then I extracted the poison from your system and then nursed you back to health. I even had to go out in the dead of night to find the herbs to make that bowl of medicine for you, which was not an easy task. I swear," she said, finally coming to an end, "you are the most cold hearted, selfish and ungrateful person I have ever met."
Nel stopped to catch her breath, her green eyes were glaring angrily at Albel. She sat there waiting to see Albel's response.
"Cold hearted, selfish and ungrateful, eh? How so?" he asked smugly, confident that that last statement would push Nel off the deep end.
He was right. Nel was downright furious with him. How could he even summon the nerve to say that to her face? He had acted so atrociously and now he was asking her why he had called him those names? Even though he knew how much trouble she had gone through for him, and how angry she was with him at the moment, he could still afford to give a smug smile of satisfaction.
"You want to know why?" she lashed out. "You are selfish bastard who can't appreciate help when it is given. You constantly put people down, always thinking you're more superior to them in all aspects. But most of all, you're cold hearted killer who revels in the blood of battle and the gore of slaughter. You completely lost yourself when you were fighting those bandits. How many of my friends and subordinates have been slaughtered by your hand?"
Tears trickled down her face, clenching her fist, as she began to recall the faces of her deceased friends, who lost their lives in the war. "You're a monster," she muttered under her breath. Then lifting her fist, she aimed it Albel's face. However, Albel stopped her hand before the blow landed. He could feel the anger resonating through Nel's clenched fist. Tears of anger rolled down her cheek, as she tried in a desperate attempt to get loose from Albel's tight grip.
Finally, Albel asked her, "What about you?"
"What about what?" she yelled.
"Did it ever occur to you that you had killed dozens, perhaps even hundreds of Glyphian Soldiers, just as I have killed many of your Aquarian worms? Or do you just blurt out crap without even thinking?"
Nel was caught by surprise by this question. She looked up at Albel, who was still grasping her fist tightly, her eyes now red and puffy because of the tears of rage she had shed earlier.
"I killed because it was an order. I fought for my Queen and in the name of Apris. You, however, simply killed to prove your strength and to satisfy your lust for battle."
"Either way you look at it, you still killed all those people. There really isn't much difference."
"There is!" Nel protested. "I fought for a reason, whereas you had none."
"Fine, then," Albel said. "Why don't you go explain that to every woman you widowed, every child you orphaned, that their husbands and fathers were killed in the name of Apris?"
The statement made by Albel hit Nel like a slap in the face. Only at that moment did Nel understand the dire ramifications of her actions. She murdered many husbands and fathers who, like her, fought to protect their loved ones, their country and their ideals. Their blood now stained Nel's hands. She loosened the fist she made at Albel, and he, sensing she was backing down, released her hand.
"If you think that by saying your actions can be justified with reasons," Albel continued, "then you are no better than that warmonger Vox."
This came as a shock to Nel. How could she be likened to warmonger like Vox? It simply made no sense to her ears at all.
"There is no way that I am anything like Vox," she protested.
"By trying to find a reason to justify why you had killed people, that is why I said that you are no better than him. You and he both believed the same delusion that taking a person's life can be justified with reasons."
He lifted his head to look Nel in the eye. As Nel's emerald green eyes met Albel's ruby colored eyes, she began to feel the pressure of Albel's glare. She began to tremble slightly, as she turned away to avert his gaze.
"Vox justified his war with Aquaria by giving the people of Airyglyph hope, the hope for a better future. There would no longer be starvation during the winters, no poverty, no suffering. He believed that by assimilating Aquaria under Airyglyph rule, that by unifying the continent of Gaitt, he would be in the right, and that he would be justified to take the lives of others. However, taking the life of a person, let alone a thousand, is a great responsibility and a burden. The ramifications it leaves in its wake are dire and grave."
Nel hung her head in shame. Everything, every single word that Albel had said was undeniably true.
"Stop making excuses and accept the responsibility for your actions."
Nel got up and slowly walked away from Albel.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
Nel turned her back at Albel, to hide the tears that now streamed across her face. She didn't want to show him that she was crying, but Albel heard the grief in her voice as she said, "I need some time, alone."
Chapter 4 ends
I hope you guys like this one. I tried my hardest to make this one a little interesting, so tell me what you think. Please R&R. Thank you once again.