Author's Note: For some reason, this feels like a filler chapter to me. It's mostly dialogue, and not a lot of action. And Balthier angsts quite a bit, too. Aww. He needs a hug. Snow, Lightning, or someone, go give him a hug! :D

I hope you like this chapter, Joshua Chung, even if it's more...angsty than the others. :D

S o S t a r s t r u c k

Chapter Nine

A Public Enemy

To be honest, I had gotten the impression that Lightning hated Snow more than anything else in that world. But, seeing how she was determined to find both he and Hope...I had changed my mind.

Nothing Balthier did to try and calm Lightning down seemed to work. She barely said a word to him as they ran through the city, frantically trying to get to Snow and Hope before PSICOM did. When they had found the debris that had fallen from the top of the building, there was no sign of either of them. Lightning clenched her fists, fearing the worst.

"No one could have survived a fall like that," Balthier stated, staring up at the destruction above. "But then again, Snow is always full of surprises when it comes to surviving things..."

She turned away from him, clutching a hand over her necklace. Balthier sighed heavily, shaking his head as he walked toward her, standing directly in front of her. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders, and she forced herself to look away from his gaze.

"Knowing that oaf, he's probably still on the move," he assured her, "Now, let's just continue with the plan and head toward the boy's place. Do you understand?" Lightning glanced to him and nodded once. He smirked and weakly messed up her hair, which only earned him an intense glare.

Without Fang with them, it was harder to deal with any enemies they came across. Half the time they had to run from battle, mainly due to Balthier walking right in the middle of danger, forcing Lightning to come to his rescue. That didn't help his ego very much, and by the time they reached the residential area of the city both of them were exhausted. But, Lightning was more than determined to go on, even if that meant going after Snow and Hope on her own. Balthier half-expected her to give up on him and leave him behind if he was ever knocked unconscious in battle.

Thankfully he managed to convince her to stop for a brief rest, despite what she'd said about l'Cie not having any time to do so. He only reminded her that he wasn't a l'Cie - just a mere hume. He wasn't as strong as her, she knew that much.

The two of them were off again once Balthier had regained his stamina, and just a few moments after they were on the move, he saw a dragon-like fiend flying toward one of the taller buildings of apartments. "Now isn't that odd," he murmured as Lightning walked up beside him, noticing it as well. "I wouldn't be surprised if that thing had found our two lost l'Cie before we could."

"Then what are we waiting for? They probably need our help," she agreed, pulling out her gunblade.

She led the way through the building, and once they reached the top floor they found Hope facing against the fiend all on his lonesome. Lightning immediately ran to his aid, yelling out and asking in the process, "Where's Snow?"

Hope seemed glad that help had arrived. "He's okay!" he told her, trying to grin.

Balthier looked around from where he stood for the blond l'Cie, knowing that Lightning would be able to handle the fiend without his help. He found Snow lying on his back on the tile, clearly unconscious. Sighing out of frustration, Balthier went over to him and knelt down at his side, murmuring a small curative spell. "Always the hero," he stated quickly, touching the blond's chin with a gentle hand. "You should know better by now not be so reckless."

Stirring slightly, Snow barely opened his eyes when he heard the sky pirate's voice. "Serah...?" he whispered, and Balthier rolled his eyes.

"Not by a long shot, Ice." He managed to help the taller man sit up, but Snow lost consciousness soon after and slumped up against the sky pirate. Balthier went tense when he felt the other man's weight on him, but he allowed him to lean up against him for the time being. "Tch, first you call me by your girl's name and then you lean on me. What's next, you wanting me to kiss you goodnight?"

The other two managed to kill the dragon-fiend quicker than expected, and Balthier was more than surprised to see Lightning suddenly embrace Hope after he'd said something to her. He raised an eyebrow in slight suspicion (or was it jealousy?) and called out to them, pointing to the man leaning on his shoulder, "It would be nice if the two of you helped me right now!"

Lightning turned to look at him first, nearly smiling in amusement. "Now you know how I felt when you were sick the other night," she stated as she lifted Snow off of Balthier. She rested one of his arms around her shoulders, helping him stand up. He appeared to be half-conscious, thankfully, so she didn't have to carry him completely.

"Where have you guys been?" Hope asked, standing between the two. "It's been nearly two days since we were separated."

"We had a few inconveniences on the way," Balthier answered, ignoring the look Lightning gave him at that moment. "But, we're here now, aren't we? Shame Fang left us, though. We could have used her help in dealing with all those barbaric soldiers..." He eyed Hope for a moment, then asked out of pure habit, "You're all right, though? Not too much trouble for you?"

The young l'Cie grinned. "Nope. Everything's all worked out now."

"Glad to hear it. Can't have you dying before we get you home, can we?"

"Yeah...Home," Hope muttered under his breath, looking down at his feet. Lightning was already gone with Snow, most likely feeling quite impatient and refusing to watch the two of them dawdle any longer. "Not sure if I'm ready to go back there just yet. It's been a while."

Balthier tilted his head slightly. "Problems with your father, per chance?"

"How'd you know?" He blinked in confusion up at the sky pirate, surprised.

"Light may have mentioned you weren't on the best terms with him. I can understand, though." He turned around, getting ready to follow Lightning and Snow. "I wasn't ready to confront my father when the time came, but I went through with it. You'll feel better once you pass by the problems, trust me."

Hope nodded in understanding and smiled weakly. They then ran after the other two, and once they reached Lightning she glared at them until they apologized for making her wait for them. Balthier looked out toward the sun set as they walked up the hall to Hope's home, a sudden feeling of regret coming over him. Seeing the boy going through almost the same situations he had gone through brought up old memories. At least, the things he could remember.

Knowing that you will always be welcome despite all the troubles you've created...That is what having a home is truly about.

As soon as they were inside the house, Lightning told Balthier that Hope's mother had died in battle under Snow's command, which was why Hope had been so cold toward him when they'd met. That explained why Balthier had seen Hope continuously glare at Snow when all of them were together back in Lake Bresha. He couldn't help but wonder if Lightning had intentionally left Hope in Snow's care when she and Fang had left him, just so the two of them could work out their differences.

Lightning was off with Snow in one of the bedrooms, watching over him until he would wake up. Balthier decided to roam around for a bit and explore the house, finally getting the chance to really relax. He found a picture of Hope's family, and seeing it reminded him of his family back on Ivalice - meaning, those he had traveled with before he came to Cocoon. But, for some reason, he found it hard to remember their faces.

He still couldn't even remember how he had even ended up in the new world in the first place, and it worried him. It felt as if he was forgetting his own life, and if he was...Did that mean he would soon forget himself?

"No," he told himself, shaking his head. "It won't come to that. I'll be back there in no time, once all of this is finished."

Then again, did he even want to return to Ivalice? True, he had Fran waiting there for him, as well as the others, but there, in Cocoon...He had people he could finally trust, people who understood him and were willing to help him. He wanted to help them, too, but helping them complete their Focus meant helping them meet their end. 'L'Cie who complete their Focus turn to crystal and gain eternal life,' Vanille had told him. Balthier's task on Cocoon, as far as he knew, was to help Lightning and the others on their journey to save Cocoon, but at the same time he was leading them toward crystallization.

If they were crystallized, then they would be gone...And he would be alone in a world that wasn't his own.

But he didn't want them to not complete their Focus - they would become Cie'th, and would probably end up killing him without even knowing that he was their ally; their friend.

Either way, in the end, he'd be alone. Unless, like Serah had said, he would return to Ivalice and be able to continue his life as a sky pirate. But, still, he wasn't sure if that was what he wanted anymore. With them, his new comrades, he felt happy. In Cocoon, he was no longer tied to his past and was able to forget whatever wrongs he may have done back in Ivalice. He could start a new life there, if he wanted.

Sighing deeply, Balthier walked toward the room where Lightning and Snow were. She was standing outside the door, watching him approach her, and saw his worried expression. "Something wrong?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He merely shook his head, staring down at the floor under his feet.

Lightning took a step toward him, but then stopped herself before she could get any closer to him. "Snow...wants to talk to you," she said, avoiding his gaze. "He's awake now, so I don't need to watch over him."

"I'll take over your job, then," Balthier answered, reaching for the door knob. But she stopped him, touching his arm, and he nearly flinched when he felt her hand on him.

"Balthier?"

He looked up, and their eyes met. For a moment, they simply stared at each other in silence, but Balthier was the first one to turn his eyes away. She watched him for a few seconds before walking down the hall, leaving him without saying good-bye.

Balthier sighed again, and pushed the door open. He was greeted by Snow's smirking face, the blond sitting up in the bed with his arms folded behind his head. He had a bandage around his waist, and wasn't wearing his shirt or trench coat. He did, however, still have his bandana over his hair.

"Good to see you're still in one piece," Snow greeted, watching as the sky pirate walked into the room and shut the door behind him. "I'd thought the Sanctum would have executed you, like Raines had said."

"It takes more than a few mad soldiers to kill me," Balthier replied, sitting down on the end of the bed. "I could say the same to you, but you're not in the best shape at the moment."

"Heh, of course." He tilted his head to the side, and said, "I take it that means you haven't found a way home yet."

Balthier frowned weakly, looking down at his hands. "It's too much," he murmured.

"Hm?"

"My comrades. All I can think about is, 'what could I have done?' I despite myself for leaving them behind, knowing that I may have left them when they needed me most. It...hurts to try and remember them." He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked over to the blond. "Look, Snow...I am sorry. Forgive me."

Snow sat up, raising both eyebrows in confusion. "For what?"

The sky pirate looked away from his gaze, casting his eyes downward. "For doubting you, when we met. I didn't understand what all of you were going through, what you've done. All you're trying to do is what your girl told you, to save your home from danger. I didn't believe that was even possible...But now, I understand. I'm just afraid that once this is all over, there won't be anything left here for me."

"...What are you saying?"

"Serah told me to help all of you with your Focus, but...once I've done that, where do I go? You'll all be crystal, asleep until it's your time to rise again. I don't even know for positive if I can still return to Ivalice, and if I can't..."

Snow moved closer to him, clasping a hand on his shoulder. "Balthier, I know we don't always see eye-to-eye, but...I'll make a promise to you. Right now." When Balthier turned around, he could see the sudden determination in Snow's eyes - just like when he spoke of saving Cocoon, just like Serah told him. "I promise I'll get you back to your home. You're risking your own life to help us, just because Serah told you to do that. I'm going to get you home, no matter what."

Though I may not have wanted help from others, I didn't want to be alone once it was all over. I hated to admit it, but I needed him - all of them.

Balthier blinked slowly, but eventually he smirked and nodded his head. "Then I hope you're good at keeping promises, Ice."

Before Snow could correct him, Hope opened the door and peered inside. "My dad said he'd like to see you guys," he told them, "He wants to talk."

They all met up in the living room, and Snow sat down beside Lightning on one of the couches, across from Hope and his father, Bartholomew Estheim. Balthier chose not to sit down and leaned up against one of the chairs, folding his arms across his chest as he watched Snow stand up again and get on his knees, hanging his head low.

"The blame is mine," he said, "I couldn't save her."

Balthier, though he was confused at first, figured out that Snow was apologizing for causing the death of Hope's mother.

"If it wasn't for Snow, I wouldn't be here right now," Hope told his father, looking between the two of them.

Bartholomew frowned for a moment, staring down at his hands. Then, he looked over to Snow and asked, "Snow, did Nora...Did she say anything to you?"

Snow looked up. "Hope. She said to...to get him home."

Must to everyone's surprise, the older man weakly smiled. "And that's exactly what you've done."

Everyone, even Balthier, sighed in relief. To think, he had expected the man to threaten to kill Snow - not actually thank him.

"Face-to-face like this, it's hard to believe you're all dangerous fugitives," Bartholomew stated, looking at them all. "But the entire world is scared to death of you l'Cie. No, not even just you...People who've helped you," Balthier looked away from them all at this point, frowning, "Bumped into you...Sometimes it's even just people who've walked by one of you. They think they're 'tainted' and want every one of them Purged."

Snow stood up, scowling. "The Sanctum's a puppet of the fal'Cie! To them, our lives don't mean anything at all," he angrily said. "We'll stop this. Take down the Sanctum, and save Cocoon."

"You've thought that through?" Hope's father asked, raising an eyebrow. "If l'Cie take down the Sanctum, fear of Pulse will only get worse. It won't stop at fear. People will take up arms and stand against you. Can you imagine it? The rampant violence?"

Lightning folded her arms across her chest, thinking. "When the government's control is gone," she murmured out loud, "the citizens will revolt."

"So, what then?" Balthier asked as he stood up straight, turning toward Bartholomew with narrowed eyes. "Are they supposed to smile and eat a bullet? That means you and I, too, you know."

"I know I'm part of this," the older man answered, "I'm on your side of the fence. Harborer of l'Cie, and a public enemy."

Balthier looked away in frustration, cursing under his breath. Hope frowned, and quietly said, "Coming here was a bad idea..."

Bartholomew clapped a hand onto his son's shoulder, determined. "This is your home," he said, and then he stood up to face them all. "We're all here. Let's figure this out together."

But before any one could say another word, the lights flickered off and sirens sounded all around the house.

"Caught in a bad bromance~..." :D I love the whole love-hate thing Balthier and Snow have between them. And what's with Balthier and Lightning? Hm...Methinks there's something going on between them...