Author's Note: Eek! This story is almost done! BUT, there will be a sequel. I won't say what the plot will be, but...It's going to take place in Ivalice. ;) I'm excited to write it!
I love you, Joshua Chung. :3 *hug!*
S o S t a r s t r u c k
Chapter Seventeen
Show Must Go On
They say that the people who you travel with become almost like your family. I, for once, agreed with that statement. Though I had forgotten my comrades back in Ivalice, save for Fran, my new comrades in Cocoon...They were my family.
From what Snow had told him, they had one day to spend on Gran Pulse before they were to head back to Cocoon to stop the fal'Cie Barthandelus. But whether they were going to destroy Orphan, or if Balthier was going to do as the Occuria had bid of him...That was still up in the air.
Vanille had run off with Hope and Fang, and Snow and Sazh were sitting out by the fire pit talking with each other about the next day's plans. Lightning was off staring at the sky, for some odd reason, and Balthier had gone off on his own to explore Oerba Village. The others knew that he wouldn't leave them again, as he had the day before, but they still wanted to know where he was - just in case he collapsed again.
He ended up standing on the dock of the village's harbor watching the sun set, thinking about all that had happened to him in such a short time. Even though he couldn't remember much about his time in Ivalice with his old comrades, it was still some-what comforting to think about them.
He could hear footsteps coming up from behind, and then Lightning's quiet voice asked, "Are you all right?"
"For the most part," Balthier answered, stretching out his arms and yawning weakly. "I'm awfully tired, however."
She walked up beside him, resting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow. "After all that happened...All you can say is that 'you're tired'? You're handling things well."
"Are you so sure that I am? I'm no l'Cie, but I was still able to summon a creature like the rest of you. Tell me: why?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Balthier. The fal'Cie must have something planned for you, or maybe it's all because of your Occurian-gods." She sighed, letting her arms fall to her sides as she looked down toward the water below them. "I don't know what to believe anymore. Dysley said that you're...nothing but his puppet, while the Occuria told us that you were the one to turn into Ragnarok and destroy Orphan. They're essentially the same thing - in the end." She sighed again, folding her arms across her chest. "And what about what happened to you, back in your world? If you were to return there...What would happen to you? You'll be dead."
Balthier got down on his knees, running a hand through the cold water under the dock. Lightning watched him carefully.
"Do you even...want to go back there, Balthier?" she asked.
"It's my home, is it not? I would rather die there than die somewhere I don't belong," he said, laughing weakly. "Though, I suppose that's already happened to me once. I have always believed that Ivalice was the only world in existence. To think I've been wrong this whole time. There's Cocoon, Gran Pulse...Who knows, maybe there's another world above mine."
"Could you tell me about it? About Ivalice?"
"What's there to tell?" he asked, staring at their distorted reflections in the water's waves. "You have Rozarria, the land of odious royalty and selfish men. Dalmasca, the land of endless deserts. Landis, the fallen city. And Archadia, the land of war-hungry fiends." He sighed weakly, shaking his head. "And that is where I'm from. Ivalice was once a peaceful place, but then the war came. And soon, all were pitted against each other in the arena. I left Archadia, and joined Dalmasca in its efforts to stop the war. Unfortunately, that's where I met my apparent demise." He scoffed, shaking the water from his hand and continuing to watch their reflections. "If only I could remember their faces...There were two orphans, a fallen knight, a princess, and my partner, Fran. But when I try to remember, their faces are like our reflection now. A mystery."
Lightning bent down behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "If you look close enough...the reflections are clear. See?" She smiled weakly. "All you need to do is looker harder."
"I do remember one thing, though, from when I was...'gone'." He looked toward her, his eyes meeting her curious ones. "Your sister. Serah. She was there, telling me not to give up."
You were worried about them, weren't you Serah. I had lost myself, and you were there to bring me back to the world of awakening. If only...you could have returned with me.
He was standing in the field of flowers again, and Balthier stood up as soon as he saw Serah standing at his side. She smiled at him, as before, while he looked around in confusion.
"It's all right," she told him, "You're asleep, like me."
Balthier stopped looking around and faced her. "Asleep?"
"Mhm. I wanted to thank you for watching over Claire, when I can't." Serah's smile faded, and she looked down at her folded hands. "Although, I wanted to know why you left them. They're your friends, aren't they?"
"Straight to the point, aren't you?" he asked, looking up toward the bright sky above them. "I don't even understand why I left them. Perhaps I am afraid to lose them, as I had the others."
"You don't need to be afraid for them," she answered, touching his arm gently. "As for your friends back in Ivalice...The only way to save them is to save Cocoon." She walked past him, lightly kicking at the pink flowers at their feet. "You see, our worlds were once connected, Balthier. Long ago, the Occuria and the fal'Cie were once the same being. However, the way tore them apart, and the worlds of Ivalice, Cocoon and Gran Pulse were separated. That is, until you arrived. You are what binds our worlds together - until the time is right to separate them once again."
Balthier folded his arms across his chest, frowning as she turned back around to face him.
"If Cocoon is destroyed while you're here, Ivalice will suffer the same fate."
"And so it's up to me to put an end to all this?"
She nodded. "Exactly." Serah walked up beside him, staring up at the sky. "As long as you do what you think is right, you won't fail. Don't give up. Keep going."
After Balthier and Lightning returned to the camp, Vanille surprised Balthier with a treasure she'd found out exploring: his old fomalhaut gun. It was in the village tomb, simply lying in the doorway when they'd arrived. He gladly took it, not even regretting getting rid of the swords he'd used since arriving on Cocoon. Finally, he had something that truly reminded him of Ivalice.
The next morning, the group returned to the spot where they'd fought Barthandelus on the ruined high-way. The air ship was still there, as the old man had said, but right in front of it was some sort of stone creature: a Cie'th Stone, Vanille had told Balthier. As soon as they saw it, their good moods faded away.
"So, this is the end of the rainbow, huh?" Sazh asked, frowning. "Here's hoping the pots full of tips on dealing with crackpot fal'Cie."
Fang rested a hand on her chin, thinking. "Hm. You know, I don't remember this being here before. I guess it's new, huh?"
"Yeah, must be," Vanille agreed, shrugging her shoulders. "I suppose it might be a record of what happened. You know, after we turned to crystal." She walked forward and touched the stone, and as soon as she reached forward a green light erupted from it. Words appeared before them, but she couldn't read the writing it was in. She turned toward Balthier, who walked forward and examined the stone's words.
"Cocoon, where the slaves of Lindzei dwell, is the enemy of all life fostered by Pulse's sacred hand," he read, recognizing the writing as what they used back in Ivalice. "So our fal'Cie determined Pulse's will, chose l'Cie and gave them a Focus: become Ragnarok and bring about the end of Cocoon. And so the beast arose, defeated Lindzei's hateful fal'Cie and prepared to tear Cocoon apart. But Her Propidence betrayed our l'Cie, draining Ragnarok of strength. Their Focus only have complete, the l'Cie were taken to the enemy's land by Barthandelus, curse his name. And the goddess said: 'L'Cie who rest upon Cocoon will reawaken, however long they may wait for our brothers the Occuria and their Chosen One. And Ragnarok will rise again, to tear the land from its seat in the sky.' Her word...is absolute."
The words disappeared into the stone once more, and the green light faded from sight. Balthier turned toward the others, smirking weakly. The Cie'th Stone's words had told them of Fang and Vanille's Focus from five hundred years before, of why Balthier was brought to Cocoon by the Occuria, and of Cocoon's fate.
"Guess the jig is up," Sazh murmured, shaking his head in regret.
Hope frowned. "Cocoon's done for, isn't it?"
"Hey, don't sweat it. If Balthier here goes ahead and smashes Cocoon, who know some Maker's sure to roll up and save the day."
Balthier glared at Sazh, but ended up smirking when he realized the man was only trying to brighten up everyone's mood.
"As long as the fal'Cie are around, this fight is never gonna end," Snow said, as determined as ever. "So let's finish it. Let's get Dysley."
"And, Orphan?" Balthier asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We help Orphan," Fang answered. "What else can we do? If we can manage to keep it safe-"
"Another war breaks out somewhere down the road," Lightning interrupted, stepping out from between Snow and Balthier. "We're just a bunch of l'Cie and one human who's not even from this place. It's not like we can make people stop fighting."
They all went silent, until Hope stepped forward and faced the female soldier. "Lightning," he said, "you told me on Cocoon: 'It's not a question of can or can't. We just do it.' That's our only choice this time. Maybe it won't do much, and maybe only one person will listen to us. But even then, isn't trying better than doing nothing?"
Vanille happily walked up to him, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Because ripples can make waves!"
Sazh raised an eyebrow, turning toward the others. "Okay, kids have gone crazy."
"Insurgents always get called insane," Balthier murmured in reply, smirking.
The redheaded girl walked past them all, looking up toward the sky. "When I was on Cocoon," she told them, "I wished on those fireworks. I wished not to let anything happen to Cocoon this time. But I shouldn't have wished for that. Wishes aren't enough. Prayers, either." She turned around, smiling at them all. "This time, I'm making a promise. I will keep Cocoon safe. I promise, no matter what."
The black man laughed weakly. "I guess it takes losing everything to make you see how much you have to fight for, huh?"
Snow walked forward, clapping a hand on Balthier's shoulder and grinning widely. "And we're the only ones who can do it, right?" he asked.
"The heroes," Balthier added, lightly pushing the blond man's hand away and walking toward Lightning.
When everyone agreed, the pink-haired woman looked toward them. "All right, then," she said, "Let's tie up loose ends."
As the group headed onto the air ship, Balthier looked back once more at the skies of Gran Pulse, remembering the skies back home in Ivalice. He smirked weakly, heading toward the air ship with Lightning at his side.
Even if we were chasing naught but shadows, our path was decided. We had realized along the way that choice was the only thing left for us. Perhaps we wouldn't even get the chance to save everything. But someone - someday - would know that we had tried.
Balthier sat down in the pilot's seat in the cockpit, and Sazh sat down in the co-pilot's chair. They nodded to each other, and the chocobo chick flew from the other man's afro and onto Balthier's shoulder, chirping at him. Vanille giggled from where she sat between them on the floor, noticing the sky pirate's slightly annoyed expression.
"I can't concentrate with you chattering away in my ear, bird," he murmured, but the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. It chirped at him again, lightly pecking at his ear, forcing him to wince weakly. "Ow, damn, fine! You can stay there. But refrain from making too much noise, all right?"
It happily flew on top of his head, and Sazh laughed loudly. "And now you know how I feel!"
Balthier only muttered something under his breath, and then flew the air ship into the sky and toward the gate to Cocoon.
When they returned to Cocoon, it was already night there and the capital city of Eden was holding some-sort of event that had purposely attracted thousands of people. Lightning was the first to summon her Eidolon, and the others followed in suit as they jumped off the air ship and into the sky. They all went off to separate parts of the race track, and Balthier landed on his feet beside Snow, curiously looking at the crowd watching them. A soldier driving a hover-car nearly crashed into them, but the Shiva Sisters blocked it before it could hit the two men.
"Close call!" Snow yelled out, as the Sisters transformed into a motorcycle. He looked out toward the crowd cheering at them, and waved his right arm in the air. "And the hero saves the day!"
"You know," Balthier murmured, adjusting the gloves on his hands, "it's not proper for a true hero to gloat..." The crowd must have seen Snow's brand on the large screen, because they started to panic as sirens rang out into the air around them. Balthier pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "Might have been smart to cover that, Ice."
Snow jumped onto the motorcycle, and Balthier sat behind him, looking up as soon as a loud voice spoke over the speakers. "Intruders on the race circuit! Confirmed Pulse l'Cie! All units respond with lethal force!"
"Catch us if you can!" the blond called out before the two of them sped off on the cycle. Balthier couldn't help but grin widely as the wind rushed past them when they continuously avoided the bullets fired upon them from enemy soldiers. He peered over Snow's shoulder to see Hope and his Eidolon, Alexander, getting ready to block the path up ahead. The drove past the two, and immediately the hover-cars chasing after them crashed into Alexander's extended walls. However, some got through and the blond turned toward Balthier. "Time for the leading man to shine!" he yelled, grinning at the sky pirate. "Get 'em, Balthier!"
Balthier jumped off of the speeding motorcycle, barely landing on his feet in front of the crashed hover-cars. He cracked his knuckles, smirking as the soldiers jumped out of the cars and aimed their guns at him, surrounding the area. "Now then," he said to them, "would you men like to meet my leading lady?"
He tossed his gold esper stone into the air, shooting it in one swift movement with the fomalhaut. Ultima appeared from the summoning circle, and with a wave of her hand all the soldiers were instantly killed with magick. Balthier took the esper goddess' outstretched gentle hand and she flung him into the air, assisting him when he shot down soldiers arriving from the back of the race track. He landed on his feet in front of her, resting the fomalhaut on his shoulder.
"And that is how to put on a show," he stated, smirking.
Lightning arrived on Odin, in horse form, after taking down the soldiers from her end of the track. She watched as Balthier dismissed Ultima from battle, and then called out to him. "Balthier, come on!" she yelled just as he turned around, noticing that she was there. He hurriedly jumped on behind her when more soldiers arrived, and somewhere above, the fal'Cie Eden lit up in the sky in one instant as they rode off into the distance.
They met with the others behind the capital building, and after avoiding the creatures from Pulse that had traveled through the gate after them, the group arrived at what seemed to be a dead end. Sazh looked down at the city roads below them, uneasily turning around and facing the others.
"Uh, okay," he stated, "I don't know about this..."
"If only we could fly!" Vanille said with a pout, looking over the edge as well. Balthier walked past her as Lightning handed him something, and turned around to face the rest of the group, mainly Vanille.
"Well," he told her with a sly smirk, "we can always jump." Without warning, he let himself fall off of the ledge, grinning all the while as Vanille cried out in surprise.
She looked over the edge, and yelled out, "Balthier, you'll kill yourself!" Much to her dismay, the others jumped after him, and Fang pulled her to her feet. With that, the two of them jumped off the ledge together, and Vanille closed her eyes the entire time, clinging to her partner tightly as she screamed.
Balthier was waiting for them when they used the transportation-devices to help them safely land on the feet. He greeted them with a smirk, until Vanille stormed right up to him and pushed him roughly on the shoulder. "You are an insane man, do you hear me?" she angrily yelled at him, ignoring the others' amused looks behind her. "I really doubt sky pirates can actually fly, so don't you dare try that again!"
"Then perhaps next time I'll warn you," he answered, messing up her hair with his free hand. She pushed him again, only this time she was smiling like her normal self.
As they went through the city toward Orphan's Cradle, the group met up with multiple people who, surprisingly, were willing to help them in their own way. Snow's old gang NORA showed up out of the blue, and aided them without even caring that their leader had been turned into a l'Cie (although, Lebreau was much too distracted by Balthier being there to even notice that Snow was trying to apologize to her and the others). After that, Yaag Rosch gave his own life to allow the l'Cie and the outsider to escape into Orphan's Cradle, performing a kamikaze move against the PSICOM soldiers in their path. Balthier had to admit: that was a true heroic move on his part.
By the time they reached Orphan's Cradle, the group was more than ready to face off against Dysley - or, in that case, Barthandelus. Lightning led them through a long hall way, and when they passed a large door onto a platform above an open chamber, she stopped and faced them all.
"Ready? There's no turning back," she stated, and then she turned toward a grinning Snow. "Moment of truth, hero."
The blond nodded. "I got," he reminded her, and then he looked at Balthier standing at his side. "Got any last minute speeches to get us all ready to go, leading man?"
Balthier looked toward Lightning, and their eyes met as soon as she looked back at him. "I can think of one thing," he answered, and then he walked right over to her. He placed one hand on her chin, tilting her head up so that they were staring into each other's eyes. Then, he pulled her lips to his and kissed her without another word, surprising everyone around them. Snow murmured something on the lines of "about time" under his breath, while Vanille covered her eyes in embarrassment. When they parted, he smirked at her lightly blushing face and murmured quietly, "Been waiting a while to do that."
The sky pirate turned around when he let go of Lightning's hand, and jumped off the edge of the platform; ready to face his destiny.
After long consideration, I decided that this story needed some romance. And so, as you may have remembered a few chapters back, Dysley revealed, while pretending to be Balthier, that Lightning was in love with the sky pirate. ;) Turns out Balthier kind of felt the same way.
So, after all that hinting toward a relationship and sexual tension...Balthier finally made his move. xD