Oblivious Fate

by Miss Perspicacious

He said he'd do anything for his kingdom. She said she'd do anything to know her real identity. When two people use each other for their own plans without each other's knowledge, they become oblivious to the fate they've weaved for themselves. AU. NxS.

27. Because of Impatience

a/n: quote: all things must come to an end. good or bad. everything meets its final stop.

~~Hey! Hey! Versus XIII fanatics! Noctis/Stella shippers! Join the forum: "Star of the Night Sky"-- where everyone talks Versus XIII! Haha. okay, okay. I sound like an advertising TV girl or something. War, White, Night, Rach, Raven this is for you guys! :D hope we meet more Versus fans in the forum! Ooh! Lammy! Welcome to the forum, btw! :D

Disclaimer: FROM THIS CHAPTER FORTH, RORUDESU-CHAN SAYS THAT SHE DOESN'T OWN ANY FINAL FANTASY VERSUS XIII-RELATED CHARACTERS/PLOTS/SETTINGS. SQUARE ENIX AND TETSUYA NOMURA OWNS THEM. "OBLIVIOUS FATE" IS FOR FANFIC PURPOSES ONLY. :D

"Oblivious Fate"

By: rorudesu-chan

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Chapter 27: Because of Impatience

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Noctis and Stella weren't the only ones in the company basement. In fact, their heated duel was being watched by another person who happened to have made the place his 'home'.

Aeonis—the old man in a white robe tasked to safeguard the Crystal at a closer distance.

Concealed behind the enormous rock, Aeonis saw how the Prince managed to grip onto the pathway's edge. He was lucky enough not to be noticed by Stella who at that time was sure of his death. Aeonis could've helped him out. But he knew that if he did, he would only be getting in the way of the Prince's battle with the Tenebraean Ambassador. Somehow, the guardian knew their fight was a fated one. Although he still needed to observe them more in order to prove his notion correct.

Her right arm dangled in pain. A tiny pool of blood collected on where she stood. The wound was cut beneath the skin of her hand, which caused its moderate bleeding. Stella had a firm grasp on the hilt of her rapier. However it wasn't firm enough as Noctis was able to puncture her right hand to weaken her hold, thus sending her weapon into the air.

"And to think you were a kind-hearted Prince." Stella laughed abruptly. "You're pretty brutal in fighting, Noct."

"I don't like showing mercy to those who have crossed the line." Noctis sternly replied. "You, Stella, have done just more than that."

"Is that so?" she scoffed, cocking a brow. "What are you going to do with me now? Kill me?"

"I'm still deciding on it."

"Tch. Why are you having doubts?! I am weaponless now. All you have to do is charge at me and with a swing of your sword, I'll be dead. Isn't that the price I must pay for?"

"Stella, don't be stupid. You have the Crystallite. Killing you has now become a tough decision to make."

"Hmm… I see. But what if I make that choice for you, Noct?" He kept his silence, wondering how she would construct her proposition.

"I want the Crystallite." She says, "All you have to do is let me out of this place safely and I promise that you won't see me again… ever."

"I can't comply with that."

"Refusing my offer? Why?"

"The Crystallite weighs more than your life."

"I see. Fine then. Your loss."

She ran towards him—weaponless. Only a bloody fist aimed for any vulnerable part of him.

"You must be crazy…" said Noctis, flaunting his sword before him.

Stella was desperate. Would she dare attack him without any weapon or any armor? The answer was a definite yes, as seen in her striking, blue eyes.

"For my memory and identity…" she whispered.

Memory.

Identity.

—forgotten fragments of one's own self.

The Crystallite glowed. Stella halted on her feet. Suddenly, she felt the throbbing pain in her head again. But this time it was much stronger than before. She tried to go on, to walk another step. But no. The throbbing was just too much. She staggered. Her legs trembled. The resurfacing pain caused conflict with what she wanted to do. And finally, she dropped the Crystal.

Father.

Daughter.

Storybook.

Killer.

Death.

Holding her aching head between her hands, she fell onto her knees. Noctis was surprised at the sudden change in Stella.

"Stop!!" she cried aloud. "Enough! No!! Not anymore! Please!"

"Stella!" Noctis called, moving towards her, wondering what was happening.

Even with her hazy vision, the Ambassador could still see him stepping closer.

"N-no!!" she screamed, still moaning in absolute pain. "Don't… d-don't come any nearer!"

He did what she pleaded him to do. Hearing footsteps approaching, the Prince turned around and saw the white robed guardian.

"Aeonis!" he called. "What's happening to her?"

Aeonis stopped on his tracks and politely answered the Caelum monarch. "Her search has finally ended."

"Search?" Noctis furiously asked.

Stella's cries grew louder. A whole new set of images were now being crammed inside her head.

"A lost part of herself is now being reclaimed. She should be thankful to the Crystal."

An even more perplexed look crossed Noctis' face. He was about to interrogate Aeonis with another question when suddenly they both heard a loud scream of agony. Following it was a soft thud on the ground. Turning around, Noctis' eyes widened in frustration.

"Stella!" He hurriedly approached the blonde girl whose screams of pain was finally silenced. Noctis placed his sword down as he knelt beside the Ambassador.

"Stella!" He called, digging his hands beneath the floor where she laid. His arms scooped her up and his eyes traced her sleeping figure.

Noctis was still wondering why Stella became unconscious for the second time. The first, he recalled, was during one cotillion practice. However, what differed from that moment to now was the fact that she didn't wake up shortly like before.

Stella was now in a deep slumber as memories of a forgotten past flooded back into her.

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Gorgeous, emerald irises scanned the whole room for the nth time, but still, no Prince Noctis. Natalia was getting fed up of his sudden disappearance.

"Hey, Celer!" Lacertus said, shrugging his friend for attention.

The two of them settled themselves in one corner of the room the moment the conference speeches were over. Right now was the time for the traditional dance, held every year in the event. And just like the past conference, Celer and Lacertus were ridiculously dateless.

"Seen any hot chicks we can hook up with, Lacertus?" Celer replied, a frisky look on his face.

"No." his eyes flashed. "But I see her."

"Her?" The blonde boy asked, trailing his pal's stare.

"You know!" Lacertus' fingers quoted in air. "Her."

Realizing what his scar faced friend truly meant, Celer's eyes widened in horror. His head quickly tilted to the direction where Lacertus had spotted the 'her' he was talking about.

"Damn! Hide me, Lacertus! Hide me!"

The slick haired boy jerked around as he tried to pull Celer off his back. "Hey! I'm not a hiding place, Celer!"

"If you're a real pal, you'd understand, Lacertus!" Celer confronted. "Don't you remember why we don't ever speak of her name?!"

"Pfft! C'mon, man! It's been what? Two years? Besides, don't you want to make amends with her?"

"No!" Celer shouted. "That's the last thing I want to do! No, wait! That's the last thing I'll never ever do as long as I live!"

"Ha! We'll see about that! Weren't you crushing on little Natalia before, Celer?"

The air soft lover's face flushed crimson red. "Oh, hell no! You did not just say that!"

"Jeez… Everybody knows you were her secret valentine when we were twelve and she was ten!"

"What?! Everybody knew?!"

"Hell yeah!" Lacertus laughed. "I remembered how she dumped—"

"Wait, wait!" his hands wagged in the air. "Everybody knew… including Noct?!"

"Well, duh. The three of us witnessed how it all started and how it all ended."

"Crap!" Celer grabbed Lacertus by his suit's collar. "He's going to kill me!"

Lacertus shoved his anxious pal off him. "Kill you? I thought that was Sal's job?"

"Gah! Don't you get it? Noct likes Natalia!"

"Huh? Really? I thought he—"

"Hello Lacertus, hello Celer."

The two boys jerked around to see where the lyrical voice came from.

"Natalia!" said Lacertus and Celer simultaneously. The previous saying it in a rather perky tone, the latter saying it in an agitated pitch.

Gracefully approaching them, Natalia smiled and said, "I'd like to ask something, if the two of you don't mind."

"Of course we mind!" exclaimed Celer. "Why don't you just—"

A clenched fist abruptly cut the ranting boy's statement. He flinched in pain, rubbing the sore spot on the top of his head.

"I'm sorry, Princess Natalia. Celer's just sad 'coz he doesn't have any date for tonight." Lacertus said, apologizing.

The Vahalis monarch giggled. "That's okay. Nobody really wants to go out with him."

"I'm still here, you know!" Celer protested, caressing the sore spot.

Lacertus laughed. "Yes, well, apparently he'll just have to wait right, Princess?"

Natalia grinned. "You don't really have to keep addressing me as such, Lacertus. It's not like we didn't know each other before."

Lacertus smirked and nodded in response.

"Hm?" she counted them. "Besides Noctis, one of you is missing."

"Oh, Sal? I haven't heard from him lately. Have you, Celer?"

"Don't ask me! Who knows where he could be right now." Celer shrugged.

"Yeah… He's probably around here."

"With a girl, maybe?" Natalia asked.

"Probably," replied Lacertus. "Girls just get magnetized by the 'mysterious' aura he has."

"I see… My, how you've guys grown!" she began, changing the topic. "One day, I might have to start calling you my 'big' brothers."

"If you'd like to, you may, Natalia." Said the scar faced boy. "But Noct would be an exception, am I right?"

"Of course he would be! In time, he'll be my—"

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Lacertus felt the vibration of his ringing phone in his coat. Shoving a hand to retrieve it, he wondered who could be calling him at that time. He started walking away while saying, "Excuse me, I'll be taking this."

Natalia nodded and turned to face Celer who was suddenly caught staring at her. The air soft lover swiftly turned his head away.

"Well, you've certainly changed, Celer." The Princess commented.

"You too." He replied. "Your braces are gone."

Her forehead creased. "Is that all you can notice about me?"

"No. You've become more beau—" Celer gnashed his teeth. "I mean, yes. Yes, that's all I've noticed new about you."

"Hmph!" Natalia folded her arms. "I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"You've become even more immature as the time passed by!"

"What did you say?!" Celer asked, leaning over an angry face.

"Yes, you heard me!" Moving her hands to her hips, she leaned over an angry face to assure her words. "Why can't you be more of Noctis?"

"Why would I want to be like Noct? I'll have you know that I've beaten him in air soft a hundred times already! Face it! I'm better than your boy!"

"Right! Says the one who wetted his pants in one of the past conferences!"

"Gah! Sal pulled that water glass prank on me!"

"Excuses!"

"You wanna fight, little girl?!"

"Bring it on, chicken brain!"

Beep. Lacertus shoved his phone back inside his coat pocket as soon as the call ended. He couldn't believe something like that could ever happen right now. The situation was just uncalled for.

Returning to where he left Celer with Natalia, Lacertus felt the sudden change in ambience. The two were throwing comebacks at each other and it seemed as though the Princess was winning. Releasing a heavy sigh, he approached the irritated blonde and pulled him away by the collar of his white tuxedo.

"H-hey! Let go of me, man! She started it!"

Lacertus released his grip and turned to him. His friend was quite surprised by the serious face he had on.

"We have to leave. Now."

"What? Why? Where are we—"

"To the hospital nearest to the Caelum Company. We're meeting Noct there and—"

"Noctis?!" Natalia asked, hurriedly approaching Lacertus. An anxious look crossed her face. "I've been looking for him! Why is he at the hospital?!"

"I'm not so sure, Natalia. But as soon as Celer and I get there, we'll inform you about what happened."

"I'm coming along!"

"No, you can't. You must stay here, Natalia."

"Is Noct all by himself?" Celer asked suddenly.

Lacertus faced the blonde boy and responded, "He's with Stella."

"Stella?!" Natalia asked. "Why is Noctis with Stella?"

"You know who Stella is?" Celer said abruptly.

"He wasn't very clear about it, Natalia." The scar faced lad replied to the Vahalis sovereign. "But I promise that I'll call you as soon as we get a grasp on things, alright?" Turning to Celer, he said, "C'mon! I'll drive."

Lacertus was about to walk out of the conference hall when he suddenly felt a strong tug on his left arm. Looking down, he saw a worried Princess insisting.

"I'm coming too!" Natalia cried.

He brushed away her hold gently. "We're not exactly sure about what's going on. But just to be safe, you'll just have to stay here."

Trailing the two boys who were walking away, Natalia kept on insisting.

"I want to help, Lacertus! That's why I want to come!" she screamed, blushing. "This is Noctis we're talking about!"

Stopping on his tracks, the scar faced boy spun around. "I think you can help, Natalia."

Her face lit up though her heart was still filled with anxiety.

"You seem to know Stella, right?"

"She is a good friend of mine."

"Do you know who is she with tonight?"

"Ambassador Spargo and Ambassador Somna. Why?"

Lacertus nodded. "Noct asked me to tell them that Stella was brought to the hospital. Since you know them, I'd like to ask you to do it for me."

"No! I have to come!" Natalia's eyebrows met. "How am I helping Noctis that way, Lacertus?"

"I'm sure you are. Just do it for Noctis, okay, Natalia?"

"But! I must go as well!"

"You can't!" Celer curtly spoke, irritated. Both his friend and childhood crush glanced at him. "Staying here is what Noct would've wanted for you. So just do it, Princess!"

The Vahalis monarch looked down. Celer's words were able to get through her. Especially that he mentioned her beloved Noctis' name.

"Okay." She said, softly. "I'll stay. I'll tell the other Ambassadors too."

"Finally..." Celer murmured, turning around and leaving first for the car.

"I'll just come with them."

Lacertus agreed with a grin. As he turned around to leave, Natalia spoke once more.

"Lacertus… will Noctis be alright?"

"I'm sure he's fine that's why you shouldn't worry too much. Aren't you concerned about Stella as well? She might be the one who's hurt. After all, it was Noct who called about the situation."

Natalia remained still. Not one word escaped from her lips. Aside from obviously caring more for Noctis' safety, the Princess wondered if she should even think about Stella. Pangs of jealousy raged within her heart. For Natalia, Noctis was hers and hers alone. With that so-called fact, why was Stella with him? Who was the Ambassador for the Prince anyways?

Concerned for his friend's situation, Lacertus excused himself from the pensive Natalia who nodded in response. Digging a hand into the right pocket of his gray slacks, he retrieved his car keys. Lacertus hurriedly exited the conference hall and made his way out of Duke Thibault's mansion. As he went to the parking lot, Lacertus wondered how and why it ever crossed Noctis' mind to bring Stella inside the Crystal's abode.

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a/n: another long update since. :) hope you guys are still in the mood to Review/Comment/Criticize... :) THANK YOU!!!

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*~REVIEW REPLIES~*

(26. Taste of Betrayal)

Warangel88: Ah! Yeah! Forgetful me.. Hehe! The whole rapier against Noctis' neck was stated in ch6! :) Thanks for the reminder!

SilverIceDragon: Wow, Kalli, you're pretty interested in what happens in the cotillion, huh? Lol. I'm still writing about it and I'm trying hard to make it a good read. Dissidia? Lol. I tried playing that game once.. but you know.. I'm sorry for not being exceptionally gifted when it comes to gaming stuff. O__o I actually asked my cousin, no wait. Paid my cousin to play Crisis Core! I was only game for the cutscenes! Haha! Oh! Its been awhile since I last updated so I'm not sure how's your paperwork. Hope its fine. And btw, wanna join a VersusXIII forum? All N/S (I think) are in that thread (Star of the Night Sky). I think it would be cool if you'd be there. :)

drifter17: Apology unaccepted, drift. There's nothing to be sorry about. *smiles* I understand how everybody's getting busy with school and stuff. I'm quite busy myself too. Sorry for the very slow update! Hehe! Stella's feisty personality will gradually tone down. I think its against her character to be so livid all the time. She being angry at Noctis was just caused by the weight of the moment. Hope you can adjust to her attitude shifts! :)

Bmonti: Don't fret, Bmonti! The N/S relationship will survive! ... *cries* I want them to kiss too! Oh, but when? I still gotta figure out the plot's twists! :)