End of Time Series: Here There Be Dragons

Chapter 2: Those Who Watch

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters involved. I make no money from writing this story.

A/N: I want thank those that reviewed. I appreciate any feedback but I especially appreciate thoughtful reviews. I do want to address the concerns about Cliff, Vox, and Nel from last chapter. They were valid concerns. I'm going to write the characters a little differently than others.

I don't think I really powered up Vox. In the game you fight him 3 on 1 and you don't finish him, the Vendeeni do. Then there is his "true power" in the bonus dungeon (take that with a grain of salt).

As for Nel, some people are going to think she should be more powerful. But I stand by my decision. I try not to portray her as weak, but not invincible. She is fragile. She has lower hit points, lower base defense, and wears lighter armor. And from Cliff's PoV (having super strength and stamina) she is physically weaker.

Btw, I don't portray Cliff as having the super speed he displayed against Norton (dodging actual bullets). This is because if he is that fast (and his reflexes/mind work that fast) than no one in the game can touch him or Mirage. That also doesn't make sense considering Fayt has faster movement speed. So if he seems weaker, in a way he definitely is. But I also try to take into account how fighting with your fists against armored enemies would be difficult.

Lastly, Cliff's comment about the typical female ego was a mostly a joke, as opposed to the male ego. I wonder if Nel had said something sexist if anyone would complain. But it had more to do with Nel's pride. I imagine that as a commander she can't admit to being hurt or having doubts. Maria probably has the same problem, having to appear confident all the time because everyone expects you to set an example. I like that Fayt and Cliff aren't in Nel's chain of command, so their relationship with Nel is different. Nel might be great friends with Clair, Tynave, and Farleen, but they are all in the same military.

I say all that because I have a larger story in the works and some of those aspects will show up again. I hope that everyone who read the last chapter will give the next story a shot. Combat won't be the focus, but the fact that Nel leads the covert intelligence division and not a commando unit will reflect in how she approaches challenges and how I portray her as a whole.

And this was not beta'd but was rushed. My apologies.

"Do you think they're alright?" Ameena sat on the bed in her modest room, back propped against the headboard, staring out the open window. Her tone had been more wistful than worried, her voice gentle. Of course, Ameena's voice was always gentle.

The young girl was concerned, had been since they'd left. Mirage could empathize. Sometimes waiting was harder than fighting. And after years spent on missions of her own and waiting for her friends' return, the waiting hadn't gotten any easier. The Klausian didn't respond immediately, weighing her words carefully. As much as she wanted to reassure the brunette, too much hope breeds false hope.

"I think so." She finally answered, deciding no hope was worse. "They can take care of themselves."

Mirage honestly believed that. She'd go as far to say she knew it for a fact. All the same, she hoped they didn't make her a liar.

"I hope Dion is safe."

Dion.

Right. Mirage almost winced at her own absentmindedness. Cliff, Fayt, and Nel, might have saved the brunette's life but she'd put that very life at risk to see Dion. Before she could respond, Ameena had turned her attention back to the window. Was it her way of keeping vigil? Did she expect to see her friend walking down the thoroughfare?

Mirage didn't know what the future had in store for Dion. She didn't know what the future had in store for anyone.

She tried not to worry about Cliff. He was a Klausian, highly trained and naturally gifted. But even Klausians had weaknesses, vulnerabilities. Mirage sighed. Cliff could handle almost anything that came his way. The problem was he thought he could handle anything that came his way. She swore, sometimes the man honestly believed he was indestructible.

She should have insisted that she come along. But it was important she stay behind. Fayt had asked that she look after Ameena. While he was certainly worried over the sickly girl, all three of them knew that was just a cover for Nel's sake. Mirage was a better field medic than healer. If the girl's condition worsened there wasn't much she could do, not much anyone could do with this planet's resources.

Someone needed to keep trying to contact Quark if they ever wanted to go home. They couldn't very well take the long range transmitter into the middle of a warzone. As important a task as it was, it was a cold comfort.

At least Cliff wasn't off fighting by himself.

She couldn't say she knew Fayt well, Nel even less so. Cliff had tried to bring her up to speed.

Nel Zelpher, War Maiden of Aquaria, was a capable fighter. But a covert operative first and a warrior second. Though she had a talent for symbology, which was not taken for granted. She could also be stubborn on a good day and completely rigid on a bad one. Marietta would have called her mission oriented. By all accounts their red and blue haired companions had not gotten along at first. That was hard to believe. Nel was a realist, true. (The war must have ground her idealism down pretty far.) But she cared about others. She'd wasted no time getting the doctor for Ameena's sake. Her two companions had endeared themselves to Aquarian more than they realized, maybe more than Nel realized.

Then there was Fayt. The target. Their target.

Except Cliff hadn't referred to Fayt as their target in a long time, not since leaving Vanguard III. He really liked the kid, not that she blamed him. She liked the kid. There was something about him. When you spoke to him it was clear he was listening and not just waiting to talk. Definitely the most idealistic of the trio but he was young and a little too much idealism wasn't always a bad thing.

Maybe she was biased. She'd left her home and followed a younger Cliff into space because of those same qualities.

From Cliff's reports, Fayt could handle himself in a fight. Cliff's standards, much like her own, were high. He knew how to use a sword. Not completely unexpected, the Federation had trained troops on full-body battle simulators for over a century. Her father's dojo used them for training.

The big question about Fayt was how he was holding up mentally. Cliff said he was doing well. Fayt looked like he was keeping it together but everyone had their limit and the last few weeks had defied imagination. Galaxy-wide wars, primitive planets, hostile aliens, hostile natives, family and friends taken hostage, the list went on.

He'd had plenty of reservations about killing before they "landed" on Elicoor and without question he still did. But war changes people in a lot of ways, not all of them good. She'd fought in her share of battles. While most of them were space battles many were on the ground, face to face.

No one ever forgets their first kill.

The kid also had a capacity for symbology, without the need of actual symbols. Most people would have said that was strange, others patently impossible. They knew better. They'd expected it. That much at least was going according to plan.

It made her nervous as all hell.

She knew what Maria could do. For now, they had to assume Fayt's powers worked on the same scale. That wasn't a reassuring thought. What did they really know about his powers?

"Lady Mirage?" A young woman with long, almost golden brown hair, stood in the open doorway. She couldn't have been more than 17 and wore an unusual variation of the typical Aquarian uniform. She gave the blonde a deep and formal bow. "I was tasked to come find you. Lady Nel and your friends have returned", she finished politely, and somewhat breathlessly. "Please follow me."

The young girl walked just ahead of her, making her way (politely) through the crowd. It was quite the crowd. Mirage imagined the entire city was out on the streets tonight. Soldiers walked up and down the main road trying to keep the crowd from becoming a mob. A large group had gathered in front of the castle gates shouting at the guards, shouting at each other, shouting over each other. Six guards stood before the main gate, where normally there would be two.

Not a good sign.

They were slowly fighting, figuratively, their way through the crowd when one of the guards noticed them. More specifically, he noticed her guide, at least by uniform. Two of the guards moved forward and led them through the mass of citizens. Mirage suspected the brunette was a runologist. The girl didn't have the build of a fighter. She didn't appear to have the build of a fighter. She was a petite girl but so was Nel. Mirage hadn't noticed any symbols on the girl's skin but she was dressed more on the conservative side. Her outfit a cross between a standard runologist's robe and a dress, with a high wide collar.

As they made it through the gate she overheard a guard speaking to the girl. "Why aren't you with the others? They've gathered the wounded in the east wing, in the fabrication area."

Not just a runologist, but a healer.

Oh dear.

The young healer who had been sent to fetch her had shown her to the room. The brunette (she never bothered to get her name) had checked on Fayt, giving Mirage the distinct impression that it wasn't the first time nor she the first person to do so. Then she turned to Nel and shook her head quietly.

Mirage watched Fayt's still form. Unnaturally still. Face pale, his pulse steady but weak. "How long has he been this way?" She asked Cliff, voice low even for her. It was a stupid reaction but she couldn't help it. Fayt looked so completely exhausted, drained, some part of her feared waking him.

Surprisingly, Nel answered (the redhead had exceptional hearing) sitting on the bed opposite Fayt, not bothering to look at them. "Over a day. Since the celestial ship appeared."

Mirage shared a look with Cliff. Celestial ship?

Cliff motioned to the hallway. Mirage hesitated, worried about leaving Fayt alone and unguarded. Helpless. When she didn't immediately move to follow, Cliff got the message. He turned back. "Nel we're going to step outside. If your orders are to kill Fayt, now's the time."

The redhead shot him the coldest look Mirage had ever seen.

"Not funny." He sighed, "Sorry about that." Even Cliff thought the joke was in poor taste.

But they had to know, couldn't leave Fayt without being sure.

They quietly made their exit.

"You're surprising calm about this." She remarked, only after the door was shut.

Cliff shrugged his shoulders as if there was no point worrying about things you couldn't change. Things like the Vendeeni having found their location or the possibility of another ship showing up any minute. Or like having received no word from their own people.

He didn't answer, so Mirage pressed on. "Maria wasn't unconscious for this long." Cliff was staring at the closed door, trying to see through it. "Cliff what is it?"

"That kind of power…it shouldn't exist."

That was the last thing she expected to hear. Cliff had never said it outright, but his ultimate goal was to recruit Fayt to their cause. While Maria's interests ran deeper, and even though she was Maria's closest confident she couldn't say how deep, their mission had started as a means to keep a dangerous weapon out of the Federation's hands. "Was it that bad?"

"Ask Nel, I'm surprised she wasn't struck blind."

It took a moment for his comment to click. Elicoorians, or at least some of them, could see symbological currents. It must have been quite the display of power.

"So, what's the plan?"

He crossed his arms, mouth set in a grim line. "We say nothing, hold tight, and hope backup arrives."

He was worried. Sitting and waiting wasn't Cliff's style. He was proactive whenever possible, as much as possible.

But for the moment, they were out of options. All they could do was hope, hope that Fayt woke, hope that Quark reached them before the Vendeeni did. Mirage could imagine the fallout, especially if Fayt didn't regain consciousness.

Maria. Funny story. Remember the target we were sent to bring in? You do? Good. One thing led to another and we dragged him into the decisive battle on a war torn continent. Why you ask? That's a very long and very complicated story… Anyway, then the Vendeeni showed up.

Better let Cliff put a positive spin on that explanation. She'd focus on grabbing Maria's gun before it cleared the holster.

Cliff uncrossed his arms and looked at something behind her. Mirage turned to find one of the castle guards walking directly towards them. "Excuse me." He bowed. "Lady Nel asked to be kept informed of Dion's condition." The two Klausians stepped apart. The guard quickly opened the door to Fayt's room and disappeared inside, not bothering to close it behind him.

The guard had known to find her here.

"Has she been-"

Cliff didn't need her to finish. "Yep. Ever since we got back."

Mirage sighed. Getting Fayt out of the castle was going to be much more difficult. Difficult if he woke up, impossible if he didn't. It looked like they had no choice but to trust Nel, for now. It was kind of funny, Nel was the spy and they were ones keeping secrets. Secrets that could change the world, or at least their view of it.

…once all those cards were on the table, they might have to fight their way out.

Cliff noticed her growing frown. "He'll be fine. He's a tough kid." He put a hand on her shoulder. "After all, with the Vendeeni showing up and all the crap I gave him about the UP3… he gets to say 'I told you so.' "

A/N: Mirage was a challenge to write. Almost too much of a blank slate, I might have gotten OOC when it came to the humor elements. I actually had a different PoV in mind for this chapter. I intend to finish that PoV but it's extremely awkward to write and once I upload that chapter…there's no going back. In the meantime I picked Mirage because she has the chance to observe our favorite trio and has a lot of background info on the situation.