Air Wave
I : sky
It really annoyed him how everyone was arguing like that. Seriously, couldn't they just believe this trustable sky pirate? They kept shouting to the radio, causing him to wince a little. Damn, his ears needed therapy more than his weary body did. The long fight throughout the Sky Fortress Bahamut had devoured his energy so much, that he hardly could move now. But he still had a task – an easy task, he would always say – to do. He just needed to put his mighty hands on these glossair rings and then bam!
"Balthier!" This time came the princess's voice through the radio. "Do you understand exactly what it is you're doing?" He noticed, though Ashe's voice still sounded as firm as usual, there was fear in it.
However, being the sky pirate that he was, he responded with his usual, placid voice, "Princess! No need to worry. I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies." He emphasized the last words, as he reassured the princess that everything would be okay. That he wouldn't die that easy. Or so he hoped.
The gunman slotted in a power battery to power up the Bahamut. He rolled his brown eyes to scrutinize the things outside, and found the fortress flying away from Rabanastre. He couldn't help but feel a bit relieved. "Let's fly! Fran! Power the glossair rings!" But when no reply voiced, the brown haired guy looked over his shoulder and saw his teammate pinned down under some metal structures. A sigh escaped his lips. "Do I have to do everything around here?"
Balthier walked over to the Viera and it's when the princess' voice echoed in his ears again. "Listen to me, Balthier! Get out of Bahamut immediately! Please, Balthier! You mustn't die! Please, Balthier." Her voice grew weaker as worry began to stir inside her, and she felt something bubbling in her stomach. "Come back." She begged desperately, hoping her friend would follow her words. But Ashe knew the result of this already. After some time traveling with the gunman… She knew him. She knew he would not follow her words.
He stretched out his arms and carried the delicate body of his friend gently. Fran, with the last strength she had, managed to smile faintly – so faint that it was almost unseen. "I'd say you're in more of a supporting role." With that her red eyes closed, hidden under her eyelids.
"Fran, please." The huge sky fortress was flying away from the royal city of Rabanastre, flying away from its worried people, flying away from its chaos and in the end, giving that kingdom some serenity. Shadows fell upon the land as the Bahamut flew lower, lower, and lower… "Vaan, the Strahl's in your hands! You'd better take care of her, you hear? If there's one scratch on her when I get back–"
Vaan replied almost immediately, in a determined tone, "roger that. We'll be waiting for you."
Meanwhile, Lady Ashe was staring at the falling Bahamut in worry. Didn't that gunman understand what he was actually doing? Didn't he know that he was putting himself in danger? Didn't he know that he might die? "Balthier…" she murmured in a low voice. For now, she could only hope. Hope. Something within her grasp, but beyond her sight. Something so near, yet so far away.
Balthier gazed outside blankly, as the fortress slowly but surely reached the land beneath. Still with Fran in his arms, he averted his stare back inside the room. "Now it's time for the hero thingy." He glanced around before running out the room; his hurried footsteps echoed for seconds until no other sound than the crashing structures took over the whole fortress. Now, now. He really needed to be careful, didn't he? Well, unless he wanted to die young.
He was lucky when a big pillar fell, crushing the things below it to bits and he survived. Aint he being a lucky leading man today? He was still lucky when he saw a small flying vehicle not so far from where he stood. He ran towards it as fast as he could due to the death he was facing. A breath of relief slipped out from his mouth while he laid Fran first, on the seat next to his. A second later he seated himself and began to move the escape vehicle. Or escape ship. Or whatever.
The whole fortress was shaking so violently now, and Balthier knew he had to be going. So he did. Much to his surprise, the thing he was in flew – not that he didn't like it, though. It was just too surprising at this moment, when everything seemed to face only one thing called death… He was still lucky until the Bahamut crashed against the ground as it exploded, gushing out fire everywhere.
Now. He didn't think he was still lucky at all. Vicious fire danced exquisitely with its own way, teasing their weakness as it glued on the escape ship; it was on fire now and the gunman knew this flying thing wouldn't make it out. They were in the fire reach, trapped in the vermilion cage thus from this view, no one would be able to see them. And he cursed more. If only the escape was a little easier than this…
He looked up and between the dancing fire, he could see something blue beyond… blue… blue carpet with white puffs everywhere. The sky. "C'mon dear… You can make it…" He gritted his teeth.
Balthier was focusing on the way when suddenly a blinding light went into his eyes. He turned his head right before a faint green glow radiated from the Viera's body dissipating into nothingness. A frown etched to his face. What was that glow?
But then everything went dark.
The verdant grass beneath him kept him feel snug and safe, the multi-hued flowers around him brought a fragrant scent into the air and the birds were singing their lullaby, together with the rustling leaves they created a serenade of equanimity. If he hadn't seen grey smoke emanating from the ship close to him, he would have thought he was in the heaven. But this was reality, and he was still alive. And everything was too beautiful. Looks like they had been thrown quite miles away.
The sky pirate winced when the pain caused by his wounds seared his body. He bit his bottom lip in hopes he wouldn't shriek or something, and it worked. Seconds later, as he recollected his memories and went through them, he blinked. He fixed his look on the now broken ship as he came to realization. "Oh damn… too much for a hero, don't you think?" He climbed to his feet slowly, trying move as carefully as he could, not wanting to hurt his body more than this; it was so painful already.
He suddenly caught the sight of a gun lying on the ground not far from him, and he approached it, looking at it for awhile, before eventually keeping it for himself. When he couldn't find any sign of his partner's bow, Balthier walked towards what appeared to be the 'door' of the ship. Well, it was only a big crevice, actually. He couldn't make out where the real door was, now, could he? As expected, the Viera was still there, lying hopelessly. He stretched out his arms and again, carried her frail body with ease. "You can be much of trouble sometimes, Fran." He said, exiting the ship.
Much to the gunman's surprise, the Viera's eyelids fluttered open slowly, revealing impeccable red orbs that shot him a look. "I didn't ask you to save me, did I?" Her voice, although seemed hoarse and weak, still sounded intimidating in his ears.
A sappy smirk ran across Balthier's face. "Now now, since when did the princess wake up?" He asked while walking over to a tree and then laid his companion down on the grass. Fran lifted her face.
"You are mistaken, I fear. I am not a princess. Ashe is." She leaned against a tree, inhaling to fill her lungs with some fresh air before she stared at Balthier again. But only a second after that she turned her head to the ship. He followed her gaze. "We've survived, haven't we? Quite a surprise. I can't remember much of what has happened."
He chuckled. "That's because you've been sleeping for the whole trip, Fran."
She cocked her head to the side, staring at him intently. "And I didn't ask for that."
"Right, right." He chuckled again, amused by his teammate's stubbornness. He seated himself right beside her and cast his gaze upwards. Rays of light seeped through the green leaves, shining upon everything as the two remained wordless for awhile, cherishing the silence that lingered in the air. But a moment later he broke the stillness with his usual tone, "And are you alright?"
"Yes." The Viera looked at herself and spoke airily, "some bruises, that is all. No big deal."
"But I think…" Balthier lowered his voice when he looked over his companion's shoulder with an unpleasant look on his face. "There's a big deal here, y'know." Fran turned her head, her white long lock swinging gracefully behind her as she did so. Her red eyes went wide in an instant. "I think… we've got a problem. This isn't good at all, don't you think?"
Fran could only nod slightly, silenced. Their eyes fixed on the broken ship. But the bad thing is, the ship was now making a sound that absolutely was far from congenial to hear. And this didn't look like a good portent at all. The Viera looked at her partner. "Do you know what will happen next?"
"I think," responded Balthier. But when the sound grew louder, louder, and louder from time to time, he knew he had to do something. Something realistic. Something that made sense. So he climbed to his feet in haste as the ship made more noise, shaking a bit when its body started to spew little fire. "I think the ship is a bit angry, Fran."
"I guess. And what do ships usually do whenever they get enraged?"
"Explode." With that, Balthier quickly carried her again in his arms, ignoring the muffled shriek coming from her mouth as he spun around and ran away from the ship, as fast as he could. He made it on time. Right when he rolled on the grassy ground, far enough from the ship, it exploded, spouting fire into the air. And he tightened his hold on her, embracing her protectively.
"Wheeww." Balthier let out a breath of relief on top of her. "Looks like we've managed to survive again."
Fran moved some strands of her white hair back and her lips twitched a bit, smiling. "The leading man plays his role really well, does he not?" He grinned, moving away from her and sat on the ground. Fran sat up and glanced towards the direction of the ship, before fixing her look on him again. "Now that Vayne has gone and the Bahamut is nothing more than a memorable monument, I am sure Rabanastre will be back to the way it was. And Ashe, she'll be a queen soon."
"Yeah." He gazed blankly at the clouds adorned firmament. No matter how many times he looked up at the sky, it never ceased to amaze him. Various white wisps of clouds were always there, figuratively jewelries to such stainless beauty. He leaned back, stretching out his arms behind to support him, and inhaled. "And what will we be?"
Fran had also shifted her look upwards. "We? Sky pirates, still."
"Right. The sky is where we belong, after all." Balthier sighed and rubbed at his temples. "Well, shouldn't we be going now or something? You are not planning to stay here till you starve to death, are you?"
Fran cocked her head to the side, as she reached his hands he'd offered to her. "I am not." She stood on her feet and ran a hand through her white smooth hair, placing a hand on her hip. "But where to?"
"And you need to be healed first, that's for sure." He observed her with his hazel eyes before he concluded, "pinned down by metal structures is not fun at all, is it?" Fran only shook her head, wincing a bit. She still didn't feel well, though. Her body ached a lot. But being a tough Viera that she was, she still acted strongly, keeping everything inside. "Then what about going to Nalbina first? We don't have many choices now. Beside, it's the closest city we can get from here." Her partner said.
She shrugged. "That sounds okay. But," she looked over her shoulder, trying to see through the thick grey smoke but failed in her effort to. "Don't you think we need our weapons? Sad. I've lost my bow, that is to be exact." She looked at him, in mind wondering whether he'd gotten his gun back or not.
"Well," He reached behind his back and revealed a dust covered gun. "It does look unconvincing, but it still works. It is enough to keep you safe, at least."
Fran gave him a smile. "That sounds good. You're the leading man, after all."
A grin spread across the gunman's face. "Let's go then."
It was quite queer to hear the bang of his gun ringing alone in the forest, echoing off the trees unaccompanied by the sound of her bow's string whenever an arrow was released. It was always bullets and arrows piercing through their enemies' bodies, but now only bullets were there. She always fought alongside him, but now she was standing behind him, only used her fists whenever the monsters got too close to her. But in that case, Balthier never allowed it to happen. He always killed the beasts in time, not letting even one to touch the Viera. Well, Fran could still battle, if only she had more strength now…
Another bang filled the air, causing some birds to fly off their nests towards the sky, frightened. Fran, who had been staring at her partner's back for the whole time, finally looked up and spoke with her familiar accent, "it's getting dark. The sky is shrouded with blood. The cheerfulness of blue has gone."
Balthier shuddered at Fran's statement; his brows were drawn into a frown. "Oh c'mon Fran, don't speak that way! It makes me feel scared y'know. Can't you just say the sky is orange like citrus or something?" Fran smiled at this as she muttered a quiet 'sorry' in amusement. "Oh well, are you okay?" The brown haired guy walked closer to her, studying her in a way that made the Viera twitch a bit. "You don't look really fine."
"I'm okay." Her voice betrayed her mind and heart. She really needed a place to rest, damn it. Fran sighed, looking at the thick line of trees longingly. She'd never felt this exhausted before.
"Need to be carried again, m'lady?" Balthier asked solemnly, as he tried his best to hide his grin.
Fran glared at the gunman and walked past him, looking over her shoulder as she said, "thank you for the offer, but I'm not a child, Balthier. I am even older than you, if you're aware of that fact."
He let out a soft chuckle. Balthier just stared at her back for awhile; deep inside admiring her beauty. Her cocoa skin seemed to glow under the ochre radiance, and her white long hair, highlighted by the light of the sun, looked even more enthralling than ever. Her swift moves always attracted his attention, and whenever he cast his gaze on her, he would find himself drained into her purity. And he would be mesmerized more.
Sighing for one last time, he caught up with her and gave her his usual smile. "Let the hero lead the way." He smirked.
The sun had already set by the time they reached Nalbina Town. When they stepped into the city, they could feel euphoria lingering in the air, as the inhabitants laughed in mirth and joked around so freely. No worries strewn across their faces. He could still remember the day when he'd visited this place with the princess and the others… It truly brought back memories. Now that the war was over, everything looked thousand times livelier.
"We need to find a place to rest soon." He said, as he glanced around trying to find a hotel.
"Right." Fran's paces were wavering now and she walked slower and slower. Noticing this, Balthier quickly supported her with his arm. The journey to this city had been quite difficult, and it had drained so much of her strength.
"Fran? Can you hang in there for a little longer? We almost –" But the Viera had closed her eyes, fainting from fatigue, only to fall to his embrace. The gunman cursed slightly as he gently carried her in his arms. His brown orbs rolled warily in attempt to find a sign of a hotel or something, but failed. Sighing in exasperation, he walked over to the closest merchant and asked courteously, "excuse me, can you tell me where the hotel is?"
The man in question lifted his face, and his eyes bulged almost instantly. Well, Balthier knew it wasn't common to see a Hume hanging out with a Viera together, but couldn't this man be a little more polite? The look given to him was indeed rude thus the gunman couldn't help but glare at the merchant. Realizing the intimidating glare, the man blinked in fright and notified him, "uhm, not far from here. Just follow this path and before the cafe, go right. From there just go straight and you'll see one. It can't be missed."
Balthier muttered a quiet thank you before leaving. Behind his back, he could feel the merchant's disbelief stare glued on him.
After taking Fran to the hotel and leaving her with some medics there, Balthier went out to get some fresh air. He had taken a quick bath in the hotel to clean his self a little, though. He couldn't go out with dirty face and body, could he? Beside, the hot bath had helped him relax a little. He could think more clearly now.
And now, when he was alone, accompanied by nothing and no one but solitary, his mind started to wander around. He cast his gaze downwards, lost in thoughts. They survived. They were still alive, but the others would probably think they were dead already. He mentally laughed at this, imagining how Vaan would react if he knew that he and Fran were still alive. Or Ashe. How she'd sounded so worried before. How would the princess act? What would the others say?
But his mind still focused on one certain thing. This thing had been bothering him for awhile, but due to them being busy on the way to Nalbina Town, Balthier had almost forgotten about this. Yet now he remembered again.
How they had survived from the Bahamut was still like a miracle, and at the same time, a mystery. But that didn't bother him as much as this one did…
What was that glow? The one that had been radiated from Fran's body. That green glow. Well, he couldn't recall Fran emit such glow throughout their journey as sky pirates. That was just too peculiar. He planned to ask the Viera about this later, but then buried his intention down, deep in his mind. No, he wouldn't ask her about this. Maybe he should wait for a little longer to see more.
He eventually lifted his face and gazed at the sky. Soon it was embraced by a dark blanket, as twinkling stars emerged, shining luminously.
The gunman sighed and whirled on his heel.
-- - ToBeContinued
¤author's note : zomg. A chaptered balfran O:
Well, this takes place after the game. No explanation about how they survived, so don't sue me. xD;
& it takes like, one year before Ashe's coronation, so I have a lot to fill there. Balfran, of course :D (also how they'll go to Bervenia)
& oh, about their past, I'll write about it, too.
if you want me to add some things (including more possible pairings?), please, tell me.
And I suppose, from now on, we should call this pairing 'BALFRAN'? Because 'balthifran' just sounds weird. And long. xDD;;
Oh well, I hope you liked the first chapter. Please send me your thoughts. & I'll update as soon as I can :D