Author: Cheza-chan
Rating: Young Adult (PG-13/R)
Summary: It is quite feasible to find love in the midst of a universal war.
Disclaimer: I could never create a game with such wonderful characters (whispers: except Sophia—damn, why'd her name have to sound so similar to mine).
Author Note: (says a silent prayer) I was really hoping to have enough inspiration for another chapter, but… it looks like I have to end it at four. I'd like to point out I fought Luther twice. The second time was so I could actually record all the endings in order to help better this chapter (smiles). And rewinding and playing them back was a bitch XD Thank you for sticking with my mediocre fiction… (sniffles) Mebbe, just mebbe… I'll come back with something new. Also, I'd planned to put Luther and Blair in here also, you know, show the Creator's restoration, but... (shrugs) ...it slipped my mind many times, so I just decided to leave if off.

Old Adages – Chapter Four

It was over now. They had won with many injuries but no casualties. So why was he still being deleted? Albel closed his eyes then opened them to stare at the blonde across from him. Cliff grinned, his arms crossed over his chest. Albel shifted his gaze momentarily to stare at the humans that had begun strolling about the vanishing tower; they asked questions of each other the Elicoorian had no answer for.

If this really was the end, the last thing he wanted to remember was his lover's face. Albel's complete deletion arrived before the Klausian's and for that much, he was grateful. He wanted to die a warrior's death, not some alien deletion.

"You can still die that way, though it wouldn't make me any happier."

Darkness enshrouded his entire being but he knew that voice.

"You're not dead."

As if he was opening his eyes for the first time, the Klausian male slowly came into focus. Albel scoffed, or so he thought, at the outstretched hand. 'One of these days, worms, I won't take it.' The world became whole once again the second his fingers touched Cliff's. The young man slowly sat up and glanced about himself. A yard or so away, on lush green grass similar to the geography of certain areas on Elicoor II, the young Velbaysian was coming to. "Where are we?" Albel muttered, flexing his claw; the older man remained holding his other hand.

"Beats me," Cliff sighed, staring at the motionless bodies that still surrounded them. "Maybe we did die after all—Ow!" He glanced behind him to see a smiling Mirage uncurling her fist.

"It hurt, right?" the woman inquired, her blue eyes sparkling. Albel smirked and stood, dragging the blonde to his feet also.

"Anytime you hit me, it hurts," Cliff mumbled, finally releasing the smaller man's hand to rub his bruised cranium.

Within minutes, in whatever strange dimension they resided in, the other-worlders waited for the three humans to rise. Maria was first. She stared at the hand being held out to her then smiled up at Cliff and allowed him to assist her to her feet. Sophia came to next but she remained kneeling at Fayt's side, quietly coaxing him to open his eyes.

"Welcome back, Fayt," Her voice was soft and comforting.

Using his arm to prop himself into a sitting position, Fayt stared, dumbfounded, around at the other figures. "Hey," Cliff said, arms still crossed.

"You're late, fool." Albel ignored the Klausian's stare—the blue eyes accusing him of always having a negative input. He scoffed and glared back in return, his silent response being: "It's the hand that fate dealt me. I see the world as a cruel place and I adjust accordingly." The glaring match ensued for several more moments until something Maria spoke of caught the Elicoorian's attention.

"…That's exactly why Luther was unable to erase our consciousness. He merely deleted all the illusions around us. Doing so could not possibly erase that which actually exists outside of his creation."

Albel lowered his gaze, bangs falling forward to shadow his eyes. 'My consciousness… The first thing I thought of was…' He glanced sideways to see the male Klausian listening intently to what Quark's leader and the other Earthlings had to say. He gripped the hilt of his katana tightly, snarling deep in his throat. 'Such worthless feelings are beneath me! Yet… Did it keep me alive…?' Albel raised his head, brushing back his dark hair, and caught Cliff's eye. He smirked and Cliff's blue eyes sparkled as he smiled.

Deep in a monologue, the pilot of the airship was unable to hear the other man walk up until a response was given to his rhetoric rambling. "Ah! Boss. You're awake already? We've still got some time left before we arrive," Lancar told the blonde.

Cliff placed a hand on the high back of the empty chair, staring through the windshield. "I know, but we're going to meet with some bigwigs from the old Federation government. I don't know how we'll handle them in the new government, but I can't just roll out of bed right before out meeting, can I?"

Lancar laughed. "I guess it's tough being famous."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Cliff sighed, "I didn't get famous on purpose. It was more of a process of elimination thing." He took his seat, bringing several small screens up in front of him. The Klausian was grateful for the ongoing conversation his friend provided because it kept his mind off of one Albel Nox, the main reason why he couldn't sleep.

Cliff groaned softly as he was told how many mails had arrived for him.

"At least twenty of them are Priority A. There were some dinner date invitations from some…" Lancar trailed off, laughing loudly at the blonde's glare; he now understood why his boss was such in a bad mood. "Ogres need a vacation too, you know."

Cliff smiled, covering his face. "I'm too old to keep up with the likes of him."

"But, unlike Lady Ophelia and Lady Ally, you know exactly what to expect. Think about it, boss." Lancar folded his arms over his chest, closing his eyes. "Life's a funny, fickle thing at times."

Cliff slowly spread his fingers to stare through them at the system they neared. He glanced to his left and returned Lancar's grin with one of his own.

Albel stood atop Airyglyph's tower, idly picking rock fragments from the crumbling wall and tossing them down the declining hillside. The loss of the investigative team held some weight on his conscience because he'd had to eliminate them in order to get to Romero; the dungeons had been exorcised soon after.

The Elicoorian paused and lowered his arm to stare at the pebble in his hand. He grinned, remembering this was how he and the Klausian male had first met. A scowl replaced the grin and he crushed the rock in his claw and let the dust escape. They had been from two completely different worlds and were obviously never meant to be together.

Albel closed his eyes and let the cold wind circle around him as it blew. Arzei was sending him some new recruits to be trained later on as the day progressed. He would have his hands full making them suitable Black Brigade soldiers, so there was no time to be dwelling on the past.

Albel's eyes flew open and he glared at the small rock that fell after it bounced off his head. He spun sharply to give the culprit a thorough lesson in what true pain really was. He slowly lowered his false arm at the sight of the grinning blonde standing several yards away.

"Yo." Cliff raised his hand in a wave then used it to sheepishly rub the back of his neck.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Albel growled, never losing his defensive edge.

"I was in the neighborhood and my partner told me to stop by. He'll come back for me… maybe in a few years. I'm on the LAM."

"Idiot." Albel turned back around, his claw digging into the stone wall as he was forced to control his emotions. "I didn't need you to come back," he snapped. "I don't want your pity."

"But I needed you." Strong arms wrapped around the small frame from behind. "More than that Creator guy, you turned my world upside-down and everything's been dull even since I left your side."

"I should throw you over the tower for uttering crap like that," Albel threatened in an exasperated tone. "But the pathetic worm that you are, you probably won't die."

Cliff's embrace tightened and he chuckled softly. "Say it," he whispered in the brunet's ear. Albel closed his eyes, sighing. "Say it, just this once, please."

The young man's eyes opened and he noticed that, even though the sun sat high in the sky, Airyglyph's snow clouds were so thick that only streams of light rained onto the city. He dropped his arms to his sides—a sign of surrender—and the faintest hint of true smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "I love you… worm."