Penna Chapter 10: ex: Feathers, a star ocean fanfic

ikanaide! kono mune wa tsumi bukai yume mite shimau yo
Never say good bye sono hane wo kiri totte makka ni nurasu yume wo
"Don't go!" In my heart, I can't help seeing that sinful dream --
Never say goodbye a dream where those feathers are torn out and soaked in crimson.

"M-master? You can't mean it! Surely!"

He shook his head, blue eyes closed. "I only have one more chance to interfere. I haven't been your master for a while now, my darling Vita. I'm counting on you to take care of things."

"But-!"

"These boys... the one is very... important, as you've probably seen." The girl nodded in agreement before the blue eyes smiled. "Take good care of him. Use your gift, Vita, now is the time for it."

"R-right." She accepted the disk from him. "I'll give it life."

"It's funny." He gave a regretful laugh. "It feels like... I'm letting go of a child myself. But... it's for the best." Placing a weak arm over his gray-haired love, he sighed. "Farewell, my eternal."

"Albel, hey, get up." I nudged you gently as you slept, slept soundly. "Come on, we have a job to do today."

You groaned at the sound of my words. "Lazy scum... it doesn't take a learned sword to check a stupid mountainside."

"It'll be a fast job, but they need it done early, while the Roc's away. Let's go."

"Right, right... stop tugging me, maggot!"

We quickly got changed and ready for the day. You was shaking out your night clothes and shoving them into a trunk before you turned around. You'd gotten used to having me around by now, but there was always one thing you couldn't get used to.

The sudden surprise of turning to find theme in the middle of pealing my night shirt off of my body.

You shivered a bit, adjusting your belt as you turned away. Your shiver came with a small noise, which hadn't intended, but caught my attention anyway as I was in the business of putting the first layers of my outfit on. I gave a little smirky grin before pulling on the final layer and walking over, kissing you on the cheek.

"Come on, so we can come back soon."I whispered into the ear, knowing the effects of my warm breath on the you.

"Right."You scoffed, turning stubbornly and marching out the door, as if you hadn't noticed a thing. "So, tell me again, WHY do we need to go check on this Roc's nest?"

"Because... ummmm... Something about the Dragon Brigade's new leader noticed something strange, but couldn't get a dragon near without the Roc noticing. He volunteered us because he says we'll be less noticeable by foot."

"Why can't HE go on foot, then!"

"Because he has some important business somewhere and can't do it, but you're laying around being lazy scum." I recited, waving my hand around vaguely.

You scoffed again. "Probably just wants to make me do something stupid. Or get myself killed. Rocs have sharp eyes, you know..."

With a sigh, I closed my eyes and nodded. "But... King's orders."

A growl admitted. "Stupid, foolish man. Can't he tell he's being fooled?"

"He's very busy, 'bel."I gave you a small pat on the back, but kept walking swiftly. "Come on, maybe we can convince them to at least let us borrow a lum."

"No."you growled. "I'm not riding on a stinking lum."

"Fine, fine, sheesh... Then we'll walk."

You gave me a small wicked grin. Since I had come, we hadn't really been on a mission together. Not one outside of the city. So now it was time to show off, just a little. "No."

"What? But-"

"We'll go by dragon, at least until we get to the mountains. Then we'll climb."

"Dragon! But h-"

"When Vox died..." The once-devilish man(which, if I remember rightly, you once were)gave a small, kindly remembering grin. "There were still a few in his grouping loyal to the Nox name. And... well..."

You're afraid of dragons, aren't you?

"I can lead them now."Your honest-to-goodness smile shocked me out of my ponderings. "When I couldn't before."

I didn't want to seem selfish in my conclusion, but I smiled at the clear message. I had... helped you, hadn't I? You'd been forced to accompany me at first because we had a dragon to tame. So, in a way, they became linked to me in your mind, hadn't they?

You thought I was weak, you underestimated me.

You picked a fight with me, and lost. And you'd lost more than the fight. You lost your freedom and pride, being locked up by Vox.

Then I came... I set you free in a way, didn't I? Not just out of that dank room, but... together... we beat your fears. Together we beat everything, Albel. Everything. We're the greatest.

And so we went to the mountains, on a dragon, with you "driving". And I had the perfect excuse to cling to your back. I'll admit it, I was in a... playful mood then.

Once there, we had to climb up the rock face, keeping a keen eye out for the man-eating bird. It was relatively hard for me, though, as, you see, there was a man above me wearing a skirt. And that became a very distracting factor.

But we made it there alive. Sans the bungy cords and clips used on Earth too. I guess certain people's ignorance to hold down 'O' every once in a while pays off. ((Sorry, had to. Poor Fayt, we never let him just walk, do we. Well, besides the Aqueducts.))

We sat for a little, catching our breaths.

"Come on, before the mother returns. Who knows what we're looking for..." You gave an irritated sigh and crawled forward, towards the nest. "Nope, don't see anything interesting. Let's go home." You turned quickly and started away.

"Wait... 'bel? There, look, isn't that-" I pointed to the luminous object amongst the red and white feathers.

"That thing. I think I know that thing." Your face twisted. "So there was something after all, huh. Aquaria's so-called sacred orb. That piece of junk that turned out to just be the key to some weird dimension."

"Come on, let's grab it and get it back to them. Even if it wasn't sacred before, it is now. This new world created by their minds made all of their gods real too. The mind has that power here. Let's go." I crawled in carefully as you tried to hide the furrowed brow of worry. Your crimson eyes scanned the horizon, before leaping up.

"Fayt!"

"Albel, wh-" I looked up into the storming view of the haze before us. The flock was returning. In no time you were by my side, pulling on my arm.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" You growled and I tried my best to scamper out of the falling heap of dried plant debris. We made it up onto the ledge again and looked down. We couldn't climb it, they'd knock us down. But if we fought up here...

"Fayt, go!" You gave me a little nudge towards the ledge. "Go get the dragon! Give me that damn orb, I'll take care of them!"

"But 'Be-"

"Go!" Your katana was out and your point seemed completely reasonable. I mean, we beat the creator, couldn't you beat a roc by yourself? But... strength held no key in defeating numbers. No matter how strong you are, your two arms can't stop the walls from closing in.

The divine avenger was in my hand as I stood by your side. Doubt ran across my heart as I glanced at you, but you were focused on the approaching blood bath. I gulped down the feeling of admitting that this was the end as the talons came screeching.

Even as I fought off the claws, and sliced through bellies, I wanted to shout something to you. Something, anything, that would let you know that I'd miss you if you weren't there. But... you never used words, so why should I in a time like this? We were... special like that. We could communicate without direct words.

And right now, fighting next to you, that was enough to shout 'I love you' a hundred times over clear.

I love you

I love you...

Hushed as my eyes grew tired and I fell forward, feeling bliss and numbness. My hands were at my chest, feeling the newly severed skin and sighing.

Feeling metallic fingers cover it to try to stop it, a scratched voice in my ear. "Fayt! Fayt! Fay..." and it drifted as I fell against the warm chest.

"Fayt."

"I love you."

And it was distorted.

Penna...

The world was never quite so full. I opened my eyes again to a dark circular room. Something like... the room where the sacred orb would open the door.

The walls were alight with stars and you were next to me, face full of concern, not noticing the change of scenery, I suppose. But you were speaking in gibberish, words I couldn't understand.

"I guess... they hit my communicator, huh?" I huffed out of a chest that still expected to be heavy and bloodied. But it wasn't. I was startled at my sudden wholeness, just as you were of my sudden Terren tongue. You'd only ever heard me in your own Elicoorian. I suppose you stopped carrying your communicator when you arrived home, hm?

I shook my head and looked around. "Where are we, anyway?"

You made a small pouting face and looked around. You said something that I took to meaning that you didn't have a clue.

There was a door on the other end, away from us. I pointed to it. "Let's try that." You nodded, getting the idea, and helped me stand.

We went there, never quite falling from one another's touch. Perhaps because that's the only thing we had with us that we both remembered.

Boldly pushing on the door and stepping through together, we stepped back a little as a drove of small birds flew above us. We both watched until our eyes snapped foward at the sound of the voice.

"Hello!" It was that childish girl's voice. I looked at you quickly and we both understood it. "what, aren't you glad to see us again?" We looked back to the voice to see her, Vita, sitting on a little round platform.

Behind her stood Romero and a creature horribly similar to Sophia. Just furrier. And quieter. And it wasn't sticking to my arm like glue.

You barked a question, trying to regain your stance.

"Well." She huffed. "We brought you to our special spot! You see, we redecorated Miss. Sophia's house, she didn't seem to mind. I brought you here because our master told us to. In the nick of time to. Fayt wouldn't have made it without me."

You grit your teeth and growled, not liking the fact that this girl saved my life when you couldn't. You asked another question.

"No, no, not Folstar! He's just Romero's boss. But the boss of all of us! My dear Creator." She swooned. "He said that he's leaving and that he's sorry. He sees now. So, as a token of his gratitude and mine, he wanted me to give you this." She held up a square of plastic encased circuits.

I stepped forward to take it and she smiled as she handed it down. "You might not be able to activate it yet, but you will someday."

"What is it?"

"Life." She gave a knowing smile and drew her large ornate scythe out from behind her. "That's what I do. Use it how you wish. It's your life to share."

You came up behind me, your claw around my waist and whispered in my ear.

The words were foreign, but I knew what they meant.

It was just after that utterance that I felt my eyes close, but I could still see the purple glow before us as Vita waved her scythe before her and cut the dimension, sending us to Aquaria, Sacred Orb in hand.

We returned it, telling the queen the story and paying Nel a visit on the way home.

And here we are, two years since I met you.

We haven't figured out the mystery of Vita's disk yet, but I'm sure we will soon enough. For now it sits on a shelf in our room, kept dust-free by the maids.

Oh, and, before I set my pen down,

I love you too.

July 09, SD 774

-cue passion (even though Sanctuary is much more fitting, I don't have that on CD...)-

Ok, time to go into depression again. I HATE finishing fanfics... and I don't like this ending... it's dumb...

-sigh- You know one thing I loved about this fic? When I started it, I had just gotten to moonbase. I had NO IDEA that Albel really was afraid of dragons or how his father had died or why his left arm was like that. I was so giddy when I found out that he really was afraid of dragons -squee!-

-horror- CRAP x( my boyfriend was supposed to call4 hours ago and I've been online! He's gonna KILL ME. Someone, an excuse? A review?