Say My Name
Written by vox shade
v/s: Alright guys, this is it! The ending of Say My Name. A wonderful fifteen chapters, and it was fun hearing your reviews! Thank you for all your encouragement and support xD Please look forward to my next fics here! They may not necessarily be Al+Nel, but drop in anyway xD
Disclaimer: Star Ocean 3 belongs to Tri-Ace/Ubisoft/Square-Enix
Epilogue
It was the next day after the Greeton siblings had left Peterney to go back to their homeland. With them, to Albel and Nel's anger and embarrassment, evidence of their adventures had disappeared. Which included the fake breasts, the video footage, and the Blood Bar uniforms, posters of Albel and Cliff's kiss, the message in a bottle sent by Daddy's Little Rich Boys, a snapshot of Albel and Lasselle's kiss, and even the iguana Albel had tripped over. Maria had explained that the siblings had been stalking them to take shots of their adventures to turn into a TV show back in Greeton. Apparently they were linked to the media industry who were interested in the Heroes of the Universe, and had been commissioned to make a little show of them.
And although they had been commissioned, it had been entirely their idea to use the Locking Lips liquid to initiate the show. When Albel demanded to know if Lockroi had been part of their show crew, Fayt answered with a 'no'. The mission had been entirely coincidental. A bonus for the siblings.
"So, how early on did you know about all this?" Nel had asked at lunch with narrowed eyes.
Sophia had explained that Cliff and Roger knew it all since the beginning, because the siblings had contacted them, explained their show, and the two had agreed to make it. They had been a hefty sum, according to them even though they hadn't revealed how much it really was.
Cliff picked up the story from there. During the time they had been spending to come up with an antidote to the Locking Lips, both he and Roger had been dosed with the Locking Lips. Mirage had noticed that they hadn't put up much of a fight, and sensed something was wrong. After Cliff and Roger had refused to reveal anything, Mirage had invited Adray over. She'd lured Adray, Cliff and Roger into a room to have tea when she'd activated the alarm system. Metal filters had covered the windows in the room, a titanium door had slid over the real one on both sides. There was no way to get out. And that was when Mirage had threatened to shout Cliff and Roger's names through the door if they did not give up what they knew.
Nel smirked, remembering that she'd threatened Albel with the same threat early on in the mission.
Cliff and Roger had immediately surrendered, not doubting Mirage. And so, inside the inescapable room locked in with a confused Adray, Cliff and Roger gave up the information. They already had the antidote, given to them by three siblings from Greeton who had commissioned them to 'accidentally' disable Albel. They also had the temporary antidote, which they were to give to Albel before the full one.
Upon hearing this, Albel had decided that Cliff had one too many heads and had tried to decapitate him with his claws by swinging over the table.
Once he'd calmed down, Cliff had handed over the full antidote and Albel had immediately consumed it along with his lunch.
After lunch, they had congregated in the living room to settle their stomachs and talk. Everyone but Albel wanted to see the siblings again. When asked why he didn't want to see them again, Albel had brooded silently until he said that Nel had nearly been killed.
By this point, everyone knew that there was more than a little chemistry between the two, and Nel just looked down and a faint tint of pink graced her cheeks. Everyone either smirked or giggled, but sobered down enough to explain that the sibling had let them fight because they knew that the two were more than enough to handle Lockroi and a few petty thugs. They had not counted on the archer, but had stood by in the Diplo close to the warehouse in case anything unexpected did happen, so that they and Fayt and the others could come to help as soon as possible.
That had proved a blessing, because without the Diplo's advanced technology, Nel would have likey become paralyzed or worse. Albel didn't seem so mad after that, but kept a thoughtful silence as the others continued to chat.
And now it was dinner, everyone feasting on the delectable dishes made by Sophia and Nel. Cliff mentioned about going to visit his sensei.
"I'm going with you," Mirage said quietly.
"Great," Cliff said with a smile, a noodle poking out from his lips.
"Actually, I have to go visit Mom," Fayt said. "She's wanted to see me and Sophia for a while."
"I have to go visit Dad, now that you mention it," Roger chimed in.
"And I'm off to the Troupe!" Peppitta giggled. "There's a show coming to Peterney soon, so they want me to show them around and practice the act with them! You guys are all invited – it's a month away."
"Well, if everyone's leaving then I'll have to go visit Headquarters," Maria said between mouthfuls.
Nel didn't say anything. She'd already contacted the Queen, and had promised to see Claire the next week when she was free. She had no parents to visit, and her subordinates were doing fine under Clarire's supervision. She wondered if Albel was leaving to visit Arzei or Woltar or his subordinates.
A hand found the one in her lap and squeezed. Nel started before realizing it was Albel. He wasn't looking at her (he was finishing off his soup), but he gave her a reassuring squeeze all the same. Nel smiled and started finished off her teriyaki, returning it.
Lately, she had been floating on a cloud. Her wound was healing quickly with regular healing runology spells, at set intervals, and her relationship with Albel almost seemed surreal. Who knew that they would be so compatible? If someone had told her that she'd wind up with Albel when she'd first met him, she would have escorted them personally to the nearest asylum.
And to be honest, she didn't know everything about him. He had a temper, a harsh tongue, and a general 'piss off' expression all the time. But that was okay – she learned a lot about him. The main reason that he didn't let anyone close, was that he was afraid that he would lose them because of him. Like how his father had sacrificed himself to save his son, and that had scarred him.
But what is life without thorns? Nel reflected to herself as she helped wash the dishes after dinner. Without those difficulties she had encountered with him, she would have never learned anything about him.
As soon as she was finished, Nel stepped out of the kitchen to head for her room to cast the healing spell when he noticed Albel standing in the foyer, talking to someone. She stepped around, and identified the other to be the same messenger who'd been sent by Arzei to tell them about the mission. They looked grave, talking to each other.
Nel felt a twinge. So, Arzei was sending for one of his right-hand men. She meant to leave quietly, but somehow her foot brushed a shoe and it clattered on the floor, drawing attention to her.
At first, both just looked at her and Nel as going to give a hasty apology and retreat when Albel marched down the hall and grabbed Nel around the waist and faced the messenger. "I'm not going back, not for a while," Albel said clearly with determination. "And if you argue again, this hellion will give you her piece of mind as well."
Nel had been glaring at Albel and struggling, but then turned to the messenger as she got the idea. The messenger seemed slightly taken aback by the intensity of her glare, along with Albel's own. Needless to say, he'd never felt more unwanted in his life.
When Nel noticed the messenger was about to speak again, she turned impulsively and wrapped her arms around Albel's neck and drew him into a soul-marking kiss. He seemed a bit surprised at first, then joined in whole-heartedly, growling an approval as he tightened his arms around her waist. The messenger squawked indignantly, said something and the door opened and shut.
Neither Nel or Albel noticed his leaving. They didn't notice anything but each other until someone squealed and another yelled, "get a room!"
Nel and Albel ignored Roger and Cliff until they left, laughing. Finally, they surfaced and Nel regarded Albel with bright emerald eyes. "You're not going?" she asked. "Don't you have to report to Arzei?"
"He can wait," Albel replied, smiling lazily. "I have more important things on my mind."
"And when you do go?" Nel persisted.
Albel's drew her close and kissed her ear. "I'm at your beck and call. All you have to do is Say My Name."
v/s: Remember to look forward to '+seraphym's' fics! My new name later on xD