Star Ocean (All Series) Fan Fiction ❯ Far From a Fairytale ❯ Protected from the Rain ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter Eight: Protected from the Rain

 

A/N: Hey there everyone! I just want to say thanks for the reviews and here is the next chapter to the fic. I don't have much else to say so…Enjoy!

 

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Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, SPLAT, pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter, SPLAT… Peppita watched as the rain hit the window she looked out of hard, the pattern of the rain fall switched from heavy to that of a slow drizzle. It was so cold here. Every where she looked she just saw the dreary color of gray, and it didn't help that rain now fell too. Thus, she let out a sigh.

 

Peppita was bored.

 

Though, that boredom didn't last for very long, as her ears rumbled with the sound of thunder and her eyes shimmered with the flash of lighting. Her heart skipped a beat out of fear and she rushed away from the glass; her body ran over and her arms attached themselves around Albel's body.

 

He sat in a chair, which was up against one of the walls, and far enough away from the window. At the moment, all three of them were in a homeless shelter; Sophia had spotted it when they had devoured their ice cream. It was rather tough at first to get any type of story straight, though, it did help that the replication device worked, which allowed Sophia to fabricate papers and other needed information. Though, why the replication device worked, but, the communication device didn't was still a mystery. The best Sophia was able to come up with was that the replication device only needed the internal mechanisms inside to work, while the communication device needed external mechanisms and internal mechanisms to work. Overall, the theory seemed plausible.

 

Anyway, the thunder and lightening still carried on outside the homeless shelter and Peppita could feel the ingrained fear that she had for them rise within her. Her arms still clutched at Albel's clothes, and with each sound of thunder her grip only tightened, and then, the lights flickered…and darkness consumed them. It was at that moment, that Peppita flung her arms completely around his waist and planted the rest of her body firmly in his lap. She was met with multiple pushes and shoves, yet, her hold on him was too tight, and Peppita knew that Albel could not yell any offensive phrase at her, no matter how easily he would oblige to such a notion, it would be pointless.

 

And, despite the fact that Albel didn't want to protect to her, Peppita couldn't help but find a sense of comfort and protection, even though, she had no arms wrapped tight around her small frame. For some reason, Albel was the only male she truly felt safe around. When she was with Fayt, she felt those sisterly instincts and glee, with Cliff-well-she just felt like he deserved more hits over the head than he got, and Adray…he scared her. But, Albel, he did not a single thing to warrant such thoughts or emotions of protection and security, he wasn't nice and he wasn't thoughtful, but, she still had them. So, right then, she wanted to stay right where she was, because she doubted she'd feel any better anywhere else.

 

In that those brief first seconds after the blackout occurred Peppita didn't even give a second thought to Sophia. Until that minute, and so, she felt panic build up within her. Tears sprung to her deep green eyes as she looked up at Albel and said quietly, “Sophia.” Peppita was overly worried about her; Sophia had gone to get some food from the cafeteria they had here. The younger girl comprehended that the older female wasn't all that far away, but the thought that Sophia wasn't here, terrified her. The older girl had become a mother figure to Peppita, and it irked her to not have the said mother figure present.

 

As Peppita glanced at Albel's eyes, which she could only see so well because they were so close and her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she caught a glimpse of his inner aggravation. After all, if he had been capable of tangible speech then he would have said, “You stupid brat, the woman is only a few feet away, so stop your insufferable crying and get over it!” or, at least, it would have been close to that. But, he couldn't, he just couldn't say those things, but he wanted Peppita to stop her tears, which was evident by the glare she could sense on her skin. So, the blonde tried to stop her tears, she really and truly did, but they wouldn't go away, not until she could get reassured that it would all work out in the end.

 

Right then, those tears that slipped down from her eyelids and onto her flesh, where the release of the built up anxieties of all the events that took place on that one day. She just let it all come out. Which, she was sure, just frustrated Albel more; drip upon drip of the salty liquid trailed down her checks, only to stop when she felt one arm wrap around her. It was Albel! His capable arm was twisted tightly around her waist, it was her support and safety, which was why her emerald orbs (puffy and slightly blood shot) widened and stared at him, and though there was reminisce of tears-no new tears were shed. Eyes still filled with surprise, Peppita tried to see what and if his blood covered irises held any emotions within them. Alas, she couldn't see because of his messy hair, which had started to come undone from its ponytail hold, and his eyes were shifted off to the side. So, even if Albel didn't have all that hair, she wouldn't have known a thing that passed through his mind.

 

“Sophia.”

 

Peppita stopped her examination of Albel, only to look at him in confusion, he had just said Sophia's name…Why? Peppita had the knowledge that Albel could only say and understand three words, “Sophia, Peppita, and Albel.” Other than that though, he was lost, and so where they. In conclusion, the only words that could connect them all when it came to speech were their names. Which, once again, brought Peppita back to the original question, why did Albel just say Sophia's name?

 

“Sophia, she isn't here right now, remember, she went to get food from the cafeteria.” Albel just growled softly and, just because he couldn't make out the words that she spoke, he could detect her tone of voice. It must not have been what he wanted to hear, thus, Peppita was greeted with another proclamation of Sophia's name by Albel.

 

With confusion etched into her face Peppita finally made out the sound that Albel had only moment's before-footsteps. They must have been Sophia's. But, how could she carry food and walk in the dark at the same time? Of course, with her mind on other subjects, the fifteen-year-old hadn't realized that the generators had kicked in quite a few moments before. But, no of that mattered, nope, not when she heard Sophia say, rather tiredly, “I've got some food for you and Albel.”

 

The mention of their names drew their attention the woman who had, somehow, managed to balance three trays worth of food. Automatically, Peppita jumped from the loosed one-armed embrace of Albel and helped Sophia. She took her own dinner and sat down next to Albel. “Thank you, Sophia!”

 

Weary eyes scrunched together lightly, as a smile formed on the brunette's face, “You're welcome, Peppita.” It was a simple and automatic response, but, Peppita liked that she heard it anyway, and with that, Peppita dug into her food as she watched Albel and Sophia interact.

 

Peppita listened how Sophia tried to tell Albel that the food was his, “Albel, this tray of food is for you. I realize that it isn't all that much, but we can't expect to get much more or else, at the moment, so, it's eat this-or not eat at all.” He didn't get any of what was said, with the exception of his name, but, Sophia nearly had the tray shoved down Albel's mouth as it was, thus, the obvious message was received. Albel took the tray and began to eat; the same with Sophia, as she sat down on the other side of Peppita, who could no longer sense any uneasiness within her.

 

And so, as they ate, Sophia informed Peppita that the younger girl would have to go to school and that she had to refer to Albel and Sophia as mother or father, mom or dad, or some variation of the general terms used for parents. Peppita just nodded her head; they had to act like they were a family if they were to survive or get anywhere in the era they happened to be trapped in.

 

Finally, with a full stomach and warm room to rest in, the fact that she was curled up in a hard chair didn't matter; she could feel her eyes as they started to close. With her eyes shut, Peppita felt someone lift her up; her guess was that it had to be Albel, since Sophia didn't have enough strength to carry her weight. And, even as her mind tried to ponder over why Albel would do such a thing, the instant her body came in contact with the cot used to sleep her mind submitted to slumber. So, she didn't know that her form was curled up, with Sophia on one side and Albel on the other; fully protected from the rain that lashed viciously against the earth.

 

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Nel couldn't believe it! If it hadn't been for the piece of information that Sophia and Peppita had disappeared, she wouldn't have dreamed to do all of this for Nox. Here they had traveled all the way to the Time Gate, gotten lost on a planet that looked the same in every direction, and come to find out…

 

“It's not working.” The simple statement had been said by Fayt a little while ago, but no one seemed to be able to grasp those words.

 

“Are you positive?” Nel asked for the umpteenth time, she wanted to set those words in stone.

 

Fayt nodded his head; blue strands shifted slightly, “I'm 100% positive that the Time Gate isn't working. It wasn't turned on when we got over there and no matter what me, Maria, Mirage, or Cliff tried to do…we got absolutely nothing! Our theory is that, without Sophia here to keep up the connection between the Eternal Sphere and 4-D Space, the Time Gate simply stopped working.”

 

“Basically, what this all means is that we have to find an alternate route or way of contacting 4-D Space, or more specifically, Blair.” Mirage's voice was drained as she spoke those words, because, with all their logic and all their knowledge, no one had any idea of what to do next.

 

To simply put it…they were screwed.

 

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A/N: Another chapter completed and nothing has really been resolved, but, don't worry, I have the plot all outlined in a notebook, so, while you guys may not know where this is going, I do. Which, I consider, to always be a good thing. : ) Anyway, please tell me what you think of it in a review and take care, ja ne! : D

 

-LilyGinnyBlack-