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The Crystal Rule	By : QueenDraggyofSwords Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Views: 956 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy: chrystal Chronicles, any of its characters nor am I making any profit off of them.

Chapter List
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Chapter Thirty-Two

Keiss didn't arrive back at Cid's until sunset. He had spent the better part of the afternoon dodging guards and cursing Clockwork's existence. By the time he got back, Layle and Cid were done for the day. The two were sitting down stairs eating and laughing over the Lilties old stories of Keiss' exploits as a mercenary.
"There you are!" Cid greeted him and held up a sandwich for him, "We were starting to think you weren't coming back until tomorrow."
Keiss took the sandwich and sat down with a sigh, "I almost didn't come back, period!"
"Huh?" Layle looked at him confused, "What happened?"
"Clockwork happened! She tried to kill me!"
Cid looked shocked but Layle shrugged, "You always say that."
"I'm serious! She flat out said she was out to kill me, Layle! Your stupid little Crystal Bearer pal has to go!" The Clavat glared at him and Keiss glared back, "She's always trying to interfere with our plans, she's ALWAYS one upping you, and now she tried to get me run over by the train. Next time we see her we capture her and hand her over." Keiss stood up with his sandwich and took out his film. "Now if you will excuse me. I need to borrow the back room, Cid, to develop these, then we'll be out of your hair for the day."
"W-why yes of course…" The Lilty watched as Keiss left the room angry. He turned back to Layle, "Clock… work?"
"…" Layle just sighed and continued to eat. The Lilty just didn't strike him as the murdering type. Why would she try to kill Keiss?

After the Selkie had finished with his film, the two left Cid to find a place to stay for the night. Keiss was still proving to be grumpy about his near death experience; Layle was trying to understand, but he still couldn't see Clockwork trying to kill them. Stop them, sure. Embarrass them, constantly…But she wasn't that 'type' or Bearer. Layle had met plenty of devious and underhanded Crystal Bearers, hell he even worked with one! However, Clockwork didn't seem that way… She wasn't that way, right?
The two mercenaries booked a room in a motel on the front half of the town. Keiss laid out the files he had collected from Piper's Research Facility on the bed and smiled for the first time since he came back. "This was my mission. I went and got us some more info on Piper and Oides research…"
Layle picked up the papers and read over them. "You did this? Without me?"
Keiss shrugged, "It was a simple mission, nothing I couldn't handle solo. Besides, with your powers still on the fritz it was just easier this way. Which reminds me you're going to the doctor tomorrow before we go…"
Layle didn't say anything he was half reading the papers, half thinking of what Keiss said, 'Easier? …Easier without my broken powers…?' he set the papers down and looked at Keiss, "So what's next."
"Next…We need to find out about these two things." He picked up the file copy of the airship and the testing facility. "I would say we'll get the most answers if we can get to either of these. But we don't know the location of this ship in production so…"
"So finding a way to get into the facility at Rebena Te Ra is the next best thing." Layle looked at that paper and frowned. "Alright, I guess we need to get a mission to get into this place huh?"
"That would be our best bet." The Selkie stood up and stretched, "But right now, I'm done thinking for the day. I'm getting a shower and then going to sleep. Read over those if you want."
Layle watched him leave the room and picked over the files. He really did want to know more about the cure, but oddly enough his heart wasn't in learning about it right now. Instead he sat up on the edge of the bed and started practicing with his magic. It had gotten better since is accident, but he still had trouble. Apparently trouble enough that meant he couldn't come on missions.
"He's right though. I can't do anything if I can't be sure what I want to happen will happen…" He tried juggling a vase on the desk, "…I get better with rest and calm…But I'm not working with Keiss to get left behind." He focused on the vases movements, sending it round and round, even after his head started to hurt. 'But what if he decides to finish this without me…what if he decides to split us up in favor of doing it by himself again!' The vase flew out of Layle's gravity field and smashed into the ceiling. He sighed and pushed the papers off the bed before lying back and putting his hands behind his head.
'How did I get to be so concerned about this? Shouldn't I just be happy that something is being done about this problem? We're still partners. We're still together…Keiss has ditched me. It's not a problem…I'll just go to the doctor and keep working on my powers…it's not a problem.'

When Keiss came out of the bathroom he frowned. The Selkie's eyes skimmed over the trashed room and eh sighed, 'Man I knew he was going to be upset about that info of them experimenting on Bearers…' He started to pick up the papers and the bits of smashed vase on the ground before finally sitting on the side of the bed. Layle's eyes were closed, but the Selkie had a feeling he wasn't asleep. He leaned over him and waited for Layle to open his eyes.
Sure enough within a few seconds he did, "What?"
"You okay?"
Layle just shrugged and closed his eyes again. "Look, Layle," Keiss sighed, "I know tis upsetting, but we are going to fix this. Just…have some faith in me okay? We'll stop this damn cure thing before it gets out to the public. I swear."
'Is that what he thinks I'm worried about?' Layle didn't open his eyes. It's true that was something worth being concerned about, but that's not what was on his mind. He was still evaluating himself and his place in this partnership.
The Selkie watched the Clavat's unchanging face and he started to lean down to kiss him, but stopped. Instead he opted to just let Layle rest and started to pull back. To his surprise one of Layle's hands reached up and grabbed the lock of hair that hung by the left side of his face. Keiss nearly hissed at the sudden tug and glared down at Layle, "W-what?"
The Clavat opened his eyes and pulled Keiss back down finish the kiss the Selkie had chosen to avoid. After a few seconds he pulled back, and Keiss didn't react. Not even with sarcasm. The Selkie just pulled back and sat up right on the bed staring at him.
"…Well?" Layle asked him.
Keiss chuckled and shook his head, "Sorry, it just…still puts me off guard when you do that."
"Why? I've done it plenty of times before this."
"Yeah, but," The Selkie leaned back down over Layle, "You have to admit this is kind of my thing. And you're usually telling me to knock it off. I just always have to check with myself to make sure I didn't fall asleep and I'm dreaming or something…"
"You're a jacksass, Keiss. First you leave me out of missions and now this…" Layle rolled over to ignore him but the Selkie grabbed his shoulder and forced him to look back at him.
"See, now that's what I'm used to!" This time the Selkie held onto his partner's shoulders and kissed him again. He felt the Clavat's hands reach up and tangle into his hair, and for a moment Keiss had wondered how he managed to almost turn this down.

Even though all the lights were off in the room, Layle could still see from the orangish glow of the city's lights filtering in through the window. By now it had to be the middle of the night, but sleep was far from his mind still. He found himself sitting up in the bed staring at random areas in the room thinking. Still thinking about what was his fate with Keiss so long as his powers were broken. He looked down at the sleeping Selkie's back.
The red head had stayed up for a while with him, but whatever had gone on at the research facility must have really tired him out. He was out like a rock within a few hours, just leaving Layle alone with his thoughts. He sighed to himself and rubbed the side of his head where the barn had cracked his skull.
It hardly hurt now unless he used his powers to an extensive amount, but he still had trouble. What if the doctor told him tomorrow that it was permanent? That there would never be away for him to have the control he used to have. Did that mean Keiss would do all his missions by himself? What would be the point of Layle even being around? He hated to admit it, but the thought of them splitting up made him sick. And not because it meant he'd have to stop finding the answers behind the Military's actions.
He leaned back against the bed's head board and took a deep breath. "..What am I going to do…?"
"…For starters stop sighing…" Layle looked down at Keiss, who now had one eye open and was staring at him. "If you do that one more time I will kick you out."
"How long have you been awake?"
The Selkie slowly pushed himself up to sit on his knees and cracked his neck, "Probably twenty minutes…why are you still awake?"
Layle just shook his head and avoided the question, "Sorry I woke you up."
Keiss's expression remained tired and unimpressed, "Wow. You completely didn't answer me. That's pretty good. I'm starting to rub off on you."
"Shut up and lay back down, Keiss."
The Selkie stretched and shook his head, "Come on, what's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, now go to sleep." Layle started to slide back down into the covers and ignore the red head. But Keiss just leaned over and rest his chin on the Clavat's shoulder. Layle rolled his eyes and searched his mind for a random topic, "…So that trick you used to get the job with Oides you used to get Cid to hire you."
Keiss chuckled, "So, you're still going to not tell me? You haven't been this stubborn in a while… I kind of like it."
"Ugh," Layle rolled his shoulder and scooted over forcing Keiss to move his head.
"Alright, alright…" He sat up, "I did use that trick to get work form Cid. And it worked! It's always worked, and set me on the right track for where I wanted to be-" Keiss shook his head, "Not including recent complications."
"You always get what you want, don't you, Keiss?" Layle rolled back over to look at him and he could make out the Selkie smirking in the darkness. The profile of his face highlighted by the orange light form outside.
"Why yes, I do. But what can I say, from an early age, I was always taught that the world was my treasure chest, just waiting for me to claim its riches." Layle laughed at him and Keiss shook his head. "It's true…" The Selkie turned his body and pointed to the tattoo on the top of his left arm. It was one Layle had seen several times before, and even had received a tiny bit of info on from Nadeen. "See here," he pointed to the symbol on the bottom; it looked like the sun cut in half. "It's a horizon. Specifically it's meant to be the dawn. It means that, for me every day is an adventure, bigger and bolder than the last."
"…You certainly live that way." Layle pointed up tot eh center of the top half of his tattoo. To the top of the Selkie tribal symbol and the three colored dots in the center of it. "And what does that mean?"
Keiss eyed his arm, "…It means I'm set to inherit a burden."
"From the father you're not speaking too…" Layle slightly frowned.
"Yep, and when he dies," Keiss traced his finger under the sunrise on his arm, "I'm supposed to get a purple stripe right under here. The family trademark."
"A purple stripe?" Layle scrunched his nose at the idea. Something in the back of his mind nagged at him that a purple stripe was familiar in some way.
"But it's not important!" The Selkie threw his hands up in the air, "Because I'm not going to get it, and I am not taking over for that bastard." He nodded, "I'll just let them fight it out, and it should be amusing."
"You still haven't told me what you're not taking over." Keiss shook his head.
"That's not important either," The Selkie smiled, "So feeling like opening up now?"
The Clavat eyed smiled and pointed at Keiss, "No," he said flatly. His partner rolled his eyes. "But you can keep talking. What about that one on your back? What's it for?"
"My back?" Keiss looked to his side as he thought about the tattoo on his back. A long line of hexagonal panels form shoulder to shoulder with three colored the same red, yellow and purple as his inheritance mark.
"Well?"
Keiss sighed, "I hate that one, and actually…I got it when I was an idiot kid."
"But what is it?"
"…It's kind of a sea chart."
"Kind of?"
Keiss reached up into the air and started tracing shapes. "The Selkie symbol for a sea chart is hexagons. We usually graph charts in that manner. Colored squares on the charts mean different things. …Mine is…well it's a duplicate. I wanted it on my arms, but I got it when I was ten, and my arms just weren't the right size so I got it on my back…"
"When you were ten! What in the world for?"
"Because it's the symbol on a flag…" Keiss sighed, "It's a flag hanging in my father's room. His old pirate flag…" The Selkie smirked at his partner, "When I was a kid, there was nothing in the world I wanted more than to be just like him. The symbol on my back means I am a pirate captain of the ship Izmayel."
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The Crystal Rule