How Could This Happen?

My take on the beginning of Final Fantasy XII.

And a pairing, dammit!! ReksOC

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this fic. Nothing at all. I’m just rearranging the events.

Reks panted as he ran through the fortress. Basch and the others had gone ahead, so he was left to fend for himself. He stopped as he reached the door to where His Royal Majesty was, and where Basch was waiting too. He slowly opened the door as saw his fellow soldiers dead and the King being assassinated by…Captain Basch? No, it couldn’t be!

“Captain!!” Reks yelled. Basch looked back, blood on his face, and a blade in His Majesty’s side.

“What do we have here?” Basch said, approaching the youth.

“Captain, what have you done?” Reks said, backing out of the room. Basch continued to approach.

“His Majesty was a traitor. He was going to sell Dalmasca to the Empire anyway.” Basch explained. Reks couldn’t believe it. No, he couldn’t have! Basch was not like that, was he?

Another Basch broke from his captor’s grasp.

“Reks! Don’t listen to him! It’s a trap!” the other Basch yelled as he exited the room. “Don’t let him escape! He’ll blow our cover!” one of the guards said. Reks’s eyes widened in shock, two Baschs? Both Baschs stared at each other.

“Why, if it isn’t my dear brother. Come to help the boy?” One of them said. The other stared angrily.

“Reks, get out of here. You still have your little brother to protect, don’t you?” he said to the scared boy. Reks remembered and nodded. Reks started to run The ‘Basch’ who was closest to Reks, didn’t let him escape that easily.

“Oh no you don’t! There are to be no witnesses!” ‘Basch’ said as he stabbed Reks through the back. Reks winced and continued his escape.

“Don’t let him escape!” ‘Basch’ yelled to the Imperial soldiers. They followed Reks out, but they lost sight of him.

“It seems you’ve lost your touch, Noah. But that boy was the witness Dalmasca needs to know you assassinated our king.” Basch said to the other. Noah scoffed.

“Just you wait Basch. When word gets out, you’ll be the one in chains. No one will believe that there are two of you.” Noah said as he left with the remaining Imperial guards, or so Basch thought. Vayne had walked in at that time, and seized the Dalmascan Captain, and ordered he be put on trial.

Reks panted, he was tired and injured. His Cure spells managed to keep the bleeding back but, he needed more help than that.

Am I, going to die here? He thought over and over again. No, he had to survive. He has Vaan to take care of. He couldn’t be left in this world all alone! He forced himself up from his sitting position. He was in a lot of pain but he couldn’t allow it to drag him down.

“I wonder….if anyone…will believe me….about two…Baschs.” Reks said to himself as he staggered back home.

He didn’t make it far, before his wounds opened up again. The pain was great, almost too much for him to bear. He had gotten the blade out back in the fortress.

“You gods…really hate me…don’t you?” he spat out as he continued walking through the Estersand. He was almost at the Outpost now, almost home to Rabanastre. A local to the Outpost saw Reks and the blood trail behind him.

“Sir, are you okay?” she asked. Dumb question, he was bleeding really badly. “Hold on, I’ll get help.” Reks watched her head back to the outpost and come back with two older men. He dropped to his knees, and blacked out.

He blinked his eyes open. Where was he? He looked around and saw his armor and blade. He sat up and looked around more. It was a small room. One or two beds, a kitchen area and what looked like a bookshelf.

“Oh! You’re awake! Thank goodness.” The girl’s voice said. She was dressed in light clothing and had tanned skin, just like himself and his brother. It was her long, silky black hair that caught Reks’s attention. “Are you feeling alright? Your wounds weren’t that bad but, they could have been deadly if not treated soon.” Reks nodded. He was feeling a lot better now. Two older men entered the small hut.

“Amelia, how’s our guest doing?” one of them said. Amelia stood up.

“He’s doing okay now Ryu. I told you he was going to make it.” Amelia told the man. The other man nodded. Reks thought they must have been her brother or her father. Ryu and the other man left the hut, leaving Amelia and Reks alone.

“Sorry about that. They thought you were going to die and that it was useless to try and heal you. But I showed them wrong. I’m Amelia, what’s your name?” Amelia asked, rambling at the same time. Reks sighed.

“I’m Reks.” He said, short and simple.

“Did you come from Nalbina?” She asked, “I mean, like you fought in the war?” Reks nodded again. How long was he out?

“I see. I heard Captain Basch was going to be put to his death for killing the king. Were you a part of it?” she asked, tears forming in her eyes. She must have believed Basch, before he was labeled a traitor.

“No, I wasn’t a part of his plot. I didn’t even know he was going to kill the king.” Reks said, averting his eyes from her face. But wait, there were two Baschs. No, she wouldn’t believe him. Amelia beamed. She was happy to hear that. There was an odd moment of silence.

“That’s good. Were you heading home by any chance?” she asked. Reks thought she was annoying but her smile calmed him down for some reason.

“Yeah. I wanted to let my little brother know I was okay.” Reks said, looking at his feet. “We had already lost our parents 3 years ago. He didn’t need to lose me too.” Amelia seemed shocked to hear that. She felt bad now, even though she didn’t need to. She seemed sad now as well. She was keeping him away from his only family but, he was wounded.

“So, that means you’ll be leaving soon, huh?” she asked. Reks nodded slowly. “Can you at least stay, until my father and brother come home from Nalbina?” Reks’s eyes widened. What did she just say? But then, who were those other two?

“Wait a second, if your father and brother were in Nalbina, then who were those other two?” Reks was shocked, so he had to ask.

“Ryu and Marcel? They were my father’s friends. They were taking care of me until my family came home.” Amelia explained. That explained everything.

“I see. Unfortunately, I believe I was the only one who made it out of there alive.” Reks said gravely. He really didn’t want to make her even sadder but, he had to tell her that her father and brother were now possibly dead. He saw Amelia’s face turn into pure horror.

“No, it can’t be. They can’t be dead, they just can’t be.” Amelia said, tears falling down her face. Reks felt guilty now. He had to do something.

“Amelia, just know that your father and brother died protecting you and their country. They died with honor and with no regrets.” Reks tried to comfort her but, she was still crying. His body acted on its own accord and he held her in his arms, a gentle and comforting embrace.

“It’s okay. I’ll help you through this, and so will Ryu and Marcel. Right?” he said softly. He felt her nod. He didn’t feel as guilty anymore but, he hoped Vaan wasn’t too worried.

Vaan watched as the Imperials marched in. That meant Dalmasca was property of the Empire. He pouted. Where in hell was Reks? Penelo grabbed his arm.

“Earth to Vaan!” she yelled in his ear. Vaan grabbed his ear with his hand.

“That hurt Penelo!” he yelled back. “What’d you do that for?”

Penelo giggled. She heard a commotion and dragged Vaan with her. Almost all of Rabanastre was gathered. It’s been 3 days since the battle in Nalbina ended, and Reks didn’t come home, but neither did his dead corpse. Basch fon Ronsenburg was on trial in front of all Rabanastre.

“Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg, we sentence you to death for high treason and the assassination of His Royal Highness, King Raminas.” The judge said. Basch lowered his head. Noah was right. He was going to be blamed. “Send him to Nalbina dungeons to await his execution!” Basch was roughly forced to walk and a series of scornful stares was sent his way. No one but Reks knew the truth, and he was no where to be found.

A day later, Reks was training against some wolves with Amelia sometime later in the day. He was lucky to have a skilled White Mage with him. Another wolf was taken out. Reks gave Amelia the thumbs up. All around them were vanquished. Amelia smiled. She had gotten to know the boy in a short 3 days but, she knew he’d have to go home soon. So, it wasn’t exactly the best days of her life.

“Hey Amelia. Maybe, after I go home, you could come visit me or I’d come out here to visit you. Whatcha think? Or you could just come and live with me and my little brother in Lowtown.” Reks offered. Amelia shook her head.

“Maybe visits but I can’t leave the Outpost. Too many people would need me to heal them.” Amelia said, sending a Cure spell Reks’s way. Reks smiled. He was happy with the desert’s Mage, and he knew she was too. He walked her way and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

“Works for me. I hope you’ll visit soon then.” Reks said as he started back toward the Outpost, to get ready to head home. Amelia stood there, shocked and blushing. The wind picked up and blew her black hair to the side. She placed her staff on her back and ran after Reks, hugging him from the back.

“I hope you’ll come back and visit me too.” She said, smiling. Reks smiled and stared to the sky.

“That’s a promise.” He said as she let go. Both headed back to the outpost, said their goodbyes and Reks was off, back toward Rabanastre. He smiled and waved and Amelia waved back.

The trek wasn’t that hard after this morning’s training, not to mention that he knew to leave the Saurian alone. He slipped by, unnoticed until he kicked a rock. The wolves nearby charged at him but they were felled easily. Reks sighed. These guys were too easy but he wasn’t stupid enough to head for the South Bank. He made it to Rabanastre quickly and he saw Vaan, sleeping at the gate.

“Hey Vaan, wake up.” Reks whispered in his brother’s ear. Vaan’s eyes blinked open and saw Reks smiling face. Vaan beamed and hugged his brother, knocking them both to the ground.

“Nice to see you to, Vaan.” Reks said as he pushed his brother off of him and stood up.

“Where have you been Reks? It’s been 4 days and you were gone so long!” Vaan said, pouting. Reks chuckled as patted his brother in the head.

“I’ll tell you when we get home. You wouldn’t believe what happened.” Reks said with a slight chuckle in his voice. Vaan had that look on his face that screamed, Sure I will. Reks shook his head and he and Vaan entered the city and headed for the nearest entrance to Lowtown.

Author’s Note: Alright this wasn’t supposed to happen. It was not supposed to be a pairing fic!!! But it ended up as one. Nuuuu!!! Oh well. It was just a random thought. And Amelia wasn’t really supposed to appear THAT long but, she did. Maybe I’ll write a sequel to this later…depends if I get good reviews. Review dammit!! Thanks for reading another of my lame pairing fics. My sister proofread it so I know there’s no trouble now.

My sister also came up with the title and I’m confused on why she chose that but, I’ll deal with it. Maybe the sequel story will make better sense, if you send in good reviews and maybe ideas. My brain’s dead!!!!!