Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ Tanzer: The memorable sky monster! ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does. I just own this crazy plot!

 

“OH MY GOD, STEER LEFT, MAN!” Fuse screamed, as Blue pivoted out of the path of the large Trinity Building tower that poked into the sky, as he tried to get out of the city limits. So far, he'd managed to just get 500 feet off the ground before Fuse started yelling orders at him, and he wasn't doing so well with following them. As he kept his focus onto the sky, he saw another tower coming at him quickly and he swerved away just in time. Fuse fell back into his chair and threw his arms up frantically.

 

“Dear lord! Don't you know how to fly a plane!?” Fuse asked, “It's as though you want us to crash!” Blue rolled his eyes as he tilted the steering wheel upwards to get higher ground and to get a safe distance away from civilization before answering.

 

“First of all, I told you I didn't know how to fly ANYTHING! Second, I'm not the one screaming in the driver's ears, boss. If you leave me alone, I'll concentrate better,” Blue replied in a huff and gripped the wheel even tighter. Fuse seemed to consider what Blue was saying. Seemed to was an overstatement, though, as he said his next sentence.

 

“Now's not the time to point fingers, Blue,” Fuse lectured calmly, “We're in a bit of a crisis, and you blaming everyone for your crappy driving skills won't help.” Blue was thankful that he was wearing a pilot's helmet, for it hid the fact that he was twitching madly from Fuse's incorrect outburst, and from the fact that Fuse automatically thought he was right. But rather than try and conjure up an Energy Chain or a Psychic Prison to confine Fuse, Blue kept his energy on flying the plane and avoiding anything that would make him crash. For now, it was easy. They were safely out of the city limits and sailing through the vast, uninhabited world between Manhattan, and its closest neighboring continent, Shrike. Blue took a minute to take in the peacefully empty scenery, and found nothing but green grass and blurring puddles and lakes of spring water. It calmed him, if only for a minute, because within only a short minute, Fuse's shrill voice commanded another order.

 

“Okay, now you're gonna want to turn right,” Fuse said, and Blue's already psychotic-looking pupils grew even more, ready to blow something apart if looks could've killed. He breathed in deeply and turned to Fuse stiffly.

 

“Oh...really? Right, huh?” Blue asked through clenched teeth, “And tell me, boss. How do you know where to turn?” Fuse grinned a bit.

 

“It's called Officer's Intuition,” Fuse replied proudly, “Every officer in IRPO has it! It's what allows us to distinguish one blade of grass from another to ensure correct co-ordinates!” Unfortunately, whatever patience Blue had managed to hold onto from the airport just happened to disappear, and the magician snapped. He slammed on the brakes, not even caring when he heard Rouge being thrown into the wall from the other car. He took his helmet off and threw it on the floor.

 

“Intuition, huh? I call it the biggest load of garbage since the landfill dumping in '90,” Blue said, not realizing that his voice grew with every word spoken, “So far, your intuition landed us in an island far away from anywhere, through a sewer, and into a plane I can't drive! And how the hell can anyone distinguish GRASS!? It's everywhere! We're in the middle of nowhere, and you've only made it worse!” Fuse looked shocked at being scolded by a new officer, and when he was finally over the shock, what came next wasn't pretty, either.

 

“I'm trying to give you orders so we can get back on track! But is it MY fault you're not listening? No!” Fuse yelled back, and neither noticed that the plane was slowly moving forward, “It's YOURS! Now, either you listen to me and go right like I said, or you go overboard and catch Nomad in your own way, with your own transportation.” If Fuse expected Blue to be scared, it just wouldn't happen. Blue simply laughed.

 

“You're kidding, right? You'd really get rid of the only competent officer here because he won't go the way you want?” Blue asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement, “You're the worst boss I've ever worked for then.” The last part, he said without as much amusement. Fuse's frown deepened, and he leaned closer to Blue until their faces were just inches apart.

 

“Do I hear a hint of superiority in your voice, soldier?” he asked, in a dangerously low voice. Blue clenched his fists and kicked his chair over.

 

“That's it. You're on your own, Captain Stupid,” Blue said, walking towards the door and thrusting it open, “If you want to get us lost again, do it on your own. I'm going to go spend some time with my obviously more intelligent brother.” Blue said, and walked out of the pilot's room. Fuse blinked, and then rushed over to the door.

 

“You can't do that! I ordered you to fly the plane!” Fuse cried, looking down the car towards Blue, who was about to go into First Class, “Do you hear me!? Aren't you even paying attention!?” It was pretty obvious that Blue was ignoring Fuse, so Fuse punched the door and walked back to his seat, ignoring the fact that he'd punched the door off its hinges. Then he looked at Blue's empty seat. The brakes weren't on anymore, and as he looked up out the windshield, he saw that they were about to fly into a silo.

 

“SHIT!” Fuse screamed, and knocked over his own chair in haste to get to the steering wheel. As he flew the plane upwards, he roared, “YOU LEFT THE PLANE FLYING ON ITS OWN, BLUE!” But all he managed to hear was a slight snicker as he strapped on the cap Blue was wearing before.

 

Blue, meanwhile, walked out from the car and into where Rouge was sitting... or more lying in a heap from when Blue stopped the plane. The proud grin that was spread across Blue's face was replaced with a guilty half-smirk when he saw Rouge. He walked over and helped Rouge off the ground.

 

“Are you okay?” Blue asked, as Rouge shook his head to try and get rid of the dizziness he felt. When Rouge felt well enough to reply, he looked at his brother was his eyebrows furrowed in anger.

 

“No, I'm not,” Rouge replied sternly, “My head hurts and I'm pretty sure that wall gave me a concussion. Why the hell did you stop the plane, anyway!?” Blue wrinkled his nose, trying not to chuckle a little bit.

 

“Oh... sorry about that. Fuse just drove me a little off the deep edge,” Blue said, and sat down in a seat, “Anyway, did anything happen back here?” Rouge's eyes softened as he thought about it. The knock on the head made his memory of the past hour pretty fuzzy, but there wasn't anything that stood out.

 

“Nothing I can recall,” Rouge replied, confused, “But what did you want to happen? We're in the sky, and unless pirates suddenly find a way to sail on air, I think we're safe.” Blue looked out the window for a minute, watching the clouds jet by as he thought of what to say. Rouge did have a point, even if Blue was just trying to make conversation. Finally, Blue got up and walked to the door.

 

“Well, all right. I'm going to go out onto the back deck if you need me. I need to get away from Fuse before he orders me to do something stupid like jump off the plane,” Blue said, opening the back door onto a small deck, “If Fuse asks, tell him I'm... um... well, just make something up.” Rouge nodded, and watched Blue close the door. Then he looked out the window, at the clouds too. He watched in boredom as they glided past, sometimes reforming into different shapes if the plane managed to drive right through them.

 

“Well, this is boring...” Rouge mumbled to himself, “All of the food was smashed by the collision in the stupid wall, so I can't eat anything, and I managed to crash into my TV. There's nothing to do now!” Rouge flopped back in his seat, which reclined backwards so he could lay back. He lazily looked at the ceiling.

 

“I guess I could take a nap and pass the time,” Rouge said to himself, and then smiled, “But what's a nap without hot chocolate?” He clapped his hands, and sure enough, the coaster next to the windowsill opened up and a cup of hot chocolate appeared. Rouge took it by the handle and sipped it. He sighed happily as he enjoyed the taste of chocolate, until...

 

“HEY! What was that for, fool!?” Rouge spat his hot chocolate out and looked around frantically, expecting a burly cue ball to be behind him, but nothing was there. He blinked, and then shyly asked if anyone was there.

 

“Does it LOOK like someone's there, spiky?” the voice asked, and Rouge yelped, “Oh, look down, you big crybaby!” Rouge nervously looked down into his cup, and what he saw shocked him. There, a marshmallow stood on the rim of the glass, its tiny little arms resting on its square body. And it looked pretty upset too. Rouge put his cup down quickly and crawled behind a seat.

 

“Okay, that wall simply knocked me out and I'm having a weird dream... I'll just wake up soon!” Rouge whispered to himself. The marshmallow hopped onto the back of the seat.

 

“Dream!? You think I'm just a dream!?” the marshmallow yelled, standing on its marshmallow tiptoes, “Well, I'll show YOU a dream, you spiky-edged cream puff!” With that, the marshmallow began punching the air with its tiny arms, and Rouge didn't know whether to be amused or really freaked out. He cautiously leaned forward to have a better look at the marshmallow, and tilted his head. It was probably no bigger than his pinky, and as he picked it up with his thumb and forefinger, he began to wonder if he should really be afraid.

 

“Wow, you're awfully tiny for someone threatening to beat me up,” Rouge said, almost chuckling. This made the marshmallow even angrier, and it shook its fist.

 

“T-TINY!?” it roared, “You're the fool hiding behind a chair and you're calling ME tiny!? What can YOU do that's so grand!?” Rouge blinked as he thought of an answer, and grinned as one occurred to him. He lifted the marshmallow even higher over his head and opened his mouth. The marshmallow screamed, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?” And Rouge simply smirked.

 

“This,” was the only word that Rouge said before he dropped the marshmallow into his mouth and ate it, “Yum. Puffety goodness...” He stroked his stomach with satisfaction before getting off the ground and strutting proudly to his seat/cot. He laid on it and clapped his hands again, this time for a blanket, which seemed to appear out of nowhere.

 

“Now onto more important things. My nap,” Rouge said lazily, “After all, I can't catch Nomad without proper sleep, can I?” Rouge closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep, but a gurgling sound woke him again. He sat up and looked around the empty car. Nothing was around, save for himself and his mug of chocolate. Rouge shrugged and laid back down, but the gurgling noise came back. Rouge popped up and hugged his blanket.

 

“Blue? Is that you?” Rouge called, but got no reply, “Fuse? If this is a joke, it's not funny.” Suddenly, it became dark. Rouge cowered under the blanket as he heard a crash, and realized that the plane was no longer moving. He peeped out from under the blanket and tried to look out the window, but it was too dark to see anything other than a rather long green vine. He turned just in time to see Fuse rush out of the plane and talk to Blue. Rouge walked to the door to listen in.

 

“What happened!?” Blue asked, coming out from under a fallen pipe, “What did we crash into!?” Fuse seemed a bit hesitant before answering.

 

“You won't like this, but we've been swallowed by Tanzer,” Fuse replied, “I tried to get out of the vacuum he calls a mouth, but he got us.” Blue's eyes widened in shock, as did Rouge's. They had gotten the Vitality rune, so how did Tanzer manage to survive? He was supposedly destroyed when they escaped via the Cygnus. Blue sighed, and closed his eyes.

 

“So he still lives... this isn't good,” Blue said, grimly, “If Tanzer was corrupted at all after Rouge and I escaped with the Vitality Rune, who knows if there's even a way out anymore. On top of that, we've little time to catch Nomad before she leaves Facinaturu.” Fuse seemed just as concerned, and took out an old piece of paper. He handed it to Blue, but Rouge was too far away to see what it was. But the expression on Blue's face spelled uncertainty.

 

“This is an article from the Baccarat Times,” Fuse explained, “It was reported that three months after the Cygnus escaped, the people who were missing and were eaten by Tanzer began to return back to their homes, so there might possibly be a way. We'd better scout the area. Are you up to it?” Blue nodded.

 

“Yes,” he answered, “The makeshift town wasn't too far from here, if we crashed in the esophagus. So let's check there for some clues.” He walked forward until Fuse stopped him.

 

“What about Rouge?” Fuse asked, and what Blue said next made Rouge smile.

 

“Leave him in the plane,” Blue said, “He must've crashed into something inside, and I don't want to risk him getting dizzy during the hike. We'll come back in a few hours, though.” Fuse seemed to be agreeing, and Rouge watched them leave the plane and walk off into the darkness. Rouge decided to try and find the light switch. He didn't feel safe in the dark. He inched along the walls, feeling up and down for the plastic switch cover, and turned it on quickly when he finally found it. The lights switched on, but they were dim and flickered every few seconds, casting eerie shadows along the walls.

 

“Damn wiring... I knew this was going to be a bad idea...” Rouge mumbled, looking up at the lights and thinking that if he glared long enough at them, they'd stop flickering. But they didn't. Rouge cursed angrily and slumped into his seat.

 

“Fine. If you won't do what I say, I'll just watch TV!” Rouge snapped, and clapped his hands. The TV came out, but it was busted to pieces. The monitor hung off its hinges, and the antennae snapped off when Rouge touched it. As Rouge pulled his hand back, the entire TV fell off its support and crashed onto the floor, sending metal parts and pieces of glass everywhere.

 

“Oh yeah... I broke that, didn't I?” Rouge asked, smiling nervously, “I wonder if this'll come out of my paycheck.” Rouge looked at the broken TV again and backed away from it, somehow wondering if someone managed to see what he did. But he shrugged it off and looked around for something else to play with... or destroy. He spotted a remote on one of the other seats and grinned. Rushing over, he picked it up and pressed a button, and music blared from the speakers. The bass nearly threw Rouge back into the wall, and he turned it off.

 

“Whoa! No wonder this is an urgency plane! People wouldn't want to leave if this was a regular flight!” Rouge exclaimed, chucking the remote onto a seat.

 

“Hey! Who do you think is gonna clean this up!?” came a very snappy and bossy voice. Rouge screeched to a stop and turned around slowly. Like the marshmallow from his mug had turned to life, the mug itself was speaking now. Two eyes appeared over its rim, and it looked angry as it said, “Don't you have any respect!?” Rouge's eye twitched, unable to believe what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes, but the mug was still animated.

 

“Okay, this dream is getting really out of hand...” Rouge said, shivering, “Either that or my chocolate was infused with some heavy drugs.” The mug raised an eyebrow.

 

“Dream? This isn't a dream, boy,” it said, and hopped over to Rouge, “We're real, just like you.” Rouge looked down with wide eyes at the mug, and blinked. He couldn't believe that he wasn't dreaming.

 

“Well, uh... sorry. I'm not used to my beverages giving me attitude,” Rouge replied, picking the mug up and setting it on the snack cart. Suddenly, an apple tart popped up, and looked just as annoyed as the marshmallow was.

 

“HEY! Do you mind!? I'm trying to sleep here!” it shouted, making Rouge slump his shoulders in both confusion and slight fear.

 

“Okay, are you SURE this isn't a dream!? I don't think I cast a spell or anything, so why the hell are you all talking?” Rouge asked, clutching the blanket, and then screaming and throwing it down when it bit him. It hit the ground and started barking at him, as it crumpled up slightly to resemble a dog with its fur standing on end.

 

“Uh... down! Down, boy!” Rouge shouted, grabbing a magic wand from in a bag and waving it like a stick to calm the dog, “Heel! Sit! Settle down! OUCH!” Rouge dropped the wand as the dog bit his hand, and cursed. The dog continued to growl and bark, and Rouge whipped his head towards the mug and apple tart and shouted, “Can you help me here!?” The mug sighed and hopped towards the edge of the tray.

 

“SHUT UP!” it screamed, and the blanket dog whimpered and fled under a seat. Rouge sat down and ripped off a part of his sleeve to bandage his hand with. Although the dog was simply a blanket, it somehow managed to bite through Rouge's skin, so he thought to do something before it somehow became infected. He twisted the strip of cloth around his hand, but it wouldn't stay long enough for him to tie it together. The apple tart and the mug watched with interest.

 

“Need some help with that?” the tart asked, when Rouge screamed and threw the cloth on the floor. Rouge looked down and nodded grimly, so the tart flopped off the tray, landing near Rouge's foot. It picked up the bandage and hopped onto the seat next to Rouge, who held out his hand in delirious skepticism to let the pastry fix it up. The tart wrapped the bandage tightly around Rouge's hand and then looped it so it stayed in place. Rouge inspected the bandage carefully, and finally smiled.

 

“Thanks! I'm sorry I snapped at you guys earlier,” Rouge apologized, “But you really helped me out. I still don't know how you're able to move around and talk, though.” The mug looked outside, and pointed its handle towards the darkness.

 

“It's Tanzer,” the mug explained, “He has some very interesting abilities with the Vitality rune gone... eh!?” Suddenly, the mug fell off the tray, and Rouge just barely managed to catch it before the lights shut off completely. The plane shook violently, and a deep, loud roar emerged from within Tanzer, which pushed the plane back slightly. Rouge grabbed the blanket-dog from under the seat and hugged it. It whimpered softly and licked his ear as the apple tart jumped up next to him.

 

“Hang onto your pants!” the apple tart yelled over the howling, “Tanzer's got a stomach ache!” Rouge stiffened, as a horrible thought struck him.

 

“Blue!!” he screamed, rushing to the window, “My brother's still out there!” Fear rushed over Rouge as thoughts about Blue possibly not coming back formed. He remembered the giant slimes he had to fight, and he remembered the horrible monsters that still lived in Tanzer. And if Blue's battle skills were dulled in any way, he might not make it.

 

“Let's hope he's fast, then,” the mug said, “Because I think he has about two minutes before the stomach acid kicks in.” Rouge's already wide eyes grew wider, but in perfect timing, Blue burst through the door with Fuse right behind. Fuse practically dove into the second car, towards the pilot's room as Blue locked and bolted the heavy door. Rouge beamed and tackled Blue over.

 

“You're alright!! Oh, thank the goddess! I thought you'd die out there!” Rouge stated. Blue chuckled and pushed his twin off.

 

“I almost did, too. But we couldn't get too far. Tanzer's insides collapsed from the instability without the rune, so there's nowhere to go,” Blue explained, “But he's getting ready to spit us out. We must've caused a very deep chain reaction from all of the fuel we're using. Let's just hope Fuse gets a move on starting the ignition.” Rouge nodded, and set the tart and mug safely on the tray, though now they kept quiet, either from no longer being animated or from not wanting Blue to hear them. Blue walked towards where Fuse had gone, with Rouge behind him. Fuse sat at the controls, trying whatever he could to get the plane going. At first, the plane was pretty stubborn, but then it started slowly when Blue charged it up with an Energy Chain. It rumbled forward as the thrusters charged up. The blast of wind from Tanzer's stomach finally hit them and pushed them with enough force for the thrusters to come on with full power. Tanzer's mouth opened up and they flew out, along with a huge stream of acid that Tanzer had thrown up. Fuse steered clear of the path, and sharply turned right, evening out his speed a few miles later. He turned towards the two.

 

“We're out and safe,” he said, and added, “But we need to make a pit stop. The right wing is completely destroyed, and the engine's not going to hold all the way to Facinaturu. Thankfully, Devin's not too far away, so just go and relax until we get there.” Rouge's ears perked up as he heard this.

 

“Cool! I'm gonna go find a decent-working TV! Come on, Blue!” Rouge exclaimed, but Blue didn't move.

 

“I'm going to stay here and help Fuse commandeer the ship,” Blue replied, “You have fun, Rouge.” Rouge shrugged.

 

“Whatever,” he said, and walked into the passenger car. For now, he got to relax, and nothing was going to stop that... unless Fuse managed to crash again.

 

“But what's the chance of that happening?”

 

------------------------------(What IS the chance of Fuse crashing again?)

 

Well, at least our heroes didn't spend too long in Tanzer! Good thing, too, because who knows where Nomad is now? Will she still be in Facinaturu when our favorite police cops get there? Will Fuse crash again? Will Devin have a parts shop to fix the plane? Find out these questions in the next chapter, so click that Review button!