Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ Deadly mist, and the Deadly Light ( Chapter 10 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier or Final Fantasy. Squaresoft does, and we all love them for it, too.

 

The Cygnus sailed swiftly through the sky, looping and swerving oddly as Red was elected to steer it first. Rouge kept a lookout in case they reached the Manhattan border, and Blue was busy supplying the furnace with enough coal to pull them through. He barely had time to look over his shoulder and see out the window as he shoveled coal in before he had to heave the shovel into the pile and repeat the process again. He was glad he had taken Lion's training courses, as it strengthened his muscles enough to throw hundreds of pounds of coal. Finally, when it came time for Rouge to steer, Blue managed to snag a break.

 

“So, how long do we have until we get there?” Blue asked, wiping sweat and ash off of his forehead with an oily handkerchief. Red handed Rouge the map, and sat on the windowsill, looking out attentively. Rouge launched the plane again, and they whirled past a field of Devon's Lillies.

 

“We should be there in about two hours,” Red stated, passing Blue a soda, “We just passed Devon about ten minutes ago, and we're headed into Shrike.” Blue felt this was well and good for now, because it'd give them some time to plan ahead.

 

“How much coal do we need to use?” Blue asked, shoveling another scoop in. Red craned his head around to take a look, and nodded.

 

“That's more than enough,” he replied, and Blue threw the shovel down and joined him, “So, what's up?” Blue took the facemask he had to wear off, and whistled.

 

“Well, I'm just wondering what we have to do once we actually get inside the building,” Blue said, undoing his ponytail and letting his hair fall free, “Who exactly are we aiming to take down?” Red tilted his head and stroked his chin, which Blue took to mean that he didn't know. But when Red snapped his fingers, Blue became hopeful.

 

“Her name is Anita Campbell,” Red explained, smirking, “I've only seen her once, but she's the one who owns the company. She also manages all of the activity of cargo she receives. If anyone knows what's going on, she would.” Blue was about to speak, but Rouge beat him to it. He'd been listening while steering, which he was quite proud of, from the tone in his voice.

 

“So we're skipping from the little minnows right to the big fish! Awesome!” Rouge exclaimed, turning the wheel, “So how should we kill her? Fire?” Both Blue and Red gave Rouge looks that stated they felt he was being a moron, which he promptly ignored. Red decided that explaining their protest was better.

 

“Rouge, it's not that simple. She's the boss. She's going to have bodyguards,” Red tried to explain, “She might even know we're coming. We were supposed to be in Manhattan nearly an hour ago. I'm sure she's wondering why we're so late.” Blue looked out the window as Red and Rouge continued to talk about possible ways to stop Anita. Something about heading to Manhattan discomforted him more and more, and the closer they were getting, the worse this feeling became. For a while, he kept silent, staring intently on the sky, watching as the blue sky turned to slight pink, and then gave way to a dark, almost inky navy blue. He knew Manhattan was ahead.

 

“Blue, are you okay?” he heard Rouge ask, but his voice seemed so far away as Blue kept his focus, “Blue, you missed your shift. Blue? Blue!” Blue blinked, and realized that Rouge really was asking him something. He also noticed he'd felt weak and lightheaded.

 

“Huh? Did you just ask me something, Rouge?” Blue asked innocently. Rouge perked a concerned eyebrow, and nodded slowly, indicating his worry.

 

“Yeah, I asked if you were okay,” Rouge replied quietly, “You missed your shift.”

 

“What's outside that's gotten your attention?” Red added, holding the wheel steady. Rouge walked over to the window, and Blue pressed something so Red would be able to see through as well. Gasps filled the room as the two looked onward at the ominous sky that seemed to reign only on the city of Manhattan. Red couldn't tear his eyes away, but Rouge was able to keep himself under control. But what scared Rouge wasn't the sky; it was the magical pull he felt from it. He turned to Blue.

 

“This doesn't feel normal,” Rouge stated grimly, frowning deeply, “Think it's a spell?”

 

“It's a very powerful magic, but it has to be more than a spell,” Blue replied, just as worried, “But look. See how it's covering the entire city? Whoever's doing this can't possibly be a human.” Red, who'd been lulled into a trance from it, snapped away and clapped his fists together.

 

“I bet it has something to do with CIC, though. I just have this bad feeling,” Red added, a look of determined anger setting onto his face, “Should I morph into Alkaiser and take a look around?” Blue shook his head, and gestured for Red to start landing as they spoke.

 

“No. We can't risk you being spotted,” Blue answered quickly, “Here, take this. The air's becoming really thick with magic.” Blue reached into his pocket, and took out a small blue collar with a bell on it. The bell was made of some type of crystal, and shone with many different colors. Red looked at it as Blue placed the collar in his hands. Red picked it up by one end and arched a confused eyebrow.

 

“What is it?” he asked, poking the small bell. It made a tiny chime.

 

“It's a Nullifier,” Rouge explained, though he seemed very taken aback by seeing the bell, “It protects someone from harmful effects of magical energies and traces that are in the air. Usually you only need to wear them in the Magic Kingdom, that's why they're so rare. Blue, where did you get it?” Blue gave a half smile as Red fastened the collar on, and rung the little bell a few times like a little kitten would.

 

“The masters of the kingdom gave it to me,” Blue replied shyly, “For when I would go into the Mystic realms. Usually, those are the only other places where you'd need the bell, and no one except Mystics are allowed there anyway.” Rouge blinked as another thought came to him. What if whoever was causing this weird air was a Mystic? He was about to ask, except Red beat him to it. But Blue shook his head.

 

“No, it's not a Mystic,” Blue said, almost bitterly, “I wish it were, but it's something much different. Very deadly, but I can't put my finger on it.”

 

“It doesn't matter. We'll probably end up running into it at some point in there,” Red concluded, as the plane made a soft landing just outside the city, “Let's just see if it's affecting anyone in town. We need to stop Anita first, or at least interrogate her. Then we'll deal with the hocus pocus later.” Neither Blue nor Rouge liked that, but they both nodded anyway. As the plane came to a full stop, all three men ran up to the entrance level. The door opened slowly, but was pushed the rest of the way as they rushed to jump out. When Blue landed, he nearly choked. The air was very heavy, and very stale. And, from what he remembered of being here on his last mission, it wasn't like that at all.

 

“Rouge… something's… definitely here,” Blue coughed out, gasping for breath. Rouge nodded, but conserved his strength. Red clenched his fists. Even with the bell, it was hard for him to breathe. None of them could imagine how anyone was faring inside the city, or who could possibly have such a power. But they shoved those thoughts into the corners of their minds as they plowed through the tampered air, their current worry on breathing, and if their breath could last in such a heavy state. But somehow, they managed as they crossed through the city limits. Inside the city, however, they soon got their answers to their previous thoughts as people slugged about, trying to go on with their normal lives. Everyone looked pale, and they seemed to be very sick. No one spoke, except for one old man who coughed continuously. Rouge edged away with uncertainty.

 

“Blue, this is insane! Everyone's sick!” Rouge whispered, as they continued down the street, keeping away from anyone who was hacking, “What kind of magic is this? It can't be anything WE'VE learned, can it?” Blue looked away, not wanting to tell Rouge he had no idea. That'd only scare his twin, which would make their job even harder. Instead, he provided an observation.

 

“It's nothing I've seen, that's all I can confirm,” Blue replied, as they turned a corner just before the steps to a Trinity parking lot, “There are rumors of other types of magic, but no one's been able to recall what their properties were. But this seems like an epidemic rather than an actual spell. I've never heard of a spell that creates this effect at such a magnitude.” Rouge didn't seem relieved at Blue's insight, but Blue was expecting that. Rouge kept silent, having nothing more to say, but Red spoke up, his brows furrowed in concentration. Obviously, something formed in his mind.

 

“An epidemic? You mean, like something being spread out from a hospital, like Sars?” Red asked, “But how can that happen? Doctors here are pretty strict, the only way something this bad could happen is with a failure in their… equipment…” Blue raised a steady brow as a series of curses erupted from Red's mouth, causing the few pedestrians that weren't busy getting sick to stare at them. Rouge looked around frantically at the crowd, and then snapped right back to Red.

 

“What is it? What did I miss here?” he asked, exasperated. Blue nodded towards Red, who practically screamed out his answer in fury.

 

“CIC is behind this little crapfest, too!” Red shouted angrily, as the pedestrians decided it best to just ignore his outbursts, “They make all of the medical equipment for the hospitals, so they're the reason that everyone's coughing so much, at least.” Blue sniffed the air for a minute, and shook his head in contradiction.

 

“That doesn't explain the air, though,” Blue stated, but Red was prepared for a defense.

 

“Doesn't matter. Either way, we're taking down CIC right now,” Red replied quickly, “CIC is the biggest building here. We'll have a great vantage point from the rooftop, so even if they aren't responsible, we can still see the entire town from there. You and Rouge know how to sniff out magic, right?” Blue and Rouge both glanced at each other, then nodded nervously.

 

“You're thinking we should try and pinpoint our little wizard from that high up?” Rouge asked, and then looked back at Blue, “Will that work?”

 

“It's a long shot, but you should be able to, Rouge,” Blue replied confidently, “My senses were dulled when I fought the Time Lord, but yours are still pretty sharp. Are you up to it?” Rouge nodded vigorously.

 

“I'm up for anything that requires my special expertise!” Rouge exclaimed confidently, “Onto CIC!” Red arched an eyebrow at Blue as Rouge marched proudly toward the building that seemed to be miles away, but Blue just laughed, shook his head, and urged Red to follow him. They both knew that once Rouge got himself worked up, stopping him was nearly impossible.

 

Before Rouge even knew what he was actually doing, he found himself running towards the CIC building, his heart racing. What he thought was excitement was actually fear and confusion, but he knew that plowing the streets at what seemed like 95 miles per hour wouldn't help. Closing his eyes, Rouge forced himself to slow, and then eventually he stopped running altogether. Which was a good thing, too. Blue and Red were nothing more than dots as Rouge turned around to see if they were following him. That gave him some time to stop and think about what he was actually afraid of. It wasn't the building, and he was pretty sure it wasn't Anita, either.

 

“It's this air,” Rouge whispered, as he looked around, “It's giving off this really weird vibration… aside from sickness.” Rouge saw that the closer he became to the building, the darker it had gotten, and proved it when he ran back a few feet and the darkness lessened considerably. Now he was convinced that whatever was going on had everything to do with CIC. Hopefully, Blue would feel the same. Deciding it best not to advance until he had help, Rouge simply waited and caught what little breath he could in the stagnate air. Blue caught up only a few minutes later, joined by a very tired-out Red.

 

“You were waiting for us?” Blue asked with mild interest, “You were so worked up, I'd have thought you'd be flushing the guards out by now.” Rouge's expression turned grim, and he shook his head.

 

“I'm trying not to be that reckless,” Rouge replied darkly, “I think this air might jam our magic, bro. The closer we get, the harder it is to track that trace of magic we felt out there. That only means one thing. Once we're in CIC, we can kiss our magic goodbye.” Blue's brows furrowed and he snapped his fingers sharply. Obviously, he didn't like not having magic. Rouge didn't blame him, since it was always like a security blanket for them. Any time they had problems, they resorted to magic.

 

“I don't like this,” Blue said ominously, “Our chances are being cut in half at every turn.” Rouge sympathetically patted Blue on the back, but Red laughed. Blue shot him an icy glare, and Rouge's look implied an inquire. Red stopped laughing and pointed to a small button on his shoulder.

 

“Guys, don't worry about the fighting. I have it all taken care of,” Red stated confidently, but when neither Blue nor Rouge got it, he added, “I can transform into Alkaiser. He can take care of whatever crap gets in our way, whether it's a guard or an army of zombies.” Blue seemed pretty reluctant to accept that as valuable help, since technically Alkaiser was still Red, but Rouge's frown turned into a smile that became three miles wide. He gave Red a high five, and the two started to jump around frantically.

 

“All right! We're going to totally kick ass now!” Rouge exclaimed, and together, he and Red did a victory pose, “I feel just like Auron after he won the Golden Sword award. FIVE TIMES!” Blue watched hopelessly as his two comrades shouted ridiculous phrases and named far gone heroes from back in the 90's. Then something flying off of Red's shoulder caught his eye. It was the button to summon Alkaiser, and it landed softly on the ground. Blue's eyes widened and he immediately did the best thing he could.

 

“Red, stop! The button!” Blue cried, but Red and Rouge continued to dance around.

 

“What, Blue? You have to speak up!” Rouge called, “We can't hear you!” Blue slapped his forehead and sighed.

 

“THE BUTTON!” Blue screamed at the top of his lungs, “It's…” But Blue was too late. Just as he was about to say “under your foot,” Rouge stomped on it and crushed it to tiny pieces. Thankfully, the crunch finally caught their attention. Red pushed Rouge aside and picked up what was left of his prized button.

 

“My button!” he cried, and started to sob, “My precious super-hero button! It's RUINED!” Rouge looked at it and his eyes watered up too.

 

“Rest in peace, Alkaiser. I didn't get to meet you, but you're still awesome,” Rouge said, and then glared at Blue, “Why didn't you tell us we were about to step on it!?” Blue blinked and stared at his brother in disbelief.

 

“What!? Yes I did! I screamed at you both!” Blue yelled back, throwing his hands up, “It's not MY fault you two are louder than a train wreck on Friday night!” Rouge sniffed a bit, and helped Red up, who proceeded to collect the tiny plastic fragments.

 

“Now, now, bro. Let's not go pointing fingers,” Rouge scolded, “Red lost someone very important because you didn't yell loud enough. Now, show some respect and help us find the rest of the button.” Blue's eye twitched angrily, and for a minute he was sure he'd lose his temper. But Red wiped his nosed and smiled proudly.

 

“Nah, it's cool, Rouge,” Red said, looking up at the sky, eyes watering proudly, “Alkaiser would want to go out honorably! He wouldn't hold this against Blue!” Rouge smiled, but Blue continued to stare in disbelief.

 

“Uh, Red? I hate to break it to you, but smashing your hero button isn't exactly honorable,” Blue stated, arching an eyebrow, “And neither is blaming me, because it's not my fault. Alkaiser knows this, so I guess it doesn't matter whether you do or not.” The other two watched as Blue continued to walk towards the CIC building, flicking his hair back majestically. Then Rouge turned to Red and snuffed.

 

“How can he know what Alkaiser knows?” Rouge asked sarcastically. Red looked up at the sky again, and for a split second, the sun shone through perfectly before slipping through the thick fog only a second later.

 

“Somehow, he can sense Alkaiser's very thoughts and intentions,” Red said absentmindedly, and Rouge took that as a cue to get the hell out of the fog as he then grabbed Red and dragged him off to follow Blue as quickly as possible. Thankfully, Blue wasn't too far ahead. He had stopped at the gates into the CIC building and was listening intently to something Rouge couldn't see. Rouge walked over and set Red down.

 

“Blue, what's going on? Why aren't we going in?” Rouge asked in a harsh whisper, as he poked his head over the gate. Two guards stood there, but they were unarmed. Blue turned to Rouge and handed him a nametag.

 

“We need to get some fake IDs,” Blue whispered back, “That's Red's. But we don't have any. Plus, we might be recognized if we're unlucky, so we might want a disguise. But the problem is that all the stores are closed. How can we get anything we need?” Rouge looked down, trying to think of a solution. He looked at Red, who seemed to finally realize just what happened and was very upset about his button. Red wasn't going to help much right now. Rouge then looked at the guards, and saw that they weren't exactly unarmed. Like Fuse, they had blasters on them. Blue had every right to be worried.

 

“Should we try to take them on?” Rouge asked, raising an innocent eyebrow. Blue's face dropped in dismay, and he shook his head.

 

“No. They're armed and we're lucky if our guns work in this mist,” Blue answered grimly, “We could try to break through with a car, but that'd be worse in the long run. And the sewers aren't even an option. They're probably choking with this… disease of a mist.” Rouge nodded in silent agreement. They were definitely running out of options, and not even Fuse was around to help them. But then another thought occurred to him.

 

“What if we summon Orlouge? He said he would help us,” Rouge suggested. At first, Blue seemed to like that idea, but obviously something came that changed his mind, because he also shook his head at that one.

 

“The fog jams up magic, and magic is basically the Mystics' life force. Any of them would die in here,” Blue replied, and grunted, “I think Anita knew we'd be coming. Why can't this ever be easy?” Just as Blue slammed his fists onto the gates, the entrance door opened, and a janitor walked out with a doctor. Both of them had name tags and uniforms, and both of them were too absorbed in the use of chemicals as they walked right past the guards. Rouge grinned, and nudged Blue.

 

“I think this just got a little easier,” he said mischievously, and stalked closer to the gate. Blue blinked, and then turned away, thinking it best not to know exactly what Rouge just meant. He had his answer as soon as he heard cries of “Oh god, why!?” and “My spleen! My spleen!!!” followed by a swear and two thuds. Blue rushed over and saw the doctor and janitor on the ground, in their underwear, with Rouge holding their uniforms in his hand. Blue's mouth dropped open, unable to figure out which sight shocked him more. Finally, he found one question his mouth could form.

 

“What the hell did you do!?” he asked, or rather, screamed. Rouge smiled and held the uniforms up a little higher.

 

“I got us our IDs,” he said brightly, and threw Blue the janitor uniform, “Now put this on, we have a date with Anita.” Blue sighed as Rouge slipped on the lab coat, but he knew they had to keep moving. He put on the uniform over his own police outfit, and together they walked towards the entrance.

 

“What about Red?” Blue whispered, looking over his shoulder. Red was still sitting, trying to repair his button. Rouge shrugged.

 

“He'll meet us when he fixes Alkaiser,” Rouge replied, “Anyway, the guards are looking right at us. I think they're suspicious.” Blue turned, and saw Rouge was right. One guard stopped them abruptly and took out a scanner.

 

“Halt,” he said, “State your name.” Blue looked at his name tag and aimed to answer before Rouge could make it worse.

 

“Dr. Nusakan,” Blue repeated, “I'm here about the injection of rune powder.”

 

“I'm his assistant! Er… Bob. Bob Robertson,” Rouge lied, mainly because he couldn't read his tag upside down. The other guard lifted his visor and arched a perplexed eyebrow.

 

“It says your name is Elmo,” the guard stated blandly. Rouge blinked as Blue nudged him, and then chuckled.

 

“No, I'm Bob. I'm just borrowing this until my uniform comes back from the cleaners,” Rouge lied. Blue shut his eyes, praying the guards believed them. The guards glanced at one another, then whispered something. Finally, they stepped aside.

 

“All right, you can go through,” one guard said sternly, “Just be careful. Remember, there's radioactive metal all over.” Blue nodded quickly and dragged Rouge inside. If anything, the guard just gave them a vital clue. But before Blue could relay it, the sheer brilliance of the radiating lights caught his attention, as did Rouge's.

 

“It's pretty,” was all Rouge could say to describe the color. Blue blinked, but couldn't tear his eyes away.

 

“This looks pretty dangerous,” Blue whispered, “It must be all over the building…” But even knowing the dangers, Blue couldn't move. It was as though the radiation was locking him in place, dazzling him with the soft, green light. For now, all they could do was stare into the amazing light.

 

-----------------------------(End chapter)

 

Uh oh, this doesn't look good. Blue and Rouge may have half-solved the mystery, but now they're trapped in the CIC building, with guards and dangerous chemicals swarming all over. Can they manage to break through the hypnotic effects of the light before Anita arrives, or are they sitting ducks? And will Red fix his button before that happens? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!