Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ Second Mission: Closed and Complete ( Chapter 15 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does.

 

“Where the hell are we going!?” Rouge could hear a voice far below him as he sailed through the countryside, trying to keep Blue from falling into the grassy abyss below. He recognized the voice, he knew, but he couldn't place who it was. His mind was still swimming from the explosion. They'd definitely destroyed the bomb, but did they do it correctly? Part of him wondered if Manhattan was all right. The disease hadn't dissipated when they'd flown straight through, and he couldn't be sure if the clones had died, either. And as he looked down, he became steadily aware that they were coming closer and closer to the ground. Two screams erupted below, and now Rouge knew that Red and Fuse had landed. Any minute, he'd be doing the same. He closed his eyes, looking for any spell that could slow their fall. He'd found just one, but it was too late. He felt the impact of his fall in the next instance, and soon found that he couldn't open his eyes.

 

What felt like hours later, Rouge had finally woken up, and was scrabbling to get to his feet. He opened his eyes wide, looking at his new surroundings. He saw that they'd landed in very soft grass, and that trees dotted the plains here and there. Patches of heather grew in sporadic formations, and he felt the ground was soft. It must've rained recently, as he could also smell fresh earth. To his right, he could see Blue lying on the ground. His eyes were shut, but he looked relatively unharmed. Rouge crawled over to him.

 

“Blue, are you all right?” he asked, shaking Blue gently to try and wake him up, “Come on, buddy. You have to get up!” Blue stirred, and Rouge heard him mumble something. Rouge kept encouraging him to wake up, and finally Blue opened his eyes.

 

“Where are we?” he croaked, his voice dry from the heat of the explosion, “Rouge, what happened?” Rouge could hear that he was alarmed, and somehow, it frightened Rouge. He shook his head gently, trying to answer his frantic twin.

 

“Blue, it's all right. We're out of Manhattan,” Rouge said comfortingly, “We destroyed the machine, I think.” Blue nodded slowly, at first unable to really recollect the past day or so. That again worried Rouge, who wondered if Blue might have suffered any permanent brain damage. But when Blue spoke again, Rouge knew he was slowly coming back.

 

“Oh Goddess, the bomb!” Blue exclaimed, sitting up quickly, “Rouge, did we destroy the clones? And the crystal!? Please, tell me we did!” Rouge jumped back, surprised by the tone of urgency in Blue, and regretting that he couldn't answer. He didn't see anything inside that suite, had no way of knowing for sure. Blue looked at him for a long moment, panic sprouting in those eyes.

 

“Blue, I don't know,” Rouge finally said calmly, but firmly, “I dragged us out before the explosion could kill us. I'm sure they're all dead and the crystal's destroyed, but I don't know.” Blue blinked, slowly taking Rouge's answer in. Then he looked down at his own hands. They were bruised, no doubt from crashing through a window, but Blue didn't remember leaving the building. The last thing he remembered was Rouge slamming the machine, trying to blow it to pieces, and then his mind seemed to slow down from there, as though he might have begun passing out during the end.

 

“We have to go back,” Blue said sternly, and Rouge looked at him like he might've been crazy. Rouge shook his head quickly.

 

“We're not going back there, bro,” Rouge replied, just as stern, “You're in no condition to be going into what might be a pile of smoldering ash. We need to get you to a doctor.”

 

“There's a clinic in Manhattan,” Blue said simply. Rouge raised an eyebrow and put a hand on his hip.

 

“Uh, Blue? You know who ran said clinic, right?” Rouge asked, and for a minute, Blue had to think carefully for the answer. But when it came, he just started laughing. Anita had run the clinic, and there was no doubt that it'd been destroyed in the fire.

 

“Oh, right…” Blue said quietly, amused with himself, “Well, I want to know that everyone will be all right.” Rouge rolled his eyes, unable to believe how careless Blue was being. But he also understood how Blue felt. He also wanted to make sure someone had survived. But that had to wait.

 

“Let's at least rest before we start heading back,” Rouge suggested, though he didn't want to know how long he'd been unconscious, “I know I'm not up to hiking back a few miles, and I know you can't possibly be in shape for that either.” Blue chuckled, and nodded. Rouge was right. He didn't feel up to walking just yet. He looked back down at his hands, and then at Rouge's. Rouge's hands were bleeding a little, no doubt from punching the machine and then flying through glass.

 

“We should probably wrap those up, you know,” Blue stated, indicating Rouge's bloody knuckles. Rouge looked down at them, and laughed, slightly shocked that he hadn't noticed them before. He rubbed the blood off on his pants, twitching as the motion stung a little.

 

“That's a good idea,” he agreed, “But where do we find some bandages? We're in the middle of scenic nowhere, and chances are there's none lying around.” Almost to try and contradict himself, Rouge looked around to see if maybe there were supply crates anywhere near them. Unfortunately, there weren't. Blue sighed heavily, obviously trying to think of something to help them. He looked around as well, and then an idea hit him. He took out the ribbon in his hair, and asked Rouge to walk over and hold out his hands.

 

“What're you doing, bro?” Rouge asked, as he obeyed. Blue smiled and began wrapping Rouge's hand with one half of the bandage, snapping the second off and wrapping the other hand. When he was done, Rouge examined them, grinning. The wrap was strong, firm, and very secure. And the ribbon was silk, very soft. It felt cool against his skin.

 

“Thanks, bro,” Rouge smiled, nodding admiringly at his bandages. Blue smiled back, and struggled to stand. His legs were weak, one of them had been sprained, and he had trouble keeping balanced. But eventually, he could stand.

 

“So, do you think Fuse and Red survived?” Blue asked after a long silence. Rouge, who'd decided to lay on the ground and watch the clouds, looked at his twin groggily. He nodded slightly.

 

“I heard them screaming a little ways away, but they should be all right,” Rouge answered simply, shrugging, “As long as they aren't stupid enough to try and go back, they'll be fine.” Blue looked a bit frustrated, as he knew that Fuse would probably insist on doing a round of checking on anything. And Red, unfortunately, would have to help just because he'd be nearby. Blue imagined Red complaining about some miniscule annoyance, and Fuse telling him how lucky he has things. Then, he could see them arguing, possibly physically fighting each other. And it was amusing.

 

“With Fuse, you never know what he'll order,” Blue sighed, in that tired but amused way of his. Rouge laughed heartily, and nodded, laying right back down on the soft ground.

 

“For all we know, the doofus might be trying to make a crude patchwork replica of a plane just to do an aerial search,” Rouge snickered, adding to Blue's imagination, “I can see it crashing five yards later. He'd go insane!” Blue wrinkled his nose as he thought about that, and decided that it would indeed happen.

 

“Perhaps we should look for them, then,” Blue suggested, leaning against a tree and crossing his arms, “We don't want an unnecessary mishap, do we?” Rouge glanced back at Blue, raising a brow that said, “Yeah, I would.” Blue laughed again. He watched Rouge close his eyes and start to doze off, and smiled weakly. He had nothing to do, and he didn't trust his health to be wandering alone in an area he knew nothing about. He was about to sit when a rustle caught his attention. Quietly, he asked, “Who's there?”

 

There was no reply. Blue tilted his head and raised his eyebrow. He took out a small knife silently and stepped forward. “Who's there!?” he asked again, more forcefully. Again, there was no reply save for another rustle. Blue blinked, and silently stalked to the crowded grove it was coming from, skillfully raising his weapon higher above his head. A large shrub moved, and Blue lunged, screaming at the top of his lungs. He tackled the shrub and landed on Red, who was screaming in terror. The sound woke Rouge up, and he saw Fuse backing out of the bush.

 

“What the hell is happening?” he asked, though he was still half asleep. Fuse looked absolutely panicked.

 

“We have a situation, soldier! Your brother has gone insane!” Fuse cried, taking out his blaster, “He must've been infected somehow!” Rouge looked perplexed, and practically jumped up, running to the shrub. He parted it, and saw both Blue and Red lying in a heap on the ground. Blue looked up at his twin.

 

“I thought he was a monster somehow,” Blue said, getting up, “I thought they were going to attack us.” A drop of sweat rolled down Rouge's head, especially when he heard Fuse behind him, aiming the blaster at Blue. Sighing, Rouge extended a hand and helped his twin up, simultaneously knocking Fuse to the ground.

 

“Ow! What was that for, soldier?” Fuse asked, as his blaster skidded along the dirt. He rubbed his head and mumbled something as he picked himself up out of the dirt. Red coughed, and stood up as well, dusting whatever muck he'd managed to get on himself when Blue had tackled him.

 

“That was for trying to faze my brother,” Rouge replied, annoyed. He led Blue to a sturdy log and let him sit down, and then leaned against a tree next to him. Red and Fuse both looked at him expectantly. And yet he remained silent.

 

“So, what happened back there?” Red asked finally, when no one spoke for well over ten minutes, “Alkaiser and I were getting worried.” Rouge bit his lip and looked to Blue, who shrugged. Blue was pretty much unconscious for most of the battle, so it was up to, unfortunately, Rouge to explain the situation.

 

“We found the bomb Anita told us about. And we found the crystal that was pumping out all of the radiation and the disease,” Rouge started, “She was hiding it in a secret room in her suite. The problem was, we didn't know how to shut it down, so I started to just pound the damn machine until it broke.” Rouge glanced at Blue, who seemed determined to hear what had actually happened. Blue's lips tightened, and Rouge continued.

 

“But by even attempting to shut down the machine, the alarms went off. And I must've triggered some sort of DOA command, because it wasn't supposed to explode. It was supposed to release whatever Anita had inside,” Rouge finished, skipping the part about the clones, “That's when we were all thrown out of Manhattan the way we were.” Fuse had crossed his arms, and now he closed his eyes. Something was going on in his mind.

 

“So what you're saying is, Manhattan could be a pile of smoldering garbage now,” Fuse asked, though it came out more as a conclusion. Rouge nodded slowly.

 

“Blue and I were about to head back there after we took a breather,” Rouge replied, patting Blue on the shoulder, “You know, to do damage control.” Fuse opened one eye, peering at Rouge skeptically. Then he shook his head, making Rouge very confused.

 

“I don't think that's happening right now,” Fuse stated grimly, “If what happened was a result of a bomb, absolutely no one should go in there until it's dissipated. It's a public health hazard, boys.”

 

“But we have to close this mission out!” Blue cried, exasperated, as he suddenly stood up from the log, “Even with Anita dead, whatever else she had inside that bomb might become a huge threat!” Rouge glared warningly at Blue, and he realized at once his mistake. Fuse and Red looked at him with high alert. Even Alkaiser, in his spiritual form, stood next to Red in sudden alarm.

 

“What do you mean `whatever else she had?” Red asked, his question coming out more harshly than he actually intended, “Are you saying there's more to her plan than poison?” Blue looked back at Rouge, who closed his eyes and turned his head to indicate that he wasn't going to help explain what Blue had let slip. Blue looked down, then turned back to Red and nodded.

 

“She was implanting her DNA into fragments and combining them to create clones of herself. In her monstrous form, of course, but clones nonetheless,” Blue explained slowly, and he noticed that he sounded distant, “She said they can handle battle well, and she said they can function even if she's dead. We have to go back and make sure that there's nothing there, or those clones might continue with her ruthless campaign.” Red looked at Alkaiser, who nodded as if to tell him that was Blue said was true. Rouge looked toward the horizon, where they could see wafts of smoke. Fuse, however, was stern. He seemed to be juggling the decision.

 

“I say we go, then,” Red said, “Those clones sound like bad news, so we have to make sure we get them wiped out.” Fuse remained hard, and looked at Blue sharply.

 

“Are you honestly saying you believe those clones may have survived?” Fuse asked, “Nothing can survive a nuclear explosion that close by. Is this something you have to do?” Blue nodded with just as much firmness.

 

“Yes. We can't take the risk of not checking,” Blue replied, still slightly exasperated, “If they survived, life will quickly become misery, Fuse. Maybe not where we are, but in Manhattan, it'll be a living hell. And who's to say it'd stop there?” Everyone looked at Blue intently as he spoke, noticing that a cold sweat was building as Blue relayed everything he could remember. Rouge shifted uncomfortably, as Blue was right. Anita wouldn't have her clones stop at just one city.

 

“All right, calm down,” Fuse said firmly, taking out a small, mostly undamaged radio, “I'll ring the station and tell them we might need some back-up. We at least need a quick escape route.” Blue smiled, and Rouge's eyes widened with happiness.

 

“You mean we're actually going!?” Rouge exclaimed, striking a victory pose. Fuse took out a cigarette and lit it as the radio beeped, indicating that it at least found a connection line.

 

“Hold on, cowboy. We're not going to party on those clones' asses,” Fuse warned, taking a deep puff of the cigarette, “We're just doing a report. If the base sends reinforcements, I'll think about staying around to fight, but as it stands, not one of you three looks up to killing anything.” Just as Fuse finished, the line picked up on the radio, and a young lady's voice rang through. The radio was cackling from damage, but they could understand her.

 

“IRPO, general emergency department. Doll speaking,” the girl said. Fuse took another puff of his cigarette and steadied the phone with his shoulder.

 

“Hey, Doll. This is Fuse,” Fuse stated casually, looking back toward his three comrades, “Listen, we got a bit of a situation here. You heard of what happened in Manhattan?”

 

“How could I not? It's being flashed all over any news station that'd air it,” Doll replied, as she typed on her computer, “We were worried none of you made it. But what's the emergency? Do you need an escape?” Fuse held his cigarette to answer before taking another puff of smoke.

 

“Sort of. We're heading back in to do damage control. Blue's sure something survived in that explosion and he wants it dead,” Fuse explained, listening to Doll type, “So, yeah, we'll need an escape jet for when we do leave, and if you can muster some reinforcements to help us get to the bottom of this, that'd be great.” Fuse waited for Doll to respond as he finally stamped out his cigarette, having lost most of the tobacco from talking. Doll hesitated as she pulled up a form of some kind.

 

“Unfortunately, we recently deployed several units into Shrike to investigate the Bio industries there,” Doll replied slowly, regretfully, “But we do happen to have Unit 7 with us. It's a small group, though, and it'll hardly…”

 

“We'll take it,” Fuse snatched the deal before Doll could finish, “We don't need much, just enough to help us get into the ruins of the CIC building. That shouldn't be too hard, right?” Doll sighed, and Fuse heard a confirmation noise. Obviously, Doll sent their request.

 

“Just be careful. The unit should be there within the hour, but they won't wait for you, Fuse,” Doll replied seriously, “The boss doesn't want to have any more casualties from your carelessness, so she's probably going to make them take their own call.” Fuse swore angrily, making Blue jump back in shock.

 

“Damn, they just don't forgive me. It's not my fault those soldiers didn't listen to my command,” Fuse growled, and then sighed heavily, “All right. You're doing all you can, Doll. Thanks.” Doll chuckled from the other line.

 

“No problem, Fuse. We've been working together for nearly five years. I've got your back,” Doll replied, smiling, “And don't worry about the past. The boss knows, but we still need to be careful. And your way of handling your men is careless, you need to admit it. Anyway, I need to sort something out, so I'll need to go. Keep in touch, though.” Doll clicked her radio off, and Fuse was soon greeted with a busy signal. Sighing again, he hung up his radio as well, placing it back in his pocket. Then he stood up, loading his blaster and then sheathing it.

 

“We're leaving now?” Red asked, scratching his back lazily. Fuse looked at him for a second, and nodded. Rouge helped Blue up as Fuse answered.

 

“We have to get there before the unit does. They won't wait for us if they get there first, and they don't know what we're looking for,” Fuse explained quickly, handing Blue and Rouge his old short sticks, “Here, you boys use these until the unit arrives to give us some new blasters.” Neither brother complained as they set the sticks into their empty sheaths, and as Red stretched to ready himself, the group began to move. Thankfully, the underbrush was shallow enough to not slow down their approach into what they could see was a pile of rubble among a large, semi-floating city that used to be Manhattan. The roads that spiraled around seemed to be the only things that managed to survive without some form of damage, as buildings had been reduced to individual walls or leveled completely. Even from their distance, they could see the wreck.

 

“Wow, she was willing to take out the whole city if her plan failed,” Rouge gasped, unable to believe the sight he saw, “But what made her want to do this? What twisted her mind so brutally?” Red glanced behind him and saw Alkaiser nod knowingly. A simple flash of light indicated that Red had let the hero take over as they walked toward the smoldering heap.

 

“Many factors can cause a fragile mind like hers to corrupt itself,” Alkaiser said quietly, taking his glowing sword in his hand, “In her case, the very death of her father is what turned an innocent woman into the blood-curdling beast you see. When her father became ill, they thought it was from an infection, when in fact, it was from exposure to tiny particles of tainted DNA.”

 

“In other words, radiation?” Blue asked, and Alkaiser nodded, “But that doesn't make sense. Why would she inject herself with the very thing that killed her own father?”

 

“It's a complicated story, but Alritz the Legendary was there when Anita was once a pure, innocent girl,” Alkaiser replied softly, “She used to research what form of germ could possibly infect her father with such a change in his mindset and physical form. She found out that it was radiation, but that wasn't what set her off. No, she wanted to rid the company halls of the infectious waste. It was shortly after she found the shield that she began to grow mad.” Rouge and Blue glanced at each other nervously.

 

“The shield?” Rouge repeated, stumped.

 

“She found that, after a time of exposure to such harmful chemicals, your body begins to build up an immunity to radiation, if you can manage to survive,” Alkaiser explained, this time his voice firmer, “She wanted to test it. So, she used vermin from the sewers as a beginning. It was innocent, until she discovered that the rodents would mutate after too much exposure. Intrigued, yet frustrated, she sent them away only to discover the truly destructive power they held. One of them killed her father simply by being too close, and in her last light of innocence, she swore to stop them.”

 

“That was when she decided to convert herself into a mutated form. She realized she wasn't powerful enough to stop her creations in their radioactive forms, so she created a substance to allow her body to mutate itself as well through subtle injections of radiation,” Alkaiser continued, his voice now growing grim, “But what she didn't realize was the mind-altering effects radiation can have. It was like a thirst for blood. She couldn't control her actions after her first injection, and she slaughtered the lab staff involved. That one killing was enough for the radiation to overthrow her own soul.” Rouge covered his mouth, as Fuse flinched at the thought. Blue was the only one who wasn't particularly surprised.

 

“Then let's hope we took out the machine,” Blue said quietly, as they stood in front of a ruined highway into the city, “If radiation can truly warp a mind that badly, think of what an army of mutated humans could do. Everyone living here would be exposed to the chemicals she's been dishing out.” Alkaiser nodded, taking the lead and walking into the city's limit. The gray mist had completely evaporated, which meant that at least the diseases being spread were ceased. That comforted the small group as they walked along the road, which had been ripped to pieces. Now that they were inside the city, the damage seemed catastrophic. Bricks, large chunks of cement, and shards of glass had come down in a steady rain, and took out most of the vehicles in their path, as well as any signs or bus stops. Most of the western section of Manhattan had crumbled, falling into the ocean that it had been “floating” above, the metal supports completely melted from the explosion. But what everyone focused on was the peninsula in the very middle of the city. That was where the CIC building had once resided.

 

“I think it's safe to assume we did our job,” Rouge stated sarcastically, though he was actually very serious. CIC was destroyed, utterly demolished. Only a few floors of the large building remained, and they were crushed underneath the large dome ceiling. Fuse's mouth dropped open at the sheer sight of the destruction, unable to believe that they all survived when it was clear that no one else had. Blue continued on, a makeshift path formed from the explosion allowing him quicker access to the peninsula.

 

“Hold on, you're not going up there, are you?” Fuse asked, eyes still wide with shock. Blue glanced back at him and nodded.

 

“Of course I am,” Blue replied seriously, “That crystal is a hazard to everyone, even if there's nothing in it now. I think we should analyze it and see what it actually is. Maybe there's a way to help everyone who's been affected by that weird mist.”

 

“Blue, I doubt anyone's still alive,” Rouge retorted skeptically, arching an eyebrow, “If they did, where are they?” Blue looked down, unable to answer his brother. They could've been hiding, but the disease might've weakened them too much to run very fast. Rouge continued his stare, and Blue finally answered as best as he could.

 

“They could hide, but they might be dead. Either way, we should still get that crystal out of here,” Blue replied sternly, “I can still feel a small pulse of power from the CIC, and I know it's that crystal.” This time, Rouge looked at the ground. He could also feel the pulsing vibrations from CIC. Sighing reluctantly, Rouge followed Blue through the path of ruins. Alkaiser hovered over the piles, and Fuse ran shortly after, not wanting to be left behind. They reached the peninsula easily, as one of the highways from the supports had crashed to make a crude bridge. The dome had covered most of everything, but they didn't need to go far at all, because the crystal was lying right in the small patch of grass still swaying in the breeze. It was a dull gray, a sign of inactivity, but a small sound emanated from it. Blue picked it up. It was warm to the touch, but its pulse slowly died down.

 

“It was active just long enough for us to find it?” Rouge asked, and Blue nodded as he took out a bag and gently put the crystal inside. Then he put the bag back into his pocket.

 

“Not surprising. Crystals have a way of doing that, if they want to be found,” Blue replied, “The clones are definitely dead. The crystal would've been active if they weren't.” Fuse's lips tightened and he looked back toward where they came from.

 

“So is that it? Can we go?” he asked, though not unkindly. Blue looked at the ruined building one last time, and nodded.

 

“Yeah. There's nothing left to do here,” Blue replied, turning to face where they'd come from as well. He squinted his eyes, as he saw some things in the distance, flying in the sky. They were coming closer, and they were fast. It took Blue a minute to see that they were planes.

 

“What are those things?” Rouge asked, obviously he saw them as well. Fuse took a look, and grinned confidently.

 

“Doll sent us some help,” he replied happily, chuckling, “Though I doubt they'll be glad to know we don't really need them anymore. But it's nice to see we got an escape route.” Rouge nodded, and Blue continued to watch the planes as they came closer and closer to the city. Alkaiser reverted back to Red, who watched the planes in slight confusion, having missed most of the adventure due to Alkaiser taking over. No one said anything, but Blue was glad to know that their mission had closed once and for all. Now, they just had to get back to IRPO.

 

“I wonder what other job we'll be sent on,” Blue whispered, though it was mostly to himself, as they all silently waited for those planes to take them back.

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

Well, at least we definitely know that Anita and her clones are dead, so her plans to enslave the world won't happen. But what other mission will our lovable duo be sent to investigate next? And will Fuse join them again? What will become of Red once they get to IRPO? And will Unit 7 be upset as Fuse predicted? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!