Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ Yes, time for a THIRD MISSION! ( Chapter 16 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does, and no matter how obscure it is, they always will.

 

“That's quite an adventure you had there, officer Rouge!” one of the soldiers exclaimed, impressed as Rouge calmly relayed the details, “I mean, we heard rumors that you and Blue were magicians, but… just wow! Can you really open a portal to hell?”

 

“We could, but I don't remember how we did,” Rouge replied, sitting in a seat as Fuse instructed the pilot, “Everything's a little fuzzy to me. Blue, do you remember?” Blue, who'd taken to sitting on the windowsill and reading, looked over at Rouge, and then shook his head.

 

“Not really. I remember us fusing into one, but that's about it,” Blue replied, frowning in disappointment, “I suppose a combination of blows to the head and the rush of power caused our short-term memory to fade.” The soldier listened with deep interest, and nodded vigorously.

 

“Severe battles can do that to you,” he agreed heartily, “But, wow! I think we're all really lucky you two are on the force. We've been after Anita for a while now, but we had no idea she linked to the Cygnus for such a terrible plan.” Rouge raised a concerned brow at the amount of praise the soldier was giving them, but Blue gave a slanted smile as he continued reading.

 

“Trinity uses the Cygnus to ship rare material all around the world. If Anita found that out, she could order nearly anything from Trinity. They make the sturdiest metals around the world,” Blue replied, flipping a page in the book, “That's probably why the radiation was conducting so quickly, to the point that no one could notice. It simply looked like an outbreak of a new virus to us.” Rouge leaned on the arm of his seat, giving Blue a skeptical look.

 

“I still don't understand the point of hijacking the plane. We already concluded that the head man of the Cygnus was making a deal with her, so why hijack the ship?” Rouge asked, “Was it a ruse?”

 

“I'm going to guess that the boss decided to back out of the deal. That might explain why he wasn't too worried about an attack. He probably knew it was coming,” Blue replied logically, “You have to remember, he hired people from IRPO to protect the cargo. Why hire the police just to get caught? No, I think he wanted us to link his crime with her to get her out of his hair.” Rouge looked down thoughtfully. Blue had made a pretty interesting scenario, and though it was a complicated one, it wasn't the most unlikely one he's heard. He looked out the window as the ruins of Manhattan shrank in the distance, giving way to fresh grass and shrubbery.

 

“I just hope he decides to turn himself in,” Rouge replied distantly, “He'll get a shorter sentence for bribery if your story is the right one. I mean, he's still a creep for taking a bribe, but he did try to help us catch an actual criminal.” Blue nodded in agreement as Red walked over, holding a can of what smelled like beer. He sat down and popped the top off.

 

“What I don't like about this, is that I'm out of a job now,” Red said randomly, having no idea what the twins were actually talking about, “I mean, I'm glad we stopped Anita, but I'm out of work and I know that Roufas is getting pissed with me. He's ready to evict me from the apartment.” Rouge didn't know who Rufus actually was, other than a local musical sensation, but Blue patted Red on the shoulder comfortingly.

 

“We'll help you out, Red. Technically, it's our fault you're out of a job,” Blue replied, with a mix of sincerity and guilt, “If you want, we can lend you some cash and tell Rufus what actually happened. I'm sure he'll understand. Besides, he knows about police work. I found his files on my computer. He was an undercover agent for a short time.” Red nodded, and smirked.

 

“Until he botched up a case and was fired,” he replied, amused, “Yeah, maybe he'll understand. I just know that he's getting sick of my rent being late.” As if by bad luck, Red's cell phone went off. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the small LED screen. His luck worsened. It was Roufas.

 

“Shit!” Red screamed, flipping the phone on, “Yeah, Roufas? Wait, what!? You heard!? Dude, look, I'm sorry! I didn't know until Blue told me… oh, you know? You're serious!? Awesome! But, why? Oh, okay. Yeah, I'll be back in Koorong in a bit. I have to make a statement at IRPO first. All right. Thanks again, dude!” With that, Red hung up the phone and absently tossed it to Rouge, who caught it in slight confusion.

 

“What was that about?” Blue asked, though he didn't look up from his book. Red grinned, jumping up and down like an overactive child.

 

“Roufas heard the news! Apparently they aired the catastrophe via Trinity's satellite, and he watched the whole thing,” Red said quickly, almost too quickly for Blue to follow, “He knows I was put out of a job when he heard of the hijacking, so he paid for this month's rent. He just wants me to get a job before next month, which should be pretty easy. But dude, I'm just relieved!” Blue smiled warmly, genuinely happy, and Rouge jumped out of his seat with joy for Red. But just as they were about to hop around like sugar-high schoolboys, the plane came to a screeching halt, and the sky darkened as they flew into a tunnel that Blue recognized as the quad's entrance. Rouge and Red were thrown back a few feet, and crashed into a group of soldiers that were talking.

 

“What the hell!?” Rouge yelled, crawling out of the dog-pile that had unwillingly formed, “Fuse, were you landing AGAIN!?” Blue snickered at the outburst, and calmly put his book down. He hadn't been affected at all by the landing, but that was mostly due to him wearing a seatbelt. Fuse ran out of the cockpit at the scream, and Blue saw that he was flustered.

 

“You bet, soldier! Just got an urgent message from the boss. We got ourselves another mission,” Fuse explained quickly, nearly ripping the door off its hinges as he jumped out of the plane. Blue raised a quirked eyebrow and shrugged, deciding it was best to just follow him. Rouge and Red dizzily weaved their way out of the maze of shaken troops after Blue, and found him standing in the large garage, waiting.

 

“Eww, it smells like gas in here,” Red said, a little less than stable. Blue glanced back at him, still a confused look on his face.

 

“Well, we are in a garage. What did you expect?” Blue asked, turning his attention back to the closed door in the darkened corner. Rouge hopped off the small platform.

 

“I didn't expect to see you waiting here,” he replied simply, standing next to Blue, “Why are you out here? How come you can't go in?”

 

“Fuse is getting the mission from our boss. Chances are we'll just have to head out again, so he told me to wait here,” Blue explained, “I wonder what could've been so urgent, though. He sounded panicked when he left.” Rouge huffed, staring hard at the door. It was warm in the garage, though that was only because the plane was still running.

 

“Nothing could've been as bad as Manhattan though, could it?” Rouge asked, slightly concerned, “Unless she had other labs to work in.”

 

“I doubt that one, Rouge,” Blue said simply, slightly amused, “No, this is something different. I just wish he let me go with him. I could've gotten a lot more information while he was talking to our boss.” Rouge nodded, sighing heavily. He sat down on the cold, concrete ground, resting his arms on his knees.

 

“Maybe there's not much we need to know about,” Rouge suggested, as Blue joined him, “It might not be a robber or criminal we're after. It could be an event that's already happened and we're doing clean-up job. Either way, should I bust us in? You seem like you want to go.” Blue bit his lip. He did want to go and figure out what was wrong, but he was given a direct order to wait. Just as he came to a decision, Fuse rushed out again, holding papers, files, and a mug of coffee. Rouge jumped up.

 

“So what's going on, Fuse?” Rouge asked, as Fuse dashed up the ladder into a smaller plane, “What're we after?”

 

“Get in!” Fuse ordered sternly, sipping the coffee. Blue and Rouge instantly rushed up the ladder to join him, with Red bumbling behind, still very dizzy. Fuse sat down in a control seat, and gestured for Blue to sit next to him.

 

“So, what's wrong?” Blue asked, sitting down, “What's going on?” Fuse set the pile of papers down, and switched the ignition on. Then he looked at Blue.

 

“You've heard of the criminal, Joker, right?” Fuse asked, and when Blue nodded, continued, “Yeah, well, apparently he's back to his old tricks. We got a call from a woman in Koorong reporting that he assaulted her. We've only got a little while to catch him.” Rouge raised a very worried eyebrow and leaned against the wall.

 

“What!? Why?” he asked, crossing his arms.

 

“The phone was cut off shortly after she started the report. All we were able to get was `joker,' `assault,' and `help me' before the line was busted,” Fuse replied quickly, flying out of the quad with amazing speed, “We're sure he cut the line himself, which means he knows we're coming.” Rouge's eyes widened, and Red cursed angrily. Blue was shocked, but kept calm.

 

“Shall I put the airport on alert?” Blue asked, reaching for the radio. But Fuse shook his head and swatted the radio out of Blue's hands.

 

“No. Doll already did that for me,” Fuse replied, “No, you just focus on helping me pilot. We're going to land fast, and I need you to open up the Emergency Landing Valve in Koorong. You see that smaller keyboard to your left?” Blue looked, and sure enough, there was a keyboard on the desk, with a small monitor, no bigger than a standard DS screen. Blue nodded and grabbed it.

 

“Is this a remote terminal?” he asked, and Fuse nodded.

 

“Yup. You need to log onto the web and locate Dr. Nusakan's terminal from there. He has the launch sequence in there somewhere. Get in and crack the codes,” Fuse ordered, and right away Blue started typing furiously. Then he turned to Rouge, “And I want you to look through these files and find anything that Joker might've been doing recently. Any business, any cash exchange, anything at all. We need to monitor this man.” Rouge nodded, and taking the pile toward the backseats, started skimming through them. Red whistled, not really knowing what to do.

 

“What do I do?” he finally asked. Fuse sighed, steering the wheel sharply.

 

“You can go in back and get me a doughnut and some more coffee,” Fuse said sarcastically, even though he was actually serious. It'd been a while since he ate anything, and he was starving. Just to be kind, he added, “And bring a few for Blue and Rouge, too.” Red nodded and stalked toward the back. The door into the small kitchen slid open when he reached it. Feeling the wall, he easily found the light switch and was greeted with a tiny kitchenette, barely big enough for two people to fit. There was a small refrigerator, two counters, a dishwasher, a coffee maker, and cabinets where plates and cups were stored. Red sighed and started filled a small pitcher with water to put into the coffee machine. When he had filled the small compartment with coffee, loaded the water in, and then set it on, he moved to the fridge. There wasn't much food in there, but he did spot a box of doughnuts. There were also hotdogs, peanut butter, and for whatever reason, whoever used the plane last decided to leave cereal and cans of soup in there as well. His expression turning to one of annoyance, Red grabbed the box of doughnuts and closed the fridge. Then he took out a mug and filled it with steaming coffee, stirring in a little sugar and adding a pinch of milk. Feeling that his coffee was perfect, he picked up the mug again, smiled, and walked back out into the main room, setting the coffee in the holder next to Fuse's arm and handing him the box of doughnuts.

 

“A box of doughnuts and the world's best coffee!” Red said, almost too cheerfully. Fuse perked an eyebrow, but shrugged and sipped the coffee. He approved, so Red went toward the back to where Rouge was sitting, working hard.

 

“Did you find anything?” Red asked, taking a piece of paper and reading it. It was a doctor's bill from five years ago. Rouge looked up and shook his head.

 

“No. This guy's good. He knows we have his file,” Rouge stated, “There's nothing really interesting. I mean, this week he went to Can-Afford twice, but he only spent $3 the first time and $10 the next. How much can you get for $13?” Red shrugged, not knowing either, but Fuse glanced back at him.

 

“Not much, but we should still look into it. Anything we can bust him for immediately while we search for what's been going on is a good thing,” Fuse said firmly, turning back toward the road. Rouge nodded, and set the receipt aside to save. He went back to his work, with Red helping him.

 

“I found an exchange with the bank,” Red said, handing Rouge a piece of yellow paper, “He took out $500 three nights ago.” Rouge smirked as he read the page. Though it was a small amount, it was all Joker had in his account.

 

“$500 is a lot of money to just stick in a wallet,” Rouge commented, setting the paper with the receipt, “Sounds pretty suspicious. We'll look into that, too.” Red nodded, and for a while, they worked in silence. The silence was broken when Blue finally spoke, his voice calm, but shocking from the long lapse of quiet.

 

“I've broken the code. The launch pad is ready, Fuse,” he stated, smiling lightly. Fuse nodded, and steering with one hand, patted Blue on the back with the other.

 

“Good job, Blue. We'll be landing in about ten minutes, boys, so get ready,” Fuse warned, “As soon as we land, we're busting out of the plane and dashing toward the city.” Everyone nodded, and Fuse began to steer the plane in an almost full loop, meanwhile descending slowly. Blue began to see Koorong coming into view, and he saw the launch pad Fuse had opened. It was right in the middle of one of the dangerous alleyways that weaved through most of Koorong's outer limits. As they neared the city, the sky darkened and a steady rain began to fall. Fuse descended sharply, and in no time, they'd landed carefully on the pad. Wasting not even a second, Blue and Rouge jumped from their seats toward the door, and Rouge kicked it open. They jumped down, with Red and Fuse following close behind, and they all dashed up the slick stairs, turning a sharp corner and coming out of the alley onto the lower main street.

 

“Where now?” Rouge asked, looking around. Koorong was usually a busy place, but now it was dead. No one was walking around, none of the shops were open, and something felt very, very wrong with the whole scene. Blue sighed heavily, and it sounded much louder than it should have.

 

“Wow, this place is dead!” Red exclaimed, walking toward one of the stairs to the upper street, “Anyway, I'm going to go talk to Roufas. He might know where everyone is.” Fuse nodded, and Red went up the stairs, leaving the three cops to stand in the abandoned street. Rouge sat down at a table, letting his arms rest.

 

“Do you think Can-Afford or the bank will be opened?” he asked, but Blue shook his head.

 

“No. Everything else is closed down. We could try, but I doubt there's anything there,” Blue replied. Rouge sighed, letting his head flop on his arm apathetically. Everything felt very gloomy, and the only sound was the sudden static that Fuse's radio was making. He took it out of his pocket and flipped it on. It was Doll.

 

“Fuse, is everything okay over there? We've just received visual reports from the street cameras and everything's abandoned,” she was saying through the static, “Only one place appears to be open. Are you sure you're all right?” Blue listened with silent interest at the dialogue between Fuse and Doll.

 

“Yeah. We just got here,” Fuse replied grimly, “But we should be fine. My boys are pretty sharp, and if there's nothing here, Joker can't hide.” Rouge started listening in, but it was more for lack of anything else to do. Doll seemed hesitant about something.

 

“All right. I'm just making sure you can do this,” she finally said, “Good luck. Call me if something happens.” Fuse nodded, and clicked the radio off. Rouge sat up straighter, and Blue raised an eyebrow as Fuse put his radio back in his pocket. Then he looked at them, sighing heavily.

 

“What's wrong?” Blue asked. Fuse looked down for a minute, and then back at Blue.

 

“Doll confirmed that everything's closed down, so this'll be trickier to nail him,” Fuse replied, “I don't normally do this, but we need those records. So, I'm breaking into Can-Afford and getting the records. Come on.” Rouge grinned and nearly jumped out of his seat, but Blue was much less enthusiastic about that plan. As the other two started up another flight of stairs leading upwards, Blue blinked, unable to properly believe what he'd just heard. Were they honestly going to break into a store? Maybe he'd heard wrong, but Blue did know that if he didn't follow, Fuse would get angry. Sighing, Blue walked up the stairs as well. Fuse and Rouge were already outside the convenience store, leaning on the door. A very thick padlock was on it.

 

“Think we could melt it off with your blaster?” Rouge asked, as Blue came up behind them. Fuse looked at the lock critically, and then shook his head.

 

“Nope. This thing's made from Platinum steel. No blaster can melt through it,” Fuse replied, backing up slightly. Rouge snapped his fingers in disappointment, but he already thought of an alternative.

 

“Why don't Blue and I slam it off with an Energy Chain?” he suggested, grinning again, but this time, Blue intervened.

 

“It won't hit the lock's core because of the steel,” Blue stated, crossing his arms, “The platinum will just deflect it, and we could burn ourselves.” Rouge moaned miserably, throwing his arms up in that “I-give-up” way of his. Blue examined the lock closely, as Fuse looked around for a bat or crowbar. It was a really sturdy lock, one he was surprised that would be in Koorong. Not even the Baccarat vaults had locks like that, and they held far more valuables than medicine or box lunches. He began to think of just how to dismantle such a lock when his thoughts were interrupted by Fuse.

 

“Found it!” Fuse yelled loudly, running back from a small alley. In his hands was a metal bat, the light dancing off of its shiny exterior. For something in the trash, it was in remarkable state. “This little babe will get me in there!” Fuse exclaimed happily, and whacked hard on the lock. To his dismay, the bat snapped in two from the heavy impact, and yet the lock remained undamaged.

 

“So much for that…” Blue mumbled skeptically, watching with annoyance.

 

“Ooooh, that's not good,” Rouge commented, trying not to laugh. Fuse was flustered now, and he started shaking the padlock violently, a stream of equally violent curses and threats dripping out of his mouth.

 

“Damn it, open up!! Break off your damn hinges, you crappy piece of platinum shit!” Fuse yelled, loudly enough for it to be carried over the upper fence to the other side of the upper street, “YOU SUCK!” Blue turned toward the stair when the sound of heavy footprints came, and bounding up the stairs was not only Red, but Roufas as well. His brown hair streaming behind him, and his sunglasses masking his expression, Roufas came to a stop at the horribly comedic scene, his fists clenched.

 

“Hey! Knock it off!” Roufas finally yelled, pulling Fuse away from the door with amazing strength, “What the hell is your problem!? Are you trying to get caught by the fuzz?” Blue raised an eyebrow, as now this would prove to get very interesting. When Fuse stopped struggling, he glared at Roufas, angered with his reference.

 

“I AM the “fuzz,” you modernized hippie,” Fuse retorted angrily, causing Roufas to raise a thin, but still visible, eyebrow in amusement. He let go of Fuse's collar and crossed his arm, his amusement still clear under his glasses.

 

“Hippie, huh?” he asked, “If I'm a hippie, why am I wearing a gun?”

 

“Because you're crazy and you assaulted a cop,” Fuse mumbled. Roufas blinked, but before another word could be said, Blue decided now was best for him to once again display his diplomacy.

 

“All right, enough,” Blue said, stepping in between the two glaring men, “Before this escalates into a brawl, let's remember what we're here for. Roufas, we need to get into the store. Joker's been here and we need the records showing what he bought.” Roufas's glasses fell off at the mention of Joker, and he raised a concerned brow.

 

“You're going after Joker!?” he exclaimed, almost in disbelief, and then whistled, “Wow. Well, that'd explain why you'd come here. Everyone else left Koorong when we heard he came back. I'm the only one who stayed. I'm not afraid of him.”

 

“Yeah, we don't particularly care why you're here, son,” Fuse said, rolling his eyes, “Can you get us in or can I arrest you for assaulting me?” Blue, Rouge, and Roufas all stared at Fuse like he was completely insane, and sweatdrops ran down each of their heads as Fuse clicked his blaster as to almost back up his question. Roufas shook his head and walked over to the lock.

 

“Hold your horses, Captain Nutjob,” Roufas growled, pulling out a small key and inserting it into the lock. After a few turns of the key, everyone heard a loud click and the lock fell off the door and clanged loudly onto the floor. Blue flinched at the noise.

 

“Is it safe to walk in?” Rouge asked, when Roufas opened the door, “I mean, aren't there alarms?” Roufas glanced back and shook his head as Red rushed in.

 

“Nope. That lock is the store's only defense,” he replied, letting Blue walk in casually, “This is, after all, Can-Afford. It's not a national bank.” Fuse glared as he went in, and Rouge nodded at Roufas and walked in as well, finally followed by Roufas as he closed the door.

 

“The bank's where we need to go next. Looks like Joker had something to take here,” Rouge said, and then looked around the store, “…whoa. This place is creepier than Furgo's Workshop.” The store was unsurprisingly dark, but the many items on every shelf cast very disturbing shadows across the checkered floor as the streetlight reflected from the window shone only dimly in the store. The air was stale, meaning that the store must've been closed for a while, and the silence was even worse.

 

“I won't be surprised if something jumps out and attacks us,” Red commented, grabbing a baseball bat from one of the display carts, “We gotta be careful.” Although everyone else agreed, no one drew a weapon as Fuse cautiously made his way to the cash register. He pressed a button and it opened up, revealing no money in the drawer and only a few receipts. Fuse took them all and went through them, finally pulling just one.

 

“Here we go. This is from Joker's purchase,” Fuse said, reading it quickly, “W-what!?” Rouge rushed over, peeking behind Fuse's shoulder.

 

“What's wrong!? What'd he buy?” Rouge asked excitedly, “Cyanide? Aerosol? A cannon?” Fuse looked at Rouge for a second, bopping him on the nose.

 

“This is a convenience store, son. They don't sell illegal substances here,” Fuse replied blandly, and then grimaced, “No, he didn't buy anything suspicious. He bought a sandwich and a bottle of cough syrup, and his last receipt was simply a box of tissues.” Blue tilted his head as he wrote down what Fuse listed.

 

“Cough syrup? Tissues?” Blue repeated, “Uh… sir, it sounds like Joker has a cold.” Rouge nodded in agreement as he backed away, but Fuse didn't believe that.

 

“He could be making something dangerous, soldier,” Fuse said, though he was completely serious. Red put down the bat and leaned on a counter, raising a perplexed brow.

 

“What could he make with syrup and paper?! A really sticky mess?” Red asked, laughing slightly, “Face it, Fuse. Something's wrong here, and it isn't Joker.” Fuse looked down at the receipt. The signature was Joker's, but his purchase was odd.

 

“It could be a forgery,” Roufas suggested, but Blue shook his head.

 

“Why would anyone forge a criminal's signature?” Blue asked, and then took the receipt, “Look, why don't we go straight to Joker and ask what's going on? It sounds like we're missing something. Fuse, did the woman state who it was that attacked her?” Fuse bit his lip and shook his head as Roufas opened the front door again.

 

“No. She said that she was pretty sure it was Joker, but she didn't actually see his face,” Fuse replied, as they all walked out. Blue frowned, as they walked down into the lower street.

 

“So you assumed it was him?” Blue asked, and when Fuse nodded, he said, “Fuse, you can't do that. Judging by the receipts, he doesn't seem like he'd be out on the streets killing when he might have a cold. It might've been another criminal altogether!” Fuse flinched at being scolded, but he knew Blue had a good point.

 

“I guess I failed my duty, eh?” he asked, “We told the airport not to let Joker go. We never warned them about anyone else.” He looked down in shame, but Blue smiled warmly.

 

“Not all is lost, sir,” he said calmly, “He might not have left yet. Let's talk to Joker. Even if it was him, he'd be waiting for us to find him.” Fuse nodded, and Rouge grinned.

 

“So now we just need to find him! Wonderful!” Rouge exclaimed happily, “Where does he hang out?” Roufas, who'd been trying to adjust his glasses, gestured for everyone to follow him.

 

“He's living in one of the sewers, last I remember,” Roufas replied, “Come on. It's this way.” He ran out through an alley and into the rainy streets, the group following as best they could. Once again, the chase for a criminal was on. Blue silently hoped that what he thought was correct as Roufas led them to a manhole. Once it was lifted, it was only a matter of time until they found Joker.

 

“Steady now. Let's lift this thing!”

 

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

 

Well, looks like Blue and Rouge are on a third mission! But, is it as simple as catching Joker, or is there something else in the mix this time? Why did Joker buy medicine when he could've spent his money differently? And why did he take so much money out of the bank? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!