Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ The beginning of a Lawsuit ( Chapter 19 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does, and because they didn't merge with Enix until years after the game was made, I'm crediting it to SquareSoft as such.

 

The plane flew through the sky, and though they were miles from Koorong at that point, the sounds of the roaring flames and the gushing sewage pipes was still louder than ever. Joker and Darius watched the entire scene with a mixture of sadness and guilt, and only when the scene finally vanished over the horizon did either brother attempt to speak.

 

“Even if we saved their lives, they won't forgive us for what we did,” Joker stated, looking down at the windowsill, “We… we were pretty terrible.” Darius patted his back, and Blue, who'd been reading, looked up and shook his head, his voice as gentle as ever.

 

“Not necessarily. Once we go public with the new information we have on you, Joker, I'm sure they'll be more than willing to forgive,” Blue assured him, smiling, “Besides, aside from the petty theft of candy and soda, that one bounty was really your only mission.” Darius nodded, giving Joker an amused look, but Joker didn't share the optimism.

 

“But I seriously screwed up so many lives with it,” Joker replied, still ashamed, “I'm lucky Emilia actually forgave me. She was one of the best. A lot of people were mad that she was jailed because of me.”

 

“A lot of those people are probably dead by now,” Darius reminded him, and Blue glared, “No, just hear me out. Most of her supporters were involved in a lot of bad scams themselves. With people like Anita Campbell and our aunt out there, how long could those supporters last in that kind of business?” Blue bit his lip. Darius had a good point, and if they found any records, they'd have more to bring Joker's aunt in for. However, even that didn't make Joker feel much better.

 

“What about the ones that aren't dead?” he asked, sighing, “Like her two friends, Liza and Annie? Or her boss, Roufas? They hate me.” Fuse, who'd been leaning against the door to listen silently, snorted. Joker turned his gaze to the older cop.

 

“Well, that's only a few people. One hundred at the most of live supporters,” Fuse replied, and Joker flopped his head on the window pane, “You can live with a hundred angry people, right?” Blue looked at Fuse with annoyance, unable to believe that the statement was his way of comforting a scared, innocent man. Then he looked back at Joker, trying his best to reassure him where Fuse had failed.

 

“Roufas knows you're innocent. He was there when you were tested,” Blue reminded Joker calmly, “He'll call Liza and Annie. He wouldn't hold this back from them, especially since they formed to bring you down. And once we go public with the knowledge, people will realize that you didn't hurt anyone purposely and that you made some mistakes. Everyone does. Besides, you barely hurt Emilia. There are men who beat their wives to death and walk free from it. You acted out of panic, not malice.” Joker sighed and reluctantly agreed, but as they continued to close in on the IRPO building, he felt a knot in his stomach tighten with worry. So much of his life had been inspected and relived in the past two days, and though he was glad he was innocent, he felt paranoid. He wondered if everyone would look at his life for any failings or gaps they could use to imprison him.

 

“So, how long until we reach the offices?” Darius asked Fuse, when Joker remained silent for more than five minutes. Fuse looked over at the radar in the open pilot's chamber, and then looked back at Darius.

 

“An hour at the most. Gives us some time to get some more facts straight before we present your case to the board,” Fuse replied, “Darius, what do you remember about your aunt? Any facts or details might help us stop her.” Darius considered the grim question, and then nodded, sitting down. It was be hard to recollect the cruelty their aunt had served them, but he would do it.

 

“She's not a big woman, first of all. You wouldn't expect her to be capable of hurting people, but she can inflict some serious mental wounds on anyone,” Darius began, slowly rocking back and forth in his seat, “She's not tall. She's probably smaller than 5'5, and she usually wears horn-rimmed glasses, like a school teacher.”

 

“School teacher?” Blue inquired, “Did she actually teach anyone?”

 

“No. She was an odd bird, though, but she knew the dark business better than anyone,” Darius replied, “And she knew just how to push your buttons to make you do her dirty work. Verbal assaults, put downs, lies, anything mental and emotional.” Joker shivered as he heard his brother explain, as he too had painful memories of their aunt. Memories that he didn't want to recall.

 

“Did she ever physically hurt you two?” Fuse asked, and then added, “If there aren't physical markings, she could lie her way out of this unless we find solid proof.” Darius's lips tightened and he shook his head stiffly.

 

“No. There was never anything physical unless you tried to get out. Then she'd kill you,” Darius replied angrily, “Our dad was lucky he escaped the first time. But she's smarter than that. She'd never inflict anything you could see right away.” Fuse became worried over this, as he was never good with dealing with psychological battles. He exchanged a nervous glance with Blue.

 

“Think we could make a case with this?” Fuse asked. Blue bit his lip. It was a tough one to make. Without physical proof, and with only statements from two perceived criminals, no one would believe them. No one except the people in Fuse's squadron.

 

“I'm not sure,” Blue replied just as quietly, “They don't seem to be lying, though. They admitted fully to attacking someone, but each one had a reason that had stories to back them up. Maybe a psychological test would help, though. We could see if the aunt did any permanent damage.” Fuse nodded, considering that. It was a good possibility, and it might be the only one that would convince the board of their case. He turned back to Darius.

 

“Would you consent to taking a psychological test once we arrive at IRPO?” Fuse asked him. He raised a confused eyebrow and sat up.

 

“What for?” Darius countered, though he was kind about it.

 

“We want to see if your aunt put any permanent mental marks on you both,” Blue explained, “It'll help us keep her in jail if anything shows up.” He made care to not make it seem like they'd catch her for certain if they did take the test. Darius whispered something to Joker, and after a small discussion, they both nodded.

 

“We'll take the test,” Joker said firmly, “I'm not sure what you'll find, but I want to help.”

 

“I'll do it for mom and dad,” Darius added, much more serious, “That woman needs to be locked up for over a thousand years for what she did to our parents.” Fuse nodded, and slowly, the plane began to descend, as IRPO came into view. Only the sounds of the guards murmuring to each other disturbed the plane, as the four fell silent, watching as the plane came closer and closer to the landing runway. It rolled into the quad, and as soon as the door opened to let everyone out, Blue saw Rouge waiting for them, file in hand. He looked upset.

 

“Rouge?” Blue called, jumping off of the plane, “What's wrong? You look really angry.” Rouge nodded, and handed the file to Blue, who in turn handed it to Fuse, who gave Rouge a questioning look.

 

“Rita Swan is suing us for the murder of her daughter, Elena,” Rouge replied furiously, and Fuse's eyes widened as he read the report, “She swears she made the report on her missing daughter days ago, but she's suing us for not finding her. Boss, I looked in the files. No one remembered her filing a report, and there's nothing in the computer databank.” Fuse swore angrily and ran inside the building, which Blue assumed was to clear the matter up. Joker walked up, unable to believe what he heard.

 

“How did she know our cousin died?” Joker asked frantically, and Rouge looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. Blue quickly explained everything to Rouge, who nodded, but looked at Joker and Darius with awe.

 

“You guys are amazing!” he exclaimed, and Joker smiled, “I mean, scary, but amazing at the same time! It's like an adventure just learning about you guys!” Darius laughed, and they all walked into the building, where they soon found that everything was bustling with activity, though no one looked cheerful about it at all.

 

“Rouge, what's going on here?” Blue asked, as Joker and Darius simply watched with detached interest.

 

“Like I said, Rita Swan's suing us,” Rouge replied bitterly, “Everyone's in a panic, especially since I placed the file for her on the IRPO website to alert everyone. We all know she's dangerous now. Most of them are probably fearing for their lives with have the terror she's pulled.” Darius snorted angrily as he watched many of the workers run from their desks to a copier, and then back, only to slam into each other in fear, not caring what was knocked over.

 

“This is pretty much the terror she caused any of her clients,” Darius replied flatly, stuffing his hands into his pockets, “It looks like she knows what's happening, though how she does is still confusing me. Anyone related to her working here?”

 

“Aside from you and Joker, no,” Rouge replied, and then added, “And we already know you wouldn't tip her off.” Joker scowled, wondering just how Rita knew about the IRPO's involvement. Fuse, however, seemed determined to get their case solved, and before Darius could ask another question, he led them down the hall into one of the interrogation rooms. It was quiet, and though the walls were gray, and the chairs made of metal, both brothers seemed calm as they sat down. Fuse took out a pad of paper and a pen, and sat down across from them.

 

“All right, if we're going to beat her, we need your statements as quickly as possible. Joker, since you're the one who led us to your brother, you'll go first,” Fuse said seriously, and when Joker nodded, continued, “What is the extent that Rita has shown of her cruelty to you?” Joker sighed, and looked down, Darius patting his back.

 

“It's okay, Steven. Tell him,” Darius said.

 

“Well, she used to call me useless all the time,” Joker replied, “Like I said, it was never anything physical, but she's call me names. Say I was terribly useless and a waste of time. She used to threaten me when I was little, and mom and dad weren't around. I guess I got scared of her pretty quickly.” Fuse jotted this all down, and Darius looked at Joker sympathetically.

 

“Anything else? Did anyone from her business hurt you?” Fuse asked. Joker shook his head.

 

“No. I was an asset to her. She wouldn't hurt me if it would hurt her business,” Joker replied bitterly, “As long as I was healthy, I'd make her money with her little errands.” Again, Fuse jotted this down.

 

“What sort of errands were those?” Fuse asked.

 

“Mostly theft and bribery. Stuff I never thought of doing on my own,” Joker replied, “Oftentimes, I'd try and talk to her clients, reason with them. Usually, it worked, but the few times it didn't… I usually botched when reasoning didn't work. I didn't want to scam people out of their money. It's wrong.” Fuse smiled and wrote what Joker stated down.

 

“All right, just one more question and we can move onto Darius,” Fuse said, and then asked, “Did you ever have any plots to kill her?” Joker's shoulders slumped.

 

“No, but I wanted to,” Joker replied sadly, “She used to make me so angry. And she was horrible to my mother. But I never planned anything. Just an “I really wish she would die” thought every once in a while.” Fuse nodded, wrote the statement down, and turned to Darius, who gave Joker a pat on the back.

 

“Same questions for you, Darius,” Fuse said, “Extent of damage?”

 

“Pretty much the same thing Steven went through,” Darius replied, crossing his arms, “Though I was more rebellious. She slapped me a few times across the face if I told her to screw off. But all that did was make me hate her more. It never broke me.” Fuse snorted with amusement, wrote away, and looked at Darius again.

 

“I applaud your nerve,” he stated, smiling, “That answers my second question, too. Now, what sort of errands did you have to do?” Darius's frown worsened, and Joker looked concerned when he noticed this. Silence continued for minutes until Fuse said, “Darius, you need to answer me.”

 

“…prostitution,” Darius whispered, “Threatening lives, drugging up clients… terrible things. I lost my virginity when I was 16 years old.” Fuse dropped his pen, looking at Darius with shock and worry. Joker's eyes widened and tears welled up.

 

“Dar, is that really true?” Joker whispered in disbelief. Darius glanced at him and nodded, shivering.

 

“It's true. She'll deny it, but just take a DNA test. You'll see I'm telling the truth,” Darius said. Fuse nodded and, picking up his pen, wrote that all down. A DNA test wasn't needed; he knew Darius wouldn't lie just to put himself through hell.

 

“Did you ever want to kill her?” Fuse finally asked. Darius nodded, anger seething as he recalled the years he spent in her service.

 

“Yes. Many, many times, I'd want to take a knife and stab it until she bled to death,” Darius said openly, “I never did. I was sure she was immortal, and I couldn't put Steven through hell if she managed to live. But I surely wanted to, and the thoughts never went away. They became so much worse as time went on. Especially when I found out that she recruited Steven.” Grimly, Fuse wrote that down, reminding Darius that it wouldn't look good in court, but under the circumstances, the jury might consider it warranted.

 

“Now, just as a formality, if you saw her in this room, what would you say or do?” Fuse asked, and it was aimed at both brothers. Darius looked away, thinking of the many things he'd do to his aunt. Joker looked down.

 

“I'd probably tell her that she deserves to go to jail if the jurors ruled it that way,” Joker said quietly, “At the very least, she deserves that. I'm no advocate of jail. Jail sucks, but she deserves it. Then I'd walk away.” Fuse nodded and wrote that, then turned to Darius, who still refused to look at anyone else in the room.

 

“I'd tell her to rot in hell,” Darius replied bitterly, scowling at the ground, “Then I'd flip her off.” Fuse snorted again, and wrote that down. Then he put the pad away.

 

“Well, that's everything we need from you both,” he said, standing up, “Darius, you've got a cold attitude. You ever thought about joining the police force?” Joker looked at Darius with amusement, and Darius laughed, shaking his head as they both stood up as well.

 

“No offense, officer, but I don't think anyone from my family should be in the police force,” Darius replied, as Fuse opened the door, “We might scare everyone else away.” Fuse nodded, and they walked down the hall, back into the main offices where people had continued to run around in a frenzied chaotic flurry. The security team, having been called to control the riot, seemed to be having very little luck in doing so as multiple workers, cops and executives alike, bowled them over trying to move files or head to the quad. The only people who weren't rushing around were Blue, Rouge, Red, and Emelia, who were waiting in Fuse's office. Curious, Fuse walked inside, with Darius and Joker close behind.

 

“What's the report here, boys?” Fuse asked, referring to Blue and Rouge. Blue was printing something out with Fuse's computer and handed it to him. Fuse glanced at it. It was a sheet of facts and numbers. Questioningly, he looked at Blue, raising a confused eyebrow.

 

“Those are the accounts Rita seized years ago when she imprisoned Joker's family,” Blue replied, and turn flipped the monitor to show them something else, “Take a look at this. In that year alone, she took hold of seven large-scale bank accounts. All of them had something of value, but very little in the way of credits.” Fuse's confusion turned to suspicious as Blue explained.

 

“What the hell could this woman be looking for?” Fuse asked.

 

“I don't know, but judging by these numbers, getting a court order on her won't be easy,” Blue replied, “She has billions upon billions of credits, sir. She could bribe her way out of trouble if she wanted. She's a huge flight risk.” Fuse sighed, looking over the list again. The numbers climbed to an unrealistic rate, and Fuse was surprised that they hadn't known about her sooner. Surely someone with this amount of wealth would've attracted attention.

 

“What do we do to bring her in?” Red asked as Emelia flipped through another stack Blue had printed out. Fuse bit his lip, setting the file down.

 

“There doesn't look like much we can do, boy,” Fuse replied regretfully, “This woman's a time bomb waiting to be set off. You two,” he turned to Darius and Joker, “Do you have any idea as to how we can get her in?” Joker shook his head, but Darius seemed hesitant to answer. After another prompting from the old cop, Darius grimly explained.

 

“Yeah. She has another sister who's in her business. Aunty Maria,” Darius replied, “She never wanted to help Rita, but she didn't have a choice once grandpa named Rita the heir of the house. Rita put Maria into the business, but I'm sure aunt Maria will help.” Blue and Rouge glanced at each other, and Fuse considered the option. It was a risky one at best. For all he knew, Maria might be in on the whole thing, but they had to try anything.

 

“How do we get to this aunt Maria of yours?” Fuse asked, eyeing Darius carefully.

 

“We'll need to get into Rita's house,” Darius replied, “She keeps aunt Maria in the basements. I think she lives in Nelson, unless she moved.” Blue looked at Fuse, as Fuse continued to think about the suggestion.

 

“Well, sir? Is it worth a shot?” Blue asked. Fuse sighed heavily and finally nodded.

 

“It's a big risk, but we'll go,” Fuse replied, standing up, “If only to save Maria from Rita. Now, Darius, I'm going to ask you and Steven to come with us. You both know Rita's house, and we need a guide.”

 

“We're on it!” they both exclaimed, a new determination seeming to give Joker renewed vigor despite his cold. Fuse smiled, and turned to Blue, Red, Rouge, and Emelia.

 

“You all should come, too,” Fuse said, after a moment of consideration, “The more we have Rita surrounded, the better our chances. Now, where's that crazy hippie?” He looked around, finally noticing that Roufas wasn't around, and Red pointed to outside. Fuse looked out the window, and sure enough, Roufas was silencing the frenzying workers outside by screaming something unintelligible into a large megaphone.

 

“You have to be kidding me,” Fuse mumbled, a drop of sweat rolling down his face, “Well, we'll let the little nutcase be. Blue, Rouge, go get anything from your office that might help us make a case with her. Notes, files, anything at all. And get some tools in case we need to break and enter.” Fuse walked out of the office, only popping his head in when Rouge called him.

 

“Where are you going, boss?” Rouge asked. Fuse frowned.

 

“I'm telling our bosses that we're heading out to directly… disarm Rita,” Fuse replied, and then forcefully said, “Move out!” Then he disappeared again. Blue and Rouge practically jumped out of their seats, and after a brief talking with the others, equally split up the responsibilities. Red and Emelia were going to get any tools they'd need, as Darius and Joker ran to the quad to make sure the plane was in good condition for the flight. Blue and Rouge rushed hastily toward the elevator, slamming the button with excessive force, nearly breaking it. They leapt inside as soon as the elevator door swung open. Though there were already a few people crammed into the small space, no one else seemed to notice, too wrapped up in their own frenzy over Rita's lawsuit, which was growing quite rapidly as graph alarms went off as a warning to their slowly draining funds.

 

“Blue, this is getting pretty serious, bro,” Rouge replied, as the elevator sped up the floors, “What did you and Fuse find in the base?”

 

“A whole bunch of nothing,” Blue said grimly, crossing his arms, “We found Darius, but there was nothing that pointed directly to Rita. He didn't have any files or folders. Just an old family album.” Rouge glanced at his brother, perking an eyebrow.

 

“A family album? Why would he have that?” Rouge asked, and when Blue gave him an annoyed look, he added, “I know why he'd have one, but more like, why would he keep it with him if he knew we were coming after him?” Blue blinked, suddenly thinking about it. It did seem to be an odd thing to keep when you were on the run, and then Blue remembered that Darius knew Joker was with them.

 

“He probably wanted Joker to see it,” Blue finally replied, “After all, there were a lot of memories in that book. Joker was happy when he saw it. He told us all about his family before they were involved in the crime. Rouge, there was no way these people were evil until Rita came along.” Rouge nodded, and then frowned. Neither he nor Blue remembered much of their childhood. Rouge remembered following the nursemaids around often, helping them take care of the littler kids, and Blue remembered staying in his room all the time, his only friend being Rouge. And only Blue remembered their parents, who had died just a little after the experiment on what was once Aubergine.

 

“Blue, what were mom and dad like?” Rouge asked suddenly, as the elevator let them out on their floor. They walked to their office, and Blue didn't answer until they were safely inside.

 

“Our parents? Well, they loved us very much. They were against splitting us into two,” Blue replied, “Mom was an apprentice enchanter. She loved enchanting our toys to float around our crib when we were a baby. And dad was a really powerful sorcerer. He used to make funny shadow puppets and then bring them to life to make us laugh.” Rouge smiled. He couldn't recall any of those memories, but he could imagine the happiness.

 

“Did they still love us after we were split up?” Rouge asked quietly. Blue, who had been searching through his desk, dropped the stapler and looked at his brother. Rouge had never sounded so afraid of an answer. Blue couldn't take seeing the sadness and fear in his brother's eyes.

 

“Of course they did,” Blue replied calmly, smiling with the most compassion that Rouge had ever seen, “They were so proud. Mom always said you'd make a wonderful nurseman. You used to love playing with the younger kids.” Rouge smiled. He did recall that moment with their parents. It was a rare moment. They were sitting in the family common room. Their mother had been knitting, listening as Rouge told her how the younger kids asked him to teach them a new spell. Their father was tutoring Blue with a healing spell.

 

“I remember that,” Rouge said happily, “Dad always said you'd be the next Merlin. He was so proud when you managed to set the curtains on fire.” Blue laughed, nodding. He had been only seven years old, and one day, he and Rouge had fought over a pillow, which they had ripped. Out of pure anger, Blue had somehow set something ablaze. He was terrified his father would hit him, but instead, his father was proud.

 

“Even mom was happy that I could use magic,” Blue replied, a slim smile crossing his lips, “I loved them so much, Rouge.”

 

“Me too. You think they'd still be proud of us?” Rouge asked, as Blue picked up the stapler and put it back, “Even after we nearly killed each other?” Blue stopped, and thought about it. He had never thought how their parents would think of them. A pang of guilt shot itself at his heart, and he looked down for a moment.

 

“…I'm sure of it,” Blue said, looking up and smiling confidently, “They love us no matter what happened, Rouge. We're brothers. I think they would've almost expected us to try and kill each other.” At that, both of them laughed hysterically. Most boys tended to argue in the Magic Kingdom, trying to prove who was the strongest. To not fight at some point in your life was… odd. However, as their laughter died down, the room dimmed, catching Blue's attention. Rouge was still laughing, but Blue watched the sky become darker, as though a cloud had started to block the sun. Then, thick clouds of black began to stretch along, lowering the temperature.

 

“Rouge, stop,” Blue said, running to the window, “What the hell is that?” Rouge stopped laughing, his expression quickly turning to worry at the tone in Blue's voice. Concerned, he joined his brother at the sill and looked out. The sky was quickly turning into a deep, vacuous sea of black, and thunder roared a good distance away. Lights were flashing here and there in the fluffy substance, giving the appearance of a large, fluffy ship.

 

“I… I have no idea,” Rouge said, as lightning flashed, “Blue, do you feel that?” He was shivering now, and Blue glanced over, nodding.

 

“If you mean the sudden thickness of magical energy, then yes, I can feel it,” Blue replied. Rouge shuddered, and soon they heard curses erupt from other offices on their floor as computers shut down and lights blew. Sparks flew from the outlets, and all Blue or Rouge could do was look around as the power slowly cut out, plunging the headquarters into darkness.

 

“Come on,” Blue said, grabbing Rouge's wrists and dragging him out of their office, “We need to find Fuse. This is bad.” Rouge silently agreed, but as they went to the elevator, they found it shut down. Blue banged on the door, but it didn't open at all. Rouge looked out the window again as Blue continued to pound at the door. The sky was completely black now, the only lights being the flashing ones in amidst the thick clouds. Something was very, very wrong.

 

“What sort of dark magic is this?”

 

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

 

And so, with Darius and Joker both recruited into the IRPO force, the case seems to be coming to a close. Unfortunately, now a new problem seems to be interfering, as well as Rita's lawsuit. Are the two connected, and how is it possible if they are? Can Blue get to Fuse? Are the others in danger? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!