Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ Finding Aunt Maria ( Chapter 20 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does, and it's still a classic.

 

“Blue, I think you'd better look at this,” Rouge said, shivering. Blue, who had successfully snapped off the elevator button at this point, turned around. He saw that Rouge was scared of something, and with concern growing in his heart, he walked over to see what was wrong. Looking outside, he saw the black clouds. He also saw the wind rush across the courtyard, breaking branches off of the trees and scattering a few panicked workers as they tried to run inside from the sudden storm. Lightning flashed again, and rain began to fall in steady streams.

 

“Oh my lord,” Blue gasped, as the clouds began to cover the sky over the building, “Rouge, is there any possibility this is a coincidence?”

 

“That's like asking if Mystics like humans,” Rouge replied, glancing at his brother, “No, Blue. This isn't natural. But what could create this?” Blue bit his lip. He had never encountered this before, and it filled him with terror, even despite having been in hell itself. His mind scanned through any tomes or scriptures he had read, but not one of them pointed to a scenario like this.

 

“It doesn't matter. We need to find Fuse,” Blue said. Knowing the elevator was broken, Blue decided the stairs had to do for now. He ran ahead, but when he didn't hear Rouge behind him, he looked back and said, “Rouge, come on. This is serious.”

 

“But we still haven't gotten any supplies from our office,” Rouge reminded him, “Fuse said…”

 

“Rouge, it doesn't matter! Forget the supplies and let's move!” Blue exclaimed in exasperation, grabbing Rouge's wrists and dragging him down the rest of the hallway. Because it was dark, Blue kept seeing flickers of shadows moving across the wall, which made him uneasy, but they were simply shadows on the wall. Finally, he reached the stairway door, and threw it open. Together with Rouge, they bounded down the stairs, crashing through the first floor door. Scrambling up, they ran across the front lobby, and found Fuse looking out the entrance doors.

 

“Fuse!” Rouge exclaimed, “Fuse, we've got a problem! Everything's…”

 

“I know, boy. That's what I'm looking at,” Fuse said grimly, narrowing his eyes, “This storm's interfering with all of the electrical currents. None of our radars are working, and without them, we can't find Rita's house. Do you two know what's causing it?”

 

“All we know is that it's some form of magic,” Blue replied, trying to ignore the shivers going up his spine, “But we have no idea what's causing it. But it has to be big to create that.” Rouge nodded, looking into the vacuous darkness. It completely stretched across the horizon, and he guessed it covered most of the world now, but without any way of knowing, he kept the comment to himself.

 

“Maybe it's coming from the clouds itself? Like some sort of propellant force?” Rouge suggested. Blue looked down, considering it. He didn't understand how any mere mortal had that amount of power to summon such a massive storm, even if they were Mystic. Something had to be assisting them.

 

“If we could get up there safely, we could see,” Blue sighed, turning to Fuse, “Can we fly in the storm?” Fuse's already gaunt face turned much grimmer as he let out a heavy sigh.

 

“We have no choice. Rita's a terrible threat,” Fuse replied regretfully, “It's either we go after her or she cripples IRPO in just a few hours. I'm just hoping the plane can hold up. I haven't heard back from Darius or Joker yet.” Blue looked down, wondering what could've been keeping them down in the quad for so long. Just as he was about to speak, suggesting they investigate, Emelia and Red came back with a medical kit.

 

“This is all we could find in the panic,” Red stated, and then looked up at the sky, “Whoa! What the hell is that?”

 

“From what Blue and I know, it's dark magic,” Rouge replied as Fuse took the medical kit with reserved frustration. Their supplies were pretty much a pile of nothing, and Fuse didn't know just how long it would be to pick up anything on the road. Assuming they could even get onto the road. Blue sensed Fuse's growing worry.

 

“Let's go to the quad and make sure they're all right,” Blue suggested, referring to Joker and Darius. Fuse nodded, and together, the five of them pushed their way out of the lobby and toward a long hallway leading to a dark chamber at the other end. Blue was surprised by how empty the tunnel toward the quad was, but he didn't comment. The only noise, aside from the slowly muffling murmurs in the lobby, came from their boots as they clacked across the tile flooring. The lack of any light made movement slow to avoid getting hurt, but eventually they made it into the chamber. Darius stood with a flashlight, pointing into the plane as Joker climbed out, cursing. He was covered in oil, which Blue knew wasn't a good sign.

 

“You all right, boy?” Fuse asked, raising a perplexed brow as he walked over, “What're you doing in there?”

 

“Trying to see if I can fix the engine,” Joker replied, jumping down, “I tried starting it up to get it ready, but it's not doing anything, sir. I thought maybe if I looked under the hood, I'd figure out what's wrong, but the engine exploded on me. I wouldn't go in there.” Fuse looked at Joker critically, a small part of him still wondering if maybe they were joking, but Joker looked earnest. And he was covered in oil, which could've ignited in there. Fuse sighed, his lips thinning.

 

“Well, I have to get in there if we plan on getting that bitch in chains before everyone here dies of heart failure, so stay back,” Fuse said sternly, and jumped into the plane. Swears and angry cursing followed, but they also heard him banging on something, trying to patch it up. The smell of diesel and oil was incredibly strong, but they had to bear it as they simply stood, waiting.

 

“What could be wrong with the plane?” Emelia asked as Darius handed Joker a towel, which he used to get as much oil off as he could.

 

“My guess is, whatever's going on out there is affecting everything that runs on a power source,” Joker suggested, running the towel through his now-slick, black-streaked hair, shivering at the touch, “I thought something smelled wrong when I went in, but I didn't know what to look for.”

 

“I find it awfully convenient that we didn't have this problem until you both examined the plane,” Roufas said, walking in, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, “You didn't do anything, did you?” Darius blinked, shocked at the accusation, and Joker's calm expression turned to outrage, giving him a truly menacing appearance. He clenched his fists.

 

“What're you trying to say, buddy!?” Joker demanded, “You think we rigged the plane!? Why would I do that? I was inside of it as it set off!”

 

“Still, I can't help but have this suspicion about you both,” Roufas replied, his frown deepening, “How can we be so sure you're not jostling us about as your aunt destroys the place from within?” Darius's eyes widened in disbelief, and Joker was ready to throttle Roufas.

 

“WHAT!?” Joker screamed, his body shaking, “You think we'd HELP that horrible woman!? She TORTURED us! If anything, we both hope she's dead! How DARE you accuse us of trying to kill you all when we know you'll help us out! You think we're just worthless piles of filth!?” Emelia's eyes teared up as she watched the fight continue.

 

“Well, based on your past offenses, it's hard to think otherwise,” Roufas stated simply.

 

“I WAS SET UP!” Joker cried, and was about to lunge at Roufas when Emelia stood in front of him, Roufas about to throw his own punch as well. Both stopped dead in their tracks.

 

“Stop it, both of you!” she cried, “This isn't the time to be fighting each other! Roufas, Steven didn't rig the plane! He couldn't have! If he did, why would he douse himself in oil?” Joker looked down, trying to control himself. His vision was distorted from anger, but he knew Emelia was on his side. To his surprise, that comforted him. Roufas stared at Emelia with wide eyes.

 

“Emelia, how could you defend this jerk? He killed Ren! Accidentally, but even so, he still attacked you later and then ran for it! How could you forgive him?” Roufas asked, taking off his sunglasses. Emelia looked down, and then glanced at Joker. He looked away, obviously the subject still bothering him.

 

“Because I know what it's like to live in fear of something, Roufas,” Emelia replied softly, “Steven was in a state of complete panic. How can I not, knowing that he's truly distraught over what happened?” She smiled as she turned back to Joker, “Steven, I really do forgive you. It's all right, and… I'm sorry that everyone else thinks you're a horrible person. But you're not, and you need to know that I know that.” Joker blinked, unable to comprehend the kindness Emelia was showing him. Slowly, his own smile came back and he nodded.

 

“Thank you,” he said, “That really means a lot to me.” Roufas bit his lip, as Fuse came back from inside the plane. His suit was stained, but he didn't appear to really care as he threw down a wrench. Everyone turned their attention to him.

 

“Well, the plane's fixed,” Fuse replied proudly, “The cap to the oil chamber fell off, that's all. Now come on. We need to get moving. Just got another buzz from the boss.” Quickly, everyone climbed into the plane, Roufas pulling the door shut when he was the last to enter. Blue and Fuse immediately took the front seats, with everyone else seated behind them. When they were all strapped in, Fuse pushed a button and the plane roared as the quad's exit door opened. Then, the plane swooshed out and into the air, diving into the black clouds like a bullet through butter. Amber flashes flared through the windows, and Rouge had to shield his eyes when they came too close to one. Blue's body stiffened.

 

“So, what did the boss want?” Blue asked, maneuvering the plane so that if the lights did flash again, it wouldn't be directly in anyone's eyes. He didn't trust those lights for a second. Fuse folded up the landing wheels before replying.

 

“She wanted to remind me that we only have a certain amount of time before IRPO is complete drained of funds,” Fuse explained grimly, “At this rate, we have about two hours to find Rita's house and get aunt Maria out before HQ has no money left.”

 

“What happens after that?” Blue inquired, as they zipped past the clouds.

 

“I don't know, soldier,” Fuse replied regretfully, “And part of me doesn't want to know. But something will definitely happen, I can be sure of that.” Blue nodded, and let Fuse continue with what he was doing. Calmly, he turned back toward Darius, who raised a perplexed brow.

 

“Do you or your brother remember where Rita lives?” Blue asked calmly. Darius looked at Joker, who shook his head.

 

“Steven doesn't, but I do,” Darius replied, “She lives near the central part of Nelson, in one of the bigger manors. At least, she did. I'm not sure if she moved, but if she's still there, she's somewhere near the manor district.”

 

“Any particular reason she'd move to Nelson?” Rouge asked, “I mean, no offense, but that place is crawling with crime scenes. What would a high-end businesswoman like her do there?” Blue nodded slightly, as Rouge had a point. He had read some of the older case files, and saw that Fuse had to go there quite often a few years back to break up two or three different gangs. Darius snorted sarcastically, crossing his arms.

 

“There used to be a Gold Ingot smuggling business somewhere in Nelson,” Darius explained, frowning, “My guess is, she moved to be close to that business. That's probably how she makes most of her money.”

 

“So it's another thing we can bust her on!” Red exclaimed happily, “That's a good thing, right?” He looked around, but no one seemed to be agreeing. Even Alkaiser shook his head when Red silently asked him for an opinion. Fuse looked in one of the small mirrors toward him.

 

“Unfortunately, we need solid proof that she's actually smuggling Gold Ingot,” Fuse stated seriously, “Something I highly doubt she has just lying around. And because ingot is the currency used by gnomes, who're greedy little bastards, they won't help us nail Rita on it.”

 

“Why not?” Red asked, his mouth slanting into a small frown.

 

“Because whether she smuggles it to them, or from them, they still make money nonetheless. They won't do anything that puts their gold in danger, whether it be actual gold or credits,” Fuse replied bitterly, “These illegal businesses really do stick together, even if they don't see it that way.” Silently, Blue agreed. After that, the plane ride was painfully silent, save for the roar of the engine as they sped through the dark clouds. Blue saw that the farther they went, the more the clouds seemed to thin, and eventually just evaporate into air. He began to wonder if the clouds were only gathered at IRPO, and if it was simply a storm or an actual threat. The rain had long stopped, something he didn't think would happen in a storm, but he couldn't truly be sure. And soon enough, the beautiful ocean came into view, with the blue sky shining as they finally passed the clouded area. The sudden brightness blinded everyone, as their gasps of shock filled the plane.

 

“Damn it, that sun's bright!” Red yelled, shielding his eyes, “Roufas, did you bring any more of your sunglasses?”

 

“Nope,” Roufas replied, smirking. He took off his own glasses and cleaned them, if only to show them off further. Fuse quickly and silently flipped him off, which he didn't appear to have seen. Blue snickered quietly, unable to keep his laughter in, but at the same time not wanting to alert Roufas's attention. He looked out the window at the shimmering sea, taking in how magnificent it was and how deep its color became. He felt he could get lost in it, and judging by Rouge's expression as he too looked out the window, he was thinking the same thing.

 

“What ocean is this?” Emelia asked, looking out her own window, “It's really nice.”

 

“I think it's called the Prism Sea, but I haven't looked at a map in ages,” Joker replied, joining her, “But… man, it's been years since I've seen such a breathtaking sight. I always vowed that after I got married and had a family, I'd take them all on a cruise that took us across this vast ocean.” Emelia nodded, and then once again, the trip became silent as everyone became slowly engulfed in the ocean's beauty. As they flew by, the angle of the sun actually changed the color of the waters, from a rippling blue, to a vast, sparkling green, and then to a slight pink as the sun began to slowly set. Finally, that pink turned to a deep, deep orange. But no land had come into sight, and they were flying for probably well over two hours now. Blue didn't know whether not hearing from their boss was a good thing or not, but he assumed it was bad. IRPO couldn't last much longer, and he knew this well.

 

“How long until we reach Nelson?” he asked worriedly, and when Fuse glanced at him, he seemed to guess why Blue was so anxious.

 

“Hopefully, not long. But this damn ocean is so huge, so who knows where we are?” Fuse replied grimly, checking the clock, “I'm getting worried, though. It's been nearly three hours and no one's radioed us.” Blue nodded, sighing as he picked up the radio, looking at it. He wanted to know what was happening. He wanted to know everyone back at the office was all right. Just as he put the radio down, it buzzed. Quickly, he picked it up.

 

“Hello, this is agent Blue speaking,” Blue said quickly, “Is everything all right down there?”

 

“Blue?” Doll's voice came, and when he asked if she was all right, she said, “Yes. But we have new information on Rita. We know where the money from IRPO is being funneled.” Blue's eyes widened, and a smile crept across his face. That was better news than he thought.

 

“That's great! But how did you find out?” Blue asked, trying his best not to let his excitement seep through. Fuse glanced at him, raising a confused eyebrow.

 

“One of our lab techs slipped a tracker into one of the bills she seized. We're tracing it as we speak,” Doll explained calmly, and Blue heard furious typing in the background, “It's going into an account at the National Bank in Shrike.” Blue's eyebrows perked with disbelief. How could she have an account in Shrike?

 

“Doll, she lives in Nelson,” Blue replied flatly, “How can she have an account in Shrike if she's in Nelson?” He heard the typing stop, and could sense that Doll was just as shocked as he was. She bit her lip.

 

“I'm going to guess it's some sort of back-up account,” Doll finally concluded, “I'll send a squad over there to freeze the account. That should stop, or even reverse, the flow of the money. You just focus on getting to Nelson.”

 

“All right,” Blue replied calmly, “Call if something else happens.” Doll agreed, and they both hung up. As he put the radio away, Blue sighed, and Fuse glanced at him again.

 

“What was that about?” he asked sternly, raising a bemused eyebrow.

 

“Doll found out that Rita has a separate account in Shrike that she's using to dump all of the money from IRPO into,” Blue replied, leaning back into his seat, “She's sending a squad out to freeze it.” Fuse nodded, and a wide grin graced his face as he turned the plane a bit, and this time, land came into view.

 

“That's our Doll! She's always been good at fixing technical problems,” Fuse stated almost a little too proudly, and then added, “By the way, Nelson's coming into view. We'll be landing in a few minutes.” Blue nodded, and slowly, Fuse began to descend the plane onto an old, abandoned pier just a bit outside of the city. It was difficult, as the pier was very small and hard to see amidst the shadows created from the two warehouses on either of its side, but Fuse managed, and soon enough, everyone was climbing out of the plane and onto the wooden dock.

 

“So, where do we go from here?” Roufas asked, looking at Fuse with a mixture of curiosity and worry. Fuse bit his lip, trying to think, but it was Darius who had a plan.

 

“We'll have to sneak through the manor district and into aunt Rita's house,” Darius replied, as they walked down the road, away from the pier, “Chances are, she's expecting us, so the front door isn't a good option at all for obvious reasons. We'll have to sneak around and get in from another way.” As they came closer to the city, whereas the streetlamps began illuminating the entire place, Darius lowered his voice so that unwanted guests couldn't hear him.

 

“Is there a back entrance we can use?” Emelia asked, as they ran across a large parking lot for the local bar. Darius shook his head.

 

“Not one that she won't hear when we open it,” Darius replied, “We'll need to use a window or a basement trapdoor to get in. She should have one of those.” Within minutes, they had crossed into the manor district, which was encased in a large, brick wall. Rouge guessed it was for security as they reached a large, wrought-iron gate. Red shook it, but it didn't budge.

 

“Are we going to have to climb this thing?” he asked, as Blue bent down to examine the lock. Darius nodded, grabbing onto one of the holes that could've been mistaken for a foothold.

 

“Yup,” he replied, pulling himself up. Joker and Emelia both followed, and when he discovered that there was no way to get inside without the gate key, Blue led everyone else up onto the wall as well. They all jumped and dashed through the small yards until Darius turned up onto a walkway, toward a trapdoor. He turned toward the others and grinned as he said, “She kept it unlocked! We can get in through here!” He was about to pull the doors opened, but Fuse quickly stopped him.

 

“Stop, boy!” Fuse exclaimed, and Darius froze, “Don't you find it a little suspicious that she left the basement open?” Darius bit his lip. That did seem rather odd, and now he was glad Fuse stopped him. He could've set off an alarm. Quietly, Fuse walked to the back door, and touched it. No alarms sounded, but when he went to open it, the door was locked.

 

“We can't go in there, can we?” Joker whispered, as Blue tinkered with some small device. Fuse sighed, looking down. He knew that was an incredible risk, but what other alternative did they have? His choice solidified when Blue spoke.

 

“We have no choice. There's an alarm that'll set off as soon as we open the basement door. The only security on the house are the basic locks that can be picked,” Blue replied, “I think we should take it.” Everyone turned to Fuse, whose lips thinned. He nodded, and took out his blaster, setting it to a small laser mode. He carefully aimed for the keyhole and fired the laser. Blue heard a faint click, and the door swung open. Sweeping the area with his eyes, Fuse silently ran in, everyone else behind him. The entrance led to a spacious, dim kitchen, and though they were quiet, their footsteps made incredible echoes on the marble floor. Fuse turned off his blaster, and turned on a flashlight, looking around. There was no sign of movement in the kitchen, or in the halls leading into the entrance hall. He glanced at Darius.

 

“All right, we're in. Where's the basement?” he asked. Darius motioned for them to remain silent, and led them toward a dark corner of the kitchen hidden from the hallways. A wooden door stood, unlocked, and Darius quietly opened it. It made a slight squeak, but then was completely still. Fuse flashed the light onto the wooden stairs leading downward as Blue shivered. The basement was freezing, and he suddenly feared that Aunt Maria might not even be alive. When no opposition existed, Fuse waved everyone down the stairs. They ran, with Roufas making sure the door was shut so that no one heard, and Darius ran over to a doorway cloaked in darkness. He flipped on the light switch, and Blue saw that the other room was actually a metallic corridor with doors all along the right side. Darius went to the second room, and knocked.

 

“Aunt Maria? Are you in there?” Darius asked. At first, only rustling was heard, and Blue was wondering if she was in there. Then, a soft, shaky voice called out.

 

“Darius? Is that you, sweetie?” Darius's eyes watered as he heard the voice. It sounded sick. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Angrily, Joker charged at it, knocking it down, ignoring how loud the crash was when it landed. In the room was nothing more than a mattress with rags, and Aunt Maria was lying in them, her own dress torn to pieces. Darius and Joker both ran in, trying to help her up. She felt unbelievably light in their arms.

 

“Aunt Maria, what happened to you!?” Joker asked, bringing her over to a chair, “Did Rita do this to you?” Aunt Maria looked over at Joker, and smiled genuinely.

 

“Steven, you've grown so much since I saw you,” she said happily, tears falling from her eyes, “How are you, sweetie? Did you get released from jail?” Joker looked down, unable to get through to his aunt. Blue took off his overcoat and wrapped it around Aunt Maria as Darius seated her. Rouge took his coat and handed it to her to use as a blanket. Darius knelt in front of her.

 

“Aunt Maria, this is serious. Did Rita put you in there?” he asked sternly. When Aunt Maria nodded, he added, “We're here to help you, auntie.” Aunt Maria smiled again, and then gasped, pointing to behind Darius. Everything went completely silent, save for Joker's scream of terror. Looking behind him, Darius growled angrily. A short, stern woman with rimmed glasses and a beige and red dress stood behind him, her hands angrily on her hips.

 

“And where would you be taking my sister, may I ask you, Darius?” she asked in a dangerously sweet voice. Darius's eyes narrowed into a hateful glare, and Joker clenched his fists.

 

“Anywhere away from you!” Joker spat, and Darius turned sharply to his brother. Rita raised an annoyed eyebrow, at first unable to recognize Joker, and then she laughed, shaking her head.

 

“Ah, little Steven. Such a useless associate in my business, but such a lovable part of my family,” Rita said calmly, “Why do you think you can walk in and take my sister away?”

 

“How about because you're a crazy nutcase who's trying to destroy everything around you?” Rouge countered, and Red laughed hysterically. Darius hid a snicker, but shook his head at Rouge, signaling to not make the matter worse. Rita scowled for a minute, and then her expression resumed its false gentleness.

 

“Oh, are you talking about that nasty business with IRPO?” she asked innocently, “That was just a misunderstanding.”

 

“Stop spewing garbage at us, ma'am,” Fuse said, stepping forward, “I'm Fuse, officer of IRPO's number one fleet. You're under arrest for extortion, abuse, and attempted murder on three charges. You have a right to remain silent, and if you're as smart as your nephews, you'll use that right and clamp it for once.” Blue rolled his eyes, wishing Fuse would be a bit more professional when it came to arresting people. But at least they had her, as Fuse took out the handcuffs. When he went to put them on her, she kicked them out of his hands and threw him into the wall.

 

“You think you can just take me?” she asked, “Well, you'll have to do better than that.” She took out a remote and pressed a button. Blue blinked, but at first, nothing appeared to happen. Then, a slow rumbling started, and finally, it felt as though an earthquake were hitting them. Blue held onto Rouge as Emelia grabbed Joker, all four of them falling to the ground. Fuse held onto the table, and Roufas helped Darius keep Maria safe. The rumbling continued, and the only noise that could penetrate it was Rita's laughter.

 

“What the hell is that!?” Red yelled, as plaster fell from one of the rooms. Blue squinted his eyes, but could see nothing from the dust kicking up from the floor.

 

“I don't know, but I have a bad feeling we're going to find out…”

 

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

 

And so, Blue, Rouge, and their squad of voluntary cops finally made it into Rita's house. And they found Aunt Maria, but with her mind obviously malnourished, she doesn't seem to be able to help them much. But they need to get her out of Rita's reach! What did Rita do, to cause such an earthquake to strike them? What is the true beast she summoned? And can they make an arrest on her, or will she simply kill them? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!