Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ Bad Deals and the Demented Mystics who love Them! ( Chapter 31 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does, and they hate the Final Fantasy references. Unless they want to sue the greatest SGF writer they have, they need to shut up.

 

“THREE!” Rouge yelled, finishing Blue's sentence for him. All four of them grabbed the handle of the door Ciato pointed out, and pulled as hard as they could. They pulled until their knuckles turned white, and Ciato's wings threatened to break off from the effort. They pulled until they were sure their arms would pop off. And only when they all fell backwards did they stop. The door didn't even budge. Rouge scrambled up, dusting his shirt off and glaring at the door. By all rights, it really should've opened; they used enough force to pull a regular door right off its hinges.

 

“What the hell!?” Rouge exclaimed, throwing his arms up, “Why won't this piece of shit open!?” He kicked at the door, and instantly regretted it as his foot connected with a loud bang. He jerked back, hopping about as he held his injured foot, and he silently swore he heard something crack. Blue frowned, wondering just why it wouldn't open, either. He turned to Ciato, who landed upside-down, on his wings.

 

“Did you sense any seals on that door?” he asked, raising a brow as he rubbed the back of his head. Ciato rolled over, his armor clanking on the floor. Aside from whatever was inside of the room, he hadn't sensed anything at all. He shook his head.

 

“Nothing of the sort,” he replied, and Blue frowned again, “What could it have been?” Unfortunately, neither Blue nor Ciato had any clues as to why they couldn't get in. If it wasn't magic, what could it have been? Also unfortunately, Rouge was unwilling to use logic to think the situation through as he stomped on the ground with his injured foot, wincing at the pain.

 

“Who cares why it won't open!?” he cried, “Point is, we have to get in there and some idiot is making it impossible! Now excuse me!” He pushed past Blue as he stormed back up to the door, rolling up his sleeves. He grinned psychotically as he rubbed his fists together. Blue didn't like that look. He'd only seen it on Rouge's face once before: they had been five years old, and old Mrs. Delores had told them that some trees contained things like money and jewels, but only if they were opened up. Immediately following that, Rouge went into her backyard and gave that exact grin to the lone tree before setting it on fire, only to find that absolutely nothing had been inside the tree, and that if he didn't run away as fast as possible, Mrs. Delores would kill him if she caught him. He never went to her house again after that. Blue didn't even want to know where this would be leading, but fearing the absolute worst, he had to ask anyway.

 

“Rouge, what are you doing?” Blue asked warily, eyeing his twin with suspicion. He didn't want to see Virgil's reaction if his castle was sent screaming into a roaring inferno.

 

“I'm going to blow this door apart, even if it takes a million Vermillion Sands!” Rouge declared, his grin growing. Fists clenched, he closed his eyes and muttered a few words no one could comprehend. Then, he opened his eyes and shouted, “VERMILLION SAND!” One lone, orange stone tapped the door with a weak thunk, but nothing else happened. Rouge's eye twitched as Ciato laughed.

 

“Are you sure one million will be enough?” the Mystic asked smugly, crossing his arms, “Because, by the looks of it, you'll need much more than that to even dent the door, much less open it.” Rouge growled. If he didn't think it'd result in him getting killed in some way, whatever distant, he'd have gone over and punched Ciato in the head. But he couldn't, and so he didn't. Instead, he glared at the blonde Mystic.

 

“GO FALL IN A DITCH AND DIE!” he screeched, and when Ciato laughed again, he said, “I don't see you opening the door!” Ciato's laughter died down only slightly as he stood up, straightening his cloak as he walked up to the door. Rouge just stepped back, intent on watching whatever Ciato would try fail. But as Ciato closed his eyes and held out his hand, Rouge was in for a shocking surprise. At first, a tiny, blue glow emitted from the Mystic's palm. Then, it slowly grew, until he stepped back and let loose a roar that was so might, so terrifying, so recognizable to anyone who watched cartoons, that Rouge swore in other world, someone had actually died just hearing such a blood-curdling call.

 

“KAMEHAMEHA!” Ciato screamed, and unleashed a massive beam of light straight at the door. It exploded upon impact, the blast causing such an aftershock that the entire castle shook, the ceiling threatening to crash right onto their heads. Only when the explosion died down, and when Ciato lowered his arm, did Rouge's mouth drop open, unable to believe the sheer force he just witnessed.

 

“Where the hell did you learn that!?” he asked in complete disbelief. Never mind for now that the door was completely unharmed; whatever Ciato did, it was absolutely amazing. And most probably illegal, too. And, when Ciato finally stopped grinning enough to answer, Rouge found he was right.

 

“Again, my friend, the internet is an amazing thing,” the Mystic replied calmly, his grin broken only a little, “I tell you, those Saiyans are willing to do anything to make a few credits. Offer ten, and they practically give you all their cruddy, little superpowers.” Of all the words he could've used to describe such a terrible detonation, `cruddy' and `little' had never occurred to Rouge. What also never occurred to Rouge was that even with the destructive blow, it didn't do a thing to remove the door.

 

“It's just too bad those powers don't open golden doors,” Blue stated flatly. Rouge turned again, and his eyes widened. If he hadn't been so blindsided by the explosion, his mouth would've dropped as well. But in Mosperiburg, he never knew what to actually expect with any given attack. He certainly never expected a door to be so hard to destroy.

 

“What is with this Goddess-damned door!?” Rouge demanded, eye twitching, “Seriously, we've tried magic, might, and even a fucking Kamehameha, and absolutely nothing works! What the hell!?” Ciato watched Rouge scream and slander the door for reasons the door couldn't control, all the while looking around toward Blue, who was currently trying to figure a way into the room, and then toward Fuse, who seemed to be trying to sharpen something into a point. Finally, the Mystic cleared his throat, and Rouge stopped screaming. His throat was hurting, and hurt only more as he asked, “What is it!?”

 

“Did it ever occur to anyone that we might need to actually unlock the door?” Ciato asked, “Preferably with a key?” Rouge stared at Ciato as though the Mystic went completely insane. That answer was beyond simple. There was just one problem. He didn't remember Virgil ever giving any of them a key. And if Ciato had one, he really should've used it by now. He promised to help them.

 

“We don't have a key!” Rouge cried, finally deciding to just let exhaustion get the better of him as he knelt onto the floor, absolutely worn out. This task should've been simple, but it was proving quickly to being one of the most daunting responsibilities he'd been forced with. He hated it. Fuse stopped sharpening the object in his hand and finally decided to join in the fun of opening the door. He held up his trusted item.

 

“Relax, soldiers. We don't need a key,” he replied gruffly, “I sharpened this thing. I'll break that damn lock and make it wish it had never been welded!” Rouge seriously doubted the old cop could do that, but he wasn't about to stop anyone from opening the door. Tiredly, he stumbled over to Blue, leaning on the older mage for support. Blue seemed highly amused with Fuse's attempt as he patted Rouge's back.

 

“That looks like a stick,” he commented, referring to Fuse's precious lock-pick, “Please tell me he's not using a stick to unlock the door.”

 

“All right. Pretend it's a sword, then,” Ciato replied, crossing his arms as he watched Fuse try and jam the stick between the two doors, “A really flimsy sword that can't do anything.” Blue chuckled, and nodded a silent agreement. Rouge was too tired to do much of anything except watch. Fuse finally managed to slip the wood between the small crack and was currently trying to wedge the doors apart like a crowbar. It wasn't working.

 

“I failed at workshop, but I don't think he's using it right,” Rouge commented quietly. Blue snorted, patting his brother's head as he heard Fuse curse angrily. He had twisted his stick so badly that it snapped in two, one half still wedged in between the doors. Ciato was clearly trying his best not to just burst out laughing, but it was all he could do to not even comment on it. To Blue, it was just another Fuse moment. Fuse twitched as he threw his half of the stick on the ground.

 

“Damn Mystics don't make doors like they used to, that's for sure,” the cop grumbled, getting out his blaster, “Back in my days, doors used to be so poorly constructed that a stray whiff of something would knock it down! It's a sad, sad day when a makeshift crowbar can't do a damn.” Blue eyed the blaster suspiciously, wondering just what Fuse would be going for. He no sooner had his answer until Fuse grinned, setting his blaster onto full power. The gold reflected the purple light coming off of the gun, and the sheer amount of heat coming off of Fuse's weapon began melting a small hole in one of the golden frames. Blue's eyes widened, and as he screamed, both he and Rouge rushed to stop the mad cop.

 

“Whoa, hold on a second!” Blue cried, grabbing the blaster out of Fuse's hand as Rouge said, “Boss, what the hell are you doing!?”

 

“I'm breaking down this damn door even if it kills me!” Fuse exclaimed, as though the answer were obvious. In his mind, it was, “There's some asshole in there who needs a big, ol' helping of justice, and I sure don't want him escaping from a side dish of prison, either!” Blue just shut off the blaster and gave Fuse a very flat look, as though Fuse were a complete idiot for even thinking he could get away with destroying Virgil's door. And, in Blue's mind, Fuse was. Not to mention the fact that he just came close to breaking a law. Deciding to use that logic to stop him for good, Blue just grinned.

 

“You know, for someone who likes to serve up justice, you came really close to breaking a law yourself,” Blue stated smugly, and Rouge raised a slender brow in question, “You almost vandalized someone's property, Fuse. That's at least a year in prison, and a good chance of being fired.” Unfortunately, any logical footing he hoped to gain was lost instantly. Fuse took out his badge and flashed it, for just a second.

 

“I don't count, boy. I'm a cop,” Fuse replied sternly, “If Virgil's going to make doors that are impossible to open, I'm going to take my grandpa's advice and blow my way inside, even if it means I might kill the culprit. That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.” Blue's eyes narrowed, wondering just what jury would ever approve of that. Ciato just snorted, deciding wisely that he wouldn't comment on just what he was feeling. Rouge, as usual, was the most expressive with how he felt. He gave Fuse such a confounded look, one that expressed such complete and utter bewilderment, Fuse almost mistook him for a retarded idiot child.

 

“Boss… what the hell did your grandpa do?” he asked suspiciously, “Was he a bomber or something!?” Fuse's brows creased, and for a second, Rouge was sure he offended the older cop. But that second vanished as Fuse broke into an easy grin, shaking his head.

 

“Nah, that was my dad,” the cop replied proudly, “My grandfather was an arsonist. Damn good at the job, too. You know he was the one who set Trinity on fire fifty years ago?” Blue's eyes widened as Rouge's mouth dropped. Of everything Fuse could've been proud of in his life, living among criminals shouldn't have been one of them. But then again, Fuse wasn't exactly a good cop, either. Blue couldn't tell what shocked him more: Fuse's upbringing or the fact that he really was proud of it.

 

“Sir… I really am not sure that's something you should be telling us,” Blue stated, sweat rolling down his head in nervousness, “We are cops, after all.” Fuse hummed for a second, considering Blue's words. Logically, the magician had a point, but Fuse couldn't actually see the problem. After all, he loved his family, and if anyone else had a problem with it, all the more power to them if they felt a need to tell him about it. He just snorted softly.

 

“Then it's a good thing they're both dead,” he replied, grinning, “None of you wiseasses can arrest them, if that's what you're getting at.” Blue just sighed, hanging his head. Fuse was missing the point. Rouge just made the gesture that Fuse was insane, and silently, Blue had to chuckle at that. They both agreed on the notion. Ciato had looked over, and it was his grunt of disapproval that caught the twins' attention. In particular, Rouge looked over, tilting his head curiously. He half-expected a wise remark from the Mystic, but instead, Ciato looked particularly annoyed now.

 

“You okay?” Rouge asked worriedly, and Ciato glanced at him. He nodded grimly, but crossed his arms as he hovered in the air.

 

“Yes, but something in there is starting to irritate me, and the fact that you can't get us inside is just making my mood worse,” he stated, though despite being annoyed, he was calm, “I really want to know what's in there.” Rouge nodded. For once, he actually agreed with Ciato on that note. He turned back to the door.

 

“Sorry,” he replied genuinely, “This next attempt won't fail.” Blue looked over at Rouge with slight skepticism. If a spell, a wedge, and a Kamehameha didn't even dent the door, he really wanted to know just what Rouge thought possibly could.

 

“What are you planning?” he asked gently. Rouge bit his lip. He didn't actually know yet, but he knew he had to try something. He knew Ciato's gut instinct was only growing stronger, and he knew that the thief had to be in there. Even if Ciato was a bastard, he had never been wrong. He didn't answer Blue. As he considered his options, he decided to see if he could manipulate the lock with a Shadow Servant spell. If his shadow could slip inside, he could unlock the door for them in there. It was a good plan, but required a lot of focus. Silently, praying that Blue wouldn't take offense, Rouge closed his eyes and focused on weaving his magic around his shadow. He could feel sparks of life flying into his shadow, but right as he was about to unleash one piece of the complicated spell, Fuse spoke up again.

 

“Whoa, hold on, soldiers!” he cried, making Rouge silently curse at him, “We don't need magic. I just remembered I had a key in my pocket the whole time!” Rouge's eyes flew open. In a creepy unison move, he, Blue, and Ciato all glared at Fuse at the same time, eyes hardened in both rage and disbelief. Fuse just laughed as though it were the funniest thing in the world as he said, “Look here, boys! We've been destroying Virgil's property and I had this key the entire time!”

 

“Are you serious!?” Rouge screamed, eye twitching, “We wasted our energy and you could've opened the door at any time?” Fuse blinked, looking at the key before he looked at Rouge. He walked over to the door, and nodded as he put the key into the keyhole.

 

“Yup,” he replied simply, turning the key. He heard a faint click, and the door slowly opened. Rouge felt his blood pressure rise. Even if they were able to get in, the fact that their boss just wasted countless seconds of time and bundles of energy, and didn't seem to care about it really made him mad. They could've killed themselves trying to open that damn door, and Fuse might have just laughed and walked on. Or ranted about how `back in his day,' policemen didn't let a little thing like a locked door kill them. Either one would've made Rouge want to rip his hair out. When the door fully opened, Fuse just walked right in without even waiting for Rouge, or anyone else, to tell him off for his carelessness regarding the key. Obviously, he didn't see the problem with it, even if it cost his best men some of their mental stamina. Only when he poked his head out and asked, “Aren't you boys coming?” did Rouge finally snap. He lunged for the older cop.

 

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?” he roared, “We just learned what a fucking dumbass you are and you EXPECT US TO FOLLOW YOU!? JUST LIKE THAT!?” Though his voice echoed down the hall and around the large chamber, most probably alerting the thief himself of their presence, Fuse seemed completely unperturbed by the volume of Rouge's screams of fury. In fact, he looked annoyed with Rouge as his brows creased, placing his hands on his hips.

 

“Yes, I do,” Fuse said sternly, as Blue caught up to his twin, restraining him as he looked at Fuse with worry, “I'm your boss, and if you don't follow orders, I'll have to fire you. Now come on or I'm writing you up for insubordination.” Rouge's mouth dropped as Fuse said this. Then the old cop just turned and walked into the room as if nothing had happened at all. Blue glanced from the empty doorway down to his twin, who looked ready to blow up his own blood vessels. He turned to Ciato, who seemed relatively neutral on the subject as he simply watched them all.

 

“Do you want to head in and h… ACK!” Blue was nearly knocked away as Rouge lost his temper again, struggling against his brother in order to get to Fuse and strangle him. But, Blue was far stronger than Rouge anticipated. He couldn't break free.

 

“LET GO OF ME!” he roared again, eye twitching, “One shot, Blue. JUST ONE SHOT OF ENERGY CHAIN!” Blue grunted as he tried to hold Rouge in place. Even if he was the stronger twin, Rouge was still a formidable challenge. And he definitely wanted to kill Fuse for the key. Ciato even came over to help Blue, and both of them were successful in keeping Rouge from advancing, even if he threw them looks of hatred and doom as they did so. Eventually, Blue took a deep breath and tried to speak, hoping to calm Rouge down.

 

“Rouge, stop it!” he cried in exasperation, as Rouge continued to struggle, “You can't just kill him!” Unfortunately, that seemed to simply enrage Rouge further. He tried to push Blue away, but when he couldn't, he simply glared again, his eyes starting to turn red with fury.

 

“I deserve it for all of this time!” he growled. And while Blue was inclined to agree, murder was still wrong, and they were still cops. Rouge would still be jailed and most probably executed as well. And as much as Blue and Rouge fought, Blue loved his brother. He couldn't let that happen, no matter how insane Rouge became.

 

“Rouge, I am not letting you do a stupid thing like that,” he replied flatly, though he knew that in Rouge's raging stupor, he was most probably ignored. Rouge tried struggling again, and Blue looked over at Ciato again, who had nearly fallen over when Rouge almost elbowed him in the face. He asked, “Can you please do something so I can go in and do my job?” Ciato gave him a disbelieving stare. Considering what had happened previously, Ciato was the worst person to ask for this, but it was clear not even Blue was calming Rouge down. And if one of them didn't show up soon, both of them would be fired. Blue had to go in to save their jobs. Ciato just nodded.

 

“I'll do my best,” he said with uncertainty, as Blue saluted and ran into the room. Rouge growled again, hoping Blue would come back with Fuse's head, but when Blue didn't reappear, Rouge tried to lunge into the room again. Ciato grabbed him, trying to keep him from making the biggest mistake in his life. Rouge glared back at the Mystic.

 

“LET GO!” he roared, but not because of Ciato. He just wanted to go in and murder his boss and regain his sanity. Ciato, poor Ciato, just shook his head.

 

“I can't do that,” he said quickly, his wings shaking, “Please, just calm down before…” Ciato winced as he heard a loud roar coming from inside of the room. It wasn't the roar of a monster, like a chimera or a griffon. No, this was a roar of powerful magic. It hurt his ears to hear, and it made his wings tremble in agony as he listened to it. He felt Rouge shaking beside him, and heard the human screaming from the shock of such a roar. He looked over and tried to calm Rouge down, but the magic was too much for him.

 

“Stop the noise… stop the noise!!!” Rouge begged of the Mystic, not caring that Ciato couldn't do anything. Rouge clawed, trying to get inside the room to either get to Blue or to stop the magic, but Ciato had to calm him down. Anything else could really do some horrible mental damage. Finally, Ciato knew if he didn't do something, Rouge would kill himself if the roar didn't die. He held Rouge close, covering the agonized human's ears and protecting him from the aftershock with his wings. It hurt his head to be fully exposed to such a powerful thunder, but it was better than forcing Rouge to listen. Whatever was in there, whatever was happening, it was clearly too much for the magician. Everything combined was probably too much, and this was all Ciato could do just to keep him alive. Finally, slowly, the noise died down. Ciato's wings stopped shaking, and eventually, Rouge stopped cowering and looked up at the Mystic, his eyes watered. He couldn't understand what happened; all he knew was that he had gotten so angry, his sight went red. Ciato looked down at him gently.

 

“Are you all right?” he asked with concern clear in his voice. Rouge nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked through the doorway. He couldn't see anything inside. It was too dark.

 

“Yeah…” he said, though his voice was distant, “…thanks. For helping me.” Ciato just nodded, looking away.

 

“Least I could do to help,” the Mystic replied casually. Then they looked at each other for a moment. Neither spoke, neither knowing what to say. But then they both seemed to remember that they still had to help Blue and Fuse, both of whom had been too close to the blast for their comfort. Rouge laughed, walking to the doorway.

 

“We'd better get in there, eh?” he asked good-naturedly, but Ciato clearly heard the nervousness in the younger man's voice. He simply nodded, however. He knew much better than to argue. They walked in through the door, and Rouge immediately swung his head around to see the room. If magic had been used in there, there was no sign of it. Sure, it was dark, but that was because the torches weren't lit. Other than that, it was in perfect condition. From what Rouge could see, at the very least, the stained glass windows were intact. Blue was just a little to his left, and he practically hugged the older mage when he saw him, exclaiming, “Thank the goddesses you're alive, bro!” Even Ciato gave a weak smile, though his eyebrow did rise as he recalled the terrible roar they had just heard.

 

“Wait… if you're alive… what sort of spell was used?” the Mystic asked, slightly bewildered, “Clearly, we heard a huge roar of power.” Unfortunately, Blue didn't appear to know what he was talking about. At least, not until he actually considered what was said. He hadn't heard a roar, but he was also caught in the spell's range. He guessed that anyone who was too far away could hear the spell, whereas they might not be able to see it. He chuckled, patting Rouge's head.

 

“Oh, that? That was just the Time Lord using Overdrive,” Blue replied simply, almost amused, “Seems our genius of a boss decided to get into a fight with the poor guy.” Ciato's eyes widened. The Time Lord was here!? He wasn't exactly a Mystic overlord, but he was a damned powerful Mystic regardless. Why was he here? And, more importantly…

 

“Why the hell was that cop picking a fight with the Time Lord!?” Ciato demanded, almost exasperated with the news. Insulting a Mystic was bad and stupid enough. Actually assaulting one usually resulted in death. And, if not death, then severe injury to all involved, aside from the Mystic himself. Blue hung his head, blue streaks of embarrassment spreading across them. For him, there was never really a way to explain most, if not all, of Fuse's decisions. At least, never a way that made any sense to anyone other than Fuse.

 

“Apparently, the Time Lord didn't drop his weapon in time,” Blue replied in almost a mocking voice, “Not that he needed to, because he wasn't trying to kill us, but you know Fuse. He goes all out and maverick on any poor civilian that breaks any rule, no matter how small.” Ciato just nodded, but he couldn't even believe Fuse would seriously be that stupid. They were lucky the Time Lord didn't use anything that sped their speed up so quickly that they melted. Rouge was still too shocked about the culprit being the Time Lord to listen to why Fuse did something so rash. He looked at his brother with just a hint of confusion in his face.

 

“…didn't you kill the Time Lord?” he whispered. Blue bit his lip, trying not to laugh; the situation wasn't funny, but he actually managed to spare the Mystic and strike up a deal. Unfortunately, Ciato didn't know that. He turned sharply to Blue, his normally golden eyes glowering with red.

 

“YOU DID WHAT!?” the Mystic screamed, his wings stiffening. Blue actually backed away, holding his hands up in surrender. Technically, he only hit the Time Lord twice with his sword, and only used a wickedly powerful bout of Mega Wind Blast before the Mystic saw the error of denying him his magic.

 

“Hey, I didn't kill him,” Blue said quickly, as Ciato's eye twitched, “I spared him! I gave him a little boo-boo and then we made friends! Honest!” Ciato didn't appear to calm down, though. Even if Blue didn't kill the Time Lord, he still assaulted the guy, and that had to be paid for. And the Mystics' favorite form of human currency was blood. Asellus was proof of that one. But before Ciato could draw his blade to kill, Rouge managed to put two and two together. He gasped, looking at Blue in awe.

 

“You bribed him!?” Rouge asked. Blue just grinned nervously, and both Rouge and Ciato knew that `bribe' was too generous. Even Blue had his moments of absolute vileness, especially if it came to learning magic. Rouge asked, “What did you do!?” when Blue didn't answer. Blue just laughed.

 

“I… might have blackmailed him,” the blonde magician replied, and yelped as Ciato swung his sword at the man, “Hey, would you rather I killed him!? Besides, it worked for both of us.” Ciato's rage lessened only slightly. Blue had a point; a shaken Mystic was still much more useful than a dead one. Letting out a deep sigh, Ciato put his sword away.

 

“What exactly did you two agree on?” he asked suspiciously. Rouge looked over at his brother. The sheepish expression, which Blue wore only three times that Rouge could remember, was priceless. It had to have been absolutely ridiculous on the Time Lord's part.

 

“Well…” Blue bit his lip, “You know how there's rumor of this thing being built to take us to other worlds?” Ciato raised a brow and nodded. He'd heard vague mentions of such a thing; some sort of traveler's stop from some other-worldly race that'd allow them to jump all over the galaxy for a decent price. He didn't believe any of what he'd heard. He snorted.

 

“Don't tell me that idiot gave you his magic just so he could go world-hopping,” Ciato said flatly. Unfortunately, Blue nodded. That was exactly what had happened. Ciato's eye twitched, and turning toward the large chamber, he shouted, “TIME LORD, GET YOUR AGELESS ASS OVER HERE!” Never mind that the Time Lord was far older than even Orlouge. Never mind that Ciato was just a baby compared to him. He had agreed to the stupidest deal ever, and Ciato planned to tell him so. The Time Lord looked over, apparently dazed from the fact that he had to use Overdrive, but it didn't lessen the fury scribbled on Ciato's face. Wondering just why such a young Mystic would be yelling, the Time Lord walked over.

 

“What is it?” he asked, just slightly annoyed that anyone would have the insolence to yell at him, “Can you not see I'm trying to recover from fighting a Human?” Sadly, Ciato didn't care a damn about that. He could've wiped out an entire region of humans without breaking a sweat if he wanted. The only thing that stopped him was that the last time he did so, he spent nearly thirty years in jail before Zozma came to bail him out. And he was absolutely sure that if it happened again, Zozma would take even longer just to piss him off. So, he didn't say anything about it.

 

“Is it really true you took a deal for world-hopping if you gave this human magician your magic?” Ciato asked instead, his voice becoming flat again. He still couldn't believe the Time Lord would do anything like that, but he didn't think Blue was lying, either. Besides, he didn't actually know how smart the Time Lord was, anyway. To his dismay, the Time Lord nodded, breaking into a smug grin.

 

“It's a good deal, isn't it?” he asked, not noticing Ciato's eye twitch, “I mean, at first, I didn't actually believe a silly race like Esper actually existed, but I was wrong! Why, three of them actually visited me just to confirm that the deal was legitimate!” Ciato raised a brow. He had only seen one Esper before, and it looked like a giant, black dragon. And he'd been to the Time Lord's realm. There was no room for one dragon, let alone three.

 

“Right. What did these `Espers' look like?” he asked suspiciously. The Time Lord's grin didn't fade. Obviously, he was proud to tell the tale of how he actually saw this other-worldly new race. Mainly because he was probably the only one aside IRPO who knew of them.

 

“Well, one of them was a really stern, young woman with black hair. I think she was the leader, but she didn't really say anything. She mostly let her two friends do the talking,” he explained, “The second one had really wild white hair, and he was dressed like a human, stupid as that is. He had this silly necklace on, and it kept glowing, too. The third Esper looked insane. His eye kept twitching when the leader tried to speak. And he wore so much leather armor! It looked so unsafe! Oh, and that horrible scar. I'm sure he was the warrior of the three just for the scar alone!” Ciato's lips thinned. He didn't personally know what Espers should have looked like, but he was sure it wasn't that. He was sure they just screwed the Time Lord even more than Blue had. And while part of him wanted to just leave it at that, he knew Virgil would be absolutely outraged when he found out. He sighed.

 

“Time Lord, I don't think they were Espers,” he stated, trying to remain calm, “I think you were screwed into Oblivion.” The Time Lord, however, just shook his head and produced a white card. It wasn't a badge, but it did have the words `Esper Sentinel Brigade' on it. Ciato took the card and stared at it. If that was the Time Lord's only proof, the Time Lord was stupider than he originally thought. Ciato said, “This doesn't prove anything.”

 

“But it has the word `Esper' on it! It has to be true!” the Time Lord cried, and Rouge had to hide a laugh. That was the worst reasoning he had ever heard, even when dealing with Fuse himself. And it was Fuse that Ciato finally turned to, annoyed as he was. Fuse was from IRPO after all. Fuse would know if the deal was true.

 

“Tell me it's false,” Ciato grumbled to the old cop. But to his dismay, Fuse shook his head, crossing his arms. He winced as his hand rubbed up against a bruise on his forearm.

 

“It's true. I've seen some of the Espers working on it,” he replied seriously, “Nice bunch of assholes, too. I never saw the three you just mentioned, though. They might be new recruits.” Ciato found that just a bit too convenient. But the Time Lord wasn't even bothered at the prospect of having been conned out of his power. In fact, his grin actually grew with Fuse's words.

 

“That's what I thought, too!” the old Mystic exclaimed, clapping his hands together, “At first, I thought the third one was just some hooligan who wanted to make some trouble, but when he gave me that nice card, I knew he was telling the truth! Why, how can you doubt anything that's written on a card!?” Rouge was finally laughing. He wanted to tell the poor Mystic that half the stuff on the internet and half the books in the world were completely false, but he didn't know if the old Mystic would listen, or even understand that. He tried to glance at Fuse, thinking that maybe his boss would try to right the Mystic's obviously skewed vision of the world. But as usual, Fuse just made it worse.

 

“I know! I mean, if it wasn't true, we'd be booking them for false advertising,” Fuse agreed, “And that could get them put away for a real long time. I don't think anyone would ever risk that.” It looked like Fuse didn't believe in media scandals, either. Rouge just snorted, and Blue hung his head, having absolutely no idea how he was supposed to respond. Clearly, that card wasn't the most trustworthy source in the world. But how could he tell that to two idiots? The answer was, he couldn't. Not unless he wanted an argument. And, he didn't want an argument. Instead, he decided to look at the problem that led them to the Time Lord. And that was the missing rings.

 

“Espers and bad deals aside, Time Lord, why did you steal Virgil's rings?” Blue asked, raising an eyebrow, “You weren't trying to get your power back, were you?” The Time Lord blinked slowly, turning to Blue for the first time. The perplexed expression told the human that the Time Lord didn't recognize him, and he felt that was just as well. Even if he took the Time Lord's magic away, the Mystic still had the ability to use the spells he had learned.

 

“No, of course not,” he replied calmly, almost questioningly, “Who are you again? Are you the repairman I called last week?” Rouge laughed again, patting Blue on the back. Not only was the Time Lord retarded, he was also old as hell, possibly suffering through dementia. Blue opened his mouth to reply, but Ciato, who was still furious with the fact that a Mystic was actually screwed out of a deal by a HUMAN, managed to get the word in first.

 

“No, he's the idiot who conned you right out of your magic,” Ciato replied flatly, and waved a hand, “But obviously you don't remember, so moving along. The rings. Why'd you steal them?” The Time Lord just tilted his head, and Ciato felt he was ready to blow. The poor, old Mystic actually had to think to remember why he stole from one of the most powerful Mystics in existence. Silently, Ciato wondered if they could let him off on a psychopath defense. Then, the Time Lord snapped his fingers, causing everyone except Fuse to jump with the loud crack it made.

 

“I got it!” he declared proudly, “I remember now! I think I saw this blue critter making off with them after I took `em! Of course, I was lying down, and I don't remember why I was in here, but I saw him! I think he was a hedgehog!” Blue was sure that if Rouge didn't control himself, he'd die of laughter soon enough. Ciato just slapped his palm against his face in disbelief. For all of his life, he revered the Time Lord and looked up to him as the perfect example of evil power. And now, he saw that clearly, his idol was a demented moron. If only he could go back in time and warn himself of that fact.

 

“That's Sonic the Hedgehog, you nimrod,” Ciato grumbled, shaking his head, “Chances are, you were dreaming. Now stop being silly and start answering! Why did you take Virgil's rings!?” He half-expected the Time Lord to start rambling again, but to his surprise, the Mystic's ears seemed to perk up at Virgil's name. Obviously, the name caused a few wires to connect.

 

“Virgil! I haven't seen him in years! Or… is it centuries now? I don't remember,” the Time Lord said, grinning again, “But, my word! He's still alive? How is he? Does he still like Earl Grey Tea?” Rouge finally managed to get his laughter down to simple snorting, but Ciato's face went nearly red. He was about to reach his limits of patience, if he ever had any to begin with. He had considered ripping his own hair out to distract himself from the horror that was the Time Lord's IQ, but he refrained. He loved his hair too much.

 

“Yes, he's still alive!” Ciato cried in exasperation, knowing that his blood would boil soon, “And he's pissed off! You stole his rings, you stupid git! Now tell us why or I'm going to murder you!” Obviously, Ciato forgot that Fuse was still there, and it was Fuse's shoes tapping against the ground that made him turn toward the calm, slightly irritated cop. Fuse had his hand on his blaster.

 

“Watch your mouth, boy,” the cop warned flatly, “Murder's against the law, and I know my boys will be pissed as all hell at seeing you again. So do us a favor and don't commit it.” That caused the poor Mystic to snap. Ciato's eye twitched, and he grumbled incoherent words at the cop. Rouge backed away, terrified that the Mystic might actually hurt someone, but the Time Lord directed everyone's attention again. Unsurprisingly, all of them hoped it was something important; anything less might actually push Ciato right over the edge.

 

“Oh, yeah, now I remember!” Time Lord exclaimed, snapping again, “My clock was broken! I needed to fix it!” Rouge stared at the old Mystic in disbelief. That was why he was inadvertently threatening another world? Because of a broken clock!? Rouge didn't know the Time Lord, other than what Blue had mentioned, but this was one of the last things he'd ever have expected to face. Even retarded idiot monkeys didn't resort to something so illogical!

 

“And why would you think the rings would help you?” Blue asked, being the only one who remained the least bit sane with the answer. Fuse looked up at him, and a scowl spread across his face. Apparently, only catching the criminal was enough for him; they didn't need to know why he did something, just the fact that he did it. At least, that's what Fuse wanted to think.

 

“Why do we care? We have a confession and that's good enough for me,” the cop stated, taking out his all-too familiar pair of handcuffs. Blue stared at his boss flatly. To him, the reason was just as important as the act. But, then again, Blue was much smarter than Fuse apparently was. Blue understood morals. Just as Fuse was about to latch one cuff on the Time Lord, the old Mystic backed away, shaking his head.

 

“Hey, just hold the phone for a minute!” he cried, eyes widened with terror, “You don't even know my side of this story!”

 

“Then enlighten us, old-timer,” Ciato grumbled, though he personally didn't care as to what possible tale the Time Lord would use to explain himself. The Time Lord nodded firmly, and sat down, crossing his arms over his chest. Blue joined him for the sake of making him feel as though he were being listened to, but both Rouge and Fuse remained standing. Ciato just hovered in the air, a flat expression seeming to be permanently carved onto his pale face. The Time Lord took a deep breath to psych himself up.

 

“Okay, well, four days ago, my clock started to crack and sand started to spill out. Because my world depends on time in order to live, I had to get it fixed. I called Virgil because he's the only one who can get Gozarus to give me a Sand Vessel,” the Time Lord began, “Well, he told me that going to Facinaturu wasn't even possible. Apparently, some asshole named Orlouge is busy trying to open some stupid resort up for humans and he won't let any business ship out until he has some stuff sorted out. At the time, I thought Virgil was just being difficult.”

 

“So you just came here and stole the rings,” Rouge finished. Like Ciato, his voice had gone rather flat with disbelief. Though he could see the Time Lord's point, stealing the rings that stabilized Margmel was a really stupid thing to do. The Time Lord just nodded, smiling as though that were the smartest idea he could've come up with. Damned idiot.

 

“I figured that I'll see how he likes his world being threatened for once,” the old Mystic replied, grinning in that too-dumb way of his. Ciato just snorted in amusement. He detested the intelligence level that the Time Lord was displaying, but he did love the fact that the old fool was trying to annoy the crap out of someone much stronger than him. Rouge took the short story in stride, turning it over as he considered just what to do about it. But his mind couldn't begin to guess what could've been right. Eventually, he turned to Blue.

 

“What do we do about this, bro?” he asked, as Blue shrugged, getting up off the floor. To Blue, there really was only one logical thing to do: Explain the situation to Virgil and see what he could do to help.

 

“I think we'd better talk to Virgil before we just arrest the Time Lord,” Blue stated, his voice carrying more authority than he intended, “Maybe we can reach a compromise that makes sense for all of us.” Rouge smiled brightly, and Ciato just nodded. Fuse seemed to be the only one to dislike that solution as he threw the cuffs onto the ground.

 

“Aww, come on! That's not the fun way!” he whined. But it did little to get the sympathy from anyone else in that room. Rouge just stared at him as though he had said the most moronic thing he could've heard.

 

“Boss, here's the deal. Either we speak to Virgil, or Ciato kills us because you're turning our job into a circus freak show!” the flustered mage declared. Fuse just blinked slowly, considering the option. He really wanted to arrest the Time Lord, but he didn't want to die, either. After a brief debate, in which he told himself that if he lived, he could serve up more justice, he ultimately agreed that they should see Virgil. Reluctantly, he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

 

“Okay, let's go see Virgil. Then we can wrap up this case.”

 

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

 

And so, it looks like the culprit of the missing Rings has been found! It's just too bad Fuse can't make the arrest. After finding out that the Time Lord is not only in a lot of trouble with his own realm, but that he's also a complete, incompetent moron, Blue, Rouge, and their friends now need to consult Virgil about getting a Sand Vessel to fix Time Lord's clock. Will the Mystic be able to help them, or will they need to do one more tiny favor for the magic-using race? Find out next time, so click that Review button!