Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ The advent of SPACE COPS! ( Chapter 37 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does, and they're wondering how many chapters of this I'll be writing. I plan on over one hundred! Hopefully…

 

Blue wasn't quite sure how the events of the past case led to any of this. At this point, he wasn't quite sure how anything led to any other thing anymore. The trip from Hahn Nova had been thankfully short, and there were no delays on the way. But all of the Mystics decided to stay along for the trip to Kylin's realm, and to make matters more difficult, no one actually knew how to even reach that realm. The Time Lord was the best bet, and all he knew of it was that there was a shrine in Devon that held the old scriptures depicting the spell to summon the gate. And that scripture had been worn away through time. Which meant that, once again, no one on their team seemed to know what they were doing, or had to do. Which was typical. Currently, they were standing in the quad of the IRPO building. Hell, Blue wasn't even quite sure how they got there, for that matter. To him, it seemed almost an eternity since they departed from Suzaku.

 

“Okay, does anyone know any way to get to Kylin's realm?” he asked for what felt like the twentieth time since they returned. Not that it'd help. Zozma already suggested some very unusual ways to getting in touch with the god of space, and no one else had the courage to either dissuade him or help in any way. Rouge looked over at his twin.

 

“I'd stop asking, bro. No one knows anything about Kylin. The guy's a myth,” the young mage said calmly, yawning, “Nothing more than a figment of imagination.”

 

“Didn't you visit him once?” Ciato pointed out flatly, brushing his hair with his slender, pale fingers. Rouge blinked slowly. That had been true, but the whole ordeal was fuzzy in his mind. Which was probably because Blue killed him almost immediately after, and then revived him again. Death did that to you, sometimes. He shrugged.

 

“It's not like my memory's very good, you know,” Rouge replied, “For all I know, I could've seriously been hallucinating. The liquor at Yorkland might not have worn off back then.” Ciato didn't know what to say to that, but Blue's reaction was quick and unsurprising. He glared at Rouge.

 

“If you hadn't gone to the realm of space, we wouldn't have fought each other!” the older magician snapped, “Come on, Rouge! Try and remember!” Rouge frowned. He didn't often like letting Blue down, but how could he remember a memory that had been literally knocked right out of him? He closed his eyes, trying to think. How did he enter the realm of space? He remembered… cards. He had to get cards. He had the Gold one… he just got the Grail one when he went to Devon… Devon…

 

“It's in Devon,” he finally said, but he felt that was pointless, “I don't know how, but I remember going to Devon.” He opened his eyes and looked at Blue. The older magician was smiling, but it looked weak and regretful. He knew Rouge couldn't remember half of what happened before the fateful duel. He patted Rouge on the back.

 

“You sure, little brother?” Blue asked him, and Rouge nodded.

 

“More than ever, bro. I definitely remember Devon,” he replied. Blue's smile widened, and he turned to Fuse. The old cop had taken to standing near a small plane he more or less owned in the ranks, but when he saw Blue staring at him, he faltered. He knew Blue was going to ask for the plane. And he found he was right. Blue asked for the plane. Subsequently, he was denied.

 

“Sir, you realize that if we don't straighten this out with the lord of space, the world may literally collapse, right?” Blue reminded him calmly. But Fuse wasn't nearly as believing of the mage as Rouge was. He shook his head, sipping a coffee.

 

“Look, I'm sorry, soldier. But I can't go giving you a plane to go joyriding in. It's against the rules,” the old cop replied, “Besides, Rouge just say he couldn't remember. What am I supposed to say if we go there and there ain't nothing to lead us to this god of space?” Blue blinked, but had nothing to offer. To him, it should've been a relatively simple decision: either they get the plane or they all die. Fuse obviously didn't believe too strongly in magic. Blue glanced at Rouge. The poor man was racking his brain trying to help their cause.

 

“I'm telling you, it's in Devon!” Rouge cried after a minute, “I remember a little bit! I remember going there! The shrine the Time Lord was talking about! It's real! I've been there!” Fuse still wasn't moved as he stared at Rouge.

 

“Then how did you get in?” came the flat question. Rouge fell silent at that. That part, he honestly couldn't remember. It could've been anything. Talking to a woman, drawing a circle, throwing a few magic beans, hell, anything could've triggered a ripple in space. He hung his head.

 

“I don't know,” he whispered, “Sorry, bro. I don't remember anything other than Devon.” Blue sighed. They really needed to get to Kylin, but damn it, this wasn't Rouge's fault! He hugged his brother sympathetically.

 

“It's not your fault,” he said gently, and then turned to Fuse and in a much more serious tone, said, “We need that plane. If you don't want to investigate, then don't. But I have to. As an officer, it's my duty to protect people. And right now, every person on this world might be in danger! So, do excuse me while I commandeer your plane!” With that, he all but shoved Fuse aside as Rouge followed him, heading toward the plane. Fuse watched in total confusion, his mouth dropping. Right there, his best worker disregarded him! And he had no fear of being fired. Such a display of confidence, especially against the authorities!

 

“…when I was his age, I'd have done the same thing,” the old cop said to himself, and dropped his coffee, “Wait!” Blue stopped, and slowly turned to face Fuse, brow lifted curiously. The question need not be spoken as Fuse said, “All right. We'll go to Devon. But we won't get more than a day or two there before we get another mission.”

 

“That's enough time!” Rouge declared happily, “Devon is a small town. It won't take more than a day to scope the place out!” Blue seemed unsure, but he didn't want to let Rouge down. The man seemed confident that he knew where to go. He knew better than any of them, anyway. Fuse nodded grimly, and then took a pair of keys from his pocket. He walked over to the small plane, and slid the key in the lock. The resounding click echoed off the dark walls.

 

“Let's go before we waste that day, then,” the cop said to them all, and then disappeared into the plane. Blue and Rouge exchanged worried looks. Fuse sounded much more serious than normal. But until they went to Devon to investigate, they couldn't worry about that. So, they shrugged it off and followed their boss into the plane, the Mystics following closely.

 

The plane left the quad smoothly, and quite frankly, Blue was surprised that no one called Fuse wondering where they were going. Not that Fuse would've taken the call, anyway. The man looked preoccupied for once, and his normally offensive talk seemed to have ceased. As Blue and Rouge strapped themselves into their seats, they exchanged another nervous glance. Fuse was silent for once. The whole plane was silent; the Mystics had no idea what to even say about heading to Devon. Slowly, Blue spoke.

 

“Sir, is everything okay?” he asked calmly, gently. Fuse took in a deep breath. For a moment, he looked through the cockpit window. Then, he turned to face his comrades. For once, his face looked a little younger; he shed his normally smug visage, for just that instance.

 

“Devon is where Silence lived before he was appointed general of Unit 18,” Fuse said gently, frowning, “Before he and I were sent on our recruitment test.” Blue's lips thinned. Fuse mentioned that test just once, and it hadn't been in a very reminiscent way. But before he could ask, Fuse continued on, “He never spoke of the place… but I went there once.”

 

“What happened?” Rouge asked in a whisper, leaning forward in his seat. Fuse's eyes went distant again, back into the past of fifteen years. He had been twenty three then. Silence was only a year younger. Or so the Mystic wrote. As he remembered, everything about the day flooded his mind. The kraken, the rush water that sent Fuse sprawling from the forests of Yorkland to safety… and finding Silence nearly dead on the banks of the swamp. He shivered visibly.

 

“We were sent to exterminate a kraken that had come too close to the town. Silence… well, when it attacked with its Maelstrom, I was washed away while Silence was safe from it,” Fuse began distantly, and the look in his eyes told the twins he was reliving the memory, somewhere in his mind, “But that didn't mean he was safe from it, if you understand. I was sent toward the main road, but Silence was alone with the kraken. When I… finally came to, I heard screaming… and…”

 

“And Silence was dead,” Rouge concluded, but Fuse shook his head savagely.

 

“Not quite, but damn close to it,” the old cop growled, closing his eyes, “It was… the only time Silence spoke. To scream. I brought him back to Devon because I thought he'd be safe there.”

 

“But he wasn't?” Blue asked, when Fuse stopped for a moment. Fuse shook his head, this time slowly, and opened his eyes. There were tears in them.

 

“Mystic officials came to take Silence. They thought we were a danger to him, they didn't want him dealing with `scum' like us,” Fuse replied, and now his voice was quite shaken, “Damn fool nearly died because of me! Of ME! And what did I do? I brought him to the one town where Mystics happened to live!” This time he slammed a fist onto the control panel, and Zozma, who'd been piloting beside him, had backed off, eyes wide with worry. Blue unhitched his seatbelt and stood, walking to his boss's side, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. He was trembling, but whether it was in sadness or fury, Blue didn't know.

 

“I… I know he understood,” Blue said, in a weak attempt to console what was obviously a very unresolved issue. But Fuse snorted bitterly.

 

“I didn't. I blamed him for it because I was too dumb and too confused to stop them,” he stated grimly, eyes narrowed as he looked at no one in particular, “They took him for about two years, questioned him on our ethics. They didn't think we were good enough for him.” Orlouge and the Time Lord both looked away, both ashamed that such a feeling of animosity could still exist, but Ciato was the only Mystic who wasn't entirely moved. He crossed his arms, glancing at Fuse out of the corner of his eyes.

 

“Considering that you blamed him for something that was no one's fault, I think they were right,” the white-haired Mystic said simply. Fuse just hung his head. Zozma patted him on the back, and then turned to Ciato. His wings flapped unhappily.

 

“I think you need to fall in a ditch,” the red-haired Mystic said, and then asked Fuse, “What happened when Silence returned?”

 

“Nothing. He was quiet as ever,” Fuse replied quietly, biting his lip, “He knew I blamed him, and he didn't do a damn thing. Just went on with his job, hell, even helped me when I was demoted. He was… a good coworker. Hell, sometimes I think we were friends, in our own weird way.” Ironically enough, silence fell all around them. Silence's view of humans had shaken the Mystic foundation a hundred or so years ago, but even now, it was painfully obvious it still had. Blue noticed Fuse had a wistful look on his face now. Not angry, or even regretful. But wistful. He seemed to have forgotten he was even driving. Finally, he said, “…we were friends.”

 

“Do you think anyone in Devon will remember?” Rouge asked, when Fuse shook his head and looked back at the windshield, taking control once more. Fuse didn't answer right away. His lips thinned.

 

“No. It's been fifteen years since then,” the old cop replied at length, “Anyone who does… doesn't live there anymore. Silence made sure of that.”

 

“He… he killed humans?” Zozma asked in a harsh, unbelieving whisper. But again, Fuse shook his head.

 

“Not humans. Mystics,” Fuse corrected, and now a look of sheer horror crossed every Mystic's face. Silence had killed his own! He had betrayed them! For humans! That was unheard of, even in the recent years in Mystic history.

 

“That slime!” Ciato growled, gritting his teeth, “I forgive living with humans, but killing other Mystics is against his own nature!” He had gripped his spear now, his pale knuckles growing white with anger, the metal underneath his fingertips bending slightly from the force of the pressure. But a look at Orlouge lessened his rage. The older Mystic looked… at peace?

 

“I knew it… the day he ran from us,” Orlouge said gently, a weak smile gracing his lips, “Ciato, leave Silence be.”

 

“But sir!”

 

“Times have changed for all of us, Ciato. Fifteen years means nothing to you or I, but to these humans, it's a quarter of their lives. Let it alone,” the older Mystic said firmly, “We've done enough by banishing Silence from Facinaturu. Let him take control of his life from there.”

 

“B-but… but other Mystics, sir!”

 

“Ciato, think about this for a second,” Zozma said, glancing at Fuse. The older cop was tense now; any talk of Silence normally brought similar results from his coworkers' sides. “If you care about humans and all of the sudden, a bunch of us come and blame them for shit they couldn't possibly control, what would you have done?” Ciato opened his mouth to speak, and then promptly closed it. Zozma made his point. Ciato grumbled, crossed his arms, and turned away.

 

“I wouldn't have killed my own race, for starters,” the white-haired Mystic grumbled irritably. Zozma just shrugged, and turned to help Fuse pilot. With the story just told, he wasn't sure anyone could trust the cop to successfully pilot the plane; if he got as emotional as half the humans Zozma met, they might end up dead before reaching the borders Devon sat on.

 

Luckily, that wasn't the case. Fuse didn't crash, and within the hour, they had landed relatively safely within Devon's airport. At least, safely in the fact that Fuse landed on the runway and not actually inside the building. His reputation as an unsafe driver, however, had a decent reach. Even as they descended the plane, everyone around the entrance into the airport ran clear of them. Rouge blinked as they walked, passing through the glass doors and into the spacious room that served as both a café and the reception area. Even in there, the attendant looked uneasy. Rouge glanced at his brother.

 

“They don't look happy. Think they remember?” he whispered. Blue proceeded to smack him on the nose lightly, shaking his head. Fuse just snorted as he pushed the doors to the outside open, letting the view of Devon's square flood them.

 

“Doubt it, soldiers. It's been years, and like I said, Silence took care of it,” the older cop reminded them, to which Ciato stiffened. But a quick glare from Ildon told the white-haired Mystic that bringing up his distaste was a stupid idea. So he didn't. He simply followed as they walked out of the airport, into the bright, quirky, mesmerizing splendor that was Devon. As usual, the merchants had their booths of runes and tarot readings all set up, and apprentices all over shouted their wares, or insults to their competitors. Fortune tellers hid in every nook and cranny, and women selling tea leaves were sitting on every stoop that could be seen. To Rouge, it looked even worse than the Magic Kingdom ever had. At least they had some level of control when it came to festivals. This was just a jumble of magic all thrown into one magnificent, toxic beverage.

 

“Are you sure we're going to find Kylin here?” Zozma asked, looking around with just as much skepticism as Rouge felt, “It looks like we just stepped into a circus rather than a place where one of the most powerful beings live.” Rouge didn't say he fully agreed with that statement, but it was more or less implied by his expression as they walked down the road. Blue just laughed.

 

“Doesn't it remind you of home, little brother?” the older magician joked. Rouge's brows creased and he crossed his arms as he led them down a side path, where the street began to thin considerably.

 

“It reminds me of Furdo, that's for sure,” Rouge grumbled, as the path turned around a copse of trees. It was quieter here; there were no houses in sight, and the crowd seemed to have vanished as soon as the square was out of view. Now Blue took his brother more seriously. He began to feel, in a small way, a level of powerful magic that he couldn't explain. It was odd. The crowd literally disappeared, all traces of noise gone. As though space itself had warped around the copse to prevent any outside intrusion…

 

The trail ended abruptly at what Blue could only say was the world's largest staircase ever built. He had never seen such a monstrosity before; when he came here, he visited the Rune booth and then promptly left. And now, he was glad he hadn't seen it. If Rouge was leading them there, it meant he had to climb this horrible abomination himself. Blue personally thought whoever created it was insane. As he looked up, higher than any building he'd ever seen, he couldn't even begin to count just how many stairs were there. It could've easily been over one thousand. Hell, it could've been ten thousand, and no one would be able to remember from the sheer size of it all.

 

Blue wasn't the only hesitant one, either. Everyone stopped and stared up at the horrible torture that was Devon's own tourist attraction. Ciato's mouth dropped open; Ildon dropped his sword, and the Time Lord's eye twitched. Only Fuse and Rouge seemed unsurprised, and that was merely because the former never let anything surprise him, and the latter had managed to climb the stairs and survive. Blue had to give his brother credit for that. He certainly wouldn't have climbed all those stairs, and if he had, he'd have made sure Kylin died for not installing an elevator.

 

“Dudes, are we seriously going to climb that?” Zozma asked, eyes widening as he beheld the structure. Rouge nodded grimly, climbing the first step.

 

“Boys,” he said, gesturing with his hand to include all of the stairs, “I welcome you to Devon's space shrine.”

 

“Looks more like a place to take someone you're willing to torture,” Ciato commented flatly, crossing his arms, “I'm not climbing that.”

 

“Do you really believe Kylin's up there?” Orlouge asked, looking at the Time Lord. The old Mystic ran his slender fingers through his hair. That was a good question. He didn't believe it, that much he could say, but that didn't mean it wasn't impossible. The stairs looked like they reached right into the sky. He shrugged.

 

“The only way to know is to go up,” he stated, and with that, they began the perilous climb.

 

By the time they'd gotten even halfway up there, by which two hours had passed, everyone was ready to pass out. The sun was moving slowly downward, casting a soft, orange glow on the horizon and bathing the copse behind them in pale light. But looking up, it didn't appear as if the stairs would end soon. Blue was sure he'd have murdered Kylin for this. This was just unfair. He shook his head, wiping the sweat from his brow.

 

“Rouge, how long does it take to get up there!?” he demanded in exasperation. Rouge panted, his mouth dry from walking up so many damned stairs. He needed a drink badly.

 

“How the hell… am I supposed to remember!?” the younger magician yelled back, and groaned as he fell against the railing, “I say we take on a new case. I want to go home.” Zozma and Ciato agreed, but Fuse wouldn't go for such a suggestion. In his mind, they'd come this far and they forced him to give an actual backstory. To hell if they'd tell him to take it back just because they didn't feel like climbing a few tiny stairs!

 

“We already walked hundreds of steps and you want to turn back!?” the old cop asked, half amused, “The only way that's happening is if I throw you down the stairs.” Blue just glared at his boss flatly. Sometimes, Fuse's stubbornness was an absolute godsend. But this just wasn't one of those times. He turned to Rouge.

 

“Wouldn't that constitute murder?” he whispered, and Rouge snorted, a smirk forming on his face.

 

“For us, it'd be the highest act of mercy possible,” the young mage replied, and laughed. Blue just sighed and rolled his eyes. That was true enough, he supposed.

 

“Which is just typical,” he said pointedly, and waved his hand, “We might as well go on.” Rouge nodded his agreement, but it was with reluctance. He didn't want to go through this horrifying quest again, and the only reason he was happened to be because it was mandatory. He saw now why IRPO's layoff rate was so damn high. It was places like these that made the job fall under par. But nonetheless, they continued on valiantly.

 

Another two hours passed before they finally, finally made it to the very top of the staircase. At that point, half of the team had passed out, the exertion being too much for them. And by them, it constituted Orlouge, the Time Lord, and Zozma. Everyone else seemed to be fine, albeit cranky and exhausted. And hungry. Lunch had definitely passed them by, and to make matters worse, none of them thought far enough ahead to bring any food. This was quickly becoming the case from Hell. No… not even Hell's Lord would've asked a mortal to endure this. As they climbed the last step, Ciato moaned and dropped Zozma right on his back, sitting down on the gravel beside the unconscious Mystic.

 

“Okay, whoever wants to kill the man who thought of the term `job,' raise their hand,” he growled angrily, and was pleased to see everyone except for Fuse put up their hands. Fuse himself merely looked around. This was definitely what used to be Devon's shrine… but there was no shrine anymore. The lot was empty, though he did notice a giant pedestal stood where a building had obviously been, once. He tilted his head curiously.

 

“Well now, where the hell do you think the shrine went!?” he asked quizzically, as Rouge walked up to the pedestal. It was a simple stone one, but it was massive; nearly as big as the shrine itself had been. And it smelled like sulfur, too. He wrinkled his nose.

 

“We came up here for nothing? This sucks,” he mumbled, throwing his arms up and slumping to the floor. He was tempted to follow Zozma's lead and fall asleep. Then a laugh behind him woke him up. He turned.

 

“Oh, the shrine's gone, my friends. Kylin decided to get a more… modern form of reaching his world,” said a man that Rouge was sure was a Mystic himself. His hair was pure white, as was the suit he wore, save for his gloves. In his hand was a pocket-watch; in his left eye was a monocle. If he wasn't a Mystic, he definitely was a fashion violation. He smiled warmly. Fuse merely blinked.

 

“Who the hell are you?” he asked, as Rouge said, “Where's the old keeper?” The man's smile went sly now. He laughed, putting his pocket watch away and shrugging as if the questions were a non-event.

 

“My name is Aeon,” he told them simply, “As for the old keeper, she fled. Something about a Mystic lord finding her? You can tell that, when I was alerted, this job was immediately thrust upon me! To think! I, a time traveler, forced to hold down a human job!” He laughed again. His voice made Rouge want to wince, and he wondered furiously what world Aeon happened to come from, if any at all. He looked directly to the Time Lord, but the old Mystic looked just as confused as he was. He was the master of time, and yet he had never known of this idiot who called himself `Aeon.'

 

“I'm sorry. As master of time itself, I didn't realize anyone else had temporal abilities,” the Time Lord stated flatly, and Aeon looked at him good-naturedly, “What sector did you sign up in, boy? You don't look like anyone who works for me.” That didn't bother Aeon in the least. He offered his hand; the two shook.

 

“Funny you should say that. I too am a master of time,” the young man said with a hint of amusement, “As for my `sector,' I come from the second end of time, year 1403, a rift near Valachia. You might call it Castlevania.” Now the Time Lord's face screwed up in distaste. He'd heard of that place. Hell, he visited once, and was promptly tossed out for being a `pompous asshole.' Rouge looked at Fuse questioningly.

 

“What's Castlevania?” he asked curiously. Fuse snorted, a grin forming on his face.

 

“Another world far from here,” the cop stated, “I've been there. Threw a lot of those people in jail for hunting vampires without the proper license. Lots of paperwork in that because of the Belmont-Bernhard war of 1102. But why the hell did they send their time master here?” He looked back at Aeon as he asked that. Again, the young man waved the question away as a non-event. He looked quite bored with the conversation now.

 

“It's my duty to make sure the fabrics of time aren't splintered in the few worlds I'm told to watch over,” he said simply, “And since my friend is currently battling her way through hell and back, I've nothing to do right now. I received a message saying space was being warped, but since there was no one else, I was forced into the job.” That seemed like an unlikely story, but Fuse went with it with only a shrug. Any story that didn't point to a crime was okay with him. As long as Aeon paid to use a traveling agency, he was fine. Little did Fuse know that Aeon only needed to distort time to go wherever the hell he wanted.

 

“You don't say!” the cop feigned interest, and then said, “About that warp in space. We have to see Kylin, because he fucked up and gave some guy his magic. How do we get up there?” Aeon's brow rose in mild interest. So that's what this was about. They were practically going to solve the exact same case! How utterly convenient. He smiled and pointed to the pedestal. Somehow, in the midst of his introduction, a giant rocket ship appeared out of nowhere, landing silently on the massive stone. No wonder it had been so huge! Fuse's mouth dropped open.

 

“I'd suggest using that,” Aeon said, his grin widening. Was he seriously giving them a rocket!? All because Fuse asked for it!?

 

“Dude, that is awesome!” Zozma exclaimed as Blue commented, “I doubt even IRPO could afford the gas bills on that…”

 

“Oh, it doesn't run on gas. It runs on the dreams of sweet, innocent children,” Aeon told them, and looked at his watch, “…WHAT!? Heavens, the time! I'm late!” Everyone blinked. Aeon still hadn't explained how to actually use the rocket, let alone what it ran on, and now he was planning to leave. Fuse wasn't about to let that happen. He stopped as Aeon stepped forward.

 

“Hold it, buddy. Where the hell are you going and how to we drive this death trap?” he asked. Aeon huffed. He had things to do, but this human, this unimportant bystander was in his way again. He glanced at his pocket watch. It was ticking backwards. His brows creased as his gaze returned to Fuse.

 

“I must return to Domino at once,” Aeon stressed firmly, frowning, “My friend is about to be killed by a monster, and I have to stop that before that world's timeline collapses. Now move!” But Fuse wasn't about to let their only useful source of information go. They struggled, Aeon pushing forward angrily as Fuse held him back. It ended with Fuse winning; he tossed Aeon back several feet. Angrily, Aeon exclaimed, “How dare you mess with time! All things begin and end with it! I'll see to it that your time ends soon!” Fuse snorted. As if that threat were the worst he'd ever heard. He wanted to tell this white-haired asshole that he fought dogs that were stronger than him, but the Time Lord stepped in. He gave Aeon a tolerant smile.

 

“Look, boy, you don't have that power. Not here, anyway. As the Time Lord, technically you are subservient to me, not the other way around,” the Time Lord told him firmly, “There's not a thing about saving your friends; you won't get there fast enough. Not without this.” He held up a tiny trinket, like the pocket watch Aeon held, but smaller and golden. Aeon's eyes widened, and Ciato's mouth fell open. That was the Clockwork Portal! And the old Mystic had been working on it for ages now!

 

“Why're you giving it to him!?” Ciato demanded impatiently, envious that yet again another human received something he himself would've rather had. The Time Lord smiled.

 

“As a fellow master to time, I understand the responsibility involved in saving lifetimes,” he replied, but it felt more toward Aeon than to anyone else, “I've studied the nature of time with many different races, so I'm quite sure the Espers won't get you for this. It should teleport you to wherever it is your friends are, so long as you know their exact location.” Aeon's face paled a little bit. He didn't actually know where his friend was. He'd have to wing it; not a big deal, since he'd done that before. Shrugging, he put the watch into his pocket and smiled genuinely.

 

“Thank you, Lord of Time,” he said, bowing, “Now, if you'll excuse me…”

 

“You didn't tell us how to drive this piece of crap!” Fuse exclaimed, interrupting Aeon again. Aeon's face went flat. Humans, he was sure, were the most idiot races of being he'd ever had to interact with. To him, piloting a rocket was easy. All one needed was a basic understanding of physics, chemistry, and driving. Obviously, that wasn't even in IRPO's curriculum. If he ever was promoted to Master of All-Time, he would make sure to change that. Taking out the watch again, he opened it and pressed the three buttons on the device.

 

“Drive it as you would a plane!” the time keeper said as he began to vanish from sight, “And if you need fuel, sing an innocent child to sleep!” With that, he was gone. Only his voice trailed on for another second, and then it left them in relative confusion. A rocket. None of them had ever driven one! Was it even really like driving a plane!? Zozma bit his lip as he looked up at the horrible abomination. Even in his immortal state, it was an intimidating machine. If it toppled over and smashed him, he wouldn't live through it. He backed away almost fearfully.

 

“Okay! Who wants to be the little kid who fuels the plane?” he asked in false cheerfulness. Blue and Rouge glanced at each other. They were the youngest, and they both were twenty one. That was beyond old enough for adulthood.

 

“Do any of us look like little children?” Rouge asked the red-headed Mystic flatly, raising a brow. Ciato snorted; the answer, of course, was no. But then again, every Mystic there was over one thousand. To them, a tiny number like twenty one was practically a newborn baby. But he didn't stress that verbally. His amused grin said it for him. Rouge immediately exclaimed, “We're not!”

 

“I'm practically old enough to retire at this point!” Fuse also declared, even though he wasn't a day past thirty eight. Ciato shrugged it off, and walked up to the rocket. Up close, he saw it was in decent condition. At the very least, Aeon hadn't gone comet-hunting with it. There were no dents to mar its surface, and there was a faint covering of glitter in the white paint. That part, he didn't like. It meant there was magic on the rocket indeed, and not of the Mystic variety. Mystics never used glitter. Unless that Mystic was Rastaban himself. He tore his eyes away from the unsightly view and looked back at his comrades, grinning.

 

“Does it truly matter who did what or who's older than whom?” Ciato asked in an uncharacteristically calm voice, raising his arms in what looked like surrender, “The point is, Kylin needs our help and we have the means to find him. Let's go.” The only one who bought that sort of bullcrap was Fuse himself. He nodded firmly, and strode up to the rocket like it was his to pilot. Needless to say that everyone silently worried he might crash the damn thing. He just gave Ciato an approving smile as he passed.

 

“It's that kind of spirit that makes me want to hire you, boy,” the old cop said proudly, and Ciato winced as he endured Fuse patting his shoulder. Then he watched as the cop vanished through the door, with Blue and Rouge following obediently, albeit reluctantly. The Time Lord, Orlouge, and Ildon also entered, all three interested to see how a rocket would actually work. The only one who stopped was Zozma. He and Ciato stared at each other for a moment.

 

“You just want Kylin to give you some Space magic,” the red-haired Mystic stated flatly, not even surprised that Ciato would try such a tactic. Ciato's brow rose; his amusement never left his face.

 

“What of that?” he asked, and suddenly frowned, “To hell if humans get everything and leave us to rot. Now come on.” Then, he turned and stormed onto the rocket. Zozma blinked for a few moments. He had never thought of it that way. He loved humans. Most were nice, too. Then he shrugged. If Ciato wanted to be a bastard, he'd be all too happy to let the white-haired Mystic fall on his ass over it. With that resolution in mind, he waltzed into the rocket, and the door shut behind him.

 

The inside of the rocket was pretty much the same as an airplane. There were the leather seats and the uncomfortable seatbelts; there were storage compartments above the seats to hold their bags and credits; there were even windows to see out of, should they be so inclined to look out. But the only difference from a plane was that everything aside from the leather was made of chrome. The floors, the ceiling, the walls, hell, even the door itself was made of chrome, too. And Zozma was sure that, if he went into the bathroom, the toilet would be made of chrome as well. Personally, he wasn't impressed. He preferred the stone and marble of Facinaturu, and this seemed just so… so clean! There was no dust on anything! Back in Facinaturu, every surface would be riddled with the cobwebs and dirt of never been used before! To be in this rocket, with such a sterile atmosphere… Zozma had to resist the urge to start throwing Rava Shots around just to dirty everything up. Eye twitching, he sat stiffly in a seat next to Blue and Rouge.

 

“So, what's space like?” he asked Rouge, partly because he was interested, and partly because he needed something to take his mind off the incredibly clean rocket. Rouge, unfortunately, wouldn't be aiding him in that. The young man's lips thinned.

 

“When I first visited Kylin, I didn't actually go into space. I was warped there from the shrine,” Rouge explained. Blue stared at him for a moment. If Rouge didn't know exactly how to get to Kylin, he should've said something. But when Blue pointed this out, Rouge shrugged and said, “I said we had to get to Devon. We went there. This is just as frigged up to me as it is to you.” Blue couldn't argue that. But it didn't mask Zozma's obvious disappointment. The Mystic sighed heavily.

 

“And here I thought you'd know something we didn't,” he pouted, crossing his arms, “We'd love to go to space. But can we? Nope. Kylin's monopolized the Space Contract of '24 ever since the last guy who ruled the plane decided to hail comets on you humans because you insulted him. And now to find out that we might still die because we don't know where we're going!?” He sighed again. Rouge's brows creased tensely.

 

“And why would this be my fault!?” the young mage demanded furiously. Ciato, who was sitting behind Zozma, just snorted and shook his head, leaning forward onto Rouge's seat.

 

“Because Sparky over there is getting hyper and can't control himself over the thought of floating around in space,” the white-haired Mystic said with an amused grin. Such an accusation seemed to sober Zozma up as he snapped around toward his fellow.

 

“What!? You're the one who wants to screw everyone out of their power!” Zozma reminded him defensively, his arms flailing wildly in his exasperation, “I just want to see the moon and the stars and all this shit we read about in those human novels Asellus buys!” Both twins blinked, watching as the exchange between the two Mystics went back and forth. Neither seemed willing to relent, and both had dirt to bring up with the other. On and on it went for minutes on end, and Blue risked a glance toward the front. Fuse obviously heard it all; the man was hunched over the controls, and though Blue couldn't see it, he more felt that his boss was twitching as he heard the two Mystics arguing like babies.

 

“WHY DON'T YOU JUST JUMP OFF THE SHIP, BABY FANGS!?” Fuse finally lost it when Zozma shouted this. He slammed his fists on the control panel, and the rocket screeched to a stop, throwing everyone forward. Those who were unlucky enough to not wear a seatbelt regretted it instantly. Fuse stiffly rose, and quickly turned to face them all. His left eye twitched madly, as though the blood vessels in his head finally snapped.

 

“If any of us gets off this ship, it'll be because I crashed it into a black hole and reduced us to subatomic particles!” he yelled furiously, “Now stop your bickering or we're going home!” Once again, Fuse's very out-of-place paternal instincts worked. Both Zozma and Ciato leaned back in their seats and quieted down. In fact, everyone stayed quiet. No one needed Fuse to be any crazier than he already was. He definitely would've crashed the rocket if he thought it'd help him. When no one dared raise a hand to his embodiment of justice, Fuse whirled around and slammed back into his seat. To hell if he'd let a bunch of babies ruin his first trip to space. With nothing but silence to distract him from his driving, he turned all of the levers back on and began to guide the rocket again. Not that he knew where Kylin was supposed to be, but most of his missions had a tendency to start that way: not knowing where he had to go. And he survived all of them. This one wouldn't be any different. Grinning, he knew there was only one way to ensure that this space voyage would be a success.

 

“To infinity,” he began, and pressed a green button, “AND BEYOND!” And with that, the ship sped up ahead, into what everyone hoped wasn't the path of a screaming comet. That, they prayed, wasn't too much like Fuse to do… was it? It couldn't have been. Fuse wasn't that stupid.

 

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

 

After getting to Devon and meeting a crossover from Castlevania, our hearty heroes are now on a journey through the center of the universes, literally. But, will their new rocket actually help them find Kylin, or will Fuse crash it onto another world? Will Ciato receive space magic? And will Aeon make another appearance? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!