Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ A bunch of Relative Mumbo-Jumbo ( Chapter 38 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does, and they're ready to piss themselves because of how awesome my story is. I don't blame them.

 

From what Fuse saw as he drove the rocket along a totally random path, space was nice. He saw the stars twinkle; some were huge, being close up, and some were still quite tiny. He saw other planets, many, many more than the nine he had learned about back in elementary school. He saw asteroid belts and comets float by serenely, much more slowly than he thought they would, and without as high a chance of colliding with him as he thought, too. But what truly caught his attention was the sheer size of space. It was common knowledge that space was considered infinite in its ability to hold worlds, stars, moons, pretty much everything. But to actually see it, to know that you now stood on the beginnings of nowhere, well… that was an experience Fuse was willing to give his entire job up for.

 

But there was one thing that marred all of this beauty that the old cop suddenly felt. Despite the calm, despite the tranquility of space, Fuse couldn't forget just why Aeon had given him that rocket. They still had to find Kylin. And they still didn't know where to look. When he had first entered space, Fuse had the silly notion that perhaps there'd be a clue or two about where Kylin lived. But now, he saw that wasn't going to happen. And in the realm of space, he doubted even Sherlock Holmes could've found Kylin. He gave a heavy sigh.

 

“Does anyone see anything that might lead us in the right direction?” he asked for what he felt might've been the thousandth time. Behind him, he heard Blue sigh as well, and knew the young man shook his head.

 

“Not since the last time you asked us, sir,” Blue replied tiredly. Beside him, Rouge yawned loudly and stretched his arms. For once, space wasn't as interesting as he thought it would be, and it was clear.

 

“With what's been reported about space, I doubt we're going to find him at all, boss,” Rouge added unhelpfully, and shrugged, “If I'd have known we'd be going into space, I wouldn't have suggested Devon.” Zozma, who'd been looking out the window for some time now, turned back toward him, raising a questioning brow as Ciato feigned only the slightest interest.

 

“Why's that?” the red-haired Mystic asked quizzically.

 

“Well, considering the laws of physics and how they apply, space isn't exactly a realm we want to be in for too long. Take that with the black holes and other physical mumbo-jumbo that the boys back at BIO report, and normal adventurers are as good as dead,” Rouge replied casually, as if this wasn't something to be afraid of, “And comets? Damn. We definitely do not want to crash into those. Even if I hadn't read up about some of the old magic, I know that hurtling headfirst into a comet is bad.” Ciato just snorted, shaking his head as he listened to the disinterested mage. That all sounded nice, but he certainly wasn't afraid of anything space had to give him. On the other hand, however, Zozma was terrified. His eyes widened with every word Rouge spoke, and because he knew nothing about space, he believed it, too.

 

“I-is space really that dangerous!?” he demanded, eye twitching just a little as he thought of how painful colliding with a fiery boulder might be. Rouge just nodded, pursing his lips.

 

“Space isn't like any of our worlds. It literally can twist, turn, swirl, and warp in on itself without seriously hurting us,” the mage explained calmly, finally turning in his seat, “But if we do happen to get caught in one of those warps, a black hole, we'll most likely die. Our bodies aren't made for atomic breakdowns and colliding particles. It'd be like going through a blender, if you want a comparison. The only good thing is that there won't be blood splatter; the atomic components in blood will be broken up before they ever reach oxygen. So it won't be messy, at least.” Unfortunately, that didn't calm Zozma down at all. He visibly shivered now. They were in the middle of nowhere, thousands of miles from any form of civilization! And they could die any second! And to think he even wanted to go there. Sure, Mystics were nearly immortal. But he was sure that complete subatomic sabotage surpassed immortality. Basic physics did apply to all things, after all.

 

“Okay, I'm ready to go home then,” Zozma stated, and beside him, Ciato laughed hysterically. As if it were that easy. The white-haired Mystic turned to his red-headed companion with a smug smile on his face. Zozma wished he could slap that smile off.

 

“If you haven't noticed, we're over ten thousand miles from Facinaturu,” Ciato said in amusement, crossing his arms as he leaned in his seat, “And not one of us aside from Fuse can drive this thing. So… yeah, good luck getting home, pal. It's not happening.” Zozma just growled. Ciato might've been right, but he didn't have to be so goddamn arrogant. Ildon, who was in the back, just waved a hand airily as he looked out one of the back windows. He saw a star dim out for a moment.

 

“Here's my question. If space isn't like any world, then what is it?” he asked, and Rouge turned to him, “It has to be something. It can't just continue on forever, can it? Wouldn't we eventually find our way back?” Rouge shook his head. If it were that simple, he wouldn't have been so hesitant to venture into the realm at all. But to his surprise, he wasn't the only one who knew anything about space. For, the Time Lord answered Ildon this time. The older Mystic took a deep breath.

 

“Space is literally a vast plane of nothingness. And when does nothing ever start or finish?” the lord asked gently, and smiled, “Put it into technical terms, space is like a `pocket.' It can hold quite a bit, and if you rip the seam and expand it, it'll hold even more.

 

“Taking it into even more literal terms, think of our worlds as a `coat,' and time and space are the left and right `pockets.' They're literally like alternates of one another,” the Time Lord continued, “The only difference is that time has physical manifestations, known as events. Space, unfortunately, does not. Space isn't actual matter; it's simply that: space.” Ildon didn't entirely understand what was being said, but he nodded his head anyway. Somehow, he doubted any explanation of space would've made much sense. It was, in a sense, considered taboo to even study about the realm. He just looked over at Ciato, who seemed to not even pay attention to what was being said.

 

“So, what do you think?” he asked. The white-haired Mystic perked a brow, truly amused that anyone would think he gave a crap.

 

“Oh, I think it'd be great if we were swallowed up in a giant black hole right now,” he remarked sarcastically, and laughed, “Those almost remind me of Tanzer.”

 

“Yeah, I wanted to ask about that,” Zozma added, and his brows creased as he thought about his question, “If this is space, then what's that crap in between all our separate worlds? Isn't that like space, too?” The Time Lord shook his head.

 

“Not at all. Space is an entirely separate realm from our worlds, remember,” the lord replied, “What we experience between all our worlds is a ripple in space. That's all that truly separates us.” Zozma and Ildon simply looked at each other in confusion. If that was supposed to help clear anything up, it didn't.

 

“So, then Tanzer is part of space?” Zozma concluded. If Rouge didn't think it'd be insulting, he would've laughed. But it was insulting, and he didn't exactly know what Tanzer was, either. The Time Lord just chuckled; he was the only one who actually knew what the fearsome monster was made of. And everyone was sure that was only because he used magic to go into the past to find out.

 

“No. Tanzer is a physical being. We all know this from being inside him,” the Time Lord said, and grinned, “I doubt any of us want to remember that, either.” He was right about that, “If you must know, Tanzer fused himself with the ripple in space. That's why we cannot see him, and why he only swallows ships bound to Owmi from Nelson.” It was clear by the look on Zozma's face that nothing the Time Lord was saying was ever going to make much sense. It really would've been best if he just gave up. But Zozma wasn't good at listening, even to his own common sense. He looked at Blue.

 

“How is that possible!?” he asked, eyes widened with utter bewilderment, “How can you become one with nothing!?” Blue and Rouge looked at each other. If they knew the answer, they would've gladly given it. Unfortunately, they didn't. Rouge just shrugged, and Blue gave an apologetic smile. The Time Lord, however, beamed at the chance to share more of his knowledge.

 

“It's quite simple, you see…”

 

“NO!” Fuse shouted, stopping the old Mystic, “No more! You're making my damn head hurt with all this shit that I don't need to know about! Who cares, anyway!? We killed that son of a bitch when he swallowed us last time!” This time, the Time Lord's mouth dropped, and Blue just sighed, shaking his head. Fuse might've gotten rid of what could've been a very confusing explanation, but he didn't have to be rude about it. Except that he was Fuse, and he was good at that. The Time Lord just snorted, looking away.

 

“I just wanted to help,” he muttered, as Zozma stared and said, “You guys killed Tanzer!? How!?” Blue groaned miserably, wishing Zozma didn't ask that. Not only did it happen so long ago that it was a blur to him, but they weren't even the ones who killed him. And he knew both Rouge and Fuse would take the credit. At the very least, Fuse was grinning like an idiot. An overconfident, arrogant idiot.

 

“I crashed my plane into it and gave it a stomach ache,” he declared proudly as Rouge scratched his head and said, “I don't know. I remember talking to a pastry, a coffee mug, and a marshmallow, though.” Blue stared at his own brother as though he had just suddenly grown three heads. Rouge's skin paled, knowing Blue didn't believe a word he said. But honestly, that's all he really remembered about that particular experience. He said as much. And Blue just shook his head again in disbelief. Zozma, of course, seemed as confused as ever.

 

“Man, maybe being human isn't such a drag,” he commented, and turned to Ciato, “I mean, seriously! They got to fight Tanzer and win! Not even a Mystic can do that!” Ciato, however, wasn't particularly interested in what was, in his mind, dribbling out of Zozma's mouth. He looked at his nails, watching as they shined in the light.

 

“If you didn't listen, moron, they didn't directly fight Tanzer,” the white-haired Mystic said airily, “Their plane did. And their plane died from it too…” Right as Ciato spoke, the rocket crashed, and everyone flew forward, slamming into chairs, walls, and each other. The lights flickered for a moment, and then went out completely. Everything began to simply shut down, and for a moment, complete and utter silence fell. Then, everyone heard a clicking sound. Then they heard a thud. And then another click, and finally they heard Fuse curse. Though no one saw what actually happened, they all had a pretty good idea: somehow, Fuse managed to actually crash their rocket.

 

“Well now, this kind of ruins the case, eh?” the older cop asked, slamming his fist on the control panel again. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything. He yelled, “SON OF A SUBMARINER! Did this thing seriously break down!?” Rouge and Blue exchanged glances for a second.

 

“You telling us you didn't do this?” Rouge asked the darkness, not knowing just where Fuse was amidst the black. He heard Fuse snort, and knew the man couldn't believe he just asked that.

 

“Why in hell would I crash a rocket!? I could have died!” Fuse exclaimed, brows creased as he tried to find some sort of light. Unfortunately, in the dark, he couldn't see a damn thing. Not entirely surprising, but he wasn't too scared of what he might find. Except that when he went not even ten feet, he smashed right into something. Cursing, sputtering, and shoving whatever it was he slammed into, he yelled, “Who the hell put a column here, anyway!?” Whatever it was he shoved just coughed indignantly.

 

“You smashed into me,” Ciato pointed out, and sighed, “If you're going to yell at me, at least get your facts straight.” Fuse wanted to grumble. Of all the things he could've run into, a smug, arrogant Mystic wasn't one he wanted. He shoved Ciato again and pushed himself forward to try and continue his valiant search for a light. And again, he collided right into something. And this time, he toppled over when he stumbled over the chair.

 

“DAMN IT ALL! Someone throw on the goddamn lights!” he shrieked, as he stood up and rubbed his boot. Silently, he prayed he didn't break his toe, and he waited for the lights to come on. But they didn't. He grew impatient and said, “Well!?”

 

“How're we supposed to find a light in this darkness?” Ildon asked him, both vaguely annoyed and somewhat amused. Fuse wanted to shoot someone now. This just wasn't going their way, and now he knew the two days he gave them wouldn't be enough. If what the Time Lord said about space was right, they might have even been gone for years, and not one of them would know it. This mission really sucked.

 

Turning slowly, Fuse squinted his eyes to try and see, as if that would have suddenly given him night-vision. It didn't, but he found he could barely make out everyone else's outline. That would at least help him not run into them anymore, and carefully, he picked his way over to the far wall. Using his hand as a guide, he ran it along the wall, and soon found a glass panel. A window! Quickly, he looked outside; he saw the stars floating across quickly, and saw a distant planet, nearly as tiny as those stars. The only difference was that the planet was a luminous golden; the stars were so bright that they came off as white or blue. He whistled.

 

“Wherever we are, we're still moving,” he stated, glancing back before realizing he couldn't see anyone else, “The rocket's down, but whatever we're on still moves.” Somewhere in the back, he heard a snort.

 

“God forbid elliptical orbit,” Ciato remarked, and when he heard Fuse growl, he said, “What did you expect? From your human study of space, all worlds follow a certain path that revolves around gigantic stars, don't they? Why would this surprise you now?” Fuse wanted to argue, but Ciato had a point. Besides, Fuse wasn't exactly an expert on space, either. All he really knew about it was that stars hung out there and that it was a common theme in sci-fi flicks. He just shrugged.

 

“It's not like I know where we are,” he explained casually, as though that wasn't a problem, “We could be so far out of the galaxy that what we thought were rules of space don't even work anymore.” Ciato just perked a brow. That was an interesting excuse, but he wasn't about to fall for it. Even if he knew next to nothing about space, he definitely knew he understood more than Fuse did. That was enough.

 

Somewhere next to him, Ciato felt Zozma shift and climb out of his seat. The white-haired Mystic wanted to tell his friend to sit back down, that nothing would help them right then, but he couldn't bring himself to. He was partly curious to see just what Zozma was up to, and to tell the truth, maybe he could find out what actually happened. But then he managed to make out where exactly Zozma was going: to the latched door keeping them inside. The idiot was going to open it. And that might just kill them.

 

“Zozma, what the hell are you up to!?” he demanded, standing up. He didn't need to see to know Zozma was grinning like the idiot he was.

 

“Well, if we're ever going to figure this out, we should just open the door and see where we are. It's as simple as that,” Zozma stated, and indeed that grin was on his face. He was just about to reach the door when Ciato leapt across the seat, across the aisle, and thrust out a hand to stop him. Instinctively, Zozma backed away and Ciato fell right on the floor.

 

“Are you an idiot!?” Ciato screamed, getting back up and throwing his arms up, “You can't just open the door into space!” Zozma blinked. To him, the matter was simple. Their answer was right outside.

 

“Why can't we?” he asked. Ciato was sure he'd lose his mind if someone somewhere didn't decently explain space to Zozma. He slapped his forehead.

 

“Because there's no oxygen in space! You open that door, and you'll kill us!” Ciato replied in exasperation. He hoped that his tone would stress just how bad Zozma's idea was. But he obviously forgot who Zozma was. The red-haired Mystic didn't seem to see the problem with lacking oxygen. Or with killing everyone else.

 

“Really? Awesome! I want to see!” Zozma declared, and before Ciato could even stop him, he put his hand back on the handle and threw open the door. Ciato screamed, throwing himself against the door to try and close it. But somehow, the door seemed to have mysteriously gained several hundred pounds; it didn't even budge, and all Ciato managed to do was slam his perfectly straight nose into the chrome. In fact, he was certain he heard a very loud, very painful crunch somewhere in the process. Angrily, he rubbed his nose, glaring at his friend.

 

“Good job, Captain Curious. We're going to die now,” the furious Mystic spat, his voice muffled as he held his nose to keep it from bleeding, “Any last words?” Zozma looked out into the darkness of space, and looked around. There was, as far as he could see, nothing but barren ground and black sky for miles upon miles. And that disappointed him. He expected rocketing comets, falling stars, fiery explosions, and aliens. He was definitely looking forward to aliens. He shrugged, turning back to Ciato.

 

“Space looks boring,” he said simply, “Let's go home.” Ciato finally lost it. He roared and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking himself in. Rouge just blinked for a moment. No matter how much of an ass Ciato was, if he didn't come out, he might just die wherever they were. He walked to the bathroom door and knocked on it. There was no reply.

 

“Ciato? You okay in there?” Rouge asked gently, genuinely becoming concerned with the Mystic's lack of response. And when Ciato didn't answer again, Rouge abandoned calm and just banged on the door. Finally, he got an answer.

 

“STOP! Yes, I'm fine, okay!?” came a snappy response, and then a sigh, “Now go away. I'm currently floating in mid-air and I don't even care why!” Rouge backed away, but not because he respected Ciato. He was confused now. Ciato was floating? He knew the Mystic had wings, but why was he floating? The bathroom wasn't even big enough for his wings to expand.

 

“I'm sorry. Did you just say you were floating!?” Rouge repeated, and got another angry huff in response.

 

“Yes, already! I'm floating. OUCH!” Ciato cried, as Rouge heard a thud, “Damn it, my head just hit the damn ceiling!” Rouge blinked again. This was just getting too weird. But as he turned to look at his brother, he found he was moving awfully slowly, and he felt as though his body were as light as a feather. And when he looked down… his feet weren't touching the ground at all! He was floating, too! The crash must have messed with his mind more than he expected.

 

“BLUE!” he yelled, knowing that if anyone would make sense of it, it would be his brother, “HELP ME! I'M FLOATING!” Finally, after a moment of being in slow motion, he managed to turn. And his mouth dropped. Everyone was floating! No, not just everyone. Everything, too. Chairs, cups, blankets, anything that was held down before was floating. Everything except the rocket itself.

 

“I know, Rouge. We're all floating,” Blue said calmly, standing completely still and still somehow managing to glide across the room. It was almost creepy to watch.

 

“But why?” Rouge demanded, so completely bewildered that he forgot all laws of physics, and lack of it. The Time Lord just tapped his chin as Orlouge managed to smash into one of the lights, trying to move just a bit to get to his drink.

 

“It appears that gravity is negated out here,” the old Mystic said simply, as if that were news to all of them, “Seems any form of physics as we know it is rendered invalid. Such a strange occurrence. I prefer to be on the ground.” Rouge just shook his head. He knew all of that. He might've been stumped, but he wasn't stupid.

 

“I meant why are we alive?” he rephrased, crossing his arms as he tried to keep still, “There's no oxygen in space! By all accounts, we should be dead.” Blue just hummed. That was all well and true. But for whatever reason, the laws of space were just as screwed up as the laws of gravity. And there really was only one way to find out why. Zozma was already showing them the way, albeit recklessly. Blue turned to the red-haired Mystic, and then to his brother.

 

“If we're going to understand this, we might need to take Zozma's cue and do some exploration,” Blue stated seriously, and Rouge nodded his agreement. Fuse and Ildon were already working on swimming toward the doorway; that left only Orlouge and the Time Lord to convince. And both of them would be too intrigued by the broken laws of physics to care where they went. And Ciato? Well, he was still locked in the bathroom. By his own accord, no doubt. Blue just grinned and followed his boss.

 

“What about Ciato?” Zozma asked him, when Rouge passed as well. The two twins exchanged glances. Technically, there wasn't much they could do. If Ciato didn't want to go, they couldn't force him. And besides, it'd be one less thing to worry about. To Rouge, having Ciato lock himself in his own prison was more a blessing than a curse.

 

“If he wants to come out, he'll know where to find us,” Rouge said simply, and shrugged, “After all, where the hell could we possibly go?” Blue didn't feel the need to remind him that gravity no longer bound them; that fact was obvious enough as Fuse managed to knock into an overhead fan before grumbling and continuing on. Blue just snorted. So far, this trip into space wasn't what he expected at all.

 

When they all set foot outside of the ship, the sight they beheld both amazed and terrified them. The sky, if it could still be called that, was entirely black. It was as if the sun never existed, though they could still see it, some good distance away. It was luminous, but the sheer darkness of space seemed to merely absorb the light, not reflect it or brighten it in any way. Other stars twinkled and gleamed, some close, some too far to be seen by the naked eye. But they all knew that the numbers of them ranked into the billions. And to just be amidst it all… it was breathtaking. They were observing space!

 

But what terrified them wasn't the view or the atmosphere they were standing in. It was what they had landed on. The rocket clearly wasn't moving, but even then, they could feel the ground beneath their feet moving. Like a tiny tremor, but not powerful enough to send them shivering in fear of being swallowed up. Where they were currently moving to, no one had that answer. But the stars slowly drifted around them, some coming so close that they could see the sparks of radiating energy. Zozma reached his hand out to touch one; he withdrew it immediately, as he felt heat run up his arm. He shook his head. It was little wonder there was nothing in the study of Mystic space.

 

“Where are we?” he breathed, his voice soft in wonderment as he looked around. Everywhere he turned, there were more stars and more soft lights. Some made beautiful patterns, some just seemed to have been tossed helter-skelter by some higher being, more powerful than even the Espers of old. Somewhere behind him, Zozma heard Blue tap his foot on the ground. It made an oddly brittle crunch as he did so.

 

“I believe we may have landed on a meteoroid,” the magician stated calmly, bending down and scooping something up, “Look here. This metal's known as nickel.”

 

“Like the currency used by some of the other worlds?” Rouge asked, and Blue nodded. That was a nice discovery. Their region, in particular, had never used human currency. Everything was exchanged with magic and intelligence, and Credits were the common for their world. But it obviously wasn't so for others. Zozma grinned when Blue handed him the nickel to look at. It was slightly heavy for its size, but it did shine, and it was a material he'd never used before.

 

“How much do you think the traders in Koorong would want for this?” he asked Ildon, and his grin went sinister, “We could open a trade on this stuff! We could be rich!” Ildon, however, wasn't nearly as enthusiastic for Zozma's new scam. He shook his head in disbelief, and swatted the tiny rock out of his friend's hand.

 

“That's illegal, first of all,” the green-haired Mystic reminded him flatly, crossing his arms, “Second, who the hell would buy from us!? Mystics don't use trade; we kill whoever stands in our way if we want stuff.” Blue just glanced at Fuse, knowing a remark like that set off a flag or two. Fuse just turned, and stared at Ildon in disapproval. He tapped his foot almost impatiently.

 

“Do I hear a future confession to murder?” he asked, and Ildon almost laughed. He wasn't even confessing to anything. He had never killed a human. At least, not as long as he could remember. He held up his hands in mock surrender.

 

“I'm being honest here. This trade of Zozma's wouldn't work well because no one would trust us. Except ourselves. And we don't use money for anything unless we actually live with humans,” Ildon told him, and even from outside, they heard Ciato add, “And we'll never live with you idiots, either.” Rouge wanted to argue that Ciato hit on him not that long ago. But Fuse was already speaking again.

 

“Yeah, that trade wouldn't work,” the older cop agreed, and grinned, “Besides, even if it did, there's a lot of paperwork in that, too. Free trade isn't so free when you go and get the ESB involved. And that's the only way to trade with other worlds.” He tapped his chin for a moment, and then snorted as he said, “At least, legally, anyway. And we all know how much the boys back home hate illegal activity, right?” No one said a damn thing as Fuse continued to chuckle as though Zozma's idea was the greatest joke in the world. He went back to looking at the ground he stood on, and Zozma leaned toward Rouge.

 

“If they hate it so much, why are so many cops bad at their jobs?” he asked, and Rouge burst out laughing. That was a good question indeed, and the answer seemed simple enough: jobs like this were what did it. Blue just nudged Rouge hard in the ribs before his laughter reached Fuse's alert ears. Thankfully, it didn't.

 

Unfortunately, Blue's initial discovery of nickel had been a short find indeed; after nearly an hour of searching, they had recovered no more, and it didn't appear as it any more would be found, either. And so, they eventually had to admit that Blue found the only trace of nickel on the meteoroid. That was fine with everyone except for Zozma; they hadn't come here to make a fortune, anyway. So, Fuse decided to take the lead and guide them through the barren waste. Not that there was much to get lost by; the only thing that seemed to adorn the meteoroid was craters, and they knew better than to fall into those.

 

But it was also clear that darkness would be a problem, too. Only Blue knew Light magic, and he couldn't keep a constant stream of Sunrays up to light the way. For once, Fuse's handcuffs proved to be useful. He handed everyone a pair, and told them to chain themselves to each other so no one could get lost. It was a pretty ingenious idea, but it did raise the question of just why Fuse carried so many handcuffs with him. And how he could fit so many in his pocket. But no one asked, because no one particularly cared. All they knew was that now they couldn't get lost, or run away, without breaking the links. And that just wouldn't be happening. As an officer of the law, Fuse made sure all of his equipment was magic-proof and bite-proof. If they wanted to run, they'd have to rip their own arms off.

 

And so, the grand trek across the meteoroid began. With only the rocket to pitifully serve as a landmark, Fuse decided they should go north. Not because there was any particular reason to, and not because Kylin might be there; Fuse just liked going north. And because he didn't say why they were going north, everyone else just followed. Half of them had a feeling they'd regret it, too. And when twenty minutes of walking passed, they did. No matter where they went, everything looked exactly the same. Same craters, same stars, same atmosphere. It was both annoying and disconcerting.

 

“Hey, boss? Do you know where we're going?” Rouge decided to ask, when Zozma began to groan in misery at having to walk so far. Fuse stopped for a second and looked around. The truth was, he didn't. He didn't even know what part of the universe they were in. But he couldn't just tell them that… could he?

 

“We're going to find Kylin,” he said simply. But that wasn't enough to convince any of them, even the normally easy-going Zozma. The red-haired Mystic looked around quickly, as if proving his unspoken point. Then he shrugged.

 

“Dude, we're in the middle of space. That guy could be anywhere,” Zozma stated, and then blinked as if he just realized something really important, “…wait. If we're in space, why aren't we floating around anymore?” Rouge blinked for a moment as well, and then looked down to see that Zozma was right. They were walking across the meteoroid, and according to most physics, space shouldn't have allowed that. He turned to Blue, raising a concerned brow.

 

“I thought the laws of physics didn't apply here,” the younger mage said, and Blue nodded.

 

“They normally don't,” he replied warily, and glanced to his left, “Something's warping space. I can feel it.” Rouge's lips thinned. He couldn't, but he didn't disbelieve Blue. His older brother had always been more sensitive to some things, and warping was one of them.

 

“What do you think it is?” Rouge asked, but Blue couldn't answer. He didn't know; he wasn't sensitive enough to get that kind of information. Zozma just snorted, shaking his head. As a Mystic, he felt he should've been able to feel such a warping, too. He couldn't help but think Blue was making it up, for once.

 

“I bet Kylin just got tired and decided he didn't want to screw with gravity anymore,” the red-headed Mystic laughed. And immediately, he regretted it as he suddenly yelped and was blown right into the air, so far up that eventually they couldn't even see him. And he didn't come back down. Ildon's mouth dropped. Zozma was gone!

 

“Z-Zozma!?” he asked, eyes widening like a terrified kitten, “Who did that to him!?” He snapped back to everyone else, his brows creasing as he looked into each and every face. But it was clear that whoever did this wasn't one of them. They looked just as confused and mortified as he was. Then… who was it?

 

“That would be me,” said a calm voice, and out of nowhere, a big, brown goat-like creature with a green mane materialized, floating in mid-air as he surveyed the group. His eyes were a dark blue, and somehow, he seemed amused. Which was funny, because he didn't appear to express emotions. Everyone just paled when they saw this creature, but Fuse merely waved and gave a sly smile.

 

“Hey, uncle Kylin,” Fuse said calmly, and if their mouths hadn't dropped before, they did now. Did Fuse just call Kylin his uncle!?

 

“What do you mean, uncle Kylin!?” Rouge asked him, turning sharply to stare at his boss, “Didn't you say you had a grandfather who was a bomber, and an arsonist for a father!?” Fuse nodded, and passed that off as a non-event, despite it being true. He shrugged.

 

“They both died in a fire when I was ten,” the older cop reasoned casually, “I was so pissed that I took my dad's old jetpack and decided to hightail it into the sun. I kind of took a wrong turn somewhere, though.” Everyone continued to stare as if Fuse was an idiot. Rouge's eye twitched as he tried to put the logic together. And he failed, too.

 

“You took a wrong turn!? How can you take a wrong turn!?” he demanded in exasperation, throwing his arms up, “You were heading toward the sun! All you had to do was go up!”

 

“Yeah. It didn't happen like that,” Fuse replied coolly, “See, I turned my dad's jetpack on and it went way too fast. I ended up tearing a bit of space and flew right into it.” Rouge's confusion just worsened. No human could logically do that and live. Then again, this was Fuse and he didn't work well with logic. At least, not normal logic.

 

“But that's not a wrong turn!” Rouge argued, as Ildon rose an amused brow and asked, “So you met Kylin and he raised you like a son?” Fuse ignored Rouge's point altogether, and more or less nodded at Ildon. After all, this was over twenty years ago. It was kind of accurate. Except that he hadn't seen Kylin since he graduated from the IRPO academy. And that was a while ago. He whistled, rocking back on his heels.

 

“Yeah, kind of. See, what actually happened was this,” Fuse began, and something like a flashback began right in front of their eyes, “I just wanted to blow the sun apart, because I was ten and thought all things fire came from the sun. Simple enough logic, right? Well, unfortunately, they don't teach physics in Manhattan. They don't teach much of anything there, so I didn't realize that going over 650 MPS in an upward arc would literally slice through the fabrics of space. I literally fell right into space.” Ildon nodded as if that made absolute sense. But to Rouge, it didn't. It had to take more than that in order to rip apart space! The general theories of relativity said it did! And why would the old legends lie?

 

“But I thought you had to be faster than the speed of light in order to even begin achieving that!” Rouge exclaimed, as Blue tilted his head and asked, “What does MPS mean, sir?”

 

“Miles per Second,” Kylin answered for Fuse, and he sounded somewhat bored of the conversation as a whole, “Normally the theories of gravity do control what space can and can't do, but you're forgetting that I rule space. My influence overpowers those laws, children. In fact, for that matter, you could say I made those laws up myself! I could very well have done so at the beginning of space!” Rouge's head was ready to spin. The beginning of space? Sure, he'd heard rumors of there being a beginning to time, but he had never once imagined a point at which space had never begun. Many worlds had believed a single god created their each and every world specially. Technically, that might be the case with Kylin, but if this ever reached the other worlds, cataclysms would occur. Rouge looked up at Blue. He was equally as perplexed. He just hid it better.

 

“But why would you disregard such crucial laws?” Blue asked the creature, and Kylin attempted what sounded like a chuckle. Humans, he decided, were as stupid as Mystics.

 

“Crucial laws?” the old goat repeated, “My dear boy, there are no laws in space! It is literally the voids of nothing! Gravity, light, sound, velocity, they're all just variables meant to be played with until I find the right formula to create a new world! The only reason those laws exist are to keep mortals like you from finding out.” Rouge's eye twitched. That had to be the stupidest reason to make up an entire legacy concerning the contexts of space. Especially if they ended up being false.

 

“But… we already know about it,” he pointed out meekly. Kylin turned to him, and pawed the ground impatiently. That wasn't the point.

 

“So there are some tiny flaws to my plan. The point is, I control space and no one has yet to find the formulas to prove otherwise,” he stated smugly, and then his calm returned, “Now, I won't kill you yet because my nephew's here. But what in all things Esper are you mortals even doing out here?” Fuse stepped forward. If he was going to get this case solved, he knew it'd be because Kylin raised him. He bit his lip. This might take diplomacy, and he just wasn't good at that.

 

“Relax, uncle. We're actually here to solve a case. We ain't here to mess with your laws or realm,” the cop said. Now Kylin looked interested. He sat down on the ground, and tilted his head. His mane billowed a bit.

 

“That's good news for the other Espers, then,” the goat laughed, and asked, “What kind of case is it, though? Why involve me?”

 

“See, that's the thing. Someone in the last case we were at said you gave him your power,” Zozma said, as he slowly descended downward. But he didn't land on the ground; Kylin was still mad, and he froze the red-headed Mystic in mid-air. “Awww, come on! It was a joke!”

 

“It wasn't a funny one,” Kylin replied flatly, and turned back to Fuse, “Well, it is true I did that, but it's not because I'm losing my touch there, son. You understand that controlling space is a big responsibility, right?” Fuse nodded, and Kylin said, “Right. I needed some help, so I went to a different time zone and gave a piece of my power to a nobleman to keep temporarily. I had too much to create a new world, and I was afraid such conduction would set of a chain reaction and blow up any of the worlds in Oblivion quadrant eight-forty-nine.” Fuse looked down for a moment, and snapped his fingers.

 

“Damn, that's dedicated to the F-Fantasies and the stars of destiny, too,” Fuse remarked, and then grinned, “Okay, so you had to put your power in a temporary vessel so you didn't destroy those worlds. Can you take it back now?” Unfortunately, if Kylin could portray sheepishness, he did. He shook his head.

 

“I can't. When I used my power to warp space enough to travel through time, I broke the portal into that plane,” Kylin explained, “Looks like space and time aren't as interchangeable as we want just yet. Parallel, but not completely interchangeable. Problem is that whoever rules time isn't as strong as me, and my power broke whatever tool he has to watch time with.” Rouge's eyes widened and he looked at Blue again. Judging by the shock on the older mage's face, they came to the same conclusion.

 

“The Time Lord's clock!” Rouge hissed, and the Time Lord smiled and said, “So that's what happened. You used my clock!”

 

“Sorry about that one, Time Lord. You understand, right?” Kylin asked, and the Time Lord nodded.

 

“Oh, of course, of course,” the Time Lord replied, but then his smile vanished, “But in doing so, you've broken many of the tools I use, and that anyone in the west wings of Oblivion can access. Time isn't being managed over there.” Everyone stared at each other in confusion. They had gotten the part where Kylin used the Time Lord's realm to do his work, but the rest was lost in a rush of gibberish that only the eldest Mystic and the creature before them understood. Zozma was the only one with the nerve to stress that.

 

“Okay, so then all we have to do is fix up time and then we can go and get that power back, right?” he asked, as Rouge said, “I thought we fixed that clock already.” The Time Lord nodded slowly, but his frown worsened.

 

“You did, but there are other mechanisms that haven't been restored. I had to learn what happened before I just went to repairing the continuum of time,” the old Mystic said sternly, “Or else I'd just have to deal with the problem again. And I can't have that. Time is very, very fragile.” Rouge wasn't entirely sure just how fragile time truly was, but he was willing to take the Time Lord's word for it. Besides, they were currently in space, and space was fragile, too, so Rouge couldn't complain. Not unless he wanted to end up like Zozma. And he certainly didn't. He turned to Fuse.

 

“Should we head there and fix this mess up before the universe collapses?” he asked, and Fuse nodded accordingly. For once, he actually looked like he was taking this seriously. Which was funny, since he didn't know a damn about space.

 

“Seems like the right thing to do,” the older cop replied, and looked over at the Time Lord and Kylin, “Okay, we need to head back to the plane of Time if we're going to fix this. Any ideas how to get there?” Kylin raised one hoof, or at least tried to. Then he snorted and shook his mane impatiently.

 

“I know of one, son. Follow me,” the goat said, and let out a roar so powerfully loud that it ripped apart a tiny piece of space, creating a swirling vortex before him. It was a swirling mass of purple and blue energy, and without a word, Kylin stepped right through it. Blue and Rouge exchanged nervous glances. This was a very powerful form of magic, one neither of them had ever experienced before. Who was to say any of them would even live?

 

“Should we go through?” Rouge asked, eyeing Fuse, Ildon, and Orlouge as they followed. Blue took a breath, and shrugged helplessly.

 

“What choice do we have right now? If we don't, we'll be stuck in a plane that will resume its natural course,” Blue replied firmly, “Right now, Kylin's keeping us alive. Once he leaves, we might die. Choice seems simple enough.” Rouge nodded, and taking hold of his older brother's arm, he walked through the portal. And he prayed to whatever god that listened that they'd all survive. Even Ciato, if he managed to fly in with them.

 

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

 

And so, the mystery behind Kylin's power transfer is fixed, but the case against the Time Lord's realm is thrown wide open again. Armed with guns, spells, and a wee bit of space, our traveling team of heroes must now fix whatever it was that Kylin broke before time itself collapses. The question is, can they? Or will everyone face the entire destruction of Oblivion itself? Find out next chapter, so click that review button!