Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ Blue's Guide to Surviving Dinosaurs ( Chapter 42 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does, and they're considering making a game where dinosaurs are summoning monsters. Dinosaurs are just cool.

 

Rouge had had the good intention behind the deed. When he first directed Blue to stand beside him and face the hulking dinosaur before them both, all he could think of was getting his brother to safety. For a moment, he had forgotten that both of them were in the highly destructive path of a very, very aggressive dinosaur that wanted to kill them both. And for a moment, when Blue agreed and they stood side by side, staring into those dark, glowering orbs, Rouge honestly felt they might be able to succeed. Surely, they no longer had the magical onslaught in order to successfully deal with this creature, but most humans didn't have any magic at all. And most humans were pretty adept at adapting without it. But neither of the twins were like most humans, for they had grown up with magic all of their lives. That, and most humans didn't have to fight a dinosaur.

 

But as soon as the dinosaur was up and ready, staring straight at them and stomping the ground to prepare its dash, Rouge understood that he had inadvertently put Blue right smack in the middle of the road to their deaths. And there was no time to tell Blue to just run away. Not that the older mage would've listened, but at least Rouge wouldn't have felt so guilty about it. When the dinosaur finally had enough of waiting for the tiny humans to do something, he roared and just charged right ahead. Rouge barely had enough time to just jump right out of the way, let alone try and convince his brother to run and leave him behind.

 

He was glad to find he didn't need to do that, anyway. Blue was already diving for low ground before the dinosaur even began its charge, and had slid far enough away to get out of its reach. The sand that had been kicked up, however, rolled over both brothers. And it was too thick to swat away.

 

“Damn it! Blue!” Rouge called, though not even he could hear his voice over the dinosaur's furious bellow, “Are you all right!?” He could hear coughing amidst the thick cloud, however, and had a feeling Blue was just fine. Perhaps a bit shaken, but fine nonetheless.

 

“It's too fast!” he heard Blue yell back, “Rouge, how much magic do you have!?”

 

“Not much, bro,” Rouge called back, looking down and seeing that his staff was fading in color, a sign that he indeed was losing power, “Why? You have a plan?” Blue nodded, though he remembered that Rouge couldn't see him just yet. It took a long moment for the dust to clear; when it did, the dinosaur was busy looking over the edge, thinking his prey had fallen straight off.

 

“Not really. I was hoping you had enough to perform a Reversed Gravity spell,” Blue replied, crawling over quickly, “Maybe stop the brute in his tracks or sink him into the sand.” Rouge arched a brow. That was a pretty high-cost spell, and he hadn't exactly mastered Space magic yet. If he had more power, he'd take a shot at it. But with so little at his disposal, he had to be careful. He frowned.

 

“That's not going to work, dude,” Rouge said, and glanced up to see that the Time Lord was frantically looking for the shard. Blue followed his brother's gaze, as Rouge continued, “Why not ask the Time Lord? He should have tons of magic up his sleeves.” Blue hummed. That was a good suggestion, but could they get there in time? The dinosaur would only be distracted for so long.

 

Blue had to take that risk. He nodded to Rouge, who understood that it'd be his job to keep the dinosaur distracted somehow. Then, the older magician turned and began to make his slow way to the Mystic. He couldn't move too swiftly, for if the dinosaur turned and saw him move, he'd tear the man to bits. But it never came to that. Blue made it within two minutes, and had to tug on the Mystic's pants before the Time Lord even realized he was there. The Mystic looked down, and arched a brow as he considered the younger man. By all aristocratic standards, that was highly inappropriate. Perhaps the fools at the Magic Kingdom forgot what `manners' were.

 

“Yes?” the Mystic asked, sounding just a little annoyed to see Blue. At that moment, the flustered, terrified mage didn't give a damn. He stood up, glancing back to see how the dinosaur was. He was still looking over the edge.

 

“Think you could help us a little bit?” Blue countered, “Rouge and I don't have the power to cast anything.” At first, the Time Lord seemed to be considering the young man's words carefully. Then, he just frowned. Normally, this would've been no problem to fix, but something was wrong. To his dismay, he found he hadn't had use of his spells, either. Hence why he'd been looking for the shard, of course, but he understood he was too afraid to tell this to Blue.

 

“I…” the Time Lord began, and it was his nervous tone that told Blue there'd be no help, “I… can't.”

 

“You can't?” Blue repeated, his eyes suddenly blazing. Normally, he'd be much more polite, but screw niceties. They were going to die very, very soon, and not one of them could do anything. The Time Lord nodded, and stepped back, knowing he was pushing Blue's patience.

 

“It's a difficult situation, you see,” the Time Lord began, and Blue snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. Of all the damn times, now the old Mystic had no magic. How utterly convenient, in the sense of being completely inconvenient.

 

“You'd better tell me why you can't do anything right now,” Blue growled through clenched teeth. The Time Lord coughed nervously, clutching his staff until his knuckles were white. This could get very ugly, indeed.

 

“I'm not entirely sure how, but when that dinosaur appeared, I suddenly lost the use of my spells,” the Mystic told him regretfully, “I believe it may have something to do with the shard of time, however.”

 

“Then where is it!?” Blue pressed, knowing Rouge might get slaughtered any second. At this, the Time Lord's face paled. Any answer could cause Blue to go berserk and kill him. And the worst part was, even the best answer was one the young mage wouldn't like. The Time Lord would just have to deal with that.

 

“You are asking an impossible question to answer,” the Time Lord simply said, and raised a hand when Blue tried to protest, “My good guess is that it's wherever and however the dinosaur came here.” Blue felt his eye twitch. He had no time for clues or cryptic messages. They were currently in the path of a raging dinosaur. And it wasn't only a dinosaur, it was a Tyrannosaurus Rex. If this idiot didn't start speaking plain English, he'd find himself shattering on the rocks far below.

 

“And where would that be?” Blue demanded, trying to keep whatever patience he had left. The Time Lord took a deep breath. If the shard wasn't visible, even though it was quite apparent - and it was potently so, to the sensitive lord! - then there was only one other place it could be.

 

“The Plane of Space,” he replied solemnly, and any anger Blue had vanished entirely, replaced by an uneasy silence. The shard was in space. It almost made sense; time and space were intertwined, after all. But space should've been warped and shattered. Nothing should have been able to exist, at least in the physical manifestations of that sensitive plane. Technically, space existed simply because they were alive. But it shouldn't be able to hold the power of a shard. Blue stared at the Mystic for a long moment, unable to decide if he believed what was said or not.

 

“It's… it's in space?” Blue whispered, knowing he didn't have the time for these questions. But the sheer realization of where it was proved to be too much not to ask. The Time Lord nodded slowly, seeming disturbed by his own answer.

 

“Theoretically speaking, it is,” he replied. Blue understood that implication; space was rarely a steady thing. It could have moved in the short amount of time since the dinosaur showed up.

 

A roar behind told both of them that the dinosaur had caught on. Blue turned, brandishing his sword, and the Time Lord clutched his cane, closing his eyes. He wasn't sure what power he possessed, but he knew Blue stood no chance. And Rouge was far worse, for he was close to the hulking beast! But none of them hesitated. Blue was the first to dive, knowing Rouge had no time to react, knowing he had placed his own dear brother in that very path of doom. He would be ill at ease with himself if Rouge happened to be killed for such a foolish mistake, and he had no problems going in headfirst. Except that his target was a fifty-foot dinosaur, with a seemingly equally big mouth that was opening to intercept the attack and devour the mage in one go.

 

It didn't come to that. Rouge was faster than Blue had thought, and was already throwing their father's staff straight and true before Blue saw the monster's dripping fangs. The dinosaur was too focused on Blue; he didn't even notice the powerful staff until it hit him full on the muzzle. Only a soft clink could be heard as the staff bounced off, but the impact was far from light. The dinosaur howled in outrage and swung his head, trying unsuccessfully to discern where the object had come from. He had forgotten about Blue. That was his first mistake.

 

Blue came in a slam, using his sword in a deflective stance at first to absorb most of the impact when he finally collided with the beast's hardened snout. Blue bounced back, but not far enough, and he slashed in a downward arc, the movement propelling him upwards even farther. The tyrannosaurus gave another furious roar, and one eye finally found his target. But Blue was faster, was much smaller. He slashed again, this time in a horizontal cut that tore scales from the spot. And before he was done, he spun around and jabbed, this time his sword hitting skin. Now, the dinosaur was out of control. To the normal observer, Blue's attack shouldn't have done much damage. But Blue's sword, the mighty sword of his grandfather, Zauberschwert, understood the motivation behind that blow. And though the weapon itself seemed ordinary, it had been passed down to Blue to protect himself and his brother. The sword did not forget such an important duty. And so, the sword struck a powerful nerve, and the creature - who had no knowledge for magic - felt only the pain of a vein being severed entirely.

 

It bucked and slashed out with its claws, but Blue was already falling, sword in hand. He fell faster than the dinosaur could catch, and landed with a soft thud on the ground. The dinosaur thrashed, trying to find its tiny prey, but Blue was fast escaping before it stomped around just once. Rouge laughed hysterically, knowing Blue had done a decent job. He raised his hand and the staff returned to him, and then he ran right after his brother. The battle wasn't over, not just yet.

 

“Not bad for no magic!” Rouge cheered encouragingly, when they met up with the Time Lord, who had done absolutely nothing but watch. Blue nodded, but did not share the smile. He understood the Mystic's shame, knew too well that the only source of power within him was magic.

 

“We must get that shard,” Blue said grimly, and the Time Lord looked at him curiously, “Did you find a way to get it?”

 

“The gate will have to be opened again,” the Mystic answered plainly, “I'm not sure how to do it, though. Without my power…”

 

“You don't need your power,” Rouge cut in, and both Blue and the Time Lord turned to see what Rouge was implying. He pointed above the dinosaur's head, “There's your power.” Blue squinted his eyes. He could barely see it… but he saw it! There was a tiny ripple over the monster's large head, just a blur of darkness. But in the light, it stood out only too well, a blotch of black against crystal blue. And within that blotch was a speck of light, a flash of power. It was small, but its power was sentient and resilient.

 

“The shard of time,” all three of them breathed. If they could only reach it, they could escape from this era. But reality was crashing in on them. That shard was currently sitting right above a fifty-foot, seven-ton dinosaur, one that Blue had just cleanly severed in the snout. Considering how angry the beast currently was, even thinking about getting the shard seemed unrealistic at best. Blue looked at Rouge squarely, as he was the one who pointed the damned thing out.

 

“How're we supposed to get it, Rouge?” he asked, arching a mildly sarcastic brow. He truly couldn't wait to hear whatever foolish antics the younger mage had concocted; as much as he loved Rouge, his brother had a tendency to suggest some very bad ideas. This wasn't an exception.

 

“We could try climbing up its back leg, running up its spine, and then leaping up toward the shard,” Rouge suggested hopefully. Blue just blinked. That was easily the worst idea they could follow, but Rouge sounded so hopeful about it. He must've actually thought it'd work. It was just too bad Blue didn't agree. His lips thinned.

 

“And what if its tail hits us or flings us off?” the older mage reasoned, feeling that alone won him the argument. Rouge's brows creased. Obviously, it had. But Rouge wasn't about to give up and just let the dinosaur keep the shard. They'd come too far to just give it up so easily.

 

“Then use your sword and whack it off,” Rouge said with a shrug, “Damn, Blue, you're making this too hard.” Blue's eyes widened in disbelief. He was making this hard! Why wasn't Rouge blaming this on the fifty-foot lizard that was in front of them?

 

“Me? I'm sorry, I think you may have forgotten,” Blue began, and yelled, “…but we're standing in front of a DINOSAUR!” To Rouge, that wasn't a good enough reason not to at least try. They'd fought the lord of Hell himself, and he was much bigger than this. Besides, if Fuse were there, he'd be more than willing to do something that crazy. He'd be willing to do something sixty times as crazy, all because he knew he just could. If only Blue had that determination…

 

“I haven't forgotten anything,” Rouge replied evenly, and gave a grin that Blue just didn't like, “Trust me.” For some reason, Blue wasn't quite ready to do that.

 

Blue had always thought, and everyone else unanimously agreed, that he was the sane one between himself and his brother. He had always been logical and pragmatic, always seeing the world for what it was, knowing that physical limitations could be pushed, but that they could only be pushed so far. He respected this fact, revered it almost, but for reasons he could not fully understand, he was now defying his very views and beliefs. Rouge had always seen life as something to challenge, something that should never stop a person, but rather make them dive headlong into the throngs of danger. And then to laugh in that danger's face. Blue had never wanted to believe in it, but as he stood before the dinosaur, a creature that should not have existed before him, he had to toss his pride aside and embrace his brother's view for once.

 

Subsequently, that led to his current predicament. Rouge had expected Blue to follow his order, and because Blue had to trust, he had done so. And now, as Rouge and the Time Lord worked out a way to use the shard, Blue found himself running toward the backside of the monster, and leaping up to where Rouge indicated. Physically, it should've been impossible. It was easily, so easily, a ten foot leap from the floor to the thing's heel bone, a leap not meant to be made by man. But Blue couldn't think on that, and when he made the jump, he felt himself soaring right through the air. He went straight up, his own eyes widening as he looked down and saw the ground spiral around, and turned just in time to see that he was going to collide onto the very edge of the heel. He kept his sword in check; with his free hand, he shot out and dug into the scaly, hard skin. And he quickly pulled himself up. The dinosaur, so angry and stupid, felt nothing.

 

Blue stopped momentarily to consider his options. Rouge's idea consisted of continuing the climb, and making his way up the dinosaur's backside, running along up the back of its neck, to its head, and finally to where the shard sat. But Blue knew that'd take considerable time and skill. And the dinosaur would probably catch on, when it saw one human was missing. Blue couldn't risk that. He looked around. There were always other options to consider, but up there, they looked pretty bleak. He sighed. Rouge won out again, and he simply shrugged, placing his sword back on his hip and using both hands to find another hold and pull himself up.

 

Moments later, Blue found himself standing shakily upon the dinosaur's back. It was a tedious climb, the holds often precarious at best, but Blue was a quick one, physically more able than Rouge. He had scrambled up, using his sword as a lever when the scales proved too tightly packed to be of any use. And that lever, he found, was a good way to jump feet up, shaving off precious seconds to better plan out his strategy. He was rewarded with a high perch atop the storming beast, and now, he could safely figure out what he needed to do. Down below, he saw Rouge and the Time Lord were near where he had been, just ten moments before. Rouge waved, signaling that he was doing well. Blue, however, wasn't as enthusiastic. There was still the matter of actually reaching the shard.

 

The good news was, the Time Lord had just an ounce of his power back. He could use it, and did, to get both himself and Rouge to where Blue was. Why he hadn't done that before, Blue didn't want to know, but it saved him time from waiting. The bad news was, now all three of them were out of power, and they were all on top of their enemy. One wrong move, one roaring buck, and all three would plummet to their deaths. And if they survived, they'd die of a footprint a second later. As his companions materialized beside him, Blue couldn't help but look flatly at them both. This was a bad idea, and he knew it. But damn it, he was following it all the same!

 

“Well?” Blue asked impatiently, wanting Rouge to get any half-assed remarks out before they began their suicide mission. Rouge looked at him with that same cocky, amused grin, his brow arched. He obviously found this funny.

 

“Well what?” Rouge countered, “You're the one leading, bro.”

 

“Excuse me!?” Blue yelled, staring as if Rouge had suddenly sprouted demonic wings, “Why am I leading!?” In any other situation, Rouge would've been asking the same thing. But for right now, with Blue's weapon being the strongest, it only made sense that he should lead. If anything lived up here, say, a prehistoric parasite, then Rouge wanted only the strongest one to dive headfirst and spear it in three. Unfortunately, that constituted as solely relying on Blue. But Rouge was more than used to that. He shrugged.

 

“Because you have a sword,” the younger mage answered reasonably, “Now, come on. This dude's not going to stay put for long.” Blue grumbled, but he led them anyway.

 

Nothing else was up there to harass them, but none of them knew if that was a good or a bad thing. It may have meant less fighting on the front end, but it also meant that the dinosaur would feel every slice Blue's sword would enact. Personally, Blue wanted something to distract the dinosaur, like a few fleas or an ant colony. But he had to figure neither existed just yet, and if they did, they were smart enough to just hide in their little holes. They were lucky little bastards, but Blue didn't want to curse them just yet. There were other problems to attend to, like actually getting to where they needed to go. Blue stepped lightly - he had no intention of making finding them easy! - and picked out a rough, but somewhat safe route through the dinosaur's backside. Most of the `landscape' was dry, but the scales were jagged as a result, and climbing them was difficult, especially for the Time Lord, who had never climbed across such a rugged thing before. Blue had to take special care to weave across the ridges, while picking a route that'd take them nearly in between where scales separated.

 

That was no easy task. The scales moved every time the damned beast even breathed, and more than once, Blue had to be quicker than the thing's slow tempo; he could not afford to get caught between scale and skin. Mainly because if he did, then he would be crushed to death, and his sword was in no way strong enough to deflect scale. So, for several moments, the journey was slow. Rouge and the Time Lord both needed help in crossing any obstacle that came their way, and Blue quickly found himself getting frustrated. He should have asked them to wait. Then it dawned on him that he might not have seen them again if only he managed to touch the shard. Though assumptions were never safe, he had a feeling that the shard was similar to a portal. After all, there was no other explanation of how the dinosaur had suddenly appeared before them.

 

Relief came quickly. The dinosaur had obviously been in a few fights, for there were patches where the scales had been ripped away. Blue aimed for them, knowing it'd make the trek at least a bit more bearable for his companions. And with how the back scales were set up, it'd give them a temporary shelter as Blue thought of a faster way to get toward the head. Right then, they were safe as it was. The dinosaur wasn't looking for them, and had probably thought it had squished them, hence their sudden absence. Gesturing to his brother and the Mystic, Blue found a half-turned scale that was on the verge of being ripped, and used that as the shelter they'd need. The scale, curved slightly like a dome, acted as a roof as the scale next to it held it up.

 

“Why're we stopping?” Rouge asked, as they slowed and then finally came into the shadow of the scale. Blue didn't answer for a moment. He was trying to gauge just how they could go about this. Continuing with their current pace would take too much time, he decided. But there were few other options.

 

“There has to be a better way of doing this,” Blue answered honestly, and turned to regard the two, “Neither of you are skilled with this rugged terrain. We have to get to that shard quickly. Who knows how long it might stay here.” Rouge didn't possibly think the shard could go anywhere, but he also understood how volatile and unpredictable magic could be. The Time Lord also seemed to share this opinion, for worry had crossed his otherwise calm features.

 

“The answer is, not long at all,” came the grim reply. Blue and Rouge looked up at him, both frowning, and he continued, “Time is not linear, so it never stays in the same place, nor does it travel any set path. It can literally do as it pleases with complete disregard to everything else.” Put in that context, Rouge began to understand why Blue was being so careful. He tapped his chin; technically, he chose space over time for this reason, but there had to be something he could do to help out.

 

“Is there a way to slow its progress a bit?” he offered, but he knew at once only one person had that ability, and that person currently had no magical value.

 

“That would require much more power than I have,” the Time Lord replied, “Normally, I would be able to convert my numerical life value into magical power, but with so little original source here, we'd be lucky if I can even retain the power of immortality let alone conversion.” Rouge's face blanched. If that came to pass, that'd mean the Time Lord would be dead very, very quickly. Technically, he didn't even have an age. And without him, there was no way out.

 

Blue, however, frowned deeply. As much as he enjoyed listening to the humdrum of their conversations, he understood when time was being wasted. And though time was suspended around them, it wasn't completely frozen in place. Events would still come to pass, and the dinosaur would eventually do something to throw them right off its back. So far, his planning had come to a standstill; there was no solid footing and the path weaved and curved around the spiked ridges, giving them little opportunity. The only thing to do was move, and move quickly. He just had to hope their rest was well enough.

 

“We'll figure these technicalities out soon enough,” he said to the two, and his voice was grave, “We're wasting time. There's no way to get to the head without going through the ridges, and we need that shard.” Normally, Rouge would've convinced him, or at least tried to, to take a better look. But he knew his brother and understood the severity with which the elder mage spoke. Blue wouldn't push unless it was urgent.

 

“I'm tired, but you're the boss, bro,” Rouge replied, “Just point out the steps and we'll keep the pace.” Blue was glad Rouge was supportive. The Time Lord also issued no complaints. After getting their weapons set and making sure they had what they had come with, they were off again. This time, the pace was faster. Both Rouge and the Time Lord expected the bad terrain, and they were quick at learning Blue's movements. As soon as they left the shadow of the scale, Blue clambered over it, directing Rouge and the Mystic to climb the adjacent one. From there, his plan varied just slightly. They were to weave around the ridges, but each would be going a different direction. He explained as they ran: it would get rid of a chance of ambush, should there be one.

 

So it went, with Blue climbing the stiff ridges directly as Rouge and the Time Lord flanked him from the left and right. Being on the top had advantages, and Blue noticed them immediately. Now he had the best vantage point and could easily direct their line of movement from there. For ten minutes, there was nothing interesting. Everything looked the same, and the scales barely trembled underneath the weights of Rouge and the Time Lord. Blue kept a vigilant watch, however, knowing that this was a living creature, and even a breath could shape a new path. And it was with this thought that he saw something disconcerting.

 

Ahead, far ahead, he saw the scales ripple, and the path seemed to suddenly swoop downwards. He stopped, as the ripple came closer, and urged his companions to do the same. Rouge was confused, but obeyed perfectly, and all three halted before the order was fully out. The ripple diffused before hitting them, but they all saw it. Something within the dinosaur was moving, some muscle. But they were just too small to see what it actually was. Blue had a good guess regardless.

 

“What is it?” he heard Rouge call below him. Blue squinted his eyes. He saw the ripple again, though this time it was a bit smaller. Sunlight glinted off a few of the scales. The dinosaur's head was bent downwards.

 

“The neck's moving,” Blue replied, looking down at him, “Our little friend's looking for something.”

 

“Probably us,” Rouge guessed unhappily, and Blue had no reason to argue. He urged caution, but they continued on. As they came toward the thick, throbbing neck, Rouge had to slow considerably. Here, the scales were slick with sweat, and the head was bent slightly left, making his passage a dangerous one. Not only could he slip, but he was traveling dangerously close to the creature's turned eye. If the dinosaur glanced back, he'd notice a moving speck on his back. Blue understood this, and ordered Rouge to pull back toward the right, which his brother rightly agreed to.

 

Suddenly, Rouge stopped altogether. He heard something slightly behind them, and turned to regard it. Yet there was nothing within sight. Rouge hummed, catching the Time Lord's attention, and the Mystic walked over. He was about to ask what was going on, but Rouge quickly silenced any questions with a raised hand. The two waited, listening intently. There was silence for a long minute, and then they heard it again. Something was scuttling, making tiny skrit-skrit sounds as it went, and then that something seemed to multiply as the noise echoed and reverberated. Rouge practically held his breath, wondering what could be up here with them. Then he understood what they were fighting. He nearly dropped his staff when he saw one hundred of the damned things rushing toward them.

 

Fleas. That was the one thing Rouge hadn't expected in such a prehistoric age. He knew the existence of dinosaurs, and understood the evolution of man. He grasped the nature of dirt and the subjects surrounding the stone age. But he had never once considered that fleas were part of the past. And now he felt like a fool for it. There was an army of them swarming, disturbed by the three's movements and voices, and they were approaching at an alarming speed. By Rouge's estimation - an inaccurate one, he admitted - they had about five minutes before they had to act. And when it came to reality, they had barely two before the first one was within range. Rouge smacked it away with his staff, and it went flying into the wind. But that hardly mattered, for three more appeared right behind it.

 

Rouge could only curse. He wasn't built for melee combat, and the fact that he wielded a staff proved it. The weapon was good for batting the pests aside. More often than not, it sent them hissing and screaming to their deaths far below. But the staff was a slow tool, and each swing tired Rouge further. His attacks became drudged and almost predictable, for when his count reached over thirty, the fleas were learning quickly when and where to just jump over the staff. If he could only access magic, these pitiful monsters would die from just one blast of Reversed Gravity. And if Blue had his magic, he'd add to the death count by using either Vermillion Sand, Mega Wind Blast, or even Flash Fire. And if the Time Lord had his magic, he'd cause hell again and again by letting Blue and Rouge continue the death in an infinite loop. Truly, Rouge was missing his magic.

 

The Time Lord was faring no better. Whereas Rouge had a semi-long-range weapon to at least beat off his opponents, the poor Mystic had to get up, close, and personal to do any true damage. And considering that Mystics had little skill with any weapons at all, save for Ildon and Ciato, that was a brave thing for the old one to try and do. His newly revived youth provided him with the agility and swiftness to evade the constant gauntlet of pincers and snappers coming at him, but his constant use of magic made it even more apparent that he was even less skilled in combat than Rouge was. Rouge, who knew singling themselves was doing nothing, was quick to step in and help the Mystic keep his annoying foes at bay. And the Time Lord truly appreciated the service.

 

“How many fleas you think there are?” Rouge joked sarcastically, something that sounded out of place in the midst of combat. The Time Lord laughed dryly, slashing one in two parts.

 

“For a monster this big? Easily more than the population of our world,” the Mystic replied honestly, and Rouge just grunted. He didn't really want an answer. He wasn't surprised he had gotten one. Again and again the two danced around, protecting each other from the bites the fleas were trying to give, but both were falling quickly. They both knew they'd last only a few more minutes, and only if their magic didn't continue draining.

 

“Damn it, where is Blue!?” Rouge demanded, thinking it odd that his dear brother wasn't bothering to step in. He had been sure that trait was smashed in their fight on the spatial plane, when they battled to see who would be the dominant persona. Now he was wondering if Blue even cared. Just as that thought distracted him, Rouge screamed as a pair of vicious, itching fangs ripped into his skin. The Time Lord was moving too slowly to help him.

 

Suddenly, the thing hissed and was crushed by a blue blur. Rouge stopped screaming, looking at his bloody arm, and realized it was Blue who had saved him. Blue stood, hatred lashed onto his face as he took out his sword, along with a glass bottle, and faced the horde of fleas. They had backed away, not knowing what had suddenly come at them. But they came on again, stronger than before. Blue wasn't afraid. He merely glared and threw his bottle right at them. It ignited into a sea of flames, blue in color and highly damaging. Several hundred screams filled the air, and the smell of acrid, burning flesh filled their nostrils. Fleas fell in a dead blanket around them, and the fire continued searing through the ranks. Blue's attack was devastating them in a very real, very welcomed way.

 

“It's about time!” Rouge yelled, as the Time Lord recovered and said, “Where were you?”

 

“Sorry,” Blue replied, a grin on his normally stern face, “I was preparing for the ultimate blast of the century.” Rouge arched a brow, not appreciating the lame joke. But Blue's unnatural grin didn't vanish. He produced another similar vial, and when a flea came too close, he roared and hit the poor thing full in the face. The bottle exploded, and some form of liquid flew right out, spattering the flea's closest comrades. Like before, a fire roared instantly to life, taking out several more lines of enemies. Blue's two friends watched in complete and utter shock. They were suddenly winning, and only because Blue finally showed up.

 

“What the hell is that stuff?” Rouge asked in awe, eyes wide. Blue smirked and chuckled, holding a third bottle. Whatever it was, Rouge knew only two things about it: it had to be illegal, and it was insanely powerful. He was almost proud, though he knew Fuse wouldn't be if he ever found out about it.

 

“Liquid Dragon's Fire,” Blue replied, “You can only get it from Espers, and only during the trading seasons.” Rouge's eye twitched. Espers! Those creatures were so damn rare, and so very rarely traveled out of the eastern sector of Oblivion! How Blue managed to even meet one, Rouge wouldn't know, but he was jealous! Espers were masters of magic!

 

“Seriously!?” Rouge cried, impressed. Blue's smile only widened.

 

“Seriously, brother,” came the calm reply. And another bottle was thrown, setting off yet more lines of the bothersome, and soon-to-be extinct army of insects.

 

Blue shouldn't have been too surprised - he even half-expected it! - to find that the tyrannosaurus had felt the extreme blasts of fire his newest weapon emitted. He should've known it, but he was so enthralled with his death count, with the fact that the horrid pests were dying, to notice that the neck had swiveled, and a very, very large, red eye was glaring down at him. Similarly, an equally large, dripping fang was appearing some feet under the eye. The dinosaur had seen him, and it sent such a surge of terror that he fell, screaming, nearly sliding off of the scales, off the neck, to his doom. Rouge had saved him, had grabbed his sleeve and hoisted him right back before he had gone over the edge. And together, they faced the dangerous beast together.

 

The thing stayed silent for only a short while as he examined the two tiny humans at the back of his neck. In his simple mind, the dinosaur hadn't actually considered that these humanoid annoyances would get so high up before he noticed, but as far as a dinosaur could think, he was almost impressed. They were brave. It was just too bad he was going to eat them now. It wasn't even worth the effort; it was simply because those few blasts of fire really, really hurt. He'd make sure to hurt them even more. He let out an earsplitting, heaven-rending roar that sent blasts of ancient breath all over everyone, including the rest of the fleas. The latter were blown away entirely, never to return. Unfortunately, the three friends remained. Blue counted it as bad luck.

 

“Holy crap, it blew all the fleas off its back!” Rouge exclaimed happily, though Blue didn't understand why this was good. This meant they were the only things left to be eaten.

 

“And now it wants to eat us,” Blue reminded him flatly, and took out his sword. He knew it'd be a pitiful excuse for a defense, but up so high, they had no option to just run away unless they wanted to die along with it. His brows creased as he considered his tactic. And then he said to the others, “Cover me.”

 

“With what!?” Rouge demanded suddenly, as the Time Lord took out his own sword to try and help. Rouge didn't get an answer. The only thing Blue responded with was to gain a running leap and slash toward the eye. He fell short; he nicked the hard skin between the eyes again, and had to jump before the head fell back, taking him with it. He landed beside his startled brother.

 

“Anything we have,” Blue finally answered, though it was vague and entirely unhelpful. All they had were the vials Blue was carrying. Rouge had a feeling he had used most of them, if not then all. Everything else consisted of two weapons that neither of their holders could use particularly well. But that'd just have to do.

 

When the head came back, this time with both eyes facing them, Blue leapt up to plant another slash or two between the eyes. And this time, Rouge went with him. Rouge knew Blue's tactics would become predictable unless he managed to stay on the thing's snout. And he had a good idea of how to keep his brother up there. He'd cause pain that couldn't be ignored, and his father's staff was the perfect way to do it. The end of it was shafted so that it could be used as a backwards spear, should such a defense be necessary. And when Rouge landed, he plunged that shaft right into the skin. It was as hard as a rock; Rouge had to maneuver the shaft a bit before it slipped in between two scales, but he managed it and hit a nerve. And possibly a vein with it. Soon, a small well of blood pooled, and the dinosaur howled in agony. Blue grabbed Rouge's arm and pulled him higher up to help with the damage, and Rouge understood one point of pain wasn't nearly enough. He picked another spot and set to work again.

 

Blue, meanwhile, ran up the snout as the dinosaur raged. The beast's vision was cut for a moment, and when it returned, the poor thing inevitably had to cross its eyes just to follow Blue's movement. That left it dizzy, and vulnerable, as it could not shut its eyes. Blue leapt and slashed the left eye, and blood gushed out, splashing him. The dinosaur bellowed angrily, and the eye fell shut. The muzzle, however, snapped open. Rouge was not in the best position to keep his footing, either, and he slid. It was their father's staff that saved him. He held on, and it was too wedged into a scale to snap apart. That didn't stop the dinosaur from trying to eat him, however.

 

“BLUE!” Rouge yelled, as Blue looked down and saw how precarious a position Rouge was in, “Damn it, you idiot, help me!!” Blue snorted softly. In his mind, he was doing everything he could. But he picked his way down toward where Rouge was and pulled his brother up. That earned them both a glare from the dinosaur's good eye.

 

“Think he's mad?” Rouge asked, feigning innocence. Blue would've laughed, but `mad' was an understatement. He doubted there was a word to describe what the dinosaur felt. Not that he'd have said it. He just shrugged.

 

“If he is, he'll be far worse when the other eye is gouged out,” Blue reasoned logically. This time, Rouge did laugh. Together, they ran up the snout again to try and work on the other eye.

 

The dinosaur didn't give them that chance. By then, he had fully expected the sword, and he shut his eye immediately, swooping his head back to try and throw them off. This time, Rouge's staff wasn't caught in between the dinosaur's scale, and when the monster's head shot forward, there was no solid footing to keep either mage on. They were thrown mercilessly through the air. So, too, was the shard. But their fall was so terrifying, neither brother took heed of that last fact. Rouge screamed as he felt Blue grab him, both holding on for whatever life they felt they should have. And both shut their eyes, fully expecting the crash that would end their fates and send them both back to hell.

 

It never happened. They waited moments, and then finally, Rouge had the courage to open his eyes. And he found that they were floating in mid-air, as if frozen in place. He looked around quickly, wondering what could've caused such a thing to happen. He saw the shard, but it was falling, and so it shouldn't have done such a thing. Then he remembered there was one other who had the ability to stop time. He looked directly at the Time Lord, who was already back on the ground, trying to weave his spell with his staff. Rouge had no idea how or why he regained his power, but he was just happy it worked.

 

“Seems like the magical energy in my Magi-Drink hasn't diminished,” the Time Lord offered, when both Rouge and Blue landed safely, “I had just enough power to stop you two from being crushed.” That felt awfully convenient to Rouge.

 

“Thanks a bunch,” Rouge said grumpily, and then turned toward where the shard was going to fall, “But why didn't you save the shard instead? I thought you wanted power.” The Time Lord stared at Rouge critically in that moment, unable to decide whether he should be hurt or insulted from the implication. In truth, he was mostly amused; humans had a tendency to think Mystics only cared about power. Then, he just laughed heartily. He'd have to prove those humans wrong, of course.

 

“You, my young friend, suffer the common misconception that all we Mystics truly care about are ourselves,” the old Mystic stated with a sly grin, “This is, in fact, false. I saved you both because you are my companions, and you helped me when I needed it. Even despite the fact that my older self hindered you a great deal.” Blue could only smile. He never thought of Mystics as being overly selfish, but then again, he himself was a bit power-crazy, too. Then he remembered two things: he was dating Princess Lion, and Ciato had saved Rouge's life on numerous occasions. Perhaps there was a lot of truth to the Time Lord's words. Except that Rouge didn't believe him.

 

“And you're not annoying us now?” Rouge pointed out flatly, and Blue's eyes widened, “Look, dude, not that I'm not happy to know you're okay, but you really haven't done anything useful except to confuse us.” Blue slapped his forehead. To him, saving their ungrateful asses was a pretty useful thing to do. The Time Lord just chuckled, shaking his head. Of course Rouge wouldn't see this fact.

 

“I believe I've just saved your lives,” he reminded the young man. But a roar right behind them cut his point short. The dinosaur seemed to have something to say about that as well. If only the Mystic's drink recovered more power, then that dinosaur wouldn't even be there. Rouge frowned as they all turned to once again regard their adversary.

 

“Shit,” he mumbled, “I forgot he was still there.”

 

“Now he looks mad,” Blue unhelpfully added. If they weren't in so much danger, Rouge would've hit him for that. But they were in danger, and now the Time Lord truly had no power left. So, they did the only thing they could; they turned, screamed, and ran. Or, at least they tried to run, but there really was no place to run to, and the shard had fallen right off the cliff. Now they felt they were screwed. And on the brink of death. Desperate, they huddled together, trying to find something to help them.

 

“Is this it!?” Rouge asked, as Blue growled and said, “This can't end yet…” Unfortunately, without the shard, not even the Time Lord knew what to do. That was their last chance at freedom. Then, something happened.

 

Not one of them was sure how or why what happened managed to happen, but it saved their lives. The dinosaur had them cornered, and was going to open his mouth to utterly devour them and end their existence. And then, out of nowhere, a giant comet slammed right into the dinosaur, causing a blaze so massive, that it hurt them just to look at it. The dinosaur screeched, an eerily high-pitched sound that should not have naturally come from such a creature. Then it melted, simply vanished from existence, and the fire went with it. The whole thing lasted maybe thirty seconds. But that was enough for both Blue and Rouge. And when it was said and done, the meteor was still there. Along with a voice, one that sounded too familiar and too welcome for any of them.

 

“Holy shit! Ildon, I hit him!” that voice belonged to Zozma! Rouge's mouth dropped as he considered that. Zozma, as far as he was concerned, was dead, along with everyone else. And yet that voice was unmistakable. Soon enough, the red-headed Mystic appeared on the meteor, grinning his usual, confident grin that just said how lucky everyone was to have him around. Blue couldn't disagree, in that moment.

 

“Zozma!?” Rouge cried, as the Time Lord said, “Ah, hello, prince Zozma!”

 

“You guys are alive!?” Zozma called back, truly surprised to see them, and then laughed and turned, “Ildon, get up here! Bring Orlouge and that idiot cop, too!” Surely enough, the disgruntled, green-haired Mystic trudged up beside Zozma, and Orlouge came up shortly after, carrying an unconscious Fuse. Blue wasn't entirely surprised to see that Fuse didn't exactly do well with current events, but he was glad to see everyone was all right. He smiled genuinely as Zozma slid down to greet the three.

 

“How did you all get here?” he asked, as Zozma clapped him on the back and drew Rouge into a crushing hug, “I thought you all perished!” Zozma turned back to him, the same grin still on his face.

 

“Nah, we're just fine,” the red-head told him, “Kylin sent us. Seems like Ildon was annoying the crap out of him, and he had to get rid of us.” Blue eyed Zozma suspiciously, knowing that Ildon was the least likely to do something like that. His suspicion was confirmed when Ildon glared at his fellow prince spitefully.

 

“…you were the annoyance, Zozma,” Ildon reminded him gravely, and frowned as he came to join up with his friends, “Anyway, we're not out of danger yet. We've got some problems to discuss… aside from the obvious.” Blue understood Ildon had seen the shard fall. He nodded, and turned to Rouge. Something was up, but whatever Kylin truly sent them there for, Rouge couldn't say. Biting his lip, Rouge sat down, and Blue joined him as Ildon signaled for Orlouge to come. Soon, all of them were seated in a circle, with the smoldering meteor behind them. Fuse lay to the side, snoozing his pain away.

 

Despite his grave tone, Ildon said nothing for quite a while. In fact, no one spoke. Whether it was because no one knew where to begin, or simply because everything shocked them all so much, Blue couldn't begin to guess. But silence reigned on, and everyone seemed content to let it continue. Ildon remained distant; whatever he wanted to discuss, he seemed to be discussing with himself. And Zozma seemed equally occupied. His grin had vanished as soon as he was seated. Even Orlouge and the Time Lord seemed ill-at-ease, both casting wary, worried glances at the other. Only Blue and Rouge seemed relatively present for the meeting, and neither had any idea what anyone else was thinking. Perhaps that was best, for neither wanted to know what exactly ran through a Mystic's mind.

 

They had no idea that all four Mystics were thinking the same thing, that all four had noticed one thing that set their group back from being complete. It was such a small detail, and considering who had inspired it, it was something that shouldn't have been surprising. And yet, as soon as they had awakened from their own comas, each Mystic saw that something was not right: Not one of them had seen Ciato yet.

 

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

 

After a grueling, dangerous trek to try and retrieve the shard, Blue and Rouge are horrified to see that they've failed to even touch the shard, let alone actually use its powers. Good news is, their friends have returned by their side, and the dinosaur is gone for good. But Ildon comes to bear bad news, and no one seems to want to speak it. What has all of the Mystics so silent, and why does it concern Blue and Rouge? Just how did they show up in such a timely manner, and was it truly because Zozma was annoying Kylin? Where is Ciato? And what of the shard of time? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button! Also, I want to apologize for taking so long. My computer had a nasty virus that shut me out of my files until my sister could get it fixed. Hopefully, the damn thing is gone for good, just like the dinosaur.