Sage Frontier Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of two Fakes! ❯ Mazes and Monsters ( Chapter 28 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own SaGa Frontier. SquareSoft does, and they can't believe the lack of fanfictions for this game. Neither can I.

 

“Way to go, Rouge,” Blue mumbled into the darkness, “You really screwed up this time, you know that?” It had taken all but twenty minutes for the thugs to drag Blue and Rouge through a series of dark, twisting tunnels and then to chain them up to a damp wall. They couldn't see where they were; there was absolutely no light at all in the tunnels. But, they could hear just fine. They heard the footsteps fading as the thugs left them in a dark, damp chamber, and they faintly heard running water. Rouge heard a slight drip close to him, and shivered when he felt some form of liquid dropping onto his shoulder. He looked to his left; he couldn't see Blue, but he had a feeling Blue was just at his left.

 

“Hey, how was I supposed to know we were being followed?” Rouge snapped back, his face twisting in a scowl, “Besides, I didn't see you shooting them.” He heard Blue growl angrily, and quickly decided he'd gone a bit too far. Only when he heard Blue's voice did he know that for certain.

 

“I tried to. They disarmed me,” Blue replied with controlled anger, “I guess it doesn't matter if it was my fault or yours. We're still trapped here.” Rouge nodded, even though he knew Blue couldn't see him. Fighting amongst themselves really was pointless, and all it'd actually do is alert their captors that they were up. He sighed, wondering just how either of them could get out of this predicament. He could see nothing; he didn't even know if there was a way out. He turned toward where Blue's voice had come from.

 

“Think we can use magic to light the place up?” he asked hopefully.

 

“We can't move our hands, Rouge,” Blue replied flatly, crushing any hope Rouge had, “We can't use magic.” Rouge looked down. That was a bit of a blow to him, especially since they both had relied on magic to help them so much before. He sighed again, wincing as another drop of water splashed onto his shoulder, soaking his robe again.

 

“So, who do you think is behind this?” Rouge asked, hoping to at least keep Blue's spirits up. Blue tried to eye his brother suspiciously, wondering why Rouge would even ask that. He'd seen just about as much as Blue had before they were clocked on their heads.

 

“You're seriously going to ask me to sort out every organized mob in our worlds and discern which one would pull this off?” Blue asked, and laughed, “Do you have any idea how many people it could be?” Rouge hummed. That was true enough, but they had to do something. Rouge knew he'd go crazy if he didn't keep talking. The silence, mixed with such an oppressive darkness, threatened to crush them both.

 

“Well, can't we use motive to file them out?” Rouge asked, and Blue gave him another dry laugh.

 

“Baccarat's riches are the motive, Rouge,” Blue pointed out simply, “It literally could be anyone looking to make some money, including our boss and ourselves. Do you really want me to go that route?” Rouge shook his head, and though Blue couldn't see, he guessed his brother's answer by the silence that followed. They both stayed quiet for a minute as Rouge tried to take in what Blue had said. This case definitely wasn't going well, and they had nothing to work with, either. Maybe he had asked too much of his twin?

 

“…hey, if it was Fuse, how the hell did he pull it off if he was asleep?” Rouge asked slyly, and Blue finally had to laugh with amusement, not with mock. The memories of Fuse snoozing on the job were just ironic right then, especially considering that his workers were in terrible danger, with the hot-headed cop being none the wiser about it, either. He seriously doubted it could've been Fuse. The cop just wasn't savvy enough for this sort of thing.

 

“Either he's a telepath or he didn't do it,” Blue replied, “I just hope he wakes up and realizes we're gone.”

 

“Yeah. If we die because he couldn't move his slow ass, I'm going to come back and kill him,” Rouge added, “Especially seeing as how he's on our asses about paying off that stupid dept I owe him.” Rouge sighed, and when Blue didn't respond, he said, “I wonder how much we actually owe.”

 

“If we're lucky, we don't owe anything anymore,” Blue replied calmly, “But… what does that mean for us?” Rouge never really considered that. He didn't think he'd like his job, but now that Blue brought it up, he was surprised to find that indeed, he did. He liked traveling and throwing the bad guys into prison. He liked helping people. And, it brought him and Blue closer, even if he didn't want to admit that. He liked hanging out with Blue.

 

“…I'm going to keep my job if he'll let me,” Rouge said quietly, and if he could see Blue, he imagined he'd be seeing absolute shock on his twin's face, “If that's okay with you.”

 

“Of course it is,” Blue told him firmly, “I'll stay, too. It's the only thing that really gives me a purpose now.” Rouge nodded, knowing that if they did quit, life would definitely get boring. Blue would probably spend his days in his room, studying quietly and without the distraction of human contact. Rouge would most probably go back to being a delinquent all day, not caring for how many rules he broke. He didn't want that for either of them. He snorted softly.

 

“What is it about being in danger that makes you evaluate your own life?” he asked Blue, and Blue snorted, too, “Is it being chained to a wall or something?”

 

“I think it's more about realizing that your life could end and knowing that you really don't know anything about yourself or what you want,” Blue replied thoughtfully, “Life's so fragile, Rouge. Only when you realize you'll be losing something important, do you realize how important that something was to you. Life's no different.” Rouge whistled. He never considered that before, and now he was beginning to understand why Blue had made it so far in the magical arts. Blue was very intelligent.

 

“That's the sort of deep shit I tended to avoid,” Rouge commented, and Blue burst out laughing, to which Rouge defensively cried, “I couldn't understand any of it when the masters tried teaching me! It was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to me!” Blue didn't think he should've been shocked to hear that, but shock was his reaction when he heard a heavy bang on the iron door locking them into the chamber. He glanced toward wherever Rouge's voice was coming from, but felt a pang of depression when he remembered he couldn't see his brother at all.

 

“Shut up in there,” came a deep, gravelly reply. Both Blue and Rouge knew it was best to obey, and while they waited for that voice to disappear behind the sound of footsteps, they remained silent. Only when ten minutes passed and they were certain they were alone again did one of them even attempt to whisper.

 

“Any ideas on how to bust out of here?” Rouge dared to ask, his whispering echo seeming unrealistically loud in the darkness. Blue winced at its sound, but knew Rouge was being as quiet as he possibly could be. Any lower, and Blue doubted he'd have heard his brother at all.

 

“We need to get rid of these blasted chains first,” Blue replied, equally as quiet. He half-expected to be reprimanded by the unseen voice that scolded them before, but when no one else spoke, he continued on, “How loose are yours?” Rouge hummed quietly, and pulled on the chains holding his arms up. They barely budged.

 

“Rock tight,” he replied, “Doubt yours are any better, eh?” Blue tried his luck, but found Rouge's guess to be true. His were just as tight as Rouge's were. He sighed.

 

“They took great care to make sure we didn't escape,” Blue said at length, “There has to be some way we can get out of here!” But, Blue knew very few possibilities were open to them. Without the use of their hands, they couldn't use magic, weapons, or any kind of lock pick, and Blue seriously doubted they could use their minds to move anything physical. Rouge racked his brain for an answer, but only one popped into his head. That one suggestion could give them both enough power, and might break their bonds simply through teleportation. But, it always scared him when he thought to bring Aubergine into their world. It always resulted in exceeded fatigue.

 

“…what if we transformed into Aubergine?” Rouge asked quietly, and Blue noted the tone of reluctance in his brother's voice. He didn't blame Rouge for it, but it was something to consider. It'd definitely help them out, but the cost… could either of them handle it? If they used it for just a moment, then maybe they could, but any longer… Blue couldn't take such a risk, but what choice did they have? They had to escape. He nodded, and Rouge heard him sigh grimly. That meant an affirmative.

 

“Are you up to that, Rouge?” Blue asked gently, and Rouge knew he was deeply concerned. He smiled.

 

“You bet, bro,” he replied, hoping to dispel any negativity on the suggestion, “Let's show these bastards we have no respect for kidnapping.” Blue nodded, and immediately, both twins closed their eyes, focusing their power. In such silence, it was easy to concentrate; reaching Aubergine's detached mind was simple and took only seconds for the fused master to respond. He came rushing to them, and that blinding light filled the chamber, disintegrating the chains immediately. When they were fused, Aubergine was standing on the floor, looking at his unchained hands, both amused and impressed with what happened.

 

`I knew it would work!' Rouge said proudly, as his apparition appeared behind Aubergine, `I knew it!' Blue laughed as he too appeared to stand beside his brother. They both nodded, and closing their eyes again, dismissed their fused self back to its plane, waking up as two again a moment later. Rouge stood up and brushed himself off, glad to be able to move his stiff joints. Likewise, Blue seemed just as happy.

 

“Should we go out there and kick their asses now?” Rouge asked, stretching out his legs to make sure they worked properly before they began walking out. But, Blue had other ideas. Rouge heard him feeling around the wall for something, and though Rouge couldn't see what it could've possibly been, he could only guess. And, Blue's suggestion proved he was right.

 

“I'd like to find a light switch and see if we can find our weapons first,” Blue replied, coming across a switch just as he spoke, “…there. ACK, MY EYES!” The light felt blinding to him, and unfortunately, Rouge wasn't quick enough to shield himself from the bright onslaught either. They both crashed to the floor, squeezing their eyes shut to prevent complete blindness and praying no one outside heard the ruckus they were creating. Slowly, oh so slowly, their eyes adjusted to the light, and Rouge was the first to recover. He looked over at his brother and thrust out a fist, aiming to hit Blue for his idiotic move.

 

“Way to go, moron,” Rouge mumbled, “Are you trying to get us caught?”

 

“I was trying to find the light,” Blue retorted angrily, swiping his twin's fist away, “Now help me look for our weapons.” Rouge snorted furiously, but went to help Blue nonetheless. The room they had been kept in was bare; only a small table and a chair adorned it, with a grimy tankard to decorate it. Dust was thick on the table, and even more so on the windowsill that housed a boarded window to who-knew-where. The walls were simple slabs of stone. The only thing that decorated them were the broken chains Aubergine had created. Rouge looked under the table and chairs for their weapons, but there was no sign of the equipment anywhere. Blue searched the various nooks and crannies, but again, not a staff was in sight. Rouge finally kicked the chair over in frustration as Blue rapped on the boarded window impatiently.

 

“Our weapons aren't even here!” Rouge exclaimed, throwing his arms up, “Those bastards better not have thrown out dad's Ancestral staff, or someone gets to die.” Blue rolled his eyes as he continued his valiant search, but even he had to admit the weapons weren't in the room. At that moment, he was glad he had learned just a tiny bit of martial arts from Fei-On. He wasn't entirely helpless. He turned to Rouge.

 

“Should we head out now?” he asked, and for once, he noted that Rouge seemed to hesitate, which wasn't like him at all. Even if they had no weapons, they still had their magic, and Blue couldn't figure out what could've been Rouge's problem.

 

“Bro, we don't have weapons,” Rouge stated calmly, though Blue felt that was obvious.

 

“We have magic,” Blue replied, crossing his arms, “We'll be okay.” Rouge shifted nervously, and Blue sensed something was very wrong. He perked a concerned brow.

 

“We don't have weapons,” Rouge stated again, and Blue sighed. He held out a hand and said “Energy Chain!” But, to his mortal shock, nothing happened. No sparks of power flew from Blue's hands. He tried his spell again, but nothing happened. Terror rimming his eyes at that point, Blue frantically tried the simplest spell he knew: Sunray. Not even that produced an effect, and now Blue saw why Rouge was so nervous. They had no magic.

 

“What the hell happened to our power?” he asked in a quiet whisper, looking at his hand in controlled fear, “Did they take our magic away?”

 

“They must have,” Rouge confirmed sadly, “But how? How could they take our life essences away from us? Shouldn't we have died?” Blue's lips grew thin. By all normal means, they should have if their magic truly left them. But they were still standing. He shook his head to dispel the thought.

 

“There must be some form of explanation for this,” Blue told his brother sternly, “We should try and find out what happened.” Rouge nodded, but he didn't step forward. Blue waited patiently, but when Rouge didn't move at all in minutes, he had to ask, “What is it?” Rouge looked away, and Blue finally saw how scared he actually was.

 

“What if we die out there?” Rouge whispered. Blue's expression softened and he walked over to join his brother.

 

“Rouge, we…”

 

“Blue, we have no magic!” Rouge exclaimed, looking at his twin seriously, “We don't even have Fuse to back us up, and everyone out there wants us dead! If something happens and we need our magic, we're as good as dead! We can't live without magic!” Blue hummed. That wasn't entirely true. He'd gone without magic before, but he knew better than to bring that up. Rouge was terrified, and if Blue had any hopes of going onward, he had to dissipate that fear. He patted Rouge's shoulder and made the man sit in the small chair.

 

“All right, calm down,” Blue said softly, “We won't leave this room until we find some magic, all right?” Rouge nodded, shivering. Then, he looked up at Blue. He didn't doubt his brother's sincerity, but how did he possibly expect to find magic? When Rouge posed this question, Blue laughed and said, “One of these guards has to be carrying some form of magical item, don't they?” Rouge nodded, seeming to understand what Blue was implying.

 

“We're going to wait until a guard comes in and then kill him?” Rouge asked incredulously. Blue snorted with amusement at the notion. There was no way either of them could kill without their magic or their weapons, but they could knock someone out if they tried.

 

“Not kill,” Blue replied, “But to daze a bit, yes. We just need one item, and that's enough.” Rouge seemed to agree, though whether it was reluctant or not, Blue couldn't guess. So, both sitting by the little table, they waited, each thinking very different thoughts. Blue was concerned with the gnomes in Baccarat, and Rouge was wondering if Fuse was even up, or if he'd even know they'd been kidnapped. The wait seemed to drag on, but eventually, the door opened and one of the thugs from before wandered in.

 

“What are you doing out of your chains!?” he demanded, tipping his cap just slightly. Blue looked to Rouge, who was the better liar of the two, and Rouge knew instantly his part of the plan. He smiled innocently.

 

“They snapped,” he said simply, “We were waiting until someone came in to fix them.” The thug looked at them both skeptically, and then realized that if they were lying about the chains, they could've just run away altogether. He shrugged, and grabbed Rouge's arm, hoisting the man off his seat.

 

“Well, one way or another, you two are going back up,” he said, as Rouge sarcastically exclaimed, “Oh no! This man is chaining me up, brother! Do help me!” Blue hid a snort of laughter as the man promptly ignored Rouge's outbursts as he dragged the magician toward the wall. He quickly learned that was a mistake as the door closed silently behind him. Blue slid by, carrying the small chair, and when the man was decently distracted, Blue slammed the chair on his head. Rouge practically cheered as the man fell backwards, his head bleeding on the floor. Blue felt slightly guilty, knowing he probably dealt a killing blow, but he reminded himself this was technically a life or death situation. He knelt down and searched the man's pockets, quickly grabbing a small, collapsible staff. He looked over at Rouge and showed him the object in question.

 

“Does this mean anything to you?” he asked, not recognizing the object at all. But, Rouge's eyes shined with delight as he grabbed it and extended the staff for what it was.

 

“Dad's Ancestral staff!” he shouted with glee, “All right, we have weapons now! Let's go kick some ass!” Blue stopped him before he left, though, and Rouge looked down at him as he continued to search the body.

 

“There's a key here,” Blue stated calmly, “Should I take it with us?” Rouge tapped his chin as he considered the idea. Then, he merely shrugged.

 

“What could it hurt?” he asked, and Blue pocketed the key. Feeling that they had found all they were going to find with the corpse, Rouge opened the door silently and the two brothers slid out into the dim hall. The soft glow of the torches were a nice contrast to the horribly blinding lights of the cell they were kept in, and they welcomed the dimness gladly. Rouge glanced down either sides of the hall. Both looked to be endless, and he turned to Blue.

 

“Which way do we go?” he whispered, wincing as his echo bounced down the hall. Blue hummed carefully, biting his lip as he considered each option. He had no idea as to where they could've possibly been, but what he did know was that this was no natural cave anymore. It looked like a basement, and that struck Blue as very ominous. He pointed to the right.

 

“Down here,” he replied just as quietly, and no sooner found a door that resembled the one leading into the cell, “Rouge… hold on.” Rouge nodded, watching as Blue fumbled with the key, shoving it into the lock and only hoping it would open the door. To his surprise, it fit, and the door swung open loudly, causing both twins to jump, each praying to the Goddesses that no one heard them. No one appeared in the tunnels, and they slipped into the new cell. What greeted them was a sight they could never have believed. Monsters were kept in this cell, half of the cell being barred to contain them. They winced at the light spilling in behind Blue, and quickly, he shut the door as Rouge walked over, looking at the monsters. The lone torch in the room provided enough light to identify them: rabbats, nightshades, hellhounds, faeries, an undine, various crystals, an airfolk, and a tri-saurus. Rouge sighed sadly, looking at them all.

 

“Blue… they kidnapped these monsters, too,” Rouge whispered, speaking softly so he didn't scare them, “This isn't right.”

 

“I agree,” Blue replied, bending down to speak to one of the faeries, “What happened to the tunnels, little one?” The faerie looked up at him sadly, her tiny eyes speckled with tears as she sniffled at him.

 

“We don't know!” she squeaked, “One day, we were living down here happily, and the next, these bad humans came and threw us in here!”

 

“How do we know you two aren't like them!?” one of the hellhounds demanded, his voice coming out as a depressing yowl. Blue gave him a pat on the muzzle, and the faerie turned to the hound in question as the monsters began to murmur and agree with him.

 

“They were put in the cell next to ours,” she explained, looking at Blue again, “They can't be bad if they were kidnapped too!” She zipped, sprinkling dust as she flew around, and Blue had to laugh. When monsters weren't out to kill you, they were actually very endearing. The hellhound seemed hesitant still, and so, Blue took over the conversation.

 

“We're here to stop the bad men,” he said calmly, “We can let you out if we know where the key is.” The hound nodded, and the monsters settled to try and remember what the key looked like, and if they could explain what their captors looked like as well. Rouge watched for a moment, and then tapped on Blue's shoulder to get his attention. The blonde turned to his brother, perking a confused brow at the interruption. Rouge pointed to the pocket where the key was kept, but Blue didn't appear to understand. He snorted at the notion. Blue usually understood every one of Rouge's antics.

 

“The key, bro,” he said simply, “See if it fits.” Blue nodded, thinking it couldn't hurt, and took out the slender key. Immediately, the reactions he received told him it was the right key.

 

“The key!” the rabbat exclaimed, as the airfolk said, “He has the key?” Blue smiled and slipped the key into the lock, throwing the door open to the happiness of all of the monsters. They came rushing out like a tidal wave, their constant shouts of thanks sounding more like little children shouting out something different all at the same time. Blue laughed again as Rouge began to encourage them with cheers and shouts of, “FREEDOM! YOU ARE FREE, MY LITTLE FRIENDS!! FREEDOM!!” That only added onto the general confusion.

 

“Rouge, maybe you shouldn't encourage them so much,” Blue reminded him, “There are still the captors we need to contend with.” Rouge barely heeded Blue's warning, though, and Blue began to wonder if Rouge was simply ignoring him. However, when Rouge turned to him, he knew his twin at least acknowledged that he had even spoken.

 

“Oh please. These monsters are so pissed off, those thugs will probably either run in terror or be killed on sight,” Rouge replied, waving his brother's reminder off, “If they're so stupid as to not expect a complete revolt on our parts, it really is their fault for their lack of complete foresight.” Blue snorted in mock amusement. He did partly agree with Rouge, but to actually pin the blame on the thugs for his own actions, Blue just didn't condone.

 

“You do realize your logic would constitute possible insanity, right?” Blue questioned, but Rouge just rolled his eyes and huffed. Blue knew he should've expected Rouge's response.

 

“So what!? Like I said, bro, sanity is for people who hate free thinking,” Rouge pointed out, “If those little bastards are going to chain us up and not expect one of us to go insane with rage, then it seriously is their fault if they can't move out of our way. Now stop whining and let's go.” Blue grumbled as Rouge slipped out into the hall. Already, he could hear utter chaos ensuing as monsters growled and roared, with another group, most probably their captors, showering the hoard with bullets but missing most of their marks. Blue finally knew he had to help; if he didn't, the monsters could get seriously hurt. Drawing a deep breath, Blue rushed out to follow Rouge and found his twin currently trying to use Reversed Gravity to dump a group of thieves on their heads as a Pickbird swooped ahead to try and herd the group for him. Hellhounds and Tri-sauruses unleashed their furious waves of Fire Breath and Tremors, and all Blue could do was just watch the madness unfold. His eyes widened beyond belief.

 

“FOR THE GLORY OF THE VALKYRIES!” screamed a Spear Valkyrie, as she and many others of her kind threw spears and swords into the fray, aiming skillfully enough to avoid any of their allies. Blue watched the blood splatter as the swords and spears hit their marks, and winced when Rouge was covered in the red liquid, turning to the valkyries and screaming at them.

 

“HEY! That one hit me!” he screamed, though he really was referring to the blood that had splashed against him, covering his robes and most of his face, “How the hell am I going to wash this out!?” The valkyrie ignored him, though, and continued throwing her weapons. Blue watched the battle unfold a bit before jumping in, mainly because he had no idea where to even begin. The monsters seemed to be doing fine all on their own; most of the captors were either fleeing or were laid upon the ground, dead. Only when a faerie screeched out a warning did Blue look up and see a chance for his attack. One man had climbed the rafters and dropped down to land right on top of Blue, but the magician wasn't scared by such a tactic. He'd seen it before in Shingrow, and had developed his own way of dealing with it.

 

“Energy Chain!” he exclaimed, thrusting out his hand as a large whip of energy sprang from it, slamming into the unfortunate thief and sending him flying back toward the ceiling. Faeries around him cheered in delight at the display of magic, but Blue himself found no need to cheer. Two more thugs were coming up from behind, having slipped through an Axe-beak that was currently in combat with a group of flustered men. Blue turned sharply to cut them off and unleashed another dangerous whip of magic. This one spun about so forcefully that it snapped one man's neck off and cut the other one's left arm and leg clean from his body. Both of them dropped to the ground and spoke no more.

 

“Way to go, bro!” Blue heard Rouge exclaim, “Keep it up and we'll all be free!”

 

“Damn it, you idiots! What the hell are you doing!?” Blue heard a man farther away scream, and saw that man heading into the hall, “Kill them all!” Blue's eyes narrowed. This man, he could sense, was much more dangerous than the others. If he got a shot off, someone would be dead. Blue refused for that to happen. This time, the monsters were the innocents, and quickly, Blue ran to the man as silently as he could. The man was too busy shouting orders, and didn't even notice Blue's movements until he got within inches of the criminal's face. The man looked at him, slightly shocked that Blue had made it so far as he asked, “What do you want, punk?”

 

“Tell me where you keep the gnome's gold and I won't kill you quickly,” Blue threatened in a voice so sinister, so dark, so unbelievably cold, that Rouge wouldn't have believed it was Blue if he heard. The thug merely laughed, completely undaunted with Blue's threats. If only the stupid, insolent cop had known what sort of people this particular criminal dealt with, he wouldn't have made such bland threats.

 

“I ain't telling you a damn thing,” the thug replied just as coldly, “So get out or your brother dies.” He realized quickly that it was a big mistake to drag Rouge into their conversation. Blue's pupils disappeared, and his eyes glowed an angry blue. The man suddenly backed away, realizing he had just angered a very powerful mage, but it was too late. Blue put up a prison to keep him from escaping.

 

“You picked a very bad day to mess with me,” Blue said grimly, and lifted a hand, “Implosion!” Immediately, a prism of magic encircled the man's body, and then shattered, breaking him apart as though he were glass. Blood sprayed against the cramped tunnel walls, and though Blue knew the battle was still raging all around him, he could hear none of it. He merely heard the mystical silence as he watched the blood dripping down the walls, seeping into the dirt floor. He looked emotionlessly as he watched the body fall limply to the ground, and then, the psychic prison disappeared, allowing all of the noise to come flooding in. Many more bodies had been slain while Blue dealt with the leader, and most of them had been of their terrible captors. Blue hardly cared. He had to find Rouge and find the gnomes' gold. Rouge was currently trying to help the monsters leave the prison, as one of them blew the gate to the world above up, allowing thick rays of sunlight into the cave. It was blinding compared to the dim of the torches, but the monsters ignored it. Blue tapped Rouge's shoulder, causing the mage to look at him, raising a concerned brow when he saw Blue's grim expression.

 

“What's up, bro?” he asked, sensing his brother's tension, “Are you okay?”

 

“I just killed the leader behind our abduction,” Blue stated. But, if he expected Rouge to be upset, he got the complete opposite. Rouge actually smiled.

 

“You did!? Awesome!” Rouge exclaimed, but Blue silenced him quickly.

 

“No, no! Not awesome!” Blue hissed, “I don't know where he kept the gnomes' gold. He threatened you and I killed him out of instinct. We're back at square one.” Rouge's smile slowly faded when he saw how guilty Blue looked, but then his spirit came back as he patted Blue on the shoulder. They weren't at square one. They were where the gold was, and he could sense it. Gnomes' gold always had just a trace of magic, and Rouge's senses were keen enough to smell it. He grinned and shook his head.

 

“We're here, bro,” he replied calmly, “We can get the gold.” Blue looked at his brother incredulously, unable to believe they were that lucky, considering how most of their cases went. But, Rouge's grin didn't falter.

 

“How?” was the only word Blue could think of.

 

“This way,” Rouge said, and began to drag Blue down the tunnels as the last of the monsters left the cave. Blue quickly found he had no idea where Rouge thought he was heading as they twisted through narrow corridors and down mossy slopes until they finally came to a small chasm, with an even smaller opening. This time, Blue also smelled the slight traces of magic in the air, and Rouge pointed to the chasm as he said, “One of the Hellhounds here said they remembered a back cave around here when they were leaving. He said that might be where we're looking for.” Blue's lips curled into a soft smile as he realized that it had to be where they needed to go. The smell of gold only got stronger as he neared the opening.

 

“Monsters really are the best friends we can have,” he whispered to himself, and Rouge simply watched as Blue gently poked his head into the opening. No one else was about in the chamber; they must've killed everyone living here. But, Blue saw immediately what they were looking for. Dead in the center was the biggest pile of gold Blue had ever seen. The light it radiated lit the entire chamber perfectly; Blue could even see the dust that swirled in the air under such a magnificent light. That had to be the gnomes' gold. Excitedly, he stepped back and looked at Rouge with glee.

 

“What'd you find!?” Rouge asked, noting that Blue's sudden ecstasy was really unusual for the magician, “Did you find the gold!?” Blue nodded, his grin only widening.

 

“It's all in there, Rouge,” he whispered happily, “All of it. We found it!” Rouge took a quick glance and whistled at the sheer amount he saw. Never in his life had he seen so many credits before! It was little wonder that the gnomes had become so worried about such a theft. That had to be billions of credits!

 

“How're we going to get it back to them?” Rouge asked, and suddenly, Blue frowned. That was a real problem, one that he'd never thought of until now. Magic would have no effect on it, and they weren't strong enough to carry that much gold. But, he had an idea. He glanced at Rouge.

 

“Do you still have your cell phone?” he asked, and Rouge nodded, “…do you have Ciato's number?”

 

“Unfortunately,” Rouge replied, and suddenly became very suspicious of his brother's inquiries, “Wait… why?” Blue smiled as he sat on a log, taking his own phone out and showing Rouge Asellus's number.

 

“Because Orlouge owes us a few favors,” Blue replied. Rouge wanted to scream. He wanted nothing to do with Ciato, but he knew he had little choice. The gnomes couldn't be asked to leave Baccarat in case another theft was made, and no one else was even involved in the case. The Mystics were all they had. Grumpily, he slumped next to Blue and began dialing, with extreme and utter disgust plastered onto his face as he did so, Ciato's phone number. He glanced at his, in his mind, very evil twin brother.

 

“You owe me for calling this bastard!” he said, and Blue only laughed as he managed to get hold of Asellus. Rouge's eye twitched at Blue's total lack of concern on the threat, and repeated it again just to prove his sincerity.

 

“Seriously, you owe me!”

 

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

 

And so, it looks like Blue and Rouge finally solved the case, even if it was with the help of actual monsters! But, with no one around to help them carry such a huge amount of gold, it looks like closing such a tedious deal will be delayed yet again! Will calling upon the Mystics serve them well, or will Ciato use it to completely and utterly annoy the crap out of our two heroes? Will Fuse finally notice his men are gone? And, will the gnomes give them a suitable reward for their efforts? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!