Revelations

Disclaimer: Don't own the SaGa Frontier characters or anything else from the game.

"Huh? How'd you….oh, never mind." Blue was about to ask her how she knew before the answer came to him. Idiot. She's the psychic, remember?

"I see you've realised it," Lize commented drily.

"Well, yeah. So, uh….how come you still go to school?"

"Well……. It gets kinda boring being by yourself in a huge palace, you know. I guess I just wanted to be around kids my age, that's all.

"I see."

They were silent for several minutes, enjoying nature. Blue was surprised to find that he wasn't uncomfortable with her like he was with other members of the fairer sex.

"So you're going to study magic, huh? Good for you. Magic is the greatest thing that's ever happened to mankind." Lize was staring at a flower.

"Really? Are there different kinds of magic?" Blue asked, eager to know more. Damn, but he was talking a LOT. And to a girl.

"Well, yeah. There's Arcane, Rune, Space, Time, Light and Shadow. But apart from magic, you gotta be fast on your feet, have great reflexes, and know martial arts and weaponry."

"Which magic is better?"

"There's no better or worse. Just individual preference." Lize said, plucking a flower.

"Oh. Which ones do you do?"

"Me? I'm special. You see, normal people can only do one of each group. There are 3 groups. Arcane and Rune in one, Space and Time in another, and Light and Shadow in another. But I can do all of them. Though if you ask me, I'd say that Arcane magic, which is Tarot magic, is the best. The way the cards speak to you…. And if you have special powers, you can also summon the 7 archangels or 7 demon-lords to do your bidding." Lize was sniffing the flower.

"Wow. That's……" A sudden explosion caught him. The ground shuddered beneath their feet. But Blue's attention was drawn to the manor. It was in flames. There were screams coming from all over.

"No! Rouge!" Blue ran for the house, Lize close behind. However, before they had got within a one-mile boundary of the manor, the trees surrounding them formed a natural fortress around them, blocking off every possible escape. A prison, thought Blue.

"No kidding. A manipulate-spell. Whoever's doing this is a pro," muttered Lize.

A pro…..Ares! Blue thought. It HAD to be him. Who else could it possibly be?

"There is NO way I'm gonna be able to break this spell. Most of my energy's tainted due to that STUPID drink, soo…….." Lize continued.

I have to get to mom and Rouge. I HAVE to! Blue's thoughts repeated themselves over and over in his head. "DAMMIT! I HAVE TO RESCUE MY MOM AND MY BROTHER!!"

The force of the magic-blast whipped the trees off their roots. The path was cleared for them to get to the manor.

"Not bad. You've got a lot of potential," Lize mused, looking at Blue's handiwork. She kicked at a claw-shaped branch. Suddenly, the claw clenched and caught her leg in its wooden grasp.

"What the…? Let GO!" At Lize's command, the tree released her leg and backed off. Suddenly, it turned and charged at Blue and gripped his throat, cutting off his air-supply and strangling him. Frantically, he clawed at it in an attempt to get some breathing space. To no avail.

Suddenly, through his blurred vision, he saw a silvery mist envelope Lize, then he could breathe again. As he drew in great deep breaths of the cool night air, he noticed the plant-claw, or what had once been the plant claw. It was now little more than a heap of charred remains.

He glanced at Lize. She looked pale, and her forehead was covered with perspiration. But he didn't have time to worry about her. He had to get to his mom and Rouge. They could be injured, or worse, dead, but he didn't want to think about that.

He started towards the manor again, at a faster pace, or as fast a pace as his dizzy mind could withstand. As he crossed another bridge, it bucked and threw him into the freezing rapids. He could barely gain a footing and each time he stood up, he lost his balance and fell down again. The rocks and stones cut and scraped at his skin and clothes but he barely noticed. He was being swept further away from the house and his family.

All of a sudden, he felt himself being lifted up on a fountain of water and deposited on the opposite bank where Lize was waiting for him. "Thanks," Blue said breathlessly.

"No sweat," Lize replied, though Blue noticed that she was even paler now and was visibly sweating. He felt bad, involving her in this even though she was obviously ill. He nearly suggested that she stay here while he went for help or something when she suddenly cast a cure spell on his wounds and started off for the manor at a run. Left with no other choice, he ran after her and caught up.

"We can get there faster this way," Blue said, leading her down a tree-lined avenue. They sprinted down it, but just as they were nearing the end, the trees loomed in front and over them, blocking out the moonlight and their exit.

"Shit!" They spun around and headed back the way they came, but just as they were reaching the entrance, it was sealed up by the trees. "Dammit!"

The trees advanced on them from all sides, boxing them in. Lize and Blue were backed up against each other as they sought to avoid the lashing branches and the leaf-darts. The streamers suddenly came to life and shot towards them, trapping them in their metallic grasp and suspending them in the air.

"Dammit! I am getting SICK of this!" Lize yelled. The streamers around her were slashed by six golden demon-wings emerging from her back, ripping her clothes so that they were held up by little more than thread.

Two swords appeared in her hands. She slashed at the streamers holding Blue captive and he fell to the ground. She caught him and flew up, heading for the sky.

"Hold on tight!" She told Blue as she started slashing at the trees and streamers which tried to get at them. They broke through the canopy and headed for the manor. Blue searched for his brother frantically from his aerial view, but every time he thought he had finally spotted Rouge, it turned out to be a silver streamer.

At last, they reached the manor, and Lize had to land some distance away from it due to the heat of the flames. The people around them were all screaming hysterically, but quietened when they saw Blue and Lize with her wings.

"Where's Rouge? Has anyone seen Rouge and my mom?" Blue asked frantically.

There were a few panicky replies, but other than that, nothing.

"Your mom is in the house searching for you and Rouge went into the gardens to look for you," came a coherent reply from Rocky.

"WHAT????!!!!! Fuck!!!" Blue exploded. Everyone stared at him. Blue wasn't known to raise his voice or curse. Blue ignored them. He turned to Lize. "Can you cast a water spell on the fire and get my mom out? I'll go look for Rouge and get these people out of here."

Lize nodded and turned to the fire as Blue ran into the garden once more after telling everyone to get the hell out of there. A bluish-silver aura surrounded her as she chanted an incantation in a language so foreign it was definitely not human. All of a sudden, an angel appeared.

"Gabriel, Angel of Water, I command you to douse these unholy flames and rescue Blue's mother!"

The angel nodded and the flames were swamped in a huge tidal wave which appeared out of nowhere. Then, Liang appeared, floating in a bubble. She landed next to Lize, dazed, dishevelled, but unhurt.

"Come on, Liang! Blue and Rouge are in the gardens! I'll take you there!"

"Rouge! Rouge!" Blue sprinted through the gardens, dodging branches and streamers and leaping across bucking bridges. "ROUGE!!!!!"

"…BLUE!!"

"Rouge! Where the hell are you?!" Blue headed towards the voice.

"…at the tangerine pond!"

Blue broke through the trees and front-flipped over the hedge, landing in the clearing next to Rouge who was crouched in a foetal position. A tree was looming over him and a few others were lying in charred heaps nearby. Blue wasn't surprised. Obviously Rouge had magic powers as well.

"Hey, you OK?" They asked each other at the same time.

Blue studied his brother's face. He had a bruised lip and blood was trickling from his nose and his mouth as well as from a gash at his forehead.

"Look out!" Rouge shoved him aside and got hit by a tree-branch. "Argh!" He crumpled in a heap.

"Don't you hurt my brother!" Blue's blast of magic shot the tree of its feet and it shattered into a million pieces. He stooped, panting slightly from exertion. "Rouge, you OK?"

"Y..yeah…." came a weak response from the tow-headed teen. "So you have powers too…."

"Yeah. C'mon, let's get outta here. Lize got mom out of the fire already I think, and everyone else ought to have escaped by now. It's only us," Blue put his arm around his brother and helped him to his feet.

Before they had taken a few steps, out of the corner of his eye Blue saw a branch flying towards them but he couldn't defend himself or Rouge. Suddenly, a white and brown streak flashed through the air and the branch was lying in a clawed heap on the ground.

"Cirin-neko!" chorused the twins.

Their cat purred at them, coming over and licking Rouge's leg wound. "Thanks, koneko."

Blue supported Rouge all the way to the stream when a tangerine suddenly struck him in the small of the back. Crying out, he went down, Rouge falling on top of him due to lack of support. Blue managed to turn his head enough to see a few tangerines flying towards him. He raised his arm to defend himself, but then heard Rouge cry out in pain as a few leaf-darts cut his back. Blue turned to his brother and the tangerines struck him full-force on the back of his head. Dazed, he reached behind. His fingers came back bloody.

Vaguely, as though from a distance, he heard the sounds of snarling. He and Rouge turned around and saw Cirin fighting off tangerines and streamers, defending them. Dragging himself to his feet, Blue helped Rouge up and the two of them turned to leave the clearing. Just then, their cat whizzed past and struck a tree at the far end of the banks.

"Cirin-neko!"

Their cat did not reply. Neither mew nor purr. Blue shouldered Rouge to where Cirin lay in a crumpled heap. The twins were horrified to see that their beloved cat was dead, its bones crushed and blood oozing out everywhere.

"Cirin-neko……"

"They ought to be around here somewhere," Lize said as she led Liang into the orange grove. Just then, the two ladies heard sounds of the twins shouting.

"That way!"

"Ow! Damn! C'mon, Rouge! We gotta move!" Blue dragged Rouge across the clearing. Up ahead, he could see the smoke coming from the remains of the grand manor which had just minutes before rung with merry laughter of the party. Summoning the last reserves of his strength, Blue half-supported half-dragged Rouge all the way through the cactus avenue. As soon as he was half-way through, he felt a sense of fore-boding. He looked around and realised that the cacti thorns were gleaming evilly in the moonlight.

God DAMN it! I gotta get us outta here quick!

He tried to move faster but his feet refused to obey. He suddenly realised that he was cold, tired, hungry, and wet through. He was also bleeding from his head wound and countless other scratches and gashes.

No way am I gonna be able to make it on my own…… Rouge…… you gotta help too……

Out of the corner of his eye, Blue saw a cactus sit up menacingly, its thorns prepared for attack.

Damn… I can't…go any…. further…

The cacti opened fire.

"Heh. Now I have them. All I have to do now is kill Liang and that stupid Princess. That shouldn't be too hard. She's already weak enough as it is," Ares mused from his perch up in an oak tree behind the manor. His crystal ball glowed as he watched Lize leading Liang across the bridge, heading straight towards where the twins were struggling to get to the manor.

This is it! Blue thought. I'll never be able to trash Rouge at b-ball again, or read another book, or eat mom's delicious meals again……… or see Lize again…..

"Blue!"

Blue and Rouge looked up to see a black and gold blur streak towards them and shield them with her wings. The cactus thorns pierced her back and Lize clenched her teeth against the pain. Tears were starting to trickle down her cheeks. Despite the obvious pain, she still shielded Blue, Rouge and Liang with her wings and her body.

"Lize……"

"Dammit, Blue. If you die I'll never forgive you." Lize choked out. Blood was trickling down her chin from her lip.

"I.."

Blue never got to finish his sentence as the ground exploded beneath them.

Author's Note: Yes, I do intend for Blue and Lize to fall madly in love with one another. Maybe I'll add a little lap-dancing for Lynn-chan's sake. Heh. Gomen ne, Lynn-chan.