Author's Note 1: Yo yo, what's up everybody! Missed me? Sorry for the break. I made another fanfic on an old Dinotopia post (just for the fun, read it if you want). Also, I'm beginning sequels of what might happens afterwards. Anyway, let's get back to the mayhem, shall we...

Part 5.1: The Search for Niklas

The next morning, Fayt woke up. He walked over to the room across the hall to speak to Meena. "So, where's Niklas?" Fayt asked.

"I don't know," Meena said in a worried tone.

"Has he gone somewhere?"

"When I woke up, he was already gone. I hoped he hasn't disappeared, too… Just like Mama and Papa."

"Niklas would never leave you like that, Meena. It'll be all right. I'll go find him for you."

Fayt went to the table just next to the door and found Cyrus sitting in the chair arms folded, hood up and hat brim covering his eyes. It seems he'd been there ever since the night before. "Cyrus... Cyrus... are you awake," he said, nudging him on the shoulder.

Cyrus' eyes quickly opened up. "Good mornin' Fayt." Cyrus said.

"Morning. Say, you wouldn't happen to know where Niklas is, do you?" he asked.

"Not a clue. Why?"

"I'm don't know, but I have a feeling that he might--"

"Might be looking for the pod parts?" Cyrus interjected.

"Huh... Yeah but where?"

"Let's ask around. Maybe someone knows which direction he left in." The two left the house and asked everyone they could find. It took fifteen minutes until they met up again to share their information. "Did you find anything Fayt?" Cyrus asked.

"Nothing."

"Wait..."

"What... Something wrong?"

"No, it's just... I remember that someone said that Norton and his crew made their crib at the Ruins of Coffir."

"Really Cyrus. You don't think..."

"Yep. Our little G must be going there to get those parts back!"

"Okay, we'd better hurry. Where are the ruins?" Fayt asked.

"They're Northwest from this town.There's a little dirt trail connects to the area." Cyrus informed.

"Alright. Let's go!"

"Right!" The two ran out the village's entrance and took the dirt trail. It took a few minutes, but they finally arrived at the Ruins of Coffir.

"Okay, what do we do now?" Cyrus asked.

"Let's go this way," Fayt said. Cyrus and Fayt ventured through the facility. The place was swarming with Noblemen, Thieving Scumbags and mushroom-like Shriekers. While they were searching for the where abouts of Niklas, Cyrus noticed numbers on the walls. He remembered that they were the passwords for Norton's computer. It took the two half the day, but they finally found the establishment that Norton took residence in.

"Alright. It seems that we found his lair," Fayt said.

Cyrus walks to the front door and tries to open it. "Great, it's locked up. I can't get it to budge," Cyrus said.

"Let's go throughthe back. Maybe there's another way in," Fayt said.

The two walked behind the building by taking the left route. As soon as they arrived, they were greeted by three of Lord Norton's cronies. "Who are you, kids? Whatdya want? This here's Lord Norton's turf, so beat it, or else!" said the underling.

"We don't want to fight you guys. We just want to know if you've seen a little boy around here?" Fayt said.

"Yeah, he's been gone since this morning and we think that he went here." Cyrus said.

"A little boy?" There was a brief pause as the underling put his hand on his forehead as if he were thinking. "Oh, you mean Niklas. Yeah, he came 'round here, blabberin' 'bout getting somethin' back, and wantin' to see Lord Norton."

"Then what did he do?" Fayt asked.

"Being the kind-hearted fellas we are, we gave the stupid kid what he wanted. I bet Lord Norton's reeducatin' the undisciplined lil' brat right now."

"What?" gasped Fayt.

"It's the kid's own fault. Nothing good can come from messin' with Lord Norton. Don't worry—he'll learn it's better to join us than fight us! It's a shame—the apple don't fall far from the tree. Idiocy must run in the family."

"You rotten little…!" Fayt said and tried to charge at him, but the underling raised his dagger just as soon as Fayt moved.

"Whoa there, didn't I just say ya can't pass through here? Wanna see that brat, you got to beat us, first!"

"You punks! What gives you the right?"

"Looks like we got two more village idiots in need of some education!"

"So, you're gonna beour teachers, huh? Shame." Cyrus scoffed. "If you ask me, it's you guys that are gonna get schooled." The battle started. Cyrus and Fayt charged at the three henchmen with their swords extended. Fayt charged into the leader with incredible force. His comrades tried to aid by using major attacks, but Cyrus stepped in by charging into them. There wasn't really much competition as the group tried to escape, but in the end, after a few minutes, the battle was over. The gang was piled up next to the entrance.

" Ohhhhh…" moaned one of the henchmen.

"So Niklas is locked up somewhere in here. We better hurry up and find him," Fayt said.

"Yes. Let's go," Cyrus said. Fayt went inside the mansion. Cyrus taunted the boys by saying, "Hey, I guess school's over. Looks like the students have became the master, huh!" Cyrus hurried up to catch Fayt.

Part 5.2: The Lair of Lord Norton

The two had entered the mansion. They went straight through the room and found a fork. "Hey, what's that bright light over there?" Cyrus said.

"Let's check it out." Fayt and Cyrus took the east route and were in what appeared to be, Norton's den.

"Hmm… So this Norton guy's an offworlder, too. Wonder what he's doing here?" Fayt said.

"Who knows," Cyrus said. He looks around the room spotted a computer. He sits down at the seat and calls over Fayt. "Hey, look what I found!" he shouts.

Fayt walks over to the computer. "This looks likea screen for entering a password. It's asking for a three-digit number."

Suddenly, there was a loud beap and a message appeared on the screen. "Welcome to the Password Entry Screen! I'm your guide, Boss Norton, so you'd better be thankful! I mean it! You enter the password here, but remember, you only get three chances! If you make three mistakes, then you're through! I'll kick you outta here! So you better be ready! But hey, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll give you a little hint! The secret number are located somewhere in these ruins! Just type those in! Even an idiot like you should be able to do that. So come on, enter the password!"

"Well, shows us his 'generosity,'" Cyrus said sarcastically.

"Great, now we have to go look for some numbers all over the place?" Fayt yelled. "We're wasting time!"

"Hold on, home boy," Cyrus said. "While we were walking, I saw the numbers homes. I remember what they are, dude. Just stand back and chill. This will only take a second." Cyrus put his hand on the keyboard and pressed the numbers "2-5-6" on the screen. Suddenly, there was a loud click that emanated from the hall. "See, told you."

"Good work. I think I heard a door open somewhere."

The swordsmen went straight through the hall to a large door. In the room, Fayt and Cyrus ran to the one of the cells where Niklas was laying down in. Fayt started shaking the bars, trying to get Niklas' attention. "Niklas! You okay?" Fayt shouted.

"Get up, man!"

Niklas slow raises his head up. "Fayt… Cyrus... why are you here?"

"That's what I want to ask you! You should never have run off like that!" Fayt said

"The music box parts…I wanted to get them back. I…I could not ask you to do this for us."

"But that's crazy!"

"It is dangerous here! You…must leave, quickly! He'll…get you."

"Niklas? Hang in there, Niklas!" Fayt yells as he bangs on the bars.

"Must leave…" Niklas says after his head slammed to the ground.

"This is bad… We better hurry…"

"I know, but what are we gonna do? We can't cut through the bars with the blades!" Cyrus said while banging on the cell with his sword.

"Think…think… Oh yeah! I could short the battery in my communicator, or—Wait. We might be stuck here if I lose my communicator."

"Meena…" Niklas faintly called out.

"What am I thinking? There's no time! Hold on, Niklas, I'll get you out!" Fayt short-circuits the communicator. They ran out of the way and suddenly... BOOM! The barred door had just been broken. Fayt and Cyrus rush into the cell. "Hang in there, Niklas!" Fayt called. Niklas appeared to be unconscious.

"You think he's okay, dude?" a concerned Cyrus asked.

"He doesn't seem too badly hurt… That's a relief." Cyrus and Fayt suddenly heard faint sounds coming from Niklas. It took them both by surprise. "I forgot that there was a translator built inside the communicator. No time for regrets, now. We better get out of here!" Fayt picks up Niklas and Cyrus walks beside them. "Let's go."

They started moving until they were surprised by a loud voice. "Freeze!" it shouted. Fayt lays Niklas down in the cell and Cyrus stands back. A shot hits the wall right next to the cell. Suddenly as Fayt was walking, another laser was fired at some boxes. "No funny moves if you wanna stay alive. Play nice and I'll let you live a little longer."

"That was a phase gun. So you must be Norton."

"Yeah, that's me. I am Norton the Great! Ah, it's so nice to hear genuine Terran being spoken, eh? Seems like ages."

"Why are you here? You're not from this planet, are you?" Fayt said.

"I'm from Rezerb, boy. We're not part of the Federation."

"Rezerb… I've heard of that world. Right—that planet filled with joy-seekers that keeps rejecting Federation membership," Fayt commented

"So what are you doing here? This is an underdeveloped planet, you know!" Cyrus asked.

"Not much to tell… I …was involved in this er…unfortunate accident. Guess it was a bit much even for Rezerb. So I was sentenced to spend the rest of my days in exile on a deserted planet. But… The escort ship they were transporting me on had engine trouble and ended up crash landing here. Can ya believe it? All I had to do was mess with their engine codes. Those stupid pilots ended up frying their engines! Ohhh, man! All I was trying to do was create a distraction so I could make my escape. But…we ended up crashing, and this planet's become my prison." Norton explained.

"And the others, Norton!" Fayt asked

"Huhhh?" Norton fired a warning shot.

"That's 'Lord Norton' to you!"

"There must've been others. What happened to the other people on the escort ship?" Cyrus said.

"Oh, those guys? They're dead, the poor fools. They were trying to send out a distress signal and a bolt of lighting smote 'em where they stood. Bam! Heh heh! That crash part was unfortunate. But no use crying over spilt milk… I've been devoting myself to making this planet my kingdom. Ya get my drift?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you were really sympathetic." Cyrus said

"So that's why you've been raiding Whipple?" Fayt asked.

"Yeah, something like that. You're a smart kid. That's why I've been raiding the village, and that's why you two gotta die. Sorry! You'll be happy to know I'm gonna make the most of those parts I stripped from yer escape pods." Norton started readying his gun, when suddenly a blue light emanates from Fayt's head.

"It's guys like you…" Fayt said.

"Huh? What the?" Norton said as he was taken by surprise of the glow. Cyrus was also taken aback. "Whoa! Fayt's powers are manifesting like hell! I bet if Cliff didn't get here, Norton would've been longgone."

"Ah, there you are. I thought I lost you when your distress signal went out. Might never have found you if it weren't for those explosions," said a voice in the distance. After the council, a buff looking man."

"What do you want? You're not one of them Federation guys, are ya?"

"Who, me? A Federation soldier? Ha, yeah, that's a good one!" the man guffawed.

"Well then, who are ya?"

"Cliff Fittir—a Klausian and member of Quark."

"A K-Klausian?" Norton said in a choked up tone.

"Sorry, no time to explain. I'm kinda in a hurry. Just lemme have Fayt, that Earthling boy over there and I'll be on my way. I don't plan on butting into whatever ya got going on over here."

"You're gonna take me too are ya?" Cyrus asked.

"Don't worry, Cyrus. We wouldn't forget you," Cliff said.

"How do you know our names?" Fayt asked.

"Let's not sweat the details. Suffice it to say, you're my men."

"Hold it right there, or I'll blast ya!" Norton yelled.

"Huh? You talking to me?" Cliff asked.

"You think you can fool me? There's no way a Klausian would come here! You're probably some sorta spy. It's so obvious! Har har har!"

"Oh man. Can this guy take a clue?" Cyrus said.

"Look, since I'm such a nice guy, I'm gonna fill you in on a little secret. That gun you have there has no effect on us Klausians. You didn't know that?" Cliff asked.

"Shut yer piehole!" Norton shouted. He shot the gun at Cliff, but the shots missed. Cliff was so fast, that he stopped right in Norton's face.

"All right. I'm done lecturing—Time to teach you lesson!" Cyrus and Fayt unsheathed their swords. Ready to battle

"Alright! Let's get it on!" Cyrus shouts. The battle had commenced. Norton's gun was aimed at Fayt. Cyrus and Cliff charged right at the enemy. Luckily for Fayt, Cyrus wasmoving pretty quickly and his sword made a powerful impact, sending Norton falling back. Fayt finally rushed himself to the battle and clobbered Norton with his blade. Cliff had been kicking and punching at the Rezerbian. Norton was overwhelmed until... a barrage of laser fire had thrown everyone back, except for Cliff due to the fact that he wasn't in range.

Norton started a maniacal laugh. "Take that, you fools. You thought you could stop me, hah!" Fayt and Cyrus were laying on the ground pretty weakened.

Then the voice of Cliff interrupted the antagonist. "Hey. I say you're one person short of a victory dance." Norton slowly moved his head toward where the voice came from. What he saw was a determined-eyed Cliff, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"Oh no you don't," Norton said with the pointed laser. Cyrus picked his head off the ground enough to see the attack.

"Oh yes I do." Cliff quickly ran at the enemy. With speed rivaling that of a Peregrine Falcon, he jumped up and kicked just before he past Norton. Though Norton was about to pull the trigger, he didn't pull it fast enough.

"No.. This is my.. kingdom. I made this kingdom," Norton screamed. The man feel over, unconscious after the incident. Fayt and Cyrus had slowly risen up. They were in awe. The battle was over and a defeated Norton was laying on the floor.

"Looks like I overdid it. Shoulda held back a little bit," Cliff said kneeling over Norton. Fayt and I were surprise.

"Whoa! Now that's power. If he was in my time period, he might'vegave my master a run for his money," Cyrus thought.

"This is about the only thing that still works. The rest ruined. …Here." Cliff tossed a communicator to Fayt.

"Is this …a communicator?" Fayt asked.

"Can't live without one! I can't figure our why you wouldn't have one with you."

"Well, it's kinda complicated," Cyrus said.

"Ahh… Umm… Thanks for getting us out of that mess. You saved my life," Fayt said.

"Whoa there. Don't go thank me yet. Ya see, I've come to abduct you," Cliff said.

"What?" Fayt exclaimed.

"Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire," Cyrus said hiding his face in shadow of his hat.

"Now don't get all worked up… I'm not going to hurt anybody. It's just my boss wants to meet you two. That's why I came all the way out here to find you guys."

"I understand why she'd like to seeFayt," Cyrus thought. "But why would Maria want to see me?"

"Boss…you mean Quark's boss?" Fayt asked.

"That's right. Our leader wants to see you. But you've sure made it a tough job. First, I went to Hyda and ran into that mess, thanks to you. Then, I get here and find you poking your nose into matters better left alone…"

"You make it sound like it was our fault Hyda got attacked, geez," Fayt yelped.

"That's right!" Cyrus said. "It's not like we openly invited them."

"… Just kidding, don't sweat it. At any rate, I got you now. And I did rescue you, so no complaining. And besides, you wanna see your old man, don't you? He's been captured by the Vendeeni."

"Dad? But why?"

"Hey, don't ask me. All I know is your old man was abducted from the Evacuation Facility on Hyda."

"Oh yeah, we're gonna be real busy. I could feel it," Cyrus said.

"What about my mother…and Sophia?" Fayt asked.

"Well, we know your mom's safe. She should've already arrived at Remote Station #6. I don't know about the girl. I've had my hands full just trying to track down your escape pod," Cliff explained.

"…How do you know all about this? What else do you know?"

"Not much else…sorry. Oh yeah, I do know what yer old man Dr. Leingod, was researching."

"You mean symbological genetics? My dad's an authority in that field, so it's no surprise you've heard of him."

"Right, symbological genetics. And 19 years ago… Ah, never mind. That doesn't matter right now."

"Uh..."

"Sure it don't," Cyrus said.

"C'mon! Ya don't have any other way off this planet, do ya? Look, I'm sure things will clear up if you just come with me. Besides, you'll be able to see yer old man again."

"But according to you, my Father's been captured by Vendeen. So how could I possibly see him?"

"Simple! Quark'll go rescue your old man, too."

"Alright, I'm down with that," Cyrus said.

"Why would an anti-Federation group want to help my father?"

"Well…tell ya what, it's kinda complicated. Let's not get into that right now. So, are you coming or not?"

Fayt starts to think about the proposition. "Hey, I wanna go. Staying on a 16th Century planet isn't on my list of things to do!" Cyrus said.

"Okay… I'll go with you. But could we stop by Whipple first? I want to make sure the boy gets back there safely," Fayt said.

"Sure, whatever. But I still think you shouldn't have gotten involved…"

Fayt, Cyrus and Cliff go to the computer room to obtain the music parts. "I promise. I won't let your efforts go to waste," Fayt said

"I have to admit, Niklas got guts," Cyrus said.

"You done? Okay, I'm gonna blow the place." Cliff sets Norton's computer to self-destruct. "Okay, we only have a few minutes before this place explodes."

"Let's get outta here," Cyrus said. The group ran out of the hideout quickly. As soon as they left, the entrance to the establishment had caved in.

"There, everything's back to normal, huh?" Cliff said.

"You're wrong, things aren't back to normal. Niklas's and Meena's parents are gone forever," Fayt said. While Cliff through his arms up in a submissive manner, Fayt and Cyrus had already started their leave.