DUST AND THE SWEEPER

Chapter 3 - First Flight

After a successful launch, the Firebat performs its first flight above the land of Falana, beautifully soaring through the mountains and clouds, past nearby villages where some Moonblood archers reside. But unlike most days where they're used to seeing the familiar-shaped bombers, they all watch calmly knowing the war has ended after a transmission from the Elder confirmed such news. These snowy cliffs and rising sun give off a vivid hue of pinks and blues. All Dust can do in response is soak it all in alongside both his sword and shield, in a manner of speaking. He almost forgets the radio is still on, tuned to a playlist Blinx saved during their time in The Underground. One such track perfectly fits with the scenery, playing warm orchestral music suited to Ahrah.

"Told ya I could fly this thing, didn't I," says Blinx steering with one-handed.

"You did prove yourself, along with having orchestra like I prefer," Ahrah returns.

"It's gorgeous up here…," Dust mutters to himself, unable to look away from outside the windshield. "I-I mean it's not the first time I've seen anything like it, but…I never had a chance to take it all in. Told Haley that before we left."

Blinx chuckles, "Beats light blue corridors, abstract planets, dank basements, an' HUGE corporate castles any day!"

"As well the advertisements you couldn't avoid," Ahrah replies.

"Wasn't the first one to do with the Time Factory," Dust asks.

"Yep! The rest of the planet was more creative, but we spent most of our days in the main building. Could never get tired o' those huge chrome walls, conveyors, an' clock-themed pajamas." Blinx turns to Dust grinning. "Makes you feel like yer takin' the bed wit'chu."

"Cozy," Ahrah says back.

"What else can you tell us about the forge, Ahrah," asks the Mithrarin.

"It was divine intervention. The war with Gaius hadn't started at the time I was created. But Grey Eyes knew of a coming threat that required my expertise. When you reach the sanctum, I will show you."

"Good," Blinx says stretching his arms, "cause I might need to stretch my legs, an' I hate to let go of the controls since this is technically a beta flight."

Dust quickly turns to his friend asking, "Wait, you and Haley never tested this?!"

"I mean, she probably did but not me. I just thought, y'know. It's prebuilt, just patched up an' modified a little."

"Still, that's like the first rule of any science project. You always test your stuff!"

"Well we're doin' it now! Hol' on fer some turbulence!"

Dust holds on tight to the arms of his chair as the fur on his tail shoots up! The ship tilts, coming around a large mountain peaking through the haze. Blinx almost hits a tree on the way, but his quick reflexes keep him from crashing while flying through a small forest.

"Oh dear…," bemoans Ahrah.

By the garden area of the main village center, the Nimbat Fidget hovers around the now bustling district alone, clearly in search of someone. On her way, she's met by the locals and cheered on as a hero for her part in helping Dust end the war. Some Moonbloods even kneels as she passes by out of respect, albeit awkwardly thanks to their digitigrade legs.

"Hey Fidget," announces one of the soldiers, then another, who attempts to kneel like the others but stumbles backward along with them!

"Geez, talk about publicity," Fidget says to herself on her way to the courtyard. There, she encounters Reed, the timid Warmblood rocking back and forth by the fountain with a strange wooden box in his hands.

"Heya Reed," Fidget says.

The trembling man leaps shouting "THEY'RE GONNA EAT OUR MINDS ALIVE! The menace from the stars sees all! A trio of fallen angels will make their second coming and destroy all sinners!"

"Happy to hear that, bud!"

Just like that, Fidget keeps floating along her merry way. Minutes later, she comes across Ginger, sitting on a bench fiddling with a strange rectangular device big enough to fit in her palm. With its touchpad, she tries contacting Blinx, only to get no response.

"Come on Blinx… Why aren't you answering already?"

"Hey, Ginger. You see Hat Wolf and future Garfield anywhere," asks the Nimbat.

"No," Ginger replies. "Colleen told me they left a few minutes ago. Apparently, they're on sort of a men's day out, and I can't call Blinx to shout at him for leaving without telling me." Frustrated, the Warmblood starts to clench tightly on the device. "What's the point of giving me this weird transmitter if he isn't gonna pick up?!"

Equally mad, Fidget tugs lightly on her pointy ears, "Daoow, I KNEW they'd do something cool without me!" Knowing full well what they're doing, all she can do is fold her arms with a pouty face, saying under her breath, "I like fun too…"

Ginger simply shrugs, though smirking from seeing Fidget cartoonishly annoyed. "Hmhm. Boys will be boys, I guess."

"Oh well. At least there's you. I just wrapped up my date, and we saw something preeeeetty weird out there. Kinda alien looking like my pal's ol' planet. Figured Blinx knew, but, you like gardening, so, you're the next best thing."

"Oh," Ginger says, lifting her ears in surprise. "Ok. Let's see what it is then."

Fidget tilts her head wondering, "You sure sound surprised."

"Well, you never really ask me to do anything with you," Ginger notes, lowering her ears. "You usually stick with the men, mainly Dust."

"That's cause we keep going on quests that I'm pretty sure you'd get wrecked in." Fidget quickly raises her hands up to her chest. "No offense."

"Hey, I ran up an active volcano to find Dust," Ginger says with a chuckle. "I'm pretty sure some alien plants aren't gonna scare me."

Minutes later, both Ginger and Fidget find themselves at the entrance to the forest on the outskirts of Aurora Village, visibly less pleasing to look at compared to the lush vegetation in the main district. The trees have been blackened and thorns are sprouted around the opening path. Oddly alien-like formations hide behind shrubs along with glowing objects poking from the dirt.

With her eyes widened, Ginger replies, "Fidget, I'm scared."

"Aw, don't be such a baby," the Nimbat responds, rolling her eyes. "It's just a few thorns and weird gooey things. I'll bet it's nothing and it just looks creepy."

"Sure says a lot coming from you. You hesitate sometimes."

"Normally I would, but Ori and I stepped in earlier and we were just fine. So I'm guessing there's nothing to worry about. Let's go!"

As Fidget flies inside, Ginger looks on nervously, picking up a stick next to her and keeping it close as she begins to follow the Nimbat.

Elsewhere, Haley along with her brother come to visit Mordecai's shop, stepping past Sereth, the mysterious cloaked Moonblood vender wandering out the store with what seems to be a smirk on his shaded face. Strangely, the shopkeeper isn't even inside. Instead, Fale is, stocking a few potions and herbs for him. His big round ears twitch hearing the rabbit Warmblood step toward the entrance.

"Ah, hey," he says aloud. "Fancy seein' you two aroun' here. Out lookin' for your man, I presume?"

"I was. But then I saw my science project fly overhead with him and Blinx no doubt inside. So, I guess you can say I'm pretty peeved about now."

"Grrr….," Matti groans in his usual self, though it's hard to tell whether he's annoyed over Dust and Blinx suddenly leaving, or that his hair now resembles heavy leaves on a plant.

"Lookin' good dere, Matti," nods Fale, tipping his hat to him. In response, Matti, perhaps a first for him, actually smiles at him, albeit painfully trying to. "Sorry to hear your boys leavin' so soon. Last I checked, they said they needed to go investigate that robot from earlier an' see where it came from. Sounds like they might've found where to look."

Haley lets out a long sigh and slouches against the counter behind her. "Ugh…! Tried to tell 'em to let me help on these missions. If I was with 'em, Dust wouldn't be coming back from getting blasted by a missile telling me, 'Blinx's Sweeper ran out of batteries. Could you fix this for me please', like I haven't done that before. All because he doesn't want me to get hurt?" She reaches behind her and pulls out her heavy iron mallet. "Dude, I've got a hammer! Let me use it!"

"Girl power," Mordecai cheers in another room!

"YES, that!" Haley takes a quick moment to pause and puts her hammer away, then straightens her hair to relax. "Anyway, what're you doing here?"

"Just helpin' the shopkeeper get his stuff togetha'," Fale says. "He's in the backroom stitchin' up his hat. Ya need anything?"

"No, I just came to vent and see how you two're doing."

Mordecai steps out the backroom putting his hat back over his head, poking his ears out the holes up top. "Why that's very thoughtful of you, Haley! Honey and I are doing just fine!"

"Say what now," Fale asks immediately in astonishment.

"In fact, Sereth just visited to let us know something very special. A cave was exposed where bridge detonated. And upon first glance may lead to something of interest to us. The old tunnel systems of Aurora contain many artifacts some may find valuable. A special mission for Fale and any adventurers in town."

"Well, I've gotta head home to wrap up something I was working on," Haley says scratching her head. "But hey, maybe Matti can come with you."

"Grr…," Matti grunts in an unusually confused tone.

"What? You've got a hammer. I figured you could be like Fale's backup or something."

"Grrrrr…"

Haley nods to Fale, "He said ok."

"Sounds good. I'm about ta head over dere right now." Fale kneels to Matti bringing his back forward. "Hop on my back, partner."

The short Warmblood jumps on, grabbing firmly onto Fale's shoulders like a backpack. He straps a pouch around his waist and straightens the rest of his attire for the quest.

"Well, good luck," Haley says before stepping out the shop. "Hope you have a fun trip, Matti!"

Soon as Haley leaves and Fale begins to exit himself, Mordecai interrupts. "Be careful out there you two. Dust and Blinx aren't here to help after all."

Fale turns back to his friend, telling him, "Ey, can't always rely on them for everything we do. We'll be back in a jiffy."

"Of course Fale. Love you."

The Warmblood cringes in response not only unexpectedly but also because Mordecai's lifted Matti's curiosity. After a brief pause, he quickly turns back around and hastily tells the Shopkeeper, "Iloveyoutoo." He rotates himself back to the entrance, trotting with his arms saying, "OOOOKAY, let's go Mate!"

After what must've been another hour, the two men aboard the Firebat had fallen asleep along with the playlist, which has run out of tracks and isn't on loop. Blinx still holds onto the joysticks in a straight path, keeping his body from moving any other direction while he's in a deep slumber. Dust, however, is leaning against the Time Sweeper with one hand on his lap as if it were a pillow. Hilariously, Blinx purrs as if he were snoring until Ahrah barks, "BLINX, BIRDS!"

Both Blinx and Dust fumble awake and flip the ship several times in a straight line before they're able to maintain balance! "HAHAHAHAHA," the old sword laughs, annoying the two who both glare at him.

"Yeah, keep laughin', granddad!"

"I didn't even know you were capable of cracking a joke," Dust adds.

"I am," answers Ahrah. "I just never had an opportunity to. The forge should be just beneath us. By that boulder up ahead."

Blinx slows down the shuttle. It begins its descent to the grey grassy fields of an ancient battleground. Only a few stones and small broken towers remain, covered in moss. Nearby a fair distance away is what looks to be an open village, close enough that Dust and Blinx can wheel the ship to it. Soon the Firebat makes a steady landing with its jets, touching down next to a large boulder. The lower hatch opens, lowering the staircase for Blinx and Dust, whose carrying Ahrah. The Time Sweeper in particular begins stretching and bending to loosen his joints.

"Yep. This is exactly what I needed." He says this while shifting to the side, then arching his spine so far that his hands touch the ground from behind. "Aaaah, that's good."

"Behold boys," Ahrah announces. "The Plains of Elysium, where all 5 ancient swords were forged over the eons! I was the last to be constructed and bestowed upon you, Mithrarin."

Blinx leans closer to the blade grinning widely. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand…?"

Of course Ahrah was never meant for Blinx. But he has wielded him multiple times now and has mastered his mechanics in his own way. With a pause, Ahrah answers, "…And you, Time Sweeper."

"See, I'm part of history too!"

"I remember Elder Grey Eyes said he built you," Dust replies. "But he never told me where until now."

"A matter of coincidence I'm afraid," says Ahrah. "He had planned to, but the battle at Everdawn put a dent in things. He didn't know you had survived until our return, nor did the legends prophesize it. Only that the future would be changed forever."

Confused, the Cat-Sith interrupts, "Wait wait. You guys knew the regime thing would happen?"

"Not necessarily. We merely made a prediction. A certain hindsight Moonbloods happen to possess. You can see for yourselves in the cave underneath that boulder next to the ship."

Getting closer to the large rock, the men can see carvings of familiar symbols very much akin to Ahrah and ancient Moonblood language. The sword's markings shine as well as the ones on the stone, causing it to shift slowly to the side like a sliding door, exposing a passageway in the ground. Not too deep down the concrete staircase into a small cave, candles automatically light a blue flame shining on the worktables and cabinets inside. One huge slab sits at the center of the room with an aqueduct system where lava or water is meant to pour in. And on the walls, some symbols depict a scene of some kind. These crudely drawn figures, a bat-like person and a shaded feline surrounded by the representation of a heavenly light, stand face to face with one another, before the scene shifts to the shape of the universe where Falana rests at the center of it all.

"Ey, check it out over dere," Blinx says pointing to the wall art. "Those markings on the walls kinda remind me of Max! Good ol' bat kid!"

"And look," replies Dust, peeking at the sketches on the table. "There's some drawings of you here, Ahrah."

"Those were my design drafts," answers the blade. "Some of them are copies of what the other blades look like. But unlike them, I'm the only one that's sentient. A sort of backup of one's soul with a strong will was necessary to give me life."

On the surface, a lot of the swords drawn resemble Ahrah, but with different patterns and colors. The largest one, Aquatus, is even depicted as a staff instead of an actual sword. Behind it, there's a familiar, properly shaped blade sketched out, spelling "Final Magi" before it's cut off from a stain.

"No offense," Blinx responds, "but I can't imagine why anyone would wanna do that. Yer an object."

"Oh, but it's quite simple, Blinx, because it was necessary for the threat I mentioned earlier. Not to do with Gaius or the alternate future. Look around."

The two admire the rest of the cave, observing its craftsmanship and the languages written on the walls. Some art displays a scene in detail. One about an army of Moonblood soldiers face to face with a massive ethereal creature with three slanted eyes and a wavy, almost ghostly physique. Its many long tentacles stretch across the plains, devouring the land and turning its riches against it.

"These caverns were carved in preparation for a battle with an ancient creature from the stars. She plunged many worlds into chaos and had arrived on Falana to do the same. Before she could achieve her goal, the one called Grey Eyes, with the strength of a thousand men, had used my power to seal her into a deep slumber, of which she remains to this day. All the other blades forged to fight her had been lost to time, while I was left waiting for the next sword-bearer to arrive. What you see before you is what we believed would be inevitable. A tale of misery and despair at the hands of a threat not unlike the one we've faced until a certain warrior would arrive from nowhere and restore order to the universe."

Hearing all this, Blinx's ears had dropped as he scratches his head juggling through Ahrah's speech. "Sheeesh…! Not to throw pressure on the poor kid! That's definitely the burden of knowin' someone's destiny."

"Precisely why I never spoke of it so as to ensure that destiny comes to fruition."

"I see," says the young Mithrarin. "Lots to unpack there, even for us. Nothing to do with where we're going either, huh?"

"No. Not at all."

"Damn…," Dust cringes. "So this is new to Falana. Which way were we supposed to be going anyway?"

"Well the Mayor said it was over to the…the far East," Blinx pauses, stroking his chin and curling his tail. "…No. That's this place. We're talkin' about the advanced states we're lookin' for. Nobody said which way to go aside from 'em being past this point. Never said any specific directions."

"So how do we know where to look," asks Dust.

Ahrah interjects, "If I recall, there is a village nearby. Perhaps the locals might know of this."

"Good eyesight, Ahrah!" Dust squints. "Er…not really eyesight. More like… Ah nevermind".

Down near one of the entrances to Aurora, Fale and Matti stumble upon the farm belonging to Geehan, whose on one knee investigating a strange trail of vines in his traditional blue robe. Oneida in her cream-colored outfit is with him, holding a pair of clippers and a shovel cleaned and ready to go.

Fale approaches the couple, introducing himself with a tip of his hat. "Ey Geehan. How's it goin'?"

"Could be a little better," says the farmer. "You're going in that cave, are you?"

"Yep! Mat an' I're already geared up for it!"

"That's good," he replies. "Because something's been sprouting these weeds around our farm and we don't know how to kill them."

From first observations, the weeds resemble long thorned vines shooting up from the dirt, sprouting odd alien plant-life dark in color and glowing.

"Never seen somethin' quite like this before," says Fale.

"Geehan's tried whacking them with clippers, but they keep coming up," Oneida replies. "It's been happening for some time now."

"Well, the cave leads underneath the town. Maybe we'll find somethin' about all this."

"Grrr," Matti hums.

"If you do, that'd be superb," says Geehan. "I'd ask Dust or the other two to handle it, but I think they deserve a break."

Fale gives a firm thumbs up and winks, "Don't worry mate. You can count on us."

In minutes, the Sen-Mithrarin and the Time Sweeper stand at the entrance of a scattered village with sparse old-west style buildings and wide open dirt streets. The front sign isn't any more prestige, simply being a tacked on wooden sign reading "Half and Half. Population: Half a Grand." They come across both Warmbloods and Moonbloods when heading deeper into the village. But some civilians seem out of this world. Creatures from other games, Blinx adds, from strange lion-like aliens, elf-eared humanoids, a few friendly dragons, and an assortment of unique robots hovering around town.

"Ok," Dust responds. "Now it's definitely obvious the timeline's been altered."

"Half an' Half Village," Blinx wonders aloud.

"Not the kinda name I was expecting either."

"N-no, it's not that. There's a world named Half an' Half, but not a village. Maybe this is just another thing my boys messed with."

"Why call it Half and Half though," asks Dust.

"Stuff was divided." Blinx puts on his goggles, scanning the place. "See any spots that look important?"

The mouth part of Dust's masks automatically unlocks giving him room to sniff around. His nose leads him towards a small tavern where a dog Warmblood is walking in without a shirt, exposing his tattoos.

"How bout that one," he suggests.

"A tavern is not the first place I'd think to ask for information," Ahrah says.

Dust removes his mask and hat and brushes off his hair. "Well I don't see any signs that read, 'Information Center' anywhere."

"Ey, y'know what," Blinx speaks, "We should totes run in dere an' act like we own the joint so we can find their boss faster. The head honcho always knows somethin'."

"I'm sorry, but how is that not gonna get us in trouble," protests the Mithrarin.

"Think about it," says Blinx. "We're in the middle o' nowhere, no map, no ID's, an' we both look outta this world. In fact, I am from outta this world! Least we can do is show some swag so they know we mean business. Not lookin' like Elder Grey walkin' in the girl's room."

Dust quietly shrugs the idea and nods his head. "Ok…but I'm a little shy when there's too many people I don't know. So I'll let you start us off."

Blinx winks, "Wise choice, fox-wolf."

In seconds, Blinx kicks the old gates open into the bar, drawing the customers' immediate attention, even pausing people's drinks as they're being poured in their glasses.

"Whaddup, boys," Blinx shouts with a smirk. "Me an' my pal 'ere were lookin' for some fancy territory out dere, and we figured we'd stop an' ask for some directions in this cute little joint o' yours!"

Dust grabs Ahrah and waves the sword around. "If any of you is the owner, show yourself less my friend gives the final say!"

One man silently steps up to bring them an answer from the back of the tavern. Towering over them is a Nimbat with a heavy resemblance to Fidget but having dark patterns on his fur a broad stature. This older gentleman spreads his huge wingspan ever so slightly so as to not hit anyone seated next to him. Probably an intimidation technique in case his mere presence wasn't enough. Both Blinx and Dust are left speechless at the man's physique, unable to shake the thought of a Nimbat being this large. Dust, perhaps out of shock from the resemblance to his friend, casually brings the tip of Ahrah to the man's chest, poking it quickly to hear a sharp DING! Afraid, he sinks his neck down to his collarbone staring up to the Nimbat, blushing and darting his eyes around, then towards Blinx for an answer.

"...Eeeeh...hi," says the Time Sweeper. "Soooooo, my name is Blinx, this is Dust. We were just lookin' around for a particular place, and uh, we figured you know where it is. It's supposedly fulla cat-people who mostly look like me. Course we apologize 100% if there's a problem. We don't wanna start any trouble, an' we'll see ourselves out if ya want us to leave for, uh, disruptin' your business here. Eheheh."

Blinx backs off, lowering his ears and sinking his knees down, putting his hands together the same way Mordecai would, albeit in a humble yet pathetic posture.

"…I got just one question for you young men," answers the Nimbat in a deep voice.

The two boys silently await their question, holding tightly on their weapons while staying as low to the floor as possible, nearly shaking like leaves.

Suddenly, the titan perks up and asks, "How's my baby girl doing?"

Stunned, Dust backs off a step and asks back, "Y-your baby girl?"

"Yes, my daughter, Fidget." He leans forward, brushing off the two's clothes. "Sorry, I forgot my manners. Name's Gareth. Also sorry if she talks a lot. But she's so cute you can't get mad at her. Always breaking the fourth wall an' stuff."

"OH," Blinx shouts. "Y-yer her Dad. She is doing just fine. Fantastic even!"

"Really I should be apologizing for putting her in danger so much," Dust adds, removing his hat and hastily bowing.

"No no, it's fine. She LOVES it," shouts Gareth as he slams his fist on an empty table! Dust and Blinx laugh nervously along with the titanic Nimbat. "Anyway, you said you were looking for directions?"

"Yes sir," answers Blinx. "Somewhere called the Advanced Regions."

"Well, I'd love to help you boys out, but I don't have a clue about that." In thought, Gareth strokes his chin, twitching an ear. "Except…"

"Yep…?"

"There may be someone who does. Think he knows you two actually. His name's Gianni."

"GIANNI?!" Nearly every activity in the bar freezes from hearing Ahrah scream the name of a former resident of Aurora! "Er...excuse me. Him?"

"That's right whoever is talking," Gareth confirms. "He's over at the club down the edge of town to your left when you step out. Real spooked about a ton of things though."

Dust has his hand clenched tightly on Ahrah's hilt, gritting his teeth. "Oh, he'll be even more spooked when we're through with him…"

"Erm…thanks for the tip, Mr. Gareth," Blinx says. "We're just gonna get out your wings- U-uh…hair. Hair!"

"You two sure look like you've never seen another Nimbat before."

"NOPE," barks Dust!

Blinx adds, "Not wit' your beef. I-I mean physique. I mean-"

Gareth rolls his eyes, giggling over the two dribbling their words. "I'm just kiddin' around boys. Titans like me are rare. I was even guarding your sword before I let Fidget take over for a bit. I just never imagined it'd lead to her meeting you."

"Apologies by the way," says Ahrah. "I hadn't spoken until Dust arrived after this man and his daughter attempted to steal me."

"You got a gig cause you tried stealin' the sword," asks the Time Sweeper.

The Titan Nimbat gets closer to Blinx and yells, "Damn right, an' I'll do it again!"

Afraid, Dust drops Ahrah and holds Blinx with both hands, nearly hugging the Time Sweeper who hugs back with a light "ah" from him mouth.

"Just messin' with'cha! Just, uh…try not to make a scene like you did a second ago. It's pretty quiet around here."

"Whoops," Dust says as he lets go of his friend. "Apologies sir. Thanks for the tip."

"Yeah," Blinx nods. "We'll head on out an' find Mr. jhiaxus."

"Don't you mean Gianni?"

"Bless you."