25

Sal eyed Rei carefully. He was not fond of what he saw. In Sal's eyes, there was a spoiled, pampered little girl who had never had to fight a day in her life and had most of what she had gained handed to her. He could tell that Rei had never been an orphan, and would probably be appalled to learn that such people existed. From her demeanor, he could tell that she had worked in some official job--probably not Inner Sanctum because she didn't appear anal enough for that. However, she appeared ALMOST that anal, so whatever it was she did it would probably be something Sal hated.

Rei wasn't impressed with Sal either. She had seen the type before. Technological hotshots who think if you hand them an interface they can fix the problems of the world. Rei had noticed such people always failed at handling real-world problems. If you took away their interface, it was almost as though you had taken away a pacifier from a baby--and the result would be the same--they would cry.

It was fitting that they were both seated in this odd house. Any other place would have made no sense. The house sat directly on the border of insanity without falling in. The place was a lot quieter without the Rogue being there, and neither Sal nor Rei cared to break that silence, while both hoped the Rogue would return soon so they could get some answers.

Sal eventually got tired of sitting, and so got up and began investigating some of the objects in the house. Sal noticed a pair of heavy-looking swords crisscrossed on the wall, and his hand went to instinctively touch them.

Rei couldn't contain herself. "Do you really think it is such a good idea to go touching things in a strange person's house?"

Sal didn't turn his head in her direction. "So it speaks."

"It speaks, and it has manners, which is apparently something you are not equipped with," quipped Rei. "Listen, Princess," started Sal, "When I need instructions on which utensil I need for dessert I'll be sure to give you a call."

Rei stiffened her body in offense. "I am sure that it would be a nice change from the sort of people you talk to."

Sal didn't reply back and instead let his finger fall along the edge of the sword. It was surprisingly sharp. Sal felt the telltale numbness and pain that accompanies cut flesh. Apparently, the sword was QUITE sharp. Sal jerked his finger back so fast that he disturbed the mount on which the sword rested. He had to dodge both swords as they clanged to the floor.

Rei gave Sal an acerbic look. Neither of them saw the Rogue come in, but both of them were startled when they heard him speak.

"I see you found the Balkan Semerite swords. They used to keep them extra sharp. The funny thing about swords is that you don't usually want them to be terribly sharp. if they are too sharp, another sword can impact the blade and snap it in two. The Balkan Semerites kept their sharp because they did not expect to encounter another sword when they struck. They expected to hit flesh and bone, regardless of what the other person had as a means of defense."

Rei glanced at the Rogue. he didn't seem to be disheveled or look like he had been anywhere whatsoever.

"Did you find the other person, or what?" Rei asked.

"Oh yes, the other person," the Rogue began. "I did find him on a Palcan, completely stone dead. His tattoo had turned entirely red. The good news is that he'll be out in a few seconds."

Rei and Sal looked puzzlingly at one another.

Sal asked first. "So you mean to tell me that you just revived a dead chimera? What the fuck good does that do any of us, and how the fuck do you bring back someone dead anyway?"

The Rogue turned to face Sal. "You aren't much for patience, are you young man?"

Sal blinked in response, then turned an angry crimson. "And you aren't much for answers. I think it's about time I be going."

The Rogue went to the door and opened it wide. "Absolutely, be gone on your way, Mr. Grimone. Of course, as soon as you step out of that threshold you will find yourself right back in this abode. Even if you wanted to leave, you'd find yourself unable."

Sal gave the Rogue a hard look. He then stiffened and adjusted his gait to something approximating boldness, and took himself out of the house.

Rei searched the Rogue's expression as Sal left.

"You just let him leave? How long is this meeting going to last anyway?"

The Rogue smiled, "He'll be right back, don't worry."

As soon as the Rogue finished suggesting this, Sal Grimone came flying back in the door, only with more stubble and longer hair than he had left with. He was panting, and visibly shaking.

"I trust you found the truth of my words?" asked the Rogue.

Sal sat down quietly and held his head in his hands. "Yeah," he said between breaths.

"Good. Perhaps you might be more in the mood to listen to what's going on?" inquired the Rogue.

Sal didn't say anything. His usual cockiness had left him utterly.

"Alright then, before I begin, I think we should wait for our honored guest."

Again, almost on cue, a small chimera walked into the room, his tattoo completely red.

"Uziel, I'm so glad you could join us," said the Rogue.

"Are you Merlin?" asked Uziel as he rubbed the sides of his temples.

"Ah, Merlin, Hah! I haven't heard that name in a while. I must make it a point to give Hiro a new business card someday. You let a few ages pass by, forget to give people your card, and they can't remember what to call you. You can just call me the Rogue."

"The Rogue," repeated Uziel.

"So, now that we are all gathered here, let's start, shall we? The big question that you probably want to know is why you are here. Well, you are here because each of you is on a journey, albeit a slightly different one as you each have different talents. Uziel here is working on behalf of Hiro, his god. Rei is working with a mysterious Reipawn, and busy questioning her sanity. Sal is working on his own behalf and trying to save his own skin, or at least so he thinks. The how you got here doesn't matter so much matter as the why you are here. The why is simple, although difficult to digest. The universe has been around for a long time. From it, everything else follows. Most people believe it is a hologram, and so it is, but so too is it not. It works on the principle of harmony, and there are many ways to achieve harmony. Warring nations with differing agendas can combat one another simultaneously and cancel each other out. One can win, thrive for centuries, and then end in the same way it rose. There are, however, delicate points in time--points in time where certain probabilities vary so immensely that the outcomes are radically different--and very often these outcomes depend on but a handful of people. One might think of them as destiny points."

Rei started laughing. "You mean to tell me, Rogue, that there are destiny points and we three are the ones on which much rests?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean," replied the Rogue. "I do wish I could skip the disbelief part of this debriefing. I've gone through it so many times. You should have seen Noah's face when I told him that he was approaching a critical moment and he'd hear from his God. He laughed right through his beard at me. I guess none of you know Noah now. Pity. It was such an interesting story."

Everyone became uncomfortably still in the room. Sal finally found his voice. "What are YOU exactly, Rogue?"

"What am I? You mean how is it that I'm still alive and am I human? well, that's a complicated question, Sal. Think of it this way, you call your interface, and you know the holonosphere will do your bidding. You know it will, in part, because you know that's what the holonosphere must do by definition. However, the holonosphere is only a microcosm of the reality in which we all have always resided. In fact, the holonosphere is the "cheaper cousin" to the reality in which we all reside. What I am and what I do is a lot like what you do in calling up your interface, except that where reality is concerned I place no constraints on it, and it places none on me."

Uziel sat thoughtfully. "What do you mean by you place no constraints on reality?"

"I mean to say I do not mentally represent reality. I let it be whatever it is, and if I need it to do something I ask it. That is how I was able to "hack" Inner Sanctum. No security protocol is enough to keep the universe out. One need only work in harmony with the universe, and the universe works in harmony with them."

Rei started to laugh a little harder. "So basically, Rogue, you are saying we three are special and are going to save the world, and you are some kind of magician?"

The Rogue smiled at Rei. "I haven't gotten to the part where you save the world yet. That's optional. It'd be more accurate to say you have the opportunity to save the world, whether or not you act on it remains to be seen. As to whether I am a magician or not, well, if I am not mistaken you are the one getting messages on billboards and having conversations with long-disbelieved Gods such as Cerberus. It seems to me that you are already in a state such that you can make some incredible claims. I think mine are far more modest than yours, actually, but no less true."

Sal finally interjected, "Whatever this man is or isn't, one thing that I can tell you is that he has not lied so far. I believe everything he has said, after the experiences I have had."

Rei turned to Sal with a scowl on her face. "You were gone only for a few moments, Sal. Now you suddenly believe everything this man says?"

Uziel looked on tranquilly. Sal answered Rei firmly and looked intensely into her eyes. "Yes." was his only reply. After a long pause he added, "It was not just a few moments for me."

If you want to hear what the Rogue has plans wise, you can go here to hear his case.