Title: Searching

Characters: Solomon Roka, Tabula Rasa, Jack Blank, Allegra, Skerren, Stendeval, Oblivia, Hypnova

Pairings: RasaXRoka, slight JackXAllegra

Genres: Romance, Angst, Family

Disclaimer: Please, if I owned the Jack Blank Adventures, Jack and Allegra would have been a couple at the end.

Notes: Yeah, I know I should be working on my JVLN story, but I couldn't help it. I'm kinda satisfied with this chapter. Yeah, this will be a drabble series. So, enjoy!

oOo

"That did not happen!"

"I'm telling the truth! Look inside my memories if you want to. That doesn't change the fact that all I said was real!"

Tabula Rasa laughed that beautiful laugh of hers—the one that always made Solomon's heart beat a thousand miles an hour. He knew for a fact that Rasa didn't really doubt his word for second—one, because you can never keep a secret from someone who can look into your mind to learn all your secrets, and two, because Solomon would never lie to her anyways. She was special to him like that.

They were in the lowest point in Lowtown, a very secretive place, even for the Imagine Nation. Previously, the only person who knew of this place was just Solomon himself. But now there were two who knew about this little hideout. Well, that's what he thought, anyways.

They talked for hours, and Solomon used all that time to admire Tabula Rasa for who she was—not as a Secreteer or hero, but as a person. He took in all the little details about her: how she liked her coffee (cream and two sugars), her favorite place in the Imagination (she said it was right by his side, but Season Still Park came as her second), even about how that pretty dimple appeared on her face whenever she smiles (he found it cute how she blushed whenever he told her how pretty she looked with it).

This was his favorite time of his life, sitting with Rasa. With her, he could get away from all the disapproving looks from his family, who expected too much from him. He was sure that Rasa felt the same way—that with Solomon she could take a break from her duties of guarding the Imagine Nation's secrets, and just be normal. There was nothing that could ruin this perfect moment for the two of them.

Except for the Clandestine Order.

Of course they had to come and barge in to this. Actually, he wasn't surprised when they just showed up at the place he thought was a secret. Secreteers were always nosey—looking around in his personal life. But Rasa was an exception, of course. He knew that she was better. It was just the others he disliked, for they disapproved of Solomon meeting up with Rasa so much.

"Rasa," the matriarch called sternly. Oblivia was her name, as Solomon recalled. He never did like that woman. "Please, we must go."

Solomon stood and glowered at the matriarch, but as he opened his mouth to protest, Rasa gently touched his arm. She smiled softly at him, and wrapped her purple Secreteer cloak around her. She walked to join her colleagues. Rasa was greeted by another woman, who seemed young, like she had just recently joined the Order. Solomon searched his mind for her name. Hypnova. Yes, that was it. She was a friend to Rasa.

The other Secreteers all turned and left without a word. But Rasa lagged behind. She turned her head to Solomon, and winked. She then threw her hood up and left. Solomon understood then and there that she would come back again.

And he would be waiting.

oOo

Months passed, and the Clandestine Order was getting more annoying. They wouldn't stop pestering Solomon about his relationship with Rasa. They made it very clear that they disapproved. But Solomon didn't give a damn about them. All he cared for was about his love for Rasa. But what really angered him was the fact of how they tried to use their memory powers to make him forget about her. He couldn't, of course. She was just too important to him. And he refused to give up.

No matter what the Secreteers tried, Solomon loved Rasa too much to let her go. Rasa was worried about what they might do to him, but Solomon shrugged it off. He promised that he would stay by her side—wherever, whenever, and forever. And that's what he wanted to do.

But that was a promise he just couldn't keep.

oOo

Solomon cursed the name of that damned Secreteer Oblivia. He couldn't believe that woman. Had she really gotten desperate enough to knock him out and send him away into space, just because he loved Rasa? Unbelievable. So unprofessional.

No matter. He'll just keep coming back. He always has. Because whether the Clandestine Order liked it or not, Solomon loved Tabula Rasa. He didn't give two shits that they wanted Rasa to be the matriarch and that "nothing may distract a Secreteer from his or her duties," as they put it. He wasn't going to let the Order tear him and Rasa apart. He, Solomon Roka, would come back to her.

He then frowned. Solomon Roka…that was definitely his name, he was sure of it, yet it didn't exactly feel right. But he shrugged it off. He'd deal with that bit later.

Examining the ship's control panel, he cursed Oblivia again for sticking him on a ship with no hyperspace mode. She had determination, he'll give her that. Checking his coordinates, he was shocked to learn how far away from home he was. How long had he been knocked out? Considering his location and no-hyperspace feature, he had to guess at least four to five months. He groaned as he realized that he would have to travel in that same amount of time to get back to Rasa.

He scouted the ship for supplies, and determined how long he would be able to last with them. At least the Secreteers were kind enough to provide him with all the life-important essentials.

oOo

Solomon was in his hideout in Lowtown once again. But suddenly, it didn't seem as welcoming as it was back then. All he could think about was Rasa—

Rasa.

Solomon sobbed, and sank down onto the floor, running a hand through his hair. He had lost her. While he was in space she…the Imagine Nation was attacked by the Rüstov. Many of the Imagine Nation's citizens were either dead or used as Rüstov hosts. The rest were the lucky ones, those who had successfully protected their home and helped drive those Rüstov vermin back to where they came from.

But Rasa was not one of the lucky ones.

He didn't know all the details, but someone informed him that she had been taken as a prisoner to become the host of a Rüstov parasite. No one was sure if she was alive or not.

And now, everything reminded him of Rasa's ghost. Wherever he looked, he saw Rasa's smile and beautiful features. Everywhere he went, he could hear her honey-filled voice. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could feel her presence right next to him, as if she was standing by his side and about to give him a warm hug—

God damn it!

Solomon punched the ground. He should have been there! He should have been right next to Rasa. He could have saved her, or maybe escaped with her, or at least gotten captured with her. No matter what the outcome would have been, he should have been there, by Rasa's side all the way to the end.

He was angry with himself for letting this happen. But slowly, his raged turned to someone else, or more specifically, an entire group.

The Secreteers.

It was their fault he wasn't there. It was their fault that Rasa was gone. They were the ones who didn't want him and Rasa to be together. They were the ones who sent him away. Because of them, Rasa was gone.

But there was nothing he could do to change the past. And that's what really upset him.

He stayed there for what seemed like forever. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to stay in the Imagine Nation, for Rasa was everywhere. And he didn't want to venture off into the Real World, because honestly, those regular humans can be so annoying. Not that super-powered people could be any different. His only option was to go out into space. But what could he possibly do out there? It was a dangerous place—even more dangerous than the supervillains in the Imagine Nation. Plus, there was still the chance that the Rüstov were still out there, and the only reason why Solomon would ever want to encounter them was if Rasa was out there still alive—

Solomon straightened. He replayed that thought in his head, as adrenaline and newfound strength coursed through his body. If Rasa was out there still alive…

Suddenly, he had found a new job to do for a living.

oOo

Solomon didn't understand what he did that was so wrong that got him into jail. All he did was raid some lousy Rüstov transport. In fact, he should be thanked and praised, because he had just risked his life—again, mind you—to save some prisoners who were going to be turned into Rüstov hosts were it not for him. But no, apparently raiding Rüstov ships and freeing innocent lives without a permit is a big no-no for the Calculan species. Just because

Then again, saving those prisoners was not his true objective. It was and always will be on his to-do list, but his main objective was to find one person and one person only—the one person who set him on this path of infiltrating the Rüstov lines one by one. And that was Rasa. The chance of finding her alive was extremely small, and almost impossible, but there was still a chance. And he was going to take whatever he could get, because that was just how he is. Besides, from what he learned in the Imagine Nation, nothing could be completely impossible. You just had to believe. But he's believed for 14 years.

His hopes were cut even shorter when he was arrested. What's more, they sentenced him to nine hundred and forty-two years in prison. Now, he has to wait for that long until he can go back to raiding.

Whoopee.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to go through that sentence.

Not long after being arrested, he was visited by one of the Imagine Nation's greatest hero and Inner Circle member: Stendeval the Wise. Apparently, Stendeval had made a deal with the Calculans' that if Solomon freed some kid named Jack Blank from Rüstov custody, his sentence would be lifted. He didn't know the real reason why they agreed to such a deal, but he had a hunch. According to the information given to him, Blank would be the one who would decide the outcome of the war between the Rüstov and the Imagine Nation, for better or for worst. The Calculans probably thought that with Jack and the Imagine Nation, they could drive the Rüstov away once and for all. He kind of hoped so too, because no matter what happened there, Earth would always be his home.

So, Solomon took the deal. He infiltrated the Magus's personal flagship. He went by almost unnoticed. He saved Jack Blank. But what really surprised him was the fact that when he looked at the fourteen year-old's face, he saw the mark of the Rüstov, plain as day.

oOo

Coming back to Earth, Solomon knew that things wouldn't be easy. What he didn't expect was that Jack Blank would drive his ship the Harbinger through hyperspace—manually. He also didn't expect Blank to abruptly crash it into a swamp.

His ship. His beautiful ship. The one he had worked so hard to build. Now in ruins. But when that kid apologized to Solomon, he couldn't be angry at him. He just seemed…vulnerable. And according to what he heard from Blank's friends Jazen Knight and Allegra, there was a reason to that. Jack had just lost an entire year of his life, all because of the Rüstov. Solomon could relate to the kid. So he forgave him.

Another problem arose that centered on Blank. Well, to be completely honest, all the problems that came up seemed to revolve around him. That aside, when Solomon came back to the Imagine Nation, he knew there wasn't going to be a warm welcoming party. He just didn't know that that egotistical maniac Jonas Smart would open fire on them in the middle of a civilian filled crowd. Were these people crazy?!

And then came the part where Blank drove them through the streets of the boroughs like a madman and almost gotten him and Allegra killed…multiple times. He also didn't like that Skerren kid. Why Skerren and Blank were ever friends, Solomon did not know. What he did know—which was really the only thing he learned that day—was that Blank and all the people around him were crazy. This was confirmed when Blank purposely crashed the hover car he was driving—while Skerren was in it.

Luckily for them, Blank used his powers to activate the airbags so they wouldn't die. Downside to it all was that Jack was knocked unconscious. At least Skerren was knocked out as well.

They took him to Solomon's hideout at Lowtown, for that was the only place that could be deemed safe for now. As Jack twisted in his unconscious state, Solomon watched over him, along with that Valorian girl Allegra.

He didn't know why, but he felt protective over Blank—actually, he was getting tired of calling him by his last name. He felt protective over Jack. Solomon couldn't explain it. It's like instinct to him. Not only that, but when they were at the swamp, there was something about Jack, something familiar. But he didn't know what. And whenever Allegra squeezed Jack's hand every time he groaned or mumbled something to the parasite within him, Solomon felt a sense of Déjà vu.

oOo

It was when they were captured by the Rüstov that Solomon thought he figure it out. Allegra was infected by a parasite, and because of that, Jack was disoriented. Confused. Pained. And in Solomon's mind, something clicked. Jack reminded Solomon of himself. Jack reminded Solomon of his own life and problems with Rasa. There was a group that was keeping him and Rasa apart. For Jack, it was the Rüstov taking Allegra. There was a group who stole Rasa's future away from her. It was also the Rüstov, for both occasions.

Solomon watched with an aching heart as Jack tried to reach out to Allegra, but to no avail. Solomon saw the broken look in Jack's eyes. The tears welling up. The sorrow deep in his heart. And when that damned Rüstov bastard Glave joked about it, and then compared it with Solomon's own life, he snapped. He couldn't—wouldn't—let anyone make fun of that, because it didn't only hurt him, he was positive it hurt Jack to. And he wasn't going to let Jack go down the same road he did.

But what Solomon knew was that this attack would only result in strengthening Jack. He knew that Jack would stop at nothing to find a way to beat the infection and get Allegra back. Because believe it or not, Jack was a lot like Solomon. When it came to fight or flight, they both preferred fight.

Solomon knew that he was going to be the host body for Glave. But he also knew that at some point in time, Jack was going to save him. So he put his faith in the kid. And that's what he told him, right before he was infected.

"Fight them, Jack. Don't ever stop, you hear me?"

oOo

It was an endless void. Solomon didn't see anything, nor could he move. All he could do was listen, with the occasional pinch of pain that came every time his body was hit. He heard explosions, screaming, and what seemed to be his own laughter. He swore that at some point, Jack spoke to him. He sounded as if he was…apologizing? And then a sharp poke came at him.

Solomon didn't know what was happening. Were they winning? Losing? What happened to Jack? He hated that feeling of helplessness. It was all dark.

And then, there was light.

In a sudden flash, Solomon had his body back. He stumbled at first, taken aback by the sudden change. He didn't exactly understand what was going on. First, he saw the broken machine parts at his feet. He looked to his side, and saw Allegra reforming. Except that there was no longer a Rüstov mark on her eye, and she looked so disoriented that she had to grab onto him for support. She was cold, shivering, and just as confused as he was.

Finally, Solomon looked up, and saw Jack standing in front of him, with his hand out and a smile on his lips. He processed it for five seconds. Then it snapped in place. Jack just cured him.

But that means…

He put a hand to his eye. He didn't feel even a trace of the Rüstov mark. He was back. Jack did it.

"Say goodbye to your army," he heard Jack say. Out of the power core of his chest, Jack shot out a large energy beam, taking out the wall of the room they were in, which looked to be the throne room. Solomon watched in amazement as Jack stretched his hand out and the Imagine Nation lit up like a Christmas tree, as parasites were ripped out of their hosts bodies. Solomon couldn't believe his eyes.

Jack turned to the Magus, and Solomon cringed when he remembered that the Magus chose Stendeval as his host. But Jack brought Stendeval back. The Magus may not have been affected by Jack's powers since he had a different construct then the rest of the Rüstov, but he was affected by the fact that his son's life may be in the line. Making a deal with Jack, the boy promised that if the Magus released Stendeval, Jack would allow Khalix—the Rüstov prince—to live within him.

The Magus agreed, and released Stendeval. Skerren was the one to end the hostless-parasite's life.

It was over. The war was won.

Solomon expected Jack to exorcize the parasite from his body, but to his surprise, he didn't. He then realized why. Jack made a promise. And he's going to keep it.

"The heart of a hero," Stendeval said. "Like no one I've ever met."

Solomon couldn't agree more.

oOo

Solomon was confused and his mind was a complete wreck…again.

He snapped his head to look at Jack, and locked eyes with him in a shocked stare. No…it can't be true. He didn't have a son. He would know. Rasa would tell him if he had a kid…right?

They're lying. Yeah, that's it. Secreteers were always dirty tricksters. And he was sure to accuse Hypnova, right then and there. His response was a puff of purple powder up his nose.

Solomon felt someone steady him as he backpedaled. He coughed, and heard muted voices around him. But he wasn't paying attention. Memories were suddenly flowing into his head. His childhood, his family, his name—which was not Solomon Roka, it was Solomon Noteworthy. It all came back. The Secreteers had made him forget his identity, all those years ago.

He looked around in wonder, but then glared at Oblivia with a smoldering gaze. His old hate and pain was resurfacing. How could they do this to him? To all of them? He finally spoke out all his pain to the matriarch's face. She showed no remorse. And that just made him even more furious.

Then Solomon felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Stendeval. The wisest man in the world gently asked him what, with this new information, would he do? He asked Solomon what he was going to do now.

Solomon shot one last glare at Oblivia, and then thought about Stendeval's words. Suddenly, he felt very overwhelmed. Rasa was gone, there was no escaping that. No saving her anymore. He had thought he knew who he was, but it was all a lie up until now. He was a mess. But there was one thing that was certain, something that he knew that he couldn't deny.

Jack was his son. There was no blood proof, like Jack had when he learned that he was part of the Noteworthy bloodline, but the word of a Secreteer was almost always true. After all, they knew all of the Imagine Nation's secrets.

He looked at Jack, and suddenly he caught his breath. Tears welled up in his eyes. Jack didn't just seem familiar because he reminded Solomon of himself. It was those eyes.

"I don't believe it."

Jack's slight grimace was almost unnoticeable, but Solomon saw it either way, and he knew Jack took that the wrong way. "We can always do a blood test," the boy suggested.

Solomon almost laughed at that, and the fact that Jack handed Solomon the SmartPaper with the confirmation of his Noteworthy blood.

Solomon took it.

And crumpled it up and threw it away.

"I don't need that," Solomon said, and he was completely honest. He took a knee, and got a good look at Jack. Placing both hands on Jack's shoulders, and continued. "What I mean is, I don't believe I missed this. I spent years raiding Rüstov ships in the off chance that I might find her out there somewhere." He choked back a sob as tears welled up in his eyes. "Then I come home and I can't even see her when she's staring me right in the face."

Jack looked behind himself, and Solomon inwardly chuckled at his antics. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "Where?"

Solomon pushed Jack's blond hair back from his forehead. He gazed at Jack's jade eyes—the same ones that Rasa had that had shone so happily. "Right here. Your mother's name was Rasa, Jack. Tabula Rasa. You've got her eyes." Solomon finally broke, and he wrapped Jack in a tight bear hug. After a moment, he felt Jack hug him back.

He felt his son hug him back.