Wild ARMs: Off on a Tangent
By: Chibi-chan
Part 13: “Down in the Cradle of the Jolly Stone Giant”
*
“There we go, kiddo,” Elmina said as she got the last of the dried blood off of the prince’s back. “You’ve got some power, princey. Aside from a faint scar, you’d think you weren’t caught off guard by an attack in the first place.”
“There’s a what?!” the boy exclaimed, rushing to a nearby mirror to try to get a good look at what his friend was talking about. Despite the awkward angle, he was able to see what remained of the earlier attack at Tripillar. Gazing disapprovingly, he muttered, “Damn, guess even magic’s not perfect…”
Elmina smiled at him and said, “Hey, look at it this way; at least you were able to walk away from the battle in one piece.”
Cecil sighed. “I suppose you’re right, but damn…” he said, still set in his lapse into vanity.
The warrior got up from her seat. “If you need anything else, just say something, OK?” The boy gestured he didn’t need anything else for the time being, so she left.
“This just isn’t my day, is it? First Stoldark, then the attacks, and now this…” Cecil muttered, attention still to the scar that irked him so.
*
James arrived with an extra shirt of his for the prince, whose previous one wasn’t exactly in wearing condition, to wear just as Elmina was leaving. Since she left the door open because she thought it silly to close the door as someone else was going in, James had a nice clear view of the distracted Cecil. The bounty hunter was at a dead stop upon seeing the blond boy. Wow, he’s… beautiful. He’s beautiful. He paused the thought and tried to shake it from his mind. Get a grip, James! It’s not like you’re… That’d you want to…
Cecil finally took his gaze off the faint scar and turned it to James. “Hey, Jamie, what’re you doing just standing out there by the door?”
James was quickly snapped out of his train of thought. “Shirt,” he said simply, holding out the item he had brought. “You know, I wouldn’t have to give you this if you had only thought to bring one with you during your ‘great escape’.”
The prince took the shirt, a plain white button-down type, and slipped it on. “Well, forgive me for being in a rush. It’s kinda hard to pack when you have to get out a place in a short amount of time,” he retorted, trying to get the shirt buttoned. “Buttons, it had to be buttons, I hate buttons, they take so long to fasten…” he muttered under his breath. He soon found a second pair of hands fastening the buttons in no time flat.
“They don’t take much time if you’re used to them,” James said as he straightened out the collar. “Now, are you completely helpless, or is this just a bad day?”
Cecil “hmph”ed and moved away from him. “It’s just an off day. I’ll be fine next time.”
The bounty hunter turned away, saying, “If there is a next time. You should just go home, Cecil.”
“WHAT?!” Cecil cried indignantly, “Why?!”
“You’ll just get hurt if you do,” James answered, “and you getting hurt won’t help anyone.”
Now Cecil thought the other had a halfway decent point, but his pride wouldn’t just let him say, “Maybe you’re right…” Oh no, heaven forbid that. Therefore, he didn’t just stop at “Maybe you’re right,” but continued with, “but that’s not going to stop me. I didn’t come this far to just quit now!”
The black-haired boy shook his head. “Stubborn, you’re so stubborn… Fine, keep going. Just don’t cry to me when it gets to be too much for you.” He left and closed the door behind him.
Cecil took the nearest seat available to him and stared at the door. “You don’t suppose… he was actually concerned, do ya?” he thought out loud.
*
*sigh*
“Things on your front don’t seem good, I take it?”
It could be worse, but the young master’s indecisiveness…
“He was always one to dally making decisions even when he was little… Anyway, the girl…”
Don’t get me started on her! I mean really, running from her allies…
“Luci…”
Sorry. Go on.
“She seems to be bringing in some technical assistance for them which will arrive shortly before the young master’s group at the Giant’s Cradle.”
Well, at least the pawn has some sense in her head. Not much, but some.
“Luci!”
What?
*
Mistress… the male aspect of Lucied called to Calamity. Mistress, the humans seem to be gathering at the place where one of the Golems is said to be sleeping. What should we do? The only response he got was a loud snore. His mistress was sound asleep and wasn’t about to wake up. *sigh* Why does my mistress have to be such a deep sleeper…?
*
“You sure you’ll be fine here by yourself, professor?” Laine asked after being dismissed by Allison.
“Yes, yes, I’ll be fine,” she said. To show the girl that was so, she drew a surprisingly large ARM from Guardians-know-where. “It’d be silly for an ARMsmeister to not be able to use the weapons she works on, now would it?”
With a nervous final glance, Laine left the… erm… “interesting” professor so that Boomerang would not catch up to her…
*
“She was here?!” both Cecil and James exclaimed upon hearing how Allison had gotten there.
“Yes, she was,” the professor confirmed, “And I must say, her timing is impeccable. Rather scary, but impeccable nonetheless.”
While Cecil quite vocally complained about missing Laine by such a small period of time, Boomerang backed away a bit and took a step to the side. Laine… he thought, How could I have let them get me so sidetracked from my mission? I thought following them would lead me to her, but… She’s good. Oh yes, she’s good. But she can wait a little more. Ce… they need me. If the world does get destroyed, then what would be the point… eh?
He then noticed Elmina was waving a hand in front of the bounty hunter’s visor. “Yo, ARM boy, you still in there?” she asked.
“Er, yeah…” Boomerang said, feeling a little embarrassed that he was gotten so wrapped up in his thoughts that he forgot why he was there in the first place. He cleared his throat and said, “Shall we go then?”
“Half of ‘we’ already went,” Elmina told him, pointing in the direction where the professor and the prince went.
Our dear little Jamie muttered, “For the love of…” before following them with Elmina.
*
“Khhk, khhk, khhk! I haven’t had this much fun in years!” Professor Allison exclaimed as she blasted another monster into oblivion.
“And I thought that freaky bug guy’s ‘Brittney Dance’ was scary. ‘Mina,” Cecil muttered to the equally disturbed warrior woman.
Elmina nodded and said, “But at least she’s on our side.”
‘The question is, do we really want her on our side?” Boomerang butted in with.
*BOOM!* “Khhk, khhk, khhk!”
After that, neither Elmina, Boomerang, or even Cecil even thought about answering that question…
*
Laine, delightfully seasick yet again, asked a sailor where the ship was going this time. The answer being “Rosetta”, Laine woefully moaned, “Oy, my life’s a living-“
“Hello again!” a familiar female voice chimed. This was soon followed by the sailor getting the hell away from Laine.
“Lina?” Laine asked weakly. Dear Guardians, help me…
*
Back at the Giant’s Cradle, Allison was, for lack of a better word, ogling the golem that stood before her. It was a good 20-30 feet high, maybe more, consisted mainly of stone, and had a really small head but a huge, bell-shaped body. Its arms were of Popeye-like proportions; thin at the upper half, wide at the bottom half. Also of note about its arms were two shield mechanisms, not in total working order due to centuries of inactivity. “By Zephyr, it’s beautiful…” Allison muttered under her breath.
“It’s not moving,” Cecil said flatly.
“Think I should kick it?” Elmina asked.
The answer from everyone was a resounding “NO!!”
“I was just asking…” the warrior said sheepishly.
Allison looked at the Wind Mouse perched on Elmina’s shoulder. “Hey, mousie, you wanna help me take a look at this lovely creature?” she asked with a smile.
Zed jumped at the chance. “Finally, someone who respects my abilities!” he cried out. No sooner than he had volunteered, however, Allison picked him up and threw him to the top of the golem. Fortunately, he remained unharmed this time.
Boomerang, snickering, poked Cecil in the arm and told him, “See, Cecil? Even that little professor throws better than you!”
With his trademark “Go to hell” glare, he told Jamie, “Bite me.”
*
Two attempts by the professor and Zed to revive the golem later…
Allison was complaining to Elmina about how the darn thing wouldn’t respond to her methods, Boomerang was loitering about in a corner, and Cecil was staring at the golem. “Don’t wanna wake up, eh? I wouldn’t either if I were you. You’d just end up being used by someone for their own purposes,” Cecil said. He turned around and sat down on the top step. “I know how that feels. First, used by my fellow students who were in turn used by their parents to try to get in good with the prince and therefore with the king, and now by the Guardians to save a dying world filled with people who couldn’t care less. It’s a no-win situation. If I do nothing, the world ends and therefore, I die with it. If I try and lose, I die there too. If I’m successful, then I’d have to go back home eventually, meaning I’ll have to leave ‘Mina and Jamie, meaning I’ll lose my heart after finding it again. Any way, I’m still screwed.” He cast a mournful look downward. “I don’t see any other ways…”
He half-turned to look at the golem. “Ah, but I’m just wittering on about my problems. There has to be another way. I have to believe that, or I’ll…”
*roar*
“… eh?! You think there might be another way?”
*roar*
“… wait a minute! You can hear me?! You’re waking up?! Don’t! You’ll just be used too!”
*ROAR!*
There was no stopping it. The golem was quickly coming back to life after a several-century slumber. Cecil had inadvertently awakened it and there was nothing he could do about it. Allison was annoyed that she couldn’t do it. Boomerang was startled by the noise. Elmina asked if he kicked the golem to jump-start it.
The elevator platform it was standing on rose higher and higher until it reached the top floor. The golem left the ruins and waited outside for the one who understood him, Cecil.
“… me and my big mouth…” Cecil muttered.
*
Upon rejoining the golem, Allison briefed them on what she and Zed had learned about it. “According to the ancient writings I found on him, the decipherable ones at least, this darling here was called something to the effect of ‘Fort of the Gods’. As a defensive golem, I-“
“’Fort of the Gods’? What kinda name is that for him?” Cecil complained, interrupting the professor.
“And what do you propose would be a proper name for sweetie-pie here?” Allison said sharply.
After some thought, he said, “Ringo!” His friends looked at him as if he had really lost him mind this time. The golem had a different idea about the name.
*ROAR! ^_^*
Cecil grinned and said, “See, Ringo approves.”
“’Ringo’, what a name…” Allison grumbled. She collected herself and continued. “As I was saying ‘Fort’… Ringo here is a defensive golem. Those big blue things on his arms are shield mechanisms. I’m afraid they’re not in tip-top condition, though. If we had something to upgrade them, then they might be of more use…”
“Maybe dad’ll know a way…” Boomerang said to no one in particular.
“Your father?” Allison asked.
“Nicholi Maxwell,” the bounty hunter replied.
Allison perked up. “Ah, so you must be little Jamie! Oh, I haven’t seen you since you were what, three? Four? Yes, yes, let’s go see your father then; he might be able to assist me!”
“Don’t. Call. Me. Jamie,” Boomerang said coldly.
Cecil patted the annoyed young man on the back. “Now, now, Jamie, you know saying that never works. It only makes people wanna call you that even more,” he told him with that evil grin he had perfected over time.
“Screw you,” Ja… Boomerang retorted.
Cecil waved a finger at him and said, “Can’t; Crest Sorcerers have to remain chaste. I appreciate the offer tho’.”
“W-w-what offer?!” the bounty hunter cried, incredibly flustered by the quick-witted prince.
“What’s young Jamie’s problem?” Allison asked Elmina.
“Dunno. Maybe he’s hot for Cecil but can’t admit it?” Elmina answered.
“I heard that!” Boomerang yelled, “And I am not, repeat, NOT ‘hot for Cecil’!”
“I was just kidding, ARM boy. No need for a fuss,” the warrior said. “In denial?” Elmina whispered to Allison.
“That, or just generally questioning himself,” Allison replied in a whisper.
*
End Chapter 13
Chibi’s notes:
Ringo. A golem named Ringo. Suppose that’s slightly less goofy than a cameo by the Kool-Aid Man. Then again, I like tipping the Goofy Scale as often as humanly possible. Try it sometime; it’s FUNZIES! ^___^
Rudy: For you, maybe. Not for those you write about. -_-;;
… Renamon, walk all over him. *THE Renamon appears and proceed to lay some serious smack down on Rudy* Renamon wa SUGOI!