Wild ARMs: Off on a Tangent
By: Chibi-chan
Part 19: “The Power to Protect”
*
It
was dark except for two spotlights that shone on Elmina and Garret. Garrett stood a couple yards away from
Elmina and gave her an imploring look.
“Help me…” Garrett said, trying to yell but only having a whisper come
out. “Help…”
“Garrett! Don’t worry, I’m coming!” Elmina shouted. She ran to him, or at least tried to. The few yards distance soon became many yards and many yards became a mile and so on until Garrett and his spotlight were no longer in view. “GARRETT!” she yelled. There was no response. Her spotlight slowly dimmed until all was darkness…
*
Elmina awoke with a start. She looked around and found she was in a room on the Sweet Candy. “Ugh, musta dozed off… Zed? Where ya at?” she mumbled.
“Down here,” was the Wind Mouse’s pained response. It seemed Elmina’s sudden re-arrival into the land of the conscious startled Zed and made him fall off the edge of the nightstand he was relaxing on and subsequently landed on his head. “I would have to hang out with the single most fitful sleeper the world has ever seen…”
“Heh, sorry if I startled you,” the woman said. “Are you okay?”
“Nothing injured but my pride… Since when are there two of you anyway?” Zed replied. There was suddenly a knock at the door. The mouse shrieked, “AAAAH! WOOD GNOMES!” and ran under the bed.
“… If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that was a weird thing for him to do,” Elmina thought aloud. “If it’s you, princey, come on in!” she called to the person on the other side of the door.
Indeed, the person outside the door was “princey”. “’Mina? I… Well, I wanted to see if you were doing all right after all that happened back there…” he said with an oddly gentle voice.
“Yeah. There were no major injuries, although I’ll probably be sore for a while,” she told him. “How ‘bout you? That Darkness Tear really affected you back there, princey,” she added, hoping to change the subject.
“Still don’t feel all that warm, but I’ll live,” the prince answered. It was the truth, just not the whole truth. Can’t tell her about the visions. It’ll just worry her… Gotta get this discussion back on track anyway… he thought. “Elmina, who’s Garrett? And what does he have to do with Harken?”
Elmina looked down sadly. “He… It was back in Arctica, before the attack… and the fall…” She looked up at the boy, who was standing closer now and watching her, waiting for his answer. Knowing he wasn’t going to take “I don’t wanna talk about it” as an answer, she took a deep breath and continued. “He was a Fenril Knight, the ‘Hand Guard’, as was I, the ‘Attack’ or ‘Sword’.”
“You’re a WHAT?!” Cecil exclaimed. “But how’d the fall happen, if you were a…?!”
Elmina couldn’t help letting out a giggle. “I’m flattered you think I can defeat an entire squad at a time by myself, but even I have my limitations. May I continue now?”
“Oh, yeah, sure, go on,” Cecil said.
*
In
the snow-covered kingdom of Arctica, Garrett and Elmina stood on an outside
landing connected to the castle. “What
do you intend to protect, once you become a knight, Garrett?” the somewhat
younger Elmina asked as she pointed out to the city below.
Garrett,
however, wasn’t even thinking of looking where the woman was pointing. He was busy looking at the woman
herself. “Not what, who. I decided that long ago.”
Elmina thought for a moment, realized what he meant, and blushed a little. “Oh, you don’t say…?”
*
“We… were in love… he and I…” Elmina said hesitantly. “During the attack, my group was separated from his. Out of my group, only I made it back to meet him and the few remaining survivors in his group. Then she appeared.”
“You mean Emma?” the boy asked.
“Yes, her,” she replied. Cecil backed away a few steps, unaccustomed to the true loathing in Elmina’s voice when she mentioned Emma. “She killed Ryan. She killed the king’s brother. She killed Chief Coldbird. And…”
*
“What
a terrible wound…” Elmina said, taking the ribbon out of her hair and wrapping it
around Garrett’s injured leg.
“Not
as bad as yours,” Garrett told her, pointing out her injuries.
“I’ll
live,” she told him. “You’re thinking
of revenge right now, aren’t you?”
“…
what? Of course! You saw what she… I think it’s a she… did!
That can’t go unpunished!” he said as if it was the most obvious thing
in the world.
“So
you’ll just throw your life away just like that? You’re a bigger coward than I thought,” Elmina said harshly. “You want to destroy her even now, don’t
you?”
“Well,
yeah, of course,” Garrett answered. He
got a dissatisfied look from Elmina for that.
“What? You were willing to
fight…”
“To protect something I care about! Protecting what’s precious to you is not a waste of life!” she firmly stated. Garret said nothing. “… whatever, let’s just go. The chief can only buy so much time…”
*
“’Mina? You all right? You haven’t said anything for a while…” Cecil asked. Elmina had just trailed off and looked terribly depressed all of a sudden, and it was quite worrying to the boy.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that this… It’s just so hard for me to think back to this…” Elmina told him.
*
I’ll
stay behind so he’ll have a chance… Elmina thought. She had planned it so he would get out the
door before her so she could lock him out and buy him enough time to get clear
of the castle and live. Unfortunately,
she was too wrapped up in her planning that she didn’t realize Garrett was
planning to do the same thing and was about to accomplish it first.
Elmina
soon found herself outside and kept out by an iron-barred gate. “Garrett?!
What the hell…?!” she started to ask, clinging to the bars.
“Elmina… you said it yourself: ‘Protecting what’s
precious to you is not a waste of life!’
I figure, if I’m not going to win anyway, I may as well go down giving
you a chance to live another day!” Garrett said, a slight nervous tremble
finding its way into his voice.
“Garrett,
you idiot! Let me in! I’m the one who’s got the least likely
chance of making it out alive! You
leave; I’ll stay behind!” the woman protested.
“Yeah,
but I have better odds of winning than you do right now!” Garrett told her.
Emma
appeared before Garrett. “Oh dear, more
survivors. Can’t have you running
about, now can I?”
Garrett drew his sword.
“Go! Go now!”
“But…!” Elmina started.
“Don’t worry, I have no
intention of dying today! I’ll be with
you in no time to give you your ribbon back!” Garrett called back to
Elmina. Defeated, Elmina took one final
glance back and ran. “So, ready to
rumble, sheet chick?”
“Ooo, a feisty one! I like that in a man…” Emma said. “I might have a use for you after all…”
*
Elmina slammed her fist down on the nightstand. “Stupid, stupid Garrett… He turned the tables on me and made me leave instead of me making him leave… Why did he have to choose then to show courage?!” she cried out on the verge of tears.
“El-Elmina?! I… ah…” Cecil started with no idea how to finish the thought. Damn, why do I have to be so bad with these kinda things?! he thought.
“Emma… She did something to him. Harken’s proof of that. He acts like Garrett, he talks like Garrett, he fights like Garrett, he’s even remembering things Garrett would know. The Hello Kitty panties, the last-ditch foot smash…” the woman continued, fighting back tears.
“Um… maybe I should go…” a quite uncomfortable Cecil said, inching towards the door. His hand didn’t even get to the doorknob before Elmina got up, hugged the boy and refused to let go. “Or maybe not…” he muttered. He would have said more if everything didn’t go all swirly for him…
*
Can you hear the anger of the land and the wind? The screams of the sea and the sky?
“What? Stoldark? Is that you?” Cecil asked despite knowing damn well that it wasn’t the Water Guardian. Something wasn’t right and he knew it.
Then came the agonized screams and the horrific wailing. It was as if every being on Filgaia was in pain all at once. All the while, the Guardians called out for the Innocent One…
*
“NO! Make it stop! Make the screaming stop!” Cecil cried, tearing away and clutching his head, in pain himself from hearing the chorus of agony in his mind.
“Cecil?! What is it?! What’s the matter?!” Elmina asked the boy.
“V-visions… horrible ones… all about the Darkness Tear… make them stop!” he continued to cry out. “The world in pain, the Guardians calling for me, it’s all too much!”
“I can imagine… Don’t worry, I’m here, kiddo…” she said soothingly, holding him close to her like a mother comforting her scared child. “Don’t worry…”
*
Meanwhile, where Laine and Boomerang were waiting for them to arrive…
Boomerang intently looked at cards he had been dealt. Only 15… I’ll chance it. “Hit me,” he said. Laine then smacked him one. “How did I get talked into playing this with you again?” he grumbled.
“You don’t know how to play poker and I don’t like ‘Go Fish’,” Laine said matter-of-factly.
*
“Are
you sure you want to come too, princey?
I mean, you could stay here…”
“I
know, but this concerns dealing with Guardians. You need me with you.
Anyway, I’ll be fine. I’m just a
little tired, that’s all.”
“Cecil…”
*
The Dead Sanctuary. The ancient shrine to the Guardian Lords that had fallen out of its former majesty and into disrepair. This was to be the setting for many misfortunes for the four who entered this day. If only they knew what was to come…
*
Cecil yelped as he stumbled over a piece of loose rubble on the floor. “Sheesh, doesn’t anyone pick up around here?!” he complained.
“Cecil, this place has probably been abandoned for a couple of centuries; what else would you expect?” Boomerang told him.
The prince gave the bounty hunter a dirty look. “You take all the fun out of complaining, you know that?”
“Then I’m doing my job properly,” Boomerang said with a smirk.
“Boys, focus here? We’re not here for fun,” Elmina reprimanded.
“Yeah, if you wanna flirt, you’ll have to wait, Jamie,” Laine whispered to Boomerang, who immediately shot her a look that said, “Please shut up.”
*
As they did in the underwater shrine of Lucadia, our party found another one of those mysterious flames that had no apparent reason for existing other than to be in the way. “Still think this place has been abandoned for centuries, Jamie?” Cecil asked.
“I’ll grant you, this is weird, but there has to be a logical explanation for this,” Boomerang replied.
“Has anything been logical since we started this journey?” Laine mumbled to herself.
*
“Hold Courage in the right hand, Love in the left hand, and let Hope dwell within…”
*
Later, in a room full of statues, James, Elmina, and Laine (with Cecil “supervising” as always) had managed to push the red and blue statues representing Love and Courage respectively into place. James was leaning against the red statue and Elmina was standing next to the blue one. Cecil was flipping a coin to try to figure out which of the remaining statues was needed. “Heads, bluish-green, tails gold…” he muttered to himself. Laine was crouching by the other statues, studying them and hoping for an idea to hit her.
“You know, we could try both statues…” Zed suggested. Boomerang glared at the Wind Mouse and Elmina flicked the creature off her shoulder.
“No, we can’t. One or the other,” Elmina grumbled.
Zed, who caught hold of the bottom of Elmina’s coat before hitting the floor in an amazing stroke of luck, climbed back to his perch and tried to reason with Elmina. “I know you’re tired, but it’s the only logical way…”
Suddenly, two explosions were heard from the vicinity of where Laine was last. Everyone went to look and found the bluish-green statue Cecil was mumbling about earlier was now nothing but rubble. The gold statue, however, was still intact. In fact, there didn’t seem to be a single scratch on it. “So, who’s going to help me move the gold statue in place?” Laine asked, unfazed and standing what was a safe distance from the blasts. Understandably, no one said a word for quite a while.
*
It turned out the gold statue was the right one and putting it in its place opened the door to the next room. “Maybe she’s really the fabled Guardian of Luck, Chapapanga,” Zed whispered to Elmina as the group went into the next room.
“At this point, I’m willing to believe it, mousie,” Elmina whispered back.
The next room was largely empty aside from a raised platform that was framed by four columns with steps leading up to the platform itself, and had three small statues on it. Innocent One… a faint voice called from the platform.
“Eh?” Cecil murmured. “What’s that?
The voice called again. Innocent One…
“Yep, there’s a Guardian here,” Cecil thought aloud. “’K, I’m coming,” he told the source of the voice as he walked to the platform.
Once Cecil was on the platform, the faint voice began to speak again. Innocent One, we are the essences of Love, Courage, and Hope. We have lost the ability to manifest in the physical world.
“You have? Figures. Belief is the key to your existence, and who believes in you any more?” Cecil responded.
You are surprisingly knowledgeable for someone so
young. Yes, that is the reason. The weakening of the human’s belief has
weakened us. What little power we have
left lie in the statues you see here.
Please, take us with you.
Perhaps you can help us…
“Oh, uh, all right,”
Cecil said. He bent over to pick up the
small statues when someone grabbed him from behind and forced him to turn
around and face his startled friends.
“You!” Laine
exclaimed, recognizing Cecil’s captor.
She drew her favorite ARM despite knowing full well she couldn’t shoot
until Cecil was released. “What do you
want, pinky?!”
“The name is
Calamity, in case you forgot, and I have a proposition for you,” the already
transformed Hiadan said casually while holding a small ARM to Cecil’s head.
“Oh? I’m flattered, but sadly, Crest Sorcerers
have to remain chaste,” Cecil said, mimicking Calamity’s tone.
“Not for you,
stupid, for her!” Calamity told him irritatedly. “LUC!” she called out. The male aspect of Lucied appeared next to
her. “Luc, you mind smacking him
one? My hands are kinda full here.” Luc
complied and the smart-ass prince was indeed smacked.
Boomerang took a
step forward and yelled, “Hey, stop that!
Leave him alone!”
Elmina grabbed his
arm. “Wait, kid! You don’t wanna put him further at risk, do
ya?” she said. She let go and looked
straight at Calamity. “Just what is
this ‘proposition’ anyway?”
Calamity laughed and
said, “It’s quite simple, really. Give
me the blue-haired firebrand and I’ll let the comedian here go.”
“Are you INSANE?! We’re not about to let you have either of
them! We-“ Boomerang began to rant
before Laine cut him off.
“James. Stop,” Laine said firmly. She nudged Boomerang and Elmina out of her
way as she proceeded to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the
platform. “Cecil first. Then I’ll go.”
“Laine, are you-“
Boomerang began again.
Elmina cut him off
this time. “Kid, it’s her choice. She knows what she’s doing.”
“But-“
“Jamie, it’s all
right,” Laine said, looking over her shoulder at him. “You’ve gotten along fine without me. Without Cecil, on the other hand, you and Elmina wouldn’t have
gotten this far.” She smiled a little
and added softly, “Besides, who am I to stand in the way of love?”
She’s serious… Cecil
thought, She’d really sacrifice herself to save me… But why?
Why?! And what’s this about
love…?!
Calamity
“hmph”ed. “And why would I surrender
him first? Your friends there might
attack me as soon as I let go.”
“They can’t if
they’re not here,” Laine said. “James,
Elmina, please leave. Cecil will catch
up to you.”
“But…” Boomerang
protested weakly. Elmina simply nodded
and dragged the boy out with her.
“Now, let him go,
Calamity,” Laine said coldly.
“Heh, all right,”
Calamity replied. She pushed Cecil down
behind her. “Just a little insurance to
make sure you don’t shoot, Blue.”
Damn. I
figured she’d do as much, tho’, Laine thought, Oh
well, guess I’ll just have to stick with the sword…
Luck was on Laine’s
side. Cecil quickly picked up the
statues, drew out the Crest Graph with the Escape spell, and told Calamity, “Ta
ta!” before teleporting away. I
hope you can hold out long enough for me
to get the others, Laine… he thought as the
spell whisked him away.
“… I should have
expected that, shouldn’t I, Luc?” Calamity groaned.
I refuse to comment, my lady, Lucied said.
*
Boomerang and Elmina
were a few rooms away from where they had left Laine and Cecil when the bounty
hunter stopped. “… I’m going back,” he
stated.
“But, James, Laine
can-“ Elmina started.
“I don’t care! I’m going back and you can’t stop me!” he
snapped. “You keep going! Cecil might have teleported out and is
waiting for you!” He started to run
back to the last room. “I’ll catch
up! Make sure you take care of him for
me if he’s gotten away from her!” he called out as he left.
“… and to think, he
tried so hard to be aloof when we first met him. Oh well, he has a point…” Elmina muttered, “Be careful, ‘Jamie’.”
*
By the time
Boomerang arrived, a surprisingly one-sided brawl had broken out. It being one-sided was not surprising in of
itself, but the side the cards were stacked against was. Calamity was struggling to defend herself against
Laine’s attacks. She’s on
the defensive? That’s odd… Boomerang thought.
His attention then
turned to Laine. The back of her shirt
and vest were torn all to hell, which was directly connected to the fact she
now had black draconic wings on her back.
“Is this what happened at the Epitaph of the Sea Wind? Is that what they saw?” he said quietly.
The bounty hunter
did not go unnoticed. My lady,
you have company… Lucied informed his mistress,
pointing in the boy’s general direction.
“Lovely,”
Calamity muttered. Something then
clicked in her head. Her
friend? Her friends made her revert the
last time, so… “Luc, attack the boy! Quickly” she commanded.
Yes, my lady… Lucied
said. He closed his eyes and began to
focus his energy. Vivid purple
electricity began to swirl around the Guardian half, leaping and crackling as
if it were alive. When one could no
longer see the Guardian half, it was time to let loose the collected
energy. Lucied opened his eyes and,
gazing at Boomerang, whispered, Purple Electric.
The swirling energy
leapt from Lucied and went high into the air, past the ceiling, through
the ceiling, and crashed down from the heavens back through the ceiling and
crashed down on Boomerang. His cries of
pain were enough to snap Laine out of her current mindset. She turned to him and took a few steps, but
the transformation to and from whatever she had become had weakened her and she
fell to the floor, conscious but barely able to move.
That, however, was a
step above Boomerang’s condition. After
the attack was through, he also fell to the floor, but he was most definitely
out cold.
Calamity stood over
Laine triumphantly. “So, are you ready
to go now?” she asked. Laine
could only moan in response…
*
“My poor child…
Don’t worry, Momma is going to take you home…”
*
End Chapter 19
Chibi’s notes:
! 4|\/| |>r4|\/|47<411j
1337.*
Rudy: Sure, you are, Chibi.
Just keep telling yourself that.
B!73 |\/|3, j00.*
(*For the 1337-impaired, that means “I am dramatically elite,” and
“Bite me, you.”)