Wild ARMs: Off on a Tangent
By: Chibi-chan
Part 26: “Free Falling”
*
I feel woozy…
“Luci? What just happened? What was that?”
Rayline attacked. Even though I am not directly connected to it, it’s still made my head all spinny…
“Must have, for you to say ‘woozy’ and ‘spinny’.”
Ka Dingel. It was a distraction so that they could find it. ‘He’ says so.
“Your other half?”
Yes. They must hurry, the Innocent One and the others, or…
*
‘Mina? Red? Nice laaaaaaaadyyyyy?’
“Huh? Wha…?” Elmina mumbled. “Five more minutes…”
“Any later and I’ll tell everyone about the time you dressed as Wonder Woman and-“
Elmina quickly sat up, opened her eyes, and shouted, “Like hell you will!” She blinked when she found herself face to face with one of the last people she’d expect to see. “G-Garrett…?!?”
The man smirked and nodded. “So, did you miss me?”
“Let me put it this way…” Elmina said. She then thwapped him upside his head. “Doofus.”
“Ow… What was that for?!” Garrett complained.
“What wasn’t it for, you idiot?!” Elmina scolded. “Do you have any idea…?! I thought… And look what happened…!” She stopped there for a moment, for she had just brought up the other major subject on her mind. “Garrett, what did happen?”
Garrett had to think for a minute, not that it did any good. “I… I honestly don’t remember much after holding off the coffee-loving freak in the sheet. From there to the start of life as, well, this,” (he briefly shifted to Harken and back again) “I don’t remember a thing. Guess I screwed up again, huh, Elmina?”
“Garrett…” she murmured. “You still don’t get it, do you? Your cluelessness was always both cute and frustrating.”
“And it got me thrown into walls by Zeik. All I did was say he had an ‘Irving Complex’…” the man said.
*
Somewhere out there, Hanpan, with his hair a mess, rumpled clothes, and yet another broken pair of glasses in his hands, silently slipped out of a room. He went to the nearest window (well, what he correctly assumed was a window; he really can’t see very well without his glasses) and looked out at the blurry landscape. “Elmina…” he whispered. “I… I hope you’re happy, having your old flame back,” he continued wistfully.
He turned away from the window and leaned against the wall next to it. “But why does he, why does Harken get to leave and be with you? Why… Why am I stuck here?! Why do I stay here, with HIM?! Why…?”
He looked down at his broken glasses. “Guess I should try to fix these. ‘Unbreakable’, my ass…”
*
Somewhere nearby, Emma sulked. Her beautiful Darkness Tear was destroyed, her favorite creation was taken away from her, and her cappuccino machine had exploded. All in all, things were not going her way.
A thought suddenly struck her, and she chuckled. She knew better than to not have a failsafe on her prized creation for just such an occasion. She chuckled, and she went back to her work seconds before that, too, exploded.
“ZEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIK! CAN’T YOU LEAVE THE DAMN MOUSE BOY ALONE LONG ENOUGH SO THAT HE DOESN’T TAKE HIS FRUSTRATIONS OUT ON MY EQUIPMENT?!” a singed Emma bellowed.
*
Back at the ranch (or Court Seim, take you pick)…
“He… WHAT?!?” Laine exclaimed in disbelief. “He… But he’s such a kind soul…”
“I was there, Laine. I know damn well what I saw,” Cecil told her flatly. “He’s got this weird thing with Zeik… Hanpan saw him get hurt and he flipped out and used that machine to suck us all into a black hole.”
“He’s convinced, even if he won’t admit it, that he can’t survive without him,” James said calmly. “And your little crush isn’t going to change that.”
“It is NOT a ‘little crush’!” Laine protested, fighting a blush. “I… I just think he’s a nice guy.”
“‘Not a crush’? Heh, that’s what Jamie said about me,” Cecil said with a grin. James blushed a little and muttered something to the effect of “shut up” to him.
Laine turned away from them both, sulking. “You’re both terrible, you know that?”
“I say she’s just embarrassed to admit she’s got a thing for a guy with a tail,” Cecil whispered to James.
*
“Hey, Elmina,” Garrett said, breaking a silence that had fallen between them.
“What?” Elmina replied simply.
“Let’s go back,” the man said.
Elmina blinked. “Back… there?” she asked hesitantly.
“Maybe it’ll jumpstart my memory,” Garrett said with a shrug. “Besides, I want to see… how bad…” he added, breaking off before he finished the thought.
The woman warrior put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Well. I’ll have to ask the dip, the perv, and the scary chick first, but… OK, we’ll go.”
The man grinned weakly. “Thanks, Red,” he said. He leaned in to kiss her, but a frantic sounding voice coming in the window cased them both to turn and look what was the matter.
“CAT! CAT! CAAAAAAAAAAAT!!” Zed shrieked, running in from the window, climbing up Elmina’s leg, and hiding in Elmina’s shirt. A moment later, he peeked out, looked to Garrett, then Elmina, then back again. “What, you two aren’t having wild, crazy ‘we’re reunited’ sex? What kinda freaks are you?” he asked.
Garrett, not amused, plucked the Wind Mouse from its, er, hiding place, and whispered harshly to it, “I was going to do something about that until you ran in screaming about cats!”
“Oh,” Zed muttered embarrassedly. “I’ll… er… just go…” he began just as a fat orange tabby jumped onto the window sill. The Wind Mouse started screaming again and this time wriggled itself free and hid in Garrett’s shirt.
Elmina giggled and got up. “Well, you two bond while I go talk to the scariest trio since those three Dream Chasers that nearly blew up Adlehyde on accident three years back… Oh, what were their names again? Alex something, someone with an ‘R’ name, and some girl…” She shook her head. “Ah, doesn’t matter. Be back!” she said brightly before leaving.
“Hey, have you been working out?” Zed’s voice said from within the man’s shirt.
“This totally sucks,” Garrett muttered with a sigh.
*
“Let me get this straight, just so I understand,” James began. “The entire world is still potentially in danger, but you want us to go out to the ruins of some fallen kingdom because your old boyfriend, who, I might add, had his basic structure and mind tampered with by a caffeine-loving mad scientist freak, and who may very well be a danger to one and/or all of us and is just waiting for the right time to strike us all down, asked you to go with him there?” Elmina nodded. “I see”, he said. “Elmina, with all due respect, are you out of your ever-loving MIND?!”
“Well…” Elmina began.
“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I’m with Jamie,” Laine said quietly. “He still is a threat until proven otherwise. The only reason we let him stay is that he kept teleporting back and eventually we got tired of kicking him out.”
“Doesn’t that speak of his devotion?” Cecil interjected. “If he wanted to kill us, he could have done that at any time. Hell, Elmina was out of it until recently; she would have been an easy target and look, not dead!” he said, gesturing to Elmina. “Look, I’m really good at reading people. I don’t think he wants to harm any of us.”
“Maybe not, but what if he’s forced to?” James countered. “We don’t know all that Emma did with his head; if you were a mad scientist, wouldn’t you install a few ‘bonus features’, like saying ‘tuna fish’ causes him to blindly kill your enemies?”
This didn’t deter Cecil. Not much would once he set his mind on something, and he had set his mind on convincing the others to go along with Elmina. “Bottom line: She’s our friend, she’ll probably go by herself if we don’t go with her, and if it is a trap and Emma’ll be there to say ‘tuna fish’ and set him off, wouldn’t you prefer her to be in a group where the chances of defeating him and her getting out alive are higher, or would you rather not go and take the risk that the bimbo might kill her? We’re all goin’, and that’s final!” he said firmly and impassionedly, showing for once the leadership training that had been forced upon him for years.
Everyone just sat or stood and stared at him in shock for a while. The little pervert they had known and tolerated actually sounded like a leader.
“Er… OK,” James said, still dumbfounded.
“Works for me,” Laine said, blinking repeatedly as if her eyes weren’t believing what they were seeing.
Elmina seemed genuinely moved. “Hey, thanks, kid,” she said, going up to him and hugging him. “I knew there was a reason I kept you around,” she added with a grin.
Laine moved closer to James and whispered, “Actually, I was the one that let him stay in the beginning, but she has been around him more, so I’ll let it slide.”
*
The next
day, the group set out for
Unfortunately, there was the matter of Garrett being a tad acrophobic.
Laine asked, “Er, has he always been…?”
Elmina, whom Garrett was holding in a death drip and whimpering “We’re all gonna die!” to, shook her head. “No, this is new. Emma will pay dearly for whatever she did to cause this.”
Meanwhile, Garrett continued to whimper, “OhGuardianswe’reallgonnadie, we’reallgonnadie, we’re all gonna diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie…”
*
The Gull Wing landed some distance away, just close enough that the snow-covered castle was within sight. “We’re not dead?” Garrett asked, getting out of the aircraft just as fast as he could.
“Yes,
we’re alive,” Cecil said with an irritated sigh. “She would attract an idiot…” he muttered
under his
Once out of the Gull Wing, Elmina looked at the castle in the distance as well. Once, it had been her home. But now… “Let’s do this,” she said.
*
Elmina
stood before the throne. “It’s been a long
time, hasn’t it? I’m sorry,
I couldn’t protect you back then, Your Highness…” She turned her head to the door. “One other knight survived, sort of. He said he didn’t want to come in because he
never really trusted
She took a step away from the throne. “I think I know why… Why he wanted to be here, if not to face you. I hope I’m wrong, but…”
She turned
to face the throne again. “I am the
Attack, the ‘Sword’ of the Fenril Knights.
I will do what is required of me, no matter what.”
There was an odd feeling in the air. It wasn’t the constant chill that was in the air, nor was it warm. It was there, and it was building. Quite literally, a spectre from the past was materializing before the knight. An older male form looked her over, a glint of something—pride?—in his gaze.
Elmina
couldn’t help but gawk. “Chief?!” she
A familiar sword appeared before her. It appeared to be a normal sword, but it had the symbol of the Fenril Knight emblazoned upon it. The man put a hand on it and gave Elmina a knowing look.
“The Black
Fenril, the sword of the leader of the Fenril Knights…” Elmina
The
apparition smiled and vanished. Elmina
turned to leave and muttered, “They’ll
*
Outside the throne room…
Cecil showed his cards. “Straight flush!”
“Do you
have any twos?” James asked, looking at his card.
“BINGO!” Garrett said, putting his cards down.
Laine looked at them all oddly. “Guys, we were playing blackjack, not poker, ‘Go Fish’, or…” She turned her gaze on Garrett. “OR bingo. How the heck…?”
Elmina re-entered the hallway. “He was always a bit clueless, but I think she made it worse,” she said. She turned to Garrett. “Remember anything?”
Garrett shook his head. “Only how drafty this castle was.” His eyes rested on the sword Elmina now carried. “How’d you get that?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Now pick up the cards and let’s get going,” Elmina told him.
Garrett looked down at the cards. “Yes, let’s.”
*
Cecil carefully studied Garrett. Garrett’s stance was slouched, his eyes cast downwards, and he grew increasingly fidgety the further the group went.
The prince
nudged James. “Yo,
something’s up with Elmina’s old
James shrugged and, keeping his voice down, replied, “There’s a lot of bad memories in this place; can you really blame him?”
“Well, no, but it seems like something more than bad memories to me,” Cecil said.
The group stopped before an elevator. “Goin’ down, to where…” Elmina started.
Garrett nodded. “To where I last saw you as myself. I mean, really myself…”
Elmina smiled slightly. So, he remembers that much. “Let’s go, Garrett, everyone…”
All but Cecil proceeded onto the elevator. Something isn’t right, whether Jamie thinks so or not… he thought before following them.
*
The cocoon room.
Once, it housed the earthly remains of the queen of the
Garrett
stared at the empty place on the wall where the cocoon had been years
before. “All for that… All for that the castle fell…” he
The others
Garrett—no, Harken—merely pointed to James. “I overheard what he said back in town. He’s absolutely right; we don’t know what Emma did to me. I may still turn on you against my will. I’m a danger to your safety, and therefore the world’s safety.” He sighed. “If she wins, then you’ll know you have a chance against the rest. If she fails, you know the world’s screwed and will have a chance to have some fun last days alive.”
James felt the combined glare of his companions on him. “What? Don’t look at me like it’s my fault!”
Elmina stepped forward. “Fine, I accept your challenge,” she said, drawing her sword. “En guarde.”
The bounty hunter looked to the prince and the Dream Chaser. “You’re just going to let her do this alone?!”
“This is her fight, not ours,” Laine said.
The two combatants faced each other, each studying the other, waiting for the other to make a move…
And waiting…
And waiting…
And…
“Dammit, get on with it!” Cecil commanded. “Not that I’m all that enthused to watch this, but if you’re gonna fight, FIGHT!”
“Pushy little twerp, isn’t he?” Lord Harken commented.
Elmina smirked. “You don’t know the half of it.” She paused. “I’m surprised you haven’t made a move yet. You’re usually the one to rush headlong into a fight.”
“Yeah, and look where it got me,” Harken said sorrowfully. He shook his head and grinned. “Anyway, shall we dance?”
“You lead,” Elmina replied. Harken charged towards her, and the dance begun.
As the pair clashed, something struck their audience. “Er… Are they getting closer to us?” James asked.
“Looks like it,” Laine agreed.
Cecil raised his staff to block a blow that missed Elmina. “I think it’s time to move to safer ground.” With that, the trio wisely scooted their rears to safety.
Elmina kicked Harken hard in the shin. “Hey, your opponent is me, not the prince!” she exclaimed.
“Ow! Hey! You’re not supposed to hit below the belt!” Harken complained, trying to hold his guard up with his scythe while rubbing his shin.
“Don’t whine to me if you can’t guard your bottom half well enough!” the knight replied, seizing the opening with a slash of her blade. Harken barely brought the scythe to the right place in time; however, the early momentum he had gained was lost. Elmina was on the offensive, and he knew all too well what that meant.
“The ‘Sword Princess’…” Harken said softly. Elmina’s strikes oddly began to slow. Is she getting tired? No…
The female knight leaped into the air and brought her sword down hard with a cry of “Meteor Dive!” Harken brought his scythe up to block only to have the handle, his armor, and his torso sliced by the blow.
The former knight fell backwards and shifted back to Garrett. “Elmina…”
“Garrett!” Elmina cried. She quickly knelt by his side and cradled him in her arms.
Garrett weakly smiled at her. “Elmina… I’m glad… I got to be with you again… And that you’d… make death quick…”
“Garrett… Did it really have to end like this?” the knight asked.
The man nodded. “I wanted you… and the world safe… this was…” He suddenly remembered something, and barely managed to pull the ribbon that bound his hair off. He offered it to her. “Your ribbon… I promised…” His hand dropped, and his body went limp. He was gone.
Elmina sniffled. “Garrett… You idiot…”
The sound of stone breaking was heard from the pack Cecil carried. “What the…?” the prince asked.
The figure
of an anthropomorphic lion in armor appeared over Elmina. Ah,
it’s good to be awake again! he said. He looked down at the knight. Did you
summon me, little lady? Or was it…? He looked at her tearful eyes. I
see... He sighed. Did
anyone ever tell you even dormant Guardians dream about the world? I remember him and you from a
dream--years?
Elmina slowly nodded. “He did… And look what good it did him.”
You mustn’t give up your courage because you grieve, dear lady, the Guardian said. He did not die for nothing. It was he who brought me back, with your help. I, Justine, Guardian of Courage, will lend you my power, so long as you and others keep courage in your hearts. With a bright flash of light, he became a rune, which floated down gently to Elmina.
The knight touched the rune. “Garrett…”
Her companions quietly approached her, lead by Cecil. “Elmina?” Cecil said, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
Elmina slowly rose. “Let’s go, prince,” she said hollowly, heading towards the back exit. Laine silently followed her.
Cecil felt a hand on his shoulder. “Give her a little space. She’ll talk when she’s ready,” James told him. He then followed the two women.
Cecil sighed. “On the bright side, I can’t say it’s happened to me.” He picked up the rune Elmina had left behind and followed the others out.
*
Near the exit, the Tear Drop gave off light from Cecil’s pocket and the boy suddenly lurched forward. “I can feel it…”
“Cecil?!” A startled James asked.
“Feel what? Is there something wrong with the Guardians?” Laine asked.
Now leaning heavily on James, Cecil continued, “I can feel it… It’s like they’re scared… Ka Dingel. Something about Ka Dingel… What the hell’s Ka Dingel?”
“We’ll return to Court Seim at once; my father might know,” James told him.
“Ka Dingel… Something about that name rings a bell…” Laine said absently.
*
Somewhere in southern Filgaia, a
tower rose in the middle of a ring-shaped island in the
The Guardians trembled. The last battle was approaching, and the winner was still undecided…
* * *
End Chapter 26
Chibi’s Notes:
Took long
enough, no? Anyway, it’s done! YAY!
*victory dance*