Wild ARMs: Off on a Tangent
By: Chibi
Part 28: “The Tower”
*
“Are we there yet?” the bored Crest Sorcerer asked for the umpteenth time.
James started to answer for the umpteenth time, “No, we’re—“
“There it is!” Laine exclaimed, pointing to something outside the window.
And indeed, they were there. Ka Dingel, the cursed tower that made the Guardians themselves cry with fear. It was not the tower itself the Guardians feared, although the crumbling, water-logged tower was hardly inviting. No, what they feared was inside at the top of the tower. The dimensional elevator, which led to the New Moon and destruction, resided there, and the Metal Demons found it. And this, this was where the warriors of Filgaia had arrived.
They landed the Gull Wing on the ring of land surrounding the tower. There was a walkway to the tower, but much of it was submerged too deep for them to walk on it, and it was too far to swim.
“Do it,” Cecil said, looking out at the tower in the distance.
Laine nodded, took out the ocarina, and played a few note. Out from the ground before the group burst the Earth Golem, Ringo.
The Crest Sorcerer stepped forward and resolutely looked up at the giant. “Ringo, if anything happens to us, you’re the last line of defense. I hope to the Guardians this will not happen. I hope you get to see a future where you will not need to fight. I also hope they’ll run away screaming like little girls—no offense, ladies—but I usually don’t get what I want.”
He went over and patted Ringo’s foot. “Wish us luck, big buddy. We’ll need all we can.” He looked over his shoulder at his allies. “I gave you all a speech before we left, but don’t forget: Keep your guard up, remember what we’re fighting for, and let’s kick their fucking asses.” He looked up. “Ringo, take us across.”
*
Ka Dingel was, understandably, guarded when the quartet got there. Calamity stood at the entrance, flanked by the male aspect of Lucied. “So, girlie, you finally made it to the party!” the Hiadan called out cheerily.
Laine glared at her. “We’re putting a stop to this no matter what.”
Calamity dismissively waved her hand. “Yes, yes, whatever you say. Personally, I don’t really care about the outcome.”
“You don’t
care? You don’t care?!”
Laine exclaimed in disbelief. “How can you not care?!”
While the two bantered, Cecil’s eyes fell on Luc. He looked… twitchy, the boy thought, like something was going to pop out and bite him.
A shot rang out. Fight’s started. The Crest Sorcerer held his staff in front of him Questions later, I suppose.
*
“Are we too
late?”
On the contrary, my girl, we’re still quite early. Come, the reunion awaits…
*
Something was off in Cecil’s mind. While Laine (backed up by Elmina) and Calamity almost cheerfully exchanged gunfire, Luc was slow to join the fight. On top of it, he was completely ignoring the whole group and seemed focused on something. The prince had been slow on the draw a few times, so to speak, but James was always there to block or help him evade…
A light went on in the Crest Sorcerer’s head. “That’s it…” he murmured. He barely got his staff up in time to block the Guardian’s attack because of that minor hesitation. He heard James say his name, but that wasn’t what had his attention.
Nothing personal, but there will be
no reunion, young man, Luc growled, putting more pressure on the already
“You’re trying to take me specifically out. The other aspect was manipulating James. One of you has been following me. Is this ‘reunion’ what all this is about?” Cecil asked, putting all his strength into keeping that staff where it was. “And what’s this ‘reunion’ business all about?”
I like my individuality. I like my lady. I will not part with her, no matter what she wa— the Guardian aspect hissed. Any further information would have to wait, for at that moment, he was stuck hard in the head by an overly large boomerang.
“Well, that was disturbingly easy,” the bounty hunter said. “What was he talking about, anyway?”
“Well, let’s just say I think I get what’s up with the whole Lucied thing,” Cecil told him.
“’Whole Lucied thing’? What whole Lucied thing?” James asked.
“Cecil! Jamie! Look out!” Laine shouted. The pair turned to look at her.
Too late. Calamity, who had leapt into the air, landed behind the prince, grabbed him, and held an ARM to his head. “Yeah, boy, what whole Lucied thing?” she asked. She shot a look to the others. “And you three better not try anything!”
The Crest Sorcerer smirked. “You know how Lucied split into two beings—a male aspect and a female aspect—ages ago, right? The female Lucied wants to be one again. The male Lucied”—he cast a glance at the slowly rising male aspect—“doesn’t.” His eyes went to James. “Also, and this is just speculation, the female aspect’s been trying to generate enough desire in one person to reunite the halves. Hence, trying to push you into your mother’s quest, Jamie.”
“But I found out about the manipulation and told her where to get off,” James said.
Cecil nodded, “So, she took up following me.” James gawked at him, half shocked and half annoyed he wasn’t told. “From a distance, Jamie. She didn’t approach me, but I sensed her.”
A silence fell. He watched James’s expression changed to something equally mixed, but infinitely more cross. “What?” The bounty hunter pointed in the direction they came in from. Cecil looked in that direction to see…
You got it, Innocent One, the female aspect of Lucied said, You always were clever. By her side was a dark-skinned orange-haired woman with a familiar overly large boomerang.
You…
NO! the male aspect said, moving closer to
his mistress.
“Lucied… Mother…” James said under his breath.
“Son… I’m sorry…” the woman, Ceilidh, said, also quietly.
Tell me, Innocent One, Lucied asked gently, What is it you desire?
Mistress!
Do not let the boy speak! I have
Calamity looked to him, to Lucied, and to Cecil. “Well, it sounds like it’s important. Bye-bye, blond—EEK!”
The blonde Hiadan found herself hoisted into the air by the skirt of her dress by Ringo. She, understandably startled and shrieking, released the boy in mid-air.
“Got you!” James said, catching the plummeting prince. He got Cecil back on his feet, and whispered to him, “Do you think you should answer her?”
“I don’t know, but I’m gonna do it anyway,” Cecil whispered back. He walked towards the female aspect of Lucied. “What do I desire? At first, it was Elmina. Then it was Laine. Next it was nothing more than shoving the crown up my father’s nose. And then…”
The aspects
of Lucied glowed increasingly brighter with each thing he mentioned. He stopped to take a deep
The glow of the Guardian aspects was almost blinding. This will not be! I want to be myself! Luc cried, lunging towards the prince. James sprung into action to hold him back, an action quickly mirrored by Elmina and Laine.
“What I
want…” Cecil said, trembling softly. His
voice dropped to nearly a whisper. “I
want to never be alone again.
Unexpectedly, with a bang of pink and blue smoke, the two aspects vanished, and a blue wolf streaked with a violent pinkish-purple appeared in front of Cecil. Nor will you be, if I have any say, Innocent One, the wolf said. Luceid and her mistress are at your service.
All this over two letters and
a blinding new fur coat? James thought bitterly.
“Luc!”
That,
however, is not to say she wasn’t heard.
Laine took a look at her, then at her own ARM, and grinned
wickedly. “You want down, you say?” she
said slyly, getting into position and aiming her ARM.
“Hell yes,
I want—“ It
occurred to
Zed let out
a low whistle. “Nice shootin’,
The
Holmcross went over to
*ROAR?! O.o*
Cecil immediately turned to Ringo. A strange buzzing began to fill the air. “What is it, big guy?”
“I hope this episode of ‘Touched by a Guardian’ is over, ‘cause we’ve got company!” Elmina warned, pointing to the skies.
Everyone looked up. Swarms of flying monsters hung in the air, preparing to attack.
“Back-up?” Calamity asked weakly, right before one such beast cast down a spear that barely missed her head. “Or not,” she squeaked.
Go,
James was taken aback. “What?! But… Mom…!” he stammered.
Ceilidh turned her back to James. “As I told your father, I no longer have the right to call myself your mother.”
“Mom…” the bounty hunter said. He began to take steps towards her, but Elmina blocked his path. “Elmina, get out of the way!”
The knight shook her head. “No one understands more about what you’re feeling than me, James, but we have to go now!”
He tried again to get past her only to be blocked again. “Cecil, tell her to—“
“Move out, James,” Cecil commanded, marching to the tower door with Laine.
“But…!”
The prince paused upon reaching James. “Move. Out. James,” he repeated coldly, “or do the ladies have to carry you in?”
James was quiet for a second, then started walking to the door with the others. He couldn’t help but steal a last glance at Ceilidh before entering.
“Be safe, my son…” Ceilidh said softly.
Let’s show these foul beings the power of desire, Luceid said with a trace of cockiness.
“That
sounds dirty…” Calamity moaned.
*
Once inside, the quartet found the inside was soggy but surprisingly high-tech. Suspiciously like a lazy someone recycled some of the inside of the Photosphere, even. Or they would have, if they weren’t trying to keep James inside.
“Let me go!” the bounty hunter protested, straining to get out of Laine’s grasp. “Let me go! Maybe we can still get her to come in!”
Elmina slapped him across the face with an echoing “crack!”. “Don’t you dare waste her sacrifice, boy!” she shouted.
Cecil muttered, “Sure, be a little louder; I think a monster on the top floor didn’t hear you…”
“Quiet, you,” the knight grumbled. She turned her attention back to the other boy. “Don’t you get it? She values your safety more than her life—and not one word about how this isn’t safe, princey. She wants you to live, James. Remember that.”
“I haven’t said a word,” Cecil said.
James stopped struggling and Laine released him. “… there’s a chance she’ll be OK, right?”
Elmina weakly smiled. “Sure, kid, there’s hope.”
The bounty hunter looked around at his allies. “… let’s go, everyone.”
*
“At least I got to see him again, before…”
Don’t think like that. You think like that, and you’re already dead.
“Aren’t I, Luci? Aren’t I?”
Not to them. Now focus on the task at hand, Kay!
“Yes, yes…”
*
The trek up the tower was distressingly simple. Flip a switch, shoot an enemy. Move a statue, lob fireballs at more enemies. Bomb a crystal, slice yet more enemies. The tedium, however, led to a sing-along that ended badly (let’s just say Zed won’t start any more anytime soon), repeated inquiries of “Are we there yet?”, and one instance of Lain stubbing her toe and utilizing her impressive vocabulary (James shouldn’t have started laughing…).
Finally reaching a room with a strange platform and raised controls in the center, the group looked around. “Looks clear,” James said and gestured to said platform, “except for this thing.”
The knight began, “Should I—“
“NO!” the other three chorused.
“Just a thought,” Elmina mumbled meekly.
Laine shifted uneasily. “Um, wouldn’t you say this has been far too eas—mmph!”
“Sssh!” Cecil hissed, covering her
mouth with his hand. “You
A sphere of light appeared over the platform, which took the form of Emma and her fly-like lackeys. “How do you do? I don’t see your little boyfriend around, ‘Red’; did something happen?” she said as pleasantly as she would if she was reporting it was a beautiful sunny day outside.
“You…!” the knight growled as she drew her sword. “You planned that!”
“Of course I did. I always have a plan, little girl,” Emma cooed. “That’s why I’m the best.”
Cecil let out an irritated sigh. “So much for an uneventful ascent. Let’s kick her ass and get it over with.”
Elmina glanced at him from the corner of her eye and smirked slightly. “I’m with you, princey; let’s go!”
*
“I guess… This is the end… Luci…
… I suppose it is…
“HANDS OFF MY SERVANT, YOU DIRTY SONS OF A GOAT! *BLAM*BLAM*”
… or maybe
not. Mistress! Kind of!
I don’t know, just keep firing!
*
They were stronger than the reports said, Emma noted as she glimpsed her minions being swept away by a lucky Keen Silf. But then, they’d have to be to beat her precious Harken, she rationalized.
She was not doing well. Her little strip tease had done nothing to intimidate them. Her tail was gone, sliced off in two strokes by the horrid redhead’s sword and the admittedly cute half-breed child’s boomerang. The annoying Holmcross girl’s weapons had cracked and singed her once proudly-buffed exoskeleton.
And the little blond… Oh, if her dislike were not already focused on the redhead, the little blond would be number one. Between healing his allies and disorienting her with those blasted magic Disco Balls of Doom ™ and the seemingly random but powerful spells, she decided she would like nothing more than to wring his scrawny neck and do the half-breed tentacle porn-style in front of him.
She didn’t think she’d get that luxury, though. She was losing. Losing bad. She refused to go down without leaving a mark. The blond. The weakest. Hurting another blond will hurt her.
Emma had decided. A pair of her familiars flew in a wobbly line to zap the little blond boy as the redheads sword fell upon her for the last time. At least… I hurt her…
*
She saw. She saw them heading for Cecil. She was closest. So, it was her to the rescue.
Cecil was roughly shoved out of the way just as the blast came down. A blast that only singed her hair, as something had stopped it. She blinked and looked up. Something she didn’t want to identify hit her face. “Ew,” she muttered.
“Don’t you know, Laine?” James said as he lowered his father’s Rifle ARM, “I’m the royal pain’s keeper, not you.”
“Darn,” Laine said, trying to suppress a smirk as she wiped… whatever she didn’t want to identify off of her face, “I wanted to play hero for once. It’s less sticky.”
Elmina gave the Crest Sorcerer a hand up. “So, what do we do?”
Cecil walked up and patted the strange platform’s controls. “Figure out how this works; We’ve got a job to finish.”
*
In the skies above, one was waiting for
them. Come, Dream Chasers! Come and meet your fate!
*
End Chapter 28
Chibi’s notes:
Almost there, dear friends, almost there…
I split up Ka Dingel and Malduke because it was getting long. Well, long for me, anyway. The average is 8-14 pages, and no way would this stop at 14.
Also, I am
so glad I remembered where I was going with the “ie”/”ei”
reversal in Luceid. So
glad, since it’s been so long.