Wild ARMs: Off on a Tangent
By: Chibi
Part 29: “Save Yourself”
*
Space: the final frontier. This, however, is not the story about the
Starship
This, however, is a misnomer. Malduke is a remnant of the days when Filgaians owned the skies and ventured beyond them to the stars. And, it is here where Zeikfried waits for the culmination of his plans…
*
Our unlikely group of heroes found themselves on a similar platform in a much smaller, poorly-lit room, having figured out how to use the platform’s twin in Ka Dingel. “We’re here. Everyone in one piece?” Laine asked.
“Aside from being a little queasy, yeah,” Cecil replied. “Maybe you shouldn’t have kicked the controls, ‘Mina.”
“I got it to work, didn’t it?” Elmina said casually.
“I still can’t believe that worked,” James muttered.
The knight shrugged. “It was old and water-logged. It needed a little nudge to get going again.”
“Can we discuss this outside? I’m getting a little claustrophobic here,” the blond boy complained.
*
And so, the
party departed from the claustrophobic room and continued on through the cold,
industrial
Laine picked up the item and blinked at it. “A guitar?”
“The book did theorize people used to live up here…” James mused.
Elmina’s
eyes lit up as she looked at the guitar.
“Oh, let me see it!” Laine
obliged and the knight started strumming.
She opened her mouth to sing, but…
*GRAAAAAAH!*
“Either you can’t sing, ‘Mina, or there’s a monster behind us,” Cecil quipped.
“Definitely monster,” Elmina said, drawing her sword. “Guess we know why this place was abandoned now.”
*
One unimportant
fight later, the crew was on their merry way through a painfully
Everyone started for their pockets. All they found was ammunition, a bag of gummy worms, and one green-striped white Wind Mouse who suddenly had a very bad feeling about the immediate future.
“Ammunition could lead to bad things,” the Holmcross stated.
The bounty hunter nodded. “If the ‘X’s are explosive…”
“I am not giving up my candy,” the Crest Sorcerer decreed, clutching the bag.
Elmina turned to the Wind Mouse. “Guess it’s up to you, mousey.”
Zed found himself hoisted into the air. “What?! No, don’t do this—AIEEEEEITHOUGHTTHEWINDMOUSEABUSEWASOVER—*BOOM!*”
“Yep, they’re explosive, all right…”
*
Outside
Ka Dingel, all was still. The only thing
that lay in front of the tower were Ringo and a lone
boomerang, bearing two messages.
One was in a tidy scrawl: “See you
again.”
The other, in wide, loopy letters:
“You’re mine, Blue.”
The Earth Golem sighed, as much as a golem could sigh. How were things going up there…?
*
“Pipes?” Cecil questioned, leaning forward against the railing surrounding the platform they were on. What lay before him was a vast stretch of twisting, turning pipes as far as the eye could see. “Pipes,” he repeated. “What, are turtles with wings and angry-faced mushrooms gonna attack us now?”
“Don’t forget the annoying turtle in the cloud dropping spiky eggs on us, princey,” Elmina added with a grin.
Zed, a
little worse for wear, spoke up. Well,
at least I don’t have to run the maze this time. Who knows what’s living in there?”
“We could always use you as a scout, Zed,” Cecil suggested with hint of evil glee. Zed let out a “meep!” and hid in Elmina’s pocket. “If there are no other comments…” the blond boy continued. Silence. “Well, all right then. Let’s go!”
*
“We need the Eyes, Arms, and Wings to open
the big door? Where the heck are those?”
“More importantly, it’s a symbolic
thing, right? Because if not… Ew. Just ew.”
“Well, looks like we’re on a
scavenger hunt! Ready?”
*
The former residential area looked like something out of Silent Hill, quite frankly. The town was inexplicably filled with mist, and the only sounds to be heard were their own footsteps and strange voices coming from the houses. The monsters were suitably strange as well; palette-swapped shoes attacked with cerberus-like allies from out of the blue.
The four stood in front of a stone slab in the cemetery. “All right, so everything they said was supposed to be a lie, according this here,” Cecil said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the slab. “Now, let’s review what the voices said…”
“Or,” Zed interrupted after crawling up to Elmina’s shoulder with a strange object, “we can take this thing with wings drawn on it I found and get out of Creepyville.”
“… your plan works too, Zed,” Cecil agreed.
*
The statue area, however, was a little trickier. Doors that vanished and appeared with a flip of a switch littered the vast marble-lined maze.
Adding to this, of course, was what happened when Elmina decided to try her shiny new guitar again when they stopped for a minute to rest…
*
*RAWR!*
“‘Mina,
didn’t this happen the last time you played that thing?”
“Coincidence,
that’s all! Now let’s fight this thing!”
*
The mine area went even worse …
*
Elmina
stared blankly at Laine, who was fuming next to the verification device. “I have been around the most
foul-mouthed assortment of knights, Dream Chasers, and drunks, but I haven’t
heard any of them use half the words you just said.”
Cecil sighed, his attention turned to healing James. “You should have known better than to try to be funny when she’s like that…”
“I didn’t think she throw that fake Eye at me! Especially that hard!” James replied.
“Fifteen! Fifteen tries and not one right!” Laine suddenly exclaimed. “What the hell is wrong with your ancestors?!”
“Yeah, something has to be wrong with them. After all, they made you,” the dark-haired boy grumbled, resulting in him being pegged in the head yet again by the fake Eye.
Cecil sighed again. This is one loooooong day…
*
And, of course, their troubles didn’t end there…
*
*GRR-ROAR!*
“‘Mina,
your guitar sucks.”
“Eheh…
*
The party looked up at the large, wheeled golem before them in the round, cramped room. It had drills in place of its hands, and it did not look happy to see them at all. Well, insomuch as it could appear unhappy, as golems are notorious for their stone faces.
All eyes
went to Elmina. “I swear,
I didn’t touch the guitar!” she protested, hands thrown in the air.
The Crest Sorcerer shook his head. “All right, people. One more time, Golem Whoop-Ass Formation…”
*
“So, this is it. The end
of everything,” Hanpan murmured, staring out at the planet below. “It’s almost pretty from up here…”
“It’ll be prettier as scattered
ash,” a voice said smoothly behind him.
“Zeik,” the glasses-wearing Hiadan
grumbled. “What is your command, oh
fearless leader?”
Zeikfried closed the distance
between them and breathed into Hanpan’s ear, “Your little red-haired human is
coming. Be sure to give her and her
friends a warm reception if they make it to the door.”
Hanpan shivered. “Warm reception. Got it.” Then why do I feel so cold…?
*
One unexpectedly short fight later…
“I don’t get it,” James thought out loud. “Compared to the other golems, this one was a pushover. I wonder why…”
“You’re thinking too hard, Jamie. Just be glad it was a pushover,” Laine chided.
The exiled prince took another look at Elmina’s new guitar. “I think I get it. I read something once about the King of Monsters being summoned by music. Maybe this was what it was talking about?”
“I see…” Elmina said.
The previously locked door opened with a soft “shff”. They started down the long hallway, Cecil and Elmina taking the rear and still discussing the guitar when the other two put out arms to stop them. “What’s up—Hanpan!” the knight said.
And indeed, the Wind Mouse-eared man was at the end of the hall, leaning against the door with a sword in hand. He straightened himself and took a step forward. “Nothing’s up, if you don’t count the end of the world. Hello, Elmina, nephew.”
Elmina pushed her way past the others. “Hanpan! Thank the Guardians it’s you. If we had one more difficult fight before we got to Zeik, I’d scream.” With one swift motion, Hanpan pointed his sword at her. “… Hanpan?”
“Hanpan, why are you doing this?!” Laine cried. “This… You were always so nice before!”
Cecil’s
face soured. “Tch,
I knew it. I told you, Laine, the
guy’s messed up in the head.”
The sword shook slightly. “I… I have to. There is nothing else…” the Hiadan said, far more softly than he had intended.
“Like hell there ain’t!” Elmina countered. “This ain’t over yet! We can—“
“Kill Zeik? I can’t allow—“
“After all he’s done to you? How can you defend him?!” Elmina shouted, cutting Hanpan off.
“Hanpan…” Laine muttered to herself. She slowly, deliberately strode towards the Hiadan. “Do you really want to do this? Do you really want the world to be on your conscience?”
Hanpan faltered for a second. “Well, I…”
Seeing no one else was objecting, James spoke up. “Laine, what are you—“
The Crest Sorcerer put a finger to James’s lips and went “sssh”. “Listen, James,” he whispered, “keep something—ARM, boomerang, whatever—out in case this gambit doesn’t pan out. I’ve already got healing and attack graphs at ready. I have a bad feeling about this too.” The bounty hunter nodded.
The blue-haired girl continued on. “You know you’ll die too if this goes through, right? There’ll be nowhere to go, no way to get there.”
The sword dropped an inch. “I…” He raised it back up. “Death would be preferable to—to this! No more confusion! No more broken glasses!”
Elmina added her voice to Laine’s. “No more people who care trying to help. Please, Hanpan…”
“I…” the
Hiadan’s whole body shook with anger and regret. He gripped his sword and charged. “I CAN’T!”
“Now!” Cecil exclaimed, glowing a dark violet. Before Hanpan knew what hit him or the sword pierced Laine, the Wind Mouse-like man found himself flash-frozen and whacked in the head by a large boomerang, topped off with paralysis from a Shadow Bind. The Crest Sorcerer turned to the knight. “Elmina?”
“Fast Draw, princey,” she replied, unsurprisingly grim. “Looks like you had the same idea.”
Cecil nodded. “Yeah. Think he’ll stay like that for a while?”
“Maybe,” Elmina said. “How long it holds varies. We’d better move, in any case.”
“Right. Move out, everyone!” the exiled prince ordered.
He and James brushed past the Hiadan. Elmina patted his head on her way past and said, “Sorry, but this is an emergency.”
Laine paused for a moment. She looked around, pecked him on the cheek, and whispered, “Please be on our side next time?” before joining the others on the other side of the door.
Though paralyzed for the moment, Hanpan managed to say two words: “I can’t.”
*
On the other side of the door defied all scientific laws and logic, or at least looked like it did. A long walkway was suspended across space with a nearly invisible platform spreading out from that. The planet Filgaia hung below them like a large blue and brown ball. At the end was a control panel and the purple-caped armored form of Zeikfried. “So, you made it this far. I would say you’re quite strong, but Calamity’s a lunatic, Emma’s crazier and—worse yet—weak, and Hanpan’s… Hanpan.”
“And who do we have to blame for that, you…” Elmina said icily, failing to find an insult strong enough to fit him.
Zeikfried remained unfazed. In any event, you’re too late. Your entire planet is about to be engulfed in darkness, or, to put it in words your puny brains can understand, ‘Planet go bye-bye!’”
Most certainly on cue, an inky
darkness spread across the planet like a sinister eclipse. Everyone gaped and gawked at the sight. The effect on Cecil
immediate. “I… I can hear…
Can feel…” the boy said, shivering as if the
James drew the Peacemaker ARM and held the Crest Sorcerer to him. “Can you still fight?” Cecil slowly nodded and pulled away. “Good, we’ll need you.”
The Holmcross was too preoccupied to notice the exchange between them. “No… No! This…! We tried so hard! We can’t…! I’m supposed to protect…!” Her head sharply turned to Zeik. “You…” she growled, pointing her Derringer ARM at him. “You’re responsible for this! You’re responsible for all of this!”
“And what are you going to do, little girl? Shoot me with your little pea-shooter?” the Hiadan asked, ending with a dismissive snort.
Laine let out a low, feral growl and tossed the small ARM over her head. “No, don’t be silly.” From seemingly nowhere, she called out her Rocket Launcher ARM and took aim. “You die NOW!” she screeched as she fired, rockets screaming towards Zeik’s platform.
The helmet Zeik wore may have put his face in heavy shadow, but he could still see what was coming. “That’s better?”
*
Explosions. The fight had started. Hanpan fought harder to regain movement. He could successfully wiggle his ears, swish his tail, and wiggle his fingers now.
Not enough… I have to go, have to… He paused. What was it he had to do? Something. I have to do something. Heaven help me, what I’m not too clear on…
Shouting. The sound of metal on metal and the ricocheting of bullets. Every so often a strange sound, like ice shattering or fire blazing. So this is hell, huh? I thought it’d be warmer…
*
In
the town of
“This
is it, Allison. My boy and his friends
are fighting up there. They’re the last
hope of this planet…”
“No,
Nicholi. There is no such thing as
‘last’ when it comes to hope. If we have
to go up there and fight ourselves, we will.”
“…
heheh. True, Allie.
Very, very true.”
“Heh, but if it isn’t, will you still respect me in
the morning?”
A grin. “Don’t be silly; I
A feigned pout. “Aw, don’t be cruel like that, Nicky.”
*
Zeikfried coughed. Having your armor scratched, cracked, scorched, and unexpectedly perforated front and back hurt. A lot. The blood that came up with that cough wasn’t helping either. “Too late,” he rasped, “You’re still… too… late…” He fell forward, and was still.
The fight was over, Laine just dropped
down to the floor on her knees. “Doomed. All
doomed. All this for nothing…”
Elmina still had her sword pointed at Zeik, just in case. “All right, Fearless Leader is down, but Filgaia’s still dark. What the hell do we do now?”
Cecil felt ill in addition to the numbness. The life was draining from the planet and he felt every second of it. He did his best to steel himself, however, and to keep from letting out inappropriate, humorless laughter. He took out the Tear Drop and spoke. “Only one thing to do; we have to have faith. The Guardians get power from our thoughts, you know, and combined…”
“We can give them the power to dispel it?” James finished. “Do you really think it’ll work?”
Elmina, satisfied for the moment Zeikfried was dead, put her sword away. “Only one way to find out.” She offered a hand up to Laine. “C’mon, kid.”
Laine hesitantly took her hand and rose. The two women joined their allies. “So, er, how does this work?” the knight asked.
“Just focus. On Hope, Love Courage, Life, anything you think it’ll help,” Cecil said, a quiet determination in his voice.
He opened his hand, revealing the
“… whoa,” Elmina
“Ditto, ‘Mina,” Cecil agreed.
“Is that… it?” Laine asked, not really sure what just happened.
“Must be; look,” James said, gesturing and looking out to Filgaia.
Elmina
It was about that time Hanpan finally came in.
“Zeik?” the blue-haired Hiadan
“Hanpan?” Elmina said, taking a step towards him.
“Go…” Hanpan croaked. He took Zeikfried’s helmet and threw it at
the group. “Go away!
Laine started for him, but James and Elmina pulled her back. “Not right now,” Elmina said.
“Let’s go home, everyone,” Cecil said solemnly, “Everyone’s waiting.”
*
Zeik… Zeik… They will pay for this, Zeik…
*
The metaphorical ride down the Dimensional Elevator was a quiet affair until about halfway down another, very upset rider dropped on down. A very upset rider with a drawn sword, no less.
“Hanpan?! What are you…?” Elmina asked.
“
The knight quickly drew her sword and raised it to block Hanpan’s blow. “What the hell are you doing?! You’ll kill yourself too!”
“Haven’t you figured it out?! I don’t care! You should have killed me first! Then I wouldn’t—I wouldn’t have to feel all this!” he shouted, striking blow after blocked blow. “I ‘d be better off dead!”
“No, you wouldn’t!” Laine protested. “I know it’s hard, but you can make it out in the world!”
“Yeah, like Ceilidh did? Smooth comparison, sister. I still don’t know what Calamity saw in you, stubborn bitch,” Hanpan snarled. Laine recoiled. Elmina remained hesitant to go on the offensive, but his slight edge in power was pushing her into a corner.
“Hey, my parents taught me not to call ladies that word!” James complained. “And yeah, mom had problems, but she still tried! That’s more than you’re doing right now!”
“Hey, maybe we should just grant him his wish,” Cecil said darkly. “If he’s so keen to die…”
“Like you were, Mister ‘Push Yourself Too Far’?” Elmina intercepted. “We didn’t let anything happen to you; we’re not giving up on him!”
Hanpan faltered for a split second. “You—ack!”
Elmina seized the opportunity and struck his sword so it went flying. “C’mon, we’re goin’ ho—“
Suddenly, there was a sudden jolt, and the group found themselves in a heap outside Ka Dingel. The skies were overcast and filled with lightning. The tower was coming down in gigantic hunks of stone and steel.
Hanpan groaned. “Well, we’re fucked. Fighting between dimensions’ll do that.”
A roar and thunderous footsteps. The Crest Sorcerer looked up. “Ringo…?”
*ROAR! ;_;*
The stone giant positioned itself between the Dream Chasers plus one and raised its shield around them all.
“Anti-Phasing Shield…” Hanpan murmured. He unsteadily rose to his feet, took two steps back, and started to run towards the shield.
“Holy—SLEEP!”
Cecil shouted, glowing purplish-black.
The Hiadan was suddenly seized by tiredness and collapsed into the arms
of Elmina. The boy blinked. “Holy crap, that spell
“It worked this time, princey; that’s all that matters,” Elmina told him.
There was an explosion above them. All eyes (minus Hanpan’s) looked up and saw one of Ringo’s arms was gone.
*ROAR! >.O*
“Ringo! Cecil, do something! He listens to you!” Laine exclaimed, nudging the boy.
“Like what? He’s acting on his own, Laine,” the Crest Sorcerer replied, “There’s nothing I can do to stop him.”
“Yeah, but…” the girl started. She hugged herself and said quietly, “I hope this isn’t my fate…”
She felt a hand on her shoulder. “It won’t be,” James reassured. “At least, I hope not.”
And there they were in the eye of the storm, surrounded by chaos and thunder, protected by a crumbling relic of ages past. They didn’t know what they were doing beyond Court Seim, but they knew, at least for another day, they—and the planet—were still alive. And right then, that was enough.
*
End Chapter 29
Chibi’s notes:
And here we go. Epilogue, coming soon.
I admit, I considered killing someone off, but blast ‘em, they all had their will to live intact (or forcibly imposed. XD).
I hope
you’ve enjoyed the show, everyone.