Tina's Armor

Tina's Armor

(Chapter 18)

**

[<<]

Tina knocks hard on Elmus' door. He steps out nagging. "What the hell could you want this early in the—?" he opens his eyes and it's Tina. "Tina."

"It's Thursday the 12th. Time to go get my armor."

[>]

[Mr. Alex]

He's sitting with Mr. Pedro in the gazebo. They both took serious damage to several organs yesterday so they're sitting quite awkwardly. Mr. Pedro's taking a smoke as they play a game of spar.

"Mr. Alex, why do you call me Mr.?"

"Haven't you heard of 'The man to respect?"

"Haha. 'Is the man who respects Without discrimination.'"

"That's all there is to it."

"But my guard said something different about your granddaughter."

Mr. Alex bursts into laughter which is cut short by a sharp pain in his back. "Ow. I just don't know where that came from yesterday. Although, a lot of people mistake her confidence for arrogance. You're quite the Sheriff on the other hand. You spend time with your guards as well."

"Every life is important. I think you drew a full house."

"What? You distracted me."

"I didn't ask you not to pay attention to the game." He shuffles and deals the deck so they can continue playing. "Anyway, you completed the sequence of colors I was listing yesterday. What was that about?"

"I found one recently."

"Really?"

"Mhm"

"Well Diane would be delighted to meet her." He takes a smoke.

"I'm really worried about your health sonny."

"You gutted, not lunged me." They both laugh. "So what did you do about her?"

"I made her promise to hang around so that I could keep an eye on her."

"The mere fact that you know about them means that you must be learned, and I'm also interested in knowing who you are. I've never lost a duel before."

He plays the King of Spades. "I believe you're outta luck now because,"—he follows up with a Queen, Jack, a seven and a six—"I've got a family here,"

"Well done. I'll deal." He deals another set.

"Well I'm not really learned. I know about the Benignus because they were probably the reason why the Black Minotaur attacked some years back. In that fight I deliberately jeopardized myself to land the finishing blow. I lost all my team mates and got this cool scar to boast."

"Never knew that I was facing off with a Minotaur-slayer. I think I'm the one who has something to boast about."

Marlene comes out and snatches the cigar away from him. "I thought I told you to cut this out… and I don't understand you two. Did you really have to hurt each other like that yesterday?"

"Gimme that back darling. It was completely necessary, but you're a woman so you wouldn't understand. It lies in our instincts." Marlene pokes him in the gut. "Oww! You females are the cruelest creatures. When is breakfast gonna be ready?"

"{Valentina…}"

[The Twins]

Paz wakes up early again. It's quite warm and cozy inside the hut. She notices that Jedi isn't around as usual so she steps out. He's sitting outside with his legs crossed, meditating. She doesn't make a sound for quite a while. She just wonders what happened.

"{I just don't get it… I admit that I wasn't as devoted as him, but I gave myself whole heartedly whenever I had to. Why did he take Irene away. Why did You take Irene away God?"

"… How long do you intend on spying on me?" he asks with his eyes still closed.

"!... How'd you know I was here?"

"Come sit down and I'll tell you."

"…" She goes to sit beside him quite reluctantly. "I'm here now."

He opens his eyes. It takes a while for him to adjust to the light, which means his eyes had been closed for quite a while. "Your aura is humid Paz."

She sits, hugging her knees."… I don't get it."

"You're still weeping on the inside. I can just feel it."

"… It's not like I can do anything about it, can you?"

"That's a question that I still can't answer. I just can't picture myself without Tamar. You'd expect to leave the mortal plains with the person that you arrived with."

"And that's the wound afflicting my heart,"—her fingers dig into her chest—anytime I think about Irene my chest begins to hurt so bad!" she sobs. "The idiots that claim they have their hearts broken by a love interest would've committed suicide by now! They don't understand how it feels to lose their younger twin! This is the true heartache!"

"But you've gotten sick now. Are you going to join her?"

"Isn't that what fate has decided? I feel like I can vent all this pent up feeling in the raids but I'm also morbidly afraid of getting incapacitated in the middle of a battle. I don't know what to do?" she cries.

"… This is a very foul predicament… We're all destined to die but… when it finally happens, it leaves pain in its wake. Sometimes, The Angel of Death makes me believe that happiness is Evanescent…"

[Guillelmus]

They're headed for the Guild it seems. She can only wonder how her new set of armor's gonna look like. Would it turn out better or worse? It'd still serve its purpose in the end but, she wouldn't want anything awful. "Who made your armor?" she asks.

"Erin. Who else?"

"{… And his armor wasn't THAT tacky. I'm paying him much more. Mine should definitely turn out better.}"

"You know, when you look like that, I can only think you're plotting evil."

"Evil? Do I have such a sinister look?"

"Not really, but you're looking at me like I don't know what I've got coming."

"That's not what I meant. I was just thinking about how mine would turn out in comparison to yours."

"You needn't worry about that. With the specifications you gave him you're gonna look like a harlot—"

"What?"

"Just kidding. I'm sure you'd look really nice. Who knows? You might even find an admirer somewhere."

"And do you think I'll have time for that? I'm not interested in anything of the sort. I have better things to worry about."

"I'm pretty sure that's what everybody says. Sooner or later, you'll fall for someone. It's in our programming, inevitable."

She scoffs at him. "Whatever you say, but Eris Harmonie doesn't sound nice."

"I never said Eris was the one I liked."

"But you suggested it."

"No. I said you shouldn't have said what you said. That was it."

"If you say so, but I've got my eyes on you." She motions "I see you."

[Veteran]

There's a carriage waiting outside. It's been quite a while since they all sat down for breakfast now. It's time to leave. The longer the wait, the longer the tyranny of that devil-bird. They'll have to eliminate it as soon as possible. Who knows, maybe it could even be monoecious.

"I guess this is where we part ways Marlene."

"But you'll probably come through here on your way back."

"I thought you were upset."

"Of course not. We called you here didn't we?"

"That reminds me princess. You didn't say bye to the guard over there. I'm sure he's gonna miss you."

She stands idle. He heard grandpa as well but ignored it. She walks up to him and apologizes. "I realized that I was the evil person yesterday and I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

"….Wow! And the last was worse than the first; when I thought you couldn't surprise me more."

"I asked you a question!?"

He's almost scared off his feet with that roar. "Are you…{Bi-polar?} Nevermind. My apologies as well. Maybe I should've offered you a seat in the guard post."

"You really should've. Au revoir!" She's assisted into the carriage by her twin brother since she obviously needs to take care. Mr. Alex delays for a while as he and Mr. Pedro gaze intently at each other. Although they're not talking, they seem to get it. Grandpa gets in. Just as they're about taking off, Mr. Pedro and Marlene wish them well.

"I wish you God-speed!"

In a matter of seconds, the carriage is out of their sight. The heroes are off to secure his primary means of income… "Marlene… do you think I did bad?"

"No. Nothing's perfect but what I know is that you're the most scrupulous person I know. That's good enough isn't it."

"… But I'll have to do something real quick. I'm sure that no one'll want to go near the mine for a while now… For the meantime, I wonder how I'll go about things."

"You mean how WE will go about things."

[The Twins]

"My sister still isn't up?"

"If she were up she'd be pestering me by now, don'tcha think?"

"She's starting to sleep longer and longer every day. Seems like someone's rubbing her trypanosomiasis off on her."

"Hey… It's not that I don't wake up decently early. It's just, there's no reason for me to get outta bed. Every morning… I spend hours thinking about… about how things should've been. Then I actually wake up—to reality. I wish I could go back to sleep…"

"And why're you only telling me this now?"

"I needed to tell someone what's killing me from the inside."

"Why didn't you just tell Tamar then?"

"Tamar's such a warm-hearted person, like a mother. She'd just keep on trying so hard but it's not gonna work. I don't wanna waste her efforts."

"And your Grandpa?"

"He's a freaking vegetable. He didn't even respond when mom and dad died. The Black Minotaur must've done him in real good."

"I can't really say you're better off but look at what you have, Novanecta."

"Don't even mention her name to me. It'd be better to be alone. She is the origin of all my suffering!"

"Don't take it out on me… What I'm saying is your heartache might not necessarily come from your grief over Irene. It might come from your hate for Anika."

"… Then I'm gonna die with it."

"What're YOU TWO blabbering about over there?"

"Tamar."

"I thought I warned you about wearing gloomy faces in my absence."

"I seriously forgot,"—she smiles—"better now?"

"So are we gonna go see the—other Solomon?"

[Elmus]

They arrive at the guild. Valentina almost runs up the stairs but she restrains herself. "Why're you walking so slow?"

"Or could it be that you're in a rush."

"Because?"

"I don't know. If girls fancy shopping for the clothes…"

She never needed to run. She just leaps up to the top with all her might. She puts her hands to the door. "Won't you hurry up?" They say it's calm before the storm. It MUST be true. She pushes the door open and nobody's in the Guild Hall.

"What the?"

"What Valenti—Oh my God… Where IS everybody? Is this even possible."

"Hey! Elmus!"

"Erin." They rush up to him. "What happened?"

"I think Anika'd best explain."

"You done with my armor?"

"Just as promised. Come in and try it out."

"Where?"

"It's in the female dressing room…or stall. Whatever you wanna call it."

"Alright." Valentina makes her way to the back. Now that they're alone…

"How's Eris doing?"

"Ouch! She thought you'd be home!"—he puts his hand to his forehead—"She went your way this morning."

"Well Valentina must've been really excited about the armor you made for her so she came for me at dawn."

"I'm sure she'll like it. Eris…{she was upset thinking Valentina'd wear that around you.} Eris liked it."

"Eris likes everything you make."

"Erin!" Anika calls.

"Seems like Anika's back. Let's go."

[/]

Valentina takes a while putting it on because it's a bit of a slim fit at some regions. According to her specifications, He condensed the armor around her lower legs and forearms. She's also got her thighs showing. She can't understand why she's excited about it, but she flings herself out of the dresser and crashes into Rex.

"GAH! What the hell? You some sorta succubus?"

"Geez, I'm SORRY."

"So you're the one that Erin made that thing for?" He gets up to his feet and helps her up.

"Mhm."

"The one who said 'my thighs will never see damage'?"

"I said yes."

"Have you ever run through a thorn patch?"

"No… Didn't think of that."

"*laughs* Aren't you quite the funny creature? Will you walk around town like that?"

"…"

"Well we made an accessory for ya. It's this new material called rubber,"—he takes it out of the drawer—"It's really expensive so no one wanted to buy it, but they sent out free samples. Should I show you how to put it on?"

"Thank you."

"Ok,but you're already dressed up. This part should be strapped tight in here, under the neck of your greaves. You also fix this strap just above your knee, then this part goes… I can't do that."

"It goes?"

"Toward the nether regions."

"!"

"I'm sure it might be uncomfortable but it'll save your skin, literally."

"So I have to take it off?"

"More or less. For the sake of the stockings, you'll have to dress from your toes upward. Capiche?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the help. I think I'll put these on later."

"Put 'em on before you leave. A good name is better than riches."

"Alright. I'm gonna go show it to Elmus first."

"Elmus? Did I hear that right?"

"Yes. We formed a Raid Unit."

[/]

They approach the Reception. Anika seems to be actively engaged in some sorta grid work.

"You're here too?"

"Yeah. Tina just got her armor."

"Is that so? I just happened to have your coins right now Erin. Here." She hands them over, 40 coins in all.

"???You make a mistake?"

"No. This is what she told me to give you the last time she came by."

"{I knew she was excited,}" Elmus thinks to himself.

"Speaking of Valentina?"

Valentina waltzes up to the reception. "How do I look?" she asks. It's a nosebleed. She has some thick bracers and greaves. The suspender stockings are intact. Her tiny blue Mana-Crystal's in the middle of the thorax, quite divine.

"Splendid. You made that Erin?!" Anika asks.

"Yeah. Isn't it great?"

"All I can say is she might be able to contend with Angelica's outfit now."

"What do you mean by that?" she asks quite worried.

"It's gorgeous, but this town is really against showing skin like that."

"Yeah, that's why I made—"

"I've seen the concealers you made Erin. That's quite thoughtful of you."

"No Valentina. It was his duty. Besides, he'd be stoned alongside you."

"Anika!"

"She's just telling the truth" Elmus starts. "If everybody dressed like this there'd be a lot more criminals."

"Really? What do you think Elmus."

"Your opinion is the only one that matters."

"Alright. If there are no problems with the size, I'm about done here. Thanks for the huge tip."

"Thank you instead."

Erin takes his leave and they settle down with Anika. "Now that I think of it… Arthur should be here."

"I'm glad to know that you're reciprocating his feelings towards you."

"Not that. He's always pestering me… I just MIGHT miss him."

"Succubus has been declared MIA."

"What?!"

"Yes. It was a Mal-Hecate Raid."

"Is that even possible?"

"I don't get what's going on."

"Sorry Valentina. The Raid Unit: Succubus went missing after engaging a strong Emerged. It's a State of Emergency."

"Anika. I wanna go after him. It wouldn't sit well with me if I did nothing."

"I've already deployed three Raid Units to the area. I'm not saying you won't do anything though. Come take a look at the grid."

She takes them to one of the inner rooms. It's like a conference room with a large table in the middle, but the table ain't no ordinary table. It has a black upper surface with laser-green grid lines. It's a map of Porto Novo starting from just behind the front lines. There are clusters of colored diamond spots toward the region that's representing the coast. Some regions are lettered as well.

"You're probably wondering what this is."

"You said that it was the grid a few moments ago but I don't get how it works."

"Alright Elmus. The emerged have something that we don't. Guess what that is."

"… Infinite ammo?"

"Why would you give such a stupid answer sesame street?"

"I'm gonna guess you didn't answer because you're dumb. For understanding, there're two criteria, and you suit all right now."

"Cut it out. This is the first time I'm showing this to you so could you be a little more serious? You're not supposed to BE here until you raise your priority level to Silver."

"So you're saying I'm here because of her."

"Most likely," Tina sticks her tongue out at him.

"I'll just leave it at that. I was talking about Mana-Crystals."

"That can't be right. I've not seen such."

"That's because you've been picking off the weaker Invaders. Barely any of them used Mana, right?"

"… That's true."

"We need Mana-Crystals for energy fusion. Although Mana-Crystals can't be exactly the same, they can be similar. For each new type of Emerged, We need at least two Crystals to install it on the radar. One as a transmitter, and the other as a receiver."

"Can you please elaborate further?"

"Alright. I have a mana crystal of every detectable Invader in here. It's connected to Mana-Crystals buried out in the environment out there. Once an Emerged of the same type falls within its proximity, it causes a reaction which we interpret as an Invasion."

"Oh! So you ignore them until they Emerge."

"Exactly."

"But why're you telling us this?"

"An Elder Brainz has been detected. It's one of the Epic Emerged that grieved us during The Black Minotaur Wave. It hasn't been pinpointed yet but it's Zombies are pouring in. There are other Emerged in the area, making the situation worse. We need all hands on deck to secure an exfiltration route for Succubus if they're still alive.

"Did you say zombies?" Valentina asks.

"Yes indeed. The Elder Brainz can resuscitate and command human corpses… but judging by their attack pattern, this isn't a mature brain. We'll have to eliminate it."

"But for the meantime, you would like for us to take care of the emerged in the area."

"Exactly. Not only that. Now that I've divulged this secret, you are required to retrieve the Mana-Crystals to clear a mission."

"Fair enough. Just give me the kill order already."

"Hold your horses. I can't give you a specific target as of now."

"Why?"

"Even I can't tell where the Zombies are until we retrieve the Crystal of another Elder Brainz. We were just lucky that their overwhelming numbers resonated with the transmitters. You are to eliminate every Emerged you come across and you'll be paid according to the Mana-Crystals that you bring back."

"How bad is the situation?" Valentina asks.

"See for yourself. These are the co-ordinates. We're talking about the Evil and Cartesian Forests. Each glowing diamond you see is a transmitter that was set off. Deductive analysis will lead you to your targets. Keep as many as you can."

Valentina taps on the closest gem to Banlieue. It's a Lancentaurus. It's been rated a Bronze Epic Emerged. "We'll have to eliminate this first then."

"Wait a moment. We can't just head out like this. Stay here and memorize anything that'll be useful. I have to inform my mom that I'm not gonna come home tonight. Don't worry about Ms. Laura; I'll tell her on my way back."

"Wait a second. What're the chances of survival?"

"From what Anika's telling us, I can deduce that our worst case scenario is running into two Emerged with swarms of Zombies all around us."

"He's right about that. If you two are not careful… This could be your last Raid together… That is if both of you don't die."

-------End of Chapter 18-------

Chapter 19 Teaser

Well if this might be your last day… I'm gonna tell you the truth.

To be continued…