Water Boarding

Water Boarding

(Chapter 10)

**

[<<]

It looks bad. There's no evidence that Angelica was wearing white before. He doesn't know how he's gonna resuscitate this mess. He freaks out.

"ANGELICA NO!"

"Arthur! Pull yourself together! I can't keep this up!"

"ANGELICA! Stay with me. PLEASE!"

"ARTHUR! YOU'VE GOTTA GET HER OUTTA HERE!"

Daara's footing is compromised. The next volley of bullets takes its course. It's not looking good for Succubus.

[>]

[Harmonie Residence]

Valentina de la Bravo has a fair time in the tub. However, she finds herself lost in thought. She thought that Elmus was just playing around; she thought that mom just flattered him earlier on, and she thought that he didn't have a thing to worry about in the world. All of it rendered null and void perhaps? just because of the contents of a sack?

Well, probing into a mystery without a lead is just like a ball of thread, it's better to utilize it head-on than to try and unravel it, which would ultimately end in breakage. She'd better just ask Harmonie what it was about when she next sees him. Mom already took the train to dreamland a long time ago. She unlocks the door. No one would guess it was open if they observed that incident, and she couldn't stay up much longer, for her eyelids grew heavy.

[Tyrannus]

Anika spends the early hours of the night waiting for the Units that embarked on Night Raids to return. Arthur's team left earlier on and should've returned this day. However, they waltz in, Unit after Unit, but Succubus doesn't return that night. She gets tired soon and almost dozes off. An unfamiliar face to us taps her on the shoulder. She shoots up.

"Sorry,"—she brushes her hair back—"I must've…"

"Anika. If you're tired…the best thing to do is sleep. There's nothing you can do to change that, just like the fact that you can't change the past."

"Raze—"

It's like they get more and more handsome. Everything on him is black. Black bodysuit, black scarf, black footwear and his hair's kinda similar to Elmus'. He has a slight tan as well, but what sticks out is his Raid Gear. It's a large sword that is more or less as tall as he is. It has a gap in place of a stiffener. What's worse is the hand guard just above the hilt is primarily constituted of teeth. I really wouldn't wanna be stabbed by that thing.

"Then why'd you wake me?"

"… You're right about that. I could just say that this isn't the best place to rest… truth is I wanted to see how you're fairing."

"Well, I think I'm doing fine… I… I want to thank you for staying."

"Never imagined I'd hear you say that."

"Guilds wellbeing first right?"

"Hmm… Speaking about the guild, I'm getting some ominous wind out there."

"Why do you say that?"

"You were asleep the last time I came by. I analyzed your radar sightings and followed my hunch. Stronger invasions are on their way."

"*gasp*…Why am I surprised? I was expecting this to happen… but with the manpower in the Porto Novo region… Larger invasions…"

"The truth is villages on the outskirts can only cushion the mainland for so long. If stronger Invaders are appearing toward farther off, they are most likely coagulating don't you think?"

"It's too early to make such assumptions. Let's wait for the year's end. By then, it will be certain. We've never had enough manpower to fight them all of anyway. They're like an endless wave."

"I see. I think I'm gonna go get some shut eye."

They part ways but their destinations are the same, the bed. It's the usual thing for Anika. She waits up for as long as she can and wakes up early in the morning as well. She's the only Guild Girl after all and her accessibility is invaluable, but was she always the guild girl?

The discerner of time flips the page soon and the sun arises

[Eris']

The sleeping beauty wakes in her room precisely. It's a small place but all fluffed up. You wouldn't think it was possible to wake up after sleeping in her bed. What's more puzzling is why such a fluffy bed is available in their era. She has a night light beside her bed and there's also a book shelf on the left and a wardrobe on the right. Why is the bookshelf in her room and not the living room? That's simple, Erin is too much of a brick head ta read.

Thoughts soon occupy her mind and she sits up, gazing at the damage caused to her ankle. She passes her hand over it so gently but it still hurts, "oww." The brunette never aspired for so much, unlike others that succumb to the avarice, mistaking it for ambiguity. She only wanted to help her beloved brother out with the expenses, and she can only wonder whether that future still exists because her Achilles' tendon was heavily damaged.

Speaking of beloved brothers, a knock soon sounds at the door. "May I come in?" he asks, not as if he intended to wait for a response. He kicks the door open quite gently, probably because both of his hands were occupied. I think I can smell some fried eggs on that tray.

"How does 'ma gyip' do?" he asks.

"I'm doing fine," she says as she gratifies her desire for a stretch. "Wow! That looks awesome!"

"Of course, what more do you expect from yours truly?"

"You're only making me a special breakfast to compensate for the fact that you didn't know that I was missing,"— She turns her head away as she folds her arms.

"But even if I didn't know, I was still worried about you."

"… Well, I can't really say it was your fault."

"Aren't you hungry? Let's dig in."

"Let's? I thought it's for me!"

"You must have sustained a terrible blow to the head or something. There's no way in the world that I'm gonna sit this one out."

She snatches it away from him and pushes him back. "Until you get hurt we're not sharing. Weren't you supposed to be my twin?"

He lets out a laugh. Apparently he was just pushing his luck. Although Eris restrains herself from giving in to all sorts of treasures for her brother's sake, she won't resist when it's coming from him. There's that and you could also call her something close to a glutton.

She puts the tray aside, puts her hands together and says a short prayer. What would you expect from the nun's disciple? Even after she's done, she doesn't really touch the food.

"What's up?"

"… I was just wondering… that day, Harmonie was gonna come back for me—"

"Oh yeah. He came looking for you yesterday. I could tell something was off but I couldn't put it together. Do you think he knew about what happened?"

"…I don't think so. He must've just assumed that somebody helped me before he got back...Say, I could pay him a v—?"

"No way. From what you told me you already lost so much blood. Then there's the fact that you couldn't walk there even if you tried."

"… I'm sure if you helped me—"

"Don't push it… I'm gonna make you some crutches as soon as possible. For the mean time rest well. You wouldn't wanna sustain permanent damage for no reason."

"…If you say so… but I was thinking, if he formed a Unit with another girl…"

"Remember I advised you before?"

"But you also told me to be a bit more persistent as well."

"That's true. But just don't force it. As far as I'm concerned I think he feels the same wa—"

"Really?" she cuts him off. "Did he say that?"

"I'm not really sure," he mutters. She pounces on him demanding he tells her. Or else what? She starts to tickle him. As far as a person smiles, they can be tickled. He's almost asphyxiated and resorts to telling her he'd target her ankle if she didn't let go.

[Harmonie's]

Valentina and mom are having breakfast. Mom did her best while teaching Valentina how to make what we currently call Lasagna. Her intention was to keep Harmonie out for a while but it wasn't the most effective method.

"Morning moms."

"Good morning darling," she replies as she hugs him. "I made it extra special my darling son."

"Alright. Please gimme a moment."

A moment was all he needed to drag the sack from the living room to his. "Please, let me out of here!" draws the attention of the ones sitting at the table. Once he's done he takes his seat and digs in.

"Hey. What're you gonna do with that guy?"

"You don't need to know."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sorry. I meant it's better you don't know."

"As in you're gonna kill'im?"

"Most likely." She bursts into laughter at the sound of that.

"You couldn't even kill a fly."

"… It's great mom, but why make this for breakfast?"

"Weren't you the one who said 'food doesn't respect time' countless times before?"

"That's the reason I'm asking. You only listen to me when you have an ulterior motive."

"Hunh? That is so not true. {Do I really do that? And when did he catch onto that?}"

"Tina. Could I please move your things out of my room for today?"

"? Well it's your room so. I'll go and—"

"It's actually urgent. I'd be pleased if you could get them right now. You could put 'em in—"

"I'd better just go to Ms. Laura's then."—she takes a bite—"Could I finish this at least?"

"I'd be delighted if you could have it done now, that is if you don't want me to do it first."

"Excuse me then." Valentina gets up to clear his room of her items. "{What's that weirdo up to NOW?}" she thinks to herself. There's silence at the table for a while.

"Son."

"Yeah mom?"

"Don't lose sight of yourself."

"Alright mama."

[The Twins']

Tamar and Jedidiah get to the Guild. To their surprise, upon entering, they notice that Paz actually got to their spot before them. It would seem rational since she lived there but that isn't the case. If Paz were to emerge early she would run into her sister, so she prefers to stay in till a few come around. Tamar taps her shoulder and she raises her head rather quickly. It's more like she got there not long ago.

"Hmm?"

"What's up with you hon?"

"Nova, she came to my room."

"That's it?"

"Aren't you the one who asked?"

"We don't have time for idle chatter. The longer we spend idling away, the higher the risk of civilian casualties."

"… Well that's true," Paz starts. "It's like the Daylight Invasions are increasing in number. We still haven't the slightest clue as to whether they're actively reproducing or they're just that many."

"… Will you lighten up?"

"I don't recall asking you for help."

"And who do you think you're talking to? Stand up and brazenly declare that Paz Alto Tyrannus knows no sorrow!" Tamar says as she swipes across an imaginary screen.

"But you know that isn't tr—?"

"It's an order," she demands, pinching her.

"Ow! Alright. Geez." Tamar makes her do it repeatedly until she feels the enthusiasm.

"Could you stop wasting our delicate time on bullying her?"

"BULLYING? I'm psychologically revitalizing her with the power of positivity."

"While you were USING our valuable time I took a look at the Bulletin board. Interesting thing is a Unit made a move on a Mal-Hecate. I honestly wouldn't have handed that to anyone but Paz if I were Nika but someone's been avoiding her."

"Aren't you supposed to be my teammate?"

"Abetting folly almost always ends in calamity for everyone involved. You have to do away with this grudge."

"Fine. What Raid are we taking 'Mr. Wise Guy'?"

"I see a '100-Legs' here. You two interested?"

"A creepy-crawly? Definitely not." Tamar rejects.

"Hmm. Let's see then… Ooh. The perfect one."

"And that is?"

"An unidentified Invader evaded tracking and Emerged at the Southern Rice Plantation about a week ago. It hasn't caused any civilian casualties or damage to the crops. It seems like it's rather interested in 'woodwork'. It's demolished a lot of trees in the area, blah blah-blah. Deploy to the region with a full battle sortie and determine whether it's truly an unprecedented non-hostile. Locate and secure the Big Foot."

"That's nice but hasn't it already been assigned?"

"It's been assigned but they haven't come around yet so we're just gonna hijack it." Paz says. She rips the tag off and sticks a note saying "The Twins" on it.

"Are you gonna indulge her? What about your lecture about folly?"

"This is not folly. It's curiosity."

[Guillelmus]

Valentina waltzes out holding just the small briefcase. She puts it down right next to where she was sitting before and rejoins them.

"May I join you?"

"Of course you may. I just scolded him for interrupting your meal just so you know."

"How thoughtful. I'm sure it's not your fault right?"

"Wait a second, I even said please—"

"Saying PLEASE doesn't make it polite!" they both roar at him.

"Alright I'm sorry." He surrenders.

"I can ask you to die 'PLEASE'. Does that sound polite?"

"Yeah. You could've waited for her to finish at least."

"I said I was sorry!"—he slips under the table—"This is why Jedi told me not to let fierce girls coagulate."

"Stop behaving like a child and come out from under there," says Tina.

"I think I'm gonna have the rest in my room—without the haters."

"Bon appetite!' he leaves their company. They burst into laughter right after.

"Heyy. Don't be too hard on my baby."

"*giggle* You know, you're very cool."

"Thank you."

They are interrupted by a loud "I'm begging you, please let me go. Pl—", cut off by a "Shut up!" Sounded like brute force was applied to make him co-operate.

"Tina, why don't we go out for a stroll?

[/]

The abductee has been tied to a metal chair with no butt-rest. More like he's been tied to a metal frame to forcefully air-sit. It's getting serious. To think this was the same dude who backed off at the table. He takes his "kit" outta the bottom drawer in the wardrobe. It's needless to tell you what's in it. He opens the kit up.

"HOLY SHIT! I'm begging of you—"

"Shut it!" he gags him and slips on some chainmail gloves.

"MMM! MMM!"

Harmonie quickly grabs hold of the hammer and gives him a light blow to his knee. His muffled plea slowly quiets down. The cold-blooded Harmonie gives him some words of—"encouragement".

"Don't be deluded by the idea that I'm gonna let you live. I'm definitely gonna kill you. This is only the art of information extraction. When I ask you a question, you have up to a second to answer. If your answers are inconsistent, you'll lose something."—he pulls the gag down.—"Capiche?"

"I'm begging of you. Isn't there the slightest chance that—"

"What? Do you think I'm some sorta superhero? Well get real because even the power rangers kill their enemies. There's no way in the world that I'm gonna let you go. Capiche?"

"B-b-b-b-"

"Wrong answer."

I think we might wanna zoom out right now because—"AAAAAAAAAAAARH!!!"

[Reception]

Anika comes out now. She was already awake so why didn't she come out earlier? For two reasons: the first was so she didn't bother Paz, and the second, because she found herself crying. By now you should've put two and two together.

She sees the note that Paz left, "We're taking this one." Well it's not anything dangerous so she doesn't mind. Of late she's been stressing herself out. She thought that she would get used to it but that's not the case. It's slowly taking a toll on her.

The Raid Unit: Veteran gets to her in a heartbeat. It's also unusual for them to miss out on their early morning beauty sleep, but they claim that they feel somewhat invigorated today. They take on a request to eliminate a Giant Raven that's been ravaging berry fields to the west.

"I guess we'll be taking this one then," says Alexandra.

"So much for invigoration I suppose."

"What?!"—she folds her arms—"I'll have you know that I would've picked a stronger Invader if Gramps wasn't coming along."

"Mr.Alex'll be joining you today? But didn't he say he detested weaker Invaders?"

"And are you gonna listen to him? I'm only expressing my concern for the peasant farmers in that region. I believe that those fields will profit me when I become a queen so I wouldn't want them to go out of commission."

"If you say so, but it might not necessarily be just one. Make sure you eliminate every last one of them."

"*gasp* You swindler."

"Have a nice long trip… Wait a second!"

"What now?"

"Did 'Succubus' come around this morning?"

"Weren't they on the Night Raid yesternight?"

"They were. "

"But they'd normally be back by now." She thinks aloud.

"Which is why I'm asking?!"

"Chill out! I meant we haven't seen them. Looks like someone doesn't appreciate beauty,"—she chin flicks dramatically with the fingers of her left hand on her chest—"Aie! Aie!"

"I'm really gonna miss you when you're dead."

"Pfff. You're so gonna die first."

"But I thought they say the beautiful ones die youngest?"

"…Touché. See ya later."

"Don't die," she waves.

[Guillelmus]

With chainmail gloves on his hands, he administers torture after torture. The guy who we thought we knew was only the mere surface of Guillelmus. This is the guy who'll stop at nothing to defend what he has. His relentless barrage of questions cannot be answered; a deliberate attempt to get some pain in to strike fear. You never know when he's gonna ask what's your birthday, and for that matter, formulating premeditated answers won't work.

He doesn't wish for the dude to bleed out so he switches his tactics from time to time. He currently has him on the water board and rendered gasping for breath. It's not about digging up the information no more. He has to punish him for even thinking about touching mama. He gives him the time of his life, the roughest time of his life. Death is always nearer to some than others, just by virtue of their spirit. Benignus, Malignus, Evanescent.

------------End of Chapter 10----------

Chapter 11 Teaser

Have you ever had someone beg for their life before your very own eyes? What would you do? Become a killer? The choice is up to Harmonie.

To be continued…