Logbook #021 - The Pace

A breeze of a whisper, cold to breathe into one ear. "Mary, wake up." Only to exit the other.

Still, in a deep and lonely slumber, Mary was dreaming herself a lovely mix of a bag. Sun, Wind, Clouds, A better future. A gun? Interesting choices.

What's better in a dream than a strange version of one's imagination?

Feeling a tickle on her nose, Mary sniffled before attempting to scratch off the itch, a soft mumble of annoyance.

Shaking her head, her guardian was trying to wake Mary up for her current visitors.

"She's quite a heavy sleeper." A lass with a fresh backcomb asked as her black elongated hair clung strips to moisture.

"Yeah, that's true. I'm quite normal to it though, so I am used to her odd habits." A lad replied as he sits by the bed, as he guides Mary's partnering Guardian on the ways to wake her master up.

Pointing his finger to the Guardian to rub her palm onto the shins of Mary's leg under the blanket, she did as followed.

"You should try to be a little strict with her from time to time. She treats you like a brother or father figure, in my opinion."

The lass replied as she crosses her arms and leaned by the door's entrance edge. "Come on, hurry up. We have to start immediately after brunch."

Mary starting to gain her conscious from the aftereffects of the guidance, she looks left and right as she was face to face greeted by a warm smile from both her teacher and guardian.

"Ahh, Morning NZ, Morning Id'dreek. Did I sleep too long today? Hope you are not mad." As she said it with a sense of guilt, she yawns and searches herself.

"No, it's fine really. Only that missy here, wants me to start being a little more strict to you, like your mother." With a cheeky grin, he pats Mary's crumpled and scruffy hair vigorously.

"Good day, time for you to take a bath, a good shower that could perhaps relieve your body from the old aches of old. Perhaps, smoothen your slightly rough skin too." NZ answers before pushing himself.

"Ahh, damn. My darn back." He felt a striking ache on his spine.

"You're not even an old man, NZ. Quit complaining about your back." The lass replied as she shakes her head embarrassingly.

"Fuck off, it's hard to be a person who has to run twenty-four-seven over yonder carrying plus thirty kgs with heavy weapons all the time. Especially in harsh weather, Stal." He shouts at Leutenegger as he cracks his spine back to normal.

Clearing her throat, she flops her hair back. "As if both of us didn't go to the military together. Bold up, show yourself a good example to your apprentice."

Finishing with her arrangement of the bed, Mary taps NZ's shoulder as he alerted turns around. "Yeah?" he asks.

"There, there, you two can stop fighting. You're adults but in my eyes, it's fine to act how you guys wish to be. Miss Leutenegger, thanks for the warm welcome and treating us as guests but I find it a little rude asking him to teach him a different way. I like his usual way, it may not be so annoying or fearing, but its friendly approach makes it easier for me to get better over time. "

"Are you alright with it, miss?" She asks in a very mellow and sweet tone. Not that cheery but quite innocent and understanding.

Sighing, Leutenegger nods and smiles at Mary. "Fine, if you like how Will teaches you it's fine. Just try to take care of your sleeping schedule. It can have consequences on you in the older future. "

Turning to Will once more, she shakes her head and a slightly apologetic look. "I apologise for my sudden outburst. Been too long in holding in my last stresses that I released it on you instead."

With a smile, he answers "It's fine, it just felt like a typical short couple argument. I wasn't bothered by it." He replies smoothly.

"Anyway, go take your shower first Mary, your guardian can take it along with you too, it's safe." He waves at her before leaving the room by the exit. "I will go prepare the food that I and Stal's guardian prepared, see yah."

"Yep! See you soon." Mary replies before being guided by Leutenegger towards the bathroom of the house, containing a shower room and a bathtub together.

"Woah, this is a rare luxury of a sight." She rushes in excitement.

With a soft chuckle, Leutenegger shows her how to open the faucet and adjusts the temperature. "You don't go seeing modern past baths in the wastelands nowadays, it's mostly just rusty and old contaminated liquids. Here, since it is projected by the Guardians energy creativity can be given and advancing technology gives a proper key. "

"So you are saying Id'dreek can make a house and world like this too?" Mary asks before stripping off her clothes and entering the half-filled bath.

Leutenegger nods. "Yes, that is correct, especially since she is a Stage four, her power is limitless, but considering she still needs some form of energy, she may have to siphon it off you for a few days. Ugh, excuse me, I shouldn't spend more time. Relax and take your bath, see you in the kitchen."

"It's fine really, but sure," Mary replies as she relaxes in the warm bath. "Reminds me of the time in a natural salt bath composite I found during the trip nearby the old volcano," Mary mutters.

"Natural baths?" Id'dreek asks as she pops from the water, cleansing herself with the soapy feels of the body wash. "Been ages since I saw one. The last time I had one was in the mountains of Ka'zik in Vietnam."

"Vi Eth Name? Was' is that, a country?" Mary asks as she tries to correct her pronunciation.

"Yep, that is correct. It's one of the old countries, an Asian one, however." Id'dreek replies.

"I was still a crystal of an old heirloom during that time for one of the nobles that used to own his natural bath for his house. It was strange to have a house next to a passive volcano, but whatever went with him, he would enjoy it with himself or his consort of a wife."

"Ooh, interesting. What was your old form of?" Mary asks.

"A handle of a Keris, a gift from a Malaysian Craftsman after an old visit. It's a type of dagger, especially used for ceremonies as a decoration piece but it used to be a viable weapon when the time needs it." Id'dreek explains as she rubs her chest with soap and spreads it across her shoulder.

"Oh, I see," Mary replies with a surprised and curious face. "Then how did you separate and manage to get in the hands of Continuum?"

"An inspection after finding out about my origin ore and the corruption percentage I gave off after a certain incident," Id'dreek replies. "Way before the recent one from a few years ago."

"I was made into a weapon during the nineteenth century and then was found out by officials by the twenty-first. Five years ago, I became corrupted and now, I am back to my normal self." She explained as she tried to remember more of herself.

"Then how did you become stage four, didn't that take a lot of energy siphoning and blessings to be one of the final ascension?" Mary asks as she makes herself comfortable and turns on the faucet into a hot temperature to warm the water once more.

"Ahh, the noble was also a famous soldier, he usually rode on a horse and guided his army from invaders from Asian barbarians," Id'dreek replies with a smile. "If you are curious, after I was given, he was immediately praised for his works and accomplishments. I already staged three by the time I was formed into the weapon, soo...It made it easier for my stage four when the positive energy came in. Siphoning off it, I was able to increase immediately to final ascension and caused an immense luck spike into my last owner."

"Amazing! So you weren't one weapon then since you have a gun mode for me." Mary asks as she remembers her gun, 'Equity' which she barely got to use.

"Guardians can choose any weapon they want freely, so I chose to be multiple since I had the power level for it in my aura. Most stick to one and learn from there, but I managed to learn most blades and ranged weapons." Replying with a sense of proudness.

"Want to help scrub your body?" Id'dreek asks with a helpful gaze.

Mary blinking twice, she cooked up a thought. "Hmm, alright then. Hard for me to reach my back. Maybe I will help yours too then."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen. NZ was humming an old song that his partner used to do while cooking as he prepared brunch, baked beans with pancakes. An odd combination that works together.

"So how much?" Leutenegger asks curiously as she grinding down her knife to cut a small piece of dried meat and chewing its hard texture.

"How much of what? To rent you for the night?" NZ asks with a little tease. "I don't like paying for my women. I prepare for naturality."

"Scheisse! I don't mean that. I'm talking about the assignment, how much are we going to collect." As she smacks her utensils down with a rough look, she felt a little disgusted by his comment but still felt inside a little embarrassed.

"Don't talk about those things again while eating, it feels wrong."

"Right, right. I am so-" He got slapped at the back of the head by some unknown hard force. "What the?"

Whiplash who smirked at him was washing up the old dishes from yesterday. She manoeuvred her tail to hit him purposely while not betting an eye.

NZ understanding the situation stayed quiet as he brought the finished preparation and lays it on the table, a portion more than usual, to fit the appetite of more than four. Extras to be filled and taken along.

"This recipe is by my spouse, a secret combination of certain spices." He gracefully lets out.

"Married huh, interesting," Leutenegger mutters.

Mary and Id'dreek who were done showering walked towards the kitchen as they took a seat. "Morning." The two called out.

"Goddamn!" NZ shouts with some surprise.

Mary confused, made a surprised face and looks at him inspecting Id'dreek in a pathetic way. "Huh?"

"Her wings are so big and feathered to the brim. She has a yellow glow around her too." Impressed by her angelic look, he was also surprised by her multiple eye pendants and strange alternate forms hanging around her.

From afar, it may look creepy like an abomination of discretion but nearing, Id'dreek looks more closely like a beautiful goddess, statued to perfection.

"Wait, human sir can see my true form?" Id'dreek asks as she turns to him with a curious look. "Mostly dead people can see my other parts of my body and an extra pair of eyes."

"Earlier you looked like just any normal person but now you, I can not say this but...nevermind." Freaked out by both the beauty and negatively impacting disorder, he dares does not say it.

Taking a seat he tries to avoid to look at her as he quickly starts filling his mouth to avoid saying anything more negatively impactful.

"Dead people?" Leutenegger questions in calm breathing, swallowing her pure black liquid of coffee. "Will died way more times than a regular human that's for sure. His guardian's ancestor of a parent can resurrect people but only certain individuals. Perhaps, he can see you, the probably gruesome form is because of that."

"Gruesome?!" Mary questions after swallowing her piece of cut pancake. "What do you mean like that?"

"You don't get it from what I see to you. Fine, I will explain...I give up." NZ sighs as he stands and heads to Id'dreek as he points around her, which to others is unseen.

"Alright, she has wings like any other angel but instead of one pair, she has four. On each level of her view, she has another three more heads, instead of being human, she has one of a dog, lion and a bull. They all moved independently but do not speak."

Heading beside Id'dreek, he points to her lower and top regions. "Here on her chest, she has quite a many extra pair of eyes, clung up together like holes in a nest. It's pretty creepy but it can be slightly ignored by her busty appearance and her single string white linen dress."

Other than that, her arms has also slightly more feathers and also strange metallic spikes poking out of her as multiple scrolls circles around her, nearing his face closer to her bust, as he tries to hold onto a scroll, only to get electrocuted out of nowhere/nothing.

"Adre, Eskales!" Id'dreek says out as she gets up and cares towards NZ who suddenly fell from the aftereffects of the shock. "Are you ok sir? The scrolls were still element locally in security."

NZ calming down with short breathes, he gives a smile towards her as he was pressed on by her kind and the honest aura she brought out. "It's fine. As long as your innocent-looking front face make a good look."

"A compliment?" She mutters with a confused look. "Thank you."

He nods with a smile as he pushes himself up.

As he took his seat, he smiles at Mary. "That's all."

"You are telling me Id'dreek looks like some monster with four heads?" She asks with a surprised look as she to and fro gazes Id'dreek then back at him. "What?"

Nodding, he finishes the few last bits of food, before putting on his coat duster. "Anyway, we shall get going. Before the sun starts to dim. The wastelands of our current world ain't safe in the darkest nights."

Leutenegger nods, "Yeah we shall. Whiplash, Los gehts." As whiplash removed her apron, she transforms herself into a crystal and immediately circles a teleport. A lilac hue of a door made of light. With that, she disperses particles.

"But, but, I barely took a bite!" Mary shouts.

"Don't worry. We got extras in our bags, and some made extras in yours." NZ winks as he points to the portal. "Ladies first?"

"No," Shanina mutters as she holds onto NZ and kicks him into the portal. "Come, Mary, follow our steps."

With a nod, Mary rushes herself to make sure everything that she needs. Putting on her favourite slingback, she heads towards the portal as the crystal on her chest glows, confirming the return of her Guardian.

Upon entry, the pocket dimension was shut off as a fade of black turns them to the shady ghost town's bar entrance.

"Hot," Shanina mutters as she removes hoods herself with her coat. "It may take a while for me to get used to it since I stayed in that "paradise" far too long."

"It's fine. Just don't pass out from heatstroke and we will be smiling." NZ replies as he heads towards the exit of the town. "Oh yeah where's the ol' buggy you used to use? It may be useful?"

"That old junk? she's probably still behind the small cliff, if it's still there," Leutenegger calls out as she follows Mary who is beside her.

"Well, let's go see if it's still there. Also, stay alerted those Infected and strange abnormalities still exist." As he pulled out guardian crystals, he then transforms into his signature blade and twin pistol form.

Though a lack of accuracy, it gives him more creative ideas when fighting. Using his psionic blade similar to a rapier, he rests his gun hand.

"Still exist, disgusting," Shanina mutters as she pulls out an old rusty handgun she holstered by her back.

Mary following their actions excitedly pulls out her modified USP, Equity.

As the three strolled their way towards the cliff sides, they were faced with mother nature's reply, a sandstorm as they braced and push along themselves.

'Well, this is a pain in the arse.' NZ Gruffs out as he drags his way forwards. 'Just had to be a bloody sandstorm doesn't it?'

'I mean it's just a sandstorm, not a big deal.' Leutenegger shouts back as she holds onto Mary's hand as she pulls her together.

After some time of holding on, the three managed to fight through the sandstorm.

However, much to their short huff of relief, they were slowly being attacked one by one by strange beings that had some sort of symbiosis among the black liquid and random animals.

'What the fuck?!' NZ shouts as he gets pounced on by some beast. Holding it off, he struggles to push it off from biting off his sensitive neck. 'Get this shit off me!'

'We're fighting off our own fight, try to overpower it and stab it with your blade.' Leutenegger shouts at him as she held off a few of this beast by shooting with her favourite handgun.

Bang bang bang~ it sounded as it whizzed through the bones and muscles of this decomposed beings. Every crack of a whip stalled the sensitive ears of the pathetic creations and every shot kept its alert.

One by one, the beasts started to lower by numbers, but soon more came over time, a dozen more or so.

Using her mother's prized rifle, Mary counted every bullet shot to hold off the runner ups. Trying to keep the two alive, she aimed as precisely as possible to avoid certain danger to their own body.

Cracking off the head of the beast trying to ravage off NZ's fresh flesh, he knocks his fist on the beast's torso before pushing it off with a heavy throw. With an angry human-like growl, he retracts his psionic blade and stabs through the beast to end its misery.

'Well, that's one down of this bastards, I can't see shit. Where the fuck are you guys?!' He shouts as he guns down nearby shadows as it barked and readied its attack towards him.

'Two's clock!' Leutenegger shouts as she holds off the neck of one of them as she guns it down with her last few remaining bullets.

Following the order, Mary and NZ heads towards the guessing direction and meets up with each other, taking on the remaining forces that started to lump themselves all over the floor. The sandstorm dying off together.

'Huh, that's interesting, the sandstorm stopped immediately after killing all of them.' Mary a little curiously told the two.

'Perhaps, it was artificially made by one of the Infected. But who bothers anyway.' NZ replies. Pointing towards the cliffside edge, there was a torn-up cloth holding upon a sharp edge of scrap metal. 'That's it?'

'I think so. I can't seem to remember what colour was the covering, but it was close to blue. That could be the one, but it just looks a little dull than usual.' Leutenegger replies as she waltzes her way towards the strange craft.

'Careful!' Mary calls out to her. 'Just in case there are any hiders.'

'Will do, girl. No worries.' She started speaking less German for some reason as if she was used to speaking English suddenly. 'Seems to be fins in my opinion.'

Pulling off the cloth, it ripped off a scrap of metal as it revealed a very rusty yet hardened buggy. It had spikes and rivets by its every nook and cranny to work as a self-defence mechanism. It still looked intact, with its special tires keeping a freshly new wheel.

With a face of excitement, Leutenegger smiles with a proud look. Taking out a key from her breast pocket under her duster, she opens the driver's door and inserts it into the keylock. Turning it, it made an audible rev.

'Wunderbar!' She mutters to herself. 'You two, it works!' She shouts at them as she gestures them to head to her.

Doing so, they head to her with the sound of the rev happening over and over again before a puff of sand and soot came off its filter as the engine started running.

'Holy Id'dreek. What luck.' Mary surprisingly shouted. 'Time really does gives off memories.'

Inspecting the vehicle, it had a lot of differences compared to the buggy Dr Aug drove. It had more pipes and exhaust filters, multiple engines and a power cell holder, for some reason.

It had scraps of metal welded upon the vehicle to makeshift shields as slits of holes covered around.

'My lovely child, still intact.' Leutenegger cries in joy as she hugs its old and puffed out car seat.

NZ scratching his head in confinement, dragging his confusing look with a smile. 'Uggh? Okay. I guess we should give her some time to reunite with her vehicle.

As they waited off the lovely reunitement, the two were then guided in by Leutenegger who told them she was fine now.

Pulling out a map from his side pockets, NZ explains where they will heading next to meet up with an old comrade if she was alive. A good cache of weapons could be helpful as armour is needed in case bandits or worse monsters, attack them.

Following NZ's directions, she eventually got used to her dusty driving skills before giving off a smooth sail.

Mary sitting behind and getting slowed bored out of the same environment of beige sandblasting their face, decides to pull out the Tape Recorder and listen in to her next tape.

'NZ, I will be listening to the next tapes, alert me off when we are nearby, alright?'

Thumbing up, NZ clicks his tongue before looking back into the map. 'Gotcha, curious gal.'

Pressing the play button, the recorder made a click as the guardian crystal that powered it, made an intense glow. By doing so, Mary felt a sense of faint dizziness, as she slowly fell to slumber. Entering spiritually into the crystal and the tape recorder at the same time.