Gaza

Gaza

(Chapter 17)

**

[<<]

Seems like he's sound asleep on his bed. His room's quite dark in fact. Mr. Alex must've stressed himself out a lot earlier. The last time he even had a nap was that morning. This is, or should I say WAS a good opportunity for him to rest and rejuvenate his brain cells. There's a clicking noise at the door and it soon swings open. It's so dark that no one'd be able to see. Maybe it's one of the children? The room's illuminated by a candle light. The dark silhouettes creep up on him and, their identity becomes known. It's the bandits and they're here for the cargo.

[>]

[Eris]

As usual, she's been waiting for Erin to come back. She's almost asleep on her bed.

"{… The mental strain that you endure after getting hurt… It's so annoying! Worst thing is I don't know when Elmus will come by. It's not awful to be inspired by the person you admire is it? Since I was little… I don't even understand what made me feel this way about him.}"

Erin opens the door but doesn't even show his body. He just throws the crutches at the ground beside her bed. She's really excited. Once she's able to stand with the one that she needs, she rushes out and embraces him.

"Thank you so much brother! It's so fancy… you didn't have to go through this much trouble for me,"

"Trouble? I was just waiting for an opportunity to get something for my baby girl."

"… You're so sweet," she sobs.

"Hey, it's just a pair of crutches; it's not a big deal."

"You love me even though I was the reason that mother died."

"Don't start with THAT again. I keep on reminding you that it was mom who had the birth anomaly. Besides, she was probably happy about having twins."

"She suffered for a whole year."

"*sigh* One day you'll become a mother. On that day, I'll ask you whether your child was a burden to you. Your answer will be like mom's 'cause they say that moms share the same spirit."

[Diane]

The room's illuminated by candle light. She lies on a fluffy carpet; it must've been expensive. Not that they have deep pockets, they can steal merch too. She's quite the strong woman so she comes to.

"Mmm." It takes her a while to recollect all that happened but she does. "Danté."

"So you've finally come to."

"Damn you. Some of that stuff got into my lungs."

"That was necessary. Where persuasion fails?"

"… Where are they?"

"You already know the answer to that question. They should be in his room by now."

"Danté."

"Alright."

[Bandits]

They stand on his left bedside. Mr. Alex is curled up on the bed. They make their move. The first brother taps Mr. Alex lightly on the chest. He confirms by means of impact analysis that there's something covering his chest. It's definitely not his pecs.

He gives the signal and the other brother puts his knife to Mr. Alex's throat. He then slowly removes the package from Mr. Alex's clothing. He gives them a bit of trouble, but they're able to. He sniffs it and it's the real deal. It isn't Mr. Alex's fault. He's human and also needs to rest.

"{Look at the old demon sleep. He's so defenseless that I could carve him up with ease.}" He draws his knife and draws a little blood but the other is able to stop him in time. They withdraw.

[>]

They meet up with Mr. Pedro at the room with the fireplace. It's ablaze alright. No words from them; they just put the foot-long package in the palm of his hand.

"This is it?"

"Yes."

"This is the last operation. The brotherhood will have to find another mea— *gasp*. This is not it!" he yells as he unwraps it. "He must've anticipated this."

"That old bastard. This time we're gonna kill him—"

"THUD!" Mr. Alex drops down from the roof. "No need for that. I'm already gonna die of natural causes. That's be a waste of energy."

"YOU!" the brother yells, about to charge in but Mr. Pedro halts him.

"Stop! There are young ones in the house. We can't afford to raise much of a racket."

"I really don't get you Mr. Pedro. Why?"

"YOU answer me first. How'd you figure it out?"

"It wasn't so hard since you blundered a few times.

[<<]

This is back when they were telling Alexandra about what transpired when they were away.

"We found a kind soul, a man. He explained what happened to us. A mine recently opened up north. After a week or two of service, people started to get sick, coughing up blood and all. It seemed to be a disease worse than tuberculosis. It's not clear whether it's fortunate or UNfortunate but the bandits raided and looted the mine. The miners couldn't pay for the medicine so the Sheriff did. On the other hand, the bandits were definitely infected.

The bandits hijacked the first shipment. Word spread out and that's why the carriage waited for a Raid Unit before setting off. If the people didn't get this package, they'd die."

"How unfortunate. Something as bad as this has been going on and nothing has been done about it?"

"And that's what's strange. Could it be that everyone turned a blind eye? Anyway, let's look at this. When we arrived, we were unannounced right? The thing that draws my attention is why would you hire a Raid Unit to come exterminate a mere bird with foreknowledge of the bandits at Dead Man's Curve?"

"Are you saying that…"

"Yes. Mr. Pedro is definitely behind this."

"But they don't seem like bad people grandpa."

"That's what I can't really wrap my finger around. You can tell a person's worth. It just doesn't make any sense… You guys should have a good rest tonight. I'm gonna find out and I don't wanna endanger you. Compris?"

"Oui monsieur."

[>]

"We wrapped up some leaves and cased it with a bit of your herb. That's pretty much it."

"But that wasn't the case. I honestly forgot to acknowledge your arrival. No malice intended… There are so many secrets in this city. He draws swords from above the fireplace. The bandits don't even wait for his order; they lunge at him, straight to their death. Pedro turns around to behold bodies with splattered heads fall to the ground.

"Those idiots. I told them to stand clear."

"What're you doing? I thought we had a deal."

"Indeed. You made a deal with Pedro, but what you seek is a secret of this city. You will have to defeat the protector of this city too if you seek that knowledge." He tosses Mr. Alex one of the rapiers.

"Well I guess that's fair, but I'll have you know that this duel will be your death."

"And why's that?"

"…Humans are monsters alright… but I have transcended."

"Here I come."

Mr. Pedro is an I.M.U. That's how he keeps the town safe during patrols. His quick draw is almost unstoppable. He thrusts and flicks and slashes at Mr. Alex. It's faster than the eye can follow. He gives Mr. Alex a few stripes in a mere ten seconds.

"Were you saying something earlier?"

"This thing is so darn light to me. Either way, I think I'm about used to it now."

"Then let's get serious now, shall we old man?"

[Alexandra]

"Alexander. Alexander," she wakes her brother up. "Get up."

"What is it?"

"I feel like grandpa's in trouble. Let's go."

"If he told us to stay here, it means we're gonna be safe here. Look at you. You'd just be getting in the way."

"… I don't care about that. Why'd he come back for you when he was obviously hurt? You can stay here if you want."

"Don't put it that way. You're so good at manipulating me," he nags as he gets up on his feet. "I'll take the left and you'll take the right."

[Mr. Alex]

It's become a fierce battle. Since grandpa's used to such a huge and heavy tower, swinging a rapier around is way more than a piece of cake. However, he's used to devastating attacks and heavy recoils so it's not easy for him. Pedro capitalizes on this to teach him a lesson and he's knocked down to the ground.

"For someone who talked so much, you're doing quite fine."

"Don't mock me when we're fighting on your terms,"—casts the rapier aside—"don't you wonder why I have this scar on my forehead?"

"It's quite cool. Why?"

"Because I'm crazy suicidal!"

"He charges in head on. Pedro flicks the rapier at him but he deflects it with his left gauntlet. As Pedro is pushed back, he thrusts straight for his eye but Mr. Alex catches it with his gauntlet and twirls around and tackles him. It snaps and he catches the broken part as Mr. Pedro buries the remainder in his back. Mr. Alex mauls his guts as he takes him off the ground and smashes him on the wall above the fireplace. It's not over. He trips Mr. Alex and they battle to roast each other in the blazing flames of the fireplace. "Dad!" Marlene screams.

She reaches her hand out and Mr. Alex moans in pain. It distracted her dad enough for Mr. Alex to capitalize but Alexandra also screams "Grandpa!"

Mr. Pedro kicks him off. He gets up but he has been shanked in the gut. Marlene rushes to him. Mr. Alex plucks the rapier out of his back and Alexandra runs to him too. They're both bleeding.

"What the heck did you do to me little girl?"

"My nanites hold your tissues together till you heal. I retracted them while causing maximal damage to your skin. They're still in your granddaughter over there so I suggest you tread carefully."

"Gah… that's one damn trump card you got there."

"No it's not. This was supposed to be a fair duel. Her interference has cost me this match."

"??? Forget about him. Let me heal you father."

"You have to heal him as well or I won't get to keep my part of the bargain."

Lil' Alex rushes in as well. "What the heck is going on here? Grandpa!"

"Bring him over here."

"But father! I can't heal both of you at the same time!" she draws out her other hand. It's also armed. She can use Asclepius Digits with both hands!"

"Then just keep him alive." Her digits plunge deep into their wounds and the bleeding stops. "Alright. If I'm gonna tell you this… I need your word that none of you will divulge what I'm about to tell you."

"You've been making a lot of conditions… Alright, you have my word."

"Now where to start from… I'll have you know that my wife is a Benignus."

"!... But what does that have to do with this?"

"Okay, lemme explain… Gaza was a very poor town years back. I'm talking about back when I followed my wife to-be and her half-brother here. The people were suffering and their land was about to be sold off to some guy. Not that she asked me but I felt obligated to help the town.

I planned and initiated a long-term development plan for the town. I built this house and a lot of the major structures like the fruit market. I also created the berry plantation and employed local folk to provide more employment. I was soon appointed Sheriff by the local people and the king.

My wife couldn't see sunlight. If anyone saw her… it'd be the end of her. I had to keep her safe. There was also the fact that I was running low on funding. I had squandered my fortune. That's when we came up with the brightest idea. The route that's currently called dead man's curve was the favored trading route back in the days. What if we had a bunch of miscreants jump the carriages that were bringing in supplies? We definitely wouldn't have to pay for them.

My wife was so skilled in self-defense that offense was definitely not a problem for her. We formed a band. I was Sheriff during the day and bandit at night. No shipment ever made it through and the companies stopped answering my requests. Even Raid Units failed to get through. The name became famous and they named the route "Dead Man's Curve."

But I couldn't keep it up. Sheriff never home at night? Criminals and accused came looking to join this group that put even the Guilds to shame. I slayed the murderers among them and kept those I thought worthy of saving. We called it "The Brotherhood." I slowly disjoined them. It wasn't long after that that Marlene came along.

The town's only healer died so we had her pick up the Asclepius Digits. Due to her mom's good genes, she's ambidextrous. She's been taking care of everything medicine related. A blessing don'tcha think?"

I'm gonna wrap this up. The economy here started to fall again. After a desperate attempt to save the economy, I created another plantation up north, but it didn't flourish. Why? We tried to find the root cause. A villager reported that a certain weed was smothering the berries up north. It was far from that. It was a weed that had the ability to grow in soil rich in metal. The berries just couldn't survive there. That plant indicates a jackpot. We hit a gold mine.

With the last of the funding I could manage, I set up the gold mine. Everything was going so smoothly and there was no need for The Brotherhood to continue operating, but there were some who didn't see it that way. They went after the gold and returned to The Nest as if nothing ever happened. Little did they know that a dangerous disease had broken out. It seemed to be tuberculosis but the gestation… it was way more aggressive. The one's that returned to the nest infected my wife and most of the others.

I closed down the mine and sent the symptoms over to the king's physician. The disease was apparently named after the gold from which it was contracted, Devil's Gold. The cure is the herb that you posses, the Angel's Feather's. We ordered a shipment before and it cured some of the bandits. This one's bigger, it can cure everyone. There are only two people in this town who can cure the disease: my daughter and a brother. That's how we ended up here."

"… Now you've kept your promise dad."

"Don't Marlene. He's only fighting for justice—"

"Pedro!!!" a female voice shouts. She leaps forward and lands in their midst. The other two bandits had their heads… Pedro's severely wounded. It's a sight her heart can't stand. She rages up! "YOU!!!" A dark blood-like gas sprays out into her surroundings.

"Diane! Cut it out!"

"No way!"

"You'll destroy the herb."

"*gasp*" She stops and it dissolves.

"That's my wife, Diane."

"… but how would anybody know that she was a Benignus?"

"The most noticeable trait is their odd hair colors. Green… Purple—"

"And Orange. The secondary colors."

"Yes. That's the easiest way to identify them." He grasps Diane's hand.

"If you die I'll kill them all! Don't die on me. Marlene!"

"I'm trying. They're both severe. I need help mom."

"Danté!"

Danté emerges from the shadow and helps Marlene fix Mr. Alex up so they can focus on Mr. Pedro. Mr. Alex mauled him up pretty bad.

"Mr. Pedro… although I'm just a young girl… I can tell you this. No matter what the reason is, wrong is still wrong. You tried to kill us—"

"Shut up you little girl! We never gave the order to kill you. It was that idiot… You came after an innocent man for nothing. Why?"

"It's not their fault Diane. We know how it progressed; if it was Marlene at stake I would've done the same… Mr. Alex, even if you won't give"—he coughs out blood—"if you won't hand it over, please heal my wife."

"You just coughed up blood. Don't tell me that you're infected too dad?"

"… I dosed myself… I couldn't let your mother suffer alone *moan*. Aren't you over doing it?"

"Just keep quiet dad."

"… I guess we'll have to go our way from here then."

"No Mr. Alex. What about the Giant Raven?"

"Hunh? Wasn't that just a—"

"No! That bird is a demon! You have to eradicate it! Gah. I'm pleading with you. Please stay for the night. No one'll try to assassinate you or anything of the sort; I give you my word."

"That'd feel weird after everything that has transpired here."

"I can't eliminate that thing; it's just too much."

"… Fine. See you tomorrow then. You better not die, I only gave you a jab in the mesenteric artery." They take their leave.

"Pedro. How did you lose to him in fencing?"

"… I interfered mom."

"… Don't blame yourself. I had the chance to burn him to a crisp but I detected the Feathers and hesitated."

"Don't worry Diane. You can only contract the Devil's Gold once. The brothers will work in the mines. I'll resign and that'll be it. The work is done."

"Well I think you should survive first—"

"Will you two stop talking! You really never stop when you're together."

"Then go get a wife Danté," he teases. They all have a good laugh. Morning soon befalls them.

[Valentina]

She shoots up early in the morning, takes a bath, brushes her hair—everything essential to go out. It's just the break of dawn but she could care less. She puts on a black tank top and a skirt. That's all that she needed. She grabs her parasol and runs out of the house.

[>]

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."

-------End of Chapter 17-------

Chapter 18 Teaser

I thought that she wasn't excited about it. Anyway, when's Arthur gonna come back?

To be continued…