Chapter 19: Arsenal Assembly
Earth: April 9, 2014; 7:48 AM; Raph's House
"Yo, is Grape here yet?" Raph asked as he leaped down the small flight of stairs. He quickly grabbed a pair of rubber shoes with one hand as he straightened the collar of his shirt.
"No." Kyle replied, shaking his head as he grabbed a shoehorn and began using it on his black shoes. "If he doesn't get his ass here soon, then we'll be late."
Matt pushed his fist into his palm and flashed a wicked, sinister grin. "If that ass-wipe makes us late, I'mma beat his ass after work."
"Well, your shift starts at nine o'clock." Himawari commented as she quickly descended the staircase and drifted over to the three with her hands clasped behind her back. "I don't think you'll be late at this rate."
"Yeah, but there's heavy traffic going there." Himawari turned her head around to Yuki standing at the top of the staircase, her eye focused on a small book. "Grape should've come here early."
"But…" Kureha commented as she walked past them, sweeping the floor with the broom. She glanced at the clock, and then at the door. "If there's traffic going that way, isn't there also traffic coming this way too?"
"THAT'S WHY HE SHOULD HAVE COME EARLY!" Matt replied, raising his arms in the air.
The sound of the doorbell ringing sent Matt's head swiveling towards the main gate.
"Usain BOOOOOLLLLLTTTTT!" With a loud cry, Himawari dashed past the group, deftly grabbing Matt's wrist, and then heading for the door. As they skidded to a stop in front of the door, Himawari grabbed the gate door and threw it wide open.
There stood Grape, his back turned to the doorway with his hands planted into his hips.
At the sound of the fate swinging open, he turned around. "Oh. Hey, gu-"
"Poser." The word came out of both Matt's and Himawari's mouth.
"You guys keep calling me that." Grape replied, clueless and lost. He directed his accusing tone at Matt. "Especially you, since you started the whole mess. Why?"
"I told you, I don't know why!" Matt cried in guilty protest.
"I dunno. I can kinda understand what Matt's saying." Himawari answered back, her hand on her chin as she looked Grape up and down. "I can't really put my finger on it. Don't worry, it's not the way you look. It's just something."
"I don't even know what that's supposed to mean!" Grape replied, a hand on the top of his head as if he were frustrated.
"Keep it down! It's still morning!" The group turned to see Ayase leaning ove the balcony with a look that screamed shut the hell up or I'm going to disembowel you.
"Well, his volume dial never goes below seven." Raph answered as he walked through the doorway, shooting an accusing glance at Grape.
"Out of what?" Yuki asked nonchalantly, trailing behind the group of boys as they walked towards the gate.
"Five." Kyle shot back, grinning.
"Well, Grape's here now, so let's go already." Matt groaned in complaint, throwing his arms around.
"At least fix up, Matt. You look like a mess." Kyle said, taking note of Matt's slightly disheveled clothing and ruffled hair.
Matt just replied with a venomous stare. "Your mom's a mess."
"Come on, let's go." Grape urged as they walked out of the gate, and he opened the car door to the backseat of his car.
"Here, Sakura." Raph said, handing a small pack of bills over to the person in question. "We'll be back late, so here's some money for food."
"Alright." She said, taking the money from his hands and walking back to stand next to her sister.
"Hang on." Yuki called out, and Raph stopped as he was about to enter the car. She walked over to him and took off the cap resting on his head, whipped out a comb and began grooming his hair. "You don't fix up at all before you leave, either."
"It usually fixes itself." Raph replied uncaringly.
"No, that won't do. You need to make yourself look presentable whenever you go out, especially at work." Yuki lectured in reply, and then she straightened his glasses and his cap. "There we go, now you look better."
Raph just sighed, trying to ignore the stares of the people around them. "We're going out now."
With that, he leaped into the car and slammed the door behind him. The car drove off quickly, leaving the girl alone on the side of the road.
As Yuki turned to go back inside, she caught sight of Himawari's smug grin and snicker. Sakuya stood next to her, smiling a little suggestively. Yuki raised her eyebrow in response. "Wh-what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing." Himawari giggled before she sneakily backed off into the doorway, her laugh getting louder and louder until it was at a level that would normally be illegal.
"…You two just looked so much like a married couple back there that we couldn't help but smile." Sakuya replied, retaining her grin.
Yuki felt the blood go to her head, and she shook her hands. "We-we're not like that!"
"You just looked like it, so don't worry."
"I told you, there's nothing like that going on between us! Stop looking at me like that or I'll kick you into the wall!"
Earth: April 9, 2014; 10:53 AM; Blue Strap; McDonald's
"Hey, Raph!" Kyle called out urgently. "Hurry up with number 6's order!"
He motioned to the back of the fast food joint, past the counters that bustled with cash registers and customers alike.
"Grape, man the drive-thru window!" Matt said as he mopped the last of an iced tea spillage before reaching over to the side for a wet floor sign.
"Got it!" Grape called back as he placed a tray down on a nearby table, bowed to the customer and then jogged over to Matt. "Do me a favor and hand number 17 their order. The elderly can't lift that much fries." He pointed over to the counter where two trays, one full of fries and the other an assortment of hamburgers and drinks, remained untouched.
"Sure thing." Matt said nervously as he placed the wet floor sign down and headed over to the trays. Picking each one up with one hand, he felt a slight wobble in his arms and froze for a bit. After a moment, he began taking slow, steady steps towards table 17.
"Think we can bring some food home if we ask the boss?" Kyle whispered to Raph, both men standing at the currently empty cashiers.
"Maybe." Raph replied. "The manager seems to like us, too, so we might get a discount again."
Kyle just grinned and pumped his fist. "Yes!"
"Matt!" A loud, much older-sounding voice emerged from the back of the kitchen. "Get the mop! The bathroom's a mess again!"
"Coming!" Matt groaned as he dashed past, grabbing the mop and then heading into the back.
"…to think we'll be doing this all summer." Raph muttered to himself, shaking his head as if in disapproval.
Earth: April 9, 2014; 12:25 AM; Raph's House
"Neptune and some of the others went over to the original portal's location, in case." Ayase said, her gaze directed at the screen that projected Histoire's face.
"Good. It should be fine, since I adjusted the process behind the activation of the portal." Histoire said, nodding her head in affirmation. "It should be far more stable, but having the girls over there as well is good."
Sakuya nodded in agreement and folded her arms under her chest. "Well, shall we begin?"
"Right away." Histoire replied, and then the screen zoomed out. They could see Histoire floating in the air with her tome in front of her, sifting through pages at the speed a gambler burns through money. A flash of light blinded the camera, and the screen turned dark.
In perfect synchronicity, a flash of light also appeared in the room and almost blinded the people inside. As the light dimmed down, the screen flashed back to life as well.
"I see it's a perfect success. I'll be sending you the items now." Histoire said approvingly, and then she floated off screen. Seconds later, the girls in the room could see boxes levitating past the camera and into the small rift.
The boxes emerged from the portal on their side and began to fall down again, only to be caught deftly by Shino and Shiina.
"Mm! It's heavy!" Shino complained as they set the boxes down.
"Yeah! It's like we ordered Mina through FedEx or something!" Shiina replied, thumping the box with her fist.
"I'll go call the rest." Sakuya said, clearly trying to hide the smile on her face, as she exited the living room.
"Got it." Ayase nodded to her, and then looked over the boxes to check for damage or disruption.
"Looks like we need to finish up soon before they get home." Ayase raised her head to see her little sister Kureha as she crashed onto the couch.
"Don't worry, we'll make it."
Earth: April 9, 2014; 8:41 AM; Raph's House
"Good thing we could take some food home." Matt commented, hefting the plastic bag of food in his hand.
"Yeah, the manager was even nice enough to give us a discount for 'em." Kyle added, nodding as he hefted his own bag.
"Give it a week, then we'll be sick of it." Raph replied as he walked over to the front door and placed a hand on the doorknob.
"True enough." Grape nodded in agreement, hefting two plastic bags of food in his hand. "Though for now, it's pretty awesome."
As Raph unlocked the door, the four were greeted with the shocking sight of Himawari hanging upside down from the doorway.
"Gah!" Kyle let out a scream of dismay and surprise as he took five steps back, raising his hands as if to ward off evil.
"Boo!" Shiina and Shino emerged as well, hanging on either side of Himawari with demonic masks on their face.
"You were late." Grape replied, grinning, clearly unaffected by the attempt to scare them. Instead, he poked Shino's cheek. "Work on the timing a little more."
"Jesus…" Kyle sighed as he walked back to them, picking up the plastic bag he dropped. "You guys scared me half to death."
"Bonus points for me, then." Himawari laughed as she flipped back upright, landing onto the ground swiftly.
"So, what's the occasion?" Matt asked, scratching his chin.
"Come in, first." Ayase called out to them, and she walked over to the boys. Beckoning for them to come in, they all walked over to the living room.
"So, what's going on?" Kyle asked, suspiciously glancing around for a potential second attack.
"We all actually wanted to thank you for helping us out so much until now." Sakura said, bowing her head in gratefulness. She then raised her head and gestured towards a set of boxes at the other side of the room.
"By scaring us the moment we got home." Kyle said accusingly, glaring at Himawari.
"Anyway," Sakuya chuckled lightly before pointing at the boxes. "You're ignoring the elephant in the room. Take a look in the boxes."
"Sure thing." Grape replied, and he eagerly dashed over to the box with his name labeled on the front. He struggled with the packaging for a bit, and then gave up. He looked towards Ayase, a defeated expression on his face. "Mind if I just tear it?"
She nodded and gestured for him to go ahead. "Sure. It's what's inside that matters, anyway."
"Aight." With that, Grape turned back to it and began ripping the cardboard apart. As he peered inside the remains, everyone felt their ears pierced by a spike of pain as he let out a sound of delight.
He brought out two things. In his right hand was a black and purple wakizashi. And in the other, a glossy, metallic-looking black and purple single-handed shotgun.
"Finally! Weapons! I have weapons!" Grape yelled happily as he stood up, and he accidentally hit a button on each handle. The weapons instantly retracted into a pocket form. He let out another ooh of appreciation that sounded like the volume alone could kill at close range. "They retract, too! That's so boss!"
"I got this." Raph replied, also enthusiastic as he brought out a black and red saber. In his other hand, he held a single black pistol.
"Whoa!" The two turned to see Matt marveling at a massive, two handed white claymore. On the floor next to him was a white camouflage machine pistol.
"Pretty awesome." Kyle nodded in appreciation as he checked out the olive green spear in his hand. Strung across his back was a military camouflage-style combat bow.
"That's gift one, though." Shiina burst into the living room, and she skipped over to the four boys with a sly grin on her face. "Get ready for gift two!"
She pointed over to Himawari and Sakura, who were dangling bracelets from their hands. The bracelets were simple, made of what appeared to be shiny silvery steel.
"Interesting." Grape said as he drew closer to them. He plucked one from Himawari's hand and took a look at it. "Not really my thing, but thanks." He strapped it onto his left wrist.
"Fashionable." Matt whistled as he took one and wore it on his right wrist.
"They're not just bracelets, though." Yuki commented, looking up from an issue of Hayate no Gotoku in her hands. "They are imbued with several spells as well as the power of Gamindustri's technology."
The CPU Candidate of Planeptune's eyes lit up as she regarded the bracelets.
"Using the most formidable types of Gamindustrian steel alloys, the bracelets are virtually indestructible in most circumstances. It employs voice recognition technology which activate several duplicates of enchanted hardware, which in turn activate a series of magic spells that enhance the wearer's abilities!" She began to recite, as if she were reading off of the manual itself. She clasped her hands together, as if she were praying. "They are capable of changing the user's outward appearance as a side effect, which is customizable if one knows how to code it."
"…so, yeah. We call it your Sage Form." Yuki summed it up, returning her gaze to the manga in her hands.
"Shout out Link-On!" Sakura urged, leaning forward. "The voice recognition will record our voice and use it as reference, and it will also calibrate-"
"Okay, okay. That's enough, little sis." Himawari suddenly leaped over her sister from the back and deftly duct taped her mouth shut. She turned around as if nothing were all and grinned at the four. "Try it out."
"Okay, let's give it a try." Kyle nodded in agreement. The four looked at each other uneasily, and Kyle just sighed and shouted it. "Link-On!"
*Initializing Sage Link…*
With a flash of bright light, Kyle suddenly was wearing a completely different outfit. His legs were clothed in black pants, and a long black coat with white and grey accents was now present on his body. Grey fingerless gloves and boots finished off the look.
*Sage Link Access Complete.*
"Damn." Grape nodded in appreciation. "Welp, let's go! Link-On!"
"Link-On!" "L-Link-On!" Raph and Matt followed suit, and the four were now wearing the outfits altogether.
"Pretty legit." Raph admired as he looked himself up and down.
"Frikkin Power Rangers or something. Oh, I know! It's kinda like Megaman Star Force!" Grape cried out in glee, and he began walking around. "It's like it's not even there! It's that comfortable!"
"Wait, there's still the second form." Grape suddenly remembered, and his grin spread almost from ear to ear. He looked his friends in the eye, and they grinned.
"Just yell out Keeper State." Yuki offered nonchalantly, turning the next page of her book.
"…Keeper State!" The four yelled in unison.
*Keeper State Startup Initializing*
Another bright flash of light covered each one of them. As they examined themselves, they realized that there was now armor similar to that of the CPUs in their CPU Form attached and floating around their bodies.
*Keeper State Sequence Complete*
"Whoa. Damn." Grape admired the glossy looking steel armor.
"Can we fly?" Matt asked eagerly, his eyes alight almost like a child's.
"Unfortunately, no." Ayase replied, a smile of mock apology on her lips.
"It will amplify your strength exponentially, though." Kureha added, coming out of the kitchen with a tray occupied by a pot of tea and cups.
"No kidding." Grape replied, clenching his fists. "I can literally feel it."
"You guys can use certain powerful Weapon Skills and Elemental Magic when in those forms." Sakuya noted, beginning to pour the tea.
"…lemme guess. Fire, Ice, Wind and Lightning." Grape offered, noting the color schemes of the armor.
"Correct. And you all can switch elements whenever you please." Sakura replied with a smile on her face.
"D-do you like the gifts?" Shino asked them feebly.
"Yeah. It's awesome." Raph replied, offering her a smile and a soft pat on the head.
"I knew you'd like it!" Shiina called out, pointing a finger at the four and grinning.
"I think we're more than prepared for whatever minions Arfoire chooses to send out of her ass." Grape replied, drawing his sword and letting it tingle with electricity.
"Yeah, man." Matt agreed, grinning wickedly as his claymore began coating itself in a layer of sharp icicles.
"No way can we lose with these." Kyle added with a smile, his arrow burning with fire at the tip.
Raph nodded as he thrust his sabre, a gust of wind forcibly dispersing into the air in front of him.
"Well, let's not waste our time." Himawari Interrupted. She pulls out some pizza and soda they hid behind the couch and place them on the table. " Let's celebrate!"
"Woah, pizza!" Matt jumps up for joy as kyle tries to calm him down, placing his hands on his shoulders.
Sakuya places her hand on he chest. "Well it is a party."
Yuki gets a slice of pizza, places it on a plate and hands it over to them, "..It's our thank you for all you've done. So just enjoy."
Grape takes the pizza from her. "I'll take you up on that offer."
While they were celebrating, off in the distance someone was observing them.
"Hmm…"
A figure stood atop the church, his eyes locked on the celebrating friends through the windows as he leaned on the wall of the bell tower.
He was cloaked in shadow, and none could see his face nor guess his name.
"Things seems to be getting more…interesting." He whispered silently yet seductively to no one but himself.
He paced towards the ledge, stopping at the edge.
"It is almost time." He hissed.
He whipped his hand down towards the ground far below. A shadowy being, two feet tall with glowing yellow eyes emerged from the ground once again.