Chapter 03: The Old Library
"Mint is late." Rue could hear Elena muttering from the kitchen. She took out two more platters of pancakes daubed with cream and strawberry syrup. "If she doesn't come soon, there'll be no breakfast for her."
He said, "Don't worry, I'll think I'll wait before I start on those pancakes."
"Alright." Elena placed the plates onto the table before sitting down beside the white-haired boy. "Aren't you excited, Rue? I mean, you're going back to that really really really creepy place again… I've heard that that place is gangster county, too… Ooh, be extra extra careful! Maybe you'll meet Blood and Smokey again!"
"Blood and Smokey are two-bit thieves who definitely won't stand a chance against Rue." Klaus said as he entered the dining hall, Mira following close behind. "Still, that doesn't mean you won't meet with monsters or anything."
Elena laughed. "Oh, Papa, don't tell me you still believe those rumors! A man of science like you…"
Mira had to laugh along with her daughter. "Mint's not here yet?" she asked.
"Mira, are you sure it'll be okay to send Mint with Rue? I mean, that place is dangerous…"
The gymnastics coach dismissed her husband with a wave of her hand. "Mint can handle it." From outside they heard the sound of scuffling feet that quickly ground to a halt, followed by a knock. "That must be her now."
Elena walked to the hall and opened the door. "Hello, Mint!"
"Hey." Mint was brushing the dust off her khakis. "So, is your pet Polly ready to go yet?"
"Err, please don't…"
"Mint! Come in and have breakfast first!" Mira called from the other room.
"Cool!" She stepped past a furiously blushing Elena and into the dining hall, taking a seat across from Rue. "What're we having?"
"Pancakes with strawberry and cream. Elena made them," Rue told her.
"These are good!" Mint complimented the younger girl when they were halfway through breakfast.
Rue agreed. "Elena's a good cook, isn't she? She takes after her mom."
"Yeah," Mint turned towards her coach. "Don't forget the cookies you promised me."
"First you come back from that old library alive," Mira answered jokingly. She looked over the table and noticed that everybody was done. "Well, you two best be off at an early start."
They all stood, and Elena started to clear the table. The older Klauses walked with the younger kids to the front of the house. "Be careful of monsters," Klaus warned them. Mira elbowed him in the ribs.
Mint wasn't carrying her duffel, but instead had with her two metal rings that she hung on each side of her belt. Rue picked up his violin case by the door. "You're taking that thing again?" She eyed his violin case suspiciously.
"Yup," he agreed. "It'll attract too much attention if I don't keep it in here. I'll take it out when we get to Elroy's."
"Later, then!" Mint turned and waved at the Klauses. The two high school kids then walked out of the Klauses' driveway and out into the street, Rue closing the gate behind them as they left.
Elroy's Library turned out to be a warehouse in one of the seedier parts of town. It was the middle building on a one-lane street where all the structures were in a deep state of disrepair.
Rue explained to Mint that several years ago, before they both came to Carona, the place they were headed to used to be the industrial area of town, until the local government passed a law declaring that all factories had to be moved away from the residential neighborhoods. The buildings were abandoned, and the area eventually became a favorite hideout of the town's few petty criminals. Elroy was some sort of magician/hermit who had connections with some out-of-district company that Klaus never found out what, but his name had turned up when Klaus was investigating the relics.
"The last time I went here, I encountered several thugs that just got back from a bank robbery. I managed to defeat them and alert the police, but," he wrinkled his nose. "Mira wasn't happy about it." Remembering the two-hour long lecture he got from the gymnastics coach that had almost made his ears fall off still made him wince. "We're here. Weapons ready, Mint."
"You don't have to tell me that," she replied haughtily. She already had her rings in hand.
He knelt and put down his violin case, his hands moving carefully over the black container's locks. "I've had this thing for as long as I can remember."
She ooh-ed sarcastically. "Finally, I get to see what's in the oh-so-sacred violin case…" she stopped short when she saw what was inside.
It was a sword. It didn't look like one, but she knew it was a sword.
He held it so Mint could see it better. "It's called the Arc Edge."
"That. Is. The. Weirdest. Sword. I've. Ever. Seen." She was gaping openly. Suddenly she grinned. "But I like it!!"
"Thanks, I think." With his other hand he slung the strap of his now-empty violin case over one shoulder. "Well, shall we?" Using the Arc Edge, he bashed at the warehouse door lock, opening it neatly. He knew exactly where to hit it without ruining either the lock or the door, as he was the one who sealed it shut from the last time he was there.
The inside was just as dark and dusty as he had found it two years ago. Crates of boxes were stacked on one side, and beside that were huge cabinets filled with broken mechanical devices that Mint couldn't even begin to recognize. A broken ladder hung by the ceiling on an empty wall. The only illumination came from a hole in the roof, right above Elroy's old desk.
"I can hardly see a thing." Mint squinted in an attempt to better make out her surroundings. She turned towards him suddenly. "By the way, don't try anything funny or I'm gonna jump-kick you in the face."
As if I'd want to… Rue sighed inwardly, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. He moved towards a cabinet after leaving his violin case by the door.
"I hope you remembered to bring flashlights."
"We can use this." He picked up a couple of old rusted lamps off a dusty shelf.
Mint eyed them suspiciously. "Are you sure that'll work?"
"I can fix it." After handing one to Mint, he opened the other and started tinkering with its innards. "These lamps are a pretty reliable model, and they run on perpetual power supplies. They're not working now, but…" they both heard something click. The lamp turned on, diffusing the room with a faint white glow.
How does he do that?! Mint wondered as she handed him the other lamp. A couple of seconds and another click later, that one was working too.
Rue walked over to the old desk where the cylindrical containers were located. He braced his Arc Edge against the table and started opening them one by one. Mint followed, looking over his shoulder at what he was doing. "I just need to find three items for Klaus," he explained.
"Everything else we find is mine, isn't it?" Mint grinned mischievously. "What's up there?" she asked, indicating the hole in the roof. She could see a ledge and railing. "It looks like there's another room."
"The ladder's broken, so I've never been upstairs yet. I suppose it's mostly empty, though."
"Hmm." Mint walked off to explore as Rue continued opening containers.
He heard a clang! followed by a loud crash. He turned to see that Mint had thrown one of her metal rings, breaking the wooden ladder in two. The lower half had fallen against the wall, and she was bracing it against the cabinet so as to climb onto the higher shelves.
"What are you…?"
"I'm just going up to take a look! (Besides, I might find treasure… and rules do say finders keepers…)" she had already climbed to the top of the cabinet.
Rue could do nothing but watch. She jumped and caught the end of the broken ladder. "Mint! Be careful!" But either she didn't hear him or pretended not to notice.
It took her a couple of tries before she finally managed to haul herself up to the top floor. Only to find out that Rue was right—the place was mostly empty except for a couple of boxes and some unremarkable debris. She wrinkled her nose. No treasure.
But that was okay. She didn't come up there to investigate anyway.
She walked over to the railing to look over the town. The soft breeze picked up right then, as if it knew she was there and that it welcomed her.
But it wasn't anything like home. Back home it was forest and mountains as far as the eye could see. Here all they had were the houses and buildings of a small town and the ocean beyond that.
She raised her rings above her head, reveling in the feel of the wind blowing through her hair.
After some time she lowered her arms, feeling tears of homesickness sting her eyes. I'm not going to cry over this, she thought, gritting her teeth. She wiped at her eyes. Something glinted on the floor, and she bent over to pick it up.
It was a jeweled tiara. Now that definitely didn't classify under unremarkable debris. I'd better show this to Rue. She took one last glance at the horizon before reluctantly going back down the ladder.
He was almost done with the containers when he heard her jump down on the other side of the room. "So, found all the relics yet?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I'm still missing a large, flat key and the tiara."
"What about this? I found it on the floor upstairs." She handed the jeweled trinket to him.
"That's it! That leaves just one more, then." He turned, looking around the room for the nth time for any containers he might have missed. He went back to the shelf where he originally found the containers, but he had already checked them all. Maybe in the boxes? He started opening them one after the other.
Mint was browsing through the shelves while Rue searched. She didn't find them particularly interesting, but it kept her busy while she waited for her companion. It took a moment before she realized he was speaking to her.
"…Claire was always afraid of heights. But you like heights, don't you?"
Mint nodded. "Back home, I used to climb up the castle turrets every afternoon." Her eyes took a faraway look as she remembered. "I like having the wind on my face, and looking across the mountains into the sunset…" She turned to look sharply at him. "How did you know that?!"
"I saw you while you were up there. You know, for a moment, I thought…" he trailed off. "Nah, it's nothing, forget it."
"What's nothing?" She stomped her foot in annoyance. "Now you have to tell me, or I'm gonna get really angry!"
"Well, it's just that when you held your dual haloes over your head, it reminded me of something I once knew, that's all," he lied. He didn't think Mint would take it well if he told her that for a moment, when he looked up through the hole in the roof, he had thought she was an angel.
"What did you say?"
"I said that your dual haloes reminded me of…" But Mint cut him off.
"Dual Haloes, eh? I like that…" she said, twirling her rings.
Suddenly a thought came into Rue's mind. Weapon in hand, he walked over to where Mint's ring had broken the ladder earlier and carefully rummaged through the broken wood. "I can't believe I missed this last time! Mint, look at this." He pulled the wreckage aside.
It was a trap door. "What are the chances the missing relic is in there?" he asked.
"Very high," they answered simultaneously.
"I'm going in first." Mint opened the trap door and jumped in before he could object. "Oww (stupid rock)," her voice called from down below. "Well, Rue? What the heck is taking you so long?!!"
Rue frowned at the empty air, surprised at himself for getting irritated. She is such a pain! I've never had to put up with anything like this when I was with Claire… Come to think of it, he didn't remember ever having to put up with anything like that even when he wasn't with Claire. Neither did he remember ever getting annoyed at practically anyone else before. Sighing heavily, he gripped the Arc Edge tightly, and jumped down the opening after her.
Author's Notes
Thank you very much for reading this, and thank you for reviewing to those who did! Special thanks to Lady Light, Chibi Lady & Reecee for supplying me with Trap and Psycho Master's names. And yes, they're all in there, even Lucine (though I'm positive it's Lucine like you won't expect her, ^_~ …) But we won't be seeing them until quite some time yet. I'm following the game story, and the next chapter(s) is only the underground ruins and the skull beast. Thanks again!