XXIII: The World Is Not Enough
Florina/Mariel and Martina are sitting on an old wooden fence overlooking an endless sea of amber grain in the setting sun. Martina stretches as Florina smiles at the sun.
Florina: Did you ever stop to think about the universe, Martina?
Martina: …no, why?
Florina: Did you ever think that out there, beyond the sky, is a big plastic wall? That our entire world is inside a plastic box, sitting out there somewhere with a whole lot of other plastic boxes, which have other worlds in them?
Martina: …no, I never thought about that. You have way too much free time, Florina.
Florina: Yea… Did you know that the word "dolphin" comes from the Greek word "Delphinos", which also means "Womb"?
Martina: It's all Greek to me. Two drumbeats and a cymbal clash
Florina: (same expression) Does that mean that dolphins are wombs, and carry around little babies all the time?
[Martina thinks and sees a Dolphin swimming through the waters with a little baby Florina in its mouth, delivering it to its parents.]
Florina: Or does that mean that wombs are dolphins, and have little dolphins inside them?…
[Martina imagines a pregnant lady having a dolphin as a baby]. Martina: …That's sick.
Florina: …Maybe they're both true?
Martina: Shut up Florina!
And now, for something completely different… [Giant foot comes out of no where and squashes the scene.]
** *
In that high tech room again, with Kate, Amy, and the Armored Hand, whose petting Shadey…
The Hobo and the Guild Master are still wrestling over the ham sandwich, much to the disappointment of a very embarrassed Noel. The King is trying to stop them, and the Queen of Sylvaland had already fainted. The Armored hand stroked Shadey in an irritated manner, as he was irritated. Shadey growled and gagged with each uncomfortable stroke.
"Ah, nothing like a good hobo fight, don't you think?" Kate smiled at Amy.
"Politics at work! I think this is how they determine constitutional amendments in Slayheim!" Amy replied.
"What, by betting on hobos?" Kate looked a little confused.
"…Or was it by gaining three- fifths of the districts approval?" Amy put a finger to her lip.
Kate sighed. "Sometimes I wonder about you."
"Amy! Kate! Can't you do something?!" The blue armored hand wined in a very deep and sinister voice (so it sounded cool and stuff.)
"RIGHT SIR!" The two instrumentalists saluted and turned to the monitor. Amy pulled out a French horn and Kate took out two large cymbals. The two immediately started to creating an incredibly loud ruckus. The politicians immediately ceased whatever actions they were committing, and covered their ears.
"Very good for a bunch of morons!" Number One complemented the two in his own odd way. "Now, are you paying attention, World Leaders?!"
"We'll do whatever you say, just don't destroy us with your big ray gun!" The King of Meria Boule pleaded.
"Whatcha talking boot lady? Dats not a ray gun, its moore of a laser!" The Guild Master corrected. He then turned to the hobo and growled. "Naw ye better give me yoor ham sammich afores oi gets angry…"
"Dad! Please, for once, pay attention to the political matter!" Noel pleaded.
"…I want a ham sandwich…" Kate whispered.
"Silence! MY second demand is ready! After much thought and revision, I shall instruct you on this demand!" Number One shouted, still petting Shadey. "My terms are simple. Surrender to the P.R.O.P.H.E.T Empire and make no attempts to resist, or your nations will cease to exist! So what do you say?"
"NO WAY!" Amy, Kate, Shadey, and Number Ones blue hand turned around to see Gallows standing at the doors, smiling. "P.R.O.P.H.E.T Empire, yea right."
"003!" Number One growled.
"Thank God! ARMS has finally delivered!" The King of Meria Boule praised.
Gallows eyed the blue hand petting the cat. Then he remembered he wasn't limited by a camera setting. He was really there, and could see in glorious 3-dimension! Gallows hopped back, a bit disturbed. "Zeikfried?!"
"Zeikfried? No, I'm pretty sure it's Siegfried…" Amy corrected.
"Huh? Isn't he Motherfried?" Kate shrugged.
Gallows, Number One, and Amy shook their head at the red head in disgust. "You've lost all your talking privileges…" Gallows sighed.
"Wait, so if it's not Motherfried or Siegfried, are you sure its not Dragna Seig?" Amy asked.
"SILENCE!" Number One stood from his chair, letting Shadey hop down and fly to a perch over the monitor. He was a tall man, really tall (somewhere around 8 feet!) and built at that. He wore blue armor all over his body and a red cape and a massive sword. His face was hidden under a blue helmet with an enormous horn protruding from the forehead. Behold Number One! "I am Number One, Siegfried! You're too late to stop me, 003!"
"Well we'll have to turn back the clock then, won't we!" Gallows replied as cool as he could muster.
"Go for it boss! Take him out with the Dark Spear!" Amy shouted as Kate nodded.
"Dark Spear? All I see is a sword!" Gallows was confused.
Siegfried smirked as he held up the massive sword. "This is the Dark Spear! A sword so powerful, it was able to cleave the moon a new valley!"
"Wait… so you called your sword a spear?" Gallows rubbed his temples.
Siegfried lost his smirk as the realization hit him. "Well, umm, it sounded pretty good at the time… I mean, dark sword is so unoriginal, if you know what I'm saying…"
"But dark spear?" Gallows asked one more time.
"Well what did you expect?! Soul Edge? Buster Sword? Ultima Weapon?! The Dark Spear will more than suffice for the likes of you, agent! The laser will go off if I give the command, so just sit down hot shot!" Siegfried commanded.
"Ah, but if you do that, then we won't pay your ransoms." The King of Meria Boule reported.
"Kate! Amy! Turn that thing off for now!" Siegfried shouted.
"Mmmpmmm!" Kate saluted and pressed the big round red button once more, turning the monitor off.
"Now then, what weapon will you choose, oh great fighter?!" Siegfried asked the agent.
Gallows smiled as he pulled out his trusty PP7. "This should work fine!"
"You think your gun will penetrate my armor?! Hahaha! Let us begin! When you are dead, I'll make sure to blow up ARMS HQ!" Siegfried drew the Dark Spear and slashed, cleaving his big chair in two. Gallows stepped back, but found the door locked. Sweat flew off his forehead as he leaped to the side as the door came crashing down due to Siegfried's enormous sword. Gallows fired the PP7, but found the bullets to do the exact same as Siegfried predicted they would. God Damnit! He rolled into the long yellow hallway that had led him to the office, firing off a bullet. The bullet fell to the ground as it hit Siegfried's enormous chest plate. The man in blue smirked as he stepped into the dark hallway after the retreating agent.
"No where to go, 003! I'll chase you to the ends of hell if I must!" Siegfried taunted as he swung his mighty sword, firing off a slash of energy that crashed into the cement wall right to the right of Gallows. Gallows covered his face when the dust fell and fired another bullet, but to no avail.
"That's a nice trick you can do with your sword, but can it do this?!" Gallows then leaped from the dust and fired several bullets at the cyan helmet. Siegfried stepped back, his grip tightening on the sword. Damn that hurt.
"You cause quite the headache for such a small ant!" Siegfried growled. "Lets see you take my Ultra Negative Rainbow!"
"Your what?" Gallows asked.
"My Ultra Negative Rainbow!" Siegfried shouted.
"I'm sorry, but that sounds like a power ranger move!" Gallows shook his head.
"I know. It's a trademarked phrase, and I licensed it to Saban a few years back. How did you think I got so much money?!"
"Um… stealing and stuff?"
"Wrong! Ultra Negative Rainbow! Go!" Siegfried swiped his sword, releasing several rays of colors flying towards Gallows, lighting the hall in a multi-color epic. The concrete ceiling collapsed as the walls gave out. The yellow painted cement floor became covered in dust and cement blocks. Siegfried laughed. "Thus is the end!"
Gallows crouched on the other side of the mound. He frowned, as his PP7 was in need of bullets. A big red "RELOAD" was flashing before him. Gallows sighed and stepped on the brake pad, causing him to turn his back against the cement wall and, well, reload. He took his foot off the brake pedal and stood up over the fallen cement pieces, aiming his gun.
"Aim for the face!" Someone from nowhere shouted. A circle appeared over Siegfrieds unarmored face, reading "WEAK SPOT". "READY! ACTION!" The same annoying voice shouted.
Gallows immediately set to running backwards down the long, dark hallway as Siegfried set to chasing him, swinging his mighty sword whenever possible. Gallows fired at the blade when it came too near, deflecting the Dark Spear to the side and saving Gallows a health point.
"You damned ape! I'll show you the real power of the demons!" Siegfried shouted menacingly, swinging the sword with new vigor. Fire caught to the energized blade, and trails of bad things followed the sword. Gallows fired several bullets at the oncoming sword, deflecting it one more time. Not many bullets left. Damn.
"Only one left! Got to make it count!" Gallows thought to himself. He aimed the PP7 at Siegfrieds oncoming face. This was the last chance. After this it was "Insert coin" and it just so happened that Gallows had no more tokens left, if that was a good euphemism at all. The hallways were collapsing with every one of Siegfried's steps. He was becoming more powerful with every passing moment. He was turning into something that not even Gallows would be able to handle. It was now or never.
"Time to lose pal!" Gallows gritted his teeth as he pulled the trigger, causing the hammer to hit the package, causing the explosion that propelled the bullet through the spiral tube, that then flew from the chamber and into Siegfrieds unarmed face. The giant demon fell to his knees, clutching his face with his armored hands.
The cement crushed under his knees, attributing to Siegfrieds massive bulk. A trail of red blood fell from the darkness over his eyes. Those eyes… were they ever really meant to be seen? Gallows stepped over, putting the PP7 in his jacket. "It looks like P.R.O.P.H.E.T's over now. You lost, we won, end of story."
"You fool. D-do you… think that I was the one in charge… of P.R.O.P.H.E.T?" Seigfried stammard.
"What?! B-but you are Number One! You were giving all those demands to the World's Leaders!" Gallows couldn't understand it.
"Th-that was my job… the real master of P.R.O.P.H.E.T is much more of a monster then I could be…" Siegfired spat up some blood before falling to the ground.
"Who?! Who the hell is in charge around here! Who do I need to kill before this place stops running?!" Gallows tried to lift Siegfrieds head, but found it to heavy.
"Number Zero…" Siegfried whispered before falling to the cement floor, dead.
"Gallows!" Gallows turned behind him to see Marivel, Lilka, and a charcoaled Jack run up. Marivel stopped first, analyzing the dead body of the demon. "Was this Number One?"
"Yea…" Gallows sighed.
"Well, is our job done?" Jack asked. "I'm ready to blow the place."
"Was it an epic battle to remember?!" Lilka wanted to know.
"There's still someone left… but who?" Gallows then turned to see a flight of stairs. Odd, they must have ran to a lobby of some kind during the fight.
"Number Zero is he who is left…" A feminine voice announced. The four looked up the stairs to see a young woman with short blonde hair and a blue jacket and green skirt escorting a younger man with blue hair, a red vest, a white shirt, and blue jeans. The four agents stepped back, angered, yet cautious at the same time.
"Who the hell are you guys?!" Marivel spat, brandishing her uzis.
The blue haired boy stopped and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The woman stopped as well, and began to talk. "I am Number Zero, or you may know me as Rudy Roughknight." The boys lips stopped moving and the woman blinked. "And I am Cecillia. I am Rudy's most loyal friend and his mouthpiece."
Gallows began to inwardly giggle as the other three narrowed their eyes. Lilka stepped forward. "Mouthpiece huh? You mean Rudy has no voice?!"
Rudy shook his head in agreement and Cecillia began lip-syncing for him. "Exactly. I was born without a voice, and had to go through out all of the original Wild arms without one. For too long have I gone unheard! Now, my voice shall spread across the planet, and all will hear it!"
"Whoa Rudy! We could always hear you… O.K, maybe not, but it sure was fun interpreting what you were saying…" Jack rubbed the back of his neck.
"Silence fool! I will be heard with my own words, not the interpretation of some cretin!" Cecillia voiced for the inaudible Rudy.
"How will gaining a super laser and threatening to blow up Filgaia gain you a voice!?" Marivel questioned.
"Yea, that doesn't make sense!" Gallows tightened his fist.
"You will see in due time!" Cecillia smiled, mimicking Rudy's expressions to a creepy degree. "There is no stopping me! You may try if you like. But if you wish to hear the words that will cover Filgaia, come with me." Rudy then began to walk up the stairs, Cecillia bowing and walking behind him.
Marivel looked to Gallows. "Well, what do we do?"
"It sounds like a trap to me." Jack expressed his opinion.
"They're scary! I don't want to go!" Lilka shivered.
"I know what you mean Lilka. That ventriloquist act sure is creepy. But if we want to stop the laser, we have to go now!" Gallows nodded. "Hopefully these are the last guys! All right team! Let's go together!"
"Together!" The three others replied, and together, the four ran up the blue glowing steps and into the observatory.
It was an incredibly large glass dome; with the Super laser Ark Smasher standing in the middle, pointing at Filgaia. Cords, machinery, televisions, plasma screens, and chalkboards littered the flat concrete circular floor. The scientists had long evacuated by Rudy's order, and the two evildoers stood before a console, awaiting the agents move.
"There it is! The Ark Smasher!" Lilka pointed out.
"Rudy! Stop this madness! Talking to you probably won't do any good, but it's dramatic!" Gallows shouted.
Cecillia started typing in commands as dramatic music started to play. The kinds with choirs and powerful instruments and the lyrics are all in Latin.
"If you won't listen, we'll just have to kill you! For Queen and Country!" Marivel shouted.
"No, the world!" Gallows shouted louder.
"Kill me if you want, but my voice will be heard." Cecillia said for Rudy. Rudy stared at Filgaia, with his hands behind his back. "It will all be happening so soon." With that, Cecillia pressed in a final input of keywords. The laser began to move, a lining itself for a specific target on the brown planet above them.
"Cannon countdown initiated. 10…" A computer voice announced a countdown.
"What do we do?!" Lilka squealed.
"Gallows! Shoot them!" Marivel shouted.
"Wait! There's got to be another way!" Jack yelled.
"Make up your minds people!" Gallows spat.
"…7…"
"What happened to 8?" Gallows bit his lip.
"After all these years… My voice…" Cecillia spoke for Rudy with awe in her voice. "Cecillia, I want you to know, if anything happens to us, that I trust you a lot." Cecillia turned away from Rudy and blushed. "Oh, Rudy, you know that I'd do anything for you… but I wish, we could be more than just trusted co-villains…" She then started mouthing for Rudy again. "Really? I never knew you felt that way…"
"Enough with the soap opera antics!" Jack shouted. "Turn the damn thing off!"
"…4…"
"Where's the time going to?!" Gallows pulled at his hair.
"Gallows! Just shoot him! Everyone knows that once you kill the main bad guy, everything stops!" Marivel argued.
Cecillia turned towards the group, smiling an evil smile. "If you shoot us down now, it won't matter. My voice will spread across the world in a form you'll never imagine! So go ahead, end our lives! We'll have each other in the after world, and you will be left with my voice!"
"Boy, your voice must be really bad…" Lilka thought.
"…2…"
"GALLOWS!" Marivel shouted.
Gallows pulled the trigger, sending a bullet flying into Cecillia. The girl slumped to the floor, clutching Rudy's vest.
"Rudy… I love you…"
Gallows eyes welled up with tears. As he really that much of a monster? "I can't do it!" Gallows sniffed.
"Gallows! If you want to be able to be called a top agent and a respectable one at that! You have to save the world! Kill Zero!" Marivel screamed.
Gallows blinked, a new determination in his eyes. His dream, at long last, would be fulfilled. The entire reason why he took up these crazy missions. He tightened his grip on the gun, letting his trigger finger get in position.
Rudy stood there, laughing inaudibly as Gallows pulled the trigger. A bullet struck Rudy dead on, killing him instantly.
"…0! Cannon fire initiated!" The voice called. The four looked to the cannon. The super laser drew in a massive amount of energy, drawing in every single proton in the vicinity. With a sound as loud as krakatoa, the laser fried off towards Filgaia.
"We're too late?" Lilka blinked back tears.
"That's not how it's supposed to happen! Its all supposed to stop when you kill the final boss!" Marivel reasoned.
"Quickly! Where's the laser aimed at!" Jack shouted.
Jumping out of their stupor, the two other adults ran to the nearest monitor. Gallows looked to the other two. "We have to get there immediately!"
"Right." Marivel and Jack nodded.
"Teleportation machines are down stairs…" Lilka sniffed her nose, trying not to burst out in tears.
** *
Outside Jolly Roger, 5:35 P.M…
Jolly Roger was an enormous city, sprawling with skyscrapers, highways, and miles and miles of coastline. It was the biggest seaport in the world, and ships of all kinds were anchored in her harbor. Little children ran around the sidewalks with their parents as people did their business. And lots of people. However, outside the city, in the desert flatlands, the sky became dark. An enormous laser dived to the Earth with unbelievable speed, blasting through the miles and miles of rock that created Filgaia. A massive earthquake undertook Jolly Roger, knocking trees and weak buildings over. However, the terror was short lived, and the damage easily repairable. The confused citizens looked out from their taxis, office windows, backyards, and shipyards to find out what the hell happened. But looking up was not the answer. Not at all…
Underneath the city, the sewers flowed as they did, smoothly and manageable. However, shortly after the earthquake, The water began to rise and accelerate, becoming choppy and filled with eaves. A sort of liquid blue filled the sewers, flowing faster and harder.
Suddenly the sewer tops flew off form their manholes, dozens of feet into the air as columns of the liquid blue shot off. The streets cracked and people ran for their lives as fire hydrants exploded. Cars collided with each other, all trying to get out of the way of the collapsing streets. Water faucets exploded all over, showers became missiles, and bathtubs became mortar for the high pressure blue. Small buildings began to collapse as jets of the liquid blue shot from every pipe imaginable, crushing the foundation and sending the buildings to their doom. Glass flew from the skyscrapers, as they became giant waterfalls of the liquid blue. The city was in chaos and turmoil. And then, the final wave hit. An enormous wall of the mysterious blue higher than any building came roaring across the desert landscape from the lasers point of impact, demolishing everything in its path. It hit Jolly Roger in full force. In a blink, Jolly Roger had become a ruin underneath a rocky sea of mysterious blue liquid. And from a sky scraper standing above the liquid formed a column of energy, solidifying into what seemed like a giant dark spiked plant with several tentacle like roots rising out around it. The Nega Filgaia raised itself from Glaive le Gable and released a deep bellow as the skies darkened and rain began to drizzle across the remaining building tops…