Part 4: The Ultima Rifle (and then some)
"Hmm... let's see..." said Giacomo as he looked at his other party members. "Ok, I'll pick Ayme and... you!"
"What!" said Vallye, "But... That's a security drone!"
The last remaining security robot from the Goldoba hovered innocently beside Vallye, checking for intruders.
"Yes, well, he seems to have potential. You and Folon should guard the ship until we get back. Come along, team!"
"Wait! Don't leave me here with him!" Vallye begged.
Silence.
Giacomo and party had gone by now, and the only sounds to be heard were the wind and exotic birds. ...And Folon eating a colorful flower behind the Goldoba for no real reason.
---
A few islands away, in Alfard, Kalas and friends were questioning Xella as to what happened to Lyude.
"So you don't know where he is?" Savyna asked.
"No. I went straight for the magnus." Xella answered. "I guess we should go look for him..."
"Nah, we don't have to have him. We've got more than enough people anyway." said Kalas.
"That's pretty rude," said Savyna, "and anyway, you'll want him to come back when you realize that he still has your Fire Yell magnus."
"What?" Kalas exclaimed. He looked through his deck, and once realizing it was gone, said, "Come on, Xella! We have to rescue our friend!"
---
Skeed landed his ship in Alfard that evening. Again, Skeed left the ship first, and had the door slam shut behind his brother.
"Have your gun?" Skeed asked. He didn't wait for Lyude to answer, he just saw the weapon with him and said, "Good. Let's go before anyone sees us."
To get to the Lava Caves, they had to pass through the depressing city of Azha. Villagers glared at the two young men, knowing they were from the empire. One older man spat at Lyude as he passed.
Skeed ignored everyone and everything around him. He looked only straight ahead, and didn't say a word. Lyude, on the other hand, could not keep his eyes still, or dry, for that matter. Perhaps it was the dusty air, or it could have been a flood of memories coming back to him.
At any rate, they passed through the town and took a right into a narrow cavern near the entrance to the caves. It was very warm there, and would only get hotter when they went through that old wooden door. Skeed kicked it down, even though it was unlocked, and led Lyude inside.
The Lava caves were as hot as ever, and magma flowed like a ruby river under the melting rocks. The atmosphere was the same as Lyude remembered, too. The way light bent in a hazy gloss, the humid air making it hard to breathe, the sound of lava bubbling in the cauldron of charred stone...
"Excuse me, Skeed," said Lyude, his voice echoing throughout the caves, "I was wondering... How did I end up in Mira? You had something to do with that, didn't you?"
Skeed nodded, but didn't look back. "I did. Soon after the explosion in the Imperial Fortress, I was investigating the area and found you unconscious and half dead. I wasn't too sure what to do with you, but I knew that there was a ship about to leave with ingredients for chocolate to Mira, so I put you aboard. Soon after it was that I got an idea of how to get my hands on the Ultima Rifle. So I went to Mira and made sure you were well-healed and in a safe area while I took care of some things, after which I came back for you."
"I'm not sure if I should thank you or worry." Lyude replied.
It took a few minutes to navigate through the caves, and they avoided most of the enemies they came across. One such avoiding had Lyude nearly back up into a pit of lava. Other than that, things went well for them.
"Lyude," said Skeed when they came to a molten corridor, "look over there."
Lyude looked to where Skeed was pointing and saw the silhouettes of two men sitting on stones in the far end of the cavern.
"Are those the men who own the Ultima Rifles?" he asked.
Skeed nodded. "Yes. I'll wait here, and I want you to go over and ask for them. Remember, make sure you bring back two."
"Very well." replied Lyude.
He wiped drops of sweat from his face and headed down the walkway of cooled lava to the men, who looked up with straight faces as he came near. Both of them wore cloaks that seemed to be made of ice, or perhaps water, as they swayed and shimmered with the slightest movement.
"Pardon me," said Lyude, "I understand that you two have a certain type of weapon, and I was wondering if-"
"You bet we gots a certain type of weapon, boy!" one of them said.
His partner took out one of the Ultima Rifles from a wooden box at his side.
"Yep, this here shotgun is made from only the sleekest, purest, most sparkling snow ever to blow over the island of Alfard! But don't be mislead by it's cool appearance; this baby only fires rounds of bullets filled with the essence of this very magma around you!"
Lyude blinked. "Um... yes, well, I was wondering if-"
"And that's not all!" pitched in the other man, "The Ultima Rifle also comes with a set of it's very own special magnus that are just perfect for finishing off those pesky imperial lunkheads! For example, we have today the magnus of Rapid Fire and Molten Sniper!"
"Thank you for that information." Lyude said, then paused, as if waiting for one of the men to say something else. When he heard nothing other than the flowing of lava, he said, "I was interested in acquiring two of your Ultima Rifles, please."
"Well, my boy, you've made yourself a fine, fine choice. Two you say?"
"Yes, if you don't mind."
"We sure don't! As long as you're not from the empire, anyway."
"Oh, I assure you, sirs, I have nothing to do with them... anymore..."
"Good! Now take these guns and keep 'em safe! If they don't give youone-hundred percent firepower, you can send them back, no questions asked! Also try our all-new defensive magnus in six different elements!"
Lyude took the guns, which felt so pleasingly cool in his hands and replied, "Erm, no thanks, I'll be fine with these..."
He then went back to Skeed, thinking that there must have been other reasons why his brother didn't get the guns himself, other than that he was from the imperial army.
---
Vallye sighed. She was bored. Also annoyed.
Folon twitched. He was ecstatic. Also high.
The two had been sitting by the Goldoba for over an hour, and nothing had happened. There was no sign of Giacomo, no sign of enemies, no sign of intelligent human life for miles around...
"Ah, what else could go wrong in the middle of a rain forest?" Vallye asked herself. In answer, a crackle of thunder rolled overhead, and the sky suddenly grew darker as rain began to pour over them.
"Yeah... I really should have seen that coming." she added. Then she sighed again, though the sigh was inaudible over the roaring of the rain. "I wonder how Giacomo and the others are fairing..."
"Boss, I think I see a village up ahead." Ayme said, pointing somewhere with her gun. It was hard to make out anything, though, through the blanket of rain.
"Good job, Ayme. I'll ask our other companion for his input on the situation." Giacomo replied. He then turned back to the security robot, who seemed to have been acting strangely since the rain had started.
"What's the matter with you?" Giacomo asked.
The drone sparked, trembled, then froze.
KABOOOOOOOM!
Electrified chunks of metal flew out in all directions in the somewhat fiery explosion. One such chunk hit Ayme in the face. "Gah!"
"Curses! We're one man down. Ayme, find that wheat crackers magnus, quick!" said Giacomo as he collected the pieces of metal.
Ayme crossed her arms and said to herself, "The sad thing is that he's totally serious."
"Ayme! The magnus?"
"Right, boss, whatever. Just give me a sec."
"I should hope a sec is all you need... Oh my, what have we here?" Giacomo said, eyeing a golden item under a blood-red fern. It glowed when he put a hand on it.
"Giacomo, what the heck are you doing? I hope you're not licking rock salt again. ...Or rocks in general." Giacomo did not respond. "...Yo, Giacomo! Boss! Are you listening to me? ...Hey-"
---
"Pardon the language but damn it, this crap is so damn stupid!" Vallye exclaimed, back at the muddy grove where the Goldoba lay.
Folon gave her a confused and innocent look.
By now, the two of them were completely soaked. Vallye's uniform was now heavy with water, and Folon's hair had lost its spikes.
"Come on, Folon, we won't accomplish anything just sitting around here." said Vallye, throwing off her saturated coat.
"Wait, what do you need me for? I thought you hated me."
"I only hate you when you get too many energy injections. Otherwise I just strongly dislike you. Besides, it's too dangerous to be alone here, for you or me."
"Well, where are we going, Vallye?" Folon asked, standing up from the muddy wing of the battleship.
"We're going to get a new ship and track down Kalas and party. ...And of course, by 'track down' I mean 'find and kill.'"
"And if by 'find and kill' you mean as in 'first class ticket to hell,' then I'm all for it!" Folon replied with an evil grin.