Wild ARMs: Last Ignition

Chapter 8: The Excavation Begins

Glenn set his hat on the bar as he sat down and ordered a beer.

As he drank the beer he glanced around the tavern common room. Taking a look at the various Rangers gathered in the room.

To his surprise there weren't as many as he had expected.

He had expected the bar to be crawling with Rangers in town for the excavation. But there were only about eight men and women in the bar.

"You a Ranger?"

Glenn looked back to the bar when he heard the voice to see the Barkeep looking at him and said "Yeah…I'm in town for the Excavation"

"And your lookin for a partner" the Barkeep said

"Yeah" Glenn sighed as the Barkeeper walked away.

As Glenn finished his beer he heard a voice behind him say "This is getting boring Shiro…I say we pack up and move on…there's a train this afternoon for Neo Adlehyde we can still catch it"

"Give it one more hour Alex" another voice pleaded "We've been travelling for hours…I wanna get some sleep"

Glenn turned around to see a woman roughly his age with long brown hair, sitting at the table behind him. And a grey wind mouse standing on the table.

"Alright Shiro" the woman said "One more hour"

Glenn leaned back against the bar as he looked the woman over. Under her left arm he could see a black revolver style ARM hanging in a shoulder holster. He could tell she knew how to use it.

Brushing a stand of hair out of his eyes Glenn stood up and approached.

Alex looked up as the guy she'd seen checking her out approached and said "What can I do for you Ranger?"

"It's more what we can do for each other" Glenn replied

Intrigued Alex motioned for him to sit, and said "What can you do for me?"

"You need a partner for the excavation" Glenn said "And so do I…I'm suggesting a temporary partnership"

Alex thought for a moment and nodded "I accept…I'm Alex Quartermain" then she motioned to the Wind Mouse and said "That's Shiro"

Glenn nodded as he said "Glenn Cyrus"

Alex nodded as she said "When do you want to leave?"

Glenn ran his hand across the stubble on his jaw and said "Right now"

Alex nodded as she stood up and watched Shiro hop into her bag "Give me ten minutes and I'll meet you at the Foreman's office"

Glenn nodded as he stood up picked up his hat, and walked towards the coat rack near the door.

They had gone to meet with the Foreman, and found out the reason that there were so many Rangers just sitting around the bar.

To enter the Ruins of the city the teams needed a Duplicator key. And the Forman didn't have one.

"What now?" Alex asked as she folded her arms and glared at the door.

Glenn smiled as the cool wind blew against his shirt. He had left his poncho and hat back in the bar with his bag. In a combat situation those kinds of weight weren't something he needed slowing him down.

"Simple" Glenn replied as he reached into his pocket. And withdrew a golden key "We go in" then he slid the key into the lock and it turned without a hint of resistance.

After a few moments the doors parted, and Glenn pocketed the key then took a flare from his pants leg pocket and ignited it as he drew his katana.

Alex smiled as she drew her sword and followed him through the door.

Zack sighed to himself as he drank the bottle of water in his hand. There were a lot of Rangers in the bar. But he didn't like the feel of them. They looked like they cared about nothing but their money.

He shook his head and set down the bottle, stood up and walked towards the door.

On the way out he bumped into someone.

He stepped back and mumbled and apology as he looked up.

To see a rather pretty girl standing before him rubbing her shoulder as she said "It's OK I should have watched where I was going"

Zack nodded as he let her pass.

With a sigh Zack sniffed the air; there was a faint trace of the scent of Poet's Jasmine lingering in the air.

He shook his head as he walked out the door "I suppose it won't hurt to go take a look at the entrance to the Ruins" then he walked along the boardwalk and out of town towards the excavation site.

Elena frowned as she stood before the door to the underground. It was open.

Which didn't make sense since Duplicators were hard to come by even for Rangers.

"Planning to go in?" a voice asked from behind her

Elena looked around to see the guy she bumped into walking along the path towards her with a quarterstaff across his shoulders

Elena nodded as she folded her arms "Are you?"

The teen nodded as he lowered his staff to his side "It's why I'm in town"

Sensing the magical energies flowing through him Elena asked "Are you a Mage?"

"Zoa Priest actually…" he replied "my name's Zack Walker"

"Elena Cyan" Elena replied as she shook his hand "Care to join me?"

Zack smiled and said "Sure" then the two Sorcerers walked into the Ruins.

Authors Notes: Done.

A little short which is something I'm not used to doing but I figure it's better to make it short and to the point than to beat around the bush like I usually do.

Next time the search of the ruins begins