Wild ARMs: Last Ignition
Chapter 9: First Meetings
Zack swore as he dropped the stone in his hand when it became too hot. He had picked up the rock on his way into the underground and focused the power of a Red Beaut spell into the stone to create a torch. But after a few minutes the stone had become too warm and he had to drop it into the water.
Elena giggled slightly as Zack fanned his hand.
"Oh you find this funny?" Zack joked
"Hilarious" Elena replied as she reached into her pocket, produced a crimson sphere and focused her energy into it. Casting the area in a red light.
Elena smiled slightly as she took the lead, Zack not far behind her.
But he called a halt when his foot kicked something.
Elena stopped as it bounced down the path towards her.
She crouched to pick up the tube.
Zack frowned as he crouched beside her "A chemical flare"
Elena nodded as she felt the dying warmth of the flare "It just died recently…a few minutes at most"
Zack gripped his staff as he stood up and said "Then whoever opened the door is still here"
Glenn dropped another flare as he walked through the underground, trying to keep going north as much as possible.
"Where exactly are we?" he asked as he turned a corner
"As far as I know we're in the underground tunnels leading into what used to be Adlehyde Castle" Alex replied "I think it was supposed to be some sort of escape route for the Royal Family in emergencies"
Glenn nodded as he walked across a bridge.
The path split going left and right.
"Left or right?" Alex asked
Glen thought for a moment and said "Left" then started down the path, dropping the flare in his hand as he went
Alex nodded as she stared along the path and took a corner behind Glenn.
At the end of the path there was a turn.
Glen was about to make the turn when he heard footsteps close by.
He stopped and drew the Quicksilver; at the same time Alex drew the Peacemaker and nodded to Glenn as he gave her a signal to cover him.
Then after a few moments Glen moved out and around the corner, raising the Quicksilver as he went. Alex right behind him, going low as she raised the Peacemaker.
As she took aim she heard a surprised yell.
Zack and Elena walked cautiously through the ruin underground. They were trying to find both the Rangers who had opened the door. And a way to the back of the ruins. So far they had kept going north, following the trail of dead flares.
At the end of the trail they had found a split path going left and right. Elena had voted for the right path.
As she reached the end of the path Elena saw a long path leading to an opening. Sconces of magical flame rested on either side.
"Jackpot" Zack whispered as he stepped around the corner, Elena right behind him.
They were about to start down the walkway when two people came around the corner to the right. Their ARMs aimed at himself and Elena.
Zack yelled in surprise as he brought up his staff in defence, while Elena dropped back and prepared a spell.
Glenn took a few seconds after he moved out to look over the two people. Both obviously Mages. Not there to fight him so he put up the ARM and holstered it as he said "Put up the ARM Alex, they aren't here for a fight"
"No" the girl with the staff said "We're just here to explore, same as you two"
Glenn nodded as he stood straight, sheathed the Black Feral and said "I'm Glenn Cyrus" then he motioned to Alex and said "That's Alex Quartermane"
The pair of Mages introduced themselves and Zack suggested that they proceed together.
"It would be a good idea" Alex agreed as she holstered her ARM "We have no idea what kind of defences are in place here"
The chamber beyond the door was large. But filled mostly with trinkets and junk.
But there were two items specifically which took Glenn, Elena and Zack's notice.
It felt as if Glenn had been called towards the far right corner of the room.
Then he simply stood, staring at an object on the shelf.
In total it was four feet long, bent at the centre in a 45° angle, primarily made of a black metal, but red at either end.
Glenn seemed mesmerised as he stretched out his left hand to take it from the shelf.
He held the object, a Boomerang he seemed to recognise, in his left hand as he whispered "Saber Fang"
(AN Does anybody remember who used this?)
"By the Guardians" Zack whispered as he held up a beautifully crafted blue gemstone "Is this what I think it is?"
Elena turned to face the Zoa Priest and nodded quickly as she took the gem in his hand "I never thought I would ever find the Teardrop here"
"Teardrop?" Alex asked as she looked up from the crate she was going through "As in the Guardians Teardrop?"
"Yes" Elena replied as she stared into the gems blue depths
"But how did it end up here?" Alex asked "If I remember my history right the Tear Drop had been stored in an old Museum east of where Port Tristan is now up until 1,500 years ago, when the Dream Demon Beatrice tried to destroy Filgaia"
"The Baskars stored it here a few decades after that" Zack answered
"An interesting find" a voice said from outside.
Glenn and Alex instantly drew their ARMs and aimed at the doorway just as a two people came through the door.
Glenn's finger slowly drew back the trigger as the two figures stepped into the brightly lit room.
The first was a woman, five and a half feet with pale skin, long red hair and blue eyes, in a white dress, with a flowing white sleeveless overcoat. The woman had the feel of a Mage.
The second was a man, six and a half feet tall, with black hair and cold grey eyes, heavily muscled with tan skin, marked by several scars across the chest and arms, and one down the centre of his left eye from hairline to jaw, wearing a red bandana tied around his forehead, wearing a thigh length black vest. On his right arm he had a heavy black three bladed claw, when the man clenched his fist the claw blades spun around.
The woman looked towards Elena and said "Now if you would be so kind as to fork it over"
Alex drew back the hammer on her ARM as she drew her sword and stepped between Elena and the woman and said "It's usually polite to introduce yourself before making threats"
"Oh" the woman said "How rude of me…I'm Shana" then she motioned to her partner and said "This is Kain" then she looked towards Elena and said again "Now hand over the Teardrop before I make you hand it over"
Elena began gathering a spell as Zack did the same and said "Why don't you come and try it then"
"Gladly" Shana said as she stepped forward.
Alex tightened her grip on her ARM and took aim, when something caught her eye off to the left.
Lying on the ground near the left wall was a sleek yet heavy black riffle style ARM.
Zack and Glenn saw what she was looking at and knew what she had planed. Each already had a plan to cover her.
Just as Shana released an energy blast Alex dove for the riffle, while Zack pushed Elena out of the way with one hand and brought up his staff with the other.
At the same time Glenn hurled the Saber Fang at the woman.
Shana barely ducked as the black Boomerang flew overhead.
But she didn't have time to notice the shot until it struck.
She looked towards the sound as she clutched her bleeding shoulder.
To see Alex half lying on the ground, with a sleek black ARM propped against her shoulder.
Shana glared at the Ranger and prepared a spell.
When a deep rumbling roar shook the entire underground.
Glenn almost tore the Black Feral from its scabbard as a pale purple sphere formed at the centre of the room.
Elena hoisted herself to her feet and groaned as something emerged from the sphere "Congratulations" she growled as she glared at Shana "You just woke up the Chimera"
Another roar echoed from the sphere and a ten foot tall black furred, bipedal lion with the head of an eagle and a bull on its left and right shoulders, and a forest green serpent for a tail appeared in the centre of the room.
The creature roared as it took a step towards them.
Shana looked between the Chimera and Kain and said "I'll leave you kiddies to your own devices" then she ran for her life.
Glenn glared at the woman's retreating form before he turned his attention to more pressing matters
He trained his ARM on the eagle head of the Chimera and fired off four rounds.
The Chimera roared at the stinging sensation and gathered a ball of flame in its massive left hand, then hurled it at Glenn's ARM.
Glenn swore loudly as he dropped the smoking piece of metal and drew his sword as he began gathering his energy.
"What do we do?" Elena asked
Alex checked the ARM in her hands to find it missing only two rounds and said "We kill it" then she raised the riffle to her shoulder and fired again, striking the back of the Chimeras lion head with pinpoint accuracy.
The middle head roared as the heavy shot before the serpent tail turned to face Alex and hissed as it released a Lightning spell at her.
Alex barely managed to avoid the spell and get off another shot at the Bull head on the Chimeras left shoulder.
At the same time Glenn charged forward yelling "BRAVER"
The Chimera roared as Glenn approached and released another fireball. But Glenn leapt upwards avoiding the attack, then came down on top of the Chimera with a crushing blow that caused a large explosion.
The blast blew the creature off its feet, but it was still alive.
Glenn growled in anger as he stood straight "What the hell do we have to do to kill this guy?"
"We do what's necessary" Elena answered as a pale pink aura surrounded her and she said "Mystic Light" then she gathered a spell and yelled "FLAME" and after a few moments a crimson sphere formed in her hands and grew to two feet in length, then the spell flew out of her hands and exploded on contact with the rising Chimera.
Glenn growled in anger as the blast dissipated to reveal the Chimera, standing, burnt heavily, with patches of black fur on its left side burnt away.
He was about to gather his energy for another strike. When he saw a pillar of silver light appear where Zack once was.
Zack watched Glenn, Alex and Elena attack the Chimera through the haze of the pounding in his skull.
Slowly the haze began to clear, and Zack was able to see the two broken halves of his Staff lying in his lap.
That was not good. A Zoa priest's weapon was the focusing point for their Guardian Lore magic. Without it a priest was all but useless.
"NO" Zack's mind roared "I am NOT useless" he growled in his mind as he spied a useable weapon propped against the wall to his right.
In the back of his mind he could feel a great power rising. A part of him seemed to know it. And with that in mind a silver aura surrounded him as he stood to full height and roared "Guardian of the Flames…I summon you fourth MOOR GALT"
Then an aura of flame surrounded him then shot upwards through the ceiling and into the sky.
After a few moments a deep birdlike screech erupted from somewhere above.
Then out of nowhere a great flaming bird appeared and flew towards the Chimera at breakneck speeds. Carrying behind it a trail of flame that seemed to leave the ground untouched. With a flap of its wings the flames encircled the Chimera. And for a few moments the fires simply swirled around it. Before Moor Galt drew up its wings and blasted skywards and out of sight. Leaving an explosion of fire in its wake.
When the flames faded the Chimera stood, smoking slightly for a few moments before the creature collapsed and died.
Glenn sighed as the Chimera faded to dust then he sheathed his sword. "That was interesting"
Alex smiled slightly as she stared at the spot the Chimera once occupied "You were right Shiro…this was worth the trip"
"Thanks" Shiro replied as he popped his head out of the bag "Now could you please keep the shots down and let me sleep"
A small grin crossed Alex's face as Shiro went back to sleep and she stared down at the ARM in her hands. Despite being a heavy framed Riffle ARM, Alex had barely needed to adjust her aim. The ARM fired like a Sniper Riffle.
Glenn seemed to sense her confusion and said "Let me take a look at the ARM"
Alex frowned but complied.
Glenn held the weapon in his hands and ran through several motions, before he said "It's old…about fifteen maybe twenty years…loads on the standard Ammo clips…but I can't tell you why it hit with such accuracy"
Alex nodded as she looked past his shoulder and said "What about that switch on the left side near the stock?"
Glenn nodded a thank you as he noticed the switch and flipped it down. The switch caused the top cover of barrel, half an inch from the Stock to split away from the rest of the weapon and slide forward slightly. Following a hunch Glenn took hold of the upper barrel cover and pushed forward, allowing the cover to slide forward two inches on a hidden track on either side of the barrel, revealing something similar to a breech inside. The breech opened as soon as the barrel cover was clear and revealed a large silver cylindrical cartridge.
Glenn caught on as soon as he saw the cylinder "It's a Multi-ARM"
"You mean like a Bayonet?" Elena asked
"More or less" Glenn replied "I'd wager the Cartridge is a Snipe Barrett…that type of shot would allow pinpoint accuracy even against a moving target"
"A Multi-ARM" Alex whispered as she closed the ARM and slung it across her shoulder by the leather strap.
"You might want to have the ARMs Master check it out…just in case" Glenn said
Alex nodded as she sheathed her sword and looked towards Zack, who had been very quiet "You OK Zack?"
Zack blinked as he heard his name, then snapped himself out of the shocked stupor he was in and nodded "I'm OK"
"What was that bird you summoned?" Alex asked
"Moor Galt" Zack replied "The Guardian of Fire"
Alex nodded as she motioned for him to follow "We're headed back to Blue Ridge to decide out next move"
Zack nodded as he picked up the weapon he had grabbed before he summoned Moor Galt. It appeared to be a spear of some kind, twin bladed, four and a half feet long, the blades were a little blunt and the shaft wasn't in perfect condition. But it would do till he got it repaired.
"Zack come on" Elena called from the door. Zack shook his head and jogged towards the door, very pleased with himself for the success of the search.
Authors Notes: Done.
Not bad if I say so myself.
To those who don't know what a Multi-ARM is just think of Ashley from Wild ARMs 2s Bayonet. Except I got the idea from the remake of Wild ARMs: Alter Code F.
And as a notice. Not all my characters will be able to summon the Guardians. Just two people.
Next time the team gets a new job.
Read and review please