Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story.

Holy hell batman that took a long time. But it's mostly because I haven't had time to play the game and get my facts just right that this took so long. BUT, guess who has two thumbs and a B- average now? THIS chick does! (Imagine me pointing at myself with my two thumbs)

So, kicking around the Wild ARMs communities, I found out that number 3 is considered "Old School". I am ancient at 21.

Chapter Four: The Ruin Festival

"You're not coming in?" Jack asked. The three of them were standing in front of the Adlehyde Inn, just having arrived back in town from their day-long excursion. Dusk was setting on the land; lamps lit up the streets, and people retired to their homes and closed their shops for the evening. From within the inn came howls of laughter and wholesome noise; it was another night of celebration for some.

"No, I'm afraid not," Catherine said serenely. "I have family here I need to see."

Jack stared at her dumbly for a second, then let out a snort. "So, what, you usually just go treasure hunting for fun from time to time before stopping home for some dinner?"

She laughed. "I've never done something like this before. And... will you both be here tomorrow?"

"Well, I'm just going to pop over to the festival and get my pay from Emma, and then I'll probably head off west somewhere."

"Oh... you won't be staying."

"No, I won't. I don't know about Rudy here..."

Rudy looked between the two of them. "I don't know what I'm going to do." I knew this wouldn't last long.

"I see." Catherine looked put out. Then she said: "I'll never forget this adventure. It really was the time of my life. Jack," she stuck out her hand and he shook it firmly. He gave a crooked smile into her eyes, and she returned it. "Rudy," she said fondly, and grabbed his hand the same way. "Thank you again for saving us back there. You really are a gifted man."

Man. "Thanks."

"Hanpan," she whispered. "It was nice meeting you, too."

"Likewise," he whispered back.

Then she curtsied, gave them one last smile, and said, "Good luck on your journey," before disappearing around the corner.

"Man, what a gal, huh, Rudy?" Jack said, nudging him with his elbow. "That really was a blast, wasn't it?"

I wouldn't say "blast". "I guess so."

"So, I'm usually a solo traveler myself—well, apart from Hanpan, of course—but if you plan on heading out west, you and I can head on out together tomorrow."

Yeah, I'd like that a lot, he thought. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Hm. Well, whaddya say we get some pints, then call it a night? You've had your share of ale before, right?"

Rudy just nodded quietly with his usual small smile and followed Jack into the inn.

Cecilia crossed the room with a certain grace, almost as if she were gliding. Knights flanked her on either side, holding their javelins high in salute as she passed. They all smiled to her, and she was surprised to find she recognized almost all of them. Terwillegar, Argyll and Capilano were among the men she knew from her childhood; some had aged into their later years and stood next to men of their appearance and several years younger—their sons. She only paid them attention briefly, however, because at the end of the long hall stood Minister Johan, and seated next to him was her father, King of Adlehyde.

Her smile grew brilliant as she laid eyes on him. He stood from his throne, looking over her with amazement and smiling broadly himself. He hadn't seen his daughter since she had left for the Curran Abbey. She had just been a child then. Now Cecilia was a grown woman—many couldn't help but think she looked just like her late mother.

"Cecilia," he said in his deep, soothing voice. "Was your journey safe?"

She dipped her head slightly, her smile growing broader briefly. "It was."

"My, look at you!" he said, touching her shoulders and brushing her hair affectionately. "You've grown into a beautiful woman, Cecilia."

"And an established magician."

"Yes, yes, I've heard of your success in your studies. I'm quite proud of you, Cecilia. I do wish I had more time to see you, though."

"As do I," she replied. "But we'll have all the time to catch up now, won't we?"

"Ha ha, I suppose we will," he replied, then looked around the grand hall. "But I suppose we should go somewhere more private to share our stories."

Cecilia giggled. "I suppose we should."

"Now, tell me," he said, guiding her with a hand to her back, "did you have any troubles coming here tonight?"

"I arrived early, actually," she admitted. "I participated in the tomb expedition for the festival."

"You... my," her father said, laughing as they entered the hallway to the stairwell. "You really are the top of your class, aren't you?"

"You don't have any interest in checking out the festival, do you?"

Rudy shook his head a little uncertainly. "No."

"Oh, good. I hate carnival stuff. Too many people. We'll just go over and get our money from Emma, then start getting ready to head out. What do you say?"

Rudy smiled a little, but hesitated with his nod. Jack read the look.

"Thinking on C., eh?" he said with a playful nudge. "We can take a look for her today if you want. Say goodbye, maybe see if she'll walk us to the mountain pass or something. Hah, sounds like a date."

Rudy shrugged. "Just to say goodbye would be nice. She's... nice."

Jack winked at him. "Don't get a lot of friendly company from pretty girls, huh?"

Rudy blushed a little, then shook his head. "I usually don't get a lot of friendly company."

Jack nodded. "'Cause of that weapon, yeah?" Rudy nodded. "Sorry it's gotta be like that, kid. Lots of superstitious people hanging around in the wrong groups, I suppose."

They began walking east towards the festival grounds. It was still early in the morning, but a steady bustle of a crowd could already be heard gathering nearby. "Thanks, Jack."

"Uh, sure."

"I mean for letting me come with you."

"Oh, yeah," Jack said with a smile. "Pleasure's all mine. I could use some company."

"What about me?" Hanpan squeaked.

"Rudy's company," Jack retorted. "You're a pain in the butt."

"Hmph."

As they came to the town's outskirts, a middle aged man waved them in. "You won't be disappointed. Emma's really outdone herself for this festival!"

They followed the town wall to the end, and turned the corner into the grounds. Jack and Rudy tensed up almost at once. The place was bustling with people; it seemed like double the population of Adlehyde was crammed inside the grounds. The two of them stood at the front for a moment, then Jack sighed heavily.

"Okay, let's go swimming," he said, and they approached the sea of people tentatively.

Rudy had never been around so much activity in his life. While one woman on his right offered him flowers for a gella, another on his left was trying to sell him salted jerky. It was overwhelming to be around so many people at once, but at the same time, it made him feel more confident. His ARM was out in the open now, and no-one seemed to make a comment about it. No-one shouted or ran from him. He felt he could almost walk a little easier, albeit it being harder to breathe.

What really caught them unawares were the exhibits. Jack and Rudy expected to see the familiar towering figure of Lolithia with two other golems, just as Emma had indicated, but the three of them swallowed the sun in their sheer size; dormant death in a cold, metal shell.

"Emma went to work, didn't she?" Jack breathed, sheltering his eyes and peering up at the silhouettes. "Man, those are something."

"Yeah," Rudy said in a distant, far off voice. There are more of those things, he thought. I wonder what they're for.

"Hello, boys," Emma called from over the crowd. The two of them looked to see her standing there, her arms wrapped over her chest with a smirk on her face. "Admiring my collection, I see."

"Pretty impressive," Jack agreed, giving them another glance. "Where'd you find those beauties?"

"All over the place. It took me a few years to find them, but we've been keeping them in storage for a long time, just for this."

"You have storage big enough for this?"

"That's a different story," she replied shortly, removing the bag from her shoulder. "There's five hundred in there for each of you. Speaking of that, where is that pretty blonde girl?"

"She hasn't come by to see you yet?" Jack asked. "She had family here to see, so we split up last night."

"Well, I'm sure you'll see her later. You do have her share, after all."

"Well, thanks," Jack said. "That's a pretty good price, I suppose."

"Your ARM!" Emma gasped, almost cutting off Jack's last words. "You didn't say you had an ARM. What was your name again?"

"Rudy," he answered quietly.

"Rudy, you going to come by my shop sometime and let me tinker with that?" She pointed to his ARM, eying it up and down like it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. In Emma's case, it might not have been far off.

For Rudy, he felt more perplexed than he possibly thought he could be. He'd already found people who didn't hate him for the weapon he carried, but now he found someone who admired him for it. "Sure," he said hesitantly.

"I'll hold you to that," she said with a smile. "Now, why don't you two enjoy the festival? Everyone put in some hard work for it."

"I hate to break your heart, but Rudy and I aren't a fan of crowds," Jack said lightly. "I feel like I'm about to explode."

"Oh, you're no fun," Emma chided. "Fine, go on, get out of here. Any chance you'll be seeing me before you leave?"

"It's probable. I'm guessing Rudy and I won't be able to head out until tomorrow now; we're losing enough daylight as it is."

"Right. You better say bye before you go," Emma shook a finger at Jack with a grin. "And you should give me a look at that ARM of yours."

"I will," Rudy said with a nod, smiling to her.

The two of them made their way through the crowd, and it took them several minutes just to get to the gates of the festival once more. They all sighed with relief, Hanpan included, once they left the grounds behind them. "I'm all for this celebration stuff, just as long as I don't have to be apart of it."

"Me too."

They kept walking in to town. "So, where do you think the princess lives?" Jack asked.

Rudy looked at him, surprised. "In the palace."

Jack guffawed, looking at Rudy amusedly. "Yeah, nice one."

Rudy furrowed his brow. "Where else would she live?"

"In a house. C's not the prin..." Jack slowed in his step, then stopped. Rudy stopped with him.

"I thought you noticed," Rudy muttered.

"She's the goddamn princess? And we let her go in those catacombs with us?"

"You said she seemed to hold her own—"

"What if she died? What then? Death looming over our heads in the form of a rope, that's what. This entire time... how the hell did I miss that?"

"You always were pretty slow," Hanpan muttered.

"It's not like you noticed, you stupid rat," Jack bit back.

"Hey!"

"I can't believe this..."

"It's not that bad."

"If something happened to her, we'd be at the gallows. I say that's pretty bad. Man, I'm so pissed!"

"Calm down," Hanpan quipped. "Let's just see if we can have an audience with her. Then you can take your frustrations out on the right person."

Jack looked to his coat pocket where Hanpan sat, then sighed. "Sorry, guys. I just don't like taking risks I could've avoided."

"Well... the palace, then?"

"Yeah, guess so."

As they started walking, Rudy's eyes landed on a little boy off to the side of the road. He was huddled by the trunk of a tree with a balloon tied to his wrist. He had his arms wrapped around himself as he cried hysterically. Rudy couldn't bring himself to pry his eyes away; he felt connected to the boy, and he knew exactly what kind of torment he must have been feeling to be crying so hard. Before Rudy realized what he was doing, he was headed for the boy.

"Hey, Rudy, what're you...?" Jack trailed off, seeing the kid.

Rudy knelt down in front of the boy. "Are you all right?"

"I lost my mommy," he sniffed, swiping his wrist quickly under his nose. "I let go of her hand in the crowd and then she was gone."

"I hate crowds," Jack muttered from behind Rudy, shaking his head.

"We can help you find your mom," Rudy reassured. "Where did you last see her?"

The boy hiccuped a couple of times before he could answer. "By the big statue up front."

"Let's go look for her, okay?" Rudy said. He felt odd somehow. He never thought he would be opening himself up to a little boy like this. After what had happened back in Surf, he supposed he had a soft side for children, especially the lonely and the lost. He knew deep down they had everything in common.

The little boy took his hand tentatively, gripping it, making sure he wouldn't somehow slip away. They boy got up with Rudy, and they began to walk towards the festival again.

"Rudy, I'll meet you by the front of the palace," Jack called. "I'm gonna go have a word with Princess." His words were icy.

Rudy nodded over his shoulder, then kept going with the boy.

"We should be able to find your mom easy with your balloon," Rudy said quietly. "Was she with you when you had it?"

"Uh-huh."

"She'll be able to recognize you, then."

"Yeah, you're right," the little boy said, his voice cheering up noticeably. "I like this balloon because it's red. Red is my favourite colour."

"Mine too," Rudy said, smiling.

The boy untied the balloon from his wrist, gripping the string and holding it up. He looked to Rudy. "Sometimes, I wish I could fly just like—"

The balloon slipped from the boy's fingers, and he wailed as it flew up into the air. "Oh! My balloon!"

"Oh, no," Rudy whispered, looking up and watching the balloon fly away. When his eyes met the sky, however, the balloon was the last of his worries. He stayed staring upward, and all around him others stopped and stared. There was something wrong with the sky...

As the balloon floated further up, the clouds seemed to thicken and darken in colour by the second. It was like a storm, but somehow different. They stopped rolling and gliding and just seemed to come to a sickening stop, congealing into something hard and unnatural. When the balloon floated closer, a bolt of what might have been lightening struck out at it, cracking like a whip, drowning out the sound of the balloon's weak pop. Several people cried out in surprise, and Rudy ducked down with the boy, covering him protectively with his arms. Then the clouds began to crack apart.

The hole that was left behind wasn't of sky; as the pieces of viscous cloud fell towards the earth, a black mass of moving nothingness left in its wake. Rudy watched on in horror, and people around them began to scream and run.

"The sky is cracking!" an old man from nearby called out. "The end is upon us!"

"No!" the little boy shouted. "I don't want to die!"

He pulled away from under Rudy's arms. Rudy tried to swipe for the back of his vest, trying to pull him back, but he was too late. When he looked back up to the sky again, pools of light were forming from within the black, and then they shot down quickly in thick beams, striking the earth ferociously.

As one beam struck down nearby, Rudy realized they were in the form of boulders. He got to his feet and scrambled away, trying to avoid the falling catastrophe. When one landed right in front of him, he threw himself backwards off his feet, landing heavily on his rear. As he tried to get back up, the light dissipated from the boulder, and he saw it begin to change into something else. When it had finally transformed, it turned to Rudy, baring its sharp, white teeth and snarling. It lifted its scaled arms over its head, then swung the mace it had in its grip down towards him.

Rudy kicked himself out of the way in time, then struggled to his feet, drawing his sword to block another swing of the lizard-thing's mace. He was knocked down by the blow again, and the thing stood over him, wearing a shield, armour, and a vicious, blood thirsty glare for Rudy. The boy only met its eyes briefly, for when it swung its mace over its head again, Rudy pulled his ARM and fired at the creature's chest.

With the mace still poised over its head, the monster went flying backwards, landing several feet away from where he stood. Rudy stood, holding his weapon menacingly as he approached the creature. A large, black crater sat in the middle of his chest. Rudy realized its blood was black.

He spun around surveying the town around him. Nearly all the boulders had turned into creatures of varying shapes; some chased down the townspeople with weapons branded, maws agape, and blood staining their alien armour. Some of the buildings were destroyed from the boulder crashes, and some more buildings were on fire.

Rudy looked around frantically for any nearby survivors. He saw several people crumpled on the ground, killed by fallen boulders that had not changed. A short distance away lie the boy.

Rudy grimaced to himself. One step too late.

A woman nearby cowered as an animated skeleton approached her, scimitar branded and jaw opened wide in a grotesque roar. Rudy sheathed his sword and ran towards them, aiming his Hand Cannon. He fired; its frame shattered and its bones scattered like pieces of glass, glittering orange in the fire. The woman shrieked as it broke apart, and stumbled back onto the ground. Rudy rushed to her, then helped her up.

"Oh! No, no, don't touch me! I won't let you!"

"I won't hurt you," Rudy said quietly. For a moment, she had him believing he had changed into something as well.

She began to sob, and Rudy looked around nervously. There were screams and unnatural snarls coming from all around, and he knew they had to get out of here, get somewhere safe quickly—

"Let's get to the castle," he muttered, trying to help her up. She stumbled a bit, but she eventually got to her feet, letting Rudy take her along by the elbow. The castle was the only place they would be able to find any fortitude from this.

They ran through the fiery streets, Rudy holding his ARM high and supporting the woman along as he tried to fathom just what was happening and why.

"Dammit, man, get out of the way!" Jack shouted as he pushed an older gentleman over, swinging his sword at the lizard-thing before them. Not minutes ago, the town was bustling with activity of the ruin festival, and next the place was plagued with creatures that had fallen from the sky. Now disarray and chaos was everywhere, and Jack was finding it difficult to protect everyone at once; none of the villagers seemed to have any means to protect themselves—even the men with swords had no handle on things.

The lizard crouched back on all fours, his mace still held in his grasp. He hissed at Jack with a full, scratchy sound, his long tong whipping out of his mouth. Propelling himself forward quickly, Jack lobbed his sword inside its mouth before it had time to react, and pulled it out again deftly. The lizard leaned back onto its knees awkwardly, its hands fumbling at the back of his neck as blood gushed from its wound and mouth before it fell onto his side.

"We need to get out of here!" the man on the ground cried. "Please, sir, take me to the mayor's house. They must have fortifications there!"

"We're not headed to a house, are you crazy?" Jack retorted, pulling the man to his feet roughly. "I'm taking you to the castle. If it's anywhere that's safe, it's there."

"It's too far," the man said, his voice overcome with fear. "Please, we'll never make it—"

"Come on!" Jack led him along forcefully, watching the burning town all around him, wary for threats. He could hear screams and roars both far off and close, but he couldn't see where any of them might come from. A woman scrambled out from behind a house, and rushed up to Jack tripping at his feet and clinging to his legs desperately.

"Please! Help me! It's trying to eat me!"

"Hurry!" Jack helped her up and they scrambled along, him helping villagers as they passed. As they hurried through the streets, Jack came to the realization that this had happened to him before.

No. He gritted his teeth and brandished his sword, as if daring a creature to jump out at him so he would have something to slash at. I won't let it happen again.

Cecilia ran through the castle towards the entrance after her father; he ordered her detained in her room, but she was able to slip past some of the guards with a stunning spell. Her father was out there fighting, she knew, and she also knew he would be in trouble, knights or no.

They were getting ready to make an appearance at the festival when the sky began to crack and the demon-like creatures appeared. She remembered wondering if she would make an impression, stunning those people who hadn't realized who she was until now, wondering what Rudy and Jack would think if they saw her. The thought crossed her mind that they might actually be furious with her, but she felt enticed by the idea. That was when the worst had happened, and she felt ashamed for it, like she should have known better than to dote on such insignificant things.

"Princess," Minister Johan said breathlessly, running across her path in the antechamber. "What are you doing out of your room? You must return there immediately. It is not safe—"

"Minister Johan, do not dote on me like a lady," Cecilia said harshly. "We are under attack and as this kingdom's princess I think it necessary that I help defend it!—"

"Please, I cannot allow you to put yourself in harm's way," he said desperately, cutting her off and clutching her shoulders. "Stay within the castle, and—"

Cecilia poked him in the side with her wand and muttered the stunning spell once again. Johan's eyes bugged wide for a moment before he fell over like a stiffened board, just as the others had.

"I'm sorry, Johan," she said sternly, then continued on to the front doors. The screams were already flooding her ears, and the sounds of magic and clashing weapons shook the ground beneath her feet. Her fortitude began to waver as her mind's eye showed her sights of her dead father, sprawled out on the ground like a discarded doll—

She burst through the last set of doors overlooking the staircase that led to the town, freezing on the spot out of shock and despair. Many of the same knights she had seen just the previous night were now lying in their own blood, still and lifeless. Creatures were scattered all along the steps, fighting with soldiers and villagers alike, and at the very bottom she could see her father, donned in his old battle armour, take a heavy blow from a gigantic beast and fall to the ground.

"No!" she cried, and then all heads turned to her, human and creature alike.

Something pointed to her, speaking in an alien language, and then all of them abandoned their battles to approach her. She drew her wand and sent a bolt of fire into the chest of the closest monster, then ducked her head and ran through the gap it had left , narrowly dodging the swipe of a lizard's mace. She came to an abrupt stop and hopped backwards onto the previous step, missing the swipe of a skeleton's scimitar. It opened its jaws to her and let out a feral roar, and she stuck her wand inside of its gaping mouth, blasting it with another wave of fire. It flew backwards and shattered its ribcage on the steps. The creatures were all closing in on her, but they were far enough away that she had time and space to dash down the steps and land next to her father. He lie on his stomach, his own pool of blood forming, but he was still breathing, albeit weakly.

Cecilia closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on a healing spell, but it kept faltering. Her panic and fear were overwhelming to her mind, and she could not find the concentration to deliver the spell.

"Cecilia," her father moaned, and she clenched her hands and her eyes tighter, trying to conjure the spell.

She heard one of the creatures roar from behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to see a mace flying through the air towards her. Her eyes barely had time to widen before it closed in on her. This isn't how it was supposed to be, she thought to herself as it came within feet of her face.

Something fast swept across her vision, and a loud clatter rang out as the mace was knocked from the air. Cecilia blinked, trying to register what had happened, when she recognized the shape standing in front of her as Jack.

Before she had time to speak, he shot up the steps to the first creature, upper-cutting it with his blade and twisting around to slash it sideways. As the monster was falling, he was on to the next, stabbing and slicing with quick ferocity. He moved so quickly that Catherine could barely keep up with his movements. Finally realizing that she was safe, she returned to the task at hand and turned back to her injured father, meeting his eyes.

"Please, you can't be here," he muttered weakly. "You must run. They..."

"We need to fall back right now," she yelled over the roar of fire and creature alike. "Please, hold on!"

A loud explosion went off in her ears, and she clapped her hands over them, looking up to see the disturbance. Rudy ran towards the steps with his ARM in hand, a trail of civilians behind him. Cecilia then realized for the first time that several townspeople had made it to the steps—from the help of both Jack and Rudy, no doubt. Dead creatures lie on the path behind them; the two men had fought through the town to bring these people here. They were all retreating now, taking refuge within the castle. They were being driven back, they were losing.

Cecilia stood as Rudy streaked past her, and she took in a deep breath as she gathered her concentration. Pointing her wand up the stairs, she took each creature in her sights, and felt the magic building inside of her like a ferocious, caged animal.

"Nua!"

A flash of light burst in all their eyes, and hundreds of bolts flew from the tip of her wand, striking at every foe she had in her sights. Daggers of lightning streaked past all the knights, Jack and Rudy, electrifying the monsters from the heavens and sending many to their demise. The spell ended, and Cecilia slackened in her spot, finding herself immediately drained of energy.

The rest of the men on the steps finished off the remaining monsters, and Cecilia collapsed on the ground next to her father, breathing heavily.

"Milady," a man said worryingly from behind her, but she had difficulty focusing on him. His voice sounded muffled, as if it came through water. She caught sights of Jack and Rudy standing over her, and then she closed her eyes, feeling sleep coming on to her quickly.

This isn't how it was supposed to be... she repeated to herself as her mind shut itself down from exhaustion.