Chapter 2

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time"

Abraham Lincoln

Disclaimer: I don't own Wild ARMs (If I do, I wouldn't be writing this fic. I would turn it into the seventh installment of the series). Wild ARMs series belong to…uh, Sony Computer Entertainment America (finally got that right). Author's note is down below, and I strongly suggest you to read it.

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The sun rose around two hours ago in the Surf Village, one of the countless numbers of small villages in Filgaia. The blue sky is happily reigning on the top of the world, the birds fly across it adding more beauty to the veil of earth. And inside a two stories small inn made of brick in the village, a man with curly short red hair that covers his ears is seen enjoying his sleep peacefully, holding his pillows tightly to give himself some more comfort. His darker white skin is not really in contrast with the white covered bed. If you see how his smile growing on his sleep, he must have been dreaming something good. And if it's possible, maybe he prefers to stay dreaming all day long.

Unfortunately for him, his sleep is then interrupted when a Caucasian girl stormed to inside his room. Her long silver hair is braided carefully, descending out from beneath the bun. A pair of earrings in the form of silver colored cross is visible on both her ears. She wears a pair of white fingerless gloves on her hands. A brown leather belt containing a sheathed sword is hanging on her waist. Wearing a short white blazer which covering the dark colored shirt she wears with white shorts completed by pair of white sports shoes and long pair of socks that covered into above her legs, her dark eyes is staring furiously to the innocently sleeping man.

"Wake up, slowpoke!!! This is eight in the morning and you still enjoying your sleep while I, Alvin, and Sophia are working our butts down?!" The girl chops the man on his rib, surprising him and sending him crashing to the hard floor from his comfortable bed….effectively waking him up.

The red haired man slowly rises back from beside the bed and opens his eyes, revealing his enchanting red eyeballs to the world. "Marilyn, couldn't you wake me up in a much better fashion?" The red eyed man rubs his ribs without forgetting to protest the girl named Marilyn, "Last time, you chopped me in the head. And before that, you chopped me in the arm. And once, you gave me a roundhouse chop that nearly sent me to my demise. Did you feel like Chuck Norris?! What is it between your chops and me?!"

"Your amazing ability to sleep like a dead man, that's what standing between my chops and you, Cliff!!" Marilyn spats back at the red haired man named Cliff, "Now, why don't you put some decent clothes than your pajama so you can start working like you should downstairs?!"

"Yes, O mighty Marilyn" Cliff replies with a mocking tone which irritates the silver haired girl even more. And he even adds a murmur, "Your wish is my command. Now, would you like me to strip in front of you or inside the bathroom?"

Bad move, Cliff. The silver haired girl is an emotional girl….and she's got good hearing too.

"What did you just say?" Marilyn is really sure she heard something just now, "I demand a repeat"

"No, I said…" Cliff starts to work his brain so that he wouldn't have to receive some amount of punishments (chops), "I would be willing to work all day long!"

"I'm not going to buy that! But since we're running out of time, I'll let you go for the time being. Now get dressed like a proper adult!" The dark eyed girl steams before leaving the room with a red face, combination of both anger and more anger.

Cliff sighs seeing her reaction before going to the bathroom, "Three years and she is still the same old Marilyn. Some things just never changed, huh?"

Being the only inn in Surf Village, the inn isn't really big. Two storied inn with approximately fifteen rooms, ten downstairs and five upstairs. In the back of the inn, the owner which is also happen to be the mayor of the village lives with his wife and two sons.

The Surf Village itself has always been the same. A middle aged styled village with healing berries plantation as its main source of living. Not too many people live there, maybe only around seventy people. Nonetheless, it's still a warm quite village although The Genesis War pretty much isolated it from most of the outer world.

Clad in a long green trench coat covering his orange shirt and black trouser, Cliff slowly walks downstairs to the kitchen to meet the waiting figure in the form of Marilyn. His black sport shoes make some noises in the wooden stairs as he steps. Below the stairs there's a basement which is used as a very large wine storage.

"Finally here" The young girl points to a pile of unpeeled potatoes, "Peel the potatoes while Sophia is still out collecting berries, I'll wipe the tables inside the café for the time being"

"Yes, boss" Cliff smirks and quickly does as he was told. So that neither he nor Marilyn would get bored while doing their tasks, Cliff opens a conversation, "Where're Mayor Bricks and Misses Bricks, Marilyn? I haven't seen him since last night"

"Misses Bricks went to the plantation this morning with her sons and Sophia. Mayor told me that he is out for awhile. I heard it's an emergency matter of security because a group of deserters have been appearing around here lately. Mayor is going to the nearest post office trying to contact the World Union for help, and Alvin is escorting him" Finishing her sentence, Marilyn escapes a small cynical chuckle, "Hmph, like that would do anything good"

"What does that 'hmph' mean?" Being a fellow comrade, Cliff easily noticed the implied tone, "Hopefully not another whatnot bout the World Union…"

"You got the point, didn't you? WU wouldn't give a damn about this little village. They are in the middle of an ongoing war with The Society for sanity's sake. That's why I believe his attempt would be futile" The girl continues wiping the tables around her, "He should have contacted mercenaries rather than WU"

"He only does what he thinks is right. Beside, hiring mercenaries would cost this village more than contacting WU" Cliff finishes peeling one potato and goes for another one, "Didn't he mention this village has been living in hardships ever since The Society took actions four years ago?"

"Cliff, Filgaia has been living in hardships ever since God created this planet" The silver haired lady moves to another table, continuing her deed, "And, so have we"

"Second that" The red eyed man shortly replies before peeling some other potatoes. Several minutes pass, he grows weary of the silent atmosphere and starts another talk, "Speaking of which, how long are we going to stay here? I'm tired of peeling potatoes and cooking all day long!"

"As long as it takes to acquire back our previous number of gella. You know, the one which you and Sophia stupidly lost" With a strict voice, Marilyn replies before angrily staring at her comrades. Cliff again noticed the stare, but quickly turns his head to pretend he saw nothing.

He shouldn't have touched this sensitive subject. Now he's anything but doomed.

Precisely, Marilyn wouldn't let him go so easily like that, "We wouldn't lose our money in the first place if you and Sophia didn't stupidly bet in the horserace like I told you two morons!!"

"Well, it couldn't be helped!! We needed a lot of money and Sophia suggested the idea!!" Cliff defends himself as the first battle of the day begins.

"And you actually listened to Sophia's idea?! But not mine?! Didn't you realize how air headed she has been all the time, Cliff?!"

"But…the horoscope page on Filgaeyaaah magazine told me I would make lots of money by betting it for something good!!"

"A horserace with twelve horses on the line with the winning chance being one out of eight was good while a football game where only two teams were playing with the winning chance being one out of two wasn't good?! Hm? Is that what you wanna say?!"

"But did you have any guarantee your team would win the match, Marilyn?!"

"I didn't, but I wouldn't have bet all the gellas in our pockets either!!! And the least of all the chance for it was fifty-fifty!!"

"Hey, Alvin chose abstain!! He should be blamed for not wanting to take the responsibility too!!"

"I couldn't blame him cause he prefer not wanting to do with the bet!! But you, I could!"

Cliff is in no favor to win. He just realized from the start of the debate Marilyn has been gaining the upper hand and there's no way for him to turn the table. He lost.

"Well…." The bell rings and this round was won by Marilyn, "No…you were right all along. This is my fault for trusting Sophia…"

"Good, now get back to your work because we have more things to do today!! You shouldn't have rebutted me knowing you never were a good debater!!" Marilyn proudly grins to celebrate her victory over Cliff for god only knows how many times. Cliff makes faces before going back peeling the potatoes. He feels bitter about his lost…and of course the lost of almost their gellas.

For all he knows, Marilyn is always like this. She isn't your typical goody-goody and submissive girl who is willing to do anything without even being asked. She despises losing above anything else, especially to men. Marilyn is also a strong willed woman with a steeled heart. She planned all her doings almost perfectly, and she demands perfection of the execution. She's a bit hotheaded and wouldn't like to show her feelings in front of people…well, except for one person. Her words, her smile, her doings, almost all of them are fettered. It's as if she never meant any of that from inside her heart. She did that just because she had to, no other reason. Although just like stated above, she lets everyone knows her anger or weariness when she feels necessary. However, she isn't evil at all. She's just stiff, that's all.

Not long after, the door of the inn opens and a gorgeous looking white skinned lady steps in. Wearing a long sleeved blue colored formal shirt covered by a short coat, her brown T-skirt is only centimeters away from the dark brown boots she wears. Black long curly hair with charming purple eyes; her face features a warm smile to the other two looking at her. "Howdy, Cliff? Havin some fun already?" The woman cheerfully greets the scarlet haired man.

"In a way or another, yeah" Cliff glances at Marilyn before eyeing back on the lady, "Where are the berries, Sophia?"

"Berries? What berries?" The gorgeous lady, who turns out to be Sophia which Cliff and Marilyn have been referring all morning long, puts a confused smile on her face. Knowing that something is going wrong, Cliff and Marilyn shares an understanding look.

"The berries you supposed to be holding right now, Sophia. Didn't you mention you would get the berries from the plantation just half an hour ago?" A simple explanation escapes within Marilyn's voice, "Or…could it be that you forgot again?"

Sophia rolls her eyes before snapping her finger. 'Right, I forgot!!" is written all over her face. "Right, I forgot!! I put them near the plantation and forgot to bring them here!!" Sophia proudly exclaims in a stupid tone, "How do you know I forgot the berries, Marilyn?"

"Simple, you forgot half of the things you did" The dark eyed girl sarcastically responds, "If not…all"

Ignoring what Marilyn just said, Sophia exits the inn and dashes off to the plantation, "Wait me here, m'kay? I'll be back soon, fellas!!"

"Jesus Christ, twenty two year old yet her brain works as good as a two year old" Marilyn shakes her head in wonder before going back to her previous deed. Cliff lets out a small chuckle seeing both his comrades acted. Sophia is always like that. She's got one of the most gorgeous faces in the history of Filgaia. She's got good manners, great personality, and an unbelievable crack. Her soft and kind heart would surely melt any man down to her knees. But she is also a clumsy woman and an air headed who could forget anything she considers trivial in a matter of seconds. And these two downfalls on her part surely belittled her credibility. But, she is a good woman to have on your side.

"Don't be too hard on her, Marilyn. You knew she has always been a clumsy person" Cliff goes back peeling the potatoes. His job will be over anytime soon, "But, I think you should try to act softer to her a bit more. Her kind heart is unquestionable"

"So is her clumsiness" Marilyn retorts back, "She's got no respect for herself"

"Why would you say that?"

"Do you remember when she forgot to wear even the skimpiest of clothes and walked out from the inn when we were staying at Boot Hill? The entire town witnessed her walking mindlessly without an article of clothing, no?!! And worse, she didn't even feel anything about that!" Marilyn strikes an accusing glance to the red haired man, "If she wanted the whole world to show her entire skin that bad she should have modeled for Playboy!! Although I believe you were enjoying the view as well!!"

"Ukh…I would be lying if I said I wasn't" Cliff feels a bit uneasy responding to his comrade, "And I have to admit that she is a real knockout…"

"Hmph!! Men and their perverted minds!!!"

"What?! I wasn't being perverted!!! I was being honest!! I'm a normal young man, you know?!! Alvin also saw her, didn't he?!"

"Yeah, but he didn't admit it out loud like you did!!" For the second time today, Marilyn seals another win over the poor Cliff, "Sophia should respect herself more as a woman"

"Now, don't say that. Maybe you should try to act a little more like her, Marilyn. She's actually good natured"

"You mean I should act like a wimpy peddler? Thank you for the offer, but I'll let that one pass"

And up to this point, Cliff knows continuing to persuade her would be absurd. So, he only lets out a small disappointed sigh before finally finishes his job peeling the potatoes, "OK, I'm done with the potatoes. Any other things I should do?"

"As usual, prepare the steak and prepare the French fries for lunch" Marilyn orders, "Sophia and Alvin should be here anytime soon"

And she was right. "Man, I'm beat!!" A green haired dusky skinned man, his hair styled in ponytail, enters the inn and lets everyone know what he is thinking. He clad in a brown trousers and white semi-formal shirt covered by an unbuttoned black leather jacket. His green eyes stare surprisingly to Cliff, "Oh, Cliff is awake and diligently working? What a nice surprise"

"Morning, Alvin" Cliff reveals who the green haired man is, "Where's Mayor?"

"I'm here, Cliff" A middle aged man, grey haired with a calm looking face, wears formal clothes entering the scene, "Alvin dashes out of the car when we arrived"

"What? Why?"

"Cause I need to take a piss, that's why" Stating his reason, Alvin runs to the bathroom leaving the other three glaring at him. That's Alvin for you. He's the kind of guy who looks lanky and funky on the surface, but inside he's trustworthy, patient, and quite responsible. He is a nice guy you can find anywhere, but he's hardly a fool. Although for an adult, he doesn't really look mature but you can count on him when it comes to doing tasks he accepted. And he always prefers to speak only when he feels necessary.

"Marilyn, Cliff, can I ask you two a favor?" The mayor approaches both youngsters in the kitchen.

"Sure" Both answers in unison.

The mayor himself doesn't waste any second asking them, "Can you escort Sandra and the twins from the plantation now? Although Sophia is there, I'm kind of worried because…things didn't go well in the post office"

Understanding the implication on his worried voice, both Cliff and Marilyn nod before quickly exiting the inn, making their way to the healing berries plantation beside the surf village. Almost every villager living inside Surf Village has their fair share of personal crops inside the plantation. So does the mayor. It's only normal for him to worry about his family. The plantation is almost a mile away from the village and it is really vulnerable to an attack from the deserters if they were really going to come.

"Morning, Mr. Jim. Good day, Ms. Thornton" Cliff politely greets almost every single person he meets along his way inside the village. Marilyn doesn't necessarily greet, but she throws a little smile to the villagers whom she passes.

"Don't forget to read another storybook for the kids today too, Cliff" One of the villagers kindly reminds the red haired man on his way.

"Yeah, sure" He replies.

"Marilyn, I have the usual errand for you to do today if you want. Nannette told me she also wants you to help" A woman tells the braided girl.

"Thanks, Miss Hanson. I'll make sure to come by later" Marilyn simply responds. No kindness or weariness inside her voice, it's just plain fettered.

It's been almost a month since the group working in the inn. Originally, they are four drifters who lost their gellas for a stupid reason and ended up bumping on the village. In that one month, the villagers grew to like them and vice versa. The group is known as nice young adults who are friendly towards the villagers. Cliff likes to read the villagers' children a storybook whenever he got a free time. Sophia and Alvin usually spend their time helping the Mayor and his wife running the inn and the café. Because their café is highly popular in Surf Village; it's the place the villagers hang out the most. Marilyn…well, she dislikes playing or running the inn, unfortunately. She usually prefers helping the villagers collecting the healing berries see from the berries cave near Surf Village for a decent amount of money. Although that is rather cold for her to do, the villagers didn't mind at all. She helped them and they also helped her; it's pretty much a symbiosis mutualism.

"They are good people, it's such a waste World Union don't want to have anything to do with this" Cliff lower his voice when he tells what he thinks after hearing the implication the mayor told him earlier.

"Don't tell me I didn't tell you, okay?" The stiff girl stiffly replies, "The day the World Union actually care about their people is the day when ARMs wielders aren't hated by this world"

"Don't say that, Marilyn"

"Cliff, saying this world loves ARMs wielders is like saying The Genesis War never took place in Filgaia"

"Hey" Cliff implied a warning inside his respond, "Don't say that out loud"

"I'm sorry, I stated the truth" No desire to lose at all even in the most trivial things from Marilyn, "Just like I always did"

"Yes, but not all truths are necessary to be spoken" Cliff carries on the conversation as they finally exits the village and heads straight to the berries plantation, "Sometimes, truths aren't good enough"

"That depends, because truths hurt. People should live with that fact" Marilyn gives a fettered glance to Cliff, "Just like us, we should live with that fact"

"Haven't we always?" The trench coat clothed man agrees when they finally arrive on the plantation, "There they are"

Cliff points to Sophia and three other persons beside her, a grey haired woman on her early forties and twin grey haired boys. Needles to say, they are the Sandra, Mayor's wife, and the twins, mayor's kids. "Ah, that's Cliff and Marilyn" Sophia tells the other three who quickly take a quick notice, "What are they doing here?"

"Maybe James sent them here" Misses Bricks guesses and also reveals her husband's name, letting both her sons runs toward Cliff, "For a matter of security, perhaps"

"Cliff, read me Aladdin today!!" One of the boys jumps to Cliff embrace as the other tries to climb his back, "I want to know what happen to Jafar!!!"

"No, no!! Read me Lion King!!" The other boy pleads, "I want to know what happen to Scar!!"

"No, Michael!!! I want Aladdin!!"

"I'm sorry, Micah!! But I want Lion King!"

"OK, alright! I'll read you both once we got back in the inn. Bring your friends as usual, 'kay?" The maturing young adult couldn't resist their plea. Well, it's also to his liking anyway. Marilyn only gives a concerning look to Cliff and the kids. "Why does he do the deeds for free? Stupid, not thinking for an opportunity to acquire more gella" She gives her mind to the subject, although she wisely didn't say it out loud.

Cliff helps Misses Bricks carrying some of her berries baskets on the way back, because the kids already got one for each and Sophia brings two. Only Marilyn didn't offer her help. Her mind is somewhere else all the way, perhaps thinking about the errand informed to her earlier today.

Back in the inn, lunchtime is already here. Finishing their prepared lunch (French fries), the four drifters continue their planned job. As the villagers gather inside the café and enjoy their time, Sophia and Alvin initiatively help the mayor and his wife serving their foods and drinks. "Alvin, take this steaks and colas to table number 7. Sophia, please take the burgers and sausage to the Woody at table number 13" The mayor orders and gives the two young adults the ordered meals. Adequately as the mayor he remembers all his villagers.

"Sure" The two take the ordered meals to the respective customer, and then come back to take more orders. With the mayor and his wife in the kitchen, Sophia and Alvin in the café, the business goes quite well that afternoon. From the stairs, Marilyn is observing her friends doing their job quietly while Cliff walks downstairs beside her.

"You're going to help Miss Hanson?" Cliff asks something actually quite obvious to the silver haired girl as they both exit the inn.

"Yes" Marilyn shortly confirms, "It's not like I actually need a help, but I do think you should help me collecting the seeds so that we will acquire more gella quicker. Alvin also told me maybe he would help if he's done with the café quicker today"

"Alvin agreed? It's not that I don't want to help you, but…" Cliff points to at least a dozen children, Michael and Micah included, waiting in the back of the inn, "I promised to read them Lion King and Aladdin, remember?"

"Cliff, can't you just tell them Jafar and Scar died in the end so you can help me with the errand?"

"Marilyn, Jafar didn't die in the end. Genie sealed him inside the lamp, he didn't die" Something really obvious and quite true, actually. But not really proper as a respond, I tell you.

"Well, I could care less about that! I don't actually give a damn about Jafar or Scar! There's more serious problem about our financial condition remember?" Marilyn sharply clarifies her point, "Now, will you help me or not?"

"Yes" Cliff sighs out of disappointment, "But only after I read them both stories, deal?"

"….fine, just don't make me wait too long. I hate waiting for too long" Marilyn says nothing anymore and refuses from Cliff's sight. The red haired man sighs and slowly shakes his head seeing her. He knows she meant well. She is still concerned about the money and maybe she just want someone to accompany her doing her job. She just doesn't want to say it out loud.

"Is everything okay, Cliff?" Michael asks from his behind, concerned.

"Yes, everything's fine. I'll read both stories for you and your friends. But after that I have to help Marilyn, okay?" Cliff points out his plan, which Michael welcomes with a nod. The two go to where the kids have been waiting for the stories.

Cliff reads them how Scar was sent to his demise because of his own foolishness and Jafar met his new place for the next ten thousand years because his own greediness for power. Shortly thereafter, Cliff fulfills his promise to go helping Marilyn. Heading to Miss Hanson's house, he finds Marilyn in front of the house talking to Miss Hanson. Alvin is standing behind the young girl quietly.

"Oh, he's here" Marilyn notices Cliff's coming.

"Good, dear. He and Alvin can help you, then" Miss Hanson tells her.

"So, how's the errand going?" Cliff approaches his comrade and wastes no time asking.

"Marilyn helped Nannette collecting the seeds, child" The old woman smiles when she explains what the fettered girl has done for her, "So, that leaves me alone"

"Don't worry; I'll help Marilyn collecting the seeds" Cliff ensures the old lady before he and Marilyn take their leave to the healing berries cave. Whenever drifters bumped into this town, it's only normal for the villagers to ask their help collecting the seeds from the cave. Simply because the cave is known as nest of monsters, although they don't go out eating humans, they will bite whoever dares to step inside their nest. Unlike the drifters, villagers aren't combatants so they won't be able to fight the monsters if the monsters really attack. And needless to say, the villagers will pay the drifters for doing them an important deed.

Same as Marilyn; she does the deed for the villagers for money. She mostly did it alone, although sometimes Sophia and Alvin took turn helping her if they weren't too busy. Cliff never helped her because he was always too busy with the kids.

"You're done with the kids, Cliff?" Alvin asks the red haired man to fill some time during the journey to the berry village.

"Yes, thankfully" Cliff answers with a proud smile.

"Personally, I never saw you coming" Marilyn tells Cliff without bothering to look at him. But she implied a 'thank you' inside her tone.

"You're welcome" Cliff got that right, "So, how are we going to do this?"

"I don't bring my gloves, so I'll settle with my legs" Alvin was the first to answer.

"I'm going to use my sword as always. But you cannot use 'that' you know, Cliff? If they find out, they'll kick us the hell out of here" The fettered girl puts another hint on her answer, "That's why I hope you bring your secondary weapon with you"

"No worries" Cliff taps the right side of his trench coat, "I have prepared myself as well"

"Good boy" Marilyn says as they finally enter the cave and spot dozens Rotten Beasts turning their attention on them. And needless to say, the rotten beasts would want to devour them.

"A welcoming committee" Cliff smirks and pulls out a pair of giant shears, around five feet long, from behind his green trench coat, "How nice"

"If what you said is true, they have to be the ugliest welcoming committee in existence" Marilyn beams.

"And the lamest too" Alvin dryly adds.

"Where are the seeds?" Cliff prepares a battle stance once the beasts starting to run to his direction.

"On the deepest corner of the cave, see you there" Readying to turn on her accelerator, Marilyn glares toward the beasts before encouraging Cliff with her own style, "Don't let your enormous strength bests your durability, Cliff!"

"And don't let your accelerator beats your courage, Marilyn!!" The red haired man gets the joke.

"Get a room" Alvin chuckles with a very low tone so the two wouldn't hear him as he dashes to the direction of the beast.

Cliff, noticing how the beasts are really close to him, welcomes one beast who fearlessly and foolishly throws his claw to him by plunging the giant shears to his claw. The red haired man refuses to let any second go and mercilessly tear the claws out by pulling the shears. The beast wails in pain, letting the entire cave recognizes his agony. But his pain is ephemeral, because Cliff plunges the shears to his neck and cuts it off in less than three seconds without giving it one last chance to scream. With one beast down, Cliff focuses on another pretty quick.

The giant shears weight around 220 lbs and it would take a hell of an effort for any normal person to move it. But for Cliff, swinging and using the shears is like lifting a feather. His natural enormous physical strength, despite his normal height and weight, allows him to do so. And rest assured that's not all he can do.

Alvin moves swiftly among the horde of beasts with ease. Their claw attack or their fang attack provide little to no threat to him. Leaping shortly above one of the beasts, Alvin executes a butterfly kick right to the back of the beast, violently pummeling him to the cave floor and instantly killing him. The green haired man rapidly lands and moves to below another beast, attacking him on his jaw using the Crescent Kick. And to momentarily end his series of attack, Alvin leaps once again and maims another beast with the Butterfly Kick in the similar fashion like he did with the first one. The desert native takes a second to catch breath before returning his attention to the monsters.

Alvin is a martial art expert and he executes his kicks pretty swift too. Combining his above average speed and his potent physical strength, he handles unarmed combats with ease, especially since this is important to fulfill his dream.

Marilyn calmly reaches her sword as the beasts starting to gather around her. After she unsheathes her sword, she reveals Iskander Bey, the legendary sword. Its craftsmanship equals its beauty. Enchanting yet deadly, the sword can only be used by certain swordsmen. And Marilyn is one of them. One beast tries to cut her off using both its claws but the silver haired girl calmly lowers herself near the ground before cutting both its claws in one single slash. Before the beast wails to release its pain, Marilyn thrusts its neck and quickly pulls off her sword. Setting her sight on three other beasts, the swordswoman makes a good use of her accelerator and detaches their head off their neck in one strike, unseen and unheard by any of the monsters. Nonetheless, a glimmer of enjoyment lit on her eyes.

A skillful swordswoman, Marilyn handles her treasured Iskander Bey perfectly. Although she is particularly a fettered person, she would never hesitate to unsheathe Iskander Bey whenever she feels the need to. Her accelerator proves to be the perfect pairing for her swordsmanship. She attacks and defenses composedly on her battles, making her a deadly adversary for nearly everyone opposing her.

Cliff hits a beast's head with shears before thrusting the shears inside his neck and detaching his head off forcefully. Another beast tries to bite him from behind, but Cliff quickly pinches one of the fangs and lifts him to the air. Trying to make a good use of the wailing beast on his mercy, the red haired man throws away the beast into its own horde, scattering them all and giving him a chance to wreak even more havoc for the beasts. With rapid pace, Cliff appears among the beasts and pinches one of the beasts neck, allowing him to spin around and hit the beasts with the one he got on his hands before sending the unfortunate martyr harshly to the cave wall. Several other beasts try to jump and take him down from the air, but it's useless. Using his shears one more time, Cliff spins it around and utilizes the clipper to hit all their torsos before they reach him. The trench coated man plunges another unfortunate beast on its stomach pre repeating what he did before, using it to maim its own kind with a spinning attack before tearing its stomach off. Blood of the other beasts can be seen everywhere on the path he fought. The beasts suddenly realize they aren't dealing with an everyday goody-goody guy around here. Seeing Cliff's red figure standing on their kind corpses belittles their courage. And without even themselves noticing, they are slowly retreating from the man. But once Cliff sets his sight on them, something inside them tells them that it's too late for them to retreat now. The red figure wouldn't let any of them escape him alive. And he proves that as he dismantles the monsters; he tears them off one by one until not even one beast standing on his eyesight anymore.

Alvin performs a Roundhouse Kick to a beast and knocks him down as he battles his way inside. The dusky skinned man spins around three beasts before giving them the taste of his Spinning Kick for each; spinning three times in a row to bring them down to the cave floor. Realizing one of them gets back when at least another four are going for his from separate direction; Alvin brings both his legs to the recuperated monster's neck before executing a really fine scissor kick and smashing his opponent in style, leaving three more left. He wastes no time to display a Flying Kick and hit one of the beasts before turning around to perform a Jump Spin Hook Kick to the beast on his behind, leaving one single beast for his to handle. The beast looks scared of him by the way he handled other beasts, but that doesn't stop the green haired man at all. He quickly heads to the scared monster direction and prepares his heel to perform the Reverse Triple Roundhouse Kick. He gives a low reverse roundhouse kick to the beast's ankle, and before the beast falls down he gives a middle reverse roundhouse kick to the beast's hip, perfectly maintaining him on the air. Alvin finalizes by leaping and giving the beats the taste of his reverse high roundhouse kick, resulting on the beast flying right to the cave wall in a very painful and violent way before uncomfortably landing to the cave floor. Seeing the last of his opponents lies motionless, Alvin feels content and heads inside.

Thrusting one of the monsters' jaws after evading a fang attack easily, Marilyn connects another slash to kill a beast approaching from her behind. She leaps into above one beast to smoothly slash its back, and then proceeds to slain another one after slashing its upper head off after she landed on the ground cautiously. Cleanses her sword while she observes the current stand, she spots at least a dozen beasts are trying to gang up on her. Yet, she doesn't show any sign of being afraid at all. Enjoyment is written all over her face; her pleased smile perfectly symbolizes it. Marilyn rapidly dashes toward the group of the waiting beast to share what she thinks of them, and she starts it by detaching yet another unfortunate beast's head. Rolling her sword in her hand, Marilyn slices both fangs of the beast beside her and proceeds to pierce the head of one beast behind her before turning her attention back to the fangless beast and slices his face off. Another beast stupidly attacks her from next to her only to meet its demise after one quick slash to its neck. Four beasts are down, eight more to go. Not giving the smallest of chance for the remaining beasts to attack her, Marilyn activates her accelerator and moves in a blinding speed, leaving a trail of after images behind her every step. The eight monsters are too slow to catch up with her movements. All they could feel is a cold win touching their neck. And before they realize it, Marilyn is already standing behind them, her lips escapes a ghost of victorious smile. The beasts quickly turn their back to chase her, but as they do so their head falls off to the cave floor. Bloods spray from each and every one of their detached neck as their body crumbles to eternal rest. The Guillotine, that's how the swordswoman called the technique she just displayed perfectly.

Every time she does this errand, beasts would always welcome her like this. But today, her job is much easier because she got two trustworthy companions alongside her. Usually she would have preferred to avoid hordes of beasts all by herself, making her bored and not capable of executing freer moves like The Guillotine she just did. She would secretly admit she enjoyed doing it.

Making it deeper inside the cave, she finds Cliff and Alvin standing quietly in front of her. Their back is facing her. That means something is going on in there. Marilyn quickly rushes to his side and sees another Rotten Beast, but this one is three times bigger than the normal sized Rotten Beast.

"The chairman of the welcoming committee" Cliff jokes again, "How nice"

"How lame" Alvin personally comments.

"Then, he has to be the ugliest chairman of the ugliest welcoming committee in existence" Marilyn responds with a little smile, "So, the usual trick?"

Before both glancing at Alvin, Cliff and Marilyn glance at each other after Marilyn tips him, sharing an understanding stare. Cliff prepares his shears and runs toward the beast who is starting to make his way to them also. Alvinn follows Cliff from behind, but instead of using his speed to oust him the man leaps into Cliff's right shoulder, perfectly jumps forward by using the shoulder to give himelf a higher spot to perform his leap. The monster is fairly confused whether to take on Cliff first or Alvin first, giving the two the slight edge to quickly end the battle.

Cliff pierces with his clippers and cuts the Giant Rotten Beast's stomach perfectly by the time Alvin connects a Flying Side Kick right to the monster's head. Blood sprays from its stomach and head as Cliff pulls out his shears when Alvin softly lands, both wait for Marilyn to deal the final blow.

Preparing her Iskander Bey, Marilyn activates her accelerator once again and in a demon speed cuts the beast's torso into two; the prove being she already sheathing her sword behind the beast while just a moment ago she was in front of the monster.

Blood gushes from the beast's body as he falls to his death.

"Well executed" Alvin genuinely praises the silver haired girl.

"So? Was that the last one?" Cliff asks his companion while observing his surrounding in case other beasts show up wanting to get their ass kicked.

"Tired already? I thought you were enjoying it?" Marilyn gives another hint; the giant beast indeed was the last one.

"You enjoyed it more than I did" Cliff puts his shears back behind his trench coat, "So; the seeds are still deeper inside the cave?"

"Yup, let's go" And the three go deeper inside the cave. With the beasts all gone, their task is easier than stealing a candy from a baby. In less than ten minutes, they already collected two basks full of healing berries seeds.

The three slowly walks out from the cave, trying carefully not to drop any single seed or else their payment would be decreased. "So, I fulfilled my promise, right?" Cliff opens another conversation on their way back.

"You always did. That's one good thing about you" Marilyn praises him dryly. .

"Is that praise of yours genuine, Marilyn?"

"You decide"

"No, you decide"

"Well, I guess that was genuine. I admit that you're a man of your word. But, that's all" Marilyn, still doesn't feel like losing even for the smallest of matters, tries her best not to sound defeated.

"No thank you or whatsoever?"

"Thank you" Marilyn reluctantly says, colorlessly.

"You're welcome" Cliff, however, replies genuinely. That's the difference between the two, the one isn't afraid of showing his feelings yet the other one is the other way around. Makes you wonder how they became friends in the first place, huh? Well, but an old says opposite attracts each other, no?

By the way, Alvin stays quiet. It seems that he prefers to listen to his two friends to give himself some more entertainment.

"Either way, I want you to come with me again tomorrow if someone asks me for another errand" Marilyn informs the red haired man with authority on her voice.

"What?! Wasn't today enough?!" Cliff protests, "The beasts are all gone?! What do you need my help for?!"

"I never said today would be enough" The silver haired girl calmly responds, "So, that means you still have to go with me tomorrow"

"That doesn't mean so!!"

"That does"

"That doesn't!!!"

"That does"

"That doesn't!!!"

"That does"

"That doesn't!"

Feeling annoyed, Marilyn stops walking and stares coldly at Cliff. One more thing about her, she doesn't take 'no' for an answer.

"I need your help to carry the seeds. More seeds mean more payment" The braided girl tells him with annoyance on her voice.

"Can't Alvin do it?!" Cliff retorts back.

"You hate accompanying me that much?" A piercing question, right to the heart of the trench coated man.

"Well, that's no it…" Cliff begins losing…yet again.

"So? Why?" And Marilyn begins winning…yet again, "You hate working together with me?"

"No…"

"Really? But your acts say otherwise"

"Uh….well…"

"That's weird, if my memory serves me right, didn't you promise me to be my friend when we first ran into each other?" Marilyn draws her ace to seal any chance for Cliff to talk back, "What does friend do?"

"Friend…looks out for each other"

"Right, my friend. Are you intending to break the promise?"

"No!" Cliff shouts, "I'm a man of my word!!"

"So, will this 'man of his word' back away now or do what he promised like a real man?"

"Ugh!!! Okay, alright!!! You win!! You win!!!" And the victory goes to Marilyn…again, "I'll help you tomorrow!! And then the day after tomorrow!! And then the day after the day after tomorrow!!"

"Good, that's what I want to hear" Marilyn smiles victoriously, "By the way, why did you refuse to help me in the first place?"

"No need for you to know" Cliff says and then resumes walking.

"There is a need for me to know" Marilyn insists, catching up with Cliff, "You never said no for no reason"

"If I tell you, there's no way you're going to believe me"

"Try me"

"…I'm planning to doze off till afternoon tomorrow. I've been feeling sleepy all day long cause you woke me up this morning"

For a second, everything around the two is quiet. Really quiet, not even the slightest of the moving wind makes a noise. Without making any warning or whatsoever, Marilyn activates her accelerator and chops Cliff right on his face using her Roundhouse Chop. His face got cemented down on the ground as it unknowingly makes a questioning look, "What the hell did she kick me for?!"

"You are the freaking worst, Cliff Margester!!!" The silver haired girl turns into her demon form, "You refused to accompany me because you want to sleep all day long!! It was you who brought us to our financial problem in the first place!! It was you who promised me!!! And now, when I'm trying to make up for YOUR mistake, you want to sleep a like a dead man for twelve hours?!! Well, knock yourself out you prick!!! I'm not going to care anymore!!!"

And there she goes away, leaving Cliff staring at her mindlessly as he rises, "For God's sake, it's been three years since I first met her, but she is still the same old Marilyn Westerfield. So, some things really never changed, huh?"

"Hell yeah" Alvin rights Cliff before he walks away, "And also, the part when a chick keep beating your ass after three years…that too, never changed"

Marilyn's a bit hotheaded and wouldn't like to show her feelings in front of people…well, except for one person, Cliff...the first real friend she ever had after rough years in her life.

And that's the two friends for you all.

****

Around a quarter mile from Surf Village, in the top of the berries cave, two soldiers in Army Combat Uniform is seen observing the village with goggles. "There's the village" One of them says, "You go back and inform the Second Lieutenant about this. I'll stay here to make sure none of our troopers or guys from The Society come to this village"

"Roger that. This village will provide us with money and ransom" The other soldier comments, "And probably some pussies. Let's just hope those drifters wouldn't be much of a hindrance"

"Are you out of your mind? We got more than thirty foot soldiers, an armored car with dozen soldiers, a tank and a super heavy tank! How could they beat us?" His friend ensures him, "Now, go tell the Second Lieutenant!!"

The soldier nods and runs back to the appointed point. The mayor's fear has become reality. The deserters from World Union are indeed targeting Surf Village. And it's not long before they reach their target. It's just a matter of time.

Well, all good things come to an end now, don't they?

****

That's it for the first real story in The Crimson. More about the characters will be explained in the next chapter (along with some trivia). Cliff & Marilyn are respectively the male lead and female lead in this story, so it's only normal if they got more screen time than the others (especially in the opening story. If you say otherwise, then by all means, you're out of your mind).

Reviews will be appreciated (^^), thanks for reading anyway.

And btw, the list below is the terminology in The Crimson universe. It is strongly suggested that you read it first so you won't get confused reading this story:

The Genesis War

Forty years prior to the story, Solomon, God of the Metal Demons, came to invade and rule Filgaia along with his Ars Goetia, the 72 Great Demon Lords. The World Union, along with the biggest kingdom in Filgaia at that time, Albion, combined their effort to stop the metal demons together. However, after 2 years of battle World Union and Albion were eventually overpowered and defeated. As the result of the defeat, Solomon and his Ars Goetia along with millions of his metal demons soldiers ruled Filgaia for the next fifteen years. When all hopes seemed lost, a legendary swordsman, mostly known by his nickname 'The Red Paladin', led a guild named 'Red Moon' which members consisted of bands of drifters, bandits, thieves, assassins, knights, and many other warriors from all over the world to raise their weapon one more time. With the aid of the last queen of Albion widely known as The Wizard Queen, Red Moon defeated Solomon and his Ars Goetia after long exhausting fight for a year and brought peace to Filgaia one more time.

Solomon

God of The Metal Demons from Hiades, known also as The Doomsday. After the defeat of Mother millenniums ago and the supposed destruction of Hiades, Solomon hid for eons recreating his million metal demons warriors. Being a god, he is stronger than any entity in existence; able to manipulate various kind of high class magic and nearly unparalleled in close range combat, especially with his weapon of preference, Glumzamber. As the absolute creator of the metal demons, he also possessed a vast knowledge of the Guardians and Filgaia. He led his Ars Goetia and Metal Demon warriors to rule Filgaia. Although his plan was running comprehensively for fifteen years, Silver Moon under the leadership of The Red Paladin proved to be a threat to his reign. It wasn't until The Wizard Queen showed up assisted by the guardians that Solomon was eventually defeated once and for all in a long grueling battle after The Red Paladin combined his power with The Wizard Queen.

Ars Goetia

The 72 Great Demon Lords under the direct command of Solomon, they were obviously far stronger than those of normal demons. They played a major role on the downfall of World Union and Albion Kingdom during the first attack to Filgaia. Ironically, it was the defeat of one of them in the hand of The Red Paladin that brought a shred of hope to Filgaia after dark years inside hell on earth.

The Red Paladin

The legendary master swordsman, the hero of legend, or so Filgaia regarded him as. A young man with unrivaled swordsmanship, he wielded Argetlahm Sword, emerged out of nowhere and defeated one of The Ars Goetia to openly challenge Solomon and his warriors, at the same time showing to Filgaia that there was indeed one last hope for this land. Along with the legendary warrior guild he created, Red Moon, he led the battle against the metal demons for a year before finally defeating Solomon using everything he got in his arsenal with the aid of The Wizard Queen. A kind hearted and honorable man feared by his opponents and respected by his comrades, he is definitely a true warrior in combat. Some said his heart is bigger than his power. Legend has it that after bringing peace to Filgaia one more time, he later married The Wizard Queen and lived somewhere secretly in Filgaia.

The Wizard Queen

The last queen of Albion Kingdom; right after she was born her kingdom began a war against Solomon and his Ars Goetia. Her mother, by that time The Queen of Albion, along with several of her servants were the only survivors from the kingdom. Living the role as the medium of The Guardians, her mother passed her everything she knew as The Wizard Queen grew up in a hard time. Having a natural talent herself, she eventually mastered almost all high class magic and was crowned as The Queen of Albion before her mother passed away, thus nicknamed her The Wizard Queen. With the guardian aiding her and the spirit of her people encouraging her, she assisted Red Moon several months after the war against Solomon and his Ars Goetia began. She played a pivotal role in the downfall of Solomon by supporting The Red Paladin using the guardians and fairly all her magic. A respected and charismatic young woman, her beauty inside her looks is equivalent to her beauty in the war field. After the demise of Solomon, The Red Paladin married her and they lived happily somewhere in Filgaia. Later, she bore him a child. But this fact is kept secret from the world for a certain purpose.

Red Moon

The legendary warrior guild founded by The Red Paladin. The guild's members consisted of bands of drifters, bandits, thieves, assassins, knights, and many other warriors from all over the world. Among thousands of members, there were five warriors who were regarded by The Great Paladin as his strongest and most trusted comrades known as The Red Swords. Red Moon had an important role on defeating Solomon and his Ars Goetia.

World Union

World Union is the highest governing authority in the entire Filgaia (although they met their demise in the hands of Solomon and his Ars Goetia). After The Genesis War one of The Red Swords from Red Moon recreated the organization to maintain the peace in Filgaia. For mean of combat, they have their WU soldiers. Their strongest asset in combat is their special soldiers they refer to as The Peacemakers, eleven soldiers with super-human abilities, and each member of The Peacemakers is equivalent to an entire battalion. Despite having a Red Sword leading them, World Union is known to be a corrupt government filled with internal conflicts. Ever since Ipswich Square Massacre, they are on an ongoing battle with The Society to eliminate all the remaining ARMs wielders in Filgaia.

The Society

The biggest military organization in Filgaia; on the contrary of World Union, The Society strongly oppose to the elimination of ARMs wielders. The Society believes that this world should be ruled by ARMs wielders only, or the Chosen, as they prefer to call The ARMs Wielders. They are led by six strong ARMs wielders called The Six Arcadius and currently having an ongoing battle with World Union because of Ipswich Square Massacre. Their soldiers are called The Urban, physically enhanced soldiers with potent combat ability.