Chapter 4

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore"

Andre Gide

"So, where exactly are we?" Alvin presents his three other friends the world map inside their jeep. Quiet uncomfortable, but that's not the case right now.

"I think we are currently somewhere around here" Sophia places her index finger in one spot on the map after seeing none of his friends answer red the earlier question, "Around Humprey's Peak"

"Not too far away from Leyline Observatory, huh? I guess now we're supposed to head to Humprey's Peak town before going to Leyline?" Cliff joins the conversation, "We're nearing our target, guys. Damn, cannot wait to see him again!"

"Not trying to ruin the mood, Cliff. But I don't think we will see him once we get to Leyline. And let's not forget we're going to Leyline to gather some useful information about WU's research about ARMs or Guardians, or WU's other secrets not for a hyped up battle" Marilyn comes as the latest participant of the mutual conversation but goes directly to the top, "We've spent 2 days since the day we learned about the news and that news was…fairly an old news, so you know what I'm trying to say"

"Aw, is it wrong to lighten up a little? I was only trying to boost myself with some new spirit, you know?!"

"I'm not going to stop you from spiriting yourself if the thing you're being spirited is reasonable. But, since it is not reasonable at all, I have the obligation to remind you of the truth"

"What?! Since when you got the authority of that obligation thing?!" Cliff frowns, much to the amusement of the other three. Alvin and Sophia entertain themselves seeing the sleepy ARMs wielder taking everything Marilyn said seriously, despite the fact the silver haired girl did so only to tease him. Yet, perhaps her usual colorless face tricked him. Note, Alvin seems amused seeing the two going at it.

"Since I decided it"

"You decided it by yourself?! Without even asking my opinion first?"

"Yes"

"You know what, Marilyn? That's cruel!"

"I'm not cruel, I'm being realistic" Never back down even for the most unimportant thing (especially against men), that's Marilyn for you, "Besides, why would he be there at Leyline after a nine days? Planning to build a new neighborhood?"

"Well, who knows?! We don't even know what his current plan is!!" And stupidly, Cliff also feels the same. Despite knowing he would just end up losing the argument again, "You want to make a bet?!"

"Oh-ho! A challenge, huh?" Marilyn irks a grin, "Bring it"

"I bet he is still there at Leyline Observatory when we reach it!!"

"I bet otherwise" A fairly calm reply from the younger girl, "What's on the stake?"

"If I win, you cannot speak for the whole week!" Wow, an admiring prize.

"Fine, what if I win?"

"I don't know. You decide"

"Ok…if I win you will have to call me mistress for the whole week" Now, that's interesting. Cliff gasps when Alvin holds his laughter hearing Marilyn; he knows this is going to be interesting.

"What?! Calling you as my mistress?!"

"You heard that right"

"That's ridiculous!"

"Oh? Chickening out?"

"I'm not chickening out!! It's a deal!"

"Great!" Marilyn sounds as if she already won, "Then you better prepare yourself to regard me as your mistress"

"You wish, pal! Prepare to stay silent for the whole week!!"

"No, you prepare"

"No, you prepare!!"

"You"

"You!!"

"…you"

"You!!"

GRUUUK!!! GRUUUK!!! GRUUUK!!

The battle is cut short by a thundering growl from a certain someone inside the jeep. Alvin, Cliff, and Marilyn goggle their eyes and leer at the source of the thundering sound, Sophia. The air-headed girl giggles seeing her friends' reaction, "Hehehehe…I'm…sorry, that was improper wasn't it?"

"That's wasn't really funny…" Marilyn escapes the ghost of sigh, "And yes, that was sooo improper for a lady"

"You're that hungry, Sophia?" Cliff frowns, "Seriously, I thought this jeep would blew off for a second"

"Uh…guys?" Alvin speaks for the greater good, "Can we go to Humprey's Peak, now? It's noon already and we haven't eaten anything yet. So if you don't mind I, and particularly Sophia, would like to fill both our stomachs with a delicious food before heading to Leyline"

"That sounds like a good idea" Cliff doesn't think anything less would be good, so he agrees, "I second that"

"Same here" Marilyn goes back to her seat, "Drive, Alvin"

"Aye-aye, madam"

It only takes a short amount of time for the group to arrive in Humprey's Peak, still the same quite little town lies between the desert and some little rocky mountains. Alvin parks the car not far from the nearest inn, allowing his friends to get out from it comfortably. And then the group heads to the inn to get something to eat.

The inn is rather empty so it doesn't take long until the innkeeper, a middle aged woman, approach them and politely serve them, "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is our menu for today, please take your time deciding"

"Let's see…" Cliff observes the menu carefully before deciding, "I want a French fries, grilled steak, and a mineral water"

"I'll take chicken strips with cola" Alvin goes for second.

"I'll have the beef steak with water" A rather fanciful choice from Marilyn.

"I want a single room complete with the wines and Jacuzzi!!" Sophia sounds so out of place, "Oh, and I want the room to have a comfy bed as well!!"

Needless to be said, the innkeeper looks confused. Her inn doesn't have a Jacuzzi in the first place. Both Cliff & Marilyn are already face-palmed their face so it's up to Alvin to get the job done. "Uh…Sophia?" Alvin tugs the sniper's arm, "We're not here to book a room. We're here to eat, and then we go to Leyline"

"We're here only to eat? Says who?'

"Says us" Alvin patiently points to himself and the other two normal people.

"But, you promised me a Jacuzzi!"

"What?! When?!" Well, the reaction isn't that surprising, "I never said we're going to have a Jacuzzi!'

"…really? Is that so?"

"Yes!!"

"Well…alright…" Sophia sounds somewhat disappointed, "Then, I want to have a broiled egg and an ice tea!"

"All right, please wait for a moment" The innkeeper excuses herself and leaves.

"So, what are we going to do once we reach Leyline?" Alvin, while waiting for the foods, chooses to make a good use of the spare time.

"First, I think we shall find any information regarding the whereabouts of the big cheese" Marilyn takes the initiative to give a quick answer, just like a leader would do, "And then, if it's possible we find something that would benefit ourselves"

"Like information?" Cliff tries to clear things up.

"That and perhaps some amount of money" Marilyn clears things up, all right, "The observatory belongs to WU, right? I don't see no harm in taking their money away"

"That's right, let's do that"

Cliff's reply surprised Marilyn a bit, "Wow, never thought you would say that. I must admit I thought you would oppose what I advised and called it a grave-robbery"

The ARM's wielder sheepishly rolls his eyes, "Hey, I'm a drifter too, OK? I wouldn't oppose to taking treasures. Besides, how do you think I survived my first years as a drifter?"

"Good! That means our job shall be easier in Leyline" Marilyn cherishes the confession rather dryly, "And you better prepare yourself to call me 'mistress' for the whole week"

"Yeah, I think you would have to call her 'mistress' for the next one week, Cliff" Alvin sides with the silver haired girl this time, "I don't see why the big cheese would still be around at the moment. Cause if he does, this town would have been hacked into bits before we even came here"

"Alvin couldn't be more right" Marilyn slyly agrees, "I'm gaining an upper hand before the bet even started. Cool"

Cliff knows the two are more than likely to be right. Damn, he's never good at debating. But, he doesn't want to lose without a fight, "Don't be too sure, Marilyn. If he's still inside the observatory then you cannot talk for the whole week"

"I don't think so, Cliff. Why don't we hear what Sophia have to say?" Marilyn turns her attention to the air-head, "What do you think Sophia? Who will win the bet?"

"Eh?" Sophia didn't really pay attention to the conversation. Her mind was somewhere else, but she tries to answer so her friends don't feel ignored, "I think…Marilyn will win the bet"

"See?" Marilyn shows a proud smile to Cliff, who looks displeased cause of the lack of support, "Told you, didn't I?"

"Alright, alright!" Cliff rises and walks away, "I'm going to the bathroom"

"He seems pissed" Alvin voices what he has in mind seeing the ARMs wielder earlier.

"No, he's just realizing that he will definitely lose" Marilyn forms another proud smile on her face, "And he will have to call me mistress for the whole week, too. I cannot wait to see him doing that, really"

Too bad, Sophia gets it wrong again, "But one thing I have never expected is how bad you want to be his mistress, Marilyn. I thought you weren't the submissive type"

"Pardon me?" Marilyn feels something is seriously wrong with Sophia's statement. As for Cliff & Alvin, they just stare at each other…wondering if Sophia is being forgetful again, "Submissive type? What do you mean? Are we on the same page?"

Well, the dark haired woman isn't a bad person to begin with, so feeling nothing is wrong at all, she calmly replies, "Truthfully, I think you're the type of woman who wouldn't just surrender yourself to a man willingly. A man would have to drip his blood and tears to have you, but I was wrong. You offered yourself to be Cliff's mistress just with a simple bet"

"Wahahahahahahah!!! Wuahahahahahaha!!!" Alvin explodes with a laughter the second Sophia finished, "That's priceless!!! What she said is actually true!! Wahahahahahaha!!!"

Getting what she meant, Marilyn rapidly disputes the misunderstanding before Cliff returns, "Wait, that is not it!!! I didn't mean to be his mistress!! It's just a bet!! Why would I give up myself just like that?! That doesn't make sense!"

"But, isn't 'mistress' the way a husband refer to his woman politely, Marilyn? That means you want him to refer you as his wife, right?" Seeing this comes from a completely oblivious person, it's only normal that is the only meaning she knows, "That's why I said it's rather submissive of you. But, I can understand that. A maiden's heart is always full of mystery"

"I said that's not it!! I didn't mean to wanting him refer me as his wife!! You got it all wrong!" Marilyn's blood starts going to her face, "I want him to refer me as his superior!!"

"Superior? Doesn't that mean telling him add 'sama' after your name is enough?" Another bold reply from the sniper. This time, hitting a bull's-eye, "Why do you prefer 'mistress' over 'sama', Marilyn?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Alvin cuts Marilyn's chance to respond, "Yeah, now I want to know too. Why do you want him to call you 'mistress', Marilyn? Is something going on?"

"No!! It's…uh…" Cornered, the swordswoman tries to come up with something real good, "Why?! I wonder, why?! It just came out like that!"

Thankfully (or not?), Cliff returns in the right time, "What's going on, guys? The food isn't here yet?"

"No, no!! Nothing is going on!!" Before the other two could answer, Marilyn seizes the chance to put the debate down to rest, "Hey, that's the food!! Why don't you sit so we can finish our lunch!! Leyline's waiting, right?!"

"Uh…okay, yeah" Cliff sits and then they begin to enjoy their lunch. But, for sure everyone's still got something on their mind:

Cliff: What was going on when I was away? I'm starting to smell something fishy here!

Marilyn: Okay, stay calm. Stay calm, Marilyn. It's not like you to lose your composure, so stay calm.

Alvin: You cannot deceive my eyes, Marilyn. There must be a reason for your choice, and I'm going to find out what it is!!

Sophia: Is it just me or everyone is talking to themselves right now?

The lunch finishes rather quickly, so the four goes back to the jeep and drives away to Leyline Observatory. Leyline Observatory exists from long ago, when the land of Filgaia was filled with sands of deserts. No one really knows who built the observatory in the first place, but some said it was first used to conceive an experiment related to Filgaia. Long after that, the observatory became an abandoned building and home for many monsters, especially Bonedrakes. During the Genesis War, the observatory was used as one of the soldiers' bases for Solomon and his Ars Goetia. After the war had ended, World Union made a good use of the place and turned it into their own personal laboratory. Now, it seems the observatory becomes yet another Bonedrakes' nest thanks to The Messenger of Darkness killing all the scientists and soldiers reside within it.

The Four Garrison stops not far from the observatory, dome like building surrounded by small canyons and desert. There are many abandoned military vehicles around the building, presumably belong to the killed soldiers and scientists. Sophia observes the bodies inside the vehicles and finds them hacked to bits, or even, blasted to bits. It's must be The Messenger of Darkness' doing, seeing how the vehicles got holes all over them.

"This place smells like blood" Alvin notices the drenched atmosphere inside the area quickly after stepping into the entrance along with the three other Garrisons, "I cannot even tell whether the smell comes from the corpses inside or outside the building"

"Well, one thing we knew this place is Bonedrakes' nest" Marilyn comment before glancing at Cliff, "Say, how about having some exercises in the noon? You know, to burn calories?"

"Yeah, let's burn some calories" Cliff chuckles, knowing what she meant, and picks an anti tank grenade, RKG-3, from behind his trench coat. The red eyed man shows the grenade to the rest of the garrisons, signaling them to be ready, "On three?"

"On three" Marilyn answers before unsheathing her Iskander Bey. Alvin stretches his arms while Sophia withdrawing her Silvia. Everyone's ready.

1…2…3!

Cliff throws the RKG-3 to inside the hall, right to its center. The anti tank grenade explodes and blasts the hall away, cleaning it from the furniture and also inviting the bonedrakes to come with its piercing sound. And indeed, a large number of Bonedrakes show up. Seeing the ducks are sitting on the table, the Four Garrison wastes time no more and charges into the hall with full speed.

Alvin engages the bonedrakes faster than the other Garrisons, sending one of them flying to the wall by an excellently executed Chambered punch. The bonedrake suffering from the hit got killed in an instant second. And it's only normal for Alvin; his hit would break any normal's bones or hard rock in a single direct hit. It may not be strong enough to break a solid metal, but bonedrakes aren't made of metal so it's their loss. Two other bonedrakes quickly approach the man nicknamed as Anhur with confidence, possibly not learning anything from their former's fate. Alvin brought down a bonedrake with compacted fist using his wrist from upon it and hits ir before delivering a fatal Overhand punch right to its back, ending its life in an instant. The other bonedrake attempts to bite him with its two fangs but Alvin bested him in terms of speed, grabbing both its fangs before slamming the bonedrake to the floor with full power. Noticing three other bonedrakes are close enough to attack him from behind, Alvin uses the damaged bonedrake as his weapon and throws it right away to the three, knocking them all down. The Baskar native seizes this chance and leaps, landing perfectly near the four monsters. Alvin sweeps one of them with one fine low Roundhouse kick, followed by a middle Roundhouse kick and brought the bonedrake to the air. Performing a low leap, Alvin retires the bonedrake using a high roundhouse kick and sends him back to the other three waiting below, giving them the taste of togetherness some more as well as making them flung.

Quickly after Alvin lands, another six are ready to be taken down. The green haired fighter bravely advances toward them, not even the faintest idea of hesitation goes through his mind. Two bonedrakes go after him at the same time with their fangs, again, ready. Alvin starts running up before jumping right to the direction of the two bonedrakes. The two bonedrakes are caught off guard when Alvin unleashes a powerful kick in the mid-air, hitting one of the two monsters and sending him flying back to the other four waiting behind them, momentarily disable them. This buys Alvin enough time to take care of the one standing near him. The bonedrake, apparently not learning anything from its predecessors, tries to bite the Baksar native. Alvin easily stops his movement by throwing a straight punch to his mouth, breaking both its fang and stuttering the bonedrake in pain. But don't worry, Alvin is a kind man. And because of his kindness, he kills the bonedrake with another straight blow to its face before the monster could even scream. When he sees the five bonedrakes he took down before are beginning to rise, Alvin couldn't help but grin in excitement. His warrior blood is boiling at the moment. And seeing his targets on sight, he rushes towards them with full flair.

Sophia aims her Silvia and fires one bonedrake right at its head, revealing four other more behind it. Being a sniper, anyone would think a close range combat would take her down easily. But that stereotype doesn't apply to this air-headed lady. Her emission magic makes up for that. She can move any object as long as she managed to touch it and it is within her eyesight. So, much to the surprise of the bonedrakes Sophia suddenly appears on their friend's previous point. The bullet she put inside the first bonedrake allowed her to travel that way. The Blancruitzer sniper fires one other bonedrake in the head before blasting the remaining three in quick charge. The sniper quickly sights five other bonedrakes heading to her direction from her left. Taking the advantage of her reach and her semi-automatic rifle, Sophia proceeds to blast a hole in their head, one by one. She starts from the left before firing at the one in the middle. The sniper takes quick glance and in less than six seconds, fires all three of them consecutively. She didn't even give them the chance to come anywhere near her. Having only one 7.62x51mm NATO bullet left in the chamber, Sophia takes another magazine from behind her short coat while observing her surrounding. There are still dozens of bonedrakes left, and they don't give any intention on giving up from eating her. Setting ten bonedrakes as her next target, Sophia grabs the magazine with left hand while shooting through them with her right. The ARMs wielder quickly trade places with the bullet she just shot and reloads her Silvia before any of the bonedrakes near her notice.

One shot, one kill. The motto of every sniper in this world, and Sophia is no exception. She fires three of the bonedrakes from their behind in another consecutive manner, hitting their head with each shot. The other seven turns their back and rushes at her, but the sniper shows no fear at all. Changing her plan, she kneeled down before blasting the leg of the bonedrakes seven times in a quick dispatching attempt, and she blasted their legs less than fifteen seconds. The bonedrakes fell before wailing a painful scream, each losing one leg holding their body. There is no mercy written on Sophia's eye, as clumsy as she could be she still belongs to a group of drifter and mercenary. Reloading her Silvia for the second time today, Sophia quickly takes aim to the paralyzed monsters on the floor. Placing her right index finger on the trigger and using her left hand to get a better hold of her Silvia, Sophia fires her ARMs ten times in rapid pace, blowing the head of the ten bonedrakes one by one in an exact ten seconds. As the bonedrakes lifeless bodies are ricocheting all over the floor, the sniper proudly smiles when she prepares another magazine. This time to blast the rest of the bonedrakes surround her. The next thing the bonedrakes heard is the sound of the magazine placed in the chamber followed by Silvia clicking; and that means they won't live long when Sophia starts aiming at them with flair written all over her face.

Coming down from the aisle making her entrance to the hall, next, is Marilyn Westerfield with her Iskander Bey. The silver haired girl slashes one of the bonedrakes in half and spots five more on her left. Turning her Accelerator on, she's in a mode where she can move so fast she would leave an after image for the next three minutes. The bonedrakes don't even have the chance to keep their eye on her because she suddenly appears in front of them and slain three of them with one single slash, splattering their blood all over the floor. The remaining two tries to attack her but before they could, they felt something cutting their fangs off before slicing their throat open. Another group of bonedrakes consisted of twelve flesh eating monster appears from her behind and tries to gang up on her. Skillfully, the swordswoman assembles to behind of the group and leaves them nothing but her trail of after image to bite with. After she lands, Marilyn quickly executes her Guillotine to the five nearest bonedrakes and beheads them in a single second. That leaves seven more for her to work with. After slashing a bonedrake who tries to turn its head to spot her, she quickly employs her sword to stab another one near the previous in the torso. With four more to go and they already have their sight back on her, the leader of the garrisons performs her second Guillotine today and cuts the bonedrakes head off perfectly.

The battle didn't tire her out, not even a sweat could be seen running on her. Maybe she enjoys this. Maybe she enjoys slaughtering things; it's her nature as a metal demon. Or maybe she just wants to get this deed done quickly? Who knows; one thing we know is she's doing a damn good job at it. Now, the hunters have become the hunted when Marilyn sets two dozens more as her next target. She rushes with full speed towards them, so fast that even the first bonedrake she kills from the group doesn't get the chance to follow her movement. Another long rail of after images circle the group, the bonedrakes can do nothing but trying to grasp her motions with their frail brain. Amidst their confusion, Marilyn sneaks inside the group and stabs one of them on its head. She continues her rampage by quickly pulling out her sword from its body and slashes the one on her left before kills the one standing behind her. The bonedrakes are now too afraid to attack her and scatters to save their lives, but Marilyn doesn't feel like letting them go. With one and a half minute remaining to use her Accelerator before it needs a cool down for a minute, she chases the nearest six on her front and swipes them away with her Guillotine again, leaving fifteen more for her to kill. Casting her sight on the first nine on her right, the swordswoman dispatches their attempt to run away by besting them in terms of speed and appears in front of them. The bonedrakes stop right away, much to their shock. Marilyn slices open the one in front of her before stabbing the bonedrake behind her previous targets. Desperately, the remaining seven attempts to attack her. And that was foolish because it costs them their lives. The swordswoman slashes two of them at the same time and proceeds to evade the three fang attacks from her front by dodging to the ground. From below, when the three bonedrakes are still in the mid-air, the swordswoman cuts their stomach open and quickly gaze at the three remains. The remaining bonedrakes change direction and run, however they got bested again by the accelerator. The next thing they knew is they lose their head, just like many of their kin before. With six more running for their lives, The Spider Lily finishes them off with another Guillotine. Unknown to anyone else, she escaped the ghost of a pleasured smile before her sword touches the bonedrakes.

And the last but definitely not the least: The Crimson. Slowly walks into a group of bonedrakes, he smirks. He smirks knowing all too well the bonedrakes would just be another prey for him, much like his garrisons compatriots did. As the dusts in the floor cleared by the running bonedrakes, Cliff draws his Dreadnaught on his right hand and takes aim. One bonedrake is faster than the rest and arrives right in front of Cliff earlier than his group. Cliff seizes the opportunity to open fire and blasts him away into pieces. Dreadnaught, being a compressed anti tank rifle, would cause a massive hydrostatic shock to any living targets it pierces. Dreadnaught's hydrostatic shock can produce aggravated wounding and incapacitating effects in living targets, in addition to local effects in tissue caused by direct impact, through a hydraulic effect in liquid-filled tissues. There is scientific evidence that hydrostatic shock can produce remote neural damage and produce incapacitation more quickly than blood loss effects; so it's only normal for the bonedrakes who's 80% of its body made up of bones to be shattered into pieces just by one single shot. The drifter spots two other bonedrakes coming for him and fires them away in turn. Not having a penchant for waiting, he runs to the rest of the group waiting for him. The bonedrakes decide to take the advantage of them outnumbering him and attacks at the same time. Five of them jump to the mid-air to seize the drifter but Cliff outmaneuvers all five of them by piercing the first two with two shots before spotting the remaining three are jumping in line, so he shoots one bullet and hits the one in the front as well as the last two on the back, crumbling them into pieces using only a bullet. The rest of the bonedrakes run deeper to the hall in fear of getting killed, seeing how Cliff and the other three garrisons are from anther planet. But The Crimson doesn't have any intention of letting them go away. Observing how his friends are having fun in their own way, the red haired man decides to follow the scared bonerakes deeper into the hall before finding a wicket gate. He sure he's in for a surprise inside there so he reloads his Dreadnaught while planning the best way to end the battle quickly. Prepared, he marches. Quietly opening the wicket gate, Cliff finds a horde of bonedrakes waiting inside. The back of the hall must be their nest in this building. There are bonedrakes everywhere he casts his eyesight on. And the bonedrakes seem to be ready to eat him…if they could. He shoots the first of eight bullets and hit one bonedrake right in the head, shattering it into pieces as well as ricocheting the monster back.

And this taunts the other bonedrakes to go after the drifter. Cliff takes this as a challenge and begins to execute his plan to end them fast. After firing the bonedrake not far from his left, he spots two bonedrakes are coming for him from above so he fires them quickly before they could approach him. Apparently, one bonedrake emerges from his behind and bites his left shoulder. Too bad, Cliff's whole body is harder than nearly anyone's. The bone fang didn't damage him at all, it didn't even hurt him. The red eyed man slowly puts his ARMs on the bonedrake's surprised face and blows it away. Another quick attack comes to him 4 feet from his behind but he quickly dispatches it using his ARMs. He shoots the remaining three bullets finely to three bonedrakes trying to bite him after running from his behind. Bonedrakes are cowards; they only dare to attack from behind. Four more circles around him and jumps at him, but Cliff quickly pulls out his shears from behind his coat and knocks them away before they reach him. Indeed, there are too many of the bonedrakes. He needs to do something quick, but he is yet to know what until he realizes the bonedrakes are all targeting him, and that gives him the idea he needs. Cliff quickly runs to the center of the room, right into the hordes of bonedrakes. He swipes whoever tries to attack him from the front using his shears to knock them away, obviously planning something with the tool he got behind his coat. When he reaches the center of the hall, the bonedrakes are surrounding him as he planned. Concentrating back on his previous goal, after he reloads his ARMs Cliff pulls eight RKG-3 and throws them to the horde in circle without pulling their pin for a reason. When the anti tank grenades are still on mid-air, The Crimson locks his target and shoots his 9x19mm Parabellum bullet right to each one of the grenades in rapid pace. It was so accurate, he hit one grenade with one bullet. And it was so fast too. Exploding all of them, it triggered a big explosion among the bonedrakes after the other seven follows. That was his plan all along, a chain reaction. He purposely threw the grenades in circle hoping for a large number of bonedrakes to come after him without even realizing they were being marched to surround him. That way, he could blast them away with eight fine shots. The grand explosion destroyed a very large number of them, if not all. The fires spread everywhere it burnt the bonedrakes who didn't get caught up in the explosion to death. The explosion also trembled the whole front area of the observatory and completely surprises the other three drifters to the point they stopped their doings to see what is going on. Several pieces of rock from the battered hall, knocked loose from the impact, tumbled down on top of the floor when more dust fell from the ceiling. The wicket gate is destroyed. Amidst the dust and smokes, a single bonedrake could be seen trying to stand on his legs with all his might. Cliff ceases his effort by blowing its torso from where he stood after reloading his Dreadnaught again, thus ending his mission to bring the house down.

Alvin, Sophia, and Marilyn steps inside the destroyed hall and witness The Crimson's work.

"Wow, that was rather harsh way to end them" Now with no bonedrakes on sight in the hall, Alvin could honestly praise his comrade, "Way to go, Crimson. Job well done"

"Well, I prefer a quick work to finish those losers. Anyway, thank you" Cliff says when he withdraws his Dreadnaught, "Although a certain someone doesn't look happy about it"

"Hmph, I could have dealt with them even if you didn't swipe them all away!" Marilyn, in rather displeasing tone, sheathes her Iskander Bey back to its scabbard hanging on her belt, "Thanks to you, I was spared from the fun!"

"Look at the bright side, Marilyn. He saved us from the trouble of having to deal with the bonedrakes" Sophia calms the swordswoman down, while withdrawing her Silvia, "And now we have all the time we need to observe this place, right?"

"Right, but let's hope Cliff didn't destroy anything important here" It looks like Marilyn is still mad cause she feels she was robbed of her fun, "Different from him, the objects inside this place aren't fire-proof"

"No worries, at least I know where we should go. I have the map of the observatory here" Cliff shows the PDA again to his comrades, "This building consists of four wings: the north wing, the south wing, the east wing, and the west wing. The hall, where we currently are, is in the north wing. We've seen nothing but bonedrakes here so we can skip searching this wing. We got three more wings to work on. I say, we split into two teams and search in the west & east wing at the same time. After we're done with those two wings, we get back here and check the south one together"

"That sounds cool, but there's one problem" Sophia speaks up, "Who's going with who?"

And that question is just what Alvin needs to execute his idea, "You're going with me to the east, Sophia. Marilyn will go to west accompanied by her beloved soulmate, Cliff"

"What?!" Marilyn and Cliff shouts at unison before pointing at each other, "My beloved?! This person?!"

"Ow, how cute! See? You both shouted at the same time!!" Alvin seems to find amusement from doing things like this, "Ok, chop-chop!! Let's go!! We don't have time to waste here!"

"But, Alvin…" Sophia wishes to voice her mind, but Alvin cuts her by dragging her quickly into the west wing before Cliff and Marilyn could do anything.

"Damn!!! He did this on purpose!!" Marilyn steams to herself. Turning over her shoulder, she sees Cliff sighing, "And just why are you sighing?"

"You tell me" Cliff glances to the west corridor, "So, you're going or not?"

Marilyn doesn't like how Cliff sounds so here goes another selfish wish from a certain swordswoman in Filgaia, "I'll go, but that's not the way you ask a lady to accompany you"

Knowing her antics, Cliff cannot help but protest, "Ow, Marilyn!! Not this time!! We don't have time for this!"

"Well, you just proved you had a time for protesting" Marilyn rolls over both her eyes, "So?"

Cliff, among all the people in Filgaia, knows all too well that Marilyn likes to be spoiled and treated like a queen. She acts like this because her lover had always treated her like a queen and spoiled her, so it became one of her antics which stay until now. Among the garrisons, Cliff is the only one who could keep up with her antics. Sophia and Alvin would have raised the white flag earlier; maybe that's why Alvin quickly took initiative to split the team. And Cliff also know he wouldn't win in a debate against Marilyn, so he gives up, "…Marilyn, may I have…the honor to be accompanied by you to the west wing?"

"Now, isn't that easy?" Marilyn forms a pleased smile on her face, "Sure, since you asked me I would go with you. Shall we go now?"

"Yes…" Cliff sighs again as the two goes into the west corridor….

****

The west wing, much like the north, is full of dead bodies of WU soldiers lying everywhere. The west wing of the Leyline Observatory mainly consists of room for saving archives, weaponry, and some experimental rooms which God only knows what kind of experiment was being held in those rooms. Since no one but Marilyn and Cliff are there, the wing is fairly quiet.

"For God's sake, this place is drenched with blood and corpses" Marilyn slowly shakes her head when she and Cliff arrive in an oval room connected with four different laboratories, "Big cheese really did a neat job here. You gotta give him that"

"Yup, massacre always seems to be his cup of tea" Cliff couldn't agree more, "So, where do we start searching clues?"

"You mean which door?"

"Yes"

"I guess we'll try that sliding metal door" Marilyn points out, "The one with W-1 written on it"

The two enters the W-1 door not long after she decided. The room, just like the hallway, is painted by blood and decorated by corpses. Originally, it's a large infirmary room.

"Ironic…the soldiers used this room to take a rest yet now they are resting forever" Cliff pities the dead bodies on the bed, "This one seemed to have been murdered while he was asleep"

"And this one seemed to have been murdered while he was about to get up" Marilyn pointing to a dead body lying beside one of the beds, "Let's get out of here, Cliff. I don't think we'll find anything useful here"

The two drifters enter the room behind W-1, the W-2 room. W-2 room is connected with W-3, and they both are laboratory. Of course, blood and dead bodies completed the room perfectly.

"This room is a laboratory, huh? I wonder what they were researching here" Cliff doesn't need a long time to find shattered glasses, broken tubes, destroyed automated analyzers, and other leveled devices. Dozens of papers, possibly research files, are scatted all over the floor.

"I'm sure we don't need an Einstein to tell us they were being hammered nicely before they could even walk a step outside" Marilyn grows weary of the dead bodies and bloods. Those things surely aren't worth any information they were looking for, "Come on, let's go to the next room"

Apparently, the last room seems to have some kind of surprise hiding on its inside so Cliff prepares his Dreadnaught in case something monstrous shows up and slowly opens the W-4 door. It's an archive room with some computers to find the files on the tables beside the sliding metal door. And much like the other rooms, several bodies are quickly spotted in it. The files are compiled neatly in the drawers inside the room. Each drawer has its own note plastered on its door; each note tells you the number of the drawer but not what's inside the drawer, ranging from the info of the research, supplies, etc., "Well, what we search in this room?"

"Let's find something related to their research here. I don't know what WU was possibly researching here, but the files should tell us" Marilyn opens the drawers and witnesses tons of files ready to be read inside, "There are too many…this would take all day long"

"Not if we can help it" Cliff tugs on the computer, smartly suggesting using the modern technology device to make their job easier, "Let's try our luck on that"

"Good point"

The two finds one computer that is still working and turns it on. After a while, the device is ready to be operated. It doesn't take long for Cliff to enter the search page, "What do you think we should type?"

"Type research results"

"R-e-s-e-a-r-c-h-r-e-s-u-l-t-s" The ARMs wielder types the magic word and the computer tells them to search in drawer number 5, 6, and 7.

Both soulmates open the drawers but still find loads of crap to work with. "Oh my god, there are millions of files here…" Marilyn mutters much to Cliff's agreement, "Maybe we should change our search range into much smaller range"

"Ok…but what would I type then?"

"Let's see…." Marilyn starts to think, but seeing Cliff blankly stare at her without thinking annoys her, "Hey, why don't you also think for the greater good?! I'm not the only one with a brain inside my head here!"

"But, I don't know what to think!"

"What?! Is sleeping all you can do?!"

"Hey, I can use my ARMs pretty good too!!"

"Well, maybe you sho…" The last statement gives Marilyn just the right word, "That's it!! Type ARMs in the search page!"

"ARMs?" Cliff stammers, "Mind to fill me in?"

"Simple, WU isn't as honorable as they look. In fact, they are filled with total douchebags all over their premises. They might have said ARMs wielders are their enemies, but who knows what's going on behind the scene?" The silver haired girl gives a quick explanation, "Type ARMs or ARMs wielder on the search page and we will find something useful. Trust me"

"Hopefully, it's in much smaller range" Cliff types ARMs in the search page and the computer tells them to look inside drawer number 16, the smallest of all drawers. With new spirit, the two opens the drawer no. 16 and finds only a pile of files, a lot smaller than their previous works. Cliff grins and glances at Marilyn, "Cool guess, sister"

And she's so damn right. The files consist of list of ARMs in Filgaia.

"Wow, look at these pictures and ARMs profiles" Cliff cannot hold his excitement, "I gotta admit they're good enough collecting so many data about ARMs. We got Modified Coyote M17F, Rapier Ez, and Sniper Shark XR"

"And we got Vantage Rage MM, AW-RSTN87, and Gillius GS12/23" Marilyn replies, "There are many other ARMs too, but these ARMs seem to be an ancient ARMs"

"You mean, ARMs from the past?"

"Yup, my best guess is they're trying to learn the secret of ARMs by holding an experiment using the ancient ARMs"

"Does that mean they cannot catch a modern era ARMs wielder? Not even one?"

"Maybe…or maybe we just don't know yet" Marilyn shortly answers before starting to compile the files, "Either way, let's compile the files first. They might be useful"

"OK" Cliff helps her and they're done quicker than they thought. But the ARMs wielder doesn't think these much would be enough for them to learn something later, "Marilyn, do you think we should get some more files? I mean, we're already here so why don't we use it for our own good?"

Putting her index finger on her lips, Marilyn thinks for a second before telling Cliff, "True…why don't you try and type guardian on the search page?"

"G-u-a-r-d-i-a-n…it's drawer number 20"

They open drawer number 20 and find a short pile of files. And this raises their spirit to look into the files. Too bad, although Cliff and Marilyn try to search for anything useful in the files, but all they find is the result of researches, tables, languages, or numbers they don't understand. Maybe they should have brought Einstein with them.

"Uh…can anyone tell me what does this table mean?" Cliff picks a file and shakes his head in front of it. Marilyn doesn't seem to be progressing either. As much as she hates to admit it, she doesn't understand any of the research file.

"These files…they are written in language we don't understand. I hate to admit this but this is a good anticipative plan from WU" Marilyn lets out an exasperated sigh, "Maybe they hire some scientists who studied the ancient language and employed them here. Too bad the big cheese killed all of them; if not maybe we could ask one"

"That would make things a lot easier" Cliff compiles the files with the others but a statement from Marilyn gets the best of his attention.

"Well, the big cheese killed them after knowing the meaning of these files. That's for sure"

"How do you know that?"

"The files…I couldn't read them but they weren't compiled in the folder in order. It's kinda messy compared to the files about the ARMs. Assuming the order of the files was supposed to be compiled properly; these files are surely out of luck of being treated so. It appears to me they got thrown away back in the drawer after being read just like that" The silver haired girl explains her point, "So, it's either the big cheese forced one of the scientists to translate it for him before killing the scientist or the big cheese understands ancient language"

"That's a pretty cool deduction, Marilyn. I gotta give you that"

"Why, thank you"

"But what shocked me more is WU could fight The Society at the same time while taking an effective anticipation progress from the threats they are facing, either from us or The Society" Cliff face-palms before realizing something, "Unless…"

"Unless?" The exception word catches Marilyn's attention.

"Unless they got supports from certain people!" Cliff finally uses his brain for a greater good, "You know, like…nobles or aristocrats! And in turn, WU would give them some facilities or support what they do!"

"What makes you think that?"

"Think about it, Marilyn! They have to fight The Society and that certainly costs them a shitload amount of money! Not to mention they have to take care of their areas, soldiers, and other threats! That would cost them another loads of money! I know they run a lot of business properties around the world, but you can only buy so much! Where would they get so much money if their members, mainly consist of the aristocrats and the nobles, didn't support them?!"

"Wow, that sounds…logical…" Marilyn eventually agrees, "Let's type donation or support on the search page"

Not wasting anymore breath, Cliff types donation on the search page and finds drawer no. 12 to be his next destination. Surprisingly, when he and Marilyn open drawer no. 12 they only find a folder inside it. Nothing more.

"Weird, but let's give it a shot" Marilyn grabs the folder and opens it, finding only a dozen files containing list of names of the donators. Both garrisons look at the top of the lists and learn certain names, "Franco Silva, Bill Rodman, Paolo Begucci…hey, the last name sounds familiar"

"You mean Lord Paolo Begucci? Isn't he the owner of Gunner's Heaven?" Cliff easily recalls the name, "You know, the place where he holds a fighting tournament each month? Illegally of course"

"So he's one of WU donators, eh? No wonder WU overlook his doing" Marilyn sounds somewhat amused, "Fighting tournament, hm? Now that's interesting"

"So? Is Gunner's Heaven our next destination?" Cliff surely knows how her brain works.

"You bet" The younger drifter chuckles, but their fun is cut short when they heard a roar from outside the room.

"What's that?!" Cliff pulls out his Dreadnaught again when Marilyn unsheathes her Iskander Bey. Something is waiting for them inside, and rest assured it isn't something nice.

****

"Why do you bring me here forcefully, Alvin?" Sophia isn't always a serious girl, but she has a big curiosity inside her air-head. Much like the west wing, the east wing also provides bloodstains and dead bodies, so I won't go into further details. Either way, Sophia carries on, "I don't mind accompanying you, but you could have asked me nicely. Didn't your fiancée at Baskar Colony teach you that?"

"Sophia, I'm so sorry for dragging you here. But, I just couldn't help it" Alvin wholeheartedly apologizes to the sniper but not without explaining his reason, "I really want to let Marilyn have some…private time with Cliff!"

"What? Why?"

"Don't you realize it at all? Whenever the two engages in a certain activity they would spark some 'interest' on my side. I don't know how to explain it clearly, but I just feel like seeing the two of them together" Alvin does his best to make his point as clear as possible.

"Oh…" Sophia acts like she understood the point, although possibly she didn't, "Yeah, they seem to fancy each other's companion…or should I say, Cliff is the only one among us who got a heart big enough to keep up with Marilyn"

"Totally" Alvin happily snaps his finger, "Especially with the mistress thing being thrown around on the ring! Maybe Marilyn would grow eviler against Cliff this time?! Dude, would that be awesome!"

"Well, I don't know. Marilyn always wants to be spoiled but she's not a bad friend. She helps me writing my journal, and she also helps you running our errand. And whenever someone accuses Cliff of being a demon Marilyn is always the first to unsheathe her sword" The recalling by Sophia starts, "Do you remember a year ago in Luda Town? She nearly cut that old man's neck if you didn't stop her at the right time"

"I was lucky she didn't use her accelerator that time" Alvin kinda rolls his eyes answering, "Otherwise, she would have killed that old man for calling Cliff a demon"

"Talking about killing, the big cheese sure knew how to massacre a mass number of people" Sophia takes several glances at the floor and her surrounding to understate her mind, "And we haven't find anything useful here at all"

"Yeah, it's just hallways along the way…" Alvin changes his opinion when he hears something, "Or maybe not"

"What makes you say that?"

"That" The green haired man points to a locked metal wicket gate with bloodstain all over it, "It's inviting us to come in. Maybe this is a service from the big cheese. Let's get in there"

"Yeah, I'll better prepare Silvia" Sophia draws her ARMs before Alvin delivers a roundhouse kick to the wicket gate and breaks it open. Inside, they see a large chamber with no bodies or bloodstains unlike the other rooms. But one thing distinguish the chamber from the other rooms is on the corner of the chamber lies a big experimental tube…which is shattered into pieces. They have no idea what kind of creature was living there, but one thing for sure, if a creature did live there it is now free.

"Don't tell me the tube used to contain a horrible looking monster inside it" Alvin looks at Sophia with so much hope. The air head returns the look which is saying 'I think a horrible looking creature used to live inside the tube'.

"Oh, well…"Alvin rubs the back of his head, disappointed, "We couldn't find anything useful here, so why don't we go to the hall?"

Alvin got a very surprising reply, because a roar could be heard from outside the door. The two prepares their stance and locks their eyes on the metal door, preparing themselves in case something barges in. But nothing comes up after several seconds, making them think they misheard the roar. But it couldn't be; the roar was loud and clear.

"Let's get back to the hall. Maybe Marilyn and Cliff have heard the roar too. We would be safer if we meet them" Alvin suggest with a quick think which Sophia quickly agrees without even saying a word. The two runs back to the hall to see the other two garrisons waiting for them.

"You guys heard the roar too?" Marilyn questions the other two before they even reach her point.

"Loud and clear" Sophia answers, "Did you two find anything in the west wing?"

"Only some folder of files" Cliff shows the folder containing the files they got from their search in the west wing, "But hopefully this would do us a favor"

"You're lucky; we found nothing but big empty tube with slimy liquid inside it" Alvin bemoans the fact of their opposite luck.

And indeed, maybe they are running out of luck. Because the next thing they heard is another roar, this time they clearly hear the roar comes from the south hallway. The Four Garrisons prepare their respective weapons and casts their attention to the south hallway. Alvin looks at Cliff who notices and nods, telling him that he agrees they should check the hallway. Slowly, the boys walk closer to the south hallway when the girls are readying themselves from behind in case something happens. Just when Cliff & Alvin are about to step inside the southern hallway, they quickly spots four giant purple colored tentacles coming for them from inside the hallway. The two dodges before the tentacles could catch them, but boy are they surprised to see its size. The tentacles are more than fifty feet long with giant size; one tentacle would be enough to wrap an adult man and crush him to pieces. As if they know who to assault, the four tentacles attack the four drifters. But, they chose the wrong opponents this time. With great ease, Marilyn slashes one tentacle and cuts it to half; Alvin butterfly kicks the tentacle coming for him; Sophia fires the tentacle aiming her with a point blank shot and damages it; and Cliff blasts the tentacle running toward him using his Dreadnaught, turning it into pieces of fresh fleshes.

Another roar is heard, this time indicating pain, as whoever owns the tentacles withdraws them back. The four drifters observe the scene quietly, but their quietness is soon broken by an earthquake inside the observatory. The building is shaking. Without anyone to tell them what to do, The Four Garrison runs outside with full speed in order to save themselves and to see what is going on. More than likely, the monster is going to show himself. And they are right.

Leyline Observatory trembles for almost a minute before slowly drowned into the sand. Or more like, the desert is sucking them in. "Go back to the jeep, guys!! Something is going on under the desert!" Marilyn shouts to warn her comrades as she herself tries to supervise her own balance. Suddenly, the entire area is shaking like it's having an earthquake. Sands burst out from the ground below, the observatory sinks deeper and deeper into the ground; whatever it might be this would be huge. Fortunately, all the four drifters managed to get inside their jeep and drives away, as far as they could. The trembling ground kinda slow them down, but Alvin still maintains to drive away from the succumbing building. After five minutes, the terror is over and the quake ceases.

"It's over?" Sophia asks to her other three friends who are still inside the jeep, "What was that, I wonder?"

"Maybe….it was the monster from the tube" Alvin takes a good wild guess, "And is it just me or he's not done with us?"

Indeed, he's not. The area around the jeep trembles again before at least two dozens purple colored tentacles emerges from behind the ground and circles them, giving the jeep no space to run. The tentacles, easily breaking and moving from inside the ground, spread to further maximize the area of their movement before gathering in one spot around thirty feet away from the jeep. And then, the creature comes out…emerging from under the ground by jumping to the mid-air, it's an average sized black colored monster with a hexa-pedal base on the ground involving the utilization of its four primary limbs to maintain movement. The skull and maxilla of the creature have elongated to accommodate its massive mandible, a gaping, circular cavity surrounded by rows of spike-like projections, which is fused into the many spikes that formerly covered the thorax of the beast. It moves around with an odd gait, more a dog or wolf. It will either swipe at its victims with a small forearm, or more dangerously, it will grab them and gnaw them with its massive fangs.

"Wow…that freak sure is huge, guys" Alvin expresses what's inside his friends' mind too, "But I see no tentacles from his body"

"Maybe, there is another monster under the ground" Marilyn quickly figures the situation out, "See? The tentacles aren't attached to that freak. They still move from under the ground so there's gotta be another monster underground"

Cliff points out to the window and makes the three other drifters realized the monster is running for them, "Well, that freak is heading right here!! Let's deal with the monsters!!"

"OK, Alvin will help me stop this wolf freak! Cliff and Sophia, please deal with the one underground!" Marilyn and her co set out to battle the freaks before they devour them. Cliff and Sophia heads to where the tentacles are gathering with full speed while Marilyn and Alvin glance at each other, complimenting their agreement to end the battle as quick as they could.

Activating her accelerator, Marilyn goes into high-speed mode and takes out her sword before piercing it right to the wolf's head. The wolf wails and reacts by shaking his head to pull the sword out of him. The swordswoman pulls out her sword, however it is only a prelude to another attack because she quickly delivers a powerful slash to the monster's neck, splattering its blood all over the ground. But perhaps because the monster's flesh is thick, Marilyn didn't behead it in one single blow. Alvin arrives before the monster spot him and performs an Axe kick by rising a foot upward as in a crescent kick before stopping and then the attacking foot is lowered so as to strike the target from above, hitting its neck again with a powerful strike. The monster screams again before attempting to bite Alvin, but his doing is cut short by an interference from Marilyn who slices three talons on its face. The two garrisons don't give the monster any chance to strike back at all; in a quick succession, Alvin uppercuts its jaw after Marilyn stabs its head. The baskar native throws a Calf Kick to bring the monster down to the ground and holds him there, allowing the Spider Lily to pierces its stomach with full power. The monster reacts by letting out another scream but Alvin stomps at it several times to keep it down. Finishing their deed in the desert, Marilyn leaps to the mid-air and, still airborne, she lands to the ground by aiming her Iskander Bey at the right target; viciously piercing the monster through its head to the ground below, killing it in an instant second. Slowly pulling out her sword, both she and Alvin observe the monster to see if it's really dead. And it appears that they have successfully defeated the monster. Their teamwork proved too much for the wolf monster to handle. And Marilyn's last attack, The Flying Spider, was more than enough to cease the monster from its existence.

Now, on to Cliff and Sophia. The two didn't need a long time to find the real culprit owning the tentacles. Trailing the road down to the underground from where the tentacles are moving, they find an oversized shapeless blob of flesh, spikes, and tentacles with a razor sharp mouth lying quietly with his tentacles jogging everywhere. "The monster is uglier than I thought…" Cliff withdraws his Dreadnaught, "The tentacles are from his below part of his body…so I guess we should blow him up to bits from the above"

"How are we going to do that?" Sophia is ready with her Silvia, but still can use some help before the monster notices them.

"We're going to blow his inside with this" Cliff shows three RKG-3 grenades, "These are all I have now. Dreadnaught won't be enough to blow him up from inside, so we'll use these boys to inflict some fatal damages on him. When he's weakened, we'll bombard him for good"

"Alright, you're going to make a hole on him?"

"Yes, that's why I need you to cover me" Cliff rushes to the front of the monster and shoots it with his ARMs, pierces many layers of its flesh and wakes it up. The monster gives a reaction by throwing four tentacles at Cliff, but Sophia takes a precautionary measure by firing all four tentacles in rapid succession. She didn't even need to use her emission magic. Cliff takes this chance to leap and land in above the monster's body, quickly observing the monster to find a perfect point to shoot. The monster moves his tentacles, this time 10 of them, to grab Cliff and throw him off. However, Sophia interrupts him again by using her emission magic and blasts six of the tentacles; she has to stop because she needs to reload. Cliff aids her by destroying the remaining four tentacles, using his Dreadnaught with the usual one shot one kill. Losing 10 tentacles, the monster starts to lose its cool and moves uncontrollably. Too bad for him, Cliff already gets a good spot in the center of the monster's top and shoots him, blasting a hole in him. Although the monster shakes its body even more, Cliff doesn't lose his balance and shoots him again right beside the previous spot, now making a hole big enough for his grenades to enter. Successively, Cliff forces his three grenades to pile up inside the hole. When all three grenades have been inside, the ARMs wielder takes a good aim and blasts the grenades as he finishes the monster off, "You're history"

KHIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!

After the air-piercing sound gongs in the underground, a huge explosion follows from inside the monster's body. Pieces of fleshes and blood get thrown around in every direction possible. The monster escapes one last roar before succumbing to his eternal rest as its body slowly deteriorates on the ground below it.

"Cool!" Sophia cheerfully posts a comment for Cliff's effort, "That was really classy!"

"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it so easily without your help. So I guess I should be saying thank you to you" Cliff shows a good sportsmanship by giving Sophia a high five. That's teamwork for you. And as the sun sets to its resting moment, the night greets Filgaia again. Closing today's adventure with another victory for the Four Garrison.

****

That night, the four drifters camped in the desert because they didn't feel like going back to Humprey's Peak. They would rather discuss their today's finding after enjoying the dinner in the desert. Apparently, Sophia is busy writing her journal so that leaves the three other garrisons to do the deed. The three are sitting near a bonfire they used to cook beside two tents. One for the boys and one for the girls.

"Wow, you guys got lots of info about ARMs here" Alvin checks the paper files from the folder they obtained earlier, "So, World Union is indeed researching for ARMs despite their hate for it. I wonder why"

"Because they are a two-faced organization who gives their shit only for their own good" Marilyn, who harbors a deep hatred for WU, easily explains the most possible reason for it, "You want some prove? Try the WU deserters we met not too long ago. All they could care was their stomachs and their peckers. They have to be one of the greatest examples of lowlifes in existence. Not to mention they were all cowards"

"And I got to see some familiar names in here" Cliff chuckles while pointing at the paper containing the info of the ARMs wield by The Six Arcadius, the six leaders of WU's nemesis, The Society, "How nostalgic"

"Either way, we need to find someone to translate these papers about the guardians. I couldn't read it even if my life is at stake" Marilyn twirls some of the papers about the guardians none of them could read.

"I think my mother could read it" Alvin proposes a new plan, "But, she's in Baskar Colony. So, we should go there if we want a translation"

"OK, we'll go there after we visit The Gunner's Heaven" Marilyn comes up with the final decision, "Anyone objects?"

"Nay" The two men don't have an objection. Not trying to disrespect Sophia, but since she doesn't even realize what's going on maybe she wouldn't even know how to answer.

"OK, let's call it a day" Marilyn closes the forum for now and heads back to her tent, but Cliff stops her before she does so.

"Wait, didn't you forget something?!" The question doesn't catch Marilyn's knowledge.

"What thing?"

"Our bet…" Now, that does recall something, "I lost. The big cheese wasn't there at all"

Unsurprisingly, this scene catches Alvin's attention. With big grin on his face, he observes the two quietly.

Marilyn actually put some thoughts on this matter. Nothing would make her feel victorious than making Cliff looks like her underling for a week, but what Sophia and Alvin said at the inn surely worries her. Why? That's beyond her.

"Forget about the bet" Her respond stammers both Cliff and Alvin who's been hearing, "Let's not touch this subject again. Forget about it, you don't have to call me anything"

"Oh…" Cliff is in lost words, "Marilyn Westerfield? Throwing away her victory? Will the world turn upside down?!"

"You have anything else to ask?" Cliff is cut off from his wondering by Marilyn's question. Seeing the red eyed man shakes his head, Marilyn dryly calls it a day again, "Good, then I can go to sleep now. Good night, everyone"

"Good night…" Cliff still cannot believe what he just heard, "Oh, Lord…I'm in lost words…"

"That's how chick goes, Cliff" Currently in the same status of shock as Cliff, Alvin pats his friend's back to calm him down, "It's always hard to understand them"

Inside her tent, Marilyn straightly hits the bed and sleeps. Sophia only takes a quick glance at the silver haired girl before finishing her journal by writing:

"Today, Marilyn asked Cliff to be her husband. But due to an unknown reason, she canceled the wedding which shocked Cliff. Oh, well…I hope things go well for both of them"

****

The next morning, in Humprey's Peak…

After packing their thing, The four Garrison heads to Gunner's Heaven with their jeep right away. It's nine o'clock in the morning and the people of Filgaia are ready to live another day. In the inn Cliff and co visited yesterday, two figures, a man and a woman, show up and approach the innkeeper. They are dressed in a simple white/gray formal suit with a 'WU' insignia written on their back.

"Good morning, mam" The woman greets the innkeeper, "I'm a peacemaker agent from World Union. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"No…" The innkeeper doesn't have anything else to say once the woman shows her official WU id card.

"Do you happen to see these drifters? We received an information yesterday saying they are spotted in this town" The woman shows the picture of Cliff, Marilyn, Alvin, and Sophia.

Quickly the recognizes The Four Garrison, the innkeeper answers, "Yes…yesterday they had a lunch here"

"Do you happen to know where were they going?"

"The mentioned something about Leyline Observatory, but I don't really understand"

"I see, that's about enough" The woman excuses herself, "Thank you for your cooperation. Good day, mam"

Before giving the innkeeper any chance to say anything, the two WU agents leave the inn and heads to their car parked outside.

"They were here yesterday" The woman informs the man, "We're we on the right track"

"Good" The man replies, "Because I cannot wait to have my hands on their neck"

****

Well, that's it for this chappy. Hope u can enjoy it. C u next time!!!