Hostile Eyes
(Chapter 8)
**
[<<]
"I'm just kidding. She really didn't come back yesterday. Let's pray for her, shall we?"
The news pounds his chest like a ram. He just feels disoriented for a while and when he regains his consciousness; his beautiful brown eyes get gray-scaled. The grin on his face can only suggest one thing…
Amitha thinks to herself. "{You just don't understand why I'm trying my best to keep him calm. I see his thoughts. I know what happens inside. We think word-like; in the first dimension. Those are normally far from belief. When emotionally perturbed, we see images of gratification in the second. We only wish that these are true. Just like the images of you thrashing your enemies in your head, he does same, but my Elmus is different; he sees that thrashing in the third dimension. To make it simpler, he sees it more or less—WAITING—to manifest in reality.}
[>]
[Valentina]
Mom came into the room and sat by her as she slept, admiring the sight of the little angel. The mere presence of another person wakes her from her sleep eventually.
"Mmmmm."—she stretches—"Don't tell me you're seeking to repeat the last time" she barely utters with her eyes closed.
"And what happened last time?"
"…Hunh?" she reacts after realizing that it was mom talking to her. She intends to sit up but her body proves too heavy and she just ends up laying her head on mom's lap. Mom can't help but laugh at the sight of that.
"Say Valentina… I've noticed that you're never up early."
"… Isn't true. *yawn*"
"You sure?"
"I just… never get a full sleep."
"*laugh*"
"It's not funny."—she lays her head on her chest instead, in an attempt to sit up and get more active—"I can never see a night through to the end."
"Don't tell me you also got a sleeping disorder."
"…Nah… I always had to wake up early to do this and that after I became a teenager… Now that I have the chance—" she trails off as she starts to fall asleep again.
"Tina dear?"
"…"
"How cute you are." She runs her hand through her hair. It seems to have a more soothing effect and she falls deeper asleep.
[Dark Alley Goons]
"Hey, isn't it that guy from the other day?"
"Yeah…definitely him. What should we do boss?"
"Whatever you want but wait for night time," Blood-Eye approves.
"Shouldn't we track him for the meantime or something boss?"
"Chances are he might notice you and go into hiding. Yes, he does look absent minded right now but he's bound to remember the souvenir we gave him."
"Well that's true… I really hope that chick is dead already. Anyone find her?"
"Ask around for her. Right boss?"
[Valentina]
She actually came for breakfast eventually. Sleep can't ignore the pangs of hunger. Guillelmus comes in and doesn't even stop to talk. "You're just in time for breakfast my darling son," mom says but it seems like only his ears ever heard it. "Is something wrong?" Valentina asks as he heads into the hallway.
"Son?!"
"I don't think he even heard you. I've not seen him wear that face before."
"Please excuse me. I'm gonna go check up on him."
[Guild Reception]
Anika is just filling out her usual paperwork. The members of the Raid Unit: Saturnine walk in approach her. There's that kid in the armor again, a very giant guy who hides behind a cloak, and a handsome blonde guy. The giant one's true form, or should I say size—is unknown. He seems to be slouching over to an extensive degree so as to be concealed by the cloak. He carries a large weapon that's been swaddled with leather, on his back. The blonde wears a well blended suit of armor with six silver needles: three on the side of each thigh. They have mana crystals on them.
"Hey there!" the blonde exclaims.
"We're back," the rumbling voice of the giant makes known. The kid or midget in the small suit of armor remains silent though.
"That's great," she says with not even the least bit of enthusiasm. The fake smile she put up quickly dissipates. She definitely isn't happy to see them.
"Don't tell me that you aren't happy to see your knight that put an end to the horde of city-decimating hobgoblins?" the blonde asks as he presents a rose to her. She looks into his eyes . That's because some of the rose petals are purple instead of red, just like how he has a purple eye and a red one.
"Of course not. You just caught me at the wrong time but I think this about cheers me up. How may I help you?"
"We want another Raid," he answers rather quickly.
"That's great. I would really be pleased if you could exterminate a Gyro-Mantis."
"You've gotta be kidding me," the giant one grumbles.
"Sounds like someone wants to get rid of us," the kid mutters.
"No, it's not like that." She denies. "The thing is I believe in your capabilities and I believe you're the best to take this on."
"Really? What's in it for us?" the blonde asks.
"The reward is—"
"That's not what we're talking about. You've been deploying us non-stop with increasing difficulty. There has to be something extra my pretty, pink rose."
"Then I'll double the reward for this mission."
"No. If we succeed you will grant us all a wish." The giant guy voices out.
"…" he renders her speechless. Her knees loosen up completely and begin to knock. Her jaw also assimilates some of her anxiety but she maintains control. "We can t-talk about that after you're done. It's v-v-very urgent so you should get going."
"If you say so sweetheart. We'll be back before you know it."
The other two walk out the door. Once the door closes, she drops to the ground out of total relief. Her body felt so faint; she leans against the reception counter. She opens the lock to the mini-barricade and the one in the tiny suit of armor comes in to sit next to her.
"*consecutive breaths* Thank you."
"You're trying to kill us off."
"No I'm not. The truth is we really need your Unit. I only try to keep those creeps away for as long as possible."
"Creeps hunh?"
"I didn't—"
"No need. I already know how you feel... If you're gonna put on such a pathetic show, next time you'd best take your seat."
"What? Do you think I'm actually showing courtesy to those guys? I stand so I have a chance to escape if they ever go crazy."
"… Nevertheless, you remember our deal right?"
"As far as its not outta line, I'll aid you in your experiments. Just… keep them away for longer this time."
"Just keep in mind that I won't compromise the Units integrity for you. If you play with the stars you're bound to get burnt—real burnt." After saying that, he leaves.
[Mom]
Mom comes knocking on his door. The mere fact that he didn't go to HER room instead means that there must be something awfully wrong. "Darling? Open up!"
"I'm sorry mom," he says with a heavy and gentle voice as he sits, leaning against the door.
"Why?" she asks as she also sits.
"I need to stay away from you just for today; because if I don't, your warmth will deter me from my objective."
"Don't tell me that you're gonna—"
"It has to be done. They've kidnapped Eris. I messed up."
"… Alright dear. Just remember to stay safe for mama's sake. I only got one darling son."
"…"
[>]
"What did he say?"
"He didn't open the door."
"What? Not even for you?"
"Yes. It's that grave. It'd be best if we left him alone."
[Reception]
The Raid Unit: Succubus approaches the Reception, that is, Arthur's Unit. The three of them form an elite trio. They should've all worn black but Daara wouldn't compromise his colors or style. Arthur and Angelica even look regal; a distinction that not only arises from their comportment, but their *HERE* capes as well.
"Anika isn't here?" Daara says quite surprised.
"That's strange." Angelica lets out.
Arthur takes a quick guess and goes in. There she sits hugging her knees, enraveled in thought. HE takes the courtesy of getting down on a knee to speak to her.
"Lady Anika. What's the matter?" He startles her.
"Hunh?...It's nothing."
"Saturnine again hunh?" She can only look down. Barely anybody lies—to maintain their integrity. "Have you told your father yet?"
"…He's busy," her way of saying she didn't wanna tell him."
"Angelica," he says extending his hand to help her up. She takes it.
"Did you just call me Angelica?" she giggles.
"My mistake. For the sake of chivalry I treat every lady as my dearest."
"On a more serious note, the entire Guild is at your disposal, not only as co-workers but as friends." Says Daara.
"That's very true. The situation is aggravating and you have to put an end to it," she chips in. "If anything happens we'll all take your side."
"That's exactly why. I don't wanna be the cause of an internal conflict. I just don't get what those creeps want with me. Why all three of those psychos?"
"I guess I'm a psycho too because I just can't get enough pink lately," Daara says flirtatiously.
"If that's the case why don't they go after Paz as—well?" Angelica thinks out loud.
"… I don't want to cause her anymore suffering."
"That's why I think you're not thinking straight with all due respect," says Arthur. "If they're doing this to you in here, what do you think might be happening to her out there?"—she gasps—"If you're this scared of them, I doubt she could even fight back if they approached her. Of course she wouldn't tell you anything as usual. She might even already have reached the point of 'resentment' because you kept them around."
"I… I never thought about it that way… I-I'll think about it."—she changes into her cheerful Guild Girl face again—"How may I help you."
"That's more like it!"
"This does not change your standing Daara."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're still not an option."
"Ouch! Shoulda worn a bulletproof vest."
[Guillelmus]
"{Elmus}"
"{Don't even try.}"
"{It wouldn't hurt to check a—}"
"{You intend on pissing me off hunh?}"
"{It's not that. I just realized that this kinda rage isn't good for your health.}"
"{Who said I'm angry?}"
"{…}"
"{Dark Alley just has to be removed. I'll interrogate their leader to uncover intel on how large the group is and the extent of their damage to the nation.}"
"{You can't deceive me. If you aren't angry that Eris has been kidnapped, pigs can fly.}"
"… Like I said earlier, it's not rage… IT'S BLOODLUST."
And so, the young Harmonie waits as the never ending hours pass. As he clenches his fists, mere seconds feel like minutes, minutes like hours and hours like days.
Valentina comes by to knock on the door and try ta talk to him but he ignores her. The light emanating from behind his white curtains eventually starts to dim.
[Valentina]
She finds herself with mom at the dining table. She really looks pissed. Even when they're done eating, she still grips her knife tightly and spaces out. Mom gets some hot water ready.
"Tina, I'm gonna take a nice hot bath; wanna come?" It even pisses her off more. "Tina?"
"I do… but my belongings are in your son's room and he's holed himself up in there. I appreciate the hospitality but this is really annoying."
"So go and tell him that. He didn't eat anything the whole day. I'm sure he'll come out sooner or later."
"I already tried several times."
"Doesn't hurt to try again. I'll wait for you if you don't take long so hurry."
Valentina does. She marches up to his door determined to get him to open up. After knocking for quite a while she just begins to pour out her frustration.
"Hey! I don't care if you got run over by a car; just open the door! If you were planning to lock me out you should've.just.not.made.me occupy your room in the first place."
She knocks some more. It's still silent. She continues to rant. "Even if this is that time of the month where you have mood swings I don't care. Just open the door." She demands as she knocks aggressively.
"You realize that I can just rip the door down right?! *knocking aggressively* Can you hear me?!"
After it goes on for a while her frustration aggravates and that dark blood-red gas oozes out of her forearm again as she gets ready to punch the door down. Surprisingly, he opens the door at that moment.
He's dressed in black from head to toe. He wears a black stealth suit that clothes him all the way up to his neck; a black, elastic cloth-mask that emerges from his collar. Then there's the signature touch, the black headband. He would be hardly noticeable out in the dark.
Valentina hesitates for a moment; there's no evidence of his once sun-brown eyes. Taking a closer look, he's not himself. Even Amitha's hilt has been wrapped. "I'm gonna need your help he says." Her face starts to twitch out of frustration and she punches him, sending him flying.
[>]
He eats some of his food as Valentina tries to take care of the bruise. He remains emotionally unaffected. She would've expected an "OW!" at least from the normal Elmus. He's eating mom's delicious cooking but seems very apathetic towards even that.
"What's wrong?"
"Forget about that. You punched me so you have to help me now."
"Alright. Lemme go and—"
"No. I only need you to help me get outside without being noticed. The house's being watched… You're an I.M.U so you should have no problem doing this."
[Outside]
From the Dark Alley observer's eye (i.e. from the roof opposite the house), Valentina lugs out a sack of "trash". It doesn't look too heavy. She gets it around the left side of the house in a heartbeat, and puts it with the rest of the trash. Once done with that, she gets back in as if she were rushing to get clear.
"{What a nice one they got in there. No matter how many times I look at her I can't get enough.}" he says licking his lips. "{I wish they could just give the order to get rid of that idiot so that I could have a nice time with my callipygous goddess.}
A few minutes go by. "{Wait a second. Why was she the one dumping the trash? She wouldn't unless—she must have had something to hide. I can only imagine the leverage I could get if it's true.}"
The filthy stalker hurriedly, but cautiously dismounts the roof. He makes sure that no one is looking through any of the nearby windows then quickly makes his way toward the sack.
"{What's this perfume? It's so sweet-scented; I can only imagine who it belongs to, but today…}"
"I'm gonna learn your secret today, and you'll be mine," he thinks aloud as he unravels the knot. The contents of the bag really take him by surprise. "Oh my God!"
The bag seems to be filled to the brim with gold coins. The beautiful sight is overwhelming. "I can't believe it. Two miracles in one day! I am definitely going to kill that guy and his mother so I can—"
The young Harmonie springs forth from the depths of the sack, reaching for the idiots face with his left hand and holding Amitha in his right. He successfully tackles him, and before his pee-brain can even process what is happening, Amitha starts to kiss his neck.
[<<]
The lights, except a candle are out. Guillelmus takes one of the garbage sacks and tells Valentina to go and get some of her gold, her used nighties and perfume. She would be delighted to ask him how he knew but there was no time to mess around.
"So what's the plan?" Tina asks.
"I'm getting in the sack. Bury me with gold and tie the sack a bit. Spray a bit of your perfume on it as well. There's only one idiot up there. Any normal person would be curious to know what a person like you would throw out in your nighties. He'll come for me and be overwhelmed by the contents. I'll punch the wall when I'm done with him. Wait for a minute or two and come back for the sack. Lock the door and don't come out for any reason. Capiche?"
[>]
"I beg of you—"
"You better shut the hell up before I bloody you up." He threatens. The guy on the other end is so unlucky. The silhouettes that occupy the region that was once sun-brown iris' constantly throb at the rate of his heartbeat; quite a scary sight to behold if you're the bad guy."
"Now you're gonna tell me everything useful you know about the Dark Alley in a single minute."
"Yes Sir!"—he gets very nervous—"I-I-I'm just a rookie b-b-but I know w-w-where they should be a-b-b-b-bout now. Here in the l-l-lower r-r-residential area—"
"WHERE?"
"G-g-getting to that depression with the rails. There's a trader's shop that never opens. T-t-they should be very close."
"Is there one with grey hair?"
"Y-Y-YES!"
"SHUT UP! THE MERE FACT THAT YOU COULD RATTLE ON YOUR ACCOMPLICES SO EASILY PISSES ME OFF. AN IDIOT LIKE YOU HAS THE NERVE TO EVEN THINK ABOUT ASSAULTING MY MOTHER. YOUR PORTION IS WITH THE DEAD."
He gives the idiot a little beat down—then knocks him out and ties him in the sack. With that done, he takes a detour to the location the grunt talked about. It would be unwise to follow that route given the possibility that they anticipated this event and made a contingency plan.
As he hurdles on he realizes that there would be a need for higher ground. That way he could spot the enemy with a reduced risk of being spotted. He surveys the area atop the roofs and he finally sees something worthwhile. No, more than worthwhile; it's the best news he's seen in a while. He sees an injured Eris, staggering along the buildings before him in an attempt to get home.
"*gasp*… I messed up didn't I Amitha?"
"No you didn't, to the left. Can't you feel it?"
He takes a look in the specified direction and after a while his eyes catch on. It's our very "friendly" Blood-Eye. He stealthily trails her from a distance behind, closely to his side and discharges a murderous aura. Guillelmus is about to charge in but Amitha stops him.
"{Stop to think for a second. What if it's a trap?]"
"{I could care less.}"
"{Well you should because what if others are nearby? If Eris was captured would you be able to resist them?}"
"{But he's getting closer to her; what should I do?}"
"{Assassinate him stealthily}"
Guillelmus goes prone and tactfully straddles across the stone roofing tiles. He gets behind Blood-Eye soon enough and launches the attack.
"{Once I get you in there we're gonna incinerate him. HERE IT GOES!}"
The young Harmonie leaps from atop the roof diagonally behind Blood-Eye. He closes the distance in a mere second or two and brings his boundless wrath down on him.
"{AMITHA!!!}"
----------End of Chapter 8---------
Chapter 9 Teaser
Did I mess up or did I make a beneficial move. It's just like a game of chess and I might've just blundered up my Queen.
To be continued…