As Val's team finished off the last of the enemies, Deleo's voice resonated in Val's mind.
"Val, a ruin stone half a kilometer away," Deleo informed him.
Val's eyes widened. "What?" The news hit him like a cold splash of water.
Deleo hummed in affirmation, and Val cursed inwardly. "Damn it. If I go for it now, I won't be able to return immediately. Can anyone else touch it?" Frustration prickled at him; the timing couldn't be worse.
"Nope," Deleo replied nonchalantly.
Val clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Fine. Where is it?"
"See that military vehicle over there?" Deleo's tone was maddeningly calm.
"The one monitoring for any escapees?"
"That's the one. The stone is inside."
Val groaned. "Great. This is going to cause a stir."
Deleo chuckled. "They're already stirred up after seeing your pin. What's a little more excitement?"
Sighing, Val linked his team, ensuring HQ could listen in. I need to check that military vehicle.
Without waiting for responses, he vanished from his position.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Corporal Reyes was watching the battlefield through his binoculars when he flinched. The ARM user had just disappeared. Before he could warn anyone, Val reappeared—standing right outside their vehicle.
Donned in his imposing black hooded cloak, the ARM pin gleaming ominously, and his mask concealing his features, Val's sudden presence sent a ripple of panic through the small crew inside the vehicle.
Reyes opened his mouth to speak but froze as Val leapt onto the roof and knocked twice. The sound echoed inside like thunder.
The ensuing commotion inside the vehicle was a mixture of shouts, clatters, and someone dropping their weapon.
Moments later, the noise died down, and the metal hatch creaked open. Val jumped down, his presence commanding instant silence. His eyes scanned each person, head tilting slightly as if assessing them.
What no one knew was that Val was deep in conversation with Deleo, entirely oblivious to the terror his presence instilled.
Idiot!, Dr. Lewis's voice cut sharply through the link, General Luis listening as well. What are you doing? You know we can't afford unnecessary exposure!
Val blinked, momentarily pulled back to reality. Ah, right. Sorry. I'm just looking for something. He shifted his gaze again, following Deleo's direction.
"There. The guy with the binoculars," Deleo pointed out, amusement lacing his voice.
Val's eyes found Corporal Reyes, who looked like he was staring down a ghost. The corporal's hands trembled, and the binoculars nearly slipped from his grasp.
Val's reply to Deleo came out aloud through the link by accident. Hmm? Why is this guy trembling? I haven't done anything to him.
This earned a chorus of "What?" from the team. Dr. Lewis erupted, "Where the hell are you, idiot?!" followed by an exasperated sigh from General Luis.
Back in the vehicle, the tension was palpable. Reyes's colleagues exchanged frantic looks, none daring to move closer or risk drawing Val's attention.
Deleo burst into laughter in Val's head, causing Val to click his tongue in annoyance. The sound was misinterpreted by Reyes, who squeaked in fear.
"Shut it, Deleo. Where's the ruin stone exactly?" Val asked inwardly, exasperation clear in his tone.
Still trying to stifle his laughter, Deleo responded, "It's on his neck—he's wearing it as a pendant."
Val raised an eyebrow under his mask and tilted his head. The slight shift was menacing in the confined space, making the crew press themselves further back.
Val stepped forward.
The floor creaked as he approached Reyes, who backed up until he hit the vehicle's wall. Val leaned in, thumb and forefinger on his chin as he examined the pendant closely, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Why isn't he affected by the stone's power?" Val wondered aloud again.
Deleo tried, and failed, to stifle another round of laughter as the scene played out.
Reyes looked one breath away from fainting, his colleagues half-reaching out but clearly too terrified to touch him.
Val's unintentional theatrics had turned the vehicle into a stage of silent chaos, the only sound was a burst of laughter echoing in his mind.
"Deleo, explain. Why isn't he affected by the ruin stone's power?" Val's voice was a low rumble inwardly.
Deleo's amusement barely faded. "Because, my dear Val, not everyone is sensitive to its energy. This guy's probably got the spiritual awareness of a brick."
Before Val could respond, a new sound made everyone, including the masked ARM user, turn.
Bo and Riggs jumped in, both looking out of place and slightly too casual for the intense atmosphere. Bo's eyes sparkled underneath his mask with mischief as he took in the scene, nudging Riggs.
"Looks like we crashed a party," Bo said, voice light and amused, ignoring the fear-stricken soldiers.
Riggs, ever the practical one, took in the frozen expressions, particularly the one on Corporal Reyes's face. "Uh, is this an interrogation or an audition for a ghost story?"
Reyes's face drained of the last bit of color. He glanced at Bo and Riggs, now flanking Val like a pair of cocky backup dancers, and let out a strangled squeak. Before anyone could react, his knees buckled, and he started to fall.
"Whoa, whoa!" Riggs lunged forward and caught the corporal just in time, holding him like he was saving a damsel in distress.
He looked at Val and Bo. "Really, guys? Is this how we do diplomacy now?"
Bo smirked, crossing his arms. "Well, we did come in like a storm. Maybe next time, we knock first?"
Val blinked under his mask, processing the absurdity of the scene: an unconscious corporal, Riggs awkwardly holding him, and Bo looking like he was about to burst into laughter.
The vehicle's other occupants stared in mute shock, unable to believe what was unfolding in front of them. A crew member in the back, finally finding his voice, whispered to his comrade, "Is this how ARM users normally behave?"
Before he could respond, Bo's voice broke the silence. "Anyone got smelling salts? Or should our comrade keep cradling him like a lost puppy?"
The tension cracked as Deleo, still in Val's head, burst into another fit of laughter.
Riggs shifted his grip on the unconscious corporal, who was now slumped in his arms like a rag doll.
He glanced back at Val, who stood unmoving, his black cloak still billowing slightly from the residual breeze. The pendant around Reyes's neck dangled like a secret nobody wanted to touch.
"Look, I'm serious, man. If you don't get whatever you need from this guy soon, I might be charged for manhandling him," Riggs said with a smirk.
Val's eyes, hidden beneath his mask, narrowed just enough to convey annoyance. "Deleo, will you stop laughing and tell me if I can just grab this thing without him waking up screaming?"
Deleo's voice sounded with a chuckle. "Oh, don't worry, he'll be out for a while. Just take it already; you're causing more chaos than a soap opera."
Val reached for the pendant with deliberate slowness, and the soldiers inside the vehicle collectively tensed. One of them swallowed audibly, eyes darting between Val and the unconscious Reyes. Another muttered under his breath, "We're not paid enough for this…"
Just as Val's fingers grazed the pendant, Reyes let out a small groan, his eyelids fluttering. Riggs put on an exaggerated voice of mock horror. "Oh, great, he's waking up. Guess my babysitting duties are over."
Before Reyes could fully come to, Bo leaned over and whispered in a deep, theatrical voice, "Relax, soldier. You just met the legends."
Reyes's eyes snapped open and met Bo's mask, behind which Val loomed like a shadow.
His face paled again, and a weak whimper escaped his lips. The poor corporal's brain seemed to short-circuit, and he fainted again, dropping his head limply against Riggs's chest.
Riggs let out a sigh of resignation, repositioning the corporal like he was adjusting a heavy backpack.
"Dude, remind me never to let you do the talking again," Riggs said dryly.
Bo snickered, pointing at the pendant. "Well, he's out again. Go for it, V. I think we've scared him enough to stay unconscious for a while."
Val quirked an eyebrow at the nickname but shot them both a glare—or as much of one as could be communicated with just the tilt of his masked head.
He finally plucked the pendant along with the chain from Reyes's neck, holding it up so it caught the dim light inside the vehicle.
The stone shimmered faintly, pulsing with an otherworldly energy that only Val and Deleo seemed to understand.
Deleo hummed in approval. "Good. Now get out of there before you're accused of stealing military relics."
Val turned to go but hesitated when he noticed Riggs still cradling the corporal. He jerked his chin at him. "Put him down. You're making this weirder than it already is." His voice was ominous enough to make the remaining soldiers flinch.
Riggs blinked, then carefully leaned Reyes against the metal bench. "Noted. Next time, I'll add a blanket and a bedtime story," he quipped.
One of the soldiers finally gathered the courage to speak up. "Uh, sirs? Are… are we clear to report this, or is this classified under 'we say nothing, and it never happened'?"
Bo chuckled, clapping the nervous soldier on the shoulder. "If you want to keep your sanity, buddy, I'd recommend the latter."
Val didn't wait for more commentary. With a final glance, he teleported out of the vehicle in a whisper of darkness. Bo and Riggs exchanged a knowing look and followed him, leaving behind a vehicle full of stunned soldiers and a fainted corporal who would wake up with more questions than answers.
"Next time," Riggs muttered as they landed outside, "let's just knock on the door."
Bo chuckled, adjusting his cloak. "Where's the fun in that?"
______________________________________________________________________________
Back at HQ, the mood was a chaotic mixture of disbelief, restrained amusement, and impending lectures.
The team had barely set foot inside the command room when General Luis's voice thundered across the space.
"What the hell was that out there?!" He was standing with his arms crossed, eyes sharp as blades, while a tick mark throbbed at his temple. Dr. Lewis, however, looked like he was about to combust, his face red and eyes wide with fury.
"Are you trying to get us all exposed, Val?!" Dr. Lewis's voice rose an octave as he took a step forward, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Scaring soldiers into fainting fits! Do you know how many reports I have to clean up now?" A sweat drop trickled down Val's temple under his mask, his eyes shifting subtly as if looking for an escape route.
Val rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, glancing at Bo, Riggs, and Fon, who were standing at the far side of the room. They exchanged knowing glances before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
Fon doubled over, tears forming at the corners of his eyes, while Riggs clutched his sides. Even Bo, who usually managed a stoic composure, was chuckling hard enough that his shoulders shook.
"And you three! What are you laughing at?" General Luis's gaze snapped to them, but the trio just laughed harder. Riggs managed to wheeze out, "The look on that young man's face… priceless!" before he collapsed into another fit.
Val's eyes shifted to them, and a tick mark formed on his forehead, betraying his frustration. "Traitors," he muttered, but his mouth twitched as if fighting a smile.
Dr. Lewis, veins now visibly popping, sighed dramatically. "If this happens again, I'm confiscating everyone's communication privileges!" He pointed at Val, who let out a subtle sigh and straightened his cloak.
The room settled into silence, the echoes of laughter still hanging in the air. Surely, the incident happened, it would be talked about in HQ for weeks to come.