Adzima pov
This time, the earth hologram in the centre of the room displays videos and images from Varas. I immediately remembered something after seeing that.
Adzima:'That's right, she is in Varas'
I glanced at Falco, who was still typing something into the hologram, and then I approached him.
Adzima:'If it's him, maybe he can do it'
I tugged on his jacket to get his attention.
Adzima:"Are we going to Varas next?"
Falco:"Yes, why?"
Adzima:"My prince, can I ask you a favour?"
Adzima:"I promise, I will reward you for it"
Falco:"You don't need to give me anything, princess. What do you want me to do?"
Adzima:"I'll tell you when we get to Varas"
We then went to Varas, but rather than using Falco's sports cars as usual, we took a very large armoured truck this time.
Fian:"Not to be rude, but why are we using armoured trucks now?"
Adzima:"Varas is a very dangerous city, it's a gathering place for all the criminals from all over the world, so we must be very careful"
Qori:"How do you know? Have you gone there, Adzima?"
I didn't answer Qori's question, so Fian asked another question.
Fian:"Why are we going there if that's where the criminals gather? Nobody will want to help us there"
Adzima:"Not everyone becomes a criminal because they want to, a lot of them do that because they are forced to, they need to survive there no matter how"
Aditya:"Why don't they just leave that place if they want to survive?"
Falco:"It's not that easy, Aditya"
When we got to Varas, we noticed from the truck window that locals on the street were making hideous faces at the truck we were in.
Artha:"They are not going to attack us, right?"
Falco:"Not while we are inside, they will attack us and try to steal the truck later"
Dwiyan:"So, someone needs to stay in the truck to guard it?"
Falco:"No need, this truck has a highly advanced defence system, it was set so that no one except us can get closer to it"
Not long after, Falco parked his truck near a building on a very quiet street. Falco then told us something before we all got out of the truck.
Falco:"We need to get to that building undetected so that the locals won't attack us"
We all nodded, and I held Falco's hand while the others looked puzzled at me.
Adzima:"What?"
Ina:"Why did you suddenly hold his hand?"
Adzima:"Because I need to hold his hand in order for his cloaking device to work, and it makes me invisible too"
Ina:"Um... We can use my ability, Adzima"
Adzima:"You can make things invisible too, Ina?"
Ina:"You saw my ability at the Sekawan Tower"
Adzima:"Right, I forgot"
All of us then gathered near Ina, and Ina made a barrier around us, which made us invisible from the outside barrier.
Before we exited the truck, Falco looked at Fian and Aditya.
Falco:"Before we get inside, Fian and Aditya, I want you to check the perimeter around here"
Aditya & Fian:"Aye, aye, captain"
Fian then tapped Aditya's shoulder, and they both teleported somewhere. We then entered the building carefully so that we didn't walk out of the barrier and become visible. Fian and Aditya contacted us over the intercom when we were on the third floor of the building.
Fian:'Everything's clear'
Aditya:'It's clear here as well'
Falco:"Thank you. Keep your guard up, you two"
Aditya & Fian:'Aye, aye, captain'
Falco:"Why do they keep saying that?"
We stopped in front of a room. Falco knocked several times, but no one answered. He then attempted to open the door, but I stopped him.
Adzima:"Wait, let me do it"
Just as I opened the door, I felt someone grab my jacket and shove me against the wall. I winced slightly but smiled at the person who had attacked me.
Adzima:"Hi Hilda"
Hilda, realising she was attacking me, quickly let go and spoke harshly to me.
Hilda:"Adzima, what brings you back here? Didn't I tell you that I don't need your help and that I don't want to come with you?"
The others were shocked when they saw Hilda act like that towards me. Qori then tried to call her.
Qori:"Hilda"
Hilda glared at the others, then she looked back at me again.
Hilda:"Bringing the others along won't change a thing"
Adzima:"Hilda, please at least listen to what I have to say"
Adzima:"The world is in chaos, worse than what we have ever seen"
Adzima:"We are assembling a team to save the world, and we want you to help us, please"
Hilda just sneered at me after she heard that.
Hilda:"Saving the world? Huh, you are far too late for that"
Hilda then came closer to me, but Falco suddenly intervened and stood between us.
Falco:"Stop right there"
Hilda:"And who the hell are you?"
Falco:"I'm Falco"
Hilda:"An alias, huh? So you are the one who started it all, you are the jerk who thinks of yourself as a hero?"
Hilda cursed Falco immediately with harsh and inappropriate comments. I wanted to talk to her because she was cursing Falco too much, but Falco signalled me not to.
Hilda:"Who the fuck do you think you are? Where are you when we need you the most? Why did you let this city do whatever it wanted?"
Hilda:"You know what? You are not a hero, you save no one, you are not different from us, a faker, an attention seeker, a criminal"
Hilda's insults to Falco were increasingly harsher and more brutal, despite the fact that Falco had done nothing wrong, but Hilda didn't stop cursing him. This made me irritated with Hilda.
Hilda:"Get the fuck out of my face"
This time, it wasn't only me who was upset with Hilda since she kept cursing at Falco for no reason, the others were also starting to get angry at her, but Falco stopped us. I feel terrible for Falco, he did this at my request, but he does not deserve to be treated this way. Unlike us, who were enraged with Hilda, Falco spoke to her in a calm tone.
Falco:"You are right, I am not a hero, I never see myself as a hero, and I can never be like them"
Falco:"I am trying to save the world not because I want to be a hero, but because it is my responsibility and my atonement"
Adzima:'That again? What exactly does he mean by atonement? What did he do?'
Falco:"Also, you need to stop speaking like that, it will become a bad example to the kids"
Hilda immediately shoved Falco against the wall very hard after she heard that.
Hilda:"Don't involve them in this"
After seeing Hilda's behaviour towards Falco, I couldn't stand it any longer and separated Hilda from Falco, then shoved her until she fell. The others then lined themselves up in front of Falco to defend him.
However, we were stunned by the children who emerged from the drawers and quickly stood in front of Hilda to protect her. Falco then asked us to calm down and move away while he approached the children.
Falco:"Didn't I tell you to calm down, guys? It looked like we are the bad guys now"
Falco crouched in front of the children and smiled at them, but the children punched Falco in the face, surprising everyone, including Hilda. Hilda then stood up and prepared her stance, lengthened her nails, and was ready to attack Falco, while the rest of us were preparing to defend him.
But instead of getting angry, Falco keeps smiling at them and praising them.
Falco:"That's a good punch"
Falco:"You guys are good kids, so don't worry, we are not your enemies"
Falco:"We are here because we need help from your sister there. We want her to be with us so we can also protect you and save the world. Can you please tell her for us?"
The children, who felt bad for beating Falco, turned around and asked Hilda. Hilda, who was about to get emotional after watching this, instantly calmed herself and smiled at the children. Falco then tried to speak with Hilda again.
Falco:"They can't keep staying in a place like this Hilda, they need to be in a better place, or they will grow to be like the people here"
Hilda then thought for a while, and then she sighed.
Hilda:"Okay, fine, you are right about that. We can't keep staying in a place like this. I will join you"
We all smiled when we heard Hilda say that, but I still felt guilty about Falco. We all intended to return to the truck, but as we were leaving the building, Fian instantly alerted us over the intercom.
Fian:'Wait guys'
When I heard gunshots, Falco pushed us back into the building. We saw Falco get shot in the chest not long after. Ina quickly created an invisibility barrier around us, and we rushed to get Falco inside the truck. Fian and Aditya then appeared, both with worried expressions. Meanwhile, Falco, who had been grasping his shot-up chest, immediately extracted the bullet from his clothes and threw it away. We were all surprised when we saw that.
Adzima:"Are you okay, my prince?"
Falco:"I'm fine, my clothes are bulletproof, but it still hurts to be shot by a sniper"
Fian and Aditya then tried to apologise to Falco.
Fian:"Sorry, we were late to notice the sniper"
Falco:"It's okay. Because you alerted us, I managed to push the others to safety"
Hilda then also apologised to Falco with a very guilty face.
Hilda:"I am also sorry, Falco, for what I said to you earlier, even though I know nothing about you. Sorry for cursing and insulting you"
Falco:"It's okay, you don't need to apologise for that, but you need to stop using bad words, or the children will try to imitate you"
Hilda:"I know that"
Falco:"Now, more importantly, we need to get out of this place ASAP so we can resume our discussion later at the mansion"
When we arrived at the mansion and got out of the truck, I hugged Falco tightly while crying a little. I then whispered softly to him.
Adzima:"My prince, thank you for granting my favour"
Adzima:"I am sorry you have to suffer all of that because of it"
Falco seems to want to say something, but I shushed him with my index finger.
Adzima:"As I promised, I will give you a reward, but sadly, I don't have anything on me right now"
Adzima:"So, your reward for now is that you can do anything you want to me, you can ask me anything you want from me"
Falco:"You shouldn't tell a boy something like that, princess"
Adzima:"I only tell this to you, so don't worry, my prince"
I then raised my head to look at his face.
Falco:"Okay, then, can you cook something for me?"
Adzima:"That's it?"
Falco:"What? You said I could ask anything"
Adzima:"Yes, but not that simple"
Falco:"But I want to try your cooking, princess, please"
Adzima:"Fine, but this doesn't count as the reward, you still need to ask me something later"
I went to the kitchen to cook something for him, but to my stupidity, I didn't ask what he wanted to eat, and because I never saw him eating anything, I don't know what he likes. So, I just cook something and hope he likes it.