CHAPTER 52: GUARDIAN LIFE PART 3
Everyone's in groups, each taking turns tussling in the training room.
…
Mausho, Zeph, Zizin, Rinka, and Liz are a group, and are close to each other.
Mausho: … Yo, Liz. Are you finally gonna try fighting?
Liz: No. Still not possible.
Rinka: … Liz can't fight?
Mausho: It's not that she can't, she just doesn't need to. Her best attribute is her ability to heal-
Liz: I can't afford to use my energy for anything other than healing. I have to save it, and that's why I don't fight.
Zeph: … Hey. What if you're in a situation where you're the last one standing and don't need to heal anyone?.. You'd need to fight.
Liz: … Well, hopefully, I won't ever be in a situation like that.
Mausho: Weren't you just in a situation like that? Or almost was? In the city?
Liz: No. Doa was with me, and I healed her. I probably couldn't have done that if I had spent my energy fighting.
Zeph: … You're right … But maybe, since we Black Blood now, you can afford to use more energy?
Liz: … I don't know. We'll see.
Mausho puts his hand on Zizin's shoulder.
Mausho: … Zeph, you train, Rinka. I'mma be with Zizin.
Zeph: You train, Rinka! I'll be with Zizin.
Mausho: You're just gonna bully him!
Zeph chuckles, and the two walk away. He looks at Rinka.
Zeph: You ready to beat the shit out of each other?
Rinka: … I think so.
…
Raskan, Defei, Shima, and Minaro are a group, and are huddled.
Defei: … Raskan and I are gonna fight first. Is that okay?
Shima: Yup, feel free to take him for as long as you want.
She begins to walk away from the scene.
Shima: C'mon, Minaro. Let's go get stronger!
Minaro follows.
Raskan: Hey! Hold on! I wanna fight, Minaro! We've gotta continue our first battle!
The two leaving turn around, unamused.
Minaro: … Continue? I beat you.
Raskan: Nah, that fight didn't mean anything. I wanna a rematch! The only reason you beat me was cuz I only slept for 2 hours that day! I was sleep-deprived!
Shima's smug, she puts her hand on her hip.
Shima: You love making excuses, don't you?
Raskan: That's no excuse! I really only slept 2 hours! I was grinding in a game.
Defei: Should have slept, bro. Now, Minaro can rightfully brag about how he beat a Guardian.
Shima laughs.
…
Doa, Osora, Iza, and Sosa are a group, and they're beside each other.
Osora: … How've you been, Doa?
Doa: Good.
Osora: That's great to hear!
Osora casually pulls out his gun.
Osora: … I just watched a recording of the lethal fight you had on our latest adventure, and it was very intense. Honestly, I'm surprised you survived.
Iza: Yeah! It's amazing that you managed to stay alive!
Sosa: You should be very proud.
Doa: … I'm not proud… I was healed, and I didn't even win the fight… And I only survived cuz I got lucky.
Osora: … Well… Let's get to work… We'll train you so that you can destroy any future enemies that dare get in your way!
…
Maya, Xika, and Kofron are a group, and are sitting on the floor alongside each other.
Kofron: … Xika, I'm just gonna sit here. You can train Maya.
Xika: … Why'd you even come here, if you're not gonna do anything?
Kofron: Cuz I was bored, and I thought maybe watching you two fight would somehow inspire more lyrics for my song.
Maya: … You make music?
Kofron: Yup.
Maya: Can I be in a song!?
Kofron: … Do you know how to sing?
Maya: I'm not sure, I've never tried.
Kofron: Then you can't be in my song.
Xika breezily lays down.
Xika: … So Kofron, you're not gonna train at all?
Kofron: Yup. Don't need to.
Xika: Don't need to? But I saw a video of you getting brutally tackled by a Skiller! You got folded, dude.
Kofron: … They caught that on camera!?
Xika: … Having better reflexes would have prevented that fail.
Kofron: … Note that, if none of you guys were there, I could have beaten all the Skillers with a single sound. I'm pretty goated.
Kofron releases a delighted sniff.
Kofron: Honestly, next mission, evacuate everyone and literally just send me. I'll annihilate every enemy with one flick!
Xika: That's an outlandish idea.
Maya: … I think that'd work, honestly.
Kofron: Right? It would!
Xika: It's a horrible idea. It'd do more bad than good.
Xika steadily rises.
Xika: … Maya, are you ready to battle?
Maya: Not yet. Give me a few more minutes, I'm thinking.
…
Mausho: … I can't believe you finally fought an enemy!
Zizin: …Yeah, I can't either.
Mausho: And you fought them for us! You're a real one, man.
Zizin chuckles.
Zizin: … I got my ass kicked pretty fast, though.
Mausho: You did, and that's okay. That's what today's training is for! You're finally gonna learn to fight, right?
Zizin: … I'll try the hardest I've ever tried to learn this time.
Mausho grins and quickly attacks, however, his hand is swiftly grabbed by an appearing tentacle, and another one slaps him in the face. He's halted.
Mausho: Woah.
Zizin looks delighted.
Zizin: … The one holding you is called Arina, and the second one, I named Arie.
Mausho's a little dazed.
…
Zeph's baring his fangs and is on all fours, in a position that makes him look like he's about to begin an Olympic race.
Zeph: Ready?
Rinka is about to nod, but he feels something within him, bothering his soul.
Rinka: … Uh, hold on. I have to check something.
Zeph: ... Okay?
Rinka closes his eyes and enters the void. There, he opens his eyes to Mazu and Shania poking his face with their fingers, Bam's in the distance. They stop.
Rinka: … Hi.
Shania: … Since you're about to fight that monster guy, we have important info we want to share with you! It is crucial to the growth of your strength.
Rinka: Okay… But how'd you know I was about to fight someone? Can you guys see what's going on up there?
Shania: … Yup! Void users are connected! We can see through your eyes, and hear through your ears! We can even read your mind!
Rinka's eyes widen a little, and Mazu snickers.
Mazu: … Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about all the inappropriate thoughts you've had lately.
Rinka's embarrassed.
Rinka: … I don't consent to having my thoughts read.
Shania: Bam and I don't read them! We are well aware that it is an extreme invasion of privacy!
Mazu: … I only read them once. I won't ever again, though.
Subsequently, a wooden chair materializes.
Shania: … Anyways, take a seat, Rinka. I must thoroughly teach you some amazing Void knowledge.
Rinka sits, observing attentively. Shania spawns a chalkboard with a stand and a thin piece of chalk stick to use.
Shania: What's your GPA?
Rinka: Um, like 2.70 something.
Shania: Would you consider yourself stupid?
Rinka: Sometimes? Not really, though.
Shania: … Alright, I'm gonna start the lesson. You just let me know if there's something you don't understand.
Rinka: Okay.
Shania: … So, us void users have a special technique called a "Void Form."
Shania writes "SPECIAL TECHNIQUE: VOID FORM" on the board.
Shania: … If a void user thinks of the phrase, "Void Form", followed by a percentage. They'll become one with the void and its darkness will surround them, and that darkness can be molded into anything and be used in combat.
She writes, "VOID FORM, 300%", and then draws a stick figure with a white mess on him.
Shania: … For example, Bam over there, when he says "Void Form"-
She turns to him.
Shania: Bam! What percentage do you use?
Bam: … Usually about 1000.
Shania: When he says, "Void Form, 1000%." He gets some insane armor.
She draws a stick figure with random shapes all over it.
Shania: And Mazu, when she does it. She turns into a giant, farm mecha-thingy.
She draws a stick figure with saws and tools as hands and a bunch of squares on it.
Shania: When I use it, I get a cute void gown, and my void blasts become bigger.
She draws a stick figure that is throwing large splodges. Rinka raises his hand, and she notices.
Shania: Yes?
Rinka: I'm assuming that the power and capabilities of the Void Form depend on the percentage used, right?
Shania: Yes… For you, I recommend anything lower than 500%. Later, you can go higher, but for now, 500. Anything higher right now, especially with your void-untrained body, will leave you incapacitated.
Rinka: Okay.
Shania: … That's it for the lesson. Did ya understand everything?
Rinka: Yes. Thank you for teaching me this.
…
Zeph: What the hell is he doing?
Liz: Thinking, sleeping, maybe?.. I'm not sure.
They're both staring at Rinka, standing still with his eyes closed. Eventually, he opens them.
Rinka: Okay, I'm ready now!
"Void Form, 450%."
The void emerges, completely covering Rinka's body, except his head, in dark mass. Zeph dashes forward.
"... Uh? katana, sword."
A long, thin, and sharp, Void blade forms around Rinka's palm. Which he quickly grips tightly and swings ahead. Zeph ducks and strikes him in the stomach.
Then his monster comes out, ready to bite. Rinka isn't sure what to do.
"... Big, Void, slash attack?"
A long and sharp strip of dark mass launches out of Rinka's back and slices the monster's head off. Everyone's surprised.
"Holy shit!"
Zeph: Wow!
Rinka leaps over it. More strips form and move, and Zeph tightly weaves past them.
Zeph: You got my monster, but you're not gonna slice me up!
Lightning strikes, Rinka fades in and attempts to kick Zeph's head. But his monster instantly respawns and rams into Rinka. Who crashes into a wall. And It takes him a bit to stand again. He's tired.
"... Damn, I'm already starting to feel like shit."
…
Minaro stops his fist right before it connects with Shima's face. She stumbles and hits the ground with a wired expression.
Shima: … Thank you for not breaking my face.
He looks away from her. She gently slaps his leg.
Shima: Help me get back up, please.
Minaro timidly offers his hand, she takes it and stands. After, she stretches.
Shima: … Let's go and see what the idiots are doing.
They begin to walk, and it's quiet for a bit.
Shima: … Say, Minaro, you sure don't talk a lot, do you?
He glances at her.
Minaro: … I do. Just not to people I don't really know. Isn't that normal?
Shima: It is. But it's kinda impractical, no? How are you supposed to know someone if you don't talk to them?
Minaro: … I don't know.
Shima releases an amused sniff.
Shima: … Also, sorry if I was an easy opponent for you. I'm also one of the weakest Guardians.
Minaro: It's fine.
The two stop walking upon noticing Raskan, who's leering at his watch. It blinks and reads, "Energy Disk."
Raskan: Okay! I finally got a decent skill.
Defei is flat on a bench, he looks away from his phone, dour.
Defei: It only took 20 minutes.
Raskan: I'm just very unlucky sometimes, you know?
Minaro and Shima have moved closer, and Raskan notices them.
Raskan: … Oh, hey, Shima, Minaro.
Shima: Are you ready to take on Minaro?
Raskan: … No, I haven't even fought Defei.
Defei: It took him like 20 minutes to get a Skill that wasn't complete dogshit!
Shima laughs.
Shima: … You really suck sometimes, Raskan.
Raskan: Blame my luck, not me.
Shima: Sure, just hurry and fight Defei. Minaro needs a better partner to spar with!
Shima heads to and sits on a bench, she slaps the part next to her, influencing Minaro to sit, and so he does. Raskan creates a blue energy disk and throws it, Defei floats over it and attacks.
Shima: … Honestly, Raskan might not be a good sparring partner either. He's the second weakest Guardian. His survival is entirely luck-based.
Minaro: That's awful.
…
Osora explores a bag and pulls out a Shotgun, Sniper, Machine gun, Rifle, and Rocket launcher. He lays them on the ground next to each other, Sosa and Iza are peeking over his shoulder.
Sosa: … You plan to use all of this?
Osora: Yup! Next mission! So I may have to go and get a Skill that lets me carry all of this without worry.
Iza: Hopefully, you find it!
Osora picks up the shotgun and loads it with some blank rounds.
Osora: … Nobody's ready. I'm gonna go crazy with these guns!
Sosa: I'm sure you will.
Osora looks elsewhere and spots Doa looking vacantly at her fingers and moving them. He heads over to her.
Osora: You ready?
Doa: Yes.
Osora: … Better not forget your guns again.
Doa chuckles.
Doa: … I can't. I'm not using real guns anymore.
She shows off a finger gun.
Doa: I'm using my magic from now on.
Osora: Oh, interesting.
…
Kofron is asleep, Xika is beginning to fall asleep, and Maya is fiddling with a string. She randomly stands, galvanized.
Maya: Alright! I've thought of many strategies that can take you down! Mr. Xika!
Xika is startled.
Xika: Great!.. But now I'm really sleepy.
Maya giggles mischievously.
Maya: … My first strategy is working.
Xika hits his head with his sword really hard, and shakes.
Xika: … I'm energized once again!
Maya: … Are you kidding me?
…
Rinka is back in the void, sitting down. Shania is next to him, arms crossed.
Shania: … Your body's limit is lower than I expected. It's like 200%, maybe even lower… So I recommend you keep your "Void Form" active 24/7 for a few days. Start at 10% and keep slowly increasing it, that should help you reach a higher percentage.
…
Yutsu opens the door to a workshop and walks in, tools and materials are everywhere. The man at the register notices him, puts down a plate of food he was about to bite, and smiles.
"Hey! How can I help you today, man?"
Yutsu notices photos of the man's family taped to a wall.
Yutsu: I saw your ad. You're the guy who can move entire buildings, right?
The man grins.
"Yes! No building is too large for me!"
Yutsu: … I'm gonna kill you soon, unfortunately. So please go ahead and give your family your last regards.
"U- uh. W- what?" The man's voice is cracking.
Yutsu just stares at him. The man quickly picks up his phone and steps aside. A few seconds later, he starts to sprint to the nearest exit.
Metal zooms and rips through his head, and his body falls as the metal is instantly pulled out.
"Complete Architecture Change."
Yutsu walks out of the shop.
…
On a desk, Osora is cleaning his guns. Doa appears beside him.
Doa: … Yo, Osora. You remember that advice you gave me?
Osora: Nope.
Doa: … You told me to see sounds.
Osora: Oh!.. That wasn't really advice though.
Doa: Well, I thought it was. So during the last mission, I decided to see sounds, and it saved my life, so. Thank you.
Osora: You're welcome. But that's pretty funny because honestly, that phrase is complete bullshit, I don't even know what I was trying to say!
Doa stares unimpressed.
Doa: … I hate you so much, Osora.
…
Minaro's in Liz's room, she gleefully eyeballs him.
Liz: Hi!
She shows him her phone.
Liz: This is the list I wrote of the things that I was supposed to buy from the store. Can you make them appear, please?
Minaro nods his head, a rift emerges.
Liz: Drop everything on that bed over there.
His rift moves over to the bed and begins spawning items. Out of it falls, a bunch of clothes, a bunch of technology, and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff.
Liz: Wow! You're absolutely amazing! Thank you so much, Minaro!
Minaro nods his head again.
…
Minaro's in Xika's room, being watched.
Xika: Hello there.
Minaro waves.
Xika: I would like you to spawn me 50 bean bags, please.
Minaro nods his head, a rift emerges, and a huge wave of bags comes out. Xika's in awe.
Xika: … Absolutely phenomenal. Thank you very much, Minaro!
Minaro nods his head again.
…
Minaro is moving, doing his own things. Suddenly, Kofron pops up in front of him.
Kofron: Yo, Minaro! Is it true you'll spawn anything anyone wants? The streets say you're "Alien Santa Claus!"
Minaro nods his head.
Kofron: That's awesome!.. Can you please spawn me a huge bag of the candy, "Cheerful Cowboys?"
Minaro nods his head, a rift emerges, and a huge bag of candy hits the floor. Kofron jumps around, super giddy.
Kofron: Thank you, Alien Santa Claus!
…
Maya is in Raskan's room, she's seated, playing with a frog plushie on his bed. Raskan is looking through all of his video games.
Raskan: … I still can't believe you've never played a game before. What did you do when you were younger?
Maya: … Kill people. I think?
Raskan turns around and stares at her, shocked.
Raskan: come again?
Maya: My family was a bunch of weirdos and murderers. I don't remember but I feel like they may have made me kill people at some point. Luckily, I'm not part of that family anymore.
He slowly turns back to his games.
Raskan: … I picked 3 games, Ultimate Battle Siblings, Marble Adventures, and Watch Pals. Which one do you wanna play?
Maya: I don't know. Which one do you recommend?
Raskan: … I recommend Marble Adventures. It's super cool and it's like my favorite game ever!
He inserts the disc to the game and sits next to Maya, handing her a red controller.
Maya: … I'm excited!
…
Back in her room, Rinka and Iza are on treadmills, running insanely fast. Someone's ready to drop, and the other one's absolutely fine.
Iza: .. You look like you're about to die, Rinka. You should stop.
Rinka: I'm fine. I need to do this. I've gotta get my stamina up.
Suddenly, Rinka missteps, and his foot zigzags. He's on course to hit his chin against the floor. So then and there, Iza lunges under him, facing upwards, in order to soften the hit with her belly. They collide and tumble off the treadmill. Iza laughs.
Iza: I saved ya!
Rinka: … Thank you.
…
Doa and Sosa are speaking in his room.
Sosa: You want me to teach you how to cook?
Doa: Yes, please! I tried to ask Shima but it turns out she only knows how to make cakes!.. She said that you're the best cook here.
Sosa: … What is it you want to learn to make, exactly?
Doa: Alphabet soup!
Sosa's face turns serious.
Sosa: Okay, follow me. I'll teach you how to make the best alphabet soup in the world.
Some time goes by. Sosa and Doa are sitting at a table, staring down at the soup that was created. It looks magnificent.
Sosa: … I would try it first, but even with all my help, there is a chance it may be poisonous. So I'd like you to try it before I do.
Doa: … It's pretty rude that you think soup made by me has a chance of being poisonous.
Sosa: It was a joke.
Doa takes a spoon, scoops up some soup, and drinks. Her eyes light up.
Doa: It's really good!
Sosa: Is it now? Allow me to judge.
Sosa does the same and has the same reaction.
Sosa: It is. It is really good. This might be the best alphabet soup I've ever tasted.
Doa: Really?
Sosa picks up the bowl and starts chugging the soup to completion. Doa's aghast the whole time, and then he's aghast when he realizes what he just did.
Sosa: Oh my goodness! I finished the soup! I'm so sorry!
Doa laughs.
Doa: It's fine. We can make more.
…
On the way to the living room, Zeph and Minaro pass each other. However, Zeph quickly turns and places his hand on Minaro's shoulder to stop him.
Zeph: … Hey. I don't think I ever properly apologized for brutally ripping your arms off in our first battle. Sorry about that.
Minaro: … There's no need to apologize. I got my arms reattached.
Zeph: … Yes, but I can't help but feel like I inflicted a lot of unnecessary pain.
Minaro: You did not. The pain was necessary. It made me better. Now, next time I get my arms ripped off, I'll be more used to that pain.
Zeph's pretty surprised, and then he chuckles.
Zeph: … You think a lot like me, you crazy bastard. I think we could become really good friends.
…
Zizin is in the kitchen and finishes making himself some sandwiches. Maya spots him and comes over.
Maya: Hey, Zizin!
He opens a cabinet and grabs a bag of chips, turning around after.
Zizin: Hmm? What's up?
Maya: I haven't talked to you since we fought, how have you been?
Zizin: … Bad. Sort of.
He bites into his sandwich.
Maya: Bad? Sort of?
Zizin: … The day we fought you told me about how one day an enemy was gonna attack me and I was gonna be forced to fight… You must be some sort of prophet, or you jinxed it… You saw what went down in the city, right?
Maya: Yes, I was gonna tell you about how cool I thought you looked.
Zizin: I looked cool?
Maya: I thought you were cool.
Zizin sighs.
Zizin: … It doesn't matter how cool I looked. Now, I'm gonna have to go on every mission, learn to fight, and have to protect people. I'm gonna have a lot of responsibility… I don't want to do all of that.
Maya: Don't worry, I think you'll do great!
Zizin: I don't wanna do it, though!
…
Liz smiles at a video. It is of a cool duck riding a skateboard and doing the most insane tricks possible. Rinka had sent it to her over social media. She sends him a message.
"You send me the stupidest shit, Rinka."
He responds right away.
"Yeah, I find the stupidest shit funny."
Minutes pass, and she sends a video to him. It is a compilation of silly cats doing absurd things. Rinka giggles at it.
…
It's the midst of the afternoon. The Skillers are huddled at the top of a peak, eyeing the vast city in the distance.
Yutsu: … Get ready, guys. This is gonna be a sight to behold.
"Complete Architecture Change."
…
A man in a suit walks out of a building, yawning, and turns back. A brunette business woman walks out of the same building. She talks.
"Do you still want to go eat?
The man adjusts his posture to look more energetic and confident.
"Of course!"
"Are you sure? They gave you a lot of work today."
"I'm sure!.. That work was quite easy, I'm very good at what I do."
She giggles, but it's cut off by the terrifying, approaching sound of several things being instantly destroyed.
A giant, red square-shaped mass rushes towards the two. It towers and instantly slams into everything, and the two mentioned.
Glass, people, stone, debris, buildings, and more common street things are pushed and merged into a pile of giant urban slush. Onlookers see it coming like an avalanche. Smoke is everywhere.
…
A ginger lady exits her car and cruises down the street, heading to a high school. On the way, she spots a homeless woman across the street, wrapped in a blanket, petting a dog and a cat.
She runs over to her while searching through her wallet.
"Hey."
She gives 20 dollars to the homeless woman, who's delighted.
"Thank you so much! God bless you!
"Please take care!"
The ginger lady crosses the street again, her phone begins to ring. It's a call from her son so she quickly answers it.
"... Hello, what do you need, sweetie?"
"Grandma wants to know if you're almost here."
"Yes, I just need to pick up Lily! Tell her to be patient!"
"Okay."
"Okay, bye. Love you."
"I love you too."
The lady attempts to stick her phone into her bag but is startled by loud noises which cause her to drop it.
She turns to the sounds. The avalanche has arrived, and the homeless woman attempts to run but it grinds her and her pets up.
The lady bolts into the high school. She watches the administration and students be annihilated by the avalanche. She stops moving and looks around rapidly.
"... Lily! Where are you, Lily!?"
She begins to cry and continues running. But ultimately, her stamina diminishes and she collapses. The avalanche shreds her to bits.
…
Returning to the peak, the Skillers are in awe. An enormous, red, and clunky mansion is now in the middle of the city, surrounded by destruction. It had cleared everything in its path as it had emerged.
Yutsu: …. There we go, our home has been moved.
Panchu: That was wild!
Dynima: … That's what our home looks like? It's pretty messed up.
Yutsu: I had it weirdly designed so that it could fit in the ravine.
Neishi: … Why the sudden move?
Yutsu: Makes things easier!
Yutsu summons a portal.
Yutsu: C'mon, let's move. We don't wanna miss the Guardians showing up.
They walk through the portal and are now in the red mansion.
Yutsu: … Should we chill until they show up? Or get some easy work done?
Eivee: … I'm gonna go.
Dynima: Me too.
Brian: I'll chill.
Neishi: I will make a move when the enemies arrive.
Panchu: What Neishi said.
Yoshanai: … I'll be heading out.
Dynima: … Yutsu, where's the piece at?
Yutsu: Don't know yet, unfortunately. We're gonna have to search the whole city.
Dynima groans.
Dynima: … Fuck. We're gonna be here all day.
Eivee opens a door, revealing the outside, and rushes out. Dynima and Yoshanai shortly follow.
Yutsu: Break legs, y'all!
Yutsu's full of glee.
"... It's finally happening."
TO BE CONTINUED…