The Curse of Day/Part5

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3rd Day, 7:45 AM
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The private room Taru-Na had booked for the party was in a restaurant called Lena’s, an upscale place with wide windows, dark wood, and spotless tablecloths. The breakfast menu delivered was without prices, instead bearing a small note from Taru-Na saying that the meals would be covered by the GUN IA. It also mentioned the time of their reservation: 7:30 to 9:00. The party had stumbled and meandered in closer to 7:45 than 7:30, but the waitstaff were unimpeachably courteous nonetheless, showing them to the small, pretty room where seven places-settings of porcelain sparkled — evidence that Taru-Na had called very recently, altering the reservation to accommodate the gray and pink hedgehogs. After the waitstaff delivered the menus, they took their leave, murmuring promises to return shortly to collect breakfast orders.
After thanking the staff many times for being so pleasant to the duo, Kennedy and Aqua reached the area Taru-Na had booked for them and sat down. Aqua was amazed as she faced Kennedy with glee. "K-Kennedy... you look like you're not all that impressed. Why i-is that?" This time, she didn't stammer because of her shyness - she was simply excessively amazed.
Kennedy rubbed a sore spot on his arm and shrugged casually. "Mac is a very wealthy man, and I'm one of his close frenemies. I guess - how would Mac say it? - this isn't my first rodeo." Kennedy looked awfully calm talking about Mac, considering he was just arrested.
Aqua noticed and sighed, staring at her feet. "In the village, we don't have restaurants as nice as this. We're not poor, but... There's a b-big world around us. It makes you realize just how small you are, I suppose..." Hearing a great sigh again, Aqua faced Kennedy. "...Kennedy, do you think Mac will be alright? Even if they don't know his abilities, I'm worried for him. He seemed over-passionate."
Kennedy's smile turned into a straight face as he patted Alexia on the head. "There's a reason to his behavior, Alexia. He has a hidden motive - and judging how his allies reacted to him attacking us, they don't know it either." Kennedy smiled at Alexia warmly. "Don't worry, Alexia. Everything will be okay if we work to reach our goals." Alexia puffed her cheeks, not entirely believing him.
Meanwhile, Taglumo and Vereco, who were already seated, were talking to each other. Taglumo, evidently very confused, was saying, "I don't understand why Mac would have done something like that! He's just such a good guy! Why would he—"
"I keep telling you," interrupted Vereco. "He just wanted the Emerald."
"But, but, but," said Taglumo, looking just as confused as before.
"Talk to these guys," said Vereco. "Maybe you'll believe them. Hey, tiger guy," she said, turning to Kennedy, "Tag here is trying to figure out why Mac would have held you guys at gunpoint for the Emerald—"
"—because he's such a good guy!" interrupted Taglumo.
"...so maybe you can explain to him what's going on," said Vereco.
Kennedy smirked at Taglumo's naivety. "Mackenzie Hartley, vigilante of Trikon City, is a jokester mercenary who gets straight down to business and wastes time simultaneously. He probably wanted the Emerald for his own reasons." Kennedy showed anger in his eyes at Vereco. "For someone who appears to be so intelligent, you'd think that you'd know that most people don't do strange things because they're fools. Everyone has hidden motives - I'm willing to bet my life his wasn't greed. I'm close to him, that'd be out-of-character." Kennedy sighed. "I came here because I worried Aqua needed protection. Aqua joined because she wanted to help. And you-" he slowed down, reading Vereco's mind, "-are only here to persuade your associate to get back home. Not everything is so clear-cut."
Alexia piped up, not liking the look Kennedy was giving Vereco. "Kennedy, y-you know that some people might be sick in the head. For example, you as Konton weren't the best person, and Luna-"
"You can't even say those devils were unjustified! Konton was an instrument of destruction, and Luna lost her entire race! They didn't do stupid things just 'cause they could! They had reasons! And I bet that since Mac isn't the reincarnation of Lucifer himself, he has his reasons too." Kennedy was getting very heated up. "Everyone deserves justice! Everyone gets their chance to tell the story! Call me a fool for having pity on the antagonistic, but excuse me if I don't want to make assumptions!" Kennedy's eyes flashed green for a moment as he slammed his pointer finger down on the table as he talked before calming down and crossing his arms. "Rant over."
Vereco, looking like she was mildly shocked but was staying calm anyway, said, "Okay, sorry for bothering you. I didn't think Mac was an idiot, and I actually gave Tag over here the exact same reasoning that you did, but he wouldn't listen to me, so I thought that maybe he'd listen to you, a complete stranger, over his own sister." Turning to Taglumo, she said, "Did you understand when Kennedy over here explained what was going on?"
Taglumo thought for a moment. "Uh, actually, yeah, what tiger guy over here said made perfect sense."
Vereco facepalmed. "This is why I asked you to explain to him, Kennedy," she said.
Kennedy stopped himself from scoffing as he leaned back in his chair. "Glad it worked."
Padparadscha had kept her mouth firmly shut throughout the verbal altercation, but once it seemed like her companions' tempers had cooled, she tried to move the conversation back to safer ground. "I've never been in such a fancy restaurant either, Aqua," she said. "I grew up in the suburbs, and when my family ate out, it was almost always in a fast food restaurant or a diner. One time we went to a steakhouse, but even that place was nothing compared to this one. Taru-Na's so nice to buy us all meals here." She pulled her eyes away from the unlit chandelier glittering overhead to look at her companions contemplatively. "I suppose the least we can do to repay her is use the time we have in this safe place to discuss how we'll take the next step towards completing her objective."
Taglumo spoke up. "What exactly is her objective?" he asked. "And who is she? And why are we here? And..."
Vereco nudged him. "Tag, could you ask one question at a time and wait for them to answer?"
Taglumo looked sheepish. "Oh. Sorry. So, um, let me make that one question: What's going on?"
Vereco sighed and looked down at the table, muttering under her breath, "That's not what I meant by one question..."
Lee sat there quietly, the charge from the contact with the Sol emerald having charged up Onyx, who was acting up. Whenever someone turned away, which had been the whole conversation thus far, Lee's shadow would make a gesture or a face or something.
"What's going on is that we're trying to prevent a megalomaniac (whose name I can't remember) from collecting the Sol Emeralds and using them to take over the world," Padparadscha replied, promptly. Turning to Lee, she asked, "What do you think we should do next, Lee? I know you have some experience with this sort of thing. Should we try to find more Sol Emeralds, before the megalomaniac gets them? Or should we focus on making sure the ones we've got are safe, since without them the megalomaniac can't get the whole set, even if we don't have all of them either? Does anyone here know if the megalomaniac can do damage with just a few of the Sol Emeralds?"
Lee thought for a second. "I have no clue..."
Vereco noticed that Taglumo was looking very embarrassed and pulled him over to her. "Tag?" she whispered quietly. "You aren't still trying to take over the world, are you?"
Taglumo thought for a moment. "No..."
Vereco sighed with relief and gently pushed Taglumo back to his seat.
Meanwhile, Kennedy pounded his fist into his palm, clenching his teeth. "One Sol Emerald is all that's needed to cause chaos - we just stopped the worst-case scenario. However..." Kennedy thought for a moment, staring into space. "That robot - it wasn't alive. It must've had orders." He slapped himself in the back of his head. "Blast it! I should have ripped it to pieces, not disintegrate it!"
Taglumo, who had heard most of what Kennedy said, looked up and said, "Hey, um, was the robot by any chance a metal humanoid, about yea big, able to transform into any shape it felt like, two cameras in the front like this..."
Kennedy was so surprised by Taglumo's accurate description, it was twenty seconds before he even blinked. He was trying to remember exactly what the humanoid looked like, but for what he could remember, Taglumo was right. Alexia jumped in after a couple of seconds of silence. "Y-Yes, sir, that is spot on. I-In fact..." Alexia summoned an ice circle of the floor, and out of it came a nearly-perfect ice statue of the Sol Emerald-stealing robot. "It should look like th-this."
Taglumo got up from his seat and walked over to the robot so that he could inspect it from all sides. "Yup, they look exactly like that," he said, returning to his seat. "Only metal, of course. My uncle makes those all the time and...hang on, what was one of his robots doing here?"
Kennedy answered this question, vividly remembering when he was sensing the large amount of an energy similar to Chaos Energy. "It was getting a Sol Emerald, probably to take back to your uncle. Speaking of which..." Kennedy's glare on Taglumo became a wee bit harsher. "If your uncle supposedly 'makes these all the time,' then it may be best to tell us where exactly his home of operations is. That way, with Mac in custody and you two with us, there is virtually no threat in our path."
Taglumo was a bit put off by Kennedy's sudden harsh demeanor. "Um..." he said. "You're not thinking of killing him, are you? I mean, even if he's trying to take over the world, he's still my uncle, and I like him. I'm not going to give you his address if you're going to...to...y'know...I mean, I said it already. Right. Just, yeah."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Padparadscha said, clearly distressed. "Nobody's killing anybody! That's not happening! If your uncle is the megalomaniac who's trying to use the Sol Emeralds to take over the world," she continued more calmly to Taglumo, "then it would be useful to have his address to tell the police, so they can arrest him more easily. Once he gets arrested, we won't have to keep looking for the Sol Emeralds, because there won't be anyone out there trying to find them to use them for evil. That's all Kennedy was trying to say -- right, Kennedy?"
Kennedy visibly flinched when Taglumo suggested he meant to kill his uncle, and Kennedy rapidly shook his hands while Padparadscha defended him. "No! Heaven forbid that I have means to kill him! I just want to shut down his base of operations and source of power, that's all!"
"Oh, cool," said Taglumo. "OK, then, he's...hang on, he is his source of power, so how could you shut down his power source without...oh right, the Emeralds, yeah, that's what you've been talking about. So, okay, I guess there's nothing terribly bad happening here if I say his address, so, uh, yeah, he lives in Westopolis." Taglumo smiled for a moment, then looked worried as he said, "Wait, did you want me to give you his actual house address?"
"If we're going back to Westopolis soon, we should probably check in first to make sure we have nothing else to do in the area," Padparadscha pointed out, perusing her menu absentmindedly, "I can give Taru-Na a call after we get our breakfast. If there's something to do, we can do it today; if there isn't, we can sightsee. Either way, we can probably catch another overnight train back tonight and be home tomorrow morning." She lowered the menu to look at her companions. "How does that sound?"
"That sounds awesome!" said Taglumo instantly. "What do you think, Vee?"
"That sounds pretty good," said Vereco. "Before we do that, though, could someone give Tag and me a quick update on who Taru-Na is and why we're consulting her? If it's too much trouble, you don't have to tell us, but it would be useful if Tag and me are going to stay here for us to know who we're going to be talking to."
"Taru-Na is the one who recruited the rest of us to find the Sol Emeralds," Padparadscha said, tactfully omitting before the megalomaniac did in consideration of the fact the megalomaniac in question happened to be the uncle of the people to whom she was talking. "She's a reporter for the --" she paused, looked around for help. "Does anyone remember what paper Taru-Na said she works for?"
"I don't," said Taglumo promptly.
Vereco nudged him. "You weren't there when she was speaking," she whispered.
"Oh," said Taglumo in a stage whisper. "Right. Sorry."
Aqua grabbed her arm, trying to remember, but ultimately failed. Kennedy rolled his eyes at Taglumo, crossed his arms and sighed, before realizing something vital. "Please forgive me if I say something unintelligent, but I must ask - were Aqua and I there when Taru-Na shared information about herself?"
Padparadscha thought back to the day before. "I guess not, actually. And Taru-Na was on the phone with just me when she mentioned her ties to GUN IA. Anyway, it doesn't matter. What's important to know about Taru-Na is that she's the one who knows where the Sol Emeralds are, and that she's the one who's booking us tickets and reservations and calling in police officers to help us out. She's kind of our fairy godmother for the duration of this world-saving mission."
"Well, that makes sense," said Vereco thoughtfully, leaning back in her chair. "Anyway, now Tag and I know why you'd be calling her up, so we won't be too confused when you call her."
The waiters came in, then, bearing covered platters from which mouthwatering scents rose on gentle wisps of steam. They placed each meal before the person who had ordered it, then withdrew as unobtrusively as they had earlier collected orders. Kennedy got bacon-wrapped chicken along with some pancakes, and Alexia simply ordered a large ice cream serving in a cup with a cherry on top.
Kennedy, trying his best to look nice, looked to Lee after noticing that other than their powers, the group really didn't know that much about each other. "So, I have a question for you..." Kennedy tried to read Lee's mind, but failed, so Alexia whispered it in his ear. "...Lee. Why exactly did you come here, and why do you feel the need to assist in this operation? You look quite young - I fail to understand why you'd want to leave your friends to save the world." Kennedy didn't want to read Lee's mind for this question - he wanted the hybrid to give it to him straight.
Lee sighed. "This isn't my first time helping save the world. But I screw up a lot, and this was one of those times. Azul, the guy who whooped on me and sent me to the hospital where this started, I may have killed his....  Siblings?..." His ears did a 180, now facing backwards.
Padparadscha stared at Lee for a moment after he basically admitted to having killed people, but she quickly rallied. Just that morning Lee had placed himself between her and a loaded gun, and in her book, that made him unequivocally one of the "good guys". "Everybody screws up, Lee," she said with conviction, "not many people are willing to risk all that they hold dear to save the world, let alone do it multiple times. You don't have to be infallible to be a hero. You just have to be... you."
Taglumo, embarrassed at his own lack of morality compared to the heroism that Padparadscha was talking about, slid under the table. Vereco, annoyed at this obvious gesture of embarrassment, pulled Taglumo back out from under the table.
Lee put his head on the table, ashamed he'd essentially dove into his origin story. "Thanks, Rasha." Not going any deeper into that, he thought to himself.
Kennedy, thinking about how much he'd shared about himself, decided to speak. "Seeing how you all have told me more than I have told you - I deeply apologize for that, by the way - let me make a more... proper introduction. As you may know, I am Kennedy McLeod, a Chaotic counterpart of-" Kennedy coughed "the infamous" into his sleeve before continuing. "Mackenzie Hartley. I am essentially life force and Chaos Energy mainfested into a physical form - as such, I am proficient in manipulating Chaos Energy, and being able to sense energy signatures similar to it, like that of the Sol Emeralds. I am both a crime-stopper and an Extreme Gearist, though as of now, my best placement in a race is #6. Anyways, I too have my inner demons, but I try not to act on them." Kennedy smiled at Aqua before starting again. "I suppose I've met my fair share of... adversaries in less than seven months. But in those seven months I've learned a lot, so I pray that my new knowledge and understanding of this world and its features may help us on our mission."
"H-He also l-likes meat..." Aqua shared, making Kennedy chuckle a little. "H-He must really h-hate pigs with how much p-p-pork he loves..."
"Well, thanks for the introduction," said Vereco. "I guess Tag and I should introduce ourselves too, since you don't know us that well either. Tag, do you want to go first?"
"Sure," said Taglumo. "Um...my name's Taglumo, and...I'm 16, and..." Taglumo was clearly having trouble figuring out anything to say. "I...um...I like turtles, and...um..."
"OK, let me introduce myself then," said Vereco, noticing Taglumo floundering. "I'm Vereco, a professional weapons expert who moonlights as a...I don't know how to describe it. Let's just say that I keep my rogue family members in line. That's why I'm here, if you count rogue as sneaking out in the middle of the night to try to take over the world—" Vereco nudged Taglumo here, causing him to look embarrassed. "Fortunately, the particular case that I'm here for has basically been solved, so I'll probably go home as soon as we all get back to Westopolis. I think that I have a client booked tomorrow, actually..." Vereco pulled a smartphone out of her pocket and flicked at it a bit, then looked back up at the group. "Oh, wait, this reminds me: Padparadscha, weren't you going to call Taru-Na and ask her when we were supposed to get home, among other things?"
Skylor, who had her hands on her head at the sheer amount of exposition happening, gave Taglumo the death stare. "Aren't you the one we came here to stop...?" She asked, balling her hands up into fists.
Padparadscha, who had been studiously devouring her omelette, looked up in surprise when Taglumo mentioned liking turtles, wondering if the comment was in some way about her. Before she could figure out a non-confrontational way to ask, Vereco was talking to her; before she could respond to Vereco's question, Skylor, who had been uncharacteristically quiet since they'd arrived, was accusing Taglumo of being the megalomaniac they had assembled to thwart.
Padparadscha squeezed her eyes closed for a moment to shut out the insanity, then took a deep breath, opened them, and said, "Skylor, we established earlier that it's Taglumo's and Vereco's uncle who is the meg- who is trying to get the Sol Emeralds. Vereco, I was planning on calling Taru-Na when I finished eating, but I can do it sooner if you want me to. Taglumo – you do know that I'm a tortoise, right?"
Skylor dropped her head. "Ok, whatever. Tell me when it's time to burn someone's face off."
Vereco, who had started reaching for her weapons when Skylor had started looking threatening, relaxed into her normal seated position. "No hurry about the phone call," she said. "Just wanted to make sure that you remembered."
Taglumo, who had realized that everyone was answering Padparadscha's questions in the order that she had asked them, waited until Vereco finished speaking, then said, "Yes, I know that you're a tortoise, but I was just trying to make conversation before about the turtles, and I think I heard a game designer say that thing I said some time in an interview or something, so...Can I eat my breakfast now?"
It was Padparadscha's turn to slump partway into her shell with embarrassment. "Sorry. There was really no reason to think your comment had anything to do with me. Yes, of course you can eat your breakfast. I didn't mean to be keeping you from it."
Taglumo gave Padparadscha a thumbs-up and continued eating his waffles.
Lee, who hadn't ordered anything, twiddled his thumbs. "... I'm sorry for not helping in the subway..." He admitted with a sigh. He then immediately flinched at his own words, and the terrible timing he had.
Aqua sighed before closing her eyes, thinking of the right response to Lee as the area around the group became ten degrees colder instantly. In a powerful voice that showed no fear, Aqua said, "Don't be, Lee. I know how terrible it feels to feel useless. Ever since I found my new home, that's all I've been, really. But no matter how much you wish how you could've done this, or should've done that... well, that's why life goes on, right? It wouldn't be all that great if he only got one chance... but that's not the case. I know that there a times where I am all but useful to my friends. But I can't spend all of my time in a fetal position, crying about how I can't do anything. I have to get better. And considering that you're already better than me in that regard based on what I've seen, Lee, I think that you have so much potential. So don't beat yourself up, okay? Not just for your sake, but also for mine, and Kennedy's, and everyone else's." Alexia finished her speech, and realizing what she had just said without shuddering or stammering, the temperature got five degrees colder.
"Umm..." Was all Lee managed to say.
The rest of their respective breakfasts were consumed in silence. When she had cleaned her plate, Padparadscha stood from the table and addressed the group. "I'm going to go call Taru-Na now, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she shuffled out of the room as fast as she could (still not very fast at all), eager to escape the awkwardness which had descended like a second tablecloth to cover the table and those who sat around it. Standing outside the door, in the little hallway which led to the main part of the restaurant, she dialed Taru-Na's number. When the echidna picked up, Padparadscha said, "Taru-Na, this is Rasha again. We've pretty much finished the lovely breakfast you got for us at Lena's – thank you so much for that, by the way – so I was calling to ask what we're supposed to do next, now that we have both of the Emeralds which were on this island. Also, I need to tell you – we found out that the megalomaniac is actually Vereco's and Taglumo's uncle, who lives back in Westopolis."
Some clicking sounds could be heard in the background. "Of course it is," said Taru-Na. "We only have one uncle of Vereco and Taglumo on record, a man by the name of Sinjoro. He used to commit very minor crimes all the time, and no matter how much we put him in prison, he kept breaking out of it. Eventually, we managed to put him through a sort of rehabilitation program with Vereco's help, and he was supposed to stop committing crimes...and now you say he's doing it again? I'm sending someone over to his apartment right now to check." Taru-Na fell silent, and some clicking noises could be heard on her end.
"Oh," Padparadscha said, struggling for a moment with the idea that a man was being arrested simply on her say-so. "Well. I guess that's good? Anyway, what should we do next? Can we do some sightseeing and take a train back tonight? Or is there somewhere else we need to go before we go home?"
"Well..." Taru-Na hesitated for a moment before continuing, "You still probably need to collect the Sol Emeralds, or at least to deposit the ones that you have in a secure location. Actually, you should probably deposit at least one of the ones that you have in a secure location before you continue searching for more. For right now, though..." Taru-Na stopped talking, tapping at her tablet. After a few seconds, she continued, "Status update: Sinjoro isn't at home. He's left, and has left no clues as to his whereabouts for quite obvious reasons." Taru-Na returned to her usual chipperness as she resumed speaking: "Well, I guess that doesn't really affect anything. Right now, what you and your team need to do is: first deposit one or both of the Sol Emeralds in a spot that I'll mark on your phone when you need it, and then optionally—preferably—find one or more of the remaining five Sol Emeralds. Does that sound good?"
"You know, we should probably be having this conversation on speakerphone," Padparadscha said, shuffling back into the room. She laid her phone down on the table, pushing the aforementioned button. Quickly, she briefed the others, "Taru-Na says that Vereco's and Taglumo's uncle, Sinjoro, has left without a trace. We're to continue looking for the rest of the Sol Emeralds, to keep them from Mr. Sinjoro and also, of course, because Skylor needs them back. But first, Taru-Na wants us to hide the Sol Emeralds we have, because it would be silly to keep carrying them around and assume no one will take them from us."
Turning to address the phone, she continued, "Does Mr. Sinjoro have a method of sensing the Emeralds? If he does, I'm sure you have a safe deposit box in a high-security bank somewhere to put them, but if he doesn't, mightn't it make sense to put them places he'd never look – maybe one in the drink compartment of someone's car, the other in a random spot in some woods, marked on a GPS as 'saw wild [some kind of animal] here', for instance."
"As a matter of fact," said Taru-Na, "we have one place that's both secure and unnoticeable. I'm not going to say it out loud here, just in case someone outside your group is listening, but I'll give you directions to it later. That should probably be your next destination. You're absolutely right, though, that it's unnecessary and potentially risky to put them both in the same spot, so let me see what other backup spots I have..." Taru-Na clicked her tablet for a second, then continued, "Aha, there's actually a backup spot right on South Island, where you guys are now. On second thought, let me change the plan: I'll give you directions to this backup spot so that you can deposit ones of the Emeralds there, after which you could come back here, travel to the location where the secure area is, deposit the other Emerald there, and then go on to get some of the other Emeralds, as this secure location happens to be relatively near two of the locations of the Emeralds and not too far away from a third. All right, how does that plan sound to all of you?"
"It sounds good to me, Miss Taru-Na, especially if it lets us go home tonight," Padparadscha said. Looking around at the others, she asked, "Does anyone have any objections?"
"Sounds good with me!" responded Taglumo instantly. "I mean, no objections here!"
Vereco opened her mouth to ask a question, then closed it as she realized the answer to her own question. "I don't see any problems with the plan," she said. "Anyone else?"
"I don't have any qualms with this plan," Kennedy said. Aqua quickly nodded in confirmation that she was fine with it too.
"So... We're splitting up for tonight? Or did I miss something?" Skylor asked.
Padparadscha frowned. "I'm sorry, I must not have been clear. As long as everyone agrees, our agenda is currently to 1) hide the first Sol Emerald in a place near here, to which Taru-Na will direct us, 2) go back to Westopolis, 3) hide the second Sol Emerald in another place which Taru-Na will give us directions to, and then 4) collect the third, fourth, and fifth Sol Emeralds, which are near the place we'll be hiding the second one. Does that make sense?"
Skylor groaned. "I'm sure it does to somebody. Eh, whatever ... Lead and I'll follow."
The group finished their discussion, then exited the restaurant to continue their mission...
Category:The Curse of Day