Chapter 14: The Jester of Time
Minutes flew and Jaden decided to leave Reed to his food. Neither hungry nor tired, she wandered around while gazing at the surroundings, restless and awed at the sight of the Snow Mannihilator’s home. She never thought that traveling around would be this exciting and wonderful. To think that she had been cooped up in the damned hut for many years while only getting to leave it for brief moments, though her family and friends prevented those times from getting boring. Even in desperate and dark times, moments of levity were always ceased somehow, though usually it was because of Reed.
After waving at Gavin, who was busy bringing supplies to the Crimson Spinner, Jaden remembered Vader and began to wonder where that machine may have gone to. Considering how almost all Snow Mannihilators are techno whizzes, she was worried that one of them may have decided to dismantle him. She began her search in the hangar but only the Crimson Spinner and Gavin was there, along with other recycled robots. She moved from room to room but to no avail.
Eventually, she entered a workshop not far from Mistress Sierra’s room. Inside, she saw a large number of shelves loaded with mechanical parts, all of which she did not recognize since she had limited understanding of machines. Several workbenches and desks were filled with utilities such as a wrench and a screwdriver. Even the floor was littered with mechanical parts.
After navigating through the room, Jaden saw Vader, standing very still in the centre of a square shaped area. He was barely flinching and was rather oblivious to a Snow Mannihilator meddling with his body. Shocked to see that her suspicions may have been correct, Jaden rushed to the Snow Mannihilator and demanded, “Hey! What are you doing with him? Get away from him?”
The Snow Mannihilator almost jumped when she began shouting, startled and not expecting anyone to come. The Snow Mannihilator began breathing heavily while simply staring at Jaden. As she observed the Snow Mannihilator’s appearance, the person seemed to be a woman. Her full body was covered in armor, concealing her true appearance underneath.
“Relax! I wasn’t doing anything bad to him.”
“The human speaks the truth.” Vader muttered. “Brain sensors did not detect any intentions in her thoughts that could terminate or sabotage our functions. Thus far, she helped repair damages sustained during previous combat and upgraded some of our weapons and software.”
Knowing well enough that robots cannot lie, Jaden brought down her guard and apologized to the woman. Relieved that she would not be attacked, she accepted the apology, sighing with relief.
“Sorry that I took your robot buddy without asking for your permission but, you got to understand that we never leave our home and mechanical marvels such as this…Vader…are a rare sight.”
“You seem to know what you’re doing.”
“Yeah I’ve done my homework. Anyway, I’m Jaina Loruit. If you want to be formal, simply call me Captain Loruit. If my memory serves, you’re Jaden Highland right? You’re getting pretty well-known here.”
“Really? You’re the first person here other than your Mistress who called me by name.”
“Well, few are trustful of outsiders after that little break into our weapon caches. I was there to see that burglar. I won’t forget his face.”
“Wait, so you’re the Captain who witnessed the incident?”
“Yup. I am Captain Loruit after all.”
“Was the thief human at all? No one could have survived the harsh blizzard out there.”
“I can’t really say for sure. He is humanoid though. He’s large, red skinned and wears such elaborate clothing. He’s also very obsessed with weapons. And, I did not actually see him went back into the cold blizzard. He just vanished, leaving the big hole he created behind. Why are you so interested? This is our problem.”
“Well, even though my main goal is to gain assistance in defeating Iblisan and his army, I think helping your people wouldn’t hurt right? Besides, it’s not like I have anything better to do.”
“To be honest, I’m not looking forward to meeting that guy again.”
“What? Why not?”
“I doubt I will survive a second encounter with him.”
“Aren’t you a Captain? You’re supposed to be good at fighting.”
“Trust me. I’m not as good as you may think I am.”
“Well, if you’re not willing to fight, can you at least bring me to the weapon cache where you last saw him? I’m not yet used to your home.”
“Sure. Just let me arm myself just in case I have to fight.”
“You’re welcome to come Vader.”
“Jaden Highland may be walking into harm. My task demands me to follow you to protect you.”
“Great. Time to see what upgrades Jaina gave you.”
“Heading out somewhere without me are you?”
Jaded turned to the voice to see Reed, peeking into the room. He trudged towards her while she wondered how he may have known that she was in that room.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Well, as I was cleaning up my food, I saw you walking around looking for something. Figured that you might be looking for Vader so I decided to follow. So, where are you two going?”
“We’re trying to see if we can find a wanted criminal by visiting the crime scene. Jaina will be bringing us there.”
“Jaina? Who’s Jaina?”
“That would be me.”
Reed turned to see the slightly shorter woman and observed her for a moment.
“Wait…you’re that kid who kidnapped Vader. Why is that bloodless machine still functioning? I thought that you would have dismantled him by now.”
“Hey I’m not a kid! I’m nineteen!”
“As long as I hear a ‘teen’, you’re still a kid to me. Besides, you’re pretty short for a guard aren’t you?”
Jaina began twitching as her anger began to boil her blood. Even if she did not read Jaina’s mind, Jaden knew that she was ready to pounce. She moved to Jaina’s side and rubbed her shoulders while saying, “Whoa relax there Captain. Don’t mind Reed. He’s an idiot.”
“Hey!”
“I approve.”
“Shut up you bloody machine.”
“You once called me bloodless Reed and now you’re calling me bloody. You contradicted yourself a lot Reed.”
“I wasn’t even serious.”
Jaina brushed Jaden’s hands away and said, “Look, I’m going to let your little insults slide. I’m bringing Jaden and Vader to the crime scene and if you want to come, I suggest you keep your mouth shut.”
As Jaina stomped her way out of the room, Jaden turned to Reed with an angry glare which he could see despite the blindfold. He raised his shoulders and managed, “What?”
After spending the next few minutes passing through multiple paths with Jaina on the lead, Jaden began to see how a single break in could easily be missed. The Snow Mannihilator’s home, The Machina Bunker, is much larger than she thought and one single infiltration may go unnoticed. According to Sierra’s words, Jaina was the only guard engaging the thief so chances are, even with the alarms, it will take a long time for other guards to arrive at the scene due to the bunker’s sheer size.
“Jaden, how old are you?” Jaina asked out of the blue.
“I’m twenty. Why did you ask?”
“You’re slightly taller than that foulmouthed bastard. I’m surprised, especially since you’re only a year older than me.”
“Don’t worry about what Reed said. He’s not as bad as he may appear.”
“I never liked the idea of being short.”
“Hey, you’re only nineteen. You’ll be taller pretty soon.”
“But you’re twenty and you’re already taller than that Reed guy.”
“Well, I guess I’m born a tall person. Different people have different heights. You need to be proud of what you’re given. Trust me, there are things that short people can do that tall people can’t. Don’t let other people’s words demoralize you. Be proud.”
Jaina remained silent upon listening to Jaden’s words. She guessed that Jaina might be thinking hard on her words. In her mind, she said, “You’re not the only one who’s not happy with your height. To be honest, I don’t like the idea of being tall. Lucas once told me that guys prefer shorter women. Blessed Ariel, I even remembered when I dueled with Dark Viper. He’s much shorter than I am! I’m never getting married if I’m going to grow taller. Heck, considering what I’m doing right now, finding a mate would probably never happen.”
* * *
“So, here we are. This is the first weapon cache that thief raided. We patched the hole and cleaned up the mess.”
“Ok Reed, let us scan the room to see if that thief left anything behind. Vader, try to contribute in whatever ways you can.”
“Sure thing boss.”
“Orders received. Ready to comply.”
Jaden and her party searched the room, hoping to find any clue as to what or who the thief may have been. Reed looked through the weapons while Vader used his fingerprint scanner all around. Jaden was simply checking through dark portions of the room, using her eye glow as a flashlight. Jaina stayed outside the room, guarding it like how her job would’ve demanded her to.
As Jaden looked through the underneath portions of the shelves there, she saw a piece of paper tucked within. Curious, she took it out and wore back her blindfold to have a good look at it. A few scribbles were written on it, though she had a feeling that it was a language that she could not read. Calling for Vader, she asked if he could translate it, which he could fortunately.
“It’s about time you showed up.” Vader translated.
Suddenly, Jaden sensed an unknown type of Magical Energy surging from somewhere behind her. The Energy intensified and she turned around to see a black circular Energy field, expanding while electricity surged from it. She, Vader and Reed backtracked to the room’s entrance while startling Jaina in the process. Eventually, the field ceased its expanding and Reed muttered out, “Is that a portal?”
A black, muscular and bulky figure walked out of the portal, armed with a rifle and a shovel-like spear on each hands. The darkness concealed his face but he began walking into the light to slowly reveal himself. As Jaden observed his appearance, she swore that he was the first of his race that she ever saw or heard.
The figure was a tall male, wearing elaborate and colorful clothing all over metallic, full body armor underneath. His skin was fiery red in color and his eyes were completely white, lacking an iris. A pair of fangs jutted out of his upper jaw and a pair of large, black horns extended out of his forehead. A pair of bat-like wings erupted from his back, along with a large, conical tail. Never before have Jaden seen his kind. When she queried Vader on his race, his answer was brief and quick.
“Demon.”
“It’s him! That’s the thief!” Jaina exclaimed.
The party prepared their weapons, expecting the presumed thief to attack immediately. Instead, the thief showed a smiled and began to ramble.
“Finally, the true prey has walked into the trap! For too long I have waited!”
“And who exactly are you?” Reed asked.
“I am the greatest weapons collector of this realm! I am the bane of all humans who trespassed my personal space! Beasts fear me! Zombies fear me! Even the sirens tremble at the sound of my manly voice! I am a shifter demon! I am....Kle'to Maniark!”
“Right…Am I the only one who thinks that this guy’s a bit loco?”
“For once, we agree on something Reed.”
“Good on you Jaina.”
“Your katana, Sword of Mercy, have been in my sights for a long time! For too long I have scoured through snow, forests and wastelands and faced many adversaries! My futile attempt to steal it ended up with an encounter with your friend!”
“What? I barely even know Jaden. You can’t consider me her friend yet.”
“But not now and never again! No longer have I sought out just one sword. All your weapons will be mine! I am Kle'to Maniark and all your weapons are belong to me!”
“Jaden seriously. I barely think this is worth our time. I think even Vader’s quietly laughing in whatever core he has inside of him. I’m surprised you’re not laughing at this fool.” Reed said while nudging Jaden. However, at least one drop of sweat trickled down her head and her face was fixed on Maniark.
“Reed…don’t underestimate him.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“His Energy level…it’s much higher than Dark Viper’s…or Elysia’s. Whoever this Kle’to Maniark is, he’s very powerful.”
“Haha! So the wielder of the Sword of Mercy admits to my strength. Come, let us fight to death to see who shall walk away with the loser’s weapons!”
In an instant, Maniark raised his rifle and began shooting at the party. Despite rifles being heavy, he was able to shoot it with only one hand. Reed, Vader and Jaina ran to cover while Jade unsheathed her katana, or Sword of Mercy to Maniark, and deflected all of the frenzied shots. Eventually, the rifle ran out of bullets, prompting Maniark to begin reloading it. Capitalizing on it, Jaden dashed forward and attempted to slash him once, only for her attack to be parried by his shovel, or spear. With brute force, Maniark shoved her away, sending her back to where she stood.
“I knew I shouldn’t have brought a damned rifle. All Energy Bladesman can deflect its shots. Regardless, I still have my trusty Taker’s Spear. Nobody can stand against the might of the shovel!”
“Taker’s Spear or Taker’s Shovel?”
“Your male human friend talks a lot.”
“Says the rambling demon himself.”
Almost immediately, Reed opened fire from his cover, along with Vader and Jaina. However, Maniark spins his spear swiftly enough to deflect all of their shots. Jaden then rushed in to attack but the trio were forced to reload by the time she was within proximity of Maniark, giving him the chance to block all of her attacks. After missing her last slash, Maniark shouted, “Taste my fist!” and punched Jaden right in her face, causing her to recoil in pain.
“Not even Bhuck Borris, who can destroy a massive boulder with his finger, can match my godly strength! Say your prayers human for Uncle God wants…you!”
As Jaden recovered, she looked up in time to see Maniark bringing down his spear upon her. In defense, she lifted her katana and parried the attack. She struggled against his strength but she delayed him long enough for her companions to begin shooting again. She dodged out of their line of fire while Reed, Vader and Jaina began pelting Maniark with their bullets. However, his metallic armor was bulletproof and his spear prevented any headshots from being possible.
While Maniark was distracted, Jaden charged up her katana with her Light Energies and slashed his side, cutting through his armor but unable to wound him. Manirak turned to attack her but she moved at a speed of light behind him, cutting him once again but failing to wound him. Thinking that Maniark’s physical resistance is too much to handle, Jaden began charging her left hand with electrical Dark Energies while Maniark frantically looked around for her. Bullets shot by the rest were enough to distract him and just as he caught sight of Jaden, she unleashed a wave of electricity at him, electrocuting him and bringing him down to his knees.
“Hold your attack! I surrender!”
Maniark pleaded to them to cease their attack while gesturing them to stop. He was breathing very heavily due to being electrocuted, in metal armor, and was making occasional grunts.
“Your strength was clearly at your best. You may have bested me…”
Suddenly, Maniark’s body began to twitch while the back portion of his armor began to shake. The shaking intensifies and almost looked like as if something was pushing its way out of the armor. Jaden and her party watched with awe, unsure on how to react. Eventually, a single arm sprouted out of the armor. Like the rest of his body, the arm’s skin was red and moments later, more arms protruded out one by one, totaling to six new arms. Two extra tails also sprouted out from his already existent tail and an extra foot spawned underneath the tail. In addition, his horns grew longer.
Jaden backed away while Reed and Jaina watched with shock. Vader then tried to explain, “Kle’to Maniark is a Shifter Demon. He’s currently undergoing metamorphosis.” Out of the blue, flashes of light formed on all his extra arms. As the lights slowly faded away, weapons were seen held by the extra arms, ranging from swords to maces to pistols.
As Maniark stood up, he muttered out, “Assuming direct control…of my extra limbs.” while his original arms still holding on to his shovel-like spear. Standing at his full height, he turned to Jaden and told her, “Clearly, you fell for my little charade. Your weapon is now as good as mine! Surrender or face me mortal!” Not willing to surrender, Jaden reentered her fighting stance and replied, “So what if you have extra limbs and weapons? I will still defeat you thief.”
“L…O…L. You’ve just sealed your fate mortal. I will…”
Maniark’s words trailed off as a single bullet pelted his armor. He turned to see Reed aiming his rifle at him.
“Will you stop talking already? If you want to fight, just fight!”
“Very well mortals. As I said before, all your weapons are belong to me!”
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