Chapter 503: Arc 6, - 119: Dude, Just Talk and Listen

Chapter 503: Arc 6, Chapter 119: Dude, Just Talk and Listen

"Strength-boost, range-boost, power-boost, mana-efficient, swift-swings and it’s unbreakable? Goddamn!" Ben read down the paragraphs written down on paper. "I could punch a horse and it’d like get one-shotted with these gauntlets dude," he proclaimed.

"You really care about Clyde huh," Fumeko mumbled as they walked along the streets between Mandrake and Fleur.

"What? Agh," he deflated and looked down at the brunette. "I mean you said they got him, right?"

"Should have. I don’t really have a place." ’I want my paranoiac’s planning skills back. Maybe she would’ve said a meetup location before we split apart.’ She internally grumbled.

"Then I can’t keep sulking man- Holy! Magic-resistance!? It doesn’t say that exactly, but it’s like the same thing; don’t... know if it protects me, or just the gauntlets... still cool though," he leaned down to show the report to the detective, and then shrugged.

Fumeko looked around, realizing every pedestrian was taking a double-take. Her eyes settled on the gleaming red set of armour towering next to her. "Hey, you do realize we’re trying to be covert?"

"It takes way too long to take this armour off man."

"Then why d’you put it on in the first place?"

"Cause the world’s gotta know my title," he flaunted his hands up and down his body. "They gotta respect the drip, know who I am."

"It makes information harder to get, and completely puts a target on your back."

"Or easier to get," Ben shrugged.

"Everyone’s staring- This isn’t South End, you can’t just- eugh." ’I sound like wolfy.’ Memories flashed by of her travels in Kria, to Hartamat and even the gala in the palace, and she palmed her face. "Do you even care about anything going on around here?"

"Huh? Why wouldn’t I?" Ben peered down through his helmet.

"It doesn’t seem like it. My dad’s gone, the city’s on a knife’s edge, and I feel so close to the case that I can almost feel it about to smash into me.

And here you are, Mr Incompetent, bumbling around Burnetrout, for what? So you can be buddy-buddy with Jotou? She’s been kidnapped, your friend’s on a war path in Dolpool."

The helmet never shifted while they walked. Fumeko huffed and looked away in search of her companions.

Ben looked ahead, and crumpled up the report and stuffed it into a compartment in his armour. He sighed, "I don’t know dude. Ever since Jotou popped back into my life it’s one reality check after the next.

And I’m not gonna lie, the fantasy’s broken. If this is seriously a redo of life, I’d like to be better. I didn’t get to be... carefree and outgoing back in my old world ya know.

Sometimes, you look a certain type of way and people judge you before anything. But here? Dude, I’m a hero; I go on adventures, I get gold and have cool freakin’ powers.

I’d like to be selfish and happy for a while. But... I’ve been treating actual people like fake people, so that’s obviously not okay. So, I’ll enjoy the time I got, be sincere when I can and keep moving with whatever comes.

If I wait to crack a smile, I’ll never be happy till I die. So yeah, I care about Clyde. I wanna repair whatever we had... I owe him and Colwyn that much at least."

’...Maybe he’s not so bad.’ The annoyance faded off of her face. "I knew there was a reason Jotou cares for you."

"I think he does," he thought out loud. "Nah, he defo does. But I think he, she? I’m gonna just say she for my own sake dude, I think he- she prefers it anyway. What was I saying? Oh yeah.

I think she cares about y’all a lot more than me these days. He fuckin’ fought me to prove as much, so," he shrugged. "Sorry, she. Good for him- Christ! Good for her though. I’m happy she found someone to be a family with in this world."

"Family? I don’t know about that."

"Found family I mean. She’s dating that wolf-girl, but you like her too, don’t you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Fumeko said without a blush or a care in the world.

Ben put his hand up and shook it from side-to-side, "I was fifty-fifty on it. But good luck dude, it’s her first relationship—doesn’t mean it’ll last forever."

"I don’t intend to-" The detective felt a small tug on her sock; as she looked down, she saw the hand of a ramrat pulling on it. "Pinfree. You finally found me?"

"You’ve got a familiar? And it’s dressed up? Dude that’s sick as hell!"

’It’s not that bad to keep a ramrat, is it?’ "She’s not mine, she’s Ms Ward’s ramrat. Let’s go get your friend."

"Ohh, like a sheep and a rat, gotcha."

_

Out of view of the public, down some street on the edge of Mandrake Borough, the two walked towards a shut down tavern with broken windows and ’for sale’ advertisements plastered over the walls.

The ramrat standing on Fumeko’s palm, guided them by pointing, until, "Finally. Findin’ ye’s been a right hassle. Lucky I spotted the bright red armer. But yer friend’s in there tall man."

"Guess he has his uses," Fumeko muttered to herself.

"Dude, it talks!?" Ben put his hands up in the air.

"Quiet," the brunette examined the two-story building.

"Ye think people’ve seen enough magic in their life, but every time I talk it’s a whole ordeal," the ramrat shook her head.

"And it’s Scottish!?"

"What’s he on about?" Pinfree raised her nose up at the detective.

"Don’t worry about it," Fumeko traced her fingers across the stone. ’Old stone, old wood. The street looks... modern enough for Mandrake, but this place’s tucked away.

Probably a bad property; especially for a tavern. Must’ve been here long before some of these roads.’ "So, this is where Clyde’s been hiding out?"

"Aye lass. Diana followed him till he settled. I found yer friends before I found ya, and they all cornered him here."

"Is he alright in there?" Ben queried.

"I already ran up and down the bloody streets, just open the stupid door; or do ya want me ta get a carpet and roll it out fer ya too?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Ben tilted the knob of the backdoor. "I just wanted to hear you talk more honestly; it’s a cool accent," he opened and entered.

’What’s cool about it? I have to guess half the time of what she’s saying, as if the squeaks weren’t enough of a challenge. Both of Tiffy’s accents are better. ...What the fuck happened in here...’

Fumeko was broken out of her train of thought as her shoulders drooped, and Pinfree hopped out of her palm. Ben stared, with what was probably a shocked expression underneath with his mouth agape.

Hotaru was crouched in front of a chair, gliding her hands over with a healing spell over a tied-up figure—an unconscious one. Asobi was checking the figure’s face and the sides of his bruised head with a grimace.

Bound by arms and legs was an elf with flaxen hair that was cut short and more upright; it was trimmed even more at the sides to make his ears visible—one pointy, and one not.

The tavern had tables tossed onto their sides, a floor with gaps, a few spots where fires were clearly lit for warmth, and soft surfaces that were in not so old condition, such as sleeping rolls and water bottles.

Diana was behind the shelf-less bar, pouring some old bottle of whiskey into a shot glass as she turned to look.

Tiffany had her arms crossed before she heard them enter and turned, "D-don’t look at us like that."

"Like what?" Fumeko’s glazed over eyes stared right back.

"He’s fine, he’s fine," Hotaru assured. Her ears folded down, "He will be fine."

"About time," Diana swished her glass of whiskey. "You could’ve told Pinfree your friends were coming in your stead. The poor thing had to chew my ears off about finding them," she smiled.

"She put the phone down," the brunette replied.

"Makes no difference to me Namora," the fox-woman’s ears ticked as she downed the shot without wincing. "I found him nonetheless."

"Is he like, brutalized?" Ben feared approaching.

"What the fuck happened?" Fumeko held the bridge of her nose.

Asobi took her hat off and held it, "Wellllll, I told Stella not to scream because I knew we’d cause a scene. I thought Hotaru could siphon him so he’d become snail-speed, but that never happened.

I blinded him for a while! But then he sorta, kinda, ran into a lot of things. Detective Ward over there smashed a bottle of something over his head, but he was still going, so Stella threw a chair-"

"You know what, you got him," Fumeko stopped the magician. "It’s what matters right now."

"Y’all beat him up to a pulp," Ben threw his arms up. He then looked to Diana, "You’re the detective, right? You don’t have a stun gun or something?"

"Diana Ward," she introduced herself. "And for your information Scorching Inferno, I did not do anything other than track this elf down. He happened to stumble back into the bar, and I happened to have a bottle in hand. I don’t fight; that’s what the rodent’s for."

"She speaks true, but I had no hand in this either," Pinfree’s whiskers twitched.

"Sorry Meko," Asobi tilted her head.

"Yeah, yeah, it’s fine," Fumeko approached. "How long till he’s awake?"

"Once I heal him, we can wake him up, give me a few minutes," Hotaru scanned over the chair leg-shaped bruise on his leg.

Clyde gasped and his sunken eyes opened wide; his body jerked against his binds as the wolf-girl recoiled.

"Oh you’re awake," Asobi hopped forward.

Clyde struggled against his binds, thudding the chair legs into the floor. "Let me go you monsters-!" His eyes paused on the man with gleaming red armour straight ahead of him. "You..." he growled.

"Fuck..." Ben whispered. "What happened man-"

"WHAT HAPPENED!? WHAT HAPPENED!?" "THUD! Thd-THUD-ThD!" He rocked the chair from one side to the other in a fit of rage.

Both Hotaru and Asobi put their hands up in a calming gesture and said some words to settle him down, while Fumeko looked to the armoured figure next to her with a glare, "Say something different you dumbass, you obviously know what happened."

"No, I’m serious," Ben defended and went forward.

The wolf-woman put her hands to the sides of Clyde’s head as he resisted. "I’ve only tried casting this a few times, bear with me. Calm."

Faint blue rainwater trickled down the archer’s temples and ears, washing over him like a cool breeze after freshly washing the face. The water dissipated before hitting his shoulder, evaporating into a fragrant mist that smelled of sea dandelions.

Clyde inhaled, and the thudding stopped. Faint blue rolled over his eyes like clouds.

...

"AHHH!!"

"Tck-THUD!"

He rocked forward after his enraged scream, causing the chair to buckle and fall forward, with only his face to break the fall. He grunted and huffed in pain; the clouds gone. He still struggled to get out of the fabrics tied around the chair.

"Wow, Aru failed a spell," Fumeko remarked.

The redhead leered back, "Shut."

Ben took off his helmet and leaned down; he picked the chair up in one hand, with Clyde still strapped to it. He put him back upright and crouched to look him in the eye, "Clyde... Let’s talk this out, please."

Clyde glared right back. The dark circles under his eyes were mostly the only indication of weariness that was immediately discernible on his elven visage.

Beyond that were bruises, and slight unhealthy glow in the dim light of the tavern. He stopped his groans, and Ben was given a chance to speak by the withering gaze before him.