❦ℂ𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕕 - ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕩 𝕋ℙℕ❦

«20 - Weapons»

One day before our departure to 'AO8-32'.

We're standing in front of the untuned piano as Mr. Bluffer holds an umbrella.

"What are we doing here?" I ask looking at the midnight black umbrella, "If you're gonna kill us, I'd prefer the knife."

"I'm not killing you with an umbrella!" He says irritated by my magnificent presence.

Mr. Bluffer jams the umbrella into the piano and we hear a satisfying click.

Next thing you know, we're standing in front of an open door.

It's a secret room. Smart. What's in it, though?

"This is our final preparation before we're off." He says looking back at us.

He walks through the brown door and down a sturdy ladder as imitate the action. I look around the room, to find, it's an armoury.

"Time to go find Minerva in Hell." The man says getting off the ladder.

The room is filled with guns, armour, blades, shields, bombs and more, organised in columns like bookshelves. It has everything.

I have my katanas, but I don't know how effective they are compared to all this.

I walk through the room, eyeing varieties of weaponry.

These would be amazing to use. What if I blew up Grace Field? Or even headquarters?!

"When we first tried to play the piano, the tuning was a tiny bit off. There was no way I would notice it. We found that piano mechanism by chance. Point is, if you suck, you'll never find this room." Mr. Bluffer explains as we venture through the room.

"What was Minerva's plan?" Emma says rhetorically.
"Something intense if he kept all these here." I reply.

"Minerva-san must be higher than the demons to be able to get access to all this... so what happened to him...?" I whisper the last part as I see a collection of knives on the wall.

"Pick whatever you like. Just know, the forest surround the plantations are nothing compared to where we're going. We'll be going where the demons flourish." He goes to a wall of Assault Rifles after that.

"If they come for you, weapons are basically useless, but it's better than going out there bare-handed." He hands Emma one of the assault rifles, "I ain't helping you. Choose something you think you'll need to survive."

I walk over to the wall of knives and katanas. Amazing!

"What do you think?" Ray asks, looking around.
"Something lighter would be better for me, I think." Emma inspects, handing the gun in her hand to Ray.

"Well, I'm best with Katanas and knives, so I'll go with that. Maybe a pistol just in case." I grab a hunting knife off the wall and slice the table with several pistols on top. It cuts through halfway.

"Sung-Joo said to always think of escaping rather than attacking." Emma says approaching where I was.

"Well, you know how I feel about running away." I say smiling at Emma.

I hate running away, but I know when an opponent is too much for me. It's like a built in habit...

I settle on two katanas and a hunting knife.

I'll trust Emma and Ray for long-range combat. Guns aren't really my style.

I look to Emma and Ray.

"I'm going to take a Katana and Hunting Knife. Have you guys decided yet?" I say, seeing Mr. Bluffer leave.

"The man took a large gun, two ammo thingies and a knife, so I'll take a knife." Emma says, picking up a knife similar to the one I took.

"I wanted to take this since it looked strong, but..." She picks up a bazooka and I snicker.

"Emma... it's bigger than you." Ray snickers in the background while Emma puts it back, looking extremely flustered.

"But that man really isn't helping us out here." Rays says, searching the room.

"Bows seems like the best basic weapon. You can recover arrows and with a knife, you can make new one." Emma says standing next to me. She's an inch or two shorter than me.

"Yeah, I'm thinking of taking one gun and two extra ammunition." Rays says, looking at four guns on a table.

I see a small hand gun, as well. Ray picks it up,
"I found this in the back. Something like this should do." Ray hands me the gun.

"A pistol? Mr. Bluffer didn't take any. It could lack in range or maybe power."

"That could be true, but look." He shows us the inside of the barrels. I look inside, inspecting it's interior.

"I see! That's why you picked this gun."
"So that's two knives, two katanas, one pistol and a large gun with two extra ammunition." I say, counting everything.

"We'll survive and come back to our family." Emma determines.

"I won't let you sacrifice yourself." I say, tapping both my best friends on the shoulder.

"I won't-" Ray starts.
"I was talking about all of us. No one is gonna die. Not while I'm around." I give them a kind smile and walk off towards the ladder.

«•»

As it's time to leave, Gilda gives us a bunch of rules and tips, while Anna checks any wounds such as our ears.

I place my knife inside the pocket of my dull-green coat that has space for small weapons and ammunition. We have a matching backpack for food, and other supplies with a place to slide any weapons onto.

I had a grey top and black leggings underneath for easy movement and concealment in the dark. Although, we're still wearing our brown shoes from the Plantation since they're relatively good to move in.

"We'll be back before you know it!" Emma says, waving to everyone.

All the kids run up and hug her. They give her a advice that sound more like threats to me. I pick at my nails as Gilda steps forward towards Mr. Bluffer.

"May I ask you something, Mister?"
"Gilda...?" Emma turns to her. We all do.

"Please bring them back to us safely. I know this is a dangerous outing. For you as well as them... but bring them back alive. If things get too rough and you can't escape, bring at least one of them back alive." She requests.

"Is that a favour? Sorry, Prissy Four Eyes, but just because you say something like that, doesn't mean I'll go through with it." He says, looking down at her.

"No, it's not a request. It's an expectation. If you don't do as I say, I will personally blow up this shelter myself." She says arms crossed. I run to her and pat her back.

"Good for you! You're getting better at these threats." She hugs all of us catching me off guard.

"Make it back alive, you three. If one of you dies, I'll never forgive you!" I hug her back rubbing her back.

"I won't die that easily, Gilda. We're strong." I grin.

(1156 Words)