Origin ARS 3 (Origin A.R.S.) (17 page)

“Yeah,
so
hot.” said Marne.

“Super-hot!” cried Geri-Geri.

“Totally.” said Kiley.

“Do you think they have a disease or something?” asked Shelle.

“I hope it’s contagious...” said Marne.

Kiley glanced at Marne then grinned. She started to wiggle her chest at her enticingly.

“You dare to challenge me?” asked Marne in a scandalized tone. She immediately began to wiggle her own impressive architecture.

The rest of the girls clapped and giggled at the idiocy of the moment. Whatever disease that Scott, Rhea, and Ero had contracted was deemed to be quite virulent. It spread among the mermaid population like a wildfire. Soon dozens of perky aquatic breasts had joined the battle, and each of them wiggled for everything that they were worth. 

They came from the sea that day. Dozens of voices cried out in unison at the sight before them. Never had creatures of such terrifying beauty been witnessed on that quiet public beach. Men squealed like pigs, and women screamed in brutal excitement.

“W-who are you?” one brave girl asked.

The largest creature from the deep tossed his head back then flashed a brilliant smile. “Name’s Scott.”

The girl gasped then fell back upon seeing his magnificent smile. However, eyes quickly turned from the man with the mighty and erect fins to the blue haired goddess who slipped up beside him.

“No way, who is she?” called out a guy wearing shorts and flip flops.

“Wow, check out her big... fins.” said another man.

Guys began to crowd around after seeing Rhea in all her bodacious and recently bronzed glory. However, they also saw her reach out to take the big guy’s hand. Many masculine hearts broke upon bearing witness to that sight, though a few others still decided to try their luck.

A beautiful flying girl fluttered down atop the big guy’s head. Unlike the others she was completely naked. Several curious people moved closer to see who and what she was as well.

Before the crowd could get too close for comfort the wind began to blow violently. Suddenly, a dozen people clad in dark black clothing appeared around the trio. They each wore suits and sunglasses, something entirely out of character for the setting.

“Step away from the eye candy.” stated a voice from atop a nearby ice cream stand.

The crowd looked up toward to origin of that voice. The gathered throng of people was treated to the sight of a girl wearing a bright red outfit that swayed in the breeze. Her left thigh was completely exposed, and her hair was pulled back in a brilliant and fiery red ponytail.

One brave man in the crowd tried push past he encirclement of security personnel, but he was casually tossed back with a simple thrust of expert hands. “The lady said no.”

A paper fan appeared in the ninja girl’s hand then she placed it over her mouth. She loudly laughed, “Oh ho ho ho ho ho.”

Sharde leapt from atop the beachfront ice cream shack then performed an eventful and eye-catching flip before she landed in front of Rhea. Men scattered throughout the crowd cheered when the red-haired ninja wrapped her arms around her sister and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. While the kiss was innocent, if a little odd; in the minds of many a perverted beach goer it had involved several imaginary additions, such as tongue action and more than a little feminine moaning.

The horde tried to break through the line of security, but they were quickly tossed back. They could look but not touch.

Sharde whispered something to her sister, and Rhea smiled at her. The ninja girl waved at Ero happily, and the fairy waved back with great excitement. Ero liked Sharde, she was frequently quite interesting.

The ninja girl turned to Scott and smiled gently. “Hi, Scott.”

“Hey, Sharde.” He glanced sidelong at Rhea and she smiled. He looked back at Sharde then opened his arms. “What, no hug for me?”

She giggled then wrapped her arms around him. When he placed one hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head, she sighed softly then snuggled in to him. He smelled nice, if a bit fishy.

Several minutes passed before Rhea coughed once,
loudly
. Scott and Sharde got the message, and the ninja girl reluctantly let him go.

“It’s so good to see you guys again!” said Sharde excitedly.

Ero fluttered over and sat on Sharde’s shoulder. She leaned over and gave the ninja girl a warm hug.

Sharde lifted a finger and rubbed Ero’s side gently. The little fairy giggled cutely.

“We should get out of here. These people are a little over-excited.” said Sharde.

It was truly a nonsensical and ridiculous scene. Men and women, all scantily clad in beach wear, continually made attempts to cross the line and reach the group in the middle.

Scott glanced around and several women in bikinis gasped loudly then begged their friends to fan their faces for them. Rhea looked around a little and several guys leapt toward her with wide and excited eyes.

“Seriously? What’s wrong with these people?” asked Scott. It was funny when they first popped up, but now it was just weird. Had they been cursed with extreme horniness or something. Should he not drink the water around here?

“Have you seen yourselves recently?” asked Sharde, a soft blush crept along her nose.

Scott looked at Rhea. She was as gorgeous as always, though her hair shimmered a bit more and her skin gleamed with a rainbow-like radiance due to her slightly scaled skin.

Rhea looked at Scott, and noted that he cut a rather dashing figure in his man-hammock. She had seen it every day, but apparently none of the women on the beach had seen so much well-toned manliness packed into a single person.

One girl shouted, “I love fairies! Let’s be friends!”

Even Ero had a burgeoning fan club. The little fairy fluttered up into the air then performed a cutesy spin maneuver. She then winked and blew a kiss to the crowd. Dozens of people screamed in excitement and at least one young girl fainted straight away.

“Yeah, we should go...” said Scott. He reached up and collected his bouncy little BFF.

Ero giggled then squirmed around in his hand a little. “It’s fine to hold me tight, but don’t be so rough. I might start to like it.”

Rhea rolled her eyes then shook her head. A small smile crossed her lips not long after, however.

Sharde noticed the interaction then sighed softly. It seemed quite unfair that she had to be left out, but if her plans came to fruition she would have her own adventure soon enough.

The business suited ninjas followed along with them while maintaining their absolute circle of defense. No matter how the crowd moved, the ninjas kept them in line. Eventually they made their way off the beach and into a nearby area where a simple cart was waiting.

“I’ve prepared a cart for you...” said Sharde happily.

Rhea smiled. “With this kind of greeting, I would have expected that you had rented a flying ship or something.”

Sharde laughed nervously, “Well... We sort of blew the budget that I had set aside on our costuming. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to acquire a proper business suit in a quasi-medieval setting.”

Another dozen business ninjas appeared suddenly. Their sunglasses were as black as midnight, and they wore expressions that could have been chiseled out of ice.

The newcomer ninjas lined up on either side of the cart and acted as a sort of honor guard. The cart was a simple thing, but it was a nice touch.

The quartet moved forward and hopped onto the back of the new ride. The driver revealed himself soon after.

“Hey Gambol.” said Scott.

The man beamed a bright smile at the finned sorcerer. It was a smile that practically screamed,
Sempai noticed me!

Scott smiled back in a friendly manner and then nodded. It was nice to see the odd, but talented ninja once more. It also helped to have another guy around. He was still outnumbered, but it was a better ratio.

Gambol squealed a little then coughed. “I’ll take us out then.”

Sharde patted the man on the arm then made a forward motion. “Get along little Gambol.”

“Ya!” cried the ninja master. The mule pulling the cart turned around and gave him a
look
.

Gambol frowned at the stubborn creature then snapped the reins once more. The mule yawned loudly then lifted its tail to the side and proceeded to unload a steaming pile of ‘
Nope
’ right in front of everyone. It was a particularly foul smelling pile at that.

“Dammit Gambol...” said Sharde.

“Hey, this mule came highly recommended!”

“By who?”

Gambol blinked at Sharde. “Silence....”

Rhea groaned loudly. Sharde just shook her head.

“Silence?” asked Scott. Ero fluttered over and stood on his head before she leaned down to listen in to the conversation. She was interested as well.

“My brother...” said Rhea. She shook her head. Leave it to Silence to pull something like this.

Sharde nodded at Rhea, but then she looked to Scott. “You grew up on a farm or something, right?”

“Not really... We had a few animals and tilled a little soil, but it was more of a really big garden than an actual farm.” said Scott.

“Think you can get the old girl to move?” asked Gambol.

Scott shrugged. “Maybe she’s just hungry?”

He got out then went to check on the mule. The grey haired creature eyed him curiously for a moment.

Scott reached out to the mule and she barred her teeth at him. He responded by saying, “That’s an ugly smile for such a pretty girl.”

The mule flicked her ears back then tilted her head to the side. What was this fool talking about?

Scott reached out to her again and she tilted her head farther back. He shook his head. “No, I won’t hurt you.”

He started to speak in low-soft tones to the old girl and soon the mule decided to let him rub her face a little. “Who’s a pretty mule...?”

Rhea snorted when the mule started to swish her tail back and forth. Sharde glanced at her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Rhea glanced over to her sister. “That guy... I swear it’s like I can’t take him anywhere without some girl shaking her tail at him.”

Sharde blinked then looked at Scott chatting with the mule. To her surprise the ornery creature reached her head up and licked the side of his face. Sharde’s eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously? Even a mule gets more of a shot than me?”

Rhea giggled at her sister. Sharde turned and pouted at her. Life wasn’t fair.

***

The meeting place that Sharde had chosen proved to be quite serene. It was a rustic cabin surrounded by a mountain forest. There was a small pond nearby, and a mountain chain that provided a glorious backdrop for the next leg of their journey.

Scott reached out and rubbed Emma, the mule, behind her ears. The obstinate creature had refused to part with him after they had reached the isolated cabin. Instead, she had opted to lower her body to the ground so that she could place her head on his lap.

Ero pouted at the overly possessive mule then sighed. Emma looked far too comfortable in that position. The tiny fairy was not happy about the situation at all. Sure, Emma was only a mule, but Ero wanted to be able to put her head on Scott’s lap as well.

Sharde and Rhea currently sat next to each other while they hashed out a plan of action. Scott listened attentively, but he also focused on several more mundane tasks. One of which had to do with the need to increase Ero’s level a bit. He had enough experience built up that he could raise her level to eleven with no trouble at all.

Until Rhea and Ero caught up to him, he did not plan to increase his personal level. The extra ability points and money would be useful to further his development. Though, a lot of his points would go to increase Ero’s abilities for the immediate future.

Thankfully, her abilities were relatively expensive but she did not currently have many of them. They were all powerful and useful, however.

“Scott, what do you think?” asked Rhea.

He nodded to her. “I think so. It would make sense to send the teams out in three person units. The total cost for the operation is a little steep, but it’s fine. I mean, Crimson Shadow is still checking out Corpse Rat for free as well.”

“Right, so twelve teams of three at forty thousand per ninja...” Sharde calculated the costs rapidly then added in the extraneous amounts and service fees.

“One hundred sixty thousand up front plus an additional fifteen thousand per team, per day, after one week has passed.” said Sharde.

Scott’s sphincter clenched and spasmed, but he forced himself to relax. The teams would be doing more than just absently searching. They would gather vital information about the Shar-Shar, the queen, and possibly the location of the kidnapped mermaids.

“Could we pay you two hundred thousand, for ten days upfront?” asked Scott curiously.

Sharde rubbed her chin. “Ten days would be two hundred five thousand Fayth. I suppose we could knock off the last five thousand and start off with a ten day search.”

Scott smiled at Sharde and she blushed a little. They had already gotten the friends and family discount, so that extra reduction had been solely for his benefit. “Thank you, for doing this for us.”

“No problem. I can’t see any way for this mission to be profitable for you, though.” said Sharde.

Scott shrugged. “I don’t care about that. There are a lot of young and overly affectionate mermaids being held captive.”

He continued, “We can make money anywhere, but I can’t make new mermaids, or restore their innocence once it’s lost.”

“So heroic...” said Sharde. Her eyes lit up and she grinned at him in a toothsome manner.

“Down girl.” Rhea poked her sister in the shoulder.