Orso Fiction 011

Orso Fiction 011-Heading Out
“Hard to believe how fast all that happened…”, Nick Seese murmured. Alex Carroll nodded in agreement.

“I wonder how things will work, with them gone…”, he responded.

“We have plenty of people here capable of running things.”, Alicia Miller said quietly. “Like the Primo Varia.”

“To be more exact, Rachel is capable of running things.”, Alyssa Thurston said with a smile.

“I still can’t believe Zach and the others actually lost…”, Ashley Zester murmured.

“The Apostles flattened them…”, Michael Kreinar said. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that the Primo Guardians couldn’t fight at all.”

“Well, whatever happens…”, Zach Jacobs began “…the next year will be a little chaotic. We should all stay on our guard.”

“Exactly.”, Nick said, actively thinking of a way to remove Zach, the Secondo Varia Commander, from power.

---

“With the Guardians gone, we’ll need to be at the top of our game.”, Bradley Ratliff told the rest of the Primo Varia, distractedly attempting to hurriedly write notes in a notebook.

“Any ideas on how we do that?”, Rachel Larkin asked, walking over to turn his pencil around, so he would stop trying to write with the eraser.

“Well…What about that metal?”, Adrien Wagner asked. “Tammaro, that metalsmith Cody and Brittney brought back, has six brothers. Should we try to find them, so they can help Tammaro with making the Guardians better weapons?”

“That won’t be much good.”, Matt said bitterly. “We have no idea where it could be, what it is, or what it can be used for. All we know is that the Ferraro Family’s father is sending them these packages, and entrusting them with making those weapons. We need to be made aware of their existence before we can go hunt it down.”

“Well…Maybe I should have said this sooner…”, Megan Etheridge said, removing an envelope from her jacket and throwing it to Bradley’s desk. “But the second of the brothers just contacted us. He just received the package from his father.”

“Well, this is perfect!”, Hayley said. “A lot of the Orso are just itching to go do something, now. We can send some of the members who have been waiting to go retrieve it.”

“Alright...I’ll start setting up a team immediately.”, Bradley said, reading over the contents. Laura Wise snatched it from his hands.

"I'll take that. I haven't done anything in ages. Also, I'm the best at this.", she said, with no false modesty. "Oh, I have an idea for how to do this..."

Bradley sighed. He got no respect. Sure, there was that incident with the fire that one time, but he could be trusted with responsibility...

---

“Again, describe exactly what you saw.”, Taylor Houston said. Mike Fornaro was seated, and the other six Primo Agents were gathered around him anxiously.

“Well, I wasn’t too close…”, Mike began. “But I saw the Apostles’ eyes flash, and then the Guardians started dropping.”

“Did you hear anything?”, Allison Boyd asked. “The footage we got was all too far from the base to get any sound.”

“I heard a little, yeah.”, Mike said. “The Apostles mentioned how their powers were the reverse of the Guardians…”

“That doesn’t do us much good.”, Sabra Bushey said bluntly. Mike shrugged.

“Wherever they came from, they’re just as strong as the Guardians without those powers, and over the top right after they use them…”, Nicole Roberts said glumly.

“Yeah…The Guardians would have to be able to override those powers, and then be even stronger than they are now, to get a win on them…”, Jess Biemiller said slowly.

“We can’t lose hope, guys.”, Paige Lewis said, trying to keep everyone upbeat. “The Arcobaleno will be able to make those guys even stronger. We’ll be able to beat those Apostles next time.”

---

“I guess this is as good of practice as we’ll ever get for life without the Primos around.”, Cody Cooley said.

“It’s not all bad. I call dibs on Trevor’s room!”, Sam said, trying to maintain a positive attitude, but failing.

“We should be training just like they are.”, Eric O’Neil said, arms crossed.

“No…Boss said we were to stay here and keep an eye on things.”, Brittney Drummey said.

“We’ll have our turn to train.”, Ryan Atwell said. “Right now, it’s important that we don’t let too much discord hit the family. We need to be here to maintain stability.”

“Exactly.”, CJ Antolick said. “The Arcobaleno will be back in a year, and we’ll get our training then.”

“Guys…We need to be a lot stronger.”, Conner Warrell said suddenly, his Sky Dragon, Horus, laying over his shoulder. “So that something like this can never happen to us.”

The Secondo Guardians all nodded in agreement.

---

The Guardians gathered by the front door, the Arcobaleno alongside them.

“Are you sure you want to do it like this?”, Trevor asked. Zach hesitated, but nodded.

“This isn’t like you, Zach.”, Amy said. “You love to put on a big show for everything you do.”

“I…I don’t think I should, really.”, Zach said. “I think I should just leave quietly.”

“Well, your choice, I guess…”, Trevor sighed. He turned to Amy, and made a face that she understood to mean “We’re right, of course.”

“Wait! Hold up, please!”, a voice from behind a staircase came. Tammaro came rushing from behind it. “Hello! I’m Ferraro, the metalsmith, if you forgot. I’m glad I caught up to you.”

“What’s the matter?”, Maggie asked.

“Nothing’s the matter, Miss. It’s very good news. I think I’ve figured out what this is!”, Tammaro said, holding up a large chunk of red metal his father had sent him.

“And? What is it?”, Katie asked, excitedly.

“It’s a very Dying Will Flame-sensitive type of metal. Well, my father told me as much in the letter he sent me, but I think I’ve figured out how to shape it. The only catch is that I’ll need a little blood of the person who’s going to be using it. Just a little! I prepared some vials for you all, if you’ll come with me.”

The seven shrugged and followed the red-haired metalsmith to the lab Zach had allowed him.

“Now, this won’t take very long.”, Tammaro said, first getting some blood from Amy. “But as the Ferraro Family gathers here, it will be vital in making sure the weapon is a success. See, this kind of metal is incredible at making a weapon that matches the soul of the user. To make sure it realizes who its user IS, we need the blood. Otherwise, it might confuse US as its masters, and then you’d have a weapon perfect for me and my brothers. Not exactly ideal, you know?”

“So how long will making it take?”, Amy asked, as Tammaro moved onto Zach.

“Who knows? Thing is, my old man hinted to me that all seven of his sons need to work on the metal, because he taught each of us a step in the process. Not having all seven of us would mean the weapons would be incomplete. Guesswork isn’t happening, because I want these babies to be PERFECT.”

“And when can we expect your brothers?”, Zach asked.

“Eh. It won’t be long.”, Tammaro said, moving onto Maggie. “My old man isn’t the type to keep people waiting long. Actually, Sansone, my younger brother, gave me a call this morning. He got a package just like I did. He’s waiting in Egypt right now, actually.”

“Egypt?”, Maggie asked. Tammaro shrugged.

“The hunt for rare and precious objects takes us wherever.”, Tammaro said, moving onto Charlie and Stacie at the same time. “Sure, we’re metalsmiths, but we’re all treasure hunters, too. We take what we learn from the past, and shape our experiences into weapons for the future.”

“So what will these weapons end up being able to do?”, Charlie asked. “How will they be so special?”

“You kiddin’ me? That’s a ridiculous question. This weapon ain’t gonna be like any weapon you’ve had before. It’ll be like a partner, that reacts to your every thought, sensation, and feeling. It’ll guard your weaknesses, play to your strengths. It’ll be a reflection of your soul.”

“And why are you helping us?”, Stacie asked. “Not to sound rude.”

“Why you guys?”, Tammaro asked, moving onto Trevor and Katie. “Why not you guys? You’re a good bunch, in a tough spot. My old man has given me a challenge, and I intend to beat it. I’d like to say that when I’m done, I’ll leave, but hell, my lab is comfy. How’s about we negotiate me staying, once you’ve seen what I can do? I can make you guys all sorts of things. Everything from the mundane to the…arcane.”

“Sounds like a deal.”, Katie said, and Zach nodded in agreement.

“We’ll be looking forward to seeing these weapons turn out.”, Trevor said. “We’re putting our faith in your abilities.”

“You won’t be disappointed. No, sir. The Ferraro Family is the best at what we do. And what we do…is making things, making things better, and making things best. Alright. I’m done with you guys. I’ll pass these on to my brothers when they get here, alright? Okay, you guys were busy, so I’ll let you all back to it.”

The Guardians began to walk out of his lab.

“Oh, and Mr. Boss!”, Tammaro called. Zach turned to him. “Your family doesn’t wanna see you go out with a whimper, tail between your legs. They wanna see you without a drop of fear in your eyes. If I didn’t know better, I’d be personally offended you didn’t let them all know that when you come back, you’ll have a whole arsenal ready to beat those Apostle guys into the next galaxy, so there’s no reason to fear.”

Zach smiled.

“I think I might just do that.”, he said, chuckling, then ran to catch up to his Guardians. He pulled his phone from his pocket, and connected it to the PA system in the base.

“Hey, everyone, hold what you’re doing a sec, alright? I…I know we can beat them. We’ll get stronger. We’ll be better equipped. What I want from all of you is to not lose hope, alright?”, he said. “All seven of us. We’ll come back home safe and sound, and make sure this never happens again, alright? I’m sorry. Maybe I haven’t been the best boss. I expected too much, and didn’t do enough to make it happen. I let my guard down, and expected everything to be fine, and you all paid the price. And I’m sorry. But…stay with me. In one year, I’ll return to you even better than I am now. I’ll return home ready to prove to the world that hate can’t overpower us. We’re a family, damnit. It might sound cheesy, but you know I love my speeches that way. We’re the Orso! We! Will! Never! Fall!”

The Guardians were surprised by the massive wave of cheering they heard from outside, but opened the doors to see the entire family assembled to see them off. Zach began laughing.

“But I never had to worry about a one of you to start with, did I?”, he asked. He and the others began to walk out, saying their goodbyes to everyone close enough to talk to. As Zach passed the Varia, he pulled Rachel Larkin and Alex Carroll aside.

“Rachel…I’m counting on you to keep an eye on things around here. By which I mean keep an eye on Bradley.”, he said with a smile, hugging the girl. “He’s…a special kind of clever. Make sure he…doesn’t burn anything down again. You know I can really only trust you for the job.”

Rachel nodded, unsure of what to say.

“And Alex…I’m counting on you to keep an eye on Jess, alright?”

“Me? But why would I-“, Alex stammered back.

“The whole third generation likes you, man.”, Zach replied. “Just make sure they don’t worry too much. Look out for them, alright?”

“Understood.”, Alex said, lifting his bicep, extended in a 90 degree angle. Zach exchanged a Lariat Pound with him, as they had done since early in their friendship, and walked toward Mr. Cockley.

“Think you’re about done?”, he asked, patiently. Zach nodded.

“Yep. Alright, Ninja Grandmaster Cockley. We’ve got one year. Think you can make a man out of me?”

Mr. Cockley laughed.

“Zeke won’t know what hit him, after you’re done what I have planned for you.”, he replied, walking his new pupil into the sunset.

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=363 Days Until The Attack=