Chapter 14 - Past and Present
Arc and Ember wait a few minutes after they hear the exterior door close before recalling their armor. Ember frowns.
“Well, that was a colossal waste of time.”
Arc shakes his head. “I disagree.”
“Yes, well… we did get to spend the day with Lily and Shelly, so I suppose…”
“I mean they actually told us quite a bit.”
“How so, Arc?”
“We now know The Riders are working with the Shards.”
“I already knew that!”
“Maybe. But until now we had no proof.”
“They’re all the same!”
“True. But different gangs, at least here on Earth, don’t usually work well together.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “Tell that to Stingray.”
Arc puts a hand under his chin. “Yes. I do wonder how she managed to pull that off.”
“To say nothing about the trucks.”
“More questions, few answers as usual.”
“Where do we start?”
“By finding The Rider hideout.”
“How?”
“Hopefully the guys can find something we can use in that regard on the Internet.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “Oh really. You think they advertise?”
“No. But I’m guessing at least a couple of their members can be found blabbing about some heist online somewhere.”
“Like the pizza parlor incident?”
Arc chuckles. “Probably not that one. But you get the idea.”
“Yeah, well… we should probably tell Shelly and Lily those thugs are gone.”
“Agreed.”
The pair leave the Pantry and head back to the front. Shelly is ringing up a check. Arc puts a hand on her shoulder as they approach. She turns to him as Lily approaches.
“Are… are you finished in back?”
Arc nods. “Yes. They’re gone.”
Lily breathes a sigh of relief. “Good!”
Shelly hands a receipt to the customer before her. “Is… is he still here by any chance.”
“Who? Oh! Uh… sorry, but he had to go.”
Shelly looks down sadly. “Oh.”
Ember steps forward. “Don’t worry, Shelly. He said he didn’t want to slow things down, as the restaurant was so busy.”
Arc looks over, confused. “He did?”
“Yeah. Don’t you remember, Arc? He said he’d come back later.”
“When?”
“After the restaurant closed.”
Arc sighs. ”Oh… right.”
Shelly smiles. “Really?!”
Arc nods. “Yes. He’ll come to the Pantry again later tonight.”
Lily turns to Shelly. “We’ll be ready. Should we close early?”
Ember shakes her head. “I think he’ll give you plenty of time.”
Arc grabs Ember’s arm. “Right. Well, we should be going.”
Shelly looks over to him. “Won’t you stay for a bite to eat, Arc?”
“Not tonight. We have a lot of papers to go over at home.”
Ember frowns. “We do?”
“Yes. All that info on The Riders. Remember?”
Ember sighs. “Right. That.”
Lily waves after them. “See you later, Arc.”
Shelly calls out after him. “Let us know if anything changes with Frank.”
“I will.”
The pair head out the door and walk over to the Jeep. Hoping in Arc starts the engine and pulls out of the parking lot. He frowns.
“What was that all about, Ember?! Telling Shelly the Hero of Light’s going to show up all of a sudden!”
Ember sighs. “Sorry. It’s just… Shelly looked so sad when you told her he was gone. You think she has a crush on him?”
Arc shakes his head. “I doubt it. She’s not one for whirlwind romances.”
“Then why was she so insistent on seeing you? Him! You know what I mean.”
“Honestly, I have no idea. But I guess I’ll find out.”
Later that night the Arc enters the back door of Shelly’s Kitchen. Seeing all the lights off except for the Pantry he heads for it. Entering, the Hero finds Shelly and Lily waiting for him. Lily looks at him nervously.
“We… we heard you were a bit shy of people. So we waited for you here.”
Arc nods silently. Shelly looks up at him from her wheelchair.
“We won’t take up too much of your time, sir. But I felt the need to tell you something very important.”
Arc walks over to her but does not make a sound.
“You see, Lily and I have been watching your adventures on the news. It looks like you’ve taken on the task of dismantling the Shards.”
Arc remains silent as Shelly continues.
“Their leader, Frank Fontaine… he’s a very dear friend of ours.”
Lily nods. “We grew up together, you see.”
“Right. So I… I’d be very grateful if you could see it in your heart to not hurt him.”
Arc tilts his head to one side as if confused.
“I think everyone in town knows that eventually this is going to end in a fight between the Shards and you.”
Arc sighs and nods.
Shelly looks to him nervously. “We’ve seen so much of your strength and abilities on TV. It would probably be a simple task for you to snap our friend and his followers like twigs.”
Lily nods. “That and I don’t think anyone would, or even could, stop you.”
“Yes. So if you would be willing to… go easy on him, we’d really appreciate it, sir.”
Shelly slowly, and with great effort, stands. Lily helps her hobble over to the Hero. She looks at him sadly for a long moment.
“I… Lily and I grew up with Frank in an Orphanage in another town some ways away. When we got older our friend Arc invited us to come live with him in his parent’s old house. We stayed there for a while and learned how to cook. How to… take care of ourselves.”
Shelly looks around the Pantry.
“This room hasn’t changed much since then.”
Lily picks up. “Back then it was owned by a kindly old chef named Mr. Hooper. He hired Lily as a waitress and me as a hostess.”
Shelly smiles. “Mr. Hooper even taught us his recipes.”
Lily nods and smiles as she remembers the past.
“Yes. He was so very nice to us. Even when we made mistakes.”
Lily looks down sadly. “But one day we came to work to find the restaurant locked. I went up the stairs and knocked on his apartment door. But I couldn’t rouse him.”
“We waited for a bit. But he didn’t come down.”
“Shelly and I went down the street and called the police. They came out and… and…”
Lily’s voice trails off as Shelly picks up the story.
“They forced the door open and went inside. The police found him still in his bed… unresponsive.”
Lily nods. “A week later we attended his funeral. Pretty much the whole town was there to honor Angel Groove’s grandest man.”
Shelly closes her eyes and smiles. “Every business shut down in honor of him. The main street was closed to traffic. Marshal Raynor even organized a motorcade to escort the hearse out of town to the cemetery.”
Lily sighs. “Shelly and I attended the graveside service with our friend Arc.”
“We were his only family , you see. I can still remember looking out over the cemetery as the gray clouds opened up and a cool spring rain began to fall. As if the heavens themselves were weeping at the passing of the man who gave us a chance.”
Shelly is silent for a time as Lily takes over.
“A lawyer came a few days later with a letter from Mr. Hooper. He… he left us every worldly possession he had. The restaurant and everything in it.”
“Yes. But it wasn’t the same without him around. At the time, at least to us, it seemed as if everyone important to us always…”
Lily hangs her head. “My parents abandoned me when I was a baby. Shelly’s parents both died about the same time.”
“You see… Lily and I, we… made new friends. Arc… and then Frank.”
Shelly reaches a hand into her uniform pocket. Pulling something out she looks at it sadly for a moment before turning her gaze up to the armored man before her.
“I only have this to remember my parents by.”
She takes his gauntlet and puts the item into it before closing his fingers around the items and covering it with her hand.
“If… if you would please spare Frank’s life, I’ll give you these. I know they’re not worth much money. But to me at least, they’re priceless.”
Arc looks down at his gauntlet and holds his hand out toward Shelly. She pushes it away and shakes her head as tears form in the corners of her eyes.
“Please… take them. Take them and spare Frank! Please!”
Arc nods silently.
“Thank you, sir.”
Lily carefully turns and helps Shelly back into her wheelchair. “Yes. Thank you for coming.”
Shelly looks back up as she sits. “We won’t take up any more of your…”
They look around the room, but the Hero of Light is nowhere to be seen. Lily gasps.
“Where did he…?”
“I don’t know. One moment he was here. The next…”
Lily pushes the wheelchair out of the Pantry. “Do you think he’ll make good on his word?”
Shelly nods and smiles as she wipes the tears from her eyes. “I believe he will. He’s a good person. That much I can just feel.”
Meanwhile, Arc reappears outside the restaurant. He looks at the items in his gauntlet silently before raising his other hand to open a portal. Stepping through he reappears in his basement. Arc’s squad hurries over to him and salutes. Max is the first to speak.
“Everything go alright, sir?”
Arc recalls his armor but keeps his fist clenched.
“Y-yeah. Shelly and Lily are just fine.”
Hugh looks relieved. “That’s good.”
Viktor nods. “Yes. The two of them are very nice humans.”
Xenos sees Arc’s expression. “Sir? Is something wrong?”
Arc looks at his closed hand. “I… I’m sorry, but I need to be alone right now.”
He walks over to the stairs and slowly climbs them as his squad looks to each other and shrugs. They return to the table and continue to go over papers. Xenos looks to Hugh.
“What do you suppose is wrong with the commander?”
“You don’t suppose something’s up with Lily or Shelly, do you?!”
Max shakes his head. “No. If something was wrong he wouldn’t have left them.”
Viktor sighs. “Well, let’s see if we can come up with something for him to go on by tomorrow morning then.”
The squad nods in agreement. Meanwhile, Arc passes Ember and Sereb sitting on the couch together
“Hey! How did it go?”
Arc does not stop or look over.
“I… just fine. But right now I need some time to think.”
He proceeds up the stairs alone. Ember looks to Sereb.
“Uh… what just happened?”
“Arc is very upset by something.”
Ember stands up. “I should go to him.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I sense a great deal of grief in him right now.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “You can sense grief now?!”
Sereb nods. “I always could.”
“How?!”
“Personal experience. Although you may wish to help him, there are some things in life one must work through alone.”
Ember frowns as she sits back down. “Fine.”
Meanwhile, Arc enters his parent’s room. He closes the door and sits down on his bed. Cherry’s voice reverberates in his head.
“Arc. I’m here.”
Arc looks at his closed hand. “Thank you, Cherry.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Shelly and Lily… Frank… we’re the same, you know. We all lost our parents and had to make do with what life dealt us.”
“Everypony does, Arc.”
“Well, some more than others.”
Arc sighs.
“I remember Mr. Hooper too.”
“He was your friend?”
Arc nods sadly. “My dad used to take me there for dessert after supper sometimes when I was a little boy.”
“Happy memories?”
“Yeah. He was always working the counter with his wife, Sarai.”
Arc smiles.
“If any two people were ever in love, they were. “
“What happened to her?”
“She fell ill, and… never quite recovered.”
“I’m sorry.”
Arc sighs. “I remember his place being closed for a week. That in and of itself was hard on the town.”
“How so?”
“Hooper’s was the backbone of the community. Everyone went there to celebrate after an event. Graduations, wedding receptions, parties, and even funerals usually ended there.”
Arc pauses before continuing.
“When I returned to Angel Grove many years later, I found that time had not been particularly kind to him.”
“What do you mean?”
“After coming home and getting a good night sleep, I walked over to Hooper’s. It was still a bustling center of the community. But I found that the man responsible for that had endured much since I went to the orphanage.”
“Hard times?”
“Yes. Mr. Hooper told me he had survived a heart attack recently. And while he was currently doing better I saw that he didn’t move as fast as he used to and was much less vibrant than I remember him being.”
Arc pauses before continuing.
“He… he was never a supporter of Frank or the Shards, but… he never gave up on any of us.”
“Why would he have?”
“We were kinda infamous around town for getting into trouble. Nothing too serious, mind you. Shoplifting from the stores for things the gang needed mostly.”
“I… I saw that in your memories.”
“You did, huh?”
“Yes, Arc. Remember, you’ve hidden nothing from my gaze.”
“I suppose this must make you think less of me.”
“Quite the opposite, actually.”
“Huh?”
“What did he say when you told him of your plans to make the world a better place with the Shards?”
“I… um… he asked me… why.”
“And you didn’t really know, did you?”
“No.”
“And his response?”
Arc smiles. “He said… ‘you don’t need a reason to help people’.”
“Arc, I see from your memories that Mr. Hooper spent his life making others happy. In doing so he found happiness himself.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I know so. But do you understand what he was really trying to do?”
Arc shrugs. “Make others happy. What else could there be?”
“He was trying to pass his wisdom on to you, Arc.”
“I… I suppose so. Giving others hope was what he was good at, after all.”
“That wasn’t all he gave.”
“Shelly and Lily. They were like daughters to him. He left them his restaurant and gave them a chance at a future.”
“You still miss him though. Don’t you?”
Arc nods. “I do. But one day I’ll see him again.”
“What will you tell him?”
“A few things, actually.”
“Oh?”
Arc smiles as he continues. “Just… thank you. Thanks for not giving up on me. Thanks for being there. And… and thanks for giving Shelly and Lily a future.”
“I’m sure he’ll be very proud of all three of you.”
“I hope so.”
Arc opens his hand a looks at down.
“Shelly. I can’t believe you gave this to me!”
“What is it?”
“Her parent’s wedding rings.”
“She sought to trade them to you for Frank’s life. Shelly must care for him deeply to give up her most prized possessions.”
Arc sets the rings carefully in the nightstand’s drawer as he turns off the light. “That she does.”
“Shall we continue this conversation in our little Sanctuary?”
“I’d like that, Cherry.”
Arc sleeps peacefully through the night. As the first rays of sunlight hit his face he slowly opens his eyes and stares up at the ceiling.
“What a day yesterday was. Hopefully today goes better.”
Ember’s voice next to him rings out.
“I sure hope so.”
Arc turns to see his friend’s face pressed up against his chest.
“Good morning, Arc.”
“Morning.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry for being short with you last night.”
“It’s okay. I came up here later to comfort you, but found that you’d already gone to bed.”
Arc sits up. “Thanks.”
Ember looks at him as she sits up as well. “What for?”
“Caring.”
She smiles at him as they leave the room. “You taught me that, remember?”
Arc turns to her as they head down the stairs. “Did I?”
“Yup. But is smells like what you taught your squad is coming in handy right now.”
The pair enter the Kitchen together. Arc’s squad is just setting the food out. Max looks up.
“Good morning, sir.”
Xenos grins. “Feeling better?”
“Yes. Thanks for asking.”
Hugh looks worried. “Anything we can do to help?”
Arc shakes his head. “Nah. Just old memories of the past. I’m fine.”
Viktor sits down with the others. “We went over everything I could find on The Riders, sir.”
Ember looks hopeful. “Anything we can use?”
Xenos shakes his head. “Nothing too helpful, I’m afraid.”
Viktor sighs. “Those punks cause trouble around town and then ride off before the guards show up.”
Arc puts a stack of pancakes on Ember’s plate. “Any idea where their base is?”
Max sighs. “No sir.”
Ember frowns. “Not even some guesses?”
Hugh suddenly looks over. “Sir? Do you suppose they’re using magic to stay hidden?”
“I don’t think so. When I fought them the other day I didn’t see anything that would suggest any of them possessed such a thing.”
Viktor thinks for a moment. “We shouldn’t rule out the possibility though, sir.”
Ember eats happily. “Agreed!”
Sereb walks into the Kitchen. “Should we walk around town? I might be able to sniff them out?”
Arc shakes his head. “Farburg is a pretty big town. We could go over it for weeks and not find a thing.”
Max frowns. “Does that mean we’re stuck?”
Ember sighs. “I think so. We’ve gone over every news article available and come up with nothing.”
Arc taps a finger on the table. “Articles… news…”
Sereb looks over. “You’ve thought of something, Arc?”
“Kinda, sorta, maybe.”
Ember looks to him confused. “What does THAT mean?!”
“It means my idea is a total longshot.”
Xenos looks hopeful. “Sir?”
“Not every bit of information that is found makes it into the newspaper.”
Hugh nods. “I suppose not. But how does that help us?”
Ember turns to Arc. “You saying we should start asking around?”
“Kinda. Asking, yes. But just the right people.”
Max nods. “Who, sir?”
“I want to start with the media.”
Ember sighs. “Like that Minerva Moore on the TV?”
Arc smirks. “She’d be a good place to start, yes.”
Sereb growls. “She did show up at just the right time the other day.”
Xenos snaps his fingers. “That was pretty suspicious.”
Hugh turns to Arc. “Right. Perhaps she’s working with them.”
“Possible, but unlikely. I’ll have to ask her.”
Ember sighs. “When?”
“After breakfast.”
Max nods. “But how will we find her?”
“She’s with Channel 7. They have their studio right here in town.”
Xenos grins. “So she probably has an office there, right?”
“Exactly.”
Viktor heads for the basement. “I can get the address for you, sir.”
“Thanks, but I know where the TV studio is. It’s not too far from here.”
Ember frowns. “And if she IS working with those guys?!”
Sereb sighs. “Indeed. This could become very dangerous, very fast.”
Arc chuckles. “Don’t worry. I already have a plan.”
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Im pretty sure I missed that episode.
Crooks, cops, media, adventurers, theres one common place they all go for information.
Reet lads, time t' head t'th'pub.
10387564
Indeed. Hooper's Store was often portrayed as the center of gatherings.