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Chapter 243: The War for Earth is Brewing
🕑 Added 2023-07-26 17:37:00 +0000 UTCHarambe chewed on a bananarm as he watched the others speak. The fruit juices ran over his chiseled jaw, dripped to his muscular chest, then collapsed to the ground between his trunk-like legs. He finished the bananarm and reached up the tree to get another.
“Are you paying attention, Harambe?” the human woman with glasses asked him. Harambe nodded. “Good. How do you propose we go about this?”
He stared at her emptily. Though he’d recently developed the Very Big Thought of Muscles, his speaking muscles remained weak.
“Harambe… Wants…” He started saying, then gave up. He shrugged. Beating his chest lightly, he pointed at himself.
“Are you saying you’ll handle it?” the woman asked him.
He nodded.
“There are many points of entrance to this forest, Harambe. Even with our energy walls, one person is not enough. If it was, we could just rely on Sparman.”
Leaning against a tree opposite her, Sparman gave a thumbs-up. “Thank you for your trust. As much as I would love to run around this forest all day every day to prevent random weaklings from setting it on fire, I unfortunately lack the speed.”
“See what you did?” the woman pointed to the robot while looking at Harambe. “Now you got him talking.”
“Oh, so I can run myself dry to protect you, but I cannot complain about it. Okay. I guess my iron bones will rattle in my grave, which I will make sure is dug directly under your bed.”
“You have no bones. I checked.”
“Just because I sound full when you knock on me, doesn’t mean I actually am full. Wait—I am. Full of your shi—”
“Language, Sparman. Please.”
Harambe was always baffled by this. How could this woman talk back to Sparman the robot, who was so much stronger than herself? Did she not fear he would accept her challenge?
Which he never did. The disrespect he could stand was stunning…but then again, it was always like that with humans, even metal ones. They made little sense.
Maybe they broken, he realized, a sun appearing over his head. Hmm. Yes. Head muscles go strong.
“So, since none of you have meaningful suggestions, let me propose a plan,” the woman said. “We will split the forest into four sections. Harambe, you and your brorillas will defend the northeastern part, since your home is here. The forces of the Bare Fist Brotherhood will handle the northwestern area, while Sparman will take the entire southern half. I know it is a bit much, but at least it’s better than defending the full length of the perimeter, as you have been doing so far.”
Sparman raised a brow. “I can handle more than that.”
“I know you can, but you’ve already been helping so much. Everyone needs some rest once in a while. Even D-Grade robots.”
He stared at her suspiciously for a moment, then laughed. “Thanks, professor. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
Harambe also didn’t have a problem with this arrangement. He’d always claimed that his pack could protect themselves. However, he did have a question; one he couldn’t properly articulate, but he didn’t need to. He looked at the professor and asked, “Edgar?”
The magic man was strong. He had fought the ice man in the sky over the forest, wielding powers that even Harambe himself had not possessed at the time. He was the strongest human present; therefore, he should stand at the front to defend his pack.
“Edgar won’t fight,” the woman said, shaking her head. “I know you don’t understand this, but trust me when I say there is no other choice. He has already done his best.”
Harambe frowned deeply. Perhaps he should visit the magic man and make sure his head was in the right place.
“Hey, hoh, keep it in your pants,” Sparman chimed in. “We’ve been through this before. Don’t get violent with our allies.”
“Yes,” Harambe replied immediately. The robot was undeniably stronger than himself; he had to obey. In fact, this robot was the strongest creature Harambe had ever seen.
But…brother Jack? he wondered, thinking back to the man to whom he’d entrusted his only son. By now, perhaps he would be strong enough to fight the robot.
Or not.
Harambe found his heart muscles clenching. He wished for Jack to be safe, because that would mean Brock, his son, was also safe. But it would also mean they were weak. Strength did not come from safety; it came from danger and battle, surviving predators and hunting prey.
Harambe had realized this recently, when lifting weights no longer made him stronger. He yearned for battle; to work out by lifting his life up and down the line of death.
That would make his muscles really shine. It was also why he was excited about his new assignment.
“Enough?” he asked.
“If nobody has an objection, then yes,” the woman replied. “This meeting is dismissed.”
Harambe didn’t need to be told twice. He turned around and walked on his knuckles to reach the clearing where his brorillas waited for the news. After that…he would rush to the border of the forest and wait for the poor invaders.
No matter who came, he was going to beat them up.
***
“Jack joined the Exploding Sun!?” Vanderdecken exclaimed, sipping from his mug. “That’s superb! I knew he had it in him!”
“It’s a double-edged blade,” the professor replied with a sigh, sitting opposite him in the Bare Fist Brotherhood headquarters. She looked like she’d just returned from a walk in the forest. “He will now get much stronger…but our enmity with the Animal Kingdom is cemented. Any chance of reconciliation or mercy is gone. The moment the grace period ends, they will attack and annihilate us.”
“Oh, dud— ma’am. That sounds terrible! And you want me to join?”
“You will have to pick a side anyway,” she replied. “There aren’t many E-Grades on the planet, and you are the most famous of them, with the exception of Jack. Even the planet’s greatest rock star is nothing but a pawn to the Animal Kingdom’s games.”
Vanderdecken shuffled in his seat. “And if I don’t?”
“We will have nothing to say about it, naturally. But the Ice Peak will. Anyone not their ally is their enemy, so don’t be surprised if Alexander himself shows up at your next concert.”
“I’ll sing the hell out of him.”
“You can try. However, if even Edgar couldn’t defeat him, what makes you think you can?”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m pretty strong.”
The professor sighed. “I made you misunderstand. It doesn’t matter if you’re stronger than Alexander, because he won’t come fairly. You saw what happened to Brother Tao’s monastery. He will scout you out and bring the appropriate amount of troops so you have no chance.”
“He came fairly for Edgar.”
“It was a calculated risk because he knew he could win.”
“Fair enough.” Vanderdecken leaned back, passing a hand through his long dark hair. “Dude… I hate this. Why do I have to get involved in a war? I just want to sing.”
“You can always hide away. Find a remote island and sing to the waves for a year. Nobody will bother you then.”
“The waves cannot appreciate my music. Without my fans, I would die of boredom.”
“I understand. Which is why I insist you have to pick a side. And, between us and a tyrant, who will you go for?”
Vanderdecken narrowed his eyes. “You sound like you’re trying a bit too hard.”
“You know my allegiance. Obviously, I am not impartial, but facts don’t lie. Look at the situation of our territories. In our half of the world, we are ushering in a new era, with System-oriented development and timely support for the areas that were impacted the most. Meanwhile, the Ice Peak territory is deeply sunken into poverty. People are exploited and forced to level-up like madmen. They die in scores. Families are torn apart, children starve to death, the elderly are abandoned, and those who cannot fight are decimated by diseases and uncontrolled beast hordes. All while their ruined cities dig out their own flesh to offer soldiers for Alexander’s armies.”
Vanderdecken flinched. “You’re painting a vivid image.”
“He does. I just say things as they are.”
“Why don’t they rebel?” the metal bard asked. “If the situation in those areas is so terrible compared to your territories, why don’t the people just rise up for themselves?”
“Because all power is under the Ice Peak’s complete control. Plus, they have no idea—information is so strictly regulated in that half of the world that they think everyone is suffering like they are. They don’t like Petrovic, but they think we are even worse.”
“Can’t you just…let them know? Airdrop leaflets or something?”
The professor smiled sadly. “We’re trying, but it’s not that easy. The spread of information is a battlefield just like any other. Our forces contain entire organizations focused on cultural and ideological warfare.”
“Just like the Ice Peak, I suppose.”
“Yes. It is an undesirable but unavoidable aspect of war.”
“And I suppose you also plant your own propaganda?”
“We do. There is no need to lie about it—not to you.” The professor shook her head. “It is just part of war. Whether you want to call it informational warfare or propaganda, everyone does it. Even the good side.”
“So you are not the good guys here. You’re just one side of the conflict.”
“We are better than the Ice Peak and the Animal Kingdom. Are we saints? No. But are as virtuous as we can be? Yes. We just cannot afford to pull punches.”
Vanderdecken shook his head. His eyes were conflicted. “I don’t know, dude… I’ll need to think about this,” he said. “It is all so ugly. I’m not sure I wanna get involved.”
“You can make your own choice,” the professor said, standing up to dismiss him. Her gray hair and white glasses caught a glint of sunlight from the window, illuminating her deeply sunken eyes. If Vanderdecken wasn’t already feeling defensive, he would have felt pity for her—an old lady forced to take the world on her shoulders. “In the meantime, you are free to stay here or leave. Nobody will stop you. I just pray that, if the Ice Peak comes knocking, you will not make the wrong choice.”
“I will not ally with them,” he assured her. “I know they suck ass—and sorry for the language. I’m just not sure if I want to dirty my soul by getting involved in a war that, in the end, will matter very little. We’re all going to die, anyway.”
“Jack will return before the grace period is over, Vanderdecken,” the professor said, her voice taking on a hard edge. “He is out there trying to save the world. He has already gone above and beyond anything we ever thought possible. He will find a way, I know it. And when he does, the groundwork we’ve set with blood and tears will let us save millions, if not billions of lives. A new world will dawn, free of oppression; but not if we give up during the night.”
“I sure hope you’re right, professor,” Vanderdecken replied, standing himself. He picked up the electric guitar and slung it over his shoulder, then extended a hand. He hadn’t felt so tired in…a long time. “In any case, thank you for your time. I will think deeply about what you said.”
“I hope so, Vanderdecken. Fare well.”
Comments
Valerios
Ohh, good idea!
Namorat
Honestly? Next time he should just leave him be. Shall he rot in a cell. Not being able to fight mentally is one thing, but here he seems so very dismissive after just being rescued from a short remaining life of slavery and he won’t even commit to join Jack’s side? Very disappointing
Yeetis
Kind of wish we got to see what's going on on the entire world in general, not just like 2 groups of ten to a hundred people now suddenly having control over the entire world and casually ignoring international boundaries. Isn't most of Earth kinda chill? Least in terms of monsters running around. Might have just forgotten if this was explained somewhere along the line, but the whole 'fate of the world hangs in the balance' doesn't hit the same with it just being focused on so few people. They're supposed to be the strongest force on Earth right now but it doesn't really feel like it. Most if not all can still die via conventional munitions. I'd love to see the ramifications of all this on a global scale.
Nick Nicholson
So jack saves vanderdecken from slavery and the dude won’t even help his people? What a pussy
