Earth: The Second

Fetchers

“Jeez, calm down would you, Adma? I just say that by bringing you here, that old man probably wants to ease up and work together with us!” persuades Gon to Adma who is being in the bad mood since the last hour they are here.

“Excuse me, but I have personal value myself for not being compared to an exhibition material!” complained Adma.

Right now, both of them are walking uphill to the top of the mountain, because of the steep road ahead, they can not advance with their horses. That’s why they leave them at the bottom to rest before they would continue the journey.

The only way to reach the top is through the stairs that made to encircle the entire mountain. They got nothing to hold on to except the wall on their right side. Right now, Adma, Rika, and Gon are climbing those stairs in a single row.

It’s going to be a long way, that is why previously they decide to eat first, to converse energy.

“Hah… Hah… But still… This is more difficult than I thought…” said Gon. He is walking in the front, while Adma watching them from the back, making sure that they are fine.

“Teach… We’re just started walking for 15 minutes!” shouted Rika in the middle.

“I can’t… Let’s rest for a moment,” asked Gon. He leans back to the wall and sitting at one of the stairs. Gon stretched his feet forward and massaging his sore muscle.

“Ah, yes. I forgot that you’re always bad with physical activities,” complaint Rika.

“Do you have to say that? You can’t have two benefits at the same time! New lesson! If you want to be excellent at something, you have to let down the other thing! That goes for you too, Adma!” replies Gon, which makes Adma lift one of his eyebrows.

“Since when did I become your student too?”

“What? You want me to be your father instead?”

Gon giggling at Adma and Rika, which turns out to also make them showed a slight smile. 

“Shut up and started walking again! Do you want to meet that man after the sun is setting?” replied Adma.

“Alright, alright,” Gon is getting back up, and advancing to the stairs ahead. Step by step, they keep getting higher, and the wind does grow stronger.

“Watch out for your step!” Adma reminded them from behind. Because of the wind, he has to shout toward the group.

There is no answer. Probably, his voice is not loud enough, or maybe their ears are just bunged by the air pressure. Nevertheless, he keeps watching from behind, making sure that everything is fine.

Hazily, he hears a noise coming from behind him. It sounds thrumming the air, just like how bugs make noise when they fly near your ears. Adma’s instinct kicked in.

“I know this sound before…” he said as he turned his face to the left. Over there, he sees a flock of birds, that fly upward, to the direction that they are heading now.

Except… They are not birds.

Instead of fur, that creature has a metallic-like case carved into some kind of artsy shape. And instead of wings, they are flying using some kind of movement that coming from above their bodies.

“Is that… A drone?” said Adma to himself, those flock of ‘drones’ looked like flying to the top of the mountain, the direction they are heading now.

“Hey! Do you guys see that?” shouted Adma. “Where are those things coming from?”

Gon noticed Adma for a moment and looked upwards. 

“Ah! Do you mean the ‘Fetchers?’ They are quite common here, together with many other of his invention!” replied Gon.

“Fetchers? Invention?” asked Adma. “Is that made by this Hepaetus guy?” 

“Of course! That is why we are going to meet him after all. An ex-master forger for the kingdom. He also excels at inventing machines like that!” 

Question and curiosity filling Adma’s mind. Certainly, this is not the first time they are seeing that machines. Especially for Adma, since he is already familiar with the concept of autonomous vehicles a long time ago.

“And Hepaetus reinvent it again in this era,” said Adma.

He heard one of the noises again, and one ‘Fetcher’ flying to the group. This one special machine is rather different because it’s not carrying any minerals like other machines. Instead, its claw is holding into something shiny, with a cone around it.

The machine is not doing anything, it just hovering around Gon, Rika, and Adma. 

As Adma being cautious of what it will do, another trouble suddenly emerges.

“Kyaaa!” Rika is screaming almost together with the sound of crumbling stones. She can’t maintain her balance and slipped on a steep wall.

“Rika!”

“Watch out!”

Adma is screaming, he jumped at the right time and catches Rika’s hand. But with Adma’s position that dropped his torso to the wall, he can’t move to grab anything. If this continues, both of them will fall to the bottom, and who knows if they will manage to survive?

“Shape: Ice axe!” shouted Adma quickly. Navigator quickly responded by changing the shape of Adma’s hand, into a piece of curved equipment with a sturdy sickle-like shape at the pick of the equipment. Adma quickly slammed that axe to the wall, and it successfully stopped their falling. 

“Almost...There... “ Said Adma. “Shape variation!: Ice axes, spider legs shape!” again, Adma shouted, and Navigator executes. Four similar ice axes appeared around Adma’s torso and piercing through the mountain wall, finally stabilize his position around that steep surface.

Adma focused on moving those axes, and now he turned into very similar to spiders.

“Hold on!” shouted Adma as he brings Rika back to safety.

A moment later, Adma and Rika returned to the stairs. Adma had reverted his transformation, but Rika still not letting go of his hand.

“Dear The Sevens! I thought I would lose you guys over there!” shouted Gon. “Anyway, what is that Adma!? I don’t know that you can do that last time we met!” shouted Gon.

Adma is panting, maybe because he feels an adrenaline stimulus inside his brain.

“I’ll tell you later, for now on, let’s just continue the paths,” he said. Adma realized that Rika is still clinging to his left hand.

“Um… Rika?”

“I’m sorry, but please let me continue like this…” she said, almost trembling. Adma is struck for a moment because he has never seen Rika act like this before. Is she hiding the fact that she actually afraid of heights?

“Uh… Sure… Let’s proceed slowly,” said Adma.

In the end, along the way, Adma used his right hand to guide Rika behind him. While the girl is holding tightly into the man’s wrist.

Adma does not realize that the previous drone is nowhere to be seen.

***

The exact time that they need to reach the top is one hour and nine minutes. Gon is almost passed out at the end of the stairs, while Rika is still holding onto Adma’s arm.

“I can’t… I will die!!!” complaint Gon. he already lied on the ground, stretching his feet.

“Rika, it’s fine now, we have reached the top of the mountain,” ask Adma.

“Ah! Yes! Thank you!” realizing her state right now, the girl is quickly letting go of Adma’s hand. Her face is blushing red as she fixing her round glasses. This scene in front of Adma makes him think twice about the tomboyish girl since she has never shown this face before.

There was awkward silence around them until Gon purposefully spouting jokes.

“Apparently, just like poets said: true love can only be found in the hardest time!”

Rika’s face grows even redder. She walked to Gon that is lying on the ground and kicking her teacher’s butt.

“Ouch! Hey! I’m still your teacher!” shouted Gon.

Adma just letting out a sigh,

“We have arrived at the top of the mountain, but I don’t see any places that can be called blacksmith or forgery,” said Adma.

“Well, you’re right on point!” replied Gon while he getting up. The places where they are standing right now have nothing but stones and wild weeds. There is no building, no home, and not even a sign that showed the existence of a forgery that Hepaetus is supposed to live.

“Hey teach, if we are at the wrong mountain, I’ll strangle you!” Rika threatened.

“First, stop with the bullying! Second, yes, we are on the right mountain. just like Hepaetus instruction that he sent!”

“No offense. But isn’t that person supposed to hate you or something? What if he just sent a letter to misdirect us?” asked Adma.

For a moment, Gon is quiet. “...Well, I know that we have never met face to face before, and all of the letters I sent him are mainly about the concept idea that he would probably like… But if he is really bothered by my letter, why won’t he just stopped to replying it?”

“How much is the letter you have sent for him?” asked Adma.

“I don’t remember, around one hundred I guess.”

“Then how much is replied back by him?”

“...Eight.”

Now Adma is kind of confused. Since the beginning, Gon speaks like he knows Hepaetus very well, and even acts like they have known each other for a long time. But he followed the direction of someone he never met before, and even defend him without critically thinking of what could go wrong.

“You’re his admirer aren’t you? A fan?” accuse Adma.

Hearing that, Gon letting out a laugh. “Hahaha! What are you talking about! No way! The only person I admire in this world is myself!”

“Yes, he is admiring Hepaetus so much, he even gives up our monthly budget to buy all of his books!” spout Rika.

Again, this fight between teacher and student is making Adma dizzy. He silently hopes that his brain won’t go overheat.

The only lead that he has right now is the flock of drones that he previously sees. Rather, he should call it with the local’s name: the ‘Fetchers’.

Suddenly, around the same time, a thumping sound of the propeller can be heard near them. Adma turned around, and see that one drone, that previously stalking them is hovering around him.

And suddenly, with the sound of a machine, it speaks.

“Guests of Master Hepaetus, please wait for a moment before he is accepting your arrival.”