Chad blinked. "Uh. Me?"
Major Geoffries nodded. "Yes, you. You might be the best shot at closing this thing that we have."
"Wait, how?" Squawkers asked incredulously. "You people have missiles and stuff, don't you? How is Chad your best shot?"
"It's not our first choice, believe me." The Major explained with a grimace. "We've tried a lot of things to deal with the portals. Nothing's so much as scratched them. But that doesn't mean they're impossible to break. It could just be a matter of needing more firepower."
"Why not nuke it?"
The others stared at Chad. He looked between them uncomprehendingly. "What? If you need more firepower, isn't a nuke kinda the obvious thing to try?"
"There's... a number of problems with that suggestion." Geoffries let out a tired sigh. "Even assuming we were able to fully evacuate a city and get our men out... We'd rather not completely level it. Or turn the place radioactive. Especially if we're not sure it'll even get rid of the portal in the first place."
"Oh." Chad said simply.
"Moreover, are you aware of the scale of this invasion?"
Annie nodded. "I saw it's all over. There's portals around the world."
"Exactly." Geoffries nodded. "We've got ten in the United States alone, not to mention the international ones. All of them are above heavily populated cities. Which means that even if that worked, we'd be nuking all of the world's largest cities to stop this thing."
"Still though," Squawkers interrupted. "What does this have to do with Chad?"
"Because you might be the next best thing." Geoffries gave Chad's arm an appraising look. "It's the best we've got, especially in the short term. Even the best skills and traits we've found don't compare to this nonsense. Maybe they'll get there one day, but..."
"Why not wait?" Squawkers cocked his head. "Y'know, see if any other skills can get you there? Maybe someone gets a nuke skill without the side effects!"
The Major shook his head with a grimace. "We don't have time. Unfortunately, recent developments mean we can't afford to wait."
Chad frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Do you recall the horn that sounded during our encounter?"
Chad thought for a moment. There had been something like that. A deep, resonant rumble that cut across the plains. "Yeah?"
"Well, apparently it wasn't nothing." Geoffries crossed his arms. "Reports indicated similar sounds coming from all the portals. It brought back a lot of the higher-level enemies to attack our forces stationed there. And about an hour after that, even more invaders started pouring out of the sky. Stronger ones."
Chad grimaced. That wasn't a good sign. "How much stronger?"
"Level nineteen. A lot are lower, but that seems to be the max we've observed. They’re a mix of sentient and non-sentient, best we can tell."
"Shit," Annie breathed. "I thought we were catchin' up..."
"So did we," the Major shook his head. "Unfortunately, with the sheer quantity of invaders coming through, it seems that mitigation may not be enough. We need a permanent solution. Otherwise, we might end up getting completely overwhelmed in numbers and strength. Our weaponry is still holding its own for now. But some can already shrug off small arms fire. We can't know when those things'll be too tough for bigger ordinance to handle."
The man was right. That did change things. Chad had gotten pretty used to being a higher level than whatever he faced, especially after the Ghoulture fight. But if these portals could just start spewing out bigger baddies every few days…
…Even more reason for me to get stronger. And fast.
"I see." Squawkers bobbed his head. "So getting him to punch the portal closed isn't just safer, it's the best shot you have at closing this thing up soon. At the very least, it'll give you a better idea of what kinda firepower you need."
"Exactly." Geoffires nodded.
A sudden realization dawned on Chad. "But wait... You think my arm's on par with a damn nuke?!"
"Not right now," Geoffries corrected. "But after a bit of training and some additional support? ...You're already doing way more than should be possible. We'd better hope it can be."
He laid back, considering the possibility. Damn. That would be crazy. Screw arm wrestling champion of the world -- with power like that, maybe I can be champion of the universe!
"So?" The Major asked. "Will you work with us?"
He laid back against the bed, thinking. Obviously, he wanted to help. It was the best shot he had at protecting the town. Why wouldn't he say yes?
"Hold on, here." Squawkers straightened with a ruffle of feathers. "As Chad's representative, I'd like to speak to my client before making an official decision."
Chad's eyebrows shot up as he chuckled. "I'm your client? Since when?"
"Since your gramma started bribing me with fruit."
"Alright." Geoffries stepped back, his expression unchanged. "I'll wait outside, if you'd prefer."
As the door closed behind the Major, Squawkers hopped up near Chad's head. "Do you really want to do this?"
"Why not?" Chad shrugged. "If we can actually get rid of those portals, that's great!"
"Yes, but..." Squawkers fidgeted. "Have you considered that it's not gonna be that easy? There's stuff coming out of that thing constantly. It'll be dangerous getting there! And you're gonna need a lot more levels!"
"Eh," he waved off the concern. "I'm gonna have to level anyway to protect people. And it's not like they'll just let me run up there alone, right?"
"I guess..." Squawkers admitted begrudgingly. "Well, fine. Then the next question is, what do you wanna get out of this?"
"Huh?" Chad blinked. That was a far different direction than he'd expected. "Should I be getting something?"
"Of course you should!" The parrot flapped. "You're risking your life here! You should get some kinda benefit from it! Money, or influence, or... something!"
Annie crossed her arms. "Squawk's kinda right. If you're gonna do this, you gotta make sure you're not gettin' screwed. They'd better not make this a one-sided deal."
"Hmm..." Chad scratched his chin. "I'm not really sure, honestly. Maybe protection for Gram Gram?"
Squawkers scoffed. "You're thinking too small. What about protection for the whole town?"
"That's kinda a lot, isn't it?"
"They're asking a lot, too!" The parrot objected. "They're asking you to save the world!"
"I mean, I kinda want the world to be saved." Chad chuckled. "Seems like a good deal to me."
"This is why you need me." Squawkers nodded sagely. "I'm not letting you get taken advantage of. Just let me handle the negotiations, alright? I'll get you more than a good deal. I'll get you the best deal, guaranteed."
Chad shrugged. Why not? I mean, it's not like I'm gonna say no, but it would be nice if they took care of Gram Gram and stuff, too. I don't want to worry about an attack like this happening again when I'm not around.
"Alright, go for it." He agreed. "Have fun, Squawk."
They called Geoffries inside a moment later. The stone-faced man took in the group with a sweep of his eyes. "So, did you make a decision?"
"Yes, we have." Squawkers straightened and puffed out his chest. "We have some questions. And conditions."
***
The two went back and forth for at least thirty minutes, hashing out the details of an arrangement. Squawkers, true to his word, pulled no punches in wringing concessions out of the military. Now that they knew how critical Chad could be to the defense efforts, the bird had all the leverage he needed. To the point that Chad was afraid he might push things too far.
Still, he'd agreed to let the bird take care of things. In fact, Chad's eyes started to glaze over once they started talking about legal immunity and Chad's status and rank.
A nudge from Annie pulled Chad from his reverie. The woman gave him a level stare. "You sure you wanna do this? You're absolutely positive?"
"'Course!" He nodded resolutely. "I mean, I've been trying to protect everyone the whole time, right? So why wouldn't I?"
"'Cause it's risky, too." She chewed her lip. "You said it yourself. We're not damn superheroes. The hell are you supposed to take out that portal if the military can't?"
"Yeah..." Chad shrugged, then gave her a toothy grin. "...But won't that make it even better if I do pull it off?"
She shook her head in disbelief. "That's one big 'if.' What if you just tear yourself apart tryin' to get stronger? I don't want you gettin' in over your head, here."
"Hey, I've been doing good so far," he objected. "Look! You haven't had to fix my back once since that last time!"
"Yeah, but if you're tryin' to get strong fast, that's a different story." She rested a hand on her hip. "It means you're gonna end up tossin' everything into strength again, doesn't it?"
Chad frowned. That's a good point. If I'm gonna pull this off, I'll probably need even more strength than ever before. And fast. Which means... the other stats might have to take a backseat again.
Suddenly, Annie's concern made a lot more sense. Depending on how they played things, he really might get himself into hot water again. The pain of punching that Ghoulture with his too-massive arm flashed through his mind.
But that was different. Then, I just wanted to see how strong I could get. But now? Now there's a damn good reason to do it.
Now, there were stakes. It was more than just keeping Gram Gram and the others safe. Now he had a lot more riding on his arm being as strong as it possibly could be.
Chad took a deep breath. "I kinda have to, Annie."
"Bullshit." She crossed her arms. "You don't have to do anything!"
"Yeah, I do. I can't just let those things keep running wild. Not if there might be something I can do about it." He nodded to his arm. "And the sooner I get rid of that portal, the better. Right?"
"Assuming you even can..."
"C'mon. don't tell me you're doubting these muscles?" His right arm sharpened into a stony mass of angles, veins, and corded muscle as he flexed. The proportions and appearance certainly weren't going to win him any bodybuilding competitions, but that was fine. He'd never cared about aesthetics, anyway.
Not unless I can intimidate these guys into leaving. Although...
Annie chewed her lip pensively, worry creasing her brow. She didn't look entirely convinced by the display.
"Besides, I trust you." Chad nudged her with an elbow. "If I go messing myself up too bad, I'm sure you'll fix me right up!"
She gave a dry chuckle. "Assuming I can. I'm not a miracle worker, Chad. I can only do temporary fixes. And besides, what if I can’t help? What if I’m out of commission or too far away or…?"
"Then guess we'll have to get you stronger, too. So that you can keep watching my back." Chad chuckled. "Though you're pretty good at that already."
She snorted. "Yeah, right. I'm not good enough. If I were, you wouldn't be..."
Annie trailed off, her eyes flicking to his legs before falling to the floor.
Before Chad could say anything else though, an incredulous squawk cut him off. "You expect him to work for free?! The least you can do is give him some tax exemptions!"
Major Geoffries massaged his temples. "It's not 'for free.' Not with what you're already getting. Why are you so obsessed with tax exemptions, anyway?"
"They're important! Do you know how much my client pays in taxes?!"
"No, and I don't think you do either."
A smile curled the corner of Annie's mouth. "...Should we save the poor Major? I think Squawkers is getting a bit excited."
"Yeah." Chad grinned. "Let's."
Chad blinked. "Uh. Me?"
Major Geoffries nodded. "Yes, you. You might be the best shot at closing this thing that we have."
"Wait, how?" Squawkers asked incredulously. "You people have missiles and stuff, don't you? How is Chad your best shot?"
"It's not our first choice, believe me." The Major explained with a grimace. "We've tried a lot of things to deal with the portals. Nothing's so much as scratched them. But that doesn't mean they're impossible to break. It could just be a matter of needing more firepower."
"Why not nuke it?"
The others stared at Chad. He looked between them uncomprehendingly. "What? If you need more firepower, isn't a nuke kinda the obvious thing to try?"
"There's... a number of problems with that suggestion." Geoffries let out a tired sigh. "Even assuming we were able to fully evacuate a city and get our men out... We'd rather not completely level it. Or turn the place radioactive. Especially if we're not sure it'll even get rid of the portal in the first place."
"Oh." Chad said simply.
"Moreover, are you aware of the scale of this invasion?"
Annie nodded. "I saw it's all over. There's portals around the world."
"Exactly." Geoffries nodded. "We've got ten in the United States alone, not to mention the international ones. All of them are above heavily populated cities. Which means that even if that worked, we'd be nuking all of the world's largest cities to stop this thing."
"Still though," Squawkers interrupted. "What does this have to do with Chad?"
"Because you might be the next best thing." Geoffries gave Chad's arm an appraising look. "It's the best we've got, especially in the short term. Even the best skills and traits we've found don't compare to this nonsense. Maybe they'll get there one day, but..."
"Why not wait?" Squawkers cocked his head. "Y'know, see if any other skills can get you there? Maybe someone gets a nuke skill without the side effects!"
The Major shook his head with a grimace. "We don't have time. Unfortunately, recent developments mean we can't afford to wait."
Chad frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Do you recall the horn that sounded during our encounter?"
Chad thought for a moment. There had been something like that. A deep, resonant rumble that cut across the plains. "Yeah?"
"Well, apparently it wasn't nothing." Geoffries crossed his arms. "Reports indicated similar sounds coming from all the portals. It brought back a lot of the higher-level enemies to attack our forces stationed there. And about an hour after that, even more invaders started pouring out of the sky. Stronger ones."
Chad grimaced. That wasn't a good sign. "How much stronger?"
"Level nineteen. A lot are lower, but that seems to be the max we've observed. They’re a mix of sentient and non-sentient, best we can tell."
"Shit," Annie breathed. "I thought we were catchin' up..."
"So did we," the Major shook his head. "Unfortunately, with the sheer quantity of invaders coming through, it seems that mitigation may not be enough. We need a permanent solution. Otherwise, we might end up getting completely overwhelmed in numbers and strength. Our weaponry is still holding its own for now. But some can already shrug off small arms fire. We can't know when those things'll be too tough for bigger ordinance to handle."
The man was right. That did change things. Chad had gotten pretty used to being a higher level than whatever he faced, especially after the Ghoulture fight. But if these portals could just start spewing out bigger baddies every few days…
…Even more reason for me to get stronger. And fast.
"I see." Squawkers bobbed his head. "So getting him to punch the portal closed isn't just safer, it's the best shot you have at closing this thing up soon. At the very least, it'll give you a better idea of what kinda firepower you need."
"Exactly." Geoffires nodded.
A sudden realization dawned on Chad. "But wait... You think my arm's on par with a damn nuke?!"
"Not right now," Geoffries corrected. "But after a bit of training and some additional support? ...You're already doing way more than should be possible. We'd better hope it can be."
He laid back, considering the possibility. Damn. That would be crazy. Screw arm wrestling champion of the world -- with power like that, maybe I can be champion of the universe!
"So?" The Major asked. "Will you work with us?"
He laid back against the bed, thinking. Obviously, he wanted to help. It was the best shot he had at protecting the town. Why wouldn't he say yes?
"Hold on, here." Squawkers straightened with a ruffle of feathers. "As Chad's representative, I'd like to speak to my client before making an official decision."
Chad's eyebrows shot up as he chuckled. "I'm your client? Since when?"
"Since your gramma started bribing me with fruit."
"Alright." Geoffries stepped back, his expression unchanged. "I'll wait outside, if you'd prefer."
As the door closed behind the Major, Squawkers hopped up near Chad's head. "Do you really want to do this?"
"Why not?" Chad shrugged. "If we can actually get rid of those portals, that's great!"
"Yes, but..." Squawkers fidgeted. "Have you considered that it's not gonna be that easy? There's stuff coming out of that thing constantly. It'll be dangerous getting there! And you're gonna need a lot more levels!"
"Eh," he waved off the concern. "I'm gonna have to level anyway to protect people. And it's not like they'll just let me run up there alone, right?"
"I guess..." Squawkers admitted begrudgingly. "Well, fine. Then the next question is, what do you wanna get out of this?"
"Huh?" Chad blinked. That was a far different direction than he'd expected. "Should I be getting something?"
"Of course you should!" The parrot flapped. "You're risking your life here! You should get some kinda benefit from it! Money, or influence, or... something!"
Annie crossed her arms. "Squawk's kinda right. If you're gonna do this, you gotta make sure you're not gettin' screwed. They'd better not make this a one-sided deal."
"Hmm..." Chad scratched his chin. "I'm not really sure, honestly. Maybe protection for Gram Gram?"
Squawkers scoffed. "You're thinking too small. What about protection for the whole town?"
"That's kinda a lot, isn't it?"
"They're asking a lot, too!" The parrot objected. "They're asking you to save the world!"
"I mean, I kinda want the world to be saved." Chad chuckled. "Seems like a good deal to me."
"This is why you need me." Squawkers nodded sagely. "I'm not letting you get taken advantage of. Just let me handle the negotiations, alright? I'll get you more than a good deal. I'll get you the best deal, guaranteed."
Chad shrugged. Why not? I mean, it's not like I'm gonna say no, but it would be nice if they took care of Gram Gram and stuff, too. I don't want to worry about an attack like this happening again when I'm not around.
"Alright, go for it." He agreed. "Have fun, Squawk."
They called Geoffries inside a moment later. The stone-faced man took in the group with a sweep of his eyes. "So, did you make a decision?"
"Yes, we have." Squawkers straightened and puffed out his chest. "We have some questions. And conditions."
***
The two went back and forth for at least thirty minutes, hashing out the details of an arrangement. Squawkers, true to his word, pulled no punches in wringing concessions out of the military. Now that they knew how critical Chad could be to the defense efforts, the bird had all the leverage he needed. To the point that Chad was afraid he might push things too far.
Still, he'd agreed to let the bird take care of things. In fact, Chad's eyes started to glaze over once they started talking about legal immunity and Chad's status and rank.
A nudge from Annie pulled Chad from his reverie. The woman gave him a level stare. "You sure you wanna do this? You're absolutely positive?"
"'Course!" He nodded resolutely. "I mean, I've been trying to protect everyone the whole time, right? So why wouldn't I?"
"'Cause it's risky, too." She chewed her lip. "You said it yourself. We're not damn superheroes. The hell are you supposed to take out that portal if the military can't?"
"Yeah..." Chad shrugged, then gave her a toothy grin. "...But won't that make it even better if I do pull it off?"
She shook her head in disbelief. "That's one big 'if.' What if you just tear yourself apart tryin' to get stronger? I don't want you gettin' in over your head, here."
"Hey, I've been doing good so far," he objected. "Look! You haven't had to fix my back once since that last time!"
"Yeah, but if you're tryin' to get strong fast, that's a different story." She rested a hand on her hip. "It means you're gonna end up tossin' everything into strength again, doesn't it?"
Chad frowned. That's a good point. If I'm gonna pull this off, I'll probably need even more strength than ever before. And fast. Which means... the other stats might have to take a backseat again.
Suddenly, Annie's concern made a lot more sense. Depending on how they played things, he really might get himself into hot water again. The pain of punching that Ghoulture with his too-massive arm flashed through his mind.
But that was different. Then, I just wanted to see how strong I could get. But now? Now there's a damn good reason to do it.
Now, there were stakes. It was more than just keeping Gram Gram and the others safe. Now he had a lot more riding on his arm being as strong as it possibly could be.
Chad took a deep breath. "I kinda have to, Annie."
"Bullshit." She crossed her arms. "You don't have to do anything!"
"Yeah, I do. I can't just let those things keep running wild. Not if there might be something I can do about it." He nodded to his arm. "And the sooner I get rid of that portal, the better. Right?"
"Assuming you even can..."
"C'mon. don't tell me you're doubting these muscles?" His right arm sharpened into a stony mass of angles, veins, and corded muscle as he flexed. The proportions and appearance certainly weren't going to win him any bodybuilding competitions, but that was fine. He'd never cared about aesthetics, anyway.
Not unless I can intimidate these guys into leaving. Although...
Annie chewed her lip pensively, worry creasing her brow. She didn't look entirely convinced by the display.
"Besides, I trust you." Chad nudged her with an elbow. "If I go messing myself up too bad, I'm sure you'll fix me right up!"
She gave a dry chuckle. "Assuming I can. I'm not a miracle worker, Chad. I can only do temporary fixes. And besides, what if I can’t help? What if I’m out of commission or too far away or…?"
"Then guess we'll have to get you stronger, too. So that you can keep watching my back." Chad chuckled. "Though you're pretty good at that already."
She snorted. "Yeah, right. I'm not good enough. If I were, you wouldn't be..."
Annie trailed off, her eyes flicking to his legs before falling to the floor.
Before Chad could say anything else though, an incredulous squawk cut him off. "You expect him to work for free?! The least you can do is give him some tax exemptions!"
Major Geoffries massaged his temples. "It's not 'for free.' Not with what you're already getting. Why are you so obsessed with tax exemptions, anyway?"
"They're important! Do you know how much my client pays in taxes?!"
"No, and I don't think you do either."
A smile curled the corner of Annie's mouth. "...Should we save the poor Major? I think Squawkers is getting a bit excited."
"Yeah." Chad grinned. "Let's."
