Undying Star: Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 3

Uno climbed the bar’s tall chair which creaked beneath him. This restaurant fed both towers and civilians. A lot have sat on this particular chair, and Uno was one of them. Not the first time, but it unfortunately is. The inside is cozy to say the least, 4 electric fans hanging in pairs on the walls with a TV in between them. 6 sets of chairs and tables grouped together occupied by both civilians and towers. The ceiling was built with sturdy wood, with enough warm lights lighting up the place. 

The Ninja Chef moved a lot in the kitchen, another person also helped them, probably their husband or wife? The dart monkey never knew.

“What’s your good name?” The chef asked. The ordinary looking monkey with an ordinary smile plastered on his face. Somewhat, somehow the chef wanted to question it but dismissed the thought.

“Uno”

“Uno, are you going to be deployed to Sunken Isle?” Ninja Chef asked while handing Uno the noodle bowl he ordered.

“Nope” Uno shook his head, his eyes looking down on the dish presented to him. It’s as good as ever. The topping, the meat, the noodles, the aroma, everything was nice. Ninja Chef wiped her hands and planted the used towel on the counter.

“Tower type?”

“Dart”

Ninja nodded, “Any plans to change types?”

“Nope, happy just as is.”

“I see” the Ninja turned her attention to another order. 

Being a dart monkey was a start for most. It’s a phase where unsure monkeys acquire knowledge of their capabilities to find their calling. Though, some join based on their field of strength; primary, magic, military, or support. Then there are command towers that are responsible for placing towers and the Heroes, very few are lucky.

Ninja Chef being a retired tower looked after her peers, she memorized their customer’s face and names. The Ninja worries about the Sunken Isle defense happening next week. 

During the first week of April; the Sunken Isle incident, It was a large-scale defense reaching the 300th wave, in an attempt to reclaim the area for “vital resources”. It resulted in 28 dead and 5 missing. The first defense this year with the most casualties consisted of rookies to veterans. Everything gets worse from there, the start of a decline.

Uno could stop it, but it was a necessary incident that put an edge on the Commander’s conscience. Commanders are the one strategically placing the towers in their designated spot and handling the flow of supplies and upgrades. These years Commanders were being too soft and over confident.

Returning from his train of thoughts, Uno soaked in the peaceful atmosphere before remembering who he needed to live, let die, use, and kill.

“Those three, Quincy, the underground syndicate, have to go to Sol tomorrow, Pat and a few others, another picnic with sol, after the Sunken Isle, Vortex… Strych Ninvento’s potion… and more stuff later” the dart monkey muttered to himself as he had his mouth full of noodles.

“You said something?” Ninja was passing by when he heard him mumbling.

“Mohm ohm om om”

“Talk when your mouth’s clear, you might choke” Ninja immediately went back to work.

A few moments into savoring his meal, the door of the restaurant chimed. Revealing a new customer.

…

“Hi Chef, can I have the usual?” He had a gray cloak, with his hood hiding his face except for his broad frame.

“Of course, Quincy” Ninja Chef said, the Hero addressed felt people’s heads turn in his direction.

“It’s… archer” Quincy whispered.

“Like I said before, no one’s going to bother you here, Quincy. Right?” Ninja last word was loud enough for everyone to hear. They suddenly ‘forgot’ Quincy was there.

Quincy sighed as he slid his hood off and sat a chair away from an odd yet very normal faced monkey.

“You got swarmed by your fans while doing groceries” Uno said as he swung his legs playfully.

Quincy glanced at the dart monkey beside him. What a smile, the archer thought. As he scanned Uno head to toe in a second, he didn’t feel so confident in considering Uno to be normal.

“Yes” I didn’t ask to be popular, I just wanted to do my job as one of the inheritors of Quincy’s title. Quincy thought.

“Ladies think you’re handsome, obviously they would swarm you.” Uno said as he chuckled. He made a humming sound as he finished the last of his noodles. “More please”

“Can’t deny that, Uno” Ninja quipped as she passed by to refill Uno’s bowl.

Quincy swore he didn’t say anything outloud, was this monkey a telepath? He disregarded it immediately. He’s just a fellow dart monkey, right? A soft thud interrupting his line of thought, Ninja gave him and Uno the same order, steaming hot.

“You must get all the girls, mister archer” Uno said

Mister archer? Quincy chuckled for once this week. “No, but maybe you will”

“Singular! I already have a crush on Sol Everheart”

Quincy’s noodles went out of his nostrils as he choked. That caught him off-guard. He heard a couple of people chuckle in the crowd behind them.

This guy… he looked at him perplexed, Uno reached very high. Quincy didn’t underestimate anyone but, relationships are such a complicated thing that he’d have doubts about it. He wiped his nose and recovered quickly.

“Go big or go home.” Ninja hummed approvingly as she passed by. Quincy couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

“Anyway, I wish I was famous like you!” Uno clapped and turned his smile at the archer.

“You will wish you weren't,” he sighed, trying to focus on his meal.

“People acknowledge your work. You give them hope.”

"Thanks..."

Ok, that made sense. I will… accept that. Perhaps its only difficult being famous and trying live a normal life simultaneously. No, actually he isn't having a normal life right now either, he’s been working a lot lately. Defense after defense, being swarmed by fans nearly every time he went out from the hero headquarters, Fortunately he wasn’t a normal monkey or a regular tower. Jones, Jones does a lot more defenses though, how the hell does he do it?

“Hang in there Quincy, you will make it through.”

Quincy narrowed his eyes at Uno, I swear this guy is reading my mind. Uno happened to finish his meal on time before Quincy got to ask. The dart monkey hopped off the chair, he was shorter than the archer expected, he waved goodbye to the Ninja 

“Oh right, mister archer, you should check your arrows before using them again! My papa said to check my darts everytime!” 

“W-what?”

The odd, no, normal monkey left the restaurant.

“What a normal customer, charming no?” Ninja said.

“I guess he’s normal enough” went back to eating his food. Tomorrow was a big day. Fortunately, he also remembered to check his arrows when he got home.