HA\\LF: Dead nor Alive

“My goodness! This isn’t just a piece! This is a big chunk of the meteorite!” Newman said as he glared at the meteorite in the room.

“This is unbelievable!” Marie said as she walked around the meteorite. “How could they hide this thing from us?! We could make hundreds of weapons from this!” She continued as she touched the meteorite.

Both Newman and Marie observed the meteorite for quite a while and then Newman squinted his eyes and pointed at the fresh cut on the edge. “Did you make this cut?” Newman asked as he looked at Archie.

“Yes, I made that cut,” Archie replied.

“With what?” Newman asked.

“It doesn’t matter how I made the cut because the tool that I used was shattered into pieces to get this piece,” Archie replied as he held the piece of the fragment. “What I want to know, how are you going to cut it if this thing is stronger than anything?” Archie asked back to Newman.

“Do you know about the blacksmith who carved this thing?” Newman asked.

“No, but I do know that the AnGust family owned one and has been passed the weapon down from generation to generation,” Archie answered.

“Such a shame, that we lost such a bright kid and the weapon he possessed. That was a great loss for everyone in the Western Nation,” Marie said as she blankly stared at the meteorite.

“Yes, I don’t care about that, and let’s get back to what we are talking about,” Newman said as he looked at Archie. “The blacksmith’s name was Koppel, he was a genius, he was the one who made the sword for the AnGust family. The secret of his method to carve the meteorite is gone but thankfully I had been researching about it and found a way to process this thing,” Newman said as he patted the meteorite.

“Okay? What are we going to do?” Archie asked as he crossed his arms.

“You see, the outer layer of this meteorite is not entirely necessary to be used for making a weapon,” Newman said. “Come here, give me the piece of the fragment,” Newman said as he waved his hand.

Archie and Marie approached him then Archie gave the fragment to Newman.

“You see this?” Newman said as he pointed at the outer part of the flat surface. “You can see there are hundreds of layers inside that you can see here, and the outer layer is like a tree bark!” Newman explained.

“Okay? So what about it?” Marie asked.

“Now, do you see this?” Newman pointed at the inner layer of the fragment and the color was brighter than the outer layers. “I believe and I’m confident with my theory that the inner layer of this thing is the most indestructible material in this world. Koppel made the weapons from the outer layer of the meteorite, and I don’t want to follow his steps, I want to make a name for myself!” Newman said with excitement. “So! I made a chemical that would dissolve all the layers and will leave the inner layer intact so I can make the best weapon that humankind ever made!” Newman continued and clenched his fist then lifted it up in the air.

“Isn’t that would be a waste if you dissolve them?” Marie asked.

“No, even if I dissolved it, it will become a fine powder and we can use it to make a weapon for everyone!” Newman answered.

“Okay, that’s good but the real question is, how are we going to dissolve this boulder of meteorite? We can’t just pour the acid from top to bottom, we have to dip this giant rock into the chemical.” Marie asked.

Newman giggled evilly. “You don’t have to worry about that, I have done my research from the information I got in the laboratory back then. I can just soak this big boy with the chemical and it will dissolve within days!” He answered. “But there’s a slight problem with that plan,” he continued while he rubbed his beard.

“And that it?” Archie asked as he stared at him.

“The chemical that can dissolve this meteorite requires a certain chemical that they use to dissolve the parasite body. So, it’s something that we, the ordinary people can’t have or possess,” Newman answered.

“What you’re trying to say is either you want me to get it for you or steal it for you?” Archie asked as he leaned on the wall.

Newman giggled evilly while he nodded. “That’s right! You’re the only one who can have access to the laboratory in the headquarter. Maybe you can ask Ruby’s help to get you the chemical from them,” he answered.

Marie sighed and shook her head because she didn’t bother to stop Newman from doing stupid things anymore.

“Let’s see what I can do, but which chemical that you need to dissolve this meteorite?” Archie asked as he raised his eyebrow.

“Hydrofluoric acid,” Newman answered immediately.

Archie closed his eyes and nodded with understanding. “Alright, I can get it for you. How much do you need?” he asked.

Newman hummed as he stared at the meteorite. “Maybe a big drum of that? 55 gallon if you can,” he answered.

“Are you serious? You’re going to need that much? It would be hard to get him a small a gallon of that from the laboratory, but you’re asking for 55 gallons?” Marie asked as she glared at him with disbelief.

“I know, but if Ruby and her other friends know that we are going to need that to dissolve this thing, they would do it anyway because I’m going to make them a weapon from this one-of-a-kind material!” Newman said.

“I hate to agree with Newman, Marie, but he’s right. If Ruby and the others know that they would get a weapon from this, they would do it without hesitation,” Archie said as he looked at Marie with guilt.

Marie sighed and nodded. “Fine, but if you guys get into trouble, I’m not going to help you,” she said.

Archie nodded with understanding. “Alright, I think that’s it for today and we will come back here with the hydrofluoric acid so you can start working on it,” he said.

“Good for me, let’s go back,” Newman said as he nodded in agreement.

The three of them went back to the city and Archie went up to the pillar where Ruby’s house was to tell her about his plan.

“Ruby are you home?” Archie asked as he knocked on the door because he could see the fan was on from the window but then he heard something else, he heard moans coming from inside the house and immediately walked back.

Footsteps could be heard coming from inside and then Vincent came out of her house. Archie was surprised at first but he smiled as he looked at Vincent with no shirt and covered with sweat.

Archie nodded with understanding as he smirked. “Congrats,” he said out of nowhere.

Vincent was so confused but he smiled happily. “I don’t know why are you saying that but thanks,” he replied. “By the way, why are you here? Do you need something?” he asked.

“Yes, and it’s perfect that you’re here as well,” Archie said. “But, it seems that I bothered you guys at the moment, you guys should continue whatever you’re doing in there. I will be back in an hour,” he continued.

“Oh, it’s fine, we are not really doing anything,” Vincent said.

“You know I really have sharp hearing, and I accidentally heard it so I will leave you guys for now. How about we meet at the pub once you guys are done?” Archie asked.

Vincent’s face turned red and cleared his throat nervously. “Y-yeah, we will be there,” he answered.

Archie nodded and left.

An hour had passed and Ruby came to the pub with Vincent, they both avoided making eye contact with Archie because they were too shy after they knew that Archie heard them. Vincent pretended to be normal with Archie and sat next to him while Ruby was sitting next to Vincent and hid her presence.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Vincent asked.

“Newman agreed on helping me make a weapon from the fragment,” Archie said as he looked at him.

Vincent raised his eyebrows. “That’s good news, and do you need help with anything?” he asked.

“Yeah, I might need both of your help for this one and in exchange, he will make you guys a weapon each,” Archie said as he nodded.

Ruby took a peek with a surprised expression. “Are you being real?” she asked.

Archie nodded. “Yes, I’m being serious, and to do that, he has a plan on processing the meteorite and his plan is to dissolve it with a chemical,” he answered. “But the problem is that one of the ingredients for that chemical is hydrofluoric acid,” he continued.

“Okay, why is that a problem?” Ruby asked as she shook her head and raised her eyebrow.

Archie furrowed his forehead and looked at her. “Isn’t it impossible for us to have that chemical? Also, Newman needs at least 55 gallons for that so I think it’s a problem,” he explained.

“That won’t be a problem because I can just ask to have them with Marlon’s permission,” Ruby said.

“Oh? Well, that’s nice. When do you think we can get a hand of that chemical?” Archie asked.

“We can go right now and ask for it,” Ruby answered.

“Should we go now?” Archie asked.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Ruby answered with a smile on her face.