CHAPTER 75: Dressing Up

“What’s wrong, Adam?” asked Abbey with concern as he walked into his condo, seeing the dazed look on his face.

“…Tom…” muttered Adam, causing Brittney to laugh.

“You went into his room!” she shouted while laughing even harder.

“Oh, honey,” soothed Abbey knowingly. “Never go into Tom’s place.”

“Yeah, everyone knows that,” giggled Brittney.

“It’s just that he somehow got his Appointment Title in less than a night.”

“Yes, he told us via text this morning,” Abbey said with a frown.

“How…?” asked Adam.

Brittney looked at him seriously. “He forced Jordan to use the Rift Menu to broadcast his title, pictures, and a description of himself on the invader communication lines. Now every invader knows who he is and that he follows you.”

Adam’s jaw dropped. “He made himself a target of every enemy just to get the title a little faster? He’s still five levels from evolving his class.”

Abbey and Brittney both shrugged. “It’s Tom.”

Then Brittney’s phone beeped. When she checked it, she cursed and threw it at a sofa cushion.

“Tom is saying that I need to increase my loyalty because his score was higher than mine. Does he really have 97?” asked Brittney.

“It was 96. I was just joking about giving him +1 if he put his underwear on,” answered Adam. Just to check, he brought up the Loyalty Tab. Then he facepalmed. Tom’s score had risen to 97.

“That explains why he offered to sell me an item called [Boxers of True Loyalty],” said Brittney.

“Gah! That guy!” hissed Adam. “Oh well. Guess it’s time to get ready.”

He took a moment to look at Brittney and Abbey. They were already prepared for the day. Brittney was wearing a shiny suit of armor. It was reflective silver and gold, made from Testudinate metal alloys. It was a bit thinner than it should be, but they didn’t want the weight to hinder her movement or tire her out. The edges of it had beautiful and intricate scroll work of tree branches and leaves. The chest piece was shaped to accentuate her femininity, with light mounds for breasts and a hourglass shape to the sides.

A frilly pink skirt came out from the bottom of her waist, beneath where the armor ended. It covered up the armor positioned over her leather leggings. She wore regular Earth boots, the top of which were overlapped by her greaves. It gave a bit of ruggedness to the combination of cutesy and valiant. A shimmery pink cape was attached to her pauldrons with a wide bearing, slightly curled around her right shoulder, like the cloaks the Roman’s wore.

On the chest plate were two symbols. The right side had the logo for the Sentinel Army. The left side, over the heart, was a detailed shaping of the Earth, to signify what they were fighting for. Brittney’s reflective one-handed war hammer was attached to her golden metal linked belt. A few pouches were on it too.

Adam whistled as he looked her up and down, impressed with the level of detail and designs. Brittney looked down in embarrassment as Adam smiled at her.

“I didn’t want to wear the helmet after Alissa spent an hour doing my hair,” she said as she held up a helmet based on Valkyrie designs with a face guard that left the eyes exposed while sitting in front of the mouth and nose. Her blonde hair was done in layers of looping braids woven with tiny sparkling silver chains that really caught the light.

“Fortunately, they made the outfit so the pants are easy to get off to use the bathroom. Although my Vitality allows me to hold it in for a long time.”

Abbey nodded at that. “Makes me wish I had more Vitality.”

Adam would have frowned but having a loud sister had already exposed him to the realities of girls. Instead, he looked over at Abbey’s clothes. Everything had been designed by the LARPer Melina with help from the comic book artist Gerald. They wanted to give a modern spin while still using recognizable armor designs.

The robe Abbey had on, was like a cleric robe from games, except the front of it cut off at the midriff still preserving the curves of her chest, while the back and sides flowed down to her knees. The material didn’t look thick, but it still managed to hold its shape without clinging to her body. The fabric was white with generous gold embroidery similar to Brittney’s scroll work along the long sleeves and side seams, as well as along the hood that hung in the back. Both the white and gold shimmered, making Adam wonder if the weaving techniques for the cloth and thread had come from the Rift Shop. A Sentinels’ logo and the Earth were embroidered on her chest.

Coming down from the cut off robe in the front was a shapely and finely made white chainmail shirt. The links could only be seen from close up, and there was a bit of fabric underneath to protect Abbey’s skin from contact and wandering eyes. She then wore a long skirt made from similar fabric as the robe, with plenty of embroidery. The dress didn’t quite cover the leather boots that Abbey had on, and he had been told that the material would be dirt resistant to protect the colors and shimmer. Definitely alien tech.

Both the girls were beautiful, so Adam kissed each and raved over their elegance.

“Your turn,” smiled Abbey. She watched him strip to his boxers and then he went to where his outfit was laid out. First, he put on the loose brown pants, made of Feral Behemoth leather to resist the heat. It had been dyed so there were various shades of brown and gray, similar to camouflage. Plenty of pockets and pouches had been placed on it like cargo pants. Snaps, buttons, and zippers didn’t work with the thick leather pants, so it had a strap of leather to tie the waist up with buttons made from behemoth bones for the pouches.

For footwear, Garrett and Carver, the leather worker friend of Garrett, had made boots of Testudinate metal plates. They allowed his feet to move as they should and had softened Feral Behemoth leather inside to keep his feet comfortable. The bottom of the metal boots had small nubby cleats, rounded enough to not break every floor, but enough to give him some traction when running or kicking off. A coating of some rubber-like substance was added to the sole and cleats. Garrett assured Adam the coating wouldn’t wear off due to the heat he generated.

Over his waist, Adam put a dark charcoal gray piece of armor, Melida called it a Faulds, that had flaps covering his groin and hips without blocking him from getting to the pockets on the pants. It was held on by a similarly colored belt made from leather and a Testudinate metal buckle. As heat resistant as they could make with their current materials. No more exhibitionist combat for Adam if he could help it.

A knife and sword were sheathed on the belt. The sword was much fancier, and a bit larger and heavier, than the ones they had been loaning out. The pommel was a Sentinels’ logo and swirling designs wrapped the entire hilt and sword handguard. A charcoal gray leather grip contrasted nicely with the shining sword.

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On his upper body he had a shaped metal breastplate, gleaming with gold and silver. It had impressions of pecs and abs on the metal, making him look like a muscular robot. Scroll work that matched Brittney’s was on the edges and sides, as well as their logo and Earth on the chest. More softened leather was underneath so it wouldn’t get too uncomfortable. The leather had been frayed a bit to stick out of the shoulders, armpits, and waist to give it a slight barbarian look.

On his back he put a cloak of large chain mail that allowed his skin to be seen through it. The cloak went to his knees in the back, with short sleeves for his shoulders and upper arms. Even though it was made out of the heavy Testudinate metal, they had coated the links with something that dampened the sound, preventing him from clanking as it moved. A leather hood had been sown into the top, matching his brown pants.

More leather was used for his long gloves that almost reached his elbows. The leather felt thin enough for him to get a tactile feel when touching things. Shaped and etched metal plates covered the gloves’ wrist, forearm, and back of the hand, allowing him to block with them.

Finally, he put on metal greaves that protected his shins and kneecaps. They clipped into his metal boots to make them look like they were connected.

Once he was dressed, and resisted Brittney’s lustful gaze after seeing him in his battle gear, Abbey styled his hair with plenty of gel to make sure he would look good all day. Tomorrow the invaders would come, and humanity might be destroyed. For today, they had more public plans.

Looking at himself in a full body mirror, Adam had to admit that he looked powerful, wealthy, and almost regal. When he muttered a joke about a crown, Brittney looked at him seriously.

“Tom had one made, the freaking 97-point bastard. We had to get Lucas, Randall, and Lamar to wrestle it away from him. He laughed at us as we took it. I’m not sure if it was meant as a joke or not. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has a spare.”

“Let’s get moving,” Adam said with a heavy sigh. “We don’t want to keep the procession waiting.”

He picked up his war hammer with his left land and rested it on his shoulder. His right arm was offered to Abbey who hooked her own with his, to Brittney’s sad look. Her armor just didn’t allow the physical closeness. Brittney picked up her shield for today, one that was smaller, lighter, and fancier than the heavy one they had tested the other day. Abbey used her free hand to carry a curved wooden cane. It had fake gems and baubles in it that would glow in the sunlight in a magical way. Designs were carved into it to add to the image.

Melina had insisted that the casters have personalized wands or staves to complete their looks. They were useless for the spells, though they could crush a skull as they were made from the elven wood.

When the trio got to the lobby everyone else was there waiting. The scouts had dark, shaped, leather cuirasses, looking like they could fade into the shadows. Designs were burned into the leather, including the chest logo and Earth.

Nick and Carlos had full leather outfits, while Lamar’s didn’t have sleeves but did have an archer’s glove on his left hand. Pants, belt, boots, and sheathes for their knives and short swords were all the same dark color. Of the three, only Carlos was wearing a cape, and his was a shimmering dark green.

Tom, Randall, and Joseph wore armor similar to Brittney’s though with fewer pieces to allow easier movement, and without the skirt. The coloring was also different. They had less shine to theirs, with it being almost a light gray base instead of the reflective silver. Where Brittney’s designs had gold, Tom had a deep green, Randall had a yellow, and Joseph had blue. Joseph and Tom had colored chainmail cloaks, like Adam’s but without the sleeves. All three had swords on their belts but carried gorgeous spears.

Lucas had gone with a chest piece similar to Adams, with the frayed leather barbarian look, leaving his arms free except for forearm guards. He didn’t wear the cloak, and his leather and silver armor highlights had been dyed a blood red color. It was dulled so while it did draw the eye it wouldn’t stand out compared to Adam’s. He had a short sword and knife at his belt, but also carried his own war hammer. The colors looked good with Lucas’s dark tanned complexion.

Alissa and Andrea had outfits like Abbey’s, though the coloring was also different. Andrea’s fabric was colored yellow with her embroidery done mostly in sky blue. Her embroidery had lightning bolts and electricity woven in. Alissa’s base color was a shimmering black, with gold embroidery. She had angel wings and scythes decorating it. Both Alissa and Andrea had much shorter skirts with knee high, laced leather boots.

Ed, Elias, and Brandon wore jackets, similar to robes, that came down a little past their waists, with their weapon and pouch belts over top it. They featured similar embroidery and leather pants. Elias had a medium brown as his base color, with golden embroidery. Ed’s was white and gold. Brandon’s was a forest green base color with a mix of red, blue, and gold highlights. The mages had noticeable large wands with embedded glowing pieces, attached to their belts along with their knives.

While everyone was complimenting and joking about how they looked, Adam sidled over to the scouts.

“How’d it go?” he asked.

“No problems,” smiled Nick mischievously.

Lamar pulled a piece of paper out of a difficult to see pocket in the side of his leather armor. “22 black ops mercs, 18 intelligence and CIA agents, 13 investigators, 4 lawyers, and 6 government deskmen.”

“What did you do to them?” he asked.

“The sleep medicine we got from the Rift Shop worked perfectly. Sneaky Nick dropped some in each person’s drink,” snickered Carlos. “They shouldn’t wake until tonight, so no problems today as long as we didn’t miss anyone.”

“Did you take their stuff?” asked Adam.

“Everything,” said Nick. “It’s all in the building’s security room. Weapons, computers, communications, ids, luggage, hotel room keys, and even their clothes. Jordan set the rift to hack anything incriminating or useful from their computers and phones.”

“Where did you leave them?”

“Tied and gagged, hanging from the roofs of their hotels inside bags made of Testudinate skins. Should be impossible for them to get out since every single one was level zero. We’ll have the fire department and police let them out and escort them out of town tonight.”

“Nicely done,” praised Adam. “Hopefully today goes well. I’m more than a bit nervous.”

Nick laughed. “You’re nervous? You never got nervous. Even before the [System].”

“I also never paraded around in armor like some kind of paragon.”

“Nope. Usually, you parade around in your birthday suit,” chuckled Carlos, earning a laugh from Lamar and Nick.

Adam just shrugged and headed to the door of the building. His group formed up behind him. Directly behind him was Lucas, Brittney, Randall, and Abbey. Then came the casters, followed by the warriors and scouts. It was loosely similar to how they fought.

“Ok, you can do this,” Adam whispered to himself, to get in the right headspace. “It’s serious time. Show everyone strength and power. I will protect the Earth. I will kill the invaders. I can carry all these people.”

The door opened and Adam strode out as tall as he could, with his war hammer in his hand. Lining the paths were thousands and thousands of people in rows. Each person that had volunteered over the last week or been involved in their training, from the young kids to the teenagers and fighters, to the elderly ladies, had received a shiny metal chest protector with leather straps that went around their back. The protectors were made from Earth materials, unlike Adam’s group. The swords that had been given to those who had leveled, and the knives given to everyone else were made from Testudinate metal.

Cheers and applause filled the air as they walked. Adam kept a stoic look on his face while meeting eyes and giving nods. The noise was overwhelming, and the people seemed genuine in their merriment.

Not far from the building a group of eight kids, probably late elementary school age, six boys and two girls, pushed their way into the road from the lines of spectators. They hollered and whooped while running towards Adam.

Adam smiled largely at them and gave them all a high five. The final boy he scooped up and placed on his right shoulder to the roar of the audience. Then he and the child lifted his war hammer into the air.

The rest of the kids were scooped up and given shoulder rides to the delight of both the children and spectators, except one girl who hid her face in embarrassment, eliciting a round of laughter.

“What happened to serious Adam, strength of the people?” taunted Brittney behind him. Adam shrugged.

“I’ll just have to be double serious later on,” he responded.

When their procession had reached the exit of the Rift, he turned to address all the people. Using the Rift Menu, he constructed a platform under the feet of his group, raising himself so everyone could see. He activated the voice amplification system so that his voice would be heard by everyone without having to speak louder.

“For the last two weeks we’ve all been preparing for war and survival. Tomorrow the invaders come. We’re as prepared as we can be thanks to all of your efforts and support. We have difficult times ahead…but tomorrow is tomorrow, and today I hope you will all celebrate with me. We will celebrate humanity and its accomplishments. We’ll celebrate our families and friends. We’ll celebrate like it’s the end of the world!”

The cheers became deafening.