The Fighters And The Swordsmen
Chapter 4: Weird Occurrences
-Seriyuu Grasslands; Seth's P.O.V.- I groaned as I raised my hands above my head and stretched my back out. James and Stephen looked back at me and sighed.
"Calm down… You don't need to be so uptight," I smirked as I looked at them. Uni and Nepgear had already caught up to us and Uni is sticking by Stephen's side as she looked straight ahead with a somewhat dazed look on her face.
"Hey, is your girlfriend okay?" I teased as I pointed at Uni.
"Don't push it… Hey, Uni. You okay?" Stephen asked Uni as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She snapped out of her daze and looked over at Stephen.
"Yeah… I'm fine. No need to worry," Uni told me.
"I feel like someone has already said that phrase somewhere," James said as he folds his arms across his chest.
"Oww! Stop prodding me with that stick!" Neptune pouted as Noire followed her closely behind with a stick in her left hand. She poked Neptune again and huffed.
"This is the only way that I can get you to keep moving! Now, go!" Noire told Neptune.
"Jeez, stop acting like you have a stick up your ass," I told Noire. Then, something hits me in the back of the head. I spun around and saw Noire glare at me.
"You wanna go, bitch?! I got your number!"
"How dare you!" Noire called as she summoned her rapier.
"Wait a second! Calm down, you 2!" Neptune called as she got in between us. I stopped and looked down at the Planeptune CPU.
"She got one more time to try that shit again before I tear her into 2," I warned as I turned around and kept walking. Noire scoffed and kept walking. James and Stephen sighed as they followed me.
"Man, you need something to chill," James told me.
"I need my girl to cool me down…" I muttered as I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
"Who would want to date a jerk like you?" Noire taunted me as she folds her arms under her chest.
"You should talk, Lonely Heart!" I told her. She blushed as she called out her rapier.
"That's enough!" Uni told us as she glanced at us. Noire and I stopped and looked at Uni. She had a very pissed off look on her face.
"You guys need to stop bickering! This is getting childish! You need to make amends, NOW." Noire called back her rapier and scoffed.
"Whatever… Clearly you don't like me and I don't like you. I'll see you guys later," I grunted as I bumped past Noire and kept walking.
-Stephen's P.O.V.- "Seth, wait a minute!" James called as he took a step after Seth. I placed a hand on his shoulder and shook my head.
"Let him go… He needs to cool off," Akina told him as she held his hand.
"Noire… That was not cool," Neptune told Noire as she looked at Neptune.
"I don't need to hear that from you, Neptune… Let's just get going. The minor technicality is gone," Noire said seriously as she passed by Neptune.
"Minor Technicality? That's my brother," James told Noire venomously.
"So? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Noire told him with equal venomous intention.
"What is wrong with you?! If you have a problem with me, tell me… But, don't take it out on my brother! He's had enough people put him down over his personality!" James told Noire as he walked up to her. Noire said nothing to his declaration. I know James… He loves his family. They're all he's got in the world besides me and Akina.
"Whatever animosity you have towards Seth, it ends here… Because, you will NOT drag him into the pits of hell and back. Do you understand me?"
"…" Noire looked away from James and closed her eyes.
"So, that's it? Nothing you have to say? Nothing? Now I know why they call you Lonely Heart… You're cold hearted," James told Noire as he walked past her after his brother who had already disappeared. Akina and I nodded to each other and followed James. Noire opened her eyes and sighed.
-3rd Person P.O.V.- "What did I do?" Noire muttered.
"Well…" Neptune said.
"Shut up, Neptune…" Noire told Neptune as she glared at her. She walked past Neptune and went in the opposite direction of where the Dimension Travelers went. Uni looked back the way that Seth, James, Akina, and Stephen went then back at Noire and the others. She sighed and went after Stephen and the others. Compa also did the same and followed behind Uni.
-Carluni Cave; James's P.O.V.- I stopped my pursuit and looked around for my older brother, calling out to him in a panic. Seth hated caves… He told me a bear attacked him and dragged him into a cave when he was only 7 when he went camping with his dad. I stopped when I heard the sound of sniffles. I looked around and saw Seth sitting against a stalagmite, looking at something in his hand.
"Hey! You okay?!" I asked seriously as I knelt in front of Seth and placed a hand on his left shoulder. He looked up at me as tears streamed down his cheeks. I looked down at his hand and saw a photo of his dad in his hand.
"Oh… You were thinking about your dad."
"He loved me for who I was… And, he was my rock in the hard times. When we met you and your mother… I thought we could be happy again. Then…" Seth sniveled.
"Your dad died of a stroke 6 months after he married Mom," I said sadly, "Yeah, I remember… That was the 1st time I really felt like I had a dad in my life. You took it harder than Mom did."
"I just want him back, man! He always told me to never give in to bullying… And, protect you and Mom. Now, I'm a hollow shell of what I used to be…" Seth sobbed as he bowed his head. Tears now flowed down his cheeks as I sat next to him.
"It's gonna be okay… You still have me around. Mom's not going anywhere soon, either. No matter what, family sticks together," I told him as my forehead touched his forehead, "Remember… You and I are 2 of a kind. Nothing breaks this brotherly love… Nothing." Seth looked at me and closed his eyes.
"There you 2 are!" Compa's voice called to us as she rushed up to us and stopped in front of us.
"How did you catch up to me that fast? Akina and Stephen were like right behind me…" I said as I looked at Compa.
"That's what I wanted to tell you! Akina and Seth are in trouble! An Ancient Dragon as well as several Bandit Hedgehogs appeared and are attacking them!" Compa told me. I quickly stood up and looked back down at Seth.
"I can't leave him…" I said as I looked down at Seth.
"Let me take care of him… I'll bring him over when he's ready to go," Compa told me, "Promise."
"Okay… I trust you," I smiled as I raced past Compa.
-3rd Person P.O.V.- Compa knelt in front of Seth and looked down at the photo of Seth's father in Seth's hands.
"Who is that?" Compa asked him curiously as she looked up at Seth.
"My dad… He's gone. He died 6 months ago," Seth told Compa, "He died of a stroke."
"Oh, my… I'm sorry for your loss. You must've really looked up to him," Compa told him as she tilts her head to the side.
"I did… He was my everything growing up. My mother died giving birth to me… And, Dad decided to raise me all by himself. No one else for a long time…" Seth told Compa. Compa hugged him and smiles at him. Seth raised his head towards Compa.
"Wha… C-Compa, why are you…" Seth said as he looked at her.
"Because no one should be sad like this… You are a great guy, now that I've gotten to know you. Lady Noire was wrong about you… You are an amazing person with a… Somewhat colorful personality. And… I think I've started developing feelings for you." Compa placed her hands on his face and moved his face up towards her face. She had a small blush on her face as she leaned in to kiss him. He was physically surprised as he didn't know what to do at that moment. Then, he snapped out of it and kissed her back.
"Whoa… This is wrong. Wait a sec…" Seth said as he pulled away all of a sudden… Leaving Compa in surprise herself.
"What's wrong? Don't you like me?" Compa asked as question marks floats around her head.
"No… I love you. But, I have to go… My friends are in danger," Seth told her as he stood up and wiped his tears away. Before he ran off… He helped Compa to her feet and kissed her again.
"Thank you… You understand my pain. I will never forget that." Seth ran off in a hurry. Compa blushed again as she held her hand over her lips.
"Wow… Maybe I was wrong. He is a great kisser," Compa thought as she rushed after him.
-Seth's P.O.V.- Compa and I finally caught up to our friends… Just as the Ancient Dragon grabs my brother and began to crush him in its claws. He screamed in pain as he tried to break free.
"James! Let him go!" I yelled as I pulled out 2 .357 Magnums out of nowhere and points it at the Ancient Dragon. I shot several rounds of bullets at the monster and shredded its wrist. It releases James and he fell to the ground. Compa and I rushed over to him and checked on him.
"You good, little brother?" I asked him. James lets out a groan and nods his head as he tries to stand up.
"Wait, don't move so suddenly! I'll patch you up!" Compa told James as she quickly pulled out her medkit, "Cover me, Seth!"
"Yes, pretty lady," I said in my trademark snarky and perverted tone as I reloaded my guns and put them away. I then pulled out an AK 47 and raced at the Dragon.
"Chino Riser!" I called as I shot several incendiary rounds at the Dragon and knocked it back.
"Shoryu-Cannon!" Stephen yelled as he uppercuts the Dragon into the ceiling and then uppercuts it again, punching it through the ceiling! It crashed through the ceiling and raced at Stephen and I!
"Meteor Slash!" Akina yelled as she tri slashed the Dragon into the ground. It roared as it rose up and glared at us.
"EX Multi Blaster!" Uni yelled as she blasted the Dragon into a wall and it sunk onto one knee.
"All better! Go get 'em, Jamie!" Compa called.
"Must you call me that name every time? JJ would've fit me better…" James groaned as he stood up, "Oh well… Let's end this with a bang! Stephen, let's use a combo attack!"
"Ready when you are!" Stephen called as he held a large blue sphere in his hands. James held a large blue and black sphere shuriken in his free left hand.
-EXE Drive Coupling Skill: Metsu Rasenken- James and Stephen fired off their respective attacks and combined it into a large ball of black and blue energy.
"This is your end, monster!" both of them yelled as the sphere collided with the Ancient Dragon. It exploded into pixels as the shuriken sliced it in 2. James and Stephen high fived as I pumped my fist into the air.
"Perfect as always," Akina taunted as she swung her buster sword at her right side.
"I can't believe that work! Huzzah for teamwork, bruh!" I called as I put James in a headlock.
"Hey! I can see you're back to normal…" James smirked as he fought out of my grip. I smirked as I let him out of the hold.
"Yeah… All thanks to my sweet nurse. She heals any wounds," I joked as I placed an arm around her hip.
"Ehehe…" Compa giggled. She looked at me and smiled.
"Look, Seth… About what Noire said…" Uni said as she walked up to me.
"Don't worry about it… I get it. She is a huge tsun-tsun," I chuckled, "But, I am sorry for what I said about her. It was rude of me and I need to apologize."
"Well… Noire is helping Neptune with the quest still. Let's catch up with them," Uni said as she looked at us. We agreed and followed Uni deeper into the cave.
-Meanwhile; 3rd Person P.O.V.- Noire, in her HDD form, hovered up to a dead end and stopped.
"A dead end… Ok. Time to go back," Noire said as she turned to go back the way she came. Then, a dragon appeared out of the darkness and growled at Noire. She stopped and turned around quickly.
"What?! That's an Ancient Dragon!" She quickly dodged out of the way as a claw swiped at her and the dragon tried to stomp on her. She lands and smirked at the Ancient Dragon.
"Hmph… You have no idea who you're messing with… I will strike you down all the same!" She charged full speed at the dragon and raised her futuristic broadsword into the air.
"Take this!" Then, a Bandit Hedgehog lands on the Ancient Dragon's head and leaped at Noire. It drove its head deep into her gut and knocked her clear into a wall. She staggered to her feet and suddenly felt a weird sensation course through her body. Then, she returned to normal form and looked down at herself.
"What the… Huh? Why now?" Noire asked nervously as she looked at her hands. Then, the Ancient Dragon roared and charged at Noire full speed. She panicked and flinched as she held her bruised stomach.
"No… Am I gonna die… Like this?"
"You really think so?" a voice called as a figure appeared in front of her and smacked the Ancient Dragon in the face. It sailed back and skidded across the ground. Noire looked up at the figure who saved her life and blinked as it turned to her. The Alabaster skinned figure sighed and shook his head.
"This is getting on my nerve… But, I guess I'll help you out," it told her as it faced the Ancient Dragon. It roared at them and took several steps forward towards them.
"If you want to know your destroyer… My name is France. France Shellby… And, you have royally screwed up," he told the Ancient Dragon as he raised his hand up.
"Darkest Blood," he called as he slowly brought his hand down and a thin line appeared in front of him, "Eviscerate." Then, the line sliced the Ancient Dragon up into pieces.
"Thank you…" Noire said silently.
"Child's play… Now, what are you doing out here?"
"Really? No you're welcome?" Noire asked. France looked at Noire with an aloof look on his face.
"So, your point being?" France asked as he walked away from Noire.
"Hey! Get back here!" Noire yelled as she raced after him. Suddenly, several Fenrir surrounded the 2 of them. The Holder Of Lowee puts his hands in his pockets as he glanced around him.
"Can you fight?" France asked Noire as he glanced back at her.
"I can't use HDD for some reason… But, that doesn't mean I'm down and out," Noire declared as she summoned out her Rapier. France sighed and turned back to the surrounding Fenrir.
"Critical Edge!" a voice called as a red Fenrir on the far right fell on its side. Neptune smiled as she waved at Noire and France.
"Neptune?! What are you doing here?!" Noire asked seriously as she looked at Neptune. Neptune raced up to Noire and pats Noire's shoulder.
"I'm here to help you!" Neptune smiled as she raised her samurai katana up to her right side.
"Hmm… This won't take long. Come at us with everything you've got!" Noire yelled as she took a defensive stance.
-Seth's P.O.V.- We've been running for about 20 minutes or so… And we still haven't found Noire. I hope… She's okay. I can't let this apology go to waste. Suddenly, a howl pierced through the air and sounds of fighting was heard nearby.
"That sounds like a Fenrir cry… Be careful," James said as he raised Raioman up in front of him.
"Good… I was waiting to shoot something," I said seriously as I pulled out my guns and pointed them out in front of me.
"Let's go," Stephen said as he and Uni hurried ahead. We followed him and stopped when we saw Noire, Neptune, and an unfamiliar male fighting a Fenrir tribe. Neptune was transformed into Purple Heart while Noire was not. The male was dressed in a weird suit as his eyes were pupiless and pure red.
"Hmm… It seems we have company," the male called as he turned his head towards us.
"Huh? Uni! Everyone!" Noire gasped as she stabbed her Rapier into a purple Fenrir's left side.
"Hey, who's that guy?! Is he a…" James gasped.
"CPU? You could say that, yes…" he said as he turned to us, "Death Heart is my name… Keep it in mind." We nodded nervously as we looked at him.
"Also, I am an ally… So, don't be afraid. Let us end this crazy battle."
"Okay… Let's go, guys!" Akina called as she charged ahead. James, Stephen, and I followed suit.
"Let's do this! Bankai!" James yelled as he changed into his Soul Reaper outfit.
"Ready when you guys are!" I called as I stopped and pointed my Magnums at the monsters.
-EXE Drive Coupling Skill: Gamer Pride- James and Akina slashed several Fenrirs into pixels as I gunned down several more into binary code. Stephen fired several blue Hadokens at the remaining monsters and blew all but one Fenrir away. The mysterious guy summoned out a large scythe and cuts the Fenrir in half.
"Nice work, you 4… It looks like we're all done here. I'd better take my leave, then," the male said as he changed into another outfit. He was wearing a black t-shirt with a red cape over the shirt, black pants, and black pointed boots. Another thing I should mention… This guy has the weirdest looking eyes. They looked more like red slits in the irises… Almost like a cat's eyes. He also had clean cut black hair with some bangs covering his left eye.
"Who are you?" I called as he turned to leave. He stopped and turns back to look directly at me.
"My name is France… France Shellby. We shall meet again, Seth Naoko… You and your friends," he said emotionlessly as he disappeared into a shadow.
"How'd he know my name?!" I panicked as I looked at the place where France once stood.
"That's actually kind of creepy…" Neptune said as she changed back to human form. Noire glanced at me and sighed as she walked over to me.
"I should apologize for my behavior… I was wrong to act that way to you. Maybe I was a little too harsh to you…" Noire told me.
"Nah, no biggie… I should be the one apologizing. I was wrong to call you that… My bad," I smirked as I rubbed the back of my head. She turned to James and nods to him.
"Same here… Don't want any animosity between us," James said as he nods his head.
"Look at you 2 growing some hair on your chests!" Akina teased James and I as she hugged James from behind.
"Okay… Cut it out. We get it… Maybe this is a sign that we both need a reality check," James sighed as he looked at me.
"Oh, yeah…" I said as I looked over at Stephen. He nods and smiled.
"Besides… Noire almost getting snacked on by an Ancient Dragon is priceless! Talk about almost overkill!" Neptune teased as she looked at Noire.
"What… Wait! How do you know that?! Were you watching me?!" Noire gasped as she glared at Neptune.
"Yep!" Neptune smirked with a trolling look on her face. Noire trembled with rage as she slowly walked towards Neptune.
"And, you did nothing to help me?!" Noire yelled as she clenched her fist.
"I thought you would've handled it by yourself… Uh, are you mad?" Neptune said as she took a few steps back. Noire's eye twitched as she frowned at Neptune.
"No, I'm not mad… I just have this insatiable urge to shove eggplants down your nose and mouth," Noire growled as she walked towards Neptune.
"Gwah! E-Eggplants?! N-Noire… Calm down… I'm sorry…" Neptune panicked as she backed into a wall, "Help!"
"Noire… Maybe you should…" Uni told Noire.
"In a second, Uni… I have to kick Neptune's ass for a second," Noire told Uni. Uni backed off and looked over at us for help.
"kick her ass later, Noire… We gotta get back to the Basillicom and report this quest," James told Noire.
"Nep, you could wait for us next time," IF called as she walked up to us with Nepgear in tow.
"Fine… You aren't off the hook, Neptune," Noire told Neptune as she turns away from Neptune.
"Meep…" Neptune said as Noire walked away from her.
"Okay… That was totally different than what happened in the 1st episode of the animation," James whispered to us as he pulled me, Akina, and Stephen aside, "Noire and Neptune's roles have switched this time… Noire is supposed to be running after Neptune in shock, not rage. The Ancient Dragon we fought must've been the one Noire was supposed to fight. The story is changing drastically."
"Hmm… Now that you mention it… This does feel a lot different. What else has changed?" I said as I reloaded my Magnums and put them away.
"It seems so strange… But, no matter what… We have to try and stick with the original storyline as much as we can. This is only the 1st episode. James, what happened in the 2nd episode?" Akina asked him as she looked over at him.
"We're… Gonna need some coats. Most of the episode takes place in Lowee. Also, we're supposed to fight Trick in that same episode," James said as he pushed his glasses up on his face, "It also focuses mainly on Blanc and her sisters' relationship. So, let's try and make a good impression on her."
"Hmm… I wonder…" Stephen said as he folds his arms. I looked over at him and pats his shoulder.
"What is it?" I asked him as I smirked at him, "Thinking about Uni?" Stephen glanced at me with an 'I'm not listening to you' look.
"No… Not at the moment, really. I am thinking about when I met Nona and MarvelousAQL. They were from a different Hyperdimension than us. And, France had that weird form when we met him. It looked like… A CPU form to me for some reason. Didn't it look so familiar to you, James?" Stephen explained as he looked at James. James nodded as he looked at Stephen.
"Yeah… France was definitely using HDD. But, question is… Where did he get that power? So many questions… I wish I had my handbook," James sighed as he shook his head. Akina pulls out a shiny golden notebook from in between her breasts and held it up to James.
"Looking for this?" Akina giggles as her breasts bounced up and down. James smirked and kissed Akina on the lips lovingly.
"I love you so much… Where did you get that?" James smiled as Akina gave him the book.
"I think you put the wrong books in your locker at school," Akina told him as she giggled cutely. Damn… My little brother's a lucky guy.
"Might have to keep that away from everyone, though… It would make it seem like you're spying on them," Stephen told him as he nods his head.
"More like studying them. I also put What If bios of us and my mom," James smirked.
"Really? You're that dedicated? At least you didn't exclude your mother…" Stephen chuckled as he nods his head.
"Shut up… Anyway, I think they left us here," James said as he looked behind him. No one was in the cave except for us. A howl pierces through the air.
"Should we run?" I asked as I looked at the others. They nodded and we raced out of the cave.
(That's it for this chapter! And, this is the official end of the Entry to Gamindustri Arc! I forgot to mention there were Arcs in this story! The next will be on Lowee! And, I will bring up a backstory on one of my OCs in that one as well! And, today is my birthday! Being 21 feels so good! Sweet! Anyway… Hope you enjoyed and I'll talk to you all later! A/N.)
-End Chapter 4-