Chapter 11: Terrifically Terrible Times
Despite the people there, the uncomfortable and insecurities still remain. When your brother is a looting shooting sociopath that hates your mere existence, then you might get paranoid. Paranoid about what he is capable of.
"God damn! Open you infernal chest!" he yelled out as he desperately tried to pry the box open. The only thing he achieved however was becoming exhausted. "Hmph, what to do now..." he said to himself.
"Ok everyone, on the count of three, we all get him down," said IF. Everyone nodded in agreement, weapons drawn, ready to strike.
"One."
"Two."
"Three! Go!" IF shouted as the four girls jumped towards the distracted Leon. Hearing an audible movement behind him, Leon quickly turned around. With quick reflexes he swiftly got out of the way.
BOOM
The rock behind him was reduced to mere dust. He would've been mauled to another dimension if he hadn't moved.
"Oh god what the hell was that?" he asked in surprise. Maintaining his composure, he stood up and realized that four girls were after him. "Who, who are you?!" He happened to only recognize one of them, Neptune.
"We're the people that are going to make you pay!" Neptune declared as she swung her sword around.
"P-Pay? Pay for what?" he asked with a clueless expression.
"You're gonna pay for what you did to Mikey jerk!" Noire said with a confident smile. Everyone in the group was preparing to attack again, and this time, they weren't going to hit another rock.
"Mikey? That little chump? Why are you guys even protecting my brother?" Leon asked with a now disgusted look.
"Br-Brother? He's your brother?" IF asked in disbelief. "How can he be your brother?"
"Because that's how nature works you fool. Believe me, I can't believe it either," he said as he gave them a sadistic grin. "I'm been trying to get rid of him ever since the beginning." He let out a loud chuckle. Looking back at the chest, he gave a loud sigh.
"I suggest you just leave me alone to my business," he coldly said before pulling out a bloodstained katana. The tip of his sword was darker and redder compared to the other parts of the sword. Maybe he used it to spread a bunch of strawberry jelly...
"Whatever, we're not even intimidated by you," Noire said.
"Well if you're not scared then why don't you fight me~?" Leon taunted while sticking his tongue out.
SLASH
"AHH!" he yelled as he jumped back. A large cut was shown on his shoulder where blood started to bleed out shortly after. "Who did that?!" he yelled out in anger. When he looked who was in front of him, he found that Neptune was the one who did it.
"Get him!" IF shouted. Soon the gang charged at Leon, swinging and stabbing their weapons in an attempt to get a hit on him. For Leon, it was a daunting task, defending against four constant attacks at once. Some of their strikes and attacks seemed stronger than usual to him.
"Hrnngh!" He groaned as he showed signs of exhaustion. Blocking, dodging, parrying, each ate a chunk of energy at Leon's disposal. It was certainly a more difficult fight than last time.
"Keep up the pressure girls!" Noire said as she managed to get a hit on his chest, knocking him back onto the rock my wall.
"Grrrnghh!" he groaned in pain as he coughed up some bloody spit. "You and your bloody teamwork, this isn't a fair fight," he said as he sheathed his sword. From his pocket, he pulled out a smoke grenade. "But that's ok, I wasn't going to play fair anyway." Pulling the pin and dropping it down on the ground, the area was soon enveloped in thick smoke letting Leon escape again with ease.
After being in the smoky darkness for a couple minutes, the girls finally regained their sight. None of them were pleased about what just happened.
"Damn it! He freaking got away!" Noire said in a frustrated tone.
"Look on the ground, there's a note," Compa said as she picked up a piece of paper.
The girls gathered around her, confused at first on what the note meant. It read:
END SOURCE MEANS END PROBLEM
END SOURCE MEANS END PROBLEM
END SOURCE MEANS END PROBLEM
"What does 'end source means end problem' mean?" IF asked.
"Maybe it's some cheat code for some speed hacks!" Neptune suggested.
"Wait a second, what if it's something relating to us?" Compa asked as she took a closer look at the repeating phrases.
"Like if Mikey's the source of his problems or something? Wait, then that means..."
"That wild man is going to end Mikey."
I had to say that I got some very good sleep. Sleep that was just pitch black, no nightmares, no weird ass dreams. And I have to say, one of my sides feels particularly warm. Maybe I had some extra blankets over there? As I reached my hand over to feel what was there, I realized I was touching hair. Hair?
I heard a giggle coming from there, and soon I could feel my body getting warmer and somehow tighter. Checking under the blankets, I saw an awoken Nepgear beaming back at me.
"Good morning Mikey!" said a joyful Nepgear. "Did you get a good rest?" she asked.
"Yeah I did," I said as I tried to get out of the bed. A loud growl came from my stomach, must've not eaten breakfast or anything today. "I'm going to go get something to eat, you want anything Nepgear?" I asked as I looked out into the hallway. Without hearing a reply I turned to look back, only to be greeted with a girl up close. First reaction was to backup immediately.
"Come on, let's go get food already!" she urged on as we began to walk down the hallway. Every step we took, I could feel the distance between us getting physically smaller and smaller. Before I knew it, the normally timid girl was now hugging my arm as we turned a corner. I didn't mind but all I wanted to know was what's gotten into her. It seems like she's sort of...attached.
A few minutes of wondering the halls, and luckily enough, we stumbled onto the cafeteria of the hospital. The only person there was that same black haired girl from last time. It seemed like she just finished eating something.
"Oh Nepgear, you came here to get lunch?" the girl asked as she puts down her coffee.
"Yup, what food is there?" she asked as she lets go of my arm.
"Oh just a bunch of sandwiches, I already ate like two so I'm already full," the girl said.
"Oh okay!" she said before going off to get some food.
The girl then notices me. "Oh hey it's that guy! Michael right?" she asked while pointing a finger at me.
"Yep, that's my name," I said as I pulled out a chair to sit on.
"The name's Uni, best shooter in Gamindustri," she boldly declared. "Tell me Mikey, what weapon do you use?"
"I guess I use guns?" I reluctantly said.
"Oh is that so huh? Welp, it looks like I got some competition now," she said jokingly. "Jokes aside, let's get to the real topic."
"The real topic? What real topic?"
She nodded towards Nepgear with a slight grin.
"Nepgear? What about her?"
"She likes you," she said indiscriminately.
After a second of thinking, I shook my head in disbelief. "Wait really? I don't think so," I said with a skeptical look.
"Well, let's just say, she likes something about you," she said with a pensive expression. When I looked at Nepgear, she simply smiled at me and waved. "All I want to know now is just, do you like her?" she asked with an expecting grin.
"Why do you want to know...?" I asked with an unsure look.
"I'm her best friend, and as a best friend, I know some stuff about her romance life," she said as she took out her phone. "Lots of boys wanted to date her, but she rejected them all, can you believe that?" She seemed to be scrolling through some pictures with a small smile on her face. "Mikey, you're a lucky guy."
"Well, when you put it that way, maybe I sort of like, like her..." My voice got quieter as I said those words.
"I knew it. Don't worry, I can keep a secret!" she said as she winked at me.
"I'm back with the food guys, anyone want some?" Nepgear asked while taking a bite out of a sandwich.
"Nah, I'm fu-" I was interrupted by a piece of bread shoved into my mouth.
"Oops Mikey, no talking with your mouth full!" Uni taunted.
"Okay okay, I'm not okay with this at all." Noire stated as she gave off a disappointed sigh. "The hospital is pretty far away, that man can get there faster than we can, what can we do?"
"Wait hold that thought, I see him!" Neptune said as she pointed down the street. Everyone looked down in that area and surely enough, past all the citizens and civilians, there was a familiar looking person running down the street. No one seemed to mind though, it's not uncommon to see someone in a hurry.
"Quick we need to chase him down!" IF said before going on pursuit. Soon the others joined in. Many turns, jumps, dodges, and other acrobatic actions were a common thing during the chase. Noire had a particularly hard time trying to catch up with the others, what with all the sharp turns and unpredictable movements.
"How long is he going to run?" she complained as she kept on running.
Eventually they lose track of him on one of the turns, making them start from square one. Why
"Did we just seriously run for nothing...?" IF asked in an annoyed tone.
"Wait guys isn't that the hospital right down there?" Noire asked as she got a better look.
"Yeah that is, so what?" Neptune asked as she sat down against a wall. Out of the blue, a thought came to her head. "Isn't Mikey at the hospital?"
"Yeah he is, and if Leon is after him, we have to get our move on quickly," IF added. "If we're fast enough, we can probably catch him then."
BOOOOM
A sudden firefly explosion engulfed the ground level of the building. Black smoke and shrapnel were spewed out into the surrounding area.
"What the shit?" Noire cursed out. "Who the hell did that? It couldn't be Leon right?"
"No man can cover a distance like that in just a few seconds. Now I know he's hacking," Neptune commented. "More importantly, our friends are in there!"
A sudden rustling of leaves can be heard to the side. Soon a figure rose from the bushes, a disappointed expression.
"I really really thought that would be bigger, well my work isn't cut out for me." Leon said as he threw away a remote. Looking to his right, he realized he just made another mistake.
"Get him!"
Author's Notes: Not sure about direction, but I'll find out a way! Please follow and favorite if you're enjoying this story so far. I'd just like to say thanks to all the people who supported me so far. Have a good day and have fun reading! Schedule might be a little weird, but I'm hoping I might update weekly or something along the lines of that.
