"...Neptune, quit kicking."
"Not my faaaault..."
A sharp kick to my thigh said otherwise.
This is not the morning I planned on having, for future reference. Normally, it'd be every man's wet dream, but for me it's just kinda...hot. And uncomfortable. And Neptune keeps kicking me in the thigh. I guess a quick rundown of the day wouldn't hurt...
After the epic gaming session I had with the CPUs, it turns out that we spent much more time than we actually needed to. Like into midnight, that sort of time. After finding that out, Neptune proposed we all have a sleepover, which by that time none of us really fought as we were tired, lazy, and getting off that gaming high. So after a brief changing session and a shower, I got into Neptune's big bed and got comfy. By her insistence, we watched a scary movie about some sort of monster named the 'Bogeyman'. It was a pretty cheesy movie, and Vert, Noire and Blanc had fallen asleep halfway through.
Neptune did not tell me that everyone would be sleeping next to me, however. I'd like to think I have a lot of self-restraint, but this is pushing it extremely hard. As long as I don't think about it and just sleep though, I think I should be just-
"...David?"
How is she, of all people, still up?
"Go to sleep, Neptune..."
"W-What if the Bogeyman gets me? He'll eat me and you'll never know!"
The...child's tale?
"Neptune, for goddess' sake, it was a movie."
I felt her grip my shirt a little tighter. Patting her on the head as gently as I could, I felt my eyes get heavy.
"Jus' relax, he isn't real..."
Davey is just a big fat liar, I know what I heard, swearsies!
You all as my witness here, there's somethin' fishy going on and Nepster does not like it. I hear things, scratching specifically, and it ain't Histy getting hungry in the middle of the night. Trust me, if she was that wouldn't be scratching you'd be hearing.
*CRACK*
HE ISN'T REAL HE ISN'T REAL HE ISN'T REAL HE ISN'T-
"K-Kuh! Neptune s-seriously!"
Oh whoops, may have tried to crush Davey's ribs there. In any case, he was totally awake now. Angry, but at least he'd listen to me now.
"D-Did you hear that?! S-Something is in here, I'm dead serious!"
"I never took you for the paranoid type, Neptune," he threw his head back all dramatic like, still talking in that smooth quiet voice of his. "Look, I can't-"
"OH GOD HE'S HERE THAT'S HIM NONONONO TAKE THEM FIRST!"
"NEPTUNE, YOU HAVE EXACTLY TEN SECONDS TO-"
Blanc's words died in her throat as we all stared at the robed figure near the bed. Neptune...wasn't lying?
"...This...is not good, is it?"
Instinctively shoving everyone behind me, I slid out of bed and stood right in front of the thing. I was taller, but if this thing really is the Bogeyman then we're all screwed.
"I'm not going to ask who you are, instead, what are you doing here?"
"...this is the end, David."
He didn't sound like a monster at all. In fact, he sounded kind of...young. Is it even a he? The voice is pitched somewhat awkwardly, so-
Seeing a flash out of the corner of my eye, I dodged out of the way as a knife gutted the air next to me. I suppose now is not the time to think about this.
"An assassin? Should I be touched or insulted, quite frankly?"
"You should be touched, I never go this out of my way to catch my prey," he started, twirling the dagger professionally around his fingers. "But you're worth the pay."
"And, if I may pry, how much are they paying you?"
"Ten million. All for your head in a pretty little pouch."
"...Never knew I was worth ten million credits. But I'm sorry kid, you're not leaving with anything of mine unless you fight for it."
He said nothing as he seemingly flashed in front of me, knife ready.
TWANG!
A blur of purple clouded my vision, and in front of me was a full dressed Neptune, having deflected the blow. The assassin stepped back, surprised.
"I dunno who sent you, but I will once I beat ya up! The name is Neptune, don't wear it out!"
"I'll agree with Neptune just this once. David was a Lastation citizen anyway, so it's my job to keep him safe and happy!"
Noire was also conveniently dressed, rapier in hand. She stepped over to stand beside Neptune in front of me.
"W-Wait, when and why did you bring a weapon with you, Noire?"
"...L-Look, does it matter, dummy?!"
Ouch, fine.
"Shit...dealing with CPU's aren't part of the contract. But if I can take you out..."
The assassin whipped out another dagger, this one jagged and coated in some sort of poison.
"I didn't want to have to do this. But you stand in my way. I always catch my target, who'll care if I catch a few more?"
"I dunno, me? Back off, bitch, your little butter knife can't break through our force."
I should stop being surprised that everyone has a fresh set of clothes on them and a weapon. In Blanc's case, a giant mallet. Turning to Vert, I got a shrug as she snuggled back into the sheets.
"Didn't bring mine, sorry...was too lazy..."
"Goddammit, Thunder Tits."
"What? You know very well I couldn't have-"
"Would you idiots stop bickering like children and just die by my blades already?"
Not happening, friend.
Lunging at him, I wrapped my arm around his throat and squeezed, making him drop his daggers and start jabbing his elbow into my chest, using the other hand to claw at my arm. Luckily, his arm was pretty thin, so it only kind of hurt.
Hearing a large clatter, I looked over to see Blanc wind up and smash her fist into his stomach, making him violently cough and sputter. Neptune followed up with a clumsy sort of kick, which did at least let Noire hit him with the butt of her sword right in the forehead.
"A-Ack! W-What the hell, you ch-cheating pricks?!"
"You are trying to kill me. I'd think it's fair game if you come in with poison and we come in with numbers."
Lifting him up, I flipped him in the air before slamming him onto the ground, knocking the wind right out of him. Kicking the daggers under Neptune's bed, we finally cornered him. Neptune, pulling some thick rope out of somewhere, quickly tied the thin boy up.
"Alright gang, let's see who this creep really is!"
Flipping the hood back, we were all surprised to see a girl's face staring back at us, confused and enraged. Her long white hair cascaded out onto the floor, and she shrunk before our gazes.
"I-I...I didn't lose! I-I'm not...this...fuck!"
Slamming her fists onto the floor, the assassin's face contorted into a mixture of pain, sadness and fear as tears started dripping out.
"W-Whoa, hey, you can't cry! You're the bad guy here, bad guys don't start gettin' all teary and-"
"Y-You don't understand! Y-You d-don't know what they'll do t-to him if I don't...i-if I..."
"...Him? Who is he? And who are they?"
Her teal eyes widened. By deduction, we probably weren't meant to hear that part.
"Hey, if it means anything, I don't hold it against you. I actually want to help you out, if this 'he' is a significant other to you."
"WHAT?!"
"W-What are you getting at...?"
"The fuck are you saying, David?"
Kneeling down in front of her, I briefly cast aside the fear of leaving myself this open to attack and looked her right in the eye. She averted my gaze a few times before I gently yet firmly gripped her chin, bringing her face up to mine.
"They're not going to hurt you anymore. Not if you answer this question. I want to help you but I can't unless you swallow that stubborn pride of yours, girl. Who. Are. They?"
She gulped, her eyes nervously darting around the room. Her voice came out barely as a whisper.
"...the O-Organization."
Wait, didn't...isn't that the thing MAGES. mentioned to me once?
"That's reaaaaally broad, girly. What sorta organization? The stabby kind? Ooh, or do they bake cookies?"
"Stop saying stupid things, Neptune. 'The Organization' is probably just their name. I haven't heard of them in Lowee, but..."
"Mmm. After ASIC crumbled, it's been peaceful over in Lastation. I haven't heard of the Organization."
"MAGES. should know what she's talking about."
"Y-You k-know the Mad Magician?! I-Is she here?!"
That garnered a reaction from her. Who is this girl?
"I...do. She's a friend of mine. Why do you ask?"
"...no, no no no! L-Let me go! LET ME GO! T-THEY KNOW, THEY KNOW!"
She started hysterically sobbing at this point, and we were too stunned to say anything back.
"David, get MAGES. right now. We'll keep an eye on this girl, but you gotta move. This is gonna be big, I feel it."
Neptune's voice came out firm, cold and calculating. Briefly surprised at the serious turn in her behavior, I nodded before turning around. No bother in changing, that would take too long, and who knows how much time I have?
"N-NO! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! T-THEY'RE GOING TO K-K-KILL HIM! NO!"
Burying the guilt I felt for now, I simply trudged onwards, silently contemplating how deep this rabbit hole is going to get.
A/N: A new arc out of nowhere, the Organization arc! I always felt they were bigger than what MAGES. described them as. Seriously if you're an interdimensional conglomerate, I would think that taking your time in destroying a soft drink. Sorry if it seemed abrupt.
In other news, this chapter is hella late. Sorry. A lot of things happened to cause that, and none of them good. I got laid off due to a work-related argument with my boss, and long story short it is not doing my emotional well-being any good. I started hunting for a new job today, I'll be damned if I remain unemployed forever.
Reviews!
TheLastNanaya: Glad you enjoyed both chapters, and yeah any Histy is pretty cute. Also, there's something about 'vibrate mode' that sounds really dirty but it wasn't meant that way. I'm such a child.
Shadow-Vanear: Hopefully I can find a good job to keep raking in the cash, and hopefully you can pull off stealing an entire base. Seriously, you know how much taxes I need to wade through to keep this base active? It's almost not worth it. But then I realize it's a base in a fucking volcano. Fuck yeah, dude.
HavenofUmbar: Look no further, friend.
fang: Yeah no, Neptune is the perpetual slacker. Also, thanks for the R word, but since I stopped that naming principle it makes me kinda sad that I won't need it.
Mario the World Champion: Haha, you were expecting smut, but it was actually just drama! Boo on you!
But seriously, there were like 8 different ways this chapter could of gone down, this is the one I leave you guys with. I'm so sorry.
Flare790: You just start to naturally write this stuff sometimes. 'Neptune has to do something, but hey guess what she fucking doesn't and goofs off' was the immediate thing that came to mind for chapter 10.
Next chapter is hopefully coming sooner! The identity and goal of Assassin will be revealed! MAGES. has an important role! David travels to another dimension and maybe fights things! All this and more, in Reload Chapter 12! Probably.