So first of all thanks to Darebear the bear and bakannia for favoriting the story and forcing me to get off my butt and continue working on the story. Only one last part after this guys, don't know when I'm gonna get done with it but thanks for sticking with me. Now here's the second part to chapter 13. INTERVENTION TIME!
Chapter 13-2: Intervention
World: C – Control the Money of Soul and Possibility
Gaia Date: September 16th, 2015
Current Location: Financial District, Bank of Midas Plaza
Time: 4:14pm
Kevin's Updated Countdown To Press Reversal: 2 Hours
"You're the biggest idiot I've ever met by the way," was the first thing I said to Nick when we reached the Financial District, which looked just as deserted as Tokyo. It had been that way for the last couple of days. A lot of people were staying in their homes with some kind of depression, and if you were an Entre and had any kind of brains you had gotten your ass out of the country… or had been bankrupted by the Starling Guild.
"You're just now figuring this out?" Miyoko replied angrily. "You completely blew our cover Nick! Why would you do that?"
"We have two hours to find the seal and your worried about cover!? We don't have time for your anime. It's time to leave. You start looking. I have somewhere else I need to go. I'll be back soon." After looking around for a moment, Nick shot off in the direction of the Southeast. I let out a long sigh as my asset continued death glaring the winged Jumper as he flew off.
"So first he demands that we come back to the district to find the seal and then he wanders off to go take care of something. I can't believe it. Un-fucking believable" Miyoko muttered the last few words, clearly holding back the most anger I've felt out of her in a long time. I mean I was pissed at Nick too, it was like he had his own personal agenda and it didn't make any sense, but I didn't think it was worth getting under my skin.
"Forget him," I said trying to keep us calm, refocusing my brain to the important task still ahead of us. "If we find the seal we can leave him here to face whatever horrors are created when the press goes into reverse. By the way, how's the little one? We certainly could use another head trying to figure this out." Miyoko took a deep breath to calm herself, then shook her head.
"Don't count on it, she seems really depressed. If we weren't on a two hour time clock I'd say you should talk to her sooner rather than later but…"
"We may want to talk to Sylva sooner rather than later anyway. Having another head working the problem might be just what we need. Besides, I wouldn't want to be alone after I lost someone." I started walking towards one of the dome's slanted pillars, sitting down on one of the steps while Miyoko leaned up against the pillar itself.
"We don't have the time." Miyoko replied. "If we don't find a seal soon we're as good as dead. I want to help Sylva as much as you but we simply can't do it right now."
I sighed and shook my head. "But I don't even know where to look anymore! If only there was another Jumper we could ask." I stopped as it hit me. I had just purchased an asset who was probably one of Evander's crew, meaning that more than likely he or she was a Jumper too!
"What'd you come up with Kevin?" Miyoko asked with a smirk.
"Sylva. She'll know where the seal is. Think about it, her Entre was in cahoots with Evander. There's a good chance he was a Jumper." Miyoko punched me in the arm.
"Now you're using your head. Of course she's still depressed about what happened earlier today."
"Then we're going to have to cheer her up somehow!" I declared. Miyoko raised an eyebrow.
"And just how do you plan on doing that genius." I pulled my Midas card out of my pocket.
"I have no clue. We'll just have to wing it." My honest reply was rewarded with a disappointed sigh.
"You're hopeless." I ignored my partner as I tried to think of a way to get Sylva so come out of her card. Despite being in the district, Assets had the option of remaining in their Entre's Midas cards if they wished. For an asset who clearly had a close relationship with their Entre, it wasn't surprising that Sylva was spending her time huddled in the corner. For the longest time I simply stood still staring stupidly at my Midas card.
"You gave no idea how to get her to come out do you." Miyoko asked.
"Nope, not the slightest clue." I answered quickly.
Miyoko shook her head. "Just try saying 'hello' you dumbass. I hear that's how most people start conversations." I shot my asset a glare and waved her off before looking down at my card again.
"Hello? Are you in there?" I asked, trying to look into the space where assets rested while an Entre was in the real world. I couldn't spot Sylva anywhere. It wasn't too surprising, if an asset didn't want to be seen they didn't have to show themselves. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong you know." Silence.
I slowly considered my options. Bribery would probably be useless, lying would get me nowhere fast and would get me in trouble with Miyoko. There was no way I could force Sylva to come out and would just have the same result as lying. Well I'm out of ideas. Thankfully, Miyoko decided to step in and give me a hand.
"I know you're sad, but we want to help you. Please tell us what's wrong." I tried to hide the surge of shock that rushed through my body. Never in the last eight months had I ever heard Miyoko speak in such a kind manner. Everything had either been harsh or sarcastic.
Apparently, Miyoko's kind words did the trick. With a quick flash of light the sounds of a young girl could be heard sobbing nearby. A quick glance to my right gave me my first look at Sylva. Miyoko's description of her had been quite accurate, her hair was a seemingly natural shade of pink, meaning it was somewhat dull compared to what you see on TV sometimes. Her yellow hoodie had a picture of a rabbit on the right sleeve, and her black sweats made her look like a bee. Wow, she really does look like somebody's kid sister or something.
The pink-haired asset had her face buried in her knees as she sat crying next to one of the slanted pillars, it didn't take a therapist to know that the last few hours had traumatized the female asset, which I didn't think was even possible considering assets and Entre's get banished from the district all the time. Maybe it's different for assets belonging to a Jumper. Miyoko did know a lot about the human world when I first met her.
Miyoko and I exchanged a look of sympathy and each sat down on either side of Sylva. Without hesitation I began to slowly rub the girls back to try and comfort her and calm her down. For what felt like hours we didn't say anything, we just kind of sat there and looked out at the district, listening to the tears of an asset whose Entre was long gone.
"It's going to be alright." I finally said in a quiet tone.
"No it won't. It won't be alright until Shane comes back." From Sylva's depressed tone, I could tell that she knew deep down that Shane wasn't coming back to the district ever again. I felt my anger rising at Nick and had to force it down. Now was not the time to get mad at Nick, there were a million and three things going on at the time, and it wasn't like Nick cared about what happened to his enemies.
"I don't know if you'll see Shane again." I replied honestly. It was the only thing I could think of to say, and it sucked. Then again the whole truth of the situation sucked.
"I told him not to come to the district today. I told him and he didn't listen to me! And now…" Sylva broke off into more tears. I stopped rubbing Sylva's back and leaned over to give her a hug. Even the enemy has a family.
"Hey, hey don't cry. It's not like Shane is dead you know." Sylva looked up at me. Her face and eyes were red from crying so much. I smiled and nodded. "Just because someone gets banished from the Financial District doesn't mean their dead. I'm sure Shane is out there somewhere looking for the people who saved you from disappearing."
"You… saved me?" For an asset, Sylva didn't seem like she knew a whole lot about how things worked here in the district. Jumper assets are sure weird.
"You bet." Miyoko answered with a nod. "And it's all thanks to Shane. If he didn't sell you when he did you wouldn't be here now." Sylva looked down at her knees, giving the thought consideration.
"So… Shane is out there somewhere?" I answered Sylva's question with a thumbs-up.
"You bet he is. He might not be on this world anymore, but he's alive, and we'll help you find him." Miyoko shot me a look that reminded me that we didn't have time to look around for someone who might not even be on the planet anymore. I mouthed a quick "I know" before turning back to Sylva.
"You promise?" Sylva asked.
"Promise." I answered without hesitation. Sylva squealed with joy and tackled me, taking me down to the ground with a big hug. I laughed and hugged her back before slowly moving Sylva off me and returning to my feet.
"I wish Nick would show a little care when he fights his deals." I looked down, rubbing the hair of Sylva as she clung to my side with a wide smile. I was glad that we had turned a frown upside-down.
"This time I don't blame him honestly, Sylva's former Entre was working for Evander, and from what I picked up, those two don't exactly get along. There's no chance he knew about Sylva going into that deal. Besides, there are a lot of assets like Sylva in the district, and it's the risk every Entre runs when they come here." Miyoko had a point.
"Yeah I know, but still…" I lightly shook my head and took a knee next to the pink haired asset. "Listen Sylva, I can't promise to be like Shane, nor can I promise your safety right now, but Miyoko and I will do the best we can to help you figure it out alright?" Sylva nodded, and hugged me again.
"Alright then, I think it's time for some formal introductions! I'm Kevin."
"Sylva." Sylva said through a sniffle.
"A very nice name Sylva, the cold queen behind you is Miyoko. I'm sure you two have seen each other before." I might regret that introduction later but I needed some kind of comical relief. Not very good comical relief I know. Miyoko walked over and got one on one knee, coping my posture to keep at eye level with our new friend.
"Hey there Sylva, don't worry, Kevin's a nice guy. After all I've stuck with him this long. Even if he did almost get melted by acid and covered in goo at one point." Ouch. Sylva giggled.
"Wait, he was covered in goo? Eww that's so gross!" Miyoko laughed, a first for the world. I thought it might be another dimension or the apocalypse for a second. Joking aside though, it was good to find out that Miyoko was good with kids. She was a heck of a lot better at it than I was.
"You should've seen it, head to toe in green glop, even after two showers his roommate was complaining about the stink!" I rolled my eyes while the pair laughed.
"It wasn't that bad!" I complained, but was cut short by a shout erupting from the center of the plaza.
"What kind of arrogant ass thinks he can save a country on his own?" Oh great, the deal between Jennifer and Mikuni was starting. Thankfully I was dealing with Sylva so I must have looked too innocent to be noticed, not that I was planning on interfering. But that meant that time was running short. By rough estimates this deal was going to last about twenty minutes, and I had spent the last little while of that time cheering Sylva up. Guess it's time I asked the question.
"Sylva," the pink haired asset turned to me with a smile on her face. "Listen this is going to be sudden and I hate to be serious right out of the gate, but do you know where something called a 'seal' is?"
"You mean those water animals Shane used to show me at the zoo?" Oh god not this again, we didn't need another Dawn even if this girl was supposed to be a six year old asset.
"Not quite," I corrected, trying to keep my voice level. It will look like the Bank of Midas symbol, and it will let people go see Midas." Sylva shrugged.
"I've never seen one, oh but Shane used to talk to Masakaki about going to see someone called Midas all the time! I was never allowed to go with them though. They were always so secretive about it! I wonder he did up there?" Sylva looked up at the red sky, even though the only thing there was a giant squid thing holding up the rotary press.
It hit me so fast I might as well have been shot. It was so simple, Masakaki was the person who ran the district, enforced all the rules, and was essentially the right hand of Midas himself. Instead of looking for a seal in an abandoned alley, I should have been looking for the seal on a person. But I had asked Masakaki about talking to Midas once before and had been turned away, and Kimimaro had done the same thing if I was remembering my facts right. So for as much sense as it made for the well dressed man to be the seal, it also didn't fit at all, unless…
"Did Shane say something to Masakaki each time they met?" Miyoko stood up, clearly she could sense that we were getting close to the end of the puzzle and the secret to escaping. Sylva nodded seriously.
"Yes, every time he wanted to see Midas he always said 'I want to jump a deal.' It was like he was speaking code or something." I clapped my hands together and rubbed Sylva's head.
"We got it. We should get out of here before this world collapses." Steam suddenly erupted from the plaza, surrounding us for a moment before Mikuni used Q to negate the effect. I shot at annoyed look at Jennifer but she was too busy getting her ass handed to her to pay any attention to me.
"Call that annoying kid with wings and tell him to get back here or we're leaving without him." Miyoko said with her serious face back on. Sylva's face filled with shock and horror, like she was reliving a bad memory.
"You're… with him?" I didn't follow, who was him? Why was Sylva suddenly freaking out when Miyoko mentioned… Nick… Oh. Dammit just when I get through to her she now wants to kill me too. The ONE time I miss an important detail.
"Sylva I need you to listen to me." Sylva started to back away. As quick as I could I grabbed her shoulders so she couldn't run off. She tried to fight, struggling in my arms, and it only took her a moment to get free. Holy shit she's strong!
"Stay away from me!" Sylva screeched. "You're not my friend, you're with him. You took Shane away! I hate you!" Oh my god. I thought to myself as the last of the steam disappeared. Well I done goofed this time. The last thing we need right now is Sylva rebelling on us.
"Sylva listen to me! I didn't know that kid when he bankrupted Shane!" Sylva didn't calm down, backing away and bumping into Miyoko. As the ice asset reached out to stop Sylva from running she slipped away, barley managing to get out of reach of Miyoko. Hey eyes flashed golden for a moment before she dropped to her knees. What in the world? Crazy shit all day today!
"Sylva are you okay?" Miyoko asked, kneeling down and resting a hand on Sylva's shoulder, at the same time shooting me a look of questioning mixed with anger. I shrugged. But the girl didn't react. She remained frozen, like someone had placed some kind of a spell on her. Then, as suddenly as it happened, the glow faded from Sylva's eyes and she pushed Miyoko away from her.
"Stay away from me!" What the hell just happened?
"Listen to me Sylva, remember the promise Kevin and I made to you! We promised to help you look for Shane right?" Sylva's eyes flared with anger at Miyoko's reminder for a moment but she took a deep breath.
"You pinky promise?" Sylva asked the ice asset with an accusing glare. I sighed, joining Miyoko on the ground.
"You bet." Sylva and I locked pinky fingers for a few moments before Sylva took a deep breath. For as fast as Sylva turned against us she calmed down remarkably fast, and then there was the thing with her eyes! What the hell?
"What's wrong Sylva?" I refocused back on the assets. Sylva had a look of concern on her face.
"If Shane is alive, then his future has been taken from him. He'll be sad for the rest of his life!" So this girl does know a few things about the district.
"I wouldn't worry about that." Miyoko replied. Sylva looked at Miyoko in confusion. I quickly began explaining.
"You've heard us talk about the press right? It will give the future back to anyone whose lost it, that means Shane too right?" Sylva nodded at my explanation, the waterworks starting up again. "Well then all we have to do is make sure the press spins in reverse and then we save Shane!" It was a wild theory. It was probably wrong since there was no future for the bank to take, but it was hope. Hope that Sylva was going to have to hold on to, for the sake of keeping herself sane.
Suddenly, a massive black sword with a red outline slammed into the ground behind me, sending up dust and parts of the ground all over the three of us. My face darkened, I got to my feet, and I spun to face the plaza.
"Do you fucking mind? We're having a moment!" This actually got Mikuni's attention from Sato for a moment.
"You again? I didn't think we'd see each other again after you turned down my offer that day." I shook my head and looked over at the southeast side of the city, still burnt from Msyu's big attack not too long ago. It didn't even bother to repair itself. Somehow the district knew that either the end or a new future was coming. Okay, the city has given up on fixing itself, not a good sign. Hoping Nick was still alive, I felt my eyes go gold as I reached out to him using the districts communication system, letting me talk with anyone I chose as long as they "accepted" the call. Nick, thankfully, recognized my "number".
"Sup."
"I've found it, the seal is Masakaki, bastard must have been hiding it under his hat the whole time, literally. Better get over here quickly."
"Got it. Be there in five." At long last, we were getting our butts off of Midas.
World: C – Control the Money of Soul and Possibility
Gaia Date: September 16th, 2015
Current Location: Financial District, Bank of Midas Plaza
Time: 4:28pm
Kevin's Updated Countdown To Press Reversal: "Screw it I don't even know anymore! IT'S SOON OKAY?"
"I don't know what you plan to do but Sato already failed to take my darkness card." I watched from the steps of the plaza with a general disinterest at Mikuni's greeting to Kimimaro Yoga. It wasn't like I didn't care at all what was going on in front of me. Despite the fact that I still had a general fascination with the fact that the characters of one of my favorite anime's were standing right in front of me my mind was more focused on the prospect of getting off this world alive.
"If you're trying to stop the press then give up." Mikuni finished his voice calm like he didn't believe that losing was even a slight possibility. You're about to wake up and smell the roses my friend.
"What's going on down there?" Miyoko asked, taking a seat next to me.
"Nothing major, those two are just going to have a small debate before fighting to decide the fate of the whole country." Miyoko gave me a look of disbelief
"Wait are you serious?" She asked in shock. I nodded.
"Pretty much."
"Shouldn't we be worried about this? If the press doesn't run in reverse Silva's Entre won't get his future back!"
"We don't even know that the press running in reverse will help him, hell we don't even know where he is! A Jumper going bankrupt could mean banishment from this world entirely!" Miyoko's stare turned from surprise and shock to her traditional cold stare.
"And we don't know that it won't. We made a promise to that little girl and dammit Kevin I intend to keep it. Now answer the question, are those two going to stop the reversal of the press?"
"No." I replied, turning my stare back at the two arguing Entre's. "In fact that kid down there is the one who will reverse the press. He'll win the fight and then use the darkness card he's about to get to fix everything."
"Is that how you saw it back on your own world?" Miyoko asked, her face keeping the same cold stare as before. I nodded. "And how do you know that your arrival in this world hasn't changed that?" My eyes went wide with the realization that I'd become overconfident in my belief that everything would play out the same. It was the law of space-time travel. By simply being in a location you alter the very future of that location. Shit.
"Dammit Miyoko, why do you always have to make shit more complicated?"
"Don't you blame me for this mister." The ice asset warned. "You got yourself into this the second you decided that talking to Sylva in the middle of this chaos was a good idea."
"You supported that idea!" I protested.
"You get in there and make sure that kid wins or your ass is as good as frozen." There was no arguing with the look in Miyoko's eyes. With a sigh of defeat, I pushed myself to my feet and descended the stairs right towards the arguing Entre's.
"Hey Masakaki." As my attention refocused Mikuni's voice called for the top-hatted crazy guy.
"How may I help you today?"
"Start the rotary press one more time."
"Are you sure? If you aren't careful you'll burn through your entire future."
"I don't care start it!" Mikuni shouted, leading me to give a loud sigh as I walked up right beside Kimimaro.
"You know for a man as smart as you are Mikuni you're a damn idiot too." The sound of my voice caught everyone minus Masakaki by surprise.
"What, Kevin Tanner?" Mikuni exclaimed in disbelief. Quickly the disbelief passed and the senior Entre regained his composure. "I could have sworn we dealt with you already. Mind telling me how you're still alive?" I shrugged.
"Someone else must have taken the fall for me. I know a guy who is crazy enough to do that." My mind quickly realized that Evander must have set someone else up to be defeated by the Starling guild in my place when they did their "fundraising" for the first C event. Huh, never thought I'd thank that guy for anything. "But that's beside the point. Would you mind explaining how sapping the countries future is a good plan for saving it?"
"Are you not paying attention or are you stupid?" Mikuni growled. "If I don't do this then C will tear this country apart!"
"And if you run the press a third time you may as well be killing it yourself." I responded coldly.
"At least it'll still be here." I sighed at Mikuni's narrow minded logic.
"How do I put this… the future and the present co-exist dumbass. There is no future if there isn't a present I get that. But if there isn't a future then we might as well just drop dead right now!"
"I don't care about the future, all I care about is the present."
"Are you even listening to me right now?" I shouted angrily.
"I have no need to listen to you." Mikuni replied with a now bored tone. "Masakaki, start the press."
"I won't let you do it!" Kimimaro shouted. "Hasn't there been enough suffering already?"
"You won't let me? You're in no position to make threats Yoga." With a scream of anger, Kimimaro charged Mikuni head on, attempting to punch the man in the face. Instead all he got was a quick toss through the air with a hard landing on his stomach.
"You do this and you sign the death warrant of every person in this country." I warned.
"Don't you get it?" Mikuni said in a dark voice. "I don't care. I'm doing this and you lack the power to stop me."
"Dammit!" Kimimaro shouted while slamming his fist to the ground in defeat.
"Please don't despair Mister Yoga! Why if I'm not mistaken, you have a darkness card as well don't you?" Kimimaro turned over his hand, revealing his card had been ranked up from the basic level to the top level with a picture of a giant octopus on the front of it. Mikuni's look of confidence disappeared, replaced by one of shock. "My goodness Mister Mikuni do you see that? Whatever shall we do now? With that card Mr. Yoga can reverse the direction of the Rotary Press!" Masakaki was way too happy about this, but at the same time I sent a silent thanks to Midas. Despite the fact that he was an ass for creating all this in the first place, he seemed determined to keep this world on its intended course.
"You son of a bitch! What the hell are you trying to pull!" Mikuni roared.
"Me? I'm innocent I assure you! I don't decide on these sorts of things, I follow my orders from above." Masakaki answers while pointing straight up.
"Bet you're not looking so hot now eh Mikuni?" I grinned wildly, gifted a glare by the angered Entre as a result.
"Do it!" Masakaki turned with a wild grin towards Kimimaro. "Spin the Rotary Press in reverse!" he was holding out his darkness card, ready to fix the future. God dammit Nick, you'd better get here fast! I thought silently. This little episode isn't going to last much longer!
"You think I'm gonna sit back and let you win this?" Mikuni growled. "You're going to have to get through me first!" As quickly as I could, I pushed my way in front of Mikuni with a wild grin on my face. Our of the corner of my eye I saw Miyoko sigh and shake her head. Clearly she thought I was having too much fun with this whole thing.
"I'm afraid that if you want to stop him, you'll have to get through me first." I said quickly. It was checkmate. By the time Mikuni could finish me off Kimimaro would have already spun the press backwards, and if somehow Mikuni did win I could just as easily finish him off in his weakened state. Tere was no two ways about it, the future was going to be saved.
"Not so fast Kevin, I can't just let you take away this perfectly good chance I have to dispose of both you and Nick at the same time!" Evander stepped out from behind one of the Plaza dome's pillars with Hydra right behind him. My eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't been there a second ago! What the fuck, not now!
"What the- and who the hell are you?" Mikuni asked with a voice that was one part confusion and three parts hostility.
"Let me make this easy for you Mister Mikuni. You want to keep the protect the present, and I want to help you with that." I let out a low growl.
"Evander, you and your acid breathing rat can go back to whatever rock you came from, you're not stopping us!"
"I would be careful before you start insulting me boy, you might just end up getting burned." Hydra snarled from behind Evander.
"He'll only burn if you can get past my swords." Miyoko commented with a monotone voice.
"Ah yes, the 'Ice Queen,' I was wondering when I might get to fight you. I might actually enjoy this more than the fight with that annoying shadow asset."
"You won't be fighting her." My reply drew confused looks from both Miyoko and Hydra. "Evander, I'm sure you saw me talking to Sylva earlier. She's kind of pissed about what happened to Shane." Sylva stepped out from behind Miyoko, still looking very scared and clinging to her dress but looked pretty mad, glaring daggers at Evander.
"Oh yes I remember little Sylva!" Evander laughed. "If I recall, her owner didn't have the guts to stand up to me, nor could he have with this pipsqueak of an asset."
"Don't you dare insult Shane!" Sylva shouted. "You sent him to fight that winged Entre, and now he's gone because of you!"
"Shut up you little pipsqueak, it's his own fault that he was weak." Evander turned back to me. "Use this little shit against me Tanner and you'll be bankrupt in record time." I smirked.
"You have no idea how wrong you are, or have you forgotten what I'm referred to as here in the district?"
"Can you handle that guy?" I'd forgotten Kimimaro and Msyu were there. I nodded and gave a thumbs-up in reply to Kimimaro's question. He didn't even know who I was but I was glad that he had realized that we were fighting for the same thing.
"Oh no, if you think I'm going to let either one of you stop Mr. Mikuni you're sadly mistaken." Evander snapped his fingers, revealing a third Entre for their side. Oh great, now it's a fucking party. All we need now are the balloons and the ice cream.
"Who is this Evander, another one of your lackeys?" Evander laughed.
"This is Aleksandr, a friend of mine with very ambitious goals, not that I really care about them. I heard he needed some money so I thought I'd let him steal some off of the kid here!" The man was bulky with a broad face, he was wearing a black tux with a red tie, no rose like Evander. The man's expression also told me that he was a very experienced killer.
"Why hello there Kevin, shame I'm not fighting you and your, little girl asset. Maybe we can dress her up like a doll later?" His accent was a solid, thick Russian, but offending Sylva? Not cool. If I wasn't about to smash Evander… but wait, if Kimimaro wasn't fighting Mikuni, then this whole thing was going to fall apart! Mikuni would escape back to the real world and stop C! No reversal of the press and the promise Miyoko and I made to Sylva would be broken!
"EVANDER!" Wait, oh sweet mother of m-
"Sup bitches!" Dawn's voice rang through the dome as Nick swooped in from behind us, landing to my left with Dawn popping up out of his shadow a second before.
"You!" Evander growled. "Why must you get in my way every time!"
"C'mon, time for round two?" I held out a hand in front of Nick before he could start fighting Evander and ruin my not very well established plan.
"Hang on there Nick, Sylva here has a few choice words for Evander about what you did to her Entre." Sylva looked at me like she wanted us to challenge Nick instead, but Miyoko whispered something in her ear. Sylva turned back to Nick, but not before sticking her tongue out at him.
"Alright, then I guess you're up!" Nick looked over Aleksandr a few times from top to bottom before smirking.
"The boy with wings, I'm not impressed." Aleksandr said while glaring at Nick.
"I was about to say the same thing." Nick retorted quickly.
"So if I'm not mistaken, Mr. Yoga is facing Mr. Mikuni, Mr. Tanner is facing Mr. Evander, and Mr. Arcane is facing Mr. Nekrasov. I'm afraid there isn't time to take you to different parts of the city, meaning you'll all have to conduct your deals right here!" Somehow, I don't think anyone had a problem with this, we were all a little too ready to fight each other to care.
"Very well then, but I should warn you that even though your deals and scores are separated, you can damage one another! Hehehehehe, have fun!" Wait, so this could turn into an all out melee at any time? Dammit! Unfortunately it was too late to back down now, the deal was seconds away from starting.
The six of us summoned our assets, naturally Msyu and Q for Kimimaro and Mikuni, Sylva and Hydra for Myself and Evander, and lastly Dawn and, wait what WAS that? It looked like some kind of transparent sludge monster.
"You have one hour until it's time to settle up!" Masakaki said with a smirk. No, we have about ten minutes. I thought to myself as six eyes crashed together in the sky above us.
OPEN DEAL.
"Micro two-hundred thousand!" I shouted, quickly swiping my hand over my card. Almost immediately I had a series of images in my head, Sylva suck in a swamp with massive holes being chomped out of the ground. Everywhere that there was dry land was consumed along with myself and Sylva. Something to keep in mind for later, avoiding a game ending combo.
"Mezzoflation six million." Evander called. Hydra roared and stomped the ground. I knew this was coming first, it had been Evander's opening move against Nick in their deal, transforming the nearby area into a dense swamp.
"Princess!" Mikuni called out, sending his first asset flying forward.
"Micro fifty million!" Msyu charged forward towards Princess, launching numerous bolts of fire towards the other asset, the ground continuing to transform around them.
"Macro three billion." The arms of the sludge monster turned purple, then shot forward, extending well past what should have been its natural reach, flying towards Nick at a frightening speed. Keeping a calm facial expression, Nick extended his wings and shot upwards, investing in a 'flation as he flew away from the approaching arms.
"Microflation one thousand!" Dawn disappeared into the ground, purple arms flying over her as she darted forward.
Confident that Nick and Dawn could hold their own against Aleksandr, I turned my attention back to Evander and Hydra, who were standing roughly thirty feet away. No sense in waiting around, let's get a move on.
"Mezzo three billion!" It was a heavy investment to make right away, but the opening minutes of the deal were going to be important. At least this way I had a good three minutes of Super-Sylva to work with. "Let's do this!" Sylva charged right at Hydra, running at least as fast as an Olympic track sprinter.
"Microflation one billion." Hydra reared his head before launching poison out of his mouth right in Sylva's path. Seeing the attack coming, Sylva had just enough time to jump upward, summersaulting over the poison breath and Hydra himself. A nine foot jump, this girl is strong! Sylva landed on her feet, spinning around immediately, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick into the side of Hydra's leg, not only dealing serious damage but also cutting where the kick landed, causing Sylva's attack to go right through the asset's leg. Hydra screamed in pain.
"Why you little, you'll pay for that!" Hydra roared.
"Microflation one billion." I realized that Sylva was in major trouble, she wasn't standing on dry land like when she had been charging Hydra, she was now standing in the murky water, which from Nick's deal drastically hindered your ability to move. There was no way Sylva was going to get out of the way of this attack.
"Sylva block!" I was glad that Evander and Hydra were focused on dealing with the pipsqueak that had kicked Hydra, and that their attack was obvious. Just as Hydra launched his second Poison Breath Sylva put her barrier, blocking the attack and sending the poison breath to either side.
"That won't help you." Evander smirked. I realized he was right, the poison was dispersing on the ground, and the barrier could only bock attacks that were coming from a single direction.
"Nick I need a drive-by pickup!" I shouted desperately, unwilling to let Sylva take the attack.
"On it!" Nick dived down towards Sylva, a bulky purple arm following him.
"Aleksandr stop him!" Evander shouted. Nick continued forward, trying to outrun the Macroflation attack that continued to build up momentum as it swung around. Coming from behind Hydra, he flew over the monsters head and over Sylva's barrier before placing his hands under her arms and flapping upward.
"Nice!" I pumped my fist into the air in victory, and then I noticed the slime's Macro attack. It was still going, and too fast to stop.
Hydra crashed to the ground the massive arm that had been chasing Nick slammed into the back of Hydra, dealing massive damage.
"You insolent fool! You can't even control your own asset!" Evander screamed in anger. It was incredible, not even two minutes into the deal and we already had two of our opponents turning on each other. Nick, with Sylva in tow, quickly flew back to where I was standing, Dawn not far behind.
"That worked out well." I commented while rubbing my hands together.
"Yeah but by any chance do you have any elemental attacks?" Nick asked, looking out at the recovering Hydra, who struggled to his feet. I tipped my head to one side.
"Why do you ask?"
"If you have an elemental attack I'll show you!" I hated Nick's lack of explanation but I decided to play along.
"Alright, I have Miyoko's ice attacks, but we're going to have to wait another minute or so before I can use it."
"Alright fine, just let me know when-" suddenly the ground exploded to our right, leaving a massive crater just to the left of Dawn.
"MOTHER OF MUFFIN!" She shouted leaping to one side, crashing into Nick. I turned around, finding that Mikuni had swapped out Princess for his ace asset Q. What a destructive force, no way we can leave that untouched, not with the fortune Mikuni's got in his back pocket.
"Alright here's the plan, I'll go bail out Kimimaro over there using the last minute of Sylva's Mezzoflation while you stall Whitecoat and Vodka McSlime over there. After that one minute I'll swap to Miyoko to freeze the swamp and give you your elemental attack. Sound good?"
"Urg! Making me wait? 'Kay Let's go!" Nick and Dawn darted off towards Evander and Aleksandr, leaving me to deal with the terror of Q.
"Alright Sylva, make this one count, I'll be right behind you." Sylva charged off ahead of me, running right at Q, who was currently locked in a low altitude battle with Msyu. While Kimimaro and Mikuni were locked in a direct battle, both parties too distracted to notice Sylva's approach. Charging up a three thousand direct, I charged forward, fully aware that it was going to take me roughly thirty seconds to actually reach the battle.
When Sylva leaped into the air it took everyone by surprise, Sylva's airborne kick taking Q all the way to the ground with an explosive impact.
"What!?" Mikuni's gaze darted past Kimimaro and right to me, and I couldn't hold back the grin of pleasure that came forward.
"Surprise! Macroflation two billion!" Sylva extended a hand at Q, who was still on the ground from the previous attack, and fired a beam of light that stuck Q's body, causing her to scream before Sylva leaped back, returning the money I had used for the last two 'flations back to my account.
"Now Kimimaro!" I shouted, diving forward at Mikuni now that I had finally managed to reach the fight. It quickly turned into a small direct battle, our swords smashing into each other again and again without either of us having a clear winner. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Q flying upward, attempting desperately to escape the three man onslaught that awaited her if she stayed on the ground. Unable to follow, Sylva started running towards me, her gaze locked on Mikuni.
Sylva's attack didn't go unnoticed, and Mikuni clearly wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. Using a clever trick with a well-placed direct, I was forced backwards and out of attacking range as Mikuni charged up a massive direct, brining downwards on Sylva, and as luck would have it, she also slowed way down, a sign that the effects of the Mezzoflation had worn off. Shit!
"Switch!" I waved my Midas card in front of my face, and Sylva disappeared as Mikuni's massive black sword shattered against the ground, disintegrating into Midas money, Miyoko appearing where Sylva had been standing just a second earlier. Time for the plan.
"Nick get on the ground, Msyu, Kimimaro's gonna need a barrier, Mezzoflation fifty thousand!"
"Awesome! Microflation one thousand!" Confident that Nick and Dawn were okay, I ran in the opposite direction of Mikuni, who was already charging up another massive direct to take someone out of the fight. He wasn't fast enough, as his sword dropped towards my head the wave of ice that Miyoko had launched just a moment earlier slammed into him, freezing his body solid. Msyu had just barely managed to get in position to barrier before the wave hit, but with that done, Q was free to launch another Mezzoflation, giving no time for the pair to escape it. Luckily, Miyoko was already two steps ahead of me, diving forward to tackle the pair to the ground, the attack obliterating the space they had previously occupied, taking both of Miyoko's leg's along with it. Damn, not good.
"Switch!" I swapped Miyoko back out of Sylva, and I motioned her to follow me, confident that I had dealt Mikuni's massive back a serious blow. Turning my attention back to Nick, he was managing to hold his own, now using the ice Miyoko had given him to send wave after wave of ice shards at Hydra, who was blocking most of them with his arms, minimizing the damage. "Get in there Sylva, Mezzoflation six billion!"
"Macroflation!" I hear Kimimaro roar from behind me. Oh shit!
"Nick look out!" I shouted, calling Sylva back to block the incoming attack, and then suddenly everything froze. I could no longer move anything.
"What the hell?" I shouted in confusion.
"What's going on!?" Nick asked in anger.
"I FEEL FUNNY!" Dawn declared with a yell. This has to be Mikuni using Q's Macro, but if all works out well this shouldn't last long.
"If your little sister was a victim of time like mine, then I'm sure you'd want to stay in the present as much as I would." So misguided, but whatever, not the point. Mikuni charged up another massive direct, his gaze locked on Kimimaro. "I only have to defeat you to win this deal, and then the present will be safe."
"That's not what your sister wanted and you know it. You're stuck in the present because that's what you want! You said you wanted to protect the present to save the future, but it was just satisfying your own selfish desires!" Nice counter kid.
"You've never walked in my shoes so how the hell would you know!" Mikuni brought his sword downward towards a frozen Kimimaro to strike a lethal blow. And… Now! Without any warning, Mikuni's sword disintegrated and I regained the ability to move again, the massive antlers that had been growing out of Q also breaking apart.
"Alright let's charge up two billion!"
MEZZOFLATION.
Just like before my intervention, Q and Msyu along with Kimimaro and Mikuni resumed their deadlock of combat, allowing me to turn my attention back to Evander and Aleksandr. Nick was continuing to fire wave after wave of ice at Hydra, and Dawn was busy holding off the goop monster and Aleksandr himself.
"Once more Sylva, Mezzoflation six billion, get in there and do some damage!" Without needing any more encouragement, Sylva charged forward at the two-headed beast, who had grown tired of playing defense and had swapped to taking direct blasts from Nick while charging up a Microflation breath attack. Sylva slammed into the neck of one of the heads, cutting it clean off, causing the other head to roar in agony.
"You little shit, I'll make sure you die!" Evander screamed from behind his asset. Yeah, because that's worked out so freat for you.
"So managed to hold your own so far?" I asked Nick as I caught up to him.
"So far so good!"
"Wanna go back to focusing the blob over there while I deal with Evander?" I asked Nick, keeping my eyes locked on Hydra as he tried to snap at Sylva, but wasn't quite fast enough.
"Alright!" Nick flew off in the direction of Aleksandr's asset to help Dawn, and I got to watch as two heads grew where one of them had some off. Dammit, looks like Sylva didn't notice that Hydra was an actually hydra, going for the heads is just going to give Evander more advantages. I needed a way to limit Hydra's moves, but nothing was coming to mind, other than doing the obvious. We had been so locked on Hydra and Sylva besting one another I forgot one of the biggest rules of dealing, an exposed Entre is a dead Entre.
"Sylva switch it up, go after Evander!" I got the feeling I wasn't going to be able to launch another one of Sylva's Microflations until the first had either come true or was no longer going to happen, it was a feeling I couldn't quite explain other than it much have been part of the ability itself.
"You're not going anywhere!" Hydra roared, spinning around and slamming Sylva with his tail, sending her flying backwards next to me, quickly back on her feet despite how strong the attack looked.
"Now Mikuni!" Evander called.
"Q!" CANNABALIZATION. Oh shit, the vision from earlier! Thankfully I had been aware of this attack for a little while, and hoped that the future that Sylva showed me wasn't certain.
"Sylva get us out!" I yelled, but Sylva was already two steps ahead of me, grabbing my by the waist mid-sentence and jumping upward higher than I thought possible for her. Sylva landed on one of the supports for the plaza's dome cover, then continuing upward until we reached one of the long platforms that was extending outward from the Rotary Press. Looking downward, every bit of dry land that we had been standing on just a second earlier was filled with bite-shaped craters that were quickly filling with swamp water.
"That was close." Sylva breathed.
"No kidding, thanks for getting us out." Sylva nodded.
"I won't quit, not until Shane has a future." Hearing shouting close by I looked up to find Mikuni and Kimimaro locked in a battle on the side of the Rotary Press, defying gravity like the laws of physics didn't even exist. What the hell, why can't I do that? I realized that with those two as focused as they were on each other and where they were, they were now in an isolated deal that I wouldn't be able to touch until either Miyoko had recovered or Nick was available with his wings.
"Good luck Kimimaro." I muttered before noticing a shadow flash by the corner of my eye.
"Kevin!" Sylva gasped. Spinning around, I noticed Evander flying in the air with a set of black wings that looked like they belonged to a dragon, or maybe Hydra. His macro, damn this won't be easy.
"You thought you could escape so easily? I'm going to make you're the little girl never sees that pathetic man again, and then you Kevin are going to die." I smirked.
"You think you've got the upper hand? Bring it on buddy." Evander gave a devilish grin before taking in a deep breath and sending a massive stream of poisonous gas right at the two of us.
"Sylva let's get out!" Sylva grabbed me again and we leaped over to the next platform, another impressive jump but it was only going to buy us a few moments. We were so high above the city that a fall from here would probably kill me, not to mention that there was no way Sylva was ever going to come close to touching Evander.
"Kevin, I'm healed and ready." I stared at my Midas card in surprise.
"That was fast, I guess losing your legs doesn't keep you down long." Miyoko chuckled.
"No way I could stay out of this fight, Sylva you don't mind do you?" Sylva, who had to grab me and leap away to the next platform, shook her head.
"I don't mind, as long as you promise to win."
"You got it." Miyoko promised.
"Switch!" I waved the Midas card in front of my face once again, swapping Sylva out for
Miyoko, who stood in a fighting stance, ready to finish what Sylva and I had started.
"So this is the great Miyoko, the Ice Queen of the Financial District. I've been looking to the day when I'd be able to take you down."
"Feeling's mutual you bastard! This one's for Sylva!" MICRO. Wait, Miyoko just launched a six-hundred thousand Microflation without me having to do anything! What the hell is going on around here? It's like the rules of this place are coming apart!
Ice shards erupted from Miyoko's extended now blue hands, flying at Evander and forcing him to change his course in an attempt to dodge with ice shard following him closely.
"Let's hit him with another six-hundred million Miyoko, try and cut off his flight path with this one." I swiped my hand over my Midas card, making the investment. The second wave of ice shards flew out in a straight line, Evander clearly planning on using our own attack against us, but the latest Micro forced him to ascend quickly to dodge the attack, quickly resulting in another failed attempt, and not only that, but the two Micro's slammed into each other, leaving Evander running away from nothing.
"You think your little icicles are going to do anything against me? Time to way up! Time to destroy you!" I could tell that Evander was charging everything into this next Micro, and it left us with only one option, take him down before that could happen.
"Macroflation ten billion! Rip him apart Miyoko!" Two twin swords of the clearest ice I've ever seen in my life appeared in Miyoko's hands, her hair turning into ice itself with her skin becoming as white as a fresh blanket of snow.
And then it all disappeared.
Evander crashed to the ground in front of us, just barley landing on the platform, wings gone. Miyoko's blades evaporated and her body returned to normal, leaving me confused as hell. There was no way time was up, it had barley been ten minutes. Wait, ten minutes! Looking upward, I caught sight of Kimimaro punching Mikuni and Q hovering in the air with black hair instead of green. Why does the end of the world always bring about the craziest shit ever? I sighed and shrugged, the whole defy all logic thing still confused me despite the fact I had seen this all before, and I managed to figure out why everything stopped so suddenly. The Financial District was shutting down. Time was up. Despite the fact that Deals were normally thirty-six and a half minutes long, we only had about ten due to the second wave of C.
"Midas money is now as worthless as the Japanese Yen it supports!" Masakaki was waltzing his way downward, looking like he was half-waddling down the stairs or something. "Uninterested in our currency, C passed us right by! Soon this district with cease to exist." I exchanged a glace with Miyoko. So fucking anticlimactic, first we charge up the biggest attack we've ever done and then it's just… over? Evander growled in anger, looking like he wanted to protest the whole situation. But at the same time, there was nothing he could do.
"Alright Kevin, you've won this round. I can't stop you from leaving this time, but I will find you, just mark my words." The white-suited villain turned around. "I'd like to jump a deal!" An elevator appeared in front of Evander and he stepped inside, the doors closing and the booth-like elevator shot upwards, out of eyesight in seconds.
"I know you're all in the middle of deals, but I'm afraid we don't have much time." Masakaki gave a polite bow. At this point I knew that Mikuni would forfeit the match and let Kimimaro win, however the two other deals would end in a draw.
"Damn. So, off to Midas?" Turning around, I found Nick and Dawn. Nick was a little bruised up this time but it would heal quickly once we were headed off to Midas. I nodded.
"Yeah, we're done here. What comes next we should probably not be around for." I saw a massive gold light shoot up into the sky and attach itself to the rotary press.
YOU HAVE CONTROL.
"Go tell Masakaki that we'd like to jump a deal, and use those exact words. I'm going to need a moment with Sylva alright?"
"Oh my god…" Nick storms off towards Masakaki, clearly not happy that I'm still not just getting up and leaving, but I knew how much time we had. Roughly. This talk with a little girl as the sky turns to rainbows and bubbles. Yeah today is weird.
With Evander gone the deal was technically over, and Sylva was sitting down with her legs dangling over the side of the massive press walkway. Her hands here behind her back and she was leaning against them. Sitting down, I copied her posture.
"So, we did it." I said with a smile, looking out at the rainbow sky.
"Yes, Shane will have a future again." Sylva smiled with sadness in her eyes. Of course, he may not have needed saving in the first place. We still don't know if doing this actually saves Shane, but hell it's nice to have loose ends tied up. Because Masakaki was the seal, the only thing to be lost would be the ability to jump out of Midas. Meaning that in a way, the bank of Midas did have your future, but it could only be taken all at once. Still, that doesn't mean that going bankrupt as a Jumper didn't mean that you got some other penalty. There was no real way to know for sure.
"I'm afraid we don't have the time to find Shane, and there's no guarantee he's even in this world anymore." Sylva nodded.
"I know, I'll probably never see him again." Sylva slowly got to her feet. "But that's okay, I like being with you Kevin, Miyoko too. Now that I know Shane's okay I think we're going to have lots of fun together!" I smiled. It made me happy to know that Sylva was on board, and who knows? Maybe along our travels we would find Shane! I stopped and mentally slapped myself. Yeah, great anime-style wishful thinking Kevin. It took you eight months for you to track down Nick, and even then he found you. REALITY CHECK PLEASE.
"Kevin, there's something about me you should know." I looked up at Sylva.
"What is it, you're not going to tell me you can't leave the district or something now right? That would really suck, I'd have to like, blow up the world or something." Sylva laughed.
"Nope, nothing like that!" The young asset replied. I let out a sigh of relief. "I can see the future, outside of deals."
"Wait, what?" I said in shock. Sylva nodded.
"Yeah it's a hidden ability I have! I can see into the future a little bit, it's really cool isn't it?" I stood up and high-fived Sylva.
"Incredibly cool, and going to be useful." Sylva suddenly looked over at Kimimaro and Msyu, who weren't too far away, locked in their sad goodbye hug and whatnot.
"Those two are going to be separated aren't they?"
"Yeah…" It was sad, here I was about to escape with two assets through a gate for jumpers to escape this event because I don't know what it'll do to me. Then we have this guy who is going to lose his best friend because he can't escape.
"Can't we take them with us?" Sylva's innocent question made me stop and hit myself for the hundreth time today. I was so stupid! Why the hell was I going to watch this once again when this time I actually had the power to save those two! The thought of staying together should be more than enough motivation for those two, especially since they're about to lose each other. I patted Sylva on the head. Besides, I'll never forgive myself if I don't do something.
"Ice cream when we get to Remnant." I waved at Miyoko, signaling that I needed her as I ran towards the pair.
"I think I might love you, forty times more." Was the first thing I overheard once Sylva and I were in earshot. Of all the awkward points to walk in on…
"Yo Msyu!" I called out quickly, grabbing the attention of both asset and Entre. "I wouldn't be saying goodbyes just yet!"
"What are you talking about? We've already bought back the future. We won." I rolled my eyes.
"Yes we did, but I'm talking about stopping your girlfriend from disappearing!"
"Msyu isn't my girlfriend." Kimimaro responded while his face turned red.
"Uh huh, you keep telling yourself that. Look if you come with us right now you two get to stay together and the future stays safe. Win-win."
"What's the catch?" Msyu asked with an edge to her voice.
"I'll explain in a moment, it's not life threatening or anything but if we don't go right now. You're going to disappear." I pointed at Msyu. "And then the whole thing will be pointless."
"Not until we know what we're getting into." Kimimaro replied firmly. I sighed in annoyance.
"Alright fine. We're going up to see Midas, the guy who runs this place, so we can leave this universe and jump to a new one. Should we succeed in doing this you two will be able to be together starting now, until the end of your days."
"That sounds a little farfetched." Kimimaro replied with a small laugh.
"Yeah? You saw that Nick kid fly into the plaza. You think he got those wings in this world?" The eyes of the pair widened and they looked at each other as they realized that I wasn't lying.
"It'll be great, come on!" Sylva's little girl voice chiming seemed to convince the pair to start moving. Running at a full sprint, we ran over to the elevator, everyone piling into the elevator as I stopped in front of Nick and Masakaki.
"We've picked up a few extra passengers," I explained quickly, "and we have to get to Midas now before one of them disappears."
"Alright great let's go now!" Nick replied with a highly annoyed and impatient tone.
"Mr. Tanner is everyone in your party ready?" Masakaki asked, will a little less of his clowning personality than normal. I looked around. Myself, Nick, Miyoko, Sylva, Kimimaro, Dawn, Msyu. Everyone was present and accounted for.
"Yes Masakaki, all seven of us are ready to go see Midas." I was careful to make sure Masakaki knew exactly how many people were coming.
"Very well then, good luck with the boss, I think he's looking forward to meeting you at last, but be warned, he can be a bit of a party animal!" With a wild laugh, we found ourselves in an elevator much like the one that took Mikuni to the rotary press the first time. The seven of us were alone in the elevator, headed for the boss man himself. Thankfully, there seemed to be no sign of the demonic manager. I really hate that guy.
End of Part Two