Hello again! Yup, it's been a while… But again, I can explain!
First things first, I added a prologue! That's why the numbering order for this story has changed, if you're wondering. Yup, set before chapter one, there's now a prologue for you to read. I kinda wanted to do one for a while, so I decided to give it a shot
And now why I've been busy, summarized…
I was away from home for a week and couldn't work on this, then when I got home I still had to go to other places for pretty much a week, so I was still mostly unavailable. On top of that, my internet was being all iffy for a while, so I couldn't even upload documents to the doc manager. And here we are! Yay!
But now…
Dragonsayianblue: This chapter should explain how Uzume and Renna were actually taken, so there's that. And yeah, we will be returning back to the other CPUs sometime soon. You'll see when it gets there!
Anyway…
I hope you enjoy this one! So have fun!
Chapter 25:
"So what do you think's going to happen?", asked Neptune, looking to Gil with a playful face.
"We save them.", answered Gil.
"Well, yeah. But do ya think that it's gonna be as easy as that guy said? Straight down the way, no turns or nothin'?", asked Neptune, raising an eyebrow.
"I'd hope so. You were kinda threatenin' his life, and he seemed like the type to rat out.", said Croire.
"I hope you're right.", said Neptune.
"Me too.", said Gil.
"And what if he's lying?", asked Neptune. "Ya gonna give him the ol' what for again?", asked Neptune, shadow boxing in front of herself.
"I just might.", said Gil.
"That'd be cool to see. Do a curb stomp next time, 'kay?", asked Croire.
"Hey, Crosty, we're not here to kill people. Right?", asked Neptune.
Gil didn't answer, and instead kept walking down the stairs.
"Yeah. Right.", answered Croire, briefly raising both of her eyebrows while huffing to herself in amusement.
"Let's not if we don't have to, alright?", asked Neptune, with upturned brows. "That'd cause big problems."
They continued walking down the stairs. The walls were dark green, with wall mounted lights present every few flights.
"I think we're here.", said Croire, floating ahead of the duo behind her.
Sure enough, they had reached the end of the stairs. Ahead of them was what seemed to be a flat, hallway like area that spread out to the sides.
There was a metal looking door at the end of the hallway. The walls were half green, half cream, separated by a diagonal line running across the walls of the room. There were some pillars that stuck out from the walls, as well as some piles of equipment or supplies that were left out in the path.
The trio walked through the hallway. They saw that there were some barred gates on the sides of it, blocking the entrance to small rooms, and it looked like these rooms were intended to hold some boxes of supplies, or people.
"No sign of Renna or Uzume.", said Gil, looking into each room.
"It's gonna be at the last one, GIlly. Just look how "final boss" it looks like.", said Neptune.
"You know, Neptune's got a point. Even if she does go about saying it in weird ways.", said Croire.
"Yay!", said Neptune, raising her arms into the air.
Gil looked up at the ceiling. He could see a few cameras around the room, turning on swivels.
"I think they know we're here.", said Gil.
Neptune looked at him and followed his gaze.
"Aww, dangit. There goes my stealth stat.", said Neptune, pouting.
Just then, the main door opened, revealing four people who walked into sight.
They were holding…
"Aw, Nep! Get down!", said Neptune, who took Gil's hands and dived to the right.
Bullets started to fly through the air.
They managed to fall behind a pile of equipment just in time to avoid the barrage, and it seemed like the bullets hadn't penetrated through their cover.
"They're packing heat!", said Neptune.
"I think I'll just… stay out of this one…", said Croire, turning into a butterfly and flying up into the air.
"They have guns. Great.", stated Gil, looking to Neptune with an annoyed look.
"Probably many types of them, too!", said Neptune. "I'll just take a peek…"
Neptune slightly raised her head above their cover, and could look for a moment before ducking back down out of the way from another barrage.
"Well, they got two assault rifles, a pistol, and a shotgun.", said Neptune.
"Do… you have a plan?", asked Gil.
"Kinda. You?"
"Part of one."
"Well let's put our plans together and sort something out…", said Neptune.
"I can blind them with my light. Then we rush towards them.", said Gil.
"You can? Like a flashbang?"
"Sure."
"That'll be good. But I'm thinking we advance to some of the pillars first before moving right to them."
"Okay. Then what?", asked Gil.
"We, um… I can shoot at them, which'll cause them to take cover!"
"Then we move onto them?"
"I… suppose. Try to break their weapons, alright?"
"I'll try."
"Maybe use your gauntlets!", suggested Neptune.
Gil looked down for a moment, and then summoned his gauntlets.
Another barrage of bullets was heard, as well as some scurrying.
"Oh well, there's no time like the present!", said Neptune, pulling her pistol out. "Do the whole flashy thing!"
Gil nodded, then angled his right hand up to the ceiling.
He shot out a beam of light, and looked away.
He and Neptune heard some shouts coming from the gunmen, and took that as a sign to advance.
"Now!", started Neptune.
They got up to their feet. Gil was in front of Neptune, and they both started advancing towards a pillar in front of them…
When a gunshot was heard.
Neptune saw Gil recoil backwards as he let out a shout.
He raised his right arm in a fist, and a large pillar of fire erupted from the ground, running across the ground towards the gunmen.
"Get down, Gilly!", shouted Neptune, who tackled Gil forwards.
They both fell forwards onto the floor.
"There goes that plan…", muttered Neptune. "Crawl forwards with me!"
Neptune was lying on Gil's back, and Gil looked over his right shoulder to look at her.
He started crawling forwards, and Neptune did the same as she got off of him.
They managed to crawl towards a sturdy looking pile of boxes.
"Quick thinking with the fire thing, though.", said Neptune.
Gil leaned up against the boxes, looking at Neptune with grit teeth.
"Oh no… Gil, your left-", started Neptune, taking a worried face while reaching towards him.
"I know, my shoulder.", said Gil.
His left shoulder had been struck by a bullet.
"It's… fine. I'm fine.", said Gil, breathing in and out in a controlled manner.
"At… At least let me do something!", said Neptune.
"There's no time! We have to… take these people out.", said Gil.
Neptune thought about this. Like, he wasn't exactly wrong… They would have to be quick in their current predicament.
And he was half-CPU, so he was probably fine. Those other girls could tank literal, well, TANK shots! Does that even makes sense?!
Even if he was bleeding, Gil would be better off than most people…
But he had been stabbed and sliced at just minutes before.
"Neptune!", said Gil.
"Fine, we'll go on. But when we can, we're taking a look at that shoulder of yours!"
Gil nodded.
"Do the blindy flashy thing again, please.", asked Neptune.
Gil did as she asked, and sent out another beam of light. He sent out another one a second later, to be sure.
They then advanced forward, and Neptune fired her pistol at the floor near the people, causing them to get behind cover.
They both managed to maneuver behind a pillar on the left, and although there wasn't much space, they both fit.
"What's it look like?", asked Neptune.
Gil took a peek around the pillar, and could see that all four gunmen were taking cover. Two were on the right, two were on the left, and they weren't too far away from each other. But they weren't exactly close, either.
The metal door was still open, if only slightly.
"Two on the left, two on the right. Couldn't see which ones had which guns.", explained Gil.
"Nice rhyming at the end."
Gil looked at Neptune with a tired face.
"Sorry! Just had to lighten the mood. It's what I'm like, you'll get used to it.", explained Neptune, with a casual face.
Gil rested his head against the pillar and shook it.
"What now?", asked Gil.
"I wonder… Is there any way to break their weapons from here?", pondered Neptune.
"I could project light at them.", answered Gil.
"And I could use my gun, although I'd have to be pretty accurate…"
Neptune looked up, seeing that Croire was still floating around the ceiling.
"That's it! We CAN get closer to them, although we'll need to distract them.", said Neptune.
"How?", asked Gil.
"You'll see! Just go along with it, mkay?"
Gil looked at her with a puzzled expression, but resigned himself to whatever Neptune had in stall for them.
Neptune looked up at Croire, and motioned for her to come closer.
It seemed like Croire noticed, as she came floating closer.
Then Neptune turned to Gil.
"Now, Gil… I want you to cause a big distraction for me. Something to grab their attention enough to completely lose track of anything else. Can you do that?", asked Neptune.
Gil cocked his head to his left.
"I can, but why?"
"Just go with it! You have faith in me, dontcha?", asked Neptune.
Gil blinked at Neptune before responding, as if deciding what to say.
"Yes.", answered Gil.
"Then it'll all be fine! Everything'll be fine and dandy, so don't worry about me! Worry about yourself out there while doing the distraction thing.", said Neptune.
The four gunmen didn't seem to be making any moves. They might be lying in wait, their sights trained on the pillar…
"What other choice is there?", asked Gil rhetorically.
"None! Now go! Please?", said Neptune.
Gil could see Croire floating closer, and she was almost by them.
Gil looked at Neptune for a moment, and then nodded.
He stuck his left hand out from the pillar, and shot out a stream of fire. He moved his hand so that it would cover the entire hallway, both blocking the sights of the gunmen, as well as threatening them all.
Gil ran out from the pillar, dashing forward.
He was getting closer to one of the gunmen on the left…
But he could see that all of them were now ready to shoot.
He dived behind cover, dodging the incoming fire.
The enemy who was closest to him seemed to have a pistol.
They were about two pieces of cover away, and it wasn't that large of a distance.
Whatever Neptune was planning, Gil hoped that it would happen quickly.
Gil looked over the cover and shot out another stream of flames, again obscuring the enemies' sight.
He ran forward towards the nearest enemy, and was in front of the cover the opponent was behind.
When the fire dispersed, and the first enemy looked over, Gil was already on them.
Gil pulled the person over the cover towards his own side side, and forced the person to the floor.
Gil saw that it was a woman. Short, brown hair, accompanied by bluey-green eyes.
The girl was lying on her right side, and Gil was looking down at her while holding her to the ground with his left hand.
The girl's left hand was free, though, and she managed to aim her pistol at Gil.
Gil reacted quickly, grabbing the front of the barrel with his right hand.
The girl fired her gun, but the bullets could not penetrate through Gil's gauntlet.
The girl looked stunned, and Gil moved before she did.
Gil took the pistol and threw it to his right, letting it bounce against a wall.
He then pulled the girl towards the cover as he sat against it.
Gil made it so that the girl was facing the same direction that he was, and he had his right arm across the girl's neck. With his other hand, he held the girl's lower body in place.
He then began to squeeze.
The girl tried to kick out, but could not get Gil off of her.
After a few moments of struggle, Gil let go of the girl, letting her fall to the floor, unconscious.
She slumped to the left limply.
"What now?", asked Gil, thinking.
He looked to his right, and spotted the pistol he had thrown away. It had bounced off the nearby wall, so it was within reach.
Gil quickly grabbed at it, and was nearly shot by incoming fire.
He looked down at the gun.
He… had never really used one properly before. He had mostly stuck to magic and close combat, so his skill with guns was… limited.
But it was a tool he could use right now, so he would use it.
"Come on, Neptune… do what you need to do!", thought Gil.
He gripped the gun with both hands, and raised his head above the cover. He quickly ducked back down to avoid incoming fire.
Now was the time that he should attack again.
He raised himself up and held the pistol towards the next closest target. He fired a shot out, and it hit the enemy's cover. He then aimed at the two other enemies, shot, and received similar results. He shot three more times, each at one of the targets, and again got similar results.
But at least they had gotten behind cover.
He advanced forward, shooting another three times at each target.
He was going to shoot again, but… it seemed like he was out of bullets.
Great.
The three remaining enemies turned out from their cover, all of them aiming at Gil.
Thinking quickly, Gil threw the empty pistol at the closest enemy, who was holding an assault rifle. It struck them in the head, disorienting them for some time.
But the other two still had their sights on Gil…
"Here I come!", came Neptune.
Above one of the enemies on the right, a portal had opened, and out from it fell Neptune, pistol in hand.
She shot at each of the enemies' guns, making them lose the grip on their weapons.
Both enemies looked up to face Neptune.
Neptune landed on one of them, striking them in the face with her left knee, and once she had landed, shot at the other enemy's rifle. It didn't break, but it was enough to startle the enemy for some time.
Neptune ran at the enemy after lifting off from the person she was currently on.
The one she was running towards, the rifleman, aimed his rifle at Neptune.
But Neptune managed to get low and, while spinning and using her left leg for support, kicked up at the barrel of the gun with her right leg.
She didn't kick the gun out of the rifleman's hands, but made it so that it shot into the ceiling.
Neptune then spun again, sending her right leg into the man's chest, kicking him and his gun away.
Neptune turned around to see that the man she had landed on, the one with a shotgun, was beginning to get up from the floor.
She rushed towards him, and managed to kick the gun away from him.
Now these two were both unarmed! All according to plan!
Mostly…
Gil was still running at the next person, who was holding a rifle.
The person was still recovering from Gil's pistol throw, and was standing up from behind cover.
Gil ran forward and leapt over the cover, grabbing onto it with both hands, and sent himself flying forwards towards the rifleman. Gil had his right leg out, and kicked at the man's chest with great force.
Gil landed on his feet and rushed towards the rifleman. Gil used his left hand to hold the man down, and punched the rifleman across the face with his right fist, knocking him out.
Gil looked up at Neptune, and ran towards her.
It didn't look like she needed the help, though.
Neptune was by the man who she had first landed on, and he was still getting up from the floor.
Before he could fully recover, Neptune struck him across the face with the back of her pistol, and that seemed to sort him out.
Now it was just the last rifleman…
The man got up, and looked between Neptune and Gil. He saw them both approaching him, and turned around to grab his gun.
He leapt for it, and fell to the ground while turning his gun on Gil.
"Look out, Gilly!", shouted Neptune.
Gil wasn't close enough to stop the man, so he had to improvise.
He held his hands out, hoping to block the incoming fire.
And he was successful. He had positioned his arms in front of his chest, where the gunman was aiming, and watched as the bullets deflected off of his gauntlets.
Neptune took this chance to rush the man, and kicked the man in the head with the sole of her foot, causing him to fall over to his side.
She then jumped onto him and struck his head with the back of her pistol, knocking him out.
"See! My plan worked!", said Neptune, looking at Gil while getting to her feet.
Gil looked at the man Neptune had just attacked, and then up to Neptune.
"Yeah. I see that.", said Gil. "You used Croire to make a portal above them to ambush them."
"That I did!"
"Smart.", commented Gil.
"Thanks! There's more to me than just jokes and stuff, so you know.", pointed Neptune.
"I know.", said Gil, now walking towards the open door.
"Hey, hey, not so fast. What did we say would happen when this little random encounter was over and done with?", asked Neptune, wiggling a finger from side to side.
Gil sighed to himself.
"Fine.", said Gil, walking back to Neptune and sitting on the floor.
Neptune smiled down at him for a moment before opening her inventory.
"Good. Now, let's see what I have here…", started Neptune, perusing what she had.
Meanwhile, Gil looked around. There didn't seem to be much else around them. He looked back at the people he had just knocked out, and confirmed that they were still out.
He then glared up at a particular camera that was looking at him and Neptune. It wasn't moving.
"Found it! My patented cure to… most injuries! The Nep Bull VII! Known to help with anything from a bug's bite to a cross slash! Try now! T's and C's apply.", said Neptune, winking at the last part.
Neptune spun around while holding a bottle of liquid, as if advertising it. It had a purple N on it.
She then kneeled down and held it out for Gil to take.
"Here, take it.", offered Neptune.
"Is it medicine?", asked Gil, taking the bottle.
"You could say that. You just drink it. Preferably all of it."
Gil raised an eyebrow at Neptune, eyeing her.
"Trust me. It's helped me in some sticky situations before. I wouldn't be offering it if it didn't work.", explained Neptune.
After this, Gil took the top off of the bottle, and began raising it to his mouth.
"Maybe, uh, just prepare yourself.", said Neptune.
Gil took a sip of the drink…
And kept going.
"Woah, okay.", said Neptune.
Taking his time, Gil eventually drank the whole thing.
He finished, putting the bottle to the floor.
"That was… very bitter.", said Gil, scrunching his face.
"Yet you drank the whole thing.", said Neptune. Most of the time, people would turn their noses up after the first sip.
"You said I had to, so I did.", said Gil. "What now?"
"Well… Nothing, really. You should feel better pretty much immediately."
Gil got up from the floor, as did Neptune.
"I suppose I do.", said Gil, rolling his left shoulder. "It does feel better."
"That doesn't mean that you should try and put yourself in any more dangerous situations like that, though!"
"I'll… be sure to be more careful."
Neptune patted the bottom of her hoodie, and turned to face the door.
"Now onto the final boss! Where's the fog wall? The save station? Anybody here to offer us some help?", questioned Neptune.
"Quit it with your references, Neptune.", said Croire, who had just appeared besides her.
"Hey, Croire! Good to see you again! Thanks for the help back there, by the way.", said Neptune, smiling at the tome.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever.", said Croire, who looked at Gil.
He was giving her a hard stare, but then nodded at her and looked towards the door.
"Come on.", said Gil, walking forwards. "We need to save them."
And so, the trio moved through the doorway, entering into another room.
The room was rectangular in shape, and wasn't that large.
It had a metal floor that was well kept, as it looked rather clean.
The walls on the side were grey, and the walls at the opposite end of the room were black. These, too, looked well kept.
The roof didn't extend very far up into the air.
There was a table in the center of the room, and it looked to be made out of metal. It looked standard, with their being the usual office set up, a computer, the sorts.
That's also where Faust was sitting.
"So you guys actually figured it out.", called out Faust. He was in his green, high necked and long sleeved shirt, his long, black chinos, and his silver belt.
He had his golden necklace, his expensive looking sneakers…
And worst of all, his irritating smile.
"Figured you'd all get here later, but whatever. Who's the fairy?", continued Faust.
Gil continued to look around the room.
There were some neat piles of boxes and general supplies that were against some of the walls.
There seemed to be a few other people in here, and they looked to be guards. They stood by the supplies and against the walls.
There were some pipes that led up from the ground, mounted against the walls.
And there, seemingly handcuffed to two of the pipes at the back of the room, was Renna and Uzume.
Gil widened his eyes, focusing on them.
"Hey, could you not ignore me? That's rude, especially towards me.", said Faust. He looked behind himself, and gestured to the guards at the back.
They moved towards Renna and Uzume, and they released the restraints, letting the captives fall forward onto the floor.
Gil stepped forward, but Neptune stopped him by putting a hand in front of him.
"We need to act calmly here, Gilly. Try to… keep your cool, alright?", asked Neptune, with a wary smile.
"I'll try.", replied Gil.
Faust huffed, then looked forward at the three in front of him.
"Oops."
Renna and Uzume were lifted up from the floor and carried towards Faust. They were placed on chairs that were besides the table, brought by other guards.
They were then restrained again, being handcuffed to the chair at each arm.
They were both unconscious, although… Uzume seemed to be moving a bit.
"What… do you want?", asked Gil.
"I think I've… pretty much already got what I want. Now I just want to have some fun.", answered Faust.
"This is fun for you?", asked Gil.
"Yes. Of course it is."
Gil didn't reply, but looked at Faust with a face full of hatred.
"You know, getting these two wasn't that hard. Obviously.", said Faust. "I was there when it happened, looking at all of you sleep."
"You're a sicko.", said Neptune, pointing at him.
Faust looked at her, then continued talking.
"You see, I'm really big on chemicals. I've studied plenty of them, and their effects on the body. So finding a way to knock them out wasn't that hard. Even a CPU would go down to the stuff I used.", explained Faust.
He continued.
"I simply had my men put some of the chemicals on rags, and that was enough. Simple, right?"
Faust then looked at Gil, and continued to speak again.
"We went after the redhead over there…", Faust pointed to his right with his thumb. "… first. She never saw it coming, and she only opened her eyes for a second before she was gone."
"Okay, yeah, this guy's pretty messed up.", commented Croire.
"…Your sister woke up for a second before we put her to sleep.", said Faust, looking at Gil.
Gil grit his teeth harder.
"She had just opened her eyes, and was about to scream, but I got to her in time. That's right, I did it myself. With the rag and everything.", continued Faust. "Of course, we injected them with more of it to make sure that they'd stay asleep, and look at them now. Still far gone."
Gil started to walk forward, and Neptune walked with him, trying to get him to stop.
"I don't think you understand the situation.", said Faust, taking a knife out and holding it to his left, by Renna's neck.
Gil immediately stopped in his tracks, and opened his mouth in a pained expression, his teeth still together.
"Good. Stop there, and be the classic hero who doesn't want people to get hurt.", said Faust, still holding his knife out.
He then signaled with his left hand, causing more people to get closer to him.
"Surround them.", said Faust.
Neptune and Gil were then slowly encircled by the people.
"Do you really think I'd actually hurt these two if I didn't have to, though? What'd be the point of me even having taken them in if I wanted that?", said Faust, throwing his hands up into the air. "You don't even know the first thing about this whole situation, do you?"
Neptune and Gil looked forward at Faust. He was leaning forward on his table, looking at the scene in front of him.
"So I'll have you all fight. Because I want you to. It's great entertainment for me. I don't expect you both to get out of this in one piece, which is a shame, taking you into account…", said Faust, aimed at Neptune.
Neptune and Gil didn't say anything. They looked around themselves, noting that the guards were all wearing similar gear.
They had black masks that looked similar to old demon faces, the kind that were popular in ancient tales of Lowee. Red mouths with large teeth, wide, angry looking eyes, and two small horns at the top of them.
Other than that, they all wore dark clothing, ranging from black, grey, and brown. They were all completely covered, with not a smidgen of skin visible.
None of them had guns, and they all seemed to be holding close range weapons. From clubs, to swords, to knives.
Gil was looking at Faust, and noticed that Uzume seemed to be stirring. Maybe her hitting the floor woke her up a bit, and she was starting to wake up?
"Neptune, I have an idea.", muttered Gil.
"Really?! What's it?", muttered Neptune, who summoned her swords. She was next to Gil, on his right side.
Gil smiled to himself.
"Just go with it.", said Gil.
"Oh, you.", said Neptune, rolling her eyes.
And they started, with Croire, again, rising into the air, out of the battle.
The guards started to close in, but Neptune and Gil rushed at them before they were too confined.
Neptune took the back, and Gil took the front.
Immediately, Gil blocked an overhead swipe from a club with his right hand, and was going to punch the guard, but a second enemy swung at Gil with a knife from his left, so he had to block that instead. Gil grabbed onto the knife, holding it in place.
Neptune clashed her right sword with an enemy's, and swung into the blade from her left with her other sword, which knocked the enemy away. She then used both of her swords to smack that enemy, using the flat of her sword. He fell backwards, falling to the ground a distance away.
Gil closed his left hand fully, snapping the knife he was blocking, rendering it useless.
But the man with the club swung at Gil from below, so Gil had to refocus on him, punching into the club, sending to the ground.
Something impacted in the back of Gil. It wasn't a weapon, but something else.
He started feeling a bit dizzy.
Neptune turned to face him, and ran at the enemies by him.
She blocked a club attack aimed at Gil's head, and cut the weapon in half. She spun around, kicking the enemy in the chest, causing him to topple over.
The unarmed man tackled Neptune to the ground, but Neptune punched him in the face.
Gil, still on his feet, grabbed the man by his shoulders and threw him off of Neptune. Gil helped Neptune to her feet, although he was a but unstable.
"What's wrong, Gilly?", asked Neptune.
"I shot him.", said Faust, interrupting the fight. None of the guards advanced while he spoke.
"Not a bullet or anything. Think of it like a very, very small syringe.", said Faust, holding out some sort of gun. "Pretty handy thing. Allows me to poison or hamper people with chemicals from a distance, even though it is in smaller dosages."
Gil held his face while trying to stay upright. Neptune held onto him, keeping him up.
"Feelin' a little off balance, huh?", taunted Faust.
"Oh no… Can you still move properly?", asked Neptune.
"Somewhat…", said Gil. He shook his head to the sides. "Neptune, I need you to slap me in the face."
"Nep wha?!", said Neptune, shocked.
"It could help me stay focused… Focused on that, rather than the dizziness…", said Gil.
Neptune seemed to consider her options for a moment.
"Well, if you say so…!", said Neptune, preparing herself.
She pulled her right hand backwards in an open palm, and slapped Gil with a loud sound.
Faust, who had continued talking even though Neptune and Gil weren't listening, was surprised by this.
"What's this? Aren't you supposed to be allies?", asked Faust, intrigued.
Gil shook his head from side to side, and then looked at Neptune.
"It's not perfect, but that helped.", informed Gil.
"Huh. I didn't hurt you too much, did I?", asked Neptune.
Gil raised his eyebrows at Neptune.
"You have a strong arm."
"Oh…"
Faust sat back in his chair, a hand to his chin.
"Hmm… I see what happened. Think you're so smart, do you? That'll help a bit, I admit, but not completely.", said Faust.
Gil got back into a stance, raising his fists up slightly, and Neptune held her swords to her sides.
"Thanks.", said Gil. "This'll be over soon, just need to find the right moment."
"You're telling me that this final boss type room won't actually take that long?", asked Neptune.
"Possibly."
"Aww, my expectations are shattered… Not that I mind!", said Neptune, who rushed forward towards an enemy.
She lodged her swords into the ground, and used them to send herself forwards, kicking into an enemy's stomach.
Gil had two enemies on him. One of them had a club, and one had a sword.
Gil blocked a swipe from the sword with his left hand, and jabbed into the enemy's chest with his right fist. He then blocked an attack with his right forearm, and sent his left palm into that enemy's chin.
Neptune turned around, seeing that a third enemy was rushing to Gil from behind. She unsummoned her swords, ran up to the man and jumped onto his back, getting him in a chokehold.
The man gripped at her arms, trying to pry them off, and Neptune managed to lower the man to the floor.
She then held her right arm out, summoned her sword into it, and hit him at the right side of his head with the hilt of her weapon, which knocked him out.
She looked back to Gil, seeing that the two enemies he was fighting were still up.
Gil saw a thrust coming from the swordsman, and so moved to the left, letting the sword move past him. Gil was off balance, but kneed into the man with his right leg.
"Gilly, your right!", called out Neptune, who was still moving towards Gil.
Gil looked to his right, and could just barely block a club attack to his head with his left hand. The attack hit Gil's arm away. The enemy then thrust the club into Gil's stomach, and then smacked Gil at his right side. After that, the enemy kicked at Gil, which caused Gil to spin around and face Faust while falling forward.
Neptune quickly summoned her pistol into her hands, and shot at the enemy's club, breaking it.
Gil held his right arm out in front of him, aiming at Faust.
Faust widened his eyes and thrust his knife closer to Renna.
"Use that magic of yours on me, and she's dead.", said Faust.
Gil, lying on the ground, shot a beam of light out…
Which completely missed Faust.
"Hah. Guess my worry was unnecessary.", said Faust, relaxing again. He held his arm up, making the remaining guards halt.
"I thought you said you weren't going to kill them!", shouted Neptune, who had also stopped.
"Well, if it means I'm going to die, then yes, I will use my captives as leverage. Obviously.", explained Faust.
Neptune narrowed her eyes at Faust, and then looked at Gil.
A crash was heard, and everyone looked to the side of Faust's table.
Uzume's chair had fallen over to the side, causing Uzume to hit the ground.
"Hah! You not only missed me, but ended up hurting the redhead!", taunted Faust.
Gil was getting up from the ground slowly, still holding his head.
"That… was the point.", muttered Gil, looking at Faust.
"What was that?", asked Faust, narrowing his eyes.
Neptune was now next to Gil, looking at him.
"You alright?", asked Neptune.
"Yes. And the plan… worked.", said Gil, smiling slightly.
Neptune followed his gaze, ending up on Uzume.
"Wha… What's goin' on?", muttered Uzume, looking around groggily.
Faust heard this, and looked to Uzume with surprise.
"What?! How are you awake?!", said Faust.
Uzume looked at Neptune and Gil, and became instantly aware of the situation she was in.
She moved her arms quickly, breaking the restraints that kept her in place.
Faust was dumbfounded by this, and could only look on.
Uzume got to her feet slowly, and held her head.
"Oww… My head… Dammit, feels like I've been hit there a couple of times…", said Uzume.
She once again looked at Neptune and Gil, smiling at them.
"What's up?", greeted Uzume.
"Uzume, please… transform.", asked Gil.
Neptune looked at him with surprise, but figured that it was the right idea. She looked to Uzume, and nodded her approval.
Uzume looked to her left at Faust, and said one thing before transforming.
"You're gonna regret messin' with us."
There was a blinding flash of light, and a moment later, Orange Heart stood in Uzume's place.
Faust, who had blocked his eyes with his hands, looked at Orange Heart with an even more dumbfounded face.
"Y-You're a CPU?!", asked Faust.
"That's right! Orange Heart is here~!", spoke Orange Heart, her high pitch voice spreading throughout the room. She took a pose, raising her hands next to her head in double peace signs.
Both Neptune and Gil smiled at this.
"And first of all…", started Orange Heart, looking at Faust. "You're a meany!" She put her fists to her hips, taking a displeased stance.
Faust smiled, and brought his knife out.
"I still have-", started Faust.
With tremendous speed, Orange Heart had summoned her megaphone, held it by her mouth with both hands, and screamed into it.
The resulting sound waves knocked Faust out from his seat, sending him toppling across the ground.
"Uh-uh, you can't do that!", said Orange Heart, pointing towards Faust. "Now stay there like a good boy until I'm ready!"
And so, Orange Heart flew past Neptune and Gil.
"Be back in a jiffy~.", winked Orange Heart.
She flew towards two enemies that were unarmed, and used her megaphone to blow one of them into a wall. She then flying kicked the other one in the face, which knocked him out.
She turned around, seeing that there were three enemies left. One with a knife, and two with swords.
She flew towards the one with a knife, landing in front of him.
The man desperately slashed at Orange Heart, who ducked down to dodge it.
Then, in a rather cute motion, Orange Heart punched the man in his stomach, causing him to fall back a small distance, grip his stomach, and pass out.
"Hi-yah!", exclaimed Orange Heart, who stood up in a stance, which was less intimidating, and more funny.
She ran at the two swordsmen who were approaching her simultaneously.
They both swung at Orange Heart, who dodged by floating backwards at the last second.
She retaliated by backflipping while floating, kicking one of the enemy's under the chin, sending him into the air.
The remaining enemy swung at her again, this time from above, but Orange Heart blocked it with the circular device on her left forearm.
She then placed her megaphone by the man's chest and screamed into it, sending him across the floor.
Orange Heart flew upwards, grabbing onto the man who she had kicked up into the air, and pulled him towards the ground. She laid him down gently.
After a moment of waiting, she aimed her megaphone at the man's head and screamed into it for no more than half a second, which knocked him out.
She flew towards the last enemy, who was still lying on the floor, and did the same thing.
She floated slightly off the ground, and floated towards Neptune.
"And that's all, folks!", exclaimed Orange Heart, posing victoriously.
Neptune clapped for her vigorously, smiling in excitement.
"Way to go, Uzume! You were amazing!", complimented Neptune.
"Thanks a bunch, Nepsy!", said Orange Heart, also smiling. She then looked to her left and right, taking a curious face.
"But… where's Gilsy?", asked Orange Heart.
"Oh, shoot! I didn't even realize that he wasn't here! Where could he…", said Neptune looking around. She looked past Orange Heart, and saw Gil walking towards…
"Uzume, behind you! You have to get to him, quickly!", said Neptune, who started to sprint towards Gil.
"Wha?! Nepsy, why-", started Orange Heart, looking behind herself.
Faust was still on the floor, recovering from Orange Heart's attack, and was slightly dazed.
"How was I supposed to know she was a damn Goddess…", Faust mumbled to himself, holding the back of his head.
Gil was walking towards him.
Orange Heart realized why Neptune wanted her to rush.
"Oh no!", said Orange Heart, who flew off towards Gil at high speed, quickly passing Neptune.
Faust eventually looked up at Gil, and could see him approaching. Faust started to back away across the floor.
"Hey, hey, think about this…", started Faust, nervously.
Gil summoned his sword into his right hand, holding it to his side as he increased his pace.
"You don't have to do this!", shouted Faust, still trying to back away.
Gil was standing above him, and was looking down at Faust with a menacing face.
Gil started to move his sword to the left, preparing a swing…
"Gilsy!", shouted Orange Heart, who was quickly approaching.
She flew into the back of Gil, holding his right arm back to prevent him from swinging it. She held around Gil's body with her left arm, as if hugging him.
"Please, stop this, Gilsy! You mustn't do this, it's bad!", exclaimed Orange Heart.
Gil struggled to free his right arm, but eventually stopped.
"Why?! This… thing kidnapped you and Renna!", shouted Gil.
"I know! But he can't do anything to us now! You're not a meany, Gilsy!"
"He deserves to answer to justice!"
"This isn't justice!"
"Who says?!"
"I do!"
Neptune arrived, and stood in front of Gil.
"Stop this, Gilly. Don't go through with this!"
Gil looked at Neptune with a pained expression, and started struggling again.
Neptune moved towards him, also holding his right arm. Similar to Uzume, Neptune hugged Gil with her other arm.
"Gilly, stop this right now!", said Neptune.
"Why?!", asked Gil.
"You don't have to kill him, Gilsy!", said Uzume.
"Yeah, yeah! You don't have to become a killer…", spoke Faust, who had suddenly spoken up.
Gil glared down at him, causing Faust to shut his mouth.
And then, Gil spoke.
"You think I haven't done that before?!"
This caused Orange Heart and Neptune to stop. Gil also stopped, and they all stood there in silence for a few moments.
Gil looked down to his left, avoiding eye contact.
"You… You've… Killed someone before, Gilsy?", asked Orange Heart, with a meek voice. She walked around Gil, standing next to Neptune.
Gil closed his eyes and nodded slowly, still looking to his left.
Neptune and Orange Heart continued to stare at him for some time, their mouths slightly open.
"W-Well… you don't have to do that now.", spoke Neptune, calmly. "We can leave him, and leave this place. He won't bother us again."
Gil then looked at the two girls in front of him.
He unsummoned his sword, and started walking towards Faust.
"I want to tell him something.", said Gil.
Neptune and Orange Heart looked between each other.
"Okay…", said Orange Heart.
"Alright.", said Neptune.
Gil nodded at them, and walked past them, heading for Faust.
Gil kneeled down in front of Faust, looking at him with an angry face.
"You deserve to die.", stated Gil.
Faust, who was propping himself up with both arms, didn't reply.
Gil continued while speaking in a calm voice.
"Don't come near us again. Don't look into us, don't follow us, and don't touch us.
If you do, I will kill you."
Neptune and Orange Heart walked besides Gil, and Orange Heart placed a hand on Gil's right shoulder.
Faust looked up at the two girls, noting that they were also glaring at him.
Gil thrust his left hand forward, grabbing Faust by the scruff of his neck and pulling him closer.
But Gil didn't say anything.
He only stared at Faust.
And after a few moments, Gil let go, letting Faust fall onto his back.
"Let's go get Rensy, Gilsy…", suggested Orange Heart.
Gil stared at Faust for another moment, and then rose to his feet.
"Okay.", said Gil.
And the three of them started to walk towards Renna, still strapped in her chair.
Neptune and Gil walked while Orange heart floated around them, sometimes doing flips and twirls.
"Don't worry about it, Gilly. We've all done our fair share of fighting and stuff. So really, don't worry about the killing thing.", said Neptune.
"Please don't feel bad, Gilsy! Even I've done that to someone before.", said Orange Heart, still floating around. "Remember the dream I showed you? And, and… I helped do that to an old purple meany before."
"See, see! I also kinda sorta helped with that. And maybe I've done stuff that wasn't mentioned in the games! The author won't know about that, and even though I do, I'm not spilling the pudding on that one~.", said Neptune, smiling smugly.
"I'm not worried about it. I just… didn't expect to say it like that, out of nowhere.", explained Gil.
"Really really?", asked Neptune.
"Really really really?", asked Orange Heart.
"Yes, really."
"Yay!", exclaimed Orange Heart, holding her arms up while revolving around Neptune and Gil.
"That's good to hear.", said Neptune, patting Gil on the back.
Gil smiled at them, and then took to watching Orange Heart as she floated past.
She was smiling all the time, and would sometimes hum to herself.
For Gil, it was oddly… satisfying to watch her fly around. It was… nice.
"You're really… different in this form, Uzume.", said Gil.
"I am? Teeheehee~.", replied Orange Heart, rubbing the back of her head in a bashful way.
"Or she's just much more honest.", said Neptune.
Orange Heart took a curious face, looking at Neptune.
"Nepsy, why're your clothes ripped?", asked Orange Heart.
"Uh, that, yeah, um… just a tussle with some dudes when we first got here. We sorted them out, don't worry.", said Neptune, waving her hands out in front of her.
Orange Heart nodded while twirling around her two companions. She then floated in front of them, moving backwards.
"I'm so happy that you two came to save us! What would I have done without you guys?", spoke Orange Heart, brandishing a wide smile.
"I'm sure you coulda gotten outta here without our help.", said Neptune.
"That's not the point! You did this, and that's super-duper cool!"
"It's what we're supposed to do.", said Gil.
Orange Heart looked at him, and she noticed the red marks by his left and right shoulders.
"Oh no, Gilsy! What happened there?! And there?!", asked Orange Heart, who flew closer to Gil.
Gil had to stop in his tracks, and Neptune stopped as well.
"We were fighting three people, one of them managed to stab me with a knife. I'm fine, though.", explained Gil.
"You don't look it! It's all red and not good!", protested Orange Heart.
"I really am fine. Neptune gave me a bottle to drink after I was… shot here.", said Gil, pointing to his left shoulder.
"You were shot?!", exclaimed Orange Heart.
"…I was.", said Gil.
"Oh no, you really need to be more careful, Gilsy!", reprimanded Uzume, leaning forwards while her hands were on her hips.
"I'll… try to do that next time.", said Gil.
Orange Heart nodded at him while half lidding her eyes, pouting all the while.
She then lowered to the floor and walked to the right of Gil.
The three of them all kept walking, and were approaching Renna.
"Thank you for listening to us back there…", said Orange Heart. She suddenly hugged at the right side of Gil, which caught him off guard.
Gil, not knowing what to do, could only stare down at Orange Heart.
"What, you're not gonna return that, Gilly? All embarrassed, are you?", teased Neptune.
Gil looked to his left, seeing that Neptune was enjoying this.
"She's simply showing her gratitude. Nothing weird about that.", explained Neptune.
Even if that was the reason why, Gil was still not used to it.
Gil sighed to himself, and slowly, gently, placed his right arm around Orange Heart, returning the hug.
Orange Heart seemed to like that, and squeezed into Gil.
"O…Okay, Uzume, thank you for stopping me.", said Gil.
Orange Heart looked up at Gil and smiled. She let go of him, and she flew off towards Renna.
"Yup, definitely more open like that.", commented Neptune, looking on as Orange Heart flew off. "We should probably go as well, right?"
"...Yes.", said Gil, and the two of them continued walking.
Renna was still strapped down in her chair, and she was still sleeping.
Gil walked in front of the chair, and lowered down onto his left knee, Orange Heart was behind her, while Neptune was standing to the right of Gil.
"First, we break her restraints.", said Neptune. "Anybody want a go? Don't want to hurt her or anything…"
"I'll do it!", said Orange Heart. She then grabbed onto Renna's restraints and pulled upwards, snapping them apart.
Gil reached forward, placing his right hand on Renna's left.
"Renna…", started Gil, holding onto her hand. He squeezed her hand, trying to wake her up.
"I know what'll do the trick!", said Neptune, who walked towards Renna. She stretched her right arm out towards Renna's head, and held it there.
"Just bear with me, alright?", asked Neptune, aimed at Gil.
"...Okay.", nodded Gil.
Neptune then proceeded to rapidly flick at Renna's forehead.
Gil opened his mouth as if to protest, but Orange Heart put a finger to her mouth as if to keep him quiet.
After a few seconds of flicking, Renna's face started to move, pulling away from Neptune's attack.
Neptune then reached forward with her left hand and started to rapidly flick at Renna with two fingers.
Renna started to move her head around faster, making irritated expressions while she did so.
"S-Stop hitting me already!", shouted out Renna, opening her eyes suddenly. She was still in a bit of a daze.
She looked around in a confused manner, and could see Neptune leaning towards her with a satisfied face.
"N-Neptune? What…", started Renna, who then remembered what had happened. "You came… to rescue us?"
"Not just me! Gilly, too!", said Neptune, who moved away to reveal Gil, who was still kneeling down.
The two siblings stared at each other for a moment, with Gil smiling at her.
"Hey, Renna.", greeted Gil.
Renna blinked at him a few times before pushing herself off of her chair, falling into Gil with a hug.
Gil caught her and returned the gesture, keeping them both upright.
"Hi Gilly…", said Renna.
The two of them remained in that for a few moments.
"Aww, that's so nice!", said Orange Heart, raising her hands to her chest.
"Yup. It sure is.", added Neptune.
"And it's a whole big family reunion. Yay.", said Croire, in her usual voice.
"Glad you could join us again.", said Neptune.
The siblings pulled away from each other, still looking at one another.
Renna around at Gil's body, particularly the red marks by his shoulders.
"Gilly… What happened?", asked Renna.
"We'll explain that later. For now, we need to move, before anything else happens.", explained Gil.
"Where's…", started Renna, looking around. She spotted Faust, who was still on the floor.
She stared at him for some time, taking an aggressive face, although none of the others could see that.
She then turned around, facing her companions with a smile. She eyed Croire for a moment before talking.
"So… what now?", asked Renna.
"Right now, we get back to our place. Then we go to Dusty's shop, and then to his place.", explained Neptune.
"I… guess that is what we should do, yeah.", said Renna. She looked up at Gil.
Gil offered her a hand, and she took it. He pulled Renna up to her feet.
"Please, uh, catch me up on what happened while I was out, okay?", asked Renna.
"Of course!", said Orange Heart.
Renna looked to her and smiled appreciatively.
"Maybe you should transform back into your normal form before we leave…", said Neptune.
"Oh!", exclaimed Orange Heart.
She then disengaged her HDD, and in her place stood Uzume.
"Feels good to get into that form once in a while.", said Uzume.
"Croire, if you would please take us back to our room…", asked Neptune.
"Yeah, yeah, gimme a sec.", said Croire.
"You… You really think I'll stop here?!", shouted Faust, out of nowhere.
Everyone looked to him.
"You will if you know what's good for you!", shouted Uzume. "Unless you wanna get your face busted in, I'd sit down and stay down!"
"Gilly here's already said what'd happen if you continued, and you don't want that to happen, I imagine?", said Neptune.
Faust looked at Gil, who was glaring at him.
He then looked towards Renna, who was staring at him with equal intensity.
He narrowed his eyes, staring out for a moment.
Her then quickly looked to the left, as if accepting what was offered reluctantly.
"Good. That's what I thought, ya scum.", said Uzume.
Faust glared back at her before looking away again.
"All set and ready to go. Let's get a move on, people.", said Croire, who had opened a portal.
Faust looked at the portal with great surprise and intrigue.
"Later, loser!", saluted Uzume, before jumping through the portal.
"Adios, no amigo!", waved Neptune, before she jumped through it as well.
"So long, sucka.", said Croire, before she floated through the portal.
Renna and Gil turned to leave, walking towards the portal.
Just before they left, Renna looked at Faust from over her left shoulder.
Her eyes seemed to be darker than they usually were.
And they were gone, with the portal closing behind them.
Faust, who was standing up at this point, looked at where the portal previously was while thinking.
He was displeased.
Very displeased.
He quickly walked towards his table, sitting down while grabbing his phone from the table.
He dialed a number, leaning back in the chair as it rang.
Faust started speaking.
"Hey. Yeah, it's me. Things didn't go as I wanted them to. But we can do this again, right? We can? Good. How soon? Geez, that's quick. Then do it then. I won't be having these people escape me. Especially not for a second time. Nobody does that to me, and I'll make them know it."
Faust continued to talk on the phone for a few minutes.
He then put the phone down and leaned forward in his chair, resting his arms on the table.
"You really think you can get away from me?"
He then stood up, and walked towards the door.
"Even if you have a CPU on your side."
And he walked through, walking through the hallway, heading for the stairs.
"I will get what I want, like usual.
And nobody can stop me."
Oooh, I wonder what'll happen next? We'll see.
So yeah, was that alright? I hope so. I hope the fights were fluid, and that you could all keep track of what was happening, since I haven't named all the enemies… Hope it's easy to follow!
And yeah, Orange Heart appeared again! She's always fun to write. And she got to fight! Let me know if I gave her justice, and if she felt in character.
And yeah, Gil's little thing that he mentioned. Wonder what's that about? It'll all be explained at some point, don't worry. Let me know, maybe!
And just in general. Seriously, don't be afraid to leave a review! What's your take on the story so far? What do you think about it and the characters? About some specific scenes, or maybe some questions? Anything like that!
And it kinda feels nice to get stuff like that…
But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one! And the next ones!
So yeah.
Goodbye for now!