Warning, there's gonna be blood shed this chapter...
Neptunia Guild Files: Fate/book one
A Hyperdimension Neptunia Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Section 21: Jack The Ripper
*Haneda City Streets, 12:30 AM*
"So this was where Gray got attacked, mikon?" Tamamo asked.
"That's right," Lord El-Melloi II nodded, a smoldering cigar in one hand. "It's also where the previous victim- a prostitute- was killed as well..."
"The culprit always returns to the scene of the crime," Rider quoted.
"Well that's stupid," Mordred commented. "You'd think the criminal would wanna get as far away as possible..."
"You would think, but keep in mind, a serial killer is rarely of sound mind," El-Melloi pointed out.
"Speaking of which, are you of sound mind to smoke those disgusting things?!" Nero complained, pinching her nose shut.
"For your information, Miss Claudius, my cigars are not just for sating a nicotine addiction," the professor countered. "I've woven several Mystic Codes into these to grant me an edge should I find myself in a fight. Despite being a professor, my ability as a mage is average at best, so I need any advantage I can get..."
"Oh, I get it," Tamamo nodded. "Not many people would expect using cigars as a magic implement, mikon."
"Well, as a fellow noble once advised me, a lord's suit and cigars are his greatest weapons," El-Melloi said with a chuckle. "Anyway, let's get down to business. What's the plan?"
"Well, we were planning to split up into pairs and patrol the area," Rider stated. "But since you came with us, we're an odd number now..."
"I'll be fine by myself," Waver shook his head. "The killer seems to target women exclusively, and I have a Mystic Code that specifically blunts attacks from bladed weapons, just in case. So go ahead with your original plan."
"...Well, alright. This isn't your first rodeo, after all... So, Nero goes with Tamamo, and Mordred goes with me. We'll search a few blocks in opposite directions, then slowly make our way back. Professor, I'd like you to stick around here, just in case one of our groups needs assistance..."
"I'm not the fastest runner, but I'll do my best to come and assist if needed," El-Melloi said with a nod, expelling some smoke.
"Off we go then!" Nero exclaimed, striding off to the west, mostly to get away from the awful cigar smell.
"Wait for me, Nero!" Tamamo called, running after her.
"Guess we head the other way then, huh?" Mordred looked over at Rider.
"Right, let's go," Rider nodded, the duo heading off...
*Some time later...*
"Geez, it feels deserted around here!" Mordred complained. "Almost like we're the last two left in the city...!"
"Everyone's probably either sleeping or sheltering inside," Rider pointed out. "The serial killer hasn't entered any buildings to attack victims, so..."
"Right," Mordred nodded. "Will he come after us, though, is the question..."
"Well, if we don't find him, we'll meet back up with Zero and plot our next move," Rider said. "Hmm, looks like it's getting a little foggy... stay close to me, okay?"
"I'm not a little kid!" Mordred snapped back. "I mean, I get it, but..." She then heard a revving sound, a speeding car bearing down on them! Mordred managed to jump and roll out of the way just in time! "Hey, watch where you're going!" she screamed after the vehicle. "Rider, you all right?"
No response. "Rider?!" Mordred looked around frantically, only to discover that her vision was obscured by the fog! (Holy shit, when did it get so thick?!) "Hey Rider, say something, dammit!"
"Mommy...?" a child's voice spoke from the fog. Mordred turned toward the voice, seeing a young teenager emerge from the fog, wrapped in a tattered cloak. She had short white hair and large, expressive green eyes, though there was a scar on her cheek.
"Uh... hey there, kid, you lost?" Mordred asked hesitantly.
The child looked up at her with pleading eyes... "Are you our mommy...?"
"Huh? Uh, no, I mean..." Mordred shook her head. "Look kid, I might be taller, but I'm practically a kid myself... I mean, look at me!" She indicated her chest. "I think your mommy would have bigger boingy bits than these, right?"
"...Oh." the teenager looked disappointed. "...Can you help Jack find Mommy?"
(Jack? Oh, that's gotta be her name,) Mordred realized. "Uh, sure, I can help you out, kid, er, Jack. Just stay close to me, okay? There's a guy stabbing girls to death around here..."
"Okay," Jack nodded with a small smile. At that moment, the fog began to thin out a little...
"...dred... ere are you... Mordred, answer me!"
"Rider! Over here!" Mordred called. Not a minute later, Rider's silhouette became visible... "Where the hell were you?!"
"I could ask you the same thing!" Rider shot back as she approached. "Did you get turned around in the fog or something? ...Hey, who's this?"
"Jack is Jack!" Jack exclaimed. "Are you our Mommy? You've got big boingy bits!"
"Uh..." Rider sweat-dropped. "I kinda wish I didn't..."
"Why not?" the young girl tilted her head quizzically.
"I just- I don't, okay?!" Rider crossed her arms over her chest, blushing. "C'mon, let's go..."
"Okay! Jack will go in Mommy's womb!" That statement by itself would have given anyone pause, but given who spoke it, would've been chalked up to her having just learned where babies came from...
-but then she pulled out two knives from under her cloak, rushing at Rider! "LOOK OUT!" Mordred shouted, but too late, as Jack cut into Rider's torso, the woman falling to the ground in agony! Managing to grab Jack's cloak and pull her back, Mordred screamed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Leggo! We wanna be in Mommy's womb!" Jack cried and flailed in protest.
At that moment, things suddenly clicked... white hair... short stature... dual knives... (Holy shit! She's the serial killer?!) Mordred realized. "No! Bad girl! That's not how you treat- OW!" She cried in pain as one of Jack's knives cut her leg, making her lose her grip!
"If you won't let us be with Mommy, we'll chop you up!" Jack growled as she turned to face Mordred, the blonde barely drawing her sword in time to deflect her slices! Mordred then hit Jack with a kick to the gut, then bashed her in the head with her sword's hilt, finishing with another kick that sent her to the ground on her face! "Rider, hold on!" he cried, seeing her fellow woman's stomach bleeding profusely...
"Mystic Code: Cauterize!" a gruff voice called out, a lit cigar hitting Rider on the torso, her wound suddenly being seared with a with a minor flame tinged with green! "Wove a little healing into that code, too!"
"About time, teacher!" Mordred snapped as Waver emerged from the fog. "This kid's the killer! She's gotta be!" she pointed at Jack, who was slowly getting up, rubbing her head.
"A disturbed child... that explains a few things," El-Melloi II nodded grimly. "And yet, leaves more questions unanswered..."
"Owww..." Jack groaned as she sat on her knees. "Why... why won't you let us go with Mommy? Why?!"
"I'm not your Mommy, dammit!" Rider yelled as she slowly got up, still favoring her stomach. "And you don't cut women's wombs open to crawl inside!"
"Not Mommy...?" Jack grunted as she stood up fully, still holding her knives. "Then we'll chop you up!" She turned and lunged at Rider again-
"Mystic Code: Blunt!" El-Melloi pointed an unlit cigar at Rider, the woman being enveloped in a silver glow! This time, it felt more like being assaulted with butter knives than sharpened blades... Rider quickly took advantage, kneeing Jack in the ribcage, then using her bladed chain to yank the knives from her grasp!
"You bad man! Jack's gonna cut you!" the girl cried as she pulled two more knives from under her cloak and ran at Waver!
"Professor!" Mordred screeched in terror... but Jack's swing went right through the man's form, as if he were a ghost!
"Mystic Code: Illusion," El-Melloi chuckled. "I've fooled more than one suspect with this trick..."
"Agh! Why can't we chop you?!" Jack screamed in frustration, swinging at the illusion again and again...
"Damn it, how do we deal with this fucked-up kid?!" Rider growled as she assumed a defensive stance.
"The same way you would deal with any criminal!" Waver retorted as his image began to fade. "Trust your instincts...!"
"Huh? Where'd the bad man go?" Jack stopped, confused as her target having vanished. Mordred saw an opportunity, grabbing at the girl's cloak again! "Let Jack go!" she cried as she flailed about.
"You're a bad girl! And bad girls get spanked!" Mordred asserted as she pulled... only for the cloak to slip off, revealing that Jack wore naught but a skimpy black bra and panties underneath! "Rider, watch out!"
"Mommy!" Jack cried as she ran at Rider again, brandishing her knives...
(Trust your instincts!) Rider closed her eyes as she spun out of the way of Jack's charge, her chain lashing out...
The chain wrapped around the child's neck.
Rider pulled.
A wet, sickening snap was heard.
And Jack collapsed.
"Mo... mmy..."
Rider's eyes opened, beholding the sight of Jack lying there, her head twisted unnaturally, her body going limp. "No..." the chain slipped from her hands as she fell to her knees. "Oh, God... what have I done? I... I killed a child..." Her shoulders shook as she began to sob in despair, falling forward onto her elbows... "Fuck...! Dammit...! Why...?!"
"It was kill or be killed!" Mordred shouted at her. "You can't blame yourself for that...!"
"Clearly, you have much to learn, Mordred," Waver said as he walked up, not an illusion this time. "Killing a hardened criminal is one thing, but snuffing out the life of a child who had barely begun to live... is another matter entirely."
"I found them!" Another voice called out from a short distance away. "Over here, Nero!" Tamamo yelled as she appeared on the scene, Nero herself running up not long after. "What happened, mikon?!"
"That happened," Mordred pointed at Jack's corpse, the chain still coiled around her neck. "And Rider's all broken up over it..."
"Oh, no! A child?!" Nero gasped in shock. "Oh, Rider, you poor thing...!" She knelt down at Rider's side, picking her up and letting her cry into her chest.
"That's terrible, mikon!" Tamamo gasped as realization hit. "Was she really the killer...?!"
"It's highly likely she was," Waver nodded grimly. "Of course, we'll have to send her knives to forensics to be sure..."
"Okay, but what about Rider?!" Mordred demanded. "Can't we do something other than hug her?"
"We can't," El-Melloi shook his head. "That being said, I do know someone who might be able to help Sharon out... but first, we must contact the authorities." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed...
*To be continued...*
...I didn't like writing that anymore than you liked reading it. :-( Let's hope Rider can get some counseling next chapter...