Chapter 14: Pride and Accomplishment
A bus pulled over in front of the Athletic Enterprises HQ. The building was in the midtown area of Leanbox, not too far or too close to all of the action. The doors opened up for IF and her party and they exited the bus one by one. They all took a moment to look around and take in the view. Despite being in the thick of the city, AE still had its own little campus.
"Wow! It's huge!", RED commented.
"A bit much, if you ask me", IF shrugged.
Nisa looked around and noticed that there was a gated area which contained a running track, gymnastic equipment, soccer goals, volleyball nets, and even an entire (American) football field which could be used for even more sports. The area was, of course, in-use.
"I expected the building, but this is incredible!", Nisa said.
"Maybe we can play once we're done?", Compa suggested.
"...We'll see. Remember- these guys are suspects!", IF answered.
With that, they all walked into the main building and waited for the tour to begin. IF wondered what exactly there was to see here. Sports equipment that could mind control people? Surely they must be keeping a few dirty secrets within these otherwise clean halls.
IF's train of thought came to a halt when the tour guide arrived. "Hello, everyone! Welcome to Athletic Enterprises! Now, please form two single-file lines so we can begin!"
"This feels like a school trip…", Nisa muttered.
"Aww! If I knew it would be like this, I would've packed us some lunches!", Compa said.
RED crossed her arms. "I'm bored."
IF turned to RED. "We haven't even started yet."
"The quicker we start, the better!", Nisa encouraged. Everyone lined up and followed the tour guide inside. Their first stop was a small museum. It was like a small hall of fame, with portraits and jerseys of athletes from all kinds of different sports. Unsurprisingly, their equipment was all made by yours truly.
IF paid no attention to what the tour guide was saying. Instead, she was looking around for a chance to "get lost". The tour continued, until IF found her chance.
"Excuse me… er… where can I find the restroom?" IF asked.
Nisa turned towards IF. "Ah, I see you forgot the pre-trip ritual."
"Pre-trip what?", IF replied.
"Bathroom! Keys! Wallet! Phone!", Nisa replied with a thumbs up.
IF shrugged. "Yeah, sure."
"It's right over there- two lefts and a right", the tour guide said.
IF nodded and followed the guide's directions, even going as far as actually going into the bathroom. After she washed her hands, she poked her head outside before leaving the bathroom completely. Her search now having begun, she looked around the corners and avoided attention as she moved through the building.
She continued looking until she spied an employee use a key card to enter a restricted area. IF leaned against the wall and started to go through her options in her head. If she tried to go in without a card, she'd probably set off an alarm. She couldn't impersonate an employee. She couldn't bust her way in. Her mind went through several different scenarios until she felt a breeze against her forehead. IF looked up and spied an air vent. Her eyes lit up. Bingo. IF returned to the bathroom and climbed up into the air vent…
Luckily for IF, the vents were relatively clean. She sighed in relief as she began to make her tight crawl to an unknown destination. At this point, she could go to almost every room in the building. The problem was, the vents weren't exactly labeled. IF was, for all intents and purposes, blind. All she could do was peak through the grated openings and guess what the room was for. IF sighed before beginning her aimless crawl.
Meanwhile, the tour gang made its way through more sections of the building. Ironically, if IF had stayed with the group, she would at least have an idea as to what the building's layout was like. As the tour moved on, Nisa got a text from IF.
"In the vents. Not sure where to go", the text read.
Nisa texted back. "The middle of the building is restricted".
IF got the text and nodded. She began crawling towards where she thought the middle would be.
After sending the text, the group headed outside onto the campus. The big field had all kinds of people playing sports as if it were a field day.
The tour guide turned to face the tourists. "In an effort to promote healthy activity among civilians in Leanbox, AE has accommodated this space for everyone to play to their heart's content!"
RED, despite finding the rest of the tour boring, began to look rather excited upon observing the playing field.
"Oh, oh! I wanna play!", RED said. She took out a red Frisbee from… wherever she keeps her stuff. "Nisa! Go long!"
Nisa reacted instinctively by dashing through the field as fast as she could. She looked up into the sky as she ran, keeping her eye on the prize. She finally leaped into the air to catch the Frisbee. Though she was able to secure the objective in her grasp, she basically ran right into someone to catch it.
Nisa fell over along with her victim. The both of them laid on the ground, their vision impaired by all the stars rotating around their heads. RED and Compa ran over to check on them.
"Yow! That looked like it hurt!", RED commented.
"Don't worry! I'll patch you both up!", Compa reassured.
Nisa rubbed her head. Sadly, this wasn't the first time in this fanfic where she banged her head. As her vision returned to normal, she started to recognize just who exactly she crashed into.
"Y-you!", Nisa blurted out.
"Oh look. One of the girls who lost my bike", Elsa groaned.
"I remember that going differently", Nisa muttered.
Compa wasted no time patching up their minor injuries. "Do you two already know each other?", she asked.
Nisa nodded. "Yeah… IF and I rescued her from a bunch of dogoos in Planeptune."
"Hey! Don't leave out the part where you didn't save my bike!", Elsa growled.
"We had nothing to do with your bike, ma'am!", Nisa replied.
The air began to grow tense as the two girls butt heads. They were interrupted when another girl with brown hair in a blue jersey jogged up to them, holding a blue ball.
"Elsa! Are you alright?", she asked.
Elsa pushed herself up and wiped off the grass from her outfit. "I'm fine, Wyn. I just ran into- or rather, THEY ran into me."
Wyn scanned the small group, and stopped at Nisa. "Hey, you!"
Nisa looked around before pointing to herself. "Me?"
"That's a foul! Yellow card!", Wyn declared, as she brought out a card and whacked Nisa over the head with it.
"Huh? I wasn't even playing!" Nisa exclaimed.
"Once you step into the field, you're fair game!", Wyn replied.
"Wait, I have an idea", Elsa interrupted.
Nisa tilted her head. "Oh?"
Elsa pointed towards Nisa. "A 2 on 2 match! Winner owes the loser a bike!"
"I decline", Nisa shrugged, "We have nothing to gain out of this."
"Are you sure about that?", Elsa snickered, "I'm sure IF wouldn't mind losing her bike then."
Nisa's expression grew tense. "...You didn't."
Elsa grinned and snapped he fingers. Suddenly, a certain Underling walked IF's bike onto the field.
"Ah, but I did! It's MY bike now!", Elsa snickered. "If you want it back, you're gonna have to beat us!"
Nisa and Underling immediately recognized each other. "I thought you said you were done getting into trouble!", Nisa exclaimed.
"I-I am! This is just honest work!", Underling insisted.
"Stealing isn't honest work!", Nisa replied.
Elsa scoffed. "Never mind how we got the bike. We're not handing it over unless you beat Wyn and I in a soccer match!"
Nisa clenched her fist. "Taking someone's belongings hostage… how underhanded!" She pointed towards Elsa. "My burning heart tells me to defeat you! RED, back me up!"
RED shook her head. "I don't wanna!"
Nisa stumbled in place, her momentum being destroyed by RED's refusal. "IF would really appreciate it if you got her bike back!"
RED's eyes lit up. "That's… that's just what I need to score some affection points with her… Fine! You're on!"
Meanwhile, the tour guide sighed and continued to give the tour to the rest of the tourists, leaving Nisa's party behind.
And just like that, everyone got into their places. Nisa and Elsa took to the field while Wyn and RED stood in front of their goal posts. Underling sat with Compa, just in case she tried to do any funny business during the match.
Underling whistled and the game began. Elsa gained possession of the ball and dribbled it down towards RED rapidly, leaving Nisa caught off guard behind her. RED prepared herself to block Elsa's shot. The athletic girl took her shot , and RED dived for it- only to be knocked back into the goalpost.
"Score! 1 to 0!", Underling shouted.
Nisa jogged up to RED and pulled her up from the ground. "What happened?", she asked the redhead.
"That shot was too strong!", RED whined.
Nisa turned to Elsa. "Hold up. What's this funny business now?"
"Huh? It's not my fault she got knocked back by the force", Elsa scoffed.
"Oh, I get it. If you're gonna use special abilities, then so will we!", Nisa declared.
Everyone got back to their positions and waited for the whistle to continue. Elsa once again gained possession of the ball and sprinted towards RED. However this time, RED smacked the ball back with a yo-yo.
"Wh-what?!", Elsa shrieked.
Nisa gained possession of the ball and ran for it, over to Wyn. She slammed the ball towards the goal post, only for the brunette to catch it.
"It's gonna take more than that to get this ball through me, newbie!", Wyn taunted before throwing the ball back to Elsa.
Elsa regained possession and dribbled it towards RED. This time, Nisa was just beside her, challenging Elsa for the ball at high speed. This went on for a few moments until Nisa nabbed the ball away from Elsa.
However, as Nisa turned around, Elsa fell onto the ground and started squealing in pain.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!", she cried, holding her ankle.
Nisa stopped running and turned around to face Elsa, who was rolling around the grass in pain.
"Hey, are you alright?", Nisa asked.
"Do I look alright?!", Elsa cried.
Wyn jogged over from her goal post to check on Elsa. "Hey, that's a foul!", she said, before pulling something out from her pocket, "Yellow card!"
"H-hey! I barely even touched her!", Nisa replied.
Compa jogged over to check on Elsa. "Hold still! If you keep rolling around, I can't patch you up!" Elsa continued rolling around in pain.
Underling jogged over from the sidelines. "According to the rules, that's a free kick."
Nisa sighed. "This is really fishy, but I'll go along with it."
Everyone returned to their positions- including Elsa, who was miraculously healed. Nisa waited behind Elsa, who was prepared to take her free kick. After Underling whistled, Elsa charged forth and kicked the ball at full force.
The ball ripped through the air violently. RED ran forth to meet it, and caught it securely in her hands. She didn't anticipate what Elsa would do next. She dashed up and kick the ball a second time as RED held it in her hands.
A power struggle ensued, with RED struggling to hold the ball against Elsa's foot trying to kick the ball into the net.
"I won't… lose…", RED muttered, "This… is for my wifey!" RED's golden dragon unwrapped itself from her torso and smacked the ball into the air, away from both Elsa and RED.
The ball bounced away, and Nisa gained possession. Elsa was directly at RED's goal post, and couldn't catch up to Nisa in time. The blue-haired heroine dribbled over to Wyn and faked her out, launching a devastating kick right into the goal post.
"Goooooooal!", Compa shouted with joy.
Underling shrugged. "That's 1 to 1. Looks like you broads aren't half bad."
Elsa and Nisa returned to the middle of the field with a determined look in their eyes. This was gonna be an intense match.
IF was still in a tight spot (literally), making progress through the air vents and blissfully unaware of the situation her party had gotten themselves into. She was able to peak outside the vent system and found what seemed to be a luxurious office. IF poked her head out before dropping down into it.
There was a large desk and a bookshelf with some books poking out from the rest. IF moved over to the large desk to see what she could find. She opened the drawers nervously, hoping to find some sort of lead.
IF was able to bring up a holographic screen with several files to choose from. Schedule, payments, contacts, design proposals, and more. The owner of this computer was clearly an important figure at the company.
The brunette brought her phone out and initiated a file transfer of whatever she could find. She looked around nervously as the file transfer seemed to go on forever. When it was finally over, IF hastily returned to the ventilation shaft and began to navigate her way back to the bathroom...
"That's 3 to 2!", Underling called out.
The soccer field had several craters and other similar signs of wear and tear. Nisa had just made the most recent goal. The ball reset, and the game continued. Elsa and Nisa danced around the middle, trying to take the ball from the other in an endless loop. It wasn't until Elsa "accidentally" pulled Nisa's scarf that one of them broke out with the ball. Elsa sprinted towards RED and scissor kicked it towards the redhead's post. RED, unfortunately, jumped the other direction and couldn't block the strike.
The ball spun against the net, threatening to burn a hole right through it. RED pushed herself up, frustrated at her failure.
"3 to 3! Tie game!", Underling called out.
"Grr! I won't… I won't let you win!", RED grumbled, "This is for my wifey!"
Nisa readjusted her scarf and coughed several times. "Such dirty tactics...", she muttered, "In this case, let's quit beating around the bush. I'll give this my all!"
Elsa scoffed. "Not like it would make a difference", she crossed her arms. "Wyn, you better not fail!"
Wyn nodded. "Leave it to me. I'll grab any balls that come my way!"
Everyone got back to their positions, ready to settle the score once and for all. Underling whistled, and Nisa and Elsa dashed for the ball. They both kicked it at the same time, causing the ball to shoot straight up into the air. Nisa reacted quickly and leaped into the air after it.
She slammed her foot against the ball and sent it flying towards Wyn's goal post. The brunette responded by throwing several yellow cards, which were somehow strong enough to deflect the ball. This allowed Elsa to gain possession of the ball. Nisa landed and ran towards Elsa.
As Nisa drew close, Elsa tackled her aside and dribbled forth towards RED. Nisa was knocked to the ground, powerless to do anything but watch. Elsa moved in close to RED and took her shot.
RED caught the ball with both hands, safely stopping it's advance. However, Elsa continued to run and kicked the ball as RED held it, pushing it right into her face. RED was knocked backwards as the ball flew straight up into the air.
Nisa stumbled onto her feet and dashed as fast as she could towards RED's goal post. She leaped into the air in sync with Elsa, and both girls slammed their feet into the ball. They floated in midair momentarily, before a shock wave blasted both girls away. The ball fell down to the ground, allowing RED to pick it up.
Nisa was knocked over to the middle of the field while Elsa was knocked out of bounds behind RED's goal post. RED threw the ball over to Nisa, who bolted forth towards Wyn's goal post.
"Prepare for my ultimate attack! Justice KICK!", Nisa shouted as she unleashed a devastatingly powerful punt towards Wyn's goal post. The brunette stayed still and took out a red card, raising it up to stop Nisa's attack. On contact, the ball's momentum vanished, and it dropped down onto the ground unceremoniously.
"What?! Impossible!", Nisa blurted out.
"The red card reigns supreme in this battlefield!", Wyn smirked.
Wyn hurled the ball as hard as she could to the opposite side of the field, where Elsa was waiting. Elsa leaped into the air and performed a flip kick, down towards RED.
RED attempted to catch the ball, but wasn't fast enough to grab it with her hands. It smacked her in the face and knocked her over before bouncing into the goal post.
"Score! 4 to 3!", Underling called out.
Nisa looked on in disbelief while Wyn ran off to her teammate to celebrate. RED laid on the grass for a moment before sitting up and rubbing her nose. Compa and Nisa jogged over to check on the redhead.
"Nobody told me she'd kick so hard…", RED muttered.
Elsa chuckled to herself. "It looks like I finally have a new bike! Bring it over, my underling!"
Underling walked the bike over, mumbling something to herself about still being called an 'underling'.
"Hold it right there. You still stole the bike in the first place. You can't just take it now!", Nisa said.
"Too late for that. You shouldn't have accepted the match if you didn't didn't want to bet on it!", Elsa replied.
"We can't bet on this behind Iffy's back!", Compa interjected.
"Hm?", Elsa said, "Iffy? Well, I don't see her here, so-"
"What the heck happened here?"
IF arrived at the ruined soccer field and scanned the situation. Her eyes glued themselves on her bike. "Why the hell do you have my bike, Underling?"
"W-wait, this wasn't my idea!", Underling stuttered.
IF turned to face Elsa. "Wait a minute. This isn't about that time where you lost your bike, is it?"
"Well, duh. I actually just won this bike fair and square in a soccer match", Elsa said as she crossed her arms.
"Like hell you did! I didn't even know about this until just now!", IF barked.
"S-sorry, Iffy…", RED muttered, "She kicks… really hard."
"Show me where the meanie hit you", Compa said to RED.
IF walked over and placed a hand on one of the bike's handles. Elsa walked over and grabbed the other handle.
"I'm not letting you take my bike", IF growled.
"I think you mean MY bike", Elsa growled back.
"How about we go another round for it?", Wyn suggested, "Whoever scores a goal, wins the bike!"
IF sighed. "I can't believe I have a play a silly little game to win my own bike."
Underling walked the bike back over to the sidelines while Compa walked RED off of the field, tending to her mild injuries. RED's eyes were glued to the ground as she walked off the field, disappointed at her own performance.
IF took RED's spot at the goal post. She stretched her arms out and prepared herself as Underling whistled, beginning the match. Nisa and Elsa dashed forth and both kicked the ball at the same time, sending it rolling off behind Elsa.
Wyn easily scooped up the ball and returned it to her partner, who made her way towards IF's goal post. Nisa dashed towards her and tried to steal the ball away, only for both girls to trip up on each other's legs.
Both of them fell down, and held their legs as they moaned in agony. Underling and Compa jogged over to check out the devastating damage.
"Um… I don't see anything wrong with them", Compa said.
Underling shrugged. "These broads must be kidding…", she muttered to herself. "I guess this means you both get free kicks."
And just like that, Underling's magic words miraculously cleansed the pain from both players.
Elsa was up first. She moved up to the line Underling drew up for her and waited for the signal to kick. IF prepared herself, with no intention of losing to the likes of the entitled brat before her.
After the whistle, Elsa crept up to the ball slowly before sprinting up into a kick. IF dived towards the ball, just in time to smack it away from the goal post.
"Yay! Go Iffy!", Compa cheered.
"Don't celebrate just yet. That loud broad still has to go", Underling said.
Nisa moved into position and waited for the whistle to go. After hearing the signal, she dashed up and slammed her foot into the ball, sending it straight towards the net. This time, Wyn was unable to stop it with one of her cards, and the ball tore through the back of the net.
"Oof…", Wyn groaned.
"Yes!", RED cheered.
"Justice prevails once more!", Nisa grinned.
IF walked up to greet Nisa. "Great job. Now, I'll be taking my bike back…"
"Damn it! Fine. Take your lame bike back", Elsa grumbled.
IF walked over towards Underling and grabbed her bike by the handles. "...Wait a second." She tried turning it on, but nothing happened. "...What the hell did you do to my bike?"
"Oh, well, I had the engine removed. I was planning to replace it with a better one", Elsa shrugged.
"Are you serious?! Put it back!", IF barked.
"Aw, don't be so angry. This way, you'll feel a sense of pride and accomplishment once you get your bike working again!", Elsa grinned.
IF's eye twitched for a few moments before she lunged towards Elsa, only for Nisa to hold her back.
"IF! It's not worth it!", Nisa called out.
"She messed with my freaking bike!", IF roared, "Let me go!"
"Oh dear, are you trying to attack me? Looks like I need to call security!", Elsa scoffed.
It didn't take long for them to be escorted out of the playing field. They were given a warning before being let go. The party now found themselves on the curb outside AE's main building. IF tried starting up her bike over and over again, in denial.
"Um… IF? I don't think that's going to work", Nisa said.
"Iffy?", Compa said.
The brunette was unresponsive. A thousand mile stare was on her face, as if she had lost all will to act.
RED seemed upset as well, though for a different reason. "Iffy… Don't worry! All we have to do is get another engine! It'll be as good as new!"
"By the way, IF. Did you find anything inside there?", Nisa asked.
"M-my… bike…", she muttered.
Compa placed her hand on IF's shoulder to try to comfort her. IF looked at Compa and gave a deep sigh. "Let's just get back to the guild."
The party ended up walking the whole way back, since IF couldn't bring her bike on the bus. Once they arrived at the Leanbox guild, they requested the receptionist to see R. After a few moments, R came to get them and they went inside to share their findings.
"I copied some files from a computer", IF explained, "Based off of the room it was in, it probably belonged to one of the big wigs at the company."
"Interesting. Please send those files to this system here", R said.
IF started sending the data and after a few moments, several holographic screens appeared over the table, each one displaying a different set of files.
"Whoa. Looks like you really hit the jackpot, IF!", Nisa said.
"Eh, we don't know that yet. These files could be useless for all we know", IF shrugged. Everyone looked at all of the files on display, not sure which one to open first.
"Oh, let's look at finances!", Nisa suggested, "When in doubt, follow the money!"
Nisa opened up the financial folder and read through some of it. "Hm. These payments all seem to be normal… for a rich person that is."
"Wait, that one looks different!", Compa spoke up, "It's made out to the Planeptune guild."
"That's strange. Why would they be paying that guild instead of the Leanbox one?", Nisa said.
"It's probably not a donation", Compa suggested.
"I can contact E and ask what this payment was for. Give me a moment…", R said before stepping out.
Compa turned towards IF. "Are you feeling better, Iffy?"
IF hung her head. "...I'm still mad."
"Don't worry, Iffy! We'll fix your bike!", RED reassured.
"This isn't a game, RED. An engine costs a lot of money", IF sighed.
"I'll handle it! Just watch me! Once I get you that engine, I'll gain tons of affection points!", RED winked.
IF sighed. While she did want to have her bike fixed, she sincerely doubted someone like RED would honestly be able to help, and took her words with a grain of salt.
R returned to them with her findings. "The payment was posted as a bail for a certain criminal that was caught recently."
"A criminal?", Compa repeated.
R nodded. "Yes. A Ran-Ran known as… DanDan."
IF's eyes grew wide. "Y-you can't be serious." She got up from her seat and slammed her fists onto the table. "You mean to say that damn pig was working for AE?!"
"There is a connection, yes", R said, completely calm.
IF began to seethe with rage. Her vision became impaired and her head felt lightheaded. Compa took out her Sleep Syringe and stuck it into IF, causing the brunette to calm down. Compa whispered into IF's ear as she lost consciousness.
"It's okay, Iffy… It's okay."
CHAPTER 14… PRIDE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT... END.