Chapter 50: Another Shocking Turn, and the Stealth Mission

Schezo's POV

I ran after Rulue, trying to catch up to her. This must have dragged on for at least fifteen minutes. "*pant pant* Rulue stop, I- *pant* -need to talk to you about what you could be doing!" I raised my voice. I heard another person's footsteps approaching me, and they were from Raffina. "*pant* Ms. Rulue, could you please talk to us… *pant*" Raffina wished. "Why did you two come here…? I don't get it... I said that I couldn't say what I'm going to do." She stopped running. "Also... I need to apologize about the time that I landed on you while I was fighting Dave, even though it really wasn't my fault. You DID feel violated and I didn't say sorry about that yesterday..." I reminded her. "I… can see that it wasn't your fault Schezo, it was only an accident." Rulue sat down on the ground. I decided to sit down next to her. Raffina sat down by us as well. "Look... we may not exactly be friends, far from it… but I still wanted to know what was up, Rulue." I said to her. "*sigh* … Do you two promise not to tell anybody else? I don't want the others to know that I ditched everyone to do something that seems unimportant." Rulue had us promise. "O-of course, I would never go against your wishes, Ms. Rulue." Raffina promised. "And I intend to make things even for us by doing on-the-spot favors for now; I promise as well, Rulue." I told her. "Okay. ... I'm… entering in a fighting tournament tomorrow and I want to train as hard as I can for it." She revealed. "Why are you entering this tournament?" I pressed her for information. "I must win... no matter what." She answered me. "Wh-what do you mean? Why must you win this tournament, Ms. Rulue?" Raffina wondered. "... Is it because of your pride as the one and only fighting queen? Is that on the line?" I guessed.

I honestly can't think of any other reason for her to join fighting tournament with this attitude. "No, it's nothing like that, Schezo… ... There's something much more than my title on the line… It's my life that's hanging on by a thread..." She finally revealed. "HUH?!" Me and Raffina exclaimed. "What do you mean when you say that your life is on the line?!" I demanded for an answer. "Schezo… Someone very powerful that we know is threatening to kill me if I don't win. I can't say who though… because, they'll kill me on the spot, as well anybody who comes to know this person." Rulue explained. "...! Damn, if only I had a sword... I could get back at whoever the hell is even thinking of doing that at a time like this! The coward… DAMN IT!" I punched a tree trunk. Several leaves fell to the ground from the impact that I made. "... It's vexing how we can't just tell this to Dave..." I held a leaf in my hand, then crushed it. Raffina displayed a face full of empathy and hugged Rulue. "Ms. Rulue… Don't worry, you can certainly win the tournament if we support you." She attempted to cheer her up. "Raffina… … Thank you, but I still have my worries." Rulue told her. "Of course, you would still be scared of getting killed. Just… don't lose hope. What would Dave think if you do lose said hope?" Raffina laid the question on her. "I-I… … He would never think of me the same way ever again. I taught him CQC myself; I got his mind to focus better... It would go against everything that I stand for if I just give up. That's why I must do what I can to defeat every other competitor I go up against! ... I'd hate to be rude, but I have some training to do. I need to go back to my place... see you guys after the competition concludes. ... Say, tell Mino to come back to my place when this day is over, okay? I need him for the tournament as a healer. Don't ask how, he just can. It sometimes can pay off in having someone extremely loyal to you by your side." Rulue stood up and walked away. "..." I stayed silent for a bit. "C'mon, let's go back. I'm sure that the others are waiting for us." Raffina nudged me. "Fine, fine…" I began walking back with her.

Feli's POV

Hours upon hours passed, then night came for me to start the stealth mission. I put on my stealth suit, which I had to leave my dress and shoes behind with Diana to wear. I was given assistance for infiltration, guiding me straight to the place. The criminal base was huge from the looks of it. The things that I carried with me were the following: A tranquilizer dart gun, some sedative pills, a few tools, a rope, and a decently-sized knife. When I approached the entrance, the codec kicked in. "Chameleon, this is Major Zeke speaking. We have secured a route for you to take, one has the least amount of guards patrolling about. It's somewhat long-winded, so it could take a while. Hopefully, things go smoothly before you get to the room where the hostages are being held." He called. I slipped under a dark area and crouched down to ask him something. "Are there any guards inside the room with them?" I waited for a response. "From what we can see… no. All the visible guards are outside the hostage room. And, it looks like the shutter doors leading inside are locked with a combination lock. You'll have to find another way in when you come close to it." He answered. "Tch. Of course it would be… Just tell me where to go, Major." I quietly stood up. "Listen carefully to what I am about to say. You'll only hear this from me once, understood? There's a chance that someone could wiretap us soon..." He waited for my response. "I understand, sir." I said. "Good. Make your way forward then." I followed his directions as closely as I could throughout the building.

At one point, I was told to stop and hide. "Chameleon, hide inside that pile of boxes near you, a guard is coming your way." Zeke warned me. "...!" I jumped inside. The guard walked past the pile of boxes, never suspecting a thing. He then started walking back toward it. He's likely going back to where he was before coming over here… "Chameleon, shoot him with your tranquilizer when he goes past you again. I feel like he's going to be patrolling here for a long time if you don't. You won't be able to get much of anywhere without doing it." The Major told me. "Understood." I said. As soon as the guard walked back, I took a shot at him. I landed the dart right at his left arm. "Gh-!" I heard before he slumped to the floor. I slowly came out from the box pile to see the result. Looks like it worked, he's unconscious. I pulled the dart out of the guard and stashed it away for good measure. "Good work, you have successfully incapacitated one of them. Let's continue progressing through here, yes?" Zeke prompted me to go on ahead. The specific pathway to the hostages was long and tedious. One by one, I tranqed the guards along the way. I made sure not to hit too many with a dart, because it would arouse suspicion. Although, I did enjoy the thrill of sneaking through a dangerous place. I dunno, it just felt… exhilarating to me. I loved the sense of danger lurking around every potential corner as I sneaked about.

Eventually, I saw what appeared to be the shutter doors Major Zeke mentioned. I decided to call Diana for advice as to where I should go next. "Diana, the shutter doors are locked and guarded. What do I do?" I called her. "Chameleon, there's a grate leading up to a vent close by the shutter doors. You just make a right past the door, then left into another corridor. You'll be able to see the grate above you, on a wall. It's a bit high up there, so that could pose a problem for you… considering your short figure, Chameleon." She said. "Gee, thanks for the heads-up, Diana…" I rolled my eyes. "First, you need to deal with those guards. It won't be easy since there's more than one here, but I'm sure you can manage somehow." She told me. "..." I didn't say anything to that. I thought about my next course of action carefully. One wrong move, and it's either that me or one of the hostages takes a bullet to the brain. I need to think of something… but what though? … Maybe I don't have to do anything to the guards, just divert their attention away from where I need to go. Where's an object that I can use to make noise…? … Ah-ha! There's an aluminum can. Surely, this could make some noise… Well, it's now or never… C'mon can, don't fail me now! I threw the can behind me and hid before it hit the ground. "...! What the hell was that, guys?" One of the guards wondered. "Relax, let's quickly see what made the sound. It's prolly just a rat bumping into a can." Another one said. "If that's the case, we'll need to exterminate any rats that we happen to find skitterin' about." The third one added. They walked over to where the can made the noise and I silently ran right of the shutter doors. I made my way to the next corridor on the left. With not much time, I scrambled to stack any boxes lying around to allow myself to reach the grate.

Reaching in for the tools that I brought, I grabbed a screwdriver and took out two screws on the bottom of the grate. There were still two on the top fastened to the wall, so the grate wasn't going to fall off. This is another case of me preventing suspicion from arousing. If I were to take the whole thing off, one of the guards could see it. That was a risk that I simply was not willing to take. I lifted up the grate and slowly slipped into the vent without making a sound. I slowly lowered the grate down with my foot, not wanting it to smack against the wall it was still fastened to. With that done, I crawled through the vent's layout until I heard a voice. "This is terrible, I hope that someone can save us from these deplorable criminals…" It was a woman's voice. That statement caused a man next to her to agree wholeheartedly. These must be the hostages…! "Chameleon, there they are, the hostages." I heard Zeke's voice. "Major, how will I get down there? Also, how will I be able to lead these people to freedom without any risks?" I bombarded questions at him. "One question at a time please… Getting down into the room will be a task in it of itself. The grate that you're crawling on right now is screwed on the outside, so there's nothing you can do to open it with a screwdriver. Before you freak out in your mind, there is another way. In your set of tools, there should be something there that can cut down the metal grating. Diana here will explain to you what it is." He told me. "Chameleon, a special file rests with you. It's very proficient at shaving off tough metallic bars… whether they are made of steel, iron, it'll do the trick." Diana explained. "You mean this stick thing?" I pulled it out. "Yes, to put it bluntly… Go ahead, get to work on taking out one side of this grate." She encouraged me. "..." I went straight to work and it turned out successful.

I manually made the entryway wider with my hands, then tied my rope to the sturdiest part of what's left of the grate. Well, here we go… I inched my way down and the hostages saw me. "Wh-who are you?" Many of them raised their voices. I raised my finger to where my mouth is to make them quiet down. "That's not important right now, people. We don't want the criminals to think that anything is going on. See, I'm getting you guys out of here. But... I can't do it if we make so much noise, okay? I'll give you all a way to escape unnoticed." I said to them. "Y-you can get us out?" A girl looked at me, having doubts. "Yes, not just "can" either. I WILL get every single innocent person in this room out of this building." I assured her. "..." The crowd went silent, waiting for me to do something. "Major, what do I do to free these people?" I called on the codec. "Chameleon, there's another door in the very back of this room. It's locked, but you have what you need to open that: A lockpick." After Zeke said that, I had the hostages look at me. "Everyone, I can unlock and open that door. Just be silent when exiting, alright?" I brought to their attention. They all nodded and readied themselves in a single file line. I never really used one of these things before... but hey, I could be a natural with lockpicks too. I jiggled the doorknob with one hand, and poked around the keyhole with the lockpick resting in my other hand. It didn't take long before I heard a small clicking sound. "...! Got it." I then put the pick away and opened the door. I gestured to the people to follow me outside.

Long story short, the mission was a big success. I was able to bring every hostage to safety, and the criminals didn't realize it before it was too late. These criminals, in turn, had no bargaining chip left and were captured by authorities from what I've heard. I was brought back to where Major Zeke and Diana were. They congratulated me for a job well-done and I felt good about it. "Feli, here's your dress and shoes back." Diana gave me. "Thank you, I'll give you the stealth suit when I change back." I said. I did and turned in the suit, along with all the other things. "Whenever we may need you in the future, we'll request you." Zeke told me. "Of course." I nodded. "With that… you are free to go about with your life. You'll need an escort back to Suzuran, so I'll go and get you one." Diana opened the door and left for a couple of minutes. She came back with a man with sunglasses tucked away in his shirt pocket. "Ms. Feli, your escort is here." He said. I waved to Major Zeke and Diana, then left the building to enter a helicopter. After enough time passed, I was back and Lemres rushed over as soon as he saw me. "Damn, what took ya so long, Feli? It's already past nine and I've been waitin' here for what seemed like ages." He squeezed me. "L-Lemres, you're hurting me…!" I told him. "Oh-! Uh, sorry." He stopped squeezing me. "So, mind taking us back to Primp?" I urged him. "O' course, Feli. Why do ya think I stayed here for all this time today? Let's head back, I'm sure that your parents are at least a little worried for ya." He opened up a portal.

We came back to Primp Town and separated for the night. Back at my place, my parents welcomed me back. Bal was sleeping outside, so I left him alone. It was a long day for me, so I decided to bathe. It was certainly interesting to go through a sneaking mission… I had never done something like that before. An experience that I'll never forget… … I wonder what's been happening with the others lately. After all, I wasn't with them today. I'm sure that if the ore hasn't been found yet, we'll find it tomorrow. Oh, right… I never got to have a date with Dave. I tried to get one going on that one day, but that's when the first of those Yog things caused trouble. ... How would Dave view me if I had bigger breasts? And if I had a taller figure…? Nah, I'm only fifteen… He shouldn't expect me to become THAT sexy overnight. I'm pretty sure that he loves me the way I am. "*giggle*" I cleaned myself, dried off, and dressed up into one of my nightgowns. After that, I went inside my room and hopped into my bed. "Mmm…" I cherished the softness that I was met with. What if Dave comes here one of these days? Would he enjoy this luxurious establishment more, compared to that lower class place he lives in with Ringo? At the very least, he'll be awestruck by it.

I fell asleep and ended up in a weird dream, from what I could remember. "Ugh… where am I…?" I got up. Huh? Why are there cuffs around my wrists and ankles with chains? And- …! Why the hell am I naked?! I don't wanna have any normal person seeing me like this! "Um… hello…?" I called out while trying to wrap my body up in a blanket. "Well, well, well… look who decided to get up." I heard a familiar voice. "R-Ringo?!" "Yeah... it's me, Feli." "What the fuck did you do to me...?" "What did I do? *giggle* It's nothing really, I'm just asserting my dominance as Dave's main love interest. You're nothing more than an afterthought to him… and I don't want you to divert his attention away from me." "Th-that's not true! He loves you, me, and Draco equally... Ringo, what's gotten into you?" "I just want Dave to see me as his one true love, Feli. But I will say… you're cute… I also always wanted to get it on with another girl." "N-no, the real Ringo wouldn't say something like that so directly." "Wanna run that by me again, girl?" After Ringo asked me that, I saw something that made my eyes widen considerably. She undressed herself to be completely naked, then a phallic thing emerged from her pussy. "Impossible! Y-you're a fucking girl!" "Nothing's impossible if you wish for it, Feli… Or maybe, I should call you… Felicia." "F-Felicia…? No, I hate that!" "You wanna be a big and sexy girl, right? Then you should have a sexier name to compliment your future complexion." "Look, I like my name as it is and I DON'T wanna change it!" After I told her that, she smacked my face with her hand, disgusted with my answer.

What the hell...? This is not how Ringo is... what's up with her? "You are such an unwilling girl! You're on the verge of developing into a young woman… and you're denying it. ... What the hell is wrong with you?!" "Hey, you're not actually a young woman either, Ringo!" "Tch. It looks like we're not gonna get anywhere like this… GET OVER HERE!" "NO! STOP!" She ended up connecting the chains from my legs to the floor, after placing me in a harness. At that point, my body was hanging in the air. I was unable to free myself from it. "Now, how about if I just hang on and penetrate you?" "N-no! Stop, plea-! *gasp*" Ringo inserted her… No. I didn't want to think of it as a penis, because it's impossible for a girl to have one. Biologically speaking, it just doesn't make ANY sense. After what seemed like an eternity of penetration, I suddenly woke up in a cold sweat. "*gasp* ... ... Th-that was just a dream… right?" I went, then whispered to myself. My body couldn't stop shaking from what I experienced from that. Did I have that dream because of what I said to myself just before I fell asleep…? Dammit, I don't know! What's up with my inner subconscious?! Why did it make me regret what I said? Is my fate trying to tell me something? Or… am I still unconsciously acting selfish for wanting Dave all to myself? … No, I need to shake off that bullshit… I said to Ringo in my dream that me, her, Draco all love him equally now. I wanna stay positive and emotionally stable... and Dave, as well as the other girls, are key to making that so. "... Time to get ready, I guess…" I got up from bed.

Author's Notes: Rulue stated a shocking revelation that explained why she's not going with the others for the ore. She said that someone the group knew was threatening to kill her if she didn't win the tournament. Just who is this familiar face that Rulue eluded to? Later that night, Feli went about on her sneaking mission. She was successful in rescuing the hostages from the criminals. As it stands now, those guys no longer have a bargaining chip to use. They can no longer rise to power as they are. Feli's dream that night was something that she did not expect, causing her to wake in cold sweat next morning. This day marks the day where Dave and Rulue enter in the same tournament... without each other knowing that fact beforehand. What will happen at the tournament? How will Dave deal with a possible fight against Hohow Bird there? Will Rulue turn out okay in the end? So many questions, but so few answers… Next chapter, Chapter 51: The Fighting Tournament: The First of the Preliminary Rounds (Part 1).