A/N: That is more words that I expected. A surprise for sure. But not an unwelcome one!
Anyway, I have two lots of Author's Notes to get through today. Though this might get confusing after this is archived for reasons I'll elaborate on at the end… Or next chapter. Whatever, meta things. MAILBAG, GO!
Starting with the last story relevant chapter:
Blaze2121: People die when they are killed! And Koei has to reiterate his moral stance one too many times, it seems. I think people get it at this point and maybe I should give you guys a little more credit. Maybe. Or I could stop writing while drunk and forgetting if I did write something or not?
EnderSoul1401: They're both so socially inept! It's adorable! Fuck with Iffy's man and you get a claw to the face. Meerow.
Xbox432: Blackmail is the solution to and cause of all of life's problems! Or was that alcohol?
Iffy needs more headpats though. Get on that, Koei!
And now for Koei Der Toten:
Blaze2121: I kinda just realized that this totally not Uzume you're talking about is basically a CPU version of IF personality wise. God, imagine if they got into a catfight over Koei? Blood would be shed.
EnderSoul1401: Yup. I miss Nazi Zombies, so making a small reference to it seemed like fun. As was writing the rest of that drug filled fever dream.
Anyway, on with the Ultradimension antics!
How in the seven hells are you supposed to beat up a golem? They don't have organs to kick in, and they're made out of rocks!
"This would be a great time to cast my trademark ice spells…" I mutter to myself as I dodged the animated pile of rocks. Sucks that I have Mana Burnout, then!
"You're telling me!" IF attempted several of her own spells, all of which simply bounced off the golem. "What kind of spellblade are you if you can't cast spells?"
I sighed externally as I fired a few shots of Tranquility at the hulking beast, stunning it slightly but not visibly damaging it. "Rub it in, why don't you?" I say with some bitterness in my voice.
"GLADLY!" IF shot back, hurting my feelings slightly as she slashed ineffectually.
"FINE I'LL BEAT IT MYSELF, THEN!" I yell back, kicking the middle, red rock of the golem which I figured to be the "heart" of it, before picking it up and throwing it into the nearest wall. While it didn't shatter, it did crack and laid on the cave floor.
"Nice job beating that golem!" IF snapped at me as I decided to jog to her. She had a shit eating grin on her face as I approached. "Really though, shouldn't we run?"
"Sure, why not?" I agreed, following the chunni as we adopted the tactic of getting the fuck outta there. Looking behind me, the golem slowly reformed, but it seems like it lost track of us in the somewhat dim cave.
A few moments of high level sprinting later, we rested on some medium sized rocks, away from any localized threats that may threaten our continued goal of not dying.
"I'm a great fighter, I know." I stated simply.
"Well, my parents always told me that if you can't beat them, get the hell outta there." IF replied, some tiredness in her voice.
"My dad told me to dig in your heels, no matter what." I shrugged. "Sometimes it's good to ignore advice like that."
"Your parents got divorced, didn't they?" IF laughed in a slightly hurt manner. "I know that feeling."
"Oh?" I prod to see if I could get some backstory out of her.
"Yup. They separated when I was young. Mother stayed in Leanbox, but my dad moved to Planeptune, as well as having full custody. He did teach me to stand up for myself, because as you can imagine, I got bullied a lot too." She pointed to her hair clip. "Also, that's why I use this. Always have a part of home with me wherever I go."
"Aw…" I patted the fellow spellblade on the head, causing her to squee. "Guess we have that in common as well."
IF eventually took my hand off of her head. "Y-yeah… Still not as screwed up as you, though."
I overdramatically feigned hurt. "Oh, my darling Iffy! How could you say such hurtful things?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, come on. That blackmail won't nuke itself." She got up and I followed suit, before heading deeper into the cave system.
I mean it was nothing much, it was just a goddamn cave after all and the residents seemed more than happy to let us pass after making several examples of the local plantlife. Didn't think these things could feel fear but you know, first time for everything.
Our trekking eventually led us to the entrance of the cave, indicated by the natural light shining out of it. "You think this is the exit?" I asked the chunni, who headed through.
"Looks like it, somehow." IF replied and I followed suit out into the world, the light blinding my eyes as we readjusted to the sun shining down on us.
Ahead of us was a large grassy plain, with a city off in the distance, dark skyscrapers indicating what the nation was.
"Ya think that's Lastation?" I ask, somewhat facetiously as the brunette turned to me with a glare in her emerald eyes.
"No, I think we looped back to Lowee." She deadpanned as she put a hand to her chin. "You brought the map, right?"
Feeling around my pocket, I then realized that I did not in fact, bring the map. "Uhh, I remember! We have to go north!" I pointed dramatically in a north-ish direction, probably.
IF put a hand to her face. "So I take that as a no. We could use the CPU of this Lastation's help, probably. Best to stop off in Lastation and find out where exactly north is, along with finding the CPU."
I shrugged. "Sure, but this Noire may or may not be a raging lesbian."
IF gave me a grin. "Aside from me of course, I think any woman instantly turns lesbian around you, Koei."
I flipped her off. "Yet you're with me. Come on, we're burning daylight here." I motioned for her to follow me and she did as such as we headed for the tsundere nation of Lastation.
We headed to Lastation in silence, which was a nice change of pace from our usual vitriol-filled banter… Not that I minded, of course, it gave me time to observe the land around us. It wasn't much, but that was what made it so fascinating to me. Lastation was usually so advanced that the environment suffered as a result, but in this version of Lastation, it seemed far more… Innocent.
Eventually we ended up just outside the city of Black Regality. A giant pair of black wings topped the structure, rising like a bird above the young town.
Aside from that, it was a smaller, cleaner Lastation. I assume that with no version of Kei in this dimension, Noire has a lot more direct impact on her nation. Something like that.
"Well, we're here." IF spoke up, taking me out of my thoughts as I turned to the jacket-clad woman. "Now what?"
I shrugged. "I thought you were the Guild agent, lead the way."
IF nodded with a smug grin. "More like it. Let's scope some local stores, surely they'd know about their CPU and if not that, which way North is."
"Sounds good!" I agreed, as we started to explore this alternate Lastation. At the very least, I didn't need that rag to look around here at least.
Some time later, after passing through what looked like a recently built residential district, we came across a store. A humble store, but one that looked like it had its own master craftsman inside. Well, no time like the present!
Walking in, a bell rang as the door close behind us. Looking around, it was pretty similar to the stores back in Hyperdimension, though without the user interface, meaning that items had to be taken to the counter.
I blinked. Right, this is how stores run in the real world.
Looking around, the first thing I noticed were the homebrewed potions. Instead of a generic glass full of blue liquid, each glass seemed to have a specially crafted top along with a label that was ever so slightly different. As for the contents, they were healing potions, but I couldn't really investigate without cracking one open. Still, I'm sure I had a few hundred Credits lying around from yesterday…
"Hello and welcome to Gust's store, how can Gust help you today?" A young voiced popped up from behind the counter, as a head popped out. Heading to the counter, I saw a girl who looked pretty young, maybe even Peashy's age, but her eyes burned with determination of… A sale? Still, she had brown scruffy hair and hazel eyes to match, a large bunny-like hat making her seem at least a little bit taller. A frilly blue dress complete with pouch covered her torso and… Those are big white gloves, damn girl. The pouch was filled with… Ingredients and… a glass bottle?!
"Are you going to keep checking Gust out like a hunk of meat or are you going to say something?" This "Gust" spoke up again. I really need to stop inner monologuing.
I rubbed my head sheepishly. "Ah, sorry. Is this your store, young miss?"
She nodded. "Yes, Gust is a very successful enterprise owner, despite Gust's looks. I specialise in potions, but I sell general goods as well, sir."
Awww she's so polite! "Well, I was hoping for some information on the Basilicom as well as the general direction of North, bu-"
"Buy two of Gust's Healing Brews and we'll talk." She cut me off very suddenly, leaning on the counter in a very casual manner. "Gust has a roof to keep over Gust's head, after all."
I suppose that's fair. Walking back over to the potions section, I took a pair of "Healing Brews" and brought them to the counter.
"That'll be… 2500 Credits, please!" Gust calculated the total cost while my jaw dropped in shock.
"2500?! I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHERE THE BASILICOM WAS!"
"Yes and Gust wanted a sale. 2500 Credits please." She repeated, no room for negotiation.
"I can see why you're so successful now…" IF spoke up as she slammed a bag of coins onto the counter. Gust took the time to count them up, seeming happy with the amount as I put the Healing Brews in my bag. "What do these Healing Brews do anyway?"
"Healing Brews are Gust's speciality item, of course! Good for travellers such as yourself. More condensed healing power means you can use it in portions rather than all at once!"
That does in fact sound handy. "Now, for the information?"
Gust got down from her stepladder, me only noticing now how short she was, before heading into the back behind the counter and grabbing two things… A map and compass?
"Here you go sir. Gust shall throw in a 100 Credit town map of Lastation and a 150 Credits compass. Thank you for your patronage!"
I blinked as I calculated that I just paid well over the odds for what was essentially glorified healing potions and a map. "You sneaky little…"
Gust gave the most malicious grin she could with her small stature. "Gust provided what you asked, if you had specified a map and compass I would have given you them for 250 Credits. Thank you for your patronage."
I sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to get a refund at this point. Walking out of the door I ensured to be as thankful for that patronage as possible by not doing anything that could potentially cost more credits.
Once we got out, IF was snickering to herself.
"What? She just cost you 2500 Credits!" I asked in confusion at the happy chunni.
IF burst out into full on laughter. "YOU GOT SCAMMED BY A LITTLE GIRL! THAT WAS WORTH IT FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT ALONE! AHAHHAHA!"
IF then fell over, rolling on the floor, doubled and tripled up in laughter. I suppose that it worked out either way and she did give us the information needed… Albeit in that shrewd businessman way that abuses 16 different loopholes and obscure laws along with exact wording.
No wonder she's running a successful business. Motherfucker's ice cold.
After what felt like hours, IF calmed down, tears in her eyes and she still had the giggles, but she had calmed down at least.
"Ahh, why can't you always be that funny, Koei?" IF wiped her eyes, finally done with her uncharacteristic laughter.
"Because it involves me being scammed by little girls with a scary amount of business sense?" I answered honestly.
"Yeah, those little shits can be manipulative. Should have seen me when I was young. "Tripping" near ice cream stands and crying to get a free one to give to Compa when I could only afford one… Good times."
"That bodes well." I noted, before pulling out the map of Lastation and finding it surprisingly useful, with Gust's shop even being marked on the map for some reason. "Let's see," I muttered as I heard IF lean over my shoulder. "We're here, outside of Gust's shop and the Basilicom is…"
"On the next street over." IF pointed to a building just in my view as I scanned the map. Son of a bitch. Crumpling up the map in frustration, I heard another bout of giggling from the manipulator, forcing me to grab her arm and drag her with me to the Basilicom, not that she seemed to notice or mind.
Still, she calmed down again by the time we got to the Basilicom not a minute later. It surprisingly had one guard in front of it, sword pointed at the ground in a guarded manner.
"Welcome to the Basilicom." He read robotically, probably part of a script. "If you would like to see Lady Black Heart, unfortunately she is not in right now. Please leave a message after the beep.
BEEP."
It's a fucking answering machine. Still a pretty convincing statue, though. "Yeah I'd like two number nines, a number nine large…"
"Uh, Koei?" IF tried to interrupt me.
"A number six with extra dip, a number seven…"
"Koei?" IF asked, a little more forcefully.
"Two number forty fives, one with cheese and a large soda." I finished my tirade, finally turning around to see IF… and Noire, palm attached right to face.
"You're not the first to treat the Basilicom as a drive-thru, nor will you be the last. But that joke got old fast, Koei. And now I have to listen to it again, so what the hell do you want?"
Ah. Probably not the best choice in hindsight. "Well, I did want your help with clearing out a laboratory up north. Along with maybe starting to forge a working relationship with White Heart?"
"The psycho with an axe who attacked us yesterday? Yeah I really want to work alongside her." Noire rolled her eyes dramatically. "What, does some shady mafia have blackmail on her, the strongest CPU in Gamindustri, forcing her to do nothing about the growing crime organization without outside help and that's why you're going to clear it out, presumably with my help?"
I took a moment to process what she just said. "Yeah, that's about right."
"Sorry, but I have actual work to do today." Noire declined my offer rather harshly. "As much as I'd like to help you in your suicidal and pointless quest, I really do have paperwork to burn through. Turns out some shopkeep or other is selling locally produced potions and isn't giving me the taxes from them. It's at times like these I wish I had a secretary…" She muttered before walking into the Basilicom, closing the door behind her.
"Well… Shit." I rubbed the back of my head, turning back to IF. "Guess we're on our own for this."
IF shrugged. "Did you honestly expect her to believe you? I mean, I don't trust Blanc on this and I barely met her, can't imagine what she thinks of the situation."
Wait. "You don't trust Blanc?"
"You do?"
"I have no reason to trust her beyond her being a CPU, but doesn't that seem like reason enough?" I ask.
"Not… Really…" IF sighed with mild annoyance. "But we have nothing better to do over the next two days so I'll go along with it. Not your worst idea, anyway."
"Fair enough, then." I start feeling around my pockets for the map I way overpaid for and uncrumpled it. As you may gather from the fact it was a map, North was up on it, which was convenient, as we had just come from the South with Gust's shop. "We go… That way." I pointed to North before throwing the paper away out of sheer disgust for my mistake.
"Well, the Credits were worth it for the memories, not the map…" IF shrugged as she followed me out of the surprisingly sparse city.
After what felt like just over a minute, black buildings gave away to green fields once again as Lastation was left behind us. Continuing onward, I checked my compass and it surprisingly pointed North, so it clearly meant we were in the right direction, somehow.
After awhile of untouched nature, we hit a wall. Literally, in this case because it was a sheer cliffside that separated Lowee and Lastation entirely. Little wonder that Blanc has to use an underground passage to travel to and from Lowee, then.
"Great map, though." IF pulled out the map Blanc gave us before leaving Lowee. "It just has the Lab marked as "NORTH" and we're as far North as we can be."
"Well, if I was a mad scientist, I'd probably hide the entrance at least somewhat we-"
"Found it!" IF yelled, tapping a "rock" as it vibrated. In a surprising show of strength, she picked up the "rock" and tossed it aside, revealing a hole in the otherwise rock solid wall, with the "rock" rolling away rather harmlessly.
"Honestly, if we didn't specifically know there was a lab here, this place probably would have remained undiscovered for several decades…" I noted, somewhat depressed at how little it takes for a secret to be ruined.
"We're here anyway, so might as well go in." IF said, waving me in to follow her, the tunnel at first using only natural light, before lights gradually started to fill the wars to light up the rest of the tight corridor. Eventually the hallway stopped and we were in the main lab, which was full of computers… Desktop computers. Yeah, no massive room filling supercomputers here, they're just normal everyday PCs. Albeit they are a little before my time, but…
"This was not what I expected." IF mirrored my thoughts as she approached a desktop and hit a few keys on the keyboard. "Seems like these things are active as well, go check a different one and see what you can find."
I nod and head to a second desktop, identical in appearance as I grabbed a nearby office chair and sat down, looking at the screen.
Day 1
Well, it took a while of searching, but I found a new base of operations in the middle of this mountain range outside of Lowee's border and after some time, managed to get my stuff from the Seven Sages base of operations in DATA EXPUNGED here… Probably should cut that part out just in case someone gets past the fake boulder. Still, I finally have a place where I can work on my projects without Arfy or that old grump Mr. Badd complaining every 5 minutes. That and I get to do these neat little logs without poor little Rei worrying her head about "leaking information". It's not like the Seven Sages would be in any danger anyway, we haven't even done anything!
So he is… was a part of the Seven Sages. I should probably talk to him when I get back to make sure he's still a former member.
Warning: Logs missing. Skipping to first intact log...
Day 124:
Well, that was a bust, as I predicted. I told Arfy that trying to get the CPU Memories was a terrible idea, as we had no candidates for it even if we did manage to acquire it without incident. Then an incident happened. Arfy and that rat refuse to talk about it, but they seem to be… Slightly traumatized by it. This is why I wanted to ensure we had a complete idea of what Planeptune held before making our move. Well, we know now at least… Sort of.
Huh, didn't Noire mention something about becoming a CPU that day? Well, if Iris Heart's aura was anything to go by, opposing her ends in pain and trauma.
ERROR: Data corruption detected. Backing up last saved logs…
Day DATE NOT FOUND:
Rei said she felt weaker today for some reason, as if her power was being sucked through a void. A quick energy scan of the Seven Sages HQ showed why. A small hole in time and space had opened, draining energy from her gradually. A quick shot from a drone quickly made it disappear, however.
Rei seemed fine and even grateful after that, but I can't help but be curious as to what that was…
Day ERROR:
While I've never left via the "front" entrance of this base due to security concerns, I did take a peek out in the evening and… There's a Nation there now. I picked this area solely for it being abandoned! But as this was established long before this new nation even existed, that means that I could get away with living here as long as I don't open up this entrance ever again. After all, nobody has any reason to come here now… Right?
Wonder if that map that Blanc got was from the Seven Sages themselves. Even so, there should be another exit, as implied in that log…
Last recorded log: Day ERROR:
Well, it's all gone to shit. In the time I've been less involved with the Seven Sages, it seems that Rei's mental state has deteriorated. A lot. She's barely the person who first formed the Seven Sages all that time ago and she keeps demanding rifts from me despite my insistence that I don't know how to make one.
Though I feel at this point she can see through my blatant lies. I've been beta testing rift for a while now, mostly for research. But Rei wants more than "research", she wants power. Ever since she found out that rifts could transfer power from one place to another on that day, she's been a terror about wanting to know when she could harness this power.
Here's the thing Rei: You won't. I'm sorry, but I'm deleting all the logs related to the rift research as I speak, opening one final one to get myself out of here then shutting down the machine as I leave. Your thirst for power has gone too far.
Anonydeath
Getting up from the chair, this provided a lot of insight into just what the hell happened to make him come here in the first place.
"Hey, IF. You might want to check this out." I motioned for her to come over to my position and pointed to the desktop, the final log still on screen.
A few minutes of silence later, IF gave me a nod. "Alright. I believe you, Koei."
I tilted my head. "Huh?"
She put a hand on my shoulder. "About Blanc, I get it now. If I was being threatened by this power-hungry version of Rei, I think I'd surrender to her whims for the sake of my people."
"Yeah it seems that under the threat of a power hungry Rei and having your less-than stellar personality fully shown to the ones you garner faith from… It's little wonder why she wanted that CPU Memory. Hell, if the Sages got that Memory-"
"It doesn't bear thinking about." IF cut me off. "Now that we know what our end goal is, let's keep checking for this blackmail."
Resolve restored, I nodded before returning to checking the various desktops scattered about. While in my time this seemed entirely impratical and expensive, considering these are older looking desktops, I would assume this dimension is a few steps behind than what I'm used to.
Hell, if I had any engineering knowledge outside the bare basics, I could single handedly kick start a revolution here and become a billionaire and retire on that.
If I had that chance before becoming so… Entrenched with becoming an adventurer and the adrenaline it provides? I would have taken it in a heartbeat.
My idle thoughts were interrupted as I checked my upteempth desktop, finally getting somewhere.
Log 1:
Lady Blanc told me, directly. "I don't need a fucking Prime Minister, I've ruled Lowee solo for this long, haven't it? Get the hell out of here before I throw you out!"
While this isn't good for infiltrating the most powerful Nation, this might bode well for Plan B…
Log 25:
After enough insistence, Lady Blanc finally accepted my offer. Within my first hour of being her Prime Minister, I have recorded several off the cuff remarks that would hurt her standing with her citizens. Now the fun really begins…
Log 478:
Shuffling funds into the Seven Sages' offshore account aside, Lady Blanc has been as short tempered as ever when it comes to the rift situation. She knows nothing about it other than random holes opening and sometimes dumping out a powerful monster that she needs to take care of. She has no further interest in researching them, which is unfortunate for the plans we had originally envisioned.
Good fucking god, how long do these go on for? No wonder Blanc was completely screwed, this level of blackmail is nigh unrecoverable.
"Hey, IF. Think I found the blackmail." I alerted the guild agent, pointing to the monitor I was just reading from. A minute of silence as she read the final log and she nodded again.
"Yeah, this is it. How do you think we get rid of them? Deleting them one by one might take a long time." IF pondered mostly to herself.
I rolled up my sleeves. "Well, I did a course on computers back in the day and know how to remove a hard drive. Pass me a screwdriver, won't you?"
IF complied, handing the thin tool over, as I turned off the PC via the mains and ensuring it was fully powered off. "First of all, we ensure the PC is powered off before doing anything. Electric shocks are nothing to fuck with." I mutter to myself mostly as I started to unscrew the case.
"Yeah, I think you're fully aware of that. Don't worry, I have more Paralaxin on me in case you fuck it up." IF snarked as the case came off. I gently placed it to the side, along with the tiny, easily losable screws.
"Then, we locate the hard drive." I poked around the innards of the desktop computer, finding the RAM, motherboard and the like, before finding the hard disk drive, attached via various cables. Carefully detaching those, I finally lifted the offending storage out of the PC.
"That is the way you extract a hard drive without damaging it." I stated simply, before heading to my backpack, grabbed Peace while still holding the hard drive in my other hand, before locating the nearest wall…
Before promptly throwing the hard drive at it, shattering it pretty badly. I then sprinted over to the already broken machinery before firing several shots of Peace into it, frying the circuits further as it sparked violently.
I then turned to IF with a shocked look on her face. "And that is how you safely annihilate said hard drive. Be a dear and bring me the case, too. I want to make sure none of this is salvageable."
IF's shocked expression wore off as she complied, bringing the rest of the PC over, before placing it onto the ground.
Taking a step back to ensure my own safety, I fired several plasma shots into the rest of the PC, both the bullet and the plasma damaging it beyond repair, leaving it a smoking, sparking mess.
I wiped my brow. "Job well done. But just to be sure…"
I'll admit, I had a little bit too much fun turning each and every desktop in that lab into molten slag. I felt bad for Anonydeath, though. He put all this time and effort into buying and filling these desktops with logs upon logs only for me to come fry them into scrap.
"Ah well, better than them falling into the hands of the Seven Sages." I mutter, firing one last bullet into the pile. Yes, somehow Peace had not ran out of ammunition during that spree. Nepgear's technical prowess far exceeded mine at least.
"Well, we should scope out the rest of the area just in case." IF looked at the pile of destroyed technology with a sigh. "And hope it's not more desktops you have to annihilate with prejudice."
I nodded as we shuffled further into the base. Thankfully those seemed to be all the computers around, although there were various blueprints for robots and the like scattered about the place, including one I thought was pretty familiar.
"Hey… Isn't that the lobster we fought in Lowee?" I pointed to the schematics of a robot lobster, it resembling the previously mentioned cybernetic crustacean.
"Looks like it." IF nodded, taking the blueprint and stuffing it inside her coat. I stared at her incredulously. "What? I thought Nepgear would like it."
I rolled my eyes as I searched the room further, trying to dig up any more dirt that could be on the Lowee CPU. it was pretty much all blueprints for various items, including a mind control chip "powerful enough to override someone's memories", which was worrying.
Still, it seemed to be clean of dirt. Wandering into the next room was where the real magic began though, as it spread out before is. While the previous two rooms were for documentation and logging, this is where the magic happened, as this was the workshop. Machinery of all kinds lay half-built states in the dimly lit warehouse, including a few familiar faces such as Bits and even the robot animals I fought way back when we first came up against Anonydeath.
"Rather nostalgic, this is." I noted, walking over to a SN1P-SNAP and patting the inactive crab. "Ah, I remember when I tried to pry this little shitbag from Nepgear's dress. Good times."
I could feel IF's burning glare from behind me, but there was no time to explain as two yellow lights suddenly lit up in front of me before something smacked me backwards.
"Koei!" IF yelled, her anger turning to worry as the figure made itself known.
"Intruders: Detected. Switching to combat mode." A robotic voice came from the place I was attacked as it walked into the light.
What a sight it was, being a blue fucking crab mecha. Well, it had the body of a crab at least, but slightly humanlike as in it had a torso between it's claws and legs, giving it more stature than a normal grab would. It also housed a purple light with three notches in, presumably a power source for it. It being a crab and all, it had massive claws that were at the perfect height to fuck you up in a major way. It also had a laser cannon attached just above it's stalk-eyes, because clearly this thing wasn't dangerous enough as it was.
"What in the fuck…" IF pulled out her katars, ready for a fight as I got up and pulled out Serenity.
"Designation: SN1P-SNAP OMEGA. Objective: DESTROY INTRUDERS." It stated as if responding to IF's query.
"I uh… We're friends of Anonydeath?" I ask nervously.
"CONVERSATION: REJECTED." It replied, before preparing to attack.
Koei and IF
Vs.
SN1P-SNAP Omega
Ready?
FIGHT!
(Current Music: Courtney Gears - GaMetal Remix)
The floor beneath us slowly lowered into a much less cramped area with notably less scrap around the sides, which helped a lot in keeping the arena clear of potential hazards.
As the floor came to a halt, the robotic crustacean advanced, clearly not hampered by the movement limitations of the creature it was inspired from.
IF tried to stop the automated antagonist's advance with a Demon Flame, but it simply licked at it without causing any noticeable damage as it swung for her with a metallic pincer. She barely dodged through the mechanical legs of SN1P-SNAP as it targeted me now.
Of course, I was grabbing Tranquility to attempt to fry it with plasma shots, but I was too slow and ended up having to dodge a claw myself, firing a few potshots that missed the raging robot, rather predictably.
"Dammit Koei, why can't you aim?" IF yelled from behind me, leaping up into the air before unleashing… Light swords? This new attack did as much as Demon Flames did, as in none.
"Nice spell, though!" I snarked back, as the crab turned to it's now grounded attacker and advanced, giving me ample time to aim a trifecta of shots towards it's now exposed back.
To my ever growing shock, not only did I nail a shot due to it walking in a straight line, but I somehow stunned it temporarily. That was the good news, anyway. The bad news is that the laser attached was now aware of my presence and started firing at me while the main body was stunned. And believe me, lasers are not easy to dodge.
Thankfully, IF took this time to rush over to my bag, throwing Tranquility to me as I dodged more laser shots. While I didn't catch it, it did slide across the floor in order for me to grab it before the robot could get back to functioning. It seems we had a strategy now as it shuddered back to life.
"Activating Protocol: DEATH TO SQUISHIES."
In a sudden burst of movement, SN1P-SNAP charged towards me, barely giving me time to dodge as it unleashed a flurry of claw swipes, followed by several laser shots.
I looked at IF, who wiped her brow in relief as the crab finished it's combination attack, before jumping 180 degrees and stared directly into my soul, before giving a metallic roar.
"I think it's mad…" I looked at IF, who gave me a rather half-assed stare as it charged again.
As I was not looking, I didn't see the mechanical menace coming until it was too late, IF suddenly shoving me out of the way before it could smash me silly. This had the unfortunate side effect of-
"AGH!"
A scream of pain interrupted me as IF was flung to my side, having taken the brunt of it's attack. Her face was down and as she rotated back around I saw blood running down her face as several brand new cuts had now been added to her otherwise perfect complexion.
"I… Iffy…" I hurried towards her, holding her hand as she looked me dead in the eyes.
"Koei… You should have kept an eye on yourself, heh." IF laughed a little bit, before coughing up blood. No, fuck no. Not this. Not now.
I rushed over to my bag, knowing I had healing supplies in there, no other thoughts in my mind other than saving her. I ran back, forgetting about the thing that injured her as I opened up the flask of healing fluid and started to pour it down her throat as she lay there, almost helpless.
It was difficult to see how much damage that thing did to her, as most of her body was covered, but it didn't seem like anything was broken. Still…
IF took the potion off of me as she slowly shifted up to a sitting position. "Everything is pain…" She wheezed. "But I'll b-be fine."
I looked her square in her emerald eyes. "No. Go sit this one out. It's my fault you got hurt." I gave no room for negotiation, my anger scarcely contained as she complied, limping towards my bag and moving off of the arena, out of sight.
"As for you." I got up, whatever minor pain from that shove now drowned out by adrenaline. "My name is Koei Tech. You fucked with my girlfriend."
It stomped towards me it, eventually casting a shadow over me as I gave it the biggest stink eye and merciless grin I could. "Prepare to die."
Koei
Vs.
SN1P-SNAP Omega
Man or Machine?
LET'S ROCK!
(Current Music: Tor - Iji)
"IT'S USELESS, HUMAN!" The robot screeched at me, attempting to smash my skull but a swift dodge quickly put any plans of that happening into the ground, rather literally. While it did get it's claw stuck in the ground with the sheer force of the attack, the cannon could still fire shots at me. I opted to do something reckless and reflect them with a slash of Serenity. While it didn't quite go as well as I expected, I felt something inside me, as if Serenity had absorbed the power of that attack.
I didn't know what in the unholy hell just happened, but if I had a chance…
The cybernetic crustacean finally gained the ability to free its claw as it turned towards me again, firing another plasma bolt towards me. I again, slashed at the ball to stop it from hitting me and again, I felt stronger somehow. This feeling…
Another swift dodge backwards as it attempted to swipe at me and I realized I was approaching the edge of the arena. While it wouldn't be too far of a fall, my worry is with Iffy, not my well being.
… That sounds really bad in context. Still, I opted to lead SN1P-SNAP by walking away from the edge, dodging an occasional claw swipe. It seemed to catch on to my trick as it suddenly lifted itself up into the air and sailed over me, landing with a crash behind me.
"YOU FACE DEATH, HUMAN!" It roared mechanically again as it attempted once again to smash my skull into the ground. Rather predictably I dodged out of the way, causing it to once again get its claws stuck, this time even harder.
"Pfft, facing death? I've died once already." I said smugly, the cannon trying to nail a shot on me as I climbed onto the smooth cobalt body, finally able to tear out the offending cannon and throw it away, leaving it defenseless as I repeated with the eyes, taking pleasure as the last thing they saw was my grin as I tore the fuckers out, causing them to flicker before permamently dim as I tossed them to the sides, hearing the satisfying sound of glass shattering. I raised Serenity to the sky, it glinting from a nearby light source as I slammed the blade down for a final blow an-
Chink
… Right, it's a crab. With no time to further contemplate my mistake, it reared up, throwing me off as steam started to release from it in rather comedic fashion. It didn't take me long to get up as it charged again, but this time I sidestepped out of the way as it didn't look where it was going, tumbling off the edge of the arena into a nearby wall, claws becoming one with the wall as the force of its momentum forced the otherwise sturdy structure to break. It looked fully stuck at this point and even if it wasn't, still blinded and cannonless.
(Song End)
"Phew." I sighed in relief as I watched this once powerful mecha struggle against the power of a wall as I climbed down the arena. To my surprise, I was tackle hugged by a very familiar face, notably less bloody but still beat up.
"Koei! I'm so glad you're alright!" IF intamately embraced me as I felt a heavy blush turning my face into crimson from embarrassment and exhaustion.
I embraced her back. "Yeah well, you took a good hit for me, figured I should pay attention to stop these rugged looks from being damaged any more." I replied somewhat tiredly as she let go, as I felt air refill my lungs. Girl can squeeze, that much is for sure.
"R-right." IF's turn to blush, as I noticed her holding my backpack, now with Peace and Tranquility inside safely. Huh, so that's where they went. "I think we should destroy this thing for daring to hurt my boyfri- before it gets out of this lab and causes more havoc." IF cut herself off, blush not fading as I turned to the struggling sea creature. It was kind of sad if it wasn't for it nearly killing MY FUCKING GIRLFRIEND!
I grinned before nodding. "I know just how to finish this." I held on to Serenity tightly, the reforged blade seeming to know where this was going as it started to glow a Lowee-ish cyan.
As it charged, I felt the pain of Mana Burnout slowly creep back in, but I ignored it as the tip of Serenity started to expand, crystals emanating from the sphere that was gradually expanding around the blade before pointing it above the mechanized menace.
"Frostblast." I stated simply, as the ball of ice launched into the air, going higher and higher until gravity caught up to it. "IF, cover that Frostblast in Demon Flames, I have an idea."
She curtly nodded as she charged her spell, katars glowing a faint orange, while I grabbed Tranquility, putting down Serenity. I needed to nail this shot.
As the ball of ice fell, slowly being engulfed in flame, I lined up Tranquility with both hands steady on the pistol, feeling my energy slowly being put into the pistol as I waited for the perfect moment.
"I pray that the fires of Hell will purge you…" IF stated maliciously as I perfectly timed out my shot.
"As much as this shot will destroy you! HELL RAVEN'S BARRAGE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, finally releasing the shot, the ball of plasma that barely had a visible bullet inside of it careened into the mass of fire and ice, causing the magic to combine as a ball of fire, ice and electricity slammed the robot into the ground, causing the robot's claws to be violently torn off as the body crumpled, even the ground bending to the sheer power of the spell as a mass of heat and magic shredded through the armor of SN1P-SNAP, fragments of the bullet burning smaller, but still noticeable holes as ice fragments rained down on it, snapping the already broken legs down further as the robot screamed in pain one last time as the spell dissipated, along with its remains, leaving only Credits and a chip.
Looking into the smoking crater, the Credits seemed to be intact, so I gathered them up and placed them in my bag, as IF grabbed the chip-looking device.
"So… What the fuck?" IF asked the most important question of all, which had many permutations in what "the fuck" meant, but I decided on the simplest one.
"I wanted to be fancy." I shrugged, as she placed the chip in one of her many pockets. "Honestly I'm more surprised I cast that Frostblast without too much pain." I rubbed my head sheepishly.
"Well, Mana Burnout cases tend to be temporary. Emotional charges can lead to a faster recovery if the person suffering with said Mana Burnout can push through the initial roadblock of the pain. SP Chargers help too." IF helpfully tossed a bottle of cyan liquid, which I wolfed down appreciatively and after a moment, almost felt like myself again. "Course, it's a large variance on how and when you recover. Compa has gone on long and boring lectures about how I need to conserve my own magic, so I wouldn't worry about burning back out… Unless you plan on using more Glacial Cleaves."
I shook my head. "I don't."
IF shot a thumbs up. "Then we're good." She looked around the arena, ignoring the giant smoking crater in front of her. "Then how the hell do we get out of here?"
I took a look around myself and wondered the same thing. The arena seemed separate from the rest of the lab and the dim lighting didn't help things.
"You think it'll just come back up on it's own?" I ask, climbing back onto the arena, resting my legs over the edge.
"That seems rather anti-OSHA compliant." IF climbed back onto the arena herself, hefting my stuff up with her. I looked in the backpack and my stuff seemed to be fine after I put Tranquility in there with its sister weapon and slid Serenity back where it belonged on my back, before hefting the entire thing onto my shoulders.
"Ah, there we go. The weight of this on my back with my mana back is almost nostalgic." I mutter to myself, as I felt a thud, followed by the platform rising.
Looking up, at our current positions we were going to end up without legs, so I helped IF up after getting myself up and waited for the platform to reach its end.
To my surprise, there was someone there. Standing before me was the CPU of Lastation, who had her hand on a switch, presumably the one that hefted the platform back up.
"Koei… We need to talk."
A/N: I really need to stop cliffhangering these. Or I could not, as I'm bad at ending chapters otherwise.
I did want a few minor things, such as IF and Koei talking with Anonydeath via a two way communication device that he used to use to test out the rifts, but it seemed like needless padding. Not that I needed it, I was shocked when I saw the initial word count, haha.
SN1P-SNAP is also a CHONKY boy. Look at it's official art, it is almost exactly as I described. You don't see that fuckin' torso in Hearthstone, no-siree. Made the fight much more dynamic, in my humblest of opinions.
Also as for Koei getting his magic back? Come on, the Mana Burnout thing was overplayed like, two chapters ago and now seemed like a good time with the crabby boi's shots being "absorbed" by Serenity taking a smidge of inspiration from Iji's fight against Tor. Slight, anyway.
Right now onto the announcement. We're rapidly approaching the part where Koei Der Toten will be in the next part of the linear timeline and that kinda fucks with things a bit, as Koei Der Toten is a self-contained story.
So, the next chapter will be compromised for length (Hey! Don't boo me, these last two chapters have been nearly 20k words!) in order to lead into Koei Der Toten, with the following chapter taking place right after. At this point, I'll shuffle the story around so that Koei Der Toten lines up correctly with the rest of the story. (I'll also have to edit an Author's Note or two to explain what happened.)
So uh yeah. Chapter 24 will be right after this one, with Koei Der Toten being the 25th! (Hey, pretty cool coincidence!) and I'll probably have to modify a chapter or two to compensate.
If I had been a bit faster on the uptake… Apologies for the inconvenience, see you next chapter!