Yo, everyone!
Despite the lack of reviews, the Views just keep on rising. This story must be one of those 'silent yet gaining popularity' types, huh? I believe it'd be called an underdog. Not being arrogant here, just stating an opinion. You guys can do the same, honesty is great for improving content.
As a reward for so many views, I'm adding a few chapters during this next update. Believe me, you'll enjoy the action fest that's about to follow.
With that out of the way, let's begin!
Chapter 8 -Banshee Nest
The trio walked through the Countryside for what felt like hours, when really it was only one or two of them, and finally found the secret entrance to the Monster Cave that Neptune and Compa had used to get into the Dungeon to rescue Nico the previous time they were here. The entrance looked like a Cave of sorts, built deep into a tall cliff that led into the underground dungeon below. There was a small garden sized clearing before the entrance, one filled with grass and various plants that could have been collected for making new items, but none of the trio were focusing on that.
"So, this is the entrance you guys used?" Nico questioned as he activated his Bracer's Holomap. He cross referenced the map of the Dungeon they were seeking with the geographic layout that the Virtua Forest possessed, finding that this was the truth, before he closed it and looked back at them. "Looks like you girls were right, I was worried for nothing when we diverted from the original path and through all that wilderness."
Compa giggled softly, her giggles sounded strange to her right now since all three were in their armour, but she figured they'd get used to it soon enough. they always did after all, especially with Neptune's randomness. "Yep, I as worried we'd have to go through some more fanservicey type scenes again, those were really embarrassing…" she remarked, not realising that she just partially broke the fourth wall. Nico instantly knew she had been influenced slightly by Neptune's fourth wall breaking habits, and mentally gave a sigh. His friend was being corrupted by the preteen, and she didn't even realise it.
If they could see Neptune's face behind the plates that made her faceplate, they would have seen her sheepishly grinning as she laughed, pumping a fist in front of her chest. "Yeah, you said it, the author's not very good with non-scripted fanservice scenes. He tries to get inspiration to support the game's demographic, but when it comes down to it, he's a big softie that likes seeing us maidens get treated right, ya know?"
"Yep-yep, such a softie."
"Fourth wall jokes aside, we have a job to do." Nico broke the easy atmosphere without shame, no sure how long he would have maintained his rationality while hearing that stuff, as he activated his Bracer's map of the Monster Cave, as well as the entry's that had been happening. He gave a curse of disapproval at the results he found. "Tch, looks like it's as I feared, they've been sending in too many Guild Agents to their deaths, unknowingly making them lambs to the slaughter. Normal Agents can't last long in there, so we better be careful." He told them before deploying his Plasma Claws.
Both girls paled at that, the amount of lives that were lost from these creatures would have been severely high then, if what Nico said was true. So many people dead, lives ruined because of these creatures. Histoire was right to have been urgently requesting them to do this, they realised. Well, they sort of had gathered that it was bad when Nico and Histoire had described the Banshee's to them, but right now this was the first time that their threat levels had truly sunk in.
This needed to end, no matter what.
Swiftly, Neptune drew her Katana, which sparked with electricity as she spoke. "Well then, let's not keep those fellas waiting, charge gang! LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEENNNNNNNNKIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSS!" she bellowed, rushing in with no thought to strategy or planning, much to the horror of the other two.
"Nep-Nep, come back, you can't just go off on your own!"
"You girls, stop! Ugh, I'll say it once again though I have a feeling it'll be ignored, goddamnit Neptune!"
After the two caught up with the excitable preteen and scolding her for running ahead, which she had countered that the readers wanted to see some humour mixed with horror or something like that, the trio continued their way through the Dungeon, utilizing Nico's Holomap and Motion Tracker to keep themselves aware for any monster attacks. There was silence between them as they looked around, anxiety coursing through the two girls, before Neptune decided to try and break the ice again. "So um, Compa, couldja tell me a bit about how Quests work? I mean, we should visit the Guild in the future, right? In the original, we did that first before coming here, so…"
"That's true, at least. Well, the Guild's this big organisation that is full of people who do requests for other people for a living, from basic work like saving a cat from a tree to fighting hard monsters, they do it all. it's actually a large source of income for Gamindustri." Compa replied as she explained about the Guild to her, Neptune humming in thought. She could see what Compa was saying, as monsters were a large problem for Gamindustri folk, had been for a long time according to them.
Finally, she summed her opinions up with her next sentence. "I see, huh… then that means that they get all the good stuff with relation to monster hunting. They must have lots of books about specific monsters! Oh, speaking of minsters, I wonder what the Queen looks like, I mean Nicky here is in his super try hard mode so I doubt he'll tell us anything…"
At the mention of Nico, the said male looked up at them as his eye bore into their own. "It's been a while since I fought a Banshee Queen, but make sure to commit this to memory: Banshees alone are tough enough, but their Queens are nightmares on the battlefield." He told them gravely, clenching his fists while his Plasma claws seemed to increase in intensity, as if the armour was responding to his emotions.
As they contemplated this knowledge Nico had given them, they both heard a shrill scream in the distance, aa scream of pain and torment. This shocked the trio out of their stupor as Neptune became the first to comment. "What ho, a person?! Sounds like they're still alive let's go get em!" she called out, rushing forwards to the source of the scream. Compa and Nico looked at each other, gave quick nods, before taking off after their ally, hoping that they could at least save one life from the horrific fate that so many have experienced before.
They soon came to an enclose clearing, one that was shaped like a 'C' and led on to a series of platforms ahead. There, the trio came face to face with an old man on the ground, screaming in agony and despair. His eyes were white and tears of sadness and pain streamed down his face. "There he is, we have to help him!" Compa cried out, making to run over to tend to the elderly man only for Nico to stop her by grabbing her shoulder. Gasping, she turned her head to look at him in disbelief as she cried out "Ni-Ni what are you-"
"It's too late for that guy. My Motion Scanners detect that he's been infested already. Look, see for yourself."
His words silenced her protest, as did the look of morbid terror on his features, including his paling skin which was visible around his sole eye. Desperate, Compa looked to Neptune, only to see that she was in a similar state despite the armour covering up. She turned to the man once again, hoping that for once, Nico was wrong, that they could still save him from a fate that not even a dog deserved. Alas, not everyone gets a happy ending, for the man kept screaming as something… or rather multiple something's, were moving through his limbs at a rapid pace, savage sounds being made as many limbs burst out to hold the man down as their wilders proceeded to devour him whole from the inside out, the man screeching like the namesake of the monsters that now lived here.
In mere moments, the man was no more, every piece of him having been devoured by what looked like overgrown brownish coloured worms, and they looked hideous. Their bodies were covered in the blood of their host, their heads being nothing but a pair of red beady eyes and a circular maw with multiple rows of razor sharp teeth. They had several limbs made from neurotic flesh, reminiscent of the Banshee the two girls fought earlier.
They sensed that they weren't alone, and looked to find the trio standing there. They all hissed and roared in unison, before slithering off into the walls, digging through them to who knows where.
Now that they were alone, the trio could feel the silence that they had before they came onto that sight… only it felt more like a danger was thrust into their hearts and being wrenched tightly into them. If they had their armours off, then it would be possible to see their mortified expressions, with Neptune and Compa going a little green with the urge to throw up in their systems. Nico wasn't as bad, but he was still disgusted with having to see that, as well as what must have happened to the man for him to suffer that fate. He'd seen that before too, and it wasn't pretty.
"That… was gruesome…"
"How horrible…I can't unsee that…"
Both girls made their comments and by extension their opinions, known about the matter. Nico stepped forwards, kneeling before where the man used to be. Nothing had remained after the devouring had finished it was the way that the baby Banshee's did things. They eat the host they're in starting with the muscles first, then the vital organs last. This was one of the many sights he'd seen in his days as a Spec-Ops Agent of the guild, and it wouldn't be the last either.
After making a quick prayer for the deceased, Nico stood up and turned to them, his expression mostly hidden thanks to the Mask his armour wore. "We gotta keep moving, the Banshees may swarm us at any moment now that they've been alerted to our presence." He said, remembering how the baby Banshees had roared like they did. it was a special kind of roar, one that signalled to the rest of the Hive that there were intruders upon their home turf. He wouldn't be surprised if a group of Banshees came calling thanks to that.
The two girls, eager to get away from this area since it reminded them of what they've seen, nodded while trying to hold in their lunches, as they walked on with heavy hearts, now knowing just how sick it was that so many had experienced the fate they just witnessed.
Walking deeper into the dungeon, the party once gain remained silent. The memory of what they just saw was still haunting their minds, how that poor old man met an end more gruesome than anything they had ever encountered before. Neptune realised that this was going to be way heavier than many other fanfics out there, though she kept that to herself instead of telling it, while Compa was still trying to recover from the possibly traumatising experience. Being raised in the safety of Planeptune's walls made her innocent to the horrors of the wild, so seeing something like that, and had no way to help… well, it didn't feel too good for her. In fact, she felt horrible, like the scum of the earth. The only reason why this wasn't worse was because they had been mildly prepped for it by their friend Nico.
There was a decreasing lack of light as they went deeper, since there were fewer crystals about and they were getting smaller as well, which prompted Nico to raise his claws up for they generated a light from their plasma based appearance. Nevertheless, it wasn't perfect though, much to his chagrin, but it was better than nothing.
Finally, Neptune couldn't stomach it anymore and decided to start a conversation, anything to get her mind off the horrific sight they had just seen. "It gets darker the deeper we go…" she muttered, looking around in worry. She hoped that they wouldn't be caught off guard by any Banshees like this. They'd be at a huge disadvantage otherwise…
Soon, Compa's voice rang out, but it was too dark to see where she was. "Nep-Nep, where are you? It's so dark, I can't see you Nep-Nep." She spoke in a soft, quiet and hushed voice. She too was aware of the danger they were in and wanted to keep a low profile.
Neptune decided to try and lighten up the situation with the usual Nep-banter as she smiled behind her helmet. "Oh lighten up Compa, it can't be that bad. Still though, it could be dangerous, so be careful. No telling what's ahead of us."
Almost as soon as she said that however… WHAM!
"Wha-?!"
The sound of something colliding with her rang out, startling the girl and the thing that she had bumped into, making both Nico and Compa stop in their tracks. Both heard something falling to the ground unceremoniously like a heap, with the sounds echoing throughout the Cave. Nico winced, hoping that didn't draw any unwanted attention to their position. Banshees did have very good hearing after all, despite their namesake being because of their loud screeches.
After an unsettling moment, Compa tried to call out to their comrade. "Nep-Nep, are you okay? If you fall into a pit it'll be game over…"
While slightly concerned for his friend's mental health when she said that last part, Nico nonetheless shook his head and raised one of his plasma claws to get a better look of what was ahead of them. It also allowed him to see that Compa was standing just slightly behind him, much to his relief. He didn't want to imagine her being exposed in a creepy place like this.
With her safety assured, Nico looked ahead at what could have collided with the purplette, hoping it wasn't a baby Banshee otherwise this would suck. He couldn't see much, but what he saw could only be described as… fanservice, so he quickly turned his head away to avoid the sight. But from what he did see, it was that apparent that Neptune had bumped into someone, stumbling down on top of them in a rather… intimate position. He counted his lucky stars she was wearing armour right now, otherwise he could have getting a peak under her hoodie dress, and wouldn't THAT be mentally scarring. Plus, the humiliation of having unintentionally peeked while he himself hated perverts with a passion, would be devastating.
"I… I think somebody bumped into me…" the girl moaned, holding the side of her helmet. It was fortunately she was in her armour otherwise the collision would have left more than an aching head. She couldn't say the same for whatever she had bumped into though. "Anyways, its dark so be careful." After warning the others, Neptune looked down at what she had bumped, only to find a surprising sight.
"Ow… watch it, girl."
Nico's eyes widened, as did the other girls, although his were more of realisation than surprise, even though it was still there. 'Holy shit, can it be?!' he exclaimed in his mind which was stunned whole trying to process what was happening before his very eyes. 'I didn't expect to meet HER in this place of all places! It doesn't seem like she's infested either, my motion detectors haven't detected movement within her body. wait a minute, how did this happen when my Motion trackers didn't detect anything?' he wondered with confusion, before deciding to form a hypothesis. 'If my tracker didn't track her, then she must have not been moving at the time of collision, it's the only possible explanation I can think of.'
As the person they bumped into, rubbed her head wither hand, which was pounding like a drum thanks to the collision with Neptune's armour, she opened her eyes and gasped, her face going red as she realised the position they were in. "Hey, couldja get off me already, your armour's super uncomfortable!" she yelled out in irritation, which made Neptune's brain kick in at last as she hurriedly got off her while trying not to hurt her with the blades her armour had.
The person then stood up, groaning at the new headache she was sporting, before she gave them all looks of annoyance, then confusion began to settle in when she noticed who they were. "Huh? Wait, what are kids like you guys doing here? You may be wearing armour, but your still kids…" she remarked and asked at the same time.
The male Agent then stepped forwards, taking a bag of ice cubes from his Armour's Void Storage to hand it to her. "Here, you should take this for your head. It'll help, I guarantee it." he offered, to which the girl smiled in appreciation while taking the bag and pressing it against her head, moaning in content as the pain seemed to dull down, replaced by a calming coolness. "Anyways, it's good to see your alive here, IF. I hoped I'd find someone who survived this nightmare."
"Huh?" the girl blinked out of her pleasure-induced stupor and looked at him, suspicious. "How do you know my name when I never gave it? wait…" her eyes widened after momentarily staring him down as she noted the armour and thought of only one person who could have used such equipment. "D-DEATHSTROKE? Is that you?" the girl asked breathlessly, her eyes like white circles. At his nod, the girl released a heavy, relieved sigh, one that indicated just how happy she was, and smiled at him. "Phew, what a relief. You have no idea how good it is to see a familiar face right now. I guess I should have expected it to be you since you're wearing your signature armour. Things have just been a bit hectic for me, is all." She then chuckled a bit as she remembered their last conversation. "Looks like your gut was right, as usual I'd suspect. I just wished our next meeting would have been a bit better."
At this, Nico nodded in agreement while his plasma claws glistened brightly, illuminating the ground around them. "No worries, with what's happening here it's understandable. Nevertheless, you'd be right girl. Let me guess, you saw them?" he asked her, getting a nod from the girl in return. Although she was hesitant to, as a disturbed expression had formed on her face as she remembered what she had seen when she first came to this hellhole of a dungeon.
"If this is what you guys deal with daily I can see why you would be considered elite." She remarked, shaking her head and removing the bag when she felt her headache subside. "I came here with a group of other Agents, the Guild said this quest had to be considered like a dungeon raid with how many people go in, but are never seen coming back out again." IF explained, before she looked down, her eyes darkening with sadness as she shuddered, rubbing her hands up and down her forearms as terrible memories surfaced in her mind. "We were ambushed when we got in, and I was the only survivor of the force. I saw what those things did to the others… and my god… it was awful."
Neptune, Compa and Nico frowned behind their helmets as they regarded the brunette with sympathy. The two girls knew that it was not a sight to witness, being infested and the end game, they themselves had only seen the latter, while IF had seen the former and the latter, many times over. Such a sight would have scarred them for life, while this girl looked like she was getting better at handling it.
"On a related topic, Nicky, you know this girl?" Neptune asked as she tried to change the topic. They didn't say it, but the three were grateful for the change, they didn't want to think any more about that horror lest they throw up, and with their helmets on that would be EXTREMELY uncomfortable.
The male nodded at the girl's question. "You could say that, her name's IF, and I met her when some of my fellow agents were being assholes and harassing her. She travels around working with the guild." He replied, shrugging his shoulders while memories played in his mind.
"Oh, I see…"
"Okay, I can see why you would be here DEATHTROKE, but why would you bring these kids along? Doesn't seem like the smartest idea to be honest." IF asked him while glancing around for any trouble.
Nico quirked his sole visible brow in her direction, gesturing to the girls in their Armour. "Well, they're stronger than they look, and have experience fighting a Banshee. Plus, they have some new tricks up their sleeves, more with their armour. Also-" before he could finish, his motion tracer alerted him, and when he raised his left bracer instead of is right one, which still displayed his Holomap, his eye narrowed when he saw a group of 5 red dots heading their way at a high speed, indicating they were either flying or moving really fast. Looked like they were about to be greeted by the welcoming committee.
2 tri pronged blades slid out from within the confines of her coat's large sleeves, and IF grimaced as she got into her combat stance. "Tch, looks like they're here again." She muttered while glaring at the direction the roars came from. "They really are just pests, in every sense of the word, too."
"Eh? That comment… seems like there was a story behind it, Mrs eager to cut."
The Guild Agent nodded in confirmation at Neptune's words. "You'd be right, kid. And don't make me sound like some psychotic killer." She said, scowling at how she was depicted by the purplette. "Anyways, these things were tough, but I noticed that they're weak to fire, so I resorted to gathering them into groups and blasting them with fire magic. Drained a lot out of me, but I was able to lessen their numbers."
As he heard this, Nico nodded in his assessment of IF's strategy, bobbing his head up and down in approval. "Good tactic, these guys prefer dark and cold areas like caves and mines, because of their high vulnerably to the sun's UV output. If we were to drag one outside it would shrivel up and die in seconds." He explained, lifting a finger up as he did so, sounding a lot like a professor giving a lecture. He then glanced at his motion tracker, his eye narrowing into a dark glare as he did so. "I'd love to say more, but sadly it seems we have some party crashers."
Right after he said that, the group saw the same number of Banshees emerge from the ceiling, gripping it with their claws and talons as they moved on all fours. Their wings were smaller than the adult one that Neptune and Compa fought earlier, with their limbs being slimmer. Nico was the first to comment about this. "They're new-borns, not fully mature. Odds are that they are the ones that we encountered from that old man." He said with a scowl, holding his Plasma claws for slashing. That man would be avenged today, if it was the last thing he did.
And then he'd move on to the Queen.
Neptune nodded as she flexed her arms, and the structures that her arms had for elbow joints seemed to shift slightly, splitting apart at the centre in a vertical formation to allow 2 long curved blades to slide out. They were shaped like the blade of a Scythe, with many long talons on the edges for increased slashing power. These talons, along with the edge of the Scythe blades, were made from plasma energy which crackled intensely. She looked down at her new weapons, marvelling at their design. "Ooooh, sweet! These baddies look like they mean business. Hey-hey, Nicky they look like your claws, don't they? They do, right?" she asked him, gesturing to the edges and talons of her Scythe blades.
"Yes indeed, these suits were designed based off data collected from previous battles I had. It makes sense that they model some of their weapons after me. Oh, and for reference, they're called 'Armblades'."
While the two had that exchange, the five Banshee hatchlings landed before them and screeched, charging at them with the intent to kill. Compa cried out, instinctively raising her right arm to punch one as it got close. It intended to dodge her sloppy attack, but then the compartments on her right forearm opened, and a cannon shaped like a small Syringe rose to take their place, quickly firing a stream of Plasma Needles from its tip. The Banshee cried out at that and fell back, much to the girl's shock. "Amazing… these suits are amazing!" she cried out again, this time in joy as she fired more and more Needles at the Banshee.
Nico smirked as he saw this while also parrying the claws of 2 Banshees at once. He then flipped over them and stabbed his claws into their backs, electing howls of pain before he tore them out gorily, letting fragments of their flesh fall to the ground while the wounds were burned and cauterised. He then slashed off their wings in a flurry of motions, his form a blur as he readily dispatched them with ease, ending at a decapitation for the pair of them. "Well done Compa! Those're called Armcannons, good for ranged attacks, which is your specialty if I'm not mistaken!"
"Thank you! And yeah!"
Neptune ran at the enemy with her Armblades deployed, IF soon following suit with her own blades. "Hey, why you not wearing armour, girlie?" the purplette asked as she jumped into the air, flipped forwards before coming down in an overhead slash with both blades. The Banshee below her jumped back to dodge them, instinctively aware that those Armblades would be trouble. only for IF to jump after it with a slash aimed towards its head that it blocked with its claws.
Having not heard or ignored the question, IF then made several kicks at its head while still in the air, ones that it parried before reaching to grab her left leg. IF saw this coming however and flipped forwards, landing a heel on top of its head to send it slamming into the ground. she then slashed at the exposed nape, only for its wings to act as barriers to block it. "Tch, even as hatchlings these things are a pain in the ass…" she grimaced in annoyance. In her short experience with these creatures, IF had discovered that not only did their wings act as an offense, but also as a defence through their flexible nature. She guessed she shouldn't be surprised since the Tendrils these things generate were also very flexible, and were more like extensions of the wings than anything. Defensive capabilities were within the limits of the wings, as versatile as they were annoying.
Its buddy ran at her on all fours, shrieking as it went to claw at her side, only for IF to spin and block its strike with one blade, then block the next one with the other. She did this multiple time, before the Banshee jumped into the air and slammed both claws down on her, only for IF to respond by swinging her blades together. The two attacks collided, and under the intense weight being suddenly forced on her without much warning her legs began to buckle, shaking continuously with no signs of being able to be stopped.
Fortunately for her, IF didn't have to endure it long because she was saved when Neptune came in and kicked it in the head, sending it tumbling aside while the first Banshee got up and launched several Tendrils at her. Because of it being young, it didn't have as many Tendrils as the one she fought before, but they were still fast enough to keep Neptune on her toes. She quickly sidestepped, rolled and did other evasive manoeuvres to dodge them, while also slicing their tips off with her Armblades.
The Two Banshees regrouped, hissing and growling at their opponents who also regrouped, readying their respective weapons. "Kid, you may be good but you don't have the experience fighting them like I do. I fought these things when they were adults, so listen carefully. I want you to distract them while I get a Skill ready. It'll take time to gather the energy though, so be wary." IF instructed her, glancing at her new companion. She had seen how she fought earlier, and while it was undisciplined and almost barbaric, it seemed to work for her, allowing to deal lots of damage while being able to take it too. If she could sum it in some words, it'd be 'can't take the head, stay out of the kitchen' as Neptune's tactics only worked because she could take what she dished out.
Said girl got peeved though at the referral to her that the Guild Agent used for her. "Hey, the pot's calling the kettle black, missy! The name is Neptune, believe it!" she retorted, before readying her Armblades. "And with your talk earlier, I'll take care of em, no prob! You won't even heave to do-"
Before she could finish, the Banshees flared their wings and unleashed a barrage of spikes towards them, forcing the two to scatter. It appeared they had forgotten how that the Banshees weren't like regular monsters that waited for dialogue between fighters to finish before attacking.
"It would help if you stay in the game, girl!"
"Yeah, tell me something I don't know, Iffy!"
"I-IFFY?!"
"Yeah, it's much cuter and easier to say than IF."
The two landed in kneeling positions, and the Banshees took their opportunity to strike by flying towards them. At the rate they went, Neptune and IF wouldn't be able to dodge, so the bubbly preteen in armour quickly dashed forwards, her Armblades at her sides in a diagonal angle. When she was near them, she slashed both Armblades at their faces, for the Banshees to retaliate with their claws.
Their limbs no longer usable thanks to her efforts, Neptune looked up and saw their wings about to sprout Tendrils again, and had a flashback to what happened the first time she fought a Banshee. "Nope, not this time meanies!" she bellowed, quickly shifting her Armblades and flicking them upwards, quickly pushing te Banshees' claws away from them and exploiting an opening by slashing them several times on their main bodies. The Banshees shrieked and cawed in pain as they stumbled back from the blows dealt to them, blood dripping from their wounds.
They tried to retaliate by launching their Tendrils anyways, but Neptune had other ideas as she crossed her Armblades together and activated a Skill. "CROSS COMBINATION!" she bellowed, her body moving at higher speeds than before thanks to her Skill's activation. When moving with a Skill in play, the body was much faster thanks to the energy the skill used enhancing its abilities, giving rise to the potential that the skills possessed.
Thus, it went without question why her attack caught the hatchling Banshees off guard. They were just new-borns, powerful ones, but new-borns nonetheless. They had little experience through the world compared to adult monsters, which would prove to be their downfall. With 2 weapons for her, Neptune's skill caused double the damage as she slashed with one and then the other in a unified manner, like they were extensions of her own body, ironically enough.
Kicking them into the air, Neptune jumped up after them, but instead of slamming them down to the ground again, she repeatedly slashed at their bodies while blurring around at high speeds, the hit count numbering at 20 before she raised both blades up, empowering them with the energy she would normally use to power her HDD form, making purple silhouettes of her Armblades cover them to make them look bigger, before she brought them down and engulfed them both in a large purple explosion.
Both Banshee Hatchlings cried out in agony, their wings only able to shield them from the brunt of the attack, ending up disintegrated down to the bone as a result, hindering them greatly as they crashed to the ground. But their troubles were not over yet as IF stood before them with a smirk on her face, holding up a hand which was coated in a crimson-orange energy shell. "Heh, you guys were at least a little bit of a challenge, but not enough for me, now take this! DEMON FLAMES!"
From below them, a large pillar of fire rose to the ceiling, engulfing the downed Banshee Hatchlings in its embrace. They cried out their last as the flames licked away at them, hungrily devouring their flesh in an ironic manner, for their species was known to do the same to their host. They lost their muscles first, then their vital organs, which was in a sense, deep blue sea karma.
After the attack finished, it disappeared to leave behind a pair of charred corpses, frozen in their screams of horror for until they shattered into piles of ash. IF grinned at the sight, feeling like she had avenged someone's unfortunate demise. However, this didn't last long as a wave of fatigue crashed onto her shoulders like a boulder falling on top of her, and IF fell to one knee, holding herself up with her arms on the ground, supporting the Guild Agent.
"Yay, we won! Don't underestimate the powers of the Protag- huh? Eh? Iffy, are you okay?" Neptune began to cheer, having gained a sense of closure from defeating those Hatchling Banshees. Now, all they had to do for complete closure was to defeat an adult Banshee and the closure would be complete. But when she saw the Guild Agent's state, how she sweated profusely while looking like she'd ran a marathon around the entire Landmass, she grew quickly concerned before jogging over, retracting her Armblades.
IF grumbled as she felt the purplette raise her up with an arm wrapped around the back of her shoulders, allowing her to put more of her weight Neptune. "Ugh, I'm good… just been doing that Skill a lot and it's been taking its toll. I bet I'll only be able to use a couple more of those before I fall unconscious."
This was said while Nico and Compa walked up to them, the male having finished off his 2 foes while Compa had blasted the third one, which had been looking for a way to sneak attack which showed it was the smartest of the five, in the head while it wasn't looking, ending its life quickly. When the male heard what IF had said, a frown formed on his features, "that's not good, IF, you should really make sure to carry ample supplies with you for this situation."
Before she could respond, the male swiftly pulled out a bottle of 'SP charger' from his Void storage, before handing it to her, "here, this should help. I have more than a few energy and health recovery items in my void storage for emergencies, but I'll let you have that one." he told her. IF sent him a grateful look, as without her most powerful skill currently, she would be severely weakened when she faced more of those Banshees.
After opening the drink and downing its contents, IF felt rejuvenated, her energy rising by a large margin. With a grateful smile, the girl looked towards them all, "Thanks for the assist you three, I honestly thought I was a goner down here…" she remarked, scowling as she looked down at the ground. she gritted her teeth at the memories of how her comrades had been infested then eaten alive by those monstrosities.
"Don't sweat it, sister." Neptune began while putting her hands on her hips with her legs spread apart as she puffed her chest out in pride. "The Nep-girl has got your back. Together we can end those meanies and save Gamindustri from their terror!"
Compa hummed in agreement with a nod. "Yep, alone we're not so tough, but with each other we can stand a chance." She remarked while clenching a fist in front of her face. If she didn't have her armour on, they would have seen how confident she looked, confidence born from Neptune's words of encouragement to the brunette.
Said Brunette could only chuckle in amusement. "Looks like you got yourself a colourful pair of subordinates, DEATHSTROKE." She remarked, smirking at Nico who smiled awkwardly behind his Mask, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Her eyes then focused on the preteen amnesiac, the time was just right for her to make a query about something that had been bugging her the whole fight. "Oh yeah, and while we're on this topic, Neptune, right? You really called me 'Iffy' back there?"
"Yup!" Neptune nodded her head in response, confirming IF's words. Nico gave her a look, quickly realising that she was giving out nicknames again like Compa did. Perhaps her and Compa were rubbing off on each other, not just one over the other. That was an… interesting thought, in a weird and thought-provoking way. "IF = Iffy. Like I said, sounds cuter, doesn't it?"
IF mauled it over in her mind, her face looking torn between accepting the name or just denying it outright. It was a complex expression she was sporting, one that made it hard to tell what she was thinking when she had that face on. Nico commemorated this trait to memory as he watched this situation unfold, waiting for his chance to interject. "Iffy…"
The way she said that word caught the preteen's attention as her face shifted from its default bubbly look to one of concern, like when someone saw a stray cat on the streets and wanted to do something about it but had no idea how. "Wait, you don't like it? oh, were you teased by kids with that name?" she asked hoping that she hadn't stepped on a landmine with that one. she didn't like the thought of new friends growing to hate her because of what she called them bringing back bad memories.
Her fears were dashed however, much to her relief, when IF shook her head in denial with a small upturning at the corner of her mouth, "No, I wasn't teased with my name before, girl. Call me whatever you want." She told her with a hand on her hip. Nico had to admit that she had taken the nickname thing rather well, he knew that a lot of people wouldn't be satisfied with those that called them funny and demeaning nicknames, especially if it's from a girl's mouth. She must not truly mind that much, and it intrigued him.
Hearing that it was okay, the nickname anyways, Compa beamed happily as she smiled with her eyes closed, hopping on the spot as she spoke, "really? Yay, then I'll call you iffy too! It's such a cute nickname, don't you think?"
"I-I guess so…"
Nico saw her reaction to the energetic Nurse-in-Training and figured she hadn't been used to someone like her before. It looked even weirder with the fact that they had armour on. It did look weird now that he thought about it, 2 badass looking armoured warriors with weapons that could kill you if you ever so much as looked at them wrong, behaving like little school girls, even if that was what they were like underneath. It showed that Neptune had little regard for how people thought of her antics, and Compa was just adding to the randomness.
Deciding to step in, the male walked up and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, getting her attention, "don't worry about it so much, once those two come up with a nickname for someone it's impossible to convince them otherwise. They like giving nicknames to people." he said with a reassuring tone of voice, before he remembered something from the previous battle, "oh, and you don't have to keep calling me DEATHSTROKE, just Nico will do."
IF nodded at that as she tested the word on her lips, "Nico huh… yeah, I guess that's okay. I mean, it feels a little overwhelming that I'm getting so chummy with a Spec-Ops agent. Oh, the fanboys and girls will be for my head when this gets out." She muttered, sighing in depression at the end.
He could only console her for a few moments, knowing the hard truth of that statement.
Then, Neptune thought of an idea, and decided to bring it up with the others barely containing herself at the prospect. "Now then why not come with us, Iffy? Birds of a father flock together after all, and it would be really coolios if we had 2 pros on our Party." She suggested while tilting her head with an index finger on her chin.
Nico raised a brow at this, but didn't find anything wrong with the idea. "Not a bad idea, Neptune, not bad at all. It would be best if we stuck together as a group, especially since we're in the middle of the enemy's territory, it's only a matter of time before more try to swarm us." He said, reaching forth and patting the girl on her armoured head rubbing it in an affectionate manner, though it would have been better if she wasn't wearing her Armour. Neptune hummed in approval as she tilted her head to be petted more by the male, happy that she had been complimented by her companion. He didn't notice Compa pouting in jealousy for a split second though, but IF did.
Said Guild Agent didn't need to think for a second on what she wanted to do, since the choice was obvious in her eyes. "Sure, why not? As they say the more the merrier, right? Also, Nico's right that we'd best stick together if we wanna survive this hellhole." She remarked. Also, there was something else, it was rare that a party consisting of a mix of people: adventurers, Guild Agents and their Spec-Ops counter parts, would be formed like this. The potential from all 3 working together… well, it was almost unpredictable how much potential that kind of party would have. And with the way things were, the world would greatly benefit from such a union.
"Yay, awesomesauce!" Neptune cheered as she threw her arms up into the air, Compa mirroring her actions as she jumped over to IF and got close to her space, "I hope we can be best friends, Iffy!" she cheered. Grabbing her hands and bouncing up and down.
IF could only smile at the hyperactive preteen in armour right now, ignoring the strangeness of the situation since she figured that based off the expression of amusement Nico was wearing it was a common sight for him. She could only imagine the antics these three would get into, but instead of annoyance, IF found herself intrigued at the thoughts. "Sure, looking forward to it."
