If you all liked my previous action scenes, you're going to LOVE these! ;)
Chapter 10 - You fudged up
"Hey, um, Iffy? Nicky? I picked this up before we fought that thing, and um…"
Turning to Neptune, both Nico and IF raised their brows when they saw Neptune walking over to them, holding something in her hand. They couldn't see what it was until she handed it over to the brunette Guild Agent, who looked it over and showed it to Nico who was still on the ground, in his armour. The object looked to be a purple Disk-like object, and while it looked harmless, something about it just seemed… off. "It looks like a Disk…" she mumbled in confusion, before glancing upwards from the Disk and to the one who gave it to her. "Nep, where did you pick this up from?"
"I dunno." She replied simply, shrugging her shoulders. Everyone face faulted, and before anyone could scold her about not looking where she would find things, Neptune pointed behind them where the platform connected to a chamber-like section of the Dungeon. "It was hanging on the wall over there."
Nico looked to where she was pointing, and indeed saw something being held in the air by chains. His eyes narrowed at the something and then at the Disk in IF's hands. 'It was just hanging there, and my Scans didn't detect it? that alone seems to be a bad omen… if my scanners didn't detect it, it must mean this Disk is of foreign make, not of this Dungeon or maybe not even of this Landmass. The only other Nation I could think of with this technology would be Lastation, but with what I've heard from some sources there, the situation there has been detreating…'
While the male was lost in his own thoughts and worries, IF gave the preteen a doubtful stare. She had trouble believing the bubbly girl, and it showed on her face. "Hanging on the wall? This Disk?" she asked dubiously, waving the Disk in front of her for empathise. "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"
'While I would agree with you, IF, you failed to notice the same things I did.' Nico thought with a sigh when he broke out his thoughts and heard what she said, knowing what was about to happen given the looks forming on the faces of the two girls… plus his own experiences with them. 'And, those girls will also be…'
"What? Iffy, you don't believe me?" Neptune cried out in dismay, before she was on all fours with a cloud of depression over her forehead. "After all that we've been through…" she wept dramatically, causing sweat drops to form on the foreheads of the brunette and the red-haired male. Neptune immaturity level: over 9000!
…
…
…
Yeah, let's not use that overused cliché meme.
Compa puffed her cheeks as she glared at IF, who jumped at the intensity of the glare but maintained her composure. "You're so horrible, not believing Nep-Nep." She scolded, before walking over and comforting the depressed amnesiac. She was patting her on the upper back with a 'there, there' coming out of her mouth.
Seeing this, all IF could do was sweat drop even more. Really, how did someone as renowned as Nico deal with these people before she came along? She was surprised he was still the voice of reason with these girls, with their antics. 'If I had to stay with these guys, I don't know how I would have coped… maybe I would have taken a lot of aspirin…' she remarked to herself. It was like looking at a pair of toddlers whining about how they didn't get their way.
Just as he predicted, Nico saw how the situation began to spiral away from its once quiet, serene self which would be ideal for recovering after a vicious battle like that one, to the usual chaotic atmosphere that usually followed after Neptune's random antics, only encouraged by Compa's addition too the dynamic. 'I just realised, I forgot to use some of the items I said we could use before the battle started. Damnit, I should have known better, but hey, at least we've managed to defeat it without them.' Ever said you were going to do something, but then did something else?
This was one of Nico's moments. Even he made mistakes, he was a sole man after all.
Suddenly, Neptune snapped out of her depression and stood up, glaring at IF with multiple tick marks around her head, her fists held in front of her chest and her eyes replaced with X's. How that could happen Nico didn't even bother with anymore, he'd learned to just roll with it at this point. "I know your name makes you question everything, but show me some love here!" she protested.
Glancing to the male, IF gave him a stare that basically screamed 'and you deal with this all the time?' He nodded as well as responded with an even stare that stated 'Yep, and you too.' The brunette raised a brow and spoke with her stares again 'You have my condolences.' And he responded with a thankful stare that screamed 'thank you!' The two girls didn't notice this interaction though because of… reasons.
Turning to the immature girls, IF grinded her teeth in irritation at the purplette after their stare down. She then released a breath, knowing that this girl had the maturity of a child, before she responded to those accusations. "That's not what my name means." She said, before opening her eyes and giving them a pointed stare. "And we only just met a short while ago."
What she did NOT expect was Neptune to switch tactics. She literally closed the distance between them in a second, nearly catching both her and Nico off guard with her speed, before she gave a pleading look combined with girls' strongest weapon: the puppy dog eyes! Heck, there were even sparkles in Neptune's eyes, making them even deadlier. "Iffy…" she droned, adding to her cuteness feel.
Eventually, the fortress known as St IF collapsed as she gave a sigh of defeat, knowing that she wouldn't stop this tediousness until she did. "#Sigh# Okay, okay, I got it. I believe you." She relented, although a small smile was present on her face as she said that. It was more like a whimsical smile, one that a parent would make when giving in to their child's demands.
Instantly, Neptune's happiness metres went through the roof! "Now that's my Iffy!" she cheered while stepping back a few times. She then cupped her cheeks with her hands and began wiggling her body around with various love hearts appearing around her head like rain, "Iffy has got to mean "I Feel for You!" That's love!"
Compa then interjected into the situation, once again being drawn into Neptune's antics like a moth to a flame. "How about we call you "AI" instead? That's Japanese for love!" she suggested, hands together as if praying with love hearts in her eyes as the two girls stared at the Guild Agent. "Why not spell it in lower case, like "ai"? it's way cuter, too!"
'Okay, what the hell is going on here?' Nico wondered in befuddlement. There was only so much one can take before the questions start popping out, and right now was the breaking point for him. 'When did this conversation go from looking at the Disk that Neptune apparently found when we didn't, to discussing the meaning of IF's name? what is up with these girls and their conversations?' the male questioned, giving an irritated groan while pinching the bridge of his nose. This was happening. This was REALLY happening.
Apparently, IF shared his sentiments, especially with how she responded. "Whoa! Hold your horses, both of you! You're getting way off track!" she yelled with a pissed off look in her eyes… but was she blushing right now? This was the first time he saw IF blush, and it seemed to originate from embarrassment. Nico made a mental note of that for the future.
When Neptune saw that face however, she grinned like a Cheshire cat, with her eyes locked on to her like a predator capturing their prey… the eyes of a genius teaser. "Awwww, Iffy, are you blushing or are you blushing?" she spoke in a saucy manner, getting right up in her personal space yet again as she loved the reactions she got from the brown-haired woman. Said girl was stuttering even more, with her blush increasing and Neptune's grin widening as a result.
Just as the Guild Agent was about to go down a spiral of embarrassment, something else happened that stopped all thoughts of embarrassing her further. Nico perked up when he noticed it first, and decided to inform the others. "Huh? Uhhhhhh, girls, you might want to look down at the hand holding the Disk." He suggested, pointing down at the Disk. It was starting to radiate a bright purple glow. In the centre, there seemed to be a blackish sludge that was slowly gathering, a single red eye peeking out.
His words caught the girls' attention and they all looked to see what he had seen. "Wha-?! Wait… The Disk… It's shining!" Neptune exclaimed, thank you captain obvious. Startled, the amnesiac dropped the Disk and the three-skedaddled backwards, far enough away from the Disk. Slowly, the black sludge began to lunge upwards, forming a mouth that hissed and screeched as the… thing, tried to break free.
"What's going on, Iffy?!"
"H-How should I know, Compa?! I've never seen this before, either!"
Compa had asked IF, who was the one who had the most experience dealing with monsters' due to her nomadic, mercenary lifestyle, what the heck was happening, assuming she'd seen this before. However, the Guild Agent hadn't seen this before either, and had made sure that the Training Nurse was aware of that. Neptune huddled close to Nico, to his surprise and confusion. "Uh, Nep, what the fuck are you doing?!" he exclaimed.
"I'm scared, Nicky! Shield me like a hero should for the Heroine!"
"How'd you get that idea?!"
Their comments were interrupted when a loud roar came from the sludge thing. It finally separated from the Disk, landing in front of it before it began to take on solid form. It finished the process, and it took the form of several Ghost-like creatures, some with bows on their heads to indicate they were female, while others didn't. there were 2 fat-looking ones with patterned shirts, pants and shoes and looked like human sized boggle heads. He glanced at his Bracers and used the left one to bring up the Guild Bestiary, finding the picture of them ad looking at their names: Clydes, Mrs Clydes and Super Otakus.
They were Normal Monsters, not classed as Abnormals in any way, much to his relief. 'I bet the Author's getting a bit tired of writing intense action scenes for the previous chapters...' he thought with amusement, before his eyes widened in realisation and he face palmed himself. 'Of Course, those two, THAT guy and Neptune, have to corrupt me to be breaking the fourth wall like they do.' He thought to himself, groaning in dismay. He didn't realise his helmet was open because of this.
Meanwhile, said fourth wall breaker stared in shock at the development before her. "What?! Monsters came out of the Disk?!" she exclaimed while she got into a battle stance. The others soon did the same, Neptune deciding to forgo her armour form and instead opting to test out her Murasama. She summoned the sword in its Sheath, before slowly drawing it out and getting into her normal stance, the Sheath having disappeared into her Inventory. Compa got her Syringe out while IF did the same with her Qatars.
Nico stood upright, groaning to himself while reaching for his Sword's grip. He then grasped it firmly in his hands, pulling it out and pointing it at the enemy. "Whelp, looks like we have some clean-up to do." He remarked, smirking as the Mask plates closed together again to form the Mask. With that, the monsters charged at them and the party responded in kind.
For once Nico was glad to be fighting normal monsters this time around. They went down quick and easy, no need to overexert his large arsenal of weapons and Skills. Hell, he didn't even need THAT to defeat them, and that was something that he was immensely thankful for. There were some Abnormals out there that Nico needed to use THAT to win, though sometimes he had to make sure his companions, if he had any, weren't around to see THAT in action. It was a big secret he kept hidden after all…
Once the last Super Otaku fell before Rebellion's blade, Nico released a breath from his chest's confines. "Whew, a short workout, that was." He remarked, Mask splitting open again as he wiped the sweat off his brow. Turning to the others, he saw that they were finishing up as well, so he decided to call out, "All clear!" while strapping Rebellion to his back. The weapon vanished the moment it was secured into its Holster, like it was meant to.
"Same here, Compa called out as the others defeated the rest of the monsters. She released a sigh of relief, before falling onto her backside again, "we've made Gamindustri peaceful again." She said happily, which prompted a small smile from the male's features. He knew that she loved Gamindustri deeply, much more than anyone even the Goddesses, in his mind anyways.
Neptune didn't comment on this, instead she turned to IF with an accusing tone in her voice, "That was a surprise. You should have told me Monsters came from Disks." She said with a pointed gaze, huffing as she summoned the Sheath of her Murasama and strapped it to her waist, sheathing the HF Blade within it.
In response, IF stared pointedly at her like she did, huffing as she crossed her arms and shook her head. "How the hell should me or Nico have known? Nobody knows where the monsters come from-…" as she tried to refute the preteen's claims, it hit her just what happened here.
Unnerved by the Guild Agent's silence, Neptune was prompted to ask her what was wrong, and thus she did, "Iffy? What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Neptune waved her hand in the girl's face, but unlike what she expected the brunette didn't respond to her actions, much to her shock as she realised that she was in deep thought. "Holy, she's so deep in thought it reminds me of Nicky. She's a female Nicky!" she exclaimed with shock and awe.
Said male's brows twitched in irritation at her comments, feeling like his manly pride had been hit there. "Hey, I resent that statement you know!" he defended himself, but looked to IF and indeed saw she was deep in thought. As he stared at her with the others, even he had o admit that they had a point as he hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with one hand. "Though I do admit you have a point, this does look what I look like when I'm thinking about things."
As if his words were the trigger, IF's eyes lit up at the realisation. She swiftly walked to the Disk, making sure not to touch it in any way that suggested that would be the trigger for activating it again, and then picked it up, gazing at it intently. "So this is where the monsters came from..." She then spoke with awe as she showed them the Disk with an excited gleam in her eyes. "This is amazing!"
Compa nodded her head in agreement with the brunette, "yessie! I think this is a super discovery!" she cheered, getting a nod of the head from IF as the two gushed about what they had found. She then turned her head to Nico, who didn't look as excited as they were, much to her confusion. "What's wrong, Ni-Ni? You look tense, this should be a happy moment for us."
The male looked at her after coming up with a response that suited his thoughts on the matter, "Indeed this is an incredible discovery. We've never found any evidence as to the origins of the increase in monster numbers. However, I'm just thinking of the applications. Also, this just adds more questions than answers." He gestured to have the Disk in his hand, and IF gave it to him. The teen looked it over, before continuing his response. "This Disk looks to be Man-made. My Armour scanned it while you were talking just now and it seems that someone did artificially place it here. How the Banshees came here is still a mystery as well as the identity of the one who put this in here. The how and the when, there are still many questions that need to be answered. In addition, this does not mean that the Abnormal Monsters also come from the same Disk, although it is suspicious and a possible lead. Therefore-"
"Hahahahahaha!"
Before he could continue, a woman's laughter rang throughout the Cave Dungeon, enhanced with a loud echo and instantly putting them on guard. "I came here for my Queen, but I didn't expect to meet you here, Neptune!" the womanly voice spoke again, but the source was nowhere to be seen.
Her words quickly set off alarms in Nico's mind however, his eyes narrowing dangerously as KI spiked around him. Did this voice say what he thought he said? That she came here for her Queen? Did this mean that the voice knew about the Queen or more importantly, brought it here in the first place? Whatever the case may be, Nico told himself to get the answers he sought. However, there was one problem: where was the voice coming from?
Soon enough though, Nico got his answer. Beeping sounds came from his Bracer, and Nico opened his Motion Tracker to see what was wrong. Someone was coming to them, according to what was being presented on the Motion Tracker, from the sole entrance to this area. 'What the hell? How is it that this person evaded detection for so long?! And how dare she interrupt my monologuing!' Nico thought with narrowed, angry eyes. It took lots of thinking to form the theories he did, so to have that work insulted like that was grounds for a beating, no matter who it was who did it!
"Whose there?" Neptune called out with nervousness and anxiety. She held the grip of her Murasama as a form of comfort while she looked around for the source of the feminine voice, until she noticed something she hadn't before. "What's with that melodramatic laugh?" she asked with the same tones as before.
From the entrance to the Chamber, someone entered to make themselves known to them. It was a woman, that Nico could tell right away. She had a gothic appeal, dressing in black with hints of purple. She had grey-white skin with whitish hair styled akin to Neptune's, and blood red eyes, slightly slanted like a cat. She had dark makeup around her eyes and lips and a very big witch hat with a golden leaf and thorn Purple rose spiralling around. Her outfit was very flashy in terms of design, consisting of a bustier like top with thick bands/strings going up the centre to hold it together, along with unattached sleeves and very noticeable clawed nails.
In her right hand was a multi-pronged Glaive, something Nico tensed at.
"Who are you calling old?! Mocking people as usual. You've not changed a bit." The woman snarled in anger with a tick mark. It seemed she hated being called old for some reason, but then again that trait was shared by a lot of people, both male and female. She gripped the shaft of her Glaive tighter at the insult, before forcing herself to remain calm.
Slowly, the party turned towards Neptune with various expressions on their faces. They were concerned more than a little bit for Neptune if this was the company she kept around her before her amnesia. "Is this a friend of yours?" Compa asked dully, with a tint of concern for the preteen underneath.
This made the petite girl shake her head furiously, finding herself repulsed just by the idea of being associated with this woman. She didn't know why but something rubbed her the wrong way about that insinuation. "Of course not." She denied, shaking her head from side to side. "I don't know any old lady who wears that much goth makeup." She reassured them, much to the woman's irritation at being insulted once again.
Sadly, for her, it just kept coming, in the form of a relieved sigh from the Nurse-In-Training. "That's good to hear." She said through her sigh. It relieved her that despite how oblivious Neptune could be she still had standards. She'd have been more worried than she'd ever been before about her if that wasn't the case.
Nico would have scolded the two for being so rude to the older woman, however the fact that she had something to do with the Banshee Queen quickly abashed all sympathy he felt for her. The male folded his arms in front of his chest, nodding in agreement with a small smile on his face, as he decided to make the woman squirm so it would be easier for him to interrogate her. The fact that he was experiencing a Trigger Event was noted by his brain, but otherwise forgotten. "You said it, Compa. If Neptune did hangout with old ladies like her I'd have taken her to an asylum to get her head examined." He remarked. He could visualise the trip in his head, Nico dragging her by the back of her hoodie into an asylum, Neptune trying to say she wasn't wrong in the head.
IF finally spoke her piece, and it wasn't the kind of answer that would calm the fuming woman down. "Yeah." She began, nodding her head in accordance with their opinions on the woman, before delivering her own. "If you were friends with her, I'd have put in my resignation."
Looking at the woman with the others, Nico noticed her face literally red with rage, multiple vein marks on her face, hands and forehead, her teeth grinding together so hard he swore he heard them crack under the pressure. Instead of regret, he was nothing but amused. It increased when Neptune made the fatal blow. "Sooooo, who are you, Missus?" she questioned.
That was the last straw and the woman exploded with anger. "How dare you! Saying whatever you want in front of me! I'll get rid of you all!" she bellowed as she got ready to fight and possibly end their lives.
"Look what you've done, Nep. Now you've made the lady mad!"
"Wait? it's my fault?!"
The mystery woman glared hatefully, her red eyes lighting up like crimson flames. She then gripped her Glaive and charged fright for them, momentarily catching everyone, even Nico, off guard with her speed. Her Glaive sparked with black lightning that she used as a blunt weapon, whacking Neptune upside the head with when she was close enough. "Guh!" she grunted, the impact and force of the blow sending her flying through the air and into a section of the Chamber's wall.
Compa cried out in alarm at the sight, which unfortunately made her the woman's next target. While shooting towards her like a bullet, the woman backhanded an attacking IF to allow her to deal with the Nurse-In-Training herself. She closed the distance and began thrusting rapidly at her, her Glaive crackling with Lightning. Compa did her best to block and evade the blows and was lasting well, but then she made an error in her footing which proved costly, the cost being the woman's Glaive as it smelled into her gut and released a large static charge, causing her to scream in agony. She went even further and did a snap kick right to the Nurse-In-Training's jaw, sending her stumbling back before the woman simply flipped into the air like a sausage and slammed the back of her right heel into her head, Compa's head meeting the hard ground with a THUD!
As she fell to the ground, her body being kicked roughly in the side by the woman's foot, IF regained her bearings and tried to strike her from behind while her guard was down. "Take this!" she yelled as she tried to go for a reverse slash to the back of her neck. The moment her Qatar was about to meet her flesh though, her eyes widened and a gasp escaped her lips. The reason? A panel-like barrier, the size of her neck, appeared and blocked her weapon from reaching its intended target. "W-What?!"
The woman huffed at the attempt to attack her, "Hmph!" she then remarked about the human female as she spun around while the Guild Agent knocked her back, "To think a lowly human would try to damage someone above them." She scoffed, before losing the distance and launching a barrage of slashes before IF could recover, each of them hitting their mark. She then spun into a reverse upward swing, sending her flying into the air. The woman followed suit with a smash of her Glaive overhead, onto the back of IF's head, making her gasp as she was sent crashing into the ground, her body bouncing into the air again. The woman finished her handiwork with a sharp side kick to the side, sending the damaged Guild Agent tumbling across the ground.
"Neptune! IF! COMPA!" Nico cried out before realising that the woman was right in front of him. With a grimace, the male swiftly blocked her Glaive, the lightning around it acting as a shield against the HF Current Rebellion possessed. Nico growled behind the Mask, which had closed itself when he was attacked, as he was locked into a deadlock with the woman. He growled in fury, livid at how brutally this woman dispatched his comrades. 'This bitch is going to pay for this… but this does show that despite her old appearance, she is quite formidable.'
The woman herself also had an opinion on the boy before her, especially when she noticed the Claymore sword he was wielding. 'What? THAT has been taken from its resting place? But the only ones that could do that are…' the woman trailed off as she looked at the boy closely, like a researcher eyeing something of interest. "… Where did you get that sword, boy?" she asked while pressing her Glaive harder against him to force him to buckle.
Nico glared at her, the attempt she'd made failing as he stood his ground, sparks flying off their weapons as the two struggled to overpower the other. "Why would I tell you that, bitch?" he snarled back, and with a force of strength managed to break their deadlock and spin into a reverse slash. It was blocked by her Glaive, so he went for a series of strikes to various parts of her body, in rapid succession. "I'm not a cliché hero who'd give away all his secrets!"
The woman growled in anger at him, barely blocking his admittingly fast attacks, each one having some impact behind them. "While I despise that disrespectful tone, brat." She began, floating backwards. The male realised just now that she moved like the HDD form of Neptune, which made him suspicious of this woman's background as she pointed her Glaive at him, "It is impressive you were able to last this long against me while your pathetic friends did not."
"Yeah well, I have a lot of training." Nico bluntly stated, before swinging Rebellion and sending a static slash at her. The Slash flew towards her and the woman responded swiftly, knowing that it wouldn't be something she could trifle with. She got into a stance with her Glaive pointed behind her, Lighting sparking violently as she waited for the right moment. When the time came to strike, she swiftly swung her weapon into an uppercut swing, slicing the wave in half.
But that was only a distraction for Nico's real attack, the male having jumped into the air while the woman was busy prepping to slash his Plasma Slash in half. "You stopped one, but how about multiple?! PHANTOM BLADES!" he yelled, unleashing his blades from the Magic Circle behind him. They all came raining down upon the woman's position, whose reflexes proved surprising even for him.
Her weapon became a flurry of motions when she slashed and stabbed at every blade that would have hit her had she tried to block. She slashed one, stabbed another, backhanded another, and repeated these motions until the Skill had deactivated, leaving the woman mildly winded but otherwise unharmed. A smug grin shot onto her face as her opponent landed before her. "Hmph, is that all? I was expecting something more from a Spec Ops Agent." She mocked, holding her Glaive in a ready stance.
While he was surprised at how she could handle his Skill like that, Nico still was furious as he realised she was insulting the Skills he'd spent years developing. He had just the right response for her, and that was to dash forth, quickly closing the distance between them before rearing Rebellion for a horizontal slash. He slashed at her neck, but she blocked it with her Glaive, an arrogant smirk on her features. "Hoh, looks like that's really all you-" she began to say, only to notice that his right leg was glowing purple, a sign that he was activating a Skill. he kicked upwards with a yell of "PHANTOM WAVE!" before launching the specified attack at point blank range.
The woman had no time to evade or block, thus the attack hit and she was sent flying with a gasp of pain as a result. With a roar of fury, Nico readied Rebellion before dashing towards her at high speeds. "Not even close, bitch!"
Meanwhile, as the two duelled viciously like two lions competing for territory, IF and the others slowly regained their bearings from the harsh beating they had endured. "Geez, that woman is definitely one angry old bag…" she remarked to herself, wincing as she held her head from when she was hit by the mystery woman's Glaive. It still stung a bit, but at least it wasn't as bad as before. She swore she'd seen some bright light earlier until she regained her consciousness. "I guess judging books by their cover is a bad idea. Tch!" she cursed when her head throbbed from where she was hit, holding a hand on the injury as if too lessen the pain. "She hits hard."
Neptune was the second one to regain herself, and she looked mad at the woman as she stumbled out of her indentation in the Chamber's wall. A few tick marks were present on her forehead as she pointed an accusing finger at the mystery woman who was still engaged in combat with Nico. "Hey! This lady is too strong for being an early stage boss! I call cheat!" she whined, although the said woman was too busy with Nico to pay attention to her words.
Finally, Compa rose to her feet, moaning and whimpering as she held her head which throbbed like it was hit by a herd of angry bulls. Tears were in the corners of her eyes at the pain she had suffered, and every now and then her body would spasm slightly because of that Static Charge the mystery woman had unleashed onto her nerve system. "Ooooh... that mean old lady... she put a shock to my system..." she moaned in a pained voice, grimacing as she begun to use her Healing Magic. "FIRST AID!" she called out the name of the Skill she wanted to use. Her body briefly lit up in a green aura as she felt the damage begin to vanish thanks to the Skill's effects. She also repeated the process for Neptune and IF as well.
To them, they all realised that one couldn't judge a book by its cover. Especially old ladies in witch costumes.
Neptune looked and saw that the woman and Nico were engaged in a vicious dance of blades, the male Spec Ops Agent having little difficulty keeping up with her attacks. "And the Overpowered OC is holding his own in a battle that generically we couldn't win at the beginning." She remarked dully, before a frown formed on her face. "Hey ladies, is it just me or are any of you gals pissed that we were thrown around like ragdolls while Nicky was not?"
"It's not just you, Nep." IF replied as she growled to herself. "Then again, Nico is a skilled Agent, he likely has a few tricks up his sleeve to even the playing field. In a sense, he has the bite to keep up with his bark." She realised, although it didn't do her pride as a fighter any favours to admit that someone else was way better than her.
Compa shook her head and looked pleadingly at the others, "You guys, we can feel sorry for ourselves or we can go help, Ni-Ni's done a lot for us already, we can't just rely on him all the time." She pleaded with them, readying her Syringe. Something clicked in her mind and she decided to go and switched from her Syringe to her deployable Armour. When it was formed, she stood with her Armcannons ready to fire.
IF frowned for a moment, while she wasn't in the party for very long, she did have to admit for the short time that she was, that Nico was the spearhead of the group and the reason why they were able to emerge as victorious as they did. Like her, he too was level-headed and observant, as well as carried a vast arsenal of weapons and equipment, not just one weapon and a bunch of Skills. In the end, she realised that Compa was right, they had to prove their worth somehow, otherwise Nico would unintentionally make them look bad. "Alright then, we need to have a plan if we wanna win. That woman is no joke in close combat."
"You got it, Iffy!" Neptune exclaimed eagerly, grinning as she saw Nico and the woman go back to back the male blocking several side swipes from the Woman's Glaive, before elbowing the woman's back and spinning into a diagonal slash before she could recover, getting a shriek of anger from her and a Glaive swing which he jumped back to dodge. "Good thing I can go Super-mode again otherwise this fight would be even tougher on us gals. Alrighty let's do this! GOOOOOOOO!" with that, Neptune was bathed in a bright pillar of light.
Back with the two battling fighters, Nico's eyes widened when he sensed the energy coming from Neptune, and had to hold back a smug smirk which threatened to appear on his lips. "Looks like the girls are back up." He remarked as he glanced to them, noticing the pillar of light envelop Neptune which hindered all his attempts to hide his smirk. 'And she's went and activated HDD, too. Good on ya, girl.' He thought, impressed. He was glad that she and the others were okay, when he saw those wounds being inflicted upon them the way they were, he had almost lost it to his rage and attacked without thinking. That would have been a bad idea, so in a way he was grateful that the woman chose to attack first. it gave him a means to vent his anger on her without losing himself.
On the other hand, the mystery woman was not so pleased, in fact it was safe to say she was pissed judging by how she scowled in the transforming Neptune's direction. "Tch, damnit…" the mystery woman muttered under her breath as she backed away from Nico. She was cursing constantly for a few moments, almost crushing the Glaive she was using. "I should have stopped Neptune from transforming first."
'Yeah sucks to be you, huh lady?' Nico mused in his mind, chuckling darkly while he swore he felt something shake in Rebellion. 'You lost yourself to rage and thus made a callous mistake. A rookie's error, but still an easy one to make.' He mocked her further in his mind. He then took a sniff through the air, and noticed that something was odd about the woman's scent. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, while it was a hunch, and there was more than one piece of evidence towards it, he just had to confirm it first. "You wouldn't happen to know how the Banshees even got here, do you?"
The woman glared at him as she charged forth, avoiding a PHANTOM WAVE that he shot at her before swinging a reverse swing towards his head. He blocked with Rebellion though, and the two reached a stalemate, sparks flying from their electrified weapons. "Why should I tell you anything, you brat?" she snarled, spit flying from her words.
In response, Nico released one hand from Rebellion and made a bird-like pose with it. He then brought it down on the woman's dominant arm, the impact making her lose balance slightly before he raised it and viciously struck her under the chin, making her head snap backwards. He then gripped her chin with the same hand and kneed her in the stomach, making the woman gasp and cough saliva at the force of impact. Nico gripped her by her hair and raised her head, before smacking it into the ground with enough force to create a human sized crater. "Well for starters, you smell of various herbs used to make Banshee bait, something that's classified as illegal in Planeptune. You seem to also smell of a drug that's classified as a A-class Drug, due to it being for the purpose of camouflaging yourself from Banshees or other Abnormal monsters at the cost of mental degradation."
At the end of the speech, the woman managed to break free and knock him back, jumping away to get some distance. She landed in a floating position, sliding just above the ground to a halt. Raising herself to an upright position, the woman coughed a bit of blood into her hand, making her grimace and wipe it off her left thigh. "Tch, alright, the truth then." she muttered, before her lips curved upwards into a bloody smirk, her eyes gleaming with malice and sinister intent as she pointed her Glaive at him. "You're right, I did use a combination of drugs and herbs to lure the Banshee Queen here. Why I did that is none of your business, boy. It's of no concern, for you are going to die here."
Nico scowled, biting back the urge to go all full nelson on this bitch's ass. Fury roared within him like a raging furnace at her words, his grip on Rebellion's shaft increasing tremendously. 'How dare she... she's responsible for tons of lost innocent lives... so many lives ruined, families gone... loved ones will never see each other again... life has been defiled and she has been the cause... because of her, tragedy has befallen countless innocents... that woman...' he thought, clenching his teeth harshly behind his mask. "... You're so going to fucking PAY, BITCH!" He roared, and if he were a dragon he'd be spewing flames instead of cross words. Raising Rebellion, Nico got ready for round 2… for the girls at least, he was still in round 1.
When the pillar died down, HDD Neptune was ready and willing. She had her sword out and a confident smirk on her face. "I'm ready now." She commented. Her body, thanks to the Transformation, had healed her previous wounds so she was fighting at 100% capacity right now. Another feature she noticed was the black and purple futuristic Sheath that was strapped to her Waist, which also had a rifle mechanism on it. A curious smirk formed on her lips as she regarded this change. "Oh? Does HDD affect my weapon of choice in human form? Interesting…"
"Wha-?! What the hell, Nep?!" IF exclaimed with saucers for eyes as she pointed at the girl, though her quivering finger soon pointed at a… certain pair of melons as she continued. "Your like, huge! Like all over!" she exclaimed with shock, disbelief… and was there jealousy in IF's voice? Her finger was trembling at Neptune's melons, so maybe she was…
Nah, that's unlikely.
Compa was the first one to respond, though she felt a little sheepish that they hadn't told the Guild Agent of Neptune's ability earlier. "Surprise! Nep-Nep can change forms!" she proclaimed like an announcer, nervousness could be heard in her voice but there was a rising confidence in it as well, born from the fact that both Neptune and Nico were at their best against this woman. Seeing that the male was as strong as he was, and that HDD Neptune was close to his power level, it filled her with hope for the battle. "She becomes super strong and serious in this form."
"This form is what I used to fight my first Banshee. Still think I was kidding?" Neptune asked, her deeper voice having a tint of amusement at the flabbergasted expression on the brunette's features. She did feel a bit miffed during that battle when IF had expressed her doubts about fighting those creatures, but seeing her reaction to her transformation was satisfying enough.
Still in disbelief, IF could only nod dumbly. "Well, how can I not? It's harder not to believe at this point." She remarked, before quickly shaking her head and reminding herself of the situation. This was no time to be ogling Neptune's new form, or to be more specific her 'growth' this was combat and DEATHSTROKE would benefit from their help. "Anyways, what's the plan? Even with super-Nep here, we can't go in recklessly or we'll just get in Nico's way."
"I've got a plan." The womanly Neptune replied as she readied herself for an attack. "I'll keep the foe's focus on myself and Nicky, you girls attack from the Flanks, keep her off guard. It'll be hard for her to fight on so many fronts." She advised, before she flew forwards and joined the battle with the woman. The two human fighters looked to each other before nodding and joining too.
Then, they saw IT.
While they had been discussing their plans, Nico had resumed his clash with the mystery woman. "HA! Almost got you there, bitch!" the male snarled, and after several parries he spun into a back-elbow strike to her gut then swung his leg in a high kick to her head. 'Payback for treating the girls like that!'
The woman gasped at the brutal display of attacks, floating back to get some distance before pointing her Glaive at him. The Lighting gathered at the tip, and a basketball sized ball of black darkness with a sinister purple outline formed. It then was launched into a beam at him, but the male could dodge it at the last second, quickly closing the distance with Rebellion swinging towards her face.
Hurriedly, she raised her Glaive and blocked the strike and aimed a kick to his side, which was blocked by his Sword when he angled it differently. She made to thrust her Glaive at his stomach, but the male pivoted around it and swing at her Neck. Like before however with IF's weapon, a panel appeared before her neck and blocked his strike. "A barrier huh? one that blocks strikes to vital areas I'm assuming."
Hearing his analysis, the woman smirked arrogantly, hefting her Glaive over her shoulder like a gangster would with a blunt weapon like a pipe or a baseball bat. "You'd be right, boy. Your observation skills are indeed commendable. Feel honoured, for no other human has made me work this hard for my victory." She spoke, before she thrusted her Glaive forwards without warning and launched a blast of energy shaped like her weapon's tip.
Nico made to block it with his Rebellion, and while he did do it, the male's eye widened when he noticed that the woman had vanished and KI could be felt behind him. 'Oh shit, so that's what she was intending!' the male muse while trying to deflect the attack so he could move out the way…
Only for a second blast to be fired his way and go right through both his chest and stomach. Not even his armour was able to block that one.
Everything stopped as the male fell to one knee, thin strands of flesh and muscle being the only thing holding his body upright, but that wasn't for long as he fell to the ground with a THUD! The thud seemed to be louder than normal for some reason, likely because the shock would enhance the senses. His armour had already vanished out of existence, the module that spawned it having been destroyed thanks to the sneak attack. It would not be coming back, not with the fate both it and it's master shared.
IF gasped, momentarily shocked to silence as she struggled to not vomit at the brutal sight, turning her head away and closing her eyes. Although this only succeeded in keeping the outside images out, her mind disobeying her by firmly burning the image of the male's remains on the ground into her very being, which only made it worse. "Ugh!"
Compa and Neptune took it way worse than she ever did however. For a moment, they couldn't believe what they were seeing, no, they refused to believe it. they assumed it was a trick at first, that Nico had something in mind like he always did. However, seconds passed and the reality of the situation had fully sunk into their minds, hearts and souls. Their faces became pale, void of their previous skin tone as tears gathered in the corners of their eyes. Finally, their hearts couldn't take it anymore and they yelled in synchronisation, "NI-NI/NICKY!"
The mystery woman noticed their expressions, and couldn't help but let out one of her signature laughs. "Hahahahahaha! Looks like that boy's finally bitten the dust! Serves him right for challenging a being above his stature! At last, I'm one step closer my goal! Oh? What's this? Did you care that boy? Was he a toy for your own fantasies?" she remarked with a raising of her eyebrow. "How amusing, someone like you taking an interest in a lowly mortal. Though it boggles me how he managed to get his hands on that sword, but it does not matter in the grand scheme of things."
She made to gloat some more, but then something slammed into her stomach, making her gasp as she was sent flying. The woman barely got herself together in mid-air and landed on a panel that formed beneath her feet. Looking up, she barely had enough time to raise her Glaive to block A sword from slicing her in half. She almost winced at the force of the impact when their weapons clashed. 'What? Where did this kind of power come from?'
Her answer came in the form of a thoroughly PISSED Neptune. Her eyes bore into the woman's own while angry tears fell down her cheeks as she pushed the woman back and went into a spinning slash, purple energy coursing through her sword and if it were her normal one it would have shattered under the immense strain. However, her HDD weapon was made for that type of strain, so that wasn't an issue. "How dare you… take Nicky away…" she growled, her eyes gaining a haunting purple glow around them.
"Now… THIS MEANS WAR!"
