Chapter 16 - Avenir, what Assholes!

It was in the afternoon that the Party decided to stop having fun and get some work done. It was obvious that things were getting worse by the day, whatever those things were, so they needed a source of income and information about what was going on, fast. Unfortunately, the Basilicom was acting really strange, they would not let much information leak onto the local websites that Nico and the others visited. By others, that meant him and IF, since Compa and Neptune weren't the types to do extensive research on a subject. Neptune would complain that research was boring while Compa wouldn't understand the technical stuff, in her eyes anyways. it was still a marvel how she couldn't say simple words like Neptune, but spell out complex names like Planeptune, arachnophobia, and Pneumonia.

Whenever people tried to upload things onto their vlogs, profiles etc, it was always erased moments later, like someone actively wiped their accounts clean. Thus, Nico and IF couldn't get much information other than general facts like the economy going to shit and the political changes this brought. That alone brought them serious questions, questions that they wondered if they would get answers from the populace. If people would give them answers, then things would be much easier, but with the sense of dictation in the air, that possibility didn't have a realistic chance of succeeding.

Though, none of this was on their minds at the moment.

"... Okay, i'll bite. Why is Nep looking like she ate something sour and it won't go away?" IF couldn't help but ask as they walked down the streets towards the Lastation Guild. While the Basilicom had not given them much of a positive opinion, they hoped the Guild wouldn't be so terrible. Nico hoped this for his instinct's sake, so he didn't lose control again. What she was talking about, was that through the entire journey Neptune had been keeping her head low enough that only her lips were seen as she crossed her arms under her chest. her lips were set in a pensive scowl as an aura of aggression radiated from her presence.

While Compa had been concerned for the preteen, Nico on the other hand had nothing but amusement and self-satisfaction on his features. The teen paused what he was doing before, which was looking through the holographic Screens on his Bracer, to the brunette and answer her while smirking. "Well, remember the last chapter? I said i'd get revenge on Neptune for worrying me like that, so I did a little something when she wasn't looking..." he explained, though the vagueness in this left them wanting to know more.

"... He... took my Pudding..."

Neptune mumbled this to the others while refusing to look up at them, grumbling in dismay while huffing. One could see the puffed cheeks and indignant red on them even with the awkward angle. It was clear though by how the agitated aura she sported swayed in the winds that she was visibly upset by what Nico had done, and yet she couldn't refute him because he had a just reason! This... blows!

Both IF and Compa turned to Nico for an explanation, seeing how the teen was struggling to keep himself from laughing loudly as he regarded them. When he saw their questioning looks, the male explained further seeing as Neptune wasn't talking much right now. "I simply took her puddings and placed them in the Hotel's incinerator, burning it to a crisp. Neptune was only aware of it when she smelt it from the window." he explained, finally allowing a chuckle to escape his lips.

At this, both girls sweat dropped at his behaviour, making sure to take several steps away from him. With what he said, Neptune's actions and his lack of worry for them made a whole load of sense. Both of them had to admit though, while brutal in execution, it fit their opinion of the male. While he was usually stern and serious, born from his duties as a Spec Ops Agent, he had a hidden prankster side and had a strong desire to get even with someone. This had been shown when he fought that witch-like woman back in the Monster Cave when he learned of what she did with the Banshees.

Still, it didn't mean they didn't physically react if the unified flinches and grimaces were anything to go by.

"Ouchies..."

"Damn, dude... that was brutal..."

Compa spoke first, whimpering a bit, while IF finished with a slightly exaggerated voice. Nico just shrugged his shoulders, what could he say? when someone messes with him, he liked to get even. As the saying went, 'payback's a bitch'. Maybe now, Neptune would learn not to worry him like that again, for the sake of her Pudding's. Plus, they weren't technically hers since she bought them with money she stole from the group's budget. One could say this was just Karma at it's finest.

Before Nico could respond, they arrived at the Guild, and quickly headed inside. Now, Planeptune's Guild Hall had a futuristic theme going for it, with blue tiles on the floor, creamy walls with white boarders, and a creamy coloured ceiling with pillars throughout the room that had holographic screens circling around them. These screens showed important news updates on certain quests, with the quest counter at the back. There were 2 counters, one for Guild Agents and adventurers, while the other was specifically for Spec Ops Agents.

Lastation's Guild Hall was the same, only with white tiles, black walls with silver boarders, white ceiling and silver coloured pillars. Everything else was the same as Planeptune's. The basic structure of the Guild halls were the same in each nation, it was just the colours that were different as a means of supporting the CPU of the Nation they were in.

Looking around the room, Nico's eyes sharpened while his lips twisted into a frown. "Hmmm, this is strange, when I was here last this place was constantly teaming with Agents. what the hell happened here?" the male wondered. What happened last time may have something to do with it, what with all the casualties and all, but still this was worse than he thought.

"No idea." IF answered the male, without looking at him as her eyes zeroed in on the Quest Counter. "In any case, tis won't stop us from doing what we came here for, right? Let's find some work to do so we can get an idea as to what was going on." she suggested to him, the male nodding his head as the Group made their way to the Counter. They chose to go to the one that gave the normal Quests, as the male's Spec Ops Agent privileges wouldn't work thanks to his little 'suspension' thanks to the loss of his Armour.

Walking up to the counter, Nico and the others noticed that the clerk that was offering the Quests was a young woman, in her mid 20's with plain brown hair and eyes. She wore a black maid-like dress that reached her thighs, with the frills being silverfish instead of white. Because of the counter, they couldn't see her footwear, but they suspected it was something to do with heels. Right now, she was looking at some paperwork on her Desk, but when she heard their footsteps, the Clerk looked up and adopted a professional smile on her face. A far cry from what the Basilicom was like. "Welcome to the Lastation Guild. How may I help you today?"

"Howdy, lady! we'd like to see what quest's we can do, please!" Neptune responded. Apparently, the thought of doing Quests or something just as productive was enough to send her out her depression. Good to know. Or most likely, s e planned on getting Nico back for his actions later, and what did he have to say to that? Bring. It. On. The Clerk politely nodded, keeping her smile on as she put her paperwork to the side for the time being, seeing as she now had Quests to bring up.

Twisting on her Chair, the woman typed on a Keyboard behind the Desk, and in a few moments, several holographic screens popped up in front of her, each of them listed with titles, descriptions ad images. "We have a Quest shortage today, so there isn't that many. However, I'd like to recommend this one, which involves helping a factory owner with some of her jobs. It's continuous, so you wouldn't have to worry about lacking work, with how important Lastation's factories are, there will be plenty of work available to you." she advised, holding a palm under the Screen showing the Quest.

As he read the quest details while listening to the Clerk talk at the same time, Nico's mind switched on when he noticed the name of the Factory owner, and the Factory itself. 'Wow... I'm surprised SHE is still in Lastation after what happened... well, I guess I'm in for an unexpected reunion.' he thought to himself, how funny fate could be. This would be the second time he and this Factory owner would have met, so things should be interesting. Also, this was a boon for them since he knew this owner, they went way back to his previous visit to Lastation, ad he knew that she would give him the inside scoop tat the public seemed to be denied to outright.

"Alright, we'll take it, ma'am." he stated curtly, the Clerk nodding as she pressed a few keys on the Keyboard. a ringing came from his right Bracer as well as IF's phone, a message icon having appeared on them. It was the quest details they saw when opening the message, making smiles form on their faces. "Because of the nature of this Quest, there is no set time limit. Thus, you can take as long as you want to, alright?" The Clerk explained, getting nods of understanding from the Party.

With a quick thank you, they left the Counter and headed outside. Once the cold afternoon air hit their faces, Nico and IF brought the Quest details up and looked them over, their eyes like hawks as they scanned the details thoroughly. "Looks like we have to wait by the park for this person, it says we'll be meeting her at 6:00 PM sharp, and considering that it's 4:30 right now we have a couple hours to kill." IF deduced, pocketing her phone after flipping it shut. Nico wordlessly nodded his head in agreement as he shut down his Bracer.

Neptune bounced up and down on her feet, excitement shining in her eyes as she turned towards a certain direction. "Whelp, what are we waiting for?! To the park, ladies and gent!" she proclaimed, before dashing off towards the direction she had chosen.

"Uhhhhh, Neptune? that's the opposite direction you're meant to take!"

"... Huh? Oh! I uh, I knew that!"


Later, it was 6:00 PM, and the Party was at the Park where they were meant to meet their client for the job. Nico and IF had spent the time talking about what they had seen at the Guild Hall, worried looks on their faces while Compa and Neptune re-enacted a scene from an action movie. It was an... odd sight that people would see, two people being serious while the other two were being dorks. Just another day in their lives, would be what they would say in response to that. By coincidence, although Neptune snorted in disagreement at this, was the same park where Nico had explained about his instincts.

Finally, all that came to an end when Compa noticed someone walking into the park. The way she was dressed looked unlike the average citizen, no she looked more like someone who worked hard wioth heavy materials and mechanical items like machines, drills and other tools. She was a blue haired woman with goggles on her forehead standing where the meeting point was said to take place, wearing a red jump suit that was open at the chest, exposing a white under shirt and a white bandanna around her neck. Stopping her re-enactment for the moment, to the dismay of Neptune as she exclaimed that they were getting to the 'good part', Compa pointed towards her while looking to her comrades "… Is that her? The one who wants us to fight monsters?" Compa asked.

Once she had calmed down from her little rant, Neptune looked her up and down, looking surprisingly bewildered as she scratched the bottom of her jaw with an index finger. "She's kinda small… I was thinking, like a big burly man or something." She commented, remembering the Quest flyer that they got from the Guild Board. Though if she had to choose, she'd chose this any day over a big, burly old man with likely a rotten attitude. She was thinking that would be the norm around here, but fortunately she was proven wrong.

The male of the group regarded Neptune with a dry gaze. "Let this be a lesson to you, Neptune: don't count your chickens before they hatch." He said to her before looking at the woman standing at the meeting point. He then checked the profile of the woman in the Guild's archives, usually Clients must fill in forms before they can submit requests, so they can be contacted again for either the money and items or other stuff. After glancing at her and the person on the profile, Nico nodded in satisfaction, deactivating his Bracer. "Looks like she's the one alright."

Apparently, their combined comments must have drawn her attention to them, as the woman had turned her head and spotted them. "She's staring at us… now she's waving… I think she's the right person as well, Ni-Ni." Compa commented as the two parties began to walk to each other.

IF had to comment on this development as well. "I suppose she's come to the same Conclusion about us." She said, as they met up in the middle of the Park.

The woman looked the girls over, her dark yellow eyes sizing them up in her mind. "So, it's you girls? You're gonna take the work I ordered? Are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked them doubtfully. Although it was soon changed when she noticed Nico with them. "You… by any chance, would you happen to be Planeptune's DEATHSTROKE?" she questioned curiously, looking him up and down. "If so, what happened to your armour?"

"Yes, you're correct Ma'am, I am DEATHSTROKE." The male replied evenly. He then brought up his ID on his Bracer and showed it to her, his lips curving into a frown when he made to answer her second question. "Furthermore, my armour was… damaged, during a recent battle to cleanse a Banshee infestation. It will be a while before it is repaired." He explained. His tone had taken a formal, professional quality, befitting of someone of his skill level and rank as a Spec Ops Agent of the Guild.

The woman grimaced at the mention of the Banshees. "Yikes, those things are nasty. Nearly died by one's hand a while back." She remarked, clutching her right arm as if in remembrance of that day. She then shook her head to push the memories and looked at them. Her tone wasn't doubtful anymore at this point. "Well, if DEATHSTROKE is with you, I'm sure you guys are the real deal." She remarked.

"We'll be more than the real deal." IF responded just as professionally as Nico did. She had more experience than them at dealing with doubting Clients since she's been at the Guild for longer. She placed a hand on her chest as she made both the standard greeting and an introduction. "Pleased to meet you. I'm IF." She then gestured to Compa and lastly Neptune. "This is Compa, and this is Neptune." Afterwards, her arm lowered back to her side.

The woman nodded her head at them, and with one quick glance at them all, she relented. "Well, I guess that you wouldn't take it if ou weren't okay." She admitted. It was more towards herself than them though, Nico noticed. Does the state of Lastation have anything to do with it? Most likely. "My name's Chian." The woman introduced herself with a manner akin to IF and Nico's. "I run a small factory called Passé." The woman the n turned on her boots and began walking towards the exit, turning her head to call out to them. "Now, no use standing around here. Follow me."


While the party followed Chian to the Factory that she owned, it was silent. That is, until Neptune twirled to look at the male while walking backwards, her hands behind her back while her lips were set in a firm line. "Alright buster, spill it. You and that lady seem AWFULLY chummy back there. What's the deal, are you two secret lovers or something? I-" she began, only to pale when she saw the death glare Nico had sent her way. "Wh-Whoopsies! My bad! My bad!" she exclaimed in a panic, backpedalling as if that would save her from his wrath.

However, Nico saw that Compa also had a curious look on her face at the question, and there was something.. else in those orbs of hers, something dark that sent chills down his spine even though she looked like an innocent angel. Compa could make even innocence look like a slasher smile if she was mad enough. "I'm curious too, Ni-Ni. How do you ad that WOMAN know each other? Please tell me please." she asked him wit a sweet smile. Why was there an ominous shroud of darkness forming a silhouette of something with piercing red eyes behind her?

The male groaned to himself as he restrained the urge to throttle the preteen for, once again, suggesting something both rude and inappropriate and making things worse for him. Nevertheless, Nico answered curtly while putting his hands in his Trench Coat's pockets, his eyes becoming distant as old memories washed through his mind. "Several of the missions I took were requested by an associate of Chian's, I believe. His name escapes me right now, but he was close to her and her father, the apparently previous owner of Passé. I do not know why she is the owner now, but I will not question her as it is not my business. However, I do not believe that Chian was appointed the successor to the factory under happy circumstances."

The girls nodded in acceptance for that, each for their own reasons. IF wanted to know more about the history the Spec Ops Agent had with other Nations. They were idols to many Guild Agents after all, herself included. She could still remember what she had almost been like when they first met, much to her humiliation. How she had almost lost it in front of him and made herself look like an idiot. She'd rather not be like a second Neptune, thank you very much. Though she was thankful that Nico didn't see her as some generic fangirl he should avoid, but a reliable companion who was a strong, independent woman. Neptune and Compa's reasons matched each other's, both wanted to know more about the boy that they adored. They wanted to learn more about him as a person, not just the Agent that he made himself to be as.


Finally, the party arrived, but not at a factory-like setting, but at a Cafeteria one.

There was a bar at the back lined with Barstools, with multiple tables aligned for easy passage through them to the bar with adequate spacing between them that even those who were… obese, would be able to get past. the place had a restaurant feel to it, yet it also felt... homey as well, like a parent's touch had turned it into a place to raise a family. Though considering the types of drinks that were stacked in cupboards and fridges they could just see behind the Counter, it was obvious what kind of customers this place usually got. IF looked around for a moment before she gazed back at Chian with a frown. "Didn't you say you ran a factory? This looks more like a cafeteria." She asked her.

Chian nodded as she made her way to the Counter while flexing her hands, as if getting ready for something. "Yeah. My Parents run the Cafeteria. The Factory is next door. I usually help out here so I'm allowed between both." She explained while entering the space behind the counter through a lever-like doorway at the side, going to the centre. She then turned to them from the counter after looking through the selection of drinks. "You'd rather speak in a cleaner place, right? Take a seat." She said, pointing at the room around the Cafeteria.

Neptune instantly shot forwards with a massive grin on her face. "Dibs on the barstool!" she shouted, quickly sitting on one and beginning to spin around like a wheel, whooping in delight with a matching expression on her face. Everyone either chuckled or smirk at her childish antics, especially when they saw Neptune stop spinning by grasping the edge of the counter, swirl marks replacing her eyes as her head swayed in dizziness. She soon shook herself out of it, before looking to Chian. "With this cafeteria, you could order a heck load of parfaits and puddings."

Laughing a little, Chian shook her head at the childish dreams of the preteen amnesiac. "That's not gonna create Revenue, you know?" she had to reply to her with that as she raised a brow at her, smirking in amusement. She could see that the preteen would be good company to have for a laugh, something that she sorely missed these days. During times like these, a few good laughs could work wonders, which was why she liked the girl's attitude.

'…Neptune, you might be adept at this after all…' Nico thought with an appreciative gaze as he watched this spectacle with a knowing look in his eyes. 'Usually, hiring professionals like me and IF can cause unrest with the citizens, they don't know how to act around us. Neptune's fun-loving, carefree attitude makes a near-instant connection with those she meets. It's hard not to smile when she's around.' This had happened a few times in the past when Clients were rather put off by the attitudes of some of the stronger Spec Ops Agents, though it wasn't their fault either. Some of the things they see daily warrant such behaviours.

"The factory isn't enough, so we make do with the Cafeteria too." Chian turned her head and explained why her family had two sources of income instead of one, not just that but sources that were closely tied together like the Café and Factory. "With the economy the way it is, having one job isn't enough anymore. It's stressful, but the bills have to be paid somehow." she remarked, though this was with heavy with bitterness and frustration.

Now THAT caused alarm bells to ring in the male's mind. 'I remember looking up the economy in my research, it seems that more than a few people have to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet, unlike years ago when stability was assured for the citizens.' He thought, frowning to himself as he digested this information. Before, Lastation had a pretty stable economy, enough so that the citizens could live happily and comfortably. What changed to have such an impact on their lives as to make them have more than one job? Not everyone had the stamina for that kind of lifestyle, something which made him worry for the citizens here.

Meanwhile, IF decided to bring them back on track, otherwise this would take longer to get done than she'd like. "Sorry to intrude, but could you tell us the details to the work?" she requested politely. She knew that Neptune's attitude would rub off on them, but sometimes it would work too well and they'd lose track of what was really important. Plus, with Nico losing himself to his thoughts again, she couldn't exactly count on him to keep the conversation focused, so it fell to her.

Momentarily blinking, Chian regained her composure at the question and nodded to them, both. "Sure." She then walked out the Bar and towards them, a map in her hands of Lastation in her hands. She then placed it on one of the tables and showed them a red line that went through one of the Dungeons to the main City. "I need you to take care of the monster around this trade route. It used to be safe, until a large monster appeared out of nowhere. With the route unsafe, all trade has halted." She told them. They remembered the flyer on the Guild Board, how it specified a picture of what looked like a bird monster. Though the details were vague for some reason, and the flyer had said to go to the park to meet with the client there. Usually everything was put on the flyer and the Client wouldn't have contact with the agents taking the work.

'It looks like the Monsters here have advanced deeper than I thought, to be able to affect trade routes like this…' Nico thought in worry as he looked the map over. The map looked familiar to him, and after a moment of searching through his memories, he realised that it was West Wind Valley, a valley that many companies used as a trade route for various supplies they got from underground mines. He remembered having to hunt a particularly vicious Abnormal down there, one that took him 4 full days to finish off thanks to it always retreating and hiding from him, forcing the male to track it down. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any Abnormal activity there, but Nico wouldn't hold his breath. Hope for the best, expect the worst and take what comes.

Meanwhile, IF grinned as she crossed her arms and spoke in a confident manner. "Bingo." She said with a fist pump. Finally, some action. She had been wanting to test some of her new techniques out on those Monsters that Nico had shown them during training. "This may be the work we're looking for. We'll take that order." She said to the Factory owner.

Said owner sighed in relief. "Good. With Avenir killing the market, we don't need any more problems." She said, a large surge of anger swelling in her tone when she mentioned the word 'Avenir' as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

She wasn't the only one though, as Nico's eyes widened and his face lost all colour. "What?! Are you saying Avenir is responsible for everything?!" he exclaimed in shock and anger, his eyes like fiery pits of hell itself that demanded a sacrifice to fuel its hunger.

Chian looked over towards him, momentarily surprised by how he knew the name, and his response to them, but nonetheless answered his questions with no less bitterness than se had when she started this conversation. "Yeah, that's right. After what happened, those guys took a sudden boost of power and this is the result." She explained with a grimace, much to the Spec Ops Agent's anger.

Compa grew concerned when she saw the looks of intense hatred for this 'Avenir' thing they were talking about. to hermit looked like he was about to have a stroke from how much red was on his face. his teeth were gnashed and his fists were clenched so tight she could see veins bulging from them. Wondering what it was, she asked them. "Um, Chian? Ni-Ni? What's 'Avenir'?"

The question made both Nico and Chian snap out of their anger and turn their heads to the Nurse-In-Training, momentarily forgetting that they were not alone for that brief moment. Nico realised the problem and sighed at his error in judgement while Chian looked at her in surprise and disbelief. "What? You don't know Avenir?" she asked, making sure she heard correctly.

"Yes. We just arrived into Lastation today, so we don't know this "Avenir"." She explained, before she glanced to Nico who was scowling at the error in judgement as well as the name Avenir. "Though if Ni-Ni doesn't like them, then they must be people who are bad."

Chian rolled her eyes, ignoring the nickname that she had called the sole male of the group as she addressed a much bigger issue. Their lack of knowledge. "Avenir is a major company that is pretty much ruling Lastation. They make everything from goods to weapons, and is controlling the Market. People like me can't compete with them, so our products don't sell well. And it's not like they create work. I know a few who have closed shop already."

Now that she knew more about this company, Compa felt just as bad as Nico and Chian did with regards to this Company. "That's terrible! It goes against Anti-trust laws!" she exclaimed with anger. She didn't think that the situation could be so bad, but unknown to her it was about to get worse.

"Worse still," Nico began, getting their attention as he leaned against the side of a Table with his arms folded over his chest. "Is that they have been trying to branch out into the other Nations. They want to spread what they're doing to Lastation to Planeptune, Lowee and Leanbox as well." He explained, trying not to explode from the sheer amount of anger flowing through him. His fingers twitching and how veins were pulsating from his rage were a great indicator to the girls that his instincts were acting up.

However, he managed to repress it enough to speak as his gaze fell to the ground. "To them, they see it as helping make the richer rich and the poorer people poorer. Their actions are akin to a disease, spread across one land till all its life is snuffed out, then find new lands to infect." He explained, struggling to contain himself so he began taking deep breaths, trying to think of the happy smiles of his companions to calm himself down.

While he was doing that, the girls saw that he would be occupied for a time and took in this information. If they thought it was bad before, what Nico had said only made it worse. IF shook her head in disbelief, how could something like this happen? How could the leaders of Lastation, more importantly the CPU, allow this? "Didn't you try talking to the CPU? It's hard to believe she would let this go." She asked the woman.

Chian made to answer her, but the male, having managed to finally calm down some although the rage was still present in his light blue orbs, beat her to it. "Remember what we got when we first went there, IF? It's obvious that somehow Avenir anticipated Lady Black Heart's return and acted before she could do anything. They cut the beast off at the head before she could do the same to them." He told them.

"DEATHSTROKE's right. Myself and a few others tried. But Lady Black Heart was away for too long…" Chian continued as they turned their attention towards her again. She looked down at the ground as she remembered the time she and several other company owners tried to see the CPU. To tell her what was going on. "Avenir placed their goons in the Basilicom. Now they pretty much own it. Such a waste, since Lady Black Heart just returned from Celestia… Avenir won't let us near the lady at all."

All this information made the party sad and angry at the same time. The injustice they were seeing before their very eyes seemed not too different from when the Banshee Infestation plagued the Monster Cave by that witch-like woman's hands. Both of them didn't care about the lives they ruined, only interested in their own goals. Even Neptune looked affected from what they were told as she remembered what their reception at the Basilicom was like. "So Avenir IS bad! Everyone is suffering because of them, right?" she questioned, though her eyes held a burning fury in them. The others looked a little alarmed at his, save for the angry Nico. It was rare that Neptune got legitimately angry, she was usually a fun-loving, happy girl. But when she thought back to that Basilicom Staff Member, she thought of how he made Nico go crazy, and that just rubbed her the wrong way.

Chian's eyes filled with rage once more as she remembered those bastards, in her and the rest of the minds of the oppressed people anyways. "They're not just "BAD"! They're monsters!" she bellowed, growling. It looked pretty darn obvious that she did NOT like these guys, and for good reason. "Not only do they monopolise the market, but they demand harsh taxes for their services. For example, many companies have to rely on their machines for protection against the monsters while the military and Spec Ops Agents do their best to hold them at bay. As a result, we have to pay overpriced charges just to keep our backsides covered. If a company can't pay, then overnight they turn bankrupt and the people inside it are left without a job, making things even worse in the long run." she explained, both her and Nico barely restraining themselves from going berserk with how much fury they felt. Though, Nico's was far greater thanks to his condition.

"I see…" IF mumbled, frowning as she thought back to their earlier reception. It made sense now why they acted that way. "So that explains the treatment we got back at the Basilicom." in hindsight, she should have suspected as much, those men hardly behaved like followers of the CPU. They looked more interested in other things rather than what they were supposed to be doing. It made her blood boil just remembering it, while she found Black Heart to be alright with what she preached to her followers, she wasn't as angry as she would be if the CPU she DID follow had that happen to her. Though, with things being as they were, some part of her installed dread into her hard drive by commenting that something might have happened to her already.

Compa looked to the others in concern. She could sense how they were feeling, as well as see it in their eye none of them attempting to hide it one bit. She didn't like it either, thus managed to voice her concerns to the conversation. "So, I guess we can't meet the Goddess through the Basilicom then, can we?" she questioned with worry. If they couldn't see the Goddess through normal means, then how could they see her at all? They would have to find a way soon otherwise they wouldn't be able to ask her about the Key Fragment here in Lastation.

Despite her fury, Neptune perked up when she thought of an idea, one that stemmed from a recent videogame she played about Assassins fighting these religious fanatics known as tem-something. "How about we barge into where the CPU Lady Black Hearth lives?" she suggested, getting everyone's attention. "We could get info on the Key Fragment AND help Chian! What a bargain!" she shouted, grinning at her 'brilliant' plan while puffing her chest out in pride and holding her head high.

Like most times, Compa agreed with the reckless plan that Neptune proposed. "Okay, Nep-Nep! Let's go stealth and stand by Lady Black Hearth's room!" they soon made to run out and gather some equipment… somehow, when they realised that they weren't actually moving yet their legs were running. It looked like they were running along the ground but weren't getting anywhere.

"Hold on you two." Nico and IF's voices cut their attempts and the two looked behind them at the Guild affiliates. They each had one hand on their shoulders, their grip strong and effective enough for stopping them from moving. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Chian watched this with slight amusement, stifling a chuckle at the scene, but the seriousness of the situation was still dominant. "Lady Black H-E-A-R-T, not Lady Black Hearth." She said with a raise of an index finger, correcting their use of spelling the Goddess of her Nation's name. She then went and addressed another flaw in that plan, one that only IF and Nico had been aware of since it's forming. "But if you don't know where the Lady lives, the guards will just spot you."

"Well, we have to try, right?" Neptune countered confidently while Nico refused to relieve her of his hand. Compa had since stopped though and thus IF released her. "I'm more the type to try and fail instead of trying at all." She proclaimed, sending the room into silence. She then latched onto the male, electing a jealous stare from Compa. "Plus, Nicky here can use his super cool gadget thingies to track down her room no probs."

The foreign feeling on his arm was NOT something Nico was used to, and he didn't appreciate the suddenness of it either. Nico pulled his arm out her grip with an annoyed twitch of his brow. "That plan has too many flaws for it to work, and if it doesn't we'll never meet with the CPU, and then it'll make our search harder." He told the purplette. if he could, Nico would have brutally reprimanded her for her flawed plan, but right now they had more important things to worry about instead of pointless bickering.

"Also," IF continued, hands on her hips as she stared at the childish amnesiac. "If what Nico says happens we'll harm Chain and the folks more than they need. Let's focus on Chain's order first. Let's take it in steps, okay?"

Who was she kidding? Taking baby steps with someone like Neptune? She'd have just as high a chance if she tried to make her stop eating Pudding.


With their goals set in mind, the Party began their journey towards the Dungeon that the monster was said to reside in. The Trade route would be safe enough without its presence, and with regards to the small monsters Lastation Caravans were outfitted with automatic defence turrets. They were strong enough to handle the weaker monsters, but the stronger ones like this one or like the Abnormals would be too much for them. The Dungeon itself seemed to move along two sides of different mountains, with various uphill's, paths and futuristic bridges that connected them to form one long route. Of course, Nico had checked the Monster Bestiary when they were walking, so he knew what to expect and how to counter them. He had also checked for any Abnormal activity with his Motion tracker and Holomap, only to find that their luck had held out since there was no Abnormals within a 500 mile radius from the Dungeon.

However, they had little time to waste on the small fry, so he decided to bring out some mass crowd damage dealers.

"We're here!" Neptune announced, her voice echoing across the Dungeon as she bounced up and down at the entrance. She then twirled mid-jump and landed so she was facing the others, her fists raised towards her chest as she did little jumps to show her excitement. "So, this is where that monster thingy is going to appear?" she then made a motion of snapping her fingers. "Well, no monster will beat me! I'll just snap my fingers and blow 'em up!" She then noticed that IF and Compa were trailing behind her, and her impatience began to rise. "Hey-! Iffy-! Compa-! Hurry, hurry!" she called out, putting her hands in a circular motion around her mouth.

Compa heaved heavily as she trudged up the path towards the purplette, she wasn't used to mountain climbing so her stamina wasn't as great. "#HUFF# #HUFF' Nep-Nep, wait… I'm so tired…" she tried to say between her heavy breaths. IF looked down at her friend as she finally made it to the top, falling onto her hands and knees to catch her breath while lifting her heavy right arm to wipe the sweat off her brow. "#SIGH# With Nep this excited, she'll lose her spunk when we need it." she remarked.

"Who needs a last-gen yellow stamina bar?! I've got infinite stamina! Let's just wipe out the monsters in the area and report back to Chian!" The brunette rolled her eyes at the preteen's antics. Looking around, she then noticed that one of their party members was missing, the sole male of the group was nowhere to be seen. "Hang on, where the heck has Nico gone off to? I never saw him with us when we climbed up here."

"You were calling, IF?"

(Play AC DC Shoot to thrill – 3:06 TO 3:24)

They could hear some strange music in the air as a figure jumped into the air from a high mountain tip, doing a series of flips in the air before swan diving towards the ground. He landed on the ground with a loud BOOM, making a large smokescreen from the impact. It faded away to reveal the said missing party member kneeling on one leg, a small crater around him. Slowly standing up, Nico hands were occupied holding new weapons. The right one was in front and the left was behind it.

(end song)

"Hello ladies." Nico greeted with a smug grin, his eyes shining with glee at the entrance he had just made. He lowered his arms and made a two-finger salute on his forehead. "How's your trip?" he asked while moving in a slick manner towards them. Glancing over to Compa, his smirk turned to a knowing one as he walked towards her, offering a hand. "Judging by how Compa's acting, I guess it took a while."

A nod came from the brunette while she watched Nico help the panting Nurse-In-Training get to her feet. "You could say that." She answered, before her brows furrowed. "On that note, where the hell were you? How'd you get up here so fast that not even this one," she gestured to Neptune behind her. "Could see you?"

Nico made a circular motion with his 2-finger salute before he pointed towards the mountain side. "I used my parkour skills to jump from tip to tip, ending up on that top one over there. Then, it was just a waiting game for the rest of you. I originally intended to just slide down and greet you normally, but I guess Neptune here's rubbing off on me." He remarked, smirking at Neptune before he pulled an ice-cold water bottle from his Void Storage and handed it over to Compa. "Here, take this. It'll help."

Recognising it as the water that he'd given IF this morning, Compa eagerly accepted the drink and downed it, moaning in pleasure as the drink quenched her thirst and cooled her body from the sun shining above them. It felt even better with how much walking she had done, and when she finished the bottle Nico got it back before disposing it into his Void Storage.

"OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!" Neptune shrieked as she bounded over to him and stopped when she was right in front of him, starts twinkling in her eyes as her fists were in front of her chest. "Where'd you get that badass music from Nicky?! That entrance with it was freaking cool!"

The male laughed a little and rubbed her head. "Well, let's just say I felt like taking a page from your book and went a little meta. Helped calm down my instincts too." He explained with a grin, before taking his hand away earning a groan of disappointment from the preteen. She liked the feeling of his hand in her hair.

"Not to point out or anything, but let's address the elephant in the room." IF began, getting their attention as she pointed at his occupied hands. "What are those and where did you get them?"

Holding his hands up, Nico glanced at them. "Oh these?" he asked, referring to the two objects in his hands. They looked like a pair of Semi Automatic Pistols, both different and yet similar to each other. They sported Pivot-type triggers, customised sights for better aiming, ported muzzle compensators for less recoil with the barrels extending through them and ported to match the cut in said gun part. Both used reinforced slides, as well. They had bolted forward rails, double stack magazines with slam pads, golden plated releases, hammer safety switches and triggers. One however, was black and had a holed two-handed trigger guard while the other, which was white, had a rounded trigger guard. "These girls are Ebony," he raised the black coloured gun in his left hand, "and Ivory." He then lowered Ebony and raised the white coloured gun in his right hand. "Both are my standard dual handguns, they haven't let me down yet. In fact, these guys were found in the same ruins as Rebellion." He explained, before a flash appeared behind him. "Huh?" confused, Nico turned his head to look behind him and saw the hilt of said Claymore on his back. His eyes narrowed at this development. "That's new. Is there something wrong with the Void Storage transport system?"

Putting both pistols into one hand, Nico pulled the Claymore sword out the Holster and inspected it. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, as he and the girls laid eyes upon the sword. "Umm… my blade seems to have changed." He stated like captain obvious as he gazed at the blade in awe. Meanwhile, when the girls saw the blade again, their eyes nearly flew out of their sockets at the sight, and only one reaction seemed the most appropriate for this situation.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

Indeed, Nico's Rebellion did indeed have several changes from it. The cross guard had extended into a V shape instead of gripping the ribs. The skull, instead of being half human half demon, had turned into a demonic horned screaming skull. The spike crown at the bottom of the hilt had split open into separate like a makeshift crown. Fortunately, the HF technology seemed to have remained, something that made him sigh with relief. HF tech was useful, but expensive too. Lots of his arsenal was HF based, making it clear how much he had spent on it.

"Okay, now THIS is interesting." Nico muttered as he examined the blade. The Claymore's skull stared back at him, and for some reason the feel of the weapon gave an instinctive, sinister feeling, like it would eat you alive just by looking at you. The entire weapon radiated power that it didn't in its previous form. Memories flashed in his mind, memories of both his DPU form and the time he was learning about Rebellion in the ruins. "Well, I guess this is because Rebellion's a magic sword. A DEMONIC Magic sword. When I transformed back at the Monster Cave, this sword must have somehow tasted the energy and unleashed its full power." Nico hypothesised, remembering several glyphs in some of the ruined rooms he'd visited and fought various creatures in.

Apparently, this Sword and the other weapons that he had found there were demonic in origin, as the glyphs on the walls foretold anyways. They wouldn't be able to use their full power unless their wielder had demonic energy or something, which considering how he had been a normal human at the time, was pretty major. Still, they had bound themselves to him for some reason, and only now did the male think that maybe they saw his potential for being a demonic energy user. Nevertheless, looked like he could use Rebellion at full power now, something that sounded VERY promising for the future.

With that out of the way, the male strapped Rebellion to his back to send it back to his Void Storage, before reequipping his Dual Pistols Ebony and Ivory in their respective hands. The sounds of growls and snarls were heard behind them, and past him the girls could see that there was a mix of 'Cardbirds' which looked like carboard boxes with small legs out the bottom with small wings out the sides, red and gold crowns, and facial features, as well as 'Sunflowerys' which were sunflowers that walked on 2 legs and had smiley faces on their cores.

"Whelp, looks like we got ourselves a welcoming committee." IF commented as her Qatars slid out her sleeves and into her waiting hands. She held them in her signature stance, ready for fighting. "We'll deal with these guys then head to where the monsters supposed to be, got it-"

Before she could finish and the others could get their weapons out, Nico aimed his pistols and fired without even looking where he was firing at. The bullets flew fast and true, hitting all the monsters in their heads with deadly accuracy, each one having their heads implode from the impact. Several flashes occurred behind him as he spun Ebony and Ivory around his index fingers by the trigger-guards before sliding them into their holsters. They didn't disappear back into his Void Storage though. "There, problem solved."

The male then turned on his heels, walking deeper into the Dungeon while missing the slack jawed expressions from the other girls. Sensing that they weren't moving, Nico turned his head and tilted it so he could see them. "C'mon girls, we gotta get moving that monster ain't gonna kill itself." His words snapped them out of their dazes as he turned back to continue his trek into the Dungeon.

"is it just me or are those Handguns OP?" Neptune asked as she shuddered. The shudder was of excitement not fear though, as she saw what he just did to be freaking badass. Though considering the fanfics that this was, she guessed that it was to be expected. She kind of liked the badass OC's, since in cannon the ladies were all badasses in their own way, so it felt good to see a male OC have that same level of epic going for him.

She wasn't the only one who had that opinion though, as the young Nurse-In-Training made apparent as she gazed at the male's back with an admiring shine in her eyes. "Ni-Ni's always so cool when he fights. He doesn't even realise he's being cool sometimes." Compa commented at his behaviour. It was honestly very manly whenever Nico made himself look cool at least, in her opinion. He surely had a flair for the dramatic that went with his prankster side, and seeing it like this made Compa one very happy Compa.

IF rubbed her face with her hands. Nico was quickly becoming as childish as Neptune was, although she couldn't help but admit that it did look pretty cool. "Well, at least he saved us some time. Though if he keeps this up he'll get all the EXP." She remarked, much to Neptune's horror as she turned to the others. "C'mon ladies, lets catch up, Nico's not going to show us up, is he?"

"Nope!" both girls replied in Unison as the trio dashed off to catch up with their resident male Badass, who was already engaged with several 'Pal Shells' which were basically open Seashells with blue crystals between them, a pair of claws floating beside them and a pair of beady yellow eyes peering out. Though they were dealt with swiftly by his Pistols.


Fortunately for the girls, Nico didn't do that ALL the time, when they caught up to him, the male had switched to using Skills like his PHANTOM BLADES and his PHANTOM WAVE. Neptune had commented once that he was an overpowered badass, and that the author was doing a good job of making his OC badass, much to the confusion of the others though they attributed it to Neptune's randomness and paid it little mind. Though they did have to admit that Nico had the badass theme going on.

While they walked along a path leading to a large open area platform ahead, Nico felt just about ready for anything. Ebony and Ivory were perfect for clearing out smaller, weaker Monsters, though the girls had told him to leave some for them so they didn't feel useless, which was understandable considering they were supposed to be a party.

"#HUFF# #HUFF# Iff…y… W…ait… So… tired…" A voice made him pause mid stride. Using his foot, Nico pivoted around to see that Neptune had slowed down considerably compared to the rest of the group. Unlike in the beginning of their dungeon raid she was no longer as confident as before, now slouched over and dragging her Murasama across the ground, the weapon creating sparks along the ground. she was heaving and panting like an old man who had the unfortunate pleasure of walking through a Sahara Desert without water. A small, smug smirk formed on his lips at the sight, 'Heh, you're eating those earlier words, aren't you, Neptune? Looks like IF called it.'

The rest of the party stopped to turn and see Neptune in her sorry state. IF released an irritated sigh at the sight while Compa looked more sympathetic towards the preteen. "You've got to be kidding." She muttered while shaking her head at the ground. raising it high again, she aimed a frustrated stare towards her. "I thought you said you had infinite stamina!" Now resorting to using Murasama as a walking stick, Neptune reached the top of the slope she was traversing, heaving even harder. She stopped to catch her breath, before looking dully towards the brunette. "Well, yeah, but… there's too many slants and slopes here…" she complained.

"Hmmmm, you DO look tired there, Neptune..." Nico commented thoughtfully, a hand on his chin as he innocently gazed at te preteen, said preteen looked at him like he was a god, which was technically true. That is, until a second later when his innocent façade shattered to reveal the devilish smile on his lips, his eyes gleaming with sinister intent as he looked upon the preteen. "Maybe I should increase your training when we get the chance, huh?"

"NEPU!"

It looked like IF was near her breaking point with the excuses that Neptune pulled out of her ass, but before she could blow up on the poor girl, Compa fell onto her backside and used her arms as support. They ached, but not as much as her legs and feet did. "My tootsies hurt." She whined, looking down at her feet while sighing as the weight was taken off them. her eyes then looked back to the brunette Guild Agent with pleading in them while she let out a slight whimper. "I can't take a single step anymore. Iffy, let's take a rest."

At this point, IF couldn't take it anymore as she released a frustrated groan from her lips. Seriously, how bad were these girls? If Nico training them increased their stamina, she would happily let him do it so this idiocy didn't happen again. "Oh, come on, you girls can do better." she spoke with an exasperated tone, her arms crossed under her chest as she gave them disapproving glares. "Hasn't Nico's training done nothing for you? Do you girls WANT him to go harder on your asses?"

If she realised what she said, she'd see how that could be taken out of context very easily. But thanks to her irritation and their exhaustion, none noticed or cared.

Looking at the Nurse-In-Training, Nico felt a pang of sympathy explode inside his gut. Compa hadn't had the need to travel as much as he had, nor did she travel as much as IF. The total amount of distance she was used to was between her house and the Nursing School in Planeptune. She could stretch it to the Virtua Forest, but her limits were non-push-able beyond that point, especially so soon into the journey. He gave a sigh as he too decided to take a break, though for their sake since he had stamina to spare. "They're both exhausted, and they're civilians IF. Despite becoming adventurers, they haven't the experience you and I do, so let's humour them for now. Plus, we've covered a heck load of ground so we can afford one."

His reasonings served to be the last attack on the walls known as Fort Iffy as she gave a reluctant groan. She could see his points there, they had cleared a lot of monsters at this point at a quicker pace than expected thanks to Nico's Ebony and Ivory. If anything, he was the one who deserved a break since he had done more work than even herself. "#SIGH# Oh well, let's take a break then."

Hearing that they were going to take it easy, a surge of joy swept through the two girls. "Rest… finally… ya…y…" Compa tried to cheer, but she was too spent as she fell onto her back and began to rest her weary body. An idea shot into Neptune's head as she fell to the same position as her friend. Sitting back up, she put her hands in front of her and crossed her legs like a child sitting on the floor listening to a teacher telling a story. "Ooh! Since we're resting, let's have a snack! I got pudding!" she proclaimed, pulling out said sugary treat from the pouches of her hoodie. She held it up towards the sun like it was a gift from the Goddesses. "I bet the pudding will taste perfect with the wilderness around us!"

Nico chuckled as he saw this, it was to be expected at this point for Neptune to sneak pudding onto a Quest. She must have had some in her Inventory before he went and incinerated the rest. He mentally noted to learn how to hack into Inventories next time he had to exact righteous vengeance, but for now, he'd let her have this one. A part of him wondered if she planned this whole thing in advance, bu he soon denied it. Neptune and planning hardly fit together. Just when him and IF were about to join them… "

SQUAWK! SQUAWK!"

The sounds of squawking could be heard in the distance. More squawks were heard, each one getting louder and louder. This meant that the cause was getting closer and closer to them, while Nico's Motion tracker quickly went off to alert him to the beast's location. Both Nico and IF stood up and spun towards the direction the sounds came from, her Qatars drawn and his Rebellion unsheathed. At first, IF thought that it was just another minor monster, but then she looked about the area. She hadn't done so before now, and the geography looked oddly familiar to her. "Wait… wasn't this the place where the monster Chian described appears?" the brunette questioned.

"Huh?" Soon enough, a creature landed before them, jumping into a hovering motion. The creature looked to be a cross between machine and bird, a Phoenix to be specific. It had a metal body, with several tail feathers and 2 long tendrils coming out the back. It had robotic legs, feet, wings and metallic armour over its head. The rest of it was feathers and flesh. the male identified it as a 'Hraesvelgr' based off the bestiary and Chian's request.

While Nico, IF and Compa were surprised by these turn of events, Neptune could only stare dully at the monster. She did this without uttering a single sound, blinking twice, then again like an owl. Turning to the brunette with the speed and motions of a robot, ironic considering where she was, she spoke in a low, but disbelieving tone. "Um… Iffy? This monster with the Non-colour variant design is…"

"Yes, it must be the monster Chian mentioned."

While IF did confirm that with a nod, Neptune however, didn't or didn't want to think so, so she shook her head while laughing. "Oh, come on, Iffy! You think I'd fall for your tricks?" She remarked, thinking his was a joke and even laughing at the supposed 'joke'. Sadly for her, at her thinking it wasn't real, the monster squawked angrily, flapping its wings rapidly while kicking the air with it's claws.

AT this point, the brunette had had it with the preteen's babble as she went over and smacked her upside the head. "Nep, stop your denial. This is the monster Chian asked us to get rid of." IF said, all amusement gone from her voice and replaced with utter seriousness. Her annoying habits were grating on her nerves and she wanted to get his over with quickly. She was surprised Nico had held out as long as he did with these two. How had he done this while remaining sane?

Compa moaned in protest, not wanting to get up yet. In a bid for hope, which was sad if one thought about it, she looked to the monster and addressed it as if it were a person. "Mr. Monster? Can you wait? We were trying to take a break here…"

'I'm sure that'll not work…' Nico thought while readying his demonic Claymore, which thrummed with HF Electricity as well as red crackling demonic power. 'I'll test this baby out, see how it goes and what it can do…' Nico added as an afterthought. Neptune slowly got to her feet, her grip on Murasama's hilt tightening till her fist was white. Her hair shadowed her eyes as a faint purple aura manifested around her. "And Just when I was about to bite into this tasty pudding…" She was then engulfed in a light pillar as she activated HDD. When it vanished, a livid-looking older Neptune took her place. her HDD sword was unsheathed with the sheath at her waist, both radiating an intense aura of malice and KI towards the beast. "You shall pay! Feel the wrath and agony deserving of tainting pudding time!"

"Nep-Nep looks really angry. And it looks worse now that Nep-Nep's changed." Compa remarked, watching the livid Neptune face off against the Hraesvelgr. "It looks like anything pudding related can jolt her. Good, she's ready." IF commented like a mad scientist, smirking in eagerness to get this done. "Well, pudding doesn't make me ready. I'm still tired…" Compa informed, still feeling the drain from earlier.

Turning towards them, the transformed Neptune cried out. "Compa, Iffy, Nicky!" Stop talking and let's beat the hell out of this monster!" her words thundered through the surrounding areas, showing the passion and rage within them. "So… tired… #sob#" Compa muttered as she heaved her Syringe into a combat position.

Now IF was starting to feel bad for the girl. She began to realise what Nico's earlier words meant to the Nurse-In-Training. "Come on, Compa. Let's finish this and get rested after, okay?" it took a short few seconds, but the teary Compa nodded as they charged in unison.