Okay... what happened while I was sleeping?
Last chapter got more views than most the other chapters when I first uploaded them. It was uploaded at least at 3AM, and 7 hours later when I awoke, it's already at over 60 views? What the heck?
And why is it that last time I checked this fic was at 8100 or so views, now its over 8600? Jesus Christ! You guys must like my fic or something.
Well, this chapter's going to be mostly relaxing, as the chapter says. The last chapter was more on the drama side than I would have liked, but at least it wasn't action packed like the last few chapters. So, consider this and the last chapter a little break from that stuff.
Now then, on with the show!
Chapter 38 - mentality, relaxing and stuff
That night...
Nico's eyes shot wide open, a low gasp escaping his lips. His eyes glanced from side to side in a mounting panic, realising that he wasn't where he remembered being before he fell asleep. The space he was in, was a blue sky, with a mirror-like floor down below. The clouds in the sky were reflected off the floor's surface, and the male happened to be sitting on a chair, the only thing that was in this wide, open space. There was literally nothing else as far as the eye could see.
This wasn't the bedroom he was in, no, this place wasn't that at all. Where was he? Last thing he could remember, was him falling asleep in the Hotel room, and next thing he knew, the male was here. There was no breeze, there was not even a single spec of oxygen in this space, so how was he breathing? His lungs acted normally, taking in something imaginary and still functioning perfectly.
Looking down at his hands, Nico saw that they were still normal, that there was nothing wrong with them, He could faintly make out the metal straps that held his bracers over his arms from within his Trench Coat... wait a minute.
Why was he in formal wear, when Nico was in his PJs when he went to bed? He was certain he had changed before falling asleep!
'Ugh, so many question, so little things to answer them...' the male groaned, holding the side of his head like a drunkard having a BIT too much alcohol. All these questions were giving him a headache, it would be best if he tried to stop thinking so much for a moment to get his head on straight. Last thing he needed right now was his brain trying to burst out his cranium.
Lowering his hand, Nico closed his eyes and tried taking deep breaths. In... out. In... and out. Nico repeated this process, his mouth forming an 'O' shape as he repeatedly inhaled and exhaled. It felt a little weird, doing this in a place where there was no oxygen and not dying of suffocation, but hey, since when has Neptunia fics ever tried to adhere to physics?
Wait... physics?
Suddenly, the answers became clear to him, making a reluctant, yet relieved sigh escape his lips. 'A... A dream. This is a dream. But... I don't usually have dreams, unless...'
Now there was a small panic in his gut, a rising sense of fear and dread. Now, everything didn't look the same in his eyes. Nothing changed about the 'Mirror World' as he was now dubbing it, but how he perceived it did. He suddenly saw this world as a reflection of himself, a face behind the Mask. This world, this Mirror World, it felt so... familiar, to him, like he had been here before... No, he HAD been here before... he just didn't remember where. For the life of him, he couldn't freaking remember!
Damnit, why were dreams so annoying?
"You shouldn't be doing this..."
The sound of a soft, child-like voice spoke to him. The voice had a hint of cracking within it, like it was one step away from breaking into a sobbing fit. The male turned around, his eyes furiously looking for the source of the voice, but there was next to nothing around him. Nothing save for that chair...
That suspiciously NOT empty chair.
'Okay, what the hell?' Nico wondered, stunned as he lay witness to someone sitting on the chair that he once occupied just a couple seconds ago. It was a child, a young boy with blood stained red hair, almost like he had come out of a horror movie. He couldn't make out his eye colour just yet, but for a moment, he swore he saw a flash of dark, cold blue in there for just a brief moment. They were a shade darker than his, but that may be to do with his age, it has been proven that 10 to 15% of those who are of Caucasian descent have a chance to change their eye colour. This is due to them usually having lighter eye colours. Though if eye colour changes were to happen drastically, medical assistance was advised, as eye colour changing can be a warning of certain disease. He read up about that once when he found one of his clients to have two different eye colours.
The male cut himself from that train of thought before he lost himself to that train of thought. He had to focus on the current issues at hand: the Child, and this Mirror World. Slowly, he walked over to the child, whom was curled into a ball on the chair oddly reminiscent to how Neptune looked when she was brooding about her being a Goddess. Legs tucked into his chest, arms around them, head buried into his legs, the works. Yet somehow, THIS felt different than back then... like way worse, and way more impactful.
"You shouldn't be doing this... have you forgotten, already?"
He heard the child speak, his words muffled by the fact that his head was buried, but to Nico, those words were as clear as crystal, like they were something that he had burned into his brain at some point. His eyes watched with wariness as he observed the child more closely. The child wore loose clothing, well, more like what USED to be clothing. Judging by the white colour marred with greyish stains, Nico figured that his clothes were once that of a standard patient's clothes in a hospital. However, they had lost that freshness, that purity, for some time it seemed. It was almost like this child never changed his clothes, yet remained stink free.
How odd.
"Uhhh... not quite sure what you mean there, kid." the male spoke slowly, not sure what to say at first. He wasn't sure why, but something told him that deep down he should know this kid from somewhere, like he should have always known. He didn't know what it was, and it was starting to mildly irritate him, all these questions and so little answers, and yet, it also felt like he KNEW already, that he was just deluding himself. "What is it that I'm supposed to not be doing?"
"... You do not remember us, do you?"
This time, Nico blinked owlishly, confusion etched onto his features as he watched the child slowly raise his head. It gave him chills, for while the child moved, there were these cracking sounds coming from his neck, like he had stayed in that position for so long that it ad been frozen onto him. The child aimed it's cold blue eyes at him, his mouth set into a deep frown, one of confusion and... disappointment?
"You do not recall the oath you swore... on their graves...? No, we do not remember, yet we are constantly reminded of it. We need to remember, we need to remember... remember... NOW!"
In an instant, everything became warped. Blood suddenly seeped into the skies, spreading across them as the clouds darkened to an abyssal black. The floor below suddenly began to churn, becoming the surface of a chaotic ocean during a massive hurricane. The ocean began to bubble as the chair was no longer anywhere to be seen, as if it had been swallowed by it. The waves roared like anguished screaming civilians with a mix of animalistic shrieks of outrage, before dozens of long water trails instantly erupted from deep within the ocean itself, rising up around him and restraining the male.
"Gah!"
Nico gasped as he struggled to break free. He tried to reach for his Bracers, but the trails kept them apart. He tried to don his armour, but the trails stopped that too. Plus, for that moment, he had forgotten that he had lost it in the battle against Arfoire.
'No... I'm being...!'
Still, his instincts guided him as he struggled in vain to break free, the trails slowly sinking into the water. Ever so slowly, Nico's struggles began to quicken, his heart pounding within his ribcage as panic settled into his mind. Yet, despite everything, Nico was pulled into the waters below...
Never to come out again.
The following morning was an… interesting one, to say the least.
#GASP#
Nico's eyes shot open as a silent gasp escaped his lips. His breathing laboured, his forehead sweating profusely, Nico panted heavily as he tried to calm himself down. He slowly got his breathing back to normal, enough so that the weights on his chest were not disturbed ad once again retook their places on his abs...
Wait, what?
The male did his best to look downwards, and saw that, to his slight dismay, both Compa and Neptune had slept on top of him through the night, both of their heads on one of his pecs. "Gah! Wha-wha-what?!" he shrieked, trying to move his arms. However, not only did they have their legs entangled with his own, but they also lay atop him in a manner that made his arms numb, with little blood pumping through them,
'What the hell?! why the fuck are these guys sleeping in my bed?!'
This, this must have been a continuation of what happened before! Holy shit, he had hoped he had dreamt it, that Neptune and Compa HADN'T kissed him like they did. Turned out, that hope was a false reality, and the true reality was that it had happened.
As if to make things even more complicated, the male had to tense, freezing every inch of his movement when he felt the two girls begin to stir, his ears picking up their strained grunts and groans as their consciousness awoke from their slumber. Compa was the first to wake up though, as Neptune just slumped back onto her previous spot. Luckily for his arm, he had managed to move it out the way so that she wouldn't constrict it's blood flow again.
"Mmmmmm...umph... oh, is it... morning, already...?" the sleepy Compa droned, rubbing one of her eyes as she shifted so she was sitting beside him. She threw her arms into the air and stretched them, making a 'munya' sound as she felt the pent up stress from sleep leave her body. "Ahhhh, that feels so good..." a low moan escaped her lips as she did this, unaware of the male below her. It didn't last long though, because Compa lowered her arms and had her eyes opened, glancing down to notice him. Instead of blushing or getting flustered like a normal girl would in this situation, especially someone in her position, Compa merely smiled merrily and waved. "Hi there, Ni-Ni. Good morning!"
Nico, who was still flabbergasted about what just happened, took a moment to make a response. He blinked several times, just to get his head screwed on tight, before he levelled a stern gaze towards her. "Hello, Compa. Mind telling me why you and this idiot are in my bed?" he asked her, pointing to the purplette with his freed right arm. She was still in the process of sleeping, having fallen back into slumber. Now, she was also drooling too. The nerve of her!
Glancing towards the preteen and seeing how Neptune was now snuggling onto Nico's chest with a dreamy, dopey grin on her face with a spec of drool coming out her mouth, the young Nurse-In-Training couldn't help but sweat drop awkwardly, chuckling in a similar manner. "Well..." she began to say, only to find that even she didn't know the full details. "It was all quiet and peaceful when I snuck in, so I'm not sure..."
Was it wrong to be nervous when she openly admitted to sneaking in with no shame whatsoever?
"You really should have worded that differently..." Nico stated dully with a deadpan expression. If one wanted to imagine his expression better, it would be the 'l_l' emoji, getting a sheepish giggle from the Nurse-In-Training. In hindsight, he should have expected something like this, because when they were little, Compa made it a habit to sneak into his bed almost every night, especially when there was a thunderstorm outside. It made for some pretty... eventful mornings for the first few times, then he had gotten used to it.
Now that they were teens though, it was a completely new ball game...
Their conversation soon was enough to throw Neptune out of her slumber, a displeased moan escaping her lips as she stirred. "Ugh, what's with all the racket? Can't I get 13 more hours of bliss here?" She whined to nobody in particular, electing sweat drops from both Nico and Compa. The two watched as she lifted herself upwards, going into a sitting position as she rubbed her eyes away. She let out a small yawn, putting her hand over her mouth before stretching in a similar manner to Compa. Only, she didn't do the 'munya' at the end.
When she lowered her arms, Neptune noticed that she was the target of several stares, making her blink for a moment to get herself into composure. "Huh? What's with the stares you guys?" she asked them in confusion, before she noticed that one of them belonged to a certain displeased Spec Ops Agent. Neptune gave a drowsy smile, having just woken up could do that to you. "What's up, Nicky? Have any wet dreams about me?" She then looked down, and noticed something else, something that made her smile widen to a mischievous level. "Ohhh, is that your morning wood there? Lemme see, lemme see!"
Nico's jaw dropped as he saw Neptune attempt too pull the covers off him to see his... well, stuff. "Oh no, you don't young missy!" he yelled quickly snapping to action as he slapped her hands off the covers and pulled them onto him again. This displeased the purplette, resulting in a tug of war with the covers being the quilt, both of them giving it their all. It was amazing that the cover hadn't been torn yet, with the amount of stress it was under.
"Lemme see, Nicky! It's a wifey's job to look after her Hubby's needs!"
"Like hell it is! And what's this about me being your 'Hubby' crap?!"
"Of course you're my hubby! Hubby is Hubby!"
"How the hell does that make any sense?!"
Compa tilted her head, she was absolutely confused and didn't know what was going on anymore. She just watched them fight for the cover, or to be more precise, the sight of Nico's Manhood in the morning, like an innocent child. "Huh? Nep-Nep is more lively this morning than normal. Huh, Ni-Ni must inspire her..." she muttered under her breath. However, her mind fully processed that statement and quickly set a competitive fire in her. "No way, Nep-Nep! I'm not letting you see Ni-Ni Jr!" she yelled, quickly glomping onto the purplette.
"Awww, come on, Compa! Don't tell me you're not at least a little curious!"
"Yes, thank you Compa!"
"Besides, I've seen it myself, so I'm fine!"
"Yeah, she's- wait, what?!"
"Ohoho?! Looks like I need to one up my rival, huh? Well then, Nep it on!"
This would be one eventful morning, huh?
After that whole issue was settled with Nico declaring that they needed to get moving, Compa and Neptune eventually, albeit reluctantly, agreed and left to get changed, teasing him and pointedly glaring at each other with sparks flying, though Nico had been able to stop them from going to blows, they each made their way to the hotel Lobby, where a smirking IF was waiting for them. When she noticed them approaching, she closed the Phone she was using and put it on her belt, before walking over to them with her smirk showing just how much she knew of what's going on. "Had fun, you three?" she asked them, noticing Nico's weary movements while Neptune and Compa looked more energetic in comparison.
"Yeppers, I was fun sleeping with him, I'll say." Neptune replied cheerily, much to the shock of the male in question as he flushed furiously at what she was implying.
Compa pouted as she grasped onto one of Nico's arms. "Nep-Nep, we didn't do anything like that, we just slept together with him." She explained, although her words weren't that much better as they meant technically the same thing. This caused Nico to become a furnace as several spectators, mainly males, gave the male dirty jealous looks.
"Compa, you're just making it worse when you say it like that!"
While watching those three was an entertaining sight, IF new that this wasn't the time or the place. She quickly pulled the two off him, mentally thanking her BOW powers for enhancing her physical abilities. "Alright, settle down you two. I already know what you mean, I saw you guys this morning. Anyways, we have most of the morning and afternoon to ourselves, but in the evening we have to go see Noire at Chian's Café for dinner. I got a text from her, one that says she'll meet us there once her work is done for the day."
Compa tilted her head in confusion and concern at the message, it worried her that they were taking advantage of Chian's place for their meetings, and she made sure the others knew her thoughts on the matter. "Are you sure we should be taking advantage of Chian like that? She's in the hospital and we're using her Café…" She trailed off into silence. It didn't feel right eating the foods of someone who was recovering after being injured. To her, it was like stealing the foods of one of her patients, something that was a major no-no to her.
IF, however, waved off her concerns as she proceeded to explain. "No worries there, Noire said she had paid Chian a visit, and besides checking up on her she got us permission to use the Cafe. Now then, let's go before Nep's stomach roars." She told them, turning on her heels and making for the doors to the outside.
However, just before she could reach the door's handle, IF and everyone inside the lobby heard a Lion's roar for a moment, making a small panic as they feared a monster was nearby. However, Nico, Compa and IF knew the source, and aimed dry looks at Neptune who was rubbing the back of her head and laughing nervously. "Ehehehe… looks like my tummy agrees, Iffy. Onward, to Passé! If we have breakfast there, we don't have to worry about paying bills!"
'We're gonna have a drop in our credits, aren't we?' That was what both Nico and IF thought in unison, unknowing to them, as they all left the Hotel to go to the Café that they had saved from Ganache's little, 'attack'. If Neptune did drain the supplies for food down, they would have to fork over Credits to refill the stocks.
Wandering the streets, Nico and the others looked around to see the damage that the Southern District of Lastation had taken. The buildings were in ruins, some having collapsed during the clean-up. Civilians made sure to stay away from those areas as construction workers worked to clean the streets and repair the buildings. Diggers and vehicles rode through these sites, filling the air with the sounds of their motors and clanking metal. These were also accompanied by the sounds construction workers made with their tools. it would no doubt be taking a while for the city to recover from this tragedy.
"These people… things look even worse than when we first came here…" Compa noted sadly as she glanced at a pair of children sitting on a Bench, both looking like the whole world had crashed down on them. Literally. Their eyes looked lifeless, like all the joy that should have been there had been snuffed out as they hung their heads and leaned on each other for support. Looked like they needed it too. Their bodies were covered in grievous wounds that looked like they came from something fallen on top of them. There was a pile of rubble nearby with many workers surrounding it, so the picture became grimly clear.
Very grim indeed.
IF nodded in agreement, scowling at the sight as... unpleasant memories flowed back into her mind, memories that she would rather have kept buried within her past. "Yeah, I feel you, Compa. These people... they look like they're just fractions of their former selves. It doesn't help that the culprits will have escaped justice... this time, at least." she remarked, scowling when she remembered the broadcast that happened shortly after the Infection was silenced. When she first heard it, she had thought she would smash her phone to pieces on the ground in a blind rage. It was a major show of the injustice plaguing Gamindustri, as well as the things she hated about people in general. How they use the nation for their own game, and use others as their scapegoats, pinning blames on them when they themselves were the true culprits. Fortunately, Nico had requested that her Phones be equipped with reinforced cases, for her BOW strength.
The mood had, which was once happy and delightful, decreased when the Party saw the children and how they had likely been just rescued from certain death. But with the absence of the parents, it looked like death would have been preferable to them. It was even worse for them since they knew the cause behind the tragedy they were seeing, and it didn't escape them that this may be the same for more people, people who had lost their families, friends or lovers.
"Man, this is definitely not in the main rebirth series." Neptune said as she gazed around at all the sorrow-filled expressions everyone had on their faces. Although she couldn't blame them, Neptune had to make sure something was done about all the doom and gloom was dealt with… somewhat. "They need some more pudding!"
IF shook her head at the preteen, seeing some of the passers-by giving them weird looks as if to say, 'is that girl alright or something?' she was mildly glad that they hadn't said it out loud, otherwise this would have been even more humiliating. "Nep, not everything revolves around pudding you know. Everyone's lost something import to them here, it's not the time for jokes."
Nico stared at them for a moment, before turning his head to face the direction they were walking in. his teeth gritted tightly to the point where they would have cracked under the pressure with his fists clenched tightly. "This tragedy shouldn't have happened… after the Racoon City incident I'd vowed to never let this happen again…" he cursed himself, looking down at the ground with pure fury boiling inside of him, almost threatening to roast him alive. It took him a minute to realise that his hatred was affecting both IT and his demonic energies, for which he tried to calm down to keep them in control.
Help came in the form of IF patting him on the back, getting his attention. When he looked to her, he saw that she had a serious look to her that fit the usual IF he knew, although behind her serious façade Nico could see that she was angry too. "This isn't your fault here, Nico. You did what you could to prep the city for this disaster, you made sure casualties were minimal. Those that died fought well, but their deaths will not be in vain. This is Avenir's fault, and they will get what's coming to them." She told him, her hand clenching his shoulder with a comforting squeeze.
With her words repeating themselves in his mind, Nico forced himself to calm down. Both his Demonic Energy ad IT returned to stability, much to his relief. He had just gotten control over one power, he didn't need the other one to act up, especially since nobody in his group knew about it. With a final exhale, Nico found it safe to speak. "Well, I guess… at least we can take solace that the outbreak was only limited to one District. Though I guess that makes sense since Avenir doesn't want to end up like Umbrella."
Now that their male party member had calmed down, the Party resumed their walk to Chian's Café.
While they were walking, Neptune and the others were looking around the mostly destroyed southern District, taking in what they could to reaffirm themselves of their goals to bring Avenir to justice. It wasn't that hard, considering all the loss, anguish, and desire for retribution they saw everywhere they went. Unfortunately, they couldn't do anything right now, since Avenir had practically covered all its bases for now, but the silver lining was that they would have to be careful for the time being, since Avenir still was pending investigation by the military. Some people had reported Ganache being seen with a Killachine causing chaos in the midst of everything, and while those people had strangely 'disappeared' the damage had been done.
"Hey guys, um, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
Compa grabbed everyone's attention, and when they saw her pointing in the direction of something, they looked to see what it was. To their surprise, it looked to be a small restaurant, one slightly smaller than Chian's Café, called 'Black Sanctuary'. They each had their own little chuckle at the homage to Lady Black Heart, or in their case Noire, there. It would be seen for a while, since Noire helped in the defence efforts and the clean-up after the attacks were stopped.
"Oooooh! a Karaoke bar!" Neptune cheered in excitement, deciding to drop the matters of Avenir for a moment. She bounded over to the observation glass and planted her face on it with her hands on either side of her head. Peering inside, the purplette examined the interior of the Karaoke bar, excitement and joy shining like searchlights in her eyes.
It was only moderately filled, with few seats remaining. Fortunately, there was one set of seats that they could use near the back, as the room was set up where she could see everything as if it were a vertical line. On one side was the seats, with multiple people chatting away, while on the other was the bar-like counter with the Karaoke box at the back of the room.
Turning to look back at her friends, Neptune skipped over to them with her smile never faltering in the slightest. "We should go in! C'mon, please? Pretty-pretty please?" she begged, extending the last part of her sentence with her hands pressed together as if for a prayer. "The readers are going to want some down time before we start the action rolling again, so why not? We deserve a break every now and then."
Nico had to admit that she did have a point. The last few days were rather hectic for them, and thus they didn't get a lot of down time. Nevertheless, he wasn't totally convinced that this was a good idea, to be taking it easy when lives were still at stake. "I'm not so sure..." he tried to say, only to trail into silence as he awkwardly rubbed the side of his jaw with an index finger.
Compa pouted in Nico's direction. While she didn't like working with a rival for Nico's heart, she did agree with Neptune's point of view. Plus, she was also quite tired of having to work so hard without breaks. She joined Neptune, standing beside her and mimicking her poses. Her eyes shined with pleading lights towards the teen, who nearly recoiled at the sight. "Please, Ni-Ni? We've worked so hard over the last few days, a break will surely do some good." she protested, trying to drag the point home.
Still though, Nico remained unsure. He looked to IF, wondering what she would be thinking about this, when he noticed she had been on her Phone. Fro the looks of things, she was checking the Guild Website, most likely. When she noticed everyone's gaze on her, IF rolled her eyes and placed her Phone back on her belt. "I checked the Guild Quest board online, and it says Quests will not be issued for most the day, so Guild Agents can focus on helping repairs." she told him, and then she pointed to the Karaoke pub. "So, this looks like our best bet for the day. I'm in."
It looked like they had won this argument, so Nico eventually relented with a sigh, shrugging his shoulders and pocketing his gloved hands inside his Trench Coat. "Alright girls, you win. Lets have a little break, you all have earned it for surviving the last few days." he then gave them a small, but pride-filled, smile which matched the look in his eyes. "I'm so proud of you all."
"Yaaaaaaay!"
Entering the Karaoke bar, Neptune and the others took seats that were available. They were all seated together, on one table since there was only 4 of them at the moment. They hadn't ordered food or drink yet, as they wanted to settle in first before anything like that could be done. Compa looked around at the people that were talking, each of them talking like they had no worries in the world. "Wooow, everyone here looks so happy." she couldn't help but comment with awe. It was like the tragedy didn't affect them at all in some way... she didn't know how to feel about that.
"That's because they're civilians, Compa." IF spoke, crossing her arms over her chest with one leg crossed over the other under the table they sat at. "They're just trying to pretend that nothing happened, that everything was all a bad dream. It's their way of coping." she explained, before giving an irritated scoff in their direction, though they didn't hear it. That, or they were ignoring it. "Doesn't seem right to me, but hey, its not my call."
Neptune hummed in thought as she processed this information. This was likely her first time in a Karaoke bar, and with what little she knew of her former life that was probably the case. She wondered what she was supposed to do here, since she had no prior experience with this beyond what the internet says. "Huh, that's so realistic..." she remarked unknowingly parroting what she had said when they first entered Lastation. Turning to the brunette, Neptune decided to voice her mental questions about this place. "Hey Iffy, what do you do at places like this?"
IF, who had been on her Phone as usual, looked up and raised a brow in her direction. "What, you've never been to one before?" she questioned, before continuing without letting her respond. "Wait, stupid question, sorry about that. Anyways, it's just like any other pub, restaurant, bar etc. They sell food, drink, and no not Pudding Nep. Only, there's a Karaoke box that lets people sing instrumental versions of various songs. Some places make you pay to sing songs, though that isn't a common practice." she explained, getting an 'ooooh!' from the preteen, before she looked back at her Phone. "I checked this place's web page, and it looks like we don't have to pay, we just have to let the staff know we'd like to use the box, and get up on that small platform just there."
She pointed to a small, elevated silver coloured platform, shaped like a Hexagon with various flashing lights of a multitude of colours, not just black and silver. It was connected to the Karaoke box by wires, which went behind it and supplied the platform with power. The platform looked like it could fit two people at once on it, which was something that the Party noted in their minds, especially when it came to a certain Spec Ops Agent.
Speaking of said agent...
"Already ahead of you on that one, IF." Nico's voice called out, grabbing their attention. The male walked over to them from the counter, holding a set of Mics in one hand and the other in a Trench Coat pocket. "I already requested we sing a few songs and got the staff's approval. We just have to chose which song to play, and then step on the platform. The speakers," he paused to point at the various speakers, built into the four walls that made up the Karaoke bar. "Will do the rest."
At this point, Neptune was grinning widely, reminiscent of a Cheshire cat as she bounced up to him. "Well then, what are we waiting for, Nicky?!" she exclaimed, before grabbing him by the arm that had pocketed his hand, and skipped over to the stage. "Let's get singing already!"
"Uh, Neptune, I can't sing! I've never sung!" Nico tried to protest, digging his heels into the floor. However, they must have been recently cleaned because he couldn't get a good enough grip to stop the purplette Amnesiac. The male had to bite back a curse at this, it wasn't like he hated music. No, he quite liked it, there were a few bands he was into, some of their tracks were recorded into his Bracer under the 'Music' file. However, he had never sung them himself before, focusing more on the adrenaline rush they gave him.
His words fell on deaf ears though, and when he shot a pleading gaze to the others for help, he was met by one of indifference from IF, and an intense gaze from Compa. She must be wanting to hear him sing as well, which shot down any hope of escape. Worse was how the rest of the patrons were now looking at him and Neptune with interest, the males giving the purplette... interested looks, and that was putting it mildly. He had to give them fierce glares to make them back off, assholes.
Thus, with a sigh, Nico resigned himself to the humiliating fate that was to sing in front of an audience. In essence, it was similar to giving speeches to nervous Agents about the battle they were about to head into. That formula would have to be adapted here, the male decided, if he wanted to perform at a level where his dignity wouldn't suffer anything severe.
It was Neptune's go to choose a song, and fortunately she didn't chose any love songs. Nico wouldn't have been able to cope with the mental trauma, if that had happened. From the looks of things, she chose 'Knight of the wind' by Crush 40. 'Not a bad choice, I must admit. Fits Neptune's personality since she likes heroes and stuff, sometimes she acts all noble like a knight. Plus she describes herself as a 'maiden', so...' Nico thought as he stood alongside her on the Platform. Since this was Neptune's song, he'd only be singing at certain parts. He would be sure the Author would distinguish them, so he wasn't worried.
The music began to start, a holographic screen appearing before them and the Lyrics began to rise to the screen's top:
(Neptune - Normal, Nico - Bold and Underlined, Both - bold, underlined and italics)
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Hey all (hey all)
Welcome to the greatest storm
I know (I know)
You have waited much too long
And I (and I)
I will be your shining star
I'm here (I'm here)
Here to conquer near and far!
Like the sun, I run
Into the heat of day
Like a knight, I'll fight
Until the fight is won
In a rage, I slay
Each and every, each and every
Each and every one
Till this war is won!
And I live to rule
By the sword
Slashing through the every inch of the power
The power in you
As I sit and I stand
By the table I command
My kingdom
I'm the knight of the wind!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
It didn't take long, but soon enough, both Neptune and Nico lost themselves to the song, no longer paying attention to their surroundings. People stopped their chatter and looked, drawn to the singing which, in their ears, sounded almost like a professional singer. The two hit the song's notes well, keeping their voices in tune with each other, and there were few cracks in their voices. Of course, this was their first time singing, but the two pulled it off extremely well, almost like they were made for it.
Hey all (hey all)
Welcome to the end it's near
I know (I know)
I will bring you pain and fear
From the ground to the sky
Faced with you and I
In a flash, I'm gone
Holding your crown high
In a rage, I slay
Each and every, each and every
Each and every one
Till this war is won
And I live to rule
By the sword
Slashing through the every inch of the power
The power in you
As I sit, as I stand
By the table I command
My kingdom
I'm the knight of the wind
The knight of the wind...
I'm the knight of the...
My castle is a massive force
A stronghold of power
My armor stays unbreakable
In battle every hour...
(Instrumental)
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Wo-oa-oahh!
Like the sun, I run
Into the heat of day
Like a knight, I'll fight
Until the fight is won
In a rage, I slay
Each and every, each and every
Each and every one
Till this war is won!
And I live to rule
By the sword
Slashing through the every inch of the power
The power in you
As I sit and I stand
By the table I command
My kingdom
I'm the knight of the wind...
The knight of the wind!
At last, the song ended, and the screen vanished. For a moment, there was silence, everyone looking at them intently... before applause erupted from within the Patrons. People were clapping, howling and wolf whistling in their direction, much to their surprise. They didn't think their singing was THAT good, this was their first time!
"Awesome! That song was badass!"
"The singers were amazing! Not pop star levels, but still amazing!"
"She's so freaking cute! I wanna ask her on a date!"
"Hey, no dice dude! I'm having her! She needs a good lover in bed anyways!"
The Spec Ops Agent glared at the males who made those last two comments. Nobody was tainting Neptune's innocence with that stuff, nobody. It slightly pacified him, when he saw Neptune giving them the finger, as if telling them they had no chance to begin with. The two men gaped, before huffing like a pair of spoiled brats, making Nico chuckle in amusement.
Though, what he didn't pay attention to were the female patrons who were eyeing him with lust.
"Oh my god, that guy's voice was rad!"
"I know! And he has that 'I'm super serious and badass!' vibe going on."
"Meow, I'd like to grind something on those abs of his."
"Hey, cut it out, girl! Besides, I bet he must be great at... certain activities."
Those comments were picked up like warning dots on a radar by a certain pair of girls. Those that spoke those dangerous lines were quick to be on the receiving end of Neptune and Compa's combined KI, much to their shock and horror. IF had to admit, these comments, while inappropriate, were actually kind of amusing, especially with Neptune and Nico's individual reactions. She snickered to herself as she discreetly held her phone in their direction, a mischievous gleam shining through her green eyes. 'I'm SO going to record this...'
After she was sure those hussies were not snooping on her territory, Compa stood up and walked to Neptune, her eyes clear as she proclaimed. "Nep-Nep, its my turn now! Lemme sing, please!" Now, before, none of them had paid attention to when Neptune and Nico went onto the stage, until they played. But when the guys saw Compa's... assets as she moved onto the Stage where Neptune was, plucking her off it like taking a twig from a tree and placing her on the ground, their eyes glued to them. This earned them disgusted looks from the women in the Karaoke bar, and even the staff were mildly disgusted, though they tried to remain professional.
Once she had the mic in her hands, Compa hurriedly chose a song, giving Nico a look that basically told him 'You don't move from that spot, mister!' causing him to sigh. What did he do to deserve this? 'Whelp, at least this isn't boring.' He admitted in his mind, chuckling softly as Compa chose the song she wanted. Unlike before, she would be the lead singer, and he would be behind her, watching the show from a VIP seating. This time though, the teen didn't see what she had chosen, so he didn't know what to expect until the screen and lyrics appeared.
(My Treasure - Miku Izayoi)
Since that time, I always chase after the sparkly stage of light
I stand with the shower head as the mic
Resonating in the bathroom, la la la la la la, I sing
The sound echoes somehow so special, I am glad of it
Even now, the feelings that time, always felt inside properly
Let me sing you a song & let's sing along
I likely named each one of the stars in distant
Let me sing you a song & let's sing along
The thing God gave me is the best gift
(Instrumental)
The night in the park, I sing silently, in a bit dear stage
I step by the staircase of stone
With the moonlit as my spotlight, la la la la la la, I sing
I'm happy as peoples who saw me are happy
I will protect this place, where I give happiness to peoples
Let me sing you a song & let's sing along
Those stars twinkling in the skies are like the ones I saw after my birth
Let me sing you a song & let's sing along
What God told me is an unforgettable landscape
It is fine even though this is not a perfect song
I want to sing this very song of mine, the song that shakes hearts, Ah
Let me sing you a song & let's sing along
I will sing until my voice hoarse, as long as it reach the peoples who were listening somewhere
Let me sing you a song & let's sing along
The thing God gave me is the miracle that won't happen again
It wasn't as long as Neptune and his, but still, Compa sung with an amazing, beautiful voice that melted the hearts of everyone watching, both male and female. Well, it wasn't surprising, Nico mused as he placed a hand on his chest to calm his pounding heart - hey, even he was affected, alright?! - since Compa always did have a good singing voice. Plus, she poured a lot of emotion into that song, he could feel it as it swept across the room like a flooding river, drowning them in it's embrace. The slow, soft and, dare he say it, slightly romantic piano music helped wonders.
The next thing they knew, there was an even greater applause than before, both patron and staff member alike hooting and howling with joy at the amazing song that Compa had sung. Some even were wiping tears from their eyes at the sheer beauty that the Song possessed, plus the power that she put behind each word. It felt like the girl was singing towards someone, but Compa hadn't given any of them looks so they weren't too sure.
Neptune was though, and she wasn't pleased. "Mou! She got a bigger response than me!" She exclaimed, pouting while huffing on her seat, acting like a child upstart. "No fair!"
IF chuckled in amusement, rolling her eyes at Neptune's behaviour as she made sure the recording was still working. She wouldn't be singing, she had made that clear as they entered the Karaoke bar. It just wasn't her thing, so she was going to let the others go at it while watching from the sidelines. 'I didn't expect for Nico to be enjoying this, though.' she mused mentally, eyeing said male who was now starting to prep for his own solo. She listened in as he talked to the Nurse-In-Training, congratulating them and saying he'd be singing two solo songs next. 'He didn't seem like the type to enjoy this stuff. Well, the more you know, as they say.'
Back with the two singers, Nico grinned as he turned to the Karaoke box and approached it. He reached out and began to navigate the songs listed on the Screens, there was two Songs here he'd rather sing alone, and they were both songs he had listed in his Bracers' Music file. They were quite cool to sing, and they fit aspects of his personality quite well, allowing him to pour every spec of emotion into them. Soon enough, he found the first one, Crush 40's 'Fight the Knight'.
Standing atop the platform, Nico raised his Mic to his lips and began to get ready as the screen appeared before him. The audience soon began paying him attention again, more the women than the males, which earned them irked glances from both Compa and Neptune, much to IF's amusement. This was like watching a humorous soap opera to her.
Finally, the song began to play, and he began to sing.
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
Will to fight in a world inside its right and I'm alive
On my own from a world that seems alone and I'm alive
Will to survive
(Instrumental)
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
Will to fight the knight
Face the knight in a world of evil light and I'll survive
On my own, overthrown, yet not alone and I'm alive
Will to survive
(Instrumental)
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
Will to try, I will meet you eye to eye and I'll survive
Dead of night, feel the power, feel the might and I'm alive
Will to survive
(Instrumental)
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
Will to fight in a world inside its right and I'm alive
On my own from a world that seems alone and I'm alive
Will to survive
(Instrumental)
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
Will to fight the knight
Face the knight in a world of evil light and I'll survive
On my own, overthrown, yet not alone and I'm alive
Will to survive
(Instrumental)
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
Will to try, I will meet you eye to eye and I'll survive
Dead of night, feel the power, feel the might and I'm alive
Will to survive
(Instrumental)
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
My will to fight the knight
The first one ended, and just as Nico expected, the Audience looked stunned, their eyes wide and their jaws agape. None of them moved a muscle for a good 5 minutes, the power and will that he poured into that song had THAT kind of effect. Eventually, applause came calling as everyone began to cheer for him, clapping merrily. Even the ones that hadn't been too fond of him had to reluctantly admit that Nico had a decent singing voice. The women though, now he noticed their reactions to his song as they gave him cat calls, throwing pieces of paper into the air that had the words 'Call me!' and a number on them. The teen had the decency to blush in embarrassment at that, to which it only incited the women even more with how cute it looked seeing him all bashful.
'What the heck is wrong with those women?! Don't they have boyfriends already or something?!'
After he managed to get himself hyped up for the second song, of which he had to ignore the women of the Bar, Nico went to the Karaoke box and selected the next song. Now this song, this song held his heart by its arteries. It held his pride, his manhood, his everything. This song had him in ways that no other song could. There's songs that are quite good, and he would like them, maybe even love them, and then there's this one. The one song that he felt fit his current situation to a T. It focused more on the theme of Masks and Reflection, of how people wore them to integrate with normal society.
See the correlation, there?
Anyways, Nico selected the song in a manner different than the others, but only Neptune and her friends actually noticed. The way he moved his hand to select it... almost reminded them of Basilicom Workers worshipping their CPU. He selected it slowly, and with the reverence only a religious person could see. "Huh? What is Nicky doing?" Neptune wondered, tilting her head in confusion.
"Ni-Ni looks like he's been waiting for this for a long time... Ni-Ni must love this next song." Compa suggested thoughtfully, although she was just as confused as her friend was. The way that Nico looked during that moment... its suggested that this next song... would be the most powerful one of them all. More powerful than her My treasure, more impactful than his Fight the Knight, and certainly more powerful than the Knight Of The Wind he and Neptune sung.
She just got that feeling.
Finally, the song began to play, and the moment they heard him sing, it felt like their lives had stopped:
(Unravel - Kyoumi Lyrics)
Oh, won't you tell me? Please just tell me.
Explain how this should work.
Well now who could it be, that lives inside of me?
I'm broken, lying helpless, shattered
Surrounded by the world
And yet, you're smiling bright
Completely blind to life
My ruptured lungs; they were left this way
For once, I'm out of breath.
The truth I seek, never felt so bleak but,
I maintain my depth
Freeze
I'm breakable;
Unbreakable
I'm shaking yet,
Unshakable
Until the day that you find me.
I'll stand here,
Existing and feeling wretched* existence
Consuming life-force till I grow distant
Don't bother searching for somebody like me.
A fading no one.
I don't want to hurt you, It's not my nature.
A monster born from dusk to dawn can't be your saviour
Remember the 'me', the way I used to be.
As who I still should be.
Nico almost felt like he was choking on his own spit as he felt emotion swell in his chest. This song... this song got to him in ways no other song had. From the moment he heard it, the main one as this was a Cover he found on the Karaoke Box, shout out to the one who made it by the way, this song held 'power' over him like no other. This song was always filled with the pain and emotion from the singer's POV in his opinion. There could only be this one song that could do this to him, no other song could have a bigger impact on his mind than this one.
This song spoke volumes about his feelings and situation that it was basically screaming it to the rest of the world, a world ignorant to the suffering those who truly appreciate this song go through. This song was aimed towards people with tragic backstories, backgrounds so twisted, so fucked up that they needed something like this song, Unravel, to speak to them. Nico paused his monologue as he began to sing once more since the lyrics were appearing again.
The isolation spreads and tears
Those happy /days, pierce into me
These lonely memories cease to care
They spread throughout my history
I'll never move
I'll never lose
I'll never move
I'll never lose
I'll never move
I'll never lose you.
Unraveling the world
At once, I start changing,
Yet everything's remaining
These lives I felt would join as one,
They fade away before they've begun.
I'm breakable; unbreakable
I'm shaking yet, unshakable
Until these hands "contaminate" you
I'll stand here existing and feeling wretched existence
Consuming life-force til I grow distant
Don't bother searching for somebody like me. A fading no one.
This lonely space, held into place by someone crazy
Shall melt away like dawn to day as things get hazy
So please think of me, the way I used to be.
As who I really should be
So don't forget me,
You can't forget me
You won't forget me
Please don't forget me.
With changing inside I'm completely paralyzed
Remaining corrupt as I wish for paradise
Remember the 'me', the way I used to be.
Oh, won't you tell? Oh, please just tell…
Well now who could it be, that lives inside of me?
Finally, Nico finished his song, and there was nothing but silence. The Karaoke Box became silent, as did the crowd. There, he had done it. He had sung the one song that he had always wanted to sing from the moment he first heard it. The sheer weight and emotion put behind that song was something that nobody could truly comment on without feeling like dicks. They could feel the pain that was brought about from that song, a mix of pain, agony, despair and desperation. It was like he was experiencing his nightmares born from his deviations, something he had yet to think about actually. He'll get to that when he had the time.
The silence was truly deafening. Not even the sound of electricity pumping through the building dared break this silence. Either that, or they didn't pay attention to it. Who would, hearing a song sung so... powerfully, like that? True, there were songs that hit people right in their feels, but there was just something about the way Nico sung this one. Something that indicated that this was more than just a song...
At least, to him anyways...
The rest of the time was spent singing and eating with the Party. Nico was near-constantly grilled about the last song he'd sung before, Unravel, and how amazing it was. Compa even asked him how he got so powerful an emotion into the song, to which he had explained how it was all to do with the theme of Masks and reflection. She quickly understood that, remembering a few times that Nico had indeed spoken about his views on Masks, even Neptune got it when she recalled how he figured out her tick back when she was moping that night.
Finally, it was late in the afternoon, and the party arrived at the Café. The Café looked like it had been shaken a bit, with some pieces of the building having crumbled off, with various cracks on the walls and a few more on the windows, but aside from that everything was alright. That brought the Party some much needed relief. At least there was something for Chian to return to once she returns from the hospital.
Upon entering, Neptune was the first to speak up as she burst through the door. "Good morning, Noire! It's a new day, the sun is shining, and Ahhhh…" slowly, Neptune's words trailed off when she opened her eyes and noticed something peculiar. Noire, who sat at the same table that they had sat at when eating their meal after the first quest from Chian, wasn't alone.
Raven, Ivan, Aiden and Lucy were with her too.
The two girls sat together on one side, while the boys occupied the other with Noire sitting on the end that was between them. Looking up from the table towards the preteen, Noire huffed as she responded, it's not like you to be late. You must be getting tardy Neptune. If I planned on fighting you right now I wonder if I'd win…?"
"Ummm… Noire, did you invite some new blood to the party?" Compa asked her once the others noticed that Team RAIL was with the black-haired CPU. They all sat around the table, with Raven and Lucy on one side, and the two boys on the other. Raven had one leg crossed over the other, same with Lucy. Ivan sat like he was meditating, much to te irritation of the three women at the table, while Aiden sat normally. She didn't know what to think when she saw this, it was quite surprising to see them here of all places. There were many cafes throughout Lastation, they should know Neptune sometimes raided them in between quests for food, food that Nico would return along with dragging a flailing Neptune back to them to be scolded later.
Noire, noticing the baffled expressions being directed at them, rolled her eyes and spoke with an incredulous tone while flicking one of her ponytails. "I met them and invited them along. What kind of CPU would I be if I didn't reward the people who did their best for my nation?" she asked them with a sense of rhetoric in her words. Neptune made to answer, but a glare from Noire silenced her as she shut her mouth. Sometimes, she could be scarier than an abnormal.
"W-Well, I guess that makes sense…."
The group all sat at the table, which had already been filled to the brim with breakfast foods… as well as pudding. "I'm surprised, Noire." Nico began as he sipped some coffee. He had taken some coffee and some bread, though not much else with the excuse that he didn't need to eat a lot. 'Come to think of it, my 'medicine' has been running low lately… I should probably contact the WDD head, Helena Dawson.
Helena Dawson… someone whom Nico found great at mentoring him. Not only was she a skilled researcher, but she was also once a Spec-Ops Agent like him, with the codename of VALKYRIE. However, she forsook that life for a life of science when she married her husband who was a simple Tavern owner. She and Nico held a great bond, one of mother and son, while her husband was an uncle figure for him. She had helped him learn how to be a Spec Ops Agent, only mere 8 months after he had first joined the Guild. Before she came he had been learning the ropes alone, and would have achieved his goal in 8 to 9 years had she not taken him under her wing. It was also on her authority that he had his licence to test and sometimes keep their prototype gear.
He had a lot to be grateful to her for.
Before he had left for Lastation, she had given him some 'medicine' via Email, as an attachment to the one she had sent about his armour. He'd made sure to keep that part hidden from the others though, having opened it and moved the package to his Void Storage before they could notice. This package was insanely important to keeping his secret, the same secret he so zealously guarded from the girls.
While he was sure to get strange looks for only drinking coffee, he felt he could at least calm their suspicions by taking some loafs of bread. As he glanced down at the bread, Nico had to bite back the urge to grimace. He knew this would be hell for him, but he had to make an appearance somehow, or the others would get suspicious. 'Ugh, I bet it'll taste like sandpaper with specs of wood cast on top of it.'
Unaware of Nico's plight, the girls continued to exchange pleasantries between each other. "Wow, this food tastes quite good. A lot of effort has been put into this, I'm sure." Raven commented. Her Mask was placed beside her, while the Sheath holding her Odachi was leaning beside her chair.
"Of course!" Noire nodded with a triumphant smirk as she boasted about Chian's Cooking. "Chian had some cookbooks around so making something as simple as this was nothing for me." she explained haughtily.
Ivan looked at her in surprise after downing his drink of orange juice. "You made this yourself, Noire? Wow, you must be a great cook." He complimented in awe, much to the pleasure of Noire's ego.
Aiden nodded his head in agreement with his friend, classily chewing on some toast.
Unfortunately, her happiness was short-lived when Neptune went and shot it down like a hunter shooting birds out of the sky. "Yeah well, breaky's probably all she can do, since she has so many helpers back at the Ba-BLURGEH!" she made to say until IF slammed some bread into Neptune's mouth… bread that came from Nico's plate. He secretly thanked the heavens and praised IF in his mind so much that if he said it outright she would go crimson with the praise. IF did have a cute side after all.
"Ease up on her, Nep. She does have some trying days ahead." IF scolded the preteen, while giving Noire a knowing look which made the black-haired CPU release a tired sigh. She wasn't exactly tired physically per say, but the thought of how much work she would have to do to restore the city was enough to drain even her workaholic nature. And this was just from a part of the city being destroyed, she couldn't imagine how much paperwork would be for Racoon City's destruction. "Anyways, it's nice to officially meet you Lady Black Heart. With all this drama, you never got the chance to properly introduce yourself."
Noire blinked rapidly for a moment, momentarily confused by IF's words, until realisation dawned on her and she gave a sheepish smile. "Yes, well, I guess it is time I do a formal introduction." She mused, getting up and walking to the side of her chair. She then changed her tone and expression to one of formality as she gained a mystical air about her, something which drew in the other's attention like moths to a flame. "I am CPU Black Heart, ruler of Lastation. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Though please, all of you can call me Noire. We're past the point of formalities, anyhow."
Everyone nodded in response, sharing her sentiment with various greetings from them. Afterwards, Noire sat down and the group continued eating the food that she had cooked using Chian's cookbooks. It was a short 10 minutes, but after that they were finished and the dishes were taken away by some of the workers that still wanted to be active. This left the party in silence as they decided to move onto the next topic.
"Well, it seems that the city could use some money from foreign sources. You thought of asking the other nations for help?" Nico asked the blackette, leaning back on his chair and crossing his arms under his chest while giving Noire a flat look.
Said CPU shook her head, negatively with her Ponytails swerving every time she shook it. "No, Lastation needs to recover on its own. I can't rely on another Nation's help, not when foreign powers have done a lot for my Nation already." She replied, before turning to Team RAIL. "As CPU of Lastation, I thank you for your service in helping my people, Team RAIL."
Raven's response was curt and to the point. "It was of no problem for us. Our comrade DEATHSTTROKE should take some of the credit, for if it weren't for him then we wouldn't have been as effective as we were. Not to say we wouldn't have been any use, but the lack of information would have limited what we could do in this surprise situation." She explained.
"Well, all that aside, there's something I'd like to know about." Nico began as he made to push past his involvement. It was because he didn't like being kin the spotlight too much, he much preferred being a lesser-known person as opposed to the fame and glory one would receive if one did take the credit. One could say that it was an act of humbleness, but to him, it was both that and his desire to keep the attention away from him and possibly his secret.
He then looked directly into Noire's eyes as he asked her his question. "Could you tell me what the other Spec Ops Agents of Lastation are up to while their home city is being repaired?"
"Ah, of course." Noire replied as she internally sighed in relief. She'd feared that he would ask about her reasons for hiding her identity from them, so she was glad that wasn't the case. "The other Agents, according to reports are in various towns and villages around the continent, dealing with the Abnormals there. Reports say that they're increasing in number, which worries me."
Aiden raised a brow as he inquired to something. "You say 'reports'. Does that mean you have had more access to Lastation since this event?" he questioned flatly.
Noire nodded in response to FALCON's question, a satisfied hum escaping her lips. "Yes, ever since what happened, people's faith in me has slowly come back. It's not much, but it gave me more power than Avenir would like, thus I'm able to access things I wasn't earlier due to lack of power."
Compa frowned in concern. "More Abnormals? That's bad…" she muttered, and it was true. Abnormal Monsters were tougher than normal monsters to deal with, she and the others could attest to that. One of the mitigating factors though, was that they were fewer in number compared to normal monsters. The thought that their numbers were on the rise was enough to be worried about.
Noire nodded, although she had even more bad news for them, news she had discovered before coming here to Chian's Café. "It gets worse, there's been reports of entire Dungeons spawning out of nowhere, filled to the brim with Abnormal Monsters. Luckily, we have only one or two in Lastation, but the fact remains that these creatures potentially could become the new 'normal' for us."
Now this had their attention, and raised their worries considerably. Abnormal monsters were bad enough, but entire Dungeons filled with them? Dungeons usually were classified as places for Monster [populations to gather together for attacks on the surrounding areas, or forming new Dungeons with more powerful versions of themselves. Abnormal Monsters however, operated alone and preferred their random behaviour rather than remaining in one place at any given time.
It was as oire had ominously foretold, the Abnormals may become Gamindustri's new 'normal' if this kept up.
"How many Abnormal Dungeons are there?" Raven asked, her voice having a stern edge to it as she rested a hand on the top of her Mask. The rest of Team RAIL has equally serious expressions, even Lucy and Ivan whom had been silently playing with the others. They knew that look in Raven's eyes as well as her stiffened posture. It meant that they would be going on missions soon enough.
Sensing their tension, Noire responded with an equally stern edge to her voice which slightly impressed Raven although her demeanour hid it well. "There is one that we know of, a port town to the south called 'Carnival of Horrors'. Rather ominous in my opinion, though it is indeed justified. The reports have classified Dungeons like these as Abnormal Dungeons, thus only those with a Spec Ops Agent in their party or Spec Ops Agents themselves can go."
"Aw man…!" Neptune whined in dismay as she deflated onto the table. "And here I was hoping we'd get some more juicy downtime, even an M rated scene, today." She pouted cutely with air-filled cheeks. "This, sucks!"
... For some reason, Nico felt he should thank the Abnormals for this development.
Compa stood up and walked over to the downed preteen and patted her on the back. "There-there, Nep-Nep. It's alright, don't cry…" she said in a soothing voice as she consoled the deflated purplette. Kind of strange, if one thought about it. they were rivals in love for Nico's affection, and yet they were acting like this. Neptune moaned as she leaned into Compa's touch, which felt really-good right now.
"No rest for the vigilant, Nep." IF commented plainly, although internally she was as dismayed as the other two, but for different reasons. "Judging by that look in your eyes, I assume you're going to go, Nico?" she remarked once she caught the determined gaze in Nico's eyes as he gazed at the table like he was about to slice it in half.
Looking up at the girls, Nico judged their facial expression to tell what they were feeling. Neptune's eyes told him that she didn't want him to go, she just wanted to laze about doing nothing. Compa looked like she was nervous yet accepting of his choice, if her slight knowing smile and the worried glint in her eyes was any indication. IF looked like she was the most accepting of what he wanted to do, although he caught a faint glimpse of worry within those green orbs of hers.
In the end, Nico nodded as he gave his answer. "Got it in one, IF. Even if my profile says I'm on leave, I can still enter Dungeons and fight Abnormals. Something like this will not be a problem for me. Besides." He then glanced down at his right hand, which was sprawled out on the table as he remembered seeing the twisted gauntlets of his DPU form. "I do have to test out my new powers, so what better way to do so than these new Dungeons?"
On that, they could see the logic, especially the Spec Ops Agents. To have powers untested would be like bringing a badly maintained knife to a gun fight. The lack of knowledge on how to maintain it would cause it to break, leaving the fighter vulnerable to a fatal blow. It was a poor tactic for war, too. To not maintain your gear could mean a life-or-death situation for those on the battlefield. Only the stupid and foolish went to war without making sure their equipment functioned at 100% efficiency.
Unfortunately, not all of them saw it that way as Neptune hugged his right arm in a blur of motion. "Aww, but Nicky, you're supposed to stay with me, you're my hubby after all." She whined with a pout.
"Nep-Nep, I thought I explained it to you yesterday, Ni-Ni's not a hubby it's a love interest!"
While Compa said that, the two males of Team RAIL stiffened. The reason: a tense cloud of KI spreading from both Raven and Lucy. The two women had instinctually knew something was amiss with those two, as they acted slightly worrisome, to them anyways, around the red-haired male. Now that they have seen this, it was confirmed on their radars: two new rivals.
"Oh my, it seems that Nicky-dear's charm has struck again."
"Ugh, while I hate men for their perverted minds, seeing how oblivious DEATHSTROKE is…"
Both their male teammates could only sigh in defeat at seeing the two acting up. They'd make sure the two would do their jobs without killing each other it came to it, but that didn't mean they weren't dismayed at how once again, Nico found himself within the antic s of the girls around him. "No fair, how come he gets all the ladies…?" Ivan whined as Aiden patted him on the shoulder, wordlessly offering his support to his comrade.
It took a good 30 minutes to calm the girls down, and when they did enough for him to talk. "I'll go and take them on, guys. It's part of my job and I've done it longer than any of you guys put together. I'll be fine, even without my armour." He reasoned as he made to placate the girls before him. Neptune and Compa stood before him, both requesting that he take them with him to fight these Abnormal Monsters.
That he couldn't allow, not this time.
"Besides, I need to be sure that this place has some protection. Because of Avenir's stunt the defences in the southern district are in shambles, like a chink in the knight's armour. And Abnormal monsters can categorize on opportunities like this, so it'd be good of people who weren't Spec Ops yet had experience in dealing with them are here to keep them out." He reasoned further.
The girls tried to argue against this, that the male was not letting them have the spotlight like they did usually, however their words seemed to die in their throats before they could voice their opinions, all because they could see the logic that Nico was trying to imply, even though they were stubbornly refusing to admit it.
He then decided to bring up the topic of his DPU powers. Nico was no fool, it would be foolish if he didn't know the limits of what he could do. That was what he tried to say with the girls before him. "Also, I need to find some foes to test my new powers on. What better foes than the Abnormals right? Plus, I may feel like I have control, but there's no telling what could happen unless I figure it out myself."
As he said this, Neptune and Compa both sighed in dismay, knowing that he was trying hard to let him do this. In a way, this should have been expected as while they could fight Abnormals when it came down to it, they weren't trained for it like a Spec Ops Agent was. They weren't given the knowledge, the training and the prep time needed to hunt one down effectively. Nico had that training though, so he should use that knowledge to his full advantage. He'd been playing this game a lot longer than them after all. Finally, the girls gave in to his request, with a dropping of their shoulders as Neptune vocalised their reluctant acceptance of it. "Fiiiiine, we'll stay and protect the city while you get to have all the XP…"
"Okay, we got it… Ni-Ni says we should stay here so we should stay here…" Compa added, equally as downed as Neptune was. She had just gotten the courage to move a step forward into claiming her childhood friend's heart, and now he was going to head to another battleground, on where he may not come back from.
Seeing their sorrowful expressions made a pang of guilt explode in his heart. Nico did his best to suppress it though as he knew that this was something that had to happen. He didn't want to risk going crazy when learning about his powers and threatening these girls. Team RAIL were battle hardened veterans, soldiers, so they would be able to hold their own if that happened, but if Neptune and the others were in the vicinity…
What happened at West Wind Valley… was a fluke. Plain and simple.
While his memories of the incident were foggy at best, Nico could still remember how Neptune in HDD, had surprised him to the point here he didn't react quick enough and she stabbed him in his sole weak spot. That attempt only succeeded because he didn't expect it, a surprise attack that threw his mental state off the rail. Nico knew, instinctively he knew, that things wouldn't be the same a second time. The male wouldn't let a second time happen, he'll learn more about these powers, how to harness and control them without even aa shred of a chance of them gaining control like they did back then.
However, those expressions did succeed in making him think of a way to make it up to them. An idea crossed onto his mind when he remembered the BOW powers that IF now possessed. If he played his cards right… "Hold on, I'm gonna heck something." He told them, getting confused looks as Nico activated his right Bracer and began looking up various websites. From the Guild to the Basilicom's blogs for any signs of what he wanted.
It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for, if the grin that slowly crept along his face was any indication. "Aha! Found it!" he exclaimed joyfully before interacting with the interface for a few seconds. A Beeping sound came from one of IF's phones, prompting her to trace it the source and pick the beeping phone out of its place on her Belt. Opening the phone, she saw that she had a message, titled 'training spots' which got her intrigued.
"What I just sent, was data on hot spots for stronger monsters, monsters that have been growing stronger with the threat of Abnormals in the area. If you want to train with them there, then you can. After all, one needs to keep their skills sharp, yes? Plus, I'm not the only one that has abilities that need to be trained." He explained, giving a pointed gaze to the brunette, who nodded as she placed her Phone back to show that she had gotten the message.
With that done, Nico raised both hands and patted the girls on the heads with a small smile of affection, a kind look in his eyes as he spoke. "Now then, be good you two, and don't give IF too much grief, will you Neptune? She has the strength to give you that overdue knuckle sandwich, you know." His words made Neptune pale as she remembered IF shaking her fist at her multiple times through their adventures, while a sinister grin crept across the brunette's face.
She might just give her that sandwich anyways…
"Now that the festivities are over," Raven began as she stood from her seat, placing her Mask on and strapping her Odachi's sheath to her waist. Her Team followed suit, knowing that the time for combat was nigh. "We shall head out to this place ourselves. We'll meet you there, DEATHSTROKE." She informed them, walking past the male and giving him a pat on the shoulder.
While walking past him though, she muttered something that only he could hear, well, him and Lucy anyways since the latter was close behind her. "I'll see you there, Nico… it's great to see you again." If he could see past her Mask, Nico would have seen how her cheeks had a tinge of pink on them, as she went out of the door with her Team following her.
Seeing this as his cue, Nico went and gave IF a bro fist, something she reciprocated, "Good luck out there, girl. How about we spar after we come back from our respective hunts, see how far we've come?" Nico suggested to the brunette.
Said Brunette nodded in acceptance with her smirk matching Nico's own in shape and in eagerness. Their eyes shined with th intent to do battle with a worthy adversary. "Can't wait, be prepared to eat the dirt, Nico."
"Heh, I doubt that, IF."
After saying goodbye to the others, Nico left the Café and walked through the streets, taking the slower route since h had other things on his mind not just the Dungeons and his powers. He soon found himself at a deserted ark, which was perfect for him.
Taking a detour, Nico walked to the centre of the par and then looked around to see if anyone was there. The male was soon satisfied that he was alone as he raised his right Bracer and opened his Void Storage, the signature holographic screen manifesting above the accessory. Nico searched through his Items for the one he wanted. He soon found the Medicine that he had been given before coming here. Nico's eyes narrowed as he saw the amount that was left for him. 'Hmmm, not much left, I should make sure to ration it so that I won't have to take more… drastic measures.'
The thought of having to take those 'drastic measures' as he referred to them in his mind, deeply unnerved the teen. There were multiple reasons for this, one of them being that it could likely give IT the chance it would need to usurp dominance over his mind, guiding him into doing acts that he wouldn't normally do. IT had great psychological impacts on the mind, sort of like HDD and DDD with the personality shifts, however this effect was much more sinister and deadly to those around him.
In addition, it had a likelihood of exposing his secret to the world. If he had lost himself to what IT would do, lost his mind to the monster, the beast inside, and then one of his companions in a stroke of horrible luck and timing, happens to walk along on their way only to find him… in that state, well, he was sure that they'd be too horrified to react, and then…
Thirdly, and he made sure to focus on this fact as Nico finished checking his supplies of equipment, was that it would rouse suspicion regardless, if not the first time then the next few times. It was a relief that he didn't have to eat very often as his body, thanks to IT, had a slower metabolism than normal people's. Thus, he found that he only had to eat once a month, and even then, it's a bit of a stretch. Only when he had taken significant damage would that cycle change, and so far, there hadn't been many instances where he had sustained that kind of damage, save for some instances like Ganache.
While wandering down a street, Nico suddenly tensed, his eyes widening as his form stiffened. A smell assaulted his nostril, a sweet, pleasant smell that filled every fibre of his being. It reminded him of Compa's cooking when he could still taste it, it was THAT good… that tantalising.
However, Nico was filled with horror when he smelt it, not daring to indulge in the pleasurable scent for a second.
'Oh no… no, this is NOT good!' Nico thought in dread as he used his sense of smell, thanks to his animalistic senses, to track down the source of it. He moved like a hound in the shadows, blending into them like he was made for them. He moved through street, through alleyway, with nobody being the wiser. Throughout this little detour which was significantly longer than the last one, something within Nico began to change. His movements became more feral, wild and beastly, some drool escaped his mouth which was resisting 100% the urge to crack a deranged smile. Although his eyes shone with that same emotion as he sped forth towards the source of the scent.
Finally, he found himself at the back of what used to be a bar, until the attack had hit of course. He came in through the back gate, making sure to conceal his presence as he heard sounds of chewing, as if someone was eating in the back of a destroyed bar. Not an ideal place, that's for sure, but if this was who he thought it was, then the time or the place wouldn't matter. All that mattered was the delicious, sweet taste of the best, most delectable food he had ever had, h-
'Oh no you don't, DEATHSTROKE!' Nico stopped himself from going down THAT train of thought, using his Codename instead of his real one to help snap him out of it. This smell was making him go insane, he had to put an end to it before it completely overwhelmed his senses. 'Don't you fucking dare, do you want to risk letting your secret get out?! You've controlled IT for a while now, don't screw it up!'
Quickly, Nico placed his back against what remained of the ruined building's wall. He then slid slowly, not making a single sound like a silent wind through the coldness of the dark night. When he reached the end of the wall, Nico hid himself so his body was just behind the end, as to not alert the one he was stalking to his presence. His animalistic instincts were on high alert, as was every cell in his body, like a predator stalking its prey, deadly and silent.
In contrast to his quick actions from before, Nico slowly leaned forwards, peering out into the back yard to see what the source of the eating was. However, he already had a GOOD idea as to what it was: a creature, an Abnormal that was abnormal beyond others, a creature that even the Goddesses should fear. Out of every Abnormal in the world, this one was the most terrifying, and the biggest reason why Nico was, and still is, hesitant on seeing the girls of his Party fighting the Abnormal Dungeons. They could encounter one of THESE, and with their levels right now…
They'd be massacred… no, they'd be RAPED, defiled in every manner possible, then slaughtered in a vicious manner.
Peering out into the yard, Nico saw that most of it was covered in dirt or rubble, pieces f the ruined building all over what was once a well-maintained back yard. There was a water fountain in the middle, with circular moat or what would have been a moat, around it. There was a damaged hedge behind the yard that likely warded off intruders with its thorns and deadly branches, but it looked like it had seen better days. However, what caught his attention was in front of the ruined hedge.
Lying sprawled on his back, a crimson puddle of dried blood around hi m mixed with still hot blood, was a corpse. It looked to have once been a man in his mid to late 30's with a big scraggly beard and a simple set of clothes to indicate how much wealth the formerly alive man didn't have. The looked like he had not taken good care of his teeth since most of them were gone, but there were some areas that looked like they had been forcibly ripped off. Rather messily too.
The culprit was on all fours, kneeling over the corpse with the head mostly covered by a mop of scraggly blonde hair. Though, he didn't need to see the culprit's face to know that it was female, with a slim figure, moderate bust, and from what he could smell, feminine pheromones as the woman seemed to have buried her head into the crook of the man's neck. That was where the chewing sounds originated from, and in a few seconds the female had pulled her head back, exposing her bloodied mouth that was dripping with the blood and entrails of the corpse below her, revealing that there was a moderate sized hold in the man's chest. She then looked around, exposing her messy mouth as well as her eyes: void-like black with crimson irises, veins spreading across the sides of her face. Before she could spot him, Nico shot forth in a blur of motion, pouncing on his unsuspecting prey.
Chapter end!
Officially. Longest. Chapter. Ever!
15K Words, longer than chap 12! Jesus Christ!
By Gods, was it difficult to find appropriate Songs for the girls to sing. Neptune's attitude made me thing Crush 40s's "Knight of the wind" fit her personality. She calls herself a "pure maiden" which is practically archaic in modern culture. Plus, she has this warrior side to her along with a noble side in her HDD form, which is befitting of a knight.
Compa's My Treasure was a song depicting her feelings to Nico, although it doesn't seem that the male noticed. He just found the song beautiful, and he explained why before.
And Nico's... Oh, how I LOVED writing his thoughts and feelings about Unravel. That song speaks volumes about his character, I believe. It shows us what he goes through to maintain his secret, how he is suffering because he has become something he doesn't want to be, yet doesn't want them to 'look for him' as in to try and delude themselves to seeing him for what he once was.
Lots of Character development here, and more is on the way for Team RAIL. We take a break from the Nep cast, and start diving into Team RAIL and their connection to Nico. Believe me, these four have bigger roles to play than just mere support characters. Two of them are also in the harem, and as for the other two...
Well, aside from that, I do believe single pairings for them are possible. Just have to see, won't we?
Anyways, hope you enjoy, fav, review, etc.
See you later guys!
Peace out!
