Hi guys
Now, I was playing this game called Ys VIII: Lacrimossa of Dana, and I gotta admit something real quick. I... HATE that ending. Everything else about the game was great to me, the story, the gameplay, the development of the characters, everything. But that ending... god, it made me very depressed. I even stopped doing stuff related to my love of writing to deal with how freaking depressed I was. Hell, I probably can't even continue the game because of that Ending, that's how affected I was.
It also gave me the idea of making my own fanfic in the future of that game, only crossed over with A Prototype Fic I had worked on in the past. That one'll come first, since it would explain my OC's backstory, but If I ever got down to it (and these are all just Ideas BTW, still sticking to one or two stories at a time, don't worry!) i'd make it so that this OC makes goddamn sure that ending is avoided at all costs.
Anyways, now that that's off my chest, lets get this chapter started, shall we?
Chapter 45 - Here's mamma!
The following morning, Nico and the girls were having breakfast, well, the girls were while Nico had coffee. They were in the middle of her bedroom, which had officially been designated as their 'meeting room'. Neptune was on a seat of comfy beanbags, having her daily dose of Pudding. Compa sat on her bed with a plate of toast and a glass of water in hand. IF sat on a chair beside a Desk, sitting sideways instead of forwards, while Nico sat on the ground, leaning against a wall. Both weren't that hungry so they had something light: some juice for IF while Nico had his coffee.
"Next stop is Leanbox right?" Neptune asked them while crossing her legs on the beanbag, plopping a spoonful of pudding into her mouth. Taking a gulp, she finished that piece of pudding before speaking up once again. "So why haven't we transitioned to the next arc's beginning like in the game yet? I mean, I get this is a fanfiction, but still."
IF rolled her eyes at the preteen while plucking out one of her phones from her belt, flicking it open with her fingers skilfully, showing how long she had done this trick before looking down at the screen. "It's not that simple, Nep. Because of the Abnormal Monsters getting bolder in their attacks, the Basilicom has only authorised departure to the other nations in the afternoon, meaning we still have a LOT of time before going to the next Nation." She explained, her phone's screen showing the times for the next opening of the Sky Harbour.
She'd found this out just before they made their way out, the departure times had been moved from the entire day to just the afternoon. And considering that this was just morning still, it meant they had some time to kill. Though, she'd be lying if she said she didn't share Neptune's sentiment, albeit without all that meta nonsense. She did want to get a move on to Leanbox, it irked her to no end that they couldn't. If only to win that stupid bet she had made with the preteen about the CPU there being a... #SHUDDER# Gamer. It just didn't fit the picture IF had of her, having a hobby like that. 'I'll show that scatterbrain!' She vowed mentally. 'Lady Green Heart is dignified, refined, and a proper Lady of class! Unlike a certain idiot I know, she excludes the elegance a CPU should have!'
Not to insult Noire or anything, but unlike her, Lady Green Heart's Nation was NOT under the rule of a tyrannical company and economically unstable.
Neptune however, didn't let up in the slightest as, after she carefully deposited her pudding to a safe distance... which was about 20 meters away, how she did that nobody even wanted to question, she then began to flail her limbs about like a whiny brat having a tantrum. "But Iffy, I'm booooorrred! Can't we just get to the other Nation already so we can see that Lady Green Heart is a Gamer already? I want to sample Leanbox's Pudding!"
"Well deal with it, the times say what they say, there's no helping it. And Lady Green Heart isn't a Gamer, Nep!"
While the two girls went to bicker once more about their little bet, Compa and Nico watched them with varying levels of amusement. The former scratched the underside of her jaw with a sweat drop going down the side of her head. "Iffy and Nep-Nep are going at it again. You have to admire the tenacity that they show." The Nurse-In-Training remarked with a sheepish grin.
Nico nodded his head in agreement, also sweat dropping at the sight of the Brunette and the purplette amnesiac going at it. It reminded him of to squabbling siblings, in all honesty. Maybe those two got along better than people thought, it did make sense considering their personalities conflicting like this. Like magnets, their personalities fit together to create this dynamic they were seeing. "When it comes to Lady Green Heart, she dances to Neptune's tunes, huh? Huh, I'll remember that…" the male mused, before noticing a message icon on his right Bracer. "Oh, hold on guys I got something…"
Everyone paused what they were doing, Compa looking at the two squabbling children, while IF and Neptune looked to be frozen in a wrestling position, with the brunette trapping Neptune's head in a headlock while pushing against the hand on her face as her body was used to hold Neptune down. The trio turned their attention to where the male was sitting, as he began to open his Bracer's holographic message display from the interface. Before he could open the message however, Neptune was suddenly beside him, having muscled her way out of IF's grasp, leaning on his shoulder with her hands on his arm, trying to perch herself on him like a parrot would. "U-Ugh, hey N-Neptune!"
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, I wanna see it already, Nicky! Don't mind little ol me!" Neptune cheerfully replied, not minding how she was literally over him right now. It was a wonder how they had kept a fair balance between them, with how she was focused mostly on one side. Her eyes then gained a seductive glean as she hummed in his ear. "If you'd like I'd even get closer to you…"
Let it be said that if Neptune wanted to, she could be a major seductive temptress even in her human form. It was like all the talks that she had with our male protagonist helped her self-confidence in a way that he couldn't have predicted, leading to her teasing him with jokes and innuendos... although, if she actually meant some of her jokes was a whole new can of worms nobody wanted to open. Nico's face reddened at the close-proximity the girl had with him, and made to push her away in his flustered state, until he felt another weight on top of him. Looking to the side, his eyes widened into saucers when he saw that it was Compa, whom had sat on her knees next to him with his other arm trapped in-between her cleavage. "C-Compa!? You too?!"
The Nurse-In-Training shyly nodded, looking like she was about to go nuclear, but put on a brave face regardless as she stared intently into his eyes. "I-I won't lose to anyone, Ni-Ni! Let's view this thing together, like we should!" she proclaimed passionately before leveling an intense stare at Neptune, who returned it tenfold.
He thought about pushing them away, but the girls had strong grips on his arms so that plan went out the window. Plus, Nico didn't feel like he had the heart to push them away like that. He looked to IF, his eyes pleading for her to help, but she just looked away although he did catch the faint traces of an amused smirk on her features.
'Traitor.' Nico couldn't help but think to himself while scowling. That is, until Neptune Tugged on his sleeve to urge him to get to the message quicker. It was a little difficult with the two girls clinging onto him like they were, however Nico managed to pull it off. The Message appeared on a holographic screen in front of a bigger one that listed his messages, and displayed itself before them. It read:
To DEATHSTROKE;
We are delighted to inform you that the new Armour module has been prepped and is ready for usage. You will have to return to the Guild Weapons Development Department, and report to the head's office at the designated times below this message for your refitting.
Due to the last suit you had experiencing that unfortunate accident, we have seen fit to modify this Armour ourselves adding new capabilities to its arsenal. This is the Last Module we have currently, as the supplies for it are indeed difficult to come by. We look forward to your refitting. DEATHSTROKE. It must have been difficult for you not having that Armour.
Yours sincerely,
Helena Dawson Head of the Guild's WDD.
Below the message was a series of times that he had to follow to be able to get his Armour. The message didn't have any PS's, or anything to indicate the informality of her previous message.
"Hey, why doesn't she have any funny comments?" Neptune whined, pouting from her perch with her lower lip puckered out. "No far." She would have hit something to express her frustration, but she didn't feel like abandoning her 'post' at the moment, or ever if she had anything to say about it.
They all looked down at these times and it was Compa that spoke first. "Hmmm, that time's…" she looked up at the clock on the far side of the room, calculating it in her mind until she got the answer. "... 2 hours from now. We still have some time before then though, but at least we have something to do before we depart for Leanbox."
IF crossed her arms as she looked at the message from beside Compa, having moved there while they were reading the message. "Sounds interesting. I'm curious as to what changes they've made to your Armour. Though I'm not so sure you need them, given your um, skill set." She remarked, sheepishly mentioning indirectly about his DPU powers. They were just as dangerous as Neptune's CPU identity, considering their nature. Like her identity, if word got out that a Spec Ops had power that could rival the CPUs, even surpass them...
Damn, that would be one hell of a fallout.
"It's not just about the Armour, it's also what it represents, IF." Nico replied as the girls finally let him stand up, stepping back as he stood straight and patted the dust off his Trench Coat. He adjusted its collar to the right position, before turning to look at the brunette and continuing his explanation. "It represents who I am as an Agent, that I am DEATHSTROKE. It's a part of me, and a part that I treasure dearly, that's why even if I don't use it as much as I used to, it's still there as a piece of me that's irreplaceable. To me, my Armour is like your phones." He then gestured to Neptune without looking at her, keeping his gaze level with IF's surprised one. "Or Neptune's pudding."
At the mention of the word 'pudding' Neptune instantly became alert, looking around for any sign of the delicious treat she loved. "Pudding?! Did someone say pudding?! Where, where, where?!"
IF rolled her eyes at this behavior, having expected Neptune to go crazy over the desert. "There's no Pudding here, Nep." She stated bluntly causing Neptune to deflate in depression, like a balloon being popped. She shook her head and redirected hr gaze back to the Spec Ops Agent. "Anyways, it's surprising that you're so attached to that Armour… it's quite interesting. Usually in RPG's, people switch out and discard useless items without a second thought. Not you, though."
Nico shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Well, what can I say, it's been with me for so long it's become a part of me. It's like my partner." He explained, smiling in remembrance as he recalled the many times that he had fought in that Armour, the battles he had barely escaped alive even with THAT healing him from the damage.
To him, his Armour was like a part of his soul, as much a part of him as his DPU side was. It was practically an essential piece that made up the whole that is the Spec Ops Agent known as DEATHSTROKE. The name didn't have the same meaning without the Armour, thus it had been only natural that he develop a fondness for it. In addition, it, unbeknownst to him at the time, had helped him suppress his instincts, and by extension, THAT, which was another plus in his book.
"Mou…. Pudding…!" Neptune whined ore and more about her Pudding. "Where's the Pudding, this Nep=-mouth needs its sustenance!" she basically began throwing mini tantrum as she demanded to know where the Pudding was, thinking that some was being kept from her.
IF groaned, holding a palm over her face as she tried to suppress the irritation with the girl that was growing within her chest. Sadly, for her that failed miserably so she growled an answer for her. "There isn't any Pudding, Nep! He was just making a comparison!" she then turned to the male, who was scratching his cheek nervously. "Nico, tell her!"
"Yeah, sorry but there's no Pudding, Neptune. It's like IF said, I was only making a comparison with our talk." He told the preteen in an apologetic manner, with a matching smile to boot.
His words served to calm the preteen down, which was what he had intended, however it had a different side effect. Neptune grew depressed as her shoulders slumped, her arms hanging at her sides as she adopted the expression of a kicked puppy. "You mean… there's really no Pudding? My life is…" she mumbled, soon devolving into incoherent babble as a cloud of depression fell over her.
"Uh oh, Nep-Nep is getting depressed…" Compa stated, looking at her with worry for a moment. Whenever Neptune got depressed, she REALLY got depressed. One time she even caused a tidal flood with how depressed she was. Maybe it was the fact she was a Goddess, but Compa didn't want her bedroom to have to be remade from a flood. Thus, she turned and gave a pleading stare to the only two that she thought could save her beloved room. "Iffy, Ni-Ni, please do something before Nep-Nep causes more flooding."
Both sweat dropped, both at Neptune's dramatic behaviour and at Compa's pleading expression, knowing that she didn't want to have to fork over so many credits for repairs done by one of her friends. IF looked at the male who looked back at her. With their eyes, they had a silent conversation, one that only they could track.
IF = 'What the hell should we do? If we don't stop this, hurricane Nep will happen all over again.'
Nico = 'You're asking me? A Guy who has little experience with social interactions between girls like this?'
IF = 'Good point, but counter point, she's into you for whatever reason, so it's your job to pacify her.'
Nico = 'Neptune's just attached to me, she's NOT into me… that way at least. #SIGH# fine, I have something that'll cheer her up.'
IF = 'Well, go get em, dude.'
Rolling his eyes at the blatant dismissal of the conversation they had, Nico stepped towards the depressed Neptune, who looked about to be soaked by the amount of rain falling from the depression cloud. He then opened his Void Storage and took something out, something which quickly caught Neptune's attention.
With reluctance, Nico presented the item he took out to her, and almost immediately her tones changed. Her clothes instantly dried and the cloud disappeared, her cheery mood returning to full power much to everyone's relief. In his hand was… a pudding cup, complete with a spoon. "PUUUUUUUDDDIIIIIINNNNNGGG! My precious!"
Neptune blurred forwards and snatched te treat from his hand, quickly using the spoon to begin wolfing down the Pudding. Her face scrunched in ecstasy te moment the treat went inside her mouth, and was it just him or did Nico see several cat appendages appear on her? "MMMMM-! It's not as good as Compa's, but its way up there! The treat melts wonderfully on the tongue, filling the mouth with the sweetness and texture of a desert delight! Where'd you get this one, Nicky?!"
The male shrugged his shoulders, looking to the side to hide his reddening cheeks. "We-Well… I honestly made it myself." He told them, sending ripples of hock through the group. They each responded with their expressions. IF had dropped her jaw into an 'O' shape with her phone falling to the floor and her eyes like saucers. It was similar with Compa but she didn't have anything to drop. Although, if she did have something to drop then it would. Neptune had even stopped eating the Pudding in her hands.
Slowly, Neptune raised a shaky hand and pointed it at him, her eyes filled with her disbelief at the words that the male had said. "H-Hold it a sec, d-d-did my ears fail me? D-Did you say you m-m-made this delectable delight?" she stuttered.
Now the male was feeling insulted at the disbelief in her tone, worse than the looks he was getting from the others. Was it THAT weird that he would make some Pudding for the preteen? The male blinked owlishly, before a realization dawned on him. It made sense that they would doubt him, after all they had never seen Nico eating anything other than Coffee or water. They had been curious and sometimes questioned him about it, but Nico wouldn't say a word about it, just avoided the issue.
Nevertheless, hesitation rose within his gut, and pretty soon everyone noticed it when he spoke. "Uhhh…. Yeah…?" he answered with uncertainty. He hoped that he didn't ruin something between him and Neptune, she did proclaim that he was her 'Hubby' in front of the party, well, except Noire who wasn't even around, but still.
...
...
...
"… MARRY ME, HUBBY!"
Turned out he had no reason to worry, though it depended on who was answering the question, as Neptune quickly scarfed down the Pudding and jumped at him before he could react. Her speed had taken a sudden increase, catching Nico off guard as she glomped him, arms around his neck as she begged him to marry her right ow while crying anime tears.
"Wh-Whoa, what the hell?!"
That was Nico's startled reaction as he almost fell over. Fortunately, his reflexes kicked in and he retained his balance, his hands instinctively grasping her shoulders to push her away, however she stuck to him like glue, refusing to let go. "Ya just made me wanna forego all this foreplay and just have ya, Hubby! Make me Pudding like this and I'll have no choice but to let my feminine wiles take over-!"
Before Neptune could capitalize on her words with a kiss aimed towards his lips, Compa stomped over with a pouty expression on her features. When close enough, Compa grabbed Neptune and, with strength that Nico was stunned that she possessed, pulled Neptune off by force by grabbing the back of her hoodie. "Nep-Nep, you're being rude, Ni-Ni's privacy and purity is very delicate!"
The male made a complicated expression on his features as the two girls bickered once again about who he was going to marry in the future, with a mix of confusion added in as well. 'Uhhh… I'm not sure what point Compa is trying to make, but I'll take it.' he thought to himself, sweat dropping with a weak upturning of his , he kind of doubted that he was 'pure', his past deeds, his bbrutality and THAT spoke for themselves. He looked to IF for assistance, only to find her not paying this situation any attention whatsoever.
'Ugh, traitor! Well, I guess I shouldn't say that while making it I nearly vomited a few times from the smells…'
Later, the Party were walking to the Guild Building, leaving the house 30 minutes earlier so that they could make the deadline on time. It was time to go get Nico's new armour from the WDD, the armour he had lost originally against that white-haired woman with the Glaive. Not to be confused with Noire in her Black Heart form since she was their friend now, at least in Neptune's eyes though.
"I wonder what the eggheads at the Guild's WDD did when they said they messed with Nicky's armour." Neptune hummed in thought, her head tilted slightly with a finger on her chin while her eyes were facing her eyebrows, lost in thought so she was speaking out loud. She was positioned at Nico's left side, with Compa on the opposite side. "You think they added some more cool new gadgets to it to make it look cooler and more awesome?"
IF, who was walking behind the preteen, looked at the girl and said her piece. "It's likely they didn't do too much to it, remember this is Nico we're talking about." she reasoned, remembering the battles they had fought together, even the ones when Nico wasn't using his DPU powers.
Compa frowned though, she had a different opinion with regards to Nico's armour being modified. "I hope they didn't change it too much. It Ni-Ni's armour, so it's very precious to him. Changing it too much may upset him." Her concerns held merit, as the male had said many time that the Armour he had was important to him, so if they changed it so drastically, she feared that he may end up reacting rather negatively to it. she'd probably do the same if she was in his shoes.
Fortunately for her, she wasn't, and that was more of a good thing than she realised at that time.
Nico held in his response until he felt it was the right time, which happened to be after Compa had spoken, since nobody else continued. "I doubt that, since they say they made a few modifications, it likely means they used better versions of the alloys used to make it, among other tiny details. It's been in the works for a while, improving my armour I mean. However, thanks to me never shattering the module like in that battle, those upgrades were halted until I would lose the armour. In my opinion, at most they'll change a few of the specs or install a couple new weapons, nothing major."
Everyone looked at him weirdly when he said that last part. Did he just say that him getting more weapons was nothing 'major'? When he had a freaking arsenal already? In their minds, they imagined him loaded chock full of various guns and other weapons, the phrase 'AMERICA, FUCK YEA!' hanging overhead like a proud display. When he noticed their looks, and gave a raised brow one in return, it was all the answer they needed. They each had a unified thought: 'Whoa step back, we got a badass over here!'
Finally, they reached the Guild building and went inside, Nico holding the door out for the girls before Neptune could kick it open, much to her dismay. It wouldn't be good for them if they acted childish, especially at times like these. After they all were inside, Nico closed the door behind him and began walking ahead of them. "You know where you're going, right Nico?" IF questioned him, raising a brow.
The Guild Hall looked... lively, that was the best way they could put it. Because of the recent successes by the Military, there were a significant number of security guards posted throughout the Guild Building. Each of them wore the Planeptune soldier uniform: a black one piece suit with multiple flaps on the chest, thighs, and waist for carrying items. Dark purple Armour encased them in the form of chestplates, arm gauntlets. knee high boots, shoulder guards, an armoured 'skirt' around their waists, while their heads had dark purple helmets shaped like various monsters.
Each of them had the standard equipment set: a Combat knife strapped to their left thigh, a Katana strapped to the right side of their waists, while their main weapons were either Polearms, or other two handed weapons.
"Yep, yep I do. Follow me and stay close. The others will know you're with me." He replied simply as he went to the direction of a wall. Seeing that he was apparently walking towards a dead end in their eyes, the girls glanced weirdly at each other.
It was Compa who spoke the question on their minds first. "You think we should follow?" she queried, uncertainly filling her words as she glanced about, searching for any obvious signs of... well, anything.
Neptune huffed, tossing her head to the side while putting her shared sentiments with the Nurse-In-Training behind her cheerful facade. "Of course! Its Nicky for Goddesses sake, so I trust him! Why wouldn't I trust my hubby? Also, when has he ever lead us astray?"
Now that did make sense to the others. They had to admit that, while he did have his weird, silly moments on their adventures, Nico never lost the serious attitude he would display when the situation called for it. This point served its purpose of easing their doubts, but not outright erasing them like Neptune had originally intended.
"While I'm unsure about the hoodie part… you make a good point. Let's go."
With their debate over, the girls made their way over to the male's location, not wanting to get left behind. Said male raised his left Bracer and pointed the screen at the door, his eyes calm and his gaze intense. His mouth was etched into a firm line, giving him a tensity to is demeanor. Then, what looked like a port opened on the all, barely big enough to fit one's index finger through, and from it a single lens opened, a bright light shining from it onto the Bracer's Screen.
SCANNING, SCANNING..
While the Lens seemed to be doing something with their male Spec Ops Agent, Neptune glanced about and shuddered in unease, not liking the new atmosphere that the Guild Building had. "Brrr! Its so cold, and formal, in here." she remarked, rubbing her arms like she was actually int he middle of a cold climate. "What happened to all the fun, playfulness and general happiness that used to be here? I thought we'd left that stiff junk back at Lastation." she whined.
IF put a hand on her hip, glancing to the surroundings as well. Unlike the preteen though, IF didn't look discomfort at all. If anything, the brunette seemed to be completely at ease, if the slight upturning of her lips was anything to go by. "Actually, I kinda like it. Makes this place feel more like a place of work than before." she remarked, much to Neptune's dismay as she openly gaped in disbelief at her. Nevertheless, this didn't last long as IF's lips curved into a frown, a contemplative look forming in her eyes. "Though, Nep has a point. This kind of radical change mustn't have happened overnight, so what the heck is going on here?"
"Um, well..." Both girls drew their attention towards Compa, who had begun to speak but then flinched under the combined intensity their gazes radiated. "You see, I think its due to the military's recent successes. They've begun getting more and more funding with the rise in Abnormal activity. I heard a rumour that they have placed men here to show an example to the... lesser experienced of Agents. To make them strive to achieve their full potential." she explained, earning a hum of approval from the Guild Agent. Though, Neptune deflated at the thought of being in such a stiff environment all the time. That was Noire's schtick, not hers!
This soon changed however, like a complete 180 when Compa continued on. "I also heard this isn't going to be a regular thing, as the military wants all its personal fighting to regain the territories we lost to the Monsters. This should be over in like, a week or 3."
"I see..." IF remarked, frowning in contemplation as she held her chin in her left hand. 'I remember getting a notification about that one time when we returned to Planeptune. Though, I didn't check it because at the time we were too tired to do anything else but sleep...'
ID CONFIRMED: S RANK AGENT: DEATHSTROKE
ACCESS GRANTED
A robotic voice had spoken while the light shone on Nico's Bracer, until it finally stopped as the hole was closed. It served the purpose of bringing the girls attention away from their own thoughts. Nico and the girls watched as the wall seemingly split apart, several purple lines appearing from within to show that it was a doorway. The door split down the middle, both pieces sliding to the side, revealing an elevator.
Neptune could only look on in awe at this technology, her eyes like that of a curious toddler experiencing something for the first time. "Ooooooh, a super-secret elevator! This reminds me of those secret agent hideouts with their fancy gadgets they use to protect the earth from the scum of the universe." She mused, grinning in excitement.
That excitement was halted when IF grabbed her by the sleeve of her hoodie dress and began pulling her along into the doorway's passageway. "You can be impressed later, right now we gotta follow Nico to wherever he needs to go to get his Armour back."
"Again!" Neptune shouted, flailing her remaining arm as she huffed. "It's always the hoodie. What, is it 'Pick on Neptune's hoodie dress day' or something?" she didn't get an answer as they entered, the door closing behind him and disguising itself once more, like nothing had happened the entire time.
Soon, they began to descend, prompting the girls to feel like their skin was leaving their bodies. "Whoa, where'd this feeling come from? I feel like I'm about to lose my flesh." Neptune wondered in shock and surprise, looking down at herself to make sure that she wasn't losing anything important, especially for her 'wedding night' with her Hubby.
"Nep's simplicity aside," IF began, ignoring the preteen and her "Hey!" of indignation as she stared at the back of Nico's head, the male having kept to himself the entire time they had entered this place. "I'm more interested to know the theme behind this place. There doesn't seem to have any Goddess's colours here at all."
Now that she had mentioned it, Neptune and Compa realized that IF had a point. After they had gotten into the Elevator, they had not seen anything besides varying shades of silver or grey through their descent down the floors to wherever they were being taken. Likely past a department solely for Spec Ops. While Noire's CPU form had silver or grey as a secondary color, the shades used by her weren't used right here. It gave the feeling of neutrality, a sense of freedom that few buildings have nowadays thanks to the CPUs ruling over the world.
Nico once again confirmed their thoughts by speaking without turning back to look a them. "You'd be right there, IF. As I've said in the past, we Spec Ops Agents don't believe in any Goddess, we fight for our own selves. Thus, we have our WDD lack any Goddess colours to symbolise our lack of faith. It's the same for all the Branches in the other nations. We fight only for our own beliefs, our own ideals, not religious faith towards a divine entity." He explained.
Afterwards, Neptune began feeling a bit uncomfortable, as shown when she began to shift oddly as her eyes glanced around nervously. She tried to hide it behind a nervous chuckle though. "Ahahahaha, I see. Well, uh, I'm not so sure they'll like me then, since, ya know…" she trailed off, knowing what she wanted to say didn't need to be said. After all, they knew what she was talking about, and they agreed with her reasoning. A Goddess entering a place that doesn't believe in her isn't something that incite sunshine ad rainbows.
"If you're worried about whether they'll attack you, don't be." Nico began, glancing at Neptune from the corner of his right eye. "We may not believe in the CPUs, but even we can see the necessity that they bring. It's because of them that most people can live normal lives. Thus, we've learned to tolerate it. Although I will warn you, there'll be a minority that WILL try to hurt you if you let slip your identity. Those people were directly hurt by the lack of help by the CPUs, thus they carry hostile feelings for them."
Neptune shivered at the thought, feeling like she was about to walk into a Lion's den with a bunch of large meat pieces strapped to her body. She had been calmed when Nico had told her what the Spec Ops thought of her kind – she still felt it weird to call the other CPUs 'her kind' even now – but hearing that last bit set her worries up once again. "Look, just don't say anything that'll make people think you're the CPU and you'll be fine. Us Spec Ops are not like other Agents who'll fawn over cute girls, although there are some who have fan clubs." Nico shivered at the thought, and IF did the same.
Compa and Neptune however, blushed at the indirect compliment that Nico had given them, the latter having a happy smile accompany her blush though while the former had a wistful smile.
They didn't get to converse more because the elevator doors opened once again, revealing a long corridor completely devoid of any color, along with a series of Doors on the walls, each one a varying shade of silver or grey. At the far end was another door, that one having the words 'H. Dawson Office' above it.
"That must be it, then, this lady person's office." Compa state, gripping one of her arm's nervously. She was about to meet someone whom had been with her childhood fried for the four years she hadn't seen him for. It was a little nerve wracking to be honest, she hoped she wouldn't make a fool over herself.
Neptune however, had NONE of those reservations as she eagerly bounced out of the elevator and clung to Nico's arm. "Alrightie then, let's go get Hely's blessing, Nicky! Then we can have our traditional wedding then skip to the good stuff."
While Nico reacted like normal, blushing crimson at the close contact, Compa pouted as she and IF followed the two from behind, the elevator doors closing behind them. "Nep-Nep, you're rushing too fast, Ni-Ni's not getting married so young, you know."
Like before though, Neptune ignored the logic being thrown at her as Nico managed to break free from her hold. "Guys, please focus, we're in the middle of the workplace here." The male stated to them, frowning despite his embarrassed blush. Though, thanks to it his gaze wasn't as intimidating as it usually was. Maybe he should bring his Mask out, that'd show them how serious he was AND hide his embarrasment. "So, no funny business, you understand?"
"Kay…!" both Neptune and Compa droned in unison, sighing depressingly that they were being scolded by Nico of all people. Usually they wouldn't have been as effected as they were now, but there was a certain tensity in his voice that made them feel like they HAD to listen to him, otherwise something bad may happen, and they didn't want that, surely.
IF watched this interaction with a surprised gaze, having pocketed her Phone that she had been handling before to watch the spectacle. "Wow, did not expect to see you take charge there, dude…" she remarked in surprise, before a smirk of amusement went across her lips as she gazed at the male. "Something special about this occasion for you, or what? Normally you'd have kept quiet unless Nep did something truly stupid then you'd go all lecture mode on her."
Nico sighed at her words while Neptune flinched, rubbing the top of her head. She could still feel the phantom pains of whenever Nico would hit her on the head with either his fist or… other things, when in lecture mode. He had a strong fist, that's for sure. "Yeah well, I have a reputation as DEATHSTROKE to uphold here, so I cannot afford to have these guys see me get whipped by the girls. They'd never let me live it down."
'There's also the fact that my mother will never stop with her teases if she does see it...' The male thought, a shudder travelling down his spine. His adoptive mother, well, she was a nice woman, but she definitely had some... quirks, to her personality. Quirks that were best seen instead of described to give people that impression of her.
Shaking his head, Nico gathered his wits and strode forwards in long, confident strides. "Anyways, enough about that, we have a task to do, and then we have to head to Leanbox. Those Key Fragments won't find themselves."
This walk was short and set, yet it also had an added dose of tension. They were going to be meeting someone not only of high rank, but was also responsible for helping make Nico the badass Agent that he was. That had to mean that she too was equally if not more so, badass than him. The thought of meeting that kind of person, someone who could give the CPUs a run for their money, sent them waves of trepidation.
Just as the party neared the door, Nico's instincts suddenly went haywire, screaming at him that something bad was about to happen. 'What? The only time my instincts would activate in situations like these would be… oh shit!' Nico quickly sprang into action, grabbing the two closest girls he could, Neptune and Compa.
Both girls gasped at the unexpected move, and before they could respond to it, IF's instincts sent her into overdrive as well, making her twirl to the opposite side of the door. Only a millisecond afterwards did the reason why become apparent.
The door was thrown open with a violent slamming sound hitting the side of the wall, the cause being a man being sent lying through the air and down to the ground outside. "Whoa, that just got knocked the #### out, he needs some milk!" Neptune exclaimed. Was it just them, or did she somehow manifest a censor band put it over her mouth when she was about to curse?
Chalking it up to Neptune's weird habits, the group looked to see who it was that got thrown out of the room so suddenly. The man looked plain, with simple leather clothes under a silver chest plate with shoulder guards, forearm guards, knee guards and foot guards. When they had questions about his weapons, they were answered when a pair of shattered weapons flew out of the door, landing beside him in a clatter.
That sound roused the man from his pained grimace as he squealed in fear, like a pig about to be beheaded, before quickly grabbing his useless weapons and running away screaming like a girl. Nico and IF's senses also picked up faint traces of Urine, and they couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. They couldn't help but find it funny how a grown man was screaming like a little girl, even though they had several little girls in their party.
"He just ran off like a scardy cat… awwww, he looked so sad…" Compa frowned, her concern as a Nurse-In-Training already starting to show as she looked in the direction that the man had run off to.
'Compa…' Nico thought as he tried his best to restrain his chuckles by holding his fist over his mouth. The jokes that Neptune made at the guy's expense weren't helping in the least. 'You've once again proven you're a saint amongst us corrupted souls.' It took him a couple minutes, but he managed to regain his composure and exhale a breath. His face morphed from amused to serious in an instant, his mind and body preparing themselves. He knew what was going to happen once they stepped inside, and had to make sure he was ready for the hell that was to follow. He remembered a phrase a character from that one show would say whenever a troublesome situation arose. "Yare-Yare."
With nervous glances exchanged, the party went inside the office, taking in the sights as they did so since they didn't have the time to do so beforehand. The office was a decently sized one, with a slanted roof that was made from transparent glass, allowing one to look outside to see the dirt that showed that they were underground. There were white frames around the glass for support, while the walls were a silver colour, the side walls having portraits of detailed-looking art, pictures of battles fought in the past it seemed.
In the middle of the room, there was a wooden Desk, matching the room's colour scheme. Behind it, there was a black chair made from soft leather, one that could swerve around a full 360 degrees. In front of the Desk, there stood a woman with her back turned to them, muttering incoherently to herself. However, thanks to their enhanced senses, Nico and IF could hear what she was saying, and had to curb stomp their embarrassment at hearing so many curse words uttered in a vicious string of vulgarity. It looked like the man from earlier had pissed her off somehow, and for them that likely wasn't a good thing.
Glancing behind him, Nico looked at the girls and whispered under his breath, his eyes sending a piercing gaze into them to show how serious he was. "Stay back there, girls. I've got this." While they wanted to respond to him, they didn't want to risk the woman's wrath falling onto them as well. Neptune had made to speak louder than necessary, but IF managed to stop her in time by clasping her hands over her mouth.
With the knowledge that they wouldn't try anything stupid confirmed, Nico nodded with a slight smile, trying to relieve them in a manner so that they wouldn't be as worried. Turning his head back to the cursing woman, Nico stepped forwards a few times before clearing his throat, and preparing himself for what would happen next.
One second, the woman tensed up, her form stiffening as she realised that she wasn't alone. The next thing they knew, the woman had turned around and threw something at them, something fast, sharp and metallic. Nico wordlessly caught it just before it could impale the preteen's face, getting an "eep!" from her like a frightened dog.
The woman didn't let up seeing this however, as her form was covered in Datastreams that were reminiscent of Nico's portable armour, soon vanishing to reveal her body to be covered in light blue coloured armour. The armour covered her legs from her knees down to her feet, her elbows to her hands, shoulders, torso and head. The helmet covered the top portion of her head and had bird wings coming out the sides, which were slanted backwards. The shoulder guards were pointed sideways, while her gauntlets had sharpened nails and her boots had a single pointed tip each. Everywhere else was concealed by a skin tight black suit with pale blue digital lines running along the sides.
Instantly, the woman burst forwards, a weapon manifesting in her right hand that Nico quickly realised its identity as he Summoned Rebellion from his Void Storage. It and the woman's weapon clashed in a deadlock for the briefest of seconds, before the two blurred out of existence, vanishing without a trace.
Neptune, Compa and IF watched the face-off between the two with varying expressions of shock and awe, both at Nico and the woman's skill to be able to keep up with him. At one time they're in one place, then another in the next. It was difficult for even Neptune to keep track of them, and she was the energetic one in the bunch!
Sounds of combat raged through the room for an intense few minutes. To the trio, it felt much longer than that, as during the whole time there was enough KI in the air to make them feel like they were constantly held at sword point, even though there were no weapons directed at them. The intensity reminded them of a furnace, and they were smack dab in the middle of it.
After what felt like an eternity to them, the two stopped moving and wound up in the centre of the room, the same position they were before the fight began. The woman raised her weapon, which was a greatsword with a hilt wrapped with brown leather and a cross light blue guard. The blade itself was a double-edged blade with a V shaped tip. "Wait, you seem familiar… your fighting style seems so familiar…" the woman whispered, eyeing him slightly.
Her eyes then widened as her armour and sword vanished, replaced by her previous attire: a white lab coat over a purple blouse, knee length black skirt and high heels. Her previous anger evaporated into joy as she beamed and hugged the male like a girl hugging a stuffed animal. "Ohhhhhh, it's been so long, Nicky-Nick! I've missed you so!"
While she hugged him, her strength caused his face to start losing its normal complexion as he felt his windpipe getting crushed. "Pl-Please… y-you're ch-ch-choking…!" he tried to say, using his weakening strength to pat her shoulder for emphasis.
The trio of girls now were watching with confusion at the two, whom had been about to rip each other apart, now were acting like they were long lost relatives separated ins some grand twist of fate. "Um… I'm confused… I don't get this at all…" Compa whined, pouting while rummaging her brain. She tried to make sense of the situation, but let's just say she failed epically.
"Me too Compa, me too…" Neptune muttered under her breath, scratching the top of her head in confusion. "Before they were all 'grr, imma kill yo ass!' and now they're all huggy and kissy like they haven't seen each other in a long time."
The woman heard their words, and realised that they weren't alone in the office. She looked up, thankfully easing up on her hug much to Nico's relief. She looked them over, her gaze causing the trio to shift in discomfort. Why did they have the feeling they were being assessed like a bunch of Guinea Pigs in a test for a new drug? "These girls… are they with you by chance?" the woman looked down at the male in her arms and asked him that question.
Nico managed to pry himself free from the woman's grasp, taking several intakes of air to get his lungs going again, before responding as he rubbed his slightly sore neck, Rebellion back in his Void Storage. "Yeah, they're with me. They're Neptune, Compa and IF respectively." He introduced them.
Humming, the woman eyed them cautiously, and the girls felt those orbs digging into their beings for a long few moments. The girls shuddered under the scrutinizing gaze that the woman had on while she eyed them up. Neptune normally would have made a joke about stranger danger at this point, but for once she followed the mood and kept her gob shut.
However, it vanished next to instantly as a warm smile graced her features, replacing her hard visage with the kindness only a mother could possess. "Well then, it's nice to meet some of Nicky-Nick's friends. I am Helena Dawson, head of the WDD and Nicky-Nick's adoptive mother. But please, call me Helen."
Special Event - The Talk
It was 10 minutes before they were going out to the Guild to see Nico's mother. Everyone was in the corridor to the entrance to Compa's house, going over their items and checking if they had everything. "Alright, last minute item call, IF?"
"Everything's checked out on my end."
"Good. Compa?"
"Yessie, everything's A-OK!"
"Excellent. Neptune?"
"..."
"...Neptune?"
Everyone looked to the preteen, who looked like she was thinking hard about something. She was staring intently at Nico, a hand cupping her jawline while rubbing it with its index finger. "Hmmmm... Hmmmmm..." a low, thoughtful hum escaped her lips as she regarded the male, who slowly began to inch away from her with a disturbed expression on his features.
"Uhhhh..."
The brunette of the group face palmed as she shook her head. "Ignore her, the idiot's been like this since you announced that we'd be going to the guild. Not even Pudding snapped her out of this trance." she told them, getting wide eyed looks from Nico and Compa. Neptune ignoring Pudding? How the hell did that happen? was the Apocalypse here and they just weren't noticing it? Did hell suddenly freeze over?
Finally, the preteen snapped her fingers as a look of realisation spread across her face. "Ah! That's right!"
"Whoa!" All three shouted at once, caught off guard by the loud proclamation.
Neptune ignored it however as she bounded over to the shocked Spec Ops Agent and gripped his hands, holding them in hers. "Hey, Nicky, its been bugging me so II gotta ask ya something."
"Uhhhh... ooooookay?"
"Did ya mom give ya the talk?"
...
...
...
...
...
Silence passed between them as Neptune's question flew around their heads. Tempoarily, their brains were overclogged from what just happened so they couldn't process the question fully. But, when they did... lets just say pandemonium was the result.
"EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Compa shrieked, pulling Neptune away from Nico as she shook her back and forth. "Nep-Nep, why would you ask such a personal thing?"
"whuh-whuh-whuh-Compa-whuh-whuh-!"
Neptune tried to speak, to explain why she was asking this, but thanks to Compa's shaking she couldn't get much of her words out thanks to the dizziness that assaulted her mind. It didn't look like the Nurse-In-Training was going to let up either, or that se even noticed what she was doing.
Fortunately, IF managed to intervene by separating the two so that Neptune wouldn't barf all over their Nurse-In-Training. She pulled them apart with an annoyed expression on her features. "Alright you two, calm your horses." IF stated irritably, glancing to Compa. "Shaking Nep like a rag doll won't get the answers we want, Compa." The said girl blinked owlishly, before realising her folly. She couldn't help but giggle sheepishly, with a quick apology about how she jumped th gun there. Wit that, IF turned to Neptune who had already begun recovering from her recent experience. "As for you, what gave you the idea to ask something like that, Nep? Pretty sure someone gave Nico the talk."
"B-But I was just curious...!"
"#Mumble# #Mumble# #Mumble#"
Their argument got cut short when they heard some inaudible mumbling coming from nearby. The trio of girls looked for the source, and found that it was a certain badass male Spec Ops Agent... curled into a ball on the floor and muttering incoherently under his breath. His eyes looked like they lost all life, a slight trail of saliva escaping his lips while a cloud of depression formed overhead. "Heeeeey, Nicky!" Neptune shrieked, bounding over to him and shaking him by the shoulders.
He didn't respond except with more babble, but this time they could faintly hear some words escape those lips of his. "... #Mumble#... Mom... talk... #Mumble# #Mumble#... very... detailed... whip... out... great... force..."
He descended back into inaudible babble after that, but the girls got a message from what he had been able to say. "Looks like his mother did give him the talk, Nep." IF stated, crossing her arms under her chest as she stared with worry over the male's condition. "But it looks like it wasn't a 'normal' talk..."
"Whoooooaaaaaa..." Neptune muttered as a slight fearful look crossed onto her features. "I wonder what Nicky's mom is like to have made her son go like this when the talk is mentioned."
"Well, we'll have to wait thanks to you, Nep. I don't think Nico is in any condition to leave now."
"Yeah... sorry about that."
"Its okay, Nep-Nep. We can just inject him with my Syringe and it'll all be-"
"NO WAY!"
"... Biggest meanies ever."
