Chapter 46 - Reunion
It was a rather… unique atmosphere in the meeting room right now. Just moments before, the girls had seen this woman stressing about something to the point of muttering barely audible foul language, language that proper ladies wouldn't be caught dead in saying. The next thing they saw her do was rush at their sole male member with a suit of Armour, and him in kind, in one of the most intense quick battles they had ever seen, before she changed her tune and hugged the life out of him.
Talk about… bizarre.
The only one who WASN'T as perturbed as the rest of them was Compa, Neptune being second to follow as she was only mildly perturbed by the scene. "It's nice to meet you Miss Helena! My name is Compa." She greeted casually waving merrily with a massive smile on her face before she bowed humbly.
Her actions served to snap the party out of their funk, prompting Neptune to follow suit as she beamed a happy, if slightly unsure, nervous and somewhat concerned, grin at the woman who could possibly defeat them all in a few moves before they could even blink. "Heya, Ms, Neppy here to report for special Nicky delivery!" she announced like a grand announcer in a fighting ring, appearing besides an annoyed Nico and throwing her arms like half of an X to showcase him, a rather… silly pose, indeed.
BONK!
"Ouchies!"
"I'm not a package, Neptune!"
Once again, Neptune and Nico began to quarrel, bickering back and forth like she did with herself and certain Tsundere. The atmosphere turned several shades lighter at the sight of them doing this, reminiscent of a pair of kids playfighting each other.
"Should they really be fighting each other?" IF wondered, glancing curiously and cautiously towards the woman watching them. She couldn't get a proper read on her, and that alone spoke volumes about how powerful this woman was. It was like she was trying to get across a tall wall full of spikes as an inexperienced climber: a futile effort "I mean, Mrs sword happy is watching us right now…"
Pausing his little argument with the preteen, Nico turned his head and directed his gaze towards the concerned Guild Agent, a placating smile on his features. "Oh, don't worry about that, IF, she's not going to attack us now that she recognizes me." He spoke with a reassuring smirk. He then glanced to the woman, before returning his gaze back to the brunette, his next words spoken with a slight ominous edge to them. "If she really wanted you all dead, you'd have lost your heads the second you walked into the room."
"Wow, way to be reassuring, dude…"
The brunette spoke with a heavily sarcastic tone of voice, one that just got her an amused smirk from the male. IF suspicions remained for a few more moments, before a quiet giggle escaped the woman, Helen, as she directed a smile towards her. "Now-now dear, do not be worried. What Nicky-Nick says is true, he even informed m of your arrival with him before he entered." She explained, before sheepishly laughing as she rubbed the back of her head. "I just happened to have had one of THOSE kinds of meetings with some arrogant jackass Guild Agents who thought they were fit for the Spec Ops Exam."
Hearing her words, both IF and Nico had to wince, both for different yet similar reasons to each other. "Ah right, I forgot to mention to them that you were also a Spec Ops instructor and in charge of the Spec Ops exams…" Nico commented, sweat dropping at his forgetfulness of such an important fact. His adoptive mother may not be a Spec Ops Agent anymore, but she had taken on the duty of being an instructor for new recruits, teaching them and passing on her skills to the next generation.
Unfortunately, it must have been a universal thing for teachers to be sadists, since she didn't have that many students. Nico was just one of the few that survived her training regime and live to tell about it. Just thinking of the things she made him go through made 3 things happen: Nico shuddered, Biko hummed in curiosity and the other thing shut up.
Most silence he had in his mind for a while.
IF had similar thoughts as she looked the woman up and down, like a warrior evaluating another's strength for battle. 'I can't get a proper reading on her. Her guard has dropped, but there's no opening in her posture…. it's like she's always ready for battle whenever the time is called for it…' she thought to herself, gulping with recognition at the woman. 'So, this is a Spec Ops Agent retired, huh…?'
What she didn't know was that, under her polite demeanor, Helen was also evaluating IF thoroughly from her stance to her build. 'Hmmm… it seems she has gone through some decent training, likely from her old man. Her build suggests she's a fast hitter but lacks damage output, but if what Nicky-Nick told me briefly during our last phone call was true then her appearance is the ultimate deception.' She thought, remembering what Nico had told her about his companion.
It had been a couple days ago when she had received word about her from him, telling her that he was recommending her for the Spec Ops Exams, though he didn't fully specify why. At first, Helen had been stunned, not believing that someone managed to get Nico's approval enough to take the Exams. She knew well how distrusting he was of most Guild Agents, it was his caution borderline paranoia that helped her select the proper applicants to be a Spec Ops Agent. To get his recognition and approval was not something that was easily attained, nor did she brush it off either.
Now she could see why Nico was so interested in her.
"Don't be sorry, Mrs Helen." Compa softly assured the older woman who directed her gaze towards her instead of the Guild Agent. "It must be tough for you to handle that work alone. You could use an assistant to help lighten the load." She rationalised, wincing cutely at the amount of paperwork the poor lady had to do daily. Her work must make the Nurses in hospitals pale in comparison when regarding workloads.
Helen softly giggled behind one of her hands, which was held over her bottom lip. "Hahahaha, not to worry my dear, its nothing that this retired Spec Ops Agent can't handle. I may not be on active duty, but I still keep myself sharp." She reassured the younger girl, before her eyes gazed at her with calculation, looking her up and down and humming in acknowledgement. "You must be Compa, then, am I right? The one that Nicky-Nick spent so much time texting and calling these last 4 years." She summarized.
The young Nurse-In-Training blushed at the woman's words. The way she spoke, she made it sound like they were a loving couple. While she was willing to enter that kind of relationship with the male, Compa knew that she wasn't the only one who wanted the same thing from him. "I-I yes, w-we talked a lot on the phone, Mrs Helen." She stammered, refusing to meet anyone's gaze as she found the floor to be suddenly very interesting.
"Heeeeey, Lady!" Neptune whined, drawing Helen's attention as she hopped onto Nico's back, much to his surprise and Helen's too. "Why'd ya leave me, the main character, for last?" she whined like a child, clinging onto the male who desperately struggled to get her off. Her arms were secured around his neck while her legs were around his waist. "No fair, I should call OC Police for Plot fraud!"
Helen blinked several times, momentarily caught off guard by the purplette's whining, until something clicked in her mind. A groan escaped her lips as she facepalmed and shook her head, her free hand supporting the elbow of the hand on her face. "Nicky-Nick, this girl… is she…?" she almost didn't want to ask, such was how intense the reluctance was in her voice. However, her mind already knew the answer, no matter how hard she tried to deny it.
Nico nodded, sympathy radiating off him as he finally managed to pry Neptune off him. How he did that was nobody's guess since they weren't eyeing him at the time. "Yeah, she is. She's one of THOSE like THAT GUY." He replied solemnly, soon matching her posture and groaning in dismay. "She's like a female version of him, save for the red and black spandex, the dual wielding, and general skills."
"Hey! I just got dissed, didn't I?!" Neptune exclaimed in shock. She had been thinking it was a compliment that they were making about her, so she had drunk it up with pride, only for the words to kick in and she spat out all the drink she had metaphorically taken. "Nicky, you're a meanie! You're supposed to be on your future wifey's side here!"
Compa pouted as she saw Neptune latch onto Nico's arm and try to aim the puppy dog eyes technique that all women were universally famous to have mastered. She was trying to get him to cave, but Compa wouldn't allow that as she tugged on his other arm, aiming a pouty jealous glare in Neptune's direction. "Nep-Nep, Ni-Ni isn't you're Hubby here! You haven't even gotten engages yet, you need to go on dates and then he has to propose for that to happen!"
Thus, their usual antics begun as the two girls squabbled over Nico, much to the male's dismay. IF stayed behind and watched this happen, she was too used to it to care anymore at this point. "Well, that escalated quickly." She remarked with a tilt of her head at her dry mannerisms. "It's really gotten out of hand fast." When they showed no signs of stopping anytime soon, IF had enough and stomped on over, applying her power into her limbs and grasping the two from behind, Neptune byte back of her hoodie and the back of the sweater for Compa. "Alright kids, settle down before mommy has to punish you with 1000 spankings."
Nico sighed in relief as the two girls were pried off him by force, Neptune flailing her limbs all the while as she tried to get him again, but IF wasn't having that. "Well, mom, this is what I've had to deal with…" he tiredly sighed as he looked towards the woman, who had an abashed look on her face as she watched the spectacle. "How is it that the other Agents like this sorta attention?"
Looking back in the teen's direction, the woman made to answer, when an idea popped into her mind. A Teasing smirk that sent shivers of dread down Nico's spine formed on her red lipstick-covered lips as she crossed her arms under her bust line. "Why I'm not sure. But I do have to admit, Nicky-Nick, I couldn't help but notice you having a small smile on your lips when she jumped on you. Looks like you're developing a harem, my boy!" she then fake-wept as she pulled a handkerchief out and began dabbing it on her eyelids. "Your father will be so proud when he finds out. Now all we need is a wedding night and we'll finally have grandkids!"
"MOM!"
It took a grand total of 30 minutes before everything started to calm down, the longest being Nico for recovering from his adoptive mother's teasing. He always knew she'd want grandkids, and whenever she saw him with a female colleague she would always tease him about it, hinting that they would marry and give her grandkids already. Even Raven and Lucy were no exceptions, much to the chagrin of one, the amusement of the other, and the embarrassment of both.
"So, uh, you're Nicky's mom, right? Got any cute baby pictures to show and tell?" Neptune asked with excitement, ignoring the fierce glare that Nico sent her way for asking that question. Though its lethal effect was numbed thanks to the embarrassed red on his cheeks.
'I must admit, I too am curious as to what you were like as an infantile human. It would have been… interesting, to witness.'
'Sh-Shut up, it's not that important!'
'OH, I BEG TO DIFFER, THERE, KING!'
'N-Not you, too!'
Unaware of Nico's mental argument with his tenants, one of whom was laughing maniacally while the other gave blank humming sounds, to the male's irritation, Helen giggled in amusement at the sight, before smiling apologetically at her. "As much as I would like to have some, I don't. A true shame, I heard that Nicky-Nick was super cute back when he was a toddler." She replied, making Neptune go "awwww!" in disappointment. "Also, I said it before, but I'm his adoptive mother. But we can spend some girl time later, right now you all came to see DEATHSTROKE get his Armour, am I correct?"
At the mention of that piece of equipment, all eyes widened when they remembered why they had come here in the first place. With what had happened up till this point, their original reason had slipped their minds, swept away by the flood of hilarity that was the antics that the Party got into daily. "Oh yea, Ni-NI'S Armour's done, right? Can we see it? Please-please-please?" Compa begged, clasping her hands together and doing the best expression of a puppy dog as she could.
Now while Neptune looked cute when doing that face, when Compa did it made her look tame in comparison. She just had this ungodly adorableness that made resisting her nigh impossible. The proof was shown when Helen… squealed like a little girl and encircled her arms around the younger female, trapping her in a hug and rubbing her cheek against hers. "Awwwww, you're so adorable! So cuuuuuute! Awwww, I just wanna hug ya to death!" she exclaimed, stars literally dancing over her head.
However, what she didn't realize was that she was unknowingly crushing the poor girl in her grip. "U-Um…. Mrsh Ha'en… can't… breashe…" she tried to say, her face slowly shifting color due to lack of air.
Fortunately, Helen realized what the problem was before it was too late, and hurriedly let her go, detaching from her and taking a step back while raising her arms in a placating motion. "O-Oh my, I am so sorry. I just got carried away there. A-As you can tell, I'm a hugging woman. I love me some hugs." She tried to explain, laughing nervously. Awkwardly, she cleared her throat and tried to move on while Compa heaved heavy breaths, trying to intake as much air as possible to fill her lungs back to full. "Anyways, you lot came here at a good time."
She turned on her heels and made her way around the desk, her heeled feet clicking against the floors as she did so. When behind her Desk, Helen bent over and opened a compartment hidden from their view before pulling something out and closing the compartment. She held it in such a way that they couldn't see what she was holding, but sight wasn't needed. They each held an idea of what it was she was holding as she walked back around to them, more specifically towards Nico. "The Module was just dropped off by that Guild Agent earlier, he'd been asked to by his superiors while on his way to apply, but he assumed differently. Got his comeuppance, though." She explained smirking in amusement at the end.
Nico's eyes narrowed at that, his mind conjuring up an idea as to what he had assumed. It didn't take him long to conclude on a scenario, and it made him bristle inside. 'Bastard, thought that Armour was for him!' he growled in his mind, but didn't ponder on it for long because he felt his DPU Powers respond to his anger. Biko had explained to him that his DPU powers were enhanced by negative emotions, anger, sorrow, loneliness, despair. Most of all, though, rage was the primary emotion. Too make a comparison, everything else was like a short ripple in a pond made by a small pebble. However, rage was like a massive boulder crashing into the pond's surface, creating large waves of water that spread long distances. Thus, he had to keep his anger in check for the foreseeable future.
Once he was calm enough, the teen reached out and gingerly took the object she had held into his hand, feeling the familiar weight grace his skin. A grin slowly swept onto his features, his emotions replace by a gradually rising excitement that filled him to his very core. He looked giddier than a child on a sugar rush or Neptune in a room full of pudding. Yeah, it was that powerful.
The object starkly resembled the objects that he had given Neptune and Compa that formed their armors: with the lenses being orange in color with a black outer piece and the legs being black. The sight brought back so many memories, both good and bad. In the end, those memories shaped this Armour into the Armour that was well known for its wielder: DEATHSTROKE. To lose his Armour was losing a part of himself. It was like a CPU losing her HDD, they lost something integral to what they were, as impossible as that sounded.
… why did Nico get the feeling he'd just jinxed himself?
Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, Nico gripped the device by the sides of the black piece, fingers in between the legs that now sprang to life, as if prepping to grab onto something. "Whelp, let's see what's new about you, shall we buddy?" Nico whispered lovingly to the object, as if it could speak.
He then placed it on his chest, and was enveloped by the familiar blue Datastreams, feeling a process apply to him that hadn't been applied in a long, long time. The process felt a little longer than they remembered, but when the Datastreams finally left him, Nico stood once more in DEATHSTROKE's Armour.
(Play Deadpool theme – Marvel vs Capcom 3)
The Armour had minor changes to its appearance compared to the last time they saw it. The Mask now looked more like a helmet, with one side orange, the other side black, and the back black, with the eyepiece remaining the same. There was a leather black bodysuit that covered what the Armour didn't cover instead of chainlink mail, and an orange band fell from the back of the helmet. The Armour on the arms now covered every part of it, with small gaps between them to show the sit underneath, ending in black and orange gloves. The leg Armour also now covered the entirety of his said limbs, up to his waist which now had a silver belt around it, ending in metallic segmented boots. The chestplate now looked connected with the shoulder guards which went down the arms instead of going outwards like before, concealing more of Nico's form. Brown belts and straps adorned his form, including the various holsters that Nico normally wore. His gauntlets still had the bracer Interfaces on them, but now they came with a lid made from the Armour, so that they had some protection whenever he got attacked in those areas.
"… Whoa…" Nico gaped in awe behind his ma-no, his HELMET, as he examined his Armour, looking down at his body, then up and down his limbs. He would flick his arms and as if by command, the lids would flip open, showing the Bracer Interfaces underneath. His breathe had been completely stolen from him at this point, but the Armour wasn't done impressing him yet.
He fumbled about with the Armour a bit more and 2 things happened: The first thing, the shoulder guards lifted outwards to reveal a hidden compartment, where 2 cannon-like barrels suddenly slid out, pointing their tips forwards. They were black in color with orange rims, a purple glowing interior indicating what they were meant to fire.
Secondly, from beneath his wrists a pair of blades made from purple volatile-looking plasma energy shot out, being about 12 inches in length. They had come out with a near-silent SCHING sound, the faint sounds of crackling reaching his ears. If he could barely hear it, then the girls would likely not at all, Nico realised.
The male quickly brought up his right forearm, flicking open the lid to manipulate his right Bracer into bringing his Armour's new schematics onto the holographic screen. It appeared above the Bracer and he quickly checked these new weapons out. The shoulder mounted guns were called 'Plasma Cannons' that were fueled by Plasma Cells located at the center of the Armour's back, while the blades were known as 'Hidden Blades', fueled by more Cells hidden within the Gauntlet, both cells being protected by the Armour.
He also noted a brand of new weapons added to his Void Storage upon donning his Armour, with images and descriptions:
Plasma Chains - Chains made from Plasma and sporting sharp spikes along the sides, in addition to the tip, launched from the gauntlets that can function like grappling hooks or whips. Best used to pull enemies in for Close Combat or to travel short distances.
Plasma Launcher - A grenade Launcher that fires Plasma based Grenades. Manifests from within the Void Storage. Upon manifestation, cables from within the right shoulder socket shall connect to its canister to supply Plasma Cells for its ammunition. Grenades are explosive, so friendly fire is advised when handling.
Force Busters - A set of Plasma Knuckle busters that are best suited for hand to hand combat. Can deliver shocking electric bursts upon impact that can numb the enemy's nerves, slightly hindering their movement. Caution is advised.
Shields - A thin, shield of plasma layered across the entire Armour. Whatever hits it shall disintegrate before it touches the Armour, protecting it from harm. This shield however, cannot endure everything, and will vanish to recharge once its reached its limits. The shield specs are listed further through this link.
"The Hidden Blades, Plasma Cannons, chains, the launcher, Force Busters and Shields are new additions to your Armour. We felt your Plasma arsenal wasn't big enough, that you weren't making full use of this energy, so we decided to further research it, resulting in these new changes." Helen explained as everyone ogled DEATHSTROKE's new Armour. Even the male himself who was barely holding back he urge to jump up and down like a someone on high. "If you check your skill box you should see a few new additions to your Skills, as well. These Skills rely on your Plasma Cells, so be wary about how much you use them." She explained, her eyes hard and her face serious. Although if one could see past this face, then they'd see her pride at seeing Nico enjoying his new Armour.
Nico did just that through manipulating his right Bracer. The screen switched to a screen showing his list of Skills, ones that included the Demon ones much to his surprise and slight concern, but it didn't seem like Helen had noticed them, hopefully. She did have a falcon's sight after all, metaphorically of course. There were some new Plasma Skills here, ones that he looked over the Specs of and felt his grin go so wide that it started to hurt his face:
PLASMA BLAST
GIGGA BLADE
PLASMATIC OVERLOAD
· PLASMA BLAST was basically his Plasma Cannons firing 2 larger-than-normal beams of said energy, constantly damaging the enemy for a few seconds before making a massive purple explosion.
· GIGGA BLADE was where his Hidden Blades enlarged themselves from their simple spike like forms to the size and height of a broadsword's, allowing him to deal additional Plasma Damage to his enemies.
· PLASMATIC OVERLOAD worked by releasing the limiters placed on the Armour's Plasma Cells, making them run beyond those limits. This enhanced his Plasma based attacks, at the cost of them not being able to be used at the end of the Skill, which was a total of 10 seconds at this point. The Specs said that the more he used it, the longer the duration and the quicker the recharge time.
A Spec Ops Agent's Armour was not just for protecting them from danger, they could also be technical marvels too. Nico's Armour is a prime example, for it had installed within it specialized packs of pure plasma, condensed into cellular forms. These were hidden deep within the module itself, connected to circuits that the Module interwove through the Armour itself, and considering that the Armour forms over the Modules well, it basically means those Cells weren't going anywhere anytime soon. These Cells helped power his plasma based weaponry, like the Plasma Claws.
Before though, this technology had only been recently developed, thus the full potential of Plasma-based weapons hadn't been tapped into. It was mostly used as a substitute power source, albeit a unstable one at times. More than one record existed of Plasma Cells detonating when exposed to the right conditions, killing everything within a 20 mile radius. This made them a dangerous tool to be used on the battlefield, where anything could go wrong. Hence, why Nico had been one of the few who operated with them. Nevertheless, Nico had heard rumors that the technology was still being researched for its potential as a viable weapon against the Abnormals and other Monsters. Bad thing for most, good thing for him, that was how he saw it, anyways.
It looked like the fruits of that labor were to be bearing fruit soon.
With all these new upgrades, combined with the Powers his DPU side gave him, Nico felt like he was on top of the world, and there was only one way for him to respond to this. The male turned around, his lone eye shining with joy and appreciation, as he blurred forth and tackled Helen into a hug, his arms wrapped around her back tightly. "Thakyouthankyouthankyousomuch mom!" he squealed happily, hopping up and down energetically like he was 4 years old again.
Helen, unlike Compa when she got this hug, could breathe still as she giggled and wrapped her arms around him, reciprocating the hug. "You don't need to thank me, dear. I'll look out for you anytime." She whispered soothingly while rubbing the back of his head with her right hand.
The girls cooed at the bonding moment between mother and son, even if by adoption. "Awww, that's so sweet!" Compa squealed, trying to keep her hype on the down low as to not disturb the two.
IF made to agree, even she could find some joy in seeing this family moment between the two. Throughout the times she had known him, Nico had never once smiled like that with such a childish joy in his eyes. What was bizarre in her eyes was that he looked like a final boss in an adventure game, and yet he still acted like an innocent toddler. She would have spoken this when she felt something on her leg. Looking down, she saw that it was Neptune, hugging her leg with crocodile tears in her eyes. "Nep, what the heck are you doing?"
"#SNIFFLE, SNIFFLE#... it's just so beautiful, Iffy… the bond off mommy and son…"
"Whatever you think it is, could you NOT get snot on my boots?! Get off, already!"
After a moment, the two pulled away, now being aware that they were being observed by an outside party. "Now then, Nicky-Nick, it's time that you get that Armour tested." She told him, seriousness replacing the earlier softness that she displayed before. Nico, knowing that he needed to rein in his joy right now, nodded in equal seriousness as he took a few calming breaths.
"I've uploaded the co-ordinates into your right Bracer, there should be something there for you to test it on. Be wary, this part of Planeptune is still largely unexplored thanks to the influx of Abnormals in the surrounding lands. Make sure to stock up plenty of potions and healing items, and above all, take care of that Armour we don't have enough materials to make another, you got me?" Helen sternly spoke sounding more aggressive at the end, her eyes flashing dangerously.
With resolution, Nico nodded several times, saluting the woman afterwards. "Yes ma'am! Heading to the co-ordinates now." he responded like a soldier, knowing that glint in her eyes. It was usually reserved for the rebellious few in their group, if they disobeyed her commands, that glint would come before… some harsh punishment, even for hardened Spec Ops Agents, would be put into place. With that, Nico turned on his armored boots and walked out of the Office, intent on testing his new armour out.
(Theme end)
When the girls all agreed with glances to follow him, Helen stopped them just when they took their first steps, by calling out to them. "Wait, could you girls stay for a bit please?" she requested, her hands now in her pockets as she shifted from a Head of a well-recognized department, to a simple mother. "I'd like to get to know the types of people accompanying my beloved son, if you would please."
The girls looked to each other in concern, slightly nervous. This was especially so for Neptune and Compa, as their feelings for the male were… different from that of IF and, maybe, Noire's too. Also, Nico tended to be slightly reckless occasionally, and it was trough them that he got out of it mostly unscathed, mostly because he lacked his signature Armour at the time. "Uhhh… are you sure? I mean, Nicky is…" Neptune tried to say.
However, Helen quickly assured the girls that their worries were pointless. "It's alright, dear. That armour is stronger than the one Nicky-Nick used last, so it should take more punishment than his old gear. He'll be fine, and like I said, a mother needs to know whose company her son involves, you know."
The girls glanced towards each other, then at the door, then back at Helen. While parts of them still worried for their male party member, it didn't seem like they could have had the heart to deny a mother her request to know the type of people her son associated with. Plus, more than few of them wanted to ask her a couple things about her son, things that Thus, they reluctantly chose to stay with her and listen to what she had to say. What was the worst that could happen to Nico, eh?
Meanwhile, the male was now running through a large forest, south of the Virtua Forest. This wasn't a Dungeon, he'd realized when checking his Holomap of the Nation, but a normal forest. Thus, his curiosity about what could the WDD be so interested in here was piqued. If his adoptive mother was so interested about it, then it had to be something good.
The details downloaded into his Bracer, along with the co-ordinates to this Forest, had followed as thus:
Unknown Anomaly detected
Anomaly suspected to be the cause of increasing Abnormal Activity
Abnormals Sighted around target Anomaly
Investigate and suppress any hostiles encountered
Search and Destroy
'This must be the reason why the Military has been getting more and more focus recently.' Nico suspected with a thoughtful hum while he ran. If monster activity was starting to change as drastically as it had done before, then the Military would need to step up its game as well. That meant they needed better weapons, better Armour, better equipment, intelligence and above all, support from the Public. He only assumed that the Basilicom only agreed to this because it was necessary for their survival, and that their deaths would negatively affect Purple Heart's divine powers. Those recent victories the military had been reported to have might have caused this Anomaly, that was one of the theories circling around his mind.
Though, these thoughts were overwhelmed by the sheer ecstasy his Armour's return brought him. There were of course, stark differences to it, but it still had the 'heart' that allowed him to identify it. It fit snugly against his frame, a feeling of protection and safety overcoming him that he had not felt for a long time. Nico hadn't had the chance to ask her why there were some secrets about the Armour that were kept from him, or about how they helped control his instincts, but those questions would be asked in time. After all, he didn't really mind that they were there, just that nobody told him about it.
Even now, he could feel his instincts acting up, but in a more… controlled manner, not wild and untamed like they were back in Lastation. Perhaps that was why Noire had been so hesitant on talking to him whenever they were alone or near others. There was always this… intensity about him, something that was derived from his powerful instincts keeping him on guard. His suspicions about Noire's identity probably didn't help matters either.
'Hmmmm, this Armour does seem well-crafted, I must admit. It may not be made from a DPU, however the engineers who made this have my praises for their design.' Biko suddenly spoke, breaking his mental concentration. Nico was used to it at this point though, so he didn't show any outward reaction to it.
He decided to answer his demonic personification's statement with his own. 'Of course, it was crafted with my mother directly supervising it. She was a Spec Ops Agent herself once, plus she trained me, so her experiences and recommendations were considered highly when it was being forged.'
Then, the OTHER voice, the crazy, borderline psychopathic one, spoke up, and it was not pleased in the slightest. 'AW. MAN! I WAS SO LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE TIME GETTING TO LET LOOSE! IT WAS THE MOST FUN WE HAD IN A WHILE, WASN'T IT KING?! CAN'T YOU TAKE IT OFF?'
The male vehemently shook his head, not liking that idea even more than the voice's displeasure. 'Hell no! I'm not letting myself go crazy and go on a murdering spree, you fucker! I control you, not the other way around!'
'TSK, PARTY POOPER…'
That voice's presence soon faded from his mind, leaving Nico alone with the presence of Biko instead, like they had intended. 'It appears that IT is getting stronger. With the lack of suppressants on your instincts, ITS power is growing considerably.' Biko said, and while his tone was flat, the topic he was discussing did cause immediate concern for him and his master's safety. 'Are you sure it is wise to not inform the females of your party? This situation seems like something thy should know about-'
'No!' Nico flat out shouted through the mental link. His emotions slightly changed from calm and resolute to panic and frantic in less than a second. This caught Biko off guard slightly, but enough to stop him from responding as Nico continued. 'They won't know! They can't! I… I would rather that they didn't know, even if I die from HIM. I just… I can't…'
'Very well… but know this, the power of a bond is greater than you realize. If they're truly close to you, then they will not care about what you are.' Biko said, and with those words, his presence vanished back into his inner world, leaving the forefront of his mind.
By that time, Nico noticed that he was arriving close to his destination, as proven when he checked his Bracer and saw a red arrowhead on top of a piece of the Forest map he'd downloaded, and his own location indicator nearing it. 'There's a clearing at the end of this path, so I should slow to a stop when I get out.'
The time he was thinking of soon approached as the dense wilderness began parting ways along his path, and soon enough Nico hopped and then did a mighty leap, jumping through the air and emerging from the wilderness. He landed in a kneeling position, riding out the waves of his landing before slowly standing up.
Looking around, the male saw that the clearing was admitingly rather small, not exactly the ideal place for a fight, which was likely why the Guild sent him in the first place. Not everything took place in conveniently large areas, usually those kinds of battles rarely happened, which was why Spec Ops Agents usually count their blessings in those battles. The tighter the area, the more difficult the fight, really.
However, the tightness of the clearing wasn't what Nico was focusing on right now, in fact he hardly recognized this as an immediate problem. His attention was on what was standing at the center of the clearing. 'Whoa… never seen something like this before…' Nico thought to himself, his sole uncovered eye gazing up at the large, imposing image of what looked like a rectangular, 20 feet tall Obelisk structure. The black color of its metal contrasted heavily with the greens of the wilderness around it, giving it the impression that it shouldn't be here.
There were ghostly black Tendrils, some sporting yellow Veins that slithered across the Obelisk's surface, many slimy sounds being heard as they did so while the Obelisk released a faint yellow glow from its centre. That glow, along with everything else about it, just screamed 'unnatural' to the male who shuddered. 'This thing… I don't know what I is, but something gives me the creeps about it…' Nico thought to himself, feeling his sweat come out his forehead, and then be absorbed by his Armour.
'This thing… I don't know why but something feels off…' he thought, swiftly bringing up his right Bracer to eye level, flicking open the lid and manipulating its interface to display the Quest details on a holographic screen. The Details manifested seconds later, and he read the passage over once again.
We were patrolling the forests, wary of new Dungeons being created by the Abnormals, when we came across something we've never seen before. Its huge, and black, and creepy! Could someone check it out please, I'd much appreciate it!
'Huh… Well, those Scouts do need to learn to give more precise info to the guys risking their necks to go out here for them.' Nico made to move forwards when a shot from Biko caused him to stop abruptly. 'Stop! Do you not sense it?!' Biko's words caused Nico to stop his reflexive retort before it could even begin and instead he blinked in confusion. It was only a second later did he realist that his senses were acting up, his demonic energy senses anyways. 'This structure… it reeks of demonic energy. It feels so similar to us that its driving our power crazy. I would advise you to transform if you wish to get closer.'
Biko's words rung with truth, transforming into his DPU form, Crimson Soul, felt like the ideal move to make, however his mother's word as and desires for him to test the Armour she'd made for him also had a pull on his mind. It caused him to become conflicted on what to do, be cautious or take the risk and come out potentially with better Armour than he did before.
And yet, before he could reach an answer a pulse of demonic energy reached his senses, making Nico turn to where its's source was, until he came face-to-face with the Obelisk again. But this time, something was different, something his eyes traced to the centre where the yellow glow was.
That something was soon revealed, when the glow suddenly spread up to the top and bottom parts of the Obelisk, sliding sideways and making way like a door opening. 'Oh shit, this thing must be a portal or something!' Nico thought in alarm, reflexively summoning and Drawing Rebellion and Alastor.
Good thing too, because not a second later, something big and burly blasted its way through the opening in the Obelisk, rushing straight towards him with an explosion of murderous intent. 'Whoa!' the male quickly ducked under what he felt was a swing of a weapon, something large he guessed and sharp like a blade but with enough strength behind it to make the sharpness of the weapon a real problem.
After the wave of air passed by the male's head, Nico swerved his upper body so he could twist and get into a defensive stance while also facing whatever it was that had launched a surprise attack from nowhere. His lone eye narrowed, and then widened when he gazed upon the creature that had attacked him, or rather, the energy radiating off it in waves.
Demonic energy… just like his DPU Form.
'Be wary, Nico. I believe this creature is more than it seems.' Biko informed the male as they eyed the creature before them warily. The creature looked to be a muscular, bulky large man. The man-shaped creature wore a pair of leather pants held by a marge metallic belt around its waist, its feet being encased in matching leather boots. Bits and pieces of Armour could be seen on them, making them protected from most attacks that otherwise would have sliced through them. Its upper body was bare, showing off large muscles and imposing physique. Its eyes and mouth glowed a hollow yellow colour, with sharp teeth in its mouth and a cowl was worn on top of its head.
But that was when the human similarities seemed to fade away and the signature monster features took residence. It's left arm was longer and larger than its right, with fat-looking dark bluish crystals growing out of the shoulders and down the arm, which ended in a large claw with its fingers made from the same material that the crystals were. Its right arm in contrast, looked significantly slimmer and slightly shorter than its left, while it held onto the shaft of a Massive Axe-like weapon.
The Axe's shaft was wrapped in straps of leather, up to the base of its blade that had 3 glowing yellow eyes with slits for pupils, arranged into a vertical line up the base of the blade. Most of the blade was made from some organic material that matched the color of its skin, with a double ended metallic edge protruding out of the organic growth. Out the top of the weapon's blade were the same bluish crystals that grew out its left shoulder and arm.
'Ok… I've heard of Abnormals being wacky in appearance, but this is just ridiculous…' Nico thought as he saw the creature glaring heatedly at him, before letting pout a loud roar as from its back, a surge of black masses exploded outwards, blood and black tar landing on the ground with a splatter as it morphed into a series of long, thin-looking Tendrils, each one making grotesque, disgusting slithering sounds as they swayed back and forth behind it.
'I do not believe this is any Abnormal, Nico. While they are bizarre, none of them seem to possess any demonic energy of their own. Their presence however, does seem familiar to me, but I cannot put a finger on the reason for this. This creature however, is completely different, it has power that could give a DPU a run for its money, its demonic power is considerably formidable.' Biko said, hastily denying the option of this being an abnormal and reasoning that because this thing ha demonic energy like he did, it couldn't be any Abnormal monster.
Before Nico could respond, the creature roared at him again, a mixture of a monster and a man's roar escaping its mouth, making Nico curse as the creature jumped at him.
