Chapter 47 Talks and The Defiler

"Huh? Well, where should we start…?" Neptune asked the woman before them. The girls were now seated on chairs in a semi-circle formation at the centre of Helen's office, said woman having opted to move her own chair to the front of her desk and placing her backside on it. They were all feeling a collection of anxiety, considering how they were about to be grinded for details of their adventures by someone who was the adoptive mother of their male party member, so yeah, a little nervousness was justified in their minds.

Even more so with te fact that she was the head of an important department, a former Spec Ops Agent, and they had seen her power first-hand. If Nico had revealed his demonic energy and transformed into Crimson Soul, maybe she wold have lost however she had more experience on her side so Helen would likely be able to keep a level head and prepare for whatever Nico would throw at her in that state.

"Perhaps it would be best if this young lady, Compa, was it? Goes first." Helen suggested, already sensing the nervousness the girls were facing While it was amusing to her, she also wanted to know wat company her son kept with him these days, so she had to hurry things along before they grinded to a halt. "I've heard a lot about you from him you know, makes me wonder what kind of relationship you two have."

Helen eyed the young girl before her with a pleasant smile, yet her eyes held a firmness that didn't match her smile. She was being the imposing mother that was concerned for her son, and was doing it masterfully. She'd eagerly waited for this day to come, where girls would show interest in her son to the point of partying with him. Not like that fangirlism that male Spec Ops Agents seem to love so much, but genuine romantic interest. She did want to see her son happy after all, so fangirls were a bit no-no. 'If any of them hurt my son, nothing will save them from my wrath...' she thought darkly to herself, already imagining the various tor-punishments, she corrected herself, punishments she would inflict on them. And from what she could see, she could tell that this girl had that in spades.

Though, why did she seem so familiar...?

The said Nurse-In-Training blinked, unaware of the hidden meaning that the woman was making which was not missed by the other girls. However, they didn't say anything in fear of getting Helen mad, something they did NOT want to do at this point. "Eh? Well, we're childhood friends, have been for a long time, and uh…" Compa fumbled about, playing with her hands to keep herself calm and avoiding the calm gaze the woman was sending her way. "Ni-Ni's always been there for me… helping me when I need it, be it through text, comforting calls or confronting bullies when I couldn't… I really like him for that…" she stammered, her face as red as the hair of her childhood friend/crush's. "And, with the things I learn about him… well… it makes me like him even more…" Somehow, she managed to gain a wave of confidence into her body as she looked up and firmly gazed into Helen's eyes. "and I wanna help him however I can."

There was a short pause, as everyone took in the feelings that Compa had shown them, though at the cost of her becoming redder than a tomato. Still, the bravery that she showed in admitting to these feelings to her crush's mother of all people was admirable, and it spurred the others on to do the same. If someone as shy and innocent as Compa could do it, then so could they.

If there was such a thing as motherly satisfaction, then Helen would call the emotions she was feeling towards the young Compa that. She could tell it was difficult for her to admit, due to her shyness. Helen had pegged her as a shy, timid individual from what Nico had told her of his childhood friend, and sometimes through the phone calls she would listen into for the sake of 'motherly protection'. What, a woman had to make sure her son isn't falling into the grip of perversion, you know!

"You go, girl! That's my rival for Nicky's love!" Neptune proclaimed, quickly getting Helen's attention as a surprised look crossed onto her face at how blatantly she had just said that. The others all collectively looked at her with startled, disbelieving gazes, just as stunned as the adoptive mother of Nico, how the hell did Neptune figure that would go over well, especially with how she just threw it out there?

"Nep-Nep!"

Neptune ignored Compa's cry and turned towards the shocked former Spec Ops Agent. "Yeppers, you heard that right, Mrs Nicky's sorta mom! Nicky's my Hubby, as of a week and a few days ago! He's been a good guy to me for so long now, that at that stated time I decided to become his wifey! Poor guy's super shy about it though but that's what makes him so charming, hehehe!" Neptune then sighed wistfully, her eyes glazing over slightly as she spoke again, her smile being one of a maiden in love with her crush. "Nicky's been there for me since day one with Compa. I have amnesia, ya see, so I was kinda lost and had nowhere to go, but he and Compa took me in. Ever since, he's done a lot for me, ya know? Gave me Armour, helped me fight bad guys, looked after me on my Quest to get my memories back and all that stuff. Then when I found out something kinda big, Nicky helped me through it all like a sweet Hubby! What's not too love about 'im?"

The preteen shot the woman a wide grin, her eyes beaming with positive emotion that she held for the male. It was positively blinding, to the point that it rivaled the light of the sun. 'What the heck is with this girl, saying that so confidently? And with such honesty, too!' Helen thought, restraining herself from showing her emotions to the girls to keep her imposing mother image. She needed it still to get their true feelings for her beloved son, if adopted, out into the open. Still, she couldn't help but be amazed at how honest Neptune had been, and from the looks of things, her feelings had been developing for a long time, just like Compa's. Only thing was, that Compa's were developed over a total of 5 years, while it seemed that Neptune's took considerably shorter top develop, but still within the boundaries of romantic feelings.

However, there was something else, something that she didn't say in front of the other girls, Helen noticed. She wasn't dumb, she'd been the one to hone Nico's observation skills, and thus, she noticed that Neptune was hiding something. The way her eyes shone brightly were like lights, deterring those from looking too deeply into them. But Helen wasn't deterred, and when she looked into them, the woman saw that there was something else... something greater than her previously stated reasons. Something powerful, possibly life changing, that had helped her conclude she had feelings for her son. Whatever it was, she wouldn't question it for now, but maybe in the future...

She remembered hearing about what happened at Lastation from Team RAIL, as well as what they had learned from Nico and the girls upon questioning them after the incident settled down. It seemed that her son had gotten himself into quite the situation with these girls, going over the four Nations to help one of them recover from Amnesia. It was somethings he expected of her son to do, but it didn't mean she wouldn't worry like hell if he was okay and eating his food properly!

Oh wait…

Finally, it was the last one, IF she believed her name was, to speak her feelings for the male. Looking at her, Helen could tell that while she wasn't there yet, IF did indeed see the male as someone she could trust. When one was as experienced in both reading people and in romance as she was, they would be able to tell whether the signs of a developing 'interest' in the opposite sex were there or not. It seemed that they had recently had some time to get to know each other, as her body showed signs of the interest developing, but it was just starting out. She got the impression IF wouldn't be daunted by any rivals for his affection either, something that she respected in a woman.

She respected the kind of women who wouldn't be deterred from a challenge. If one was a real woman, they would do what they could to triumph over their rivals. If they wanted someone to settle down with then they would do it, not letting anything get in the way of what they wanted, that was the type of woman Helen wished to see more of. Not these dainty damsels in distress types that wait for some handsome prince or princess charming, depending on their sexuality, to rescue them from their problems. After all, that was what she had been like when she was seeking her future husband's attention. 'Ahhh, the days of old, its good to be young...' she thought wistfully to herself, a reminiscent look on her face.

"Well, guess it's my time to shine, huh?" IF remarked with mirth to bring Helen out of her thoughts, trying to keep the unease she was feeling from showing. She held her hands in the pockets of her Trench Coat as she crossed one leg over the other, trying to keep up the image of someone confident as she spoke her words. "Well, I guess unlike those two over there, I'm the newest when it comes to knowing your son, Mrs Dawson." She began, but it was really a means to stall for time to get her thoughts together.

When she felt she got everything right, IF finally spoke after exhaling deeply. "Well, I guess you could say I knew of him before meeting him personally. Rumours spread fast, you see, even with the lesser known Agents like Nico, so when I heard of him I was skeptical at first. Sounded like a glorified jerk who'd captured the hearts of fangirls, though if his skills did prove accurate I would agree to respect the guy. You could say I don't have much of a good opinion on guys for… reasons, that are personal." IF's face contorted into an uncomfortable look, but the girls didn't get a chance to ask what was wrong since they got the face that said, 'don't ask or you'll get hurt' from the brunette. Thus, they decided to leave it alone for the time being.

While everyone was paying attention, the brunette looked up at the ceiling, losing herself in the memories that she had of their first official meeting. Her face twisted to one that was a mix of irritation and respectful as she spoke. "When we first met for real, I was being harassed by these assholes who wanted a quickie, and after a hard day's work as well. I was just about to deal with them the hard way when Nico intervened, showing them just how stupid they really were. I didn't recognize him at first, but later that changed, and since then I thought that maybe the rumors I heard about him were true."

Helen listened to her words, committing them to memory as she eyed IF for any bodily reactions that might prove more informative than her words. Not like she was lying, but she wanted everything from this woman. Until the end, she would wait to form an opinion, as out of the three girls IF was the one she had the least information on. She did remember several Agents receiving harsh punishments for misconduct at the workplace, punished by being suspended for 2 weeks, and her words seemed to correlate with that subject.

"I met him again when on a group raid in a Dungeon that, unknown to me at the time, was infested by Abnormals called Banshees. I don't want to think what would have happened to me if Nico, Nep and Compa here didn't show up when they did, I was the last survivor though so the picture isn't great. Though after he helped me I joined their group, been with them ever since. I must say though, that while some of the rumors were a little exaggerated, most of them were right on the money, the ones on his skills and social interactions at least. So, I must say I admire the guy for that, he showed me that he wasn't like most of the common pricks out there that just want a woman for select things. If you want to know what kind of relation we have its battle partners and, perhaps even friends. Guy can generate a decent conversation, not something I can say is shared with many other guys out there."

Finally finished with her response, IF took a deep breath and exhaled just as deeply, closing her eyes for the whole process. She then opened them and checked Helen's eyes for any reaction. She hoped she had done satisfactory in how she had responded to her, she'd tried to be as honest as she could with how she felt regarding the male, several times she had feared Neptune and Compa would jump in and interrupt her, only for that to not happen, much to her relief.

It didn't help that all this emotional shit wasn't exactly her expertise. Like she told Nico, growing up she had learned how to be a proper mercenary from her father, so she didn't really have that good a social skill. Heck, that was what led her to have difficulty working with others, and how she quickly gained low opinions on the male gender. Feelings and all that mushy stuff was more up Compa's alley than hers. Maybe Neptune's too, though more o the side of 'lemme give it to ya straight so I can eat my pudding!'

That sounded like something Neptune would do.

Meanwhile, Helen was eyeing IF with well-concealed scrutiny. With her story, she found that she was being truthful for the most part. She'd seen a flash of hesitation at one point, which was the last bit. There had been something she was reluctant to share, but it didn't seem like it was anything malevolent towards her son. Then, there was the 'personal' issue that she vaguely hinted at, it had surprised her more than she cared to admit, and with that, plus her appearance and mannerisms, especially that annoyed look on her fact whenever had to chastise Neptune and Compa for their antics, meant that…

In any case, she had heard their responses and needed to conclude on their worth. It was a few tense moments of silence, something that Neptune found to be dreadful. She hated serious moments like these, she wanted to crack a joke, make a few memes or at least annoy someone, just to lighten the atmosphere or something! Unfortunately for her, she remembered what happened the last time she broke a serious atmosphere like this, the loss of her beloved pudding haunting her dreams for days afterwards. It made her repress her urges for a time, she didn't want any additional Puddings to suffer the fate of not being put in her mouth!

…wow, that sounded almost as bad as Noire's 'Come and slip one into my mouth' Comment…

Moving on.

The woman remained silent for a long time, and for a moment they thought that she would be angry at them for their responses, something they rather dread. Images of her short fight with Nico appeared in their minds, reminding them just how much can of whoop ass she could unleash on them at any second. However, those thoughts flew out of the window when Helen gave a small giggle, smiling in satisfaction while she gazed upon them. "Well, looks like I didn't have to worry one bit. I had heard my son had some interesting female company and acted as any mother would."

Hearing this, the girls sighed in relief, glad that they were safe from being harshly dealt with by Helen's hand. "Whew… we passed that hurdle…" Compa spoke amidst her sigh. She held a hand over her chest to calm her beating heart. She thought it was so loud that the woman would have easily picked up on it with sharp senses.

Neptune looked, like Compa, to be in the same boat, with both hands over her chest while she took several calming, if a little exaggerated, breaths. "Yep, must agree with ya there, Compa. I thought I was about to pass into the next life with that stare of hers…" she remarked with a shudder. Some parents can be scarily overprotective of their kids, especially that one father in that anime about alchemists trying to find the philos-whatever. She could just imagine his face, with his gun cocked, staring down at them intimidatingly while quoting his line: "Listen up boys, if you try anything with my daughter, you will answer to me."

That was almost TOO literal!

IF gave a glare to the purplette for her words, making her way over to her as she quickly and harshly spoke with a hushed voice into her ear, to not potentially upset Helen further. "Hey Nep, don't insult someone like her when she's right in front of us!" Neptune's eyes widened as her face lost colour, horror and dread seeping into her stomach at the thought of the overprotective mom trope coming out.

However, to their relief, Helen merely waved it off with her smile showing nothing but amusement as she crossed one leg over the other, just like IF had done earlier. "Please, don't fret over that, dear. After all, I do admit I pressured you all a little to get what I wanted. If anything, I should commend you for answering honestly like that. Most would have become spluttering messes when I become the 'big momma bear' like that." She then sighed wistfully, crossing her arms under her bosom, which much to the chagrin of the girls, was much more developed than theirs easily a D cup, bigger than even Compa's.

The woman then looked to Neptune, her smile soon turning sly as she idly noted Neptune's jealousy in her eyes when staring at her chest. "I also know you're the CPU of Planeptune, Neptune, or should I say Purple Heart." Now THAT sent them off the deep end, causing Neptune to nearly fall off her seat with Compa doing the same while IF merely stiffened, her body tense as if ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

"E-EH?!"

At Neptune's outcry as she popped her head out from behind her chair, a noticeable bump on her head she didn't notice, Helen gave a giggle, holding a hand over her mouth with her posture that of a proper lady. "No need to worry so much, dear. I knew ever since you stepped into the Guild the first time. It has scanners that read a person's energy to determine their levels, and yours were too high to be a normal human without any signs of training. Also, there's scanners along the corridors you all traveled that identified you as Purple Heart."

Neptune gave an embarrassed laugh while rubbing the back of her he'd nervously with her right hand. "Hahahaha, wow, this is awkward. I can't believe I was found out so quickly. Well, to be honest it would be more shocking if I hadn't found out who I was at Lastation. Amnesia, how I loathe ye." She quoted like a certain English writer while deepening her voice at the end to make a masculine voice come out, although she didn't sound very good at it.

Everyone sweat dropped.

Then something clicked in her mind, and Neptune quickly slammed a fist into her palm. "Oh right, I wanted to ask ya something, Mrs Nicky's sorta mom!" she exclaimed, ignoring the way that Helen's brow twitched at the way she was addressed in favor of hearing what this perky preteen had to say. "You know anything of the Key Fragments or Histy? I mean, if you knew I was a CPU, you gotta know things most don't. And these Spec Ops seem like they're more knowing of strange things than normal folk, so…"

Helen's eyes widened at the mention of the Key Fragments, to the point where she lost interest in how she was addressed earlier. "Did you say Key Fragments? And by Histy, I assume you man Histoire?" she asked her for clarification. At the preteen's surprised look, the woman signed in recognition, lowering her head and leaning back on her chair. "Well, I do know a bit about Histoire, the [World Tome]. She records the History of Gamindustri, and was once close to the Goddesses, however something happened and somehow, she disappeared. She hasn't been seen in centuries though."

"...EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH?!"

All the girls got thrown for a loop at this information, or rather, the fact that someone outside of their group knew about Histoire, in ways that not even Neptune did. And she was the one who was in the most contact with her, other than Nico! They all expressed their shocked expressions towards the woman, questions racing through their minds as fast as cheetahs. For example:

How did she know about Histoire?

Did these two meet before?

How much does she know about Histoire?

In the end, the logical female of the group regained her wits first. "If that's true, then how you know her is my next question, Mrs Dawson?" IF questioned, still trying to get over the shock that Nico's mom in all but blood somehow knew about an entity that nobody else on Gamindustri knew of. It didn't make sense to her, someone who had been trapped for a very long time shouldn't have been heard of by anyone she hadn't been able to contact.

Helen nodded, her eyes conveying that she understood IF's questions. Heck, her expressions were shared by the rest of the girls as she responded to IF's inquiry. "You'd be right to be shocked. I had intended to get Nico alone and tell him this when I got the chance, but seems that he's got himself sucked into this the same as I have on his own. Anyways," she stood up from her chair and walked around her Desk, stopping at the window before placing her hand on it. She remained silent for a moment, taking a slight intake of breath, before she turned to them again and spoke. "I know of her because like the CPUs, I was able to hear her in my dreams."

Gasps rang throughout the room, and for a moment she remained silent, until she found that silence once again took hold of the room so she continued. "It was a couple weeks before the reports of the new Monster Cave Dungeon came in. I had fallen asleep during one particularly long afternoon, and woke up in a void-like space. I heard her voice back then almost immediately."

"Hey, that sounds exactly like how I first heard Histy!" Neptune exclaimed s she heard that bit Memories of er dream she had before waking up in Compa's room came to mind. She had thoughts he was the first person Histoire had spoken to back then, asking for her help. Apparently, she was wrong on that part, which made her wonder what else Histoire had done that she didn't know of.

Nodding in agreement with the younger female, Helen continued her story. "Yeah, I was stunned too. I was reluctant to believe her story about being held captive for a time until she told me that at a certain point in time I'd had a top secret meeting the details of which are classified. She proved to me that she was the [World Tome], and afterwards she asked me to provide any aid I could to a certain Goddess when she would return from Celestia her words indicated that it would be soon too." She explained, humming in remembrance.

That was before she began gazing pointedly at Neptune. "Looks like she meant you, Neptune." She stated, her arms falling to her sides before moving into her pockets. "Though, I guess I didn't need to do much since Nico seems to have you well taken care of." She remarked, before smirking in a teasing manner. "In more ways than one."

The implications were not lost on the purplette, nor IF and Compa, as Neptune laughed nervously with a cherry red blush on her face. "Yeah, I kinda see what you mean there…" she mused, trying to suppress the embarrassment she was feeling. She then did so by focusing on another subject, pertaining to Histoire the 'World Tome' as Helen had called her. "Um, I hope I'm not being a brat, but could ya tell me more about Histy? She doesn't call very much and whenever she does I never get a chance to ask her. Probably due to bad phone lines or something."

Her request was granted when the head of the WDD nodded in response, her eyes shining with satisfaction. "I'm glad you're thinking of these serious things, Neptune. I guess if it pertains to your friends you can handle the seriousness, eh?" she remarked with a chuckle, gaining more nervous laughter from her, plus a beaming smile from Neptune that was assisted with small smiles from Compa and IF, who were listening intently to the conversation without interfering. "In any case, after I had that dream, I was driven by the instinct to do more research. I had entire parties of Agents search for any places I could do research with regards to the [World Tome], uncovering several ruins across Planeptune that had some hidden libraries in them. Lots of the books were outdated though, so deciphering them was difficult, however I managed to glean a few things from them."

She then cleared her throat as she wetted her throat with her saliva. All this talking was making her throat dry. "I learned that long ago, the Previous CPU was the one who created Histoire as a means of repentance, repentance for what I wasn't able to deduce however. But what I did was that she was created with the intention of keeping the future CPUs from doing the same mistakes she did. Histoire's primary goal was to assist the CPUs in ruling their nations, with all the world's history written into her for her to use. However, there are limitations to how she can use this information to prevent misuse of it, who knows what could happen if such info fell into the wrong hands, am I right?"

They could all agree on that. It sounded like Histoire was a fountain of knowledge and information that was not recorded in Gamindustri's records, which made sense and made her title the [World Tome] much more understandable. Such a large amount of information would be terrible if in the wrong hands, so they managed to grasp why there were limitations to that kind of power.

"Well, she was originally supposed to help the CPUs, but for some reason she disappeared long before the CPUs would even know of her existence, as she was around during the time they were in their infantile stages. If she had remained around till they could remember her, I'm sure that the Console War would never have happened, as with her guidance the CPUs would have been better rulers than they are today, perhaps making the Spec Ops Programme unnecessary." At the end, Helen sighed sadly, her eyes darkened with negative emotion.

Everyone in the Party was speechless as they listened to the woman's explanation about the one they were meant to save, how important a role she played in Gamindustri's lifestyle. They did agree with her that Histoire's disappearance was a huge factor in how the CPUs would end up ruling Gamindustri, if she had not disappeared then perhaps so many lives wouldn't have been affected the way they were, like the citizens of Racoon City. A lot of tragedies they learned that had happened through the course of the Console Wars played out in their minds, tragedies that could have been prevented with better leadership.

The thought that, if she had stayed, potentially could have rendered the Spec Ops Program a needless asset though, sent complicated feelings through them. True, it had been born from people who'd lost faith in the CPUs, and thus if their leadership was better it likely wouldn't have happened. However, it still had the accomplishment of saving humanity when they needed help the most.

Though, none of them could believe that Histoire had disappeared by her own accord, especially not Neptune. It just didn't fit her, she may not have been able to help them very much, but there had been times where, without her help, they would have been in a real bind. The Banshee had been one such example, while another was when Nico lost control or when IF had been on death's door. She had helped them when they needed it, so it didn't make sense for her to just disappear like that.

They'd ask her what was up with that when they found her at last.

Finally, Helen shook her head and moved back to her seat, retaking her previous position on it except for her hands wrapping around the front of her kneecap instead of her cleavage, something that the girls were secretly grateful for. "Now back to what I originally kept you for. Thank you for taking care of my reckless little boy, Nicky-Nick tends to get himself into situations that make me have a heart attack sometimes. It's good to see people like you have befriended him since I saw him last." She remarked, chuckling at the last part. However, unlike the previous times her chuckle carried little mirth, almost sounding… bitter, for some reason they didn't get at all.

This bitterness soon vanished when Neptune shot up off her chair, glad to be up and about as her bum had started going numb, as she threw her arms into the air and bluntly asked a question that threw everyone off. "Now that we got ya approval, Hel, could ya let me keep going out with your littl'n, Nicky?"

The bluntness of her question, joined with her innocent look shattered the tension and serious atmosphere that was built yup like a glass mirror, wiping it away like it was never even here, as well as made IF and Compa go bug-eyed at her while Helen merely gaped in shock at her. Compa was the one who recovered first, but instead of scold the preteen for her immediate conduct, she instead pouted in jealousy ad stood beside her, her hands over her fists in a typical fangirl pose, although her expressions were anything but. "Nep-Nep, you don;t just ask that so bluntly, that's the childhood friend's job! Hel-Hel, can I keep going out with your son, too?" she asked, turning her head with a hopeful gaze towards the woman.

Aside from them, IF could only sigh while her right hand spread and slammed into her face with an audible 'smack' sound echoing across the room. "This just makes me wish I wasn't even associated with them… idiots…" she mumbled under her breath.

It was a few moments before the adoptive mother of their male party member regained her wits after the curveball she had been thrown her way. She then laughed at the quarrelling girls, getting their attention as she slapped the top of her knee. "Ahahaha, of course you two kids have my permission to go! Make sure to jump him nice and good and give me lots of grandbabies ya hear? I wanna hear him moan across the all of Gamindustri!" she responded with a massive grin and a thumbs-up.

POOF!

This elected cherry red blushes, as well as some far-off looks, from Neptune and Compa as their minds wandered into forbidden territory, while IF just gaped at them.

"My son sure has come a long way, to have girls like you three at his side." Helen remarked, breaking the two out of their daydreams that would remain unspecified, just in case some underage readers were reading this. "Although..." the woman's expression, like a balloon losing its air, deflated as a sorrowful sigh escaped her lips. The atmosphere soon became tense, and the girls all wondered what happened to make her this way. "You may find this to be an extraordinarily difficult task."

Neptune frowned at the woman's words. She didn't like the sound of that, neither did Compa and, if she were honest with herself, IF didn't like it either. "What's that mean, Nicky's mom?" she asked in concern.

The woman looked down at the ground, her eyes unfocused. Neptune would have questioned again until she snoticed the 'don't interrupt' look that IF had shot her way. Eventually, Helen sapped herself out of it before gazing their way, her eyes pools of sadness and sympathy. "I mean, with his lack of trust and faith in others, I thought he'd wither away into an old man and die without knowing any true companionship, even after he got his memories back, a sad fate for any man."

Now THAT got their attention, breaking their thoughts about any suggestive themes without hope of returning to them for it was THAT shocking. Did they hear that right? Did they hear her say that Nico had little trust and faith in other people? "Why would you say that, Hel-Hel?" Compa asked her in concern. "Why would Ni-Ni not have much trust in others? He seems so friendly and happy around us, so I don't get it." Neptune nodded her head in agreement, and even IF looked like she was concerned for the male. This was news to her, too.

They remembered what they had seen from their male party member throughout their travels. He had shown that he was a, mostly, serious person with a sharp mind inside that skull of his. He showed how observant he was, as well as teasing and humorous. There was that time when he was always suspicious about Noire's motives when she faked her amnesia to get close to Neptune, as well as his paranoia about Ganache and Avenir which led to his actions, which turned out to bore fruit in more ways than one. But, even so, why did Helen say that Nico would have trust issues? Issues that he wouldn't tell anyone? They were a Party, they could trust each other!

At least, that was what they thought.

Hearing their concerns, Helen's gazed downwards, at her hands which now were spread flat on her lap. She thought for a moment, looking like she was fighting within herself to say something, before she eventually looked back up at them again. Now, there was a mix of seriousness and sternness unlike her motherly facade before. This seemed on a whole new level of intense, which sent chills up their spines. "Those last four years you 2 didn't see each other, Compa dear, thanks for the nickname by the way… were not so easy for him. Nico saw a lot of horrible things those four years, far worse than fighting Abnormals." She commented gravely, and they could hear the irritation and fury in the woman's tone. The girls were quick to realize that this was a deep subject, and much to Neptune's dismay they would be in for another discussion she couldn't make jokes in.

"What… did Nicky see, Hel? What would make him distrust others like you say?" Neptune asked reluctantly. Normally she would be trying to break such a serious mood before it could begin, especially after what they'd already discussed, but like Helen had said, when it came to close loved ones of hers, Neptune would bear any kind of tensity for them. This was just one of those times where that trait of hers kicked in.

"People, Neptune… Nicky-Nick saw people… and not the good kind, either."


Nico was having trouble, for the first time in a long time, he was being dominated during a fight. His breathing was labored and his chest heaved and fell heavily, very visible even with his Armour on. His Armour had been destroyed in several places, but unlike his previous set this one could restore itself at higher speeds, making it so his Armour would regenerate near instantaneously. It was a blessing in this fight, Nico knew it, but it didn't help that this thing was FREAKING TOUGH!

He had his Plasma Claws deployed with the Plasma Cannons as a ranged attack, which were teaming heavily from firing so many blasts of purplish white Plasma at the enemy, of which he and Biko had called the 'Defiler' due to what things were left like whenever its Tendrils touched them. Not only had they not yet dealt any significant damage to it, but the creature had also proven to be an extremely tough adversary, like they had first said in that first paragraph.

Firstly, it possessed immense strength, especially in its deformed left arm, with which it could deliver crushing blows. An example of this was when it slammed its arm into the ground and black Tendrils erupted from underneath Nico before he could react, binding him long enough for it to close and grab him, to proceed to smash him repeatedly against the ground before throwing him away.

Second was its durability, it was INSANE. One time, Nico had combined his Swords' energies into one powerful blast of demonic energy infused lighting to catch it by surprise. The damn fucker didn't even flinch when the attack struck it dead in the chest, just threw its Axe in a motion that, if it had hit, would have decapitated Nico in one swing. Fortunately for him, Nico had managed to dodge it just at the las second, only for the Tendrils on the Corruptor's back to retrieve the Axe in mid-air and pull it back into its waiting right hand.

With regards to the Tendrils, those things weren't very friendly, especially when they left this black substance behind that seeped into plants and other forms of wildlife, twisting and morphing them into grotesque forms that would make even seasoned generals from Lastation's military have nightmares for months, if not years after seeing them. It was worse for Nico as he had seen what they were like BEFORE the Tendrils got to them. Thus, he and Biko had to call this ability it had 'Corruption' which had helped them give it its name earlier.

Worse still, that thing REFUSED to give him enough time to transform. It was halfway through their battle that Nico had to transform like Biko had said to stand on even ground against it. No matter how badass he was as Nico, Crimson Soul was more so, Crimson Soul had advantages that Nico didn't, and that pissed him the hell off for a while until he came to terms with it. Like that form, Nico could do things only he could, like use this Armour, while Crimson Soul couldn't.

It was like the creature KNEW that he could use DDD, and was preventing that from happening. Thankfully his Plasma shields had helped keep him alive up until this point, but right now they had been depleted and were currently recharging.

Nico had to stop his internal monologue when the creature threw its Axe forwards to cleave him in half vertically. 'Whoa!' he barely dodged it by pivoting to the side, only for a Tendril to both smack him aside ad grab the Axe at the same time, returning it to its owner. Nico slid across the ground and noticed several masses of Corruption being sent his way, evident by the large black mases slithering cross the ground at him at high speeds. The male quickly jumped through one of the gaps in them, resulting in them exploding into pillars of mass behind him, as he shot towards his enemy.

The Defiler roared as it raised its Axe for an overhead slam, one that Nico raised his Plasma Claws and deflected to the side, quickly slashing away at its stomach. The Defiler roared again, sending a Kick to his face to knock him back, however Nico jumped to the side and aimed one of his Plasma Cannons at the Tendrils on its back. He released a few purplish white Plasma Blasts at them, only for the Defiler to block them with its Axe and send more Corruption masses towards Nico.

At this point, Nico knew that he was going to have to get in with a better weapon than his Plasma Claws, so he switched his weapons, Plasma Claws retreating into his gauntlets while his Plasma Cannons receded into his shoulderguards. He then summoned his Plasma Launcher, the weapon appearing over his hands from his Void Storage. Gripping it in two hands, the male smirked to himself, seeing several cables come out of his shoulder to connect to the Grenade Launcher's Canister.

Aiming, Nico fired several purple Plasma Grenades towards the masses. As expected with Plasma weaponry, it outright destroyed them, burnt them to nothingness from their ensuing explosions. The male noticed that one of them had sneaked around and was closing in from his left flank, so he thrusted his left arm out and shot several Plasma Chains, each one connecting to the Defiler's chest faster than it could react.

While the creature tried to grab them and tear them off, Nico hopped and pulled the chains back, flinging himself towards the Defiler like a round fired from a slingshot. Nico grinned behind his Armour's helmet, lifting his legs to his chest level before thrusting them forwards when he was close enough. His legs slammed into the creature's face like a battering ram, the satisfying sounds of bones breaking resonating in Nico's ears as he saw the Corruption Mass nearing them.

Using both his position and Chains as leverage, Nico lifted himself so that he stood atop its shoulders, ripping the Chains out of the creature in a savage, violent manner. The Defiler roared in anger, pain laced within as it tried to grab him only for its limbs to be met with Plasma Launcher Rounds. The Corruption Mass got close enough to detonate while this happened, something Nico foresaw and used this opportunity to flip off it and land on the opposite side.

BOOM!

An explosion of black mass hit it, enveloping it within its dark embrace. Nico panted heavily as he fell to one knee, grimacing at how damaged he felt. True his demonic energy and THAT were healing him, making breathing a little easier, but neither of them could replace the stamina he'd lost. Only the power of a good rest could do that, something he doubted he'd be getting any time soon.

His reprieve, as expected, was short lived when the Defiler suddenly jumped out of the explosion, screaming bloody murder as it raised its Axe for an overhead slam. Nico reacted by lifting his Plasma Launcher and firing several blasts at its legs, destabilizing it long enough to roll out of the way. The Defiler landed in a heap on the ground, harsh burn marks on its legs that it tried to recover from. Fortunately for Nico, those hits had hit home, thus it would take time to recover, time it may not have.

Unfortunately for Nico, it hadn't been completely helpless, as one of its Tendrils managed to grab him by the foot, lifting him into the air. Instinctively discarding his Plasma Launcher back to the Void Storage, Nico swiftly deployed his Hidden Blades, cutting the Tendril around his ankle off and setting him free. As he fell towards the ground, more Tendrils tried to impale him, for the male to adjust his body's angle in order to slash each one, landing on the ground kneeling like a Knight.

Standing up once more, Nico observed his enemy, which roared once more as it got on all fours. The damage to its legs already looked like it had healed somewhat, enough for movement and combat at least. Plus, the Tendrils had regrown what they'd lost, much to his irritation. 'Goddamnit, this thing's pissing me the fuck off!'

'I agree, let us end this quickly. This beast cannot be allowed to remain amongst the living.'

With Biko's words, Nico decided to use some of the Skills that Helen had said were part of his Skill List. There was one Skill he had in mind, though, as he jumped from side to side to confuse the Defiler while making his way towards its left flank.

It saw his trajectory though, and made to punch him with its massive arm, for Nico to slide underneath it and then go underneath the creature's legs, spinning so he was facing its back. His Plasma Cannons deployed from within his shoulder guards, and began to shine purple, an indication of a Skill involving them being activated as Nico snarled at his enemy. "PLASMA BLAST!" he bellowed, 2 large balls of plasma being gathered in front of the Canons' barrels. They were then released in the forms of 2 high-density beams, like lasers, and hit the Defiler in the back as it made to turn to face him. The creature however, had turned in that which its left arm would face the incoming beams, so it raised the arm to try and defend against it.

The beams collided with the arm, and continuously damaged it like a constant stream of hot sun rays. Burning sounds could be heard from the beams as they impacted repeatedly against the creature's skin, until finally a massive purple explosion as triggered, engulfing the Defiler completely.

Nico gasped for breath as he fell to one knee, heaving heavily as his lone eye was shrunken and dilated, gazing down at the ground until he lifted his head to gaze at the purple explosion that he had created. The explosion looked more like a neon purple mini supernova than an actual explosion, the amount of heat radiating from it being so intense he thought he'd be burned just by looking at it. His mind told him that it was dead, but his instincts told him to remain on guard as he regarded the explosion.

Nevertheless, despite his inner conflict, Nico still kept his heavy breathing as he looked down towards his supporting hand, his mind racing with thoughts regarding his newfound power. That Skill had been untested and untrained, so it had taken more power than it normally would have, according to the Specs he had learned about it on the way here.

'Do… you think that did it?' Nico asked his demonic personification as he struggled to regain his level breathing. Sweat rolled down his body until his suit absorbed it, keeping him from feeling itchy and uncomfortable within it. His body had been run ragged during that fight, more so than it had in a while. Perhaps the adrenaline combined with the glee of getting his Armour back got to his head a little, as well. That certainly didn't help matters. Slowly, he stood up, weakly raising his legs so that he could stand tall on both, with his Plasma Cannons having returned to the compartments within his Shoulder guards which once again settled on his arms.

'… No, it's not dead! This creature managed to endure the Skill till the last moment, throwing up a wall of Corruption to shield itself!' Biko informed, much to Nico's horror as he looked back to the Explosion's core where the creature he'd been fighting had been standing.

Before the smoke faded, Nico instinctively rolled to his side, avoiding a large Tendril as it tried to impale him from above with speeds that would make bullets jealous, making a massive crater when it did so. The smoke faded, to reveal the creature with a damaged left arm, damage as in severe burns all over it, but other than that it was completely fine. The bluish crystals glowed eerily as the Defiler roared at him with its man/monster mix roar.

Now, something different was afoot with that roar. Nico could tell this because the Tendrils behaved differently. Whereas before they only swayed calmly behind it, like what it was facing wasn't worth their interest while occasionally jerking from one side. However, right no they were jerking constantly, slashing and whipping themselves erratically while black sludge came out of the creature's body, splattering across the ground as if tainting the very earth that made Planeptune's floating landmass.

Soon though, that change became apparent when the creature began to enlarge itself. It was slow, gradual at first, but it soon speedup and with it, the demonic energy Nico was sensing within it skyrocketed to new heights and power. Now, he felt like he was choking on the energy as I saturated the air surrounding it. The trees, ground, plants and wildlife that were afflicted with the Corruption began to twist and contort, as if responding to the massive power spike in their own ways. It made for an… intimidating sight to behold.

One thing was clear to the Spec Ops Agent known as DEATHSTROKE as he gazed at this monstrosity that had passed through that Obelisk. This creature, it was no Abnormal, it couldn't be. The Abnormals were stronger than average monsters and behaved differently, yes. However, they were still just that, monsters. They could still be slain using similar methods to the usual monsters no problem, especially by those who were trained in fighting their wide variety of forms.

This creature however, was something else something arguably… WORSE than anything they had encountered before something that could possibly be out of human's ability to fight directly. Its very presence oozes demonic energy, energy which corrupted the land around it like a miasma of disease, rotting the life around it. This thing, it had to be stopped, it had to be destroyed, it just HAD to!

When the changes stopped the Defiler stood at well over 18-foot-tall, towering over Nico with the intent to kill, its mouth twisting into a vicious grin as best as it could, what with its mouth structure not having any lips or jaw bones akin to that of a human's. It then raised its Axe and Nico's eye became saucers when he felt a massive surge of demonic energy within its form gathering around the tip of the weapon, which now began to glow with a crimson aura. 'Oh shit!'

Oh, shit was right, as when the Axe was brought down, a large explosion of earth and dirt was released upon impact, as well as a shockwave that blew Nico off his feet and sent him flying through a couple trees. The Defiler readied its Axe for another swing, when suddenly it stopped, freezing in place as its attention shifted elsewhere. Where, Nico wasn't exactly sure as he lay within a Tree's trunk, groaning to himself as he pulled himself out of it, until he opened his eye and saw that it was already on the move, running through the forest with its feet making large indentations on the ground.

'It's running away?!' Nico shrieked in his mind, panic making his heart pound like a jackhammer as he made to chase after it. However, just as he ran through the small clearing, which had been cleared of most of the wilderness by that last strike, something grabbed him by his foot and tripped him up, making him fall flat on his face. Nico growled in frustration, before looking to see what had gripped him.

His body tensed at what he saw: several black masses rising out of the ground, one of them forming a hand to grab him with, until they began to shift and shape themselves, turning into wat looked like Golems with their bodies covered in yellowish brown stone armour, their actual bodies being skeletal in shape and thickness. They wielded large clubs for weaponry. Each Golem looked to be made from hardened black mass, corruption, and all were glaring at Nico, despite not having any eyes on their stone heads, with the intent to kill.

Seeing that they wouldn't be letting him leave so easily, Nico cursed under his breath as he thought only one thing while he readied his Plasma Claws: 'Fuck my life…'