Holy... shit.

It was morning when I checked the views, and what did I see? Over 20,000 views!

#INSERT SPITTING OUT COFFEE#

Wow, this fanfics sure is escalating steadily. People are really looking at the chapters with special events in them, too, it seems. Hopefully, that means that people like those events.

In other news, the main story will be taking a break for a few chapters, I want to showcase a special Mini Arc i've been eagerly anticipating for a while now. In the games, I was always a bit disappointed with the lack of real threat that the Overlord faction had posed in the Leanbox Arc. They were just mentioned and explained what they were doing, but that's pretty much it. They didn't get proper depth in their development, which to me feels like a letdown.

This Mini arc aims to rectify that.

anyhow, let's get this chapter started.


Chapter 63 - Urgent Quest

The late afternoons in Leanbox were mildly chilly, with low breezes sweeping through the streets, forcing people to put up hoods if they had any, or to shiver from their cold grasp. Nico himself, however, didn't need to do this as he walked to the Guild, clad in his DEATHSTROKE Armour. His metallic boots made loud stomping sounds as the male trudged along the dust-covered ground, heading towards the Guild Building.

'It's been a while since I was last at Leanbox. I think the last time was about a year ago, when me and some other Agents were told to kill that pack of Kyuubi that were amassing close to one of their oil mines.' Nico thought to himself, losing himself in his memories as he made his way to his destination. The Kyuubi was, as stated, a nine-tailed fox Abnormal that had powers that gave it an edge on the battlefield. It discharged energy attacks like they were high level Skills, while also sporting extreme agility, speed and reflexes. It was a bitch to put down, took him and the team he was with over 3 days to finish it off.

'These 'Urgent Quests' you call these emergency summons seems most inconvenient…'

Nico rolled his sole eye behind his helmet, so only he and Biko were aware that he did it. Shortly after he had left Vert's room, although he had been mentally singing the opera for the fortunate luck, he had received notification from Planeptune's Basilicom, telling him that Leanbox was requesting him for an Urgent Quest that cannot be overlooked. He was to report to the Leanbox Guild Building as soon as he possibly could, with the hidden order to drop whatever the fuck he was doing in that Nation anyways.

Urgent Quests were special Quests, Quests that only high-level Guild Agents and Spec Ops could undertake. However, what made them different from other Quests was that the Basilicom themselves chose who was to undertake the Quest, not the other way around. This was usually because these Urgent Quests were too dangerous for lower ranked Guild Agents and adventurers to handle, and if they went then there would likely be a bloodbath. As for the Spec Ops, they were so few thanks to Leanbox's laws on their recruitment, so they were chosen sparingly by the old codgers in the Basilicom staffing. One of their most prominent members was 'Yvoire' a name that made Nico's blood boil just thinking about.

'That may be so, but they still have to be completed. If you are selected for the summons, then whatever you have been doing, or currently still are, is rendered irrelevant. This Urgent Quest takes priority over everything else. Usually they're worth our while, and the rewards are 10X greater than those of normal quests, even the Spec Ops ones.' Nico countered, silencing his demonic personification.

After about 30 minutes walking, the male finally arrived at the Leanbox Guild Building, and it looked like the ones in Planeptune and Lastation, only following the themes and colours of the land of Green Pastures. Outside, one can tell that there was a LOT of activity going on inside, especially if those outside observers had enhanced senses like Nico did. 'Looks like this Quest may end up being more interesting than we thought earlier, eh Biko?'

'I still stand by my earlier statement; However, I do admit that this amount of activity is intriguing me.' Biko replied, making the battle-hardened war veteran smirk as he approached the building's doors and pushed them open.

When he entered, closing the doors behind him, Nico saw that the activity he sensed paled in comparison to what was inside. All over the place, he could see Guild staff members scrambling about like headless chickens, some carrying large stacks of papers, others carrying files. He even noticed one trip and fall onto the ground, only to bite back the urge to cry out as he scrambled his things back together and hurried on to do his duties.

Nico mentally thanked his foresight to don his armour before coming here, as not only did it make him look more like a Spec Ops, but it also drowned out the noises somewhat, something his ears appreciated. 'Sometimes, having enhanced senses sucks balls...' The male thought to himself, getting an agreeing hum from his demonic personification.

"Wow, wonder what got everyone's knickers in a bunch…" The male muttered, slowly walking through the packed hallway as he observed the frantic actions the staff were doing right now. His mind began to go wild with calculations and theories about what this could be, until he felt a hand on the back of his shoulder.

"Would you happen to be DEATHSTROKE?"

Swiftly, Nico twirled around to face the person behind him, almost losing himself to the urge to just deploy his Plasma Claws and then gut the person who dared try to sneak up on im. Fortunately, he got a good look at the person, and the male managed to calm himself down significantly. 'Well, this is new…'

Standing before him was an adult woman, likely in her late 20's or early 30's. But what made her unique was that she didn't wear the Guild uniform like the other staff members did. Her uniform consisted of a white buttoned up formal dress shirt with short sleeves, green stripes around the rims. These stripes were dark green, while there was a lighter green for the lining.

On top of her head was a military cap of a dark green colour, with lighter green outlines ad the Leanbox Logo at the centre. She wore a black knee-length pencil skirt that hugged her slender, frail frame, which made her look deceptively frail. Nico wasn't fooled though, her posture indicated she had training in various combat styles, and she knew how to use them. On her feet, were a pair of black, polished and expensive-looking pointy high heels.

She seemed to be carrying a clipboard, and was looking it over while asking him the question. Nevertheless, Nico answered swiftly with a nod. "Yes, that would be me. Are you here to take me to the briefing, mrs?" he asked her.

The woman glanced up at him, momentarily raising her brow as if to ask him why he was already in his armour, although that curiosity soon became replaced by nonchalance as she scribbled something on her clipboard. "You would be correct. If you would follow me, you are the last to arrive, everyone else selected has already made their way here." She told him, turning on her heels and making her way to a door to the side. It had that 'too important to national security for mere Guild Agents and Adventurers' feel to it.

However, that was not what caught Nico's attention, but something else. Something about what she said regarding the other Agents that were specified for this Urgent Quest. 'Everyone's already here? I wasn't aware there was a time limit, I was sure to present myself early, too. Whoever's here is as punctual as myself, who usually makes it to these Quests an hour before the rest.' He thought to himself. Whoever this was, they must be significantly skilled in the field. Not only that, but they must have a strong sense of drive to be here before the allotted time frame. Usually Spec Ops Agents arrive right when they're needed, so to see some arrive before then was an uncommon sight.

Though, he soon stopped thinking about it in favour of following the woman to where the Briefing room would be. In his mind, he figured he would be finding out who was here early soon enough, and for now that was enough for him.


After a short silence while walking, the two reached a large briefing room, where there was a pedestal, a large white board with a holographic projector, and 10 rows of chairs lined up perfectly at the back of the room. Nico didn't look surprised at this setup though, just kept a level expression.

Even though Leanbox may not be up to date with Technology like the futuristic Planeptune, the Spec Ops Branches take care of their own and each other. Thus, they frequently shared technology, intelligence and sometimes their own Agents to help the Nations they were stationed in solve problems.

When in a world so religiously devotee as this one, they had to lean on each other.

Casting his gaze over the room, he saw that the room had about 6 occupants, 2 of which were people he didn't recognise. One of those two though, was someone he had heard about from hearsay and rumours. He had been meaning to track this one down for a while now, for reasons that were to do with the rumours surrounding him and his comrades.

The other he didn't recognise was a young man of 26 to 28 years of age. His facial features were hidden beneath a full-body suit of armour, much like Nico's own, save for the fact that nothing about his appearance was visible like Nico's eye. The armour's helmet had several V shaped visors across the centre of the face, the bridge of the nose, and the space below the forehead. Each visor glowed with a dim white light.

As for the rest of the armour, it had a black under suit with grey armour plating on the chest, right shoulder, waist, left bicep, right forearm and legs. His feet had matching armoured boots. On the back of the spine, Nico could tell that there was some sort of thermometer, or gauge-like device built into the suit.

'Wait… isn't that a RIG? Looks like an Engineer's RIG, now that I get a look at it.' the male wondered. RIGs, or Resource Integration Gear, are integrated health management and strength augmentation system that assists users in previously impossible and dangerous environments.

All RIGs share several basic features. A spine-mounted display serves to indicate the user's general state of health as a glowing segmented bar which depletes as the user takes damage. When the user dies, it emits a "flat-line" sound, which was loud enough to alert others within earshot of the RIG wearer's demise. Holographic projectors mounted on the wrists can create a two-dimensional display in front of the user, to display whatever they might need to see. The size of the display can vary depending upon the data it is accessing.

It can also project a coloured line to guide the user to a destination, be it a location or a service like a store or workbench. It is capable of two-way audio and visual communication. RIG users can be individually tracked if need-be, even if dead.

Finally, RIGs can be used as a form of biometric lock, only allowing specific RIG users access to designated areas, though such scanners fail to take into account whether the user is living or dead.

RIGs were a subspecies of armour developed by Leanbox engineers. While technologically inferior to Planeptune, Leanbox didn't neglect the technological aspect of living, and RIGs were a great example of that. Probably one of the smarter decisions that humanity had made in Nico's opinion. They had been originally designed for civilian use, if what he remembered was accurate, until officials saw potential in them for other areas of expertise.

As such, they come in various states depending on the user. Civilian RIGs were typically little more than the spinal display and wrist projectors attached to basic clothing. Engineers and other service personnel wore similar garb, but often possessed additional Kinesis and Stasis modules to aid in their profession, the latter with the requisite monitor mounted to the right of the spinal display.

For more dangerous work, RIGs are installed in full-body suits. These suits, in addition to the RIG's basic functions, have features such as an internal oxygen supply for work in a vacuum, gravity boots, and thrusters for zero-gravity movement, since some areas indeed had that kind of gravity thanks to certain Abnormals, and Armor to protect against damage from various sources.

It seemed this man had a RIG meant for Engineers, but also weaponised, making him more of a combat engineer than a normal one. Nico, noticing all this, could tell that this man had personalised his RIG with multiple different modules, allowing for different abilities to be used in different situations.

"Yo, earth to Nico! Yo, Nico!"

The said male's eyes widened when he heard a familiar boisterous, upbeat and jovial voice. It could only belong to one other person, and that person wasn't someone he would have expected to see in this Nation. Just as he thought that, an arm was draped over his shoulder as a masculine weight fell onto him. "Ignoring us, are we? We've been trying to get your attention for the last 5 minutes, you know." The voice said, a teasing undertone beneath it. "You know the missuses aren't going to appreciate that."

"… CYBORG."

Nico looked towards the owner of the arm and weight, to see the familiar gaze of one Ivan, codename CYBORG from Team RAIL. He looked the same as when they fought together in Lastation, and when the teen looked from him he spotted the rest of Team RAIL sitting together at the back row, clumped together.

Raven sat with one foot on her thigh, the foot's leg leaning sideways. Her Odachi was leaning on the chair to her right, and her face had been concealed by her white Mask. She had her arms crossed under her chest, and thanks to her Mask it was impossible to tell what expression she had on. However, one clue as to this would be how she was looking at Nico right now, and her demeanour suggested a calm, collected posture. Odds were, she was happy to see him, but suppressed it to feel professional.

Lucy however, didn't have that professional demeanour at all. She sat with a ladylike demeanour, or rather, a ladylike succubus demeanour as she crossed one leg over the other, glancing at him with a suggestive, borderline seductive, smirk on her face. She was giving him that look, the look that a woman who was determined to rock your world when she gets the chance. Not if, when.

He wasn't sure whether to yell 'stranger danger' or 'I need an adult'.

'… I do not understand, I thought we were not considered adults until we reach 20.'

'Guh, don't make it weird, Biko.'

Those confusing moments aside, Nico tried to locate Aiden. His eyes cast their gaze across the briefing room, but he saw no sign of him. 'Strange, Aiden isn't usually late to these meetings, so where could he…?' The male wondered, before he senses a presence… behind him. 'Oh, that's where.'

"FALCON. Been a while."

"… Indeed. Lastation."

Nico nodded, turning on his heel to face the stoic male, levelling him his own stoic stare as the two regarded each other. The two stared in silence for what felt like forever, until the two nodded in union before reaching out and shaking each other's hands.

Ivan, Lucy and Raven, behind her mask anyways, collectively sweat dropped.

"You four were called here, also?" Nico questioned, getting a nod from the other male while Ivan sighed as he crossed his arms under his chest. If it was them, he could understand why they were here before he was. These Agents were not like the others, in fact, some might consider these four to be misfits, in their own ways. Raven with her hate for men, Lucy with her lust for men or women alike before he claimed her attention, Ivan for his bright spirit and Aiden for his stoic personality. They weren't your typical agent, and to add to that...

None of them were exactly 'normal' humans either.

From the corner of his eyes, the teenage DPU noticed that the girls had stood from their seats to make their way over to them. That military uniform wearing lady stood at the pendulum, but it didn't look like she was about to start the briefing just yet. It looked more like she was meant to stay here to keep an eye on the Agents, or to prep the presentation for the briefing before someone else arrived to take her place. On a side note, Nico noticed miniscule glances to her right skirt pocket, and when he glanced there himself he saw that there was a faint light emitting from it. A Phone perhaps? Nevertheless, they had some time to kill before the briefing began.

Thus, they could afford a conversation for a bit. After all, it would likely be the last one they would have before the real shit storm hits.

"You bet, we were called just when we were turning in a difficult quest." Ivan replied, rubbing the back of his head in annoyance. "It was a real drag, lemme tell ya. We were hoping for some RnR for our troubles, but sadly the work of a Spec Ops is never done. We need to be ready constantly for emergencies, and judging by our summons, this one seems like such." he explained, his smile wide yet his eyes showing a devote seriousness only shown when situations like this were to occur.

Nodding at that, Lucy became the next person to speak. "You said it, Ivy." She mused, before continuing with the back of her right hand on her hip. "I was looking forward to some beauty time so I could woo Nicky-Dear when I saw him next." Once again, the redhead aimed a seductive grin towards Nico, making him shudder in embarrassment. That smirk also reminded him of the smirk Neptune wore in HDD form when she had him pinned and made to have her way with him. "Then the mission comes in, sounds all important, and we're paradropped over Leanbox territory. What a let-down." She whined in disappointment, although this was brief as she soon returned to her usual mischievous, teasing self. "Though seeing that you're here, makes this a little less unbearable."

"Ehehehehehe…" Nico could only laugh nervously behind his Helmet. He couldn't help but thank his fortune that his Armour hid his face mostly, so his embarrassed blush remained hidden. No need for this she-devil to get any ideas.

Thankfully, intervention came in time in the form of their leader, who walked up to them after standing up from her seat. "In any case, it looks like we have all gathered together. The Briefing will not start for another 10 minutes, so I suggest we all take our posts." She suggested, the group nodding in acceptance.

They moved back to their seats, Nico being about to follow them since he wanted to catch up with them, however a tap on the shoulder stopped him. Pausing mid stride and suppressing his instinctual need to rip out the offender's arm, the male turned to see one of the Agents he didn't recognise.

It was the one in the back armour that looked suspiciously like the armour a demon would wear. "You DEATHSTROKE?" he asked in a gruff, terse manner, eyeing him over. Oddly enough, it resembled a panther sizing up its fellow species for any threats to its territory. There was a slight tensity that was noticeable from the way his armour clinked in certain places. Nico got the feeling he was sizing him up, gauging his fighting potential, to see if he was worth working with on this mission. That was something that he could appreciate, since Nico had been doing the same to him.

His instincts told him that this man was aware of this as well, as the two locked gazes for the briefest moments. That was probably the most intense moment of their entire meeting.

Facing him fully, Nico made sure to ready his Plasma Claws in case he needed to deploy them. That massive sword the man carried looked like it could slice a full-grown man in two with just so much as a light tap. "That would be me. I assume you want something from me? You didn't seem like the type to actively engage in social conventions." He responded keeping his gaze stern but his body loose.

The man before him didn't show any signs of attacking, but if the faint flicker of movement in his eyes was anything to go by, he had noticed his preparations. This man was a warrior, that was something Nico sensed from the moment he saw him. "My name is Guts, I assume you travel with a group of… colourful females?" At Nico's tense nod, the man continued. "That Saizou tried to make another move on them. I intervened."

'That freaking fucker, just how does he think me not being there make those girls easy targets?!' Nico thought in anger, barely repressing the urge to slice something with his Plasma Claws. He couldn't wait till the time would come when he would be able to take a crack at him. Something in his gut told him that time would come sooner than he'd think, and he was more than eager for it to come sooner. However, what the man said at the end was something that caught his attention, nullifying his anger. "You did? Then I must show my gratitude, Guts." The male bobbed his head as a terse bow of gratitude.

"I was only doing my job. Nothing more, nothing less. Saizou was being a hindrance, thus I dealt with him." Guts replied blankly, getting an understanding nod from the teenage Spec Ops. The man then turned on his armoured boots and made his way back to his seat, plopping down on it. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, seemingly falling asleep.

'That was… a short conversation.' The teen thought to himself, frowning in confusion at the… weirdness that just happened. 'Looks like my initial assumption was correct, that man doesn't seem like the type for conversation…'

Just before he could do anything more, Nico saw the other guy in armour walk up to him, shaking his head in light hearted amusement. "Hey, guess ol' guts was talking to you just now? Don't worry about him, he's not the one to engage in conversation." He said, before holding a hand out for a handshake. "Call me ISHIMURA, on missions anyways, but like this call me Isaac Clarke." He introduced himself.

This looked more like a normal way to start a conversation, and since he seemed pleasant enough despite being fully suited-up, Nico didn't mind responding appropriately. "Nico, codename DEATHSTROKE. Nice to make your acquaintance, and like I said previously, I suspected he was more of a lone wolf type." He answered, shaking the man's hand.

"Yeah, he's a good guy once you get to know him, but he doesn't like weaklings. The fact that he was talking to you at all means he knows you're not one of the rabble that infests the Spec Ops Program." Isaac replied, before he gestured to the man sitting away from them, feigning sleep. "Oh yeah, and he may be all workaholic, but he does care. He didn't show it, but he had been worried when he saw Saizou trying to take those girls." If his helmet wasn't up, Nico would have seen Isaac's eyes harden into a steely gaze. "Bastard, Saizou takes our name and smears it all over the ground."

On that, they could both agree, Nico showed this by nodding his head as the two broke the handshake. "Even so, his family is highly influential, and they have large stocks in the Guild itself. If they were to pull out, things would only get worse for us." He stated, though despite the blank tone he was using, his eyes showed clearly the distaste he had for the situation.

"Yeah, true shit that, dude."

Nico then decided to move the topic onto something else. "I'm curious, how well do you and Guts know each other? For you to isolate and break down his façade so quickly leads me to assume you two have a long history."

Isaac looked like he had been taken aback by the question for a brief second, before he regained his composure right afterwards. "Oh, that? Well, me and Guts go a way's true enough. We both joined the Spec Ops community around the same time, and we were just luckily assigned a lot of missions together. We talked, bonded over drinks, and ever since we've been good friends. No tragic backstory to us here." He explained, and if he hadn't known any better, Nico could have sworn he'd saw Guts barely nodding his head in agreement with the man.

"I see… a soldier with a medieval knight theme going on, and a man with an Engineering RIG… an interesting combination." The teenage Spec Ops admitted thoughtfully, getting a chuckle out of the older man.

Said man elaborated on the unasked question after calming down his chuckles. "Heh, you got it there, man. Yeah, I may be a Spec Ops, but my primary specialisation is engineering. Its something I do alongside my Spec Ops work to get the cash flowing to my wife and kid." At the end, he pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to him. Nico saw that it was actually a locket, one that opened up to reveal that it was holding a picture of a middle-aged woman and a small toddler.

Honestly, it made him feel a tinge of joy at seeing their happiness… as well as a tinge of envy. "You been married long?"

"Yep." Isaac replied as he put the locket away. "Been married for 5 years now. Her name's Nicolle Brennan, and she's a Senior Medical Officer in 'life space' hospital." The pure warmth and affection in his tone, showed Nico just how much Isaac loved his wife, and it also confirmed something else for the male.

Every Spec Ops had a reason for not believing in any Goddess, not having faith in anything religious for that matter. Some believe in only their own ideals, others fight just because its what they know. He was one of the latter few himself, though if Nico was honest he would also admit that he didn't want these dangers to impact his childhood friend's peaceful life. There were also those, like Mr Clarke here, that fought for their families, to return to them with a load of cash and the knowledge that the world had been made a little safer for them.

Looked like Isaac Clarke was a family man, true and true.

Before they could continue the conversation, Nico felt someone wrap their arms around him from behind. "Aw, come on, Nicky-dear! Stop wasting time and focus on your missus for once, please?" a whiny voice purred from behind, and just by the nickname alone the male managed to ascertain who it was.

A sigh came from the boy as he regarded Lucy, who was the one behind him with a slight smirk. "Girl, you are not my missus. Stop making assumptions and giving people the wring impression." He stated blankly, or rather, as blankly as he could. Having seen Neptune in her Purple Heart form, and naked at that, had given Nico a…. shift in perspective when it came to contact with the female body. A perspective Lucy seemed to have noticed judging by the way she was rubbing herself on him right now, much to his embarrassment.

"Hoho!" The boy soon knew that he didn't like that laugh, not one bit, as he looked back to Isaac who, while he was unable to see his face directly, seemed like he was amused at something. "So, you already got a lady too, huh kid? Honestly you didn't seem like the type, you sly dog you." He said teasingly, and if his helmet was off, Nico would have seen the grin that spread across his lips.

A frustrated groan escaped his lips as he looked behind him at the other members of Team RAIL, silently asking them for help. Unfortunately, it seemed tat they were preoccupied with something, Aiden and Ian were talking about what the mission could be, while Raven was sharpening her sword… although judging by her aura, he guessed she as merely keeping an eye on her second in command in case she went too far.

In the end, he decided to deal with this situation himself. Turning his head back to face him, Nico spoke with as much a level tone as he could in this situation. "She is not my missus, she is merely someone I work with. We have known each other for some time now." he tried to explain, but the way that Lucy was rubbing herself on him, teasing him, made it rather difficult to do so.

It didn't help that, deep down, that he thought she was unmistakably beautiful. Hell, he felt that way about Raven, too, plus the girls in Neptune's party as well as Neptune herself. Each girl had their own sense of beauty, Compa had an innocent type of beauty, similar to Neptune. Though, Compa's was more of a pure sort, than Neptune's childish innocence. IF had this tomboyish charm to her, with an undertone of feminine beauty that seemed more… IF-like, if that was even a thing.

Neptune, as previously stated, had a childish innocence about her that he really liked. It drew him in and gave him the desire to make sure she was smiling just as much as he did Compa. She also had the advantage of looking adorable when she did certain actions, like rubbing her face after dinner or pouting with puffy cheeks. And then, when she wants to do something intimate, she goes Purple Heart and BOY does that form make men go hot under the collar. There have been times when she uses that form to tease him, and by goddesses does it work wonders. One could say that she had the best of both worlds when it came to beauty.

For Noire, he found that she had this nobility aura around her… with the caring for her people that came with it. She had this class about her in style, something she had in spades and pulled it off well. She did come across as rude and arrogant sometimes, especially when she was being a tsundere, but oddly enough that was part of her charm. But, the best thing about her was that she was unlike what he had expected the Goddesses to be like. She didn't look down on the Spec Ops Program, humanity's solution to problems caused during their absence. He had expected her to try and dissolve it as soon as she returned, but that wasn't the case.

Raven and Lucy each had their own beauty as well. The former had this warrior spirit that Nico admired about her. She didn't let anyone give her shit, and had this presence about her that told those who would otherwise be vague and intentionally set them up to tell the truth lest they lose something important to them… like a certain body part. It didn't help that her thoroughly trained warrior had an appeal that made even hardened veterans experience difficulty in focusing on her in a fight. It was something she used to keep them off their toes and to get good strikes in. He couldn't count how many times men have fallen for that ploy and thus wind up suffering brutal injuries. Honestly, the only reason she hadn't found someone yet was because of both her warrior personality as well as her hatred for the male gender. Though, he was the exception to that rule, for reasons he would not say.

Out of respect for Raven of course.

Now Lucy, she was an interesting one. Despite looking like a teenager, he always got the impression, even before he knew her more, that she was older than she looked, as well as more experienced than she let on. She carried herself with such confidence, seduction and sensuality oozing off her in waves. It was no wonder she had a lot of men going for her, and in many cases she would end up using them for… stress relief, the times he'd heard sounds alike to moaning and pleasured gasps from her and her 'partners' when they did missions together were the most stressful times for him.

Though later on, he found that there was much more to her than meets the eye.

Still though, with that beauty and confidence, he wasn't surprised at how popular she had become with the Guild. Plus, she was no slouch on the battlefield either, people usually underestimate her due to her seduction-laced personality and sensual body movements, but beneath all that was a honed blade, ready to be unleashed at the right moment. Thus, Lucy became more of a warrior/seductress mix… a potent combination for those she had her sights on. Usually though, ever since one certain moment, that had been him and him alone. He wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not.

"Yeah, yeah, sure whatever you say." Isaac said, dismissively with a matching wave. It looked clear by his tone however, that he didn't really believe the teen's words for an instant, especially with said teen being held the way he was. "Still, a hot lady is interested in you, dude, you should ask her out already." He advised him like a sage. "Who knows, you might even get yourself some action by the end."

Her eyes brightened at the idea, both the idea of a date as well as what he really meant by 'action', making Isaac chuckle as Lucy looked down at the boy she had her arms around the neck of. "Yeah, that's an idea. Why not ask me out, hmm? I could rock your world by the time the night is over, hun." She questioned him, her tone laced with seduction. She playfully rubbed her cheek against his own like a kitten, much to Nico's embarrassment.

Thank the Goddesses that he was wearing a helmet. His face was that of a volcano about to erupt at this point.

"Y-You know that we are both too b-b-busy for that!" Nico shrieked, finally managing to pull himself out of the woman's grip. Damn girl likely was descended from succubus with those charms of hers, he swore. "We're always on assignments in different areas, plus you know Im travelling with a party right now, so that wouldn't exactly be a walk in the park!"

In the back of his mind, Nico knew, he KNEW, that this wouldn't be a good defence, but it was the best he could come up with right now. Her seductions were getting under his skin, and he didn't like it. He hoped that his words had some impact nonetheless, though. But sadly, his words didn't look like they were convincing Lucy though, just from the gaze that she had on him right now. "Oh, I'm sure we can find a way, Nicky-Dear." She cooed, placing a hand on the metal chin of his helmet to make him look into her red eyes. Honestly, they reminded him of rubies sometimes, like right now for instance. "You of all people know just how stubborn I am, when I want something, I make sure to achieve it."

'Hmmmm… Interesting.'

When Nico heard his mental conversation partner speak up suddenly, he couldn't help but feel both joy and trepidation. Joy for basically getting him out of that situation by diverting his attention to something else, and trepidation for whatever got his attention. Nonetheless, he had to ask anyways otherwise the curiosity would kill him. 'What is it, Biko?'

'You predicted that she may be a descendant of a Succubus, correct? Well, I believe that you might not be too far from the truth.'

'Huh?!' Nico shrieked in his mind, barely keeping his shock from appearing on his face. He didn't know how to explain to his companions that he had a talking voice in his head… well, more than one, at least. 'What do you mean by that, Biko?'

'According to these fragmented memories, there was a race of lust demons called Succubus. They were either mid to high ranked depending on their skill and power levels, but were notorious for seducing men or women into their beds to drain them of their energy. The older the succubae, the more powerful they were. In addition, they got stronger depending on how many times they've 'fed' on sexual energy. Based off her actions and mannerisms, I would not be surprised if her ancestors had been regular victims to the succubae, or had succubae blood flowing through them.'

Well, ain't that trippy. One of his closest comrades other than the girls he was travelling with was potentially descended from a race of lust demons. The more you know.

Returning to the conversation at hand, Nico tried once again to persuade her against her conduct, this time adopting a more formal, professional approach. "VERONICA. We are at a workplace right now." he told her, gesturing to the briefing room around them. "I hardly believe that this behaviour is appropriate for it."

"True…" Lucy admitted with little to no shame whatsoever, like this detail was so minor that it wasn't even worth registering by her brain. She always did have little care for professionalism when in situations like this, she was a girl who knew what she wanted and would do what she could to get it. It was just a stroke of bad luck that it was Nico tat she had focused her efforts on. She then continued while stepping forwards, inching ever closer to his body while her hand on his chin kept him from moving away from her. "But still, the briefing hasn't started yet, so we can have some 'quality time' together to make up for the time we lost, don't you think?"

"Um-Um-I-URGH-Ummm-…"

Poor Nico's mind flat lined, unable to respond to the sultry advances made by the possible descendent of lust demons. Normally Lucy would just be off with some light teasing and flirting his way, but today she seemed to be getting extra pushy for some reason. He didn't know the reason why, but something told him it was to do with the fact that he was in a party with a bunch of girls. Though the reason for that to be the case continued to elude him.

"If you are about done trying to corrupt him, VERONICA…"

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how one looked at it, Nico was saved by the intervention of one Odachi wielding Spec Ops Agent. Said Agent now stood behind the redhead, her right hand clasped around her Odachi in a manner that basically said 'let him go or taste my blade, bitch'. Her Mask may have been on, but one could tell that she seemed pissed just from her body language alone. "You would be wise to realise that the briefing is about to begin. This is hardly the time for your flirtatious antics."

"Awwww…" Lucy pouted, looking behind her at her superior… without taking a step away from the embarrassed Spec Ops Agent. "I was just teasing Nicky, my dear." She tried to play what she had almost done off with a dismissive hand gesture, although judging by the irritation rolling off her superior in waves indicated how 'effective' this attempt was. "I was just having a bit of fun before all the serous stuff kicks in."

'Phew, she was only playing around… that's good to hear…' Nico thought to himself, not even trying to hide his sigh of relief as he regarded the two females. 'Although, part of me wishes that she could stop this, so I can focus more on regaining my lost memories.' It didn't help tat he had no clue about how to go about them, as it been obvious that the amnesia he had was not like the one that Neptune possessed.

Nevertheless, Raven stepped forwards, just inches away from flicking her sword's hilt forth, unlocking the safety switch in the process. "Do not make me repeat myself VERONICA." Raven scowled, her eyes flashing dangerously behind her Mask. "Remember what happened the last time you tried to get too far with DEATHSTROKE?"

Lucy, hearing those words and the tone that accompanied them, plus the killing intent she radiated, quickly paled to the point where her skin tone rivalled that of a ghost. She then blurred off to her seat once more, looking like she hadn't gotten up at all. The only sign she had even moved there was the faint smoke trail she'd made upon stopping. She remembered the last time that she'd pushed Raven's buttons too much, and it was not pretty.

"Attention Agents, the briefing will not begin. Please take your seats."

The loud, authoritative voice belonging to that woman in the military uniform echoed across the briefing room. A serious, intense atmosphere overtook them, making Nico and the others become a matching serious and intense. The teen group sat on the back row, looking up at the woman who stood at the top of the pendulum, a holographic white board appearing behind her. She had this no-nonsense vibe to her, something that was apparent in nearly every member of Leanbox's Military.

Behind her, the whiteboard flashed as an image of a village appeared on it. It was almost covering the entire screen at first, until it was shrunk by the system and then moved to the screen's top right corner. Several columns of text appeared below and beside it, and the woman began to speak once more. "Now, the reason you're all here, is because of the village ou see on the screen. The image you see before you is of Mojang Village. Its an establishment located south west of Leanbox Capital MICROSOFT, and is primarily a mining village. It is surrounded by caves and mines that provide us with a precious resource known as silver steel. Effective when made into weapons against monsters. It houses a population of 40,000, 60% are families from high prestige nobles."

Beside him, Nico noticed Lucy rolling her eyes at the mention of the Nobility, and honestly he couldn't blame her. Lucy never did like the way Leanbox kept its nobility in power when they were filled with fat, money-hogging pigs that didn't bother doing anything. That stereotype may be used for a lot of anime's but sadly enough its still apparent in this world. They should know, most Quests handed out in Leanbox are for those Nobles. He himself didn't like them very much either, but didn't really voice this displeasure with many people.

"As of 4 days ago, however, we lost contact with this Village. Attempts to re-establish contact on our end have been met with failure. There's some unknown Abnormal in the vicinity that emits electronic waves, which makes satellite imagery near impossible for us. Leanbox Government has so far sent One Captain Stefan Von Kessel of the Ostermark Order. A sub section of the Leanbox Army that has the most experience in repelling Abnormals that get too close to our borders. Unfortunately, he and his regiments have not returned, nor have we heard back from them. We fear the worst, and will assume that they have been KIA."

The woman lightly straightened some papers into a pile on the Pedestal, before setting them down on it as she gave them all a glance over to see if they still had their attention focused on her. They did, thus she pushed her glasses upwards with her index finger, before looking back down at the papers. Behind her, the whiteboard screen shifted, showing a map of Leanbox, detailing terrain, paths, monster sightings among other details that the Spec Ops took into consideration.

"Your mission will be as follows: To investigate this village and rescue any civilians. We need to know what happened here and if we can create countermeasures so that it doesn't happen again. The presence of the unknown Abnormal will be classified as a secondary objective, drive it away if at all possible. We've recorded C-Class Abnormal sightings, along with D class normal monster sightings. Likely, these monsters will include the following: Metal Dogoos, Boxbirds, Turtles and Land Whales. C -Class Abnormals include Viperwolves, Thanators, Scorporillas and Firefoxes. Show no mercy. Search and destroy, search and destroy. This concludes the briefing. Dismissed!"


Chapter end

There! This chapter's complete.

Just so you all know, we're nearing the end of my prewritten chapters. I'm currently on the beginning of chapter 65, so by the time I upload 64, I should be onto 66.

Also, regarding Team RAIL if you haven't noticed yet. I took a piece from RWBY's book in relation to making them a team. Bit late for saying this, but RIP Monty Oum. I also based these characters from Marvel superheroes like Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Raven is a teenaged version of the Raven from RWBY, but I've made it so she's more of a leader, has little tolerance for those who are considered weak, and a bit of a man hater which will be explained in future chapters.

As for Lucy, she's an interesting one. I based her character design from a picture of an NPC from a MMO Game called Mabinogi. She's based off an NPC called Rua, and just by her design alone, I thought she would have that seductive, teasing personality. Thus, Lucy was born! If you want to know what Rua looks like, go to that Google Search Engine, and search "Rua Mabinnogi" to see the results.

Anyways, that's all for now, folks!

Oh, and here's a Special Event for you


Special Event - Raven and Lucy

Team RAIL sat in a café in Planeptune's Marketplace, having come back from a mission just 4 minutes ago. The four sat around a plastic white table with an umbrella sticking out the middle, offering them plenty of shade from the sun.

They weren't alone though, as throughout the café they had garnered some attention... some masculine attention. Well, Raven and Lucy, anyways.

"Whooooo! Look at THOSE two!"

"They're hot as hell, who the heck got the bright idea to grace us with those beauties?"

"You wanna go talk toe? Maybe they're hookers."

"What, you serious? That woman with that sword looks like she would cut me up any second, dude!"

"Maybe not her, but that other one looks like she can rock your world, if you know what I'm saying."

Male customers, some of whom even had girls near them, whispered to each other about the two female Team RAIL members. Some of them got whacked by their female partners, while those that didn't gave lecherous, perverted giggles.

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!

That all changed when an EXPLOSION of killer intent was released from both of the girls. Raven had her Odachi on her lap and had just briefly flicked the blood red blade out of the sheath as she aimed a killer death glare their way. Her gaze looked so bone chilling that it could put even the legendary beast Medusa to stone, it looked like this look could literally burn holes in their heads if she allowed it. Lucy meanwhile, had a pleasant smile on her features... but there were shadows darkening her eyes while she absentmindedly fingered a Cleaver.

Now they recognised those two.

Needless to say, the two managed to silence the male population.

Once they were sure those men had been made 'aware' of the thin ice they were treading on, the two dismissed/sheathed their weapons. "Haaaah!" Lucy exclaimed, leaning back on her seat as wave after wave of exhaustion passed through her. "That last mission shouldn't have gone as bad as it did." she whined to her comrades.

Aiden nodded his head as he calmly looked down at an ipad, his ipad, which was showing him the statistics of their previous mission. He didn't look it, but if one looked closely enough one could see how he was trying to control his laboured breathing. He had also ignored the comments that those guy customers made about his colleagues, knowing what would happen if he tried to intervene. "If it weren't for that time you tried to take a selfie with yourself in that weird pose in front of the 'defeated' Abnormal, I estimate that the mission time would have been shortened by 35.534%." he stated.

Looking towards him after heaving her heavy skull into an upright position, Lucy had the look of someone who was offended. "Hey!" she shouted. "That selfie was grand, alright? I even plan on saving it as a wallpaper!" she made to bring out her Phone to show them the picture of her riding atop an Abnormal that specialised in attacking from the ground, codenamed 'Thrasher Maw' when Raven stopped her.

"Taking selfies in a mission is HARDLY appropriate conduct, VERONICA." she hissed with narrowed eyes. "I would punish you for your conduct back there, however the comeuppance you received from that monster seems to be enough for me." she remarked, her eyes softening as her shoulders lightly shook. She had her head to the side as she suppressed the urge to chuckle.

Now THAT got Lucy's blood boiling as she glared with bloody murder shining in her eyes. She slowly made to summon one of her Cleavers from her Inventory, which prompted Raven to narrow her eyes as she fingered the hilt of her Odachi. The two girls gradually radiated their KI at increasing levels, to the point where their auras were beginning to become visible. The air became thick with tension, of which the customers found it wise to make preparations to vacate the area as soon as the first blow was dealt.

Fortunately for them, that never had to happen.

"You guys, hey! No fighting in public!" Ivan exclaimed, waving a hand in the middle of the space between them. "Remember what happened that one time in Leanbox?!"

Both women grimaced when the metal arm sporting teen said that. They could remember that day clearly, one of their fights had attracted the attention of their superiors that day. They had been sent back to Planeptune to Helen for some disciplinary action.

Let's just say they NEVER wanted to piss that woman off.

"... Your words ring truth, CYBORG." Raven begrudgingly admitted, putting a hand on the base of her Odachi's hilt and sheathing it. Lucy dismissed her Cleavers back into her Inventory, and a collective sigh of relief escaped the rest of the customers.

Just before Lucy could respond, the black haired leader heard a ringing, and swiftly pulled out her IPhone. Her eyes skimmed the message that she had received, all the while the other three waited for what she would say to them. "Why does she usually have the Star Wars main theme for a ring tone whenever she gets a Text?" Lucy absentmindedly wondered to herself.

Nobody answered her, as they eyed their leader for her words. Finally, the woman slid her Phone back into her skirt pocket. She then gave them a hard look, the look that they knew meant that she was adopting her 'leader mode' as they called it. "Looks like our break will have to wait. We've been called to Leanbox for an Urgent Quest." she told them, swiftly getting up and leaving behind a pile of Credits, enough to cover their recent meals.

"Awww, really?" Lucy whined as she too stood up, putting her hands on her hips and bending backwards. She winced as she heard a few cracking sounds come from her back, before she stretched her arms up into the air. "Shucks, I was so looking forward to that break. I wanted to browse more ways to seduce Nicky-Dear."

"There will be NO corrupting DEATHSTROKE, not now or ever, you hear?"

"Awwww, don't be like that, leader. After all, its not like you don't want him for yourself, right? You've been eyeing him for just as long as I have."

"..."

Ivan and Aiden glanced at each other as the two women left, one teasing the other while hinting at a hidden truth, and the other not responding, only confirming the first one's claims as he put her White Mask on. "Will you ever understand women, FALCON?" the brown haired boy asked his bowl cut partner.

Said partner just shrugged.