Chapter 98 - Training and New Equipment

All was quiet back at the hotel where the Party stayed, and for many this would be counted as one of their greatest blessings. After what had happened with IF though, one teenage male hoped that the rest of the day would turn out a little better at least. The teen Spec Ops Agent sighed to himself as he sat on the side of his bed, hands leaning over his knees while is forearms rested on them and his head was lowered so it faced the ground. The door to his room had just shut, the cause of it being his brunette companion whom had just left him to his own devices. Though, from the corner of his eye he'd caught a slightly catty smirk aimed at him that sent shivers of… something down his spine.

It was a relief to Nico that IF had decided to book it earlier than the intended 2 hours, only half an hour though, otherwise there would have been some serious complications if Neptune and Compa saw what she had done and made a complete misunderstanding of the situation. Though, if that happened he couldn't help but assume that IF would have taken advantage of their misconceptions to tease them further, this new change in her seemed so strange yet captivating at the same time. The teen couldn't help but be riveted and captivated by it, all the way till she left the room, so she could change in her own without risk of causing a misunderstanding. That was one of the many things he liked about her, how she understood the Party's dynamics better than Neptune or Compa did. To the point where she could predict what would likely happen in risky situations like this.

Still though, they had some serious work to do today, it would be the first day of training after all.

First off, they needed a schedule, what had o be trained first and what should be prioritized. Then they had to factor in his duties as a Spec Ops Agent, handling Quests and fighting Abnormals. Also, with what he knew about this Chaos Religion, odds were that he would be bound to fight more Chaos Champions and other Demonic entities in the near future. That would be why he'd need to build his strength, to prepare for the upcoming battles. Thankfully, he still had his Inner World with it's time dilation. That meant he could put more effort into his training than he would normally. Plus, the physical improvements from that training would be transferred to his real body, so he would essentially getting like hours' worth of training in a smaller time frame.

'I would suggest you go find a suitable training ground for the time being, before we think about hat to train you in. Then, there's informing the members of your party and Spec Ops Duties.'

Biko's information cut into his thoughts, breaking them but Nico didn't show any outward reaction. 'Yeah, you're right.' Nico replied mentally, standing up and raising his right racer. He made to switch to his Spec Ops attire, something he had quickly dealt with after losing his last set after Berserker Mode. He'd done it though messaging, and his mother had supplied him with a new set of identical clothes to those he'd lost. Clothes made from the same materials his previous set were, too, since the material used for it, save for his civilian and PJ getups… wasn't exactly common.

Just as he got to his Bracer's holographic menu, the teen's eyes narrowed when he noticed a message icon. Curious, the teen brought up the messages tab and his eyes fell onto the most recent of unopened emails. 'Hm? What's this…?' the teen wondered, opening the message. His eyes scanned the email's contents, before they widened by a large margin. 'Holy, shit is she serious?' he gasped mentally.

To DEATHSTROKE

It is with great pleasure that I, Helena Dawson, Head of the WDD, have given you the Task of testing multiple prototype Weapons for the future of the Spec Ops Community. This is a mandatory request, meaning you do not have the right to refuse. The equipment has been transferred to your void storage upon you reading this email. Please report to the specified co-ordinates for weapon testing, the results shall determine what we shall do with these weapons.

Yours sincerely, Helena Dawson

The message had been sent by his Mother, Helen, so he assumed that it was. Especially with the lack of informal language he'd seen in the message. He'd eyed the co-ordinates beneath the message and found them to be a large area south of MICROSOFT. It would be a good jogging experience, but if he wanted to get this over with as fast as possible he could transform and get there within about 30 minutes, unless there was someone there already in which case he'd have to curt the transformation early. Don't want news of his demonic powers reaching these old cronies at the Basilicom, they'd go wild with accusations. Closing the message, Nico checked his void storage, and soon enough there were a few notifications of new items having been put in there…

His eyes flew open at what he saw.

'This... This is...!'

Whelp looked like his day just got a whole lot more complicated.

Joy...


"Uhhhhh, Nep? What are you doing?" IF asked with a surprised, yet also exasperated, expression on her features as she groaned into her hand, which was on her forehead at what she was seeing. This had not been what she expected on an early morning like this, and she had hoped to have a normal morning for once ever since the whole incident with the Hellverse. Looked like that wasn't going to happen if what she was seeing was anywhere near accurate.

But then again, with Neptune around normal became a bit of a subjective term.

Right before her very eyes, Neptune stood in the hotel room's living room, dressed quite… differently. Instead of her usual white, purple and blue colours, she and changed to a darker, black and grey colour scheme, even dying her hair a grey colour while sporting grey eye lenses. She was even posing as if she were some dark themed character in a videogame, all dark and edgy like.

… What the hell?

"I'm not Neptune anymore." She replied calmly with a dark undertone. She even had her hand on her face oddly reminiscent of a certain Mad Magician. She'd died her nails black, with darker makeup on her eyes to give them a slightly more emo look. She then raised an arm slowly, and in the most dramatic fashion she could, before pointing straight at the scowling brunette. "I am Nepedgy!"

Silence, save for some faint cockroach sounds in the distance, dominated the room after Neptune, or rather Nepedgy, proclaimed that. Neptune kept her pose while looking at IF, who looked back with annoyance and exasperation, while Compa looked between the two with innocence and curiosity… though she mostly attributed to this being Neptune and just rolled with it.

Eventually, the silence broke when Neptune huffed and turned away, tutting as she faced the side. "Nep you, I have white hair."

"Anyways…" IF shook her head, running a hair through her brown locks as she decided to get past that little… whatever it was as fast as possible, so she didn't suffer a migraine. Neptune tended to have that effect on people with her antics, and why the hell did she feel like Neptune made a reference of some kind? Had she gone meta? "We doing stuff today or what?" she asked them, deciding on the action: leaning on a wall while crossing her arms under her tank top. She only wore that and her shorts, due to this being indoors. Her boots and coat were hanging up on a nearby rack.

Compa shook her head in response to this. "Not much, to be honest. We have no leads for the Key Fragment, so Nep-Nep suggested we take it easy for the time being." She explained, jumping slightly with her ever-present big smile.

"That explains why she'd up as early as the rest of us…" IF muttered under her breath, but she didn't let the others hear her. Right now, it was about 9AM, 2 hours ago she had been in bed with their sole male member. Compa would have gotten up then, but Neptune would be like a slob and sleep till 11. Didn't help that se either stayed up late playing games or snuck out to buy sweets for herself, either. "So, what do you have in mind for today?"

At this, Neptune, whom had somehow switched her colours back to normal without anyone noticing. (Don't ask, it's Neptune. She's like a female loli merc with a mouth), grinned like a devious prankster and procured a scroll from within her Inventory. She then presented it like one of those posh noblemen and held it out before them, beaming in pride. "Ta-da! We got a whole schedule today, filled with relaxation and pudding!" she chirped happily, already losing herself in fantasies with Pudding.

IF could only stare at the schedule with a dubious expression, a sweat drop forming on the back of her head. "Uhhhh, Nep? When the hell did you have a chance to make something like this?" she asked her, noting how… surprisingly intricate it looked when the two girls looked like a pair of zombies when they got back last night. The fact that they were worried like hell for Nico had been the only reason why they hadn't fallen asleep like logs the moment they got back to the hotel room.

"Oh, I did it when you were kidnapped, Iffy!"

"It was a group effort, Nep-Nep, and you kinda had pudding while I did all the work…"

The brunette narrowed her eyes at the preteen whom conveniently was looking away from her while whistling a merry tune. "Why am I not surprised…?" she mused, before taking a deep breath. "Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected anything like that, since you're pretty much the personification of laziness, Nep."

"Hee-hee, thanks Iffy!"

"That wasn't a compliment, Nep…"

"Wait, it wasn't? In that case…. Grrr! Iffy!"

Neptune clenched her fists and held them to her chest, trying to look as intimidating as she could. However, to the rest of them it just looked like a cute little teddy bear wanting a hug or something. Neptune just didn't have the ability to scare anyone with how adorable she looked.

Compa could only smile at the sight, giggling as Neptune tried to strangle the brunette only for the said brunette to evade or block each attempt by using the infamous 'iron claw' on Neptune's face, keeping her a fair distance and resulting in her fruitlessly trying to whack the other woman. Heck, there were even faint sound effects accompanying her arm movements while IF looked down at her phone with her free hand.

"You don't stop this idiocy, i'll burn your pudding, Nep."

"#GASP# Iffy, you wouldn't!"

"Really? I noticed a small incinerator when we arrived yesterday, you wanna test me to see if I pull a Nico?"

While IF and Neptune quarreled like a bunch of bratty children (Mostly Neptune though since IF threatened her pudding), Compa heard the sounds of a door being opened. None of them were leaving yet, so that could only mean that they were having their last member join the party. Turning around with her eyes closed and a wide smile, Compa made to make the first greeting. "Hi, good morning Ni…" but when she opened her eyes, they nearly flew out her sockets while her jaw got unhinged. She even got a strange tingly feeling in her tummy when she saw what she did. "N-Ni-Ni, wow! You look…!"

Her shout drew the attention of the other girls, whom each got the same reaction as their resident Nurse-In-Training when they saw their resident male Party member as he shut the door to his bedroom behind him, unaware of what was happening to them right now. Their jaws comically dropped while their faces got stained with red blotches over their faces and noses. They rivaled strawberries right now, and weren't that far off going nuclear. Hell, they even had big nosebleeds as certain… ecchi thoughts raced through their minds.

'Oh… my… Goddess…'

Nico stepped forth into the living room, scratching the top of his head while looking down at his Bracer. 'Looks like I have a full schedule today, I may not be able to get as much training as i'd hoped. Mom can sometimes have terrible timing, but this actually could end up a freaking blessing with everything with happened so far... whelp, not much I can do about that...' he thought, before he sensed something was amiss and looked up when he heard Compa's exclamation and tilted his head at the reactions that the girls had. The teen arched a brow, tilting his head curiously and in confusion at their actions. "Uh, what's with you guys? You got some kind of fever or something?" he asked them, his facial expression soon switching to tat of a panicked mother fretting over her children when they got a simple graze after falling to the ground. "If so, you guys should be in bed resting! Not out here!"

"Nevermind about us, what's with YOU?! You look like you had a full nepping makeover!

"Huh?" Nico blinked, before looking down at himself and realizing what they were going on about. His eyes widened at this as he pointed at hhimself with his right hand "Oh, this?" What had gotten the girls so flustered, shocked and maybe a little aroused, you ask? Whelp, Nico had a whole new look to him now. Well, mostly, cause instead of just wearing black and grey, Nico no had an all-black attire. His Trench Coat now had a mid-neck length collar to it, underneath being a matching black shirt with a crimson horned Skull imprinted on the center, sporting a lipless maw of fanged teeth frozen into a rather sinister grin. This gave Nico a rather imposing 'bad boy' image, which was aided by the finger-less gloves on his hands, the rolled back cuffs, as well as the black leather pants on his lower body. They were held by a black belt with a silver buckle, with more belts hanging beside his waist. More belts wrapped around his thighs and knees, down to where they were tucked in to some matching leather boots.

Not just the attire was different about him, though. His hair, instead of gravity defying like it had before, now it had a whole new look to it. His hair now reached his ears in length, with spiky bangs on the top while his hair now got angled over his right eye, only exposing his left eye. His new hairstyle, combined with his attire, gave him a punkish 'bad boy' vibe that only increased his natural visual appeal. The fact that his shirt exposed some of the streamlined, almost blade-like muscle on his physique, wasn't a bad bonus either. His ears had 3 silver earrings, arranged from biggest to shortest starting from the closest to the neck to the furthest.

Hell, was it just them, or were their twinkling stars in the background behind his form?

... Meh.

Not important.

'Oh, fucking hell…' IF groaned in her mind, her eyes shaking wildly while her brain began processing the image before her with record breaking speeds and burning it into her memory banks for later. Her face felt hotter than it had ever been, and she'd been in some hot places. Not even that fight with the Butcher above that pool of magma had anything on how hot her body was right now. Then, there was what her instincts were demanding her to do regardless of people watching her. Sure she had seen naked guys before (her visits to the Red-Light District was proof of that) plus she had dealt with more than a few perverts in her lifetime but seeing Nico like that when she had also seen him in his thin PJ's the previous night filled her mind with thoughts and images that flustered her beyond belief. Like she said, she wasn't too experienced with romantic relationships, so seeing a guy she had a crush on wearing an outfit that fit him WAY too well felt like a pure wet dream to her. She couldn't help the arousal at those thoughts either, and already she felt the strain of keeping her breathing from becoming labored from these thoughts. Her BOW instincts demanded that she drag that guy into his room, toss him to the bed and claim him right then and there. With her previous revelations, she almost lost herself to that urge. 'Nico did have good looks before, but this just…'

As for the poor Nurse-In-Training…

'awawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawawa!' said girl's face looked like the skin of a tomato, her face literally radiating steam while her eyes were nothing, but white circles and her jaw hung loose like a monkey dangling from a tree. Compa's mind had trouble processing what she was seeing, the steamy thoughts combine with the appeal Nico unknowingly radiated seemed to be too much for her to handle. She may be a pure maiden, but the sheer sight in front of her made her thoughts wander towards the... forbidden zone if you know what I mean ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). Nevertheless, it rendered her immobile in both body and mind. Her innocent brain couldn't handle all the M rated scenes in her mind, more specifically the ones where they were stripped to their birthday suits…

"Jizz, in my pants…!"

Both girls jumped out of their skin (their hearts feeling like they had actually left their bodies) when they heard a line from an 80's song fill the room, twirling to face the source which was a deviously grinning Neptune with both a furious blush on her features… and a radio in her hands, held above her head like she was holding a trophy.

"Nep!"

"N-NEP-NEP!"

"What?!" the Preteen exclaimed defensively when she saw their gazes focus on her. Two of them looked annoyed/embarrassed as all heck, while the other looked confused, and let me tell you, Compa was not the confused one believe it or not. In fact, Compa's face looked like the (,) face while IF glared at her though her glare had lost some of it's edge with her embarrassment. She then put the Radio back into her Inventory, where she stored a lot of goods she… well, 'borrowed' from certain places before she huffed, placing her hands on her hips and then pointing one of them at the annoyed male teen. "He's asking for it by dressing up as a freaking bad boy!"

A twitching brow was the response the teen gave her for that comment.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves (and her blush) Compa finally went and asked him the question on their minds. "Um, Ni-Ni?" she began, getting his attention. For a moment, she couldn't get the words out as she poked her index fingers, refusing to look at him lest he see the pinkness over her cheeks. Not to mention she didn't know what kind of impact his new look would have on her. "Why do you look like a 'bad boy' as Nep-Nep calls you? Have you become a meanie bully?" Part of her couldn't hep but argue against this, no matter how much she tried to deny it. He didn't seem like he had his personality shift, since he hadn't went all 'ooooh I'm super-duper strong!' and activated DDD. But, now that she'd calmed herself down ironically thanks to Neptune's actions, she began to realize just how well Nico looked as one. She could already see how he'd probably attract a lot of eyes to him now, both male and female. Nico had good looks before, something that she would only admit under extreme embarrassment right now. He even had a small fan-club within the Guild according to IF and Neptune (she didn't want to think about them though, for obvious reasons) but with his new look, he had the appeal of one of those sexy guys from those otome games.

'Muuu…! Now it's getting even harder to keep rivals away from Ni-Ni… Ni-Ni's popularity stat is increasing…!'

Nico raised his hands in a defensive gesture and shook them from side to side, his face morphing to one of mild panic. "No, no, nothing like that, Compa! I-I' not being a 'bad boy' it's just…" the male trailed off, his hands lowering to his sides while he began wondering what he should say next without revealing his exact reason. Luckily, Biko was there to help him out, as he told him a response that had both the truth and the… not truth within it. "I just… I realized something back there in the Hellverse Dungeon, and this new look is like a symbol of that realization." He closed his eyes, before opening them and staring Compa dead in the eye, the Nurse-In-Training. "I couldn't keep going the way I was anymore, not when it almost put people I give a damn about in harms way. I need to change… I need this…" the teen explained, raising a hand to his chest level and glancing down at it, watching it clench into a fist.

Memories filled his mind about the battle he had with the Ghouls, and his resolution to reconnect with his hidden side. That kind of promise would be a big one, and in order to boost his rather mild confidence in the idea, he had decided that a change of wardrobe would be best to symbolise the new change in perspective. He knew some characters who changed their appearances to match their new ideologies, like that one woman whose morals changed from innocence to sucking blood from humans. Or that edgy Hybrid guy from the TG franchise.

Not only that, but the message he'd gotten from his mother had included a bunch of items for his Void Storage, one of which was this new Trench Coat, leather gloves and a small pack of accessories (though he couldn't for the life of him figure out why they'd cone with the formal military equipment). Still though, boy had he been surprised when he got those. It was almost like she knew what he would be trying to do in the future and would be supporting him in his new path. The teen couldn't help the fond smile spreading across his lips as he thought of his adoptive mother. Sure, she may not be his actual relative, but she was damn close, so he didn't care. She may have her… moments, but honestly Nico confirmed it deep within his being that he couldn't have asked for a better mother.

"Though, I will admit that this look fits some of my titles rather well…"

"Huh? Titles?"

Nico looked up, momentarily surprised when IF asked him that question as well as the looks he got from Neptune and Coma. Though, he soon realized what the problem was. "Oh yeah, I never told you did it?" he mused thoughtfully, before he moved to where the sofa was, which was in the center of the room, and sat down on it. He raised his right foot and put it on his left thigh, leaning back on the sofa. "Thanks to my low popularity, not many know of me, but those that do know me by multiple titles. I won't say them all, but the most relevant to this case would be the 'Black Reaper'"

After these incidents, the girls doubted his popularity would be considered 'low' anymore, but none of them said anything.

He wanted to think he still had low popularity, there was no need to shatter his dreams.

"Black Reaper…" IF, whom had sat on the sofa beside the one Nico sat with her legs crossed, muttered under her breath as she looked down, trying to think about the name. In her mind, she figured ow much it fit, considering the guy wore near all black before and had a Scythe. Plus, considering how Nico spent time punishing Criminals before meeting them all… suddenly, the whole name Black Reaper made a whole new level of sense. It even caused her to shudder as an image of Nico donned in a stereotypical reaper outfit, holding his Harvester as he made to take more victims appeared in her mind.

… For some strange reason, that image would NEVER leave her mind, it was just so fitting that it filled her with a sense of morbid curiosity

"Woooow…" Neptune mused to herself, a similar image appearing in her mind as she continued after a few seconds. "I can see how you'd have that nickname, Nicky." She mused before she watched the male as he took out his Mask, much to her confusion. "Uh, why did you take your Mask out, hubby?" she asked, getting disapproving stares from Compa and, now IF too? What the Nep?

The male didn't answer right away as he looked down at the Mask, a wave of nostalgia crossing over him for a moment, before he looked up at the curious Preteen. "Well, this Coat has one feature my old one didn't Nep…" he told her, before twisting his upper body around and showing them the back of his Trench Coat… where they noticed a hidden compartment sealed by a Zipper at the base of the back of his neck. "This bad boy actually comes with it's own hood, sealed inside here. So If I wanna look more stealthy…"

Nico paused while reaching upwards and unzipping the compartment and reaching in, pulling out a leathery black hood. The male then pulled it over his head, then put on the Mask. Now, he had his Mask on and his hood shadowed his features in intimidating darkness, making him look much more sinister. If the lights weren't on, and it were night outside, then he'd look like one of those serial killers he'd catch on a regular basis in the past, and that scared the hell out of them. "Then I can do this and suddenly my enemies will know to fear me more than they do."

"U-Um, that's nice and all, but could you revert back?" Compa asked, her lower lip quivering as she looked at him fearfully. The combined darkness and the petrifying grin his Mask sported made her feel like she was staring death in the face, instead of her crush/childhood friend. "Y-You look really sc-scary…"

It didn't take him long to do so, and soon enough he was looking like he did before, much the Nurse-In-Training's relief. "There we go…" the teen muttered, before aiming a regretful look towards the syringe wielder. "Sorry bout that, Compa…. Guess I just kinda got a little excited there…" he apologised, the teen mentally cursing himself. He should have realised that the visage would have scared her like that, she wasn't someone who had nerves of steel like IF or Neptune. He let his excitement overcome his judgement, and he couldn't help but scold himself for that.

"N-No, it's okay, Ni-Ni!" the girl frantically replied, waving her arms about with a mildly flustered expression when she saw how downcast the male looked. I-I-It looked really cool, too! Just takes a little getting used to…" she explained, trying to defend herself. She didn't like seeing him down after all, what kind of girl would? Well, maybe sadists or cold people, but those weren't her! Nope, no sir! While she tried to comfort the male, Compa's eyes glanced over to the clock and she realised something. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed, surprising the others and shocking Nico out of his stupor.

Neptune, whom quickly recovered from the startling shout their healer made, became the first to ask the Nurse-In-Training what was up. "What is it, Compa? You look like someone who's just realising they're missing out on some limited time event in an online game."

Looking over to the preteen, Compa gave a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head. "O-oh, sorry Nep-Nep, I just realised something when I saw the clock just now. It's not long before I have to be somewhere. I probably won't be back till tonight, so you guys might have to order something like a takeaway." She explained apologetically, her eyes glancing to the side.

"Oh? What's this matter, Compa?" IF questioned curiously, only for the Nurse-In-Training to shake her head with an even more apologetic expression.

"Sorry Iffy, but that'd ruin the surprise."

Now this threw them for a loop. Compa heading somewhere and not telling them what it was Now THAT sounded as probable as Neptune willingly giving up her Pudding. What was so important that the girl couldn't just tell them? This confused everyone, as they couldn't help but wonder just what Compa had that would be so important? Not just that, but Compa wasn't usually the one to keep secrets from them like this. It was more than enough reason to be worried for the girl. She WAS their healer, but more importantly she was someone they all valued highly as a friend, a party member and practically a sister-in-arms at this point. They'd fought so many dangerous foes together, it would be impossible for them to not care about her. Some more than others (Nico) who'd known her for longer.

'Nico…'

Soon, the male got a call from his Demon Persona and, curious, he answered it. 'What is it, Biko?'

'I do not detect any negative emotions behind her words, which means she is not going through anything like Blackmail or is being forced to do something. Thus, it would be in our best interest to trust in her judgement.'

Hearing those words nearly made Nico showcase just how much they had an effect on him. He remembered that talk he had with the other Agents on that mission in Mojang Village, how he had admitted to wanting to find someone he could trust. But, trust worked both ways, didn't it? But, now that he thought about it, didn't it seem a little selfish not to address the elephant in the room with that? How could he find something like that without willing to trust in another first? It wasn't something that the guy did often, based from his paranoia and mistrust towards others. People whom he didn't know, trust, or consider close comrades, he never trusted them. Over time, he'd found out how to act like he gave a damn about them, and it was his duty to. Since they were people whom would 'normally' be entrusted with his back when they were on missions.

Though, like with Hol Horse and J Greil, this wasn't always the case.

But, this wasn't some random stranger he had been working with on a Quest, this wasn't someone he hardly knew or cared about. This was Compa, his childhood friend and a Nurse—In-Training. She had been living on her own for 4 years now, so that meant she had to at least know how to take care of herself when nobody else could. She didn't have that much trouble living alone, and it must have taught her some valuable skills to use out in the field. She had just as much independence as himself, so it wouldn't be too farfetched to think that she knew what she was doing.

Not only that, but she had indeed been fighting the same enemies that the rest of them had, and she was still alive and kicking. Even if they were with her most of the time, the fact that she was still here showed that's he had the capacity, she had the potential. Finally, his vow to regain contact with his other side, to regain the strength in that side he once had, part of it somewhat was so that when the time came, he'd be able to make that call and unleash it. But, if he didn't trust them, then he'd likely hesitate which would be fatal in battle, and that would undermine why he was doing this in the first place.

He wanted to trust someone… but if he truly wanted that, shouldn't he be the one to do the same?

His memories flashed back to his training in resolve by his adoptive mother then to the vow of change that he made within the heat of battle, and his heart finally settled on a decision. It wouldn't be an easy one, but as long as Compa wasn't being Blackmailed like Biko said, then…

"Alright, Compa." Nico spoke, closing his sigh and crossing his arms under his chest. He hoped this wasn't a mistake, but if there would be anyone he could trust, then perhaps Compa could be one of those people? Out of all of them, she had been the one to know him the most, and she'd done more for him than she could ever realise. She'd done well by him more times than he'd care to count, so how could he not repay that? "We'll order something for tonight, but we won't eat until you come back. We're a party, after all. Just promise that you'll be careful, don't wanna lose you after all."

It looked like a huge weight just got lifted from her shoulders, As Compa's shoulders relaxed while a big grin formed on her lips. It was almost blinding to him, but the male felt a whole lot better about his choice, so he didn't really give that much thought. Also, was it just him or did the atmosphere change? Like, Compa looked even more radiant while Neptune and, wait IF? Anyways, they both gave disapproving stares. Plus, it seemed that his choice was shared by the rest of them, and he could even sense the same level of worry within him, in them too. Thanks to the negative emotion sensing.

Note to self; find a better name for that ability, even in his head that sounded like a mouthful. "Thanks, Ni-Ni, guys! You're the best!" she proclaimed cheerfully, racing through the room and giving them all hugs to show her appreciation. Pulling back, the girl twirled about till she as at the door, before giving them a pumped fist while looking like she was flexing her arm muscles. He ryes shone with a confidence in the that they didn't see in her very often. "Don't worry! This Compa will be extra careful!"

With that, the girl opened the door, stepped outside, and closed it behind her.

If this was a game, a text box would have appeared and said 'COMPA HAS LEFT THE PARTY!'

"Well, now that Compa's gone…" IF began, standing up and walking over to where Neptune lay on the ground, prepping to take a nap… before she got rudely interrupted when IF reached down and picked her up by the ear. "I think me and Nep should head out too. We got some serious training to do."

"Ow! Owowowowowowow, Iffy, that hurts!"

"Deal with it, if I don't do this, you'll just procrastinate like every gamer out there!"

"Oh, you Nepping know it!"

"Stop trying to sound like a gangster!"

Nico could only watch as the girls left the same way as Compa did. Though, he noticed a meaningful glance directed at him from the brunette out the corner of her eye before they did, and in that moment the male saw a whole load of things through that stare. There was a strong desire, a brilliant flame of resolve that equalled his own. It burned brightly behind that one eye, almost as brilliant as the weaker version of his Hellfire. Yet, that resemblance only felt physical, th raw emotion and power? Oh, that just surpassed it into the realm of his true Hellfire. Nico could see that there was a powerful reason, a need, a power to strive and dominate. It honestly reminded him of his resolve back in the end of that fight between him and those two Ghouls.

The male smiled to himself. It looked like he wasn't the only one who'd made a vow back there.

'Looks like I didn't need to tell them I'd be away from them today after all. They're engaging in their own activities… though, I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one side I can't help the pride for them in being independent, but…'

'It is… going to be strange, not having them around you, is that it?'

'Yeah, you could say that…'

'Well, with how things have gone down back there, I would not be surprised if they gain some significant powerups. We will have to make sure we train hard in everything we can, including your Devil Arms… and this new bone.'

On that, they could agree, mastering those weapons would be paramount to their survival. They were a big portion of his arsenal of weapons, after all. Speaking of said bone, the teen glanced down to his right leg where, upon his will, the Bone appeared. He could feel the energies coursing within that bone, allowing it to radiate an aura of power unlike what he had experienced in the past.

For now, though, they needed to get to the co-ordinates specified in Helen's letter, as apparently, they lead to an area where a dangerous Abnormal was sighted. It was delegated to him to finish it off, and Planeptune's Spec Ops Branch saw it as an opportunity to test some development weapons for mass production. The teen couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement at this, it had been a while since he'd last field tested some of these new weapons, hell on of them didn't seem like JUST a weapon either judging by it's description.

With that in mind, Nico stood up with a grin so wide that it fit better on a toddler on Christmas day, his body trembling with excitement as he clutched his leather gloved fists, trying to hold it in. He only barely succeeded in this, as well as maintaining a calm, composed stride while he went towards the door with images off him blasting away Abnormals by the dozens raining down upon his mind. 'This is going to be so much fun…' the teen thought to himself. Considering all the demonic shit he had to put up with recently, going back to doing what he normally did felt like a much-needed break. Whelp, let's get this break started, shall we?


Outside the Hotel, Nico walked up to the side of the main street country road. There weren't that many people around due to it still being early in the morning, but that would probably not last. After all, according to his internal clock it would soon be packed with people off to their workplaces or parents dropping their children off to school. He knew this from his past missions in Leanbox. However, the silence right now was something that he didn't really mind all that much. After all, with what he intended to do, it would be best if he didn't have that many people breathing down his neck. Not only that, but he wanted to save this as a surprise for the girls should he be allowed to keep this thing and customize it, because he definitely wanted to!

There was just something about guys and their machines. It was like the 'man's best friend' scenario with them and dogs. He'd read an article a while back that really spoke about his feelings regarding this 'weapon'. This thing embodied non-conformity. They are 600lb, 1200cc rolling, rumbling sculptures, giving a hard-chromed middle finger to the establishment. They are the polar opposite of their counterparts - that safe and sterilized, seat belted, air bagged, sanitized-for-your-protection weapon of the masses. Using one of these sets one apart from the rest, and considering is new appearance Nico definitely felt like he needed one of these. It's almost as if they were saying: "I will not be a lemming, slowly rolling towards my grave in a tin coffin with cruise control and ABS. I prefer to ride there, on a thumping v-twin or screaming 4-cylinder rocket, tires churning op the pavement all the way!"

If what those angels over at the WDD had developed was like what he was expecting, then he'd be singing them praises for the rest of his life. While not liking being labelled like the rest of his gender, Nico DID share some of their sentiments, and THIS was one of them.

Raising his Bracer, Nico slowly, shakily accessed his Void Storage, tracking a gulp while sweating profusely. To him, this felt like a rite of passage for the young male, and to any of whom who've done the same as he's about to, you all will understand. When the screen for his Void Storage appeared, Nico waited no time in selecting one of the unknown items, the one with the description that told him all he needed to know.

From his Racer, a flurry of particles shot forth and landed in front of him, spreading outwards as the unknown item took physical form. Each second passed like an eternity as Nico's grin turned ever the more shark-like, his eyes filling with intense excitement and glee. 'Those fucking legends…' he couldn't help but think, almost fangirling when he finally got to see the full glorious form of the item he had selected.

'Oh shit, those fuckers over at the WDD actually went and did it...!'

There, leaning in beside him on a stand, was a Motorcycle… but not just any Motorcycle: A Motorcycle with Plane wing-like armour plates on the sides. It was white with blue accents and sported the Planeptune Symbol on each side. It was a two wheeled Motorcycle, with two large looking engines on the back. The seat was in the middle of the Motorcycle, with two handles protruding beside it for handling.

He knew what these were, these were called Skimmers, and they were a hybrid of Bike and plane which could swap between bike mode and flight mode at the simplest of gestures. They were meant to give Agents and the military more of an option to either flee or ride circles around enemy forces, as they could be outfitted with either weapons or better Armour depending on the rider's style. In this case, Nico could see that this one was built with a special light-weight frame, which according to the schematics he received helped to cancel out the extra weight from the heavier armor paneling, and came with removable shields on the wings. Very little weaponry looked to be attached, though Nico didn't really mind since he had a dozen of them already. In addition, according to the specs these came with energy triggered folding bi-wings (much better than the previous designs for these babies, known as 'Air Skimmer II' and the original classic design, which had to be manually transformed from bike to flight mode. Not a good thing to focus on during combat). Powered by two energy-powered jet engines in flight mode. If they didn't have excessive Armour and weapons, then these babies would be unbelievably mobile and quick.

Furthermore, the specs detailed these new Nimbus 7 series jet engines which seemed to have the fortunate ability to make little to no noise when holding off on the throttle. This would make for a very stealthy entry into enemy airspace or terrain, something that a Spec Ops Agent could make great use of if he/she wanted to sneak behind enemy lines. The soft and light materials used to frame the wings made for a lighter, faster machine, but at the cost of it's ability to take a hit. These Skimmers had been a project for the WDD for the last 5 years, and those Vultures? They were like the prototypes for these babies. Considering how he had been the one to field test the Vultures, it seemed that Nico had been chosen to field test the first Skimmer, hopefully the irst in a long lineup of them.

The Vehicle before him glistened and sparkled, almost like it was a succubus inviting him into it's embrace… A call, he would be answering in a few seconds. But before that…

'...Biko.'

'Confirmed. We will be riding her...'

'...Good to know you understand.'

With that, Nico stepped towards the Skimmer, slowly reaching out an brushing the frame above the front wheel. He gently caressed it, like he would when hugging a woman close to him, before he ran his hand over the handles. Unlike the Vultures, the handles for these Skimmers seemed to be a mix of Handles and triggers, protruding out the Skimmer's front so that when he was sitting in the cockpit, Nico could grab them easily like he was holding a rifle. The male took a big whiff, smelling the fresh scent of metal, paint and potential testosterone emitting from the beauty before him. 'Oh yeah, this is going to be good...' the teen thought with a grin slowly creeping onto his lips.

Stepping towards the cockpit, Nico raised a leg and moved it over the seat, soon sitting on the cockpit and kicking up the stand. He used his foot as a support instead, looking about to see where the foot rests would be and found them to be behind his feet, so he put his free foot there. He checked the various gears, mechanical systems etc, his calculating eyes scanning for any abnormalities so he could report them after the field test. He grasped both the handles and began revving up the right one to be richly rewarded by the roar of the Skimmer's engine.

Yes... these Skimmers would be considered the new sexy, in his eyes at least.

The teen had ALWAYS wanted to ride a Motorcycle ever since he was a kid. They just looked so cool and badass to his young mind, he'd never paid attention to any of the dangers involved with them, like lack off safety and all that jazz. One could say that while kids his age had been talking about the latest video games (while some even talked about pornography ugh), Nico had been fantasizing about himself riding a Motorcycle. However, when he woke up with this condition and partial amnesia, Nico's life had been altered so drastically that he'd forgotten about those dreams, replaced with the nightmare that his life would become. Those Vultures had been a nice respite though, but even then he'd only tested them when they went off to battle the Zombies Ganache had released.

Now though, now he could finally fulfil this dream of his, even for one moment.

"Alright then… let's goooooooooo! Whooooooooooooo hooooooooooooooo!" he squealed like an excited fangirl. Nico punched the gas while he went full throttle, the engines behind him roaring to life as his Skimmer shot forth down the streets, his coat flapping wildly in the breeze behind him with Nico laughing madly all the while.


There was a weightlessness in her chest as Compa skipped along the streets, humming a happy tune as she did so. Combine her wide smile, a happy demeanor that rivaled the heat of the sun itself, as well as how carefree her actions were, and one would think that she was on top of the world or something. She had every reason to be as happy as she was, too. Especially with what just happened back at the hotel. The Nurse-In-Training could remember it still with crystal clear clarity, to the point where she almost showed her joyous tears over it. Things couldn't have gone any better for her back there, and she knew it down to the very fibers of her being.

Compa may seem like a ditz, and in truth she kind of was, but even she noticed some things, and she had long since noticed the fact that she was the weakest link in their Party. Out of all of them, she was the only 'normal' one in the bunch, with a demonic being, a heavenly being, and a shapeshifting mutant Bioweapon. Compared to the rest of them, Compa may as well be an ant to them, a fact that had hit her hard when they first encountered that 'Demon Prince' as Nico had told them it was. There had been nothing princely about that thing though, so she didn't really get the naming sense, but to each their own.

Then though, then Nico gave her that Crystal, that crystal of which had entered her and changed everything.

The girl hadn't noticed it at first, since it had been so small and insignificant at the time. But, gradually, she started feeling... weird, like her body was going through puberty at an abnormal rate of speed. It felt really strange, and up until they finally caught up with the demon horde, Compa had feared that she would be of even less help than before. However, that feeling had vanished soon before that point, so she could still be of help to her Goddess friend, but even then she noticed a series of differences about herself.

One of them was that she felt WAY stronger than she was before. She didn't get why, but when they began fighting the demon horde, Compa had soon come face to face with a Bloodletter that swung at her head, and she just punched it straight across the battlefield. THAT had stunned her into silence, causing her to look at her hand in shock and awe to the point where she didn't even register anything around her. That would have been costly since another Bloodletter had tried to stab her from behind only for some strange energy barrier to appear behind her and block it's attack, sending it flying onto it's back. A stray energy blade coming from Neptune in her HDD form had been the one to finish it off, but she hadn't seen the barrier as it vanished right after it was no longer needed.

Honestly, she hadn't thought of it much as she had been forced to pay attention to fighting for her life, and whatever these changes were they seemed to be helping her so why should she be asking questions? That had been her thought process when she finally rejoined the fight, unloading dozens upon dozens of different bullet types on her opponents without delay. She moved like she was on instinct alone, something else she noticed about herself. Her reflexes, agility, speed and most of her other senses had been improved drastically, to levels which soldiers would have had to train for years to accomplish. Anything to help her win that battle was what she thought, but even then it slowly started to scare her.

What was going on?

What was happening to her?

She didn't know, but soon enough she didn't get much time to wonder for help arrived unexpectedly halfway through the battle, help which was of course welcomed with open arms. With that help, they had successfully defeated the demon hordes, and that help had taken one look at her before offering to help her with her new 'gifts'. Though, that help seemed largely conflicted for reasons she didn't understand, she nonetheless accepted the offer anyways. She remembered what Nico had always said, power without the knowledge of how to use it was the most dangerous threat to one's health. Well, that was how she viewed it, he likely said it in a different format but it was basically the same thing. Power was useless if one didn't know how to use it.

Which was why she was standing right before that help, in a large deserted field outside Leanbox. It would be the ideal place for them to train her without witnesses.

That's right, 'them'.

Two particular girls stood before her, looking grimly determined.

One had her Cleavers out, and the other was thumbing the hilt of her Odachi, ready to draw it upon a moment's notice.

Both looked so different, yet their expressions were like mere reflections of each other.

Raven... and Lucy, of Team RAIL.

"Are you ready, girl?" The latter of the two asked as she scraped her Cleavers against each other. Her body looked tense, like a viper ready to strike at it's prey at any moment. While it carried an intimidating vibe, Compa refused to let the fears in her gut show, and put on a brave face in front of the feminine Spec Ops Agent. She had offered to help her with her 'gifts' after all, reasoning that she knew what they were and would only tell her once they got them under control... after of course, getting the story of how she got those gifts in the first place. "This training will be quite difficult, you may not survive it. What you have become is something that has not been seen in this world for countless centuries now. There will be many whom will try to take you and try to make more of you, turning you into a lab rat. Until such a time comes where you've learnt how to control your gifts, you must keep them a secret from everyone, including the others." Lucy told the Nurse-In-Training with a serious voice that she had never heard from her before.

Meanwhile, Raven remained silent as she sharpened her Odachi, ready for the events that will be transpiring in the future. Her mind though, it wandered back to what Lucy had been like during that battle, her eyes narrowed like slits while she glanced towards her vice leader. Raven hadn't known that there was such a potential for her to be so serious with anything not related to Nico, but when she saw Compa the moment they arrived on said Spec Ops Agent's request, she had practically gone on a violent rampage, her fury driven attacks ripping through the demon horde without regard for mercy. She'd gone and even used her Nature powers too, at degrees that Raven had not seen from her in their previous bouts.

Her instincts told her it was to do with that crystal. That was what she believed, anyways. Raven didn't know what that Crystal was, but she had felt a vague sense of familiarity when looking at it the first time, like she had been told about this crystal before. She had an idea as to it's nature though, it's origins being divine in nature. She knew that for a fact, especially with the energies she could sense within that Crystal. However, it seemed that Lucy knew way more than she did about it, which didn't exactly fill her with comfort. They had fought together many times by now, and still there were things that Lucy kept to herself, even from her. As someone who came from a tribal background where they had to rely on one another to survive, situations like this were a sore point for her. The only reason why she hadn't demanded an explanation from her using her leader's authority, was because Lucy told her that this was a secret that had been buried in history for a long time, and it's re-emergence could be either dangerous or a great help to humanity depending on the wielder it chooses.

Seemed like it would be the latter if THIS was whom the crystal had chosen.

Thinking back on it, could the reason it reacted to Nico's presence be because...?

Before she could continue, Lucy tapped her on the shoulder, getting Raven's attention and causing her to look into the slightly glowing eyes of the vice leader. "What is it?"

"She's ready. We'll be taking it in turns to try and draw that power out. Seems to have synced with this girl significantly, I've never seen such a high reaction before... or ever."

She knew not to ask what the hell Lucy was talking about, since she wouldn't get a straight answer anyways.

"Very well."

With a simple flick, Raven drew her Odachi out and charged towards Compa, whose Syringe was at the ready, thus allowing the training to begin.


IF, having stopped dragging the flailing Preteen by the ear at this point (she didn't want to tear her ear off and considering what she was, that could very well have been a possibility), and were now walking towards the Guild. "Alright Nep, you know the drill by now?" she asked her companion, who hobbled beside her while massaging her slightly reddened ear. Mentally, the brunette winced. Maybe she had dragged her a little too much back there, but she had to get Neptune out of the Hotel so they could do this, otherwise she would just laze about.

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Neptune drawled, rubbing her ear before she lowered her arms to her sides with an exhale escaping her lips. The two of them had agreed to it yesterday, when they were dragging an unconscious Nico back to the Hotel. They would be doing Quests upon Quests for the duration of the days to get stronger, at least for the first few days before letting up for more relaxation. That had been the compromise that they had reached during a rather heated debate (one that MAGES. had decided to be a troll and record it on her Phone. How that thing survived all that conflict back at the now destroyed Hellverse Dungeon she'd never know), one which Neptune absolutely refused to back down on until that deal was struck.

Though, with that said Neptune didn't find the idea of training all too unappealing, considering the reason WHY they were doing it in the first place.

Their reasoning was probably the same as Compa's, as well as MAGES. and all the others that were involved with this demon mess. There was bound to be more of them coming, maybe not today, but tomorrow or the near future. That was a fact, especially with that Maghda woman on the loose. IF still couldn't wrap her head around that story Nico had told her, having told it to Neptune while they walked to the Guild. The fact that they not only have one witch to worry about, but now another whom had been blessed by the Chaos God Khorne no less. IF had long since looked into this Chaos Religion, and honestly it sickened her and made her wonder about humanity. There must be some truly sick people in the world who just wanted to see Gamindustri burn. If they would go to such a fucked up cult. Seriously, some of the things these guys do made her want to throw up in pure disgust... especially those who follow this 'lord of decay'...

Therefore, with all this information plus the fact that Nico would be training as well, meant that they needed to double their efforts if they wanted to keep up with him. So they didn't get left behind and become liabilities. Also, Neptune had even more reason to train than IF did, with what she was sensing. IF had attuned herself to sensing demonic power for a while now, and it had evolved to a fairly powerful level. As such, it was childsplay to notice the powerful unison of demonic and divine energy circling like a whirlpool within Neptune's body. She'd told her that Nico had given her a fraction of his power before she went off to fight the demon horde, but she got a feeling that it was more than just a simple power boost. A genetics expert like her could see multiple routes for the preteen's powers to grow.

Growth like that however, needed effort, and for that they needed to train. The Guild Quest would do that for them while supplying them with Credits so that they didn't have to rely on Nico's large stash built from his many adventures.

So, with that out of the way, the two proceeded to enter the Guild Building to start one of the longest days of Questing in their entire adventure.