Chapter 101 - Dragons-huh?
Riding downwards on low fuel would be a catastrophic idea. Not only would the male no doubtedly lose what remains of the fuel since he was so high up in the air, but he could also wind up destroying the Skimmer if he lands into something hard and sturdy like a mountain. While the Skimmer was indeed a Prototype, Nico didn't want to have to fork over Credits that he could be using for more important matters for damage payments to the WDD. Not to mention he kind of had a bit of a bond with this Skimmer, and he'd only bee driving this bad boy recently. Though, in battle, bonding with one's weapon was always a common occurrence.
It was the thing that kept you alive on the battlefield, after all.
Nevertheless, Nico had to get down there, so he could investigate that Abnormal. He had suspicions in his mind, and he wanted to confirm them before he could even think. Hell, that Abnormal didn't even seem like your average Abnormal, and those words he couldn't believe he'd used in the same sentence. For one, those… unusual visuals that he saw just before it fell beneath the clouds, they more than drew his attention. They weren't the kind of visuals that a Dragon-based Abnormal should have and even then, machine-type Abnormals didn't really react that way either. Thus, Nico had cut the engine, so he could glide downward without a sound towards where the beast fell: under the Clouds of Skies end.
Thing is, part of him felt a little anxious about this, going under those clouds, and for good reason. For you see, there's a reason why they call this place 'Skies End', there have been various attempts to explore beyond this place, to find out what else is out there. Not just by Leanbox, but by Lastation, Lowee AND Planeptune as well. Each of them have sent various fleets of their air forces out on scouting missions so they could fill in the blank edges of the world maps. After all, thanks to the Monsters people didn't know how big Gamindustri truly was. The desire for knowledge, possibly a safe haven for those who don't want to live under the constant threat of one day facing down the snarling visage of an Abnormal as they devour their victims alive was also a strong motivation.
However, every fleet that they send out never seemed to return, and shortly before they vanish forever they would report that nothing would be wrong. They would then fall off thee grid and never return from their adventures ever again. With the way that Abnormals and other monsters kept nipping at their heels, the 4 Nations all agreed not to send out any more fleets and refocused their efforts on the truly important notion of staying alive a little while longer.
Yeah, things were that bad… and with the whole demon thing, it would likely get worse.
Thus, Nico would be the first one to ever see what lies beyond these edges of the map and possibly return to tell the tale. It was a rather… complex thought process, and one that he tried not to pay too much attention to while he glided down the clouds like a silent wrath, heading to where he saw the thing fall towards. Hopefully, Nico could get some answers to these questions, perhaps he could learn wat had happened to those fleets in the past, or at least confirm the Abnormal's death. If it had been the one responsible for their disappearance, and odds were that was the case, then he'd report it to his superiors back at the Spec Ops community.
Flying under the clouds, Nico kept his eyes open and used demonic energy to shield himself from the water droplets within them. That is, until he emerged from the clouds to see what lay beneath them at long last. The moment that he did however, Nico's jaw fell open into an 'O' shape while his eyes almost refused to take in what they were seeing. 'Holy… shit…'
If the male had any thoughts about whatever he would find down here, then this sight just blew his mind out of the gutter while erasing every one of those thoughts from existence. Down below those clouds, Nico found himself looking at an Island, a floating island a lot like that of the four nations. This Floating Island was surrounded though by a series of wicked looking mountain ranges and peaks, each of them looking more like spikes than actual tips. The island itself had various Chain links to various smaller islands, while the main one had the largest mountain peak that he had ever seen. The male could see various caves, platforms and paths through this mountain range that were all linked to one big platform, which was where a small and thin smoke trail rose from, so fining the dragon Abnormal and landing wouldn't be an issue. If there was a smoke trail though, that either meant that the Abnormal was still alive or that…
Even with this, one thing had been made clear about this: One could say that this Island was a rather intimidating sight… as well as an important discovery nonetheless.
'This is… amazing…. A whole new island, down beneath the clouds at Sky's End…!' He couldn't help but think to himself as his Skimmer continued gliding towards it. 'This place… I bet I'm the first to discover this place… nobody else reported anything like this before they went dark, but I won't hold my breath… Still though…' Nico's eyes narrowed as he frowned, pursing his lips as his mind pushed through the awe and began contemplating the situation in it's entirety.
Nobody knew about this Island, not one of the Four Nations. It was on the blank edges of the map, beneath a place that was full of rumours of hostile Abnormals (which apparently seemed to be true considering that one draconian Abnormal). All those rumours, whether they were true or not, were enough of an incentive to keep people from exploring this place themselves, leaving this island undiscovered for goddess knows how long. This place was pretty much an undiscovered paradise, a place far away from the reaches of mankind. Who knows what secrets could be discovered here, secrets that could be potentially dangerous in the wrong hands. There WERE after all, those kinds of people out there, te Nobility were some of the few who first came to mind.
Not to mention the possibility of unknown Abnormals in the area, Abnormals that had not been seen or documented before. That meant they had unknown capabilities and weaknesses, hell there could be a mix of them to make fighting them even more difficult. He'd have to set his Bracers to Scan the Island for data and a Holomap for the layout of the land. Like in the Monster Cave, getting data from an unknown Dungeon was as important as taking out Abnormals. For both the scouting Agents and those that were sent to take it's inhabitants down.
Reaching out with his demonic senses, Nico tried to feel out any possible life signs on the island, to see if there was any indigenous population that he would have to be wary of. A new island like this had to have at least animals or something, and those Chain links looked to be manmade too, so there was that possibility. His enhanced sense of smell, sight etc would probably not work, so his other side would be useless here. He would also have to check to see if there were any negative emotions, too, cause if the population proved hostile he would need to defend himself. Good thing Nico had a full arsenal for that possible scenario, his Devil Arms would have to suffice.
'I sense… life signs down there…' the teen thought to himself, brows furrowing above his closed eyes as he focused harder. His sensing stuff wasn't as easy as it looked, plus there was his lack of experience sensing negative emotions. So far, he could sense dread, worry, anxiety, among other emotions coming from where the smoke trail originated. That could only mean that the Abnormal was still alive, probably wounded but still alive nonetheless. Judging by the potency of these emotions, Nico theorized that his attack must have damaged it significantly, a point that filled Alastor with pride judging from what he felt from their link.
Though, the teen hoped that using so much of it's power wouldn't backfire on him. That was the first time, and probably not the last either, that he drew on a Devil Arm's power to such a degree. There was still so much that he didn't know or understand about these weapons, Nico would be a fool if he had thought otherwise. Drawing on so much of it's power could have some…. Drastic consequences that he was not even aware of. Sometimes, he wished those Fragmented Memories, the source of Biko's knowledge, had all the information on hand already, so things like this wouldn't have happened. 'Even so… I sense multiple presences down there, so I should probably be on guard…'
With Alastor strapped to his back, Ebony and Ivory over his thighs, Nico felt fully equipped to deal with any threats heading his way, despite his previous concerns, as he descended towards the smoke trail where his foe had landed.
Approaching the Platform at long last, Nico slightly adjusted his grip on the Skimmers' handles as he prepped for a landing. His brows slightly began to sweat while the grip on the handles tightened, his heart thundering within his chest. All of this though, had nothing on the anxiety throbbing through him right now, though. This would likely not be easy, considering this was his first-time landing with one of these. Still, he had to do so, see how the landing equipment worked… hopefully Alastor's Lightning hadn't fried said equipment, THAT would be a major problem and he'd be forced to improvise… which wasn't really a good idea right now.
As the Platform went under him, Nico pulled upwards slightly before engaging the mechanics to switch back to Bike Mode. He did so by pulling back the left handle then thrusting it back down, as that was how it worked according to the specs. In the next instant, Nico saw the fruits of his labour as the Skimmer began the transformation. Mechanical whirring sounds filled his ears, making a small smile form on his lips as its wings retracted the extra plates before folding inwards, the wheels jutting out into their positions prior to switching to Flight Mode.
In the next instant, the teen and his Skimmer dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, bouncing slightly upon impact. Nico barely managed to keep himself from falling out of the cockpit, there was no seat belts on this thing which could be seen as a safety issue, but really, who has time for safety when in high speed dogfights?
None? Didn't think so.
While his Skimmer drove on fuel less, Nico swiftly began sliding it to get rid of it's leftover motion, screeching sounds coming from the tyres as he did so until h finally came to a stop 4 minutes later. He would have fallen over had Nico not remembered to kick out the stand and lean on that side, allowing the Skimmer to have it's own support. Once that was done, the teen gave a sigh of relief, more than a few times he had feared he'd screwed up somewhere and panicked, but fortunately that had not been the case. 'Whew, who knew that landing a transforming Motorcycle would be so nerve-wracking…?' the teen wondered to himself, before dismounting his Skimmer.
Once his legs hit the ground, Nico quickly noticed something off about them: how they were trembling like they were struggling to support his weight. He would have fallen over, had he not used Alastor for support by using it like a cane at the last second. The teen winced, feeling more than a little numbness in his legs while they trembled like crazy. 'Note to self, if I get a chance to keep this Skimmer, make sure to train in its use so I don't get numb-legged every time I ride it…' he thought to himself, wincing.
Fortunately for him, demonic power surged through his legs as well as the strength of his other side, repairing his legs and ridding them of the numbness. It took a short moment, but he soon regained the ability to walk again, in which Nico promptly took Alastor out the ground and strapped it to his back again. No doubt that it didn't take too kindly to be being used as a cane if the feelings of annoyance and indignation he got from their link were any indication.
He'd probably feel the same, honestly.
Once he had feeling in his legs again and had strapped his Devil Arm back to it's proper place, Nico looked himself over and patted his Trench Coat, dusting off the imaginary dust. He then placed his hands in his Trench Coat's pockets, twisting on his boots, which made his Trench Coat do a twisting flap of sorts before he began making his way towards the downed Abnormal… which conveniently was located at the back of the platform he had ironically landed on.
Heh, small world, huh?
As he got close to it, Nico began taking stock of what damage had been done to the Abnormal, though while walking he began to wonder if it truly was one. After all, it had not vanished from the world as particles like the rest of them did. Even if they were Abnormal, all of them still had that kind of response to death, like any other Gamindustri monster. If this one didn't… 'Whooo boy, the guys back at the WDD will be having a field day with this one…' the teen couldn't help but think to himself as he whistled, taking in the damage done to the recently taken down enemy.
The Abnormal lay on it's front, its body curving inwards like an arch as it lay at the base of the mountain peak. Its head lay open, with it's wings spread out both over the wall and across the ground at od angles. However, that last attack he had done well and truly wrecked it's shit, the male mused as he saw all the holes and explosion marks that had adorned it's form. Some looked bigger than others, some even had extra scorch marks which were mostly seen around the joints now that he thought about it. There were several rising trails of smoke to indicate where the heat from the Lightning had originated. Hell, Nico could still see residue Lightning sparks over it's form, brought about from how much power he had put into that attack.
Normally that kind of power would have turned one's insides to mush… at best. At worst, complete obliteration.
The fact that this thing was still around in a solid form meant that it's Lightning insulation materials must have been a commendable influence on it's design. Maybe he could…
'Wait, I sense life signs within this thing…' he thought, eyes widening as he stopped walking mid stride. He took out his hands and placed them on his Ebony and Ivory, eyes narrowing into slits while his demonic energy flared as an aura around him. If this Abnormal was still alive from that he would deal with it with all the power he had available, to stop it from causing any more damage consequences be damned.
As he tried to focus, Nico noticed that the life signs not only radiated the bulk of the negative emotions he'd sensed, but also were moving… down the Abnormal? His eyes narrowed towards the Abnormal's head, and the moment he did so Nico finally found the proof that he needed when he looked at it's nostrils and sockets. 'These are… Helium Turbines and Vacuum housings? I can see the barrels of flamethrowers inside the maw now that I'm not being burned alive… so this thing is no Abnormal… it's a freaking SHIP!'
Now THAT startled the male to the point of lowering his power output, his aura now a thin layer over his skin yet still carrying a resemblance of guard. His mind trembled at the revelation of what he had just learned, that the Abnormal he was fighting was actually a Ship of all things. Why the fucking hell didn't he notice earlier? When he fought it before, Nico had noticed that it's movements seemed oddly mechanical, better yet they seemed oddly manmade too. Hell, near the end before the dragon fell, there was those explosive sounds that rocketed the entirety of the creature's body, while it also froze up like a suddenly broken machine! Well, he did have his assumptions about this, so he didn't feel as shocked as he should have been, but now the question was…
Who the hell made this thing and piloted it? And, for what purpose?
Those questions would probably be answered soon enough, since the bellybutton part of the draconic 'ship' seemed to emit various mechanical shifting sounds. This lasted for like, 2 seconds, before it opened up like a manhole cover, sliding diagonally upwards in a curving motion. The moment it did, Nico drew Ebony and Ivory, his demonic power flaring in preparation for a battle. He could feel his inner beast, as well as the other Devil Arms and Soul Edge, readying themselves too, all their eyes on this possible new opponent.
Finally, out came the source of this little incident… and this source did not look very happy.
The source escaped through the apparent entrance shaped like a belly button, stumbling onto the ground and landing on all fours. Nico, instinctively, wasted no time as he began charging towards the person before he could do anything else, but soon enough he was stopped mid-way by a loud roar, one that thundered through the air like a dozen volcanos erupting.
That was when he got a startling call from his one true ally: his instincts. His instincts thundered through him like a dozen trigger events going haywire, forcing Nico's reflexes to react in a massive way. The teen almost didn't know wat his body did, but one second, he was standing and the next he was jumping backwards while taking Rebellion out from his Void Storage.
What was the reason?
His answer came back to him when Nico looked up with a sharp gasp escaping his lips. Perched atop a tall spike, was a lone, large and animalistic figure. There was sunlight peaking through the clouds, and some of it obstructed the figure in darkness, but that may not have been necessary to mention in light of the fact that it was already leaping towards him with what looked like claws bared.
Quickly, Nico reacted by charging Rebellion with demonic power. Crimson red energy pooled itself over the blade, equally red energy crackling along it not unlike Alastor's lightning. Rearing the blade back, Nico set about swinging just as the claws were swung to decapitate him. To his surprise, just before his blade could meet it's hide, the beast suddenly flared two large wings and backed away, causing a gust of wind to send the male sliding backwards. He jammed Rebellion into the ground to stop his motions, and when he looked up the male saw that the creature was already onto him.
"STOP!"
Just before they could continue, a loud, masculine voice interrupted them. Nico's eyes widened then narrowed into slits, while the figure stopped charging at him. Now that the sunlight was not obstructing his view anymore, as it had been blocked out by the mountain, Nico saw that it was a draconian Abnormal, about as large as his Skimmer. Interestingly enough, it looked to be a mix of a dragon ad a lion, with a large crimson mane crimson demonic red eyes, two large horns protruding from it's head which was elongated into a lion's snout. The body was an all-fours animal, with 4 limbs, and two large crimson wings with sharp talons for thumbs. Out the base of it's tailbone, a lone red Tail with a fluffy tip. It's limbs were ended with similar talons to the ones in it's wings. Over all it's body, were crimson scales.
He recognised this Abnormal, it was one of the rarer types that cropped up every now and then: The Emperor of Embers, the Teostra. Those were brutal Abnormals that hung around large and hot climates, like deep within caves where there was Lava or deserted areas. Those places existed primarily within Leanbox or Planeptune, so they were a real menace. Especially if they were aggressive in moods of which entire towns and Militia regiments would be blown to smithereens via explosive embers.
If one was here…
Then, what was this place? An Abnormal like this one wouldn't stay here, it was just not like it's normal habitats.
Shifting his gaze from the Teostra, Nico noticed that the cause of the shout had walked up to the Teostra's side. He would have commented on how that was a bad idea, however when he noticed that the man seemed unaffected by the Teostra, more surprisingly the latter looked just fine with him (he'd even go as far as to say fond) Nico wisely kept his mouth shut on the matter.
Instead, the male decided to see what this man looked like. He was a muscular man, probably in his mid to late fourties. He had lines on his face that showcased his age, yet there was a youthfulness to his demeanour hidden beneath a layer of fatigue, a fatigue that only those who have experienced as much life as this man had would understand. Just by looking at him, Nico could tell this guy had seen a lot of shit, enough for him to consider living outside of the Nations where it would arguably be more peaceful and serene.
The man had dark, short hair that was tucked within a conical hat made from straw. His eyes were dull and grey, weary with age and yet rich with experience. The man had a moustache shaped oddly like a house with a roof, with a matching black beard, giving him a rugged, caveman-like appearance. His form looked to be built like one of those wrestlers one would see on TV, while he wore a green muscle shirt with shoulder and forearm armour adorning his arms, his hands being covered by fingerless gloves like what Nico used to wear. Around his waist was a brown belt, while he wore darker green leather pants tucked into brown boots.
"You…" the man began, scowling as he placed a hand on the Teostra's right shoulder. Nico eyed the hand warily, wondering what the heck was going on with this situation before him right now. From what he knew, Teostra Abnormals had the ability to emit a powerful aura of heat from their bodies that made getting near them a difficult task. "All of my hard work has been wasted because of you. Years, YEARS of work now completely down the drain! Because of you…" the man's tone, loud and furious, gradually turned into a low and ominous whisper like what one would use when telling a horror story. "You've doomed them all…"
'This man… he wreaks of deception, hatred, anxiety and many other negative emotions. Not only that, but according to… those senses, I can detect that these two have been together for a prolonged time frame. They have each other's scent on them, not to mention their reactions to each other.'
'I know, Biko. These guys seem to be using each other for support right now, or rather the man's trying to appear calm while seeking support from the Teostra…' Nico responded back to his Demon Persona. It was a rather… peculiar scene he saw in front of him right now, and he honestly didn't know what to make of it. This was the first time he'd seen something like this, a member of humanity and an Abnormal NOT trying to kill each other. Seriously, he didn't know what to make of this, in fact if this were any other situation then Nico would probably be freaking out right about now.
"Well, in my defence it's your own fault for attacking me." Nico responded coolly, keeping his stance guarded while he spoke. He'd deploy his Armour soon enough, but for now it would be best not to make any sudden moves otherwise things could go awry insanely quickly. True he could probably crush that Teostra, but right now his priority was extracting as much information as possible from this man. Like why he had built a ship shaped like a dragon (something that seemed super freaking impractical in his eyes) and how the hell he had apparently tamed a freaking TEOSTRA of all things. "I was only here to fight an enemy Abnormal causing trouble here and test out a couple weapons, you had no need to attack me like you did."
The man scoffed at that, rolling his eyes at him. "Yeah, that's what they all say, but you just wanted to take what's on this island for yourself, like all the others." He sneered, drawing a hidden knife from within his pants in a cleverly hidden position. The Teostra growled, as if sensing an incoming battle in which Nico prepared to deploy his Armour to respond. Maybe after smacking them about for a bit, he could learn something. So far, these two seemed determined to kill him, throwing negotiation out of the window.
Instantly, his battle instincts flew through the roof as Nico began analysing his opponents. That man had the build of a wrestler, so either he would be using large weapons like rifles or twohanded weapons. He seemed to have great physical strength considering he piloted that Dragon ship, and he probably has the experience plus the training to back that up. His hands look like they've seen intense combat for a while, while his posture indicates he is skilled in knife combat. Any other weapon training was an unknown to him at this point.
As strong as that many may be though, he's probably nothing compared to the Teostra. That draconian Abnormal had the power to emit a fiery aura to repel it's foes, keeping them from attacking it with close range weapons, which limited him to his Ebony and Ivory unless he switched over to Harvester, Absolution or his other Devil Arms. According to hat he was feeling, Alastor was still feeding on his reserves, so he'd rather wait till it had quenched it's thirst from their recent battle before drawing it again. Problem is, Nico doubted the Teostra would let him get near his Bracer without pouncing on him and ripping him to shreds. Perhaps he could take out his Armour first, momentarily distract them from that to pull out his other Devil Arms.
Just before they could attack though, the man's eyes fell upon the boy's body… or rather, that of the stance that he was adopting. Nico got the feeling that, liken he just did, the man was analysing his fighting styles based of what he was seeing while keeping note of possible hidden weapons. His eyes faintly glimmered with something though, surprise? Recognition? Nico wasn't sure, but whatever it was it vanished as soon as it had come. Though, it had left it's mark in his aggression pausing for the time being.
"Boy, what is your connection to Helena Dawson?"
…
…
…
The FUCK?!
When the man asked him that, it threw Nico for a loop, his eyes widening slightly in shock and surprise at that question. How the hell did he know his mom's name?! Does she know about this guy?! Was she getting stalkers again?! Did he have to crack down on some persistent assholes again like he did so a few times in the past when they repeatedly tried to hit on his mother despite her marital status?! He abruptly lowered his guard for a brief millisecond from this, but quickly put it back up again. If the man had his attention before, it was practically glued onto him at this new information. The battle could wait, this was much more important. This was his adoptive mother, damnit! "How do you know that name?"
After hearing that defensive reply, the man's eyes glimmered some more, and this time there seemed to be realisation and confirmation in them, though of what then teen didn't know. "She's a friend of mine from back in my gory days. She and I go way back, I asked her for some help recently in a problem I have, and she said she'd do what she could." He replied evenly, lowering his guard slightly. As if sensing his intent, the Teostra slowly lowered it's guard while still growling at him.
So, this man WASN'T a Stalker then? Whelp, that's a relief, he'd rather not pull out some rusty katana and threaten to castrate him slowly and painfully, then. He'd done that with a few persistent assholes who would try to hit on his adoptive mother to gain favour from her and rise up the Spec Ops ranks. Of course, they told the higher ups about it, but they didn't do anything cause, like with his solving of human cases, they want him to be as vicious, as monstrous, as possible. "She's… my adopted mother, and my mentor. She's the one who sent me here to test some weapons against this unknown Abnormal." He eventually replied, after a moment of deliberating what he would have to say.
"Ah, I see… that makes sense, what I asked her for help for couldn't have been stated normally, no matter how secure the channels may be." The man responded, heaving a sigh of relief as he sheathed his hidden knife. Honestly, the gesture reminded of someone Nico knew, a familiar Lastation General… "It seems you're the help she was hinting at, which makes sense considering your gear. Your obviously not an amateur as I saw her fighting skills in you. I do apologise for attacking you first, but believe me, I have good reasons for my actions." Turning on his heels, the man began walking to the right of the destroyed ship, heading to what looked like the entrance to a cave only accessible via a small hill. "Follow me, I need to show you something. Oh, by the way, you may know me if your mentor was VALKYRIE, the name's Rinjiin, the last of the Dragonators."
'Dragonators… where have I heard that name before… oh yeah, mom told me about them once, and even taught me how to fight dragon Abnormals based from their previous battles…!'
Nico's eyes widened in shock and surprise, realisation dawning on him the moment he heard that name. Yes, he indeed DID know that name, the Dragonators were a group of Spec Ops Agents just like Team RAIL. This group were housed within Leanbox, and specialised in fighting dragon-based Abnormals as there are a lot of such monsters both in the air, and the ground. These Abnormals could be considered wyverns, brute wyverns, dragons, and anything like those. He remembered them to be from his mother's generation…
But… one day about 20 years ago, they went on one of their standard missions, just a patrol route nothing too special… only none of them returned. There were theories, many of the Nobles claiming that they were traitors to humanity who deserted them, while others thought they were lost and were waiting to be rescued. Nobody entertained the thought that they were dead or anything like that, stupidly enough.
Slowly, Nico returned his weapons to the Void Storage, making sure to follow behind bot Rinjiin and the Teostra. He could sense it's desire to kill him, but it seems to have been nullified by the man for the time being. Not only that, but he could sense distrust within it, distrust, caution and alertness. Looked like it would be wise to keep an eye on it in case it tried to attack him again. 'If it does, then I'll unleash Soul Edge on it and have the sword devour it's soul…' he thought to himself, narrowing his eyes at it.
Yet, even so… the way it and this guy at around each other… that could not go unnoticed.
That was what he thought while following Rinjiin to the Cave.
Walking up to the Cave, Rinjiin stopped when he was right beside it, the Teostra plumping itself onto it's side next to him. The two then looked towards Nico, whom had his hands in his Trench Coat's pockets. "Judging from your expressions, I can tell you thought my vessel a bit odd, and for that I don't blame you. Nevertheless, it had a purpose. I piloted that vessel to ward off any ships that came to close to my home. Well, our home." He explained, gesturing to him and the Teostra.
"Does that include those Exploration ships that were sent here?" Nico questioned, raising a brow, He hadn't detected any human life signs save for Rinjiin, so it would only be natural to assume that he had done something to those ships, since they never returned to inform the higher ups of what they found. They were never seen again.
Rinjiin scoffed again, rolling back his shoulders. "I merely frightened them away from here, they would have returned to their countries if other Abnormals throughout Skies end didn't rip into them afterwards. This section of Gamindustri is populated with various Abnormal types, not just Wyverns and dragons. They don't come near me because of my vessel… and my friend here." He explained, gently patting the Teostra's head. The larger Abnormal grunted, yet also purred like a cat as it rubbed it's head on his hand, much to Nico' surprise. This DEFINITELY wasn't typical Teostra behaviour, nope. Not one bit. Abnormals tried killing every human they sought, not befriend them like this! What the hell was going on here?! "They were unprepared and unawares every time, its honestly a surprise that they haven't send more lambs to the slaughter. I guess things back on the mainland's are bad enough that they finally pulled their sticks out of their asses."
The coldness of the man's response, the way he so callously dismissed the loss of so many human lives the way he did, didn't sit well with the teen. Something like this could only have come from some great incident that changed his views on humanity. Of that he was certain, as when he spoke Nico could sense the negative emotions buried beneath: pain, sadness and loneliness. Thinking back on what he had heard from the Dragonators, he could only come to one conclusion, and it honestly wouldn't surprise him if it were true. "Lemme guess: someone set you up with false data, and sent your men tot heir doom?" he asked the man.
Sadly enough, it wasn't uncommon for the Nobles to enact some scheme to get rid of the more promising Agents in Leanbox's service. If they got too famous, then there was a bigger chance that they would be manipulated into biting off more than they could chew then get ripped apart by Abnormals too great for them to handle. What, did you think that people who rebelled against Leanbox society
"Your instincts are sharp, for a boy." Rinjiin nodded, his eyes flashing with unbridled fury as he clenched his fists. "Enough of that, the important thing is because of how superstitious people are, and the current environment I live in, this was the best way I could keep my little ones safe." He told him, before turning to the Cave and making a loud horn-like sound from his mouth. "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNK!"
In the second after, Nico's Bracers activated the motion tracker, dozens of red dots coming towards him at 12 o'clock at speeds that rivalled fast moving cars. Nico quickly looked down and saw this., his eyes widening by a small margin while he looked back to the cave, instincts dominating thought as he took a defensive stance. That was all he had time to do though, as from the cave dozens upon DOZENS of creatures poured out. All of them hissed, screeched and cawed like ravens, moving through the air by two wing-like arms while sporting two legs, single tails, slim aerodynamic bodies and heads. They each had their own sets of colour schemes, some red, others blue, etc. There were simply too many for him to properly identify. In other words…
Wyvern-type dragons.
'What…?!' Nico could only think as he saw the dragons fly out of the cave and into the skies above. It was all he could do to not pull out ebony and Ivory and fill the skies with an unlimited amount of demonic power bullets. Yeah, that's Ivory and Ebony's power, well, one of them at least, he wasn't sure if the demonic powers he'd been absorbing had changed them in some way or had made them decide to showcase their full powers or not. One can't be too careful when dealing with sentient weapons like this.
Nico had been so caught up n his own thoughts that he didn't notice the smirk on the man's lips, nor the slight grunt from the Teostra as if it was amused at the way he was acting right now.
'Nico, pull yourself together!'
Thankfully for the male, he had a Demon Persona to kick him back into high gear, figuratively. Biko's shout through his mind quickly made Nico snap out of his surprise-induced stupor, enough for him to start to think again without looking like a complete idiot. 'Th-Thanks, Biko… shit, what the hell is going on here? Are these really Wyverns…?!' he shrieked inside his head.
'Not just wyverns, but wyvern hatchlings, too. This is… quite the surprise, I must say. These creatures do not carry any negative emotions right now, which is why we could not sense them before. They were also likely sleeping or resting, since the Motion Tracker didn't see them either.'
'Yeah, and they began becoming active when Rinjiin called for them like he did… In addition, since these are just hatchlings, then they pose little threat to their surroundings and the environment of Sky's End. In a sense, they're only kids, and kids who don't know any better yet cause they haven't learned anything. I've seen it before on some of the faces of my clients who have families of their own. It's only when they become adults that they become a problem…'
Breaking from his thoughts, Nico looked over to Rinjiin, who had a soft, fatherly smile on his lips as he stared at the hatchlings. For a brief moment, Nico's eyes softened as he felt himself remembering the smile his mentor had when they weren't training and simply allowing themselves to be mother and son. Goddess knows that was something she desired immensely, since she couldn't have a child of her own. Even if he found out what happened to his birth parents, Nico would always consider himself to be Helen's son, since she had done her best to raise him as her own when his parents couldn't. Couldn't, didn't, whatever.
Seriously, he needs to call her to let her know he was okay, all these setbacks were starting to annoy him now.
The sounds of shrieking made him look up, and he saw one of the Wyverns dive-bombing right towards him at high speeds. The teen gasped, quickly making to pull out at least one of his twin pistols, making himself ready for a possible fight out of reflex…
When the Dragon just stopped before him and began licking his face, like a dog.
…
Not something he was used to, but okay.
Back in the mainland...
In the main city of MICROSOFT's red light district, there was a tavern, a tavern filled to the brim with all manner of people from different job occupations. Soldiers, shady doctors, mercenaries, etc. The tavern itself was an old, crooked and wicked-looking one with the grand title of 'captains daughter' (with the image of a noble-looking lady running away into the background, which was a sun setting in the distance, with a shaded masculine figure). One could imagine where they got the name from, but nonetheless it attracted customers like a moth to a flame.
Inside, there were dozens of different people either drinking or laughing in drunken stupors, decked out in cloaks, leather Armour etc. All sorts of shady, dark-looking people with hidden weapons and harsh-looking demeanor. Unsurprisingly, they were all male, some slim and lanky while others looked as buffed as Tanks. In the end, these weren't the type of people that outstanding citizens should hang with, nor were they those hooligans from that one D#s#e# movie about a girl with super longhair leaving her giant tower with a thief.
Hell, if any were to merely mention it, they would be riddled with holes in seconds, their bodies hidden where they would never be found.
But, out of all of these shady characters, one of them was the main focus of the story. This man sat at the end of a table, next to a window that showed the main streets of the red light district the Tavern was located on. The man looked to be totally decked out under his hidden cloak, with his body clad in dark brown leather armor with silver plating on the vital areas yet not hindering his mobility. He had two flintlock pistols strapped to his waist, as well as a set of knives around his thighs. Over his left breastplate, there was a sheath where a hilt was jutting out, which was likely either a knife or something else. His face was hidden behind the shadows of his cloak, so identifying that area would be impossible.
In front of him, was a tankard willed with mead, as well as a poster with the image of a large question mark on the front. Beneath that was the words in big, bold letters: 'WANTED: DRAGONATOR DESERTER: RINJIIN. BOUNTY: 300,000 CREDITS.
The man's expressions as he gazed down at the wanted poster were unknown, but one could tell they shouldn't bother him with anything lest they get a bullet through their noggin. He just radiated danger and malice like the cloak he wore, though another indication of this would be his closed fists that looked ready to pummel any idiot who dared break his tranquil silence.
Just then, the doors to the Tavern opened, and from there came this small looking Recon Drone, something of Planeptune make. Nobody really looked as they were either too drunk or stupid to care, as it floated over to the man with the poster. Due to it being a machine, it wouldn't have cared about the malice or intimidation that he was radiating.
As it floated before him, the man gave a slight inclination of his head, telling the machine that it had his attention, but that as it.
The Robot wordlessly complied with the silent order, due to the settings that it's master had put on it. The Drone activated it's projector and formed the screen in front of the man's gaze. The man's form tensed slightly at what he saw though, as he bore witnessed to the fight scenes between the main character of this story and the crimson dragon. Arguably, when he saw this dragon his malice seemed to increase tenfold.
Though, it settled down once he saw how the Dragon had been defeated by a lightning bolt from the kid's sword.
Wordlessly, the projection cut off as the man silently reached within his cloak. There was a sense of urgency in his movements, or rather a sense of excitement, of glee that had long since been hungered for. Whatever this man's beef was, it was with the dragon and seeing it get defeated seemed to light a fire within him.
Taking his hand out his cloak, the man showed a piece of paper and a quill, before he placed both down and began writing on the paper. The writing looked primitive, messy and wicked, yet still it could be read, which was all that the Recon Drone and the man, it's master, needed. Once he finished writing, the man showed it to the Drone:
"Take a crew and return with a report of what you find."
The Drone nodded, before leaving the Tavern to complete it's master's next task.
