Chapter 114 - Meeting the Temptress
"It looks like you are progressing well…"
Nico mentally groaned, agitation and more than a little apprehension filling his being. He had the smallest hope that he wouldn't have to deal with this now but knowing his luck that wouldn't have happened anyways. Not with how fate seemed to love messing with him for the LOLs. 'I swear, if Neptune somehow broke the fifth wall and gave the author ideas to put me under more and more pressure till I snap I'll burn all of her hidden pudding supplies.' He thought, brow twitching dangerously.
Most of his troubles came with what happened yesterday…
He could hardly believe it himself, even now.
It wasn't his idea, and he had been highly against it to the bitter end, along with Aiden, but Ivan had somehow convinced them to make a music video with him, reasoning that it would be a good way to relieve the stress of the day. Even though they didn't really DO anything but chat and look at Disboard (something he has mixed feelings about since he didn't get the chance to look into that strange server alone, yet. He'd conked out the night he returned to the Hotel immediately, the moment he touched the bed he had been out like a light). Yet, that didn't really stop Ivan from convincing them, really the guy could be very persistent when he wanted to be.
Not only did he convince them that this somehow was a good idea, he also convinced them to wear different clothes which he had kept stored in a closet in the Basement. It was almost like he had planned this from the very beginning, though the Spec Ops Agent with the Codename CYBORG became quick to deny such accusations (though the instances of dishonesty in his heart reaching Nico's senses didn't exactly convince him). Though, this was actually the lesser of the many evils tat happened that day, since the clothes and hairstyle changes helped Nico feel like he wasn't the Spec Ops Agent he was in that moment. Back there, he had only been Nico, a teenager with more mental problems than he knew what to do with. At least that was something he could take comfort in.
Ivan had been in his element at the time, playing those Drums like nobody's business. The guy was a spectacular Spec Ops Agent, but Nico had a feeling that the Drums were a talent he had in spades. Made sense, since his father was the one who taught him how to play them according to the brunette, and since he detected no negative emotions to indicate deceit in his words, Nico believed this to be true. Drums were his primary passion within his family, and if what happened to his family hadn't happened, Nico had no doubt that a musician's path would be where he would have gone down instead of being in a military profession killing monsters that others couldn't yet also isolating himself from the majority of society like all Spec Ops do.
Even Aiden had been convinced, and he was not the type of guy who played music. Then again, that was what Nico had thought about him, but apparently, he had been wrong because not long into the song he had been showing bits and bits of emotion on his features, more so than what he usually did. Even with Nico himself, which showed how much he appreciated the music that they did. Music was like a window to the soul, yet also a way to express oneself, thus for someone like Aiden who had difficulty both feeling and expressing his emotions, music felt like the best catalyst. Nico mentally admitted to himself that it hadn't been an exactly bad experience himself, too.
He could not even BEGIN to imagine the reaction their video would receive with the public…
However, he couldn't focus on those events right now, not with this annoyance in the room. In front of him, stood his child self, like the hallucination he was the child's feet didn't even seem like they were touching the ground, instead just barely hovering above it, like an inch so it LOOKED like he was standing on the floor of the Hotel Room. The way that he regarded Nico, with that ever-blank expression on his face, made an unsettling sensation form in his gut. Though, that would also happen whenever Nico would hallucinate, he didn't really get why. Or perhaps, maybe he did, but he suppressed those notions with every fibre of his being.
Regarding the child version of him at last, Nico arched a brow as he swung his legs over the bed, sitting on its side in his PJ's. He hadn't switched to his Spec Ops attire yet, because he had to deal with this issue first. "Lemme guess, you're here thanks to what happened yesterday, with the music video and all?"
"That moment was a moment of expressing emotions, emotions we do not like to express." The child him responded, his eyes darkening with a sharper edge to his tone than usual. It was a change from his usual blank tones, to be sure, and accompanying it was this dark ominous feeling from his being. Nico noticed this, and yet, he didn't say anything about it, like he knew that was the case so there was no need. "It was a moment of weakness, we cannot allow weakness to control us, not in this stage of our rehabilitation."
At this, Nico looked up at the child him with his eyes showing intense frustration, frustration that burned through his eyes like the Hellfire flames that he commanded. He never really liked dancing around the issues, he would rather people be direct with him. Nico wasn't a patient individual, or rather, he had his patience, but it wasn't indefinite. This child version of himself never gave straight answers, and what was even more frustrating was that part of him felt that this child behaved this way because of him, somehow. It was a rather complex, yet vexing, tern of events.
"That may be…" Nico began slowly getting up from the bed as he mentally activated his Bracers' and had the Void Storage switch his attire to his Spec Ops Gear. He made some adjustments to the leather gloves, adjusted the short collar, before he turned to face his child self again. "But, in my line of work I've learned that if you don't take risks, then you won't get anywhere in life. Greater risks lead to greater rewards, potentially…"
The child him nodded at this, his face not losing that sharpness he sported before. In fact, Nico dare suspected that it increased its potency. He too understood what that meant, well, he did now. Slowly, Nico's mind was starting to gradually comprehend the concept of taking risks, at east beyond a battling sense, though it was a slow process. Still, it is a big leap for his rehabilitation, his ability to take risks by trusting others to do tasks that he would have done on his own. The way he trusted Rinjiin to protect the dragons while he fought the demonic invaders himself, the way that he trusted Neptune and Compa both during the Hellverse incident and Compa when she told him about her specialized training. All these little titbits would not have happened in the past, since Nico had not reached that stage yet in his rehabilitation.
"The thing about taking risks, is that they don't always pay off, we know this all too well." The child Nico stated, getting a nod from the older version, knowing that truth all too well himself. He remembered the betrayal he had seen and experienced throughout his years as a Spec Ops Agent, and if what he was feeling instinctually was correct, then perhaps he had been betrayed in the past that he could not remember, too. That was what his gut told him, anyways. "Yet these risks, they are necessary in progressing our true self's recovery, his rehabilitation. Therefore, we have decided to not stop. Make sure to recover well, for our true self may need to return to stem the coming tide."
After saying that, the child-like version of himself slowly shimmered out of existence, leaving nothing to indicate he had even been there in the first place. Nico mentally groaned, feeling something temporarily squeezing his mind. He said temporarily, because it disappeared seconds later, leaving his head with this cool feeling layering over his brain that elected a slight exhale from his lips. Nico grunted, holding the side of his head as these feelings eventually passed over, letting him lower his hand while he looked to the door to the Hotel Room's main living area. He could hear the sound of girls laughing and chuckling outside, meaning that Neptune and the others hadn't left for their training yet. That meant that he had just dodged yet another bullet, yet again.
None of the girls knew what he went through, not his hallucinations (though he guessed Compa had somewhat of an idea due to her training as a Nurse) or how truly fucked up his mental state really was. He had made sure to not tell them anything regarding that. If he were to make an assumption, then IF would be the closest he had ever come to admitting these issues, ironically enough. The one girl-no, the one WOMAN in their Party whom hadn't shown any interest in him aside from friendship had been the one he had confided in the most. The one who didn't really try to seduce him nearly every time (Neptune) or had an innocence about her that prevented her from making any drastic moves (Compa). Thinking back on it, Nico found that he and IF had a lot in common, and not just their Mercenary-like backgrounds.
They both were exempt from society, though IF's status being unknown to the public helped mitigate this for her. They both had monsters inside of them that were difficult to control, they both had family issues, and they both confided a lot in each other. Though that last one was sorta false, since it was more IF confiding in him about her powers and him offering advice from careful analysis and theory work. He hadn't spoken one bit about his OWN inner beast, keeping it under wraps, yet in the past there were times where he just had to wonder, wonder what it would be like to finally talk to someone about his true nature, the monster he kept trapped inside. Nico honestly found himself very comfortable around her, like he could talk to her about anything he wanted to, and she would be able to follow. Not just follow but add in her own opinions and even help him figure things out as well. She just seemed like the type of woman to not let anyone get her down, to guide her own path in life, and he really liked that individuality about her.
Then there was that night after rescuing her from the Hellverse…
Nico mentally shuddered, he HATED saying that he rescued her in his mind, not what really happened which was basically her breaking out and wrecking everyone's shit. It felt like he was demeaning her actions, and that was NOT what he intended. IF was a badass, through and through in his eyes. Anyways, that statement about him not confiding in her much got challenged after that Hellverse incident, when he had finally told her why he would think that there wouldn't be any chance of a girl being interested in him. It may not have been much, hell it had next to nothing to do with his inner beast, but the fact remained that he had opened up to her about a deeply personal issue for himself, something that he couldn't say the same for Neptune or Compa. The only other person that he could say this was the case for also, would be Lucy when he told her about his nightmares and hallucinations.
One could say that they were two women whom had come the closest to getting to know the truth about the Spec Ops Agent named Nico.
Shaking his head, the redhead pushed those thoughts away for now and quickly focused his thoughts back onto the task at hand. There would be a lot of training left to do before the Gala, training that would be quickened by the time dilation in his Inner World. He would have to spend every bit of it on his powers, training each and every one of them to make them as dangerous as possible. There was no more time for safety in his training, no more need to carefully plan out which power to train first. No, now he had to make sure to train EVERY aspect of his abilities, no matter where they came from. His inner beast, DPU Powers, his human Skill Attacks, his Devil Arms, his skills with the many weapons inside his Void Storage, he had to train in EVERYTHING.
There was a reason why he chose this path, this path of high risk of bodily crippling injury. This reason? Well, it had happened a couple weeks ago, but Nico could hardly forget it. No, that time had forever been burned into his brain, nothing would come close to the encounter that he had with those men in red.
Yep, that's right, he fought them.
Barely survived by a hair, too.
It had just been a routine Spec Ops Quest, take out a bunch of Abnormals, return to the client and report their deaths. It wasn't one of the more difficult ones like rescuing hostages fro terrorist groups that formed every now and then, nor would be that complicated. That is, until Nico got ambushed by some of those men in bulky red Armour with demonic looking features. Ambushed by them, along with a large Warband consisting of 100 Northmen, dozens of Bloodletters, all of them led by those men in red. It felt weird to him at the start, but despite the horrific, grotesque appearance of the Demons and their followers, it was the mostly normal-looking men in red that unnerved him the most. He had no idea why at the time, but he sure as hell did now.
Those men in red definitely had the epitome of 'powerful warrior' down pat. He would go as far as to say that they were the personification of bloodthirsty warriors eager for the rush of combat. The thrill of the slaughter. Their phrase they had yelled at the beginning did little to change this. That had been the moment that Nico had been beset by hordes of Chaos, thundering towards him like they were shattering reality with their unified war cries. It had been the start of one of the toughest fights Nico had gotten himself into in a long time, the fight with Maghda had NOTHING on these guys.
Not to mention just how TWISTED and wicked that fight had been, hell even Nico sometimes shuddered remembering it. It had been bloody, messy, grizzly and more horrific than a lot of the many battles Nico had partaken in. Blood flew through the air from wounds like projectiles, bones and organs littered the ground and turned it into a field of blood ad mutilated gore. Yet, none of this disturbed the chaotic followers in the slightest, if anything it only encouraged them to continue the fight, even going as far as to say they would fight even harder. It was like nothing motivated them more than the slaughter of any form of life, no matter what allegiances they had. Friend, foe, neither it didn't matter to them.
Definitely reminded him of Khorne, alright. If this God was so almighty, why the hell had he not met him yet?
In a world filed with Goddesses as rulers of Nations, one would think that Khorne would reveal himself at this point, but nope, Nico had not even seen one lock of this so called 'Chaos God'.
Still, none of this changed the end result, and it had been rather easy compared to the following battle to take out that whole army. How Nico hadn't detected them with his senses since they radiated so much bloodlust that he could have gone insane if he hadn't practiced it beforehand, the DPU had no clue. He'd killed off all of these enemies, man and monster alike, with his Devil Arms along with his Armour. He had fought with everything he had, trusting his instincts with his life as he tore through those foes like a paper shredder. Any injury they managed to inflict on him, be it a light scratch or a limb loss/ beheading, was instantly regenerated by his healing factor, powered by his inner beast. Sometimes he reinforced this regeneration with his Demonic Power, just t help speed things up even further, though.
Then, came the battle with the men in red…
The exact SECOND their battle begun, Nico had to quickly transform. Becoming Crimson Soul by necessity alone thanks to them having way too much power in their initial strikes. Yet, it had felt to him like that was only a bit of their power, lie they wanted to gauge him and see if he was worth fighting. In DPU form, things got slightly easier, but with their powers it made them difficult to combat against without the support of his Red Rage Ring, which apparently could even be used in his DPU Form. He had to rely on it a lot to boost his powers with its internal Rage, feeding it to Soul Edge which seemed to have an addiction to it, for it just soaked up the Red Rage Ring's power like a sponge. It was a weapon filled with unbridled rage by the end of the battle, and it loved it. Perhaps if he transformed at the start (when the chaos forces attacked him) he wouldn't have had as much trouble as he did, but there were some leftover hesitations with using that power. Like he said, Nico didn't like using it too often.
It took him the rest of the entire day to defeat the men in red, which had practically reduced the forest they had been in to a ruined wasteland by the end, and during their battle he had been presented with the opportunities to learn a bit more about them. Of course, he took them, and the results spoke for themselves. Apparently, these beings were called 'Chaos Space Marines' and they were a legion of warriors called the 'World Eaters' who served the Chaos God Khorne. They were once a type of being called a 'Space Marine' but they wouldn't say much more on that, instead they told him that they were summoned by the Chaos God himself through the use of those Hellgates. Aside from that, they refused to disclose any more information.
Therefore, Crimson Soul then harvested their souls for Soul Edge, adding them to its significantly large kill/soul count.
That encounter taught him a valuable lesson, that he couldn't remain satisfied with the level of power he was at right now. There were beings out there that were coming to Gamindustri, beings out there that would be able to wipe the floor with him and practically tear the entire planet apart. He couldn't stop growing in strength, he had to keep on ascending. Both in power and in knowledge. There was always room for improvement, improvement he would need in order to NOT have such a close call again. Thus, he would have to keep up and intensify his training, especially if he was to fight against large armies like that in the future and knowing his luck that would likely be happening a lot more often than he would have liked.
It was with these thoughts that Nico mentally decided that he would spend the morning training in his Inner World, no distractions would bother him. He had a LOT of training to do, and not enough time to do it. His inner beast, his other abilities, everything had to be overhauled. Nico's eyes hardened into a steely expression when he thought this, twirling around to look at his bed before making the bed and sitting on the centre. Nico sat in a meditative stance, placing his hands on his lap before closing his eyes.
With those thoughts, Nico felt a tug on his consciousness and found himself being dragged into his Inner World.
By the time that Mid-afternoon arrived, Nico returned from his Inner World when he heard the sounds of his Bracers receiving a message from an outside source. His eyes shot open, not startled in the least thanks to having experienced this so many times before, something in the real world pulling him into it from his Inner World at least. It didn't seem like the girls had opted to try and do anything to his body while he slept, something that made him suspicious since he figured that Neptune would have at least tried to prank him somewhat.
That is, until he noticed his reflection at a nearby mirror, where various pen markings were drawn onto his face.
'Goddamnit, Neptune…' he thought in mild annoyance, yet a smirk formed on his lips as he burned the pen marks off his face with his Hellfire. It didn't take too long, only a couple seconds thanks to the extreme heat that his Hellfire possessed. Still, he would have to pay Neptune back for that one, hell he even wondered why he hadn't reacted during that time. Surely his body's natural reflexes would have kicked in and rendered Neptune immobile like they would if an Assassin tried to take his life while he slept. Believe him, he had experienced THAT a few times in his lifetime, too. Mostly from zealous nobles or criminal masterminds he would end up hunting down. 'Might ask her when she gets back…'
Nico could sense no life signs in the immediate vicinity, which meant that the girls were doing their own thing. It never ceased to put a smile on his face how these girls were now taking their training so seriously. Before, they would usually only train with each other or spar against him, now they were seeking other means to get stronger. It wasn't like he didn't enjoy their attempts to damage him, he never pulled his punches either as a gesture of respect to them, it was just a show of personal growth that they were trying to grow stronger in their own ways. It reminded him of when he completed his training under his adoptive mother's tutelage, how he carried on training in his own way by throwing himself into hordes of strong Abnormals and having his fighting skills sharpened through life-or-death experience. Not only was that a thrilling experience, but it was fun as hell, too.
'How did the training go in your eyes, Biko?' He asked his Demon Persona. Today, they had been focusing on his Red Rage Ring and Spirit Bone, honing their use by sparring with the many monsters that populated his Inner World. It was slowly getting easier and easier for him to utilize those items in a combat situation, and new possibilities for applications for those two items kept coming to his mind, applications that he and Biko discussed in great length on their practical use on the battlefield.
'I believe it is a suitable process. These Satanic Treasures and Spirit Bones seem to have a wide array of potential in them. I can only imagine what it would be like if we had a full set of the latter, and more understanding of the former. May I recommend revisiting those Tomes again? Perhaps we can learn more about these items than what Histoire has told us.'
Those were Biko's words, and honestly Nico had to agree with him there. New knowledge and information about his race's culture (even if their culture isn't something that he had 100% faith in) was always an interesting thing to learn about. He could imagine the amount of knowledge and technological prowess his kind had… the former being adequate while the latter being subpar since DPUs were a warrior race. Still, learning bout how they operated in their era was something Nico found himself greatly interested in, as it would likely help him in being a better DPU as well as understand how to unlock his full powers. He only had Biko, the Fragmented Memories, and thee Tomes to go off of after all.
Though, with the revelations of him being the lowest of the low, his current training schedule, Nico still felt like he was making decent progress.
'Before checking that message, how abut we review that chat server in Disboard? That one with the one member.'
Biko's words made a figurative light bulb switch on inside his head, and Nico made to open the Disboard page that he had bookmarked the server on. The male had already done so last night, he'd quickly sent a few text messages to the sole occupant of this server and had soon gotten replies. They had had a short conversation due to the time frames between their locations being late at night, but nonetheless Nico had found this conversation quite intriguing.
The male soon got that page up again, and looked over the messages to see if anything new had been added. So far though, the chat room for this Server still only consisted of this unknown person, WriterWH and himself. Their chat room chats were as follows:
Hunter87: Hello?
WriterWH: … Hi.
Hunter87: Um… what is this server about?
WriterWH: writing.
Hunter87: Writing?
WriterWH: yes.
Hunter87:Then, in that case, why not join a server with other people?
There was nom response, and for a moment Nico had thought this person was ignoring him until he noticed how the time was near midnight. That information made him believe that the person must have been too tired to continue the conversation and went to bed. If that was the case, then they could have at least told him so, but then again, he and this person didn't even know each other, this was the first time they met. They were practically strangers, and it was less likely for a stranger to be polite in the online world.
When he opened the Discord bookmark, he saw these messages and nothing else, nothing new to be updated. Either this person wasn't online, had a busy life, or his question had bothered her. Well, it wouldn't be much of a point to worry about it right now, not when he had other priorities that were more important.
Like the actual message that he had received for example.
'Now then, lets see what this Message was, shall we?' he mused lifting his right bracer and opening his messages. To his surprise, it as from his Mother, and judging by the contact details this was an informal message so that meant no new missions for the WDD. Part o him felt putt off by that, but that was just his inner fighter talking, the rest of him which many would call a 'momma's boy' squealed in delight at seeing something relevant to contact with his adoptive parent. Since he was alone in his room right now, Nico allowed a large, wide smile to grace his features, his eyes lighting up in excitement as he opened the message.
The message read as follows:
From: Helena Dawson (WDD Head)
Hi there Nicky-Nick, how are you this day? I hope you've been doing well, you know how much mommy worries for her little boy when he's out in the big wide world .
Have you gotten any girlfriends yet? Better yet, have you gotten anywhere with those girls who seem to have their eye on you? I'm not getting any younger, as much as I'd like to ay otherwise dear, so gimme some grandkids already! They don't seem too adverse to the idea either, especially that Neptune and Lucy girls tee hee.
Anyways, congrats on the spectacular music video, my little boy! Mamma's so proud, you're finally getting the love you deserve, aiiieeee! It made me so happy seeing you sile like that in front of a camera! To celebrate (and so I can attend that little Gala that I was invited to by the CPU herself), why don't we meet at the 'Sanctuary', bring those girls, plus Team RAIL, along It will be a nice way to get together and catch up on what's been going on.
Look forward to hearing from you, dearie!
#smooch, smooch
At the end, there was this chibi version of his mom winking at him while blowing a kiss his way. Nico rolled his eyes though, unable to stop the chuckle that escaped his lips when he read the message. Oh, how he missed his mom's antics sometimes, her antics were like a breath of fresh air in this cruel world sometimes. Plus, meeting her at the sanctuary felt much better than meeting her just in Leanbox. The Sanctuary was one of the few places Nico enjoyed visiting whenever he had the time and he was within Leanbox for a variety of reasons. Not only was it something that belonged to his mom, but it also was a… memento, of sorts, from his parents. His birth parents, one of the few things that they left behind for him.
Though, Nico had to admit, part of that message caused him to quirk a brow in curiosity.
'Mom was invited to the Gala…?' Nico wondered, curiosity and confusion prevalent through his mind. Why would Vert personally invite his mother to the Leanbox Gala? After all, his mom was not of Lastation but Planeptune affiliation, even if she was once from Leanbox originally, so she shouldn't have any interest according to Leanbox laws that would warrant an invitation. Not to mention, this message said she was invited by the CPU herself, which only added more questions to Nico's head.
Still, he could see some reasoning behind this move now that he thought about it. In a political sense, it was a gesture of good faith, if Lastation was only invited to the Gala and not Planeptune it would make people assume Leanbox was playing favourites and that would… dissatisfy the Planeptune officials there to a high degree. It may be even grounds for those not supportive of the alliance between the Nations to try and subterfuge it. Nico wasn't too sure on the political standpoint in Planeptune regarding the Alliance, but if he ere to guess it would be tense enough just with the Lastation talks going on. Those two Nations DID have a rivalry going on, after all. Adding Leanbox to the mix…
Well, whatever the reasons were, Nico could use this to his advantage, he could finally get some time alone with his mother and inform her of what he had learned throughout his adventures. If there was someone he could trust on a similar level to Biko, then it would be his mom, as she had been there for him since the beginning when he had no clue on how to fit in with human society. She was his mom and his mentor, so she had great influence in how he grew up. Nico owed his mom a WHOLE hell lot in life, and he would be damned if he didn't show his appreciation for it. Also, this would be the best time because there was little risk of many Planeptune officials looking to undermine his mother's reputation from overhearing their conversation, there were some amongst them that were even worse than Leanbox Nobles after all.
'That woman… she means a lot to you, doesn't she?'
A wistful smile spread onto his face when Nico heard those words vibrate through his head. 'You bet your goddamn ass she does. She's lost a lot because of me, all because she wanted to take care of me in place of my birth parents. Whatever happened to them is irrelevant right now, because as far aa I'm concerned, Helena Dawson is my mom right now. After all, she is the very definition of a loyal family member, especially with what happened. I only wish she didn't have to suffer because of what I am.'
Before Biko could inquire as to what that meant, something reached his senses, making the teen suddenly tens up like a spring coiled together, a surge of energy flashing into existence in front of him. The flash was light green in colour, and his nose quickly became bombarded with the smell of various flora combining together within his nostrils. 'Whoa, wha-?!' was all he could think before he felt something grasp him and a feeling similar to Warping to wash over him.
If anyone were to try to get in there, they would not find anything left of Nico or the thing that took him.
The feeling of cold air told him that he had been transported somewhere outside, probably some open area. With amount of oxygen hitting his skin, Nico guessed that it was some form of field or somewhere just as large. He almost gave In to the temptation to summon one of his Devil Arms had he resisted it with every fibre of his being. The smells that he had smelt when this happened, had been a familiar smell to him. There was only ONE cause for something like this, only one thing he knew, and Nico felt VERY certain that this was the case.
Well, he would have had to confront this person anyways.
Nico's vision, while hazy at first, cleared up as he blinked owlishly, soon coming to be able to view his surroundings. Slowly, the teen sat up, turning his head from one flank to the other to gauge his surroundings with a neutral expression on his face. His instincts had been confirmed the moment he did though, for he soon found himself within a large grassy plain. The air came from all the cold air around them, the wide-open space being the source as an air of serenity overcame him. He just felt like he could just fall asleep here and be at peace, it was just THAT peaceful. The teen took a deep breath, inhaling the pure, fresh open air, a contented sigh escaping with his following exhale.
The reason for his peaceful state right now, in spite of being suddenly and rudely transported away from his nice and quiet room was simple. There was no danger within the vicinity. No Abnormals, Demons, Monsters or anything resembling hostility could be detected throughout the area. This was actually one of the few times where Nico found himself to be truly at peace, no distractions or signs of stressful matters in sight. This revelation gave him room to think about what this could mean to him if he ever found himself in this place again. Thoughts about his training circled throughout his mind, you know, the usual. Maybe he could practice the various Sword Techniques here, the peacefulness and tranquility could be quite useful, and it was also significantly rare to have a moment of peace in a place like this.
Seeing as it would be better if he were standing up, even though he wouldn't mind it if he were to lay down here for the entire day (which was a bad idea and he knew it, for many reasons), Nico made to get to his feet. There was little time anyways, so he couldn't afford to be relaxing at a time like this. If it was who he thought it was, then they probably wouldn't appreciate it if he ignored them for lazing about.
That was what the lovable dork known as Neptune was for.
Nico also recognized that power which brought him to this eyes flashed with nostalgia as memories flowed through his mind, memories hat were some of the few he didn't reject these days. He remembered seeing it several times in the past when he went on missions with this power's user in the past. It tied into the person't true nature, and oh hell he recognized that pun and would probably shoot himself with a full powered Cero later, but meh. He'll just regenerate from it. Still, this particular ability, the ability to teleport the person or any person (or object, it didn't matter) they think of, was one of the most broken abilities this person had, cause it spanned across the ENTIRETY of Leanbox. Though,in other ways it could not be considered that as much...
"Guess who, you ripped stud you."
Well, speak of the devil and she will appear.
Nico rolled his eyes just seconds before they were covered by a pair of hands, a playful coo being uttered in his ears. There was even a playful blowing in his right eardrum from a pair of feminine lips, Nico knew this from the voice that had spoken in such a manner. Not to mention the two sources of heat that pressed against his back like they were trying to envelop his entire soul with their embrace, leaving it to be putty in their owner's hands. Considering who this was, he wouldn't be surprised if it was the case, there.
"Hey there, Lucy. Been a while."
This was the casual response that Nico used, though internally he felt like a schoolgirl before her crush. He could only exercise every ounce of his willpower to keep himself from becoming a blushing mess with how close the contact between him and the young woman behind him was. Not to mention the... stimulating memories of their last encounter filling his mind like water being poured into a liquid.
A sly giggle escaped the woman's voice behind him as the hands over his eyes peeled away their owner twirling around so that she was standing right in front of him as of this very moment revealing it to be Lucy herself. The Spec Ops Agent that was second in command of Team RAIL, as well as one of the, oh what was the word some of her many fans described her as… oh yeah, 'thirstiest' girls he had ever met. The way she put her gloved hands behind her back while leaning forwards, her corset pronouncing her well-endowed chest area in a tantalizing manner that would work on making normal men become putty in her hands, it was all familiar to him.
Any other time he'd be trying to rein in his embarrassment, but right now with everything that had been happening, seeing a familiar face felt much better than it should have. It was almost THAT guy's level of crazy how much he enjoyed seeing her face once again.
"It sure has been, Nicky-Dear…" she remarked, hands on her hips as she sultrily smirked at him. "Last time we met was when we were on that Urgent Quest together back at Mojang Village." She remarked, and that caused him to ponder. Had it really been that long since they last saw each other? Now that he thought about it, she seemed to be right. That WAS the last time he remembered seeing her. Wow… how time flies, huh. He didn't even realize how long it had been, it just felt like a couple weeks before they last met when in reality it had only been a few months. Well, in his defence, a lot had been happening, so he had lost his sense of time a bit, what with the Hellverse, Skies End, training, the Demons…
Wow, a lot really DID happen the last time they met, huh?
Putting a hand over his chin in thought, Nico hummed in response. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Wow, been that long..." the male muttered, before shaking his head and placing his hands in his Trench Coat Pockets. "Anyways, did you really have to pull me from the Hotel like that? You could have just knocked and asked to see me, after all." He questioned, though soon after he felt like he should be hanging himself for his stupidity. The reason why, the deadpanned stare that the red-haired woman gave him.
"Really? I'm pretty sure that those girls you're partying with wouldn't let that happen." She stated, and when he made to refute her Nico couldn't find anything to do the job with, causing him to shut his mouth. His eyes flashed with realization then sheepishness at her… accurate, comment. Nico remembered how these girls acted when around each other, and something told him he didn't want to have to explain to them why she would want to spend time with him alone, which was what he suspected since she dragged him out here with her powers.
In an attempt to move the conversation along and to stop himself from looking any more like an idiot than he already was, Nico decided to ask the question one SHOULD ask when they meet someone they haven't seen in a while. "So, what's new with you? Been anywhere exciting the last time we met?" he asked her. Since it had been a while since they met, there were bound to be some interesting things happening, especially with the recent events surrounding Leanbox, both politically and the ongoing threats of the Demons.
At this, Lucy gave a pout similar to an annoyed child throwing a temper tantrum. She soon began ranting while stomping her foot on the ground like said child would. "Oh nothing much, just wishing that all those pesky Demons would just choke on their own spit and shrivel up and die already. Those Demons are really annoying with how they keep appearing through those stupid Portals and Hellgates. Managed to suppress their presence somewhat in the beginning, but they managed to populate those pesky Hellgates enough to make going there myself a suicide idea."
Nico sweat dropped at the sight, oddly enough this sight reminded him of Neptune a little when she was forced to go for a prolonged time frame without any Pudding. Girl was addicted to the stuff, it was crazy. Lucy didn't show it often, but she did have a childish side to her as a means of un-stressing herself from everything she did in her life… aside from screwing around which Nico HOPED she would be more careful with doing. He didn't think she would STOP per say, if what she had told him way back when was any indication, but still he hoped that she would learn to value herself a little more.
Eventually he decided to stop her before she could finish, as sometimes a girl's ranting could continue for hours and THAT was not how he wanted to spend this time with her. "Alright, alright we all get it. Those guys stressed you out and you are annoyed as hell." He stated, placing his hands on her shoulders to get her attention. With her apparent 'interest' in him, he had hoped that this would succeed in getting her attention and making her mind focus on something else rather than those stressful memories.
It certainly worked though, if the sudden sultry look she sported seconds after a brief flash of surprise was any indication. "Oh my, getting a bit bold, are we? Touching a lady's shoulders like that, have you been considering what I want from you all this time? Hm?" she questioned with a mischievous grin. Her eyes danced with lustful intent while she wiggled her brows suggestively, just stopping herself from going even further and pressing her body into him.
Blushing bright red, Nico quickly pulled his hands away and made to apologize for his actions, but when she began giggling into a closed hand, the teen calmed down and huffed, looking to the side. It wasn't his fault that he was like this, his defences against this woman were just so low that one false move and he would likely be under her spell for all eternity. Lucy was just that good at getting under men's kin, it made him question how he was able to hold off her advances all this time. Also, it made him question just why was she so insistent on bedding him? She should know by now that he was a virgin, so he wouldn't exactly be a good one for her. Plus, she had been experienced with better partners before, so he doubted he could measure up to them even if he wanted to get… that close with a woman.
Goddammit, this woman flusters him every time!
"Well, at least i'll be getting some answers as to what the heck that foolish, bratty Leanbox CPU is doing in her little Basilicom while her Nation crumbles around her." Lucy mused, stopping her previous actions as her demeanor quickly shifted. What was once mischievous and teasing, became stern, cold and serious. Her form tensed and her eyes shined with a scolding gleam, her teeth grinding together as she gripped her glove covered elbows.
THAT caught Nico's attention and set off alarm bells in his mind. His mouth closed tightly to stop himself from saying anything as he frowned to himself seconds later. If there was one thing about Lucy that he agreed with, it was that she believed the CPUs were foolish idiots for even starting the console war in the first place. While there were those that thought this throughout Gamindustri, they didn't really speak of it since it was considered by the fanatically faithful to be borderline heresy. There were some who still spoke their minds regardless, but Lucy topped those guys as well when it comes to her opinions with the Goddesses. Given her true nature though, Lucy had more reason to have this opinion. Still, he had to ask her the question most prominent in his mind. "What do you mean by that?"
Looking back to him, Lucy reached into... well, the space within her breasts (Nico refused to look there since he was not a perv despite everything that had happened to him up to this point), and pulled out something that caused Nico to nearly gape in surprise: 4 Tickets to what he assumed judging by what he could see of them to be Gala tickets. A sly smirk crossed onto her red lips when Lucy confirmed his thoughts the moment afterwards. "These babies will get me and the others into that Gala, managed to get them after... 'convincing', one of those idiot trash-bins called Nobles to part with them." she told him, her eyes gleaming with an almost predatory gaze to them for that brief moment she said the word 'convincing'.
Well, he should have expected Lucy to do something like that. She practically just stated to him that she screwed a Noble just so she could get access to the Gala. It definitely sounded like something she would do, Lucy was always someone who liked to sadistically dominate those she takes to her bed. She WAS a big fan of control after all, it was how she had managed to take down a lot of high ranking officials who dabbled in some dirty work on the side of their real jobs. It was Lucy's MO, to pick a target who had both been a Noble and had rumors surrounding him that... weren't very favorable, seduce them while also checking to see if they were true, then screw them into admitting what they did and thus using this to her advantage. Those Nobles would then find themselves penniless and either on the streets, or in prison.
It was her favorite past time back then... though, one that he didn't necessarily agree with.
Not because he cared about the Nobles, oh no, those guys could all just go suck a dick for all he cared. Hell, he enjoyed reading about those who got their just deserts thanks to Lucy. However, there lay the problem he had: Lucy herself. Nico honestly didn't feel the way her methods worked. He didn't like how she so casually screwed people in multiple ways because to him, it felt like she didn't value herself very highly. Like, she didn't care much for her own body's well-being, and that worried him. "Ah, I see. That makes sense." He stated, not voicing his thoughts on the matter... except for one. "Did he... do anything extreme?"
"Hm?"
"I mean, was he..."
Lucy, after a moment of confusion while thinking about what he was trying to ask, realized his intentions and made a dismissive hand gesture. "Pft, he was like all the others, barely worth anything. Did like slapping my ass, but then again i'm proud of my ass, breasts, my whole body really. It was just made for seduction." she replied, in an uncaring manner. "Tried doing bondage, though, was an interesting experience..."
"Ok, ok, you don't need to go any further..." Nico hurriedly exclaimed, cutting Lucy off right there. He didn't need to know what kind of fetishes that these Nobles had thank you very much, though he did get the urge to pay that noble a little visit and... show him how much he appreciated how he handled one of his comrades... preferably with his inner beast unleashed or his Devil Arms in hand. "So... you just screwed him to get the tickets, that's all, then."
She gave him a nod. "Yep, he wasn't even that entertaining, just kept blindly trying to cum. Guess that was why he had so many of his servants being maids and no wives, they weren't able to question him. Don't worry, 4 days from now he'll be out on the streets like the pathetic piece of garbage he is." she stated with venom, her eyes flashing with sharp anger.
That... definitely succeeded in calming him down, that end part anyways. Maybe he could pay him that visit after all... shaking his head, Nico pushed those thoughts aside for now. He had bigger issues to deal with than one soon-to-be former Noble who picked the wrong girl to mess with. Though he didn't feel like talking more about that, as there were other things he could ask her now that she brought up the topic of the Gala. "Well, that's good then. Though, I heard from Aiden and Ivan that the news about Leanbox, Planeptune and Lastation's connection to the Gala coming up soon threw you for a loop."
"Oh, don't even get me STARTED on that whole shebang." Lucy groaned, exhaling deeply as she planted a hand on her forehead. "Throwing us for a loop is a MASSIVE understatement. Me and Ravey talked to death about it, what it could mean and how it could have happened. We talked extensively, it felt almost suffocating, like one of those formal business interviews. I've never seen Ravey so frustrated before in my life, seriously steam was coming out of her ears!" Something told him that this was just an exaggeration on Lucy's part, but Nico COULD see how someone like Raven would react in a similar manner to this news. It threw him for a loop as well, after all. "In the end, we decided it would be best if we went to the Gala ourselves to confirm what was happening."
Part of him couldn't help but comment through all of this, that he had never even asked her why she had brought him here. How instead he had just stated that it was a while since they met and the conversation just kept flowing from there. This was something that Nico and Lucy did quite often, heck he did it with Raven too. There wasn't much need for 'pointless questions' like 'why did you bring me here?' in their eyes, not when they could get into the real nitty gritty of the issues instead. To them, those pointless questions always had the same answers, so there was no need to ask them.
It was a... unique trait to their relationship.
"Anyways, enough of that serious stuff." Lucy finally snapped, bringing Nico out of his thoughts as she grasped his hand in hers and began pulling him away from the area. "Come on, we got lots of stuff to do today. I reserved this day for JUST the two of us, no pesky distractions this time." Lucy stated, a sly grin forming on her ruby red lips which caused Nico to sweat profusely. He hoped she did not want to do what he feared she did.
He feared for his chastity here!
By the time nightfall arrived, Nico's fears had been... mostly doused.
Apparently, it seemed that Lucy wanted to spend the day with him hunting and killing demonic forces: Northmen, Demons, Cultists, even a few rare groups of those World Eater Legions. They traveled throughout Leanbox, where the concentrations of these forces were at their worst and tore them apart, Nico resorting to Soul Edge to feed their souls to it while Lucy used her nature powers to rip her opponents to shreds mercilessly. She didn't question what the sword did, nor did she care. There were too many scumbags in the world, and practically all of them were monsters in their own right anyways. She could care less if Nico used a sword that devoured their souls. Between battles, they took small breaks by camping in small clearings.
By the by, if anyone was wondering about how Lucy and him traveled... it was the same power she used to bring Nico to that plain... a good couple days drive from the main city. A minor feet considering its proficiency.
When nightfall came, Lucy finally decided that they had done enough for the time being, and with her power the two appeared in a green flash before this large lake-like area, surrounded by dense wilderness. The scenery looked just like the rest of the Land of Green Pastures, quiet, green, calm and serene... well, the scenery that wasn't corrupted by the Demonic Forces, and considering how much shit they've seen from them it definitely registered as a welcoming sight.
"Whew, that was a workout!" Lucy exclaimed, whooping for joy as she stretched her arms above her head. She even tilted her upper body from one side to the other to stretch her hips. She'd do some leg stretches sometime soon, too. But in her mind, she couldn't help but grin at just how much FUN this day had been, when she had told Nico about her and Raven 'talking', she had severely downplayed it. They had been arguing about it for days now, each of them having conflicting opinions. Raven believed that this was a farce, that the CPUs would eventually turn on one another once again. Meanwhile, Lucy believed that this was a long time coming, for she had seen the frustration and the weariness in humans regarding the Console War. Progress through rivalry was alright, but this was far too much... and it had been going on for a long ass time.
Training Compa in her new powers worked somewhat as a deterrent for a time, but that could only get them so far.
It reached a point where they both went their separate ways for a few days, so they could calm down and think rationally once more. They wouldn't have been able to properly lead Team RAIL in that state, if they tried then it would have lead to a LOT of bad decision making that could have gotten them killed... or worse, considering what these Cultists seem to be into. For Raven, Lucy suspected she went somewhere isolated to hone her Skills, somewhere where she wouldn't be disturbed. Lucy could probably find her with her powers, they worked well in Leanbox after all, but she didn't want to intrude and restart their arguments.
As for herself, she just HAPPENED to notice that her potential future lover was available through her powers, so she just went 'CLICK' with her fingers and summoned him to the closest plain to one of the Demonic Power infused encampments filled with beings she wanted to destroy.
"Yup, it was..." Nico remarked thoughtfully, smirking as he tossed his weapon into the air, bent forwards and tethered Soul Edge onto his back, the demonic sword eagerly sucking on the Demonic Power used for such a feet like a baby sucking on a pacifier. That sword had been devouring Demon Souls left and right while his Hellfire powers got a nice workout burning foes to nothingness. Not to mention how the stress from everything that had been occurring up till now had left him, leaving Nico feeling a whole new level of refreshed.
Sometimes, battle was the greatest stress reliever.
'Even so, I must admit, it is curious as to how many demonic forces are making their way to this Landmass.'
The sudden words from his Demon Persona made Nico arch a brow, his face hidden mostly by his Mask (which he had put on while putting up his hood before the slaughter had begun). 'What do you mean, Biko?'
'No matter how many demons, Cultists of those World Eater Legions we kill, more seem to take their place. I'm beginning to suspect that the whole 'other words' matter the [World Tome] Histoire told us of is connected to this. Think about it, Gamindustri can't be the only world with humans on it, and if that's the case...'
Nico did not like the implications nor the actual probability that Biko was insinuating, but he couldn't refute it. If there really were other worlds out there like Histoire said, then who knows how many forces the Demonic faction has. Numbers, weapons, technology, everything. It gave him a whole load of questions, theories and ideas that he did NOT want to think about.
Maybe once this was all over, then maybe...
"Say, Nicky-Dear..." Lucy began, and the male suddenly realized she was right up in his face, her own inches away from his with her hands behind her back. Response: Nico stepped back while stuttering incoherently making her but a gut laughing. "Hahahahahahahahaaa... #inhale#exhale# oh Nicky-Dear, you still have that habit of losing yourself in thought, but anyways I wanted to thank you for letting me have you for the day." she said, thanking him with a soft smile, not a trace of her signature seductive tendencies.
It made Nico's heart skip a beat, though he had composed himself before that could happen. He had to curse this fact to himself, the fact that her genuine smiles always got to him. They have ever since she first showed them to him the moment after she had that breakdown. He had a feeling that she knew this too, but he never confirmed it. Never mind that, she had told him something so he should respond before she questioned his sanity... what little there was at this point. "Meh, no biggie. You know i''m not one for beating around the bush." Let it be known that he had also sensed the stress rolling off his comrade briefly before he saw her after that transporting to the plain, as well as during their 'demolition derby'. "I get the feeling that you needed some time to wind down from everything."
"Like you wouldn't believe." Lucy answered, scratching the top of her head with her left gloved hand, before she looked to the water and got an idea. A slight grin formed on her lips, and the sight of it made chills grow down Nico's spine. He knew that smirk, the mischievousness he could feel from it (not from negative emotion sensing either) everything... and usually whens he had that smirk, it never went well for him. "But we're not done yet."
"Huh? What do you-?"
Before Nico could get his question out, he got his abrupt answer when Lucy suddenly... twisted around and discarded her clothes in a flash of green light, switching to what looked like a dark green one piece with pink/red flower patterns on it. She didn't give him time to think as she appeared right before him, grinning evilly. "We've worked up a bit of a sweat, so lets WASH it all off with a swim!" she proclaimed, and Nico suddenly felt all the life leave is body while he questioned his life choices.
"Wha-wai-!"
Once again, he got interrupted when he felt himself getting chucked towards the centre of the Lake. Normally he would have Warped out of there and to the lake's edge, but in his panic and the surprise of the situation, that thought hadn't registered. Plus, it didn't happen since he wasn't in any real danger. Instead, Nico switched outfits once more (thank you WDD for the Void Module, that mental command stuff came just in handy!) just seconds before he hit the water.
SPLASH
Not long afterwards, Lucy swam up to where he had fallen, for Nico to shoot up through the lake's surface with a loud gasp. The teen then fell slightly, kicking his legs so that he could remain above the water. 'Okay, now THAT was close.' he couldn't help but think to himself with a grimace, feeling his heart racing like a race car in a grand prix within his chest. 'Should have expected her to pull something like that off, but I didn't.'
'I see why you sometimes refer to her as a 'minx' Nico.'
'That can be said for a few girls I know, and not just Lucy, but yeah your point still stands somewhat.'
Breaking from their link, Nico gave Lucy the stink eye, not at all happy with this turn of events. "You just HAD to get me all wet, didn't you girl?" he remarked with sarcasm. Though, his words soon died down, his tensity vanishing while his eyes slowly opened wider when he noticed the look Lucy was giving him. The way that her eyes gleamed, the way she licked her lips almost subconsciously, the way that her eyes trailed over his form with hunger... he knew that look, and immediately paled with dread. If that wasn't bad enough, his white copy sent him a mental image of himself while laughing like a hyena.
Apparently the water had done wonders to him, with the way that his swim-wear: a pair of black baggy trunks reaching his kneecaps that had red flames on the bottom, had exposed a LOT of his physique. If all the pics of him he'd seen on the internet weren't bad enough, he could only imagine how people would take THIS. Water droplets clung to his skin, dripping down his shoulders, torso, arms, neck, practically everywhere, serving to reinforce his masculinity. His wet hair clung to his scalp,his bangs nearly covering his eyes completely from view to give him this wild, frenzied look. If that wasn't enough, the way constant combat honed his body to be as destructive as possible... well, yeah, you get the idea.
Eye candy... male version.
'What the hell?! Why the fuck has there been so much man-service these past few chapters?!' in his panic, Nico unknowingly (and completely unintentionally) regressed into breaking the fourth wall. 'Am I going to be raped in the future at this rate?! Fuck that, i'll defend myself with everything I have!'
But first...
"Owwwwwiiiiieeeee..."
"Yeah, well that's what you get for letting your wild side take over, crazy lady."
"I'm not crazyyyyyy, and I said I was sorrryyyyyyy!"
"Whelp, now you know why they say 'Karma's a Bitch' now, don't you?"
Nico huffed as he crossed his arms, giving a stern, lecturing stare towards the person who just tried to assault him in a fit of lust. Lucy, the vice leader of Team RAIL, had her hands on her head, rubbing the area around a particularly large lump that had formed from his... defense, against her bout of lust-fueled madness. That had been... some of the most frightening hours he had ever experienced, not even fighting Abnormals or demons felt that bad. If anyone thought that was excessive, then listen to the things he had to employ to get her back to normal: multiple bonks to the head from his fists, a few shoulder smashes from his Armour, Soul Edge, his Devil Arms, more than a dozen Obliteron and Skill attacks and there was even a not-so-small smell of burning in the air, curtesy of Nico's hellfire... and THAT was only a BIT of what he had to do in order to curb the lust frenzy mode that Lucy had went into when seeing him after his emergence from the lake depths.
'That was... very scary. Women can be very dangerous when they want to be.'
'THAT is an understatement, Biko.'
'On the flip side, we now know that Hellfire can even burn underwater, too. Although it is not recommended for the ecosystem.'
On that, Nico could agree. He shuddered at what would have happened if she had been able to get her claws into him any deeper, she was a THIRSTY girl when it came to him, a literal five course meal, a golden trophy whatever for her since he usually stopped her advances on him. Hell, he once heard someone call her the personification of THIRSTY when it came to perverted acts. Normally when she teased him he would get flustered, yeah, but when it came to the true advances she would make on him, that was when he'd put is foot down. He'd lost count of how many times that had happened, and even now he could hear the white version of himself howling with laughter while dodging attacks from a stern Biko wielding his own Soul Edge.
"Mou, you meanie...!" Lucy whiled, puffing her cheeks while pouting as she applied energy over the cartoonish bumps on her head... that looked like it was made from several bumps fused together. What could he say, she did NOT take no for an answer in that state. She's become like a lust demon, he had never feared for his chastity in his whole life. Seriously, the expression 'I need an adult!' couldn't have been more appropriate than at that moment.
Nico merely rolled his eyes at her. "You do realize that I was in my rights to defend myself when you literally became a panther girl and pounced on me." he ststed bluntly.
"Yeah, I guess... I guess I did behave a little forwardly..." She muttered under her breath, not noticing how the other Spec Ops Agent whispered 'just a little...?' under his breath, Pretty soon, the red haired woman lowered her arms once she pain subsided. "Well, anyways, since we'e now in here, we can have some fun!"she chirped happily, hands moving to her hips. "Say, what do you think of MY swimsuit, Nicky-Dear?" she asked him, smirking as she reverted to her seductive self, twisting her hips about to show him multiple angles of her one-piece.
'Its like in one ear and out the other with this girl...'
At this, the red-haired male quickly blushed, shifting uncomfortably as he found himself in a situation a LOT of guys would kill to be in. The teen however, could only feel a mix of emotions: sock, discomfort, and... something that originated from his groin that he couldn't, or rather didn't want to, identify. His face flushed crimson while steam rose from his head as he did his best to try and not pas out at the situation he found himself in. "Um, I uh..." he stammered, trying and failing to come up with anything.
What could he say, mentally saying that someone was attractive was a FAR CRY from admitting it out loud.
Fortunately, it seemed that his reaction was enough for the woman, if the way she laughed victoriously was any indication. "Honestly, you keep your calm in intense situations, yet when yo're tasked with anything related to the opposite sex and sex appeal, all that composure goes flying out the widow." she remarked, arching a brow while smirking in amusement.
"Hey, I can't help it, you count how many times I've been in a situation like this..." he tried to protest, but it came out so weak that he wanted to just crawl into a hole and die. Hell, even Nico could tell that those words sounded pathetic the moment they were formed, but due to his lack of composure he couldn't stop them from escaping out into the atmosphere.
Lucy, thankfully, decided to give the poor guy a break as she softly patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, no sweat alright sweetie? After all, you did answer correctly , though with actions and not words. Then again, that's just like you. You have this strong honesty about you, both with your words and the actions you make. I've known you long enough to see that." she told him, and a moment later Nico finally managed to regain his composure...
CHU!
Although he nearly lost it AGAIN when she suddenly leaned forwards and pressed her lips onto his cheek. "Ufufufu, think of tat as a reward for complimenting me through actions, Nicky-Dear." she stated after pulling back from the second-long peck. "Now then, we came here for a break, so lets have some fun, shall we? Wanna race around the lake?" She suggested, now sporting an aura of competitive spirit.
A spirit mimicked by the male when he gave her a matching smirk... for a second before it evolved into a full blown grin. "You're on!" he bellowed, before darting through the water like a torpedo with Lucy laughing as she followed suit.
It was a couple hours later when they finally decided to stop for the night.
Ignoring the way that was phrased, Nico and Lucy did many things in that lake, aside from racing. Activities that included playfully splashing each other with big waves, laughing, joking about, performing underwater stunts to try and out do each other, the works. Though, Lucy had to admit to herself that Nico absolutely FLOORED her on the stunts part. The guy may be an all-rounder when it came to fighting ability, but when questioned, she'd definitely sat that he had the qualities of a stuntman, willing to take big risks to pull off some of the craziest tricks imaginable.
Seriously, who in their right mind would dive to the bottom of a lake, only to shoot right up and out of the water to do multiple flips, twists and spins, all the while doing various poses that unknowingly to him made him look even sexier? Al before performing a perfect sky dive into the water? The only thing missing from that would be some epic background music and a sparkly background, if he had those then he would have made her moist.
What, she called em like she saw em.
As for the racing, the two of them had been pretty neck and neck for that, Lucy's and his athletic ability being on par with each other for that. Their breathing had been highly controlled, honed through years of combat though she herself had more experience with that than anyone else in the Spec Ops Program... possibly even in the military or in humanity in general.
For who made the bigger waves, well, they'd happily say that they both could do that, only that Nico could have the advantage of his Hellfire which burned under every circumstance. He'd used it to make a steamy smokescreen just so she couldn't tell when he'd attack her or from which direction. She had to trust hr instincts like they were her lifeline in a hospital for that one.
Right now, the two casually sat on the lakeside, looking up at the night sky. Nico had done the gentlemanly thing and dried them off with heat from his Hellfire, demonstrating how much he had com in raining with it. Although he HAD tried to downplay it with talk about it being in its weaker form, not the TRUE Hellfire that his DPU Form commanded like a general of a highly trained army. Lucy wouldn't have that though, reducing him to a stammering mess which got some laughs out of her.
She did like to tease the hell out of him, after all... though not in a bad way. In a good way.
(Sakura Beach OST - 2)
"The stars really are beautiful tonight, aren't they..." Lucy remarked, her eyes soft and filled with fondness as she curled herself into a ball, pulling her legs into her chest. She didn't feel bothered by the cold, not when she had trained for various conditions. Even with her nature depicting that she wouldn't like the cold, Lucy had trained that weakness out of her, just like how her leader had done the same. If they agreed on one thing, then it was that they needed to extinguish their weaknesses so they weren't exploited while on duty.
Nico nodded his head in agreement, his features calm and quiet having bent his legs and rested his forearms over his knees, allowing his hands to hang between the legs. Even with the recent revelations from Histoire about DPU Culture and how there were other worlds out there beside Gamindustri, it didn't take away the mystery and the wonder of the infinite space out there. "Sometimes, I wish we could just go up there and see what outer space has to offer. There has to be more than just Gamindustri, you know? Plus, those being coming from those Hellgates have to come from somewhere. Definitely not anywhere on Gamindustri that's for certain."
"Hmhmhmhm, true..."
The two lapsed into calm, collective silence after that, just enjoying the scenery as well as each other's company... though the male of the two wouldn't admit that yet. The way the winds gently brushed by them, ruffling Nico's hair while blowing Lucy's to the side, the way the waters of the lake glistened from the light from the starry skies, it all seemed so... magical, and not like the Magic that Lowee focuses on. In a way, Leanbox's scenery contained its own magic, just like every one of the Nations... though Lastation would have to deal with its pollution issues if their magic was to be properly enjoyed by their citizens. Sadly, neither of the two thought that would be happening any time soon, with the events surrounding that Nation at the moment.
While the male gazed at the stars, a question entered his mind, making Nico wonder... and eventually decide to get another opinion. 'Say Biko, I know this is repetitive and will likely not stop in the future, but I have a question.'
'What is it?'
'Back in the DPU Era... did beautiful scenery like this exist? Or was it just wasteland formed from constant battling? I mean, there had to be SOME areas which were like this, since they apparently did try to keep their fighting to a minimum... on their world at least, with all these coliseums and stuff. Hell, maybe one of those could have fallen badly to the sands of time and became those ruins that contained my Devil Arms.'
'Who knows? The Fragmented Memories wouldn't answer that question... but I must say that I see the logic behind such a move. It would be detrimental to their society id their world became completely uninhabitable, so scenery like this could have existed there, and in greater numbers thanks to there not being any possible divided continents. However, given the DPUs and their warlike nature, it makes me question it.'
That wasn't a comforting thought, but then again it wasn't like he was expecting much else The DPUs were a warrior race after all, they wouldn't have time to appreciate nature like this. Nico guessed that, should he come to find out the worst about his kind, that he could take solace in the fact that this moment, right here with Lucy, made one of the few differences between him and his predecessors.
Then, another thought came to him, one more about Lucy ad how she would be at the Gala when it finally come around. By the goddess he sometimes wished it would hurry up in coming here, the tension sometimes killed his nerves. Nonetheless, his stomach churned as worry began to creep into his mind, electing a frown as he took his gaze off the stars for the time being, and switched it over to his companion. "Say... Lucy?"
"Hm?" Blinking in surprise, Lucy turned her head to look at her companion, before frowning in concern at the look in his eyes. She didn't like it, and wondered what was bothering him so much that it would break the tranquility of this moment they shared. A moment she had been wanting to spend with him for a long, long time. "What is it, Nicky-Dear? Something wrong?"
Quickly shaking his head, Nico made to disperse such thoughts from Lucy's mind. "No, no, nothing like that, its just..." for a moment, Nico wondered how to say this without sounding like a total idiot. He wasn't the best when planning what to say, he usually just spoke whatever cam to him. Save for when he was making observations and theories. All of them felt easy in comparison to admitting how he really felt, which was exactly what this situation was. Nevertheless, he had to say this, he just had to. "When you arrive at the Gala with the others..."
"Yeah...?"
"Just... be careful, alright?" At Lucy's surprised look, her eyes widening and her jaw opening slightly, Nico continued. He had started himself off, no point stopping now. "I mean, there's going to be a LOT of Nobles and other officials at the Gala. Probably some other Agents they will have paid to be escorts, too. Some of which might not take to you so kindly since you might have targeted one of their kin, benefactors etc, or something. I..." In that moment, Nico felt his chest tighten like a serpent trying to crush his windpipe, but he forcefully pushed that feeling aside to finish what he wanted to say. "I'd probably go berserk if something happened to you, after all. People you can trust are hard to find, and I-"
"Shhhh, say no more."
Suddenly, before he could finish, Nico nearly gasped if it weren't for the index finger pressed onto his lips to stop him from speaking. The source, Lucy, who had leaned sideways to shush him. Her eyes no longer carried any of her previous surprise, but a softness and tenderness that only she could convey. Something that she only showed when around him, someone who had proven himself trustworthy to her. "Its... sweet of you, to be so concerned, and while I would say you needn't worry, that would be pointless since you'd worry regardless." Nico had to smirk at that, knowing that he knew it to be true. He wouldn't deny it either, something both of them knew for a fact. "Still, i'll take your words into consideration, and give you some words of my own."
At this her eyes turned serious and worried, just like how his had been before while she grasped both sides of his face in her hands. "When someone who you trust appears, don't try to keep your heart closed to them. Let them in, just like you did with me." she whispered, her eyes swimming with repressed emotions that Nico could sense. If he could sense those, then they were obviously the negative kind, which worried him though he knew their origins. He remembered what she felt when he told her about his nightmares and hallucinations. This must be relevant to that, he figured.
Still though, he couldn't help the uncertainty and conflicted feelings that exploded within his chest at those words. She had basically told him to be more trusting of those that are close to him, that it would be alright to let them know what she knew. That had been what he had been avoiding for the majority of his adventures with Neptune and the others, hell his whole life ever since he first woke up with partial amnesia was filled with mistrust and paranoia. That year he spent with Compa and her Grandfather helped him forget, forget the demon inside, only to be reminded of it later on. That no matter how hard he tried, Nico could never truly fit in with society.
He was an outcast, plain and simple... and that he wouldn't be anything else for as long as he lived.
Even so, no matter how much he tried, Nico couldn't make those feelings into words that he could say to the woman. Like, they refused to escape into the atmosphere unlike before. Of course, this was met with frustration on Nico's part, yet he couldn't for the life of him figure out why that was. In the end, the only thing he could say was thus. "I... I'l try, I guess..."
A sigh escaped Lucy's lips as she hung her head slightly, knowing that would be the best she could get from him at this moment. She may not look it, but she could tell that there were a lot of things wrong with her potential lover. She knew there was something wrong with him since not long after he helped her see he was trustworthy, not long after she gained her first true friend in a long, long ass time. Her feelings of concern had only been confirmed and strengthened when he finally opened up to her, telling her about his mental issues. She just wished he could be more open to her about them, and to those he trusted. She may want to take him to her bed, but she wasn't so selfish as to stop other people from helping him just as much as she tried to. That would be pathetic, and she id NOT want to be pathetic ever again.
There may be many girl after his heart, and odds were this wouldn't end in the typical 'I chose one girl and break the hearts of the others' situation, but all of them would agree that, if they knew how fucked up he was mentally, that they would want to help him heal to aid in his recovery. She HATED how much his mind had been damaged, and Lucy just KNEW that if the other girls found out, they wouldn't like it ether.
It would be their mission as his companions, no, as the girls who loved him, to help him recover from all these wounds...
And they would succeed, no matter what.
(OST End)
Chapter end!
Another chapter done! Another long one, and hey I've been making a trend recently to make longer-than-normal chapters. My usual Chapters are about 6K words, and these last few have been WAY more than that.
Anyways, Hope you enjoy the chapter, if you have questions either PM me or leave a review. Next chapter will either be one last chapter regarding the preparation for the Gala or the Gala itself. It depends on how I want to approach it. Sorry for taking so long, there was just so much content wanted to fit in that happens before it. I hope you guys are appreciating the SCALE that the Leanbox Arc has so far, I personally like it. Imagine what the GAMES would have been like if they had this kind of stuff in it.
For some reason, a hack/'n'slash mainstream title for the Neptunia series doesn't seem so bad... maybe make it a bit more epic than in Action Unleashed or Blanc and Neptune vs zombies. Maybe make one with similar mechanics to DMC, meh I dunno,
Anyways, read, review, all that good stuff! And thanks those who reviewed my story so far, been great reading them!
peace out! :)
