Chapter 117 - The Gala Part 2

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Author speaking. We're sorry, but our Main Character appears to be suffering from mental overload. Please wait while we deal with the issue at hand.

Nico stood there, still as a statue and frozen like he was encased in a block of ice. He could only stare dumbly, his jaw hanging open and oddly reminiscent of that time when he discovered that… art (part of him that went unheard, hoped to all that was lucky that Neptune never found that, goddess help them all). His brain could not think, there was nothing circulating around that being mesh of muscle and electronic signals, everything had literally HALTED like the sudden scratching of a music recording that DJ's used, the moment his eyes laid sight upon the girls.

Said girls all shared knowing looks with each other, each of them under different levels of amusement at what had happened to their sole male party member.

BUFFERING

"You guys, I think we broke him…" Neptune remarked with a cheeky grin so wide that she would have split her face in half if possible. She just couldn't; contain her giddiness as she looked upon how Nico had his eyes wide open, his jaw hanging equally so, and the pure look of astonishment on his features. It filled her with womanly pride that she had succeeded in this endeavour, slaving so hard that's he forgot her pudding dosage in front of a mirror paid off big time for her Neptune had been waiting for this moment, the moment where she used her hot bod to blow Nico away with her cuteness and sex appeal. She was his wifey after all, and he her hubby, so it was only natural for him to be mind-blown by how awesome she looked. Not to mention that Nico didn't look too shabby either in that smart suit of his. Reminds her of that one show about a cook travelling with a bunch of rebellious teenage pirates to find the ultimate treasure, the OP, as well as the ultimate ocean, the AB.

BUFFERING…

Compa puffed her cheeks out, pouting in a cute manner while facing the bubbly CPU. "Nep-Nep, I'm pretty sure it was me that he was blown away by…" she protested, though as she looked at how dumbstruck the Spec Ops Agent looked, she couldn't help the shy grin that spread across her lips. She was always a shy person, she never really took much initiative with much. One of the few things she did decide to do would be the path of becoming a professional Nurse, so she could build some confidence in herself. She wanted to be someone who could be dependable and could help people in need. It stemmed from her desire to not let what happened to her parents happen ever again, she didn't want people to experience the same amount of loss that she did. But, seeing Nico look like this, it filled her up with something akin to feminine pride, and that was somethings he RARELY felt in her life, if at all.

BUFFERING…

While Neptune and Compa had a small pouting contest, IF crossed her arms under her chest and rolled her eyes, leaning on one leg as she addressed the other two. "You guys stop deluding yourselves. He's likely this way cause of all three of us." She stated to them, always being the logic girl of the group. Someone had to be, especially when Nico would find himself out of commission like this. Either that, or he wasn't around to keep Neptune in line. Though, she did not deny that she had a small part of her that suspected that she was the one who blew him away. IF knew that, out of the three of them, it was between her and Neptune who had the most forward and aggressive approach to securing Nico's affections for themselves. It likely wouldn't escalate to the level where they would forget their friendship, simply cause the three of them valued that word too much to let romance get in the way, and if Nico felt that would be the case he would definitely not let it slide. Like them, he too valued comradery and loyalty, so if they did start fighting over him then he would put his foot down. Nico hadn't shown himself to be afraid to knock them around if they did something stupid, either (though that was mostly Neptune since she did the most stupid things).

BUFFERING…

Finally, Neptune decided to see if they could restart the computer known as Nico, since he would look really stupid if he just stayed standing there forever. She began by stepping forwards and clicked her fingers in front of Nico's facial features. "Helllooo! Gamindustri to Nicky! Ya there, Hubby? You're wifey's requesting permission to access your databanks for your porn collection." She spoke, thinking up something to say off the top of her head.

BUFFERING…

"Does Nep-Nep even know if Ni-Ni has a porn collection?" Compa questioned, tilting her head sideways while looking to her brunette friend. As far as Compa knew, she had never seen him attempt to look at such sites before, not when they were still living together nor while on this adventure. She figured that was just because of the type of man Nico was, but it never hurt to ask.

BUFFERING…

IF rolled her eyes while answering back in a hushed whisper. "This is Nico we're talking about, guy's too innocent in the ways of girls to have something like that. Believe it or not, but there are guys that are like that." She explained, having leaned forwards to whisper into Compa's ear. It was true, those people were mostly called the otakus (AN: no offence to any otakus, really). Though she could definitely tell that they weren't surrounded by such people if the looks some sent their way were any indication. She would make sure to give those pervs the warning look, just so they wouldn't do anything stupid…

Though she wouldn't mind so much if they tried, more stress relief for her when she pounded their faces in.

BUFFERING…

Compa only giggled, knowing that would be true. She had been a little worried there…

CHECKUPS PART 1 COMPLETE - REBOOT COMMENCING…

Finally, it happened, the processor for Nico's brain rebooted, at last restarting all systems to their optimum. We're sorry for the delay, please enjoy the story to your heart's content. Once he could think again, Nico blinked several times in rapid succession, shaking his head slightly while placing his hand on it's side. "Whoa, what the hell happened? Thought I had entered the afterlife for a moment there…" the male muttered under his breath in bafflement. That was when he looked up, his eyes catching sight of the girls all grinning at him in their own ways. "… Oh." Now he realized why.

"Hehehehehehe, I would have asked you what you thought, but it seems I already have an answer." Neptune commented, giggling like a little gremlin at the aftermath of one of its pranks. Considering who this was, and what had happened, that analysis couldn't have been any truer. "You looked completely blown away by my cuteness, Nicky. I knew ya liked ma hot sexy Nep-bod." She boasted, swishing from side to side to let her dress's skirt follow her motions. She even ended it by stepping close to him with her face quite close to his, sporting the most mischievous expression possible.

Compa frowned at this action, however, and stopped the preteen by grasping her shoulder and pulling her back. "Hey, Nep-Nep, that's no fair, Ni-Ni was looking at me too you know!" she whined, before switching her gaze over to the male Agent. "You think that I look cute, don't you? Right?" she asked him, leaning forwards and un(?)intentionally lowering her chest so Nico could see more of her cleavage. Behind her, Neptune huffed in jealousy, since this morning the girls told her that she wasn't allowed to transform around so many people. Something about making matters complicated, and there was something in the back of her mind telling her she'd heard this song and dance before, but meh. If she could transform, then she could wallop Compa in the boobies' department. Seeing as how Compa wouldn't let her get her spot back, both girls ended up in his personal space, awaiting Nico's answer.

"Um, uhhh…"

REBOOT STILL IN PROGRESS

Nico tried to respond, but nothing would come out his mouth as he stared at the two girls. What could he say here? Especially since his brain hadn't fully rebooted yet. Fortunately for him, Nico found himself being saved by IF who stepped forth and pulled the girls back from his personal space with an indigenous look on her right now. "Easy there, girls. Give te guy some space after you all just broke him down like a faulty piece of hardware." She scolded the two, the redhead male mentally wishing he could hug IF right now in gratitude. Now all he had to do was regain his proper faculties and he'd be set for this confrontation. "How do you expect him to answer you two when you're all up in his face like that?"

"Sorry…" Both girls moaned in apology, realizing just how much pressure they had put on the male who recently regained himself. Now that they thought about it, he did look at least a little out of it still, and they just barged in on his personal space. Not something that would help the situation, admittingly.

REBOOT COMPLETE – ORGANISM NICO 100% OPERATIONAL!

Nonetheless, Nico gave IF a grateful nod, relief flooding his system as he finally managed to fully regain himself. Though he had to admit, Nico had NOT seen something like this coming, the girls being able to render him temporarily comatose like that. By the Goddess, he hoped that wouldn't become a thing, he didn't know if he could take that. Though, Nico would sure as hell try. 'Seriously, how the hell could that have happened? I usually have more control over myself than that.'

For once, Biko didn't answer, or rather he couldn't, since even he didn't have the answer.

In any case, it became clear to him that these girls wanted his opinion on their dresses, especially when he recalled them not telling him where they had been 4 weeks ago. It was almost like they had wanted to surprise him back then, something that he could readily agree with right now. "Well, I uh… I literally have no words to say with this situation…" he stated slowly, taking pauses to make sure he didn't have to reboot himself like a machine again. However, despite being caught off guard by the sight earlier, Nico refused to leave the girls hanging, that was not what a good guy should do in this situation, He was no saint, but he wouldn't be that kind of a jerk either.

In the end, the male finally found the words he wanted to say, the words he had been looking for ever since his mind rebooted. Looking upon the girls with a bare hand over his face, Nico finally admitted what he thought about their clothes. "You girls were on the right rack when you said I was blown away, quite literally in fact. You all… you all look freaking gorgeous. In my opinion, better than many of these extravagantly dressed nobles by a landslide."

POOF!

Several poof sounds rang through their little section of the Main Hall, coming from the girls as their faces soon sported blushes of varying degrees. Compa's seemed to be the biggest due to her shy and timid nature. It was rare for her to receive genuine compliments for her figure, especially when eyes were usually drawn to certain places more than others for some weird reason (Oh Compa, bless your innocent soul… -_-)

Neptune's looked like it was in the middle area, though still intense. The blush spread across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, all the while she had this stupid grin on her face as she just barely stopped herself from gushing. She wasn't the type of girl to do that kind of stuff, nope, not this Nep. Hey, she was usually the one doing all the seducing and smooth stuff in the relationship, so excuse her for being caught off guard a little.

IF, meanwhile, had the best control over herself, though it seemed that the revelation about her from Lastation once again made itself known. As in, she was all offense and no defence if the fierce, yet not as fierce as Neptune's, blush that covered her face was any indication. Though, she tilted her head sideways to be able to hide it better, it may as well have been useless since Nico already saw it.

'Wow, what the heck is with these girls? Its just a truthful compliment, why do they seem so affected by it, I wonder?' Nico wondered to himself, confusion filling his mind (the sound of a facepalm echoing in his Inner World as Biko quietly growled in frustration). Something briefly flashed within his head, but it disappeared the moment that it appeared, too fast for his senses to pick up. In any case, the male gaze notice subtle signs of discomfort from the brunette, drawing a concerned look for him. 'Oh? IF's looking pretty uncomfortable, why the hell is that…?' the male wondered. He quickly identified the source though, by looking downwards. He noticed faint shuffling from her feet, and his eyes flashed with realization. "Lemme guess, your feet are killing you right now…?" he questioned the brunette (this time it was the white one that facepalmed).

IF looked back to him, her face no longer blushing and instead she sported a look of a mix between irritation and frustration. "Ugh, tell me about it. How the hell do girls walk in these heels? Not even a couple hours in and my feet are already begging me to end their misery." … did IF just whine like Neptune just now? Seriously? Heck, even Neptune and Compa looked stunned at that what the hell?

Nevertheless, the male couldn't help but wince in sympathy for her while Compa looked down at her own heels. "I think I get where Iffy is coming from, cause I used to have footsie problems too. Now though, I wear low heeled boots, so I'm fine wearing heels." She stated, pretty much explaining right there why she didn't look all that bothered with her heels. Now that he thought about it, Nico realized that she was right, Compa's boots DID have a bit of a heel on them, not too much but not too little either. Guess that explained why she seemed to be used to wearing heels.

Finally, Nico turned to the one who hadn't spoken about her footwear yet, trying to see if she had any hidden signs of discomfort. However, unlike the brunette he couldn't find any on her, to his surprise. Therefore, he had to ask. "And you, Neptune? You feeling achy down there?"

"Nope, cause I'mma awesomesauce!"

"… sure."

IF gave Neptune a disbelieving look as Neptune proudly admitted that while putting her hands on her hips like one of those superheroes on TV. She wanted to call bullshit on that claim and call bullshit she did. "Ok, how in the hell do your feet not hurt, Nep? You haven't worn heels before!" she exclaimed, refusing to believe that the pint-sized CPU had something over her.

"But, I sorta wear heels in HDD form, ya know. So, I figured it was just cause of that."

"… I have no words." IF reluctantly admitted with a sigh, slouching downwards in a defeated manner. She may have lost this round, but the next one wouldn't be decided so quickly, she vowed. IF refused to let Neptune get ahead of her, not this time. She had some ground to cover in order to catch up with the others. Still, these heels would take some getting used to, especially as back before they had changed at the hotel, IF had to practice walking around in heels, due to her inexperience. It was one of the most discomforting things she had to do in her life, and she swore that she wouldn't do this unless it was a last resort. She was a soldier, so heels didn't have much of a place on the battlefield… 'Although, Raven and Lucy seem to rock the heels look while kicking ass…' she thought to herself, pondering that for a moment before letting those thoughts disappear for the time being.


Eventually, the group heard the sounds of ballroom music beginning to play, the sounds of violins ringing throughout the area and filling the air with sweet, soothing melodies. The moment that she heard it, IF got an idea, an idea that would get her ahead of the other girls. However, the brunette would have to do it in a way tat made sure the others didn't catch on to the fact that she was in the chase, normally she wouldn't care about such things and just go for it, but this was one advantage she wanted to milk for all it was worth. Those many bike rides, while awesome as hell, weren't enough for her.

"Hey, look! What's happening over there?" Neptune suddenly asked, pointing to a series of couples that were on the dance floor, twirling around while holding each other close in a rather… weird way. The entire movement set those people moved in seemed so foreign to her, yet she also vaguely recalled seeing something like this before somewhere. No matter how had she tried though, where she had seen it eluded her.

Compa became the one to answer her, just when IF made to say something. "Its called a waltz, Nep-Nep." She stated, raising a hand in a lecturing type of manner while continuing. "It's a type of dance people do in events like these. Its meant to be stylish and classy, not something us Planeptune natives do. They say that Waltz's are also containing an…" at this, a small blush made its way onto her face as Compa nervously poked her fingers together. "…Intimacy to it, almost romantic." She explained.

"Yeah, and before you start Nep…" IF began, interrupting Neptune just when she was opening her mouth. It mentally made her smirk in victory, knowing what was going to happen next. "We'll have to do rock-paper-scissors to decide who this guy…" she gestured to Nico with her thumb, said male pointing to himself cluelessly. Heck question marks appeared over his head at what these girls were playing at (Biko and the white copy started to discuss if the 'KING's density would protect him from bullets or not, and the consensus was that considering his actions it definitely seemed possible). "Goes onto the dance floor with."

IF had never really danced before, not like this anyways. If it was a dance under the sheets she would have more experience, but this wasn't like that at all. Still though, she had looked into what to do with a Waltz, even took a few lessons at a dancing class before this Gala even started so she knew what to do. Hopefully that would give her an edge, but first there was THIS hurdle to get over.

Obviously, Neptune didn't catch on to the underlying intentions the brunette had, neither did the Nurse-In-Training, as both gave off competitive smiles to each other. "Alrightie then, let's get to it. The first to win gets to dance with Nicky in this 'waltz' thing." To Neptune, this sounded like a great way to spend some time with Nico alone without the others interfering, thoughts like that circling through both her and Compa's mind.

Nico meanwhile, remained oblivious to what was going on, and could only think one thing.

'What the fuck is going on here?'

… Why did he hear sounds of faint frustrated hissing in his mind just now?


Over 30 tries later (each one ending in a draw between the trio), IF eventually won by playing paper while the other two played rock. "Heh, well will you look at that?" She remarked with a satisfied smirk. "I've won, so I get to dance with Nico first." It had NOT been easy, and she had failed over 30 times already, however through perseverance and cleverly hiding her choices, IF had finally managed to score some alone time with Nico. Not that these two would have figured out she was a player yet, but still the smallest victories in life were the best ones, usually.

"Aw, man…" Neptune pouted, looking at her closed hand, which was still in the rock formation, with dismay. "I lost…" She had worked so hard on it too, this sucked! Majorly She would have to raid the desert menus just to get herself back on track!

Compa, similarly to Neptune, looked down in dejection. "Iffy won… she gets to dance with Ni-Ni…" she muttered, jealousy leaking from her words like gas. She wanted to show off her secret training, she had trained for a moment like this ever since she was a little girl, and al it took was a game of rock-paper-scissors to smash those dreams.

IF watched the two girls' expressions, hiding her sense of pride at her victory. Though, she did feel a pang of sympathy for them, too. 'Okay, maybe it was a bit much, but I can't let them get any additional points with Nico.' She thought to herself, trying too ease her guilt. However, it didn't work, and eventually she let out a sigh while placing her hands on their shoulders. "Hey, don't sweat it, you two did your best, it was just a game of luck at this point." She told them. "Besides, I won fair and square so don't be such sore losers about it." At that moment, IF mentally berated herself for letting some of her pride slip out seconds later. Maybe she wasn't so good at this whole comforting thing as she thought.

"Mou…"

Both girls did look defeated but nodded anyways, consenting to the winner albeit reluctantly. It was true, IF had won fair and square against them so they had no reason to be sore losers about it.

"Hey, cheer up you two."

Soon, Nico decided to get in on this action, he didn't like the looks on their faces after that game. He may not know what was going on here, but the fact that they had put everything they had into it was not lost on him. He couldn't let them remain sad after fighting in, what he could describe at least, an honourable battle worthy of any warrior. It pulled at his heartstrings, and the male did NOT like hat, not one bit. After all, he wasn't someone who needed a heart to begin with, he had suppressed his hormones for so long now, so he didn't appreciate something that tugged at his heart so painfully. It served to remind him that, even as he descended deeper into the path of the monster, that deep down he still had some humanity left in him.

Looking at him in surprise, both Neptune and Compa nearly jumped when they felt his hands on their heads, ruffling them with a soft, caring smile on his lips. "I'll be sure to dance with the rest of you, don't worry. I'll give you my word that I will, and you know what I mean when I say that, don't you?" he asked, giving a lopsided smirk while his eyes gleamed. This may delay his plans, he thought, delays that could prove problematic, however he just couldn't stand by and watch these girls he treasured being sad like that. He wanted to see them smile, something that he had surprised himself when he realized that. Though, he didn't question it.

Even with his heart the way it was, seeing their smiles brightened his day considerably.

Apparently, his words did their jobs in calming them down and cheering them up, for the two girls lost their sad looks, replacing them with their usual beaming, happy expressions. Neptune let out a sly smile while chuckling at him, causing Nico to arch a brow at hr. "Hehehehe, oh Nicky, oh Nicky…" she remarked, shaking her head as she crossed her arms below her chest. "You seem to have the uncanny ability to cheer us up when we really need it…" While Compa said nothing, her eyes showed just how much she agreed with her fellow maiden.

All Nico did was blush while rubbing the back of his head refusing to look at the girls lest his embarrassment gets worse.

Watching this sight, the brunette resisted the urge to smirk in Nico's direction, her hands gripping her elbows while she hid a spike of irritation at the sight of the three getting cosy together. Her eyes gleamed with predatory hunger, but she repressed it, thinking about how Nico had ensured their hearts without even trying. It wasn't like it was his fault either, he just tried his hardest in life with the cards he'd been dealt, that was pretty much all anyone could do at this point.

Still though, she didn't want this to drag on for too long, not when the two had dancing to do.

Thus, it became time for her to step in moments later. "Alright mr ladies' man, time to get moving." IF finally got too impatient to remain silent for any longer. She grasped him by his forearm and began pulling him to the dance floor while applying her BOW strength to help her. After all, his DPU powers enhanced his body to make it harder to do something like this. Part of her couldn't help but note how well their powers worked together, both of them promoting each other's growth in an attempt to excel over the other. She had noticed this whenever she was around the male, how her body evolved significantly quicker just from his presence alone. It was like she was standing next to a being that the BOW in her refused to back down towards. Refused to submit, like a servant or a coward.

All Nico did was follow her lead to the dance floor, while mentally he could only question the choices he made in his life that led to this moment.


'ho boy, I think I just found myself in quite possibly the most anxiety-inducing situation I've been in yet…'

Nico repressed the urge to gulp, sweat trailing down his forehead that he burned away with a light increase of Hellfire within. Fortunately, he could control it to such a level where he wouldn't hut other people touching him when he used Hellfire. Part of him wondered if he could use other infernal elements in the future, but that part got snuffed out the moment that he was on the centre of the dance floor with a beautiful woman. A woman who was right now, super close to him that their chests were almost touching, smirking at him with a knowing glint in her eyes.

"You ready, Nico. Don't worry I'll guide you so you don't step on my feet." She whispered, her tone softening at the end, same with her eyes, when she saw how conflicted he looked. She easily deduced the cause by reading his body patterns and trusting her senses as well as her instincts. Heck, she didn't blame the guy for being nervous, part of her felt just the same way. Only she had some slight experience thanks to those dance classes she attended so she didn't feel as nervous as this guy probably did. "Guess you trained so much you didn't take any classes?"

The male shook his head at that, trying to keep a calm demeanour. Considering his situation, surrounded by twirling couples and the woman close to him, he felt he did fairly well for the most part. "Nah, not really. Guess it didn't come to me till now that I'd have to do something like this. Never really trusted anyone to this degree, so that didn't help either." He replied, his brow doing a minuscule twitching. He didn't trust many people beyond a certain few, and those that did were wither too busy or had no experience themselves in teaching him. Not that he would have asked either, since he spent his days on the battlefield.

"I totally see that." The BOW casually stated, not doubting the validity of his words in the slightest. Though, that seemed mostly due to how long she had known the guy as she placed one hand on her hip. His hand, by the way, which made his form stiffen visibly. "Hey, relax, this is the posture needed for a waltz. Like I said, I'll show you how, so trust me alright?" It took a moment, but eventually IF saw how his body relaxed slightly, his hand softening its grip on her hip so it felt more comfortable. This elected a pleased smile from the woman, it showed that he took her words to heart. Now they could continue. "Alright, gimme your other hand." Once he did, albeit reluctantly, IF grasped it and held it in her own, getting into position. "Alright, now…"

Soon, she began guiding him on how to do the waltz, according to her dance instructor (who had been suspiciously feely with her during practices. She managed to stave his advances with a warning glare enhanced with her BOW power, though). She had to admit, this activity helped her to forget her discomfort in heels, too. Took her mind off that troublesome situation at te least, allowing her to focus on truly enjoying this little moment she had with her crush.

Yeah, she could admit it to herself without hesitation anymore, at the least. She had a crush on a guy, something she had never done before. Like she said, she had never been in a situation like this before, so she felt a little on edge about it. However, there in lay the thrill that she felt as well, the thought of exploring something new and foreign felt like a damn adventure to her. Something found solace in, actually.

Meanwhile, as Nico attempted to memorise the steps (something he found rather easy to do thanks to his quick learning ability and observational skills) he couldn't help but take in the beauty of the woman dancing with him. His partner, both on the dance floor and on their true calling, the battlefield. He had once heard that his mother chose her codename VALKYRIE based off a group of powerful, all female winged warriors who excelled on the front lines. Who picked the dead from the mortal realm and brought them to the afterlife. Looking down at IF., he couldn't help but think to himself that she would also fit in with such a group.

Not only that, bu Nico's thought patterns were also inspired by how much power he could sense emanating from her right no. It was mostly suppressed by her will right now, which made it near impossible to detect for normal people, but Nico was not a normal guy. The amount of power IF had within her, it felt so much like the amount a Demon would have, with its signature being similar as well, as in it felt violent, chaotic and uncontrollable save for its master. Her powers had the potential to constantly evolve, to grow ever stronger, for all of eternity, which he admired about her.

Ganache truly didn't know a thing about what he had created back then…

"You know, it doesn't seem like the guys you're looking for are here right now." Nico's eyes quickly shifted back to IF's face when she suddenly spoke, his form tensing as he gaped slightly at her, wondering how the hell she knew about his plans. He hadn't told anyone what he was doing, not even the girls, so how did IF figure it out? The brunette rolled her eyes at him during the dance. "You're not the only one who has contacts, you know. I may not have moved outside of Planeptune much, but I did make contact with people from other Nations. Some of them told me that they saw someone fitting your description investigating certain Nobles, Nobles connected to Count Mott. Not hard to figure it all out from there."

In her mind, IF couldn't help but frown to herself. Nico hadn't been the only one who had ulterior motives for this Gala, he hadn't been the only one with contacts. She had started her own search for information after the Hellverse incident during her training and when she was alone. The reason why she did that was because Neptune and Compa knew nothing about subtle investigation, plus she had to pay visits to the… shadier parts of Leanbox where people like those two would be lynched on without mercy.

Her search provided her a few details like the name Count Mott, Spec Ops, some form of deal, and it soon became pretty clear that this person had a connection to the Spec Ops Program. That was how IF uncovered te truth behind an Urgent Quest Nico and the other Agents went on not long after the Hellverse incident. It likely was a means of keeping Nico distracted while several 'operatives' as she would call them to slip into the city and kidnap someone close to him, namely her. She didn't know if she had been right, she had no proof whatsoever, but her gut told her that there was a LOT of interested parties targeting Nico for one reason or another. Forget Neptune's secret as a CPU, people seemed more interested in their resident male party member.

That ALONE had been enough to send alarm bells through her head.

'So, she knows…' the male thought to himself, hiding a frown behind his surprised face. Biko remained silent though, and yet Nico could still feel his presence watching the conversation intently. Soon though, that frown came out as they danced, the male raising his arm to allow IF to spin around on one heel. "Looks like you figured me out, then." he stated, before sighing in resignation. "Count Mott was the reason why me and Team RAIL went on that urgent quest. The Count apparently pulled some strings, and by the time we got there we were kindly introduced to some Demon company, as well as discovered the nearby mines were infested with Northmen."

IF hummed at that, her mind whirling as she processed the information. It sounded like what she had found out about it, too, though if the Northmen were involved… looked like her hunch may be right after all. "Huh… then, I guess that explains why some of my contacts seemed reluctant to share info at first. They probably had some of Mott's men pay them a 'visit'." She muttered under her breath, nearly making Nico's heart skip a beat in worry. While IF could certainly take care of herself, it was only natural that he worry for a comrade. "Still though, you should have told us what you were doing, Nico." Looking back to the male, IF's eyes grew sharp and stern. While she could understand the value of secrecy, and that Nico wasn't the most expressive when said secrets were concerned, it didn't lessen the hurt that he didn't let them in on this. "We're part of the same party, so you can trust that we can keep secrets."

Part of him suggested that the whole Hellverse incident had been more than a little distracting, however Nico refused to do that. He shut that part of him down with a mental wince. He would not do that, nope, no way no how. It felt too much like an excuse, and if he did say that he would only feel worse than he already did when he felt that gaze on him. "I uh… I ummm…" he tried to say something, anything to explain his actions, but for the moment his tongue felt like it was tied to a knot. Unable to say anything right now.

A moment later, the teen took a breath to calm himself down. His heartbeat returned to normal while his breathing slowed to a steady rhythm. When he finally felt his ability to speak again restored, Nico spoke back to his fellow Agent as they waltzed about the dance floor, mixing with some of the other couples. "Well, its just that… well, I'm not used to it. Working with others, even after all this time. Being a solo agent for so long doesn't just go away, I mean look at Lastation. I worked alone to get the military ready, if I hadn't who knows how many casualties would have happened."

Memories flowed through his mind, memories of both his past years as a Spec Ops Agent as well as his times with the girls. More often than not, Nico resorted to fighting on by himself. It was rare that he let people help him, either because they were too weak, and it forced Nico to fight alone or that it would be better if he just did it solo. If you want something done right, do it yourself, that was something he had learned long ago after experiencing o many deceits and betrayals. Doing things, yourself made most things easier for him, since he didn't need to worry about someone else's safety. Plus, considering the people he was around most often, it wasn't like he could trust that many individuals. All that distrust must have resulted in his loner-type personality.

"True, but things are changing Nico. There'll come times when you can't rely on just yourself anymore." IF told him, looking downwards in a concerned manner. She knew that Nico did do a lot of things on his own, and honestly it works for him. He got stuff done that if he hadn't, a lot more casualties would have been wrought. There were sometimes where other people often just held him back from releasing his full power, too. However, that didn't change her point. "Still, you couldn't prevent the attack altogether, Nico, which helps support my point. There's not a lot of stuff you can't do when you put your mind to it, I get it, but there'll come times where that approach isn't an option anymore. I know that isn't something you like thinking about, but with the way things are, if you keep at it like you have, then chances are even you will one day be overwhelmed. Even the best of us sometimes have to ask for help."

Nico remained silent, her words entering his mind like a bunch of fangirls storming a building to see their idol/crush and leaving his mouth dry. Not even licking his lips would solve that problem, but he focused more on what she was saying. His eyes hardened, a whirlpool of chaotic emotions present within him It honestly felt hard to believe that such a time may come where he would ask for help, he had trained himself the way he had specifically so that times like that wouldn't come. He had spent so long on his own, he was someone who fiercely defended his own independence, he valued that independence highly. It wasn't really in his nature to ask for assistance, he was too used to dealing with his own problems. That had been his MO for so many years now that, that the opposite idea of asking others for help seemed to be near-impossible. The closest he had come to doing so would be whenever he asked Biko, since he was one of the other selves active within him. Nico REFUSED to rely on others to solve his problems, it was just so ingrained into him that the idea of asking for help just seemed so… foreign to him, so alien in fact.

'UGH, KING DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT THIS BROAD MAKES SENSE? THIS SHIT MAKES ME WANT TO GAG! SERIOUSLY, SHE NEEDS A FREAKING SPEAR TO THE GUT FOR THAT HERESY! SHE HAD NO CLUE ON WHO WE FUCKING ARE, SHE KNOWS NOT THE SHIT WE WENT THROUGH CRAWLING OUT OF THE DREGS, EVERYTHING WE WENT THROUGH TO REACH THIS LEVEL! SHE SHOULD PAY FOR HER IGNORANCE WITH HER LIFE, WITH OUR POWER AS RESPONSIBLE! SHE NEEDS TO KNOW HER PLEACE AS A WEAKLING UNDER OUR BOOTS, TO HAVE OUR POWER RIP HER APRART FROM THE INSIDE, TO SPREAD HER INNARDS ALL OVER THE FLOOR!'

'Do not completely believe this one, Nico. He may be right in that she has little knowledge of your hardships; however, it is not really her fault It is a lack of information that made her say these things. If she was aware of what you have went through she would not have said those meaningless words. Nonetheless, whatever path you choose, we will follow you to the ends of it. No matter what this one says to deny this fact otherwise.'

Those words from his two other selves, served to bring him back to reality. He would have to think on that later, right now he had other matters to think over.


Chapter end!

One chapter down, more to come!

Anyways, this chapter's been a doozy to write. After all, I had to include things I'm not really that good at. Still, I hope I portrayed IF in a way that pertains to her original personality. Like I've said throughout the story, IF is NOT the type of girl to let te damsel in distress label fall onto her shoulders. When she notices something suspicious she investigates. She gets shit done, just look at the canon events in Lastation. She already figured out Noire's real identity (though that wasn't hard) before anyone else. Plus, it is said that she has contacts. Why wouldn't she use them when she notices something up with Nico?

So, IF knows enough information now that she's placed herself on a similar boat to Nico. She used the dance as a means to get close to him and tell him this (due to him training and investigating so damn much) while also conveying how much he had fucked up by not trusting them enough to let them in on this. Even if he did it to stop them from getting dragged into this with him, Nico had still inadvertently hurt the girls (IF mostly since she figured everything out) but if Neptune and Compa knew then he'd have hurt them too. We'll be seeing some repercussions on his mindset this revelation causes next chapter.

Still, this Gala's going along smoothly if I do say so myself... but how long will that last, I wonder?

Reading and reviewing will lead to the answer, everyone. I'll upload the next chapter soon, ok?

Peace out!