Yo guys, sorry for the late chapter. Really, I am. I've been having Laptop issues for a while now, and its made uploading and editing chapters, even working on my stories difficult. Anyways, I've got this chapter done for you all, so here it is. Odds are, the next chapter won't be for a while though due to circumstances revolving around the next one. One which has MORE to it than just my side of things. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter, thank you to those who reviewed, and by the way this chapter shall explain a LOT about Nico's backstory, though not all of it. With what it does though, all of you will no doubt be MORE than satisfied.


Chapter 148 - Afterwords

"Ufufufu, so…"

The sicky curious voice that could only belong to a businessman escaped the lips of one Ganache, the same Ganache whom had orchestrated the attack on Lastation with the infection, as he stood within the middle of a field. His eyes gleamed with the glow that came with being a superhuman thanks to viral infection behind his black shades, mirth and joy circling around them as if in a spiral. Not to mention the wide ass smile that spread across his lips which would cause children to run away screaming at the top of their lungs. His hair got ruffled by a soft, gentle breeze whilst the man simply adjusted his leather gloves after a little bit of 'work'.

If one couldn't tell by all of that shit, then let's simplify things for you all: The man looked to be in high spirits, though that might be because of two things: One, the fact that he no longer needed to wear that abysmal purple suit anymore thanks to his current 'vacation' from the Avenir Company. Even as a kid, Ganache would not deny that he had a fixation towards those who came off as edge lords with their long coats and badass fighting styles. Hence, why he had decided to try and become one himself. The edge lord Ganache… wow, that actually had a nice ring to it.

As for the second reason?

Well…

The fact that the field was covered to the brim with blood and dismembered bodies may have had something to do with that.

"This was definitely a vacation worth having. Seriously, having to listen to that woman go on and on about her new 'partner' 24/7 really got on my nerves. More than once I found myself wanting to tear her throat out with my bare hands… not something I would have considered doing when we first agreed to this partnership, but things have changed…"

His second reason for being so giddy was that he had been able to indulge on some fine ass, high quality slaughtering of these people. Well, not all of them were people, actually. Ganache DID note that there had been some Demonic beings among them, beings whom soon vanished just like any of the other Abnormals and normal monsters plaguing the Nations. Though, to him, they only meant that he had a proper good fight here, a perfect way to relax after working concussively throughout these months. Thanks to Black Heart regaining her power, Avenir had been losing not just funds, but popular opinion within the community back at the land of Black Regality. Black Heart had practically made it her mission to make their lives hell for what had happened to her Nation, something which they of course fought back against in countless political conferences. Though, he had not been chosen as a representative for these meetings, that would be a BAD idea if he ever thought of one. Who knows what Black Heart or the other Agents whom had guessed his identity would do if he showed his face around them?

No, his boss had other plans for him, ad that was to exterminate the monsters whom thought it a good idea to terrorize the company and its assets. All the while, he and the other few human representatives would be at these meetings trying to fight back against Black Heart in the only ways they knew how. Something of which Ganache found himself quite thrilled to do actually. Thanks to machines doing most of the labour, the only thing he had to do was paperwork, and no matter what anyone said that shit got boring and repetitive faster than shoplifters spending all their money at the mall. Therefore, he couldn't help but be glad that he got to go out into the field like this, for it gave him something to do, a place to vent his annoyance, as well as experience for his future plans.

Looking down at his boot, the man noticed one of the corpses having sprawled quite close to him, with several holes in his body to indicate where Ganache had struck him. This caused the man to give pause as he began to ponder, cupping his chin as he tried to stoke the flames that were his memories. If he remembered correctly, these people had been once bandits whom had then turned into Chaos followers, becoming Northmen and thus, being allowed to receive 'gifts' from their Gods. Some of them even looked to be wearing stolen military grade equipment, something which almost made the brown-haired businessman snort to himself. Leanbox always DID have the weakest security amongst the four Nations, even BEFORE the whole invasion of Chaos and the like. He bet he could blame the CPU's negligence of her duties for that.

'Well, now that I've had some time to vent, I should probably get back to Lastation. The whole Abnormal situation's getting worse, with attacks on villages and small cities becoming more and more frequent every day. Of course, the ones under Avenir's employ will be shielded from them, the rest we don't give a damn about. Let them die, at least it'll weaken our adversaries more than they already are. All the while, the people will lose faith in Black Heart due to her not being able to save them.' Ganache thought to himself, turning on his heel and making to head out towards the direction of the Land of Black Regality. However, after a few steps, an idea struck his mind, making him pause mid step while turning back to the corpses. "Hmmm… it would actually be a bit of a waste to leave all these vulnerable corpses here, if I'm honest. I do have need for some subjects back in Lastation, and we're running low on lab rats…" the man mused, before he nodded to himself. "Alright, lets get to work in bringing them back. I can carry them all with me, all the while cleaning any evidence of them being here, don't want anybody investigating me after all."


Groans, and then BANG! Explosions of pain.

That was what Nico did, and the reward that he received for his troubles, when he had come too.

Nico's eyes, once he felt that pain, shot open wide, so wide that if it were possible then his sockets wouldn't have been able to contain his eyeballs and thus, be unable to keep them from rolling out and away from him. He tried to scream, but his throat felt like it had shut down, so all he got was an open mouth and a lack of sound. He couldn't even hear himself think anymore as the pain coursed through his system like the blood cells that went through his veins. Forget trying to do anything else, Nico couldn't even ATTEMPT to look at anything as he struggled to bear and endure through this sudden nuclear EXPLOSION of pure agony and torment that erupted within him. Even the slightest TWICH aggravated him to the highest degree, and there would be zero possibilities of him being able to stop all forms of minute twitching.

If there were any movements from his arms, Nico couldn't see from all the pain.

Nether would he notice anything from his legs, nor any other body part that he possessed.

Did he even have Body parts right now?

That question never formed in his mind, not when it was too heavily focused on the utter torment that he was going through right now. If one wanted to get a better explanation of what Nico felt right now, think of those hot poles that were dipped in a furnace till they were glowing orange near their rips, which were shaped like brands, then imagine every portion of his body being literally ENGULFED in them and intensify that pain by 1000. Nico could hardly do anything other than soundlessly scream in torment as the pain coursed through him.

Nothing, and he LITERALLY meant that, could have EVER prepared him for this kind of pain. Not even being thrown into the centre of a Volcano's lava pit and sinking to the very depths whilst still being alive could hold a candle to this level of pain. If he could think right now, then Nico could have attributed to the torture that the unfortunate victims of Maghda back in the Hellverse Dungeon experienced as everything that made up their beings became warped and corrupted beyond imagination, twisting them into those horrendous abominations that they faced down there.

If his inner demons, the demons within his mind which would only surface in his nightmares were taunting him right now, then Nico wouldn't hear them. His mind and ears constantly rung in the most painful, wretched manner possible, like the most unbearable pitches that the mortal ear could experience were being played RGHT next to his ear without him b being able to cover them. If his ears were dripping with the blood that SHOULD be flowing through his infernally burning veins, he wouldn't know, every nerve in his body only registered the pain he was currently going through.

How long had he been like this?

That thought eventually, as in VERY eventually, coursed through his mind after what could have very well been an eternity in wherever the hell he was. How long had this pain persisted for? It felt WAY too long for something like this to remain active for, especially for someone who had regeneration powers. Barely, as in VERY barely, Nico managed to regain some form of mental clarity (even as the rest of him was BLINDLY protesting in searing pain right now), just enough to try and think through everything he had been going through…

And that thought had been the first one to come to mind.

Not the most useful thought that there was, but hey his mind was in so much torment right now that ANYTHING could be possible. He could even have thought about something as stupid as Neptune with a Donkey head and it'd be legit for him at this moment.

Still, before what he had gained got lost within the scorching inferno of pain he was under, Nico desperately tried to think of something else, something, ANYTHING, to keep his mind from slipping back under this agony that consistently dove its claws into him and refused to let go. More than once however, did he fail, and for an unknown amount of time, Nico found himself back under that scorching pain with no mental clarity to do anything else but endure.

How many times, one might ask? Nico wouldn't be able to respond since he had lost count… though, that would imply that he had been ABLE to count before succumbing once again.

Remember, this pain has been presented as so great that he could do nothing but endure, and that INCLUDED falling unconscious. …

Eventually, after SO FUCKING GODDAMN LONG, Nico regained some clarity once again, and this time he didn't repeat his past mistakes of trying to think anymore. No, Nico instead focused more on trying to regain everything else that his mind had lost through every pained cry that his body gave. If one were to describe him right now, it would be a wild animal having gone totally mad from both insanity and madness, desperately craving for a release from the agonizing matter that was life. He couldn't hear them, but deep-down, Nico just KNEW that there were many voices inside his mind, screaming and begging him to only add to his torment, to try and convince him to stop his fruitless endeavor as not ONCE did this pain he was under let up, not under any circumstance. Add in the voices of his inner demons, the ones whom had been with him this whole time, and one would realize that a part of Nico couldn't help but be GEATFUL to the pain…

At least it blocked those voices from reaching him.

After about 5 minutes or so, and the fact that he had that much sense of time again was a testament to his progress, Nico managed to regain enough focus to push through the pain and gain back his vision. His vision alone though. One could NEVER comprehend how much willpower Nico had to summon just to get this far, in addition to the time it took, but finally at long last he'd managed to do it.

His vision at first, would best be considered blurry from the pain, but after what felt like 30 seconds, it managed to clear into a crystal-clear form, something Nico could only feel relief at experiencing after so long of being unable to. Once he DID get the vision that for years he had took for granted, did the male use it to finally gauge his surroundings, to see where it was that he had ended up in.

He soon got his answer…

But that answer left him in a state of shock that matched the previous pain he had been in.

This place… he recognized it, but not after a while of staring at it. He seemed to be lying on the sands of a crimson desert, but if one were to assume that this were a normal crimson desert (though they'd likely need their heads checked if a crimson desert was normal to them), then they'd be sorely mistaken. All over the Desert, Nico could see these massive, gaping holes varying in size. Some were the size of an average car, others the size of double decker buses, and others were the size of buildings. Not to mention that each hole looked to have very jagged edges, with black cracks spreading all over the place as far as the eye could see. To Nico, it resembled the state of a mirror that had been filled with bullet holes during an ongoing skirmish.

Then, there was the skies above, and if Nico had any thoughts tat it would be at least a lite better, then he would be sorely mistaken. The sight of the sky having even MORE cracks along its entirety, with varying pieces of it falling towards the Desert ground all around him like shattered glass shards felt more like a slap to the face if anything. Lighting danced across the skies, seemingly zapping those shards out of existence before they hit the ground, although some still landed. He realized soon that they were the ones that created the holes in the desert ground, when he saw one particularly large shard do the exact thing he had just described.

Not to mention that throughout his entire surroundings, dozens of severe weather phenomenon populated the atmosphere. Aside from lightning, Nico saw dozens of storm clouds, hurricanes, twisters and cyclones on one side, while the other side of the atmosphere looked to be bathed in pure flames. Fiery trails danced through the atmosphere, some forming distinct shapes whilst others remained formless. Fireballs randomly shot at the holes in the skies like anti air missiles, while others hit the ones on the ground like mortars. Once they did, Nico noticed that the holes simply… vanished, upon contact, like the flames were trying to repair the skies and the ground themselves as the Lightning would work hard to stop the holes from getting any bigger, in addition to preventing more damage done.

In essence… All Nico could see was total chaos.

'Wha… What…?' That was his sole thought, his eyes shrunken to dots and his mouth having fallen open. 'What… What the FUCK is this?!' During his shocked spiel, Nico noticed barely that the pain he had been in before had been steadily decreasing, something he never would have noticed before since he had been deep within the depths of that pain's ocean. Now that he was above the surface however, that was no long the case. That had been why he had managed to regain the ability to think more clearly. Even so, it didn't do much in alleviating the confusion that ran rampant through his mind right now, in the place of the previous pain. 'What the fucking hell is going on here?! This place… I know what it is, but it shouldn't be like this! This place… my INNER WORLD… why the hell is it in this state?!' Nico shrieked through his mind, wincing afterwards when the pain in his body suddenly spiked. Looked like it wasn't exactly gone then, still present but slowly decreasing.

"I do believe… I can… answer that… Nico…"

"?!"

The sound of Biko's voice filled the redhead male's ears, causing another wave of shock to course through him. However, the instant Nico heard it, his gut SCREAMED at him that something had been horribly wrong, despite the pained cries that the action spurned. The way that Biko's voice sounded like a broken record just now, unable to completely maintain itself without the occasional pausing, rung more than a few alarm bells in Nico's mind. Not to mention that this also filled him with immense trepidation. There were few times in his past where Biko spoke with anything aside from a blank monotone, and even when he showed emotion, he only showed it barely, just enough for Nico to pick up on it. If it were anyone else, they'd never be able to see this level of emotion. In addition, just by listening to it, Nico felt like the guy had gone through hell and back if how pained it sounded was to be believed.

Soon, the male detected Biko's presence appearing before him, and thus with more effort than Nico remembered ever having to exert, he shifted his gaze upwards to finally gauge his Demon Persona's appearance…

And then got hit with another wave of shock when he saw what Biko looked like right now.

'Holy…'

That word pretty much summed up his thoughts in a nutshell as Nico looked upon Biko. Said Demon Persona looked like an utter WRECK though, worse than those train wrecks the redhead had seen in the past during missions. His body looked to have been stripped bare of his clothing and Armour save for the waist and thighs, whilst the skin that was exposed looked to be covered with charcoal colored scorch marks. Horrible ones at that, in addition to how he lacked a left arm, a left leg and what remained looked horribly mutilated. Trails of blood ran down his form, starting from his head and ran downwards, dripping from his form onto the ground below, quickly forming a small puddle. His lip looked to have been split open, his ears looked like they had been ripped apart from the inside out, Biko looked like hell. His left eye had been forcibly closed by an inflation in the skin as if one had punched him really hard there, and his wings looked more like dying embers than anything that resembled what they once were. He no longer floated too, something he had never seen him do before.

This shock abated after a few seconds, when Biko weakly raised his remaining arm and clicked his fingers, some of the pain he felt vanishing to result in Nico finding his voice. Thus, he promptly used it, although it felt weak and horse when he did. "B-Biko… what the heck… happened to… you…?" he asked slowly, wincing at the aches that assaulted him.

Biko slowly sat down before him, not responding to his question for the time being as he made himself comfortable. He soon sat on the ground, one leg crossed while the other remained bent as if he were crouching, the other being curling it into his chest while placing his forearm over it. Biko then hung his head, a look of resignation forming on his features that did NOT go well with his usual demeanor. The guy looked exhausted as all hell, not to mention that his injuries weren't regenerating like they should have which only worried Nico more.

Finally, he opened his mouth to speak once he got his breathing in order. "This condition… I'm in is… a result of… Mundus. What he did… to you… has had MASSIVE effects… on our body… as well as our… soul. Think of it… as a greater form of… that poison you… unintentionally inhaled… in Yvoire's room." He replied, coughing afterwards in which some blood splattered onto the ground in front of him.

Whilst he got himself back together from his coughing fit, Nico simply shuffled about on the ground, wincing through his pain as he shifted into a cross legged sitting position on the ground. It was NOT an easy process, as like he had mentioned before minute twitches were AGONIZING to him, but Nico wanted to be in a proper position to discuss, not lying front first on the ground. Now that he got a look at his body though, he could tell that his body also had similar injuries to Biko, minus the loss of limbs. Not to mention that between the two of them, his injuries were recovering at a barely faster pace than Biko's. Something he did NOT doubt that his Demon Persona knew the reasons for.

Once both of them were ready again, Biko began to explain further the details surrounding their current condition… as well as the Inner World around them. "That attack… must have been meant…to destroy our soul… completely. That was… the energy's nature… that I sensed… but the moment… we tried to dodge… we got nicked by it… and that was enough… for us to be reduced… to this state. Our Inner World… the way you see it… right now is… due to the energy… destroying our Soul… or at least trying to. This world IS… after all, within your soul… therefore it… represents your soul… to a degree." He explained, before taking a pause to steady his breathing. Having to talk so much right now felt more like a detrimental to his health if anything.

However, they needed to have this discussion, not only to verify these details but to also pass the time. While in this state it would be impossible for the redhead male to return to the real world, something that he seemed instinctively aware of if the look in his eyes was any indication. Pushing that aside for the time being, Biko frowned as he looked up at the ceiling. "If… it weren't for Soul Edge… then we… would likely have… fallen already. Its expanding… a lot of power… to try and heal and protect… us at the same time. Unfortunately, it isn't as… intelligent as a human, therefore… it is wasting… more energy than it is… actually using… the amount that's actually working… is about 2%... its like a simple raindrop… compared to a vast ocean. At best… I estimate that… by the time it is complete… Soul Edge will be… at 2% power… and I'm being generous there… It will take… much time… for it to completely recover… after this."

Hearing Biko's words, Nico looked down towards the ground as he contemplated what he had learned. According to what Biko had managed to say without coughing up blood though afterwards the Demon Persona coughed out more than a gallon's worth, worryingly enough), it seemed that Soul Edge which had the greatest connection to his Soul out of all his weapons, was the one trying to keep everything intact. It was doing this by using its own energy to try and repair his Soul, and it could have made greater progress with the amount of power It wielded and exerted. Unfortunately, due to its lack of proper intelligence, or rather lack of human-level intelligence thanks to it being only partially sentient, it wasn't using its power in the proper way. Therefore, by the time that it was finished, Soul Edge would only be a shadow of its former self, not even a spec of its original accumulated power from the ascension into Multi-Continent Class strength would remain.

Not something that could be classified as 'good', since Soul Edge was his strongest weapon out of all his weapons, including Ouranos. Archdevil Arms may be stronger than Devil Arms, but Soul Edge came directly from Nico's own Soul. In essence, it is a personification of his bestial nature reflecting his primitive status as well as other aspects of his personality. Soul Edge's power drastically surpassed that of Ouranos, including versatility, but thanks to this… Hopefully by the time they could get out of this, Nico could find a way to speed up its recovery.

Heck, since it was so deeply connected to his Soul, Nico could still use the link between him and his sword to feel what it felt, and from that e could detect the raw amount of fatigue, panic and fear coursing through the blade as its survival instincts dictated its every action. Right now, all it was doing was trying to do anything and everything in its power to keep Nico alive and heal his soul from the damage that had been dealt to it. However, thanks to its lack of intelligence, it could only do what it thought best with its current knowledge, the fact that Nico knew so little about the type of attack used on him being represented here did not go unnoticed.

In essence, Soul Edge was simply trying its best with all the information it and Nico had between them (it WAS after all, a part of him). Though, that 'best it can do' revolved around the phrasing of 'use the most brute and 'dumb' method that is wasting too much energy to heal the wound'. Not very effective, but hey, Nico and Soul Edge had little knowledge about this attack, so how could they have countered it as effectively as they should have?

Sometimes, Nico wondered what it would have been like if he had a teacher for all this DPU crap. Not just Biko whose help was MORE than appreciated, but an actual teacher whom he could learn all this from without having to rely on Fragmented Memories of the past.

Even so, Nico couldn't help but curse himself, and if he could he would have punched the ground, though that would only have aggravated his injuries more. "Tch, damnit! This is the result of our fight with Mundus…?" he muttered to himself, memories flashing through his mind. He had all but forgotten that battle in light of his previous situation, but ow that it had been somewhat resolved, that battle soon returned to haunt him. He remembered just how 'useless' his attacks had been, how he had done practically zero damage to that guy whilst he managed to reduce Nico to this state with just a small attack of his own.

One could not even BEGIN to imagine the complex emotions Nico felt right not because of this.

There was no sugar-coating it, ever: he had lost to Mundus today. He had well and truly lost to him in every shape or form. His Ghoul side hadn't been enough, nor would his DPU form since if what Biko told him about power rankings were true, then Mundus would have been far more capable than Crimson Soul at this level. Plus, it felt like his Ghoul side and his DPU one highly contrasted each other, making their use together something of a pipe dream. Even so, his enemy had not even the decency to end his life, instead allowed him to live, sparing him from that fate just because he had 'potential' not to mention that he didn't see the worth in killing him. It may as well have been Mundus viewing him as something like an ant, no maybe lower than that (probably would consider that comparison an insult to the ants, judging by his demeanor from what Nico had seen). That had been the greatest insult of all, but worse… was that Nico could hardly do anything about.

"I…"

"Don't even think… about it, Nico…" Looking over to Biko, Nico saw that the man's eyes showed something that he hadn't seen from him before: pity, and not the normal kind but the kind that showed itself whenever the user looked at someone else like they knew they were about to do something utterly and horrifically stupid. The man then shook his head, crossing his remaining arm under his chest whilst shifting his gaze to the ground between them. "We were… defeated, quite easily… as well I… might add... Even if you… were to go… all out… against him with…. your DPU Form, it… would not have… been enough, not… to mention Soul… Edge had been… mildly damaged by…. Okada, and the…. ascension had only… barely healed the… blade from that… attack. That man… no, I cannot… call him such, as… it would be an… insult of the highest… degree. That… THING… is WAY beyond us… at the moment, not… to mention that… his power isn't… even at its optimum… and he still wiped… the floor with us. You… do realize that this… enemy isn't one… we can beat, not… the way we are now. I… would advise against… fighting him for… the time being… and focus instead… on other matters."

'Other matters? Oh yeah, there's the matter of my Ghoul side…' Nico thought to himself, visibly shuddering with a pale face at the reminder, a sense of dread and fateful anticipation crawling up his spine at the realization that his secret was no longer so. People knew about it, and not just any people, people whom Nico had grown a comradeship with. That alone proved to be FAR more troublesome, as it would likely sting a whole hell lot more when they inevitably reject his existence and try to harm him. Hell, with his body the way it was (even if his and Biko's arms were halfway finished regenerating, same with their legs), he'd likely be unable to stop them should they even try. This could be one of his most vulnerable moments in his entire life… not something Nico liked to think about.

He could almost see it now, each of the girls all looking at him with utter disgust on their faces, rejecting him, some even drawing their weapons to try and finish him off…

The worst one by far was how Compa looked at him like he was the lowest form of scum in the earth… and what's more, he wouldn't blame her for it either.

After all, this had been a secret he had kept from her for a very long time, way more than the rest of the Party. Compa had been the very first girl he had ever opened up to, he figured this was so since he couldn't recall his past, not to mention the one he had spent the most time with. The thought of her being so resentful of him, to the point of outright shunning him and denouncing him as her friend felt like dozens of claws ripping his heart open from the inside out.

Similar feelings got invoked from the other girls, Lucy, IF, Neptune and Raven more so since he knew them more.

So yeah… he wasn't looking forward to what would inevitably come to pass.

It'll likely end badly, but like everything else he had gone through, Nico had to see it through to the end.

That was what he always did, after all…

… Wait a minute, something entered his mind just now, causing Nico pause as he looked up to their surroundings. As chaotic as they had looked, Nico could not pick up any traces of his Ghoul side's personification in here, not one bit. That did NOTHING in regards to sating his worry over the situation, after all he had always been able to sense his Ghoul Persona's presence within his mind, whether he was in the real world or his inner one. Therefore, suddenly being unable to sense his presence right now, it deeply unnerved him. "Hey… Biko, where is he? My Ghoul side, I can't sense his presence anywhere." Nico questioned his Demon Persona. If anyone knew where that psycho was, it would be Biko, at least that was what Nico felt anyways.

At this, Biko's gaze shifted about, his form tensing in a VERY visible manner. Not to mention how his forehead seemed to sweat slightly, as if he had not wanted to answer that question. That look only served to raise Nico's concerns more, and when he saw that look, Nico got the dreadful feeling that something really messed up had happened. Eventually, Biko let out another sigh of resignation, something which only concerned the redhead male more. "He is… rather indisposed… at the moment." He eventually replied, though he shook his head seconds later. "It is inevitable that you would ask that, so I shall take you to him. Mind you: what you will see… is morbid, no question."

With that said, not to mention Nico's unease increased further, Biko used what little power he had left, after grabbing the other male with his weakened right wing, to click his fingers and Warp them out of the scene.


It didn't take them very long, in fact it lasted no longer than a second, but thanks to the Warping the two males managed to arrive at where the Ghoul version of Nico was located. Though, both of them had to struggle to not fall over due to their bodies not having the required energy to move just yet. Biko would be worse though, since he had expended a little of his already severely depleted reserves.

"Whoa there…" Nico muttered as he quickly held his arm out, stopping Biko from falling forwards the moment that they Warped into existence. The moment that he had done so though, his own weight nearly caved in under the foreign weight of his Demon Persona, nearly failing and thus falling over with him, but the redhead managed to keep his ground, maintaining his balance. Once he felt sure that he wouldn't lose balance, Nico swiftly helped Biko regain his own, his eyes shining with the concern he held for him. "Don't push yourself, if you're this weak you shouldn't be moving too much." He told him sternly, a surge of worry spreading through his chest. How could he not worry about his comrade, since they were essentially the same person? Not to mention that they'd been through a whole hell lot together. More than any might suspect considering their secretive nature.

"You have my… thanks." Biko eventually replied once he regained his balance, nodding in gratitude to Nico afterwards. "It appears that… my physical state… is worse than I expected… however we must… not dwell on that right… now." He stated, before pointing forwards with a look that pretty much said that he was guiding Nico towards somewhere which would be classed as traumatic for him. "Instead, you should focus on what is in front of us. THAT, is where your Ghoul side is located."

Upon hearing Biko's words… Nico looked towards the direction his finger had been pointing, before he found his gaze fallen onto the sight of a… peculiar structure. It looked like one of those white domes, shaped oddly like those beanies one would see on people's heads in Lowee. Its size however, rivaled one of those two story houses, matching the width and length of that kind of building as well. In addition, Nico could CERTAINLY feel the raw presence that his Ghoul side always possessed covering the place. Something which should have normally left a person trembling in their boots since he was literally humanity's greatest Predator. None of the other Abnormals were built to hunt humans as well as a Ghoul was, not even the other humanoid Abnormals, but they'll get to that one later.

Right now, however, something felt… different, off about this presence. Something wrong.

'Something is definitely wrong here, I can feel it… Biko's words aren't exactly reassuring either.' The redhead thought while he stepped forth and entered the building through it's main entrance: a door the shape of a circle. When he entered, Nico found himself walking along a corridor, one with many doors that he didn't really feel like opening. All he wanted to do, was find the Persona of his Ghoulish nature, to discover what had happened to him. That was the single thing on his mind right now, something he couldn't help but be partially grateful for, and it allowed him to focus on something other than his abysmally weak body.

After about 5 or so minutes, Nico arrived at the end of the corridor, coming to find himself in a… rather spacious-looking cube-like room, one with black and white tiles on the floor. Not to mention how the ceiling looked to be completely void-like black, with crimson frames within that held the roof in place. Everything about this place quickly set off alarm bells in Nico's mind, making him wince as he held the side of his head with his right hand. Something about this just felt EERILY familiar, familiar in that he recalled something like this being a part of his past, if these images of a similar room but covered in blood were anything to go by.

However, they soon faded away as fast as they came, almost like his mind refused to acknowledge their existence any longer. Though Nico didn't pay too much attention to this abnormality as he looked towards the centre of the room… and saw something that practically nailed the final nail in the coffin for him in terms of Mundus wrecking his shit. "You're… kidding me…"

"GUUUUUUUUH... ACK... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GUUUOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!"

Loud screams, shrieks and howls filled Nico and Biko's ears, reminiscent of several thousand women screaming at the top of their lungs for a prolonged amount of time. They reverberated throughout the entire room, which served to only amplify the sound and thus, forced both males to do their best to cover their ears, as at this point their arms had mostly grown back. Same with their legs, they only needed a layer of Skin to cover each limb, but that was progressing much slower than prior times when they lost limbs. Something told them that the Ghoul persona's state had a connection to that phenomenon though, as the two walked over whilst wincing at the sharp pains spiking within their left legs.

Whilst doing this, though, Nico took note of his Ghoul Persona's appearance, and boy what a sight it was. Now Nico got an idea as to the extent of how much his Ghoul Persona had changed, for he kneeled in a Japanese siting position on the ground, holding himself as if trying to mimic a child within it's mother's womb. His form trembled horribly, violently as well as he shook there whilst mumbling incoherent babble under his breath, his head hanging low. Not to mention that he had no longer any hair. All of it had vanished, likely due to some form of stress, whilst nothing but fear and dread radiated from his form. Hell, his arms looked to be suspended in a V shape by these pure white, corporeal-looking chains, chains which also pinned the Ghoul Persona to his current position, which resulted in a constant clinking sound coming from his chains. Honestly, it completely baffled Nico to see the being whom he had despised for so long act like this... it felt so WRONG to him that it wasn't even funny.

No sooner did they take about 3 steps however, did they each get noticed by the Ghoul Persona...

SPLATTER, CRACKLE, CRACKLE, CRACKLE, CRACKLE, CRACKLE!

Whom didn't take to kindly to their presence, as evident when a set of white Tentacles, each looking like the complete opposite to Nico's own black ones, emerged from the back of his waist in a gory splatter of pure white blood, each of them proceeding to wildly lash out at everything around the Ghoul Persona whilst said being howled and shrieked like a Banshee, catching Nico and Biko off guard. "AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! FUCKER,GET THE FUCK BACK! I AIN'T AFRAID OF YOU, I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ME! NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO YOU WILL NOT TAKE ME! I WON'T LET YOU-YOU-YOU-YOUUUUUUUU! I'M STRONG! I'M STRONG-STRONG-STRONG-STRONG! STRENGTH, I HAVE IT! YOU CANNOT TOUCH ME, YOU CANNOT-NOT-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" He ranted wildly and with more insanity than he had ever showcased in prior discussions.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, CRASH, SMASH, BASH, CRUSH, SMASH, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, CRASH, SMASH, SMASH, CRASH, CRASH!

Throughout his ranting and raving, the Tentacles only got wilder and wilder, lashing out in ever erratic movements and wavelengths that it became impossible for the two males to get any further. The Tentacles were moving just too quickly, so quick that not even their own kinetic vision, something which had been considered high class even before they got Ouranos, could track very well. If at all. The only reason why they hadn't been shredded to pieces, much like the surroundings they were in, was likely due to how they'd kept out of the Tentacles range (something which the Ghoul Persona seemed to be unable to extend like Nico had been able to do before thanks to his insanity taking over), not to mention how they kept watch of the ground to see where the gashes were forming, then keeping themselves FAR AWAY from them.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK, FUCK ALL OF YOU! DAMN YOU FOR SHOWING UP HERE YA FUUUUUUUUCKEEEEEEEEEEEEER! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU I WOULDN'T BE LIKE THIS! DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU TO FUCKING GODDAMNED HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLL!ITS NOT MY FAULT THAT I'M LIKE THIS! I'M NOT AT FAULT! NO I'M NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! WHY ME, HUH?! WHY'D YA HAVE TO COME BEFORE ME OF ALL PEOPLE?! WHY NOT SOMEONE ELSE ASIDE FROM FUCKING ME! IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, I'D STILL BE LIVING IN THE PARADISE! I'D STILL BE AT THE PINNACLE! YOU BASTARD, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR THAT I'LL KILL YOU IF IT TAKES ME CENTURIES, IF IT EVEN COSTS ME MY LIFE! I'LL FUCKING MURDER YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

At this point, none of what the white version of Nico could be made out anymore, for everything he said became incoherent babble mixed in with saliva being tossed about every time he roared, his eyes shrunken with insanity whilst his veins could be clearly made out. His eyes also looked tremendously bloodshot, tears of blood raining down his cheeks that linked together on the bottom of his chin. He constantly threw himself about, rattling the Chains which restrained him as he tried to break free, only to fail each and every time.

Nico stepped back, eyes wide as he couldn't believe what he was seeing right now. THIS was his Ghoul side? THIS was the being that he had fought against all his life? The thing that haunted his dreams, turning each of them into nightmares and being at the centre of each of his hallucinations? Looking at him now, Nico hardly saw anything regarding what he had been used to. No, all he saw was the exact OPPOSITE of what he had been fighting against all this time. Was it that attack that did this to him? That attack that Mundus hit Nico with? It certainly seemed like the likely conclusion, since everything else had been caused by that one attack. To be frank, bafflement felt like a major understatement to describe his emotions right now. Nico honestly felt at a loss on what to do, seeing his Ghoul Persona like this.

It almost felt like an illusion...

One that a certain Demon Persona soon shattered when he spoke. "This is it, Nico." Biko stated, watching all of this with what could be described as a mix of a blank face but the eyes of one who was forlorn with what he was seeing at this time. Not to mention that his voice seemed to have gained a portion of its strength back from its earlier raspier version, which could hardly speak without pausing to regain breath. Though, that didn't mean he had reached 100% however, as the look of his body hadn't changed much even with his arm and leg regenerated. "This is what has become of your Ghoul Persona. Whatever that attack had done to your Demonic side, it was NOTHING compared to your Ghoul side, which had been the more active of the two during that battle. As a result, your Ghoul side has been heavily damaged, even more so than your Demonic side. As a result, its healing capabilities have slowed considerably, resulting in our injuries not healing as fast as they would have originally. In addition, your 'fangs' are going to be reduced in effectiveness severely, if I were to gauge them, you wouldn't even be able to destroy an entire street with them as they are now."

That... that sounded super bad to Nico, and for more than one reason. The most important one of them all however, had been that in the laws of the jungle, his 'fangs' had been blunted horribly, losing much of their former edge. In that case, until they recovered Nico would have to watch out for other 'predators' which might try to take his 'spot' on the food chain, and by predators he meant other Spec Ops Agents, not to mention the Guild higher ups. If they learned that his Ghoul side had been considerably weakened like this, there was no telling what they would do. Most of the time they just let him do as he pleased within a set of boundaries, never trying to do anything to him for fear of his Ghoul side. A very well-founded fear as well, since just ONE of his 'fangs' had been able to strike without any of the 5 senses being able to perceive it. Now that it had been weakened however, who knows what they would do should they learn of that truth.

Taking a single step forwards, Nico tried to get close to him, reaching out to try and touch him. "You MIGHT wan to calm down you know." Nico stated, frowning as he managed to summon a few Tentacles of his own to defend against the ones that were striking at him right now. "Mundus isn't here anymore, so you don't have to be like this. He's gone, all we need to do is..."

Unfortunately, his attempts to calm his Ghoul side down failed, as just hearing the name of the one that did this to him caused the Ghoulish Nico to scream even louder, to go even more insane as is Tentacles lashed out with even greater ferocity than normal. If Nico hadn't quickly jumped out of their range when he did, using his Tentacles for extra distance and landing just beside Biko, then he had no doubt that those things would have torn though him like a knife through sushi. Biko shook his head in admonishment, a weary sigh escaping his lips. "It is of no use, Nico." he said, drawing his attention. "I have tried many a time to appease him, but this is the result that happens every time. It looks like whatever that attack had been, has had a direct impact on his psychological state, damaging him severely. I of course, am not as effected, as you weren't using the power I represent, but you WERE using your Ghoul side, thus IT got the brunt of the attack, resulting in what you see before you. He may never truly recover at this rate."

For a moment, as his brain registered his Demon Persona's words, Nico could only stare at his Ghoulish self, stare at how pathetic and broken he looked whilst slicing through everything around him to try an make his invisible barrier of defense around him. It actually looked like a pretty cool technique, and if he had the chance in the future Nico would like to explore that technique to see if he could develop it further into something useful. However, that would have to wait though, as Nico took in the utterly crushed state his Ghoul Persona was in. For so long... for so long he had despised himself because of the very thing that this guy represented. For so long he had thought it confusing on whether or not he even deserved to live thanks to this power he had been forced to possess. A power he had no idea he had or the origins of, nor could he find a way to remove it without dying at its hand. He could remember the... darker times, the moments where not even Compa's existence helped him through the trials that he went through day by day, where he couldn't see a end to his torment, thus prompting him to do something completely reckless... only for his very burden to restore him without much problem. In fact, it felt more like the more his healing was activated, the stronger and faster it became, something which back then, frustrated the hell out of him. Nico even recalled cursing everything in existence for forcing this power, this monstrous condition and this beast onto him, for condemning him to this hellish existence, he remembered cursing even after his throat went hoarse and blood would fill his maw, yet that would never be enough to quell the immense amalgamation of emotion within him.

All of that trauma and heartache, his lack of being able to live like a normal person, all the horror and anguish... Nico attributed it to this guy and what he represented.

So, seeing him like this should have been majorly satisfying, right...?

But... it didn't.

Why did it not make him smile in immense joy, seeing this thing grovel like what he had done for so long in his lifetime? All the while this thing would taunt and berate him, alongside his other hallucinations? Why did he not feel so happy about seeing this guy finally taste what Nico had been feeling for years on end? Why could he feel nothing but sorrow and empathy for this guy?

Soon, Nico realized why after a moment of thinking.

This person, this Persona, may have been a freaking rude, psychotic bastard to him for so many years. He may have been the one who represented the side of him that Nico despised the most in his lifetime, but in the end... he was still a part of him. No matter how much Nico tried to deny it, that fact would never change. He had been there with him from the beginning, Nico felt, ever since he first woke up with partial amnesia, therefore he had been Nico's longest companion, perhaps an irritating and psychologically threatening one, but a companion nonetheless. This guy had been with him through a lot of his trials, keeping him company even when berating him or laughing psychotically within the shadows of Nico's mind, up until this point where he had finally given in, accepted the risks to take the plunge for once, to not act like a freaking coward and unleashed his inner beast, his Ghoul side, in front of his comrades. Despite his constant attempts to suppress him with drugs and other more... psychological means, he had always been there with him, through everything.

Therefore...

Seeing him right now... Nico felt like he was looking into a mirror, a perfect replica of himself way back when. When he had been in his darkest moments.

In Nico's eyes, his Ghoul Persona shimmered, and soon instead of him there, another version of Nico, albeit much younger than he currently was but not as young as his childish self, kneeled before him with his hands on his face and screaming his lungs out to the cold, harsh and unforgiving world around him.

It... made him act.

Without him even realizing it, Nico's fully healed legs began to move on their own accord, defying the commands of his brain. They moved at a speed which could only have been accomplished when any ad all limitations had been cast aside, a level of speed which not many could achieve very easily. Nico didn't even hear the urges to stop what he was doing that came from Biko's mouth, although his Demon Persona soon realized something was going on and decided to keep his mouth shut. Nico couldn't feel anything, not the Tentacles slashing through his body, nor could he hear whatever rantings that escaped the other him's mouth, no, Nico couldn't, or rather he didn't pay attention to any of that, as he went forwards...

And Embraced his Ghoul Persona, arms wrapping around their target beneath the armpits whilst his head rested on a shoulder-blade, the illusion soon vanishing to reveal the stupefied looking white version of himself.

"WH-WHA...?!"

At that moment, the Ghoul Persona's mind, which had been previously engulfed within a sea of Madness from the loss that they had suffered, went blank. His jaw fell open, his eyes widening at the, to be quite frank, BIZZARE actions that Nico just did. By his recollection, he had always been repulse, disgusted and furious with himself, refusing to acknowledge what he really was. His refusal had caused his Ghoul side to be unable to showcase what it could truly do, similar to how a piece of bone would keep an animal from biting down on its prey properly. He had tried hard, by the goddesses (whom he would kill) he'd tried so FUCKING hard, to convince the 'King' to accept him, to embrace the beast inside, but back then it had been a fruitless effort each time. So, what the hell was the king doing now, hugging a horse like him?! Did he not see the pecking order that was established here?!

Just as the Tentacles the Ghoul Persona had summoned made to 'reinforce' why it was a bad idea to get even MARGINALLY closer to him...

"Its... alright, now. There's nothing to be afraid of." Nico muttered under his breath, his eyes having closed before he'd finally registered how his body felt way worse than it had been since he first came to this place. Nico also now realized just what this place reminded him of, and much to his hidden irritation it reminded him of a mental asylum. Not something that he would likely have fond memories about, but right now he didn't need to think about any of that. Instead, all he focused on, was the stunned Personification of his Ghoul side, increasing the strength of his embrace. "There's nobody right now who is around to hurt us... Mundus is gone, you don't need to fear him right now. WE don't need to fear him. So, calm down and sort yourself out."

"Y-YOU..."

Eyes glanced towards Nico's neck as his white self stared at it, the familiar scent of flesh whiffing into his nostrils which had the effect of making his eyes enlarge slightly. All the White Nico could say was that word, stuttering it to showcase just how profoundly baffled he had become by hearing those words. The shock had been great enough that, now he remained immobile so the Chains didn't rattle nearly as much, if at all. In fact, the foreign contact, along with the words and the tone of acceptance that he heard them with felt completely alien to him. This was NOT how he expected things to turn out, first Nico lost to that purple haired fucker, then he himself goes fucking mad (though odds were he was always mad, not like he cared), and now THIS?! What the hell was happening right now?!

"You're right though... perhaps we HAVE met our match, no, we've met someone whose vastly superior to us in terms of strength. The only reason we have been able to survive this encounter was at his whims. Thus, we mustn't take this opportunity lightly, so lets us heal our wounds first. After every battle, its important to do a self-analysis, to reflect on what had happened and what we learned from the previous battle. We are strong, there's no doubt about it..." In his mind, Nico could hear his inner demons mocking him for the words he was saying, taunting and jeering at him endlessly in order to make him feel like a waste of an existence, like nothing but a piece of garbage. Just like they always did, even now he could almost feel his mind slipping into madness and insanity, just like he had been when under that massive ocean of pain before. However, Nico also knew he could NOT afford to remain like that, nor could he afford to fall into that state again. Mundus has literally wrecked him, he had wrecked his self confidence, his self-esteem, his pride, everything he had built had been a tower that Mundus had used a sledgehammer called reality to smack out of existence.

At that point, white Nico exploded from both the anger at Nico's words and the confusion/frustration born within his mind.

"YOU DO REALIZE WHO WE JUST FUCKING FACED, RIGHT?! HOW THE HELL CAN WE FIGHT A MESSED UP PSYCHO LIKE HIM?! HE DIDN'T EVEN TAKE US SERIOUSLY, AND YET HE STILL WIPED THE FLOOR WITH OUR ASSES! NONE OF OUR ATTACKS EVEN PHASED HIM, HE COULD BREAK FREE OF OUR TAILS! NOT EVEN THAT DEMON FUCKER WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO ANYTHING! WE'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH, NO WAY, FORGET IT!"

Even as his Ghoul side screamed that, Nico took it in stride, already knowing this. Nothing would hit one as hard as life would. There was nothing that would hit any harder. However, what was most important, something he had learned from his mother, not to mention watching Noire keep going back at Lastation when they first met, was to get back up after falling down. If there was no pain, then there would hardly be any gain from the trials life would throw at him. This pain he felt, this humiliation and indignity? All of it would NOT be worthless, no, not on his watch. In fact, whilst it may be a long road ahead of him, Nico felt willing to go down it in order to recover from the shock of this defeat. He may be down, but Nico sure as hell wasn't out.

"You're right, that guy is probably the largest obstacle we have. Larger than anything we could have come across. But right now, we have to think of it in a different way: we've finally found an opponent we cannot defeat... not yet anyways. It will take a LOT of training, probably way more than what we can probably do without help, but we will have to do so if we want to eventually reach a level where he will consider us a threat, not to mention how much we'll have to train to be able to take that guy down. He's kicked our support, so lets rebuild. Whining and mopping around like a bunch off sissies? Nope, we have NOT got the time for that, not anymore. The time for whining like a pathetic bitch is over, right now we need to recover our wounds then begin sharpening our fangs.

But before he could take that crucial first step, Nico had to calm down his Ghoul side, something which seemed to slowly work as the tension in his Ghoul Persona seemed to ebb away from what he had been feeling.

Heh... wow, he definitely felt like he was changing right now. Not only was he consoling his dreaded and hated enemy side, but he was also doing it to save both of them from the madness roiling within their minds. No way did Nico think that all his mental issues and problems would be solved just like that, no there was going to be some serious work ahead of him, work he didn't even know how to freaking start. Not to mention that they didn't exactly have all the time in the world to spend fixing their issues, since chances were Mundus and his companion Arfoire will likely have some dastardly plan that he and the girls will have to stop in the near future. But for now, Nico felt like he was on the right track.

That accepting the beast inside would be a promising good start.

"And besides..."

Pulling back but leaving his hands on his Ghoul Persona's shoulders (all the while being well aware of the Tentacles pointed at his back and only being inches away from impaling him), Nico gave a small smirk, his eyes shining as through the insanity and madness roiling within, a surge of bloodlust filled his being, making it much more bearable. Bloodlust was much better than madness in his opinion. "What kind of monster would we be, if we let some fucker push us around?" Histoire's words of wisdom flowed through Nico's mind when he said that, as finally it dawned on him what she had been trying to make him do. To accept what he was for what he was, and to not be shameful of it. What was the point in hating himself for being a monster, when he should REALLY hate the ones that made him this way. To be the monster that devoured other monsters, the apex predator...

Now, after everything that had happened, Nico could get behind that.

"..."

For a moment, all was silent, a tense but immersive type of silence actually. All tree males looked at one another, waiting for the next move to be made. Be it Biko moving to protect the main aspect despite his injured state, Nico waiting for his response to his words, and his Ghoul Persona forming his own response to what he had learned...

Something which soon came out of his mouth in the form of a strangled laughter.

"YOU'RE SUCH A PAIN IN THE ASS, KING. TOOK YA LONG ENOUGH TO REALIZE..."

Nico could only smirk wider at his Ghoul Persona's admission of that, all the while sporting a shark-like grin. It didn't have the same intensity it used to have, likely due to still being shaken from what had hit them, but it was a good start on the road to recovery. Nico could feel it as well, how his regeneration seemed to be working a little faster now thanks to the white Nico's composure starting to return. It wasn't at 100% still, but like previously mentioned it was a start. This resulted in several things: one, the Chains restraining him shattering into tiny pieces, freeing him from his captive state. The second: Nico pulling back completely, falling onto his backside as he let out a huge exhale, relief filling his chest inside. "Whew, that was a close one, thought I was dead for a moment there."

"HAH, WELL THEN YA SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO RECKLESS WITH THAT STUNT YA PULLED!"

"What he says is true, Nico..." Biko began as he walked over to them, sitting down so that the trio now sat in positions similar to an average triangle if one looked from a bird's eye view. The look that his Demon Persona had spoke volumes about his opinion on what the main aspect had just done. "What you just did right now was completely reckless, you could have met your end due to this guy..." he paused to point to the Ghoulish Nico, whom huffed indignantly. "not being within his right mind. If things had turned just a little bit worse, we would all have died and the body we inhibit would have slipped into a comatose state, never to awaken again. Therefore..."

A sigh escaped Nico's lips at his Demon Persona's words, as thinking back on what he just did right now (something he still had trouble believing he did... though the level of regret he had for it reached 0%), he realized just how risky it had been. "Yeah, sorry bout that, but can you seriously believe this guy would listen to us if I DIDN'T do anything reckless?"

"...True." Biko reluctantly admitted, much to the Ghoul Nico's dismay, though he couldn't do much save for retract his Tentacles into him since he knew that Nico ad a point there. He felt sure that Nico knew it, but this was far from over. His Ghoul Self may LOOK like he's alright, but both him and Nico noticed it, how he was just putting up a cocky front. He didn't doubt that the mere MENTION of Mundus would damage that 'Mask' till it cracked and shattered, but if he were to ever FACE Mundus again, something which felt inevitable considering their record..."Despite your reckless actions, they have indeed paid off with how you managed to calm him down enough for the regeneration to kick start itself. Now, we can heal our body whilst our soul is healed by Soul Edge. Now, all we can do right now, is wait and talk..."


Things were happening so fast... that the girls had hardly any clue.

The moment that Mundus left, each of them quickly rushed over to Nico's fallen form, worry and dread filling their beings. The sounds of heavy footsteps filled their ears, their lungs burning inside their torsos as they each struggled desperately to intake as much air as possible. Even so, their hearts pounded like sledgehammers, and not in a good way, as their thoughts raced a million miles a minute.

It all started with how Nico had been acting just after he saved Neptune from being... touched in an inappropriate manner by Mundus. Though all of them, ESPECIALLY Neptune, were aware of just what length Mundus WOULD have gone to though. They had each noticed it, but none of them could understand what it was. The fact that, just after saving her from Mundus, Nico's aura had completely changed. It pulled an entire 180 on them, changing from calm and composed, to something much more sinister... very unlike that of his Demonic Aura. Instead of the sensations that his Demonic Power presented when it was allowed to be unleashed, this aura felt raw, savage and beastly, like a wild animal about to go on a blood rage after its already-frail sanity snapped. It disturbed them... more than a little.

Then, the battle began, and only THEN did they see the changes in Nico's fighting style. Not to mention the weapons he used. None of his usual weapons that he fought with, not his DPU Form, his swords, none of them were used, but instead appendages seemed to erupt from his body in a similar manner to IF's shapeshifting powers. Although each appendage seemed to have their own unique abilities, as evident by how sometimes Mundus looked to have been blocking things that weren't even there, at least in their eyes. Furthermore, when Nico began using... whatever he was, they couldn't help but note the minute changes in his personality: such as how he now had a greater wild aspect to his demeanor, with a small smirk coming onto his lips which sometimes looked like it was just seconds away to break into a slasher smile. A smile that would only be reserved for something out of their worst nightmares, a smile only a serial killer would wear when they were about to rip out the victim's innards then use them as chords to hang them in the middle of the room, all the while carving them up alive, relishing in their screams like they were some sort of bloody melody.

That didn't even BEGIN to take into account the rising bloodlust in his eyes, as mismatched as they were, along with the glint of insanity slowly breaking out onto the surface.

By the time the battle reached its conclusion though, worry and fear for his safety soon won out over their confusion on what was happening, when they saw him during his defeat by Mundus. A defeat cemented when Mundus left to do his own thing instead of finishing Nico and the rest off them off. out of all of them, only IF heard what he had said to the redhead male, and that was enough for the brunette to realize that the connection between the two couldn't be any more apparent. But, before she, or any of them could react, Mundus had knocked Nico out of commission with some strange black force, something she had n idea about although their instincts each told them to NEVER let it hit them if they valued their lives.

Among them, Team RAIL who trailed beside the girls, only Ivan and Aiden realized the scope of what was going on, about what had TRULY happened here if the looks they gave each other were any indication. Lucy and Raven meanwhile, were just like the rest of them, even if one of them hid it already.

"It looks like... That man, or whatever the hell he is, has finally left." Noire stated, her crimson eyes never leaving the spot that Mundus had once occupied, more than a few different emotions mixing within her gut. As much as she didn't want to admit it, her pride felt significantly damaged by the fact that they were all soundly defeated. No, it would be more accurate to say that they were tossed about like rag-dolls, not even worth being taken seriously. That insult did NOT go in any appreciating direction, and it made her grit her teeth in building frustration. All the power she had amassed for this final confrontation, and for what? To be tossed aside like it meant nothing? She couldn't stand that! She'll DEFINITELY be looking into this when she had the chance. Not to mention, she didn't show it, but the worry for a certain Spec Ops Agent still presented itself within her. He had taken more of the attack than any of them, even if they had been fighting him for longer, she felt.

Beside her, a similarly vexed Vert nodded her head in agreement, her mind swirling with so many emotions right now that she didn't even know what to make of the situation anymore, not to mention the thoughts in her messed up mind. "Yes, and though It is indeed quite infuriating that he tossed us about like pieces of garbage, we can take solace in the fact that we haven't taken any more casualties..." she stated, wincing at the end as she remembered Stefan's passing. Isaac hopefully would have reached a hospital of some sort with his injuries, and she had no clue about Guts' fate. She could only hope that he had made it, she didn't want to lose any more of her citizens to this monster of a man. The very same man who'd demeaned her Gungnir, yet when she replayed his words, she couldn't help but wonder what he meant deep within the torrent of worrisome thoughts swirling within her brain.

"Yessy..." Compa sadly muttered, remembering that moment as well. She looked down at the ground beneath her feet, her form that of her human one as she had already dismissed her Astral Dress. She could honestly agree with Vert's assessment of the situation, as deep in her own mind she DEFINITELY felt like his could have been way worse. They had only survived with their current numbers to that man's whims, that was what she thought anyways, and it vexed her more than one could possibly imagine. "But... just what happened? First Ni-Ni went all strange and crazy on us, and then that meanie just ups and leaves. I feel like we're missing something here."

IF, whom had been the only one to know what Mundus (she'd heard that part too) had said to Nico put aside her defiled pride and tried to come up with something plausible for this. One conclusion she reached during her thinking however, revolved around the downed Agent before them, something which made her heart clench at the sight of, something she hid for the time being. "We'll worry about that later, once we've gotten out of this hellhole and back to MICROSOFT. something tells me we've gotten ourselves into a HELL of a lot more trouble than we could have anticipated. Maybe Histoire might have something for us." she explained, and when everyone looked to her, IF reached into her Trench Coat's pocket. "Speaking of Histoire, I managed to snatch this from that woman during out fight, locked onto its signature thanks to memorizing it with my powers a while back." She said, pulling out what looked to have been...

A Key Fragment.

To be frank, in any other situation the girls would have been overjoyed at having found another one of the four Key Fragments, since it got them one step closer to freeing Histoire and saving Gamindustri. However, with everything that had happened, the prices that they had to pay for just this much, none of them had their usual enthusiasm. Not even Neptune, the happiest of the bunch, could muster up anything remotely positive since she worried that they would be losing another one of their comrades today. She SO didn't want that. Even with all of that though, but it didn't change the bottom line for them all, the fact that they each had a WHOLE load of questions for him to answer.

Too many to properly count them all.

As they neared Nico's fallen position however... something happened.

All of a sudden, his eyes, which previously had been closed off to the world, instantly shot open like a child suddenly awaking from a nightmare as he shot into a sitting position. His breathing looked labored, uneven and unstable. Whilst Compa made to yell out his name like the others, each of them quickly noticed the signs, the signs that showed something was wrong, VERY wrong. For one, Nico's eyes were still mismatched, one eye that of a human, but the other was that of a familiar species that they had rarely encountered, but got their asses whooped by. In addition, they were shrunken and unfocused, like Nico's consciousness wasn't even there as he bent forwards, crackling sounds beginning to emit themselves from his form. Not to mention how his jaw hung open and a sense of utter DREAD radiated from him just like the crackling sounds.

Behind them, Aiden and Ivan quickly lost all the color of their faces when they heard those sounds, what looked like PTSD-induced flashbacks playing through their minds. They KNEW what would be coming next...

They had to get the others out of here!

Otherwise Nico would destroy them all!

"Hey um, Nicky...?" Neptune asked as they stopped just about 6 feet away from him. "Are you...?"

SPLATTER, SPLATTER, SPLATTER!

"Yikes!"

Each of the girls made their own startled exclamations when, out of nowhere a series of masses, masses of the abyssal black coloration, suddenly EXPLODED out of him as if they were coming from gory volcanic eruptions, lashing out at everything around him as Nico's form looked like it was letting out a wordless scream, falling onto all fours before he buried his head into his arms. His body constantly trembled and shook as the masses escaped his form, each of them giving their own frenzied shrieks as if they were newborn babies freed from the confines of their parents womb. All the while, crackling sounds as well as those of flesh tearing itself filled the air at almost mind-torturing levels.

"Eh?! WH-What's...?!"

"Everyone, get the fuck back!"

The sudden yells from Aiden and Ivan, lacking any of their prior demeanor and replaced with panic and dread much like those who had witnessed the reaper themselves, quickly made the girls react to the incoming danger by jumping backwards, landing about 3 feet away from the redhead male as he... underwent this transformation. None of them could pull themselves away from the sight, not when the masses began taking on a more solid shape whilst more crackling sounds came from Nico's buried head.

Pretty soon the masses stabilized themselves, swerving about in erratic mannerisms as if they were sure that if they didn't, then they would be chopped to pieces or destroyed down to the last cell. Once they took physical form, each of the onlookers all found them to be what they really were: a set of appendages. These appendages, they consisted of a pair of Tails, each one long and thin, whilst being made with black Armour, with fractions along their frames. Their ends though, they were a set of pincers, as in the pincers of a centipede's which would help them clutch and rip apart prey. In addition to them, were these 6 long Tentacles, each one similar in shape and size to the Tails. Though, each of them may have had black Armour covering their flesh, but each of them also had crimson fractions instead of black, alongside the crimson, almost glowing, red curved talons that protruded from their sides like a Centipedes many legs. Thirdly, black Armour covered both of Nico's arms, morphing his hands into these large black claws, twice as large as the human hand with crimson scythe-like talons, their edges looking like that of HF Blades.

In short, NOT a nice sight...

Especially when Nico looked up for the first time and his face had what looked to be a black and red Mask... one which was shaped EXACTLY like the head of a centipede, covering the top portion of his face with a crimson fake right eye and one eye-hole over his left eye, pincers coming out of it...

"E-Eeek!" Compa squeaked in fright, looking paler than a ghost right now. Not like anyone could blame her. "What the heck is that?! What happened to Ni-Ni?!" she cried.

Nobody answered her question, since each of them looked to be frozen stiff at the sight. Even Raven and Lucy had looks of major shock at what they were seeing, their eyes wider than dinner plates and their jaws slacked. "What the hell...?"

Those were the words that escaped their mouths at the sight.

"UGGGGGHHHHHHHH... UGGGGGHHHHHHHHH...!" The altered Nico mumbled under his breath, his voice hollow and raspy along with sporting a glutteral growl at the end of everything that escaped his vocals. Right now, nothing could be described as remotely human about him, instead it felt like he had surrendered to the beast inside. "MUST... GO...!" Said 'beast' spoke as he just looked around sharply, his lone left eye wide and trembling with a mix of fear, anger and panic whilst his teeth gritted so tightly that normal ones would have cracked under the pressure. Some trails of saliva could be seen as well, a glutteral growl escaping his lips. "MUST... FIND... MUST... FIND... SAFETY... MUST GO... MUST GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MUST GO FAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR AWAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" At the end, Nico unleashed a loud cry, one that generated a massive shockwave which exploded into the area around them, forcing everyone to cover their eyes with their arms. Neptune, Compa and Ivan however, were forced to slide back from the force the shockwave held.

"Tch, this shockwave...!"

"Indeed, it feels like this power has gotten.. even greater than before...! Or is it... because its being motivated by something...?!"

Ivan and Aiden yelled this out whilst glaring at this Nico... this Nico which ad taken the place of their friend. Said Nico didn't even notice them there, or rather, it was like he refused to acknowledge their existence as he flared his Tails and Tentacles, as if they were wings. "MUST... GO, HIDE. YEEEESSSSSSS HIDE-HIDE HIDE...! WE MUST HIDE! HE MUST NOT FIND US! HE MUST NOOOOOOOOOOT!" Nico yelled, before the male seemingly shimmered out of existence as he burst forwards, leaving nothing but an explosion of dirt in his wake. It forced the Party and Team RAIL to quickly raise their arms again to shield their eyes... and by the time that the dust trail faded away... Nico was gone.

"Tch...!" the mechanical arm sporting Spec Ops Agent cursed under his breath, a wave of frustration and panic flowing through him as the implications of what happened sank into his mind. All the while, memories of the past that he so did NOT want to recall surfaced once more, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it. "This is so not good! Not good at all! If we don't act...!"

Aiden nodded his head in agreement, looking up at the skies above them. "Unfortunately, I cannot pick up any signs of him anymore, he must have gone outside my range in just a couple seconds... It appears his power has evolved much since we last saw it." he stated ominously, and though he spoke with his usual blank tone, seeing how his fists tightly clenched betrayed his true feelings. "If he makes it to any village in that state..."

"Okay, hold on you two!"

Both boys suddenly turned to the girls, momentarily forgetting they were even there for a moment there. Much to their surprise, before sheepish looks formed on their faces as IF stepped forwards, a look on her face that basically stated 'start talking or else i'm going to unsheathe my blades on your asses'. "You two sound like you know just what the hell happened right now, so talk. What the heck just happened? What's going on with Nico? Where the hell has he gone now?" IF questioned, repeatedly launching said questions all the while so neither got the chance to respond. One might say that IF showed extreme impatience, not willing to let them even answer her questions. At least, that was what it looked like anyways.

"Oh yeah, you're all here..." Ivan muttered under his breath, pocketing his hands inside his pants. "Sorry bout that, we kinda got in a panic there-anyways that's not important right now. What we need to do is-"

RING, RING, RING!

Just then, before Ivan could finish he heard a phone ringing coming from his pants pocket. Quickly pulling out a Phone, the Spec Ops Agent looked at the caller ID, and his prior annoyance dropped instantly whilst it got replaced with surprise. "Oh, well, looks like we're in luck." he exclaimed, sighing in relief as he answered the call and put the phone on Speaker. "Mrs Helen."

"Its alright you two, I've prepared to explain everything to the girls. Bring them to my hotel back in MICROSOFT and i'll tell them everything. I've received word that some of the upper tier Agents were sent by the higher ups to detain Nico before he causes any more damage, so rest assured that he won't be repeating his prior instances." Helen's voice said as she spoke through the phone, catching every one of the girls' attention.

Aiden gave a nod as he responded this time. "Understood." he said, before taking out what looked to be one of the Specialized eject buttons from his Inventory. He then looked up to the others, his eyes flashing behind his Goggles. "I know you all ave questions about this incident, and rightfully so. However, we cannot divulge anything right now due to circumstances preventing us from doing so. That is why we shall bring you to Mrs Dawson, she will be able to answer everything you have." he explained quickly, before pressing the Eject Button without waiting for any answers.

Therefore, all of them vanished from the area and back to MICROSOFT...

None of them being aware from the surveillance in the surrounding areas.


Consciousness returned to him, but not completely. No, not when there was nothing but blurry, distorted vision around him.

Where was he?

What happened?

All he knew so far just from his hands and breathing was that he was alive and that he was in some cave. He could tell thanks to the murkiness and dampness inside the oxygen he was inhaling, not to mention that his body felt sore as hell.

He tried to move, he tried to escape the Tunnel in case any reinforcements arrived, as distorted images of a figure tearing through various wildlife raced through his mind. They were too fast for him to identity who was what, but he got the feeling that he himself was the cause.

Thus, he stumbled and shambled across the Cave, using his aching body's senses to try and locate the way out by sniffing the air's currents and following them to where an exit might be. He didn't trust any of his other senses right now due to them being borderline shot for some reason he knew of, but didn't want to think about right now.

He didn't know how much time passed before he found the exit at last, but pretty soon all of that struggling became irrelevant when what little strength left in him instantly left, forcing him to fall onto the cold ground beneath him.

His eyelids began to close once more, and the last thing he saw was several shadowy figures, one looking like it was more of a light while another seemed almost like it was crackling, landed before him,

At that point, unconsciousness claimed him.


Later, the group appeared in Helen's hotel room, Compa nearly falling over from the sudden teleportation. "Awawawawawawa!" she exclaimed, stuttering madly as she flailed her arms about to keep balance.

"Whoa girl!"

However, before Compa could lose her balance and fall, her brunette BOW friend soon caught her in an embrace and re-steadied her. "There you go, Compa. Be more careful next time." she gently scolded, smirking at the girl whom gave her a sheepish smile in return.

"Thanks, Iffy."

"Glad to see you all made it here, girls. I was worried."

Looking to the source when they heard its voice, each of them saw none other than Helena Dawson sitting cross-legged on her chair beside her desk, her Laptop fully open for all to see. Her hands rested on her lap whilst she looked at them all with a serious expression, her eyes shifting over the girls and focusing on the... newer, members. "Ah, I see we have two new CPUs with us. A pleasure to meet you both, Lady Green Heart and Lady Black Heart." she spoke with a slight welcoming smile on her face.

"You know of us?" Noire questioned, cautious. Not many people would have guessed that she was a CPU right off the bat like that unless they had extensive knowledge of her, and in any such case Noire would always feel cautious in dealing with those kinds of characters. It of course, got reflected by her demeanor as her form tensed at the woman's presence.

Vert then stepped forwards, pushing aside her confusion for the sake of cordiality. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Dawson was it?" she asked for clarification, nodding thankfully when the woman wordlessly confirmed it for her. "I assume then that you are indeed Nicky's mother, whom Nicky is so fond of?" she questioned further.

"Indeed, however let us get straight to the point, as I am aware that you all are wishing to know about what happened to my dear boy just now, right?" Helen stated sharply, losing her previous polite demeanor for a more serious one. She didn't even give them time to calm down, preferring to get straight to the crook of the matter as soon as possible. After all, the ones that had been sent by the Community to retrieve Nico would be some of their best Agents, Agents whom surpassed Nico in every area by far if he were his normal self.

Neptune just HAD to comment on that though. "Wow, Mrs Helen's real serious, huh? I can almost cut the seriousness with a knife here, i'm not sure how I feel about this..." she remarked, frowning as she fidgeted uncomfortably, although she didn't say more when IF, Raven and Aiden gave her looks that basically said 'shut up and pay attention'. Hey, don't blame the Neps, she just did what she did best! Break tension and be the more light-hearted of the group! If it weren't for her then everything would be so dark and serious that it wouldn't be a Neptunia story anymore!

"Um, Can you pleas tell us, Hel-Hel... what happened to Ni-Ni? Is he alright? Does he need any treatment for any owwies?"

Upon hearing Compa ask her that, Helen could only smirk in a sarcastic manner. "Believe me, Compa dear, that if it were possible to cure this 'owwie' that Nico has, i'd have done it myself a long time ago, to spare us all the trouble. He's my baby boy after all..." she replied, before letting out a sigh. "In any case, i'll tell you this: what has happened to Nico is something that he has always tried to prevent, no matter the cost. When I met him at the Gala, it had become clear that he was already teetering on the edge, since the drugs his Armour administrated no longer had any effect on it. You all know of the Ghouls, right?" she questioned, several lights of comprehension shining in the girls' eyes wen they heard the word Ghoul.

That word hadn't been uttered through the main Party for a while, more than a couple dozen chapters actually. Way more, the last time it had been mentioned was during that whole Hellverse incident. The Ghouls, the species of Abnormal which had the most mystery as well as one of the greatest notoriety amongst all the other Abnormals. Simply due to their feeding habits and their ability to blend in with society due to looking completely identical to humans. The last time they fought a Ghoul, Neptune and the girls got their butts handed to them, heck even IF got kidnapped by a couple of them, only to break out of the Hellverse Dungeon and start wrecking everyone's shit by the time Nico had gotten there.

"Yeah... you could say we know of them..." IF eventually replied whilst shifting on her spot, already having a hunch as to where this was going. This hunch had been with her for a while now, not to mention that the evidence pointed to a single conclusion. She hoped still that she would be wrong though, that it wasn't as bad as she feared it would be. Just by recalling everything she had seen and heard about her crush made a real... dark and gruesome picture for him, something she DEFINITELY wouldn't want for anybody.

Her opinion did not go on un-shared by the others, if their looks of discomfort were any indication.

Helen's eyes looked like she understood and had figured out IF's suspicions, something that the brunette did NOT like. Not at all. "Well, There is a lot of ground to cover, so i'll say this then: Nico is a... unique existence, one which is tied to the Abnormals known as Ghouls." Helen stated. "This 'unique' status he has, prompts him to be treated in a different manner compared to other Agents. Its a long story, but right now we only have time."

In response to her words, a wave of confusion passed through the girls whilst Aiden and Ivan stepped to the side, leaning against the wall there. The former crossed his arms over his chest while the latter pocketed them. Both of them knew what would be happening next, since they had heard of it before. 'Hopefully these ladies will be able to handle it... at least, better than we did.' the two boys thought to themselves, although with one look they confirmed to each other that they had thought the same thing.

A tired sigh soon escaped her as she momentarily closed her eyes to collect herself. The fact that she was risking a whole hell lot for this did not escape her notice, but it had to be done for the sake of her beloved son. "Look, I will not beat around the bush, but there was an... incident in the past. An incident which has been kept top secret by the Guild and Basilicom higher ups. One which revolves around a time where a bunch of children, children from all four Nations, mysteriously vanished without a trace. Have any of you heard of it?"

...

...

...

"Wait..." One of them, Lucy, spoke up after a small silence filled with confusion, confusion generated by the girls, passed through the room. The redhead woman had adopted a detective-like pose after the first couple of the initial seconds after Helen's words had passed, something about what she had said struck a chord in the young redhead woman. Something tat she hadn't been able to put her finger on at first, until a moment later when she clicked her fingers in remembrance. "Are you talking about 10 years ago, by chance? I was in Leanbox at the time, and considering their hierarchy, they didn't show too much concern over it, but I DO remember hearing something about missing kids?"

Wow, how long had it been since then? 10 Years, man, it felt much longer than that to her. To be frank, Lucy back then had been way worse in terms of her sexual exploits than she had been months before meeting with the man whom would later become her very first friend... then, her very first actual love interest. During that time, Lucy had been wandering the streets in an effort to take a break after exposing a Nobleman whom had taken an... interest in pedophilia with his interest being 12 year old kids (something which made breaking that idiot much more enjoyable and satisfying, especially when he lost his fortune and reputation to be reduced to living on the streets. Last she heard, he had been killed by a pack of ravenous rats or something, not like she cared), when she had heard a couple middle-aged women talking. The redhead hadn't paid it much heed, and not long afterwards she had left the town she had been in to go into the wilderness. She WAS a Seasonal Goddess after all, so the call of nature would always be more appealing to her than being in an urban area like that.

To think... did something like that have a connection to her Nicky-dear?

"You'd be right about it, and to be frank i'm surprised you know anything about it at all, Lucy. Given your... nature, reputation and stuff." Helen replied, causing Lucy to roll her eyes whilst the others gave her knowing looks (even though Neptune, Noire and Compa, the more 'innocent' of the group looked much more flushed in comparison). "But yes, if you want the full story, 10 years ago, an incident we liked to call the 'pied Piper Incident' took place. You know the urban legend of how a rat catcher was cheated by a town out of his payment, so he used his skills to steal away children from the town instead? Well, we call this incident that because a large portion of children, some with parents as well, mysteriously vanished under the dead of night. There were no witnesses to explanation what happened, nor were there any signs of struggle, forced entry, or tracks. It was like they all just vanished into thin air." she explained, frowning deeply as she uncrossed her legs and then crossed them again. "The incident isn't very well known, in fact only the higher ups of every governing official, including the Guild and Basilicom know about it. Anyone else who was even remotely aware of it was sworn to secrecy, and any who broke it faced a... rather harsh penalty."

At this, everyone's eyes widened at the woman's words, some of the lesser composed women (Neptune and Compa) had their jaws slightly parted at the information. However, those of more composure capability such as IF, Noire, Vert, Raven and Lucy narrowed their eyes in silent worry/concern, though for Raven it was much less impacting for her due to her origins. "Nepu..." the preteen CPU muttered under her breath. "... Geez, this sounds like its going to be something dark. Ugh, haven't we had enough of such dark scenes already? First we get our behinds tossed about, we then lose, and now this? This fan-fiction's trying to kill the franchise, I swear!"

"Oh my goodness..." Compa muttered whilst everyone else ignored the purplette's fourth wall breaking. After all, it was only so that she could cope with what was happening, especially hearing about such an incident like this. She couldn't remember it well, but there was a time when her grandpa had been really worried and protective of her. It had been when she was 6... coincidentally that was 10 years ago. Could her grandfather have been worried sick that she too would have vanished like those children? She vaguely recalled him looking at her like she was about to vanish before his very eyes...

My goodness indeed...

'To think... something like this, something so awful happened in my Nation, and I knew nothing about it...' Vert thought to herself whilst feeling like one of the most idiotic leaders on the planet. Her inner frustration, which was quickly expanding through her gut, felt more and more like a pool of boiling hot lava that threatened to incinerate her insides from within. If the thing with Yvoire and Nico wasn't enough, the Demonic Invasion, that strange man with Conversation and now THIS just HAD to follow suit. It was almost suffocating just how much she had failed her Nation, how much all the CPUs had failed in their most important duty, as the former Goddess had decreed of them. Just how many more examples did she need to have before the world decided she had seen enough for her to realize she was a terrible leader?

"With the way you're talking about this..." IF began, getting everyone's attention as she furrowed her brows. Throughout this entire moment of silence, her mind had been whirling with possible theories and ideas behind what this could mean with regards to their resident redhead male, and one such idea was that this was connected to Ghouls, just like he was. She also had a hunch, one that felt like it would be confirmed soon, but a hunch nonetheless as to what this secret Nico had was. She still hoped she was wrong though, even with the abundance of evidence before her. "You say it like there was more to this incident than you're letting on."

Helen gave a grave nod after glancing towards Neptune and Noire, the brunette easily noticing the look of sorrow and depression in her eyes. "You would be right, IF, as this is classified as a MULTI NATIONAL incident." she told them. "By that, I mean that Leanbox wasn't the only nation effected: children from Lowee, Planeptune and Lastation also vanished, and a noticeable portion of them as well."

"W-WHAT?!" Noire and even Neptune shrieked together, not even caring that they had done so in favor of the revelation that had been dropped on them just now. For a moment, they were so shocked that their minds blue-screened, before their brains kicked it into high gear and they quickly processed what they had just heard. Thus, their reaction to this news... disturbed them more than a little, understandably so. "WHAT THE HECK?!"

The woman merely nodded at them, darkness flashing through her eyes as she remembered these events. They were the start of her grudge towards the ruling bodies of this corrupt, twisted world after all. "That's right... they disappeared and were not seen for over 5 years straight." Helen explained, giving Compa a knowing glance as the Spirit Girl blinked owlishly, an 'eh?' escaping her lips. Just a second later however, she realized what it was she was hinting a, and her skin became ghostly pale as a result. "We don't have much evidence, however 5 years afterwards children whom had been previously declared MIA were found walking back into their hometowns, having grown up from their previous ages sure, but... they were changed. This change had been permanent, and showed obvious signs that it had been that way for a long time, therefore we assume that they had this change imprinted upon them soon after their disappearance."

Pausing in her speech, Helen furrowed her brows as she twirled on her chair, going to her laptop and pressing a few keys on the keyboard, and a second later a holographic screen showing a file report appeared before their eyes. "Each of them had gone through what appeared to be some form of surgical procedure. We coined this the 'One Eyed Surgery', as one of the biggest trademarks of this change was the fact that one of their eyes, be it their left or their right, would turn black in sclera and crimson red in iris whenever these kids were agitated, some even sported crimson veins over their faces when the change happened, others didn't." she told them, letting them see several pictures of young-looking children, between the ages of 8 to 11, each looking horribly battered like they had just come out of a war-zone, clothed only in tattered rags. What was most noticeable however, as much as how horrifying their states looked, were the fact that one of theirs looked exactly like the descriptions Helen had given them.

Mismatched, one human, one not so much.

"Wait... you're saying...?!"

Pretty soon, it all began to dawn on them at this point, on what Helen had been leading up to. All the girls, including Raven and Lucy, quickly began to realize the dreaded truth of the matter. IF, on her side, cursed under her breath as she gritted her teeth in distaste. She had hoped her hunch was wrong, that Nico DIDN'T have such a burden on his shoulders in spite of the massive pile of evidence against her. 'Tch, so THAT'S what's been going on, huh...?' she thought to herself, outwardly appearing to be a mix of calm and angry if that made any sense, whilst internally...

"Yes..." Helen replied, confirming their fears as she nodded in solemn sadness. "Nico was one of those children. I don't know wen it happened, but during those five years Nico had the One Eyed Surgery on him, likely against his will. Therefore, he became something of a mix being: a Hybrid, one of human and Ghoul. a One Eyed Ghoul, as one might call it."

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

... Well, wasn't THAT something?

(Play Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 OST - He who howls and rages)

It was one thing to guess and speculate what Nico's secret had been, but to actually hear it for themselves with utmost clarity was something else entirely. Not to mention that, with the look on Helen's face right now, it would be all to apparent that she wasn't lying. No mother, not one, would lie about something as major as the freaking SPECIES of their children. Any that would, well, then they were not true mothers at all, since it proved that they were on some level, ashamed of their children. There was no way around that fact, no matter how hard they tried.

Taking their stunned silence as a sigh, Helen continued as she dismissed the projection by reaching over and pressing a few keys on the Laptop. "As you could summarize..." she began, lowering her head as her hair shadowed her eyes. She placed her hands on her lap, taking a breath to calm both her nerves, and the building fury within her. It wasn't these girls she should be angry at for making her boy like this after all. "One Eyed Ghouls like Nico are a... special case, and that's saying something. Some of the children possessed a special 'scent' which is a Ghoul/Human mix, singling them out and making them "enticing" for other Ghouls. Its been recorded how some Ghouls go absolutely bonkers over them because of this 'scent', and its been shown to be the case for every child. Like normal Ghouls, however, each Hybrid is unable to digest normal human foods, it just tastes so goddamn awful to them that they end up hurling it out when they get the chance, and if they don't it drastically weakens them. Nico is no exception to this, as you all have likely seen."

It was then, that Compa spoke up, her mind flashing back to the early days of her and Nico's childhood. "But, Mrs Hel-Hel, Ni-Ni was able to eat human food back at my place when we were kids. Doesn't that...?"

"Ah, that was more of a psychological thing, Compa. Back then, Nicky-Nick had... quite the few mental problems, still does apparently if what I've learned is any indication, and as such these problems caused him to 'think' that he was a normal human. So much so, that his body 'fooled' itself into thinking whatever it ate was edible, allowing him to live like a human. It didn't last long though, but I will get to that later, there is other important stuff we need to cover about Nicky-Nick's condition."

After pausing, she soon continued her lecture about Hybrids, no matter how much it hurt her. "Like Ghouls, Hybrids do possess what they call a Kagune..." she explained, pretty much summarizing the necessary information about each Kagune type and the Kagune themselves. "In my boy's case, he appears to be an even more unique case by having the ability to use 3 types of Kagune: Rinkaku, Bikaku and Koukaku. You've seen them in action, somewhat before I believe. Each one ha its own unique attributes, developed through cannibalizing Abnormals and psychological influences, such as his Rinkaku which is invisible thanks to internally vibrating at high speeds, faster than even the fastest HF Blade, to an extent where none of the 5 senses can perceive them. But it has been recorded that the more that a Hybrid is hurt, the stronger their base abilities become, hence why most of Nicky-Nick's training under me focused around this concept, it ended up helping his Ghoul side evolve more rapidly at the cost of him needing stronger drugs to suppress it which were administered by his Armour."

"Bu... But how can THAT be a thing?" Lucy questioned, putting empathizes on 'that' as she referred to what Helen had just told them. Hearing it from Helen's mouth, made her realize that like IF, and likely Raven too, that she too had her own suspicions about Nico's species. As the Spring Goddess, Lucy had a major connection to nature, and that included animals. One such ability that came from this was the ability to identify beings by their race, after all humans may not identify themselves as such in all their hubris, but they were indeed animals, they were indeed part of the animal kingdom. Therefore, she should have been able to easily identify Nico's species from a simple glance. However, as she thought about it, Lucy realized that somehow Nico had been the exception. Se couldn't sense his species, something which she could have done on anybody and anything with her senses. Perhaps this... surgery was the case, it muddled Nico's species up so much that she couldn't have identified him as the Spring Goddess, not to mention how him being a DPU didn't likely offer much assistance. "I mean, it wouldn't have been possible for that many 'Hybrids' as you say, to have been around without people knowing about them. They would have existed in flocks by now, probably had families of their own given how these days teenagers engage in sexual intercourse like rabid dogs in heat."

"...who says that those Hybrids are still around?"

"?"

Wen Helen mumbled those words to them, each of the girls became silent when they had been seconds away from voicing their agreement with the redhead Goddess' words. The sheer ominous atmosphere that was born from those words, felt thicker than the smoke generated by vast forest fires, sinking into their throats and threatening to cut off any and all air flow. In addition to that, the already thick and intense tension in the air throughout the room, it just skyrocketed like a rocket going into outer space at that question asked by the head of the WDD.

...

...

...

...

"...?!"

It wasn't long though, before horrified realization dawned on them as to a possible idea on where those Hybrids could have been this whole time. Everyone began to sweat bullets, their guts going ice cold, colder than when they faced the sight of death that had been Mundus back at the former Halo Mountain. No... No, say that wasn't the case! Say that humanity wasn't THAT sick towards their own! That was the majority opinion amongst the girls while, at their expressions, Aiden and Ivan had to look away, unable to bear the sight especially with what was about to come. One of the Guild's darkest secrets to date, way worse than anything Yvoire could have done.

"No..."

"Please don't tell me...!"

"Nepu!"

Helen looked at each of the girls with sad, resigned eyes, observing as dark thoughts swirled behind their eyes from what she had previously said. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't offer any positive response right now, not when things had become so shitty in her opinion. Therefore, she gave a resigned sigh as she straightened up on her seat. "The children, one would expect that it would be a joyous occasion right? That they would receive the help they deserve after a most-likely traumatizing experience, being turned from a normal person into a half human half Abnormal monster? That they'd get a happy ending after so much pain and abuse?" she questioned, although it sounded much more like a brutal statement. None of the girls dared to hope that those questions weren't rhetorical, not with the tone she used. Just then, a low bitter laugh escaped the woman's lips as the memories raced through her mind, before she finally spoke once more and confirmed their most dreaded fears. "Well, hate to burst your bubble, but that was the exact OPPOSITE of what really happened. Instead of getting the help they deserved, they instead were brutally executed, either by the Military of their home nations or what few relatives they had left. Military would line them up under the pretense of them being brought to their 'loved ones' only to be gunned down in streets, or sometimes stoned to death amongst other painful ones. They would be blindfolded for these,so they wouldn't know what was going to happen to them till the last second before death claims them. Ironically, the military were the nicer ones in those cases as their relatives would 'cleanse' them through torture, especially in Leanbox's case. Lady Vert, I assume you know what I'm talking about since you've done your homework on what happened during your absence. Never-mind how they wold be disowned and seen as 'hell-spawn' by their relatives. At least the ones the military axed off got a swift death, the ones with relatives weren't so lucky."

... No.

No, no, no!

That was wrong, that was wrong on so many freaking levels! That was disgusting, degrading and downright sickening! Something that sick, that twisted and downright EVIL shouldn't exist in this world! It just wasn't supposed to happen! Those thoughts circulated through the minds of the girls, the lesser composed ones taking a step back in sheer horror and revulsion. Disgust and sickened expressions formed on the faces of the more composed ones, not to mention raw fury burning through their eyes like atomic explosions. It reached a point where their throats felt the slimy, disgusting sensation of vomit, and it almost made them want to hurl at all the revolting images that got conjured into their minds from what hey just learned.

"Those...!" Noire muttered under her breath as she clenched her hands into fists, her arms heck her whole body trembling madly from the sheer rage burning within her. This wasn't the first time she felt this way, but by the Goddesses (oh the irony) she felt so freaking livid at this information. "Those freaking BASTARDS!" she yelled finally, unable to contain her violent emotions any longer. Oh, just hearing that her citizens took part in something like this... and she even found it easier to believe since she recalled their rather suspicious behavior about Nico through the preparation for the Gala. How they demeaned him and called him degrading names when they thought she wouldn't hear. In addition to how the Basilicom staff looked at him whenever she had seen him around them before they had departed from Lastation. It all made a disturbingly grim sense, yet also made a soul-igniting rage explode within her being. It took all of her willpower not to storm back to Lastation and look into this further, t find loopholes and punish those responsible for this outrage, She doubted Vert would disagree with how she felt right now, to if the look on her fellow CPU's face was anything to go by.

Something which got confirmed by the blonde woman a few moments later. "How... despicably inhumane of them...!" She muttered under her breath with the flames of rage burning like miniature suns behind her darkening blue eyes. Her lips tightened together to bite back the unladylike snarl that threatened to escape her lips, despite how much she felt SORELY tempted to break that rule a CPU had to follow. It took every ounce pf her mental strength not to do anything reckless. lest she damage her own Nation any more than she already had. Odds were, those who committed such atrocious acts had long since wiped out any evidence pertaining to their involvement in this, so it was't like she could do anything, not to mention that if she did punish those involved, it would severely damage Leanbox's recovery for the future.

Sometimes, like right now, she LOATHED the fact that she was a Goddess. It even made her wonder if regaining her powers was the right thing to do.

"Those guys are meanies!" Neptune exclaimed with her hands being thrown up tot the ceiling. Her expression looked like an angry one, mixed with the childish structure of her features. Even so, one could not doubt the intensity of the scorching heat her rage at this situation provided. Neptune had a childish nature at heart, she loved doing fun things and being happy. Who wouldn't? So, hearing of a situation with such a gory result for the children? It left a, sickening, sour and slimy taste to her mouth, not to mention made her want to go emo and do all that vengeance , the more she learned about her hubby's backstory, the more dark secrets she finds about him, the more pissed off she got. At this rate she might just pull a Guts and go ballistic. "What the heck gives them the right to do such nasty things?!"

Sighing sadly, as well with a fierce flame of anger mixed in, Helen responded as calmly as she could in this situation, though it took a large effort on her part to do so. "Power, Neptune. Power and stature protect them from rebuttal, from justice. Nobody would speak for their innocence since the children were half Abnormal, and as such society already labelled them as threats, even though they could have been a great help to us. Not to mention that the majority of Gamindustri is so fanatical when it comes to religion, ESPECIALLY in Leanbox, that actions such as these are rendered tolerable. As long as it goes with their 'beliefs' then there's no level of low that these people won't sink to." she explained, regret and remorse mixed with hot fury in her tone. Something that could be said about the rest of the girls too.

"And um... Ni-Ni was one of them...?" Compa, whom had been silent this whole time, questioned at last as she looked up, having kept her gaze lowered so her hair had shadowed her eyes. Her knuckles had been clenched so tight that they had become white from the lack of blood flow to them, heck she could barely even feel her fists at this point. Not like she cared though, not with what she had learned about the one whom held her affections.

Helen nodded her head, confirming what all of them suspected, not just the Nurse-In-Training. "Yes... Nicky-Nick was indeed one of those children... and arguably, he got some of the worse treatment from what few relatives he has, though as of current times they have disowned him." She explained. "I won't say what exactly they put them through, because I'm sorry but talking about this makes me want to explode, and I am NOT joking. However, I WILL say that I was the one who intervened and saved him from being executed by both the military and his former relatives. Though, I couldn't meet him yet, none of my 'superiors' would let me unless I started a process to get him into the Spec Ops Program. It would have taken a while, but I wanted to at least give him some small measure of happiness, so I had him stay with your grandfather, a friend of his parents, for a time, before he was eventually put into the Spec Ops Program a year later. I had to give up my career as a Spec Ops to save him, but that is of little consequence for me. If I was able to save the son of my old friends, then it would be well worth it."

On that, the girls could COMPLETELY agree with her, not to mention that aside from their sympathy for her plight, hearing this from her made their respect for the WDD head shoot through the roof. Helen then switched her gaze towards the Nurse-In-Training, who perked up the moment their eyes met. Remember when he left your home to join the Guild, Compa? Well, that was what he was instructed to tell you, when in reality the paperwork for his initiation into the Spec Ops Program, bypassing the exam, had been completed and he was to be shipped over to us on the double. Not to mention that he had an 'initiation mission' which involved the Racoon City Incident. This information has been highly classified, and you all have only been cleared for it thanks to witnessing Nicky-Nick's Ghoul side. Nevertheless, you can bet that this is one of his core reasons, aside from all the twisted psycho shit he's seen, for his current trust issues and reluctance to share any information."

So, there they had it. Part of the truth about Nico's backstory. None of the girls could be called true fools, not even Neptune. They weren't blind to the possibility that Nico's origins held some dark, twisted nature to them all, it was clear as day in how he acted. His violent tendencies, his natural distrust towards others, his loner-like behavior, all of it felt much more reasonable to them, even more so than when they learned of the psychotic crap that he had to deal with on a daily basis. But, the more that they learned about him, the more that they began to realize, just how much of an UNDERSTATEMENT dark and tragic really were as descriptions for his past. But, even if they only got this much information, none of the girls felt any desire to know more, for just knowing this much confirmed Nico's backstory to be one of the darkest in Gamindustri. Darker than a lot of OCs out there, they'd imagine.

If Neptune had been her usual happy-go-lucky self, she likely would have made a meta comment about the 'm rating really being deserving of this fanfic' or something...

But she didn't. How could she, when she had learned that someone she cared about had gone through something so traumatic? Alone at that?

"... So then..." This time, it was Raven who broke the silence, the silence that had been filled with the girls fuming over the information that they had just learned. About the injustice regarding those children. "What we just saw before... was that Nico's 'Kagune' or whatever?" she questioned slowly, and for the first time in a long while, the amount of fury inside her heart broke through her cold shell, allowing her eyes to light up in a clear blue glow. Heck, the temperature around her plummeted to a sub-zero-like temperature.

At this, Helen (who mentally thanked Raven for continuing the conversation so she didn't explode with fury at just the memory of those moments. Not just for her son, but for the children as well) gave a nod, all the while answering with. "You'd be both right and wrong about that, Mrs SAMURAI." Her words caused the blackette Spec Ops Agent to arch a brow, allowing Helen to continue with her explanation. "For you see, what Nico just entered back there, is both his Kagune yet also not. According to our research, the Ghoul species practice cannibalism just as Demons do, though for Ghouls they can gain 'mutations' for their Kagune if they consume Abnormal flesh. These mutations can grant them physical buffs, mind buffs, or even other ones. One such example is Nico's Bikaku Kagune which, as his Party here saw, has the power to launch those projectiles with lethal explosive potential. However, Ghouls who devour Abnormals have to be careful, for not only does it allow their Kagune to mutate and develop new powers, but it also increases their RC Cell reserves as well as allows them to form a second type of Kagune. One that acts more like an Armour than an actual weapon. In this state, we refer to this Kagune as: Kakuja."

"Kakjuja?"

Upon hearing that term, IF's eyes perked up as she remembered her research into Ghouls before her kidnapping. She hadn't seen that term min the books she found, but from the sounds of it this power seemed to have reasons for it to not be known to the this look in her eyes, Helen elaborated. "Correct, a Kakuja is a Ghoul who has this abnormal Kagune, one that further multiplies their existing powers or further diversifies them, making fighting one extraordinarily difficult. A Kakuja Ghoul could easily take on the upper tiers of Abnormals and come out on top due to the seer strength and physical ability they sport. Unfortunately, when this Kagune is formed, it is almost always in an incomplete state, therefore we refer tot his state as an incomplete or 'half' Kakuja. They can complete it by cannibalizing their own kind or other Abnormals, but this process is both long and tedious, with few exceptions. Worse, during this time, when a Ghoul activates this incomplete Kakuja, their minds and sanity are totally eroded, down to a level that is best described as mad savagery, turning them into mindless psychotic berserkers who can't identify friend from foe. That is what Nico possesses, not to mention what he went into before you arrived here."

At this, IF's eyes widened along with everyone else, though Aiden and Ivan stayed out of it, as the brunette poke the question that formed on everyone's minds. "But how the heck has Nico got such a thing? I mean, it wasn't often that he had many opportunities to... hunt, when we traveled together." she questioned, but this time Helen didn't respond. Instead, she looked at IF with a knowing gaze,as if expecting her to figure it out. The brunette thought about it after a moment of confusion... before it finally dawned on her, just like the rest of the girls including Neptune and Compa. Surprising, though since it involves Nico, those two possess much more intellect than they would normally. "He's already had it since before we all met, hasn't he?"

"Yup. From the very beginning."

(OST end)


In the late afternoon, early evening...

The moment that he was cleared by both Biko and his Ghoul Persona (whom suddenly looked a whole lot more beat up in a close amount of time) to finally leave after what felt like days in the Inner world (but in real time, would have only been like hours), Nico finally began to feel his consciousness return to the real world. Things in the Inner World had ended on as high a note as Nico could get right now, which wasn't very high. Not with his Ghoul Persona now traumatized just like how Nico himself was. His trauma seemed more like the quiet one which didn't let the host know it was there save for small instances, small nudges in directions which the trauma controlled, making it like those shadowy figures who controlled world leaders behind the scenes. Kind of like a back stage director of a play, now that he thought about it. There would be time for them to help cure that Trauma before it became a problem however, fortunately enough since this trauma PALED in comparison to Nico's own. The fear of death had been implanted into his Ghoul Persona through that attack, the fear of death and fading out of existence, that would have been their fate should they have completely taken that attack.

Though, when his eyelids lifted Nico soon wished he didn't once he felt what happened next.

The very SECOND that he opened his eyes and found himself in said world, Nico winced to himself when his whole body erupted with pain, pain and aches which assaulted every cell in his body. He would have cried out, if he had not already gotten used to this sort of feeling long ago, therefore Nico just hissed and made to endure it. There had been many moments in his lifetime where he'd been in a whole world of pain, so something told him that his body was starting to build up a tolerance for it. Would make sense, considering the condition his body had all the time since he first woke up with partial amnesia. He wouldn't bother trying to describe what kind of pain he was feeling, but suffice it to say that it would have driven a normal person to commit suicide. That was just how bad he always felt whenever he lost himself when using that form.

By form, he meant the Kakuja that had automatically activated after he had gotten hit by that attack from Mundus.

His Ghoul Persona told him everything, and now that he was back in the real world, the memories of that time hit him like a set of wooden bricks falling on top of his head. How thanks to that attack, his soul and mind temporarily shut down when they received that damaging attack, therefore allowing his Ghoul side to take over. In that state, Nico's Kakuja had activated, and in any normal circumstance that would have been a major sign to run, hide and pray he didn't find you otherwise you'd become his meal. He should know, after all he had experienced THAT first hand. Fortunately, this was NOT normal in terms of circumstance, as thanks to that Soul Attack as he now called it, Nico's Ghoul side had been pretty much reduced to the primitive instinct to get the fuck away from the area. Kind of like how animals would try to leave an area after just barely escaping a superior predator's path.

How it stung to think of himself in such a way after his defeat by Mundus' hands...

Afterwards, his Kakuja driven self had fled to a far away forest, how far he didn't exactly know but just from what he could remember of the journey Nico assumed it was within the southern areas of the Landmass, before his Kakuja had began eating everything that looked 'meaty' enough. AT that time, his hunger completely dominated his senses, as well as his fear of that energy. He ate and ate and ate, each meal being either a normal monster or an Abnormal, the latter being more common as apparently, from what he could recall, it had been an Abnormal dominated area. All of that food had been to simply restore himself, as if his Ghoul Side had been trying to restore his soul only to barely do anything to it, no matter how hard he tried. The last thing he recalled, was emerging from that Kakuja state, weak and disoriented, before he escaped the cave and fell unconscious.

Nico shook his head, pushing through the pain as he sat up, clutching his chest as he grimaced. His blue eyes shone with annoyance and other complex emotions, all to do with the previous events that had happened. He didn't even want to THINK about how those Spec Ops Agents that had been sent after him had managed to beat him into the ground once they found him... and according to his Aspects, it had taken them about 2 days to track him, and then a whole third day to finally beat him to a point where his Kakuja had to forcibly revert just to save his skin. Not to mention that he could recall their faces clearly, thus Nico DEFINITELY felt like he had gotten off much better than what he had in the past.

'In the end though... since the girls saw my Kakuja, its likely mom will have informed them of everything..' Nico thought to himself, frowning in resignation as he slouched on the bed, not caring that he only seemed to be in his pajama bottoms right now. Already he imagined how the girls would react, how they would be disgusted with him and no longer want anything to do with him. Whatever 'friendship' they thought they had with him would have been severed the moment they saw his true nature, and they would wash their hands of him, just like what everyone else did the moment they learned of what he truly was. Nico cursed as he recalled brief moments of that... torment... he went through before he met Compa and her grandfather, the sheer agony and depression, it almost consumed him and made him go insane.

Even so, this had been the moment that Nico both feared would come to pass... and also, sort of hoped would come sooner rather than later. He had mixed feelings, though not at first as one might guess. When did his feelings start to change regarding his Ghoul side, one might ask? If they did ask him, he'd likely not respond, but in his mind he'd say something like during the Hellverse incident when he realized that he couldn't continue hiding his full power if he wanted to help the girls on their Quest. On one side, he still worried about this any, because 90% of his mind told him with absolute certainty that when they did realize the truth that they would abandon him. It had been telling him tat monsters like him didn't deserve any form of companionship like he had been experiencing since the start of this little adventure, but on the other hand that small, 10% had been trying to bring something into the forefront of his mind, something that honestly gave him room to think about what would happen:

That at least he'd not have to worry about this secret anymore.

What he meant by that, was that once his comrades found out about his Ghoul side, he no longer would have to worry about keeping it hidden. That at least now that they knew, he would have less to hide from them, a thought process that felt like an odd form of weight being lifted from his shoulders. This process wasn't something Nico believed would happen though, not with his prior experience. If family could betray each other and torment each other like they did back then, if they could do so many heinous things without a second thought, just what was the point of thinking that his companions would be any different? Seriously, they fought against monsters in many forms on a daily basis, therefore they will have gained a vehement hatred for them already, or at least have become heavily biased towards them. So, what was the point hoping that they would accept or even give a damn about a freak of nature like him? Nico may now be fine with what he was, but that did NOT apply for the rest of the world.

At this point, part of Nico wanted to hear from Biko again, to hear his voice inside his mind which would serve the purpose of calming him. It always did feel comforting, having someone he could confide in even if it was just himself. Nobody said that he was completely sane after all, since he conversed with himself and got answers back. Not like anyone ever tried to help aside from his Mother, and even then she could only do so much. However, no dice, the link between them was for the first time... silent. Nico didn't feel much surprised from this though. Biko had told him this would be the case before he left for the real world as soon as he was able, however. He had explained that, even though his Demonic Powers weren't as damaged by that attack as his Ghoul side had been, i still ad suffered some damage. That damage resulted in Nico's link to his Demon Persona being reduced to silence, partially damaged thus resulting in them being unable to communicate. Of course, by that he didn't mean it was gone entirely, it was just that now if they wanted to talk, Biko would have to drag his consciousness back into his Inner World, something which they decided would only happen once Nico was guaranteed to be alone for a long time period, as in real time not Inner World time.

His Ghoul side DEFINITELY wouldn't be able to talk to him though, since it took the full brunt of his attacks, but it DID mean that his Ghoul Side would experience... problems, until they would recover. What those problems would be, his Ghoul side refused to say, something which somewhat made him relieved that some of its asshole personality had returned, if partially.

Glancing about, Nico finally looked about to find out where he was, and when he did Nico realized that he had wound up in the EXACT same Guest Room which he had

'SIGH... I'm alone for the first time in a long while... aside from that thing with Ouranos... but still. I'm alone now, since my Ghoul side is silent... along with Biko...'

Just as he began to sink deeper into a depressed state of resignation for his fate, the sound of his door being unlocked filled his ears, causing them to twitch as his heart rate began to thunder within the confines of his torso. Not to mention that it increased the feeling of resignation blossoming within him as well, making him mentally sigh. 'Whelp, time to face the music...' he thought to himself (also mentally struggling to control his Kakugan eye which he used to look in that direction, odds were that thanks to his Ghoul side being damaged, the lack of control over his Kakugan would be one of the problems it had mentioned). Therefore, as the door opened...

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Nico almost got blindsided by a purple missile, one that suddenly shot through the room from the entrance at bullet speed and collided with the teen's torso. Instantly, the said male stifled a gasp that threatened to escape his lips once he felt the feeling of arms wrapping around him. In the next second, Nico found a mob of purple hair attached to a familiar head bury itself into his chest, shaking itself against that body part whilst mumbles of contentment filled the air. "H-Huh? N-Neptune?"

"Ahhhhh, this is the bomb... been a while since I got to do this..." the purplette muttered under her breath though his enhanced senses caught it. Nico could only look downward at her with a look of utter bafflement on his features, features that soon shifted into shock when he felt the telltale sensation of a Rinkaku Tentacle suddenly emerging from the back of is waist. Instinctively snapping into action, Nico grabbed it by the tip before it could impale the preteen through her back. 'Whew, that was a close one!' the male thought, mentally thanking his Ghoul side (not something that he expected to be thinking about) that it gave him strong enough Skin to resist the Rinkaku's Vibrations.

The teen figured that this was another problem with his Ghoul side, that it's little 'mechanism' for self defense had gone out of whack, now recognizing anything that got into contact with him as a threat to be extinguished. It was usually something that only occurred when certain conditions were't met by the victim, such as him trusting them to a certain degree, and not just him but his Ghoul side too. Furthermore, they had to have an aura of 'strength' which spoke more to his Ghoul side than Nico himself, a strength which would tell it to not mess with them if it wanted to keep its bits intact. Now though, thanks to that attack, Nico feared that the Kagune would react to anyone who got too close right now, the male had to bite back a hiss as he felt the Tentacle in his grasp straining against his grip, trying to break free and spear the one holding him in place. 'Tch, this'll e a problem if I don't constrain this thing soon...!' the teen thought to himself. Thankfully, he had managed to rein in the other aspects of his Kagune, all three types to be frank, so it took him a few seconds to regain control over it and force it back into his body.

"Yeah, I kinda expected something like that to happen, honestly..."

Soon enough, Nico glanced to the side again and noticed that the other girls, plus Team RAIL and the other two CPUs Noire and Vert, walked into the room following Neptune's little... introduction. The more that came in, the more that Nico began to get the feeling that he was being trapped inside a cage, cornered so that he wouldn't be able to escape what would be happening next. Of course, Nico knew he could just Warp out of there, he still felt a marginally strong connection to his Demonic Energy reserves to do so. Raw power would not be best for this situation, and Nico knew it... though, it wasn't like running away was an option either. Not when he felt that he owe it tot hem to give them any explanation regarding questions about his Ghoul side. Whatever happened next would be up to them to decide... although Nico already had a strong expectation of the following outcome.

"You guys..."

That was all he muttered with surprise etched onto his features, already wanting to examine their emotions but didn't. Mostly because he had been afraid of what he would end up finding. Every time he tried to do so, he felt this icy cold feeling in his gut which stopped him from doing it at the very last second, almost like his mind would SCREAM at him that continuing that would be classed as a crime to his comrades. Comrades whom he'd spent days forging camaraderie with... so how could he just snitch on them by reading their emotions? No, he'd rather save that for anyone he would class as an enemy or at least not someone he could trust.

"You'd have been surprised at how much it took for us to convince Nep NOT to go any further than this you know."

IF spoke that while crossing her arms beneath her chest, her eyes regarding his. She had an unreadable expression on her face, something which made him feel like he had been stung by a bunch of bees at how she had closed up everything. That had to mean she was mad at him, and to be frank, Nico couldn't blame her. If this was a courtroom, he'd be the defendant and these girls would be the cold and unforgiving jury. "Originally, Nep wanted to tie you down and keep you from leaving this very room, so she could take care of you for the rest of your life."

"That's... kinda extreme." Nico commented, and whilst he looked down at the preteen whom had been giving him that look, that look any girl gives when their partner had did something naughty and they were going to punish that person for it. Didn't do much to make him feel any better, but he didn't expect anything else. Even so, a part of him couldn't help but form a pit of dryness in his stomach which became the basis for his next comment. "Sounds like something Neptune here would do."

The sounds of boots stepping forwards filled his ears, and when he looked over to the source he found that it was Raven, the black aired Spec Ops Agent having rested one hand on her Odachi's bottom whilst the other hung at her side. "Alright, lets get to the heart of the mater, no point trying to skirt our way around it." she stated with a cold tone, colder than normal along with an underlying commanding edge to it. One that could only come from a seasoned disciplined commander of a fierce and rough military unit. It DEFINITELY got the message across as IF used a couple Tendrils to yank a certain preteen away from Nico's form. Neptune didn't even try to resist, not with what would be happening next. "DEATHSTROKE, we know. We know about your Ghoul side, your mother told us about it." she stated it, she didn't try to hide the facts from him.

Something which Nico honestly found refreshing considering the circumstances. "Yeah, that's only to be expected of her..." he muttered, looking down a the sheets. He expected this to turn ugly, but it didn't stop the remorse from etching itself onto is features. "Its one of the regulations that happens whenever someone discovers my Ghoul side in action, then they are sworn to secrecy about it."

"That makes sense." IF remarked, once again bringing everyone's attention to her. as she continued. "From what we earned, sounds like a pretty big secret, one that if got out, a whole load of bullshit will fall onto the Spec Ops program for harboring someone like that. Pretty sure there'll be other skeletons in their closet too, as with many organisations these days." With everything cycling through him, Nico couldn't help but think that she had an idea as to what Yvoire and him had been talking about when she said that, but didn't say his thoughts on the matter. "She DID tell us not to tell anyone outside of the room what we learned about you, that it was an S ranked classified secret."

At this point, Raven cut into the conversation once more, looking directly towards Nico when she spoke. "In any case, it isn't surprising that this is happening." Raven said getting Nico to look at her again. "Its no secret that you have knowledge about matters that you don't share, you're not someone who disclosed information lightly. Its only to be expected of someone in this profession. However, now that we DO know of your situation," was it just him, or did the room get slightly colder when she spoke just now? Nico felt SURE he wasn't the only one who noticed. "we'd like to hear your side of the story."

...

...

...

...

... Huh?

Wait, what? The redhead Agent couldn't help the surges of confusion swirling within his stomach, replacing some of his resignation as he registered those words. "My side?" Nico questioned, his tone carrying no small amount of disbelief and confusion with his tone. That... wasn't something that he expected, where was Raven going with this? He had expected her to try and kill him already, same with the girls. Where was this conversation going now? In the past, h never got o tell his side of the story or anything really, he never got the chance to. Nor would anyone listen to him. Suddenly, Nico felt out of his element, but even so he forced himself to remain calm for this situation, even with many voices in his head screaming at him in protest. At her nod, Nico took a moment to stare at her in befuddled silence, before he finally took a risk and settled for taking a deep, shaky breath. Geez, he felt so close to losing it right now sue to the alien territory he was venturing in, but just from looking at their faces Nico could tell that this was the only option he had available to , he spoke once more, trying to keep his voice from cracking. "Well, as you all know, I am unable to recall the moment I became this way. The memories of my life from 6 to 11 are practically a void to me." He began. "I mean, there have been times where I receive nightmarish visions and hallucinations that I think are connected to my past, but i'm not sure since well, amnesia. Not to mention that through Neptune and Compa's adventure I've been slowly recalling a few distorted images but little else of use."

"Have there been others that found out before us?" Raven questioned.

After a moment of silence, Raven made to ask again when Nico nodded his head. "Yes and no at the same time. There have been more than a dozen instances through the last 5 years where someone has found out about my Ghoul side. All of them however had... very negative responses to it, and would have tried to sue the Spec Ops program, the Guild and the Basilicom for it. Therefore, the governing powers of the Nations these people lived on took it upon themselves to have these people... remain silent forever." He explained, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant by that. Judging by the looks of shock and outrage on their faces, he correctly figured the girls did too. "It wasn't just limited to those people though, the rest of their families were lead to believe they had fallen victim to a different fate, and any who tried to question them ended up getting the same treatment. They would just repeat that cycle until people finally got the message to NOT talk about whatever they tell you not to talk about."

"Me and Aiden can confirm that." Ivan spoke, the two boys having followed the girls in so Nico hadn;t noticed their present. They stood by the door on the left and right sides respectively, though it had been the former who'd spoken whilst the latter remained quiet. Though, if they looked into his eyes they would tell that he agreed with Ivan's word. "Me and him found out due to some circumstances, and we were sworn to not tell anyone or else consequences would befall us. Those guys'll go to any lengths to keep Nico's identity a secret from the world, murder, blackmail you name it."

At this, Lucy narrowed her eyes distaste shining through them at the things she had just found out. "I felt something like that might be the case the more I thought about it... but to hear its true really grinds my gears..." she mumbled, though everyone around her heard it. They too shared that feeling, to hear that someone will go to such lengths to keep such a secret. Just went to show just how important this secret was, not to mention it had already been confirmed that the Guild and Basilicom want Nico as their guard dog, their hound to keep people in line. None of them would want any info of his nature to be public knowledge.

"You'd be right on the money there..." Nico responded, looking down at the sheets once more. The fact that these girls were discussing something like that threw him off somewhat, but his thoughts on the inevitable outcome this conversation had still remained firm in his mind. Whatever would happen, the end result would be the same, that was what he thought. Though, he did have good reason to think that, any who did find out were usually repulsed by him and the higher ups were forced to 'silence' those who looked like they would talk. Why should he expect anything different here? After all, HE was the dangerous freak here, HE was the monster that should be treated as such. It wasn't like he had much humanity left to begin with, you know? "In any case-"

"Oh, stop being such a downer, Nicky!"

"?!"

Suddenly, Nico gasped when Neptune suddenly jumped back onto the bed, landing on her knees on the space between where his legs were whilst facing him. Before he could react, Nico suddenly felt one of his Rinkaku Tentacles surge out of his waist, quickly curving towards Neptune#s face in a matter of seconds. 'Crap, I won't be able to stop it!' the male exclaimed in his mind, his instinctual need to save her kicking in which resulted in the Tentacle becoming completely visible. Even so, it would have about 05 seconds before stabbing through Neptune, much to his horror as his form lost all colour...

Only for Neptune to suddenly catch it in her arms and pull the Tentacle into her chest as if hugging it.

...

...

...

"Wait... wha?!"

"There's no need for any depression from your end, mister buster." She stated, waving a finger at him without breaking her embrace. Neptune's dark lilac eyes bore into Nico's own blue ones, ones which were filled with befuddlement and disbelief over what just happened. "No need, whatsoever, so Nepping stop it, got it? Your wifey will punish you, if you don't!"

... What the hell?! What's freaking happening right now?! That was what Nico thought to himself as he stared wide eyed at the preteen before him. Hell he wasn't even sure if he should classify her as before him or just nigh on top of him due to their close proximity. Shock and confusion now reined supreme over his mind, leaving him acutely stunned and uncomprehending over what was happening right now. What the hell, did Neptune just grab his Tentacle before it could impale her, then hug it? What was she doing? Didn't she know that thing was meant to only kill people, why the hell was she EMBRACING IT?!

Before he could respond however, another person joined the fray, as evident by how the bed creaked and groaned to signify this. "Ni-Ni, may I please see your eye?" The timid voice of Compa, though it definitely DIDN'T seem as such right now, sounded off making him look at her to see that she had her face super close to his. So much so that if she leaned more they would be kissing right now, not something a prudish guy like him would be able to handle. Even so, Compa continued with this earnest, intense gaze in her creamy colored eyes. "Its been bugging me since I found out about it, but... could I see it again? Nurse Compa wants to see if there's any problems with it."

Seeing that gaze and despite the confusion that was KILLING him right now, Nico could not help but acknowledge her request. It was like she ha him spellbound by her gaze alone, something which made a tinge of amusement explode inside him as Nico blinked, his left eye quickly activating it's Kakugan as he withdrew his hold over it. 'Do these girls not see i'm struggling to control my Ghoul side right fucking now? Are they really that careless?' he couldn't help but wonder whilst Compa examined the eye in its current state. A humming sound escaped the Nurse-In-Training's lips as she examined it like a scientist would a new breed of animal, all the while mumbling things like 'weird, why does it not cause heterochromic problems?' or 'how does the iris and sclera change like that?'.

"My, I must admit that, despite everything, this is still quite intriguing..." Soon enough, Vert joined the fray, sitting on the male's right side after moving onto the mentioned side of the bed. "These Tentacles match some of the hentai art that I've seen on the internet. I think one was called 'BB' or something..." The woman remarked as she observed Nico's Rinkaku Tentacle with rapt attention, several... scenes playing out in her mind which gave her a small nosebleed. Understandably, the redhead Spec Ops shuddered in dread.

A sigh erupted from Noire's lips, the Lastation CPU having been silent during the entire conversation. Finding a wooden chair in the room, Noire pulled it up beside the bed, sat down and elegantly crossed one leg over the other. "Honestly Nico, it should be obvious that this would happen, you know." she told him, before she noticed just how... crowded, it had become for the male. "Seriously you guys, could you all just give the guy some space?!" she exclaimed, quickly making to pull some of the others back to give Nico some breathing room. Though, Noire did end up making it a bit more difficult for the male.

At this point, Nico so DESPERATELY wanted an answer as to what was going on, and at this point he finally, FINALLY got an answer when Lucy stepped towards the side of the bed, putting her hand on his shoulder. He then looked at her whilst Compa lost herself in thought and Neptune aimed a jealous glare her direction that the Spirit girl ignored. "Don;t think this changes anything, Nicky-Dear. We've all been aware that you're not the most forthcoming person in the world." she told him in a calm, soothing voice that would look the best on a motherly figure, or at lest someone willing to comfort a loved one. "Myself, Ravey, Ivy, Aidy, Neppy, all of us know this, and have accepted it. This right here," she said, gesturing to his eye as well as his Ghoulish Kagune (which he didn't even realize had released itself). "Is just another thing we'll accept about you."

"B-But... Don't you all hate Abnormals? They've been terrorizing us for a goddamn long time now, took so many innocent lives, heck you all remember the Banshees right? Hell, i'm practically half Abnormal, the very same kind that we all hunt! There's more than enough reason, its only natural to hate them so why...?"

"Its quite simple, dude." IF stated to interject into the conversation. All the while, Ivan and Aiden looked like they had just dodged bullets with how much relief excluded from their auras. They now had lax positions, as well as small smirks on their faces. "Its not that hard to accept, cause look at all of us. A lot of us are Goddesses like Nep, Noire, Vert and Lucy. Raven's an unknown, and Compa is basically divine angel at this point, while I'm a walking Apocalypse. Just how could we hate you for what you are when none of us are exactly normal ourselves? Hypocritical much? In the end, to be frank you being like this actually helps you fit in even more. We're no ordinary heroes, in fact we're more monstrous than heroic anyways."

Monsters...

A group of Monsters. That was what they were.

And yet... Nico honestly didn't feel like he minded this much. If anything, it actually felt much more liberating than he had expected. And yet, all that only added to his confusion instead of solved it. Nico had no idea how this could have bee possible, how this could have been achievable in this day and age. Everything he had known to be the case had been flipped on its head in one swift speech, now combined with everything else, little made any actual sense to him anymore. As a side note, Nico's Kagune didn't try to attack his comrades right now, as if the acceptance of the girls had helped it somewhat get over its paranoia and intense fear. Right now, each of the Rinkaku Tentacles were being poked and prodded by each of the girls, whom had begun bombarding him with questions about them. Questions that, after a moment, he decided to put his complex feelings aside so he could answer them.

Thinking about that stuff could wait, cause right now, even if he had no clue how it was possible, he would definitely enjoy this little moment. For what it was worth, this...

Did this mark the first time in years that he felt so peaceful and tranquil?

Huh, who knows?


Chapter end!

WHEW, a long Chapter done! Been a big one, too with everything that's happened.

Now, we've finally gotten clarification about Nico's Ghoul side to the girls, as well as some of the events that have been foreshadowed for a while now. Whenever Nico had talked about betrayal, this had been it, the moment where every child whom had been forcibly converted into an Artificial One Eyed Ghoul was axed off either by their own relatives and loved ones, or the military. Can you imagine what that might have been like? To see your loved ones and think things would look up, only to have the rug of comfort pulled from under you and then death catches you at last? Nico barely survived it, and thus his distrust for others was born. Helen was an exception from the start as she had been the one to save him, showing that 'family isn't always those who are related by blood'... actually, that sounds kinda sad.

Second, is the reaction to the situation by the girls that Lucy and IF told Nico about at the end. Now, there have been many fanfics where they say tat the hero instantly gets over his trauma when these words are said, leading to a happy joyous moment. However, I'm going to go down a different route, remember how in Berserk Guts is still dealing with his mental issues even with his choice to protect Casca? I'm doing something similar, which will show just how complex Nico as a character is, complex and more importantly 'human'. Nico sees himself as a monster, we all know that and for good reason, but there are monsters in anime that are more human than humans themselves. Just take a look at Cole: a Conduit from InFAMOUS. Or Piccolo from Dragon Ball. Its simply another theme that this story is tackling, the different and similarities between humans and monsters. Anyways, all of this points to the fact that, Nico just went through something that went completely against what he had been initially brought up to believe: that nobody would accept him and that he would be alone for his entire life. I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure NOBODY would get over something like that so quickly. It will take some time for Nico to come to terms with this, which I believe will be some good character development.

Thirdly, is the stuff with his Ghoul side. Nico went up against something that is pretty much death itself, and he was using his Ghoul powers to do it. When he got hit at the end there, it damaged his soul immensely, as in very badly. Worse is, is that it damaged his Ghoul side the most rather than his Demonic Powers, which will be occupied for a while in restoring Nico's Soul. With some consequences thrown in. Not even his Ghoul side is immune to trauma, as it is an aspect of Nico himself. All of it, plus the way his Inner World looked and Biko's state, is to show just how bad that attack had wrecked Nico's shit. Its basically a complete defeat for him, even if Mundus spared him in the aftermath.