Chapter 167 - The LONG awaited reunion!
A brilliant morning day awaited the residents of MICROSOFT, with the sun shining as brightly as it always did and the skies remaining devoid of clouds. The sounds of birds chirping filled the atmosphere as flocks flew overhead, resulting in a morning which could put any troubled heart at ease whilst the residents slowly began to awaken to the beginnings of their day. Children would get up to some morning breakfast from their parents, teenagers would be going out either to schools or finding work, adults with working jobs would go out to those jobs whilst those in the Noble Houses would go about whatever businesses suited their fancy. Occasionally, one could even hear the sounds of various house pets like dogs, cats, or pet birds as they each did their own things. Despite the looming threats which gripped the City and those whom knew of them with a sense of terror and fright, one could say that a sense of normalcy stil existed within this city, something which anyone would be thankful for if they had ever gone through some kind of traumatic or hellish experience.
Speaking of said experiences…
"Um… I-IF?"
"Yeah?"
"Um… Th-Th-This might sound w-w-weird to you, but… a-are you sure its okay for…?"
Let's look at this from an outsider's perspective, shall we? Since its been a while since the story's last update (at least a couple months, apologies!) so we all need some kind of clarification about the scene. The two speakers, one of them mumbling in a shy and meek little voice whilst the other spoke with a confidence which underlined a sense of strong femininity, sat together at a café in MICROSOFT, one which had been located close to one of the City's entrances which got equipped with a Checkpoint as of late to make sure that any sleeper Agents of Chaos or… other interested parties didn't make it into MICROSOFT, courtesy of Leanbox's CPU having implemented some security measures, although the WHEN in that statement wasn't realy known to the populace. The Café itself had an outside section, which had been the section which these two sat in. Since it was early in the mourning, there weren't a lot of customers, so it would be a GREAT choice for a meetup to happen.
One of them, a tall brown-haired woman who wore a large coat and hourglass figure, sat sideways on her chair, her left side pressing against the chair's back as she crossed one thigh high stiletto heeled boot covered leg over the other whilst calmly sipping some tea she had ordered. She also liked the fact that there was hardly anyone here in the mornings since she didn't get as many stares, and the few customers here had been of the female gender with only a couple or so giving her some… looks. Heh, not like she'd be judging unless they actively tried messing with her, though. Meanwhile, opposite her and sitting on her chair normally, a smaller blonde girl in her mid to late teens sat like she were trying to look as small as possible. Occasionally, she would shuffle about and rub her hands together inbetween her thighs, not even having touched her own cup of coffee. The blonde girl wore a cape over a black and golden outfit which clung to her form which, despite looking rather petite, had quite the appeal to it which did not lose out to anyone. If the brunette woman had a mature adult's beauty, then the blonde girl had a budding young woman's beauty.
Although at the moment, that blonde girl looked like she was about to combust right now.
Looking towards her, the brunette's lush green eyes became filled with emotions similar to the expression 'You're really asking me that NOW?' as if shehad heard something unfathomable. "For you to be here? Please, Cecil, you've got more rights to be here than you might think." She replied, smirking to herself as she said so, though she hid it when she took another sip of her tea. This morning, she had gotten a text from her fellow party members, something she hadn't realized that she had been looking forward too (even the annoying ones, much to her surprise), one which told her that they would be meeting at this specific location. The one whom had sent it turned out to be their so-called 'Leader' although whether or nor their little group even NEEDED a Leader at this point tended to be debatable amongst them, since pretty much all of their group now had pretty much left their humanity behind to enter the path to becoming powerful existences. However, back to the topic at hand, indeed she had confirmed through texting on one of her phones that she would be going, to which their 'leader' had responded with a happy face (she didn't doubt she would have tried to pull one of her own 'special' faces there) and a message saying that the rest had also agreed to this… though their leader must have been curious when she had mentioned about bringin an 'interesting case' to their little meeting. She felt herself SO looking forward to what would happen inevitably.
However, sadly for her, Tekken Codename VAJRA and MAGES. codenamed HERMAEUS MORA wouldn't be coming to this meetup as the former had stated that she had some stuff she needed to take care of, stuff which the latter had stated to be helping her out on. A pity, but then again, she didn't mind since they had their own lives to live.
"Bu-But, IF!" the blonde, Cecil the newly appointed Spec Ops Agent codenamed INFERNAL whined in protest, obviously not seeing how her fellow Spec Ops Agent could be so calm right now. Especially since she herself felt like she had intruded on something special or important. Heck, when she had first heard that the brunette before her had been messaged by her party members and agreed to have a meetup, Cecil had expected her to just up and leave since she didn't have any more reason to be around her, heck she'd even prepared to find some small apartment then work her way up the Spec Ops ladder from there! That had been her primary goal once she had succeeded, since once she'd gotten herself sorted, she could go out and start earning money to send back to her fellow refugees to help them rebuild their village. So, when she had heard that the brunette had stated she would be taking Cecil along for the ride, the young blonde had almost felt her heart leaving her chest like it had been smacked from behind by a golf club. What the heck? What was her fellow Agent's angle?! "Th-this feels like I'm intruding on something personal… and its not like I know anyone here, so its…"
Hearing these protests from her fellow Agent (damn did it feel good to actually say that for once) IF codenamed MAMMON rolled her eyes once again, shifting so that she sat on the seat normally with her left foot placed on her right thigh. "Hey, none of that pointless crap now, do you hear?" she chastisized lightly, though her lightearted tone completely contrasted her words. "Besides, the crew's actually interested in meeting you, from what little I gave about them. Don't want to ruin the surprise after all." IF explained, chuckling in amusement when she recalled the 'enthusiastic' (read: downright interrogation mode) replies that she got from the rest of the gang save their sole male member about Cecil. She'd only mentioned about Cecil's name, her newly acquired Spec Ops Agent status and the fact that she was a girl, but that was apparently enough for the others to get all riled up about it. Part of her had debated about inviting the members of Team RAIL over as well since it had been a while since she had seen them as well, but in the end, she decided to just have this as a Party only meeting as controversial as it was. She didn't doubt that Lucy and Vert would work together to tease the life out of the rest of them, those damned vixens (IF would never admit it to anyone but at that moment a shudder had ran down her spine when she heard about their newfound 'friendship', knowing just how Lucy was as a person). "And besides…" just then, something sparked like a lighter being lit in her mind, and just like that a rather devilish smile formed on her lips which the brunette Spec Ops Agent directed at the shuddering Cecil who found that look rather… predatory. "Doesn't this mean you'll be meeting Mr idol himself soon?"
POOF!
For a moment, Cecil's features looked similar to what one would look like when saying ' has stopped working' as she had to process that little titbit of information, since she'd been so caugt up in her own nervousness about meeting the group which IF had fought alongside in many tough battles as she had described, that she didn't even THINK about the very real possibility of meeting the one Spec Ops Agent she had idolized more than any other. But the moment that she finally DID comprehend this fact, her face literally went up in flames as it turned a cherry red, steam rising from the top of her forehead as she repeatedly opened her mouth to say something, anything nly for nothing to come out and then close it again. She repeated this over and ovr like a broken record, looking so absolutely WRECKED by the new revelation that IF just HAD to bark in laughter, holding her gut with her arms as she bent forwards, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as she resisted the urge to smash her fists onto the table. If she did then the brunette didn't doubt her BOW enhanced strength would smash it into pieces of rubble. Not a good way to start a reunion, she'd say.
"Chillax, girl, chillax!" She finally managed to say after managing to regain some control over herself, the fact that some of the few customers alongside some staff members were starting to eye at them helped out somewhat too, as she wiped away the tears with an index finger and thumb before looking back at her. "You're going to be fine, plus my party is chock full of misfits anyways, so you'd have ZERO problem fitting in, to be frank." She commented, cracking an easygoing grin as fond memories surfaced in the back of her mind, memories to do with times when things weren't so chaotic… before the whole Okada and Mundus fiasco which had pretty much defeated them in every way possible. 'Yeah, those were some good times… heh, it almost makes me miss that little idiot and her random pudding spiels…'
"Heeeeeeey! Who are you calling a little idiot there, Iffy?! I know you were, its written all over that mug o'yours!"
'… Like I said, MOSTLY.'
All of a sudden, IF's ears twitched when a loud, boisterous and feminine voice suddenly broke the tranquil atmosphere the Café had, the brunette's eyes closing as a reflexive sigh escaped her lips. She knew that voice, she knew it all too well, though who would have guessed SHE were the one whom managed to get here first? Shaking her head whilst ignoring whatever Cecil's reaction was (likely still in shock over her 'incoming' meeting of her beloved idol), IF glanced towards the entrance where she saw a petite young form standing there, eyeing her with a look that was a mix, a mix between anger and amusement as she stepped inside the outdoor section of the café. "#SIGH# Whelp, guess some things CAN get you up early, you lazy bones… wait, hold on." IF began to say, only she then began to notice… something off about the new arrival. Her eyes widened when she took in the new sight present before her, her jaw almost dropping in surprise. "Holy hell, Nep, what happened to YOU?!" she shouted, pointing towards the newly arrived purplette CPU of Planeptune, Purple Heart AKA Neptune. "You look like… well, NEW! Like, again, holy hell!"
"Hehehehehehe!"
A sly, mischievous giggle escaped from the Planeptune CPU's lips, one which would NOT be too unfitting on a gremlin's face as Neptune stood before her brunette friend. What IF had been so stunned by about her though, was the fact that she had underwent a BIT of a makeover… and by bit, she meand a significant one. First off, gone was her short hairdo, instead it being replaced with a set of waist length liliac purple hair with bangs that reached down to her collar bone. Her eyes, D pad hairclips and collar remained the same pretty much, but that's where things started to change. Over her outfit, she now wore a white trench coat which looked to have been modified to be able to fit her petite frame. Beneath that, she wore a mostly white one-piece parka dress that had a purple hood, strings that look like controller plugs, and two huge white and purple pockets with liliac circles on them. The sleeves had two light lilac stripes going all the way down while the front of the parka only contained one. The ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the parka have white and purple stripes. The zipper emblem and the back of the parka has a purple letter "N" to represent the first letter of her name. Unlike before however, she had changed her stockings and now wore some completely black ones, with her parka dress covering somewhat a black coloured Skater Skirt with some frills on the trim, and her had become ones similar to the ones MAGES. usually wore, their heels adding to her body's height. Another thing to note is the fact she wears a white and purple gun holster on her left thigh that matched the rest of her outfit.
All in all, one could DEFINITELY say Neptune looked much unlike her previous self.
"You're not the only one who went through a closet change, ya know Iffy!" Neptune proclaimed, placing her hands on her hip. On her left side, Soul Calibur manifested in its Katana form, whilst Murasama did the same thing… only, there was something different about it, something which IF couldn't figure out at the moment. Neptune then gave her a massive grin, her head tilted slightly as she leaned on one of her legs, proclaiming a 'haha, look at me! Pay all your attention to me!' aura. "Now, don't I look good or what? I know my fans all like my small cutsy side, but I figured that it'd be fun having a womanlier appeal, y'know? Now I've got this smoking hot sexy bod, though I've always been sexy if the way fans liket to lewd me is any indication. Mwahahaha, no need to be jeally, Iffy smiffy. I'm sure Nicky will spend some time checking you out too." She stated with a childish wink, looking her friend over and noting the changes she had gone through since they'd seen each other last, not noticing the tick marks forming on IF's forehead.
With a loud exhale, IF placed a hand on her forehead as she contemplated striking Neptune in public, either a bonk on the head or a gut strike since she knew that unlike table kun down here, Neptune could take such abuse… though she 'refused' to think about that one show where that one glasses girl seemingly violated poor table kun whilst lusting after a member of some royal family that would later get axed off. "Get real, Nep. Its not like you haven't grown in… some areas." She retorted, before she smirked smugly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, empathesizing her own breasts (something which she felt OH so glad to do to her since she'd been wanting to for ages now). This elected a low growl from the Planeptune CPU as she stared at the larger breasts that IF now had thanks to her constant mutations over her time as a BOW. Though she could just transform and get herself a better hot bod that way, it was the principle that counted right now! "By the way, I thought Compa would be with you... you didn't up and leave her behind at the hotel again, did you?"
"Hey! What do you take me for, Iffy?! I'm a-palled that you think I would do-"
"Hah… haaaah… haaaaaaaaahhhh… Right… haaah… haaaaaaah… here, Iffy…"
Just as Neptune made to defend herself, a low, tired voice called out to them in the middle of taking some heavy breaths. Now, if it wer a guy then they would likely be a bit more defensive but would hold their judgements back, more on IF's side anyways since Neptune herself didn't know the meaning of the word tact. Turning towards the source which, again, turned out to be at the Café's entrance. There, stood a young girl with her legs bent and holding a piece of the entrance as a means to steady herself, looking like she had ran a marathon or something of equal length… though when she looked up and noticed them, her form straightened as a bright smile formed on her face (which coincidentally stopped the accusing look IF had given Neptune who could only rub the back of her head and laugh nervously). "Iffy! Its so good to see you again!" she exclaimed, jogging up to them as if she had a sudden surge of energy, catching the brunette off guard with he proof being when she jumped on her seat... for multiple reasons.
"You too, Compa? If people keep showing up like this, I'm going to think every one of us went through a damn makeover or something."
"Hm? Oh, this…?" the young Nurse-In-Training commented as she glanced down at her new outfit, one which took on the form of a… hybrid, a hybrid between a healer and a priestess-like design. Its primary colours seemed to be white, blue and golden, with there being a healer's cap on top of her head. A pair of brown belts crossed over one another like an 'X' around her waist, connecting to two large pads which covered her hips down to her feet as a form of protection. The outfit exposed her shoulders whilst having a long skirt which split into three trails via two long slits to show off her legs when she moved. This also allowed one to see the white stockings she now wore, with her feet being concealed by some heeled boots shaped like the ones Neptune wore but more of an armoured knightly appearance. Looking back to her friends, Compa gave a small, shy smile with a bit of pink taking over her cheeks' colour, her hands mixing her fingers together as she glanced nervously towards the ground. "Well… I just wanted to have a change, is all…" she began, until she then looked up at them with a determined smile, as if her previously meek demeanor hadn't even been real in the first place. "But don't think I'm going to just stay on the sidelines anymore, Nurse Compa's going to be stepping onto the field with her own two feet!" she proclaimed boldly, giving them a salute whilst winking and cutely sticking out her tongue.
"Wow didn't expect that. Looks like one of us has started growing a backbone, huh?"
"Yup, our sweet little Compa's finallygrowing up. #SNIFF, SNIFF#... brings a tear to my eyes, you know. Heck, even her determined looks make her so cute…"
Both IF and Neptune smiled to each other when noticing the bright determination radiating from Compa's being… with the latter wiping away some fake tears as if she were a parent watching their young child ascend into adulthood. This prompted a small sweatdrop from the Nurse-In-Training as she watched her friend and Planeptune's CPU be all overdramatic like that, something which she didn't think was trly necessary… but then again, this was Neptune here, who says she did nothing without some flare to it? The three girls all looked at each other in silence for a single long, tense moment, and in that time, one might assume that they would break out into a bunch of fisticuffs… until each of them broke into a fit of excited giggles, that is. These giggles… when one heard them, they would be able to literally FEEL the joy, happiness and relief exuding from them, emotions which would make one wonder if these people had went through some kind of trouble or stressful ordeal in order to make such sounds. They wouldn't even BEGIN to comprehend just how meaningful this moment would have been for these three young warrior maidens.
Afterwards, IF stood up and walked over to them, standing before the makeover given Compa and Neptune, whom looked at her with beaming grins on their faces. She returned those with a slight smirk on her features, raising her right hand with her left still pocketed inside her coat, and thrusted it forwards. The same thing was done by the other two, and as a result a light gust wind and a shockwave ripped through their immediate vicinity, slightly making Cecil's hair flutter and her clothes rustle. Once the breeze settled down and the shockwave dissipated, IF's smirk turned into a wide, almost toothy grin as her eyes lit up in excitement… the kind of excitement a bloodthirsty warrior would feel before entering a bloody battlefield. "Heh, good to see you all again… looks like we've all gotten stronger, just like we had intended."
"Hehehehehe."
"Hmhmhmhmhm, yup-yup!
Both Compa and Neptune nodded their heads in affirmative mannerisms whilst grinning back at her, a sense of comradery blossoming between the three warrior maidens. This one fist strike, it carried so much weight to it, feelings of a lengthy wait as well as all sorts of frustrated remnants of emotions, all of it and what couldn't be conveyed by words all rushed through the trio at this one moment. After what had felt like an eternity, the three of them had reached this point, a new level of power which had dwarfed what they had once been like before the Halo Mountain incident. That fist exchange had all but proven this fact as, like it was said, when warriors who were highly skilled clashed in battle, they could hear each other's thoughts simply through an exchange of fists.
At this point, Neptune then shifted the topic of discussion to something else as she looked around, noticing a distinct lack of people around them. "Huh, so fiew of us are here…. Well, I guess i'm not the only slob around, then. Anyways, looks like we're only one member short. So, we're only missing one other, huh?" She questioned as they lowered their fists down to their sides.
IF nodded her head, pocketing her fist inside her coat like its partner whilst leaning on one leg. "Yup, he mentioned he might be the last one here, though he didn't say why." She explained, before she then continued by addressing an unasked question between them regarding the lack of main characters and few NPC's around. "Noire and Vert have their own things to do, though the former did say she would be returning to Leanbox shortly. This was said to be a quiet place in the mornings, so it'd make the ideal place for a meetup without too much idiocy distracting us. Team RAIL isn't coming either, so its just going to be us for now. Figured this would be the best thing to do for our little reunion over here." She explained, ticking off the points that she needed to talk about in her mind one after the other until she had finished.
"Ah, I see…" Neptune began, before proceeding to hold herself whilst wiggling on the spot. "Man, this Nep can't wait to see her hubby again. I bet he's gonna be all 'hubba-hubba' over this hot bod, maybe ignite that 'flame of passion' I know he has for his little Nep." She proclaimed, a dirty old man giggle escaping her lips at the end with all the perverse thoughts and fantasies circling through her mind regarding what they would do… in private of course. Though, before IF could deliver any offhanded comments or Compa could rightfully scold her (possibly add in that their last party member would be ogling her for once), Neptune then looked around to see Cecil sitting there quietly, and the moment she did so the blonde girl tensed up like a burglar being caught by security. "So… THIS is the newbie that you mentioned, eh Iffy?" Neptune questioned, suddenly appearing by Cecil's side as she looked her up and down from multiple angles. Seriously, her eyes literally looked like the buttons one would see on a computer terminal randomly flashing about as she 'calmly' gauged the threat level of this new arrival. "Hmmm… hmmmmmmmm…"
"U-Um…"
A few seconds of being analysed like some picture up on a museum's display later, and IF gave a groan as she picked Neptune up by the back of her parka dress, lifting her up in that same hand as she stepped back a few times. "Hey, ease up on the little one, alright Nep? Don't just assume her to be an enemy right off the bat." She remarked in a scolding tone whilst Neptune flailed her arms and legs about like a wailing child… without making much of a sound by the way. "Anyways, yeah this is her, name's Cecil, a newly appointed Spec Ops Agent like me." IF stated, nodding her head in Cecil's direction. Well, to say that she hadn't expected something like this to be Neptune's reaction to her presence would be a lie, but IF had hoped that somehow, some way, their pint-sized amnesiac CPU would have been a little more levelheaded in this situation. Guessed that was her fault, she'd set the bar too high for the little midget.
After all, no matter how much she changed physically, Neptune was still a brat in her human form, through and through.
"Ah, so you're Cecil… eh?" Compa then made her own move, suddenly appearing on Cecil's opposite side as she leaned sideways, a small and polite smile on her face. The blonde girl meekly nodded, not trusting her voice as she shuddered. IF hadn't told her much about the other girls which she had been in a party with, and so if one of them had been… like that (Neptune) then what about the others? That was the thought process currently cycling through her mind at the moment, something which the young Nurse-In-Training picked up on fairly quickly. For a split second, Cecil thought it'd be a repeat of the same thing from earlier… however, that got dashed when the Spirit girl then blindsided her by pulling her into a tight hugh. "Awww, you're so cuuuuuuuute! You look absolutely adorable, you know that?" she proclaimed, pulling back slighty after a couple seconds so she could look at the blonde Spec Ops Agent with stars in her eyes.
The only thing Cecil said in response (not wanting to get into her insecurities about her appearance and height) was a nervous laugh.
What followed this little interaction would be best described as a game of 20 questions, one in which Neptune (whom had calmed down after IF 'convinced' her with a fist to the noggin) and Compa sat down on opposite sides to the blonde Spec Ops Agent before proceeding to ask her questions to get to know her better. Things started off nice and civil, especially when Cecil mentioned about being from a small village which got mostly annihilated by a fire Demon, heck they'd each grown rather curious about how Cecil developed her own demonic power set, especially when she'd shown her Devil Arm and Devil Bringer to them (discreetly for the latter of course, she didn't want to risk causing mass panic in the Café despite its lack of customers). Upon learning that she was a certaion someone's fan and idolized his way of doing things, Cecil feared the worst since the duo had become silent and ominous, fearing that they would try to do something to her that she couldn't even begin to imagine… only for them to pather gently on the shoulders and expressed their relief for her. Something about her 'being one of the 'safer' people to let into the group' for some reason. Cecil did NOT know why they axcted like that or why IF had rolled her eyes like she were a mom watching over her two rebellious children, but she didn't WANT to find out. They DID congratulate her on passing the exam afterwards though, and soon enough Cecil oddly found herself… warming up to them.
They DEFINITELY weren't like the no-good hussies which Cecil had grown up to be used to, proof being when Neptune sussed out her insecurities about her appearance and height but told her that it didn't matter, that she was just as much a warrior as the rest with Compa nodding her head in agreement. Cecil could… she could see why the Agent she admired most could stand to be around them, both girls just had so much 'goodness' in them that it would be nigh-impossible NOT to dislike them, despite the… quirks that they had to their personalities. If she could show she could get along with them, could she perhaps show her idol that she was worth getting to know? Maybe even receive some pointers from him on how to be a better Agent? That way, she could restore her destroyed village in no time! Her family wouldn't have to live the way that they do! Though for some reason, IF had to make a comment about her being 'unusually mature' which prompted a childish outburst from the purplette about her 'being able to be mature too!' or something along those lines. Maybe it was a bit of their group dynamic that the blonde hadn't seen yet, who could say really?
In any case…
"Moving on…" IF began as she held her Phone out, having been looking at it whilst the girls had been questioning (read: interrogating) the new girl she had brought to the mix. This also served to garner the trio's attention, though what REALLY got them going had to be the thing which left the brunette's mouth next. "Turns out that a certain someone we've been waiting for has finally arrived at the city, he's… actually nearby." she commented, looking up to where the girls were… only to see a stunned and bewildered Cecil having sat there with no Neptune or Compa in sight. The brunette could only sigh at this, holding her forehead with her left hand whilst feeling like she could potentially grow a headache from those two. "… Let me guess, they skidaddled the moment they heard me say that he's nearby?"
Cecil nodded her head in response, and that was all the answer which IF needed. "Alright then, shall we head out too? Odds are, those two will get lost since Nep has a directional sense as bad as a certain gren haired pirate swordsman sometimes." She suggested, standing up from her seat and making to head to the entrance.
"A-Ah, sure!"
Cecil soon followed with a small nod and a confirming response, yet a small smile formed on her features at the thought of finally, FINALLY meeting her idol after so long of dreaming what it would have been like.
After leaving the Café, IF and Cecil walked down the streets to MICROSOFT's entrance, where supposedly the last male party member would be located according to the text message the brunette had received from him. Thanks to it being morning still, it wouldn't be likely that they would encounter any opposition from any unsavoury people, but then again one couldn't be too sure considering just how scummy people can be, both IF AND Cecil knew this to be a FACT of life itself. With how long it would take to get to said entrance, it would be plenty of time for the young blonde girl to ask IF some questions she had begun harbouring since she had met Neptune and Compa. "Um, IF? Quick question, but…"
"You wanna know if Nep and Compa are into Nico romantically?" IF responded, having figured out the question herself after analysing the younger Agent beside her. Though, she wasn't exactly surprised since it was a common trend that girls were able to stay in touch with feelings much easier than guys. As such, it wouldn't be wrong to assume that they could tell when a girl is in love or romantically interested in someone, heck IF had seen groups of female civilians gossiping about such topics, even a few Agents, more than once herself, so she had some experience in telling the signs of such subjects before they actually came up. Upon getting a nod in return, IF looked back to the pathway ahead, a slightly wistful smile forming on her lips as she thought on how to answer. Eventually, or rather after a few minutes, she responded to Cecil's question but with some backstory first. "If you want to know anything about it, then believe me when I say that guy has the 'curse of the harem protagonist', in that he has a bit of a knack for attractingthe ladies." She explained. "A lot of the time, I see how girls sneak looks at him when they think nobody is going to notice, but he doesn't try to be a player about it. In all honesty, knowing what I do about him, its actually kind of sad that he has such a thing."
"Sad?"
IF nodded when Cecil mentioned that word in confusion. "Yep, I won't say much since its his story to tell, butlets just say that the guy's been through hell, more so than a lot of people these days. Growing up how he did… it must have affected him mentally as he couldn't pick up signs that a girl was into him, and then there were the girls whom were… quite zealous in their pursuits, I'm talking about the WORST kind of girl, aside from those damn thots… Fangirls." Upon saying that word, both girls shuddered, shivers rushing up and down their spines at the HORRIFYING implications. "So, don't be sad if he's a bit on guard around you, spend some time learning about him and earning his trust, then believe me when I say you'll have an insanely loyal companion by your side." If anyone were to ask IF why she was giving advice to one of Nico's fanclub, well, she'd respond that she had already proven herself to be unlike the majority of them, especially in the Spec Ops Exam when she showed herself as not just some dumb bimbo whom only wanted to pop out a few brats from the more successful of individuals.
"R-Right, got it, teach!"
"Hm? Why are you calling me your Teacher?"
"Because you've been helping me out a lot, of course! I mean, lets list the things you've done for me: looked out for me during the Exam, and are even helping me with your advice? How can I not call you a teacher?"
"… You know, now that I think about it, you have a point."
"See? Hehehehe…"
With that, the two girls continued their conversation, chatting and joking around with one another, something which honestly amused IF, someone whom felt herself not the kind of person whom could socialize as easily as someone like Compa. The more she thought about it, the more she began to see the potential of her and Cecil becoming close friends, maybe even Neptune would join in, she could DEFIINITELY see these three getting on with one another. However, as much as she liked the talk, she still couldn't help but place finding Nico's location at a greater level of priority. The reason why they had left the meeting spot to go find him, instead of just remaining there to wait had several forms, one of them being that they weren't damsels in distress who just waited upon ayone to get things moving along. However, the main reason was that, according to the message, IF believed that trouble likely will be waiting for him since he had mentioned there being some 'untrustworthy individuals' near his position, something which had activated the 'must protect my man' instincts in the brunette. She bet that, if Neptune and Compa had read the message they would have felt the same way too, since they were in the EXACT same boat that she herself had found herself in regarding that red-haired doofus.
Speaking of that doofus, IF wondered what the heck he was doing right now? Thinking about him caused IF's eyes to glimmer with an excited yet apprehensive light as a bunch of thoughts erupted within her mind regarding the red-haired Spec Ops Agent, thoughts regarding their relationship and the things that have happened over the last few weeks. If she were honest, the brunette found herself growing rather excited for the chance to see him again since it had been a long while since they last seen one another… last time being probably just after the Halo Mountain incident when they all learned about his hidden Ghoul side. 'Man, its been that long… I've been so focused on training and prepping for the Spec Ops Exam that I've been neglecting trying to meet up with him…' IF realized mentally, a frown of concern soon spreading across her lips although she hid it from Cecil whom had begun humming happily, excitement radiating from her being regarding her impending meeting with her idol. IF could also sense some underlying nervousness in her smile, but yeah, the excitement mostly concealed it from the untrained eye.
…MMMM…
"Huh?" IF then paused mid stride, her eyes blinking several times like an owl's as Cecil noticed her lack of motion before asking her what was wrong. Snapping out of her surprised demeanor, the brunette Spec Ops Agent hurriedly reassured her companion that she wasn't acting up or anything weird like that. "O-Oh, its nothing, I thought I was hearing things, cause I swore I heard a noise just now. Sounded like something rumbling, if I put my mind to it…" she replied whilst getting into a thinking pose as she glanced down towards the ground, only serving to confused the blonde girl more since she hadn't heard anything just now. She'd been too busy in her own little world to hear anything just then, so one couldn't really blame her.
…RRRMMMMMMMMM…
"Eh? I just heard it again right now…" IF mumbled when she once again heard that sound, and this time it seemed to be a bit louder. So much so that Cecil (whom had fnally heard it) adopted a frowning expression as she looked around in confusion, wondering where the hell the sound had come from. Out of reflex, the two girls stood behind one another, back to back, in order to continuously cover each other's blindspots. Furthermore, whilst gradual the sound did increase in volume over time, so much so that any doubts relating to their sanity for heariong things quickly got wiped clean out of existence. The more she heard the sound, the more IF tried to disconcert what it might be… until her eyes widened when it clicked inside her mind a few seconds later. "It's an engine! An extremely loud, rugged engine at that… and judging by the sound its making I'd say it'd be a motorcycle Engine…" she mumbled under her breath. She knew this to be the case due to her being a user of a Motorcycle herself, so the brunette had the right to call herself familiar with this kind of engine sound. However, that still didn't change the question regarding the identity of the vehicle it was a part of… as well as the potential rider of said motorcycle. The more she heard it however, the more a sense of familiarity began to grow within her like some kind of parasite, though IF definitely didn't think it actually WAS one due to the 'might makes right' nature of the cells within her body.
VRMMMMMMMMM! VRMMMMMMMMMMM!
Now, the sound could be heard by just about anyone now, even a normal person would be able to hear it. It now had a strong sense of a rugged, aggressive nature, as if it were malice in physical form wanting to absolutely dominate everything in its path, something which only some equally aggressive control from the rider's part coulc even HOPE to control. IF and Cecil quickly began looking around for the source of the sound, trying to locate where it came from in case it were an assassination, all the while the brunette tried to discover what it was which made her find the engine sound familiar to her. 'Its… now that I think about it, I HAVE heard this sound from somewhere, since my job takes me to so many places, I usually take my own personal Motorcycle for a ride, giving it to trustworthy repair shops for maintenance.' IF thought with her brows furrowed along with her narrowed eyes. 'Yet, this engine sound… I know its not mine, but I DO remember hearing it a few times before… wait… oh shit, is THAT it?!' her eyes then widened when she figured out the vehicle and rider's identity as flashbacks of a time when she raced against a fellow motorcycle user came back to mind. The moment that they did so though, IF had to release an amused chuckle, getting a confused question out of Cecil. "Oh, its nothing Cecil. Just thinking about how that guy's trying to show off right now."
'Eh? What does she mean by…?' the blonde Spec Ops Agent wondered, confused on why IF suddenly seemed like she had figured everything out whilsts he herself had been left in the dark… something which had caused her to want to pout in annoyance. Before Cecil could formulate a verbal response to that calm and composed remark, suddenly a silhouette leapt off one of the buildings above them, shooting through the air as if it were a bird with wings. Its form looked long, slightly large, and it shadowed the sunlight which came from the Leanbox morning sun, making both IF and Cecil look up towards it with only two words coming out of their mouths: "Holy shit…"
Pretty soon though, the stay up in the air had to end when the laws of gravity finally took hold on the Motorcycle, gripping it like skeleton hands in a graveyard trying to pull down hapless victims into the depths of the earth, as they proceeded to drag it back down towards the hard ground below it. However, the Motorcycle simply landed without much issue, not even a falling off on the rider's part as said rider stomped one left leg into the ground before, using it as an anchor, twirled the vehicle a full 90 degrees left, creating a curving cloud of dust which shot out into the space behind him or her. This of course, allowed the two maiden warriors to finally take a look at the Motorcycle in question... with Cecil's jaw practically dropping in shock and amazement whilst IF shook her head, a hand on her forehead and the other on her hip with a small chuckle escaping from her lips. 'I knew it...'
The Motorcycle in question... well, one could say from the moment that they caught sight of it, had the whole 'demonic' feel going for it. It took the form of a black motorcycle made from pure black metallic Armour, with a front faring that possessed multiple 'horns' which protruded forwards on both sides of the 'head', bat wing-like decorative extensions to the side faring and double-sided serrated blades extending from the point where the front fork met the wheel. Furthermore, the wheels themselves looked like they were made from solidified orangish red flames themselves, with more flames rolling off them as if they were bonfires. Not to mention that the whole thing had various hidden 'slots' from what IF could tell, slots which she couldn't figure out the purpose of for the time being but that wasn't something which kept her attention for very long. Nope, not at all.
Instead of the (admittingly kick ass) ride, she focused more on the rider himself. He didn't wear anything like a protective helmet, exposing some black well-styled hair with matching black eyes. In fact, black turned out to be the dominant and ONLY colour on his outfit too, as he had a black hoodless coat reaching to his ankles, with a furry tunic covering the majority of his upper body. The coat split open at the waist, exposing some matching skin tight trousers and slim knee high boots, with the coat itself having rather tattered looking ends. Furthermore, the coat's sleeves ended in black feathery tuffs, leaving his hands bare save for some riding gloves. Around his neck (which had a tight collar on it thanks to the coat) was a black spiked choker, whilst his trousers had multiple belts going down them. All in all, this guy looked like a mix of edgy and... well, a bit of a fallen angel with all the feathers falling down from him, likely due to the tunic and cuffs. Therefore, this guy should have been treated as a complete stranger, someone whom nobody (not even you, readers) has ever seen in this story so far.
Yet...
"Hey there, Nico. Had a bit of a makeover?"
IF suddenly spoke those words, causing Cecil to stare at her like she had grown a second head whilst the black dressed male hopped off his Motorcycle, said vehicle seemingly demonstrating sentient intelligence by rolling alongside him like a loyal guard dog protecting its master.
"Wait! I-uh-wa-wha?! THAT'S NICO?!"
Cecil shrieked that, and if any readers were beside her at that moment, then they would likely be in the same boat as her. The poor girl just couldn't believe it, from what she had heard Nico, Codename DEATHSTROKE, had a MUCH different appearance to this... this person! She didn't want to be disrespectful since so far he hadn't warranted anything to make her want to be such a way towards him. In fact, he looked completely unlike him! So, how could IF refer to him by the name of someone like Nico when he looks absolutely NOHING like him?!
It just didn't make any sense!
"... Hmhmhmhmhm, yeah, its been a while, hasn't it IF? Heard you just passed your Spec Ops Exam recently, congratulations. Though, I have to apologize for not being able to help you out some. Oh yeah, you mentioned about a makeover, so I assume you mean this current state I'm in."
Just then, the boy adopted a rather sheepish expression as he rubbed the back of his head nervously and with a slight sense of a timid demeanour, scratching the side of his cheek with the same hand which had been on the back of said head. All the while he answered to IF's statement. Gone was the intimidating and downright menacing posture which had been there before, replaced by someone whom felt like one could approach him and appreciate his company... all black edgy attire excluded.
"Pretty much, so could you share that story, and what's with the Motorcycle beside you? Looks like she's alive."
"HE. HE'S alive. Yeah, apparently this baby likes to refer to itself with the male gender pronoun instead of a female one. But yeah, there's a bit of a story for him, this form I'm in, and a whole lot more. But first let me disengage it for a moment."
A brief conversation took place whilst Cecil struggled to process things happening before her, and then the apparent 'Nico' raised his right hand to click his fingers. An audible 'CLICK' sound spread through the air like a soundwave, reaching their ears and driving Cecil out of her thoughts as if she were being shoved without mercy. This allowed her to see the following event happen before her very eyes, with the whole entirety of the male's form seemingly crack in every place possible... then disintegrate into nothingness from the head downwards, revealing the Nico she had seen from his most recent photo: the red hair, the blue eyes the two of which making him look like an otome game character, the long black high collar and hooded Trench Coat, the black shirt with the red skull, the belt, pants with belts, boots, leather gloves, everything she had remembered finally returned to its proper place.
'... What the heck...?'
That question may as well have been asked out loud, for it became written all over the poor confused new Agent's features. She had NO idea on what had just happened, and this time she wasn't the only one in confusion. IF had joined her in the confusion club, though she had put hers aside for the time being. "Well, I guess you would rather explain when the whole gang's here, but lets start with the elephant in the room." IF began, before appearing beside Cecil who 'eep'ed, grasped her by the shoulder and reappeared right back where she had been originally standing. "Nico, meet Cecil, Cecil, meet Nico." she simply stated, performing the introduction before either of them could react as she lightly ebbed the girl forwards.
"Ah! Ahhhh, um, uh..."
Stumbling forwards slightly, Cecil flailed her arms to get some balance, barely stopping herself from falling over in time. Relief spread through her when she did, before she realized that she currently stood before her idol... prompting her to shoot up into a straight line. This allowed her to see the curious, yet wary look in Nico's eyes as he examined her from top to bottom, causing her to shudder under his gaze. It looked so much like he was going to rip into her and teacher insides apart from the inside out, making her both frightened and nervous... although, this was EXACTLY the kind of reaction she had dreamed him having whenever she thought about how they'd meet in real life, back in her village. With how she had remained silent so far, Cecil quickly stammered out a response for fear that Nico might do something that she didn't want. "A-Ah, its a pleasure to meet you, sir!" she bellowed, before lowering her head to him in a deep bow. "The name's Cecil, codename Infernal! Just passed the Spec Ops Exam, its my greatest pleasure to meet you, sir!" Yeah, she used sir twice, what she was nervous okay?! She didn't know much about what to say in this kind of situation! 'Oh god, what was that? Was that a good enough intro?! Did I mess up?! Darnit IF, I wasn't ready, I dunno how to handle this! I hope he doesn't hate me for that bad intro, please don't hate me sir!' she cried in her mind.
Poor girl felt like a nervous wreck about to be struck down...
Meanwhile, Nico himself stepped backwards slightly, his eyes slightly wider in surprise at the greeting she had given him not to mention the pure honesty he had sensed pouring fourth from her being alongside the genuine fear, anxiety and nervousness which he had assumed came with meeting some big shot in some organisation. This girl gave that kind of reaction to HIM of all people! HIM! What the hell?! He seriously had no idea what to do in this situation, since when IF had mentioned to him in one of her texts that she wanted him to meet someone who was a 'fan' of his, Nico hadn't had the greatest opinion of it, even if she had assured him that he wouldn't regret it. Well, he definitely could say he didn't expect THIS of all things, to the point where he felt just like how this girl must be feeling! 'Biko, Byakko, are you seeing this? What the hell, what's happening in front of me right now?!'
'Interesting... This is a most interesting discovery. It appears that, like finding needles in haystacks, we've come across a genuine fan of our work, Nico something that I never thought I'd see happen in this lifetime given the fact there are way more well known Agents out there. One could say that we've found a rare if not legendary class Item in an MMORPG Game. Like you've noticed, I've seen into her emotional state and it seems that she is genuinely nervous to be around us, like a NORMAL fan would be around their idol.'
'OH SHIIIIIIIT DUDE! LOOK AT HER, THIS HOEBAG'S A LOOKER, AIN'T SHE?! SHE'S A FAN WITH AN ACTUAL BRAIN, TOO, HECK SHE'S EVEN GOT SOME OF THAT DAMNED DEVIL JUICE INSIDE OF HER JUST LIKE WE DO! C'MON KING, YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT AND YOU STOP GLARING AT ME, CRAZY OLD MAN! I SWEAR, IF YOU TRY TO SICK EREBUS ON ME AGAIN LIKE YOU AD THE KING NORMALLY DO I'LL CALL MY ULTIMATE TRAP CARD, JOJO REFERENCE, ETC: OURANOS TO BEAT YO ASS!'
'... You would dare.'
'HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, LIKE THE MEME SAYS: TRY ME, BITCH!'
Mentally, Nico winced at the bickering of his alternate personas, something which had become almost like brotherly squabbles over this long time since they had been able to be fully accepted by Nico himself. Ever since that day, it seemed that a bit of... jealousy had been triggered by the Archdevil Arms Erebus and Ouranos, who would have liked to have been included on that little talk they had about Nico's new direction in life. However, not long into getting into their training in the Inferno Hell, the mass abundance of quality Souls there made it to the point where the two have developed a bit of a rivalry with one another to see who could eat more souls than the other. A rivalry which included many spars inside his Inner World, some of those spars becoming so heated that continent level attacks got launched around like they were little more than bug bites, making it nearly impossible to find any form of peace in there.
Now it seemed that the two Personas were starting to use their rivalry as a means to threaten one another...
Oh joy.
In any case, Nico returned to the real world and noticed the young girl before him shuffling about like she were on stage with a bright light shining down on her for all kinds of people to see. "I see... Its nice to meet you as well, then, Cecil." he began, mentally stopping himself from adding things like 'Mrs' or 'Miss' since he didn't want to sound too formal. Especially with the part where she mentioned how she had passed the Spec Ops Exam this year, something which had AUTOMATICALLY garnered some respect from him. Passing that test was NOT an easy thing to do, especially if what he had heard from civilians and disgruntled Nobles on his journey back here had any merit to them. The thought of Shana whom had been known to be a pretty harsh proctor whenever she would be selected conducting the exam sent shudders down his spine... though the one whom he REALLY got the chills thinking about would be Eto herself. 'I must hope beyond all hope that she doesn't try to influence Compa or the girls... note to self, never allow them to meet her outside of this exam, EVER.' He mused mentally, though he did admit to himself that she did write some interesting novels under her pen name Sen Takatsuki, dark novels but interesting ones too. Especially the 'Black Goat's Egg' which he found especially interesting to read. "Congratulations on passing the exam, I heard its been especially brutal for the applicants this year... though I get the feeling a lot more unrest and negativity will be thrown the Spec Ops Program's way now that they excluded a majority of the noble's children from the exam."
"A-Ah, right!" Cecil exclaimed, still looking pretty flustered but upon noticing that Nico himself... didn't look like the coolest Ice cube in the freezer since he too had a slightly flushed look on his face, she mentally sighed in relief knowing that he had been just as flustered as she felt inside. "Well... permission to speak freely?" She questioned, getting a nod from the dude. At that point, her entire demeanour began to change, gradually becoming more and more determined along with a slightly cynical and disdainful gaze forming in her eyes. "I don't think its anyone's fault but their own, if they lack the ability to fight the odds in that Exam, then there's no way in Gmindustri's history they'd survive on the battlefield Spec Ops Agents frequently. I mean, aren't Spec Ops Agents supposed to fight the hard fight as long as possible, to jump into battles howling and screaming like they were mad people possessed?"
Now, if what she had been like before had piques Nico's curiosity, then NOW she had his attention when her demeanour, her words and the sheer passion (no lies according to is lie detecting skills and her emotional state didn't have much negativity in it right now either, big plus in his book). A light of intrigue erupted within his eyes as he smirked in a pleased and impressed fashion towards her. "Indeed, that is definitely the case, heck those analogies are pretty spot on if you ask me. I've mentioned this several times in some talks back in the past but Spec Ops Agents are the monsters that kill other monsters, we don't turn away from the abyss we instead jump straight INTO it. Not to mention that I completely agree with you on those things you said about one's ability needing to b of high standard to fit in with us, its really annoying to se people think they have it made when they join us only to get one shot killed out in live combat."
"Yeah, that does sound quite annoying, doesn't it? I mean, there was a time, when..."
"Oh yeah, I remember that case, a real drag if you quote a certain pineapple haired lazy strategist, though if you ask me a REAL example would be..."
In no time at all, IF sweat dropped as she gave a dead-eyed stare, since she had became witness to the skin being shredded off from the tension between these two Agents, all whilst Cecil and Nico lost themselves in a conversation about their shared hatred of Nobility. Though considering how scummy these people tend to be (even if there were VERY few exceptions), its not hard to see why they're so universally hated. The conversation even turned into one detailing a few renegade Spec Ops Agents when Nico realized that he was falling back into his old habit of only dissing the various Nobles and making the Spec Ops Agents look like damn saints when in reality that would be far from the truth. In essence, their conversation boiled down to the world in general being full of untrustworthy assholes which makes finding decent comrades all the more impactful. When you find someone you can trust in a world full of lies, deceit and downright demonic-class evil, one could only IMAGINE the levels of action one would go to in order to preserve that comradeship... even if some cases those comrades end up betraying you and running off with their tails between their legs.
Still, if there was one thing that IF felt within herself, it wouldn't be relief in knowing that Cecil and Nico weren't going to be tragically turned into enemies or something, in fact it had been the exact opposite. 'Wasn't this supposed to be our reunion? So, why the hell am I the one being the third wheel here?' the brunette wondered, her brow twitching in slight irritation, though she masked it with her usual cool and aloof smirk and gaze. She crossed her arms underneath her chest as she walked on up to them, even as she trembled at the seemingly little world the two had become lost in as Nico and Cecil discussed their own interests, breaking down the barriers between them. If one were to look at these two from an outsider's perspective... one wouldn't think that they had just met for the first time.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Just then though, Nico blinked as he looked over to IF, his eyes shining with a sense of sheepish curiosity. "Since its the early morning and we sorta did have a scheduled meetup goingon, you haven't eaten right?" he questioned her, to which the brunette responded negatively since she hadn;t beenable to get something to eat indeed thanks to this little meeting. Plus she had stayed over at Tekken and MAGES. house last night, so she couldn't really mooch off them since it wouldn't feel right.
Though, considering her current condition as a BOW, it wasn't really necessary for IF to eat the same way as normal humans anymore. "Nah, i'm good, don't worry about me." she responded, although the fact that Nico had thought about her just then after willingly pulling himself out of that little world he and Cecil (whom then became a little flushed in embarrassment at what had happened) had fallen into, kind of abated her indignation. She would have mentioned about Neptune and Compa...
"By the way IF... I just noticed, but... Sorry if this offends you, but you look absolutely drop dead beautiful."
… POOF!
"Wha?!"
… She suddenly got caught by surprise when Nico gave her an honest compliment about her looks whilst also giving her a comfortable hug, as if to show her just how affectionate he wanted to be with her or something. Her eyes bulged out of their sockets as her face became living flames with how flushed it became, that combined with the sheer happiness that she felt when she got genuinely praised by her crush alongside the sheer warmth he gave her, nearly made her melt in his arms. 'Goddamnit, Nico! What the hell are you thinking, blindsiding me like this?! I was just thinking about clobbering you, then you pull a fast one on me! This is nuts, do you know what you do to me?!' she screamed in her mind... all while snuggling into his embrace and returning it with her arms wrapped around him.
Cecil watched on at the seemingly little world the two generated, slightly surprised at first, but then quickly got over it. She knew for a fact that IF likely was one of the girls whom had a thing for her idol, it had been written all over her face when she'd mentioned about that fact whilst talking about him. Call it women's intuition, but she had sussed it out pretty much right away... though she found herself surprised that Nico seemed to have some reciprocation to those feelings, since most of the things said about him didn't mention about him being this... affectionate towards those whom he worked with. Not to mention that, whilst harems were indeed quite common and she had grown up in a Nation where they were the most prevalent, Cecil hadn't really seen one in practice before. Plus, the two seem to be quite content, and she had only just met the two recently so who was she to judge? Though, at some point she'd like to grill IF for... details, what she was curious! She'd like to know what to expect if she ever found a boyfriend!
"By the way, we can't really have a meeting up without getting the whole gang back together, so we gotta go find Nep and Compa."
Hearing that after the two separated and mentally fawning over how adorable a blushing IF looked, Nico couldn't help but deflate a little, a groan escaping his lips which was assisted by a hand over his eyes whilst he got a sensation similar to a migraine inside his noggin. "And where are they, again? At the meeting spot?" If there was one thing that the preteen was good a in his mind, it would be dragging people into her antics, especially someone like Compa whom just liked being nice to people so that they would not treat her like how she had been in her childhood. Knowing what he now knew about her, it somewhat amazed him that someone out there had managed to craft a mask which even HE couldn't have seen through.
"The moment you sent the message that you were having some trouble at the checkpoint to the City's entrance, Neptune quickly left and took Compa wither, likely getting lost in the process knowing her. By the way, since your here, you obviously must have been able top deal with the issue you apparently had been having, but how? Is there a story there?" IF questioned, mentally chuckling in amusement as Nico's sour mood deepened in further thanks to Neptune. They could both see this as Lastation 2.0, when the preteen had managed to ditch them and make Nico search over half the city for her only to find her sampling the products of a sweet shop. Sometimes the things they put up with from that girl, and now she's likely roped a noble young Nurse-In-Training into her antics, too.
"That girl, she's really going to be the death of me... #SIGH#, well, you're right about the story part, as apparently there was a Noble's child whom, after failing the Spec Ops Exam's first portion, took it out on some of the Guard at the checkpoint, blackmailing them into unfairly demanding payment from any who try to seek entrance into MICROSOFT. Probably wanted to nurse her bruised ego-yes it was a woman, I'd checked." He explained, before quickly clarifying when he noticed the looks Cecil and IF gave him during his speech. "Anyways, I dealt with them and that's that, though I almost didn't notice them threatening me for some reason, I guess I was just too lost in thought..." he remarked further, humming thoughtfully. Back then, he had simply been strolling towards the entrance to the Capital of Leanbox, eagerly talking with Biko and Byakko about his impending reunion with their Party, so much so that he hadn't even noticed the presence of Guards near him trying to get his attention. By the time he did when one tried to physically restrain him, all Nico had done was blink and they had been knocked flat on their asses, on of them being unconscious. He hadn't even realized what was up at the time, so he'd asked what had happened and, likely afraid of what he'd do, the Guard had explained the situation to him. He of course didn't doubt that he'd heard the end of this little incident, but he didn't place it too high on his priority list. "Now then, shall we head off to see if we can find those two? I swear, Neptune I can see fooling around, but dragging Compa into it? I'mma have to-"
"NIIII-NIIII!"
"NIIIIIIIIICKKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
GLOMP!
"UGH!"
Just as Nico made to turn on his boots to go out and search for the last few members of this Party, the redhead teen suddenly gasped when he felt two weights slam into him from behind, almost knocking him over from the impact that they landed on him as well as their combined weight (something he REFUSED to mention out loud as, according to his experiences, women were quite sensitive about their weight), though he'd managed to keep his balance. Immediately, Nico sensed several arms wrap around his neck from behind, and quickly became aware of their identities when e sensed two familiar divine-like energies flowing through them. "Neptune, Compa!"
"Hehehehehehehehe! We found ya, Nicky!"
"Yup-Yup, we did, we did!"
Both girls, Compa and Neptune, slid down from his back as they giggled merrily, absolute joy just shining like brilliant lights from their beings. They then twirled around him as he turned to face them, allowing him to notice their new appearances causing his eyes to go wide with shock and surprise, almost doing a few double takes at the sights presented to his blue eyes. "Holy hell girls, you've changed!" He exclaimed, and not just from their appearances either, he could sense that their powers have grown tremendously too! Compa's felt way purer and more concentrated than she had ever had it before, heck he could sense nothing but sheer POWER overflowing from her being, and she hadn't even donned her Astral Dress yet! Neptune, her Share Energy and Demonic Power reserves seemed to have swelled in potency and purity since he'd last helped her train, not to mention he could sense something Demon-related within her Murasama… Nico didn't know what to feel about something he'd given her having something Demonic inserted inside of it, but he had to admit that it was kind of like how he'd given her quite literally a Devil Arm in the form of Soul Calibur. "Damn..."
"Whadya think, Nicky? Does this Nep-bod look absolutely irresistible to you now? Do you wanna have any M rated stuff with me soon? I took a page from your book when you changed your look way back when, and for similar reasons too." Neptune commented, doing some poses with her new outfit, and Nico would NEVER admit it, but some... thoughts did try to sneak their way into his mind seeing those poses. So much so that he refused to look at her any longer... though she didn't need to see his fact since the rising steam from atop his head gave away the cherry red tone that he'd sported. "Hehehehehehe, you LIIIIIIIKE this, don't you?"
"Stop mimicking that blue angel winged cat, Neptune! But... yeah, you look absolutely stunning."
"Mou! Ni-Niiii…!"
Just then, Nico looked towards Compa and got an eyeful of her outfit too... and if he thought his face had been red before, the sheer redness which assaulted his entire BODY may as well have turned him into a human tomato. 'Goddamnit, what the hell?! How can these three ladies look so absolutely gorgeous and still not have a boyfriend?! Seriously what the hell?!' He shrieked mentally, and whilst he didn't say anything like he did with Neptune, his face and body language spoke volumes, causing Compa to beam happily at the knowledge she had that effect on him. 'I mean, its relieving in a way since I don't have to pull out Ebony or Ivory to shoot off any dicks that dare to approach them, but still! How can they look so goddamn lovely, are they really freaking angels?!' Whilst he shrieked that inside his mind, outwardly Nico tried to keep a cool, calm façade... although the redness spreading over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose wasn't much of a help. "Where did you two come from? IF told me you guys left the meeting spot..."
"Oh! Weeeeellll…"
"Nep-Nep kinda got us lost."
"COMPAAAAAA! You said we would say we were getting some pudding!"
The moment that Nico asked that question, Neptune became a bit nervous as she sheepishly chuckled, making to make some kind of excuse before Compa intervened and drove them straight down into the rabbit hole... something which the Planeptune CPU did NOT appreciate in the slightest. After giving Compa the stink eye (of which she merely responded with a cute wink whilst sticking out her tongue, something which IF had to refer to her as a little minx for under her breath) the young Spirit girl glanced behind her and pointed to an alley way. "We got lost, but travelled through that alleyway and ended up here on the main street. We did have a few weirdos who tried picking us up, but..." pausing after that last bit when she sensed some KI and bloodlust beginning to radiate from Nico's form, Compa smiled sweetly whilst patting his shoulder... along with a dark and creepy aura of her own, shadows over her eyes and a LITERAL hanya mask floating behind her. "Lets just say some ball crushing got initiated."
"Yup!" Neptune agreed with a happy nod... and a similar expression on her face only instead of a hanya mask, she had a literal demonic head similar in shape to Soul Edge's INFERNO Mode floating behind her. "Nobody but Nicky has access to this Nep-bod! Any who try will learn exactly what happens when a few oranges are smashed from every angle by a sledgehammer." she explained... though the implication would cause every male nearby to suddenly grip their precious areas with phantom pains and tears of pure unadulterated terror in their eyes.
"...I approve."
Nico giving his thumbs up (instead of doing the same as any NORMAL guy) just got some eerie giggles out of the two, to which he joined in with a dark, menacing aura forming around him with the silhouette of something... something black but hideous at the same time, floating behind him.
"Hihihihihihi…"
"Hehehehehe..."
"Ufufufufufufu…"
IF and Cecil sweat dropped at the trio, whilst wondering if these were really humans at all at this point... well, that was more Cecil since IF knew the answer to that question already.
"... Does this happen a lot?"
"Don't even get me started, Cecil. This is actually kind of tame for us."
"... I share my condolences."
"Thanks, someone has to be the straight man of the group."
Later...
"So ladies, wanna start this off, or shall I?"
Nico Neptune, Compa, IF and Cecil all sat together, outside of MICROSOFT in a large green expansive plain. Next to nothing else could be seen in their entire surroundings, not even a silhouette of the city, this plain was just one big, wide open area with next to no signs of life around. It could have the potential to be the grounds for a massive scale mass army battle if one thought about it. Light gusts of wind occasionally blew through the area, rustling through their clothes in a calm, gentle manner. Unlike back in the city, the atmosphere here held a much more... natural kind of calm serenity, whereas in the city the calmness there felt like it could change at any moment, since there were other people around.
After the whole laughing schtick finished, Nico had suggested that they take their little talk outside, and to bring Cecil along for the ride since he had sensed that, judging from the Demonic Power nesting within her body, that she was similar to them in that she was sort of a monster herself. Whats more, was that since Neptune, Compa and Nuco themselves had started some stuff in the tow, odds were that they likely would be inviting trouble for themselves eventually so leaving the Capital and laying low for a bit sounded like a decent idea... that and Nico would rather talk about this stuff somewhere where no human eyes or ears could track them. Whilst a plain didn't seem like a good idea at first glance, not only did Nico have his Archdemon out as a lookout in the airspace above, but he also had 'other methods' which he had refused to elaborate on when the girls had questioned him about them. Nobody had disagreed, and as a result the group of five now found themselves here, after having filled Cecil in on the basics of what they were including Nico's Ghoul side and DPU powers (something which he had been hesitant about doing, but she didn't seem to mind much and promised not to tell others unless with their permission since this secret could potentially kill everyone she loved... though it had helped that she'd told them the origin of her abilities too) with Nico asking who wanted to start first in their little catch up session.
"Me! Me-Me-Me-Me!" Neptune suddenly shot up her hand the very instant that Nico finished asking his question, waving it about from side to side so fast that her arm looked like a blur to the naked eye... although the rest of them could still track it with varying levels of success depending on the person themselves. When nobody bothered to contest her for the chance to go up first, Neptune cheered happily as she swiftly pulled her twin Katanas Murasama and Soul Calibur off her waist, then set them down in front of her since she sat in the Lotus position. "Whelp, first off I kiiiiiiiinda, well, sorta noticed everyone looking at my red Katana here." she began, chuckling in amusement. "Man, if someone like me could notice your 'discretion' you guys might want to up your game a bit!"
A twitch of the brow came from IF as she withheld the urge to smack the preteen for her comments, though veins did bulge on her fists, which pretty much convinced the preteen to continue on as she grasped Murasama's sheathe and held it out before them horizontally by its trigger beneath the hilt. "The thing is, this baby's kinda like a Devil Arm not but sorta not really. Its kinda hard to explain, but whilst I was out training I found myself attacked by a Greater Demon. Can't remember its name though, but it was a nasty one, so I fought him. Took me several days straight, having to manage my HDD which is now capable of being used for 24 hours now and my Devil Trigger which can be used for 48. Oh, and before you ask Nicky since I see your mouth beginning to move, I mostly extended it by simulating the Share Energy with my Demonic Energy... for the entirety of the last few weeks by the way. In the end, I beat the baddie and when he tried to take my Soul or something, can't remember off the top of ma head, I kinda raised this bad boy up in front of me by reflex..."
"And its Soul merged with the blade, right?" Nico questioned, and after grinding Biko for some answers, he soon figured out what had happened. "Huh, so its really like a Devil Arm then. If what I'm guessing is right, then it seems that the Soul of that Greater Demon chose to inhabit that sword, turning it into a demonic weapon similar to said Devil Arm. Now that I think about it, during some of my research into the Chaos Gods, there were records of weapons being imbued with Demonic Power and the very Souls of Demons themselves, the Hellblades those Bloodletters use being a perfect example. So what you have isn't a Devil Arm but just a Demonic Weapon with the powers of a Greater Demon. Judging from the aura I'm sensing from it... looks like you fought a Bloodthirster, then." Made sense since Khorne had eyes for Leanbox, and likely wouldn't take too kindly to other Gods trying to steal his prize. "Well... that explains why Murasama now feels like its coursing with power that feels like its one step away from going on a furious rampage."
Neptune nodded as she put the blade back on her lap, the weapon trembling with untapped emotion when she did so. What kind of emotions nobody would be able to tell for sure, though considering the kind of Demon inhabiting that blade the others could definitely guess. Not to mention Nico worried about what kind of effects the sword could now have on Neptune, and he had a right to worry. For you see, from what he had studied about Demonic Weapons, it was apparent that they were both similar AND different to Devil Arms. A Demonic Weapon like the Murasama now, was said to be a mighty artefact of Chaos, a blasphemous union of the matter and the spirit. It is most often given as a gift from the Chaos Gods to their favoured mortal servants. As the name implied, a Demonic Weapon was one which a Demon's Soul was bound to. Most of the time, they're for close quarters, although Demonic ranged weapons were said to have been encountered. Quite often these Demons were bound into the weapon as the result of a punishment rendered by his patron Chaos God, but at times exceptional mortal servants of Chaos manage to entreat a Demon to assist them in their exploits of slaughter, and the Demon binds itself willingly to its bearer.
A Demonic Weapon is a sentient item that grants tremendous power to its wielder. The weapon itself would often be quite destructive in its own right, and nearly all Demon Weapons allow their bearers access to their daemonic senses, heightening their perceptions of their surroundings. The bound daemon, if it has not been driven to insanity by its imprisonment, can also counsel its bearer or even manipulate him. Bound Demons of Tzeentch were apparently particularly fond of and apt at this according to some of the lore books on them. These things also seem to be highly coveted by the Chaotic forces as a sign of some sort of twisted prestige, a true mark of the favours of their Gods, and the bearer will soon see their personal flock swell with eager underlings. However, like all things in this world, this power comes at a dangerous price: the bound daemon cares neither for mortal frailties nor limitations, and will rebel if its bearer does not use it for constant slaughter or the fulfilment of whatever the Demon deems to be its own personal goals. If the bearer does not succeed in controlling this weapon, they'll be killed as soon as the weapon finds a better prospective wielder, quite often by the contrivance of the Demonic Weapon itself, as it withdraws its support at a critical moment.
So yeah, Nico had AMPLE reason to be worried. Neptune had better keep an eye out for that weapon, in case it tries to rebel against her, something which a Devil Arm is less likely to do... mostly due to the more symbiotic relationship they have with their wielders. A Devil Arm seems like a much fairer deal, whilst Demonic Weapons were like wielding ticking time bombs ready to go off... Yeah, if THAT guy were here, Nico would say THESE were true walking bombs not his Devil Arms, especially since the Archdevilification process can be somewhat predicted by Biko and himself. Furthermore, wielding a Devil Arm is like... well its like having a conversation buddy whom will give you trials by fire when reaching a certain point, before and after that remaining a strong sense of loyalty to those they deem worthy. Even if they are fierce killing machines who do not shy away from massive gore fests, something Nico had seen PERSONALLY back in the Inferno Hell.
"Yeah, well, it was a REAL chore getting this thing to listen to me, I'll tell ya that much. Had to slay an entire army's worth of Demons which conveniently came to me to avenge their leader. Had to deal with them, satisfy this guy somewhat, so it was a win-win for me." She explained, storing the now seemingly partially sentient blade back inside her Inventory. "But aside from that, I just did a load of fighting as slick Blood Heart, the uber serious and sexy Purple Heart and as the ever-lovable Mascot of the Neptunia Franchise: Neptune! Improved my Crystal manipulation, beat up loads of baddies, I'm a total badass!" she proclaimed, putting her hands on her hips and then holding her head up in pride as if to say 'praise me more! feed my ego and let my superiority known to the whole world!'
"Um, can I go next?"
"Sure Compa."
"Hey! Gimme more praise you guys-NEPU!"
"Sorry bout the brat there, go on Compa."
At this point, Compa had decided that it was her turn to go next, promptly raising her hand up like she were a student in a classroom wanting to answer a teacher's question. After Nico responded positively to her with a small kind smile, Neptune had trod to interject, but sadly for her IF didn't let it happen and instead gave her a nice bonk to the head, nearly making her go 'everybody do the flop!' towards the ground beneath her. Once that had been done, IF urged Compa to continue like she HADN'T been interrupted by the preteen whom had begun nursing a comically large bump on her head with fake tears in her eyes. Nodding to her friend with a smile, although part of her did indeed still worry for Neptune's health, Compa began to speak. "To start... I'll start with my Angels. Before, I've been only able to summon one Angel at a time as any more and I wouldn't be able to handle them. It took some training, but I've become able to summon at least 2 Angels at one time, but that's my current limit." She explained, clicking her fingers as bot Sandalphon and Camael manifested together, floating in their own auras on opposite sides of their user. The point proven, Compa clicked her fingers again and they vanished into her again, before continuing. "Aside from that I've been practicing against the many Demons and Abnormals to get better at using my Various Angels... though..." Her smile then fell when she trailed off as her eyes glanced towards the distance to her left, her eyes becoming melancholic as a gust of wind blew through her hair. "I can only use them after assuming my Astral Dress still, whilst I also discovered something new about me being a Spirit..."
Holding up her right hand, Compa looked towards a space in the far distance, her eyes narrowing slightly as, from her, a slight wave of energy erupted from hr like some kind of radar or sonar wave. It wasn't very large though, and if they weren't so sensitive to different energies then the others likely wouldn't have noticed it. However, as Compa held her hand out, the scenery at the space she looked at began to distort, shifting and moving about in a rather unnatural fashion like time and space itself was being messed with unnaturally. The Clouds above them began to spiral inward as if being drawn in by some kind ow whirlpool, with what looked like areas where space seemed to bend inwards as if it were being sucked up by something. Everyone could only watch, curious and nervous as to what had just started by Compa's hand... until al of a sudden, a black mass came into being from the centre of the inwardly spiralling clouds, growing in size and mass until it slammed into the ground below, unleashing a HUGE wave of dust and smoke similar to a shockwave from a highly explosive attack. Fortunately the girls remained safe, thanks to a quick flick of a newly summoned Soul Edge in its default form by Nico's own doing, a flick which carried enough force to split the shockwave in two and ensuring that they didn't get even scratched by any debris.
Clenching her fist, Compa stopped whatever it was that she had done, allowing the mass to dissipate... revealing nothing but a crater in the distant ground which looked to be large enough to... at leas swallow up a small village. Something which caused Cecil to tremble in nervousness a bit since it reminded her of her own village and implied what could have happened if this ability was somehow used on it... not a pretty sight, seriously. "Yeah..." began Compa, lowering her hand as she looked down at it nervously. "Turns out, I've got the ability to summon something which me and Lucy coined 'Spacequakes' these natural disaster-like things which pretty much destroy large areas like an AOE Skill effect on steroids. Its... got a lot of BOOM to it, and I can make one large enough to destroy a large City at best according to my and Lucy's calculations, though we both agreed that I'd better only use it if necessary due to it targeting everything indiscriminately."
"I'd say that's a good idea, Compa…" IF mused after she got over her shock first, with Nico following after by shaking his head to clear it of cobwebs, and then Neptune before finally Cecil recovered, both in the same way: by picking up their gaping jaws and inserting them back into their mouths. "With the way people are these days, not only will your Spirit Powers be seen as heresy by the masses, they may just end up calling you a Demon just like the ones belonging to Chaos. Best keep that one on the down low and hope you don't ever have to use it." She remarked... though internally she couldn't help but need a moment to reorganize her thoughts on this matter. Like, holy hell, Compa's now got some punch to her! Judging by what she had seen just now, what had happened was a manipulation of space itself, something which she had once believed only to be possible through some kind of Magic. Now, here comes her friend who can do It just by thinking about it, it seemed. Furthermore, it looked so much similar to the remains of a nuclear warhead without the radiation poisoning, or even the remnants of some massive bomb having gone off, she thought whilst looking at the destruction left behind by Compa's Spacequake. With how powerful she had become, it almost seemed impossible to believe that there had been a time when Compa had been the weakest link in their little group... now she's swinging massive weapons about, slaughtering Demons like its nothing and now is able to bend space to her whim! Sheesh, its always going to be the quiet ones... and she thought HERSELF, Nico and Neptune had been rather OP...
Now that she thought about it, nearly everyone they'd known had become somewhat OP over time...
The brunette shuddered at what might happen if any of them decided to fight one another, like if they were brainwashed or something.
"Well then, I guess its my turn now." Nico began after looking across the other girls and noticing nobody else wanting to explain what they've been doing these last few weeks as training. 'Well, considering that an entire mini arc was dedicated to IF and Cecil, those two don't surprise me...' He thought whilst breaking the fourth wall (though in all seriousness, was there even A fourth wall anymore?). Whilst he spoke, Nico sensed his Motorcycle riding up behind him, letting him lean on its side for support and comfort as its wing-like extensions trembled visibly, almost reflecting joy in being of use to him. "For starters, I guess I can explain what's happened to my Motorcycle here."
"Yeah!"
"Oh please do!"
"Wait, it wasn't like that before we met? Huh..."
"Now THIS is what I've been waiting to hear!"
Neptune, Compa, Cecil and IF each answered this in their own ways, showing various emotional responses to this story they would soon be told. Chuckling to himself at these whilst mentally fawning at how beautiful they sounded (by goddess, how much he missed them, he can't believe how much he had missed these girls after all this time), Nico began to speak. "Well, to quickly recap for our new member here, this little bad boy of a Motorcycle Cavaliere, was once my Skimmer which I had called Ember." He began, stroking one of the bat wings tenderly. "But, after discovering a place where I could train for much longer than I should be able to in Gamindustri, a place called the Inferno Hell, I came across a powerful Sky Class Demon, one which also had amazing strength and affinity for Lightning for itself, called itself 'Cavaliere Angelo', and we fought. I beat it after a short while, but afterwards its soul kinda did the same thing with Neptune's whole situation and tried to take over my ride... but ended up getting absorbed into it instead since Ember at the time had been a Demonic Skimmer thanks to my imbuing it with my power. As such, I decided to rename him after the Demon I'd slain. This absorption caused it to transform into the form you see now... although it now has some 'additional' features too. Here, I'll show you."
Taking a pause to get things ready, Nico walked around the back of Cavaliere, before he grasped it by its Handles and pushed a hidden button at the base of both. The moment that he did, the handlebs slid towards the spot where the gas tank met the seat and the Motorcycle ITSELF proceeded to split in half. The tires then opened up into large spiked blazing buzzsaws, ones which rotated constantly and with high speeds creating sparks of electrical energy that mixed in with the flames. Turning back to the girls after performing some moves with these two massive Buzzsaw's, Nico grinned happily, and with a little pride too, when he saw the pouty expression on Neptune's face. "What's wrong, Neptune? You look a little put out..."
"Its no fair, Nicky! Why do you always get the good toys?!"
"Hehehehehe, cause that's the trend of the main character, girl." Nico responded to her complaint, playfully flipping the Buzzaws into the air and watching them recombine back into Cavaliere's Motorcycle form. Neptune once again pouted, and would have made to stand up and give him a piece of her mind for trying to take the main character slot from herself, but... She didn't thanks to the Motorcycle riding in front of its wielder and opening up 2 of its 'slots', showing two… rather damn sinister and hellish looking guns coming out and pointing forwards beside the hood, both aimed towards Neptune herself. Heck, the wing Extensions then spread outward as if prepping for flight, and then became these long plane wings made entirely out of orangish red flames, reminiscent of what they had been when it was still Ember. As for the Wheels, they sunk into the Motorcycle and became thrusters, with two slots opening on the back to spit out two additional thrusters shaped like skull heads. "Yeah, this bad boy's now REAL protective of me, as not only can it still shift into its flight mode as you can see, I was even able to insert some of my ranged weaponry into it, allowing Cavalier to manifest them and use them as if they were its own. There's one more form it can take right now, but I'll save that for when we're actively in combat."
Each of the girls stared in awe, their mouths hanging open to show just how utterly gobsmacked they had become, as Nico pretty much began showing off at this point, laughing a little as he rubbed the hovering Motorcycle's hood affectionately to calm it down. All before Cavaliere returned to its Default Bike form yet remained by his side still, much to the teen's amusement. "Oh yeah, I mentioned the Inferno Hell, didn't I? Well, you can thank that place..." he began, before clicking his fingers like Compa had done before, and for something only IF herself recognized to happen. A black mist seeped out of his being, quickly covering him and transforming his appearance, making him look just like how he had looked when the brunette had happened to meet him with Cecil. Pocketing his hands inside his long coat, Nico then proceeded to explain. "You may call this the 'Blackening', a side effect of a new ability I managed to obtain in the Inferno Hell, inside a place called the Slaughter City. Basically put, this ability's similar to Compa's GABRIEL with how it can improve people's ability. but this bad boy actually covers a large radius around me, essentially an AOE ability classified as a 'Domain'. Think of this like a major AOE ability which targets everything around the user with differentiating effects. This particular Domain can be classed as pretty much 'close to a physical manifestation of the murderous aura obtained from endless slaughter in the Slaughter City's Hell Slaughter Arena'. The killing intent is absorbed and condensed into a domain, which can be released at any time." he explained, clicking his fingers and dispersing the Blackening effect to return him to normal. Perhaps he could call that form his 'Blackened Form' for now, so he could categorize it better.
In any case, it was a fact that the Inferno Hell had been a MAJOR source of growth for Nico's powers. A place rich with all kinds of energies for developing and cultivating one's abilities. Not to mention it had its own civilisations, rules and nature to it which seemed even more extreme than the current Gamindustri's. To be frank, Nico felt rather at home thee, probably due to the ability to fight whatever he wanted, it being created by his predecessor Sparda, and so much easier to understand with not having o worry so much about politics. As long as one recognized your strength there, you would be revered as the next coming of god or something similar. Even those who tried to steal from one such person would be considered goddamn idiots and discarded for whomever they'd targeted to deal with, no matter what kind of background they may have had. No restrictions, just raw unhinged violence... a barbarian's wet dream if one asked Nico. Achieving this 'Domain', which was also called the 'Deathgod Domain', allowed Nico a great supportive benefit to his group. The Domain itself provided an imposing manner and pressure formed from killing intent which can leave the opponents unable to display their full strength, but the user himself can exhibit one hundred twenty percent of their strength. With the growth of one's spirit which is achievable by constantly killing anything in one's path no matter their race, the proportion of weakening the opponent and strengthening oneself will also increase.
Right now though, with all the killing Nico had done since gaining this ability (although THAT part took some work in and of itself plus he'd only stumbled onto the Slaughter City by accident), the Domain could still only affect his opponents at least by 10%, despite its long range of coverage. Plus this Blackening had been a side-effect of this Domain, though thankfully he had learned how to use this without triggering said ability. So, as long as he kept killing not only would he absorb the Souls for his Devil and Archdevil Arms, his Demon King Seed too, but the killing intent will strengthen this Domain ability's Prowess... although he wasn't sure why, but he got the feeling upon gaining this ability, that it was meant for something... something more. The only way he'd be able to find out would be to strengthen the Domain itself, something which the young DPU would be MORE than happy to attempt.
Aside from this, Nico had done much in the Inferno Hell, like improved on his Kagune's power and effectiveness. Thanks to the Gourmet Cells from that Four Beasts creature, Nico's Ghoul side had underwent a rather... interesting mutation, one which evolved his entire Kagune to a whole new level, with a sense of lethality that it didn't have previously/ Though he still couldn't utilize his Koukaku properly without shivering like a leaf whenever he used it (forcing it causing him to throw up), he could at least fight with it for about 2 minutes now, so he was slowly helping his Ghoul side get over the trauma of that defeat Mundus had dealt them. In addition, he'd moved a step in the Great Way of the Buddha, reaching the next stage which was the fifth, multiplying his physical ability ten fold. He hadn't started on the World God manual just yet though, he had been waiting to reunite with his comrades before THAT one would be utilized. However, Nico DID manage to finally get to the tenth Stage of the Star God's Broken Shadow, along with increasing his fusion rate with the Golden Crow Blood to 85%. not much longer before he reached the absolute perfect fusion state for it, which would allow him to practice using the techniques in the Golden Crow's Record of the Burning World to their fullest once he'd mastered them. Not to mention that he'd finally mastered the second half of the Extreme Mirage Lightning Skill, resulting in his speed increasing by leaps and bounds once it activated. His Kakuja wasn't making much progress though, but at least he had his DPU Form which he had finally gained a better ability with, to the point where he could stay in it for over a week now by his and Biko's calculations.
Then there was THAT..." Hmmm, he should be here soon..." the male murmured under his breath as he looked to the side, something which the girls found odd.
"What is it, Nicky? Whose coming?"
"Not someone you'd might expect." Nico replied vaguely, and before any of them could question him more, Nico noticed something from the horizon which made his eyes sparkle with delight, "Ah, here he comes now." he mentioned, pointing into the distance. When he did so, Neptune and the others looked towards it... only to notice what looked like a flaming red meteor-like thing shooting straight towards them at high speeds, speeds even a dozen Bullet Trains may not be able to match. They couldn't even get up to defend themselves in time, before the thing crashed into the space before them, causing the girls to cry out as they got sent flying backwards... only for something invisible to grab onto them and pull them back as the dust got wiped away by Nico's Soul Edge (which had been on his back the moment he first used it on Compa's shockwave).
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet..."
The moment that Nico began to speak was when the dust finally settled completely, revealing a figure standing tall after having been kneeling for a few seconds then stood up like a soldier in the army. He stood tall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, looking over them like a military instructor did with his trainees. The person... looked like an exact copy of Nico without the so-called 'Blackening' effect taking over him, much to the shock of the girls, something which Nico himself smirked at since he'd predicted that the stuff that he had gone through would have definitely knocked their freaking socks off. The Nico look-alike stood at the same height as himself, wearing a black sleeveless hoodie, with a crimson red long Trench coat over his form, his legs concealed by black baggy pants and brown leather boots. Not only that, but his coat had a black flame design along the bottom, with similar designs on the ends of the sleeves whilst his hands got concealed by black riding gloves. The coat had a high collar with a hood as well, whilst it split into three coat tails at the bottom. Just by standing there though, did the person radiate a sense of 'heat', one which surrounded him and expanded outward, making the girls think of this person as more like a camp fire than an actual being. His crimson hair had been styled into a mess of spikes on top, with his blue eyes shining brightly like two brilliant and dazzling azure blazes. "... My Primal Twin. He's essentially a Shadow clone of myself but without the dying after one hit weakness. Bad boy's got a mental connection with me so we can communicate over vast distances, and though he's not physically strong, there's more than one way to fight a battle."
As if those words were some kind of signal, Nico and the others witnessed this 'Primal Twin' hold its hand up and a brilliant Hellish blaze erupted from his hand, forming a Javelin which he tossed up into the air. From his surroundings, many balls of Hellfire manifested into being, spiralling around him whilst their flames roared with violence and chaos in their mannerisms... all before they were launched at the Javelin and erupted into a spectacular eruption of infernal might. From there on, the Primal Twin of Nico then proceeded to showcase Hellfire manipulation in a multitude of different ways, from creating constructs similar to Neptune's, to even converting the flames raw heat into a more plasma-based substance and making an armour out of it, the level of skill this thing had with manipulating flames seemed almost uncanny. Unnatural even, especially when one time it even managed to create a firestorm above them which rained death down upon their surroundings, then disperse it with a simple click of its fingers before too much damage could be dealt... leaving quite the destructive sight in its wake. "Yeah, this guy was made from my Hellfire, and as such anything with the flame element to it is a natural fit for this guy. Though, due to how these guys are made, I can only make one right now, and the moment one is made, the Primal Twin can't be dispelled or anything. They CAN be killed however, so I'll have to be careful on who this guy goes up against. Since his body is naturally attuned to Hellfire, it also means he has strong Demonic Power Reserves, however at the moment they are merely continent class based, so he's kind of weak right now. When he's near MY level though, this guy will mean REAL business."
There was of course a reason why Nico had been so forthcoming with all this information and the revelations about the changes made to his arsenal, for anyone who wondered on why he had been willing to share so much about it. For one, he wanted to showcase to the girls that he appreciated them, that he trusted them enough to risk letting them know of this information. Not to mention they were in a fairly open setting with next to no life nearby (something he had confirmed by having Urthemiel up in the skies watching) so the chance of spies watching them was minimal at best. Furthermore, with everything he had told them, Nico felt it only right that they know what he had been up to since they hadn't seen him in a long while, plus he had left without much warning thanks to the unexpected trip to the Inferno Hell, guy couldn't even contact them to let them know he was okay, and Nico was NOT about to try and hurry back when he could instead train to gather the strength needed to be of more use to the group. In essence, he told them this because he wanted to show that he was willing to risk trusting them, even Cecil whom he had just met... though in her case it was more to do with the recommendation from IF, AKA one of the girls he cared so much about. Showed just how much they had influenced him as a person, huh? Now that he had indeed told them all this though, Nico didn't doubt that there would come a time when someone might try to kidnap them again, but if they did try then they likely would have to bring a large armada or something since these girls had now officially become colossal TITANS in their own right while he had been away... something which he could not even BEGIN to express the pride he felt towards.
"... Aw man..." Neptune then began to whine after a short silence had passed between them, filled with the amazement and awe the girls had at seeing what Nico had done to grow his power to the level that it was. Well, whilst he didn't say much about himself and instead focused on what weapons he had upgraded, even showed some new ones, none of them were foolish to think that he had remained the same as he had been before Halo Mountain. The way his Energy felt, it felt much more concentrated, controlled and PURE. It didn't feel like it would go wild and rip him apart at any moment anymore, although it still had a sense of chaos and disorder to it. No, it felt like he had become the sole master that it would listen to, not to mention there didn't seem to be as much disarray between his Ghoul and Demon powers no more, to them... it looked like Nico had become a whole new person on his own tier. "And here I thought we had gotten stronger than ya, Nicky... turns out you've gone further ahead of us again." she moaned, a bit of frustration entering her tone as she addressed him. If there was one thing which each of the girls had agreed on before this little training montage, it would be that they had wanted to ascend to a similar level to the main character of this story. They don't want to be just damsels who rely on someone else to do the dirty work for them, that wasn't the kind of lady they were. No, they weren't like the damn female Nobles in this Nation, they were more like warrior maidens, Valkyries who would fight eternally on the battlefield themselves. But, here their object of affections as well as their goal to surpass stood, even stronger than ever,... one could say this proved to be more than a little disheartening.
Hearing these words, made Nico's eyes soften as he clicked his fingers, allowing his Primal Twin to shoot up into the skies with thrusters made from his Hellfire, thrusters which formed from his hands and feet, much like that iron-made armoured Avenger who'd used a certain gauntlet to save his universe. "Hey, no worries Neptune, you're plenty powerful at the moment..." he began, stepping forwards and placing a hand on her head, giving her the most disgusting thing possible for any Otaku or weeb: a head pat. Several actually, to the point that Neptune actually looked up rather bashfully with a tinge of pink to her cheeks, showing the most adorable expression he had ever seen. "You guys haven't been the only ones whom have been getting stronger these last few weeks. I'm in this little journey of ours just as deep as you Neptune, so of course I wanna get stronger, so I can stay by your side as a fellow comrade... and potentially get back at that asshole Mundus, something I'm sure we ALL can agree on." At the mention of Mundus, Neptune's eyes hardened into a steely look, similar to Nico's as he removed his hand at last. The same could also be said for the rest of the girls whilst Cecil remained quiet, knowing that this 'Mundus' person seemed to have a history with them. "Anyways, speaking of getting stronger, why not see if we an test our new level of power out?"
"Oh?" upon her hearing that, IF raised a brow in curiosity as she and the rest of them stood up to hear what the redhead male had to say. "And how do you suppose we do that?"
"Well..."
Nico grinned, he grinned so wide that his featured turned into that of a Devil, with his Kakugan quickly activating to showcase his Ghoul side's activation. Not only that but his Demonic Power began to rise to the surface, forming a crimson coloured cloak around his body. He reached back and drew Soul Edge, the blade absolutely THROBBING with energy as it released a wave of bloodlust from its being, all the while Nico donned his Armour and had Cavaliere return to his Inventory. The moment that his demonic crimson and downright EDGY Armour appeared, Cecil nearly jumped out her skin, potentially realizing that perhaps maybe it wasn't a good idea to be so close to the male right now. "How about we do this like old times and fight it out? All of you against me, or maybe we could twist it with a free for all?" He suggested, gesturing to their surroundings as his bloodlust gradually increased to greater heights. "We're all alone in this place, and its a pretty spacious area so we won't have to worry about holding back, sounds fun... right?"
...
...
...
...
In that one instance, EVERYTHING changed.
'Are they... really going to fight? Here?' Cecil wondered, her eyes widening and shock sinking into her being as she stepped backwards, taken aback from what she had just heard. She may be new to the group, but right now she could feel the ABRUPT change in the atmosphere between the girls and Nico. If there were a comparison, it'd be similar to the centre of a Lion's den, and not long after he had spoken each of the girls gained similarly dangerous looks on their faces. Compa had a bight sweet, sweet smile... all while her face had shadows darkening her eyes. She ended up donning her Astral Dress, summoning METATRON and GABRIEL whilst ascending upwards into the air, her body crackling with her Spirit Mana. Neptune smirked like an eager samurai ready to fearlessly jump into the battlefield whilst she summoned her Soul Calibur, transforming into her HDD form which made her expression all the more terrifying. Vapour and Crystal manifested around her, forming all kinds of constructs in her general vicinity. IF meanwhile said nothing, simply donned her Armour and shifted her arms into Dual Blades, sprouting her Tendrils as well as her Wings, summoning a few Replicas as well.
… Yup, nobody needed to ask how they felt about this.
Something large landed behind her, and Cecil quickly turned around about to unleash her Devil Bringer to strike it... when she saw that it was Nico's Archdemon Urthemiel. The massive creature snorted down at her, having landed beside her whilst eyeing the small human like she were an ant before it... which, in a sense, she kind of was. However, it had a job to do that it was given mentally by its master, so it would do that job to the best of its ability. Looking at the beast, Cecil noticed that its eyes shifted, going from her to its back... almost as if to say 'get on already, mongrel!'. Was it telling her to get on its back for a ride? Cecil felt that way, and whilst she had been taught how to ride a horse when she was younger, she hadn't experienced it with anything winged... but hey, how hard could it be? Not wanting to waste time talking since the killing intent between the group was beginning to rise, Cecil quickly jumped onto Urthemiel's back, gripping onto whatever she could for leverage so she didn't fall off. All the while, the Archdemon set about mightily roaring as it flared its wings and took off to the skies above, quickly rising to a height where it would be able to keep the mongrel safe from the upcoming carnage.
Meanwhile. Cecil wondered if she had made the right choice by joining this band of misfits...
And then the chaos started, with that question becoming MUCH easier to answer.
Chapter end!
Whelp, hello everyone! I'm BACK! After a while of writing my Symphogear story, I'm back to where I began, in the Neptunia fandom! Plus, what better way to start my return than to give you all a nearly 20K long Chapter? I'd certainly say that's a nice treat after all the waiting I put you all through. Thanks to any who reviewed and faved/followed, its really appreciated. As for the ending, come on, did you REALLY think these battle hardened warrior maidens would accept anything else than a spar after Nico proclaimed himself stronger than them? A fight would be inevitable... and a destructive one at that, that poor plain... Anyways, here's a couple things I want to point out.
In terms of appearances, Neptune's changed herself to look like a white and purple version of her adult self from Ultradimension, all whilst taking on the coat, skirt and stockings of Yue from Arifureta. I've been getting into that series recently, having read the full web novel till the main story's completion. A great story, one with a harem protag whose actually a proper BEAST of a man who doesn't actually behave like a stupid wimp. Wish there were more like him. Not to mention Compa's new outfit is the same as that show's Kaori, the healer who (spoiler by the way) becomes a real badass later on in the story after a... out of body experience. Nico meanwhile, his 'Blackened Form' is actually similar in appearance to Tang San from the Soul Land Manhua, since I found that one to be quite good with the art choices. Now, the reason why the girls have changed like this, is because I want to separate them from their canon selves completely, so now they look NOTHING like their original counterparts but instead their own people... also its similar to when Nico wanted to change himself so as to better symbolically represent his coming into his future acceptance of his Ghoul Side. The Girls are literally 'throwing their past selves aside' in a symbolic sense, making way for these new selves to take their place. Whilst this doesn't mean they'll change personality wise... there will be SOME changes to them that were as a result of their defeat and post training montage.
As for their powers, Neptune sealing a Greater Demon of Khorne into Murasama was actually a last minute change I decided to make, simply so that the weapon isn't forgotten and can actually be something useful as long as Neptune keeps it aware of whose the boss in the relationship. Demonic Weapons in Warhammer are truly fickle things, kind of like people (men and women alike) who move from one partner to another at the drop of a hat. Therefore, me doing this lets me bring THEM into it, as well as showcases just how different yet similar they are to Devil Arms. So yeah, Neptune's Murasama is now a Demonic Weapon capable of standing alongside the rest of her arsenal, wonder how that can play out in the future. As for Compa, well, her developing the ability to summon Spacequakes is pretty much expected at this point, since she's pretty much a Spirit right now, a Spirit with multiple Angels but a Spirit nonetheless. Its also quite a destructive ability, so her CURRENT mindset would make it hard for her to want to use it unless absolutely necessary. Date A Live Fans will know what I mean by this. Her strength will only get better with time and training too, something VERY necessary in this cruel world which only listens to one's 'power', so look forward to what I have in store for her BEYONE just being able to summon them all at once. Then there's the big boy himself, Nico, and MAN was he a long one to write. As the MC of this story, you have to see him getting stronger by leaps and bounds, especially with him constantly fighting in another dimension filled with things that want to kill you, eat you, or maybe even all three at the same time. Not only does he have new weapons, Ember changing into Cavaliere being inspired from Devil May Cry 5 (BANG, BANG, BANG! Pull my Devil Trigger!), the Blackening from the Soul Land Manhua, and the whole Primal Twin thing from Desolate Era... yeah him being OP is an understatement. Not to worry though, the Villains of this story will ALSO have just as much threat level to them as the heroes grow in strength.
Anyways, that's all for now. I hope to make the next few chapters filled with character interaction, lore and world building, all as a calm before the storm kind of scenario, which is going to be the prelude to the next arc: the LOWEE Arc, and BOY do I have plans for that one! Hehehehehehe… Finally, hope to see you guys then, and to enjoy this chap! Read and review please, it makes me happy seeing this story get attention.
Peace Out!
