Chapter 182 - Prepping the next move
"Looks like the invasion was a failure…"
These words left the lips of a lone, dark figure dressed in a hooded cloak, watching the still smoking city of RABONA. Although this didn't seem like anything special at first, the figure stood… seemingly on the air itself which made him resort to looking down on the city… something which could tell a LOT about this person's character. The figure's form couldn't be seen very well due to him concealing the majority of it, and even the most sensitive of abilities wouldn't be able to detect him in this distance due to him having perfected an art which cloaked him from such abilities long ago. Way back before his crusade had begun.
"... Those two weren't lying to me, I see. I indeed can sense HIS power amongst them, but… it's different compared to before, it's mixed with so many others that it makes me want to vomit. I see… so that's HIS situation…"
As the figure looked out towards the human settlement below, an aura of disgust and contempt started exuding from it as the sounds of fists being clenched could be heard from within the figure's cloak… that is, before the figure stopped these actions as well as calmed himself down. A small chuckle escaped the figure's mouth as it looked back towards the settlement, or rather a certain part of it.
"Whatever those two are doing with all these mongrels matters, not to me. If it weren't for the fact that HE was here in some shape or form, I'd wouldn't have ever wanted ANYTHING to do with this world. Still, patience has its rewards, and thus if the intel was correct, then HE will make a move, soon. I wonder if he'll still recognize me after all these years… fufu..."
With this said, the figure once again chuckled to himself, all before vanishing from the scene as he had never been there in the first place… Leaving behind only a bunch of black feathers like those which a bird would have to fall to the ground below.
Meanwhile within RABONA city...
The smooth sight of a wooden ceiling greeted his eyes as Nico opened them, a groan escaping his lips as the redhead male awoke from his slumber. The feeling of having to get up from bed was something that he'd experienced for years, yet he still couldn't get over the weariness he felt from having to get up and off the comfort that he found himself in. Sometimes, he just wanted to stay in bed and sleep a little longer, especially after an intense workout. Still, Nico didn't want to be a lazy bum right now, so with a few small groans escaping his lips, he gradually let himself once again return to the land of the awake.
Once the male had found himself awake to the point where going back to sleep would be impossible, the teen sat up whilst stretching his arms above his head, exhaling in pleasure once the stress amassed within said limbs was dealt with. 'Ugh, it feels SO good doing this after some hard work…' Nico internally mused, a satisfied smile forming on his face. He didn't hear anything from his multiple persona's though, just silence within the depths of his mind though he didn't mind this. As much as he relished Biko and (more recently in comparison) Byakko's company, being able to remain alone with his thoughts wasn't a bad thing especially since he could prove that he didn't rely on them anymore to get shit done.
After his arms fell to his sides and he wetted his lips a little, the redhead looked down at himself noticing the PJs he wore instead of his usual coat and dark clothing getup. This somewhat surprised him for a moment as he didn't expect it before his brain booted itself up proper and his eyes flashed with understanding as memories returned to him which resulted in him waking up fully. 'Ah, that's right. I chose to get some rest after things were under control…' the boy thought, thinking back to a bunch of previous events that had happened.
To start it off, it hadn't been that long since the attack on RABONA, not that long since Nico, the Spec Ops Agents and his Tekkadan forces practically SLAUGHTERED the demoralized Yoma who had faltered at seeing how powerful and capable Urthemiel had been. That and combined with the downright MURDEROUS intent the group of them had hit the enemy with, and they had started squabbling about like headless chickens whilst the few Awakened Yoma who remained either by miracle or had managed to escape the little separation they had pulled off, tried to pull them back into a somewhat coherent fighting force to little effect. Not only that but whilst they had been doing that Nico and the others had closed in and had begun ruthlessly butchering them all, shredding them till there were no more left and, to follow up, quickly ransacked the city in case any Yoma were hiding within.
A few had popped up in some surprising places in the form of ambush techniques, probably as a way to catch key members off guard during retreats or something, but there were no casualties to speak of for the Tekkadan.
No casualties, sure, but WOUNDED were an entirely different matter.
After the battle had been concluded, Mihawk and the other Agents had begun conversing with the few surviving human officers in the garrison, their soldiers quickly gathering up the dismembered bodies and burning them in massive bonfire piles whilst Lucy, who had managed to disperse the plant life with a simple flick of her wrist to showcase her dominion over flora, had practically bounded over to Raven squealing like a fangirl. She'd hugged her to death, being REAL happy to see her alongside Nico who she'd treated the same way… with the addition of trying to sneak a feel of his ass which he had stopped just in the nick of time. In Nico's mind, she really should have turned some snow into water, because she had been damn THIRSTY. Though she had soon taken her off once Raven had requested to see how the other two Team RAIL members were faring now that the plant life stabilizing them had been dispersed. Fortunately, Lucy had kept them still within some cocoons according to her word, with Raven simply nodding after they had left.
Nico had wanted to go with them, but he had to tend to his forces for the time being so he'd asked them to tell the boys that he wished them a good recovery and that he would visit them when he could.
Meanwhile, the number of wounded that the Tekkadan had sustained from this battle wasn't small, with many of them having either lost limbs or other body parts like eyes and such due to stray projectiles or Tentacles. Some had more grievous injuries though, so Nico had to prioritize their treatment first, taking his forces and moving them to a spot close to the city's eastern walls so they could end their wounds in peace. There, he would follow through on a promise he'd made to himself by using his various abilities to help heal the wounded, restoring their body parts, and replacing blood to save the lives of those who had been on their way to meet the grim reaper. Whilst he had been quick and decisive in his actions as well as made sure to prioritize the ones who needed help the most… about 5% of them still perished from their injuries, with a small 2% requesting to be mercy killed when it was deemed clear that their injuries had been too much and they didn't have much time left.
As their leader, and as the one who had witnessed an unjust genocide of an innocent elf village, Nico had promptly agreed and, with their permission, let them pass on quickly as well as painlessly. He'd grieved with his soldiers at this act too, showcasing his 'emotions' to his group to make sure they knew that their leader was just as affected by this as they were. During that time, Nico had feared that his forces would hate him or see him as a weakling thanks to this move, only those who survived instead blamed the Yoma incursion instead of Nico himself resulting in their bloodlust re-awakening within them.
Such soldiers... Nico honestly couldn't help but feel proud of them amidst the sorrow born from losing good troops, his respect for the Tekkadan growing the more he fought as their leader.
Still, helping and healing the majority of his troops with his powers had taken more out of him than he had initially anticipated, thus Nico had retired to an Inn he'd heard about from one of the town's residents who he'd managed to rescue from a Yoma. He'd mentioned that the Inn would house people at lower prices than average to try and help with the restoration efforts that the Town had begun almost immediately after the whole invasion had ended, surprising him yet proving their dedication. Despite some of their ranks reportedly committing suicide and deserting their comrades.
Let's just say that they should be glad they're dead and not within his grasp…
So yeah, he had turned himself in so he could rest up before they could continue with the mission at hand since odds were that there wouldn't be that many who would help them given their situation. The civilians before had been different due to them already having a goal and purpose to keep their emotions in check and allow for conversation ability, however, the people of RABONA had only one goal during this whole ordeal: survive. Thus, they're milking it for all that they were worth.
Though in addition to him resting at the inn, Nico also found himself going through an… interesting experience in his sleep.
Holding out his hands on his lap, the redhead closed his eyes before opening them again, seconds later. A bunch of red flashes appeared over his palms and, when they faded, there they were: two large, black-colored yet futuristic-looking revolvers with crimson lines going across their sides. No longer was there one black and one white anymore, both of them had truly just embraced one color scheme and one scheme only instead of one being light and the other being like darkness. One could say that Nico saw this change in their forms as a bit of a… personal feeling since it felt VERY familiar to him. They both embraced the darkness, they had become the monsters inside.
If he liked these Guns before, he certainly LOVED them now.
'Heh, didn't expect it, but looks like Ebony and Ivory finally evolved, becoming their true forms…' the redhead thought as he examined the Guns, who had once been his dual pistols, Ebony and Ivory, now Archdevil Arms of their own making. It had happened whilst he had been resting, where they had begun the transformation process due to strenuous use and he had met their manifestation, or rather 'manifestations':
Two people, one of them being a man who had a tall stature with pure white hair, a single black eyepatch covering his right eye whilst his left one glowed a sinister red. Whilst one arm looked like a normal human arm, the other looked more like a mechanical prosthetic which reminded Nico of the one his friend Ivan had. He'd worn apparel which looked quite classic for an edgelord, which only added points in Nico's book: a black coat with crimson lining as well as a grey blazer and a white shirt underneath it with a cravat tied around his neck. On his legs, he wore black pants that had gun holsters attached to them, something which reminded Nico of the times when HE'D had his holsters before switching them out since he hadn't needed them anymore, as well as black boots similar to gangster-style suits.
As for the other, it took the form of a man with similar physical features to the white-haired man… although he possessed black hair and possessed two brown eyes. Not to mention that he lacked a mechanical arm appendage too, even if he wore an outfit similar to his white-haired counterpart.
Still, these two guys proved to Nico just WHY they had been a gun-based Devil Arm, and that their respective weapons were NOT just for show. The proof being how the redhead had to fight for his life against the men who had unleashed no small amounts of bullet-like techniques on his ass, as well as conjuring various other weapons to their side other than pistols. It had eventually reached a point where Nico had idly wondered if he would develop a nightmarish fear of guns in the future.
With all the shit going on, that sounded like a pleasant change of pace.
Still, he had managed to win the battle as he had with Erebus and Oceanos, resulting in him having these two Archdevil Arms, at last, two new additions to his arsenal: Donner and Schlag as the two men had identified them as. As for identifying the representation of these Devil Arms, the men had simply told him to call them by the guns that they wielded, meaning that the white-haired man's name was simply 'Donner' and 'Schlag' belonged to the black-haired one. Though, unlike his previous Devil Arms, neither Donner nor Schlag told him much about themselves, opting to just remain quiet and reserved within his Inner world. Not even BYAKKO, his most obnoxious resident there, could get him to talk much… though one time one of the representations DID indeed nearly shoot his eyes out for 'annoying him too much'.
Edgelord to the extreme… Nico loved it.
After gazing at his guns for a moment or two, a small smile on his lips at the possibilities of new powers that these guns now had in combination with the ones used with Ebony and Ivory their weaker forms, Nico promptly dismissed them which happened in the form of the same red flashes as before. He then got out of bed and proceeded to change into his Spec Ops gear after showering and brushing his teeth. Once he'd adjusted his black shirt and made the final tweaks to his Trench Coat, Nico mentally set about listing his tasks for the day. 'Alright, the first thing I should do is to check out on the Tekkadan boys, see how they're getting on. Last time I saw them, I had told them not to stir up any trouble with the populace, and considering that the city hasn't been leveled yet looks like that's what happened. Afterward, I'll check on Aiden and Ivan to see how they're doing, before looking into Raven's apparent issues with me…' Glancing down at his right Bracer, Nico noticed a message had been delivered to him, so upon opening it he saw that it had been sent by Katakuri of all people. It said that he and the other Agents were to rest for the time being, due to them having been traveling for a while now to which they wouldn't be fighting at 100% capacity, and that he would give them the word on when they should regroup to continue their mission. 'Yup, I'll do that then, since this tells me I have some free time on my hands…' Just then, he felt Biko open a link to his thoughts, prompting Nico to address him promptly. 'Hey there, Biko, you just woke up?'
'I do not sleep, Nico. However, I have some information for you.'
At this, the redhead arched a brow as he proceeded to head out the bedroom and, later, the Inn. 'Oh? What is it? Is it to do with the Demon King Seed or our new 'friend' that we picked up a couple of nights ago?' He asked, referring to both the growing Seed as well as the injured creature.
'Not much has changed on those fronts, and the creature is still recovering from its injuries. No, what I wish to inform you of, is that Ouranos wishes to talk to you. He seems unusually… agitated.'
Now THAT caught his attention, as Nico furrowed his brow in concern at this information whilst walking through the RABONA streets, not paying attention to things whilst keeping his gloved hands inside his coat pockets. 'Really? Huh, that's worrying… I'll summon him when I get the chance, then. Hopefully, it's nothing too serious that I can't handle.' He thought, sighing internally at what this 'issue' that his lighting-based Archdevil Arm could be. Now that he thought about it, there were increasingly fewer times that he had used his various Archdevil Arms recently due to focusing on his Kagune and Ghoul side more often… maybe that had something to do with it?
For his first task, Nico went to where several RABONA citizens, who had either bravely or stubbornly remained within the City, had gossiped about a bunch of Dwarves and Elves at a Tavern called 'The Captain's Daughter'. Nico had to mentally roll his eyes at this since, well, Dwarves liked their alcohol and he could imagine how some of them would have challenged the Ice Elves to a drinking contest or something.
Fortunately, he had found the Bar after a bit of searching and went inside, soon finding a bunch of his forces at a table on the far offside to the room away from the majority of the place's occupants. From the looks of things, it looked like a small bunch of Elves and Dwarves with Gimli and Legolas being among them, the former laughing his butt off likely at some joke that wasn't too funny (much like his own attempts at humor, Nico internally admitted) whilst the latter leaned against a nearby pillar, not wanting to partake in the festivities most likely. He could imagine how Gimli could have dragged the elf out here for a drinking contest in revenge for scoring more kills than him, it had happened multiple times before after all. Additionally, a couple of Dwarves had already drunken themselves unconscious whilst the Elves, ever the proud race, had matching smirks on their lips as if they knew something their rivals didn't. 'I heard that Elves had high alcohol tolerance, but…' the male thought, looking at the… anthill sized pile of tankards near the group. 'This looks a bit overkill. How the hell are they going to pay for this?' he wondered, glancing over questioningly at the Bartender who gave him an 'its ok' look.
Well, alright then…
In any case, Nico decided to talk to Legolas since the Dwarves seemed like they were preoccupied a bit, similarly to the rest of the occupants who looked to be laughing joyously, seemingly not minding their presence all that much. Considering that pretty much all of them were burly men with beards and no women, perhaps this was a place for men to gather 'away from the missus' as he had once heard. As Nico approached Legolas, the Ice Elf looked up from his tankard and noticed him, quickly snapping attention with a salute using his free hand. "Well met, sir."
"Well met, Legolas," Nico replied with a curt nod before glancing towards the Dwarves. "Looks like they're having fun. Is it because…?"
After trailing off, Legolas proceeded to confirm Nico's internal suspicions by explaining the following. "You may have noticed it, sir, but this lot has grown a considerable rivalry with one another, not just myself and that Gimli fellow. They challenged each other to a drinking contest whilst taking advantage of this place's gratitude for saving their business from the Yoma." He then glanced at them to see how the group was doing, before looking back towards the Tekkadan leader. "They've been like this for a while now, sir."
"I see…" Nico mused, rolling his eyes whilst shaking his head. As previously mentioned, he'd figured that to be the case instead of it being another mourning celebration for those who had fallen during the whole Yoma repelling incident. That had already happened from what he had remembered before separating from his forces yesterday. "Well, don't worry about it Legolas, this is their time to relax." He stated, gesturing to them. "At least they're doing something they like instead of just keeping everything bottled up inside because that's NEVER healthy… for anyone involved," Nico remarked, internally grimacing.
Holding something in just so others wouldn't worry and be safe… it doesn't end well, and he should know considering how secretive he had to be for a long ass time. Nico felt somewhat ashamed about that, what the heck was so cool about holding everything in until it bursts, hurting everyone who gave a damn about you? Internally he felt like a hypocrite for ranting about this, but hey at least that showed that he was just as flawed as everything else in the world, this would be a lesson for him to retain so he could stay humble and not go over the deep end which Nico could VERY well do if he ever got a god complex into his head or something.
Legolas nodded his head in agreement, frowning. As someone who had once been in a major position within his tribe, he knew well how important it was for soldiers to wind down after a tough battle, for it would return their morale and energy levels to optimal efficiency for when they next needed to be deployed. "My people have had way more concentrated alcoholic beverages than this, so we usually end up winning against them in the end." He remarked, a small yet slightly sly smirk on his lips as he glanced at one of the Dwarves who just slumped down unconscious, obviously unable to continue. "Don't worry though sir, we'll make sure they recover well enough that they'll be mission-ready once we embark."
"Good," Nico stated, nodding in acceptance. As much as they were drinkers in ways which many professional alcoholics would be green with envy over, Dwarven stomachs could handle the stuff quite well, so, whenever they got drunk and fell into the unconscious land, it never really lasted too long. In any case, however, since Legolas was the most rational one here, he decided to ask for a status update from him as he pocketed his hands into his coat again. "Speaking of the Dwarves, how's the Tekkadan doing? Any issues needing to be reported?"
At this, Legolas shook his head in response. "No sir, the boys have been on their best behavior, meaning they've been sticking to themselves for the most part. A few citizens have been approaching them, sticking to some simple questions which they all answered before walking off, however that's the limit to their interactions. It helps that Lard's been helping the higher ranking officers we have to keep the ground boys in line, any disputes that happened did so between my people and the Dwarven race. Although those could be counted on one hand." the Ice Elf reported, which prompted Nico to furrow his brows in contemplation.
"I see…"
Truthfully, that was better than what he had been expecting, more than he had any right to actually. Of course, Nico had anticipated there to be some disputes going on behind the scenes between his forces and the citizens here, heck maybe even the Guard would try something and then hide behind their so-called laws like they would save them from the Tekkadan's wrath. After all, despite how they fought like a genuine army with discipline and tactics, they were still a group of Abnormals when one got down to it, therefore his experiences told him that people would try to start something with them. Because of this anticipation, Nico had stated back when the alliance between his Tekkadan and Lowee was formed that should any disputes happen between their soldiers or civilians, whilst they'd do everything they can to kill anyone in those cases, they would NOT hold back on those involved aside from that. They wouldn't let anyone push them around just because they were allies, even if they turned out to be people related to the four Goddesses themselves. The Tekkadan had too much self-respect for something like that, they'd just broken out of an extended slave period.
Thus, hearing that nothing had happened so far had been a rather relieving experience…it was probably due to everyone already having something to focus their efforts on, repairing the city, and the likely funeral processes for those who had died during the assault. If one had something to focus their pent up emotions on, then they would be spent for a while and would be less likely to cause havoc, something which Nico had seen first hand.
Though, Nico did indeed believe that they shouldn't stay here too long as, once things have settled down, there would be a bigger chance for such things to happen. "Alright, keep me informed of our activities in the city. I have some tasks to attend to today, so I'll be doing them before I regroup with the other Agents. Once we have our intel, I'll inform everyone so be ready. Oh, and inform Lard for me that I send him my approval of his conduct thus far, and to keep up the good work. Same to every officer and yourself, you're doing well with this assignment so far."
"Sir."
Once everything had been settled at the Bar, Nico left there and decided to act upon his second task of the day: Checking on his bros within Team RAIL. Last he had heard, they were currently being kept in RABONA's church for the duration of their recovery, as the city's hospitals were busy treating the wounded Guards that could still be saved there. Nico had also heard that the remaining Citizens here (of which he noticed that they were mostly young men and a few women who looked to be quite muscular in their builds, likely they all were those who could still fight), had almost showered the Team with gratitude such as gifts, praise and the like. Nico could understand why considering that they were the ones who helped keep the majority of the invasion at bay till their reinforcements arrived…
He tried not to dwell on the likely probability that the citizens were giving Team RAIL all the credit for repelling the invasion instead of it being a joint effort with the Tekkadan.
Arriving at the said building, Nico walked on inside whilst the guards posted at its entrance did nothing to stop him, mostly since they already knew who he was as well as the amount of influence he possessed. Sometimes, it felt good to have power… though Nico shook this off as he entered the infirmary wing where he heard his bros were being held for their recovery.
Upon entering the place, Nico found himself being greeted with the sight of an entire hall which might have been used for the city's praying sessions, now converted into a medical wing with rows of beds lining up on either side. There looked to be about 4 rows in total, each bed currently being occupied by wounded Guardsmen and women who had various medical appliances attached to their persons with either a man or woman by their side in religious garbs monitoring their health. 'I knew that something like this awaited me once I came here, but… seeing it for myself is a different experience altogether…' Nico thought as he made his way through the beds, careful not to bump into anyone and cause a scene.
'Agreed… not to mention that the higher-ups will likely try to see and use this as a power move to try and bolster the people's faith in their Goddess, declaring that it was by her will that they will survive… which, aside from it being less Goddess-like if you ask me, is also ironic since these religious zealots have ZERO ideas that a literal 'demon' is walking among them. Shows how 'powerful' their 'religion' truly is, then…'
'Preach it, brother. Though I'm all for dissing religion when exposing its flaws, I can't help but feel a little personal grudge in there, Biko. Everything alright in there?'
'It is of no concern, however in light of the lessons we've learned, I would say that the combination of states that these Nations have been reduced to, despite their so-called 'divine protection' is… more than a little irksome. Especially since they STILL preach on about them being almighty like none of the carnage has ever happened.'
'That's religion for you, Biko. Blind faith, all it is…' Nico answered, an uncomfortable hum escaping Biko as the two cut the link when the redhead had found the beds which Aiden and Ivan currently resided in. Both of them looked to be unconscious still, with Lucy and… and Raven, sitting beside them attentively. 'Whoa… well, I guess its no surprise that Raven's here, she always was the responsible one when it comes to her team…' The redhead thought as he approached, making sure to speak with a level tone since this place was meant to be an infirmary. "They have been like this for a while, now…?"
Looking up from their previous positions, Raven and Lucy took the Spec Ops Agent's appearance before the latter beamed happily upon seeing him. "Well hello there, stranger. Fancy seeing you here…" Lucy declared softly, standing up and carefully striding over to him whilst trying to be aware of her surroundings. There were a few medical tools around, most of them having been put on standby in case Aiden and Ivans' conditions worsened through the female redhead knew for a FACT that wouldn't happen. She couldn't say that though since it linked with her powers, so after she embraced him and got a hug right back that lasted for up to a minute, Lucy pulled back before nodding her head with a smile that pretty much screamed 'so good to see you!' to him. "And yeah, you could say that. Don't worry, I made sure to mend them of their injuries while they were cocooned in my flora, all they need is some good rest," she explained.
Although he could tell this to be the case just from observing their bodies, hearing it caused Nico to exhale in relief regardless since, similar to what he had mentioned previously, hearing it from someone else's mouth was a wholly different experience. "I see, that's good…" he admitted, a smile on his lips as he looked the two over. One wouldn't have expected them to have just come out of a huge battle just by looking at them, that was just how well Lucy had taken care of them during everything that had gone down, instead, they looked just like newborns sleeping away like there was nothing wrong with the world. "I heard that they did quite well and have become quite popular with the citizens here…"
Lucy chuckled at this, remembering herself those little 'incidents'. "You bet, I bet that if he were awake, Ivy would just LOVE the attention all the girls here would shower him with…" she remarked before her smile grew strained for a split second which didn't escape Nico's notice, though he didn't mention it. He had an idea as to what that smile had meant anyways. "But anyway, seems like you're on a mission right now, aren't you Nicky-Dear? For you to come back with Raven alongside a bunch of other top-tier Agents…"
Nico nodded at her assumptions, internally impressed that she had suppressed her perverted urges for the moment since she had been surrounded by a bunch of potential one-nighters for her. Though, perhaps the hot springs incident had done something to her just like with the rest of the girls, Nico figured since, well, since that incident the girls hadn't been as… clingy, jealous girls whenever he hung out with one of them more than the other. Like, they all had this same kind of wavelength to them…
Telling them how he'd felt had been the best move, hadn't it?
"You could say that, and you could also say that's why I can't stick around for too long. We're currently resting but I don't doubt we'll be on the move again momentarily," he replied, idly noting the faint stiffening of Raven's shoulders but not commenting on it.
Lucy had noticed too, and Nico had figured this due to how her eyes glanced over at her for nothing but a split second, nothing which Nico had any problem detecting. However, that also clued him into something going on with Lucy as he noticed a particular kind of… gaze, being directed at him. The kind of gaze which not only sent chills up his spine but also told him that the female redhead had something planned for him… as well as Raven if his guess was correct. "I guess so, that would make sense given how I've observed those guys acting around the populace. Rory's been fun to chat with though, she's told me 'many' things that she's encountered on her journey…"
'Why do I suddenly feel like those two meetings each other, was probably one of the worst things to ever happen so far?' Suddenly, Nico's bad premonition only got WORSE at the mention of Lucy having met the sole female Spec Ops Agents. He would never admit it to anyone, but chills crawled down his spine and his skin color paled slightly as nervousness started to pool into his light blue orbs.
Something which Lucy noticed given the small yet 'innocent' smile which just SCREAMED that she had begun planning something. Let it be said that Lucy had been the second in command for Team RAIL for a reason, for whilst most of the time she used her intelligence for planning how to corner her prey into bedding, that didn't mean she couldn't use it outside of its intended purpose, for about 60% of the Quests Team RAIL took had ended due to schemes she had concocted inside her mind. Thus, Lucy stepped on forwards towards the male, who took a step backward… he should have just bolted right then and there he'd realize moments later, but for the life of him, Nico somehow couldn't pull his gaze away from those eyes of hers.
CLAP!
"?!"
A fact which soon had some consequences which followed in the next few seconds, when all of a sudden Lucy reached out and grasped his left hand in hers, as well as grasped onto Raven's right to her shock and dismay. Before either of them could say anything, Lucy quickly pulled them out of the infirmary, and inside some kind of toilet room. Whether or not they were reserved for men or women neither of the two could tell save for Lucy (whose prankster-Esque grin pretty much said everything). This happened in just a few seconds as the redhead had moved at high speeds whilst being careful not to hit anyone along the way, though her erratic movements also left her two makeshift 'passengers' feeling a little winded.
"Ugh, what the…?"
"Damnit, Lucy what the hell are you trying to…?"
Before either of the two could recover, a faint giggle happened as the sound of locks clicking into a place filled their ears as well as a sense of dread. A sense which soon EXPLODED into popularity when they heard the red-haired woman's voice through on the opposite side of the door. "Alright you two, listen up. You're in the girls' toilets on the first floor of this City's church, ones which are used on occasion by the Nuns here. Don't think of escaping just yet though, cause this whole place's structure has been surrounded by heat and cold resistant plants, so unless I give the word they won't disappear. You might want to hurry with your stuff though, don't want to stay in such a 'risque' place for too long, now do we? I know I wouldn't mind, but something tells me you two prudes wouldn't share the same sentiments. Have fun, now, ufufufufufu…"
"... that little…!... That's it, I am SO going to punish her for this when I get out of here…" Raven mumbled with her cheeks tinged pink as she flicked her hand towards one of the walls, intending to test the woman's words about her plants being heat and cold resistant. If what Lucy had said was true, then she would have mixed them in with the internal structure of the building which wouldn't have been easy. However, as her ice shot in and Raven slashed a hole through the wall… she soon noticed the plant life there seemingly frosted over but still living. This caused Raven to twitch her brow multiple times with the urge to just freeze the entire building boiling inside her gut. "Looks like she speaks the truth, then…"
'...Part of me wants to ask if Raven can just teleport out of here, but considering we 'technically' aren't on land belonging to Lowee but inside a building, then her ability wouldn't have worked.' Nico thought as he put a couple of fingers over the bridge of his nose, his unmasked eye twitching just like his fellow Spec Ops Agent as he figured that Lucy had done this for a purpose. Of course, he could have just burned away the flora inside with any one of his fire types, however not only did Raven's words make him question how effective that would be but also her words pretty much clued him in on her intentions. 'That woman… as much as I wish to bonk her head for this, I think she has a good idea…'
Looked like Lucy had also noticed the oddities with Raven's attitude and had figured out that they had something to do with him. That must have been why she'd done this, emotional conflicts will always hinder a mission in some capacity no matter how many times people try to assure others otherwise, so she likely had planned this so that such issues would be dealt with. Odds were that until he and Raven had discussed what was bothering her they wouldn't be able to leave, the male redhead thought as Raven eventually gave up on freezing the plants. "Looks like your freezing powers won't cut it… in that case, it's likely going to be the same for my flames. Even if it isn't, my flames tend to burn large areas when used so it's best if we DON'T test that theory…"
"... It would appear that would be the case, yes…" the black-haired samurai woman admitted after a moment of silence, albeit reluctantly. She would have argued that one never knew if they didn't at least try, but the thing was she had seen the results of Nico's battle against his party members after their reunion on Leanbox… and the amount of huge ass scorch marks left behind likely by those said flame types supported the redhead's claims. Thus, effectively they were trapped in this place until Lucy saw fit to let them out… something which Raven did NOT appreciate for multiple reasons which resulted in her starting to think up some possible 'punishments' for her later.
As silence took over the bathroom, a level of awkwardness also started to fall between them, not helped by the words of Lucy which had said that this was to be a woman's toilet. This was a place which was usually only accessible to females with the structure built around that fact… not a place where men like Nico should be allowed to tread normally, yet these were some exceptional circumstances. Facts which the redhead remained aware of with how he looked around uncomfortably with a hand on the back of his head before his eyes fell to the ground which he found VERY interesting for some reason.
"So…"
Eventually unable to take the awkward silence anymore, Nico decided to strike up a conversation. If the female redhead had done this for the reasons he thought she did, then he could take this chance to deal with his next issue on his itinerary. He didn't know what Raven had against him or what was even bothering her if it wasn't anything he did, but Nico didn't want to just pretend like nothing was bad between them since that didn't sound like something he, as her friend, would do. Judging from the faint signs he noticed from her body language, Nico sensed that she had an idea as to the situation here too. "...It's been a while since we last met and got to talk… so, how's it been?"
"You do remember how much I hate it when people aren't upfront with me, right?" Raven's retort came back at him like a fist to the gut, surprising him deeply. Whilst it still carried the same level headed tone that she usually had, Nico noticed a slightly higher bite to it, her voice slightly harder than normal. If he hadn't noticed something wrong before, he certainly did now. "You have inquiries for me, so say them."
'Yeah, I will… if that's what it takes to solve this issue…' Nico thought to himself, a frown behind his Mask as he pocketed his hands inside his coat and leaned against one of the walls that hadn't been destroyed by Raven's icy touch. "...Alright then, can I ask what I did to offend you? I noticed that you were giving me the cold shoulder during the ride here. If I've done something bad in your eyes, can I at least know what it is so I could correct it?" Nico questioned bluntly and straight to the point.
One of the many things that Nico disliked was the possibility of him making one of his trusted friends hating him. It wasn't something he thought about often and wasn't something he even WANTED to think about, not entertaining the thought. Considering how much he valued those who he had learned were trustworthy as well as his bitter resentment about how so many out there WEREN'T trustworthy, the thought of one of them learning to dislike him in any shape or form. Raven was similar to Lucy in that she and he had known one another for more than a few years now, so her suddenly hating him would be a HUGE blow to him… one which would sting quite a bit.
Thus, deep down the fact that if he didn't get to the bottom of this with care and press carefully then that possibility becoming reality had been all too ingrained into his psyche, like a constant reminder of what could potentially happen in this scenario.
For a moment, Raven didn't give him a response, opting to remain silent and face away from him. Nico didn't dare take any steps forwards nor did he do anything which could potentially set her off on him, her previous response still frazzling his mind for the time being. At that moment, Nico feared the worst as he fought to maintain his composure, mentally being grateful that his Mask hid the majority of his face so that he didn't have to fear showing his expression to her. 'Oh boy, oh boy, this isn't good… she must be mad at me if this is what she's been like. What did I do to piss her off this much?' The teen wondered, internally scanning his memories of their past interactions so he could figure out what could have ticked Raven off with him this much.
He didn't get any help from his alternate Personas, which while that did irk him a little he also felt a little grateful to them for not stepping in since this meant that he could solve this problem on his own.
Finally, however, he got an answer from her when she muttered something under her breath, her mutter being at such a low volume that ordinary humans may not have been able to hear it. "... You command them. The Abnormals…"
Nico didn't prioritize analyzing her tone of voice, moreover, he instead began to focus on the words that she said to which the redhead began to slowly realize what was going on in his mind. 'Yeah… Now that I think about it, that is something which Raven would be bothered about. She did indeed have a bit of an angsty look to her when she first came into contact with me and the other Agents before…' he thought, a new level of understanding coming forth within his chest.
Yet, despite this new revelation which he had already somewhat figured out before, Nico still felt like there was something else at play here. His gut instincts told him that Raven wouldn't be this annoyed with him if it was just the fact that Nico had gone from fighting Abnormals to commanding them. She was more of a practical woman than she would let on, brought about by her being in a leadership position where her choices affected not only herself but also her squad members. She would have been able to see the usefulness of a merc group consisting of Abnormals under a Spec Ops agents banner as impossible to believe as it sounded because the situation with Lowee's ongoing war for survival had reached that kind of lethality for the humans here. Drastic measures would have had to be taken at some point to ensure the survival of Lowee's citizens.
Therefore… What else could be bothering her? "I see… well, I can certainly say that's a valid reason to be pissed at me," Nico admitted, his left hand taken out of his coat pocket to grip the sides of his jaw with his thumb and index finger. "But surely you could see how measures needed to be taken, right? Considering how much damage these Demons and Yoma are dealing, fighting monsters with monsters isn't something new to us. I mean, look at us Spec Ops. We may fight monsters, but we can't consider ourselves as humans either."
"...Yes. I do see that. Additionally, their actions have proven they can listen to orders, at least…" Raven eventually admitted though anything else she was doing Nico wouldn't have been able to see. Though from her words, the one-eyed Ghoul could summarize that he wasn't on the wrong track with his previous thoughts about this situation,
there was something else bothering her about him.
But, if that was the case then what else could there be? What else could she be so mad at him that she'd be this cold for?
Nico glanced down for a moment before his gaze returned to the back of her head. "Then, if you've seen that… What else could be bothering you? If it was just me commanding a bunch of Abnormals then I doubt that this would be souring your mood all too much, I know you too well to assume otherwise. #SIGH# Could you at least give me a clue as to what it is so I can figure out what the deal is here?" he questioned tiredly, looking like he wanted to just get to the core of the issue and resolve it right at this moment.
Even with all the progress, he'd made, emotional matters between him and girls were… wait a minute…
"You… didn't include me, that's all I'll say for now," Raven told him, lowering her head which allowed her bands to cover her eyes. Yet, was he hallucinating or did he hear a slight tremble in her voice? Like she wanted to say something but she couldn't? Nico swore that he heard something like that coming from her… thinking about it, the redhead recalled his various times interacting with her. Heck, even when they first met the woman had been cold, detached, and always goal-oriented, focusing solely on the tasks at hand like a proper soldier or warrior. Nothing about that had changed since their first meeting as, down to her core, Raven hadn't been all that in touch with her own emotions which had been why many thought she had been as cold as the ice she (unbeknownst to the majority) commanded. Nico had seen this fact since the early stages of her relationship with him, which made him begin to wonder if the reason why she couldn't tell him what was bothering her was that it was something she couldn't say directly due to her lack of emotional understanding?
If something to do with her emotions was the potential cause of this, then… using that logic, Nico once again delved into his memories with these new search parameters, he remembered his various interactions with her and… finally, he found something that could be the issue here. 'The most notable and recent incidents which concern emotions would have to have been the night at the Leanbox hot springs… which would mean...'
"...This behavior… could it have something to do with that night at the Hot Springs…?" Nico questioned, and when he didn't get an answer though Raven didn't deny it, the redhead felt he was getting somewhere thus he kept going. "That's the only thing most recent that I could think of which could be a candidate for this issue's development, which means that… Raven… are you mad about…?" He began to say, before an… idea popped into his mind, one which caused not only Nico to widen his eyes in surprise and shock, but his multiple personas to exhale in collective relief in knowing that their main representation wasn't being a dense idiot anymore. Now that his situation with the girls was what it was, they had wanted him to figure it out for himself since he wouldn't have his fucked up mental issues to fall back on as much now. "You… you really… like me…?"
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"...Even I don't know for sure why I feel the way that I do…" Raven began to say after a long, tense and unsure silence between them. He couldn't see her front, but Nico noticed her moving her right hand upwards and guessed from her movements that it was going to her chest area. "You know as well as I do… that I'm not the best when it comes to… you know, stuff a maiden would do. One might say that I'm… quite bad at it. But back then… during the hot springs when you made your speech… I don't get why but I felt more… what's the word I'm looking for, here? Betrayed? Saddened? Disappointed? Frustrated… feels like one of those is the best one but I'm not sure which…"
Yeah, that's pretty much what Nico had anticipated since figuring this out. Thinking back on it, the following morning after that night at the hot springs Nico hadn't seen Raven or any of Team RAIL around, so he hadn't been able to accurately gauge their reactions to the whole thing. Aiden and Ivan were alright since they were the ones he'd confided within beforehand, and Lucy had been someone who'd known even further than them that he had intended to answer their feelings, leaving only Raven who Nico now discovered had feelings for him which even she didn't understand...
Shit, she had every right to be pissed off if that's the case.
Alright, now what should Nico take from this? First, he should organize the information he had on hand here. From what he had learned, it seemed that his usually cool-headed, warrior-like, man-hating friend had a crush on him just like Compa and the others of his Party and even a few outsides. That was fine alone, but in Raven's case since she didn't understand what those emotions even were judging by the wording she'd used, then that would mean that she was acting in the best way she knew how to express these feelings. By giving him the same treatment she would any other member of the opposite sex, people with whom she had many bad experiences with. Seemed kind of stupid in hindsight, but if one thought about it and considered her circumstances, then one could understand her actions a little better.
Now then, how should he proceed from here? Nico couldn't leave this issue to fester, for not only would that be an absolute dick move on his part since he had been the start of that issue in the first place, but Nico wouldn't accept the possibility of Raven ending up hating him as well as the others. Neptune, IF, all of the girls and his bros Aiden and Ivan, none of them would forgive him for leaving one of his own like this. Thus, Nico needed to tackle this problem as soon as he could, the problem being that he was on a mission that should be considered as high priority… Whelp, it was a good thing that he had a decent idea of how to tackle this, then. "I see… well, that sounds like you alright…" he began to say, and this time Raven finally took the time to turn around and glance at him.
Upon her doing so, he noticed the way her eyes looked, and for that one moment, Nico INSTANTLY knew why she had tried to hide her face from him right there. Those crimson eyes which were usually so cool, calm, collected, and cold as the arctic climate Lowee possessed… they had none of those qualities. Instead, they held… vulnerability, confusion, a lack of direction and purpose… as well as internal frustration and conflict which the former had likely been born from. As he beheld this, Nico felt his breath being stolen away from him, having NEVER thought that Raven's normally composed eyes could be even CAPABLE of showing such things to him. Not to mention that he doubted she would show these to anyone else other than those she completely trusted, like people whom she'd know would have her back when she needed them… which weren't all too many, unfortunately. Even if she DID try to make friends throughout the Spec Ops community, the majority of them would likely throw her under the bus to save their skins. It was just that kind of world, both in and out of the Spec Ops community.
However, as long as this moment felt Nico internally crushed the emotions that those eyes invoked in him, knowing that they would do nothing but distract him from the situation at hand. "So, how about this? You and me… we figure this out together? Like…" he began to say, before blushing a little as the thought of what he would be saying truly sunk in. Not like something as minor as embarrassment or humiliation would stop him now, not when he had gotten this far nor when he wanted to help his companion out. "...Like, we could spend a day together shortly when we're free. Just the two of us, nobody else. Just me… and you. At least then, we can figure stuff out because, like you, my ability to deal with emotions… isn't exactly the best here."
"Agreed."
"?!"
Instantly, Raven shot into his personal space, their faces almost touching nose to nose which caused Nico to lightly jump with surprise, a faint sound matching this action escaping his lips. But beyond that, Nico eyed her crimson eyes and beheld the determination burning within those crimson irises. Irises which reminded him OH SO MUCH of the eyes his DPU self stared back at him with… irises which, at that moment, Nico had thought that the Leanbox sunset fell short in beauty compared to them. He almost wondered if he were staring into two rubies at this moment instead, such was how mystified the teen felt inside. 'Whoa… why the hell didn't I notice how pretty her eyes are…? This may be the first time I got to fully focus on them up close like this…'
"You are busy right now, but I will inform you in advance when we are going out together. Make sure you're available after this." Those words, short but straight to the point, left Raven's lips as she stared hard into Nico's eyes, unflinching in her resolve as well as unwavering in her demands. Those eyes told him to shut up and accept her sudden dominance, to which the redhead did so by nodding his head silently. After all, he may be getting better but one thing men can't resist all too well would be women who want something from them… especially if it's the men themselves.
Still, he could understand Raven's eagerness to sort these emotions out as someone who had difficulty understanding emotions himself, and if he could help her out by spending a day with her, the context possibly being a date though in his eyes the most important thing being that she understood how she felt. Nonetheless, the male felt like he had done something right here since, right now, Nico could hardly feel any of the negative emotions she had towards him anymore. They weren't gone, not by a long shot and he suspected that until they sorted that stuff out they would remain, but they were practically minuscule compared to before.
Which suited him just fine.
By the time this had all been concluded, as if she had been watching them the whole time Lucy had snickered before commenting about how she figured that it was time for them to head out, thus she undid the vines holding them captive inside that room. Nico had very nearly broken the 100-meter dash record when getting the fuck out of there, followed suit by Raven whose eyes had become shadowed by her hair as she exited… though when another surge of negative emotion roared out of her, Nico sensed that it wasn't aimed at him but at the one who had trapped them there in the first place.
For her part, Lucy had to be given credit for not flinching at the cold gaze which Raven directed at her like she wanted to give her frostbite whilst freezing her from the inside out right then and there. They would be having words later, Nico could bet, but he didn't stick around any longer since he didn't want to incur Raven's wrath even accidentally. The woman could be VERY terrifying when she wanted to be…
Though, in private Nico would send Lucy a Text as well as a gift consisting of some chocolates he knew she liked as a thank you for pulling what he could consider a big bro move for him and Raven. Something which he could guess she'd VERY much appreciate.
However, all good things had to come to an end sometime, and right now Nico got reminded of that when, whilst he had been wandering the streets surveying his Tekkadan forces as they stuck to themselves whilst making sure nobody tried to start anything with them, the redhead had gotten a message from Katakuri. Opening it up, he discovered that it was time to regroup at a specified area, the participants being Nico himself, Rory, Mihawk, Katakuri, Arima, and his Tekkadan representatives. Raven wasn't considered as part of the mission as they were only led here by her because there was a lead that they could use for their objective.
Thus, in time the group gathered together at yet another Tavern, something which Nico internally had to chuckle in amusement about since he had seen more taverns in Lowee than he had at Leanbox. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if drinking was more of a cultural thing here, though he kept those thoughts to himself to not cause any annoyances with the locals. Still, it seemed as though the others had been just as wary of being observed like he has been, as Nico had sensed various traps having been put in place throughout the area. He could even pick up the sounds of various drones floating about on the lookout for any possible spies for the enemy. 'At least there's some security around here…'
"Alright, we're here," Mihawk stated after looking around and indeed confirming the faces of everyone present as those who were qualified to be here. He then looked over to Katakuri, his hawk-like eyes narrowing. "Your message leads me to believe you have something for us?"
What he meant by this, was that within the message to regroup at this Tavern there was also a bit which had stated that Katakuri had found some information that they would be better off knowing. However, nothing else had been said about it in the letter, resulting in Mihawk bringing it up now before anything could be said to possibly stop any chances of this topic becoming forgotten.
However, it seemed as though this had been an unnecessary worry thanks to the large man's next words. "Your concerns are unfounded, for that very intelligence is what I will discuss momentarily," he told the other Agent, before casting his gaze upon the rest. "I and Rory encountered the Agent we were looking for during our recovery period, found him drinking himself into a stupor."
Oh? Each of them aside from Rory and Katakuri blinked in surprise at the coincidence that they had just heard come out from the latter's mouth. Meeting with their potential lead before they could even embark on tracking him down sounded like something called plot convenience, but hey at least it kept things going along. Thus, nobody questioned them about that.
Instead, the normally quiet Arima became the one who asked the following question. "What did he tell you?"
"Not much at first, seemed like whatever he'd seen back there traumatized him pretty bad. We didn't have much time so Rory opted to… 'convince' him to talk. She worked wonders." Katakuri replied whilst Rory giggled… though that giggle was NOT a friendly one and, though they would never admit it even under pain of death, each of the other Agents grew unnerved at the possibilities that they thought up regarding Rory's potential 'methods'. Throughout their time knowing her, they'd quickly discovered why one did NOT want to mess with her… she got REAL creative with her punishments. "Still, he was eventually cooperative enough to inform us of what he knew…"
Thus, began the briefing. According to what they had been told, this Agent had once been at the site where the Barrier had been set up, proving his claims by explaining how the barrier worked by using multiple power sources to keep its form over the Continent. Should those sources be dealt with in any way, then the Barrier would weaken or be destroyed, depending on how the sources ended up when they were through with them. Rory had confirmed that he hadn't been lying… to which none of them dared to question her on that.
More importantly, the GA had told them where the Facility had been located after confirming that it was indeed real: the central area of the Ground Zero Region which, according to the maps as well as Rory's nomadic experience. May as well be one big hole in the ground that multiple capital cities could fit into, not to mention that a few times when traveling past there previously Rory had informed the rest of them that there had once been a town there, with houses and various facilities seemingly built into the cliffs themselves.
However, the GA hadn't known much else because he had fled not long after feeling some sick, twisted and sinister energies belonging to something he couldn't identify, him reasoning his desertion that he felt like if he had stayed any longer then he would have likely met his end or worse. Mihawk had once considered the man a coward for not being able to continue his work and leaving like a little bitch, however, Rory had countered in that it wasn't wrong for a soldier to preserve their lives when threatened as if they hadn't and they all died out then who would protect the helpless masses when they need it?
Mihawk had little to counter that argument.
Judging from what he had described, Nico didn't blame the Guild Agent either, since he had a VERY good idea of these two 'power sources' identities.
By the time the briefing got concluded, one final situation needed to be dealt with. "We have our intel, we have the location of the facility and we have the means to get there. However, considering what we've seen if the enemy has more forces over there then we will likely be dealing with a BUNCH of Yoma over there, possibly even more than what we dealt with when rescuing this city. We'll need a plan if we want to maximize the effectiveness of our forces." Nico stated, and by that, he was considering the Tekkadan.
If they were alone, as in just them as Spec Ops Agents then they would have just jumped straight into this with absolute confidence in their skills. Stuff like this was something that they did daily, and according to their last supply check they had plenty of Pheromone bombs on hand, they could launch at the Yoma to cause mass confusion. They hadn't used them on the various hordes they had dealt with so far though, mostly due to how many there were and the fact that their supplies couldn't be replenished, therefore they wanted to conserve them for as long as possible. Though, some of them felt like this wouldn't be the case very soon.
"Hmmm, true…." Katakuri remarked thoughtfully as he eyed Legolas, Gimli, and Lard in thought. For a moment, the group remained silent as they judged on what they should do to make use of the Tekkadan until a possible idea popped into the large man's head. "Alright, we can devise our plans for them tonight and hold a second briefing in the morning. We can gauge each other's plans and see which one would be the most effective. We can use the night's rest to refresh ourselves as well as figure out if any questions need to be asked. I'm sure that a few of these Tekkadan soldiers are already somewhat hungover still, thus I don't believe that we should risk some of them not being combat effective in time."
In the end, it was decided that they would spend the rest of the day in this city before they would continue tomorrow morning when they were all well-rested and able-bodied. That would have to mean that they would have to provide for their sleeping arrangements. The Tekkadan were originally a nomadic mercenary band, so they would be able to sleep in the outdoors if need be, though Nico would still try to sort things out with them. Part of him also worried if the other Agents saw them as unnecessary baggage though, even if Rory noticed and gave him an assuring smile.
'Still, we must talk about what we can do for planning out their effectiveness. Sure a small task force has its advantages, having a large one capable of invading enemy territory isn't too bad either.'
'Yeah, but remember that we're all Abnormals, Biko. These guys must be professional enough to hide it, but they could still hold contempt for us… though if that were the case then I would have sensed their negative emotions towards us long ago…' Nico replied, walking off with the group splitting up to do their own thing.
EDIT - If you can't see new chapters coming in when I update, try downloading the fanfiction app onto your phones, it worked for me so hopefully it can help you lot.
