Helllooo! I have the day off so I wanted to give you guys a quick update lol I know Boyd's mind is feeling like it's dragging, but I promise we have like... one more chapter of this shit lol I know this level wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but I'll be making it interesting sooooon enough :3
Anyway! Hope you all enjoy! :D
I shouldered the rifle as Lili and I stood outside a very obviously boxed-off area before the large brick building that Boyd told us about. I adjusted my goggles on my face ever so slightly as I looked over toward the girl beside me as she was holding her rifle at her waist as if she had carried a hunting rifle a million times before.
"Okay, this place is making me more confused with each second I'm here longer and I doubt this will be the only brain we're poking around in here."
"Which part are you confused about?" I gave a smirk as I nodded over toward the boxed-in area. "The fact that places have what looks like caution tape on the ground to box things off or the fact that those guys are muttering about being murderers?"
"How about letter c with the fact this is all about some guy named Milkman."
"Maybe his milk is delicious?"
"Raz, if he has actual milk and people are being like this over it, I bet it has like weed effects." I snickered at the idea as I brought my rifle down from my shoulder.
"Milk is one hell of a drug, don't you know?" She rolled her eyes at me with a smile before nudging me with her elbow.
"Yeah yeah yeah, get walking, Aquato." Lili led the way into the square as the G-Man near us could be heard clearly.
"I like to shoot people. Sometimes I work for the government." I felt uneasy as I quickly tried my best to keep Lili's figure close to me, especially as the G-Man seemed to be staring at something unusual from the building before us. "This is my gun. My gun is clean and ready." I looked out toward the building once more.
"Lili, I think-." My voice when silent as a loud bang could be heard and a thud followed. I instinctively grabbed Lili by the waist and pulled her close as I put a bubble around us. The G-Men near us started murmuring and speaking in monotone hysterics.
"Be careful fellow assassins, someone is shooting from the book depository."
"Someone is firing from the book depository."
"Thank you fellow assassin."
"I have been shot, oh no. My gun has blood on it."
"What the hell? These things are real?" I watched Lili curiously as she looked over the gun while I kept her close to me. "That motherfucker." She muttered to herself as she tossed the gun on the ground with a thud. "Thing is fake as hell but whoever is up there has the real thing." I tossed my gun aside as well as I figured the dead weight wasn't worth running with.
"Well, at least we know now and at least we have a bubble shield." I gave her a smile as I realized just how close the two of us were. I swallowed hard before stammering. "B-But I guess we should get in there. I wouldn't want to waste all my psychic energy o-on the b-bubble."
"Y-Yeah." She placed a hand on my elbow as she pulled back ever so slightly. "Ni-Nice thinking though, best to keep it up as we get running there." I nodded my head as she went on. "Best for us to do a countdown and try our best to keep up with one another."
"Good thinking." I dropped my arm from her despite my brain wanting nothing more than to keep her there. "Want to do the honors?" She gave a nod of her own as we both seemed to ready ourselves.
"Three," I rolled my shoulders a little as I did my best to keep a bit of my focus on keeping the bubble steady. "Two," I glanced at Lili from the corner of my eye as I faced my body toward the book depository. "One," I saw Lili give a wicked smirk that I couldn't help but match.
"Go!"
We dashed toward the depository without hesitation after yelling out together. We were neck and neck with one another as the bubble I kept around us was stable with each step. A couple of shots were sent in our direction, but the shield was strong enough to make them bounce off easily as Lili and I kept on.
"You've got good psychic energy control there, Aquato." I smiled proudly as we neared the building.
"Years of physical and psychological endurance training does that for you."
"I get the physical stuff with the circus training, but you were trained in psychic endurance too?" I shrugged as we slowed down together.
"I had a rather strong sense of control over my psychic energy as a kid, like my Nona said I had better control over it than the majority of the adults she knew in her prime." I smiled wide as we came up to the main door of the building. "But, she figured it was best for me to learn a couple of tricks she learned over the years and the same went for my dad." We entered quickly and I dropped the bubble once I got the sense that we were safe again. "I'm quite glad for it now though. I doubt I would have been able to keep that up for that long if I was eleven."
"Good to know." Lili crossed her arms over her chest as a small smirk took over her lips. "Now, let's get this shit over with, shall we?" She gestured high above her. "I bet levitation balloons should be good enough to get us up there." I mischievous grin took over my lips as a single idea came to mind.
"Last one there is a rotten egg?" I saw a mischievous smile of her own spread across her lips with ease as a determined gleam took over her brown eyes.
"Oh you fucking bet, Aquato."
I chased after Lili after my feet landed solidly on the top floor's main entrance area.
"That wasn't fair! You used pyrokinesis to fly up faster!" Lili gave a loud laugh before her figure came to a halt near the windows.
"I'm surprised you didn't think of doing it too!"
"Cheater!" I skid to a stop beside her as she knocked her knuckles into my shoulder.
"We didn't have any rules there, Aquato." I pouted at her, but I was rewarded with a giggle in reply. "Aw, don't look at me like that, Raz. You make me feel like I kicked a puppy or something."
"You have broken my heart, Zanotto." I placed a hand over my heart dramatically as she rolled her eyes at me. "How could I ever trust my partner again?"
"Partner, huh?" Lili smirked at the idea as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Didn't know we agreed to be partners already there, agent."
"Well, who else would you partner with? Bobby?"
"Hell no, rather die."
"Exactly." I gave a wide smile as I dropped my hand from my chest. "Even then, I'm your favorite."
"Putting yourself pretty high there, Razzle Dazzle." I moved my goggles up to my forehead so I could playfully glare at the girl before me.
"Please don't." My glare turned into a look of confusion as her eyes went wide in awe as she looked over my features. "Is there something on my face or something?"
"No, I just didn't think your eyes would glow in the mental world as well, actually." She took a step closer as she slipped a hand under my chin and tilted it ever so slightly as if it would give her a better view of my eyes. "It's honestly really cool."
"T-Thanks." I swallowed hard as I felt my heart skip a beat.
Cool? Never heard cool before. Snake-like, yes. Creepy, absolutely. 'Get that Medusa-looking kid away from me', was still a favorite. But calling my eyes cool? That was a first.
"Do you know exactly why your family's eyes glow like this when you use your psychic powers? Or is it still a thing that's a mystery to even you?" I shrugged at the idea as she seemed to peer deeply into my golden eyes.
"All I understand of it is that it's a genetic thing for sure and that even Lucrecia's eyes weren't always like this. It makes us think that when her psyche broke that it caused a genetic effect within her brain that was probably always there. Since the rest of us already have that deep connection to our psyches, we guess it was just more natural for us to have it without an issue in comparison to her."
"So a genetic thing that was hidden at first?"
"That's what we guess." I shrugged once more as Lili gave a small hum in reply. "Since we're not a direct line from her and stuff."
"Cause your dad is her nephew, right?"
"Right."
"And her eyes didn't glow at first and yours does as well."
"Everyone in my family has the trait. Anyone that's psychic at least."
"That's honestly really interesting and I bet Sasha is going to poke you about that in the future." Lili laughed a little at the idea as I gave a small smile in reply.
Her laugh is so pretty.
I blushed as the thought rang out in my head. I panicked at first that the girl before me heard the sudden thought, but she didn't seem phased so I took that as a no with glee.
"Um," A sudden voice appeared beside us which caused both of us to snap our attention toward them. A girl in what seemed like a Girl Scout's uniform stood there with a rifle in hand as she gave us a curious look. "Who the hell are you two?"
"Could be asking you the same thing there, cookie gremlin." Lili dropped her hand from my chin so she could cross her arms over her chest and address the girl before us properly. "What are you doing with the gun?"
"If these bastards are trying to take me, I'm taking some of them too." I had the feeling the girl would have had a wicked smile across her face if it wasn't for the fact that her mouth wasn't visible to me. "The Den Mother is protected, same with Him. That is all that matters." I looked over toward Lili as I gestured toward the girl with the gun.
"Manchurian Agent." I looked back toward the girl as the pieces started to fall into place for me. "It all makes sense. He was brainwashed and-." I hesitated for a moment as I tried to see what way I could put my thoughts into words without upsetting the Girl Scout. "He is the protected trigger. Whoever made up Him, made them to protect them until told otherwise."
"So the Den Mother is like a manifestation of whoever brainwashed him!" I looked over toward Lili as her eyes went wide in realization. "Then the Den Mother is the key to figuring out who did this!"
"Exactly!" I gave an excited smile as all the puzzle pieces were coming together.
"You two are weird." I snapped my attention back toward the girl as she shouldered the rifle. "I'm going down there and make a run for it while I can. You two can keep muttering about whatever you're talking about." With that, she walked off without another word as she left Lili and I rather confused by her response to us.
"Guess that was the Rainbow Squirts then that Boyd was talking about?"
"Guess so." I shrugged as I looked around the little area we were in. There was a table and a couple of other items, but it did look like the girl set up camp here for herself for a good little bit. "Maybe we should look around to see if there's anything useful in finding out where they're holding the Milkman. Once we find him and the Den Mother, I bet Boyd's mental world will straighten itself out and we can get the key to the gate."
"Wherever he is," Lili walked over toward something in particular without a second thought before picking something up from a small table in the corner. "Probably has something to do with this." She turned toward me once more to show a helmet she had found. It had a propeller on top of it and handles on the sides. "I bet they use this thing to get back and forth from wherever they have him."
"There's a lot of gaps in the roads and everything," I rubbed my chin curiously. "But maybe there's something a bit further out and above. Like a house on its own little section."
"Could climb up the phone poles and take a look."
"Nice thinking, Zanotto." I smiled wide as she walked over and held out the helmet to me.
"Where would you be without me, Aquato?" She smirked as I took the helmet from her.
"Probably here for much longer." We chuckled at the idea as we started walking back toward where we levitated up the stairwell.
"I would honestly feel so sorry for the Raz that was stuck in here for any longer than he needed to be."
