Chapter 74
It's finally close to the end of January. You know what that means right? It's time for the rematch with the Second Bound Deity. I've been waiting for this day for over a month, so I'm pretty pumped about the upcoming battle.
On the other hand, I'm scared to fight him again. On account of his ability to become more deadly the lower his health becomes. So assuming that we'll all be able to fight him at once, the strategy will revolve around burst damage, not letting up and going in hard at first.
The only problem is that if his defenses have evolved since last time that plan may not be very good. We'd wear ourselves out and all he'd have to do is pick us off easily.
I was never good with the battle strategy planning, I've just always followed the hit it until it dies motto. But that can't work forever, and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm scared right now.
"Hey Jack, are you alright?" Uni asks me from my side.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just worried about tonight." She's a really good friend. She can tell when something's wrong with me just by looking. I guess I can do the same with at least a few of them.
"I think we're all anxious about it. But not me! This time sis will have me with her, and I'll make sure that he never hurts her again." I really admire her determination, the will to protect the one's she loves.
Those are some beliefs I can get deeply behind. But I'm sure we all share the feeling. After all, we're friends, so we'll look out for each other, to make sure no harm comes to anyone.
I give Uni a warm smile to show my thanks. "Thanks, now I don't feel so nervous about it." She really is one of my greatest friends.
Uni in turn smiles back at me before closing her eyes with a prideful smile on her face. "Well, after my country becomes liberated, maybe you can give me that kiss you promised me."
"We'll see, just as long as it's only one kiss." I need to make sure of that since bad things might happen if it's more than that. Hell I'm the idiot who promised her that a while ago.
"O-of course that's all that's going to happen, I know better than I did the first time…"
"And when the First Bound Deity amplified your emotions." I add on to the fire that is her crimson cheeks.
"I already apologized for that didn't I?" Uni becomes furious with me, sporting a frown accompanied by red staining the cheeks of her pale skin.
I take my hand and flick Uni's forehead lightly, just to get her attention. "Relax, I was only teasing you." The more I look back on it the more I realize that these bad moments can just be laughed at these days.
Uni rubs her forehead a little and looks down to the ground. "Jeez… you're so mean to me." She shoots me a side glare that pierces my soul.
Sigh, these are the kinds of people I hang out with after all. I don't mind though, you grow used to them after a while, even Neptune is fun and loveable after you get past her…
"Hey! Check this out!" Neptune attempts to do a back flip off a deck because Noire joked about her doing it. She actually lands it at the end, but loses her balance and falls down shortly afterwards.
Her gruff exterior if you could call it that. As I look back to Uni I see that she's smiling at me all of a sudden. "You know, it's almost like we're an actual couple."
I shake my head back and forth and point across the room. She looks to see what I'm pointing towards. Unsurprisingly it's Nepgear. "The second she hears something like that is the second I start sleeping on the couch."
"Sleeping on the couch?" She asks me with more curiosity than I would expect from her.
I rub my eyes before returning my attention back to Uni. "It's a joke Uni, don't think too much on it."
She nods a few times in acknowledgement, I thought she of all people would get that joke before anyone else. Well her and Vert were my top picks but I'm not talking to Vert now am I?
"Oh, I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable with me talking about us like that." Uni begins to shy away from me again, this time with a more shameful expression on her face. I understand how she feels, I really do, I've felt that way about plenty of people in the past who were already in relationships so I can't get mad at her there.
"It's fine Uni, just don't go around saying things like that so freely." I lay back in my chair trying to get more comfortable but to no avail. But my nonchalant gesture does seem to get to her.
She perks back up a little bit so that's good at least. I really try not to judge people too harshly. Because at the end of the day, we're all still people. Some people are still assholes and that doesn't make it ok but it still happens. Hell I'm an asshole on occasion… ok a lot.
So if someone has feelings for me even though I'm with someone, I'll respect their opinion, but not if they try to act on that despite not really digging polygamy. It's just not the Jack style.
Uni pulls her legs up to her chest while still remaining in her seat. I guess it's her own way to relax. Girls are weird man, just don't try to understand them.
"So… do you really think we can beat him this time?" Uni asks me while peeking up from her knees. I shoot her an unsure glance, because I really don't know the answer.
"I… don't know. I want to say we will, but I don't know if that's going to be the case this time. The enemy is tough, tougher than anyone I've fought so far. But, I will try my hardest, just so long as you guys fight your hardest as with me." I'm giving her my most reassuring look that I can manage given the situation.
Uni gives me a smile in response. "Alright you've got it. I won't hold back against this creep. No one makes my sister cry and gets away with it." The fires of war can be seen in her eyes. Looking around the room, it looks like my other friends are pumping each other up for the upcoming battle.
Noire is even trying her best to shake off the shivers from her defeat. I'll admit, I'm even trying to shake them off from when I lost to him last time. It hurts like a bitch to be defeated like that.
But I'm sure we can win. We just have to. At this point defeat isn't an option that I'll accept anymore. I'd rather die than be humiliated like that again.
After school we all met up at the library to do some recon before the fight. We've still got a few days before the fight is supposed to go down. And we do know where it's going to take place, the tallest building in Lastation as he said.
Come to think of it, why didn't we scope out this place before? Once again I'm reminded of how stupid we can be at times. Nevertheless, we're going to go there now and see if he has any plans for us entering early.
Logging into the game from my laptop, I'm met with the urban paradise known as Lastation. Almost instantly, my avatar begins sprinting down the street to where the tallest building is.
It doesn't take long to get there due to my speed and reaction timing thanks to the augmentations. Looks like I'm the first one to be here. Guess the others will arrive shortly.
And just like that, Noire and Uni appear from around the corner. Soon after Neptune, Nepgear and Vert. But lastly Blanc and her sisters come to join us in front of the building.
"Wait, aren't we missing one?" Right on cue I feel a tap on my shoulder, startling me for a brief moment.
"Sorry to scare you, but I'm here now." Martin says in his usual carefree tone. That guy is so blindly optimistic that I don't like it. Still, he's a good friend.
"Anyway, what's the game plan for now?" I turn my attention to our gaggle of Goddesses. Surely they've come up with a plan that'll be foolproof.
"Well, the first part of this endeavor falls solely on you two." Vert points to Martin and I, giving us both a feeling that this isn't going to be that easy.
"Might I ask why only us two can do this?" Martin asks Vert about her reasoning. I'm curious too but I'm sure that there's a good reason behind this.
Blanc steps forward and clears her throat before speaking. "We Goddesses can't get anywhere important, even in our own countries. Gamindustri isn't exactly Goddess friendly when it comes to major buildings and political influences anymore."
"But wait… why haven't people we've met come forth and try to turn you in?" I ask after hearing this new information.
"To put it simply, most of the people we come across still have faith in the Goddesses or just have never seen our HDD forms. But a place of this importance, a place selected as the battleground of a Bound Deity surely will know of the Goddesses and what we look like." Neptune speaks up now, clarifying the situation even more. Have I ever mentioned I like this Neptune more than the other one?
"I think I'm starting to get the idea. So you want Jack and I to infiltrate and sabotage the area and the battlefield if possible?" Martin tries to guess what the plan is. It doesn't sound half bad from what he's saying.
"You got most of it right, we'll also need you to plant a teleportation hub in the higher levels of the building. We can't get up there without attracting the attention of half the nation." Noire is the one to give us the briefing this time. It's obvious that she's uncomfortable with this whole situation, but she's putting on her bravest face that she can. That Godly pride of hers may be her greatest strength, it's also her greatest weakness.
Martin pats his girlfriend on the back to give her comfort. He always knows just how to calm her down or rile her up. They really do fit well together.
"Alright, so I'll do the protecting and trap placement and Martin will handle the inscribing of a teleportation hub." I say out loud to see if that's the whole plan.
Noire walks forward to us and opens up her menu. In front of us a second later a new screen appears in front of Martin and I. It's simply named business clothes.
"You can't walk into a place dressed like that, you'll attract too much attention from everyone in the building." Noire makes a good point. I didn't consider that before, good job.
We both nod before equipping our new clothes. Like the item description says, it's just a simple black suit meant for business. Our weapons disappear upon equipping, so this is really full stealth like she said.
"Ok, I think we're both ready to go in." I look to Martin who shoots me that dumb smile of his, letting me know that he's ready to rock this.
We both start to walk towards the door of the building, but before we open the door Noire stops us with one more thought. "Please try not to kill any of my citizens, they may be brainwashed but try to not be excessive if things get rough."
In unison we give her thumbs ups that just show how much we respect her opinion on this.
"Good luck." Nepgear says as we walk in.
I can't say I'm really thrilled about the interior. Everything about this place just screams boring office. Water tanks with people talking around them, bland motivation posters, and bland people just litter this place.
We find the reception desk and approach it casually. "May I help you?" The receptionist asks us.
"We have business in the upper floors, where would we find an elevator that goes that far up?" Martin responds to her without arousing too much suspicion.
"I'm sorry, but the upper floors are only accessible to executives and invited guests, surely you have business on a different floor."
"Of course, we were just mistaken. Where is the elevator if you could point us to it?" Martin speaks again. It makes sense for him to be the talker, he's a better smooth talker than me.
The receptionist smiles at him and points us in the direction to the elevator. Waving back to her, we take our way over to it. Once inside, we can see why it isn't accessible. It only goes up to floor thirty before the buttons are grayed out. On a panel next to the elevator buttons we see a key card slider. That must be the key to unlocking the rest of the functions.
We go as high as we can without the keycard, arriving to the floor in not much time at all. Upon exiting, we see an employee getting his ass chewed out by what appears to be his boss.
"How long are you going to drag your feet? You were supposed to have that Share report ready before noon!" Well he doesn't look too happy that's for sure.
"I'm sorry sir, it's just that, Leanbox's shares have risen more than we could've expected with the death of its replacement Deity. The people there are starting to get over the subtle brainwashing that the Deities project."
The executive looking guy slams his fist on the desk. "You think that matters? Just get me the share report or you'll be terminated!"
He walks away from the disheartened employee, who slumps back into his chair into a depressed slouch. We approach him to see if he can tell us anything.
"Rough day huh?" I say trying to break the ice with him.
He looks at us and sighs heavily. "You have no idea what it's like working under him." I can sense the pain in his voice, it makes me sick.
"Yeah, I can imagine, but why was he so furious with you?"
"I was supposed to have this report tracking the growth and decline of each nations shares, but Leanbox's keeps fluctuating that I can't get a good read on it. Hell I'm not even supposed to be talking about that but at this point I don't care."
"Hey man, it'll be ok. What's your name by the way?" I think I have a way we can help him in the end.
"I'm Cody, Cody Nelson." He holds out his hand for a handshake.
I'm the first to shake his hand, followed shortly after by Martin who's been quiet for this conversation, which is strange. But I'm sure he has something big on his mind.
"I just want to tell him everything that I think of him. But if I do, I'll be killed since I know too much already."
"I think my friend and I will have a little chat with him then. Where can we find him usually?"
"Good luck with that, he sticks to the upper floors and only comes down here to complain about our work."
"Don't worry, I think we'll have a way to talk to him." Martin chimes in for the first time in this conversation.
"If you could that'd be great. He's just such an ass." We all start having a laugh, it honestly feels like we've known this guy for a while and we just haven't known it.
Martin grabs one of my arms and starts to tug me slightly in his direction. "Well, it's been nice talking with you, but we must be going soon. Also, don't come to work for a few days after this. It's for the best." Well that was scary Martin.
"O-Ok… Thanks for the warning." With that, he sits back down at his desk and starts typing at his computer.
"I was tracking the movements of that executive, he should be approaching the elevator soon. We need to board it with him." So that's what he was doing, good job Martin.
Without much thought, we walk our way back to the elevator and interrupt the doors closing to get in it. Sure enough, like Martin said he's in here. Now's where things can get fun… or messy… or both…
"Would the both of you mind? I'm kind of in a big hurry!" He yells at us, getting no response.
"Martin, block the signal." He raises his hand and casts a spell that stops frequencies and signals from flowing in a certain area. Wouldn't want the cameras to see what happens next.
"Wh-what's the big idea? You think this is a joke?" He yells at us once more as if trying to intimidate us. Spoiler alert, it isn't working.
"You're going to surrender your keycard and leave this building and never come back." I tell him how it is. If he refuses then he won't be treated nicely.
"And why would I do that? Because you asked nicely? Like hell I'd ever do that!"
*Bam!* I didn't waste any time with clocking him in the jaw.
He looks back to us with a bloodied mouth and shouts. "It'll take a lot more than tha-…" He stops speaking when I pull a gun from my jacket and place the barrel against his forehead.
"Martin, muffle the area." Martin casts another spell to muffle all sounds heard in a certain area so no one can hear me if I shoot him.
"Wait wait! I think we can work something out!" He pleads for his life. I give him a cold stare while looking into his fearful eyes.
*Click* I pull the hammer on the revolver back.
"I'll give it to you! Just take it!" He fumbles through his pocket and pulls out a card. I'm guessing that's the one we need to get to the top.
I take it from his hand while still pressing the gun against him. Once it's in my inventory I pull the gun away from him. "Now leave this place and don't come back."
"Oh, of course I will…" I'm about to put my gun back into my jacket. "Like hell I would!"
*Swoosh!* His fist flies past my head as I dodge it, pulling my gun back out shoving it into his mouth, wrapped fully around the barrel. I give a swift kick to his leg, putting him on his knees.
"All you had to do was go away… now you've got to pay the price." Tears go down his eyes, the hammer slowly creeks forward, just waiting to be unleashed in a small explosion of gunpowder.
*Bang!* Blood and grey matter go all over the elevator wall. Good thing the area was muffled or we might have a real problem. Well we do still have to clean up this mess.
"Just teleport the mess to in front of that one cave. We don't have to go back there anyway." I put my gun back in my jacket as I speak.
Martin begins moving his hands around drawing incantations in the air. "Did you really have to do that?" The mess before us suddenly gets teleported away to Leanbox.
I slide the key card through the slot, then select the highest floor on the select menu. "He attacked us after we spared him. He might've also notified others of our presence. It was the best option considering everything.
The elevator starts to ascend. "I still think we could've handled that differently."
"Like how, you have a different plan we could've used?" I ask him with as much disdain in my voice as I can manage.
"I could've just teleported him away instead of his corpse." My eyes go open in realization.
"Oh… well now I just feel bad."
"It was probably for the best though. People like that tend to not change for the better."
The elevator stops at the top floor, once the doors open we both walk out and see if there's anyone around. So far the coast is clear, no one to be seen for now.
"Alright, now's where the mission impossible stuff kicks in."
A/N: I slacked off, so I wrote a little more than the usual chapter contains to try and make amends with you guys. Damn I hate work right now, but at least the money's pretty alright for where I am.
So I'd like to hear what's on your thankful for since it's close to Thanksgiving and whatnot. Personally, I'm just thankful that I found time to write this chapter. I really hope you enjoy it.
Ok I'll stop rambling now, so I'll catch you guys in the next update.