Hi everyone, and hope you're having a good day so far. Well, another chapter is up and...is more filler than anything, but still. Anyway, I'm just letting you know that if you find something that you don't like or feel offended by in the story, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to address any of your concerns. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Review Responses
Guest: Well, you certainly are quite energetic in every single one of your reviews, aren't you? I'm glad you love this, and the 4th-D Slip mechanics. And sure, go ahead and use it: I don't mind at all. Nothing in this is copyrighted except that the characters and locations are owned by Nintendo outside any original locations/characters. As for Lucas, well he'll learn over time. I'm trying to avoid too much torture, but as you can see...yeah, there's more angst in this than I originally anticipated. And yeah, it's probably for the best to avoid getting into hot water if you can help it. See ya!
Connor the speling pro: Hey hey hey to you too! Well, I'm glad you thought the Kuma part was interesting. I'm trying to aim for more of a 'gray' morality between the two sides, which more will come in future chapters...except there might be more white or black depending on the faction. And I welcome critical comments as long as they aren't flames, so feel free to suggest them!
I didn't even notice I was doing the blow-by-blow action...Man. Well, I'll be more careful about that in the future, thanks for letting me know. But the 'sounding like teenagers' comment you'll probably make a million more times to me. This chapter...I probably won't be able to get all of these moments since I only got your review a day before this posted, but I did my best in editing and I'll continue to try in later chapters.
I honestly have an easier time with being critical as well. And don't worry, I'm open to suggestions and I can see where you're coming from with both aspects. If it helps me, then I'm all ears. See ya!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fic other than the plot and OCs.
"H-How much l-l-longer until w-we're o-o-out of this b-bloody c-c-cold?" Lucas asked through chattering teeth as they slogged through ankle-high snow, wishing for time to speed up.
"It s-shouldn't be long b-before we reach Snowman!" Ninten replied. "N-Not more than another h-half hour if we're n-not lost!" It was apparent that he wasn't faring much better against the cold than Lucas was.
As to plan, they entered Winters early in the morning with clothing 'stolen' from the abandoned base, despite being too big for either of them. At first, it wasn't that bad. But then they hit the snow, and for over an hour they've struggled through the harsh environment, hoping to reach Snowman before they froze.
"I-It's hard to believe t-that this is t-technically spring with this kind of w-weather," Ninten muttered.
"You're kidding!" Lucas cried in disbelief. "T-That's impossible!"
"You s-see the impossible before your e-eyes," Ninten said. "The c-climate's been like this since t-the wars. Nearly year r-round for them."
"H-How can anyone l-live like t-t-this!?"
"They just make t-the best of it a-and adjust," Ninten replied. He looked around. "The a-animals like the c-cold as much as we do."
"I-I'm glad Boney d-d-didn't come a-along then," Lucas said. "He'd b-b-be whining the e-entire time."
"You can s-say that again." Ninten's gaze shifted forward and he stopped.
"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, charging his PSI up.
"I see light," Ninten answered. "S-Someone's up a-ahead. H-Hopefully we can ask for d-directions in case we're n-not going towards Snowman."
"Well t-t-then, what are w-we waiting for?" Lucas called impatiently, already breaking into a run.
He heard Ninten mutter something, but glanced back to see him too start to run to keep up. Within seconds, they burst into the clearing and slowed down as the person holding up the lantern turned towards them, eyes widening.
"What are you two doing out here in that kind of clothing?" the woman asked before glancing at Ninten. "And what's with that...thing on your back?"
"W-We were hoping to r-reach the providential capital," Ninten answered. "W-We were heading for S-Snowman as a stop for the n-night; we know better t-than to hope to r-reach Fiveopilis today. As for m-my weapon...given conditions in t-the wilderness, I would rather be c-cautious than to die. B-But I am also trained w-with this, or else I-I wouldn't be carrying it."
"Okay...But you still came this way on foot, without an adult, and with that kind of clothing?" she questioned incredulously, most likely thinking they were crazy.
"W-We didn't h-h-have much of a-a choice," Lucas growled through chattering teeth.
The woman sighed as she shook her head. "Well, I guess I can hear your reasoning later," she conceded. "Fortunately, town's not too far away. You two were heading in the general direction, but there's a quicker way to shelter."
"T-Then please point us i-in the right d-direction," Ninten declared.
"But first, we should introduce ourselves," the woman said. "I'm Kristen."
"I'm N-Ninten, and t-this is Lucas," Ninten replied. "Nice t-to meet you, Kristen."
"Nice to meet you Ninten, and you too Lucas," Kristen replied. "Now come along."
"Y-Y-You sure we c-can trust her?" Lucas whispered as the woman began to walk forward, the boys falling in line.
"If s-she was a Pigmask, s-she would have to a lot b-better than that. We c-can easily escape i-if it's a trap," Ninten reasoned.
"I guess," Lucas shrugged.
Ana absentmindedly twirled one of her pigtails around her finger, deeply immersed in thought. Her mother had gone out several hours ago to try to fetch some herbs from a nearby town, but she hadn't returned yet. Even though trips like the one her mother was taking would take several hours at best, Ana couldn't help but fret about her, especially with their guest's condition. Paula was getting better, but it didn't seem that anything they would do could help her at all, whether it be medicine or PSI. However, there were a few that they haven't tried, and the herbs were necessary to make one of them.
Ana replaced the towel on Paula's forehead, despite knowing it would do little good. She was tempted to go and read her book, but she just set it down after over an hour of reading. She needed a break from both it and fretting over her friend's health.
She settled for kneeling down onto the floor, clasping her hands in prayer. She prayed for her mother's safe return, and prayed that her friend would be rid of this illness soon.
'That's all I can do...' she thought dejectedly as she stood back up and left the room. She was not used to this feeling of utter helplessness, given that her PSI was able to heal every injury and illness her parents had suffered over the years, though not severe. This must be beyond her abilities to cure, and that made her question her self-worth. Nevertheless, Paula needed privacy and rest to recover.
However, she didn't know that Paula had woken up just seconds after she left the room.
"Well, welcome to Winters," Kristen gestured to the entrance...and the snow that covered just about every inch of the place. "Quite a sight isn't it?" she asked.
"F-For anybody not living in Winters, i-it is," Ninten replied.
"I...I've never s-seen so m-m-much snow b-before," Lucas gaped, eyes glancing just about everywhere.
"You saw a l-lot on the way here, didn't you?" Ninten asked.
"I-I meant n-not in a t-town," Lucas corrected. "I-It looks pretty g-good m-m-mixed with the b-buildings...i-in my o-o-opinion."
Kristen laughed. "That's the answer we get from most people that come through here," she said. "It's the one thing every visitor remembers about Snowman; all the snow all over the place."
"I-I can see why," Lucas mumbled, still taken aback by it all.
"I bet the o-one thing people remember a-about Winters in general, i-is how freaking c-cold you are all the time," Ninten remarked.
"Well, when you live in it every day, it's not as bad. Sure, it's still miserable sometimes, but I'm not shivering like sticks like you two are," Kristen said.
The trio fell into silence for the next several minutes, simply observing Snowman in general. Lucas liked how the snow seemed to glisten in the lights outside and the quaint but cozy-looking houses. He supposed that if he got used to it he wouldn't mind living in Snowman...if they were more tolerant of people, that is.
"H-Hey Ninten," Lucas broke the silence. "Didn't you s-say something a-a-about year round snow i-in Winters?" he asked.
"This part, yes," Ninten replied. "I-I read about it a f-few years back. T-This is why the town is c-called Snowman given a-all the snow. But v-very few parts of Winters a-actually suffers from an everlasting w-winter."
"I may live here, but I can't help but sometimes want warmer temperatures for once," Kristen confessed. "I kinda like the cold, but not as much as others," she gestured to a group of kids nearby in the midst of a snowball fight.
Lucas couldn't resist cracking a small smile. His mind drifted back to years long past, where he and Claus would play in the snow and build snowmen. Then, they would join up with the other village kids for snowball fights and other games. He remembered being on sleds with his parents as well.
How he wished sometimes he could go back, or even forget what happened.
However, Lucas was snapped out of his musings due to Ninten and Kristen's renewed conversation. "...northwest of h-here," he heard Ninten say.
"Ah, I see," Kristen replied. "Never really heard of it, but it's really far enough away to be outside the snow areas?"
Ninten nodded. "Natural phenomena t-that no one has cracked yet," he admitted.
"Interesting...so where are you from?" Kristen asked.
"Castle Town."
"What? All the way from there?" Kristen gaped. "That's at least a few days' walk from here...and yet you had time to go up there to meet Lucas, and then come here?"
"Compared to e-everything that I've seen recently, i-it's not the most outlandish t-thing that's happened," Ninten remarked.
"Well, not sure if it's related, but we are also taking care of another person from Castle Town," Kristen told him.
"What?"
"Pretty sure it's a coincidence, but I found out enough from her. Poor kid, losing her family and friends."
Ninten nodded. "I'm had a p-pretty difficult time processing it m-myself at first."
"I a-also had difficulty a-accepting that as well," Lucas agreed.
Kristen turned her head back forward. "Okay, we're here!" she announced. "Your inn for the night, and home sweet home for me."
"Finally," Lucas said. "Time to g-get out of t-this b-b-blasted cold."
"Okay, you two can take your winter gear off now," she told them as they entered. "With the fireplace blazing, it should be quite warm in here."
Ninten nodded in acknowledgement, easily shedding the heavy clothes that were laden with snow off of him, exposing his usual wear. He quickly offloaded his Giant Knife as well. Despite its usefulness in combat, it was a pain to carry long distances in the snow. He quickly took off his boots and socks; sure the boots helped, but since they were too big, snow could come inside easily and soak the socks. He glanced over at Lucas to see him doing the same thing, as well as scooting over to the fireplace. Ninten couldn't blame him; the fireplace looked sorely tempting to him, grabbing a blanket to wrap himself in.
Nevertheless, he couldn't resist a smirk at the sight of Lucas curling up right next to the fire as he sat down next to it to warm up as well, virtually in a cocoon made of blankets. "You l-look like a sleeping baby," he teased after a few moments, not shivering as much anymore as he used his PSI to help warm himself up faster.
He chuckled at his friend's glare, accompanied by blushing cheeks. "Shut up!" Lucas snapped. Sadly for him, Ninten's smirk did not disappear.
"Ana! I'm home!" Kristen called, causing their attention to be diverted to the parent.
"Mom! You're okay!" a girl cried as she entered the room.
Kristen chuckled as she hugged her. "You fret too much for your own good, Ana," she told her. "Don't worry, I have the herbs. I'll go make the medicine now. It shouldn't take too long."
"Okay," Ana nodded. Ninten's gaze focused on her as he sensed an all-too familiar sensation radiating from her. 'She must be a PSI user too,' Ninten concluded. He glanced over at Lucas to see a similar reaction, not that he was surprised. In fact, Ana turned her head towards them right then and there, her expression mirroring theirs.
"Oh right, I was about to tell you I found these two wandering outside," Kristen explained. "They'll be staying for the night, just letting you know."
"Okay, thanks for telling me," Ana said. Kristen went into another room with the herbs clutched in her hands, leaving the three alone with only the crackling fire providing any sort of noise. "Hi, I'm Ana," she greeted as she faced the duo. "I-It's nice to meet you two."
"Nice to meet you Ana," Ninten said. "My name is Ninten."
"I'm L-Lucas," the other boy promptly chimed in, not quite over his shivers yet.
"Pardon me for asking...but are you two PSI users?" Ana asked.
Ninten nodded. "Yes, we are I presume you're one too?"
"I am," Ana confirmed as she glanced at where exactly they were sitting. "I take it you two want to relax by the fireplace?" Ana said.
"He's fallen in love with it," Ninten remarked as he looked at Lucas.
"I told you to shut up," Lucas deadpanned.
Ana giggled slightly. "Well, um...do you mind if I stay with you two?" she asked.
"Go ahead, we don't mind," Ninten said.
"Thank you," Ana bowed slightly as she took a seat. "So where are you two from?" she asked.
"Well, Lucas is from Tazmily Village, a small town just northwest of here...several days' worth of travel," Ninten answered.
"Ninty is from Castle Town," Lucas chimed in.
Ninten glared at Lucas in irritation as he noticed Ana struggling not to laugh. "Don't start calling me what your dog did," he growled. "Oh wait, that's revenge for calling you a sleeping baby earlier, wasn't it?"
Lucas grinned, but it waned slightly as Ninten smirked with a retort up his sleeve. "Then I hope you don't mind me calling you Lukey."
Ninten gave a triumphant chuckle as Lucas directed a death glare at his friend and Ana finally burst out laughing. This situation caused Ninten's chuckles to turn into laughs, for the first time in months. A few seconds of glaring later, Lucas could no longer resist the temptation within him, and began to chuckle at what happened and at the sight of his friends. It too gradually turned into laughter as well.
When Kristen entered the room with the now-prepared medicine in a cup, she witnessed the sight of all three teenagers rolling around on the floor practically laughing their guts out.
She cracked a small smile at the sight of her daughter enjoying herself with the guests, and decided not to intervene. Her smile did not fade as she ascended the flight of stairs and entered one of the guest rooms they had.
As she shut the door behind her, she noticed the sole occupant sitting up in the bed. "Hello Mrs. Cooper," she greeted.
"Hello Paula," Kristen greeted. "Even though you really don't have to call me by my last name," she told her.
"It's just good...etiquette that my parents taught me," Paula replied.
Kristen smiled. While she could have gone without the elaborate manners this girl demonstrated, the mother could not deny how well her parents must have raised her to be so polite, yet confident. "Well, here's the herbs I promised," she said, handing the cup to her guest. "Hopefully they'll help."
"Thank you," Paula said before bringing the cup up to her face and tipping its contents into her mouth. Kristen noticed her cringe as the medicine entered her mouth, which the mother couldn't blame her guest; she remembered that the herb was supposed to be quite bitter. However, she drank it all and set the cup down on the side of the bed.
"By the way, we have some other guests for tonight," Kristen informed the girl. "You know, it's quite odd on how many people seem to be traveling through here. Usually there are nowhere near as many...but given what happened, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. One of the two did come from Castle Town...but I have to wonder about what he was carrying. Who would have let someone so young lug around such a large sword on his back?"
"Wait...a large sword?" Paula inquired. "What...did it look like? No, scratch that. Who was the person who owned it?"
Kristen's brow furrowed in confusion. "It was a young boy named Ninten," she answered. "Why?"
After several minutes, the living room fell silent as the three teens caught their breaths. Fortunately, none of them exploded into more laughter looking at each other like the last few times.
"...That was funnier than it should have been," Lucas deadpanned.
"Maybe, but you also looked quite smug in calling me a remarkably similar name," Ninten pointed out.
"After you called me a baby," Lucas retorted.
"You have to admit, you really looked like one when you curled up by the fire," Ninten pointed out.
Lucas opened his mouth to retort, but footsteps interrupted his unsaid words, causing him to turn his attention towards Kristen, who was walking down towards them.
"Ninten?" she called.
"Yes Kristen, what is it?" Ninten replied.
"...There's someone who wants to see you," Kristen informed him.
"Who?" the raven-haired teen questioned.
"The other person staying here. Her name is Paula," Kristen said.
At the mention of his best friend's name, the veteran flew to his feet. "Paula?" he gasped.
Kristen nodded. "Yes, she's upstairs in the guest room," she told him.
"Where's the guest room?" Ninten asked.
"I can show you right now," the mother replied. "Follow me." Kristen turned around and ascended the stairs, Ninten quickly falling in right behind her. Lucas exchanged a glance with Ana.
"...Does he know for certain that this 'Paula' is actually his friend?" Lucas asked.
"Well, she did want to see him," Ana pointed out. "She probably wouldn't ask for him if she didn't know him at all."
"Good point," Lucas said as he stood up and followed his friend up, Ana right behind him.
Ninten entered the bedroom just behind the adult, eager to see his best friend again. His excitement was barely contained (despite his stoic disposition) as he quickly glanced around the room for any sign of his friend.
And there she was, on the bed but sitting up. "Ninten?" Paula asked, squinting as though he was an illusion.
"Yes Paula, it's me," Ninten said, walking up to the bed and sitting on a chair close to it.
Paula smiled. "You're safe...good," she whispered.
It was then Ninten noticed something wrong with her. Despite having to be prim and proper as the princess, she usually had more energy than this. "Paula, what's wrong?" he asked.
"I-It's nothing major...don't worry yourself about it," Paula reassured...but it was ruined by the coughing fit that took ahold of her immediately after she finished.
As soon as she recovered, Ninten placed a hand on her forehead. "Paula, you're ill," he told her, although he figured Paula already knew and just tried to shrug it off. Sometimes that girl was more stubborn than what was good for her. He made a mental note to ask her later about the illness she had.
"So Ninten's the friend you talked about," Ana said, whom sat on the edge of the bed.
Paula nodded. "Yeah, he's been by my side for years, and me at his," she replied. "I'm glad he made it out; I wouldn't know what to do otherwise."
"Oh come on," Ninten shook his head. "You've got to give yourself more credit. Even if you are the princess, you are a far more capable leader than most I've seen."
The veteran noticed her eyes widen in a panic, and frowned in confusion. But then he looked at the other occupants. Lucas didn't seem surprised, given that he talked about Paula with him already, but Ana and Kristen were staring at them with wide eyes.
"She's the princess?" Kristen blurted out.
"...You...didn't tell them?" he questioned the princess.
Paula sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "...I didn't," she admitted.
"Why?"
"It's because...after what happened, I felt...as though I didn't deserve the title." Paula glanced away, unable to make eye contact.
"Paula, this isn't the princess I know," Ninten said. "Why do you feel this way?"
"It's because I fled without a fight!" she cried. "I'm the princess; I'm supposed to be someone that people can look up to, someone that they can put their confidence in. But...I couldn't help anyone. I just sat in the throne room, nearly terrified, and when we made our escape, I couldn't even help you against your opponent! Face, it, I'm not a leader..."
"Might not have then, but what about now?" Ninten asked. "Paula, you are going to make mistakes; that much is guaranteed. But this mistake...it's different. As I said earlier, you are the hope for the future now, and you needlessly throwing your life away in a losing battle wouldn't help anything. Remember what the Royal Family is supposed to symbolize; unity and hope. And besides, you can make up for that." Paula lifted her head back up at that. "You can lead the troops on the battlefield, and participate in some of the fighting...as long as you don't get killed. But I doubt you will. After all, who was the one who trained you?" Ninten smirked.
Paula rolled her eyes as she smirked. "Of course you would boost your self-esteem with this opportunity, Ninty," she joked; seemingly out of her depression.
Ninten scowled as the other occupants chuckled or giggled. "My self-esteem is high enough without having to help you with this," he replied. "Any more and it'd rub off on you." But then his offended look changed to one of concern. "But speaking of you...what happened during the time we were separated?" he asked.
"I think I should be asking you first, given you have met someone that I don't know at all," Paula pointed out, gesturing to Lucas.
"I was talking about your illness," Ninten said. "Then we can catch up."
Paula sighed, and Ninten knew he had her. There was no way he was gonna let her out of this unless she admitted what was ailing her.
"...A PSI Virus," Paula murmured, so quietly Ninten almost didn't hear.
Ninten's eyes widened in a mixture of dread and worry as he realized what this meant. "Shit," he muttered.
"What's a PSI Virus?" Lucas inquired.
"It's a virus specifically for PSI users," Ninten answered. "It results from the PSI Core building up too much 'bad', or harmful PSI. It isn't deadly most of the time, but it makes the person feel like they had a really bad cold. It does not feel good at all. Furthermore, there is no cure for it."
"What?" Lucas, Ana, and Kristen all gasped. "You can't be serious!" Lucas continued.
"I'm afraid I am," Ninten replied. "The only way for Paula to be completely rid of the virus is for her to naturally process it out."
"So...there's nothing we can do to help?" Ana questioned.
"There is one way to help treat a virus, but it requires a lot of skills and multiple applications to have any noticeable effect," Ninten said. "It requires a PSI user skilled at energy manipulation to be able to siphon as much of the 'bad' PSI that causes the virus out. However, this is very dangerous; only ones under heavy supervision or a lot of experience would be safe in pulling this off, since I cannot differentiate 'bad' PSI and 'good' PSI, and could take too much of the good, and/or not enough of the bad."
"So...would you be able to accomplish that?" Lucas asked.
Ninten nodded. "I should, provided that everything goes according to plan...and if I get a stone to store all the energy in...though it will be destroyed soon after." He turned to his friend and asked, "Do I have your permission to do this?"
Paula nodded. "The sooner I get out of this bed, the better," she replied.
"You can use one of my stones," Ana offered as she opened a drawer and pulled a stone out. "I used to collect stones when I was younger, so don't worry about destroying it; I have plenty."
"Thank you," Ninten said as Ana put the stone in his hand. He turned back to Paula and asked, "Ready?"
The princess nodded and closed her eyes in response. Ninten took a deep breath due to nervousness, and then placed one hand gently on Paula's forehead, his hand glowing in emerald green.
In response, Paula began to radiate ocean blue, the two colors mixing with each other in quite the display of power. Ninten felt a drop of sweat run down his head, but he kept focus. He had to, or else there was no telling what might happen if he messed up, blocking out the images if what might happen if he failed. He saw a buildup of Paula's PSI around the area where his hand made contact, which began to climb up onto his hand and up his arm. From there, he felt it transfer across his shoulders to his other arm and down into the rock. He felt the rough object weakening, and thus contributed some of his own PSI energy to maintain its stability. It worked.
For several minutes, the only sound in the room was the humming of their PSI. The other occupants could only watch as Ninten's work dragged on and on.
Finally, Paula ceased glowing, reopening her eyes as Ninten drew back. His own glow also cut off not long after, the last of Paula's PSI entering the stone. It shuddered in response and within Ninten's hand, disintegrated into dust.
Ninten shook his hand out in reply. "I think that was a success," he observed.
"Thank you, Ninten," Paula replied.
"It was no problem," the veteran said. "...But now I must live up to a promise made not so long ago."
"What might that be?" Paula inquired.
"The story of what happened to me after the coup," Ninten reminded her. "So do you want the short story, the long story, or the full story?" Ninten asked.
"How about the full story?" Paula requested.
"Sorry, but I can't do that," Ninten smirked. "That would require me retelling every single second of the events, and I can quite assure you, you would not enjoy that, even if I had the memory to recall every moment of being separated."
Paula rolled her eyes. "Of course you would do that, of course you would," she muttered.
"Well of course. I mean, if I didn't keep you on your toes like this, what would the purpose of my existence be?" Ninten rhetorically asked.
"...The long version please?"
Teleporting hardly took any effort for her anymore. She remembered when she first learned how to, how afraid she was. The instructors had emphasized how dangerous improper teleportation could be, whether it be accidentally winding up one hundred feet in the air as opposed to on the ground, or losing a few limbs in transit. She liked her limbs and she didn't fancy skydiving either, so naturally she sought to master teleportation as soon as she could.
Now, she was so experienced with it that she could teleport safely at a blink of the eye, which she demonstrated as she appeared in a flash of light, right behind one of her few superiors.
"Well well well," Fassad grinned as he turned around. "You've returned earlier than expected," he observed. "How did the mission go?"
Kumatora scowled. "So you're not even gonna wait for my report?" she grumbled. "I would think that you'd get more information from a report as opposed to an immediate account."
"You will not treat me with such disrespect! The other times I let go because of your abilities...but this is getting out of hand. Next time you say something like that, I will court-marshal you! Do you understand me?" Fassad snapped.
Kumatora rolled her eyes, imagining comical steam coming out of his head. Before Fassad could rebuke her for yet another action of disrespect, she decided to just get it over with.
"Project D-One failed to kill either of them and I couldn't find a good opening to attack them again. However, they are currently traveling through Winters in the direction of Fiveopilis."
"Ah, so not even our precious defect was able to take them down," he sneered, apparently calm again. "Just goes to show you how indefinitely superior the Pigmask's PSI training program is, and how so far behind the time the Royal Guard is...or should I say, was."
Kumatora felt a vein throb in her forehead briefly, but quickly calmed herself down. It would not end well if she lashed out here. Instead, her scowl only deepened as her gaze hardened. "But it seems like you nor Porky are the best strategists there are either," she criticized.
"You have no right to talk about our king like-"
"Entire units have been spread out to several locations that are not part of the main campaign," Kumatora said. "If you released those units, we would've taken Ellay by now, but no. And for what possible purpose?"
"That is classified, even for one so high up in the chain of command," Fassad glared. "You're lucky it's out of the kindness of my heart that I don't demote you on the spot for your tongue."
Kumatora wanted to barf. Fassad actually kind? She could cite so many examples that would contradict that, but she knew she was in enough trouble already. Provoking more would be akin to suicide.
"Yes sir," she submitted, despite the feelings boiling under her skin.
Fassad grinned. "Good. Now, I must report back to King P at once. We must discuss a new strategy for those pesky PSI users..."
The PSI warrior breathed a sigh of relief that he was gone as soon as the flash of light signifying his teleport faded. Still, that could've gone a lot better, and she knew it.
But since Mt. Itoi was such a valuable base for the Pigmasks not only militarily but also scientifically, there would have to be some information she could dig up about things she was curious about. Like how Project: Chimera was progressing.
That was just one example of Fassad's cruelty. He promised to her face that he would only convert animals into chimeras if they were dying or suffering in horrible ways. But now he was taking perfectly healthy animals and putting them through the process, just for more cannon-fodder to throw in. That's how Fassad viewed the entire army as, save for a few officers.
She doubted she would find any information on why her superiors insisted on scattering some of their units which were desperately needed in the main campaign or on secondary fronts like Fourside...but the chimera thing would be a start...find out what they really want with them.
She logged into her own personal computer and into the Pigmask Network on Mt. Itoi, where all the files were kept. It was time to find some answers.
Yeah, nothing much happened other than a few minor things...that may or may not build up into major things. Next chapter is going to be similar, but it'll probably accelerate the plot after that. Still, at least the four labeled as main characters are together, but don't worry. There will be several other major and minor characters on the way, so there'll be no shortage of characters. And we have so much ground left to cover too! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this, and have a great day!
PSI Encyclopedia
Fiveopilis: The providential capital of Winters, it is dominated by its climate. However, due to the buildings it feels significantly warmer than in other areas due to the lack of wind chill. This city was founded during the PSI Wars to house refugees since the mass destruction created millions of homeless people, most being killed soon after on the streets. As a result, it isn't as glamorous as other cities, but it still fulfills its function as the providential capital.
PSI Stones: These are unique stones that store PSI energy that any PSI user can tap into, though not to the extent as the original creator could. They replenish that PSI user's reserves of PSI energy, though the supply in the stone is far from infinite; when it runs out, it disintegrates into dust. However, not any ordinary stone can be a PSI Stone; it requires special properties to be able to store this energy, lest it be eradicated by the sheer energy concentration, though if a PSI user has good enough control, he or she can delay the collapse for several minutes.
PSI Warrior: A special title for PSI users who focus mainly on combat, specifically offensive PSI. These are among the best and most experienced fighters that humanity can field in battle, and are feared far and wide for their prowess. However, they tend to lack more defensive techniques in their focus on attack, so a few good hits could incapacitate them for quite a while.
Computer Networks: This would be the equivalent of a miniature internet for the Pigmasks. All sorts of information and valuable documents are stored on here and can easily be accessed, but only in specific locations, like the computer network of Mt. Itoi can only be accessed within the general vicinity of Mt. Itoi. The Network requires correct passwords to log on for every user, and it tracks their searches...tracks for all except for those who are either Colonels or higher. This is because the Pigmasks believe that anyone that can make it up that high has to be unconditionally loyal to the Pigmasks, but Fassad keeps them under observation in...other ways.