Re:Chapter 8 - Date A Plan

...

The next morning I awoke to find the bed empty. How odd. Usually, Kurumi stays in bed with me for a few minutes, and I distinctly remember Natsumi slept in here too due to the thunderstorm. As I slept, Helel and I had a conversation regarding what I'm gonna do today, at least hopefully today.

I'm gonna break Nia out of DEM's grasp.

I used a fake Rasiel in my dreamscape to find out a few things. For starters, Nia is being held at Neryl Island, an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. If I remember, it was guarded by Adeptus 2, Artemisia Bell Ashcroft, but instead it's being guarded by Adeptus 1, Ellen Mira Mathers. Shame, I was hoping to rescue ol' Artemisia too.

Artemisia and Adeptus 3, Mana Takamiya have been dispatched to China for reasons that don't really matter to much, all I looked for was the fact that they won't finish their mission for a few days. I could go over there and un-brainwash Artemisia and heal Mana, but that'll have to happen another day.

Dammit.

Get in, grab Nia, get out. Easy plan, on paper at least.

Interestingly, Isaac Wescott is currently visiting the island, so we'll have to keep an eye out for that bastard too. Ellen certainly isn't a pushover, either. Kurumi might be able to fight her for a while, and Natsumi will get completely crushed. As for me? I have no clue, I still haven't really tested my limits yet.

That means, we need a trump card, and I know exactly what I can do. I'm just gonna have to 'hack' into Zafkiel again.

See, I got to thinking about the Inverse form. If I can hack into Zafkiel, can I do the same for Lucifugus? Could I make it so she could use it without turning into the Queen personality? Could I do the same for Natsumi and allow her to use... Baal I suppose it would be called without her being affected?

Oh well, these thoughts can come later. Right now I need to find those two and tell 'em my plans.

I hop out of bed quickly and put my blue jeans and red t-shirt. Slipping on a belt and pair of boots, I make my way downstairs and the scent of food hits my nose. Are they cooking?

As I enter the dining room, I'm treated to a damn good sight.

"Good morning, Goshujin-sama~" "G-Good morning, Go-Goshujin-sama~"

"Guhk-?!"

With that surprising line from the girls and the choking sound I make immediately after, I take a better look at my surroundings. The table is covered in all sorts of food, but that's not the important part. Remember that one part in Season 3 of the anime where Natsumi got Kotori and Yoshino to dress in only an apron and a swimsuit? Yeah, this is that, except Natsumi actually dressed like that, oh and Kurumi has too.

"W-We made breakfast, s-s-so help yourself, G-Goshujin-sama..." Natsumi says in an incredibly shaky voice while pulling the bottom of her dress down, her face red as a beet, her eyes darting anywhere but towards me.

"I don't know why you're so shy, Natsumi-chan. You wanted to do this." The taller girl teases, placing her hand on the smallers' shoulders.

"I just didn't think it'd be this embarrassing!" Natsumi shouts.

Dear god, this is an amazing sight. I never got why people got so wound up about the 'naked apron' thing, or in this case 'nearly naked apron', but now I understand the appeal completely.

It is a gift from God.

"Alright, then." I say, sitting down in one of the chairs. The two girls proceed to sit on the chairs on either side of me. Kurumi to my left, Natsumi to my right.

"Well then, would you like your cute maids to feed you, Goshujin-sama~?" Kurumi asks, a sly smile on her face.

"Ku-Kurumi?! We never agreed to-" Natsumi begins.

"Sure!" I say, cutting off the short girl's worried talk.

Kurumi uses a fork to hold a piece of a fried egg to my mouth. "Say 'Ahh'."

I chuckle and open my mouth. "Ahh." She puts the food in my mouth, and... "Oh, wow. It tastes pretty good." I compliment.

"Natsumi, do you want to feed Goshujin-sama too?" The time Spirit asks, innocently.

"W-Well..." The shorter Spirit looks toward the floor, hoping to avoid the conversation.

"How about I feed you instead?" I ask.

"Huh?!" Natsumi straightens, with a fierce blush on her face.

"Here." I use a fork to pick up a piece of the egg. "Say 'Ahh', Natsu-Chan."

As my fork draws nearer and nearer to her mouth, her blush strengthens more and more, she also begins to shake. Soon, it reaches her mouth. The small Spirit's face becomes serious and wraps her lips around the fork, then eats the egg.

"T-That was good." Natsumi stutters out, her face still crimson.

"Ara Ara~ I didn't know your face could get that red, Natsu-chan~" Kurumi teases.

"Yeah, it makes you look really cute~" I join in with the teasing.

"Mmmmmm! I can't take this!" Natsumi yells as she bolts out of the dining room and into the hall.

"Guess it was a bit too much for her?" I turn to Kurumi and ask, a grin on my face.

"Guess so." Kurumi says, responding with her own grin.

The two of us begin eating in silence. I figure we'll have to save some for Natsumi for after she calms down. I'll have to apologize later for all that.

"Say, do you have any plans for today, Issei-kun?" Kurumi inquires.

"Yeah. I've been kinda passive in meeting Spirits, so I figure this evening, I'm gonna go on the offensive." I explain.

"How so?" The black-haired Spirit asks, tilting her head.

"I'm gonna raid a secret DEM base and rescue our friend 'Material A'." I say.

Kurumi's eyes widen in surprise, knowing that moniker, before relaxing. "Oh course you'd know where she is."

"Yeah, I also know her angel, Rasiel can't tell you anything about Mio." I say.

"Wait, really?" Kurumi asks, dead serious.

"Of course. Mio made the Sephira Crystals, why would she leave a chance to reveal herself?" I ask, rhetorically. Kurumi sits, silent in contemplation, her face clearly portraying how upset she is with that knowledge. "Don't look so down, Kuru-chan. I can't stand seeing you like that." I reassure her, knowing she was looking for Nia for a while. Kurumi's mouth twitches, likely trying to hide a smile. "Besides, though I don't know where she is, I know more about her than most."

"Hmm. You're right." Kurumi says with a sigh. "So where is she?"

"A DEM base at Neryl Island, in the Pacific. Usually it'd be guarded by Adeptus Two, but it's guarded by Adeptus One for the next few days." I say, taking a sip of juice after.

"Ellen Mathers, huh?" The worst Spirit mutters, an annoyed look on her face.

"Figured you'd know about her. Anyways, Honjou Nia, or rather 'Material A' is being subjected to the absolute worst torture imaginable, and has been for the past 5 years or so, so I'm gonna break her out." I explain.

"Why?" Kurumi says, angrily.

"They're trying to Inverse her. People think you're evil? Oh no, the shit they've done to Nia would make you gag in disgust." I say, dead serious.

"Unlikely, I've done some rather cruel stuff, Issei." No '-kun' huh? She's really serious.

"Sure you leave piles of gore in your wake, but you don't make people suffer." She raises and eyebrow, quietly asking me to continue. "Okay, you don't make people suffer too much." She nods, satisfied. "But you've never grinded a persons limbs down to nothing on what essentially is a big nail file, centimeters per second, then healing them back to normal. You've never performed open-skull surgery on a person while they're conscious." With each word, Kurumi's face scrunches up more and more in disgust. "You've killed people, yeah, but you aren't cruel, Kurumi. These assholes? They make the shit you and Mio have done look like a child's temper tantrum." I finish my point, staring her in the eyes with dead seriousness.

Kurumi sits still, her mind clearly processing the atrocities I've described.

I sigh, before speaking. "Tonight I'm gonna go save Nia. She's been stuck in that place, at those people's mercy for far, FAR too long. I'm getting her out." I summarized my plan to her.

"Alright then... I'll help you." The time Spirit says.

I stare her dead in the eyes and say "Are you sure? I've no idea what we'll have to deal with exactly."

"Of course. You may be strong, but you can do this alone, Issei-kun." She says, with a smile. Kurumi really does have a bleeding heart, huh?

"I'll help too!" We both turn to see Natsumi, returned to the room.

"You heard all that, eh?" I ask.

The shorter Spirit nods. "I... I was in a bad place, as was Kurumi-san, from what you both explained. If this Nia girl is going through something that bad, something worse than we've been through... I want to help her." Natsumi says, voice laced with conviction.

"Alright then." I say. As Natsumi opens her mouth to speak, I interrupt her. "But! We need a plan. Now let's finish eating the food you goys worked hard to cook before it gets any colder."

We proceed to enjoy our lukewarm breakfast in peace. Shame it's gonna get crazy tonight.

Later that day, around noon, the three of us stand in the hallway of Kurumi's apartment. In front of us is a door to another room I've created with Helel.

"Another pocket dimension?" Kurumi asks, knowing the answer.

"Yup, c'mon you two." I say, leading them in. Past the threshold of the door lies a large, mostly empty, grey room. Devoid of life, sound and color. The room is a dull grey, resembling some sort of metal. In the center of the room are three chairs, for us to sit on, which the three of us proceed to do.

"Right." I begin. "I used a copy of Rasiel to figure out a few things about Neryl Island. First things first, the island has a large facility, complete with helipads and docks. Fortunately, there isn't much coming and going traffic, so it's unlikely there'll be reinforcements. The place is meant to be hidden after all. The big problem is the underground section of the facility. It's massive. Far larger than it needs to be. Approximately ten basements which end off at a single elevator down to a hidden eleventh much farther underground, which is where Nia is."

I pause to sigh. "On top of that, the place is crawling with wizards, scientists and guards. The only way in is to go in 'guns blazing' and push through to the bottom. The scientists will run, obviously, though they're still dangerous due to their knowledge of the procedures and shit they've done. No idea if they're worth killing. The guards are weak, just military, best to knock them out. The problem is the droves of wizards there. They have three squadrons of welve wizards, all equipped with CR-Units. They've all been specifically trained to guard this place, so don't expect them to be as easy as the AST."

I pause for a moment, before my voice turns even more serious. "The biggest problem we have is Ellen A.K.A. Adeptus One. She's known as the 'strongest wizard' for a damn good reason. She's our biggest obstacle. Perhaps even worse, or perhaps the best thing, is the fact that Isaac Wescott himself is there." I conclude.

"Isaac Wescott?" Natsumi tilts her head questioningly.

"The head of Deux Ex Machina Industries and the one who brought the first Spirit into this world." Natsumi's green eyes widen, in realization. "In the public eye, he's a great guy, was even knighted a while back. In reality, he and his fellow magician pals caused the first spacequake thirty years ago, killing a hundred and fifty million people in an instant."

"W-Why?" The shorter Spirit asks, clearly shaken at the prospect of even getting near this man.

"He wants to create his own 'utopia'. Simple as that. He's the most dangerous person on the planet, not for his connections, but for his mentality. He'd throw away anything for his dream, the goddamn madman. He's a completely unhinged sadomasochist that lusts for his so-called utopia. Even Mio doesn't scare me as much as him." I explain.

I pause my tirade, to let my words sink into their minds.

"I'm strong, but I don't know my own limits. The real problem is I don't know how you two will match up to them." I say, turning to the black haired Spirit. "Kurumi, you're definitely strong, especially with your clones and the fact you can generate Reiryoku now, but you're not a front-line fighter, though maybe the self Reiryoku generation will change that." I pause, turning to the green haired Spirit. "Natsumi, your offense effectively boils down to being able to turn people into objects and animals and stuff. Useful, but you don't have much defense nor offense. Now, I've got a crazy idea, but I'll need to hack into your angels again, hence why we're in this Spirit-proof pocket dimension."

"What is it?" Kurumi asks.

"Do the both of you trust me?" I ask, serious.

"Issei?" Natsumi asks, confused.

"Do the both of you trust me?" I reiterate, serious as can be.

"...If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have let you stay here, Issei-kun." The worst Spirit says.

"You helped me out. Showed me I was beautiful and those that told me I wasn't were just lying. Of course I trust you, Issei." The witch Spirit adds.

They... they really do trust me, more than I would expect, considering they've known me for less than two weeks. Goodness, this is like a punch to the gut to see just how sincere they are.

"You girls are the best..." I let out a small chuckle. "Alright then, let's get to work!"

After they agreed, I made a tv and a console so they could play video games while I worked. After hacking into their angels' code, I started fixing things up. After a few hours, I was done.

"Alright then, I'm done, Natsumi. Now it's time to put it all into action." After saying that, the girls stand up as I un-make the tv, console and chairs.

"What exactly did you do, Issei-kun?" The taller Spirit asks.

"Simply put-" I begin, bringing up the code to Zafkiel in front of her. "I hacked you angel before." I grab the top of the red 'circle' that appeared. "But now, I've hacked your Demon." I pull my hand down, making the circle flip, as though it's one of those circular or ovoid vanity mirrors, held up at the middle on each side. When the ring stops spinning, it's no longer red with angelic symbols, it's now an ominous white with demonic symbols.

"This here, is the code to Lucifugus." I say pointing my hand towards it.

"Lucifugus?!" Kurumi all but screams.

"Lucifugus?" Natsumi asks, confused.

"When a Spirit feels true despair, they inverse. The personality changes, their Reiryoku drops to zero, then keeps going down into the negatives, and their angel becomes a demon. Inverse Spirits are far stronger than normal ones, but they're no longer the same person. Inversions aren't natural, and DEM is trying to force Nia to do so." I explain, suprising the shorter girl, if her wide eyes are any indication. "Mio's plan revolves around the Sephira Crystals, so the angels' codes have very little errors. The Qlipha Crystals, on the other hand, are a mess. They're nearly unfinished, and burn too much Inverse Reiryoku too fast. All in all, a powerful, but short-lived transformation."

"So... I can Inverse too? Er, I mean without becoming a different person." Natsumi asks, slowly.

"Yes, I already fixed your Baal, just like Lucifugus, so now the two of you should be able to manually Inverse, without the altered personality. Also, you'll have more control over your power output." I explain.

"Can you do that too?" The witch Spirit asks me.

"Theoretically, but that doesn't matter." I say, waving her off. "Now, this is very important, I couldn't get rid of the personality altering from Inversing due to despair. That'll still happen. Since we're in this Spirit-proof pocket dimension, we can test out your new powers. This'll be our secret weapon during the raid."

"Issei-kun, are you sure about this? I know about Demons, but I'm still not sure." Kurumi asks, hesitant with this.

I sigh. "You told me you trusted me, yeah?"

"I did, but..." Seems Kurumi still has reservations about it.

"Fine." I say, dispelling Lucifugus' code. "I could describe how strong this power is but... Kurumi, call a certain clone of yours over."

"Which one?" Kurumi asks, tilting her head slightly.

"The one that was in the Spirit Tournament." I say.

"Spirit Tournament?" The time Spirit asks, confused.

Suddenly, another voice appears behind me. "I can explain that." I turn to see another Kurumi. "Though, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you know of that whole mess."

"So... you're the one that fought Queen, huh?" I guess.

"Indeed." The clone Kurumi says.

"Queen?" The original Kurumi asks.

"In a part of the future knowledge I have, I saw a clone of yours, who interacted a lot with Shido, fall in love with him." I say, causing the original and clone Kurumi's eyes to widen. Makes sense, it hasn't happened yet. "At the end of their date, she was absorbed into the original Kurumi, who gained her memories. This Kurumi had, in truth, split from you some kinda way when you almost Inversed because of Mio's bullshit years ago." Both Kurumis look away, upset by that reminder. "This Kurumi took part in a Spirit Tournament in the Neighboring World. Long story short, when Sawa died, you did Inverse... Well, kind of. Your Inversed self took over Sawa's body and orchestrated the tournament, before she was beaten by this Kurumi." I say, pointing to the clone. "Like I said, from what I saw you got her memories at the end of her date with Shido, which is what I want to have happen here."

"I... I see." Kurumi says, taking in the revelation.

"Sorry for springing this on ya, but just shoot her with Yud and see all that happened." I explain. "It's best if you see Queen's power for yourself so you can best use it tonight, if you'll even need it."

"Alright then." Kurumi exhales slowly, steeling herself, as she pulls out Zafkiel, pointing it at the clone. "Yud." The clone is struck, but not hurt, the original, on the other hand, grips her head in pain.

"Kurumi?!" Natsumi shouts, running to the older girl.

"Shit, you okay?!" I ask, worried for the black haired Spirit, holding her head in pain.

Kurumi is lightly gasping for air. "That's- That's what happened then..."

"Yeah." I say solemnly. "I knew you forgot what happened when Mio showed up and your clone here was the only one who knew what happened next." I walk over to the girl and hug her lightly. "Like I said, sorry about doing this so suddenly."

"No, it's fine. I- I needed to know this. Thank you." Kurumi says, before turning to the clone. "And thank you too, me."

The clone smiles, "You're welcome, me." She then disappears into shadows, but not before saying "See you later, Issei-kun~"

I chuckle. "I guess another Kurumi is still Kurumi at the end of the day." I let the smile fall off my face and turn to the black-haired girl. "Are you willing to do this, Kurumi?"

The taller Spirit nods, resolutely. "Yes. I feel like... I've regained a part of me I didn't know I lost. I'm not afraid of losing myself to this." She looks me in the eyes and smiles. "Because I know you'll help me return to normal, Issei-kun."

I feel my eyes widen at her declaration, before I smile. "Alright then. Natsumi, step back a good ways." The shorter girl follows my order. I turn back to Kurumi. "Now, you have prefect control over your angel, due to my 'hacking', so just lower your Reiryoku output until it reaches zero."

Kurumi nods. I then feel her energy decrease. Less and less, until nothing at all. "Can you go any lower?" I ask.

"I don't think so. This feels like the end of it." The time Spirit says.

"Hmm..." I rack my brain, trying to come up with a solution. "Kurumi, imagine that it isn't at the end yet. Imagine there's another level below that floor. Push your Reiryoku through that floor and go lower."

"Okay." She says, her energy un-noticeable, due to her not outputting any, but then, I feel something. It doesn't feel like Reiryoku. Whereas Reiryoku is constantly leaving a Spirit, this feels like Reiryoku constantly entering her. It's a strange inverted pressure, that builds and builds.

"Get a little further back, Natsumi." I don't turn around to see if she even moved, I just don my Astral Suit, the armor covering my body. The pressure finally reaches a high point, then it expands.

"AAH!" Natsumi screams, likely from surprise.

All at once, a thicker Reiryoku is expelled from Kurumi in droves. Massive volumes of it wash over me like rain. I'm unaffected by it, and stand stationary. The Inverse Reiryoku begins to die down slowly, revealing her, but changed.

She now dons a pure white dress, with military-like tassels on the shoulders. Her headband is replaced with a white military cap. Her boots, too are white now. But the most striking changes are her hair and eyes. Her once pitch-black hair is now a white, brighter than her outfit. Her red eye remains the same, her clock eye, on the other hand, is now a deep blue.

The worst Spirit now looks identical to Queen. I just need to know if it's her, or not. "Kurumi? Are you still, you?" I ask, cautiously.

Kurumi looks at me, a pleased smile growing on her face. "Yes, Issei-kun."

"Oh thank God." I say in a single, sighing breath. "That's a weight off my shoulders. How do you feel?"

"Stronger." The newly Inversed Spirit says, flexing her hands. "It's like my power has changed from a lake into an ocean. I feel like I could take on Mio at this point!"

"You can't. That form's strong, but Mio's a damn monster." I correct, killing her pride.

"Yes... she is." Kurumi says, still getting a feel for her power. She lifts the hem of her skirt slightly. "I don't know how I feel about this color, though." I chuckle at that.

"Are you sure you're alright, Kurumi-san?" Natsumi asks.

The white-clad Kurumi turns to the smaller Spirit and smiles. "Yes, I'm fine Natsumi-chan." The shorter girl sighs in relief.

"Well you've got the outfit, how about the demon?" I ask.

She nods and says "Lucifugus." Behind her, a clock appears. Now, however, it's become a silver astronomical clock with pink wings and a deep magenta inlaid ring. In one of her hands appears a white rapier, in the other is a white flinklock pistol.

"Pretty..." The green-haired girl says in awe.

"Yeah. Glad to see you still looks just as beautiful, Kurumin~" I tease. She just chuckles in response. "Alright, are you ready, Natsumi?" I ask the short Spirit.

Natsumi's eyes widen before sharpening as she nods her head.

"Good. Now, lower your energy to zero." The smaller Spirit begins to do so. After a moment, I find I can't feel her Reiryoku. "Have you reached the bottom?" I ask.

"Yeah. I just have to go even lower, right?" Natsumi asks, making sure of the process.

"Yup, break through that floor!" I cheer. The witch Spirit closes her eyes and clenches her fists as that familiar pressure builds around her. It's builds and builds, before exploding outwards. Kurumi and I stand resolute, the power unaffecting us.

It dies down, revealing Natsumi in a changed outfit. She now has a short, black blouse, decorated with a gold star over the chest, and two golden, zigzag stripes on either sleeve. She still has shorts, but they now are black and have a gold zigzag stripe across them. Small 'wings' poke out from the top of the shorts, originating from the her back. She still has socks, though they're much shorter and uneven, the taller one coming to her mid-shin, and still are striped, but now are black and gold. Her hat looks the same, but it's now black with gold trim. The 'emeralds' on the hat are unchanged, however. Her hair and eyes are a darker shade of green, yet her eyes appear more vibrant than before.

"Natsumi? That you?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"Yeah... this feels weird." The newly Inversed Natsumi says, looking down at herself in awe.

"Don't worry, I've already gotten used to it." The now white-haired Spirit says.

"Well, try summoning your demon." I suggest.

"Okay." The Inversed witch holds her hand out. "Baal." In her hand appears a witch's broom, similar to her Haniel. The gem on the end of the broom's handle is now red, as is the small star held at the broom's bristles, which are now a dark brown. The handle and the 'wings' that hold the bristles are now a pitch-black. "Wow." She stares in awe at the broom in her hand.

"Alright then, girls." I say, looking between them. "Let's figure out your new tricks and prepare for this evening." In response, I receive two resolute nods from the now Inversed Spirits.

Haha! Those DEM fools won't know what hit them!

AN

Not much different here, sadly.

Also, I added a bit in Chapter 7. Go re-read the end of it, if you please.

Edit: January 18, 2023: Edited some dialogue.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next!