Neptunia Guild Files: Fate/book one
A Hyperdimension Neptunia Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Section 62: Splitting Up (2)
*Meanwhile, in another part of the city...*
"Now then..." Rider purred, having a lowlife pinned against the alley wall with her chain around his neck. "I can kill you gently, by cutting your throat open..." she traced one of the dagger ends along the man's neck. "Or I can do it roughly, by strangling you or just snapping your neck..."
"Or you can tell us what we want to know, and save your neck for another day," IF piped up from nearby.
"And if that's not enough..." Tamamo raised up one hand, a fireball appearing above it. "I'll burn your corpse so badly the morgue will never identify you, mikon!"
"Okay! Okay!" the lowlife pleaded. "But I swear, I've only heard rumors!"
"We're listening," IF said, gesturing to Rider to ease up a little.
"I-I heard that the big meeting Kamesh planned is a trap, that he's going to kill all the other mob bigwigs once they're seated! Don't ask me how he's gonna do it though!"
"I didn't see anything out of the ordinary in that ballroom," Cybercon spoke up.
"Neither did I, mikon," Tamamo concurred.
"You're sure that's all you've heard...?" Rider leaned in close again.
"I swear, that's all I know!" the thug protested.
"I think he's telling the truth. Let him go," IF gently ordered, Rider promptly backing off and unwinding her chain from the man's neck, who promptly slid to the ground gasping in relief. "Now remember, you never saw us, got it?!"
"I got it! I got it!" the lowlife nodded vigorously.
"All right, get out of here," Rider waved, the man promptly scrambling off. "Thing is, if rumors like that are going around, the other bosses will probably be planning countermeasures..."
"Maybe, but do they know about that supposed new power of Kamesh's that Lancer told us about?" IF countered. "Unless they're all coming to the meeting with big Roman shields..."
"What about a hidden sniper to just take Kamesh out before he springs his trap?" Cybercon suggested.
"I was just thinking the same thing, mikon," Tamamo nodded. "I mean, those Hassans that attacked us and Nero came out of nowhere, so there's probably hidden chambers in somewhere in that ball room..."
"It's definitely a possibility," IF allowed, one hand to her chin in thought. "Well, for now, let's head back to the hotel and hopefully join back up with Lancer and the others..."
And so the quartet made their way out of the narrow alley into a much wider alleyway... but then a grunt got their attention, looking ahead-
-and standing there was Tatsu, as bald as ever, dressed in his usual black karate gi, surrounded by several ninjas! "Oh no," Tamamo and Rider sighed in unison, while IF just sighed as she and Cybercon pulled out their weapons.
(Music- 'Clash Of The Outcats', Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge)
"Attack!" Tatsu cried with an outstretched fist, the ninjas immediately charging at the party! The dagger end of Rider's chain hit a ninja at the front in the lower leg, causing him to fall over and many more to trip over him! "Fools! And you call yourselves ninja?!"
"Clearly your ninja lessons didn't take!" Cybercon taunted as her blades clashed against a ninja's katana, then ducking under his clumsy swing and slashing upwards with her left blade, leaving a gash in the chest, before following up with a stab to the heart with her other blade!
"Let's see how well you fight in the rain!" Tamamo exclaimed as she fired a spell into the air, which formed into a cloud that covered the alley, heavy rain pouring down on the ninjas! She then followed up by freezing a good portion of the now-wet floor, causing several mooks to slip and fall over themselves!
"What? What trickery is this?!" Tatsu gasped as he held up an arm to try and shield his face from the rain.
"It's called elemental magic, dumbass!" Rider taunted as she stabbed one ninja, then pulled him over with her chain and nailed him with a high kick, knocking him out! Meanwhile IF was holding her own against a sword ninja and sai ninja at once, Cybercon doing the same with two sword ninjas! As for Tamamo, she leapt and nailed a nunchaku-wielding mook with a knee kick to the face, then hit the ground and low swept another ninja's legs from under him! Rising again, she turned to put her tail in another mook's face, blinding him until a karate chop to the neck sent him to dreamland!
"Nice going, Tammie!" Cybercon said as she stabbed one ninja in the gut and kicked another away, who was grabbed by Rider and slammed into the wall, knocking him out!
Gritting his teeth at his subordinate's poor showing, Tatsu yelled, "Fall back! Into the streets!" The remaining ninjas promptly obeyed, breaking off and fleeing toward the alley's exit!
"After them, but carefully! Don't slip on the ice!" IF cautioned.
"Right!" the others acknowledged, following IF's lead and eventually emerging into the street proper, their foes having formed in a rough half-circle around them.
"Give up, Guild agents! We've got you surrounded!" one ninja taunted.
"Which makes you sitting ducks! Demonic Inferno!" IF intoned, several ninjas screaming in agony as they were engulfed in fiery explosions, then a flame pillar, the others scattering to avoid the flames! Rider and Cybercon immediately leapt into the fray, cutting and slicing into the enemy ranks...
"Zabaniya."
"LOOK OUT!" Tamamo cried as she tackled IF down, just missing the large orange hand that shot out of nowhere, a death cry being heard...
(Music- 'Modern Assassin', Assassin's Creed III)
Everyone turned to look as Tatsu collapsed to the street with a sizable hole where his heart should have been, choking as his life left him... "Well, not my target, but no big loss," spoke the hand's owner as he came out of the shadows. "Impressive reflexes, kitsune. I should have realized you would have sensed my presence when no one else could..."
"What the- A Hassan?!" Rider realized.
"But- I thought Saber took you all out!" Cybercon gasped in disbelief.
"The group you defeated was Hassan of the Hundred Faces," the Hassan replied nonchalantly. "I am Hassan of the Cursed Arm, and deadlier than all of them put together!" With that, his normal hand flicked out, Rider and Cyber barely dodging the thrown knives, which found purchase in a few ninja mooks instead.
"Holy shit! I ain't dealing with this! Ninja vanish!" one of surviving ninjas cried, he and his brethren breaking off and fleeing in a panic! Ignoring them, Cursed Arm lashed out with his name sake again, catching Tamamo by the tail and slamming her into the wall, the kitsune sliding bonelessly to the pavement!
"TAMMIE!" Cybercon cried, moving to charge at the Hassan, only for Rider to grab her by the arm!
"Don't be stupid! You wanna get your heart crushed like that other guy?!" the agent chastised, using her chain to deflect more thrown knives from the Hassan!
"La Delphinus!" IF called, the Hassan crouching into a defensive position as he was engulfed in a pulsing pillar of light! Not waiting to see the result, IF charged in with qatars at the ready, angling to the left, jumping and avoiding the Hassan's demonic limb as it lashed out, closing the distance and slicing, the Hassan easily avoiding or deflecting her strikes! The assassin then threw a smoke pellet to the ground, hiding himself within the resulting cloud! Retreating, IF ordered, "Keep your eyes and ears open! He could appear anywhere!"
"Right!" Rider said as she stood back-to-back with Cybercon to reduce with blind spots... the Maker chanced a look over at Tamamo, seeing that she was moving slightly- she saw something out of the corner of her eye, jumping backward and forcing Rider to the ground as the demonic arm struck, barely missing her chest by millimeters! Cursed Arm then threw a knife right at Rider's head, but Cyber just managed to deflect it with her own blade, Rider only getting a small cut to the cranium as a result.
"Let's see how you like it!" IF yelled, having picked up a few of the Hassan's thrown knives, and throwing them at the assassin- who easily snatched them out of the air with his enlarged left arm! But the action bought enough time for Rider to right herself, throwing her dagger and chain at Cursed Arm, managing to pierce his shoulder and draw blood! The Hassan's only reaction was a hiss of pain, jerking back to dislodge the knife, then disappearing in another smoke cloud!
"This is crazy! How do we take this guy down?!" Cybercon grunted as she looked this way and that... only to gasp as the demonic hand suddenly came right at her, to time to dodge-
-but she was kicked out of the way at the last moment by a revived Tamamo! "What?!" Cursed Arm gasped in shock.
"Surprise!" Tamamo taunted, her face bloodied and in clear pain, though it didn't stop her from encasing the demonic limb in a layer of thick ice! "How do you like that, Hassan?!"
Cursed Arm simply flexed his namesake, the ice cracking and breaking off! "Not quite good enough!" he taunted, throwing knives to keep Rider and IF at bay he swung his limb at the kitsune again...
"Curse enchantment, begone!" Tamamo intoned with an outstretched hand. The effect was immediate, as the Hassan's limb suddenly began to thrash about wildly, the fox girl jumping and rolling to evade!
"You fool! What have you done?!" the Hassan cried in panic, trying to grab his out-of-control left arm with his right... But then something ripped free of said arm, taking the form of a malevolent spirit!
"I am free! Free at last!" the spirit cried. "Death to all!" It promptly lunged at Tamamo, only to cry out as it was hit with another La Dephinus from Iffy! "You wish to die first?! So be it!" The evil spirit flew at IF...
"Begone." With one slice, the spirit was sliced in two, screaming in agony as it dissipated into nothingness. And standing before Iffy was Hassan-i-Sabbah himself with his sword out. "'Tis done; the Hassan known as Cursed Arm is no more."
(music fades out)
"Where'd you come from?!" Tamamo gasped in surprise. "Or... were you watching us this whole time, mikon?!"
"I was watching Cursed Arm, yes."
"But why did you save me?" IF asked fairly.
"Yeah, why not let that evil spirit finish the job?!" Rider concurred.
"Cursed Arm failed the moment he lost control of the demon sealed within his limb," The Old Man of the Mountain elaborated, planting his sword in front of him. "The kill would not have been his, but the demon's, thus I chose to intervene. The evening bell rests silent for thee, Idea Factory."
"U-umm..." IF ducked her head and sweat-dropped. "With all due respect, Old Man of the Mountain, just 'IF' is fine."
"Indeed, as the great founder has stated, I have also failed, like the Hundred Faces before me," grunted the Hassan, his left arm now shriveled and useless, though he managed to kneel before his superior despite my condition. "Will you now take my head?"
"As I have said, I destroyed the demon that made thee 'Cursed Arm'; that is, I have already killed him," Hassan-i-Sabbah stated with just a hint of annoyance in his tone. "Thou art no longer a Hassan, but the man known as Hanam, as you were before you joined the Hasashin. Thy service is done; return to thy family and trouble these agents of the Planeptune Guild no further."
"Oh..." the now former Hassan raised up his head in surprise. "Ah, well, in that case, I shall take my leave. Thank you." He stood to his feet, bowing to Tamamo in respect, before turning and staggering off, removing his skull mask as he walked off and tossing it aside.
"So, um..." Cybercon dared to speak. "Old Man, are there any more Hassans coming after us?"
Hassan-i-Sabbah turned to fix his cold blue gaze upon the young Maker. "...Cursed Arm was the last of the Hashasin in thy adversary's employ; thus no more will attempt to claim thine lives. But be warned- though Gil Kamesh is a vapid-headed fool, the power that he now wields is not to be underestimated. Heed well mine warning, lest the evening bell toll for thee. Farewell." With that, he vanished in a flare of blue flames, leaving no trace he had ever been there.
"Vapid-headed fool, huh..." Rider reiterated. "I like that; I'll have to use it next time I see that bastard in person."
"Just as long as I never see that scary Old Man again," Cybercon sighed, falling to her knees in relief. "Um, you OK, Tammie?"
"My face hurts... and I think my nose's broken, mikon," Tamamo grunted in response, the pain becoming apparent now that the adrenaline was wearing off.
"Well, Compa should be able to fix that up," IF pointed out. "Anyway, let's get out of here, before the police catch us with this dead body," she pointed at Tatsu's corpse.
"Eww, good idea," Cybercon nodded, standing and putting Tamamo's arm over her shoulders; the group departing for the motel...
*To be continued...*
A/N: Yeah, another long delay. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait...