"So remind me why you signed us up for hoard eradication duty?" Micheal asked as he, Gallon, Tina and I were all getting ready to mow down some roaming hoards of infected that were coming up from the south.
"Because we need to get stronger, and I need to get some pent up anger out of the way." I said simply.
"So what kind of infected are in these hoards?" Gallon asked, checking his assault rifle that was now sporting a larger magazine.
"Infected from Left 4 Dead mixed with Harran Virus and Freakers." I admitted, stretching a bit as I got ready for some zombie murder.
"Seems simple enough." Tina admitted. "Haven't really gone on a hoard murderfest in a while."
"Speak for yourselves. We're still new since you always forget…" Micheal groaned. "This is gonna suck."
""Not with that attitude." I said simply. "This is going to be fun."
"Says the Nokori with volcano powers…" Micheal muttered.
"At least we got guns and enough bullets to make a Texan blush." Gallon smirked.
"Eh. You're still a better shot."
"That's why you have the shotguns and automatics. Less aim, more area of damage."
"Alright, we're all ready?" I inquired.
"Ready." Tina nodded.
"Locked and loaded." Gallon smirked.
"Looks like." Micheal sighed.
With that we headed out. We were actually issued a flying vehicle for this trip as it was a few hundred miles to the south.
We arrived just a few miles from the hoard and… there was a lot.
"Damn… it's like a sea…" Gallon said.
"Sounds like an earthquake walking too…" Tina added.
"Still think this is gonna be fun?" Micheal asked.
I looked out at the sea of undead that were flooding an otherwise small town looking area.
"Do I still think this is fun?" I asked, getting up and heading to the door while we were still flying. "Hell ya!" I said as I leaped out and dived straight towards the sea of Zombies, donning my armor and starting to rage, as I slammed directly into the hoard and already felt blood and limbs flying around me in a gory display.
"Just a reminder Button that I no longer control the armor, you do since it's now part of your biology so, try not to accidentally undo it." Cheat said as I was letting out a lot of anger, feeling the ground around me bake and turn red.
As I slammed a fist into a rather large infected, out from my arms came blades attached by chains that radiated with the heat of my rage.
"Cool, looks like anger summons out the blades. That checks-"
I began hacking apart the hoards, the blades setting fire to the bodies I hacked at.
[Meanwhile, in the flying vehicle]
"Welp… Button has lost his mind…" Micheal said as he, Gallon and Tina witnessed his slaughter.
"Possibly…" Tina nodded.
"Should we just let him vent this all out on his own?" Gallon asked.
"Probably…" Tina nodded.
[Three Hours Later]
I felt… sore… so… sore…
"That was a fuck off massive hoard… and you killed it in three hours…" Micheal said.
"That was awesome but dude, you still have limits." Gallon said, applying some healing and pain reducing magic to me.
"Do you feel… better?" Tina asked, concerned.
"Kind of…" I sighed. "Not as good as I want to but I'm feeling a bit better."
"That might just be Gallon's magic at play… so, mind telling us what the fuck that was?" Micheal asked.
"Rage." I answered. "Rage in all it's scary glory."
"... That wasn't rage… that was a psychotic break…"
"It was a bit… a lot…" Tina said worriedly.
"No, that was just rage." I said honestly. "If it was a Psychotic break than there would be an active volcano here, and as far as I remember-"
"There is." Tina said, as I blinked and looked to see if that was right…
… there was seven mini volcanoes still pouring magma out of them.
"You also completely ignored everything I was trying to say, so…" Cheat added.
"Uh…that shouldn't have happened…" I said slowly. "And what did you want to say?" I asked Cheat.
"Some helpful tidbits or just to chat, made a few jokes but you just kept going 'Oraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa' mindlessly, and yes, mindlessly, I should know, I'm up here, nothing but primal instinct and aggression was going through this brain of yours."
"Uh…huh…" I said slowly, as I looked at the volcano's…"I know I'm upset about a lot of thing's but fuck."
"Maybe you need a vacation… or therapy… or both…" Gallon offered.
"Murdering a massive hoard of zombies is therapeutic." I admitted. "And a Vacation? I don't have the time to do it cause DG is being a bitch and is going to attack the New Foundation sooner or later."
"As therapeutic as mass zombie murder can be, talking helps a lot too." Tina said.
"I already did to be honest…" I sighed. "Just…a lot to do…"
"We know, but losing it like that… that's not right. Not healthy." Gallon said.
"That's a berserker build for ya." I shrugged. "Not my fault I can also just…spawn volcano's because of it."
"I think that is more due to your new body and being a Nokori." Tina said. "The doctor said there will be a lot about your magic and such that will alter the way it manifests. Maybe that's your new Earth Pony magic?"
"If so, it's useful but also extremely dangerous." Micheal hummed.
I shrugged helplessly. "Well…not sure what to tell ya cause I have no idea what my powers really are."
"One step at a time." Gallon said as he finished up his magic and I pulled myself up. "Trust us, it always feels like you learn something new about your powers. For example, mine can also function as a suppository."
"Gallon!" Micheal screamed, tackling and covering Gallon's mouth.
"Oh I can imagine how you found that out!" Tina laughed.
I laughed as well. "Oh you have to tell us how that happened."
"Don't you dare!" Micheal yelled as he was holding Gallon's mouth closed. Gallon just smirked and pulled Micheal's hands off his mouth.
"It was immediately after our first intimate night together. We laid down after it was all done, Micheal let out a sigh then suddenly there was a thunderstorm in the bedroom… and all across the city and to the next." Gallon cackled.
Me and Tina howled with laughter at that.
"Oh my Mother, that's amazing!" I said, losing it to my laughter.
"I'm so sorry to laugh Micheal but…sweet hell that's hilarious!" Tina laughed.
"I hate you all!" Micheal yelled, now a very deep shade of red.
"I hate me too." I joked.
"... Welp that killed the mood." Gallon said, he and Tina looking at me with worry again.
Micheal was still red from embarrassment but seemed to be calming down.
"Really?" I asked, looking at the three as they looked at me with worry. "It's just a joke guys, not too much to think about here."
"Coming from a formerly suicidal person… after the shit you just went through, probably not the best time for those kinds of jokes." Micheal said.
"Eh, I could have made a worse joke." I shrugged.
"Well… regardless, mission is finished early since you went all Kratos on this hoard." Gallon said.
"And now an old embarrassing story has followed me into a whole new reality… thanks Gallon…" Micheal growled.
"Awe cheer up Micheal, you're cute when you're angry and it was only our first time. There are way worse stories I could have told." Gallon said with a smirk, giving Micheal a hug and a kiss.
"You're lucky you're cute…" Micheal groaned, a little red with blush.
"Well…didn't mean to steal all the kills here." I admitted.
"It's alright just uh… don't do that again." Tina said.
"So… what now?" Gallon asked.
"... Pizza?" Micheal said, pointing over at a small building…
Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.
"Well…either this is where Chica and Roxy are working or we're about to see some horror weirdness." I admitted.
"Why would there be horror weirdness?" Micheal asked.
"Well…you'll have to play the game series 'Five Nights at Freddy's' to learn some of it's history."
"Huh… never heard of that one." Gallon said. "And I spent a long time going through the archived games the Y Labs servers downloaded amongst other files and such from the internet before, during and after the Event."
"Maybe it didn't exist in our world." Michal hummed.
"A world without FNAF. What would Matt Patt post?" Tina chuckled.
"Who's Matt Patt?" Gallon and Micheal asked.
"Oh you two poor deprived babies…"
"Yeah…it is an entire thing on the internet that we thankfully have…" I admitted.
"What's it about?" Gallon asked as we walked over to the pizzeria.
"Uh…it's very complicated, but in simple terms the horror game series on a base level is your a night guard for a pizzeria, the animatronics get a little 'quirky' at night and try to murder you and you need to survive till six with very shitty power as the only thing you can do is close doors…and there's some stuff about the animatronics being possessed by the spirits of the dead children that were shoved into said animatronics because crazy murdered…"
"Huh… Well, that's a thing…" Micheal said.
"Creepy." Gallon said, opening the door to the pizzeria. The lights were all on and immediately I recognized this as the FNAF one location. The animatronics were covered in gore and before us was the headless body of a man in a security guard uniform. "Oh well that's fucked up…"
Micheal then vomited.
"Huh…" I said carefully, surprised it looked like they just bit his head off instead of shoving his body into an animatronic with the endoskeleton still in it. "Right, so this is FNAF one's location."
"Oh this is fucked up and I moved, looted and touched dead bodies a lot back home…" Micheal heaved.
"Is it weird this isn't bothering me?" Gallon asked.
"Everyone reacts differently." Tina shrugged.
"We're not going in there… right?" Micheal asked, wiping off some of the bile from their lips.
"That depends, what do you two think?" I asked Tina and Gallon about this.
"You guys can go in if you want. I can stay out here and help ease Michael's stomach. We saw a lot of death back home but uh… this is all a new breed of crazy in all honesty." Gallon said, motioning to the room in general.
"I kinda wanna see if there's anything neat." Tina said.
"Alright, so you two can stay out here and keep watch while me and Tina head inside and loot the place."
With a nod, Gallon and Micheal took a seat on a bench outside while Tina and I walked inside.
"So, we looking for anything specific or just looking?"
"Mostly just looking around, seeing if there's anything fancy or if we should probably burn this place." I admitted.
"Probably both." Tina shrugged. "And if a certain spring lock animatronic should try and crawl out from the flames, use more fire."
"And I have the best kind of fire." I nodded.
"That you're still learning how to use." Tina added with a chuckle as she headed for the kitchen.
I headed for the iconic Security room. Hm, everything here is as it was in the game. Cool.
I carefully walked in and saw the security tablet and picked it up to see what else this place looks like. "Now…let's see what this place looks like from the security cameras…"
Looking at the camera feeds, there was some lag but the images were good. I could see Tina on the cameras looking at some arcade cabinets. Hm. Cool. Let's see what's in the drawers… oh.
I pulled out a flier.
'Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza Plex! Open Monday through Sunday! 6AM to 9PM!'
Huh. There's an address too…
[Address Located! Location Marked]
Huh… Interesting.
"Alright, so maybe that's where Roxy and Chica are…" I muttered. That, or maybe their friends…
I put the flier away and looked around, finding some tokens, loose change and even a candy bar.
There wasn't much else here, and I walked out, finding Tina in the kitchen.
"Find anything?" I inquired.
"Nothing much but check this out." Tina said, opening a freezer and revealing various frozen pizzas. "All generic brand pre made frozen pizzas. Heh, no wonder this place was always thought to have bad pizza." She chuckled, taking the frozen Pizzas into her Assistant. "You find anything?"
"Flier for the Pizza Plex, some tokens loose change and a candy bar." I said honestly.
"Kinda upsetting there wasn't more. So, there's a Security Breach location? Sounds like more fun. That place was huge in game."
"Yeah, too bad the game was…eh." I said sheepishly.
"Yeah. I blame a rush job cause it was very buggy. So, let's go check on Gallon and Micheal."
We went outside, seeing the two still sitting on the bench outside.
"Hey. How'd it go?" Gallon asked.
"Eh, rather uneventful to be honest." I said honestly. "But next up we're going to Freddy Fazbears Pizza Plex next, which might have two old friends of mine that…I really need to see again."
"Alright then." Micheal said, sighing a bit as he got off the bench.
"Don't worry, it'll hopefully be better than this." I admitted.
"Even so, doubt I'll be much help."
"Oh don't be like that again." Gallon said, putting an arm around Micheal.
"Gallon, you're a better shot and better at your new magic than me. Tina bench presses whole cars, and Button just did that," Micheal said, pointing a thumb back behind him to my smoldering carnage from earlier. "Not exactly in the same ballpark let alone the same class compared to you three."
"Trust me…just because you start off not being as strong as other people, doesn't mean you can't become strong." I said, putting a hand on Micheal's shoulder. "When I started off I was just an average earth pony, no real strengths, just your average joe…but I worked hard to get to where I was before I became this, and Tina…well, she was probably already that naturally strong but she got stronger through hard work and determination."
"Den Mother plus Zinogre biology helps. I should have been much stronger before coming here but… I'm not gonna make the same mistakes twice." She said.
"See, we're all you friends Micheal. Well, they are, I'm your husband so you're stuck with me regardless." Gallon said with a chuckle.
"Heh… thanks. Self worth has always been a… touch and go thing with me-" Micheal started, then stopped suddenly. "Huh… Do either of you know what a Title is?"
"Uh…not really." Tina said.
"Titles always tended to be fluff with what I know, why do you ask?" I inquired.
"I just got a Notification thing saying I got one… Custodian?"
"Sounds… interesting…" Gallon said, about as confused as I and I imagine Tina was.
"It says I can take 'custody' of people and people in my custody gain a two percent boost to stats and used items… it also comes with an Ability… Final Thanks?" Micheal said.
"What does Final Thanks do?" I asked. "Also…Final Thanks? That sounds like a death flag if I've ever heard one."
"Well, it says 'Whenever a person under your custody dies in combat, their Abilities, skills and stats are copied to you at double effectiveness for the two hours until respawn. If a person under custody has an Immortality Ability, pain is shared between you and them but stats and Abilities are copied at face value to you for thirty minutes.'." Micheal said, relaying what he was reading. "It also says it's a rank SSS plus legendary Ability… is that good?"
"I'd say that's very good…though it would suck for you cause you'd probably be experiencing my pain as well if I'm under your Custody…" I admitted. "And I'd rather that not happen…"
"Me neither. But I think I can add people to this custody thing. Looks like for me it's some side options for the Party listing… oh. Uh, it says I have to speak a trigger phrase to begin the process and as long as the recipient responds positively, they'll be added to my Custody."
"And what's the phrase?"
"It says I have to make one and once I have it can't be changed. Best make it something I won't say often or to a stranger…" Micheal hummed, thinking for a moment.
"That would be preferable." I admitted.
"Hmm… I think I have an idea." Micheal said, then turning to Gallon. "Happy new AD."
Gallon smirked. "Same to ya." He laughed, giving Micheal a hug.
"Welp, that did it." Micheal said. "Trigger phrase set and Gallon is now under my custody."
"I thought that happened when you got married?" I joked. "But that's good to know."
"Heh, so, you two want to be under the custody to? A two percent boost isn't much but it might help?"
"I don't mind." Tina shrugged. "Any advantage helps."
"I…need some time to think, cause I'd rather not have you share the pain I'm going to go through." I said carefully. "Especially when my pain will also feel like you dipped a body part in literal molten lava."
"Fair…" Micheal nodded, then looked at Tina. "Well, Happy New AD Tina."
Tina smiled. "And to you as well."
"Alright, cool. So, guess we're heading off then." Gallon said.
The Mega Pizza Plex was…. Huge. Like, seriously I don't think I've ever seen a building this huge before in all my time Running across the zone I've seen a building this massive before.
"This place is…a lot bigger than I thought it would be." I said honestly.
"And I thought Costco was huge…" Gallon said.
"Well, let's head inside-" Tina said, grabbing the door handle and pulling… only for it to not budge. She pulled, and pulled, and nothing. "The fuck?" She asked, now punching it, her fist bouncing off the glass. "Ouch! What the hell?"
"That doesn't seem normal." Micheal noted.
I walked up to the door, managing to bring out my symbiote blades and stabbing at the glass. The blades slid across it with little effect. Barely a scratch.
"What time is it?" I asked curiously, remembering the flier said when the Pizza Plex would be open.
"Almost twelve." Gallon said.
Hm. Place should be open then?
"That's strange…" I frowned, bringing out the flier and double checking it to see if I got the right times.
"Kind of weird we can't break in." Tina huffed.
"Maybe someone lives here?" Gallon offered.
Click!
We all looked back to the door, seeing Micheal had some lockpick tools they were already putting back into that bag of theirs. He then pulled the door and it opened.
"You know how to pick locks?" Tina asked.
"You'd be surprised how much stuff is kept behind locked doors and gates." Micheal said. "Taught myself the skill. It was easier than trying to break all the locks I came across in the ruins of homes and cities."
"That's fair." I nodded. "So let's see why this place was locked when it should be open."
We walked inside, finding it… pristine. Spotless and bright, lights going off, some music playing around and a cool AC chilled air filled the building.
"Alright…this is strange…" I hummed.
"Well, at least it's clean." Micheal said. "Huh… well, I can definitely smell Pizza."
"Not fake stuff either. This stuff smells genuine." Tina added.
My stomach growled at the smell of fresh pizza. "And I want food, so let's go find our fresh Pizza and get something to eat."
We began walking, following the smell and signs that read 'Food Court' and we-
…
…
…
Ugh… what the heck?
"Good, you woke up." I blinked the blur away, seeing a human male, brown skin, short hair, a green vest over a black shirt and cargo pants kneeling next to me. "Sorry about that rude welcome, you accidentally walked into one of the traps we left out for intruders. Heh, guess technically you are but that's besides the point."
I looked around, seeing Tina, Gallon and Micheal all asleep on various makeshift beds.
"Ugh, the hell…" I groaned and shook my head. "So…who are you, and why did you set up traps?"
"Boy, you new to Armageddon? Unless you're living with New Foundation, you always gotta set up traps when making a camp." The man said. "If not for intruders for the monsters."
"I've lived on this planet long enough to have not needed traps, and that was before I lived with the New Foundation." I said. "And you didn't answer my other question…"
"Name's Dale." He said. "If you're with the New Foundation than you're the people my people have been looking for."
"Your people?" I inquired. "Who else is here?"
"We're at fifty currently. Nine of which are barely teenagers. Most of us are just folks looking for a safe place after losing prior homes, some were kicked out, others escaped from enslavement. Then there's Keven, he's just an Anarchist that helps out."
"Fair enough." I nodded, though my stomach growled again. "Sorry, I'm just…rather hungry and was thinking of the good smelling food before we got knocked out."
"Heh, yeah. Come on, we can get ya a slice or two." Dale said as he stood up.
I pushed myself up and followed him. Looking around we were in the Food Court, it was turned into a makeshift camp where I saw more people, mostly human and a few of different species sitting or standing around.
"Don't mind the stares. Most of the human folk are former puritans."
"Yeah…puritans…" I said carefully, my past stints with them appearing fresh in my mind…"Well, not the worst kind of stares I got."
"Heh, like I said, most of the human folk are former puritans. They might slip into old habits, but their old homes and former family want them as dead as any other non human." Dale said, walking to a table where he handed me a small box of pizza.
I stood up, opening it and finding pepperoni.
"Classic pepperoni." I said with a smile, pulling out a slice and eating it happily and also reminding myself of the joys of being an omnivore.
I ate several slices before putting the box down. Alright, time for some questions.
"Alright, so how long have you been here?" I asked Dale.
"A week so far." He said.
"Alright, oh and my names Button Mash by the way." I added. "So, what kind of monsters or 'intruders' have you seen that would need these kinds of traps?"
"Well, all kinds of infected outside. Nexus bounty hunters and assassin's their former homes contract out on them, that kind of stuff usually."
"Why in the hell would they hire bounty hunters and assassins?" I asked incredulously.
"Ego. Pride. Arrogance, self entitlement, or maybe just to make their lives more hell than it is now and was before they left. Take your pick, Puritans, especially human ones, are some of the most petty sons of bitches you will ever meet." Dale sighed. "And all of them are here for reasons that anywhere else, even on Armageddon, are meaningless things."
"Yeah…I know that all too well…" I sighed, remembering how I slaughtered two entire Puritan camps…"So, onto less depressing things, you said you were looking for the New Foundation?"
"Yeah. They're the main safe faction for these folks. Anywhere else and it's risking recapture, death, or worse."
"Yeah, and don't worry, the four of us are with the New Foundation." I said. "We can get you and the rest to safety."
"That's appreciated but we gotta wait out a bit first. Some of those Nexus hit men were on our tail for the last light-year. We're hoping being this close to a New Foundation settlement will make them reconsider getting any closer."
"I…doubt it…" I said carefully, thinking about DG and his warning about 'I'm still going to attack anyways'..."But let's hope for the best I suppose."
"Yeah. So, what's the story with you four? Three Nokori and a Zinogre den Mother make an odd party."
"Well, I just became a Nokori a few days ago due to…bad circumstances." I said carefully. "But we were out here dealing with a hoard infestation and…well, it was supposed to be the four of us but I kinda…sorta…killed an entire sea of infected and created seven mini volcanoes…" I said sheepishly, scratching the back of my head nervously.
"Shit really? Heh, nice." He said, holding a fist up to me. Oh, fist bump! I can do this, it's like a hoof bump but with your fist.
I gently gave him a fist bump as it's been both a while since I did something like this and…still trying to get used to hands. "Yeah…scared the shit out of my three party members there but it's something." I shrugged.
"I'll say. So, since you made whole ass Volcanoes I can assume you're a BOW Nokori?" I nodded. "Gotta say, it's surprising to meet one of you that's not a mindless, soulless, heartless creature. Ran into one some years back. Gotta say, barely got away from that fucker."
"Yeah, I'm being told I'm really strong somehow…all so I'm ready for what's to come…"
"Did ya get a serial number with the fusion?"
"Uh…I don't think so." I admitted. "Haven't really checked to see if I have some serial number stamped on my body."
"Mind if I check?" Dale asked, holding up a hand.
"Go right ahead." I nodded. "Since you seem to know more about this than I do…"
"When you travel Armageddon you pick up a few things." He chuckled, putting a hand on my arm. I blinked, seeing it become covered in green ones and zeros in a black aura… code?!
"Hold up, you have code?" I asked in surprise.
"Heh, yeah. I'm the bastard child of a hacker. While I can use it, my talent with it is rather poor. Most I can do is use it like a Max level Scan." He said. "Hmm… looks like… there it is. On the interior left hemisphere of your skull. Subject 001-906 K."
"Can you tell me who did it? Cause the person that helped the bastard did this wiped my memory of it." I said.
"Well, I don't know their real name but I know what people call them. Their handiwork is all over Armageddon if you look. Goes by the Nokori God." Dale scoffed. "Doesn't help he supposedly is a god. Showed up here maybe about two hundred years or so ago and quickly made a name for themselves. Violence took a liking their their creations and gave the fuck a job. So, every so often a new BOW like yourself appears. Some foot soldiers, some real power houses. No one has ever met the fucker making them though."
I frowned, something about that felt…off. "Hmm…gonna have to tell the Foundation about that cause that is some serious stuff." I said, fearing about what Diamond got herself into with that bastard.
"They more than likely already know. I hear they got a few of this guys creations in lock up at their main HQ over in When Day Breaks."
"Right." I nodded. "So be on the lookout for this ppbastard…cause he could be anywhere."
"Probably." Dale shrugged.
"You want to know about the Nokori God?" CJ asked after I came to him once we got back. He's been in the New Foundation his whole life so he has to know something.
"Yes, cause he's the one that Diamond got into contact with to turn me into this." I said, motioning to all of me.
"Well, sorry to say but there really isn't much we know about them. All we know for certain is that they are in fact a god, they are also apparently a Hacker, and they're an Isekai." CJ said.
"Well, that would explain why I can't remember their face if they did this to me." I frowned. "But there…has to be something about him, cause if he's just walking around in plain sight who knows what nonsense he could get up to."
"You could check in with Doc Holiday. She is the main one researching him and the Violence division of the facility that created majority of Nokori. Think it was… Y Labs, that was the one."
Right… time to check in with the doc.
"Alright, thanks CJ…and where would Doc Holiday be right now?" I inquired.
"Her office at the hospital most likely."
With a nod I was off. Thankfully the doc wasn't busy.
"So, I figured you were one of their newest creations. Including you that's nine known BOW Nokori the Nokori God has made that have/retained their intelligence." Holiday said, sitting in her office desk. "And the serial numbers started with 001?" She asked.
"Yes, 001-906 K to be precise." I answered.
"Hm… interesting. That makes you part of the 001 series then…" Holiday mumbled to herself as she wrote some things down. "Unfortunately we know less about this individual than we'd like. We do know however is that he primarily labels his… works, with a special serial number. 001, 002, 003, 004, and 005. The rest seem to be other identifying markers. 906 likely being the nine hundred and sixth entry in his experiments, And the letter is likely a secondary label we don't know the meaning of."
"Right…" I said, trying to think of this. "So more questions then answers…but considering all this…have you heard anyone talking about Micheal and Gallon?" I asked, cause this God of Nokori might take interest in them and either how they were made or what they can do and I don't want them to be targets here.
"No. I've been their primary caregiver, I usually am for new Nokori residents, and they haven't told me anything." She said. "From what I can tell they're both healthy as can be. Micheal more than Gallon but I guess a vegetarian diet would do that to you."
"Alright…" I said. "Just a lot to think about, especially since something keeps feeling…off to me about all of this and I can't put my finger on it…" I said carefully. "Either my new body is trying to warn me about something or I'm forgetting something important and it sucks…"
"Heh. I know that feeling… by the way, here." She said, ha dong me a flier. It showed the image of what looked to be several Nokori giving me a wave. "The New Foundation knows a lot of their Nokori Population often times feel safer amongst others who have been through the whole fusion trauma, so they established a small hidden settlement called Little Leto. If you ever wanna learn more about your new species and some history and culture, just head to a transport portal and they'll zap you right there."
"Alright." I nodded, taking the flier but not thinking much about it since I don't really need to know the 'culture' or such and I have Micheal and Gallon to talk to about this. "Thanks Doc."
"Anytime." She waved. "And be careful alright?"
"I'll try." I nodded, walking out of the office as something in the back of my mind kept bugging me about this whole Nokori God talk…like some Deja Vu or a passing glance…"Damn memory wiping is gonna bug the shit out of me…" I mentally grumbled.
"Alright, say Ah." I froze. Shaking it off, I walked near an open door, seeing Alex and… Jada? "Looks like a mouth sore on the side of your tongue." He said, removing the weird wood thing from her mouth and tossing it in the trash.
"Ugh. How long will it take to go away?" Jada asked.
"If you are better and brushed more, they'd be a near non issue." Alex chuckled.
"Ugh… self care… bleh…"
"Self care is important Jada." I said simply, as I stared at Alex and…again, my whole body screamed at me to run…
"Ah, Button Mash. Glad you are here. I was going to mail it to you but this works." He said, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a pad and pen. "It looks like Jada on top of this mouth sore is also developing cavities. I'll write her a medicated toothpaste and mouthwash prescription to help remove the sore and reverse the damage of the forming cavity but you should make sure she does it daily, morning and night for two weeks." He said, writing out the information before handing me the paper.
"Thanks." I nodded and took the paper. "And you, why have you been slacking on your brushing?"
"Games are love, games are life, sleep is for the weak and I have another tournament in a month." She said.
"And that's a quick way of dying from you getting sick from not taking care of yourself and sleep deprivation. Just because I'm a Nokori doesn't mean I stopped being a Symbiote." I said, leaving that threat up in the air of using my symbiote abilities to put her to sleep to get some rest instead of not sleeping ever.
"Maybe, but bet you don't know how to anymore." Jada said with a smirk.
"Listen to your father, little miss." Alex said.
"Meh. I'll give it a half-hearted attempt." She said, then quickly scurried out the office before I had the chance to grab her.
"Stubborn kid…" I sighed.
"Always has been." Alex said. I then realized I was alone in here with him… "Any questions?"
"W-what about?"
"Jada? Or any of your other kids? I am a pediatric physician that specializes in hybrid species care, so, your family takes up a whole hard drive on my computer alone."
"Well…how are all my kids medically? I know Jada is…Jada, but what about the others?" I asked.
"Much better at taking care of themselves. Save Cirro. Were it not for his Fea biology I'd be very worried about his arteries… and potential diabetes but his Fea half keep him healthier than a child of his dietary excessiveness should be in."
"Gonna need to talk to him about that…" I frowned. "By the way…why did you give a weird look to Micheal and Gallon?" I inquired, remembering that time we past him and he gave a weird look but I didn't have the chance to ask.
"Hm? Oh yes those two Nokori living with you Jada and some other other's I've spoken to have mentioned them. I'm afraid it was just a passing glance, after all people look at strangers all the time. Almost mistook them for children, but then quickly realized they were adults. Nokori biology and the aging process can be tricky like that from time to time depending on species and other factors."
"That's fair." I nodded, but the strange coldness in that look was off putting. "They were brand new Isekai after all."
"I see. Unusual but not unheard of for Isekai to arrive in pairs. Well, as long as they are healthy and well I suppose that's all that is important. Maybe next we talk will be for another of your childrens checkups."
"Yeah, that would be preferred, cause I have a lot of kids to look after." I admitted. "But at least their all healthy."
"Well then, good luck to you Button Mash." He said, walking to his desk.
I left his office…
Every fiber of my being felt like I just escaped some apex predator…
I went around a corner and put my back against the wall as I panted heavily. "Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with Alex?" I thought worriedly.
Better question… what the fuck is wrong with me? He gave me a creep or strange vibe before but now… I'm scared of him?
"Cheat? Kage? Can either of you help me figure this out?" I mentally asked them.
"I got nothing." Cheat said.
"Trust your instincts." Cage said. "Fear doesn't rise from nothing."
"And my instincts are telling me Alex is a bastard and a liar and he's scaring the absolute shit out of me…" I thought carefully. "Even if he seems kind and courteous…something about this doesn't make any sense…" I thought, knowing that there's something fishy about Alex.
"Maybe, but you don't have any evidence to prove it. Plus he's been the kids primarily doctor longer than you've been around since you did investigate him and found jack." Cheat said.
I winced at that. She's not wrong. My looking found he's been their doctor since the vast majority of them were three or so.
"That just means he's really good at hiding what he's doing…" I mentally said. "But I know my instinct's wouldn't lie about this…"
"They lied when you swore up and down one of those demon train spiders was following us after we left that zone on the travels."
"I swear those sons a bitches were and you can't argue with me on that!" I tried to defend myself.
"Right… but maybe something is up with him, but again you looked into him already and there is no evidence at all he's doing anything. But…"
"But?"
"Eh. Doesn't matter. You need to focus on finding Tiara. Wherever she might be."
"That's true, but she could be literally anywhere." I admitted. "But there's also me using your stealth abilities to try and find some dirt on him that he's hiding…"
"And getting thrown in the jail again if you get caught?"
"True…ugh, there's too much to look into and not enough time…"
"Just focus on finding Tiara and whoever this Nokori God is. Besides, you might find a lead in this Little Leto place Holiday mentioned. If lots of people were turned into them here at the very least one could lead you to a lab where someone working for Violence might know something?"
"That's true…" I admitted. "So…off to Little Leto."
"Taking the goat wolf and the winged sheep man."
"I find it hilarious this portal hub thing looks like a mini airport." Gallon chuckled as he, Micheal and I were sitting and waiting for our portal to Little Leto to open up.
"This whole set up is rather impressive." Micheal said as he looked around. "Kinda like when we got the trains up and running again."
"Yeah, I remember waiting for many trains with mom back on Equis." I mentioned.
"At least it's faster and more efficient than airport security." Gallon said.
"From what I've heard this is a lot more efficient than airport security." I chuckled.
"Now opening! Little Leto portal at gate 7!" The announcer over the speakers informed.
"Pfft. Definitely airport vibes." Gallon chuckled as we all got up. We got in line, showed the person at the portal our tickets then walked through them.
The portal felt kinda like being covered in static electricity when walking through it. Once we were we were out in a similar station. Only there were… a lot of Nokori everywhere.
We walked outside, greeted by a rather large city that was blended with nature all over the place.
Little Leto might be a bit off for a name… this place looks huge…
"Holy crap… this is awesome!" Gallon laughed.
"This is everything we were planning the Leto back home to be and more…" Micheal added, jaw hanging open as he looked around.
"Well, this place looks neat." I said honestly.
"So, where do we start?" Gallon asked.
"Well… maybe a bookstore or library?" Micheal offered.
"Yeah, let's see if there's anything we can learn from a library."
With that we walked down the roads and looked around for some kind of library.
We managed to find one… holy crap!
The shelves were tall, two sides, and the building was multi story high. Various step ladders and small lifts to help people reach the higher shelves.
I think this is bigger than the old castle of friendship Twilight repurposed into a library/museum!
"This place is huge." I said in surprise.
"Heh, despite the statistical odds, a lot of Nokori were all bookworms. At least back home for us…" Micheal chuckled as he looked around. "Maybe it's a universal constant?"
"Wonder what kind of books they got around here-" Gallon started, only to stop when a little blue and orange dog-bird Nokori child walked up to them. The little six eared child looking at Gallon with large eyes. "Uh… hi?"
"Hi there." I said politely to the child.
"Uh, hey?" Micheal said as he stood next to Gallon. The kid looked at Micheal and I swear his eyes got wider. "Where are your parents?"
The kid said nothing and continued to stare at the two.
"Well… this is weird…" Gallon muttered.
"Can you talk?" I asked the child carefully.
"Copper!" An older woman, a dog with feathers with similar colors to the child came up. "There you are, don't wander off or started at…" She started, only to see Micheal and Gallon and also look at the two wide eyed.
"Uh… something on our faces or… fur?" Micheal asked.
"Uh… Sorry, sorry you two just look like some people from some of the varied history books is all." She chuckled, picking her child up.
"What kind of history?" I inquired.
"Oh, in one of the history books on Nokori Origins there's just some figures that are mentioned these two look like. I'm sure they must get that a lot." She waved off.
"Heh, actually we're new to this whole… reality." Micheal said. "Isekai, we didn't even know this place existed, let alone on a place like Armageddon."
"Oh… Uh… Are your names by chance… Gallon and Micheal?" She asked.
"Those are their names, yes." I nodded. "Why? Are they celebrities or something?"
"Wait, you two are really First Pope Gallon and Guild Master Micheal of the Archeologist Guild!?" She asked.
"Uh… heh, haven't been called those since we got here… or much back home… titles were just the formality and such back home so…" Micheal said.
"Cool, this mean we famous?" Gallon asked.
"You two are historical legends!" She said. "Oh, you need to go meet the mayor this is huge!"
"How can we be historic legends when we've only been here for maybe over a week?" Micheal asked.
"In a lot of historic tales, you two vanished one day, almost two weeks apart and never reappeared. Many thought you died!"
"Kinda did. Gorgons. Though the details are a bit fuzzy." Gallon said.
"Oh this is amazing!" She said, shaking both their hands. "I'm Mayday, it's an honor to meet you two! And this is Copper, he's been told your stories since he was an infant."
"Heh… What kind of stories?" Micheal asked.
"Oh all kinds. Your journeys across the ruins to regather magical artifacts, search for food sources, recover old information and my personal favorite, the story of how you two loved one another so much it created a storm across two whole cities!"
Gallon was covering their mouth to hold back laughter… so was I… Micheal was so red I think he was steaming.
"Y-ye-yeah, those are some…really good stories." I said, trying my damndest not to laugh at the last part being so well known.
"... Just kill me now…" Micheal squeaked out.
Gallon and I couldn't hold it and burst out laughing.
"What's so funny? It's a beautiful story!" Mayday said.
"I-I- I think it's been- Pfft! A bit romanticized from the original!" Gallon howled, on the floor clutching his stomach.
"Oh they most certainly loved each other!" I laughed.
"I'm in hell… this is my hell…" Micheal whimpered.
After our laughing fit was done, Gallon had to carry, literally over his shoulder, Micheal, who was still super red and paralyzed from embarrassment while Mayday took us to the Mayor's office. The mayor was an old looking almost pitch black fox with red antlers and four ears that were a hot pink color. He also had… two, six… eleven tails, each one ending in the same hot pink.
"Well, this is certainly a great day for Little Leto." He said, smirking as he looked over Gallon, Micheal who was looking limp and dead but was very much alive since his face was still red and he was just breathing slowly. "Two very prominent historical figures, arriving here as Isekai. How wonderful." He chuckled. He then looked to me. "And you, why I don't believe I've seen a Nokori like you before. Rather unique. I take it you were not human before your fusion?"
"I'm Button Mash." I said. "I used to be an Alicorn before…whoever the hell is the 'Nokori God' forced the fusion on me." I said carefully.
"Well, you are not alone. Nearly everyone here in Little Leto was once another species, now we are all victims of Y Labs. Some from the realm of Isekai, some from here on Armageddon. It seems our race is fated to be created through torment and agony." He sighed.
"And also someone's obsession…" I thought to myself, and sure I was gone for ten years but…I was around long enough in the New Foundation and I still have to wonder where all these Nokori just appeared from…"Well, I'm currently trying to figure out where the bastard is that's doing this and stop his nonsense."
"For that, you'd have to target not just the Nokori God, but his underlings all working in the New Y Labs that are funded and work under the Violence Guild. Many of us here all came from these labs, for what reason, we don't know. I myself used to be an Elf from Eden. I don't even remember how I was abducted, all I remember was going to sleep, waking up to an agony the likes of which make my skin crawl to remember, and then this body." He sighed. "Stranger still, we were simple released. Some alone, some in groups."
Hmm, that is strange…
"I guess hearing that, Gallon and I lucked out in our world…" Micheal said, having gained some sense of composure back and was sitting upright. Still a bit red but not as much as before.
"Yes. It's one of, maybe even the only one where the Y Labs facilities did good over harm. Your history variant on Nokori Origins gives many here hope that not all of this was for horrid reasons." The Mayor said.
"Well, there's just a whole lot of new things to learn here." I admitted. "And…that's really weird, all things considered…"
"Yes, while many want answers, like our ancestors, we may never find answers. I do hope I can be of assistance though. Perhaps at least in helping you learn even something small to be of use later."
"That would be good." I nodded.
"Right then. Do you have any questions then?"
"Well…let's start off with the history cause I have no idea about it, as I've now heard that there's the good world that Micheal and Gallon are from, and the other worlds that are…horrible."
"The histories of Nokori Origins all come from three main sources. The most common and unfortunate, Created by Y Labs, turned from humans and elves and orcs into the Nokori they are today, the rarer and unique natural born, where they evolved or were created by a god like other races in their world and were always part of their planet, and lastly, the post-crisis creation. Where either sometime after or because of a crisis to the planet, Nokori came to be either through evolving from the remaining magical beings, or in Micheal and Gallon's case, created to inherit the planet after all life was prior was gone." The Mayor said.
"Sounds like quite the history." I said honestly.
"These histories all come from either Isekai or from texts found in old ruins across Armageddon. Spawned as loot. Most all tell similar histories. There are many commonalities across them despite the differences, events, people, things like that pop back in more often than not. And you wish to know about the one that claims to be the Nokori God, yes?"
"Yes, I would like to know who this Nokori God is because…well, he's the one that did this to me." I motioned to all of me.
"I see…" The Mayor took a breath. "In all the various histories, the few that mention a god are all from the natural born or god created histories. They have many shapes, names, but amongst all the histories there is only one where a genuine God of Nokori was created after the species came into existence. The fact the Nokori god labels his creations with the numbers 001, 002, 003, 004, and 005 markings amongst the others tells us much based on historical findings and hypothesis."
"Well…I'm a 001…" I said carefully. "So what can you tell me about this?"
"In all his creations, these five main numbers repeat. If I were to guess, this Nokori God did not start life out as a divine, but rather as a mortal being, likely one of the Y Labs scientists working to create the Nokori. Based on the fact the Nokori he creates can all be classified as BOW, Bio Organic Weapons, it's safe to assume they are trying to recreate these five Nokori, the original one through five. Whether for personal reasons, study or even obsession, we don't know."
"Goodie…" I grumbled. "So I'm apart of this bastards fetish…"
"That is a rather… blunt phrasing. While you are one of the first I have met that retained their intelligence, you seem to share traits with the 001 series. You are fused with a Phoenix."
"A Super Volcano Phoenix from what I was told…" I sighed. "I…didn't want poor Mango to suffer like this…"
"Yes. Many were all the same, fused with a phoenix, of varying elements and powers, but the fact so many are created tells us he views them all as failures. Who or whatever this 001 is, must have been something unique."
"Probably." I shrugged.
"That aside, there isn't much on the Y Labs division of Violence. It's rather small compared to other sectors, but we do have maps with locations and general areas where Nokori were left or awoken after their transformation and some experiments." The Mayor said, reaching into his desk and pulling out a data drive.
"Thank you." I nodded, knowing if I could take down some of these places I can figure out who the hell this 'God' was.
"We don't know if the Labs that did this to the people are near or even in the same area, but it's a start. Most of these are in zones rather far from here. It's a common Chaos Guild tactic to either use mobile facilities or even just keep the facility small and well hidden in the environment. If you do find us, please let me know." He said, now handing me what looked like a flip phone. "This is linked to the New Foundation long range communications network. My number is first in the list, once you find and capture or kill the workers, call me so we can collect resources and any Nokori or potentials trapped within."
"Alright." I nodded, taking the flip phone and putting it away. "Cause if I know where this Nokori God is…he could hopefully tell me where Diamond is…" I muttered.
"Yes. New Foundation told me of the… renegade Time Walker. For her sake, I do hope you find her before either the Time Walkers or New Foundation do."
"I will, and I'll protect her with my life." I said readily, not wanting to lose my Diamond here.
"So, out of curiosity, do you have any ideas who these first five of the Nokori God might be?" Gallon asked. "If he's trying to recreate them, maybe it would help to find them. I mean, if Micheal and I showed up here, maybe they did too?"
"Hmm…" The Mayor hummed. "In all the history records we have there is only one potential person who could be the 001. In the history texts, he killed the Nokori God in their original world. They called him, the Hellfire Human Hunter."
"... That's a long ass name." Gallon said.
"Very wordy…" Micheal nodded.
"Right…that's not worrying at all…" I said carefully.
"Yes, in the texts it says they appeared some years after the Nokori were released from the Y Labs in old Leto City, he mercilessly exterminated all who threatened or harassed the Nokori with flames that left behind nothing but ashes in minutes. During this world's war when more labs globally were discovered, he fought against the Y Labs monsters, governments trying to exterminate their Nokori Populations, and anyone who wanted them gone or dead. In the end, he managed to kill the monster that appeared that called itself the Nokori God."
"Well…that's quite a resume." I said honestly.
"If they are in this reality then they would more than likely know the name of the Nokori God, and their face. As a Phoenix you may be able to detect them yourself."
"Well…I suppose that would make sense…" I said, deciding to test that as I closed my eyes and tried to sense any other phoenix's out there.
I wasn't really sensing anything… nothing but a few wild ones dotted around-
I froze. There was a flame the likes of which seemed to just… engulf everything far, far away. Far enough away that instinctually I didn't worry about it, but just seeing it… my body instinctively wanted to… bow…
"You alright?" Gallon asked, snapping me out of that. "You kinda tensed up there."
"Uh…I…I sensed them…" I said weakly. "A fire…so far away that it didn't have to worry but…it engulfed everything where he is…"
"In legends, they say there is a form of biological hierarchy to Phoenixes. I knew the Hellfire Human Hunter must have been merged with an exceptionally powerful Phoenix, but to detect them from here? That is actually unexpected." Mayor said with some surprise.
"Biological hierarchy?" Micheal asked.
"The Phoenix is a unique race, most often born from an abundance of magic in the environment and something to spark their creation. A sun being born, a volcano erupting, even just a wild fire can birth one if there is enough magic in the environment. Not to mention, the older the phoenix, the more powerful it becomes."
"Yeah…and I sense…two other's…one that's the fire of a sun and…" I blinked. "A hole in the torrent of flame…pure cold managing to pierce through such outlandish flames…"
"Must be a phoenix of the cold. There are Phoenixes of elements, Fire is the most common. The others are rather rare."
"Cool… so what does that mean if Button meets this guy?" Gallon asked.
"More than likely, he would be at their mercy. The biological hierarchy is strong. The more powerful and older phoenixes always commanding their younger, less powerful kin. I can just hope they are a merciful elder to you Button Mash."
"...I think the big fire is just an idiot." I admitted, something about it just screaming that he's not entirely the 'wise elder' that the mayor thinks he is.
"Well, whatever the case, I hope your meeting with them goes well." He said. "Please, before you go, enjoy the rest of Little Leto. As a Nokori yourself, you are more than welcome here whenever you want. All three of you."
I nodded, not wanting to let their hospitality go to waste but I still had a lot of other important things to do…"I know I should relax but the more time I lose…" I thought bitterly.