All rights are reserved to their respective owners. I own nothing in this piece of fiction with the exception of my OCs and the story itself.
"Lastation, boys and girls." IF announced as the group finally entered the nation after fighting off some monsters the rest of the way. The sun was close to setting as they walked around the city.
The main city itself appeared to be very industrial as it was chock full of satellites and factories, but would still have somewhat of a green thumb with trees lined up in an organized linear fashion in designated plots. Industrialization was Lastation's forefront in national identity, after all.
The air was rather clean for all its factory work, but with a hardworking deity as their patron goddess, it was to be expected. Couldn't have her citizens suffering from lung cancer now. Just to show how much Black Heart cared about her citizens. And how much ASIC had affected her nation while she was captured.
The buildings were all very very dark and imposing with their tall skyscrapers were visible even from deep within the city. All its citizens were either in office wear, getting from where they needed to be for some important meeting, or were some teenagers and older kids wearing some streetwear and playing some pirated games.
It was influenced majorly by ASIC after all.
AL was on his phone that he pulled out of his bag, and was currently texting his tax collector. Compa skipped along with a jolly look on her face as the group was patched up from any further injuries as they reached Lastation.
Nepgear was very occupied marveling at all of the industrial architecture as Nebula noticed her visible interest in the city's structure.
"NepG." The blue-haired male called.
She turned to him, out of it.
"Huh?" The purple CPU Candidate answered.
"Your eyes are sparkling." He pointed out, albeit a bit amused.
"Golly, I'm sorry. It's just that Lastation is so amazing when it comes to finding things to tinker with!" She explained as she looked at all the robotic shops and supplies as they walked past.
"So you're a tinkerer?" Nebula asked with a raised brow and an interested smirk.
"Am I?! I use to make plenty of inventions before what happened three years ago." She revealed as she thought back.
"Neato! I'll be sure to swing by once this adventure is over to see what you came up with." He noted with a bright smile as they walked some more.
"Don't window shop too much, Gear. We still have to find a place to sleep tonight." IF told her with a weary smile for the girl that was enjoying the sights.
"Or we'll have to sleep on the road." Compa said with a concerned tone.
"Hey, it's not so bad," AL interjected. "I think Lastation sidewalk is quite comfy." He dumbly remarked.
"AL, you pissed drunk, and you collapsed from partying all night. You're just lucky nobody mugged your unconscious body." Nebula deadpanned.
"You still dragged me back to the house." He remembered.
"Because Mr. Mūten told me to and I quote, loaf a big drunk bastard home." The adventurer raised a finger in remembrance.
"Man, forget you. I'm just gonna buy some new clothes. I'm basically walking around shirtless." AL would point out, as only a little of his vest remained from his encounter with all the monsters they had to face prior.
"I'm coming with. This shirt is gone, and I'm gonna make a safe assumption that out of everything you packed, there were no spare clothes." The blue-haired man guessed.
"Bongo." AL snapped his fingers.
"Don't you mean bing-" IF would start.
"Bon. Go." He repeated in a broken sentence.
"Don't worry about it IF, he's just doing that to mask his mistake." Nebula explained.
"It just sounds like he's messing up more," Compa added.
"Damn, even the healer's roasting you." The adventurer chuckled with amusement.
"Talk to me when you have undamaged clothes," AL said as he walked off, going into the city.
"AL, wait!" Nepgear called. But he soon disappeared into the crowd.
"And now he's separated from the group." IF sighed.
...
..
"He'll come back." Nebula assured. The group set their attention on the blue-haired god.
"How are you so sure?" Nepgear asked as she turned to him.
"Because I'm going with him." He responded.
"Not you too, Neb-Neb." Compa frowned. They already lost someone.
"I'm just gonna buy some clothes, and I'll use my sensory abilities to get back to you guys. Chillax. See you in... Let's say an hour and a half... Hopefully."
RUN!
He whispered the last part before he ran off after AL.
"And there he goes too," Compa announced as Nebula's figure disappeared into the crowd after his friend, not to he was seen until he returned with his bud.
"Well if what he said is true, he'll have no problem finding us. But just to be safe, I'll call his phone after the time he told us comes and he's still not back." IF planned.
"That sounds good." Nepgear agreed.
"Alright. Let's go find a hotel, ladies." IF said as the two followed.
"Yip!" Compa complied as she walked with the two girls.
AL entered a local clothing store, trying on different clothes. He had asked the clerk for something that would make him look like he lived in Lastation as he didn't want to attract the wrong crowd, but still somewhat fashionable and comfortable.
The lady at the desk would direct him to the men's section, the fighter walked there to try on some clothes.
"Let's see here. If I was a Lastationite, what would I wear... Hmmm..." AL wondered. He thought it would have been easier to pick, but everyone he so far wore a business suit or some sort of casual formal wear. Man, that selection was broad, huh-
"Need some help?" A feminine voice would ring out.
AL diverted his gaze and saw a rather attractive curvy woman looking his way. She was about 5'4'' and had amber yellow eyes and a smooth face. She had long coffee brown hair that reached down to her waist, wearing an open black jacket.
The middle would be zipped open, revealing a wide V-neck white shirt with the word "GUCKI" that exposed her midsection as a pretty silver necklace would be hanging from her neck as well as some shades on the neck of her shirt. She also wore some blue jeans short shorts that showed her flawless legs as her shoes were some stylish sandal flats.
She had on some diamond-shaped earrings as they dangled as she looked at him in the corner of her eyes, brushing her long hair aside with her hand now and again. She would be a respectable DD cup as AL's eyes quickly scanned down before looking back up to her eyes.
AL let a pleasant smile creep onto his face as he nodded at her before going back to his search.
His tattered clothing would get him a few looks from more fashionably adept persons, but then again, at least they were put at ease by the fact that he was in a clothing store and looked single. Why was the second fact important? Probably because AL was hot.
Literally~
He then felt her energy approach him as he turned. She awaited a response to her question, as he had been looking around for anything that fitted his tastes but he was appearing to have a hard time.
AL looked at her, getting a glance at her cleavage before answering her.
"Yeah, actually. I'm trying to find some clothes that make it look like I'm from here but not too bland. Help me out a bit?" He asked the worker.
"Well I work here, so why not. What's your style...?!" She would ask looking at his clothes before realizing that they were basically shredded. She oogled at his muscles for a brief moment before looking back up at him as she cleared her throat.
"Like what you see?" AL teased with a charming grin. His trained body would attract situations like this which he used to charm the ladies. Or get some with little effort but that's not what he was here for-
"Ahem! No! It's just that I... Uhm..." She struggled to come up with a good excuse.
"You..?" He lead on. His face became playful at the reactions she showcased.
"Forget it," She swatted away at the air as she moved on. "What do you usually wear?" She questioned with a raised brow and an interested smile.
"Clothes with something on the front every once in a while that's from a well-known brand or just flat out cool, Nice kicks that are preferably comfy and some ripped jeans now and then but can also be skinny. But you can switch it up if you like, shawty." AL offered as she thought about it. He even added the optional adjective about her appearance just to convey his point.
"So a Lastationite hypebeast. "She giggled at his description.
He looked her dead in the eyes.
She looked at him back with a slightly awkward expression.
...
"Yes." The afro man accepted without question. "That sounds like a plan. Let's see what's on the racks." AL said with a grin as his face lightened up. The girl would put her hands on her sides as she too would brandish a smile.
"Damn right. Let's get to dressing..." She trailed. AL soon realized her dilemma and finish her statement. "AL. And your name is?."
"I'm Stella." The lady known as Stella answered.
"Nice name, Stelle." He nicknamed as they walked to find some clothes for the fighter who looked like a vagrant.
"Thanks." She said as she blushed from the nickname he gave her. He put his hands in his pocket as she would look for some clothes for him.
After a while, AL was currently dressed in a black tracksuit top with three white lines on either side that was open, with a white undershirt that had the word "Nerf THIS!" in red at the center.
He had on a red digital watch to match the shirt print as his pants consisted of grey ripped skinny jeans that were held up by a brand belt. He also wore some red, white, and black sneakers with some black laces and an X on the outer side with a sterling silver chain hanging from his neck on top of the shirt.
He possessed several bags with other clothes that he bought from the store in case this fit would have been destroyed, as it wasn't very unlikely since the reason he came here was that his one set of clothes was destroyed prior.
He spent a total of 3,000 Credits on all his clothes. In hindsight, he should have spent less, but all the outfits that Stella kept presenting to him just made him want to spend his cash. She might be too good at her job for his sake.
Nobody said that looking good was cheap. Or that convincing choices were easy to refuse.
"Thank you for your services, kind customer." The cashier told him as he finished checking out AL's purchases. He nodded at the cashier as he was about to leave until a familiar face would meet him by the door.
"AL! Sup." The CPU god greeted.
"Nebula?" AL questioned.
The two friends came in contact once again.
"I came to buy some clothes after getting some food here. All I can say about it is, I hope I can look better than my tastebuds feel right now." He explained.
"What did you eat?" AL would ask.
"MainWay footlong with some cookies." Nebula responded.
"Tak tsk tsk. You know the MainWay branches suck here. Only the cookies do the brand any justice." AL chastised.
"I gave it another chance." The man admitted.
"And you paid for it. Now come on in, you have to pay for some new clothes too." AL pat his friend's back as they both walked into the store. Well, once again for AL.
He showed his best friend the girl that he met, who was currently helping a few ladies with their choices.
"See that girl over there?" AL motioned his head to Stella as he discreetly pointed.
"Not this again, AL." Nebula sighed as he rolled his eyes, unamused.
"Come on, man. You can't just give up after hitting it once. Technically you've never actually gotten it from chattin' up a girl you never knew before." He pointed out as Nebula looked at Stella.
"And I SHOULD get some from doing that because..?" Nebula questioned.
"Because you can finally let go of all your research if you get enough and you won't be dry anymore." AL brought up.
"Like you don't have any." Nebula grimaced at him.
"I do, but my mini-me's been through enough guts that I don't need them anymore and it's collecting dust in my room. But you haven't reached there yet. I don't think you can even remember how it feels like anymore since it's been three years." The human explained to him.
"It was my first time, Of course, I can remember. It's been 4 years. I just like to read my research more than I like to chase the ladies." The god responded to his reasoning.
"And that's why your body count is still at 1." AL wagged his finger.
"Piss off." Nebula grimaced.
"Only when you get some," AL replied nonchalantly.
Nebula sighed when Stella would walk to the both of them after AL was about to tell him something.
"Hey, AL." She returned to her familiar acquaintance. She then turned and saw Nebula raising his hand at her with a neutral expression. She would have back at him with a smile.
"Hey, Stelle. This is my friend, Nebula." The dark-skinned fighter was introduced.
"Sup." He said nonchalantly with an acknowledging nod.
"Hi! I'm Stella, but as you can see, people also call me Stelle." Stella referred to as she smiled.
"I can see that. You work here? I saw you helping a few other people just now." Nebula referenced as he looked to her former customers.
"Yep. And you seem like you need some help too." She assumed as she pointed at his exposed arms with a giggle.
FLEX!
"Thanks for noticing." Nebula snorted. He then flexed his muscles and looked at them with a comedic expression.
"I'd like something to keep my arms warm. With a pinch of geek but some drip as well. That'd be nice." He stated his preferences for his look as Stelle would be busy looking at his arms.
...
AL then snapped his fingers in front of Stella's face.
"Stella. You with us?" AL contacted as she snapped out of her gaze.
"Sorry! Sorry. You guys sure are ripped. You work out?" She asked the two with a suggestive gaze.
"We train in martial arts." They both said simultaneously. She nodded her head from the received information.
"Where do you guys train?" The clerk asked if the two warriors.
"In Planeptune," AL answered from the two of them.
"Ohhh. So that's why you wanted to look like you guys are from here. You're foreigners." The reason clicked in her brain.
"Yep." Nebula confirmed her on-the-spot theory.
"Well, follow me, Nebula. I think I have something that can fit your style." She directed as the worker headed deeper into the store once more." She left as the god looked to follow her.
GRASP!
AL then put his hand on the male's shoulder causing him to look back.
"I'm heading out since I got what I needed. Make sure and pull some moves while I'm gone." AL reminded while Nebula looked at him with a tired expression.
"You know what, fine. I'll see what I can do." The adventurer decided to go with the flow as he turned around. AL caught one glance at the rear end of Stella before he left. He left a piece of advice for Nebula before he left to find the others.
"Protip: She's thicc." He said in a dumb voice
"Just go already." Nebula ushered him away.
He chortled as he was pushed out before he left the two alone.
Nebula soon caught up to Stella and would take a small peek at the posterior.
Needless to say, AL was on the money.
'Sheeeeeeeeeesh. Shawty got the phatty, GYATT...' Nebula marveled internally before snapping back up when he sensed Stella turning back at him as they reached the men's section.
"Here we are, Nebula. Just tag along and let me work my magic." She said as she began searching for clothes that suited the young god's taste. Nebula raised an eyebrow with an amused smirk as this was a new experience for him.
A GOLDEN EXPERIENCE-
Nebula now currently had a snapback on that was black with an orange brim with 'K.O!' in white written on the front. He also had on his signature orange scarf on as well, hanging by his neck.
It was on top of a black shirt with an orange rectangular box with white text saying the word 'Superior'. He had a black zipped down hoodie with a pattern of a phrase that read 'By Any Means Necessary', as it was pasted over and over again on the jacket sans the hood itself.
He also had on some black jeans that were in his shoes that were orange, white, and black with a white midsole and a black outsole with an orange body and laces. He hid his hands in his hoodie pockets as he had a satisfied grin. He too also had some bags with some clothes in them. It was like this woman had a gift for making undeniable deals.
He stood by the door after he had paid for his items.
Nebula would rather not disclose how much he spent. Still wasn't as bad as AL-
"Stelle, you sure know your stuff. I feel mighty drippy right now. It's almost as if I could appear at any time and an orchestra of drip would play." He complimented as he gave her a thumbs-up, causing her to giggle from the praise.
"Thanks, Nebula. I appreciate it." She smiled and giggled from the compliments.
"Not as much as me. I feel incredible!" He exclaimed as he fist-pumped both hands into the air. Even if he had some slight scratches remaining, his new clothes felt comfy enough to compensate.
"Glad I could help!" She would chirp. She then looked around.
"Did... AL leave?" She asked.
"He left a while ago. It was just the two of us by the time you called." Nebula explained, remembering when he ghosted.
"Oh?" She said in a rather surprised tone as she had been with the boy by herself the whole time.
"Yeah. Sounded like you wanted to talk to him a bit longer." He said with a suggestive look. This would cause her to shake her head.
"Yeah...He was cool." She told the god.
"And I'm not?" Nebula picked up, faking hurt in his tone.
"Nah, you're not cool." She shook her head. The god would have a flat and unimpressed look as he became off-put by the girl's words.
"...You're awesome."
Nebula then looked at her blankly.
"That's it. I gotta get your number. You're too cool for me to never see you again. I... I've been played by comedic effect, my one weakness." Nebula said dramatically as he pulled out his phone, clutching his heart for emphasis.
Stella laughed at his comment as she waited for him to pull up his contacts. She would then enter her number. He saved her as Crafty Cleck Waifu as he put it away.
"You know, I know a guy who could get you a good phone case." She said as Nebula put away his phone.
"Stelle, you already made me spend a lot of money here. Shush, you marketing minx." He said with a mix between a knowing smirk and a deadpan. She just laughed with a sweat drop on her face as he walked out.
He waved at her as he went out into the city night.
"You're Stellar, Stella!" He punned, terribly.
"That was just plain lazy!" She yelled at him trying not to laugh at the bad pun.
"I know! That's why I said it!" He laughed.
Stella just sighed into her palm before chuckling at the adventurer's antics as he faded into the streets beyond the sight of the shop. He was pretty cool to hang out with, from what she could tell with first impressions. And pretty muscular, which was a plus in her book.
"I'll text him after my shift ends." She would tell herself as she walked back inside to do some more work.
"Hm..."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in an undisclosed location within an abandoned warehouse, would be sat a young man who was sat within the dark area, who looked no older than 20 as he sat on his gaming chair.
BUT CAN HE DO THIS?!-
He had silver-white hair that ran down to his lower back. He possessed grey eyes as they stared at his laptop monitor, currently searching the dark web. His gloved fingers were typing away at all the different illegal sites that he was browsing. He was using a complex VPN to hide his presence and location, and an IP address reset the timer every time he used his torrent to surf the platform.
A cup of coffee was also safely nearby so that it didn't accidentally spill as he used it to keep himself focused.
The man currently was on a hitman website, checking for any inboxes thay he may have received. He had one new invoice.
You have 1 new message!
He moved his cursor, clicked the message, and began to read through it.
"Let's see here..." He idly muttered, his voice smooth and refined, but deep and eardrum massaging. He took a sip of his coffee as he read.
The read like this.
"Greetings, _KVM1_$XR1"...
"This is a contract for a hit on a very important target. He has evaded our clutches, and cannot go unpunished. His sentence is death. Due to your exceedingly impressive track record of assassinating every single one of your targets with a 100% success rate, you were only the natural choice. If you accept this hit, you will be handsomely rewarded with..."
He almost spat out his coffee when he saw the amount.
"150,000,000 Credits."
"Did... Did I read that correctly?...!" The hitman questioned the amount as he stared, caught off guard by the sheer amount.
He rubbed his eyes, and look at the numeral again, squinting with skepticism.
"150,000,000."
He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then open them again to see it, beckoning at him. He clicked the amount to see it worded. He assumed it was 150,000 or 1.5 million. He'll, even 15 million wasn't so much for those corrupted politicians, but-
CLICK!
REFRESH!
"One hundred and fifty million."
He refreshed the page, many times, to see if it, as unlikely as it was, was a glitch in the system. While extremely uncommon, it wasn't unheard of in these sites, even of their accuracy woth pricing was second to none-
"One hundred and fifty million Credits."
But the ludicrous amount remained.
He then checked the requirements for the job without hesitation, it must have been some elaborate assassination on par with the bald man that was an agent between 46 and 48-
"...This target will have to be killed within 72 hours of acceptance. It will either have to be by silent assassination... Or gladiatorial combat. Leave no witnesses."
...
...
...
Oh.
He digested the information given to him as the job seemed very simple for such an asinine price. If they wanted him killed silently, then the best way to go about it was to find him isolated and carry out the job. But he had to find who this target was, and more background information first.
He then scrolled down to see a visual of the target.
It appeared to be a young man with aegean blue hair, cyan eyes, and spiky hair. He was muscular and had on an orange scarf as he was wounded by the shoulder as he stood up, with a brow raised on an apocalyptic battlefield.
His left shoulder was severely injured as well. He would be noting all these important characteristics of his target as he sifted through more of the image he was given.
He then called upon his Artificial Assassination Technician program or AAT for short. He also frequented the name Atley.
"Atley, run some facial recognition scans on this guy's face, and bring me a consistent name." The man requested as programs would begin to run in the background of his laptop.
"Understood." A robotic female voice that had somewhat of a sophisticated accent answered.
He lastly checked the sender of the hit. He would only be met with four cryptic characters to the average casual, but it was as clear as day to any hacker who gave him the hit.
V$13
...
...
ASIC.
He furrowed his brows at why such a powerful crime organization gave him such a meager target for an asinine price. But before he could ponder on the thought for too long, he was brought some key info by his AI.
"Here is some information I gathered about the person of interest." Atley provided with a ping of notification. The man read the information that was spread across his monitor in an organized manner.
POP UP!
The information spanned from his last place of residence to his birth certificate to even the last place he was seen, which was conveniently in Lastation.
"...Nebula, eh. Your days are numbered." He threatened cryptically as he looked over his profile a few more times before he traced all of his recent activity in Lastation.
He was seen within a clothing store with another individual before changing his clothes. His shot of the camera however was blocked once he put on his hat and never looked up.
"He wears different clothes, but still retains his scarf..." The hitman noted as he then traced his path as he would have hacked into several surveillance and traffic cameras, tracking his progress. He then stopped by an inn, which wasn't too far from his current location. He wouldn't be seen leaving the inn, even up to this moment. He would be sitting on a bench outside, with his accomplice...
Smoking.
Hm.
"And he's still within the premises. But I still have to account for his little friend as well when drawing him out, as well as any other individuals that may be involved with him." The man thought as he tapped his foot, which would be dressed in brown combat boots.
"But if he managed to escape the clutches of ASIC, then he must be no slouch when it comes to power. I'll have to bring my all, no question." He uttered as he thought it over a couple more times.
...
...
...
...
...
ゴゴゴゴ...!
Then he accepted the hit.
CLICK!
The confirmation went through instantly as the timer would now be present on a side tab. He then closed his laptop, cutting off his time and disconnecting him, closing his torrent resetting his IP address as he got up.
His black smartwatch on his left wrist beeped as the timer was transferred onto its database instead. He flipped through some features as he would lock onto the location where his target was last seen.
TAP!...
SLIDE!...
DOUBLE-TAP!...
BEEP BEEP!...
He walked to another area of the warehouse, where a grey metallic box was present. Within the box, containing a multitude of weapons and gadgets that were "transacted" to him by a mystery funder.
He sifted through some firearms until he found one that seemed suitable for his preferences. It had a black unloaded G18, that was in near perfect condition. The assassin then opened a separate compartment fished out a few 9mm magazines and stored them in his pockets.
He had really deep pockets in his jet black jeans.
RELOAD!
ECHO!
He then put the last magazine into the gun itself, then cooking back the barrel, making a menacing sound as it echoed in the lonely warehouse.
He then put the safety on as he concealed it within his waist, over his black turtleneck, which showed off a body that was harshly trained to end the lives of others. He finally took a silencer and put it into one of his pockets.
He then moved to another area, which boasted many different bladed weapons.
He picked his favorite. The kusarigama. It was a love child between a chain and a sickle, with the long-chain being attached to the base of the handle. There was also be a metal ball attached to the end of the chain, for many different purposes in battle.
His variant appeared to be more high-tech in appearance, as it would have a carbon fiber grip, with a titanium, tungsten, and diamond blade, being crafted by a master underground blacksmith a few years back as a gift for his services. People remember, after all.
The chain was able to extend far beyond its regular blade range and could be retracted to its sickle state, which was what it was in at the moment. So it was more of a weaponized sickle than a kusarigama, but he liked to assume that it was on par with the fabled weapon type.
The steel ball on the end was also be filled with several different functions, such as explosives, anesthetic gases, and a smokescreen function. It was his prime murder weapons of choice for any closeup encounters, may it be for catching a moving target or pulling one towards him. He then held the weapon as he walked to another area.
It was his coat rack. He put on a simple dark grey business trench coat, leaving it open as it flapped before the mouth settled at his calves. He transferred his magazines from his jeans to his trench coat pockets within.
He also attached his kusarigama to his side, it being concealed as well.
He finally put on a fedora that was also dark grey, matching his coat as he fixed it onto his head.
He was very conservative about his fashion on thr job as his career would make him rather invisible. He walked towards the exit as he checked his watch, looking at the time.
21:47
"I've got some time until he dies. Might as well buy an espresso before the big job... My caffeine intake is concerning. " He mused to himself as he opened one of the large warehouse doors before closing it back, going to the nearest coffee shop.
"Have you called Nebula yet, IF?" Compa ask as she was in some cream pajamas, as she was getting ready for bed.
"Yep, but he hasn't been answering." IF sighed as she had called the god a total of 5 times, yet he ignored every single one.
She was beginning to get peeved at the fact that he was staying so long and was contemplating going out looking for him.
She didn't change out of her normal clothes as she was still waiting for all the party members to return before she went to take a bath and relax.
"If he doesn't answer this next call, I'm going out looking for the two of them." IF decided with a serious expression.
"Be careful if you're going out there, Iffy. There's all kind of creepy weirdos around now that start to lurk." Compa warned in a worried tone.
"I know, Compa. I'll watch my back as I go along. I just hope nothing bad happened to the two of them." The Guild Agent hoped as she walked to the door and opened it. The irony that it was Compa telling her that stung a wee bit.
"You sure you don't want to wait for Ge-Ge, Iffy?" The nurse asked, having her friend's safety in mind.
"She's taking a bath right now, and if we wait too long, something might happen to them, as unlikely as it seems. Trust me, Compa. I'll be fine." IF assured as she walked through the door.
But as she went out and turned, she saw both Nebula and AL.
Sitting there, in new clothes, which were arguably fashionable, if you were a 19-year-old hypebeast-
Smoking the whacky tobaccy.
Their eyes were red, signifying their altered state, as they both just sat on the bench that was outside their apartment door, and was overlooking the complex. The scent of cannabis perforated the area in a distinct scent as IF wrinkled and covered her nose as Nebula blew out a large puff of smoke.
AL was taking another hit as he looked to his right as the door opened, seeing the Guild Agent there, completely shocked that the two of them were there the whole time.
"...Oi," AL said in a lethargic sounding tone as he got the adventurer's attention.
Nebula then turned to him and would have a confused, half-lidded look.
"Eh?"
The fire user then nudged his friend and motioned his head towards a stunned IF.
Nebula then veered forward a bit and see the brunette standing there.
"IF... Hello... You look like you saw a ghost... Hehe hehe heh..." Nebula laughed at his comparison due to his current state of mind.
"You guys have been here the whole time?!" She asked, with a very annoyed tone.
"I mean... Where else would we be?..." AL responded with a 'no duh' look on his face.
SNORT!...
He then puffed some smoke from his nose like a dragon as he looked at the girl.
"You've got to be kidding me... And you! Why didn't you answer your phone!?" She interrogated.
"My... Phone..." The adventurer dug in his pocket and fished it out. It was dead as he tried to turn it on for a bit.
"That phone... is deader than a bitch, Neb," AL told him as he watched him try.
"Damn..." The high god cussed as he put it back. "You brought my charger... Right?" The god would ask.
"Yerr..." AL slurred.
"And you didn't check to see how much your phone was on before you told me that! How could you be so irresponsible!" IF said, now getting pissed.
"Yo, chill out... You're gonna... Disturb the neighbors." AL attempted to placate IF's anger.
But he was attacked next because of it.
"And the whole reason he even left was because of you! And for what, some new clothes?" She went on.
"IF, stop putting your panties in a twist... Go get laid then come back later, ya big worrypuss..." Nebula suggested, absent of any restraint for his words.
IF's face lit up in embarrassment at what the god had just told her and retaliated with an embarrassed tone.
"Oh shut up, you big perv! I was concerned about you guys' well-being for the past 5 hours, but if you like to be outside so much, then STAY OUT!" She said before storming back inside and slamming the door shut.
She locked it immediately after, signifying that they would most likely be sleeping outside from the result of her ire.
The two stoned males then stared at the door, before looking at each other. They then shifted their gaze to the parking lot down below before speaking again.
"C'mon man, look what you did..." AL said as he took another hit.
"What did I do? Tell her the truth?" The god replied in a know it all manner. "By the way she acted, I assumed I hit the nail on the head..." He further explained in his altered state.
"... Just because you're correct, doesn't mean that you're right," AL said back, causing the blue-haired man to look at him with curiosity.
"What?" He questioned before AL passed him the blunt again.
"IF... She's acting like that because she cares about us... Somewhat. And while you may be right about her needing to chill, all you... Really did was make the situation worse by telling her that." AL explained in a moment of higher thought.
"... Just think about it." His friend encouraged before blowing out a puff of smoke.
PUFF!
Nebula began to concentrate all of his latent brainpower, neurons becoming supercharged within his high state as he sifted throughout his brain, uncovering many mental ideologies as he looked for something about what AL was talking about.
He then shorted out seconds later, as he was too high to come up with any meaningful or coherent answers other than "Fuck it.".
He then passed the blunt to AL as the two of them smoked and talked for a bit more.
"Only you... Can come up with intelligent statements... While high..." Nebula sighed.
"It's a gift, that you do not possess." AL simply answered as Nebula took a hit.
"So... Moving on. Guess what." Nebula said to AL.
"Hm?"
"How am I high right now...?" Nebula questioned his buddy.
"..."
"..."
"That... Is a really good question." AL responded.
"I knew I shouldn't have smoked... Now I have to think about how my god powers allow me to get high." The god sighed as smoke came out of his mouth.
"...Think it's a loophole that you can smoke... But the CPUs probably can't?" AL asked.
"Well... I don't think they've been exposed to.
.. Stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, or pain killers so... I'm a living pioneer in that sense." Nebula chalked it up to.
"So they can...?" AL raised a brow.
"I guess if I use myself for reference... Just don't show Nepgear this." He asked his taller friend.
"Got it." AL didn't even need to look in his direction to ensure his responsible handling of the purple haze.
They sat in silence for a bit after he gave the god his word.
...
...
...
"Even while high, you still managed to achieve something... It's that damn plot..." AL lazily shook his fist in the air.
Nebula laughed at his antics.
"Now I can't even 420blazeit without you doing something new." The friend sighed, the smell of weed smoke apparent in his breath.
"I'm sorry I'm so relevant... To the plot." Nebula apologized with a grin on his face.
"Meh, I forgive you... I'm gonna go take a walk around the complex and make sure I can still feel my body... This shit is strong as fuck." He explained before slowly getting up, and walking away.
"Don't smoke the... Whole blunt, I'll... Be back." He left that condition for his friend as he went to the end of the corridor.
"Sure... Thing."
PUFF!...
Nebula said as he took another hit, then blew out a puff of smoke before, looking one last time at his friend before he walked downstairs.
UNLOCK!
OPEN!
As he left, Nepgear, in her lilac pajamas and purple bunny slippers, would come out of the door after unlocking it and look for the two males.
She turned to see Nebula there, sat on the bench by their door, and would be staring out. He quickly hid the item from Nepgear since she would be clueless on these types of things, and would not want her indulging in something that could mess with her psyche so easily.
Asi if it didn't mess with his own already.
He was a different case though and pretty far gone. AL was to blame for that.
She then spoke to the fellow CPU.
"Uhm... Nebula? Would you like to come inside?" She asked.
"...Not now. Just waiting for AL to come back... So that he doesn't forget which door we're staying in." He said as he closed his eyes, making sure the goddess didn't see them bloodshot from the purple haze.
"Oh. Well, I'm going to be locking the door now, so if you want to come in, just knock really loudly, ok?" She instructed as the boy nodded.
CLOSE!
And the door then closed.
LOCK!
The latch was heard from the inside as she locked it and walked back further within the room.
PUFF!
PUFF!
PUFF!
Nebula then took the blunt up again and take another hit. He would then puff it in a way that three rings of smoke came out and laughed at the little, but rather an impressive trick he had accomplished.
He looked at the state of the item he had in his hand. It was half-smoked already, so he decided to wait for AL as he sat there.
And waited.
...
And waited some more.
...
...
And then more.
...
...
...
He quickly grew bored as he waited for his friend.
...
...
A wee bit more.
...
"He better come back soon... Or else he's gonna have no holy herb to smoke." Nebula told himself as he then laid completely onto the bench, shifting his position to the side as he bid his time.
MUFFLED STEPS!...
The assassin was heading towards the complex, as he had his fedora tipped down so that his eyes were barely visible, only the grey orbs with murderous intent could be seen of looked at from a specific angle.
His hands were in his trench coat pockets as he walked down the lonely street, his boots barely making any noise as he walked, thanks to the specialized fabric they were comprised of, that canceled out 99.69% of sound.
Nice-
He neared his target location as Atley made a beeping signal on his watch.
"Change in target conditions. One of the accomplices has left the area. They are currently en route to your location." She chirped quietly.
This caused the assassin to squint his eyes in focus as the friend of the target would be crossing his way from the direction that his mini-map showed him.
DASH!
JUMP OVER!
SLIDE!...
CROUCH!
He entered the complex property from scaling over a wall, before and would hiding himself behind a car in the parking lot.
ELECTRONIC DISCHARGE!
Then, with a quick selective EMP wave, all security cameras would be deactivated before being reactivated and replaced with a repeat of the last two minutes of footage for the next two hours.
He then peered from the vehicle that he was hiding behind and see the friend of the target walking around the complex at a slow pace. His movements were slow as he was under the influence of whatever he had in his system. The assassin observed his direction as his eyes kept forward, never diverting from the stoner's path.
The hitman waited until he would walk all the way across from his previous position to the side of the complex, where the outside wall of the building was closely surrounded by a large wall, which he had just scaled over.
This provided a narrow entry point that the man could not escape from, effectively trapping himself in surroundings akin to an alleyway.
Once the man had reached that position, the assassin would get in position. He suddenly vanish as his body had rapidly increased in speed until he was by the outer corner of the pathway where the accomplice had just entered.
VANISH!...
HIDE!
AL turned his head after hearing the noise that was made when the assassin closed in on him and saw nothing. If he were not high, he'd leave to investigate where the noise came from.
But he couldn't care less at the moment, so he continued to walk.
"...Whatever..."
That would be a grave mistake.
The assassin then took out his firearm and applied the silencer on it. After that, he slowly walked out and aimed it at AL.
"Die."
PEW!
And then he pulled the trigger.
The compressed sound rang out as the bullet left the chamber. It flew at transonic speeds towards the back of AL's head.
DODGE!
But as the bullet reached AL's head, he violently yanked it to the right, and just only missed the bullet.
He quickly gained a spooked expression on his face as he twisted around to see the culprit who fired at him.
"Holy-"
PEW!
DIVE!!!
PEW!
ROLL!!!
PEW!
LUNGE!!!
PEW!
SLIDE!!!
PEW!
ROLL!!
But the assassin didn't hesitate and fire more shots at the male, causing him to dive and roll to maneuver the mid-air dangers before he finally found shelter behind the corner of the wall at the end of the path.
AL was now breathing heavily, his high being scared out of him as he was now aware of the situation he was in.
His eyes returned to their normal white as he literally shook off the effects of the drug as he dodged and ducked until he swung behind the corner of the building, now behind it as his brain went from high to how could this happen to me-
"What the fucknugget...!" He squeaked. He slowly regained his composure with a large gulp and peek from the corner, only to hear the cock of a gun as it pressed against the side of his head.
His heart dropped as his pupils shrank.
AL slowly moved his eyes to the side that the gun was pressing against him. He would then see the man with a cold, calculated gaze, with his squinted grey eyes with his finger on the silenced G18's trigger as his other hand was in his trench pocket, his hair blowing intimidatingly in the breeze.
CLENCH!
He then uttered these words as his grip tightened on the pistol.
"See you in hell."
And then with not a damn to give, the assassin pulled the trigger.
"Poggers-" AL quickly directed his sights to the face of his would-be killer.
PEW!
A/N:
Heya there, reader!
If you're seeing this, this is a rewrite of the chapter, just to correct some repetition, fix some spelling errors, and improve the spelling quality, especially in the earlier chapters.
So remember, italics and bold is going for gold.
A cliffhanger! And a dark one at that! Looks like AL's demise lies within an ALleyway.
I'll see myself out.
On a different note, an edgy OC. We'll see how that plays out in this type of story.
Also the 420blazeit reference.
Arriverderci.
Read and Review!