All rights are reserved to their respective owners. I own nothing in this piece of fiction except my OCs and the story itself.
"See anything suspicious, Nisa?" IF asked her superheroine partner.
"Nope. The presence of evil is not afoot!" She brightly responded, moving said feet with her crimefighting companion.
The two Makers currently occupied the area where the concert would be held later tonight. The mid-afternoon sun shined down on the city of Leanbox, including where the two were investigating any suspicious activity that ASIC may be behind.
Yet they couldn't find any real leads, hence their current situation.
"I'm starting to think this is a bit excessive of an investigation." The Guild Agent muttered to herself. They'd been searching for clues for close to a couple of hours, but besides the crews passing by to construct the stage for the event, everything seemed in place.
"What? Good must never laze about! Diligence is a key component of peace!" Nisa argued against the brunette's judgment. "IF, if we leave now, evil may very well have a chance to act without our watchful eye. I see this as obligatory supervision at the very least." Nisa's optimism for justice did help the somewhat bored Guild Agent lighten up.
"At least you're having fun." A small smile widened on the Planeptunian's lips as she observed her friend scout the area with the vigor of Gamindustri's number-one superheroine.
Yet in the corner of IF's eye, she saw a girl with purple hair that appeared downright identical to Nepgear's, as she walked into a conspicuous area behind the stage. Her body language was unnatural, almost as if there was something she was trying to hide with her hurried steps.
This certainly made the Guild Agent interested in her direction, following her.
"Nisa, I got a lead." The Guild Agent told her loud enough for Nisa to listen in, but soft enough for their target to be unaware of the fact of her pursuers.
Nodding silently, the two girls began to follow the Nepgear lookalike. Maintaining a distance of a few meters behind her to remain out of arising suspicion on their target, every now and then, they'd use the cover of a group of workers to blend in when she turned around.
They trailed the girl to the backstage area, desolate and quiet.
Hiding behind the corners of equipment put there, the two observed what she'd come to the back to accomplish.
"Hey! You said you'd meet me here!" She shouted, to the two girls' confusion, narrowing their eyes at the person, and who she was supposed to meet.
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?
A sound unfamiliar to the two heroines rang through the ear, screeching as they cringed at the unnaturally high-pitched sound before a portal opened. Blue and black swirled from what appeared to be an interdimensional portal, in the frame of a digital zero.
An entity walked out from the portal before it closed, the light around them brightening to its natural tone.
A woman around her height, taller and resting at 5'5" looked down at her before smiling. She had cyan eyes, yet her hair was a pale, bright white complexion that was cut short in a shaggy bob style with a dark hood that was currently off her head.
She wore a dark blue scarf that was ripped up and hung from behind her back, with her torse covered by a black corset fitted with buckles that held together an obsidian long-sleeved top that showed her midriff and pushed up her sizable double C cups.
The woman wore some navy blue gloves and spiked black shoulder pads, wearing a belt that held an insignia of sorts, holding up some faded navy blue leather pants and black leather boots that went up to her knees.
Her hands pulled up her hood, with her eyes now peeking out of the shadows, a devious smirk on her lips.
Her face was not unlike a certain pseudo-protagonist's. Yet it was still different, to the two's perplexity.
"Did you acquire the item I seek, Nepugia?" Inquired the mysterious woman, her voice eloquent yet direct.
"Sure do." She handed her a tablet, which the two Makers couldn't quite make out. But the woman's face lit up once she browsed through the contents of the device.
"Now, for my reward." The faker extended her hand to the lady.
She obliged, with zeros and ones manifesting in the palm of her hand. Before long, chips that radiated her blue energy were placed into the suspicious girl's hand.
"These are the augmented ASIC chips you requested. They can hack an online game's server and change the world settings at will, anonymously, and most importantly without even the slightest chance of being caught by moderators." The lady presented her side of the deal.
"A malware trade!" Whispered IF in surprise. The Guild had suspected something of the sort was occurring, but to see it in person was a completely different feeling.
"Alright, Nisa. This is what we've been waiting for." IF readied herself to jump into the fray.
Yet when she looked to her side, the superheroine was no longer in her opposing hiding spot.
Confused, IF looked around before spotting her above.
"RAIDĀĀĀĀĀĀĀ!-" Shouting at the top of her lungs of a certain aerial technique, the blue-haired heroine descended with the force of the righteous as she neared their position.
"KICK!"
Nisa's foot kicked through the floor, causing a hole to form from underneath the backstage, with the dust from the floor rising.
But a shuriken suddenly zoomed from the clouds, the heroine moving her head to narrowly dodge the projectile before her face bled from the close call's wind pressure.
IF noticed it, but had to back her companion up. She skedaddled to the Heroine of Justice's side before the dust cleared.
The two girls stood in front of them, with the Nepgear's look alike's sailor uniform sporting the ASIC heart logo.
"So you are with ASIC!" Nisa gasped, her face switching from shock to hostility.
"What gave it away?" Her hair covered her eyes, but despite no eyes, the mocking aura could be felt by the two girls.
"The distribution of ASIC paraphernalia is illegal. We'll be detaining you two for questioning." IF folded her arms, her face hardening into a serious glare.
"This is what your world would consider the authorities, I presume?" Rather than an annoyance, curiosity graced her features.
"Yeah, they're big pains in our asses. What you should be really interested in is how we deal with them." Taking out a metal slugger from the hit series Super Bash Sisters, the Nepgear imposter menacingly swatted her free hand with the weapon.
ゴゴゴゴ!
"Is that so? I think I might have an idea about what you people do then." Outstretching her hand, a digitized fūma shuriken digitally appeared in an aura of 0s and 1s.
It had many futuristic patterns, and the woman held it by the center. She locked eyes with IF, deciding her target.
"This is gonna get hairy." The Guild Agent spoke, before revealing her Qatars. Their metallic surface flashed under the backstage light.
"Then let's cut this operation short." Nisa got into her crime-fighting stance, with her scarf flowing in the wind just like her opponent's companion's own.
With her words, the four women engaged in a 2v2 catfight.
IF clashed her weapons against the mysterious woman's shuriken.
Sparks flew between their weapons, with the Guild Agent maintaining her ground with her opponent's arms shaking from the sudden force that the petite girl exerted.
Both of them skidded away from the point of contact before the white-haired woman dug into her pocket and flung dozens of shuriken in a moment.
They were certainly quick, resembling instantaneous movement with how they blurred and stretched from their speed.
Yet IF ran from the place she stood, with the line of shuriken following her, even as she jumped onto the wall and ran on its surface.
Even as IF evaded the projectiles, the lady persisted with the barrage of sharp objects.
Until IF jumped from the wall and slid to a stop as the last shuriken zoomed into her face. She raised a hand, utilizing the flat side of her blade, and deflected the projectile back at the woman.
The lady dematerialized into digital numbers before materializing away from the path of the shuriken as it neared her.
The faker on the other hand was struck in the arm, causing her to stagger and open herself up to Nisa.
Who landed a solid 540-degree spin kick to her face as the ASIC member swiveled from the recoil before landing on the ground.
She quickly rolled out of the way of a stomp by the heroine and swung her bat in an attempt to strike out at the Maker's shins.
But Nisa's reaction time saved her from a painful injury, jumping over not only the bat but was quick enough to use the weapon as a platform to somersault in the air before shooting her legs out as she fell.
The Nepgear lookalike guarded, but the impact from the Heroine of Gamindustri's kick put her body into the floor, denying her frame with a grunt of pain.
Pulling herself out of the hole, the girl got to her feet before winding up her bat.
Nisa had sprung back into the air, outstretching her leg in an attempt to kick the ASIC member a second time.
But as she neared, the girl swung with dangerous power behind her maneuver, the air roaring around her bat with the sound of a rumbling crowd from seemingly nowhere.
The blue heroine realized this, before switching her form from a dropkick to an axe kick, and brought down her leg on the side of her adversary's bat as it swung.
BOOM!
This resulted in the sound of an echoing ring from the game that sent Nisa sprawling, as the lilac-haired imposter was dragged from the clash with her bat by the recoil.
Nisa's body was about to collide with the strange woman before her eyes noticed and grabbed the girl by her scarf with insane speed.
"Ack?!" Squeaked the heroine, before she was yanked and thrown to IF, who became shocked with a sweat drop on her face.
The two collided with each other IF grabbing onto Nisa's body, using her frame as a brace to prevent the both of them from tumbling.
When they stopped, IF placed Nisa on her feet.
"Thank you, IF. What a great friend you are to save me from my peril." She shows gratitude to her brunette buddy.
"No problem, but we're not out of the woods yet. Look!" IF pointed, as the woman rose her hand before making a hand sign.
As she did so, two copies of the lady spawned beside her from digital pixels, identical in appearance, each with a giant shuriken.
"Sanbyōshi!"
The trio of opponents each threw their large shurikens, yelling out their move in unison.
All three shuriken approached their position with haste, with the Wind Walker and the Heroine seemingly cornered.
Yet what the woman didn't expect them to do was crouch in perfect sync, making all three shurikens clash against each other and bounce back to their owners.
Both of them then jumped into the air, before IF grabbed Nisa by her leg, spun around, and threw her in the direction of an unsuspecting Nepugia.
Her jaw is slowly unhinged before she attempted to block but was kicked in the jaw before she could react, sending her hurtling to the ground with the heroine sliding on her face.
Meanwhile, IF looked down before she shouted out her own SP Skill.
"La Delphinus!"
A blue pillar of fire swallowed the trio, and when it subsided, nothing remained.
IF was suspicious, as her attack wasn't nearly powerful enough to vaporize, only incapacitate.
Then it hit her.
"Don't look behind you." The woman's voice whispered.
"?!"
SLAM!
Literally.
The Guild Agent smashed into the floor, before rolling out of a curb stomp from the dimensional damsel.
She then jumped in the air, twisting and twirling whilst sending multiple shurikens in the brunette's direction.
IF parried them, but they were a distraction for a more devastating move.
"Gah!" IF felt her side punctured by a sharp object.
The fūma shuriken was lodged into her ribs, with the pain burning from her wound.
"Fufufu... How unprofessional of you to get distracted." She teased the Guild Agent.
"H-How...!" IF couldn't believe it.
"Now why would I tell you how it works? All you need to know is that you'll be dealt with soon enough." A taunting grin with a snide face that reminded her too much of a certain pudding-eating goddess irritated her.
"Don't give me...!" She grabbed the blade.
"H-Hey!" The woman struggled, but IF's grip was stronger than she thought.
"THAT CRAP!" Swinging her foot, she front-kicked the lady away from her weapon, making her tumble on the floor.
IF then ripped the giant weapon from her side, wincing and staggering before flinging the object to Nepugia with the intent to maim.
The girl in question, manifested a tick mark as this was the second time the brunette pulled this stunt.
"SCREW OFF!" She yelled, before batting the weapon away, taking her eyes off of Nisa who slugged her.
"Ow! You bitch!" Nepugia snarled at the heroine.
"It takes a certain caliber of person to know one!" She retorted, earning the blue-haired woman a gasp of offense.
The large shuriken was caught by the lady with a single hand before she lowered it.
"You annoying little girl! Your heart rate should be as flat as your chest!" She snarled, to which IF gained a tick mark on her forehead.
"Say that to my face, you slut!" Her cheeks were red in feminine fury, and the Guild Agent momentarily lost her composure.
"Tch. Forget it. Why are you even working with ASIC, anyway!" She asked the woman.
"For information. Duh. Knowledge is power!" She said before closing her eyes.
"How about I give you a demonstration!" Opening them, her cyan orbs deepened to a glowing admiral blue with digital 1s for pupils, and digital 0s surrounding them.
"Behold!" She brandished her technique.
"My Datagan!" Her eyes glowed, the light visible from the brunette's position.
"... I'm assuming you're a fan of that one ninja anime." IF deadpanned.
And she thought she was chunnibyou.
"Hey! You didn't even let me get to the best part." The woman pouted.
"Don't care, didn't ask." The Wind Walker ran up to her before attempting to attack.
She stabbed through the woman's chest, getting a critical hit off with her body falling to the ground.
"Bleh..." Pixelated blood escaped her mouth, not unlike what monsters would turn into upon being slain. Her eyes gained rings of fatigue with her eyes becoming glassy.
She grabbed onto IF's color, struggling with what life force she had left.
Raising her finger, she flipped her off.
"What the-" A cross look washed over the brunette agent.
Before flipping her finger to the side.
IF twisted her head, to see that the woman was completely fine.
"HELL?!" IF gawked, her eyes comical saucers.
She looked back down, to see that her previous body was missing.
"That's what you get for being a meanie. Flat chest and a cold heart. Terrible combination in my opinion." She shook her head before a jeering smile graced her lips.
"Grr...!" IF growled at the verbal humiliation, but kept her cool. If she wanted to get out of this, she'd need to keep her head on her shoulders.
"Demonic Inferno-"
HALT!
...?
IF began to muster her SP to perform a signature attack but found it hard to move after uttering the name of the ability.
"Not so fast. Did you really think I'd allow you to cast a skill?" On the verge of chuckling, the woman walked up to a stiff Iffy.
"Not if my lag switch has anything to say about it." She wagged her finger.
"Ask long as you're in my line of sight, you're bound to that spot right there!" Pointing, she laughed at her opponent's predicament.
Sweat rolled down IF's face, once again put between a rock and a hard place.
Worse yet, she poked the Guild Agent's forehead, before displaying a green bar above her head.
"And this is your health bar. And I'm just gonna move it..." The woman paused, before grabbing the tip of the green bar.
And moving it down, the bar shortening in length as IF felt it difficult to keep her wits about her, feeling weak.
"Until you die. Muahahaha!" She laughed evilly, but it just came out more goofy than anything else.
"Her health was dragged into the red zone, with the vision of the Guild Agent becoming blurry and darkening, close to her demise.
That was, until-
- A Winner Has Been Decided! -
"What?!" The mysterious madam looked away, disengaging the lag switch she'd set on IF.
Nepugia had been successfully defeated by Nisa, with a large bump on her head, steaming from the fresh hit as the Heroine of Gamindustri stood victorious.
STAB!-
The woman turned her back to the Guild Agent, but suddenly felt two blades enter her back as pixels fell from her wounds.
"Forgetting... Something?" IF huffed, the tiredness from her health bar apparent, vitality stripped with a faint smile on her face.
"Used my distraction to your advantage. What a rookie mistake." The wounded woman spat.
Nisa took the unconscious girl's bat and threw it, having listened to the woman's conversation and estimating her direction with her throw.
SMACK!
The Guild Agent dropped to her knees before the iconic sound of the Bash Bat rang, thwacking the woman square in the face.
Nisa rushed to IF's side, pulling her up to her feet.
"I have you, my ally. Do not fret, for I will be your legs in your time of need." The Heroine of Gamindustri assured the Guild Agent.
"Thank you... Nisa..." IF breathed out heavily. She was still reeling from the effects of whatever the strange woman did to her green bar.
Speaking of which, they turned to see that the lady moved her standing to her felled companion's side, although she didn't look like she was going to assist her unconscious associate.
"Looks like you two managed to knock out my companion." She admitted with a faltering expression. "But don't get your hopes too high, for I already got what I desire." She giggled, impure intentions behind her laughter.
"We will bring the fist of justice upon you, evildoer!" Nisa pointed a finger to the woman. But she simply continued laughing, almost as if the threat meant nothing.
"Remember this occasion as the time you were outdone by VPN!"
POOF!
She flashed a brilliant smile before holding up a hand and disappearing in a puff of smoke, leaving behind nothing but a digital log that soon dissipated into binary code.
IF retracted her Qaters before taking out one of her phones from her trench coat's inner pockets.
"Crud..." The Guild Agent grumbled.
To her dismay, it was busted from absorbing some of the damage that the lady's shuriken inflicted upon her body.
"Taking out another phone, it was somewhat bloody but fine. After dialing a few numbers, she connected to a line.
"Hello? Is this the Leanbox Guild? Yes, I'd like to notify the apprehension of an ASIC member..." She began, with Nisa placing on a wall before looking for something to tie up the unconscious Nepugia with.
Elsewhere, Compa and 5pb. were browsing the guest list that the idol had in her hands.
"W-Well, it seems like we're supposed to meet Juniper around here somewhere." She timidly looked around, searching for the boy band.
"Don't worry, 5pb.! We'll find them soon!" Compa's bubbly personality bounced off the timid offstage idol as the girl glanced at her cream-haired acquaintance.
"At least you're being optimistic about this!" The blue-haired idol had a wry smile, still uncomfortable around the cheery Nurse-In-Training, but feeling marginally better due to the positive energy that she radiated.
They wandered the area for a bit before finally encountering the boy band.
And what they were doing was quite...
Er...
"Hey, lady. Check out our hit songs~ I'm sure they'll rock your world just like me~" In a voice much too personal in tandem with his proximity, one of the members attempted to merchandise and hit on a potential fan simultaneously.
"Uhm, I'm sorry but I can't accept. I'm busy right now." She told him, yet her response fell on deaf ears.
"C'mon, babe. You can't even listen to one single? I'll let you listen in my ride~." Another one appeared and continued the interaction, to her dismay.
"I believe I said no...!" She denied him once more, becoming uncomfortable in his presence.
"Don't be like that..." Invading her personal space, another member stuck the CD in her face, putting his hand around her waist. "I'm sure there's something you want from me." He persisted, as her face became visibly concerned, with owlish eyes and a large frown.
"Look, they're harassing that poor worker over there!" Compa pointed out, with 5pb. looking in the direction with a shocked face.
"Oh no! That's terrible for their PR! If their fans find out, this could ruin their reputation, and kill the hype or the concert!" The idol was jittery at the consequences of what the boy band's behavior could entail.
"Then we gotta stop them!" Asserted the Nurse-In-Training. Compa was quick to rush into the situation, with the idol not too far behind.
They arrived at the scene before the nurse stepped in front of the three members of the boy band.
"Hey! You three leave that poor girl alone! Can't you see she's not interested!" The Nurse-In-Training shouted, startling the worker behind her, as well as the men in front of her from the spontaneous entrance she made.
"What do we have here?..." One of them rose a brow, inspecting the new face that appeared.
"Looks like we got a girl with some... Funbags." Hinting at his less-than-pure sights, another laughed in the background.
"You shouldn't harass people when they don't want to do something! You three should be ashamed of yourselves!" Whatever seriousness Compa tried to muster in her tone, the brains of those she was trying to convince weren't paying attention to what they heard, but rather what they saw.
"Look, girlie. Why don't you relax and we can all take this back to the limo." The last member butted in, closing the distance between the two of them, yet COmpa was unswayed by his attempts.
"Nuh-uh. I think you guys should leave if you're going to be like this." Pouting, the cross Nurse-In-Training folded her arms as she raised her head in response.
"And what if we don't, huh? What are you gonna do?" He got up in the nurse's face, his own visage becoming a mix of taunting and annoyance at his previous activity being interrupted.
ドドドド!
Compa's face became all smiles, but the shadows collecting underneath her eyes told of another emotion that made the three guys pale.
"Then I guess I'll just have to give you a mental checkup, won't I?" Taking out her giant syringe, the needle flashed before gleaming menacingly, her face betrayed by the intimidating weapon that was filled with a questionable solution.
"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" One of the members screamed, childhood trauma back in full force before running for the hills.
Another member's pants suddenly felt moist, with a yellow stain apparent near his crotch. Embarrassment and fear mixed together took over rational thought with him tucking his tail and running away.
And the last member promptly fainted on the spot, collapsing from fright with his soul comically floating out of his mouth, with all three band members incapacitated so to speak.
It was safe to say both the worker and 5pb. were stunned by the order of events that just took place before them.
"Uhm... T-Thank you, miss..." Even the worker that she bailed out was somewhat afraid of her, now that she had that scary expression and giant syringe.
"No problem!" Her face immediately lit up, genuine happiness replacing masked aggression. Putting away the weapon, she turned to the worker who humbly bowed before going back to complete her task.
"Wow, Compa! I didn't know you had it in you to scare people like that!" 5pb. told her as she walked up to her after observing the scene from a safe distance.
"Well, Neptune always told me that I looked really creepy with my syringe when I was threatening people, so I just did the same thing here. I'm glad it worked, too. Those guys didn't look like they were going to listen to me." She sighed, reminiscing on a simpler time.
"Well, I'm glad you managed to drive them away. But now we don't have any guests for the concert." The idol singer realized, before her mood became downtrodden, a lack of extras that Chika herself recommended.
"We'll deal with it, so let's just find IF and Nisa. Speaking of which, where did Gust go?" Comical saucers replaced the ditzy Nure-In-Training['s eyes upon noticing that the alchemist had been absent.
"Now that you mention it... I didn't think I saw her when she left." 5pb. shared the ignorance of their party member's absence.
But as fate would have it, something tugged the back of Compa's sweater as she looked down.
"I'm right here." Gust was revealed, her hand on the wool sweater. The two girls jumped from seeing the alchemist suddenly appear after an extended amount of time away from the narrative spotlight.
"Where did you go?!" The idol was flabbergasted.
"Some workers wanted me to help them repair some supplies with my alchemy, so I charged them for it. What were you two up to?" She explained the reason for her disappearance which earned her some interested looks.
"Just scared off some weirdos. Have you seen IF and Nisa?" The Nurse-in-Training asked.
"Yeah, I saw them go backstage while I was converting materials. I'll show you the way." The alchemist obliged, with the trio of Makers heading backstage.
Yet the sight the three girls beheld when they arrived behind the scenes was strange, out of context.
Some might even say bizarre.
IF was bloodied and leaning on a wall talking to someone, while Nisa was using some displaced wires to tie up a girl that looked eerily similar to Nepgear, with the exception of the clothes that she wore were from ASIC with digital shuriken slowly dissolving into code in the environment.
The Guild Agent finished up her call before looking towards the others.
"Hey, guys. What took you so long?" She smiled, yet winced. Despite her mood, she was still wounded and fatigued from the fight.
"Iffy!" Compa rushed to her side, before inspecting her body. "Where does it hurt?! Don't worry, I'll patch you right up, on my pride as a Nurse-In-Training! Just don't bleed out on me!" She borderline doted on her injured bestie, to which the Windwalker of Gamindustri simply sighed warmly at her antics.
"What happened here?!" 5pb. was at a loss for words.
"ASIC happened, dear citizen. Now that we have contacted the proper authorities, we must keep a watchful eye on our captured foe." Nisa brandished a tied-up nepgear, whose head was slumped forward, slowly coming to.
"Well, I can contact Chika directly." 5pb. told the heroine, who got the attention of the Guild Agent.
"Really? Great. Give me her number and I'll contact her directly." The brunette agent told her, as they exchanged contacts.
Once that was done, further preparations to secure a possibly vital link to ASIC's intel were being done by the second.
"Why wasn't Moonbucks here instead of this place." Taleia rolled her eyes, looking to the window, keeping watch for the deadly Blue Shell.
"Moonbucks doesn't have cute girls in maid outfits, that's why," Nebula sniggered as he leaned back on the cushion seat that he shared with MAGES., unaware of the pointed look that the half-elf sent him.
"Perhaps I judged you too harshly." Gris scratched his chin from the response, secretly impressed by the GPU's reasoning with the elfling's glare being redirected to the god next to her.
"You judge everyone too harshly." The eccentric Joestar rolled his eyes at the notion.
"Quite the contrary. Spending time with you all has caused me to soften up." The successor to Hokuto Shinken admitted.
"Soften up? Didn't you cripple a child?" The Mad Magician raised a perplexed brow.
"That child is lucky he's still breathing. If not for unconscious behavioral mimicry perpetrated by the chameleon effect, I'd put two bullets in his head instead of one." Taking out his phone, he texted a contact.
"Because that was the best thing you could've done in that situation." The elven soldier gave the hitman a dull glare.
"Of course. Somebody had to slap the god complex out of that little loudmouthed shit." Snorted the silver-haired manslayer. "I was the only one who could; therefore it was the right thing to do." Pride was seen in his features.
"Yeah, right." Doubt filled the elf's heart. "You're just a bully." She made her stance.
"Bully? Really?" Snarked the GPU. "Come on, I find the term articulate asshol-"
"-Let's move on from the morality of child abuse and enjoy the ambiance of this restaurant, please?" Nebula stopped the impending tangent.
"The last thing I want is people to start looking at us weird if you two start arguing about child safety laws." Switching his glances between the two, the pseudo-protagonist butted in.
"Tch. So be it." Huffed the GPU, dropping the rebuttal.
Sighing, the other GPU looked around and took in the establishment. The aesthetic was very dreamy yet gothic, almost as if it attempted to make its customers feel that they had entered into one of those slice-of-life episodes where the cast enters a maid café-
Wait a minute.
'You just realized that you were describing the current situation, weren't you?' A smug look appeared on Nebula's face.
Shut up.
'Compensating for mediocre writing by silencing your creations. How mature.' The deity mentally snarked.
This comes from the man who thought that yelling 'Can he beat Goku though' after one of his friends beat stage four ligma was appropriate.
'Hey, that entire situation was hilarious!' The GPU justified his actions.
But your actions were ultimately immature.
'...Touché.' Pondered the adventurer before a waitress appeared before the table.
Although the mental meta dialogue was engaging, something took him out of his mind.
A maid, dressed in a French lolita outfit stood in front of the table. She was rather tall, standing around 5'8" with deep blonde hair in a fluffy, customized medium-length bob cut with flared-out sides, back, and front bangs that hung over the left side of her face.
Her sparkling blue eyes looked between the four customers with her white flawless skin borderline glowing from the products those at the table smelled, including a nice fragrance that Nebula couldn't quite pinpoint.
"Like, welcome to the Lolita Lounge you guys!" Her voice was upbeat and with a strong valley girl accent present in her tone. "My name is Clover, and I'll be your waitress for today!" She presented the four with their menus.
With Nebula particularly, she winked at him as she handed him his menu, to which Taleia's eye visibly twitched at the exchange.
"Something the matter?" MAGES. rose an eyebrow, her tone amused in contrast to her neutral face, albeit with a small upturn.
"Nothing at all." She said in an artificially cherry tone, something the intelligent magician noted.
"Hey now, don't wink at me too much. You won't be able to see something you like." Nebula attempted to flirt, Gris' face contorting into someone who held back their laughter as if their life depended on it.
"Oh, really? What made you think I saw something like that?" She entertained the flirt, a smug face of her own.
The blue GPU simply chuckled to himself, before swinging his head with his hair swaying dreamily before half-lidded eyes gazed into the waitress', with a million Credit smile and moving his head to a place where the light would hit him just right.
rizz sounds
Clover's eyes widened in shock before hearts replaced them, to which she quickly regained her composure before her face reddened with a soft yet prominent blush.
"I see your point, there." She giggled, to the half-elf's growl in the back.
"Well, I won't hold you back any longer. I'm sure you've got other tables, girlie." Even his accent changed, resembling Vergo's as he further enthralled the blonde.
"Totes! I won't make you wait too long, cutie!" She squealed before moving away, right as Gris busted a gut.
"Bahahaha! Are you serious?! That's how you talk to women?" In between gasps, he soaked up the interaction completely.
"I thought I did pretty well." Nebula's eyes became saucers, surprised at his place as a laughingstock.
"You put on an accent after she hears your voice, and then you pose in the ceiling light like one of those influencers. You have the rizz of a vapid fad." He ripped into his colleague's ability in women.
"No way. That's not even the first time I've done it." Nebula defended his proficiency.
He then took out a rock and put it down on the table; his Sharicite.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence permeated throughout the table. Gris' laughter, Taleia's jealousy, and MAGES. indifference all coalesced into exasperation, each individual with a sweat drop.
"... Are you fucking kidding me." The assassin's face fell into a deadpan.
"Nebula, this is a rock." The halfling's brows knitted into a piteous arch.
"You both have something in common." MAGES. told the GPU.
"What's that?" Nebula rose a brow.
"Density." She replied, to which the deity under scrutiny huffed.
"Bwahaha! Nebula slander beckons me." Vanns crawled out of the sleeve of Nebula before jumping onto the table.
"You of all insects should be defending me. YOU WERE THERE!" Nebula poked the ant.
Yet his finger was bit, causing him to yelp in pain.
"I'm your surveillance ant, not your emotional support ant." Vanns denied.
"Besides, the mighty Brave Heart falling in love with a rock is fitting for someone who's dumb as rocks." Cackled the puny animal.
"Y'know what, fine. There is no goddess that's totally into me inside of the rock. I'm simply suffering from mental illness." Folding his arms, he deadpanned to the table.
"Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery." Gris snorted, before Vanns and he shared a laugh.
They laughed, but what they didn't recognize as opposed to MAGES. and Taleia was the green chip he pulled out.
TELEPORT!
They were about to say something, but he then disappeared in a burst of chaotic energy.
TELEPORT!
This phenomenon left the ladies shocked before he appeared back in his seat moments later.
He slammed down the object on the table, next to Vanns, as it was his turn to shout.
"SON OF A B-" He caught himself before clearing his ant throat, which he didn't actually have but for the sake of interspecies analogies, we'll roll with it.
"Moon rock," Nebula announced, to the stupefied awe of the elf and intrigue of the magician.
"So... Your side piece?" Gris chortled.
That earned him an extraterrestrial object to the face, which he grabbed and inspected.
"Hm... Moon rock, huh? Ant proxy, you're an alien. Verify this rock to see if it's legit, or if Nebula's compensating for not being able to pull anything that doesn't look like a geological object." Roasting his fellow god, a tick mark appeared on Nebula's head.
"I have explicit things to say about your mother, but I will listen to my conscience and refrain." Seethed the blue-haired adventurer.
Whilst the two males were a hop, skip, and jump from turning the table into a Nepcord call, Taleia suddenly heard the voice that poked her ex-boyfriend not too long ago.
"Isn't that the guy on the forums?" A voice asked cautiously.
"Yeah. He's worth 150 million do- I mean, credits." Another one answered although she fumbled a word that the elf didn't know.
Very suspicious.
"What? But he's like super dreamy~ There's no way someone like him could be bad!" Clover defended the GPU which made Taleia feel relieved, before annoyed remembering what she had done earlier.
"You said that about Kyle, Tad, Blaine-" The first voice was cut off.
"Hey, Blaine and I made a mutual agreement! And those other lameos were evil!" The blonde defended her relationship choices.
"Yeah, Sam. Haven't you been interested in villains before?" Snorted the second voice, still named.
"Like Scam." Clover brought up, the smugness oozing from her voice.
"H-Hey! The same reason you justify your villain crushes is the same way I'll justify mine. Ignorance!" She almost shouted, Taleia putting a hand on her mouth in mock shock at the juicy gossip.
"Funny, I didn't know someone so intelligent could be so ignorant." In a spark of brightness, she laid down a rebuttal that had the other girl sputtering.
"Hey! Cut it out you two! If we want to capture him, we have to work together." The second girl said.
"Alex's right. Just act natural and he'll say something stupid. Then, we'll isolate him from the others and take him down." Sam strategized, to which the bemused face of Taleia dropped into one of seriousness.
"Seems like you've heard something interesting." MAGES.' brow arched, looking from her menu.
"Those ladies want to profit off Nebula's capture." Grimaced the elf hybrid.
"Oho. It seems you're worth more than you look, Nebula." The Mad Magician garnered the deity's attention, causing him to turn his head.
"Wha?..." He was initially confused.
"You didn't tell me you had a bounty?" A hushed tone from his ex made him realize what she was referring to.
"Well, I haven't seen any bounty hunters try to claim it. Don't tell me the valley girl-" Gris rolled his eyes before he looked at the women's expressions, silence be falling his own.
"... Only this blue bastard could end up in a situation like this." Sighed the assassin.
"So what do we do, wise guy? It's not like we can just leave. They're on to us." Nebula told him.
"Didn't you just teleport?" Vanns voice rose in skepticism.
"... So it IS a moon rock." Gris accepted the rock's status as extraterrestrial.
"She's coming back!" Talia whispered as Clover returned to the table, with Vanns transforming into a...
A fumo.
His smug face became immortalized into organic cotton to perpetually piss off the GPU he surveyed.
"So, have you guys decided on your orders?" She asked, her eyes looking between the table before stopping in the blue-haired pseudo protagonist's direction.
"May I get an expresso, love?" Nebula asked with his apparent accent.
"Of course!" she chirped, writing it down.
"I'll get a black coffee," Gris told her, the scribbling of Clover's pen audible.
"Like your soul?" Snickered Nebula.
"Get your rocks off first before you talk about tropes." A swift rebuttal silenced the adventurer.
"
"A boba tea for me." Taleia opted for a rather popular drink.
"Do you contain Doc Tear Popper in this establishment?" The magician asked with a raised brow.
"Uh, I don't think so." The blonde waitress made a confused expression.
"Drat. Then I'll take a cola." Slumping, the Mad magician settled for less.
"Alright, I'll be back with those orders!~" She sang before leaving, with a melodic voice that made Nebula raise an interested brow at the pitch.
"While she's gone... Maybe you can explain what exactly is that chip you got there." MAGES. pointed at the Chaos Dorito, with the others directing their gaze to her.
"Well, I don't know much about it, but it allows me to travel through dimensions." He showed the chip, which looked more crystalline in appearance as it reflected the sunlight through its glow.
"Without proper coordinates, the destination is random. But I've never been in too much of a pickle while reversing space-time, so it's pretty fun." Beamed the GPU.
"So where did you go?" The elf was curious.
"Well, first I went to the realm of the gods." The adventurer brought up.
"So you went to Asgard? Or was it Olympus?" Gris snorted.
"No. Celestia." For once, Nebula was in a position to correct the assassin.
"Wait, you ACTUALLY went to Celestia?" Taleia was shocked.
"Yeah, that was me. I even managed to rizz up a goddess." Rubbing under his nose with a sly smile, the Joestar was proud of his romantic endeavor.
"You mean the rock?" Vanns interjected.
"Stuff it!" Nebula pointed at the plushie.
"I already am, retard." Giggled the fumo.
"If it wasn't against fumo protection rights, I'd throw you into a trash compactor!" Grabbing the doll by the body, he shook it around before placing it back down.
"She even gave me the ability to do this!"
...GLOW!
Nebula's irises became yellow with power signals, his hair's ends glowing blue, and the volume of his hair extended to his shoulders.
"What!? But I just got a power-up like three chapters ago!" Gris complained, grimacing at the speed that Nebula kept up with.
"Learn to share!~" Mocking the edge lord, Nebula cackled. He then relaxed, before the cosmetic appearances faded with his hair receding to normal.
"Next, I went to a mystical land called Siberia and bullied a girl who had an awful god complex. Her brain activity was almost as small as her breasts, to be honest. She said something about Herrschers and killing all of humanity. Y'know, final boss dialogue." Waved off the GPU.
"What?!" Gris and Taleia reacted accordingly.
"And you let her get away!?... Why?!..." The elfling exclaimed, before looking around and lowering her tone.
"I was saving face back then, but she was probably one of the most powerful entities I've ever encountered. Her power felt like a bottomless pit, so it's safe to say that I'll need NewGame Plus." Admitted Nebula, not prideful enough to realize his shortcomings.
"That is factual, Nebula was too scared to throw hands with an anemic eleven-year-old girl." Vanns ribbed.
"You wasn't talking all that shit when Lord Aizen pulled up, yo." A face that could only be described as a certain meme with a defined look associated with a certain chemist teacher's wife was made.
"You shit yourself when he put us in his big black box, yo." His face continued to maintain its exasperated features. "Uh-huh. I told them everything." One last look of haughty superiority before the table burst out laughing.
"Ha-ha. Very funny. You forgot to tell them the part where they jumped you, and you almost got Swiss-cheesed by a sword that could extend." Droned the doll. The laughing was now at the meme lord instead of with him
"For a minute there, I thought Nebula was actually funny." Laughed Gris.
"Yeah, yeah. Go drown in a raindrop because you crawled back into my sleeve because of the rain in the next dimension, you manufactured softie." A deadpan Nebula caused the fumo to growl, his smug mouth became a pout.
"All hail Bitch Heart, slayer of overgrown seafood." Sarcasm oozed from the fumo.
"Hey! I won that fight! Fairly easily as well." Responded the semi-transformed adventurer.
"Even so, I distinctly remember you running away from a bald superhero," Vanns recalled.
"You and I both know a single punch would reduce us to smoldering ash and steaming blood." Nebula narrowed his eyes.
"Woah. Who's this?" Gris was as intrigued as he was off-put.
"I don't know, but if I go back, I really dont want to find out." Beads of sweat formed on the GPU's forehead.
"Who could possibly elicit such fear from you?" MAGES. grew curious, as it was her nature to do so.
"Only a monster hidden under the flesh of a man could be so terrifyingly powerful." Shuddered Nebula.
"If that annoying brat was otherworldly, then that man was nothing short of ungodly in terms of strength." The adventurer scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"Then what about that 17-year-old you ran away from?" Brought up the ant.
"What about her? She's definitely no pushover, but I can't wrap my head around what makes her so powerful." The GPU earnestly answered.
"Who might this girl be?" MAGES. inquired.
"She says her name is Yukari." Nebula turned his head to her, which made the mage widen her eyes with interest.
"Hm? What's that face for?" Taleia noticed the expression on the Mad Magician's face change.
"Nothing. Just that Nebula managed to survive an encounter with someone who can bend the laws of physics." Coughing into her fist at the last part, Gris' eyes darted to the adventurer.
"What." The Lastationite deadpanned, half-annoyed, half-expectant.
RIP!
His dull glare soon darted to the side, where a mysterious eye had appeared.
Peering through a portal that took the shape of a gash through space, its interior contained dark purple that mimicked a void. The ends were tied with red ribbons, which gave the assassin a feeling that this wasn't a random or surprisingly normal occurrence.
"Where did that portal come from?" Squinting his eyes, the edge lord went for his weapon.
MAGES. eyes widened at the phenomenon, with Taleia jolting in surprise at the event.
"Ack!" She yelped, quickly bracing herself for some event.
The eye eerily stared at Gris with unsettling stillness, before its eye shifted to Nebula.
Its once neutral disposition became somewhat angered, as the meme lord took notice.
"So this is where you ran off to~" An all-too-familiar voice was heard from the gap as the eye dialed.
BOOM!
The loud sound shook the building to the point the glass vibrated violently, with the entire café jolting with fright.
Nebula's hand bolstered a large orange and black pistol that shot a round into the eye, causing it to shut before the portal closed.
"NEBULA, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Taleia screeched, the heart-stopping sound the gun made almost causing her to spring out of her seat on instinct.
"Whoops. Er... Didn't think I put so much kick into it." Sweat dropped the GPU. His expression was met with a spooked elfling's comical glare.
"Where'd you find a gun like that?!" Gris' brow rose with interest, with the Chaos Dorito raising in response. His interest then shifted to the Dorito.
"Atley, note that I need to find one of those Chaos Doritos." He spoke into his watch. It beeped in compliance.
"So let me get this straight." Taleia chimed in. "You used a radioactive nacho chip to travel through trans-universal spacetime and survived encounters with several eldritch abominations all in the span of 30 minutes, but actually only spent 30 seconds outside our own dimension?" The elf asked.
"Yes."
"And you fought a girl with apocalyptic abilities, a guy who could crush your bones in a black cube, a giant fish monster who I'm going to assume is why that stupid crown is on your head-" She briefly paused as the adventurer took off the hat.
"And managed to annoy some weird eldritch being that is now potentially stalking you?! And where did that gun even come from!" She pointed at the firearm with wary eyes.
"Oh. I fought a god for this." Cocking back the slide before it snapped back into place, he stored the weapon in his inventory.
"You mean another CPU?" MAGES. tried to clarify.
"No, a literal deity from Asgard, apparently." Remembering Loki's name, he drew to the conclusion.
"..." Silence dominated once more.
"You're unbelievable," Sighed the group.
The music that played in the store after their exasperation was one of 5pb.'s tracks, which got the Mad Magician's head to bob to the beat.
The elfling followed suit, the two girls jamming out to the song.
"Ooh, I love this song!" Taleia danced in her seat, enjoying the rhythm,
"You listen to 5pb.?" Nebula asked his ex.
"Of course! Who doesn't?" She responded, before singing along to the lyrics.
"Gris was about to respond, but a stiff glare from the elf let him know that negative feedback wasn't necessary.
"Tch. I don't dabble in idol culture all too much, but I'll admit it when I hear talent." Relented the cleaner. He was a killer, not a talent scout.
"Her talent is being put to good use since she's holding a concert to raise awareness about ASIC. It's also a good way to sway the people back to Green Heart's side." MAGES. enlightened the group.
"Sweet! I'll see what's going on when the time comes." Nebula was interested.
"A concert... One of the staples of musical culture... I'm interested." The fumo wasn't shy about joining either.
"You mean an event where I stand shoulder to shoulder with smelly otakus who have rancid body pillows of a barely legal idol? Hard pass." Gris denied with a grimace.
"Maybe this isn't the best idea for cultural education." Vanns began to second-guess the endeavor.
"Oh come on! They banned smelly people two years ago." Taleia defended the concert.
"I'll believe it when I smell it." Gris remained steadfast in his opinion, as MAGES. spoke.
"Either way, seeing Lyrica doing what she loves always makes me smile." The magician smirked in response.
The conversation was soon cut short by another waitress appeared, this time with the drinks everyone ordered.
This maid was Alex, as she eyed the fumo who was dancing in a taunting manner at her, which made her very suspicious.
"Here you go, everyone." She started to give the table their orders.
"Thanks." He took the expresso from the redhead, who couldn't help but narrow her eyes at the man before she replaced it with a pleasant smile as he looked at her.
Taleia took her tea, but not without returning a glare to the redhead.
MAGES. indifferenly took her soda, and began drinking akin to getting her fix.
"Well, well, well. I didn't know soulless gingers were on the menu." An arrogant grin made itself onto the assassin's lips, taking his black coffee.
An offended gasp that became deep thought before embarrassment finally emerged as Sam fully registered the comment.
"Hey! You can't talk to me like that!" Her face reddened.
"Aw. Why not? You're getting red like your hair, darling. That means I'm doing something right." A snigger developed on the assassin's face.
"W-Well that's because you're saying stupid things, you jerk!" She retorted, to the edge lord's content.
"Then tell me something I don't know, Samantha. Or are you just a pretty face with no brains?" Reading her employee card, he made up a nickname on the spot.
"I'll have you know I graduated high school early and university with flying colors!" She defended her intelligence.
"Yet you work in a maid café with a bachelors- no, you finished high school early... MASTERS degree is in your toolbelt. Answer me that and then we'll talk intelligence." Sipping his coffee, smug radiated from the assassin.
"Ugh!" Having enough, Sam stomped off with Taleia holding her hand in front of her mouth.
"Dude. You might laugh at me, but I don't talk to women like I'm better than them." Nebula pointed out with knitted brows.
"Then that's why you're dry. Women like men who are better than them at something. If confidence is sexy, competence is gorgeous." He finished before flashing a gentle grin to the waitress who eyed him one last time with her blush finally fading.
"Hmph." Her face reddened in embarrassment as disgust was added to the equation.
"She just scoffed at you." The blue GPU commented.
"Yet she's hot and bothered." The black GPU looked back at him.
"More like disgusted and annoyed." Eyerolled the half-elf.
"Who died and made you CEO of Women?" Vanns bounced to face her.
"I am one, you-"
Her response was cut short by her twitching ear.
She heard the scribbling of a pen, before she took out a hand mirror and reflected it on the window to see the seat behind her.
As it turned out, Alex was sitting with a pink device that seemed to be recording their conversation.
'Shit. We're being tapped!' She realized, with the assassin picked up on the facial expression.
"What's wrong, Tals?" Asked Nebula.
"We gotta move." She told them.
"Why?" MAGES. questioned the soldier.
The elfling paused, as she couldn't just leave or the woman would realize the gig was up.
Instead, she took a napkin and wrote the message.
Then she put her fingers on her lips, requesting silence as Gris read the note.
'We're being wiretapped. Leave the café discreetly so the girl behind me doesn't realize it.' It read.
Passing the note to the fumo, Vanns read the message.
He then took the note and presented it to Nebula, whose eyes widened like a dim child who peeked at his report card.
Finally, he shakily held the napkin and handed it to MAGES., who emotionlessly read the text.
The table looked amongst each other before Nebula spoke.
"Wanna do a little bit of trolling?" A trollage replaced the GPU's features, holding the Chaos Dorito in hand.
"How?" MAGES. was in.
"Everybody hold wrists." He whispered in response.
The group (Excluding Vanns, who reverted to ant form and crawled into Nebula's collar) did just that before the deity thought of a place to teleport to.
"Chaos... Control!"
TELEPORT!
"Gah!" Alex lurched over the chair, to see that the group had vanished.
"W-Where did they go?!" Flummoxed, she frantically searched for their whereabouts.
"Uhh... Sam, Clover?" She took her device and spoke nervously.
"Yeah?" They responded.
"They're gone." She relayed.
"THEY'RE WHAT?!"
Meanwhile...
TELEPORT!
"Where are we?" MAGES. observed her surroundings, taking in the background.
They seemed to be in a wide pasture, a gentle breeze running across the grasslands before them. Large clouds wrapped around the horizon with the skies as clear as can be with the sun directly over them.
"Are we still in Leanbox?" Taleia asked, looking around for a landmark.
"Knowing Noobula, we're not even in Gamindustri anymore." Crouching, the assassin skyrocketed soon after.
"Hey! You don't know that!" Shaking his fist, he rebutted the negative label.
Gris' eyes widened, as he looked around, seeing nothing but floating landmasses around them with a drop that seemed unfathomable. The one they stood on seemed to be a medieval town, reminiscent of an ancient Leanbox.
Castles, cobblestones, and carriages galore.
Landing, he bespoke their location.
"Either Nebula time traveled, or we're in an alternate dimension," Gris concluded.
"Knowing this chip, either option is plausible." Staring at the Dorito, the GPU wouldn't deny it.
"Well send us back!" Taleia told the adventurer.
"But don't you wanna see what ancient/alternative Leanbox looks like? I know I do." Nebula vied for exploration.
"No, I don't! I wanna go home!" Not having any of it, the elfling was miffed by their circumstances through and through.
"Do not fret, Taleia. I'm sure there's some Doc Tear Popper waiting for us." MAGES. looked on the bright side.
"This place doesn't even know what a can is, let alone soda, let alone your kind of soda." Deadpanned the assassin.
"I wouldn't be so sure." The Mad Magician spoke, almost like she had been there before.
"Only one way to find out." Nebula flicked the cheezy chip before it glowed excitedly.
"Chaos...!"
"CONTROL!"
"What's taking Kallen so long? I hope she really didn't fall in the bowl or something." Sweatdropped Vergo, with the CPU Candidate waiting whilst leaning on the wall.
He took her to the bathroom, yet she still hadn't come out yet.
Maybe she did fall in.
The hallway was empty for the most part, with the odd janitor walking by.
This gave the Leanboxian deity some time to himself.
"Right. Now that I'm alone, time to check what I have on me." Digging through his inventory, the blonde shuffled through his anachronistic artifacts.
"Neptune's hairpin, Noire's hair ribbons, Blanc's neck ribbon, and Vert's..." He paused.
He looked at the button that had his sister's blood on it.
"This, Vergo, is the last remaining piece of your sister." The VPU's words echoed in his mind.
His vision became blurry, the tears unconsciously forming.
A sniffle escaped his nose, which jolted him back to reality.
"No! Nonono!" Quickly wiping the tears, the bloke refused to weep. The trauma was far too much to process to even begin letting out those emotions.
"Grk...!" He put the items back in the bag, the memories of slaughter and torment clouding his memories.
"Please... Don't die, mister." The dead child's voice echoed.
Teardrops fell from the CPU Candidate's eyes as her dull, lifeless expression flashed through his mind.
"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Wailing belonging to the child's mother could be heard as the blonde shook with grief.
"D-Damn it! Why did I t-think going through my stuff w-was a good idea!" Speaking between sniffles, the male deity was starting to break down.
"You can barely fathom your own power, and expect to defeat me? Don't make me laugh!" Citadel's voice mocked the CPU Candidate.
Causing his emotions to merge with anger, making the deity upset.
"Even after I fought that vampire, I still feel powerless before that bastard!" Vergo seethed, holding the trinkets.
"How long will it take before I'm ready to fight?!..." Grumbled the CPU Candidate.
Just as he was about to cry, the voice of someone he knew interjected.
'Be calm, young one. Whatever has you so worked up?' The Sharicite to the blonde's surprise asked.
"?!"
He looked around in surprise, attempting to locate the voice.
'It is I, the Leanbox Sharicite." The crystal announced its presence.
"... Really? I didnt know you could talk from this far away." Admitted the blonde in a shaky tone.
"Under normal circumstances, no. But you are a special case." It clarified.
"How come?" Vergo grew curious, his sniffling dying down.
"Due to your spontaneous existence, outside of my knowledge and power, it seems as if you have not only a connection but a special one at that." The Sharicite enlightened him.
"Which brings me to my question. Where exactly did you emerge?"
The question made the blonde pause to think.
Would it be okay to explain to the Sharicite of his origins?
It had already entrusted him with the remainder of the nation's shares, so it was unlikely for it to sell him out.
Actually, it seemed as if it could only talk to him, now that he mentioned it.
Also, keeping in all that trauma wasn't healthy by a longshot, either.
"Not where, when." He told the crystal.
'...When?'
"Around twenty years from now to be exact. I hail from a time when modern civilization is destroyed by interdimensional terrorists that raze Gamindustri into a black void of silence." Vergo told the crystal.
'...' The crystal was too stunned to speak.
"Leanbox, as you could assume, did not make it. Nothing did, really." He let out a somber breath.
'Could you be more specific?' The share crystal requested politely.
"Vert's tits got cut off and thrown at me like a kid's lunch tray in a food fight." The CPU Candidate droned.
'How barbaric...' The Sharicite's voice was filled with shock.
"I dont really want to delve into details." Shaking the melancholy off of him, he attempted to switch topics.
"Tell me about Vert," Vergo told the voice. "I never really got to learn about her, so I'm sure you know something, right?"
He was met with silence.
...
...
...
'What would you like to know?' It obliged.
Vergo's eyes widened at the request.
He could ask so many things at that moment, thr possibilities were endless!
So he went with something simple.
"Does Vert want want siblings?" He asked.
'Yes.'
"Does she want a sister?"
'Affirmative.'
"A brother?"
'...' It fell silent.
'While she has not thought about it from that perspective, there is no evidence to suggest that she would be opposed.' It told the CPU Candidate.
Mixed emotions swirled from within. He was glad she didn't outright hate his existence, yet left unfulfilled with the neutral response.
At least he'll truly start on a level zero Lily Rank.
Unless...
"Can Vert sense my connection to the Sharicite from wherever she is?" The blonde inquired.
'If she is conscious, then yes. Although due to her current situation, her connection is rather weak at the moment.' The crystal elaborated.
"Where is she?" Vergo continued.
'My systems indicate that she is somewhere in the Gamindustri Graveyard, held captive.' It supplied the desired information.
This made the blonde fellow narrow his eyes.
"Then how come you still have enough power to communicate with me? I thought you'd become dormant like a phone on power saving mode." Vergo assumed.
'That is due to you, CPU Candidate.' The Sharicite identified.
"Call me Vergo." He corrected.
'Vergo, your involvement with the absorption of shares in DIO's invasion makes you the temporary herald of Leanbox's share energy. That being said, you are akin to a power bank of my remaining share energy thus allowing me to communicate with you telepathically.' An elaboration was presented.
"So I'm like a backup generator?" An analogy was also presented.
'Not exactly. You can theoretically gather shares just like any other Candidate yet your composition of the remaining faith amongst the people grants you administrative access to my reserves. In short, you have the processing power of a CPU at the rank of a Candidate.' The Sharicate broke down the explanation.
"..." Vergo became silent at that.
"...What if I'm compromised like Vert?" He needed to know.
'Leanbox's shares will be lost before the nation collapses into desolation.' A cryptic fate awaited his failure.
With great power came great responsibility, said that one uncle.
But Vergo was unsure if he was capable of handling such a burden like his sister.
Before he could inquire further, the Sharicite spoke.
'This conversation was good for taking your mind off your troubled past. Do not linger in those thoughts lest you fail a second time, Vergo...' Its voice faded away, leaving Vergo with its words.
"...Understood." His eyes became sharp as he put the items back in his bag, keeping them for another time.
The sound of a flush and a tap was heard before Kallen emerged, her hands smelling like cheap soap.
"Thank you for waiting, kind sir." She beamed.
Vergo smiled back before pointing to her foot. "You got some toilet paper stuck on your shoe." He alerted the nun.
"Ack!" A dusty shade of pink settled on her cheeks as she kicked off the paper before giggling awkwardly.
"So how's the movie?" He asked for her opinion.
"I really like it! These moving pictures are revolutionary!" She was mesmerized by the medium. "Much better than my books!" She admitted, no contest whatsoever.
"Well, you can watch them anytime on a phone or laptop." Two new words that made the nun tilt her head in slight confusion.
"What are those?" The white-haired sister inquired, uncultured in the ways of online streaming.
"You'll see soon enough...-" Smirked the blonde bloke. His eyes suddenly darted in the direction he sensed someone approaching, causing Kallen to look around with curiosity.
"Hm? What's wrong?" The olden time nun asked.
Their conversation was interrupted by Cave, who seemingly teleported from how silent her footsteps were.
"Vergo. Kallen."
"Cave!" Vergo jumped, before relaxing at the familiar face.
You two have been gone for quite a while, so the others sent me to check on you." She stated her purpose for coming.
"Ah... Sorry." Some embarrassment was present on the nun's face before it was swiftly replaced with a positive smile. "But we can leave now that you're here." She told the soldier.
"Is the movie done yet?" He asked the redhead.
"Almost. Do you not want to go back in?" She asked.
"Well, not particularly. That movie is saturated with memes. More of Nebula and Neptune's forte." Vergo truthfully told the redhead.
"Then what do you suppose we do instead?" The RRoD soldier inquired.
"You like to dodge things, right?" Vergo recalled a memory.
"Very much so. I've never been hit once in any dodging match." Much pride went into her statement as she slightly puffed her chest out.
"... Wanna go in the arcade and play some bullet hell games?" Vergo asked the aloof lady.
A small smile graced the otherwise neutral face palette of Cave.
"Challenging me to a dodging competition? You'll regret it, Vergo." Confident in her skills, to the point they were translated to the gaming world, a smile became a slight grin.
It was the CPU Candidate's turn to smile with his own confidence.
"Oh, please. My sister might've only played MMOs, but I've played many genres, lass. Danmaku does not scare the likes of me, Cave!" Cracking his knuckles, the blonde grew bold with his words.
"Just don't cave under pressure when you can't dodge enough balls." A dirty joke was somewhere inside that statement, yet it flew over the girls' heads.
"To the nearest arcade!" Cave shouted before speeding down the hall, her pride on the line.
"What's an arcade? And this 'danmaku' you speak of?" Kallen was somehow more confused than when first met the group.
"I think it's better if I show you. Come on, love!" He grabbed her by the hand before the two ran behind the agile sniper.
Elsewhere...
THWOK!
"Tch!"
BAM!
"Hnk!"
POW!
Domio swiveled before he slid on all fours, stopping himself with a scratched face.
Pushing himself off the ground, he was breathing hard from the stinging pain of his opponent's blows.
"I know I said this was fair payback for snoring so loudly but come on, Dom." AL craned his neck, popping being heard from his sockets. "You can't pay me back if you don't hit me." He folded his arms.
"You think I don't know that...!" Bouncing on his feet, he adopted a hybrid stance of what he used against DIO. He kept moving to keep himself ready to evade or counter yet his arms were close to his temples to block or throw a quick jab.
"Chika was kind enough to let us train here, so use it to your fullest potential. He raised his hands as what appeared to be a futuristic grid that spanned throughout the room suddenly metamorphosized.
"I'm pretty sure she just wanted me to forget what she was doing to that body pillow of Vert." Murmured Domio with a snide look.
The ground became tiled akin to a large placement of tiles that made a square. The walls were erected soon after with a crowd of NPCs seated in a large stadium that surrounded the stage.
Confetti rained from the skies with cheers from the loud spectators giving the two combatants an air of excitement.
A building behind AL with a sign that said 'Gamindustri Gauntlet' was raised with a banner that held the kanji for 'FIGHT' being present.
"Don't disappoint the crowd now, Domio. The Gyōkaichi Budokai awaits!" Getting into his stance, he stared with determination into the boy's direction.
"Don't hold back, AL. I don't want Nebula, Kars, Gris, and Vergo to leave us behind."
WHOOSH!...
Domio waved his hand, summoning his grimoire to his side.
It floated by him as the pages zipped open before the book closed and spun around him, returning to its floating state, icicles falling from the book.
"URAAAAH!"
BURST!
AL's hair stood on its ends before it was engulfed in flames and simmered to a bright orange texture. with his pupils lighting ablaze with flames.
A wave of warmth could be felt from where AL stood, causing Domio to sweat.
"Then let me see what you're made of!" His fiery aura roared to life with the flames engulfing the area around his body, creating a large inferno surrounding him.
FWOOSH!
Blitzing towards the mage, he cocked back his fist with his other hand outstretched as a crosshair of sorts.
Domio had no time to block his adversary's speed, yet he found a way to remain unscathed
BOOM!
By returning a fist of his own.
The recoil simply stopped AL, yet Domio's hand was throbbing with pain as he was sent hurtling with momentum across the tournament floor.
He moved his body to the side to slide on the floor with more surface area which decreased his speed.
PEW!
PEW!
PEW!
Multiple Cold Bolts double their size were sent from his hand, as the grimoire glowed in resonance to his magic.
Yet AL's aura simply melted them before they even grazed his skin as he pursued the boy's position.
The martial artist beelined for him, before kicking him in the rib like a football, sending him on up high.
"Gah!" Wheezed the child before his throat glowed with magic.
BLOW!
Using the same logic as his Blizzaga Burst, he simply changed the exit point from his hand to his mouth.
This made a large stream of ice magic erupt from his throat and toward AL.
"BLAAAH!"
FWAASH!
Yet the pyrokinetic used his own flame breath to counter the move, causing mist to spread all around the arena.
Domio soon landed, his feet hitting the ground with enough force to create spider cracks.
CHILL!-
Yet he relaxed his kneecaps and leaned back, evading a clothesline from AL at point-blank range.
Blasting the ground with his left hand at an angle, he used the torque to kick off the ground and spin at insane speeds for a spinning back kick.
SNAP!-
Yet AL's combat experience and Domio's obvious telegraphing made it easy to block the flashy setup with his forearm, albeit stinging.
Pushing the leg to offset the mage, he set up a knife chop to the boy's spine.
CHILL!
FREEZE!-
SHATTER!
But he was warned and heeded with the materialization of a shell of ice on his back that was quickly cleaved through like butter.
This impact let the adolescent Loweean be launched to the floor before looking back at where AL should've been, yet only seeing mist.
'I'm lucky I can sense attacks, or else I'd be in trouble.' Mentally noted the child before he stuck out his fist.
FREEZE!
VOOM!...
He created an ice gauntlet, then channeling his SP through the grimoire, it became giant as he released his Subzero Smasher to AL's previous position.
The fiery warrior felt something approaching before seeing a large blue fist and sending a volley of fireballs to melt it.
Before his flames could melt the structure...
SHATTER!
"WHAT!-"
KOOM!
Domio had mimicked Kars' dropkick and broke his own attack with two frozen-over greaves and boots which was used as a diversion that AL barely managed to block with an X-guard.
The shoes also broke on contact with the force sending the martial artist sliding back.
Taking advantage of the moment, Domio created two large gauntlets which were twice their usual size, and smashed them into pieces before the shards floated in the air and pointed ahead.
"Icy Fractals!"
The shards took the long way, floating in just about every direction that they could, mimicking a bullet hell structure that quickly approached the martial artist.
Domio heard them land as multiple sounds of freezing echoed through the mist.
FWOOM!
Yet he didn't have to guess what happened to his opponent as the mist was blown away by the activation of AL's Torrid Defense.
He stood within the confines of his flaming armor before it was relinquished thereafter.
But instead of vanishing, the heat was repurposed into his hands before he cupped them.
"Shankunetsu Hadōken!"
BLAST!
A fiery blast of KI was sent in the preteen's direction.
A silent Ice Wall was raised before it wa kicked into the blast, as the attacks created more mist in the process.
PHASE!-
SMACK!
AL had moved so quickly that the boy's danger sense didn't even have time to go off before a blinding back fist sent him tumbling.
Slapping the ground with his hands, he shot off the ground before somersaulting to a stop as he landed.
Standing up, part of his jaw was missing which revealed the bone and some teeth,
AL's eyes widened as a result, realizing the damage he had done.
Before he could say anything, Domio raised a hand.
The skinned-off wound was suddenly frozen over, before it cracked and shattered, revealing a heavily damaged jawline.
"The grimoire taught me that one." A cheeky smile appeared on the boy's face with a fist wiping off the blood on his lips.
Shock melted into a smirk before AL breathed in, signaling a technique being launched.
Unfortunately, he didn't expect to be interrupted as Domio sent a small Artic Bolt with two fingers to freeze the man's mouth shut in a moment without any signs of casting.
Freezing his hand, the Loweean went for a clean hook as a gauntlet was formed.
But as he was upon AL, he whiffed.
"...?"
FREEZE!
"!"
Confusion became a realization when Domio shifted the momentum from his hand to his foot as the ice was transferred there as well, an icy boot heading for his chin.
CLUTCH!
But terrible legwork sold out the boy once more as the ice on AL's mouth melted with a snigger.
Then his body was swung around like a ragdoll, the inertia disorienting him.
FREEZE!
SMASH!...
As he was swung to the ground, Domio redirected the ice to his arm before slamming it down on the ground the moment he landed, mitigating the damage.
Absorbing the arm, his eyes became blue with magic before squinting his eyes and sending a pulse of ice magic to throw AL off him; an ocular Artic Bolt.
It succeeded, with the martial artist finally being thrown off of his feet.
Dusting himself off, he gave the kid an approving look.
"Nice one, Domio. You sure you're just some kid?" An eyebrow was raised with the question. "I don't know many kiddos who aren't CPUs that can send me off my feet." He further praised.
"I won't disappoint everyone. I need to be stronger. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and if I don't hold up, we're all doomed!"
"That's why I've personalized my magic for close range! Many write mages off for terrible close combat, but if I'm the opposite, it's a death sentence for them!" His blue eyes glaring at AL with vigor made the martial artist proud.
FREEZE!
His eyes returned to normal, as he was coated in his armor.
Yet the armor suddenly detached from his body!
Domio stood, and his armor stood beside him, as the match became a 2v1.
"Doppelgänger."
The icy golem cracked its knuckles as Domio closed his eyes and breathed in the mist before they opened as blue replaced the brown irises once more.
"Everyone has invested ther time into my development. I won't let that go to waste."
FREEZE!...
The Loweean's forearms, chest, and legs were coated in armor before the other parts followed suit as two armored individuals stood before the martial artist.
"Now we're talking!"
IGNITE!
His body was covered in flames before his Torrid Defense returned in full swing.
"FYTING FIYA WITZU FIYA!"
SUMMON!
The stand unbeknownst to Domio was summoned beside AL, equalizing the odds to 2v2.
It eyed the golem with malintent, ready to settle the score without mercy.
Even though Domio couldn't see F2WF, he could sense that there was something very dangerous about the spot that was situated right next to AL.
ゴゴゴゴ!
DIM!
Yet before they continued, the simulation was cut short.
"That's enough, you two." Chika's voice cut through the cheering of the fading crowd.
"What's the problem?" AL looked up.
Some doors slid open as the Oracle of Leanbox walked through.
"IF and Compa encountered some ASIC interference going on with the concert. I'm sending you two in as some familiar backup to deal with that problem since you're the closest to dispatch." She explained.
THAW!...
"Ok." Nodded Domio, deactivating his armor and absorbing his golem.
SIMMER...!
"On it." AL quelled his flames and pulled back his stand.
"I'll contact the others. Just hurry and get there. The longer you take, the more damage they might do." She told them curtly.
The two nodded before walking out of the door, the Oracle close behind.
A/N:
HOLY CRAP!
5 MONTHS SINCE I UPDATED?! Jeez, talk about hiatus. Sorry about that, guys. I got really busy and just got enough time in my schedule to finish up this chapter. I know this isn't gonna fly as an apology but I think some more chapters might make up for the amount of work I let pile up on me. SOrry to keep you guys waiting for so long to decompose in the limbo of unfinished stories. That could be said for all my works to be honest, so I'm going to start with this one before the others, being my most reviewed one.
But I'm glad to be back.
If you can guess which canon dimension Nebula and co. teleported to, you get a cookie.
Feld - I wonder who'd draw some for me? I'd have to look for an artist or someone with drawing skills to do that. Thanks for the suggestion though, dude!
If that's all, I hope you guys enjoy some sweet sweet plot after nearly half a year.
Arrivederci.