Chapter 6: A Day out with a goddess and a meeting with a monster.
"We sent many on your path, but they all failed. Let us hope you don't as well."-?
After leaving Noire to handle things with Neptune, I decided to go clear things up with IF. Seeing as all I did was ask her to give them some privacy, I had no doubt that she was curious as to why, therefore I went up to the building's second floor. After reaching my destination, my earlier thoughts were proven right, as IF asked me a question. "what's up with Noire and Neptune? Why the need for privacy?" said question was simple to Answer. "Noire knows Neptune, as in before we found her and before she lost her memories. so I believed it was in her best interest for Neptune to have a talk with her about the subject. The need for privacy was something I brought up, and Noire agreed. Perhaps the information she wishes to tell Neptune is confidential, hmm?"
it didn't take long before the girl in front of me replied. "You do know that Neptune is more than likely going to blabber on about whatever Noire tells her the second she gets the chance, right?" I did, actually, it was one of the first traits I noticed in the purple-haired girl. I just did not think of it whilst I was having that moment with Noire. "Your quite right about that, however at least this way Neptune gets to decide for herself who's allowed to know. Considering Memories are a private affair, do you not agree that this was the most morally right thing to do?" the brown-haired girl nodded her head.
"you're right. Though I do have a few more questions to ask." I would've been concerned if she didn't. I had gone on a mission all by my lonesome after all and returned with an unknown (by their perspective) individual who somehow immediately recognised Neptune. "That is understandable. Very well then, ask your questions." her response was just as immediate as her previous ones. "Who is that girl? And how does she know Neptune?" I expected such a question, therefore I had an answer already prepared. "She was imprisoned in the facility. I decided to free her, and the rest is history."
she looked sceptical and dissatisfied at my answer. "I feel like you missed out a lot of things there." I replied honestly. "That is because I did. What I found in that facility was something I would rather no one ever find out about. The secrets of that dastardly place should die alongside it." she seemed to understand my want to change the subject and asked a different question. "Are you okay?" now that was a question I could answer. "Originally, no. But thanks to Noire, I'm fine now." she looked at me, expecting details. "If you wish to know any more, I suggest you talk with Noire. However, I ask that you be careful. She has been through much hardship."
"Fair enough." she replied. "What about you, Neptune and Compa. How did your journey to Solsac cave fair?" while I knew the gist of things thanks to earlier. I didn't have a chance to acquire the finer details. "there's not much more to say. Though Suzaku proved to be handy when we got into a fight with a couple of monsters." now that got my attention. "Do elaborate." I was quite curious on how exactly Suzaku fought. I knew he was capable of course, he had claws after all. But I wished to know more. "He somehow began spitting fireballs at our targets, they were effective too!" now that was interesting, though not too surprising, considering he had the appearance of a dragon. "Anything else?" I asked. "Not really. With the three of us fighting together, everything we encountered went down easily." she paused for a second before continuing. "Though Neptune did talk a bunch. She seemed annoyed at the lack of challenging monsters, even saying that it was due to the other 'main character' not being present. No idea what she was on about, but you know her." that I did.
"Hey, you want to go grab breakfast together? Chian should be up by now." I nodded my head. "i don't see why not, I have something important to talk to her about anyway." when we reached the ground floor, I was surprised to see that both Neptune and Noire were absent. Before I could ponder much as to why that was, Chian spoke from behind the counter. "they're in my room looking for a change of clothes. I think Noire had enough of being stuck in a hospital gown." (So that's where she is.) "Speaking of Noire, I think you and I need to talk." she then left the counter, walked towards the door leading to the factory portion of the building and opened it. "We can chat in my office, follow me." I did as she said, and not a moment later, we were both in the confines of her personal workspace. "Now talk, what did you find." it didn't take me long to reply.
"It seems Avenir are even worse monsters then we could've ever imagined" I handed her the recording camera she gave me the day before. She plugged in a USB cable and connected the device to her computer. "i recommend you watch without the audio." I warned. "Why?" she asked curiously. "The contents of those videos are not at all pleasant." she took my advice and muted her PC, before clicking 'play' on the recording. I decided to look away from her screen. I had seen Avenir's atrocities once, I did not wish to see them again. A few minutes later, Chian's began to speak."i-I'm done." her voice was shaky, and when I turned around to see her face, I found out why.
She had a look on a face that was a mix of disgust, shock and sadness. I could not tell If the shivering of her body was due to horror at what she had just witnessed or burning rage at the ones responsible for such a crime. I laid my hand upon her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "if it's any consolation, those poor souls are all at peace now." "What about the thirteenth?" she had stopped shivering at this point, but her voice-while lacking any stutter-was still sombre. "i put him to rest...he is at peace now." bringing up the 13th subject was not the easiest thing for me to do, but it was far easier now than before thanks to Noire's earlier attempt at raising my spirits.
Chian took a moment to process the information she was given. After she had composed herself, she began to speak. "Thank you, your hard work will help us get rid of those monsters." her words made me think. How exactly was she going to go about using the video to expose Avenir? Surely if they had control over most of Lastation's resources, wouldn't that mean they had control over the media as well? "You let me worry about that kid, just take a load off for now." as I went to leave her office however, she asked me a question. "by the way, who's that girl you brought back with you? Did you get a girlfriend or something?" I could tell she was joking, but I played along. "Hmm, not quite. And as for who she is? Well, you will have to ask her yourself, privacy is important after all." I then left her office, leaving her to ponder on my words. When I returned to Passe's main building I discovered that Neptune and Noire had returned. "Well don't you look absolutely stunning~" Noire had changed clothes, and in my opinion, they suited her far better than the bland hospital gown she wore previously. "W-what are you saying!?" the black-haired girl replied. "Do I have to spell it out for you?" I asked, genuinely confused for a second. Until I remembered her unique and unusual, but quite adorable trait (oh right, the whole 'Tsundere' thing.)
She turned her head, placed her hands on her hips, and made a 'Hmph' noise. "Hey Nowa, stop bein' all tsundere, Zeddy was givin' ya a compliment!" ('Nowa'?) before I could give my verbal agreement on Neptune's statement, and before I could ask about the Nickname. our resident purple-haired munchkin interrupted. "Bad Zeddy-" she walked up to me and flicked my forehead. "-no flirting!" (...ouch, that hurt... I think?) "No need to feel jealous, you look just as wonderful my dear." I said, hoping my words would appease her. "of course I do, I'm the protagonist!" unfortunately she did not get embarrassed or bashful at my praise like I expected. (I suppose I'll have to 'step up my game' so to speak.)
"Ahem!" looking to my right, I realised that IF was still waiting, presumably for me to sit so we could have order breakfast. (Oh shit...Chian.) considering what I just showed her, I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't feeling in the mood to cook. "Apologies IF, I don't think Chian is currently available. Perhaps we could get food elsewhere?" as soon as I finished speaking however, another voice spoke up. "That won't be Necessary Mr Zed." the one who spoke looked like a factory worker. "Oh? And why is that?" I asked, genuinely curious. "Chian has ordered me to take over restaurant duties while she makes a few business calls." (Well, isn't that convenient.) "And who are you exactly?" IF asked. "I am one of Chian's few workers, usually I just handle regular factory work, but I do have quite a bit of experience in the kitchen." he answered. "Will you be taking our orders then?" the man was quick to reply.
"Yes. However, you'll have to forgive me, but we are all out of desserts." (that's... oddly specific.) "that's quite alright/that's fine." IF and I spoke. "Though may I ask why?" once again, his response was quick. "Ah, that's because of Miss Neptune and Miss Noire. When they made their order, they requested a lot of-as Miss Neptune put it-'the sweet stuff'." IF and I both stared in the direction of the culprits. Neither of us impressed. "H-Hey don't look at me! Neptune was the one to order it all!" Noire protested. "W-what! How could you sell me out like that Nowa? I thought we were besties!" Neptune responded. At that moment I swore, I could hear the sound of something shattering. "Forget about that for a second, how did you pay for it all? Ordering all of this place's desserts couldn't have been cheap." IF raised a valid point, Noire didn't have credits as far as I knew, and I'm pretty sure Neptune spent all of hers on pudding when she, Compa and IF went on their day out.
"Oh, that...weeeeellll ya see, I totally didn't put it on Zeddy's tab or anything, that would be ridiculous!" she then laughed, it sounded painfully fake.
Wait
WHAT!?
(Oh my, quite the spender, isn't she?) (Do you think this is funny? I barely had anything left after I paid for our rooms! Right now, I have barely enough for a meal for two, much less an entire restaurants' supply of desserts!) "So, what you are saying is, Neptune put Zed in debt?" IF asked "Well not really, Miss IF. Since Neptune herself was the one who made the order, the debt falls to her." our server spoke, thankfully placating my worries. "i'm in debt now!? But I'm a Goddess, Goddesses don't get into debt!" Neptune spoke, and I once more heard the sound of something shattering. (What is that sound?) (I do believe that's her hopes and dreams.) I ignored IF's look of 'i told you so' (I agreed with you earlier, what's with the look?) and spoke. "I do believe that serves you right little one, and don't think you are free of consequence just because you are a Goddess. You still have to pay for food." the guilty party looked like a kicked puppy.
"B-but." she began. "I thought I meant the world to you? Are you really going to take the kids and leave me in Debt?"
(I have so many questions)
I looked at the purple-haired girl first. "First off, Neptune please don't insinuate that I am some Fed-up Husband about to abandon his wife." then at the black-haired one. "Secondly, Noire I said those things to you in confidence that you would not speak a word of it to anyone. Why would you speak of it to Neptune, someone who-no offence- cannot keep quiet about anything to save her life?" the girl was quick to respond. "How was I supposed to know she'd blather about it? She's Neptune, 'random' is her middle name! Besides, you never told me not to." I felt her reasoning wasn't adequate, therefore I decided a little payback was in order. "Hm. Well if that's the case. Neptune my dear, do you wish to know a secret of Noire's?" the girl in question was quick to reply with a quick "a secret of Nowa's? Gimmie!" ignoring the Black-haired girl's shouts of a drawn-out 'No!' I continued.
"Last night, before she talked to you, she gave me a kiss as thanks for saving her." I could feel embarrassment emanating from the girl in question. (Do you feel no guilt from embarrassing a lady?) (in my defence, she did it first, as far as I'm concerned, this is payback.) "W-why would you tell her that!?" "My apologies, it just slipped out. Besides, you never told me not to~" she then covered her face in Embarrassment and ran to her-technically my-room. However Neptune and IF didn't look pleased. "Wow Zeddy, makin' Nowa feel so embarrassed like that, for shame!" the purple-haired girl spoke. "Huh, didn't know you could go that low." IF continued. (Double standards much!?) "Erm, are you ready to order Miss IF, Mr Zed?" the server interrupted. (Wait, has he...) (Been here the entire time? Yes) (DAMMIT!)
"Yes..." I spoke reluctantly. I didn't give much thought to my order; I merely wished the server would leave; I had enough embarrassment today. And after IF and I eventually ordered our meals, he did so. "Where is Compa, is she still asleep?" I asked, hoping to break the awkward silence. "Er no, in fact she's been right behind you the entire time." IF answered.
WHAT?
"Erm, Zeddy I think you need to go apologise to Noire, what you did wasn't very nice." (Her too?) (Well, it is true, you could have been nicer.) again, double standards much? "If that's what will appease you all, then very well then." I spoke begrudgingly. Not soon after, mine and IF's orders had arrived. Once we had eaten, I made my way to the upper floors of the building to see Noire. "A-and then he mentioned the fact that I kissed him! I thought he'd keep it a secret, that jerk!" I heard Noire speak from the hallway. Then I heard a chirping noise. (Is that... Suzaku?) "T-thanks, I'd knew you'd understand." was she venting...to Suzaku? Not wanting to interrupt, and being curious, I decided to stay beside the door outside Noire's-though technically still my-room. After a few more minutes of listening to her rant, I heard the door open.
(Crap!) "H-huh Zed? Were you listening to me speak the entire time?" she accused. "Well not exactly. More like in the middle." I responded honestly. "So, you heard..." "you conversing with Suzaku? Yes." before she could start to respond, I quickly continued. "Though that was not my intention, I merely wished to apologise. However, I overheard you talking with Suzaku and wished not to interrupt." she looked at me as if I had said something strange before speaking herself. "You...don't think I'm weird for talking to an animal?" "of course not, Suzaku is far more intelligent than you'd think." as if to prove my point, the aforementioned animal flew over to me and rubbed his head on my shoulder, before seemingly nodding in Noire's direction. "Did it...just nod at me?" the black-haired girl asked with surprise. "i do believe so. And 'its' actually a 'he' by the way."
There was a moment of silence afterwards, potentially because Noire needed a second to process what she just learned.
Eventually I decided to break that silence. "Regardless Noire, I apologise for my earlier actions, I was being far too insensitive." of course I couldn't understand what I did wrong, by my logic it was merely payback. But perhaps she was just sensitive to that sort of thing. (Her tsundere attitude would be explained if that were the case.) "Apology accepted." well that was easy enou- "B-but I want something from you in return!" (Knew it was too good to be true.) "Very well then, name your price." there was a short pause before she replied. (Did she not think this through?) "i want to see my landmass in full, I wish to see the full extent of what Avenir have done. Therefore, I want you to accompany me on a day out." before I could even start to think it over, she spoke again.
"B-but it's not a date or anything! I just... would feel safer if you were with me." by this point I could recognise that the first half was just her usual tsundere drivel, the second half however contained how she really felt. (Think of it this way, you were the one who got her out of that disgusting facility, is it truly strange for her to feel safe around you?) Rex was right, as usual. "of course. But is that all you really want? I can't honestly consider being able to go on an outing with you a form of recompense." I honestly couldn't, think about it for a second, a day out with a beautiful lady. It sounded more like a reward than anything else. "i -I told you it's not a date!" I already knew of course, but it would have been better to have her focus on that aspect rather than the true purpose of the outing. "I...i would like a hug." the black-haired girl stated.
(Again, not really something I can consider a form of apology, more like a reward. But oh well~) so I did as she asked, wrapping my arms around her person in a comfortable embrace. I enjoyed it just as I had the time before, I mean seriously, who wouldn't enjoy a hug from a beautiful girl? "Hugs are nice, aren't they?" Noire asked. "Indeed." I replied. I did notice that her hug was now more akin to someone squeezing onto something for dear life rather than just a hug, was she intentionally trying to make me uncomfortable? (You did embarrass her in front of all the others.) (Are you still going on about that!? It was harmless payback!) (Not according to Noire there.) (You...have a point.) (of course I do.) "Excuse me Noire, but I do believe you are a hanging on a bit too tightly there." she had a smug smile on her face, I couldn't see it of course, but I could feel it.
"Whatever do you mean, my prince? This is just payback~" (she has you there.) (don't, just, don't.) "Very well then." I sighed. After a few more seconds of uncomfortable hugging, Noire finally let me go. "Now then, leave while I go get a disguise to wear." she did a waving of hands as if to shoo me away. Not wishing for any more trouble, I did as she wanted, and left her-still technically my- room. I then headed back downstairs. After confirming with the others that I did in fact apologise, I was called over by Chian. "Thought you might like to see this." she said, before lifting up a very technological-looking sword. "And what is this?" I asked. "a prototype of the weapon I'm producing, I added a coating of liquidised mythril on its edge for additional cutting power. It can even absorb magical energy." she answered, giving me some potentially useful information in the process. "Not to sound rude, but Why exactly are you showing it to me?" I asked curiously.
I had my own blades; I had no need for another weapon. "Well, I need your help in testing it, or rather I need your input on who I should give it to for the sake of testing." that made sense, I knew the others far better than she did. "Oh? Well in that case, I suggest Neptune, she is in need of a better weapon anyway." it was true, from what I had seen, the purple-haired girls' weapon was close to breaking. "if you say so." she replied. "Will you be needing anything else from me?" "Nope, you're free to go oh 'radiant prince'." how did she know my moniker? "How do yo-" "my associate told me, apparently Avenir's been doing research on you ever since you brought that girl back. I'd be more careful going forward if I were you." that was concerning.
In the first place how did they recognise me? I got rid of all possible witnesses? After a few seconds however, it finally came to me (security cameras!) I had never once looked for or got rid of any cameras. Meaning Avenir probably knew what I looked like. Thinking a bit more I remembered that Avenir had control over the guild, which meant they had access to my records. Hence them knowing my nickname. That begged the question however, what was I going to do about it? "Hey Chian, do you happen to have any hair dye or contact lenses?" if they recognised my appearance, then I'd just have to change it. "Maybe, let me have a look out back." she then left my sight to go look for the items in question, coming back a minute later. "All I have is some orange hair dye, no lenses unfortunately." that would have to do. "Thank you." once I had been given the dye, I wasted no time in applying it. "How do I look?" I asked with a smug smile, not to brag, but I felt I looked good. "Exactly like you did earlier, except with more orange." her deadpan expression, followed by her monotone voice was unexpected, but humorous, nonetheless. (wait...why does she have orange hair dye?)
I then left Chian's office, returning to the main section of the building. When I had got there, I spotted Neptune talking with Compa and IF, and decided to join them. "Pardon my intrusion ladies, mind if I join your little chat?" Neptune had a smug look, Compa looked as miffed as I had ever seen her, and IF looked as if she was about to burst with laughter. "Is there a problem?" my question only seemed to further their expressions, leading to IF bursting with laughter and Neptune keeping her constant smug look Lazer-focused on my person. Compa only mumbled incoherently, something to do with 'meanie' and 'asking Nowa but not her as well'
"My apologies for being ignorant, but what exactly is so funny?" I asked our resident guild veteran. After a few agonisingly slow minutes, she stopped laughing and turned to look at me directly. "You." then she began to laugh again. being the helpful lady she never is, Neptune spoke. "Wowzers Zeddy, Nowa sure does have you whipped!" what was she-she listened in on mine and Noire's conversation, didn't she? (Most probably.) well that explained Neptune and IF's attitudes, but not Compa's. Ignoring her blatantly incorrect statement, I asked the purple-haired girl a question. "Why does Compa look more displeased than Neptune without her pudding?"
This time, IF took a moment to stop her nigh-hysterical laughter and explain. "Shes miffed because She's jealous. You agreed to what amounts to a date with Noire, yet didn't invite her." now that wouldn't do (especially if Ban somehow found out.) My body shivered at the thought. (how can one harmless-looking elderly man give off such a frightening aura?) "Now now my dear Compa, there's no need to feel so left out. How about we go on an outing together at a later date?" what else could I do to ease her jealousy, but to offer her the same thing Noire wanted? After a few moments, the nurse-in-training began to look happier, then she began to speak.
"Really? Yay!" her drastic change in tone was almost enough for me to visibly show my surprise, thankfully I managed to catch myself before it did. "But for now, I must get going. Is Noire ready?" it had been a few minutes in total since she shooed me away, so I expected that she would have finished dressing up by now. "sooo, what do you think?" and it appears I was right, as the girl mentioned appeared in front of me. Her appearance hadn't changed much at all, with the only difference being a pair of thin, red-framed glasses. (They do suit her nicely though.) (agreed) "quite lovely indeed." she simply smiled at my words. (It seems she has gained a resistance to my praise.)
"Are you ready my dear?" I asked the black-haired goddess. "yes." she replied happily, with an absolutely radiant smile on her face. The both of us said our temporary goodbyes, then swiftly left Passe.
With no objective distracting me, I was able to get a more in-depth look at how the city operated. Fortunately, not everyone was as miserable as when me and the others first arrived, as when Noire and I went shopping (at her behest.) the staff and customers both, seemed somewhat cheerful. Something I chalked up to the place being one that was not yet under Avenir's control. "Hey Zed, how do I look?" I was brought out of my inner musings by Noire's voice, when I looked at her, she was wearing a black and red dress. "As beautiful as ever." shortly into our date Noire had 'escorted' the both of us to a clothes shop, something I couldn't exactly blame her considering she lack articles of her own.
"..." my date looked at me flatly in response to my statement. (Why?) (You weren't very specific about your praise; she most likely believes you weren't paying attention.) "The black goes with your hair, and the red accents go great with your eyes." thanks to Rex's wise words, I was able to rectify my mistake. "That's better, pay more attention next time." my edited response seemed to work, as Noires' flat look turned into a smile. "Worry not, I will." with that out of the way, a question came to mind. "By the by, how exactly are you going to pay for that?" I doubt Avenir gave her an allowance, and she didn't seem like the type to ever borrow money from someone. "Who said I was going to buy the dress? I was just trying it on. When everything is eventually sorted out, then I'll probably buy it."
A mischeivious smirk appeared on her face. "Unless you want to pay for it?" I had a feeling I knew where this was headed. "i am currently short on funds at the moment, my apologies." her smile didn't waver. "Oh my, taking a girl out on a date and expecting her to pay, how rude of you~" there it was. (Do you think she's been influenced by Neptune?) (I do not think so.) unfortunately such a weak attempt at teasing would not work on me. "i do believe you were fully aware of my financial status before we left my dear, therefore do try to do a better job at teasing next time." the girl before me started pouting uncharacteristically. "Why did you have to ruin the joke?" that was her attempt at a joke? (Oh that poor girl.)
"Excuse me miss, are you going to pay for that?" the speaker was one of the shops' female staff, who had come over, presumably after seeing Noire in the dress. "Um no, I was only trying it on." the black-haired girl replied. The member of staff seemed to squint when looking at Noire, before smirking. "Well, since it suits you so finely, why don't you keep it, free of charge?" she then leaned close to the goddess and appeared to whisper something into her ear before leaving. Shortly afterwards I asked a question. "What was that about?" Noire, who had the biggest smile on her face, quickly responded. "I'll tell you later."
She then re-entered the changing room and exited a moment later, now changed back into her initial clothes. "Now then, where else are we going?" she asked, looking at me expectantly. After giving it a moment of thought I had an idea. "you'll see, just follow me." I replied with a smirk. We then left the shop, Noire holding her new dress in a bag.
After a few minutes of walking, Noire and I were in a field just outside the city. The sky was as black as ever, and the amount of grass beneath us was little. "Would you mind sitting down for a moment?" I asked, of which Noire responded by taking a seat upon the sparce grass below our feet. (You said Golden Trillion was the 'power of the sun' correct?) (Indeed.) his words were all the confirmation I needed. Concentrating, I extended my right arm upwards and focused the Energy within my body into my extended hands' palm. Then I imagined the brilliance of a star, and the energy started to take form.
A sphere of brilliant golden light shot into the sky, before expanding. Th sudden force exerted by such a phenomenon parted some of the thick black clouds blanketing the landmass, creating a gap that allowed the true brilliance of the daytime sky to show. With my job completed I turned to look at my companion, whose face displayed a look of great surprise. "Wha-HOW?" I smirked at her reaction. A moment later however her expression changed. Her eyes were seemingly glued to the now-exposed sky, and tears appeared from her eyes. Fortunately the smile present on her face convinced me they were tears of joy.
She approached me carefully, before embracing me in a hug. "it's beautiful...thank you." the smile on my face could not be wider. "of course, my dear." the mild exhaustion i felt was worth it, it seemed.
After taking a moment to enjoy the hug, we made our way back to Passe.
Noire POV
When we first set out, I was greeted once again by the abyssal sky, the constant sight above me being a constant reminder of my failures. Thankfully I had Zed near me at all times, his presence giving me a boost in confidence. Not long into our totally-not-a-date, we passed by a clothes shop. In one of its windows, I saw a beautiful black and red dress, so I escorted-NOT dragged!-Zed and myself into the building. Shortly after, I found a dress that had the same design as the one in the window and tried it on. While I knew I couldn't pay for it, I still went through with it, I'd probably buy it later when I had the funds anyway.
After changing I exited the changing room and showed Zed my current look, his response was boring and generic, so I gave him a deadpan look. A second later he gave a much better response.
Then one of the staff members came along and asked if I was going to pay for the dress.
At first, I panicked, but quickly decided to confess. The woman in front of me then stared in my direction for a minute, before leaning close to me and whispering in my ear. "Thank goodness you're back my lady, show those Avenir bastards whose boss." she then quickly moved back, before telling me I could keep the dress.
Her words had more of an impact than she knew. While I was initially surprised at her recognising me, considering I was not in my goddess form and there were few that knew of what I looked like normally. Her words were proof of something, that there was still some-other than Zed-who believed in me.
Maybe I wasn't as much as a failure as I thought?
Since I had done what I wanted to do originally, I asked Zed where we would be going next. He said nothing and just asked me to follow him, so I did, trusting his judgement. He took me through the city and through its gate, stopping in a field.
"Would you sit down for a moment?"
I was not expecting what happened next. Once I did what he had asked, he created a sphere of golden light, before launching it into the air. The sphere expanded and parted the dark clouds above us, acting as a miniature sun and revealing the beautiful light-blue sky.
I was astonished at first, the fact that he just parted the clouds was not something I expected him to do, but that feeling didn't last long, as I began to stare at the gap in the sky. That sky was what I was hoping to bring back, both to my people, and to myself.
Not only that, the thick layer of darkness above us was also a constant reminder of my mistakes, to see a part of it disappear, even if temporarily, was something that brought tear of pure joy to my eyes.
I could not help but hug the man responsible for showing me such a beautiful sight, thanking him for his efforts. Once I had taken a moment to enjoy our embrace, both me and my savoir made our way back to Passe.
Zed POV
When we had gotten back to Passe, Chian greeted us. "Avenir knows you're here. Get in, we need to plan." her face was completely serious, she was not joking. Once Noire and I were inside the building, Chian locked the door. "My associate rang up, he said Avenir's agents have managed to track you down and are planning to raid this place." considering Avenir was already suspicious of me, I wasn't that surprised but the fact that they managed to do it quickly was unexpected. "Then what's the plan?" I asked. "I'll tell you in a minute, let's get to my office, the others have already been informed and are waiting." she replied.
Me and Noire then followed her to her office, wherein she again locked the door 'in case we don't have much time' she said. Afterwards, she begun to explain her plan. "From what my associate has told me, Avenir is only aware of Zed's involvement in Noire's escape as well as me being the owner of this place, meaning that only me and him are at risk." she paused for a moment. "that is, if the rest of you get out before they get here." her implications were understood by us all. "What are you sayin? we abandon you and Zeddy to Avenir's Eeevill clutches? No way sister!" Neptune said, her loyalty warming my heart. IF and Compa both nodded in agreement. "She does have a point Neptune." the purple haired girl, along with the others-sans Chian, looked shocked. "They are only after me and Chian, not you three. If we can keep them distracted long enough, the three of you can get Noire far away from here, and therefore far away from Avenir." they didn't know about Neptune or the others but did know I was here. Ergo I couldn't help but agree with Chian's plan.
The three of them, plus Noire stared at Chian and i. "We can't abandon you Zeddy!" Compa said. No long after, both IF and Noire joined in. "do you honestly expect us to leave you alone to fight Avenir?" "I'm not leaving!" I could understand where they were coming from, if I was in their position, I doubt I could say any different. However, this plan was not only for their safety but also to keep Avenir's filthy hands off of Noire. Their horrific experiments could not be allowed to continue.
"that's enough. I understand how you four feel, however this plan is the best we've got. We need to keep Noire away from Avenir, and you four would be in the best position to do so. I know this is no easy task to ask of you, but for the good of all, I need you all to do this." in an attempt to convince them, I summoned my wing. "Besides, do you really think Avenir could stand a chance against me?" Compa and Neptune looked convinced at my display, as they both begrudgingly nodded their heads. "Fiinnne, just don't get a game over okay? I need my pudding supplier-i mean friend! to be safe." "What Nep-Nep said."
IF seemed as if she needed more convincing, however. "If you lack faith, my dear IF, then take this." I created the same crystal of energy I gifted Noire, and presented it to IF, placing it in her hands. Then I did the same for Neptune and Compa. "These crystals shall enable you to teleport to me and vice versa, treat them with care." with that, IF looked fully convinced. "Fine, we'll go with the plan." she said, "but you better get out of there is things go bad." I smiled at her. "of course, my dear."
I turned to Noire. "You know why I must keep you away from them. I know you are not pleased with what I must do, but you must do what is best for all of us, your people included." her face turned from one of worry to one of resolution, before she nodded her head. "Alright girls, we don't know how much time we have until Avenir's goons get here, so pack your bags and leave!" Chian unlocked the only door out of her office and the four of them wasted no time in doing what she asked.
"So, what do we do then?" I asked. "you will keep them busy while I ensure all the data you got me is sent to a safe place and any traces of its existence on my computer is destroyed, we can't let them know that we have it." it wasn't the most detailed of plans, but it definitely could work, I was nothing but a good distraction, of course. "Well then, I suppose I will get into position." I stated. "You do that." Chain replied, just before I left, she spoke again. "And Zed?" "Yes?" "Good luck." "I don't need luck."
I was waiting only a few minutes before Avenir arrived, the person to step inside the building being a charismatic-looking man. (The stench of darkness envelopes this one, be careful stranger.) I had no time to react to the observer's sudden piece of advice however, as the unknown man began to speak.
"Ah, 'Radiant Prince' Zed, just the man I wished to see!" he said. "You've come all the way here to welcome me? My this is such an honour!" (Go along with it, be the distraction.) "I've heard great things about you, they say you managed to eradicate a Kyuubi almost by yourself. Quite impressive, I must say. Unfortunately for you however, I am not here just to bloat your ego." "Oh my, truly? Then why are you here?" (Play dumb, do whatever it takes.) "You have something that belongs to me. With that being said, how much?" "Whatever do you mean?" "You took her for a reason, yes? How much for you to return her to me?" when I did not reply, he continued. "Or do you not desire credits? How about power? Resources? Women, perhaps? Name your price." at that point I decided to stop pretending. "Bold of you to assume I wish to give her back." his calm face became slightly strained. "Why? Why protect her? She is a mere faker who abandoned her people for power!" was he somehow convinced that he was better? "You expect me to believe you?" "Maybe not, but how about you check a history book or two." his words were filled to the brim with malice.
"I'll pass, thank you. if I cared for history, I would go Straight to the source." his calm composure shattered, revealing a wicked grin and crazed eyes. "Ah, I see. Then you are merely another heretic unfit to witness the world my beloved mistress will create!" he pulled out a handheld transceiver before speaking into it. "All units move in and retrieve the progenitor. Leave no witnesses." he looked at me once more, maddened eyes meeting my own. "Enjoy oblivion, demon of Black Heart."
END OF CHAPTER
one fights for the few, knowing little else.
one fights for the many, convinced his sins are just.
both fight for the ones that give them purpose.