All rights are reserved to their respective owners. I own nothing in this piece of fiction except my OCs and the story itself.
In Negadimension...
"These kinds of meetings suck ass." Muttered Xero, standing in the center of what appeared to be a council room.
Walls made of eigengrau shades of marble, the hall was designed to seem vast, with a small group of VPUs and sole assistant standing in the middle. They stood on a circular platform surrounded by a pit that led into the unknown, only harrowing darkness that even the light seemed pensive to shine upon.
The guard rails did little to dissuade whoever stood there from the constant presence of the bottomless void below.
If one were to look up from the position of the VPUs, there were several seats positioned above the quartet, filled by five entities. Undoubtedly important, they sat in silence whilst observing the band of VPUs and Worm that stood before them.
Shackles of hard light properties were placed on Xero and Vhestora respectively, with enough armroom to gesture, but not enough to move freely.
Proxi stood to the side of Vhestora, as Citadel stood to the side of Xero, with the four looking up at the deities.
The centermost figure looked down at the group, his glowing crimson eyes locked onto the individuals with extreme disdain, the dark sienna bangs stopping right by his eyebrows of hair that went to his shoulders giving his gaze complete freedom to pierce through the party of four.
Sharp, thick eyebrows and equally angular facial features remained monolithic upon meeting eyes with each person.
Dressed with a black trench coat that seemed to absorb all light with shoulder pads that accented his broad shoulders decorated with crimson tassels of solidified fear, his grey undershirt was a flexible alloy weaved with fibers of fear energy combined with numerous alloys.
There was a glowing circle around his head, that was the intricate design of a spiked crown. It glowed black with a red outline as it floated.
"Xero. Vhestora. This is becoming quite the unpleasant, recurring, and frankly irritating joke." The smooth, yet booming voice echoed through the room. His tone matched his gaze, staring down at the VPUs.
A sigh escaped his lips, tired of prosecuting the belligerent deities.
'Why couldn't they be like their brother?' He mentally drawled.
"I lost one time!" The edge lord defended himself, rolling his eyes with a snarky response.
"You should have been serious, you blasted louse!" The redhead snared with a dull glare.
"Why should I? On some scrubs?" Raising his brow, he couldn't see what the senior VPU was trying to get him to understand.
"That defeated you?" The figure to the left of the centermost replied.
It was a slim woman with short sangrian purple hair, and magenta eyes that focused all of their attention on Xero's face. Her figure was relatively endowed with above average height and wore a dark suit with a glowing red tie from fear energy.
Her halo floated behind her head, black roots that spread from a point behind her head and flourished, mimicking the roots of an ancient tree with magenta outlines that highlighted it.
She had a curt smile and anticipating eyes, almost as if she knew she was pouring some fire into the reactive toxic mess that was the subject.
"STAY OUT OF THIS, YOU FUCKING NARC!" The venom-eyed god pointed an accusing finger.
"Silence!"
THOOM!
R-R-RUMBLE!
Flaring his fear energy, the room shook asunder his might as it redshifted to maroon which caused Xero and Vhestora to shudder in a paralyzing, uncontrollable state, with Citadel silently sweating under the pressure.
Proxi held onto the arm of the sweating VPU, as his presence was enough to shield her from the majority of the otherwise lethal effects of fear energy that had just been released.
The wave subsided, as the man shook his head.
"Honestly, you two. Why can't you be like your brother?" The right individual spoke.
The voice originated from a woman with straight raven hair that went to her lower back, dressed in a bright red semi-formal dress that glowed with energy, showing some side cleavage, hugging her gorgeous figure as she sat there looking with her yellow alluring orbs to the two VPUs.
Her halo was similar to the center's, with the exception that it had a longer apex spike and the outermost edges of the crown-like halo were curvier although in its entirety, it was narrower in circumference.
It maintained a purple glow despite its black basal color, absorbing light by its very nature of fear.
"Citadel gets zero bitches, though!" Xero put up his paltry defense.
"Xero." Citadel called.
"What is it, Rooster Teeth?" Deaf to his brother's tone, he looked at him with nonchalance.
"Stop talking." A tick mark appeared on the elder sibling's head.
"But in all seriousness, Mother," Vhestora gave her siblings a snide look before the raven-haired woman, "Why must we be punished? This is who we are, and that's a beautiful thing." She used some flowery language in an attempt to persuade the elder gods.
"There's nothing beautiful about trash. Perhaps if you stopped having sex with it, you'd notice that!" The long-haired woman retorted with annoyance.
"It was one time!" She screeched, appearing rather bashful for once.
"One time too many. So disgusting for a goddess," The suit-wearing woman murmured.
"Don't get me started, you snobby bi-"
"Ahem." Citadel coughed into his hand, preventing her from saying something she wouldn't be able to get herself out of
Vhestora sent aglare that could rival her yellow-eyed brother's, to which the woman rolled her eyes which only infuriated the goddess more with a huff.
"Poor choices aside, we need to provide a punishment that will cause you two to LEARN from your mistakes." The intimidating man growled in accordance with their hardheaded behavior.
"Can't fix something that's not broken." A smug look on Xero's face caused the left lady to respond.
"Well it's not like thay had a lot to work with, a fragment believes it's whole if it is left alone long enough."
"Go rub your pussy on sandpaper, you smug cunt!" Barked the agitated edge lord.
His response incited the lady's laughter, to which the opposite woman facepalmed at her antics.
"Do not rile him up for sport." She brought up.
"If nothing productive is going to come of this meeting, and it most likely won't, I'll at least get some comedy from the little brat." Snorted the short-haired lady.
"He's still my son." She revealed.
"What about me!" Whined Vhestora, yearning for the same amount of effort to be put into her character being defended.
"What about you?" The two elder goddesses both looked at her. A raised brow from the purple head, and a dismissive look from the raven head.
"Fuck you, mom! You too, Telltale! Your lips are looser than my snatch!"
"Mommy issues have entered the chat!" Beamed the edge lord, enjoying the sharp remarks being thrown around.
"Seize this pointless bluster!" The man shouted with irritation, rubbing his temples from experiences past.
"We will now decide your punishment." He stated, with the previous silence returning to the present.
"Whatever it is, make it simple so that the whore and her bastard brother understand without messing up." Antagonizing the duo became prevalent in Tele's schedule.
Only growls were heard, as speaking now might worsen the fate thay were faced with.
"For your previous transgressions against the missions of the past, as well as your inconsistent performance, it has been decided that..." The militaristic man to the rightmost informed stated, fixing the officer's visor atop his head, begins his stipulations.
It was black, with red and yellow finishes. The insignia of a menacing skull was brandished in the center, on top of the band.
Wearing a black-themed soldier's combat gear, the digital camouflage of his jacket gave him a serious impression. His faded haircut hid his hairstyle under his visor, as he dressed moderately conservative given his occupation.
His charcoal-colored irises made it seem as if two voids were glaring at the VPUs. The two offenders remained silent, not daring to make a peep until the terms were stated. His halo was that of five glowing daggers, glowing ominously with a yellow hue to match his strict and intimidating composure.
"You will be faced with the previous opponents, and tasked to defeat them within an hour. Separately." He stated, and specified.
They had no problem with soloing, but the time constraint, however...
"An hour?! Surely you can't raise it a bit higher? Such incompetence makes for longer duration-" The raven-haired woman proposed, before being interrupted.
"Twenty minutes is plenty of time. Almost too much time, in my opinion." The antagonizing lady agreed with the militaristic one's time frame, to her disappointment.
"Your opinion belongs on Chirper, ya old bag!" Xero shook his fist.
"Xero!" Bleated Proxi.
"What? My sister's taste in men belongs there too." He shrugged.
"As if! You should be the last one talking since your squeeze likes that sort o treatment." The salacious goddess huffed, causing the hate sink to roll his eyes.
"When he slapped you with his meat rod, some common sense left that cum dump you call a brain." Grumbled the centermost entity.
"Hah!" The alluring woman laughed.
"Don't encourage them!" The strict one scolded.
"Apologies." The regal lady apologized.
"You will be given an hour to prepare, and we will watch your progress. If you succeed, then we will consider taking your efforts more seriously, and reward you in turn." The combat-prone entity started.
"And if they fail?" Citadel inquired.
"They will be tuned into marketable plushies. forced to exist as nothing more than a corporate scheme." The leftmost one spoke, a robotic text-to-speech module making sequential noises that mimicked conversation.
It was... A metallic cube. It had many grooves and outlines, that appeared to be masterfully crafted but from the outside, it was nothing more than a bulky box.
"No! That's a fate worse than death!" The regal lady shouted.
"How am I supposed to fuck as a plushie?!" Vhestora's face fell.
"You ever seen a body pillow?" Xero rose a brow tauntingly.
"Fuck off!" His sister flipped him off.
"The only war crimes I can commit at that point is taking children hostage." Thinking about his own situation as a plush, it did not bode well for him.
"Stop complaining before I put you two in a daycare after the transformation!" The center most shouted.
"Let's not get hasty here," Citadel spoke, somewhat quelling the entity's annoyance. "One hour is the designated time frame, so we'll stick to the determined terms."
"Very well. Your hour starts as this council is adjourned." The middlemost man spoke.
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?
"Do not fail me."
He warned as he disappeared into nothingness with fear particles permeating his last location.
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?
"Just listen to your father this time."
The regal entity pleaded, following suit.
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?
"But if you do fail, I'll be waiting for the spectacle."
The instigating entity giggled before disappearing.
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?
"..."
The militaristic one remained silent, not wasting his breath on the two VPUs.
"You two are inefficient."
TUMBLE!... TUMBLE!...
Rolling away, the cube insulted them one last time.
"Man, fuck that cube." The edgy VPU grumbled.
"Fuck yourself." The cube retorted in the distance to Xero's chargin.
The four left the room, and into the outside of the building, as Negadimension's bleak scenery welcomed them.
Dead trees and skeletal shrubbery. even the grass itself had a natural faded hue. The atmosphere itself seemed to grey shade the environment as the four walked out of the building into the street.
"You gotta be kidding me..." Absorbing what they'd have to be subjected to, Vhestora was not the most optimistic as the quarter walked down the street.
"I ain't losing to that blue piece of shit and his burnt fried chicken buddy a second time. An hour is more than enough to get my shit together. Twenty minutes is gonna feel like an eternity to those low-level bastards."
"If that was the case, then you wouldn't be in this situation." Citadel gave him a dull look.
"This is your fault, you know." Accused Vhestora to her brother. "If you didn't try to kill Neb, we'd have lower stakes right now."
"More on the lines of if he didn't fail." Proxi corrected.
"Proxi, last time I checked, you only fail at the one thing you should be useful for. Being in a damn kitchen." Xero insulted.
"Because making a sandwich and doing your job is so similar." She dismissed the insult with a snide comparison.
"Get your gear, you two. We'll be leaving in 57 minutes in front of the city square."
¿?¿?¿?¿?
Citadel created a portal with his pen while reminding his siblings of their time frame.
"Make sure they don't slack off, will you?" He asked Proxi.
"Yes, sir!" She nodded, happy to be of use to the VPU.
"That's a good girl. Get ready, And don't make me drag you two when I get back...!"
He leaves, before the blonde comments on her compliance, seeing her cherry at the praise.
"I bet you wish he railed you so hard, huh?"
"Do you think of anything that isn't degenerate!" The woman snapped at the floozie deity, her face turning red from anger or embarrassment was a question left unanswered.
"If she did, she'd have killed those guys last time." Xero drawled.
"Yet the person who thinks about murder 24/7/365 couldn't seal the deal either." Vhestora deadpanned at her brother.
"Tch. They'll wish they were dead when I'm done with them." Cracking his knuckles, the VPU got pissed just thinking about their faces.
The trio walked out of the building and through the streets of the denizens who looked at them but didn't dare to confront them.
After all, the VPU who damaged Malware not too long ago was among them.
"Make sure to use your HDD this time around. The playing of your food cost you the battle for both occasions so that should be the simplest mistake to correct." Proxi instructed.
"When it comes to your targets and fighting styles, that is up to your discretion based on your way of combat." She left the plan of action to the deities.
"I might go for the weakest and absolutely throttle them into a bloody mess. That alone should put in the minds of those other motherfuckers that I'm the scariest bastard they'll ever meet." Rubbing his hands, preying on the defenseless to scar the group into submission. "The others will piss themselves out of fear, and give me easy pickings!" He cackled.
"Your way of getting things done is so straightforward." The blonde goddess rolled her eyes. "Seducing those boys will the the way to victory. Nebula may have withstood my womanly wiles, but my goddess state will have him barking for me like a cute little doggy." Fantasizing about the outcome, the VPU made an odd face.
"Those are terrible strategies. No wonder you two lost the first time." She facepalmed, as the VPus gawked in offense.
"Just transform, and bulldoze every opponent before they could even register their severed heads rolling or their body dematerializing into oblivion." She offered a tactically sound solution.
"That's stupid." Xero huffed, folding his arms.
"And they say you're the smart one." Scoffed Vhestora, with a cheeky smile.
'WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUCK!' Proxi internally raged, growling at their blatant ignorance.
"Fine, just overwhelm them!" She yelled, exasperated. Her words fell on deaf ears, as they went to their weapons within the armory.
Still ignoring her advice, she just led them to the weapons department, before letting them collect their equipment.
When they emerged sometime later, the duo were now dressed in protection, with alternative clothes and finally unchained, well at least of the glowing kind.
Xero now wore some light armor, specifically an obsidian shoulder guard that hung from the right side over a black open trench that had some red accents that faded in a gradient manner.
A shining chain was added to his neck, with a menacing skull with crossbones on his maroon undervest.
His arms were still chained, yet he wielded a double-edged sword that had consumed the souls of countless. A red glow emanated from its eye as he held onto the ornated handle. It is said that the blade possesses its owner, and transforms them into a nightmare, yet its effects remain unnoticed with Xero.
His legs were chained as well, as his pants remained the same, his combat boots came without spikes but instead steel tipped with titanium.
His inhibitor rings were also present, but they glowed, their limits being reduced to allow more of the man's sealed energy to flow into him.
Meanwhile, Vhestora's outfit became less conserving, her shoulders exposed with her bra straps in view, as she wore a black with fushica gradients jacket with a white line on the side of the sleeves, that covered some of her palm, and showed midriff.
Her pants were shorts that went up to her thighs and hugged her curves, exposing her skin and making her legs and butt very enticing to look at, gripping her ass with charm.
She wore sneakers with pink accents, white tips, and three streaks that glowed pink in color.
Her neon pink hat's symbol now in the form of an eggplant emoji, purple in color. Hair tied in a ponytail with a black tie, she appealed to the ponytail aesthetic as well.
Her blade was reworked, and instead of the hiltless sword, it was reworked to incorporate laser technology to allow her to wield a plasma blade of the same shape.
They stood before the lady as she looked at them.
"Have you finished preparations?" Proxi inquired.
"Hell yeah. I'm ready to tear them a new one!" A treacherous glint came from the edge lord's eye.
"I'm ready to let them tear my guts!" The lecherous goddess chirped.
"One of you clearly hasn't taken the opportunity to heart." Deadpanned the assistant.
"Pussy is power!" Vhestora defiantly yelled.
"Clearly not brainpower." Proxi rolled her eyes.
"Will you sit on a chainsaw already!" The female VPU snarled at the mortal.
"Talking from experience, I presume?" A quirked brow and smug smile were her response.
"I fucking hate you!" Screeched the blonde goddess.
"Only because I speak the truth." A smile crept upon the woman's lips.
"Ladies, ladies, you're both pretty." After switching his gaze to the talking woman between the two, Xero decided to cut the bickering short.
He had grounds to torment his opponents, and he was not going to let his sister's dispute fuck his mind game over, like herself.
"Now let's get to business. I stab, you stab, we all stab. You got that?" He pointed to himself, then Vhestora, then circled it as it pointed in the air.
"I'm not going, just preparing you to go." Proxi reminded, with a rather similar tone to the nerd emoji.
"Go away already." Huffed the blonde.
"Not until your brother picks one of you up. By the VPUs, you two are children."
"Those VPUs include us, you know." Xero was not amused by the statement, nor the tone towards him.
"Oh, really? Shocking." Sarcasm dripped from the assistant's voice.
¿?¿?¿?¿?
"That's enough." The voice of the eldest sibling was heard as he stepped through another one of his portals.
"Before you go, your Worms wanted to see you two. Sending you off, if you will." He opted.
"Ah yes, my snuggly wuggly cuddle bottom." She cooed.
"Your what?" Xero cringed, as did Proxi.
"She means her simp." A new voice entered as it stepped through the portal.
She had short spiky red hair, with reptilian slits for pupils and golden orange irises. Black horns protruded from her head and stuck out in a curved jagged fashion. Her face had some scales present in streaks but otherwise was a bright light peach.
Her outfit was a red tube top attire that had a double strap around her trap, with a choker of black as her shoulders were exposed with an open dark grey jacket with red fabric that covered most of her palm that had fur on the neck area down to the exposed midriff that was also tied with some buckles and the whale tail thong was seent with her "ripped short-shorts" brown in color, yet had black string holding them together, exposing her side thighs quite a bit.
She wore black stockings that were with some darker brown laced shin-high boots, as the white fur was also present at the ends of the long jacket, reaching by her ankles.
"If I'm a simp because I treasure my queen, then so be it!" A male voice that seriously lacked any testosterone spoke.
A man with black hair that was dressed in a pink cap, and fitted with heart earrings, and somewhat shiny lips, and a collar with a ring in front, as he was fitted in a white sweater with the triangle his idol sported.
Pink track pants of the same color as his hat sported two white lines that ran down to the foothole. His shoes were white and simple, to match his sweater as he had a zealous look in his eyes,
"Your 'queen' is a courtesan." Growled the edge lord in air quotes.
"You know what that word means?"
"I'm edgy, not stupid so fuck off." Xero glared at the assistant.
"Who asked you, anyway!" Raved the soft boy, with a comical tear in his eye.
"You're crying from that? No wonder you get no hoes." Cackled the villain.
"And you do?!"
"Bottom bitch, reporting for duty." The reptilian-like lady grabbed the man's arm before licking his neck with a split tongue, marking him as she finished with a hickey.
"It should've been me, not him! It's not fair! Vhe, when can I get a hickey again?" He pleaded with his goddess.
"Don't worry, you'll get your weekly 4 PM CBT when we return." She told her follower.
"Thank you so much, Lady Vhestora!" He bowed, kissing her shoes as she smiled at his act of devotion.
"I'd tell him to go cut his balls off if he had any." Xero looked at Citadel.
"For real." The scaly lady giggled into the edge lord's arm.
"If we're done here, the council has chosen Xero to carry out his punishment first." The sharply dressed man adjusted his tie before looking at the venom-eyed sibling.
"Heheheh... My blood's pumping just thinking about caving in some skulls." The labors of battle spoke to Xero in ways that no other vice could.
"I'll supervise you since you can't be trusted to do your job without Big Brother." Making a joke, a groan elicited from the edge lord.
"Fine. But don't get in my way. Their skulls are mine to collect." The man spat, before folding his arms.
"I've been told to leave you to your devices, as interference would sully their judgment of your performance," Citadel revealed.
"I can't believe I have to go second. Xero's going to kill them before I have a chance to see what they look like when they're about to c-"
"Have you no shame!" Proxi screeched, a tick mark on her head.
"No." She replied curtly yet with content.
"Enough chatter, now get in."
¿?¿?¿?¿?
Citadel created another portal,with Xero staring intensely into the gateway.
ゴゴゴゴ!
"I will not fail a second time."
TELEPORT!
The two warriors found themselves on the top of the Green Box, within the capital of Leanbox. It was relatively windy at the altitude of the box's peak, so the conversation would be difficult to hear.
The CPU Candidate erected a wind barrier to allow comfortable dialogue before speaking his mind with flowing hair for cinematic effect.
"What the bloody 'ell! I was going to quell the explosion! Who knows how many people got injured by that?!" Vergo blew up, visibly angry at the extraterrestrial.
"Like I care. The important thing is that the fear energy was cleansed, alongside whatever was observing us. The human race is as fruitful as they are feeble; I'm sure they'll bounce back." The alien dismissed with his mane flowing for scene consistency.
"So you admit there's casualties!" Vergo shouted.
"Do you want to learn, or do you want to bitch? One of these things is more important than the other." Kars gave the blonde a dull glare, causing him to growl under his breath.
"Good. Now, to the meat and potatoes of our little lesson. You say you want to learn the Red Ring of Death and Immortigon." Kars rose two of his fingers, signifying each technique.
"To effectively use these, you must first conquer the fear of death," Kars told the time traveler.
"No problem, I already died inside when I had to leave my timeline. I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to attain this power-"
SCHING!...
ドドドド!
Kars had seemingly teleported to Vergo's position, with his bone blade at his neck. His features darkened, only showing the red circles that constricted with killing intent
Vergo's body was shaking profusely at the sudden brush with the icy grip of his demise. A cold sweat had started to gather around his temples before the Ultimate Life Form removed his blade from his jugular.
"No, Vergo. I don't refer to that emo drivel you tell yourself so that you think your actions are justified. I am referring to the primal fear of premature expiration." Kars' face returned to normal, clarifying his statement.
"If you can manage that, then you will have no difficulty utilizing Immortigon, and mastering the Red Ring of Death," Kars spoke. "Fail, and you will succumb long before either of these skills works in your favor." An ominous undertone radiated from his voice.
"So how do I do it?" Vergo narrowed his eyes.
"The method I'm about to tell you isn't something that can be achieved in a single day. No one who has a natural fear of death can stifle these instincts within 24 hours. It is but a pipe dream." The alien shook his head.
Vergo silently agreed, for only robots and idiots could rid themselves of such an integral part of existence without fail or preparation.
"However, I have the solution to our perceived plight." Kars crossed his arms in an X before spreading them apart with dramatic bravado.
SHINE!
A large magic circle expanded from below their feet before spreading through Leanbox's skyline.
The surrounding world of Gamindustri from Vergo's perspective faded into a white sea of void, not unlike a virtual reality background that was uncustomized.
"What is this place?..." Vergo's voice echoed through the expanse of the place they were in.
"I utilized a spell by the name of Mirror World, and altered its mechanics to suit your specific goal. Usually, it would be a high-level illusion spell, but in this case I've managed to rework it into a pocket dimension with the help of other spells such as Time Acceleration to maximize the amount of time that you could afford to spend inside here." Kars explained.
"So you can just poof an entire dimension out of your arse? Yeesh..." Vergo paled, reveling in the power that Kars possessed.
"Pocket dimension. It is not as complex nor grand compared to more traditional constructs in Euclidian or Hilbert spaces. That would take the SP of a multidimensional god, which I am not yet able to execute in my current state. " Kars admitted his shortcomings within the realm of magic since he was still coming to terms that the medium was even viable despite his remarkable intelligence.
The blonde time traveler's mind wanders to Citadel, since he was able to destroy multidimensional space in the original timeline, the CPU Candidate wondered if he was capable of such a feat with his pen.
The implications made the blonde's stomach stir.
Sensing that the godling was getting distracted, he continued.
"The second part of this lesson is to imagine a scenario. An emotionally significant item will be needed to extract the best out of the simulative environment." Kars instructed.
Vergo pondered which item he would offer to the alien.
After some hesitation, he took out Vert's bloodied pendant. His grip tightened on the item, Vergo's body unconsciously tightening his grip on the accessory, becoming apprehensive about handing it to Kars.
"If you're worried about it being sacrificed, it won't." A smug look was plastered on the alien's face. "I can see the distraught it would make you feel if the last thing that wasn't that musty bag you carry with your sister's mammaries left the face of Gamindustri." The extraterrestrial explained.
"I- How do you know about that?" Vergo's shock at the relevancy of the notorious tit bag was evident.
"I have my ways. You should check your shoulder more often." Kars pointed, before an ant suddenly jumped on the blonde's shoulder, to which Vergo staredat incredulously before it crawled into his clothes.
Letting go of the pendant, it floated into the air before ascending into the upward vacuum of the white void.
DIM!
The white void suddenly drowned in a sea of black.
It brightens to reveal a dystopian Leanbox, with many buildings damaged and fires that raged from the streets. A blue circle's circumference surrounded the two, with the world seemingly at a halt.
Debris, bodies, wreckage, the whole nine yards with a bleak grey sky to boot.
Something that was even more foreboding was the large portal that was a signature of the VPUs, mimicking a tear in reality that red-shaded the immediate space around it.
Vergo's expression was a mix of agape and horror, his home collapsing right in front of him.
Or at least, a mimicry of what at a point was his home.
"So this was the future? Some CPU Candidate you were." Kars cupped his chin, making a frivolous comment in the process.
"H-Hey! I don't want to hear anything from the guy who slaughtered his tribe about the state of my home!" Snapping out of his stupor, the blonde brought up some personal trivia.
"Relax. It's only a simulation. The good news is that you have a lot of time to get used to your surroundings. Not only does it not commence until you leave the circle, but time is accelerated monumentally in here, as I've already hinted towards." Kars told the blonde godling.
"By how much?" Vergo gazed at the Ultimate Life Form.
"I cannot find out the exact dilation until you start the simulation, but I can give you a way to update yourself on how long you've spent inside here." The blonde was notified.
MAGIC CIRCLE!
Kars used his transmutation with biological material from his hand and a sprinkle of elemental magic within the magic circle above his palm to create a digital stopwatch.
Vergo took the watch, wearing it on his left wrist, noticing that the timer was currently set to zero on all metrics.
But the time it took didn't matter in this scenario. He'd do whatever it took to spare his sister from the fate set before him.
And avenge his sister of the future.
"Learning RROD should be easy for you. The fact that you know that technique is fascinating since it's something I found in the ruins of the library, in an underground bunker before Gris reverted the country to its original state."
"I read it on a dark web post. Some ex-Basilicom members dug too deep into the files and found it, before being terminated for tampering with confidential documentation. The whole thing seemed shoddy until I asked Vert about it, and she told me not to bring it up again." Vergo recalled the first time he found out about it.
"Questionable origins aside, you are inclined to use it freely. The caveat is that it requires great emotional pain to activate, since it is originally supposed to be indictive of a Leanbox CPU's physical complications with their shares, yet can be manipulated to augment a CPU's power significantly." Kars explained once again.
"After the first Leanbox CPU, the following generation didn't have manual access to it, since the flaws that caused the problems were mostly fixed by the time your sister came into being." The extraterrestrial warrior reflected on the texts he read.
"Whatever its purpose, the main utility it provides now is more important than whatever my predecessors were afraid of." Vergo remained steadfast in his decision.
"There are four stages you need to access to use RROD's full power. Although trauma is needed to further each stage alongside a certain timeframe for your body to regulate itself." He told the godling.
Vergo remained in thought as he continued.
"Immortigon is simpler in concept since all I need to teach you is the ritual, and what you learned from RROD should carry over well to the stipulation of surviving the ritual." Kars finished.
"Also, how did you even find that out? RROD, I understand, but that is something even I had to piece together from several disconnected and destroyed tomes to piece together enough knowledge to figure out-"
"Nepchan." Vergo blankly answered.
"Is that supposed to be a plausible answer?" Kars quirked his brow.
"If you're cultured, it is. Seems you need to spend more time on the internet." It was Vergo's turn to act smug before the Ultimate Life Form.
With an eye roll, the alien returned to the topic.
"Good luck. You'll be needing it for the mental torture you'll endure." The pillarman bid.
FLASH!
Nodding, the time traveler left the circle with Kars disappearing in a flash of light.
Upon leaving the circle, death robots that looked identical to the ones in Vergo's time swarmed from the portal in the sky with the sounds of disarray and pandemonium flooding from below.
DASH!
SOAR!-
ZOOM!
Jumping into action, Vergo sprinted headfirst to the edge of the structure before kicking off the edge of the building. Using his monumental strength as a CPU, his foot slingshotted him with the world becoming a multi-colored blur within the splendor of velocity.
CLUTCH!
The colors slowly shifted back into their usual placements as the blonde decelerated before grabbing onto one of the killer bots.
SWING!
Cushioning himself with a barrier of wind applied against his body, he transferred the kinetic energy from his hand to the bot before its hull ripped through the air, and slammed into a line of its alloy kin.
BOOM!
CRASH!
KA-BOOM!
This resulted in a line of explosions that lit up the sky.
Floating in the air, Vergo chose his next target by landing on top of a killer robot's head before stomping off of it.
EXPLOSION!
Pressing his foot down with enough pressure to cause a mechanical implosion that reversed into a fiery explosion.
SLICE!
Corkscrewing in the air, the time travel set his body up for an axe kick before cleaving the nearest robot in half with a single motion.
SMASH!-
...BOOM!
Using the momentum of his foot to flip his body upright, he clasped his hands before smashing his fists into another robot with enough force to sent it hurtling into a building hundreds of feet below before it exploded.
Some of the robots became aware of his interference and attempted to intercept him after that remorseless takedown.
Unfortunately, that was what Vergo desired, as he ripped out a halberd from one of the robots as it attempted to take a swing at him.
SLASH!-
PARRY!
An ascending slash dispatched the robot with its own weapon before the blonde swiveled around to deflect an oncoming strike from his flank thanks to his aerokinetic field picking up the movement of wind behind him.
SLICE!
RUSH!-
SCREECH!
Beheading the killer bot with a horizontal motion was as natural as breathing to the CPU Candidate before he flew to the next robot who happened to be aggro'd and drove the business end of his loaned weapon into the center of its hull.
BAMF!
CLUTTER!
Sparks flew from the robot before Vergo's foot divorced its chest from his blade and sent it into several of its robotic brethren, piling up a decent clump of robots.
WOOSH!-
E-E-E-EXPLOSION!
Tossing his halberd akin to a tomahawk, the weapon spun with wicked velocity before slamming into the wounded robot, causing a chain explosion that lit up the immediate area.
THRU-
SWOOSH!
The bloke's head suddenly veered to the left, apathetically dodging an attempt to run through his head.
CLANK!-
KA-BOOM!...
Slamming his elbow into the robot behind him, a sudden rush of heat and metallic scrap flew ahead of his sight, signifying its destruction.
Taking his finger, he coated it in his aerokinesis before utilizing drag to create friction.
"Ignition Incision!"
FWASH!
Swiping his index and middle fingers, he sent a line of combusting wind to a group of bots, their metallic shells being exposed to the high temperatures and impact of the SP Skill before promptly exploding from their internal wiring overheating past the brink.
FWAASH!
Swiping his fingers on the other hand, another line of fiery wind swept through the sky, slamming into a mass of robots before their conglomerate exploded violently with the wind blowing Vergo's hair back from the recoil.
FWAASH!
FWAASH!
FWAASH!
Lines of fire took out grounds of killer bots, several explosions ringing through the sky as the time traveler started to prioritize crowd control over styling on his opponents.
Flaming metal rained from the sky, clattering to the ground and burning to ash with the blonde deity swiping away at the legions of metallic opposition that endlessly approached his position.
Therefore, some more resistance was implemented to quell this inorganic incursion.
FWAASH!
Using both hands, the CPU Candidate sent a cross-shaped Ignition Incision to the portal the robots were entering into the dimension from.
"Aero!"
Before outstretching his hand to send his wind spell, causing the attack to rotate with the propulsion from his SP Skill and evolve into a spiraling wheel of fiery destruction.
THOOM!
Any of the robots that were exiting the portal were incinerated without exception. The explosion that followed their demise echoed throughout the entirety of Leanbox due to its sheer magnitude alone.
'The portal! They'll just keep regenerating their numbers if I don't deal with it!'
ZOOM!
Vergo narrowed his eyes as he rushed to the interdimensional gateway.
Robots started to block his path, swarming in the direction he was heading to obstruct the speeding CPU Candidate.
"Grr... RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
SHOCKWAVE!
Vergo growled at the sight of the robots before releasing a titanic scream from the top of his lungs.
A bout of his Hellish Holler did wonders, the wave of relentless sound creating a powerful shockwave capable of rupturing the swarm to the point of detonation as it spread further.
SHOCKWAVE!
Even the robots on the outskirts of Leanbox's skyline were subject to its effects, with a raging bellow from the blonde warrior doing wonders to his cause.
With nothing to stop him from reaching the crack in space, the CPU Candidate made his way to it before stopping right before the portal.
'Hmm... Neutralizing a fear energy portal. I should be able to pull off sealing it if I destabilize it with a superior pulse of share energy, since the two are antagonistic by nature.' Vergo deduced.
Taking his hands, he set them up with his palms facing each other with his left above and right below.
...GLOW!
Concentrating his share energy, he made his palms glow green.
BURST!
And for safe measure, his palms were enhanced with KI, since he had to utterly obliterate whatever structural stability the portal had in order to seal it completely.
BOOM!...
Thereby executing his Thunderclap skill, he managed to send a concentrated pulse of share energy that came into contact with the portal that seemed to almost bleed into the dimension.
¿?¿?¿?¿?...
The portal fizzled into nonexistence, unable to sustain its fearful essence in the face of the countermeasure sprouted by Vergo. In a matter of seconds, the portal ceased to be, leaving the blonde the lone figure in the sky.
"That should do it... Even if it's just a simulation, I can't just let these bucketheads run amok and slay the NPCs." The CPU Candidate of Leanbox spoke aloud.
"It's a common tactic for those guys to slay the populace to cripple the CPU. I have to teach Vert and the others that share conservation technique that Nebula did for me. Lest they end up like how they did in the future..." Vergo sighed.
Yet his pupils shrunk at the sound of screams, snapping him back to the moment at hand. Vergo looked below, before spotting said NPCs scattering, with the same robots he destroyed in the air minutes ago terrorizing them.
"As above, so below." Leaning back, Vergo stopped using his control over the wind and fell headfirst towards the street.
Vibrating his hand, it lost focus and resembled that of a blurry picture. Winding his arm back, he honed in on a robot that raised its weapon in preparation to execute a defenseless senior citizen.
"Someone save me!" The old lady yelled in fright, closing her eyes to the fate that awaited her.
"PREPARE TO DIE, SCHUM."
"Static Slap!"
From the air, it wasn't a bird nor plane, but a bloke falling at terminal velocity with a hand coated with blue electricity as he swung his arm forward with a roar of his SP Skill.
BZZT!
metal pipe falling sound effect!-
Connecting his palm with the robot's body, it crumpled around his hand before being ejected into a wall and dismembering all its parts with a comical sound upon impact.
"T-Thank you..." The elderly woman weakly gave her gratitude as the blonde CPU looked down at the woman going to outstretch his hand in an attempt to help her up.
She tried to give him her hand, but before their fingers could make contact-
PIXELATE!...
"!"
She dissolved into zeros and ones, a solemnly peaceful look overtaking her before her form dissipated.
Vergo reacted with shock before slowly clenching his fists. They shook from the pressure he exerted within their grasp.
He knew that it was just a simulated dimension made by Kars but in the end, his heart couldn't bear to see even the synthetic variants of his people succumb; it was too close to his heart.
SWIRL...!
The wind slowly circulated his feet, gusts rising from the ground into the air.
His clothes and hair flapped from the wind pressure, yet his eyes persisted with their narrowed gaze.
Vergo's irises momentarily glowed into a colorful purple before fading to their azure, with his pupils switching to power signals before returning to their human counterparts.
If he couldn't save them...
Then...
VANISH!-
He'd decimate those who had hurt them.
...WHOOOOSH!
His figure flickered before his body instantaneously stretched forward in a streak of colors, with a tremendous burst of wind following behind him, shattering whatever windows were left, ripping several lamposts and decorative trees out of the ground, alongside anything that wasn't bolted to the concrete.
ZOOM!
ZOOM!
ZOOM!
ZOOM!
His form tore through the city blocks with extreme agility, the tarmac his feet made contact with flying up into the air behind him.
With the time traveler's eyes constricted, the orbs bounced around with the intent to rip apart whatever robots remained.
WHIZZ!-
SCATTER!-
SKID!-
Heads, cores, and torsos scattered about before explosions quickly followed. Robots were being dispatched with such brutal efficiency that the fierce gust of wind caught up to the explosion that would've ensured, quelling it before it even had time to expand.
CLANG!
PUNCTURE!
SHRED!
Vergo ran around the capitol, relentlessly ripping open the sparse robots that he could lay his hands on. Most of his victims couldn't even process their decommissioning, as they would be fully functional in one frame and a pile of burning scrap the next.
His eyes carried a certain mania about removing them from the streets, forsaking the protection of the citizens in exchange for their avenging.
"Heh..." A small, unassuming smile formed on his face.
CLEAVE!
"Heheh..." That smile developed into a pang of jubilance, letting out a chuckle.
PRY!
CRUMPLE!
"Hahaha...!" Vergo slowly became conscious of his rising mood, enjoying the merciless destruction he was causing.
SLAM!
CRASH!
DENT!
"HAHAHAHA!" Unable to truly understand the implications of his taste for bloodlust, he entertained the emotion he was feeling, cackling as loudly as he wished.
SPLATTER!
"HAAAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Oil from the robots that he was dismantling splattered onto the face of the blonde, but he was too engrossed in his wanton destruction to care. The slaying of the VPU's possessions brought him too great of a joy to be sullied by trivial matters.
The downright maniacal laughter that bordered on villainous permeated his mind, as the streets echoed his twisted jubilee.
"I LOVE THIS!"
GRAB-
Outstretching his hand, he took an unsuspecting robot by the head, its sensors too slow to even register that it was no longer performing its automated task.
"THIS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR!"
-SMASH!
Smashing the metallic menace into one of its brethren destroyed them both in the faint echoes of what would've been an explosion before his consequential torrent of wind silenced it.
"I'M ABSOLUTELY CRAZY ABOUT IT! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The fact that Vergo couldn't distinguish what he felt between genuine happiness and grief-driven vengeance taking the form of maniacal retribution should've been more concerning at the moment, but he was locked in suffice it to say.
Seeing more robots on the ground terrorizing citizens, more blasts were doled out to destroy them without remorse, for their metallic shells harbored no sympathy, only emotionless obedience to destruction.
He would've probably gotten lost in the newfound euphoria of beep-boop execution had it not been for a figure suddenly knocking him out of his almost narcotic-like state.
"GYAHAHAHAHA!-"
SLAM!
"Kyaa!"
"Guh!"
By knocking into him.
The two tumbled in a heap until they hit a park wall crashing through it before they came to a stop.
The groaning of a feminine voice snapped him out of his fanatical lust for oil spilling from the insurgent robots, his attention now on whoever landed on hi, be it friend or foe.
"Oww... I can't believe this was the day that they attacked Gamindustri. It was the anniversary of my little brother's disappearance." She moaned through the pain she felt.
That voice sounded all too familiar to the time traveler. He never thought about how he would react if he might have seen that woman, even in this simulated space.
"W-What's your brother's name?" Vergo asked, curiosity laced through his question but trying to mask the anxiety that was inside his chest.
"Vergo... Huh?" She paused, realizing that she was having a conversation with the apparent man who cushioned her tumble. "I'm terribly sorry! I didn't mean to crash into you! Didn't you hear the message to get to the disaster shelters?" Her tone became worrisome, scrambling to face the presumed civilian she had bumped into.
But as her eyes locked with the fellow blonde, she became at a loss for words.
"V-Vert..." Vergo's voice trembled, a slew of buried emotions bursting in a wave that was hard to describe. The dull pain of not being able to be with her in her final moments had subsided upon the viewing of the woman before him.
Green Heart in her glory was at a loss for words at who she was looking at. The feeling was definitely mutual but even so, it still was a train-stopping experience for the both of them.
"Vergo..." Green Heart was not faring much better in that department either, having not seen her brother for several years.
They stared at each other, too stunned for an immediate reaction. It was after several seconds that the blonde bloke decided to voice what he wanted to say.
"...I'm so sor-"
Vergo's apologetic words were cut off by his sister's embrace.
The goddess was gripping her brother tighter than any recent memory he could muster, constantly shifting her hug as if he would evaporate if she weren't constantly holding onto him.
"I've missed you, so, so much." She croaked before closing her eyes to feel her brother's presence.
Vergo knew this was a simulation. He knew that it wasn't real. But he didn't know why he couldn't find the strength to reject the copy of his sister.
"I missed you too, Vert." The blonde time-traveler managed, before sharing the embrace which caused the CPU to relax her shifty hands into a single place alongside a small smile.
...
"That's a little much, Vert." Vergo wheezed.
"Huh?" The goddess opened a half-lidded eye.
"You're... You're squeezing the air out of my lungs." The CPU Candidate of Leanbox breathed with moderate difficulty.
"Goodness! Forgive me Vergo, I didn't mean to squeeze you so hard!" She let go of the blonde bloke, who took some deep breaths before returning to normal, lest his name be rebranded from Future Heart to Blue Heart.
"I... I understand. It's just that you're really glad to see me. Same here... big sis." An earnest yet charming smile radiated from the male deity.
"You seem older. Has it been that long since we've last seen each other?" Green Heart inquired to her reunited sibling.
"Nearly ten years. I'd be concerned if I still look like I go to sleep at 8 PM." The time-traveler chuckled.
"Is that so? Since you've grown into quite a handsome fellow, I request your services, o kind sir." Leanbox's CPU joshed with her wording but meant the implications.
"Count on me, dear sister. I shalt quell thou troubles-"
ゴゴゴゴ!
Vergo's senses screamed at him to move, feeling a sensation that he had not experienced in a lengthy while.
Fear.
Not just fear, but fear energy.
They remained like that until
WHOOSH!
It felt like an insanely fast object approaching the two of them and had a vague resemblance to a thrown blade of some sort according to his aerokinetic sense.
Nevertheless, he had to move quickly.
SHOVE!-
"G-Gah!"
Vert did not expect her brother to suddenly push her away, her face wrenching into that of hurt at the cold-hearted move he seemingly committed.
ZOOM!
Yet the passing of a high-speed object that had seemingly aimed for the both of them made her feelings lopsided into that of bafflement, now secretly grateful for her brother's cold action.
Falling to the ground, Vergo rolled before pushing himself up with a hand to face the individual who was responsible for that attempt on his and his sister's life.
Green Heart used her spear to push herself off the ground, having the same notion as her eyes looking in the direction the object zipped from.
STEP...
STEP...
STEP...
Footsteps walked on the grass, slow and deliberate as if their owner were taking a stroll.
The figure the footsteps belonged to was shrouded in a cloak of fear made manifest, blocking all discernable features. It only left vague anthropomorphic features that resembled a human.
Yet no human being could ever possess an intimidating aura of that caliber.
Yet there was another person who was moving to the same tempo as him. Not of their own volition, but instead held by the neck as their body helplessly dangled above the ground.
Her green hair was moderately frazzled, and her body was battered and scathed from what appeared to be a fight. Her red eyes winced in pain from the wounds that she sustained with a bloody nose and trails of blood from the corners of her mouth.
Her breathing was hitched and hindered by what was most likely a couple of ribs that punctured her lung. Her hands were busy trying to pry the hand that gripped around her neck to no avail, making the lady look all the more helpless.
"Chika...?" Vergo looked on with concern, his eyes slowly widening at the scene before him. His former Oracle was being death-gripped by the terrifying mass of fear energy, which began tightening its hold on her windpipe.
...HOLD!
"Ghk!" The green-haired Oracle choked, her red irises shrinking from the lack of oxygen in her lungs. The corners of her eyes started to well up instinctually from the deprivation of one of her body's vital resources.
"Help me... Sister...!"
GRIP!
She managed to sound out before the audible sound effect of her neck being constricted was heard.
"Unhand her, you rapscallion!" Vert in a mix of anger and hysteria, demanded the malevolent figure to release her Oracle.
"Tell me you're joking. I have a hostage and you think I'll just send her on her way? Pfft!" The figure seemed amused by the demand as they barely contained a laugh.
Their voice was distorted, yet undoubtedly masculine. It sounded all too familiar to Vergo despite the lack of visual confirmation.
"It's you...!" Vergo's shock slowly crumbled into a much more intolerable emotion; anger.
"Oh? Well isn't this a surprise." The figure flashed a piercing grin in the midst of his dark miasma. "The prodigal son returns. I thought you would never show your face in the time of your sister's need." He continued with a mocking tone.
"You'd be perfectly content in your sister's death, wouldn't you? Chika's demise would just be icing on the cake." The figure continued, Vergo visibly shaking at the constant taunting his previous family values were subjected to.
"Vergo...?" Vert looked at him, confused. "What is he talking about?"
"Mr. I Can't Think Of One Moment That I Enjoyed In Leanbox. You said it yourself that you only wanted to see Vert's face when they were burying her, so I'm on grave-digging duty." The red frenzied eyes of the pernicious figure were temporarily revealed before being shrouded in fear.
Vergo's face fell as his sister gave him a betrayed look that melded with the shock of what the figure revealed.
"Is that... Is that true, Vergo?" She looked at him with the hope of his denial.
But the blonde couldn't even muster the strength to confront his sister on the matter, as any defense he'd tell her would be lies.
"You should be thanking me! Chika couldn't shut up for five minutes if I recall?" Bringing up more details from the time traveler's past, he decided to raise the curtain on his identity.
BURST!
The fear energy exploded off of the frame of the perpetrator, being revealed as a man that Vergo loathed with all his being.
"CITADEL!" Vergo snarled, his irises shaking from the fury his figure alone brought his mind. His muscles twitched with raging resentment as if his entire fiber was screaming to attack the man before him.
"SHE'LL NEVER OPEN HER REGPGUNANT MOUTH EVER AGAIN AFTER I CRUSH HER THROAT!"
"NO!"
FLOAT!
Green Heart kicked off the ground, in a blazen attempt to reach the Oracle.
ZOOM!
But a streak of green bypassed her, a strong gust of wind following him that threw Vert's hair forward as she flinched in surprise.
Her eyes quickly blinked to regain sight of what was about to occur.
"I WON'T LET YOU!"
ドドドド!
Vergo outstretched his hand, with another cocked back as the VPU flashed a malicious toothy grin with Chika closing her eyes, preparing for the worst with only moments for the CPU Candidate to react.
A/N:
Chapter complete!