"Alright, here's what we're gonna do..." The brunette grabbed a wooden branch and began drawing on the dirt. "I'll go down there and distract the guards on the roof. You wait here until I give you the signal. Got it?"
"Yeah, I think so." Nepgear nodded and turned her head towards her. "Are you sure this will work?"
"It better." She grabbed something from her pocket and tossed it to her. "Here, we'll be able to communicate via the earpiece. Just cover me while I make my way down."
Nepgear caught it and placed the device on her ear. She then transformed and watched her friend make her way down the cliff via the scope of her gun blade until she neared the front of the base. "Okay, I have my sight on you."
"Good." She heard her friend over the earpiece. "Get ready for the show of a lifetime."
IF took a breath and slowly approached until the guards took notice of her.
"Stop! You're trespassing." One of them shouted as he aimed his weapon towards her. "Turn around and leave or we will open fire."
"People. I am but a humble messenger. I came to deliver you the wonderful message of our CPU." Another three guards rushed and aimed their guns at her. All of them wore armor vests and held automatic rifles.
"You've all committed a great sin by defying her highness by following ASIC." She continued approaching slowly with her hands raised before suddenly the sound of a bullet whizzed past her ear. A warning bullet was shot next to her foot but she didn't even flinch.
"Last chance, turn around or we will open fire!"
"It's not too late to repent. Repent or the great CPU, Lilac Heart, shall punish you and smite you down from above the heavens." She held her hands high towards the sky.
"Yeah, as if. Let's see if your great CPU can save you." One of them let out a snort.
"You sure about that?" IF simply grinned before she felt a sudden shockwave as Lilac Heart dropped down from the sky and knocked all of the four guards off using the shockwave caused by her blade before any of them could react.
"Oh, would you look at that? I guess my prayers were answered after all. Praise be." Her friend went and joined her by her side.
"Ha, ha. Very funny." Lilac Heart couldn't help but roll her eyes at her and curve a small smile. "You've really played that role so well. How did you come up with that anyway?"
"Dunno. I just came up with it as I walked. Now, every ASIC douchebag is expecting us inside. So let's get this over with, shall we?" IF drew her blades and pistol from her sleeves and approached the door.
Lalic Heart took position behind her friend and prepared herself for the upcoming fight.
"On my mark... now!"
She slammed the door with her foot and immediately slid and took cover behind a rusted metal barrel as they were immediately greeted with gunshots. The sounds of buttles hitting objects echoed through the building.
"Shit! The CPU is here. Kill them!" One of them shouted before they all opened fire at them. The sound of gunshots reverberated through the building.
Lilac Heart followed behind and flew in and fired her gunblade at the ASIC from above while gracefully dodging upcoming bullets from all sides thanks to her instincts and quick reflexes. While everyone was occupied firing at the CPU, IF took this chance and popped out of cover and aimed her gun, and fired a couple of shots before her gun clicked.
She managed to land a few precise and calculated shots and watched them drop dead with bleeding wounds.
A bullet whizzed past her before she instantly dove back under cover. IF took this moment to quickly remove the empty magazine from her pistol and replace it with a new one. She then jumped over the barrel and quickly rolled behind a pillar wall as she evaded the upcoming bullets.
Lilac Heart continued to shoot more energy shots. She noticed an ASIC member firing at her from above. She weaved left and right before she delivered a power kick, which knocked him back against the wall as he was instantly knocked out cold.
IF continued to fire her gun before a bullet hit her in the shoulder, with the body armor absorbing most of the impact energy from the bullet. The impact was enough to knock her back on the ground and she felt as though a moving truck had hit her.
One of ASIC dragged his fallen comrade to safety while the other two kept firing.
Lalic Heart then got behind IF and fired a few energy shots to finish the ASIC while she shielded her friend. All that was left were two remaining ASICs who decided to retreat back.
The place was filled with a mixed smell of smoke and blood, with bodies lying dead all over the place.
The CPU didn't bother going after them. Instead, she turned back and approached her friend, who was lying on her back. She then crouched down at her level. "Are you okay, IF?"
"Yeah... I'll live." She winced as she grabbed her shoulder and saw her armor deformed in the impacted area where the bullet had struck her. The CPU helped her stand up on her feet. "Those bastards ran. Come on, let's go after them before we lose sight of them."
The two headed to where the runners ran. The sunlight illuminated the place from the fans on the side. The place was spacious and empty. Nature began reclaiming the place as moss began growing on the wall and plants began growing on the floor, which produced an earthy aroma. There was graffiti on the wall that was filled with cracks and cockroaches, along with rodents that had taken residence.
As they moved to another room, IF's eyes caught something moving in the distance before they got wide as she heard the sound of something spinning rapidly.
"Crap, get down." She quickly pushed her with her body as the two fell behind a pillar wall. Soon, bullets began raining as they heard the stone clattering continuously while the two flinched from the loud noise.
"Great, they got a freakin' auto turret." IF groaned before she got up from under her friend and leaned her back against the wall. "No way in hell we're going through that thing."
Lilac Heart's eyes roamed the floor for a moment before she turned back to her friend. "I can use my M.B.P.L. to destroy it, but it takes time for it to fully charge."
"How long?"
"About 10 seconds."
"That's too long." IF took a slight peek for a moment, which caused more bullets to fire at her. She quickly turned her head back and gritted her teeth. "Can't you just charge and then fire it from here?"
Lilac Heart shook her head. "No. I must be completely still. Otherwise, any movements will make it more difficult for me to control the beam and hold it steady."
"Alright... I got a dumb idea." IF muttered under her breath. "I'll run around the turret and keep it locked on me, which will hopefully buy you enough time until you can charge up your beam attack."
"Can you even outrun it?"
"Hey, I'm not called the Windwalker for no reason." She grinned as she took out an Adrenaline Shot and swiftly injected it into the outer side of her thigh. She gritted her teeth from the slight sting as she felt her heartbeat and breathing increase drastically and felt all her senses heighten.
"Don't miss, or we're going to end up like Swiss cheese!"
She then ran like she was racing against the wind. The turret began locking on her and firing, with bullets slowly inching near each moment. Lilac Heart quickly went out of her cover and lined up her shot at the turret.
The gun blade began heating up as it made a charging noise while she mentally began counting down.
10...
9...
8...
IF was still running as if her shoes were on fire. There was no place left for her to run, as she was about to hit a wall. She then narrowed her eyes and jumped at the last second before performing a wall run and then a backflip in the air. Time seemed to slow down as she saw the turret aiming up toward her.
3...
2...
1...
The room lit up in bright light as the powerful beam left her weapon and obliterated the machine to ashes. She planted her foot on the ground so she would not get knocked back by the powerful recoil. She was slightly pushed back but she kept tightening her grip to keep it steady. As soon as the beam slowly died down, the sudden shift of momentum made her lose her balance for a moment before she corrected herself.
The only thing left of the turret was a crater of smoke and the smell of melted metal. Her body then evolved in a light before she was back to her human form once again.
Dang, out of juice already.
IF landed on her feet with a hand planted on the ground. She felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She couldn't keep up with her breathing pace. She was sweating like a fountain, as she felt a terrible headache with nausea filling her.
"Goodness, that was a close one." Nepgear went to her friend's side. "Are you alright, IF?"
"Yeah... Ugh." She winced as she grabbed her head and she felt the room was spinning. "Just seeing double of everything."
"Will you be okay?" Nepgear asked as she tilted her head.
"Yeah, The effect should wear off soon. What matters is capturing those two. Come on." IF shrugged it off and went ahead, with Nepgear following behind shortly after.
"Okay then..." The two continued to the other room, which had two floors connected by stairs.
"Nepgear climbed the stairs and was about to check one of the rooms when suddenly the door flung open, and one of the ASICs lunged at her, and two fell off from the railing, with Nepgear landing on a wooden crate with a loud crack. She let out a groan and a cough as she felt herself inhaling something that made her throat tickle.
The other ASIC member slammed on the floor beside her. He managed to get up but not before stumbling for a bit and making a run for it.
"Hey, Stop!" IF shouted as she aimed her gun at him, but her warning went deaf. She then fired a couple of shots but all of them missed, which led him to escape from her clutches. She cursed under her breath and then averted her attention at her friend lying on the broken wooden crate.
"Damn, that was a nasty fall. You alive there, Gear?" She extended her hand towards her.
"Yes... ow." She lifted herself rubbed her neck and felt her back crack a little. She felt as if she had broken a few bones from falling. Thankfully, the wooden box helped soften her land a little. "That guy came out of nowhere. I'm okay though."
"Great, come on, we can't let'em get away." She gritted her teeth and went after the two last ASIC members. She slammed the door and spotted the two trying to make their escape.
"I said stop, damn it!" She shouted as she fired her gun to incapacitate the two but all of her shots missed her targets.
The first one ran away while the other stopped at the doorway.
"Heh, you just don't know when to give up." He let out a sneer before he grabbed a disc from his pocket and smashed it on the ground. The room evolved into a bright light before a giant, four-legged creature with thick horns appeared before them. The giant bull's body was fully covered in metal armor, except for his stomach and backside.
"So long, girlies! Enjoy your gift." He let out a snorting laugh before he left.
"Okay, this is seriously pissing me the hell off..." IF lowered her gun and growled.
"I'll distract it." Nepgear took a few steps forward and took a quick chug from her bitter Energizer potion. "You go after those two."
"You sure?"
"Yes." She nodded before she transformed into Hard Drive Divinity. She then loudly whistled to get the monsters' attention. "Hey! Over here, you big brute."
The giant bull turned his attention to the CPU and let out a loud huff through its nose.
"Okay." The brunette then rushed by the large monster, who ignored her and focused its full on the sole purple girl. She narrowed her eyes and stared down at the monster.
It leaned its head down and pointed its large horn at her before it began rubbing its foot and the ground while its tail was wagging frantically.
She winced as she felt a sharp headache but she simply ignored it and focused on the monster in front of her. The bull then let out a mighty bellow before it charged at her with the sound of its hooves rapidly clopping on the floor.
Nepgear stood her ground and watched as the monster darted towards her. Just before it rammed her, she jumped and quite literally grabbed the bull by its horns. The monster let out another bellow as it wildly trashed around, trying to buck her off but Nepgear held on tight and yanked it to steer it towards the wall.
The monster itself rammed itself into a wall before she threw herself in the air and saw the giant dent in the wall that the giant bull left behind.
She watched it free itself and was momentarily disoriented due to the impact. She then noticed a gas tank with a flammable sign that was located behind her before she turned to look at the monster.
The giant bull finally snapped back before it let out a mighty bellow that sent a shockwave through the room. Lilac Heart aimed her gunblade and began to fire energy shots at the monster, which were all blocked by the armor.
Come on, take the bait.
The monster let out a bellow and charged once again. Nepgear waited for the perfect moment before she rolled out of the way and watched the monster crash head-first into the large gas tank.
Hasta luego.
She quickly charged up her weapon and shot a powerful, large energy shot, which ignited the gas tank and caused a large explosion before her, which knocked her back. She quickly regains her footing and shields her face from the raging flames and smoke.
The monster wailed as its body was engulfed in flames and the body armor added more burn before its large body flopped onto the floor while it continued to burn in crisp. The place was filled with the smell of burning metal, fur, and smoked beef. Nepgear coughed and tried to clear the smoke out by waving her hand. After confirming that the monster was down for good, she quickly went after her friend.
After running for a bit, she found IF aiming her gun at one of ASICs, who was kneeling with his hands behind his head. She then noticed her friend coming. "Glad to see you in one piece."
"Yeah, I've dealt with the monster."
"Yeah, I felt the explosion from here. I managed to catch one of them but the other ran away."
"Please don't shoot, I-I surrender—"
"Shut it!"
"Which way?" Nepgear asked.
"That way." IF extended her hand and pointed with her finger in the direction he took. "You go after the other. I'll handle this one."
"I'm on it." Nepgear nodded and took off.
After a while, she seemed to reach a dead end and saw a garage door that had a small opening enough to crawl through.
Nepgear crouched and flung the door open by pushing up with all her might. She saw a room with a lot of wooden crates inside. She scanned the storage room to search for the last ASIC runner.
She tightened her grip on her weapon and cautiously navigated the dark room with slow steps. The sharp pain in her head emerged once again and got worse. She held her head and tried to soothe the headache by massaging it.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps whizzing behind her and a crate was knocked over. Nepgear gasped and quickly turned around and aimed her gun blade but found no one. She lingered for a bit before she slowly approached the spot where the fallen crate was until suddenly she felt herself being tackled on the floor.
The last ASIC member was now on top of her and was holding a knife in his hand.
"Hahahaha—oomph!" He let out a laugh as he was about to plunge it in her but the CPU quickly retaliated by kicking him in the gut, which caused him to let out a groan and wrap his arms around it. Nepgear, not bothering to pick up her weapon from the floor, quickly tackled him to the floor delivered a punch to his face, and held him by the neck.
He spat out blood from his mouth but the ASIC guy, instead of begging for his life, cracked an unhinged smile and stared her down.
He let out a snort. "Is that all you got, CPU? You're so weak and pathetic."
Nepgear growled and delivered another punch to his face.
"Oof! Hahahahahaha. Come on, you can hit harder than that! Or are you too delicate to get your hands dirty?" He continued to poke the bear with a stick, which made Nepgear's blood boil and she tightened her grip on his neck and delivered another punch.
"Owph! Hahaha, finally decided to show your true colors, huh?" He sneered through his teeth. "Admit it, you take pleasure in killing but you mask it under your CPU title, right?"
And another punch.
"HAHAHAHA! You're nothing, you CPU whore. All of the other CPUs are dead and soon you will be too. You and your other friend."
And another.
He let out a cough and spit out more blood. Despite his face being covered in bruises and blood, his smile didn't vanish. "No wonder your bitch of a sister is dead too—"
And just like that, all of the reasoning was thrown out of the window as she felt her urges to shut him grow more and more until they overtook her mind. She gritted her teeth and her eyes turned red as she delivered another punch until her knuckles turned purple.
And another.
And another.
And another.
And another.
Her ears began ringing and everything got muffled as if her surroundings ceased to exist. She heard a faint noise in the distance but all of her focus was on delivering punches one after the other. She then felt someone grab her wrist and yank her off him.
"Nepgear, stop!" IF shouted.
This made Nepgear snap out of it. "IF...? W-What—"
"What the hell, Nepgear?" She loudly hissed. "You were supposed to capture him, not... this."
She followed where her friend was pointing and immediately her eyes almost bulged out of her eye socket. She saw the lying body of the ASIC guy, specifically his face, which was brutally beaten to the point of unrecognition. She slowly turned her face down and noticed the blood splattered in her hands. She tried to open her mouth but found her throat dry, which made her make a pathetic gaging noise instead.
No... this can't be.
She slowly turned back to her friend and tried to find her voice back. But before either of them could speak, a faint cough caught both of their attention. The ASIC let out a few weak coughs and spat some blood. Despite his critical condition and the way his life was hanging on a piece of thread, he managed to smile and let out a choking laugh, and use all of his remaining energy to spout his last words.
"This... ggghh... isn't... over... hahaha... This is only... hhhng... the beginning..." He slowly lifted his head to face the CPU. "Soon... Ar... ghk... foire... our savior... will come back..."
His body then flopped on the floor before he took one last breath and his body went limp. The Windwalker quickly rushed to him before she crouched down. She grabbed his arm and then placed two fingers on his neck. After a few moments, she let a curse under her breath before she let go of his arm and stood up. She let out a sigh and shook her head as she turned to look at her. "He's gone."
"IF... I didn't mean..." Nepgear was unable to come up with words as her mind was a jumble of mess at the moment.
"Jeez, what the hell happened, Nepgear?" Her tone dropped to a whisper and look at her. "This isn't like you to act out like that."
"I-I-I don't know what came over me. I swear." The CPU clenched her hair and stared at the floor.
"Tell me everything." The brunette walked up to her and gently shook her shoulder. "What happened after you chased after the guy?"
"I-I was running after him. Then... I reached a storage room and searched inside." Nepgear took a moment to collect herself and breathe, her voice wavering a bit. "Then... he jumped on me but then... I... felt like I wasn't in control of my body. I then kicked the guy and the next thing I knew, I tackled him to the ground. He then began taunting me and I got angry and I punched him. It felt like I couldn't resist those urges in my head and all I wanted was to shut him up and then... h-he mentioned my sister and I... lost it and everything became a blur."
She then looked at her friend and desperately grasped her shoulders until her finger almost dug under her skin. "I swear on my sister, IF. I don't know what made me lose myself like this. Please... you have to believe me." She whispered.
"Hey, hey, hey." IF's voice dropped to a soothing tone. She grasped her hands on her shoulders and slowly lifted them and stared directly at her. "I believe you, okay? Look, I think it's best that you head back. I'll stay here and take care of cleaning up the place. Sounds good?"
Nepgear felt her heartbeat slowing down and her breathing returning to normal as she listened to her friend's voice. After a few, she snapped back and shook her head. "Yeah, yeah, okay."
"Good." IF nodded and slowly let go of her hands. "We'll deal with it later."
Nepgear watched her friend turn around as she took out one of her phones and called someone. Her eyes turned and they lingered on the dead body before she felt her stomach twist and felt like throwing up at the sight.
She quickly turned around and left IF behind as she made her way out of the base. Once she was outside, she took off in the direction of her home as the sun was about to set with her mind still lingering on the disturbing image.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
I'm close to finishing Victory. I currently have over 400 hours of playtime.
Since I've yet to play MK2, don't mind if the characters feel a bit out of character. Once I play MK2, I'll edit any inconsistencies.
Next Chapter: Impending Storm
Nepgear gets an emergency call about sightings of monsters wandering close to Planeptune's border.