HN is Real: Chapter 13: Fight or Flight

With no more leads, the party decided that the best course of action would be to check on Chian. The poor girl had been grieving for about an hour now so the party believed that she might like someone to talk to. Possibly, this might also get the plot on track.

"Hey Chian!" said Neptune as cheerily as ever as the party walked through the front door. "Ya stopped crying yet?"

"Neptune, don't be so blunt," Jacob rebuked.

"Oh, hey," greeted Chian as she brushed the floor with a broom. As a silhouette, it was hard to identify if she looked any worse but her hair was definitely a bit messy. "Do you need anything?"

"We're okay," Compa replied. "We just wanted to see how you were fairing."

Chian might have smiled. "Ah, thank you. I appreciate you all checking up on me. I'm all right now." She went behind the bar and put the broom away, allowing the party to take their usual places on the stools.

"Are you sure? The Tech Expo may be gone but I'm sure there's another way to help!" said Compa.

Chian might have smirked. "I know. I'm not giving up yet."

"That's the spirit," responded Nisa. "With the fires of determination, justice will prevail. I'm sure someone of your willpower can overcome any challenge!"

Chian fidgeted a bit. She seemed to be a bit embarrassed. "To hear that from Nisa herself… It's a hell of a confidence booster. Thanks heaps!" She then composed herself. "Anyway, the shop called and told me to gather up the materials I ordered a while ago."

"You want us to get them for you?" Jacob guessed.

"As sharp as ever. You still have the map, right? It should be pretty simple to find."

"Yeah, about that…" Jacob paused to take the map out of his disc. "We looked at the map and… Am I right if I say we need to go through a dungeon to get to the shop?"

"Sounds about right. Why, is there a problem? You go through multiple dungeons every day."

"Yeah, but… Look at this."

Jacob rolled out the map on the bench. It was a very easy to follow map but, at the same time, it was very hard. It was easy to follow because the directions were very clearly defined and Jacob knew there was not a chance in hell they could get lost. It was hard to follow because, for the life of him, Jacob could not fathom why the shop was located behind a dungeon that was only accessible from the dungeon side by the gondola.

"Why, exactly, is the shop on the other side of a dungeon which is on a floating island?" Jacob asked.

Chian shrugged. "Dunno. You can probably ask him that when you get there."

Jacob sighed. "Well," he began as he rolled up the map to put it away, "how about this: we'll go the next day, because I'm tired and it's been a long day, and I'll go alone."

"Wha?" This caught Neptune off guard.

IF raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to go alone?"

"I'll go on the gondola to the dungeon, fly over it, get the materials and come back. I skip the dungeon, we get the materials faster, everyone's happy. How's that?"

No variant of Justice Kick could have killed a monster faster than Jacob killed the conversation then and there.

No one could tell for sure but Chian may or may not have been surprised enough to have her eyes open wide. Neptune looked at Jacob with fascinated wonder and surprise with her jaw hanging open, Compa looked pale and surprised, IF's eyes were so wide open it was funny and Nisa looked just a few degrees off Neptune.

Jacob looked between his comrades. He then sighed and held the bridge of his nose. "What is it?"

"Jake, you're… performing a dungeon bypass?" Compa asked.

"Whoooa!" Neptune had stars in her eyes. "I never knew you were such a rebel!"

"Watch out, everyone! We have a badass over here!" Chian shouted in amusement.

"That's… Whoa, I knew you liked breaking the rules of this world but… I didn't think you'd go that far," commented IF.

"Squeeeee!" went Nisa all of a sudden. "I never knew my pupil was such a daredevil! Oh, who knows what he'll do next?"

"Why couldn't I have gone to Skies of Arcadia instead?" muttered Jacob.

"What?" Neptune asked.

"Nothing. Anyway, how's that?"

"Eh… I like the idea but I don't think the goddess will," Chian explained. "None of them care much for rule breakers. Or so I've heard."

Jacob could feel the awkwardness of that statement with his party. "I think I'll be fine," he responded. "Now, I want to head back and get some good sleep."

"Fair enough. Thanks for all your help, by the way," Chian replied.

"You're welcome." Jacob turned to Neptune. "Shall we?"

"Absolutely! Everyone, off we go!" The party got off the stools and walked to the door.

"E-Excuse me," called Chian nervously before they exited.

"Hm?" The party looked back at her.

"Um, Nisa…" Chian began as she looked around her work area. "If it's not too much trouble…" After another pause, she took out a missile launcher and placed it on the bench, "… could you autograph my weapon, please?"

The party, needless to say, was surprised by the hulking oh-my-goodness-gracious-it-can-take-out-an-entire-building-in-a-single-shot weapon in the possession of the somewhat scrawny woman whose reasons for using it and past history with it are still unknown to them.

Nisa, however, wasn't deterred. "Sure thing!" From her little star pouch, she took out her prinny gun and extended the blade. "Normally, I'd use a marker but, since this is a weapon, I'll make it special for you."

One by one, Nisa etched the letters of her name into the side of the missile launcher. Not too deeply, mind you; she knew how these weapons worked and she wanted to make sure it was still usable.

"There we go." Nisa stood back and smiled, her prinny gun put away. "Now the name of justice will be with you wherever you go."

"Oh, thank you!" Chian held the rocket launcher closely. "I will treasure this forever!"

"It was my pleasure." Nisa turned back to her companions. "Now, shall we depart?"
________________________________________

"Oh crap," said Jacob as they all entered the motel room.

"What?" responded Compa.

"We only have four beds."

"Oh… Is there a problem with that?"

Jacob circled the air with his finger to gesture the group as a whole.

Compa looked confused.

Jacob looked at her with an 'are you kidding me' expression.

Compa still looked confused.

Jacob held the bridge of his nose. "Compa, there are five of us."

"Ah, I see."

A few moments passed and Compa's normal expression suddenly shifted to that of
realisation. "Oh… I see now."

"Exactly. Where is Sensei going to sleep?"

"Not to worry, my pupil!" Nisa didn't mind at all that she might have to sleep on the floor. "A true hero of justice can sleep anywhere! Why, I remember this one time I was stuck inside the stomach of an Egg Dragon for three days. Painful and cramped but… that beast certainly had a delectable diet..." Nisa licked her lips. "Who knew that monsters had a fondness for quiches with strawberries in them?"

"A fascinating story," said Jacob with haste, really not wanting to hear the details. "Regardless, I insist you sleep in a bed. Now, you can either share with someone, someone-"

"Ooh! Me me me me me me!" repeated Neptune. "We can sleep together like sisters!" Neptune held out her arm to Nisa in the sisterhood gesture. "Come on, sis; tonight, we will rest in each other's warmth."

"Hell yes!" Nisa grabbed Neptune's hand as she emulated the gesture. "Our bond is truly one that cannot be torn apart. I look forward to sleeping with you!"

IF opened her mouth a bit to say something but then she thought 'nah' and closed it.

"… If you say so. Now, Neptune and Compa, could you let the dogs out?" requested Jacob as he pulled one of the toy dogs out.

Compa was most definitely confused. "Why?"

"Well," Jacob pulled out another one, "if we leave them out, they can keep watch for us so that no one tries to burgle us. Understand?"

"Oh, I get it! Smart thinking!" responded Neptune as she took out ArfArf, who she identified by drawing a purple heart on its side with a marker. "Alright then, we'll get the dogs and then we'll head to sleep." She rubbed her nose against ArfArf's. "Isn't that right, ArfArf?"

ArfArf whined happily, wagging its tail.
________________________________________

The next morning wasn't very eventful. IF woke up Jacob, Compa made breakfast, Neptune tended to the dogs and everyone made small talk (well, with Nisa and Neptune, it was more like loud talk) before Jacob scheduled himself to leave.

"Jake, are you sure you have everything?" Compa asked.

"I have the reflex, my jetpack, my gauntlets, some apples and a water bottle," replied Jacob as he patted his disc. "I think I'm set."

Compa still looked a bit worried. "Are you sure? Do you need better armour? I think you need better armour."

"Says the girl who wears nothing more than a wool jumper and a ridiculously short skirt."

Compa was caught off guard. "W-Well… Just be careful, okay?"

"Compa, I'll be fine." Jacob was trying hard to keep his exasperation to a minimum.

"He's right, my dear friend Compa!" Nisa jumped into the conversation. "He is my pupil, so

put aside your fears! He will triumph against any obstacle!"

"Or bypass it, as he intends to," chipped in IF.

"Jacooooob!" Neptune ran forward to hug Jacob. "No matter what happens, never give in. Know that we will always be with you, for our hearts are united-"

Jacob pushed Neptune away. "Neptune, for the love of God, I'll be fine. I'm just picking up materials. I'll be back before you know it."

Neptune pouted. "Well, fine. Have fun and be back soon."

"Arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf!" went the many dogs that were gathered out the front.

Jacob smiled. "I'll be back quickly, alright?" He bent down to pat one of the dogs. "Have a good day."

"Bye Jake!" Compa waved goodbye as Jacob rose into the air and flew off towards the gondola.

Nisa put her hands on her hips. "Well, now what do we do?"

"Hm…" Neptune thought for a moment. "Let's go to the arcade!"

IF shrugged. "Why not? Nothing else to do."

"It sounds like fun, too," commented Compa.

"Yay!" Neptune turned to the dogs and bent down to talk to them. "Now, everyone, we're going to have a girl's day out so I want you to be good while we're gone, alright?"

"Don't leave a mess and clean after yourselves," Compa added. "Also, don't talk to any strangers."

"Arf arf!" The dogs barked in acknowledgement.

"Excellent! Now, on to the arcade!"
________________________________________

Jacob would never admit this to the party as IF would most likely verbally lash him but he was actually taking his time getting to the gondola. He was doing this by practising flying faster and some more flying postures. He loved his jetpack: it meant he could go right over the forest below him that was more than likely infested with monsters that he just didn't care to fight that day. He enjoyed his ability to fly because it allowed him to defy the arbitrary get-in-line-ness of Gamindustri. Being able to defy the rules and act how he wanted was a freedom he enjoyed.

Still, all good things much come to an end so Jacob eventually took out the map and began to follow it.

"Alright, it should be this way…" Jacob was thankful he had the map; he couldn't see the gondola from where he was and he doubted there was anyone around to give him directions. All he had to do now was-

"Hold it right there."

He froze.

Slowly, Jacob turned around, recognising the voice but not wanting to believe it.

He saw her and his heart sank.

"How'd you find me, Black Heart?" he asked.
________________________________________

gr8kraker: saw sum dood flyin in a jetpack. No thrustrs or wings.
HungryHippo: lolz, nub
gr8kraker: ikr
I-S: He's probably a friend of mine. I wonder how he's doing?
________________________________________

Black Heart smirked. "Never underestimate the power of information. Also, you stick out like a sore thumb when you fly."

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind," Jacob responded as he put the map away.

This was bad. Really, really bad. Black Heart, much like Purple Heart, was extremely fast, extremely strong and extremely capable in close combat. Jacob was none of those things. Furthermore, she could fly, much better and faster than him, meaning there was nowhere he could go without her being able to close the distance as quickly as she did during their last bout. Being a strategist, using the environment to his advantage and taking advantage of how his weapons worked were out of question: there was nothing in the sky that he could use for anything, his Wide Roar was too weak, his Wrecking Ball could be easily dodged and would only do more harm than good and his basic attacks wouldn't do much damage at all. If only Neptune and Nisa were here…

Right now, there was only one option.

"What do you want with me?" Jacob tried to stall for time by making conversation.

Black Heart raised her massive sword to Jacob. "I want to know where Neptune is."

"I'm not telling you." So much for that idea. "I don't know what you're planning but I won't ever let it happen."

Black Heart seemed to sigh in disappointment. She put her cocky smirk back on, though. "Well, that's a shame. This will hurt you, then."

Black Heart zoomed towards him.

Jacob quickly raised his hands and fired a Wide Roar at Black Heart. Thankfully, he was quick on the draw.

"Nnnnnnnngh!" While the giant red laser was able to at least harm her, he knew it was only a small nuisance at best. This is why he took advantage of her momentary distraction to fire a Wrecking Ball at her. The attack hit true and sent her back quite a distance. However, the recoil sent Jacob back about the same. Not that he was worried; the further he was from Black Heart, the better.

While he was still rolling through the air, he managed to right himself before flying down into the forest, landing on the ground and dashing forward. Hopefully, he could lose her there. No matter what, he had to get back to the motel. Now that Black Heart was away from him, he could make some progress as long as he stayed out of sight and out of mind. With that in mind, he kept an eye and an ear out for a well-bodied woman with long, bright, white flowing hair, a massive sword, two ornate wings and a revealing skin-tight suit.

Jacob really lamented not having a mobile phone right now. If he had one, he could have called IF and brought in reinforcements in the form of Nisa, IF and Neptune. However, the fact is he didn't so he had to make do with himself.

He got tired of dashing and just walked after a few minutes. So far, he hadn't seen a trace of Black Heart anywhere so he calmed down a bit and took in the forest. It was just a stock JRPG forest but it was a nice break from the dungeons, even more so with the sun out. Conspicuously, the skies were also clear despite being Lastation's skies but, at this point, Jacob was inclined to just roll with it. One thing puzzled him, though:

Where were all the monsters?

Not that he minded not having to fight off Gyukis or Chimeras while an extremely powerful adversary could be right around the corner but aren't forests meant to be monster hives? He'd been walking for at least five minutes now and he still hadn't seen hair or hide of a monster. Were they not counted as dungeons or something? Even if so, he had to fight them in a forest at Avenir's request. Do they just not show up unless the story asks for them?

Whatever. He had someone to escape and this wasn't the time or place to take in his surroundings and question the logic of the world. Right now, he had to keep moving, lest Black Heart found him.

The devil herself landed on the ground behind him.

"There you are," she said as he quickly turned around. He tried to raise his arms to fire an attack but Black Heart seemingly flash in front of him, grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the tree. "I told you you'd pay for what you did in that cave."

"Hey, Nisa did tha-"

Black Heart tightened her grip to silence his rebuttal. "Shut up. Now…" She leaned in closer to his face, her smirk completely gone. "I have questions I want answered."

"And what… makes you think… I'll answer them…?" Jacob struggled to ask.

Black Heart saw what effect she had on him so she loosened her grip slightly. "Because I am the CPU of Lastation, who you attacked. That is a very serious crime, you know. I could even sentence you to lifelong imprisonment for it. But…" she smirked again, "I can let that go, you know. After all, I'm not dead for it and you haven't injured me that much. No one has to know of your transgressions. All you have to do-"

"I'm not telling you were Neptune is," Jacob replied quickly.

Black Heart exhaled out her nose, clearly disappointed. She then put on her serious face. "Your name is… Jacob, right? Such an odd name. Regardless, you need to know something: I can and will hurt you. A lot. Do you want to know why?" She tightened her grip on Jacob's throat. "I can because, on top of being a CPU, I am the CPU of Lastation, the greatest nation of all. You, on the other hand, are just a mere human who thought he could actually compete with me.

"Now…" In anger, she gripped even harder. Jacob let out a gasp of pain as her claws managed to puncture the sides of his neck, drawing blood, "… I will hurt you because, and this may surprise you, I do not take kindly to people who dare to injure me. I take even less kindly to people who make me flee like a coward." She brought her head closer to his, her eyes locked into his to get across her raw fury bubbling under a relatively safe surface. "That last one is something I cannot forgive, so you can either tell me where I can find Neptune or you will face my wrath."

Jacob was silent for a moment.

"Well? What is your answer?" she asked, impatient.

Jacob closed his eyes for another moment. He then opened them again.

The resolution and anger that Black Heart saw in them only annoyed her more.

Quickly, Jacob raised his hand and fired an orb at her face. It didn't do much but, packing all the force of one of his full-power punches, it was successful at forcing her off of him, which was more than enough. In panic, he followed up his attack with an actual full-power punch delivered by his right hand at her face, causing her to spin and stumble. Seeing his chance, he activated his jetpack and rose into the air before zooming towards the motel again, faster than he'd ever gone before.

Unfortunately, Black Heart recovered very quickly. After getting her bearings, she looked up and followed Jacob. As she was the faster and more manoeuvrable of the two, it was no surprise that she caught up with him in no time at all.

It was a surprise, however, when Jacob rose up just as Black Heart was about to tackle him, letting inertia take her a bit ahead of him and giving him the perfect window to blast her with a Wide Roar. He cancelled his attack and moved to the side just as Black Heart charged forward and performed a diagonal swipe. Her following horizontal slash was dodged by Jacob dropping into the forest below and moved just out of her sight.

"You're not getting away from me!" Black Heart snarled as she followed him down. She scanned the area briefly and saw Jacob running between some trees. Quick on the draw as always, she took out her handgun and aimed it at Jacob.

BANG!

"ARGH!" While the fire bullet only impacted Jacob's jetpack, the impact force still travelled through it, striking pain into his shoulder and making him trip over one of the many roots in the forest, the tip of which dug into his cheek and left a large scar. Thinking quickly and ignoring the pain, he used his jetpack to get into the sky. His timing couldn't have been better; a second later and Black Heart's sword would have hit him like a guillotine.

Black Heart growled as she rose into the sky again to chase him down. Once she caught sight of him, she raised her handgun to open fire but he dived back down into the forest again before she could. She flew over to where he dived and prepared to dive in but then she saw Jacob resurface a small distance away and fly further.

While she was confused, she didn't question it; she took her chance. She shot in his direction but missed and he dove again.

"Hm…" This time, she decided to wait.

One second…

Two seconds…

Three seconds…

Around fifteen metres away from where he dived last, he repeated his pattern.

"Oh, so that's what you're up to," Black Heart muttered. She went back into the forest and proceeded to zoom through the trees fast and skilfully as if she had been doing this for a lifetime. After a few seconds of this, she saw Jacob drop down and run to a different spot. Clearly, his ineptitude with flying meant he couldn't risk flying at high speeds between trees.

This was a good day for her.

"Hello!" she loudly announced her presence, causing him to turn around just in time to receive a double kick to the torso.

"ARGH!" The attack sent him rolling on the ground for a few meters.

"Did you honestly think you could escape from me?" She walked up to him. "I thought I told you: I am Black Heart, CPU of Lastation. Now, let's cut to the chase." She lifted him up with one hand, making sure not to agitate his wounds any further, and walked to the nearest tree.

He tried to say something but it was evident he was in too much pain.

"You will tell me where Neptune is. In case you didn't know, I am currently in control of this situation. Either you tell me where Neptune is or you will be imprisoned. Is that clear?"

Despite his current condition, he somehow found it in him to grit his teeth and shake his head.

Black Heart growled. "You are treading on thin ice, Jacob," she warned as she drew her handgun and pressed it against his stomach. "Where, is, Neptune?"

Jacob couldn't use his force orbs. He could try but, not only did he doubt that the same trick would work twice, he'd get rewarded with a shot to the gut. His lasers wouldn't do anything. Not that he could use them; even if he had the reflexes to pull it off when he was at full strength, he was too weakened to raise his arms quickly enough to attack and distract. The same went for his legs.

Fortunately, his head was in the optimal position to spit in her eyes.

"Ah! Ew!" she screamed as she let go of him and took a step back. "What is wrong with you? That is disgusting!" She tried wiping it out. "Ow! I hate these claws!"

After several laborious seconds of wiping her eyes with her wrist, she finally felt it was okay to open her eyes again. Once she did, she found that Jacob was nowhere to be found.

"Damn it all!"
________________________________________

"And the heroine of justice wins again!" Nisa cheered as she pumped her fist at an arcade machine.

"Aw, no fair!" whined Neptune on the machine beside her. "I demand a rematch, and you're allowed to use Gin Tsurugi anymore!"

"Neptune, you've played eight games already and you haven't won any of them," said IF. "Give it up already; other people want a turn."

The rest of the party was in the arcade. Even though all the black and the massive neon sign saying "Lastation's #1 Arcade" with a subtitle of "You Can Do Everything Here" (there was another subtitle at the bottom saying "D-Don't think I'm saying you're skilled or anything, though", much to the confusion of the girls) made the place somewhat forbidding from the outside, the inside was okay. Black tiled floors and a black ceiling with large, white walls made the inside less than gloomy, helped by the person at the counter being kind, patient and helpful. There were all kinds of entertainment here: a bowling alley, pool tables, claw games, fighting games, racing simulators… The list went on forever! According to the man at the counter, there was also a laser tag area. The girls were all excited for that and signed up at once.

While they were waiting for that, they decided to play some of the games the arcade had to offer. Almost immediately, Nisa and Neptune got themselves hooked on a fighting game called FreezRed.

The girls all made an agreement that Jacob should never come here.

"But Iffy," Neptune began, "third time's the charm, ya know!"

"You said that on the third game. That didn't get you anywhere."

"Yeah but this will be the ninth game. Nine is three times three. It has to work!"

"If that actually did work, I would be more surprised than I am right now at you actually knowing how to perform basic multiplication."

"Come on, Iffy! Just one more game, I promise!" Neptune begged, grabbing onto the front of IF's jacket.

IF groaned. "Fine, do what you want. I'm going to play with Compa."

"Yahoo!" Neptune turned away from the leaving figure of IF to face. "Come on, my sister! We have yet to finish!"

"Right you are, my comrade in arms!" Nisa swiped her Lastation Arcade card in the machine's card reader again. "But know this: I will always be victorious!"

"Nuh-uh!" Neptune swiped her own card through the reader. "This time, I'm gonna win! The stars are in my favour!"

Nearby, Compa was trying her luck at a claw game. She took a moment to look at the claw through the side of the machine to see if she was aligned right. She switched between looking through the side and front adjusting the claw all the while the timer ticked down to zero. When it finally hit it, the claw descended onto what she wanted: a big plush doll of a yellow cat person with brown stripes that people called a 'Rombacks'. The three pincers rested on the side of the side of its head.

"Pleasepleaseplease…" Compa chanted.

It didn't work; the pincers slid off as the claw rose.

"Aw…" Compa hung her head in disappointment.

"Lost again?" IF asked as she went to Compa's side.

"Yeah…" Compa sighed. "I really wanted it…"

"… Well, give me a go," IF offered. "I think I can do it."

"Really?" asked Compa as she looked at her for once. "Oh thank you, Iffy- I mean, IF…" Compa stepped back and looked to the side awkwardly. "… Sorry…"

IF sighed. "It's okay. Just don't do it again."

IF stood in front of the machine and swiped her card in the reader. The button saying "Start" lit up. IF took a moment to stretch her arms and flex her wrists, exercising before she took on the strenuous task of pressing a button and moving a joystick.

"Hey, IF?"

"Hm?" IF responded as she pressed the Start button. "Something wrong?"

"I've just been thinking… You know how Jacob said that our world is just a video game?"

"… Yeah…?" IF was still listening to Compa but she focused diligently on the claw machine. If she moved it to the right a bit…

"Well… Just... What… What does that mean for us?"

"… What do you mean?" IF was confused.

"I mean, if we're video game characters…" Compa took a breath, "Does that… Does that mean-"

"Hold on," interrupted IF, as the machine was counting down.

Two…

One…

The claw descended on the Rombacks that Compa wanted before. This time, the pincers were secure and they carried the doll into the prize chute. IF took it out.

Compa was impressed. "That was amazing, I- F!"

IF smirked.

"Nooooooooo!"

IF and Compa both looked towards Neptune, who was resting her head on the control panel of the FreezRed console. Surprisingly, Nisa rubbed her back consolingly rather than shout about how justice triumphed again or whatever.

IF sighed. "Anyway, you were saying?" she asked as she took the doll from the chute.

"Oh, right, sorry. Um- Oh, thank you." Compa took the Rombacks that IF presented to her. "Well, if we're video game characters… What are we meant to do?"

"… Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Well…" Compa was growing increasingly anxious. "Do we have a purpose? I know Nep-Nep said that I should just do the things I enjoy doing and treat it like this is reality… but what if someone made me for a reason? Shouldn't I be doing what they want me to-"

"Stop right there." IF's expression changed to one of stone-cold seriousness. "Compa, there's something you should know, more than anything else. Do you understand?"

"…" Compa began sweating. "Yes…?"

"Good." IF turned to face Compa entirely. "Now listen up: just because someone gave you life or whatever, you do not owe them anything. You're allowed to do whatever you want; it's your life, not theirs. They can't tell you what you want to do, what you're meant to do, who you want to worship or any of that because those are your choices to make. It's your freedom and they can't take that from you no matter what. Get it? Even if this is just a video game, your choices are your own and you can think whatever you want."

Compa didn't say anything.

"… Compa," said IF.

"Oh, sorry. That's just… very detailed."

IF sighed. "I know."

Just then, the PA system sprang to life. "Hello everyone, Game 43 is about to start in Laser Tag so could all players participating in Game 43 please go to the arena now, please? I repeat…"

"That's us!" Compa exclaimed.

"I know. Let's get Neptune and Nisa."
________________________________________

Jacob's lungs were hurting like crazy but he couldn't stop running. Actually, to say he was running would be a disservice to running itself; he was more falling forward and barely catching himself multiple times in rapid succession as he held his chest where Black Heart kicked him. He couldn't go into the sky; she'd find him again. She'd shoot him again. Or maybe try to cut him in half. He didn't know. He didn't care.

He was too frightened to.

He was too frightened to even drink one of the two bottles of reflex he borrowed from Compa before leaving; if Black Heart caught up with him, they would be useless anyway. Even though Black Heart was the type to search the sky as she wouldn't try zooming through the trees again because she didn't even know where he was, he wouldn't take any chances. He couldn't take any chances. All he had to do now was keep "running". It didn't matter that his legs were aching and the very act of breathing was hurting; he was going back to the motel. To the city. He had to return. He had to.

"Where-"

Jacob dived (or, more actually, tumbled on purpose) into the nearest set of bushes.

"- are you?"

He peeked through the foliage to the sky and, sure enough, Black Heart was hovering overhead, looking for him.

"Show yourself!" As usual, she loved to loudly announce her presence and communicate her position to an unfriendly long-range attack specialising target she couldn't see but knew for a fact was there and possibly aiming their laser sights up her left nostril at that moment. Given the current direction of the fight and how Jacob couldn't inflict much damage anyway, however, her actions were rather justified.

Jacob stayed perfectly still as she moved back and forth in the air. Every painful wheeze and every miniscule shudder was suppressed for the sake of living a while longer. All he had to do now was wait. He'd wait forever, if he had to.

Thankfully, Black Heart's impatient nature arrived to show that such wouldn't the case.
"Well, it seems you've eluded me!" she called. "I could comb over the entire forest but I have my own duties to attend to! However, you will remember this: I will find you and you will pay for what you did to Neptune!"

… Wait; what?

Even if he had the ability to question her, he didn't have the opportunity; she flew away back to where he guessed the Basilicom was. Even so, he stayed hidden. What if this was but a mere ploy on her part to lure him out of hiding? It was hardly an original technique. He wouldn't be a fool; he wouldn't expose himself, not unless he was absolutely sure she had left.

That is why he stayed in those bushes for a full on ten minutes (at least, he guessed; he wasn't actually counting). Not once during those six hundred seconds did he hear Black Heart demanding he present himself or see her fly across the air like a vulture. With what he decreed to be a safe opportunity, he decided to drink his bottles of reflex, one after the other.

At last, his neck wounds had closed and he could actually speak without hurting himself. His pain had been numbed and he stood up. All at once, he contemplated what had happened: he evaded Lady Black Heart, CPU of Lastation. Every step of the way, he defied her and outsmarted her, shoving her pride into the dirt. And… if he said so himself, he flew very well that day.

He chuckled.

"So… much… for… that…" he muttered out of victory. So what if he had been shot, his neck pierced and his chest impacted very hard? At the end of the day, he was alive and she had to run away, victory snatched away from her again. "Eh… Black Heart…?" Using a tree to support himself, he lumbered back to the city.

He wouldn't fly, though. He didn't want to get caught again.
________________________________________

Chian hummed to herself as she cleaned the dishes accumulated in her small restaurant. It was an okay day for business right now; while Avenir still dominated the engineering market, everything else was going well, including the food industry. A lot of the seats were taken and conversation was abundant. She smiled wide; that chicken noodle soup recipe she found in one of her old recipe books was a hell of a good one and definitely worthy of being soup of the day if the number of customers ordering it was anything to go by. On top of all that, she had a group of reliable adventurers helping her out with the engineering tasks that monsters had made impossible for her or her workers to do. One of them even went out to get her materials she needed.

Chian breathed in through her nose and out her mouth. Yeah, life was definitely good to Chian of Passe.

It was not good to the person who just wandered in the front door.

"Oh, Chian…" he murmured. "I'm sorry… I didn't realise… you were busy…"

Chian almost dropped the dish in her hands.

"Jacob!" She rushed out of the back of the restaurant and headed straight for the unbalanced boy. "What happened to you?"

"It's a long story…" he responded. "I don't suppose you… have a bed somewhere…? I could use some rest…"

Chian turned to all of her customers. "Please give me a moment!" she called as she guided Jacob into the back of the restaurant and to a small bedroom. It didn't have much in it; just a small bed and a set of drawers and a closet, complete with a window and with everything still adopting the brown, wooden aesthetic of her restaurant.

She guided Jacob onto the bed and helped him lie down. "By the Goddess Jacob, what happened to you?"

While the reflex had done most of its job, Jacob was still in bad shape. There was some blood on his neck, a thin scar was present on his cheek and he was still limping like before. She didn't even want to know what kind of injuries the rest of his body had suffered.

"Sorry… I was attacked… I can't tell you who, sorry… It's complicated…" he explained.

"Why didn't you go to Compa? She's a nurse; she could heal you!" Chian said loudly, evidently worried.

Jacob looked off to the side. "I wanted to tell you… I didn't get your materials… I'm sorry…"

Chian facepalmed. "Don't worry about that! Stay right here; I'm going to get Compa and tell her you're here, alright?"

Jacob smiled. "That'd be nice, thanks…"

Chian exited the room, shutting the door behind her, and pulled out her mobile phone. Good thing she had IF on speed dial.

"Hello?" answered IF's voice.

"IF, it's Chian," the President of Passe explained. "I need you to come over immediately…"