[City of Argus]
Lying on the bed in a run-down motel, Daniel slept peacefully after yet another day of doing absolutely nothing. The night passed in complete normality... at least until the television in the room turned on by itself.
Daniel's eyes snapped open, instantly alert despite still being half asleep. He quickly scanned the room before his gaze settled on the TV screen, which displayed nothing but static.
"I thought I'd turned it off..." he muttered drowsily, debating whether to get up and switch it off or simply throw the nightstand at it.
Much to the motel owner's relief, Daniel didn't have to make that decision.
At that moment, the screen began to change, cycling through a rapid series of images that felt strangely familiar to him: an old stone well, a close-up of an eye, a completely withered tree. Each one was interrupted by brief bursts of video interference until, at last, the screen turned completely white.
Daniel felt the temperature in the room drop by several degrees, though he barely paid it any mind, his attention fixed instead on the pale hand slowly emerging from the center of the screen.
First came the hand. Then the arm. After that, the head and torso. Finally, the rest of the body tumbled heavily onto the motel room floor.
The creature didn't get up. It remained perfectly still for a few moments before slowly dragging itself across the floor toward the bed. It climbed onto the mattress and continued crawling until it was directly on top of Daniel, its face twisted into an perpetual scream of agony just inches from his own.
Daniel's eyes went wide.
"AAAAHHHHhhh!... Nah, I'm kidding," he stopped screaming almost immediately, grinning in amusement. "I know it's you, Sadako."
Realizing her attempt to scare him had failed completely, Sadako allowed her face to return to its usual appearance. Even so, she didn't move away. She simply let herself collapse onto him, resting her full weight on top of his body.
Remaining remarkably calm, Daniel folded both hands behind his head and looked at her curiously.
"I didn't know you could still do that. What else are you hiding from me?" he asked with genuine interest, wondering what other abilities she had kept in reserve.
Sadako merely shrugged, having no intention of answering. She clearly wanted to preserve an air of mystery.
"At some point you're going to have to talk to me. You know that, right?"
Sadako's only response was to blink twice.
"Ahh..." he sighed in resignation. "Anyway, why are you here?" he asked, wanting to know why she had decided to interrupt what he considered a well-earned vacation away from the group.
Though, if he was being honest, Sadako's presence didn't really bother him all that much. Out of all his "Partners," she was probably the one who had caused him the fewest problems so far.
Remembering why she had come in the first place, Sadako began blinking repeatedly in rapid succession, using what Daniel had decided to call "Blink Language," a secret language that only the two of them understood.
"You tried to kill Entrapta because she gave your goat boobs..." Daniel translated without missing a beat, easily keeping up with the rhythm of her blinks.
Sadako continued blinking just as quickly.
"But you couldn't finish the job because Rosella and GLaDOS wouldn't let you..."
She gave one final series of blinks, bringing her deeply tragic tale to an end.
"So, as punishment, they sent you to me."
Sadako gave a slow nod in confirmation.
A vein bulged on Daniel's forehead. "And why, exactly, is being with me considered a punishment?" he asked, clearly annoyed.
Sadako simply shrugged again. Of course she knew the answer, but she chose to play dumb to avoid getting herself into trouble.
"Whatever..." Daniel muttered as he slid his hands to Sadako's hips, gripping her firmly before rolling her over on the bed until she was beneath him, prompting her to look up at him with obvious confusion.
"What? Did you really think you could wake me up in the middle of the night and get away with it?" he teased. "Since you woke me up, at least have the decency to entertain me..."
[Remember to paste the explicit sex scene here.]
"And then we did a whole bunch of very dirty things," Daniel concluded, finishing his story.
He looked over at Pyrrha, who stood in front of him rubbing her eyes with two fingers, wearing an expression of unmistakable irritation.
"I only asked who the girl next to you was and why you're dressed like a clown!" she shouted, pointing at both Daniel and Sadako.
The two of them were standing in the middle of a fairly busy street, both dressed in clown costumes, although Sadako's outfit looked particularly depressing.
Daniel shook his head several times. "Oh, my dear friend Pyrrha... hiding is an art form."
Without another word, he pulled out a set of juggling balls and began performing, drawing the attention of passing pedestrians. Before long, people started dropping a few coins into a hat he had conveniently placed on the ground beforehand.
"No one would ever expect the Moon Rock thief to be standing in the middle of the street juggling, would they?"
Pyrrha let out a weary groan. She wasn't even sure they could really be called friends, but it wasn't as though she had many people she could consider friends in the first place, so she wasn't exactly in a position to be picky.
"Did you call me here just to introduce me to your friend?" she asked, hoping that was the reason and not another excuse for him to tell her about his nightly adventures.
The moment she said the word "friend," Daniel stopped juggling and adopted a thoughtful expression.
"What is it?" Pyrrha asked, noticing his sudden confusion.
"The truth is... I'm not actually sure we're friends," Daniel admitted before turning toward Sadako. "Are we friends?"
As expected, Sadako shrugged. She wasn't sure either.
Pyrrha stared at them in complete disbelief. "What do you mean you don't know if you're friends?!"
"Well... when I first met her, she tried to kill me..."
"What?!" Pyrrha interrupted.
"Don't interrupt me!" he scolded. "But after that we had sex, and now we're friends... That's how friendship works, right?"
"No! That's not how friendship works!" Pyrrha shot back immediately.
"Pfft." Daniel scoffed. "I suppose you're the real expert on friendship. So, how many friends do you have?"
Pyrrha pressed her lips together, but her silence said everything.
"Exactly!" Daniel continued with a smug grin. "Do you know how many friends I have? Six!"
He smiled with obvious pride before holding up several fingers.
"And do you know how many of them I had sex with after they tried to kill me? Five!"
"Math doesn't lie!"
Pyrrha closed her eyes for a moment and let out a long sigh.
"If that's all you called me here for, I'm leaving."
Without waiting for a response, she turned to walk away, but before she could get far, Daniel stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"It's fine if you leave... but take these with you," he said, handing her Aegis and Sadako.
Pyrrha frowned.
"I'm not your babysitter!" she growled, clearly irritated that he kept treating her as though she were responsible for looking after his companions.
"Please, Pyrrha!" Daniel begged, dropping dramatically to his knees.
"I don't trust leaving these idiots by themselves... besides, I need a little time to myself," he added, crawling across the ground until he grabbed onto Pyrrha's clothes.
"Please, Pyrrha, I'll suck your—"
He never got to finish the sentence because Pyrrha immediately clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Stop, please," she whispered urgently as she glanced around, noticing that several people had already started paying them far too much attention. "I'll do it, just don't keep going."
Daniel sprang to his feet with a triumphant grin.
"Ha! Humiliating myself always works," he laughed as he walked away, waving over his shoulder.
"See you later. Have fun."
Without a care in the world, he returned to his little street performance and resumed juggling as though nothing had happened.
Pyrrha wanted to tell him that humiliating yourself wasn't the answer to everything, but after watching him get exactly what he wanted by doing just that, she decided there wasn't much point in arguing.
She let out a quiet sigh and prepared to leave.
"Wait..." Aegis said before she could take her first step. "I'm pretty sure something stupid is about to happen."
"Why do you think that?" Pyrrha asked, keeping her eyes on Daniel, who was still entertaining passersby with his juggling act.
"Intuition."
They didn't have to wait long to find out he was right.
As Daniel continued juggling, a police officer walked up to him. He didn't seem the least bit concerned, unlike Pyrrha, who felt a jolt of alarm at the thought that they were finally going to catch him and, by extension, catch her as well.
Instinctively, she took a step forward, intending to help him, but she didn't get very far.
"Your need for male attention disgusts me," Aegis scolded before she could take another step.
Pyrrha shot him an indignant look.
"I'm not looking for male attention!"
"Then leave him alone. You've seen what he's capable of. He can handle himself."
Pyrrha pressed her lips together and decided not to move any closer, though she kept her full attention fixed on the scene.
"Do you have a permit to perform in a public space?" the officer asked, stopping in front of Daniel.
He stopped juggling, but the smile never left his face.
"Why, of course I do, Officer. Allow me, it's right here in my pocket. Aha!" he suddenly shouted as he pulled a baton out from seemingly nowhere and slammed it directly into the officer's knee.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!" the woman screamed as she collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.
Pyrrha froze completely.
She knew Daniel had very little respect for authority, but she had never imagined he'd go so far as to assault a police officer in broad daylight.
What happened next unfolded so quickly that she could barely keep up.
The moment the officer hit the ground, Daniel pounced on her and began stripping away every valuable item she had on her: her wallet, her badge, and, to Pyrrha's horror, even her sidearm.
The instant he was finished, and before the officer could get back on her feet or anyone nearby could come to her aid, he bolted away with a manic laugh, disappearing into the crowd.
It wasn't long before several officers arrived and sprinted off in the direction he'd fled.
Pyrrha slowly turned her head toward Aegis, who was laughing so hard he could barely contain himself.
"Hahahaha. What?" he asked between laughs. "I told you something stupid was going to happen. He never disappoints."
"Is... is he going to be okay?" Pyrrha asked, sounding slightly worried.
"Probably," Aegis replied with complete indifference. "Don't worry about him. We've got more important things to do."
"Like what?"
"Training, obviously. Besides..." He pointed one of his pincers at Sadako, who had been quietly waiting beside him the entire time. "...now you've got someone to train with."
Pyrrha let out a weary sigh.
Maybe training isn't such a bad idea... she thought, convinced that a good workout would be the perfect way to clear her head after everything that had happened.
[Sanctum Academy - Training Arena]
Pyrrha was having a terrible time.
"Pow!"
A clean punch to the face sent her crashing straight to the floor.
"Activate your Aura!" Aegis ordered from a chair positioned at the edge of the arena.
With some difficulty, Pyrrha pushed herself back to her feet without taking her eyes off Sadako. They had been sparring for quite a while now, yet Sadako looked just as fresh as she had at the start, showing not the slightest sign of fatigue.
"I can't!" Pyrrha answered as she raised her guard once again.
Aegis was visibly frustrated.
"Give me one good reason why not!"
Pyrrha managed to dodge a punch, but she couldn't react in time to a low kick that came far too fast for her. It swept her off her feet and sent her tumbling right back into the embrace of her old friend: the floor.
"By law, an Aura user isn't allowed to use Aura against people who don't have Aura or who don't pose a threat!" she shouted through the pain as she forced herself back up once more, refusing to give in.
Aegis pointed one of his pincers at Sadako.
"Does she look like she needs Aura?"
Pyrrha's gaze settled on Sadako, who at that moment was calmly staring up at the ceiling, seemingly fascinated by what was probably a moth.
"For the love of God, she's not even using her weapons!"
Pyrrha hated to admit it, but for the first time in many years, she felt completely outclassed.
Does she have a passive Semblance that boosts her strength? she couldn't help wondering, since her punches hit far too hard for someone with her build.
For a brief moment, she considered activating her Aura, but she never got the chance to make up her mind.
Without warning, Sadako stopped staring at the moth and closed the distance in an instant. Grabbing the front of Pyrrha's armor with one hand, she effortlessly lifted her completely off the ground.
Pyrrha tried to counter with an arm lock to break free, but the attempt failed miserably. She couldn't even slow Sadako's movement. As if nothing had happened, Sadako continued forward and, with unbelievable ease, hurled her out of the ring while wearing an expression that bordered on boredom.
This time, Pyrrha didn't even try to get back up.
Nearly every part of her body ached, and she was fairly certain that at the very least she had a broken bone.
Lying on the ground, she watched as Aegis leaned into her field of vision.
"I honestly expected a little more from you," he remarked, his disappointment obvious.
Pyrrha could only turn her gaze back toward the arena, where Sadako stood in a triumphant pose, flexing her surprisingly slender arms, which looked far too thin to produce that kind of strength.
"She really doesn't have Aura or some kind of passive Semblance?" she asked, still clinging to the hope that her defeat might be at least a little less humiliating.
Aegis shook his head. "No, she doesn't."
"Then... why is she so strong?" Pyrrha complained as she forced herself upright until she was sitting on the ground.
"Her strength doesn't come from her body, Aura, or a Semblance," Aegis explained calmly. "She has her own way of becoming stronger."
Pyrrha looked back at Sadako, who was now holding a katana. With one smooth motion, she unsheathed it, made a swift slash across the floor, then calmly sheathed it again with the same effortless composure.
Pyrrha had no idea what she had just done until she saw a small section of the arena floor slowly begin to slide apart before finally dropping to the ground right in front of her feet.
"That was solid concrete..." she thought, a chill running down her spine as she silently thanked whatever luck she had that Sadako hadn't drawn her katanas during their fight.
Aegis rolled his eyes. "Don't let it intimidate you. She's just showing off."
Sadako didn't even bother denying it. She smiled with obvious satisfaction as she rummaged through the travel bag she had brought with her. After searching for a few seconds, she found what she was looking for, pulled out a bottle, and tossed it to Pyrrha, who barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground.
"What's this?" she asked as she uncapped it and took a cautious sniff, immediately catching a pleasant fruity aroma.
"Berry juice," Aegis replied, confirming her suspicion. "Don't question it. Just drink it. It'll help you recover."
Pyrrha doubted that a simple bottle of berry juice could do much to help her recover, but she took several swallows anyway since she was quite thirsty.
The taste was surprisingly good, though she couldn't identify exactly what kind of berries had been used. The mystery of its ingredients quickly became the least of her concerns when she felt the exhaustion and pain draining from her body.
Even more astonishing was watching the bruises Sadako had left on her, or at least the ones she could actually see, disappear at an unbelievable speed.
Wearing a look of complete astonishment, she got to her feet to check herself over. She actually felt even better than she had before the sparring session had begun.
"What is this juice made of?" she asked, still unable to believe it.
"No'ne."
Pyrrha turned toward Aegis with obvious confusion.
"'No'ne?"
"None of your business. Now stop asking questions and get back in the arena!"
Under any other circumstances, she would have been offended by the answer, but the thought of facing Sadako again was far more terrifying.
"Shouldn't we take a break?" she asked hopefully.
"You already rested while you were lying on the floor," Aegis replied without the slightest hint of sympathy. "And judging by the fact that you're fully recovered, you've got no excuses."
Pyrrha lowered her eyes to the bottle of miraculous juice, realizing she had just fallen into a carefully planned trap designed to make sure she couldn't escape the training.
She looked back at Sadako, who was already standing quietly in the center of the arena with a katana drawn while a strange darkness slowly gathered around her.
"Looks like Sadako's finished warming up," Aegis mocked. "Now grab your weapon and get back in the ring!"
"I could just run away.." Pyrrha thought, fairly certain that if she activated her Aura and jumped out the window, nobody would be able to catch her. The idea lingered in her mind for only a fleeting moment.
But she didn't do it.
Taking a deep breath, she picked up her spear and returned to the ring, stopping several meters in front of Sadako. At last, she made her decision and activated her Aura.
Running away would mean giving up and abandoning Aegis's tutelage. Pyrrha refused to accept that. If she wanted to continue growing as a Huntress, she would have to endure it. But this time, she wasn't going to make it easy for Sadako.
For several seconds, the arena fell completely silent.
Then Aegis rang a small bell, and almost at the exact same instant, the two of them charged at each other.
[Several Hours Later]
"Ahh..."
Pyrrha let out an exhausted sigh as she sat on a park bench beside Sadako and Aegis, thoroughly disappointed that she hadn't managed to win even a single match.
It wasn't because she lacked strength or skill.
The real problem was herself.
Even though she knew Sadako was absurdly durable, she never brought herself to use truly lethal attacks. Instead, she limited herself to trying to restrain her, disarm her, or block her movements.
Sadako, on the other hand, hadn't hesitated for even a second to swing her sword at her.
Pyrrha gently shook her head, pushing those negative thoughts aside. Even if she hadn't managed to claim a single victory, the training had been completely worthwhile.
She had discovered many of her own shortcomings, and she could already feel that she had improved considerably during the later matches.
Without really thinking about it, she glanced sideways at Sadako, who was calmly playing with her Scroll as though they hadn't spent the last several hours trying to beat each other senseless.
She really was remarkable.
Strong and fast enough to go toe-to-toe with a Huntress-in-training without relying on Aura at all.
Before she realized it, she found herself comparing Sadako to a certain irritating wolf who shared more than a few similarities with her.
From what Daniel had told her, that wolf wasn't a natural creature, but something that had been created.
Pyrrha's heart began beating a little faster.
"Could this girl be the same as the wolf?" she wondered.
The theory seemed surprisingly solid, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. She was impressed, intrigued... and more than a little worried.
"Does she have multiple abilities too, or is it just that incredible strength?"
Her gaze immediately shifted to Aegis.
"Does he have enhanced strength too? Do all mutated creatures have it?"
The questions kept piling up in her mind, though she knew there was no point in asking them right now. Unlike Daniel, Aegis was far more secretive. He hadn't even been willing to tell her what the berry juice was made from.
Then again, if she was being honest, she was fairly certain that if she asked Daniel, he'd probably tell her absolutely everything... along with some outrageous story whose truthfulness would be impossible to verify.
With that thought in mind, she made a mental note to ask him the next time they met.
"Looks like the fun isn't over yet," Aegis remarked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Pyrrha immediately looked up, alarmed.
"You said training was over!"
Aegis nodded reassuringly.
"It is. But this isn't something you can skip."
"What do you mea-"
"AAAHHH!"
The screams of several people made her spin around at once.
It didn't take her long to discover the source of the panic. In the distance, several semi-aquatic Grimm were emerging from the sea.
Fortunately for the people on the beach, the military base was located nearby. The Huntsmen responded immediately, and the first Grimm were cut down with little difficulty before they could reach the civilians.
"Get ready," Aegis warned.
Pyrrha frowned slightly. She understood that the Grimm were a threat, but she couldn't see why she would need to get involved. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, but there seemed to be more than enough Huntsmen present to deal with a handful of Grimm.
"WHOOOOOOM!"
Before she could ask another question, Argus's emergency alarm echoed throughout the entire city.
A chill ran down Pyrrha's spine.
That alarm was only used in the most critical situations, and that could only mean one thing.
"A full evacuation..." she whispered in horror.
But that wasn't the end of her worries.
As she looked toward the horizon, she saw a colossal silhouette slowly rising from the ocean.
It was the largest Grimm she had ever seen in her life.
She wasn't the only one who noticed it.
The moment the people of Argus caught sight of the enormous creature, panic spread across the city. Crowds began fleeing away from the beach as screams and chaos consumed the streets.
"Don't worry about the big guy," Aegis reassured her, now perched on her shoulder. "You worry about the little ones. There are a whole lot more of them."
Pyrrha swallowed nervously.
"Do you know how many there are?"
Aegis thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.
"Too many to count. But if it makes you feel any better, the ocean's full of them."
That did not make her feel better in the slightest.
She swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and, with no other choice, began moving forward, taking comfort in the fact that at least she wouldn't have to face this battle alone.
She turned to look for Sadako, only to realize she was no longer by her side.
"Sadako got tired of waiting for you and went on ahead," Aegis explained.
Pyrrha let out a dry laugh.
"Heh..."
"Do you think Daniel will be okay?" she asked, unable to stop herself from worrying as she began heading toward the beach to help evacuate the civilians.
Aegis looked up at the sky.
"I wouldn't worry about him," he replied, watching as a faint glow began to form high above the clouds.
[A Few Minutes Earlier]
Lying on a towel at the beach, Daniel relaxed peacefully as he took a sip of his piña colada.
Sunshine, sand, and the constant sound of crashing waves. It was exactly the kind of vacation he needed. Everything was perfect... except for one tiny, completely insignificant detail.
"AAAHHHH!"
Someone sprinted past him in sheer terror, kicking up a cloud of sand that showered him as they desperately fled from a Grimm.
"You asshole!" Daniel complained, brushing the sand off his chest while glaring at the stranger in obvious irritation.
"I hope it catches you!" he shouted after him, though the man was probably already dead before he could hear it. That didn't stop Daniel from cursing him anyway.
Grumbling, he got up from his towel and brushed the remaining sand off his clothes while watching the ever-growing swarm of Grimm throw themselves at the fleeing civilians, drawn in by their negative emotions.
"Ah..." he sighed wearily as he stared at the endless tide of Grimm still pouring out of the ocean and advancing toward Argus.
"What does this world have against letting me relax for even one day?" he asked, not addressing anyone in particular.
He glanced around and saw Huntsmen already spreading across the beach, turning the entire area into a full-blown war zone.
"Should I just leave?" he wondered, though the answer was fairly obvious.
With surprising calm, he rolled up his towel, folded his beach umbrella, and stored both inside his inventory. He was just about ready to leave Argus behind when he suddenly stopped, surprised as an enormous Grimm began rising from the ocean.
"Now this is interesting!" he said with a laugh.
He mentally compared the massive aquatic Grimm to the dragon he had defeated some time ago with a little help from Balrog.
He was fairly certain the dragon had been larger, though he had no reliable way to prove it.
Daniel's eyes suddenly widened.
He had just come up with an idea.
Completely ignoring the battle between the Huntsmen and the Grimm, he focused all of his attention and created a glyph beneath his feet. It was a simple one, a design he had already committed completely to memory.
The instant he finished tracing it, the glyph flared brilliantly.
A heartbeat later, Daniel shot straight into the sky.
His sudden disappearance caught the attention of several Huntsmen, but only for a brief moment. They were all far too busy evacuating civilians and fighting the Grimm to pay him any real attention.
"It worked", he thought as he watched the ground rapidly shrink farther and farther below him.
Whenever he felt himself starting to lose speed, he created another gravity glyph beneath his feet, launching himself upward in a straight line once again.
He repeated the process over and over, climbing higher and higher until he rose above the cloud layer and surpassed the altitude at which Bullheads and the overwhelming majority of Grimm could fly.
Once he was convinced he had reached a height where no one could bother him, he created a large barrier glyph and used it as a platform.
For a moment, he gazed down at the world beneath his feet.
From that altitude, Argus, the ocean, and everything happening below looked like nothing more than tiny specks moving in the distance.
Daniel smiled as he slowly extended one hand in front of him.
"Let's give the world something to be amazed by", he thought, closing his eyes for a brief moment to focus.
A second glyph began taking shape before him, far larger and vastly more intricate than any glyph he had ever created before.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Creating a glyph of that magnitude was draining his Aura reserves at an alarming rate, even considering how absurdly massive those reserves already were.
[70315 -> 5200 -> 2200]
Without wasting a second, and before the Aura depletion could make him pass out, he pulled a bottle of berry juice from his inventory and chugged it in one gulp, instantly restoring a huge portion of his reserves.
[1200 -> 70255 -> 5250 -> 2200]
It wasn't enough.
The glyph continued devouring his Aura at a terrifying pace, and it was only halfway complete.
Daniel frowned and kept pulling out bottle after bottle, draining each one as fast as he could. His Aura reserves recovered only to plummet again almost immediately.
Just as he was about to drink the last bottle, he stopped.
He didn't need it anymore.
The enormous glyph was finally complete.
"Ha!" he laughed, his voice deep and utterly manic.
He had done it.
"Hahaha! IT'S ALIVE! ALIIIVE!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs as, from within the colossal glyph, an enormous claw slowly began to emerge.
—//—
Author's Note:
This chapter is mainly to let you all know to stop leaving epitaphs in the comments. I'm still alive, just very busy with personal matters and with little to no time to write. But hey, I'm still alive for now, and that's enough.
What happened to the second R18 part of the wolf? I'll be posting the final part in two or three chapters.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you spot any mistakes, and I'm sure there are plenty, let me know and I'll fix them. I wrote it between yesterday and today, so it definitely didn't get as much proofreading as usual.
I didn't even have enough time to include the second "puppies in the future" scene. I'll try to add it in the next chapter if I have the time.
Kisses and hugs. Bye!