If you want more to read, consider joining my Patreon! Or check out my other original works:
Stray Cat Strut (A cyberpunk system apocalypse!) - Ongoing
Fluff (A superheroic LitRPG about cute girls doing cute things!) - Ongoing
Love Crafted (Interactive story about an eldritch abomination tentacle-ing things!) - Completed!
Drear's Ten-Tea-Cle Café (An insane Crossover about cute people and tentacles) - Hiatus
Cinnamon Bun (A wholeso LitRPG!) - Ongoing
The Agartha Loop (A Magical-Girl drama!) - Volu Two Complete!
Lever Action (A fantasy western with cha!) - Volu One Complete!
Heart of Dorkness (A wholeso progression fantasy) - Completed!
Dead Tired (A cody about a Lich in a Wuxia world doing Science!) - Ongoing
Sporemageddon (A fantasy story about a mushroom lover exploding the industrial revolution!) - Ongoing
Past the Redline (A girl goes too fast, then she does it again) - Completed!
Magical Girl Crystal Genocide (Magical Girls accidentally the planet, and then try to fix it) - Completed!
Magical Girl Rending Nightmare (A sequel to Crystal Genocide! Cute girls in a soviet dystopia having a picnic on the roadside) - Volu Two Completed!
Noblebright (A shipcore AI works to avenge humanity) - Completed!
The Complicated Love Life of Ivil Antagonist (The Empress of Mars finds love) - Completed!
Pokebun (Broccoli Bunch in the world of Pokemon) - Hiatus
Queen Violence (An Assassin Reborn as a Kitten) - Completed!
No Strings Attached (An Elden Ring/Bloodborne inspired progression fantasy) - Ongoing
Save Scumming (A ti-looping system apocalypse) - Ongoing
Chapter Two - It's Again
700 flying vehicles violently grounded after Antithesis-related satellite failure.
--NewsWorld headline, March 5th, 2054
***
Since I didn't want to dive into any sort of clusterfuck without doing at least so amount of ass-covering prep work, I figured I ought to ask so of my friends for help.
But first, snacks.
I padded over to the kitchen then checked the fridge for leftovers. There were a few things, but the Kittens had been picking away at everything. Lucy had made this at sauce with little atballs, and the little shits living in my house had plucked all of the atballs out of the sauce.
Shaking my head, I settled on so toaster pastries from the cupboard. It was fast, and it was sothing I could eat while walking around. While I waited, I noticed so of the brats poking their heads in, and I told them that I'd be off. "I won't be gone for long. Myalis will be watching over you."
I only volunteered to watch over one child.
I figured that one child was . "I don't know what direction you're in, but can you assu that I'm politely directing these two fingers in your direction?"
Cute.
I was gonna head down a couple of floors and go bother Gomorrah.
Of all the Samurai I knew, she was the one I'd worked with the most, and I trusted her. Plus we were neighbours, so I figured she thought of as a friend. That was probably how it worked, right? People didn't move next door to soone that they didn't like, right?
Fuck, how did normal adults make friends? Most of the people I knew were orphans stuck in the sa shitty system. I hoped that that wasn't the only way I knew how to get to know people in the future, because it would be a little sad if it was.
I jumped a little as the toaster went off, then I juggled the pastry to keep from burning my fingers too badly. I was pretty sure my new skin was more fireproof, but it was the thought that counted.
Right, samurai friends...
Gomorrah was the first I'd ask, but if things in Quebec were as much of a clusterfuck as I expected, then I'd definitely want to drag more along.
Would any of the higher-tier locals want to co? I was pretty unfamiliar with the more Family-related samurai. The Dial-Ups and Lags, and the Jolly Monarchs who hung out around New Montreal sotis.
Sothing told that higher-tier people were probably above this kind of mission. Might not hurt to ask, but I didn't know them well.
Grasshopper... yeah, okay, her I could ask. Even if she said no, it wouldn't sting, and I wasn't spending any social capital with her if I just asked.
Who else... Deus Ex was right out, she foisted this shit onto to begin with.
Emoscythe? That was possible, but I already owed her a favour that I was worried about, and I wasn't sure I wanted to add more to that.
Which brought to the less-high-tier samurai that were from around the city.
Crackshot was worth asking. He was cool and dependable. Gros Baton might not mind visiting Quebec. Plus there were more French people over there, so he'd be useful to have for translation. Hedgehog was a stick in the mud, but he was good too, so that wasn't a bad idea.
Then there was Tankette. She was also dependable. If we were going to be playing a more defensive role, then she might be nice to have around. Princess... urgh. I didn't wanna. But Shy, on the other hand, was nice to have around.
I nodded to myself as I walked towards the elevator, picking up so boots along the way and slipping them on with a hop. I left them untied. Half because I just didn't care (it wasn't like I was going far) and half because it would bother Gomorrah in a way that I found kind of amusing.
I finished my snack on the way down, then stepped out into the small entrance lobby that Delilah and Franny had built, leading into their ho. I didn't even know if either of them were here.
Still, I walked up to their door and knocked. "Yo! Is anyone ho?"
It took a minute, but the door opened, and I found myself standing across from Delilah. She was in casual wear. A long skirt that even a grandma would find a bit stuffy, and a rather nice blouse that looked like it might be silk or sothing. "Catherine," she said. "What are you wearing?"
"Boots?"
"I ant the... pants."
I looked down. "They're booty shorts."
"They're an affront to god and fashion."
I snorted. "You don't know what's good, Delilah," I replied, using her full and proper na. Not that it was an easy na to shorten. "Imagine Franny wearing these, huh?"
Delilah sighed. "Catherine," she said.
I just grinned in return. "Maybe you should try them on? For your girlfriend?" I asked, making sure to be as saccharine and teasing as I could be.
"You're not just here to bother , are you?"
I shook my head. "Nah. Got a mission from the pipsqueak. Not sure if I won't just ignore it, but in case I decide to dive in, I figured I might as well see if you wanted to co along?"
"The pipsqueak?" she asked.
"Deus Ex," I replied, making a gesture at about collarbone-height to show who I was talking about.
"Ah," Delilah said. She backed out of the entrance. "Co on. I have so coffee brewing. I feel like it might help with this discussion."
I followed. Delilah and Franny had a really nice kitchen. A bit nicer than ours, actually. Maybe we could make it bigger? Would Lucy like that? She liked cooking, so maybe I could ask her. I took a seat at the island while Delilah fetched two mugs and poured them full of coffee. I wasn't even a big fan of it, but it did sll real good.
"We have crear, milk, cream, sugar..."
"Yup," I said. "To all of it."
She gave a terribly judgental look, then fetched a bunch of things from the fridge and set them before . I proceeded to turn the coffee into so sort of sugar chira to drown out the bitterness.
She took hers black.
"So, what did Saint Deus Ex ask you to do?"
"Saint?"
"Sorry. Just... that's how we used to talk about her," Delilah said with a slight shrug.
"Wild. Do they call you Saint Delilah? Saint Gomorrah? Wait, do I have a little shrine?"
"I hope not," she said. She didn't sound certain about that, though. "In any case, you're dodging the question."
"No no, I was getting to it," I said. "She asked to basically check in on Quebec. I think she figures that our warning to the gangs will give us a solid month or so of relative peace. I thought we'd get to spend that relaxing and getting a few things done, but I guess that doesn't fit her plans."
"I see. And what's happening in Quebec? I hadn't heard anything too negative."
I took another sip of the coffee, then reached over for the sugar again. "Honestly? Can't tell you. Not because of secrecy or anything. Or not because of ours, at least. Things look normal on the news. Like, too normal, you know?"
"I don't, but I think I can imagine what you an," she said. "Quebec isn't too far from here. A relatively short flight if you're moving fast enough."
"Mhm. I think the Bastion can make it there in about an hour. Maybe one and a half," I said. "So if we head over, we can be back in ti to sleep in our own beds. Assuming we leave at a reasonable ti."
"You an noon."
"A reasonable ti," I repeated.
She huffed, then leaned back against the counter. "I suppose it might not hurt to go with you and see what the situation is like with my own eyes. Were you going to build a squad to head over?"
"Sothing like that. I was thinking I'd ask Grasshopper and Shy, at least. Maybe so of the others, if they have free ti and aren't doing anything more important. Showing up with one Samurai is nice, showing up with two is nicer, showing up with a group is like, a declaration, or sothing."
"Mhm." She blinked a few tis. "Are there really so few Samurai left there? Three active? Two?"
"I don't know. I think that'll be the first thing we need to find out."
Delilah's lips were thin as she stared off into space, probably looking sothing over. "I've got this awful feeling in my gut that this is a lot of trouble, Cat. More than you're appreciative of."
I grinned. "Good! Then you'll really want to be there, otherwise I'll be the one having to solve it, and no one wants that."
***
A note from RavensDagger
Okay, two things!
First, Teddy Bears on Brigade has recently celebrated its two year anniversary, and that's... honestly, just kinda hype? Thought I'd give it a shout! Go read it, and support Wombat, they've been a huge, core mber of the SCS community for a long ti, and they deserve so love. Plus their fic is fun! Wombat was a newer writer when they started off, but she's improved a ton over the last couple of years. Like, a lot! You can actually track the progress through the story!
Link: sroyalroad/fiction/76779/teddy-bears-on-brigade-a-scs-fanfiction
Second: My Patreon has an 80% discount on most tiers (not the $1 one, I couldn't go that low?) for the month of December, so... yeah, co join us! It's cheap!~
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