章 88: Back to Business
[Date: 1/19 - Sunday]
[Time: 12:00 PM]
[Location: Home - Destiny Central]
The next day arrived and I packed up my things in my car to head back to Sanctuary City. Taking one last look at my home in Destiny Central, I began to feel a pang of sadness knowing it would be a while before I got to see my Destiny Central women again.
"Shiji!" A voice called out to me, catching my attention.
I turned toward the source of the voice, noticing Whitney hurrying toward me. I smiled at her, watching as she tackled me into a hug. "Wynn..."
Whitney looked up at me, gently holding me at arm's length. Her eyes were filled with emotion, her gaze meeting mine. "Please, be safe out there. You and Ani as well as Celene. Be safe in Sanctuary City..~"
I nodded, a warm smile tugging at the corners of my lips. "We will, Wynn...I promise."
Whitney leaned into me, capturing a soft, tender kiss upon my lips. I kissed her back, holding her close to me. After a moment, Whitney pulled away and let me go, allowing me to get into my car. She stepped back, waving at us and I returned her wave with my own.
Whitney watched as I drove off, her heart dropping at the sight of my car disappearing into the distance. With a soft sigh, she began to make her way back inside the mansion, hoping that I would stay safe in the dangers of Sanctuary City.
"Pepe, there's a lot that's been happening this past week you were gone. The Syndicates have been lowering in numbers and we've been seeing less action from them now that the numbers have been reduced to three members. This may be our chance to really get ahead now," Ani informed, her tone a mix of hopefulness and determination.
Celene chimed in, adding to Ani's statement. "I can confirm this, and it's the perfect time to finally clean up the city. We can finally wipe this slate clean by striking down Axel, Sebastian, and Lane for good."
I nodded, understanding the weight of their words. With a confident smile, I began to look into the future, seeing a bright future for each of us. "Good...Good that means we have a lot more time to prepare for them. I know they won't be prone to act too hastily, so we can take it a bit easy."
With that, the drive to Sanctuary City was filled with a newly found determination and hope. The three of us discussed a stable game plan, with me mainly focusing on making it through the final semester of my Freshman Year of College and helping the girls prepare for the final stages of the Gang War while Ani and Celene helped make game plans for Karma.
With everything in mind, the plan was set and ready to be taken underway. I had the upmost faith in everyone, especially in Ani and Celene. I knew that together, there was nothing that we couldn't do.
[Date: 1/19 - Sunday]
[Time: 1:25 PM]
[Location: Sanctuary City]
Within an hour and some change, we made it back to Sanctuary City, the familiar sights bringing a smile to my face. The moment of rest was over finally and it was finally time to get back to work. After dropping Ani and Celene off at the share house, I decided to go see what Charlotte and her crew were up to.
I drove off, using Charlotte's location to know where exactly she was, noticing she was at the gym with Eliza, Wendy, and Alice. As I drove to the gym, I began to think about how to spend my first day back in Sanctuary City, a plethora of ideas filling my mind.
I parked my car in front of the gym and got out, making my way to the building. Walking inside, I began to make my way toward the MMA area of the gym, hearing a few people cheering and coaching. I entered the MMA area, noticing Wendy and Alice training against each other.
"Yeah, just like that! Make sure to keep up your guard ladies," Charlotte called out, patting the mat of the ring.
Wendy blocked Alice's strike then ducked under her kick, countering with a swift uppercut. Alice blocked her uppercut with the palm of her hand then landed a clean right hook to her chin, dazing Wendy and causing her to stumble back. Wendy leaned against the ropes and shook her head, wiping the sweat from her face.
Wendy went back in, her and Alice going for another round. The few trainers and coaches that were watching cheered on the two women, coaching them and making sure they kept up their good forms.
"Well, it seems like you all are getting rather lively in here," I said, walking toward Charlotte and Eliza.
The two turned around, their eyes widening and wide smiles stretching across their faces. Charlotte got off the ring and walked toward me, pulling me into her tight embrace. I hugged her back then pulled Eliza into a hug as well, a soft chuckle escaping my lips.
"So how was it? How was your vacation back to Destiny Central?" Charlotte asked, placing a hand on her hip and tilting her head.
"It was pretty nice. It didn't come without its trouble though. Yoshido, Kismet, and Amor all went there to try and take me down, but as you know, I handled them and locked them down as well," I chuckled softly, boasting about my victories against the three late members of The Syndicates.
Eliza let out a soft, seductive chuckle, gently rubbing my arm. "Mmm~ You were always so strong and tough..~ I wish I was there to see it..."
I smiled at Eliza and chuckled at her seductive demeanor. "Yeah, I bet you would like that huh? So what's going on right now? Just getting some practice in for the day?"
"Yeah, basically. We've got some issues going on with the last three members of the Syndicates. Naomi told us to handle our own member of The Syndicates. My team's target is Sebastian, The SD's target is Lane, and Karma, of course, is handling Axel," Charlotte answered, her gaze returning to watch Wendy and Alice practice in the ring.
"I can't believe how far we've come now...aside from Feleti and Lotus, we've just got three more members left. I'm sure that Lotus left them with some form of power so it isn't gonna be easy taking them down like I hoped it would," I said.
Charlotte nodded and continued to watch Wendy and Alice. I joined her and began to watch over the progress of both Wendy and Alice, admiring their forms and different styles of fighting. Eliza joined us as well and stood beside me, admiring the two women as well.
After they got done with their mock fight, Wendy and Alice got out the ring and joined me, Charlotte, and Eliza to the food court near by the gym after freshening up. We sat in a fast food joint at a booth together, catching up with each other on what's been going on the past week.
"So we've been tracking down Sebastian's routes for a week now and a few of my men told me that there is a warehouse in the outskirts of Sanctuary Central, one that is storing weapons and cash. As always, they do have crooked cops covering their asses right now..." Charlotte began, keeping her tone low from prying ears.
"Oh yeah, the Askens Warehouse right? The one the Askens Family owns?" Wendy asked before taking a bite out of her burger.
Charlotte nodded and her gaze shifted between each of us. "We're gonna break into that warehouse and take those weapons and cash for ourselves. We won't be using them in specific as we can just sell them to our allies within the Black Market for a little extra money on the side."
"We're mainly taking their stock so they won't have it for the future. As their members lower, they have to rely on heavy artillery to deal with us. There's no length they wouldn't go to kill us off, so the most we can do right now is weaken them enough so we don't have to deal with that shit for later," Charlotte continued.
"That is rather risky, but the reward will be worth it if we succeed in this," Alice said, fiddling with the bendy straw in her cup.
Charlotte nodded then smiled at each of us. "Since we're gonna go out in stealth for this mission mostly, I have something I want to give you all when we go back home."
This made Wendy, Alice, and Eliza a bit curious, the three of them wondering what their gifts were going to be. Once we all finished our meals, we all got up and left the fast foot joint, getting into our cars to go back home.
[Date: 1/19 - Sunday]
[Time: 4:50 PM]
[Location: Home - Sanctuary City]
We made it home and Charlotte took us to her room, each of us walking inside. I sat at her desk while the others waited patiently as Charlotte walked into her closet to get her gifts for the three.
Walking out of her closet, Charlotte came out with three suits and hats of different colors. She smiled at Alice, Eliza, and Wendy, handing each of them a suit of a specific color. "Alice, since you're good with firearms, I gave you the color black so you can blend in with the night. Wendy, with your martial arts talent, you'll have the Dragon Suit, a formal yet efficient attire that allows you to look the part and play the part. Eliza, of course you'll get the red suit as it is the color of blood..~"
The three girls accepted their gifts happily, admiring the well thought out attires Charlotte just gifted them. Charlotte walked toward me and smiled, holding out a mask and black cloak for me.
"And for you, an outfit that I personally bought for you from the Black Market. As our honorary leader, you deserve the best attire that suits you and our missions," Charlotte said, watching as I took the mask and cloak. "Since you have two systems now, we made sure to make your attire cybernetic and futuristic so you don't have to constantly take our your devices."
I looked at the mask, noticing it was a sleek, metallic mask that covered the entire face. The mask was divided into segments with a distinct, angular design that added to the enigmatic and high-tech look. Only one eye is visible upon the mask, adding to its mysterious look.
The cloak had a futuristic design with glowing lines and patterns, indicating advanced technology. The lines were currently white, indicating that it wasn't powered up at the moment.
I looked up at Charlotte and smiled at her, grateful for her thoughtful gift. "Thank you, Char..~ I really appreciate this a lot. I'll be sure to put this to good use tonight while we are out."
Charlotte giggled softly, holding her arms under her chest. "I'm sure you will..~ Now let's all get ready. That warehouse isn't gonna raid itself~"
We all nodded and went off to our rooms to get ready. As I began putting on my outfit, I noticed Suru and Lust-E floating in front of me. Although one eye was visible, I could still see clearly and noticed digital interfaces appearing in front of me.
"Does it feel alright, Shiro?" Lust-E asked, tilting her head and floating around me, checking out my attire from all angles.
"Yeah, it feels nice actually. Feels better than the other mask I wore actually and looks like it came equipped with presets..." I said, interacting with the interfaces to see who the previous owner was.
"Cipher..? Huh...that's a pretty cool name low-key. I might keep it as Cipher. How does it sound?" I asked, looking at Lust-E and Suru.
"It sounds very familiar...but it has a nice touch to it. Better than Unknown honestly," Lust-E said, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.
"Mhm! It sounds more menacing as well!" Suru agreed, nodding her head.
Lustie hovered toward me and wrapped her arms around me from behind. "Are you ready, love..?~ The rest of us are ready to get out there and kick some ass~"
I looked back at Lustie and chuckled softly, gently caressing her cheek. "Yeah...the time for relaxation is over unfortunately. But once we finish with this...we will be able to relax however long we'd like."
Lustie's ears wiggled and her demon tail wagged at my physical affection. "Mmm~ Good, now let's get out there and take out some Syndicates!~"
I gave her a nod then began to make my way out of my room and walked downstairs, noticing the others were waiting for me. I looked at them and smiled, seeing how professional they looked.
"There you are, slowpoke~ About time you finally come down. Are you ready?" Charlotte asked, fixing her hat and smiled at me.
I nodded, adjusting my mask and hummed softly. "I'm ready."
"Oh wow..~ His voice is so deep under that mask..~" Eliza chuckled softly, licking her lips.
"It's pretty hot, I can't lie..." Alice said, placing her hand on her hip.
I chuckled lowly, and held my hand out, Lustie dropping my keys in my hands. "Let's roll out."
With that, the five of us left the house and got into our vehicles, driving off and following Charlotte to the destination.
[Date: 1/19 - Sunday]
[Time: 6:00 PM]
[Location: Askens Warehouse - Sanctuary Central]
We made it to our destination, parking a few meters away from the location. Charlotte stood beside a tree and used her binoculars to scout the area with Alice, who used the scope of her sniper to also scout the area. Wendy and Eliza patiently waited for Charlotte and Alice to finish scouting the area.
I sat on the hood of my car, using my System to upgrade my skills and Love Crests. I looked up and noticed Charlotte lowering her binoculars. "Are we good to go?"
"Mm-mmm... There's too many Syndicate members guarding the warehouse. Before we can storm out there, we need to lower the amount of people there. Do you still have Purgatory with you?" Charlotte asked, looking back at me.
I got off the hood of my car then walked toward the trunk, opening it and searching around for my sniper case. Once I found it, I took it out and closed the trunk, walking over toward Charlotte and the others. I opened the case and took out my sniper rifle, my gaze returning to Charlotte.
"Alright good. While Alice's aim is rather good, I doubt she will be able to take down those other snipers alone without getting caught. I want you to help her take out the snipers on tbe top of the warehouse," Charlotte said, looking back out at the warehouse with her binoculars.
I nodded and got down on the ground with Alice, setting up my sniper with her and took aim. I slowed my breathing and awakened my Crest of Talent, the lines of my cloak glowing a light blue color. I began to call upon Chelsey's Love Sigil, acquiring her title, "Sharpshooter".
{Ability Activated: Sharpshooter.}
{Ability Description: When using ranged weapons or firing projectiles, accuracy of all shots increases by 120%.}
"Alright, Alice...you fire first then I'll follow suit," I said, keeping my aim steady.
"Mmm..." Alice confirmed, slowing her breathing down also and hummed softly to focus her shot.
She pulled the trigger, firing a bullet that struck an enemy sniper's head. Before his partner could catch on, I fired a bullet as well and shot the second sniper in the head with pinpoint accuracy. We took aim at the second set of snipers and took them down as well with near perfect accuracy.
Charlotte watched as the snipers went down one by one then lowered her binoculars. "That's all of them, good job you two.."
I stood up and deactivated the ability and put away my sniper, closing the case and returning it to my trunk. Soon, we heard the alarms going off at the warehouse, the dead snipers being found.
Charlotte smirked and put on her gloves, her eyes becoming cold and heartless. "It's showtime everyone. Time to raid that warehouse..~"
We began to rush toward the warehouse while the members of the Syndicates began to try and find the culprit of the attack. A few members noticed us and began to fire bullets at us, but Charlotte began evading the bullets and Alice rushed by her, allowing Charlotte to grab her pistol from her holster.
Charlotte began firing bullets, hitting a few members with deadly accuracy. Alice unholstered her second pistol, evading the line of fire before the members of The Syndicates could fire then fired her own bullets, each bullet hitting their marks and taking down multiple members before having to reload.
Wendy's bracelets came off her wrists and ankles, unlocking her Wind Manipulation then she began to launch powerful forces of wind energy toward multiple members of The Syndicates and blew them away. "Look out, there's a Bodyguard hurrying toward us!"
Eliza laughed as she rushed forward, blood energy flowing around her body. "Don't worry, I'll handle him with ease!"
Eliza turned her body into black smoke, rushing forward and appearing behind the bodyguard. She wrapped her arm around his neck and performed an inverted headlock backbreaker, using her energy to launch him in the air. Once he was airborne, she used her blood energy to form tendrils and impaled his body.
"Nice one, Eliza!" Wendy called out, dodging a powerful swing from one of the buff men attacking her. She began blocking each of his attacks then palmed his stomach, knocking him away with wind energy.
The buff man smirked as he managed to keep his balance then rushed toward Wendy, preparing to grapple her. Before he could grab her, I appeared at his side and landed a powerful Destiny Flash, iridescent lightning flashing upon impact and knocking him away.
{Bond with Wendy greatly increased!}
"Thank you, Cipher~" Wendy giggled at me then rushed forward toward the warehouse.
I watched her run forward then followed behind her, summoning my gauntlets. We noticed a group of members began rushing toward us to stop us from invading their warehouse. Wendy and I looked at each other and nodded.
I rushed ahead, knocking one member in the air with a double leaping kick then Wendy leaped in the air, knocking them away with a powerful kick to his stomach. I grabbed Wendy's ankle and spun her around while she used her wind energy to form a light twister around us, the twister knocking multiple members away with bursts of wind.
"Get ready!" I called out, stomping my foot down and launching Wendy forward.
Wendy somersaulted forward then slammed her fists against the ground, a powerful force of energy blowing the group of Syndicates away. She stood up and huffed, fixing her clothes then looked back at me with a thumbs up. I gave her a thumbs up as well, chuckling softly.
We finally dispatched the rest of the goons then rushed into the warehouse and noticing the amount of weapons and cash inside. I looked around and crossed my arms, using my energy to try and sense any hidden figures within the warehouse.
"Looks like we'll need a truck to gather everything from here. Sebastian doesn't seem to be here yet, so let's take everything quickly then leave," Charlotte said, calling a few moving trucks to come to our location.
We all began to gather the money and weapons that we could carry and I had my Love Demons drive our vehicles toward the warehouse and load up what we could in our cars. Soon the trucks arrived and the movers hurried to load everything else in their trucks in a timely manner.
Once we had everything cleared out, we got into our vehicles and drove off. The heist was a success and part of The Syndicates' firepower was now lowered. We managed to escape the area before the police and Sebastian arrived, leaving with our loot and money.
Sebastian soon arrived at the warehouse, seeing it was all cleared out and grit his teeth. He looked around, noticing injured and dead allies on the ground. He noticed a Syndicate Cop walking toward him and barely had any patience for him.
"Looking through the security footage, we can confirm that it wasn't Karma who did this. We actually don't know who those five were, but two of them stood out to us. They seem to have Philosopher's Stones within them. A Wind User and a Vampire," The cop said, looking at Sebastian, sweating a bit as he noticed his pissed off expression.
Sebastian crossed his arms and grumbled lightly. "Unaffiliated organizations..? A Mafia maybe..? Tch...this is so annoying. Not only did we lost Yoshido, Kismet, and Amor, but we also lost our Askens Warehouse."
"Go search for my money and weapons. There's no way they could've gotten off too far," Sebastian commanded.
The officers nodded and hurried off, leaving Sebastian to quietly seethe by himself. He got back into his car and drove off, grumbling quietly to himself.
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