A/N: Update at the end of the chapter.
The blueprints I had been making to break into The Platinum Chip were completely forgotten as I looked at the panel in front of me. My mind started spinning with theories on what the hell it was talking about.
'The fuck do you mean digested!?' I mentally screamed at the Chaos Gacha. I didn't think I would get an answer, but the following alert gave me some hope.
Ding! Sorting the digested Traits and Skills into a coherent list for the user's ease of understanding!
Digested Traits:
[Sixth Sense]
|Elite Trait|
Allows you to sense intent directed at you like hostility, malintent, or killer intent. You can accurately tell where it is coming from too but trained killers may be harder to tell apart due to their training.
[Steady]
|Rare Trait|
Easy does it, you are incredibly steady, those small shakes your body makes are no more, and you do not lose your footing either, even if you are hopped up on adrenaline you could hold a gun like it was on a tripod.
[Linguist]
|Uncommon Trait|
You are able to understand all mundane languages and are very good at learning non-mundane ones too.
[Radiant Allure]
|Uncommon Trait|
Your presence is captivating in subtle but undeniable ways. Your skin is flawless—moist, smooth, and unblemished unless you decide otherwise—making you look effortlessly radiant. Your eyes sparkle with a natural charm, drawing attention without any hint of magic or trickery. And your smile carries a warmth that puts people at ease and subtly draws them closer, enhancing your attractiveness and social grace.
[
My mind spun, adding all of these new traits to the mental list I had for myself. Though it lurched a bit at the as the next section came.
Recently Learned Trait being added:
[Killing Intent]
|Common Trait|
You radiate a palpable sense of danger when you direct your focus, making weaker foes desperate to escape your presence. Rivals of equal strength feel their confidence waver under your gaze, while those stronger than you may notice your intent—but rarely bother to care.
'When the hell did I learn that!?' I thought, trying to find a point in time where I could have possibly learned to direct my killing intent. I went from when I woke up in this world all the way up to this point in time, only finding less than a handful of times that could have happened.
'There was the bar in Goodsprings, then the Correctional Facility, the ant hill, that Legion Outpost I destroyed, and-' I stopped, feeling stupid by not figuring it out sooner.
"It was when I lost control while trying to keep Eugene and Fetch from running off, wasn't it?" I asked, the question not being directed to anyone in particular, though I still got an answer.
Ding! Correct!
'Huh…neat, I guess.' I mused ideally, my thoughts moving through the implications of being able to learn things that the gacha could give without having to actually pull them, though I pushed that to the side for now and moved on. 'Is that it for the Traits or is there more?' I mentally questioned the Chaos Gacha.
Ding! That is all of the digested Traits, now it's time for the digested Skill list!
[Adept Shooting]
|Rare Skill|
You are a natural crack shot, being able to wield most projectile-based weaponry with great familiarity and accuracy, rarely missing your shots unless you are against an opponent of similar skill.
[Intermediate Hand-to-Hand Combat]
|Uncommon Skill|
You are a seasoned fighter, you know how to move your body to hurt people and can pick up most martial arts far faster than other people. You would completely thrash the average man in a fight.
[Wilderness Survival]
|Uncommon Skill|
You are very skilled at surviving in the wilderness, whether that is making temporary shelter out of materials you can find, identifying safe sources of food, knowing how to track animals, how to secure your stuff, and generally everything needed to know to survive in the wilderness effectively.
[Intimidation]
|Rare Skill|
You are skilled at intimidating people, making them feel fear and shake in their boots with your mere presence, you instinctively know how to present yourself in ways that invoke terror.
I added these skills to my mental list again before stopping, looking at the final skill I had digested. "Hey, can I still fuse things while on a mission?" I ask, not knowing if that was allowed since the abilities I was allowed to use were heavily restricted or outright banned, so I wanted to know if traits were different.
Ding! You can fuse them! Traits are things that you can shift and change as much as you want since the ones you have do not out right change you, and the ones that do change you are already fused and locked!
I mull that over in my head for a moment before speaking again, "Alright, fuse them then"
Ding! Fusing [Intimidation] and [Killing Intent]...
Ding! Fusion complete!
[Terrifying Presence]
|Rare Trait|
You are terrifying, children cry near you and grown men piss their pants in front of you. When you want to, you appear less like a man and more like a sadistic force of nature.
"Nice, it's only really useful for scaring people and distracting enemies, but nice all the same." I said, feeling a distinct change in my nature. Feeling like I was a regular knife—sharp to be sure, but still just a regular knife—that got its metal swapped with Saturnite…now that I think about it, I gotta find out how to make that stuff. I'd have to find out their general metal makeup and whatever else they add to the metal to strengthen it.
"Whatever, I can think about that stuff later." I said, shaking those thoughts out and getting back to the forgotten universal USB analyzer I was trying to think up. As I got back to sketching and taking notes on everything I knew from my skills, research and memories, another notification popped up.
Ding! Divert the romance between Abigail (Fetch) and Delsin!
1x Random Silver ticket acquired.
I blinked, reading and then re-reading the message over and over again. Pushing the blueprints aside once more I extended my hand and brought some wires out of my palm, injecting them into my computer. Why was I doing this you ask? I was using my wires to interface with the computer directly, it's faster to do it this way rather than type everything out on my computer. It's also very good for helping me get used to the memories of what I can do…totally not because I was lazy…totally…
Anyways, as I interfaced with the computer and maneuvered my way to the cameras we had taken over I came upon the scene of a rather flustered Eugene trying his hardest not to be flustered and failing horribly. Fetch was currently leaning over the table with several sticky notes in her hand and sticking them to the map, rather obviously shaking her rear in Eugene's direction. Eugene, the lucky bundle of nerves, tried his hardest to ignore the sight, and also failed horribly. Fetch, rather obviously taking her time in placing the sticky notes, had a smile on her face that wouldn't look odd on a mischievous cat that just caught the canary.
"Heh, way to go kid, just gotta get a bit more confidence in you before just letting you jump into the deep end though." I murmured, pulling back my awareness and wires from the computer. 'I always did think they'd be cute together.' I thought as I, once again, got back to my forgotten blueprints.
I however, did not see how Eugene suddenly gained a surge of courage, moving forward as Fetch turned around and planted a rather clumsy kiss on her lips. He brought his hands up and held onto the curve of her hips, starting to get a bit more confident. Fetch, startled, just stood there in both shock and let the kiss happen for a few seconds before finally responding. Things started to get rather steamy before–
*Click flash!*
The click and flash of a camera taking a picture came from across the room, startling the two of them out of their impromptu makeout session and whipping their heads over to see me standing there. A polaroid camera in one hand and the physical photo in the other, shaking it so that I could see the resulting photo.
"You know," I started, keeping my eyes focused on the photo I was still shaking as I spoke, "I was just coming in here to get some light teasing material, but this is truly a wonderful devolopment." I finished, chuckling a bit at the end before bringing the fully developed photo up to see how it came out. Seeing the 'deer in headlights' look the two of them had out of the corner of my eye.
"Oh, I didn't really get a good look at the situation before taking the photo but you two were really goin at it, weren't ya?" I asked rhetorically, a large shiteating grin on my face. I was honestly surprised, even if I was hoping this would happen eventually. Mostly because of how quickly it happened, not that I wasn't pushing them together with little nudges here and there, but I didn't think they'd start swapping spit a few days after knowing each other.
'Maybe it's because of the fact that they have no clue if they'll survive this insane plan we're making?' I thought, the idea taking root as I started connecting dots with similar scenarios. People say that emotions blossom when you don't know if you'll survive till the next day or even survive long enough to see the next day. 'Guess they just don't want to have any regrets before we really start going after Augustine and her DUP–'
My thoughts were cut off as my instincts flared and I ducked, pulling the photo close to my chest, a laser made of neon flying past the place the photo was just a second ago. I rolled away from the spot a second later as a barrage of digital bolts splashed the spot a moment after the neon blast. Popping back up and staring at where I was a second ago, I gulped before hearing Fetch growl, actually growl.
"Issac…hand over the photo…NOW!" She demanded, her form turning into neon on the last word as she sprinted towards me, trying to grab at the photo. A bundle of wires burst out from where my Rinkaku would, reaching out to some of the wires on the wall and pulling myself out of her reach.
My instincts flared again as I snapped the wires on the wall and launched them upwards and attached them to the wires on the ceiling, bringing me up and letting myself stick there like some discount Spider-Man. Looking down, I saw a glitchy looking Eugene standing where I was a moment prior, his arms semi-formed and his hands in the same spot my neck was.
His form was flickering the same way a laggy game character would, the rest of him coming back to a normal state as he looked upwards, a pair of angelic wings glitching onto his back as he burst upwards. Once again I disconnected from the wires, though this time I went forward instead of away, kicking off of the ceiling. I twisted in mid-air, placing a hand on Eugene's head before rolling over him entirely and landing on the ground. The moment I landed I leaped forward, turning again and bringing the camera up to the two of them–
*Click flash!*
I took another photo. This one being the two of them, red faced from embarrassment and anger, looking like they wanted to mutilate me.
"Ah, another good one for the memory books." I cackle, grabbing the second photo before stuffing both of them into my pocket and collapsing into a bundle of wires, shooting off through the wires of the building and fleeing through them. I could hear the two shouting for me to come back, but I just kept moving along the wires. It acted similarly to how Hank and Eugene moved through their respective travel types. Hank uses his smoke to travel through vents and Eugene uses TV satellite dishes to ride the signals with his wings.
'Guess I'll go get some food while I wait for them to cool off, shouldn't take too long.' I thought, chuckling a bit as I popped out onto the roof of the building. Walking over to the edge of the roof, I looked out over the city, both the China Town district and the ones in and across the river. Seeing the facilities that the DUP were constructing on the island that they requesitioned—blackmailed—from the city.
'Wouldn't surprise me if Augustine finally got ahold of that knockoff ctOS shit the government has to "more effectively identify conduits"'. I sarcastically thought as I scanned and logged the changes that have happened across the city. Stretching a bit before reaching down and grabbing onto a pipe on the side of the building, using it to slide down the building. Gotta look somewhat normal after all.
"What should I get, we're in the China Town district but we've had Asian food for the last few days so I'd like something different." I spoke idly as I slid down the pipe, vocalizing my thoughts just because I could, feeling a genuine smile come to my face as I looked down at the two photos I took. I was partially joking when I said I'd add them to the memory books, I will add them to a book for memories sake, just that it would be mine and mine alone. I got the sudden urge to take photos of the places I go too and of the people I meet so I can have physical proof that I had been there and met them despite having a photographic memory.
Putting the pictures away I grabbed a certain old piece of tech from my hip. A Walkman. Placing the headphones that were around my neck onto my ears I hit play, a different genre of music starting to play.
*My Songs Know What You Did in The Dark – by Fall Out Boy*
Not the best but whatever, there's only a few good songs I can get on cassette tapes and I don't want to listen to either Country or Christian Rock, so I just grabbed the popular ones that weren't either of those genres…why did I get a Walkman you ask?
Because I'm going to take it back with me and am going to be using it regularly when ED-E can't play music for me. I mean, it isn't all that valuable to the people in the Fallout universe, just a bit odd considering how small it is in comparison to what it does.
'I'll have to keep it away from the Brotherhood of Steel though, those guys are like the toaster fuckers from 40K in their willingness to do whatever it takes to get technology and it's just odd enough that they might want to get their hands on it.' I thought, coming up to a restaurant that stuck out amongst the stores with Asian themes, a pizza place.
'It makes sense,' I began to think as I pushed open the door, 'this is the entertainment district as well, so there's going to be more than the Asian themes here.' I finished my thoughts before ordering something called a Big Wheel pizza. It was a pizza big enough so that if I were to hold it at chest height I'd have to extend my arms all the way forward just to curl my fingers around the other side.
'So a perfect size to get them to calm down!' I think before starting my order, deciding to get a three part pizza.
One part was olives, anchovies, and Canadian bacon for Fetch. If I didn't know she was still a virgin from the files I read about her while in Curdun Cay I'd think she was pregnant just from her preferences. The second part was chicken bacon ranch for me. The last part was just plain extra cheese for Eugene…I'm not being an ass, he just likes his pizza like that, I don't know why but he does.
After paying for the pizza and leaving I walk down the street, a light bounce in my step as I continue listening to my music. Dancing past the people on the side walk before deciding to take an ally as a short cut.
*Flutter flutter*
I stopped, noticing the sound of paper flying in the wind. The sound wouldn't have been something I would pay attention to if it wasn't for one factor…there was no wind today. As in, not even the trees were moving.
Looking up, I saw someone jump over the edge of a building roof, paper flying around them…and coming straight towards me head first. A distinct origami rabbit mask covering the top half of her head, one that I remember clearly.
Celia Penderghast is her name, and she does not look happy with me…
'I wonder why?' I smirk, jumping back while making sure the pizza survives.
*Crack!* *Woosh!*
She came down, slamming into the concrete of the alley, sending several origami daggers at me. One going for my face, several coming for my joints, several heading for my organs, and one flying straight at my groin-
"Hey," I shout, tossing the pizza up. "Not the jewels!" Securing it to several wires above me I manifest several needles of highly condensed wire and throw them to intercept the daggers.
*Clang! Clash! Clatter!*
She didn't speak, I didn't expect her to. She never really spoke even in my memories of this life, both lucid and not. Her legs bent even before I finished speaking, her body transforming into paper as she lept into the air. As she reached the peak of her jump she returned to being human, her arms crossed as her paper folded itself instantly into origami birds in her hands and along her arms.
Wires shot out of my arms in all directions before stabbing themselves into ground and walls, pulling several pipes up in front of me to be used as supports to make walls from. Wires followed them as they twisted and condensed in less than a second. As the wall finished being made I could actually feel Celia's origami constructs slam into my wall.
*Crunch!*
'That doesn't look good,' I thought as a particularly deep dent appeared on the wall. 'Good thing I'm not going to be here long enough to find out how long this wall's gonna hold though.'
Deciding to bring this battle to an end I reached out to the wires around me, tracking where they all lead and moving them around for the best access to get out of here. Finding it, I zip across and up to the previously discarded pizza only to find it completely destroyed, paper stuck to the cut open parts of the box. Sighing, I look down at Celia and give her the stink eye, more upset that she destroyed the pizza than the fact that she attacked me.
Feeling petty I reach my hand out, taking control of the left behind wire walls, making them uncoil and whip out at her. She tried to find footing on one of her origami birds so she could dodge. Her foot found nothing as I shot it out from under her. She stumbled in mid-air, trying to find some kind of footing but…
*Phwip snap!*
I heard her yelp as one of my wires wrapped around her leg like a whip, the end of it slapping against her skin and keeping her from focusing on both combat and powers. The split second of her being discombobulated was enough for more wires to reach her and start wrapping her up.
A few seconds and a rather large amount of paper flying from her hands later, she was finally fully wrapped. All but her head was encased, her paper rabbit mask being slightly chipped in places and one of the ears had been snapped off entirely.
"Well," I drawled, stepping closer until I was close enough to touch her. "It's been interesting, Celia, but I gotta find some kind of peace offering for my overly horny…" I pause, trying to find the right word to describe the relationship I have with Eugene and Fetch.
"Students? Acquaintances? Friends? Eh," I shrugged, turning away from Celia and walking towards the alley entrance. "I'll go with friends until they tell me otherwise." I finish walking out of the alley…I bet you're wondering why she didn't try and escape from the bindings, right?
Well, that's rather simple, because she'd have to choose between leaving the ally entirely or being wrapped up again, and from the yelp she let out I don't think she wants to be wrapped up again. So she chose the path of least resistance, since if she left the ally we'd just keep fighting until she hits something vital or she gets wrapped up again.
Plus, she knows she can't beat me unless I'm exhausted, the same goes for me. Don't get it twisted, just because she gave up doesn't mean I actually won, it just means she stopped trying to fight me. Because Celia and I are the same and worst kind of conduit to come across, the kind that only gets caught when we feel like it.
So yeah, we just decided to put this fight off for a while, or until Celia was ordered to come get me again. Which Augustine would probably order immediately after Celia gets back…or she'll never let her get anywhere near me again, it's really a toss up with her some days.
*Flutter Flutter*
A slight smile came over my face as I heard the flutter of paper leaving in the opposite direction. Then I remembered that I still had to get something for Eugene and Fetch and the smile left entirely.
"Damn it!" I yelled, throwing my head back as I heard my voice echo and people that hadn't left because of the fight jump and look at me like I was crazy. Slumping forward, I trudged off to find somewhere else to get food.
Ding! Defeat Celia Penderghast!
1x Random Silver ticket acquired.
Looking at the glowing screen in front of me, my steps not stuttering once, I blink and dismiss it for later. Glancing around the street and finding nothing that looks good I let out a loud sigh and kept walking for a place to get more food, completely ignoring the stares from the people around me.
[Chapter 13 End]
A/N: I'm not gonna lie, shits kinda fucked here. Like, I don't know if I'll be able to have a house anymore kind of fucked. I'm trying to get stuff back together and in order but it's not going very well. I have a few opportunities open but they're closing fast and nobody seems to want to let me have those opportunities, so I don't know.
Anyways, that's enough out of me and if you've read this far and are still reading, then I hope you have an incredible rest of your day/night.