Reverse 1999 x Reader [HIATUS]

A Daring Defense and a Sweet Send-Off.

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1929, Streets of London.
(1ST PERSON, Y/N.)

I burst out of the suitcase, dropping into a roll and landing smoothly on the ground. "Come here, help me!" I see Regulus near the tree we stowed away the suitcase in, visibly distressed. "They are trying to take the suitcase to make a nest!" I survey the enemies in front of me. The two critters are small, fuzzy, and round creatures that come in varying shades of colors. One of them is also wearing a skull mask, strangely enough. "That's quite a lot of critters! Timekeeper, we must do something to turn things around now."
Sonetto calls out to Vertin.

"Remember what the instructor said in class? 'Afflatus is a way to hunt in the world-" Sonetto calmly explains, as if she's used to reciting this information. I raise an eyebrow and call out, "What the heck is afflatus?" Sonetto turns to me with a surprisingly patient smile on her face. "Our observations of plants, stars, minerals, and beasts and even our experiences with the spirit and intelligence let us better understand our own existence." I blink to indicate I don't follow. Sonetto pauses thinks for a moment, irritating Regulus, who is already worried.

"An arcanist's source of power comes from the afflatus. Each of the variables I've stated are these sources. These sources each hold power over another source and always have another power over them. Mine is the mineral type, for example." I slowly nod, beginning to understand. I'm not sure what afflatus I belong to, but I could probably find out with some experimentation. Regulus angrily butts in between me and Sonetto before shouting, "Can we hurry it up? We've got a problem here!" I quickly nod and refocus.

I slip off my mask and stare at the creatures, preparing for a fight. It seems like they're determined to get this cozy home. "Sorry small friends, but you can't claim this spot as yours." The critters perk up when they hear me speak, only to quickly become angry again. They're kinda cute. Could I keep one as a pet? "Select a proper target for me Timekeeper." She turns to Vertin, who nods. "Let's demonstrate to [Y/N] the power of afflatus. Use an incantation that'll strongly impact an enemy of the weaker afflatus."

I watch closely, curious about this "afflatus" theory. Vertin commands Sonetto to cast a basic attack spell, and the bone-mask critter that the spell hits has clearly felt the impact. "That critter was a beast type, and mineral types are stronger than beast types. Are you beginning to understand, [Y/N]?" I slowly nod at Sonetto's words, which makes her smile widely. She'd be a good teacher if she decided to pursue that path. I turn to a unique critter that's wearing a strange wooly hat. The hat has the scent of another animal. The critter must've been pretty clever to get that hat without injury.

Finally, I softly smile and lightly approach the critter while telling it a chilling bedtime story my mother once told me as a punishment...

--✦--

"Watch your windows..."
"Watch your door..."
"Watch your closet..."
"Did you check the floor?"
"Look under your desk because everyone else won't..."
"Check everywhere you possibly can, because if you don't..."
"Rest assured your demons will be more thorough..."

--✦--

Seriously, I almost ripped out a floorboard because I heard leaves rustling in the night. The creature I've now traumatized seems to have suffered a lot of mental damage, but it still looks tired. It seems a little less likely to go through with an attack next round. Interesting. Vertin seems to have found it interesting too, as evidenced by her slightly wide eyes. "Good work [Y/N]." Sonetto gives me curt praise that I return with a thumbs up. "It's no issue. Let's finish up here, shall we?"

"Indeed." Mr. APPLe bobs up and down as me and Sonetto get ready for the rest of the battle.

✦--✦--✦-✦--✦--✦
After the battle...

I stretch, smiling with pride at our achievement. We drove away the critters! However, Mr. APPLe seems more dejected. He sighs, "Even the tree hole is not safe enough..." I hesitantly nod my head, disappointment overtaking the happy feeling I had a moment ago. "...We should go." Vertin gently dislodges the suitcase and slips it into her hand. "I will carry it with me along the way. But... Regulus." She shoots a look at the pirate in question. Said pirate looks a little shocked.

"Huh? What's with that worried look?" Regulus pushes up her sunglasses and digs into her bag, holding a floppy disk in between her fingers. "Come on, Sonetto gave me a floppy disk. I'll reach the quarter 100% safe!" I snort at her confidence. "Run if you can't win." Vertin says, her tone grave. "Uggh..." Regulus's massive sunglasses hang down her baby face, and her bright golden eyes blinking in shock are highlighted as a result. "I-I'm not there to fight!" She huffs. "Sure... I didn't think you were so bold as to do a 1 vs 1000 but... I gotta respect you for it."

I pat her shoulder and give her toothy grin. Her flustered expression is an absolute joy to see. Before she can say anything else, I cut in, "Don't worry Regulus, I'm sure you'd win anyways." She playfully punches my arm, and I laugh with her. "Anyways," she wipes a tear from her eyes, "I gotta split then! This is a free trip. I'll definitely enjoy myself. Ha-ha!" I sweat drop a little as the golden particles encompass her. A mass of clouds in the sky forms into the words, "DO IT."

I rush forward and give Regulus a huge bear hug before releasing her and waving to her. I can tell she wants to say something else, but she's gone before she can. Thank goodness. I wouldn't be able to tolerate the embarrassment.

...

Oh who am I kidding? I've got a bunch of spectators behind me. Speaking of them, all of them are understandably shocked. Well, except Vertin. Before anyone can say anything, I quickly say, "We should get moving, shouldn't we? Where we walking to?" Sonetto looks dazed for a moment before slowly nodding. "Yes... follow me. The mission is in the underground parking at No. 2122 Lincoln Park Street, two blocks away from us. We still have plenty of time..." She looks around for a moment, averting her eyes away from me and Vertin. Blush rises on her cheeks.

"Can... could we go there by bus?" Before I can begin teasing her, Vertin places a firm hand on my shoulder as if to say, 'Have mercy, or I won't.' I throw my hands up and smile. "Sure. Enjoy the scenery." Vertin agrees, and we all walk to the closest bus near us.

...Vertin can be scary sometimes, huh?
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word count: 1133

A/N's: I planned for you to meet schneider this chapter but I wrote a lot more than expected so I'm doing a split up again

sorry