Hyperdimension Neptunia | The Bound Warrior

Ch.31 The Plan

Max's Pov

I make my way to the CPU level of Lastation's basilicom, inspecting my injuries from my battle moments prior to entering here. I press the button to the floor I want to get to with my thumb. I give a sigh as I lean against the wall of the elevator. I don't know what is going to happen in the coming days, maybe even less than that, maybe even it being just the coming hours from now. I need to prepare myself, but I doubt I can get much stronger from the gravity chamber training, its gone stagnant.

The elevator dings open, doors sliding open into an empty hallway. I step out of the elevator, just as the doors close behind me. I maneuver my way around the halls and find myself back to Noire's office, walking into the room as the conversation between the goddesses continue on from where I left.

I bring myself over to the couch, and start to sit down next to Noire, but she prevents me from doing so. 

"Max, your covered in blood!" Noire shouts in surprise, standing up and also begins to inspect my injuries, especially my back.

"It's not that bad, just a few scraps." I retort, seeing my shirt two thirds covered in blood. I was more caught up in the injuries themselves, since I did use UB. I then look behind myself to see Noire and see the mirror Noire uses and see from a large injury from my back, and more so see a white bit sticking out. "Oh." I say, surprised by my injury, and narrow my eyes. Odd, Ultimate Binding should have healed something that big.

"We should get you put into a hospital bed, this looks severe." She says, not touching the wound directly.

"Ultimate Binding should heal it up, though." I tell her in return, at which she sighs, and nods while taking a step back.

I nod back as a thank you for letting me use this method, then power up Ultimate Binding. I let the form sit for a few seconds, and look at my back in the mirror and see that the injury partially healed, but not fully. I curse to myself, knowing that in order to get answers, I most likely will have to turn to Chancellor Hardin.

I look around, and notice that Uni and Nepgear aren't here, but as I look to the video feed, I see that they are at Planeptune, going back and forth along with Histoire, who gives demands for certain books to be grabbed.

"I guess I'll have to heal the long way. Any word of any new plans for the Void?" I ask, trying to shift my shirt so that it'll absorb anymore blood.

"Histoire is currently looking into something that may be able to increase our power, so that your plan of sneaking into the Void may be the best." Noire informs me, giving a scoff after she finishes. "Just go rest up, you idiot."

"Thanks Noire! Love ya!" I give a thumbs up, just before exiting, smiling.

"L-l-love!?" She stutters at my sudden words, blushing like crazy. 

I slip out the doorway, and walk through the hallway, walking directly to the guest room, well, at this point it might as well be my room; I sleep nowhere else but here now. This place has become a home to me, and yet again, my home is being threatened by the Void.

I stumble my way through the halls, my final words to Noire echoing in my head to myself. Love. . . its hard to place my feelings for Noire in any other manner than that now, after all we've been through. 

I push the door to my room open, and pull off the bloodied shirt, before collasping onto the familiar sheets, that almost always lay as a mess. I proceed to bury my face in the pillow, leaving my back to the open air. I'm going to need to find a new method of training. I don't want to use Ultimate Binding too much. Something's with the form, even more than the odd dreamlike state it forces you into. I am no idiot, and for there to a form of power that strong, there has to be something ulterior to it, which I believe Amory also knows. Amory. I could ask him to continue training me, we never were able to finish our training before.