I Love You

I made it back to HQ and decided to check out the Dojo that Charlotte mentioned. I walked into the Lobby and noticed Nina was working in office today. I walked to the desk and knocked on it.

Nina looked up and her face instantly went to glee. She sat up and smiled happily. "Babe!~ Oh I've missed seeing your face..~"

"Well here I am..~" I chuckled then leaned against her desk.

Nina gazed into my eyes with her cheeks rested in her hands as she leaned onto the desk as well. "Mmm..~ I miss those sapphire blue eyes..~"

"Take a long look at them..~" I said and gazed back into her eyes.

"Whatcha here for..?~" She said in a seductive tone.

"Well I was here for a meeting with Charlotte and to check out the Dojo, but I guess I can make a quick detour..~" I said and ran my fingers through her hair.

"I wish I could..~ I wish I could take you for myself right now, but I'm on the clock babe..~" Nina sighed softly.

"Oh well..~ Maybe next time..~" I said then stood up straight.

"The Dojo is going to be on the 20th floor." Nina smiled at me.

"Thank you. I'll see you later, babe." I smiled at her and waved at her as I walked off. She waved back and leaned back in her chair and began to scroll on her socials again.

I took the Elevator to the 20th floor and once I stepped out, I noticed there were women being trained by Wendy herself.

"Remember to breath! Use common breathing techniques to strengthen your Aura and Chi! Come on ladies! I know you can do better!" Wendy bellowed.

I walked inside the dojo and Wendy noticed me. I waved at her then grunted and dodged one of Wendy's Pressure Strike. "What the hell?! What was that for?!"

Melody heard me and turned around. "E-Eh?! Why is he here?!"

Wendy crossed her arms and smiled. "Hmph. You actually dodged it."

I sighed and straightened myself and noticed the entire Dojo was looking at me. "Hey. I'm Ryder. Kinda the Top Agent here."

Wendy walked over to me and kissed my cheek. "Sorry about that. Just wanted to see if it's true."

"If what's true?" I asked.

"Charlotte told us there was a significant increase in your power and attributes. I had to see for myself." Wendy said.

"Well you kinda left a freaking hole in the wall. If I hadn't dodged it, I would've been left with fractured bones! Those things goes through my durability!" I said then groaned softly.

'Wow...as strict as Miss Wendy is, she's awfully close to Ryder...' Melody thought to herself.

"Come on, my real lesson is about to start and you're going to be my assistant." Wendy said and pulled me onto the center floor.

"Come on. I'm on a time clock here!" I said as I was being dragged to the center by Wendy.

Wendy smiled and let me go. "Today we will be learning about Enhanced Strikes. This lesson will teach you how to enhance your attacks beyond peak human levels."

I crossed my arms and watched Wendy as she gave a demonstration. Wendy grabbed one of many training dummies. I looked to the left and noticed a mountain of destroyed dummies then gave a soft chuckle.

"This is what is called a Launching Strike!" Wendy said then stomped her foot down then bellowed, striking the dummy with tremendous force, launching it to the wall.

I noticed the training dummy left an imprint on the wall and placed my hands in my pockets. After seeing it, my body learned Launching Strike on top of Pressure Strike.

"It required a lot of focus unless mastered and requires a lot of attack potency and striking strength." Wendy said. "There's a lot of shit that goes into it, but the basics is strike hard enough, launch target. Ryder, would you like to demonstrate Enhanced Strikes as well?"

"Ehhh...I don't know." I said.

"Come on don't be a bitch." Melody said and rolled her eyes.

Talenta looked at me and smirked then crossed her arms. "Go ahead."

I nodded and my mask appeared on my face. Wendy was surprised from what I spent learning how to do with the supervision of Rhea and Rebecca. A terrifying presence began to emit around the entire Dojo.

Melody's eyes widened as she looked at me. She took a step back then flinched when I looked at her. 'This terrifying aura...This is not the same Ryder...' Melody thought to herself then sunk to her knees.

Wendy smirked and watched me walk to the training dummy she set up. "Go easy."

I placed my hand on the training dummy and combined Launching Strike and Pressure Strike to create Launching Pressure then produced a shockwave to sent the dummy launching across the dojo at high speeds. The dummy crashed into the wall so hard it created smoke and debris. All the women in the Dojo were astonished, even Wendy couldn't believe her eyes.

"Keeping into the lesson of Enhanced Strikes. Wendy taught you Pressure Strike and Launching Strike..." I started then turned to look at the women. "What I just showed is a combination of the two."

"Launching Pressure." Talenta and I said at the same time.

"That power...his prowess has significantly increased. He's nearly on par to my strength..." Wendy said as she looked at me.

Melody stood up and looked at me as if she had an epiphany. "Such power...Ryder, how did you do that?"

My mask disappeared and I looked at Melody then smiled. "Well...even I can't answer that." I chuckled and placed my hands in my pockets.

"I kinda like the sound of Launching Pressure. Shit sounds like nice." Talenta smiled as she floated around me.

Wendy smiled at me and held my shoulders from behind. "Well well..~ Seems like one night is all it took..~"

I smiled at Wendy and chuckled a bit. I checked the time and closed my eyes. "Well I've stayed long enough. I'll catch you all next time."

The ladies waved goodbye to me as I left the dojo and made my way to the elevator. I rode up to the 100th floor and made my way inside Charlotte's office.

I noticed Alice in the office then looked at Charlotte. "Hey, what's this important business stuff about?"

"I'm glad you made it. This is some serious business but it shouldn't take no more than a few days to complete." Charlotte said.

"Lay it on me, Char." I said.

Charlotte smiled and turned around in her chair and pointed at her monitors. "A few scouts came back with information about some Alchemists who work for the Black Market and Syndicates. They all have Alchemist weapons. One has Dual Pistols named Six Wings. Another wields a sword named Lightning Caller. A third wields Gauntlets called Megaton Fists. A fourth wields a ring called the Magnus Ring. And the fifth wields a bow named Twilight's Bow which isn't an Alchemist Weapon, it comes from another world...supposedly Shiro's known world Esoria. I'm not too sure."

"Twilight's Bow..? That doesn't come from Esoria. It comes from a world named Utalia. It used to belong to some Dark Queen. I don't know much about her, but that bow is extremely powerful." Talenta said.

"So what do you need from me and Alice?" I asked.

"I need you two to travel around these areas. San Angelo, Texas City, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Corpus Christi. These are the five cities where the Alchemists are known. Retrieve their weapons so our scientists can study them and help us make use of them." Charlotte said.

I walked to Charlotte's desk to get the mission briefing and review over it. "If they are Alchemist...one of them has to be with Benedict. Next time I meet him...I am taking the Mask of The Fortune."

Charlotte smiled then turned around in her chair. "My beloved...if you do run into him, be careful. I don't ever want to lose you."

I looked at her then smiled. "I will. With Alice, I know she'll have my back like I'll always have hers."

Alice blushed a bit and smiled. "You know I have your back.."

"There's one more thing." Charlotte said.

I looked at Charlotte and rose an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Paige. She's in San Angelo. She was one of my many scouts. The reason you don't see her often around is because she's a scout who sends me the reports. Please go there first. I haven't gotten a report from her yet." Charlotte said sounding worried.

I crossed my arms and thought about Paige. "I was always wondering...why she was never available after my birthday. Okay. I'll go to San Angelo first."

Charlotte smiled at me then got up and kissed my cheek. "Also, take Noel with you and this."

I watched her walk into the Weaponry Room and walk back out with a sword made from the Veridian Railsword scrap and a new outfit. "What is that?"

"It's called the Sapphire Blade, named specifically for you and the new True Ace clothing that I made just for you." Charlotte smiled.

The Sapphire Blade was a sword designed with a katana base in mind. It had a sapphire blue blade, a deep black hilt, and a black ribbon tied along the hilt. The scabbard was deep black with blue designs on it. The True Ace clothing consisted of a black assassin's robe, a red scarf, and a pair of black and gold gauntlets.

I took them and smiled at Charlotte. "You didn't need to do this..~"

"I wanted to..~ You're special to me and you deserve the best. Now you go get them and bring back home those Alchemist Weapons and Paige." Charlotte said.

"We will." I nodded.

-----

"So four Alchemist Weapons and one Otherworldly Weapon right? Man I can't believe we're already out on another mission! The peace never lasts long!" Noel sighed.

Alice smiled as she drove to San Angelo. "You're telling me. Anytime I want to spend time with my child, I'm always suddenly on another mission even if it's a fast one."

"You're rich enough to retire. Why don't you?" Noel asked.

"This job is the only way I can protect my child. If I am to retire, my child will no longer be protected by the government." Alice answered.

I looked through my phone answering text messages and noticed Dawn had added me, Tao Sun, Melody, and Penny in a group chat.

Dawn: ~sends picture of a cute cat~

Penny: Awwhh!!~ So cute!~

Tao Sun: ~(*´∀｀*)~

Melody: O M G !~ She's so adorable!~

Melody: Wait. . . WHY IS RYDER IN THE GC?!

Dawn: We're a club now, we should be able to talk to each other outside of the club!

Me: Melody and I ran into each other at HQ.

Penny: WHAAAA?

Melody: SOWIDHDJWKAKZNDNSKAKSNBXAJ

Me: Wtf?

~Melody is now offline~

Dawn: Holy shit, she's down bad for you.

I chuckled as I looked at my phone. Alice looked at me then looked back at the rode and smiled.

-----

The car ride went smoothly and Alice parked at a hotel that was owned by Paid Relationships. We got out of the car and brought our luggage inside. The hotel receptionist looked at us and smiled.

"Hello Agency. How may I assist you today?" The receptionist asked.

"One room for three please." Alice said.

"Yes ma'am. Your room will be top floor. The Masters Room. Enjoy your stay~" The receptionist smiled at us.

We walked toward the elevator then got in and rode to the top floor. Once the elevator stopped, we walked out into the Masters Room. We set our luggage down and I admired the room. It was an apartment style room with a living room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen.

"Alright let's take a break. I'm kinda beat." Alice said tiredly then made her way to one of the rooms. "I'm taking a quick nap. When I wake up, we'll go."

I scanned Alice's aura. Her aura was less energized than ever and was a pretty dark blue. I closed my left eye and grunted softly. "I'm gonna check up on her. Hang out here."

Noel nodded and went to go sit on the couch.

I followed Alice into a bedroom. "Alice."

"Hm." Alice said as she sat on her bed. There was no doubt about it, she was a bit depressed.

I walked toward her and sat beside her on the bed. "Are you okay..?"

Alice just stared at the ground. She leaned against me. "No."

I looked at Alice and noticed her sad expression. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." Alice started and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "I always feel so guilty about shit like this. I missed my daughter's sixth birthday because of these missions. I've missed so much because of the Black Market. I've become so emotionless to the point where I can't even tell my own daughter that I love her."

I listened to Alice break down. She's always held such a strong front that no one could tell she was breaking on the inside.

"Sometimes...I think about what if we just let them win. We've been fighting this for years now. Charlotte has anyways. It's a wonder how she never breaks then it hit me that up until you came along she had nothing worth losing. Her previous agents before the five of us had died in combat and she replaced then with no remorse. It wasn't until we came along that she started caring about us. Then you came along and I've never seen her be so protective. It made me so jealous that she practically has you all to herself. It makes me so jealous on how happy the others can be. I just can't be happy." Alice said and looked at her trembling hands.

Alice curled her hands into fists and sniffled. She began to cry and hold onto me. I looked down at her and rubbed her hair. I could really connect to Alice about happiness. After the recent events, I could never truly find happiness. Listening to her break down and cry made me shed a few tears.

The roles were reversed. Instead of me crying on her shoulder. She was crying on mine. I held Alice tightly and tried to be as strong as I could for her, but her crying was heart breaking.

"I just want to be happy..." Alice silently sobbed. "I just want to be happy like I once was..."

"Let me help you." I said.

Alice sniffled and wiped her eyes. "You can't help me...I am too broken....too damaged.."

"Alice...look at me." I said then watched her look at me.

She noticed tears in my eyes as well and sniffled. I wiped her tears from her eyes and gave her the best smile I could give her.

"I'm here for you...whenever you need anyone for anything, I'll be there for you. It doesn't matter what it is...I will be there. I know two broken things can't fix another, but we can use our broken pieces to build something new." I said then caressed her cheek.

Alice closed her eyes and held my hand. "That was so poetic..."

"My friend...my brother taught me that quote." I said then rubbed her cheek with my thumb.

Alice opened her eyes and wiped my tears then moved my hair from my left eye. "How can you give so much to me..? I want to give you all of me, but I am only half the woman I think I am.."

"I don't care how much of you is in there. I will love you no matter what. Alice Knight...I love you. I love you enough to do anything in my power to make you smile genuinely. I will do what it takes so you don't have to hurt anymore.." I said then pulled her to me.

"I will do whatever it takes...to help you build something entirely new. No matter what I have to do, I will make you the happiest woman in the world.." I finished.

Alice gazed into my eyes and her cheeks were rosy. Her aura went from a dark blue to a light green, signalling she was at ease. She watched as I got closer. I gently kissed her lips. Alice slowly kissed back then held onto me tightly. She pressed her weight against me and made me lay down as we kissed. She pulled away and caressed my cheek.

"You don't mind helping me take care of my six year old..?" Alice asked.

"I don't mind at all..~" I answered.

Alice gazed into my eyes and held my hand, interlocking our fingers together. "Ryder King..."

I stared into her eyes and noticed her smile.

"I.." She started.

There it was. The genuine smile I hoped of seeing.

"Love.."

Noel smiled as she listened. She held her hands at her chest then closed her eyes.

"You..." She finished.

Her aura began to change to an energized yellow aura meaning she was happy. She gave me one of the happiest smiles I've ever seen from her. Her morale increased greatly. I literally couldn't have asked for anything better from her than her happiness.

"I love you, Ryder King..." Alice said and hugged me. "I needed that..."

I hugged her back and smiled. "I'll make sure to keep you happy always..~"

She nodded and continued to embrace me. Noel went to sit back down on the couch and giggled happily.