Free Web NovelChapter 86: Chapter 85 - Return
Point-of-View: Zoraiz Rafayet
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"We’re finally back, and I gotta say, I did not miss the cold," I sighed dramatically, before shivering as a cold wind blew across.
"Yeah, that’s for sure...come on, let’s go inside, it’s freezing out here," Replied Mike in agreement.
It was the 13th of January today, and we’d finally gotten back to Antarctica. We ended up missing our flight and got stuck in Argentina for a few more days, since Neo refused to come pick us up with his portals. Mike said he sounded depressed over the phone or something.
I was kinda pissed at first, especially since I was pretty bummed out over how the whole church thing went, but with the mission complete, it turned out to be pretty fun, like a short vacation. Mike, Cyrillus and Bruno took me partying in clubs and bars, and while I did feel super out of my depth at first, I eventually got into it and had a total blast.
I really enjoyed the food too, a lot of it was pretty unfamiliar to me, and experiencing new tastes was awesome. I’d have never even dreamed of getting to experience stuff like this before I came across the Meta-Orb.
I also had my first taste of alcohol, and honestly, it tastes as bad as it smells. The first gulp I attempted, I immediately spat out reflexively. Still, getting drunk was an interesting experience, and not entirely a bad one.
Additionally, I got a huge boost to my self-confidence, after I happened to get laid a few times...mainly because I was the one approached by girls in the bars and clubs we visited, I didn’t actually do any approaching myself, so I probably shouldn’t be too cocky about it. I mean, I just didn’t, and probably still don’t, have the confidence to even try approaching someone in a flirtatious manner.
And when I was approached by the women whom I ended up hooking up with, I was super nervous, and if it wasn’t for the alcohol, my awkwardness and stuttering would probably have turned them off and scared them away.
But I managed to hold my own in conversation with total strangers, and that alone is a big deal to me, drunk or not. So, to then go on and actually seal the deal, and multiple times at that...yeah, I feel pretty damn good about that.
Honestly, I’ve always had a really negative viewpoint when it comes to sex, after everything my mother went through, but...actually having sex myself, and again, multiple times at that, not to brag or anything, has made me realize that it’s not so cut and dry. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Just like how a knife could be used for either cooking or killing, it’s down to the situation and circumstances that determines whether an act is negative or positive. And my experiences were definitely positive.
"Hey, do missions like this one get assigned often?" I asked Mike hopefully, as he opened the hidden entrance to the base.
"Huh? Oh, uh...I mean, it depends on the situation, finishing a mission ahead of schedule doesn’t always mean that you’ll get to spend the remaining time relaxing. If things are hectic, we can’t afford to waste time like that. But hey, the circumstances this time were totally out of our control...Neo refused to portal us since we didn’t have a particularly urgent reason to return, our flight got delayed, and the higher ups already got our report on what happened, so they were in no rush to call us back either. We got the opportunity, we took it, and I dare say we took full advantage," He grinned in response.
"Yeah, that’s for sure...I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun in my life," I sighed contentedly.
"Heh, there’s definitely a certain glow about you now...well, that’s only natural, considering that you got your dick wet, what, five times?" He smirked with a playful nudge.
"Ugh, don’t say it like that, you make it sound gross...and FYI, it was six women, and fourteen times total, just so we’re clear," I huffed in response.
"Ohh, shut it, you just wanna brag, don’t you?" He chuckled as he slapped my shoulder.
"Ow...and maybe I did a little, so what?" I grumbled in reply.
"Pretty sure you’re gonna be doing a lot more bragging shortly...after all, I’m fairly certain that you’re the only one of Harmony’s Outliers who’s no longer a virgin."
Huh...I think he’s right. Inoka said he pretty much flew under the radar in high school, and hardly had any human interaction after that, Alexis also said that she didn’t really have any friends and hardly ever went to school because her parents forced her to work part-time jobs.
And as for Aurora...well, she lived away from human society for most of her life. Okay, wow...my self-confidence just got even higher. Hope I’m not being too overconfident about this...
"Home sweet home, kinda," I sighed, as we walked through the facility.
"I agree, I pretty much live in this place myself now. Oh, yeah, we’re probably the last to return, the others probably all got back a while ago," He remarked, before heading for the cafeteria, "Well, anyway, I’m gonna get something to eat and then hit the sack. See ya later, kid!"
"Yeah, later. I think I’ll go find the others," I replied with a slight wave, before we split up.
I then headed for the rooms with a weary stretch of my arms, feeling a bit tired but I didn’t feel like going to sleep. In fact, I was kinda looking forward to seeing the others again...after all, they are the first friends I’ve ever made.
As I got to the area where our rooms were, I heard voices coming from Inoka’s room...sounds like they’re all in there. I knocked on the door, before twisting the handle and poking my head in, to see Inoka and Aurora gaming on his laptop while Kiyana and Alexis were watching.
"Oh, you’re finally back. Good to see you again," Alexis greeted me with a slight nod.
"Uh, yeah, good to see you too," I responded as I shut the door, waving as Kiyana gave me a small wave.
"Hey, dude, glad you’re back! Just give me a sec, I can’t look away right now," Remarked Inoka, his eyes fixed on the screen.
Looks like he’s playing a racing game with Aurora, who seemed to be pretty engrossed in it too.
"How’d your mission go?" Inquired Alexis, as I sat down across from her.
"Oh, well it was kinda messy, to be honest, though technically it was a success...but I spend the last few days having fun, so all in all, pretty good," I replied, before asking, "How was yours? It was to investigate a suspected Outlier sighting, right?"
"Actually, it turned out that the Meta-Orb was split between two people, we managed to capture one, but Eden showed up and got the other," She answered with a frown.
Huh, interesting...
"For real? Where’s the Outlier you captured?" I inquired curiously.
"Oh, he’s holed up in one of the other rooms, totally depressed and refusing to talk to anyone."
Well, I suppose that’s an understandable response to being torn away from the life you knew...the rest of us didn’t really complain all that much because we had pretty shitty lives to begin with.
"Yes, I win!" Suddenly exclaimed Inoka, before giving Aurora a smug look, "Hah, you’re still a hundred years too young to beat me! God, I’ve always wanted to say that!"
"I only lost by 0.3 seconds, so don’t get cocky," She countered, but still looked kinda pouty, before glancing at me, "Oh, hey, Zoraiz, when did you get back?"
"Huh, and here I thought nothing could get past your senses," I responded in surprise.
"I mean, I think I noticed someone come in, but I didn’t sense any hostility, so I just ignored it and kept focusing on the game," She shrugged sheepishly.
"And yet, you still lost. How sad," Smirked Inoka with a patronizing shake of his head.
"Hey, punch him in the face! I totally would if I were you!" Alexis goaded Aurora encouragingly.
"Please don’t...you’re way stronger than me," Inoka grinned sheepishly.
"Hmph, of course I’m not gonna punch you, why pick a fight with someone who I can definitely beat? No, I’d rather beat you at your own game...so to speak," Responded Aurora, as she pointed at the screen.
"Now, that’s some real maturity...unlike someone I know," Smirked Inoka with a pointed glance at Alexis.
"Yeah, well, takes one to know one, am I right?" She shot back with an irritated look, but clearly trying to contain herself...damn, guess that maturity comment hit a sore spot.
"Oh, I know exactly what kind of person I am, and I am totally fine with it," He countered with a deliberately stuck-up tone.
"Goddammit...you are such an asshole, you know that?" Alexis sighed in exasperation. freewebnσvel.cѳm
"Yup!"
"Grr..."
They fight a lot, but Inoka definitely wins their verbal spats more often than Alexis does...though, more often than not, I’d say neither wins...
"Anyway, uh...how were your missions?" I asked Inoka and Aurora, deciding to change the subject.
"Total failure here...that said, it’s all on Neo, not me. Don’t ask for any details though, the so-called higher ups slapped a gag order on me," He smiled wistfully...there was a hint of darkness behind that smile though, making me all the more curious as to what exactly happened...
"What about you?" I inquired as I turned to Aurora.
"Oh, right, you don’t know...turns out that there’s a third Meta-Human faction, made up of people who’ve secretly defected from Eden and Harmony. There’s still a lot of details we don’t know though, seems like the leader of this faction used a complex Dark Skill technique to erase important details from the memories of those that we captured. Anyway, this faction calls themselves Chaos, and their objective is to live up to that name," She sighed in response.
"Huh...am I the only one who thinks that’s actually kinda cool? A secret, third faction that’s coming out of hiding, and has totally different mindsets to Eden and Harmony," I replied jokingly...well, half-jokingly, this is definitely bad news, but the fact that it’s bound to be historically significant and that we’re living through it is kinda cool...
"Finally, someone who gets it!" Grinned Inoka, holding up his fist.
"Please don’t joke about it, this is very, very concerning," Sighed Kiyana in exasperation.
"Your face is concerning," Responded Inoka as he stared at his phone, before stopping and retracting his statement, "Oh, uh, sorry about that, that was sort of an automated response."
"Don’t worry about it, I think I know your sense of humor pretty well at this point. Though I was a little bit taken aback initially," She laughed it off.
"I still feel kinda bad though...I definitely didn’t mean it, your face is so not concerning, in fact it’s pretty cu-...," He began, before trailing off as he caught himself and cleared his throat and adding, "I-I mean, uh, it’s a really nice face."
"O-oh, um...thanks, I guess."
"Seriously? That’s gotta be the most half-assed compliment I’ve ever heard," Snorted Alexis in amusement, before smirking at Inoka, "Aw, are you actually flustered? How cu-...oh, I mean, nice. Haha!"
"Wha-...ohh, you little brat...," He responded with a grimaced smile, glaring at her.
Pfft, how adorable, I probably used to be just like them, but I’m beyond that now...heh, freakin’ virgins...
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