Gamindustri – the world of Console Patron Units and their nations vying for supremacy in the Console Wars. It has been years since the defeat of the Deity of Sin and the crisis imposed by Rei Ryghts. Life seemed to go on as usual in this tranquil world. If only…
"NEPTUNE! When are you going to drop that controller and start working?!"
If only Histoire's ruptured digestive track that is the result of screaming and suffering under the laziness of Planeptune's CPU is excluded.
Ever since those crises, life has always been like this for the Planeptune Basilicom. Tranquil (if you could consider a tiny fairy yelling all day every day that) it may be; some characters just can't seem to relax even in-between major Neptunia titles…
"Hold on, Histy! This game I borrowed from Noire is really rad…" Neptune said as fast as she could, "and really Nepping me up! I haven't played this kind of game for centu-GAH!" And Neptune gasps her heart out after she nearly 'died.'
However, someone else is going to die if she doesn't comply with a certain Oracle. Unable to resist a nerve popping, Histoire did what others wouldn't: she spawns a small fraction of her Universe SP Skill and…
"GET. OFF. OF. THAT. GAME. AND. GET. WORKING!"
…blasts Neptune's console into tiny bits.
Gaped at the sight of her favorite Neptune Console in smoke and smithereens, the CPU turns to her Oracle and starts… crying?
"Histy, how could you?!" She cried, "I was about to off that Nameless King after so long!"
"You were more worried about your game than your console?" Histoire thought.
Neptune, kneeling, grabs some pieces of her hardware, clasping them lightly with one hand before letting them drop. Like the sands of a lonely beach, she watches on in loneliness and regret the loss she's gone through.
Ignoring the melodramatic CPU, Histoire approaches the pile and telepathically lifts a select few shards of a CD.
"If you start working earnestly, then I will fix your console."
Just as Histoire said that, the CD shards floating beside her started reassembling until they became whole again.
"Whoa! Coolios! When did Emiya teach you that?!"
"When I read the manual on 'How to deal with lazy CPUs' on page 123,456,789,ABC,DEF of the tome my creator left. Apparently, I have full jurisdiction in destroying consoles and other distractions whenever a CPU refuses to do her job."
Neptune gulps.
Just then, Nepgear comes in with a tray of snacks that she supposedly whipped for her dear older sister. All her cheerful smiles get replaced by confusion at the sight of a smoking console… heap.
"What the goodness?! What happened to our console?!"
Noticing Nepgear's presence, the Oracle perked up only to see the tray in Nepgear's hands and feel irritated once more.
Before Histoire could speak her mind, Neptune jumps in and glomps her little sister begging for comfort. As usual, Nepgear pets her dear sister after placing the tray of goodies on a table, albeit almost dropping them thanks to Neptune's Sister Missile.
"Nepgear!" And the two sisters flinch, "I thought you of all people would understand the values of being a CPU but here you are, not only spoiling her rotten, but joining her slacking off!"
"Um, I'm very sorry, Histoire. But I was trying to convince Neptune to work but then she said she was hungry so…"
Yet again, another nerve popping followed by ulcer and chronic bleeding (whatever you call bleeding in the brain).
Clearly infuriated, Histoire unsummons the disc floating about into her inventory, stretches her arms, charges her wings…
"You two have at the count of three…"
…and readies her Wings of Light SP Skill.
Right then and there, the whole room began to churn violently at the mercy of Histoire's now growing (and glowing) wings.
Nepgear and Neptune begin to shake in their boots.
"We're very sorry, Histoire! Please don't wipe us off!"
"D-Don't worry, Nep Jr. Histoire can't wipe us off. I mean, w-we're the CPUs of Planeptune…"
Actually…
"What?! Is that the author?!"
"What the goodness?! Everything's-No, time just stopped!"
Let me be brief. Right now, you two are in trouble because, according to Histoire's tome's section ABCDEF, the Tome of the World has the right to terminate CPUs who, for a long time, have shown deliberate insubordination to the duties of a CPU. TL;DR: its troublesome for CPUs who don't take their jobs seriously as it may affect the people in some bad manner…
"Wait, what kind of stupid rule is that?! And why does she have to do it only now?! And why put something like this in the story?!"
Don't ask me. I'm the author of this story, not her tome. If I were you, I'd skedaddle before she ends up wiping this story clean. Alright, back to the story…
Realizing their predicament, the two Neps go for some otherworldly advice and runs out of the room.
With the sisters now out and about, Histoire halts her SP Skill and lets out a sigh.
"I should thank you for your help."
No problem. Though, it's surprising you could talk through dimensions.
"We can do many great feats… in three days, give or take."
Floating about, Histoire realizes that the room needed cleaning. As such, she goes and telepathically tidies up the room, even putting the tray of snacks (that so conveniently did not fall on the floor) beside her, floating.
Still, wasn't it a little harsh to lie about that whole 'wiping out lazy CPUs' thing?
"Hm? But I wasn't lying," is what Histoire said before biting off a cupcake.
…
Now out of the Nep Tower, the Nep sisters take a break from the frantic running. After a few deep breaths, Nepgear prompts her sister to finally start working, to which the elder sister groans.
"So, do we take on monster slaying quests like always?"
Arriving at the Guild, Nepgear searches for any viable quests that could help increase Planeptune's Shares. Flipping up and down on a panel, Nepgear spots a quest of interest…
"Hm… If we just gotta bring down one big baddie, then I'm good…" Noticing Nepgear was in her tunnel vision state, Neptune waves her hand to snap her out. Just as she did and Nepgear got back to reality, Neptune takes a glimpse at the quest she's looking at and felt like groaning.
"Crowd Control? Uh, sorry, Jr. But we don't have that many AoE skills…"
"Um, but this quest said about a group of viral monsters suddenly rising in number near a town. If they were just any mob…"
Nepgear looks at her sister with determined eyes. Push-over she may be called, but Nepgear is one girl you can't stop when she gets going.
Neptune sighs. "How could I turn her down? Besides…" Neptune takes another glimpse at the quest details. Seeing the words 'viral', 'near', and 'town' didn't sit well with her. Just as any protagonist ought to do and just like any Neptunia installment, Neptune agrees to a little session of beat 'em up.
Neptune presses the 'accept' button and Nepgear's N-Gear is updated with the new quest. Before they could leave, however, Neptune spots an S-Rank Quest that also happened to be a monster slaying category. The monster in question, a dragon of the Hinokami subspecies (colloquially called a Megadragon), just so happen to be near that town.
"Might as well nab as much Shares and dime, right?" Neptune quirks to her sister who responds with a nod, "then let's go out and play with some noobies."
After taking their quests, the Neps were off to Northern Virtua Forest Depths.
[Northern Virtua Forest – Depths]
Northern Virtua Forest was known for its dense forests and towering trees. The smallest trees were as big as a five story house. One cannot even fathom the tops of the taller trees that dwarfed even the mightiest dragons and giants. In fact, the trees are so big, you would not realize you were facing a tree if you woke up beside one. Most notably the Depths, the forest itself would have been a labyrinth had it not been for the platforms and bridges placed to help travelers and hunters traverse the deep, dark forest.
"Those must be the culprits, huh?"
A group of viral monster – ranging from Dogoos to Dragon Knights – were rampaging about attacking whatever was in sight. Other lesser monsters that were not viral fled the area while the unfortunate ones turn viral themselves either by being overrun by the viral monsters or by randomly turning into one. The situation was getting out of control.
A couple of frantic monsters pass by the two CPUs, fear clear in their eyes, though some of them avoided the two as much as they could.
The two Neps look into each other's eyes for a moment agreeing on what to do. Neptune summons her Kiryu Sword and unsheathes it while Nepgear summons her Share Blade.
"Even if they're viral, they shouldn't be that tough," Nepgear heads out, "though, we should be careful not to get overrun and end up in a very scandalous predicament."
"C'mon, Jr. Overly-convenient fanservice is a staple in franchises like ours!"
"That doesn't bode well with me and its really giving you the wrong implications, Sis," Nepgear sighs before putting on her game face. Facing a group wildly attacking anything they see, Nepgear charges her sword and activates her SP Skill…
"Slash Wave!" The line of viral monsters disappears into data after one hit. Noticing Nepgear's aggression, the other viral monsters rush for the Candidate.
Nepgear strafes to their side so all of the monsters would be grouped in one direction. This causes the group to line up for a moment giving Nepgear a window to land a clean Slash Wave which takes out another group.
Meanwhile, Neptune was busy running up to whatever she sees cutting down whatever comes within her slashing range. Whether it was a group surrounding her or the usual attack-from-above, her swift movements and agility makes swift work of any offensive mounted against her. Upon seeing a clustered group, Neptune spawns a sword in the air, spawning her SP Skill…
"32-bit Mega Blade!" The sword blasts towards the cluster piercing anything unlucky enough to be in its path. When it did pierce the cluster, the sword erupts decimating an area around the epicenter.
"We only need a few more kills," Nepgear chimes on Neptune after checking the quest details.
Neptune strikes a V-pose before cutting down a viral wolf and kicking a viral tulip away.
However, just as they were getting the situation under control…
"GYAAAH!"
"What the goodness?!" Nepgear tries to go for the scream's location only to be blocked by more viral monsters. It seems the number keeps on increasing.
After Nepgear took on a couple of the viral monsters attacks, Neptune steps in and cuts her sister's load literally.
"You go on ahead, Jr. I'll handle these guys!" Neptune then cuts a couple more.
"I'll be back as soon as I can!"
Nepgear departs for the probable distress call. As she proceeds deeper into the forest depths, the viral monsters kept on increasing. Eventually, she encounters a group of Dragon Knights fending off a large group of monsters. One of the Dragon Knights was clearly fatigued as seen by how much it is struggling to keep itself off the ground.
Nepgear was about to ignore them when she spots how a detachment from the viral horde effectively encircled the weakened Dragon Knight until it became isolated from the rest. The other Dragon Knights tried to break through only for the sheer difference in number to overwhelm them. The weakened Dragon Knight is pounced on by viral wolves, tulips, alraunes, and even volcano crabs that weren't even native to the forest! Each one either bit or pounded on the helpless Dragon Knight as the latter flailed in a futile attempt to break free. Alas, the Dragon Knight is brought down, miasma starts to spawn around it, until eventually the Dragon Knight that emerged from the dogpile was now viral. From there, the viral monsters poured their focus onto the remaining Dragon Knights.
Having seen all that as she ran by, Nepgear comes to a troubling realization: these viral monsters aren't just randomly attacking anything.
"From the way they attacked, it looked like they had some sort of coordination. We couldn't have noticed it earlier probably because we're better but…"
Remembering that she had a person to save, Nepgear speeds up leaving the Dragon Knights to their fates. Still, one thing bothered Nepgear. Even so, Nepgear dismisses the idea.
"…it's gotta be a coincidence…"
After a couple of minutes and a dozen more viral monsters adding to the body count, Nepgear spots a group of viral vegetation monsters swarming over a teen girl who was getting… wrapped… in tentacles. For a second, Nepgear remembered Neptune's comment earlier. "Overly-convenient, huh?..."
With clothes torn, she was completely vulnerable to the monsters' attacks which involved squeezing, absorbing, asphyxiation by inserting appendages into her mouth, etc.
Alarmed, Nepgear races before it was too late to save the girl's life. Cutting away at the other viral monsters, Nepgear leaps from one viral monster to another while avoiding the attempts the monsters throw at her.
The surrounding viral monsters retaliated by unleashing clouds of paralysis powder. The yellow cloud engulfs the area around the monsters with the girl at the very center.
Nepgear steps back realizing the potency of the powder. As she observed, the grass that were showered went limp as noted by their saggy aftermath. Even so, she refuses to give in and goes for broke…
"Processor Unit…" Just then, it seemed as if time itself stopped for all except Nepgear.
"… Access!"
As she finished the activation command, Nepgear flashes into a transformation sequence. After a pair of circles made of 0s and 1s that scanned her body from the top and bottom meet at her approximate center, her sailor uniform, shoes, and D-Pad hair accessory all turn into her Lilac mk3 Processor Set. Her Share Blade integrates into her gunblade. Not much of her features change save for her hair slightly floating like a pair of lilac wings and the Symbol of Power appearing in her pupils.
With her transformation complete, Nepgear immediately charges her M.P.B.L. and aims at the viral monster with the most tentacles holding the girl.
Seeing Nepgear's barrel pointed at it, the monster puts the girl between it and Nepgear's M.P.B.L.
Unfortunately for the monster, Nepgear's gunblade wasn't limited to just shooting beams…
"M.P.B.L. Target locked. FIRE!" A stream shoots from Nepgear's gunblade and pierces through several monsters but misses the one with the girl.
Thinking she was done, the monster let its guard down and temporarily lowered the girl enough to give Nepgear an opportunity. And with one twirl, Nepgear's gunblade firing the stream sweeps a full 360.
Just like that, all of the remaining viral monsters were reduced to dissipating data fragments. The captive girl falls safely to the ground.
"Thank you very much, Lady Purple Sister! I shall be reporting back to Lady Histoire," and the girl takes an Eject Button from her inventory, dramatically slaps the button-pressing-fetish-inducing red button, and exits the dungeon safely.
"I guess she was a scout patrolling the area…"
With the area clear, Nepgear reverts to her normal form. Just as she was about to look for her sister, a large 32-bit Mega Blade began to float within the forest.
"Neptune's probably done."
With that, Nepgear decides to regroup with her sister.
Following Neptune's Mega Blade, Nepgear comes across the area she encountered the Dragon Knights.
"Those viral monsters… Was it really just a coincidence? They might have just come across those Dragon Knights and decided to attack them…" Nepgear then remembers about the quest. Upon checking the quest details, it showed that they only needed to kill one more viral monster.
"Neptune probably took care of them…" Upon considering that possibility, Nepgear somehow felt sorry for the Dragon Knights.
Some ways in front of her, she hears Neptune calling out her name. She follows the voice and eventually meets up with her sister.
"So how'd it went?" Neptune asked.
"She was fine…"
Neptune couldn't put a finger on it, but she could feel as if Nepgear was somehow uncomfortable talking about the scream.
"Anyway, we only need to take out one more monster but…" Nepgear looked to Neptune hopeful.
Neptune knew right away what Nepgear wanted: to make sure not a single viral monster would be close to the town. She didn't have to say another word to Nepgear. She felt like going for more herself, actually. In fact, she was eager to take out that Megadragon listed in the S-Ranked quest she accepted. With that, Neptune unsummons her katana, goes through her inventory, and equips a different weapon.
"How about we go for a little dragon slaying, dear ol' sister of mine?" Neptune brandishes her Crystal Sword before resting it on her shoulder. True to its name, the sword sparkled amid the peering lights coming down from the forest canopy. A sword fit for a god, wielded by a little girl in a pantless hoodie.
Nonetheless, Nepgear looks to Neptune in awe. Somehow feeling excited, she takes the lead together with her upbeat sister.
As they venture forth, they arrive at a circular space. Light managed to shine through well enough to light the area. However, Nepgear realizes the abnormal absence of any monster or animal.
"Don't you think there's too few monsters around here?" Nepgear inquires as she keeps her vigilance up.
"Hm… I get it! It's in these moments and places that usually mean a very powerful mons…"
And just like that, a Megadragon drops from the forest canopy.
"…ter… Uh, this makes things easier, I guess?" Neptune shrugs to Nepgear who was much more concerned about something else.
"Sis, there's something wrong about that Megadragon. There's some kind of… Hold on," Nepgear looked at the miasma emanating from the dragon and made it out to be similar from the one that consumed the Dragon Knight from earlier.
"Weakened, miasma emanation, noticeable spasms, there's no mistaking it! This is bad but…"
"Neptune!" Just as Nepgear speculated the worst, she goes straight into HDD and poises herself for anything the dragon would do, "I may be wrong about this but we need to go all out just in case!"
Neptune, although slow, took the hint after seeing something wrong from their situation. The other reason being that the build up from earlier (no monsters, quiet, as well as an arena-like space) meant that this would be a boss fight.
"Alright, ladies and gentledragons, this is the moment you've all been waiting for!... Or not. Whatever."
Once again, time goes to a halt as Neptune triggers her transformation sequence. The same pair of circles form above and below Neptune which would then scan her body from top and bottom. As the circles pass, Neptune's physique change and her attire disintegrates. Her body matures most notably her bust, her hair gets longer and darker in hue before fixing themselves into twin braids, and her attire is replaced by a tight black one piece lined with purple. After the two circles collide with each other, the rest of Neptune's Neptune Processor Set spawns into place. Finally, her Crystal Sword integrates itself into a great mechanized katana. Now in her HDD as Purple Heart, time resumes and Neptune levitated, along with her lilac themed sister, amid the fluttering cherry blossoms that came from her transformation sequence's remnant energy.
"Time to show you the power of a CPU!" Neptune readies her blade, "Nepgear, I'll take the lead. You go around and strike from behind," Neptune assumes the pose for her Cross Combination Skill, "we'll end this before the unthinkable happens."
Neptune lunges forward immediately situating herself just above the Megadragon's head for a heavy crisscross double slash which was followed by another double crisscross. After the four hits, she lowers her body just enough to give herself enough momentum for a rising slash that sends the dragon and herself into the air. Now airborne, Neptune ends the combo with a full power vertical slash that sends the hapless dragon crashing to the ground!
"32-bit Mega Blade!" Not giving her opponent breathing room, Neptune follows up with a massive Mega Blade barrage impaling the dragon onto the ground, "Nepgear!"
At the call of her sister, Nepgear had just positioned herself exactly at the dragon's six. She had already brandished her gunblade as well and was poised for her heavy hitting five hit combo…
"M.P.B.L. Panzer Blade!" With the shift to Panzer Blade, the weight of the gunblade exponentially increases causing the ground to implode from the sudden weight change.
Nepgear lunges forth (further imploding the earth) and slams her dense blade onto the pinned dragon. The first slash chips out a huge amount of data which is followed by three consecutive slashes lifting the dragon into the air before slamming it back to the ground with another slash. Nepgear ends the five-hit combo with a big slash straight to the dragon's body digging deep and sending another chunk of data into oblivion. Just as she finished, Nepgear jumps out of the area as the swords lodged into the dragon began to glow…
With a snap of her fingers, Neptune detonates the Mega Blades into an array of light pillars. It was as If the Megadragon was showered with a volley of god-sized spears! With that, the dragon collapses onto the ground seemingly unconscious.
Wasting no time, Neptune readies herself for the finisher. The symbol of Planeptune glows beneath her within a power circle. Neptune then raises her great katana and charges herself for the final assault…
"Alright, one EXE Drive and… What?!"
However, as Neptune thought of unleashing a finisher, the dragon is suddenly enveloped in an ominous matrix of 1s and 0s. In an instant, the dragon's countenance turned even darker with its red lining tinted with purple. Parts of its body cracked as the dragon roared mad causing a violent blast of miasma everywhere forcing Neptune to cancel her EXE Drive. The Megadragon was now viral.
"This hasn't happened before. A Boss level monster going viral?! Powerful monsters should have immunity to virus!" Nepgear readied her M.P.B.L. while checking the status of the monsters. Just like any monster going viral, the Viral Megadragon's health points are back to full and it was ready to rumble.
"Viral monsters are usually three times stronger than their normal counterparts. But…" Nepgear flies beside her sister and casts Offensive Cheer for both of them. "What if that's only because the viral monsters we've encountered are more or less the same strength? Worst case scenario…"
Just then, the Megadragon in question stretches the span of its scaly wings, readying itself to fly. It bears its claws forward, plunging them into the earth. Its hind legs were tensing up while its free arm was rearing by its side.
Seeing the dragon prepare itself, Neptune followed Nepgear's buff with her own…
"You've finally gotten me serio-"
…only for Neptune to find herself suddenly pinned to a tree!
Nepgear couldn't follow what happened. All of a sudden, her sister disappeared just as she was casting her Stat Multiplier on herself.
"Viral monsters' stat increase scales with how powerful they are!" She casts Defensive Cheer on herself as quick as she can and engages the dragon from behind.
As for Neptune, she was hurting. If she had a health bar, it would probably at around 20% or even less! Unfortunately for her, the dragon wasn't done yet…
Picking up the CPU, the Megadragon throws Neptune back to the ground causing the CPU to bounce!
Neptune throws up from the impact but she puts it aside as she saw the Megadragon's tail coming in. She puts up her weapon just in time before she was sent flying through the diameter of a tree before planting herself to an adjacent one.
"Neptune!" Nepgear puts her M.P.B.L. on overdrive causing the Planeptune logo to flash with her sonic boom. Careening towards the dragon, Nepgear was about to unleash her EXE Drive on the damned reptile! "If it moves that fast, my EXE Drive should slow it down!"
As Nepgear was about to cut it from behind, the dragon sidesteps while the Candidate sped past its after image! It positioned itself behind her! And now its mouth is lighting up with the dragon species' lethal EXE Drive…
[Dragon Raid. exe ]
Nepgear saw the display from the interface characters had to distinguish combat details. Looking at the dragon just ready to blast her felt like an eternity.
"I can't get away… Sis…"
And the dragon unleashes hell. In a heartbeat, the entire front of the dragon was completely decimated. Trees, monsters, boulders, the earth, everything within the Dragon Raid's AoE was outright gone. Only a flat expanse that stretched deeper into the forest and possibly outside as well. It was like the forest turned into a desert from where the dragon was facing!
As for the dragon, it was standing still. Something was off. Sniffing while keeping a sharp, steady gaze on its surroundings, the dragon was looking for its opponent. Sensing an incoming threat, the dragon turns to face a massive cyan column just inches from its face!
Neptune's oversized (size multiplied by a hundred) 32-bit Mega Blade cuts through the towering trees like they were butter. At the sound of metal cutting, towering trees came crashing down, their gargantuan barks colliding with each other making their collapse look like the end of the world.
As giant wooden debris fall from everywhere, Neptune, carrying a shocked and perplexed Nepgear, blitzed through the falling obstacles even cutting and breaking some as she maneuvered past the hazards. Eventually, she settles at a comfortable section of the canopy overlooking the mayhem that was happening beneath them.
"Are you alright?" Though there was relief in her Purple Heart voice, Neptune's deep, serious voice hinted shock from the way it was somewhat soft.
Nepgear's head was still ringing but she managed to levitate beside Neptune nodding.
"I haven't seen a Boss level monster go viral before," Nepgear spoke worried, "last time I checked, viruses shouldn't even be strong enough to infect an Ancient Dragon!"
"But a Megadragon's here. Viral and on a rampage," Neptune interjects.
"Not only that, but there were also a group of viral monsters-"
Before Nepgear could continue, Neptune stops her by putting up her palm in front of Nepgear. "We'll talk about the details after we return to the Basilicom. Right now…"
While they were talking, the dragon bursts through the debris and lands at the tip of a broken tree branch lodged into the ground. Its wings flap about softly and its claws planted firmly onto the branch. Its gaze and snarls was now facing the two CPUs.
"Forget about healing. You'll just waste SPs," Neptune said as she finally casts Stat Multiplier on both of them, "how long can you keep your M.P.B.L. in overdrive?"
"About a minute and a half before it causes a Share explosion," Nepgear replies, "a-are we going all in?"
Neptune then spawns a ring of 32-bit Mega Blades around Nepgear and herself, "we're breaking our traditional fighting conventions."
Nepgear grabs one of the Mega Blades and wields it with her left hand. Neptune did as well. Both now dual wielded.
"When it comes," Neptune said as she goes for a tenacious stance positioning her katana to point forward by her head and the Mega Blade at her front, a complete change from her usual kendo stance.
Nepgear responds by poising herself in her own tenacious stance. Gunblade pointing forward and Mega Blade poised for a sweep.
As for the Megadragon, it rears its body to show a wound around its gut only for it to heal itself closing the wound. Roaring another time, the dragon spreads its wings and blasts towards the CPUs!
Neptune instantly moves forward and catches the dragon's charge with her crossed Mega Blades!
Meanwhile, Nepgear puts her M.P.B.L. on overdrive causing the gunblade to exert enormous amounts of energy even when it hasn't been triggered yet. Nepgear then moves in from the back of the dragon.
In response to their attempt to flank it, the dragon begins thrashing at Neptune from all angles! Double punch, tail smash, triple bites, aerial stomp, wing attack, the dragon didn't hold back on its attacks from everywhere! But this wasn't just any reckless thrashing…
On Neptune's end, she was controlling her Mega Blades to parry all of the dragon's attacks. One after another, the dragon was relentless. Two from above, one from the right, three from up, down, back, respectively, two from both flanks, a strong one from above, Neptune couldn't even mount her own attack!
On Nepgear's end, she was having a hard time getting a clean hit on the dragon. For an enormous creature, the Megadragon was too nimble! Even with the additional blades, Nepgear was only landing scratches and glances.
"It recognizes weak spots… and is able to properly make a combo out of its attacks!" Nepgear kept on going but all her attempts were futile. "Only Neptune? Don't tell me its smart enough to actually focus on a single target…"
Neptune's wasn't getting any luck either. She's been catching the dragon's assault but seconds have already passed and it wasn't going well.
"I was planning on taking the aggro from it but, at this rate, it won't even matter if we can't keep up!" As much as Neptune hated to admit it, her plan had failed before it even went into motion… or did it?
"Neptune!" As if struck by a eureka moment, Nepgear called Neptune with a fresh determined look.
Seeing this, Neptune's hopes got up. With Nepgear's wits, this should be over in a few seconds…
"Force it to chase you around!" Neptune complied and flew away leading the dragon to a bunch of zigzags through the forest. All the while, Nepgear commanded the Mega Blades Neptune gave her to home in on the dragon. "30 seconds… This should make it! This has to work!"
Neptune was flying around with her Mega Blades with the dragon hot on her tail. As she flew, she sent the Mega Blades to shoot the dragon down while she protects herself from the dragon's own energy blasts. It was a sight to see: goddess and dragon dance amid a flurry of swords and energy balls.
20 seconds and counting. Neptune fuses her Mega Blades into one large Mega Blade and sends it towards the dragon.
The dragon evades the massive projectile…
10 seconds and counting.
Nepgear readies her M.P.B.L. for her EXE Drive. She's locked on to the dragon's head. Her target was still distracted by the Mega Blades she sent. Finally, after one deep breath…
"I've been waiting for this moment!"
[Celestial Severance. exe]
From faraway, Nepgear's EXE Drive blasts through tree barks, branches, and other obstacles! The energy from the move ripped even the space within and around its AoE! After several tree barks…
The dragon evades the attack by folding its wings, reducing its hit box as it spun just above the energy beam. Nepgear missed! And now its bearing its claws and fangs at Neptune!
"Huh?" Seeing the aftermath of Nepgear's attack and the dragon flying towards her, Neptune readies herself for one final move. Just as the dragon was about to pounce on Neptune…
… she flies to the side.
Seeing Neptune move, the dragon goes for its target where it… crashes to a tree?
The dragon was flabbergasted. It knew it tried to steer to where Neptune was but ended up crashing. It was then when it realized that it was lacking one part of its anatomy – a very important one for its kind at that.
"Teehee! Gotcha!" Nepgear giggles to herself after her plan's success, "a dragon can be as fast as it can but without a tail to act as a counter-balance for its massive body…"
Indeed, just after Nepgear's attack 'missed', she performed an upward vertical slash cutting the tail of the unsuspecting dragon. Celestial Severance isn't aptly called as is for no reason after all.
"You gave us run for our pudding," Neptune raises her sword and the symbol of Planeptune appears beneath her, "be honored that you get to be cut down by my EXE Drive's special variation!"
[Neptune Break_x32. exe ]
As Neptune was speaking, the dragon decided to lunge for her. This, however, only served to ease Neptune's job.
In a flash, Neptune drives a slash down the incoming dragon's gut but her slash wasn't the only slash…
From everywhere around the dragon, the 32-bit Mega Blades that were supposedly controller by Nepgear were back in Neptune's control and were dicing the dragon from all angles! Neptune continues her combo while the Mega Blades do their own share of cutting. Apart from Neptune herself, it was as if there were seven Neptunes landing a Neptune Break on the dragon! After twelve hits, Neptune lands on a platform and raises her open free hand. Just as she did, the Mega Blades positioned themselves around the dragon. When Neptune rolled her hand into a fist, the Mega Blades pierce the dragon. This wasn't the finale yet…
"Come forth, Nepgeardam!" Nepgear summons a giant box-headed robot with… a peculiar face.
In any case, Nepgeardam runs towards the dragon from a certain direction. Just then, the massive Mega Blade Neptune sent flying earlier was making its way towards the area. Nepgeardam jumps into the air and catches the massive blade which was more than twice its size! With sword in both hands, Nepgeardam shadows Nepgear perform "Panzer Blade" and proceeds to pummel the dragon until the last blow explodes! Nepgeardam exits into a portal to goodness knows where afterwards.
After an arduous battle, the Viral Megadragon is defeated, dissipating into data. After the last bit dissipated, victory music chimed twice signaling the completion of their quests. However, celebration didn't last long as Nepgear realizes the threat posed by this discovery.
"Neptune, I know I implied about going out to exterminate more viral monsters but we should tell this to Histoire," Nepgear takes out an Eject Button, "something about the virus infecting those monsters is troubling…"
"Yeah," and Neptune reverts back to her human form, "and I'm also craving for some pudding after that boss fight! Man, why did the author have to put that stupidly difficult fight so early in the story?!"
Nepgear merely deadpanned as she pressed the Eject Button… only for nothing to happen.
"What?"
"Oh, you have to do as the item description says. Here," and Neptune demonstrates to her younger sister that one needs to dramatically smash the button for the Eject Button to work.
[Nep Tower, Planeptune]
After submitting the quests to the Guild, the sisters immediately return to the Basilicom to tell Histoire about their confrontation with the Viral Megadragon.
People were moving about in the lobby of the Nep Tower. Even so, the size of the hall made it seem like there were only a few people what with its size comparable to a coliseum. At the center was a large pillar that displayed a rotating 3D hologram of Planeptune's emblem. At its base was the large information desk. It handles much of the guests so well that a line was almost never needed. To the edges of the hall were warp panels to different floors of the tower. One of the warp panels, which was located at top of a high staircase and guarded by Planeptune Royal Guards, was the panel to the CPU residence. As such, the Nep Tower was also the nation's main Basilicom.
Upon entering the Basilicom lobby, Nepgear spots the girl she rescued earlier conversing with Histoire.
"I see. That is indeed strange," Histoire, with a finger to her chin, comments on what the girl said.
"I thought I just missed something but, after another three rounds, I couldn't find anything until I was… compromised."
"Yo, Flirtsy! We're back!" Neptune butts in.
"It seems you safely made it back," Nepgear comments on the girl's well-being.
"Yes, thanks to you, Lady Purple Sister," the girl bows to Nepgear, "Lady Histoire, that is all I have to report. I must take my leave. The town near Northern Virtua Forest is scarcely defended."
"Very well. You are dismissed."
The girl salutes Histoire and the CPUs as well before taking her leave.
"Was she the damsel in distress in the forest?" Neptune asks Nepgear to which the latter nods.
"I've heard the situation from her. It seems you were having quite the field work," Histoire comments.
"More like hard labor! Hear this, Histy. We got attacked by a Viral Megadragon!" Neptune, in frustration, was unknowingly fuming steam.
"Viral Megadragon? What nonsense are you talking about?"
"It's true, Histoire. We fought one and it was really powerful. It nearly had us at one point in the fight," Nepgear interjects which surprises the Oracle.
"I think we should proceed to our living room," Histoire suggests as she motions for the group to the elevator.
"How about we let the other gals in on the wagon?" Neptune suggests, "this is like a huge thingie, right?"
Nepgear and Histoire look to each other before agreeing.
"I'll ready the equipment for a video conference then," Nepgear suggests.
Moments later at the Nep Tower CPU Residence living room, a video conference among the four CPUs and Oracles of Gamindustri was underway. It was an emergency meeting so the setup isn't very grand. Neptune, Nepgear, and Histoire sat (or float) at one end of the table. Before them were three floating screens showing the three CPUs and Oracles of Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox.
"A Megadragon going viral, you say?" Noire, the CPU of Lastation, speaks with reservations and a skeptical look.
"Indeed, unless there's visual proof, I cannot believe this claim," right next to Noire is her Oracle, Kei Jinguji.
"If it was so easy to snap a selfie with that darned thing, I would have done that," Neptune flashes a picture of her taking a selfie with a Megadragon from another dungeon she took some time ago to prove her point, "see?" She had a yukkuri face too.
"If you're just going to fool around, I'm leaving," Blanc, CPU of Lowee, was about to leave when another CPU spoke up.
"Hold on, Blanc. I believe what Neptune claims is plausible," Vert, CPU of Leanbox, said.
Vert then shows images of viral Dogoos. Next to them were statistics comparing a normal Dogoo to a viral Dogoo.
"When was the last time anyone encountered a viral Dogoo?" Vert asks.
"Actually," Nepgear raises her hand getting everyone's attention, "during our quest, we encountered other monsters that have confirmed virus immunity go viral."
As Nepgear explained, Noire, Kei, and Blanc suddenly showed interest. The latter sits down while the former starts typing down notes onto her nearby PC.
"Not only that, the monsters we encountered showed semblances of coordination," Nepgear then recounts the scene with the Dragon Knights getting overwhelmed. All the while, the three other CPUs were deep in thought. Nepgear then proceeds to the part they encountered the Viral Megadragon. Every bit of detail was shared.
"From what you are saying," Noire commented, "it's as if the virus has gotten stronger."
"Could it be a new strain?" Mina Nishizawa, Lowee's Oracle, suggested.
"What else could it be?" Chika Hakozaki, Leanbox's Oracle, said.
"More importantly, this would mean that the viral monster hordes weren't just occurring here in Lastation," Kei added.
"I thought it was a local problem here in Lowee too," Blanc said, "but I guess it's much widespread than any of us initially thought."
"Then this is going to be a big problem," Vert said, "if the virus can affect any monster now and if Nepgear's accounts about that Viral Megadragon are to be considered…"
All of a sudden, the room was silent. Everyone was thinking of the worst case possible, especially Neptune and Nepgear.
The virus in question isn't just a single kind; it's a collection of different kinds of viruses coming together to create adverse effects on the host. Commonly infected are monsters while humans and CPUs are somewhat protected because of vaccines. However, because of the nature of this collective virus, a vaccine only did so much as lessen its effectivity. Another problem was because of fast mutation among the viruses and the dynamic spawn rate of wild monsters the viruses infect. Individually, viruses can only do minor things like colds and fever. However, when certain viruses mix together, it can trigger data corruption and cause monsters to turn viral.
Now that the viral monsters have undergone radical and dangerous changes, this can no longer be set aside as a minor case.
"Anyway, there's gotta be a reason why this is happening, right?" Neptune breaks the silence, "y'know? Like an evil organization trying to develop a bioweapon but then they mess up and a group of moe blob high school girls from a School Live club is trying to get to the bottom of this as we speak!"
"I don't think that's official yet…" Noire thought as she somewhat felt annoyed at Neptune's antics while remembering a zombie series she was following.
With Neptune being Neptune, Histoire speaks up before Neptune mentions anything about an umbrella seeing as Noire and Blanc were getting irritated.
"Speaking of the probable cause of this outbreak," Histoire quickly said, "our scouts haven't found any anomalous object or phenomena that could even be linked with the virus becoming fatally stronger."
"That's true," Vert sighs.
"We sent submarines to check the former location of the Graveyard in case some stupid cliché like the Deity of Sin's revenge was cooking up but to no avail…" Chika added.
"So what do we do?" Blanc raises the billion-dollar question, "we can't just sit around and talk about speculations and crap."
"We know little about what's going on," Nepgear speaks up, "it would be best if we try to know more while we keep the viral monsters in check."
"I see. Does anyone have any other inputs? Objections?" Histoire inquires.
"If we are going by that route," Vert responds, "then we must also keep Boss level monsters from spawning. Perhaps a directive for Guilds to send watchers to all the spawn points?"
On Lastation's end, Kei and Noire have just finished whispering to each other, "we've decided to pinpoint the virus that likely caused this sudden mutation. But we can't do it alone so we were wondering if Planeptune could aid us."
"Oooh! Do I hear a Tsundere going dere-dere? But anyway, I'll be sure to tell Compa about it so she can tell her doctor friends," and, once again, Neptune triggers Noire's tsun-tsun side.
"About what Vert said," Blanc interjects, "Mina just contacted the Monster Hunter Association. A representative said they'd take care of the Boss monsters while the Guild can handle the regular mobs' numbers."
At the sound of 'Monster Hunter Association,' Noire winced, "it's a good thing Uni isn't here to hear that come from a Loweean mouth."
"Oh, yeah, we'll provide you guys with some references for the virus research," Blanc added getting a nod from Noire.
"It seems everyone's settled on what they will do," Histoire speaks after confirming everyone else's intentions, "if so, I would like to suggest seeking the aid of the Mascots."
Beings known as Characters are born from the dreams and faith of people which is inspired by the games developers create. They serve as the heroes/heroines people seek to be. When they become prominent enough that they receive almost as much Shares as the CPUs, they become Mascot Characters – another term for 'National Hero'. There are some political requirements needed to be a Mascot Character as well. They contribute much of the Shares a nation gets and are responsible for maintaining the faith of the people to their CPU via services and great feats. Additionally, their unique connection with the beings from the Dimension Beyond the 4th Wall makes them powerful enough which is second to the CPUs in terms of overall capabilities.
"The viral hordes do pose some degree of difficulty and complication," Vert comments, "very well, I shall contact our Mascot Character and have him and his partner on stand-by."
"So will we," Mina adds, "but how about the Mascots of Planeptune and Lastation?"
"If you are wondering about Planeptune's Akira Yuki, then he is training here in Lastation," Noire said. Kei then whispers something to Noire which prompts the CPU to update her statement, "actually, Akira has just been seen exiting Lastation's borders. As for our Mascot…"
"Kratos's whereabouts are unknown…" Kei interrupted.
"Why do I get the feeling she's hiding something?" Mina wondered but she decides to dismiss the idea.
"Mario and Luigi have been notified," Mina said as she opens and closes what seemed to be Lowee's handheld console.
"I take it that this is all?" Histoire asks but there was no response which meant 'yes', "then this meeting is adjourned. I trust that everyone else will make their public announcements regarding the issue as soon as possible. Let us do all we can and make sure this is the worst that it can be."
And the meeting ends with the video feeds going offline.
"As for you two," Histoire looks to the two CPUs, "as much as I'd like to contact Akira, he doesn't bring any phone on him so as to focus on his training so…"
Without letting Histoire finish, Neptune puts up her signature V-pose and reassures the fairy, "we'll even serve him on a silver platter… well, not literally," and turns sheepish afterwards.
"If only she was this enthusiastic about her work…" Nepgear and Histoire sighs thinking the same thing. How they wish it were so.
[Outside Planeptune's Borders]
Neptune and Nepgear are enroute to Lastation via a road overlooking a valley. Rocks were lined with digital circuitry and monsters wandered about. The sky was never better for a walk or two. Sadly, a certain CPU's feet couldn't get any sunnier.
"Why can't we just have that overworld thingie like the rest of the games had?!" Neptune whined as she settles on a rock she found nearby.
"But you suggested to walk because you were uncomfortable being in your HDD form."
"Between getting serious for a long time and my legs hurting, it's gotta be the hurting," Neptune proclaims with a finger forward only for her hand to go back massaging her legs, "and I already spent my Serious Points earlier with that Megadragon…"
"But then why do you keep on complaining?"
"Huh?" Neptune cocks a brow, "isn't it natural?"
Nepgear sighs. Realizing this was futile (and it is absolutely not about lacking backbone), Nepgear settles down and takes a water jug from her inventory. She takes a drink and offers it to Neptune.
"Only for a minute," Nepgear says as Neptune takes the jug for a drink.
While the two were busy relaxing and doing nothing, a certain entity was… rolling its way towards them. The sound of grinding metal was making itself heard as monsters from around run away out of instinct. Eventually, the sound and monster movements would be noticed by Nepgear…
"Sis, something's not right," Nepgear immediately stood up taking out her Share Blade in the process.
"What is it, Nep Jr.? Are your haters at it again? Stalkers?"
"No," Nepgear sharpens her senses, "listen."
Neptune felt sick all of a sudden. This build up, quietness, uneasiness, it all pointed to one thing…
A rolling blue buzz saw careens from nowhere and nearly slices Neptune into two!
"C'mon, twice in one day?!" Neptune spawns her Crystal Sword and stances herself. She then goes into HDD and prepares to confront the new enemy.
As for the blue assailant, it makes a sharp U-turn and speeds for them once again. By this time, Nepgear was also in HDD and was pointing her M.P.B.L. at the thing.
Even with the gunblade pointed at it, the blue buzz saw still pressed on, even accelerating!
"This thing is pretty cocky…" Nonetheless, Nepgear fires her M.P.B.L. What happened next shocked her good…
"What the goodness?!"
The buzz saw just plowed through the beam! And that beam's width was more than the buzz saw's diameter!
"So this one's another tough guy," Neptune comments, "let's spilt up."
Nepgear and Neptune head for two different approaches. Nepgear looked to flank it while Neptune pressed head on. No sooner was there a sound of metal grinding with metal. The shrill noise was off-putting Neptune.
"This thing…" Neptune tries to get a word out while she parried the buzz saw's attack. Unfortunately, the blue thing wasn't letting up. In fact, Neptune was getting pushed down.
Nepgear, on the other hand, went for the buzz saw's perpendicular flank with gunblade aimed. Wasting no time, Nepgear pulls the trigger sending out a stream of power.
"Is this a new monster? In any case…" The M.P.B.L.'s attack streaks towards the buzz saw's axel but…
The buzz saw jumped out of harm's way. Neptune, however, saw this as a chance…
"Now that you're in the air…" Neptune points her hand to the air, spawning a pair of…
"32-bit Mega Blades!"
The twin blades spawned at the buzz saw's either sides go for a pincer attack right at its axel. But just as the blades go for the kill…
Before Neptune could even finish blinking her eyes, the buzz saw suddenly activates its boosters and zips directly at Neptune, evading the Mega Blades!
Neptune only had time to fly back but the direction of the buzz saw's spin caused the earth to fly towards Neptune. Dirt irritates her eyes; Neptune is temporarily blind!
In that instant, the buzz saw veers via spin and accelerates towards Neptune for the finish. Boosters revved up to increase its rotation and, in turn, its speed!
Seeing the danger her sister was in, Nepgear charges for interception. She whips up a gust around her M.P.B.L. and charges with her Aerial Assault. Going from above, Nepgear slashes down with a wind element EX Attack…
Only for the buzz saw to lean and bounce away from Nepgear thereby minimizing Aerial Assault's effect! After evasion, it was now a chakram curving towards a disoriented Neptune!
"NEPTUNE!" Is all Nepgear could do...
By the time Neptune had recovered from her blindness, she already felt something touching her mid-section. The sound of steel buzzing and grinding surrounded her hearing. There was blood in the air and her body shocked, unable to do anything as she fell backwards…
After the impact, the buzz saw careens towards the cliff drop. It lands onto the cliff wall on the other side of the valley. From there, it starts scaling all the way to the top.
As for Neptune, the CPU checks her torso and finds it… intact? Flabbergasted, Neptune looks around to see a woman draped in azure flames. Her long silver hair fluttered as she knelt. She held a large lance and shield which was familiar to the CPU. And as Neptune looked to her black military attire and then to her face, she recognizes the person positioned a good meter from her to be Planeptune's Valkyrie Corps General.
"Ms. Selvaria," Nepgear said. The Candidate flew to where Neptune and Selvaria were.
Meanwhile, as the buzz saw scaled to the top of the cliff, a man dropping from the air readies an earth shattering move…
"Hoo… HAAAH!" The second the man stomped onto the cliff edge, a force so strong that it caused the entire wall of the cliff to collapse rocked the buzz saw!
A massive rockslide rolls down the cliff the buzz saw was scaling. Though it managed to slice through some, the sheer numbers eventually clobbered the buzz saw down the valley. For a moment, the buzz saw stopped its spin and plants itself onto the opposite cliff with its limbs. The bipedal silhouette only stopped to gaze back at its attacker with its glowing red eyes before leaping away from the area.
"That spiky silhouette…" The man in a sleeveless white karategi (because the sleeves were torn) tries to remember where he had seen that silhouette before. Taking a while to do so, he gives up and proceeds to where Neptune, Nepgear, and Selvaria were.
"Are you alright?" Selvaria asks as she slowly stood up, "thanks goodness I made it in time…"
"You have my deepest gratitude, general," Neptune slightly nods before reverting to her human form, "if it weren't for you, I might've started some sort of morbid humor meme like 'chopu-chopu-Nepu' or something else."
"Our Lady is as lively as usual," the man from earlier approaches the group.
Nepgear and Neptune looked to see who it was and found the man they were tasked to find crossing a bridge.
"What became of the assailant, Akira?" Selvaria asked.
Akira then remembers the familiar silhouette only to dismiss it for now, "it got away after the rocks knocked it out of its spin."
"I see," Selvaria relaxes, letting the flames around her dissipate.
However, as Selvaria rose upright, Nepgear notices traces of crimson trickling down Selvaria's back. When her flames were completely gone, she got a full look of what it was…
"By the way, some texts ago mentioned blood flying in the air. I think that was around the time you stepped in," Neptune inquires Selvaria who was slightly looking pale.
Just then, Nepgear moves Selvaria's long silver hair aside to get a full view of her back. She saw a deep wound starting from below her bust to the left side of her spine!
"You're wounded!" Nepgear exclaimed.
Just as Selvaria tries to nurse her wound, her shield drops a huge piece. Upon touching the wound, Selvaria winces as the jerks her hand away from the gash. Apparently, much of the assailant's attack sliced through her shield and took a chunk out of her.
Neptune and Akira rushes to her side only for Selvaria to place her hand before them, "it's alright… We Valkyrurs have high regeneration…"
Just as Selvaria said that, a faint blue glow starts shining on her wound. As it did, Selvaria's constitution improved slightly.
"No matter how good your regeneration, you can't push yourself!" Akira scolds her, worry apparent in his loud voice.
"I am aware," Selvaria reassured, "I shall head back to Planeptune. Whatever that assailant was, Histoire must know."
"Okay," Neptune said, "but you better make sure you rest and overdose yourself with pudding! Your lines are giving the vibes of a death flag, y'know?"
Selvaria almost giggled but managed to keep it to a smirk before saluting her CPUs. Afterwards, she dramatically presses an Eject Button she took from her inventory.
"I never asked but what was she doing with you? Hold on," triggering her imaginations, Neptune gasps as her train of thought crashes into a conclusion, "could it be that you ditched Pai-chan and is now hooking up with Selvaria?!"
Nepgear soon follows, "goodness! Is that true?!"
"No," Akira rejects with a slight tint of red on his face, "we were participating in the Fighting Climax Tournament back in Lastation! She just happened to be by."
After Akira said that, Nepgear remembered her friend, Dengekiko, mention something like that happening in Lastation. Before Neptune could drag this conversation, Nepgear tells Akira of the current situation…
"I see," Akira contemplates on Nepgear's accounts, "it seems a new kind of challenge is awaiting us," just then, Akira clenches his fists, eyes burn with newfound determination, and perks up.
"So, should we head back to Planeptune?" Just as Nepgear suggested, her N-Gear beeps to the sound of a new email, "oh? It's from Histoire…"
The email titled 'Escort Mission' stated a medical convoy headed for Planeptune from Lastation. Details explained that the group of medical professionals were too big to be sent via Terraportation so they had to be escorted the old fashioned way. Concerns about the viral hordes have speculated the trip to be dangerous.
"I guess we'll be coming home with a lot of friends," Nepgear said.
It was sunset by the time the confrontation ended and the trio heads for Lastation with the scarlet sky behind them…
