Big thanks to Symantra for beta reading this chapter

Chapter 1: Last Resort Hero

It was a cold morning in Planeptune, the land of purple progress. The icy wind was howling, the sky was devoid of sunlight, and not a single soul dared to wander the ruined streets that once beamed with joy.

This, however, did not surprise IF. It had been like this for the past year, after all. Ever since that day, things have been getting worse. Ever since the day that vile traitor turned his back on them when they relied on him the most.

About two weeks before this, Neptune, the CPU of Planeptune, had somehow been transported to another dimension. It was this very event that set the plan in motion.

With one CPU out of the picture, the Citizens Group grabbed their chance. The Citizens Group is an organization, filled with the delusional desire of a Gamindustri with no CPUs. According to them, CPUs are unnecessary and simply too incompetent to rule any sort of nation. While in some aspect they are right, that being the CPUs can be a bit 'quirky', they fail to understand that the world needs some figure of authority to function.

From the day Purple Heart disappeared, Rei Ryghts, the wicked leader of the Citizens Group began spreading her word around Planeptune. With no CPU to stop her, she quickly gained tens of followers. Tens quickly turned into hundreds. Hundreds quickly turned into thousands.

When Neptune finally returned, the mad leader had already gained powers comparable to those of CPU. IF wasn't quite sure how she got those, but one thing was certain. In her mentally unstable state, she didn't care about Gamindustri or its people's safety. All she wanted was to destroy it. Obliterate anything that stood in her way and murder every last living being that dared to oppose her. And with thousands of followers putting faith in her, wiping out the entire world would've been as easy as blowing out the candles on a birthday cake.

Not all hope was lost yet though. In the final hour, the CPUs and their allies united their strength to fight this dark force and end its rampage.

The battle was a hard-fought one, but in the end, only four fighters were left standing; Purple Heart, Iris Heart, Rei Ryghts and one Neptune's close friends and strongest allies, Geoffrey.

This is where the fate of Gamindustri was changed.

Right as Purple Heart and Iris Heart were about to deliver the finishing blow, Geoffrey intervened.

Against everyone's expectations, by literally stabbing the two in the back, he quickly disabled the two, leaving him and a weakened Rei left standing. Obviously, Rei thought she wouldn't lose against a simple human. Declaring herself the victor, she couldn't wait any longer to obliterate all of Gamindustri. However, the traitor had other plans. He somehow managed to convince the mad CPU to wait. To this day, no one is sure how or why he did it.

Even if their alliance is loose, they still managed to conquer eighty percent of Gamindustri in a years' time.

As of now, IF, a girl roughly around the age of eighteen, a top-tier agent of Planeptune's guild, the right-hand woman in the resistance and an icon of hope for those who fight to survive in Planeptune, is heading to the Planeptune Basilicom's meeting room to aid Histoire in her negotiation with the treacherous turncoat in hope of coming to an agreement.

Lady Histoire is Planeptune's Oracle and the leader of the resistance. She's a small fairy, about the size of an eggplant with a dress of the same color. For some reason, she also always sits on a tome and uses it to move around. She may be small, but she is widely considered to be the most versatile and hardworking beings in all of Gamindustri. In result, this has earned her a lot of respect from those under her leadership.

But even if she is a respected lady, this doesn't get her any different treatment from her opposition

"Sorry I'm late," IF apologized. "I had something to deal with along the way."

Stepping into the meeting room, she was greeted by Histoire and her former friend, Geoffrey, which was looking at her with a kind but deceiving look in his eyes.

The meeting room was all too familiar to IF. With its lilac chairs and roundtable shadowing the purple carpet, it almost felt like a second home to her. She especially liked the massive window, viewing the entire eastern half of Planeptune.

"Don't sweat it," he reassured, while sheepishly waving his hand. "It's not like I got anything better to do anyway."

IF instantly knew that this was just a lie and an attempt to mock her. She would love to lash out at him, beat him up, and gut him like the pig he is. But she knew he wouldn't allow her to do so. Besides, she considers herself to be above that.

The tome sighed. "Please, take your seat, IF. We had already started before you got here."

Taking her seat next to Histoire, opposite of Geoffrey, the guild agent sat straight up. She was a little nervous and tense about how this meeting can go, as he can pretty unpredictable, to say the least.

With his casual purple lumberjack shirt and blue jeans, Geoffrey hadn't changed his look ever since he arrived in Gamindustri. The only additional cosmetic piece he began to wear was that silly black top hat, covering his neatly combed black hair.

"Now... Where was I?" Geoffrey asked, fidgeting with his two wedding bands, one on each hand's ring finger.

"You were about to make a counteroffer." Histoire reminded.

"Right, right. What was your offer again?"

The tome let another sigh escape her miniature lips. "Once again, we offer you total control over what remains of the nation of Planeptune. In return, you cease to attack us from this point forward."

Stroking his five o'clock shadow, a devious smile formed on the betrayer's face. "Aww. That's nice of you, Histy," he complimented in a warm tone, "I don't think I can make a counteroffer. I'm way too proud of you, offering me exactly what I need like a big, responsible girl. Pat yourself on the back."

A little spark of hope appeared in the Oracle's eyes. "So... you agree to our terms of peace?"

"Yep. You got yourself a deal, Histy. And don't worry about the contract and slash or the paperwork. I'll send you a signed copy of everything soon enough. Naturally, you'll also have to sign them before it's a deal, but I expect no less of you."

To their surprise, Geoffrey agreed to their terms within seconds. Finally relaxing her shoulders, Histoire hovered forward and held her hand out.

Geoffrey did the same with his index finger and the two shook hands.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to," the traitor said tipping the lid of his hat while stepping towards the way out. However, before he could push the doors open and make his exit, he stopped himself.

"... Hey. Histy-.. uh... Histoire," he began, "you know you were just caught in the crossfire, right?"

Histoire, having her back to him, waited a moment, carefully thinking of a response. "I never understood. You helped us recover from ASIC's attack back in the day, guided Nepgear on her journey and served Planeptune with such a fierce spirit."

Pausing again, silence filled the room.

"..."

"Was it envy that drove you to do this?" the Oracle continued. "Hate? Perhaps wrath because of what happened to Lilith?"

"..."

"It's not too late to put an end to this senseless destruction, Geoffrey."

"Histoire," Having her name called out, Histoire turned her head to let her and the traitor's eyes meet. "she died the day she let a goddess control her."

Finally being at her limit, IF shot up and slammed her hands on the glass table. "Oh, just cut the crap already! Do you really think you're justified in destroying the entire world just because you lost someone dear to you?"

"Losing her was the eye-opener," Geoffrey bluntly responded. "from that point, I knew the CPUs would allow me to destroy everything they ever loved."

The livid guild agent quickly stepped ahead of the man. "They took you in, gave you a home. They fought for all of us," IF bellowed, "and in the end, you just got up and cut the hand that fed you!"

"They were worthless without each other," Geoffrey angrily responded, "not even capable of stopping the uprising of the Citizens Group without the help of their oh-so-beloved Neptune."

"They would've won if you hadn't intervened. Just because they failed to save one life doesn't mean they are incompetent!"

Snapping something inside of him, Geoffrey grabbed IF by the collar and lifted her up. "Lilith was my wife!"

"She was also our friend!"

"Then why didn't you save her!? Tell me!" he yelled straight into her face.

If it wasn't for Histoire separating the two, they might've fought it out fist to fist. "P-please. Calm yourselves. Geoffrey, I suggest you leave to attend to your business. I'll be sure to have a talk with IF."

clicking his tongue in annoyance, Geoffrey pushed the doors open and headed for the way out in silence.

Now that their guest had left, Histoire's stern look turned to a relieved one.

"Histoire, why'd you stop me?" the guild agent asked with annoyance. "he deserved to be put in his place for once."

"Now that we've established a basic peace contract, we're still not out of the clear," Histoire worriedly explained. "since Rei Ryghts is still free to do whatever she desires."

"Tsk. Yeah, I know. But without Nep and the others, there's no way we can stop her. But what about that 'secret teleport' whatcha-ma-call-it? You know, the one we recovered from that wrecked base?"

The tiny tome smiled as she gestured IF to follow her. "I was about to mention it. I have established a connection with the Sharicite. If my calculations are correct, it should be capable of summoning a worthy hero, strong enough to help us rescue Neptune and the others."

Out of surprise, IF raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes. "Wait, really? You think that will work?"

"I have no doubt it will. Now, if you would please follow me to the Sharicite room."

Entering the Sharicite room, IF was amazed at the amount of wiring and large cables that were connected to the Sharicite. Most of them weren't even connected to the teleporter platform. It all seemed a little excessive.

"Whoa. You really went all out on this one, didn't you?" IF remarked.

"I managed to set it up with the help of Nepgear. Now, I shall begin this instant and channel the remaining share energy to call for our hero."

Spreading her arms, Histoire closed her eyes and focused on the Sharicite. "I just hope Celestia will heed our call."

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.

With his raven hair still wet from the shower, Toby grabbed his phone from the messy bed to see who'd texted him.

"8:14 - H.B.: Hey you still home? Arent you running bate?"

"8:14 – H.B.: *Late"

Glancing at the time stamp of the messages, he noticed he still had at least half an hour before he had to leave. Confused to why his friend even asked, he wrote a response.

"8:15 - Me: Huh? Y so? They gave me a teleporter, remember?"

Tossing the phone back on his bed, the teen took his time to gather his clothes and get dressed.

"They gave me a teleporter," Toby thought. "Never knew I'd say that so casually."

In the recent year, technology has advanced greatly because of a single company. Their inventions and discoveries turned the world on its head when they first revealed it to the public. From teleporters to more powerful gaming consoles to gravity-defying item boxes, New Event Productions, or N.E.P. for short, has become the most influential and wealthy company in almost a month after the release of its new products. They even managed to create bottomless pockets, which they dubbed 'Hammerspace packs'.

For example, not only did the inventions of teleporters solve a lot of traffic problems, they also managed to cheaply transport products from point A to point B, effectively pushing the competition in bankruptcy. Not that it had any effect on the economy, though. N.E.P. was more than happy to employ those who had lost their jobs. And this was just one of the many applications of one of their many products. Toby knew man-kind had reached its peak, at long last, and he was more than happy to be alive at a time like this.

Getting done dressing, Toby looked back at his mirror image. A young, sixteen-year-old boy with messy black hair and deep blue eyes. The boy in the mirror closed the zipper of his crimson body warmer over his orange shirt. On his bodywarmer was a name tag pinned. "Hello! My name is: Tobias Karston, and I'll be your guide," it read.

"I guess this will do," he thought as he grabbed his phone and backpack.

With time to spare, Toby ran down the stairs to greet his parents off before leaving.

However, the teen had forgotten both his parents had both already left for their own respective jobs. He still wasn't used to the fact they had to work on Saturdays.

With no one to say goodbye to, the teen headed back to his room to use his teleporter.

A teleporter does exactly what the name says. Shaped like a pink diamond, one simply has to touch it to be transported from A to B. For some reason, Toby felt like he had seen this before in a game. He does consider himself to be a gaming otaku to some extent. But it's probably a coincidence. All of the technology N.E.P. has created seemed like it all came straight out of a game.

Touching the pink diamonds, Toby closed his eyes and waited to the count of three before opening them again. When he did, he was greeted by the warm rays of sunshine and a refreshing southern breeze. Sure, it's supposed to be rainy literally everywhere else in London right now, but thanks to N.E.P.'s weather control system, they could afford themselves to have at least some nice weather around their own premise.

The building itself is a forty story tall skyscraper, with a canal encircling the building. The walls of the building were made of reflective glass. The only way in is either by using an energy bridge, a teleporter or by swimming (which is not recommended).

Entering the building, Toby looked up to admire the view from inside once more. With its many steel floating platforms and energy bridges running between them, none of the floors were actually disconnected from each other. The reason being that most employees like to use a hover pad to navigate themselves through the building.

"Seeing people just standing around looking silly while waiting to reach their destination never gets old," Toby thought as he too got on a square, one by one hover pad, which took him to his locker room on the first floor.

Putting his bag in his locker, Toby was ready to begin the day.

However, right before he could take another step, he bumped into a man, a little taller than him, making Toby lose his balance and fall on his rear. "Oof."

"Whoops. Sorry. Wasn't looking. Totally my fault." The man apologized.

"No, no. It's fine. I should've been more careful."

When Toby looked up to get a good look at who he had bumped into, he saw a gentleman with a silly top hat and a purple lumberjack shirt, followed by a grey-skinned girl a little older than himself, wearing a mouse hoody and reflective glasses covering her eyes. It was Mister Lance, the CEO of the company and his assistant Linda.

"O-oh! Mister Lance! I, uhm... I'm really sorry about that." Toby apologized as he accepted his hand.

"Hey, I told you it's cool... Say, I remember you. You're that intern with that degree in fencing, right? You're a visitor guide. I even gave you that job myself. T.K., right? Can I call you T.K.?"

"Uh... Of course, mister Lance." Toby awkwardly responded, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't know if he should feel honoured or ashamed of being remembered as 'the intern with a degree in fencing'.

By now you probably have noticed Mister Lance is a quite laid back towards his employees. With his casual clothes and the way he talks, you wouldn't think this man is actually a multi-billionaire running the most well-known brand of technological gadgets of the century.

Of course, he wasn't always this 'super powerful billionaire that got everything he ever wanted'. The way he managed to climb to the top is quite a tragic tale, actually.

From what Toby knows, Geoffrey Lucian Lance and his wife were involved in an accident during an experiment. The latter did not make it out alive. Determined to not make his wife's loss be in vain, he dedicated himself to somehow make the experiment a success. After an entire year of hard work, he finally did it. Although, no one exactly knows what he did or what he found. It's a company secret.

"Alright T.K.," mister Lance continued, "I was actually looking for you... Which is how I remembered you. Because I was looking for you."

"Huh? Me?"

"Yeah. You," The CEO replied as he wrapped his arm around Toby and walked him forward. "Go ahead without me Linda. I'll be there with you in my office enough soon, 'k?"

As grumpy as ever, his assistant let out a groan. Toby never understood why he keeps her around. She never seems to be doing anything, dresses like an antagonist from a game he knows pretty well and never says anything nice, not even to Mister Lance himself.

Guided by his superior, Toby was brought to a poorly lit, windowless room on the same floor with a single yellow teleporter pad in the middle with a control panel next to it.

Toby knew that this teleporter in specific is known as the private teleporter, connected to the CEO office of the building. Which is why it was a little darker in here and why it had this constant humming noise in it, as no one beside the highest authority was supposed to ever be here. You'd say they would maintain rooms meant for high-authority only to be a little more appealing than this.

There was something that confused the teen, however. "S-sir? Why did you tell your assistant to meet you in your office if we're going straight there anyway?" Toby hesitantly asked.

"She needs to work out a little more," the CEO immediately responded, still having his arm wrapped around his employee, "You know, have her walk some stairs. I mean, have you seen her skin? It's as grey as the sky would be if it weren't for our weather control system. Seriously, why do you think it's always sunny here? I'm trying to give her a little tan so she might actually get a boyfriend for herself or something. Hey, T.K., you got a girlfriend?"

Getting thrown so much at him at once, Toby was at a loss for words. He wanted to interrupt his boss mid-way through his story, but that'd be rude.

"I, um... Uh... I don't sir... But, sir. I thought this building doesn't have any stairs. So how can she climb any?"

Mister Lance turned to the teen with a sour expression, as if the teen had just insulted him. "Just... Just get on the teleporter."

"R-right. Sorry, sir."

Stepping on the teleporter, Toby felt a little nervous, for some reason. He couldn't really explain why, though. He had used teleporters like these for the past month now. How was this any different?

"Alright, you know the drill. Don't move, close your eyes for three seconds and try not to fall over," mister Lance instructed while sending commands from his control panel. Once again, Toby found this fairly suspicious. He was fairly certain there were no other destinations connected to this teleporter. A single button press should be enough, right?

He didn't dare to question his superior though, even if he acted like they had known each other for years.

"Hey, uh... I think there's a bit of an error," His boss warned. "Don't worry, I'll fix this. Just keep those eyes closed, chillax, and stay still."

Doing as his boss had told him, he kept still with his eyes closed. "This is mister Lance we're talking about. I probably shouldn't even be worried."

"Alright. Fixed it. Tactical nu-, erm... Tactical teleport! Incoming!"

With that annoying humming noise finally going mute, the teen knew he was being teleported, so he began his countdown.

Three. Two. One. Office.

When he opened his eyes he expected to see a luxurious office with a fancy desk in front of a glass window. His expectations weren't even remotely close to the reality.

With electric sparks blinding him, he could barely make out the silhouettes of a person with long hair and another much smaller person on top of a book.

"What the hell?" The teen though, stepping off the teleporter and advancing towards the duo.

"Greetings, young hero," the tiny tome greeted, "I welcome you to Gamindustri. I am Histoire. The all-seeing tome of Gamindustri. I have summoned you to aid us in our time of need."

Familiar with the name, the teen rubbed his eyes to try and get a good look at the two figures.

"Wait... Did that tiny person just call herself Histoire?" Toby thought.

Finally getting a good look at the duo, Toby instantly recognized them both. "Hu-...Awa... EH!"

The two Gamindustrians just stared at him, the brunette raising an eyebrow at his lack of words. "Hey. Histoire. You may have gotten someone that doesn't speak English."

Still at a loss for words, Toby spouted some more incoherent speech. "Ubbu-, Bu-.. -uw."

Histoire, now also a little surprised at the boy's lack of audible language, also began to question her method. "You may be right, IF. Perhaps we did go a few dimensions too far."

Finally pulling himself together, Toby shouted the first thing that came to his mind. "What the HECK is going on!?"

After the boy calmed down, Histoire brought him to the same meeting room she just left and allowed him to sit down and calm himself.

Toby, now finally able to think straight again, tried to make sense what he just got himself into.

"Okay. Take it easy, Tobias. There can only be three logical explanations for this. One: The teleportation error mister Lance had was actually some magical thing from Histoire and she summoned me to this dimension because... uh... Because. Two: mister Lance knows I'm a gamer and he's letting me test some virtual reality console thing and it just so happened to be a Neptunia game. Or three: my entire life is a lie and I'm actually an original character in some poorly written fanfiction. Which is ridiculous, because I'm pretty sure I'm real. I mean, I still remember what I had for dinner last night. Yeah. You don't see OCs talk or think about that stuff. Because that would be a huge time waster and a poor decision on a writer's part. No, it must be either the first or the second option."

Standing up from his comfy chair, Toby clapped his hand together. "Alright. I think I've calmed down. So... Why exactly am I here?"

"Very well. Allow me to explain."

Histoire briefly explained on how the Citizens Group had gained a large amount of influence, how Rei had defeated the CPUs thanks to one of their allies betraying them, how this traitor has managed to capture each CPU (excluding the candidates) and how they had summoned him in a desperate attempt to make a comeback. Of course, she also explained some things that were already known to him, like how Gamindustri was ruled by CPUs and that they're powered by the shares of people, but that's to be expected.

Letting this info sink in, Toby quickly knew he was in Re;Birth 3 or Victory. But what about that ally? Was it a maker? Maybe someone that wasn't in the games? He decided to ask about it another time. He was far too excited to actually be in one of his favourite video games. You can't rush yourself when you're in a situation like this.

"Alright, I think I finally understand. So basically, you need me to play the hero and save the others, right?"

With a smile, Histoire nodded. "Indeed. You are a quick learner... uhm... T-Tobias Karston?"

"Huh? Wow. You really are the all-seeing tome, aren't you Histy? You totally knew my name before I even told you."

"Well, actually I just read it off your name tag and-..." Histoire's world slowly trailed off. "Hold on. did you just call me 'Histy'?"

Toby quickly looked down to see if he really was still wearing his name tag before he responded. "Yeah. Histy. It's a cute nickname, right?"

"I prefer you would not call me that, but if you must, I suppose you can."

Suddenly, IF, which had been on her phone the entire time, stood up and cleared her throat. "Bad news. A swarm of monsters has broken through the southern barrier and all our men are busy defending the northern barrier. I'm the nearest agent, but I can't go alone." She gave Toby a suggestive look when she finished her sentence.

"H-huh? Fighting already?" Toby asked, "But I've only been here for like... ten minutes. I don't even have a weapon on me."

"Eh? You don't?" IF questioned.

"Do not worry. I had already thought of the possibility," Histoire reassured, "May I ask, do you have any form of previous combat experience?"

"Well... I know how to use a rapier. You know, fencing and stuff."

"How convenient," the tome remarked. "I just so happen to have one on me."

Taking said blade out of her hammerspace, Toby looked in awe at the blade as she handed it to him. It felt quite light and looked very similar to the one he had back home. The only difference was the protective handle, which was coated in gold. Other than that, it looked pretty generic, but what can you expect of a blade like a rapier?

"If it looked any different, it wouldn't be a rapier anymore." Toby thought.

IF was a bit sceptical on Histoire's decision. "Hey. Histoire. That blade. Isn't that-"

"-The one Lilith Belrose used, indeed," Histoire finished. "But I think it is fitting for our new hero to have it."

Toby didn't quite catch the name of the previous wielder, but he did hear he wasn't the first to use this blade. "Hm? Wait, what happened to the previous owner?"

Both girls looked at each other in silence for a second before ultimately IF responded. "She is no longer among us. She gave her life to protect us back in the Gamindustri Graveyard."

"Ah... Sorry I asked," the teen apologized.

"Don't sweat it. It's all in the past," the guild agent assured. "Let's just go. I'm sure you're excited to try out your new toy, am I right?"

"Spot on. Lead the way, Iffy."

"Don't call me that." IF coldly retorted.

"Oh...'kay."

And with that, the duo ran off to fend off the attacking monsters.

Toby was still wondering whether or not he was actually dreaming. He gets to be the main star in one of his favourite games, meet the characters and travel alongside them. Not only that, but once he'll get back home, he'll be able to tell everyone about it.

"This is so awesome!" Toby thought. "I totally get to meet Neptune. What's the worst that can happen?"

Hey there. Thanks for reading the story so far. I hope you enjoyed what I offered. I tend to drag on when it comes to author notes, so I'll keep this one short and brief.

Although I do like the story I've come up with so far, I'm still having some doubts about continuing this. So I've decided to create a poll on my profile with a simple yes and no option (for those that don't feel like writing a review). If you could give your input on this poll, I would really appreciate it.

Have a nice day!

-Porpol