Chapter I

Hello all, I have returned with a new story, kind of. As I am sure a few of you remember, Tales of Neptunia got kind of... messy, towards the end. So rather than try and sort the pieces of that mess into something somewhat legible I have elected to just start from scratch with a slightly tighter noose on what is going to be in it. So as before it is mostly Tales of Xillia crossed with Hyperdimension Neptunia with a few other little bits thrown in, but it will not be as insane as before. Main character is Jude, harem, you know the drill, on we go!

Two figures were in the air, falling from high above the clouds, and falling fast.

The first, a young man with brown hair, wearing blue and grey clothing with large, ornate, purple gauntlets, the second a beautiful young woman with long, blonde and auburn, wavy hair, red eyes, and a revealing outfit holding a spiked golden sword.

The young man looked around franticly as they fell. "Wh – What the…?! Milla, what's going on!?"

The young woman, Milla, looked around calmly in thought. "Hhmm… I believe we are falling out of the sky, Jude."

Jude sighed in exasperation. "Yeah, I know that, but –!" his words trailed off as he glanced to the side and saw a young woman with long, lilac hair, a white hoodie that was slightly unzipped, showing her moderate bust, was also falling from the sky, completely unconscious. "Milla, look!"

Milla blinked in thought. "Huh, falling from the sky must be a common thing here."

"Come on, get me close to her!"

Milla nodded and flicked her wrist, causing a gust of wind to blow him towards the girl.

As Jude approached her he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"I'll try and cushion our landing," Milla explained as she put an arm out forward, "hang on tight."

Jude nodded as he tightened his hold on the girl before they hit the ground.

Jude groaned as he slowly woke up, and then realized he was not outside, but inside of a very, very pink room. "What the…?"

His attention was then drawn to a young woman nearby who had long, congo-pink hair, and big, bright, matching eyes, wearing a plain jumper and a simple skirt with long socks. She leaned in close to him, her bust swaying slightly, causing his face to turn bright red with embarrassment.

"U – U – Uh…" he sputtered.

The woman smiled warmly. "Ah, you're awake! Great! Does anything hurt? Are you feeling well?"

Jude gulped lightly. "N – Not sure… C – Can hardly breathe actually…" He then looked down and realized his body was wrapped tightly in full-body bandages. "Wh – What the…? Wh - Why am I naked?!"

"Well, I had to put the bandages on you." Her face turned red with mild abashment. "I've never seen one before…"

Jude's face turned a deeper red.

"Mind explaining?" Milla asked, standing directly behind the pink-haired woman.

"Eek!" the girl shrieked as she turned around in surprise with a jump.

"C – Cute…" Jude muttered as her jump caused her chest to bounce slightly.

"Y – You're awake too, huh?" she asked Milla, surprised.

Milla nodded. "Yes. I have been for quite some time. Who are you?"

The girl nodded with a smile. "Ah, right. My name's Compa. Nice to meet you. How about the other girl?"

Jude frowned in thought. "Huh? Other girl?"

"The girl you saved by using your body as a cushion," Milla explained.

Jude furrowed his brow in thought before gaping slightly. "Wait… we actually survived that fall?"

Compa nodded energetically. "Yeah. You guys fell out of the sky like WHOOSH and then hit the ground like POW! Then I found you and bandaged you all up."

The lilac-haired girl groaned as she sat up, waking slowly. "Ugh… so loud…"

Turning to her, Compa asked, "You okay?"

Nodding, the lilac-haired girl answered, "Yeah, but I'm rreeaallllyy hungry."

"Okay!" Compa answered with a smile. "I'll go ahead and make you something then!"

Jude furrowed his brow in confusion. "Wait, if we fell outside, how'd you get us all here? Wasn't it hard?"

Compa shook her head. "No, not really. I go to a nursing school, so moving bodies is something I do a lot."

"Nursing school?" Milla asked.

Compa nodded with a smile. "Yup. Oh, I still don't know who you people are."

"Ah," Jude muttered. "I'm Jude Mathis."

"My name is Milla Maxwell," Milla explained.

The lilac-haired girl suddenly sprang up and exclaimed energetically, "I'm Neptune!"

Compa blinked in thought. "Nepta… Nepku… Nepin… Nept-… Nepuu-… Nepel… Neput-…"

…

…

…

"Nep-Nep!" Compa suddenly shouted with cute frustration.

'C – Cute…' Jude muttered in his head.

Milla folded her arms incredulously. "Is it really that hard to say? Nept… Nep… Nyeput… damn. It really is hard to say. My apologies."

Jude laughed weakly.

Neptune waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Call me whatever you want. Neptune, Nep-Nep, Nepper, Neptuna. Whatever!"

Milla blinked before humming happily as she rubbed her abdomen. "Mmm… Neptuna. Wonder how that tastes compared to regular tuna."

Neptune joined Milla in her daydreaming. "Mmm… yeah…"

Jude chuckled weakly as he stood from the bed.

Compa then turned to Neptune. "Hey, Nep-Nep, you're bruised still, let me take a look."

"Huh? Okay," Neptune answered plainly.

Nodding, Compa added, "Right. Let's get those clothes off you first."

Jude blushed, stumbled, and sputtered at that. "H – Huh?!"

Neptune blinked in confusion. "Huh?! Why?! Why do I need to go nude?! I don't need to power up!"

Compa frowned obstinately. "I can't bandage you up when you're clothed!"

Jude frowned incredulously. 'Be nude to power up? What kind of logic is that?!'

Milla folded her arms in deliberation. "I see. One becomes stronger when they wear no clothes. I will need to remember that."

Jude gulped in worry.

"Come on!" Compa insisted, grabbing Neptune's clothing and pulling it off in one swipe.

Jude immediately covered his eyes. "Compa! Don't just suddenly rip off a patient's clothing! Didn't they teach you that at med school?!"

Compa stiffened slightly. "H – Huh?"

Jude, his eyes still covered, elucidated, "Ripping off a patient's clothing is a big no if they are conscious!"

"But I can't bandage her up if she's clothed," Compa argued as she began putting the bandages on Neptune, looping and wrapping her all over. "Here comes the wrap! This way… that way… loop it over…" The end result of Compa's efforts had Neptune wrapped in bandages in a very suspect manner.

"I see," Milla noted in consideration. "So that's how to wrap bandages correctly."

Jude, his eyes now uncovered and his mouth agape, argued, "No it isn't! You're going to suffocate her that way!"

"Nrgh…" Neptune grunted, "loosen it… can't… breathe…!"

Jude immediately rushed over to Neptune and started pulling on the bandages, trying to pull them off her. "What'd you use to bind it? Super glue?!"

Compa pouted. "I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't come off…"

Jude gaped in disbelief. "… Milla!"

Milla flicked a hand, causing blades of wind to slice at the bandages.

Jude then tugged, pulling the bandages off. "Good…" However, Jude then gaped when he saw Neptune, completely nude with a confused and demure expression in front of him, causing him to blush and then gulp. "C – Cute…"

"C – Can I have my clothes back…?" Neptune asked.

Jude immediately looked away and grabbed Neptune's clothes from Compa before handing them to Neptune.

As she got dress, Neptune asked, "So, uh, how'd I get here?"

"You don't remember?" Jude asked in surprise and confusion.

"Nuh-uh," Neptune answered with a shake of her head. "My name's all I can remember. First thing I remember after that was being blacked out and talking to a tome."

The others all looked at her in confusion.

Milla put a hand on her chin in thought. "Hm… I didn't know tombs could talk."

"That's what I said!" Neptune cheered.

"You fell from the sky with us," Milla explained.

Neptune blinked in surprise as she buttoned her hoodie and then smiled. "Really? Wow. I must be pretty sturdy then."

"Jude caught you and used himself to soften your landing."

Neptune smiled gratefully. "Aaww, that's so sweet Judie."

Jude flinched lightly. "J – Judie…? My name is Jude."

Neptune waved a hand dismissively. "But using people's real names is boring. I'm the main character, I'm supposed to use catchy nicknames. Although, considering this situation, someone else might be."

Jude tilted his head in confusion. "Main… character…? What do you mean by that?"

Milla nodded in agreement. "I am confused as well."

"Confused 'bout what?" Neptune asked.

"N – Nevermind," Jude muttered before turning to Compa. "A – At any rate, can you tell us where we are Compa?"

"My apartment," Compa answered in a slightly confused, high-pitched, quiet voice.

'Cute…' Jude muttered in his mind with a light blush. "I – I meant the city."

"Oh. Planeptune, capital of Mistral."

"I see… Guess that's somewhere on Elympios."

Compa tilted her head cutely in confusion. "Elympios? I've never heard of that being somewhere on Remnant."

Jude frowned in thought. "Rem… nant…?"

"Yep."

Jude remained silent in confused disbelief.

"I'm still hungry," Neptune suddenly interjected.

"Oh right!" Compa exclaimed in realization. "I'll be right back."

"M – Mind if I help cook?" Jude asked weakly.

Compa waved a hand with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm just getting some pudding."

"What's pudding?" Neptune asked.

"Yes, I am curious as well," Milla added.

"Just wait here," Compa insisted.

"Here we are," Compa noted as she walked in with a plate that had three desserts on it. "Three milk puddings."

Milla and Neptune blinked curiously as they looked at the sweets before taking a bite at the same time, swooning loudly with ecstasy.

"Th – This is…" Milla mumbled.

"Ssoo gggooooooddd!" Neptune and Milla both exclaimed.

Jude smiled before turning to Compa. "Hey, Compa?"

Compa turned to him as well with a smile. "Yes Ju-Ju?"

Neptune perked up in realization. "Oooohh. Good nickname."

Jude flinched lightly. "J – Ju-Ju…?" Shaking his head with a sigh, he continued, "So what can you tell me about Remnant?"

"Ah, right. Well it's divided up into four nations. Mistral, Atlas, Vale, and Vacuo. Each nation is ruled over by a Goddess or CPU. Oh, that means Console Patron Unit. They also each have a capital from where they are governed, Planeptune for Mistral, Lowee for Atlas, Leanbox for Vale, and Lastation for Vacuo."

"So that's four Goddesses?"

Compa nodded happily. "Yup. Lady Green Heart of Vale, Lady Purple Heart of Mistral, Lady Black Heart of Vacuo, and Lady White Heart of Atlas."

"Is that their names or titles?"

"Pardon?" she asked in bewilderment.

"Those names. Are they really named that?"

Compa put a finger on her chin and tilted her head several times as she thought before shrugging. "Well… yeah. I think so. I wouldn't really know, I've never met them."

"I see…"

"This pudding," Milla suddenly interjected. "I want more. A lot more."

"Same," Neptune added with a big smile.

After eating several more servings of pudding, Neptune frowned and then asked, "So none of you know me?"

Jude shook his head. "No, sorry. Milla and I just got here."

"Maybe someone at the Basilicom can help," Compa suggested.

"Basili-what?"

"The Basilicom. They act as our way to communicate with the Goddesses and send them our prayers. The priests there are extremely knowledgeable. If anyone will know something about you it'd be them."

"I see. That might work."

"Right! To the Basilawhatsit!" Neptune shouted with excitement.

Compa, Jude, Neptune, and Milla stood in front of a large, regal, multicolored structure that was many meters tall.

"This is the Basilicom?" Neptune asked.

"Amazing…" Jude noted in shock.

"C'mon!" Compa urged with a smile.

The interior of the building continued the bright aesthetic, almost resembling an elegant church.

A man with blonde hair, wearing long, white and purple robes walked up to the group. "Greetings children, how may I assist you?"

"Children?" Milla wondered in confusion.

Jude explained plainly, "It's just a generic greeting priests give."

Compa motioned to Neptune next to her. "We need to know if you know our friend here."

"I see." The priest then turned to Neptune and asked, "And you are?"

"I'm Neptune!"

"Hhmm… the name sounds vaguely familiar, but I'm sorry. I can't help. Perhaps you can ask the townsfolk."

"Okay!"

Jude, Milla, Neptune, and Compa sat on a bench in the center of Planeptune's capital, defeated.

"Well that was a total bust," Neptune groaned with a sigh.

"Sorry…" Compa apologized with a pout.

"It's okay, Compa," Neptune eased with a smile.

"Come on, let's ask around," Jude urged.

"That sounds like a good idea," Milla agreed.

Sometime later, the group sat at the same bench and groaned.

"Still nothing…" Jude said with a sigh. However, his ears perked up slightly when he heard people nearby talking.

"Did you hear? Some Grimm broke through one of the outer walls," a young woman asked.

"Yeah, I heard they killed some people a while back," another young woman added with a frightened tone.

"Scary…" a third woman chimed in.

"Grimm?" Jude wondered in thought.

"You don't know?" Compa returned.

"No, I've never heard that term before."

"They are scary super strong monsters. They're all creepy and black with bony bits on them."

"I see…" Jude mumbled in thought before a woman nearby screamed as a giant, black scorpion with bony-like protrusions appeared.

"Big bug!" Neptune shouted, the nearby crowd of people fleeing, screaming.

"It's a Deathstalker!" Compa shrieked.

Jude's eyes widened before he immediately rushed over, two spiked, purple gauntlets appearing on his arms in a flash of light. "Eat this!" he shouted as energy collected around his hand. "Demon Fist!" Suddenly a blast of energy shot from his hand and struck the monster. His eyes shot even wider as he saw the woman in the grasp of its pincers, a mature woman with long, light brown hair and a tight, blue suit with a furry tail just above her round ass. "That… can't be… Presa?" His momentary distraction allowed the beast to knock him aside with its tail.

"I – It's taking her!" Compa exclaimed as the Deathstalker fled.

"H – Hey!" Jude shouted weakly before standing. "Get back here!" After regaining his balance, Jude immediately pursued the monster.

"Jude!" Milla shouted, attempting to stop him. She sighed before turning to Neptune and Compa. "Come on!"

"Righty!" Compa agreed.

"Let's ggoo!" Neptune added excitedly.

Soon, Jude, having followed the monster's trail, wound up at the large entrance to a deep cave. "It ran into this cave."

"There you are!" Milla shouted as she and the others ran up to him.

"Milla…"

Milla put up a hand as she approached him. "Don't worry, I won't try and stop you, Jude. I understand you well enough to know such an effort is fruitless."

Jude nodded appreciatively before turning his attention to the cave. "We've got to hurry in and save her." 'I won't let her die again. Not this time.'

"Right-o, Judie!" Neptune cheered.

The group entered the cave, and spent several minutes scouring every centimeter looking for the beast and for Presa, with little success.

"Urgh…" Neptune groaned. "This cave's too big…"

Jude looked around for any possible crevice or hole the beast could hide in. "Where is it?"

"Dunno…"

"Just where?" he snarled before kicking a rock in front of him hard, sending it flying.

"Gah!" a new voice growled. "Watch it!"

"Ah crap, sorry!" he shouted before running around the corner and seeing two people.

The first was a girl with long brown hair wearing an overly large coat, and the other was a young woman with short, bright orange hair wearing a white top with a black coat and a pink skirt, a large weapon on her back.

"Whoa…"

The brunette growled at him. "Hey, buddy, watch what yer doing!"

The other added just as loud, "Yeah! Ya hit Iffy in the foot!"

Jude gulped with concern. "Sorry about that, Iffy."

The brunette's face turned red as she looked at her friend annoyed. "I told you to stop calling me that…" She then turned her attention to Jude. "The name is IF. I'm from the Guild."

Her friend grinned excitedly. "And I'm Nora Valkyrie! Also from the Guild and an aspiring Huntress! Just like Iffy!"

Jude frowned in confusion. "Huntress?"

IF folded her arms in thought. "You don't know what a Huntress is?"

"You… hunt food?"

IF sighed in exasperation. "No. We hunt Grimm."

"… Like that giant scorpion I'm looking for?"

IF's jaw fell in disbelief. "If you don't know what a Hunter is then why in the Oblivion are you chasing a Deathstalker?"

"It kidnapped a… friend."

"Right… well leave this to the trained professionals."

Nora looked at IF confused. "We're trained?"

"Shut. Up."

Milla folded her arms and then asked, "What's a child like you doing in this cavern?"

"I'm not a child!" IF vehemently retorted, turning red.

"Yeah!" Nora added. "We just turned sixteen!"

"What's the Guild?" Jude asked in confusion.

IF tilted her head, not understanding his confusion. "You don't know what the Guild is?"

"They're not from around here," Compa explained before adding her excited voice, "Like… really far away."

"Indeed," Milla commented.

"Cute…" Jude mumbled.

IF sighed and began explaining. "The Guild is an organization that gives out jobs to Hunters, Hunters in Training and Prospective Hunters who can't attend a preparatory school. Nora and I are the latter. And the Guild got a mission to hunt a Deathstalker that's been kidnapping people, that's why I'm here with Nora."

"Then we should team up then. Safety in numbers."

"Right…" IF muttered, unconvinced.

"Yippee!" Neptune cheered with excitement. "Iffy and Nora join the party! That's six members so quickly!"

Nora grinned and pumped a fist happily. "More the merrier!"

IF groaned and slapped a hand over her face. "Great… two idiots…"

"Is something wrong, Iffy?" Compa asked.

"It's IF…" IF corrected with a twitching eyebrow.

Compa merely smiled and answered, "Aaww, but Iffy's cuter."

IF stiffened as her cheeks tinted slightly.

"I know, right?" Nora chirped with a smile.

IF's eyebrows twitched furiously as she grumbled, "How come they gave me some stupid nickname and they're just calling you normally?"

Nora grinned proudly. "'Cuz Nora's already as cute as it gets!"

Neptune and Compa nodded in agreement.

"… I don't know how to take that…"

"Sigh and move along?" Jude joked weakly.

"Probably…"

As the group continued through the cave, Jude started noticing large gashes on the wall. "That must be… We're almost there! Come on hurry!"

IF frowned as she saw several dried-up skeletons on the ground. "Definitely…"

"Then let's find and kill it."

"Stop!" IF suddenly shouted.

"Why? Presa's in danger!"

IF pointed to the wall, where Jude saw a large disc.

As the group looked at the strange disc, it glowed brightly before a large, bipedal, wolf-like creature emerged.

"That's a Beowulf!" IF shouted.

Jude frowned in thought as the beast stood. "… That's got to be where those things come from."

IF growled and drew two green pistols with long blades attached from her pockets. "How about we examine it after we kill that thing?!"

"Right," Jude nodded before his gauntlets once more appeared and he charged at the beast, ducking one of its claws and slamming his fist into its abdomen, crashing it against the wall.

IF frowned and looked at Milla, who stood motionless. "Hey, uh, shouldn't we help?"

Milla raised an eyebrow and then shook her head. "No, Jude can handle a creature this weak on his own. So just leave him to it."

Jude rushed at the Beowulf, ducking a dual lunge from both of its arms and slammed his fist forward, bursting through the beast's chest and out its back, the creature vanishing into dust shortly.

"Whoa…" Nora mumbled in shock.

Jude sighed as he shook the ashes from his arm. "There. Now, let's smash this thing."

"Righto!" Neptune cheered before a katana appeared in her hands and she charged at the disc, only for the Deathstalker to once more drop from the ceiling, Presa unconscious in its grasp.

"Presa!" Jude shouted before the beast roared and swung its free claw at the group. Jude jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the creature's attack.

"Guess it's time to fight," Milla commented as she drew a long, black and white blade with a flat tip.

Compa then readied a massively oversized syringe.

"Eh?!" Jude gaped in disbelief. "Where'd you get that from?!"

"That's a secret," Compa replied with a smile before shooting a liquid from the syringe at Presa that caused the Deathstalker immense pain, making it drop Presa.

Jude quickly sprung to action and caught Presa before she hit the ground, but was unable to dodge the monster as it swung at him.

Milla jumped in and blocked the strike, but was sent flying back from the sheer force.

"Milla!" Jude hollered in worry.

"Crap!" IF cursed before firing at the beast, her shots proving only to agitate the monster before it backhanded her, slamming her into a wall.

The oversized scorpion turned its attention to Compa and swung its stinger at her, Milla barely managing to raise a wall of stone to protect the syringe-wielding girl.

Nora grinned and pulled out the large grenade launcher on her back and flicked a switch, causing it to transform into a massive hammer before leaping into the air and pulling the trigger, the blast slamming her weapon down onto the joint of the monster's stinger, ripping it completely off.

The Deathstalker howled in agony as it stumbled back, black liquid gushing from the injury. In its flailing it hit Nora, sending her crashing into Compa, causing the two to slam into a wall and collapse.

"Owie…" the pink-haired girl moaned in pain.

Neptune tightened her fists around her blade. "Oohh… stop hurting my friends!" Suddenly, Neptune's body was engulfed in a bright light, shining light throughout the entire cavern.

"What the…?" Jude muttered.

The light died down, revealing Neptune to be completely changed. She was significantly taller, with long purple hair that nearly reached her feet, braided in twintails and bright blue eyes with glowing white pupils, her outfit had also drastically changed to a black one-piece uniform with several pieces of armor floating around her, along with large, glowing, purple wings made of energy. "I'll take you down!" she shouted, a much deeper and more mature voice than previously.

"Wh – Whoa…"

The larger Neptune then rushed forward, a massive blade appearing in her grasp, and slashed at the large monster, easily slicing it in half with one swipe.

Milla blinked in surprise as she stood. "Impressive."

"Whoa!" Compa exclaimed in surprise and amazement. "Cool Nep-Nep!"

"The hell…?" IF muttered in confusion.

"That's not normal…" Jude added.

Neptune then looked over her larger body in thought. "What… is this…? I got bigger…" With a curious gesture her hands then grabbed at her own bosom in thought. "In more ways than one."

Jude immediately slapped a hand over his nose.

"I have nice big bazongas now!"

Jude face-faulted into the floor.

Milla chuckled lightly. "It seems they exist all over."

"Yep!" Nora chirped. However, her attention was then taken when she noticed an unusual pedestal nearby with a glowing object sitting atop it. "Whassit?"

IF paled and ran towards her. "Nora! The last time you grabbed something shiny you nearly crashed a Bullhead!"

Before she could grab it, however, a figure leapt over and snatched it.

She turned and saw a large, bipedal, grey mouse with large red eyes.

"A rat?" Milla mumbled curiously as the oversized rodent ran to a large rock nearby, upon which a figure sat.

The figure was a tall woman with pale, almost light purple, skin, short, light lavender hair that was messy, wearing a basic witch's uniform.

The rat ran up to the woman and handed the strange object to her.

"Good," she noted with a smirk before looking up at Jude and the others. "Now to deal with you."

"Who's the old lady?" the larger Neptune asked.

The woman huffed in annoyance before a long, four-bladed spear appeared in her hand that she then pointed at Neptune. "Brat." A powerful blast of energy then fired from the spear at Neptune.

"Look out!" Jude shouted as he tackled Neptune to the ground, safely away from the blast.

The woman hissed in irritation as the beam hit Jude before bouncing back at her.

Jude blinked curiously as he sat up. "Wh – What just happened…? I feel kinda… weird."

The woman growled in annoyance. "You've gotta be kidding. How come he got in the way?"

"Jude!" Milla exclaimed in worry. "Are you okay?"

Jude and the strange woman both answered at the same time. "Yes."

Milla blinked in confusion. "… Huh…?"

Jude frowned in bewilderment. "Wh – What the…?"

The pale-skinned woman snarled and fired a yellow blast of energy from her spear at Jude. "Just great. This is your fault, boy!"

Jude managed to roll to the side, avoiding the shot.

She hissed before turning to fire at Neptune once more, only for Compa to end up getting hit.

"Compa!" Jude bellowed.

The woman growled and then snarled, "Stay out of the way so I can hit Nep-Nep!" She twitched an eyebrow and remained silent momentarily as she processed what she had just said.

Jude furrowed his brow in thought before widening his eyes in realization. "Neptune! Avoid her spell! It switches things!"

"Got it!" the larger Neptune answered as she floated around the woman's back.

"What?!" the pale-skinned woman growled before turning to Jude. "You little punk! I'll burn you alive!" Almost immediately a torrent of flames shot from her spear at Jude.

He just barely dashed to the side of the attack, having to pat down flames on his sleeve. "Okay, that was too close…"

IF then fired several shots at the strange woman as Milla joined in and sent several blades of wind at her.

The woman sneered before swinging her spear, blocking all of the attacks before instantly dashing around behind Milla.

Milla's eyes widened in surprise. "That's… the Quick Step…"

"Milla!" Jude suddenly shouted. "She has my techniques!"

Milla blinked and then smirked. "Good to know."

The woman swung her spear at Milla, but the blonde spun under the attack, kicking her leg out to knock the woman off her feet, however Milla then immediately turned and swung out with a punch, slamming it into the woman's abdomen when she used Quick Step once more.

The woman tensed, coughed violently, and then growled at Milla. "… H – How…?"

With a smirk, Milla answered, "Jude's never beaten me. I always end up on top."

Jude stiffened and turned red before Nora asked, "Wait, does she mean –?"

"Sparring! She's talking about sparring! Nothing else!"

Milla blinked in thought and looked at him. "What about –?"

"Nothing! Else!"

"I – I see…"

"What?!" Hissing in annoyance, the woman jumped back and then suddenly ripped two glowing orbs from her torso and threw them to the side. "Useless!"

"Granny, look out!" the mouse shouted.

"I'M NOT OL – GAH!" the woman began to snarl, only for Neptune to slash at her back.

Nora leapt into the air and slammed her hammer down on the woman, sending the woman flying before she slammed into the mouse, sending the strange object flying as the duo fell over the edge of a cliff within the cave.

"Is it… over…?" Compa asked worriedly.

Jude sighed in relief as he picked up the strange object. "Yeah, I think."

At that moment, Presa then groaned lightly as she awoke.

"Presa!" Jude shouted before running over to her.

Presa sat up and looked around, slightly confused.

"Are you okay!?"

The woman turned to him, frightful. "I – Is it dead?"

Jude nodded slowly, still attempting to understand what he saw before him.

Milla glanced over and noticed the woman as well and, just as Jude, was surprised. "Is that…?"

"Presa…?" Jude asked with disbelief.

The woman, Presa, blinked curiously before turning to him. "You… know my name?"

"Yeah…"

Neptune pouted with frustration. "I'm the main character here. Where's my reward?" She then began to glow brightly before returning to her normal petite form. With an even deeper pout, she moaned, "Aaww… My bazongas are gone…"

"Then do you… know who I am?"

However, before Jude could answer, Neptune suddenly exclaimed, "Whoa! Another amnesiac!"

"So weird!" Compa added in what Jude had termed her "cute voice" inside his own mind.

"Yeah!" Nora cheered as well.

Milla sighed and then walked up to Presa, the woman still looking at the group, perplexed. "Do you remember how you got here?"

Presa shook her head in response as she stood. "No. All I remember is my name, and falling and… someone reaching out to my hand…"

Jude frowned slightly. "I see… Let's get you out of here and to safety."

"You were falling too!?" Neptune interjected, excited. "Wowza!"

Presa nodded slowly. "I… I think…"

"Amazing!" Compa exclaimed. "Just like Nep-Nep!"

"Who was that strange woman?" Presa asked.

"No clue," Jude noted. "But that power she has is terrifying…"

"No kidding," IF added.

Jude then turned to Neptune and Milla. "Milla. Neptune. If we ever run into her again stay out of her line of fire."

Milla nodded in understanding. "Right."

"You got it!" Neptune cheered before smirking slyly. "Ssoo… who's the foxy lady?"

Jude sighed as he glanced at Presa and then back to Neptune. "Presa. A… friend." However, his attention was changed as the strange object he held began to shine and vibrate. "Uuhh…"

Suddenly, a soft new voice, emanating from the object, asked, "Can anyone hear me?"

Jude blinked in confusion before flattening his brow. "… Oh boy… Now I'm hearing voices…"

"Hey it's Histy!" Neptune suddenly shouted.

"Who?"

"Ignore her," the voice urged calmly.

"You must be the tome she was talking about."

"Yes, I am."

Milla frowned in thought. "And what exactly is a tomb exactly?"

Jude sighed and corrected, "Tome Milla, tome."

Histoire remained silent for a moment. "I suppose you could say I'm like a Great Spirit of sorts."

"Great whatnow?" IF, Neptune, Nora, and Compa all asked in unison.

"You know about the Great Spirits?" Jude asked in surprise.

"I've been in here for three hundred years. I've had time to read."

"Ah… good point."

"Anyway, I assume Neptune hasn't told you anything?"

"Told us what?" Compa asked.

With a sigh, Histoire began, "That answers my question. Remnant is in danger, and to save it, I first need to escape this prison I'm in. Unfortunately, the key to open it was broken. What I'm communicating with you through is one of those Key's Fragments. If you can find them all I can get out and we can stop Remnant's destruction."

"… Where do we start?" Jude asked after a moment of silence.

"You'll help?!" Histoire asked in astonishment.

Jude nodded resolutely. "Of course."

"I – I'm shocked… thank you."

"If I have the power to do something to help others I'll do it."

Milla chuckled lightly. "Indeed he will. It gets us into trouble a lot, actually."

Jude's face reddened in embarrassment.

"Thank you." Histoire then explained, "The first task you need to accomplish is locate the Key Fragments. There's one in each land."

Nora leapt with excitement. "Yay! Roadtrip!"

"I see." Jude then looked to the others around him and asked, "Which land is closest?"

"Vacuo," Compa answered.

IF pulled a small device out of her pocket and slid it open. "Right. The next train there should be in a day or two if we're lucky."

Jude and Milla both looked at the device curiously.

"What is that?" Jude asked.

IF looked at the device then at Jude several times before flattening her brows incredulously. "… It's a Scroll. Everyone has one. Have you been living under a rock?"

Milla raised a hand and remarked, "In a way I have been."

"Where I'm from we don't have anything like that."

"I… see…"

"What now?" Neptune asked.

"Hold on," Jude interjected, looking at the Key Fragment. "Can you answer a few more questions?"

Histoire sighed lightly. "Some. But it requires a lot of energy to communicate through these Key Fragments, so I can't keep the connection for much longer. So ask."

"Well… Put succinctly, how did you get locked in wherever you are and what does that woman have to do with anything?"

"Unfortunately, that is too much to explain in the short time I have. But that woman is Arfoire, and she is the one spreading those Grimm-Spawning discs."

Jude narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "There must be more to it though. We'll talk more after we get the next Key Fragment."

"Very well." With that, the light from the Key Fragment diminished before vanishing entirely.

IF sighed lightly. "Let's get going."

Jude nodded as he stood. "Yeah. To Vacuo."

"I'm going too," Presa interjected.

Jude shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

Presa narrowed her eyes. "I'm going. You two are the only link to my past and memories."

Jude remained silent, he could not refute such a point.

"I don't see a problem," Milla commented.

"Yeah!" Neptune exclaimed with a fist pump. "We need a magey type Kitsune in the party!"

"Faunus," IF corrected. "Faunus. Kitsune's a bit rude."

Presa tilted her head curiously as her tail swished about. "Is that so? It is what I am though."

Jude put a hand on his head in thought. "I'm guessing Faunus are people with animal like traits?"

IF shrugged in reply. "More or less. They're… not treated very well."

"I see…"

Eventually, the group managed to find their way out of the cave and began walking back to the main city of Planeptune.

As they walked, Neptune asked, "So… How do we get ta Vacuo?"

"We need to use one of the trains," Compa explained.

"Oh?" Milla noted with a raised eyebrow. "Sounds fun."

Jude frowned in thought. "What's a train?"

IF gaped in disbelief. "… You're joking, right? They don't have trains where you're from either? Must be a really backwater place…"

As the group walked into the city's station, IF looked at a large information board before frowning. "Damn… none of the trains are running today. Looks like we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Jude looked at the board and pointed to one of the names. "What about this one? SDC-157?"

IF waved a hand dismissively. "That's a freight train, not a passenger train."

"I see… It wouldn't be the most comfortable ride, but it'd still get us to where we're going."

"… You can't be serious. I'm not interested in train hopping."

"When it comes to something this important, you really can't afford to be picky."

Presa interjected, "Besides, wouldn't these freight trains need security? We could offer our services in return for a free ride to Vacuo."

IF groaned heavily in frustration. "Geez…"

"Are there any seats in here…?" Compa asked as the lot sat in one of the train cars.

Jude replied, "It transports cargo, not people, so I doubt it. So just lay down a blanket or something."

"Right…" she pouted.

Neptune then suddenly laid on her head on Jude's legs. "I'mma lay on your lap."

However, Jude quickly picked her up and put her head on Compa's lap.

"Aw…"

"I'm going to patrol the other cars. By the way… what's this train carrying?"

IF put a hand on her chin. "Well considering it's from the Schnee Dust Company, probably just Dust and maybe some machinery."

Jude frowned in confusion. "… Why would anyone care about dust?"

IF sighed in exasperation. "… Seriously? You don't know what Dust is, do you?"

"I… guess not?"

IF responded by pulling a bullet out of her weapon and showing it, the interior being filled with a ground up red powder.

"Huh?"

"This. It's Dust. It's a mineral found all over Remnant, it comes in various types, with each color denoting its effects. It also comes in either crystal or powdered forms. The stuff inside my ammo is powdered fire Dust."

"I see… I assume it is highly combustible. Though, how do you activate it?"

"Simple. Friction." She then released the bullet, which hit the ground and exploded violently. "An Aura can do it, too."

Jude raised an eyebrow curiously. "Aura?"

"Yeah. It's something all living things have, basically it's our soul. It lets us use our Semblance, partially protects us from damage, and lets us use Dust based technology."

Milla put a hand on her chin in thought. "Hm… Jude…"

Jude nodded in agreement. "Yeah. That 'Aura' you're talking about sounds a lot like what we call mana."

"Mana?" IF questioned.

"Magical energy produced by the mind and used for magic and powering Spirit Fossils."

"Magic isn't real," she deadpanned.

"No, it is. We just call it different things. Can you show me an example of what you call a Semblance? From what you're saying it sounds like what we call magic."

IF stiffened and her face reddened with a gulp.

"What?"

"W – Well…" she muttered before the train rattled with an explosion.

"What was that?"

"Noidealet'sgocheckitoutnow!" IF sputtered quickly.

"You guys stay here. Milla, keep them safe," Jude urged before heading to the next car.

"Now where…?" he muttered as he walked around the train car, hearing more rumbles and explosions nearby. He rushed to the sound, opened the next door, only to be greeted by the severed head of a humanoid machine flying past him. "Well… that can't be good." Turning his attention forward, he saw a flatbed car where numerous machines were fighting. Looking into the rabble, he saw two figures at the center, trashing all of the robots.

The first was a man with red hair and two short horns, clad all in black with an ornate white mask.

The second was a young woman with long, flowing black hair, a tight-fitting black and white uniform, wielding a short sword that could shift into a pistol form with a long tether attached to the sheath, who also wore an ornate white mask with red markings, though her most striking feature were the two, feline ears atop her head.

"What… the heck is going on…?" Jude muttered in disbelief, though this seemed enough for the two masked attackers to hear him, their attention instantly snapping towards him. "Uh… hey?"

The man immediately raised the sheath of his weapon and pulled the trigger, firing shots at Jude.

"Adam, stop! He's obviously not with them!" the girl pleaded.

Adam retaliated, "It doesn't matter, Blake. He's still a human."

Jude frowned as he raised his fists to fight. "I'd ask that you stop fighting, otherwise I'll –" he warned, stopping when a bullet grazed his shoulder.

"That's my answer, you scum."

Jude frowned in frustration. "Well, I suppose a peaceful resolution isn't an option, and I certainly can't let a guy like you have his way. So I hope you understand." Jude kicked off from his position and was, almost in an instant, right at Adam's face.

Blake jumped back slightly in disbelief. 'I – I barely saw him move!?'

Adam barely dodged Jude's strike, turned, and slashed at him, though Jude slammed a powerful blow into Adam's midsection, sending him flying through several robots and embedding into a wall.

"Wh – Whoa…"

The red-haired man snarled before standing and charged at the teen, firing several shots at him.

"Aqua Protection!" Jude shouted, three large orbs of water forming that blocked the shots and scattering water, causing Adam not to notice Jude approach him, and send a kick with two powerful punches at him. "Cerberus Strike!"

Adam coughed blood as he was sent flying into the train's final car, slamming into a container of crystals that went flying through the area.

Jude looked at the red crystals and remembered IF's words. "Sun Spark!" he shouted before a blast of pure light shot forth at the crystals, causing a massive conflagration. Jude gaped in shock as the car, and seemingly Adam, vanished. "Wow… that's not good. I didn't think it'd be that explosive."

Blake's sword then folded into a pistol which she pointed at him.

Jude frowned and raised his hands. "I'd… really like to avoid more fighting if I can. I only fought that guy because he refused not to."

Blake slouched in surprise slightly. "… You're not going to attack me simply because I was with him?"

"Well, you didn't really give me much reason to. You didn't attack me first and you even tried to tell your comrade not to go after me. So why would I have any reason to attack you, beautiful?"

Her ears twitched slightly in thought. "… Blake."

"Jude Mathis."

Blake frowned curiously. "Do you… actually trust me?"

"No. I don't trust you, not yet at least. But I'm willing to give you the chance. But my friends are more important." He then noticed Adam's weapon, a sword where the sheath doubled as a rifle, and picked it up curiously. "So, mind telling me why you and the bullhead were attacking this train?"

Blake's ears flattened in worry. "Can you promise you won't get angry?"

"No, I can't. But I can promise I'll at least let you explain your reasons." He then gently pulled her mask away, exposing her bright amber eyes, with sharp, slitted pupils. "So do tell."

She stiffened slightly as her cheeks tinged but nodded. "The company who owns this train is the Schnee Dust Company. They treat Faunus like garbage. The Faunus they hire work in horrible conditions and are paid little if anything."

Jude's face curled slightly with anger. "I see. Dust is a dangerous resource but a needed one. Though why can't the Faunus just get jobs elsewhere?"

"They get out into absurd contracts, and if they violate them they go to prison. Plus, most people don't trust us."

"That's not right…"

Blake merely shrugged. "Unfortunately, we can't fully blame them. You know, I'm surprised you don't know any of this."

Jude stiffened and then laughed weakly. "I'm… not from around here you could say."

Tilting her head in confusion, she muttered, "I… see? Anyway, I should get going."

He nodded in agreement as he motioned to the nearby enclosed car. "Yeah. It's kinda windy out here. Let's go inside."

"That's not what I mean," she responded quietly.

"… Then what did you mean?"

"That I need to leave. If you're seen with me it could cause you trouble."

"Why? Because of racist bigots? I can hold my own. Besides, I'm more worried about you."

"H – Huh?"

"I've fought a king and a crazed goddess, I'm not overly worried with what could come at me. But if Faunus are treated as badly as everyone says it could be a problem. Oh!"

Blake flinched in surprise before he pulled a strip of cloth from his outfit and looped it up and around her ears, tying it into a bow.

"And… there. Now nobody will know you're a Faunus. And it should be loose enough not to bother your cute ears."

She blinked curiously and then wiggled her ears underneath the bow, causing it to simply look like it was fluttering, and then gave a small smile with a light blush.

Jude watched with concern. "Is something wrong?"

Blake stiffened and shook her head vigorously. "N – Nothing!"

"Okay? Now come on. I want you to meet my friends."

Her ears perked up sharply with surprise. "… Huh?"

As the duo walked back into the train car, Neptune leapt up with excitement. "New friend!"

"New girl!" Nora cheered.

Blake winced slightly and stepped behind Jude somewhat.

He frowned and scolded the two. "Hey, come on, don't scare her. She nearly got killed by some out of control robots."

Blake looked at him in surprise.

"I suppose that's what all that noise was?" Milla asked.

"Yeah. The crazy things ended up shooting a crate full of Fire Dust too."

IF narrowed her eyes. "Wow. Wonder what set them off."

Jude just shrugged. "No idea. Maybe faulty wiring? Those things didn't seem all that competent."

IF's eyes narrowed further but she sighed and shrugged in reply. "Maybe. Well, it is Atlas tech, so that's not overly shocking. The first few runs of everything they make tend to be somewhat janky. You can thank Avenir for that. A company based in Vacuo. They used to operate out of Atlas, but were run out of the country after a few tanks they made went haywire. But they've been so successful in Vacuo that they buy up all the good mechanical talent, meaning Atlas has to just wing it."

Jude frowned incredulously.

"They're extremely secretive though, so I don't know much more about them."

"Guess we'll find out more in Vacuo."

Neptune pointed to Adam's sword and asked, "So… where'd you get the cool sword rifle?"

"… Found it in a box."

IF's brow flattened in disbelief. "You just… found it?"

"Yes. Why?"

"It's cool," Nora commented.

"Mind if I see it?" Milla asked, stretching out her hand.

He handed it to her with a smile. "Not at all."

"Hm… weighted well, nice and sharp. Would you mind if I kept this for a time?"

"Go ahead."

"Good."

Sometime later, after night had fallen and the others were asleep, Blake walked up to Jude and sat beside him. "Why did you lie for me?"

"Simple. So you can make friends with the others more easily."

Blake furrowed her brow with suspicion. "I… see… Why do you care so much?"

"Because you're not a bad person."

Her expression fell solemnly. "I… wouldn't be so sure of that."

"And why is that?"

"I've done… things. Bad things. Horrible things."

Jude sighed and folded his arms as he sat in consideration. "Did you intend to hurt people?"

"Huh? Well… no."

"When you did, did you enjoy it?"

"Of course not," she answered bluntly.

"Was your goal just to cause havoc, or were you trying to make things better?"

"Improve things. I'd never hurt someone just to hurt someone."

Jude nodded firmly with a smile. "Then you're not a bad person. So stop thinking thoughts that make you lonely."

Blake looked at him in silent surprise for several moments.

Jude frowned in confusion. "What?"

"N – Nothing!" she sputtered before turning away.

"Okay…?"

The group soon disembarked the train into a station within the capital of Vacuo, Lastation.

Jude looked around in thought, the very dark, mechanical, and robotic view of the city felt very familiar. "This is Lastation?"

"Yep," Compa answered with a smile. "… I think."

"I think it may be," Presa added.

"Ah… It's a lot like Elympios."

"Where?" IF asked.

"A city where I'm from that's a lot like this. Lots of metal and wires."

"I see…"

"Where to now?" Presa asked.

IF suggested, "I suppose we could try the Basilicom first."

"Okay!" Neptune cheered energetically. "Wonder if the CPU is all Steampunky like her city."

Blake sighed and turned to Jude. "… Is she always like this?"

"So it seems," he answered uncommittedly with a shrug.

"Nora's just as bad," IF added.

"Lovely…" Blake groaned, her bow drooping with annoyance.

Jude patted her shoulder gently. "Hey, it's okay. I'll do my best to keep you in line."

IF then added, "We should go ahead and check the goddess' blog."

Jude raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Blog? What's that?"

Blake gaped in disbelief. "… Seriously?"

"He's not from around here," Compa repeated.

"Yeah, I know, but seriously. Don't you have a Scroll?"

"My dad has a few of his recipes written on some scrolls, but I don't know about anything written on them called a blog," Jude answered.

Blake slapped a hand on her face in exasperation. "Not that kind of Scroll, this," she grumbled, pulling hers from her pocket.

"You mean that same piece of magitechnology IF has?"

"Magiwhat?"

IF sighed and pulled one of the many Scrolls from her belt and opened a page on it. "This. It's sort of a forum where Black Heart posts things about her life or whatever she feels like to keep her worshippers updated or entertained."

Milla looked over it in thought. "Hm… I will have to remember this."

Jude just stood silently until she handed him the phone, the image loaded on it showing "Black Heart's Blog" in bold, black letters at the top. He read through it curiously for several moments. "Well her personality seems agreeable enough. So, she is most likely reasonable. Which is good."

"This place sure is different from Planeptune," Neptune commented as she looked around.

"Of course," IF replied simply. "Each nation is distinctly different from the others. For example, Vale is full of forests, and Atlas is covered in snow."

Jude gulped slightly. "I hope Lowee's leader isn't like Kanbalar's."

Nora frowned in bewilderment. "Kanbanana?"

"Kanbalar. A city where I'm from. Its leader is… different."

The group soon approached a building much like Planeptune's Basilicom, however Lastation's had far more muted colors with a narrowed coloration of greys and browns.

"This is Lastation's Basilicom?" Presa asked, slightly disturbed. "It looks… uninviting…"

IF nodded in response. "Yes. Let's head inside."

Upon entering, Neptune immediately shouted, "'Scuse me! I'm here to see Lady Black Heart, is she around?!"

Another priest, dressed similarly to the first but with black accents on his robes, walked towards the group, grumbling in annoyance. "What do you want brat? This isn't a playground, scram." He then pointed to Presa with a grimace. "And get that animal out of here, we don't allow pets inside the Basilicom."

Jude growled at the man as IF narrowed her eyes.

Neptune pouted in annoyance. "Hey! What's your deal buster?"

"We really need to meet the CPU," Compa explained. "We're trying to get Nep-Nep's memory back."

Neptune immediately perked up. "Ooh, I know! This must be an event flag where I just need to name myself! I'm Neptune, and these are Compa, Judie, Iffy, Milly, and these are –"

"Stop rambling!" the man snarled. "I don't care who or what you are. Now get out of here!"

"How rude," Milla huffed as she folded her arms. "You call yourself a priest yet deny those that seek the wisdom of the one you serve. Most suspicious."

IF put a hand on her waist with a frown. "They say the clothes make the man, but I guess your CPU isn't all that great."

The priest huffed in derision. "Say what you want. I could care less what that Black Heart is called."

"Okay, that's it," Jude interjected, annoyed.

"Huh?" Neptune mumbled curiously.

"We're leaving. This guy isn't trustworthy if he doesn't even care about the CPU he serves."

IF nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we're not going to get anywhere."

"Good, now leave and take that mutt with yo –" the Priest began to snarl before Jude suddenly lashed out with a punch, sending the man slamming into a wall.

IF gaped in disbelief. "… I think it's time we leave."

Outside, IF proceeded shouting at Jude. "What were you thinking!?"

"That jerk kept talking to Presa like she's some animal! He's lucky I didn't do worse!"

"He's a racist! They're everywhere. Besides, we'll probably be getting attention from the authorities now."

Blake ignored their conversation as she hummed in thought.

"Something wrong Blakey?" Neptune questioned.

"Somethings not right. From what I heard of Vacuo, racism is the lowest in all the nations by a large margin due to the Goddess Black Heart's policies."

IF nodded in agreement. "That's what I'd heard too, but at the same time, news out of Vacuo became a drip feed a couple years ago. Now unless the White Fang blow something up nobody knows what's going on here."

Jude's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Meaning Black Heart is losing control of her nation."

And there you have it, the first chapter of Tales of Neptunia: Redux. Hopefully everyone enjoyed it, so be sure to let me know with a review. If you were confused, unsure, or have questions about anything, let me know and I will do what I can to address them. However, if your queries involve future story events or anything spoiler related, you will have better luck with a PM. Until then, bye-bye!