"Well," he said. "It's a nice sunny day. Bits of clouds. Almost welcoming." He turned his head side to side, taking note of the trees surrounding both sides of the dirt pathway he stood on. "Something I reckon from this place." Hot air blew from his nose. "Oh boy…"

Norton Bautista held his scanner with an outstretched arm. The device whined and bleeped with curiosity to its new environment. It's artificial tunes sung along with the jovial high pitched chirps of the birds nearby, amidst the soft breeze coolly blowing, and the rustling of trees with their fine dark green leaves.

An electronic DING! went off from the scanner. Putting the device closer to his face to block out some of the sunlight, he watched the little monochrome screen draw out elaborate pixelated diagrams, then pulling strings of numbers that were placed in different categories. Atmospheric pressure, gravity, how many different types of subatomic articles were detected. Everything scrolled down like a computer's command prompt. A message sat at the bottom of the screen. FINALIZING flashed second by second. Then….

MATCH

"Ugh…" He shoved the little tool back in his pocket. "Damn it," he muttered with clenched teeth.

The sound of footsteps came to his left side. A taller, lanky young man wearing the same black uniform and brown straps, and a large Kevlar backpack slung over his shoulder approached him. It was Lee.

He took a deep breathe in through his nose. "Hah, fresh air. Finally!" He unslung the bag and pulled out a little remote. Behind him was a grey, car-sized cylinder that stood on its base. With a push of a button, the cylinder's garage-like door clamped shut. Bright light shone through the cracks and crevices under the capsule. Then, within seconds, the cylinder dropped through the ground, leaving a bright and colorful portal, which closed in on itself. A circular pattern remained on the dry soil, which Lee wiped off with his boot. He looked to Norton. "It was getting pretty stuffy in there. Almost like a coffin."

"I'd rather be in there than here," replied Norton. "Or back at base."

Lee picked up his and a second bag. He gave it to Norton. "So, this is the Neptunia universe?"

"Yup. The scanner matched the data the scouts got." He reached in his bag and pulled out a tablet. "This is the place," he repeated silently. Norton shook his head. A reality were the major gaming industries existed in their own world. Consoles and companies were humanized and had different personalities. They had their own cities, their own cultures. Their own lives. It was a place some would consider a gamer's paradise.

Even Norton thought so. But he knew better. He knew why, of all people, of all other field agents, why he and Lee were chosen to go.

The tablet's screen glowed a dark blue. Immediately, it started collecting its data from the scanner, and making its own calculations. Then, a little message popped up.

SIGNAL FOUND

"There it is," said Lee. "The downed space ship."

"And, hopefully, the artifact inside," added Norton. He unzipped his bag and pulled out an electronic compass. He connected it to the tablet. Among the four arrows that pointed the four main directions, a fifth arrow blinked, pointing north. He looked up. Farther away was a large city with a very tall tower in the middle, surrounded by many smaller buildings. "It seems to be beyond that city over there. "Norton pointed.

"Should be a piece of cake," said Lee. He looked at Norton again. He still had his hard, weary eyes and perpetual frown. "Norton?"

Norton just stared at the city. "We're laying low on this, am I right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Expect that to change." Norton walked back to his bag.

"What do you mean?"

"A lot happens in this world. This place may see cheery at first, but trust me, there are threats here I would like to avoid."

"That's why I signed up with you. You know your stuff."

"If that's the case, then we're both screwed."

Lee rolled his eyes. "I have one question. Do you know anything about these 'goddesses' here? I remember the commander telling us about them during the debriefing."

"Yes, I have an idea of who they are. And I would like to stay away from them, too." Norton dropped the tablet in his bag. "I've dealt with people like them before, and I'm getting sick of it. I'm not in the mood for this crap."

As Norton bent down to zip up his bag, several bushes behind him rustled. Lee turned. Suddenly, a large creature hopped out.

"Um, Norton? Would that be a threat?"

The creature was a big blue blob that resembled a fat droplet with two black beady eyes, a pair of small dog ears, and a simplified version of a puppy's mouth and nose. It had a bushy tail wagging behind it. The thing smiled at them with it's tongue sticking out.

Norton returned the look with a scowl. "That," he said while pulling something out from his bag, "is something you don't want to go near. So…" he pulled out a black ceramic gauntlet. "We either stay away from it, or…" he fitted the gauntlet over his right hand, "we kill it." From the top of the wrist, a cowling popped out. In front of the apparatus were two holes – bores from a blaster. With a firm stance, he pointed the wrist blaster at the blob, with guns at full power.

The blob stared at them for a while. Finally, it swayed its fat body and hopped back behind the tree line. Norton turned to Lee.

"But as you said, we lay low," Norton said. The cowling sunk back into the wrist. "Its funny how cute things are deadly here, too." He held up the electronic compass. "Come on, the signal's this way."

Little did they know, a girl with long purple hair and a white coat was watching them from behind a tree…