Chapter 3 – The Western Continent
The day of departure for the Leanbox Expeditionary Forces has finally arrived. And after concocting several plans and strategies of their assault, Vert can finally say that her forces are ready to take the battle outside of Leanbox, prepared to fight the new threat that is ASIC.
But before they leave, however, as Vert promised she inaugurated Chika Hakozaki into her Oracle, her somewhat vice leader for Leanbox. She will be put in charge of looking after the nation while Vert is absent.
"I will promise to you, Lady Vert, that I, your Oracle, will humbly look after this great nation of ours without fail!" Chika told Vert in delight while holding her hands tightly and raised. "And if I ever do fail or if I ever show any forms of neglect on our beloved nation, I will accept any punishment or judgement that you will give to me."
"Ahahaha… I am confident with your capabilities, Chika dear." Vert said. "Just do your best in looking after Leanbox while me and your older sister venture to the western continent to deal with the enemies of this peaceful world of ours."
"I promise, Lady Vert." replied Chika with full enthusiasm. "I PROMISE WITH ALL MY HEART!~"
Chika then made a jump for Vert to hug her, only to be stopped in mid-air by her sister, Vio.
"Okay, that's enough from you, fangirl." Muttered Vio while still restraining a struggling Chika.
After the inauguration, Vert, Vio and Chika left for the harbor. It is from there that they will begin their voyage towards the western continent. The harbor was filled to the brim with Leanbox soldiers ready to board various carrier ships and planes. But the most noticeable ship was the humongous SS XBC13 Elite aircraft carrier, a ship created by the tyrant king but was never used until Ben Gheytz took over the nation. It was fortunate enough that it only received minor damages from the war between Leanbox and the Legion.
"Good thing they were able to fix this thing, huh." Said Vio.
"Indeed." Replied Vert. "We shall station the XBC13 for about 10 miles away from the coast of our landing point. It will act as our portable airport and main command center."
"Lady Vert." addresses a smiling woman who approached Vert. This girl has short blond hair and wears a yellow tube top and a yellow collar with a red gem in the center, along with a big loose white lab coat. She also has on a yellow skirt with white ruffles underneath and a gold and green belt, yellow above-the-knee boots and cream colored bows above the toe. "Our Mobile Infirmary vehicles have been boarded inside the XBC13 now. Do you have anything else for us to do, my lady?"
"No more for now, Nurse Compile. You did an excellent job." Said Vert. "You may board on the XBC13 now if you wish."
"And I will do so, my lady. Now, I will excuse myself." Said Compile with a bow towards Vert before leaving to board the ship.
And almost an hour later, Vert has received words from Chika that all forces are ready for departure.
"Very good work, Chika." Acknowledged Vert. "Well, I leave Leanbox on your command for now. We will be leaving now."
"I can never be as good as a commander-in-charge as you do, Lady Vert…." said a teary-eyed Chika. But somehow, Vio sees this reaction of her sister as… overacting, making her just sigh on her spot. "But I will…*sniff*…try my best."
"Well, take care of yourself and this nation, lil' sis." Vio said to Chika with a smile.
"And so, goodbye for now, Chika." And after Vert said this, she gave Chika a firm hug before heading towards the flagship. And as Vio followed suit, she looked back to Chika for a second and swore to herself that she saw her sister almost melt on the spot after getting a warm and firm hug from Vert.
However, before they could even board the ship…
"Wow. That is one huge ship you got there, Vert."
"Well… the guards did let us in so… good day to you, Lady Vert."
When Vert and Vio turned around to look, they saw Harley and Bahus, the two Fencers that they just met yesterday.
"My goodness, Harley and Bahus. What brings you two here?" Said Vert.
"Heh. You must have charmed the guard to let you two in, huh." Said Vio with a sarcastic tone.
"What? No. I just asked kindly and the guard allowed us in."
"We apologize for delaying you, Lady Vert. But Harley here has a request."
"And what would that be, my dear?" asked Vert to Harley.
"We would like to come with you." Said Harley with no hesitation. "Me and Bahus here would like to venture the western continent as well. Who knows, there could be a lot Furies there than I can imagine."
"If you ask me, you're the only one who wants to travel there. But it would be bad if I just let you go there by yourself." Whispered Bahus to himself.
"I'm afraid that I can't grant your request, Harley." Replied Vert. "For as you can see, we will be doing battle against enemy forces when we get there. It is too risky for civilians such as you two to come along with us."
"And besides," interjected Vio. "i bet you haven't even ventured the entirety of Leanbox to search for those Furies. Why not complete that first before heading elsewhere?"
"Come on." Said an optimistic Harley. "Leanbox is my home, anyway. I can just complete my search here once I've come back. And besides, if my further analysis of the goddesses war is accurate…" she then procured a notebook from one of her unseen pockets. "…most of the Furies might have landed on those three clumped landmasses."
"I understand what you desire to do, Harley, but I just really can't risk any Leanbox citizen on this. I can only just ask you to wait until the enemies there are eliminated or expelled before you venture there."
"But this cannot wait any longer." Said a dissapointed Harley.
"Then can you consider us as volunteer recruits, Lady Vert?" asked Bahus.
"Bahus…"
"Hmm… I really do not want to involve non-military personnel on this fight." Replied Vert.
"We can be of extra hand to you guys." Insisted Harley. "Bahus here is even a former soldier under Gheytz takeover of this land. And I'm pretty much a good shooter using my trusty handguns. And I always remain as vigilant as possible."
"I dunno, Vert." doubted Vio. "We will be held responsible for this if something happens with them while we're there at the western continent."
"But just like Bahus said, we can be volunteer soldiers. With that, you cannot be held responsible with us because we chose to fight alongside you, right?"
"Hmm…" Vert gave it some deep thought. "Very well then."
"Vert?!" Vio then looked at Chika, hoping to help her convince Vert against the idea. However, Chika was still facing away from them, still obviously entranced from Vert's hug.
"You can come along with us under the condition that you two, being volunteers, will fight alongside us against the enemies while you search for those Furies. And that whatever I say, you two follow. Do I make my conditions clear to both of you?" said Vert.
"Yeah. Loud and clear, my liege. Hehehe…" Said Harley excitedly.
"Yes, Lady Vert." responded Bahus. "I will make sure that Harley here will be kept on check while in dangerous lands."
"Oh come on, Bahus. I'm not that reckless, am I?"
And so without anymore ado, the Leanbox Forces set off towards the western continent, with Chika not knowing that there were two extra passengers who boarded the XBC13 Elite.
Inside the flagship, the two Fencers were lead to their cabins by Vio while Vert proceeded to go to her own customized room. It will take them more than hour to get near the coast of their landing point. And while the XBC13 cruise along the vast sea, Vert can't help but take a nap first.
"*sigh*….I'd really like to play a game right now to ease my mind a bit, but I guess a rest would do me better than that." Vert told herself. And with that, she laid down on her bed, and almost instantly she dozed off.
And as she dozed off, she could here something.
"My child…."
"Mmm… please let me rest for a bit…wake me up when we're there…" said Vert groggily.
"I need to talk to you, my child…."
Vert then realized that the person talking to her was a woman's voice.
"Mhm…what…" murmured Vert. And when she opened her eyes, Vert saw that she wasn't in her room anymore. But instead, she's in a very dark place voided with any light. And she realized that she was standing up now. And what confused her more was that she was glowing, like she's emitting her own light source for her to see herself within the darkness.
"I am glad that you've heard my voice, my dear patron…"
But even before Vert could ask who was there, a strange bright, white, spirit-like silhouette of a woman transfigured just a few feet away from her.
"You… called me your patron. That means you're…" and when Vert realize who she was talking to, she immediately kneeled in front of the apparition. "… Goddess Celestia!"
"Indeed, my child." Replied the apparition. "I have visited you in your dreams to give you a message."
"But how are you speaking to me now, my lady?" questioned Vert. "Are you not sealed away?"
"I am indeed sealed away, I'm afraid. But I talk to you now due to the fact that I've transferred some of my thoughts into your memory core before it befalls into your rightful hands. So my time to relay you my message is only short, so listen well my child."
"Very well. I shall hear your message, my lady."
"My child, as I speak to you today, a part of me still continues to fall into the lands. A memory core shall appear once more." Said Celestia's apparition.
"What? Then that means a new CPU shall be born." Replied Vert. "But what shall I do if it appears?"
"Due to my concealment, I have no control whatsoever with the events that will transpire if the memory core falls into human hands. It is up to you, my patron, to make sure that those who receive a part of me does not sway away from my intentions of an evil-free world."
"And how shall I know if it appears?" Vert inquired further.
"You shall feel its presence, my child, depending on who shall receive it. If a person is younger-" Suddenly, the apparition's voice gets somehow distorted, making Vert hard to understand.
"M-my lady? I cannot understand what you are saying?"
"….power…..shall…released only…age…. " And as the voice continue to get distorted further, Vert notices that the apparition is fading away.
"Wait…" said Vert.
"…..good luck…."
"WAIT! My lady!" yelled Vert.
*BOOM!*
"*Gasp!*"
An explosion woke Vert up. And when she opened her eyes, she saw that she's back in her room now lying in the bed like earlier. However, it seemed that the ship is somewhat swaying a bit.
"Oh good, you're awake now." Said a woman on Vert's room door. When Vert looked up, she saw that it was Vio. "The XBC13 is getting close to your chosen location of 10 miles away from our landing point."
"Alright. But what was that explosion?"
"Explosion? More like its thunder, Vert. It seems we've come across a thunderstorm."
And when Vert looked up on her window, it is indeed a raging storm complete with loud thunder claps.
"Woohoo. Who knew the western continent will be having quite a storm now, huh. It would be difficult to find any Furies on this situation. Heck, like that can stop me, anyway." Said Harley who appeared behind Vio. "So, anyone of you have any motion sickness medicine? The big guy doesn't seem to appreciate all this swaying motion. Hehe…"
"You can ask Compile about that. Her infirmary is just below this deck." Replied Vio.
"Thanks for the info." And by then Harley left for the infirmary.
Then, the ship's intercom gave out a message to all those aboard the XBC13.
"Attention. The XBC13 Elite has now reached the designated point of 10 miles across the shore of the southern part of the western continent. Awaiting further commands. I repeat…."
"So Vert, we're here." Said Vio.
"And we proceed as planned." Replied Vert.
And with that, they proceeded to the ship's control tower. There, they will find out the situation in the western continent.
"So, any signs of enemy movement within our landing point?" addressed Vert to the whole staff of the ship.
"Lady Vert, enemy forces are stationed at the beachside where our landing point is designated." Replied one of the staff.
"So they were expecting us, huh." Muttered Vio.
"I was expecting them to be, anyway." Said Vert. "And with that, I shall proceed with my plan."
"Are you sure about that?" said Vio in a worried tone. "What if the leader… or four leaders, are waiting for you there as well?"
"Well I do have you guys as my backup. And besides, I'm just gonna create an opening for us to deploy our forces there. I would hate it if we just bombard them aimlessly. Civilians might get caught in the crossfire."
"Hmm…. Well alright then." Sighed Vio. "We'll follow you then when you give the signal."
"I will." Vert assured her friend.
After clarifying her plan to the entire crew, Vert went down to the ship's flight deck. She was getting soaked from the rain but she didn't seem to care.
"Here I go. ACCESS!" And at the chant of this word, Vert transformed herself. After the transformation, everyone who saw it awed Vert's CPU form, in which she is called Green Heart.
As Green Heart, Vert's light blond curled hair is now longer and straight worn in a ponytail, now colored sea-foam green. Her eyes remain their shape and is now light purple in color. She wears something that resembles a black piece bathing suit with her arms fully covered, as are her legs. Her entire front is exposed, except for her lower region, and the exact center of her breast. Around each wrist is a glowing green ring segment, while at her neck, hips, feet, and on top of the glove is a glowing green circle.
"I'm off." Green Heart told Vio and her crew via the earpiece communicator attached to her right ear.
"Okay, be careful out there. We'll be ready when you give your signal." Replied Vio.
And with that, Green Heart ascended into the air and without warning, flies away towards the continent in high speed.
In just a few minutes, Green Heart can finally see the shoreline where her forces will be landing in. And as reports say, it is filled with enemy soldiers ready to repel them, all armed with automatic rifles and assault robots.
"Robots, eh. Hmph. We'll see about that." Green Heart said to herself.
And as she got closer, the enemy started shooting at her.
"Hmhmhm. You're efforts are futile." Muttered Green Heart. With that said, she accelerated even more towards the enemy forces.
"FIRE AT WILL ON THE CPU, MEN!" ordered the enemy grunt leader.
But before they could even attack her, Green Heart landed in the middle of the enemy troops with quite an impact that it sent some enemies near the perimeter flying away. However, those unaffected fired their rifles at Green Heart, only to be all deflected away by her by twirling her spear in rapid speed.
"Useless attacks. And now, my turn." Green heart readied herself, then… "SIKKIM BIND!"
At the chant of this skill, Green heart produced a whirlwind that threw away all enemies that got in its path. But it wasn't enough to deal any damage to the enemy robots.
"Hehe… I'm not done yet, though." Green Heart then procured a green-colored magic circle beside her, its center aimed at the row of robots who are firing their arsenal at her to no avail due to a certain magical field Green Heart just surrounded to herself. "And now… SYLHET SPEAR ONE!"
A giant spear fired out of Green Heart's magic circle and made its way towards the remaining enemies. The bigger machines got impaled while the others around got ran over by the spear before it disappeared. However, as strong as her attacks may be, some enemies still remain standing. But they don't intimidate Vert.
"Hehe… come at me. All of you." Green Heart said with full confidence.
Meanwhile, back at the XBC13 ship…
"Hmm… it's been half an hour now since Vert left." Vio wondered to herself. She was joined by Harley in the ship's control tower.
"She's a CPU. What else could go wrong with her." Replied Harley with confidence. "As for me, I can't wait to step foot on that continent and explore it for some Furies. Hehe…"
And then…
"Vio. This is Vert. The landing zone is all clear from enemy defenses. You may now send in the troops."
"Understood." Replied Vio. "Alright, action stations everyone! We're heading over there!"
As Vio finished her statement, she proceeded to go out of the control tower, until Harley cut her in.
"I heard that you have quite a chopper on board here. Can we join you there on your ride?"
Vio just stared at Harley for a moment before giving out a sigh and reply. "Fine. Whatever…"
Back at the shoreline, Vert patiently wait in the rain for her troops to arrive. She chose not to revert back to her normal form in case she gets attacked there. Although, she can't help get insecured due to the fact that the western continent locals were staring at her presence there. She only assumed that her presence as a CPU entrances them.
But then, she felt something that made her look behind her quickly in alarm.
"That presence…" Green Heart closed her eyes so that she can concentrate more on feeling the unknown presence.
And the she finally realized it. The presence gives off the same aura as hers or that of Celestia's.
"It must be what Celestia has told me."
So she flies away towards the place. However, she hasn't even gotten near the place yet that the presence suddenly disappeared. And this confused Vert as she stopped in mid air, trying to feel the presence once more. But alas, it really disappeared without a trace. Still, Vert searched for the area for any signs that a memory core has appeared.
But as she search for it, a lot of questions come to Green Heart's mind on why the presence of the memory core suddenly disappeared.
Did it befall on enemy hands?
Or is the new CPU already got intercepted by the enemy and got killed?
But is the enemy even capable of killing a CPU? That is what Green Heart is unsure of yet.
And as she fly by over a tree-less open field, she heard a muffled cry of a child down below.
And when Green Heart looked down, the scene horrified her.
What she saw lying face down on the dirt road was a young woman wearing ragged clothing, and beside her was a little girl with a short, light purple hair who's also wearing ragged clothing. The little girl was crying out loud while tugging on the back of the woman like she's waking her up. But what terrified Vert was the presence of another person just a few feet away from the other two.
A woman wearing a revealing attire that exposes most her light lilac skin color. A woman with pink colored hair, worn in pigtails with long bangs and spiked wings on her back. A woman who wields a scythe. And she's ready to strike… on the oblivious toddler.
But Green Heart cannot allow it to happen. So before the unknown entity could even strike, Vert called her attention.
"Leave that innocent child alone!" Green Heart then landed in between the two person behind her and the ominous woman in front of her. She can now clearly hear the cries of the toddler. "Are you a member of ASIC?"
But the ominous woman only replied a smirk to Green Heart.
"Tch… Just who are you?! And did you assaulted these innocent people?! Answer me!"
"So…you're the CPU who slaughtered our dearest leader. It is quite the pleasure to finally meet you in person." Said the ominous woman calmly.
And when Green Heart met her eyes, she was taken aback from what she felt from the stare.
It reminded Vert of the eyes of the person she just fought against. The eyes of the person she just killed to stop the spreading madness in Leanbox.
"Y-you're…"
"Ehehe… what is wrong? Do I remind you of someone?" teased by the ominous woman.
"Ghh….!" With gritted teeth, Green Heart materialized her green magic circle and aimed it at the ominous woman.
"Hehehe. I would love to do battle against you. However," the ominous woman backed away slowly and started ascending. "I have other pressing matters to deal with before you. And besides, " she then glanced at the two people behind Vert. "I might be wrong. But, we'll meet again soon, Celestia's Patron. Ehehe." And then she flew away.
Green Heart wanted to follow the unknown woman, however…
"Mama….!"
The sudden outcry of the little girl got Vert's attention. And the instant that Vert looked, it completely broke her heart.
The woman lying down was all bloodied due to a slash injury on her body. And it seemed to be a fatal one. And as for the crying girl, who seemed no older than two years old, she looks like free from any injury. But what saddens Vert is that the purple-haired toddler seemed oblivious of the fact that her mother is no more, and yet she keeps on shaking the back of the young woman, while holding a piece of half-eaten bread on one hand, hoping that her mother wakes up.
Unable to contain her emotions, Vert proceeded to go near the little girl and picked her up. However, this only made the girl cry even more.
"Wwaaaaahhhhhhhh! Mamaa…mama!" cried the little girl.
"I'm sorry, little one." Muttered Green Heart to the little girl, unable to contain her tears from dropping. "If only I've gotten here sooner."
Green Heart then hugged the crying girl tightly and kissed the back of her little head. "But don't worry, little one. I won't hurt you…. You're safe now. I'll take care of you…."
"Wwaaaaaahhhh!"
With one loud cry, the toddler suddenly became limp in Green Heart's arms, dropping the piece of bread that the little girl was holding tight.
"Little one..?!" said Green Heart in a panic.
But then Green Heart felt that the little girl was still breathing.
"Oh goodness… she just passed out." She said as a sigh of relief. "But you're running a fever. Must be from the exposure in this infernal rain."
Green Heart then decided to take the little girl with her to give her treatment. But before she flies away...
"I'm sorry, miss. I cannot take you along with your daughter. But rest assured that she'll be safe under my care." Green Heart said to the fallen woman.
When Green Heart returned to the shoreline, she saw that her troops has established a base there.
"Vert, we did it. We-" greeted Vio. But she cuts off her words when she saw the little girl in Green Heart's arms. "Who's the girl?"
"Please Vio, take her to Compile's mobile infirmary quickly. She needs immediate medical attention." Ordered Green Heart while she gives the unconscious little girl to her friend. "I'll tell you the details later."
"Uh…okay." Replied Vio before rushing towards the mobile infirmary set up by the shores while carrying the little girl.
Vert then proceeded to revert back to her normal form. And as she did that, she can't help but wonder about what has transpired.
Was the ominous woman she met earlier the same one that their drone has seen?
And did she just killed the little girls mother on a whim? What does the ominous woman mean when she said that she may have been wrong about something?
And her presence alone. Why does Vert remind her of the APU?
And as these thoughts linger inside her, she can't also help but feel sorry for the purple-haired toddler.
And as the rain poured on, one thing was certain for Vert and the rest of Leanbox.
It is that Leanbox… will have another tough battle to face once again in the form of the ASIC.
To be continued….