As always:
"Normal Speech"
'Thoughts'
[Written Speech]
"Quiet/ Whispered speech"
"Skills/Spell Callouts"
Now. Onto the show!
Chapter 4: Is it normal to be assaulted by pretty girls in another world?
~~~~{Line Break}~~~~
-[Lucky's Perspective]-
Dark. It was extremely dark. One second I was asking IF and Compa a question and the next everything was a blur of colors, an explosive pain in the side of my head, and then this. I thought for a second I was somehow in the dream world again but I remember that I could breathe there. Here the air was stuffy and becoming more and more difficult to breathe in. I tried recalling what happened to try and figure out why I ended up like this.
'Okay. Rewind. We left the house...'
~~~~{Earlier}~~~~
As we left the house I continued asking IF questions and she answered them in turn, Compa piping in to add her own answers every now and then. She explained to me about The Guild, The Oracles and general information I'd need to know to get by on a day to day basis. Along the way to the guild we stopped by a vending machine by a park so IF could grab some drinks for us.
"Any more questions?" She asked as she handed Compa a drink and another for me. She seemed to be scrutinizing me from behind her can of soda as I held up my own can to look at it.
'Nepbull. Contents may include: An unhealthy amount of sugar, Eggplant Repellent, concentrated pudding extract, high concentrations of high-grade healing potion and artificial flavoring. Sounds like BONK! soda' I put it down next to me on the bench Compa was sitting on before I wrote out a reply.
[For now no. Seems like your getting tired dumping all this info on me] She waved away my concern as she took a sip of her own soda.
"It's fine. Better to teach you now so you don't come back with trouble on your tail later" She said. Then she saw something in the distance and squinted, trying to get a better look at something. She pointed towards a lady with a large pointy witch hat carrying a staff and speaking into a cellphone.
"Hey Compa. Isn't that MAGES.?" Compa stopped humming and turned to look at where she was pointing and her face lit up.
"It is! Miss MAGES.!" She called out and began waving to the lady. She seemed to notice and turned to look at us before sliding her phone into her coat and walking towards us. While IF and Compa are turning to greet her I decide to take a sip of this Nepbull. Honestly? Like a liquefied and overly sweetened version of Compa's pudding. Didn't taste half as bad as any of Scout's soda's. But it did make me choke up and go into a coughing fit the moment I tasted it. IF turned to look at me, looking incredulous and mouthing something along the lines of "What the fu- how?" While Compa walked up to the lady called MAGES.
"MAGES.. With the period." I finished my coughing fit and looked at her with a confused groan. Was she talking to me?
"Yes. Yes I am. I apologize if it seems rude but people seem to always forget that" She sighed exasperatedly and adjusted her hat.
"Apologies. I haven't properly introduced myself. MAGES., The Mad Magician. At your service. I don't believe we've met before?" As she introduced herself another unseen wind blew around us, making her coat flare out around like a cape or cloak. I wrote down my reply on my notebook.
[Nice to meet you Miss MAGES.. I'm Lucky. I'm sorry but it's difficult for me to talk with my mask. So I can only communicate like this] I held it up for her to see and as she read it she narrowed her eyes.
"Would it not be simpler to remove your mask?" I shook my head, nervous again. She shrugged in response.
"Very well. So long as we can communicate I suppose it is fine" She then turned to the two girls with me. IF was still looking confused "How did he drink that? The mask-"
"Compa, IF. It's good to see you too again. It' been quite some time hasn't it?" That seemed to snap IF out of her confusion
"Huh- Oh. Yeah, it has been awhile since we last met MAGES." MAGES. nodded and started searhing through her coat for something.
"I believe this is what you both requested of me last we met?" She held out a container. It was a small glass bottle. The contents were a murky pink fluid of some kind that sloshed about and...had hearts in it? Compa smiled and took it from MAGES. hands.
"Thanks Miss MAGES.! Iffy's really needed one of these. It's the last one she needs right?" IF immediately reached out for it and hid it in her coat.
"Ah- Thanks MAGES.! Maybe the next time we have this transaction we do it somewhere more private!?" IF hunched over with her hand still in her coat, like she was trying to hide the bottle even more. What was it about that bottle? Some kind of noodle incident I'm not aware of?
"Yes. I distinctly remember it involved Dogoos, Slimy tendrils and Eggpla-"
"CAN WE NOT TALK ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW!?" IF's shout attracted attention from some people around us but most seemed to shrug and keep moving. IF blushed even more and coughed into her hand, taking the other out of her jacket and straightening her posture while dusting off some imaginary dust.
'Is she reading my mind or something?'
"Yes. Yes I am"
'Cool'
"Thank you for the compliment" MAGES. said with a tip of her hat.
"ANYWAY... That aside what else brings you back here MAGES.?" IF said, trying to change the topic again.
"Private matters. But all I can say is that Histoire asked a favor of me and asked me to be discreet. I was actually considering visiting you two to drop this off before heading my way" IF raised an eyebrow on the topic of private matters but shook her head.
"Well if its something Histoire asked of you we can't exactly discuss it out here. We were heading to the guild to turn in some quests anyway. See you around?"
"Of course" She turned to look at me and tipped her hat again.
"It was a pleasure meeting you Lucky. I hope we meet again" I tipped my own hat in response and off she went, her coat flaring out behind her as she left. Walking down the streets of Planeptune before disappearing amidst a crowd of people.
"Well... That was a thing... Let's keep going shall we?" With IF's urging we all kept moving. I'd already tossed my can of Nepbul in a nearby garbage bin while the other two drank theirs and likewise disposed of them in some bins we passed by. We continued walking in an awkward silence before I pulled out my notebook and started writing again.
[So... Dogoos?]
~~~~{Present Time}~~~~
All I could remember after that was seeing their faces light up in blushes before hearing someone screaming from above and a painful feeling at the back of my head not unlike getting punched by an Uber'ed Heavy Bot with Crits on him.
In other words it was so painful I couldn't even muster up the strength to shout in pain. I'd be surprised that I'm still alive but I did survive falling from the sky. Speaking of that experience I was once again buried in something for the second time today. It did not make the experience any easier for me. And the air was getting thinner. So it was getting harder to breath. Oh Crap.
-(Third Person Perspective)-
It was a comical sight to see in the streets if Planeptune. A man's body embedded from the chest up inside a concrete wall with a bunch of cute girls around it arguing. Though to the denizens of Planeptune this wasn't anything out of the usual when it came to not only their Goddess but also those she associated with.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I didn't know! I just thought he was doing something indecent!" These were the words constantly repeating themselves out of the mouth of a blue haired girl wearing a muffler, googles and a jumpsuit while IF and Compa struggled to pull out their friend.
"He was just asking a question! Admittedly we weren't expecting it but this is a HUGE overreaction to something like that!" Nisa shrunk at IF's berating. Turning away from her, IF adjusted her hold on Lucky's leg and turned to Compa.
"On three!" She received a nod in return. Both girls adjusted their grips on their respective legs and braced themselves against the floor.
"One! Two... THREE!" They heaved again. And after the Nth try they succeeded in pulling him out, this time without IF being sent flying in the end. Unfortunately due to the way they pulled him out his head proceeded to slam against the floor with a thud and a muffled grunt of pain. They laid his legs down on the ground and crouched by his side. He propped himself up on one elbow and rubbed his head with the other.
"Oooh... Did anyone get the number of that Heavy that just threw a haymaker at me?" Though to the others it was just a bunch of muffled mumbling.
"Lucky? Are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?" She held up 4 fingers in front of Lucky's face.
"4?" Once again they only heard mumbles. IF began snapping her fingers in front of his face.
"Hey! Snap out of it! Compa can you take care of him? I'll see what Nep and the others want" Receiving a nod in return she stood up and walked over to where Neptune, Nepgear and Nisa were standing. Neptune was still praising Nisa for that kick.
"That was awesome Nisa! That kick was beautifully executed if I say so myself!" Neptune put her hands on her hips and nodded in smug approval while Nepgear nervously glanced at where Compa was making Lucky chug down a healing potion.
"Uh- Iffy? Is your friend there gonna be okay?" Nisa seemed to shrink even more into herself at Nepgear's question. IF sighed and rubbed her temples in frustration.
"Considering how he's survived falling out of the sky with barely any scratches I'm pretty confident he will be. Now" She turns to Nisa and gives her a stern look. Nisa chuckles nervously.
"It's good to see you again Nisa but this isn't exactly what I had in mind for our reunion" Again, Nisa chuckled nervously. Scratching the back of her head and looking anywhere but at IF or her innocent victim.
"Ehehe... S-sorry about that. I'm still a little jumpy cause of some troublesome things I dealt with in Lastation"
"More criminal syndicates?" IF asks with a raised eyebrow.
"Preeeetty much. The last few were kidnapping people and they all wore gasmasks to disguise themselves. I thought that guy was a member of them. But looking at his mask it looks like they don't really match so... Sorry again?" IF sighed and looked back to check on him.
"Well it seems like he's doing just fine now. If your gonna apologize to anyone then apologize to him" IF turned to walk back over to the pair while the other three followed behind her. Compa was handing him his notebook and pencil when he looked up at IF.
"Still alive?" He didn't bother writing a response and instead gave her a wobbly thumbs up. Compa smiled up at IF.
"He's just got a little Booboo but he'll be fine. Nothing a healing potion can't fix" She looked back to Lucky and asked him with a tilted head.
"You think you can stand now?" In response he gave her a wobbly nod before he shook his head. After steadying his head with his other hand he gave her a more steady nod and stood up. Finally he got a good look at his assailant.
"Alright. Lucky, some short introductions. This is Nisa, the one who kicked you. And these two are Neptune and Nepgear respectively" IF gestured to the three behind her in order.
"Guys, this is Lucky. Someone Compa and I helped out this morning. He's a bit self-conscious about his mask so he never takes it off and you can't really understand what he's saying unless he's writing it out. Bear with him okay?" IF looked between the the two groups before settling on Nisa with a raised eyebrow. Said girl blushed and looked down before taking a deep breath and puffing her chest out. She walked up to Lucky.
"Ah- Hey there! Uhm... Sorry about hitting you like that... You see I'm a Hero Of Justice!-" Another wind blew in from out of nowhere as she struck a pose, making her long red scarf flutter in the air. "- And I was dealing with this crime group that wore gas masks as disguises and they were kidnapping people and I thought that maybe you were one of them so I... kicked you?" As she continued with her apology her confident stance continued to degrade. While she did that Lucky wrote out his response.
[Ah it's fine. You did it for your friends and to be honest I've had worse hits... maybe. My memories of those are spotty at best. Important thing is that I'm still alive I suppose?] He showed her his notebook, which was surprisingly unscathed from the hit, his subsequent flight and the landing that followed. She read over his response and sighed in relief, looking like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"Whew... Again, I'm really sorry about that! I'm still a little jumpy about things... Does it still hurt?" In response to her question Lucky rapped one hand against the side of his head, visibly wincing but giving her a thumbs up.
"Aaaalright! Now that that little bit of filler is over let's move the storyline along! So Mr. Tall, Red and Masked, what brings you here and how'd you meet with our friends Iffy and Compa there?" Here was when the shorter of the two purple haired sisters interjected, leaning forward with her hands behind her back and a curious look on her face that set off alarm bells in Lucky's head.
[I'm just someone they helped out after ending up in a bit of a bad spot. Now I'm trying to help them out in return] Neptune put a finger on her chin in thought.
"Reeeeaaaally? You're not some edgy teen protag come from above to sweep these poor innocent maiden's off their feet so you can have your wicked way with them!?" Silence was all that met Neptune's short outburst. She looked left and right and shrugged.
"What? I'm just guessing!"
"Sis. That's not a very polite thing to assume of someone" Nepgear said, shaking her head.
"Well who knows! I could've been right and we'd have kicked off a really cheesy Harem Isekai story or something?"
"Nep, you've been reading too much manga. Now why don't we all find some place to sit down and discuss things a little more easily?" IF intervened by stepping in between all of us. Everyone was in agreement. So with Neptune stating her desire for some pudding they all walked off to find somewhere to sit and talk things over.
~~~~{Line Break}~~~~
"So you fell out of the sky?"
A muffle yes and a nod of agreement.
"You got knocked unconscious when you landed headfirst into the ground and buried yourself up to your torso."
Another MMPH and a nod.
"And after Iffy and Compa helped you out your paying them back by offering to do quests with them?" At this he pulled out his notebook and wrote his reply.
[Well. That was more implied than stated but yes. Basically] As he held up his response he took another sip from his drink. A mug of milk tea with a straw in it. While he did this IF continued to stare incredulously at the phenomena before her that everyone continued to ignore.
"Seriously how the fu-"
"So Ge-Ge! What were you and Neptune doing out here anyway? Did Histy finally convince Nep-Nep to go out and do stuff?" Compa asked Nepgear over a cup of her own milk tea. Nepgear sighed in response.
"Histy told us about a situation around Virtua Forest. I'm not sure about the details cause of Sis shaking me silly before Histy could explain but its something to do with dimensions... and stuff... It makes my head spin trying to recall anything. Sorry." Compa wave her hand in a dismissive manner.
"It's fine Ge-Ge. Don't force yourself to if you can't" As Compa finished speaking Neptune finally remembered what they were originally there for while stuffing her face full with her 3rd- wait no- 4th bowl of pudding. She hopped up to stand on her seat.
"OWH! Dat rewmimbs mwe-"
"Sis. Don't speak with your mouth full" At Nepgear's admonishment Neptune chewed in earnest, looking like a determined guinea pig with its cheeks stuffed full of pudding as she did, before swallowing and continuing.
"That reminds me! Compa, Iffy. Do you two want to come with us to Virtua Forest and investigate? We could really use your help!" Iffy, finally snapped out of her ruminations, pulled out one of her phones and flipped it open. She frowned as she turned to address Neptune.
"Sorry Nep. But the we took some quests a couple of days ago and need to turn them in today. The deadlines won't allow us to pass them in any later. Maybe we can catch up with you two afterwards?" Neptune fell back into her seat, dejected. At this point Nisa, who'd been staying quiet since they'd all sat down to eat, spoke up.
"Maybe I can come along instead?" All at once all eyes on the table turned to her.
"T-that is if it isn't that much trouble? I have nothing else to do for the day and was planning on visiting Nep anyway" Neptune perked up and grabbed both of Nisa's hands in hers. Eyes sparkling with relief and
"Thank you Nisa! Thank you! A thousand times thank you!" Nisa smiled determinedly, matching Neptunes's grip with her own.
"I'll be sure not to disappoint you my friend!" IF watched from the side, an eyebrow raised in contemplation. She hummed in thought before voicing her suspicions.
"Hey... Nep?"
"Yeah Iffy?"
"Did your level drop since the last time we went adventuring?"
"...Maaaaybe?" IF sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration.
"Nep. I've told you once. I've told you a hundred times. Histy's probably told you thousands of times. Your a Goddess. And you really shouldn't neglect your duties as one" Neptune raised her hands in surrender, chuckling awkwardly. Nisa merely looked even more motivated now.
"Then that just means I'll simply work harder to assist you my friends! I swear on my honor as a Hero of Justice!" She jumped up in a similar manner to Neptune, standing with one foot on her chair and the other on her table, striking a pose while her scarf fluttered behind her dramatically through some unseen wind. The others simply stared in silence. Nisa simply struck another pose, fist raised in the air.
"This I swear to you my friends! Whatever threat or foe we may face I shall stand before it FEARLESSLY! JUSTICE!" Neptune, motivated by Nisa's short tirade jumped up and raised her fist in the air alongside Nisa with a similar cry of "JUSTICE!" before both of them began laughing boisterously. While that happened Nepgear sighed in frustration and turned to IF.
"Iffy. I think we can handle this now that we have Nisa with us so you, Compa and Lucky can go and finish your business at the guild. But we'd really appreciate it if you could come with us" What went unspoken is that Nepgear would also appreciate having another sane person in the group. IF nodded.
"We'll try if we can but I can't make any promises. Something might come up at the guild and you know my duties after all" Nepgear sighed again, in resignation this time.
"Well it's something I suppose... Well We'll be seeing you I guess. Sis? Nisa? Let's go... Um... Guys? Hello?"
While Nepgear tried to convince the two to stop laughing IF and company bade them goodbye, not needing to pay as the Restaurant had given them an incredibly generous discount on account of having their Goddess eat there.
~~~~{Line Break}~~~~
After a short walk the trio found themselves standing before a building of similar design to others in Planeptune. Futuristic in design with glass windows stretching from floor to ceiling. The front doors made of glass and opening automatically with each passerby. IF lead them as they entered the building and walked towards one of the open kiosks. Lucky, in the meanwhile, ogled everything he possibly could. This was nothing he'd ever seen before, having been somewhere nowhere near as advanced as Planeptune was. In the midst of that he noticed he got separated from the others and hurriedly made his way to them, standing behind IF and looking over her shoulder at the holographic display she tapped away at.
"Alright. Just drop the required items here..." She put her hand behind her and in a purple flash of pixels a small pouch appeared in her hands, much to the astonishment of Lucky. Sensing his confusion IF tilted her head back to glance at him as she dropped the pouch into an opening on the side of the kiosk.
"Later. Aaaaand There. Quest Complete!" A part of the kiosk opened up and a plate slid out, her reward quickly appearing in another purple flash of pixels. What seemed to be a bottle of Nepbull and some other bottles labeled with Red Crosses as well as a stack of small golden coins. IF pulled something from behind her, a disc set in another strange device, and held it above the items. In another flash of pixels they disappeared and seemed to be sucked into the device. IF put it away and stepped aside to let Compa turn in her own quests.
"I'm guessing your curious about that so I'll sum it up as best as I can. We use these disks-" She held up her device, a disk, for Lucky to see.
"-to store our things. Theres a hard limit to how much and exactly what we can store in them but their pretty convenient. Credits, equipment, materials, personal belongings. Things like that" She pocketed her disc while Lucky nodded. Compa walked over after completing her own quests and retrieving the rewards. Just as she did though one of IF's many cellphones rang. She flipped the cover off and slipped the phone out to flip it open in one smooth motion, reading over whatever message she'd just received. Her eyebrows furrowed before she flipped it closed, slipped it back into its case and snapped it shut in another singular motion before turning to Compa.
"Sorry Compa. An urgent mission just popped up and they need me to be there. You think you two can handle catching up with Nep yourselves?" Compa looked saddened but nodded. Then she stopped and put a finger to her chin in thought.
"Actually. Why don't you and Lucky go and handle that urgent mission?" IF wasn't the only one to do a double take at Compa's suggestion. Lucky hurriedly wrote out his own response.
"Compa. Are you sure? For one. Are you sure your gonna be fine on your own? Second. This isn't exactly a simple dogoo extermination mission. It's got to do with that border city between Planeptune and Lastation. You know? The one with the near constant zombie outbreaks?" Lucky by this point had erased or scratched out several responses during IF's reply and showed his final reply.
[Yeah! I mean I know I said I'd be willing to do anything to make it up to you guys and I'm more than willing to fight some monsters but I've got nothing to fight them with. And if I do go with IF are you sure you'll be fine on your own?] Compa waved them both off.
"I'll be fine you guys. It's not like it's so far away I'd need some kind of dedicated escort. And Lucky could use the experience! Not like he'd have much to worry about with you there to watch over him Iffy!" IF flushed at the praise and scratched her cheek, still looking apprehensive.
"Well... I suppose if I look after him... Lucky. Have you ever been in a fight? If we're doing this I don't want to have to lug your butt around like an escort mission"
[I've been in my fair share of fights. I used to be a mercenary after all] IF nodded as she read the last part.
"Good. That makes this easier. Now we just need to get you some equipment. And I know just the place" She turned to Compa but she was cut off before she could say anything.
"I told you two already I'll be fine! Now I'm gonna go off an catch up to Nep-Nep now. Bye!" She walked away, waving at the two as she did. This left the two to stand in awkward silence by the quest kiosks. IF broke it with a cough to clear her throat.
"So... Let's go get you some equipment"
~~~~{Line Break}~~~~
AN: FINALLY. Christ this took way too long. Been almost a month since I started this and I ain't abandoning this... maybe. I mean college starts in a few days so I'll have even less time to write this but I'll do my best to keep this up through all the gaming, studying and sleeping I'll be doing once college starts. Mostly studying though. Anyway. Apologies for the slow update and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Even though it ended off on a bit of an awkward note I guess.
See ya! Lucky, signing off.