Yet a few more days passed, and the boys settled down in a rundown apartment in Lowee, after a rather uneventful trek through the wilderness. As soon as they made it to the town, the trio immediately began grinding experience for the tome. This consisted of walking up to a random citizen and showing them a magic trick.
"Watch as I make a dogoo appear from your ear!" Almaz boldly declared.
"A dogoo? It won't mind the smell, right? I haven't washed this outfit for a few months..." The young boy named Jimmy said. Yeah, they picked a winner here.
The brown-haired young man extended his hand to the kid's ear, and viola! A dogoo was now in his grasp! "Bow-wow-wooze!"
"Wow... Cool." Jimmy said, not much enthusiasm in his voice. He probably was impressed, but you know how terse kids can be these days...
"Thank you, my fellow citizen! We are but hungry travelers, looking to perfect our expertise of the magus! If it will not trouble you, can you possibly spare a few credits on our behalf?" Man, Almaz is hamming it up.
The young boy thought for a moment, his face constantly bored-looking. He then nodded sluggishly. "Hmm... Sure... I can make my mom pick up the cat-food. Here..." He handed the brothers a modest amount of credits, and waved. "I better sneak home now... Bye." Man, what an odd kid...
Over time, the magic tricks eventually yielded more and more cash, and with each successful use, the tome's experience increased. Eventually, Level 5 was attained, and a new breakthrough was reached: Er, higher-tier magic tricks.
"Aw, come on! More bloody magic tricks!? When do we get to the good stuff?" Alex whined.
Adrian simply looked at the book with quite the smug expression. "...I was getting bored of those weak illusions, anyways... Better tricks will surely increase our popularity..." He rapidly turned and pointed a finger at Almaz. "Yo! Draw up some flyers, and hang 'em around town; We're gonna hold ourselves a little magic show!"
"A-A magic show, brother?" Almaz asked, confusion clear in his voice.
"Heh heh... Yep! We'll set up in the park, and see how many people show up; We'll start amateurish, and work our way up."
Alex sighed. "Geez, you sure are goin' all out with this, huh? Is it even safe to play out in public in front of a huge crowd like that? You do know about the dragons, right?"
The leader cocked his head to the side. "Dragons? What about 'em? Sure, they're flooding the skies, but they haven't done anything threatening yet. I ain't scared of no dragon." Hm... Do you suppose this whole mentioning of the dragons swarming Lowee is an act of foreshadowing, or... no, wait, it's definitely not; It's just one further step in connecting one of the loose plot threads from the last story. My apologies...
...E-Either way, the boys set off to prepare for their first major magic gig. Three days later, everything was set.
Adrian and Almaz would be the frontrunners of the show, with Alex operating the cheat book behind the scenes. So as to not arouse suspicion, though, Alex would make occasional public appearances after selecting one of the new codes that operated on a one to five minute timer (A spectacular firework show and a disappearing act, for example). Why aren't you being shown the preparation? I'm simply choosing not to show you. This script is lucky that I follow it at all.
...Hm, but... why AM I even still reading this?
...
...The show began.
WHEREVER YOU ARE...
"I-IF! Histoire!"
The battle-hardened veteran and the tome fairy turned their heads towards the urgent voice. "Huh? G-Gear! You actually left yo-... Er, what is it?"
"IF, I can't find Neptune anywhere! She promised that we'd have another picnic today, but I haven't seen her all morning!"
IF traded a quick glance with Histoire, and lightly shrugged. "Hmm... I don't know what to tell ya; I haven't seen her all morning, either... Y-You checked her room, right?"
The purple-haired candidate nodded her head. "Ahum! I even checked under her bed! I'm worried that she left the house again... Oh no, what if she runs into another Vanargandr!? I-I need to find her fast!"
The CPU candidate began to run, when she collided into Compa, who had just entered the house. "O-Ow... Oh, G-Ge-Ge! I-I-I'm so sorry, Ge-Ge! I should really watch where I'm going..." She awkwardly smiled, and playfully tapped the top of her head. "I-I'm so clumsy..."
"N-No... It's my fault; I wasn't paying attention..." Nepgear helped the medic up, and attempted to smile. "Compa... Have you seen Neptune recently? She's gone missing, and forgot to leave some kind of note... That's so like her, though. I really shouldn't be surprised..."
The nurse looked over at the brunette and fairy, and thought for a moment. "Ummm... Sorry Ge-Ge, but... I haven't seen Nep-Nep anywhere... I-I'm sorry..."
The candidate nodded in understanding. "That's ok, Compa... Well, I guess I'd better continue searching for her... Ooh, I know! I'll take the food I prepared with me; Neptune won't be able to hide once she catches a whiff of this!" With that, she stepped outside. "Wish me luck!"
The three girls waved, and then looked at each other in slight bewilderment. "W-Well, her fever seems like it went down; She doesn't look as sickly as a few days ago." Compa said, for the sake of saying something.
Histoire nodded, and inquisitively cupped her chin. "Y-Yes, the illness seems to no longer be affecting her physical stature, but..." And the three continued discussing... whatever. The scene's changing, and I can't make out what they're saying anymore... Ah, must not be important...
...
The candidate spent numerous hours walking about Planeptune, searching for any sign at all of her dear older sister. "It's not like her to go missing for so long... But, she's never been one to attract serious trouble... She has to be fine!"
During her search, she inevitably walked by Planeptune Tower, and absentmindedly bumped into a woman. "H-Hey! Watch where yer goin', ya..." The stranger turned around and saw the CPU candidate's pretty face. "...beautiful devil, yo- wait..."
Nepgear snapped back to reality, and immediately separated from the girl she nearly knocked down. "O-Oh my, I'm so sorry! I've been doing that all day, and-"
The stranger scanned Nepgear's face, and scowled... Hey, come to think of it, that girl looks an awful lot like Nepgear herself... W-Wait a minute! Isn't that... Nepgeo? What the hell's Nepgeo doing back beneath Planeptune Tower? Is Linda nearby? Nisa? Gust? Hell, Pirachu?
"...You... Here I am, actually face-to-face with Nepgear... Heh, guess I can thank you: Pretending to be you has gotten me more girls than I even thought lived in Planeptune... But that's the only thing I can praise you for."
Nepgear cocked her head in confusion, and gasped; That symbol in Nepgeo's hair! It was the logo... for ASIC! "W-What the goodness? ASIC is still around?"
"...Barely, thanks to you, you... bitch. Because of you, I'm out of a job! You killed everybody who made ASIC what it was! Now, with no one in charge, my whole life has gone down the shitter! No one'll ever hire someone with ties to the organization, so I can't even get a low-paying, menial service job! And there's no freakin' way I'mma risk my hide fighting some monster for quick cash... I'm screwed, and it's all thanks to you!" The purple-haired imposter(?) walked up to the CPU candidate, and spit in her face. "...Yer lucky I don't have a violent streak, or I'd freakin' scar that pretty little face of yours! ...I've never been picky with women, but I wouldn't get caught dead even fantasizing about you, after all the pain and trouble you've caused me... All I can do now is to tarnish your shitty reputation; That's my only chance at happiness."
Nepgear was shocked at the verbal berating she had to sit through, and remained silent. The imposter grunted in frustration, and walked off. "W-Who was that? A-And... why was she so mad?" Yes, indeed: Who the hell was that? Nepgeo would never lash out at another girl like that, would she? And... no, nothing about this feels right at all!
...Either way, the candidate could only continue her search, and she quickly put this uncomfortable event out of her mind. I suppose you should as well...
...
A little further along, Nepgear began to grow more worried; She couldn't find Neptune around Planeptune anywhere! How curious... Not a single sign of her at all...
Deep in thought, the CPU Candidate nearly reinforced the same running gag for the third time now; She came rather close to bumping into yet another woman. At the last second, though, the stranger hopped out-of-the-way with a particular dramatic flair.
"Woah-hohoho there! Ya gotta pay more attention to where yer goin', cute stuff." The girl giggled... Oh no, it's her again! It's that cryptic brown-haired young woman from the past two chapter openings! You know, the one with two(possibly fake) names?
...Hm... Now, I guess you can't see, but something about her seems... out-of-place, maybe? It's like, she's eyeing her surroundings as if trying to get a grasp of where she is.
...H-Heh, it's almost as if she just teleported to this exact location a mere few seconds ago... B-But that would be ridiculous... right?
...Nepgear's eyes widened, and she bowed apologetically. "I-I-I'm so sorry! I was concentrating too hard on finding my sister... I'm really out of it today..."
'Shade(?)' chuckled, and pat the girl's back. "Aw, I understand, darling... Hm, let me guess: You're looking for Neptune."
The Candidate was taken aback. "Y-Y-Yes, that's right! ...Y-You know who I am?"
"Of course I know who you are, Nepgear! How could I not know a cutie-pie like yourself?" The enigmatic woman grinned playfully, then tapped her own forehead for some reason. "...I wish I could be of some help, but I haven't seen your sister anywhere today... I've been, er... out of town up until a bit ago."
Nepgear's eyes looked disappointed, but she nodded in understanding. "Oh, ok... Well, thank you anyways... uh...?"
"Yurei's the name! Nice to finally meetcha, Nepgear! I hope you find your sister..." Yurei!? Now she has a new name I've never even heard of! The hell?
The CPU Candidate bowed again. "Thank you! Well, I... better get back to it, then..." Not sure how to end the conversation, she simply smiled and walked off.
Left standing there, the brown-haired young woman stroked her chin. "Hmm, most interesting... I can see why she's being targeted by... HER. She'll certainly come in handy when the time comes..." ...Uh, let's just not ask...
...
When she finally acknowledged that her search had yielded no desirable result whatsoever, she took out her cell phone to enact stage two of her search plan: Call the other nations.
First, Nepgear tried to call Vert. For the longest time, Lady Green Heart had treated the CPU candidate like her younger sister, and it had been awhile since they last spent the day together. She could kill two birds with one stone: She could check to see if Neptune had some business over in the other landmass, and maybe set up a play-date with Leanbox's goddess.
However, nobody replied; Not even Chika, who, as Ge-Ge recalled Histoire saying a few days ago, had not made any contact with any of the other oracles for weeks now.
"Hm... I guess I'll try Lowee next... It would be nice to see Ram and Rom again..."
But alas, the same thing: Neither Blanc, Mina, nor the children answered her calls. "...Maybe they're sleeping in? I heard it's snowing extra hard in Lowee today, and I know that'd make me tired..."
Finally, she tried to contact Lastation... and someone answered!
"Hello...? Who's calling?" Came a voice from the other line; Is that Kei I hear?
"Ah, Kei! This is Nepgear; How are things?"
The oracle was silent for a moment, then answered. "...Nepgear? Why... Why are you calling here? What business can you possibly have with me now?"
"Um, well... I've been searching all over for Neptune, but I can't find her anywhere! So, I was wondering if maybe she went to Lastation to hang out with Noire, or something?"
"...Is this some kind of a joke?"
"H-Huh? N-No, of course not! I-I'm just really desperate right now! I need to find Neptune! She... She left so suddenly, and I don't know where she could be... Any help at all would be greatly appreciated."
Kei rubbed her forehead, and spoke after a moment of pause. "...You really want to find Neptune? ...Then have a look inside the forest behind your Basilicom; There's that small clearing that she loves to hide in. I can assure you that you will find her there..."
Nepgear's eyes widened, and she grinned cheerfully. "A-Ah! T-Thank you, Kei! Oh goodness, why didn't I think of looking there before? Of course she'd be there! ...Thanks again so much, Kei; Give my regards to Uni, okay? Bye now!" With a happy hum, the candidate hung up the phone and skipped off in the direction of the forest.
The odd call done, Kei hung up her phone and violently tossed it across the room. She slammed her arm to the wall, and dug her face into her sleeve. "D-Damn it..." She sobbed, having a hard time controlling her breathing... "...Damn it..."
...
A little while later, Gear returned to Planeptune's Basilicom, where IF, Compa, and Histoire were discussing some important matter concerning Gamindustri (I can only presume).
"Guys! I finally found Neptune, and we're about to have our picnic. Would any of you care to join us?"
IF and Compa smiled rather awkwardly, and shook their heads. "N-No thanks, Gear... Er, uh, we promised to help Histoire with something... B-But don't let that hold you back! H-Have fun!"
The medic nodded her head rapidly. "Y-Yeah! Go on without us, Ge-Ge! We can have fun together s-some other time!"
Histoire nodded as well, rather slowly. "Yes... I would love to go, Nepgear, but I am far too busy at the moment... I deeply apologize."
The CPU candidate smiled. "No, you don't have to apologize; I perfectly understand." She then picked her basket back up, and walked out the door. "Well, don't want to keep Neptune waiting... See ya later, guys!"
"B-Bye again, Gear!" IF called, and the candidate left the building. The brunette sighed. "...Is she really gonna be all right?"
Compa lowered her eyes to the floor. "...I sure hope so... Ge-Ge's really not taking this well at all, though... It doesn't look too good."
"Crap, none of us are taking this well!" IF snapped, and she turned her head away. "...You don't see me acting like a lunatic, though..."
The tome fairy hovered over to the battle-hardened veteran and gently clasped her shoulder. "...It's all right... We just need to give her some more time; This is how she copes, whether we like it or not..."
"...I can understand her locking herself away for days on end, but... this!? Shit..." Tears began to trickle down from the brunette's eyes, and Compa hurried over to hug her.
"It's all right, Iffy... I-It's all right..."
...
"Sis, I'm back!" Nepgear called, and she set down three towels around a larger one. Taking a seat on one, she pulled out a few sandwiches from her basket and set them down in front of the two empty seats. "Look! Uni even decided to have lunch with us! You remember: She's my best friend in the whole world! Isn't that great?"
The candidate motioned towards the empty towel to her right, as if there was... someone actually sitting there. She then giggled, as if she heard a funny remark.
"Tee hee, no need to get so embarrassed all the time, Uni... Ok, be sure to eat up, you two! I... made the sandwiches myself..."
O-Oh my... Does she really...?
Nepgear took a bite, and then began speaking again. "Y'know... Neptune, we should really invite Noire next time..." Another bite. "...I mean, I know that she always acts so serious and stern, but... I know for a fact that she really cares about you... She'd really like to be here with us." Yet another bite. "...I'd really like for her to be here with us..."
Slowly, as if trying to hide from the truth, Nepgear lifted her head and longingly gazed at the object that rested before one of the empty seats: A shrine, dedicated to a group of goddesses who had passed away... Goddesses who had been sacrificed...
...Family and friends who had been sacrificed.
The large stone monument was adorned with a small but amazing picture: One of Neptune's smiling face. Beneath that were inscriptions of certain names: Noire, Uni, Blanc, Ram, Rom, Vert... O-Oh dear...
Nepgear reached out and lightly traced her finger along Neptune's picture. "...T-Thank you for being here with me today... I...I couldn't go on without you all..." A lone tear adorned the candidate's cheek as she turned to look up at the sky. "I love you all... Please, never leave me..."
And thus, the CPU candidate... nay, Planeptune's new CPU... remained there for a long while, just staring longingly at the cloudy sky...
W-What is this...? This wasn't supposed to... be in the script...!? W-Wha...?
...
Later that night, once everyone that remained had fallen into their troubled sleep, Histoire journeyed into the room of the Basilicom that now housed the most damned object in all of Gamindustri: Gehaburn, the Demon Sword.
Resting her small hand upon the blade that claimed the blood of many, she closed her eyes in quiet reflection.
"...Wherever you are... Wherever you all may be... Just know that I... that WE all miss you dearly; Not a single day goes by where we do not remember your loving smiles..." The tome, against her will, began crying, just like so many before her. "...S-Someday, I hope that we may all come together again and rejoice in each other's company, j-just like before... I-I hope to see you all a-again one day..."
And, without another word, Histoire tidied herself up and went to rest her weary head...
...THE BLOOD OF MANY: END
...
...No! I'm not continuing today! Screw it all... What the hell was that!? Wha...?
...I'm cutting this chapter short. Next time, I'll read the rest of the script, but... shit, I can't go on after that... Why did that just happen!? What's going on...!? Where and when the hell did that take place?
...Could it have been... another world? Did we just catch a glimpse of another side? ...But, if so, what was the significance?
...And I'm still... so... tired...