Chapter 4: Rising Gears

~ December 8th, 2899, 12:00PM ~

Near the border of Leanbox, IF, a new recruit to Leanbox's defense force, and Lid, a hardened no-nonsense veteran were assigned to deal with a batch of illegal immigrants fleeing from Lastation's fascist rule. While IF wanted to deal with things peacefully and calmly, Lid had other intentions.

"Dammit Lid, what the hell are you doing!" IF had smacked away her comrades rifle. Lid didn't hesitate to kill a civilian refugee from Lastation, a young teenage girl who was defending her younger sisters.

Lid was a no-nonsense sort. If she wanted to get the job done, she'd do so quick and efficiently. She didn't care about the moral or ethical issues that she wrought about.

"They are a threat to our society and are most likely free loaders trying to take advantage of Leanbox's supplies and luxuries. We see this all the time in history. I won't let it happen in Leanbox." The blue haired psychopath brushed her hair back before turning to IF. "The world's not some fair Aeifu, sometimes people have to die, sometimes people have to suffer."

"What the hell gives you the right to kill those different from you!?" IF grabbed Lid by the collar and pulled her closer.

"Right? This isn't about rights Aeifu, this is about sending a message." Lid pushed IF away from her and turned to the rest of the immigrants. "You see your friend here?" *Bang* Lid shot another round into the dead Lastation immigrant in front of her family. "If we see your raggedy asses anywhere near the border of our goddamn country, you'll end up just like her, now FUCK OFF!" Lid shot open the other part of the tent, and then fired recklessly into the air to scare them off.

IF knelt down to the dead girl, next to her she found a pendant with the name "Deco" stained in blood. The blood of a young girl was on her hands.

~June 26th 29XX, 8:00 AM~

IF opened her eyes, sunlight breached through the thin blinds of the nearby window. She was in bed, naked, next to Compa. She promptly got dressed and shook Compa gently to try and wake her up.

"Compa… wake up… the clinic's going to have to open soon…"

"Ehh…. Iffy… can you pick up some fruits and vegies for the kids?"

"Already? I just bought some last week!"

"The blackout knocked out the fridge for a full two days…. Everything got spoiled."

"Son of a-" IF held in her anger, as she didn't wish to shout at Compa who was still half asleep. "Those damn government bastards keep giving money to the fucking corporates, can't even spare anything for us… can they? Fine, I'll go… take of everyone here alright, Compa?"

"I always do…"

IF kissed Compa on the cheek before putting on her blue trench coat. When she exited the clinic, the rising sun over the hundreds of dilapidated buildings in Planeptune flashed in her eyes before they could adjust to the change in light. The retired agent melancholically walked down the unkept and messy streets of Planeptune's outer ghetto. Cracks were littered all over the sidewalk, grass and weeds overgrew onto the sides of the road. The lamppost and streetlights abruptly turned off as the sun started to rise higher and higher. IF passed by a few houses that were completely abandoned and boarded up, she could make out a couple homeless people crowded inside, relying on makeshift lights and candles to stay warm.

When IF reached the nearest Nepu/Eleven, she walked in and was greeted by a flurry of cold air from the air conditioning. "Hey Iffy!" The woman at the cashier tiredly yawned.

"Mornin B-Sha" IF walked directly toward the fruit and vegetable isles and picked out what she usually bought. When she returned to the cashier, she reached into her pocket only to find that she had left her wallet at the clinic. "Son of a fucking bitch!" she yelled to herself.

"Whelp, sorry Iffy! I can hold these here so you can come back with your wallet."

"Yeah… fine." As IF walked out the store, she heard the footsteps of two masked assailants, male and female, armed with handguns. "Eh… that can't be good." IF sneaked back into the store and hid behind a row of groceries. The two were holding B-Sha at gunpoint as she was forced to empty out the cashier with what little she had that morning.

"If you don't have anything in the damn register, then empty out your own wallet!" One of the gunman demanded.

IF looked into the row of groceries in front of her and found a pretty solid apple.

B-Sha started to cry as her paycheck from last week was promptly taken from her.

"That's right! You better have enough to pay your protection fees for-" The male gunman was knocked out cold.

"What the fu-" before the female gunman could even react, IF grabbed her pistol and used to it shoot out both of her kneecaps, then, IF pulled out her arm and snapped her elbow. Finally, IF picked up the robber and suplexed her into the window, breaking it and knocking her out as well.

IF dusted herself off, she took back B-Sha's money as well as the money that the assailants already had and gave it back to B-Sha. "I think that should cover the cost… right? Oh… sorry about the window…."

B-Sha didn't even bother checking if the money she got was enough to pay everything off, she simply thanked IF and gave her the groceries

"What the hell was that about protection fees?"

"Oh… those guys?" B-Sha was still trying to regain her bearings after what had just occurred. "Those guys must be from that ASIC branch in Planeptune, some real crazy asshats. They've been going around the neighborhood recently, before they'd usually stray far from here, but now, I guess they're expanding. They're demanding some shop owners to hand over their money. If they don't… they'll just assault you and take all your money."

"Shit… more crap to deal with. Anyways, I'd invest in your own protection, maybe a shotgun or something like that, alright?"

"I'll see what I can do, thanks Iffy!"

IF nodded and toward the exit, but before she left, she went back to the cashier and pulled a pack of cigarettes from the side.

"Oh yeah… you can take those…" B-Sha waved away, after a good while, she looked back down at the two unconscious criminals. "Geez, how am I going to clean this up?"

~ Planeptune Outer Ghetto, 2:30 PM ~

Plutia seemed to have wandered too far from the basilicom. The solid and well-maintained buildings near the basilicom seemed to have faded away, and instead, hundreds of worn-down, collapsing, and broken buildings surrounded the young girl. "Geez, Neppy should really take better care of this place, those meanies in the council can't be holding her back that much… right?"

As she walked further down the streets, the sidewalk became dirtier, trash started to pile up left and right. When she looked up, she saw a weather blimp in the air that had the time on an electronic screen on its side written out. "2:30 huh? I got 6 hours before the sun starts to set, maybe there's some people I can help." To her right were makeshift signs that pointed toward a clinic and requested volunteers. "Hmmm, maybe that could be a start."

When she reached the clinic, a peach-haired nurse in a wool sweater that exposed her shoulders was busy fixing a small child's twisted ankle through the frosted windows. "Now don't you go running in anymore abandoned buildings now, alright?"

"Yes Ms. Compa!" The kid leaped of the shelf when the nurse had finished mending his ankle.

"Oh hey. You here to volunteer?"

"Yeah… I saw your sign a couple streets back… uhm… I'm kinda new to this place."

Compa grew suspicious of the rather drowsy girl. "New here? You some humanitarian worker from Leanbox or something?"

"Oh no… umm… I was just passing through… and thought this place could use some help."

"Well, that's awfully thoughtful of you, what's your name?"

"It's Plutia."

Compa was still bewildered by the appearance of this seemingly foreign girl. The way she dressed was too nice to be someone native to the outer ghettos, but she definitely wasn't anyone associated with any federal government. The nurse needed all the help she could get, but she isn't naïve or careless, this Plutia was clearly an unusual person and she couldn't just let her wander around the clinic without supervision. "All right Plutia, tell me, do you have any medical experience?"

"Umm…. I think…"

"You think? That's not very reassuring."

"Well, a friend of mine says that I have umm… what was it called? Amnesia I think it was?"

"Amnesia? Look sweetheart, I don't want to be rude, but I can't afford to have any more liabilities here. There are hundreds of people on a waiting list and there are very few hands here, the last thing I need is for someone to screw up." Compa was stern and strict toward Plutia, who seemed felt rather put down by the nurse. Compa, realizing that she had obviously upset the girl, felt guilty. "All right, that was really rude of me, I'm just really on edge right now, especially after what my girlfriend did last night. I'm just… *sigh* just really spent."

"I'm sorry Compa, I guess I'll be taking my leave now." But before Plutia could leave, Compa immediately grabbed her by the arm. "Eh? Compa?"

"Look, I was being an asshole. I let myself lash out; can I at least make it up to you… I mean… Look! I'll buy you lunch!" Compa looked down at her watch and sighed with relief, she turned around and shouted toward the other nurses at work. "Hey everyone! I'm going to be on my break now!" The rest of the nurses waved away Compa and Plutia as they exited.

"Lunch huh? I actually haven't eaten since I got here, thanks Compa!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it."

~3:30~

The two reached Nepu/Eleven. As they approached the store, the petite blonde cashier in her orange dress was placing in a new window, inside a bloodied window frame, which B-Sha had yet to clean up.

"B-Sha! What happened?"

"Oh this? Don't worry about it Compa, some bad bugs tried to rob the place, luckily IF was nearby and stopped them."

"Huh… so that's why Iffy had blood on her when she came home, wait a second! Did you give her those cigarettes!"

"Hey sister, I'm not just gonna tell off a lady who saved my paycheck and possibly my life because she wants to kill her own lungs." B-Sha shrugged off as she fixed the plastic window into place. "Oh! Who's your friend? Haven't seen her around?"

"Uhh this is Plutia, she wants to help out at the clinic, so I wanted to buy us a lunch and see if we could talk things over."

"Ah, I see. Well, thanks to your girlfriend, your meals are on the house, go take whatever you want, reasonably at least please."

The two sat atop an empty parking garage. "What's up with all these abandoned buildings? This just seems like kind of a waste of land" Plutia asked as she ate.

"From what I've heard - or at least what Iffy's told me, apparently all of Planeptune used to be just like the basilicom and the area surrounding it. Until CPU Uzume went insane and started wrecking up the damn country. Ever since then, CPUs have been held with high contempt and CPU Purple Heart's been restricted to mostly labor work and hunting jobs, with the occasional paperwork and construction jobs. The CPUs been stripped of her political power, and instead, conglomerates of corporations and "Influenced" politicians determine who gets what in the country. Prioritizing the upper class and maintaining the luxuries and tax benefits insures that they always stay in power while us folk in the ghetto either work in their factories, resort to crime, or are drafted into the military." Compa finished her soda and carelessly tossed it off the side of the parking garage. "maintenance and care for the lower class seemed to have just faded away.

"That's sounds awful! Surely there's something we can do! Right?"

"Heh… you really are new to this place, aren't you? Anyways, let's get back to talking about the clinic, tell me Plutia, what would you saw your greatest strength is as a person?"

"Oooh? Am I being interviewed?"

"Not really since you aren't exactly getting paid."

"Okaaaaay, ummmmm, I'd say I'm really really tough!"

Compa chuckled, "Tough girl huh? You don't strike me as the weightlifting type."

"No not that, I actually took a bullet to the head recently, kinda weird feeling, but I turned out all right."

"What?"

"Oh yeah! So me and my friend Neppy were hunting out in Virtua Forest and we got jumped by some ASIC Meanies, one of them held me at gunpoint in front of Neppy, and then Neppy got really tired, so when she tried to shoot the guy who had me at gunpoint, she missed! So then the guy pulled the trigger, the bullet just bounced off my head, it didn't even leave a mark."

Compa couldn't believe what she was hearing, Plutia – to Compa at least – looked nothing of the sort of physical strength and durability, and there's was no chance in hell she could be a CPU. Right? "Well umm…. That's a very interesting story, hey, do you think you could help me with some lifting? A part of the clinic collapsed under debris, and we had a couple of supplies that got blocked from us, you think you could get that out of the way?"

"Well, it'd be worth a shot."

When the two exited the parking garage, a woman approached them from behind with a knife, demanding them for their money.

"All right you dumb broads! Hands up!"

Compa and Plutia darted around to see a grey-skinned girl in a hoodie holding them up at knife point.

"Hey! I remember you! You were that girl we met in the forest! You meanies hurt Neppy!"

"What the hell! You again! Well, at least you don't have your annoying CPU friend to cover your ass anymore! Now open you wallets!"

"*Cough* Ahem."

Linda turned around to see IF, the same woman who brutally killed more than 10 well trained ASIC thugs single handedly and killed them again when they came back psyched up on drugs.

"OH FUCK! FUCK! NOT YOU! OH MAN OH GOD OH FUCK!" Linda dropped her knife just as her heart dropped a beat and ran off far from the three girls.

"The hell was that?" Compa, who wasn't scared of Linda at all, crossed her arms and shrugged.

"ASIC probably, you alright babe?"

"Worry about yourself Iffy, you learn your lesson?" Compa seductively tip toed toward IF and leaned toward the her with a flirtatious smile.

"*Sigh* Yeah…"

"Good!" Compa's smile instantly changed into an assertive frown, "Because if I see you bring home another pack of cigarettes again, I'm kicking you out of the Clinic for a month!"

"Yeah, I got you…"

"Good!" Compa grabbed IF by the hand and turned back to Plutia.

"Plutia, this is IF. IF, this is Plutia, she'll be volunteering for the day."

"Nice to meet you Pluti-AHH!" IF shouted as Compa pulled her by the ear toward the clinic.

Plutia watched in bewilderment as the eccentric couple walked off. "Huh… so that's what its like to be in a relationship. Weeeeeeeeird."

~ASIC Hideout C, 4:00 PM~

"Boss! BOSS! Linda crashed into the hideout, sweating furiously. When she reached Magic's bedroom, she banged her fist against the door furiously, waking up her boss who was in the middle of a bubble bath. Distressed and annoyed, Magic emerged from her bath and went straight for the door.

Linda blushed in an aroused fright as she saw her boss who was also her crush – butt naked in front of her – albeit with a slight frown on her face.

"Well? What is it!?"

Linda could tell she was furious, "Umm…. Uh- I saw her! The wind bitch- whatever her name was! She was hanging out with the broad who runs the Clinic!"

"The Clinic huh?" Magic raised her hand under her mouth, thinking about the area. "I sent a couple of guys to scout that area, but they got knocked out while they tried to rob a store, must've been her. Well, there's no time to waste, well actually there's some time to waste." Magic looked toward Linda, who was trying to look away, but couldn't help peeking at Magic's naked body. "You look like a mess, we can both shower together to save time~" Magic, with a pulled Linda inside and locked the door shut.

~ Clinic, 4:30 PM ~

The three girls reached the back end of the clinic, there, Plutia saw a doorway blockaded by fallen debris from the ceiling.

"All right Plutia, here's the blockaded room, you think you can clear it?" Compa crossed her arms with suspense. "Just as my grandpa always said, if you can't solve your problems, just get a random stranger you pulled off the street to solve the for you!"

Plutia looked back in bewilderment again, "You people are weeeeeeeeird…"

"Her grandfather was a very eccentric man."

Plutia placed her fist in front of the door and readied it. "All right… here goes nothing." With a rapid punch against the collapsed concrete, a loud crash echoed throughout the clinic, and dust enveloped around the three girls as they were knocked backward against the wall behind them.

"*Cough Cough* Christ that was loud! Compa! Are you okay!?"

"Didn't I just tell you to worry about yourself? I'm fine."

"Sorry about thaaaaaaat, I guess I went a little bit too far…"

When the dust cleared, IF and Compa stood in awe as the concrete was smashed into bits. Piles of medical supplies that were once locked away were now free and available to the struggling clinic.

"Oh my god! Wait… if I do the math correctly…" Compa pulled out her tablet, "we should have enough to take care of everyone on the waiting list!"

IF leaned back into the wall with relief.

"Yiiiiippeeeeee! What does that mean?"

Compa pulled Plutia closer and hugged her tightly, IF smirked and was about to walk away before Compa pulled her by the collar and hugged her as well.

"Yaaaayyy, Group hug!" The three hugged each other tightly, as nurses nearby walked in with confused looks on their faces.

~ Planeptune Basilicom ~

Histoire was working in an underground lab under the auditorium, in front of her was a Planeptune's next CPU, a young female adult in a stasis chamber. "Production has finished, what are your orders, councilmen?"

Five lights behind the oracle shined brightly, the council looked down at Histoire, who submissively bowed down to her superior. "Greet our new CPU, have her accustomed to Planeptune ways. Soon, with her abilities, we will absorb all of Gamindustri! Under her undivided rule, the continent will rise under a truly glorious democracy."

Histoire nodded opened the chamber. Water spilled over the place as the girl fell down onto the cold metallic floor.

"Uh… who am I?" The girl was rather beautiful, as any CPU should be. She had long straight hair, and a single D-Pad on the left side of her head.

"You are Planeptune's new CPU. You are Nepgear" Histoire pulled up a towel and wrapped it over the new CPU.

"What the goodness!? Me? A CPU? CPU… what is that?"

"You are to be the next defender of our glorious nation Planeptune." The council appeared behind Histoire, their towering holograms frightening the new CPU.

"Who… who are you people…?"

"I am Histoire, your new Oracle. And these people are the council, Planeptune's government."

Nepgear stood up, wrapping the towel Histoire gave her around her body. "What am I to do, council?"

"Your creation is merely the beginning of project NEPGEAR, we require you to take care of a pesky thorn on our side. Your predecessor, Neptune."

Histoire looked down in guilt as the new CPU nodded. "It will be done."

To be continued