Hey there folks! Today, we dive deeper into how things started with more origin flashbacks, yeah! Also, i had what i thought would be a fun idea for a special upgrade, but then the Evol Driver just had to go and ruin it, didn't it? Oh well, I'm still going to implement it when the time comes, so please look forward to that! Anyway, let's go!

Super hero time!

Bauen: Flee for your life; the Flamebringer seeks your end.

Lilith: Welcome to the land of Midnight Majesty! Time for a performance by... who are those people!?

Bauen: I suppose we both have fierce fights to deal with. I shall give it my all.

Lilith: How can you be so calm about this!?

B + L: Rider once more! Don't forget me!


Compared to the more technological appearance of Lastation and Planeptune, Genmeer held a much more natural appearance to it. The main city was almost Victorian with its incredible architecture, cobbled streets and steampunk theme to the various technologies within sight; considering the Landmass was one of the newest, it was trying its hardest to look like the oldest, but it did little to deter any person from admiring its design.

"So, what do we know about the CPU Candidate of Genmeer?" Bauen asked over the dull roar of their engines, the group approaching the city in good time – the day was still young, meaning they would have the majority of the day to do a bit of exploring before they got to work. "I don't seem to recall much about him at all."

"Not many people can, he's kept to himself a lot over the years except for when he absolutely has to make a public presence." IF explained, a quick relax of the handlebars having both bikes down to a more acceptable urban speed. "Apparently though, he's very laid back, whimsical; spends most of his time in his games and occasionally goes about calling himself Mighty Brother rather than his appropriate title. I think the hotel's over there."

With a view of the park filled with excited children and their parents trying their best to pretend they weren't just as excited, the room they were given was one of the most beautiful Bauen could've imagined. The sheer number of people however wasn't natural, even for a beautiful day, something that had IF's interest immediately piqued as soon as she took a single glance towards one of her many phones.

"5pb's holding a performance in the park! With this window, we should have a perfect view!" the brunette cheered out, Bauen collapsing to the floor with a less than graceful sound as the excited agent took her own place at the open window, Compa letting out a giggle at the sight. "She should be starting any moment now!"

"Hehe, Iffy's a really big fan of 5pb. You can't tell, but whenever she isn't working, she's keeping up with the latest news about her shows!" the pink haired girl explained, gleefully fleeing when a pillow found itself being lobbed in her direction.

"I've never been one for idols really, but there are a more than a few shining diamonds." The man absently responded, taking a seat upon the bed while the other girls crowded around the window. If he were to try and force his way in, there would be no space left; might as well leave it to people who were more desperate to see her.

A blue haired girl stepped elegantly out onto the stage; not the most glamourous of set ups, but the idol still seemed perfectly in her element, perhaps even happier at the sight. Her outfit, a black skirt and bikini top, exposed a large amount of skin to the glistening sun including the music note that was tattooed upon her midriff, her pale skin appearing almost ethereal as pink eyes glittered with confidence.

"Hey everyone, I'm so happy you could come out to see me!" the idol called out, a rapturous cheer answering her. "Shall we get things started then? Allow me to sing… Kuroneko."

Kono mama kizukanai no?

Sore datte kamawanai to chikatta no ni

Sono koe nioi ga chikazuite kuru to

Kakedashiteiru

Onaji kotoba hanashi onaji hoshi miteita koro

Tonari ni ireba sore dake de

Ai ni akubi suru koneko ni nareta ki ga shita

Toori suginaide onegai BOKU wa koko ni iru yo

KIMI ni deau sono tame ni umareta yo

Negai no hoshi ga nagareta SORA de

Tooku natteku KIMI no kage hashitte oikakeru

Todoku you ni koe no kagiri ni naku yo

Douka furimuite hoshii kono kiseki ni

Ano hi no BOKU wa miteta

mori no naka nando mo nando mo

Doukoku ni yureta senaka

Toki wa sugi KIMI wa subete wasurete shimatta

BOKU ga ita sekai nante kioku no kanata he

Sou BOKU datte negatteta kedo

Toori suginaide onegai BOKU wa koko ni iru yo

KIMI ni deau sono tame ni umareta yo

Negai no hoshi ga nagareta SORA de

Mou chikara tsukite ii to hashitte oikakete

Karanda ashi namida nado naku naita

Kowaresou na kage dake ga shiru kiseki ni...

"5pb used to operate mostly in Leanbox, but pretty soon after Genmeer was established, she ended up making more of her shows here." IF absently added on, eyes entranced by the near flawless girl singing her heart out on the simple stage. "She's the Siren of Genmeer, the best performer out of all of Gamindustri! But… recently, her songs have gotten a lot sadder and she doesn't seem to have the same energy as before."

"Thanks everybody!" 5pb yelled out with a melancholy little grin, hand held out in a victory sign as the audience didn't seem they would ever stop clapping. "I hope you ready to keep that energy up, because next up, it's time for Dim-!"

But before the girl could finish her exclamation, an explosion rocking the area behind her sent the idol hurtling forward into the crowd, Bauen immediately making a beeline for the window as soon as the sound rocketed through the hotel. Out of the settling dust, two figures in black and Egyptian blue stepped out, synthetic voices laughing at the rushing crowds.

"See the girl we're after?" the figure in black asked, the man (at least, it seemed like a man) slouching against the side of the stage. Several wires stretched across his torso and arms, all connecting to the various golden pipes that lined the chest plate emblazoned with a silver crescent moon, just like the shimmering one that made up the visor beneath a horn like exhaust. "The idol can't have run off that far."

"There's the little waif – idiot decided to hide around the corner!" the blue person laughed out, a gun of black and silver shooting the ground before the terrified idol. While they too shared the wires that ran down the torso and arm, the golden chest plate instead held the image of a demonic face in crimson, the same shade making a jagged visor over the front of their helmet. "Come on out little girl."

ARMADILLO!

DIE!

BEST MATCH!

ARE YOU READY!?

"Henshin!"

Neither figure were prepared for the transforming hero that launched out of the hotel window, leg stretched out as the armour formed around him. one side was yellow, an armadillo rolled up into a ball to form the eye on one side while the other was a side of a die, the yellow half's pattern appearing like that of an armadillo's armour while the other had a die for a shoulder, the rest being white.

MAWARI NO HIGH ROLLER! ARMADILLO-DIE! YEAH!

"It's you… Kamen Rider Build." The blue clad figure remarked as they turned away from the kick, hands held out wide; they didn't believe him to be as threat so much that they were intentionally leaving themselves open. "We've been expecting you! Allow me to introduce ourselves: I am Terror Burst and my friend here is Star Blazing. Tell me, will you be able to protect the girl from two people who outmatch you in every single way?"

ROLLING AXE!

"Got to give it a go!" twin pipes wrapping around each other produced an axe with a buzz saw for a blade, the saw holding the same Armadillo inspired imagery while the handle was done in white save for a section of the bottom and a window, currently showing the number one. It was produced just in time to stop the black, silver and yellow blade that threatened to slice the man in two, sparks flying as Bauen began to back up. It was enough time for Nepgear to join the fray, though the black fighter, Star Blazing, was quick to intercept with a shot from his own version of the silver and black pistol. "I will admit, I've never seen fighters like you before. Your power is beyond what I expected."

"Come on then, let's make this a little bit more interesting little girl!" Star Blazing taunted as Nepgear struggled to even land a hit on the man – his speed was far too extraordinary for a human being, that was for certain. Almost hopping back as if he was taunting a child, it didn't take long before the armoured figure got bored of his routine, several shots from his pistol sending Nepgear back with a cry. "You can do more than that right? I know that man and he's given you something else you can fight with… how about I try this?"

A device the Purple Sister had little chance of examining was thrown down to the ground, the wave that emanated off it sending Nepgear down to her knees with a cry, bursts of light having her return to her normal form. Bauen, seeing the girl's vulnerable position, dashed over, a pull on the bottom part of his weapon having the number in the window rapidly changing until it settled upon a three.

ROLL THREE!

The call charged the buzz saw axe with energy and as Bauen smashed against Terror Burst, the warrior was forced to back away, leaving him just enough time to turn to the girl and point to his own belt; there were few more words needed before he was back to battle and the girl was already moving.

DANCER!

PEACH!

BEST MATCH!

ARE YOU READY!?

"Henshin!"

FRESH!

Now completely changed, Nepgear leapt forward, Star Blazing backing away as they batted the punches and kicks that came in their direction. A second's hesitation however meant that sparks were flying from the defending invader's body, a light grunt escaping them as Nepgear sent them flying back with a punch.

READY? GO!

VORTEX FINISH! YEAH!

"Love Sunshine!" a pink beam shot from Nepgear's hand, a huge cloud of burning smoke erupting from where Star Blazing stood. Not to be outmatched, Bauen pulled the handle of his buzz saw axe once more, the centre number spinning rapidly before the weapon was charged with energy.

ROLL SIX!

VORTEX BREAK!

The second explosion enveloping the attackers had Bauen pause for a brief moment, jogging over to where Nepgear stood with her hands on her knees. The power required to sustain the transformation seemed… different to what she usually used when activating HDD, but considering how trained she had been with her second form, it was only understandable that this would be less refined. When the smoke cleared however, Nepgear was, albeit slightly weaker, raising her arms up ready to fight once more. Their two enemies were perfectly fine, barely even a scratch upon their armour as twin silver and black guns aimed towards them.

"Well, looks like you've given it all you have." Terror Burst sighed, casually flipping a small object in their hand, silver and red. "Shame about that, honestly thought you would have something more than that to show after your pretty little display all those years ago."

"How did… A fullbottle!?" and then Star Blazing pulled out one of his own as well, a similar shade even if the image depicted upon their front was different. They slipped into their pistols easier enough, a glow overcoming them as steam enveloped the barrels, Bauen rushing in front of Nepgear in alarm.

night...!

fear...!

"Well then, maybe you'll have better luck in the next life you two!" Terror Burst happily bid farewell, but a sudden wave of yellow pixels at their feet had the blue clad figure turning his shot to the side, man explosion rocking the hotel IF and Compa still remained in. "The Game Brother? No, he barely ever takes a step outside… who are you!?"

DOREMIFA DJ!

SPIN THE BEATS! COME ON, LET'S JAM!

SPIN THE BEATS! COME ON LET'S JAM!

"Fiftieth stage!"

DUAL UP!

HEY-HEY-HEY! DOREMIFA DJ!

Several notes shot towards the pair, both Terror Burst and Star Blazing taking far more damage this time than with any attack that Nepgear and Bauen could muster as the physical music exploded within seconds of touching their bodies. Both CPU Candidate and rider turned to where a new rider appeared, bright animated eyes upon a black background with metal strands of azure acting as the hair. The armour itself was a metallic dress of black decorated with pink lining and blue gloves with black fingers, a game HUD like chest plate displayed prominently upon her body with a golden belt in the centre holding a special holder, a yellow, much larger gashat held within.

"I won't let you harm innocent people anymore!" the rider declared, metal pieces reconstructing themselves upon her shoulders until a pair of golden boom boxes sat there, heavy bass shooting outward towards the invading warriors. It wasn't exactly something they could defend against, arms raised up to block proving fruitless as the pair were sent flying back once more. "Get out of here! If I hear you've been messing with civilians again, I won't hold back!"

"Okay then… looks like things are getting interesting." Star Blazing muttered as the two stood up, smoke emanating from the various orifices upon their armours until they disappeared with the final fading wisps, a sharp tut escaping Bauen as he and Nepgear transformed back into normal. With a sigh, the remaining rider let the boom boxes return to pieces and dissolve into pixels.

"You aren't Game Brother, and yet you use a similar power, he uses a tool similar to that of yours." Bauen immediately remarked, stepping before Nepgear with a cautious glint to his eyes. The other rider didn't grace him with a response, but considering the slight nervous stance they took up, they clearly weren't expecting to be questioned somehow. "Tell me, how on earth did you gain access to that? I would expect them to be rather limited."

"Well… it was a special gift." The rider admitted, a synthetic voice making it hard to distinguish the person behind the mask, tapping their fingers together as they turned their face away. "I received it… just before E- Lord Game Heart left to fight against ASIC. I was trusted with keeping the peace of Genmeer!"

It was at that point where IF and Compa rushed back towards the group, far more exhausted than they had been when they initially began to move. While Compa was too busy trying to catch her breath once more, it was up to IF to properly speak to the group.

"We managed to get everyo0ne present safely escorted away towards the Basilicom, they should be making sure that everyone gets back home safe." The agent gasped, wiping a free hand across a moist forehead. "Did you manage to find 5pb? She disappeared into the group, so we don't know if she actually managed to get back safely!"

"We didn't see her. Um, did you?" Nepgear asked to the rider, who was quick to shake their head.

"I was unable to see her at all. As soon as I arrived, I was fighting off those people." It was only as they let themselves calm down slightly however that they noticed the surprising emptiness of the slot at their left hip, looking around in alarm until they found the old man tinkering with the large gashat.

GASHUUN!

"Something tells me we'll have our answer if we just find a way to switch this off." The man mused, twisting the golden dial upon the front of the chunky gashat. "I suppose we would have to switch this to neutral and then…"

"No, please don't do tha-!" but it was too late, for the man was already pressing the button just before the actual cartridge piece of the gashat, a bright light appearing upon the rider before the armour faded away to a mighty sound, leaving only a person that IF openly gaping.

"Wait, 5pb!?" and indeed, once the armour was removed, all that stood there was the meek idol, hands quick to cover her face in abstract embarrassment. Far more tenderly and obviously than he had taken the gashat, Bauen happily returned the idol's property, noting the way she rapidly snatched it back and held it close almost subconsciously. "I think my brain's going to melt… my favourite idol is the mysterious hero of Genmeer."

"'Mysterious hero of Genmeer?' I remember hearing something about that, a hero that popped up relatively soon after Game Heart went off to fight and occassionaly fights monsters the people can't handle." Nepgear remarked, Bauen looking to the blue haired idol with a gently incredulous eye. The girl didn't even look like she was able to withstand a particularly strong breeze, the idea that 5pb could fight against anything more than your common street thug was a strange one indeed. Of course, Nepgear, IF and definitely Compa weren't exactly what people would normally associate with the image of power, but one was a Guild agent, another was a CU Candidate and the other was mostly a nurse – they had all taken their experience and developed it heavily upon the battlefield. If what Nepgear was saying was true, then 5pb only fought very occasionally.

"I want to be able to do more for my nation, but I have a public identity to keep up." 5pb admitted with a blush, waves flying erratically through pink eyes. "Don't tell anyone though! I can barely keep the media off me right now… if they knew that I was also the mysterious Kamen Rider Tune…!"

"When I came here, I definitely was expecting to meet another kamen rider. I must say though, this seems far different than the meeting I hoped for." Bauen was quick to frown when he saw the girl suddenly reach near-tears level, fumbling for a way to correct his mistake. "Not that this is a bad meeting at all. Quite the contrary, this might be more interesting. Tell me, why did Lord Game Heart gift you with a power like his own?"

5pb was far more reluctant to answer that question, curling into herself as her eyes began to fluctuate like mad once more. There wasn't anything he could do, apparently there were some things that couldn't be spoken of yet and considering what had just happened, it would just be rude to push her more than he already had done so.

"I suppose we should retire for now however, clean up the mess we've made here and that sort of thing. Do you want one of us to walk you back to wherever you're staying" the man prompted, a quiet shake of the head having 5pb walking away (walking away being running as fast as she could without being seen as rude) and Bauen rubbing the back of his head. "I do appear quite intimidating to a certain folk, don't I?"

"5pb, the mysterious hero of Genmeer… she's more awesome than I thought!" If slightly squealed as she looked to the direction the idol had fled. "Never expected her to be so shy considering her job though. Definitely considering the fact that she's a fighter as well."

"I guess everyone has their own quirks." Nepgear cheerfully added, looking to the stage before them with a slight grimace. In the furious fleeing of the scene and fight, they had managed to cause quite the mess in the area, pieces upturned and smoke still emanating from where the two odd attackers had disappeared. "This is going to be fun…"


"You really should be relaxing after that. We've got to deal with Game Brother and he's definitely a handful." If commented, but it was to blocked off ears; Bauen's fingers were barely visible as he rapidly typed away on his laptop, several different plans, blueprints and other documents flashing before his eyes for barely a second before they were gone again. "What on earth are you looking at? I don't understand half of this stuff!"

"Those people, you saw the weapons they were wielding, right?" the old man answered in a distracted manner, his frantic typing pausing for a brief moment in order to scratch at his beard in irritation. "They utilise fullbottles, but not the same kind of fullbottles that I use… that's it! Look at this."

Bauen paid little attention to how Compa and Nepgear gathered around the sofa to peer at the screen as well, the exact same gun as the two were using broken down into individual annotated sections with a variety of crudely drawn fullbottles displayed alongside with a sizeable bunch of text. To any normal person, it would seem like an incredibly difficult to navigate document, but the old man moved across each section with practiced ease.

"It's just I thought, they were using plans originating from my own research." Baune spat, a dark frown coming over his face before a cough had him back in a more reasonable personality. "See, you don't always get a perfect construct first time when you're working with an unknown substance taken from a questionable source – that's just basic engineering. The Transteam system was designed to use fullbottles that weren't entirely purified, but still were prepared enough to establish their own unique element. They've must've been able to steal the original transteam gun and use it to reverse engineer a second one… the question is how they got the essences in order to use the guns as they do; I only created Castle, Kuwagata, Fukurou, Bat, Cobra, Hammer and Shimauma."

"There were those weird monsters that released the stuff for fullbottles, weren't there? Maybe they just used those?" IF remarked, but the old rider was quick to deny her claim.

"You may not have noticed, but when you defeat those monsters, they purify into normal fullbottles because of the bottles themselves, the material absorber built into each bottle absorbs the gas that was released and transforms it into transgel solid." Bauen corrected, the agent merely nodding slowly. "The reason why the bottles weren't entirely purified was because I had to manually purify them with a complex system – it ended up being stronger than normal bottles, but held a corrupting force upon the user. All the manual fix bottles were used however, meaning they must've also stolen the incomplete plans for full bottles. The only way they would've been able to get new nebula gas is…"

"A lovely little box?" the sudden voice had all weapons drawn, hands held up in surrender even if the person they belonged to held a visage that showed no fear. His rather strange appearance, purple pants with pixel like squares decorating them and a blue shirt under a black jacket, purple ribbons shoved over his shoulder and wires poking out of every pocket, certainly didn't inspire any fear. No, it was the incredibly silent way he had managed to enter an entirely locked room with no open windows, barely a drop of sweat given in effort. "Now, you were the ones who wanted to see me, right? Besides, I have information you want, especially considering thos estrange people floating around Genmeer."

"Wait, you're…!" was all Nepgear was able to get out as the man gave an extravagant bow, the same slightly infuriating smile upon his face as he dusted off his clothes. "So you knew those people were in Genmeer?"

"It's nice to meet you all too. Call me whatever, Game Brother, Mighty brother. My name is Pallad, but people seem so reluctant to use it." Pallad introduced with a cheeky wave, the man casually lounging upon the second sofa as if he hadn't just so happened to intrude in a completely locked room like the walls had been made of water. "They've been quiet so far, they've only been acting out slightly in more recent times. From what I'm aware of, they originally belonged to a group that was dedicated to collecting people to the side of Arfoire, but after retrieving a special little present box, they were able to reach higher levels of power and now they feel as if they can do whatever they want. News about where they've been station has been awkward to come across."

Bauen only listened with half of his mind, for this man in one small moment had already set off a few alarms in his mind/ despite how secret the entire operation had been, here was a person who despite being renowned as a half-hearted worker who only acted occasionally, actually knew about the secret that the research labs had been trying to keep silent all along.

"Oh, they look so surprised!" Pallad remarked with a grin, casually kicking his feet as he threw his arms out. "Don't tell me you haven't told them about Pandora's Box yet? Had they never questioned where your power came from?"

There were the expectant eyes, the ones that Bauen had been expecting as soon as the news of the box had been revealed. With a deep breath, there was nothing the man could do but start speaking, regret colouring his every words as his eyes lost their usual splendour.

"It was during an expedition. Usually, they consist of a combination of Guild agents and scientists, to prevent any monsters from causing further harm and to investigate anything that is found immediately respectively. Due to the elimination of all monsters within the recent vicinity, it was agreed that the scientific division could separate in order to cover a larger area. That was when we found the Pandora's box hidden beneath everything else…"


At first, Bauen had been quite excited to join the exhibition; all he had been doing so far was menial tasks and while they were fun for keeping his brain occupied, they weren't exactly creating anything new or interesting. Searching a recently discovered ruin in an attempt to find technologies and details that had been lost to time? That beat maintaining dying machinery any day.

The entire crew had been quite friendly as well, the trip full of laughter and joviality even as they were forced to run in order to allow the Guild agents to do their jobs and kill any monsters to be found. It was only when they finally had the reassurances that he could split when Bauen began to feel his own nerves act against him. The most he had done before this point had simply been retrieving machinery from abandoned buildings that were lost to monsters. Who knew what sort of secrets could be hidden in a place like this?

The walls were adorned with some sort of strange language, one that the brunette had ever seen in any other place in Planeptune or elsewhere. He wasn't a language expert, that would have to be left to someone else back at the labs as the man snapped a few pictures of the scene. The further the man moved, the more solemn the story that was being portrayed became; what was once shown in the pictures to be a prosperous society was soon crudely drawn in flames, a single odd figure in red and gold standing above broken buildings and red stained warriors.

When one truly thought about it, the entire scenario depicted here made sense. There were numerous ruins dotted around all of the landmasses save Genmeer considering its relatively new status and yet there was no reason for many of them to exist really. If there had been a civilisation that had existed before their own, then the numerous remnants and the fact that there was technology to recover in the first place all seemed reasonable. Bauen wasn't there to enjoy the art though – he had something to search for.

The scanners had claimed there was something just a little bit deeper, meaning he had to force himself through near breaking doors and several thankfully big gaps in order to reach what appeared to be a dead end, the man giving a click of his tongue as he viewed the barrier before him.

"A puzzle is it? how cliché."

If you wish to earn what is held inside, there is but one lone key to find. If you like pretty gems that sparkle and shine, then I invite you to search around this mine.

My first is purple, fit for a queen. Second used by hedgehogs, holding chaos unseen. My third is red, July's birthstone as well, while the fourth sits in strings and is found in a shell. Fifth is pure carbon, expensive to buy, while sixth is all striped like a big cat's eye. Seventh is two words, a man made fake of April's stone, while eighth is found just in Leanbox alone.

Now take from each gem one letter in its turn, and you will find the stuff for which even gods yearn.

"Now what on earth can that mean?" the brunette murmured, his smile growing as he took in his surroundings. There were several strange items gathered around the jewel studded chamber, a special spell apparently cast upon them to prevent people from simply sticking their hands in any of the containers without having answered the puzzle (Bauen had been rather sly when it came to puzzles like that, so it was reasonable for them to prevent others from using such tricks.) "Right, let's take this piece at a time…"

Well, the jewel that is most associated with purple is the amethyst, so that wasn't too difficult to find out. The same with the second jewel of the puzzle; there was a famous game which prominently featured emeralds that would fit such a description (though it did seem rather odd, in hindsight. How on earth did they know about such a game? Was… was it based on truth?)July's birthstone… that was ruby, and in a shell? Pearl, it had to be. Discovering all the different ways people chose to incorporate protections and safety features, it was an absolutely fascinating thing to experience!

Fifth? That was diamond, basic chemistry. The sixth was a bit more a challenge however, for he had never heard of such a thing… no wait, there was something that Ko was talking about! That was tiger's eye and April's stone was diamond. Would they use diamond twice? No, the puzzle called it man made, fake diamond was a thing –cubic zirconium. Thankfully, the last part was relatively simple for indeed, Leanbox was known for specialising in black opals. That was fairly easy, but it didn't give Bauen his answer yet.

"Take from each gem one letter in its turn and you will find the stuff for which even gods yearn." Bauen repeated, running his fingers across the engravings. "Taking their initials doesn't create anything particularly, and I don't think it's an anagram. No, wait…! 'In its turn!' not initials, but…"

Amethyst

Emerald

Ruby

Pearl

Diamond

Tiger's Eye

Cubic Zirconium

Black Opal

"A, M, B, R, O, S, I A: Ambrosia! I just need to find whatever's called ambrosia!" the scientist declared, feverish dashing about in a mad attempt to find this so called item of the gods. All of the bottles and miscellaneous containers had been labelled, but none of them seemed even close to what Bauen desired until eventually, the whole room appeared to be proving fruitless. Not a single container looked to be what he desired, Bauen's eyes scanning over the elaborate chamber. He would have to bring the others in and see if they could find anything, and after he managed to get so far by himself! The image on the doorway with the puzzle was almost mocking… wait a minute…

The image depicted the same figure in red and gold armour, almost monstrous as it covered the entirety of the gateway with the puzzle engraved onto his chest piece. That wasn't the part that intrigued him however, it was the odd lock that sat in the middle acting as the only thing that stopped intruders from barging in. with closer inspection, Bauen was quick to notice the slight grooves that allowed his fingers to dig in slightly around the edges, the entire pot shaped item coming off with what seemed to be all of Bauen's strength. Of course, there was a single lock still remaining within the door, but the pot shape split in two, a beautiful key sitting within the snug space.

"So this is meant to be a representation of ambrosia? Does that mean the armoured figure is a god, an ancient CPU?" Bauen muttered as he inserted the key, a firm twist having the doors swing open to a blinding light, after a brief moment spent with Bauen trying to regain vision, he was finally able to fully recognise the beauty of the final chamber, an odd box like object sat upon an elegant podium like a trophy. Compared to the opulence of its surroundings, it was actually quite simple, a box of red, blue, green and grey that looked as if it had been made out of pieces of a model kit in all honesty. No time could be wasted in calling in the rest of his team, all there marvelling at his discovery. It was entirely a success for the group.

Until Bauen actually laid a hand upon it.

A sudden blast had the group slamming against the chamber's walls, Bauen one of the last to regain his bearings as he picked himself up with a less than stellar groan. It wouldn't be known to Bauen until he finally returned back to the Planeptune Labs, but the blast had proven so strong that it had left traces of its power across Gamindustri, even where its light failed to reach. So far, it hadn't appeared that anyone was majorly injured and the walls around them hadn't been damaged at all, but the box itself… several of the outside panels had fallen flat to ground, revealing the strange slots within and leaving the box entirely grey. The scientist was quick to stumble forth and gather them together, leaving his superior to grab the box with a scowl after a small moment's inspection.

"Well, looks like this stupid trip did result in something after all…" the expedition leader muttered, hefting the box into a bag before sending it off into his inventory. It clearly was a dangerous object; who knew what it could do to the rest of his equipment if it was left unsealed? "Come on then you lot, stop being whimps! We need to get back home and make sure we get a bonus for this."

Bauen followed behind dutifully, but to be honest, he was slightly lost in thought. Sure, the leader had always been a rather gruff man, but the rough exterior usually held only for the beginning of an expedition and when they were back at the Guild – he had a reputation to keep before his superiors yet otherwise, he was usually quite jovial. To see him so rough even after taking a hit like that… perhaps the rest of the ruins was just as odd as the chamber he had been sent to deal with. Bauen may have been more inclined towards tricks and puzzles, but their leader was a warrior through and through; he would rather face the horde than any sort of riddle or question.

It wasn't just the leader who was a bit disgruntled after that attack however, for the entire group seemed far more morose than usual. The brunette thought they were meant to be laughing their way back home, triumphant about their discovery, yet here they all were tired, exhausted and lugging back something that could potentially cause a lot of damage. It was probably karma for his enthusiasm and naivety, these sorts of things never went off without a hitch in real life after all. At least the difficult part was done for now though. All it would take was a little authorisation from the Guild Captain and then he would be able to analyse the box with as many toys as he needed.

Yes, he would be surprised by what he would find.


And that's where we'll pause for now! Of course, planting a whole lot of seeds for explaining things later down the line. There wasn't going to be anyone else for the CPU Candidate of Genmeer other than Pallad. Poppy might've worked and I did originally think of using her, but I've kind of used a different idol to replace her. Sorry about that!

Super hero time! See you next time!