"Collect your things, my dear sister! We're going on a trip to Yippyland!"
Vert remembered that exchange so vividly. The elation and joy emanating from little Verna, the horror and panic from Chika and the silent stoicism from Cave. Their reactions couldn't have been further apart, but their destination was the same. A children's theme park, the perfect place for her darling little sister to have the time of her life!
In theory.
Honestly, it wasn't as bad as Vert was expecting the fallout of such an announcement would be. Sure, there were definitely some serious downsides...
"15,000 credits per person!?"
… Incredibly wallet-destroying downsides, but that could be just her nitpicking, right? Being a CPU meant having large sums of credits available when it was most convenient, but that fact was exactly why her Oracle was so horrified to begin with. That is, if you knew Lady Green Heart as well as Chika Hakozaki did.
"Dearest, I still think this is a horrible idea..." They stood outside of a large golden gate, their entrance blocked only by the absurdly long line of citizens that had the same ideas and goals as Vert did. The greenette stood by her side, wearing a very worried expression while she frowned at the CPU. "Companies like this live to empty your savings account! Let's flee while we still can!"
Vert sighed. "Chika, you are being very melodramatic." She gave her a disapproving look. "We have made it this far, we are not turning back now."
"But-"
"Big Sis Chika looks mad..." Verna spoke up, who had remained cloaked by Vert's skirt. She looked up at her older sister, her eyes wondering. "Why is Big Sis Chika mad?"
"Not mad, just... concerned, kid." Chika reasoned with the little girl. "This place is pricey enough as it is, and everyone knows how terrible Vert is with-"
"Adjsdbjfdsk!" Vert hastily lurched forward and slammed her hands over the Oracle's troublesome mouth, nearly knocking them both over in the process. "Don't! Not in front of everyone!"
Chika grumbled angrily under her palm, until realizing everyone had directed their collective gaze on their little trio. A quick glare from the oracle was enough to fix that, however.
"Yes, I know, but she is still so young!"
She grumbled some more.
"Let me have a few years of bliss, you!"
"Big Sis and Big Sis Chika are weird..." Verna spoke up during the shenanigans, which made the two women face fault on the hard concrete floor beneath them.
"C-Children are so brutal..." mumbled Vert sadly.
"Anyway." Chika was the first on her feet, dusting herself off while Vert remained on the concrete floor. "This is still a bad idea, regardless of the excessive spending!"
"T-Think of this as a learning experience, Chika..." Vert rose from the ground, smiling, if a bit forced. "If not now, then when? This will certainly be a memory that our dear will not soon forget."
"I wanna see the goofy doggy!" Verna bounced excitedly. "He looks funny, heehee!"
"Of course we can see the doggy, my dear." Vert patted her head, not noticing the scowl her Oracle was wearing. "Now then, it appears that the line was thinning..." True to her word, they were ever closer to Yippyland's gates, to a massive looking castle just beyond it. Verna hopped up and down.
"Les' go, les' go!"
"Why did Cavey abandon me..." Chika grumbled under her breath.
"Melodramatic, Chika."
"Yeah, yeah…"
Despite the large number of people around, the line actually moved along at a decent pace. It was actually quite a shock to both the oracle and CPU, but it began to make more sense once they got to the front of the line.
"Welcome to Yippyland, how many tickets will it be today?" a very cheerful brunette woman asked, waving a hand in greeting. "Oh, goodness! Lady Green Heart! And Lady Chika!"
"Yes, hello," Vert greeted back. "We saw that the park was finally reopening, so Chika and I decided to drop by for a little visit."
"I see. It's an honor to serve you, Lady Green Heart!" The brunette gave a short, respectful bow to the CPU before getting back into serious mode. "So I take it you'd like 2 tickets, then?"
"Actually, 3," Vert corrected. "2 adults, 1 child."
"Child?" the woman asked. She tried to lean forward to see if she could get a look at said child, but since the girl was clinging to Chika's leg - while said oracle tried to pry her off - all she could make out was a head of messy, golden hair.
"W-well, you see, it's a bit complicated, but um…"
"It's all right. I'm sure you must have your reasons, Milady," the woman gave Vert a knowing smile before grabbing the 3 tickets. "Now then, we're actually having a bit of a special offer going on right now. For an extra 3,000 credits, you will receive 2 family meal tickets. You can redeem them at any restaurants found at the park, and you can use them whenever you'd like as well."
"That does sound tempting… What do you think, Chika?"
"I'd rather not spend any more money than nece-"
Gwwwooo!
Chika's face turned a bright crimson from the sheer embarrassment. She glanced down towards her belly, eyes quivering. "You know what, that actually sounds lovely," was all Chika could say. The sound of stifled laughter could be heard from everyone present, including Verna.
"Very well," Vert said to the worker after a second of chuckling to herself. "We shall take you up on that offer."
"Excellent, that'll be 40,000 credits, please."
"Very well then… Wait, isn't that…"
"No need to worry about it, Lady Green Heart," the woman interrupted. "Just think of it as a small thank you for all you and your oracle do for us on a daily basis… And besides, I'm pretty sure my boss would flip if she found out I made the Goddess of Leanbox pay full price for all this."
"Oh, I see," Vert said. "Well, thank you very much, I suppose."
"Darling, can we please move along, my leg is falling asleep," Chika chimed in.
"Ah yes, here you are." Vert handed the proper amount of credits to the brunette worker, to which she was given the 3 park and 2 meal tickets.
"Thank you for visiting Yippyland, please enjoy your stay," was all the woman said before the trio were being guided through the gate and into the park proper.
Once they'd finally gotten inside, Chika let out a big sigh of relief. "Well, that was… definitely something," she said.
"That was much faster than I anticipated," Vert muttered aloud. "I can't say I was sure what to expect, but that was much smoother than I could have anticipated." She directed her sight back to the gate, surprised to see how efficiently all of the workers were guiding people through. It was quite the sight to behold. "It seems they have some very good workers here."
"Yeah, no kidding," Chika agreed. "Well, I guess they kind of have to be, since the park only just reopened its doors after a few months hiatus."
"I suppose so," Vert commented.
"Wow…" The two women were quickly snapped out of their conversation by young Verna's voice. The little girl came to a stand-still, stopping to admire the sheer majesty of where they were. The 3 were standing in the middle of a long road made of stone, decorated with several cherry blossom trees along the sides. Off in the distance, there was a large castle standing proudly in the heart of it all, off to the side, there was a massive ferris wheel and an equally tall roller-coaster, and to the other side were even more attractions of all kinds to be seen, dotting the beautiful grasslands the park was built upon.
The sight of it all was almost dizzying.
"Dear Goddess, they really put in a lot of work into the place!" Chika remarked. "I've seen pictures of the place, but it's a whole different beast when you're seeing up close."
"Agreed. And here I thought I'd properly prepared for our visit, but now it feels as though that was impossible from the get-go."
"Haaaahhhh~" And while Vert and Chika were busy trying not to be overwhelmed, Verna was doing her darndest to reign in her excitement. "I WANT TO GO ON THE RIDES!" She failed, but she tried nonetheless. Before Vert and Chika could realize what was going on, Verna had already taken off like a bolt of lightning, running towards the nearest ride she could get to. The two older women almost panicked, but thankfully, it wasn't all that far away, and even more importantly, there was a certain familiar face there as well to ease their worries.
"Verna! Please wait up! Oh dear, this could prove to be… Is that… Blossom Aisen?" Vert wondered aloud as she got closer. Near the entrance to the spinning teacups was a lone blonde woman standing near the rails, wearing a very fancy dress, her eyes directed at a specific ride. Yes, it was none other than the Planeptune native, Blossom Aisen.
"Hm? Did someone call my… Ah! Lady Vert!" Upon hearing her name called, the blonde thespian turned to wave at the approaching Vert. It was around then that she also noticed a much smaller blonde running in circles around the line to the ride. "Such an energetic little one… She looks familiar somehow…"
Before Blossom could think any more on the little girl's appearance, Vert and Chika had finally arrived, panting and out of breath. "H-Hello, Blossom…" Vert greeted in between breaths. "It is… A pleasure to see you… again."
"Likewise," Blossom returned. "I have not seen you since I last visited Leanbox over a year ago."
"That long ago…?" Chika asked aloud. "I guess that makes sense… By the way, what are you… doing here?"
"Simply put, Lady Histoire asked me to come," Blossom began. "From what she told me, Lady Uzume saw the latest commercial regarding the park's grand reopening and was overwhelmed with excitement and practically pleaded with everyone to go with her. Lady Neptune also believed it would make for a perfect bonding experience, so I was asked to come along to keep an eye on them."
"Ah… So Neptune did come," said Vert as she finally caught her breath. "I take it she brought Nepgear and Big Neptune as well?"
"As well as Mr. Umio," Blossom added.
"Sounds like a chore," Chika chimed in.
"Not at all," Blossom corrected. "As it just so happens, I didn't have anything to do today, and I actually quite enjoy spending time with Lady Neptune. She and her friends are a very energetic bunch. But that aside..." Blossom turned her attention to the young blonde girl. "Who is that little girl?" Vert and Chika gulped. "She looks a lot like..."
"Ah… Well, you see…" Vert looked to Chika, hoping for some kind of help. The oracle only looked away, sweating bullets. "Chika…" Vert muttered under her breath, when suddenly an idea came to her. "Ah, you see that little girl is actually-"
"WHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
"WWWWWWHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
The 3 women turned their attention skywards… Only to witness what looked like a flying, purple comet, with a small splotch of red. The sound of boisterous laughter could be heard as they zoomed by, coupled with a young woman and adult man screaming, one undoubtedly Nepgear, and the other most likely Umio.
"..."
"Uh… What just… Um, B-Blossom, are you all right? You seem a little-"
"I think I should get going now."
"G-Good idea."
Without another word, the fancily dressed blonde took off running in the direction of the purple meteor with a very panicked expression.
"How the hell did they-"
"I think it's best if we don't question these things, Chika," Vert interrupted. "It's Neptune, that is all the explanation I need. More importantly..." The blonde CPU finally looked back to the younger blonde, Verna. "Verna!"
"Huh?" As if being snapped from a powerful hypnosis, Verna looked around with all the confuzzlement of a confused bird. After a second, her eyes settled back on her older sisters, both giving her a very stern expression. "Oh… Hi, Big Sis! What's up?"
"What's up? What's up?!"
"Now, now, Chika. Let's try not to get so worked up here."
"But she just-"
"I am aware. But even so, she is still just a child," Vert explained. Though still annoyed, Chika piped up and let Vert take over, but not before crossing her arms and pouting in defiance. "Now then… Verna, I understand you are excited, but you cannot go off on your own like that." Vert scolded. "It would be very bad if we were to get separated from each other, do you understand?"
"Y-Yeah…" Verna lowered her head, looking sad. "I'm sorry, Big Sis…" On top of that, she sniffled.
"Are you serious with that-"
"Hush, Chika!" Vert shushed her Oracle, and hugged Verna. "It is alright, my dear. Just don't do it again."
"Okay… can I go in the tea cups now?!" She bounced back from that bout of sadness very quickly, and instead bounced forward towards the giant, frighteningly fast spinning tea cups, sans the one a certain Goddess and her entourage had gone flying out of...
Vert wore a nervous smile. "E-Er, perhaps it is best we-"
"I wanna go, I wanna go!"
"V-Verna, dear, did you not just see-"
"I wanna go, I wanna go!"
"B-But-"
"Wanna, wanna!"
The more Vert tried to argue with her, the louder her sisters 'wanna wannas' rose in volume. She felt nervous, rightfully so, and Chika wasn't looking much better there.
"I-"
"Next in line, please!" An employee woman called out, seemingly ignorant to the missing ride part, as well as the other people who were already getting on the stopped ride.
"W-Well, I think this is a good time to just walk away from this ride and choose something much more safe and accustomed for-"
"KID, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!?" Chika's shrill voice interrupted Vert's potential monologue, and both of them were drawn to the line that now had a little, excitable addition to it. They both ran towards her, panicked and infuriated. "You get back here right-"
"Oh, hello Lady Vert, Lady Chika!" The employee greeted them both with an upbeat tone. "Right this way, please!"
"Wait, but- AH!" Both Vert and Chika were shoved into the circular structure by impatient customers looking for a thrill, and were forced into a green colored tea cup where, oddly enough, Verna was already waiting for them and bouncing happily in its containment.
"Yay! Les' go, les go!" She nearly jumped out of her seat in excitement, while the Oracle was horrified by the situation she found herself in.
"O-Oh dear, I was not made for this…" Chika was clutching her stomach already, and in the midst of doing that, another employee made herself busy by helping everyone into their drink-related seats.
"Please keep your hands, arms, legs and other unidentifiable appendages inside the teacup at all times." Announced the employee from the outside with a microphone in hand. "Yippyland is not directly responsible for any disfiguring mutilations or unfortunate loss of limbs as a result of violating these warnings. Have a nice ride!"
"You know, I used to have trouble getting used to my flight speed in HDD. For once, I am glad that I had the chance to acclimate to that level of speed..." Vert had that, at least, to comfort her. Chika, on the other hand…
"Kid, for the love of all that is holy, keep your hands off that wheel!" Her Oracle panicked, for lack of a better word, as her hands grabbed the wheel that the little girl had been gripping since jumping into the cup.
"Vroom vroom!" Verna made car noises, despite them being in what was the furthest away from a motor vehicle. "I wanna go fast!"
"How about moderately comfortable, kid?" Chika firmly grasped the wheel. "I'd rather not have a heart atta- Oh goddess, we're moving!"
True to the announcer's word, the teacup attraction started moving at a slow, gradual pace. Nothing too fast, mind, but the Oracle was treating it like it was the deadliest thing on the planet.
"Is Big Sis Chika okay?" Verna asked her sister.
"She's fine, just… petrified, I'd say." On the other hand, the Leanboxian sisters were wholly unfazed by the terror that was the spinning teacup.
"Oh… I wanna spin faster, faster!" The young candidate damn near jumped from her seat and onto Chika's lap, grabbing the wheel all the while. "Faster, faster!"
"H-Hey, no! Don't touch the wheel, kid!"
"Too slow, too slow!" Verna ignored her and opted for trying to spin the wheel with all of her little kid might. Of course, Chika wasn't budging one bit.
"I-I said NO, kid! I-I get motion sick easy!"
"But I wanna gooooooo!"
"M-Moderately comfortably is always a fun time, you know! H-Hey, stop turning already!"
"... Hm." Vert couldn't help but chuckle at their shenanigans.
"W-What are you- WAIT, DON'T-"
"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Verna, somehow, had managed to break Chika's hold on the wheel long enough to turn the sucker at an alarming speed. As a result, the teacup was going at a much more ludicrous rate than the ones around them.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Chika, obviously, was not a fan of this course of action, but she was far more concerned about holding on to Vert for dear life than trying to get Verna off of the wheel and stop the madness.
"Chika, dear, all I ask is that you refrain from vomiting on me," Vert remarked.
"MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" She didn't hear a darn word she said, it seemed. Verna, on the other hand, was perfectly fine and okay despite spinning their ride at ridiculous speeds.
Several minutes of that absurdity later, and the sisters of Leanbox sat on a bench not too far from the ride they were just on. Verna smiled happily as she looked at her dangling feet, Vert smiling beside her, while Chika...
"BWAAAAAAAH! Ugh…"
… Well, it was safe to say that she had effectively regurgitated yesterday's lunch into the nearby trash can.
"That was so fun!" Verna jumped up and down from her seat. "Again, again!"
"NO! BWAAAAAAH!"
"Er, I think we should leave the ride be for now, Verna."
"Aw, okay…"
After Chika finished emptying herself of any and all substance in her body, she approached her Lady again with a wobble to her step and her eyes swirling.
"N-Never… again… Hrp…" Chika covered her mouth. "C-Can we go on a ride that's less vomit-inducing, please?"
"I wanna ride on the big rolley coasty!"
"NNNOOOOOOOOO!"
"Now now, calm down." Vert put her hands on Chika's shoulders. "We both know that Verna is too young to ride on those contraptions, regardless."
Chika breathed a sigh of relief, while Verna sulked over on her sister's side. "Booo…"
"Oh, don't be sad, Verna…" Vert kneeled down to her level and patted her shoulder. "There are more than enough rides to enjoy at this park."
"Like what?"
"Like… erm…" Vert cast a quick glance around the park for something to take her sister away from her woes, and her gaze fell upon a glorious-looking, white, castle-esque building with a gold trim, surrounded by a shimmering lake and boats floating around it. Her eyes sparkled.
'Oh dear, I haven't seen that ride in years…' She thought fondly. 'Perhaps she would enjoy it as well as I had…' "Verna, look over there!" Vert pointed to the attraction, her sister following her finger. "That shall be our next destination."
"Ooooh, pretty…"
"Yes, very pretty," Vert lifted her sister by her underarms. "And very fun all the while. Shall we, Chika?"
"Of course, dearest," Chika answered with a dry thumbs up. With that said, the trio marched off to the ride.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" remarked the Oracle to Vert, as they neared the entrance. "I haven't been here since that field trip with Cavey all those years ago."
"Yes, I haven't been on this ride since I was Verna's age."
"Big Sis was small?" Verna's eyes widened.
"Yes dear, I was once as small as you are now." Vert chuckled. "Perhaps, one day, you will grow to be as big as your sister."
Her eyes widened even further. "Really?"
Vert nodded. "Really, really."
"Oooooh… Does that mean I'll have big boobies too, sis?"
"Er… I… suppose that isn't out of the question…"
"Yay!" She raised her arms up in celebration, which made Vert sigh.
'Such innocence,' And so, the Leanbox family traversed into the attraction, looking forward to having a good time, free of troubles and worries for the sake of family bonding.
…
…
…
Yeah, if only it was that easy.
It had only took about five seconds for Vert and Chika to realize why they had never come back to this ride...
"~IT'S A TINY PLANET AFTER ALL! IT'S A TINY PLANET AFTER ALL!~"
And that was the absolutely mind-numbing and inane song that played endlessly during their trip. Chika was grabbing her ears and looked ready to rip them off like a green herself was having a very difficult time herself, but Verna…
"Again, again! Heehee, this song is funny!"
… it was as if she had gone deaf as soon as they entered the attraction. She wasn't bothered in the slightest, which was an enigma in and of itself.
"Ghk… any longer and I may go insane," commented Chika bitterly. "This was a mistake, ugh…"
"J-Just bear with it, Chika…" Vert reassured her with a shoulder pat. "This ride can only last so long, a-and Verna is happy, so that is what matters most."
Chika grumbled and sunk into her seat, her ears turning red with how hard she was plugging them.
"I think we just need to look at the positives of this situation." Vert tried to lighten the mood in her own way. "T-The water certainly looks nice, the day is beautiful and bright, Verna is having a nice time and… O-Oh goodness, what in the world...?"
"I-I don't think this is working!"
"Then we just have to pull harder!"
There was a frozen patch of water, on which two young, very familiar children, were grabbing a hold of someone's legs and trying to pull them out of the icy block. And judging by the white ribbon tied around the person's legs, coupled with the muffled screams coming from beneath the ice that were somehow still audible despite the irritating music, it was very clear who this person was.
"Is that…?" Chika's voice trailed off as she watched the brunette twins trying their hardest to pull the poor victim out of the ice. "How in the world did they-"
"I think it's best if we just let it go, Chika," Vert chimed in. Before too long, their little boat passed right by the twins without them noticing. They were so focused on their ultimate goal, and probably the incessant music, that they didn't even realize someone's boat had drifted right past them. Somehow, the muffled screams almost started to grow even louder; Vert had suddenly started to hope they'd make it to the end before this "individual" was finally freed from the icy prison.
"Yeah, Yeah!" All the while, Verna had somehow gone completely unaware of any of this happening. No, she was busy waving her arms in the air like she just didn't care, like a hyperactive monkey. "Iiiiit's a tiny planet-"
"Oh dear Goddess, it's like nails on a chalkboard!" Chika shrieked, horrified. Verna was… Verna was… "That kid… Is a terrible singer!"
"Ch-Chika, that is very ru- Oh dear, I think she's off by… Seven different pitches," Vert whimpered. It was like listening to a dozen hissing cats all at once. "I never thought I'd say this, but I think I've found someone with a worse singing voice than Neptune! And it's my own little sister!"
"No, I refuse to admit this!" Chika hollered. "Someone related to my dearest can't possibly be this tone deaf!"
"Is that a reference to something? I feel like that's a reference to something."
"Dearest, now is not the time to-"
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
"... Oh, hey, it sounds like they finally got Blanc out of there," Chika casually muttered. Of course, Verna still didn't notice a thing. "Aaaaaand now she's swearing… Again…"
"I didn't think anything could possibly be this loud!"
"Dearest! Are you alright?! You look pale… Oh! I know! Maybe you'd feel better if you laid your head on my lap. I mean, I don't mean to brag or anything, but-"
"Oh my…" Verna singing in front, Chika clamoring into her ears for attention, Blanc cursing in the distance, and the grating music playing all around became like a cacophony of pain to Vert's poor, poor ears. "I can feel my ears bleeding… Losing… will to… go on!"
"Yes, I would like to request three Megathon Burgers, yes three, and a bowl of fries. Hm? Large, please, and may I ask for three drinks? How about... two lime sodas and a fruit punch. Thank you."
Vert, after ordering from the counter, sauntered back to a table seated by Chika and Verna while holding an ice pack to her ear after the utter decimation to her eardrums. "I have just ordered our food. It should be delivered at any moment." After the mess of the Tiny Planet ride, they decided to take a break at one of the park's restaurants and get something to eat.
Just like the rest of the park, the little food establishment was a very inviting place. A large logo of a cartoony Fenrir was used as the place's logo, holding a slice of pizza. The floors and walls were a checkered brown that was very easy on the eyes, with several tables and chairs of a soft vanilla color. Coupled with the surprisingly large food menu, and the openings in the walls that let some air in, and it was a very lively restaurant to say the least.
"Hungry!" Verna stated simply, wearing a red Yippyland cap Vert had bought the first chance she got, for obvious reasons. The Oracle beside the little girl, though, looked… less than happy.
"Ugh, so much junk food…" Chika's face scrunched up in disgust. "So many calories, it'll destroy your figure, dearest."
"Melodramatic, Chika." Vert sat down next to her eccentric sister, the Oracle's glare hardening all the while. "It is only the one time out of years of healthy eating. I think I am safe."
"As long as you make sure to work it off as soon as we return home!" Chika demanded.
"Yes yes, of course." Vert quashed her Oracles worries. "Calm down, now. It's nothing to stress over."
The greenette huffed, but nonetheless settled down. Vert sighed and rested her ice pack on the rectangular table, though her ears were still scarcely ringing from her experience in that dreaded attraction.
"Hungry, hungry!" Verna had gotten the better end of the stick from their experience, however that was managed, and plainly stated her hunger.
'At least she isn't singing again…'
"Order up!" Swift like the wind, a brunette waitress swooped in and dropped off Vert's order with grace and aplomb.
"O-Oh, er, thank you…?" Vert's thanks went unheard, for the waitress had left as soon as she came, likely tending to the many other customers looking for a chance to eat. It made Vert feel a little guilty that she was first served, due to her CPU status, but then again she was very hungry.
"Yay, food!" An excited Verna almost leapt off of her seat in an attempt to grab the food tray. The keyword being 'almost', since an agitated Chika held her down, as was becoming the norm.
"Don't make me strap a seatbelt to you, kid. You're gonna get your… food soon enough." said Chika in a reprimanding tone.
"Booo…" Verna sulked, though that didn't last long at all when she received her extra large order of food. "Yay!"
"Ugh…" Chika didn't even want to look at the food placed in front of her, though both her and Vert knew she had arrived on an empty stomach, but her stubbornness was strong.. "Do I have to…?"
"It's only one lunch, it's not going to kill you, Chika," said Vert as she ate her 'sandwich' with a pleased look on her face. "At least tolerate it for now."
"..."
To her side, Verna had dug into her food like it was the first time she had ever eaten in three weeks. A mixture of salt, pepper and ketchup was splashed onto her face in an undignified manner, while smiling all the while. "Mmmmm~!"
"..."
Reaching for a napkin, Chika wiped the little kid's cheeks clean, causing her to giggle.
"Heehee…"
"... Tch." Frowning, Chika turned away from the Candidate and began eating her burger. "U-Ugh…" She shuddered in revulsion, which made Vert roll her eyes.
"You act like you're eating poison."
"It is poison, for your body!" she exclaimed. "How is one supposed to keep such an attractive figure like I if you eat this… this dreck!? Ugh, it's so disgusting…"
"Yet, you're still eating it." Vert pointed out, as Chika was stuffing her mouth with fries.
"I-I don't have anything else to eat!" Chika whined. "Ugh, it's gonna take forever to get this salty taste out of my mouth…"
Vert chuckled, and resumed eating her own food. While it definitely wasn't the most delicious thing she had eaten, it would do for the time being, then she could return home and have Chika whip up something truly delicious.
'I feel the need for a steak dinner…' As she was thinking of her options, Vert's ears picked up a voice, no, two voices, that sounded rather familiar… 'Oh? Don't tell me they're here as well…"'
"This place is a lot bigger than I thought," a young girl with raven hair said, her twintails flowing in the wind. "And why is there a fan here? Seems kind of odd to leave it out here in the open."
"Who knows, but I guess it's not hurting anyone," the unmistakable voice of Noire spoke. The elder tsundere reached over and made sure to turn the fan off, somehow unaware that Vert was right behind her, watching through one of the openings in the walls. "S-So anyway, what do you think, Uni? It's a pretty nice place, huh?"
"W-Well, I guess, but you really didn't have to do all this for me."
"Nonsense! I-I just figured you're still pretty young and that you might like it here," Maximum tsun incoming in 3… 2… 1… "It's n-not like I wanted to come here or anything. I just figured you'd have a good time, being so young and all. Yeah, I just wanted you to have some fun, Uni."
"Noire…" Uni sighed, giving her sister a sheepish smile that made it clear she didn't believe her for one second. Even so… "Thanks, sis, it's great," she decided to just smile and roll with it; such a kind little sister she was.
"B-But of course. You don't have to thank me, Un-AAAhhh!" So kind she didn't even tell Noire the shoelaces on her boots were untied.
"Sis! Oh my gosh, are you okay?"
"..." Vert blinked. "Just let it go, Vert… Let it go," Vert mumbled to herself. "Still, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see all of us have gathered here today… They all seemed to be having fun, as well… Except maybe Noire."
"Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah, d-don't worry about it. I'm fine, r-really… B-But maybe we should go try the submarine ride, I hear it helps put wounds at ease, or something like that."
"..." Now Uni blinked. "W-Well, that does sound nice, I guess."
"Great! Then let's not dilly-dally, come on!"
"Scratch that, she seems to be having more fun than any of us," Vert chuckled.
Munch munch munch GULP! "Yummy!" Verna, the darling little thing, had eaten all of her food, down to the clean plate. Smiling a wide smile, her face was messy with condiments and bits and chunks of lettuce and tomato.
"..."
Once again, Chika wiped her face of the mess she'd made, her own plate at least half cleared of its food. "Hasn't anyone taught you proper manners, kid?"
"... No?"
"..." Chika didn't have a good counter for that, as she realized her blunder. "W-Whatever, just let me clean your face!"
"Big Sis Chika is funny!"
"Argh!"
"Hm…" Vert chuckled at their display. "Well, it seems we are all well and full… for the most part." Vert eyed Chika's plate, disappointed. "How are you feeling, Verna?"
"Fine." She answered, her face clean and sparkly thanks to Chika. "I wanna go on more rides!"
"Perhaps you should wait until the food is settled." said Vert with a smile. "We wouldn't want to create a nasty mess on the next ride, after all."
"Aww…" Sadly, Verna sipped her fruit punch.
"Oh, don't fret my sister, we only have to wait for a few minutes." Vert reassured her.
Chika sipped her lemon-lime drink, her face looking slightly less disgusted thanks to it. "It's not the best, but it's better than that filth…" she grumbled.
"Oh, stop Chika. The food was serviceable, don't be rude to the chef."
"Hrm…" the oracle frowned, but did as asked.
"Well, all of this aside, maybe we should head off now."
"Agreed, dearest." With that said, the two adults brought themselves to their feet with their trays in hand. Verna wiggled her way out of the booth, clinging to her drink as she stood by Chika's side.
"... Ugh." Chika leaned over and picked up Verna's tray with her own, only to dump both in the trash moments later. "Let's go, already."
"Right." Vert did the same with her tray and followed her Oracle and sister out of the restaurant. "Where should we go next?"
"Rolly coasty! Rolly coasty!"
"NO!"
"Well, at least they're still full of energy," Vert mumbled to herself. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't dawdle, now should-"
"Hey, did you hear about the shadow?"
"I…?" Vert stop in her tracks. Verna and Chika were making their way out of the restaurant, but the banter from one of the tables caught her interest.
"Oh, come on! It's just a rumor, no way some stray monster could sneak in, this place's security is almost as good as Lady Green Heart's basilicom. Not even a stray fly could get it."
"I know that, but… What if it's true? No security system is perfect, so maybe-"
"Like I said, stop worrying about it. Even if something did get in, it'd only be a matter of time before they found it. Not to mention I heard all the CPUs are here. Might as well be the safest place in the world right now."
"Well… I guess you've got a point there."
"You worry too much. Now come on, I want to get on the log ride before it gets too crowded."
"A shadow…?" Vert mumbled to herself. "Do they mean a monster…? If so, how could any monster ever-"
"Dearest!" Vert almost jumped. She looked around, realizing that it was Chika calling to her, waving her arms while Verna gave her a dopey look like she was confused. "We're leaving, come on!"
"Ah, yes. Be right there!" Vert called back. Finally, she stepped out of the restaurant and stepped back out into the sun. She quickened her pace to catch up with her oracle and sister, trying to take her mind off what she'd just overheard. "I'm sure it's nothing importa- Ah! Verna! She fell down! Chika, find a bandage, quick!"
The rest of the day had gone by without incident.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! GET ME OFF THIS CRAZY ELEPHANT!"
If 'without incident' meant Chika screaming at the top of her lungs while her elephant cart was spinning around and around, up and down on top of it due to Verna taking helm of the controls once again.
"WHEEEEEE!" Speaking of, Leanbox's youngest was having the time of her life on the eccentric ride. While Vert… well, Vert was doing her best not to give her food back to nature. She was used to high speeds… Just not so much the unnecessary amounts of twisting and turning every few seconds.
'P-Perhaps I should have waited a little longer… Urp…' Vert's face was as green as her dress, and with her sister taking control of the rides motion, it certainly wasn't helping her sickness a single bit. Their ride had felt like it was going much faster than it seemed, but that may have been because of her lingering sickness. She very much wanted to believe it was the latter, as she rested her head on elephant's ear.
'P-Please let it be over soon… O-Oh Goddess…'
"FASTER FASTER!"
"NOT AGAAAAAAAAIN!"
The next ride was much tamer in comparison. A calm, submarine trip through water that Vert herself could relish in its tranquility, while her sister sat on her lap and peeked out the window.
"Oh! Look at all the fishies!" Verna pointed at the cartoony looking sea animals. Clown fish, blue fish, sea turtles, manta rays…
… A freakishly scary looking young girl holding bags of upside down fish as she swam through the water…
Discluding the last one, it was a very calm, relaxing atmosphere for Vert, and probably for her darling sister as well. Nothing like traversing through the ocean's dark and mysterious depths to soothe the nerves.
'Everything has, for the most part, been going so splendidly. Has Celestia finally taken pity on me and shown mercy? No, I must not jinx it, just enjoy your dear sister, Vert."
The day sure had its up and downs, but for Vert, it was a success in her book. For once, she could truly say she was bonding with her little sister, and that made the Goddess happy.
"Dearest, this shark's smile is very much unsettling me…"
"Oh, sharky!"
"J-Just pay attention to the other fish, you two."
"Wheeeeee! We're so high up!"
Verna was enjoying herself once again, on the classic ferris wheel with the face of a cartoon mouse plastered unashamedly on it's front as it shone brilliantly. Vert enjoyed the spectacle with her sister, while Chika…
"G-Get me off of this death trap!" … she was positively shaken while riding the wheel with them. Vert, admittedly, had negated Chika's crippling fear of heights, and thus the Oracle gripped onto her dear Vert for comfort. "H-Hold me, dearest!" Gripped onto her chest would be more accurate, however.
"I-It's fine, Chika. Nothing of harm could possibly-"
"Wowy! Look at all the pretty birds! I wanna touch theaaaaAAAAAAAAA!" Verna, while trying to reach over and pet the 'pretty birds', had went a bit too far over the railing and fell off.
"VERNA!" And so, Vert activated HDD and swan dived out of the cart to catch her falling sister.
"Dearest you didn't wait for me to LET GOOOOOOOOO!" And Chika joined her on the descent.
Such a caring family.
The ride after that… unfortunate experience was rather whimsical. It was dimly-lit and filled to the brim with zany creatures. Talking doorknobs, bubble-puffing caterpillars, a mischievously grinning cat and a mad hatter singing about unbirthdays.
Overall, a crazy time, and it served Verna well after almost becoming a red splotch on the boardwalk. Their ride was slow and deliberate, which helped them take in the bizarre atmosphere.
"Heehee, all these thingies look funny." She giggled. Vert patted her head.
"Yes, very funny." Vert held her close as they spectated.
"Dearest, is that heart queen supposed to mean something?"
"Just look at the walking cards, Chika."
"WHEEEEEE! SO FAST!"
Verna seemed to be a real stickler for fast, intense rides. Their next ride was something that looked like something out of the wild west. One big railroad smack dab in the middle of a mountain desert setting, of which they were traveling through at a good 85 MPH.
Unusually fast for a children's ride, mind. In fact, was this ride even safe for children…?
"A-Ah, how are you so resilient, my sister?" Vert was hanging onto the guard rails for dear life while their ride sped through, so she didn't have time to think about that. Her Oracle was much the same, except she hung onto her body instead of the rails.
"Protect me, darling! These rides are going to be the death of me!"
"D-Don't be so rash, Chika! It's just a children's ride!"
"I wanna go faster, faster, faster!"
"W-What's wrong with moderately comfortable, you!?"
"C-Can we please simmer down? At least enjoy the view of the canyon while we can- OH DEAR AN INCLINE!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
"WHEEEEEEEE!"
After the fifth ride, the trio finally settled down a bit, and found themselves walking along the brick roads that decorated the park. They were planning to stop by the place they'd gotten lunch at before, and found themselves nearing a very beautifully made bridge on the way. Finally, after a bit of walking, they decided to stop there to collect themselves.
"Okay… Okay… Let's just aaaaall settle down for a minute," Chika gasped, thoroughly exasperated from all the chaos she'd just been through. By now her hair was a bit disheveled, and her legs were more than a little shaky; a light breeze would probably be enough to knock her over at this point.
"Oh, relax Chika," Vert said nonchalantly. "I'd say the worst is behind us now… Probably." Taking out a map of the park she'd picked up along the way, Vert inspected it very closely. In doing so, she gave a small smile. "It seems that we've already been to most of the hectic rides already, so I doubt we'll have to worry about losing our lunch anymore."
"Thank goodness." And while Chika sighed in relief, Verna frowned a little at the news.
"Aw." The little blonde pouted. "I want to go on the really fast, fun rides!" she whined.
"I'm sorry, Verna," Vert began softly. "But please, do understand that there's nothing we can do about that. Besides, too many crazy rides would be off-putting. You need something a little more calm every now and then as well."
"Mmmm…" Verna was still pouting, but for a different reason this time. "Mm… Okay…" The energetic little girl finally said, letting her arms droop to the side. However, a quick pat on the head from Vert was enough to bring the girl's spirits back up in an instant.
"Don't worry, there are plenty of other fun places we can go."
"Mmm."
The two sisters smiled at one another, leaning in for a quick hug. Needless to say, but Chika was more than a little jealous at the sight, pouting at the two and crossing her arms defiantly… That is, until she realized something that made her eyes widen ever so slightly and look at the two a little more calmly, if still a bit annoyed.
"Hmm... I guess I should've seen this coming," the oracle muttered to herself. "Who'd have thought it would take going to a theme park for it to finally happen, though… Who says you can't be a good big sister?"
Though still a bit jealous, Chika let herself ease up a bit more, her eyes glued to the two blondes… At least until something else caught her attention. Faint traces of humming, getting a bit louder. It was clear that Vert had caught wind of it, too, as she let go of her little sister to take a look over the rails of the bridge, alongside Chika. What they saw… Was uh… Very unexpected to say the least.
A small swan boat was floating along the water with two purple-haired passengers drifting lazily along. "Is that… Why are they…?"
Neptune and Neptune were sitting in a little swan boat, drifting along with their eyes closed, holding each other like a close couple. "When did this happen? ...Ah!" Chika wondered aloud, suddenly recalling something from before. "Come to think of it… Back when I was having a "talk" with her about the bathroom, she did say…"
"Oh…? Oh! ...Oh, I see…" Vert didn't actually see. "Well… I suppose we should be happy for them…? I'm not actually sure what to say for once..."
"..."
"Chika?"
"...Heheheh…"
"Chika, are you alright?" Vert asked, unaware of the thoughts going through the oracle's mind.
"I'm fine," she said. Little did Vert know that raunchy images of the green CPU getting intimate with her other dimension's self danced through the oracle's mind. "I'm perfectly… fine."
"Well… If you say so." Finally, Vert turned away from… Whatever was going inside of Chika's head, not to mention the two Neptunes, and faced her little Verna once again. "Anyway, Verna where would you like to… Verna? Verna?!"
Vert's panicked voice was more than enough to break Chika out of her little fantasy, only for her to turn around and realize that Verna was nowhere to be seen. "The kid…? Where did the kid go?!" The oracle and CPU both frantically began looking in every direction in search of the little girl, but couldn't find any trace of her in sight.
"No, no, not again!" It didn't take a genius to see that Vert was beginning to panic. She started running about, yelling her sister's name into the air, not really caring if anyone heard her. Chika followed shortly after, and the two made haste to look for the little girl.
All the while, their screams had attracted the attention of the two purple-heads enjoying their little cruise. The two looked back, curious as to what was going on, before giving each other a look and nodding. Without hesitation, they jumped out of the boat and went after Vert.
"Ah, be careful you don't fall into the water. Wouldn't want to get your shoes wet, would we?"
"Aw, you're so considerate of me, Me."
"Anything for you, Me."
"... You have pretty eyes."
"... So do you."
"..."
"..."
"Verna!"
"Wha? Oh, right, Vert!"
"Uh, y-yeah! I totally didn't forget or anything! Hahah…"
"Is that…"
"Is that what?" Verna wondered aloud, a little confuzzled. The little girl was too short to see over the rails on the bridge, so she didn't know what was going on. It sounded like someone was humming, but since she couldn't see, she didn't know who. "Sis, what's-"
Plick
"Eh?" Suddenly, there was another noise to her side that caught Verna's interest. She turned to investigate it, it had been the sound of a little rock being kicked away, but that wasn't what caught little Verna's interest. "Aaaaahhh…"
Right at the end of the bridge, a little brown bunny was wagging its floppy ears. It raised its head and started sniffing the air with its tiny, pink, button nose, until it caught sight of the enamored Verna. The tinier creature stared at her with little beady eyes, blinking at first, before quickly losing interest and hopping away.
"Ah!" Surprised, Verna followed after the fuzzy creature. "Come back, Mr. bunny!"
Had Vert and Chika only stopped to turn around for a moment, they would have noticed Verna was moving away from them, however, no such luck. It was only a matter of seconds before Verna was long gone and separated from her two caretakers. She did eventually catch the bunny, but…
"Got ya!" She grabbed the little creature, lifting it up gently. "Don't worry, Mr. bunny, I won't hurt you," the girl assured, even though the bunny couldn't understand her. "You didn't have to run away like that. Oh… I wonder if Big Sis would let me keep… You…"
Finally, Verna had started to settle down, and it was only then that she realized where she was. Without even realizing it, she'd run towards the entrance of some attraction she hadn't seen before. Behind her was an open steel gate, in front of her was some kind of minecart ride. However, unlike all the other rides, there was something about it that just…
THROooom!
"Ah!" Verna jumped, looking up into the sky. Dark gray clouds had begun to cover the sky, bringing with it a new problem. "Oh no…" Verna whined, her features settling into a frown. "It's gonna rain… But… But I have to get back to sis…"
The girl looked behind her, towards the gate that lead into the odd attraction. She wanted to weigh her options, but the feeling of a little droplet of water splashing on on her nose made the decision for her.
"Ah… Oh no… Ah, I'm sorry, Big Sis!" Verna cried out. Having been left with no choice, she ran forward, bunny held firmly in hand to avoid getting wet. "Don't worry, Mr. bunny, I won't let you get wet!" she declared, running directly into unknown territory.
Had she stopped to look around for a second, she might have realized she was practically walking into a lion's maw.
"Hhhhhmmmmm? Do I have a guest with me today? Oh my… Well, isn't this a surprise! Oh, but where are my manners? I need to go greet them now, don't I? Oh, Inkman, you fiendish devil, you, it's time to knock 'em dead!"