Welcome! And so begins the little arc I like to call, the birthday arc, just to give us a small rest before we go to Lastation. You see, I ended the Lowee arc with three major gashats left from the original ten: Shakariki Sports, Jet Combat and Gekitotsu Robots. Think about it, with Latation, which of those doesn't fit? Let's sort that out eventually. Of course, if it's a celebration, then we can't Ex-aid have fun, can we? Anyway, let's go!

Super hero time!

Ex-aid: Naruto, sail the seven skies!

Naruto: Egi, looks like it's time for a special adventure!

Ex-aid: Just for three chapters, i'll be the king of spades!

Naruto: What, was the queen of hearts already taken?

E-a + N: Game start! Showtime!

"Ah, thank goodness you stopped that weird man! But was throwing him away into the distance really necessary?" Toei scolded as she looked upon her CPU, a small chuckle escaping the doctor.

"Well, it certainly made things more fun?" the boy responded, the girl rolling her eyes at the answer; was it even an answer or a question?

"But we could've questioned him if you kept him here!" the oracle complained with crossed hands, Egi's demeanour sobering up at the tapping foot.

"I'm afraid you would be wrong in that thought." He immediately dismissed. "He's shown that he as the ability to teleport, meaning there's no way we could even hold him. The only reason he stuck around was to play with us, the reason for that, I don't know, and the only reason I was able to beat him this time was the use of both energy items and a higher set level; using God of Gamindustri would make me have to collect all of the summon crystals and he most likely could've attacked me during that period."

With crestfallen eyes, Toei gave a tut as she returned to her papers, a small hum matching her fumbling hands before a sheet was shoved into Egi's. With a bright smile that lit up the dark office, the oracle held out her arms.

"Well, I was originally going to call you here in order for you to permit the creation of several different games I had planned. I have the materials ready to turn them into Gashats for you to use, but I was keeping them in reserve just in case you wanted to do anything else or didn't like any of the concepts I put in place." Toei declared, a nod coming from the rider as he flicked through several of the different papers scattered upon the table.

"Tokimeki Crisis… seems dangerous." He could just imagine what would happen if the red scarfed girl was let loose with such an idea, considering the odd things she had done already. "I hope if you do make this into a gashat, you don't go too crazy with what you make it do."

"No promises!" the proud declaration and sense of content absolutely oozing from her body definitely didn't feel right to him, but never the less, Egi returned to his papers with intrigue, a small realisation coming to Toei's mind.

"Oh yeah, where are the others with you usually?" she asked, a small shrug coming from the doctor.

"I don't actually know. They said that they were going shopping in order to get themselves prepared, but they didn't want me coming along with them." Egi replied, as he dropped the now heavily crumpled paper from his tightened fist. It really shouldn't, but something hurt after hearing that. Girls need their alone time, but they didn't seem to care about that before… maybe they just hadn't been thinking about it until now.

"Oh. I'm sure they'll be back when they're ready then." Toei answered, turning away with a slight pull of the scarf to hide the grin. With the way he was acting now, it was almost as if he didn't remember! That just made everything better; he wouldn't be moping that everyone forgot about it! "Well, does that mean you approve of it all?"

"Iroha Paint, Epic Sorcerer… all seems to be in che-!" but it was one sheet, apparently little more than the planning stage, which caught Egi's eye. Rapidly flicking through the text, glancing at the images, a strangled sort of sound seemed to escape him, Toei raising an eyebrow.

"What's up? Is there something which isn't up to your standing?" she enquired, looking over his shoulder as the black haired man merely poked at the sheet, blubbering before the words came out.

"W-what…? Where did you… get these ideas?" he muttered, a tilt of Toei's head being an answer.

"Well, I was just brainstorming without anything coming together, then all of a sudden, blam! It just hit me!" the bike jacket clad girl explained, Egi swallowing, but nothing went down.

"That man, the one who attacked… he used these games." Egi eventually said, a small shiver escaping the oracle as the thought settled in.

"Wait, what!? He's using my ideas!?" the girl exclaimed, looking to the windows with judging eyes. "But that means he's been able to enter my office! He's been rooting through my stuff and he created gashats for himself!"

"No… I'm afraid you would be wrong in that idea again." The doctor countered. "the way he talks, the way he refers to me… something gives me the impression that he's not from here, no, I'm certain of it."

"You could've at least reached the level of the hunter, maybe even discover the brothers… I suppose you're not like Emu then Ex-aid."

"All right then, I guess this makes you Lazer then!"

"He speaks like he's seen this sort of thing before, even knowing about the Drago Knight Hunter gashats and the Mighty Brothers Double X as well. He could've possibly seen them if he really did break in and his teleporting powers would make that easier, but some part of me tells me that isn't the conclusion we need…" his thoughts were quickly interrupted by ringing, Toei flashing an apologetic smile as she picked up the landline.

"How may we help you?" she greeted, the smile slowly fading away. "Are you certain? Right now? Well, then help will be coming quickly, don't worry!" the phone was smashed against its holder, the oracle turning to Egi with an uncharacteristic seriousness to her demeanour. "Apparently, there's someone going mad in the streets and they're dangerous. We need to go intercept and hold as quickly as we can."

"Understood. Make sure the girls are informed of where I am when they return." A hand upon the doctor's shoulder had him twisting his head towards the biker girl, the cracking of knuckles filling the air.

"Oh, don't think you're leaving me here all alone!" Toei sung. "A note on the door will be enough. They'll be probably gone longer than we will. I'm gonna grab my bike, you start first!"

"Don't worry, they'll come for you, I know it!" it was a harsh whisper in her ear, but there was little she could do to move away from it. With a shard of broken glass to her neck and a crazed arm around her waist, there was only so many actions you could take without getting glass in places glass certainly shouldn't be entering! With whispered prayers and promises, the lady remained stock still against the grey shirt of her captor, only visible from the small glimpse of the lithe arm that held her in place. Unseen to her, her captor also had a wild mess of red, lips delicately done in a pink sheen and dusted in blush and apple crush, an odd contrast to the crazed swirls that filled her eyes.

"Hold it right there!"

"Ah, he actually came! How blessed I must be to have someone like you grace me with your honoured presence!" With hands upon cheeks, that meant they weren't on the crying girl, the man woman's laughter near sobbing, a close match to her prisoner's as she stepped towards the yellow bike. "This is the one you call… Lazer, isn't it? It was what he called it…"

GACHAAN!

GASHUUN!

"Yes, it is, but I have to ask you to come with me now." Egi gently instructed, taking the woman by the hand, or at least attempting. With a frightened yell, the woman hurled the appendage away, her soft shrieking ringing out with every step she took.

"No! No, no, no, nonononononono!" she gasped, a sensual smile even in her terrified state. "No, you can't leave now! The party's already started! There were so many preparations, but I guess that makes sense… you wouldn't want the sort of stuff I make… But that's okay…?"

"Are you alright? Preparations?" he had to remain strong despite the shiver that crawled down his spine at the soft spoken words. Things were becoming slightly awkward with them standing in the middle of the street though. While the smart ones ushered friends and family out of the road, into safer, denser areas, there were a few brave souls that chose to remain and see the potentially terrible results.

"Ah, you wish to see!?" the red haired woman emphatically exclaimed, hands held close to her chest as she gave a youthful burst. If it weren't for the near hypnotic swirls within her eyes and the clear streams of tears that fell down her face. "To think you would even look after such wasteful lowlifes like me… it truly is beautiful!"

"Well, I'll look after all of my people." Egi promised with a smile. The thought of him of all people becoming a powerful ruler of his own land, fighting in order to free a trapped girl and keep the world safe from the terrible clutches of the evil Arfoire, it all seemed so fantastical, like there was no chance of it happening and yet, here he was, promising this woman that he would keep her safe.

A great tug of his hand had the woman leading him down an odd alleyway, lit by the sun above only; it appeared as if someone had chosen to unscrew all of the lightbulbs within the lamps. With deep breaths, Egi tried futilely to calm his harsh heart as he was drawn into a room, the hellish sight within causing a sharp intake of breath to add to that growing store of air. Perhaps the girls were having a much better time than this.

"Come on Neptune, we have to keep to schedule!" IF moaned, tugging the purple haired girl by the sleeve as they passed through shops and set up stands, nary a bag in their hand as Compa gave a small sigh.

"We couldn't find anything to get Egi yet…" the nurse in training stated, looking to the lack of items within their inventory. Of course, they all had the various items they had gathered through their travels, but you really didn't want to give someone medicine for their special day, even if they were a doctor.

"I'm sure we'll find something!" 5pb declared with raised fists, though perhaps the idol's confidence was slightly misplaced.

"I mean, you'd think we would find something in the first half of the mall we checked." IF deadpanned, flicking through her phone's various sites. They had seen some pretty sweet offers, but they had been all for more utility items rather than a nice gift…

"Come on, let the master of great gift grabbing guide you girls!" Neptune eventually decided, closed eyes followed by a breath before she pointed in a random direction, flames glowing in lilac orbs as she began her march. "Now, we have let fate decide our path! Onward, to the best gift money can buy!"

Turned out, fate liked music. With images of a fake 5pb plastered all over the walls, several CDs bearing her face amongst the other various musicians and a bright tune filling the wine red walls, the party gently pushed their way through the gathered crowd, all discussing their latest tastes and sudden hatreds for certain artists.

"Oh yeah, what kind of music does he actually like?" IF asked as she picked up a random disk off of the shelves. "Er, probably not heavy metal…"

"Wasn't he listening to that techy stuff, like the leek holding one?" Neptune remarked, pointing to the electro section with a bright smile. "Heh, he thought there was no one around, but I saw him bopping his head to the tunes, even when he's writing his files!"

"Oh, the vocal synthesisers… I lent my voice to one actually." There was no stopping the odd tingle that spread across 5pb's back at the thought. "Some people have been putting the character in some weird videos though, and making the voice sing strange things…"

"Well, this one looks kinda nice!" Compa announced, plucking a CD from the top of the shelves, plugging it into the test player and filling the air with a jazzy tune, the falsified voice making more than few passing shops bob their heads to the sound of the drums.

Korosanu youni, ikasanu youni,

Kowareru made aishite ageru!

Kairaku wa ,biyaku na no, donna hei mo yagate inu no youni hizamazuku wa…

This love is so insane!

"Yeah, that sounds nice. Keep it for now and if we find anything better, we can put it back." The agent instructed, plucking another of the disks out. "Maybe this one will work… seems a little abstract, but apparently, it's a really popular one."

mou ikkai! mou ikkai!

"watashi wa kyou mo korogarimasu!" to,

shoujo wa iu, shoujo wa iu,

kotoba ni imi o kanadenagara!

"Woah, that's super strong!" Compa gasped, 5pb choosing a CD of her own and placing it in, a small smile of content gracing her face.

"I remember listening to this one after one of my concerts, a fan gave it to me even on the day it came out." The songstress commented as the guitar and synth drums began.

Dakara, mousou-kanshou-daishou-renmei,

ai o idaite risou o sakenda!

ikiba no nai gusha no merodii!

Saichousen, tensei,terepooteeshon-

nankai datte kasanete yukun da !

owari naki ai no manimani , saa!

"Well, we've got the money and the payload, let's push it all the way home!" Neptune cheered, taking the CDs in her hand and happily rushing over to the checkout, a sigh escaping IF.

"To be honest, I'm surprised that Neptune's so happy to be doing this." The blue jacketed girl remarked. "You'd think that she'd be all about blowing the money on sweets, then realising that she has a present to buy."

"Now, don't say that Iffy, Nep-Nep can be reliable when she wants to." Compa lightly scolded, though the idea wasn't exactly farfetched. A chuckle escaped the trio as they looked on as Neptune boasted of something to the man on checkout, the cashier letting out a bold chuckle before handing her the bag with a wave.

"So, everything go alright then Nep?" IF asked as they left the shop, the goddess of Planeptune giving a bright grin with her thumbs up.

"Abso-positive-lutely!" she declared. "He also said that he put something extra in there because it was for the God of Genmeer, but he told me not to look into it before we had to." A slight lowering of the brunette's eyelids was the only signal for the increased suspicion she held, but as Neptune ravenously dragged them off into a pudding store, that small sense of anticipation was gone, instead focused entirely on making sure that everything-

"What the hell's this!?"

-Was-

"You can call me the queen of Hearts!"

-Fine.

"I know it's probably too little for someone of your brilliant status, but it was all I could scrounge up at a short notice… I'm so ssooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyy!"

Usually, he would hear that sort of drawn out cry from the various child patients he would have to work with, but with a fully grown redhead sobbing like mad as her feet swam in the odd blue and green substance, it definitely wasn't as cute as it could've been.

"What the hell's this!?" the doctor exclaimed, the chemicals leaving an odd pharmaceutical smell in his nose, one he knew wouldn't leave easily. Regardless of his disgust, the woman let out a glowing smile with the same swirls within the eyes and her tears.

"Well, clearly you wouldn't want to meet such an unworthy, useless, stupid, good for nothing girl, but you absolutely adore those girls of yours right? You love them right?" the woman remarked, continuing her thoughts before the man who could even question the first part of her statement. "So, I thought if you could have them all in one, it would be beautiful, wouldn't it!? One was a nurse, so I tried my hand at making some medicine, though the monsters I tried it on didn't seem to like it…"

'Oh dear god…' strapped to tables and stapled to the walls, several types of monsters were seen pulsing occasionally, twitching as if they were still alive and if the low groans that filled the air at times meant anything, then they were. But that shouldn't have been possible, not with the crudely assembled plastic pipes feeding into the, pumping in and out a viscous mix of green and blue, the same that coated the floor.

"Isn't it so much better than that nurse can do?" there was no doubt in his head that the word 'nurse' couldn't be spat out with any more venom, but the woman continued, regardless. "I even made it so they can live on without their hearts, growing an entirely new one to replace it! I've collected so many different kinds, all useful in the act of transplanting if a human wanted one; I'm the queen of Hearts!"

'Wait, so if she's trying to be my friends and she already has Compa down…' things could only get creepier from there; what could you do with an idol, explorer and guild agent or a CPU? Well, hopefully this strange woman wasn't able to realise that Neptune was actually a goddess with a landmass, but what if she did? 'a room of slaughtered 'criminals', hundreds forced to listen to ear bursting music without end, never to sleep… maybe even forcing people to do her bidding, like puppets on strings…'

"Come on now, you may like this room, but the rest are certainly fit to be seen by someone of your standard, even if they have been made by a parasitic nobody like me!" the woman cried, the harsh grasp, steel around his arm as he was dragged through the next door, navy rather than the first's red. Just like the original room however, a similar liquid flowed across the floor, but the courage to check if his predictions were correct refused to come to him.

'Well… open on three… one, two… three…'

Game Pause! Well, quick! What are all of the references in this chapter? Admittedly, only one is a game reference, but considering how much i involve these in my stories, it won't exactly be hard to guess where the rest came from! So what happens next to our poor doctor? What a birthday celebration this is!