("Just a quick hello from me, and thanks for the lovely feedback! Although I do not know some of the languages some of you may type, I do appreciate the thought, and am hoping online translation software will one day be not as cringe-inducing. Still, from what I can understand, there may be things I need to one day look upon. Suffice to say, I am sure this OC is not as original as the title suggests. I am totally shocked by this! Okay, maybe not. Still, neat to see comparisons!

Also neat to see some people showing some more interest in this. I would like to address some of the things, but I shall bite my tongue. I do not wish to spoil more stuff. Regardless, happy to read what people think. Will it mean the story will improve? Uh, well, I hope so. Eheh." - An author who just bit his tongue. Owie.)

"Whatcha reeeeadin'?"

The teasing voice of the purple-haired goof, I mean goddess known as Neptune was heard from Thomas' right ear, as she stood over and peeked at the pages.

Thomas was briefly startled by Neptune's sudden inquiry, turning his head up at her, "Oh! Uh, well, I am trying to get a better idea of how adventuring goes around here, so I am reading on some adventurers who went around Gamindustri. I'm hoping it'll help to research a little bit."

"Oh?" Neptune knelt down and leaned over to look in the book, forcing Thomas to lean back some more so she doesn't accidentally headbutt him.

"Neptune, give the man some space to read," Blanc said as she politely sat down on the other side.

"I don't think he minds me looking," Neptune beamed before turning her head a little to Thomas, "Do ya, Tommy?"

Neptune was clearly teasing both him and Blanc with this act, as her joyous face was awfully close. With Blanc turning to eye him, Thomas felt the pressure, reddening, "Uh, well..."

"I'm just messing with ya!" Neptune said as she pulled back enough to give him space, "As for the book, I recognize it! I'm sure Blanny here would know it too."

Blanc arched an eyebrow, "Really?" She glanced over to the cover, and blinked, "Huh. You're right, Neptune. I even have my own copy."

"Heh, naturally," Neptune nodded, as Thomas looked confused by what they were saying.

"Wait," Thomas looked to Neptune, pointing at the book, "You know the author?"

"Yep!" Neptune grinned, "She actually joined our party on more than one occasion."

Blanc hummed quietly, before responding, "Excellent choice, Tom. She's an excellent adventurer, and her books are pretty good."

Thomas looked back at the book, "I-is that so?"

Neptune sat herself down, stretching her arms as she leaned back on the rock the two were also resting on, "You betcha! I mean, this party's pretty big, but we've had quite the big roster in other adventures, too. It's important to have many strong and dependable people on your quest to save the world! Er, universe. Er, universes? Save the day! Yeah!"

"I guess with so many, you were bound to have one who would write these grand adventure novels," Thomas said while checking on the author's name: Falcom.

"She has had many adventures on her own," Blanc noted, "I have a couple in my inventory if you ever want to borrow."

"Uh, thank you, lady Blanc," Thomas nodded slowly, "I have a lot of books to go through as is, though."

"How many?" Blanc quickly asked.

"Uh, well, about fifty books total," Thomas said, not even looking in his inventory.

"Tch, lightweight," Blanc shook her head, "I've got about two hundred stored in the inventory, just in case."

"Well, I didn't bring out my entire library of books from home with me," Thomas lightly grumbled, "Not that I have access to a great library next door, or down the hallway."

"As much as I want to hear more about the size of your bookshelves," Neptune said with a roll of her eyes, "This talk does make me miss some of our friends."

Thomas looked down at the book again, "She does seem like a very good adventurer," talking of the author, "Though her luck with the sea sounds terrible. A real shame, too. I found the sea rather calming for the most part."

"Didn't you say long ago that the ship you used during your wandering around got wrecked too?" Neptune tried to recall the story from her own memory, "Seems you're one to talk."

"That happened the one and only time," Thomas muttered, "Also, it was a great mistake on my part. During that time, being anywhere near the Gamindustri Graveyard was just asking for trouble."

"In fairness to Tom here," Blanc stated, "Her luck really is bad with ships. I don't recall many sailors having that much bad luck, even losing all their items in the process."

"A resourceful person, all the same," Thomas said, his mind going deep into thought, "I assume those friends of yours are all strong in their own right, huh?"

Neptune smiled, "It's part of that whole teamwork and working together theme we got going. Even though some of them have their own flaws, they're all good."

Thomas had a faint smile. He went ahead and asked the following, "So, with all of your friends and adventurers, I am sure you've had a number of males join you on your quests, right?"

Blanc blinked, pausing to think about that question, as did Neptune. As Thomas thought the question was an easy-to-answer one, he was a little concerned as the two looked to be struggling.

"Does DLC count towards the total?" Neptune asked briefly, though both Thomas and Blanc narrowed their eyes at her, "Well, in that case, nope! It's been an all girl party for most, if not all of our adventures. If we're going by this continuity, you would be the first! Congrats for making that milestone!"

"You're kidding, right?" Thomas sweatdropped. He understood if the party were mostly females, given the CPUs and candidates make a good number, but to be the sole male entrant after so long? If Falcom's exploits are to be believed, and the CPUs do not seem to be disputing them, then that's quite a high bar to be an adventurer in Neptune's band of merry m-, er, mostly ladies.

"Don't feel pressure to outperform them," Blanc said to Thomas, "Last thing I want is to have to pull your ass out of trouble again."

"Just keep up the faith and that weird meditation thing going!" Neptune said, "I wanna see if my Neptune Break gets even more broken!"

"Don't give her that opportunity," Blanc joked, "All that power might corrupt her. She's already annoying enough as is."

"Do it!" Neptune gleefully said, "And you will complete your training as a disciple of the Nep side!"

"Part of me is rather curious," Thomas admitted, joining on the joking and feeling a little better.

"Figures," Blanc shook her head, "At least save some of that meditation move for the rest of us."

Thomas closed the book, meaning to put it away, "Okay, okay, I get it. This little amplifier will try and help out when he can. No pressure."

"Neptune," Blanc stated, "Try not to use that big move on a small mob. Who knows when we'll face another big monster or robot?"

"Aww," Neptune pouted, shaking her fists, "But how can I see how high my damage can get if it's not on some weak enemy? Don't you want to see 999,999,999,999 plus damage?"

Thomas quirked an eyebrow, as he even heard Neptune say the number aloud, "I don't think it boosts that much, Neptune."

"Ah, but I'll be planned for this!" Neptune rubbed her hands together, "It's quite simple! First, I'll have the other party members stack their buffs on me. That means you too, Tommy. Second, I'll spend a turn quaffing down all those booster potions we pick up on our journey! Third, we all use anything to bring down their defensive rating. Fourth, I'll transform into my CPU form. Fifth, I'll then change in-"

"Neptune, please," Thomas facepalmed, "That's overkill. There's experimenting, and then there's too much."

"Yeah, you're right," Neptune grinned, "I don't need to transform for that."

"Now look what you did," Blanc chided Thomas, "See what happens when you enable this kind of behavior?"

"I'm starting to understand more of what Histoire warned me about," Thomas said while looking over at Neptune, who was just laughing and enjoying the thoughts swimming through her head.

Although the conversation slowly petered out after that bit of silliness, Thomas did feel a little better. If anything, at least Neptune wasn't getting awfully close. Wait, was that a good thing? With Blanc watching? Probably.

"Hold on a moment," the lieutenant who greeted the group returned from his break, as Compa came back from checking on the wounded. "I have to check on something before letting you all go," the lieutenant, Gabriel, stated.

IF has a slight frown, as she followed behind him, making her to the rest of the party meeting around the entrance, "What seems to be the matter now? Aren't we all good to go?"

"It's not that simple," Gabriel said, "Forgive me, lady Uni, but I can't stand by while civilians may put their lives in danger."

"Civilians?" Uni asked, before shaking her head, "Get to the point, lieutenant."

"Aye," Gabriel nodded, before gesturing to three individuals, all neatly and conveniently lined up next to each other, "I do not recognize these people. Lady Uni, unless you have a good explanation, I can't permit them to follow. Even if it goes against your wishes."

"You think I would be so reckless?" Uni fumed.

Gabriel winced, "Lady Uni, please understand that I am doing this for safety reasons. Also, to cover my ass in the event that lady Noire finds out you've let a civilian into a dangerous area."

"Ah, the truth comes out," IF muttered under her breath.

Gabriel sighed, "Think of me what you will, but I must be certain of everyone involved. If something were to happen, I at least will be certain of who's in danger."

"Eh, let it be," Uzume finally spoke up, being one of the individuals Gabriel pointed out, "It's some silly formality. Besides, I want to re-introduce myself to as many people as possible!"

Gabriel turned to the fired-up CPU, tilting his head, "Go on, then. You two, afterwards." He pointed out to both Plutia and Thomas, "Just to get the formality over with."

Uzume, grinning from ear to ear, posed defiantly, trying to look as badass as possible as she cracked her knuckles, "Name's Uzume Tennouboshi! Also known as CPU Orange Heart of Planeptune! I was a CPU long ago, but now am back in action! What's up?"

There was a pause, as Uzume was anticipating a compliment for her attempt at being cool, or maybe a bit of awe hearing about a former CPU coming back. Instead, Gabriel hummed, "Another Planeptune CPU, huh? Alright." He looked to Neptune, "Can you say with certainty that her story's true?"

Uzume sweatdropped, though Neptune did answer, "Of course! This was who we revived after that last crisis with the delusional monsters."

Another pause, as the man turned to look at Uzume for a moment, "Hmmm. Very well, I will give this a pass." While Uzume was not sure how to feel, Gabriel turned over to the sleepy-eyed Plutia, "You're up next."

Plutia yawned briefly, as she introduced herself, "My name is Plutia. I am also from Planeptune, but I live in another dimension. So, yeah."

Unlike his reaction with Uzume, Gabriel froze a little, "P... You are Iris Heart, then?"

"Oh! Yeah, that's my CPU name, eheh," Plutia said as though she was forgetful. Maybe she was. It's hard to tell with someone like Plutia.

Gabriel tried to remain calm, but briefly let down his guard, "I have heard of the CPU of Planeptune in Ultradimension."

"Yep! That's me!" Plutia said simply, but soon was startled by the lieutenant's excited reaction.

"Amazing! I had heard from the reports about that crisis," Gabriel smirked, "And of the Planeptune CPU who was quite strong. It is rather unfortunate I won't be able to see this strength."

"Oh sure, believe she's telling the truth," Uzume crossed her arms, mumbling to herself.

"Oh?" Plutia seemed surprised by his being impressed, "Why not? Are you not following?"

"Unfortunately, no," Gabriel frowned, "Someone has to be here to keep an eye on things. Besides, your party seems large enough as is. Which brings me to you, sir." He turned over to a nervous Thomas.

"Uh, well, greetings, sir!" Thomas said nervously, as he felt put on the spot, "M-my name is Thomas. Thomas A-"

"I do not recognize that name," Gabriel admitted, once again interrupting Thomas before telling us that he had a last name. At least that's what I think it was. "What role do you play in this party, citizen? I do not sense much strength from you."

"Well, I, uh," Thomas stammered, feeling pressure to come up with something. Although he was fighting, sure, and doing some buffs, he wasn't really an adventurer.

"He's a wizard!" Neptune piped in with her answer, saying it with the usual cheery disposition.

"A what?" Both Thomas and Gabriel asked in a fit of confusion, though for different reasons.

"Yep! You're a wizard, Tommy," Neptune beamed, with the two men sweatdropping, "An interesting new kind of wizard!"

Thomas opened his mouth to interrupt, but Gabriel started first, "I'm sorry. What are you talking about?"

"A wizard capable of boosting CPU share energy! I mean, that is true, right, Tommy?" Neptune asked.

"Uh, well, I guess that is true," Thomas said quietly.

"Also, Ram? He's your pupil, right?" Neptune looked to the small CPU candidate, who was just hanging out with her sisters.

"Hmm? Oh yeah! He's my first pupil! I plan on being a powerful sage, so I gotta be a good teacher too! You don't want to stop a teacher's training, would you, mister?" Ram jumped up, exclaiming her intentions.

"As a representative of the Guild," IF added, "I shall take responsibility in making sure everyone's alright, Thomas included."

"Tommy's been with us since the start," Plutia noted, "I like him to stay."

"Same goes for me!" Uzume pumped up her fist, taking a guarded stance against Gabriel, even though she's not really going to fight.

"He's assisted us in a few close battles," Blanc said quietly, "I would like not to break that up."

"I agree!" Rom pouted.

Nepgear smiled meekly, "Looks like most of the CPUs agree, as do I. I promise to keep careful watch."

Compa beamed a bit, "I would like him to stay. Please, mister solider?"

Uni blinked at the odd amount of support, but eventually sighed, "I have noticed some of this support, lieutenant. Even if you feel otherwise, I don't think you'll be able to convince them otherwise."

Gabriel grimaced, and took a deep breath, exhaling in a quiet sigh, "It is alright, lady Uni. I do not understand, myself, about this magic nonsense. Still, I cannot say no to this." He glanced over to Thomas, "You are a lucky individual, mister Thomas, to see such strength in action."

Thomas winced a bit, as his view of what constituted luck was likely different, "I suppose so, sir."

Gabriel hummed, "Very well. I shall follow you down the entrance, then return and hold the line here."

Thomas bowed his head down a little, muttering some quiet thanks. He once again recalled one of his conversations with Histoire. It might be true, after all, that others have more faith in him than he does in himself.

Going down the stairway, the party, with Gabriel leading them down, finally went into Parap Station proper. The area was awfully big, with large enough space for anyone to get where they were going. Even when the station was packed with people, there was always enough space to get around. This made the following area more unpredictable, as mines could be placed anywhere, with the odds of it being missed were higher.

Other than the dangers of the mines, the area was pretty much similar to the other subway stations in Lastation. In contrast to the dark and industrial look of some of Lastation's buildings, the subway fit more into the cyberpunk theme that Lastation was also known for. There were long hallways, bright neon lights, and sleeks vending machines and lockers all around. Strangely enough, despite the firewall's interference, there was still enough power to keep the lights on.

Gabriel traveled quickly down the stairs, pulling out his rifle and crouched behind a pillar at the bottom. He glanced over from his cover to check the area, before motioning for the party to come down, "This section is clear," he said in a quieter but still gruff tone.

The party walked down the stairs before huddling behind Gabriel's position. Even though everyone was crouching down, it was hard to not notice a bunch of people at the bottom of the stairway. Thankfully for them, there were no enemies to deal with presently.

"This is as far as I'll accompany you," Gabriel as he looked between the various CPUs and adventurers, "But before I go, let me help you with one thing." He lifted a free finger, "Please observe." He turned around the pillar and pointed down the hall. He then glanced back to see if everyone was watching.

"Before we came back from out last trek, our people recovered one of the mines," Gabriel said, "Some of these things explode on proximity, but this one would have to be stepped on. They all look similar, however. We put the mine over there in case our, huh, 'friends' came back."

Uni peered over to look it over, "I think I can make it out. I can see the strategy value here. They almost blend in with the floor tiling if you're not looking."

"Exactly," Gabriel mused with a sneer, "These enemies may be cowards, but they know exactly what they are doing."

Nepgear squinted over at the area Gabriel pointed out. The floor was quite sleek, fitting the overall look of the subway. It took a moment before she could make out a small bump on the flat surface, and identifying the mine. "Wow, that really is a small mine," Nepgear said, "That could cause some definite problems."

"You haven't seen the other half of it," Gabriel said as he lifted his rifle to aim at it, "We should be at a good distance, but watch what happens when I set it off. I'll wait until everyone gets a good look at that mine for future reference."

Gabriel held his aim and watched as the rest of the party, one by one, raised their hand to indicate they got a good look. The man with the rifle waited until the last few people in the back raised their hands, "Good. Alright," he shifted back to a more comfortable stance, as he fixed his aim one more time, "Now, watch." He took a deep breath, held, and pulled the trigger on his rifle. It was not a difficult shot, as he had no trouble hitting the mine, but ensuing explosion that triggered was fairly large.

"Eep," Thomas deadpanned.

"Indeed," Gabriel frowned as he eased his aim, standing up, "I wish you all the best of luck. If you can, please clear as many as you can, preferably in a straight path. We'll get our engineers to handle the rest at a later time. Hopefully with these cowards gone."

"We'll do what we can," Uni nodded, "You are dismissed, Lieutenant. And thanks."

"Understood. I'll be back at camp. Our comms will be open if you need to get in touch," Gabriel, finished with his role, briskly walked back up the stairs, not looking back.

"And just as quickly as he was introduced, he's out," Neptune noted, "But yeah, we gotta deal with these mines somehow."

"Clearing them afar won't be too difficult," IF said, "It's just spotting them and making sure we aren't too close when they go off."

"The explosion had a good range," Blanc muttered, "Even if they are weak, low-level mines, which I somehow doubt, we can take quite a bit of damage if we set off too many of those."

"Anyone got a metal detector?" Neptune joked.

"You heard the lieutenant," IF said, "Some might just detonate due to proximity. Not to mention, even a metal detector might miss something like that."

"Assuming they're all grounded, too," Blanc said, "Ugh, this is just going to take forever to clear. The subway's not exactly small, you know?"

"We just need to clear the ones on the ground, right?" Uzume asked, "If we don't have to worry about staring at the ground every few steps, we can move more quickly."

Thomas rubbed his chin, "If only had some sturdy vehicle with us. I recall reading about attaching something like a plow or flail to a vehicle to clear mines. Even something like a roller could be used."

"A roller?" Plutia blinked at the thoughts going in her head.

"You know, just something to hit the mines for us," Thomas responded.

"Well, we could use Blanc as a t-" Neptune was about to tease Blanc again.

"We are not using one of our party members as a tank," Thomas glared at Neptune.

"Haha, kidding, of course," Neptune said lightly, "None of us are so masochistic to want to dive into mines anyway."

"I know one!" Plutia said, looking like she came across an idea.

Thomas' eyes widened, "Absolutely not! I refuse."

"Huh?" Plutia said, looking puzzled, "I wasn't talking about you. Are you a masochist, Tommy?" She asked in a tone implying a genuine interest.

"No!" Thomas' eyes glared right at a surprised Plutia, "A-and if it wasn't me you meant, then who do you mean?"

"It's not quite a who," Plutia said, after a pause, while holding her hands together, with a rather unsettling smile.

"Then who, or what, is this," Rom tilted her head, trying to think, "What was that word again?"

Plutia giggled, "Never mind, dear Rommy. The important thing is I got an idea. Hold on! I need to go somewhere to prepare. B R B!" With that, the CPU went back up the stairs, leaving the party puzzled.

"She didn't even ask if we thought her idea was good or not," Uzume said quietly.

"Sounds about right for Plutie," Neptune remarked, "Either way, let's just sit down and wait! Even though she's slow, once she gets excited, Plutia won't take long."

"I hope Plutia's idea will work!" Compa said cheerily, even as some of the others were a little worried. Maybe not so much whether it would work, but what method Plutia had in mind.

"I guess that's why Plutia asked me about a roller," Thomas said as he leaned back against a wall.

"Well, I can't say this is a bad idea, after all," IF said with a little relief, as she leaned on the wall next to Thomas, "It's, uh, unique?"

As the two watched, Plutia's 'weapon' in human form, a plushie, was seen actually moving on its own past them. The party made room not only for it to pass by, but for the large ball it was pushing.

Large ball? Uh, okay? Alright, let's get a good look at this silliness. The plushie that Plutia normally wielded was now pushing a giant ball down the stairs and into the subway station. I would say that now I've seen everything, except I can never be sure anymore.

"Ta-daaaaaa!" Plutia hopped down the last step of the stairs, waving her hands over at the plushie doing its run, "This is what I call a Plutia crab! Next time I do this, though, I'm gonna have to make a plushie crab to fit the theme. Ohhhh well!"

"Uhh, how is that plushie moving on its own? And where did that ball come from?" Thomas asked, confused by what he was seeing in front of him. The plushie's job, oddly enough, was working to some extent, as the oddly durable ball was able to detonate a couple of the mines it rolled over.

"Magic," Plutia answered, as she smiled to Thomas, "Do you reaaaaally wanna more about how I did this, mister wizard?"

Thomas sweatdropped, "Uhh, maybe I should leave this to the professionals."

Plutia pouted, "Aww. I wouldn't mind sharing some of my secrets."

Thomas shuddered a bit, while the Plutia crab, led by a kitty plush, tried a few times to roll the ball over one of the mines. After two failed tries, the plushie stopped and went over to detonate it the old-fashioned way: With its face. Strangely enough, it also somehow endured the ensuing explosion.

"That plush is certainly durable," IF blinked at the antics of this odd sight.

"Also magic!" Plutia said, before grinning, "Not really. It's just very durable. I use the best materials to make it. Eheh."

"Are we planning to use this crab through the entire station?" Thomas inquired.

Plutia shrugged, "I can always bring this thing up if we need it for an area. I am sure that Gabe person will like the results."

"We can certainly clear our way out with this, sure," IF said, rubbing the back of her neck, "We'll still have to keep an eye out, though."

After several detonations and rolling around later, the Plutia crab returned with the plush wobbling its charred self over to its wielder. Plutia knelt down and gently picked up the plush, before squeezing it happily, "Yay! Good job!" Despite the plush looking rather crispy, Plutia had no problem giving it an affectionate squeeze.

"I guess we're free to proceed," Thomas muttered.

Plutia giggled, "Alright! I hope you're ready for the next time we need you, Mr. Kitty!" The plush did a little salute before slumping back into another Plutia squeeze.

IF coughed, "Let's not look any more into this, and keep going, shall we?"

Well, while the party went on, part of me wants to know, just how was this possible? Where did Plutia get that large ball? Was it on sale? What sort of high-quality material was this plush made out of? Is Mr. Kitty alive and sentient, or a plush with the soul of a tragic figure from Plutia's past? Questions like these will most likely not be answered next time! Instead, we'll probably find out what's at the end of this subway dungeon.

And now Mr. Kitty's eyes twinkled at me. How is that possible, again? Either way, stop that, Mr. Kitty. Bad plush.