("And done! 50 chapters, holy crap... With Act III done, I'm gonna take a bit of a break. I need to relax my brain for a while before moving onto the next Act. I will note, much like last time, when you see the first "Intermission" event pop up, that means I'm writing on Act IV. But for now, enjoy the conclusion!
I appreciate any feedback many have offered so far, from telling me to stop with the Italics to rooting for a character to simply joking about. It's been nearly a year, oh dear, and having gone this far has been great. Hopefully the rest of the story will do just as well, or better. I hope.
Finally, just to give you all something to think about, I like to ask you all the following: (1) Who has been your favorite character so far? (2) What has been your favorite scene? Finally, (3) What do you expect in the future? I mean, other than nonsense. That's a given. Eheh." - Author who doesn't mind nicknames.
Also, the triple S rank would remind me more of DMC 4's "Smokin' Sick Style", if that was what I was going for. It wasn't. Still, I like that one of you is thinking of reading into the skill names. Okay, I'm done. Honest!)
Party changed: Noire, Blanc, Uzume, Plutia
From the Chirper archives, Plutia's icon popped out with the simple message, "Why are there always meanies in every dimension?"
With the Candidates and the Guild outside fending off robots, Noire led her group through the air to storm the harbor. The four evaded any fire that came their way, as the Carrier used some of its emergency power to close up the harbor doors. Fortunately, according to the schematics that the others looked over, the doors were not terribly well-armored. Not enough to stop four CPUs, in any case.
Noire had a lot of pent-up frustration, stemming from her time watching from outside the firewall, and being on the sideline so much. A stupid hangar door wasn't going to stop her.
"You're not hiding behind any barrier this time!" Black Heart exclaimed, flying towards the door and getting her sword ready. No longer restraining herself, Black Heart yelled as she slashed at the doors in a diagonal cut. After the slash, she looked to White Heart, "Care to smash this open?"
"Gladly," White Heart got out her axe and forced the door panels to fly back after a pretty big smash. The way inside was clear, and some of the jets were scrambling to get into defense.
Orange Heart flew in first, getting out her megaphone and announcing their arrival with a "Move away!" The megaphone's blast was enough to knock back the robots close enough, and forced them to fall further down the dark corridor. Uzume smiled happily, "All clear!" This allowed the other three to get inside proper.
Iris Heart flew in next, overall excited as she gave chase to some of the jets, which fired back in wild shots, missing completely. The CPU laughed, "You boys are such terrible shots. Clearly what this army lacks is proper discipline!" Unleashing her sword-whip, she caught one of the jets and proceeded to tear it apart, before whipping at another jet, destroying its wings before going in for one final strike.
The remaining robots pulled further back down the dark corridor, including the few jets that were initially still docked along the side by metal clamps. The clamps unlocked quickly enough for the jets to follow the other bots, moving into the far-off distance.
Iris Heart stopped her chase, standing with a free hand on her hip, "Already fleeing? It's too bad these robots can't feel fear. How dreadfully boring." She soon stepped back to join the others, smiling at Orange Heart, "I have to say, that little performance was quite adorable."
Orange Heart sweatdropped, nervously saying, "Uzume's getting creepy vibes tickling her back again."
"Plutia, please focus on the robots," Black Heart said bluntly, party as a warning.
"Hehe, very well," Iris Heart's mood didn't particularly sour, "I was just having a little pre-boss tease."
White Heart clenched her fist as she looked down the corridor. As they were in their CPU forms, the little ambient lights they emitted made it slightly easier to see. White Heart could see the end of the corridor opening up for the robots to fall behind into. She growled a little, "Plutia's right on one thing. There's likely a boss or something at the end of this."
"Boss or gauntlet of robots, it won't matter at this point," Black Heart said with confidence, "We'll destroy it all. This is what they'll get for messing with the people of my nation."
Iris Heart flushed a little, "Oh, Lady Noire's all fired up! I'm more than willing to dish out some punishment for the cause."
"Leave some for me," White Heart muttered, "I'm still mad over all they did in Lowee."
"Uzume is glad you're all eager," Orange Heart said with a faint smile, "Yet Uzume still feels creepy vibes. Er, we're here to destroy the Carrier's power source, right?"
Uzume's words brought the three to reel in their, er, excitement. Black Heart spoke as she took the lead, hovering down the corridor, "Uzume's right. Let's all keep that as our priority. You have the timed explosives, right?"
"Yep!" Orange Heart chirped, "As soon as we find our target, Uzume'll set the thingies up!"
"Good," Black Heart nodded, "Everyone, stay sharp."
"Yeah yeah, enough barking, let's get going already," White Heart had little patience to begin with, but least this was a mild complaint.
"I'll make sure to keep the meanie robots off your back, my little Orange Heart~" Iris Heart had one final tease.
"Awww, thankies Plutsy!" Orange Heart said happily, this time unaware of the tease.
Iris Heart winced mildly, then shrugged, muttering, "Er, right. Might be losing my touch there. No matter, the response was still cute."
With no resistance meeting her, Black Heart still cautiously walked to the end of the corridor, with the doors left open for the group to just walk in. Black Heart stopped just at the doors to look at the final room, "What the?"
Unlike the rest of the Carrier, which even when fully powered didn't have much lighting, this room was very bright. This was due to giant pillar in the center part of the large room. Uzume won't have a problem finding the power source because it's right in the middle, as the pillar was full of what looked like hot plasma. How this all could be contained, or be used, was something I'm not even sure. Looked like something out of science-fiction, honest. Er, in addition to that, there were many massive computer panels surrounding the pillar. I'm going to speculate these things were used to help power up the entire Land Carrier, as the plasma charged up the many wires and tubes spilling down below. The panels themselves looked pretty old, given the amount of vacuum tubes and transistors I can see in there. So, more like old science-fiction, then.
My rambling description aside, it was definitely a massive power room. Black Heart felt some sweat forming over her forehead, as she made the first comment, "I was wondering why I felt a little warm."
White Heart flinched at the heat coming from both the pillar and all the computers running. In addition, her blue hair was starting to lift a little. "The hell is this antique crap?"
"My, how nostalgic," Iris Heart said of the many computers, "I remember seeing some things like this back in school. Maybe I will have fun breaking something!"
Orange Sister gasped, "This is, like, totally weird. But hey, there's the power source!"
"Really, never would've guessed!" White Heart said with definite sarcasm, "Let's smash this place up already." Uzume responded with a shy laugh.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Black Heart brought out her sword as she moved further into the building, "The robots around here aren't going to let us just do that."
Sure enough, as Noire got closer, she could feel the tension in the air... as well as a few strands of her hair moving up. She heard some of the clicks and blips of the older computer panels surrounding the pillars, before some of the panels moved out from their 'section' on their own, flipping over to show another function: energy turrets.
As Black Heart got on guard, the other CPUs rushed in to cover her back, before realizing where the other robots have been. Within the walls, panels opened, with the reorganized robots lining up, surrounding the CPUs, and blocking the way out.
"An ambush? Really?" White Heart was partly frustrated, but was also feeling how predictable this was.
"I guess we'll have to deal with the robots first, huh?" Orange Heart said while the four turned their backs to each other.
Black Heart sighed, before giving a smirk. She spoke clearly, as though she was sure something was out there to hear her, "You really think this'll stop us? Your production and engines are out, and your numbers are dwindling. Oh, also, I'm in a really, really bad mood. I'm going to guarantee these robots will be scrap by the time we're done here. So, are you truly going to keep going with this farce?"
Even as most of the robots held their weapons out, and the turrets moved up to aim down at the CPUS, Black Heart remained confident. She was confident that whatever was controlling these things was not going to stand down. She waited for the first move, and quietly murmured to the group, "Get ready..."
The other CPUs drew their weapons, waiting for the 'signal' to be made. It would come, after a few clicks, from a few of the displays on some of the monitors, but could be seen be all the CPUs. It was typed across in blocky, green text.
FIRE
The robots and turrets began to fire on the group. Noire, Uzume, and Plutia dashed in separate directions to start their attacks. White Heart shielded herself briefly with her axe overhead, trying to deflect whatever was firing from the turrets. Enduring more enemy fire, though, Blanc grew more angry, "Screw this!"
White Heart jumped up and flew to the closest energy turret, trying to dodge some of the fire, but mostly just tanking the damage. "Haaaaaa!" White Heart shouted, slicing down into the turret and attached computer panel. She purposefully stopped halfway, after being certain the turret was no longer functioning. Afterwards, she used her strength, and the axe to fling the panel down, clearing a group of robots that placed themselves near the way out.
After a few punches and taking down a few robots, Orange Heart flew up to quickly check on the battered White Heart. She smiled cutely at her, before exclaimed, "Lemme help! Here's a heal!" Although a basic healing skill, it was enough to help White Heart heal some of the damage inflicted in the first volley.
"Thanks!" White Heart said quickly, before she turned to go after more of the turrets firing on them.
Black Heart tried to keep herself focused as she went after some of the robots targeting her. Despite the many emotions running through her, she knew her fighting style relied on precision. Going wild like Blanc, or Plutia, goddess forbid, would not be beneficial to her. Of course, that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy smashing some robots.
Disrupting the robots' coordinated attacks was first on the CPU's battle checklist. Blanc throwing panels was a good start, but she needed more. For now, however, she focused ahead, sprinting at the first big robot she could find. Although the one she went after only wielded a mace and was intended to 'tank', Black Heart was not slowed down in the slightest, slicing through its arms.
As Iris Heart unfurled her sword-whip to attack multiple robots at once, different robots were brought in to deal with the threat the CPUs posed. The CPUs might have taken some hits from the ranged attacks, but they weren't too powerful. The only Sniper bot that was unfortunate to be in this gauntlet was taken out quite early by Blanc's earlier toss.
Several elemental robots were brought in next. Their armor was quite thick already, as Black Heart struggled to pierce through it directly. Orange Heart had to be in a support role as her physical attacks were hardly denting them, and she was tasking herself with healing the others.
Blanc recalled her first battle with these bots, and brought out her ice attacks on any fire elementals. White Heart grinned as she broke through their armor, and shouted to Black Heart, "Noire, you got fire attacks, right?"
Black Heart caught on quick, "Absolutely!" Flying up into the air, her sword grew warmer, and she dove down on the ice elementals, "Volcano Dive!" Adding more to the heat in the room, Noire's attack caused an explosion that melted down whatever defenses those robots had.
It was when the other elemental robots came in that the group faced some difficulties. The air elemental robots, sporting a green tint to their lighting, had similar fans to the one that faced Blanc and Plutia's group in Sim City. Perhaps in an effort to keep the CPUs away from their power source, the elementals started up their fans and tried to push them away with high winds.
Each of the CPUs struggled to hold up, pushing their flight powers just so they could stay in place. White Heart was rather vocal with her displeasure, "Not this stupid crap again!"
"Least it's not so toasty in here, am I right?" Orange Heart tried to lighten the mood.
"We're gonna need to work together on this one!" Black Heart stated, "Everyone! Single-file! Plutia, you're at back!"
Although the other three were confused, they eventually moved behind Black Heart, who was pushing hard against the high winds. While she was doing that, she used her blade to try and deflect any more fire from any ranged turrets or guns.
Black Heart kept pushing, trying to move forward until she couldn't get any forward momentum. Seeing this, she called out, "Blanc! You're up front! Keep pushing!"
"I get it now," White Heart stated, and the two switched positions, allowing Black Heart to catch her breath from the back, and White Heart to begin pushing. White Heart held her axe in front of her as a shield, trying to outdo Noire as they got closer to the elementals. Eventually, she had to fall back, letting Orange Heart take the lead. The pattern continued, and slowly the group got much closer, as the robots tried to move back in response.
"Now Plutia!" Black Heart exclaimed, as Orange Heart pulled back to let Iris Heart push to the front with her sword-whip. Unleashing an electrical charge, Plutia dashed ahead and lashed out. The sword-whip had enough of a reach to hit some of the robots, stunning them. The resulting stun slowed down the high winds enough for the group to catch up and deal with the rest of the air elementals, with Plutia's lightning was enough to bring down their defenses.
The robots were not finished yet, as they reacted to Plutia's lightning by unveiling their latest elemental. The robots came out with electricity sparking across their armor. Iris Heart was first to attack these new bots, clashing her weapon with one of the robot's arms. Despite the clash, and the robot countering with an attack of its own, both were unable to damage the other. Iris Heart laughed as she was fighting, "You can't hurt me, and I can't hurt you? That's no fun at all for either of us!"
The other three pulled back a bit to discuss among themselves. "Fire beats ice, ice beats fire, and lighting beats wind," Black Heart stated, "I'm guessing wind will beat these guys here? Might be a resistance rating issue."
White Heart winced, "I hate to say it, but Green Heart would be a big help here right now."
Orange Heart blinked a few times, before asking, "Will this work?" She held up her megaphone.
"Well, uh, we're not sure?" Black Heart admitted.
"Lemme try!" Orange Heart beamed, before putting her theory to action, "Time for Orange Heart to give her performance!"
Looking at her choice of weapon, she decided to fiddle with the setting, cranking a couple of knobs. As this was happening, Iris Heart took noticed, and pushed back one of the elementals, "Sorry, but I can't be in attendance. Excuse me." With that, she flew back to join with the others.
Uzume cleared her throat, before chirping, "Uzume will give you all a little test!" She took a deep breath in, and held up the megaphone, pondering what to yell out in her attack. Instead, however, she blew into the speaker, which caused some really nasty-sounding static. The other three CPUs flinched and covered their ears, as even Uzume flinched at the noise it created.
The recoil of the ensuing sonic blast was enough to push Uzume back a couple of steps. The blast itself was extremely strong, and violently pushed back the remaining elementals, shorting out their armors, and even damaging the nearby computer panels. Even a bit of the pillar got dented by one of the robots crashing into it. With the remaining elementals weakened, it was a matter of simply going up to personally smash each one as they did with others before it.
After dealing the final blow to the last elemental, Iris Heart sighed, "So much damage, yet I'm still not quite satisfied. Oh well, destroying the Carrier will suffice."
White Heart growled a little, "Is that it? Are we done with this place, finally?"
Orange Heart winced, "Uzume still feels an echo in her head. Owie." She cranked down the settings on her megaphone. Since this move actually hurt her to some degree, she decided to leave that attack alone and not put that in her repertoire. At least, save it for some desperate move to use at the last minute. The feedback she got for her 'test' was positive, at least.
Before Black Heart could make the assessment, there was one last robot, which seemed to have come in late to the party from the first floor. It was one of the larger melee bots, holding a large axe-like weapon and shield. It looked to be heavily armored, and had red lighting tinting it all over. Why, it even had its own name to set it apart: Leviathan.
Instead of feeling dread upon seeing this new arrival, or guarded, Black Heart got irritated, "Seriously? We just went through a robot gauntlet, took down all you got, and you introduce a new robot model? You know what? No!" Noire's built-up frustration reached a boiling point, adding to her confidence as she moved forward with her blade, "Here's what Lastation's CPU can do!"
Bursting forward on her own, the CPU caught the Leviathan off-guard, which feebly swung its axe as Noire slashed through in one pass before quickly swirling back for another attack. Black Heart kept up her speed, going back and forth with precision strikes across any openings she saw. The robot could not react quickly enough to Black Heart's devastating Infinite Slash. Each slash grew more and more damaging, until finally Black Heart flew up and threw down her glowing sword. She then landed, facing away from the Leviathan, and snapped her fingers. Her snap was for dramatic effect, as immediately after, the Leviathan was given several slashes, all at once. This was enough to finish it off.
"There. Are you done, now?" Noire said aloud, looking for one of the monitors to see whether she would get a reaction.
There was no reaction, even after an awkward moment of silence.
Black Heart raised her eyebrows, and looked at Uzume, "We're clear. Set up the explosives."
"Aye aye!" Orange Heart saluted, and began going through her inventory, taking out and planting the explosives around the pillar.
"Feeling better now?" White Heart asked the Lastation CPU.
"A little," Black Heart admitted.
After the explosives were planted, the four CPUs set off the timer and started to flee, exiting the room and heading out the hangar. As that happened, the monitor finally responded...
GOTO 40
Outside of the barrier, Lastation's soldiers were keeping to their posts at the camp and around the barrier. When the battle started, the soldiers went on high alert, taking more defensive positions, as they were not sure what to make of the battle. Some of their scouts could make out a tank confronting the Carrier, but were struggling to figure out what was precisely happening. As the Guild members within Lastation stepped into the fray, the story became clearer to the soldiers outside, but all they could do was hold position and pray for their citizens' safety.
"This is crazy, being forced to watch all this," one soldier said to his commander.
"I know you feel," the commander replied, "still, we must hold here. Keep your eyes out for anything that might pass this barrier."
"Sir," the soldier stated, "something's happening. The Carrier..."
They could see one part of the Carrier start to glow, before exploding into flames. This set off a cascade reaction, as smaller explosions rippled through the rest of the machine, before flames consumed it all and brought it all down, turning into a gigantic mess of scrap metal.
Many of the soldiers shielded their eyes during the explosions, and while there was smoke surrounding the area afterwards, they could see what had happened. There were sporadic cheers through the camp, soon bellowing out as they could see a few people flying out of the smoke. In particular, the CPU Candidates flew off from the smoke to get clearer air, and to finally relax from the battle.
"Heyyyy! We did it!" Ram, still having some adrenaline, waved her hands up and about for the soldiers outside the barrier. Rom simply laughed meekly, as she wasn't going to be that excited.
Uni sighed, putting away her rifle, and looking into her inventory for something. Eventually, she pulled out a same case of pocky, and took one stick to enjoy as a snack. While holding the pocky in her mouth, she muttered proudly, "I love it when a plan comes together."
"I'm really happy we did it, Uni. I'm proud of you," Nepgear said with a flustered face, though her sparkling eyes trailed down to the box Uni had in her hands.
Uni paused, as the pocky in her mouth dipped a little due to her facial expression. Uni then slowly moved the box over to Nepgear, who happily took saw it as an offer, and took a pocky stick for herself.
Meanwhile, back outside the barrier, the soldier spoke to the commander, "Sir! We're getting reports of the robots retreating southwards. They're fleeing through the barrier and going to the ocean."
"They're heading to Leanbox?" The commander thought to himself before shaking his head, "Tell our people to open fire! Stop as many as you can!"
"Aye, sir!" The soldier said, before heading off to relay the message.
The smoke was clearing up a little, as a figure was stepping closer to the barrier, facing the main camp.
"I-it's Lady Black Heart!" One of the soldiers identified the person, as the soldiers eased a little, waving to their goddess.
Noire stepped as close to the barrier as she was comfortable with. She heaved a sigh of relief, as she felt elated that she was able to save her city. The robots were retreating, and Lastation would soon be free of whatever was seeking to contain them all in cages.
Now was the time to step into the spotlight, and officially reclaim her nation. Recalling the commands from the tome explaining how to bring down this firewall, Noire left her hand out to try and summon the key. After a few moments, she could see some energy at work, but it slowly fizzled out.
Black Heart sweatdropped, "Uhh, did I miss something? I feel kinda silly now."
"You probably need a hand for that."
Black Heart flinched, as she saw Neptune, who transformed back into Purple Heart, walk over beside her. The Planeptune CPU laughed a bit, "Did you forget that you can't do it alone?"
Black Heart frowned, before sighing, "Is that how it works? Fine. Let us reclaim Lastation together, but only because I have no choice, apparently."
"Oh stop," Purple Heart teased, "Be glad that we're here for you."
Black Heart harumphed, but added, "O-of course I'm grateful. I would've done the same for Planeptune."
"I remember, one time, that you did," Purple Heart smiled.
Black Heart sighed, "Please help me out."
Purple Heart nodded, still giving a pleasant smile that somehow managed to irritate Black Heart some more. Eventually, Purple Heart waved behind her, which was cue for all the other CPUs to show up, congregating around the two. Thomas, IF, and Compa soon caught up with the others on foot.
"Tomsy!" Orange Heart said excitedly as she floated over. Thomas was genuinely surprised as Uzume looked extremely happy, before being met with a little chop over his head. Orange Heart, however, put a bit too much effort in what was supposed to be a little bop on the head, and Thomas dropped to the ground with a thud.
"Ow..." Thomas said, wincing in pain, "W-w-what was that for?"
"Eep! S-s-sorry!" Uzume replied, pulling her hands back, "That was for scaring Uzume for a moment. Wasn't sure if Tomsy was going to get out before Uzume blew up the Carrier. Was worried!"
"Ha!" White Heart exclaimed upon seeing this, grinning at Orange Heart, "Now who's the asshole?" Granted, it's not a hammer, or book, to the face, but Blanc wasn't going to let this opportunity to laugh at Orange Heart get away.
"My, little Orange Heart," Iris Heart said of the scene, "You keep on surprising me more and more."
"Uzume is sorry!" Orange Heart said, trying to hold back from bawling over her little mistake.
Even with this ridiculousness behind her, Black Heart decided to focus on bringing down the barrier surrounding her city, using the CPU share energy from herself and those around her.
Lastation was finally saved.
Chirper event detected!
Histoire's icon popped up, saying, "It is a relief to see Lastation is safe. Let us continue to work together."
Several hours after the dust settled and the smoke cleared, Noire and the others regrouped in the Basilicom to check on the damage, and to organize efforts in returning things to normal. In the main lobby, Noire and Uni spoke with Lt. Gabriel, who was brought back from Parap Station to assist with LSN efforts.
"The robots have left Lastation proper," Gabriel reported, "Many have fled south to Leanbox, though some have headed in Planeptune's direction. They are most likely going through the Azure Coast. With all that's happened, we're working to get everything back in order. Cleaning the Basilicom, releasing all the people that were placed in prison by the robots, and combing through the city for survivors."
Noire nodded, before sighing softly, "Thank you for the assistance. Keep at it. I want to make sure everyone's accounted for."
"We'll see what we can do," Gabriel said, before clearing his throat, "Lady Noire, about that other issue?"
Noire winced, as though recalling something, "Please let her know that everything is alright! Just a few bumps here and there, nothing to worry about. Haha."
Gabriel hummed quietly, then, sweatdropping, muttered, "I will go find someone to better convey that message. But otherwise, understood."
Noire nodded, dismissing Gabriel, leaving both her and Uni alone in the lobby. Finding a seat, Noire slumped down and let out yet another sigh.
Uni looked over, "You okay there, big sis?"
"I think so," Noire said, though not quite sure herself, "It's what we do now that bothers me."
"Well, Histoire's speaking with the others in another room," Uni noted, "From what I heard from Nepgear, we'll likely rest up for a while before moving to the next area."
"Leanbox, I assume?" Noire asked.
"Most likely," Uni said, "Though it depends on what Histoire found out. Apparently someone found out a clue about these robots."
"Well," Noire shifted in her seat, "I guess that means I'm going to have to think of transportation. Not all of us can fly to Leanbox, especially if that firewall is in the way."
Uni hummed, "Thinking ahead already, Noire?"
"Someone's got to," Noire said matter-of-factly, "Besides, I got someone at the docks I can call in a favor for. I think we can get a boat for us to use."
Uni smiled, "Wow, as expected of my big sis."
Noire smiled weakly, "You did really well back there, Uni. I... I lost it back there. You performed well to get that plan together in that short a time. So... th-thank you, Uni."
Uni blushed a little, "Uh, I was just helping out Lastation, as expected of a CPU candidate! But, you're welcome, anyway." She quickly started moving, changing the focus, "I'm going to go check on Histoire and the others. I'll let you know what our next move will be."
"Alright," Noire said as she laid back in her seat, "And, really, Uni, thank you."
Uni flustered, "I got it the first time! Seriously, sis... I'll be going now!"
Noire tried not to laugh as Uni bolted out of there before she turned even more red. Seeing that reaction, Noire could understand a little on why Neptune would enjoy seeing her act so 'tsun'.
A little. She wasn't going to do this to Uni often, anyway. She was just happy to be back home, even if for a while.
In one of the Basilicom office rooms, Histoire was on call with Thomas, IF, Nepgear, and Compa. Uni rushed into the room, almost startling the group as she opened the door. She quickly turned around to try and hide her red face as she made sure to close the door in a quieter manner. With that, the group looked back to the call.
"Yes, Histoire," Thomas spoke out loud, the conversation already in progress, "I swear I saw that robot before at the Azure Coast. I recognized that model." He was still rubbing his forehead, a bit tender after that chop from Uzume.
"If that is true," Histoire noted, "Then we may have a start to finding out more about these invaders. Although, if I may be honest, we are not certain if the robot you encountered was connected in some way to the invaders."
Nepgear chimed in, "I have to admit, I'm a little unsure, too." As Thomas turned his head to Nepgear, she explained, "I took a look at what you said was dropped. I am fascinated by the possibility of clockwork robots, but it's too different from the robots we've faced so far."
"It couldn't possibly be a delusionary monster," IF ruled that out, "And I don't remember seeing that kind of creature in any bestiary, in any of the dimensions."
"Maybe it's a unique?" Compa asked, "Tom-Tom only saw one back then. There were not hundreds of them flying around."
"A robot like that could be antiquated, or made in much smaller quantity," Nepgear thought for a second, "Which could mean that we might be dealing with an even older adversary?"
"It might explain a few of the computers we saw on the Carrier," IF said, "And if what Noire's group was saying was true, there was pretty dated machinery in there. Seriously, vacuum tubes? And being able to somehow harness all that plasma?"
"It does sound quite remarkable," Histoire replied, "Perhaps there is more to this than I originally thought. I will have to go even further back in my research."
"It does leave the question, where to go next?" IF said, "If Thomas is right, then there is good reason to believe that whatever's behind this is around the Azure Coast."
"Perhaps," Histoire agreed, "If that is the case, then maybe you can all try to access through to the Azure Coast."
Thomas grimaced, then responded, "No. We must go to Leanbox."
"Ehhhh?" IF, Compa, Nepgear, and even Uni all exclaimed their surprise.
IF cleared her throat, "Ahem. A-are you sure about that, Thomas? Didn't you want to finish this adventure as soon as possible?"
Thomas muttered softly, "That is true..." He then shook his head, "I mean, yes, I did agree to that. But, after seeing what happened here in Lastation, I fear about what could be happening over in Leanbox. The Azure Coast has many people, and I worry about them too, but... I don't feel right about leaving Leanbox in whatever state it's in. Plus, we need all the CPUs. That, I am sure."
"I want to help Vert out too," Nepgear said, "She might be a bit odd sometimes, but she's just as much a part of this team as any other. I want to be certain she's okay, and that the people of her nation are safe."
"It isn't the first time the Azure Coast was isolated from the other CPUs and had to survive on its own," Thomas said, "And I know many in there are tough as nails. They can hold out... I hope."
"Really selling it there," IF said, "But I agree. Having all the CPUs with us will be a boon."
"Agreed," Histoire said, "While I made the suggestion on the Azure Coast, I do believe it is imperative to have all the CPUs. It might become imperative when they meet with a barrier that would need as much CPU share energy as possible."
Thomas hrmed, "Considering Green Heart's one of four of the major CPUs in this dimension, we'll need that strength."
"For now, though, take a moment to get some rest," Histoire said, "I am that both Noire and Uni wish to tend to their nation for a while before heading out, after what happened with the siege."
"Th-thanks Histoire," Uni finally spoke up, "I'll let Noire know about this, and don't worry, we'll try to relax a bit."
"I am glad to hear your voice again, Uni," Histoire said, "Please tell Noire I said hello, and thank her for her continued efforts."
Uni bit her tongue, as that would involve more thanking. She was already feeling a bit embarrassed from earlier. She responded, lightly, "Uh, sure will! No problem, Histoire!"
"Thank you, and rest up, everyone," Histoire said to those in the call, "I look forward to hearing more good news in the future."
"We'll keep you posted if we uncover anything more," IF said, "Thanks again, Histoire. We'll talk to you later."
With that, IF hung up the call. After the call ended, Thomas looked to Uni, "Oh, m... er, Uni?"
"Hmm?" Uni tilted her head at Thomas, "What's up?"
"Uh, how's the condition of the docks to the south?" Thomas asked.
Uni froze. Could it be that Thomas was thinking along the same lines as Noire? Could it be he was thinking of getting a boat ahead of time? "Uhh, well, from what Lt. Gabriel said," Uni finally answered, "The docks look to still be in good condition."
"Are they open?" Thomas cut in, as his eyes meet Uni's, as if pleading for a positive response.
"Well, it may take a while for businesses to reopen," Uni said, "But to walk around, I guess, sure."
"Thank you!" Thomas exclaimed happily, "I think I'm gonna start on that relaxation right now! See you all later!"
And with that, Thomas rushed out the room, leaving a confused but again flustered Uni.
"I don't think I'm cut out for all these thanks," Uni grumbled, red as a tomato.
The Lastation Harbor, known as simply "The Docks" to many Lastation citizens, former and current. Although Lastation's main city was not terribly close to the coast, there was a section of the coast that Lastation claimed as part of the city. It was here that most sea trade would go to and from. Not only was there an industrial and trade port for help with transporting goods, there was also a section further down for other purposes, from people renting out boats or moving around, to something as simple as going for a quick dip.
For Thomas, though, it was a nostalgic feeling as he traveled down one of the platforms. The creaking sounds of the wood under his feet, the sound of the ocean waves, even the smell. It all brought him back to think of earlier days. Going into his inventory, he went back to one of his older items, and pulled out a simple fishing rod, looking it over as though he were reunited with an old friend. After checking to see if everything was alright, from the lure to the line to the reel, he slowly went to cast it into the sea.
With the lure cast, Thomas went to sit at the edge of the platform, which was just high enough for him to dangle his feet below without hitting the water. Even if the fish were not biting, it didn't matter too much to Thomas. For the first time in a long while, since he started this adventure, Thomas felt totally relaxed. Like he was home...
Meanwhile, further down the docks, Noire, Uni and Uzume were checking on some docked ships. Uzume's eyes darted around, as she was naturally curious about the place.
"So, Noirsy," Uzume said, "You said someone was willing to offer their help getting to Leanbox?"
"I called in a favor for someone who's helped with Lastation in the past," Noire said as she checked each boat she passed, "He said there's a sea captain who's willing to grant us passage using his ship. Now, I just gotta find the ship he's using. I remember the ship's number so I'm checking each ship here..."
"Maybe you can tell us the number, Noire," Uni offered, "We could help you in trying to find it."
"No no, I got this, Uni," Noire insisted, looking at another ship, "I was told it would be in this particular dock, so it shouldn't be too long to find it." After reading the ship's number, she smiled, "Found it! Here she is, our ride to Leanbox."
The two looked over the rather large ship. It wasn't a cruise vessel or anything, but it certainly looked big enough to haul a lot of people, or cargo. Uzume tilted her head at the ship, "Cool, I always wanted to go on a sea voyage. Ship looks pretty sturdy too."
Noire smiled at first glance of the ship, "Goes to show how well the people in my nation take care of their ships." She grinned, "Can't wait to show off this ship to everyone else."
Uni flinched, "Uhhh, Noire? Did you take a look at the front of the ship?"
"Not really, Uni," Noire admitted, as she moved a little to get a better look. Upon seeing what Uni was reacting to, Noire reacting in a similar manner, "Nowa?"
"Hmm? What's up?" Uzume was the last to follow the two, and eventually spotted something, "Oh! Sweet! This ship's even got a fancy figurehead up front!" She put her hands together, "Uzume totally digs the mermaid motif here!" She quickly stopped upon even closer inspection, "Huh? The figure looks awfully familiar."
Sure enough, at the bow of the ship, there was a figurehead hanging at the end. A monochrome figure of a mermaid, to be more precise. While it was a pretty basic design, the twintailed hair kind of gave away who this mermaid bore a striking resemblance to.
Uzume turned her head over to check on the ship's name, "LSS Noirina, huh..."
Noire yelped, "What the hell? Is this some sort of joke?" She twitched, shaking her fists, "The one ship the guy hooked me up with! The captain's probably some pervert too. Urgh..."
"It can't be that bad," Uni tried to be a little more lenient.
"I actually think mermaid you looks kinda cool," Uzume smiled a bit, though she might be taken in by the motif.
"That's not the point, Uzume," Noire grumbled, "Geez, this is gonna be a pain... what will the others think?"
As if on cue, someone decided to take some time off to have a little boat ride, going past the LSS Noirina. Neptune was actually putting in a workout, as this was a single-person paddle boat, and the goddess was using her feet to get the boat going, all while keeping the steering steady. The boat was also designed to look like a giant rubber duck, complete with yellow paint and a duck head at the front.
If this wasn't all silly enough, Neptune took the time to sing, "I'm ridin' a duck. Ridin' a big ol' duck. Pedal to the metal, hope I don't run out of luck..." Her singing cut off as she turned to wave at Noire, Uni, and Uzume, "Hey girls! Good to see you here! The water's really nice. Also, nice ship, Noire. Mermaid you looks really cute."
"Hey Nepsy!" Uzume waved back.
"It isn't my ship!" Noire complained, insisting this wasn't her idea, "I am not this vain, you know!"
"Whatever you say, Nowa," Neptune shrugged it off, "Is that our ride south?"
"Sure is!" Uzume chirped.
"Nice," Neptune said cheerily, "Looks like we got lot of space to relax for the trip. Well, catch ya later!"
"Uh, see ya, Neptune," Uni said with a polite wave.
Neptune hummed happily and continued on. Noire reddened, "This wasn't my idea!"
Neptune purposely ignored Noire while she paddled, leaving Noire to grow more flustered. The easily self-conscious Noire slowly reached a hand to her forehead, "Just my luck."
"Hey ladies," another voice called out as another duck paddle boat passed by. This time, it was manned by Blanc, who was going at a slower pace, gently paddling while holding a book to read. After another pause, she murmured, "Not a llama, but this will do. Oh, nice ship, Noire."
"It's not my ship!" Noire said in exasperation.
Blanc hummed quietly, purposely not answering as she let Noire grow more embarrassed.
"Rollin' down the seaway, until the break of dawn," Neptune sung as she paddled further down, "Ridin' a duck, with my high-tops on." She again stopped as she spotted Thomas fishing, "Oh, hey Tommy!"
"Oh! Hey Neptune!" Thomas cheerily waved over at Neptune, as the two engaged in conversation. Blanc quietly moved past the two while reading her book, as Uni and Uzume watched the goings-on from their spot. As for Noire, she decided to get out of there. She had a sea captain to speak to later.
ACT III COMPLETE!
NEPSTATION!
Returning to the news studio, Neptune joined in for this Act-ending version of Nepstation. This time, she was accompanied at the desk by Lastation's CPU Noire.
"Hey everyone!" Neptune clapped her hands, "And welcome to the end of Act III, and to Nepstation! I'm your ever-cheerful host Neptune, and joining me-"
"-is me, Noire, the goddess of Lastation," Noire introduced herself.
"Whew, that was quite an undertaking to save your nation, Noire," Neptune recalled.
"Honestly, it did take quite a while," Noire admitted, before asking, "How long is this story anyway?"
"Hmmm," Neptune pondered, "I think we are currently at about fifty chapters into this story."
"Fifty?" Noire's eyes widened, "Seriously? I didn't think it would get this large. Is the author not concerned that this length would turn away potential readers? Such a story could be intimidating."
"It's alright, Noire," Neptune smiled, "People can always check back on earlier parts, and read at their own pace. Who knows? Maybe they'll spot something they didn't notice before."
"I guess," Noire said while crossing her arms, "We must be getting close to the end then, right?"
"Uhhhh, nope!" Neptune shook her head, "I can't say how far we're in, but there's more story ahead."
Noire winced, murmuring, "What did we get ourselves into this time?"
"While Noire contemplates what dangers lie ahead in the coming chapters, let's move on to a few news stories!" Neptune said as she shuffled some papers on the desk.
A graphic of Lastation's logo appeared in the top-left corner, allowing for Neptune to attempt to sound serious during her line readings. "With Lastation liberated, the people formerly imprisoned by the robots were released. Many of those imprisoned included captured adventurers and Guild members, but also included many homeless and others that were unfortunately outside during the robots' imposed curfew."
"In an interview with a local newspaper," Neptune continued, "An old librarian had this to say." She cleared her throat, "Quote! 'I spent much of my time in a cell, largely ignored save for when we were given food. It was like we were just an inconvenience. When we were given food, it was extremely processed, with basic water. I doubt these robots knew how to cook, but it tasted more like it was in a lab than in a kitchen.' Unquote."
"That bad, huh?" Noire remarked, pondering, "I know a few people who like food rations, but to inflict that on everyone..."
"They probably didn't even add any variety in their rations," Neptune noted, "I mean, today we have all sorts of dehydrated or freeze-dried products we can eat! They probably aren't that bad, either! Probably!" She then got to thinking about it, "Mmm, freeze-dried pudding."
Noire narrowed her eyes, "Somehow always ends up at pudding with you, doesn't it?"
"It's a passion of mine," Neptune nodded, "Purple Heart's perfectly pleased with her passion for pleasant, priceless pudding!"
"Even freeze-dried?" Noire asked.
Neptune paused, "I don't know. Haven't tried it. Have you? Is it good?"
"How would I know?" Noire got defensive.
"Great, now I'm hungry for pudding," Neptune pouted.
"Like it takes a lot," Noire dismissed Neptune's sudden appetite, as she moved onto the next story. The Lastation logo remained as Noire read aloud, "Meanwhile, outside the city, Lastation officials have been putting up signs around the Lastation Plains in order to calm down traffic. After a recent pile-up of vehicles occurred thanks to some joyriders, Lastation has worked to warn potential drivers of possible dangers. 'Caution: Canyon Ahead', 'Caution: Poor Road Conditions', 'Danger: Hidden Blocks' and 'Danger: High-Level Monsters Ahead' are some of the signs that were placed recently. Whether they will deter people from driving into pits or monster dens remains to be seen."
"Have you thought about other things to help with traffic?" Neptune asked, "Speed limits, traffic lights, traffic cops..." Neptune stopped, her mind thinking of something, "Orrrrr, maybe you can use this joyriding thing to Lastation's advantage, like Lowee does with the Triple C!"
"Are you suggesting I hold destruction derbies or some non-sense like that?" Noire was a little offended by the idea, "Lastation is not a place to be dangerously driving! I'm not some nefarious villain looking to tempt drivers with promises of riches or some wish. What kind of twisted logic is that?"
"But you would allow Triple C events in Lastation?" Neptune recalled.
"Th-that's different," Noire said, "I just don't want Lastation to turn into a site only for crash dummies."
"I didn't say turn the entire nation into an open-world playground!" Neptune argued, then pondered, "Although-"
"No!" Noire was quick to put the kibosh on that one.
"Kidding, Noire, kidding," Neptune teased, flipping through the papers. She took out the last sheet of paper, "Our final story involves the constant search on the mystery of the robots behind this firewall. More specifically, the sudden rise of adventurers and treasure hunters within liberated corners of Gamindustri. With the mystery surrounding our antagonists, a slew of new people from all dimensions are joining to find out more."
Noire continued the story, "In Lastation, even during the imposed curfew, there have been reports from the Scouts Union of scouts attempting to either communicate with the robots or tail them to find more intel. The reports have been, unfortunately, pretty light."
"Although details about the Land Carrier and some of its dated technology was useful," Neptune admitted, "There wasn't much else to go on. Kind of hard when the robots make beeps and boops." She then stopped, "You got a word out of them, though, Noire, right?"
"Oh yeah, I did," Noire grinned, "Although, FIRE is not much of a clue."
"Is it?" Neptune asked while trying to look deep in thought.
Noire rolled her eyes, "I think we need a little more than that." She ahemed, "That doesn't mean people have stopped looking around for clues. In Planeptune, Saturn Shiro and other scouts have begun looking more intently through the First-Gen CPU's Sanctuary. In Lowee, the Global Expo has been slowly combed through by Copypaste and others in charge of cleaning up the mess."
"Soooo, I take that to mean the Lastation Subway's going to be taking a while before it reopens?" Neptune picked up on this, and took a guess on what could happen in Lastation.
Noire frowned, "That is possible."
"If this keeps up, we're gonna run out of dungeons to explore in Gamindustri that haven't already been sacked of all its loot," Neptune blinked, "We'll only find respawning monsters."
"I don't think so," Noire argued with Neptune on this one, "There will always be new places to see, new monsters to fight, and new treasures that await. Even an old dungeon, like Virtua Forest, gets visited often. You still find treasure there, do you not?"
"Uh, well, I go to places like there to level up because I slack o-er, I mean, I work so hard on running my nation that I don't have time to train physically!" Neptune caught herself.
"Point is, don't worry about running out of adventure," Noire said, "We'll still have plenty to see out in our world. That's not even counting the other dimensions we have access to."
"Okay," Neptune pondered, "So what did our scouts and adventurers find so far?"
"Uhhhh," Noire sweatdropped, not getting any new intel.
"I guess we'll find out more in the later chapters!" Neptune spoke up, "With that, Nepstation comes to an end! Coming up next is our Intermission, with several events. Remember that we are still awaiting all your feedback as to what pairing Thomas may have, and what his fate would be."
"Ah yes, this story's gimmick," Noire said, before asking, "By the way, just why do I have to be the one with an uphill battle and with someone I'm currently not too friendly with?"
Neptune hmmed, before grinning widely, "Maybe to give you a challenge? We all know you struggle to make friends, Nowa."
"I can make friends!" Noire scoffed, "I've done so!"
"Perhaps so. But you get the handicap anyway!" Neptune shrugged, "Besides, it does contrast with how we saw Blanc interact at first with Tommy. You could say that contrast was-"
"Neptune..."
"Black and white."
After a long beat, Noire stated, rather bluntly, "I hate you."
"No you don't!"
This edition of Nepstation ended with Noire saying, "Shut up."
Chirper events detected!
Nepgear's icon popped up first, expressing, "I'm so happy to see Lastation is saved!"
Neptune's icon showed up next, "All that fighting has built up an appetite. Only pudding can save me now!"
Blanc's icon appeared soon after, saying what she wanted to do, "I guess I wouldn't mind checking out their library."
Next up was Rom's icon, simply stating, "I'll do my bestest to help you heal!"
Ram's icon was blunt about what she wanted, "Can't we just hurry up to Leanbox already?"
Uni's icon made its appearance next, with the simple, almost NPC-like message, "Welcome back to Lastation!"
Finally, Noire's icon showed up, as she probably put this message down while exhausted, "Of all things... *sigh*"
