("Another longer chapter than usual, but I hope you enjoy it, all the same. As we get closer to the end of this Act, I shall thank all who have been reading so far and especially those who have left some feedback. I know I say that a lot, but it really is nice to see what people may be thinking so far.

Much like the last Act, I'll ask: What has been your favorite moment of the story so far? Favorite character? And what do you expect out of the next Act? Anyway, thanks for hanging around, and looking forward to the intermission!" - Just another fanfic author)


It felt like a long time.

Losing connection to the world wide web, and having MMO games become unplayable was terrible. It was a shot to the gut when one firewall dropped that fateful day. All those plans for raids and multiplayer parties and generally having fun were ruined. Within moments, contact with people outside the city had been cut off, and antiquated but unknown robots began invading, forcing people into captivity or into hiding. The Basilicom itself had to be abandoned due to sheer numbers surprising and overwhelming people. One could only hold them off for so long.

Since then, things have gotten worse. Forced underground by the robots' air superiority, Leanbox was left to fight for itself, alone, with no help from the outside. People who were enjoying a peaceful life suddenly had to fight for their own freedom, and monsters, regardless of whether they were friendly or not, were ruthlessly hunted. Leanbox was in such a sorry state that the best one could do was to break people out of captivity. Seeing the prison more than one's own bedroom was depressing.

For Lady Green Heart, Vert, there was but a brief light when she found and freed Adult Neptune from captivity. The woman didn't look too well, probably from eating that substance those robots have been feeding their prisoners, but that bright smile of hers reminded Vert of better days. It was such that Vert fought hard to make sure Neptune would escape. The escape proved difficult, however, as wave upon wave tried to subdue them.

Eventually, she made the choice. She didn't regret it, getting Neptune and the others away to safety while holding off the waves all by herself. There was only so much she could do, unfortunately. The robots wanted her alive, for whatever reason, and captured her when her energy reserves had depleted. It was then that she was brought over to this familiar-looking airship. After some initial scans, she was placed inside this capsule, presumably for more tests.

Not that she would know. Inside, she was cut off from... from everything. From everyone. It was like standing in a lifeless void, unable to see, hear, or feel anything. With no shares to feel, her power waned, and her body felt weaker.

Her mind was the only thing keeping her up, and all she could do was think about all the things she missed. Eventually, she reminisced about her little sister Nepgear. True, she wasn't actually her sister, but that was a minor detail, as she was happy to spoil her any chance she got. She missed the other Candidates too, and the antics that they would get into. She missed CPU Neptune's randomness and friendly demeanor. She missed Noire's tsundere attitude and trying to compete with her. She really missed Blanc's cute, angry expressions whenever she teased her. All those things gave her life more meaning, and made her adventures a lot more enjoyable.

They were not with her, however. She was alone...

...

Suddenly, there was a bright light, and she her body fell over to the floor. She could feel something again, though it was a faint feeling. It felt like a long time.

She could hear voices, some familiar, talking around her. She couldn't open her eyes, or move her body at the moment. Already, though, she felt some warmth returning to her. It was slow, but she certainly felt it. Shares... she could feel the energy from that returning... but for now, she needed to rest.

She was no longer alone.


"Take back the ship? Finish this fight? Is that even possible?" Steamax asked of the now-confident Adult Neptune, who went to look out one of the exits.

"We have a small window to do this," Neptune explained, "Some of those robots are still down with the electric sickness. We need to clear this ship of them and take the bridge. This ship may have crashed, but looks like it can take off again, right?"

Affimojas pondered on this, "It is possible. Still, once we are airborne, I am certain of our chances."

"I mean, sure, there's a lot of baddies out there, but this ship's got some weapons!" Neptune said, much to Thomas' surprise.

Thomas spoke up, even while he was still seated next to the resting Vert, "This thing had weapons? I thought this was purely a civilian transport now!" Thomas shifted his eyes from Neptune to Affimojas.

"Well, yes," Steamax interjected, "That was what we intended it to be. There were still some weapons we had earlier that we were going to dispose of."

"And whose fault do you suppose that is?" Affimojas was quick to accuse Steamax of laziness.

Steamax fidgeted, "You didn't say I have to do it right away! Besides, why do I have to do it? Don't you know how heavy all of that equipment is?"

"Of course," Affimojas nodded, "That is why I entrusted the heavy lifting to my subordinate. It is only natural to delegate such tasks."

"Somehow, I feel that's not particularly useful here, General," Steamax complained.

"Aaaaanyway," Neptune tried to get the train back on track here, "We need to take that chance to turn the tables on those baddies! What do you think?"

"Sounds insane," Thomas muttered, "Lady Green Heart is still weak. We need to keep an eye on her as she recovers."

Adult Neptune tilted her head, "Oh? Don't worry, I got it covered." Reaching into her inventory, she pulled out what looked like an energy drink, and handed it over to Steamax, "Affy, Steamy, hold onto this. Give this to her when she's able to drink it, okay?"

"You want us to just give her a Nep Bull?" Steamax looked down at the drink offered.

Neptune shook her head, "That's my own version of Nep Bull VII I concocted. It should speed up the recovery process. Make sure she drinks it. Tommy, you're with me. We're going to clean all the way up to the bridge."

"Wha?" Thomas blinked, "Why do I have to come along for clearing out enemies and they stay behind?"

Neptune smiled a little, "It's that, or I stay behind to keep an eye on Vert while all three of you sweep the ship of enemies."

"We'll make sure Lady Green Heart recovers!" Steamax was quick to respond, "Best of luck to you, sir Thomas."

"Indeed, be careful out there," Affimojas nodded along with Steamax.

Thomas flustered, sarcastically commenting, "Thanks for the words of encouragement!"

Neptune sighed a little at Thomas, then went over to pull him up to his feet, "Come on, Tommy. This is the chance we've been waiting for, there's no time to waste!" She then shot a look at the other two robots, though keeping her cheery disposition, "I can count on you two to behave, right?"

"Of course!" Affimojas scoffed at the notion, "I am a gentleman! I am not some crass boor who turns into some drooling fanboy in the presence of a busty blonde!" He then muttered in an aside, "Steamax, back me up here."

"W-we certainly will!" Steamax exclaimed in a panic, before realizing what he said, "Uh, will not! We will not devolve into drooling idiots."

Thomas narrowed his eyes at the two, before Neptune nodded. "Okay," she said cheerily, "I'm trusting you two!" With that, she began to move out, with Thomas eventually following suit. He shot a glance at the two before moving on.

"Come, Steamax!" Affimojas said after the two were gone, "Let us find a good resting spot for Lady Vert to rest. Those two won't be the only ones clearing enemies off this ship."

"General?" Steamax seemed surprised by this.

"This is my ship," Affimojas explained, "And I will be damned if I do not tear through the lower levels to boot those things out! I am certain we will find somewhere for Lady Vert to recover quickly."

Meanwhile, Vert continued to rest.


Thomas may not be particularly excited about getting back into fighting, but this may have been the easiest it had gotten since the adventure began. Many of the robots were still out of it with their 'sickness', having their reaction time significantly reduced. This made it easy to run circles around these basic robots, dust them off, and move onto the next room.

It was not until they were getting close to the bridge that the two found harsher resistance. Adult Neptune moved into the final corridor leading the way, before her eyes spot the glint of metal in the distance. She leaned back just enough to avoid getting shot by one of the Sniper bots at the end of the corridor. The snipers began to fire, and Neptune scrambled to dodge each shot, before Thomas pulled Neptune back by one of her arms, retreating back to the entryway.

Neptune phewed as she was given a reprieve from dodging gunfire, "I guess some of those robots didn't fall ill?"

"And Sniper bots at that," Thomas frowned, having recognized their look when he rushed to pull in Neptune, "That's going to be difficult to deal with."

Neptune winced, feeling some of the pain from their shots. Those shots were fairly accurate and stung quite a bit. Neptune reached for a recovery item as she asked Thomas, "You've met these things before?"

"Encountered them a few times," Thomas muttered, "Usually the CPUs dealt with them. You haven't?"

Neptune shrugged a bit as she finished healing. She then elaborated, "I don't remember facing many snipers underground." She hummed, "They're blocking the way to the bridge."

Thomas frowned, moving back a little more as the snipers tried getting in an angled shot. They were getting closer, but were still keep enough distance that it would be difficult to charge in without getting shot at. "We're gonna need a plan to get up close to deal with those bots," he said while adjusting his stance. He then asked Neptune, "You got any more of those fire bombs with you?"

"Sure do," Neptune nodded, "Think they'll be enough to take out those things?"

"I don't know for sure," Thomas admitted, "I just need it to distract them for a few seconds."

Neptune pondered on this a moment, as she went into her inventory to grab a fire bomb, as well as something to set the fire, "Ah, I see! Alrighty, just say when."

"Whenever you're ready," Thomas said as while trying to focus on something, "Please, be careful throwing it. Those robots are good with their aim."

"So I've noticed," Neptune smiled weakly, before taking a slow step forward. Her eyes looked around the corner, watching for any sign of shadow or anything that could give away the position of the robots in the nearby corridor. She also listened intently, as both she and Thomas went quiet. She could hear a few footsteps before they, too, came to a stop. She had a guess on where they could be, slowly inching her way forward. She then could see it... a small bit of shadow, but it was enough to pinpoint where the enemy was.

Lighting up the bomb's 'fuse', Neptune called out, "Special Nep Delivery!" She then tossed the bomb into the corridor, aiming along the wall where she saw the shadows.

The robots scrambled to react to the bomb toss, attempting to aim their guns to fire at it. Despite this, the bomb set off, creating a small fire. The robots reacted by trying to move away to avoid getting caught.

This moment of distraction was enough for Thomas to enter the corridor. With the robots not aiming at him, he could cast his magic. "Flood!" The water shot up from underneath the robots, who were just close enough to be in range. The spell tripped them up, causing some damage and even doused a little of the fire, allowing smoke to come up and create a screen for the two humans to run in for close-quarters combat. The Sniper bots might be good with their ranged weapons, but against Neptune's katanas and even Thomas' sabre, they were outmatched.

With a final swing of a katana, Neptune cut through the last bot with little to no trouble, putting her weapons away and hopping in victory, "Alright! That was easy enough!" She then turned to smile at Thomas, "So, whaddya think? Shall we make that our new combo skill?"

"Combo skill?" Thomas blinked, waving his hand around to get rid of some of the smoke, all while checking to make sure the small fire wouldn't spread.

"Yeah! If we're going to work together, setting up combo skills will help us save more SP in the long run. Besides, we worked well together, doncha think?" Neptune said, seeming rather hopeful of the continued partnership.

"Huh," Thomas pondered quietly, "I, I guess? We've fared pretty well so far." He put back his sabre as he walked towards the end of the corridor. There, a small lift was available to take to the bridge.

Neptune dashed ahead a bit before slowing down to stay ahead of Thomas, "Of course! Like I said before, you've been pretty useful so far, with those elemental attacks and that spell of yours. Come on, learn to take a compliment!"

Thomas flustered a little, "It's not that! I mean, I a-appreciate the help! A lot. You're a pretty amazing fighter, miss Neptune."

"D'aww, thanks!" Neptune said, trying to act humble when she clearly enjoyed being praised.

"Still," Thomas sighed softly as he went over to the lift with Neptune, "We faced some fairly light resistance so far. I guess I should count my blessings."

Neptune's expression turned nervous, "Tommy! Ixnay on the flag-ay!" She said while jittering in place.

"The what?" Thomas wasn't quite sure what Neptune just said there, even as he pushed a button to start the lift.

Neptune pointed at him, "We're getting close to the bridge and you said something like that! Don't you know that means we'll be dealing with more enemies once we get there? Or even a boss battle?"

"You mean we're not?" Thomas was quick to respond. He shook his head, "We've encountered those snipers just before the lift. The bridge can't possibly be empty."

"Well, now that you said all that, of course it won't!" Neptune exclaimed.

Thomas smiled weakly, going into a guarded position, "Oh, now you're worried about the enemy? We just need to work together, right?"

Neptune blinked, realizing how she sounded more like the cowardly one this time around. She had a small laugh, "Haha, you're right. Guess I was being a little complacent." She turned to face where the lift would its exit, "Let's be ready, for anything."

"Uh, yeah," Thomas said with a small gulp.


The lift came to a stop, and the door opened to the bridge. It was a large room, with many windows seeing outside. The two could see the path out to the Leanbox skies. However, their eyes quickly darted around them, seeing nothing for now. Still, there was a sense of unease as they stepped off the lift.

Thomas could hear a low humming in the background, as he could see a few of the terminals around. He wasn't too familiar with all the controls or what each terminal was used for, but he was familiar with seeing some of them being used while he was on his fateful tour.

"Whew," Neptune said as she pulled at her collar, "Is it just me, or has it gotten a bit warmer?"

"It's not just you," Thomas winced, becoming more guarded as he turned to look around the other side of the bridge. The lift did take them to one side of the bridge, and the room was fairly large, so it did not surprise him when he saw something ahead, "I think we've found the enemy."

Neptune casually drew her katanas as her eyes adjusted and looked where Thomas was looking. Sure enough, there was something off about what was on the other side. For one, the large computers that were stacked around in a circle did not fit with the ship's aesthetic. Giant box-shaped machinery with vacuum tubes and other dated materials connecting with each other, leading to a large collection of wires crudely tapped into one of the bridge's terminals.

"Talk about old-school," Neptune quietly mused, before she saw more of what was in this mess of electronics. There was a strange armored panel that was hovering behind the group of computers. Yep. Totally normal thing to see, surprised the two even saw it! That was sarcasm, by the way.

Thomas rolled his eyes at my comment, but it wasn't long before their attention turned to what was in front of those computers, standing between them and the machinery. It was a pair of the Dragon Bots that had been flying around the skies of Leanbox, turning over to greet the intruders, flapping their wings to hover above ground.

Neptune arched an eyebrow, "So, this is what they look like up close. To be honest, shouldn't they be called Wyvern Bots? They got no arms. Wyverns are different from ordinary dragons, you know!"

"Somehow, I don't think these guys care that much," Thomas said, drawing his blade out, "We gotta deal with them first!"

"Great! Any ideas how?" Neptune asked.

Thomas winced, "Not a one! You?"

"Not really, how about we just wing it?" Neptune said while waiting for the enemies' first strike.

Thomas grumbled to himself, before saying, "Alright, gonna aim for the wings to try and ground them first. Got it."

Neptune sweatdropped, "Uh, I wasn't being literal."

They didn't have any more time to chat, as the two robots engaged, one attacking Neptune while the other charged at Thomas. Thomas attempted to leap to the side to slash at the closest wing, only for the dragon to turn around and lash out its spaded tail. Being mostly made of metal, the spaded-tip was pretty sharp, and Thomas had to parry it so it wouldn't slash him.

Neptune, meanwhile, ran around the robot trying to bite her, and countered with slashes to its thick robot body. However, before she could finish it off, a healing spell quickly healed the damage.

"Whaaaat? Enemies healing? I call hax," Neptune complained, before noticing where the healing spell came from. The spell was cast from among the stack of computers. Neptune broke off from the Dragon Bot, avoiding its attacks as she ran towards the stack.

Switching weapons to her pistol, Neptune aimed at the computers. However, reacting to this, the hovering armored panel swiveled around the computers to impede Neptune's aim. Neptune wasn't going to let it stop her, however, and fired a few shots. Unfortunately, the panel was unaffected, deflecting the shots away harmlessly with no damage done to it.

"I'm not done yet!" Neptune wasn't going to give up, switching to her katanas once more. She swung her blades right at the center of the panel, fiercely striking. Despite this, she was pushed back by its sturdy armor. "What gives? This thing's tougher than an armadillo!"

Thomas ducked a tail swipe, answering Neptune while he tried to get any advantage on the Dragon Bot, "I've seen tough armor from these bots before in Lastation. Try to get around it!"

"Easier said than done," Neptune admitted, before noticing part of the panel opening up. However, this was not a good thing, as she could see a gun turret popping out to fire multiple shots at her. Neptune leaped away from the initial fire, and continued running, trying to find cover. However, the only place Neptune could hide behind was far on the other side of the bridge, behind the large captain's chair and stairway leading to it. The turret continued to fire, turning towards Thomas who had no choice but to back away to cover.

"Crap, we're pinned down," Thomas flinched, casting some magic to try and keep the Dragon Bots away, "Flood!" Following that, Neptune took her pistol to fire at the bots. However, with the turret keeping them away, the computers continued to heal whatever damage the two could do to the robots.

"We need a new plan of attack," Neptune said, trying to fire at the turret from her cover, but she could barely damage the turret before it was healed again. Pulling back, she sighed, "This is bad. We're not damaging these things faster than they can heal."

It also didn't help that the Dragon Bots were ready to unleash their ranged attacks. Since these were multiple homing attacks, it would be really hard to dodge. Just as the two were scrambling to think up a plan, something else came up... the bridge lift.

"Sylhet Spear!"

With this one shout, a large, magical, green spear materialized from near the two humans, piercing through both of the robots that were coming in with their blasts. This startled Thomas, who fell back away from the giant spear of doom. The spear then shattered, causing extra damage to the Dragon Bots and stopping them from firing.

Neptune's eyes widened, and she looked back to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, "Nice timing-u~!" Adult Neptune said with a bit of a silly accent added, waving hello to the CPU that just arrived on the scene.

Thomas could make out who it was even while trying to get back on his feet. Although the change of the woman's hair and eye color were a stark contrast, he recognized her as none other than Vert's CPU form. "Lady Green Heart..." Thomas said, looking in awe of the green-haired, purple-eyed CPU.

Not wanting to waste time or lose her advantage, Green Heart got to quickly setting her attack plan. "Take care of the dragons," Green Heart said to Neptune, "I'll handle their healbot." Neptune nodded as Green Heart called out, "Assam Link!" Casting this around her, Neptune, and Thomas nearby, Vert's support skill gave the three a quick speed boost. Immediately afterwards, Vert flew up and over the captain's chair, moving towards the computer stack.

Thomas felt strange, "Is this how support skills feel when you get a boost?" He muttered this to himself, feeling like he's had a sudden rush of caffeine or sugar. Hopefully, the crash won't be as bad. Still, the rush gave him a bit of confidence to follow Neptune as they went after the Dragon Bots, who were still healing after Vert's initial attack.

The armored panel around the computers tried to get in the way of Vert's flight path. This only led to Green Heart smirking defiantly, "A simple barrier will not slow me down. Terai Division!" Unlike the previous skill, this SP skill was a debuffer, and was successfully placed on the armored panel, slowing it down. Since Green Heart was by no mean slow, this gave her a great advantage, speeding past the panel and its turret.

Confident in her ability, Green Heart readied her SP, "Let's see you block this!" Putting a finger a finger to her lips, she then twirled about, setting off multiple spears at varying arcs at the stack of the computers. The armored panel was not quick enough to intercept all the spears crashing down and severely damaging many of the computers. The one spear it did catch, however, managed to make a dent in the armor.

"Oh? Let's see how long you can withstand a CPU's might," Green Heart saw an opportunity, and launched herself forward, meeting the panel head-on. With swift, decisive motions, Green Heart stabbed right at the turret, and everywhere else around it, "Rainy Ratnapura!" While this sort of armor was able to hold out against hammers, swords, and katana blades, Vert's spear was able, after several rapid stabs, to pierce through.

Green Heart's relentless attack continued, and the enemy had no real answer for it. The two Dragon Bots had to contend with Neptune's dual blades and Thomas being extra speedy, and the computers were far too damaged to heal the robots. Thomas managed to get around the spaded tails and cut them off, while Neptune slashed through the wings and body. By the time they were done, Green Heart had slashed through a good portion of the panel, bringing it down to a third of its size.

"Hmmhmm, allow me to repay you for your hospitality," Green Heart said in a playful tone, before steeling her expression. Using her speed, she dashed through the panel and the computer stack with her spear, attacking swiftly, before launching up into the air, and sending one last, explosive spear to finish up her Spiral Break. A move so deadly that you may miss it in the blink of an eye, Green Heart used it to mop up the rest of the enemy, and landed where the stack used to be.

"Haaah," Green Heart sighed in relief, "It feels great to be able to do something again. Wh-oof!"

Much to her surprise, she found herself trapped, only this time by the friendly clutches of one Adult Neptune, who seemed to be welling up with emotion.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again, miss busty!" Neptune exclaimed happily, "I was really worried when I saw you fall out of that capsule, but here you are, good as new!" She then flushed, "Uhh, I still owe you after that save, huh?"

Green Heart returned the embrace gently, smiling at her ally, "I... it is nice to see you again, miss Neptune. Haha, do not worry about owing me anything. You did rescue me, after all."

Neptune beamed, letting go of the hug, "Aw, thanks. That was an amazing strategy you came up with on the fly, by the by."

Green Heart nodded, "I remembered the enemies around here when I was taken. I was well prepared."

Thomas sighed, sitting himself down to finally rest. Before he could get comfortable, he heard the bridge lift making another trip, and Affimojas walked onto the bridge cautiously. Upon seeing no enemies around, he straightened up and walked towards the captain's chair. "I see you have all secured the bridge," Affimojas said, "I am grateful to you all."

Affimojas didn't even wait for a response before dramatically turning and sitting himself down at the captain's chair. Tapping a nearby panel, Affimojas spoke aloud, "Steamax! Report!"

A speaker could be heard from the captain's chair, with Steamax's voice crackling through, "Lower decks and engineering are secure, General. Engines had minimal damage but should be ready to go. Weapons are primed and ready."

Affimojas nodded, "Excellent. We leave immediately. Fire up the engines, full throttle!" He tapped another button at his panel, and a steering wheel rose up in front of the chair. Standing up, Affimojas gripped the wheel, looking outside, "Miss Neptune, if you wish it, you may use our weapons. Tactical is to your right."

"Ooh, you may read my mind, Affy!" Neptune seemed excited by the prospect, and went over to check the terminals where Affimojas pointed out.

"Affy?" Affimojas still seemed perplexed by the nickname, mouthing the name quietly.

Green Heart raised her eyebrows at what was going on, "I feel like I am still missing the plot."

"Forgive me, Lady Green Heart," Affimojas apologized, as he heard the engines starting up, "We are using this opportunity to escape with this ship. We will then take the fight to the enemy. At least, that was miss Neptune's plan."

Thomas blinked, just now hearing the engines, "Wait, does this airship have any seatbel-aah!"


The airship's thrusters started up, as a few of the robots in the hangar tried to shoot at the engines, to little effect. With a sudden boost, the airship pushed itself away from the dock, accelerating and flying through the passage leading up to the skies.

While a couple of the nearby jets were still affected by the 'cold' that the mysterious individual left behind, those that were still capable flew off to intercept the airship before it could leave the passage.

Just then, however, small turrets began to pop up at key locations on the airship, all aiming towards the jets and firing back. It didn't take long to notice that someone was having a little bit of fun aiming all the turrets, judging by the swirling around of bullets flying.


"Pewpewpew!" Neptune quietly mouthed to herself as she continued firing the airship's guns with decent accuracy, though she kept her finger on the fire button, using the trail of bullets to figure out her aiming.

"Uh, miss Neptune? Please try to conserve on our firepower," Affimojas sweatdropped, "We also don't want to cause any damage to Leanbox itself."

Neptune perked up, "Hmm? Relax, I was just getting a feel for the controls while we're in this passage." Humming to herself, Neptune eased off on firing, though she seemed eager to amuse herself during this section. She kept a little ditty in her head, all while aiming the turrets' fire, "Up, down, up, down, pew, pew, pew..."

Thomas, meanwhile, found himself at another part of the bridge alone, having not braced himself for the takeoff. "Oof... I'm okay..." He muttered to no-one in particular, regaining his balance and checking out the terminals from his little corner. There, he could make out several camera angles from outside the ship, giving him a better look around.


The airship finally exited the long passageway, flying up into the sky above the city. Night was falling on the city, with the city's lights coming on despite the imposed lockdown. There were several lights in the sky flying around, denoting all the jets that dominated Leanbox's airspace. With the airship escaping, many of the jets that were still moving about changed their heading to intercept.

Although the passageway was out of the way from the main city, the airship found itself close to the downtown area, where Leanbox's famous box-like arch stood tall. Resembling the typical Leanbox console itself with its green lighting, the arch soon found itself in the midst of fire between the airship and the surrounding jets.

Neptune kept her shooting to sure-fire shots to avoid damaging the city, while the robots peppered the skies with lasers and bullets, most of which did light damage on the airship's armor. This wasn't to say the airship was strong, since Affimojas tried to steer the ship to keep its side to the enemy. The airship's engines were most vulnerable around the back, and the robots have been aiming for them whenever they got close.

Flying above the arch, since there was not enough space to go underneath, the airship continue its evasion while trying to move away from the city. Drawing the enemies away from the city might give the resistance more time to reorganize, as well as keep damage to a minimum.

Hmm, wasn't there something else in the skies above Leanbox that belonged to the enemies? Where did... oh! Speaking of, from the western side of the city arose the giant robot dragon, seeming unaffected by the 'cold' and turning to face the fleeing airship. Before long, some of its 'scales' detached from the dragon, and the Dragon Bots also gave chase.


"What in Hyper Dimension is that thing?" Thomas pointed at the massive thing he spotted from one of the camera angles.

"A giant metal beast?" Affimojas shared Thomas' surprise, as neither have seen this creature up until now.

Neptune blinked, "O-oh, right! Yeah, this dragon's the big bad boss roaming above Leanbox."

"Indeed," Green Heart nodded, frowning as she remembered back, "This thing took us all by surprise, destroying our defenses and dominating the skies. I was trying to reorganize our forces and rescue our allies before taking it down. Unfortunate circumstances changed that." She paused, then looked towards Neptune, "I do not regret getting you out of there, miss Neptune."

Neptune smiled weakly, "It's okay. The important thing is we're here now." She moved the aim of the airship's turrets to the giant dragon, firing at it and the nearby Dragon Bots. She soon found that the Dragon Bots were more resistant to the gunfire than the jets. However, the giant dragon seemed unfazed by the bullets, opening its mouth to fire a couple of old missiles at the ship.

"What the?" Neptune was surprised by the incoming missiles, firing to take them down before they reached the airship, "I was expecting a giant laser. I'm kinda glad it's not, though. Phew!"

Affimojas grew more frustrated while steering the ship around, "Curse this infernal chase! More and more of those creatures keep coming out. Steamax! Damage report!"

The speaker came alive, "It's very noisy outside. Damage is manageable, but the engines are going to have trouble maintaining their speed."

"If we slow down, they'll be in even worse shape!" Affimojas shot back, "Can you make repairs?"

"Wh-wh-what? General, I'm a ninja, not an engineer!" Steamax complained, "I'll do what I can with the engines, but I can't guarantee a miracle."

"Urgh. Fine," Affimojas said irritably, "Do what you can." He ended the call abruptly, asking his question to everyone else on the bridge, "I appreciate any ideas to take down these numbers."

Neptune was first to respond, though her latest idea was not particularly wise, "We could turn this ship around and have all the robots board our airship, then engage them all individually for experience points. It's grindy, but I think we might be able to!"

"I have a better idea," Affimojas said, "Let us not do that." Neptune simply shrugged that off, as she probably wasn't that serious. Right?

Green Heart finally started to move, heading towards the lift, "I shall lend my assistance, in this case. I will head out to draw away some enemies. Hopefully, splitting their attention will give us more opportune moments to dwindle their numbers and defeat the boss."

Affimojas hummed an affirmative, before stating, "This may be the best course of action. Do be careful out there, Lady Green Heart."

"Wait! Lady Green Heart! Sir Affimojas! Please, reconsider!"

Green Heart grew confused as Thomas rushed to speak mainly with Affimojas. "Sir, I have another option to consider. Please!"

"Speak quickly," Affimojas told him.

"We need to head east, towards the barrier!" Thomas exclaimed, pointing in the direction opposite of the enemy, "Before I was caught, I was there, with the other goddesses! We need to get their attention! Plus, we have the means to take down that barrier, but we need the goddesses to be close to be more effective. That means the airship has to keep the enemies' attention-"

Green Heart spoke out, "Pardon my intrusion into what I assume is an important development, but I must inquire: who are you?"

There was an awkward pause, as Thomas just realized that for all the craziness that happened, he and Vert had yet to actually meet. Thomas looked over at the CPU crossing her arms and looking stern, and he gave a small wave, "Uh, hi. Name's Thomas, nice to meet you. Ah, long story, but the other CPUs are nearby. Please, trust me on this."

Neptune listened to this weird moment, as she held the button down to fire. If they were going to get any attention, she may as well give everyone a light show.


After Thomas' capture, things have settled down on the eastern part of the Leanbox continent. This didn't mean the CPUs didn't do anything during this time. From Pelican Farm, the group set up better defenses, and even went further out to rescue as many people as they could on the outer edges of the continent.

The farm was getting a bit too small for everyone to sleep, so tents had to be set up nearby. Some of the CPUs even decided to sleep in the storage barn, as Plutia and Thomas had done. Noire, though, attempted to sleep where the cows and Ran-Pigs where resting. It didn't go so well for her hair, as one of the Ran-Pigs confused her twintails for spaghetti...

As night fell once more, it looked like everyone would turn in for sleep once more. However, something caught the eye of one particular Guild Agent. IF had periodically kept her eyes towards Leanbox. She may have been feeling some trepidation since the last attack. Regardless, IF had been watching more activity coming out of Leanbox, and alerted the group before they went off to sleep. Curious, the CPUs agreed to move closer to the barrier, transforming and flying out, bringing IF and Compa with them.

Landing atop a hill right next to the barrier, the CPUs remained on guard while IF once again checked with her binoculars. The barrier was several feet away from the outskirts of the capital city.

Purple Heart was first to speak, standing the closest to the barrier, "Iffy, are you certain that this is different from what's been happening in the city?"

"Absolutely," IF responded while looking, "There's a lot more fire in the skies. I think there may be a giant dogfight."

White Heart grew frustrated, at least moreso than usual, "Urgh! What are we waiting around here for? We have to get involved!"

"I agree," Black Heart said, standing next to Purple Heart, "We can still break this barrier down without that tome he had, right?"

Purple Heart hummed softly, "We can give it a try. Is everyone okay with this idea?"

"We'll follow your lead, Neptune," Nepgear said on behalf of the Candidates, who stood in solidarity with her.

"Uzume wants to break the barrier now!" Orange Heart said bluntly as she fidgetted in place. She was the most eager to hurry up and get to Leanbox. Iris Heart simply smiled as a simple response.

Purple Heart nodded, "Alright everyone. Let's give it a shot." Lining up side-by-side, the CPUs began to recall the command that they read off the tome, summoning whatever energy they have to try and break down the barrier. The ritual was executed, and their energies pushed ahead to a concentrated point, trying to crack a hole. Just when it looked like it was about to succeed, however, the energies were pushed back, denying the CPUs their wish.

"It, it didn't work?" Uni shared everyone's surprise, "What happened? How come we can't break it? Are we not enough? Is the barrier that strong?"

"Histoire mentioned this barrier was one of the strongest," White Heart recalled, "But we have everyone here! Except Vert, of course..."

"We... we needed a little more?" Purple Heart came to a strange realization.

Before she could elaborate, however, IF interjected, "Everyone! I see something heading in this direction! I... I don't believe what I'm seeing. I see a giant metal dragon chasing an airship?" She pulled her binoculars away from her eyes in disbelief, "I must be getting delusional."

"No, Iffy, I see it too!" Compa said, pointing at where she could see something in the distance. It was harder to see, but she can make out the shapes of an airship and a dragon attacking it with missiles and little Dragon Bots flying about.

"What the? Is that Affimojas' airship? Steamax, is this you right now?" Uni had a mix of confusion and hopefulness in her voice. She certainly wasn't expecting this turn of events.

Black Heart's eyes widened, "That airship! It's heading right at the barrier!"


Suffering more damage, the airship's bridge shook, as Thomas ran over to the side to brace himself and avoid being tossed around again. Green Heart looked at Affimojas, who held the steering wheel in place, unmoving.

"Just a little more," Affimojas said, "Everyone, Steamax, if you're hearing this, be ready."

Steamax's voice came through the speakers, "I dunno if I can hold the ship's engines together any longer."

"Keep it steady!" Affimojas commanded, "And hold on to something." He watched as the distance closed between the airship and the barrier, "Steady. Steaaaaady... now! Hard to port!"

The airship struggled to turn, the engines almost buckling while Affimojas went for a hard left turn. Despite the struggle, the airship barely manage to avoid a head-on collision with the barrier, turning to fly just beside it. The sharp turn was a bit of a surprise to the pursuing Dragon Bots, some of which avoided collision by opening small holes in the barrier to go through. However, doing so meant they were exposed to the CPUs outside. Seeing this, both Nepgear and Uni raised their weapons and engaged with the robots outside, firing precise shots to take them down.

"Hahaha, they should have realized that it was foolish to pursue Affimojas!" The big robot said happily. For that moment, he thought those enemies had crashed into the barrier behind him.

Nepgear and Uni's attacks were not unnoticed, however, particularly by Green Heart, who went over to check on Thomas before looking at some of the camera angles. She gasped a little, eyes glued to what she could see, "I recognize those weapons firing. Is that? Oh my! It is! My darling little sister Nepgear has come again to save me at a most desperate hour! She's truly the best one can hope for!"

Thomas loosened his grip on the nearby sides, blinking several times in disbelief. Did he just hear what he thought he heard?

Green Heart quickly swerved to Thomas, "You! Um, apologies. Thomas, is it? You said we can break the barrier. I must ask that you impart this wisdom to me. Uh, please."

"R-right," Thomas turned his immediate attention to his inventory, taking out the tome and looking through the pages, "It's right in here... uh, if you can read it." He turned to the page in question and pointed at the weird scribbles for Green Heart, flipping the book over to her.

Green Heart glanced at the pages, briefly confused by the scribbles before saying, "It looks strangely familiar, but somehow I believe I can interpret it. It... yes, I believe I understand it now. Thank you. I shall go immediately."

She was ready to dash off when Thomas spoke quickly, "Wait! Take me with you!" Green Heart stopped, arching an eyebrow at the man's request, before Thomas continued, "Uh, sorry, I can't really explain so quickly, but I have to be there. Please, I know it's an odd request, but-"

"Very well," Green Heart said, "I feel that I at least owe you for this bit of information. Plus..." She held herself from finishing that sentence, thinking, "Never mind. It's just a feeling. Let us go."

"Miss Neptune!" Affimojas called out, upon seeing the two agree to leave, "Prepare to provide cover fire for Lady Green Heart."

Neptune shrugged, as that was she intended. Still, she gave a little salute to comply, "Uh, aye aye, Cap'n Affy."

"Uhh... I do not believe that nickname is to my taste," Affimojas mildly complained.


Nepgear and Uni brought down their weapons, as the robots refocused their attention on the airship. "Do you think they noticed us?" Uni wondered aloud.

"Who? The robots or the airship?" Nepgear asked quickly.

"Uh, either?" Uni wasn't sure of how to respond. Either would help in some way.

Black Heart listened to the two, adding her thoughts, "That airship must've headed this way for some reason. Did they know we were here?"

"Everyone! I see something leave the ship!" Rom said excitedly.

There was a moment where everyone in the group watched whatever was leaving the airship in silence. IF slowly brought her binoculars back up for a better look, but again looked disbelieving, "What the hell? Ridiculous! That's... no freaking way..."

"Iffy?" Compa asked, "What did you see?"

"It's Lady Green Heart!" Ram was the first to identify the CPU fly down closer to them, at least as far as the barrier would allow her. While IF was certainly surprised by the appearance of Lady Green Heart, she was more reacting to the person she was carrying.

Green Heart landed fairly gracefully, slowly dropping off her passenger who quickly stepped to the CPUs, she smiled, "It has been a long while. I truly, dearly miss you all."

"Vert!" Purple Heart said happily, "You're okay!"

"Of course!" Green Heart nodded, "Though, admittedly, I had some help." She motioned a hand to the airship, then to Thomas, who looked a bit awkward being put on the spot. He waved a little to the group, "Uh, hello again."

Black Heart blinked, looking more surprised by the development, "Thomas? How?"

"Let us not waste more time," Green Heart said, "Shall we take down this barrier?"

Purple Heart nodded. Despite the earlier failure, she felt more confident that they could pull it off this time. Everyone else followed Purple Heart's lead, once more lining up. Green Heart watched as the group began their ritual to remove the barrier, and, copying their movements, mimicked the command to use her energy to hit the same area the group focused their attack on.

The two sides pushed hard at the one point, as Thomas looked on, hopeful that this would work. Just then, he recalled the words that were told to him, back in that dream.

I imagine the robots are looking through it right now, discovering just what secrets it holds. Who knows what they'll do with that info? Find a counter, set a trap, or maybe even intensify the barriers to the point where no amount of Share Energy, or resonance, can break through it. A present from you to the enemy! How quaint.

Thomas grimaced. Would this be true? Even if he has the tome now, maybe the enemy did look into the tome during the brief time it was in custody. After all, Histoire didn't need the tome after she was given it. The same with the CPUs.

He shook his head, denying this. No, it couldn't happen. It can't happen. Once more, he clasped his hands together, praying for another miracle. His faith in the goddesses must pull through, once more.

As he was praying, Green Heart felt something. The Share Energy that she was using on the barrier grew suddenly. It was a little, and hardly noticeable to anyone but Vert herself, but it was there. She glanced back at the praying Thomas, briefly curious, before looking back to concentrate on the barrier.

Sure enough, cracks began to appear at the center of the attack, before growing into a larger crack, before more cracks developed across the barrier, shattering it completely.

"We did it!" Nepgear said happily, before looking to the other Candidates, "Let's go help out the airship!"

"On it!" Uni was eager to go help out, as she grew curious of who might be helping out on that ship. Rom and Ram joined along in agreement, and the four quickly took off to help the airship deal with the Dragon Bots in pursuit.

"My, the Candidates are rushing themselves. Dear Uzume, let's go make sure the juniors hold up, shall we?" Iris Heart said, egging Orange Heart to come along.

Orange Heart was momentarily distracted, but snapped back to reality, "Uh, yeah! Let's totally help out. BBL!" She said this with a wave to IF and Compa, who ran up to check on Thomas.

"It's good to see that you're alive and well, Tom-Tom!" Compa said with a sigh of relief.

IF, on the other hand, was more flustered about what she saw, "Okay, what the hell, Thomas? How in the world did you manage to get out and even help Lady Green Heart?"

Thomas blinked at the question, pondering how to start, "Uh, well... Nep happened. I am not even sure I believed all of it, myself."

"Nep?" IF blinked at the response, "Another long story, huh? We have plenty to discuss after all this."

Compa nodded, "Indeed, Iffy! For instance, when Lady Green Heart came down, was she carrying down Thomas like a princess?"

Thomas' eyes widened before he turned red, shaking, "No-no-no, you must have been mistaken! Th-that would be embarrassing!"

"Nope, we all saw it," IF said, "Were you comfortable with the arrangement, Your Highness?"

"Sh-sh-shut up! That was all at Lady Green Heart's insistence!" Thomas said in a poor attempt to... I have no idea. Thomas was clearly embarrassed.

Green Heart sighed softly, looking at the other goddesses, "I... I am so relieved to see you three once more. I was starting to worry about not hearing from you again."

"Yes, it's good to see you again, Lady Vert," Black Heart said in honesty.

White Heart frowned, "Don't expect me to get all mopey over seeing you and your Belgian waffles again."

Green Heart smirked at this, "My, I bet you've been waiting to say something like that again. How I miss your little barking, Blanc."

White Heart became more incensed, "Do you want to piss me off right now?"

Purple Heart cleared her throat, "A-anyway, now that the four goddesses have been reunited, what say we show that giant dragon what the CPUs are like at full power?"

Green Heart smiled, "I would like that very much. I am sure you two will agree?"

"Of course! I've been wanting to unleash my full potential since we started!" White Heart said with some excitement.

"Let's do this, Neptune!" Black Heart added.

With one last nod, Purple Heart joined the other three, calling out, "Next Form! Activate!"

The CPUs were engulfed in a bright light. Though it was difficult for anyone nearby to see, the four CPUs each engaged in an elaborate transformation sequence. It was flashy! It was amazing! It was most likely expensive! Describing these sequences in text format would feel cheap. Suffice to say, by the time the light vanished, the four goddesses were in their newer, more powerful forms.

The four immediately took to the skies, with Next Purple leading the way. The CPUs went straight to business, aiming right for the large robot dragon. Even though it was assumed that the enemy was not terribly emotional, there actually was a sense of panic among the Dragon Bots, forced to choose between chasing the airship or engaging the full might of the CPUs' Next Forms. There such a reaction that the giant robot dragon shed as much of its 'scales' as it could, sending every available Dragon Bot to fight.

This was a mistake. The dragon's 'scales' acted as a bit of an armored cushion prior. Now, the robot's basic frame was more exposed. Even the smaller hangars sending out backup jets were seen through its naked frame. Should I be looking at this?

It didn't matter to the Next Form CPUs, as the attacks from the smaller bots were hardly effective. Next Black was thrilled to use more of her physical strength, using her armored gauntlets to add a much-needed punch to her attacks. Her armored legs even gave her another offensive edge, kicking right through the robots with ease. As a CPU who relied a lot on her finesse to take down her enemies, her Next Form was of great benefit.

Next White adjusted her cap briefly before gripping her powerful axe. Blanc generally relied on her brute strength when in battle. Her Next Form added to that, but also helped grow her magical capabilities. Occasionally skating through the air, Next White moved as gracefully as a winter angel. Those wings behind her probably added to that aura. Her wrath might not, though.

Next Green sped past most of the robots her eyes focused on the exposed dragon. Those robots that tried to get in the way did not last. Vert was extremely swift, and her spear was sharp enough to pierce through the toughest armor. Seeing an opportunity to severely damage the giant dragon's capabilities, she flew by its side, firing off her magical spears right at the exposed hangars. The dragon tried to turn around and fire off missiles, but Next Green learned from some of her colleagues in Leanbox, dodging the missiles and nearby gunfire with blinding speed. Even if she had a bigger hit box than her allies, Next Green was too fast to let anything get close.

"I only need but one attack to finish this," Next Purple stated in an extremely calm tone. Even with the personality shift, Neptune was as confident as ever. Drawing in energy from all over Gamindustri, Next Purple was perhaps a bit too overpowered. Perhaps this was the power of being the series' main protagonist, or a part of Neptune's contract. Still, the all-rounder readied her blade behind her, charging up while the others kept the other robots busy. Though she was tempted to finish it off with her Dimensional Slice, she wasn't planning to lose her Next Form soon afterwards. She was high above ground anyway, and she didn't feel like having another fall.

Nonetheless, she said she would finish this in one attack, and Next Purple was not going to lie about that. That would be most unbecoming! She waited for the right moment to strike, when the dragon straightened its body the most during its wriggling around and trying to avoid Next Green's spears. She then saw her moment, lining a straight path through the dragon's face and each of the remaining hangars, Neptune dashed quickly, and in one swift strike, cut through each part, right down the middle. She was nothing if not meticulous in her slicing.

Even from far on the other side of Leanbox, one can see the dragon falling apart after the swift strike. A chain reaction went through the dragon, as its systems were wrecked beyond repair. Many small explosions went along its frame before it fell apart in one big explosion. Scratch one big baddie.

Sensing the tide turning, fighting intensified across the capital city, as the enemy struggled to even retreat once their support fell. Unlike the battle in Lastation, there was not even an attempt to retreat. The robots fought back in vain, as the CPUs, Candidates, and even the resistance down below trashed the remaining enemies. This time, it was the numbers of Gamindustri that overwhelmed the robots.

It was a clear, decisive victory for the good guys. As the battle winded down, Next Purple went back to IF, Compa, and Thomas, landing casually and having a small smile across her face, "Mission Accomplished."

IF gave a small thumbs up to her friend, while Compa clapped her hands in joy. Thomas, on the other hand, looked like his mind broke once more. In fact, since the transformation, Thomas had been frozen in place, in clear shock over what occurred.

Next Purple blinked, but appeared a little amused by Thomas' reaction, "Oh dear. Tommy, are you alright? My apologies. I guess you have not seen us in our Next Forms before. I would imagine it to be a great shock, but surely, you must be impressed by what you have seen. I-"

Thomas snapped out of his broken state, and surprised Neptune not with a happy or positive reaction, but one of frustration. He glared at the CPU, pointing an accusing finger at Neptune, "Are you freaking serious? You had these powerful forms the entire time?"

Next Purple blinked repeatedly, "Uh, Tommy?"

Thomas shook in place, growing frustrated, "That form was so amazing that you cut through the boss like it was nothing! Why didn't you use it during all our previous fights? I already suspected you to be OP but holy crap!" A strange way to show appreciation for the Next Form, but here we are.

"Ah, well..." Neptune sweatdropped at his reaction, mixing amazement and frustration.

Thomas wasn't the only one shocked by what he saw, as Iris Heart flew down beside Thomas, "Dear Neppy! I knew you were strong, but this? My, you are full of so many secrets! Why did you not tell me of this? I would have loved to have known!"

"Can you believe it, Lady Iris Heart?" Thomas shook his head, "I hate when I'm left in the dark about something so amazing!"

Iris Heart chuckled, "Agreed. Leaving her friends out of the loop. Tsk tsk, Neppy. I must admit, I am feeling a little excited just looking at you. You look quite intimidating."

Next Purple didn't expect both Thomas and Plutia to be piling on her, caught a little off-guard. "It was not meant to be hidden from both of you. This form takes a lot of energy to transform and maintain."

"Oh, so you just waited for the best time to show it off, then," Iris Heart teased.

Thomas nodded, as it looked like he and Plutia decided to tease Neptune, "She's totally showing off. Did you get a load of her finishing that boss in a single attack?"

"Hahaha, yeah, she telegraphed the whole thing the entire time!" Iris Heart was greatly amused by this. Oh sure, she was no doubt impressed by what she saw, but she wasn't going to give that praise so easily.

"I, I was not showing off." Next Purple said with her eyes closed, shaking a bit. Despite her calm tone, it became clear that she wanted to show how amazing her Next Form was to the ones who didn't see it before. She was truthful about it taking a lot of energy to hold, at least. It was the right moment.

IF grinned as Thomas and Plutia teased Neptune, "It's great to see everyone back at such high spirits." Compa giggled at her friend's aside.

As for Next Green, she relaxed her posture as she looked over the city from where she hovered in the skies.

It did feel like a long time. But now, her home, Leanbox, was free once more.