Things have calmed down in Leanbox's capital, as the battle officially ended late in the night. Whatever robots remained were destroyed, and the Basilicom was retaken. While there were celebrations here and there, much of the city was simply relieved, taking the time to get some much-needed rest. Some stayed up to reestablish communications with the rest of Gamindustri, and news quickly spread of Leanbox's liberation.
Reestablishing connection...
Chirper event discovered!
Vert's icon made its first appearance in the story, "Leanbox has returned from the darkness. I am truly humbled by all of your support. Thank you."
In a room at the nation's Basilicom, one person's voice echoed across, speaking to the listening attendants.
"Fellow citizens, I speak here today in the nation's capital on this moment. Today, a united Leanbox, from east to west, has liberated itself from the clutches of these invaders that have been terrorizing much of Gamindustri. Many of us have faced this enemy directly, and I know many have sacrificed much to stop this menace. I, too, at one point, was held captive. But, it was thanks to everyone that we are standing here today."
At a podium, Affimojas was speaking to the attendants, keeping his composure and remaining confident as he spoke. Honestly, though, kind of hard to tell sometimes with a robot.
"It is true, that in the past," Affimojas noted with a small hand gesture, "The CPUs and myself were engaged in conflict. Those actions were in the past, however, and we had put aside our differences, working side-by-side. Together, along with help from the resistance and people like you, we removed the barrier, destroyed the giant robotic dragon, and rid the city of these invaders. On behalf of myself and others who worked with me, I humbly thank you all for your efforts."
He took a small bow, before he moved on, "Not that I have said all that, I am open to any questions you may wish to ask. I will do my best to respond. Remember, however, that I shall update GeneralSummarySite with more information as it comes along. Be sure to check it out for updates on the latest crisis in Gamindustri! Don't forget to share this info and leave comments. The more we spread this information, the better we'll be able in combat this nuisance!" He chuckled a bit, as even though he's one of the good guys now, he was still going to promote his website. Business was business.
Several hands shot up from the group of attendants, but there were two in particular that shot up, more enthusiastically than the others. Affimojas watched with bemusement as these two competed to get their arm up the highest. The giant robot, curious about the two, pointed over in their direction, "Ah, yes, you, over there." He didn't mind adding fuel to the fire.
"Oh, that's got to be me!" Shouted one of the two, pushing aside the other arm. This didn't stop the pushing around, as the other complained, "No, it was clearly me he pointed to!"
Affimojas shrugged, turning his head away, "I don't know. Just hurry up with your questions, we do not have all day." He was interested to see how the two would react next.
There was some bit of grumbling between the two, before one of them finally relented to let the other ask their question first. The person in question was a young girl with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She held up one arm up, stretching out her hand from her long fingerless black gloves, and held a pen and paper with the other hand, at the ready. "Dengekiko here," the girl said, her green eyes lit up after the quick intro, bringing her hand down to take notes, "Our readers back in Lastation would like to know about how you managed to get through from the prison to the hangar."
"Ah, yes," Affimojas said, "Such a trek would be long. This is quite true. It was a long and dangerous path filled with many enemies. I even had to fight a few of them with my own bare hands."
"Was it true you didn't have your own weapons?" Dengekiko asked a follow-up question.
"Indeed, like so many that were captured, my weapons were taken from me," Affimojas nodded, "But I had a goal set, and if I had to fight my way through unarmed, than that was what I had to do!" Affimojas wasn't quite lying here, but he was certainly not telling the entire picture. He wasn't going to say anything about the underground secret sewer entrance, for instance.
"I see, I see," Dengekiko said as she wrote on her notepad, "You must have a tremendous story to tell about your escape."
"Hey, you're not the only one with a question around here!" The voice beside the girl shot out, as she stood up to take control, "It's time for someone else's question."
"Alright, let's hear it!" Affimojas cut in, much to Dengekiko's frustration. Affimojas was simply amused by the bickering the two seem to have.
Dengekiko pouted and sat down for the other girl to ask her question. "Yes, this is Famitsu here," the other girl spoke. She was a little shorter than Dengekiko, with her light orange hair in tied up in a messy ponytail. The girl was in a more colorful outfit, and was somehow able to hold a pen and paper with hands encased in almost-cartoonish white gloves. "How did you get the airship out of the hangar?" Famitsu asked, "Our readers in Lowee expressed curiosity about how it helped defeat the robots."
Affimojas hummed quietly, "Hmm, an excellent question. The hangar had many enemies patrolling my own airship. These included more dangerous variations of the robots many of us fought before. We had to clear the ship of the enemy before taking off. I would explain in more detail, but unfortunately, I do not have that much time."
"Oh!" Famitsu blinked, "That's too bad. Perhaps, if you'd like, we can arrange an interview where can discuss more about your heroics, your airship, and all that happened in Leanbox."
"Hey!" Dengekiko jumped back up, confronting the other girl, "That was my idea! I was going to ask him that before you interrupted!"
"Well, too bad," Famitsu explained, looking back at her with a frown, "You already had your follow-up question. Besides, I asked him first."
Dengekiko scowled, "Why would he want to talk to you, anyway? It's not like any of this has to do with gaming."
"Such events can inspire a video game in the future!" Famitsu countered, "At least it has more relevance than whatever you can offer."
"Are you kidding?" Dengekiko scoffed, "Our readers love all the stuff in here. Robots, airships, guns, cute girls, all this could make for great light novel material! This would be a great scoop for the readers to dig into."
"It doesn't matter, because I asked first!" Famitsu went back to her original point.
"Well I'm asking now! Please, we need to know more about what happened, in great detail, Mister Affimojas!" Dengekiko pleaded.
"No, I'm getting the interview!" Famitsu argued.
"No, I am!" Dengekiko complained, and the two stared and growled at each other. I swear, lightning bolts shot back between their eyeballs.
Affimojas moved his hands to gesture the two to relax, "Ladies, ladies, please calm down. I understand your eagerness. I admit to being a very busy individual. However, as one who is quite generous to members of the media and the press, I believe I can make time out of my schedule for both of you to ask as many questions as you wish. Would that be satisfactory?"
The two seemed to have calmed down, though they were still shooting dark looks at each other. At least the two have calmed enough to stop yelling at each other.
"Have your people contact mine, I am sure we can arrange something," Affimojas said cheerfully, "In addition to this, I am willing to speak at great length about all the juicy details, and will even include details on my own website, GeneralSummarySite. Subscribers to our site will be able to get early access to plenty of information, as well as a whole backlog of podcasts and reviews from many of our affiliates!" Sneaking in another bit of promotion, Affimojas continued to plug his site for updates.
I wasn't the only one willing to check out after that, as beyond the entryway, Uni was taking a peek through the doors. Hearing another plug, she sighed and quietly closed the door ahead of her.
Uni shook her head, "He makes it sound like he's a huge reason we all succeeded. Shouldn't you be a little annoyed by this?" She glanced over to her side, as Thomas was putting away a finished soda can into a recycling bin nearby.
"Hmm?" Thomas blinked, realizing the question was directed at him, "In fairness, I don't think we couldn't have succeeded without his help. Both him and the airship were needed to get us to where we are now. Besides, it wasn't like it was all just one person, and he seemed to enjoy all the attention."
"So he does. However, we'll need every bit of publicity just so we can raise enough money to pay for all the damages to the airship and everything else we owe."
Thomas nodded in response to this new voice, "Ah, I suppose there is all that to deal with. Wait-aaah!" Thomas jumped a bit when he realized that Steamax was just standing nearby, "Steamax, where did you come from?"
"I've been here for quite a while," Steamax admitted, "I snuck out of the room moments after the General started. I wasn't too comfortable being in such a crowded room."
Thomas relaxed, "Ah, I see. I can't really blame you. About what you said earlier, though... your finances are that rough?"
"The General can be a little dangerous when money is involved," Steamax sighed, "We're still working on paying for the airship, and then there's everything else."
Thomas hummed, "I guess that's why you wanted to talk with the cities of the Azure Coast."
"When we heard there were many investors involved, that presented an opportunity," Steamax nodded.
"Uh, yeah, well, I don't know how things will be now on account of that firewall," Thomas winced, "I just hope the Coast is holding out alright."
"Ah, my apologies," Steamax quickly responded, "We only can wish you luck in saving the rest of Gamindustri."
Uni watched the conversation, before finally chiming in, blinking at Steamax's last sentence, "You're not going to be coming along?"
"Unfortunately, not presently," Steamax shook his head, "I need to keep an eye on the General while he's working to re-balance his budget. There's also the matter of getting back our inventory and catching up on everything else. As much as I would like to fight alongside the CPUs right now, my place is with the General."
"I understand," Uni nodded, "Still, I am somewhat glad that you, you two are safe." She hesitated, "Not that I was worried or anything! I am just relieved I can confirm this."
"O-of course, Lady Uni!" Steamax said with a tinge of excitement, "I, too, am glad to see that you are doing well. I even heard from Sir Thomas about your exploits in Lastation. I am rather envious that I was not there to see it."
Uni's eyes widened, and she flustered a little, "Y-you heard? I-I-It was nothing. I was simply doing what was needed out of a CPU Candidate!"
Steamax responded, "It sounded like you did a lot, regardless. Designing a tank and developing a key strategy in taking out the boss? That is quite impressive."
"Really, it's nothing," Uni glanced away briefly, before saying, "S-still, thanks." Despite feeling odd by the amount of compliments going her way, she did appreciate it.
Thomas watched the two out of curiosity, and was a little surprised by how the two were acting, even with his tone-deafness. Perhaps it was just some of the body language from Uni, and how he could see some of Noire's tsundere act show up a bit in her sister. He wasn't quite sure how to make of this relationship, though he was happy to see the two acting friendly.
Before he could think some more, or attempt to tease, he was rudely interrupted by a sudden bap on the forehead. Though its true strength was held back, it still stung afterwards. Thomas winced, moving back while holding his forehead, "Ow!"
It was a familiar feeling by now, as he turned to see an irritated Uzume, clenching the fist she used to hit him on the forehead. "You freaking idiot," Uzume said angrily, "That was for getting yourself captured and worrying all of us! Now, hold still. I'm not done being angry."
"Are you serious?" Thomas complained, shaking in disbelief, "We all managed out of it somehow! Aren't you glad to see me at all?"
"Of course I am!" Uzume said simply, her face turning red, "It's also why I'm so pissed off!" She was quick to once again hit Thomas on the forehead, "This is for recklessly charging in before the fight!"
Thomas winced again at the hit, as Uzume kept listing her reasons to hit Thomas again, "This is for getting captured before I could finish my story!" Another. "This is for all the people you worried!" And another. "This is for pissing me off!" And this degenerated into Uzume lightly bapping Thomas on the head multiple times as she vented her frustrations.
Steamax moved back a bit from the scene, quietly mumbling to Uni, "Did I miss something?"
"I don't get it, either," Uni shook her head.
Eventually, someone else came in from down the hallway, seeing this, "Uh, Uzume? Can you please not destroy Thomas before we finished our adventure?"
Uzume sweatdropped, as she looked back to Nepgear, "Ah, sorry. I guess I got a little carried away."
Thomas was dazed after the multiple attacks, saying lightly, "Watch out when coming to Leanbox. There will be pokes everywhere! Hah..."
"Damnit Uzume," said another person coming in, this being Blanc, "We just got him back, too."
Uzume laughed weakly, realizing she probably went too far.
Meanwhile, further down the hallway, Neptune was busy making formal introductions for two of her friends.
"Ah, so anyway, let's get this out of the way," Neptune moved her hands between the two people she was introducing, "Plutie, this is bigger me. Bigger me, this is Plutie. Kinda weird to be introducing you to each other, since you're from the same dimension, but here we are!"
Plutia blinked up at the older, bigger Neptune standing beside the Neptune she's known for so long. "Woah!" Plutia exclaimed in as excited a tone as a sleepy CPU could get, "There was a Big Neppy in my dimension all along? She does look a lot like you, Neppy."
"And you must be Plutie, the CPU from back home. Aww, and you're such a cutie too!" Adult Neptune said happily, as she did a small curtsy, pretending to hold a bigger skirt, "It's nice to finally meet you."
"Uh-huh! It's nice to meet you, too! I hope we can get along!" Plutia returned the greeting, even pretending to hold a bigger skirt, despite having long enough clothes.
Adult Neptune gushed, "I do too! I hear you're all big into sleeping. I bet, being a CPU, you've got all sorts of great places to unwind and relax."
Plutia nodded, "Yep! I get really comfy, especially with friends like little Neppy here." She said while scooting over to give the other CPU's nearby arm a friendly embrace, "So, what do you do, Big Neppy?"
Adult Neptune smiled, "Man, I'm still into the chilling scene. Sometimes, however, I get up and do some exploring. I do a lot of bug-catching, trying to collect the rarest stuff to add to my collection."
"Ooh!" Plutia's eyes sparkled, "You collect little squishy things? Can I see?"
"I totally would show ya!" Adult Neptune said, "Buuuut the baddies have taken my little collection item, so I'm afraid I can't right now. Still, won't stop me from doing more collecting! Anyway, I'm gonna go say hi to the others. Been nice to finally say hi!"
"Samesies! Catch ya later!" Plutia said cheerily as Adult Neptune quickly bounced forward like a wallaby past the two and down the hallway.
Upon seeing the bigger Nep head off, Plutia gave little Nep's arm a tighter hug, "Neppy? Is there any other secret you haven't told me about yet?"
Neptune laughed weakly, "Haha, uhh, it all slipped my mind. Honest, I'd tell you about other me eventually."
"Maybe we should set aside some story time for later so you can tell me alllllllll about it!" Plutia said in what seemed like a happy tone. However, with Plutia, one could never be too sure. For Plutia, this was still a pretty neat moment. The two did speculate on what a version of Neptune would be like in her dimension. She was happy to see that this one also did some good, much like the Neptune she knew. Thinking of this, she gave Neptune another warm embrace. Neptune got mixed signals from all this, but could tell Plutia was at least in a good mood.
As Thomas was recovering from earlier, Adult Neptune moved in from behind everyone, jumping in between Nepgear and Uzume, "Hey, a wild Nep has appeared!"
"Big Nepsy!" Uzume was quick to switch her focus, her smile widening as she turned to greet her friend. To Uzume, Adult Neptune was one of the first few friends she met after she had sealed herself long ago. Like the CPU Neptune and Nepgear, Uzume grew fond of the human Neptune. Just seeing her here at this moment made her feel many times lighter.
"I am so glad to see you again!" Uzume said gleefully, "I was worried about what happened to you when this all went down."
"Same with you, Uzume!" Adult Neptune chirped, "Seeing you all back out there was enough to warm this woman's heart. How have you girls held up so far? Uzume? Nepgear? Uni? Blanny?"
Blanc winced at being called out with that particular nickname. Still, she politely responded, keeping it simple, "I am doing alright."
Nepgear smiled warmly, seeing Adult Neptune, but also Uzume looking much happier, "Same here. Long time no see, Neptune."
Uni blinked, "Oh, hello Neptune! It's good to see you're okay. I hear you were with Lady Vert and the others?"
"That I was! In fact, one could say I got the ball rolling," Adult Neptune grinned, "Ain't that right, Tommy? Steamy?"
Uni's face went into a small smirk before desperately trying to go back to being stoic. However, it didn't stop her from snorting a little at the nickname the big Neptune gave Steamax. Steamax, for his part, shook in place, "I-I-I still haven't accepted this nickname!"
"You sure you don't like it, Steamy~?" Uni sarcastically teased.
Steamax complained, "Not you too, Lady Uni."
Uni laughed a little, "Haha, don't worry. I was only kidding, Steamax."
As that went on, Thomas finally recovered, realizing Adult Neptune showed up, "Uh? What? Oh, uh, yeah, Neptune helped a lot, though she wasn't the only one helping out."
Adult Neptune shrugged, "Okay, okay, I did have some help from the outside and inside. We had some mysterious guy helping out, but he kinda ran off. We had the resistance creating that big distraction early on. But yes, Tommy, we all helped each other out."
Before anyone else could say some, Adult Neptune continued, swiftly saying, "Anyway, please take me on your quest to beat up the baddies, pleeeeeeeeease?"
"Hmm? You're always welcome to come along, Big Nepsy," Uzume assumed this was a given, "I'm sure the others agree, right?"
"Of course!" Nepgear was first to agree, "We'd be happy to have you with us, Neptune."
"Another Neptune on the journey," Blanc grumbled, the thought giving her a tiny headache, "But I won't stop you from joining. We need as much help as we can get to finish this."
"I won't mind," Uni shrugged, "If Nepgear and the others agreed, who am I to argue?"
There was a bit of a pause, as if waiting for another person to chime in. After a while, there was a slow turning of heads towards Thomas. He tilted his head in confusion to their stares, before realizing what they were waiting for.
"Ah? Y-you don't need to ask me for permission," Thomas responded, "From what I've seen, she is a far more capable fighter than I, and everyone else doesn't mind her joining."
Adult Neptune raised her fists in excitement, "Awesome! I still need to repay those baddies for what they've done, and get back my Nep-Note."
Everyone else sans Thomas suddenly froze up once they heard this. "Th-they took your Nep-Note?" Uzume quickly asked.
"I was wondering why I haven't heard anything from Croire," Blanc remarked, "Is she gone with the Nep-Note too?"
Adult Neptune nodded, nervously laughing, "A-ha, yeah. They jumped me earlier and took most of my inventory. I haven't heard anything from Leanbox about finding it in the storage areas yet."
"Goodness," Nepgear frowned, "This isn't good at all."
Thomas tilted his head a little, "Um, I feel like I'm missing something vitally important."
"Unfortunately so," Steamax said, "The Nep-Note is capable of shrinking down and capturing anything it could handle. It could even sap the energy and power of what it has captured and use it at the owner's whim."
Thomas blinked, "You're kidding? Right?"
"No, he's not, and that's not the worse of it," Uni shook her head, "Neptune here has used it to hold Croire. Croire is a tome like Histoire, only she's capable of traveling through dimensions, among other things."
"Unfortunately, she has this idea that making chaos and overall danger is a way to make things 'interesting'," Blanc continued for Uni, "Tom, Croire played a major part in the last two crises."
"She's not all that bad," Adult Neptune quickly added, "I mean, sure, she's kind of a catalyst for a lot of doom. Still, we wouldn't have had those adventures and made so many new friends and have portals between all our dimensions!"
Thomas was flabbergasted, looking incredulously at Adult Neptune, "Are you telling me you had someone like that inside this book? And the enemy might have it?"
Adult Neptune nodded, "Yep! I don't hop between dimensions on my own, that's just silly! Obviously, I had to have a little book fairy do it for me with the help of my own Nep-Note! "
"You're saying your method doesn't sound silly?" Thomas muttered dryly. He shook his head, moving on from that observation, "If the enemy has it, and that tome is with them, who knows what could happen?"
As this was going on, someone else was slowly walking down the corridor, being casual before trying to be quiet. Passing Neptune and Plutia, Vert continued her way, her eyes locking on a certain familiar CPU Candidate.
Adult Neptune tried to look at the positive, "I mean, it's been a long while since my Nep-Note was taken, and we haven't had anything too crazy happen yet! The firewall happened before I was jumped!"
"In that time frame, we had the robots change tactics a little," Thomas grumbled, "Initially they were just generally creating chaos and focusing on anything CPU-related. But now? They seem to be doing research on them, hunting down monsters, and confining people."
"Confinement, huh?" Uzume muttered, "Does that sound a bit familiar to something, Big Nepsy?"
Adult Neptune sweatdropped, "Oh! Well, we might still be speculating here. All the more reason for me to come along and get my Nep-Note back, right?"
Thomas frowned, closing his eyes, and muttering, "Will this stop any future insanity, I wonder..."
"Thomas, what are you thin-gah!" Nepgear wasn't even able to add much to the conversation before she got a surprise glomp from the CPU from Leanbox. Luckily for Nepgear, she was able to hold her balance and not fall over. Nonetheless, the sudden glomp was enough to scare back both Uzume and Adult Neptune, who jumped back from Vert's surprising action.
Uni grimaced, "I should have expected this to happen the moment I saw her down the hall."
Thomas blinked at the sudden whiplash, thrown off his train of thought. "What in Gamindustri..."
"Oh, my dearest Nepgear!" Vert was already gushing, squeezing the poor girl close to her, "There was a part of me that worried that I would never see your sweet, angelic face again. Being in captivity like that was a terrible experience I did not wish to have again. No people, no games, no anything!"
Nepgear fidgetted, struggling to avoid being suffocated by Vert's ample bosom, "Lady Vert! I'm glad to see you too, but you're squeezing me tightly again..."
Vert hummed happily, "Oh Nepgear, you even remembered how I squeeze you. I'm so glad you still remember me!"
"Alright, break it up!" An incensed CPU Neptune said as she stormed down, "Vert, let go of my little sister, okay? I know you're hap-wah!"
In a move that even surprised the crowd around them, Vert grabbed Neptune as well, bringing the two into her embrace. At this point, Vert got a little teary-eyed, "Oh Neptune! I'm happy you're here, too! I really missed you all... so much..." She gave one heartfelt squeeze before letting the two go. "Oh dear," Vert quickly grabbed a tissue from her inventory to wipe her eyes, "I apologize. I appear to have been affected by that torture those things put me through."
The two sisters coughed a little and panted, recovering their breaths. Meanwhile, Uzume looked sadly to Vert, "I can sympathize, Vertsy. Being pulled away from what you loved so much..."
"She's more likely upset she couldn't do any of the special events promised this month," Blanc said dismissively, before sighing, "Though, I'll admit that it just isn't the same without you around, Vert."
Vert's eyes brightened up, "Thank you, Blanc, Uzume. Indeed, thank you, everyone. I owe you all so much for saving me, and everyone in Leanbox. The least I can do is join your quest to stop these villains."
"Oof, of course, welcome to the party, Vert... you still alive, Nepgear?" Neptune said, sounding a bit pained.
"There were so many fluffy clouds," Nepgear said in her own daze, "Do CPUs go to heaven?"
Thomas winced at this, saying under his breath, "I do not know. If anything, you probably would haunt an old junkyard or something, Nepgear."
Nepgear smiled softly, "Sounds nice..."
Vert threw away the tissue into a nearby disposal unit, before clapping her hands, "But really, you all have my gratitude. Miss Neptune, I do owe you for your help back there."
"No, no, think of it as us being even," Adult Neptune shook her head, "We'll have plenty of time later to do whatever comes to mind."
"Hmmhm, that we do," Vert nodded, "We'll work together to get back your Nep-Note. I understand the importance one can place in a collection they have built for so long."
Adult Neptune grinned, "Naturally!" She said, watching Plutia quietly walk in to check on the recovering Nep sisters.
"I didn't know you were playing!" Plutia said teasingly to Neptune and Vert.
"Ah, forgive me. I got a little carried away," Vert said with a small smile to Plutia, before moving along, letting Plutia slowwwwwly help out the sisters. "A-anyway, I did come by to check on someone else," Vert admitted, her focus turning over to the human male standing near Steamax and Uni, "Thomas, correct?"
Thomas arched his eyebrows a little, "Ah, y-yes, that is correct. How may I be of assistance, Lady Vert?" He asked politely, unsure what to expect.
Vert composed herself, keeping her smile but not being as emotional as she was a moment ago, "Actually, I feel like I need to ask you that question. You see, I have done a little research in the brief time I was out. I checked with IF, Compa, and Noire as they reconnected with Histoire. Is it true that you were working for Planeptune?"
Thomas blinked, as even the others were starting to be curious, listening in quietly. "Well, uh, yes, for a time, I was," he responded.
"I see," Vert nodded, "In that time, you've met with all the other CPUs and CPU Candidates. Why, even recently, you've met with Uzume and Plutia."
"Uh, aye," Thomas nodded slowly.
Vert hummed, "That settles it. I must apologize for my extreme tardiness. I find it unacceptable that we have not met in however long your stay in Planeptune was, and especially one who I should thank for saving both me and my nation."
"Th-thank?" Thomas stammered, "No, I was only one person who helped a little. Miss Neptune, the goddesses, that mysterious hacker, Affimojas, Steamax, the resistance, they all did far more than I did."
Vert huffed a bit, "I disagree vehemently with that take. I mean, it is true that all of them deserved credit, but I absolutely must thank you just as well. When I was released from that capsule, I was in a terrible state. I was frail, weak, and barely able to move. I was not sure if I could make it back on my feet. It was then, however, that I felt the warmth of Share Energy returning, and I remembered opening my eyes, just a tiny bit, to see where it was coming from. While Share Energy was coming from everywhere in Leanbox, I felt the most at that time from, well, you."
Thomas cracked a brief smile, and shook his head, "That's really nothing. I am sure you would've felt it from the others."
"Oh? Was that what you thought when you asked to follow me down to break the barrier?" Vert countered, "And such urgency? No, Compa filled me in on... what was it called, resonance?"
Thomas laughed weakly, "Aha, I suppose that helped a little?"
"I don't know what the other CPUs felt," Vert explained, "But from my end, I felt a small growth in Share Energy from your direction. I strongly feel if you had not been there, we may not have had enough to break that barrier."
Uni tilted her head, "Thomas was the deciding factor?"
"I had a strange feeling that was it," Neptune chimed in, having recovered from earlier, "When we tried, we fell short of breaking that thing. I wasn't sure how much was needed, even with Vert joining in."
Adult Neptune closed her eyes, chuckling to herself, "Every little bit helps, huh, Tommy?"
Thomas smiled wryly, glancing away from everyone, "I suppose so..." It was hard to believe, and yet, his prayer, meditation, whatever he did was just enough to make it.
Vert clapped her hands, "Anyway, regardless of what you think of your contribution, or how much, I have concluded that I am in your debt, as thanks. Please, allow me to repay that debt in any I can."
"Eh?" Thomas' eyes widened at this. He long believed he was the one who owed the goddesses, well, everything. A huge debt to every one of them for having saved his life and much of Gamindustri at one point or another. It was he who resolved to pay this debt, and yet, here was the leader of Leanbox herself saying she's the one who owed him. This wasn't quite what he was expecting after all that's happened.
Vert grew amused by Thomas' shocked expression, "Oh my, already charmed? I haven't even formally introduced myself!" With this, she stepped closer to Thomas, before taking a graceful curtsy, complete with holding a bit of her long skirt. Vert's smile brightened, "I am Vert, otherwise known as CPU Green Heart, leader of the nation of Leanbox. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
Thomas tried to compose himself, taken aback by Vert's formal greeting. Thomas straightened himself up and was ready to take a bow before Vert interrupted, "It is alright, Thomas. You need not return the greeting. I wanted to make a better first impression, after all. How did I do?"
Thomas was even getting ready to bow when Vert put a stop to that. He relaxed a little, but was starting to feeling a tad warm, "Uh, well, I think you've already laid a good impression after dominating that fight on the bridge." He cleared his throat, "Ahem, not to say that this was also good, or that... um... ah..."
"Hmmhmhm," Vert giggled, "I am positive we will get along swimmingly, Thomas. Please, do not hesitate to call and rely upon me for assistance."
Uzume finally spoke, though it was mainly an aside, chuckling, "I haven't seen someone react this positively to Tomsy since Blansy giving him a hug."
Everyone pretty much reacted to Uzume's aside, particularly Blanc, who turned a bright shade of red to go along with her evil red eye making a reappearance. "Uzume, you freaking bitch! You couldn't stop yourself, could you?"
"Um, oopsie?" Uzume tried to blow it off as a minor slip, but given Blanc was already reaching for her hammer, Uzume quickly bolted back up the hallway and likely getting as far away.
"Get back here!" Blanc immediately gave chase, waving her hammer around like she was going to smash any unfortunate barrels that may roll down her way.
Plutia let out a small sigh. She wasn't particularly feeling in the mood to stop another fight this time around. Neptune laughed weakly, "It's okay, Plutie. The two will tire themselves out before anything can happen... I hope."
Vert closed her eyes and held a hand close to her face, "Oh, my! Is there something I need to know about the party dynamic?"
"Yeah, Tommy, enlighten us," Adult Neptune said teasingly, "Did I just stumble onto a new harem protagonist?"
Thomas grimaced, saying in a deadpan tone, "I changed my mind. You both are terrible people." It was clear he didn't mean that, but it seemed to be a sore spot for him. The two simply giggled among themselves.
Nepgear sweatdropped at all this, moving the conversation along, "Uh, anyway, it's a good thing both of you are coming with us. I just wish we had more information on the enemy we've been facing."
Adult Neptune turned her gaze over to Nepgear, "Yeah. I bet you had more info fighting these guys than we did. It's hard to get anything from a bunch of nameless villains."
Vert's hummed softly, as if going into her thoughts, and asked, "Do you know anything about what they are?"
"Beyond them looking like older models, nothing much," Uni said.
"Really?" Vert looked a little surprised, "You didn't even check to see who they are sending all their information to? Because I may be able to help on that."
"You found something, Lady Vert?" Steamax sounded surprise by this. During his brief time out, he was trying to find any leads on his own, yet was unable to.
"Well, sort of!" Vert chuckled, "It was something I noticed in the few times I was examined by my captors, before being sealed away. Thomas, remember that stack of computers on the bridge?"
Thomas blinked, snapping out of his current mood, "Uh, well, yes. That weird group that was healing those Dragon Bots."
"Indeed, I believe it may have been a node, designed to coordinate efforts between the robots that were here and wherever our 'friends' are. I noticed the robots were putting several messages through the computers, and caught a look at one of the displays," Vert's story grabbed the group's attention, "It was a mix of binary code and source code. I wasn't too familiar with the language used, but I did remember that at the top of each message was the same series of numbers."
"Those numbers were set in binary?" Thomas asked.
Vert nodded, and looked over to her 'dearest', "Nepgear, may I borrow your N-Gear for a moment?"
"Hmm? Uh, sure," Nepgear said, handing over her handheld over the Vert, who immediately went to work looking for some software or browser to look for a translation.
"Thank you, Nepgear," Vert said while going through, "I believe if I can put down the numbers into this translation, I could get something. Ah! I have stumbled upon one such program. Now if I remember the numbers... 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1..."
"You remembered all of them?" Plutia asked, feeling a small headache just thinking about it.
"When you play a lot of games, especially on the MMO scene, it's important to keep track of numbers," Vert explained, "After all, I must keep tabs on all sorts of numbers in order to defeat my enemies efficiently. Ah, there we go! The translation should come out now." After hitting the translate button, the answer came out, and Vert spelled out the name one letter at a time, "G-R-A-D-A-C..."
There was a pause, and the group was left to ponder on the name. "This was all in capital letters, I should note," Vert added, "I remember binary code being different depending on what case."
"Graah... Grahdats? Graydack? Grey Duck?" Neptune joked while trying to pronounce the name, "You're telling me that we're being under siege by a group of robotic mallards?"
"You're such a quack, Neppy," Plutia joined in on the joke.
"Oh Plutie, waddle I do without you?" Neptune said as the two engaged in duck-related wordplay. Save me.
Ignoring those two, Thomas muttered, "Probably an acronym for something. At least we have something to go on. Thank you, Lady Vert."
"I just hope that it actually leads to something," Vert said, admitting that it was just one thing to go on. But at the very least, they have some sort of name to attach the enemy to.
GRADAC.
ACT IV COMPLETE!
NEPSTATION!
We return to the Nepstation set, where our two hosts were actually the two new people that joined the party!
"Hello everyone, and welcome to a new edition of Nepstation, with me, Neptune! Uh, well, the bigger one," Adult Neptune said to introduce herself, "Joining me on my debut is none other than the Leanbox CPU herself, Vert!"
Vert clapped her hands together, "It is wonderful to finally be here! It only took over seventy chapters for me to make my debut in the story..." Despite her complaint, she appeared to be in a good mood, regardless.
"At least you were hyped up to be in the story down the line," Adult Neptune said, "I wasn't even a blip on the radar."
"Hmm, perhaps the author thought it best to keep your appearance a secret?" Vert pondered aloud as to why.
"Well, what's done has been done," Adult Neptune shrugged, idly checking over the papers in front of her, "Honestly, I need a better agent. Being late and unannounced in a long-running Neptunia fanfiction is hardly befitting of our charismatic personas!"
"I suppose being part of this Nepstation was part of the deal," Vert said, before shaking her head, "No, I am certain that will not suffice. I expect more out of our characters, dear author. All of our fans have expectations!"
Adult Neptune tapped the paper along the bottom, "I just read ahead. I actually have a part in the upcoming Intermission?"
"Hmm?" Vert looked over the woman's shoulder, as the two checked out the words written down. After a beat, Vert blinked, "I guess you are in with the rest of us. I do recall that one of us may be tied to Thomas' fate at the end of this story. Depends on fan reaction and the author's whim."
"Ah, I see," Adult Neptune nodded, "Maybe I wasn't kidding about that harem protag stuff after all? What? No Affimojas or Steamax?"
Vert briefly looked excited, "Oh? That would've been interesting to see! Uh, simply out of curiosity! Well, I suppose those two may show up in a future chapter, together. Hmmhm..." Vert seemed to be thinking about something she didn't want to share.
"Uh-huh," Adult Neptune blinked at Vert's response, "But reading this, it looks like there may be..."
Vert interrupted, "Let's not spoil the readers, shall we? Let's just say, I think since we are moving later into the story, we might see things pick up. Hmm, I wonder what could be planned."
Adult Neptune hummed, "We shall see at some point down the line. For now, though, we got some news stories to chat about! Vert, how about you take the first one? It's all about your nation, anywho!"
"Certainly!" Vert beamed, "Prepare yourself for today's stories, patient viewers!"
Vert leaned back sat upright to begin the first story of this newscast. The graphic in the corner of the screen showed the familiar Leanbox logo. "Today, celebrations were held across Leanbox after its liberation. Although many have taken that time for rest, the few that took place were rather exuberant."
The graphic changed to a photo of some blue-haired woman singing in front of a microphone. "Earlier in the afternoon," Vert continued, "A flag-raising ceremony was held outside the nation's Basilicom, raising the nation's flag for the first time since the invasion. Overseeing this was 5pb., the number one idol of Leanbox, and one of the main figures of the underground resistance. During the ceremony, she took to a microphone and sang a beautiful rendition of Leanbox's national anthem, ending with thunderous applause from the gatherers."
"Your nation has a song?" Adult Neptune asked with a surprised look.
Vert chuckled, "Why, of course we do! Our people are quite patriotic, and when you have some of the world's best singers living in your nation, why not?"
Adult Neptune thought about that for a second, "Hmm, maybe I should listening to some of the music here. Oooh, another thing to explore in a different dimension!"
Vert smiled, "I can always offer some suggestions, if you'd like."
Adult Neptune nodded, "Ooh, sure! Let's go check out some music after the show! Speaking of which, I should get to the next story."
The graphic changed back to the Leanbox logo.
"The mystery of who the invaders are and what are they doing continues to baffle the citizens of Gamindustri," Adult Neptune started up, "Aside from the big reveal at the end of this Act, little has been revealed about this story's villains. A few scouts went out to the streets of Leanbox and other liberated nations to ask citizens on their thoughts. Here's a few samples!"
The graphic changed to some previously taped footage, with some nameless person holding the camera and microphone to ask people. Our first person was a light green-haired lady clad in a white and blue outfit. She appeared to be a mercenary of some repute.
"I don't know much about what they are!" The hot-blooded mercenary responded, "All I know is that they're annoying. See, I was working in the underground resistance, dealing with the baddies. I figured it would be basic stuff. Spam attacks, you win. If only it was just the usual trash mob."
She huffed, "But no, you got snipers taking good shots. You got robots that are weak to some elements but strong to everything else. You got wyverns or dragons and flying jets and motorcycles? I think there's even some that pretend to look like humans. Just my luck. I have the feeling they're gonna transform into CPUs at some point in the future. Urgh, what a pain."
Next up, on the streets of Leanbox's commercial district, was an old golden robot, known by many as P2. "Ah, yes, there have been inquiries from everyone about this topic," he stated matter-of-factly. "As someone who has lived through many years, many people in Leanbox have asked me if I knew anything about these invaders."
He stood still, recalling from whatever came from his memory banks, "It is a little frustrating, to be honest. Some even went so far as to suspect me of collaborating with these things."
P2 grew angry, at least from the tone of his voice, Absurd! As a free-thinking, sentient robot, to be associated with such mindless automatons is ridiculousness of the highest order! All they do, aside from push everyone around and shoot, is make random beeps. They would be dreadful storytellers. I was so glad to not be captured by such rubbish!"
"Ah, my apologies," P2 dipped his head down a little, "I wish I could say more about what they are, but unfortunately, my memory banks can only store so much information, being an older model and all. All the same, I will admit they do remind me of old assembly workers... that's all I got, however."
We cut to another location, this time back in Lastation, as a cat-like creature lazing back in the city's industrial district. With a stretch, the Cat spoke, "It was a little bit concerning when I was in Lastation under siege, nya. I was trying to lay low, but then the robots found me one day sneaking around town, nya. They weren't sure if I was a monster or a human or a pet, nya. Was saved by some lady, who brought me to a safe haven, nya. Cute, but not Nepgear level of cute, you know, nya?"
Making our way to the snowy lands of Lowee, a reporter catches up with an insect-like creature looking around the city like a tourist. After a quick cut, we see it turn around with its cute eyes and looking excitedly at the camera, "Oh, hey! I came in from Zero Dimension! Hi everyone watching!"
The Baby Bug waved as best it could, "So, about the bad guys, huh? I was here in Lowee having some fun in the snow when the firewall dropped. Next thing I know, I was being attacked by these old-looking robots. I was running so much just to avoid them, but they kept chasing me! These guys wanted to have me disintegrated! I somehow managed to get to the city, and I was saved by a group of adventurers protecting the people there. Usually, a low-level monster would be prey to adventurers. Now I see adventurers saving wild Dogoos from these things. It's kinda weird." Before the feed changed again, the Baby Bug tried to say hi again, "Oh! Hi Goo-"
Finally, the last video came from a quiet moment at the market in Planeptune. A purple-haired lady in twintails sat behind a counter, and it was hard to tell whether the girl was wearing any clothing, as she sat in such a way that would censor just enough.
"Keppy came in from Ultradimension," the lady said with a smile, "and knows what all the talk has been about for quite some time. Robots making a mess out of everything in this dimension. Unfortunately, Keppy doesn't know anything about them. I don't think our dimension encountered these things before."
The girl sighed, apologetically speaking the last line, "Keppy knows."
"Hmm, you think we would get a lot closer, now that all four nations and CPUs were liberated," Adult Neptune said as the feed cut off.
"Perhaps we will find answers in the next Act, assuming we don't get tangled up in anything else," Vert said while checking through the last few papers for anything else that might explain things.
"Why do I feel like there's a lot of flags being set up here, somehow?" Adult Neptune blinked repeatedly at this, her mind racing.
Vert shrugged, "This is simply speculation, I assure you." She set the papers down, "Now to our final story!" The graphic changed to a crudely-made picture of a boat. Looks like there may have been budget cuts. Vert, not noticing the terrible art, kept going, "With Leanbox liberated, shipping lanes between the island nation and much of Gamindustri. Only the waters near the Azure Coast and the nearby Hello and PC Continents are deemed too dangerous to travel to presently."
Vert continued to read, "In a rush to help out Leanbox with rebuilding, many supplies have been sent in great quantity to the island nation. In addition, several new games, which were all ready to be released weeks ago, have been shipped to... ah, well, the stores will be restocking on many new items in the near future." Vert looked a bit hesitant, "Ah, excuse me, I believe that I have urgent business to tend to. Uhhh..." Vert blinked a few times, before she quickly zipped off her chair and out of the studio.
Adult Neptune, who was looking up at the graphic the entire time, silently critiquing it, glanced back to see Vert had already vanished. "Hmm? Uh, well, looks like Vert's left the building, which brings our program to a close today. Thank you all for watching! Peace, love, and pudding snacks. Or whatever."
Chirper events detected!
The first icon up was that of Uzume Tennouboshi, who seemed to have survived Blanc's wrath. Her message read, "I think it's time to unwind after all that."
IF's icon popped up next, exclaiming, "The demon blood in my veins boil in anticipation!"
Compa's icon came up right after, saying, "There's still so much I need to learn."
The next icon was that of Blanc, who observed, likely of her own nation, "The weather can get a little TOO cold sometimes."
Ram was next, and you could tell she was still keeping to her ambition, "I'm gonna be the world's best sage! You'll see!"
Uni's icon appeared afterwards, saying, "This doesn't look all that exciting." No idea what that referred to.
Noire couldn't even finish this next message, "Is that what people think of-?"
Vert's icon made an appearance, saying the simple phrase, "Home, sweet home!"
Finally, ending it off, was Adult Neptune, with the weird message, "Did you miss me, me?"
