Kei sighed into her paperwork. K-Sha had left over an hour ago and despite her best efforts, couldn't focus on her work at all, very uncharacteristic for the workaholic.

Kei knew the exact reason, but didn't want to admit to herself, trying to focus on her work even harder to no avail.

A staring contest against her paperwork failed to force her mind away from the problem at hand as she got up with a huff, storming off to her boss' bedroom.

Slamming the door open in a fit of anger, she pointed to Uni, dressed up in a nurse's outfit for… some reason. "Lady Uni! I require some alone time with Lady Noire."

The sheer emotion from the Oracle caused the Candidate to leave without saying a word. As the footsteps faded, Kei's emotions returned to normal, sitting down on a nearby chair with a deep sigh.

"Lady Noire… For the first time since becoming your Oracle, I feel like a failure." She confided to her boss. " I can't focus on work at all, it feels like an impossible feat to even get started on work and worst of all… I'm worried about you."

Silence reigned. "Goddesses, I'm talking to a coma patient, that's how far I've fallen at this point."

More silence.

"It's scary to think that only you can awaken these feelings within me, Lady Noire." Kei finally admitted. "You saved me when I was at my lowest and now I can't even run this Nation in your stead. I'm a terrible Oracle…"

A sigh escaped the Oracle's lips. "If you were awake right now you'd probably slap me for that comment, but it feels so true. My specialties have gotten nothing done and all I feel is shame and self-doubt."

Yet more silence reigned as Kei considered her line of thinking, staring at the woman who saved her all that time ago. "Feels like just yesterday you took me under your wing…"

"Yukiko, I said STAND DOWN!" Kei yelled at the last remaining member of Project Raiden, the others having been slaughtered by the raging high-schooler.

"Why, so you can up and abandon me now that your 'project' is complete?" Yukiko responded, hate filling her tone as tears drenched her cheeks. "I gave up my family, my friends, my life for this, and all I have to show for it is a coward who can't admit she's wrong!"

"Yukiko, you've always had the great potential within you to become one of the greatest assassins in Gamindustri. Are you willing to give that up to return to a 'normal' life of mediocrity?"

Her question was answered by a frag grenade being tossed into her cover. "Goddess dammit…"

Hopping over the debris that served as cover, the grenade detonated spectacularly creating more debris as the rapidly deteriorating room shook violently in response, forcing Kei to stare down the barrel of Yukiko's weapon.

"Any last words?" She asked in that icy cold tone that made her so effective in the first place.

Before Kei could say anything, a figure burst through one of the ruined walls, standing with confidence as a giant blade was slung over their shoulder. Even with the dust obscuring their body, their posture clearly showing they were not to be messed with.

As the dust settled, Black Heart's turquoise eyes shone judgment on the dueling duo. "I'd like an explanation for why this building is in shambles and you two are both trying to murder each other."

The tomboy and the high-schooler looked on in awe at the goddess, personally seeing to their spat. "Alright, I'll make this quick." She spoke with absolute authority with a hint of smugness. "Who's to blame for this?"

Yukiko and Kei both pointed to each other, causing the goddess to facepalm with a frustrated sigh. "I see. Then I guess I have to ask you both to give your stories at the Basilicom."

"So let me get this straight." Black Heart had long since reverted to her human form, feeling that there was no threat anymore and was now sat across from the feuding pair in an intricately decorated office. "You're mad-" she pointed to Kei, arms crossed and with a neutral expression on her face. "Because Yukiko wanted to kill you, yes?"

"Correct." Was Kei's response.

"And you-" she pointed to Yukiko. "Are angry because you feel like Kei here has just used you for your talent and not much more?"

Yukiko nodded, taking the time to glare at Kei as she did so. "Kei, you took my trust and stomped it into the ground. I gave up everything for you and you tried to dispose of me once you were done!"

Noire raised an eyebrow to this development. "Okay, I'm going to need some context here…"

Kei sighed. "Project Raiden was an attempt to engineer the perfect child soldier and mold them into CPU-level agents who can accomplish dangerous covert operations. Was."

Noire leaned back, gears turning in her brain. "It went wrong, I assume?"

"Yukiko and I are the only survivors. From both subjects and those working on it. You kind of saved me back there, so thanks."

Noire glared at the suit-wearing young woman. "I wouldn't be thankful just yet. What you're suggesting is highly suspect and I will have to investigate further…"

Suddenly a stack of papers flopped onto the goddess' desk. "Already had a report compiled, detailing everything from the people involved to each subject's untimely demise…"

"Which is why I thought you were going to abandon me when I saw you packing documents in a rush!" Yukiko dejectedly pointed out with a hurt glare.

"You misread the context and that is your fault." Kei crossed her arms, her unchanging expression forcing a harsh glare.

After a few moments of tense silence, Noire finally lifted her head with a definitive sigh. "I'm sure you agree that this situation can't be resolved by letting you two go and sending you on your way."

The pair stared at Noire for a few moments before nodding weakly in agreement. "Yeah, I think there's going to be some angry families after me now." Kei noted with a sigh. "While I didn't find Project Raiden, I did join it during its prime and that's how I met Yukiko here… I really shouldn't be doing business while drunk."

Noire facepalmed. "Okay… Let's cut a deal for this, since this situation is getting more absurd the more I hear about it. Kei, can you take the blame for founding Project Raiden?"

"And why would I do that?" She shot a glare at the goddess, who remained stoic.

"Because then I can give you a pardon from myself and a new job for 'protection concerns'. How does being my secretary sound?"

Kei blinked. "You mean, like an Oracle?"

The CPU nodded, before turning to Yukiko with a wry smile. "Of course, you're not getting out of this without some help from me either. You're going to need some help getting back on your feet after losing everything… So how about you work for my newly appointed Oracle?"

Yukiko processed Noire's offer. "Why can't I work for you directly?"

Noire gave a look. "Why do you think I need an Oracle in the first place? I'll be blunt, Lastation's in a crisis. My latest console is overpriced and is currently underperforming, we're being crushed by both Lowee and Leanbox and what with the situation in Planeptune… Well, having more Shares than them isn't exactly an achievement."

Kei bit her lip while looking at Yukiko's contemplative face, They both needed a job, after all and the CPU was more than willing to take them in.

"Why?" Was the only word that escaped Yukiko's lips as Noire casually read over the report.

A few moments passed before Noire put down a report, a haunted look on her face. "Because these is some of the most disturbing things I've seen in my time as a CPU…"

The pair were understandably confused by the horrified look upon Noire's face. "Lady Noire?" Kei asked with some genuine concern. "Is something the matter"?"

Noire didn't respond, just staring at the nonplussed look upon their faces. "Reading this makes me want to vomit and yet you two lived this… Words cannot express-"

She was interrupted by a comforting hand on her shoulder, courtesy of Yukiko."The atrocities we were exposed to us are indeed numerous and horrifying, but we persevered through it all. Kei was nothing but kind to me, so as you might imagine, seeing her hurriedly pack away those papers… I thought she was going to abandon me now that she had a chance to escape."

Kei remained neutral, although her eyes betrayed her stoicism with a combination of anger and worry. "Yukiko... "

Noire took the barely middle-school aged girl's hand off her shoulder with an exasperated smile. "Alright, I get it, it was a big communication failure between the two of you, but it worked out. We got daylight burning here and my Oracle and her protege are just sitting around, so chop-chop and let's get to work for Lastation, yeah?"

The trio nodded in unison, before Noire pulled out a different set of documents. "But first… I do have to bestow some Staff IDs on you two."

Time had passed for the Lastation Basilicom. Kei had adapted to her new role more than adequately, previously being a researcher definitely helped with that one. Along with her committed work ethic, passionate and often workaholic boss and just feeling better about working her job, not having to bear witness to awful crimes against nature happening around her.

Things even got better on the Lastation front. After examining the newest Lastation system's blueprints, Kei suggested multiple ways that the price could be cut for it without compromising too much on the hardware side, as well as a better software lineup that provided a one-two punch to the initially flagging console that skyrocketed sales, pushing it past Leanbox and even starting to provide a threat to Lowee.

All was well as Kei and Noire enjoyed a healthy business relationship and Yukiko's skillset made for a great espionage tool when needed.

All was well, that is…

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE LASTATION GUILD GOT HACKED?!" Noire practically screamed at the bearer of bad news as she took the fit without flinching.

"It got hacked." Kei noted flatly. "More specifically, a loophole within the inner workings allowed an foreign entity to grab restricted data."

Nore put her head in her hands, gradually lowering into her desk. "Great. Just when things were looking up, this happened."

"We can recuperate." Kei stated, no intent to let this incident faze her as she slammed yet another compiled breakdown onto the tsundere's desk. "I would have informed you earlier in the day, but that would have interfered with my schedule."

Noire sighed deeply. Kei was a miracle worker when it came to paperwork, but her social skills definitely needed improving. "Thank you, Kei. So, what's the pla-"

"I've already taken the necessary precautions." Kei crosser her arms and lowered her head. "The Guild network has been 'shut down for maintenance' while the IT team works on a fix. We'll lose Shares from the temporary outage, but nowhere near as many if we chose to keep it online."

Noire blinked. "I see."

The suit-clad Oracle bowed. "Now excuse me, I have to investigate some rumours about a former monster hunter finding out about Project Raiden from this unfortunate incident."

Kei walked away before Noire could even respond, leaving the goddess dumbstruck, even after getting used to her quirks.

After a few moments, Noire's dumbstruck expression faded to a tired smile. "Ah Kei." She thought to herself as she leaned back with a content sigh. "You find and solve issues without even bothering me about it… A true secretary."

Kei awoke with a start, hurriedly looking around Noire's bedroom to see that all was well, despite her lapse into sleep. In fact, the only thing that had changed after she fell asleep was IF sat on her phone on different chair, typing out messages before noticing the awakening Oracle and giving a lazy wave. "Ah, there you are. Was going to leave you asleep while waiting for the Shining Spring water to kick in, but it seems you're with us now."

Kei rubbed her head, averting her eyes in shame. "My apologies, Miss IF. It seems I had a lapse in consciousness when reminiscing on how Lady Noire and I met."

"That's fine." IF put her arms behind her head and leaned backwards rather carelessly. "Life's been hard on everyone as of late, but we'll make it through. Still if you're awake, that means I can make my way back to Planeptune to make sure that Neptune didn't collapse or some-"

She was interrupted by the groaning on the black haired CPU rising from her slumber. "Goddesses… Feels like I drank a case of root beer and chased it with a Pile Driver." Noire muttered, before looking at IF and Kei's shocked expressions. "What?"

Kei wordlessly got up, before trudging towards the tsundere and giving her a tight, but awkward hug, before just as suddenly letting go. "I believe that was sufficient for a 'hug', correct? I was worried about you, Lady Noire."

Noire's face was beetroot red at this point. "T-t-that's more than appropriate, Kei. What's more pressing however, is the current situation. Sitrep." She quickly recovered from her embarrassment, noting that Kei was sharing the same beetroot colour.

"Well, I don't have a report ready…" She looked away again. "It's just been difficult to get work done. I was so worried about you and-"

"Well, Leanbox is currently shut down, with the subway train to it languishing here in Lastation, there's been no word from the Oracle since she locked down Leanbox's borders and even the local Guild seems to be down."

Noire rubbed her head in confusion. "But we're here… In Lastation."

"After the attack, I received a distress signal from IF and immediately sent Uni to retrieve your unconscious body. It seems that both Planeptune and Lowee did the same, as both Neptune and Blanc have been reported as safely resting in their respective Basilicoms." Kei exposited, to which IF raised a hand.

"Neptune's up and about now and Koei's heading to Lowee as we speak to deliver Blanc her dosage." IF said with a smile, before it faded to a concerned grimace. "The only problem now would be Leanbox, but there's nothing we can really do abou-"

"I'll contact the other Oracles and ask them to attend a meeting here in Lastation. IF, can you ask Koei and Uzume to be here within the hour?"

IF nodded. "I can get Koei here, but Uzume doesn't have a phone and we left her back in Planeptune, so-"

"I'll ask Histoire for her assistance here, then." Kei interrupted again without any hesitation. "Now that I know my Goddess is okay, I can work on a strike plan to save Vert and all of Leanbox."

IF blinked. "Kei, this is odd behaviour, even from you.."

Kei turned around with a deadly glare. "This isn't a matter of 'just' Lastation anymore, IF. ASIC issued a declaration of war against all of Gamindustri, and I intend to meet that challenge without mercy."

Leaving without another word, IF was in shock. "I don't think I've ever seen her that… Irrational? Emotional? Passionate?"

Noire remained silent for a moment. "Kei owes me her life. I gave her everything… A job, a home, someone to fight for." Noire simply stated solemnly. "It's little wonder she's so adamant on this, after what I did for her."

IF looked at the door to the bedroom with trepidation. "Still, shouldn't I-"

"Kei's at her best when she feels she's fighting for me." Noire's tone demanded no retort. "Leave her to formulate a plan, I guarantee it will work, I swear my life on it."

Sensing the sheer belief of her words, IF nodded. "Alright then. I'll be in the meeting room if you need me… Get well soon, Lady Noire."

With an exchange of smiles, IF exited, leaving the tired Noire with her thoughts.

"Well, a situation like this is certainly a kick in the ass, haha." Noire thought with a tired smile. "If I wasn't so weak… I could head to Leanbox myself and sort this."

With a deep sigh, Noire started to get herself out of bed. "More importantly, I'm going to need a damn coffee to deal with this entire situation."

IF sat in the lobby of the Basilicon, finally having some time to relax after the long day she had, thoughts focused on Leanbox.

"Really hope Koei doesn't screw up with Blanc…" She thought with some concern. "We're going to need all the help we can get, I feel."

Koei leaned back in his seat with a sigh as the subway started to trundle out of the station, the car being surprisingly quiet despite the early afternoon sun shining down just outside the Lastation subway station.

"Damn, it's quiet." Koei thought to himself, munching on an overpriced train bagel as he scanned the area. "Wonder what people could be doing instead of being here."

"Did you hear about Leanbox?" One citizen asked from the next set of seats.

"Oh yeah, I'm surprised that they shut down that Nation entirely. Must be desperate to catch those terroristes, huh?" Another voice piped up.

"Makes me wonder if that private military group is trying to track them down… Were they called ASIC?"

"What does that even mean?"

"Well, maybe they'll dig out that LBX-001 prototype to hunt them down?"

"Goddesses, you and that prototype… You know it isn't real, right?" The second person seemed tired of their friend's excitement. "You're always on about the rumour mill and anything associated with it…"

As the train rolled into the station, the first person piped up on final time while Koei got up. "Wait, this isn't Leanbox!"

"Course it isn't." The first voice responded with some frustration. "If the subways to Leanbox were open, those damn radicals could escape."

Koei rolled his eyes as he exited to the main station, equipping a blue jacket with Lowee branding on it designed to protect against the cold.

Spotting the Hero heading away from them, the pair made a surprised "huh" sound. "Were we sitting near the Koei Tech there?"

"Wonder what he's doing in Lowee. Last I heard he was recovering from the attack." They noted with some concern. "Hope he's doing okay."

"He's Koei friggin' Tech, Aya. He wouldn't be a Hero if he couldn't take a hit or two along the way… How's the startup paper doing, anyway?"

Aya sighed deeply. "As well as a startup against a mega corporation can go. Maybe I should take you up on that offer of investigating the LBX-001…"

"So here we are again." Koei started at the royal Basilicom, the castle-like towers looming over him, clouds covering the normally cyan sky like a fog hanging over the usually innocent Nation.

Staring at the two guards guarding the entrance, they had already put their weapons away. "Lady Financier said you'd arrive. Please head to Lady Blanc's bedroom as soon as possible." They bowed politely as Koei walked in wordlessly.

"Same as last time I was here." Koei looked around with a sigh, remembering what happened the last time he was here. "Shame that Christmas party went to shit, but it led to Uzume… Wait, did we leave her in Planeptune?"

"Ay, Kosy, Ifsy!" Uzume opened the door, now clad in her usual outfit. "I finally got dressed, you freakin' pru-"

Uzume realized that the living room was in fact, entirely empty. "... Huh." She said to herself, looking around with a sigh. "Can't blame them for leaving me behind, but a warning would have been nice."

Uzume flopped onto the sofa with a tired sigh and simply stared out at the landscape before her eyes… This was her Nation, but it had grown so much since her absence. Even over a month later, she was floored every time she laid eyes upon Planeptune.

"It's breathtaking…" She muttered breathlessly as the fluttering of wings came from behind her.

"Neptune might not be as hard a worker as you were, Uzume…" Histoire floated next to her with a wistful smile on her face. "But she has a certain aura around her that makes people flock around her."

Uzume nodded with a contemplative look. "Kosy's the same, now that I think about it. Him and Nepsy are almost natural leaders…"

"If only they could take it more seriously." Both Histoire and Uzume said simultaneously with a sigh, before realizing they had said the same thing and lightly chucking. "Nepsy I don't mind so much, she's really done wonders in my absence and Kosy's certainly got his heart in the right place when it matters, but…"

Histoire sighed and put on a war-worn expression. "Uzume…"

The pair stared at each other for a moment before Uzume broke with a sigh. "Alright, alright. I'll cut Kosy some slack, but you know he has to step up to the plate again eventually."

"When that time comes, perhaps you and IF will stand alongside him." Histoire closed her eyes as she muttered contemplatively, before beginning to vibrate violently. "ABABABABBA."

With the tone ruined rather suddenly, Uzume bapped the head of the Oracle, revealing Kei and IF. "Yo, Uzume. Business Casual over here requested you and Koei's presence here. Oh, and Histoire too."

"Business Casual…" Kei sighed before returning to her usual stoicism. "But yes, your Oracle will be required for this international matter. Logistical nightmare."

With a nod, the line cut out, leaving Histoire with spirals in her eyes and floating drunkenly around, before Uzume put her hands on her shoulders.

"Easy there Histy, we got places to go." Uzume reassured with a warm smile. "Should get going to Lastation, don't want to keep Kei and Ifsy waiting, yeah?"

With a nod, the pair headed out of the Basilicom towards brighter prospects.

Koei sighed as he browsed the news cycle, it obviously focused on the Leanbox situation as the IV of Shining Spring water slowly made its way into Blanc's bloodstream.

"I'd prefer some lighter news, but whatever." Koei thought with a scowl on his face "Hurry up Blanc, I don't have all day. Well, I do but you know what I mean, you comatose CPU…"

As if on cue, Blanc's eyes started to flitter open with a groan. "Holy crap, I feel like I went three rounds against that Tekken chick…" She looked around with a sigh, not noticing the one responsible for her awakening. "Least I'm back in Lowee, Goddesses knows what would have happened to Vert and I…" She shot up with a start. "VERT!"

Watching the CPU's slow realization of what was happening silently was mildly amusing to Koei, but as she started to force herself out of bed and falling out of it instead, he finally intervened. "Blanc, can you calm down for a second?"

A surprisingly strong shove from Blanc was a fair anwer as he fell back himself. "Okay, rude…" He said with a sigh.

"Well, right now my girlfriend is in trouble, so would you mind-"

"I would." Koei stated sternly. "I have had a hell of a day simply trying to get you, Neptune and Noire out of your weird gas coma state, I'd appreciate it if you relaxed for a moment."

Koei's serious expression slowly wore away at Blanc, before the CPU got up with a sigh and crawled into bed again. "I… Suppose I can hear you out on this."

"Fantastic. So you see…"

"And that's the current crossroads we're at." Koei finished a detailed recounting of the past two days. "Leanbox has gone dark, ASIC are presumably still running around there doing whatever the hell they want and as both the Guild and the Oracle are currently unable to communicate with us, you can see why our hands are tied."

Blanc nodded with a frustrated sigh. "Well, that seems fair enough, even if circumstances are,... Less than ideal. I might not sound it, but I'm eternally grateful about how you leapt into action like that,"

Koei blushed slightly at the praise. "Well, it wasn't all me, Uzume took over after I passed out…"

Noticing Blanc's expression darkening, Koei recalled something from a few days ago.

"Blanc definitely hates me, but I have to respect her logic… I forced her to attack her sisters, after all." "Hey… Blanc…" Koei started to rub the back of his head nervously. "I remember Uzume saying you and her had a talk a few days ago…."

Blanc's expression hardened even more. "You could say that, yes."

Feeling like he had just stepped on a landmine, Koei gulped and continued, regardless of the menacing aura emanating from Blanc. "Yeah, something about Rom and Ram?"

Blanc froze in place with a traumatized look on her face. "Koei… I don't really want to relive those memories so soon… Their quiet sobs into the night of 'Big sis coming back to finish the job', knowing full well you aren't to blame, yet can't even say sorry to them without them breaking out into terrified screaming… I'm eternally thankful for Vert stepping in for me and explaining what happened and we managed to reconcile within a week or so, otherwise… I don't know what I would have done if I saw Uzume again."

The room's atmosphere fell as Koei got up silently to stare out of the Basilicom window, processing the startling confession, slowly trying to piece everything together while appreciating the serene view before him.

A few minutes passed before Koei's gloves rang and he picked up. "Yo." He stated without emotion.

"Koei?" IF asked with some concern over the unnatural tone of Koei's voice. "Before I get distracted, could you get the Oracle of Lowee and yourself back to Lastation within the hour? Kei's going to brainstorm a plan and she needs a majority rule to sign off on it."

"Sure." He continued to stare out of the window and was about to put the phone down before IF spoke up again.

"Seriously, what's up with you?" IF's tone became more worried as he sighed, turning to Blanc, who simply shook her head in response.

"Just a bit tired. I'll grab some coffee before heading back. See ya later." Koei gave a weak smile before putting the phone down, keeping his eyes on Blanc. "I understand how you might think that Uzume can't be forgiven given your personal circumstances, but one day I hope to convince you that everyone deserves a second chance, even Uzume."

Without another word, Koei spun on his heel and left Blanc to her bedridden thoughts.

"Koei…" Blanc thought to herself with a sigh, the image of a certain busty blonde occupying her mind with uncertainty and worry. "Please save Vert. Then I might consider forgiveness down the line."

Three pairs of people sat in the main conference room of Lastation. IF and Kei, Uzume and Histoire, Koei and Mina. There was no real reason for the seating order, but nobody wanted to shuffle the seating order and make an otherwise serious situation awkward.

"Well if we're all settled, I'll present my proposal for Operation Spring Picnic." Kei stated in her usual tone, holding a hastily typed up report for her fellow Oracles to see.

"Spring Picnic?" Koei leaned back with a dismissive look. "What, are we going to have a lovely picnic in Lastation's smog-fueled air while we continue to twiddle our collective thumbs?"

"Quite the opposite, and please at least look like you're taking this seriously." Kei chided with a breathless sigh, before getting back on track. "The operation name involves the Shining Spring water you acquired earlier and the fact that Leanbox is a well known picnic spot amongst couples. Along with this, the seemingly innocent name rolls off the tongue quite nicely."

The other Oracles sighed at her reasoning, but refused to comment on it. "Alright, let's not waste time we don't have on things like the name. Kei, what's the plan?" Uzume asked simply.

"The plan is to mount a counter-terrorist operation against ASIC, who are currently rumoured to be occupying Leanbox as a Private Military Cooperation, rather than the extremist Anti-CPU terrorists we know they are."

"That brings up a good point…" Mina spoke up, her motherly tone providing a stark contrast to the majority of the speakers in the room. "If we know of their intentions already, why haven't we denounced them?"

"Because up until an hour ago, the CPUs have been comatose and we can't publicly denounce an entity on their behalf, no matter how justifiable it is." Histoire spoke up with a concerned tone. "Goddess knows I've had to stop Uzume a few times from making hasty denouncements when she got a little too heated…"

Uzume had the decency to look embarrassed at least and there was a brief moment of levity in the dark atmosphere of the boardroom. "Thanks, Histy." Uzume put her face into her hands with a groan.

"Well, the CPUs are awake now, right?" IF reasoned logically. "What's stopping them from denouncing ASIC now?"

"Even if they did, it wouldn't do much good." Kei stated simply. "ASIC are primarily located in Leanbox and that entire Nation is currently no contact with the outside world, so we'll have to take more… Drastic methods."

"Drastic, eh?" Koei gained a smug smirk. "Don't tell me your business attitude is failing you for once."

Kei gave a deadly glare. "It isn't. This is a situation beyond where my business sense can help, but it isn't failing me, Koei. The best I could have done is given you an outline of your objectives, which I have right here if you wish to doubt me more." She slid the documents over, to which the male opened up the folder, the sound of paper echoing throughout the black and gold room.

After a minute or so, Koei put down the folder with a blank look on his face. "Wow. This is barely a plan."

Kei's glare intensified as Koei felt a chill in his spine. "I don't have the usual luxuries I'd normally have when delegating a mission. Can we move on, please?"

With a meek nod, Koei stayed silent as Mina patted his head in a manner similar to when Rom or Ram got scolded. "Getting back on topic, I did ask for the Planeptune Special Forces in particular for this mission due to your… Unique skills."

"You mean our ability to charge in head first with no idea what we're doing?" Uzume laughed to herself as she accurately summarized their combined skillset.

"That and you are three Hero class adventurers that happen to work for an Oracle and are surprisingly easy to get in contact with, so in an emergency situation where time is of the essence, I believe you three will have to do." Kei explained. "Well, that and if you fail we'll have to arrest you on account of terrorism and I don't think most people would be entirely on board with that."

Koei, IF and Uzume blinked at that newsflash. "Uhh, yeah can we rewind on that?" Koei finally said, having put his feet back down while pulling up to the table. "I saved the entirety of Planeptune, can you cut me any slack on this at least?"

Kei sighed into her hands. "It's out of my hands, thanks to the treaty. You're all Planeptune citizens so an unauthorized attack would be counted as an attack from Planeptune, not Lastation. In reality, Histoire needs to sign off on this, as Mina and I are mere observers who mutually agree this needs to be done for the good of Gamindustri."

Koei gave a deadpan stare as he silently muttered curses under his breath, before meeting Kei's eyes. "So you want us to charge into an occupied Nation… With little to no plan… And you're hanging a blade over our heads that will mark us as terrorists if we fail."

Kei nodded in response. "Of course."

Koei simply blinked with an exhausted slam into the table followed by muffled screaming, before lifting his newly marked head up with a defeated look on his face. "I suppose it's what we have to do. If even the Information Guru can't get a peep out of Leanbox, that's when you know it's hit the fan."

Kei nodded again. "Information Guru… Regardless, there are still some behind the scenes things the Oracles have to figure out before authorizing this operation, so I'll allow you three to stay in the Basilicom for the night. We'll reconvene at !0:00am, so rest well." She finished with an almost genuine smile.

Koei, IF and Uzume got up to leave without another word, but as they approached the doorway, Keoi suddenly collapsed onto one knee, IFrushing to his side in response.

"Kopey! Are you okay?"

"Ngh…" Exhaustion from the day's events had finally caught up to him as he suddenly felt his energy drain from him. "Y-Yeah." He responded weakly, the reassuring hand on his shoulder rejuvenating him slightly as he smiled tiredly. "Long day, huh?"

"Seems you really needed the time off." Kei notedrather flatly, crossing her arms. "To think, Histoire was okay with sending you out on a mission so quickly."

Histoire floated up to the suited Oracle. "T-the spring water gathering was entirely unauthorized and I would have reprimanded them myself if… Well." She looked at Koei with some pity. "He's already suffered enough, I feel."

"I'm more impressed he managed to find where the Shining Spring source was, cure three of the CPUS and still find time to relax at a beachside resort." Kei noted, a faint smile on her face while she crossed her arms. "Give him credit, he did that only a day after getting hit by an unknown agent. If he wasn't already working for Planeptune, I'd have a contract ready for him."

Koei turned his head weakly as IF helped him up. "You don't want me on your payroll, Guru. Planeptune hires exclusively idiots, murderers and whatever IF is."

IF took this opportunity to drop Koei into the ground with a sigh. "And you blew it. Hey Uzume, want to see if there's a nice bar around here?"

Uzume blinked as she stopped dead in her tracks. "... Have we even spent any time together without Koei around?"

IF shrugged. "First time for everything, right? Not like Koei's going to be going anywhere, right?"

Uzume shrugged back. "Long as you're buying."

The pair left, leaving Koei to get up tiredly with no assistance. Looking around, he sighed before turning to the Oracles. "You know where I'm staying?"

"So… Why are we even here?" Uzume asked with a raised eyebrow and suspicious glare upon her brow as the pair sat in the closest bar they could find from the Basilicom.

"Because we're going to foil a literal terrorist operation tomorrow and if I can't trust you, then I can't fight without keeping an eye on you."

Uzume mentally shrugged. "Sure, whatever floats your boat."

IF proceeded to order a pair of Beers, which she gingerly took a drink from before breaking the silence. "So… Why even stay in Planeptune?"

"It's my home." Uzume stated simply, before taking her own drink, cradling the beer between her gloved hands. "Even without the debt I owe for what I did, I'd stay regardless, because it's where I was born and raised. I think even a Leanbox native like yourself would understand that."

IF glared before signing into her drink. "Even with the Console War being over, statements like that hurt, you know. It never got too bad, just the occasional pointed comment from some over-patriotic prick, but that's still enough for me to not bring it up often."

Uzume patted IF on the back. "As I see it, you're a Planeptune citizen either way. Even without working for the Planeptune Special Forces, you still live in Planeptune and work for the Basilicom, right?"

IF chuckled lightly. "Funny to hear that from the former delusional goddess… Funniest part about it is that I believe you on that." She turned to the purple haired goddess. "Maybe Koei's rubbing off on me a bit much, but over the last month, you've proven your worth, y'know?"

Uzume rubbed the back of her head with a small blush. "Of all people, I didn't expect you to say that, Ifsy." She admitted with a smile. "First time we met you decked me in the friggin' face, so to hear praise from you…"

IF shook her head. "I decked you so we could get off on a neutral foot. That and you sorta deserved it."

"Can't argue with that." Uzume chuckled lightly before taking a drink. "But it feels like there's something more to this conversation than just a drink and a talk…"

IF nodded solemnly in response. "Well, I wanted to know why you arrived back at the Basilcom soaked in blood…"

Uzume waved off her concern with a soft chuckle. "I encountered a Fenrir. Nothing more than that."

IF raised an eyebrow, before sighing and continuing. "Regardless, I do think I need to inform you of a certain aspect of mine…"

Silence reigned as Uzume realized she was being prodded to speak up again. "So…"

IF took a big drink, finishing her Beer. "This one's going to be fun." She said with a crestfallen and world-weary look upon her face. "I'll put it bluntly, a yokai is inside me."

An awkward silence formed. "A yokai…. Like an ancient demon?" Uzume finally said. "Pretty cool."

"Until you realize that said yokai is also the embodiment of nuclear fusion that power was granted to her by the god of nuclear fusion."

Uzume processed that information while she finished off her own drink. "So that's why you use fire."

"Regardless, ever since Koei and I thought in your mind… Well, you probably saw my Flame Awakened form?"

"It's weird, when I was tapping into your mind after you fell asleep, I did feel a presence within you and tapped into it when Koei froze you solid."

IF blinked before ordering another pair of drinks. "He really did freeze me solid. Here I thought he was lying about that for cred. Either way… Probably a bad move."

"Why?"

"I believe that power draws from the yokai herself and after that initial awakening… Well, I can feel a raging fire inside of me that threatens to consume all of Gamindustri and potentially the entire world if unleashed so again, not your best choice." IF wheeled off calmly as if discussing the weather.

"Huh." Was all that Uzume said before taking her fresh drink and drinking most of it. "So, you're telling me this why?"

"I figured if everything went wrong and you were stuck with Kopey with a rampaging nuclear yokai, you'd at least know why before you both got burned to cinders. That and to give you a request if that is to happen."

Uzume tilted her head curiously. "And that is?"

"Run the hell away." She responded with absolutely no room for negotiation.

Uzume stared blankly before finishing off her second drink. "You serious? I don't know about Kosy, but I know I haven't hit my full potential yet."

"It's more for Kopey's sake than yours." IF admitted, averting her eyes to meet the bright green painted counter. "I just can't take the idea of him charging headfirst to fight a nuclear-powered demigod. Day by day, I can feel her regaining her strength, showing itself when I Flame Awaken without realizing. I don't want to worry him so soon before our first big job, after all."

"Understandable. But that brings us back to the issue of trust." Uzume pointed out logically. "Why even tell me all this if you're wary of me?"

IF chuckled lightly. "I dunno, I just like getting a drink with someone and talking about my worries. Probably a habit that rubbed off from Jill."

"Problem shared is a problem halved." Uzume lifted her glass mug. "Cheers?"

"Cheers." IF tapped her mug against Uzume's, a silent bond forming between the former enemies as they drank the rest of their alcohol, a burden lifted from the pair as the night went on, a tranquil calm before the storm that awaited them the next day.