Got this done at 11 PM on Halloween... how fitting! How many sections, Count?
Count: Thirty-four! 34 sections! And now, ON VITH THE SHOW! Ah-ah-ah-ah! (Lightning strikes)
Neptunia Guild Files: Fate/book one
A Hyperdimension Neptunia Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Section 34: House of Horror!
Even without a lightning storm overhead, the house that MarvelousAQL described stuck out like a sore thumb. After spotting it, IF and Rider set down their hoverbikes in the woods a fair distance away.
"So what's our plan of attack, mikon?" Tamamo asked as she and Nero climbed off Bellerophon, IF and Archer getting off the former's bike.
"We move in quietly," Archer stated. "If Dr. Victor has managed to bring his creation to life, we won't know what to expect from it, so caution is the word of the day..."
"Well, surely it won't be harder to deal with than that Fafnir was!" Nero pointed out.
"I'll stay with the bikes, just in case we need to make a tactical retreat," Rider said as she got off Bellerophon herself. "Hopefully that won't be necessary though..."
"Hopefully not," IF nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's move in. Stay together, everyone..."
"Right," the others assented. And so the four set off for the house, approaching cautiously, Nero keeping one hand on her sword... As they neared the house, however, they suddenly heard something like a loud, low groan, causing the group to halt...
"W-w-what was that?" Tamamo stammered.
"P-perhaps Dr. Victor is drunk?" Nero suggested. Just then, a door opened, something humanoid coming out!
It looked like a man with green-gray skin, but his head looked almost square, with two bolts on either side. He wore a black coat that was a size or two too small over a dark shirt and black trousers. It looked like the top of his cranium had been stitched to the rest of his head, which was topped with stringy black hair. He seemed to tower over the others, raising his hands up and roaring!
"RUN FOR IT!" IF screamed, turning and fleeing the others crying out in fear as they followed suit! They didn't stop until they'd gotten back to their bikes, quickly mounting and taking off into the distance, the creature roaring after them!
After they had rode a fair distance away, the group stopped, dismounting and collapsing onto the grass in relief. "W-we got away..." Tamamo sighed.
"Now I wish we had taken Saber with us," Archer grunted. "At least now we know for sure Dr. Victor's in that house..."
"...Alright, what just happened here?!" Nero said once she'd caught her breath. "Are we not seasoned warriors?! Did we not just face down a gigantic dragon recently?! That thing should be nothing in comparison! So why did we run?!"
"...That is strange, now that you mention it," IF mused.
"I don't know, but when I saw that thing, my fox instincts started screaming, 'Run or die! Run or die!' So I ran, mikon!"
"Maybe that creature is enchanted somehow," Archer suggested, "to make people feel irrational fear when it gets close..."
"Maybe we should try long-range attacks?" Rider suggested.
"Wait, I got it!" IF snapped her fingers. "Archer and Caster distract the creature with their arrows and magic, while Red Saber and I sneak into the house on the opposite side! Once we're in, we'll capture Dr. Victor and force him to call his creature off!"
"I guess I stand by in case Archer and Caster need to make a quick retreat?" Rider guessed.
"Right," IF nodded. "I'll take Red Saber on my bike to the other side. I'll text you once we're in position."
"Got it." "Right." "Okay, mikon." With that, IF and Nero set off...
A short while later, Rider heard her phone ding. Checking it, she said, "Okay, they're ready..."
"Right, let's go," Archer nodded, Tamamo following him as they approached the house again... sure enough, the creature emerged once more, roaring! "Now! Hit it!" Archer traced his bow and arrow, firing and striking the creature in the shoulder!
Tamamo then followed up with a fireball, only for the creature to duck to one side, before lightning suddenly arced from it's hands, striking down the two agents! "Gahhh! He's got lightning, mikon?!"
"RUN!" Archer cried as the creature came closer, irrational fear again overwhelming their thoughts as they righted themselves and fled! "Rider, get us outta here! Now!" he shouted, he and Tamamo quickly jumping on Bellerophon, Rider gunning the engine as the creature tried to pursue!
*Meanwhile, inside the house...*
"We made it!" Nero sighed in relief as she and IF entered through a window.
"We gotta hurry, though," IF pointed out. "Those two probably won't distract that thing for long..."
"Right, let us go, then!" Nero nodded, starting to walk forward... only to cry out as the floor suddenly gave way! "Ahhhhhh...!"
"Nero!" IF cried in distress... Then she felt terror seize her heart! "Oh no, it's back...!" Turning, she saw the creature approach, moaning with it's hands upraised! "HELP MEEEEE!" she screamed, fleeing for her life as the green-skinned man went after her!
*Down below...*
"Ahhhh- oof!" Nero grunted as she hit the floor, pieces of wood falling about her. Groaning, she sat up, one hand rubbing her back... "Well, that could have gone better..." Slowly she stood up, still a bit sore from her fall. Checking to make sure she still had her sword, Nero then set off down the hallway... it was dark, and hard for her to tell where she was going... "-Oof!" she grunted as she ran into a wall. (Okay, do I go right or left...? Right!) Keeping one hand on the wall, she made her way forward...
"Uhhhh..." a groan echoed nearby, making her freeze. (What was that...?) Heart pounding in her chest, Nero continued on, before hearing the groan again, louder, closer... She pulled out her flame sword and activated it, the fire illuminating the hallway, showing a cracked-open door on the left... (Is that where it's coming from?) Approaching cautiously, she reached her hand out, pushing the door further open... peeking inside, she saw-
-a disembodied leg! "My goodness!" Nero backed up in fear.
"Huuuhh... Hulllll..." the voice called out again... it sounded like it was coming from further inside. Mustering her courage, Nero stepped into the room, avoiding the leg, glimpsing a light switch to her left... Reaching out, she turned it on- and was shocked to see several human parts strewn over the floor, all of them female!
"W-what in the world?!" Nero gasped in shock and befuddlement... seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned and saw a girl's head with short red hair, her bangs hiding her eyes. However, said head seemed to have large brass bolts on the sides, as well as a brass horn on her forehead. It then dawned on Nero that the head was moving, the mouth trying to form words...
"Helll... Hellp... meee..." the head groaned as it tried to move... falling on it's side, the bangs of hair shifting, revealing a left gold eye and a right blue eye, both showing fear and desperation...
In that moment, Nero no longer saw a monster or experiment, but a scared girl who needed help.
Extinguishing her sword, she sheathed it and knelt by the girl's head, gently picking it up it her hands... Looking around, Nero saw the shoulders and chest laying nearby... "Um, I want to help, but I don't how how to reattach body parts..."
"Get... me... close..." the head grunted. Nodding, Nero shifted over and laid the head as close to the neck as she could... Turning so that she was looking at the ceiling, the head closed her eyes, electricity suddenly sparking between the head and neck, before being pulled together like two magnets! The chest then began to heave as the head gasped in breath. "Ar... arms..." she said next.
"Right!" Nero nodded, retrieving an upper arm that laid nearby... the process continued like this, attaching part after part, until at last the homunculus had been fully reassembled. "Okay, up we go," Nero grunted as she hooked her hands under the girl's armpits, pulling her up until she stood straight. "There! Um, can you walk...?"
"Uh-huh," the girl nodded as she stood up fully, Nero suddenly realizing that she was as tall as Rider. Walking to the corner of the room, the redhead grabbed what appeared to be a wedding dress, sliding it over her naked frame. Once she had adjusted it properly, she turned back to Nero. "Thank... you..."
"You are most welcome," Nero curtsied. "Oh, but where are my manners, I'm Nero, codename Red Saber. What is your name?"
"Name?" the redhead tilted her head in confusion. "F... Fran..."
"Fran? Ah, I see," Nero nodded, "Derived from your creator, Francis Victor, am I right?" Fran suddenly growled menacingly, causing Nero to take a step back. "O-oh dear, d-did I say something wrong?"
"Uh..." Fran shook her head. "Not... mad... at you... at... Father..."
"Father...?" Just then, everything clicked into place. "Oh no! Dr. Victor was the one that tore you to pieces?! How cruel! How inhumane! He had no right to do that! He must be punished for his actions!"
"Uh!" Fran nodded in agreement.
"Right, let us go then!" Nero exclaimed, turning to leave... then something occurred to her. Looking back over her shoulder, she said, "Um, do you know the way out of here?"
"Uh-huh," Fran nodded again, walking past Nero and out of the room, making a left, Nero rushing to catch up to her...
*To be continued...*
A lot of you saw this coming, I'll bet... stay tuned for the exciting conclusion! (Dramatic thunder!)
