It's been twenty minutes of hard work, and the bottom floor of the tower is finally beginning to resemble the place it was before. The quake not only threw paintings to the floor and knocked books off of their shelves, but it also smashed quite a few things that'll need to be entirely replaced.

Everything from glass display cases, to toppled shelves, to even an entire chandelier: It's definitely going to cost a lot to replace all of this. I'm glad that it won't have to be me that pays. As of right now, I can hardly afford a decent desk lamp, much less a place to put it.

Regardless of that though, I'm doing my best to help out. One of the workers was kind enough to lend me a broom, dustpan, and trash can, although I'm almost certain that the waste can is either magic or just sufficiently advanced technology. A regular trash can certainly doesn't delete the things you toss into it. I'm sure to be incredibly careful, since I doubt there's a way to get the deleted items back.

As I finish up the room I was working on and step into the hallway, a male worker walks up to me.

"Mister Matthews? Lady Purple Sister and her guests are requesting your presence."

I nod back in reply, before holding out the cleaning supplies. "Um, can you return these to the other workers? I don't think it's a good idea to keep the Candidates waiting."

I get a smile and a nod back. "Thank you. I'll double check the room for you, and mark it as cleaned. Please, go and do what needs to be done."

Stepping out into the sunlight, I smile as I spot our party gathered near one of the many decorative fountains, this one badly cracked and drained of water. The gang's all here it seems, barring MAGES., who is probably still back in Leanbox. We'll need to grab her later.

The girls who are here are all seated in folding chairs, likely courtesy of the Basilicom. Taking in the situation as I stride up, I note that Nepgear, Compa, IF, and the twins are talking, while Marvy, RED, and Uni are just reading quietly to themselves. There's a few spare chairs laid out, probably one of which is for me.

"-haven't had a quake like that since we had to confiscate that medal from that stupid elf boy!" complains Ram, her voice finally becoming clear as I draw nearer.

"Ahuh!" echoes Rom, happily supporting her sister's point. "He kept using it to drain lakes… It was causing all sorts of bad stuff!"

Shaking my head at that little link to the past, I debate how to get their attention. Should I interrupt them? Everyone seems kinda busy, and I don't think I have anything too important to say. Maybe I'll just grab a chair and sit down?

Fortunately, it seems that I won't need to break the ice this time.

"Oh, hey, Derek!" says Uni, as she looks up from her magazine. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see RED look up and flash me a thumbs up. The others haven't even acknowledged me yet. Seems they're definitely still busy.

"Uh, hi." I reply, scratching the back of my neck, as I plop down in an unused chair. God, I always hated small talk. Do people talk about the weather? "How was your break, Uni?"

That gets an annoyed scoff back. "Ugh, yeah, it was okay. Everything went riiiight back to normal. And by normal, I mean Sis spent two really good days with me… and then went immediately back to ignoring me. Sure, she'd eat the cookies and stuff I'd bring for her, and I definitely had more time to myself…"

I nod back slowly. "Let my guess. But the lack of stuff to do was slowly driving you mad."

"Exactly." sighs the Candidate, rolling her eyes. Now that I'm closer, her reading material of choice is visible: Gunner's Digest. The cover has a fancy looking rifle on it, one that I'm certain I'd guess the name of wrong.

I shrug, and look around at the remaining group. "So, have we decided where we're going first?"

A pause.

Nepgear blinks, and then turns to me. "Oh hey, Derek! Sorry for not coming to get you myself, but we were kinda-"

"Hrrr… It's that dummy again." grumbles Ram, looking to the side with her arms crossed.

Rom however, nods slowly. "M-miss Nepgear made a list." Seems one of them did listen to my question. Interesting.

Nepgear blinks, before nodding as well. She shows me a page of neatly written text, although each item on the list has random circles or xs on it. It seems she's been trying to prioritize, but has been having issues. "Not quite. We've got a few destinations written down, but they're… Well, they're difficult to choose between."

"Go on?" I reply, interested at having a choice here.

Nepgear sighs, pointing at a point on her list. "Well… There's apparently a chip factory up north in Lowee somewhere. It'll take a bit of searching to find, but according to the guild, there's a pretty big area where adventurers get attacked and knocked out. So, even if we're not sure what is in that place, it's definitely valuable to ASIC. After all, either they, or some tough monsters they control are patrolling it. There's also apparently a pretty big base on Leanbox, but that one we've got no leads on yet."

I nod slowly. "Yesterday, I found an ASIC transport on the docks over here. So there must be a base somewhere nearby Planeptune, too."

That causes Nepgear to nervously add that to the list. "And there's probably at least one more thing in Last-"

"Ugh! They're like cockroaches! Why can't we just step on them? Or blast them all?" blurts out Ram, who stomps a foot in emphasis. "They're everywhere, and they just won't go away!"

"So…" murmurs Nepgear, before she speaks up again. "We've got probable bases in Leanbox and Planeptune, a definite base in Lowee, and uh… Maybe something in Lastation?"

Uni scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Pfffft. As if Noire would let a base exist in Last- Oh, who am I kidding. There's probably one there too. There's no way they completely ignored us. We'd never be that lucky"

"Great. Just great." sighs IF, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Add one more stop to Lastation too, Gear. This is looking a lot like we're starting all over again."

"Any sign of the rest of the Four Felons yet?" asks Marvy, looking up from her manual. "That'd be a thing to consider too."

Nepgear sweatdrops in response. "I wish we had more to work with. As of right now, there's been no signs of CFW Magic, but there are more sightings of Trick to-"

"Eeeeww!" squeal Rom and Ram in unison. "Keep that gross, smelly dinosaur away from us!"

"- Of CFW Trick to the north. There's also been sightings of CFW Brave in Lastati-"

I hear a sharp intake of breath from the side, but I don't need to see it to know who it's from.

"Did you say Brave?" Uni asks, with a wary tone of her voice.

"Uh… Yeah, I think so. Why do you ask, Uni?" replies the purple Candidate, head tilted to the side.

Uni blinks… and stares at her for a moment. "What do you mean? You were aw... … oh. Um, n-never mind!"

That causes a bit of awkward silence, but it's soon picked up by the rest of the group.

"Aaanyway." states IF, sighing. "So Trick is staying in the north? Why?"

Uni snorts. "Likely because Lowee is as far away from the rest of them as he possibly can be. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near that sleazeball."

No one argues with that point, for sure. The twins both screw up their faces in disgust.

"So…" continues Nepgear, more than willing to change the subject. "We need to come to a decision… Lowee and Lastation seem like the biggest two right now. We don't even know where to start with the others. At least those two we know something's there."

Uni shivers for a moment. "Lowee. We should go to Lowee."

"Huh?" blinks Nepgear. "Why Lowee? I'd have thought you'd want to check on Lastation first -"

"You said it yourself, right? You're certain there's a base in Lowee." pouts Uni. "Just go there first, then we'll do Lastation next!"

There's murmurs of agreement. Nepgear looks around one more time, and seeing that everyone has voted, scribbles a 1 next to Lowee, and a 2 that looks a lot like a question mark beside Lastation.

With the plans finalized, The group disperses. Marvy and RED wander off - likely to go deal with their own homes - and the twins march off to the Planeptune Embassy, where I can only imagine they're missing air conditioning. IF and Compa turn back to the Basilicom, probably to go back to helping out.

Seems like a good idea to me. I think I'll follow them.

"Hey! Where are you going?" yells Uni, crossing her arms.

"Uh." I sputter, trying to remember whatever I've obviously forgotten. "Huh? Do you need help or something?"

"N-no! But everyone is heading off in different directions and isn't saying anything!" she grumbles, stomping the ground.

I blink, and pause for a moment. "Uh, well, I thought I'd go help clean up the Basilicom. After all, they did let me stay there for quite some time, so it'd only be fair-"

Uni pauses, and sighs. "Fine. Can I come along? I have nothing better to do either."

"Uh, sure? I'm sure they wouldn't say no to another set of hands." I don't quite understand what's going on, but more help means it'll all be done faster.

With that, we make our way inside. Yet, the moment we're in a separate room, Uni begins to talk - for a minute, I think she's merely talking to herself, but when I turn to make eye contact, she doesn't stop.

"... I thought I was ready… But I guess I'm not." the Candidate sighs, lifting up an overturned cabinet as if it weighed nothing. "Does that make me a coward?"

"Huh? Why?" I reply, unscrewing the wreckage of a smashed bulb from a lamp.

"I chose to help Lowee over Lastation! I should've argued for them even thinking about-"

I sigh, and shake my head. "So what? You said it yourself. You're not ready. But, at least we're doing something. Better to help in what ways you can, rather than force yourself. Besides, you and Nepgear already kicked Trick's ass once before. We're going for the easier one of the two."

The room is silent for several moments, save for the shuffling of broken bits and furniture, or the clinking of something missing the trash can and bouncing off of the floor.

"... I'm not ready to see Brave again." admits Uni, who faces away. "I-I'm scared. I-I tried to talk to Noire about it, but..."

"Brick wall?" I offer.

That gets a weak chuckle back. "Brick wall."

Noire will be Noire, it seems. "It's not your fault, you know. Some people just… don't understand." I pause, trying to remember my past. "Sometimes, it's just hard to ask for help."

"B-but… I'm a Candidate! I'm supposed to be brave, powerful and-"

I shake my head. "Look. What makes you a Candidate?"

"W-well… I can transf-"

"Alright, and… What percentage of the time are you transformed, Uni?" I continue, stopping to stare at her.

"Uh…" she pauses, as if doing calculations in her head. "..."

"Not much. Am I right?"

Silence. I take another logical step forward, hoping I'm not going too far.

"Now, how much time aren't you transformed?"

"A lot! Now get on with it? What are you trying to say?" snaps back Uni. She refuses to meet my gaze.

I sigh. "That means, that for that ninety or whatever percent of the time Uni, you're a human. It means it's okay to be afraid. It means it's okay to care."

Once again, silence hangs in the air. I take the time to check the room, and it seems like everything's in order.

Nodding, I pick up the trash can and tools. "We're done here."

"... What?" she snaps back, glaring at me in shock and offense.

"U-uh… I mean we're done in this room." I backpedal, gulping. I need to learn how to think before I speak!

"O-oh." replies Uni, looking sheepish. "I-I thought you… Never mind."

And then there's more awkward silence, as we do a final check, mark the room as done, and move onwards.

The rest of the work is relatively quiet. With all of the words that had to be said long done, there was simply no reason to speak at all. Just cleaning, working away at the massive mess that was here.

Nice, blessed silence, enough to lose track of time. At least until…

"Heyoooo!" chirps the unmistakable voice of the elder Planeptunian CPU, sticking her head into the room. "Dinner's ready. We were wondering if you two were even going to show up!"

I blink, getting up slowly, before staring at my watch. It's barely past five fifteen.

Flatly, I sigh. "Neptune. It's five."

"Yeah, and?"

I grumble a bit, before I slowly nod back at her. "I'll-... We'll be right over."

"Suuure thing!~" smirks Neptune, who disappears not a moment later, probably to avoid the off chance we'd ask for help.

Shaking my head, I walk over to Uni, who is lost in her own little world it seems. She's currently re-arranging a shelf.

"Hey. Dinner." I state, gently slapping the side of the shelf.

"H-wha?" she responds, blinking, as the present rushes back to greet her. "W… How long was I…?"

"We were working for about three hours, give or take?" I guess, again glancing at my watch. "Neptune wants an early dinner, so we should probably get going."

Uni gulps, and sheepishly puts down her work. "Y-yeah, sure."

As we move to the door, I'm asked a simple, but far too important question.

"Do you think we are ready t-to actually fight Brave, when we finally encounter him?"

"God, I sure as hell hope so." I admit, without a moment's thought.

Uni makes a strangled noise, as she whirls to face me. "W-what?!"

I blink, then laugh weakly. "We can never be too prepared, can we? Best to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. Now, let's hurry up before we deal with the current worst: Neptune making up some stupid story about what took us too long."

That gets an annoyed huff back. "You suck at reassuring people."

"I know. Oh well, right?" I shrug. "Least I'm working on it."

Uni grumbles, arms crossed and eyes rolling. "Yeah yeah… 'Oh well, right'. Let's just get going."

With that, she leaves me in the room, quickly walking off.

Man, my people skills still need serious work.

Still, we're on our way, one way or another. Hopefully, nothing will go too wrong in the immediate future.

It's time to take the fight to the bad guys. After dinner, of course.