Chapter 16: The Search for Doc P
"Damn it, why do I always end up having to do all the dirty work?", Underling groaned. She walked with her hands buried into her hoodie's pockets and sighed. After all, how could she complain? She was getting paid just to recruit people into her new boss' party. She turned a corner and almost bumped into someone.
"Hey, watch where you're go-", Underling barked, only barely able to hold back her temper. She eyed up the girl in front of her. She had blue hair and a white coat along with a hat that could belong to a sorceress. All of this was topped off with a red tie and a staff that curved into a hook at the end.
Underling gulped. "H-hey there! You look like an adventurer. Wanna join a party?", she said to the girl.
"...Hm. Perhaps joining a party would make my duty simpler", the girl muttered. She held her chin and closed her eyes before giving the green-haired girl an answer. "I'm looking for a soft drink. Have you ever heard of 'Doc P'?", she replied.
Underling tilted her head in confusion before shrugging. "S-sure! We can help you find it! Whatever you want!", she put her arm around the girl's shoulders and whispered into her ear. "And between you and me, the pay's not to bad, either."
The blue-haired girl stood, unphased by how touchy Underling was being. "...Very well. It would help if I had some allies to help me look."
The girl's answer was like music to Underling's ears. She couldn't help but smile widely, proud of her accomplishment. This was already going better than she thought.
IF sat on a bench in the park, leaning forward as she browsed the internet on her phone. Everyone else was on their own exploring Leanbox. The brunette sighed, having read all the recent posts on Neppit. Suddenly, she heard someone call her name, which caused her to raise her head up and look around.
"Oh hey, .5pb. Hey, Cave", IF muttered.
"You don't look so good. Is everything alright?", .5pb asked.
IF stayed quiet for a few moments. "I'm… fine."
Cave crossed her arms. "You don't look that way. What troubles you?"
IF looked down, at her feet. "Fine, you're right", she sighed. "My bike's engine got stolen."
.5b gasped. "That's terrible!"
"I know who did it, too. Some rich girl named Elsa, and her posse", IF continued. She looked up and looked the two girls in the eye. "...I also feel pretty incompetent. I ran into a film set where someone named S-Sha was filming a pretty big movie. She's way above where I'm at…"
"Aw, don't feel bad, IF. Nobody starts out at their best!", .5pb said.
"Even .5pb still gets stage fright, despite her talents", Cave added.
IF looked at .5pb. "Whoa, seriously?" She looked at the ground once more and took a deep breath.
"With enough confidence, you'll be able to achieve whatever you set out to do!", .5pb winked.
"Hm… yeah. I think I get it. Thanks for that", IF nodded.
Cave looked around. "Where's the rest of your party?", she asked.
IF turned to face Cave. "They went ahead to check out the city. I… was feeling kinda down, so I stayed here."
.5pb smiled. "Why don't you come with us? We're going to go get something to eat."
IF nodded. "Sure, I could use a bite right about now." She put her phone away and pushed herself off the bench. "Shall we?"
The trio went to a food court for some real Leanbox cuisine. Tacos, burritos, pizzas, french fries, and more. As IF was waiting in line for some coffee, she continued to browse the internet on her phone. She lost track of time and was snapped back into reality when people ahead of her started expressing their disgust at the person in front of the line.
"Ma'am, could you please explain what you're looking for?", the cashier said.
The blue-haired girl up front struck a pose. "The ultimate thirst quencher. A drink that transcends the mere values of time and space, a common thread between all dimensions… Doc P."
The cashier did a double take, unsure of what they just heard. "Ma'am, this is a cafe. We'd be forced out of business if we served duck pee."
The girl shook her head. "No, you misunderstand. Doc P, not duck pee."
"Get a move on!", someone in the line shouted.
The blue-haired girl looked behind her at the growing line. "...Very well. I will continue my search elsewhere." She tipped her hat and took her leave, going elsewhere for her search for the "ultimate thirst quencher".
IF watched the girl leave and shrugged. "Not my problem...", she thought.
The line sped up a little, with the baristas behind the counter rushing everyone's orders with well-practiced precision. When IF's order was ready, she instinctively read the name on the cup, "Aieffu". IF sighed. Close enough.
IF took a sip of her coffee as she walked over to a seat at one of the booths. A few minutes later, .5pb and Cave came to take their seat.
"Forgive us for taking so long. We ran into someone who was looking for… Doc P", Cave muttered.
"Oh, I know who you're talking about. Some girl with a white coat and blue hair, right?", IF replied.
.5pb shook her head. "This girl had a gray hoodie and green hair."
"Like a rat?", IF asked.
"Yeah! A rat hoodie!", .5pb answered.
"...I know who you mean. That's the girl who took my bike!", IF said. She shook her head and sighed. "Anyway, you said she was looking for Doc P?"
"Yeah. But it sounds like she's not the only one looking for it", Cave said.
"I've never heard of a drink of that name before…", .5pb muttered.
IF took her phone out and looked up "Doc P". All she found was several forum posts made by the username "Hououin Kyouma". Each post became more and more desperate as it became clear that only Kyouma seems to have heard of such a drink. Everyone else accused them of being a troll and ridiculed them for coming up with a conspiracy theory.
"Find anything?", Cave asked.
"Some sort of conspiracy about an Organization deleting a flavor of soda out of existence. The OP was pretty confident about this claim", IF explained.
"Maybe that girl you saw is the same person", .5pb suggested.
"Who knows", IF shrugged, "It may as well be, since nobody else seems to be buying it."
"We should check it out. Judge for ourselves whether it's a legitimate claim or not", Cave suggested.
"Sure, why not? She should still be around here somewhere", IF answered.
After searching for a few minutes, they found the lonely magician failing to get anyone's attention.
"There she is", IF pointed out.
.5pb eyed the girl up and down before stepping forward.
"Hello! Do you need any help?", the idol asked.
The magician turned to face the group, a smiling creeping onto her face. "Finally. Someone familiar."
"Huh?", .5pb responded, "...Have we met?"
"Not quite. I have met you three before… in another dimension", the stranger said boldly. She smiled at the group before her before continuing. "My name is MAGES.. My goal is to ensure the safety of Doc P."
IF crossed her arms. "Hold on. Did you just say you met us in another dimension?"
MAGES. giggled. "That's right. I wield powers that allow me to transcend the limitations of both time and space!"
"You can travel to other dimensions, but you can't even find a can of soda?", IF asked.
"...A minor setback", MAGES. grumbled as her cheeks turned red.
"Is there anything we can do to help?", .5pb asked.
MAGES. closed her eyes and held her chin for a moment, in quiet contemplation. "Hm… I suppose you can." She looked around the food court before returning her attention to the trio. "Wait. There's someone else who's helping me look."
"That green haired girl? You could forget about her. She's nothing but a lowly underling out to cause trouble", IF scoffed.
"...Very well then. Let's speak outside", MAGES. suggested.
The girls walked out of the food court and stood by a nearby water fountain. Suddenly, MAGES. hopped up onto the edge of the fountain and pointed her staff towards her new companions.
"Clearly, we are too late to save Doc P in this dimension", MAGES. said in a confident tone.
"What do you propose?", Cave asked.
"We must return… to a time where Doc P was still here", MAGES. replied.
"Time travel? Did you even find any proof that it existed here in the first place?", IF spoke up.
MAGES. nodded to herself. "...Good point." She looked up and stared at IF's party for a few moments before continuing to speak. "I see. Then perhaps we could fix this some other way."
"Oh, I know! Maybe you could try re-creating the formula for the soda and selling it here!", .5pb said.
MAGES. shakes her head. "Impossible. Such a beverage is too sacred to recreate on demand."
"I'm willing to bet that you just don't know what the formula is", IF replied.
"...I know someone who can help", Cave spoke up.
"You don't mean Gust, do you? I already owe her a favor…", IF muttered.
"No, though not a bad idea. I know someone else who should be able to help", Cave replied, "I'll call her over." The redhead took out her phone and made a call. After about fifteen minutes, the group was greeted by a little girl carrying a large, round object.
"Here you are, nyu", the little girl said.
"Thank you for coming", Cave replied.
"I came here as soon as possible, nyu. So, you need help crafting something?", the little girl asked.
Cave turned to face the group. "This is Broccoli. She has all kinds of info."
Broccoli looked up at IF's party. "Pleasure to meet you, nyu."
IF eyed up the little girl, a hint of confusion on her face. "If I hadn't already met a smart little girl, I'd be more surprised."
"You need to learn to not underestimate people, nyu", Broccoli scoffed.
"We need help trying to come up with a drink. Can you help us?", .5pb said.
Broccoli nodded. "It shouldn't be too hard, nyu. There's an urban myth about a secret soda flavor being hidden somewhere beneath Leanbox, nyu."
"What are the odds that this is even the same flavor we're looking for?", IF spoke up.
Broccoli turned to IF. "Do you have any better ideas, nyu?"
"It's the only lead we have and I'm willing to take it. We must find and distribute any traces of Doc P we can find if we're to prevent a catastrophe from occurring", MAGES. replied.
IF shrugged, having lost all control of the conversation. Cave turned to Broccoli. "Lead the way."
The party made their way to one of Leanbox's underground train stations. The area was as busy as you'd expect a subway in a big city would be. Broccoli got on top of her round companion, who she referred to as "Gema", and lead the way. "Trust me here, nyu", Broccoli assured them. They walked to the end of the platform and waited for the next train to leave the station before jumping onto the tracks and dashing into the tunnel.
According to the electronic signs in the station, they had about eight minutes to reach their destination before the next train arrived. Not wanting to get hit by a train fueled their advance through the tracks. Aside from Broccoli, Cave was the most at ease with this, as she would probably be able to merely dodge any approaching trains.
Suddenly, Gema hopped aside into an opening on the side of the tracks, quickly followed by everyone else.
"I can't believe we just did that!", .5pb spoke up.
"Didn't I tell you to trust me, nyu?", Broccoli replied.
A few seconds later, a train roared pass them. IF sighed in relief. MAGES. raised her staff up and tapped the ground with it. "If we were in any danger, I could've just teleported us away."
The opening led to a hallway, which Broccoli rode Gema into. "Not too far now, nyu."
The party followed the little girl further into the tunnel until they reached another dimly lit opening. Torches lit up the room, allowing them to barely see anything. At the back of the room was what looked like an altar, with a bottle resting upon it.
IF squinted her eyes. "Is that…?"
"Doc P...", MAGES. blurted out.
MAGES. stepped forward to claim the treasure for herself, only for a gunshot to stop her.
"You shall go no further", a voice rang out.
Everyone brought out their weapons and looked around the room.
"Who goes there?", MAGES. asked.
From the shadows, a woman with green hair and red eyes emerged. She kept a gun pointed at IF's party, threatening to shoot once more should any of them attempt to go any further. "My name is Vio. I can not let you retrieve this cursed drink."
"Cursed?", .5pb asked.
Vio nodded. "It contains a virus that must not be spread. Turn back now or I'll be forced to shoot."
"That's preposterous. Doc P is the ultimate beverage!", MAGES. barked.
"I won't let you have it!", Vio shouted. She took aim and fired a shot at MAGES., only for IF to dash over and deflect the shot with her weapons.
"Can't we all just get along, nyu?", Broccoli grumbled.
"Please, don't fight! Can't we talk this out?!", .5pb pleaded.
"Not a chance. I won't let the future die over a soft drink!", Vio replied.
MAGES. appeared surprised. "The 'future'...? Don't tell me. You're a time traveler?"
"Indeed. My mission is to prevent the virus within this drink from spreading into the population", Vio said.
"What virus?", MAGES. asked.
Vio stood up straight. "...The Z Virus. Anyone who drinks this beverage will turn into a zombie."
"What a predicament, nyu…", Broccoli sighed.
"I don't understand. What makes you think that there's a virus in it?", MAGES. asked.
Vio eyed MAGES. up and down. "The organization I work for-"
"I knew it", MAGES. interrupted, "The organization strikes again…"
"Excuse me?", Vio muttered.
MAGES. pointed her staff towards Vio. "You are being fooled. The organization is trying to prevent Doc P from spreading so that they can't be opposed!"
Vio put her gun away and reached for something behind herself. "How can I take your word for it? You're clearly mad!", she shouted. Suddenly, she pulled out a rocket launcher and fired it upon IF's party.
MAGES. conjured a spell and blasted the incoming projectile into smithereens. Cave grabbed .5pb and dived for cover, while IF and Broccoli got ready for battle.
"Good grief. This went from bad to worse in no time, nyu!", Broccoli said.
"I should've stayed in the food court…" IF thought to herself. She ran up towards Vio and launched her own attack towards her. "Demon Flames!", she shouted. A barrage of flames shot out from her weapons towards Vio.
The green haired attacker returned fire, her rockets intercepting IF's flames before they could get too close. Vio began to focus her firing on IF, giving Broccoli a chance to counter-attack. The small brunette leaped forward with Gema in hand. Her eyes shined as she charged her mighty attack.
"Mekara Beam!", Broccoli cried out. Energy gathered around her eyes before she finally unleashed her devastating attack- or, she would have, if it hadn't failed. Twin streams of brown liquid poured out of her eyes and onto the floor beneath herself.
IF continued to draw Vio's fire, running and evading her attacks like a ninja. MAGES. fired another spell, forcing Vio to evade. IF took note and moved in towards Vio herself, eager to get up close and personal with her. She closed the distance between herself and the rocket launcher, who was being backed into a corner by MAGES.'s spells. Vio switched targets, now returning fire against MAGES.'s attacks. They were equally matched, until a cry rang out across the room.
"Mekara Beam!", Broccoli shouted. Twin beams came out of her eyes and blasted Vio. The green-haired girl was sent flying into the wall and became stunned upon impact. She fell to her knees, gasping for air. When she looked up, she was greeted by IF pointing her weapons at her.
"Not another move", the brunette ordered. Vio sighed, raising her hands in a show of surrender. Cave peaked from her cover and stood up with .5pb. MAGES. tipped her hat and walked over to the altar to claim the fabled Doc P.
"Item secured", MAGES. muttered.
IF looked down at Vio. "Sheesh. Now I feel like the bad guy here." Broccoli walked up and stood next to IF.
Broccoli shook her head. "Don't be, nyu. She's the one who shot first."
MAGES. began to open the bottle, only to be interrupted by Vio. "Don't do it. You'll… doom us all."
The magician locked eyes with Vio. "I'll prove to you that there is no virus." She gripped the cap firmly and twisted it until she heard a hissing sound before bringing it to her lips to take a quick sip. She waited a few moments before speaking once more. "...See? No virus."
Vio looked on in surprise, fully expecting to see some sort of zombification take place. "I… I was fooled…", she muttered, "...I'm sorry."
MAGES. resealed the bottle before putting it away. "Apology accepted. Now… let's get out of here."
The party waited for a train to pass before stepping back onto the tracks and fleeing to the nearest train station to make their leave. They walked back to the fountain in front of the food court before stopping.
"So, about that organization…", MAGES. spoke up, "...You've been lied to, to do their dirty work."
"I see that now", Vio replied, "I'm willing to repay the favor by helping you spread Doc P across the land. It's the least I could do for troubling you."
"I'll help too, nyu", Broccoli said.
Broccoli, MAGES. and Vio bid farewell to IF, .5pb and Cave before leaving to reverse engineer the soft drink. IF's trio talked for a bit before .5pb (and by extension, Cave) had to go do official idol business. IF was once more, all alone. She decided to return to the food court and buy another snack to eat, only to run into another girl with green hair.
IF grumbled. "Oh, it's you."
"O-oh! H-hey there…", Underling stuttered. "N-no hard feelings about the bike, right?"
"Did you think I'd forgive you so soon after messing it up?!", IF barked.
"Hey, I'm just trying to make a living here!", Underling replied.
"That doesn't make it okay to mess with people's property!", IF said, "Can't you go a single day without ruining things for people!"
"Whoa, low blow! You barely even know me!", Underling barked back.
"Sure I do. You're an underling who does other people's dirty work for a quick buck!", IF scoffed.
"Damn it, there it is again! You don't even know my freaking name!", Underling said.
"Who cares? You're nothing more than an underling, and that's all you'll ever be!", IF growled.
"Oh yeah? Well you're just a freaking broad!", Underling said.
Both girls continued to go back and forth until a blinding flash went off between them, knocking them both out cold…
CHAPTER 16… THE SEARCH FOR DOC P... END.