Author's Notes: Another chapter made for the release of RetroDimension Neptunia. If there's some issues within the writing, please do let me know through the review.
- Basilicom, Lowee
Next day since the incident, a heavy investigation is currently in progress that around the outskirts of the building were heavily guarded by both the authorities and the Guild members. People of all nationalities were present in the scene, mostly composing of investigators along with the volunteers, inspecting around the destroyed part of the Basilicom, which used to be the office.
It was a morbid incident since then, not only the sudden attack of the Lowee's Basilicom but also the disappearance of the CPUs and the other girls within it. Team of investigators were restlessly inspecting and searching around to find any clues that led to this event but so far, they are no single trace to it.
The oracles, Histoire, Kei, Mina, and Chika, were all present in the investigation. After countless of people within the building interviewed, Mina is the only witness that happened to it.
"I was there in the office before Lady Blanc requested me to bring cups of tea for Neptune and others." she told her story, "It took awhile for me to prepare them before I head back."
"And how then the incident happened, milady?" the head investigator asked, writing her story down to his notes.
"I don't know how it happened because I'm just outside of the room.." she continued, "Seeing a bright light under the door and hearing weird, wobbly sound from that office."
"So you're at the outside of the office when it happened right? You didn't enter inside then?"
"I didn't because I thought it would be dangerous." Mina continued, "I thought Lady Blanc and the other CPUs had it under control until everything went silent. I tried to call Lady Blanc but she didn't answered back.
It was then I carefully opened the door and… that is how it happened.."
"Hmm, alright then, milady." the investigator nodded, "Right now, our men don't have the proper equipment for it but we can try to check it through the satellite. We don't have access to it yet though. Until we granted permission by the authorities, we should be able to do so by the next day."
"I understand, thank you."
Heading on to his duties afterwards, soon the oracles approaching close to her, watching the ruined office under investigation in front of them.
"So this is what happened.." Kei asked, "Both Noire and Uni were there when it happened right?"
"I'm pretty sure all the CPUs got caught to it." Mina sighed, "I can't believe this happened.."
"P-Please tell me my dear Vert is okay?!" Chika worried with her heart beats in panic, "I hope she's not dead and survived in this disaster!"
"C-Calm down, Chika! Believing them being dead makes it even worse! Just take a deep breath."
"I g-guess you're right, Mina.. I hope she doesn't get caught in a blast.."
"Also, if this is caused by a blast, then why the debrises around here were shaped like a cube?" Kei asked as she picked up a small, cubic debris that fits in her palm, "I believe this incident is more than a simple explosion."
"What makes it that led to this in the first place?" Histoire asked, "Did the girls have something that caused this incident?"
"I don't know.. The only thing I believe being the culprit of it, is the brown-looking hypercube that the girls found."
"A brown-looking hypercube?" Chika confused, "What's that?"
"The same cube that attacked Nepgear and Uni back in Lastation. I don't know what it is, but the girls have been trying to figure it out how to use."
"Also.." Kei called, "If that's the same weapon that the driver used, then where did you find it?"
"At the empty forest where Rom and Ram have their treasure hunt. The girls said that they found it dropped from the car."
"A brown-ish hypercube?" Histoire recalled, barely knew it, "Hold on, I might be familiar with it."
"You knew?" Kei asked.
"Probably, but I need some time to recall about it from my memory.."
"Go figure." Chika expected, "Also, where were you during the destruction around Planeptune?"
"Sleeping." she calmly responded, "Took a rest after Neptune took over the office. I didn't expect that incident to happen out of nowhere."
"No wonder why Neptune is on the call." Kei figured, confusing the Planeptune's oracle about it.
"Huh? You called her?"
"I picked up the phone to try to call you from your office, but I didn't expect the CPU to be on the line instead. Seems to be such a rare occassion."
"Of course it is.." she breathed out, expelling her exhaustion from the lazy goddess' previous shenanigans, "It is rare for her to actually work on her desk, wished she'll act more responsible."
"Alright then, but aren't we supposed to be worried by it?" Chika cuts off, "If the CPUs were gone, it'll leave the entire Gamindustri defenseless!"
"The teams around here were close to our authorities, being low profile from the public." Kei informed, "People may not know about it until the information was leaked."
"About the monsters, I'm sure the Guilds will handle it although it'll take some time for them before they asked us where they are." Mina added, "Even worse, stronger monsters may appear as they couldn't handle it without in large group."
"Right now, keeping this private is the only way to keep the world safe. If it goes public, then ASIC might spring back to life.
Now if you excuse me, I have to go back to the Basilicom so I can look about it right away." Histoire ended before taking her leave from the oracles.
Continuing watching the ruined office in investigation, came nothing to their mind regarding the incident. Kei, closely inspecting the odd cubic-shaped debris on her hand, starts to wonder.
"You think this is an attack, right?" asked Kei, hypothesizing to the cause of it.
"No, it's more that they finally figured it out how to use it." Mina said otherwise, "But well… not in a good way.."
Waking up with seeing the clear, blue sky above, along with the leaves being swayed by the wind. Feeling a cold sense of touch from the smooth, wavy water that travels around the body, lying in the middle of a shallow river.
"Ughh.." It was Neptune, grumbled from her rough sleep during her unconscious, "W-What happened? Where am I?"
Slowly rising up from the water, feeling her clothes damped in wet. Although she felt frustrated by it, she must get her grip with the situation she is in.
"Awww, c'mon!" she whined, "Of all places, why do I have to be in the middle of the river?!"
In her whine, before she noticed another figure beside her. A girl with a black hair, along with twintails, that wore in her black, maid-like dress. A familiar figure sleeping in front of her before she realized, perking up.
"Noire!" the purple-haired girl called as she knelt before her, trying to wake her up with her hands shaking her, "Hey, wake up!"
"Ugh.." she grumbled, slowly regaining her conscious back to life, "W-What happened?"
"Oh I don't know.. Like we fell from a deep, dark hole before we fell in a very bright light?"
"Huh?" she slowly stood up from the ground with her dress damped, feeling cold, "Why do I feel something cold around me? W-Wait… wah?!"
Realizing her clothes soaked in wet, immediately slapped Neptune right to her face. Covering her breasts and her groin with her arms thanks to the river, revealing most of her body through her soaked clothes.
"Nepu-?!" shocked her from her unexpected slap, marking her hand on her cheek.
"Y-You, p-pervert!" Noire furiously exclaimed, embarrassed, "H-How did I ended up getting myself wet and my clothings, they all got soaked wet!"
"Woah woah, calm down!" Neptune shook her hands, gesturing her to calm down, "Don't blame me for it! I also got wet too! Look at me!"
Glancing over her, as she got wet too, some time later the black-haired teen calmed down with her breathing out of her exhaustion. Seeing back to her, she called.
"Jeez.. I can't believe that this happened to us.."
"Well, at least we didn't get hurt or anything." she chuckled, scratching her back, "Where are we by the way?"
"Looks like we're in a forest." Noire glances around, seeing the clean, lushful environment, "I guess someone haven't touched this part of the forest."
"And we don't know a way out of this forest." Neptune added, "Guess this is a call for our HDD Drive!"
She stood still as she concentrated with her transformation. Concentrating for awhile, nothing happened to her.
"Huh?" she confused, "I can't transform?"
"Me neither!" Noire also followed, seems like she is having the same trouble along with her, "I can't transform as well!"
"Well, apparently that cube made us travel to different dimension, so that's one thing we learn."
"Damn it.." she silently complained before she noticed something missing with them, "Also, where are the others?"
"I don't know." Neptune shrugged, looking around before she realized, "We must've split up during our fall, it's a good thing that we're here together!"
"It better be, I had enough with your shenanigans.."
"Hey!" she complained, "At least have a sense of humor from me so you wouldn't be complaining!"
"In your dreams!" Noire retorted before focusing back on their situation, "Anyway, we should get out of here right now."
"To where?" Neptune asked, "We don't know a way to a city, town, or any home."
"We'll just wander around, idiot!" Noire responded back before she chose a direction to go, "I'll be the lead so let's go over there."
"You can't do that! I'm the main protagonist so I'm the one who should be the lead!"
"We're not in the canon series, so shut up."
"Nepu-?!" she surprised, "T-That's my line!"
With Neptune's bickering continues on, the duo's search for their friends began, venturing through the deep part of the woods. Fortunately there were no monsters in their way. As determined as they are, being the start of their new adventure in this unfamiliar replica of their world.
- Basilicom, Planeptune (Hyper Dimension)
During the midst of the night, seeing the office in such a big mess. Papers were scattered around the floor, books were thrown into places unevenly with the oracle searching something important to her hand.
"Come on!" frustrated Histoire, "Just where is it?"
Continuing to move back and forth between the shelves and the messy floor, with papers and books were scattered throughout the room. Carelessly piling up the whole office with it, though Histoire have something more important than the office.
Skimming through every page of the book she looked upon, not happy with her answer not found in it thus she threw on to the floor. This became a continuous cycle of her search, looking every single history book in the shelves she saved throughout the history of Gamindustri.
"I don't get it?" sighed in defeat, "Where it could've be? I know that I've heard it to my memory, if I recalled.."
Facepalmed with her hopelessness, feeling ready to give up until something peculiar at the very back of the shelves, seen from her glance.
"Huh? What's that?" asked Histoire to herself, reaching out to the book before she picked up for closer inspection.
It is a very dusty book with a leathery cover that has been sitting there for a long time, hidden behind the other books. Noticing its papers were completely yellowed out for unknowingly how long, must be indicated that this old book has been around for such a long time if not be more than centuries since.
It is the last book that the oracle picked up from the shelves and judging by its old, decaying appearance, brought her hope back along with the smile from her face.
"This must be it!" smiled Histoire, "The information about the tesseract must be written in here."
Opening the book, reveals far more details than she anticipated. Not only with the tesseract but also other parts of the history that she is not familiar with, has existed through before her. Aside wanting to read more of these, she focused back to the details she needed about the tesseract.
Reading through, the tesseract is not only just a weapon but actually happened to be such a relic that has existed since the book is written. However, something about it has gave the oracle in a grave state.
"Oh no.."
- Forest, Unknown (?)
"I'm surprised that you have your wooden sword already just in case." Noire surprised.
"Just in case? It's already been around in my pocket since day one!" smiled Neptune, "Ya know, like those in every RPG games?"
"Is your pocket that big or it is a blackhole?" she facepalmed, "Also stop with your 4th wall-breaking shenanigans!"
"Whaaat?" the purple-haired girl shrugged, "I've always been that way, so?"
"Ugh, whatever!" she frustrated, continuing to walk through the woods.
It's been an hour since the girls left from where they started. Cutting through the thick grasses with Neptune's trusty sword in their way. Although they were exhausted, there is no point to rest in a forest that may be full of monsters around, already trying to find shelter before dusk in this dimension.
Slashing through back and forth, until Neptune managed to reach through the end before seeing something in her path.
"What is it, Nep?" the black-haired teen asked.
"Looks like we're in a park."
A one last slash to make a full path for the two. Emerging from the grasses, seeing a clean, lively park before their eyes. Although there's something odd for the two, the path were made of rectangular stone blocks, every street lights were more outdated compared back in Hyper dimension, and even with the people's fashion.
"Woah!" Neptune surprised, "Everything looks so old fashion here! Could use some refurnish around."
"You think?" called Noire as she is still behind the grasses, covering herself, "My clothes didn't get dry enough and my body is too revealed because of it!"
"Awww jeez'.." Neptune sweatdropped with a chuckle, scratching her back, "Hehe, you still really care huh?"
"Uhh, are you two okay?" a voice asked worriedly, "You two might catch a cold if you stayed wet for long.."
Glancing to where the voice called, seeing a teen girl standing in front of them, a pale girl with a red, long hair with her eye colour that matches her hair. Wearing a plain, casual one-piece dress under her unbuttoned, woolly coat that lengths up to her hips, both clothing with the same color, followed by her court shoes in the darker color. Looking at Neptune and Noire with a worried look, sweat-dropping with her smile kept on her face.
"It's just nothing to worry about, hehe." Neptune chuckled, "But yeah, we really appreciate it."
"Not at all!" she nodded with a smile, "Judging by you and your friend's clothing, you two were foreigners, right?"
"Uhh.." confused Neptune, unsure of what she meant, "Y-Yeah! We're kinda lost so we have no other places to go or to stay.."
"Oh dear.." the teen girl sympathized, "Well.. How about I bring you two to my apartment? That should be where you'll be staying for awhile."
"Really?!" Neptune perked up, "Well thank you then! We really appreciate it, but uhh… my friend of mine doesn't want to get out of the bush because some perverts may look at her like-"
"N-Nep!" Noire angrily shouted, embarrassed.
"I-I see then.." she sweatdropped before something came in her mind, picking something up from her bag, "Oh yeah, I actually bought a coat just this day when I'm shopping! I don't know if it'll fit, but it's enough to cover you!"
Simply handing her newly-bought coat to Noire with a smile on her face. Though Noire hesitated for some time, until she finally took the coat for her to wear. Appreciating it though she felt bad for their trouble.
"T-Thank you.. But is it really okay for you?"
"Yep." she smiled, "Not like there's something important for me to wear it right now.'"
"Okay then." Noire understood before was cut off.
"Oh, by the way! What's your name? I kinda forgot to ask you that, hehe.." Neptune chuckled.
"My name is Tecmo."
"Sup Tec'! The name's Neptune and my friend over here is Noire."
"It's nice meeting with you, Tecmo." Noire greeted.
"You too but uhh… I don't remember anyone calling me Tec instead of my usual name.."
"Well, Nep usually has a habit of calling someone's name in a shortened way. I apologize for that."
"Oh, no!" Tecmo sweatdropped, "Not at all! I actually like that name, it's kinda cute."
"See Noire?" her friend smirked, "There's nothing wrong calling them by their nickname."
"Except that you called her that out of sudden. Sometimes, it can be insulting especially those who you haven't met."
"Said by a girl who doesn't have a friend."
"W-What did you say?!" Noire complained
"Oh dear!" Tecmo surprised after she noticed the time, cutting off Noire's complaint "It's about to get late, we should be in a hurry right now. I have my friend waiting for me."
"Alrighty then!" Neptune joyfully understood, "Maybe we should continue after we've arrived in your home?"
"Sure." she simply nodded.
With the sun starts to settle, the girls were on their way to the apartment where they will stay. It was fortunate for Neptune and Noire to get a place to live for awhile, though still unfamiliar with the place they're in right now with everything were seemingly looking old and new to their eyes.
- Downtown, ? (?)
"Woah!" surprised Neptune, "Everything looks so jazzy 'round here!"
Roaming through the busy streets of a city that were uncommon for them. Every building were built in either Brutalist or Googie architectural style, constructed with simple bricks. Signs and banners around were more of either papers or woods, coated plainly in white along being written in a fancy calligraphy, instead of LED screens around which they were more familiar with back in their dimension.
As usual back in the park, with pedestrians' fashion that may be odd for them, walking on their day. Cars were also around though far more different than they expect, having more rougher shapes and simpler designs to even some cars they glanced over resembles more like a wagon.
"Music around here were kinda different too.." Noire wondered, "I thought pop songs would be more common around here than jazz.."
"I guess you must be living somewhere rural before you came here, right?"
"Y-Yeah, you could say that." Neptune sweatdropped, "Oh yeah, where are we by the way?"
"We're in the downtown of Planeptune, right now."
The name alone stopped the two of them, stood being frozen out of shock. While Tecmo is left confused, remain them with their mind boggled within.
'T-This is Planeptune?!" shocked the purple-haired girl, 'Why everything here looks so different?!"
'Not even in Ultradimension, Planeptune wouldn't look this… old.. Just what dimension are we now?!'
"Uhh.. Neptune and Noire?" Tecmo confused, "Are you two okay? You girls just suddenly stopped for awhile."
"O-Oh! It's nothing! Me and Noire just didn't know we're in Planeptune."
"You didn't know?"
"W-Well." Noire stuttered, "We just got lost from our travel, that is!"
"Okay then.. Well, we can talk about back at my home and right now, we're close to it. Shouldn't be a further blocks away."
"That's a relief." Neptune sighed, "It's a good thing we're close or else I'll passed out. It's just my hoodie's killing me from how wet it is!"
"We'll get there in no time, so come on." Tecmo cheered, "But don't scare me like that ever again."
As the girls chuckled by it, nevertheless they now knew that they were in a different dimension, confirming it. Though only Neptune and Noire knew that answer, it still remain unclear for the other, missing girls. While the girls were walking to Tecmo's apartment, the two wanders how their friends and sisters are in this state, not only they were seperated but also the sun soon settled to dusk, might be dangerous if they haven't caught a place to stay.
- ?
Somewhere around a snowy forest with beautiful snowflakes softly rained from the sky, covered by a pale gray clouds that barely covered the whole. With winter engulfed the cold land, along with a chilling breeze that travels through the woods.
"It is such a gorgeous sight to see, Blanc." a familiar voice called, ecstatic by the wonderful view around the cold environment, "You could've told me about this beautiful forest for a tour."
"Shut up, Thundertits. Not like I know this place before."
Both girls were roaming through the woods, seemingly lost in the depth of the snowy forest. Trees standing high to the sky that overshadows them, leaves and branches covered in snow, and the sun that soon settles into the ground from the horizon.
"We're must be still in Lowee but… I don't remember any parts of its forest were this dense.." speculated Blanc calmly.
"So it could be we're in Ultradimension, then? What else part of Gamindustri with any forest so dense?"
"I don't know, but if it is Ultradimension, we could have already seen the capital just by looking around, but no."
"Oh dear.." frowned the busty lady, "Not only we've lost our CPU form but also unsure where we are."
"I hope my little sisters were okay.."
Continued to roam through the woods unknowingly, soon followed by darkness that slowly consumes the land by the setting sun. Nowhere to stay, desperately looking for a shelter to keep safe. As the wind becoming colder to their pale skin, by an inch of hope to head on against the freezing winter.
"Damn it!" Blanc cursed as she shivers, "We could get ourselves freeze to death here! Where the hell we should go?!"
And with a pinch of hope left, soon found miracle before their eyes..
"Look!" her friend called, pointing at a trail of smoke rising from the sky, "There's something smoking over there. Maybe that's where we could find a place to stay."
"Good, at least we're lucky. Let's go."
"But wouldn't it-?"
"It's a better risk than having ourselves turn into a frozen statue, come on."
Even though Vert sighed with her blunt response, well it's no better than be froze to death in the middle of an unknown taiga. Being the only option, the girls spent no time to follow the trail of smoke from the sky, heading to its direction. As closer as they go, so as the warmth and the light comforted them to their front.
Finally emerges out of the deep woods, now in front of them is a rural town, composing of small and medium wooden houses built in a Japanese architectural style. With simple and plain decorating around. Torches seems to be the only source of light and heat around the town, far from how the girls expected to be.
And seeing the cause of the smoke, came from a large torch cauldron that sits in the middle of the town, stays completely unaffected despite the freezing climate around.
People were still around in this early evening, wearing rough, plain yukata as their casual attire. With children joyfully playing around the snow by either throwing snowballs, building snowmen, or playing tags around the deep, mushy snow. The town is protected by a small group of town guards, simply wearing lighter equipment such as a chain armor, gauntlets, helmet, and a kind of spear on their grip called yari.
As the girls traverse around the town, being watched by the locals around, in awe for their unusual attire that is foreign to their eyes. Although the locals were cautious with children returning back to their parents and the guardsmen carefully watching over them.
"What town is this?" Vert whispered, "Think this is still Lowee?"
"If we're in Ultradimension, I don't remember parts of it would be this rural.. Even back home, it's way too dull to even exist around."
"Oh dear.. Guess we're really lost, huh. How about we should ask the locals around."
"We can do that but..." answered Blanc, winces over the people around, "..these people looking at us as if we were aliens around."
"Oh don't be like that, Blanc~!" the blonde-haired goddess chuckled, "I'm sure they must've lived here for long, hidden away from society. I mean look at them, it should be obvious right?"
"I guess so.." she sighed, "So come on, let's ask where we are before finding a place to stay."
"Oh absolutely, of course." Vert nodded, "It is getting dark after all."
Unsure of which one they would ask for since they were a lot of locals around them, as cautious as ever. It was then until an elderly man emerges out from the crowd to approach the goddesses, presumably the chieftain of the town.
"It's unusual for such strangers from the outside world to come here." the elder spoke, intrigued by their presence, "Now what you ladies came here for?"
'The hell is an outside world?' confused Blanc.
"We wanted to know where we are, since we got lost in the woods." Vert asked.
"It seems that you've got a rough tour then.." the elder shook his head, "You ladies were in the rural parts of Lowee in the northern-eastern region. The locals around were in awe with seeing foreigners judging by your attire in the town so I do apologize if it disturbs you."
"Oh not at all! Looks like everyone here haven't explored this 'outside world' you call." Vert continued albeit confused with the term.
"Well our goddess here made a rule that no foreigners shouldn't be allowed in any parts of Lowee except for the capital, so as our people cannot leave outside our nation."
"Wait, a goddess?" Blanc recalled.
"You never heard the CPU of Lowee before, that's odd of you.."
"W-Well, me and my friend hasn't been really paid attention to anything what is happening in Gamindustri."
"I see.. Well, aside from that, is there anything else you wanted to ask?"
"Me and my friend wanted to get a place to stay for this night since we got lost. Is there any place for us to stay?" Blanc asked.
"Well certainly." the elder nodded, "A friend of mine has a tavern just in this town. It is the most popular tavern for adventurers and wanderers in Lowee after all."
"Ah, that's lovely! We really appreciate your kind offer." Vert smiled.
"It is what I do, after all! Just let me and my fellow guardsmen guide you to the tavern so I can let my old friend know about it."
With the girls being grateful for the chieftain's help, continued on heading to the tavern along with his guardsmen. Though his guards remain skeptical about the girls and his decision, Nonetheless, it seems that the elder has a big of heart for those in need.
Arriving in front of the tavern, built in both wood and stone with its architecture resembles to every building around. However, it has more beautiful and attractive decoratives that makes it stand. Paper lanterns hanging from the roots, well-trimmed bushes around the tavern, and the sign that welcomes the adventurers inside.
"This is it." the chieftain told, "You ladies stay here while I will talk my friend about your stay. My guards would remain in stand so they'll look after you for awhile."
"I understand." nodded Blanc.
Blanc and Vert sitting on the bench with the chieftain walked inside to the tavern. Few spear-armed guardsmen on their post around them, as ordered by their chieftain. While waiting, they have enough time for them to view around the town.
Paths were cleaned off from the deep snow, every house were built in wood, and the locals were buying around the shops in this night. The girls wonder if they were even in either dimensions they've mentioned before, with this part of Lowee is too under-developed for it to be around, even with the term "outside world" which is unusual for the girls.
Even for a rural town, it is quite a sight for the girls, to be astonished by its clean, gorgeous houses and pathways despite the simplistic, plainly-colored looks built traditionally. It is far from be compared to other Lowees in terms of its technology, architecture, and its society.
"I wonder if this is Lowee." Vert wondered, "Even if the town looks quite poor, still has such a luxurious view to my eyes!"
"I, too, thought this is Lowee from Ultradimension because of how they were similarly built. But judging from the society and technology around, we're kinda far off from it."
While speculating about their whereabouts, ended after the chieftain left from the tavern. Followed by his guardsmen, walking to the girls with a gleeful smile on his face.
"Well then, that's it." he nodded, "My old friend has prepared a vacant room for you two to rest. And don't worry about the expenses, I already have them paid for this night."
"My! you're too kind." Vert giggled.
"Wouldn't mind be flattered, anyway." he chuckled, "But however, after this night, you girls must head back to the capital or else you will be apprehended by the authorities around. A law is a law."
"But we don't know where the capital is." shrugged Blanc.
"There is a path that leads back over there at the south-west, but I'll prepare a wagon for it tomorrow. I heard that there would be an inspection conducted by the authorities around the town."
"But what about them?" she pointed at the guardsmen.
"Eh… They were just our militias around the local. They were here to protect outside of the authorities' supervision. Never gave us weapons for us to protect, so we've built it ourselves from everything we have."
"I see then.." Blanc understood, "Well, it's been a night so we really thank you for-"
"Help!" cried a woman's voice, "There are bandits robbing me!"
"Damn it!" one of them cursed, "It wouldn't have happened if you just kept that woman's mouth shut!"
"Me?! It's your fault for picking me to hold her! You're even stronger than me so-!"
"Enough with the bickers, you two!" seems like the bandit leader exclaimed before facing back to their victim, "Just give us your damn credits and we're done with it!"
"Hold it right there, criminal scums!" the guardsmen halted, wielding their spears as they surrounded the bandits, "Either drop down your weapons or else we'll take action with pain against you!"
"Hehe, you want pain?" chuckled the bandit leader with their blades unsheeted, "Then we give 'em at ya!"
Tension grew within the middle of the town as Blanc and Vert were watching the scene along with the locals around, between the spearmen and the bandits with their weapon held steadily, aiming one to another. Though the life of the woman is at stake, does not hold the girls back from witnessing the upcoming battle.
"What should we do?" whispered Blanc, "We can't materialize our weapons since we're cut off back from our dimension?"
"We can't just stay here and watch, we must help her!" Vert complained, "Sir, mind if we intervene to this such act against the criminals?"
"B-But it's too dangerous!" the elder stuttered, "We cannot have another human have their lives in danger."
"We're not simply humans." Blanc simply said before she called at two of the guardsmen, raising her tone, "Hey you!"
"U-Uh yeah?"
"Give us your weapons."
"But it is-!"
"I said give them to us, god damnit!"
Apparently cowers in fear, the cowardly guardsmen surrendered their spears to the girls. Although she was not happy with the type of weapon she obtained, still it is enough for Vert since it is her favorite choice of weapon.
"Now then, it is our time to save someone's life like usual."
"Shut up, Vert." annoyed Blanc, "Enough with your talk and lets just get this over with."
Approaching towards the scene with the confused guardsmen in action step aside for the two. They were warned by the guardsmen although the girls didn't listen to their orders. Now, the tension grew more with the guardsmen step aside by the two, worrying the elder, locals, and the guards around.
"Heh, what's those girls with a funny-looking clothes they got?" one of them mocked.
"Looks like a foreigner from the outside world. Bet they have better jewelries than this bitch!"
"Ladies!" called the chieftain, "It's too dangerous for you two, and let the guards handle-!"
"Shut up, you old punk!" cursed Blanc, "Don't act like you know us better!"
Proudly aiming their blades towards them, with a lustful taste of greed awaits to their wealth. Carefully watches over them, with their continuous mockery against them, expecting to be better targets for credits.
"Ain't ya looking too busty for a fight, lady?" smirked before the rest laughed.
"Trying to play a heroine huh? Hehe, how cocky are you two to act like one?"
"Of course.. People like you always act like they know how to fight." sighed the busty goddess, "Guess we'll give you a lesson, then."
"Don't act so proudly against us!" angered one of them while dashing towards her, with the tip of his blade aimed at her chest.
Attempting to pierce his blade through, caught in deflect by her spear's shaft, swiftly spun it against his blade. Surprised by it, he attempted to recover his stance until he unfortunately got jabbed by her shaft again, lunges toward his side that made him flew to the wall with a brute force.
Knocked out unconscious, as the whole people became shocked in surprise, unexpecting her sheer strength that made overwhelmed her opponent with ease. Fondly twirling her spear around her body, along with her stance that intimidated her foes.
"I may be busty, but it is my elegance of mine to fight." she chuckled, "Who were those who knew how to fight again?"
"Tch, you bastard.."
Charging his blade against his foe with an intent to kill. Running as loud as his battle cry, taking his pride away in turning berserk against her despite their abnormal strength to the bandits. By his swing of the blade with all the strength he brought, ended in a block by Blanc's weapon out of sudden, barely even moved it.
"Still acting so tough, huh?" she mocked, "Guess you really underestimated us just because we're girls.."
"The hell you're talking 'bout, little girl?! Just die!"
Unknowingly for them, calling her little would be mean writing a death note for their lives.
"What did you call me?!" glared Blanc, nearly her whole face is overshadowed with a red, glowing death stare at her eye, "Does a 'little girl' do this?!"
Violently bashing her foe right up to his chest with her spear's shaft, with tremendous force that is not comparable to Vert's along with him flew far from the group. Although he fortunately landed in a soft spot, there is no telling whether he survived from Blanc's attack that made him out of conscious.
The bandit leader is the remaining suspect left in the scene. Feeling Blanc's sinister aura around her, would apparently already shattered him. Now feared by the girls, with his only escape is to threatened them by holding hostage the victim, carefully putting his blade on her throat.
"Hehe, y-you fools!" he smirked while fear consumed him, "You think you can simply stop me in this way? Well, think again!"
"H-Help!"
"How cowardly you are!" disgusted Vert.
"Oh now you lost your guts to fight, huh? Really shows who you are."
"Shut up, you damn bastards!" retorted the leader, "Call me a coward if you wanted, but I'll take anything necessary even if it would contradict me! Words meant nothing, only action were-!"
Boastly mocking them until he was cut short by a guardsman from the back, left him unconscious. Blinded when he was overly focused on the girls that made him openly vulnerable from other parties. The woman is saved, unharmed before she thanked the guard and the girls.
"T-Thank you! Thank you!" she genuinely thanked multiple times, constantly bowing her head in form of respect.
"Well it is our task to help the people, after all." Vert smiled.
"No problem." Blanc simply said.
Taken down the suspects unconditionally, has led to applaud of the crowd around them while the guards were left confused, in awe of the girls' capabilities.
"Are they fighters?"
"Are they even humans? No one would have that sheer amount of strength!"
"Hmm.." thought the elder, "Unless…"
- Tavern
"Bwahaha! Guess my ol' friend is right about letting you gals in!"
Chuckled the keeper of the tavern as they were celebrating for their heroic effort. Boozes laid on every table, laughs and joys of people around the room with some left drunk on their seat. Blanc and Vert were at their seat in front of the bar, the loud and rowdy crowd around them. It sure must be like a holiday in this night.
"I-I guess so.." Vert sweatdropped.
"Hm? Ya said that your task is to help the people around, right?"
"Uhh, yeah?"
"What are ya working as, then? A cop?" asked the keeper while casually drinking his beer.
"As the CPU of Leanbox, of course."
"And I'm also the CPU of Lowee." Blanc added.
In surprise, the keeper spat his drink out and coughed, something that he didn't expect from them. While the girls were left confused, then Blanc asked the keeper.
"Are you alright?"
He didn't respond because from his cough. It took a moment for him to clear his throat up, repeating what the girls said.
"Both of you were the CPUs of Lowee and Leanbox?" he pointed at them.
"That's right."
"How about we should talk about this in private, okay?"
"Uhh, okay?" left them confused.
Gesturing the girls to follow him, walking their way to an empty room where the people around them could not able to hear them. Unsure why about it though, after they entered through, the keeper shut the door and clearing his throat out before he asks them one more time.
"Are you sure both of you were CPUs?"
"Of course we are! What, you're not believing us we were?" complained Blanc.
"I mean, you girls' odd clothing is one thing but from what I witnessed, having an unnatural strength that people around couldn't do is another, of course I'm believing it!"
"Then what's this all-?" Vert asked before she got cut off.
"Listen, if the day comes tomorrow, then you need to get out of here fast!"
"We have already planned to leave to the capital tomorrow." pointed Vert.
"No, that's even worse!" shook his head in disbelief, "I mean you need to get out of Lowee!"
"What are you even talking about?" confused Blanc, "If you're talking about the authorities around Lowee, we can easily fend them off ourselves."
"Not just them, but the CPU too!"
"Wait, why would the CPU would go after us?!" surprised Vert.
"You don't even know what's going on around Gamindustri, do you huh?"
Confused to what he meant, while Vert asks Blanc if she have any idea only to left with a shrug. For some time later with no idea, shooking their head to the keeper before admitting their whereabouts.
"No, because we are never meant to be here.." Vert admitted, "We are supposed to be from a different dimension but something happened that made us warped into this world. I'm sure our friends were also out there too."
"Well, of all the places I've traveled around Gamindustri, surely telling that you were too different to be here in the first place.." he scratches his head.
"Just cut to the chase already, what's going on?" demanded Blanc.
"Gamindustri right now is in a hot-boiling situation. The Console War around here became more aggressive since the first war."
"What do you mean?"
"The CPUs were always in a war at each other. No diplomacy, just all-out fight against each other without hesitation, especially in Lowee." he explained, "If you call yourself a CPU of Lowee, of course people will call you out as an imposter but now since you've revealed your true strength, they'll warn the CPU about you two."
"Maybe I can talk this out to her? I'm sure she'll-" suggested Blanc.
"No can do." cut her off, "The lady does not take kindly to foreigners and the CPUs. I don't know what dimension you were talking about but this Lowee is a hermit kingdom, it remains unknown to the outside. If you're at least going to be reasonable with her, the only option is to fight against her."
"But since we've lost our CPU form, there's no way we can able to beat against her." feared Vert.
"Until your power comes back, it's safe for you two to not show yourself as a CPU then.."
"But then why you're helping us even if we were foreign CPUs?" Blanc asked in confusion.
"Since you've saved someone back at the incident, it is my gratitude to help you two." he explained before something reminded him back, pointing at Vert, "Wait, what CPU are you again?"
"Leanbox."
"Guess that really confirmed you two being in a different world, then.."
"Huh?" she confused, "Why is that so?"
"Because Leanbox doesn't exist."
The busty goddess is appalled by the nonexistence of Leanbox in this world, knelt before the ground with the dreaded face while Blanc comforting her.
"W-Why Lowee exists but not my own nation..?" she cried quietly.
"There, there." Blanc nonchalantly comforted her, patting her back.
- Downtown, Planeptune (?)
Arrived in the apartment, with Neptune and Noire following Tecmo while she greeted with her fellow neighbours. Walking up through the staircase, took them several floors before they arrived to Tecmo's room. Exhausted from their journey, now Neptune and Noire with their smile from their anticipation to finally rest eagerly. Tecmo knocked on the door before a voice called.
"Who is it?" called from the room.
"It's me, Tecmo." she responded.
Without hesitation, the door being unlocked before opened with a figure in front of them. A girl with short brown hair as she is around the same height of Neptune, wearing a plain white sleeveless shirt under her unbuttoned safari jacket that is colored in khaki, and a skirt with the same color. She also wore a black, leathery boots over her thick black stockings that lengths up to her knees, and a light-brown pith helmet on her head.
"You're late, what's up with that?" she asked Tecmo before she noticed the other two beside her, "Also, who are they?"
"Oh them? She's Neptune and she's Noire." she pointed before she introduces the girl, "Neptune and Noire, meet Koei. She's a roommate of mine in our room."
"Sup' Koei!" Neptune gleefully introduced.
"Hi there." Noire simply introduced, "I hope you don't mind with us staying here."
"Wait what?" she confused, "Tecmo, what's going on?"
"Oh! Well, both of them got lost at the park so they have no other places to stay so.."
"We apologize if we're causing trouble with you-"
"No no, it's fine!" Koei sweatdropped, "Just let me fix the room for a bit, it's a bit... messy.."
Entering their room, followed by a bizarre view with papers littered throughout the room, composing of maps, books, and notes. Neptune and Noire were surprised while Tecmo isn't, casually helping her roommate with the mess around.
"Woah!" Neptune surprised, "What in the world just happened here?!"
"Well.. Koei loves history and work as a historian. She loves to write and well… she doesn't have the sense of cleanliness while writing.."
"D-Don't give me that!" Koei embarrassed, "I've been always busy travelling around Gamindustri, writing down everything happening."
"W-Well okay then.." Neptune sweatdropped, "With all that work, it must be tiring isn't?"
"Writing history isn't what makes me tired, it's all those travelling I need in a fixed time."
"Oh I forgot." Tecmo remembered, "Neptune, you do have something else to say after we arrived here, right?"
"Oh yeah! I was about to talk about where we are until you said it back on our walk."
"Huh? You mean Planeptune?"
"You don't know?" Koei said to Neptune.
"Of course we know! It's just that, I don't remember Planeptune being this… bulky."
"Well what do you expect?" Koei confused, "It's always been like that for decades."
"So that what made you two froze in the first place?" Tecmo asked.
"Well kinda.."
"Now thinking about it, you two look kinda odd judging by your outfits.. " Koei continued, "Where you girls came from?"
:W-Well, uhh.." Noire stuttered, "Me and Nep came from Lastation!"
"Lastation?" Koei confused before she grown suspicious to them, "There's no nation called Lastation around here. Is there something you girls hiding?"
'W-What?!' Noire surprised in her thought, 'L-Lastation doesn't exist in this dimension?!'
"Oh, how silly of my friend is! Of course we're not hiding something from you two!" Neptune sweatdropped, "She meant to say Leanbox, that is!"
"I don't remember any nation called Leanbox either.." Tecmo followed up, confused.
"Not even Leanbox.." Koei glared, now fully grown suspicious of them, "Alright, tell me what's going on?"
"Nepu-?!" she surprised.
"Where you two really came from? Why are you even hiding something from us, then?" Koei asked them.
"W-Wai-!"
"Nep, we can't hide it for long.." Noire sighed, "Let's just tell them the truth."
"What truth?" Koei asked.
"Alright then.." Neptune stood up as she sighed, clearing her throat before revealing their identity to the girls, "I came from Planeptune while she came from Lastation."
"You came from Planeptune? How you couldn't know the nation?" Tecmo confused.
"As I said, there's no such thing as Lasta-!"
"Not only that." she continued, "I am also the CPU of Planeptune and she's the CPU of Lastation."
Suddenly, it stopped both Tecmo and Koei in shock after hearing her words. Moving back away from them which made Neptune and Noire confused, murmuring.
"C-CPU.." Tecmo frightened.
"...of Planeptune.." Koei followed.
"Huh?" Neptune confused, "Is there's something-?"
"H-Help!" Tecmo shouted in panic, rushing her way to the exit, "Help! There's an imposter!"
"Wait! Stop!" Noire stopped her, holding her back with her voice muffled by her hand.
"Hey! Don't hurt my friend!" Koei angered, grabbing her unmounted telescope as her weapon only to get stopped by Neptune's sword in front of her.
"Just listen to us for bit!" Neptune exclaimed.
Situation grew worse with the girls facing one another, with Noire held Tecmo back from calling help while Neptune kept her sword aim at Koei. It took them a moment for Koei to think before she finally responded.
"Alright then.. Just let go of my friend.."
Nodded in agreement, she let go of her before she quickly ran up to her, cried over her name. Both parties carefully lowered their weapons, keeping their distance from each other.
"S-So.." Neptune stuttered, "Are we good now?"
"No.." she glared towards them, holding her friend at her side, "Just let get this over with!"
"O-Okay then, sheesh!" Neptune sweatdropped before she continued, "We are CPUs but we're from another dimension. Something happened to us that made us stuck in this dimension."
"...What?" Koei confused, "What are you even talking about..?"
"I know everything happened to us were confusing for you two, but hear us out. We need your help to find our friends and get our powers back." Noire pleaded.
"Yet we're going to trust you two?"
"Just a pretty please, Koei?" the lilac-haired girl pleaded also, "Maybe if once we got our powers back, we will do anything-?"
"A-Alright, just stop!" Koei sighed, "Fine, we will help you two but don't forget that I have my eyes on you.."
"Great then, hehe.." Neptune lightheartedly chuckled, "Oh, uh Tec, we're really sorry for what happened before."
"No, I am the one who suppose to say sorry for trying to get you and Noire caught.." Tecmo apologize while she wipes her tears off.
"You're already trusting them, Tecmo?" she disappointed.
"Oh c'mon, Koei! Just put your hopes with us-"
"Don't give me that." she glared which caught her off guard.
"Okay! Okay! I'll stop!" Neptune sweatdropped, frightened by her ferocious glance.
"It's kinda dark around now." Noire called, viewing the city through their apartment's window.
"Uh, is it safe to look around during the night?" Neptune asked.
"Since you two are CPUs, then maybe if you can keep your true identity hidden."
"Huh?" Noire confused, "What do you mean?"
"Planeptune has a ruling CPU around the nation, it's why Tecmo called Neptune an imposter after all."
"Hey!" Neptune pouted, "The main protagonist cannot be called the imposter of her own nation!"
"Shut it, Nep." Noire complained, "Maybe we can ask her about everything happened?"
"No-uh." Koei shook her head, "The CPUs around here aren't too keen with others. They'll straight up attack you without reasoning with them. That's why I've warned you about keeping your identity hidden."
"But is there a way to reason with them?" Noire asked.
"Not like I've convinced a CPU before, how would I know?" she shrugged as her only answer.
"Now then, you and Noire look so damped right now. You two need to dry up for now." Tecmo concerned.
"And a rest too." Neptune added, "It's been quite a journey, you know?"
"Alright then.." Koei sighed, "I'm going to bring some bed sheets here, and some spare clothes."
"Thanks, Koei. We really appreciate!" she joyfully thanked her.
"Hey! I'm only doing this for Tecmo, alright?!" Koei embarrassed while her roommate sweatdropped in her response.
As of now, Neptune, Noire, and her new friends rested on their home for the rising dusk. With how unbelievably different Planeptune is from all of her adventure dimension by dimension, she felt like this will be nothing familiar to the travel she went through but to feel like the beginning of their new adventure through the vast world of Gamindustri on this dimension.
- Basilicom, Planeptune (Hyper Dimension)
Night passed since the oracle's inspection for what happened to the incident, with the sun soaring above the peak height of the basilicom. However, things may go unusual than how they were before.
In front of the entrance, visits of the oracles of Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox respectively with the guards guiding them securely to the office, although it's also a surprise for the oracles by their sudden visit.
"You two also came here too?" Kei asked the visiting oracles, confused.
"Well.. Last night, Histoire sent me a message that I should come here in urgent. I'm not sure why but it sounds something important."
"Huh? That's the same reason I came here for." Chika pointed out, "Maybe does it have something to do with what she tried to recall from before?"
"Maybe.." Kei is unsure about it, "We can only know if we take a visit, come on."
Walking now to the entrance, with one of the guards knocking the door for them, informing someone about their visit.
"Lady Histoire." the guard called, "The oracles came for a visit."
"Let them in." A familiar voice called from the other side.
Nodded in approval, the guard opened the door for them, with now the oracles heading to where they were told to, the office.
At the office, seeing Histoire with an old, dusty book from her desk with the oracles standing outside the office's doorway. Still wondering about why she sent them here with her unclear reason doesn't help them to figure, before entering through to discuss about it.
"We came here as you told us to the message." Kei responded before her glance to the book she holds, "Also, what is that dusty book you're holding?"
"And what also happened to the office?!" Mina surprised, seeing many papers and books thrashed throughout the room, "It looks like a total disaster!"
"I apologize if I couldn't able to prepare to fix the office before your visit.." She apologized before pointing out to her book she is holding, "It took me hours through midnight before I finally found this."
"And what that is?" Chika asked.
"It's an ancient book that has been kept hidden for centuries before I found it." Histoire explained to them, "It holds many information for what occurred back then."
Unveiling the pages, showing large chunks of text that explained what happened since when this is written, along with very old photos, with its color only limited with pale brown, and paintings that shows how Gamindustri is back then. It is an amazing sight for the girls to read though there is one more thing that confuses them.
"What about it?" Kei confused, "I understand if it's a sort of discovery for history but why did you exactly sent us here just to read it?"
"Because that's not what I called you girls in." she clarified, "It also written about the certain thing we're familiar with, the hypercube."
Flipping multiple pages through before she finally found it as she showed them to the oracles, surprised to the photo of it with the hypercube being held by an unknown figure, with the cube hovering above her hand.
"This brown-ish hypercube that the CPUs found, is a very powerful, magical weapon that has been the weapon of the very founding goddess in this world, CPU Braun.." she continued, "This ancient weapon is far more powerful than every relic hidden throughout the land, that is capable of wielding its holder the power of a CPU even without shares and can easily manipulate the time and space with ease, which is why not only this cube is very powerful but also very dangerous weapon."
The details alone left them with a gasp of surprise, unable to bear how such weapon this powerful could exist in the world. But even to its existence, unsure how the world they are living in, hasn't been devastated to debrises.
"I can't believe how unbelievably powerful that cube is.." shocked Mina, "How come Gamindustri still standing now whoever the holder is could abuse its powers?"
"According to the book, the hypercube cannot and will not, be given to anyone else except for her successor she trusted with. Since after her departure, later on her successor hidden the cube away to a place where no humans and CPUs will never, ever find it forever.."
"How ironic.." Chika sighed, "Yet now some random driver managed to find the cube and went on rampage around!"
"Well whoever the driver is, right now, we have to find Neptune and her friends to get back before the people figured it out they've disappeared." Kei advised.
"That's right, and I might know where they are right now but it's very hard to do so.."
"Huh, what do you mean?" confused Mina, "Did they warped in dimension? Well, you can-"
"No." she cuts off, "They didn't traveled in dimension,
They traveled in time.."