- Planeptune (?)
A new day had arrived, with the sun high above the horizon, a beautiful morning for the people of Gamindustri to prepare themselves for work or leisure. Meanwhile, Neptune and the girls were the first to wake up; they were currently wandering around the downtown area, accompanied by Koei and Tecmo.
"Phew! What a beautiful day, isn't it?" Neptune smiled, stretching out her arms above her head, "It sucks that the buildings have to block all the sunlight."
"Well, welcome to Planeptune." Tecmo chuckled, "You'll get used to it, sooner or later, mhm!"
"So, you said that you and your friends got warped into this world, am I correct?" Koei questioned them. "It sounds so far-fetched… yet again, you give me no other reason to dismiss your words..."
"We are telling you the truth!" Noire complained. "I also got my sister dragged into this mess, so she must be in this dimension, too!"
"Same here." Neptune raised her hand, "Now, we got split apart after what happened. We're going to find them, but looks like this world is too big for the protagonist to handle!"
"..What?" Both of them looked towards her, puzzled.
"Nep! I told you not to call yourself that!" Noire shot her an irritated look, "Ugh! Now you made the situation even worse!"
"Hehe.." Neptune chuckled upon seeing her companion's funny face. "Oh c'mon, Noire! You know that's the true Neptune that the readers know and love!"
"Jeez.. Is that how Neptune usually acts like? I hope she's joking and not being…delusional." Koei cringed.
"Nepu-?!" Neptune opened her mouth in shock. "Of course it's just a joke! I'm not that delusional, guys!"
"Told you." Noire scoffed, facing away from her.
At this hour in the morning, there were barely any pedestrians on the sidewalks, yet the roads were already filled with vehicles. The day was surely busy, as every street continued to be flooded with people.
Fortunately, it was not so crowded that the girls wouldn't get stuck in traffic, though they still had to squeeze through the oncoming crowd.
"Woah! The streets are already filled, even this early in the morning!" Neptune gasped.
"It's rush hours, we better hurry." Koei suggested, quickening her steps in a hurry.
"So that's why you want us to get out of bed this early?" Tecmo asked.
"Well, duh. I do have a fair share of experience traversing around these blocks before..." She sighed.
"So Planeptune is always this busy, then?" Noire wondered.
"Yeah, out of the dozens of nation that I have visited, Planeptune is definitely one of the busiest nations in Gamindustri, right behind Tari."
Though Koei's response was quite casual, the last name that came out of her mouth caught the girls in complete surprise.
"T-Tari?!" Both of them exclaimed.
"Uh, yeah? What's up with Tari?" Koei replied, not understanding their shock.
"You two know about Tari?" Tecmo also chimed in.
"Y-Yeah.." Neptune sweatdropped, "But they're like, a dead nation in our world."
"Jeez, that's sad. I wonder what happened to them?"
"There's a good reason that you don't want to know, hehe..." she chuckled.
"What is it?"
"It's a secret!" Neptune stuck her tongue out, "A Neppy secret!"
"Hm, fine.." Koei groaned as they continued walking through the street.
"Pssh, Nep!" Noire whispered to her. "If Tari is still around here, that means.."
"Rei must be its CPU.." Neptune speculated. "But we don't know if she is the good Rei, or the bad Rei.. Oh wait, I have an idea!"
Stopping their little chat, Neptune poked Koei, attracting her attention again.
"What?" she asked.
"Uh Koei, since you travel around Gamindustri a lot, do you happen to know Rei? Rei Ryghts?"
"Oh, Lady Rei? Yeah, she's well-known and beloved by the citizens of Tari. Even her little sister is adored by their people."
"W-Wait.." Noire interrupted her. "She has a sister?!"
"Yep!" Tecmo smiled, her eyes sparkling with glee, "Her little sister's name is Lynxi, and she's truly the cutest gal in Gamindustri! I like her so much, I treat her like my own little sister!"
"That's… interesting." Noire mumbled quietly.
"Well, she's pretty nice, though her older sister is really overprotective towards her." Koei shrugged, "I heard she used to have someone she hangs out with a lot, but time's changed, I guess."
"Oh, poor little girl!" Neptune exclaimed, clearly sympathizing with her plight. "Maybe if I met her, we'll hang out together, and play video games!"
"Ugh, how typical of you.." Noire facepalmed.
"Well, good luck with that. Her sister isn't too kind towards strangers, especially other CPUs."
"What do you mean?" Noire asked.
"CPUs of Tari aren't always too friendly with their fellow Goddesses, even before the Console War." Koei sighed.
"They always want to rule the whole Gamindustri, constantly fighting against other CPUs and trying to conquer their nation. Even go so far as to despise those who worship different Goddesses..." Tecmo continued.
"So they're like the hero for their people, but not for other people?" Neptune asked.
"Yeah, they're like benevolents basically." Koei answered.
"So Nep." Noire called out to her. "Do you think Rei is a good guy, or a bad guy?"
"Well uh… Can I say both? You know, 'cause it's complicated, hehe..?" she chuckled, scratching her head.
"Whatever.." Noire groaned, not satisfied with her answer, "Right now, we have to find the others before something bad happens to them."
"Or before the CPUs of this dimension realized that Blanc, Vert, and the sisters are CPUs." Neptune added.
"Exactly. But how in the world are we supposed to find them, in the whole Gamindustri?!"
"Well, until something happens, maybe we can relax a little bit?" Tecmo sweatdropped.
"We can't!" Both exclaimed. "Something bad might happen to them, if we didn't look for them!"
"Huh.." Koei thought, "Tecmo, where did you meet them before?"
"Oh, I've met them back in the park. Last time they were just outside the forest."
"Well then, have you check around the forest before? I don't know how you girls got there, but maybe your friends and sisters could be there, too?"
"I don't know." Noire shrugged, "The forest back there is too dense to see through. Also, a day had passed, so they could be gone by now."
"Well, how about we try again?" suggested Neptune, "Now with Koei and Tecmo around, they could help us search for them."
"Mhm!" Tecmo simply nodded.
"I'll try, even though I really doubt you two." Koei sighed.
"Aw c'mon!" Neptune whined, "Still not believing in us?"
"Knock it off, Nep. Let's just get back to the forest, to see if they are still there!" Noire scolded her, and the group headed back to business.
- Lowee (?)
On this day, Blanc and Vert would leave for the capital, just as the elderly man had arranged. Riding inside the wagon, the duo remained hidden beneath a sheet of cloth, while the man commanded the horses to move through the forest, on the snowy, dirty pathway.
Vert raised the thick cloth a little, to glimpse outside the wagon. Multiple footsteps were heard before she saw a squadron of armed samurai on their horses, marching back into the village, most likely to check around. As they disappeared behind the horizon, Vert sighed as she wiped her sweat off her forehead.
"Phew.." She sighed, exhausted. "It's fortunate that we've left so early. Wonder what would happen if we didn't?"
"I'd rather not find out." Blanc shook her head, before she called out to the man driving the wagon. "Hey! How far away from the capital are we, right now?"
"It's about an hour's ride away, madam."
"Dang it, can't this thing go any faster?" She huffed in irritation.
"The winter has been heavy this year. It would be hard for horses to navigate through." He explained.
"My, my! At least we should appreciate what the tavern-keeper did for us." The blonde lady smiled, "Really kind of him, saving us from those samurais."
"Well duh, we've saved someone from a bunch of bandits, too. What else do you expect?"
"I mean, think about it. We're foreign CPUs, so shouldn't we be more dangerous to them? More than those thieves? I thought that the people would call for the help of their Goddess, but no..."
"Isn't it obvious?" Blanc sighed, "We did help them out, by saving the woman. Try not to overthink it, Thundertits."
"Oh my, seems you don't like being irritated by my own words. Well someone is being quite grumpy today." Vert giggled, which was met with a complaint.
"Shut up! Ugh, felt like I haven't eaten for days.."
"The tavern-keeper has already prepared some dishes inside the baskets, madam." The villager told her.
The duo glanced around the wagon, before seeing the basket in the corner. Opening its cover, they saw plenty of sushi and soba noodles inside, wrapped tightly in a bundle to prevent the food from spilling out during the bumpy ride.
"Woah, this is too much for my stomach..." Blanc commented nonchalantly.
"Oh dear, I hope eating too much won't make me gain weight." Vert mumbled, looking a bit mortified.
"That's all we have prepared for this morning. So enjoy the food, while the capital is still far ahead. There're also some cups and chopsticks inside the basket."
"Well…thank you, I guess." Blanc nodded to him, in gratitude. "But I'll only eat a little."
"Me too! Though these foods have quite such delicate texture."
"It's the tavern's specialty dishes, after all!" he chuckled, "Would be a waste if you don't finish them."
"Okay then.." Blanc replied. "Just tell us when we arrive at the capital, got it?"
"Got it, madam!" The man smiled, before turning back to his horse.
- Forest, Planeptune (?)
Neptune and her crews, now back in the forest, were busy searching through the place. Leaves rustling, grass swaying in the gentle rhythm of the wind—It was a green luxury of nature that was quite suiting for their taste.
Despite that, they were not making much progress. They had searched through every nooks and crannies, every trees, rocks, and rivers, yet found nothing at all. Exhausted, they decided to take a break, and regroup in the middle of the forest.
"Jeez..." Neptune collapsed on the ground. "They aren't even here..."
"Hey Koei, you do have your telescope with you, right?" Noire asked.
"Yeah, but there were too many trees around here. Can't use it, with my view blocked."
"Okay then." Noire sighed, "Since we are in Planeptune, which forest is this, anyway?"
"This is Virtua Forest." Tecmo answered, "Not many people around here. Even the monsters are few and far between."
"This is Virtua Forest?" Neptune recalled, "Looks more green than the one back home."
"Well yeah, but let's get back to the point!" Noire scolded, and Neptune looked back in surprise. "How much of this forest have we searched through?"
"Kinda barely..." Koei sighed, "This forest is too big for the four of us to look around. Maybe look somewhere else?"
"Yeah, but how are we even supposed to know their whereabouts, from here?"
"Hey guys!" Neptune called out to them, "I found something!"
"Did you find them, Nep?" Noire asked.
"No, but it's something else."
The group moved towards Neptune, to check out her discovery. As they looked at the direction she was pointing to, they saw the entrance of a cavern, freshly burnt, its exterior still smoking from the heat. Even the trees nearby were charred and burnt away, but fortunately, the rain must have put out the flames.
"Is that a cave?" Tecmo wondered.
"I don't remember seeing any caves in Virtua Forest.." Koei speculated, "But the burnt marks on these walls were quite fresh...Could they be inside?"
"I don't know." Noire shrugged, "But there's only one way to find out. Let's go."
- Cavern, Planeptune (?)
As the girls ventured deeper into the earth, the air was starting to get warmer. The further they went, the hotter it got, as if this caven was going into the core of the world. Though the heat was quite uncomfortable, it is probably their last chance to look for their friends in this deep cavern, hoping to find their friends in this deep cavern.
Emerging out of the narrow pathway, they stumbled into a large open space. Everything nearby were seared by the heat, to the point that some rocks melted into magma. The tips of the stalactites above were glowing red hot, too. Though every heated rocks barely glow, a mysterious glowing object was resting at the center of the cavern, illuminating the whole space with its light.
"What's that thing over there?" Neptune gaped in awe.
"No one's here, but hey, we found a treasure!" Koei smiled, clearly excited. "C'mon!"
The party rushed through the stalagmites, with Koei leading the way. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement, which was somewhat odd for a historian—like she had suddenly become a treasure hunter. As they moved closer, they finally got a better view of the object.
"Huh?" Neptune tilted her head in puzzlement, as she saw the floating brown tesseract that was currently emitting a bright glow. "That's not a treasure!"
"W-Wait a second..." Koei stopped dead in her tracks as she realized something, with a horrified look on her face. "It's not just a treasure..."
"That's…the Hypercube..." Tecmo took a step back, terrified. "We shouldn't be touching Lady Odyssee's weapon..."
"Wait what? Lady Odyssee? The Hypercube? What's going on?" Neptune interrupted them, looking even more confused than before.
"Hold on a minute." Noire paused as she examined the tesseract, and saw a small dent on its surface, like it had been recently struck. "This is the same cube that Underling hit!"
"'Really?" Neptune perked up before moving to her side, for a closer look, "Oh yeah! How did it end up here?"
"S-Stay away from it!" Koei warned, as she dragged them back, "You can't touch that weapon! Only Lady Odyssee can hold that cube!"
"Huh? It's a weapon?" Noire stared at the object in suspicion. "How so?"
"Well, I've spoken to many elderly folks during my travel. They said that the Hypercube is a powerful artifact, able to manipulate and bend time and space effortlessly. It was so impossibly powerful, it can even bypass the law of physics!"
"Most people around know what the Hypercube is." Tecmo continued. "It belongs to the CPU of Magnabox, Lady Odyssee, and her alone. As far as I know, she's the first CPU to ever exist in Gamindustri, before her competitors were born."
"Like what Tecmo said, Lady Odyssee holds the most powerful weapon ever created in Gamindustri. It can be dangerous to those who try to use it for evil, and I'm surprised that her cube ended up here..."
"Judging by what happened around this cave, this tesseract might be from our dimension, not this dimension." Noire speculated, with a pensive look on her face.
"Huh, what do you mean?" Koei asked, confused.
"I, Nep, and the others got warped into this dimension thanks to this tesseract! We've been trying to figure out how this thing works when that Underling smacked it, and sent us here!"
"Underling?" Koei frowned. "Who the hell is 'Underling'?"
"Eh, that's not the point, Koei." Neptune intervened, "Me and my friends just got, like, sent through a deep hole until we've passed out. The cube dragged us along with it."
"So you're saying that there's also this Hypercube from...your dimension?" Koei said, clearly not convinced. "I-I don't know… It sounds too...extraordinary, for me to digest."
"Hey c'mon, pal! Not like this is the first time I've traveled to a different dimension!" Neptune exclaimed, "Besides, last time I checked, there's even another Noire, in a different world! Who knows what will happen if the three of us were together..."
"N-Nep!" Noire blushed in embarrassment.
"Does that mean there are two Hypercubes in this dimension now...?" Tecmo asked.
"Uh, yeah." Noire nodded.
"Ugh...if that's the case, I'm kinda scared." Koei facepalmed.
"If it's really as strong as the other, then it would be double the trouble, right?" Tecmo nervously wiped the sweat from her face.
"Sadly, yes." Koei agreed, "Listen, we can't let it sit around here! What if someone found it and used it to do bad things?"
"Yeah, but last time we checked, we still don't know how to use this thing, hehe.." Neptune chuckled awkwardly as she lifted up the tesseract with her hands.
Right when the tesseract was about to touch her skin, it soared into the air, and hovered above her hands, which made her step back in shock. The tesseract then zoomed away from her, circling the group like a fairy, as it emitted a soft, whispering-like sound.
"Nepu-?!" She yelled, surprised by this unexpected development. "It can also do that?!"
"Underling must've woken this thing up. But…wow. It looks amazing." Noire said, staring at the flying tesseract in awe.
"It looks so beautiful..." Tecmo agreed.
"So that's how the Hypercube looks like." Koei exclaimed, with a look of fascination on her face. "Not just a simple weapon. Almost like it is…sentient..."
"Hello there, little cubey!" Neptune joyfully greeted the cube, spreading her arms in a hug. "My name is Neptune. What are you?"
In response, the Hypercube chimed back, and repeated Neptune's voice like a parrot, calling her name multiple times. Still hovering in the air, it swayed around her in ecstasy, letting out soft chiming sounds that felt quite pleasant to the ears.
"H-Hey!" she laughed, "Calm down, buddy!"
"Looks like the cube is quite fond of you. I wonder why."
"Hey, little cubey here ain't so bad after all, Noire." Neptune smiled as the Hypercube continued to nuzzle her cheeks.
"Whatever." Noire simply scoffed off, "If the tesseract can do that, can it also tell us the whereabouts of our sisters and friends, so that we can start looking for them?"
"Hmm, not a bad idea at all, Noire." Neptune nodded, clearing her throat a little before she started to speak to the Hypercube again. "Hey there, little cubey. Do you know where our sisters and our friends are right now?"
In response to her question, the Hypercube let out a few of its usual chimes, before it began to float away from them, hovering higher and higher into the air.
The girls thought that the Hypercube was moving away from them, until it started spinning around violently, its aura of light glowing even stronger. Koei and Tecmo were amazed at this sudden change, but the two did not share the same excitement.
"Oh no..." Noire yelled in terror. "Not again! Run! Before it-!"
Her warnings were cut off by a sudden burst of light, as glowing particles began to spread around the dark cavern. Above them was a sea of shining particles, like a constellation of stars shining and twinkling in the night sky. These particles started to shift and combine themselves together, eventually forming the shape of a landmass, which some instantly recognized.
"That's… a map of Gamindustri." Koei murmured quietly, amazed by this miraculous creation.
"I can see Planeptune, right there!" Tecmo also chimed in, pointing her finger to the city of Planeptune.
"Wait, what are those nations? They look so differently around here." Noire asked her, pointing to several locations on the map.
"Oh, those nations? Those were Balarch, Intellastion, Colesia, Affinatrix, and Magnabox." Koei answered as she pointed them out respectively, "Those were the nations around Gamindustri. There're like 8 nations around."
"That's… actually a lot for this dimension."
"That one looks familiar." Neptune said, pointing her finger to one of the nations. "It must be Tari, right?"
"That's Tari alright." she nodded, "The most prestigious nation right now in Gamindustri. The territory of Tari used to be so vast in Gamindustri, before their expansion was stopped by Magnabox."
"Huh, how so?" Noire wondered.
"The CPU of Tari wanted to expand their nation's power by conquering the whole Gamindustri, that's how they made their claim to fame. But Lady Odyssee sees their actions as very destructive, so she has to intervene and retaliate against them, in order to maintain order."
"Of course." Neptune shrugged, "How usual of her..."
"Well, Magnabox and Tari aren't really on good terms with each other, nor with the other nations, because they were too expansionist in their dealings."
"Alright then..." Noire nodded in understanding. "Well, besides that, we need to find the others, before they get caught up in this mess."
"Righty 'yo!" Neptune exclaimed, with her thumbs up.
"So uh, how do we get the Hypercube to help out?" Tecmo asked.
"I don't know, maybe asking it?" Koei shrugged, "Not like this is some kind of crystal ball that fortune-tellers use."
"Eh, might as well try that." Neptune also shrugged, "Hey, little cubey! Do you know where our friends are at?"
Certain particles grew brighter around the map of Gamindustri, sticking out like markers, as if pinpointing their locations. Some were inside the steampunk-ish nation, others in an industrialized nation, and lastly, across some kind of rural nation, separated from the mainland.
"Huh, looks like your friends and sisters were in Balarch, Tari, and Lowee."
"Looks like we're close to those from Balarch." Tecmo informed them, "Maybe we should go over there, first, before starting our search in Tari and Lowee."
"Yeah, that could work." Noire nodded, "But since one of them was in Tari, I hope they won't stumble across Rei over there.."
"Hehe, I guess so..."
"Since now we know where they are, let's hurry up and go find them!"
"Wait, hold on a sec, Nep." Noire interrupted her. "Even though they are the closest to us, they are still two nations away! Just look at the map."
"Yeah, walking all the way over there isn't that easy. We need to get ourselves a ride all the way to Balarch. If we don't, it would take us several days to get there."
"Sheesh.. That sucks!" Neptune frowned. "If only we had our CPU form back, we could fly ourselves all the way over there.."
"Wait, maybe you can.." Koei speculated, getting her and Noire's attention, "If my memory serves me right, the Hypercube's source of energy is the same power that the CPUs use. What if you can transform into your CPU forms?"
"What, really?! That can work?!"
"Only if you get the Hypercube on your hands. You can use its power, but you really can't give it away to someone else. Also, if you lose the cube, you'll lose your CPU form."
"That's still fine by me!" Neptune nodded, "Better than having to walk through all those nations just to get there."
"But what about me?!" Noire complained.
"Well, I'm sorry Noire, but it can only be used by one person." Tecmo responded, shaking her head.
"Don't worry, I'll lift you up while I'm flying." Neptune smiled.
"Ugh, fine! Just don't fly too close to the ground, or else some perverts might see my panties!"
"What if I don't?" she teased.
"N-Nep!"
"Just kidding, Noire!" Neptune chuckled.
"Alright then, you two will fly over there while Tecmo and I find ourselves a ride to Balarch. Got it?"
"Got it." she gave them a thumbs up.
Walking towards the Hypercube, Neptune reached her hands towards it. Trying to attract the attention of the tesseract, since it was far above her, she called out to the ominous, mystical cube.
"Hey! Cubey!" she shouted, "Please lend me your power, so I can use it to get my HDD Form back!"
Her request was met with soft chimes as the cube hovered closer to her, showing that it had accepted her request. It eventually got close enough for her to hug it in her arms. Suddenly, a strong, bright light erupted around the cube, engulfing her body and blinding the whole cavern.
Overwhelmed by the excessive brightness, the girls blocked their faces with their arms. As the light slowly faded away, the group could finally see her again, and they reacted with an expression of pure shock.
She was back, the one CPU that Neptune is iconic for, her HDD form. Wearing a tight, black bodysuit, she had sharp fairy-like wings on her back, and her hair changed from her usual short lilac hair to long, purple twin tails.
Her eyes also changed to a bright blue color, with a power sign at its center. Her transformation has really changed her drastically, though strangely, her breasts were also a lot bigger than before.
Noire seemed unsurprised by her transformation. Koei and Tecmo, on the other hand, were absolutely astonished, mouth agape in shock, like they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing right now.
"Wow.." Koei murmured, "You really are a CPU.."
"Neptune, I don't know you're this… beautiful and...well-endowed..." Tecmo stuttered.
"My, you flattered me, Tec`!" Purple Heart chuckled, "Haven't been like this for a while, since we've fallen into this dimension."
"Don't try to brag about it right now, Nep. You're only in your HDD form temporarily." Noire pouted in irritation. "We need to go to Balarch, right now!"
"Can't even wait for a few seconds? You really are in a hurry." Purple Heart replied, flabbergasted. "Fine, I'll fly you all the way there. You two can handle this, right Koei?"
"Right, Neptune." Koei smiled, "I'll meet you in Balarch."
"See you later, Neptune!" Tecmo followed, waving her hands at them.
"See you two later, then." Purple Heart smiled back.
She grabbed Noire's hands to lift her up as she hovered into the air. Since the Hypercube was still in her hand, Purple Heart proceeded to let Noire climb onto her back, and ride her like a horse. The cavern above was blocking her flight, and she suddenly had an idea.
"Hold on a bit, Noire." She informed her companion. "I got something to do."
"Huh, what's that?" Noire asked.
A purple katana began to materialize in her palm as she stretched out her free hand. After it was fully formed, Purple Heart gripped it tightly as she began to charge towards the ceiling.
"Hiyaa!" she shouted, rushing through the air with her sword out and ready.
With a single slash, she completely obliterated the ceiling as the entire cavern shook beneath them, filling the dark space with sunlight. Koei and Tecmo immediately ran away to seek cover from the falling rubble. Though it was quite a dangerous move, the two were still impressed by her sheer power.
"W-Woah!" Koei squealed in amazement. "A whole ceiling in one strike?!"
"That's amazing, Neptune!" Tecmo also cheered.
"Why thank you, Tec'." She smiled, winking at the two before departing into the skies with Noire.
- Balarch
The sisters strolled through the more crowded parts of the city sector, where people were trying to purchase specific materials and tools related to the industrial workforce, either for automatons or robotics.
The marketplace is really cramped with all these sales going on, and they were having trouble passing through the crowd. Everything was a robust display of technology, but Nepgear was especially awed by the amount of curiosities on sale that would be perfect for her hobby. wishing for something like this back on their home.
"Wow!" She glanced around, in starry-eyed amazement. "Imagine something like this, back in our dimension! I would've bought almost everything in this market!"
"U-Uh yeah… sure.." Uni stuttered, even though she understood Nepgear's reaction.
"There are gears over there, tools on the right, equipment on the left...even machines?! This nation is really a paradise!"
"Uh, Nepgear?" Ram poked at her, befuddled. "Aren't you acting a little too excited?"
"Just forget about it, Ram. Guess it is really a big mistake to walk through here." she sweat dropped.
They continued their walk, even though Nepgear, still amazed by the goods, kept stopping by to check on every store. Overall, it was a somewhat rough day for them. First, falling off into a warehouse from the sky, then, having to struggle through a crowded marketplace.
Meanwhile, vendors and shop owners continued to advertise their products for their potential customers.
"Iron gears here! If yours are broken, we have plenty on sales!"
"Having a poor electrical bills? Can't use your radio? Say no more! Try our water-powered radio, where you never need to plug it in! We also sell water-powered televisions, with great discounts available!"
"Need a screwdriver, wrench, hammer, any tools? No worries! 'Cause we have every tool you would ever need!"
"Try out this cool, fancy crowbar! It may not look unique, but can definitely take a good beating! Available now with a 20 percent discount, and I'm not raising the price higher to the tens of 2 plus 1!"
"Just look at all these stuff!" Nepgear exclaimed in awe, "Can't we just buy everything and bring them home?!"
"Nepgear, we don't even have money in our pockets. Let's go already." Uni groaned as she dragged Nepgear away from another shop.
"So where are we, by the way?" Ram asked. "We aren't getting lost, are we?"
"I'm pretty sure this is the right direction, unless that old prick has lied to us..." Uni shrugged.
As they kept walking, they stumbled across a large, open space. A huge obelisk made of bronze was placed in the center of the square. Massive crowd moved through the place, with vehicles driving around the circular tracks that surrounded the obelisk.
Now that they were out in the open, they could finally get a better glimpse of the nation. Massive, robust buildings made of metal encircled the square, and even the ground beneath was covered in tiles, made in a decorative style.
"Woah!" Nepgear opened her mouth, astonished. "What is this place?!"
"Wow.." Rom mumbled. "It looks so… big."
'This must be some kind of town square'. Uni thought to herself. 'There are way too many paths around here, and we have no idea which one of them leads to Planeptune...'
"Guess we're lost." Ram shrugged.
"S-Shut up! At least we can try to ask someone for directions to Planeptune!"
"Hold it right there!" a feminine voice interrupted their squabbles.
Looking back, they see a pale girl standing behind them, with her hands on her hips, acting quite bossy. She was as tall as Lowee's CPU Candidates, with long, orange twintails, and bronze goggles that rested above her brown-ish flat cap.
Her outfit is somewhat steampunk-ish, though still simpler than others, consisting of a brown denim jumper dress over her white dress shirt, and a brown, short denim skirt above her long white socks that reached up to her knees. She also wears oversized brown gloves and leather boots.
"Where do you think you're going, you filthy scum? Trying to escape from your crime?"
"Oh hey look, this little girl is also lost." Uni said.
"W-Who are you calling a little girl?!" The bossy girl retorted. "I'm older than you-!"
"Aww~!" Nepgear cooed happily, "She looks so cute in that outfit~!"
"C-Cute?! Y-You damned little pedo-!"
"Hey, wanna come along with us?" Rom whispered.
"Yeah, we can play around and be friends if you want!" Ram also joined in.
"Ugh! Stop treating me like a child, you simpletons!" The girl complained, then shouted so loudly that it completely silenced them. "How dare you use such insults against a celebrity like me?"
"Huh?" Uni frowned, clearly not recognizing her. "We don't even know you."
"Gah!" The girl made a weird noise, like something had just been broken inside her. "W-Who are you?! Some dirty cave-dwellers that have never been so much exposed to the sun in a thousand years?! Or some kind of losers that failed so bad in history class, huh?!"
"...What are you even talking about..?" Nepgear asked, looking just as bewildered as Uni.
"Ugh, fine! I'll educate you a little bit..." The little girl groaned. "I am C-Grass, Gamindustri's greatest mind, patron of engineers throughout the land! I'm the reason that Balarch comes into existence, leading my people to build the finest technology, advancing science far beyond anyone's expectations!
Being the CPU of this nation, it is also my responsibility to get rid of shady suspects, like you idiots here!"
"Is it just me, or did she call herself a CPU?" Ram mumbled.
"Yeah, I think she's as delusional as she could possibly get."
"W-What do you mean by delusional?!" The girl screamed in anger. "You think I'm not a CPU, just because I'm a small girl?!"
"Come on, guys..." Uni sighed. "Let's just go and find our way to Planeptune."
"Hold right there yo-! H-Hey! Stop! Don't you dare walking away from me! I'm not done with you yet! Hey! I said stop!"
Even when she was shouting as loudly as she could manage, the sisters still didn't seem to take her seriously. As they started moving further away from her, the girl looked even more frustrated than before.
"So, you wanna play that game, huh...?" She murmured to herself. "Well, now it's my turn!"
"Jeez.. What kind of kid is she anyway?" Uni groaned as the sisters continued walking away from her.
Suddenly, the whole ground began to vibrate behind them, getting stronger by every second. Most people looked at the girl, realized that something was happening, and immediately ran away from the town square in fear.
The sisters still had no idea what was going on, as they saw a trail of smoke rising from the horizon.
"W-What's going on..?" Nepgear asked her friends, feeling a chill in her spine, like something bad was bound to happen.
A figure emerged from a distance away, approaching them at such an incredible speed, even the smoke was trailing behind. They couldn't get a better glimpse of it, until it halted right in front of them, and the girl jumped atop it. Scratching the ground with each dragging step, it kicked up a fog of dust that entirely enveloped the girls.
"Wah!" Uni gasped, coughing as the smoke obscured her vision, "What is that?!"
"Hah! Ain't acting so tough now, aren't ya!" C-Grass scoffed.
As the smoke around them started fading away, they soon realized that they were dwarfed by a behemoth of a war machine, standing right in front of them.
A large, heavily armored, non-humanoid mecha was towering over them like ants. Every external part of the bipedal robot were covered in impenetrable metallic platings that would put regular tanks to shame. Two eight-barrel gatling guns, made of bronze, were mounted on its arms, accompanied by armor-piercing autocannons attached above its shoulders.
Behind the mecha was a large rocket engine, responsible for propelling its body through the air, with several large flexible pipes attached onto its engine, and extending all the way to its innards, completed by a cockpit on its head. The intimidating machine built for battle was absolutely amazing to the girls, with Uni and Nepgear being especially overwhelmed.
"R-Robot?!" Nepgear gasped.
"G-Guns?!" Uni also exclaimed in shock.
"Heh, what do you think?" C-Grass glanced down from atop her mecha, with a cocky, bossy grin on her face. "Feeling envious yet? Hate to break this to you two, but I don't accept any bargains from dirty rats like you!"
"Hey! Who are you calling dirty rats?!" complained Ram.
"You called me a little girl first!"
Loud, rumbling mechanical noise roared from within the mecha, which was walking closer to them, shaking the earth violently with each step. Frightened by its horrifying sound, the girl could only stare into the barrels of the gatling guns aimed right at them, as C-Grass grinned wickedly.
"Do you have something else to say, you disgusting lolicons?" she smirked.
"W-Wait!" Nepgear sweatdropped, waving her hands violently towards the mecha, "W-We're really sorry about what we've just said to you!"
"Please!" Uni begged, "We really didn't mean it that way!"
"We just wanna get home.." Rom frowned.
"Hmph! Plead all you want, but there's no excuse for your crimes! Face your eternal punishments till the end of Gamindustri!"
"Eh? What crime?" Ram questioned.
"That one time you destroyed a whole warehouse, you little brat!" she shouted, extremely irritated by their ignorance.
"Oh yeah, hehe, that one.." Ram nervously chuckled.
"Ugh! I had enough of this!" The irritated CPU interrupted her, "Either surrender yourself to me, or I'll send you to a new world with my eight-barrel machine-guns!"
"Okay! Okay!" Nepgear trembled in fright as she held her hands up submissively.
"R-Ram.." the timid Candidate clutched her sister's hand even tighter. "I'm scared..
While the others were cowering before her, Uni, on the other hand, had a plan in mind, as she noticed a little alleyway between nearby buildings. Could be a perfect opportunity.
The mecha might be too tough to defeat in a one-on-one battle, but they could still escape by using its size against it. While C-Grass was demanding everyone to surrender, Uni instead gave her the finger by dragging Nepgear and the twins away from her, then started sprinting towards the alleyway.
"Sorry!" She taunted. "We don't accept bargains from a little girl like you!"
"U-Uni?! What are you-?!"
"W-Wah?!" C-Grass gasped in surprise, "Fine then! Death it is!"
Her guns began to charge up, spinning rapidly while aiming their barrels at the escaping sisters. Before the mecha was able to shoot them down, they took a narrow turn, causing all the bullets to ricochet off the walls in an embarrassing miss.
"Damn it!" C-Grass stomped on the mecha in frustration, "Can't you shoot faster?!"
The mecha responded to her with a loud rumbling noise, as if complaining that the miss was never its fault.
"Fine! I'll work on those guns after we're done with them!" Balarch's CPU grumbled in annoyance as she jumped inside to the cockpit, preparing herself for a chase, "Alright, chase after them! Use your booster!"
With a soft rumbling, the mecha adjusted it stance as its rocket engine began to wind up. Slowly throttling up its engine to full power, it hovered above the ground, then blasted through the air at an incredible speed.
The girls, meanwhile, continued to evade her, leaving her further and further behind as the mecha constantly bumped around the alley walls, clearly having trouble making its way through the narrow space.
Author's Note:
To clear up the representations in the work as a trivia.
Balarch represents the company as the Bally Manufacturing (1932-1996)
C-Grass represents the game console as the Bally Astrocade (1978-1983), her name is adopted from its expansion system, ZGRASS.
All Makers (Koei, Tecmo, Sir-Tech, and Origin) were obviously representing to the game companies of the same name.
There's isn't much to say except for one thing. A credit to u/Ryin_silverfish for proofreading and fixed most of the grammar errors to polish the narration's flow.