A/N: The baby incident IF refers to at the start is based on Chapter 81 of 'Hyperdimension Neptunia One-Shots' by Nanya. Go check out her stories, they're amazing!

Neptunia Guild Files: Fate/book one

A Hyperdimension Neptunia Fan Fiction

by Derald Snyder

Section 57: Meeting Lancer

(Darkness 60 Arc- Begin)

*Two weeks later...*

"Uugghhh..." Iffy groaned as she trudged into the bullpen, her feet dragging a little from fatigue. "Morning..." she half-heartedly waved to the others.

"Good morning, IF," Saber greeted politely. "How did things go last night with your sick friend? Is the baby all right?"

"Yeah, but..." Iffy yawned. "Now I'm starting to understand, just a tiny bit, why Nepgear freaks out whenever the subject of toddlers is brought up. She had to take care of three of them during the time she and Nep were stuck in Ultradimension... I'm just lucky the baby hasn't found his legs yet."

"Well, my brother Kay was quite the little terror when he was a toddler, at least compared to myself," Saber reminisced. "I remember always having to be the one to chase him down when he was misbehaving..."

"Maybe that's why Morgan went off the deep end," Archer snarked.

"Had anyone other than you said that, I'd have my sword at their neck," Saber shot back. "At the end of the day, she was still my mother, despite our enmity..."

"Point taken, shutting up," Archer quickly replied.

"Well, on a positive note, Tamamo's arm is finally healed!" Nero cut in. "She should be back to work by tomorrow, at the earliest..."

"Good to hear..." IF nodded. "Have we gotten any news on Gil Kamesh's movements?"

"No," Rider said in frustration. "Like we already established, he seems focused on consolidating his power base in D-60..."

"Our contact in the city would let us know of anything major happened," Archer appended. Just then, his desk phone rang. "Speak of the devil..." he quickly picked up. "Planeptune Guild, Agent Archer... Is that right. About time we got some news... You want to meet in person? When exactly? Tomorrow at the latest? Alright, we'll see what we can do. Thanks, Lancer. Sayonara." He then hung up, turning to the others. "Well, looks like Kamesh is finally making a major move... Lancer didn't feel comfortable sharing details over the phone, though."

"Who is this Lancer?" Nero inquired curiously.

"A veteran Guild agent embedded in D-60's underworld," Archer explained. "His real name is Setanta. We worked a few missions together when we were first starting out... But he and I don't get along too well. Oil and water, you might say."

"Why is that?" Nero pondered.

"They tend to get on each other's nerves," Saber answered. "Also, Shirou doesn't really approve of how he gathers information... you could say he's a lady charmer, of sorts. Really gets around, if you get my meaning."

"...Ah, so he doesn't have a single betrothed like you two? Do I have that right?"

"Something like that," Rider nodded. "He's even flirted with me, but I turned him down hard. At least he respects my decision..."

"And the fact that Shirou got in a fight with him when he kept pressing had nothing to do with it, I'm sure," Saber said knowingly.

"Oh, my! You two have come to blows?!" Nero gasped in surprise.

"Yeah, but he's kicked my butt every time," Archer grumbled. "At least Saber's managed to disarm him once or twice... Anyway, I'm not going out to meet him tomorrow."

"I'll go meet him," Rider volunteered.

"I'm coming with. Lancer knows to behave himself around me," IF said.

"Fine, but I drive," Rider asserted. "Don't need you falling asleep at the wheel..."

"So the rest of us stay here and hold the fort?" Nero guessed.

"Right, we'll call you if we decide to make a move on Gil Kamesh," IF nodded.

"If we do, we should bring the whole group," Saber suggested. "In a wretched hive like Darkness 60, we'll need all the manpower we can get..."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Iffy agreed...

*And so, the next day...*

Rider's face was like stone as she and IF drove towards the city limits of D-60. "I never like coming back here," she muttered. "Bad memories... but if we can finally nail that bastard..."

"I've said this to you before, but you shouldn't let your emotions cloud your judgement," IF advised. "I want to take him down as much as you do, but we need to know what exactly we're up against first."

"And Lancer's gonna give us a clue to that... I assume we're meeting him at the usual spot?"

"Yep," IF nodded. Said spot was the very dungeon that Nepgear and co. had checked out when the CPU Candidate was surveilling Planeptune not long after being rescued from ASIC. The monsters there were weak enough that even Compa would have little trouble dispatching them, but it also kept NPCs from searching there, making it an ideal meeting place for people who didn't want to be overheard. Soon, the unmarked car parked at the entrance, Rider and IF getting out and checking to make sure no one else was around, before heading inside...

As they walked through the dungeon, the two ladies noted a distinct lack of monsters... "Lancer must have cleared out the place before we got here," IF observed.

"Oh, he's here," Rider said. "I can already smell the smoke..."

"Yo, it's about time you ladies got here!" A male voice called out to them. The duo looked to see a fair-skinned man with blue hair cut short in the front, but with a long thin ponytail. He wore a brown leather jacket over a white t-shirt and blue jeans, holing a blood-red lance in one hand, the other holding a lit cigarette. "Long time no see, Medusa Rider! How's Archer holdin' up?"

"Oh, he's just fine, as long as he doesn't have to deal with you," Rider ribbed.

"Well met, Agent Lancer," IF greeted. "You said you had information for us?"

"Oh, yeah," Lancer nodded, dropping his cigarette and crushing it with his foot. "Seems Mr. Kamesh has gotten his hands on some kind of new power... he can materialize gold armor on his body, and can summon whatever kind of weapon he feels like. Hell, I've heard he can summon multiple weapons and shoot 'em at high speed, though that's just rumors at the moment... Anyway, he personally killed one of his rival bosses and moved into his turf... seems he intends to become top dog of all Darkness-60... maybe even the whole of Planeptune's dark underbelly."

"And how many women did you have to sleep with to learn that?" Rider snarked.

"Not my fault all the ladies love me," Lancer teased back. "But that's not the only way I have to gather intel... you'd be surprised how loose some people's lips get after they've downed a few shots. You just gotta ask the right questions."

"I'm aware of that," IF nodded. "So, should I call in Saber and the others, to try and nip this in the bud?"

"Well... I'm used to working solo, but I wouldn't mind havin' a bit more backup on this case," Lancer allowed. "Just keep that dumb Red Archer outta my hair and we'll be fine."

"That 'dumb archer' is my childhood friend, Setanta," Rider growled.

"From what I remember, you were the one who provoked things last time," IF put her hands on her hips. "I'll tell him to try and behave, but that goes both ways, understand?"

"Message received, director's daughter," Lancer replied with no malice in his voice.

"So when should we make our move?" Rider inquired.

"I hear there's gonna be a big meeting at the big posh hotel in about three days or so," Lancer said in response. "Should give us just enough time to bring the others here and make a plan of attack, yeah?"

"All right. I'll call Saber and Archer and have them bring our two new agents along," IF agreed, checking her pockets for the right phone...

"Oh, got some new blood? Must be hot stuff, if you're bringing them in on this," Lancer mused.

"They've proven to be pretty competent. Caster, especially," Rider elaborated. "Just remember to keep it in your pants around them, got it?"

"Hey, no problem," Setanta agreed. "I won't make a move unless they move first. That's my rule with fellow Guild agents."

"I'll hold you to that," Sharon nodded.

*To be continued...*