Chapter 9: A Questionable Oracle
"You have my thanks for saving Lowee from this Crisis." Mina Smiled. The group returned immediately from the World Labyrinth after they obtained a clone of Lowee's Mascot.
"I did in the name of protecting the land that my wifeys live on. Don't mention it." Everyone laughed a little, except for Ram. After everything they went through in the labyrinth, she still didn't like any of them. Especially Nepgear and Aiden, she is sceptical of them because whatever they did to Rom to make her argue back with her, makes her very mad.
"She's right, Don't worry about it. We were able to get Mascot's assistance by helping, after all." Mina smiles at Nepgear's comment.
"Then, I am grateful that your hard work bore fruit. Are you planning to leave immediately?" Aiden walks up and stands next to Nepgear.
"Yep! We can't let those ASIC guys get a step a head of us at finding the last Mascot." Aiden puts his hands in his pockets.
"Hopefully we don't run into a huge problem that happened at the World Labyrinth again." Austain plainly said and IF crosses her head and nods.
"Agreed, it would be a hassle if we run into something like that again." Rom walks up to Aiden and Nepgear with her hands against her chest. Rom looks up at them with a sad look.
"Miss Nepgear… Mister Aiden… You're leaving?" Ram crosses her arms and looks away with a sour look on her face.
"Meh…" Nepgear bends over to meet eye level with Rom.
"Yes, but I'm sure that we'll meet again. Please don't cry Rom. This is a Happy good-bye." Aiden kneels down and pats Rom's head.
"Nepgear's right, you should be smiling Rom. This isn't a permanent good-bye, we might even run into each other at some point, ya know." Rom takes a deep breath and smiles.
"Okay…" Ram stared at this scene with hate and disgust.
'Ew! Why is Rom getting a Lovey-Dovey with those two dummies! I don't like it!' Ram thought to herself. She just couldn't stand seeing these two get so close to her twin sister. Maybe this was what her Big Sister felt when she was talking of them before what happened three years ago. Right now, she can only focus on how angry she was.
"I'm sorry that we can no longer be of assistance, but I do wish you all good luck on your journey." Mina said. Nepgear and Aiden stood up straight and said.
"Thanks!" The group then left the Basilicom.
"So, where to now?" Aiden asked.
"Leanbox, they unfortunately have no CPU Candidate there. They do however, should have a Mascot there." IF answered. Suddenly, ringing was heard and it was coming from Nepgear. She pulled out her N-Gear and saw that she was getting a call from Historie.
"Oh, It's from Historie!" Nepgear answers the call.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Nepgear. Is everything progressing well?" Historie asked in her usual calm tone
"We secured the help of Lowee's Mascot and we're on our way towards Leanbox." Nepgear replied.
"Excellent timing. I just finished a call with the Oracle of Leanbox, Hakozaki Chika." That got everyone's attention.
"It seems that she's anxious to meet you as soon as possible." That intrigued the group even more, the Oracle of Leanbox was anxious on meeting with Nepgear?
"Me? But why?" Nepgear asked.
"I do not know, but she did sound to be in great need. Please, make haste to Leanbox." That comment certainly put some of them on edge.
"Okay, we're on our way." Nepgear ended the call with Historie. With that, the group went on their way to Leanbox, but the journey would be longer due to Leanbox being on an Island. It was separate from the Main one where all the nations were on. Compa mentioned getting there by boat, but the docks were also further away, so they sent up camp half way. It will at least take half a day to reach the dock.
-Somewhere between Lastation and the Dock to Leanbox (9:41 P.M)-
Everyone was currently sleeping around a campfire, except for Aiden who was looking up at the moon and the stars. No matter what universe or dimension, the night sky always looked the same and beautiful. Aiden is brought out of his thoughts when he heard ruffling from the bushes, he summons one of his tomahawks and was cautious. The ruffling got more tense and Aiden gripped his tomahawk hard, but what came out put him at ease. A rabbit would jump out of the bushes, Aiden would chuckle to himself and dematerialized his Tomahawk.
"Mmmm...:" Aiden turns around to see Nepgear who was tossing and turning. Aiden forms a small smile and walks over to her.
"Can't sleep either?" Nepgear looks up to see Aiden looking right at her. Nepgear covers half her face in a sleeping bag she was laying in.
"Y-Yea…" Aiden sits under a tree that was near Nepgear.
"Wanna sit with me?" Nepgear blushed at what Aiden asked. Nepgear hesitated, but got out from her sleeping bag and sat close to Aiden. They both sat in silence, with the awkward atmosphere of the night.
"Sooooo, nice night tonight?" Aiden would mentally punch himself for saying something so stupid. What type of question was that, "nice night tonight?" That is the most dumbest thing he has ever said during their entire journey.
"Y-Yes it is…" Nepgear would mental scream at herself, that question was obviously a question that would break the awkwardness between them right now. They didn't have problems speaking with each other during what happened in Lastation and Lowee, so why now was she having problems speaking with him?
Aiden was thinking about a topic he could talk about. Nepgear's Sister. He can tell that she is very important to Nepgear, but he wanted to hear her tell him herself. Though, he was afraid that he might mess with something to sensitive. He didn't want to make her get all upset at him and make her sad, but he really wanted to know what Nepgear's sister was like.
"Hey Nepgear…" Hesitance was clear in Aiden's voice. He was looking up at the stars and trying to calm himself.
"Yes?" Nepgear looked at him. Aiden closes his eyes and breathes in and out for a good few seconds before looking right at Nepgear.
"What is your Sister like?"
"O-oh…" Nepgear looked down at the ground, with her hair covering her eyes. Aiden slowly begins to panic, thinking that he did screw up badly.
"S-Sorry! If that question hit a sensitive spot, than I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"No, it's fine." Nepgear looked back at Aiden, with confusion clear on his face.
"Wait, really?"
"Yes. What do you want to know about my sister?" Nepgear smiled, but Aiden can tell that this smile was forced. Maybe the reason she couldn't sleep because of what happened withe her sister. Still, he had to ask.
"What was she like?"
"W-well, she mostly sat around the Basilicom and ate junk food. Most of the time she would play video games to instead of doing work." Nepgear chuckled nervously and Aiden gave her a blank expression. (N/A: Aiden's blank expression would be Saitama's blank expression. The reason why I'm saying this because I have no idea how to describe it.)
"Eh…"
"W-what is it, Aiden?" Nepgear sweats nervously and slowly looks away.
"So you're saying that your sister is lazy…"
"Y-yes, me or Historie do most of the work to keep Planeptune safe and satisfied."
"Welp, I guess my previous expectations of her went flying out of the window..." Nepgear looked back at Aiden. This time she was the one confused.
"Expectations?"
"Yeah, I thought she would be more noble and Goddess like. I never thought she would be just lazy." Nepgear giggles a little and Aiden leans back into the tree.
"Even if my sister is lazy, she still cares about people. She cares about everyone, even if her attitude doesn't show it." Aiden's right brow moves up in interest.
"She's also the strongest out of the other CPU's."
"No way!" Nepgear giggles and nods.
"Speaking of sisters, do you have a sister Aiden?" Aiden looks down to the ground and laughs sadly. Nepgear's face turns into one of concern.
"I had a sister…" Tears slowly form on Aiden, but stops when he feels something pressing against him. He looks and sees that Nepgear was leaning against him.
"I'm sorry…" Aiden forms a small smile and rubs Nepgear's head. Nepgear looks up at Aidn, confused by his action.
"It's fine Nepgear, I grew to accept what happened… I'll make sure that your sister will be rescued no matter what." Nepgear smiles and leans her head into Aiden's arm. Silence fell on both of them again, Aiden kept looking into the stars and admiring the sight. Aiden kept looking out into the stars, until he heard some light snoring next to him. He looks back at Nepgear and is meet with the sight of her sleeping. She looked cute in her sleep, Aiden took off his robe and put it on Nepgear carefully. Aiden takes one last glance at the the stars, before falling asleep.
-The Next Morning-
Nepgear slowly begin to wake up and lets out a yawn, she rubs her eyes to get rid of the wave of tiredness. Nepgear realizes that something was covering her and it felt slightly heavy, she looks and sees that Aiden's robe was now on her shoulders. Did Aiden put this on her when she fell asleep. She looks at Kito and sees that he was sleeping next to her, she must've fell asleep on him. Nepgear then hears a few giggles near the campfire, Nepgear looks to the campfire and sees everyone looking at her and Aiden. The source of the giggling was coming from Red, Nepgear felt a blush form on her face.
"Hehehe, so how was your night with Aiden?~" Red teases, Nepgear blushes even redder.
"I-I can explain!" Nepgear waves her hands in front of her face in panic. Everyone except for Aiden (who is still sleeping), Rhyel, and Austin were laughing at Nepgear's embarrassment. Aiden slowly begins to wake up because of the laughter.
"Hey, what's happening guys?" Aiden yawns, his cheeks slowly glow red as he realizes the situation.
"So your making the moves huh?" Noah whispered to Aiden, Aiden gets up and backs away.
"I-I have no idea w-what you're talking about! H-hehe!" Aiden grins nervously and sweats alot as he scratches the back of his head.
"Anyways, we should get going people. Can't let the ASIC get a head of us as they already have." Everyone nodded to IF's comment and packed up.
-Lastation Dock (9:00 A.M.)-
"Do we really have to take a boat, we can fly and we can carry you all over to Leanbox much faster." Jason complained as they were waiting in line for getting aboard their ship.
"Civilians on all the nations only know that the Goddesses and a few monsters are capable of flying. If you guys decide to fly, you'll only cause panic for them." IF was obviously annoyed with Jason's complaining.
"I have to agree, I can tell that no one here is used to people randomly flying. Well, back on Earth no one is used to people flying. Only, except people from Conton City…" Aiden said, proving IF's comment to be flat out true.
"Fine, fine…" Jason sighs and frowns impatiently.
"Hey, is it me or is that who I think it is?" Noah nudges Austin's shoulder and after noticing what Noah was talking about, Austin goes ahead and nudges everyone to look at what Noah noticed. Two lines down, they see a familiar gray skinned girl wearing a mouse hoodie with a small mouse.
"How many times are we going to run into this girl, nyu?" Broccoli says to the group.
"Apparently not enough, let's go see what she's up to know." IF and the rest of the group walk over to confront Underling and Warechu. As they got closer to the two ASIC members, Warechu let out a happy screech as he saw Compa approaching. Underling is surprised and looks to where Warechu was looking at and begins to groan.
"Damn it, what do you want?" Underling said and frowned.
"We would like to ask the same thing about you." Aiden said, using Underling's question back on her.
"Like you need to know, I ain't gonna tell ya anything!" Underling crosses her arms. Tension builds between the group and the ASIC members, but it's broken when they hear Warechu crazing over Compa.
"Once again, the mouse can't stop simping over our friendly nurse…" Austin blankly commented, with a flat expression. Soon the sound of the ship the were going on blows its horn.
'Heh, now's my chance to ditch these idiots.' Underling thought to herselfand grabbed Warechu by his tail, in result of him flailing around.
"Seems like the boat is on its way out, cya chumps!" Underling runs away with Warechu and pushes some people out of her way.
"She's getting away!" Red yelled out. Before they were about to chase her, Underling had already disappeared into the crowd.
"Damn it…" Jason said as he flailed his arms in a upset manner.
"Oi, look!" Noah points at the ship and everyone sees Underling get onto the ship as it begins to leave the dock.
"Great, that ship was our way to Leanbox… Was their any ships also heading to Leanbox?" Aiden asked.
"That was the only ship scheduled for Leanbox today, the other ones are scheduled for tomorrow…" Nepgear said bitterly.
"I could use Instant Transmission, but somehow I'm not able to even get a lock on Underlings energy." Aiden said.
"Maybe the ASIC developed something that conceal ones energy, nyu." Broccoli brought up, getting curious looks from the Five warriors.
"If they did, it will definitely cause us some problems… But there's no use in crying over it now, we got to sign in for a ship for tomorrow…" Rhyel said and every one went back towards one of the booths.
-The Next Day (10:00 A.M.)-
The ship was set to leave at 8:00, barley everyone was able to catch the ship as some of them overslept. It was a 2 hour trip and Jason and Red were running around the ship and getting a few laughs from the group or some of the other passengers. The two weren't able to use the bathroom and unfortunately the ship didn't have any bathrooms. They didn't know why the ship didn't have any bathrooms, but there was nothing but envy for any other poor soul that wasn't able to use the bathroom. After the agonising two hour trip, the two ran for the bathroom and almost knocked over anyone in the dock. Aiden and Nepgear sweatdropped because of this situation being somewhat familiar during their time in Lowee. Once Jason and Red were finished, they immediately went off towards the Basilicom, but couldn't help but admire the scenery of Leanbox.
"Wow, for a small Island this place is beautiful." Aiden whistles as he puts his hands in his pockets and looks around.
"Well, it does look peaceful." IF looks around, but has a serious expression on instead of a one of awe. Compa looked around cautiously with her right hand close to her chest.
"It's kinda creepy that it's this peaceful."
"Without a CPU or Candidate here, I was expecting this place to be a little more… run down?" Jason said, getting a few stares from the group.
"Anyways, lets head over to the Basilicom and hope that Underling and that rat haven't made anything difficult as it is." The group than head towards Leanbox's Basilicom, and who they will meet will be quite skeptical.
-Leanbox Basilicom (30 minutes later)-
"Hello? Oh, I see someone. *walks up to a green haired women with red eyes and wearing a dress that shows off some of her skin* Excuse me, but are you Miss Chika?" Nepgear asked, Chika seemed spaced out and sweating before Nepgear.
"Miss Chika, maybe I was wrong…" Nepgear said out loud, Chika soon snaps out of her trance.
"Huh, what the he- I-I mean yes. My name is totally Chika Hakozaki." The Five warriors frowned and knew that something was already wrong.
"Perchance, are you… Nepgear?" Chika begins to sweat more and her skin strangely shines abnormally.
"Wow, I'm glad that I've become very recognizable." Nepgear smiled happily.
'That can be a problem for us down the line… Besides that, the way this Chika person is acting is strange…' Aiden thought to himself.
"Huh? Uh, well… No, you're not, but…" Compa steps next to Nepgear. Chika's right eye starts to twitch.
"Of course she would recognize you, silly. She was the one who asked for you to see her, right Ge-Ge?"
"Hehe, you're right." Nepgear laughed, putting her arms behind her" Chika raised a brow.
"I did?" Chika said, making the Five warriors even more skeptical.
"Yes. Historie told me that you want me to come here and see you. So, um, here I am!" Nepgear told Chika, not noticing what Chika just asked them.
"See… you? O-oh, yeah, that's right! Jeez, yeah, yeah, awesome. I totally needed to see you and all." IF was becoming skeptical as well, she should remember that it was her who asked Nepgear to come to Leanbox. So how could she forget that after a day.
Uh… Well, not to be rude or anything, but why did you need Nepgear here so bad?" Chika visibly starts to panic after IF asked.
"I ummmm… Oh yes! I wanted you to help me get rid of this really annoying monster!" IF and the Five warriors became much more skeptical about this.
"You called her all the way here just for her to do a simple Monster Slaying Quest?" IF widen her eyes in disbelief.
"Uhhhhh, yes… Leanbox had no CPU now, so it's a struggle for all of us… It's harder for us to defend ourselves from a simple Dogoo." Chika's right eye started to twitch even more.
"That's why I was hoping for the help from the battle-seasoned CPU-Candidate, Nepgear." The Five Warriors cross their arm at the same time and gave Chika a questionable look.
"My G-Goodness! She just called me battle-seasoned! I'm flattered, but-but I'm still a rookie…" Nepgear looked down to the floor, embarrassed.
"No need to be modest, hehe… Er, so anyway, show off your skills against the monster found nearby." Chika's smile quivers.
"I don't think it'll pose much of a threat for someone with as much presence and personality like Nepgear."
'She's buttering Nepgear up now, what are you hiding Chika?' Aiden thought to himself.
"G-Golly, I'm probably blushing so hard right now… O-Okay, leave it all to me!" Nepgear tilted her head happily. IF walks over to Nepgear and leans over to her.
"Um, Nepgear, we need to ask her some questions too you know." IF reminded Nepgear.
"O-Oh, of course. We came here to request aid from Leanbox's Mascot." Chika's eye twitches even more after Nepgear asked that question.
"Can you help us locate where it is?" Chika laughed nervously.
"H-heh, uh, yeah sure… I'll tell you where it is when y-you get back, alright?" Chika's voice carried a little bit of frustration this time.
"Wow, that was easy." Red said, remembering how hard it was with the other Oracles.
"How co-opera-tative!" Jason and IF look at Compa, questioning about how she had a problem with saying 'cooperative'.
"Thank you Miss Chika. Oh, but wouldn't Leanbox be in danger if we take the Mascot?" Next thing she asks catches everyone off guard.
"Meh, it isn't a big deal. I mean, it's just a Mascot, so take it if you want. I guess." Everyone in the room dropped silent.
"..." IF closed her arms and crossed her arms.
"Wow, that's a relief hear. Okay, I'm gonna go and show that monster how tough and cool I am!" Nepgear said with confidence.
"Yeah, sure. I'm looking forward to hearing good news from you real soon." Chika replied. The group turn around for the door and leave. As they leave, Chika let's out a big breath and sighs.
"Whew. That was way to close. What pack of morons, getting fooled by my fool-proof disguise." Chika's voice changes to that of Underlining.
-5 minutes Later-
"Hey, did anyone get the feeling that she was acting up?" IF asked everyone else.
"What do you mean by "off?"" Nepgear said.
"She's talking about Chika, Nepgear. The way she spook was not professional and didn't ask for us to give information for information. She just gave it to us willing without any type of resistance." Austin told her.
"Besides her mannerisms, did you see her skin? It was shinning abnormally and it didn't look even natural at all, it looked rubbery…" Rhyel added in.
"Indeed, and I also have a feeling that she's hiding something from us…" Aiden also said.
"Do you think? Isn't it rude to judge Miss Chika with thoughts like that?" Compa said.
"No, she was very sketchy, nyu." Broccoli countered, with her pupils shrinking to dots and her eyes turning into an oval shape, giving her a comedic look.
"But an Oracle's an Oracle. They're not supposed to bad people, right?" Red questioned.
"Maybe you guys are being to critical." Said Nepgear.
"Hey, it's better to be safe than sorry. We can't let our guards down until we get a better understanding of what's happening here." IF said to Nepgear.
"Agreed." Austin shortly replied.
"Before that, let's go see about that annoying monster she talked about." Noah said to them.
-Gapain Field (2 hours later)-
"Man, this dungeon almost looks like a village." Jason commented, looking at the fences, a crystal clear river, and a few wooden buildings.
"If it weren't for the monsters here, this would be a beautiful place to live in." Compa said in response.
"Look over there! I bet that's the monster Miss Chika was talking about." Nepgear pointed at a Dragon with orange and black scales.
"Yeah! But, umm… doesn't it look very tough?" Red said worrying.
"It can't be, silly. Miss Chika said herself that it shouldn't be hard for someone as cool like me!" Nepgear told Red. Aiden walks over to Nepgear and holds her shoulder.
"Nepgear, I'm gonna be very serious with you right now. I may like your enthusiasm right now, but that confidence of yours is really gonna back fire on you and will make things worse for you…" Aiden told her.
"Don't worry Aiden, I'll be fine." Nepgear smiled at Aiden and took out her beam saber.
'Don't say I didn't warn you Nepgear.' Aiden thought to himself.
"I'll tak care of this everyone!" Nepgear ran at the Dragon, saber in hand.
"Hey! What'd I told you about keeping your guard up!?" IF yelled to Nepgear, who didn't hear her as she got closer to the dragon.
"I'm sorry, but today is the day you will die! Hiyah!" Negear jumped and brought her sword down towards the Dragons head. As it made contact with the Dragons head, it didn't effect it at all as her saber bounced right off. The Dragon growled at Nepgear in annoyance.
"H-Huh? Ummm, all right. Now I'll get serious! Ha!" Nepgear strikes at its leg, but it bounces off its scale again.
"What the goodness!? My attacks are ineffective!" Nepgear yelled as her eyes turn to saucers.
"Grrrrrr…" The Dragon towered over her and growled at her.
"W-wait a moment, please! I wasn't quite ready, so…" Nepgear begins to shake.
"I told you… Don't worry, we got- wha-?" Aiden's attention, along with the rest was averted towards a woman who jumped right over them and ran towards Nepgear and the Dragon.
"Watch out." The woman said calmly as she jumped again and brought all her weight towards the Dragon. A sword materialized in her right hand. The sword had two blades in a shape of scissors, a skull on the cross guard, the hilt colored in black as well as the blades, the pommel had a sharp edge, and it had a half triangle shaped hilt guard. She slices right into the Dragons skin and kills it instantly.
"Wow…" Nepgear was in awe, as the woman killed the Dragon in one strike. The woman had emerald eyes like IF, red hair with shoulder length pig tails, and wearing a maid outfit with a short skirt and earrings.
"She killed it, with one hit…" Nepgear told herself. The red haired woman turns around to look at Nepgear.
"Let today be a lesson to you. Never rush towards your enemy. Doesn't matter if it is a monster, machine, or human. You should never underestimate the enemy." She said.
"Y-yes ma'am!" The group runs over to Nepgear and the red-haired woman.
"Nepgear, you okay?" Aiden asked.
"Y-yes, I'm sorry for not taking your advice…" Nepgear avoided eye contact with him and had an aura of embarrassment and sadness surrounding her.
"No kidding you have to apologize…" Isabelle said sarcastically.
"Well, now you know that it's dumb idea to run into your enemy with over confidence Nepgear." Aiden patted Nepgear on her shoulder, Nepgear pouts as her bangs cover her eyes.
"Anyways, we're sorry about our Hot-head kid right here." IF apologized to the red-haired woman.
"Worry not, it's a part of my job." The woman replied with a small smile.
"If I may ask, who are you? What brings you all here?" She asked them, Red would answer her question.
"The Oracle asked us to come. She said that the monster shouldn't be that hard…" The woman was caught off guard with the comment.
The Oracle… Chika said that? Was there anything… amiss about the way she act?" The woman asked.
"She was very 100 percent sketchy, nyu." Broccoli replied.
"The way her skin was shinning too…" Isabelle added.
"And some of her mannerisms were a little… Familiar…" Noah crossed his arms.
"I see. What has gotten into her, I wonder…" The woman said.
"Maybe she's a phony?" Aiden guessed.
"No, that can't possible… Wait, I remember that you five told us that there was a phony of that Goku guy back in your universe… Right?" IF crossed her arms as well, Austin nodded.
"Yes there was a phony back where we came from, and it's not a bad idea to draw out that the Chika we met is a phoney." The woman was confused.
"Sorry, "your" universe?" She said. Noah, Jason, and Aiden proceeded to scratch the back of their heads.
"Long story…" Rhyel replied shortly.
"Back on a more important notes, mind telling us about what's happening in Leanbox? We're very underprepared right now." The woman looked over to IF.
"Gladly. Introductions ought to come first. I am Cave, a native of Leanbox." Cave politely answered.
"Hello, I'm Nepgear. Thank you for saving me." Nepgear replied with the same politeness. Cave looked at Nepgear with minor surprise.
"Nepgear? The same Nepgear as the CPU Candidate of Planeptune?" Nepgear was taken back, but she nodded.
"Yes, t-thats me…" IF walks up to Cave and grows a small smirk.
"Sounds like you've got a really good information network." Cave nods.
"You wanted to know the situation here in Leanbox, correct?" The group nods their heads, Cave turns around in puts her hands behind her in a Military like manner.
"As you are surely aware, Leanbox has no CPU for the past three years. The ASIC took advantage of that and built its presence here, gaining strength from the support of the people." Nepgear's expression darkens.
"Without any kind of CPU…" Cave turns to look back at Nepgear.
"Chika has done her best to keep some form of control, but… It changed after a few days ago." Isbella took her turn to ask a question.
"What happened?" Cave looked over to Isabella.
"Chika dissolved regulations meant to keep ASIC at bay. Arfoire can now be worshipped without reprimand." Aiden walks up and stands next to Nepgear.
"Arfoire, do you mean the Deity of sin?" Cave nods.
"Why would an Oracle do something like that?" Compa asked Cave this time.
"If I were in her shoes at the time, I would say it was to improve living conditions in our nation." Cave let out a small sigh.
"Place one's faith in ASIC, and one will be assured safety in their day to day life." Cave said.
"Anyways, I cannot fathom what has befallen on Chika these past few days." IF brought her hand under her chin and said.
"Something about that phrase "these past few days" is really bugging me." Cave sighs again.
"That is all the information I am able to provide for now. I would rather not report assumption as fact." IF puts her hands into her jackets pockets.
"That's fine, thank you. You gave us plenty of info that we need." Cave gives a small smile.
"You're welcome, if you excuse me… I must return to my post. May we meet again." Cave took her leave.
"Welp, at least we're not the only ones that have a feeling that something is off." Aiden puts his hands in his pockets as well.
"Well we do know that the Oracle is very sketchy now. Super sketchy, nyu." Broccoli said out loud.
"Agreed, at least we now know that we can't have any trust in this Chika person." Rhyel said as he crossed his arms.
"I'd rather not think of any Oracle as a bad person…" Nepgear said as she brought her hands to her chest and clenched her shirt.
"Well we do have the facts, if things do go south… We'll have no choice but to stop her…" Austin said blankly.
"Do we really have to beat her up too?" Red asked. Aiden turns to Red and sighs.
"I wish it would be that simple… We should get more info before we even decide to do anything…" Jason looked at Aiden.
"Nice to know you didn't say anything dumb this time…" Aiden gave Jason a "not now" look.
"He's right though, let's gather some more info before we do anything." IF agreed.
-Leanbox Basilicom (2:00 P.M.)-
"Hello, Miss Chika? We beat the monster. Um, Miss Chika…? Where did she go?" Nepgear looked behind the desk where Chika would've been and looked down the halls.
"I think our suspicions are getting stronger and stronger…" Austin said as he looked at the objects on the desk, ignoring the cases of games that had… "questionable" pictures of men as the cover.
"Let's come back later." Rhyel suggested.
"Agreed" Isabelle said as they all left back through the front door.
-Down in the Streets of Leanbox-
"Getting more info seems like a dream to come true. How are we going to learn anything without any leads?" IF sighed, kicking her boots against the pavement.
"Exactly, if we ask people about the Oracle… It'll make us all look very suspicious." Austin said.
"Well having powers beyond this world already makes us look suspicious." Aiden scratched his head as he walked backwards. The group keep on walking, amd turned left down another street. They all heard lots of conversations about the ASIC and some discussing about how they're playing their games. Although, there were some conversations that came into interest. Some of these conversations involved a "concert" and that everyone is going to it tonight. If they are holding a concert without ASIC knowing, then there could be problems or for some reason the ASIC are the one's hosting the concert. Either way, how could they know if it's the ASIC or not.
"A concert huh? Welp, I guess we know where you can bring Nepgear.~" Jason teased and was soon met with a punch, straight into his face and it caved in comically. The girls laughed and the boys either chuckled or facepalmed at jason being childish.
"Besides making jokes, we need someone who's reliable… Can't believe I'm asking you this, but do you know anyone that can help Red?"
"Nope, do you guys?" The men of the group shook their heads, they were all in a major stump here.
"It would be very convenient, but…" Nepgear's voice turned into a whisper as she noticed that Aiden's face had took a surprised expression.
"Aiden…? What's wrong…?" Aiden turns around, everyone looks where he was looking and were surprised, Nepgear especially. Standing nearby was a familiar girl, with her usual short pig tail style with red eyes, black short skirt dress with boots and fingerless gloves, and a stance that showed sassiness. The Four warriors looked at each other and knew that this could only go well.
"It's Uni! *Smile grows on her face* Hello Uni!" Nepgear ran over to Uni, said girl turned towards Nepgear and her face turned into a shock and nervous combination.
"Crap! It's Nepgear!" Uni yelled out, as nervous sweat beads ran down her face. Nepgear lost her happy spirit when Uni said crap with her name, indicated that Uni wasn't expecting her.
"Oh… She said "Crap"... Am I really that annoying…?" Nepgear looked at the ground in sadness.
"I'll say what I want to say! What're you doing here!?" Uni said with her usually sassy tone, Nepgear herself recollected herself and looked at Uni.
"I wanted to ask the same question. Do you have any business here, in Leanbox?" Nepgear pouted.
"Awwwww, c'mon… Tell me, please?" Nepgear gave Uni the puppy eyes.
"..." Uni remained quiet.
"Pretty Please...?" Nepgear bagged, it eventually got Uni to crack.
"Ugh! Fine, whatever! Anything to make you stop looking… at... Me like… that…" Uni's voice dropped quiet, reason why is because Aiden had now walked up to the two of them. Uni wouldn't admit it, but she was scarred of him. She was prepared to talk to Nepgear, but not Aiden… This was happening way to fast for her.
"Uni? What's wrong?" Nepgear asked as she tilt her head to the right.
"H-Hey, Aiden…" Uni said shyly as her legs began to shake.
"Heya, Uni." Aiden said to her. Nepgear looked between the both of them and her happy spirit fell again.
'Poor Uni, after what happened last time… of course she would be nervous to talk to him… What happened was really scary...' Nepgear said in her head as she grew nervous on what can happen. The rest of the group decided to sit this one out.
"I-I… Um… here for probably the same r-reason you are. I-I'm collecting a-as many Shares as possible. I j-just figured that with no CPU, I c-could get a lot of Shares h-here with no e-effort." Fear in Uni's voice was rising and she could barley even stand from said fear.
"And how's that been working out for you?" Aiden asked.
"N-Not good, really. A-Abysmal, even… I can't b-believe the ASIC was given f-freedom to thrive here. E-Even Approved by the oracle herself, no less! No wonder why there's nobody left here with faith in us CPUs." Uni's nervous and feared tone switched to a sorrow and tired one.
"I know how you feel…" Nepgear agreed with Uni's statement.
"B-But that won't stop me that easily! I-I won't give up now!" Uni's normal attitude was coming back.
"Well, I hope you will be able to do it, but I'm guessing you aren't gonna help us out?"
"Y-yea, sorry…" Uni than ran away; Aiden let out a sigh.
"Is she still afraid of what I did?" Nepgear's nodded and Aiden sigh.
"I'm sorry how I acted… But you know I'm still bitter on what she said to you back at that resort dungeon… It was uncalled for and very judgmental…" Nepgear hugs Aiden, catching him by surprise.
"I know" Nepgear looked up at Aiden, Nepgear smiles and Aiden lets a small smirk to form. The two return to the group, in a middle of a conversation.
"Well, now we know that we're not the only ones who believe the Oracle is suspicious. This went from sketchy to a full size scale of modern art…" IF scratched the back of her head. Austin would clear his throat and straightens his back to continue.
"Still, we need more information before we make our move at all. Knowing that there is somebody else that also sees the Oracle as suspicious, won't help us at all right now." He had a point and with the current state that everything is right now, information could be bended and turned into lies and no one would notice.
-Leanbox streets (8:00 P.M.)-
"We just need one more piece of information to justify our case…" IF was using one of her many phones she had on her as they were walking through the streets at night (N/A: In all honesty, who needs nine phones?). If it wasn't for the presence of the ASIC in this nation, the group would be able to look at the gorgeous green hue that Leanbox glows within the dark.
"B-But, we can't be certain that Miss Chika is completely in the wrong, right?" Rhyel decides to answer Nepgears question.
"But she hasn't been seen around here to view how bad things are." Isabella passes by Nepgear, before turning around to face her.
"He's right, for all we know this is what she wanted or she did it so that she wouldn't get on the ASIC's bad side." Suddenly, loud cheering can be heard; distracting them from the conversation that they were having.
"Hello, everyone! Hope you're all ready to listen to tonights song!" A voice rang out, obviously amplified by speakers that would be used for a show or a certain "concert".
"Wait a minute... There was supposed to be a concentrate tonight, right?" Aiden asked as he looked in every direction.
"Yeah! Let's go watch!" Red jumped up and down in excitement.
"But we don't have time to-" IF stopped when Jason comes in to tell his opinion.
"I have to agree with Red, we have been spend our time on stopping ASIC… but we haven't gotten a proper break during all of this except for resting. Isn't it best we spend some time to ourselves to gain back our energy and motivation? If we keep going on like this, we all might do something regretful in the near future." Austin raised his brows and nodded.
"Wow, you actually said something reasonable." Austin gave a small clap of being impressed, Jason in return frowns.
"And what's that supposed to mean…?" Irritation was building up in Jason's voice, Compa would walk over and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Well, I guess we can go watch knowing we don't have any leads right now." IF sighed in defeat, with that they made there way to where the commotion is coming from.
-Leanbox Park (6 Minutes Later)-
A Stage was sent up in the middle of an open park with a huge crowd sitting and screaming in excitement. The most important detail however, was the person standing on the stage and drawing in the attention. This person was female and looked about to be around her early twenties, wearing all black clothing with pink edges with white stripes, pink and black belt with a bow with the same color, headphones with antennas, her belly completely exposed with a treble clef music note and heart tattoo on the left side of her belly, and finally she had magenta eyes and deep sky blue hair.
"Thank you all for coming out tonight. You have given me the energy to sing for all of you!" The girl yelled with pure untainted energy and enthusiasm, it was like the negativity of the ASIC had over Leanbox hasn't affected her at all. The group was in the middle of the crowd as the girl starts to sing, they couldn't help but admit that the song was amazing.
"It's a very catchy song." Nepgear hummed along to the song and subconsciously holds Aiden's hand, making him blush.
"Yep yep, everyone is so quiet and it's like they are all hypnotized by her voice." Compa slowly moved back and forth with the rhythm of the girls singing.
"I think you're the only one who is hypnotized by her singing, Compa." Jason looked at her and let a comedic sweat drop go down his face as he let out a small laugh.
"I'm quite impressed that this is still the same Leanbox that is under ASIC control." IF put a hand on her side and smirked.
-Somewhere near by-
"Dammit… My shoulders feel so sore… Screw those idiots for making me do all the heavy lifting…" Said a very peeved Underling. Her ears twitched as she heard loud music from a certain nearby concert.
"AND WHAT IS UP WITH THAT RACKET!? Messing around with that stupid noise at a time like this...?" Underling gets an idea and smiles devilishly.
"Then again, I can use that concert to let off some steam. This sad excuse of a nation has been nothing but misery." Underling makes her way down the hill she was on and sneakily makes her way towards the concert.
-Back at the Concert-
"Ooooh, this sing is cool, too! Could this be… Love? Yes, she's definitely going to be my wifey!" Red happily said as hearts start to form in her eyes. Isabelle's cat ears begin to twitch all of a sudden and looked around, like she was on edge.
"What's wrong Isabelle?" Noah asked since he was the one standing near Isabelle.
"I got a bad feeling that someone is trying to sabotage the concert…" On cue, IF spots a certain someone moving through the crowd.
"Huh? Isn't that…?" Compa looks over to IF, who sighed.
"What's wrong, Iffy?" Compa asked.
"I was really hoping that we can relax, but I can't unsee it…" IF then walks through the crowd.
"Oh, where are you going IF? The concert isn't over yet…" The went through the crowd, carefully not to make anyone angry and make a commotion.
"Let's keep the energy up! Hope you're all ready for this next song!" The girl on stage yelled out and gain a cheerful roar from the audience.
-Near The Front of The Stage-
"Hehehe… I'm gonna shut this girl up for good. I can't wait to see the dumb looks on those idiots faces…" Whispered Underling as she stood among the crowd, making sure she doesn't look to suspicious.
"Unfortunately for you… These "idiots" are about to make sure that your sorry butt didn't come out here tonight." Underling's shoulders slumped as she slowly turned around to see the members of the group who were able to sense/spot her.
"You've got to be kidding me! Why are you lot doing here!?" Rhyel answers the Underlings question.
"We were here in hopes not to encounter your ASIC stupidity and finally have a good time." Red slams her fists together and cracked her knuckles.
"How dare you try and ruin my wifey candidate's concert! You wouldn't be escaping me, tonight!" Aiden, Jason, and Noah looked at Red, starting to have growing concern over their little comrade.
"I hate it had to be one of those days! I don't have time for you twerps, see ya!" Underling ran through the crowd, pushing people out of her way.
"Hey! You get back here, I said no escaping!" The group then give chase, having a hard time moving through.
"Move it! Get outta my way you morons!" Underling shoved and pushed her way through the audience.
"Woah, what's your problem?" One of the people in the audience said to Underling.
"Hey! Stop pushing!" Said another.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry. Um, please let us by. P-Please let us through…" Nepgear was carefully moving through the crowd, the same couldn't be said for some of them. Red and Broccoli were sadly getting crushed, and Compa was…
"So many squishy bodies squeezing against me… it's like a wall of human pudding…" In no better position either.
"Is something amiss over here? Has someone else came here to try and sabotage the performance?" A voiced rang out and only belong to one woman, Cave.
"Huh, Cave? Why are you here?" Asked Nepgear.
"Oh, it is you. Were you all trying to disrupt this concert?" Cave questioned, and Aiden immediately points to the actual culprit.
"Thats the one who's causing problems, were only trying to stop her." Cave looked and spotted Underling pushing her way through.
"I see. Allow me to pursue her. Please wait here and not cause a commotion." Cave swiftly moves through the crowd and pursues Underling.
'
Wow, look at her go. She's really quick on her footsies." Red awed.
"She should be knocking into others. Her model must have a really small hit box, nyu." Broccoli shared the same awe.
"Well, I guess this does fit into her work, so we should back off like she said." Austin suggested, and everyone else agreed and leave Cave to do her work.
-20 Minutes Later-
"Thank you so much for coming out tonight, everyone! I love you all!" The girl on stage announced. The concert had ended, no action from Underling had happened and leaving a certain few in the group to be disappointed, but some of them can still feel Underling nearby.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Cheered the audience.
"Oooooh, the concert's overt. No thanks to that Underling, I wanted to hear a good number of her songs…" Red slumped and look down to the ground, letting out a very sad aura. Cave soon appears and Nepgear is the first to speak to her.
"Were you able to capture the evildoer, Cave?" Cave shook her head.
"My apologies. She manage to outmaneuver me." IF sighed.
"Wow. Well that shouldn't be unexpected, she really has the ability of showing off her unrivaled skill at running away…" Cave looks at IF with a raised brow.
"I take it that you must be acquitted with this Underling person." Compa nodded.
"Miss Underling has been in our way quite a lot." Broccoli moved up to add more about Underling.
"Lowee was almost destroyed because her, nyu." Cave got into a thinking position.
"Underling…? Is that her legal and official name?" Aiden Shook his head.
"No, her actual name is Linda… But we call her Underling because we like making fun of her position in the ASIC ranks." Some of the group (Mostly Red) snickered from Aiden's comment.
"I see… So this Underling character came to Leanbox from Lowee…" Cave returned to her formal position.
"Again, allow me to introduce myself. I am Cave, member of the Regal Regiment of Defense for the Leanbox Special Missions Team."
"RRoD? Why do I have the feeling that sounds familiar?" Jason said to himself.
"Wow, that sounds pretty cool! It sounds like some type of special task force." Red exclaimed.
"If only. As shorthanded as we are, we can only slow down the corruption of Leanbox." Cave said seriously.
"Anyway, I reintroduced myself because I wanted to make a request. Could you lend us your aid?" Cave formally asked.
"Um, like first aid…?" Jason chuckled at Compa's confusion.
"She means help, Compa" Compa made an "Oh" expression.
"Yes, I was hoping to use both of your experience and, pardon my phrasing, the figurehead of the CPU. Our team is at its limit for what we can accomplish on our own, matters are growing much more dire." Cave returns to her thinking position.
"We need to locate the source of our woes, but the method to do so eludes us…" Nepgear immediately agrees to the request.
"Of course! We'll help!" IF sweatdropped.
"Before we blindly agree to people's requests, let's see what they need us to do, alright?" IF said.
"But the people here in Leanbox need our help… We can't just leave them like this…" Nepgear countered. IF could only sigh, but a small smile would form on her face.
"You really do remind me of a certain stubborn girl I know. But we do need to gather shares too, so… why not." Cave lets out her own small smile.
"You have my thanks. I shall accompany you for the time being. Once we establish a plan, I will seek your aid again." Aiden Smirks.
"You got it!"
-The Next Morning-
Everyone and Cave were currently walking around the beautiful streets of Leanbox and the people were walking around, doing their own thing. Some of them were doing the usual, buying chips from the ASIC to pull off cheats in their games that they think is either boring or too difficult. Red was walking next to Cave and asking her questions.
"I was wondering… You were at that Idol's concert last night, are you a fan or something?" Cave looks down at Red.
"It's apart of my mission. My task was to act as her security force during her performance." Broccoli hops up to Cave and her strange yellow ball.
"Being a Bodyguard for a Celebrity doesn't sound like a job for a member of a special task force, nyu." Cave respond.
"The idol, stage name 5bp, is an outspoken and supporter to the cause. Her songs raises moral and open up the eyes of those who are blinded to the influence of the ASIC." Austin walks up to Cave.
"Making her a target, am I right?" Cave nodded.
"Indeed, due to the threats against her life. We are constantly deployed to act as her security detail." Nepgear was shocked bt this revelation.
"Goodness, I suppose there are many ways to fight against oppression." Cave's expression turns sour.
"I hope for the day where she can sing freely and do it for her love of performing." Cave looks up into the clear blue sky.
"For that to come true, order needs to be restored in Leanbox as soon as possible." The group couldn't help but smile at Cave's resolve.
-Leanbox Streets (8:00 A.M.)-
As the group and Cave kept walking around the streets and keeping their eyes out on any suspicious activity that could possibly relate to the ASIC, Nepgear spots two figures nearby.
"Huh? Isn't that Rom and Ram?" Both Rom and Ram turned around.
"Wow, we're even famous here! I hope that they want me to scribble on thei- Oh crap, it's Nepgear!" Ram's change in tone made Nepgear upset.
"Oh… Even Ram said "crap" too… Am I really that annoying…" Nepgear sniffed as she became depressed.
"I'm happy to see you, Miss Nepgear…" Rom told Nepgear in her soft/shy voice. Nepgear looked at Rom, after cleaning the tears from her eyes.
"Thank you, Rom… What are you two doing in Leanbox?" Aiden stepped up.
"Is it… To get shares?" Rom nodded with a small smile.
"Heh, seems like you two are working hard." Aiden returned a smile to Rom.
"Yes, Both you and Miss Nepgear have been working really hard… So I want to, too…" Ram then rudely butted in.
"Meh! Now you know, okay! We're really busy, so leave us alone!" Rhyel sighed and put in some input.
"You know, collecting shares here isn't going to be that easy as you think." Ram was confused.
"What's that mean?" Ram asked.
-A Moment Later…-
"Our four… warship w-wreath trick shin r-repeeled? Dude, I can't even say that at all. Did you understand, Rom?" Rom shook her head, just as confused as Ram.
"These kids can't say hard words, nyu…" Broccoli commented.
"H-Hey! Don't make fun of us, you dummy! All this means is that the Chika person is a big bully, right?" Ram yelled, Cave then entered the conversation.
"Were it only that simple… Her attitude and the way she acts have shifted over the past few days. Although, it's still to early in this investigation to deem her as the "big bully" as it were."
"O-okay, but… Oh, I get it! I bet the Chika there is a big, fat phony!" Ram claimed.
"A phony?" Nepgear repeated.
"Seems like Ram has the same idea we had." Austin crossed his arms.
"Yeah, like the bad guys in the comics where they dress up and pretend to be good guys." IF narrowed her eyes.
"I would say that's pretty unlikely, but after naming out the facts… It is possible..."
"In all honesty, I remember people mainly with body shapes. If they look similar, I wouldn't be able to make out the difference." Cave sighed.
"So, umm…" Nepgear fidgeted
"Now we can look more into this, nyu."
"But, we don't know how Miss Chika use to act like…" Compa added, Nepgear then had an idea.
"Maybe Uni does. It's possible that she talked with Miss Chika at some point in the past, right?" Austin then nods to Nepgear.
"Good idea, Nepgear. Let's find her and hope that she puts aside her stubbornness and pride to help us out." Aiden looks to Rom and Ram.
"Wanna come with us, Rom and Ram?" Rom smiled.
"Yeah, together…" Ram frowned and stomped over between Rom and Aiden.
"Nah-uh! No way, stupid Rom! We're VERY busy! We don't care about some dumb Oracle person! Do it yourself!"
"Oh… Maybe next time?" Rom nodded.
"Uh-huh…" Rom and Ram then left to go collect shares. The group and Cave went themselves to go and find Uni.
-Leanbox Streets (9:00 A.M.)-
"So, you believe that the Oracle is a fake. Do I have that right?" The Group and Cave were able to find Uni somehow, probably through random luck.
"Yes. Had you met Miss Chika before coming here recently?" Nepgear asked Uni.
"Informally, but yeah. She didn't strike me as the type to lay down and let the ASIC walk all over her." Nepgear clasped her hands together.
"Could you please come with us and meet her again? We really need your help…" Nepgear begged.
"I ask for your help as well. If only I had the capability to remember faces, at the very least." Cave said.
"N-no way! Wh-why would I ever want to help you?" Uni went wide eyed, taken back by the sudden beg for help.
"You're the only one we know who had any interaction with Chika, please… just help us this once, Uni…" Aiden asked Uni. Uni froze when she heard Aiden ask for her help, her hands slowly shocked and her breathing went stiffed. Uni hesitated and was having conflicting thoughts happening. After a few moments, she steaded her breathing and spoke.
"W-well… if you need my help that bad, I guess… Maybe... Hmmm..." Nepgear's eyes had small sparkles of hope in them.
"Will you help us?" Uni let out a small smile, even if her hands were shaking a little. Reason why was that Aiden was standing near her.
"Y-yeah, why not? Just leave it to me to find out if the Oracle is an imposter!" Uni regained her pride.
-Leanbox Basilicom (9:30 A.M.)-
"Yuck. I gotta spend my day inside this disgusting disguise again… I hate this crap…" Said the so-called Oracle "Chika" as she sat behind her desk, slouching.
"Hello? Miss Chika?" Nepgear called out. "Chika" was startled and almost fell off her chair, but managed to catch herself and sat up properly.
"Son of a- Er, I uh… A-Ahem… Yes?" "Chika" studdered.
"Good to see you're here. We haven't seen you around since we defeated that Monster you requested us to kill. Thought you ended up running away." IF slyly said.
"Wh-WH-What? Me, r-run away? I would neve-" Chika was then cut of by Aiden.
"You also said you would share information about where the Mascot is located. So how about it?" "Chika" began to sweat and her skin was staring to become a little bit more shiny.
"Ooooooooooh, right… W-Well, we're investigating it r-right now, and… um…" "Chika" sweated more and studdered more with the question about the Mascot, it was becoming clear that the theory of "Chika" being an Imposter was starting to sound true. Uni then step up to the desk, catching "Chika" off guard.
"Ack! The dumb broa-er, t-the CPU Candidate of L-Lastation. Wh-What a surprise… What brings you here?" Uni crosses her arms confidently.
"Oh, so you know who I am? I'm honored, since this is our first time meeting and all." Uni let a cocky smile grow on her.
'She almost reminds of Vegeta…' The warriors of the group thought to themselves, seeing the similarities between Uni and Vegeta.
"Er, um… Well, as an Oracle, it's my duty to keep up with my intel on all the CPU Candidates, so…" Uni looked back at the group.
"D-Did she seriously fool you before?" Noah shook his head.
"Nope, we we're only… skeptical…" Uni then thought to herself.
'If I'm right about this…' Uni looks back at "Chika" with her cocky smile.
"Oops, my bad. We did meet a while back, didn't we?" "Chika" becomes more nervous.
"O-oh, what? R-Really? Man, I've b-been getting sick with amnesia or something…" "Chika's" eyes start to twitch.
"I don't blame you. Who'd want to remember the beating they got back in Lastation." Uni smugly said, making something in "Chika" to snap.
"LIKE I WOULD FORGET THAT! Getting pummeled by you brats is so damn-" "Chika" gasps after her outbreak.
"Great job at letting yourself get caught, Underling." Isabelle crossed her arms and smirked with smug eyes.
"That's amazing, Uni! How did you break her down?" Aiden chuckled.
"It wasn't even that hard, Nepgear. You didn't notice how much she was stuttering, the twitching of her eyes, and her mannerisms?" Uni nodded in agreement.
"Exactly, I'd like to know how you even tricked by her. It's completely obvious…" IF slowly approaches the now revealed Underling.
"Well, now that our suspicions are right… You better tell us where the actual Oracle is." Underling frowned.
"Tck! You may have manage to see through my disguise! But it did prove that some of you are pretty dumb as rocks!" Underling insulted, ignoring IF's question.
"If you are an imposter, then where is the real Chika? Answer me!" Cave's eyes gleamed in anger.
"LIke I would answer you! I got all I needed from this stupid place, so I'm out! Seeya later, chums!" Underling runs away and jumps through the window at the back.
"Wait!" Red chases after Underling and also jumps out the window.
"We must give chase, we need to extract Chika's location, at all costs." Cave said.
"Right, get back here!" Everyone (except Uni) chases after Underling.
"H-Hey, wait a minute! Are you seriously leaving the hero of the day behind without a thank you!?" Aiden looks back at Uni and yells out a "Thank you!" before jumping out the window.
"It's not like I wanted to ask to join them or anything! But at least someone thanked me." Uni sighed and left the Basilicom.
-Underverse (12:00 A.M.)-
"*huff, huff* I hate that getting here takes two hours! But I think I manage to put some distance between us, so…" Underling catches her breath and out of her disguise. She was inside a weird metallic like corridor that you would find inside a star ship or some future like building.
"HEY!" Underling turns around to see Red in the distance and picking up a smoke trail.
"Are you serious! She's the most persistent one out of those idiotic bunch! Crap… I gotta find something useful, fast…" Underling quickly looked around ever corner of the dungeon. Eventually, she finds the perfect distraction and smirks. The group would soon arrive, but Underling was nowhere to be seen.
"I don't see Underling. Where did she go, nyu?" Broccoli looked around for any signs from Underling.
"This is a one-way path, so I doubt we would've missed her." Said IF. Suddenly blue goo falls before Aiden, he then looks up and his face turns into shock.
"Um… Guys…" Everyone looks at Aiden.
"What is it, Aiden?" Noah asked. Aiden merely points to the corridors ceiling, they all look up and become shock as well. A huge pack of dogoos were sticking on to the ceiling and with some of their goo dripping down to the floor.
"W-What the Goodness!? A herd of d-dogoos from above!?" Nepgear yelled out the obvious, then Compa's legs gave out in shock.
"L-Look at all t-the Mister Dogoos… They're dripping on the floor and sliding down the walls." IF takes out her qatars.
"Great. They aren't strong, but with this many numbers is going to be nothing but a problem." The dogoos then dropped from the ceiling and rush towards the group.
"Uh-oh, here they come!" Red yelled.
"No! Please stay back!" Nepgear cried out.
-10 Minutes Later-
"U-ummm…" Was all Aiden could muster after the scene he saw before him and the rest of the guys.
"T-Thank Goodness it's over… that was really, really embarrassing…" Nepgear was blushing hard and covered in the remains of the now eliminated dogoos. The girls were embarrassed after being "attacked" by the dogoos and during the chaos, Something triggered in IF and made her act like a child with a wild imagination.
"I am amazed at the convenience that comes with such a swarm. One can do whatever one pleases." Cave cleaned herself off.
"Ewwwwww, it's gonna take forever to get this stuff off my clothes…" Isabelle shaked off some of the goo off of her skin.
"Awwwwww, nuts. Underling must've gotten away by now…" Red said glumly as she struggled to clean herself off. Aiden creates towels for all the girls and helps Nepgear clean the goo off her, making her even more embarrassed and that knowing he was watching. Strangely, none of the guys were "attacked" by the dogoos.
"If she ran all the way here, then this is place is probably a secret base for the ASIC, nyu." Broccoli cleaned her face and had a cat like expression after she finished with the towel.
"Makes sense… Well, let's go find her." Rhyel walks down the corridor.
"Before we do that, there's something I want to say." IF finished cleaning herself off and Noah turns to look at her first.
"What is it IF?" IF's eyes were then covered in the shadows of her bangs.
"Forget. Everything. You. Seen." She said slowly, causing the atmosphere in the room to go dead silent.
"S-Sure…" Jason broke the silence and the group then continued their search for Underling and will make sure she'll answer their questions.