Chapter 12 - RnR, training, Lastation

"Nep-Nep, me and Iffy are back with the shopping… NI-NI YOU'RE AWAKE!" As Compa made a replay of what Neptune done previously, Nico sighed to himself. This was an eventful morning, to say the least.

After he'd managed to comfort Compa enough that she wasn't crying anymore, then enduring the scolding that came after, Nico looked like he'd been through hell and back, ironic considering his new power is based from demonic entities. IF had watched the whole thing by the door, leaning on its frame with her arms folded and a smirk on her features. "Man dude you must have low stamina if this is what it takes to run you dry."

Even with his weakened state, Nico, who was now sitting on the ground against a wall leaning on it, gave her a weary yet playfully mad look. "Hey, consoling upset girls is tougher than it looks. In fact, I'd like you try it and see where it gets you. Trust me, dealing with crying girls' is a lot more difficult than it looks… though I do recall other Agents having 'physical' means of consoling them." He mused, knowing what kind of reaction it would get out of them.

At the words, he used and the images in her mind born from said words, IF's face turned red and she looked away, huffing. "Pervert." She retorted, refusing to look at the male as she tried to quell the blush of embarrassment on her face... as well as the thoughts of what those 'physical' 'consoling' methods were. She thought that would help her situation, but with how the images only appeared with more clarity in her mind, some of them involving… her… it only made things worse! Her blush slightly increased at the ones with her in them, no matter how many times she tried to stop herself.

Nico raised a brow at her, too tired for his usual responses to being called a pervert. "Says the girl whose likely imagining fantasies right now." He remarked with a small, knowing smile. Even as tired as he was, Nico was still able to notice the blush and quickly deduce what could have caused it. He couldn't help it, this girl seemed to be the type who is easy to tease. He bet that when the time comes, Neptune would begin teasing her just like he was.

If her red face was any indication, then his words and opinions must ring truth.

"Sh-Shut up!"

After a moment, IF released a breath and focused on a topic that was worth discussing. She did want to question Nico about how he survived that experience, but this had to come first. "All that aside, I couldn't have imagined the monsters coming from the Disk." She remarked while summoning the Monster Disk from her Inventory. She looked it over while making sure not to activate it. she was sure that the Nurse-In-Training wouldn't appreciate a monster running loose inside her house.

Nico's expression turned from weary to serious in an instant, his eyes narrowing sharply at the Disk. "You can say that again, IF." He agreed with a nod. He then cupped his chin and became thoughtful. "I guess that these can be the cause of the mass spike in Monster populations, but the possibility of them making the Abnormals is still a mystery. I mean what we found is that these summon the usual monsters, not the ones I fight daily."

The Brunette had to agree with him there. If these Disks summoned normal monsters, then the mystery of the newer monsters, the Abnormals, was still at large. Also, it was well known that Normal and Abnormal Monsters behaved drastically differently from each other, and it had been recorded that the Abnormals could breed... just in their own ways while normal monsters just spawned... likely from these Disks.

Meanwhile, Compa, who sat on the bed to calm down and wipe away her left over tears, soon added her opinion to the conversation once her eyes were completely dry. "Yes. But now the monsters won't be coming out anymore." She said happily as IF placed it back within her Inventory. They planned to destroy it at the earliest convenience, which would likely be before they go to the next Landmass. It would be problematic if they were found with it when the Basilicom checked them over. "If we beat all the other monsters, everything will be back to normal again."

"I'm not so sure about that, Compa." The Spec Ops Agent spoke, getting her attention along with the others. Nico stood up from his spot on the ground and walked over to an empty seat. He pulled it around so he could sit on it and put one leg onto his thigh, before he continued. "Even if we destroy the Disks, chances are the monster population may be unaffected, after all even if the Disks are their origins, they aren't any different from normal monsters. They have reproductive systems, which means they'll breed to keep the numbers as high as they are. Furthermore, if someone made those Disks, chances are they can make more to scatter to the areas we've been to, so the monsters will keep on rising. What we need to do is find out more information, then we can determine a proper course of action." He explained, gone was his playful side, now it was the Spec Ops Agent DEATHSTROKE that was talking.

A hum came from the brunette, which drew gazes from Nico to her instead. She didn't seem bothered, in fact she did it intentionally as something came to her regarding the topic of discussion. "About the Disk… how about we call it an "Enemy Disk"?" she suggested. It would be too tedious to keep calling them 'Disks' all the time, the term was too generic, and it would cause confusion if they were talking about one type of Disk while meaning another.

Compa did the same thing IF did, humming as she tested the name out on her tongue, "Enemy Disk…" she mused, holding an index finger on her chin while looking up at her ceiling. The name sounded alright, in her mind, though she didn't know why IF suggested this. Let's just say she wasn't the brightest tool in the shed and leave it at that.

IF nodded, "While we need a name for these things to give them proper terminology, Nico here is right. If the Disks are around, we'll keep getting more monsters until we can't handle them all." She explained, which caused frowns to spread onto the faces of the others, Nico's being the worst of them all. The danger the Monsters posed was no less real now that they had discovered their origins, in fact it seemed to have more weight on it' shoulders than ever. If the monster populations kept rising like they were, then the entire Nation may be overrun with them if they decided to attack in mass, and by that point even the Spec Ops Agents may get overrun.

"That's not good…" Compa said with worry, to everyone's agreement. They were all aware of the danger to the world these monsters and the Abnormals posed, hell, it was expressed with perfect clarity back at the Monster Cave, a shudder travelling down her spine at the thought of the horrid Banshees. Their appearance, mannerisms and breeding cycles disgusted her more than anything she'd ever seen. She knew nature could be brutal, but that fact could never have prepared her for what she saw down there. In her heart, Compa figured that Neptune and IF would agree with her on this.

If that was one of the enemies Nico and other Spec Ops Agents fought... then just else do they fight daily?

Seeing his friend worry, Nico stood up and went to her, patting her on the shoulder in a comforting manner. "Don't worry Compa. We can plan against the monsters with what we know now." He told her, easing the girl's worries slightly. It was true after all, they had more information than they did before about how to get rid of more monsters than they did before, which would be a huge help to Planeptune and by extension, Gamindustri.

Their short moment of silence and seriousness was utterly shattered when Neptune came back into the room, having gotten some pudding from Compa's fridge and eating it up while the three were talking about the serious matter she didn't get. "Mmm! Pudding after work really hits the spot! Um, you got more, Compa?" she asked, bounding up to the girl with various love hearts coming out the top of her head. 'What the hell? Nah, I'll not question it, its Neptune after all…' Nico thought, sighing at how the preteen had busted the atmosphere entirely. She'd literally came in like a wrecking ball. The image of Neptune on a ball swinging into a building while singing with some black shades over her eyes came to mind, making a small smile of amusement form on his lips.

The others though, they remained silent as they glanced at each other, one looking like they were embarrassed of something, (Compa) and the other had a look that just shouted 'really?' on her face (IF). Soon Neptune noticed their stares and Nico having hidden his smirk behind a hand, and her face morphed from happiness to confusion. "Hm? What's the matter? Why so serious?"

IF's face morphed to one of irritation as she face-palmed herself, shaking her head at Neptune's idiocy and her lack of any awareness at the situation at all. "Are you kidding…?" she mumbled under her breath. Seriously, Neptune should be at least a little concerned about the situation, it was threatening the lives of every person in Gamindustri after all. Plus, se was their party leader, that wasn't a position where you could just be a lazy bum. Why wasn't Nico the party leader again? That would make much more sense than Neptune at least.

Compa, seeing the brunette's distress, offered a small smile of comfort as she went and patted her on the back. "Um, Iffy? Nep-Nep gets a little tired after she changes, so can you let it go?" she requested, while also doing a pleading face which looked extra adorable on her features.

Looking up at her, IF saw the sight and felt all her resistance crumbling away. She twitched her brow in annoyance when she heard the snickering of Nico behind her, but she didn't say anything to him as she was busy being held by Compa's pleading face. Eventually, she released a breath and let it go for now, Neptune did seem a little less energetic than she did before, probably from the 'consoling' (another blush as images resurfaced) that Nico had to do for her. "#Sigh# If you say so, Compa. I'll let it go, this time."

A relieved sigh escaped Compa's lips, and after a quick thank you from her, she returned to her seat on the bed while Neptune had taken a beanbag on the floor, happily doing her own thing like the child she was. It seemed that Nico's consoling had worked wonders more than he had expected, much to his surprise. Perhaps he'd done something right and he hadn't known it?

Soon enough the next topic IF brought up took his attention away from that instantly. "Going back on subject, I'm more interested in that lady. Who was she?" she wondered, frowning as did the Spec Ops Agent. He had not forgotten that woman who wore that witch outfit. He had not forgotten how she nearly took him away from his comrades forever with those energy attacks, so he wanted payback when he saw her next.

"Looked like she was connected to the Monsters, she did say she was looking for her Queen when she surprised us like that." Compa suggested. she frowned when she remembered what she and Nico had been talking about as they recovered, the fact that she had attracted the Banshees to the Monster Cave still caused a firestorm of righteous fury to rise within her. "Do you think she might have been looking for the Key Fragments like we are?"

This made Nico's frown turn into a scowl. "In all honesty I believe so, with how she used the Banshees like she did, but I can't help but think that there's more to it than that. she didn't say her motives for her actions, and if she didn't have any it means she's much more dangerous than any Abnormal. Someone that deranged would cause cataclysmic damage to the world if left unchecked.. We can't be the only ones looking for these Fragments, whoever sealed Histoire away in the first place must want to keep it that way, thus is searching for them too." He reasoned after a moment's worth of thinking it over inside his head.

It would make sense that the person who sealed Histoire away for so long had not wanted her to be set free, as well as very powerful to seal away an entity like her, he figured. Then, there was the fact that whoever sealed her may have taken precautions to set up traps and the like to drive people away from where the Key Fragments were. They would have to be careful if they wanted to get them all, he figured. 'Maybe I can record the signature the Key Fragments have to let my Bracers track them on the radar?' he wondered, before falling into a state of contemplation of what to do for the future.

While Nico would be temporarily out of it thanks to his new thought process, Neptune, who had now been paying attention while she sat on her bean bag, hummed in thought before beaming brightly, bouncing up and down on her little resting place. "Well then, if that's the case, then we better act quick before she gets them." She told them all. Everyone did have to admit that she had a point, which was rare for someone like Neptune. It was best that they got moving as quick as possible. Whoever was searching for the Key Fragments, if someone even was looking for them, would likely have access to more information about them than they did, thus it would be best if they got moving soon.

Compa nodded to them all, just as eager as the rest of them to get started. "Yes. Let's go get ready right away." She exclaimed, walking to where she had put her Syringe. she then placed it in her inventory, while everyone else got ready to head out. "Oh, I' suggest we go to Lastation, next. Sadly, the other Nations are inaccessible for the time being, so Lastation's our only call." she added on as an afterthought. Apparently, monster attacks had escalated, and thus the mentioned Nations had withdrawn access into their borders for the time being.

Just before they were all ready for a journey. however, a familiar male voice suddenly broke the silence that had filled the air in Compa's bedroom. "Hold on you guys." Nico began, standing up as he stopped them from doing what they intended. Both Neptune and Compa looked up from their positions, Compa about to reach for the door while Neptune made to head outside to get her shoes. Both had confused looks on their faces, so Nico went and elaborated. "We can't go yet, I mean, I do intend to join you guys on this Quest but there's some things I have to do beforehand." He explained. "First thing is this: we need to get you girls trained."

"Eh? Why do we need to train, we have that awesome gear you got us, Nicky." Neptune question as her mind tried to process where he was going with this. To her, training wasn't something she did thanks to this being a gaming franchise with cute girls, weird monsters and levelling systems. She could understand EXP Grinding, but actual training sounded like a foreign concept to her.

IF's eyes narrowed as a hint of what he intended entered her mind. She stood by the Desk Compa had while thinking back to the battles they had together. "Ah, you intend to make us more aware of our abilities than we already are, enough so that we could fight Abnormals more effectively, right?" she questioned knowingly. That was what he got from her gaze, anyways, like she had figured him out.

While she did hit the bull's-eye there, that wasn't all that Nico intended for training the girls. Before he could elaborate, Compa beat him to it as she tilted her head cutely, a look of blissful angelic innocence on her features. "Um, you sure training us would be a good idea? I think we specialise enough traits to cover our behinds." she questioned him with mild concern.

The teen quickly elaborated on his point, seeing as Neptune and Compa hadn't gotten it. "Back in the Monster Cave I watched you girls fight, and while you weren't bad, there are many areas that you need to improve in. Also, Neptune, remember when you said you had your sword disarmed from you?" he asked her, directing his gaze to the preteen who nodded in response. "What did you do then? You went for your sword, leaving yourself vulnerable to the enemy. Its a problem I've seen with a lot of adventurers these days, that they rely too much on their weapons. Abnormals, as you have both undoubtedly seen, are way too different from normal monsters to be classified as such. They are stronger, faster, and way less predictable, making them deadly opponents on the battlefield. Also, they will show you no mercy if you give them the opportunity, and with your current Skills, that will undoubtedly happen. Thus, training is required, and I shall be your instructor."

His words stunned the girls into silence. They tried to think of something to rebuke him with, but thinking back on it, their past battles with the Abnormals was won either due to Nico, or weapons and armour provided by Nico. IF had her DEMON FLAMES Skill to take large groups of Banshees out, so her Abnormal Kill Count was the second largest out of their group. However, even that wasn't a full-proof plan of attack since A: it drained her to use it constantly, and B: Because they were there to back her up. But, what happens if they had to fight Abnormals alone? With nobody to back them up? While teamwork was a good skill to have, individual Skills were just as important, and right now they were lacking when compared to average Spec Ops Agents, who fought tough Abnormals on a daily basis.

Looking at their faces, Nico quickly deduced that they had seen his point, and when he saw them reluctantly nod in acceptance, he knew that they had agreed to his training. "Also, Neptune, Compa." both girls perked up when they heard their names mentioned. "You both want me to do better to protect myself, right? Well, there's another motivation to train. No mater what, I'm not stopping my crazy stunts, especially if they result in saving your skins, so why not become stronger so you can stand on your own two feet? That way I won't have to resort to drastic measures to protect you both."

Now THAT got their spirits raised, the thought of Nico not having to do more of his crazy stunts making them much more eager to train. What he said had merit, if they trained so that they were strong enough to warrant him not going so far for them, then they could sleep easier at night. They could also tell why he hadn't included IF in that moment, since she was the newest member of the Party, thus she didn't know them very well. The only one she had a semblance of knowledge on was Nico, and even then it wasn't that much.

The male gave them a comforting smile as they beamed at the prospect of him not risking his life, before his lips dropped into a frown as sadness seeped into his eyes. "I also must inform the Guild about my armour."

Hearing about the armour caused saddened reactions from the girls. Neptune and Compa especially since they could tell how precious Nico's deployable Armour was to him. He'd explained how it had been with him for a long time, since the start of his career even, so seeing that it was gone was like saying goodbye to an old friend you'd never see again. A warrior's weapon and armour was like his soul, his livelihood, his history, the chips on the armour, the areas where painting was scratched off, showed a long history of Combat that made the warrior wearing it feel proud of himself, his accomplishments, and his mistakes, for they were etched into his very being so that he would be reminded of them and the lessons they taught. To lose something so precious, so important... it was like taking away Neptune's pudding or Compa's dream to be a nurse.

IF looked down at the ground as she frowned, before looking up at the depressed male. "Well, you don't have to actually, when we brought you back here after you fell unconscious, I returned to the Guild and informed them what happened. Save for the fact that you apparently transformed and beat that woman to a pulp." She explained, before giving a pointed stare towards the male. He knew what that meant, he was going to have to explain what that was and how he'd come back to life.

But for now, he focused on the fact that she'd informed the Guild about their Mission. "Eh? You said you gone to the Guild, so… how long was I out?" he asked her, for the woman to hold up 4 fingers. at first, he didn't know what she meant so he guessed the time she was referring to. Minutes, no Hours, no. Days... weeeell... yeah. His eyes widened when he realised this was the answer. "What?! You mean I was out for 4 days?!" he exclaimed in shock. Four days?! How the hell did that happen?! A calmer part of his mind told him it may be an aftereffect of using his DPU form for the first time, which lowered his panic levels slightly, though not by much.

IF nodded, sighing as her face took on a weary expression while remembering what happened. "Yeah, though I must admit when I called the WDD head, I didn't expect her to go all mother hen on me. I almost thought she was going to reach trough the phone like those cartoons you se on TV and throttle me. Anyways, I told them that your armour module bit the dust," she grimaced at the memory while the other girls shook a little, not liking that encounter. "And that you would need a new one. Luckily for you, however, it seemed that when you were at the WDD last, they'd made an exact replica of your Armour in case that you would break your own. They will have to transfer the data of your modifications to it though, so it won't be ready for a while yet."

After she said that, an idea popped into Nico's head and he checked his right Bracer. He manipulated it when he saw a letter icon on the top right corner of the screen, till it showed a holographic list of messages. He pressed on the newest one, and a smaller screen appeared in front of the list. He read the message:

From: Guild WDD head manager

To: DEATHSTROKE

Greetings DEATHSTROKE. We have heard about the recent Banshee Infestation at the Monster Cave, and deeply regret the loss of your armour. It was a fine piece of equipment; thus, it will be dearly missed. However, we were fortunate enough to have another Module on standby for situations like this. We will require time to customise it to your specifications, fortunately for us you made sure to keep your mods updated on your profile. We will make it so that the Armour will be just like your last one, with all its scars from previous battles.

Come to the WDD section when we tell you to, then we shall refit the Module to your body. Until that time, we suggest that you refrain from fighting Abnormals unless necessary, restricting yourself to ordinary monsters. Notifications have been made to the Guild Roster managers that you will be on temporary suspension from Urgent Quests, furthermore your co-workers have been informed of your status.

Good luck, and may the path you walk on be fruitful.

Yours sincerely,

Helena Dawson WDD Head Manager.

PS: MY BABY! Oh, I'm so-so-so-sorry about your beloved Armour! I will make sure it is returned to you, post haste! You know me, I'm always a woman of my word, hehehehehe! Maybe I'll put in some upgrades I've been thinking about, you never know... tee hee.

PSS: Please call me, I'm dying to hear from my beloved little boy, gimme loads of hugs and kisses through the Camera, please! Mwah, Mwah!

Nico finished reading the message, and gave a sigh as he closed everything with his Bracer. He then fell back onto his seat while rubbing his temples with his thumb and index fingers. "That woman... ugh, she's so dramatic, I swear..." he muttered under his breath. The girls gave each other confused looks, from the beginning to th end of the message, Nico had shown a variety of emotions. From professional calm, to anger, to relief, then embarrassment, and finally exasperation. It seemed whoever sent him that message was someone who was... extreme, sort of like Neptune. "Whelp, looks like you were right, IF. Thanks for that, I really appreciate it." he told her with a small smile, despite the grimace he had done earlier.

The brunette nodded with a small smile, glad that she had helped one of the Spec Ops get back on his feet. "No need for that, we're fellow Mercenaries, so it was the least I could do. Plus, you did help me twice now, once with those scumbags and twice with the Banshees. Consider this partial repayment of that debt." She said with a small smirk. Nico nodded, his smirk rivalling hers, it was good to see someone within the Guild that had a moral code like he did. it was a refreshing experience.

Her smirk fell soon after, though, and her eyes gave a pointed stare towards him. "Now that we have a chance, why don't you tell us what exactly happened back there. How the heck did you come out of that attack like you did? and what the heck was with that transforming ability you have?" she asked, but it felt more like a demand really. Though he couldn't blame her, he was still trying to grasp the reality himself.

During the time he was unconscious, IF had grilled the two girls for details about Neptune's HDD, learning of the encounter they had with a single Banshee. She had been stunned that Neptune almost lost to one, as that transformation looked pretty badass and powerful when she first saw it. However, as she thought about it, with the fact that Neptune apparently was an amnesiac, it made sense if this was the first time she transformed without any memories of it. Also it seemed to her that she had awakened the ability through a life or death situation, something used in a variety of anime and manga. When in danger, humans tend to exhibit increased power levels as a basic fight of flight response.

This just seemed like an extreme version of that.

Neptune and Compa both perked up at this. Both had their own opinions about that kind of power, as it had left a profound impact on them. "Yeah, it was like my transformation, but darker… and scarier." The former said, trembling slightly while holding herself as memories of the form Nico took filled her mind. When she felt that power for the first time, she felt like she was facing a final boss of an epic-level difficulty game, with only beginner's gear and little health remaining. In essence, she had never felt like a cornered animal until that power literally filled her senses with its being. While her powers felt calm, warm and sorta fuzzy inside, Nico's power felt raw, primal, animalistic and bloodthirsty, like a psychopath on steroids. Scary as all hell.

Compa didn't say anything, but her face, plus the way she gripped her knees with her shaking hands, said it all.

Seeing their looks almost made him not want to tell them for fear of scaring them all. But his pride as a truthful Spec Ops Agent, no his pride as a male, would not allow that. Thus, he began the tale, explaining his experience in Limbo and then what Histoire told him just now in his dreams. At the end, Nico finished and gauged their reactions to the unveiling of his DPU Powers.

Neptune was stunned, too much so that she didn't have any comments which was unlike her. Then again, when one realises that their companion has a power that is the exact opposite of your own, it's hard to form a response that doesn't involve swords and hurtful words. Compa looked scared senseless, scared FOR him not OF him. She seemed to be focusing on the fact that if he doesn't control it his power will end up devouring him like a cannibal. The imagery would haunt her for days to come, he figured. And IF? IF was looking… surprisingly neutral about all this, she didn't seem too okay about it, but not too disturbed either. "Your taking this particularly well." He remarked to her.

IF shrugged her shoulders, a nonchalant expression on her face as she crossed one leg over the other. "Yeah well, with what I've seen today, plus the day I've had, I doubt much will scare me in the future. Maybe if we encounter any demons or something along those lines, but I won't hold my breath."

The male DPU nodded, thus they began prepping to go outside. If Nico was going to train them, he would train them hard, just so that they had the strength to fight against Abnormals and he wasn't around. He planned on training them for at least a week, for by then they will have had tremendous upgrades in stamina and combat capabilities. In fact, since he had already fought with them several times, Nico had a good idea of how to make them better, but those will have to wait till they were outside.

As they got ready to move out, Neptune went over to the brunette and asked her a question. "Hey Iffy? Wanna come with me, Nicky and Compa to look for the Key Fragments?" before the Guild Agent could respond, Neptune continued while the other two got their gear together, Nico taking slightly longer thanks to him having more gear than Compa. "We can have fun together, and it'll be safer, too!"

'Pretty sure that Nico will be strength enough for safety, Nep…' IF thought to herself. Even without his armour, Nico was a formidable opponent you did NOT want to meet on the battlefield. Looking at the girl though, IF decided to not say her thoughts and shrug her shoulders. "Sure, why not?" she replied, getting out of her seat. She'd taken the only other seat since Nico had taken the other one during their chat.

"Really? Yay!" Neptune cheered as she went and did a happy dance. She was humming a tune to herself as well, glad that she had another party member.

Compa meanwhile, went and took the role of the mature one and asked if it was alright with the brunette. "Are you sure, Iffy?" while asking this, Compa deposited her Syringe into her Inventory and made sure her armour Module was in place. She got the feeling that she would be needing it a LOT for the battles ahead, so she wanted it to be on her at all times, as well as making it a habit to keep it on her person so it could form her Armour at any time.

The Guild Agent nodded to her, a lopsided smirk forming on her lips. "Not like I have an Agenda, so I might as well tag along for the ride." She replied, as she noticed Neptune nearly fall over during her dance, for Nico to swiftly catch her in his arms and make it look like he was dipping her, much to her embarrassment and Compa's sudden jealousy. A small sweat drop formed on her features while she saw this. "I'm not so sure leaving you two alone with Nico there is a good idea anyways…"


Nico Guided them out of the city, and spent about an hour walking to a desolated field-like area. Planeptune was well known for its vast fields and lush wilderness, though it paled in comparison to the land of Green Pastures known as Leanbox. The name of said Nation said it all, but in case people don't get the memo, green pastures indicates the nature there is pure, something that Leanbox definitely proves.

Once they were at the field he wanted, Nico stopped moving as he stood at the centre, turning to face the girls. "Alright, we'll train here." he told them, raising his right Bracer and activating its Motion Tracker. There was nothing around them, making a smirk form on his lips. "Looks like we won't be getting some passer-byes eyes, perfect."

A collective shiver fell down their spines, and for some reason, looking at the male Spec Ops Agent made the feeling all the more noticeable. "Uhhhh, is it just me, or does this Nep feel a sharp sense of danger coming?" she questioned the others. Compa and IF looked towards her, their expressions speaking volumes about how they felt right now. A sweat drop formed on her head as Neptune made a strained smile, chuckling in a manner that matched her expression. "Oh, good, its not just me then..."

"Alright, our first lesson's going to be simple sparring." Nico began, ignoring their previous conversation as he used his Bracers to set a time limit. "The time limit is 5 minutes. Try to hold out until then." he told them, his mouth slowly forming a small smile. It was harmless, just an innocent smile, yet that smile sent shivers of terror down their spines. Why did a smile so small, so cheery, scare them so? Was it how his eyes seemed to darken behind his hair, or how he was right now getting ready to attack them with his bare hands? None of them knew, but what they DID know, was that they were about to be fighting for their lives.

The next thing they know, Nico had dashed towards them, jumping into an aerial spin kick to Neptune's head. By reflex, she managed to summon her Murasama, draw it from its sheath, and block in time, but the impact sent her sliding backwards. "You need to widen your stance, bend our legs upon impact Neptune! That way you can divert some of the impact from your body!" he instructed her while running towards Compa. While she was a Nurse-In-Training, and his childhood friend, Nico would NOT let those feelings distract him from teaching them valuable combat skills.

Compa eeped as she closed her eyes and raised her Syringe to swing at him, however Nico sidestepped at the last second grabbing her by the shoulder while placing a foot behind both of hers. With a push, he knocked her off balance and onto the ground. "Your opponent may not be a monster, Compa, but do not close your eyes during a battle, that's just begging your enemy to give you a harsh beat down." Nico chastised her, although he seemed more tolerant of her than he was with Neptune. Likely because he knew she had little combat skill and experience due to her dream of being a Nurse. As a result, she was expected to work in hospitals and not on the front lines, like she would if she travelled with them.

His instincts told him to duck and he did, avoiding a Qatar swing to the back of his head before Nico thrusted his right arm backwards, elbowing IF in the gut to make her bend over, before grabbing her by the neck with the same arm and used her momentum against her, throwing her over his shoulder. Before she could hit the ground however, Nico dashed forth and launched a vicious straight kick, hitting her in the abdomen exactly where he had elbowed her earlier, getting a gasp of saliva from her.

While she slid away from him, Nico heard the sound of an Armour Module being activated, suppressing a pang of sadness as he turned and tilted his body to avoid a diagonal slash, coming from an Armoured Neptune who had chosen to use her Armblades instead of Murasama. The male smirked as he constantly dodged her slashes, much to Neptune's frustration, before he found an opening and exploited it, gripping her arm with one hand, her shoulder with another, before delivering a savage head-butt, making her gasp behind her helmet. The force used on that attack had been enough to damage her even with her armour on! What the Nep?! "Always make sure to use every piece of your body to your advantage! Make unpredictability your best friend, because she will be on that battlefield, goddamnit!"

Gripping Neptune tightly, Nico spotted IF trying to activate a Skill. His smirk only widened as he spun around, taking Neptune along for the ride. he ignored the cry she gave as he threw her into IF's line of sight, her body colliding with hers and knocking them out. "Skills are powerful, yes, but some have longer time delays than others! Your DEMON FLAMES is one such Skill, IF! Do you think Abnormals will just WAIT for you to charge them up? Huh? What happened during your first attempts at fighting Banshees?"

"Ugh... my head, feels like I go kicked by a horse..." Neptune moaned painfully, the three girls barely getting up at all from the rough pounding that Nico gave them, their legs sore from the experience. That sounded weird, but none of them focused on that for the time being. Neptune looked around for Nico, only to find that he was gone. "Eh?! Where's that meanie go?!"

"Right here!"

The universal 'never look up' had happened until the last second, where the girls all dove out the way of Nico, who came down from above with an overhead kick. When he struck, the land below him broke from the impact, showing how much force that he had put into the blow. If any of them had stayed around and let that hit them, the damage would have been extreme, even for Neptune. The guy wasn't pulling punches, and this was only the first lesson!

Obviously, this didn't sit well with them.

"Nepu, what gives, buster?! Its only the first lesson, hold back a little, why don't ya?" Neptune cried out in annoyance, raising her Armblades. From her previous experience she figured letting her guard down for a single second was probably the worst mistake she could ever make right now. His hits stung, and it didn't look like he was showing any mercy towards his 'students'.

Turning towards them, Nico got into a fighting stance as he gave them a cold glare, one that rivalled stones with how little emotion they could see from him. "Do you think an enemy might show you mercy? I don't think so, remember that woman? She literally wiped the floor with your asses, leaving me to fight her myself. In fact, I think you're lucky. Do you know what my instructor did to me?" he questioned, continuing before they could even think a response. "She took me to a couple hundred feet tall cliff and threw me off it, telling me to climb back up. I did, and she repeated her actions... for 6 whole weeks. She would maker me balance myself on a thin spike while bending about to dodge projectiles she'd throw at me from afar, while drinking coca cola. She would leave me stranded in Abnormal infested areas to force me to adapt to survive, giving me nothing but the clothes on my back and any warnings she bothered to give... which were NONE! There's so much more she did, but I'm not going to scar your little minds. So tell me, who do you think got the blunt end of the stick there?"

His words shocked them into silence, their faces once again losing colour as they pondered Nico's insane training regimen. This instructor of his sounded worse than Nico was being to them, alright, way worse. They all thanked every deity in existence that Nico was not doing most of those things that his instructor had done to him, that sounded like freaking torture! Compared to his training, theirs felt like a cakewalk in comparison.

"Now then, we've literally got all day here, so lets get the warm-up out of the way, shall we?!"

"THIS IS A WARM-UP?!"


The week passed, and by the time the end came, the girls were all cursing the male's name, albeit in their minds as they recovered from the brutal training he gave them. Not only did he force many combat techniques into their minds, but he thoroughly crushed and obliterated any shred of pride in their own strength the held without mercy. It was like being trained by demons from the depths of hell itself, with how he brutally and bluntly told them what they did wrong and hammered his points into their skulls in the most literal sense possible. He was more like a drill sergeant from hell than a person, something that filled them with dread whenever their training was about to begin.

Their sole respite would be the breaks for the 3 meals a day, he wasn't that cruel. Hell, during those breaks Nico would buy them large portions of food and tenderly heal them of their wounds, taking it upon himself since Compa was being trained just as much as the others were. While he was indeed brutal and strict in his teachings, Nico did at least do them some favours and take some precautions in return, like buy Neptune a whole load of Pudding for her troubles, make sure their injuries were treated himself so Compa didn't have to worry about expelling her Healing Skills, as well as make sure to never touch IF's Phones, telling her to place them in her Inventory so they wouldn't be destroyed accidentally.

Also, they couldn't really complain about their instructor from hell since his methods did indeed produce results. While IF and Neptune had more affinity for close combat than Compa did, they nonetheless had now become somewhat decent in it, enough so that if they were indeed weaponless, they wouldn't have nothing to defend themselves with. They also learned how to create openings with their Skills, mixing them in with normal attacks to minimise the chances of the enemy reacting in time.

They each gained their own improvements too. Neptune for example, learned to use Murasama better, her skill almost rivalling that of her HDD form. The fact that her weapon and Skills were affected by her transformation interested her teacher, but he told her to refrain from using it for now as he had seen her HDD form's skills for himself, judging that she needed to have her human form's power be upgraded first. She once commented how this was feeling like a Shounen fanfiction with all the training that they would be doing, only for Nico to roll his eyes and ignore her. She also learned how to utilize her Skills with her Armour's Armblades, apparently they would do much more damage than with a single blade, with way more chances to hit as well. Nico should know, he counted them as he dodged them with nothing but instincts guiding him.

Compa learned to shoot more accurately with her Armcannons, using their Plasma Needles to enhance her strikes in close combat. She didn't have a lot of power, thanks to the prior established fact of her lack of experience, but she managed to compensate with her Armour's Plasma Needles. Her Syringe was large, but also slow in firing, so it wasn't ideal when facing groups of fast monsters, or even single fast monsters, which made her Armcannons much more useful. Mentally, Nico had noted to find some way to get her a weapon upgrade, as he didn't have any Syringes to give her.

As for IF, she already had close combat down, due to her Mercenary background giving her plenty of experiences where she had lost her weapons. She had quickly adapted to his ruthless fighting style to form counter attacks, even though none of them actually hit him thanks to his honed instincts. She learned that using her Skills alone wasn't enough like it would be with everyday Monsters, as well as figured out how to cast them quicker, much to Nico's joy. He didn't show it, but he was overcome with pride for how they progressed in such a short time-frame. They may still have a long way to go, but for now they were strong enough to fight Abnormals on their own IF NEED BE. Needed to stress that, he did.

All in all, the training was a major boost in their strength. They could see why Nico told them he would be training them.


Finally the day was here, the day they would leave for their next destination: the nation known as the Land of Black Regality: Lastation.

Nico stood in the living room, looking down at his right Bracer which was raised to his chin level. Several screens were floating above it, each one presenting different statistics and calculations that only he understood. The male was frowning, his eyes troubled as he struggled to come to grips with his recent 'handicap'. He loved his Armour, it had helped him through more scrapes than he'd care to mention. Hell, he practically had a hand in its development, so in a way it was his baby. So, to realise that it was gone, at least for a while, was a huge blow to him.

'Mark my words, I will bring you back, my dear...' he thought to himself, growling under his breath that sounded strangely more like an animal. It was as if his fury was mixing with his bloodlust, creating a dark sensation that surpassed both of them, like hybrid vigor. 'I swear to you, I'll find that woman... I'll make her pay, then I'll...'

"Um, Ni-Ni?"

"Whoa, ho jesus!" Nico shrieked, almost feeling his heart leap out of his chest. he took a few calming breaths, with a hand on his chest to help calm his pounding heart, before looking to the cause. It was Compa, standing behind him with Neptune and IF close behind her. "Oh, its you girls... you all ready to go?" he asked them with a small smile, one that hid just how surprised they caught him. He didn't know why, but part of him wondered if that was intentional or not.

His childhood friend nodded happily, a hand over her chest as she opened her eyes to look at him. "Yessy! we're all ready and willing!" she cheered, making Neptune frown at her however.

"Heeeey, Compa, you stole my lines from the original rebirth 1!" she whined, flailing her arms about. The sight made everyone chuckle, save for IF who hid hers while rolling her eyes, until Neptune continued onwards. "Hey uh, Nico, before we go, can I ask ya a question? What's a Spec Ops Agent?"

The male, who had just made to close the last screen his Bracer displayed, stopped just before he could close it, like it was all a second away. His eyes wide with surprise, the teen turned his head to look at her, before remembering that Neptune hadn't really gotten an explanation about Spec Ops Agents. 'I thought she'd have gone all meta on us and read it in a previous chapter, or whatever.' he thought to himself, before deciding to answer. "A Spec Ops Agent is an elite section of the Guild. While mercenary-like in nature, the Spec ops are like the soldier-mercenary mixes, their love child you could say. We're the soldiers that fight the battles that normal adventurers never could. We are people who fight for our own selves, nobody else's." he explained, mentally adding in his mind. 'Not even the CPUs...'

"Wooow... that sounds so dark and gritty..." Neptune mused while everyone else had already left the house and was waiting for them outside. "That must be a tough job, I guess. I mean, they take on so many mean monsters, meaner than normal ones, anyways, all for the same rewards Guild gents get?"

Nico shook his head as he turned fully to face her, his eyes stern as his gaze bore into her own. "There's a saying we Spec Ops Agents follow, down to our cores: 'There are things you can't fight. Acts of the Goddesses. If you see a hurricane coming, you have to get out of the way. But when you're a Spec Ops Agent, suddenly, you can fight the Hurricane. You can win.'"

Neptune gaped, her mouth hanging open as she absorbed the deep saying that he just told her. Her protagonist instincts told her that was a reference to something that was considered extremely badass, but she chose not to comment in a meta way. It just didn't seem to do that quote justice, so instead, she went with pure honesty. "Whoaaaaa... that sounds super awesomely cool." she whispered, then shouted the end in excitement.

"Yup, and it's true. I once fought an Abnormal in the midst's of a massive storm. Didn't even get bothered by the weather thanks to my armour." Nico explained, puffing his chest in pride as he remembered that memory. While a pang of pain exploded within at the reminded of his loss, Nico didn't let it distract him as he turned on his heels and began walking towards the door leading to the outside. "Anyways, let's go. We can't keep the others waiting, can we?"

"Nope, lets' go, yo!"


After leaving Compa's house, Neptune and the party ventured out to Planeptune, intending to get to the Planeptower, where they would be able to use the Sky Harbour. The Sky Harbour was the only means of getting between the nations of Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox from Planeptune. However, there was one small detail that became VERY apparent shortly into their little trip…

They got lost.

"Um, Neptune, you sure this is the right way?" Nico asked while sweat dropping. They had been wandering the streets for what felt like hours, and still they were no closer to finding the Planeptower. He would have tried to find the right path but Neptune had not given him the chance, just literally pulled him by the sleeve of his Trench Coat out the door with Compa and IF following suit.

Made for a fun ride, that's for sure.

Neptune waved him off dismissively. "Pft, of course I'm sure, Nicky. I'm all but certain that it's this way!" Nico looked to where she was pointing, then recalled the trip they had made thus far and face-palmed, it was the same direction they had been taking the last 5 times, meaning they'd been walking in circles.

"I think we've been walking in circles." Compa stated bluntly with a weak smile and a sweat drop on her forehead. She looked to be slightly winded from all the walking, but not too much. After all, she had been fighting for the last couple days, so her body should only naturally be in the beginnings of increasing its endurance and stamina.

They all looked to IF, who was still pressing buttons on her phone. When she noticed their gazes, she looked up at them and looked at them incredulously, "… you serious? We haven't gotten there yet? I've just been following you, I've just stayed in Planeptune, never did venture outside much. And even if I did, I wouldn't be able to remember how." She explained, before she looked towards Nico with a raised brow. "what about you, Nico? Surely the Guild sometimes lent you and other Agents to the other Nations."

"True, they did." Nico nodded in admission, crossing his arms. "I was lent a lot to other nations, but sadly it's not the same way everyone else does it. we're usually para dropped from an aerial transport right where we need to be, with everything explained to us along the way. So, I'm unaware of how civilians and Guild Agents nation hop. I would have used my Bracers to find out, but…" he held up his Bracers, and true enough they seemed to be busy downloading something. There was an ellipsis in the middle of their screens with a bar above and the word 'Downloading', the bar slowly being filled. "They're downloading information now, info about the layout of the other nations to be exact, plus their dungeons and bestiaries. It's taking all their processing power, so I'm a dud."

Seeing that even he was useless, despite how much it pained him, IF gave a groan as she sighed in defeat. "Alright, lemme check…" she began before beginning to use her phone. As time passed though, her expression turned more and more irritated by the second, until she snarled through gritted her teeth. "C'mon, work you piece of crap!" eventually she gave in, sighing loudly as she pocketed her phone with a grumpy look on her face. She then looked at them all apologetically while pocketing her phone, "Sorry guys, my phone's internet connection fuzzed out. Looks like we'll have to ask around." She admitted reluctantly.

The Spec Ops Agent sighed in reluctance as well, this was a setback to their plans. if anything, he had learned that unexpected things happened and thus they had to just deal with it. "Although I don't want to, I'll have to agree with you there. Let's look around see if we can find someone. Someone who looks trustworthy, we don't want to run into any criminals. #shudder# not making that mistake again…" the male shuddered when he remembered his days as a Rookie in the Guild, when he too got lost and couldn't do much but ask someone. Turned out he had run into a couple thugs so he had to beat them up, which wasn't easy back then, and turn them in. He'd met another Agent by chance and they told him where to go.

"Hmm? How about her?" Neptune asked as she pointed to someone, a female it looked like, in the distance, sitting by a bench minding her own business. the female turned out to be a small young girl, sitting next to some… weird ball thing with feline features, Nico noticed. She was a light brunette, with dusty yellow-brown eyes, her hair long enough to reach down her entire body, wrapped into two large pigtails, held together by small yellow bells. She wore some sort of school uniform, which surprised Nico since he didn't expect schools for young children to be open right now. It consisted of a white top, a red bow, a green skirt, and black flats with green socks. What REALLY intrigued him were her cat ears and tail.

Nico evaluated her in his mind, calculating and processing the pros and cons, leading to a tension in the air… before shrugging his shoulders and dispersing it with a "She seems legit." Without a care in the world. Turning to the others, Nico noticed their dumbfounded expressions, and tilted his head curiously."What? Do you know what gender commits the most crimes?" he asked before pointing to himself. They soon got his meaning. "Asking a girl is safer than a guy, trust me. I may be a bit sexist there…" he muttered the last part under his breath, so nobody heard. But the girls all thought it, though they didn't comment on it.

Moving forwards before people sue for sexism...

And so, Neptune was the one who went to ask for directions, although the others did protest but Nico shot them down by saying it was Neptune who saw her first, and since she wasn't all that threatening it would be easier to get the info they needed. They couldn't argue with that, and silenced their protests before watching her leave.

Over at the bench, the girl was leaning back with her hands on the bench, eyes closed and basking in the sunlight that showered her body. "It's a nice and warm day again, Nyu…" she muttered in satisfaction. Her little… ball thing meowed in agreement with its mistress's words, adopting the mannerisms most cats have when basking in the sun. "A nice cup of bitter hot tea would hit the spot, Nyu."

Her ears picked up footsteps and a shadow loomed over her, making the girl open her eyes to see Neptune standing there with a nervous yet polite expression on her face. "Hello…" the girl greeted awkwardly, before rushing to continue her question before the greeting could be responded to, "Can I ask you something?"

"What Nyu?" the girl replied with a question of her own as she sat up straight, keeping her head turned to face the new person who had walked up to her and disturbed her sun-bathing… with clothes on. "Is there something you want with Broccoli, Nyu?"

The moment that the girl heard the name of the small, er, smaller girl, her previous anxiety was dispersed into the winds as a pair of stars replaced her eyes as she ogled the younger girl. "Oh, your name is Broccoli? That's so cute that I wanna call you "Puchiko"!" she gushed like a typical fangirl when she was in the presence of, or talking about, her crush.

It seemed that the other girl, Broccoli or 'Puchiko' as she had been called, didn't like the second name and made to correct her with a face that seemed derisive. "It's not "Puchiko" its "Broccoli" Nyu." She stated in defence of her name.

Unfortunately, Neptune didn't seem to care about that right now, as she simply waved it off dismissively, "Let's not split pears, okay?" she responded, showing Broccoli that despite her attempts, anything she tried to do to stop her from calling her Puchiko was useless.

Thus, she gave a blunt statement that hit like a tongue of bricks. "You're terrible at listening, Nyu."

The insult and the statement it was in went in one ear of the head of Neptune and out the other, completely harmless, much to the brunette's chagrin. "Anyway, I wanna ask you, Puchiko, how do I get to Planeptower? I'm supposed to go there, but, um, I don't know where it is…" she ended, some of her nervousness revealing itself once again although she did a very good job at hiding it.

Deciding not to bother with the Puchiko comment and respond to the girl's question, Broccoli smiled and pointed down the direction of a street that Neptune had never noticed before. Unlike most of the streets, this one seemed to be increasingly busy, busier than the ones that she and the others had travelled on. "Well, Nyu. Just head down there and you'll see a sign for it, Nyu."

Now that she had a better idea of where to go, Neptune's happiness meter skyrocketed as she pumped a fist. "Sweet!" she exclaimed happily, before quickly turning and making to leave. "Thank you! I've gotta run now, bye-bye!" she yelled, looking behind her at the small girl while waving as she retreated.

Broccoli watched her leave and group with some girls and a guy. She was surprised to see a guy with a bunch of cute girls, but soon got over it. If they were comfortable with him then it was okay, plus it wasn't any of her business anyways. The way he looked and how he moved though, intrigued her. It looked like he was some sort of soldier or a Mercenary, or some other position that involved lots of combat, which wasn't uncommon in Gamindustri but usually they were next to useless. That guy however, seemed to be the opposite. "Who's that boy with them, I wonder… now that I think about it, Hm, I think I've met her before, Nyu… let me think for a bit, Nyu."

...

...

...

...

For a moment, her face was redder than cherries as steam rolled off her head. random civilians walked by and gave her curious and slightly concerned stares, whispering things like 'where's that girl's parents?' or 'Is she sick? she should be at home, resting' although these comments were nevertheless ignored in the grand scheme of things. One child even asked his mother who that girl was, only for the parent to hurriedly usher the child away while telling him to ignore the crazy people.

A gasp tore from her small mouth as her eyes shot open wide in recognition, the redness and seam vanishing instanty. That purple hair, that hoodie dress, that annoying nickname she gave her upon seeing her, it all made sense. Only one person could have those traits. "Oh, that's right! that was Nep, Nyu!"

After getting the directions from that bystander that Neptune said was 'Puchiko', although through means he would not say Nico knew her name was Broccoli and that Puchiko was a nickname she didn't like that Neptune had forced onto her, the group of four found themselves where they needed to be.

The city had disappeared behind them and they were left in front of a large building. The area behind the building was a white-yellow gate with a fence spreading to both sides. Behind that was nothing but air, air and clouds that is. 'So, this is what the civilians use to travel between nations, huh?' Nico mused as he cupped his chin and thought to himself. 'Judging from what I'm seeing, the building here is for those who want to pass it, there must be people inside who specialise in travel like a travel agency. Although how they actually get across is still a mystery…'

Unaware of the sole male party member's thoughts, Neptune looked around and got herself lost in her own little world. "The ground. its split open!" she exclaimed, pointing to the edge of the Landmass behind the gate and fence with awe in her eyes. She then turned to where the others were, her eyes filled with childish glee. "This must be where the Ancient battle must have ensued! A battle where a Goddess and an Evil God seal each other with their weapons!"

'Pretty sure that's a reference there, Neptune…' Nico thought, holding a hand over his face, but NOT face-palming. She may be random, but he was slowly getting used to it. He surprised himself with how easily he had grown fond of the preteen, her innocent outlook on life plus her quirky personality seemed to just suck people in, even if they were the scum of the earth.

Meanwhile, IF grew frustrated, if the groan she let out at Neptune's antics was any consideration as she looked over to Compa. "What is she talking about?" she asked/whined. It was like she was having a mental breakdown from trying to understand the gibberish that came out of the preteen's mouth.

Their resident Nurse-In-Training gave a weak smile as she tried to support the Guild Agent, "Nep-Nep says a lot of random things, but you'll get used to it." she said in a comforting manner. unbeknownst to the others, Nico was desperately holding back a snort, Neptune did say random things, but because of his experiences with another fourth wall breaker he knew they were references to different forms of media. Though, he was still getting used to her randomness, and he had known her longer.

"If you say so…" IF reluctantly adhered to Compa's explanation, but had to make a comment of her own about the purple haired amnesiac. "But still, for losing her memory, Nep sure knows a lot…"

All Compa could do was laugh weakly. At that moment, the awkward atmosphere was shattered when Neptune called out, "Oi, Iffy, Compa! The view from up here is awesome!" Nico looked to her when she said that last bit and when he noticed where she was, well… if he had been drinking something he would have spat it out from the shock he was in. "Oh wait, are you scared?"

"Neptune what the hell are you doing up there?!" Indeed, Neptune appeared to have somehow gotten on top of the Gate itself and was using it as a lookout post. She was close to the edge, dangerously so, and without his armour Nico feared he wouldn't be able to catch her if she fell. Neptune looked over to him with a head tilt, confused on why he was yelling so much. "Why you yelling, Nicky? Wait, could you want to join me? Come on then, the view's great!" she cheered, beckoning to a space beside her that looked terribly unstable for someone to sit on it.

Before the male could respond to that, Compa decided to inform them of what this place was, Neptune because of her amnesia, and Nico because he used another form of transportation, usually. "Nep-Nep, Ni-Ni, this is a "Sky Harbour". Its where we go to get to the other lands. The lands aren't connected, so we need to go through here." She explained pointing at the Gate.

'She didn't say HOW we get across, maybe I should- oh wait, looks like Neptune's about to speak.' Nico thought, before glancing at their party leader to see she was about to open her mouth. "Uh, how do you get across?" she asked unknowingly voicing the male's thoughts to his pleasure. Then, her mind started forming ideas with a splice of her… randomness. "I know! Jump, right? like while saying "wahoo"!"

Nico rolled his eyes at this but didn't say anything since IF did it instead. "Why not grow a moustache and jump then?" she spoke half-heartedly, if she knew Neptune like she did, then the preteen might actually do that, just for the LOLs. She looked to the building beside the Gate, before turning to the rest of the gang and continued in a more serious voice with sharp, blade-like eyes. "We need to go to the Basilicom. We fill papers there and once we get approval, we can go across freely."

This made the male raise a brow. He had to know how she knew this procedure. But he didn't even have to ask because when IF saw his face she must have figured out his intention and spoke to him, "The Basilicom is one of the highest-ranking powers in any nation, just under the Government. They control the Sky Harbours, so it's only natural we get their permission. Now stop dragging ass and head on over."


The party made their way to the entrance of the Basilicom, and when Nico was about to open the door himself, Neptune suddenly pushed past him and kicked them open, yelling "HELLO-!" as she did so. The interior of the Basilicom looked like a massive hallway, with golden frames and pillars, multi coloured glass window as well as an altar at the back. There were multiple men in white and purple robes in various places, talking to each other. Though this ended for some when they heard Neptune's… entrance.

Gritting his teeth, Nico bonked her on the head with a tick mark on his forehead, "you idiot, why do you have to shout like that?! This is a sacred place to many you know!" he yelled at her as he took the role of a scolding parent. The others could only sweat drop when they saw them somehow change into a chibi version of themselves, Neptune in the Japanese sitting position with crocodile tears falling down her cheeks, hands on her lap in fists and a rising bump on her head. Nico had stood over her with his arms crossed, his eyes narrowing down at her as he ranted off about manners and other stuff.

Compa could only smile weakly while sweat dropping, "Ni-Ni's acting so much like a parent to Nep-Nep…" she stated with a nervous chuckle. This reminded her of a few times in her childhood when Nico would catch her doing something she shouldn't, and would proceed to scold her afterwards. Her grandfather, in one of his moments, allowed it because Nico showed himself to be mature for his age.

IF nodded, but unlike the Nurse-In-Training, she was doing better at keeping her emotions in check, although she did have some irritation on her face as she scowled at the two. "They don't realise that they're drawing attention to themselves, do they?" she remarked, watching as several staff members were looking at them weirdly. She didn't know how much more she could take of this humiliation, though.

However, it was fortunate that she didn't have to find that out as soon enough one of the staff members walked up to them, unperturbed by the sight of the two. "Welcome to Planeptune's Basilicom." He greeted, which was enough to stop the two's little episode, and make them look over to the man with their forms restored… fanfiction logic. "What brings you here today?"

Instead of Nico or Neptune who answered, IF did, thinking that those two had done enough for their reputation. "Could we get crossing approvals to go to Lastation?" she asked, adopting a formal posture and tone of voice, which was the norm for situations like these. Nico watched her with an impressed look on his face. While he was slightly embarrassed about losing it like that, he was glad someone had the sense to rein in their emotions like that.

"All three… no, four of you to Lastation, correct?" the man asked. He had been about to say three, until he noticed the male of the group. Nico got the feeling that the man didn't like him the instant he saw him, and not just because of the fact he had started something in the Basilicom. Nods of affirmative and a "Yessy!" from Compa were their responses. The man nodded before walking to a nearby cabinet and taking out a form and pen. He walked back and handed it to them, "Very well, then. Please fill out this form and sign right over here." He told them, to which IF began the procedure. It would be a list, that was for sure.


Half an hour later, the form was filled in. There was some fine print to read through, much to Neptune's dismay, but once that part was finished all they had to do was place their names on the paper and place it back in the hands of the Staff member. Once he had the form back, the man looked it over for any details missed while recounting what they saw. "So, Ms. IF, Ms. Compa, Mr. DEATHSTROKE," he nearly shit his pants when he realised who that was, much to Nico's amusement. He wouldn't look down on him anymore, that's for sure. Was the difference between his human and armoured form really that great? "and Ms. Neptunia, correct?"

'Oh Goddess… another person who can't pronounce Neptune's name…' the male Spec Ops Agent thought in dismay. Hand? Meet Palm. It's nice to meet you, shall we meet often? At this rate, he was sure his hand would have an imprint on his face and he'd have to wear his Armour, once he got it back, forever to hide it.

It seemed that he was not the only one annoyed though, as Neptune looked at him with said emotion as she put her hands on her hips with her legs spread apart, an angered expression on her face. "Hey mister, my name is "Neptune" not "Neptunia."" She spoke, correcting him for the mistaken terminology. Although, that was the name of the Franchise, so...

The man blinked for a moment, before realising his error. He sweated lightly, a light blush of embarrassment crossing onto his features at what he had done. He then tried to apologise to the affronted amnesiac. "Oh, my bad. How awful of me, mistaking such a loli-cute girl like you…"

'Uhhhhhh… am I supposed to raise the 'stranger danger' flag? Because he looks like someone you don't want to meet in the night with that face…' Nico thought, feeling a sense of disturbance in the way that man looked to Neptune. His eyes swiftly gazed over her form before focusing back to her eyes, his smile carrying a touch of something he would rather Neptune NEVER be exposed to. 'Back… away from him… slowly, Neptune.'

Composing himself when he saw the glares from both Nico and IF, the staff member cleared his throat awkwardly, though the preteen and Compa were the only ones who didn't notice, before looking down at the form in his hand. "Let's see now…" he began, skimming down to the bottom before finding Neptune's name and attempting to correct his earlier mistake. "Neptuune… Neptyu…toon…"

It was clear though that he was failing miserably, and it was leaving Neptune in down spirits. "Ah… is my name really that hard to say?" Neptune asked with a pouting face, which made her look even more adorable in the older man's eyes.

Though it took one glance towards Nico, whose eyes the man swore looked like skull sized flames for a moment, to make him snap back to attention. An ashamed look crossed onto the Basilicom Staff member's face as he tried to smile comfortingly at her. "Oh, no, no! Not at all! I'm just having a bad day, that's all." He tried to say, only for it to make the situation worse when the petite amnesiac looked even more depressed. Well, it wasn't a good comeback, anyways.

While the Basilicom staff member left to get the forms through the right processes, IF shook her head at the man's inability to say such a simple name. 'Seriously, Nico can say it, so he's alright, but this guy? C'mon, seriously…' she thought to herself with a mental groan. She then perked up before turning her head to Compa. "By the way, Compa? Can you say "Neptune"?" she asked her hopefully, anything to get Neptune out of her funk.

Unfortunately, Compa also formed an apologetic smile on her face as she remembered their first meeting and her inability to say Neptune's name right after she introduced herself. "Well, I couldn't, so that's why I say "Nep-Nep"" she explained, giving her a short version of their first meeting.

"Then can you say, "Planeptune"?"

Now Compa took on a confused face, simply uttering the word "Planeptune?" as IF had just done.

This earned a groan from the Guild Agent, she couldn't believe this. "I don't understand why you can't say "Neptune" when you can say "Planeptune."" She remarked, before getting a hand on her shoulder from behind. She felt it and immediately realised who it was, her saving grace. Turning her head, IF saw Nico with a shake of the head, telling her to let it go as one of those mysteries that may never be solved. Sounded like a plan, so let's do it!

Once she nodded to him, Nico went to the depressed Neptune, who had taken her depression out on a seat by deflating herself vertically over it. the male then grasped her shoulder, shaking it to get her attention. Looking up at him, Neptune saw Nico give her a smile of reassurance, trying to cheer her up. "Don't worry Neptune." He said, stressing her name to further pronounce his point. "Even if nobody else can say your name, I will. I'll always call you by your real name, Neptune."

Her eyes, which were depressed earlier, filled up with life at the sound of him saying her name correctly as she jumped onto him, wrapping her arms and legs around him as she tried to crush him in her embrace. "Eeeeeeek! You really know how to make a girl feel happy, Nicky, you smooth talker, you!" she squealed happily while burying his face into her chest.

"Hey, get off Neptune, what are you doing?!"


After a short while of Nico trying and eventually succeeding in pulling the girl off him, although he needed IF and a Jealous Compa's help, the Staff Member returned to them, no forms in his hand this time as he gave them a polite smile. "Sorry for the wait. You're all ready to go." He swiftly gave a pointed gaze towards Nico while his attention was elsewhere, before it returned to the girls. "You should be able to travel between Lastation and Planeptune freely now."

"Thanks." IF said simply, though she had notice his staring at Nico. 'He's just jealous that Nico's able to travel with a bunch of girls. Perverted bastard can't hold a candle to that guy…' she thought, glancing to the male who was making sure that Neptune and the Staff Member were unable to get close to each other, though really only the latter wanted to be closer despite his professionalism. The difference between the two was clear as day, Nico was exempt from IF's usual opinion of guys, his actions and his dedication to making sure Neptune and Compa, and a few times herself, were happy and smiling, was proof enough of that.

Neptune then remembered something and quickly went to ask the man just as he was about to leave them. "Oh, mister? I wanted to ask, but is the Goddess around?" she asked him.

When hearing her question, the man paused mid step and turned back to them. Walking over to them once again, the man aimed a slightly smug smile at Nico for being able to spend additional time around Neptune the 'loli-cute girl' he referred to her as. He then turned his attention to Neptune and answered her question. "I think Lady Purple Heart is up in Celestia. She hasn't come back down here yet." he explained.

At the mention of the name of the Planeptune Goddess, Nico's mind raced into overdrive as pieces fit into a puzzle in his mind. 'Transformation, similar name to Planeptune, HDD [Hard Drive Divinity] the opposite to my demonic DPU powers which would be divine… oh shit, could Neptune be….? I guess it's more than likely since no normal human could survive falling out of the skies…'

"I see…" Neptune responded with a disappointed look in her eyes. "I thought that maybe the Goddess would be around. Shucks…" she whined, before sighing.

'If you are who I think you are, Neptune… then that statement is very ironic.' Nico thought to himself trying to keep a straight face. Years of wearing armour that had a Mask helped him greatly in this, so he kept his emotions in check this time. Meanwhile, the Staff Member tried to assure the girl about their Goddess. "Well. I heard that the other CPUs have appeared to protect their lands… I hope Lady Purple Heart is all right…"

Hearing this, IF frowned as a thought occurred to her. "Maybe something happened in the Console War?" she offered up a suggestion. It could happen, no matter what religious folk try to say otherwise. After all wars were unpredictable, and the Console War between the CPUs was no exception, so who knows?

In a typical manner befitting of a devotee of the Planeptune Goddess, the Staff member vehemently shook his head in denial. "That can't be." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Lady Purple Heart would never lose to the other Goddesses…" he said, putting his entire being into that sentence. It was a plus that he believed in his Goddess so highly, everyone would give him that at least.

"Um, hello? What's this about a Console War?"

Everyone looked at Neptune incredulously, until Nico remembered that she had no memory and mentally face-palmed at his neglect to inform her of such an important event… well, at least to those in the religious department. 'Ugh, I forgot to tell her. She just seems to be so knowing with those fourth wall breakings that I got distracted. Tch, and I call myself DEATHSTROKE…' he scolded himself in his mind.

Unaware of his thoughts, and not at all perturbed by the question, the Staff Member supplied the information she requested. "It's a battle that started in eons past for rulership of Gamindustri. It's said that the last standing CPU will become a God to rule Gamindustri." He explained. It seemed that he was used to answering that question, which meant he had likely said it many times to small children who had asked… Nico suddenly shuddered, hoping that man wouldn't go THAT far for his loli fetish.

"So, the CPUs have been fighting for years in Celestia." IF summarized, seeing that Neptune was beginning to look confused, her childish mind not comprehending the amount of information told her about something that didn't seem to interest her. She had only asked because of small curiosity that quickly faded into nothingness when the response began.

Nevertheless, even with a lack of interest, Neptune still formed a perplexed expression as she looked down in thought. "Not sure what's so great about beating each other up. Why not be friends?" she wondered, a little bit of sadness in her tone that Neptune didn't even realise she was expression, with the look on her face being any indication.

Nico nodded his head and crossed his arms, "They've been fighting for hundreds of years, Neptune. For them, they likely know no other way." He explained, before his face turned to one of melancholy, "all the weakness in this world is due to lack of ability…" he muttered, a lost look in his eyes before he blinked rapidly, his focus coming back to him. "Huh? what did I just say…?" he wondered, not noticing the looks on the others faces, even the Staff Member was confused.

"What Nico said was true, the first part anyways…" IF began, shaking her head to push those suspicious thoughts to the back of her mind. She'd ask him when they were alone or something. "But with how long they've fought, I guess there's no turning back. Anyway, let's get going. Off to Lastation we go."

"Okay then. Well, see you again, Mr. Nice Guy!"

"Thank you, and you be careful, now."


With that, Neptune and the others left for Lastation, to find the second Key Fragment. After the doors closed, the Staff Member left to go pursue his own matters for the day. While walking down a corridor by himself, the man let out a perverted, and slightly creepy, smile. "That Neptune girl was so small and cute… I hope she comes back again." He remarked dreamily, before his face morphed into a jealous scowl. "Preferably without the company of that brute with her." The man then began to wonder about her, and not in the perverted way he did before. "…I'm pretty sure I've seen her before… Hmmm…"


Chapter end!

GODDAMN, that was a long ass Chapter! I edited it so much, added new content and made grammar checks, and when I looked at the word cunt my mouth nearly dropped. Longest chapter to date, people, so enjoy!