Alright boys and girls, it is finally time to start the Leanbox Arc. Boy I have been wanting to do this for SO long, you have no idea. Now in this arc, I plan on several things: More about the History between the DPUs and Gamindustri. If you've read the other chapters you can tell i've been building them up in small pieces, like the Carnival of Horrors, the Demons emerging from the Hellgates, etc. Nico is going to have his work cut out for him, and not just with these issues either.
More about the Prejudice towards the Spec Ops Program will be brought up here, to showcase how a religiously devote world like Gamindustri still refuses to completely accept them. While some are allowed, the majority of Spec Ops share the fact that they don't worship any CPU with the followers of a certain deity. That alone won't do them any favours, and then there's the prejudiced assholes in power at the moment, they will not be making it easy for these Agents.
Not only that, but its time for the Harem to be updated +2: Vert and IF.
Now, IF has been hinted at throughout the story, with small moments between her and Nico. These have been intentional to set up the foundation for her addition into the harem, but it will take time. I'm thinking she could have a bit of a heartbreaker's personality, like once she knows what she wants she's not going to be shy about it, she's going to be a real woman and nuke her rivals in the dust. Even if one of them happens to be the beloved Gaming Goddess. She just strikes me as someone who wouldn't lose her cool in situations like those, even with that cute side of hers. Also, to do with her cute side, I've seen many fics that use this cute side as a means of getting her into romantic situations, so I'm going to do something different with her character.
In addition, there's Vert, the Gaming Goddess. Now, Vert has already been hinted to have a past history with Nico in the Lastation Arc, if you think back to it you'd have noticed there was a segment where Nico is gaming on his Laptop. There's a reason for that. It'll be a little difficult, but I think I have a good, realistic way for getting Vert into the Harem, as well. Remember, my Harem fic is aimed towards a believable manner, and so far I feel like i've delivered on my promise so far.
Anywho, lets do something I haven't done for some time now: respond to reviews:
TheReginS1 - Thx for the compliment, hope you keep reading.
CPU-BLANC-WHITE HEART - You'll have to wait on those plans till the Lowee Arc, my friend. These arcs are going to be long, detailed with good plot (hopefully) and decent character development.
Kamencolin - Same as ol' Regin above, thanks for the comments and keep reading
ARSLOTHES - Now you, my good sir, are going to LOVE this Arc, since you've said on several of my stories you want some IF action. Seems kinda 'iffy' to me... k, bad pun, I know.
Now that we have that out of the way, just a quite note: the Poll is still up, so please put your votes in. It'll end after the Leanbox Arc, so get voting!
With that out of the way, let's continue, shall we?
Chapter 50 - To Leanbox
At long last, the Party was now at Leanbox. Nico had informed them that the Guild had put the Sky Harbor on hold for them as a favor to them since they'd done a Quest without getting much of a reward. Speaking of which, the male had returned to his normal self by the time he returned to the girls, and after a glomping from Neptune and Compa, IF had asked him how the talk went. He had responded that it went swimmingly, though she noticed a flash of something in his eyes, something that said that he was hiding something. She would have pried further, but they had an appointment with the Sky Harbor to meet, so she put it aside for now.
"Here we are, Leanbox at last!" Neptune cheered, throwing her arms up in the air as she and the others stepped out of the Sky Harbor. She then spun around on one leg, like an ostrich now that the Party thought about it, and faced them with a wide smile on her face. "The Author sure took his time getting this update on Fanfiction, didn't he/she? At least compared to earlier chapters."
Once again, Neptune went and did her fourth wall breaking, making the others sweat drop at her antics. Meanwhile, passing by civilians gave her weird looks, the kind of looks that on got when people wondered if they came from some insane asylum. Some children looked to their parents with curious looks on their faces, asking about her only for the parents to usher their children away from the 'crazy lady' in their eyes.
"Putting the Meta on hold for a moment," IF began, ignoring the pouting expression on the preteen's features as she looked to the rest of the City. "This is Leanbox, Land of Green Pastured, ruled by Lady Green Heart. This Nation, unlike the previous too, has the best quality touring spots. There;s countless resorts, water parks, and other activities to do here so people often come here on vacation or for retirement. It helps that the nature here is the purest of the four Nations." she explained to them.
Compa eyed the clothes people wore in Leanbox, curious and intrigued. Being someone from Planeptune, which consisted mostly of people who wore casual outfits, she wasn't used to seeing the kind of dress code Leanbox had. The people here seemed to wear mostly conservative clothing, like dresses, gowns, large hats to conceal their faces among other clothing types. Every Nation had their own dress code, or fashion culture as part of their history. Planeptune's casual, easy going, laidback attitude reflected its clothing choices, same with Lastation's stiff, formal clothing and now Leanbox's stuffy, conservative clothing. "The people here must be afraid of sunburn if they wear such large, stuffy clothes."
Nico chuckled, amused at Compa's intake on their clothing. It didn't seem very surprising to him, due to him having been in Leanbox on multiple Mission assignments back in the day. "You comment on their clothes NOW Compa? What, not when we saw so many suits in Lastation?" he asked her, a light snicker escaping his lips which made Compa chuckle sheepishly. Lastation's citizens, to suit their formal, rigid nature, usually wore formal outfits as their standard dress code, like overcoats, dress pants, shoes, among others. Yet Compa hadn't even commented on that when they were there. It was a show of how... selective, she could be, something that Nico always did find amusement in.
"You guys!" Neptune whined, jogging up to them with a pout on her face. She looked like she was annoyed about something, and when prompted to explain why, she did so with gusto. "No need to leave me outta the fun stuff, geez!"
IF raised a brow in her direction, a hand on her hip as she regarded the CPU of Planeptune. "I'm honestly shocked that you would have an interest in fashion, Nep." she commented, surprised. "You typically don't pay much attention to clothing trends... or anything that doesn't involve games or pudding." as if to prove her point, the brunette raised the hand that wasn't on her hip, and pointed to a nearby store. "We've been here for a few minutes now, but you haven't even looked at that Sweet shop there."
Her words made the preteen blink owlishly several times, temporarily confused on what she was talking about. "Eh?" she muttered, before following the direction the brunette's finger was pointing towards. Her eyes then lit up like search lights at seeing the Sweet Store, for the first time since they arrived in Leabox. "Ooooooooh, Leanbox Candy! Gimme, gimme,Gimme!" Neptune exclaimed, stars in her eyes.
She made to run forwards, not realizing that she would have to run by Nico to get to the Sweet Shop. This would prove to be her undoing, as she didn't see the male roll his eyes as he put a foot out. The result? Neptune tripping over his exposed foot, falling to the ground with her arms sprawled out in front of her. "Ouchies, what did I trip on, a rock?" she wondered, before looking behind her and seeing Nico's outstretched foot. She then looked at him with puffed out cheeks, irritated as she shot up to her feet. "Hey, what's the big deal, Nicky?! Hubby's don't trip their soulmates up like that!"
Nico rolled his eyes once again, before lifting a closed fist and holding out an index finger. "One, since when was I your soulmate or Hubby for that matter? Pretty sure you decided that without even consulting me, Neptune." he commented, before extending his middle finger alongside his index one. "And two: remember hat happened in Lastation? You think I'd just let you leave like that again?" Neptune pouted even more, opening her mouth to say something, but then closed it when she realized he was right. Seeing her defeated pout, Nico nodded in self-satisfaction. "Thought so. Anyways, I know a cheap yet decent Hotel nearby, so lets check there first. Leanbox's economy so far seems unlike Lastation's, so we should be able to afford a multi-room stay without dipping into my Credit stash."
After checking in to the hotel Nico recommended, the Party spent a good 4 hours napping, not bothering to do anything else. Neptune and Compa didn't show it, but they had been exceedingly tired from fighting such a tough enemy as that Defiler, while IF herself needed only a light nap, basically half an hour of rest, to restore her depleted energy reserves. Only Nico remained awake, and during that time he had done maintenance on his equipment. Overall, a boring time that didn't need much exposition.
Once everyone had rested and had something to eat via the Hotel's room Service (IF had to keep an eye on Neptune so she didn't go overboard with their orders) The Party decided to head out to the Basilicom. Now that they had a Hotel to stay at with fairly decent prices, they didn't have to worry about Questing so much, unlike in Lastation where they had to keep on top of Quests just to make ends meet.
While they were walking, Neptune and Compa chatted away with each other with IF and Nico behind them. The two were looking at the people that walked them by. Many of them wore loose, leather made clothing, with some even going to various tailoring stores. These stores looked to be doing well with each other, and there were sometimes people in more extravagant, posh clothing. Overall, the economy in Leanbox seemed much better than that of Lastation, putting some of their worries to rest. Most of their color schemes were a white with green as a secondary color. "Looks like Leanbox isn't declining like Lastation…" Nico remarked, having leaned towards his companion and whispered into her ear.
She did the same and responded with an equally hushed tone. "Looks like. Not that it's any surprise of course, Lady Green Heart would never allow corrupt assholes like Avenir to dominate her nation." she stated, smirking with confidence and pride in this Nation's CPU. Her eyes shined with twinkling stars of adoration, something only a devotee to a specific deity would have.
Noting the passion in her voice, a small smile found its way onto the male's face. "You really respect Leanbox's CPU, don't you?" he commented, getting a incredulous look from the brunette as she put a hand on her hip.
"Of course, I do. She's strong, smart, beautiful and everything a Goddess should be." She explained, puffing her chest out in pride. She then gave Neptune's head a dismayed gaze as her other hand palmed her forehead as she shook her head. "Which is why it's still surprising that Nep is a Goddess herself."
On that, he had to agree. A sweat drop formed on his head while his smile faltered. "Yeah, I kinda get what you mean. Anyways, here's to hoping Leanbox's issues won't trouble us further." He stated, although in his mind Biko was frowning. He could tell Nico was trying to act normal, but in truth he was very tense. The words that Helen had spoken to him, not just about his secret either, had shaken him up heavily. He feared the times they would encounter THEM highly, as not only would they be under prepared for them, but they would be closer to finding out his secret even if they didn't realize.
The demonic manifestation could only hope that things worked out well in the future.
Finally, the Party reached the Leanbox Basilicom. Unlike Planeptune's futuristic styled one, or Lastation's steampunk theme, Leanbox's opted for an older design, using wood and bricks as its structure. It was decorated with white and green coloring, with various statures of the CPU in both her human and her HDD form. Though, it was suspicious on how they got the forms so detailed, Nico noticed, a frown etched onto his lips. 'I bet a lot of perverts exist in Leanbox…' he thought in dismay.
Perverts were some of the people he hated most, more than murderers, rapists and pedophiles. Perverts treat women as nothing more than toys for sexual pleasure, demeaning the female gender to a level that it didn't deserve. While there weren't as many guys as there were girls in Gamindustri, most of them acted this way which didn't do them any favors. Him, Aiden, and Ivan despite how jealous and teasing he got sometimes, were few exceptions to this rule, and he hoped that there were more. This was due to past experiences and overall circumstances.
Compa looked up and around at the Basilicom, marveling at its design. She was also nervous, but with the last time they went to a Basilicom, it was to be expected. "So, this is Leanbox's Basilicom?" she questioned, turning to the others for confirmation.
Neptune nodded her head with her arms crossed under her chest and her legs spread apart as she evaluated the structure, as if trying to sense any evil within it. "It looks like it. Hope we don't get treated like back in Lastation." She commented, the Nurse-In-Training nodding in agreement.
"I hope so, too…"
"That shouldn't be the case." Their eyes turned to Nico who had his hands in the pocket of his Trench Coat as he looked upon the Basilicom with an even gaze. "I went ahead and did a little research on Leanbox's current affairs, and so far, I haven't seen any signs of corruption within its government. Also, the Guild's Spec Ops Branch is fairly small compared to Lastation and Planeptune's, which is a problem considering that I learned from my Mom that Abnormal and Hellgate Sightings are high in this Land." He told them, his gaze hardening slightly at the mention of the low Spec Ops numbers in Leanbox.
While concerned for the male's words, Compa didn't make any attempt to comment as she noticed IF fiddling on her Phone. She'd been doing it since they got near the Basilicom's vicinity, and it was drawing her curiosity. "By the way," she began, drawing attention to the brunette. "What is Iffy looking at on her Cell?"
Hearing her name being mentioned, albeit her nickname, IF paused whatever it was that she was doing and looked up, lowering her Phone as she did so. "Lady Green Heart's blog. There was just an update, so she must be here."
With that response, a slow but teasing grin fell upon Neptune's features. "Hahaha, no it can't be." She waved the comment off dismissively, her grin never faltering. "I'm pretty sure someone else is doing the blog entries." She continued in a jovial tone, waving her hand left and right with an index finger extended.
In response, IF just groaned in dismay, quickly growing irritated at Neptune's continued attempts to tease her over hr faith in the Leanbox CPPU. "Don't ruin my image any more than you need to!"
While detecting the edge in her voice, Neptune didn't seem very effected for it as she backpedalled a couple times with her hands raised in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry, but I didn't expect you to be so into Lady Green Heart's blog."
"Well, sorry for being a follower…"
Now that he thought about it, Nico wondered how her faith would fit with the other Spec Ops Agents when she finally joined their ranks. After all, while the Guild does allow for members to believe in whoever they want, the Spec Ops were well-known for their complete LACK of faith in the CPUs. Her faith was still strong, so he wondered and soon became a little worried. If she kept it to herself, then she'd be alright but if some of the more hateful Agents found out, then things could get messy. 'Maybe I should call Helen and see how that would go… warn her just in case… I'll do it later, since she's likely still reeling from what we talked about.'
Unaware of his thoughts, Compa shook her head at the preteen's trolling antics. "Oh Nep-Nep, stop teasing Iffy already. Let's go inside." She suggested as they reached the main entrance.
Seeing that they had no more time for casual talk, Neptune put her arms behind her head and whistled nonchalantly. "I wouldn't mind playing with iffy a bit more, but I guess I'll do it later." She commented, making IF groan at the thoughts while Nico gave her a glance of sympathy. Neptune was merciless when it came to teasing people. At this point, Nico was just used to it now, since it was part of her personality.
With that though, the Party went inside, Nico opening the door first and letting the girls go in, being a gentleman of course. He then walked in after them, closing the door behind him.
The Basilicom it seemed to match the colors seen outside, green and white with some areas being black. There were lots of workers wearing black robes wit green highlights, a tribute to the CPU no doubt. This was to be expected, considering that Lastation and Planeptune Basilicoms mirrored the Goddesses color as well in a form of respect to them for taking care of the Nations.
'Though, the idea of this one managing a nation actually makes me shudder with dread.' Nico thought as he glanced to Neptune, the preteen stepping forwards as she announced their presence, yelling that they were here to see the CPU. Although it was considerably lower in volume than the last time they were at a Basilicom, Nico noticed.
Soon enough, one of the workers, an elderly man with an aged face and a grey beard with matching hair, parted from some other workers he was talking to before walking up to them. He gave a warm, welcoming smile, which was a contrast to how they were treated back in Lastation. "My oh my, what a lively group of young ladies we have here." He commented, as his gaze fell on Nico. "As well as a strong young man as well." Nico barely resisted the urge to scowl at the man, since he was being cordial. He knew who this man was, and while the girls didn't see it but there was a slight disgust in them briefly when their eyes locked. "My name is Yvoire. What brings you here today?"
"We came to see the CPU. Is she around?"
After Neptune asked her question, Yvoire's face morphed to one of reluctance. "How amazingly unfortunate. Meeting time with the CPU is done for today." He told them, before gesturing to a board that hung on a wall beside the door. It stated the times where the CPU would accept visitors to talk to her, and from the looks of things they had just missed their opportunity. By a whole hour.
"Aw, come on." Neptune deflated, her shoulders slumping as she gave the man a puppy dog eyes technique. It made her cuteness level skyrocket and many of the workers look away while trying to hide their expressions. Nico glared at them while this happened. "She's here, right? Just a little peak. Only a little." She pleaded.
However, her pleas were for not as the man shook his head.
'Well, it's kinda our fault for being late, we did take that long nap after all.' Nico thought as IF stopped the preteen from humiliating herself further. Though, she did glare at some of the workers who were less… discrete about their bloody noses and red hues. "Nep, it's our fault for being late. We'll come again tomorrow."
Though it seemed Neptune wasn't quite finished yet as she shifted her attention to the brunette Guild Agent. "Giving up so quick?" she asked, throwing her arms down to the ground. "I thought you were all over the Goddess?"
IF began to stutter, her composure decreasing as several Workers looked at her in interest… though not the kind she would like. "Wh-What? M-Me? Y-Yeah, but this isn't the right place to say such a thing!" she stammered, though the look in her eyes told the others all they needed to know about how she really felt.
"Innocence is so cruel…" Compa remarked as she saw this spectacle.
Nico nodded his head sagely, kicking some dirt with his feet. "Yeah, I agree with you there, this is almost painful to watch…"
Yvoire aimed one assuring smile towards the brunette after giving a stare of condescension towards Nico, something the Spec Ops Agent was aware of. "As one who serves the Lady, I can't be happier with your admiration." He then gained a tone of regret as he continued. "But rules are rules. To add, the Lady has matters to attend to."
Compa had to sigh, seeing that there was no way that they'd be able to see the CPU for today. "Well, I guess we can't help it, then." She remarked with disappointment. They still had a lot of day left though, so what could they do to fill in the time?
Good thing that answer came from Nico himself, who had an idea. "Well, we can look for the Guild, see what Quests are available. I'm interested to see what the Abnormals here are like now." he commented. What he didn't say was that he wanted to go see these Hellgates, but the girls didn't call him out on it. much to his relief.
Of course, Neptune was all for it as she gave him a thumbs-up. "Sounds like a plan." She then made a small sound of realisation, before turning back to the elderly worker. "Oh, um, Mr. Eviler?"
"That's Yvoire to you, young lady."
'I get the feeling that she is just trolling him like she does to Noire…' Biko commented within his mind. It was merely an observation, nothing too harmful. Nico had long since learned that his demonic personification had little emotions to express, due to demons not having much emotion beyond bloodlust and combat. Biko on the other hand, was more of a cold, stone-faced warrior that was skilled in keeping any emotion he did feel to himself.
Still didn't stop them from casual banter though. His warrior personality made him great for blunt remarks. He resisted the urge to smirk back at the demonic personification mentally. 'Honestly, I also think she's doing it on purpose, Biko.' He responded, before bringing himself back to the conversation, feeling Biko doing the same. It felt good to have a fellow guy to talk to about these things. One guy in a group of girls was taxing on the sanity department.
Neptune then asked the question, likely not even hearing the older man's response earlier. "Do you know anything about a Key Fragment?"
Yvoire made to answer, when he realised what had happened with the preteen. "Wait, did you really get my name?!" he questioned, while Nico barely hid his chuckles at the girl's way of trolling him. This earned him a discreet glare from the man, but he didn't give a damn about him. There was a reason for this behaviour, and it had to do with a certain detail about the man that hadn't been revealed yet. all in good time, readers…
Their hidden contest was interrupted by the innocent words from one angelic Nurse-In-Training. "it would help a lot if you knew something Mr. Evilest." She said, unknowingly adding to Neptune's joke about his name.
"Did my name become worse?!" he wondered with slight increase in tones. The man then glared harder at the lone male of the group, doing his best to retain the secrecy, while Nico remained hiding his snickers as his shoulders bobbed up and down.
Before this could continue, Neptune continued with her question, bringing their attention back to her. "And just in case it looks like this." She said, looking to IF with a knowing expression as the Guild Agent relinquished the Key Fragment they found in Planeptune to her. She then held it in her hand before the older worker. "Have you seen one before?" she asked, not even bothering with the name stuff.
IF raised her arms and stepped back, totally done with this situation. "I'm not getting myself involved in this mess…" she muttered, while getting an agreement filled gaze from Yvoire.
"I see what you mean…"
Slowly, impatience began to grow within her as Neptune leaned from side to side, putting weight on her left leg, then her right before repeating the process. "Mr. Evil-whatchamacallit, do you know anything?" she questioned again, trying to keep her eagerness from her voice.
While he wanted to object, Yvoire decided not to. It seemed like a lost cause, the conversation anyways, so he looked down at the object in his hand. The white glow around it was almost mystifying to him, illuminating the bottom half of his face. He could only speak in awe as he viewed this object. "70 years of my life and I've never seen one like that before." he spoke in a breathless whisper, before handing the Key Fragment back.
Disappointment welled within her chest Neptune pouted, giving the Key Fragment to IF who placed it back in her Inventory. "Shucks"
Yvoire, despite how she got his name wrong, pushed it aside when he saw her disappointed look. To him, it didn't suit her in the slightest, and he hardly knew this girl at All! Neptune had that effect on people, even with her trolling ways. "But the lady may know, she was around for hundreds of years, after all."
His words sent Neptune into a state of shock at the apparent age of Leanbox's CPU. "Hundreds?!" she exclaimed, while making some counting motions with her hands, before giving up after counting to ten. "So that means Lady Green Heart is an old ha… urgh?!"
Before she could finish her sentence, which would have caused a major commotion if it was successfully uttered, IF clasped her hands over her loud mouth, a twitching brow over her right eye with multiple tick marks. "Okay, that's about it, Nep. Don't say a single word you were about to say."
"Urghmurgh!" Neptune tried to speak, but the hands on her lips wouldn't let her. She struggled to break free, flailing her arms fast enough that they were blurs. It was clear that she wanted to respond to IF's comment, but the brunette didn't trust that motormouth of hers for a second. Didn't help that she knew EXACTLY what Neptune had almost said, and it filled her with anger just thinking about it.
'… She was going to say old hag, wasn't she?' Nico thought to himself as he watched the scene. He had deduced what she was about to say, and while he was aware of the political fallout that would have cased for those who believed in Leanbox's CPU, many of whom were in this room, a small part of him had hoped that he could have seen the look on Yvoire's face.
Yeah, he didn't like the guy, stat.
'I believe that was what she intended. Young IF managed to stop her just seconds before a catastrophe would have occurred.' Biko commented. Oddly enough, he seemed… disappointed.
Raising a brow mentally, Nico decided to pry him for answers. 'What got you so sad, Biko? Something clicking or what?' he questioned.
Biko hummed within the back of his mind. 'While I do not share the desires of our race, the Demons, or the… psychotic tendencies that HE possesses… I do admit, I feel a little down that we did not get a chance to rip that man limb from limb.'
If he wasn't so good at keeping is composure, Nico would have blanched at the hostile tones that Biko was using to describe Yvoire. He knew why he hated him, so why did Biko hate him so much? The answer soon came to him, and he commented flatly. '… You read my mind, didn't you?'
His mental partner was back to his normal blank tone as he responded to his claim. 'Indeed. I looked up information you possess on this man, and I find him to be most undeserving of his position. Someone like him would be classed as lower than dirt in the eyes of the Demons.' While he didn't like the Demon race for what it planned to do to Gamindustri, he had to admit that Biko had a point. If what the Defiler said was true about their past, then the Demons would smite Yvoire down if they ever met him.
Watching all this, Compa couldn't help but smile weakly. She could tell what would have happened if the brunette hadn't stopped Neptune at the last moment, it wouldn't have been pretty. "Iffy, before Nep-Nep says something bad, I think we better head out." She suggested.
IF looked over to the Nurse-In-Training and pondered her suggestion for a second, before a nod was given. "You're right Compa. It'll be a disaster if Nep muddles things up." She stated, agreeing with her reasoning while ignoring the angry pout the preteen had been giving her.
She'd get her revenge in the form of merciless teasing later.
Compa then turned and lowered her upper body, her head hanging low as she addressed the older man. "I'm sorry. We'll come back tomorrow, then." She told him, before standing up and turning to leave with Neptune and Nico at her side, said boy giving the man a glare.
Yvoire shuddered at the glare, but did his best to remain composed and professional. "Yes, I'll be waiting." He spoke softly, hiding his disgust for the male in the group.
IF then did the same as her friend. "Good day, sir." She then turned on her feet and began walking to the exit with her companions ahead of her. While she did so, someone else entered the Basilicom through the main doors just as she did. IF didn't notice in time, this she bumped into the new arrival, startling both. Quickly, IF made to apologise. "Oh sorry. Are you okay?"
The unknown person was a woman wearing dark robes, with a veil that covered the top portion of her head but didn't conceal the dark violet hair she had. She gave a small smile of reassurance to the brunette. "No problem. I'm sorry for not paying attention too…" she said, entering the Basilicom while IF left it. She didn't notice though, the devious smirk forming on her lips as she went inside.
Outside, IF walked back to her companions, who were waiting for her outside. Compa gave her a smile in greeting, before she noticed how she rubbed her shoulder awkwardly. "What's the matter, Iffy?"
The Brunette waved her concern of with a flick of her hand, a dismissive nature in her response. "Just bumped into someone."
A frown found its way onto Compa's face as she heard that. "You should be careful iffy." She lightly chastised the Guild Agent.
Said Guild Agent scoffed at her, rolling her eyes in mock hurt as she spoke. "Yes, but at least I'm not as bad as Nep." She resisted the urge to smirk at the clumsiness that the Preteen Goddess possessed. She could literally stumble and fall on some random building. She knew this because she'd been there a few times. Neptune's clumsiness can be infamous, almost as much as Compa's when she sometimes trips and falls on Nico.
"Compa. Iffy. Let's go, or Nicky says we'll leave you behind."
"Okay, we're coming, Nep. And don't make-up things about Nico, alright?"
"Wait up, Iffy."
Back inside the Basilicom, Yvoire was thinking to himself, his face wrinkled with irritation that he had suppressed from the outside world. 'This is not good… the presence of DEATHSTROKE will once again rally potential Spec Ops Agents to the cause of mercenary work…. Which will in turn take followers away from the lady… I cannot allow that to happen. Whose goddamn idea was it to make such a heretic program anyways?' he wondered, making sure he was alone with his thoughts. Most of the workers had gone elsewhere, leaving Yvoire by himself.
Worse still, he had the gall to come here with a bunch of foreigners, so he couldn't act as he usually would, civil but with a condescending gaze, towards him since it would look bad on his Lady in other Nations. Lady Green Heart welcomed followers with open arms, no matter their nationality. The Spec Ops Program was an affront to that, as well as the other CPUs, for their lack of faith in them and only in their own strength. While their power was indeed formidable, they were nonetheless heretics and should be banished if he had his way.
Unfortunately, that was not the case, as legislation prevented him from doing anything too drastic without just cause. In addition, despite being Heretics, they were still proven useful in keeping the Abnormal monsters at bay. They were better than even Leanbox's own military, a sore point for him since he oversaw much of the Nation's military matters.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps. Another Guest? Well, this was a surprise, he didn't expect to have to entertain more guests today. Putting on his grandfatherly smile, Yvoire turned and walked to the centre of the hallway, where he would see te Guest. When he saw her, he identified her as a woman, cloaked in black robes and a veil, likely for religious reasons. He quickly felt something was off about her though, but nonetheless kept the kind smile on his face. "Oh, a guest? How may I help you?"
The woman stopped walking when she was within talking distance. A civil smile formed on her lips, though he couldn't see her eyes thanks to the veil. "My name is Conversation." She introduced herself in a formal bow, one that Yvoire recognised as a custom from the land of white serenity, which was confirmed moments later. "An Evangelist of Lowee." She procured a badge from within her robes and showed it too him as a means of confirmation of her job role.
An Evangelist? This piqued Yvoire's interest as he regarded the woman. Evangelists were meant to spread the faith of the CPU they believe in through other nations to obtain extra followers. It wasn't a tactic Yvoire found to be particularly tasteful, though he dared not question the methods of the divine. "How unusual…" he mused, stroking his beard with his right hand, before it fell to his side as he gave a curious gaze to the woman, Conversation was it? Why the odd name? Of course, he never said that out loud, that would be rude. Instead, he spoke something else. "And what brings an Evangelist of Lowee here?"
Conversation sensed the suspicion in the question however, and made to reassure the man that she was not here to cause trouble. "Please do not be alarmed." The began, raising a hand placatingly towards him. "I did not come to Leanbox to spread the word of Lady White Heart."
"Then the reason is aside from evangelizing?" Yvoire questioned further. He was even more suspicious of this woman's intentions now that I wasn't that of her job description. Usually those types were never up to anything good, and if there was anything Yvoire had learned in his 70 years of life, it was to keep your guard up when around those types of people.
The Evangelist nodded her head in response, before she responded. "Yes, I have come with information from our lady herself."
Yvoire raised a brow at this. "Information, you say?" he queried, his interest piqued while his gaze remained mildly suspicious. In his mind, he was pondering what the CPU f Lowee would have to gain from telling him this possible information. It was well known that Lady White Heart and Lady Green Heart often quarrelled for some reason, the reason having been lost to time. Thus, the willingness to part with such information was something he couldn't wrap his mind around.
"Yes." She replied. Her features, the ones he could see anyways, turned grim as she continued onto a topic that he himself tensed at. "It is regarding the worship of the Overlord."
The Overlord, Overlord Momus. Yvoire had heard pf this deity. It has been said that the Overlord is the one who will bring great change to the world of Gamindustri, returning it to what it once was. Yvoire found this to be utter nonsense, but even he was not stupid. He knew that there was a rising cult of citizens in every Nation trying to spread word of their Overlord, to gain the followers from other Nations and their CPUs. It was something he did not like admitting, but they had been growing in numbers even with his actions to stop it.
Thus, this information may prove useful, even with it coming from another Nation. "Yes, I have heard of this Overlord. In the past, people only believed in one of the four Goddesses. That was the way of things. However, with the appearance of Abnormal Monsters, as well as the formation of the Spec Ops Programme, the weakening powers of the CPUs allowed the emergence of a new deity: The Overlord. These cultists work by exploiting weaknesses and turning people to the side of the Overlord. The Abnormal monsters do not attack these Cultists, which further proves their outrageous claims." Yvoire's eyes narrowed at the woman with his tone gaining increasing edge. "you believe that Leanbox is threatened?"
"I don't believe so. With the increasing Abnormals, your Spec Ops are too busy fighting them to be of any threat to the Nation. Also, because of their small number, a lot of people may not support the CPU, but they do not support the Overlord either. The advantage for them is that the Spec Ops may be fewer in number, but they are more well-known than in the other Nations."
Conversation then turned tense as she made her next point. "However, suppose that people from afar came into Leanbox… this may disrupt the unsteady balance between these forces."
All this made sense to the devotee of Lady Green Heart. As much as he didn't like admitting it, what she said rang true, at least about the Spec Ops Agents here. They were fewer in number than the other Nations, but they were more well-known and loved by the populace. They were strong, skilled and had power to take out a variety of Abnormals. Even with their low numbers, the peace in Leanbox had been maintained by their hands. But what Conversation said last troubled him. "… And evangelise, as you…?"
"No." the woman shook her head firmly, indicating how offended she was at the very thought of such a thing as them evangelizing like she did. "They, like the Spec Ops you hold distaste for, are heretics and do not evangelize such as myself. Instead, they use the fear of the Abnormals and force people to swear to the Overlord. Because of the unsteady balance however, their growth rate is small. However, they do have ways of changing that from afar…. For example, the young girls and their sole male companion you have met earlier… They are Heretics… Followers of the Overlord, Momus."
Yvoire raised a brow again as he felt his breath catch in his throat. "What?! That I hard to believe, especially from those feminine youths such as them… as for that boy, DEATHSTROKE, I do not find it easy to believe h would cease to believe in his own strength to follow the Overlord. I have met him before, and his conviction, while in the wrong place, is very powerful."
The woman nodded in understanding, especially with DEATHSTROKE. She too was aware of his reputation in the Spec Ops community, one of the strongest yet not as well-known as the other ones, preferring to operate outside the spotlight. "As proof, they appeared in Lastation, where the Goddess Black Heart had lost many of her Shares… and summoned monsters, inciting fear and destruction to the city." She then pulled out an orb-like device, not unlike the Recon Drones Nico used, and pressed a button on it. "See for yourself."
She lifted it, so it was at waist level between them, and a large holographic screen appeared before the man. The screen showed a distraught looking an in a purple suit sitting in some form of interrogation room. Yvoire lost his breath when he saw how devastated the man looked. Smudges of blood on his chin, his eyes filled with despair, and his clothes torn in several places. He looked like he had seen hell and came back from it to tell the tale. "I can't believe what I saw, but it was real. The girl called Neptune summoned the monsters, destroying the city."
The man shuddered, his eyes shaking wildly as h held his head with his hands, digging his fingers into his scalp. "And that boy… DEATHSTROKE… he was the worst of them all, slaughtering everything in his path with nobody to stop him. Even some of our Spec Ops Agents fell to his blade. It was a surreal sight, seeing the young children laugh amid the chaos they had caused." He then held his waist as he shuddered. "Just remembering it brings me the shivers. Brrr…"
The woman then cut off the transmission, especially when she saw the signs of the man beginning to change character and didn't want her story to sound suspicious. "This is Mr G of Avenir. Since joining, he worked heard, earning rank among the Company. His outstanding background is proof he is one to be trusted."
Yvoire nodded his head in agreement, his doubts persisting though. "His background does speak words, yet…" He shook his head to erase his doubts. "I cannot believe such innocents could do such a thing… Especially with DEATHSTROKE, he is not one to act in the manner of killing citizens without just cause. Everyone he has killed has been proven to be a criminal, be it murder, rapist or worse."
At this, Conversation nodded in acceptance, as if understanding his reluctance to believe the things she was telling him. "Very well." She then turned on her heels, of which Yvoire noticed were dark purple and were attached to some stockings, as she began to make her way out of the Basilicom. Just before she could reach the door, Conversation turned her head and Yvoire got the sense she was looking at him. "Once I get further proof, I will be back again."
The door was opened and closed shut behind her, leaving the man to his thoughts once again. Yvoire frowned as he saw this, and began mulling things over. From what she said, it sounded like something was going on with those girls. Even if they weren't worshipers of Overlord Momus, they did seem to be the center of some attention, what attention that may be could either be good or sinister for Leanbox. As a worker with direct ties to the Oracle, who was given a leave of absence recently for her work, Yvoire had to oversee these matters as well as the military ones he would normally have.
What also troubled him was that the rise in Abnormal activity reported by scouts happened near instantaneously, like they were trying to hide something behind their large numbers. Whatever that could be he had no idea, but reports from Evangelists in Lastation told him that there were entire Dungeons filled to the brim with Abnormals. That alone seemed terrifying enough, with all this crap with Overlord Momus it made things all the worse.
They may need their Spec Ops more often than ever…
'No, we must not get those heretics any more power and love. If we do this, we will do it in a way that limits or even decreases the amount of credit the Spec Ops Programme gains.' The man thought firmly. It had been hard keeping the Spec Ops Programme suppressed in Leanbox, if things allowed them to gain any more publicity then all those years halting their progress would have been wasted and the Heretics may attempt a revolt against the Lady. That could not be allowed to happen, no matter the cost.
But how could he go about this? After all, the Spec Ops Heretics hadn't done anything that could be used to fabricate any crimes against them. If he didn't have anything to base it off, then it'll become more easily see through. The possibility that DEATHSTROE would do what Conversation said he did in Lastation seemed like the only option he had right now, but even then, he wasn't a Spec Ops Agent for Leanbox, but Planeptune, a foreign nation. It would be foolhardy to instigate anything against him as Planeptune may retaliate with force, and between the two Planeptune had the greater chance of winning in a military struggle. All that he could do was bide his time for the right opportunity to present itself.
This fact made Yvoire grit his teeth in frustration, his eyes flaming with rage and contempt as he headed off to continue the last of his duties. 'Those damn Heretics… how dare they swell in number like this. Why do they not see the light that is the divinity the CPUs possess? It boggles my mind that people would not believe in our Lady, or even the other CPUs.' He thought, clenching his fists.
Very few believed him for his claims that the Spec Ops Programme was the abomination that it truly was. The CPUs would have no trouble dispatching the Abnormals, it was only a matter of time when they would return to deal with the threat with their swift and divine wrath. Abnormal monsters are an issue only to be handled by those above them, that was what he firmly believed for all his life.
For there to be a program that allows HUMANS, normal mortals to achieve the power needed to fight them on equal grounds was unacceptable. Worse still, since Leanbox was the start of it all. It only added insult to injury in his eyes. It was only through luck that he had kept them suppressed in Leanbox as much as he did. he feared that his efforts would be in vain however, for the Abnormals would grow too strong and then Spec Ops Agents would be needed more than ever. That had to be avoided at all costs.
Chapter end.
Alright, now we get into the nitty gritty of the Spec Ops Program, and how Leanbox's officials view it. As you can see, Yvoire doesn't favor it very well because of how it takes faith away from Lady Vert. To me, with what we know about Yvoire from the Rebirth game and the original Hyperdimension Neptunia, he seems like a man who is both practical with a hint of racism. I was trying to portray him in that manner, while he hates the Spec Ops Program, he understands that it is a necessary piece to Leanbox's Military. He is the one who oversee's Leanbox's Military, and in the case of what he did in the games, the fact that he's involved with the military makes sense, since it gives him access to information that most people wouldn't know. It gives grounds for him to look into people he wold find suspicious or threatening to Leanbox's safety.
