Chapter 136 - Recovery
"And so… the enemy has finally been vanquished. After a long, terrible ordeal, the heroes have saved the day, beat back the baddies and are feeling pretty great right now…" Neptune chirped happily, back in human form with her hands on her hips and a proud aura around her. She looked like she had gone through the wringer though, and it looked quite clear that she had been exhausted, barely keeping her balance straight whilst her Share Energy recovered to its original quantity. Though, she did feel 'something' helping her energy return to it's original state amplifying it and speeding up it's recovery which thus explained why she was still moving up and about.
She then continued. "The Demons were pushed back, everywhere in the Basilicom was taken back, and MAGES. my old pal who apparently knew another me somewhere, switched off her barrier and let the Basilicom out of her grasp. She's gone though, said she hard work to do elsewhere, so yeah. It's a shame she had to go though, I wanted to thank her for all her help, cause without her we'd have been in a real bind especially with that meanie final boss monster… what was it called again? Oh yeah #shudder#" Briefly, Neptune shuddered at the memory of those burning eyes drilling their angry gaze into her very soul, before she resumed. "A Bloodthirster, pretty much someone with eternal anger issues that no amount of therapy could fix. Yikes, buddy, would it kill you to try and simmer down next time? I mean, life is good, life is awesome and fun! No need to keep killing, killing and killing or whatever."
"After all that stuff went down, we returned to the Main Hall on the ground floor. Compa and Lucy left us to go help those military guys and any other civvies who wound up all hurt during all that fighting and stuff. Me, Iffy, Aiden, Ivan, Guts, and everyone else are all doing our own thing right now, just resting p a bit from all that ruckus." Neptune stated…
Before she heard a familiar tomboyish yet also matured voice come from behind her. "Nep, who the heck are you talking to right now?" Quickly, she turned around to see IF walking up to her with a hand on her hip. Her face had been set in a stern, grim expression whilst her form looked to be retracting Tendrils. Even so, Neptune quickly bounded over to her, jumping into an intentional aerial glomp. "Iffyyyyyyy! Lemme give ya a hug-!" she exclaimed.
However, she got interrupted when IF held a hand out in a claw-like motion and entrapped her head within it. Her hand even sported a vice-like grip which had been honed not only through experience, but also the constant mutation of her body's cells thanks to Assimilating so many Demonic beings and Abnormals. "So not the time, Nep. Stop being an idiot." She stated, groaning in annoyance whilst watching the lilac haired girl flailed her arms and legs about.
Plus, she did NOT resist the urge to glare at some of the guys around them when they tried to look down Neptune's hoodie dress thanks to the acute angle she came down on the brunette. Thus, the guys that did try to take a peak, turned away whilst tying to whistle innocently whilst sweating bullets.
Freaking perverts…
Though, in this case, it was probably more to do with the way to cope with what had just happened.
Probably.
Shaking her head, IF released her hold on the preteen and let her drop to the floor in a rather comical manner.
"THUD!"
The brunette also ignored the verbal sound that the preteen used when she impacted the ground, stood up seconds later with a red circular imprint on her face as she rubbed her nose to sooth the aches there. "Ouchies, hey what gives Iffy? I just wanna hug one of my besties, ya know!" she exclaimed as she continued soothing the pain on her face by applying cold Crystal onto it. She did NOT resist the urge to moan in pleasure as the cool feeling of the crystal replaced the burning she felt from her face.
"In any case, I saw you standing there talking to yourself, and rather letting you stew in your idiocy like normal…" IF began, hiding her urge to smirk when she heard the indignant cry of 'don't you ignore me!' from Neptune as she continued. "Vert wanted to speak with you. Well, more specifically she wants you, me, Noire, Compa Team RAIL, Guts and Isaac to meet with her in her room."
At this, Neptune's indignation got replaced with confusion, tilting her head whilst question marks appeared over her head. At this point IF just ignored it along with the other 80% of oddities about the girl. "Huh? Why'd she wanna speak with us? Plus, ain't Compa doing the healing stuff for the army guys?" she questioned her brunette BOW companion, putting an index finger on her jaw whilst adopting a thoughtful expression.
It was true though, not long after the attack Compa began to go around the rooms across the floors they had secured, using Gabriel's power BARD OF HEALING to help speed up the recovery of the injured soldiers. Gabriel's power affected those that heard it in different ways depending on the user after all, and if she had enough speakers she could probably affect a larger area. Gabriel, to her, seemed like it was heavily based off sound and perception of that sound, though Neptune didn't put so much thought into it. Though, she had seen some of the guys healed from her, and she'd seen the reverence in their eyes when she passed by.
Not to mention that Lucy accompanied her as well, At first Compa didn't know why she wanted to come or how she would be able to help, however she soon showed why. Apparently, one of her powers was nature manipulation, as I she controlled many aspects of nature itself. Plants, trees, wood, you name it she can manipulate it thanks to her ability to control Nature. In this case however, she was able to generate large trees around the rooms, each one releasing large bursts of pollen and gases which filled each room. These things seemed to have great healing properties, sort of like a group Hero Drink in that health and energy got restored to the injured soldiers. Limbs had gotten repaired, soldiers on death's door got pulled back into the real world, and a whole load of miracles could be said to have only been possible thanks to those two.
There were also cries of appreciation from those who saw the Spec Ops Agents and the rest of the Party, too. Many soldiers sung the Spec Ops Program praises for being able to fight off the Demons and reclaim what was lost to them, to suffer the brunt of the combat whilst the military secured the floors for them. Even so though, there had been Demons whom the Party had missed, which had to be dealt with by the Military. Not to mention that by the time that they even got started retaking floors, the number of injured soldiers had already reached the triple digit points. The military themselves also got praised by the staff members whom had survived the horrors that had followed, especially Stefan for being able to react efficiently and come up with a strategy to take back the Basilicom from the invaders.
Even so, whilst things got done right, this wouldn't be the end if politics and Nobles would get involved, and nobody doubted they wouldn't.
IF meanwhile, shrugged her shoulders with an unknowing look on her features, though behind that gaze lay something that Neptune quickly took notice of. "Dunno, she just told me to come get you all. Sadly, I tried to find Guts and Isaac, but they'd apparently left the Basilicom already, something about continuing their jobs. Its annoying, but I get their point, still have jobs to do, and thanks to the small number of Agents their free time is rather limited." She explained, waving her other hand, the one not on her hip, off to the side in a sort of flicking motion. "Anyways, glad I found you here and not trying to raid the kitchen for pudding or something."
For a moment, Neptune hummed in thought from what IF had said, though in reality she just took it like how the Spec Ops Candidate said it. She wasn't that good with complicated things anyways. What she WAS good at though… would be teasing the nep out of her friends! "Dawwww, you just wanna see more of Lady Green Heart, don'tcha Iffy? You wanna get some more of those booby action, eh? Iffy really has a dirty mind, doesn't she? Hehehehe." Neptune responded with a sly grin, wiggling her eyebrows in a knowing manner at the look she had noticed behind the brunette's gaze.
"Wh-What the heck?!" IF exclaimed, suddenly losing her composure as she raised her voice, stepping backwards once while her face started becoming stained pink with what she had heard. Unknown to her however, some gazes had been drawn when they heard her voice. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out as she tried to recover and deny what the amnesiac CPU had said. "Th-That's not it at all, and you know it!" She retorted sharply… though the look on her face and the way her eyes glowed with slight excitement gave her away.
Neptune merely smirked just as slyly as she did before. In fact, it could be argued that she did it in even greater a quantity. "Suuuuure ya don't Iffy. I 'believe' you…" the way she responded obviously gave away the fact she totally didn't, and that only succeeded in getting IF even more flustered. In her mind, the preteen couldn't help but try to stifle her urge to laugh at teasing her friend. Not only was teasing her one of the greatest things ever aside from the gloriousness of Pudding, but seeing IF's hidden cute side after everything they'd been through felt like some much needed downtime. She SO wanted to spend the rest of the day teasing her friends and seeing their cute blushes, especially Compas! 'Heck, it's been all fighting and heavy stuff for more than 6 chapters already, we need a small break before going back to the action! It IS a major selling point for this fanfiction aside from the lore!' she thought to herself, a sense of relief and relaxation filling her being.
IF spent few more moments trying to think of something that could dissuade the preteen, but then she eventually gave up, sighing in annoyance as she placed a hand on her forehead. 'Ugh, this brat… I kind of forgot she can be a real pain in the ass sometimes…' she thought in resignation. Trying to convince Neptune or talk to her sometimes could be considered like travelling through an endless maze. Not something that she wanted to deal with, especially after today. "Ugh, let's just go. I know that the others are here still, so we'll be finding them first before we go see Vert.
"Okie dokie, Iffy...!"
Searching through the Basilicom, as in searching through the floors that were captured and stuff, took a little bit longer than IF would have liked and that was mostly to do with how people kept holding them up to give thanks or praise to her, Neptune or the others whom the duo found. IF could get it, why they had suddenly shot upwards in terms of popularity, bu they SERIOUSLY needed to get a move on! Lady Vert had told her to gather the others and meet her in her room, Goddess damnit!
It wasn't like she wanted to spend more time with Vert than anything else, alright?!
Honest! Neptune was just trying to get into her head!
Tsundere thoughts aside (pretty sure that IF she could hear what the author was saying shed try to gut him with one of her Tendrils or inflict other severe bodily torture that the Author shudders to think about), the first person they found… or rather the first couple PEOPLE, were Lucy and Compa. They had been in one of the first-floor corridors, taking a small break with Lucy and Compa talking over a couple Hero Drinks. Quite akin to the closest thing Compa could get right now to drinking at a bar with someone. The two looked to have been talking about something, and had just finished the conversation (judging by the look of understanding on Compa's face, it seemed to be quite major) when IF and Neptune found them.
Not too long afterwards, Raven, whom had been patrolling the floors with some of the soldiers (whom were all women due to her not liking men aside from Nico, Aiden and Ivan), found them. It didn't take her long to be convinced to join them in gathering the group… although she DID give an accusing glare towards Lucy, whom had simply responded in a simple manner as she had shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. IF had to wonder what that was about, though since she couldn't exactly read minds the brunette BOW had decided to let it drop. Even though her curiosity still persisted…
Afterwards, it took a while but they eventually found Aiden and Ivan sitting amongst a crowd of male soldiers, soldiers who had looked to have suffered only minor injuries during the battle (some of the lucky ones they were), laughing merrily and drinking alcoholic beverages. Well, it looked more like Ivan drinking whilst Aiden refrained in favour of a Hero Drink. That only showed that he, Lucy and Compa had been the SENSIBLE ones in regards to underage drinking, something which had, mostly, saved them from the wrath of a certain team leader. Whilst Raven 'disciplined' Ivan in another room (if the guy's screams were any indication one would be wise NOT to inquire further), the two guys with one looking like they had went through frozen islands bare of any clothing for months on end without dying tagged along with them to find Noire and Raiden…
Whom had been found talking with Stefan back in the Main Hall, alongside some of her representatives.
None of them paid much attention to all te political talk that had been going on there, instead they just convinced the blackette and her Bodyguard to accompany them. When her reps argued against this, they simply responded with that it was a request from another political leader with the same power level as Noire, which shut their traps faster than one could say 'boo!' NOBODY wanted to incite a war right now, not with the horrors that had just happened. Its like when one just survives a fight, any SANE person would wat to avoid getting into further conflict for a time. The amount varied from person to person, but this fact remained all the same.
Thus, all of them journeyed with IF leading them, up to Vert's room.
"Ah, everyone. It appears you have all arrived."
The moment that they entered the room, Vert stood in the middle of it politely waiting for them. Several cups of steaming hot tea lay on the bedside, small steamy trails rising from them. There looked to e a cup for each of them, though there would be two spare thanks to a certain pair of Spec Ops Agents. Something which Vert quickly noticed. "Oh? We seem to be missing two of them. Would you please tell me where Mr Clarke and Mr Guts are at present?"
Stepping forwards, IF responded to the CPU's question (whilst trying NOT to fangirl over the fact he was in here again, since a certain preteen eyed her like a hawk). "They had to leave, they got requested to do extra work to hold off some Abnormals, Lady Vert." she explained. "That's why they couldn't come here on your summons today,"
At this, a sigh escaped the woman's lips with understanding and slight disappointment flashing through her eyes, It became easy to understand why, even for the dimmest members of the Party. "I see… it's saddening, but if their duty tells them to do so, then I will not interfere. I will have to find them again sometime in the future, after all they are heroes just as much as everyone else in this room." She mused, sighing.
Indeed, everyone in this room had been present during the Demon Invasion. They had seen things that most mortals wouldn't even begin to comprehend, horrors that were both numerous and best left unsee for th rest of history. Brutally eviscerated corpses of man woman and even child, desecrated bodily mutilation, mutation of a sinister variety, amongst other despicable acts committed by the Demons of Khorne and their human followers. None of them got a clear idea of which atrocity committers had been worse, honestly. Though, it did reinforce one fact into their brains, burning it there with no way of ever being forgotten…
That sometimes, humans could be WAY more monstrous than any monster.
"So, why is it that you summoned us here?" Ever the one to get to the point, Raven spoke this question which brought everyone out of their musings, then made them focus back on Leanbox's CPU. The black-haired woman, aside from Noire of course, had her arms crossed under her chest whilst putting more weight on one leg, her red eyes flashing as they focused their gaze upon Vert who shuddered slightly, more than a little intimidated by that cold gaze she possessed. It almost felt like she lacked any kind of warmth whatsoever… and if she were to ask her companions, they'd wholeheartedly support that theory.
Nevertheless, she had to act like a leader right now, and not some weak, feeble little girl scared of the dark. Not to mention that she indeed had several reasons for asking them all to come here. "Yes, we should get straight to business." The woman replied, nodding as she gestured for them to close the door behind them which Ivan did. Standing up from the bed (whilst offering the tea to the party which they accepted, which prompted them to sit/stand wherever they so choose), the woman looked upon them all… before she briefly lowered her head in gratitude. "I must thank each and every one of you. Without your help, many lives would have been lost in this great tragedy."
Noire responded this time, flicking her head to the side which made her ponytail swerve in the direction her head went. "Please, think nothing of it. If we're to be in a truce that could become an alliance, we need to show trust towards one another." She stated, and of course, EVERYONE became aware of her statement. If this were to have happened say 4 months ago, this invasion would have ended MAJORLY differently, due to the antagonistic relationship between Lastation, Planeptune and Leanbox. If Leanbox and Lastation hadn't opened the door to this possibility towards friendlier relations (not completely, since competition was the way Gamindustri moved forwards) then this tragedy…
Well, lets not think of the bullet that they had just dodged.
"Plus, we got to help people! That's something that anyone should be proud they did!" Compa chirped happily, beaming as she recalled the happy smiles she had seen on everyone's faces when she cured tem of their ailments. Gabriel's power honestly felt MAVERLOUS to her right now, since it garnered a lot of joy from those she had managed to save. She didn't try to think of the people she couldn't save though, as that would just dampen her mood some. Not to mention, was it just her or were some of those people looking at her funny when she passed them?
Even so, her words did inspire gratitude within the Leanbox CPU's chest. The blonde woman giggled at the Nurse-In-Training whilst she calmly sipped some tea. "I do think you are very kind, Compa. It is a trait I wish more people had in them than just all of you." She complimented, earning an embarrassed blush and a sheepish giggle from the girl. "In any case, I do believe that we all have some questions for each other. Would you all like me to go first, or shall one of you?"
"I think it wise that we ask you a few questions first, Lady Green Heart." Came Lucy's reply. Said woman sat on top of a beanbag, one stocking and boot-covered leg crossed over the other like a proper noblewoman would, with her teacup set balanced perfectly on her lap. She calmly sipped some of it, letting the warm liquid travel down her throat which earned a pleasant hum from her. 'Whoever made this tea has admirable skill in their craft. Though, if I were to judge, I'd say Nicky-Dear's is my personal favourite simply due to the meaning behind whenever he makes Coffee.' She thought to herself, eyes closed in fondness before she opened them with a stern gaze taking her previous expression's place. "For starters, could you tell us what happened to you? What happened to your powers, I mean."
"Huh?"
Whilst Neptune blinked owlishly in confusion after saying that and Noire narrowed her eyes (since she too wanted to know that information but hadn't had the chance to ask yet), both remained silent. Her actions got mirrored by Raven, Aiden and Raiden, whilst IF frowned in confusion and the rest just looked like dumb idiots. Vert herself however, merely gave a resigned nod, having expected this situation to have come after this battle. 'Even so, I still doesn't make explaining this any easier…' she had once assumed she'd be telling only the CPUs this information, however in light of recent events the circle of those who knew would grow by a number much larger than she felt comfortable with. Even so, she had no choice at this point, the time for secrets had passed already. Now, it was time to get everything out in the open.
"Yes, it would make sense for you all to know, so I'll start at the beginning…"
(Flashback)
"It was just after I had finished mastering my Beninuki #shows the Spear by summoning it#, I had been walking back from a Convention that had been happening which involved the Manga I read about it…"
Vert in the past, hummed merrily as she walked back to the Basilicom, grinning and looking positively radiant. Hell, stars twinkled above her head to show just how happy this convention made her, since she now had a stash of goodies inside a bag located in her arms. A bag which the blonde woman kept tightly close to her chest, allowing her breasts to nearly envelop the bag in a complete embrace. During her walk back home, several male bystanders passing by eyed the bag with a look of intense jealousy, wishing that bag were their heads. Some even imagining what it would be like to motorboat those huge honkers of hers.
Even so, Vert found herself so happy that she didn't even pay any heed to it, or even notice the envious stares from the men around her. One could say however, that thanks to having her in-game husband already chosen, it made her no longer look at any other man in the 3D world… not like she had much interest in 3D men to begin with however, most of her princes came from 2D… either in games or in the gloriousness that was BL. Oh, she almost got a nosebleed in public just THINKING about those juicy moments in her beloved BL Games!
There had even been a moment where she imagined her in-game husband in some of those raunchy scenes…
In that moment, Vert had to exert nearly all her will to keep herself from nose bleeding.
'That convention was THRILLING! I love browsing through all the merch, buying exclusive figurines of my sexy boys!' The woman thought, giggling to herself as fond memories passed her by. 'Those two of that cute shota boy and his tall, handsome demon butler were to die for! I just had to buy their cosplay variants right off the shelves!'
So, yeah… she definitely enjoyed it.
Whilst she walked home, AKA the Leanbox Basilicom, Vert distinctly began to notice that the street she walked down began gradually noticing how the street began getting more and more deserted. Something like this sent chills up and down her spine, a cool feeling slowly spreading up the nape of her neck which made Vert's eyes narrow, her fists clenching as she deposited her goodies inside her Inventory. Gotta protect the merchandise, that was Otaku basics 101! Yep, there was a book for that, and she worshipped that thing religiously… ironic, considering her nature.
'Something… isn't right…'
That thought pounded itself in her mind like a hammer being repeatedly slammed into her skull. She knew what that felt like, as during the Console War a certain bratty CPU once managed to get the drop on her and then repeatedly bashed her with the blunt side of her Axe. She almost got a cracked skull from that had a stray attack from the battling Purple and Black Heart not knocked her off in a fantastic show of luck. Though, she did erect a few Panels around herself to impede her opponent from trying a follow-up whilst she recovered from a minor concussion.
With those thoughts however, Vert held her hand out and hopped from the street to the centre of the path. Thanks to there being no vehicles like carriages within sight, Vert felt like whatever happened next would take place primarily in that spot, and since she didn't want to damage her beloved city, she had decided to go with the lesser option. Fighting on the sidewalk definitely wasn't the best idea one could have had.
All became silent save for the faint breeze blowing through the city streets. The once lively streets, full of laughing civilians, squealing children and parents going about their day, all of it suddenly vanished and withered away, like plant life dying out in the winter. The breeze that blew through the streets as if the spirits of the wind themselves were controlling it, carried a faint roll of newspaper which had been crumbled into a knee high ball which rolled across the street before her. Everything around her now had this… dead feeling, like all the joy, wonder and life within both it, and herself, had just been sucked out by the fangs of danger.
'I sense… enemies approaching… they'll come out… NOW!'
Turned out, her instincts proved her right once more, as instantly a group of 10 men, each of them wearing hooded black and red cloaks, jumped from atop a building and landed all around her, each of them carrying an assortment of weapons. All of them glared at the woman with fierce, hungry eyes under their hoods, eyes that belonged more to wild animals rather than humans, and Vert would never admit it but the way they each growled like feral beasts unnerved her more than a little. Not to mention how they heaved and panted like they had just ran through a hot desert with no water for several days straight…
She did NOT want them anywhere near her.
A fact she would soon have to accept however, as with a frenzied howl one of them already charged at her wielding what looked like a Scythe… one made of crimson flesh and pale bones, like it had been carves out of a human spine but with organs and muscle fibres still attached to it.. Vert quickly twirled her Spear, deflecting his first attack and jabbing Beninuki's rear end into his back, forcing him to stagger a bit whilst she smacked him upside the head.
Whilst the man fell down, 2 more charged forth with the others getting ready to strike as well. These two carried matching swords, one in his left and the other in the other man's right. Not to mention that a fourth one came at her from behind with a large claymore. Quickly analysing and calculating within her mind, Vert launched a Hassei Kaigan on the front two men whom came at her from both flanks. Beninuki's wicked blades raced through the air like a predator pouncing on it's prey wen the time to ambush arrived, allowing it to tear through their sides and spines with lethal efficiency.
Now, whilst Vert had some lingering hesitance in hurting these people, as it seemed like they had been Leanbox citizens, the moment that she saw where Beninuki had landed Verts eyes filled with confusion for a brief moment. What had happened to these men, cause when she slashed through them she had expected blood to splatter everywhere… not black sludge that looked like it could contaminate the purest of lands for centuries to come.
'What…?'
Unfortunately, the KI behind her made her realize she couldn't think about that right now, as she quickly thrusted Beninuki behind her and then moved it so that it blocked an overhead swing aimed at her head. Vert's eyes then sharpened back to their previous edge as she twisted about, whacking the attacker upside the head with Beninuki whilst roundhouse kicking him during mid flip, knocking down three attacking men all the while.
Just in time too, cause Vert quickly had to flip backwards to avoid a series of arrows fired from the sixth man's crossbow. When she noticed more arrows coming at her head, Vert angled herself so that she flipped about like a sausage, avoiding those arrows as well as she quickly threw Beninuki like a Javelin. The Spear flew true as it impaled it's target, Vert landing in a crouch whilst elbowing the 7th whom had tried to decapitate her with an Axe. She then followed that up with a backfist into the man's face, before she grabbed him with both hands and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him into the ground back first and finally knocking him out with an elbow strike to the face.
Sensing more danger, Vert glanced to her right and saw the 8th man spiralling towards her with a setoff bone claws coming from fleshy bracelets his wrists. The man rolled across the ground and stood up, swinging his left claw towards her neck to try and get through an artery. However, Vert swiftly hooked a leg around the arm whilst sausage flipping, launching him across the opposite end and into the 9th one, whom had tried to fire a flintlock pistol at her. He only got a single round off though before the body collided with him, and it was aimed upwards towards the 10th whom had a sword with a fleshy blade sporting a chainsaw like edge and a spine-like hilt.
This whole fight… lasted for over 5 seconds.
Panting heavily, Vert scowled as she heaved and huffed, her eyes wearily looking about for any more signs of attack whilst she regathered her bearings. Her shoulder shook, her hands trembled, and her breath sounded ragged not to mention heavier than a respiring old man's. Vert found herself confident in her stamina, she was a warrior whom had fought in a long war most of her life after all. However, she had only recently came out of that war and her body had spent some time resting in her Basilicom. Therefore, her body didn't have the intense stamina a warrior's body required, or rather, she didn't have it in the same quantities as before. Not to mention that she fought in that war in her HDD form, not her human one. She did have higher tolerances than a normal human, but even then, she still HAD them.
Even so, she still wanted to know who it was that had attacked her, and for what reason. Did they do it cause she was a CPU? Did they do it for revenge? If so, what were the weapons they used, and where did they get them? Everything about this attack felt very wrong, unnaturally so, to her and Vert wanted to get to the bottom of it. It honestly reminded her of several detective games she liked to play, like that one that had the same end name as the human form of Lastation's CPU (though thinking about that arrogant tyrant did make Vert grimace to herself) though it began with the same letter as the one at the beginning of the Nations aside from Planeptune.
With that in mind, Vert proceeded to walk over to one of the unconscious men and kneeled beside him, swiftly reaching out and pulling back the hood. When she did, the man's face became exposed to her… and it was all she could do to stop herself from vomiting. The man's face looked like something only visible in a nightmare, with ghostly pale skin as if he hadn't seen the sun in years. His eyes had sunken deep within their sockets whilst his mouth had become a maw of razor-sharp fangs, small horns protruding out from atop his forehead. Not to mention countless scars that painted the picture of the head having ben cut open at some point with the forehead having dozens of markings over it. Lastly, there was no nose, just a pair of holes reminiscent of nostrils.
'Oh, my goodness! How disgusting!' she screamed in her mind, quickly falling onto her backside, heck that didn't feel NEARLY enough for her, so Vert quickly scurried as far away from the body as possible. Never had she felt so unnerved and horrified in her life! If this man was like that, then it was safe to assume the others were the exact same! What the heck did these men do to themselves to make them look like THAT?!
Things didn't end there, however, as a shadow approached her from behind with the swift speed and lack of sound reminiscent of a small breeze…
VVVRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
"Ugh! W-What?! #gasp# KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Suddenly, something touched the back of her head before she could react in time. Something touched her there, and the next thing she knew Vert could only gasp and cry out feeling something akin to a black hole sucking something into itself within the confines of her skull. It wasn't a painless separation, think of one's organs ripping themselves in half at the speed of turtles, and one could get an idea of how much pain Vert just went through.
By the time that the feeling vanished, a sense of mortality, horror and dread filled her being instead, and with the lack of strength Vert's fatigue took over. She soon fell onto her side with an audible THUD sound accompanying her. Her eyes glazed over, losing the battle to remain conscious whilst black spots formed and grew along her vision. The woman barely heard a weird-sounding, melodramatic feminine laugh and some form of jeer, as her senses already began falling into the land of the unconscious. The last thing she DID see however, was a tall woman wearing a… rather weird looking getup, with a tall hat being the most prominent thing she could see… before finally Vert lost consciousness.
(Flashback End)
Finally, Vert finished telling her story hanging her head in shame and sadness as she felt everyone's gazes focus on her. She dared not look up, for this story had been one of the most well-kept secrets she had in quite some time. She'd thought back to it an uncountable number of times by now. Throughout telling the story, she had wrestled with the urge to just stop and clam up, however Vert pushed on, she HAD to not just because it was her duty to explain the situation, but also cause if she wanted to ask for their help Vert knew she would have to be as forthcoming as possible. Even so, recounting it in front of other people felt WAY more embarrassing than when she would be alone in her room playing videogames while pondering how to answer the public's queries to keep them sated. Not an easy battle that was for certain.
For a moment, nobody spoke as everyone tried to process and take in what they had just been told by Leanbox's CPU. For a while, a lot of them had just assumed that the woman had other matters to attend to like meetings and such in order to keep the country afloat. And whilst that did feel somewhat true, the story that Vert told them painted an even deeper picture, not to mention an increasingly problematic one. The people whom assaulted Vert, they had quickly realized they were most likely followers of the Overlord Momus religion, or at least the Chaos sub religion due to their descriptions. They also sounded a lot like Khorne followers like the Northmen, likely just adept or raw recruits since experts wouldn't have attacked Vert out in the open like that.
After a moment or two, one person opened her mouth.
"… So, let me get this straight." Lucy began after Vert finished her tale, getting the woman's attention. She had assumed a thinking pose, and her eyes had a pointed gaze to them as she regarded Vert in a analytical manner. "You're saying that you locked yourself up inside your Basilicom because when you returned from a convention, some woman and her minions attacked you and stole your CPU powers from you?" she queried, and Vert slowly nodded, unsure as to where Lucy was going with. Said woman's eyes then travelled downwards towards Vert's hands, the ones that had once held the golden Spear, Gungnir. "Then, I can assume that Spear you used, that golden one, was a divine weapon who's power you used to try and transform again into your HDD form, but it only restored your transformation ability, not your own divinity am I right?"
Slowly, Vert nodded as she summoned the mentioned weapon, resting it horizontally across her lap. "Indeed. I got it when I went out on a quest with Nicky." She replied, and both Lucy and Neptune's eyes narrowed at the term of address she used. Both weren't fools, they knew whom she had referred to just then. "Gungnir restores my powers somewhat, but I still age and can get sick even when I draw this weapon. Though, I have been getting the feeling the more I use it, that I've not actually gotten all of it's secrets out of it just yet. It feels like this weapon has a lot more to show me, but what that stuff is eludes me still." She explained.
IF cupped her chin, thoughts swirling through her mind regarding her story. Her eyes flashed with realization as memories of the time they fought a certain woman in the Monster Cave back at Planeptune came back to her. 'The description of this person reminds me of that woman back in the Monster Cave. Back then, didn't she show an extreme interest in Nep before she changed targets when Nico fought her?' part of her shuddered when she recalled the first time Nico ever transformed into Crimson Soul, remembering the feelings she got from the power that roared out of him like a lion. 'She must have been after Nep's Goddess power before Nico got her interest, then. Looks like this is what she had been intending back then…'
"… At first, I was unsure about it, but now I feel like I can trust you all with this matter." Vert told them, sighing to herself as she dismissed Gungnir and placed her hands on her lap. Now, here was the harder part. What she had admitted before had been hard enough, but this next one would be ever harder, she felt. If she were to make an analogy, Vert would say the difference in difficulty expressing these matters would be like comparing a baby turtle's shell and a mature one's. Even so, she definitely had to go through with it, she had done well so far so there was no point in stopping now. She wouldn't lie when she said she once felt much freer as a mortal than as a Goddess. However, that time had long since passed, especially when she A: noticed slight aging signs, and B: fought in this Invasion. The sight of seeing so many of her people being ruthlessly massacred, their corpses horrendously mutilated and disturbed in ways she dared not think about for a second, it MORE than ignited the flame within her.
She wanted to find the person responsible and make them pay.
"Therefore, I have a request I'd like to make of you. Lend me your powers so that I might regain the powers of a Goddess that I lost."
Now THAT caught everyone off guard, even the mostly-stoic Raven and Aiden showed a slight widening of their eyes and slight opening of their mouths. Coming from two people whom rarely display any emotion other than coldness, well, it showed just how surprising Vert's request had made them. Not only that, but the way she asked it, too...
"That was... blunt." Compa muttered with a weak look on her face, before she shook her head and made a determined face instead. She'd already pushed aside her Mask so that she could become as strong and useful as the others were, no need to slip into that behavior anymore. Nope, especially not when someone had just asked her, and the others (lets not forget them, Compa -_-) for help like Vert had.
However, just before she could say anything, Neptune then jumped into the conversation, quickly throwing her arms up on a V shapes formation. "Hold up, hold up! Before we continue to an OBVIOUS plot point, could we do some contexty stuff first?" she asked them all, drawing looks of confusion from the rest of the girls... plus Aiden and Ivan. Although, the two of them along with Lucy and Raven soon got her meaning. "I mean, hasn't this arc raised some questions about certain people in the room? Cuz, I think the readers might appreciate some answers to questions they must have been asking for a couple chapters at least."
IF just groaned, face palming herself. It had been a while since she'd done that, especially since she had been around Neptune a lot, part of her wondered if the sky was falling at some point, though everything just got consumed in a flood of a little something called training. "Nep's randomness aside, she does have a point. With the situation being... marginally calmer, I feel like we should all have some questions." she said, nodding in agreement with the preteen.
Obviously, that got her a starry eyed look from said Preteen who quickly jumped at her, arms spread wide. "Iffyyyyyyy!"
"Nope."
However, IF just stepped to the side, allowing Neptune to just crash into the floor and slide along it, unceremoniously shoving her backside into the air (Raven and Lucy glaring at the three males in the room in case they tried looking. They didn't).
Noire then spoke up after sending Raiden out to keep watch outside, just in case anyone tried to spy on them. "Well, now that Neptune mentions it, I do think we all have some questions of our own." she remarked, before gesturing towards Compa, said Nurse-In-Training slightly jerking at the sudden increase in attention. "First off, I'd like to know about Compa, I mean what the heck happened to her? She no longer feels like a normal person anymore."
"She's become a Spirit."
Those words came from Lucy's mouth, the redhead woman rolling her eyes as she did so. She'd figured something like this would happen, so she had made sure to notify Compa beforehand, telling her that once this particular conversation started, she'd be the one to explain. Once she DID say something though, it became quickly apparent how her words caused an awkward tension to fill the air. It wasn't too thick that it could be described as suffocating, but it definitely reached levels that were way up there.
When everyone looked to her for elaboration, Lucy glanced idly towards Raven before looking to the others. "I figured you all don't know what that is, so i'll start from the beginning. It was early into the Goddesses reign over Gamindustri, and things were... lets just say tense. Monsters were stronger than ever, and with the growing number of humans things just kept piling up and stressing the CPU out. It wouldn't be long before the CPU wouldn't be able to do her job properly, which was something NOBODY wanted. Before you say anything Noire..." Lucy paused to speak directly to Noire when she made to say something likely insulting to the nameless CPU Lucy talked about. "This was during a time when the world was still getting used to Goddesses, and CPUs were getting used to their roles. Nobody can truly just jump into their roles you know, they have to settle in first, and some CPUs did this poorer than others."
Once Noire properly seemed suppressed for the time being, or at least wouldn't be saying anything right now, Lucy continued. "Therefore, she decided to create a set of 'Helpers' whom would be considered pseudo Goddesses. Beings who could use a divine version of the Mana that human mages do. Only, far more powerful. They were meant to help the CPU when normal humans couldn't, where humanity's assistance would fall short. Those helpers, are called 'Spirits'."
"Hold on!" Now it had been Neptune whom interrupted the story this time, getting a slightly annoyed look from the redhead woman. Even so, Neptune just couldn't hold in her curiosity any longer. "I have no memory so I can't say for myself, but why do Noire and Vert, who are CPUs, not know of this? Just look at them, their faces are like 'oh, i'm so confused! What the heck is going on, please explain to me, mistress!'"
Whilst the said CPUs gave Neptune annoyed stares as well, Lucy sucked in some air through her teeth, then let it back out through her nose. It was something she had done so that she could keep herself from yelling at the preteen, as she did make up a good point. Although she didn't appreciate the constant interruptions to the story. "But over time, there were humans who began to get a little case of being power-hungry, and wanted to try and find a way to make Artificial Spirits whom would only listen to them. You see, to make a Spirit, one has to create a Sephira Crystal, which is a fusion of both Share Energy and Mana with the latter being the dominant energy and the former only giving it the divinity it needs. A Sephira Crystal however, only chooses someone who would be worthy of their power, as well as able to handle the power at it's fullest capacity. That was a hurdle that, no matter how hard humanity tried, they could never jump across."
"I'm guessing that this didn't stop them from trying... sounds awfully like Avenir and Umbrella."
"You'd be right, Noire. A whole load of conflict and chaos erupted for possession of the knowledge on how to make a Sephira Crystal. Conflicts which resulted in the Goddesses destroying everything to do with the Sephira Crystals whilst the remaining Spirits, whom all gave their consent, sacrificed themselves to wipe out any and all memory of them inside humanity's consciousness. That way, the knowledge would be forgotten and the peace would be restored. Thus, the knowledge of Spirits would be forever lost to history... or rather, that was what was SUPPOSED to happen."
Lucy then looked towards the nervous-looking Compa, although she attempted to keep a brave face on. It made the woman's lips twitch slightly as she suppressed a proud smile from showing, as she continued her tale. "However, as we can clearly see, it seems that ONE Sephira Crystal survived the conflict, having been buried underground for all these millennia. Not to mention that it's a powerful case with not one, but SIX different weapons, which are abbreviated as 'Angels'. You guys don't know this, but back when Spirits were around, there was never one with more than one Angel, and they each awoke to their powers the moment that the Sephira Crystal entered their original human bodies. Therefore, Compa's case is incredibly... complex, new and uncertain. The limits of her new powers may not exist unlike her predecessors."
"Woooooooowwwwww... I had no idea..." Neptune whispered, more than a little shocked at what she had learned about Compa's new powers. She didn't like most of that serious talk, but she sorta got the gist of what had been said. "So basically, these Spirit-thingies are these super cool Goddess-beings who use divine Mana instead of Share Energy? And that Compa's even more unique?" At Lucy's nod, Neptune's eyes practically glowed as she blurred forth and stopped before the surprised Nurse-In-Training, quickly grasping her hands in hers and pulling them into her chest. "Woweee, looking great, Compa-pompa! You go, girl!"
"Ehehehehe, thanks Nep-Nep."
At this point, whilst Neptune congratulated the cream haired girl, IF stepped forwards with a look in her eyes that got everyone's attention. "Alright, since Compa's situation is all cleared up, there's something else I want to know about, and I'm pretty sure a lot will agree with me when I ask this..." she began, before turning to Lucy and addressing her directly. "Lucy, thanks for telling us about Compa's powers, and whilst I want to know how you know that, a part of me feels like my next question may answer that so here I go: What are you, Lucy? Are you a CPU?" She asked her.
Once again, the tensity in the room skyrocketed when IF asked that question. She may not have been around when she had done it, but IF had learned from Neptune that the redhead had the ability to transform like a CPU. Whilst the preteen was an annoying dork, it didn't seem like the dork would be too good at lying, not to mention she had been like an open book when she had talked with her about the battle itself. It had been on her mind ever since, and something told her her own mental struggles to comprehend such a possibility had NOTHING on the CPUs themselves. After all, it had been common knowledge that there were only meant to be FOUR CPUs, only FOUR to rule over Gamindustri. Each ruled their own Nations, and that through them balance would be maintained in the world. However, Lucy's power to transform completely derailed that, in all seriousness.
Not to mention, who else knew of this? it didn't feel like this fact was common knowledge, and even an idiot would be able to comprehend why that would be considered a good thing. If the Basilicom, or any religious fanatic, discovered the fact that there were more than four Goddesses it could cause way too much panic and chaos as people would be furious at being lied to all this time. Desolated streets, mobs of devotees, and most likely the faith people have in the CPUs would likely plummet to near zero levels. If not that, then some other bullshit reason they would come up with, humanity hasn't shown itself to be very logical, just look at the Overlord and Chaos religions.
So, if they could get any information about that, then it'd really help in coming to terms with what would happen in the future.
"Yeah, I wanna know that, too...!" Neptune commented, slightly pouting in mild annoyance. It wasn't directed at Lucy though, mostly anyways, as she put her hands behind her head while continuing her sentence. "I mean, it'd be nice if ya could have just old us with a nice barbecue that you were a CPU, Lucy-juicy." she remarked, getting some dismayed stares for her efforts.
Noire huffed as she took a larger mouthful of her tea, before placing it back on her lap since she too occupied a beanbag like Lucy did. Among the group, it seemed like only herself, Vert and Lucy had any womanly grace to speak of, everyone else had either some form of childishness (Neptune and Compa) or were standing up (basically everyone else). "Neptune's right, what the heck, Lucy?" she asked heatedly with a pointed. "Why didn't you tell us something so important? Who knows? How many? Ugh, I have so many questions I don't even know where...!"
Compa looked upon the black haired CPU and sweat dropped at the sight she saw. "Noire looks like she's losing her mind over this... she's not keeping calm at all..." she remarked bluntly with one of her signature smiles.
IF rolled her eyes at this, much more understanding of the blackette woman's plight than Compa it seemed. "To be honest, I can sympathetic with her. Learning that there was another CPU out there isn't something one can just handle like a weather report."
"Its something commonly used in fanfictions, so i'm A-OK with it!"
Does anyone NEED to know who asked that?
In any case, Lucy remained silent for these moments, most likely judging on what she should say and how she should say it. For a moment, she considered entrapping Noire in poisonous vines then impaling her with wood for the insolent tone she used. It would be so easy too, however Lucy curb-stomped those urges. As much as she would have wanted to slap the hell out of Noire for her rudeness, she wasn't exactly unjustified for her reaction. Even though Noire was trying to change, she still had the innermost selfish pride flowing through her being. One can't change who they are so easily, after all. It was a lesson she herself had learned after that incident with Nico on the roof which resulted in her getting his friendship.
So, in the end she decided to be forthright with this information. "The reason why I didn't share my identity with you all is simple: I wasn't supposed to." She revealed, surprising the others but she ignored that and continued on. "The fact that there are a total of four CPUs, its not really a lie per say. The reason for this is because even though I can transform, i'm not actually a CPU. You should know the difference between a species name and a job role itself, ladies. Then you'd know what I am."
It took a moment for everyone to let that thought sink in. Difference between a species name and job role? What was Lucy getting at? However, it soon dawned on one of them, as her eyes widened with realization, before she regained her composure and looked over to the redhead woman. "So, are you some sort of Goddess, then?" IF questioned, arching a brow.
At this, Lucy nodded with a pleased smile on her ruby red lips, clapping several times for her friend. "Yup, you got it right, Iffy." she responded with a teasing grin, causing IF to go flustered from someone else calling her that nickname. Even if she thought she had gotten used to it, suddenly hearing it from another person got her good still. "Aw, you're so cute when embarrassed. I might have to think on teasing you more. Anyways, yes you're right. I'm a Goddess, not a CPU. A CPU is a job role that Goddesses take, do you know how many Goddesses there are in the world? How many have followings? There are many, only the four CPUs have the largest recognition by humans." she explained, sipping some tea calmly.
She then flicked a hand out, and from it a small plant-like object sprouted from the centre of her open palm.
BIKI-BIKI-BIKI-BIKI-BIKI-BIKI!
Sounds of something being stretched filled the room, coming from the object in Lucy#s palm whilst the woman looked down at her tea with a complicated expression. The plant grew to the size of a basket ball, something that pretty much drew everyone's attention to it like magnets, as they could only stare in transfixed awe. When the plant finished growing, it sprouted branches which then spawned lush green leaves. Seconds later, Lucy wiggled her fingers, and those actions seemed to destabilize the plant somewhat as it shook, several leaves falling into her tea and releasing a rather... refreshing aroma. Something which made the woman moan in pleasure as the plant vanished from existence, the hand that formed it reaching down to the small plate. "Ah, that's better. Like this aroma better..." she mused to herself, before looking to the others. "That just now, plus what I did back against the Bloodthirster, makes my title as the 'Spring Goddess' known to you all. Essentially, I am the Goddess of the Spring Season, basically personifying the coming of spring itself. Spring is life, spring is the birth of new beings and organisms, and thus I have control over everything related to spring." she explained. "My transformation also reflects that."
"I see..." Vert mumbled under her breath as she processed this new information. Basically, what Lucy had been saying was that she was a Goddess, but not a CPU. Instead, she was the Goddess of a season, and given that there were more than one of those it would be wise to assume that there were other Goddesses that personified other seasons. Lucy had all but confirmed this when she vaguely commented on how there were Goddesses out there with less recognition by humanity than CPUs. "In that case, it would be wise to keep what you are between us. The knowledge of other Goddesses out there may cause strife within our nations that we do not need right now." she remarked, getting a nod from the redhead Goddess before she turned to the rest of the girls. Looking them over, she saw that each of them seemed to somewhat agree with her on that stance, something she couldn't help but feel relieved about. Afterwards, her face turned serious, as she shuffled about on her seat. "Now then, can we move back to the earlier topic? May I ask what your answer is to my request?" she asked them all.
Each of them looked towards each other, almost seeming like they were conversing with their eyes. Neptune kept blinking her eyes like a typewriter, as if that were some form of secret communication that she developed. Something which IF glared at her for, much to the preteen's wordless dismay. Compa looked slightly more pleading, whilst everyone else looked either uncertain or indifferent. In the end though, everyone looked back to Vert with Neptune being the spokesperson for them. What, she's the main character after all! "Whelp, we had a short-if a bit silent-discussion, and so we decided: yup! We'll help ya Vert!" she proclaimed, giving a thumbs up.
Noire huffed as she turned her head to the side. "Don't get the wrong idea, Vert. I'm just agreeing cause everyone else begged me to, that's all." she commented hotly, although the redness on her cheeks gave away her true feelings on the matter.
IF and Compa looked towards each other, then back at Vert. "We're going along with Nep on this one, Lady Vert. We're a party after all, and Parties stick together in these things." the brunette stated with a hand on her hip and a slight tomboy smirk on her lips. Compa nodded happily in agreement, her perkiness so apparent that it caused her breasts to jiggle in place.
Ivan dared not look lest he suffer Raven and every other girl's wrath, but he just grinned and nodded in agreement. "Well, it looks like Raven and Lucy wanna help, so i'm in. Gotta follow the leader, after all." he remarked, getting confirmation from said girls as well.
With everyone determined to help her, Vert could not help the proud, relieved smile that spread across her lips. So... this was what it felt like, to not be alone? To have people you can rely on to pick you up when you fall down? This power of friendship stuff she saw in many anime, games, manga and other media forms across her otaku life... whilst a little cliche, she couldn't help but feel it necessary right now. "I... I am grateful for your assistance."
"Think nothing of it Vert, we've fought together once, we'll do it again!" Neptune chirped, grinning just as broadly as she ever did. It was so infectious that it even made smiles spread across Raven and Aiden's faces, so it should only be natural to say that everyone else spread the same way... that is, until something registered in the preteen's mind that caused her face to shift into one... of uncertainty and worry. "Wait a minute... uhhh, guys? I think we're missing someone."
"Huh, what do you...?"
At first, everyone blinked in confusion at what Neptune had said, especially when she showed a shocked face of realization then one of extreme worry. None of them had any idea on what was running through Neptune's mind at that moment, something that they felt both relieved and worried for... not a very common mix when concerning the amnesiac Goddess, for certain. This didn't stay the same forever though, as a moment later Lucy realized it as well, if the look of horror and worry seeping onto her face whilst her body straightened up and tensed was any indication. Following her example a minute later, Raven's eyes widened, indicating she had figured it out next, followed by IF, Noire, Vert, Aiden, Ivan and Compa.
"Guys... where's Ni-Ni?"
Chapter end!
Whelp, another one done, and a few things to address.
First, the flashback Vert had just now. That was meant to express the time when Vert lost her powers itself. I've read many fanfics which copy mostly off the canon dialogue, so I wanted to mix it up like I did with Lastation and Avenir with their relations with Umbrella. I wanted to showcase some lesser action to tie off the multi-chapter final battle with the Bloodthirster. After this, though, it'll finally be time for Nico to return to the cast once again.
Speaking of Nico, thats the second thing I wanted to talk about. Nico may be the MC and the main OC for this fanfic, but he's not the only badass around here you know. Him not being present in the Demon Invasion is a way for the girls to get the spotlight for a bit, to show that even though this is a harem fanfic, these girls don't need to be so dependent on him to survive. A lot of harem stuff have that kind of content like in Highschool DXD and various lesser known harem anime and manga. Thus, I wanted to show that even if Nico isn't around, the girls have their own individuality, which is an important part of OEG.
Third, I wanted to talk about Compa being a Spirit, something that a lot of you will have figured out by now. Now, like I mentioned before, it was an idea I got from King Carlos, but how to implement it mostly came from myself. Its been integrated into the story as a plot device, but don;t you worry this isn't all there is to Compa's powers. By the time the CPUs gather together, Compa will NOT be one of the weaker members of the party like she was in Canon. In fact, dare I say that a nearly every character in the franchise will be super OP just like her. Its sorta like Warhammer, in that everyone is a badass and can crush groups of people easily.
Fourth, Lucy. Now, I've read many fanfictions which involve there being more CPUs than the original four in one dimension. I wanted to pull a spin on it, though, and say that whilst Lucy is a Goddess, she is NOT a CPU. In my eyes, that is more like a job role than an actual species, and I get the impression that others think similar to me when I look at their status on wiki pages. With this, there is potential for a load of different Goddesses, not just the ones from the main series. As for Lucy herself, she being the Spring Goddess is actually a reference to RWBY, to be more specific the four Maidens. Like Vert assumed, there's going to be 4 season Goddesses, though whether or not they each will appear will be something i'll be pondering as so far, we've only seen 2 of the 4 Maidens in RWBY so far anyways. Believe me though, Lucy and the other Season Goddesses are NO pushovers, though then again nobody really is in this fanfic. In fact, my favorite characters are those who know how to kick ass and take names.
Bet you, you won't know much about what happens to Nico during the invasion arc.
In any case, read, review all that good stuff please. It'll be an interesting thing to see what you all think.
Anyways, peace up.
