Ho-Hum and the Alien Visitation
A Hyperdimension Neptunia Fan Fiction
by Derald Snyder
Chapter 35- Raid on the Base (Fake)
*Ho-Hum HQ*
"Are the defensive measures set?" Overlord Momus inquired.
"All set, sir!" Generic Soldier #20 saluted. "Those CPUs won't have an easy time getting in the front door!"
"Good. We don't want them to realize we've already left until they've gotten inside," Momus nodded. "Speaking of which... Dr. Pop, how are your preparations going?"
"It is going well!" MAGES. nodded, typing at the terminal. "All I ask is that you not rush my genius! I am confident we will be ready before the CPUs arrive..."
Momus nodded at this. "I'll leave you to it then, Dr. Pop." Turning back to Soldier #20, he noticed that the man's shoulders were slumped. "Something troubling you?"
"...It's Citrus, sir," Soldier #20 replied. "I was the one who recruited her into this outfit in the first place... Now that she's with Lady Neptune, I fear it's only a matter of time before I'm outed..."
Momus placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "You know that I didn't force you into this... it was your choice. You remember what you told me back then?"
"Right... that Lady Vert seemed to just lapse into outright sloth after Etna and Lilithmon were defeated... it was a struggle for Peach to even get her to go outside..."
"And that concerned you greatly," Momus finished. "After all, relaxing after such a hard struggle is logical... but Vert took it to the extreme, at least from your point of view. But you knew what the potential consequences were by joining me..."
"Yes sir," Soldier #20 nodded. "I've made my choice... and now I have to deal with the fallout. Even if it means losing everything I love..."
"I'm sure if you explain yourself honestly to Vert, she'll understand," Momus assured him. "Her bodyguard may be another matter, however... Anyway, for now, I need you to go with BlackGatomon and her entourage. You're the one I trust most to keep her in line..."
"Wilco, sir," the armored man saluted, before turning and leaving...
*Planeptune Basilicom, the next day...*
"So according to what Peashy told us, the House of Humiliation's home base is here," Vert pointed on a virtual map of Gamindustri. "An abandoned base right nearby where the Gamindustri Graveyard once was..."
"If I remember correctly, the Guild meant to use that as an outpost to spy on ASIC's activities," Histoire recalled. "But then CFW Judge happened upon them, and..."
"They were wiped out to the last man," IF finished. "Or so I heard, anyway. And since the Deity of Sin was destroyed once and for all, there was no need for that facility anymore, anyway..."
Zooming in on the facility, Noire noted, "It looks like a wide open field by the base entrance... there'll be no chance of approaching without being detected."
"I have to agree with Noire here," K-Sha nodded grimly. "And stealth is something I'm really good at..."
"Looks we've got no choice but to attack head-on, then," C-Sha suggested. "So here's what I'm thinking: Myself and the rest of Gold Third will go in first on hover-bike, and draw the enemy's fire... then you guys can fly in and destroy the outer defenses, allowing us to get inside..."
"That seems awfully risky," Princess Asseylum spoke up.
"No worries! We Gold Third can transform, too!" B-Sha exclaimed. "Presto Mask can handle anything the bad guys throw at her!"
"So can Pea!" Peashy cried. "Pea kinda knows what the inside looks like, so Pea can show where Mom-Us is! And then you can spank him for being a bad guy!"
"That's good, P-ko, but you should stay close to us so we don't get separated and lost, 'kay?" Neptune said.
"Okay, Neptuna!"
"I assume she can transform and fight as well?" Asseylum asked.
"Yep, yep! Pea can show you right now! TRANSFORM!" A pillar of light engulfed Peashy, fading to reveal the extremely busty form of Yellow Heart. "Ta-da!"
"H...huh?!" Asseylum's eyes shrank to pinpricks at the sight of Yellow's I-cups. "A-are those real?!"
"Oh yeah, they're real, alright," Haruhi commented as she stood off to the side. "I was just as shocked as you were..." She glanced over at Blanc, who seemed to be glaring at Yellow Heart with mild contempt. "Miss your big chest already, huh?"
"Don't rub it in, alien," Blanc growled as she crossed her arms over her once-again-flat bosom.
"Um, getting back to the strategy meeting..." Nepgear cut in. "Maybe Neptune could use her jet-fighter form to help blast apart the enemy turrets once Gold Third draws their fire?"
"Sweet idea, Nep Jr!" Neptune smiled widely. "I should've thought of that!"
"Yes, you should have," Histoire noted with a sigh. "If we're in agreement on the initial assault, then we should prepare to head out to the enemy's stronghold... it will take about three hours to get there, even with the Deucalion's hover-bikes..."
"Well, I could warp you to the edge of the field, if you want..." Haruhi offered.
"I'm down with that!" Neptune agreed.
"We still need a few minutes to get ready, though," Noire pointed out.
"Yeah, K-Sha and I need to make sure are guns are loaded and working properly," Uni concurred.
"This is why Rom and I do magic instead," Ram snarked. "You don't gotta reload a magic wand..."
"Ram, behave," Blanc chastised.
"Well, just let me know when you're ready to head out..." Haruhi stated.
*Soon, outside Ho-Hum HQ...*
"This is C-Sha, we're ready to head in on your mark," C-Sha said over the hover-bike's radio link, S-Sha riding to her right while K-Sha and B-Sha sat on a bike together on her other side, with K-Sha driving.
"Understood, move forward on Nepgear's signal," Purple Heart replied.
"Alright, move in on the word 'go'," Purple Sister spoke. "On your mark... get set... GO!" The Gold Third immediately sped off, riding closely together as they approached the base... but then several guns began opening fire on the group!
"Disperse! Evasive maneuvers!" C-Sha ordered, the other two bikes breaking off in opposite directions!
"Hold on, B-Sha!" K-Sha yelled as they swerved to try and avoid the hail of bullets and lasers. "If you fall off, you'll be a sitting duck!"
Meanwhile, S-Sha was speeding forward on her hoverbike, only for a laser shot to land a direct hit! "Oh, damn it!" she screamed as she jumped and tumbled off just before it exploded! Wiping dirt off her face, she muttered, "I knew I should've ridden a Chocobo instead..." Fortunately, before the guns could fill her with holes, a good number of them were taken out by a missile barrage, courtesy of Purple Heart's jet-fighter form! Green Heart flew closely behind, using an Inbetween Spear to disable even more turrets!
"This is K-Sha, I'm going in!" K-Sha cried as she revved her bike, popping a wheelie and speeding toward the robot sentry guarding the main entrance!
"I'm gonna fall!" B-Sha screamed.
"Go ahead and jump now!" K-Sha shouted back, B-Sha promptly letting go and tumbling over the field! K-Sha then jumped off herself, rolling to dissipate momentum as the bike kept going, crashing into the sentry and taking out it's legs in the process! Wasting no time, K-Sha got up and equipped her machine guns, firing and blasting the rest of the robot to scrap! "Sentry neutralized! B-Sha, are you okay?"
"I'm kinda dizzy..." B-Sha groaned as she stumbled to her friend's side.
"Good work, K-Sha!" C-Sha said as she pulled up on her bike. "Green Heart's retrieving S-Sha as we speak. Don't worry, she's all right..."
"Have no fear, Yellow Heart's here!" Peashy's HDD form flew onto the scene. "OK! Now I'll show you where Momus is!" Without waiting for a reply, Yellow promptly slashed the steel doors and pulled them open, heading inside!
"This is C-Sha, heading in with B-Sha, K-Sha and Peashy!" C-Sha radioed before dismounting her bike, she and her two comrades following Yellow Heart inside...
*Inside Ho-Hum HQ*
"Intruder alert. Internal defenses activated," a computerized voice spoke, several humanoid robots promptly confronting Yellow Heart and the others!
"Get outta Yellow's way!" Yellow Heart cried as she started slashing the robots apart with her claws! B-Sha blew one to shrapnel with her bazooka while K-Sha downed the rest with her machine guns!
"P-ko, where are you?!" Purple Heart's voice echoed behind the group... "Oh, there you are. I told you not to go too far ahead!"
"I didn't! I stayed with K,C, and B-Sha!" Yellow Heart insisted.
"We just took out the vanguard," C-Sha said. "But it's probably gonna get harder from here on..."
"Then we should wait for the others to catch up first," Purple Heart suggested.
"But what if Momus and the other bad guys get away?!" Yellow cried in distress.
"Better to regroup in case of an ambush," K-Sha pointed out. Fortunately, it didn't take long for the other CPUs (and S-Sha) to join up with them, the party then proceeding deeper into the base...
"I don't like this," Black Sister muttered as they followed Yellow Heart down a hallway. "It's almost too quiet..."
"Peashy, be sure to peek around the corner before you turn," Green Heart called out.
"I know, Bert!" Yellow called back, stopping and slowly peeking around into an intersection. "Don't see anything, come on!" She gestured as she went down the left hallway, the others quickly following...
But as they emerged into a larger room, an unpleasant sight greeted them! "KILLACHINE!" Black Heart cried.
"Hit the deck!" C-Sha cried, she and others diving to the floor as the Killachine opened fire on the group! "Gold Third, transform!"
"Right!" the other three replied as they assumed their Gold Forms! B-Sha fired a bazooka round at the Killachine, the explosion knocking it off-balance slightly! K-Sha then followed up with her Twinbits, blasting the robot with energy waves and massive lasers!
"Don't leave me out!" Black Sister said as she flew above, firing an EX Multi Blaster at the Killachine, causing a small explosion!
"Did we get it?" Yellow Heart asked. Her question was swiftly answered as the Killachine suddenly charged forth from the smoke, scattering the party!
"Dammit, these things are just as tough as I remember!" White Heart growled as she bashed the Killachine's backside with her axe, causing a dent! "Rom, Ram, try to draw it's attention!"
"Right, Big Sis!" The two White Sisters conjured a large ice crystal that was sent flying at the Killachine, which promptly blasted it into so many shards! However, this gave Green Heart time to strike with a Purpurascens Burst, cracking the outer armor significantly!
"My turn! Giant Sword Dance!" C-Sha cried, brandishing a spiked stone blade and slashing the Killachine horizontally, then then following with an overhead slash, causing sparks to fly from the robot's chassis! "I think we've almost got it!"
"Then I'll finish it! Bits Combination!" Purple Sister intoned, summoning two drones that blasted the Killachine with purple lasers from every direction, Nepgear then flying in and finishing with a stab with her laser blade, the Killachine finally blowing apart in a fiery explosion! "And that's a wrap!"
"Nice work, Nepgear!" Purple Heart complimented.
"Pfft, I didn't even get to do anything!" Black Heart lamented.
"Nor did I, but I'm not complaining about it," S-Sha stated. "But you would think we would have come across Dogoo Man by now, or that rogue soldier..."
"Hey, that's right! We've only seen robots so far!" B-Sha realized. "Don't tell me we got punked by these guys... I'll have to charge extra if that's the case!"
"B-but, I know this is the base!" Yellow Heart insisted, sweating. "See? Right there is the computer that Witch Lady was using!" The group turned, and sure enough, there was an inactive terminal with an external hard drive hooked up to it.
"Not exactly a high-end piece of hardware," Green Heart observed.
"Wait a minute..." White Heart said as she looked over the hard drive. "This is MY hard drive! What the hell were these bastards using it for?!"
"Most likely laughing themselves silly at your unfinished manuscripts," Black Heart snarked.
"Care to repeat that, bitch?!" White Heart growled with one red eye glowing. But before a fight could break out between the CPUs, the terminal suddenly powered on! "What the hell-?!" The party focused on the screen, which soon booted up an image of a shadowed figure with small horns and a single orange eye with a slit pupil!
"Greetings, CPUs and their companions," the shadow man spoke. "My name is Overlord Momus, head of the House of Humiliation, or Ho-Hum for short. Of course, if you've gotten this far, then you've probably already surmised that whom you seek is no longer here. Indeed, we have retreated to our auxiliary base, as I predicted that Citrus would inform you of where we were located. Just so we're clear, I have treated your precious Peashy with nothing but kindness..."
"That's why I thought he wasn't a bad guy..." Yellow Heart said sadly.
"Now, if you're intending to turn this abandoned base upside down looking for clues to our current location, I can already tell you that is an exercise in futility," Momus continued. "However, this hard drive left here is of no further use to us, so you may have it back, Lady Blanc..."
"Gee, thanks a lot, asshole," White Heart deadpanned.
"You're welcome," Momus responded. "Yes, you really are that predictable, Blanc. Speaking of predictable, you have two minutes, starting... now." The screen then blipped out, after which a klaxon began blaring as the lights went red!
"Time bomb set. Escape immediately," a computerized voice spoke again.
"It's a trap! Everyone run for your lives!" B-Sha cried in panic, running away with Yellow Heart swiftly following!
"Retreat, retreat!" K-Sha yelled as she also fled, with C-Sha and S-Sha close behind!
"Dammit to hell! You ripped that off one of my games, didn't you?!" White Heart growled as she forcibly unplugged her hard drive, tucking it under one arm as she and the other goddesses got the hell out of dodge...
*Back outside...*
The party watched from a safe distance as the former Ho-Hum headquarters imploded on itself, leaving nothing but a pile of scrap metal and rubble. "Guess that's mission failed, huh?" K-Sha noted sadly.
"I'm sorry, Neptuna! I didn't know it was a trap!" Yellow Heart cried on the verge of tears.
"It's not your fault, P-ko," Purple Heart shook her head. "Overlord Momus obviously planned well in advance for you turning on him and leading us here..."
"That's right, Peashy, you couldn't have known," Green Heart concurred. "So please don't cry..."
"How did a kid like you get mixed up with these guys, anyway?" S-Sha inquired.
"Umm..." Yellow thought for a moment. "W-well, it was Mr. Adrian that introduced me to Momus... that's also why I didn't think they were bad guys..."
"Wait, did you say Adrian?!" Green Heart gasped.
"As in First-Class Petty Officer Adrian Harold Johns?!" Black Heart's eyes went wide. "He's with these guys?!"
"He must be Generic Soldier #20!" White Heart deduced.
"W-wait, what?! It was Peach's boyfriend that tried to kill me?!" Black Sister's eyes shrank to white circles.
"B-but why would he try to kill Uni?!" K-Sha asked. "And what's Miss Peach going to think about this?!"
"...Vert, if you need help breaking the bad news to Big Peashy, I will be glad to assist you," Purple Heart offered.
"Y-yes, that would be a big help," Green Heart sweat-dropped. "I can't imagine what chaos and destruction might ensue when she hears about this..."
"I'll come too!" Yellow Heart jumped in. "I still don't think Mr. Adrian's a bad guy! He probably just got tricked by Momus like I was!"
"I highly doubt it's that simple..." Green Heart sighed.
*And so, the next day...*
There was a knock at the door of Peach's apartment. "Coming!" She quickly went to the door and opened it... "L-Lady Vert? Little sister... and Neptuna?! W-what's going on...?!"
"You might wanna sit down for this, Big Peashy..." Neptune sighed.
"Pea's sorry about this, Big Sister..." Peashy said with her head bowed.
A few minutes later, in Peach Macintosh's brain, high rises crumbled to the ground, fires raged through the forests and fields, the sun and stars went supernova all at once before collapsing into a massive black hole of despair...
"AAAAAADRIIIIAAAANNNNN!"
*To be continued...*