"Ugh…" Koei muttered tiredly as the Planeptune Special Forces waited at the pier for their escort. They were called earlier to show some adventurers from the PC Continent around Gamindustri and make sure they got a good first impression. "If I get called out to a job literally two hours before it starts again, I'm calling the union."

IF rolled her eyes, a disposable coffee cup in her hands, waking up after a night of hanging out with Koei and Uzume, which meant a lot of alcohol. "We're private mercenaries Koei. Maybe if you checked your emails before slamming another four Beers, you wouldn't feel like Blanc smacked you with her warhammer."

"Well maybe it wouldn't be impossible to expect a day off after a frigging tournament." Koei countered, to which IF sighed heavily, not wanting to keep arguing so early in the day.

"It'd be better if this damn fog weren't around. The docks were always picturesque in the morning." Uzume muttered contemplatively, as she recalled many mornings where she'd be waiting for an import from another Nation, mostly Leanbox. "But hey, this reminds me of times gone by! Waiting around for cargo, or sometimes I'd come down when a cruise ship was around and meet some tourists. Nobody expects a CPU to meet you in person!"

"Free Shares. Clever." Koei noted as he sipped on his iced coffee. "Blegh, warm." He took out Serenity and held it under the disposable cup, channeling some of his energy into the blade, exuding an aura of pure ice that chilled everything around it. Taking a sip, he smiled simply. "Better." He stated, slipping Serenity back into his inventory.

Before anyone could comment on the chill in the air, a boat cut through the dense fog, drifting into port as the boat turned starboard before slowing to a stop, the gangway extending automatically as an anonymous sailor let four figures from the ferry before it retracted and the ferry headed out, disappearing as fast as it had appeared.

Gold Third stood, the group analysing their escort crew as the Planeptune Special Forces did the same.

After several tense moments, Koei broke the silence. "Huh. You are certainly some… Unique young women."

"Thanks." C-Sha rolled her eyes internally. "Histoire told me there'd be someone waiting to greet us at the dock. I didn't expect the Planeptune Special forces."

"I didn't expect to be doing a job either." Koei sighed into his freshly rechilled coffee as he made a gesture for the assembled woman to start following him. "But you know, I don't mind helping out a bunch of newcomers. Gamindustri is a wonderful place full of wonderful people."

"And Koei." Uzume snarked, with a wry grin. "But enough about us, you are?"

"I'm C-Sha, and my companions are B-Sha, K-Sha and S-Sha." She pointed to each member as their names were called. "They're codenames, before you ask. The PC Continent is a dark place and using your real name there is a death sentence."

"Wasn't going to." Koei replied with a chuckle. "My own name is a pseudonym, and IF is short for I-"

A katar to Koei's throat stopped him dead in his tracks. "It's short for what?" She asked darkly.

"It means nothing. It is just a codename." Koei stated with no emotion in his voice as IF put her arm back down.

"Better."

Gold Third were stunned by this but IF turned around with a sigh. "Sorry about that, I just hate having my real name being revealed. Makes it easier to gather intel and the like."

"Understandable, but your methods are… Worrying." C-Sha responded, a sweatdrop forming on her brow.

"Really? I thought it was perfectly reasonable." K-Sha spoke up. "I mean I'd put a bullet in his skull to be sure. Oh and make sure to double tap."

"I like her." Uzume couldn't hold back her laughter at K-Sha's homicidal intentions. "But they're you know, a couple."

K-Sha nodded in underderstanding, her gaze averting slightly as the party passed by a specialized weapon store. "Ah, to be in love..." She closed her eyes and thought about the idea of finding someone to settle down with. "But I'm married to my job already. I couldn't possibly endanger someone like that."

"Don't ask." C-Sha saw the curious glint in Koei's eye. "She'd have to kill you if you knew. And she does go through with it." C-Sha pinched the bridge of her nose, recalling the many times K-Sha did just that.

"I actually joined Gold Third because C-Sha learned of my profession and well… I couldn't kill her."

"Not in an emotional way, mind." C-Sha corrected. "First time we met she was genuinely trying to kill me. After fighting her off, we sorta decided just to hang out because we were so evenly matched. That and I felt I couldn't just kill someone so young and yet had so much skill already."

"I can relate, right Uzume?" Koei shot finger guns at the former CPU, who buried her face in her hands. "You four are the first people I've met in a while who are neither A. Actively out to kill me or B. I managed to piss off to the point of trying to actively kill me within minutes."

"... Koei, that's not how human relationships work." C-Sha finally said as the Basilicom came into view finally. "I assume this is where the Oracle resides?"

"Yeah. Why did you come all the way to Planeptune anyway?" IF finally asked the group. "Seems a long way to go just to meet the Oracle."

"Curiosity." Was all she said, before the group heading into the Basilicom, leaving the Planeptune Special Forces right outside.

"Should we make sure they aren't like radical terrorists or something?" Uzume pointed out helpfully to which Koei started walking in a random direction away from the Basilicom.

"If one of them turns out to be a terrorist, I'll give you 1000 Credits." He blew her concerns off as he headed for adventure or something. "My reasoning is that they're legit adventurers, because why would Histoire assign us to escort them to the Basilicom if she didn't trust them?"

"Histoire can screw up, you know?" Uzume countered, following Koei, leaving IF behind who just stood there in shock.

"Well, screw my insight, I guess." She stated simply before taking out a phone and calling a number, "Hey Compa, want to hang out?"

A *ding* came from the elevator as Gold Third disembarked, noticing Histoire waiting for them. "Ah, you must be the mercenaries that requested my presence?"

C-Sha nodded, the other members of Gold Third finding a place to sit. "Yeah, we had some questions about employment opportunities?"

Histoire nodded eagerly. "Oh, of course, of course. Here in Gamindustri, it's very simple for adventurers like yourselves to accept some quests and work for Credits… I assume you four are all adventurers?"

C-Sha nodded, finding her own chair to sit down on. "Yeah. B-Sha is our accountant but can handle herself in a fight too." She pointed to the blonde, who had acquired a pudding and was eating it happily alongside Neptune, who was also there somehow with her own pudding. "How the-"

"That's Neptune. The CPU of this Nation." Histoire put a hand to her head with an exasperated sigh. "She doesn't bite, I promise."

"Fair enough." C-Sha turned back to the fairy. "Well, work seems easier to find than on the PC Continent so I'll just cut right to it: Why form the Planeptune Special Forces?"

Histoire tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean? Neptune and I decided that Koei, Uzume and IF were fitting candidates to work for Planeptune."

C-Sha shook her head. "No, no. I mean why wrangle them under your banner? Uzume is obvious, she was a CPU for Planeptune. IF is a little more dubious, considering her heritage of being born in Leanbox, but understandable as she spent a majority of her life in Planeptune." She turned to K-Sha, who shot a thumbs up. "But Koei? He's an anomaly, don't you think?"

"I had my reasons, C-Sha. I still do. Someone like him…"

"Is a definite sociopath." K-Sha interrupted. "His girlfriend isn't above threatening his life, the other member of the Planeptune Special Forces and presumably his only other true friend is someone who tried to destroy Planeptune and was for all intents and purpose, Koei's ultimate foe, he stank of drink, so is more than likely an alcoholic and generally has a really bad attitude for a Hero."

Histoire and C-Sha sighed simultaneously. "As you can tell, K-Sha is really good at research."

"In this case I just read his memoirs, cross referenced with his Guild profile." K-Sha smiled. "Everything checked out, surprisingly."

"Regardless, we came here to request some more… As you might say, professional work. Directly for Planeptune as a third party, perhaps?"

Histoire floated back in surprise. "Oh! I see, I see. While unfortunately it won't be as easy, but I'll see about it. Perhaps you can work for every Nation? Planeptune has more than enough help already."

C-Sha nodded. "I suppose that'll do. Thanks for your time." The leader of Gold Third got up to leave. "We're done here. Ladies." The other three members got up to leave, heading to the elevator and leaving the Basilicom.

Histoire breathed out a sigh she didn't know she had as sweat formed on her tiny brow. "That C-Sha was more… Direct than I imagined when we first got into contact."

"You're telling me. Felt like that C-Sha lady was drilling into your soul." Neptune commented, still munching on pudding. "You actually gonna go through with that?"

"Of course. Unlike you-" Histoire glared at the CPU, lying on her back, pudding balanced on her stomach. "I make good on my promises whenever possible. Now, I have to go speak to the other Oracles about a potential contract with this Gold Third… Not that you'd care." She floated off leaving Neptune to not care at all, as expected.

"Of course Histoire can make mistakes." Koei reasoned, he and Uzume trading points as the pair wandered through Planeptune. "Hell, she made the mistake of not killing you when you showed signs of reawakening is why you're here, right?"

Uzume put a hand to her chin, contemplating silently as she did so. "I suppose." She finally said. "You know… Blanc was at Celestia last night. We said some things, but…"

"Don't tell me you two fought." Koei put his face in his hands with a frustrated groan. "Last thing I need to hear about is you and Blanc fistfighting outside a bar."

"No, no. But she left me… Introspective, I suppose." She continued to contemplate as the pair sat down on a nearby bench. "Blanc definitely hates me, but she explained why and… I have to respect her logic. I forced her to hurt her sisters, which made her feel like shit. Such a negative experience is associated with me, so it's little wonder she said what she said."

Koei nodded in agreement. "You know how I won her over? Rescuing her sister from a kidnapper, but that was after being mistaken for having beaten up and kidnapping her other sister and being arrested for my trouble!"

Uzume stayed silent, before her composure broke and she started a full on laughing fit. "Wow, and I thought I was bad!... I mean, I am." Her face fell with a sigh. "The only bright spot is that Vert thinks I can redeem myself, but I don't know if that's an empty platitude. Blanc was pretty drunk, after all."

Koei put a hand on her former nemesis' shoulder and rubbed it soothingly. "Hey, we all say stupid things while drunk, but I think Blanc was being genuine about that."

"Then again, Vert only fought Nepgear. Sure, she has a sister complex, but the pair are nowhere near as close as Blanc is to her sisters." Koei thought to himself with some exasperation, but kept smiling in order to not seem suspicious. "Anyway, as long as we're being all introspective and shit… What do you think Iffy sees in me?"

Uzume chuckled to herself. "You two have been dating for over a month and you're only thinking about that now?"

Koei scratched the back of his head, averting his eyes as he blushed. "Well…" He muttered almost inaudibly. "Just wondering what a different viewpoint would provide and asking Iffy directly might get… Awkward."

"Because your relationship has never ever been awkward before." She snarked in response before laying back, keeping one eye open as she stared into the sky. "Well physically you're nothing special, that much is true. Hell, your blandness makes you stand out, and maybe she sees something in someone who is physically unremarkable? I wouldn't know personally. But personality wise… You share a lot with Nepsy. I mean, a lot."

"I can only see this going so well." Koei sighed as Uzume continued.

"I mean, we've hung out a few times, Nepsy and I. She's a lovable goof, definitely different from my own by the books, hard worker vibe but there's just something so charming about her ditzy innocence. I can't bring myself to hate her, or even dislike her. And it's not like her behaviour is so idiotic that she's incapable of doing her job."

Koei let out a light chuckle. "Yeah, I'm starting to see why you make that comparison, but how does that relate to Iffy?"

"Well, Ifsy seems like a serious worker type, right? Yet she hangs out with Nepsy all the time, despite their differences."

Koei nodded, realization slowly dawning upon him. "Wait…"

"Honestly, Nepsy is probably too… Nepsy for a girl like IF, but say someone who has shades of that while still being competent enough on their own and shares traits with her, such as choice of weaponry, hobbies, alcoholism…"

"I am nothing like Neptune!" Koei retorted, but with a serious blush on his face as he considered the theory. "Well, I suppose a CPU dating a human would make things awkward in the public eye… Plus Iffy doesn't seem to swing that way, otherwise she and Compa would have you know…"

"Nah, nah." Uzume shook her head. "Compsy's a childhood friend and while very earnest… Probably a bit naive when it comes to that sort of thing. Nepsy too, probably. That and childhood friends never date, according to the harem anime I watched in preparation of this inevitability." She finished with a smug aura as Koei just stared in confusion.

"So that's why my Nepflix is full of ecchi harem." Koei sighed in resignation as bad memories of wanting a nice evening of relaxing with some Nepflix turning into relentless mocking from IF and Uzume… "Wait a minute you watched-"

"Let's not get into who intentionally ruined who's Nepflix recommendations." Uzume interrupted with a knowing smirk. "The point is that while you and Nepsy share traits, it's your… Unique charm that she cares more for, you know?"

"I don't."

"Great! That concludes today's session." Uzume quickly got up before Koei could respond and sprinted off, giggling like a schoolgirl as she did so.

Koei got up himself, muttering obscenities as he thought about what Uzume had said before.

"Maybe… Maybe I am like Neptune." He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Well since I'm on my own, I might as well do a Quest. Just like old times!"

"Ah, the Guild." Koei took a deep breath in, smelling the paper and ink that filled the backlines of the local Quest hub. "A nice, simple, solo quest."

"Sir Koei!" A chipper British accent dashed any hope of that happening. "You're here to quest, too?"

Koei sighed before turning to meet Million Arthur's determined gaze, an equally determined grin plastered across her face.

"... Sure. I guess you want to do one together?" Koei asked the obvious, knowing the answer in advance.

Arthur nodded enthusiastically. "Lady IF and I previously embarked on one before my companion… Left me." her face fell for a moment before perking right back up. "Regardless, I wish to spend some time with the Saviour of Planeptune and more help in a quest is always good, correct?

Koei stared incredulously. "Your logic is impeccable. And I hate it."

Arthur forcefully slammed a hand onto Koei's shoulder in response. "Excellent! We shall make haste!"

Million Arthur rushed off, not even realizing that Koei hadn't even accepted a quest yet. Taking a random quest from the board, Koei exited, leaning against the Guild building's wall as he waited for the overeager knight to return, blushing furiously as she averted her eyes from the Saviour of Planeptune.

"Someone's excited for imminent violence." Koei noted with a grin, memories of his first day in Gamindustri resurfacing as he started to walk in a seemingly random direction. "Come on, it's an easy quest in Poyu Poyu Plains."

"Assuming there are no random dragons around this time." Koei thought to himself, shuddering as Arthur glanced at him with some amount of concern.

"Sir Koei?"

He shook his head upon that moniker being used. "It's nothing. Poyu Poyu Plains is usually a safe enough questing area. Dogoos and that, you know?"

Arthur silently nodded in response, following Koei without another word.

"Goddesses above…" Arthur muttered as she laid eyes upon the warzone that was Poyu Poyu Plains for the first time. "What is this?"

"I honestly have no friggin' clue." Koei admitted with a defeated tone. "I stopped trying to figure out the madness that is Gamindustri a long time ago."

"Figures." Arthur admitted, before spotting a nearby sad blue Dogoo and putting it out of its miserable existence with a single slash, splattering goo everywhere. "AHA!" Her tone changed dramatically as the thrill of senseless murder flowed through her veins and adreniline built up inside of her.

"Yup, there's the bloodlust." Koei noted, rolling his eyes as he cast a fireball at a very neutral looking green Dogoo, which naturally caught on fire before exploding spectacularly. "Still as explosive as ever, I see."

"Well executed, Sir Koei!" Arthur praised, slashing at another Dogoo, literally red with rage as Koei pulled out Peace (Which he just forgot to return to Nepgear after testing out her experimental pistols.) and took some potshots at a different red Dogoo. "... But perhaps stick to swordplay."

"I'll do what I damn well please!" Koei pouted defiantly at Arthur's observation. Using several more shots to (eventually) take out another depressed blue Dogoo, it seeming to accept death with open arms. "Wow… These blue ones are actually really easy to kill." He opened up his UI Gloves to check the Quest he accepted. "Yeah, these guys aren't even on the kill list."

"Kill them anyway?" Arthur shrugged, before stepping into blue slime herself. "Gross." She stared blankly before shoving her blade into the gooey mass, killing it instantly. "Definitely kill."

"Your murder spree." Was all Koei said in response, before casting a high power ice spell towards a group of yellow, joyous dogoos, freezing them all, before the pile of ice shattered along with the formerly liquid slimes.

The pair continued to banter and slaughter helpless hordes of slimes, eventually clearing the area entirely, leaving the pair tired and panting, but ultimately successful in their quest.

"You… You fight well, Sir Koei." Arthur admitted, sitting with her back against Koei's.

"You should know that already." Koei smiled, a futile gesture considering he was leaning against her back, but a gesture nonetheless. "You're not so bad yourself honestly."

The pair chuckled breathlessly as a shadow fell over them. "Hey Arthur, you know if the weather called for clouds?"

Arthur shook her head in response. "Don't think it did, no?"

*GOO.*

Turning to the source of a noise, a massive Dogoo stood, shimmering every colour of the rainbow while it stared the pair down with painful, deadly intention at its kin being destroyed so mercilessly.

"Don't think he's friendly." Koei snarked as he got up, walking backwards with Serenity in hand as Arthur mirrored his actions.

*GOO.* The creature repeated as it hopped forwards. The pair's pace increased before the creature's cold, unfeeling eyes started to glow before rainbow lasers shot out of it which they barely dodged.

"OKAY I AM LEARNING A LOT ABOUT DOGOO BIOLOGY LATELY." Koei yelled in shock as he fired an ice spell off…

Before it harmlessly bounced off the Dogoo's slimy body. "I uh…"

"It appears that the hide of this beast is too thick for magic to deal damage." Arthur observed as the Dogoo breathed fire, forcing the pair to run away.

"Dogoos are amazing creatures. I just wish this one would stop trying to kill us!" Koei panicked, firing off spells to no avail.

*GOO!* The Dogoo roared again, spears of ice emerging out of the ground, nearly impaling both heroes at once as they advanced.

"Sir Koei… This being is like none other I've seen." Arthur admitted with some trepidation. "I have travelled Gamindustri and beyond and something like this…"

With a curt nod, the pair started to attempt to flee, but the dogoos' eyes started to glow again, charging another laser eye attack that would surely strike the pair down without them knowing.

"C-Buster!" A familiar, yet far more aggressive voice called out as pew sounds emanated from behind the pain and roars of pain. Turning, it seems the Dogoo was focusing on the thing that sneak attacked it.

Not wanting their potential saviour to be hurt, the pair rushed back into battle against their better judgement as a figure backflipped over the gigantic slime, sliding backwards a bit as they landed.

With wings of blue and golden steel and a mysterious blaster type device connected to her right hand, a beret-less C-Sha opened fire on the beast, it roaring in pain as each shot connected, before charging up a final shot that fired a giant fireball-esque projectile that exploded when it made contact with its target, shoving it back significantly.

"C-Sha?"

Upon her name being called, C-Sha turned to Koei, her usual hazel eyes being golden now as her ponytail flopped lazily. "Ah, Koei!" She greeted warmly, but with a tinge of aggression at the same time as her buster disappeared. "Why are you here? A Rainbow Omegoo is nothing to mess with."

"An Omegoo… Whatever." Koei shook his head, trying to comprehend what the hell was going as his dragon-winged saviour noticed the Omegoo approaching, anger in its eyes as two bushy eyebrows were furrowed.

"We can talk later!" C-Sha rushed towards the slime before punching it with the full strength of her momentum, before opting for a series of high kicks followed by a charged punch that sent the Omegoo flying far away.

Training her eyes on the rapidly shrinking slime, the device on C-Sha's left hand extended as she took off to the sky, before charging one final laser and firing it, a glorious golden beam covering the sky from C-Sha to her target before exploding spectacularly as she landed.

Needless to say Koei and Arthur were shocked. "I. What."

In a flash, C-Sha returned to her usual state (Using the flash to reapply her beret, as that always ended up in her pocket when she activated that form) before sternly staring at the pair. "Seriously. What the hell do you two think you're doing, summoning that thing with no idea on how to fight it?"

"We were just fighting slimes, you know? Thought this place would be safe after the last time I was here because I fought a freakin' Dragon."

C-Sha sighed and facepalmed. "Killing 10 or 20 dogoos is fine. But… How many did you kill?"

"At least 100. Each." Koei admitted with some embarrassment.

"Yup. Just as expected." C-Sha looked to where the Omegoo was before she blasted it with a giant laser beam. "If you wipe out the Dogoo population in a given area, the souls of the slain will combine into one mega Dogoo, which is much tougher and hellbent for vengeance against those who killed their brethren. You also had the downside of doing so in an area with elemental Dogoos, which meant it was immune to elemental magic."

Koei put a hand to his chin in thought in response to this, looking over the various piles of goo around the otherwise peaceful plain. "You know all this…"

"Because I used to hunt rare monsters." C-Sha stated simply in response. "You do research before you do that sort of thing, so you can counter their quirks. You went in with the thing it's completely immune to. Very smart."

Koei crossed his arms with an exaggerated eye roll. "Didn't even know such a thing existed before today, so excuse my ignorance… Where's your gal pals anyway?"

A conveniently timed explosion in the distance answered their question. "That was probably B-Sha. See, the thing about Omegoos is… There's never just one of them."

"Ah. How inconvenient." Koei said with no emotion. "I suppose you'd have to go over there and-"

"This is B-Sha! Mission complete!" A staticy voice crackled into life as C-Sha grabbed the radio attached to her hip.

"Good work B-Sha. Patrol the area for any more Omegoos and report back in t-minus 30 minutes." C-Sha commanded before turning the radio off. "I suppose you two… Unique adventurers need a guide home?"

Koei shook his head. "Nah, nothing a few stabs with my sword won't take care of if we do happen to run into anything." He then realized that he forgot one vital aspect of the ass saving process. "And uh, thanks for the save, C-Sha."

"Not a problem. Long as you two know what you're doing if you find another Omegoo, you'll get through fine." C-Sha seemed to be happy either way with the duos choice. "Feels nice to save people, no matter how much I do it. That and getting to kick some ass, haha."

With that, the busty brunette walked off in a seemingly random direction, determined to annihilate all in her path.

"I must say… This C-Sha…" Arthur started.

"Yeah?"

"Has really nice tits."

As if on cue, C-Sha seemed to teleport back to the duo, decking Arthur in the face with a single, face shattering punch.

She started to walk away again, but stopped rather suddenly. "Sorry, I just don't like it when my assets are brought up in such a… Perverse way. Thank you for not being that person, Koei." C-Sha stated factually before leaving for real this time, leaving Koei with a barely conscious Million Arthur, laying on the floor in agony.

"What am I going to do with you…" Koei sighed as he prepared for the long and painful journey back to Planeptune.

Uzume panted as she balanced herself against a rock, having exhausted herself by her sheer sprint away from Koei.

"Phew. Haven't had a workout like that in 20 years." She mused to herself, wheezing and heaving as she did so, before looking around, seeing a trio of heroes fighting multi-coloured dogoos.

One bazooka wielding young lady.

One dual SMG wielding high schooler.

And one traditional blade wielding woman.

"Huh." Uzume thought to herself. "Where's the busty one?"

Treading lightly into the foray, Uzume watched the trio fight off swarms of dogoos effortlessly, explosions and gunfire echoing arounds the battlefield as she did so.

"I don't know why C-Sha decided to run off…" B-Sha muttered dejectedilly as another missile annihilated a group of coloured dogoos easily.

"Well, she is known for hunting rare monsters. Not that I blame her." S-Sha stated factually, slashing a blue dogoo with an electrically enchanted sword, the energy remaining in the air for nary a moment before dispersing explosively. "That and you know she strives to be the strongest fighter, for whatever reason."

"FRAG OUT!" K-Sha announced suddenly before throwing a fragmentation grenade towards a group of suspiciously positioned purple dogoos, which left a significant crater where they once were.

*beat*

"Well, no time like the present." Uzume chose this moment to make herself known, initially drawing suspicion from the trio, but recognized Uzume and stood down. "Where's your gal pal?"

A giant golden laser beam shot down from the distance, shaking the earth as it utterly annihilated the ground and whatever it hit.

Uzume stared in awe at the laser. "Should… Should we-"

"Nah, that's just C-Sha." B-Sha waved off the giant death beam. "Looks like she found an Omegoo herself."

"An Omegwhat?"

"One of those." B-Sha pointed out helpfully, pointing her bazooka at the pulsating mass of undead Dogoo souls. "GOING LOUD!"

With that announcement, a comically large bazooka round was launched towards the Omegoo, which upon contact exploded rather spectacularly into a mushroom cloud as B-Sha put on a pair of sunglasses and walked away without another word.

"And there she goes." S-Sha commented emotionlessly. "Thinking that not looking at that explosion is cool…"

B-Sha turned around, sunglasses glinting in the sunlight. "Cool girls don't look at explosions." She said as gruffly as her immature vocal chords could allow before continuing to walk away.

"Well... " Uzume pinched the bridge of her nose and contained her confused rage. "That was surprisingly stupid, and I work with Koei Tech. I think it'd be best if I headed back to Planeptune." She stated simply before turning on her heel and walking away without another word.

"Maybe I need to owe Koei that 1000 Credits after all." Uzume mused to herself as she stepped over the various piles of goo that littered the plain. "They're too… unique for something as benign as terrorism."

"Goddesses sake, Arthur." Koei muttered to himself, the barely conscious knight over his shoulder as he trudged back to Planeptune. "Would it kill you to get some lighter armor?"

"Probably…" Arthur weakly responded, still reeling from C-Sha's face shattering punch. "I mean literally. Those chainmail bikinis are no excuse for armor." Arthur took this moment to cough violently. "How long is this going to take? Your shoulder is digging into my stomach."

Koei rolled his eyes, a futile gesture as Arthur was looking behind him at the time. "If you want I can just leave you to die!" He suggested with far more enthusiasm than was needed.

*beat*

"I'll take the shoulder digging."

"See? Not so hard." Koei finished, adjusting his cargo accordingly to at least ease the digging feeling a tad.

Time slowly passed as the Saviour of Planptune trudged his way back to if not home outright, at the very least the Guild. He had a quest to turn in after all.

"So Sir Koei…" Arthur started to which he sighed dramatically. "Would you care to divulge how you and Lady IF met?"

"At the guild in Lowee. She gave me Serenity." Koei replied simply. "What, did you think it was something significant?"

"Maybe?"

"I mean it was, but not at the time. Why are you even asking this?"

"Curiosity." The knight's tone fell a bit. "As someone who has forgotten her own past, hearing someone else's tales helps me stay strong in my quest to find what happened to me and why I can't recall my past…"

"Sounds fun." Koei remarked with no emotion, not wanting to have emotional baggage as well as the literal burden on his shoulders. "Can we just get back to Planeptune without the backstory?"

Arthur sighed in resignation. "Sure. My apologies Sir Koei, but it's a problem I've been grappling with for a while."

Silence reigned as Koei continued to trudge, thinking over what Arthur said.

Trudge. Trudge. Trudge.

"I can relate." Koei admitted finally. "With how many hits to the head I've taken in my time here, I can't remember my former life. My family, my friends, my home… My name. My entire identity is built on lies, Arthur. People see me as this grandiose Hero who fights alongside goddesses and saves people. Truth is, I'm just a guy with a sword. The last month has been totally idyllic and peaceful and frankly… I don't feel like I deserve what I have. A loving girlfriend, a former enemy living in my apartment, a steady income… It's too perfect for me."

Silence reigned again as the pair continued to travel. "Sir Koei… You do good things for the sake of being good. You could have just left me back there, but you gritted your teeth and picked me up anyway. You may grumble, but ultimately you're still human. That includes self-doubt at times. Perhaps you shouldn't let your doubt affect your judgement and continue down this path. Maybe then you'll see yourself as a Hero."

"Maybe." Koei replied, before feeling a weight lift off his shoulders, both emotionally and literally as Arthur climbed off his shoulder with a thud, before unsteadily getting up, dusting herself down as she did so. "You good?"

"I've taken worse beatings." The knight chuckled in response before starting to walk off. "Fare thee well, fellow knight!" She waved and started on her walk towards Planeptune, now in sight.

"Fare thee well." Koei nodded in response before pulling a Nep Bull out of his inventory and taking a satisfying drink. "Maybe she has a point, heh."

Uzume cracked her neck as she returned to the Basilicom, tired but ultimately satisfied with how the day had progressed.

Exiting the elevator, she noticed Histoire delegating with a green haired woman over the phone.

"The meeting is set for three days from now? I see, I see." Histoire nodded. "I'll make sure the Planeptune Special Forces are there, just in case."

"Well, it's not entirely necessary, but I suppose the safety of the CPUs is important. Goddesses knows I've been hearing rumors of some group or other who wish to harm the CPUs." The green haired Oracle agreed, albeit with some hesitation.

"Histoire?"

"Oh, that'll be Uzume. I'll talk to you later, Chika." The feed cut off as the floating book turned around. "I have good news and bad news. The good is that the PSF is on break for the next three days…"

"Because we're going to be at that meeting as security?"

"Indeed." Histoire nodded, smiling warmly. "I trust you can relay this information to Koei and IF?"

"What kind of leader would I be if I couldn't do that?" Uzme crossed her arms with a knowing smirk.

"Former leader."

"What, I don't run the PSF? What a ripoff." Uzume mock pouted before laughing maniacally. "I understand Histy. I'll tell Kosy and Ifsy at Celestia, don't you worry."

"I trust your judgement." Histoire said before floating out of sight, leaving Uzume to crack her knuckles in peace.

"Right then. Hopefully Kosy doesn't try to kill me for filling his Nepflix with ecchi trash." She chuckled to herself. "Still hilarious."

The door to Celestia swung open as a tired, but ultimately happier Koei with renewed resolve. "Jill! My usual!"

As he strolled up to his usual seat in his usual drinking spot, Jill noticed his chipper attitude instantly. "Someone's happy today."

"Bit of self-discovery, got to meet some new friends, now to get wasted!" Koei announced happily.

"Fair enough." His positivity spread to the bartender as she gave a rare smile while mixing up his drink.

With a content sigh, Koei took his drink, giving the bartender some Credits before taking a drink. "Tastes of victory."

The door to Celestia swung open again, this time revealing Uzume, surprisingly limber despite her tiredness."Hey Kosy, Jillsy."

"I keep telling you to stick to Jill." She sighed before starting to make another Beer.

"And I keep telling you you're cute when I'm hammered on Pile Drivers but you never return my feelings."

"That one explains itself."

"Does it?"

"Yes."

Their banter was interrupted by the door opening one final time, revealing IF, unsurprisingly. "IF, thank the Goddesses. Your usual?"

IF nodded and took a seat next to Koei. "Hey."

"Hey." Koei's smile brightened at IF's mere presence. "Sorry for abandoning you earlier."

"Ehhh, no need to be so clingy." She waved off Koei's concerns with a literal wave. "We spend so much time together, it's fine to take breaks sometimes. Plus, I wanted to catch up with Compa."

"Fair nuff." Koei concluded, taking a big drink as he did so.

"By the way, get as hammered as you want." Uzume spoke up. "We got the next few days off, but we're working security for a big meeting between the CPUs."

"Sweet!" Koei took this information in stride as he downed his first of many drinks of the night while IF sighed in frustration.

"I might just stay with Compa for tonight and leave you with him, Uzume." IF seethed as Jill started making another drink for the alcoholic Hero.

"Bah, you know you love me." Koei shot back with nary a moment.

"...Yeah." IF blushed heavily. "Something about you is just… Cute."

"Do I remind you of Neptune, perhaps?" Koei put a hand to his chin, to which IF started to breathlessly chuckle.

"You know what? You do." She admitted with a smile. "Your optimism, that cavalier attitude you have towards battle… But you don't go full Neptune, you know? You have boundaries and limits. How do I put it? You're childish, but I still see you as an adult?"

"Thaaaaanks?" Koei had conflicting feelings of this revelation. "I mean I can't exactly refute what you said but it's kinda weird you think of me in that way?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you're more of an adult than Nep is."

"I can agree with that." Uzume nodded as she took a long drink. "Nepsy's nice and all, but there's a reason why I crash on your sofa and not the Basilicom's. Well, that and not paying rent."

"Thaaaaanks." Koei rolled his eyes. "Glad to know you like my sofa over my personality."

"Not a problem." Uzume smiled knowingly. "Doubt the Basilicom's sofa would be as comfortable anyway… Pretty sure it's been there since even before I became CPU." She then put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I should get Histoire to replace it so I can stop there sometimes."

"Or just stop in a bed." Koei reasoned logically.

"That too."

"Regardless of sleeping conditions, how was your day?" Jill moved the topic along before it could get any weirder.

"I nearly died to an… Omegoo. Stupid name."

"I watched a loli blow up an Omegoo before trying to be an action hero."

"I talked to Compa."

"And I served two alcoholics and a Guild agent. Interesting times we're having, but I'm curious about the Omegoo."

"Well, it all started when I headed to the Guild…"

"So, the plans are finalized?" An eyepatch-wearing individual was using an old, falling apart phone with visible cracks and a poor signal, but it worked.

"Yeah. We'll "leak" details of the meeting on the day, maybe "misplace" some of those lovely anti-CPU smoke grenades you so charitbally lent us and see where the day takes us." A womanly voice answered, neutral in tone but malicious intent fully clear.

"Sweet. Just one thing?"

"Hmm?"

"I have plans for the CPUs, so they need to be brought here alive. Anyone who gets in your way on the other hand…"

"Open season." The voice replied gleefully. "I'll do my best, Magic."

The line cut out, leaving CFW Magic to rest on her throne of discarded game consoles. "Open season indeed, my subordinate." She thought to herself, observing her empire of the broken, damned souls she ran, known locally as the Gamindustri Graveyard.

"Hopefully they'll be successful… It's not like I'm helping spread ASIC just for profit, after all."

A/N: Man, no comments to respond to this time? Oh well, it's a sign to actually kick this fucking plot into motion. Sprinkling of mystery and we have been introduced to our Big Bad for the day.

Fun times. Anyway next time on Chapter 3*: Terrorism! Yay!

*The way I see it, the prologue just sets up a post SWaS world, so much like a cold open. Planeptune's Strongest had two parts and this very chapter is the second proper chapter.

If you think about it like that, then it doesn't feel agonizingly slow. I dunno man, I have all these cool ideas for set-pieces down the line and it's just getting to them that's the hard part. Also it's like 12:40am when I'm writing this and I'm disgustingly sober. I hate Saturdays.