Hyperdimension Neptunia is owned by Compile Heart, Idea Factory, Sega, and whoever else worked on it.
Idk what to put here anymore, so here's a quote.
"Logic is what the devil likes most"
Kelly Braffet
Chapter 11
(-)
09:00 AM, Arfoire's Farm.
It has been three days since Nepgear and Gehaburn had visited Eden and acquired what seems to be a lead to what they are dealing with. The two now are inside the house's basement, after they had a meeting call with Trick and Magic, they had been analyzing and experimenting with the empty flask that was filled with transparent energy molecules that the half ice half fire Garuda had left before vanishing. Though Nepgear does most of the work since she knows that science stuff while Gehaburn acts as the energy observer up close to see the molecule's behavior.
Meanwhile, on the outside, Arfoire and Warechu were doing their usual farming dailies. There weren't a lot of crops that are ripe yet, so Arfoire had let Nepgear and Gehaburn do their own thing inside since there's not much work to be done right now. While Arfoire was planting some eggplant seeds on the fields, Warechu began to complain about himself.
"Hey Granny, how come I don't get some leeway like the two? I've worked hard too, Chu" Warechu said from the back to Arfoire while checking the eggplants for any faulty.
"That's because you're a part-timer here. Unlike you, they are full-time farmers and have been a huge help to my workload. I even got some free time to relax ever since they came here" Arfoire then turned to look at Warechu. "So if you want some "leeway", you better work your ass harder in here"
"Ugh really? I'm too lazy to go that far, plus I still have my other job out there, Chu" Warechu slumped at it.
"Then don't complain and do your job" Arfoire ordered Warechu, which made the mouse whimper and continue to do his job on the crops.
After a while, Warechu asked something again as he can't shut up about it.
"Granny, have you ever thought of using them both for your goal against that brat girl Neptune? Chu" Warechu asked the working pale lady that was wearing her usual witch clothes and a towel on her neck.
That question had made Arfoire stop whatever she was doing on the fields and she flinched a little, then she began to say something.
"O-of course, they would be an amazing a-asset in achieving my goal" Arfoire replied with a hint of stutters and hesitation.
"Then how come you haven't done that yet, Granny? With this Nepgear's science stuff and Burn's power, You can get revenge on Neptune for what she's done to you and you won't have to deal with her anymore, Chu"
"I…" Arfoire trailed off as she thought of her time with the three at night, enjoying together with them as the three drink and eat with each other on the couch while watching comedy shows on TV. The feeling when she had done all that was enjoyable with their company, same goes for when they work together. All in all, it was a good time for Arfoire's heart to chill out.
At the last thought, Nepgear's disappointed face appeared in front of her which made Arfoire feel uneasy. She stopped thinking about it and went back to work. Arfoire then said this to Warechu.
"...I need the right time to ask that, Rat, Especially when they are busy inside. Plus, what did I tell you about calling me that?"
"Yeah yeah, whatever, Prez" Warechu called with a bit of sarcastic tone, but Arfoire didn't nag at him as she was in her mind.
'Have I gone soft? I should be more forcing and violent but I can't bring myself up to do that, or to them specifically' Arfoire thought in her mind, she then looked at her house and sighed before continuing her work.
Meanwhile, in the basement, Nepgear was sitting on a portable lab that she had installed on the right corner which was the opposite to the bed that was on the left corner. While she sat there, she analyzed the last bit of the molecules on the flask through her HUD screen system in the lab. Gehaburn was right behind Nepgear, giving the dark lilac-haired girl a massage with her hands because she had done her part. Both of them wear their usual clothes, Nepgear with her set of a black sailor uniform on the inside and a long black parka hoodie coat on the outside that are tightened with the seven-colored sashes, and Gehaburn her purple outfit with the split hoodie.
"Aaaaannnndd done!" Nepgear let go of the HUD screen keyboards as she had finished analyzing. "Finally, after two days, I got the structure of the molecules and what it consists of!"
"Really? That means we can know what they consist of now?!" Gehaburn said as she was surprised.
"Yep, I told you that it isn't impossible to crack these random components. Just need put some extra work on the thing to handle it all" Nepgear said with a proud look.
"Well, I'll be damned that you've done it, especially since the behavior of the energies inside that flask is so wonky and confusing as fuck that I had to sit back and clear off my head after observing it," Gehaburn said as she stopped massaging Nepgear and scratched her head a bit.
"That's because it WAS structured to confuse observers and researchers like us. Here, I'll show you" Nepgear pressed some of the HUD keyboards to enlarge it and turned it to Gehaburn. The screen displayed a 3D Hexagon with the line segments molecules that connect each other had different colors. The segment colors were mostly dark blue, purple, and dark yellow, with a little red, and blue color. Dark blue and Dark yellow represents VIRUS and Legacy, Purple represents the CME, and red-blue colors represent the element of the half-half Garuda.
After a few seconds, the 3D Hexagon changed its structure into something random, but the line segments amount stay the same. It kept on changing to random shapes and positions as Gehaburn looked at the screen while sitting on the bed.
"Ah, no wonder it confused me, the molecules kept on changing their shapes, energy flow, and their connections, all in random RnG," Gehaburn said as she got what Nepgear had shown her.
"That's right, the difference is that Trick's samples were fixed in the molecule changes. But ours can conjure a variety of shapes, therefore it doesn't have a fixed pattern," Nepgear said as she was reminded of their talk with Trick and Magic two days prior.
"Yeah, considering that the ones Trick had shown us were a 3D square-like structure instead of a Hexagon" Gehaburn added out as well from the past talk.
"Which means the weird monsters in here are stronger than the ones coming to our dimension, I'd say about 30% percent from its full potential. Though the thing is that the full potential itself is unknown as there's something there in the middle of the structure" Nepgear pointed at the middle of the ever-changing hexagon structure. It displayed a question mark as it was missing something.
"Ain't that the part where Magic said about your hypothesis? like We have something that the others don't?" Gehaburn questioned Nepgear.
"Correct, even with my skills, I still can't figure out the one thing that stands out among the rest of the molecules. Either we destroyed it as we defeat the weird monsters or it quickly vanish first in line than the rest" Said Nepgear.
"Sigh, What a bummer" Gehaburn lay down on the bed at the same time as Nepgear turned off the HUD and the portable's lab functions "Guess it's time for us to get the actual completed CPU Memory huh?"
"That or, like what Magic had suggested, wait for her and Trick to recreate two CPU Memory crystal's from some of the accumulated CMEs and purify one of them," Said Nepgear whilst cleaning up her work
"But you can't wait any longer, do you? Sure it would work, but the clock is always ticking" Gehaburn said with a grin.
"Heh, You're right bout that one" Nepgear turned to Gehaburn huffed at her sentence "I'm not gonna sit here and wait here while they do their work. We're all in this together. So the two of us must do what we can in here, the best as we can. Plus, we don't know what other abominations our enemy would create, so waiting is a bad move"
"Now that's what I like to hear, an action! Would be boring as hell if we don't do something" Gehaburn stood up from the bed and fist-bumped Nepgear's fist in front of her. "Though where are we gonna get one? Warechu had told us that the already-known spawn points of the CPU Memory had suddenly shuffled to somewhere random due to some weird phenomenon"
"Didn't you watch the news yesterday with me and Arfoire?" Nepgear asked Gehaburn with her head tilted a bit, Gehaburn only shakes her head left and right as a sign that she didn't watch it. "Oh right, you feel bored easily when it comes to those types of channel bored. I still remember that you fell asleep on Arfoire's lap. Good thing that Arfoire let you sleep there else you would get a bump on your head"
"Ehehehe….." Gehaburn laughed nervously.
"Alright, I'll just tell you as I change" Nepgear went to the other corner in front of the bed so she can change her clothes to her farmer's overall clothing. When changing, Nepgear began to explain something while Gehaburn just stare at Nepgear's bare body with a nosebleed on her nose.
"From yesterday's Famitsu News, it showed a mine located in Lowee that off-limits and was guarded with some of the Lowee's men. When they said that there was something weird inside the mines, I immediately thought of either a spawn point for the weird monsters or a CPU Memory spot that had appeared inside. It may be of a stretch but it is the best lead that we got, assuming we don't have the time to search the whole Gamindustri. Therefore I plan to sneak inside so I can look for the CPU Memory or the weird monsters whilst examining the spot" Nepgear told Gehaburn in full and after she had said all that, her clothes had already changed into blue overalls and a black shirt with the farmer's hat hanging on her back.
"So did you get all that?" Nepgear turned to look at the nosebleeding Arfoire standing there "Uhhhh Burn? Helloooo" Nepgear waved her hand near Gehaburn's face to snap her out.
"W-wha? Errr yes, I got it" Gehaburn wiped her nosebleed and put out a thumbs up.
"You didn't get all that did you?" Gehaburn nervously shakes her head as a no sign "Figures, sigh, I should've put on some curtains in here for changing clothes" Nepgear facepalm herself.
"Sorry about that, hehe, I was mesmerizing at your beautiful body" Gehaburn apologized with a silly face.
"Get your mind out of the gutter" Nepgear bonked Gehaburn's head with her hands softly "I'll explain again on the way later, so pay attention next time"
"Mkay" After Gehaburn had acknowledged it, she covered herself with dark purple mist and had changed into her farmer overall clothing that is Nepgear's set but all purple colored.
The two farmer girls went out from the basement and went straight into the garage to see Arfoire and Warechu were putting some of their package shipments, they were almost done putting them all. Gehaburn called out Arfoire from the garage's door.
"Heyaa Prezzy Arfoire, you are done with your work?"
"Yeah, just getting this last box in…." Arfoire lifts the last eggplant package box and puts it in the back of the truck "...There, done"
Arfoire used his towel that was hanging on her neck to wipe the sweat off her face, boobs, and other parts while asking the two about their thing.
"You guys done as well? The whole lab stuff?"
"Yep, was worth it for us. But of course, there's something else to it that's needs a more, field search" Arfoire raised her eyebrow at that part "You know what? I'll just let Nepgear do the explaining" Gehaburn pointed her thumb to Nepgear
Nepgear sighed and then began to tell Arfoire what they wanted to do "Basically, we would like to go Lowee's mines to look inside of it as our next lead. Coincidentally, your schedule this time is in Lowee, so it'll be better if we go together"
"Okay then, guess we'll be going together today" Arfoire went to the driver's seat to take the wheel on the left side.
"Wait, you're going with us? and as our driver?" Nepgear asked the pale lady while she gestured Gehaburn to sit in the front this time while Nepgear went inside the back.
"Well yes, I feel like going out today. You don't mind do you?" Arfoire looked into the window that was inside the truck to see Nepgear in the back with the packages.
"I don't mind at all, just surprised to see you take the wheel instead of managing the market stuff in the house"
"Heh, luckily there is not much management that needs to be dealt with today. All thanks to the two of you" Arfoire thanked Gehaburn on her side of the seat and Nepgear in the back.
"It's not a big deal, you're our boss and we're your workers. More peeps lessen the burden as they say, am I right Gear?" Gehaburn looked to the back to see Nepgear nod at Gehaburn's remarks.
'Heh, the two of you did more than just that' Arfoire snorts at the thought, she then heard a knock on her left door. She opened the door's window to see Warechu looking at her with a straight face.
"What's with that look, Rat?" Arfoire asked with a straight face.
"If y'all taking the truck, how am I suppose to go back to my other place, Chu? And don't even tell me to walk with my own two legs, it tires me so"
"Heh, then I won't tell you to do that" Arfoire said mockingly which made Warechu slump his arms and tails down. Suddenly, Arfoire's right shoulder got tapped by Nepgear and made Arfoire turn to see Nepgear giving her a grey bottle that is half the size of Warechu's bag.
"Tell him to keep this to himself and drink a little of it whenever he wants to go somewhere far. The effect will go off after an hour or two, so tell him to be sure to remember that" Nepgear described the effects of it.
"Uhuh….." Arfoire took the bottle and gave it to Warechu "Drink a little from that whenever you wanted to go somewhere, its effect will vanish in an hour or two so make sure to put that in your head" Arfoire explained.
Warechu was confused at the bottle he was holding, he then asked about it before he try to sip it a little. "This won't kill me right, Chu?"
Arfoire turned back to look at Nepgear about that question, to which Nepgear replied with her head shake left and right as no.
"Nah it won't kill you unless you're weak," Arfoire said jokingly.
"I'm not weak! Here I'll show you, Chu" Warechu said before sipping the bottle a little.
After sipping it, his body felt weird as if something is growing on one of his body parts. The maroon wings on his back started to grow larger than before, enabling the mouse to float in the air. Warechu was unfamiliar with this new feeling that he is getting right now, but he felt free as he can finally with his wings.
"Whoa, I can fly! I can finally fly, Chu!" Warechu was happy as he float around the track for a little while until he stopped in the front window of the truck to look at Gehaburn and Arfoire shocked with their mouths open except for Nepgear since she expect this to happen.
"Oh, My, MOUSE! My dream has come true and I feel like I'm an angel now, Chu!" Said Warechu to himself with an exhilarating face
"More like a devil than an angel with that wing design" Nepgear mumbled softly, then she spoke to Warechu "The bottle is yours, Warechu. Think of it as a token of thanks for behaving and helping us well. Don't tell and give it to anyone else about the bottle though"
Warechu nodded rapidly as he put the bottle inside his beige bag. "Thank you thank you, thank you so much for this! I'll promise to keep on terms with you and keep this bottle safe, I swear on my mouse's pledge, Chu!"
Warechu turned back towards where the truck was facing for him to take off to Eden. "I'll be on my way then. Good luck with whatever you're dealing with, Chu" Warechu words as he waved them goodbye and went straight to Eden's place.
Gehaburn shouted on the window on her right to Warechu before he is out of sight "DON'T FORGET WHAT NEPGEAR HAD TOLD YOU ABOUT THE BOTTLE!"
Warechu let out a thumbs-up sign with his right hand before he is out of their sight.
"Well, that was a surprise to be sure, but a welcomed one" Said Gehaburn as she is still shocked at what she saw.
"You can say that again, also, since when he has that mouse pledge?" Arfoire responded to Gehaburn in shock as well before snapping out and readying herself to drive out of the garage. "Are we all set now?"
"Yep"
"Yeah" Gehaburn and Nepgear said to Arfoire.
"Then to Lowee we go," Arfoire said as she stepped on the gas pedal to go out from her farm and onto the safe road leading to Lowee nation.
While on the road, Nepgear explained again about the Lowee mines and added another thing such as her plan as they arrived at the country. This time Gehaburn listened and agreed to Nepgear's plan, which was to sneak inside the mines alone while Gehaburn and Arfoire send their shipments one by one to each of the markets in the country.
As Arfoire listened, she thought to herself about what she would do later. 'Maybe I should tell Gehaburn first before telling it to Nepgear and see what she would say about it' After thinking about it, she continued to focus on the road until they arrived at their destination.
(-)
11:00 AM, near Lowee's entry gate.
Arfoire's truck had finally reached inside Lowee, they stopped at a nearby parking spot to drop off Nepgear. As Nepgear, with her farmer clothing, had got out from the back, she looked around her area to see a different kind of Lowee than what she had known. The buildings had some kind of a traditional theme feel from its design and other aspects that make it look traditional, with an addition of almost all of the leaves of the tree were red and felt like it's late fall autumn to Nepgear.
"Wow, so different than the usual wintery Lowee huh," Nepgear commented as she walked towards Gehaburn's door to talk to Gehaburn through the window that was opened.
"I'll be on my way now, just need to find the map around here and I will know where the mine's exact location. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone alright?" Nepgear told Gehaburn.
"No need to make a fuss about it, I have Arfoire with me so we're cool. But I'm worried about you though, who knows what would happen if I'm not near you" Gehaburn said as she worried Nepgear might do something that she would regret later.
"Hmph, thanks for worrying but I'll be fine because you will always be my reminder" Nepgear reassure Gehaburn.
"What am I? Your reminder notification?" Gehaburn joked about it, but she get what Nepgear had meant. "Yeah, you'll do fine on your own"
"You guys done with the temporal parting words?" Arfoire asks from her driver's seat, which Gehaburn answered with a nod. "Good, cause I need to say something to her"
Nepgear tilted her head in confusion as she gets around the truck to the driver's door on the right. When she stopped near the right door, Arfoire opened the window and began to say some words.
"Be careful out there and don't go missing on me, I wouldn't like it if there's something happened to one of my precious workers" Arfoire said with a stern look, but caring nonetheless.
"Well, that's new, coming from you. But okay, I'll make sure that I will be okay when I get back" Nepgear convinced Arfoire.
"Good to hear, then…" Arfoire then started the engine again to do their job" We'll be on our way. Good luck, Gear" After she had said that, Arfoire drive the truck forward to the first market that Arfoire had remembered in her head.
Nepgear waved at the truck for a bit until she realized something. "Wait, did she just call me the same way as Burn usually calls me? That's a first"
Nepgear huffed at it and went on to the nearest information stand to get the location of the mine. Once she did, Nepgear looked for a safe place to change her clothes into her black clothing set, which she chose a restroom as her place. After a while, Nepgear got out with her black clothing set that consists of her black sailor uniform, black hooded parka coat, her R2 wrist gloves, her black mask with big purple round eyes plus white crack decorations on it, black nep boots, stocking, and the seven-colored leathered sashes tightened on the waist.
Nepgear then proceeds to run quickly to the Lowee's mines location coordination that she copied on her Nep-Watch, she looked at it again just to confirm her destination.
"A little bit forward to the Northwest directions and I'll be there soon. I should prepare myself to get inside there quietly and no casualties for Lowee's people in the mines" Nepgear spoke to herself as she ran towards the northwest.
Meanwhile, as Nepgear was in her own thoughts, she didn't realize that she had passed someone that looked like Falcom but shorter. It was the Ultradimension Falcom, with her cyan scarf, red ponytailed hair, white tank top under her red short-sleeved jacket, her short red-white pants, and her red boots on her feet.
"Did I just see a masked hooded person run past me?" U!Falcom look back to see the suspicious person she had seen, which was running towards the Northwest direction.
"Is she headed to the Lowee's mines? But that place is off-limits because of the rumored weird monster spawn inside" U!Falcom was thinking with her right hand on her chin "Maybe she forgot something there, especially she seemed troubled to me. I'll just ask White Heart to help her on the mines with me"
As per what U!Falcom had said, she went towards to Lowee's Basilicom to tell her what she saw and ask a favor to help the masked girl.
(-)
13:00, Near Lowee's mines entry.
Nepgear was observing the entry of the mine while she hides in the red-leafed forest trees. She saw several Lowee's guards roaming around the single entry to the mines, just like what Nepgear had predicted.
"Alright, according to my prediction so far. Now to execute this method" Nepgear said before she began to cast two spells from Histoire's book on her back, which was "Haste" and "Invisible"
Once the spell has been cast, Nepgear's body was not visible to other people's eyes and she can feel her body lighter and quicker.
"Okay, focus Nepgear. Once you knock them unconscious in one hit, Immediately recast the Insivible spell as you do and repeat it again until all the guards are down" Nepgear said to herself before counting down to take action.
"One….Two…..Three, PHANTOM STRIKE!"
As the countdown stops at three, Nepgear dashed swiftly and knocked one of the guards with a chop on the neck, then she cast the Insivible spell quickly and targets the next one. Some of the guards were wary of something hostile near them as their comrades were knocked out one by one, but it was futile as Nepgear's method worked. The combination of a high-speed movement, quick invisibility, and high precision hit had created an aggressive yet undetectable SP attack. Eventually, all the guards were knocked out on the ground.
Nepgear checks the area around her and inside the mines to see if there's no one around. After the coast is clear, she turned off the Invisibility and Hasten effect.
"Phew, that took quite a while" Nepgear spoke with her robotic voice due to her mask. "Hope you guys stay down until I'm done, else I would have to waste my time dealing with you all"
The guard on the ground did not respond as they were unconscious by Nepgear.
"Good" Nepgear then walked into the mines to search the area. It will take a while but with Nepgear's Nep-Watch that was installed with a CME tracker, she would find what she was looking for without spending too much time in the mines.
Nepgear walked deep inside the mines onto wherever the CME tracker leads her to. Nepgear met some monsters along the way and they were about to attack her, but she dealt with them swiftly by using the "Fear" skill which allows her to make her enemies scared of her. All the monsters that lived there had back off due to the "Fear" skill.
It wasn't just monsters that blocked her way, there were several giant crystals on her pathway. It was so big that Nepgear couldn't pass through the next area, so she had to use one of her weapons to destroy the big chunk of a crystal, and out of all the weapons in Nepgear arsenal, she used the V Spear.
The V Spear was colored black on the long handle and green sharp edges on two ends. The two ends edge of the spear sizes were different from each other as one of them is bigger than the other, but both are deadly sharp nonetheless, courtesy to Kurome's technology and craftsmanship.
Nepgear used the little edge end of the spear instead of the big edge to destroy some crystal chunks in front of her by hitting the handle on it, and as the handle hit, the crystal broke down into smaller bits.
"Strong as ever" Nepgear praised Kurome's work on the V Spear, then she press onward deep inside the mines as the Nep-Watch CME tracker readings is getting stronger.
Nepgear then had come into an area that looked like a boss area in a dungeon, but there was no boss or even the weird monsters in sight.
"Well, this must be the place then" Nepgear began to search and scavenge any CME residue that she found in the area by using one of her flasks.
As Nepgear was scavenging, she felt strong energy hidden beneath the ground.
"There's something inside here but it's buried in the ground. Welp, time to dig a bit" After she had said that, Nepgear took a shovel from her inventory and start to dig the ground. It didn't take long as the thing wasn't too deep inside the ground and what Nepgear saw in the ground had surprised her.
It was a purple-colored CPU Memory with a power logo in the middle, the shape was the same as what Arfoire had told her two days ago when Nepgear called Trick and Magic.
"Jackpot!" Nepgear observed the CPU Memory up close whilst she put back her shovel to her Inventory. It was the very thing she had expected, filled with a lot of CME Inside of it that could make strong armaments or even make a new member of her family.
"It's worth the trouble to get it cause this is so fascinating! Hmm, though the part about it being able to turn anyone into a CPU is worrisome" Nepgear felt a bit somber at it as the thought of its side effect is that if you are not qualified you would become a monster, as what Warechu and Arfoire explained two days ago. That is not what Nepgear wanted as what she needed was only the contents and its power, not the Goddess's status cause of the risk.
Nepgear looked at it once more before putting it to her Inventory "I think I can distillate the privilege back in the base, worth a try". Nepgear thought out loud before she pulled out some empty flask.
"This place has some CMEs scattered from my NepWatch readings, so I'll be taking it all as a bonus prize" Nepgear opened the flask one by one to suck the CME onto the flask, the process would take some time as it was too impractical and not simple.
'Note to self, make a device that can suck these CMEs easily' Nepgear thought a self-note in her mind as she continue to do her extraction that would go on for a couple of hours.
(-)
13:30, Outside near the Lowee's castle exterior area.
After their shipment work had finished, Arfoire and Gehaburn were sitting together outside on a traditionally styled bench while they eat some packaged food bought from a mini-market accompanied with several varieties of drinks that Arfoire and Gehaburn quietly stole. The two enjoyed their meal and beverages as they wait for Nepgear.
"That was some neat trick you pulled back there, not gonna lie," Gehaburn said before she continued to sip her soda grape.
"Hah! I literally just asked for a few empty water cups but filled it with other than water. It worked simply because the employees there were easy enough to be deceived like fools" Arfoire said with a smug look.
"Gihihi, you're right about that one!" Gehaburn giggled with a grin. "And I guess this isn't the first time you have done this"
Arfoire nodded at her cause Gehaburn was right "I once stole, or kidnap, two babies for one of the Seven Sages plans on defeating the CPUs. Ughh, I got a bad trauma from it all" Arfoire told her while she shiver at the bench.
"Lemme guess again, the Sadistic CPU?" Arfoire flinched a little then nodded at Gehaburn "Wow, I gotta see this CPU face to face if she can make anyone this traumatized"
"Are you crazy?! Oh wait, you are…" Arfoire gave Gehaburn a straight face, Gehaburn responded with a silly face and her tongue out. "Anyway, Last time I stole someone is when I tried to lure that Neptune brat so I can beat her for good with my Eggplant minions"
"I'm sorry what? Eggplant minions? Like a real deal walking eggplant minions?" Gehaburn asked with a surprising look.
"Yep, as you say, a real deal walking eggplant minions that can attack someone. I even turned myself into a giant Eggplant just so I can end her" Arfoire further told Gehaburn.
Gehaburn looked above and imagine what Arfoire Eggplant form with her minions looked like. It was a silly imagination for Gehaburn as it was something that their Arfoire would not do, then Gehaburn laughed.
"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What drives you to do something like that? It's so silly and stupid!" Gehaburn looked at Arfoire and she imagine Arfoire turning into an Eggplant beside her. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Yeah yeah laugh all you want, it may be stupid but it almost worked. Almost" Arfoire was annoyed at Gehaburn's laugh, but she was right at it was a stupid idea.
"Okay….Okay….Sorry I burst out laughing, hahaha, what a good laugh it was" Gehaburn was in relief after letting it out. "But why almost though? I know that Neptune doesn't like Eggplant, but being able to stand up against a big' ol eggplant is something else"
"That was because to the brat, I don't feel like eggplant, but more like a purple psychopath. Hence she was able to beat me as she doesn't feel scared anymore" Arfoire explained.
"Hmmm, kinda makes sense? I don't really know what goes on inside Neptune's mind so I can't say much" Gehaburn shrugged.
"You and me both, Burn, you and me both" Arfoire put down her meal as she was full and leaned her back on the bench behind, Gehaburn did so as well.
"You're calling me like that too? Are you okay there? You need some Snepckers?" Gehaburn asked jokingly as she was surprised to hear Arfoire calling her like what Nepgear usually called her.
"Wha- I'm fine you dimwit! I was just getting fond of you two" Arfoire knocked her off
"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Gehaburn stopped being silly and become serious a bit as she can feel that Arfoire is getting a bit emotional right now.
Arfoire looked at Gehaburn's look and sighed at it "Sigh…..Looks like this is the right time for me to tell you something" Arfoire took a deep breath before she began to say something.
"I've been lonely in my house since I cut my ties with the Seven Sages. At first, I didn't mind being alone, but at some point, I looked around me and I have no one to have fun or to yell with, no soul to talk with or even someone that can praise me. Course there's Warechu, but he is only a part-timer and doesn't want to live with me. Heck, who would want to live someone bad like me anyway, obsessed with CPUs defeat and Eggplants" Arfoire stopped a bit and stare at Gehaburn with a certain feeling that she ain't familiar with.
"But then you two came, with a blast on my farm. I have to admit that I agreed with your agreement because you and Gear would be my additional asset in killing the CPUs, especially Neptune brat. Yet I can't bring myself to do it now, the time we had together was cherishable to me. Eating together, work together, or even roughhousing at each other, time goes by and I'm not alone anymore"
"Then why are you tearing up from those eyes of yours like it's a sad thing?" Said Gehaburn as she leaned closer to wipe Arfoire's tear on her right eye.
"I-I'm crying? I really have gone soft eh…" Arfoire snorts at it before she told Gehaburn about why she cried, even though she didn't notice it herself before.
"I'm scared, scared of the possibility the two of you would leave me because I kept on my goal to defeat Neptune brat. Especially Gear, I fear that she would be disappointed in me for my petty goal and leave me for good. I- I don't wanna be alone anymore…"
Arfoire looked down and both of her eyes let out tears as she couldn't bear to be alone, she doesn't want to let go of this feeling of being together with Nepgear and Gehaburn.
Gehaburn didn't speak a word for a while, then she began to pat and caress Arfoire's back with her right hand. Before Gehaburn started to say some words, Arfoire beat it to her.
"Do you think I'm inferior to the Arfoire in your world?" Arfoire questionned Gehaburn with a sad look.
"To be honest, yeah. The Arfoire from our dimension is hellbent on the world's destruction while here you are, running an eggplant business to make some cash" Gehaburn spoke with her honesty.
"I see..." Arfoire spoke with a somber tone. Gehaburn didn't want to see her prez feeling down like this, so she make a pouting face then she spoke some words.
"Is that a bad thing? I legit prefer you than the Arfoire from our world, not so hellbent on world destruction and not crazy on the head for that goal" Gehaburn pointed at Arfoire.
"Really? You really mean it?" Arfoire was shocked at the answer
"I sure am! And I can bet my own soul that Gear feels the same way as I do, why do you think we can hang out without being wary of you?"
"Right, you have a point there. But what about the part about wanting to kill that Neptune brat?" Arfoire face looked worried because of that part.
"About that, aren't you tired of aiming that goal? Say, what happens when you are able to kill them all, Huh? Do you even think about what you would do after killing them, Hmm?" Gehaburn asked with her eyebrows lifted and her arms crossed on her boobs.
"I uhhh, haven't thought about that far"
"Thought so, if I were you I would just live in peace and do what my heart wants to do" Gehaburn drank the last bit of the drink in her hand and throws the cup over the road to the trash bin. Gehaburn then picked another cup to chug before she continued.
"Now what does your heart wants now, Arfoire?" Gehaburn spoke a serious question to Arfoire whilst she put her finger on where Arfoire's heart resided within her body.
The question made Arfoire thought for a while and feel what she wants to do now. After a while, Arfoire stood up to look into the sky and spoke to answer Gehaburn's question.
"I want to enjoy my time with both of you and I want to beat that Neptune brat, but I'll beat her not for the sake of killing, instead I'll do it as a rival! If I kill her, It would be boring as fuck with her not among the living" Arfoire said with a firm conviction.
"Is that what your heart wants?"
"I'm certain of myself" Arfoire assured Gehaburn as she looked back.
"Now that's more like it, no hesitation! As expected of our Prezzy Arfoire!" Gehaburn gestured a thumbs up and a happy face at Arfoire.
Arfoire's mouth was open as she saw Gehaburn congratulating her conviction, she then put up a confident look and a thumbs up to Gehaburn.
"As you should, I AM the Prez after all! GYAHAHAHAHAHA!" Arfoire laughed hysterically, which Gehaburn followed suit and hysterically laughs as well. They continue to laugh with one of their arms on each other shoulder's and it weirded out some people walking around the road because of their hysterical laughter.
Their laughter was noticed by a big orange-green colored mecha that had six sets of wheels, with each side having three sets. A shoulder with two drill-like formations sticking out on the top, Two ROM Cartridges installed in front of it, and finally an animal chest design that looked like a tiger with two blue horns.
The mecha drove closer to the laughter's source and it was shocking to see someone that it had known before. It then let go of its shopping bag and drove quickly to greet the two girls in front of it.
"AAARRRRRFFFOOOIIIRRREEEEE!" It yelled with its mecha mouth and opened up its big arms.
Gehaburn and Arfoire stopped laughing as they heard someone had called Arfoire. But for Arfoire, she recognized this certain mecha's voice, she looked to her left to see a mecha come rushing to their spot.
"Oh no"
"Who's that? It seems it knows you, Prezzy Arfoire" Gehaburn stared at Arfoire after she noticed something coming in fast to them.
"That's big ass mecha is Copypaste, an ex-member of the Seven Sages like I am" Arfoire pointed at the oncoming Copypaste. "Hahh….Here it comes…."
Before Copypaste was about to hug them both, Arfoire summoned her spear and stopped Copypaste in its tracks to make a distance between them. Arfoire sighed before she starts to talk to Copypaste.
"Sigh…..Would you ever chill out with that cheerfulness of yours?" Said Arfoire as she put down her spear.
"Oh come on Arfoire, my heart was filled with joy after I've met you right now. It's been SO long after all!" Copypaste as he put his mecha arms on his sides.
"Your heart is joyful to EVERYONE, mind you. Moreover, you're annoyingly loud as usual" Arfoire reminded Copypaste.
"I sure do! Wherever I go, I bring out my heart's voice of friendship whenever I can!" Copypaste said loudly with a cheerful tone "So anyway, what are you doing here? Not causing any trouble right? My heart will be sad if you do, especially since poor Lady Blanc had been a bit stressed over the weird monster's appearances"
"I'm not, In fact, I'm too busy dealing my Eggplants shipments and marketings" Answered Arfoire, which made Copypaste lift his happy mood up.
"Good to hear!" Copypaste said with joy before moving to the purple farmer girl on Arfoire's side. "Who's this new purple fella? She seems new to me"
"I'm a new farmer on Prez's farm, my name is Gehaburn. Nice to meet ya! Up top!" Gehaburn introduced herself while she put her right hand up to get a high-five.
"HEY HEY, What a cheerful one like me! Nice to meet ya as well Morea! HAHAHA!" Copypaste high-fived Gehaburn with his hand and they laughed together while Arfoire shakes her head at the sight of them both being a bit similar.
"Like two peas in a pod…" Arfoire facepalms herself at the two, just then, she remembered that Copypaste had held some bags before meeting her.
"Anyway, what were you doing here exactly? Pretty sure you were some shopping bags before" Arfoire asked Copypaste.
"AHH! The Groceries!" Copypaste exclaimed and stopped laughing with Morea, he then rush a bit to where he had dropped the bags to pick them up, and then he went back to the two.
"I was supposed to restock the supplies in the Basilicom in haste before Lady Blanc went off somewhere" Copypaste explained.
"Hmm? Lady Blanc? As in Lady White Heart, right?" Gehaburn asked to confirm her guess which she was right as Copypaste nodded at her. Morae then asked another part.
"Where is Lady White Heart gone off to?"
"Uhhh I think Lady Blanc had said that she is going to the Mines after she heard some fishy news about it from an adventurer called Falcom" Copypaste told the two. After hearing that, Arfoire and Gehaburn widened their eyes as they realized that Rogue is still in the Mines.
"Hmm? Why are the two of you surprised about it?" Copypaste asked in his confusion of their reaction, which made Arfoire and Morae shakes their head to get back on track.
"N-nothing. We are shocked to hear that Lady White Heart is going to the mines, that's all" Gehaburn lied to Copypaste to not blow their cover.
"AH, I see. Our Lady may be tempered but she cares for her country to the heart! And I must also do my best in taking care of her Basilicom as she left the job to me while she is away! Speaking of which, I shall be on my way! Goodbye you two, see you later!" Copypaste said his goodbyes and moved away from the two to rush back to the Basilicom. Gehaburn waved Copypaste with her hands and she nervously smiled while Arfoire face changed slowly from a poker face to a worried face.
"Nepgear's in trouble! She's gonna face to face with that small tits CPU! Let's go Burn!" Arfoire turned back to get to her truck in the parking lot.
"And Falcom" Gehaburn added another one.
Arfoire stopped midway to her truck and responded to Gehaburn who was standing still looking onto the river
"Yeah, that adventurer whatever. Hey, why aren't you moving? Aren't you worried about Gear?!" Arfoire exclaimed.
"I am, always am. Every time she's away from me I always can't stop thinking about her well-being, both her body and her heart" Gehaburn said with a serious tone, she then turn to see Arfoire with a firm face.
"But if we go to her now, that means we don't trust her. I would NEVER want to break that trust to her, I don't want to see her looking at me and you with a distrustful look. That's why…"
Gehaburn walked to where Arfoire had stopped and placed her right hand in Arfoire's shoulder.
"...We have to believe her that she would be okay in the end, please? For me, for her, and for you as well?"
Both of them looked at each other closely. Arfoire was stumped to not help Nepgear in the mines, but she wanted the same thing that Gehaburn wanted.
"Fine, we'll believe in Nepgear, but if she doesn't come back at Five I'm getting her out of there and you can't stop me" Arfoire stated with her hands on her hips.
"YAY, thanks Prezzy Arfoire!" Gehaburn hugged Arfoire for a while until she was pushed back by Arfoire. Gehaburn put up a silly face before returning to her happy side.
"Besides, she's strong and smart so there's no way she can't handle an angry CPU and an adventurer. Gear was able to make you fear of her after all"
"Ouch, you're right….." Arfoire remembered the time when Nepgear first arrived and make her scared with Nepgear's B Axe.
"So what do we do now while we wait for Gear?" Arfoire asked Gehaburn.
"Let's finish the rest of our drinks on the bench and you can tell me ALL about Copypaste"
"I get the drink part but Copypaste? Why?"
"Because he'll be an addition to me and Gear's family," Gehaburn said with a grin.
(-)
15:00, Lowee's Mines.
Nepgear had finished the last bit of the CME extraction on the presumed boss area as she closed the flask lid and put it back into her inventory. Nepgear sighed in relief as her job was done, and it was surprising for her as it was this easy.
"And my mission's is done, phew. Who knew it was this easy, I was expecting something like a giant boss or another weird breed of monsters. But hey, luck's on my side" Nepgear said with her robotic voice as she was still on her mask just to make sure her identity is safe.
"Now I'll best be on my way before the guards wake up on their own" Nepgear turned back to get out of the mines but stopped to see two individuals that she had not expected to meet in the mines even though they wear different clothes. It was the Ultradimension Blanc and Ultradimension Falcom.
"And where do you think you're going" U!Blanc said quietly but her face was worn with anger as she glared at Nepgear, she was wearing her autumn leaves shrine maiden-like outfit.
"W-who are you? Why did you hurt the guards outside?!" U!Falcom spoke with both anger and fearful tone in her voice, the one she thought needed help turn out to be something else.
Nepgear looked at U!Falcom first, she look similar to the one in her dimension that didn't support her and betrayed her in the end. That made her anger rise up, but then she turn to look at U!Blanc, even though Blanc was angry at her, she didn't mind it as Nepgear had missed seeing Blanc ever since she was killed in her dimension. Her heart filled with happiness and sadness at the same time as she couldn't hug Blanc immediately because she felt she is not worthy to do all that, especially after what she had done.
Nepgear focused on her mission and began to use her cover-up name.
"My name is Rouge and the guards were in my way in my objective" Rogue answered coldly.
"...And what's your goal?" U!Blanc angrily said as her face was mostly blackened on the eyes area and one of her eyes turned round red. In other words, her usual pissed-off face.
"That's not for you to know" Rouge refused to say her objective and summoned both her B Axe on her right hand and her V Spear on her left. It shocked U!Blanc and U!Falcom as they recognized the two weapons. In response, U!Blanc turned into her Goddess form, and U!Falcom summoned her sword.
"Isn't that the weapons of both Hyperdimension's me and Thunder Tits?! WHERE DID YOU GET THEM, ASSHOLE?!" U!White Heart said as she referenced her and Vert from Hyperdimension. She flew and attacked Rouge with her Axe to the front, but it was blocked by Rouge's B Axe effortlessly.
"Wha-" U!White Heart didn't finish her word as she was pushed back to the rocky walls by Rouge, fortunately, she was helped by U!Falcom to get up.
"I didn't get them, I made them.." Rouge said.
"It looks exactly like they are using! Either you stole it or-" U!White Heart couldn't finish her sentence as she and U!Falcom instinctively blocked Rouge's Axe and Spear. They struggled a bit but managed to hold their ground.
"Shut. Up" Rouge's purple eyes were glowing when she said that.
Both U!White Heart and U!Falcom managed to push back Rouge when their momentum was synchronized, though it was also because Rogue was holding back.
"Seems the two of you got the power to fight back. If you want to know how I have these weapons" Rouge pointed her spear to both of them.
"You have to beat me first"
Rouge invited them to a challenge, in response, U!White Heart smirked and readies her Axe.
"Alright fine! You better cough up what you're up to, bitch!" U!White Heart exclaimed, "Back me up Falcom!" U!White Heart request U!Falcom's assistance, which she nodded and readies her sword and stood by U!White Heart's side.
"Here we go, Lady White Heart!"
U!White Heart went towards Rouge from the left and U!Falcom from the right to attack Rouge from different sides simultaneously. Like before, Rouge blocked the attack easily, but after one second, Rouge was met with a barrage of attacks from the two. She defends herself from the repeated onslaught by the two, the spear on her left kept on parrying and spinning to block the sword from U!Falcom whilst the axe on her right exchanging blow to blow against U!White Heart's axe.
'Both of you are strong, feels reassuring but odd at the same time. Must've been something hidden in the weird monsters, with these strengths they should be able to defeat the monsters. Hmm…..' Rogue thought about their strength while her hands were busy defending her. But it almost had made a fatal blow to herself.
Rouge just realized that her defense stance was getting farther from her front body and it made an opening for the two to be able to attack the front part. U!White Heart and U!Falcom did so as they both were about to slash Rouge's chest to damage the masked girl.
Fortunately for Rouge, she was fast enough to react and quickly went under the attack from the sword and the axe by crouched forward with a speed that U!White Heart and U!Falcom couldn't comprehend, all thanks to the Nep-Power Boots. When Rouge was dodging the attack, she channeled her powers to the boots to power it up. The boots quickly shone a Dark-Lilac light, indicating that it is charged up, Rouge then jumped to kick them both before they were able to dodge her.
"DARK CONCEAL KICK!"
After Rouge yelled her new SP attack's name, she kicked both U!White Heart and U!Falcom almost at the same time. U!Falcom was hit first by Rouge's back part of the right foot, it was painful enough to get hit by it but Rouge had placed the bottom part of the right foot on her. U!Falcom got pushed back to the wall as stepping for Rouge to get a boost so she can kick U!White Heart who didn't have time to defend herself.
U!White Heart got kicked with the left bottom part of Rouge's left foot directly at her stomach, because of the boost, it hurt her stomach badly indicated from her coughed some blood.
"Argh!" U!White Heart hit her back on the wall and left some crater on it before she slid down on the ground, same can be said for U!Falcom.
Rouge lands herself on the ground and tidies herself up as she thought that they were unconscious, though her kick had made felt a bit guilty because it hurt them both a lot. She can tell based on how much she exerted the power plus on how she timed her kick.
"That's that, sorry for the intrusion but I best be on my way" Rouge put her B Axe and V Spear back to her inventory before she starts to walk away from the supposed-unconscious girls.
"I'M NOT DONE YOU ASSHOLE!"
U!White Heart made a surprise attack as she boost herself to get near Rouge to punch her in the mask. U!White Heart's right fist was about to make contact right at the mask because Rogue turned to look at U!White Heart.
The massive shockwave from the fist had shaken the mines and scared the monsters that were spectating the whole battle from afar. All the monsters were too afraid to watch further and ran away in fear.
"GOT YOU! Huh?!"
U!White Heart was taken aback to see her fist grabbed by Rouge's left hand, it was a close distance from her fist to Rouge's mask. Rouge immediately slammed down U!White Heart to make her stay down the ground. But after she had done that, her right hand's R2 Glove had shone a Dark-Lilac color when it was clenched by Rogue in anger. She then lunges her right fist right where U!White Heart's face at, just when she was about to hit her face, Rouge stopped her fist close to U!White Heart's nose before it hit her face. Though the wind pressure was felt by U!White Heart.
'No, I must be able to hold back without Burn to help me. Else I'd be ashamed of myself if I can't hold back my anger by myself' Rouge thought inside as she step away from U!White Heart.
Rouge took two high-heal potions from her inventory and placed them near U!White Heart before she walked away from the Blue haired Goddess. Rouge stopped midway to say something to the two girls who were finally down.
"Stand down, final warning," Rouge said whilst her head looked only to the front and didn't bother to look at them as she walked away out of the mines and ran away as quickly as possible, passing through the monsters and the still-unconscious guards.
U!Falcom walked slowly towards U!Blanc that had transformed back to her human form to check if she was okay. After she checked that the goddess's condition was fine, U!Falcom drank one of the potions to get her health back up while she used the other potion for U!Blanc to drink.
U!Blanc coughed a bit and looked at her body which was quickly healing up all the wounds she had sustained. U!Blanc stood up with the help of U!Falcom and wondered who that was.
"Who was that masked prick? Did you seriously just see her for the first time in the city?" U!Blanc asked U!Falcom.
"Yes I did Lady Blanc, I thought she might need some help but I guess she is doing something fishy here that makes me worried for some reason" U!Falcom looked around the area, all was normal to her as there was no sign of where those weird monsters originated. Just an empty mine with crystals around
"First these weird monster abominations and now suddenly some masked bitch knocked out my guards and went in here for whatever reason! Arrgghhh this makes me so fucking frustrated!" U!Blanc shout in her rage and she clenched her fists.
"Calm down Lady Blanc. For now, let's take care of the guards outside and tell the others about what happened here. I have a feeling that we won't see the last of that Rouge person"
U!Falcom soothed U!Blanc as she suggested their next course of action. U!Blanc finally calms down and agreed to what the ponytailed adventurer had suggested.
Meanwhile, at 16:00 PM, Rouge had already changed her clothes to her Farmer set and ultimately arrived at Arfoire's truck that was parked near Lowee's entry gate, thanks to the info from her Nep-Watch. She then opened the backdoor of the truck to see Arfoire and Gehaburn playing some UNO cards with each other.
"Yo Gear! You're back safely" Gehaburn greeted her owner as she put down the last of her UNO card. "and UNO!"
"Damnit, now we're tied!" Arfoire put down her two remaining cards then turned to say hey to Nepgear "Hey Gear, looks like you've found what you're looking for"
Nepgear nodded her head cause Arfoire was right. Arfoire stood up and stretched her limbs after she had sat down playing cards for a long while waiting for Nepgear.
"Then let's go home"
Arfoire said to the two farmer girls, then she and Gehaburn went to their seats while Nepgear rest herself in the back.
(-)
18:00 PM, Arfoire's house.
Arfoire had parked her truck inside the garage, then the three girls got out of the truck and went inside the house. Once they were in, they all exchanged turns on who was going to take the bath first because there's only one bathroom in the house.
Once all of the girls had taken their bath time and changed to their pajamas, they all began to do their own thing. For Arfoire, she's preparing three Lemonade Ice Tea in the kitchen and it takes time to make it since Arfoire wanted the drinks to be perfectly made. Gehaburn was in the basement reorganizing several CME Flasks that Nepgear had collected from the mines so they can be sent to Trick later. She insists on doing it herself so she can let Nepgear rest on the living room's couch.
Nepgear was laying down on the couch looking up to see the CPU Memory Crystal that she decided to keep it in her inventory. The purple crystal color refresh her memory when Neptune and the rest of the CPUs were alive and well. It saddens Nepgear when she thought about Blanc, largely after she had fought the Blanc of this dimension.
'I'm glad that I was able to see you again even if it's not the Blanc from my world, and I'm sorry that I hurt you' Nepgear imagined an Image of her Blanc through the crystal and apologized to the Blanc's image.
Just when Nepgear was reminiscing her time in the past with the rest of her CPU friends and her sister, her Nep-Watch was beeping like there's a call that needs to be addressed. She put the CPU Crystal back to her inventory space and look to see Kurome is calling through the Nep-Watch.
"Hmm? Kurome?" Nepgear sit up and opened the call, it showed a holographic Kurome crying and panicking inside Leanbox's hospital. This had made Nepgear serious with the call.
"Kurome what's wrong?!" Nepgear worriedly asked.
"Gearsy…it's Magic. S-she's dying! She doesn't have much time left and we don't know what to do!" Kurome said with a tone that felt like she doesn't want to lose a friend.
Nepgear's eye widened and her pupils shrank after hearing that news from Kurome. She could not believe that Magic was dying at this moment. In a flash, Nepgear was reminded of her CPUs friends and her sister Neptune's dying moments. The feeling of losing the ones she loved had made her dread inside.
'NO! I DON'T WANNA LOSE ANYONE EVER AGAIN!' Nepgear said internally with the will to not give up on Magic's condition.
"Keep her conscious active and DON'T let it die down until I get there, so hold on!" Nepgear ordered Kurome.
"Alright, just hurry up Gear!" Kurome said whilst she wiped her tears and nodded firmly before calling off the call. Gehaburn got out from the basement as she heard Nepgear's shout.
"Gear what's wrong?!" Gehaburn said in concern for Nepgear.
"Open the portal to our dimension's Leanbox now!"
"What?"
"Open the portal NOW!" Nepgear soared her voice to make her order clear.
Gehaburn do what she had been told and opened a purple portal that will send them directly to Leanbox. Nepgear didn't hesitate to jump in with her Pajamas, her action had surprised Gehaburn and Arfoire who had just finished making three lemonades from the kitchen.
"Hey, where the hell did Gear just go into?" Arfoire asked while putting down the lemonade on the Living room's table and examining the purple portal in the room.
"No time to explain!" Gehaburn didn't explain what was going on and also jumped into the portal.
"Who would finish the lemonades then? Wait for me you two!" Arfoire, in her black pajamas with red dots, went inside the portal to go after the two. Leaving behind the lemonades and her house.
Because there was no one left to go into the portal, it shuts itself after a few seconds and the living room…..was silent.
TO BE CONTINUED
(-)
The next chapter will be kinda like an Interlude, and the core of it is Magic before her dying moments. So wait for it, hehe.
And yep, Warechu got big maroon wings and can fly now, appearance Ultradimension Falcom and Blanc (Sorry for Blanc and Falcom fans for beating her up in this chapter), Copypaste, the next-in-line of Nepgear's family Member, and UNO.
I'll give two words for the next chap.
"Tarantula" and "Scarlet"
There, done. See ya later.