Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material of the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, the Halo series or the Nintendo games in this story as they belong to Microsoft, Nintendo, Compile and Idea Factory…

Neptune: Hey look! They added 'Nintendo' in the disclaimer!

...Can you NOT talk in the disclaimer section!

Neptune: Oops. Sorry Ace...


The Rookie

Location: The Basilicom's Guest room

Five days after drop...

After the conversation with Histoire in his dream, he woke inside a Guest room.

'Am I in the Basilicom?' Rookie wondered as he looks around the room, he saw his Gun-Blade sitting on a chair. As he got up and grabbed his weapon only to see a note on it as he took it and read it, it said:


Dear Rookie

I know you want to know what's going on while you were knocked out by that Underling. We been informed that the Underling brought an army of Killachines that was sealed away by the Mascot as they were created by the Deity of Sin. We got problems that the Mascot is destroyed and the seal is broken, the Oracle requested that we should protect the city but I doubt it be impossible so we're finding a way to restore the Mascot and seal the Killachines.

Don't worry about us, you have done enough for us and now we'll do ours.

Yours Sincerely

IF

P.S: I love you, Rookie...


After reading what the note said, he understands what IF was saying but the P.S part made him shocked that she truly loves him. He puts the note into his backpack where his last note is from a Lastation Guild member, Rose. He exits the Guest room then heard footsteps coming towards him and saw the Twins which they are playing tag for some reason.

"You can't catch me, Rom!" Ram shouted while she was running and smiling till Rom gasped that she's going to bump into Rookie.

"*Gasp!* Ram! Look out!" Rom warned her but her voice is too quiet for her to hear.

"What?! I can't hear yo-" Then she bumped into Rookie as they both fell onto the ground. "What the..." As she looks down of what she's sitting on, he saw Rookie as they both stared at each other in silence...

"..."

"..."

'...' Then Ram's face heavily blushed and screamed her lungs out.

BGM: Minicar – Hypedimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2

"AAHHHHHHHHHH!" She jumped into the air and glared at him. "YOU PERVERT! Take this!" She raised her Natural White which is a white staff that looks like a novelty pen then slams into Rookie but he blocked with his hand. "Eh?"

"Kid... Learn some respect to an injured soldier..." He spoke to her as Ram was shocked like the other reactions back then.

"Wait... YOU TALK?!" Ram shouted.

"Yes, I can talk. Now if will be great if you don't attack me so suddenly..." He warned, she was a bit paled and pull her Natural White off his hand as her twin sister caught up.

"Ram! Are you okay?" Rom asked.

END BGM

"Yeah, I'm fine but..." Then the Twins huddled together as they whispered. "I just heard his voice and it's scarier than Blanc's voice when she's angry" She noted and Rom shook her head.

"He's not that scarier if you get to know him..."

"Oh yeah? Since when YOU heard his voice?" Ram asked, frowned.

"While I was looking for my pen" She answered. "Mister Rookie is very nice. He's promised that he'll save our big sister"

"He promised that?!" Ram raise her voice a bit and her twin sister, nodded. "If he can keep THAT kind of promise, then I must challenge him, you know" Then she smirks.

"Ram... I don't it's a good idea" But she doesn't listen as she broke up the huddle, she pointed at him.

"Alright, mister! I've heard that you promised to save our big sis! If you can keep that kind of promise, then I must challenge you!" Ram declared.

'Alright then, I accepted your challenge'

"I challenge you into the MARIO KART 8 RACING COMPETITION!" She announced.

'...Oh shit...' Rookie wasn't expecting a gaming competition especially that he was born years later after the Wii U which you guess it, outdated for over 500 years ago... Rookie knows that in his past, he was once a teenager and was a hardcore gamer, ahhh~ Good times, good times... 'This will be bad...'

"Let's get to the Sitting room where we can have our racing competition! Follow me, challenger~" Ram teased as she walked to the Sitting room, evilly giggling as Rom and Rookie followed.

"Hmmm... Are you okay?" Rom asked and he nodded then she explains about the games they played. "Well, me and Ram love to play racing games and Ram was a good game racer but she's a hardcore racer in the Mario Kart series"

'I see... So, Ram WANTED me to lose... Hmph, even though my gaming skills are very rusty, I'm sure I can beat her'

"Are you gonna be okay with this?" Rom looks at him with a worried face.

"Don't worry, Rom. I'll be fine" Rookie told her as he messes with her hair, her reaction was a little giggle and they went to the Sitting room.


Meanwhile with the girls...

After a few hours later, they collected some rare metal from the Lowee Global Expo then they went to the World Labyrinth to collect the last piece to restore the Mascot, Datanium. They explored the World Labyrinth, they avoid the area where the blocky portal is located, hoping they won't bump into Linda and the Killachines. After ten minutes of looking, they found what they looking for... It's a Green hair... Yellow Star glasses... And that creepy smile... It's Dr. Kawashina... The creepiest, floating face I EVER seen in my life... Sometimes, monsters just got weirder and weirder...

Anyway, Nepgear and the girls engage with Dr. Kawashina and it wasn't a tough monster to beat as he was almost defeated, Nepgear finishes him with a Slash Wave.

"HIIIIYA!" She sends a powerful slash that pierced through Dr. Kawashina as he rolls his head, he exploded and dropped an item they were looking for.

BGM: $100 – Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2

"Huh. This dopey monster aren't that tough..." RED commented as Nepgear picked up the Datanium and smiled.

"And with that, we have the items Broccoli said we needed. We should hurry back to the city" Nepgear suggested.

"I hope we can resuscitate the Mascot!" Compa hoped.

"More like we have to bring it back. Time's running out, and there's no telling when the enemy will strike" IF theorized.

"Right. Let's hurry!" Then the girls went out of the World Labyrinth and hurried back to Broccoli.


Meanwhile at the Blocky Portal...

BGM: Premonition of Battle – Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2

At the area where the Linda and the blocky portal is located, another grounded Killachine comes out of the portal as she kicked it a few times, it soon activates and came back online.

"Awesome! One more back online. Huh... Kinda cool seeing all these things come back to life" Linda commented as she counted the activated Killachines and nodded.

"This should be enough... I'm gonna crush Lowee and those stupid CPU broads for good!"

END BGM


At the Basilicom's Sitting room...

Meanwhile with Rookie and the Twins, they arrived at the sitting room where there was a bunch of fancy couches surrounding a coffee table and in front of it, it has a huge T.V with a NES, a Nintendo 64, a Gamecube, a Wii and a Wii U as Rookie was surprised of their collection.

'Holy shit...' Was the only comment he has in his mind...

"Okay! Just let me get the game. Rom. Turn on the Wii U and set the T.V up!" Ram ordered as she open a SHIT load of Nintendo games inside the cabinets.

"Okay..." Rom obeyed as she turned on the Wii U and the T.V, Ram founds the game which is Mario Kart 8 and put it in the console as the T.V screen popped out the tittle of the game with a sudden voice.

"MARIO KART 8!"

Then the music starts playing...

BGM: Title Screen – Mario Kart 8

"Alright! Let me pick some options then we can pick a character. Default kart only!" Ram explains the rules as she picks up the Wii U remote and selects multiplayer then Grand Prix then picked the speed which she selects 150cc.

While Ram was busy picking a character, Rom whispers to Rookie. "Read this manual..." She gave him a Mario Kart 8 manual which contains controls, techniques and items involved in the game as he read the whole manual right before the Ram finally decided her character.

"Okay! I picked my character, now pick up the Wii U remote" Rookie grabbed the second Wii U remote as it connects to the game. "Now pick your character, Challenger~" She tease once again as she already picks a character, Daisy. Rookie picked a character which is Mario. "Alright!" She hits the OK button and the characters cheered then switch to the Cup selection, showing Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, Star Cup, Special Cup then the Retro tracks, Shell Cup, Banana Cup, Leaf Cup, Lighting Cup then it carries on to the DLC tracks which are Egg Cup, Triforce Cup, Bell Cup and Crossing Cup.

And Ram selects the Star Cup then OK and it starts loading...

END BGM

"LOADING..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Ten seconds later, the game finished loading and showed the race track.

"I hope you ready~" Ram warned but it's more like a threat than a warning.

'Is this kid threatening me?' Rookie wondered.

BGM: Course Intro – Mario Kart 8

-[Star Cup]-

"Sunshine Airport"

"150cc"

As it shows the race track, it switches to Rookie and Ram perspectives as the screen splits in two with Rookie as Mario and Ram as Daisy then the computers which she put it on hard... Bloody hell, she wants Rookie to lose...

The Racers are:


Mario (Rookie)

Daisy (Ram)

Luigi

Peach

Toad

Bowser

Wario

Waluigi

Link (DLC)

Villager (DLC)

Isabelle (DLC)

Dry Bowser (DLC)


'I hoped I learnt those techniques...' Rookie hoped as a Lakitu on a cloud with a smiling face, as the Lakitu holds a fishing rod carrying the traffic lights and starts counting down to one with his fingers.

"Three!"

*VRRR!* *VRRRRR!* Their engines started to roar.

"Two!"

Then their tires start spinning.

"One!"

Then the race begins...

"GO!"

BGM: Sunshine Airport - Mario Kart 8

Rookie (Mario) and Ram (Daisy) got a head start with a boost as Luigi, Wario, Waluigi and Bowser did it as well. The rest timed it wrong or didn't bother to get the extra boost as they jumped out of the Airport, 50% of the racers hit the item block, Rookie (Mario) and Ram (Daisy) included. Rookie (Mario) who is in 5th place got himself a lucky triple green shell and Ram (Daisy) who was in 2nd place got herself a coin which she frowned.

'A coin?! Jeez, I really hate when they give me just a coin instead of something useful...' She pouted as they were doing tight turns, outside the Airport, they jumped into a flying race track with propeller, supporting the piece of the track. Rookie (Mario) used all his green shells and one of his shells hits the racers behind him as they landed into the flying race track, the wheels soon turned into glowing, anti-gravity wheels as they floats through the flying race track, Ram (Daisy) drifts into one of those special bumpers as she spins around and was given a boost, Rookie (Mario) did the same thing plus learnt that when he bumped into Toad which was in front of him but somehow losing speed, they both spun around and got a boost but Rookie (Mario) got ahead of him and went 4th place.

As they jumped out of the flying race track, landed on the airway, drove into the airport and went to the second lap.

Minutes later, they were in their last lap, nothing happened in the second lap but chaos at the back. Rookie (Mario) was in 3rd place as for Ram (Daisy), she was still in 1st place, she got a bunch of red shells on her but lucky she got a banana or a green shell to block it and... For some reason, there were no blue shell seen from anyone... Rookie (Mario) hit an item block as he hoped for a red shell.

'Please, red shell. Please, red shell. Please, red shell. Please, red shell' Rookie (Mario) repeated himself four times and lucky he got a red shell. 'Hell yeah!' He cheered as he threw his red shell at Wario who's in 2nd place and knock him out right before the finish line as Rookie (Mario) finishes in 2nd place.

END BGM

"Hmmm... That's not bad for a newbie~" Ram teased.

'Please don't call me that...' Rookie threatened.

BGM: Win Race – Mario Kart 8

Then the results pop out, showing:


1st Place: Ram (Daisy) - 15 Points

2nd Place: Rookie (Mario) - 12 Points

3rd Place: Wario - 10 Points

4th Place: Toad - 9 Points

5th Place: Peach - 8 Points

6th Place: Link (DLC) - 7 Points

7th Place: Luigi - 6 Points

8th Place: Dry Bowser (DLC) - 5 Points

9th Place: Villager (DLC) - 4 Points

10th Place: Bowser - 3 Points

11th Place: Isabelle (DLC) - 2 Points

12th Place: Waluigi - 1 Point


So~ unlucky for Waluigi as he got in 2nd Place but got hit by almost everything and went to last... Poor Waluigi... Anyway, Ram selects the Highlight Reel as they both watched the chaos happening in the race, Wario keeps spamming his bananas, Luigi hits every racer with his shells and give them the death stare, Toad gotten lucky and got himself a bullet bill as he gotten in 10th place then he zooms past the racers and went 4th Place.

Now it showcases Rookie (Mario) getting himself a lucky red shell and knocked out Wario as Ram was impressed of what she saw.

"Huh… You're not half bad on your very first game" Ram honestly commented.

'Thanks for the praise, kid...' Rookie thanked her.

"But this is not over yet..." Ram stated. "We got three more races before we can get the results!"

'You're on, girl...' Then the competition continued as Ram and Rookie were neck and neck after finishing two race tracks, Dolphin Shoals and Electrodrome. The totals results are:


1st Place: Ram (Daisy) - 42 Points

2nd Place: Rookie (Mario) - 40 Points

3rd Place: Luigi - 38 Points

4th Place: Toad - 34 Points

5th Place: Peach - 30 Points

6th Place: Dry Bowser (DLC) - 27 Points

7th Place: Wario - 25 Points

8th Place: Link (DLC) - 20 Points

9th Place: Isabelle (DLC) - 15 Points

10th Place: Bowser - 12 Points

11th Place: Villager (DLC) - 7 Points

12th Place: Waluigi - 3 Point


Waluigi suffered the same fate since the first race track as they carried on to the last race track, Mount Wario.

BGM: Course Intro – Mario Kart 8

-[Star Cup]-

"Mount Wario"

"150cc"

This race track is a bit different than the rest of the race tracks in the game, it's unique that it has a very long race track that has only one lap (It has three laps but it's not on the same spot…), from the huge flying plane, hovering to the finish line at the slalom and mogul course which is at the bottom of the mountain.

"Ready?" Ram asked.

'Ready as always' He nodded.

"Three!"

The Huge, hovering plane began to open its doors and lowered down the runway.

"Two!"

Ram's (Daisy) kart wheels began to spin as the engines on everyone's kart roar.

"One!"

"Heh..." Then she smirks.

"GO!"

BGM: Mount Wario – Mario Kart 8

Then they're off with a head start as the racers cheered and jumped off the huge, hovering plane on an icy downhill as they got the first line of item blocks. Ram (Daisy) got herself a triple mushroom as she boosts herself to 1st place, Rookie (Mario) got a boomerang flower which has three uses as he was in 7th place with Bowser, Toad, Luigi, Waluigi, Wario and Ram (Daisy) in front of him. He flew the boomerang and knocked out Bowser and Toad but missed Luigi, he flew it again and still misses Luigi but the boomerang came back and knocked him out.

'That was unexpected...' Rookie (Mario) was surprised as he went to 4th place as they enter a cave after the tight turns back at the icy downhill as they went to anti-gravity mode, riding on the icy walls and got the second line of item blocks. Some racers got some red shells and took out the other racers, back and forth, zoomed in their bullet bills, super stars, triple, single and golden mushroom. Rookie (Mario) got himself a triple green shell but decided to keep it as there were a red shell indicator popping at the bottom of his screen, the red shell hits one of his green shells then another red shell hits the second green shell... Then... Another red shell was targeting him once again.

'Why there's so many red shells targeting me?!' Rookie (Mario) questioned as he saw a ramp that leads to the hydroelectric dam which is named, 'Wario Dam'. Rookie (Mario) landed on the water as he performed some jump tricks, off the waterfalls and boost his way towards the ramp. The red shell was closing in on him fast and he jumped off the ramp and landed inside the Wario Dam but the red shell didn't make it and fell into the waterfall. '*Sigh* That was too close...' He was relived as he continued racing into the anti-gravity section, he saw Waluigi in front of him a few meters away as he got a green shell, spinning around his kart, he watched Waluigi to time his shot correctly, he saw where he's going then he threw his green shell and lucky him, he got him. 'Bullseye...' Rookie passed Waluigi, going to boost pad to boost pad as he jumped into a forest... Unlike Waluigi, he soon gets some speed but suddenly he was blasted by everything and the racers passed him as he went to 3rd place to last place...

"Waah..." His head dropped in shame... Poor Waluigi...

END BGM


With Nepgear and the girls...

BGM: $100 – Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2

As Ram and Rookie were having a game racing competition, Nepgear and the girls got all the items they need to repair the Mascot as they meet with Broccoli where she was standing on the same spot since they met her.

"We got the items, Broccoli!" Nepgear confirmed.

"Well done, nyu!" Broccoli smiled. "All right, so... Give it your best, Nepgear!" She cheered as Nepgear was surprised.

"What the goodness?! Me?!"

"You can do it! Just believe in yourself, nyu!"

"Okay... I guess I can try..."

"Let's borrow a room in the Basilicom" IF suggested. "It might be good to have the Oracle around if the Mascot recovers" They all nodded and went to the Basilicom as IF recently remembered about Rookie and was worried. 'I hoped Rookie recovered...' She hoped but the other girls noticed her in a worried state.

"Iffy? Are you okay?" Compa asked.

"Oh... Umm... Nothing!" She lied as all the girls shrugged and continued but RED stared at her with a seductive look on her face, she angrily glared at her and RED looked away then they went to the Basilicom.

END BGM


With Rookie and Ram's Game Racing Competition...

BGM: Mount Wario – Mario Kart 8

Back with Rookie and Ram, the racers jumped off and enter a snow forest. Both competitors spit up into different paths, some racers joined them and some racers went into the middle path which is in thick snow and not a good path to go... If you have a mushroom... As the paths joined together, they got the third line of item blocks, the racers got themselves a same thing like before, red and green shells, mushrooms, bananas, boomerang and fire flowers. Ram (Daisy) only got herself a coin which she was very annoyed because she got a coin three times in a row in 1st place. Rookie (Mario) got a red shell, he threw it towards Wario and knocked him out as he went to 2nd place, now he has to surpass Ram (Daisy) to get to 1st place.

As they arrived at the slalom and mogul course where there was the last line of items, he got a single mushroom in his slot but one of the racers got a blue shell which targets the racer in 1st place. Both Rookie (Mario) and Ram (Daisy) were almost at the finish line.

'Shit! I'm gonna lose!' Rookie (Mario) swore then suddenly, he saw a blue shell indicator as he looked at the back, a blue shell was zooming across the race track, knocking any racer in its path as he was in its way, the blue shell zoomed into Rookie (Mario) but he hopped high enough that the blue shell zoomed under him and targets Ram (Daisy) as she noticed the blue shell coming towards.

'Crap! In a time like THIS?!' The blue shell spins around Ram's (Daisy) kart and dive bombed, causing a massive blue explosion. 'Phew... There's nobody behind m-' Then she saw Rookie (Mario) speeding past her and finishing in 1st place as she finished in 2nd place.

END BGM

"WHAAAAT?!" Ram shouted across the room. "How... What... Why... Where... Eh..." She pouted, looking down in shame. 'I was so close...' She thought as Rookie noticed her.

"Hey kid, it's alright. It's only a game..." Rookie stated.

"I can't believe you surpass me in the last second..." Then she started to cry. "WAAAAAAAH! IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIRRRRRR!" She yelled while banging on the ground but soon stopped as Rookie patted her on the head.

"Kid... It's just a game. You don't need to be angry about losing if you're having fun" Rookie explained which calmed her down.

"Yeah... *Stiff* I guess... You're right..." She smiled. 'Rom's right. He's not that scary if you get to know him' She throught as she went to her normal state. "Hehehe. You're not a bad opponent" She giggled as he nodded but noticed that Rom was gone. "Hey... Where's Rom?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Ram! Rookie!" Then Rom came into the sitting room as she was patted. "*Pat* *Pat* Miss Nepgear is repairing the Mascot!" She shouted which shocked both of them.

"Eh! She's repairing the Mascot?!" Ram questioned and her twin sister nodded. "Come on! We got to see this!" She jumped off the couch and the Twins ran to Nepgear.

'Heh. These kids...' Rookie shook his head, amused as he follows them to see Nepgear and the girls.


Author's Notes:

Neptune: So, are you gonna talk about your stress in this chapter?

…Yes… It's really, a pain in my ass, I had to do some research on Mario Kart 8. I'm not a Nintendo gamer rather a PC and Xbox gamer.

Neptune: Well that explains this. It's sad that Blanc doesn't play rather than making novels…

Indeed…

Neptune: I think she's doing a… Mmmm… OH that's right! A love novel!

…What kind of love novel?

Neptune: Well, it's a story about a boy with a glowing, orange sword and a pink dress girl with a glowing, pink bow.

Wait… This sounds familiar…

Neptune: Yeah… It's sounded like your son on that… You know, Guardians: The Last Light.

WHAT?!

Neptune: I read it from start to finish and I'm gonna spoiler it for the viewers. Once upon a time, a boy named A- *Get smashed by White Heart's huge axe*

Thanks, Blanc.

White Heart (Blanc): *She smirks* Heh. Don't mention it, Ace. *She exits the room, leaving a unconscious Neptune on the floor*

Guess she not getting up for now *Sigh*