Karen, Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, Yuuki, Ophelia, and Sinon are about to enter a world beyond their imagining. Will they be able to leave this brand new world and return to Earth? And if so, how long will it take? 3 years like Aincrad? 2 months like Alfheim? Or will it take much longer than Aincrad? Only time will tell.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from the words that I write and the characters that I create. Credit goes to the original creator of the SAO universe; credits also to the creators and contributors to the Hyperdimension Neptunia series.
The seven of us: Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, Ophelia, Yuuki, Sinon, and myself find ourselves in what appears to be expansive plains after we were enveloped in a bright light as we stepped on the teleport plate which would allow us to exit the dungeon. However, we were expecting to see the typical wasteland or desert, not...plains full of life.
"Sinon, is Gun Gale Online's environment supposed to be like this?" I ask curiously, wondering if I'm hallucinating or something from the environment I'm seeing.
"No, nothing like this is supposed to exist in this world, and...why do you all look so different?" Sinon asks curiously.
"Pardon?" I ask, before noticing a small river nearby.
I run toward the river to see the reflection of my real life self.
"Nani?!" I shout in surprise, falling on my rear end, not expecting my real life form to materialize in Gun Gale Online, or whatever this place is. I then quickly turn around to the rest of my group to see that their Earth appearances are visible just like mine. I look toward the two people I don't instantly recognize but after looking at them a bit, I quickly recognize Yuuki since her current appearance is identical to her virtual avatar, but the new girl really looks like a female Kazuto but with glasses.
"What's the matter?!" Mamoru asks, freaked out, before glancing toward Kazuto, Katsuo, and Ophelia.
"W-What's going on?! The AmuSphere shouldn't have the power to scan our entire body! Only the NerveGear was capable of that!" Ophelia shouts, seeing our true appearances, and looking around.
"Karen, you getting that same ominous feeling like the last few MMOs we've played?" Katsuo asks me worriedly, as I walk back to the group.
"Mhm" I say with a reluctant nod. I pray that it's not happening again. "Okay, let's get our guns out just in case." I say seriously, the group nodding in approval.
When we try opening our inventories through the method we're used to, nothing seems to happen, that is until Kazuto noticed the bracelets on our right arms. So we touch the bracelets and our weapons appear as rapid square pixels before materializing into different forms. I recognize my spear: Wandering Moon from Aincrad, Kazuto's Dark Repulser & Elucidator, Mamoru's Gatekeeper, Katsuo's Onyx Shark and Titanium Heart though I see a sword and shield on his back as well, Yuuki's two swords she had from Alfheim, and Sinon's Hecate Sniper Rifle.
"Okay, this is just bizarre. We somehow were given our most powerful weapons during our time in MMOs." Mamoru says in mild shock. "And somehow...our real life forms are being made visible. This is… What's going on here?"
"This is definitely strange, but we have familiar weapons...that's something, at least." I say, trying to think of any potential bright sides, inadvertently activating the visor that would appear when I used Sleuth in Aincrad.
"Woah, Karen, you have your Sleuth Unique Skill! I haven't seen that thing in over a year!" Katsuo says awestruck.
"It's nostalgic having Sleuth back, it's one of the things that made me so strong in Aincrad. But the thing is, I'm looking at you all and it's not working. I don't think Sleuth works."
"Aw, you were famous in Aincrad partially because of Sleuth. But I digress… C'mon, let's get outta here." Mamoru says, nostalgia in his voice.
Chirper Events:
Lily Rank 2 – Sinon + Karen
"If I find that we're stuck in yet another world, I am seriously going to be pissed. This'll be the third time, dammit!" I growl angrily.
"You have my sympathies, I didn't experience Aincrad, but it must've a difficult time for you all."
"Yeah. I honestly have no idea which one was worse; three years of imprisonment in Sword Art Online's death game, or two months in Alfheim Online's soul modification plan."
"If it's any consolation, at least we're all together. We just need to stick together and come up with a plan. We'll find a way out of this place. Lead the way and I'll follow."
Lily Rank 3 – Katsuo, Ophelia, Yuuki
"There are a couple things bugging me about this place. The first is: Why are our true physical forms are being shown here instead of our avatars? Second, where the hell are we?!"
"Katsuo, try to take it easy. Flipping out won't help anyone."
"I know Yuuki, but still! I've been thrown into the pits of Yami at least three times now since Aincrad. Karen's one of the few reasons we've survived this long."
"You know Katsuo, I've been meaning to ask. What kind of relationship do you have with Karen? Do you possibly harbor feelings toward her?" Ophelia asks teasingly.
"What? No! I think of her only as a sister! Even if I were to humor this claim of yours and said I do have feelings for her, she's already with Hikaru and as his friend, I need to stay out of the date zone."
"A likely story." Ophelia says mockingly.
"Oh, go to hell." Katsuo mumbles angrily.
"You're not making a good case for yourself, Katsuo!" Yuuki says in the same tone as Ophelia.
"You two are infuriating!" Katsuo shouts, quickly getting fed up with this conversation.
"Oh no, he's getting mad! Let's run, Ophelia!" Yuuki says in a fake scared tone, sarcasm dripping in her tone, running away.
"Yeah, run before Katsuo gets even more furious." Ophelia says in a childlike manner, following Yuuki's lead.
Katsuo sighs when he sees this happening "Wow, Ophelia acts so different when Yuuki's around. I guess we all do in differing ways. I don't know whether to feel annoyed or glad of how Yuuki has quickly acclimatized with our group in both emotional bonds and physical strength. Yuuki, you may be a pain in the neck sometimes, but you're still a good friend."
Yuuki was close to hear Katsuo mutter the last part. "I think the same way about yourself Katsuo."
Back to story
POV: Shino
We wander through the area trying to find any degree of civilization if there is any, when we hear something that sounds like combat not too far away from where we currently are.
"Katsuo, follow me, fast!" Karen says seriously, running to the east.
"W-Wait up!" Katsuo says, running in the same direction.
"Karen! Katsuo!...Geez..." Ophelia shouts with a sigh in disbelief when they suddenly took off.
"This may be a bad time, but mind sharing names?" I ask nonchalantly, though the fact that those two took off is a little bit concerning, considering the seemingly chaotic state of the bonds between this group compared to the strong unity they showed back in that dungeon.
"Eh, I don't see why not. Name's Mamoru Nakasone."
"Ophelia Takara."
"Yuuki Konno."
"Kazuto Kirigaya."
"My name's Shino Asada."
"The two who took off are Karen Koizumi and Katsuo Viperia." Mamoru says with a sigh.
"Let's go after them, before we lose them!" Ophelia says in an irritated over how they just took off.
We then chase after Karen and Katsuo to make sure they don't get in danger.
POV: Karen + Katsuo
Katsuo and I ran east to find out what was going on, only to find some sort of mechanical network of floating platforms in the forest. We try following the sound of fighting when we see a girl with short red hair surrounded by three brown dragons, getting ready to kill the girl. The two of us draw our weapons to help the girl.
"Hey! You okay?!" I say in surprise to the girl.
"Travelers? I'll be okay, don't get involved." Falcom says in a surprisingly calm tone considering how she seems close to death.
"Screw that! I'm not going to let you fight these things alone and risk getting killed. Let us help!" Katsuo says angrily.
"Well, if you insist, I'd appreciate the help." Falcom says with a smile.
"What are these things anyway?!" I ask incredulously, having rarely seen such vicious looking monsters.
"These are Ancient Dragons. I came into the depths of Virtua Forest to find some travelers that were supposed to be in this area and bring them back with me" Falcom says calmly. "Sadly, I came across three of these powerful beasts, and I guess I got overeager." Falcom continues with a nervous chuckle.
"Who are these travelers? Maybe we could help you find them. After we deal with these Ancient Dragons, of course." I say compassionately.
"Many thanks." Falcom nods in my direction with a smile.
Katsuo faces down two of the dragons himself and fights them both with his sword, however, he doesn't seem to be dealing much damage, which quickly pisses him off.
"What the hell?! I'm barely making a dent on these things!" Katsuo growls angrily.
"You clearly have not fought here much. All monsters have a barrier that we call Guard Gauge. Until you break the barrier, they absorb nearly all damage. Thankfully, we humans have these barriers too because of the Goddess' protection. It's one of their passive powers." Falcom says calmly, resuming her fight against the remaining dragon as I do my best to help her.
POV: Mamoru
"Damn it. Where the hell are they?" I growl a little angrily.
"Uh, Mamoru...we have bigger issues at the moment." Yuuki mutters very fearfully, seeing a dozen dragons slowly approach us.
"Crap!" I shout nervously, before inspecting the environment to find a way out of this situation. I'm not exactly as good at leadership compared to the experience Karen has built up in Aincrad, but I know I can think of something "Over there! There's a side path! Fall back!" I state, trying to keep my fear in check before taking off to the side path with the others in tow.
We flee down the side path to circumvent the dragons and try to find a different route to meet up with Karen and Katsuo. We see a duo of girls, one a brunette and the other having cream pink hair, wandering down a path, seemingly from the entrance of this place.
"Let's ask those two if they've seen Karen and Katsuo." Kazuto says calmly, not wanting to stay here much longer.
We run toward the duo, who draw their weapons in response to our footsteps, but when they see we're human, they return their weapons. I'm guessing they assumed we were monsters about to ambush them or something considering how we saw those dragons earlier.
"Excuse me, but have you seen a girl with amber hair and a boy with brown hair? We got separated from them." Yuuki asks politely.
"You five...we were sent to find you!" IF says in shock.
"Come again? You came to find us specifically?" Ophelia asks in disbelief.
"Yeah, Histy told us to find you all and bring you to Planeptune. But you got separated?" Compa asks worriedly.
"Yeah, some of our friends heard fighting here in the area, so they came to find what was causing it." Ophelia says calmly.
"Let's travel together then. We came to find another companion of ours, she wanted to see if she could find you all around here, and I guess she was right." IF remarks rather calmly as I see her looking around the area "Okay, since you guys came from that direction and we came from this way, that's the only way they could've gone. Let's go."
"Yeah, let's find them, then we can find a way to get out of this place and return home." Shino says calmly, with her eagerness to return to Earth being rather obvious to us.
POV: Karen, Katsuo, Falcom
It was a pain but, we managed to kill a single dragon; but these things are driving me and Katsuo to exhaustion.
"Ugh, I'm reaching my limit. I am really out of shape right now." I say, panting a little.
"Karen, get back if you're feeling weak." Katsuo says compassionately.
"Thanks, but I'd be safer in this battle than trying to fall back." I say proudly, glad that Katsuo still cares for my well-being after all these years. That just shows how strong our bonds are. But I know that if I try to run, I'd probably run into a monster and on my own; I don't want to think about it.
I see Katsuo and this girl each fighting a single one of these Ancient Dragons. Katsuo appears to be running himself ragged in his fight, while this girl seems perfectly calm.
"Actually, I never caught your name." Katsuo says, still fighting that dragon and trying to figure out how to deal lasting damage to these monsters.
"Falcom, I caught your friend's name, but what's yours?" Falcom says with a calm smile, fighting the dragon with a rather fancy sword.
"Katsuo."
"Pleased to meet you, Katsuo."
"Same to you Falcom, now let's-" Katsuo says with a smile, before explosions go off in front of them, and both dragons suddenly vanish.
We look around to see Mamoru and the others followed by two new people. I'm guessing Mamoru was responsible for those explosions as I see him putting his bow behind his back They all then rush toward me, Katsuo, and Falcom, with frowns on all of their faces.
"Karen, what you did was outright inexcusable!" Ophelia says angrily, calling me out on taking off, though the fact she of all people said this surprises me.
"Ehehe...gomen gomen. But you really are starting to grow up Ophelia, you actually called me out on something like this. I'm proud of you." I say, feeling mixed sheepishness and pride.
"I suppose I have grown. But honestly, if you got yourself killed, I'd have hell to pay when I talked with your friends, especially Hikaru." Ophelia says seriously.
"Look, I'm not going to stop you from having discussions, but let's not have them here, we can have them in Planeptune. This forest is swarming with monsters." IF says bluntly.
"If you say so, then lead the way." Kazuto says nonchalantly, sharing IF's desire for uninterrupted dialogue.
"Let's go then." Falcom states calmly, leading the way out of the forest, seemingly completely unfazed and fine in terms of stamina despite how much fighting she's done compared to myself and Katsuo.
We all head out of the forest to find grasslands in every direction, a comforting sight after the hellish dungeon.
"Hey, um..." I say a tiny bit nervously to the brunette.
"What is it?" IF asks angrily, apparently wanting to return to Planeptune as soon as possible.
"I have two questions, one: What are your names? And why are these plains so peaceful when that forest was swarming with monsters?"
"Right, you're not from our world. I'll give the light version for now. My name is IF, my friend here is Compa, and you've met Falcom" IF states calmly, motioning to her colleagues in order. "And about the monsters; let me simply say: That's how Gamindustri works."
"Is that the name of this world? Gamindustri?" Mamoru asks curiously, and I notice Katsuo chuckle inaudibly at the name.
"Yeah, now that we're out of the forest, we ought to return to Planeptune; it's a two hour trek from here." IF says calmly.
We continue the trek and I see a large tower far in the distance after about an hour passes of walking.
"Wow...what is that?" I ask in surprise. I've never seen such a beautiful tower like that since Yggdrasil.
"That's Planeptune's Basilicom, our destination. Histoire will answer any of your questions when we arrive."
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [13:30] June 12th 20XX
I activate the bracelet on my arm to open the menu to see it's about 1:30 right now, so we should make it to this Planeptune by 2:30 to 3:00 if we're lucky. I don't feel comfortable trusting this trio, but they did help us, so I'll give them the benefit of a doubt.
"This world appears beautiful, but I can't stand being trapped in yet another world. Aincrad and Alfheim was bad enough; this time Katsuo and I are divided from Kana, Sylvia, Hikaru, and the others, possibly for good." I say in my mind in a depressed tone.
"IF-san, I'm curious, why did this Histoire bring us all here?" Ophelia asks curiously, bringing me back to reality a little from how I was having a minor monologue in my head.
"We were able to get records of when you were in some place called Aincrad and watched recordings of your combat prowess. We were hoping to bring a team named...Senyaku or something like that." IF says calmly, before lightly stumbling as she tries to think of the name she heard at the end.
"Senyaku? Wait, do you mean Senryaku? That was what I named my group way back then." I ask in mild confusion, before figuring out what's she trying to say.
"Yeah, that." IF says with a quick nod.
"Katsuo and I were full members of that team, Kazuto and Mamoru were temporary back then though we like to consider them full members. But Ophelia, Yuuki, and Shino haven't exactly gone through as much as we have." I say with a degree of concern, filling IF in the details involving Senryaku.
"At least we have some of the people we're hoping for, I hope the rest of you are up to par." IF says bluntly.
"Hey! I find that highly offensive!" Yuuki whips out angrily, feeling highly insulted, with Ophelia and Shino sharing the very same sentiment.
"Listen to me carefully IF, insulting my friends will not earn my loyalty. Lay off or I won't help you." I growl angrily.
"Then you can forget about ever getting back home." IF says with a mischievous smile, proud that she holds all the chips.
"Grr; I suspected something like this when we arrived." Katsuo snarls angrily, and I am just barely able to hold back my own desire to snarl at her practically blackmailing us.
"Iffy, don't be mean to them! We need their help to save Nep-Nep!" Compa says with a frown.
"Who's Nep-Nep?" I ask curiously, hearing such a name is a tad awkward "Is Nep-Nep a dog or a cat or something?"
"Okay; let me blunt, if this 'Nep-Nep' is a dog or cat, I am going to be extremely pissed!" Katsuo states angrily, and I can't blame him on this one.
"Nep is this nation's CPU, short for Console Patron Unit. They're called Goddesses, who essentially rule over the nation they found. Her real name is Neptune, but she hates going by that name by anyone except a few people, so she demands to be called by nicknames. Anyway, Nep and the other CPUs in Gamindustri were captured by an organization called the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime, or ASIC, three years ago."
"Okay, so you want our help to save the CPUs?" Yuuki asks.
"More or less. We're getting a little desperate here, so we had to call for assistance from outside sources. Your Senryaku group was the best option we had." Falcom states calmly.
"To be honest, I have a question. What's with the computer and game references?" Shino asks.
"That's how Gamindustri works." IF says with a sigh.
I sigh and say "Is that the response to everything in this world? 'That's how Gamindustri works'?"
"Eh, pretty much. At least, to situations like this. It's a little bit irritating explaining this kind of thing." IF says, sighing again.
Chirper Events:
Lily Rank 1 – Karen + IF
"Damn it."
"Something up with you?" IF asks curiously.
"I have nothing specifically against you, per say, but I hate that the seven of us are trapped here. Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, and I already experienced three years of that sort of hell. Ophelia, Yuuki, and Shino never experienced such things. They shouldn't have to in the first place!"
"It's too late to complain about such things. If you help rescue Nep and the others, we'll send you back."
"For the oddest reason, I feel like we're going to be stuck here for a long time." I groan, having played games that go along routes like this where if you're trapped in a different world and someone offers to help return you to your world, it never works out.
Lily Rank 4 – Karen, Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru
"This is like Aincrad all over again." I say with a light moan.
"Yeah. Why does things like this happen to us? We must be cursed." Katsuo says with a sigh.
"You must be if all these things happen to us. Of course, since Kazuto and I associated with you all, we must've been cursed as well!" Mamoru says with a sarcastic laugh.
"Mamoru, don't mess around right now." I say with a groan. I don't want to deal with this right now.
"Sorry Karen, but you can't exactly blame me for saying such things." Mamoru replies apologetically, having not wanted to irritate the girl, merely wanting to lighten the mood.
"Yeah. But I don't mind such things. Life is too boring if everything's calm. Though I don't like that we were separated from our friends and families by force. I wonder if we'll be able to reunite with Asuna, Suguha, and the others?" Kazuto jumps in with a mild smile before frowning sadly when thinking of Earth.
Back to story
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [15:00] June 12th 20XX
The ten of us: IF, Compa, Falcom, Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, Ophelia, Yuuki, Shino, and I arrive in Planeptune at long last when the three natives stop in front of us.
"Okay, we need to get to the Basilicom. But first, Compa, Falcom, and I need to get clothing for you all." IF says nonchalantly.
"There's a clothing store on the way, let's stop there." Falcom says casually.
We walk toward the tower and follow IF, Compa, and Falcom inside a rather large store with dozens, if not hundreds of different clothes on racks.
"Okay, pick out clothes you like and we'll cover them." IF says calmly, heading to the register with Compa and Falcom in tow.
"Okay, feel free to spread out and get clothing, I imagine we need to try to blend in among the crowds," I say, beginning to spread out away from everyone, knowing that we've gotten a lot of odd looks from the populace. We do need to stand out less in this strange new world.
I look through silver colored clothing to find only three decent outfits, and none of them are something I'd be interested in, so I look through violet clothing and find so many excellent outfits that would work for me. I grab a short-sleeved shirt colored violet, jeans colored blue with gold trims which is nearly identical to my look when I played Ashikaga, but the size is crazy small. When I mean small, I mean that I extremely doubt it'd even fit around my waist. This is bothering me because of how ideal this outfit is, yet the size is stopping me. I notice Compa nearby and I ask her a question.
"Hey, Compa. Why are these clothes so small?" I ask curiously.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Compa says with a casual laugh.
"What do you mean?" I ask curiously.
"Clothes made in this world are enchanted to be a small size when not in use to maximize space available in inventories or closets." Compa explains this feature to me.
"I see. So if I were to wear this, it would become larger?" I ask curiously.
"Of course, it's enchanted to be a one size fits all." Compa says calmly, walking away. I guess she's going to tell the others of this.
I'm content with this outfit, so I bring it to the counter to purchase it, when I see IF near the counter. I don't see Falcom, so I guess she's helping Compa with informing us of the clothing thing.
"That what you want?" IF asks me.
"Sure, it's the best outfit I found." I say casually.
"Alright, hand it to me, I'll use my fund from the Guild to pay for it." IF says calmly, in a slightly bossy tone.
"Guild? I'll guess that's your work; but is it okay to use company money on stuff like this?" I ask, with a lot of my perception kicking in.
"Histoire's the boss of the Guild. If I explain the situation, she'll understand. Granted, she might not like it, but she'll understand." IF says casually. "Here, put it on," IF says, passing the outfit to me.
Before, I was only touching it through the clothes hanger holding them in shape, and when I passed it to IF, she held it on the same hanger.
"Okay, now that it's paid for, you can wear the clothing without problems. Try it out." IF says, passing the clothes to me.
I simply touch the clothes and they break down into pixels, and when I look at a nearby mirror, I see that the clothes are on me. The clothes are a perfect match, and they look very exotic and beautiful, with star patterns all over the outfit. I however quickly notice that my hair color changed from amber to a snowy white color.
"Sugoi!" I say happily; I've rarely taken the time to focus on fashion, but when I notice the change in hair color, I begin to freak out "But...what happened to my hair?!"
"Eh? What did you just say?" IF asks me with a confused look on her face, before calming down a little "Anyway, relax, it's a passive effect of clothing. It changes your hair color while it's equipped all because of its enchantments. If you wear any other clothes, it'll change based on the enchantment's effect on you, and if you wear your old clothes, it'll go back to your original hair color."
"Oh...sorry, I tend to speak Japanese like this when I'm very happy, angry, or embarrassed. The word I said is Japanese for amazing; well, one meaning for it." I say, embarrassed I let myself get like this. "Anyway, what happened to my old clothes? Just curious," I ask in a worried tone.
"They're in your inventory. You can access them freely, but for convenience, just stick with that outfit. You stand out a little too much in them."
"I suppose."
"When we complete our mission, we'll probably need to buy more outfits for you all. I don't know how things worked for you before, but you do need to eat, sleep, drink, and everything else here."
"Oh, I see." I say, understanding the logic there. Looks like this world isn't virtual like Aincrad, Alfheim, or Gun Gale. This one is real, but I need to wonder how real this world is. Ugh...I'm already beginning to think of worst-case scenarios. Even if this world seems to have roots to video game terminology, I wonder how much is being used, especially since I've seen games having perma-death.
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [15:30] June 12th 20XX
Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, Ophelia, Yuuki, and Shino are in front of me, all wearing rather unique outfits, with their hair colors having changed as well.
Katsuo is wearing a dark red tunic and crimson pants with gold trims, symbolizing his time as Yamakage in Alfheim, with his hair color being a rather interesting color of Cerise. Kazuto is wearing the same generic black clothing, little surprise there, though he is wearing dark blue pants, with his hair being Teal. Mamoru is wearing a brown sweat-shirt and pants; it makes him look younger than he really is, causing me to laugh a little, with his crimson red hair making him look like Katsuo in a sense. Ophelia chose a dark silver tunic with indigo colored pants, sporting cyan colored hair. Yuuki chose a violet shirt with crimson trims with the same colored pants, her purple hair being a rather feminine pink now. Shino chose to go all silver with her appearance and her black hair has changed to what my hair color is: Amber.
All of these outfits have a very futuristic style and feel to them; it's far more advanced and stylish than anything we have on Earth. Ophelia and Yuuki apparently love their brand new outfits based on the expressions on their faces.
"Wow, if I didn't know any better, you all could've lived here your entire lives." Falcom says with a smile.
"You all look incredible. You truly do seem like you were born here!" Compa says happily.
"Thanks Compa." Kazuto says with a forced smile, and I'm guessing it's because of the drastic changes on our hair colors.
"Now that you all have new trends, let's get to the Basilicom." IF says seriously.
Chirper Events:
Lily Rank 4 – Karen, Katsuo, Kazuto, Mamoru, Ophelia, Yuuki, Shino
"Woah...We all look so different." I say starry-eyed, inspecting the clothing we're wearing.
"Tell me about it. These clothes are so futuristic, it feels like space armor. But the changes to our hair is not something I really like here." Katsuo says, examining the clothing he has on.
"At least we found clothing with our favorite colors. Onyx certainly does appeal to me nowadays."
"Kazuto, I have to ask, what is with you and the color black? It's all you wear." I ask curiously. Aside from that one time in the KoB, Kazuto has always worn black or dark colored clothing.
"I could ask you or Katsuo the same thing. Violet and red are all you've been wearing for years on end."
"Touché..." Katsuo mumbles quietly under his breath, but I can't tell what it is.
"You all must be going through hell. You have my sympathies, though I can't compare since I haven't lived your lives, but I do know what it's like to lose family. My father died when I was two to a car accident. You may find this odd since I was playing a first person shooter but...I'm actually really afraid of guns." Shino says in a quiet tone, recalling tragic events.
"Sorry to hear that Shino." Mamoru says sadly.
"I actually lost my parents three years ago, and my sister died two years ago. I've been living on my own afterward, also been trying ways to get over my -er...nothing."
"My god...I'm sorry Yuuki, I never knew." Katsuo says with a frown. Looks like the girl's had own share of hardships. I honestly wouldn't have expected it considering how upbeat she is.
"Why apologize? You had nothing to do with it, Katsuo. I prefer to think toward the cheerful future over the past that I can't change."
"Still, I just felt the need to apologize." Katsuo says in the same tone.
"Don't turn all sappy on me Katsuo, it's ill-fitting." Yuuki says laughingly, making a joke of all this.
"Hey! I'm pouring my heart out here and you're laughing at me!" Katsuo says, irritated over how Yuuki is treating this like a joke.
"Hehe, gomen Katsuo. You were just being so sappy, I had to do it."
Lily Rank 2 - Yuuki, IF
"Hmm...I wonder if I should tell these guys or not. Although my doctors said that my condition began improving a little since I began hanging out with these guys, they told me not to get my hopes up considering how bad my disease has gotten. Maybe I should contemplate looking at some hospitals or clinics here in Planeptune. I have doubts, but maybe they have medicine that can boost my immune system. I can't let my friends down right now, so I can't let myself drop dead."
"You look distracted, you okay?" IF asks, walking toward Yuuki.
"Woah! Don't sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"I'm sorry, I just want to know why you seem so off your game."
"Er...um...IF, can you keep a secret?"
"Sure. What's wrong with ya?"
"Well...I contracted a disease some time after I was born which has been slowly killing me. We call it Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. The disease itself can't exactly kill me per say, but it makes it very easy for diseases to get me under since it continuously weakens my immune system. I don't want anyone to know but considering that I'm away from my doctors..."
"You're worried your immune system will fail and you'll fall prey to disease?" IF asks with a sad frown "Actually, Yuuki, is this thing contagious? I don't want the people of Planeptune going through an epidemic."
"Yeah. Look, IF, don't tell a soul about this. Especially my friends." Yuuki pleads desperately before trying to calm down a bit "According to the doctors, it's not too contagious. It doesn't spread by being around people infected with this disease. It only spreads with er...'close' physical interactions. Holding hands and hugging doesn't count among them."
"Yuuki, your friends have all the reason in the world to be worried!"
"IF, please. I don't want them worrying about me. If I tell them I'm dying, they'll worry about me and I don't want that. We have a mission and I refuse to be what is keeping everyone back. Besides, I don't want them feeling sad or anything. I want us all to live life to the fullest as much as possible."
"I see. Look Yuuki, I think we can have you checked over by a doctor here in the city. Our medical technology is extraordinarily advanced. I don't know if they've ever had a case of a disease targeting the immune system itself, but I know that the hospital do stock powerful antibiotics. If we can't cure your disease, we can make damn sure that it takes forever for it to get you down."
"I appreciate it IF." Yuuki sincerely smiles toward IF's generosity about the matter, even though it could end up being pointless.
"What can I say? Histoire committed nearly all of our resources to bring you seven here. If I have any say in the matter, I won't let something petty like disease kill people we need."
"I don't know whether to call that a good or bad thing." Yuuki lightly sighs in response to IF's rather blunt statement about keeping her in good shape.
Back to story
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [16:00] June 12th 20XX
We're inside the Basilicom and have made it to the inner sanctum of the tower, where we see a tiny fairy-like human with blonde hair, wings colored blue, silver, and violet, sitting on a book with silver pages.
"You've been gone quite some time IF." The fairy says with a serious frown. Apparently we were on a tight schedule and IF neglected that for a shopping trip.
"I apologize Histoire, but certain things needed to be done." IF says apologetically. "Karen Koizumi, Katsuo Viperia, Kazuto Kirigaya, Mamoru Nakasone, Ophelia Takara, Yuuki Konno, Shino Asada, meet Histoire, Planeptune's Oracle. While Neptune technically is Planeptune's CPU, Histoire is the one who truly runs this nation."
"Histoire, I know this may not be the perfect time, but I need some questions answered." I say seriously.
"Very well. Ask your questions and I will do my best to answer." Histoire says calmly.
"First...I heard something about CPUs, were we summoned to help with that somehow?"
"Correct, we've seen your power from your time in Aincrad, we knew you were our best chance to rescue our Console Patron Units. I just wish we could've had the full team, not just two members of them. I used nearly all of our available power interfacing with an already existent portal to teleport you here in addition to manipulating the run-times of that monster-filled area. I couldn't afford to waste power trying to bring you all or else Planeptune would be non-existent now." Histoire says, making two different shows of emotion, one of happiness at the start and minor disappointment and sadness at the rest.
"Well, Histoire, we're still plenty strong. Yuuki, Ophelia, and Shino aren't exactly members of the original Senryaku unit in Aincrad, but each one of us are powerful in our own ways." I say with a smile, before I realize what she meant
"I know you are speaking the truth there. I saw your prowess in the world called Gun Gale Online...Why do you have such an exotic and unusual name for your world? Speaking of which, is Aincrad the world you are native to? I can't comprehend this one thing. It's a little confusing to me since I don't have logs of your world's history, only history about your prowess since you were in the world of Aincrad."
"Um...the thing is, the world of Gun Gale Online is one of our virtual worlds created by The Seed, it's not real." Yuuki says with an embarrassed laugh.
"Oh...that explains things, your civilization is more advanced than I thought. I thought that devastated world I brought you from was your real planet." Histoire says with a nervous laugh, an anime-style tear drop of embarrassment on her face.
"Anyway, Histoire, I won't speak for all of us, but we do need to return home at some point. Our friends and families will start worrying after a while." I say seriously.
"I understand your worries, but don't fret, time flows differently in this world from your own. I do not know the difference, but I do know you'll be able to stay here a long time before people in your world begin to worry."
"Look, it's not that I don't feel bad about these CPUs or hate this world, but Histoire, please send me back to Earth. I don't want to be stuck here." Shino says quietly.
"Sadly, I don't have the ability to send any of you back. I used an extensive amount of power bringing you all here. But, if you'd be willing to perform two favors for Planeptune, I will do whatever I can to return you to your world." Histoire says happily, though her tone was rather sad at the start.
"What favors do you ask of us?" Mamoru asks curiously.
"First of all, we need to send some of you to rescue our CPUs from ASIC. Their freedom will ensure you all can return to your world. Sadly, I only have the power to send six people to and from the Gamindustri Graveyard where they are being kept captive this time. The second is that we need our Shares boosted."
"Shares? What are shares?" Kazuto asks curiously.
"Shares is the belief people have in our goddess CPUs. Over the last few years, ASIC has stolen nearly all of our shares, and in retrospect: They've stolen nearly all of the faith people have in our Goddesses. I pooled all but three percent of Planeptune's remaining Shares to summon you, so you could save our world of Gamindustri." Histoire says very sadly, a real tear running down her cheeks.
"So your situation is that grave? I can hardly look the other way about situations like this." Katsuo says quietly.
"Neither can I." I say in the same quiet tone, with the others nodding in agreement about not wanting to leave this situation be.
"So will you help us rescue Nep and the other CPUs?" IF asks us all.
"You said you could only send six people to this Gamindustri Graveyard. Who's going there?" I ask curiously.
"I requested IF and Falcom to go to the Graveyard alongside you all, but Compa is forcing the issue. She will be going, at my reluctance, since I was hoping to send four of you alongside IF and Falcom. You will need to choose three of you to go with them. Whoever you don't bring will remain here in Planeptune to build up Shares." Histoire says seriously.
"So, we need to split our team into two?" Katsuo asks with a hint of concern.
"Yeah." IF says quietly.
"Histoire, everyone, could you give us a minute or so to deliberate? This isn't something we should decide randomly." I say seriously, though I hide a frown since I just plain hate having to divide our group like this.
"Of course, take the time to decide who will be going to rescue the CPUs and who'll stay behind." Histoire says, as we walk outside the room to deliberate.
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [16:15] June 12th 20XX
We leave the room where Histoire, IF, Compa, and Falcom are so we can deliberate on who we're going to send to the Graveyard.
"Okay, we can't afford complaints or fights. Whoever doesn't go must not hold any anger toward those who go." I say with a grave frown, not wanting to have tension built among us since we need to work together to eventually work together.
"Naturally" Shino says calmly.
"This is just my thinking, but we ought to limit our numbers to SAO players; so myself, Katsuo, Kazuto, or Mamoru. Ophelia, Yuuki, Shino, I do not doubt your skills, but we need people who have fought with their lives on the line before." I say with a composed tone, trying to get my point across when it comes to danger.
"I can understand why you'd want such people, Karen. The three of us have never fought to defend our lives for real, unlike you four. But still, I know that Yuuki was able to defeat Hikaru, Katsuo, and Kazuto before, she ought to be considered for this decision." Ophelia says casually.
"Ophelia, I respect your logic on this, but you're forgetting one thing. Most, if not everyone from SAO have had their skills dulled from the death game since their return to reality, but I've seen Katsuo and Mamoru in battle here. Their rapid reaction time and power are stronger than in Aincrad. We need SAO players for this one."
"I'm not going to force the issue, Karen. You're the talented leader out of all of us, so whatever you decide, I'll go with it." Yuuki says with a smile.
"Okay, let me think...a graveyard will have limited space...it'd be hell for archers, so we need to stick with melee combatants. Sorry Mamoru, but I'm requesting you stay behind on this one. Katsuo, Kazuto, and I will go." I say reluctantly. Forcing the team to separate is not something I'm proud of, but in this situation, I don't have another option.
"Fair enough. Yuuki, Ophelia, Shino, and I will remain in Planeptune and help Histoire build up shares. Be careful all of you, understood?" Mamoru says casually, and paternally at the end, as he is the oldest in our group aside from Andrew and Tsuboi.
"I don't feel right about you throwing yourself in danger again, Karen." Ophelia says with a sniffle.
"Ophelia, it'll be okay. I'm crazy tough, you know that." I say with a laugh, though Ophelia scowls at my lightheartedness. I'm not too surprised at this point because of how Ophelia has been acting pretty different lately.
"Okay, so Karen, Katsuo, and myself are going?"
"Yeah, let's return to Histoire and give our decision." I say, opening the door to the room, walking in alongside the others.
"Have you come to a decision?" Histoire asks me.
"Yes. Katsuo, Kazuto and I will go with IF, Compa, and Falcom, while Mamoru, Yuuki, and Shino will stay behind and gather shares for Planeptune." I say calmly. "I'd prefer to have Ophelia working on technology, if she wishes."
"Your friend is skilled in technology? How skilled?" IF asks curiously.
"She's exaggerating, though I do have some experience with robotic mechs. I've also been studying what I can when it comes to technology." Ophelia says calmly.
"Very well. Ophelia, I would like to ask you to assist Planeptune's research team. I was going to send a messenger for them to find a way to send you all back, perhaps you could help them and they can help you. In this case, this saves me the time of finding someone to send the message. I want them to begin thinking of a way to return you all to your world eventually."
"Understood. Best of luck everyone." Ophelia says with a smile, walking away to the research division.
After Mamoru, Yuuki, Ophelia, and Shino walk away, only we seven are left in the room.
"Okay, it's going to take me time to open a portal to the Gamindustri Graveyard. As soon as I gather enough power, I'll summon you. Until then, feel free to explore the Basilicom."
"Er...talk about tension drops. Why exactly couldn't you have done this before we got here?" Katsuo weakly mutters this, and honestly, if Katsuo wasn't the one doing it, I would've. Honestly, there was a good amount of emphasis placed on us helping rescue these Console Patron Units and we have to wait? Geez, if this is how everything works in this world...I don't even want to think about it.
"I couldn't afford to let it dissipate if we waited too long. Although the way you think has it merits, I cannot afford to take any risks here."
I sigh in an irritated manner before I look toward Katsuo and Kazuto "I'll stay here you guys. Feel free to walk about."
Katsuo and Kazuto walk out of the room with expressions of discontent, leaving an uncomfortable air in the room between the five of us. After some time passes, Histoire floats over to an intercom and calls for Kazuto and Katsuo to come back to the antechamber. When they returned, Histoire got to work and opened a portal with a purplish tint.
"Listen, I'll need to close the portal to prevent monsters from getting through in addition to how we need to conserve shares once you all cross through. So, to maintain contact, take these three walkie talkies." Histoire says, floating over to a nearby shelf and grabbing three walkie talkies, then passing one to me, IF, and Falcom. She then passes a small crystal to Compa.
"What is that?" I ask Histoire.
"This is called the Sharicite, we're going to use this to help the CPUs escape the graveyard." IF says calmly.
"It's so small. I'm feeling a tiny bit worried, will this be enough?" I ask worriedly.
"I don't know. We spent years building up faith for this Sharicite, so if we can get even a single CPU free, it'll be worth it." Falcom says quietly.
"Let's go. Let's rescue these CPUs and return to our world." Katsuo says proudly.
The six of us enter the portal to enter the Graveyard.
"Best of luck, everyone." Histoire says, with mild fear in her voice.