Hyperdimension Standard Time: [8:00] September 12th 20XX
Location: [Lowee Basilicom - Training Room]
After getting a fair amount of rest and feeling the scales over my body finally dissipating, I'm able to finally resume my old schedule though it's a bit of a pain pulling off some of my more intricate maneuvers I developed during my training sessions since I've been out of routine so long and my reflexes have become a bit dulled from my constant sleeping bouts. I woke up at roughly five and I've been spending my morning training to build up my physique again. I have noticed a bystander watching me for about an hour now but I've been ignoring that person since I need to get back into shape.
"Miyo was right. You certainly don't lack for determination." I look to see the woman that Miyo was with yesterday walk toward me.
"I never caught your name. All I know is that you know Miyo." I say, with my focus quickly going back to my training.
"Yep. While it's been years since I've seen her, I met her back when she was a kid. Name's Filia Yuasa." Filia responds as she pulls out a sword sheath and reveals a shiny durandal sword "Up for a tag team? You can't truly become better training by yourself. You get better by sparring with strong opponents."
"Karen Koizumi. And if you think you can handle me, go ahead."
"Them's fighting words right there. I won't hold back just because you're a goddess. If anything, I'm going to go all-out because of that." Filia smirked amusedly as she talks to me.
"Fine by me. Izumi's not good at melee combat and Miyo told me she's not interested in training with me."
We cross our swords to show that this duel is not a death match and we are not to harm each other during this duel. Afterwards, we jump into this full-swing; our swords repeatedly clash as the sound of metal rings through the whole room. What catches me off-guard is that even with me having Celeste's passive mastery capability, this woman is on the same level as I am, if not even higher. While we have our duel, we make small talk even though our focus is committed here.
"You certainly make a good impression. I've been training my sword skills for fourteen years and you are able to match me blow for blow. But your stance is bizarre."
"Not everyone has the same sword stance Filia. I learned how to use these stances from an ancient CPU. From an age far older than both of us."
"I won't disagree; but the air about you appears rather forced. Almost as if you have magic influencing your moves."
"Huh. You're certainly perceptive Filia. You're right on the mark. This sword allows me to fight like a master; though it only works for this sword."
"Not good enough. You may be content knowing how to fight with that magic sword, but you need to learn how to fight without it. What if you were in a situation where you didn't have the sword? You'd be done for."
"The sword is bound to my will because of my link with Caelus. But I can see your logic here Filia."
"Okay, so I want to see how well you can handle normal weapons." Filia says as she pulls out a rather plain sword from her inventory and passes it to me "This sword is really bland, but it's light so it's perfect for novice trainees. Let's see how you fare conventionally, with no magic supporting you. Since we're running a test, I'll go easy."
After switching out our official weapons for wood weaponry, we resume our duel which becomes a lot sloppier as we're using weapons not truly meant for battle. She thankfully seems to have adjusted her strength in response and since I'm not using Celeste, I'm not at master level, but I've seen my friends use swords so I know a few basic stances.
"Not bad. You know a few stances so you're not completely helpless. But you were rather stiff with some of your maneuvers. I'm willing to blame that because of how you were sick so long and confined to bed however. If you want, I'd be willing to join in your daily routine to train your skill."
"I'd like that. It's actually a drag training on my own. If I had someone to train with me, it'd exponentially increase what I could do."
"Yep. Come on, let's get some breakfast; I imagine you're hungry from overexerting yourself so much." Filia says as she walks out of the room.
"This woman is beyond strange. She acts so...impish, and yet she has such a serious streak that can be flipped at the drop of a hat. She reminds me of Mamoru a little."
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [9:00] September 12th 20XX
Location: [Lowee Basilicom]
After eating my breakfast, I notice Miyo, Izumi, Gust, and RED waiting for me in the main lobby
"Glad to see you back in tip top shape Karen. Next time, don't do anything rash! If I say something is dangerous, exercise extreme caution!"
"I know Miyo. I'm thankful you all went to such lengths to help me and RED."
"Damn it Karen; that apology is making it difficult for me to be mad at you." Miyo was rather sincere in the desire to be furious at my rash actions, though that quickly fades "Thankfully, that Guardragon is gone so we shouldn't have any more trouble, but we should still exercise caution. No monster has ever been that strong and even if it was a freak accident; the fact it happened just once means it can happen again."
"Correct. We cannot afford to take risks anymore in our quest to defeat ASIC. We must hurry to find Lowee's Mascot Character and rush to Leanbox."
"Okay then; let's get going. Miss Mina unlocked the fast-travel network so we can go to the World Maze."
"Hold up! You aren't going without us!" Ram exclaims as she pops out from behind a pew with Rom in tow.
"Wha-Ram! Rom! Why are you here?!" Miyo further exclaims out of shock, obviously surprised seeing the twins here.
"We're going with you. Even if you say no, we'll just simply sneak out."
"Ram no! You are not coming with us! This journey is far too dangerous for children." Izumi snarls rather angrily toward the two siblings.
"We're not children Miss Izumi. You know that. Besides, we're Lowee's CPUs and CPUs are supposed to guide and protect their nation. After going through all the effort we put in lately, we're not giving up. We're going to show our sister that we can handle anything! Right Rom?"
"Right. We want to help."
"Miyo. Izumi. We will need their assistance against ASIC. Trust me when I say that we will need every CPU we can get. My sisters were never truly united against this enemy and we suffered greatly in the process. While I technically succeeded, I still failed. I stalled for time so another attempt could be made in the future. A successful attempt. Listen. Division will ensure that we lose this battle. Only when we are united will victory be attainable." Caelus explains rather seriously as she talks about her last battle somewhat.
"But…" Miyo slightly groans before taking notice of Mina "Miss Mina. Please talk some sense into them."
"Listen Miyo. Blanc told me to watch over Rom and Ram, but you can tell that they both want to go with you. Besides, what Caelus said is quite logical. What few records we have say that the CPUs of old suffered greatly against the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime. Unfortunately, we know little about that time period. Caelus, can you give us any information from then?"
"I...Oracle Mina, please understand when I say that I don't want to remember the old days. The past is past and I wish to keep it that way."
"I understand. No information is worth divulging into unpleasant experiences." I can tell that Mina is a bit disappointed in Caelus' decision, but understands nonetheless.
"Thank you. I will honor my memories and my siblings, but those memories will remain mine and will never be divulged, even to my avatar. Let us go and get the Mascot Character of this nation so we can continue our journey. I am feeling...eager to see ASIC dismantled once and for all."
"Okay listen Rom. Ram. I need you two to listen to Izumi and Miyo while you are with them. While I have dismissed them from employment here, I am still giving them the position of caretaker. They simply won't be receiving income for it."
"We'll be on our best behavior. We promise Miss Mina. Right Rom?"
"Right."
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [10:00] September 12th 20XX
Location: [World Maze Layer 1]
After we used fast-travel to travel from the Basilicom to the dungeon where the Mascot Character is: World Maze, we find ourselves mildly spread out at the entrance; Filia and I ahead of the others. I notice that my armor has fully formed when we entered, same with Miyo, Izumi, and Filia; though Rom, Ram, Gust, and RED are still wearing their normal clothing
"Er. I'm a little confused here. The four of us are wearing our armor yet the others are in their normal clothes. Why exactly is this happening when we enter a dungeon?" I inquire as I press the button on my helmet's right side so I could open the faceplate and speak without my voice being muffled.
"That's actually easy to answer. Armor in this world establishes a symbiotic bond with their partner which automatically triggers when entering battle zones, though it only works for as long as you have the armor. It is possible to get the bond shattered with a spell, though I've never found the process worth it. I mean; why would you want to destroy the spell that automatically gives you an extra defensive layer in battle?" Miyo explains to me, with her keeping her helmet on so her voice is muffled like mine would've been.
"Good enough point."
"Okay, let's get to work. Karen, you're the strategist of our team; so I'll let you coordinate our formation."
"Alright. Considering our weapon specialities: how about this? Filia and I will be in the front; Rom, Ram, and Izumi will take mid-guard. Miyo, Gust, and RED will be in the rearguard, watching our back and protecting our healers. Our goal is the farthest reaches of this dungeon and the Mascot Character here. Move out." I say as I press my helmet's button to close my face-plate.
We then begin to move though Miyo is paralyzed, simply staring at the environs
"Miyo, you okay?"
"I'm okay. It's just that...something about this place doesn't sit well with me. My mind is shouting 'There's something bad about this place', but I can't remember what that 'thing' is. Maybe I'm still on edge from the Guardragon incident. Don't worry though, I'll be fine. It's just a momentary distraction." Miyo explains before she lightly slaps her cheeks to perk herself up and proceed onward.
We press on through the area at a slow pace since there are a large number of gaps in the floor and we could easily fall to who knows where if we're not careful and the monsters frequently jumping at us to battle does not make it any easier. Rom and Ram being here has been a surprising asset since they have magic at their command and can use it to snipe enemies from afar. Because of that, Filia and I are making sure that monsters don't get close from our vanguard positions while Miyo, Gust, and RED do the same from the rear. When we get to the entrance of second layer of this dungeon, we notice a group of floating disembodied heads with green hair and star glasses blocking it
"Okay, that is officially the strangest thing I have ever seen in this world." I mutter with mild disgust at the sight of the monsters.
"They shouldn't be too strong Karen. Miyo, come up front. We'll fight em all individually. Everyone else, keep an eye on our rear flank."
After hearing this, we begin to spread out as the monsters rapidly approach us to engage in battle. My battle style was rather straight-forward though it's still incredibly intricate; though my battle ended far too quickly for it to be seen. While Miyo's stance was rather generic for rapier users, her battle ended roughly the same time as mine, but Filia's apparently treating this fight like a dance since her movements are rather rhythmatic and utterly in sync with a form of dance I don't really know about.
"Woah. I knew she was a skilled swordsman but now she's a skilled dancer? This is way more than I expected. She truly hides a few surprises under her sleeve."
"You're telling me Karen. I know Filia mentioned that her father trained her; whom was trained by Thraaklon, but I can not see him as a dancer, even in my wildest dreams. If Thraaklon was the one behind that style...I'll be losing a month's worth of sleep. I sincerely pray that the dance was taught to her by her father."
"It's that scary for you Caelus?"
"Karen…" Caelus takes a small break and quickly resumed talking "We're talking about an individual who needed three CPUs at peak strength to stop. Before I was forced to take action, two of my cities were destroyed and thousands of my citizens were killed. I want to believe that Miyo's claim that Thraaklon has changed, but we have far too much bad blood and him dying before we could remedy it doesn't help. I just don't want to see him as anything more than a raving lunatic and murderer." It looks like Caelus is having rather bad thoughts in her head and her relationship with Thraaklon appears incredibly complicated.
"I get it...kinda."
"Please. Let's...forget this ever happened okay?"
"Sure." A part of me is tempted to tease Caelus for showing this side of her, but I can tell she's feeling frustrated as is, and I don't want to irritate her any further, not like this. If I am, it'll be as playful banter and nothing more. I know first-hand that there's a difference between it being playful and it actually being hurtful.
After we finished our individual battles; we regrouped in front of the portal that'll bring us to the second layer
"Way to go you three. The way is clear and we can proceed." Izumi says with a large grin as we walk toward the portal.
"We should have our best members at the front and back since this portal only works with one person at a time. I'll take lead, followed by Miyo, Izumi, Rom, Ram, Gust, RED, and then you Karen. Let's go."
After getting the order laid out by Filia, we proceed one at a time, giving a twenty second time gap per person just to be safe, and when it's my turn to teleport, I find the others locked in battle against a small horde of those monsters that blocked the entrance. Filia, Miyo, and RED apparently quickly dashed to stop the monsters from reaching our mages, though there's a rather bad gap in our formation being temporarily blocked with attack magic.
"Good, you made it Karen! Help us out!" Miyo exclaims as she fights off the monsters in her radius.
I quickly nod as I dash toward the empty gap to take on the monsters in that direction; quickly destroying them in concert with the other melee fighters of our team. When I enter battle, I quickly destroy two of the monsters, but when I slash toward the next, it swiftly dodges me strike and I would've lost my footing if I hadn't quickly stopped my movements though I quickly regain my position to strike back against the monsters since these things are in my way and I can't let any opponent stand in my way. When the monsters are destroyed, we re-establish our formation as we keep an eye out for any more monsters that try to charge at us.
"That was disastrous. If I had known this would happen, I would've reorganized our order. They may be weak, but they still had us up against the wall somewhat."
"I concur. I suspect that Guardragon we were plagued by was a precursor of hyper-evolution of some sort. Based on what I'm seeing supplemented with my speculation: I believe that the intellect held by that monstrosity is becoming the new norm within Gamindustri. If that is the case, we will need to reevaluate the current combat capabilities of Gamindustri's civilians. We need to establish a higher standard when it comes to the arts of combat."
"Er, about that. Um...I remember that Falcom told me that my friends and I are stronger than this world's military, but I've been here for about two months and I've seen hide nor hair of any military force." I inquire as I remember what Falcom told me back in the Gamindustri graveyard.
"Er yeah. It's a bit unorthodox but the Guild is what passes as the military force of this world. Each branch only has a few dozen members at most, but Planeptune's branch suffered drastic losses three years ago. The CPUs never really saw the need to allocate the budget to create an official military force since the monsters kept to the dungeons and the police force took care of major crime. What's shameful is that their armaments are cheap knock-offs so they're not the best at dealing with combat for the most part; they primarily do investigations and leave combat to the enforcers, well, what few there are." Miyo explains rather methodically though she carries a rather agitated facial expression on her face, as if to say 'It's an utter and complete disgrace that there is so little initiative in terms of a response to dangerous situations'.
"Yeah, I heard a few details about that. My father did get conscripted a fair number of times to fight for the CPUs. It's a reason why he chose to live in isolation far away from Leanbox's capital."
"Wow, er; do all of you guys live apart from society that much?"
"Not all of us do, but from what I've seen of the people I've met, I'd say it's a vast majority. Thraaklon stayed with the CPUs so he could use their resources to help save people, but most of his graduates live in very out of place areas; living as independently as possible. Some do live relatively normal lives among the populace, though I haven't seen many."
"Er, not that I mind talking, but let's get moving." Filia urges as we quickly regain our formation and proceed through the dungeon once again.
"Right, let's move everyone."
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [11:00] September 12th 20XX
Location: [World Maze Layer 2]
After we got further into this second half of the dungeon, I hear Miyo stop in her tracks and lightly grip her head as if something is truly bothering her like when we entered this dungeon
"Miyo, this happened twice now. Do you know what's bothering you?" I worriedly ask as I glance in her direction.
"I can't remember. All I know is that something about this place is setting off dozens of warning bells in my head. I have no idea why my mind is shouting at me like this. I highly suspect that we'll find the answer at the end of this dungeon."
"Are you sure about this Miyo?"
"We don't have a choice. We need that mascot to take down ASIC." Miyo responds as she pushes on even though she's obviously feeling distressed about what's happening inside her mind.
We continue on through the dungeon fighting the monsters in our way and notice a rock formation engraved into what appears to be a large temple door. Considering what happened before, I am anticipating that this one will have some contrived reason for not coming with us.
"Here's the third Mascot Character: White Disc. If she's like the others, she has some contrived reason for her to not come with us."
Our approaching her quickly got a response from the Mascot
"It's not every day I get a visit from Lowee's two CPU Candidates and a CPU from ages past. To what do I owe this unexpected, but very welcome, visit?" The pleasant tone of her voice was quickly changed to one of surprise "Miyo Hanari? After eight years you've returned to this place. Fate truly is a mysterious thing."
"Huh? I...I was here before? But I don't ever recall ever coming here before."
"You arrived here eight years ago with a child's curiosity. I couldn't risk the seal here being discovered by a civilian so I created a computer virus that interfered with your implant. I had your memory altered to think you were exploring Atari Marsh and teleported away from this dungeon."
"So that explains all the warning bells I've been feeling since I got here. It was because I had been here before as a child and you changed my memory. My subconscious remembers the truth even though my memory was altered."
"I hate to intrude, but let's get to business. Every second we waste gives ASIC time to prepare." I say with a degree of regret since I didn't want to interrupt, but the mission is too vital to delay.
"Right. We're here to ask for your assistance against ASIC."
"Unfortunately I cannot accompany you. I was tasked by Neptune to protect this seal and I will not break my promise with her."
"Eh? Neptune? Why would Planeptune's goddess ask you to do this?" Miyo inquires as we glance in her direction.
"ASIC destroyed nearly all of Lowee's Mascot Characters a long time ago and the seal here was at risk, so Neptune made a deal with Blanc to have me come here in lieu of the absent Mascots. I can't leave this place no matter what."
"What can we do to convince you? We need your help."
"Nothing will convince me Caelus. I will not break my word with Neptune, no matter what you say. I'm sorry, but my decision is final."
"Gust has offer. Gust can create copy with alchemy."
"Are you sure you can do something like this Gust? It seems like this will be rather challenging to do."
"Gust laugh at concept of challenge. Give Gust ample space and safety." Gust proclaims as she begins unpacking her alchemy equipment and we establish a wide berth in our safety perimeter.
Hyperdimension Standard Time: [17:00] September 12th 20XX
Location: [World Maze Layer 2]
After around six hours passed of waiting and fighting monsters, Gust appears to have finished as she showed us a disc she pulled from her cauldron
"Gust is finished. Last step is to imbue essence of Mascot Character into surrogate disc. Can be tiny."
"What will this do Gust?" I inquire as I inspect the disc from a short distance since she's not letting me see it upfront.
"This will be surrogate Mascot. Since this one must stay, we make copy for use."
After Gust finished speaking, I see a beam of light from the Mascot hit the disc and it turns from a generic black color to white with mist being made visible.
"Mission successful. We have Lowee Mascot."
"Perfect. Let's get out of here." Miyo says with a mild yawn since we've been practically lazing doing nothing since the monsters were keeping a distance since we had too strong a perimeter established here. However, a minute passed after Miyo attempted fast-travel but was still here "Eh? Why am I still here?" Miyo rapidly looks through a few screens and lightly gasps "They shut down the fast-travel network entirely? But why?! We destroyed the Guardragon!"
After hearing this, I quickly contact Histoire to get an Oracle's answer on the situation
"Histoire. It's me Karen. The fast-travel network is offline for some reason. Why is this?"
"This is rather abrupt, calling me so unexpectedly. But Leanbox's Oracle: Chika Hakozaki said that the Guardragon was still alive and if we didn't shut down the network, we would all be in danger." Histoire was obviously taken aback at my sudden call but still managed a professional tone as she spoke to me.
"That shouldn't be the case. Miyo reported its destruction yesterday and Mina should've spread the news."
"Well Chika spoke otherwise. She showed us legitimate evidence of its continued existence and we shut down the network until it is eradicated."
"Histoire, trust me when I say that ASIC wouldn't lie like this. Not about something this serious. Both the CPUs and ASIC were suffering with that monster raging." Miyo interjects rather solemnly as she voices her belief about the situation.
"Regardless of the fact, the network has been shut down and it requires the combined work of the four CPUs to reactivate. Am I correct in the belief that you have acquired Lowee's Mascot Character?"
"Yeah. We have White Disc and now we have to make it to Leanbox. On foot apparently."
"For the time being Karen, simply make your way to Lastation and take a Terraportation ship to Leanbox." Histoire says to me with a matter-of-fact tone as she ends the call; making me groan deeply in irritation at what I'm being faced with.
"Karen, it'll take us nearly two months to reach Lastation from here if we walk it." Miyo interjects rather bleakly as she talks about the situation.
"Damn it. Miyo, there has to be a quicker way for us to reach Leanbox."
I hear a mild grunt before she speaks up "Unfortunately there isn't. Let's just get out of here via escape button and get going."
A/N: The situation involving Miyo and the Mascot is a bit complex to explain, but I know a very good comparison I can use. If you've played Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness, or Sky, you should know what I'm comparing it too, but please; no spoilers into the game.