Neptunia Guild Files: Fate/book one

A Hyperdimension Neptunia Fan Fiction

by Derald Snyder

Section 60: Updates and Reports

*Back at the motel...*

"Wowww... so you and Nero have been working as Guild agents with IF for a while now?! That is so cool, Tammie!" Cyberconnect2 squealed giddily. "I bet Nero's burst more than one criminal's eardrums with her singing!"

"Wha- what is that supposed to mean?! My singing is impeccable!" Nero insisted.

"Nuh-uh, I heard it once, and my poor ears were ringing for days," Cybercon shook her head.

"That only proves just how memorable it was!" Nero exclaimed.

"Damn, talk about denial," Lancer shook his head. "So wait, Cyberconnect2 is fox lady's cousin, but her ears and tail are fake?"

"She's my cousin on my mother's side, mikon," Tamamo elaborated. "I'm half-kitsune, my mother is human."

"Yeah, I actually started wearing these accessories so Tammie wouldn't feel so isolated," Cybercon pointed out. "And I just kinda kept doing it after I struck out on my own..."

"And seeing as Caster's mother was an assassin... that might explain Cybercon's skill with the blade, somewhat," Saber nodded to herself.

"Anyway, you said you guys were here to try and take down a mob boss?" Cybercon asked next.

"Yeah, one who's trying to consolidate his power base in Darkness-60, and possibly Planeptune's entire underworld," IF nodded. "Not to mention Rider here's got something of a personal vendetta with him..."

"He tried to force me into marrying him back when I was still a teenager," Rider clarified. "Thank the goddesses Archer came and pulled my ass outta the fire..."

"Yeah, sure, but with this new power that Kamesh supposedly has, I doubt it'd be so easy for Archer this time around," Lancer half-snarked.

"Well, that's why we're all here, isn't it?" Archer said in a neutral tone. "Just so we're clear, you don't have to get involved if you don't want to, Cyberconnect2..."

"That's nice of you, but if Tammie's in, so am I!" Cybercon asserted. "Besides, since I helped kill those assassins earlier, I'm already guilty by association anyway as far as the mob's concerned."

"I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt, desu," Compa spoke up. "If it hadn't been for Saber's secret weapon, I'd probably be patching up a few of you by now..."

"Yeah, how'd you do that, anyway?" Cybercon asked curiously.

"It's a special mechanism built into this sword," Saber answered succinctly. "But I can only use it once more, and if I do, it'll leave me exhausted."

"Right, so you should save it for a last resort," IF said with a curt nod. "And I feel the need to point out, we may have to deal with that Shredder and Tatsu again at some point..."

"Ugh, last time was bad enough, mikon, even without having to deal with that Demon Lord..." Tamamo groaned.

"Demon Lord? You had to deal with something like THAT?!" Cybercon gasped. "I mean, why didn't you call in Neptune or Nepgear instead?"

"We were trying to stop them before said Demon Lord was revived," IF pointed out. "But, we failed at that, and only with help from beyond the grave did we managed to send him back to the bowels of Hell..."

"Okay, now my interest is piqued!" Lancer spoke up. "I wanna hear the whole story, especially about this Shredder guy!"

"Yeah, me too!" Cybercon hopped in place a bit.

"Right..." Archer sighed. "Well, to start with... you remember when I told you about that Paper-Cut guy...?"

*D-60 Grand Hotel, Penthouse Suite*

The door to Gil Kamaesh's suite was closed this time, due to the fact that some of the Guild' best agents were in town. Kamesh himself had shifted his chair so he could keep an eye on both the door and the patio, just in case. Hearing a knock at the door, he gently grasped his diamond-cut gem before speaking, "Enter."

The door opened, a man dressed in black walking in, with slitted-eye skull mask over his face. Unlike the others, however, his left arm was practically mummified with several dark bandages. "Greetings, milord," the Hassan bowed from the waist.

"Cursed Arm," Gil addressed his visitor, "the fact that you're reporting to me must mean that the Hundred Faces have failed..."

"Unfortunately, yes. They were all slaughtered without mercy," Cursed Arm affirmed. "Most of them were done in by an energy wave unleashed from Agent Saber's word, though I know not how she did that..."

"Hmm... Saki mentioned something similar, if I recall," Kamesh mused. "That might be a problem, depending on how often she can perform such a technique... Did you identify the new agents?"

"The two rookies? Well, one of them was almost a dead ringer for Saber herself, save the fact that she primarily dressed in red," Cursed Arm expounded. "The other one appeared to be a kitsune of sorts- and it turns out that the Maker known as Cyberconnect2 is her cousin. On that note, said Maker seemed to be at the hotel for her own reasons, but has since joined up with IF and the others."

"Yet another mongrel to be put in her place," Gil muttered. "Very well, go back and keep an eye on them. But do NOT engage then except to defend yourself if you are discovered, understood?"

"Yes, milord. But who will you send in our place? Surely not that pretender Saki..."

"Despite your misgivings, that ninja does seem to have some actual skill, given that he managed to hold his own against four agents at once," Kamesh responded. "If you feel he is not adequate to the task, then perhaps you could at least use him as a distraction, if you take my meaning."

"...Very well then. I will do as you suggest. By your leave." With another bow, Cursed Arm turned and exited, closing the door behind him.

After he had left, Gil looked down at the gem in his hand, seeing his face in many of its facets... "Part of me actually hopes that Saki and Cursed Arm fail... If only so I have the chance to show that Red Archer why I no longer fear him. Nor IF or any agents from the Guild..."

The many reflections of Gil Kamesh's face in the gem's facets gave the same twisted grin...

*To be continued...*