Chapter 23 - Requests, Requests, Requests

Day 50

Lowee - Sky Harbor

"Aww, it sucks that Blanc wasn't there when we got back." Neptune moaned.

"We know. You've been saying that for the past few days." Soren replied with gritted teeth.

The party was at the Sky Harbor ready to head for Lastation. As Soren said, for the past few days Neptune moaned about how Blanc wasn't back at the inn when they got back. Sure they sort of felt the same way, but now, it was getting on their nerves.

"Nep, if you say one more thing about it, I'll eat every one of your desserts right in front of your eyes." IF threatened, before adding, "For a whole month!"

"You wouldn't!" Neptune gasped.

"Try me." IF stared at the purple haired girl, as if challenging her.

"…Muuu, fine! I won't say anything anymore."

"Iffy, did you receive any word from Chian about the test model?" Compa asked, changing the subject.

"No, though we should check in after we settle ourselves."

"Well, what are we waiting for? We should skedaddle over to Lastation right this instant!" Neptune cheered.

Lastation - inn

Entering the inn, the party ran into someone that they didn't expect.

"Hello! Been a while."

"It's Gust! I missed you so much!" Compa went over and gave the younger girl a hug, before she and the others noticed something different. "Uh oh, you look tired. What happened?"

Gust gave a sigh before explaining, "Someone asked for potion…but no shops carry ingredient for it…" A look of anxiety appeared on the young girl's face. "Needs made by end of day. What should Gust do…?"

"Is it something we can gather outside of town?" IF asked.

"Yes, but alone is bad. Gust would go by herself, but site guarded by strong, nasty monster."

"We'll totally help you out, then!" Neptune interjected with enthusiasm. "You helped us last time. I can't ignore a friend in need, cuz I'm a friend indeed!"

"Yes! We'll get the ingredient for you. What is it, and what monster's guarding it?" Compa asked.

"Really?-! I dunno, monster is something I no go near. Ingredient is Lutea Leaves, and monster guarding is Tentacilis." Gust replied.

Soren suddenly froze at the last part, something IF noticed. "What's with you Ren?"

"I don't know… I've heard of a Tentacilis, but I can't remember exactly what it is."

"Tentacilis is very bad monster. Maybe Mister Soren should go by himself. Very bad for girls to go near it. Don't know what it is though."

"What? Pfft, this monster can't be that tough." Neptune scoffed, "We'll just beat down like the others. C'mon, show us where the site is."

"Though Gust appreciate help, don't say Gust don't warn you. Not responsible for physical and psychological trauma that may result."

"Huh?" IF said as Gust showed them the location. "Now I have a bad feeling about this."

"You're worrying too much Iffy. I mean, this Tentacilis thingy can't be all that tough and nasty, right?"

Lastation - Lutea site

"You just had to jinx us, didn't you Nep?"

"Hey, I didn't know it was that kind of monster. It's the last thing I expected. Though it makes sense now why Gust said girls shouldn't go near it."

"Uh, maybe Soren can go on ahead. He's a guy, so…"

"Hey, I may be a guy, but there is no way I'm going near that…that thing! Ugh, now I know why I had a bad feeling when I heard the word Tentacilis…"

In front of the party, prowling the field, was a tentacle monster. Yes, a tentacle monster, complete with who knows how many tentacles attached to a round body. What was special about the Tentacilis was that the different sizes the tentacles were. Some were sharp, some were swollen, some were…well, you get the picture.

"So…what's the plan?" Neptune asked after a minute of silence.

"I…don't know." IF eyed the Tentacilis with extreme caution, in case it . "What I want to know is why that thing looks so focused on that Lutea bush."

"Uh, I don't know the exact details, but from what I can recall, Lutea attracts monsters for some reason. It's a main ingredient for Sugar Scent, the opposite of Monster Repellent." Compa explained.

"Sugar Scent huh? That gives me an idea." IF took out a bottle of Sugar Scent the size of a grenade and gave Soren a look.

"I don't like that look you're giving me If. And since when do you have a bottle of Sugar Scent?"

"Eh, picked it up a while back, before I met you all." IF started shaking the bottle before pulling the lid off. "Compa, Nep, you better get back."

As Compa and Neptune complied, Soren stepped back as he remembered how Sugar Scent was 'opened'. "Oh no, I'm out of here. Even I have my standards!"

"Sorry about this Ren. Fire in the hole!"

Soren made a break for it, but was too slow as the bottle hit him right on the ass. "If you bit-!"

*BOOM!*

The Sugar Scent bottle exploded, enveloping Soren in a cloud of pink dust. Neptune couldn't help but comment, "Pink huh? Not the color I was expecting."

"Eh, I could care less." IF shrugged, "Hey Ren, still alive."

"*cough cough* Erk, damn it If! What the hell?-! *cough cough*"

The cloud cleared, revealing Soren to be alright, if a bit ruffled from the explosion. At his feet, the bottle looked like an open capsule. "Ugh, covered in the stu…uh oh…"

The girls followed his gaze and saw that the Tentacilis was looking right at him. Everyone backed away as the sole male's eyes widened. Soren saw the monster start to drool, and on instinct ran away when the monster moved, shouting. "I'll get you for this Iffff!"

"…Sorry Ren. I promise I'll make it up to you later." IF apologized, hands clapped together. "We better get as much Lutea as we can."

"What about Ren?" Neptune asked.

"He'll, uh, be fine, I think. He has his IS, um, after all."

The girls looked in the direction Soren and the monster ran as they heard the latter shout, "Oh by the goddess, it's drooling out of places I didn't know it had!"

"…Yeah, let's just hurry."

Neptune and Compa just nodded as the girls shivered and mentally thought at the same time, 'Glad it's not me.'

Lastation - inn

"Thanks! Now, I finish making potion." Gust nodded when she saw the party walk in. "And you brought extra. I appreciate it very much."

"No thanks necessary. We can help one another when we need it. Just let us know if you need us again." Compa said as she gave the Lutea leaves to the young girl.

"Okay." That's when Gust noticed a missing party member. "Uh oh, where's Mister Soren? Did he get eaten? If did, my sincerest apologies."

"Uh, no, he's fine. He's just, ah, recovering from what happened, um, earlier." IF stumbled, looking a bit nervous.

"What Iffy means is, she used Ren as bait using Sugar Scent against the tentacle monster." Neptune explained.

"Nep!"

"Tentacle monster? Oh, now girl warning make sense." Gust nodded, putting the pieces together. "Mister Soren wasn't…you know…"

"No, but it looked like there were a few, um, close calls, considering the state his clothes were in." IF replied, looking a bit guilty as she stumbled over her words.

"Soren's mad at Iffy about it." Compa added, "Won't speak or look at her at all."

"I already apologized! Still, I guess I did go overboard, but it was the only plan I had on me at the time, and the Tentacilis was gonna to notice us sooner or later."

"I think he's still in his room in the shower…"

IF took a deep breath before saying, "We'll be going now. We don't wanna distract you from finishing your job."

"Bye, Gust!" Compa waved as the trio left Gust to her own devices, who waved in return.

"Bye-bye! Again, thanks! And give Mister Soren my condolences!" The moment Gust was by herself, she noted, "Tentacilis is tentacle monster. Very bad. Well, get to work!"

Day 51

Lastation - streets

"Nep-Nep, Iffy! Bad news! Someone saw a monster coming close to the town!"

Compa burst into the girls' room, coming across IF who was texting away. When she heard Compa's words, she looked up in alarm. "Really?"

"I heard from the people running away in fear. Soren went ahead to save some that were left behind."

"Well, that explains why he's not with you."

At that moment, Compa noticed that someone was missing. "Huh? Where's Nep-Nep?"

Hearing that, IF looked oddly amused as she folded her arms. "Well, she's locked herself in the bathroom ever since she ate that expired cup of pudding."

"And we told her so many times not to eat it and just throw it away…" Compa shook her head at the thought.

That's when Neptune's constipated voice came through the door to the bathroom. "S-Sorry, Compa, Iffy… Go on ahead of me… I'll catch up later!"

"Alright, we'll be going, but hurry up and finish in there! I have a bad feeling about the monster."

IF raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as they prepared to leave, until Neptune called out, "Ahhh! W-Wait!"

"What is it?-!" IF asked impatiently.

"I'm all outta TP… Can you leave me a roll by the door?"

"Good grief…" IF sighed and went to fulfill Neptune's request. After that, she and Compa left the inn, leaving Neptune to her…well, you get the picture.

Lastation - town border

"Whoa, what happened here?-!" IF asked, looking shocked.

The place that IF and Compa heard a battle going on looked like a war zone when they approached. They saw a number of citizens hiding behind the trees nearby, some having injuries as a very battered Soren fought a giant monster, two other corpses of monsters nearby. Drawing their weapons, the two went to assist with IF calling out to him.

"Ren! You alright?"

"…Just fine." Judging from the tone from Soren's voice, he was still upset at IF for yesterday. At least he was professional enough to respond to her.

"W-What happened here?" Compa asked before taking a shot at the monster with an ice bullet, the shot bouncing off the monster's hide.

"Apparently, the monster had friends." Soren nodded to the two monster corpses. "I had to use Yukihira and White Frost to fend them off, but now the IS is in recovery mode 'cause the monsters caused too much damage."

"So you can't use it?"

"Not for a few days at least." Soren jumped out of the way of the monster's attack before going in for another attempt. About five minutes later, the monster's state was relatively unharmed from the trio's attacks, as IF can attest.

"What's up with this giant monster?-! None of our attacks are working!" IF looked at Soren with one eye. "How did you kill the other two?"

"…Turns out White Frost has a gravity crushing ability. It broke after I got the second monster due to overuse."

"Nep-Nep isn't here, either. We really can't do this without her…" Compa faltered, switching elemental bullets.

"Compa, we must stay strong. I'm sure she'll flush and come help us in the nick of time. Until then, we've got to protect the injured civilians!"

"Iffy… Okay!"

"Uh, what do you mean by that, IF?" Soren asked curiously.

The young girl flinched at the formality around her name, but managed to say, "Nep ate expired pudding. Guess what happened?"

"You can't be serious…" Soren shook his head and returned his attention to the monster, just in time to see it slam the ground, sending the trio flying. Landing on the ground with a thud, the trio struggled to get up, when the monster's attention suddenly shifted.

"Oh, no! Iffy, the monster is-!" Compa pointed out with a wince.

"Crap, the people are over there…!" IF hissed, struggling to her feet.

"I can't…stand…any longer…" Compa collapsed due to lack of energy from the fight.

"I…can't either…" And IF followed, leaving Soren the only one standing.

"G-Go away!" A civilian cried out, as the others looked terrified.

"Oi, over here you big lug!" Soren cried out, firing on the beast as he charged forward.

The monster reacted by spewing a green blob at the Monster Hunter, and when it hit the ground, it exploded, releasing a gray mist. That stopped Soren's charge as he hacked and coughed the mist, jumping back.

"Ugh, that's nasty!" Soren coughed, when he heard another voice come from the trees.

"Hold it right there, villain!"

"Who's there?-!" IF shouted as everyone looked around, until a girl with blue hair wearing a scarf and skin-tight black bodysuit appeared amongst the branches.

"The dashing heroine appears in a time of crisis! Leave it to Nisa, the sole keeper of justice in all of Gamindustri!" Nisa's introduction sure got everyone's attention, even the monster as she pointed her finger at it. "Prepare to meet your maker, monster! The one, the only, deadly Justice Kick!"

"What the heck…?" Soren coughed as he saw Nisa go for the finisher. Too bad that Neptune chose that moment to show up.

"Compa! Iffy! Ren! Sorry for th-blargh!"

Everybody winced as Nisa's attack gave Neptune a one-hit KO to the face. Compa was the one who summarized everyone's thoughts.

"Nep-Nep! Goodness, are you okay? Ooooh, a kick straight to the face. That must've hurt."

"That's putting it lightly." IF said as she and Compa got up.

"What're doing, jumping right out in front of me?-! I even called my attack so you'd know to wait, too!" Nisa looked exasperated as she shook her head.

"When Nep-Nep is focused on something, she stops seeing or hearing anything else around her…" Compa went over and tried reviving Neptune, to no avail.

"No kidding. She's the poster girl for tunnel vision, urk." Soren added with a cough.

"She was our trump card… Compa, stop slapping her so much! Her face is already indented from that kick!" IF went over and pulled Compa off of Neptune.

"Sorry. I went full-force on that one. She might wake up in a few weeks." Nisa informed them in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Ugh, you can be serious?" Soren started swaying slightly, though for some reason he didn't notice. "What are we gonna do?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the monster myself. Leave it to me! Oh, and you should rest Mister, you don't look so good." Nisa pulled out what looked like a blue penguin thingy and to everyone's surprise, a wide laser blade sprung out as the heroine of justice charged.

"Are you okay Soren? Do you need medical attention?" Compa asked.

"Uh, I'll be fine. Probably a h-hallucinogen or something in that green mist. It'll p-probably wear off soon."

Eventually the monster was single-handedly defeated by Nisa, and everyone was impressed by her skill. Soren whistled, "Wow, now there's a tough fighter. Interesting weapon though…"

"That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call the triumph of justice!" Nisa said as everyone clapped.

"…Wh-Whoa. We didn't stand a chance, but she beat it up all on her own." Compa commented, looking astounded.

"Y-Yeah…" Soren said, before he suddenly collapsed.

"Ren/Soren!" Compa and IF cried out when the sole male fell down on his face. Nisa saw this and she too rushed over to see what was happening.

"What the-? Ren's turning green. Shoot, I think he's been poisoned." IF turned to Compa with worry. "Compa, get an antidote, quickly!"

"Y-Yes!" Compa went for her Storage Device and took out a pre-made antidote in a Detoxin bottle to administer to Soren. At the same time, IF rubbed her forehead and turned to Nisa, looking apologetic.

"Sorry, but could you help us take our friends back to town? Compa can carry Nep, but Soren's a bit too heavy for me."

"Well…" Nisa wondered about that when the civilian who shouted earlier came up to them.

"Excuse me, on behalf of all of us here, thank you for saving us. We can handle ourselves from here Miss Heroine, so please help them."

"When you put it that way, I'll most definitely help." Nisa went over to Soren and picked him up. "Well, we better hurry and get him comfortable. I know first-hand how painful poison can be."

"Right, up we go…" Compa picked Neptune up and threw her over her shoulder like a pack of potatoes. "Lead the way Iffy."

"Right…"

Lastation - inn

"Ugh, thanks for your help, Miss Nisa." Compa said after she, IF and Nisa hauled Neptune and Soren to their rooms back at the inn.

"No problem. It's a Heroine's duty to help those in need." All of a sudden, Nisa looked up like she heard something. "Hmm? What's this? A cry for help? Then, I'm off. Up, up, and awaaaaaay!"

Compa and IF had blank looks on their faces as Nisa left in a… 'unique' way before the latter sighed, "…This is Gamindustri, after all. So many different walks of life… Well, let's head back inside and take care of those two. Compa, you take Neptune while I take Ren."

"Um, maybe I should look after Soren. I mean the poison-"

"No, I owe him this much after the stunt with the Tentacilis."

"…I understand."

With IF, she entered Soren's room where she heard him groan, "Urrggh, who's there?"

"It's me, Ren."

"If? Goddess I feel like crap…"

IF blinked at the sudden drop of formality, but figured Soren was too out of it to care about anything. "How're you feeling? The antidote kicking in?"

"Y-Yeah… Still feel sore and dizzy though…"

[Sir, this may be a bad time, but I must report that I will be in Recovery Mode for a few days.] Yukihira suddenly said from the table it was laying on.

"What does that supposed to mean?" IF asked.

[Sir will not be able to deploy my IS form while in Recovery Mode. The protocols in place will not let him due to the damage I sustained.]

"I thought an Infinite Stratos was supposed to be this one man army against monsters type of deal."

[I am not at full operating capacity. Even if I was, Sir's experience piloting an IS is still somewhat fresh, even after all this time. Here is a status report on my operating status.]

A screen popped up and IF went over to take a look. This is what was on it:

Infinite Stratos - Yukihira (1st Shift)

5th Generation Operating System

Operating Subsystems:

Energy Shield - operating at 60% (720 SP)

AI Regulator - operating at full capacity

Fold-Out Armor - inoperable

Preset Recreation Program - online

Strength Modifier - reformatted, completion at 50%

One-Off Ability - offline

Hard Drive Memory - recovery at 16%

Power Drive Program - completion at 55%

Preset Weaponry:

Yukihira Type 3 - operating at 60%

Preset Weapon 1 - creation at 75% (high priority)

Preset Weapon 2 - 'White Frost' Gravity Axe

Open Weapon Slot

Open Weapon Slot

"Hard to believe this is ancient technology. This thing is more advanced than the latest weapons from Planeptune." IF commented after giving the status screen another look over.

[Gamindustri developed differently than the surface. On a unrelated topic, Audio Logs #32 and #23 have been recovered. Do you want to hear them?]

"Rrggh…go ahead. Anything to take my, grr, mind off of this…"

[Understood. Playing Audio Log #32.]

"We decided to add some more protection for the IS, in the form of a passive energy barrier. The armor is strong I admit, but the energy barrier was decided so to reduce damages made to the frame during combat. There is another function to the barrier called Absolute Defense, where any lethal/killing blows are blocked by a concentrated form of shield energy, though it does drain the shield energy reserve quickly."

"Hmm, guess that's what happened. Ren took one too many direct hits…" IF mused.

[That is what happened.] Yukihira confirmed as Soren groaned. [Opening Audio Log #23.]

"Twenty more prototype cores have been created, bringing the total to twenty one IS Cores. Granted there are only ten frames, but if something happens to one of the cores, there'll be backups. I really hope that doesn't happen, since it would be a waste of resources that are running just a bit tight at the moment.

"As for what's going on outside, Europe and Asia had a few close calls, but things are still at a stalemate. We've lost some land and gained some, so nothing's really changed. What I'm worried about is a new way of monster creation from that thing's twisted essence that I'm hearing about…"

"Now this…this is interesting. I wonder what the 'thing' is… Sounds like the mother of all monsters…" IF suddenly went to the door saying, "I'm gonna go check on Nep and Compa. I'll be back soon, alright?"

"Yeah…" Soren just relaxed on the bed, trying to get to sleep, until he heard IF shout something completely unexpected.

"Ugh, a clogged toilet?-! Damn it Nep!"

Day 53

Lastation - Storage Facility

"It's been a while. I've been waiting here so I can explain the job to you." Ganache said as the party approached. "Though I must admit I expected you to show up much sooner."

Things were pretty much back to normal after a few days of rest. Soren's attitude towards IF pretty much went back to normal, though he did swear that he'll get his revenge someday. As for Neptune, she woke up after a day surprisingly enough, though she can recall what happened when she got hit, or anything from that day for that matter.

Funny how her other memories didn't come back from that hit though…

"Hey, you're that funky solicitor who keeps popping up ever since we saved you! Are workin' hard or hardly workin'?" Neptune greeted in her usual fashion.

"It's been ages since I heard that. Do I seem busy? I'm taking half the week off. I'm basically done preparing."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at that as Compa pouted, "I'm so envi-… No! That's against the labour laws. I knew you were a twisted bunch!"

"You make it sound like we work for a company, Compa." Soren flatly told her.

"Well, most manufacturing is done by the machines now, so…" Ganache gave a shrug as Neptune snapped her fingers.

"Oh, right-o. Your guy hates people technicians, yeah? Most of the work is done by machines, huh?"

"Yes. Anyway, let's cease the gossip and get back to the topic at hand. This facility here is older than you think. It was already closed down a few years back, actually."

"And you just abandoned a perfectly good building like that? How wasteful. So, what are we doing here exactly?" IF asked, folding her arms.

"There are still some important materials stowed away. We want you to find and collect them all."

"We have to give you everything we find? I don't know if I like this job description…" Compa frowned at the thought.

"No, just the items we specify. You can pocket whatever other garbage you find."

"Now it sounds like we're just getting table scraps. I still don't really like this." Compa pouted with arms crossed under her gracious bust.

"So what're we lookin' for? Bazookas? Lucky Strikers? Cardboard boxes?" Neptune asked.

"What's a Lucky Striker?" Soren muttered under his breath.

Ganache paused for a moment before he slowly said, "Less like items, more like materials. We're looking for a certain type of raw ore."

At that, Neptune looked scandalous as she opened her mouth. "You want three cute girls roughing their delicate hands looking for rocks?-! Even with Ren here, that's a bit much! Whatcha gonna do with rocks anyway?"

"They're unrealistically useful. They're also very scare since monsters have started to get in the way of our mining. Of course, they're not just normal rocks. One possesses enough energy to power a game console for ten thousand years!"

Soren and IF looked at their client with disbelief as Neptune took it hook, line, and sinker. "Ten thousand years?-! That's awesome. So we're getting something really awesome?"

"Actually Neptune, he's just yanking our chain." Soren interrupted before Ganache could say anymore.

"What?"

"He's right Nep. If something like that existed, everyone would know about it already." IF added.

Ganache snapped his fingers and said, "Oh, you got me. I was just kidding. What we're looking for is a silver and black ore called Unobtainium."

"…You sure you got that right?" Soren asked, trying to wrap his mind around the odd name.

"Whatever, we know what we're looking for since he told us what it looks like." IF shrugged, "Let's get this over with."

The others nodded and went into the facility. Walking for a bit, the party noticed it was a bit dark when the entrance suddenly slammed shut, encasing them in darkness.

"Kyaah! What just happened?-!" Compa shrieked.

"Huh? Did the entrance just close on us? Yo, solicitor, what did you do?-!" IF was calmer, but she was still shaken by the sudden turn of events.

"What did I do? Oh dear… I'm sorry. It seems there was some malfunction and the entrance has closed." Ganache replied, through Soren noticed an odd tone in his voice when he said that.

"Goddess, if that was laced in anymore sarcasm, I'd get diabetes…" Soren muttered.

" …Actually, this all according to plan. We'll have you tasty little hunters get eaten by the monsters here!"

"Wh-What's happening? I hate being in the dark like this. Please open the entrance now!" Compa cried out in distress.

"Yeah, being in the dark is no fun!" Neptune added.

"Please calm down you two. It's gonna be alright." Soren tried to assure them, but even they could hear the tenseness in his voice.

Uh-oh… Fine, I guess complete darkness isn't quite fair. I'll turn a few lights on so you can see where you're going."

"But, but, but why?-! Don't you wanna get the rocks?" Neptune asked as the lights turned on, making everyone blink.

"…Really? You seriously believe there are rocks called Unobtainium? I lied about that to get you riled up. The job is from me, personally. I used the company's name, but who cares?"

"What'd we do to you?-! Why're you doing this? I thought we were kinda like neighbors!"

"Obviously he doesn't feel the same way." Soren grumbled, looking for a switch to open the door. He quickly gave up however and materialized Yukihira, and plain started punching the door.

"Ow! Ren, that's too loud!" Neptune whined, covering her ears.

"I don't care if that means ripping this door open!"

"You might as well give up Mister Soren. Even with that fancy armor of yours, this door's been reinforced to blast door proportions with multiple layers." Ganache said, despite the banging. "Besides, I met someone a while back and since then, I've known about you…Neptune."

"Okay, that's just creepy." Soren commented as he gave up, his efforts only showing dents in the door. "Ugh, that Power Enforcer would be useful here…"

"Don't I know it." IF said before she turned to Neptune. "You're stalking her, too? Nep, were you some sort of super villain before you lost your memory?"

"No way!"

"No way!" Compa nodded, "I know Nep-Nep very well, and Nep-Nep has only been Nep-Nep all this time."

"You can't be sure of that. I want to trust her too, y'know. I was just joking, okay?" IF held out her hands in defense.

"Iffy…"

"Oops, one last thing. This building will explode in five minutes. Sorry for the cliché ending. Farewell!" Ganache informed them as the party heard him walking off.

"What?-! …He's gone. What should we do? There are monsters around and we don't know if there's another way out." IF kicked the ground in frustration as a soft growl came from down the hallway.

"Okay, let's concentrate on getting outta here first. Next time we see him, we'll introduce him to a Tentacilis!" Neptune shouted, making Soren flinch a bit at the last part.

"Were you listening to me at all? That optimistic, one track mind is your main weakness and only strength…" IF shook her head in disbelief before turning to Soren. "Ren, does your IS thingy have a sensor or something?"

"I dunno…can you help at all, Yukihira?"

[Sensors indicate a draft coming from the opposite end of the facility, indicating an exit. Also, there are several timed explosives primed around the facility.]

"Great, and here I thought the guy was bluffing." IF sighed, "C'mon, we'd better hurry. Ren, you take point in Yukihira. Bash any monster that comes our way."

"Gotcha If." Soren went ahead of the party and proceeded at a pace that let the girls keep up. "Yukihira, please guide us out."

[Understood. Tracing draft current now.]

A bit later, after various monster encounters and nearing the exit, Soren bumped into a shelf when his attention wavered, sending a few boxes crashing to the floor. The girls jumped at the sound, but Neptune noticed something among the boxes. "Hey, what's this…?"

Everyone looked as Neptune picked up a silver and black block of…something. "Hey, isn't this the Unobtainium thingy that the meanie solicitor told us about?"

"I don't think so. It's a block, not a rock." Compa replied, "Hehe, that rhymes…"

"Who cares? Neptune, just drop the thing and keep moving. The place is gonna blow any minute now!" Soren said impatiently.

"Eeeh? But it's so sparkly and stuff. I think I'll keep it."

"Ugh, whatever."

Lastation - streets

" An exit! Boy am I glad we didn't give up!" Neptune cried out as the party found themselves outside.

"I wasn't giving up. Anyway, I wonder if that guy really thought this was gonna do us in." IF looked skeptical as she eyed the building.

"Well, being trapped inside a building crawling with nasty monsters is a big deal! We could've been a meal for any of them, you know?" Compa shivered as the party reached the sidewalk.

"…I mean, he's seen what we're capable of. I doubt he really thought this was going to be effective against us." The words were right out of IF's mouth when explosions erupted, causing the building to collapse upon itself.

"…I'd say that would've been pretty effective, if we were still inside." Soren pointed out.

"Uh…"

"Who cares? We've made it out safe n' sound! What else matters? We're done for today so let's go grab some grub at Chian's place!" Neptune cheered, her attitude shattering the atmosphere around them.

"Eh…Neptune has a point. I for one want to forget what just happened."

Compa and IF couldn't find any fault in Soren's words, so they decide to head to Chian's restaurant. However, by the time they go close, they saw people running away in panic.

"Look… What's all the commotion? Did something happen?" Compa asked, looking alarmed, when Chian ran up to them, looking tired and out of breath.

"…Haah, haah… Please, help! Avenir's robots invaded my factory!"

"What?-! Damn it, so that's what he was after! C'mon, let's hurry!" IF shouted as she led the others to the Passe factory.

Lastation - Passe Factory Ruins

"I guess that jackass was just trying to keep us busy for a while. It wasn't personal, after all." IF winced, looking at the destruction.

"This is so horrible. Everything's been ruined. How are they supposed to work now?-!" Compa

"He did all this, eh? This is absolutely, positively, most undeniably unacceptable!" Neptune

"I think we have bigger problems girls!" Soren shouted, pointing that robot that was pretty much the cause of the destruction, the Killachine.

The Killachine was a huge floating robot that wielded a axe and a morning star in each hand and had a tail instead of legs. Oh, and it was much larger than Soren in Yukihira. It's design practically spelled destruction.

Neptune transformed and charged straight at the machine, only to be rebuffed by a swing of it's axe. The Killachine then when for a crushing blow, but was blocked by Soren who deployed his IS. "You know, rushing headfirst into things isn't the best idea Neptune. I thought your transformation made you level headed."

A light flush appeared on Neptune's face as Soren pushed the Killachine back, followed by a barrage of bullets from Compa and IF. "Sorry, it's just that I got so angry seeing all of this that I…"

"Hey we're all angry, but let's plan this so we don't get turned into paste, alright?"

"Right!"

"Hey, if you two are done talking, we need to figure out how to take this thing down!" IF shouted, before her voice dropped when they regrouped. "Our weapons won't work on that thing, being a machine."

"But they did work in the game." Compa pointed out.

"Yeah, but the author's being a realist, so we need to think about this. Any ideas?"

"…I could use White Frost on that thing." Soren said before he pushed forward, tackling the machine and sending it crashing into the ruins, sending debris crashing upon it.

"Ren! We're trying to save the factory, not destroy it!" Neptune cried out.

"Sorry, but we need some time to think!"

"What was that about White Frost, Ren?" IF interrupted, before Neptune could say anything. "I know there's something special about it, considering Yukihira classified it as a 'gravity axe.'"

"I don't know the specifics, but simply put, that axe has a secondary function that can crush monsters somehow. I think Yukihira said it was gravity technology or something, I don't know. What I do know that it will work against anything."

"…Alright, I'll trust you on this one. Nep, Compa and I will make an opening for you. Is that alright?"

"Sure. Just don't get hurt you three."

A nod from everyone and the party went to execute the plan. Neptune took front with IF supporting her, and Compa took potshots at the machine's head. Soren held back as White Frost materialized in his hands. "Yukihira, release Gravity Mode."

[Understood. Deploying Fold-Out Armor.]

White Frost's blade split apart as the axe started to hum, a glow appearing on the emitters that opened up in place of the blade. "How many charges can I pull off?"

[After the last fight a few days ago, estimates are at five. After that, the chance that the emitters would blow out from overuse would rise without a two minute cool down.]

"Understood. Better make this count!"

"Ren! Now!"

IF shout signalled Soren to charge in, seeing that girls somehow deprived the Killachine of it's morning star. Axe raised, Soren charged in shouting, "Take this!"

The Killachine automatically raised it's axe to defend, but White Frost's gravity pulse crumpled right through the weapon and crushed the machine in the chest, sending it crashing into the ground.

When the machine didn't move after that, the four regrouped with Neptune saying, "Wow Ren, that was amazing. I didn't know that axe could do that."

"I only found out a couple of days ago myself, during that fight with those giant monsters." Soren replied, when they heard movement. "Oh, you can't be serious…"

The Killachine got up, but the weird thing was, that red circuit lines started to appear on it, as it's eyes turned red. Hovering over them, it slowly floated towards the party who prepared themselves to fight, when the machine suddenly sparked, making it twitch.

"Huh? What's going on?" Neptune looked confused, as well as everyone else as the sparks and twitching increased.

It got to a point where parts of the Killachine spontaneously exploded, the machine crashing down as the party blinked. There was a moment of silence as the red lines and eyes of the machine died, until Compa broke it.

"Well…that was anti-climatic."

*CLING*

Everyone jumped as they saw the Killachine's chest plate pop open, revealing the inner core as heat came out of it. However, Soren saw something with Yukihira's enhanced vision, making him step forward.

"Ren?"

"Hold on." Despite the heat, Soren took a closer look and saw something familiar in the core. "Oh, I can't believe this…!"

"What? What is it? Is it something special? Oooh, like a secret weapon or something?" Neptune's transformation wore off, so she was back to her perky self when she asked that.

Reaching into the core, Soren yanked out a black crystal that everyone recognized. "It's a Lastation Jewel Core Fragment! How on Earth did Avenir get it's hands on one?-!"

"That's a pretty good question, but for now, we need to check on Chian!" Compa reminded them.

That statement everyone agreed with as Soren dematerialized Yukihira, but not before fanning the Jewel Core Fragment to cool it off so he could put it away. When they found Chian, she was looking at the ruins of her factory with a blank look, making IF comment, "Looks like she's in shock."

Compa tried to console Chian, who was looking pretty out of it. "Ch-Chian? Please don't be upset. Forget about all this. We'll fix everything right up!"

"Really Compa, you shouldn't make promises like that." Soren said, only to be slapped by IF on the shoulder.

Suddenly, Chian looked up with determination as she clenched her fist. "Ugh, damn it! I can't lose hope yet. You guys still have the test model I gave you, right? I won't give up. I swore to myself I wouldn't let anything get to me like when I heard the Expo was cancelled."

"Oh, yeah, the test model! You can still go to the Expo with this bad boy!" Neptune said as she took out the test model from her Storage Device.

"Of course. So, I'm sorry, but I'll have to take it back until after the Expo." Chian took the sword out of Neptune's hands, much to her

"Wh-Whaaaat? Aw, why? You just gave it to us like a second ago!"

"I said until after the Expo! I can't risk it breaking before then…and there are some modifications I'd like to try."

"Ugghhhh, fine, whatever. I'll let you borrow it for a little bit."

"I don't remember giving it to you to keep yet. I thought it was pretty clear you would get it after the Expo ends." Chian then remembered something and asked, "By the way, do you have a report on any bugs or something?"

"I have that." Soren took out a few papers and handed them to Chian. "This from both me and Neptune testing the thing on most of the landmasses. I admit it's good, but could be much better."

"Thanks. I'll take that into consideration. Now I need to go see if there's anything left to salvage." Chian was about to walk off when she turned to Soren. "Oh and can you stop by later Soren? I'd like to talk about that armor of yours…"

"Uh, sure…"

"It's probably thanks to Ren that there's nothing left though." Neptune commented as the four watched Chian walk off.

"Me? With that machine, collateral damage would've been inevitable, even if the factory was intact!" Soren argued.

"Ugh, using big words, how annoying!"

"Not my fault you're an idiot!"

"Hey! You shouldn't talk to your fellow party members like that!"

Watching Neptune and Soren argue, IF gave a sigh, "And it's business as usual for this party…"

A/N: This update is brought to you by Neptunia V (for Victory), the next game in the Neptunia series. Seriously, Mk2 just came out for us Westerners over a month ago and another game is in the making, scheduled for release in Japan in mid-August? (can practically hear Some Random Tosser shouting 'Another one?-!') Still surprising, considering I came across this on Siliconera earlier in the week. The story sounds interesting, Neptune being sent back to the past around thirty years before Mk2, Lowee becoming Japanese themed, Leanbox invading Lowee, Planeptune being a small country, and Lastation no existing? Well, at least the character redesigns are delicious. Neptune having an actual top and dress, Blanc wearing Japanese style clothing, Noire bearing her midriff, and Vert, yum, she shows more leg and chest with her new look.

Sorry for some parts sounding cut and paste. Hearing about Neptunia V restarted my muse, but it was still a struggle to write. The whole tentacle scene just popped out of nowhere, considering I had a different plan in mind about the whole tentacle issue. Not to mention this is my longest chapter to date on this fic. As usual, thanks for the support, and all suggestions will be taken into consideration. I have Mk1 pretty much solidified, but Mk2 is still in the developing stages as well as the interludes, so ideas might pop out there. That's it from me, and see you in the next update!

P.S. If you're wondering what Soren looks like, he looks similar to Itsuka Shidou from Date A Live, a Light Novel that has illustrations one might be familiar with.