Chapter 13: The World is Changing
Hey, so uh…Finally got around to doing another one of these. I HAVE been writing, just not typing. In theory, the next chapter will be relatively done and ready to type in a week's time, though it won't be posted that soon. Have to actually have a mental health week before I go to school after working all summer. Don't really have much more to say, so I'll get to the point.
A year and change passed by in the blink of an eye after our wedding. Plutie and Johnny tied the knot a few months back, and boy did I enjoy the reception. Payback is a dish best served cold, and it was as sweet as ice cream. Tehg, however, was not a happy panda. Something about being related to Johnny not sitting right with him. Edgar came over a couple times for things like birthdays and other types of get-togethers. According to the others, that's an improvement on how he usually was. Normally Tehg or Alexis was with him, so it's safe to say Edgar needs a babysitter in order to be social. Man, am I glad that 'Tia likes her camera, because the look on my face when he told me he was with Alexis, his Servant Medb, and his world's Blanc was priceless. Irisviel was not happy about that information, and when she isn't happy, you run. You run far, and hope to whoever's listening that her constructs can't catch up to you. I wasn't paying much attention because I was talking with my grandfather-in-law, but I heard something about not playing with a girls' hearts, and he was gone like a bat out of Hell.
Everyone, after about a year, asked when the two of us would have a baby, especially Monika. Every time she would say she's tired of hearing us. Hell, we were asking ourselves that before we went to Ragland for answers. He said that it would be incredibly hard for us to have a child, seeing as how Cynthia was "born" in such a strange way. If I were a DGU like her it'd be different, but I am only human.
Noire and Vert went public with their relationship and the world lost its collective shit. Honestly, I could help but point at my computer screen and laugh at the internet nerds that freaked out about not being able to be with their waifu.
"Are you ready to go? Grandfather said he would be at the Basilicom at noon." 'Tia said, pulling on the reinforced heels that went with her combat outfit.
"Yup! Just pulling on my jacket!" I replied, pulling on the duster that was stored in the bedroom closet. "I can't believe that he agreed to it."
"Well, he was really interested in what we had found when we took him to the museum. I'm pretty sure that this is just another way he's trying to bond with us. I don't mind though. We ARE worlds apart."
"True. I also really want to see the old man in a fight. Tehg and his merry band of troublemakers say that he's powerful, but I'm not gonna believe it 'til I see it." I said, opening our bedroom door. Like usual, Monika and Iri had already left for work. From there I pulled on my boots and we headed out.
"Hello Steven, Cynthia." Edgar greeted, giving her a hug.
"Hey guys." Solar added, stepping out from behind the massive man.
"Hello Grandfather. Hey Solar." Cynthia said in return, hugging the two."
"Finally crawled out of bed, huh Dad?" Monika teased, holding the hand of a now toddler Iffy.
"Yeah. We're heading out to Lastation for that temple that we found after looking for hints in the pictures we took in Thor's temple…Hm…You know what? With how different today is going to be, I'm gonna mix it up a bit." In a quick flash of light I assumed my female form. Luckily, the last time I was like this I was wearing the armor Noire made, meaning we didn't have to spend time waiting on me to change.
"I don't know why that threw me off. Tehg's told me about it and what you use that form for." Solar said, face tinged pink.
"And what exactly do you use it for?" Edgar asked, crossing his arms.
"Free drinks at bars and mixing things up in the bedroom." I explained.
"I see." His tone spoke volumes of how much he didn't believe me.
"Look, when you go drinking with someone that needs to down an entire liquor store to get drunk and/or someone who literally drinks himself to death just so when he comes back he can drink more, you have to do whatever you can to keep from spending a fortune. I may have that fortune, but that's not the point."
"That makes sense, if nothing else. Now, shall we leave?" Edgar asked, clearly ready to tackle whatever laid in wait for us.
"Be safe, Dad. If you come back with something that'll scar, I'll sick Iri after you."
"What, so SHE'LL give me something that'll scar?" I joked.
"We'll make sure to keep him out of trouble, just like always." 'Tia chuckled. "Though at this rate, he might just not make it back in one piece if that happens."
"Why do all the women that love me wish to hurt me more than these temples do?" I lamented.
"It is the nature of women to want to protect those they are for. You just happen to have the misfortune of them being gods and those of extraordinary ability." Edgar chuckled while glancing at Histy.
"Sure, just laugh it up, old timer." I grumbled. "Let's get going. We're dealing with the Celts this time, so expect runes and the like. Magical traps are the worst kind."
"Tehg would love this one then." Solar commented. We moved fairly quickly, getting to the black themed nation in record time. "Whoa…this thing is huge…" Solar wasn't wrong. This one is by far the tallest we've come across. That's probably because, from looking inside, it only went up.
"What do you think you're all doing?" Oh no. That's an angry Ploots voice. We're not going to have a good time.
"Hey, Plutia. Is Johnny with you?" Cynthia asked.
"He'll be here in a minute. Why didn't you tell me we were having a family outing?"
"We weren't planning on a family outing. If we did, Monika and Iri would be here." I explained.
"My grandson would also be among us." Edgar added. Plutie didn't take that lying down, putting a hand on her hip and leveling a glare at the two of us.
"Why didn't you just carry me here?" Johnny asked, hacking his way through bushes with his sword split in two. "We could've been here sooner if you did."
"Yes, but you're so tall it's awkward for me to."
"How are you two?" Solar asked.
"Tired, sweaty, and ready to beat someone's ass. What are we looking at this time, G1?"
"Celtic of some kind." I reported. "We haven't gotten the chance to start exploring though. The only thing we do know is that it's a goddess and that she has three aspects."
"Huh. Alright then. Let's get this done."
"I agree." Edgar said. We entered a large chamber with no discernable way to ascend. There was no rooms or anything, just flat brick surfaces.
"Hey, Cynthia? What's it like, being married?" Solar asked…herself? Still not sure how to refer to the two.
"It's…not that easy to explain. Steven and I have been living together for so long that nothing's changed."
"Oh. Well, what do you do, anyway? For fun, I mean?"
"Hey G1? What's up with those two?" Johnny asked as the two kept talking.
"They've never really had the chance to just talk." I answered, running a hand along one of the walls. "So they're taking this chance to catch up. How're things going with Plutie?"
"Not bad. Things are pretty chill between us, and she's talked about trying for a kid. Any word on that?"
"Still nothing since the last time. If it really is the genetic compatibility thing that Ragland has been saying, then we're up shit creek without a paddle."
"Well shit."
"Yeah." The awkward silence that ensued was broken by the physical sadist among us.
"So that's why Monika and Iri have been staying at the Basilicom after work so often." Plutie giggled. "What will you do if you can't?"
"No idea." I replied, looking around for some kind of clue. "All I know is that it'll devastate her."
"Boy! I've found something!" Edgar shouted, pointing at the large mural that was painted on the wall. The mural is honestly out of place compared to the rest of the room.
"That's…weird…Is there something off about it?" Cynthia asked after all of us joined the ancient being.
"The figure in the middle has glass for eyes, which is something that the others do not." He observed.
"I'm gonna check that wall over there." Johnny said. "Maybe there'll be something that opens this thing." Everyone followed his lead. As Plutie walked about, one of the stones making up the floor sank. There was a sudden thunk sound, but nothing happened.
"Stay there, Plutia! I think I've got something!" Solar shouted as she slammed the wall she was next to with the palm of her hand. A bright blue light lit up through the glass in the mural.
"Well done." Plutia stated. "But know that you will not go unpunished for ordering me around."
"S-Sorry, but the eyes lit up a little, so I figured it had to have been something. Then I found this brick that wasn't flush with the wall."
"Very well, I'll just lighten your torment. Maybe a repeat of the last time you stayed over will do nicely." Their banter was interrupted by a mechanical rumble as the wall the mural was on rose into the ceiling.
"Mechanical contraptions are the means to progress, huh? Very well." Edgar mused. The second floor had something that looked straight out of Harry Potter. A giant chess set sat along the floor. Each square of the board had slots for something to pass through them.
"You got this, babe?" Johnny asked, giving Plutie a smirk.
"Of course." She replied, returning the smirk. She went to work, sliding the various pieces into a circle of alternating black and white while also both sets of kings and queens to the center AND obeying the rules of chess. Oddly enough, the knights had symbols on them, like a lake or a sun. "Hmph…Easy." The CPU stood proudly in front of us.
"Nice." Johnny commented, kissing her on the cheek.
"Hi ho, hi ho, up the stairs we go!" I sang in the tune of the dwarves from Disney's Snow White.
"G1, no. Bad."
"You can stop ruining my fun at any time." I countered. This next floor was another single open room. Everywhere around the place was what looked like some of the robotic enemies from Final Fantasy thirteen. Kind of threw me off because I'm pretty sure that the Celts weren't known for being engineers. There were a few Crusaders just floating about, an absurd amount of Hoplites, and a Tyrant.
"Aw, this is disappointing…Robots don't beg for mercy…" Plutie wind.
"I'm pretty sure some still do, just not mindless ones like these." Solar countered.
"Do you have a plan?" Edgar asked me.
"Not really. We don't even know what this room's gimmick is. Our best bet is to just sweep and clear and hope that it doesn't decide to explode or something." I replied.
"Sounds good to me." Johnny said, splitting his sword in two again. "It's been a while since I've been in a good brawl."
"I will deal with the big one." Edgar stated, cracking his knuckles.
"Johnny and I will take our time with the small ones." Plutie suggested. "You three should be able to handle the three floating ones."
"Sounds good to me." Solar said, chambering a round of her bolt action rifle.
"Shouldn't be a problem." Cynthia agreed, knife drawn. With the makeshift plan in place, we all sprang into action. Johnny lunged at a group of them, cleaving two in half. Afterwards, he became a red and black blur of mechanical destruction. Plutie's talent with lightning magic turned out to be a real help, making taking out her enemies as easy as swinging her whip-sword. Edgar took a more hands on approach, punching the Tyrant a few times before picking it up and slamming it into the ground face first. I called on my contract with Artemis and started firing on my designated Crusader. Of course, I also took pot shots at the other two, doing nothing if not creating openings for the two. Unfortunately, my arrows were bouncing off their armor. The most amount of damage I could do was some dents in the metal.
"Solar! 'Tia! Regroup!" I shouted. The two fell back and the three machines grouped up.
"What's up?" Cynthia asked.
"Yeah, we were doing fine." Solar added.
"Our physical attacks weren't working. The arrows from Artemis' contract couldn't punch through, and I know you've seen what they can do, 'Tia."
"Yeah, I know."
"So, I'm going to change out and buffs us."
"You can do that?" Solar asked.
"I've got a contract with a goddess of magic. Of course I can, though it took some time. While using her GCG makes it easier, but support spells are harder for me to learn than offensive ones."
"I'm taken care of." Cynthia said, igniting her large knife.
"Right. Forgot you could do that. Hecate!" Now in the Greek robes that the goddess wore, I lifted the wooden staff. A yellow glowed surrounded her guns before they cackled with lightning. "There. Now you can do some real damage."
"Awesome. Thanks." I cast one more buff that upped our damage output before I switched to Dialga. "Do you think a physical guy like that will work?" I rolled my shoulders, not very used to the clunky armor that the time dragon granted me.
"All of the abilities he can use right now are Pokémon moves, and they all technically elemental attacks." Cynthia explained.
"Ah…" After she realized what I was doing, I charged forward, stomping my foot to use earth power before sinking the six blades of metal claw into two of them. The attack tore through them like an AMR round through a tank.
"That's what I'm talking about!" I cried out, separating myself from the robot. From there, the beat down continued with our now elemental damage doing significantly more to them. "What's this?" I asked myself out loud, picking up one of the monster's drops. It was a jagged piece of metal that didn't look natural, and had multiple machined out slots. I ripped the hand that wasn't holding the strange object out of the ground, where it had imbedded itself when I cleaved it in two vertically with a punch. I turned to my right and saw Solar on the back of her bullet riddled robot. One of her hands was deep in its shoulder joint while the other jammed a pistol into the base of its neck before pulling the trigger as fast as she could. It began to collapse and she freed herself before it fell into a heap. The Crusader then proceeded to explode, leaving behind a piece of metal similar to the one I was holding. Johnny and Plutie were against a wall, leaning on each other and shining with sweat. The two were smiling, so I at least knew that they enjoyed themselves. Cynthia had cut off the arms and legs of her opponent before finishing it by stabbing it in its robo-face Edgar…Edgar looked like he was having the time of his life duking it out with the machine that was almost twice as big as he was. The Tyrant was staggering about, sparks flying from every punctured surface on its body. For what could only be a finishing blow, the old man snatched one of the two autonomous blade that were circling around it and impaled it with its own blade.
"There." His bassy voice rumbled. "The last machine has been dealt with." Since nothing else seemed like it was going to happen, I deactivated Dilaga's GCG. With a raised eyebrow. He picked up another of these mysterious pieces of what seems like scrap metal. "What is this?" He asked.
"I don't know. Mine had one too." Cynthia said, bringing the total number of these things to four.
"We've got one too. Don't remember which one had it, but it's here." Johnny said, lifting his from his spot on the floor.
"It was the one in the middle. The one that was a different color than the rest. I think I got it." Plutie explained to her husband.
"Ah, right."
"So, we have five of these things." I hummed. "There's no way this is a coincidence."
"They got to be related." Solar said, staring at the piece that was in her hand. Without saying anything else she walked over to me and took mine from me. After giving the two a good look over, she eventually slid them together. "Hey, look at this."
"They're all parts of a whole." Plutie mused. "Shall we?"
"Sure."
"Before today I would have never taken her for someone who solved puzzles." Edgar said, sounding genuinely surprised. "This is the second one she willing tried to solve."
"That's due to someone getting her one of those 3D puzzle balls for Christmas one year." Johnny replied snarkily, jamming a thumb at me. "Now she's into those the same way she's into sewing."
"Hey, I needed to get something creative that year. She said she wanted to try picking up another hobby, so…"
"All that matters is that it's coming in handy." Cynthia commented as she was relieved of her piece. "Look at those two go." Indeed, the two were hard at work, sliding the five pieces in different directions, trying to make it into one solid piece.
"Got it." Solar said, holding up a jagged looking star.
"Yes we did." Plutie agreed, high fiving the girl.
"Cool, but we don't know how to use it." Johnny observed. "I don't see anything for it from here."
"I was not paying much attention during my fight, but I believe that I saw a star shaped hole on that wall." Edgar said, pointing towards the large pile of probably valuable metals.
"I bet Nepgear would love to see this place." Solar said, walking over to the hole. After some fiddling she managed to get it in, and the staircase behind the wall was revealed. This one was much longer, being several stories tall compared to the single story flights that the others were. Clearly, this floor was the one we needed. The commonplace pedestal had a large orange gear shaped crystal floating above it. "That's the thing that lets you make contracts with gods? I thought it'd be a bit more impressive."
"They work with what they can." I said with a shrug. That IS what they told me.
"Each one looks different, too, based on the god that he's contracting. The first one was in the shape of a skull." Cynthia explained.
"And this one?" Edgar asked.
"The gimmick is that he doesn't know until they introduce themselves." Johnny answered.
"So, you just go up to that thing, grab it, and then we're done?" Solar asked.
"Nope. There's one more thing we have to deal with." I said. "There's the guardian. Basically, it's the god's way of making sure that some lucky rando doesn't get their hands on it."
"What should we expect?" Edgar asked.
"What we have already fought, but bigger. Usually." Plutie answered.
"Then this shouldn't be an issue."
"Speak for yourself." I muttered. "You're not the one that's gonna get the shit beat out of them."
"You'll be fine." 'Tia said, trying to cheer me up. It didn't work, because she's normally the one who patches me up when my injuries don't warrant a trip to the good doctor.
"She's right, you know. With how many of us there are, things can't go wrong." Cynthia, Johnny, Plutia and I all turned to Solar wordlessly. "What?"
"Firstly, you said the magic words. Now everything will go wrong. Secondly, you clearly don't know how these go for him." Johnny started.
"My brother isn't exactly lucky. All those things Johnny said at the reception? Stevie told him those years ago."
"I am an accident waiting to happen."
"We're pretty sire the Fates are out to get him. I've never seen someone stub his picky tow on the same table leg so many times." Cynthia finished.
"I believe she gets the point." Edgar said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"We have bets on how he's going to die." Johnny added, to my surprise.
"You what, bitch?" I asked.
"That is…not something we should talk about here." Solar commented, bringing us out of the potential fight. "How do we get this started?"
"I try to go get it." I replied, doing just that. The room began to shake as a scrap metal hand ripped its way through the floor. The rest of the mechanical monster followed, its one red "eye" lighting up afterwards. It was a large, bestial thing, almost similar to a gorilla. On its back were two large cannons with ammo belts feeding into them from its sides. It wasted no time in beginning its attack. "We need to take out those guns!" I shouted as the bullets forced us to dive out of the way.
"Of course." Plutie said, activating her processors. "This hunk of scrap will pay for attacking us!" With her peace said, she flew forward, using her whip-sword to sever the left weapon from the body. Cynthia followed her lead, exploding in a plume of fire before mirroring what her sister-in-law did. The only difference was that this one looked like someone had taken a flamethrower to it.
"Well, if everyone's doing it…" Solar trailed off before being engulfed in light. When it died down, her shorts and t-shirt were replaced by a long sleeved red coat and a short skirt. The skirt was navy blue and the shirt underneath the coat was white. Her feet and shins were covered by knee high brown boots and her now white hair that was in a style like Pluite's before the perma-CPU thing was covered by a wide brimmed hat that looked fresh out of a Robin Hood movie. In her hands was a long old-school bolt action rifle that looked straight out of the trenches of World War One. The mechanical beast began to charge, and Solar took aim. With a precision shot to the arm, she staggered it, knocking it off of its feet. Edgar took the opportunity to do something absolutely spectacular. He picked up the one cannon that actually looked functional, shoved it deep into its chest, and fired. Chunks of metal flew from the body, some even hitting us. Since I still had time for Dialga's GCG, I reactivated it and decided to draw on the time dragon's power to the fullest. A sphere of temporal energy formed in front of my metal face plate before condensing and growing brighter. With a shout, the Roar of Time tore through the air, annihilating every piece of it but the head and the gun that Edgar thought that he was keeping. The remains of out opponent crashed to the ground and the red glow slowly faded.
"You made this out to be much harder than it was." Edgar commented.
"Yeah, I was expecting a longer fight." Solar added.
"Normally aren't six of us, let alone someone that has created a reality." Cynthia countered.
"Fair enough. I believe it is time to claim you contract, is it not?" Edgar asked, motioning towards the rising pedestal with an outstretched hand.
"Yup." I replied, making my way to the crystal. With it in my grasp, I shattered it. As per usual, my world went dark.
'Hello, Contractor. I am Brigid, goddess of healing and the smith. My gift to you is the gift of healing. I feel like you can use it well.'
"I will, thank you."
'Now, I must ask something of you.'
"What's up?" I asked. It's not very common that one of my contracts directly asks me to do something, especially when I first establish the contract. I'm pretty sure the last one was Orcus way back when.
'When you first use my GCG, please do not…how do you mortals put this…freak out.'
"Why would I freak out?"
'You'll see. Just, please promise me.'
"Sure, I won't lose it when I use it."
'Thank you.' The melodious Irish accented voice faded away along with the blackness. The two among us who weren't used to what could only be a spectacle were giving me a confused look.
"You explained, right?" I pleaded.
"Nope." Johnny chuckled before getting elbowed.
"Yes, we did." Plutie corrected. "But seeing it is completely different than being told about it."
"Valid point. Well, we're done here so we can head home." Of course, with my luck, the instant I stepped onto the floor a rune lit up. "Motherfucker…" It detonated, sending me flying.
"Hey babe, can you get off me?" Cynthia asked.
"But you're comfy…" I whined, but complied with my wife's demand nonetheless. Afterwards we went home and had the BBQ chicken I had marinating in the fridge with pasta salad. With full stomachs the two went home to their world.
"Are we going to the Basilicom today? I'm pretty sure I heard someone mention having a get together." I asked 'Tia a few days after our little excursion.
"It has been a while since all of us have been together without having to fight. Sure, let's go." Cynthia responded, running her hand through her bed head. Once we were actually ready for the day, we went over to Plutie's place. Even though it was summer, I forced myself to wear a long sleeved button up. I had to, seeing as how it was the only real way that I could have ready access to the seal I had tattooed over my heart. It was a special symbol that Hecate and I came up with that let me temporarily paralyze my heart so that I could use Dialga's time stopping ability. The morning was warm, but with a steady breeze that would make the afternoon's heat bearable. Somehow, even the still kind of lazy Neptune beat us there. Knowing her sleeping habits, this was quite a feat. "Take this! Cat punch!" Well, today was certainly not going to be boring, if Neptune getting socked in the chin by a six year old Peashy is anything to go by.
"Peashy, you know better than that." Monika scolded.
"I know, Mom…" Peashy replied, looking actually upset.
"M-M-Mom…!?" The girl screeched, taken off guard.
"Well, yeah. You're basically the one that raised us. You might as well be." Iffy commented, showing that she was much more intelligent than she should be.
"Aw, Mon-Mon, we're mommies!" Iri teased, poking the girl's cheek and forcing her to turn atomic red. Compa, bless her innocent soul, wrapped Monika up in a hug.
"Mommy!" Oh, my heart. It can't take this much sweetness.
"The kids have gotten big." Blanc stated, looking over at the growing group hug.
"Indeed, Lady Blanc. Time sure has flown. I feel like it won't be long until Aiko is this old." Souji replied.
"It has been getting harder and harder to keep up with them." Histoire interjected. "Monika and Caster have been a blessing."
"They are quite adorable. To think that I was once a child…" Vert…lamented?
"That's right, you were all human once." Neptune observed.
"Yes, Neppy, everyone has a mommy and daddy." Plutie stated.
"…I don't. None of us CPUs back home do. I was made from a fragment of power from the Original Goddess. Nepgear was born from the Sharicite when my Planeptune had an abundance of shares." The room got super heavy real quick.
"Well, technically you two do now." Souji said. "Or, at least, you will. My parents are still around." Tears welled up in Neptune's eyes as she ran at him to hug him. The rest of us stayed quiet as to not ruin their moment.
"Hey Plutie? When are you going to introduce me to Mom?" I asked, raising my left hand.
"Maybe some other day, when the whole family is free." She responded.
"I could take you to meet mine, too." Blanc suggested, turning to Nepgear."
"T-That would be nice."
"How is everyone doing Share wise?" Blanc asked, clearly trying to change the awkward subject.
"If my reports are correct, we are all about even." Vert answered. "Planeptune was behind a few years ago, but you have managed to catch up to the rest of us quickly. That's most likely due to your current circumstances."
"I've got to say, it was weird when this first happened with Plutia, but I can't deny the results." Noire added with a smirk.
"Weird? You're not the one with a piece of what might as well be a CPU's life-force stuck in their heart." I laughed. Before our nonchalant banter could continue, the landline in the next room started to ring.
"The landline in the Basilicom hardly rings. One moment please." Histoire said, floating to the phone. "Hello, this is Planeptune's Basilicom, how may I help you? Yes, she is here. Yes, I can…Nepgear, could you please have Noire come here?" The fairy quietly asked the girl that was near the door.
"Of course. Noire, the phone is for you!" The black themed CPU swiftly entered the room.
"It is from your Basilicom." The Oracle elaborated.
"What do think it's about?" I asked.
"I think it might be something wrong. I heard a little bit of what the other person on the line was saying, and they sounded frantic." Nepgear answered.
"The nation's online network is down!? How…? Wh-What!? We were hacked!?"
"I'm glad I didn't make a bet with you." I whispered while raising a fist.
"You tend to lose bets anyway. If I get any more out of you, I think Cynthia would cancel poker night." Vert said.
"I thought she would when Johnny decided strip poker would be a good idea." Blanc commented.
"Just…just wait, okay? Um…I'm on my way!" It's an emergency, everyone! Lastation has…"
"Been hacked? Yeah, we heard you. I think someone down the street could've heard you." Johnny finished for her before proceeding to mock her. In other words, he was being himself.
"That's a bit harsh." Nepgear commented. "Noire, let me help you. I should be able to find who did it."
"I'd appreciate it." She replied with a smile.
"I think it's time I got out of the house." Iri said, setting down Compa while standing up. "This has those Seven Sages' signature on it, and I'm tired of this."
"I don't think I've heard her this angry." Monika said.
"So, you're going to stop her?" Souji asked the teen.
"Oh no. No, they deserve it if they pushed her this far."
"With how many of us there are now, we should really break things up." Blanc said. "We can one group investigating in Lastation, and the other can go after the one responsible."
"Well, I'm going after whoever did this." Noire huffed, crossing her arms. "Nepgear, I'll be letting security know to give you access to the server room."
"I'll be going with you, Noire." Iri stated as a sickly sweet smile graced her face. There was no room for negotiation.
"Souji, you're with my and Nepgear." I said. "I should be able to see if there was any physical tampering, and you can tell if there was any magical shenanigans going on."
"That sounds fine." He replied.
"You think I'm not down to crack some skulls?" Johnny asked, cracking his knuckles.
"Blanc, you should go with those three. With you as the muscle, they'll be fine to poke around to their hearts' content." Neptune said. "That way we don't have to worry about anyone."
"Alright, I'll keep them safe."
"This sounds like it will be fun." Plutie laughed. "You four better get going." With the game plan settled, we took off. It took us an hour seeing as how neither CPU felt comfortable about carrying us, and my means of flight isn't exactly healthy for me. The soldiers let us in easily enough. Nepgear pulled out what could only be described as the world's coolest tablet and went to work.
"There's definitely been someone in here, and they aren't an amateur. You wouldn't see the damage or anything unless you were actively looking for it, and even then it's well hidden." I said, looking at some bent metal and small burns on some circuit boards.
"There's been no magic cast in here." Souji reported, closing a book before swapping it out for another. "This will have to be left to the two of you."
"Can you stay with Blanc then? I know she can take care of herself…" Nepgear asked, clearly hesitant to finish.
"Of course. I'll watch my Lady's back." He replied, leaving to just that. I dug around in the tower that I was at, trying to reach into a spot where I couldn't really get at elsewhere. There was something in there about the size of my palm and was shoddily wired in. Tearing it out was an easy affair, but the symbol that was carved into the plastic shell made my blood run cold.
"Oh, that's not good."
"What's wrong?" Blanc asked from her spot by the door.
"I found a physical backdoor, and it's got a logo that I've only seen in one other place." I pulled my arm out and showed it to the only one that was close enough in the room. The design was three interconnected gears with a jagged, cracked skull overlaid on top of them. "This was all over the place where Solar and I found Cynthia."
"We'll have to keep an eye out for anyone that might not like us being in here." Souji stated, opening the door.
"I can't get anything useful out of this. Even if you took that out, the connection should still be up." Nepgear said, tapping furiously on her screen.
'Try the Celt's power.' The thick African accent of Anansi rang out.
'Um…Okay?'
"Which god was that?" Nepgear asked. "I saw your eyes turn yellow."
"Anansi. He was suggesting that I use Brigid's GCG." Seeing as how stories come with wisdom, I took the ancient god's advice. "Brigid!" Instead of the celtic cloth or steel that I was expecting, I was wearing jeans, a half white-half blue t-shirt, a red jacket with orange stripes and goggles on my head. Wait…"Okay, Steven, breathe. You promised…"
"What's going on in there!?" Blanc shouted from the other side of the door.
"Trying really hard to not have a nerdgasm. Gear, let me at it." I said, moving to her tablet.
"Okay?" She replied, handing it to me.
"Time to figure out how to do things." With my hands on the device and a bit of focus, the blue circuit lines that nearly made me squeal like a girl that was just asked to prom spread across it. With the technopathic abilities of Rex Salazar, something I'm going to have to ask Brigid about later, I got past everything that was keeping Nepgear out. Turns out that the backdoor was sending information to two completely different locations. The smaller one was tied to the larger server, but also had a direct connection to Noire's network. "We…have a problem…"
"So don't we!" Souji yelled before he audibly ran off. From the sounds of it, Blanc followed after him.
"Call your sister, Gear. There was two places, not just one. You can send the locations through your tablet." With that this GCG should be capable of, I created a hover bike from my legs and easily sped past my two friends and caught the one they were chasing. With one hand I held his mouth open in case of a cyanide pill. It's cliché, but so aren't evil cults. "Gotcha." Looking at the exposed skin on his arm, the same mark was visible.
"What was that?" Souji asked.
Not important right now. This guy is a part of that cult."
"Do you wish for is to interrogate them, sir?" A different Basilicom soldier asked.
"You got infiltrated once." Blanc commented, pointing at the man beneath me. "There's a good chance that there's more. Sorry if we aren't willing to trust you."
"Fair enough, Lady White Heart. I'll leave him in your care." Souji, probably getting why I'm holding his face hole open, reached in, moved around, and removed a false tooth that broke into powder in his grip.
"Damn you, traitors!" The restrained man roared. "You'll be the ones to die after those damnable CPUs!"
"H-How did you get so far so quickly…?" Nepgear huffed, out of breath from running.
"It's complicated."
"A bike came out of your legs. That's an understatement." Blanc deadpanned.
"…I called Big Sis, and they're going to both places. What are we going to do with him?" Nepgear asked.
"Blanc should know her way around an interrogation (read: torture) room." I "suggested". "We can take him to Planeptune's Basilicom. We know that it's relatively secure." With no one objecting, I deactivated Brigid's GCG and we traveled to the tall capital building. Sure enough, Blanc was very good at being the bad cop. On the other hand, I was designated as the team good cop. Would've liked to beat this guy around too, but it just wasn't in the cards. I was told that it was because I "get people"/. Between the two of us, we were able to learn what their plan was. The Cult of Geardite was using the Seven Sages as a mean to eliminate the CPUs so that it would be easier to call their god. With the interrogation over we gave him to the army to lock away until his trial.
"I made us something to drink." Nepgear said, bringing us and the kids glasses of lemonade.
"Thank you!" The three children said before they chugged their drinks.
"How did it go?" Monika asked.
"We got what we needed." Souji answered. "All we have to do is wait for the others."
"I see. Dad, didn't you say you played an instrument?"
"Yup, though since it's been so long, I probably can't do anything past the basics."
"Didn't take you for a musician." Blanc mused.
"Before all of this, I was a band nerd. Wasn't the biggest and nerds, that title goes to two of my friends, but I played a lot." The idle chatter lasted for hours before it was interrupted by the other group returning, cut and bruised.
"Sup, bitches?" Johnny asked. His clothes were torn but he looked no worse for wear. Must've died at some point. Behind him, bound in rope that could've only come from his wife were four out of the seven Seven Sages. "The witch and the Rat got the hell out of Dodge and the big guy is outside."
"My, my, what a collection of men you ladies have." A flamboyant voice commented. "They certainly make up the quantity with quality."
"Now is not the time, Anonydeath." Mr. Badd said. "What will you be doing with us? We have rights, so I know that we won't be killed."
"That's right. I'll be questioning each of you individually." I replied to the man. "Abnes, would you please follow me?" Neptune separated her from her group and I led her to the barren room we've been using. Thankfully we had the bright idea to clean up the blood.
"I'm not telling you anything!" The girl huffed as she sat down in the chair.
"Abnes, do you realize just how much trouble in? By all definitions you're an international terrorist. That alone is enough to make it so you never see the light of day again. But if you work with us, we may just be able to help."
"I don't really know anything. I'm just in charge of PR."
"That's okay. Just tell me what you do know."
"A few months ago we were visited by a guy in robes saying he was from…I don't remember…"
"They call themselves the Church of Geardite, though they're more like a cult."
"Yeah, that was the name. He said that he wanted to help us get rid of the CPUs."
"Okay, is that all?"
"He was a real creep. The way he looked at the failed experiments made me want to stay as far away as I could."
"What experiments?"
"It'd be better if you asked the old man. He's in charge of that."
"Alright. Bring in the other woman please"
"Rei. Her name is Rei."
"Thank you, Abnes." Rei was brought in and Abnes was reattached to the others.
"H-Hello…"She greeted meekly.
"Hi. Can you please state your name for the record? You aren't exactly known compared to most other members of your organization." I asked, preparing to write what she says."
"Rei Ryghts. What's happening?"
"Well, you're currently being held because you and the others are international terrorists. Fortunately for you, because of what we know of the cult you managed to get ourselves involved with, you aren't a priority. Because of that, the more you say, the better."
"I…I really don't know much. Most of what we did was managed by Mr. Badd. I just…I just wanted to give the people a voice…"
"I understand that, but this isn't the way." I replied, standing up to trade her with the suit guy.
"Why hello there~…How are you?"
"I'm fine. You?"
"I could be better. My pictures of Noire were destroyed when they raided us."
"You obtained them without her knowledge or permission after hacking her nation's entire internet infrastructure. Do you realize how much trouble you're in?"
"Of course. That's a risk you run as a hacker."
"If you just wanted Noire, why join the Seven Sages? Why work with the Cult of Geardite?"
"Simple. Resources. Both had tech that I just couldn't get on my own. As long as I caused an issue for the current system, I could do and request anything I wanted."
"Makes sense, in a weird way. Now for the important question: What do you have on that cult?"
"Hmhmhmm…That depends…What will you give me in exchange?"
"At minimum? A reduced jail sentence. I don't think I'm allowed to discuss deals though."
"Oh, I'm not asking for anything special. Just a picture with my precious Noire." It was muffled, but Noire screaming could be heard.
"That's surprisingly tame. I'll see about it. One moment." I left the room, and was immediately verbally assaulted.
"No! Hell no! I won't take a picture with that creep!"
"Noire, this could be our only chance to get information about this clearly bigger threat. If they really were pulling this strings all these years, then we will have a problem later on." Neptune reasoned.
"She has a point, dear." Vert agreed.
"Aw, they're so cute…" I could hear Rei coo towards the four children that Monika was watching over.
"Just take the damn picture!" Blanc growled.
"Fine! Just, can a few people be there, just in case?"
"I'll be there, and 'Tia is a damn good camerawoman." I suggested to her. I don't know why she was so nervous. They posed, we took the picture, and somehow the robotic mask was blushing. Once the photo was in his hand, he handed me two flash drives.
"One is all the data you want and maybe a bit more. The other is the encryption key needed to make any use of it. Couldn't let them know I had this, after all." The last of the four members that could fit into the building was escorted in.
"Hello, Mr. Badd. It's been a while."
"I has." He replied.
"So, I've been told of a few things about you. Dealing with the Cult of Geardite, managing the Seven Sages' movements, and something about experiments. Where would you like to start?"
"I believe that the Sages would be best."
"Why help the Seven Sages? You're a smart businessman. You would know plenty of legal ways to get a much more peaceful result."
"Sometimes a radical approach is required for change."
"And nonviolent protest works just as well. I'd love to debate you further on this, but we both know that there's more important subjects to cover. Tell me about the experiments."
"They told me about you. Playing nice won't work."
"Mr. Badd, I'll admit that I'm the good cop here. Do you really want a run in with the bad cop? Blanc has mentioned wanting another go at you, and the last person left her a little miffed."
"Hmph. Just like a CPU to jump to violence."
"Please. Talk to me. I'd rather not have to deal with another bloody mess. Getting the stain out of the carpet was a pain the first time, and research has shown that torture doesn't work all that well." The balding man sat in silence for a minute before leaning on the table.
"…Fine, bit on one condition."
"It depends on what you're asking."
"Help them."
"Help who?"
"My children. I…I have done some things. Terrible things. We were responsible for the missing children. The plan was to create a puppet CPU to create a nation where we ruled and would take the Shares from the other nations."
"You turned all those children into monsters using CPU Memories."
"Yes. I've been trying to change them back, but between our plans and dealing with that despicable group, I haven't had many chances." I turned to the door, and when I saw the shadow of a head nod deeply, I turned back.
"Okay. We'll get our best people on it."
"T-Thank you." His tough façade broke as his gratitude showed. Since he was showing his true feelings, I decided it was time to show mine.
"What about the cult? Why partner with them?" I asked with a scowl.
"At first, it was simply that we had the same goal; to get rid of the CPUs and give humanity control. I believe there was a few of us that thought there was more to it."
"Abnes and Annonydeath said similar things."
"Yes, Abnes brought it to my attention. Once I saw the looks my children were receiving, I asked the hacker to look into it. Knowing him, he went above and beyond."
"That's what he was hinting at, and it's something that he felt an encryption key was necessary."
"I see. I have read their book. Something it not right." He said, getting closer to me and lowering his voice. "There is too much that is too vague, and with just as much contradictions. And the man they sent. I did not think a mortal man could smell of death like that."
"Okay, that's all I needed. Like I told the others, there will be a word put in for reduced sentences, given your cooperation. I'll personally make sure that someone gets to those children as soon as possible." He was taken away, and the four were being cuffed as I exited.
"What do we do now?" Nepgear asked.
"You are going to take these and work with Histy and Monika to get the info on these." I replied, handing the two storage devices to her. "We really can't do much else until we get what's on there or they show their faces. Monika, do you mind?"
"I think I might be able to help."
"Dammit!" Blanc shouted, putting a fist through a table. "We kill one problem and another one shows up!"
"We just have to be patient. If what we heard is true, then they'll come to us." Neptune countered.
"I still have to screen my personnel." Noire added. "There's no way that there isn't more of them. It might be smart if the rest of you do the same."
"As long as they're out there, there's the chance that they could do to you what they tried to do to me." Cynthia said, hand reaching up to her missing ear.
A few months later, the four were put on trial, and I was called to testify. They pleaded guilty and they were sentenced. Each of them were given twenty five years with a chance of parole. Even after all this time, the files were only nine percent done decrypting. I blame that on Histy's processing power and the ridiculous of that insanely good hacker. The scientists that I had gathered from all four nations were hard at work and making decent headway on changing the children back into humans. It took an additional three months after the sentencing to remove all the members from their governments.
"Thank you for taking Monika out of the group with Nepgear and Histoire." Solar said as we laid in bed. "It wasn't doing her mental health any good."
"Yeah, I really need to make that up to her." I cuddled up to her. "Maybe a cake. She seems to like it when I bake for her."
"Maybe. Goodnight, dear."
"Goodnight." I replied, nuzzling into the top of her head and wrapping up another chapter of our lives.
Well, the beginning notes are kind pointless seeing as how I'm typing this the Monday night of my first day back on campus. I seriously don't have much to say, so I'll just cut myself short and see ya later.