UPDATE: Made some corrections in grammar and added some extra dialogue.

Hello readers! Back again with another chapter for you all. I know times are looking tough right now, but hopefully this chapter will help liven things up. I'm sure you'll like this chapter if you made it this far.

Last time, the gang got to know Lalamon some more, and she turns out to be a clean freak, to the point where she cleaned up Vert's entire room, impressing her and the others. Then when Bakamon was on the attack again, they all rushed into action, but the ghastly ghoul was proving to be quite the trickster. From possessing objects and tossing them around to disappearing and reappearing. Things were looking bad until Lalamon plucked up some courage and Digivolved into Sunflowmon. She shed some light on the situation and helped the others beat Bakemon and send him back home to the Digital World. With all four CPUs having Digimon partners, it's now time for them all to meet up in Planeptune.

So, with that recap out of the way, let's get started, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or Hyperdimension Neptunia. Both franchises belong to their respective companies.

Chapter 9: A Voice And A Kidnapping

Three days had passed ever since Neptune had got her Digimon and a Digivice. During that time the CPUs had also gained their own Digimon, along with their own Digivices. However, no one still knows where or how they all got them or why they were chosen to have Digimon partners in the first place. Histoire had no other clue as to who or what had sent Neptune her Digivice either other than the fact that a mysterious voice had told her to give it to the purple Goddess. She even tried every method of contact she could think of to find out the origin of the voice, but nothing turned up.

Whoever had contacted her must've wanted to remain anonymous for a reason. All the Oracle could do now is resume her duties in the Basilicom and wait for Neptune to return. Histoire was just finished filling out paperwork for the day and was about to get some rest when she heard a knock on the door. She hovered over to the door and opened it up to find that both Neptune and Dorumon were standing in front of her.

"Howdy, Histy! We're back!", said the Planeptune CPU excitedly as she hopped on inside.

"Neptune! Dorumon! Welcome back!", Histoire said happily as she shut the door behind the pair.

The lilac haired girl stretched her arms out as she and her partner Digimon walked on over to the couch.

"Boy, nothing beats the comfort of home sweet home", Neptune commented as she took a seat.

"Neptune, were you successful in informing the other CPUs?", The Oracle asked.

"Yeppers! Although, a bunch of other stuff also happened along the way", the Planeptune CPU replied.

"You should've seen it. We've met other Digimon out there, too", added Dorumon.

"Really now? Would you care to fill me in on the details?", Histoire inquired.

Neptune and Dorumon went on to explain how Noire, Blanc, and Vert had all received Digivices of their own, and how they also got their own Digimon partners. They also explained how the CPUs had met their Digimon allies and had to fight off other Digimon that were causing trouble in the other nations and how they got their partners to Digivolve with said Digivices. Needless to say, Histoire was both impressed and concerned.

"I see", said Histoire. "This is truly fascinating. You and the other CPUs now have a Digivice and a Digimon of your own. And it would seem that my suspicions about these digital creatures appearing in other parts of Gameindustri were correct as well."

"That's basically the gist of it all and stuff", said Neptune.

"Tell me, do you know who gave the CPUs their Digivices or how they received them?", the Oracle inquired.

"Nope, not a clue. All I know is that they just found them lying around for some reason. Wish I could tell ya more", said Neptune.

"Hmm... This is most troubling", said Histoire as she placed her hand on her chin.

"Whatcha mean, Histy? Wait, don't tell me we've all raised a death flag?! And I haven't even saved our progress yet!", the Planeptune CPU rambled.

"No, Neptune. It's just that while you were gone", Histoire explained, "I tried to make contact with the one who sent you your Digivice, but nothing I tried has worked."

"Wow, this is a first. Usually you would have something figured out by now", the lilac haired girl commented.

"Whoever is responsible for sending these Digivices is choosing to remain anonymous for some reason, which makes me all the more suspicious", Histoire stated.

"Oh, lighten up, Histy. Without these, we wouldn't have been able to send those nasty Digimans back to their own world", Neptune said.

"It's 'Digimon', Neptune. We've been over this already", Dorumon corrected.

"Oh right. Are Nep Jr. and Uzume here? I didn't see them on the way in", the Planeptune CPU asked.

"I'm afraid not. They're both busy with work again", Histoire replied.

"Aww shucks, I was gonna introduce Uzume to my little friend here", said Neptune, referring to Dorumon.

"Hey, I'm average height for a Digimon of my size, thank you!", said the purple Digimon.

Just then, the group heard a knock on the door. Histoire went on over to see who it was. She opened the door and saw Noire, Blanc, and Vert standing together with three short creatures next to them. The Oracle was stunned to see the creatures with the CPUs. One was a cyan colored dragon with orange horns and wings, another looked like it was blue and was covered in ice, and the last one looked like a pink and green plant with small eyes and a mouth hovering in the air. She just could not believe her eyes.

"Mind if we come in?", Noire asked her, breaking the silence.

Clearing her throat and nodding politely, Histoire allowed the CPUs inside the room with the strange looking creatures, closing the door behind them.

After the CPUs introduced their Digimon partners to one another and to Histoire, they explained their side of the story about their Digivices and the other Digimon they had to fight against. To Histoire, all of their explanations sounded similar to what Neptune had told her. She was still amazed that all of them now had their own partner Digimon.

"I see...", Histoire said finally after taking in all the information from the group.

The CPUs all looked at each other and then at their respective partner Digimon. Though they were told that each of them had gained a partner Digimon and their own Digivice, it was still quite incredible to see for themselves what their respective partners looked like.

"So, now that each of us has a Digimon, what happens now?", Noire asked.

"Yes. We made it this far, so something should happen at this point", added Blanc.

"I concur. If this is anything like the RPG games I've played, an event scene should turn up somewhere", Vert commented.

"Well, that's the thing... We don't know either", Neptune said, smiling giddily in her goofy way.

The other CPUs and their Digimon facepalmed at this comment, now more annoyed than curious. They couldn't believe that they had made it this far without knowing what to do next. Then again, this was Neptune that they were talking to.

"I'm afraid she's right", Histoire said. "For three days, I tried to find out who or where the Digivices and Digimon came from, but I've found nothing."

Everyone sighed, now thinking that it may be a while longer before they get some answers for why the Digimon were appearing in their world and why they were chosen to paired up with Digimon themselves.

"And here I thought there would be an answer for all that's been happening. What a waste", scoffed Noire.

"Oh c'mon, Noire. I'm sure that whoever's running the whole Digivice giveaway will call us somehow", said Neptune.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the CPUs Digivices started to beep and whirl at the same time. Everyone was shocked and surprised at the sight.

"Now what's happening?", Blanc inquired as she looked at her Digivice.

"I'm not sure myself, but if I had to hazard a guess...", commented Vert.

Then everyone heard what sounded like radio noise. Whatever was going on, the noise was starting to clear up. After the radio noise ends, a feminine voice was heard.

"It's good to see that you all have your Digivices and your partner Digimon. Now is the time to meet. Come to my place at your earliest convenience. I will try to explain what is happening. Bring your Digimon with you. You may come along too if you wish, Histoire. You may want to hear what I have to say as well. Your Digivices will point the way to my location. I will see you soon."

Before anyone could say anything, the voice had faded away. Everyone looked at each other, wondering what the voice meant. What was even more surprising was the fact that Neptune's prediction had come true.

"See? Just like I said! As the main character of main characters, I should know this kind of stuff by now!", the lilac haired girl rambled.

Then the CPUs looked at their Digivices again, a holographic map jumping out of the screens. They could see the map indicating a spot in Planeptune with a blinking marker. They all turned to one another again. Histoire took a closer look at the blinking marker on the map.

"Interesting. According to this, our contact's position is close by, just a few blocks away from the Basilicom", the Oracle stated.

"Then I say we wander on over there and knock on their door", Neptune proposed.

"I'm with Nep on this one. We should see what this is all about", Dorumon added.

"Neptune, I know you want to check it out, but how can we be sure that we can trust this person?", Noire said.

"For all we know, it could turn out to be a trap", added Blanc.

"C'mon, Noire! You gotta have faith here", Dracomon said to the Lastation CPU.

"And besides, even if it is a trap, nothing will keep us down", said Blucomon to Blanc.

"Lalamon, what do you think?", Vert asked her partner.

"I think that voice sounded sincere, so I want to give the benefit of the doubt", the plant Digimon replied.

"I detected no hint of deception in her words either, and yet at the same time she seems to be cryptic", Histoire stated.

"Well, what do you think, Histy? Should we all go or what?", Neptune asked the Oracle.

Histoire then placed a hand on her chin and pondered. If what the voice said is true, then they could all find out what is really going on with the Digimon appearing in Gameindustri and the CPUs obtaining their Digivices. But if it turns out to be a trap, then there's no telling what could happen, even with the CPU's Digimon helping them out. She thought about it for a minute and a half until at last, she sighed as she made her decision.

"Very well. We'll all go to where this voice wants us to meet at", she said.

"Awesome sauce! That's the spirit, Histy!", exclaimed Neptune, raising a victory fist in the air.

"But we must be cautious. I don't know what will happen if this voice isn't what it seems to be", the Oracle warned.

Everyone nodded as they started to exit the room with their Digimon in tow and followed the directions on the map shown by their Digivices. What ever happens they will have to be careful, as they don't know what to expect from their mysterious contact.

"Yaaahhh!"

Uzume yells through her megaphone weapon, stunning a Pixelvader monster. Then it was slashed into pieces and disappears into particles.

She and Nepgear were clearing the fields of monsters again in Planeptune. This time it was a group of Pixelvaders. Uzume would stun the monsters with the sound of her megaphone weapon, while Nepgear would slice away at them and take them out.

They had just defeated the last Pixelvader in the area. The orange Goddess and the lilac haired Candidate took a sigh of relief, as they had been fighting so many monsters the whole fay that they were beginning to tire out. They sat down on the ground panting.

"Whew... That... was rough...", Uzume said in between breathes.

"Goodness... My arms feel like they're burning...", Nepgear added, holding one of her arms.

They took a moment to catch their breath before finally getting back up and looking around and checking their handiwork. They couldn't see any more monsters as far as the eye could see.

"Well, I guess we're done here, eh Gearsy?", said Uzume.

"Yes. Looks like we can head back home", replied Nepgear.

"When we get back, I could go for something to eat. I'm getting hungry here", the red haired girl commented.

"Maybe we can try one of my new recipes. I've been working on my culinary skills with Compa lately", the CPU Candidate said.

"Awesome!", Uzume cheered in excitement.

As they were on their way back home to the city area of Planeptune, however, two mischievous looking figures were watching from behind a bush.

"So, is that the one that the boss told us about? The one with the purple hair?", the first figure asked.

"How should I know? All these humans look alike", the other figure replied.

"What about the redhead? Think we should capture her too?", the first one inquired.

"The boss did say capture both the CPU as well as anyone else associated with her", said the second figure.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go get them!", the first figure said as he moved from his hiding place.

"Hey, wait up! We're supposed to be sneaking, remember?", the second voice said as he followed his partner.

Meanwhile, Uzume and Nepgear were still walking along, unaware of the two bodies that were following closely behind. Uzume couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. She stopped and quickly looked around behind her, but there was nothing there.

"Uzume, is something wrong?", Nepgear asked her friend.

"I thought there was something behind us. I guess it was nothing", said Uzume.

"Why don't you try looking in front of you then?", said a gruffy voice from up ahead of the pair.

They turned around to see a short figure a couple of yards in front of them. It was green with yellow eyes and had short red mohawk hair with pointy ears. It has two large teeth in its mouth, five fingers and toes on each limb. It wore a pierced ring on its left ear, a brown sleeveless jacket with brown trim, black leather adorned by metal orbs near its shoulders, a brown belt and a light brown loincloth. It was also carrying a wooden club with screws on it, and a metallic ornament under its hilt.

"Another monster? I never seen one like that before, especially one as ugly looking as that", Uzume commented.

"Hey, I resent that remark! I happen to be handsome from where I'm at!", the green creature said.

"What the goodness?! It can talk?!", Nepgear exclaimed.

"Yeah, I can talk! What, you never seen a talking goblin before?", he said to the pair.

"Okay, so who or what are you?", Uzume demanded.

"The name's Goblimon. And I'm the Digimon who's gonna capture you!", the goblin Digimon announced.

"A Digimon? Just like Dorumon?", the CPU Cnadidate mumbled.

"Gearsy, didn't you say Nepsy had a Digimon herself?", the red haired girl asked her friend.

"Yes. She said she also encountered a bad Digimon when she found Dorumon", Nepgear replied.

"And judging by how he's threatening us, I'd say he's another baddie. Alright, bring it on then", said Uzume.

She cracked her knuckles and brought out her megaphone weapon, preparing for a fight. Nepgear pulled out her beam sword as well, ready to assist Uzume when needed.

"You guys don't actually think you can take me?", Goblimon asked the pair.

"There's two of us and only one of you. You sure you wanna die today?", Uzume retorted.

"Hahaha! You make me laugh! Now here's a joke for ya! And the punchline goes something like this! Goblin Strike!", he yelled.

He reared up and swung his hammer, launching a big fire ball at the two CPUs feet. The pair jumped backwards near a bush, nearly dodging the attack from Goblimon. Inside a nearby bush, a pair of eyes was watching and waiting, undetected by the CPUs as they were focused on Goblimon. The figure within was getting ready to strike.

"You missed us!", Nepgear called out.

"Ha! What makes ya think I was aiming for you?", the goblin Digimon said to the pair.

The two CPUs looked at each other, unsure of what he meant. Suddenly, they realized that Goblimon was trying to lure them into a trap. Before they could move, however, green vines had suddenly shot out of the bush behind them and wrapped around their bodies.

"Ack!", the pair yelled out loud

The vines wrapped around the two CPUs tightly, the constriction causing them to drop their weapons as they were pulled up high to the air. They tried to break free, but the vines constricted their bodies even tighter. The pair even found it a bit hard to breath as the vines started to crush them a bit.

"Ugh! Uzume, I can't move!", Nepgear exclaimed.

"Me neither! Let me go, damnit!", the red haired girl demanded as she struggled to break out of the vines.

Then they heard a rustling from the bush that the vines were coming from. Another creature had appeared before them. It looked like a green walking plant with a head, small arms and legs, a tiny tail and small bumps lining its back. It had large, root-like feet and foliage-like hands. Each hand has three purple-tipped vines which held the pair in place. The top of its head was adorned with a purple flower, and the flower itself was starting to emit some strange particles.

"Gloomy Dust!", the plant creature exclaimed.

It then sprayed a cloud of particles at the CPUs. The pair coughed and gagged from the smell as they struggled to breath clearly. Suddenly, they began to feel drowsy, and they were soon losing the energy to keep struggling.

"Uzume... What is... going... ugghhh...", Nepgear said as she fell unconscious from the effects of the particles.

"Gearsy... don't fall... asle... arrggh...", coughed Uzume as she too drifted to unconsciousness.

The plant creature lowered it's vines back down and laid the pair on the ground, releasing the vines from them. The vines shrunk back to the fingertips of the plant creature.

"Hahaha! Nice work, Aruruamon!", Goblimon said to the plant creature.

"Next time, don't go rushing out without me. You're lucky I was all set and ready", said Aruruamon.

"Whatever. The boss will be happy that we caught the purple haired human and her friend when we bring them to him", the goblin Digimon said.

"Tell me the truth, are you positive that this is the right girl?", the plant Digimon inquired.

"I dunno, humans all look alike to me! But hey, it's no skin off my back. Now let's go before someone comes by", Goblimon said.

He then grabbed Nepgear's unconscious body and carried her off. Aruruamon sighed as he picked up Uzume and started dragging her, following Goblimon to parts unknown. As they were walking away, something fell out of Nepgear's pocket. The two Digimon didn't take notice of it and kept on moving.

While they kept moving along, someone watched from behind a tree out of sight. She looked on as the two Digimon carried the CPUs to parts unknown.

"Those fiends, capturing two damsels in distress. And CPUs at that too. Not on my watch", she said as she quietly followed the two Digimon while hiding in plain sight.

Back in Planeptune, Histoire, the CPUs and their Digimon partners had reached their destination. It was an old looking building that looked like it hadn't seen any use in many years. There weren't any people around either. The group had mixed feelings about the location.

"Is this really the place? It looks abandoned", Noire commented.

"I don't like this one bit. This place is a dump", added Blanc.

"Neptune, are you sure the map is correct?", Vert asked the lilac haired girl.

"Don't look at me. According to our Digivices, this is the place", Neptune replied.

Histoire didn't know what to think. She was now starting to suspect something fishy in all of this. She didn't know what it was, though.

"Well, we made it this far, so no backing out now. I say we march forth!", the Planeptune CPU declared as she made her way for the door.

"Neptune, wait. Be careful", Histoire warned her.

But she didn't hear her in time, for when she opened the building's front door, a vortex appeared right in front of them. They were all shocked to see this sight in front of them. Everyone except for Neptune, who looked at it with awe.

"Wow, that's a weird way to greet someone", she said.

Suddenly, she felt like she was starting to get pulled by the vortex. She looked at herself and saw that she was!

"Woah, guys! I'm getting sucked in! Heeeeeey!", she yelled as she was pulled inside the vortex.

"Neptune!", Dorumon cried, trying to see if there was any sign of Neptune inside.

"I knew I couldn't trust that voice!", said Noire.

"Oh dear, where could she have gone?", Histoire said in worry.

"Umm, guys, I think we're about to find out...", said Blanc.

They all looked at themselves and saw that they were also being pulled towards the vortex. They tried to move away, but they could not move fast enough to escape the pull.

"This is not what I signed up foooorrrrrr! ! !", screamed Noire as she flew inside the portal.

"What a load of crrrraaaaaaaappppppp! ! !", yelled Blanc as she too was pulled inside.

"Where ever we're going I hope they have MMO gaaaaaaammmmmmeeeessssss! ! !", exclaimed Vert as she was the next one to be sent into the portal.

"Hold on guys, we're be right theeeeerrrreee! ! !", said Dorumon as he, Dracomon, Blucomon, and Lalamon went inside the vortex.

"Deary me! What is going oooooonnnnnn?!", Histoire said as she was the last one to be taken in by the portal.

Once everyone went through the portal, the vortex disappeared and the front door to the abandoned building shut itself.

Histoire slowly opened her eyes as she came to. She looked around and saw that she and everyone else were still alive. They were all standing in a white room filled with futuristic and otherworldly objects.

"Are we dead? Don't tell me that we got a game over already?!", Neptune panicked.

Noire pinched the lilac haired girl's cheek, making her yelp in pain.

"Ow! That was mean, Noire!", she snapped.

"If you could feel that, then that means we're alive", Noire stated.

"So if we're not dead, then where are we?", Blanc inquired.

"Yes, this is most curious indeed", added Vert.

"Is anyone here? Where are we?", Histoire called out.

"Yes, someone is here. More specifically, right behind you", said a voice from behind them.

They all turned around to see a woman standing behind them. She had purple hair and eyes, glasses with purple hexagonal lens, a white buttoned shirt with long puffy sleeves, and pocket on the left side of the chest, a purple bow tie, a black dress that accentuates her breasts and is open in the back with the straps forming an "X", black stockings, and high white boots with purple shoelaces and black soles. She was also carrying a purple laptop.

Histoire, the CPUs, and their Digimon all stared at her, not sure of what to say. They were suspicious at first, as they did not know who it was that was standing before them. Could she have been the person behind the mysterious voice that had contacted them from before? At last, she spoke up again.

"Greetings", the woman said. "I'm the voice who had contacted you. You may call me Mirei Mikagura."

Well, that's about it for this chapter. Sorry if I left you all with a bit of a cliffhanger, but I didn't know how else to write this one. And if it feels like I rushed this chapter a bit to the end, I apologize for it, as I wanted to get this out as fast as I could.

Anyway, it looks like the CPUs will get their answers soon enough. Will Uzume and Nepgear be saved? And who do you think the person following them is? All these questions will be answered in the next chapter, so stay tuned to find out. Until then, stay safe and peace out!