[5 Years ago…]
LEANBOX
GAPAIN FIELD
AFTERNOON
This is a hot day, pretty usual at Leanbox, there is a group of 4 person walking in the green field
"Can we take a break? That was an hour that we are walking." Asks a silver haired young man
"That's sure a long walk!" A Blue haired girl adds
"That was 20 minutes since we hoped off the car." A red haired woman responds
"You are clearly not used to walk." A blond guy says
"Talk for yourselves, you two were in the elite forces." The silver haired man responds
"Should I remind you Bethesda that you couldn't even run on 1 km in the training camp." the red head says
"I… oh wait that's true." Bethesda responds
She then chuckles
"Well said Cave!" The silver haired guy says
Cave then get closer to Bethesda
She then talk to Bethesda "You're sure that was a good idea to bring them with us on that trip?"
"Yeah, its gonna make them some exercises." Bethesda responds
"Exercising by killing a dangerous monster?"
"It quite how I feel when I started out in the training camp."
"Let's take a break." Cave says to the rest of the group
They then stops walking and just relax for a short moment to get back the stamina
the blue haired girl looks on her side at the scenery, she notices something unusual… "T-there is something over there!" she says
"What did you see 5Pb.?" Cave asks
"There is smoke coming form the forest!"
"You know what that mean?" Bethesda says
"There is a fire?" Obsidian responds
"Exactly Obsidian. And its something that an elemental dragon can do. Let's go for it!"
The group gets inside of the forest, they head for the source of the smoke, they see a barn on fire, a farmer is crying in front of it
"What happened there?"
"A dragon came and set my barn on fire! the cattle escaped but the dragon captured them! I am ruined!"
"Don't worry we are here to hunt it down, we will retrieve what left of your cattle. Where did the dragon go?"
"It went further at the south."
"Okay."
The group then leave the barn and head to the south, they reach the foot of the volcano, there is a dragon with the cattle
"Get ready..." Bethesda says
Everyone got their weapons ready, Bethesda his war hammer, Cave her scissors, 5Pb. Her guitar and Obsidian an anti-material rifle
5Pb. Slowly plays her guitar, making lowest music possible to avoid the attention of the monster
The dragon grabs a sheep in the heard and lift it to its mouth and he opens it about to eat alive the animal
Suddenly Cave jumps to the dragon arms and slashes it with her scissors
The Dragon drops the sheep and it runs away, the pack follow it after
Bethesda comes running and smash the leg of the dragon
The dragon trips on the ground
5Pb. And Obsidian are still at the place, Obsidian is aiming with is rifle at the skull of the dragon
"Cover your ears." He says
BANG
BANG
The music suddenly stops, the public enjoyment turns to shock and then panic. A bullet just hit the idol in the torso, and she fall on the stage platform with blood leaving her body, she almost instantly got knocked out
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED!" RED yells
Nepgear instantly goes forwards to the stage, she manages to reach it and looks at the state of the idol, she verify if she's still breathing. A red haired woman quickly get to the stage platform very shortly after Nepgear
"Sorry Lady. But you will have to get out of that platform!" The red haired woman says
"I just wanted to be sure if she's okay. She's still breathing!" Nepgear responds
"Okay I see, thanks you but please leave."
Nepgear nods and exit the platform, she join her friends...
"There is a sniper! I swear I can't relax a fucking second!" IF screams, she looks at the building to find the shooter, but everything she can see its a silhouette getting away form a building with a grappling hook "Its up there!"
"Its just someone using a grappling hook." RED says
"Are you fucking stupid?!" IF responds
"I'm gonna get him!" Nepgear says, she then transforms
Purple Sister flies to the area where the sniper was spotted, but its empty, she see the sniper getting away by swinging building to building, she chase him
The culprit notice that he's getting followed, he throws behind him a grenade towards the Candidate
The candidate see's the grenade and she quickly fly away to get out of the potential fragmentation range of the grenade
BANG
The grenade explodes and it emit a blinding flash, which blind the Candidate, the grenade was actually a flash bang, when she manage to get her eyesight back, the person that she was chasing vanished, she continues to flight around the area but she finds nothing outside of scarred folks, realizing that she lost the trace of the killer, the last thing that she saw of it is a vague silhouette she goes back to her friends…
"Did you catch the assassin?"
"He managed to escape."
IF sighs and get her phone
[MEANWHILE…]
"Bethesda." A voice whispers in his ear
Bethesda wakes up in a strange area, he wonder where he is, he see the void and some lights in the distance
?
?
He gets up and observe his surroundings, its remember that ambiance, its the seem that I felt during his coma, there is the void all around of him but he notice by looking under him that he is standing on a path that go in a straight line, there is some distant lights in front of him, he looks behind him and see a circular structure like a portal or a mirror with some inscription of an unknown language that look like the enchanting table language form minecraft, after he seen it, it disappear
And so he walks in front of him, for a moment he notice that the road is have of other paths connected to the main one that lead to portals, Bethesda after a few moment of walk picks a random one and walk along it
He then reach a similar portal structure that he seen earlier, he looks closer and a reflection of floating islands with four big cities shows up to him
DRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG
"AUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" is the sound of Bethesda waking up while he's tipsy
His phone wake him up, he search for it and find it in his coat suspended near of his bed
"Uhg, Yeah?"
"Get your ass at the city center, NOW!" IF says
"Okay okay I'm coming."
Bethesda quickly get dressed up, he remembers of he is nearly drunk so he check in a drawer and pull up a strange device that look like a med-pack syringe but on the top of it there is a tube that lead to a jar
he stabs his arm with it and then head outside of his apartment, as he's about to leave, RL-3 catch him…
"A coffee?" RL-3 hold a coffee cup
"Thanks." Bethesda grab the coffee cup and quickly head outside of the building
The inventor get to the city center fast as he can, he jump over the two guys he knocked out earlier on the way he see an ambulance driving past him, after a dozen of minutes; Bethesda finally reaches his friends
"Here you are!" IF says
Bethesda than start to think that it must be pretty important judging the current state of the girls, they are on a mix of alertness and panic. He focus to ignore his state of tipsiness
"Why you woke me up and made me come here?"
"A idol go shot!" Compa says
"An idol?! How she looks like?!" Bethesda says
"She's beautiful and sings very well!" RED explains
"I meant a physical description." Bethesda sighs while starting to drink
"Blue haired and purplish eyes, wearing a black costume." Nepgear says
Bethesda stops drinking upon hearing that, he drops his cup
"Are you okay?" Compa asks
"5Pb." Bethesda responds
"You know her?"
He nods "A friend of mine. Is she's okay?"
"When I checked on her she was still breathing." Nepgear says
Bethesda looks around and see a familiar red haired woman looking at a departing ambulance, he runs to her, the girls look at each others and then follows him
"Cave!" he says
The woman turns to the Inventor "Bethesda?"
"Is 5Pb. okay?"
"I can't tell but she's still alive."
Bethesda sighs, there is nothing he can do right now
"Long time no see by the way."
"Yeah..."
"You also know her?" Nepgear asks coming shortly after
"Oh! This is Cave, she is in the military and she is charged of the protection of the Idol."
The woman is taller than the girls of the group, she is of course red haired and have a short pigtails haircut, she have a pair of green colored eyes, her outfit is a strange and revealing mix of a maid and nurse outfit
CAVE
SOLDIER OF THE LEANBOX REGAL REGIMENT OF DEFENSE
"And I failed..." Cave responds
"Its not your fault, no one could have seen such terrible thing to happen." Bethesda responds
"Bethesda, you were at a pub."
"And? The road to get her was really trying you know?" Bethesda have flash in his head "Compa, do you still have Med-packs?!"
"I think I got a very few remaining..."
"Give me one."
Compa handle a med-pack to Bethesda
"What is it?" Cave asks
"The med-pack, a wonder that he made at Planeptune, it can save form deadly wounds." Compa responds
"So it can save 5Pb.?"
"It sure can, you just have to stab her with it." Bethesda says
"...Stab her?" Cave asks
"That's sound weird but it just works. Trust me on that."
"I understand but you are still known to be a notorious liar."
"JUST DO IT!"
Cave strangely looks at Bethesda
"Sorry."
"That's fine. I will do it."
"Thanks." Bethesda gives the Med-pack to Cave
"So what do we do?" Compa asks
"I managed to find the casing of the bullet." Nepgear says
"Give it to me." Cave says
Nepgear gives the casing to Cave
"I will take care of this."
"Okay, see ya around... Wait… You? What happened to your superior?"
"Nothing. Bungie just retired."
"But why?"
"Since you were declared dead. He felt that it was his ultimate failure as the captain so he resigned and some else took his place."
"You?"
"No. its 343 Industries."
"Never heard of him."
"Her, its a woman."
"Okay."
"Uhm! Uhm!" RED interrupts them "Sorry to interrupt your conversation but can we go after the killer?"
"Yeah sure go try to find it in a city that you don't know anything about." IF says
This immediately calms down RED
"Well I'm not gonna delay you any further. Good luck Cave."
Cave turns back and starts to leave, she say one last thing before leaving them "Be cautious."
"Let's go to sleep." Bethesda says "We will work more on that tomorrow."
[Later...]
Bethesda have trouble to sleep due to Compa loud snoring
[The morning.]
Leanbox is shocked, the news of an assassination attempt on the Siren of Leanbox is spreading at an uncontrollable speed, everyone is talking about it
In Bethesda home, Compa as she wakes up turn on the TV
"Hello, I'm your presenter IGN and as usual, we gonna talk about the news of week. Firstly, yesterday, the famous idol 5Pb. was victim of an assassination attempt, caused by an unknown person... Any information on the potential assassin is rewarded. And then the..."
On the TV...
IF as she finished drying herself off out of the shower is checking on her phone, the first thing she see is full of news articles about the rumors around the assassination attempt on the idol ranging form the one that claim that she is deceased to conspiracy theories that the attempt was actually caused by Leanbox
On Internet…
Bethesda is on the streets with bags full of groceries, he hear some people chatting:
"You know what happened yesterday?"
"Yeah that's horrible! I wonder how's the son of a bitch that tried to do that!"
And in the streets…
Bethesda head to the apartment, on the way he meet Nepgear
"Hi Bethesda." Nepgear says
"Hi Nepgear, you slept well?"
"I hardly slept an hour."
"Me to, kid. Me too… If that can boost your mood I got at maid robot."
"Oh really?!"
"A pretty old one but it still do the job."
Bethesda and Nepgear made it to the apartment and enters in, Nepgear almost immediately rushes to RL-3, the robot itself seem confused
"Wow everyone is talking about that." RED says while looking at the TV with Compa
"This is no surprise. She is a celebrity here after all." Compa responds
"No shit." Bethesda says while passing after them "By the way Nepgear stop trying to tinker my robot, I'm gonna use it to make the breakfast."
[Later.]
The group is gathered around a table, they have a plate with pancakes, fried eggs and some bacon
"Damn Bethesda, you eat that for breakfast?"
"That's a typical Leanboxian breakfast."
"I think its a bit too caloric." Compa says
"Yeah! If this is the normal breakfast there I wonder how this is the land of athletes and not the land of fat fucks!" IF comments afters the nurse
"Because we do exercises?" Bethesda responds to IF
"That's explain the large chest of Leanboxian women." Nepgear says
RED is just enjoying her food, she gives a bacon to Hiroi who eats it "This so yummy! I should get a wifey to cook like that!"
"Its a robot who did that, are you a mecanophile?" Bethesda says while joking
Everyone laughs
"Yeah that would be really weird to have one in our group!" RED says
Nepgear stops laughing and suddenly blushes and turns her eyes around
"By the way Beth, I found a weird med-pack in your room, what is it?" Compa asks
"Oh that? Its just a device that I made shortly after leaving the mountain range, I made it to clear out alchol of my body." Bethesda responds
"That's sound like an invention for alcoholics." IF comments, in a mocking tone
"He's alcoholic. Its really not good for your health." Compa says
"I know but with this thing, it can solve the problem!" Bethesda responds
"No it doesn't."
"Yes it does. Anyway let's go now since you all finished."
[Meanwhile.]
Cave enters in the Leanbox hospital, she goes to 5Pb. Room. She reaches it and look trough the corridor window, the Idol is on a hospital bed she is still unconscious, she is on an intravenous drip and there is an artificial respirator on her face. She is without any doubt in a resuscitation room. There is a nurse looking at the state of the idol trough an interface on a screen
"Hey you!" A voice calls the soldier, its a man walking towards her "You are not allowed to be here!"
Cave quickly sidesteps on the side of the man and hit him in the neck, the man falls on the ground
Cave then enters the room where 5Pb. And goes towards her, the nurse notice her
"What are you doing here?" The nurse asks
"I'm saving someone." Cave says while getting the syringe object in her hand
She stabs 5Pb. on her bullet wound
"Can I know what there is in that syringe!"
Cave just responds by a "Look at your screen."
The nurse looks at the screen, her mouth drops as she see the state of the Idol quickly improving
"What the… That's a miracle!" the nurse says totally blown away by that "You are a freaking h-"
The Nurse stops talking because the strange woman already left
[Meanwhile.]
Bethesda, Nepgear, IF, Compa and RED heads to the Basilicom, on their way there Nepgear see someones familiar
"Its that..." Nepgear says while showing sign of happiness
Bethesda notice her reaction "Uh? You know someone?"
"Uni! Hello! Hello!" Nepgear says
A short girl long black haired girl wearing a one piece dress fitting with the color of her hair turns back, she also have black arms and legs warmers and black shoes, almost all her clothing got white stripes, her eyes are dark red
"Uh! Oh crap! Its Nepgear!
UNI
THE LASTATION CANDIDATE
"Oh. She saw me and said crap."
"I'll say whatever I want! What're you doing here?!"
"I have the same question. Do you have any business in Leanbox."
"No comment."
"To get the shares obviously." Bethesda says
"Hey! Who the fu- Oh right a war criminal." Uni responds to Bethesda
"Shit, looks like my reputation also spreed to Lastation."
"Please!" Nepgear asks to Uni
"..."
"Please."
"..."
"Pretty please?"
"..."
"Okay! Fine! I'm here for collecting shares! Now stop looking at me like that! The oracle called me over and explained me that its better I get the shares instead of the ASIC."
"Quite for the same reason than us then." Nepgear responds
"How's that been working out of you?" IF asks to Uni
Uni slowly nods her head "It works, a little. By the way you heard about what happened yesterday?"
"Yes we know, literally everyone is talking about that." Compa responds
"I wonder if she's okay… Anyway! I will get back into getting shares so you better all get out of my way! Understood?" Uni then quickly get away form them
"Wait, Uni! She ran away form me..." Nepgear says
"Wow she's pretty nice your friend." Bethesda says to Nepgear
"You think so?"
"I was being sarcastic."
"So where's the guild? It is next to the Basilicom like Planeptune?"
"its at the second floor of the left pillar of the Basilicom."
They get at the said area and enters inside, a familiar face comes to Bethesda
"Yo Mister Bethesda!" a young man walks up to him
He's silver short haired and with a side parted hair style with olive eyes shows up to Bethesda, he wears a lab coat similar looking to the inventor, he's around 1m71 and clean shaven. He also wear a pair of black rectangular glasses
"Sup Obsidian!" Bethesda says
They have a bro handshake
"This is Obsidian, he's a friend and we used to work at the Basilicom in the research of systems for the military."
"So I knew that you actually survived since I watched your interview on a Planeptune channel, can you explain why there is girls with you?"
"Those are girls fighting against the ASIC and they plan on freeing the goddess. There is the CPU Candidate of planeptune Nepgear. IF, an agent form the Planeptune guild. There is Compa, a nurse in training..."
"Well I'm a full time nurse now." Compa corrects
"A nurse then. And that small kid with them its RED."
"Its a kid? What kind of kid got boobs like that?"
"I'm 17!" RED says
"Actually I was his apprentice, when I worked form him I was still in college doing a sandwich course
"By the way you must have finished school right now."
"Yeah! I'm now an official Leanboxian scientist!"
OBSIDIAN ENTERTAINMENT
THE SCIENTIST
"Congrats!" Nepgear says
"By the way I have some things to give you."
"I know that Chika told me."
"Well then here's your stuff."
Obsidian hand over the BIG IRON that Bethesda was using before he got captured by the ASIC, he also give him his war hammer
"Thanks you… You know what… You should keep the revolver."
"O-oh! Really?!"
"Yeah, consider it as a gift."
"Thanks."
"I got some stuff to do so..."
"NEPGEAR!" someones yells form the other side of the room, Its chika and she rushes to them, Cave joins her shortly after
"M-miss Chika?" Nepgear responds confused
"We need to talk! We have to find who shot 5Pb.!" Chika says in a panicked way
"S-she must be really very important if you panic like that!"
"No she's just over acting." Cave comments
"I didn't ask for comments Cave." She responds to Cave in a despised
"Did she also had 180° on her behaviors when you were there?" IF asks to Bethesda
"Yeah, she hasn't changed." Bethesda responds
[Later. In another place of the Basilicom.]
LEANBOX CITY
BASILICOM MEETING ROOM
MORNING
Here are gathered various important people of the Basilicom and some of the military and peace keepers which also includes our group…
Chika speaks up
"So everyone know why they are here?" The oracle says
Everyone nods
"So… Do anyone have an idea who this can be?"
"I actually tried to chase him." Nepgear says
"Do you remember what it looks like?" A police officer asks
"Form what I could see, I he was wearing a jacket and a Slouch hat, I can't tell anything else."
"Its already advancing us." Chika says
"This morning I received the bullet casing form an investigator, I analyzed it but I found no DNA corresponding to anyone in the Leanboxian data base." Obsidian says
"So the killer might not be form Leanbox." The police officer says
Bethesda have a flash trough his head "I think..."
Nepgear is a bit surprised "Uh?"
"Yesterday I went to a PUB and I met someone that corresponds to the two previous clues." Bethesda says
"Can you make us a description?" IF asks
"He was a man that was apparently form the canyon that's located at the north-west of Planeptune, and he wears a slouch hat and a black jacket." Bethesda explains further
"So the same description that Nepgear made." Compa says
"He was also wearing sunglasses and he didn't had facial hair."
"Beard are gross anyway." RED comments
"…What? You are not gonna force me to remove one of my mainly traits!"
"What are the other ones?" Nepgear asks
"I have three of them, my facial hair and my physique."
"The third one?" Compa asks at her turn
Bethesda responds just by a Lenny face ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
"UHM UHM! Later for the small jokes!" Cave says "Bethesda, do you know when the man left the pub?" She continues
"I left before him so I don't know. But I remember the hour when I got back to my apartment, it was around 10 PM."
"We now need the hour of the concert." Chika says
"When I checked my phone to call Bethesda I quickly saw that it was 22:41." IF confirms
"But we need a concrete evidence that its him It might just be random guy dressed similarly." Cave says
Bethesda then explain further the hypothesis "The pub is not very far form my home and there is around 2 kilometers between my place and the city center. I usually take 22 minutes if I walk to get there. Which mean he could have made it to the concert at 22:22."
"I see…. and he could have used the remaining of minutes to prepare himself." IF continues
"Exactly."
"That seem pretty plausible." Chika responds
"But what were his motives?" Nepgear asks
"We don't know and we don't need to know, it can be a ASIC agent or an over obsessive fan." RED says
"An idol getting shot by her fan?" Compa asks
"I heard that the business of the idol's are very toxic place, if remember correctly there is one that had posted a video where shes shaved herself and is begging for pardon because she had a romantic relation ship." IF says
"But why?" Nepgear asks
"Because they want her to stay virgin… Like her fans." Bethesda says
IF stares at Bethesda, pissed
"What? You know I'm right!" Bethesda responds
"Did the Idol did anything to provoke her fans?" Nepgear asks
"No, she have no relation ships or other things that can cause something that extreme." Someone of the staff responds
"Now that I think about it, it might be the ASIC. 5Pb. Concerts was always had for objective to keep the morale up in the remaining population that haven't gave up lost hope on the goddess. It MUST be the ASIC." Chika says
"Of course. I swear these fucking syndies." Bethesda says
"Then we need to interrogate him and we will know who shot 5Pb!" Nepgear says
And now starts the investigations
I think that I might make this volume a bit longer in term of chapters, i want to make a pretty diferent outcome of the Leanbox arc compared to the game and its gonna be hard to make it in just 5 chapters without making it too long