Chapter 11:

I wake up.

The moment sunlight hit my eyelids; they open revealing to me the blue sky above. The clouds up in the sky rolled on indifferently, led by the wind. The sun shines on, blessing everything with vitamin D. As though it's the only thing it can do to comfort those who are underneath it. The birds chirp their morning song, glorifying the new day.

"That's right… I'm in Virtua Forest…"

Judging by how the sun is literally straight up. It seems I've slept a pretty decent amount. My arms and legs which were going numb before I slept, well now I can feel them clearly. They feel light, like they've reattached themselves back into my body.

Somehow, I managed to get out of Planeptune using the building that I mentioned before. From what I heard before, that building got a lot of trouble from the Basilicom for not adhering to air space. But sadly, they paid off the Basilicom guys to keep it under the rugs. Histy got mad of course, but still, the building was kept as is. So to deter anyone from doing this again, instead of restricting the building, it became more like, 'you'll pay more taxes for every 3 feet you make it past this point'. That worked.

I get up and jump down from the tree branch that I was sleeping on. I land gently on the ground, making sure to keep noises to a minimum.

To be fair, I'm still not calm. I'm using every fiber of my being to stop my hands from shaking. I'm seething with rage right now. But I need to assess the situation first and foremost…

"First off breakfast. Maybe I should slaughter a KupoKitty…"

My wife is dead.

The sooner I set aside my grief, the better. Right now, breaking down isn't going to help me. Not that I'm not angry, oh no, I am. Definitely angry. Both at myself and the world. But, I'll save the tears for another time. For now though, I'll let my anger fuel my steps.

And besides, this isn't the first time I'm doing this. Just the same old, same old.

I need to know who killed Neptune first. That Captain boy said it was the previous Goddess, but who's the previous Goddess though? How many generations of Goddesses have I jumped forward to? Is this previous Goddess alive, or dead? Is it Lastation's goddess? Or was it someone else and the Goddess was just blamed for it?

Why am I thinking that Neptune really is dead? Because I didn't see the numbers. Those numbers I see whenever I travel between dimensions tells me what dimension I'm on. Basically, unique IDs. If I don't see them, then that means I'm still in the current dimension. And judging from the fact that Neptune is in a photograph, I can safely conclude that I'm not in the past, I'm in the future.

So where should I look for clues? With Planeptune a no-entry zone for now, I'll need to check Planeptune's backup servers. If memory serves, Leanbox hosts many of our backups because they're offering cloud services. Whoever replaced Vert probably won't kill that project off since many developers actually use the service. Plus it's a major economic boost.

I could go to Lastation too, but to go to Lastation on foot I have to cross the mountain. The Planeptune to Lowee to Leanbox route is also a great option, however that would take too long since I have to go around the mountain. There's also the fact that I can use a boat to get there. But since I'm going by boat anyway, it's worth the detour to head to Leanbox. So Leanbox it is.

I know where our data is, while we share the same web application interface as the rest of the consumers, the physical location of our data and the resources provisioned to us is in a specialized room. That room is cleaner than any hospital room. Kept always locked; only opened when a Planeptunian IT guy and a Leanbox IT guy have their ID scanned.

"I'm gonna break in anyway, no need to worry about IDs"

So, concluding to myself the route I need to go. I finish eating the last speck of meat off of this KupoKitty and hurriedly put out the fire. Standing up, I quickly move towards the beach to launch the boat.

*BRRRR!* *BRRRR!* *BRRRR!* *BRRRR!*

"…Kh… the transceiver…" Kei was awoken from the sound of the office's transceiver ringing.

Still groggy, she picks herself up from the sofa of her office, and heads towards the transceiver that sits on her desk. She pressed the call button.

"Yes General, what do you have to report?"

"Ma'am. It seems IF has escaped Planeptune and headed for Lowee"

"So my hypothesis of strong holding Planeptune was wrong, eh. Not surprised. But still, quite a change of heart for IF. Not her strategy" Kei mused, a hint of admiration in her voice as she gave credit to her enemy.

o have other

"We als news as well"

"Go on"

"We've located a house in Virtua Forest some time ago, and we strategized that it's best not to secure it and just leave a lot of mics listening in. It seems that very same house is where they temporarily lodged for a few hours"

"So, you've listened in on their plans; explains the Lowee part. What are they planning?"

"They plan to launch the ICBMs that Lowee has to Lastation. From what I heard, their army has been reduced to 5 people"

"I see… Really unlike IF…" Kei takes a moment.

"Still, it's bold of her to head into Lowee with just 5 men. But knowing her, this might just be right up her alley. How many Planeptunians are left in Planeptune?"

"Not many now I believe. It's either they've gone into hiding or they've been eaten by those things"

"I see. So she abandoned them, huh… No matter, continue on with the siege. You know what to do, General"

"Ah… there is one more thing"

"…?"

"It seems the squad that was supposed to find IF found 'Mystery' instead."

"…!"

Kei couldn't believe her ears. 'Mystery'? The 'Mystery'? This 'Mystery' man that no one has been able to find for the past couple of months? Whose only way of finding him is to ask a series of questions and just a name? With no picture, nor even a recording of his voice to go on? A fingerprint or anything?

Her brother?

"Soldier. If this is some sort of prank, I'd appreciate it if you tell me now"

"? No ma'am. I'm not lying. It seems they found him by the river. We found evidence of a skirmish. Unfortunately, none of them survived. All shot dead"

"…" it's just as she says. Kei considers her options.

"Ma'am. Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted"

"I don't think they found 'Mystery' ma'am. The timing is too convenient for me. Coupled with the fact that it's a ridiculous idea to be asking random people about the previous Goddess to determine our search results. Almost anyone won't answer honestly, even if we go through the list of questions we have"

"A gut feeling from your years of battle? Or just common sense?"

"Ma'am…"

"General. So long as there is a slight chance that it is true, it's worth investigating. I will personally do something about 'Mystery'. Please continue guarding Planeptune and stopping IF. I will grant you claim over 20 companies. Use them as you see fit"

"Ma'am!"

"Thank you for your report"

Kei presses the end call button on her transceiver.

She closes her eyes, and then lets out a sigh.

"So her brother is here…"

And with those words, she schemed.

"Mina, the deed is done"

"…"

"Oh? No thank yous and all? I did a pretty good job at it too. Just to get your approval"

"Sh… shut up! SHUT UP!"

"Woah there… no need to be like that. If you're having a mid-life crisis, I'm all ears. C'mon, tell me your doubts and fears"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME!"

"IT WASN'T ME!"

"Aaah~ Ah. Weird woman, just shouting like that for no reason. And here I thought we could be friends" She left Mina's room and walks down the empty hall.

When she rounds a corner, she sees the green haired oracle walking down the hallway. On one hand, she holds her spear, and on the other, a bag meant for children's use. Her black dress is so soaked that it clings to her skin. Covered in what seems to be a liquid with the color red.

"Chika. What do we have here?"

"You'll like this, I got us fresh new materials!" she smiles ear to ear as if showing off to her parents her perfect grades in school. She sets aside her spear, and opens the bag revealing its contents to her.

"Oh hohohoho… well done. Well done. This will surely cover Vert"

"Yes. Finally I can be with my lovely Vert"

"Since you've come this far. A reward should be in order"

"Then, we can finally!?"

"Yes. We can finally start. However, there is a slight problem…"

"…a slight problem?"

"You see, Mina asked me to do Lowee for her"

"Tch! That damn Mina, letting you do her dirty work. Ungrateful bitch"

"Now, now. It wasn't all that bad. In fact, I quite liked it. However, using the sword made me realize that it's dangerous to use it without taking precautions"

"Even though the sword is from your world?"

"It was originally meant to be used by one person, any other successors of the sword... well, let's just say that you don't want anything to happen to me"

"So what are you getting at?"

"Would you be a dear to get that, ah, what's her name again? That fairy's book?"

"You mean, Histoire…"

"Yes. Histoire. Oh my goodness, how is my Brother able to remember these names?"

"Is it necessary that you need Histoire's book?"

"Oh but, of course, a CPU is very different. As I've shown you before. It might take a lot more power, and we simply must have all the precautions ready"

"…Alright. I understand. I will get Histoire's book"

"Lovely. I'll take care of this bag for you. Take care now, Chika"

beta read by: TMCraze