Chapter 12:

"Welcome to Leanbox, the Land of Green Pastures"

Before the Fall happened, all 4 nations were floating up in the sky. Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee, and Leanbox, once flew amongst the clouds and birds and soared the high heavens. Leanbox was once a land where its core theme was old medieval style houses and landmarks. Filled with castles and references such as the Castel de Sant'Angelo.

After The Fall however, and every landmass was at sea, Leanbox was left in a wreck, and had to be aided by Planeptune to rebuild the country. Now, it looks like a modern take of a futuristic country. No holograms and whatnot that you always see in Planeptune, but stuff that makes sense such as that giant hollow Whitebox-looking building, situated in the middle of the city, whose purpose is to be a giant battery of sorts.

Fun fact: There are 2 buildings here that still remain as a relic of the medieval theme. A mansion that's on top of a hill, repurposed to be Vert's house, and her Basilicom at the nation's center.

The time is night, around 1:30am the next day. After finding a functional fishing boat, and getting some gas for the journey, I took a 10-hour boat ride from Planeptune's fishing port. Sadly, I haven't eaten or drank anything yet, and I was on the premise that I might buy something the moment I got here but…

"I don't suppose the new Goddess abandoned her country, right?"

Looking from the border to Leanbox city proper, the city is in a total mess. Like a war between 2 worlds had just occurred. There are no streetlights lighting the street, leaving the city in an almost perpetual darkness, saved only by the light from nature. Not even the giant battery pack has its lights turned on. Abandoned cars are littering the streets. They're either in a state of wrecked, flipped, or left there with its battery discharged. The various buildings that once filled the city with delight, are now left there, looming over the street like a ghostly figure.

The port where I currently have the boat tied to is also in the same state. No signal light for would-be-ships, and no one at the port to greet you once you take land. The building where we get our tickets from also shows no sign of intelligent life anywhere.

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked myself. First Planeptune, now Leanbox? Has Lastation gone mad or something?

Passing through the border gate, since there isn't anyone asking for my passport, I walk the streets of Leanbox.

The crescent moon high up in the dark sky is my only source of light. The clouds above are slowly forming overhead. The sound of my breathing, steps, and maybe even my heartbeat, bounce around the buildings, repeating until they naturally die out. And with the wind, the sound waves are carried further into the city.

The buildings around me all stand there like a cult in robes and hoods, awaiting a sacrifice to bring the city back to life. The various shops that bring the city to color, are now dull, deserted, and wrecked. While some have their shutters closed, others have their entire shop spread out wide open. Like convenient stores devoid of any content and restaurants having their windows smashed.

As I walk, I noticed that I don't see any dead bodies anywhere. Streets, buildings, playground, shops, there's not a single body to be found. Even ghosts are nowhere to be seen. There is evidence of struggles but no evidence of casualties. A complete contrast to Planeptune's current state of affairs.

Turning a corner to a familiar street that's a straightaway to the Basilicom, I stop in the middle of the road.

"*Sigh*… Hey kid, are you going to continue following me? Or are you gonna shoot me?" I speak to the kid that's been trying to keep up with me.

"H…hands up in the air and drop any food that you have…"

As I turn around, I see a kid, around 10 years old in rags and boots, holding an assault rifle, an AK-47. Her skin looks rough and scarred, her knees all bruised up. She shakingly holds the rifle, with the butt of the weapon under her armpit. I sidestep a bit, seeing that her weapon's safety is still on.

"I don't have anything on me, kid" I raise my hands, signaling to her that I'm willing to listen.

"…Th-then, what do you have?" I can clearly see her eyes saying: 'shit, this guy doesn't have any food, what should I do?'

"Just a knife…" I show her the knife that's hidden behind me.

"Th-then…" her lower lip shakes, her attempt to get food was foiled.

A hungry kid needs a gun to get her daily meals. It's a common enough story. I doubt she ever fired that thing with the way she's holding it. She must have gone through each day by going around malls and shops scavenging what little food to find.

"Th-then… you have to come with me! And you have to be my prisoner!" That is the weakest provocation I have ever seen.

"No way, I need to get going" I turn my back to her and continue my walk towards the Basilicom.

"H-hey wait…! -! I… I will shoot!"

"Yeah, yeah, you do that. Just don't follow me"

The kid continues to shout at me, telling me over and over to not move or she'll shoot. But I continue on, ignoring her death threats.

"I… *haa* *haa*… told you… *haa* *haa*… to stop …!"

"And I told you to stop following me. Didn't your parents ever teach you to not follow strangers?"

"…They're dead"

"You want me to throw you a pity party? If you want some food, go to the forest, shoot at some Doogoos, and drink their slimes. Apparently, they're actually good for you." I believe Leanbox's Health Department says that Doogoo slime is the most natural multivitamin food out there. Complete with vitamins from A to Zinc. There are even food supplements of it that's made from 100% pure Doogoo slime for easy consumption.

Finishing my small pep talk on alternative means to get food, I drop down from the gate and enter the Villa di Maiano grounds. If you haven't already guessed, it's the same Basilicom back when Leanbox was still up in the sky. Vert wanted to 'keep the familiarity of the past integrated with the present'. Her words, not mine, and I guess that worked well for her. The Basilicom now doubles as a tourist attraction which in turn gives her shares.

From the outside, the Basilicom looks the same as the last time I visited it. And even in this city where evidence of skirmish happened, nothing stands out: no broken windows, no random dead body, no monsters hiding in the shadows, just an ordinary Basilicom waiting for visitors to inquire about the laws and such.

"Hey wait!" I look back and see the kid just jumped over the fence.

"I'm guessing she's just gonna follow me wherever huh…" must be because I'm not actually driving her away. Well, if she only wants food, then my other objective of getting food aligns with hers.

"Hey kid. You ever been here?"

"No..."

"Good. I know where the kitchen is. If you stick close to me, then I'll show you where it is, got it?"

"Mhm…" it seems hearing the word 'food' brought some life into her eyes.

I stack up by the doorway and instruct the kid to do the same. I hold the knife before me and quickly bust through the door. The familiar hallway greets me like a grandparent forcing a weak smile to their grandchildren.

The hall is in a mess. The red carpet that leads to the first landing of the grand staircase is now ragged, old, and has spots of mold growing from it. The stone pillars and floors are chipped and damaged, as if someone has mistaken a bowling ball for a basketball and bounced it around. The hall is dark, with only the windows from the second floor lighting up the once bustling Basilicom.

With familiar steps, I head towards the kitchen. It should be through the employee's lounge that's at the far-left door, just past the grand staircase. The kid behind me follows, her small feet make noise as she does so. I stack up against the door like before, and slowly turn the knob of the door.

"…"

I open it slightly; check what little view I can see through the crack before pushing it again. I do this repeatedly until the door opens wide.

Even the employee lounge is in a state of mess. Tables, chairs, all flipped and tossed. I see signs of trouble, like somebody with a weapon randomly went wild here. The window that's at the far back remains intact. On the far right though, there's an opening towards a small kitchen for employees to use.

I rush ahead, making sure my steps won't echo. Without waiting for anything, I bring the knife up as I round the corner, ready to stab anything that's lying and waiting in the kitchen.

"…" there's nothing here.

"Okay kid… let's see what we got here…" I first checked the fridge, and as expected, the fridge doesn't have any power. The foul smell of food way past their expiry fills my nostrils.

"Ugh…" the kid covers her nose.

Closing the fridge, I open up the cabinets trying to find some canned food and water for her and me to eat.

"Tell me kid, when's the last time you ate?" I ask her as I look around. I open some canned food, even the expired ones, and just from the smell alone tells me how bad they've gone.

"…2 days ago…" she quietly answered.

"Water?"

"…I just drank the last bottle I had…"

'At least she's not on the verge of dehydration'

"Where'd you get that toy?"

"…I found it"

"Found it? Where exactly?"

"…In the middle of the road. It's a gun to hold people prisoners, right?" you watch way too many movies kid.

"Not everyone is scared of a gun. You haven't pulled the trigger on that thing, right?"

"No… I think it's broken" you just have the safety on, kid.

"You ever seen some monsters around here?"

"…Mhm… they're scary"

"That's why they're called monsters to begin with. What do they look like?"

"They have big white eyes… and long nails…"

"Oh?" so those things are here too, huh. I guess I got lucky, and I haven't encountered it.

"Mhm… it... ate my mom…"

"I'm sorry to hear that"

I stop asking questions.

"…Okay I found some. Kid, you have a bag there?" after a few minutes of rummaging around the small kitchen, I finally found 4 cans of meatloaf that's still 2 days off their expiry, and some bottles of water. I put them down on the counter, while I take a bottle of water and drink its contents.

The kid nods to my question and walks up to the counter. From underneath her rags, she reveals a small side bag and opens it wide. She slowly puts them in one-by-one.

"Now that you've gotten your stuff, it's only fair that you do something for me, right?"

"…I guess that's fair… what do you want me to do mister?"

"Follow me"

I head towards the main hall and cross the grand staircase to the other side. Under the staircase, there's a door that leads to the underground servers. But when I turn the doorknob, it stops at a 3/4th turn. It's locked. Without further delay, I immediately kick open the door.

*BAM!* *BAM!*

It swings wide open, and a rush of freezing air immediately greets my face.

There's another set of stairs about 6 feet down, from here, I can see white tiles, and the sound of coil whine, fans, and air conditioning humming like bees. The room underground is lit, a testament to Leanbox's backup generators that are still functioning in this apocalyptic world.

I was thinking of letting the kid stay here and guard the entrance, but if those things are here then its best to have her follow me.

"What's that?"

"A server rooms. Okay kid, stay by the stairs over here, so you'll be out of sight. If you see something, shout at me. Got that?"

"Mhm" she nods. She immediately takes cover by the entrance of the stairs, watching the double doors of the hall.

As I head downstairs, I raise the knife above chest level and ready myself for anything. The moment my feet land on the bottom, I slowly peek from the corner, gradually revealing the server room.

Rows upon rows are giant black boxes the size of dressers, all humming and whining from the sounds of their fans trying to cool down their internals. From the mesh of steel, you see lights flicker on and off. Some of the cabinets have monitors in them. Displaying a black terminal which shows a verbose set of logs of the current process it's processing.

I head towards the back of the server room, and I see a white wall. There's nothing special about the wall. No doors, or windows, or anything really. It's just a plain old white wall.

Just a wall.

*BAM!*

"What in the actual fuck is going on here!?" I punched the wall as I shouted my frustration.

Leanbox started offering their public cloud services before my marriage. Meaning, Vert announced their services on 11/15/2123, but Neptune and I were married on 8/9/2124.

However, the discrepancy lies when I saw the expiry dates on those canned goods. The year was listed as 2122.

Why is that important? Simple. Because I came back to the Hyperdimension at 2123.

So, if my reappearance is supposed to be at 2123, but I'm in the 2122 right now. I've gone back into the past. But how? How in the world is that even possible? Going to the future is ridiculous enough, but the past? I've read Histy's book. I know nothing happened in the year before I forcefully came back into this dimension. In fact, you could say it was peaceful. So why aren't the events I know not lining up by a huge margin?

"So, does that mean that Vert, Noire, and Blanc are alive?" If that's the case then, Noire was the one that declared an invasion on Planeptune?

"No wait…"

"Th… They were killed! By the previous Goddess!"

They.

The Captain boy said they. Plural. Multiple. I was only asking for Neptune, but he said 'they'.

Are you meaning to tell me that all 4 Goddesses were killed just like that? Even Arfoire couldn't stand a chance against those 4 on her own. And she was already a tough cookie to fight too. And even if there was another Console War, I can't imagine that Nepgear, Uni, Rom and Ram stood idly by while their Sisters were fighting.

So, are you telling me that all 8 CPUs died by this 'previous Goddess'? Is she so strong that even if all 8 of them used the power of friendship they still didn't stand a chance?

*BOOOOOM!* *BRRRRR!*

Suddenly, the ceiling rumbles, making the lights flicker. The earth sinisterly shakes underneath me. The server's fans seem to have increased their RPM making a louder buzzing noise. Instincts suddenly fire off warning signals. Something is here, it says. Something dangerous.

"Hey, kid! What was that!?" I shout at the kid as I walk towards the stairs.

"Kid?" Then the image of the pile of corpses flashed before my eyes.

"Shit!"

I run as fast as I can, reaching the stairs in less than 2 seconds. I leap into the air, land on one of the steps of the stairs and leap again. Skipping 3 steps at a time as I climb.

The moment I land on top, instincts suddenly force me to take 2 steps to the side.

*brr!* *brr!* *brr!*

Something is rolling towards where I landed. Creating a sound like a tire is being flipped in rapid succession. The door to the server room is still open, with light leaking to the empty dark hall of the Basilicom.

That thing slowly rolled over to the light. That thing was about the size of a 10-year-old, with rags and boots.

"M… mister…"

Her whole body is twisted. It's as if someone tried to ring out the sweat from her. Her torso is squashed, her shoulders misaligned, one of her elbows is bent backwards. Blood drips from all over her body, her skin stretched until it bursts from the overstretching. Her legs wrapped around one another; her knees forcefully smashed against the other.

The moment she saw me, her eyes lost their focus, and she stopped breathing altogether.

I look up, finding the thing that did this to her. I can see a shadow. Something is there. It looks small like it's floating in the air. The windows from the second floor aren't providing light anymore. But the ceiling above has a hole, revealing the crescent moon.

Unhurriedly, light shines through the hole above. Revealing the thing that twisted this girl to death.

"-!"

That thing is now under the spotlight of our only satellite. Her hair is blonde at medium length, tied to 2 pigtails along with a purple and orange headdress accompanied by a hat with a letter 'N'. She wears a purple dress with a teal tie, and she wears thigh-high socks and white shoes. She has wings peeking from her shoulders and sits on an open book.

"Histy?"

She stares at me with her blue eyes. Her gentle motherly blue eyes stare at me coldly.

She 'stares' at me, with all the malice the Tome of the world has to offer.

"Anomaly Found… Anomaly Found… Anomaly Found… Scanning Anomaly… Scanning… Scanning... No data found… Scanning data provided by The Council… Scanning… Scanning… Scanning Complete… Anomaly Recategorizing… Recategorization Complete.

Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger. Execute Directive Order Number 68123145370: From *SQZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZ!* approved by The *SQZZZZZZZZ!* *SQZZZZZZ!*.

Directive: Eliminate The Fool"

Beta read: NeroBron, TMCraze