Omnidimension Neptunia: Infinite Memes Chapter 20: 20 - The Mascot & The Killachine Tussle!, a hyperdimension neptunia fanfic

All rights are reserved to their respective owners. I own nothing in this piece of fiction except my OCs and the story itself.

"So you're telling me that you guys managed to take down the kingpin of a criminal establishment in the time that we left to the time that we returned?" IF cautiously interrogated as she and Nepgear talked to Nebula and Gris as they were in the Basilicom.

The girls had already explained to them the situation with Underling and her Killachines while they arrived at the Basilicom, and the two were now informed as well at what happened on the boys' side.

The males explained most of the details, Gris keeping quiet about the extermination of the ground floor, as he wasn't one to needlessly boast about his kills.

Nebula skimmed through most of the story, with Gris correcting any discrepancies as they let the girls know about their apparent crime bust.

They left AL in the apartment to rest after his fight, and let Domio catch some Zs as well with him in the hotel with his own king-sized mattress.

The others wouldn't have become too acquainted with the boy as he was still rather nervous and stuttered a lot. But they knew that he was in better, yet concerning hands if Nebula had basically adopted him.

I mean, it was Nebula but he's better than malicious kingpin so...

"Mhm. AL actually was the one, but he's sleeping, so let him be. I still don't understand though... How could one robot drive all of you away so easily?" Nebula asked as he looked at them.

"It wasn't budging from any of our attacks, so we had no choice but to leave..." Nepgear clarified, slightly downtrodden.

"None?" Gris raised a brow.

"Nuh-uh," Rom told him as she shook her head. She looked slightly down as well.

"And that dumb Underling was laughing at us the whole time we ran away!" Ram complained, the males turning to her. She had a cross look on her face.

"I can see her doing something like that..." Gris pictured as he looked to the window with a serious expression. "And you told us that she broke this 'Mascot?' " He asked, still somewhat unfamiliar with the term.

"Into tiny little pieces..." Compa reaffirmed.

"And she did so while we were valiantly fighting off her minions! How detestable!" Nisa huffed as she was still slightly heated from the retreat.

"Seems grim." Nebula replied honest tone to his fellow bluette. "But... There's a way we can fix this, right?" He looked to the others. They all looked back unsure, as that caused the blue god to simply mutter.

"Oh... That ain't good."

Mina finally walked in the room after dealing with the guards and the reports and would be there to discuss with the party. She had a bright expression, after hearing a rapport about the Wretched Wolves' leader being in custody, and walked with some pep in her step.

"Forgive my intrusion, but I overheard setting about the Killachine?" Mina asked as she entered.

"Mina!" Ram shouted in delight.

"Miss Mina..!" Rom followed.

"You heard right," Gris told the Oracle as he took his hands out of his pocket. "Do you have any information about this Killachine that might let us have a better understanding of it?" The assassin questioned with a raised brow.

"I do, but would you kindly explain the situation to me so that I can properly inform you," Mina responded as Nebula and Gris did another summary as IF and Nepgear had done so already to themselves a short while ago.

...

"I see. So the Killachine is back." Mina became enlightened to the situation at hand.

"Yep. Apparently so." Nebula answered.

"Now tell us about the Killachine. Our attacks could hardly dent it." IF asked.

"Arfoire created it as a tool of destruction. It's power... Well, you girls saw that firsthand." The Oracle was brought up as the girls remembered. "Also, far more than one Killachine exists. They are hundreds of them, all sealed away over Lowee." Mina added.

"Hundreds? " Gris went agape, intrigued.

"Give me a break." IF sighed, hearing a faint Yare yare da... from Nebula under his breath.

"We only lost because we ran away! If we fought them head-on, me and Rom would've blown them all away!" Ram stated with confidence, not happy with how the situation unfolded up to that moment.

"Ka-boom!" Rom articulated.

'Somehow, I feel that's a lie.' Nebula thought as he looked at the twins with mild suspicion.

"Now, now, I don't think it's as simple as blowing things up." The Nurse-In-Training dissuaded the CPU Candidate twins.

"Such a course of action wouldn't be realistic. That's why we used the Mascot to seal them away... But..." Mina paused.

"The Mascot was shattered completely..." Nepgear reminded as she reflected on what Underling did.

"The situation must still be addressed. Luckily, ASIC is not one to take hasty action directly." Mina specified after learning about what had happened to Nebula, AL, and Gris.

"Which could also mean that they're also taking their time to make a thorough game plan." IF put on the table as she mulled it over.

"But their biding of time does change the options available to us." The Oracle pointed out.

"How so?" Gris queried.

"It may be a selfish request, but we ask that you aid us in protecting and gathering information in Lowee?" Mina asked as Gris sighed.

"It won't be a problem at all. We can't cry over spilled milk, so to speak. We'll do all we can to help." Nepgear accepted.

"Really?" Gris asked.

"Just do it. Tomorrow's a new day, so just hit the hay, Grease." The adventurer shushed as the fellow deity closed his eyes with a faint grimace.

"Thank you. I'm sure you're all tired from your different ordeals. Please rest here for the night." Mina offered.

"No thanks. I gotta watch my son." Nebula notified as he would walk to the door.

"You have a son? When did this happen...?!" Mina asked the bluette with unparalleled surprise as he would leave. He didn't seem like the father type.

"He does now," Gris stated blankly as he looked at a questioning Mina.

SPLASH!

BONK!

Nebula opened the door as a bucket of ice water fell on him.

"Ha! I got him!" Ram shouted as she laughed.

"Hehe..." Rom giggled cutely.

"Haha!" Gris laughed at the soaked fighter.

"Ha ha..." Nebula dryly mocked them as he was now wetter than AL's imaginary drip.

"Goodness!" Nepgear exclaimed as she and the others were surprised at the prank that Nebula had unknowingly tripped. It really was a mystery how that bucket was set up there.

"The real question is how did this now go off.'"

BURST!

DRY!

POWER DOWN!

Nebula moped as he then powered up, drying the water before returning to normal as he was dry.

"Awww..." Ram moped as her prank was branded defunct. Nebula regained his trollish snigger as he literally flexed off the subpar prank.

"I'll be taking my leave," Gris stated as he too walked to the exit.

SLAM!...

KNOCK

"See you girls in the morning." Nebula waved as he left the Basilicom shortly before Gris as the latter shut the door.

SCARY EYES!

The bucket was then knocked to Ram's feet as she was be snapped out of her depression as Mina's eyes sparkled dangerously.

"Ram... What have I told you about pranking our guests?" She asked as Rom gulped, not even being the center of the punishment.

"Is anyone else feeling a dark and scary aura...?" Compa asked.

"Sure am..!" Nisa affirmed, spooked.

Meanwhile, Nebula and Gris walked from the building when they too felt an intimidating aura from outside as Nebula turned back for a bit.

"What was that?" Nebula asked, a brow raised in concern.

"What was what?" Gris asked, unconcerned.

"Of course, you wouldn't feel it." Nebula would deadpan with annoyance.

"Ah well," Gris responded with equal nonchalance as they walked back to the apartment.

They walked in silence for a bit before Nebula started back up the conversation.

...

"The streets sure are lonely." Nebula offhandedly muttered.

"Just like my goddess," Gris smirked as he snarked.

"Yo, that's-" The adventurer took notice of the roast before being cut off.

"Cold. We're in Lowee. Duh." The assassin finished, a knowing look plastered across his features.

The pseudo-protagonist snorted.

"Hm. I don't know whether I should be angry you cut me off, or proud that you seamlessly combined wordplay with a sneak diss." The winter-styled adventurer pondered.

"Be whatever. I don't really care about your opinion on me." Gris shrugged.

"Alright... Speaking of opinions, what even is your opinion on Black Heart? Don't tell me you encourage people here to believe in White Heart when you don't even believe in your own goddess." It was Nebula's turn to have a knowing look.

"...Well... I wouldn't say I don't believe in her. But she's not really someone I'd entrust my life with as my ideal goddess.

"But isn't that her title? The PERFECT Goddess?" Nebula questioned with squinted eyes and a raised brow.

"Just because she seems like it doesn't mean she is. Even Noire has her faults. We all do. That's why things like self-improvement and self-reflection exist in this world." The hitman began.

"But doesn't she train?" Nebula asked.

"Get stronger, sure. The epithet of 'Perfect Goddess' can't be maintained without some degree of maintenance. But does she reflect on her flaws and try to overcome them? Does she even consider the possibility, that if she tried at least an iota to improve her people skills and not come off as a borderline stereotypical tsundere, that she might get closer to the title she holds so dear?" Gris answered his question with a question.

"..."

"Thought so." Gris hummed. "As much as she tries, there's equally just as much she needs to do to improve herself. This can be said about every goddess. Even us, and I am ever aware. The fact that she doesn't try to better herself in that manner is a spit in the face to the very perfection she strives for." He continued.

"Oh really? Name 3 of her faults if she isn't the ideal CPU her followers, including yourself, view her as." Nebula challenged with an interested expression.

"You serious? Very well." Cleared the throat of the assassin as he began.

"For starters, she won't accept help from anyone if not absolutely necessary. How do I know? I'm the same damn way. It's just that I can twist and contort the narrative to give people the impression that I do not require your assistance before folding. For example, against Xero." Gris explained as he delved into the traits that contradict his nation's goddess' title.

"I needed AL's help, but I fended off the VPU for so long, it looked like I ran the clock rather than exhausted myself and had to ask for it." The assassin explained.

"Fine. Debatable, but I'll allow it. Also rich coming from a fellow edge lord." Nebula accepted his reasoning for not being exactly like his goddess, albeit with some reservation.

"Be quiet, dank memer." Growled the hitman.

"Then there's the inability to make friends. Now, I'm not going to fault Noire for being... Socially inept, for lack of my care of a softer term. I also have few friends. But the difference between me and her is that she yearns for friendship, yet denies the prospect whenever she's presented it by someone who confronts her with the basis that she's better than them or doesn't have time for such meager things." Analyzed the assassin as he gave the other CPU a mental image.

"Makes her seem snobbish and pulls her away from the one thing she wants at the time." The hired killer summarized as he continued.

"Me, on the other hand... I just think that friends are a variable I'm not willing to take. They can fuck up, betray you, fall short, die, steal from you, embarrass you, piss you off, pretend to be for you, lie to you, and all manners of other depressing scenarios. It's just not a worthy endeavor for friends in my eyes." He finished.

"I mean, you're probably right about Noire but... That's sad. Did someone backstab you?" Nebula raised a brow in morbid curiosity.

"Like I'd give them the chance. I just saw it happen a lot in my line of work, so I forwent the concept. We're just friendly acquaintances. Not best friends." Gris enunciated with a corny accent, akin to a yellow sponge.

"... I see." Nebula felt a pang of hurt for Gris not being his nakama, but carried on.

So close yet so far.

One day they'll be best buddies. That day may be far, but it'll happen.

"Last one." The blue CPU signaled.

"Pfft, easy." Laughed the black CPU.

"She's not even honest with herself. Hence the trait befitting the popularly acclaimed nickname Tsundere Heart. She pretends she's on the top of her game when she's not, refuse help when she can receive it to possibly make her work easier, and has pride while not as much as a certain vegetable prince or lion sin, is somewhat comparable." Elaborated the edge lord.

"She wants others to be honest with her when she can't even be honest with herself." He summarized once more extending his point.

"This is the one thing I don't share with her, thank... Us? Never mind, the point is, the woman has flaws just like the rest of us. At least she tries to improve herself, but leaves out the places she needs to improve on the most." The assassin did shine a crack of light, before closing it back up.

"But that's her charm for the most part in the eyes of her people, so I guess the most I can do is point them out and sigh in remission of criticism." Gris finished, Nebula sincerely impressed.

"... Huh. I actually didn't expect such a detailed description of 3 of Noire's flaws. I thought you were gonna pull a 'Her flaws is that she's flawless!' or something since you lived in her country and all. Props." Nebula nodded in respect.

His respect soon turned to a mischievous grin, however.

"Don't tell me you got a crush or something while doing all that research." He smiled, eyebrows wiggling with suggestion.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

This elicited a laugh, as the hitman cackled and smiled with genuine happiness from the joke he just heard. His outburst continued for a solid thirty seconds before his face fell back into a neutral grimace almost instantly.

"No. Me and her? Bullshit. I can say the same for every goddess, in fact. Love their strengths, and be wary of their faults but in my eyes, they're just ordinary women, half of them looking like FBI bait." The hired killer mooted the tease. "Or is this a cover-up for you having feelings for Neptune, or better yet, Nepgear...?"

"Oh, me and Neptune? Er... I don't see that working. We'd just troll each other and play video games, and fight over who ate the last pudding cup or some jazz while we're wrapped in futons." He summarized with a dreamy look.

"Isn't that like your ideal partner, based on your personality?" Gris snorted. "And you look content." He chortled.

"Fuck.'' Was the harsh swear that escaped Nebula's lips. All those Purple Heart doujins were making him biased!

No! Bad desires!

Gris then proceeded to laugh at the slightly flustered comrade as he shook his head profusely.

''Hahaha!..."

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on, that was the 14-year-old horniness talking. In retrospect, her looking 14 in human form would screw me over. Even if she's decades, centuries, hell even millennia old." Nebula thought about it as Gris calmed down a bit.

"True, but that also means you were at one point willing to have intercourse her." Gris brought up.

"While in fervent puberty, with access to literally all of Gamindustri's adult content, and my... Former?- goddess in her CPU form being smoking hot, I was bound to find lewds of her that would make me unbearably horny. I just grew out of beating off to Purple Heart when I did my ex." Nebula explained as Gris listened in.

"And besides, with how lazy Histoire told me she was... It's kind of jarring." Nebula earnestly admitted.

...

"Hm. So your first time killed off me time?" The assassin snorted, getting back to a more humorous note unintentionally.

"Yes." The adventurer looked down with a mix of humor and embarrassment.

"I see. But it still stands that you might be attracted to her sister too." Tha hitman brought up his next question.

"NepG? Uh... Not really. I see her more as a little sister that needs guidance than an actual love interest. And she's way too pure. As a matter of fact, all the girls in our group, save maybe IF on the surface are innocent." Nebula deduced as they walked through a quiet street corner.

"Actually, the more I think about it, I see them all like friends rather than love routes right now. IF is my snarky coworker, Compa's the hot medic that ironically exposes only some skin, Nepgear's the imouto and Nisa's the obnoxious yet earnest sister in arms while Ram... Ram's akin to a little shit, and Rom's the cute moe blob that everyone likes." Nebula told his peer his views on his party members.

"At least you're honest about your opinion. Your words may be taken into consideration in the future." Gris whistled.

"It's appreciated. How about Uni, though? I have a feeling that your shared hobbies may spark something." The blue CPU asked.

"She's trying way too hard to be like her sister. It's endearing until you look into it and see the level of effort she puts in trying to emulate her behavior, down to the tsundere trait. Admirable on one side, concerning on the other. She likes guns though, so that's a plus. But all in all, I'd rather have her as a friendly acquaintance like you." Gris sighed as he closed his eyes.

"Ok. We will indubitably skip Rom and Ram." Nebula quickly nodded.

"Without question." Gris opened his eyes with determination to not end up on a list.

"Blanc?" The adventurer asked.

"I'll mull it over when she doesn't look she just entered middle school and the wall has a bigger bust size than she does." Gris emotionlessly roasted. "That, and a time where she won't snap at me for that comment." The hitman thought of the possible reaction that could followed.

"But isn't that her nation's charm? Land of the Lolis? Flat is justice? Wife Heart?" Nebula listed as he counted his fingers for emphasis, rather than lack of mental math.

"Look Nebula, the only reason flat is justice is because people get locked in prison when they try to fuck a loli. Hence why Lowee is so kid-friendly. And Wife Heart is kind of a stretch when there's a chance I'll get bludgeoned for jabbing at my wife's insecurities with my type of personality." Gris once again shot down the argument.

"The more time I spend talking about the goddesses with you, the more my worldview is changed. Whether for better or worse is up to the future." Nebula deadpanned.

"A frog in the well cannot conceive the full span of the sky. The truth is universal but perspective of truth varies. Change yours, and you'll be exposed to viewpoints thought impossible. Even with those like the goddesses, perceived to be far beyond our reach." Gris sagely remarked, with a raised finger.

"That's really wise coming from the same person who named himself Edge Heart in his CPU state." Nebula once again deadpanned.

"...Still got rolled out by a goth bitch." Gris retorted.

"Shut up." Nebula grimaced as he looked away.

''Well, it's true." The silver-eyed CPU reminded with a shrug.

"And I'll get her back for that!" The blue-haired CPU shook his fist indignantly.

The two had walked long enough to see the inn they booked in the distance, firstly noticed by none other than Gris.

"I see the inn. I'll deal with your grievances about the goth mommy spanking you another time."

AURA!

ZOOM!

The assassin ended the conversation as he sped up.

"She did NOT spank me! Now I don't like her even more, damnit."

VANISH!

Nebula muttered as he vanished as well.

The next day soon arrived, as the 4 males were up and at 'em. They had some breakfast that was comprised of the downstairs café and were now out and about.

AL sadly had to part with his clothes and now wore a closed vermillion winter jacket with a dark grey undershirt and some denim blue jeans, retaining his shoes with some spare matching vermillion gloves.

Gris cleaned up his clothes thanks to his time ability and was mostly the same as he simply reverted their wear back to when he first bought them.

Damn time hax.

Nebula was normal as well with his winter gear. He had on his previous clothes, and paid Gris to revert them as well. Guess he really wasn't joking when he said 'friendly acquaintances'.

And Domio had to sleep in his clothes, so they went early morning shopping to make sure he didn't smell too funky via his worn clothes.

He now wore another white winter jacket and some black gloves with some black warm pants. His shoes and his goggles were there as well as he walked.

The rest of his new clothes and utilities were put in a seperate bag as they would be pushing the limit with their old one. It was only as big as his body weight, since Gris wasn't gonna fold out millions for a kid with a sad story he barely knew right off the bat.

His height was an even 5 foot. He still had the wary look, but it wasn't accompanied by overwhelming fear anymore.

They all walked around the city looking for the girls as they had to meet up to 'aid Lowee', which was a really around the bush way of saying that they had to plan their next move.

''Had a good sleep you two?" Nebula asked as he would walk.

"Yeah. Those morning Nep Bulls hit the spot.'' AL burped as he still felt the energy from the drink.

"I-I haven't felt this good in a long time! T-That king sized bed was really comfy!" Domio would recall as he had slept peacefully for the first time in years.

"You ain't felt this in a long time?" AL memed, referencing a rapper as Domio nodded in contempt.

"Good. Because today, we're gonna go meet some people." Nebula said as Domio became confused.

"Meet? W-Who are we meeting?" The boy asked.

"CPS."

BIFF!

AL joked as Nebula punched him in the shoulder.

"Quiet. No, we're not meeting Child Protection Services. We're meeting the people we're gonna go adventuring with." He explained as he would gesture.

"R-Really?" Domio asked, recalling the girls that he saw Nebula talking to last night with a cupped chin. "Y-You mean those girls that came to speak with you?" He remembered.

"Yep." Nebula would say, popping the P. "They're nice, but they probably won't take you if you're completely defenseless." AL explained. "Know any magic?" He asked as the boy's uncle hit him with all kinds of ice magic during their fight, not to mention a giant ice fist the size of a house.

"Y-Yeah, I know some. M-My uncle tried to teach me so that I could be a bandit like him... But when I told him I didn't want to hurt people, h-he stopped before letting me get beat up."

ICE MAGIC!...

Domio explained as he opened his mitt hand, conjuring some ice essence.

"Oh, so you're a mage?" Gris deduced as he listened in on their conversation. "What class?" He continued.

"I-I don't know. A-All I know is that he taught me how to make my fists covered with ice, and shoot ice b-blasts out of my palms, along with some other kinds. He tried to teach me the C-Cold Calamity, but that was when I d-decided not to continue because he wanted me to kill p-people." Domio recalled.

"So an ice-type battle mage..." Nebula would say as he thought about it. Teaching his class would be hard since he liked to run up and punch his foes in the face, he used KI and gravity at ranged distances.

But if he froze his arms, then that meant he had to run up to enemies as well if not blast them from afar like him, and he would need a fighting style to make him, and his arms hit harder by default if he was going to use them.

He would first gauge his level of skill by making him fight some monsters, TOTALLY different from intelligent people.

He would then teach him how to push past his fears and the grip his uncle and his past still had on him, proven by years of abuse, and even the stuttering he constantly showcased, mixed in with some bonding and therapy as he grew in skill from the fighting and bonding.

Finally, he would help him control his anger and try to bring it out, like that one kid who killed that mutant cockroach from that one anime. It would change him from a stuttering mess of an abused boy to a man with a stronger backbone and talent that any father could be proud of. And Domio would be proud of himself as well, which was the ultimate goal for Nebula in terms of his development at that point.

"Well, it's different. That's for sure." AL said. "But how are you even going to find the time to train him? We're in the middle of saving the world." The dark man brought up.

"Practical experience." Was the simple response.

"You're sending him in battle without even knowing his limitations? That's impractical for someone who's going for 'practical experience.' '' Gris air quoted as he found the reason shabby.

"Well I'm not just gonna throw him at the nearest monster. I'll supervise him as he fights, and yank him out of danger if things look sour. It'll be good experience for what his uncle taught him, and I can set his personal trainings accordingly." Nebula explained as Domio listened attentively.

"Now you just sound like my old man.'' AL deadpanned.

"Had to learn how to train others from somewhere." He admitted.

"I see them." Gris alerted the group as he saw the girls talking to someone. It was a little girl with brown eyes and medium-length brown hair that was about shoulder height.

On her head she wore a white bunny hat with long ears and a cute face on it. Her clothes consisted of a blue apron-like dress with a large pocket on the front used for storing alchemy materials and possibly other things. She stood at about 3'09", by far the shortest member of the group, seeming to be younger than even Domio, which gave the boy some confidence ironically.

She also wore large bunny hands that only added to the moe factor she had going for herself as she stood with her brown round shoes.

"Let's collect these materials." IF said as she would be conversing with the stranger.

"Sup." Nebula greeted as he appeared.

"Salutations." Gris cooly introduced himself.

"Yo." AL breathed out.

"H-Hello." Domio shyly greeted.

"Hello, you guys." Nepgear greeted the four.

"Who are those guys?" The little girl asked.

"The name's Nebula." The blue god began.

"AL." The dark-skinned warrior raised his hand in identification.

"That's Gris." Nebula pointed, as the assassin nodded at the girl.

"And this is my son, Domio." Nebula would pat Domio on the head.

"Your son?! You never told us that." Compa became surprised.

"He doesn't look anything like you." The shortest girl pointed out as she observed him. "Is he adopted?" She asked.

"S-Son?!" Domio would look at Nebula, surprised.

Notice how he said nothing at being adopted-

"We're family in spirit. And I view him as my very own child. What's your name, little girl?" The adventurer asked as Domio took the placement of value that Nebula give him some consideration.

"It's Gust." Gust would introduce herself.

"Right. So what are we doing?" Gris got back on track, cutting to the point.

"We're gonna go collect some stuff." Ram informed.

"To fix the Mascot." Rom added in.

"Ok, so what do we need exactly?" AL would ask.

"Rare Metal and Datanium." The Guild Agent explained. "Now let's go. We've wasted enough time here waiting for you." IF admonished as Domio widened his eyes.

"T-They were waiting for us?!" Domio would ask, concerned.

"It's a gag at this point. But let's go, sport." Nebula said as IF shook her head at the fact. She even thought that it would cease.

"Wait, you're carrying the child?" Nisa asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Nebula asked.

"Can he even fight? He's just gonna slow us down if all he can do is stutter." Ram stated, with the remorseless only a child could harbor.

"..." Rom remained quiet.

"Just give him a chance. I was 12 when I started adventuring. I just didn't leave the country until I was 16." Nebula cut his foster son some slack. "He knows battle magic, so that's another member for the party." Nebula added.

The female party members looked at Domio with some skepticism, mostly IF and Nisa, with some of the effort ironically being given from Gust.

STARE...!

Domio soon began to shift uncomfortably under the gazes that were upon him, almost like they were trying to dissect every burden he'd carry along with him.

"Well, if he can fight, then there's no reason to leave him out. Let's go people." IF rallied with pace, accepting the boy as the now 10 members would look to leave.

Gust stayed behind as she insisted beforehand, unbeknownst to the group of boys.

"If he can fight for what is right, then he can join by all means!" Nisa pumped her fist in triumph as Domio sighed in relief as he felt the comforting pat on his back by AL.

"Well you're on the team now. Come on." Gris said without emotion as Domio curtly nodded before answering.

"Y-Yes!" He stuttered.

"Don't do that." Gris chided.

"S-Sorry." He did it again.

"DAMNIT DOMIO!" The assassin yelled.

"Yikes!/Goodness!" The spiky-haired boy yelled out, alongside Nepgear as they both rented from the outburst.

"Not so loud, Mr. Gris." Compa said with some pity for the now two lost puppies of the group.

"Tch." Was the final response.

The party soon arrived at the Lowee Global Expo once again as they were on the lookout for the materials that Gust sent them for.

They picked off monsters as the ventured and Nebula had gotten to see the extent of Domio's ability.

It was safe to say that he had potential, but he lacked real-time battle experience, just as he expected.

"Cold Bolt!"

ICE BOLT!

Domio yelled as he fired a large blast of ice from his hands.

STAGGER!

It directly hit the monster he was fighting, which was a Bunnyvader as it was knocked back.

But it shook off the damage as it charged right for Domio.

FREEZE-!

TACKLE!

The boy then crossed his arms as he formed ice gauntlets and would take the hit as he was sent tumbling.

TUMBLE!

"W-Woah!" The boy stuttered, even in battle before being knocked back.

BLAST!

The battle mage would then be cornered as he had his back to the wall. He then fired consecutive ice blasts at the monster as it approached with fright.

INJECT!

PIXELATE!

But the Bunnybader still approached as it tanked all the attacks and would have gotten to him, if he were not bailed out by Compa.

"T-Thanks...!" Domio thanked as he looked up to the friendly nurse.

"No problem, Dom-Dom. Be more careful next time." She warned as she then moved on to another monster.

Domio then shakily got up as he moved on to another enemy.

KICK!

SLICE!

SLASH!

CUT!

It was a Kupokitty as it was currently aggro'd on Nisa, who was battling it with her energy blades.

ICE BLAST!!

IMPACT!

Domio tried to be helpful as he outstretched his hands as he fired another ice blast, this time a bit stronger at the enemy.

DASH!

And it hit the Kupokitty square on the back. Too bad it didn't kill it, because it was now on Domio as it turned around.

"Cold Bolt!"

ICE BOLT!

STAGGER!

Domio shouted again as he fired another ice blast at the mob.

The Kupokitty was actually staggered but still charged.

Domio got ready to block again until he heard a voice.

"Justice Kick!"

LEAP!

KICK!!!

Nisa kicked down the mob as she was aiming for a flank. She then sent a thumbs up to Domio before moving on.

"Good luck!" She chanted.

Domio let out a sigh of relief before he heard the growl of another mob.

"GRR...!"

"!"

He turned to see that an Ice Fenrir had managed to sneak up on him.

"G-Gah!" He shouted in fear as he lost his composure for that moment.

KICK!!!

JUMP!

SLAM!!!

PIXELATE!

It was about to crunch down on him when it was promptly kicked down on the snout by Nebula, who then flipped off of it, sending its head crashing onto the ground before it pixelated shortly after from the force.

"!" Domio was stunned for a bit as his foster father- erm, friend had so easily dispatched the monster, just like everyone around him.

"You good?" Nebula asked as he didn't turn around, looking for the next monster.

"I-I'm alright, Nebula." Domio nodded.

"Good. Can't have my kid getting eaten on the first day of being your dad." He said with a chuckle.

"That'd suck big time." He continued as he then saw another Bunnyvader approach the two.

REPULSION!

Nebula simply stretched out his hand and sent a wave of Repulsion towards it.

"Heads up, NepG!" He yelled to the CPU Candidate.

WOOSH!

It was sent flying to Nepgear as she spun around to see the incoming mob.

SWING!!!

SLASH!!!

PIXELATE!

She then swung her sword, cutting the monster clean in half as it was pixelated before waving and going back to battle.

"W-Wow..." Domio was in awe as they were taking out the monsters so easily.

She then turned to see what would be a Metal Shell.

"Could that have been the monster that Broccoli was talking about?"

CRIT!

PIXELATE!

The CPU Candidate asked IF, who picked off another Bunnyvader with a precise stab to a weak point.

"Only one way to find out!" The Guild Agent responded as the group rushed to the mob.

"Ice Coffin!"

FLASH-FROZEN!

SHATTER!

Ram used her SP Skill as she encased the monster in a large pile of ice before shattering it.

"Woah!" Domio exclaimed as he had never seen ice magic remotely that powerful besides his uncle.

"Ice Coffin!"

FLASH-FROZEN!

SHATTER!

Rom yelled out next as she froze the Metal Shell right after Ram, and repeated the process, Domio seeing that her ice magic was a wee bit stronger than Ram's.

"H-How can those little girls do that?" Domio asked his blue elder.

"They're the CPU Candidates, Domio." Nebula replied as the boy widened his eyes in realization.

"O-OH! They're Lady Rom and Lady Ram! Makes way more sense now." Domio's brain clicked as Nebula facepalmed and laughed.

SLICESLICESLICESLICESLICESLICE SLICESLICESLICESLICESLICESLICE SLICESLICESLICESLICESLICESLICE SLICESLICESLICESLICESLICESLICE SLICESLICESLICESLICESLICESLICE SLICESLICESLICESLICESLICESLICE!!!

Nepgear then closed the distance with IF as the two of them neared the Metal Shell. They soon released a flurry of bladed attacks as they unwinded on the monster.

"Slash Wave!"

"Demonic Inferno!"

BOOM!!!

Before sending it flying with a Slash Wave from Nepgear and a Demonic Inferno from IF.

The Metal Shell was launched into the air as Gris and AL now made their move.

"Flash!"

The hitman flipped into a crouched slide before looking at the flying monster and stuck out his index and middle finger in its direction before yelling out his move.

FIREBALL!

AL sprang up into the air as he threw a large fireball at the monster's trajectory path.

KABOOM!

PIXELATE!

The Metal Shell exploded in the air in a white light as some materials fell from its pixelating corpse as the sounds of pixelation were heard from within the air. AL landed on his feet as he looked up at the smoke.

"W-What was that?!" Domio with some concern, asked.

"That was an edgelord being edgy, Domio." Was all that Nebula could muster as they walked forward.

Gris caught the falling item, which turned out to be Datanium as he held it in his hand.

"Here."

GRAB!

He called as the silver-eyed warrior threw the material to IF, who caught it in her hand.

"We got the item! One more to go." Ram cheered with delight.

"Yay..!" Rom wooped along with her sister as she shared the same sentiment.

"Now for the Rare Metal." Nepgear steadied as they went to leave.

"Onwards, my friends!" Nisa followed Nepgear as she heroically went along.

"What kind of move was that?" AL asked Gris.

"A move." Was all that Gris responded with as he moved on

"Whatever," AL replied as he walked forward

"Wait up!" Nebula shouted as he walked with them. "Come on, Domio!" He called his foster son.

Domio watched the crowd as he still felt like a stranger. But he tagged along, knowing that he now had something to do besides get beat up and cry himself to sleep.

They were now in the World Labyrinth, another dungeon as they now looked for some Rare Metal. Domio was told by Nebula to work on his close-quarters combat this time as he was shaky with the magic spells.

The party was once again in the midsts of battle as they would have cleared most of the dungeon searching for the specific monster that had the item.

STRAIGHT!

REVERSE HIGH KICK!

FRONT KICK!

PIXELATE!

Nebula was in the midsts of battle as he was fist fighting with a Tetsri, easily dispatching it in the process. Fodderizing the fodder, as they say.

"Overheated Assault!"

FLARE!

BURN!

PIXELATE!

AL be burning some Poxvaders as they neared with an Overheated Assault, pixelating them on impact.