Trigger Warning:

Blood, graphic scenes—all up to your imaginations.

"I think it's better if we attack now. Besides..." Nepgear paused. "We're completely broken when we're paired up."

"That's true." The agent let out a chuckle. She took out her metal claws, which were hidden under her coat sleeves. She filled the tips with poison that's strong enough to take large monsters.

"Alright, here's how we're going to do this..." She grabbed a stick and began drawing on the dirt as she explained the plan.

"You got that?"

"Yes."

"Good, just wait for my signal. This should be good." Nepgear watched her friend make her way down the cliff until she reached the front base.

"Okay... it's showtime." The agent cleared her throat as she was about to put out a show. "Gentlemen, people. I came here to deliver you the wonderful message of our CPU."

A group of four ASIC members quickly rushed in and aimed their guns at the agent, who was in the middle of preaching. They wore armor vests and had machine gun weapons, as they looked a bit confused by her show.

"You've all committed a great sin by defying her highness by following ASIC. Repent now, and you all shall be spared from her wrath. Otherwise, the great CPU, Lilac Heart, shall smite you down from above." She raised her hand to the sky.

"Yeah, as if. How about you clear off before we shoot you. See if your CPU can save you." They all shared a laugh among themselves and didn't notice Nepgear, who was in her HDD, dropping down like an eagle who was hunting their prey. She stabbed her blade on the ground at high velocity, which generated a massive shockwave that knocked the four off the building. She yanked her gun blade from the ground and dropped beside the brunette.

"Looks like my prayers were answered after all. All praise to our great CPU."

Lilac Heart rolled her eyes at her antics. "Come on, we still have more waiting for us inside."

"Sure, let me tie those four first." IF went and tied the knocked ASIC members before she took cover next by the front entrance with her gun ready. "Alright, I'll take the front, and you take the back. That way, we can catch them from both sides." Lalic Heart nodded and went to the back. She took out her N-Gear and dialed her friend. "I'm in position."

"Good. I'll go first so you can take them out while they're distracted."

"Understood."

IF slammed the door and began firing at five armed ASICs as she rushed in. She managed to hit one before she took cover behind one of the crates as bullets whizzed by her. The sounds of guns firing and bullets hitting objects echoed, mixed with the smell of blood and sweat.

She reloaded and popped off as soon as the firing paused. In one fleeting moment, she fired, hitting one in the shoulder, and then the impact of a bullet striking her armor knocked her back. She felt as though a moving truck had hit her, even though her armor absorbed the majority of the damage. One of ASIC dragged his fallen comrade to safety while the other two kept firing.

Lalic Heart then came from the back and fired three energy shots, which ended them.

"You okay?"

"Yeah... thanks." IF gritted her teeth when she forced herself to stand. "Come on, let's move."

The sunlight illuminated the place from the windows on the side. The place was spacious yet empty. Nature began reclaiming the place as mosses began growing on the wall and plants began growing on the floor, which produced an earthy and woodsy aroma. There was graffiti on the wall that's filled with cracks and cockroaches.

They heard the sound of a machine clanging in the distance and the ceilings' lights buzzing as they walked, while the smell got replaced with sulfur and rusted metal. They went to another room, which had no ASIC present. IF's eyes caught something moving in the distance before they got wide as she heard a sound of something spinning.

"Shit, get down." She pushed her friend before she leaped to the other side, behind the stone pillar. Soon, bullets began rapidly raining on them as they heard the stone clattering continuously.

"Great, they got a freakin' auto turret. No way in hell are we going through that."

"I can use my M.B.P.L. to destroy it, but it takes time to charge."

"How long?"

"About 10 seconds."

"That's too long." IF took a slight peek, which earned her more bullets. "Can't you just charge it while your hiding and fire it?"

Lilac's Heart shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I have to be still. Otherwise, any movements will make it more difficult for me to aim and keep it steady."

"Okay, I got an idea. I'll run around and distract the turret to buy you enough time."

"Can you even outrun it?"

"Well... we're about to find out." The agent took out an Adrenaline Shot and swiftly injected it into the outer side of her thigh. She gritted her teeth from the sudden pain as she felt her heartbeat and breathing increase drastically. She felt her vision and hearing sharpen, which made her more alert and focused.

"Don't miss, or we're both dead meat!"

She then ran like she was racing against the wind. The turret began locking on her and firing, with bullets being an inch away from her. Lilac Heart went out of her cover and crouched as she lined her barrel at the turret. She felt the weapon begin heating up as it made a charging noise.

10...

9...

8...

IF was still running as if her shoes were on fire. There was no place left for her to run, as she was about to hit a wall. She narrowed her eyes and jumped at the last second before performing a wall run and then a backflip in the air. She saw everything in slow motion as she saw the turret turning up towards her.

3...

2...

1...

The room began to light up as a powerful beam left her weapon and obliterated the gun to nothingness. She planted her foot on the ground so she would not get knocked back from the recoil. However, she was slightly pushed back and almost lost her balance as soon as the beam died down to the sudden shift of momentum. She then evolved in light as she turned back to her human form. The only thing left of the turret was a crater of smoke and the smell of melted metal.

Damn it, out of juice already.

The agent landed on her feet with a hand planted on the ground. She felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest, as she couldn't keep up with her breathing pace. She was sweating like a fountain, as she felt a terrible headache with nausea filling her.

"IF!" Nepgear quickly rushed to her side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, ugh." She tried standing up, but she saw the room spinning and almost lost her balance. Her friend caught her and helped her out. "That was too damn close. I'm not doing this stunt ever again."

"Are you going to be able to fight?"

"I'm seeing a double of everything right now." The agent rubbed her brow. "The effects should wear off in 10 minutes or so."

"I can handle things from here. You should rest until then."

"No. I'm coming with you." IF reloaded her gun. "I'll just shoot all twos if we run into more ASIC."

"Okay, but make sure not to hit me as well."

"Heh, I'll try not to."

The two continued to the other room, which had two floors connected by stairs.

"I'll scout this floor. You take upstairs."

"Right."

Nepgear climbed the stairs and was about to check one of the rooms when suddenly the door flung open, and one of the ASICs lunged at her and pinned her to the railing as he choked her neck with his arms.

"Die, CPU scum!"

She thrashed wildly to break free as she felt his arm tighten.

"I don't have a clear shot. Do you got him?"

She grabbed his arm to try to relieve the pain before trying to punch him on the sides like a punching bag, but it yielded no results. She felt her punches getting weaker and slower, and her vision was getting darker. In a final attempt, she delivered a swift kick to his groin, which made him let go of her. She took this opportunity to get hold of him and throw him off the railing.

Nepgear fell down on the group as she began coughing violently while gasping for air.

"Damn, still alive, Gear?"

"Just about." She rubbed her sore throat as she grabbed the railing for support. "He almost had me there, ow."

"Annnnd, here come a lot of them." Nepgear took a glance at where her friend was looking and saw five more of them rushing in.

"They just don't know when to give up, don't they?" Nepgear took a quick chug from her bitter SP Charger potion and leaped from the railing onto them while they fired at her. She delivered a blow using Gear Knuckle, knocking one against the wall with a large crunching noise and splatter. She then followed by twirling, which caused the other three to be disoriented for a short period after witnessing her Mirage Dance.

IF had to rely on her agility and use a strategy of evasion. She began zigzagging towards the enemies, making it difficult for them to line up a clean shot.

She jumped and delivered a kick into the guy's gut, knocking the air out of his lung along with his weapon. She then slashed the second in an x motion with her claws. Either the bleeding will finish him off or the poison will. She felt her senses going off from behind. She quickly ducks as the first guy swings a long, broken pipe from behind.

He struck her on the leg, which forced her to kneel as she grunted in pain, but he continued by delivering another blow to her arm and then to her head. She managed to get hold of it before she suffered a severe concussion, and the two battled to overpower one another. She let the pipe be pushed into her, which made him spring forward and lose his balance. She followed with a kick to his gut, which made him let go of the pipe before she smashed his head with it.

Then another got hold of her from behind while she had her back on him. She tried slashing his face with her claws, but he evaded them before he kicked her leg, which made her kneel. She tried to elbow him constantly from behind, but he kept his body away while he grabbed her by his arms.

"Hey, get your hand off her!"

There was a loud thunk that followed. Nepgear smashed a wooden stick she found laying on the ground on top of his head, which made him drop down and let go of her.

"You okay?" Nepgear extended her hand, which she gladly took.

"Yeah, thanks." IF eyes turned to the last one who was making a run for it. "Damn it! We got a runner."

The last one stopped at the doorway before he grabbed something and smashed it on the ground. The room evolved into a faint light before a horde of monsters began spawning around the room.

"Really?!" IF loudly exclaimed.

"Go after him. I can handle the monsters by myself."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, just go before he gets away."

The brunette nodded before she rushed by the monsters, who weren't interested in giving a chase as they focused on the sole girl and began advancing. Three spiders were hanging on the ceiling and walls. A Testri block was forming a wall on one of the EDGE machines, while the second one was in the far back.

Nepgear tightened her hold on her saber and released a breath as she prepared to use Slash Waves. She swung her blade at a fast speed, which created a large shockwave that destroyed the block of walls and knocked the EDGE back. She rushed and launched herself using one of the fallen blocks and stabbed her blade on top of the EDGE, which made it spin out of control as smoke was coming out. She then yanked her saber and jumped out before it exploded and erupted in flames.

The two spiders then closed in from above. One lunged at her, but she swiftly dodged and slashed it in a swift motion. One of the spiders shot a web at her feet.

"What the—?"

The spider then jumped to bite her, but the tip of her saber impaled it instead. She then cut through the web using her weapon before raising it to block incoming shots while dodging from the second EDGE. The last spider managed to knock her down by jumping from above. He tried to bite her, but she was quick to reserve it by kicking it off with her foot. It got stuck on his back as it tried getting back up as his feet were thrashing, but she impaled it, which released a strong smell of acid from getting its gut splattered all over.

Nepgear was breathing heavily and sweating hard. She couldn't do anything but block and dodge the attacks from the last EDGE, as she didn't have enough stamina to perform any of her skills, and it won't be long before she becomes exhausted. At this moment, she saw, from the corner of her eye, a pipe that was on top of the machine that was leaking.

Without thinking, she threw her sword with all the energy she had left. It struck the pipe before water burst out all over, which soaked the EDGE before sparks began coming out. It made robotic screeches before dropping down and completely shutting off as its red eye faded away.

The place was filled with the smell of fried circuit. Nepgear dropped down to catch her breath and regain her energy from fighting. After a while, she got up and picked up her beam saber from the ground.

Meanwhile, IF was pursuing the last ASIC member. She fired a couple of warning shots in the air with her gun.

"Stop, or I'll shoot."

She followed him upstairs before she saw him pick up something from the ground. She ducked as he threw a brick at her. She then fired a couple of shots at him, but he entered one of the doors and attempted to block it. She rushed and busted the door, and ASIC was popped from behind a create and fired with his gun, but it only made a clicking noise.

"What? Shit, no." He threw the gun at her, which she effortlessly dodged.

"Tough luck, buddy, but the game's over. Put your hand up now."

He simply chuckled and took out a knife. "How about we do this the old-fashioned way?"

IF let out a groan and rubbed her temples. "Do we have to do this?"

"I ain't going down without a fight, shortie. Come on, let's dance."

"Fine." She put her gun down and grabbed her knife. "If this is how you want to die, then so be it. Let's just make this quick, shall we?"

The two began closing in on each other until they were close enough. The guy made the first move by swinging his knife at her, which she evaded by moving back and quickly countering it as the sound of whizzing knives filled the room. The two played a game of tag, as the two were circling each other, waiting for the other to make a move first. This continued for a while as the two managed to land a few slashes on one another. IF was sweating as she felt the smell of fresh blood gushing from their cut wounds.

"You're going to die here, shortie."

"Heh, we'll see about that."

Despite the pressure and pain, she grinned. She kept calm and focused as she remembered her training, which made her go into autopilot. She waited for the perfect opportunity, so when the guy went for another swing, IF quickly stepped to the side and kicked his side, which made him lose his balance. She was about to deliver the finishing blow, but he quickly recovered by tackling her to the ground. He tried to plunge the knife into her, but she quickly grabbed hold of his arms as the two struggled to overpower each other.

"Come on, let's finish this, you and I."

The guy was smiling, assured of his victory. IF gritted her teeth as she felt the knife getting closer and closer to her throat despite her efforts. She waited until his hand got close to her face before she lunged and bit him hard on his fingers, which made the guy let out a scream. As soon as she felt his grip loosen, she delivered a swift punch to the guy's throat, which stunned him. She then followed up by grabbing the knife and plunging it into his throat.

She pushed him off of her and heard him chock on his blood. She calmly went and retrieved her knife from him before she wiped the blood off and put it away. She took out and chugged down a whole bottle of healing potion. She instantly felt the pain from stung wounds get relieved, though her cut wounds would still need time to fully heal. She'll ask Nepgear to heal her with her magic spell later.

She went out to regroup with her purple friend.

"Oh, there you are. Did you manage to get him?"

"Well, let's just say I took care of him." IF looked at her cuts from her clothing. "Not without getting a few scratches. Ugh, I'm going to have to get those patched up."

"Oh, here... let me treat your wounds." Nepgear extended her arm around her and casted Heal. Light began surrounding her before she felt refreshed and saw all of her cut wounds were gone as well.

"Thanks." IF nodded in appreciation. "Well, seems like we reached the end. Let's see what they're hiding behind that big door. Here, give me a hand with this."

Both of them crouched and tried to force the door open by pushing up with all their might. After a short while, the door flung open, and what they found was a large storage room with a lot of wooden crates inside.

"Let's see what they have inside." The agent went to one of the crates, forced it open with her knife, and inspected the contents inside. There were a lot of weapons inside, ranging from handguns to rocket launchers. She grabbed a grenade launcher and began examining it.

"Weapons, lots of them."

"That's not good." Nepgear frowed. "There's a whole heap of those in here. Do you think they're planning to fulfill Arfoire's plan to wipe humanity?"

"Not sure, but I don't have any explanation as to why they have this many." IF closed the crate lid. "I'll tell Kei to send someone to seize them and take the captives, though I imagine ASIC has set up more hidden bases to smuggle those weapons. They're preparing for something big."

"Well, whatever they're planning, we've gotta stop them either way."

"That much is obvious." The brunette let out a sigh. "Looks like they ain't small-time like we thought. This could prove to be a problem."

"Well, I guess we're done here. Come on, let's get outta here."

"Right behind you."

Both made their way out of the warehouse from the same way they came in. While they were walking, IF decided to initiate a small talk with her.

"Heh, just like old times, eh, Nepgear?"

"Yeah, we make quite the team, don't we?" Nepgear paused for a moment. "Speaking of which... how is Compa doing? Last thing I heard was that she became an official nurse in Haneda City."

"Eh, she's doing alright, I suppose. Her work is not leaving her any free time, but we still keep in touch from time to time."

"Hey, so I got an idea just now. What if the three of us have a nice dinner together in my Basilicom like we used to so we can make up for lost time?"

"Sure, that sounds nice. It's been a while since I ate one of Compa's homecooks. I'll contact her later when I have the chance."

The two then walked in silence until they reached outside.

"Well, that was fun." IF began stretching her arms. "But we should be going now."

"Do you want me to give you a ride back home?"

"No. No need for that. I got my own transport." The agent put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Soon, a horsebird came flying towards them and landed beside her before letting out a neigh. The horsebird had wings and wore a saddle. IF petted his head before she mounted him.

"Oh, wow. I forgot you had that thing with you." Nepgear approached it and tried petting it, which made him shriek and bite her hand. She quickly removed it. "Oh, still doesn't like me, it seems."

"It's something to do with your divine energy scaring him. Or maybe it's your ugly mug." She smugged at her.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny." Nepgear rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle. "Look at you, riding a horsebird like a knight in shining armor. Next, I'll be seeing you riding an ancient dragon the next time we meet."

"Haha, now that will be heck of a lot cooler, but I doubt that would happen any time soon. It took us ages to try to tame one of those." She petted her mount, which resulted in him letting out a pleased noise. "It'll also be cool if my bike could ride on water so I don't have to fly each time to Leanbox. Not that there's anything wrong with you."

"Well, I'm going to head back to Lastation to report to Kei. Oh, and here." She tossed her a SP charger potion. "Something for the ride back. Don't want you to run out of energy mid-flight."

"Thanks. Take care, iffy."

"See you around, Gear." She saluted with her hand. "Hiya! Let's go."

She watched her friend take off into the sky. She took a drink of the potion before she transformed and took off in the opposite direction towards her home. The sun was about to set as the sea turned orange. By the time she reaches Planeptune, it will already be dark...

Author's Notes

That took a long time to write since this is my first time writing a fighting scene ever, so I hope it's good. It took me a lot of time to come up with and brainstorm it.

As for the game, I'm almost about to finish it; I reached the 300-hour playtime. The game becomes so much easier when you level your characters above level 99, which makes you easily take down most enemies. While the chapter may take a long time to write, at least during this time, a lot of unique ideas and inspiration come to me, which motivates me to write. If I forced myself to write, I would miss out on a lot of ideas, and the quality of the chapter wouldn't be as good.

Oh yeah, one last thing: since I've yet to play MK2, I'm basing my knowledge on Victory since I don't know if they have the same skills from the two games or not. Once I play MK2, I'll change any inconsistencies, and for the time being, don't mind if the characters feel a bit out of place.

*Note: I'll be putting trigger warnings on some chapters that include graphic scenes or others that might be disturbing. Be on the lookout for those, as I'm planning on adding more of those but let's be honest, most would just ignore them.

Next Chapter: The Genesis of Dreams

Nepgear gets another report about sightings of hordes of monsters spawning near Planeptune's border, although monsters aren't the only thing that Nepgear has to worry about.