Chapter is under a rewrite, sorry for the inconvenience.
Also, to see the new chapter, just go back one chapter, since there is no way to rearrange the chapters in fanfiction, I have to replace it and post this instead.
Nepgear looked at Cave. "You said there's a manhole near a shore, right? It's our best option. It saves the trouble of having to sneak past the surveillance bots and foes."
"Then it's decided. Follow me. I'll lead us there now." She followed the red-haired girl as instructed until they reached the shores. There's a manhole, as Cave said, but they're first obstacle came in the form of a rusty metal bar that was blocking their way. Her friend began inspecting for a possible way in. She grabbed the bar, and it began making a creaking noise.
"Hm, it's a bit loose. Here, give me a hand with this, would you?" Nepgear nodded and grabbed the bar from the other side.
"On three, one... two... three!" Both simultaneously pulled with all their might for a while but the bar didn't move an inch. Despite that, they kept pulling and stopping for a second to catch their breath. Nepgear felt her hand begin getting red. Finally, there was dust that was coming out and then it popped out. Both Cave and her kept their balance, put the metal bar down and began catching their breath
"Goodness, wouldn't it be easier... ha, if I blast it with my laser beam?" Nepgear brushed the sweat from her brow.
"Sure, unless you want to risk alerting everyone in the city."
"Yeah, good point."
"Come on, let's get a move on."
They both went further inside the manhole. It was pitch black, which prompted Nepgear to use her N-Gear's flashlight function. It wasn't bright enough to light the whole way but enough that they could navigate the tunnels. The stench stung Nepgear's smell buds like a wasp. She immediately covered her nose and made a gag noise. She had to fight the urge to throw up.
"Goodness, the smell." The poor girl was not built for this type of thing. She regretted choosing this route. At least she could be able to breathe the air in the city.
Ugh, I just took a shower a few days ago. It will take ages to take the stench off.
"Try breathing through your mouth if it helps." Unlike her, Cave was completely unbothered by the smell and treated it like a slight inconvenience. Makes sense, since she is, or rather was, a member of the SMD. This was probably nothing compared to what she had to endure during her time in SDM.
"So..." Nepgear commenced. "Could you tell me what happened before Chika disappeared ten years ago?"
"What there is to say." Cave kept walking, never bothering to send her a glance. "Chika refused to go out of her room. Her world came crumbling down after Vert's unfortunate passing. She even locked herself in Vert's room. The only thing I and others could do was give her some space. The staff tried making her go out but she yelled at them to leave her, even ignoring them like they didn't exist. Leanbox lacked an oracle for a while. The staff tried their best to work in her place but she never went out. The staff began worrying when they didn't hear anything from Chika in the room. They sent me to investigative. I tried calling her numerous times, but she wouldn't respond. I had assumed the worst, so with no choice left, I had to force my way in, where I saw Chika was nowhere to be found."
"The SMD sent a whole search squad; they searched every nook and cranny in Leanbox but after months, we had no choice but to give up and pronounce her dead."
"And now, we allegedly received a lead that she's somewhere in Leanbox. Unless ASIC somehow just stumbled on her by accident and kidnapped her, which I highly doubt." Nepgear was still not all that convinced. "After all, it won't be the first time that they used a similar trick where Underling disguised herself as Chika."
"I know. I want to hold on to the hope that she's still out there somewhere. In a sense, I feel like all of this is my fault somehow."
"No, it isn't." Nepgear looked down. "If anything, it's all my fault for what happened to Chika."
"That might be somewhat true. However, I was referring to the fact that I never once tried reaching out to her. I thought giving her some space was the best choice. Cave's hand formed into a fist. "Maybe if I had reached out to her sooner, I could have prevented all of this. She needed someone in her time of need but I abandoned her."
"Don't beat yourself. We all made our mistakes. I made my share of mistakes. It's no use dwelling on it now." None of them talked after that and they kept walking while their footsteps riverbated through the tunnels.
"Do you think Chika is alive?" Cave snuck a glance at Nepgear, who shook her head. "Hard to say. I doubt she's in Leanbox but I believe she might be alive out there somewhere and she just wanted to disappear and leave her oracle position behind."
"Well, if it turns out that the information we got was false, one thing is for sure: Those so-called ASIC remnants, lowlife, will severely pay for using her name, and I will make sure that no one is left in Leanbox. As long as they are here, law and order won't be restored."
"I'm with you. I can't fathom how some people still have faith in an evil deity even after we defeat her." Nepgear shook her head and let out a sigh. "I guess some people are evil for the sake of it or beyond helping. I'm sorry for what happened to your home."
"It's fine. None of this is your fault. I tried my best to help out as much as I could when the revolution started but there was nothing else I could do but watch my home go into flames. The SDM had to relocate and our priority was to evacuate unarmed civilians from harm's way. I believe there's still a chance to restore order and peace. We just need to get rid of ASIC and get Chika back if she's alive."
"I hope so as well."
They continued their walk for a while. The sound of dripping water from a leaking pipe and their wet footsteps killed the silence. There were loud echoes of rats squeaking. Cave suddenly stopped in her tracks and motioned with her hand to stop.
"halt... Did you hear that?"
"It sounds like it came from... above?" Nepgear slowly turned her N-Gear up at the ceiling and found a blue dog face staring at her.
"Dogoo!"
Before she could react, the thing leapt at her face, making her drop her N-Gear on the ground while the flashlight was facing up. It gulled itself on her and began face-hugging her. She screamed in panic, but all that came was a muffled scream. "Get it off, get it off!"
"Hold still." Cave tried instructing her panicked friend but it fell on deaf ears as she was moving all over the place while trying to pull the thing from her face. Cave, with a single swift attack, knocked the dogoo off, who then quickly hopped away from them. Nepgear put a hand on her knee and let out a ragged breath for a bit while Cave began patting her on the back to comfort her. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, thank you... Goodness. Just... give me a moment." After catching her breath and recovering from the surprise attack, Nepgear stood straight and went to pick up her N-Gear from the floor. "That gave me quite the scare. Stupid Dogoos, what are they even doing here of all places?"
"It's not uncommon to find dogoos here but they rarely pose any real threat. Thankfully, that one seems uninterested in us. We probably aggravated it in some way or it's not fond of the light."
"Let's hope we don't run into more of them. I'll be prepared with my Saber next time." More walking followed. It felt like they had walked the entire city. "Those tunnels seem to have no end. Just how much further Cave?"
"If my calculations are to be correct, we should be close to reaching the other side of the city. Just a bit longer."
"Good. I don't want to spend another minute in this sinkhole."
Suddenly, the two stopped in their tracks as they saw another source of light and noise that belonged to two people that came from the other side. Nepgear wasted no time and switched off her light from her N-Gear and the two took cover to hide themselves.
"—Can't wait to get back to patrol duty, ugh... I've seen enough damn dogoos for one day."
"ASIC... of all places." Nepgear kept her voice down as she grumbled. She looked at the woman next to her. "Should we take them out?"
"No. I have a better idea instead. We'll discreetly follow them as they lead us back to their lair."
"Alright, good thinking." The two kept their distance while the two ASIC members continued chatting with one another, unaware of their presence.
"—Did you hear? The CPU and a special agent single-handedly busted down one of our hideouts just a few days ago. They never left anyone, slaughtered them like animals they did. well, everyone except for poor Jeremy... only one they arrested. I can't believe they were all gone, erased from the planet, woosh, just like that.
"Yeah, well, it was not surprising that they really don't stand a chance against a special agent, let alone a literal CPU. Our leader sees it as a minor setback. They will pay for what they did to our comrades."
"Yeah, well, aren't you worried that the same could happen to us?"
"A little but our leader is hitching up a plan. I have faith in her and you should as well."
"Yeah, yeah... And what about her... mysterious associate? I heard that her right hand was ordered to stay here with us for some reason."
"Well, I wouldn't stick our noses where they don't belong, especially when we're about to meet her."
"She gives me the heebie-jeebies, especially with that creepy mask her leader wears."
"Is that so?"
The two men let out a yelp when they recognized the third voice that was calling them out. Both Cave and she couldn't see what was happening or make out her appearance, but they could sense the tension rising around the ASIC member. What's the saying again? Speak of the devil and he shall appear, and those two just dug their own graves.
"Ah, ma'am! I didn't—"
"Save your excuses for later." The girl's voice was indifferent as she raised her hand. "You both are late. Explain now."
"U-Uh... I mean, sorry. We had a small... dogoo-infestation problem on our way back. B-But we took care of it."
"Sure, whatever. You two weren't followed here, right?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." The mysterious girl didn't say a word for a long time, which made the two members uncomfortably shift in their places. Cave and Nepgear prepared themselves just in case they were caught. She finally let out a hum. Thankfully, it seems that they haven't suspected anything yet. "Very well then. let's return to the main hideout."
"Huh? Wait, weren't our orders to patrol around Leanbox?"
"Change of plans. Don't ask too many questions and get moving."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Understood, ma'am!"
The two did not dare to argue anymore and obediently followed their master like lost puppies. Soon, the three took turns climbing out of a ladder outside the sewerage via a sanitary manhole. Nepgear and Cave both waited for a bit before they went to use the same exit. Her companion went first. She slightly peeked her head to scout the place but found the three were nowhere to be found.
"The coast is clear. Come on, let's hurry before we lose their trail." Once Cave got out, she extended her hand and helped Nepgear out. She was glad to get out at last and began inhaling the air outside. "Thanks, so which way did they go?"
Cave said nothing as she crouched and inspected the ground before she pointed with her finger. "The footsteps lead to that way."
"Alright, let's go then." The two began following the trail for some time until, suddenly, they hit a dead end.
"What? The trail ends here." Nepgear began looking around while Cave was on high alert as she took out her gun and began scanning her surroundings. "Be on your guard. Something is not right." Nepgear nodded and took out her beam saber, ready for any surprise attack. They waited and didn't make a single move but nothing happened for a while. Nepgear slightly lowered her weapon and looked at her friend, who looked as clueless as she was.
"Maybe they realize they're being followed and tried to shake us off."
"If that's the case, we could be in trouble soon. Let's find their hideout before they alert the others. It mustn't be far." Nepgear nodded and the two slowly made their way out of the alleyway, with her taking the rear while her partner was on the front with her gun up, so that way the two could cover one's back. Without a warning, Nepgear let out a shriek as she felt a pain in her neck.
"Ow! What the...?"
She found a dart sticking to her neck. She quickly snatched it off and threw it but after a short moment, she felt her movement slowly getting sluggish.
Shit! It's a trap!
"Nepgear, what happened?" Cave turned her back to check on her friend. Nepgear tried to warn her but found no words coming out of her mouth. Suddenly, the two heard a noise coming from above. It was the mysterious girl who dropped down on the red head. Cave reacted by aiming her weapon up but it was too late, as she kicked the gun with her foot. Cave immediately recovered and the two engaged in hand-to-hand. Nepgear saw all of this unfold before her. Unfortunately, the girl who wore a bandana was getting the upper hand despite Cave's efforts to put up a fight.
"Hang on, I'm coming Cave." Nepgear, with her beam saber still in hand, summoned all of her strength and fought the slugginess. She was about to jump over to save her friend but before she could take action, she felt something pushing her from behind. It was one of two ASIC members who was currently pressing a shotgun against her back. "I wouldn't do anything hasty if I were you. Otherwise, you'll find a big hole in you, hehe."
"I highly suggest that you give up and drop your weapon now." The bandana girl was holding a knife against Cave, who was knocked out. "If you value your friend's life, that is." And just like that, the fight finished in a blink of an eye, with the bandana girl emerging victorious with ease. Nepgear silently cursed and wondered where it all went wrong. She was out of options as she felt herself unable to transform. It was probably the result of whatever was inside the dart that she was injected with. even if she could, she couldn't risk her friend's life.
Damn it, there is no way out of this...
"Okay, okay..." She did as told and dropped her weapon, which made the sound of metal clanging as it hit the ground. "Just don't hurt her, please."
"Don't worry, we won't hurt you. As a matter of fact, my boss wanted to speak with you and you came at the perfect time." Before Nepgear could question her, the bandana girl nodded at her minion behind her. Shortly after, Nepgear felt like a truck had hit her as she received a blow directly to her head, which immediately knocked her over. "Good, bring them over—" This was the last thing Nepgear heard before everything went dark.
(N)
Nepgear was slowly regaining her bearings. She let out a groin as she felt the pain coming back. Her body was stiff so she tried moving but she found herself unable to as she was tied up to a chair. She tried breaking free from the ropes but they were well knotted. She was placed in an unfamiliar room. The place was spacious. It was dim, with the only light source being a light bulb at the center of the roof, which was directed at them. There was also a large monitor sitting on the wall in front of her. Soon after, a series of memories of the events that transpired came rushing down at her head, from her meeting with Cave, to them going inside the sewage, and finally to them getting ambushed after they tried tailing ASIC members.
Cave... Cave!
Nepgear began looking around in panic for her friend but quickly calmed down once she saw her sitting next to her while also being tied up. She was still unconscious, so Nepgear tried waking her up. "Cave, Cave! Wake up." The tied woman began shifting before she slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head to look around. "Hnnng... what happened? Where are we?"
"We were captured. They must have taken us back to their hideout." Nepgear gritted her teeth as she struggled once again to wiggle her fingers out. "We have to find a way out. We don't have long before they come back. Any ideas?"
"I can try freeing myself from these ropes but it will take time since I lack the tools. Can you not transform?"
"No, I can't access my HDD. They drugged me with something that's preventing me from doing so." Nepgear's eyebrows frowned. "They were ready for us."
"This is all my fault. It was foolish of me to fall into an obvious trap. I should have listened to you and left it, and the worst part is that I got you roped in due to my selfishness." Cave let out a sigh. "I was blind to see that we're merely chasing shadows."
"It's a bit late now. Let's just focus on getting out now and—" Her speech was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. A shadowy figure came walking towards them while holding something in their hand. Once he stepped into the light, he noticed that she was already awake. "Huh, you're already up. Good." It was the same ASIC member she saw with the bandana girl and this time he was holding a metal bat. "I'm going to enjoy this."Nepgear did not show any kind of emotion to mask her weakness and instead glared daggers at him.
"Let me ask you this." He poked the bat at her abs as he kneeled to match her eye level. "Do the names Joey, Cory, and Ivan ring any bells?" He must have been referred to the names of the people she and IF killed during their raid on that hideout a few days ago.
"Hmm... no, sorry, it doesn't click." Nepgear humored him and pretended to make a thinking gesture. She was hoping she could stall and buy her friend enough time to break free. "You see, there are so many of you ASICs that we don't bother most of the time. We once called someone an underling, but I would personally call you lowlife nobodies—oomf!" This earned her a directed jab to her abs by the tip of the bat, which made her let out a few coughs.
Ow, that's smart.
"Hey! You better stop this now." Cave tried stepping in to stop the man from hurting her friend. The man simply ignored, seeing it as merely an empty threat due to the circumstances she's currently in. "Pssh, what are you going to do about it? That's what I thought. nothing." Cave could only narrow her eyes at him while she slowly worked on untangling the ropes in her hand without him realizing it.
The man then turned back to her. "It seems that you're in joking mode. Let's see how you feel when I break every single funny bone in your body." He pointed the bat at her head and tapped it. "Well, allow me to refresh your memories. Those are some of the names of the people that you and that moron agent mercilessly massacred at that warehouse a few days ago. Some won't be able to return to their family You will pay for what you did to every single one of them."
"You seriously can't blame their deaths on me. They knew what would happen if they joined ASIC and they still did it. They made their choices. I find it funny that the deity that you're all worshipping is dead. ASIC is finished. So why are you still following a dead faith?"
"You just don't get it, do you? Even if Arfoire is gone, we will spread her message and teachings wide and far." He spread his arms wide before pointing at her. "You're time as a CPU is finished. This is a new era now. Nobody wants a worthless CPU. Soon, Leanbox will be our first step in achieving our vision.
"It's pointless to argue with these morons." Cave spat out as she sent him a spiteful glare.
"I won't allow it. As long as I'm still alive, I will wipe all of the ASIC names off Gamindustri. You're all just mindless slaves that easily get tempted by an evil deity that only wants the end of the world. Can't you see that?!"
"Oh, please do tell. How exactly are you planning on doing that?" The man let out a laugh. "From where I stand, you're the one who's tied up, not me. The only reason that you're alive is because the boss wants to, but it won't stay for long."
"You'll regret this once my friend shows up."
"I doubt that but I think that's enough chit-chatting. It's high time that you pay the price for your crimes." The ASIC member raised the metal bat high and prepared to strike. Nepgear closed her eyes and braced herself for impact.
"WHAT IN CELESTIA'S NAME ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL!"
Someone yelled out, which caused the man to freeze and lower the bat once he recognized the voice. To Nepgear's surprise, the sound came from the large display. It was a masked woman. This one seems to hold a high level of authority here. She wore a silver half-mask that only covered her eyes up until her nose. She had black hair and she was wearing a formal dress with pointy gloves, which were all black. The woman was not pleased, as she ran out of patience after not receiving any answer. "Well?"
"I, uh... was just trying to get her to speak of what she knows. I had thought you ordered us to capture her for that reason, y-your highness."
"I said, Bring her to here so me and her can have a talk. I did not mean by interrogating her." She massaged her temple and shook her head. "Imbeciles, Can't even follow simple orders. Remove yourself before I lose it and feed you to the fenrir." The ASIC man did not need to be told twice before he fled out of the room, leaving both her and Cave confused as they eyed the masked lady.
"I apologize on behalf of those braindead. They simply misinterpreted my orders." The masked lady let out a sigh. Her voice was awfully deep. Nepgear concluded that she must be using a voice changer, likely to avoid being recognized. "It was not my intention to harm you. I only wanted to talk. Let's start over, shall we?" Suddenly, the room was filled with bright lights, banishing all the darkness in the room. To their dismay, ASIC members, who were armed, began surrounding the room and blocking every exit. Among them was the other same bandana girl, who defeated Cave. Now she had a better look at her appearance. She wore a black bandana and a long, open, plain coat that extended below her feet and she wore gloves. It also had a hoodie that she used to cover her brunette hair.
"Well, forgive me if I find this a bit hard to believe." Nepgear looked at the masked woman with no sign of trust. "Considering the welcome and hospitality that we got."
"You're right. allow me to correct it." She turned her right hand. "Would you kindly untie our two guests here?" The brunette offered a nod and took out her knife. The request came as a shock to both girls and to every ASIC member present in the room.
"For your sake, don't try anything stupid if you want to get out alive. That includes your other green friend." The bandana girl gave them a quick warning as she was cutting both ropes off them before she returned to her station without saying a word. Nepgear began rubbing the red marks on her wrists. Neither she nor Cave made a move, as they couldn't do anything against a dozen armed ASICs while they were unarmed. They had no choice but to cooperate for the moment until they somehow came up with a plan to escape or wait for rescue.
Let's see what she has to say, especially if she wants to talk with me.
"So, who are you? Are you their new leader?" Nepgear's eyes never left the masked woman on the screen.
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you that. But you may call me the original." She put a hand on herself. "To answer your second question, no, I'm not the leader or have anything to do with ASIC itself, but simply put, they have something I need so I'm merely an associate."
The original? Huh, a strange name if she ever heard one.
"With that out of the way, I do apologize once again. I had to make sure my invitation wouldn't be turned down. I'm sure you understand. If there is anything you need—"
"Enough with friendly talk. Just get to the point." Cave crossed her arms, both impatient and not buying the whole facade she's putting up.
"Straight to business, I see." The so-called original let out a short laugh. "Well, in any case, I'm glad you answered my call that I've sent you, and even more glad that you made it, despite the unpleasant circumstances."
"Wait, so it was you who contacted me? You dare say that after using my dead friend's name, that's something I won't let slide." To say that Cave was not happy was an understatement and a half. She was far below Cloud Nine at this point. So much so that she stood up from her seat, which caused every ASIC in the room to point their gun at them but her friend did not flinch at the slightest and stood her ground.
"Now, now..." The original raised her hand and made her voice clear. "I trust that I won't have to repeat myself when I say that these two are my guests, so keep your weapons lowered or there will be severe consequences." The members were hesitant at first, but told as they were told, as they knew better than to disobey.
"Actually, let me correct you about the fact that I didn't lie. I, or rather, ASIC, have your friend here and she is pretty much alive, I assure you."
"Can we see her?" Nepgear stood up as her friend. "We want a confirmation for your claim."
"Of course, I'd be more happy to comply." She snapped her fingers. "Bring her here, if you would."
After several moments, two ASIC members dragged someone by their hands. They removed the sack from her head, which caused the two girl's eyes to widen. Sure enough, it was indeed Chika before them. She wasn't in good shape, as she had bruises on her face and she was unconscious. The sight of her friend made Cave's face almost match her red hair as she clutched her fist while shaking. It was a rare sight to see her friend lose her cool like that. "What have you done to her? Answer me!"
"Not to worry, she's alive. She only received minor injuries. Of course she's an ASIC captive, buuut..."
"What do you want?" Nepgear knew what she was implying, and she was prepared to give anything if it meant saving Chika. "Oh, that's a tough one, for you see... I want a lot of things." The original then turned and pointed a finger at her. "But from you? I only want one thing. You have something that belongs to me, and I simply want it back."
"And that is?"
"Gehaburn." Those words sent shivers down her spine and triggered her trauma as she saw flashes in her eyes of those dark times. After she defeated Arfoire with it, she locked it away, as it had been forgotten with the passage of time while collecting dust. She will never use it again. She absolutely can't let it fall into the wrong hands. "No! I won't let you have it. I don't know about that part of it being yours so I won't risk giving those powers to you." There was a long silence after she gave her answer. The original let out a sigh. "I expected much. Well, it's no use to me anymore but I'll have it back eventually. I'm surprised it even works."
"Are you listening? I said I wouldn't let you as long as I'm alive." Nepgear crossed her arms, as there's no changing her decision. If someone is after this power, then it only means trouble. Her sister would definitely scold her if she learned that she let someone like her have those powers. It's her responsibility now.
"Exactly. So, Nepgear..." The original leaned back on her chair. "A little bird told me you have that blue girl with you. Um, what was her name again?" She began swiftly snapping her fingers. "Ah, yes, Uzume, the blue one."
The blue one?
"You know Uzume? Wait..." Nepgear paused as she began recalling something from her conversation with the girl. "So it was you who attacked her and stole her powers then."
"Right on the money." The original smiled. "Yes, I was the one who left her there and spawned those monsters to ensure that you found her. You see, when I found her occupied with fighting her other red self, I took this opportunity to strike them. The blue one is no use to me after taking her power, unlike the red one." She muttered the last part. "I'm sorry, I had to dump her here and make her your problem. but I simply can't afford for her to interfere with my plans. Thanks in advance."
"So your not denying it but admitting to not only attacking someone and stealing their powers but also kidnapping as well?" Nepgear was dumbfounded, as the girl basically confessed herself to those crimes in front of a CPU. "Do you not realize how this sounds? I can't let you go after hearing this. I have a duty to uphold as CPU to stop people like you."
"Especially what you did to Chika." Cave added.
"Woah, hey now." The original playfully raised her hand, playing the victim. "You almost make me sound like the bad guy here. You should be thanking me for what I did. That Uzume girl is not as innocent as you think she is. Did you know that she was intended to use those powers to escape her seal and destroy your world? If anything, I did you a favor, so you should be thanking me instead."
"And what exactly are you planning on doing with those powers?" Cave raised a good point, even if she wants them to believe that she somehow did a good deed by taking those powers that would've been used to destroy her home. The question is, what's she planning to do with those powers now that she has them in her possession?
"Again, I can't tell you. But if it makes you feel better, I won't use it to destroy your world, or any world, really. I'm not interested in that kind of world dominance and all that nonsense." The original did a double-air quote. She imagines she did an eye roll beneath that mask. "I'm only after a personal goal of mine."
"And that is?" Nepgear put her hands on her hip, trying to squeeze as much information out of her.
"Well, if you're really that eager to know." The original paused for dramatic effect. "I had something that was unfairly stolen from me by someone a long time ago. I only want what's rightfully mine and I'll do anything to get it back. Even if it means to erase that damn someone from this world." She slammed her fist on the table. Her calm voice was now leaking with hatred. She was seeing red like an angry bull. She then quickly let out a cough under her hand. "I apologize. I lost myself there for a moment."
"You expect us to believe that?" Nepgear scoffed.
"It matters little to me if you choose to believe it or not." The original clapped once. "Well, I believe we should end our lovely talk here, even though it didn't go as I hoped it would. Thanks for indulging me anyway, but we all should take our leave and call it—"
"What about Chika?" Nepgear interjected firmly.
"We're not leaving without her." Cave followed after her friend, making an indirect threat. If they had to go down fighting, so be it. They just need to stall until help comes. She knew that Kei would send IF to rescue them soon. They'll suspect something is wrong when they won't receive anything back from her due to getting her N-Gear and weapons confiscated by ASIC. There was a brief silence exchanged between everyone present in the room, and the tension slowly rose all around until it was at its peak. ASIC did not respond well to the threat and silently clapped back by locking and loading their magazine while their weapon was down. Nepgear and Cave simply ignored them and kept their eyes glued to the original, who had an unreadable expression on her face for a good while. Soon, her expression changed as a smile formed on her face, which confused her further. "You know, I kinda like you, Nepgear. You and I aren't all that different, all things considered.
"Please, I'm nothing like you." It left a bad taste in her mouth after hearing that coming from her.
"You somehow made me very pleased without you knowing it, so I'll grant your request as a token of my gratitude, but before I do that..." The original paused before her face switched to neutral. "Are you certain that you want to save your friend here? Just some friendly advice: leave your friend here since she's now ASIC's problem, so they'll come after you. It's out of my hands when it happens."
"Your advice is both unneeded and unwanted." Cave shot back. Nepgear nodded in agreement. "Yes, my answer remains the same. Hand us Chika."
"I see... That's a shame. Very well then." She gestured with her head to the two ASIC members, which prompted them to let Chika go from their grasps. Cave quickly rushed to her friend and held her by putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're free to go. Let my right hand here escort you out."
"You're letting us go, just like that?" Nepgear's eyebrows frowned, as she was still skeptical about the whole thing. "That won't stop me from coming after you. I'm not letting you roam free with that power."
"You shouldn't concern yourself with trivial matters, as you'll have bigger things to worry about soon. I'll be leaving this place for good once I get what I need from here, so unfortunately, I doubt we will cross paths again. Farewell and don't say I didn't warn you." This was the last thing she said before the screen switched off. The brunette came forward and gestured for them to follow. "Come."
Both were hesitant at first, as they were still wary of her. They eventually complied, as they had no choice in the matter. ASIC made no move aside from moving to the side to let them through while giving a few mocks before that.
"Careful not to trip on your way out." One called out as the other laughed. "Yeah, the next time you come here, there will be holes all over your body."
The two ignored them and followed the brunette out of the place, with Cave still carrying Chika. She then suddenly stopped and turned back to face Nepgear, which put her on edge. "One more thing." She took out an awfully familiar-looking game console from her inventory and handed it to her. "The original asked me to give you this." It didn't take Nepgear long to realize this was the same swirl console Uzume inquired about, as it perfectly matched the description she gave.
"What about our weapons and possessions?" It was Cave who spoke this time. "You'll get them back once we get out of the city. I stashed your items in a chest so I'm taking you there." The walk was filled with silence as they made their way out of the city. Once they were out, the brunette pointed in a direction. "You'll find the chest between some rocks after a few miles. hard to miss." The two looked ahead and found the rocks. "Okay, can I ask what is your—" Nepgear turned around to find that the girl was no longer there. the two didn't notice her leaving, almost like she was a ninja.
Where did she go? She was here a second ago!
"Ugh... where am I?" Chika let out an audible groin as she was beginning to regain consciousness. "Is that you, Cave? Did you come to rescue me?"
"You know, something about this feels awfully familiar. Talk about déjà vu." Cave was reminiscing about the time they rescued her from ASIC at the hands of Underling all these years ago.
"Yeah?" Chika managed to form a weak smile. "Would you believe me if I said I was actually dying this time? Ugh, everything hurts."
"Don't die just yet, woman. We still need you."
"Of course." Chika clutched her teeth and let out a pained grunt. "And by the way, what's with the clothes your wearing anyway? You look awful in them. Don't tell me you got your sense of fashioned all messed up."
"We haven't seen each other for many years, and that's the first thing you ask?" Cave shook her head with an amused smile. "I see that you're still the same Chika as before. I'm glad that you haven't changed."
"Of course, ugh!" Chika finally took notice of Nepgear, who didn't say a single word and avoided eye contact when she looked at her. "I see that you brought her with you as well."
"Nepgear came to help me rescue you. Leave your differences for now, as it's not the time. We need to get your injuries treated quickly."
"Fair enough. I won't argue with that."
Nepgear went ahead and grabbed all of their belongings from the chest. Thankfully, there wasn't anything missing from them. The first thing was to check her N-Gear, which, as she expected, was bombarded with messages from both Histoire and IF. The clock indicated it was late midnight. She checked the latest message from Kei.
Where are you, Nepgear? Your lack of response is not very reassuring.
[NEP JR.] I'm fine. Me and Cave have Chika and she needs medical assistance ASAP.
[KEI] Consider it done. Good job. They'll be prepared to pick them up when they reach land.
[KEI] One more thing: Both Histoire and IF are sick-worried.
[KEI] Check with them when you can, especially IF, she might already be on her way to Leanbox as we speak.
[NEP JR.] Will do, thanks.
She pocketed her device after she was done replying. She then handed Cave her weapon and her other possessions. "I notified Kei. She'll prepare medical transport when you arrive."
"Thank you once again, Nepgear." Cave gave a nod of gratitude. "I'll take it from here. I'll have Chika be in Lastaion, where our current SDM is located."
"Don't mention it. I also have to go back to Planeptune quickly before Histoire gets sick-worried."
"Good fortune. We shall keep in touch." Both went their separate ways. Cave took the same boat she came in, while Nepgear, on the other hand, drank a remedy for her seal before she felt the effect fade away. She transformed soon after and flew back home. She prepared to get her ear chewed off by her friend.
Poor Histoire. I should probably avoid giving her mini-heart attacks.
(N)
Once she sat foot on the Basilicom reception, a wild IF appeared. Her friend stormed towards her, and Nepgear felt like she was in the presence of a hurricane approaching. "There you are!"
"Hey, Iffy."
"Don't 'hey, iffy' me!" Nepgear winced. Yikes. "I was a minute away from storming to Leanbox myself to save your asses. Where the hell have you two been?"
"Sorry. You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
"Me and Cave got Chika safe. I'll fill you in later but I need to see Histoire now. Where is she?" IF, sensing the urgency in her voice, mellowed out and let out a whistle. "Well, I'll be damned. Turns out that Chika was really alive then. Oh, and Histoire is on the top floor. You should definitely see her. She's been worried sick about you, like Mother Hen. But just so you know, you're not off the hook yet. You owe me that explanation, y'hear?"
She went past her friend and quickly turned to point with her finger at her friend while she was walking. "I will, I promise. I gotta go now." She rushed to the elevator. After a short time, she reached the top floor and made a quick stop in her room to change back to her usual sailor clothes. On her way out, she bumped into the tome, whose eyes got wide when she saw her. "Nepgear! Thank goodness, I was worried. Why are you in a rush? Did something happen?"
"A lot happened, but now I need to see Uzume right now. Where is she?"
"Oh, I believe she's staying in her guest room at the moment."
"Got it, thanks."
"Ah, wait, I—" Histoire raised her hand, but Nepgear was already long gone. The tome stared at the girl as she left. She lowered her hand and let out a sigh. Back at Nepgear, she was standing in front of the room. She didn't bother knocking and let herself in. She found herself stretching herself on the bed while she rested her hands behind her head and crossed one leg on top of the other. "Oh, you're back. I was starting to think you wouldn't make it. Of course, I didn't mean to imply that I wanted you dead or anything. Just saying." Uzume added once she saw those eyes glaring at her. "And I think you came pretty close to it if those read marks on your wrist are any indication."
"The jig is up, Uzume. I know everything so you can stop pretending." She took out the swirl console and showed it to the girl to let her know she meant business. Upon seeing it, the girl's expression changed as she straightened herself. "Don't try to play games with me or I swear I'll end you here and now." Silence hung in the air for a while as the two stared at one another as Nepgear awaited her to answer. Uzume then let out a sigh. "I wanted to drag this out longer, but oh well..." She muttered under her breath before she crossed her arms and looked at her. "Do forgive me, as I have a habit of enjoying tormenting people. Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag. Could you start by telling me what you know?"
"Well, I know that I should kill you." Nepgear crossed her arms and hardened her stare. "And I know about your whole plan to destroy Gamindustri, so by all means, give me one good reason why I shouldn't in this instance." Nepgear didn't tell her anything. She knows her game too well now. If she tells her everything, then she can use it to mislead her. So she'll make her spill everything first. No more beating around the bush.
"Very well, then. Yes, it's true that I planned to extract revenge on the inhabitants of Gamindustri." Uzume didn't miss a beat. She closed her eyes. Her voice was void of emotion, like a silent black-and-white movie. Nepgear felt the room temperature had dropped a bit, which made her shiver for a moment. She then reopened her eyes and stared at her. They were lifeless, like inanimate corpses. She finally showed her true colors and the act she put up like a master puppeteer was no more. She was heartless and felt no remorse whatsoever. It made Nepgear feel like she was in the presence of pure evil, but despite that, she was willing to let her talk, not because she was being compassionate. No, she needs to hear her side of the story. While the original did tell her a little about Uzume, she knew there was still more than meets the eye, and she couldn't take the original words at face value.
"Why? Why do you want to destroy Gamindustri?" This is it. They will finally know her true reason. She bets it will be the typical sad villain stories you hear every time. It was clear that whatever prompted her to go down the path of world destruction meant she must have had to go through a lot. it's not everyday that someone wakes up and decides be a villain and says, 'I want destroy the world, muhahaha.' Well, she might have exaggerated a little there. No villain sounds like that except in cartoons. And Every villain has to have a reason for—
"I dunno."
—what're they doing? Nepgear blinked twice and did a double take to make sure she heard that right. "I'm sorry. Come again?"
"I said, I don't know." Uzume simply shrugged. She didn't look bothered in the slightest and was rather nonchalant, which made Nepgear's eye twitch. "Are you pulling my leg? Because I thought I said no to—"
"I'm not lying or making a joke." Uzume interjected. Her expression did convey that she was dead serious about her claim and the fact that there weren't any signs indicates that she was lying, which didn't make sense in the slightest. How can someone forget something as simple as that!
Nepgear rubbed her temples and let out a harsh sigh. She knew she'd be in for a long night. "Okay, for the sake of argument, let's say that you didn't know the reason. What caused you to forget? Can you think of any reason as to why? We can rule out amnesia, so that takes out one guess." Uzume closed her eye and began rubbing her chin, trying to reach the deepest part of her memories to search for an answer but it proved to be difficult, in the sense of finding a needle in a haystack. There's a certain point where her memory suddenly stops and becomes blank, like someone trimmed out her memory lane.
"Well, the only thing I remember was that I hated the people of Gamindustri for something they had done to me in the past." Uzume made her feelings known this time. Her tone was as cold as a blizzard and it was filled with venom and pent-up hatred. "I was sealed in that damn prison for so long that all my mind was filled with only hate and revenge." She paused for a moment to allow her words sink in. "My guess is that I hated the people of Gamindustri for so long that I forgot why in the first place."
"I see... but do you know why you were sealed in the first place?"
"In order to answer that, I should probably introduce myself again." She got up from the bed, put a hand on her chest and flashed a grin. "I am Uzume Tennouboshi. I'm also known as the CPU of Planeptune, or, I should say, a former since I don't hold that title any longer."
"W-What? But if you're the CPU of Planeptune, then does that mean you're my ancestor? Wait but then how come you aren't mentioned in any of our historical records? I never heard of you once and neither did Histoire."
"Thankfully, I can answer. You see, I possess the power to rewrite history, among other things, using negative energy. I had removed my existence from all records and people's memories prior to my seal. I believe they must have been the ones to seal me away in that prison." She pointed at the console. "That thing you're holding was the seal. This console acts as a portal to my makeshift dimensions that I've been trying to escape for eons. It's now you're turn to tell me where you find it."
"When I was captured by ASIC, someone who goes by 'the original' told me that she was the one who attacked you and stole your powers. She was the same one who gave me the console as well. She was covering her face along with her right hand so it's going to be hard to identify them."
"I see. So that 'original' has my delusional powers... Good to know." Uzume leaned her head to the side as she waved her hand. "Did she say anything else?"
"Well, she did mention that she was keeping the red one since she'd be useful to her." Nepgear rubbed her chin before she turned to her. "What did she mean by the 'red one'?"
"Damn it." Uzume cursed her breath. "She is referring to my other self. She's a part of me that split off when I fell into a whirlpool of delusions. Hmph, she is also the reason I couldn't escape since she would stop my every attempt. I think she was created when my share energy left and was replaced with negative energy. Those shares turned into another me. I didn't know how or why but I was nonetheless fascinated. I tried convincing her to join me in my plan but she outright refused and called me fake and we've been going at it ever since."
"Wait..." Nepgear, who had listened closely and was trying to take it all in, had one thing that was bugging her. "If those shares of yours created her, would that technically make her your sister? Also, how are you able to use negative energy? CPUs use share energy to sustain themselves, while negative energy does the opposite but somehow your body is filled with it. How are you even alive?"
"First of all, never ever associate me with that inferior clone of me. We're nothing alike or have any relation to one another. Are we clear on that?" Uzume glared and poked her with her finger. She closed the distance between them so that there weren't any left. Their faces were only an inch away from touching. Nepgear nodded. She was taken back by her sudden outburst. she was so used to her usual calm and collected self that it caught her completely off guard to see her lose her cool like that.
"Good. Glad we got an understanding."
Uzume pulled away and was back to her calm demeanor, like nothing had happened, as if she had flipped a switch. "Normally, that would be the case but for me..." Uzume began pacing around the room. "You see, I was different. Born different. I had the ability to sustain myself using both share energy and negative energy. Negative energy had no effect on me, but I can still use it. It's either a blessing or a curse, or maybe both. I can't tell." Uzume let out a dry chuckle. "It's funny how the same people you swore to protect can turn against you so quickly. They dispose of you when they no longer have any use for you and replace you like a mere tool. I mean, they already did." She pointed at Nepgear. "And the same thing shall happen to you again, my dear Nepgear. Mark my words. I was once their CPU before, then they sealed me away. After that day, I swore revenge."
"You're wrong. I—"
"Am I? I mean, it's already happening." Uzume shook her head and began circling her. "You're just expandable. They can create another CPU based on their wishes. Heh, they certainly did that with me or maybe they are going to decide that CPUs are labile and decide to rule themselves." Nepgear averted her. Uzume walked closer until she could whisper in her ear like a devil on her shoulder. "You need to rule with an iron fist; show them that you're not going to take it from them. They should listen and obey you or..." She moved her finger across her neck, which made Nepgear's stomach flip as she began sweating uncontrollably. She quickly broke away from her attempted seduction.
"You're dranged."
She averted those thoughts and looked at her with a spark of fire ignited in her eyes. "I'll never turn against my people, no matter what. I can't believe you used to be a CPU, let alone my successor. I'm nothing like you. I'll keep protecting this world and its people until my last breath. And if you want to destroy it, you'll have to come through me first."
"Wow, very inspiring words you got there." Uzume rolled her eyes and pretended to clap. "You're stubbornness to protect those same people will be the end of you. And when that day comes, I'll have the last laugh." She shook her head and waved her hand. "Whatever, do whatever pleases you. It's not my place to tell you how you should rule. In any case, now that my delusional power is gone, it seems I'm no longer obsessed with getting revenge like I used to. I suspect that they were the reason my mind was only filled with hatred and revenge all the time."
"I mean, is it that much of a surprise?" Nepgear shrugged. "What do you expect when your own power is called delusional? Well. it's bad enough that someone has them so I have to stop whatever they are planning but how do we get to her?"
"Well, now I can think a bit clearly. I wish to discover the true reason behind my seal and my hatred for this world. And the first step is finding this so-called 'original.'" She began rubbing her chin. "Yes... The last piece of the puzzle lies with her. She is the key to my question."
"With whom? What are you talking about?" Nepgear was confused by the blue-haired mumbing.
"My other me." She slammed a fist into her hand. "She holds the missing memories that I lack since she's the other part of me that got separated. I need to conjoin with her to become one again. Only then would I have the answer I sought and now..." She pointed at the console. "We can use this thing to get there and find her. The so-called original must have her so we have to be quick if we want to catch them. It seems she was not all that smart when she gave you the console." Uzume flashed a sadistic grin and cracked her knuckles. "Oh, how I would love to enjoy watching her slowly die for what she has done to me."
"Okay..." Nepgear was going to pretend she didn't hear that, as she was already disturbed by the unhinged girl. "And how do we open the portal to that dimension using this thing?"
"Easy. You just plug it in and turn it on and it should teleport us into my makeshift dimensions. Hurry and plug it in already."
"That's it?" Nepgear tilted her head, which earned her a nod from the girl. She didn't argue any further and plugged the console into the nearest outlet. There weren't any TVs they could connect it to but she doubts they need them. After setting everything up, Nepgear squatted near the console. Her finger rested on the on switch, with Uzume right behind her. "Um, are you sure this is safe? Like, I won't be missing any limbs or anything."
"Yes, it's completely safe. Probably." That last part didn't go unheard by her but she mustered all the courage she had. She needs to find the original, stop her, and save Uzume's supposed other self. "Just get on with it already, would you?"
Nepgear let out a sigh. "Here goes nothing." She pressed the button and closed her eyes, preparing for what to come. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and saw that they were still in the room. Both Nepgear and she were equally confused.
"Um, so, is something supposed to happen or...?"
"What? Impossible. Are you certain you plugged it properly?"
"You saw it by yourself, didn't you?" Nepgear began humming as she inspected the console. "The device doesn't seem to have malfunctions, as far as I'm aware."
"Move aside. Let me see."
"Whoa, hey!"
Uzume pushed her to the side and began mashing the buttons rapidly. "What? No, no, no, no, no! Work, damn it. Why won't it work? This is not right. It should work. otherwise, how did I end up here? This doesn't make sense... DAMN IT ALL!" She slammed her fist on the ground, which left a huge crack on the floor due to the impact. Uzume was visibly shaking and stood there without a sound for a good while. Nepgear was behind her, as she couldn't see the girl's expression. She was both worried and weary from the sudden girl's tantrum. She approached at a tortoise pace towards her. "Hey... are you okay there?"
She heard a faint laugh coming from her, then it became audible before evolving to full laughter like a maniac. Nepgear was unsure what to do as the girl was in the middle of having a breakdown right in front of her. She couldn't do anything but watch as the girl's sanity deterred, or rather what left of it at the very least. She was a bit unsettled. Thankfully, the laugh began dying down bit by bit. Uzume stood up and had a terrifying smile printed on her face. "Never have I been humiliated to this extent. Hehe, I'm going to enjoy making her suffer. She'll pay for the many things she has done. She not only stole my powers, leaving me powerless, but she also kidnapped my other half, and worst of all, she did something to the console so it wouldn't work and sent it to me as a mockery. Oh, I have never been this furious and driven before. I won't stand and be made a mockery of. This original will know that it was a mistake to cross me, as I won't show mercy when I get my hand on her. Which method should I use to torture her? Burning? or maybe make her slowly bleeding or— "
Yup, she completely lost it.
Nepgear watched the mad woman, who was mumbling to herself while pacing around the room, as she began listing off the countless ways to inflict pain that she couldn't even describe for the sake of the people reading due to how disturbing some were. While she could watch the girl go on and on, she doubted she'd stop any time soon, so she grabbed the blue-haired girl's attention by letting out a cough in her hand, which made her stop in her tracks and realize she was rambling for a while before.
"While I'd hate to interrupt your monologue, now's not the time. The original said something about needing to do something here before leaving, so we still have time. Our best chance is her right hand, who was last working with ASIC remnants in Leanbox. Maybe she knows something, but it'll be hard to track her down, let alone take her down as she single-handedly defeated Cave."
"Of course." She reverted back to her usual calm demeanor. She wasn't at her best. "Well, I apologize that you had to witness me like this. It's a nasty habit of mine."
"Ah, huh, sure." Nepgear rolled her eyes.
"In any case, I propose... an alliance between us." She pointed between them. "You and I, together, what do you say?"
"And why would I do that?"
"Come on, Junior?" The blue-haired girl spread her arms out as she tilted her head. "Aren't families supposed to help one another, hm?"
"Never call me that ever again, understand." Nepgear felt herself almost spitting. She had the nerve to use that name; only her sister was allowed to call her that. She was this close to wiping that stupid smug on her face but Nepgear knew she was riling her up to get a reaction from her for her own amusement. Instead, she would not rise up to it and give her satisfaction. "And you and I aren't family, and never will be. Try again and choose your words very carefully this time."
"Well, let's put it this way, then. We both share a common enemy. There's a saying that goes: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Sure, that's great and all but forgive me for saying this, and I'm not trying to undermine you or anything. How are you going to manage without your powers?"
"I still know how to fight with or without my powers. I'm not that hopeless. Know your place, Junior." She scoffed. she was offended by the question. Of course, I know that I myself won't be able to defeat her. I— mean," She stopped herself before putting both hands on her chest."We, have to work together to do that. Make no mistake. While I do still lack my current powers, I still have other means that could prove useful right here." She pointed at her head. "I prefer using a more tactical approach rather than solely relying on sheer power alone, and not to mention I have ways with people, among other things."
"One last thing..." Nepgear crossed her arms and stared at her with caution. "How will I know you won't stab me in the back and steal the powers to destroy Gamindustri?"
"Now that's a good question, my dear Junior "Tell you what. I'll hold my plans to destroy this world. Once I reunite with my other me, only then will I decide if the people of this world deserve to be punished for their sins or not. And those missing memories will tell me everything. Are you satisfied now? Shall we seal it?" She held her hand out. Nepgear couldn't believe what she was about to do.
"Okay, fine." She shook her hand. She didn't like this at all, but she hates to admit that she needs all the help she can get with dealing with the threat of ASIC remnants and now the original. She had to grin, or rather, frown, and bear it. "But, just to let you know,. I won't hesitate to put you down if you step out of line. Are we clear on that?"
"How rude. weren't you taught to respect your elders?"
"Well, my sister also taught me to never trust strangers as well." She retorted.
Uzume let out a chuckle. "Duly noted. Well, in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy myself here as I have the front seat to watch you struggle to keep everything from falling apart as a CPU. I'm curious what your outcome will be. Will you eventually suffer the same fate as I did or manage to live another day? Who knows? Maybe I don't need to do anything and just let the people destroy this world by themselves. This would certainly be poetic." She let out an amused laugh.
"You're sick..." Nepgear sneered. "You need serious help, you know that?"
"Oh, trust me. I'm past the point of help. I had to endure solarity in that prison for so long while being consumed by my own delusional powers. Well, I'm looking forward to working with you, Junior." She pretended to salute before she made her way out of the room. "Let me know if you find anything. Also, you might consider taking a bath to wash the odor off." She called out from outside the room.
Nepgear was by herself in the room. She lets out a sigh. Goodness gracious. She went to the console and opened her Nep-Note to safely store it away. The device began glowing before it disappeared and a swirl mark appeared on one of the pages. She was glad that her invention had worked as intended. She nodded to herself and made her way out of the room. While on the doorway, she paused for a moment before she smelled herself and almost choked. Ugh, her smell was reeking.
Well, a nice hot bath does sound nice.
Author's Notes
Well, we're nearing the end of the prologue and should start at Act 1 of the story. The rest of the chapter will be shorter and out quickly, hopefully. I'm also considering making non-related story chapters in between. Those should act like an intermission or a usually short chapter that doesn't progress the story but still follows the story at the same time, if it makes any sense. It's best explained if I post the chapter and let you see it for yourself. I have one planned and it should release after the next chapter.
So, Uzume finally showed her true colors, it seems. And yes, she was indeed acting in the last chapter, if it wasn't obvious enough. She would still be a bit tamed but still retain most of her game personalities most of the time. I hope I nailed the character since I had to go to her Wiki and study it up while writing notes. Also, I checked some threats on Reddit to help me understand the character more but I'm bound for some inconsistency to slip here and there since my knowledge is solely based on the wiki since I haven't played the game yet, as I keep mentioning. So feel free to correct them if you find any.
With that said, I'm going to take a short break and rewrite the older chapters since my knowledge of the game and characters keeps evolving the more I play, and I want to nail the essence of writing those characters and improve my writing as well.
Well, that's all I have to say. God bless, and I'll see you next time.
Next Chapter: A Fork in a road
Nepgear goes to visit Chika, who has request for her.