Snyderverse Neptunia Snippets

by Derald Snyder

Snippet 21- And Now For Somewhere Completely Different, Part 4

*Back in Hyperdimension...*

"...I see," MAGES. said after Nepgear and Histoire had explained the situation to her. "Well, I'm glad that the phone actually works... but I did tell you to be careful around certain electronic devices, didn't I, Nepgear?"

"I'm sorry..." Nepgear bowed her head, an aura of despair surrounding her. "I was so excited, I didn't even hear you..."

"Enough, Nepgear. What's done is done," Histoire sighed. "What we need to do now is figure out a way home for Neptune. Do you have any ideas, MAGES.?"

"Hmm..." the Mad Magician closed her eyes in thought. "Well, before I can construct any theories, I need data. You said it was a microwave oven that Neptune interacted with?"

"That's right," Nepgear nodded.

"Well, first, I need to see the oven for myself, it's size, what hertz it operates at," MAGES. elaborated. "And then we will have to wait for Neptune to call back so I can ask her about the exact circumstances..."

"Well, I haven't touched anything in the kitchen since Neptune vanished, if that helps," Nepgear pointed out.

"Excellent. Well then, to the Basilicom's kitchen!" MAGES. exclaimed, the three heading off.

*Meanwhile, in Casimir...*

"Nep, nep, nep, nep, nep..." Neptune sang happily as she skipped down the sidewalk without a care in the world, heading past what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse.

"Hey kid, shove off!" a young thug called out from nearby the entrance.

"Aw, don't be such a sourpuss! The sun's shining, the air's clean, and I totally don't have to worry about paper wo- Eep!" Her eyes shrunk to circles as a revolver was pointed in her face!

"Last warning, kid! Don't make me use this!" the thug yelled.

"Uhh... Nep awaaaaaayyy!" Neptune promptly ran off with her hands over her head.

"What's going on out there?" a gruff voice called from inside.

"Aw, just some stupid kid with annoying singing," the thug called back. "Nothin' to worry 'bout."

"Well, keep your eyes peeled. Cobblemeyer should show up any minute now," the gruff voice advised. Sure enough a few minutes later, a winged figure was seen flying over the skyline, soon revealed to be Laura Cobblemeyer herself, now dressed in old mage's robes.

"Y-you got the money?" the thug asked, clearly intimidated at the sight of black-scaled wings with red undersides.

"Money, my foot," Laura shot back, before screaming, "JACKSON! I know it's you in there! Come out and face me!"

"I think not!" the gruff voice yelled back. "You come in here, or your precious Rosette eats lead!" There was a muffled scream that could have only come from the hostage in question... Gritting her teeth, Laura allowed the thug to escort her inside... Once her eyes adjusted, she saw a few more thugs surrounding Rosette, who was gagged and strapped to a support beam. Standing with the thugs was a slightly rotund man with balding brown-grey hair and a handlebar mustache, dressed in a light brown business suit with no tie, his grey eyes, looking upon the half-dragon with contempt. "Alright, strip her. I'm not taking any chances."

"What about the money?" one thug demanded.

"You'll get your money! Now do as I say!" ordered the rotund man, who could only be Austin Jackson.

The thugs obeyed, pulling the robes off Laura, who wore only a tight t-shirt and exercise shorts underneath. "She's clean," one thug reported.

"Nothin' in here, either," said the thug who'd taken Laura's robes, letting them drop to the ground.

"You've got some nerve, you bastard," Laura hissed. "Did you really think I wouldn't figure out your game here? I come in with the money, but Rosette gets shot dead anyway, then you come out and reveal yourself and shoot me dead, because my magic doesn't work due to all the anti-magic wards you set up."

"So you had me pegged from the start? Can't say I'm surprised, given how you humiliated me last year and forced me to go underground," Jackson snorted. "But there was one little wrinkle you missed..." He pointed upward, Laura turning to see-

"A battering ram?!" she gasped.

"Exactly, my dear, weighing several tonnes," Jackson affirmed. "Even if you could turn into a full dragon, which I doubt, you wouldn't be able to stop that thing! Now, I'll let you and Rosette say your last goodbyes..." The thug from outside pressed his gun to Laura's head, forcing her to kneel...

"...You're right about this, I can't stop that ram," Laura allowed. "But she can!"

"She who?" Jackson raised an eyebrow... then suddenly a gigantic virtual blade smashed through the rail the battering ram was attached to, causing it to fall straight to the ground with a loud thud! "What the hell was that?!"

"32-bit Mega Blade!" Neptune declared as she came out of hiding. "Ta-daaa! Your revenge plot's just been nepped!"

"The kid from before!" The first thug gasped, then crying out in pain as his arm was hit with a crossbow bolt, causing him to drop his gun! The others looked to see Damien and Corey standing side by side.

"Get them!" Jackson ordered, only for his attention to be drawn back to Laura as she suddenly started growing, her hands turning to claws, her skin covered in black scales as a snout emerged from her face... In no time, a fifteen-foot tall black dragon towered over the disgraced former senator, letting loose with a roar! "AHHHHHH! Shoot her shoot her!" he screamed in terror, firing his own gun, which only caused the winged reptile to flinch slightly!

"Now!" Damien yelled, he and Corey charging in, Neptune not far behind! He struck first, firing his crossbow at the nearest thug, causing him to drop his gun, Corey thrusting the blunt end of his light spear into the thug's midsection, then bashing him over the back, sending him to the ground! Damien ran past them, pulling out his sword and beheading another thug in one motion!

Meanwhile the other thug fired on Neptune, who managed to deflect the shots with her katana, leaping up and cutting the lowlife down in a single stroke! "I'm used to killing monsters, but after what you just pulled...!"

As for Jackson, he was now out of his mind with terror, ineffectually pulling the trigger on his empty gun as the dragon Laura picked him up easily with one claw! "Don't eat me! Don't eat me! HAAAALLLLP!" But instead of feasting, the dragon simply hurled him into the pillar that Rosette was tied to, his rotund body bouncing off and crashing to the concrete floor below, limp and unmoving. That done, the dragon's form shrank as she reverted to her human appearance, though her wings remained out.

"Another oversight on your part, Jackson," Laura said disdainfully. "My dragon transformation is not magic." Ignoring the fallen senator, she strode over to her bound granddaughter, undoing the gag while Neptune cut her bonds.

"Nanna!" Rosette gasped once she could speak, grabbing Laura in a tight, grateful embrace. "Oh Nanna, I was so scared...!"

"Shhh..." Laura gently rubbed her back. "There, there, it's all over. You're safe now." Rosette just buried her head into Laura's shoulder, sobbing her eyes out...

"Well, all's well that neps well!" Neptune proclaimed with a smile.

"Ugh..." Corey shook his head in disgust at the thug who'd been beheaded. "With all due respect, Uncle Damien, I'd rather not kill unless I have to..."

"Your uncles Percival and Gareth would likely agree with you," Damien allowed. "But I show no mercy to those who would threaten a member of our family."

"How 'bout we get Rosette outta here, then?" Neptune suggested. "So she doesn't have to look at this mess..."

"Good idea," Laura nodded, carefully escorting the still-sobbing Rosette out of the warehouse, the others following behind.

"Still... man, I'd never have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!" Corey shook his head. "Grandma going full-on dragon...!"

"To be fair, I screamed in fear the first time I saw Mother transform," Damien reminisced. "Of course, I was only ten back then, Roland and I clinging to each other..." He smirked in spite of himself.

"Was Grandpa ever scared?"

"Father? Not scared, per se, but he did seem slightly intimidated when Mother was in a bad mood..."

"Note to self: Never piss off Lady Laura if you don't wanna be extra crispy and eaten with ketchup," Neptune muttered.

"I can count the times Mother actually chomped on another human on one hand," Damien shook his head. "Of course, someone like Jackson probably would have given her indigestion anyway..."

"Not funny, Uncle Damien!" Rosette yelled back.

"I was being serious..."

*To be continued...*

A/N: The next snippet should conclude this story arc.