Big chapter? Big chapter!
Ant: Torgue would indeed be happy. Much kaboom, such wow.
Draxinus: Mmm. Might want to get a doctor to look into that.
The Draconic Ancient of Chaos: Perhaps. Or perhaps fate will be kinder.
Yu Narukaze: You have no idea how much that praise means to me. It really does. As for the whole rising drama thing: I'm not meaning to do it on purpose, I just tend to swerve towards the dramatic when going off the script. I'm hoping to redirect it a little bit closer to comedy, but expect the occasional dramatic or emotional part.
verb (used with object), schlepped, schlepping.
1. to carry, lug
2. to move slowly, awkwardly, or tediously
The twin terrors of Lowee gaze down at me and Nepgear, amusement, anger, and confusion dancing across their faces.
I mean yeah, technically they'd have the biggest beef with me and Nepgear, what with her actually fighting the two, and me dropping a roof on them…
I should solve all of my problems by dropping roofs on them. It's worked well enough so far.
I say nothing as Ram continues to fume at us. "We've been looking all over for you jerks! And here you are, making a big mess really, really early!"
Rom, on the other hand, merely rubs her eyes. "Mina says it's important that we get a good night's sleep… And Mina is usually right..."
Now, I could get up, or try and defend myself, but that'd take actual effort, effort I just don't have right now.
"So what do you dummies have to say for yourselves?" accuses Ram, finger pointed towards us.
Actually, why are they… well, maybe just Ram, focused on me and Nepgear? The others are obviously awake, and carrying things of large value. Did the others all manage to scamper with the stuff before they were noticed? It'd be nice if they didn't confiscate our money: I sorta need that to assure myself we didn't just make things harder for ourselves for no reason.
Again, I say nothing, although Nepgear lets out a rather loud, choked snort. Actually, it's a bit closer to a sneeze than a snore… Here's to hoping she doesn't catch a cold, if that's even possible. Can Goddesses even get sick?
"HEY!" shouts Ram, coming closer. "Don't ignore us! We're talking to you!"
Actually, what'd happen if I just stayed still and pretended to be asleep? It works with my dog, sometimes.
But then my dog just sits on me.
Or just stares at me for a bit before she goes back to sleep.
Hrmmm…
The shuffling of shoes through snow grows closer, until they're practically right beside us. "Ram, I think they're asleep…" murmurs Rom, who seems to be bending down to poke Nepgear.
"Rom, that's just dumb. Everyone knows you shouldn't sleep outside, and definitely not in the snow!"
"No, look, she's snoring, and everything!"
"And what about this guy then?" asks Ram. "Don't tell me this dummy is sleeping too!"
Ow! She kicked me in the head! I mean, it's not a very hard kick, but still, who kicks a sleeping person?
I do everything I can to remain limp and motionless. Please don't check my racing pulse…
Rom yawns. "I'm still sleepy… We were up all night looking for them..."
Ram sighs in response. "This is really dumb… we should just bring them back to the Basilicom with us. I'm tired too…"
I wonder how they're going to transfer us back. Maybe they'll summon an ice sheet or something?
There's a pause, probably as the two change into their Sister forms, before I feel a near-crushing grasp around my ankles.
Wait, they're not seriously going to…
Why? There's cruel, and there's pointlessly cruel!
It takes all of my self control to prevent myself from adjusting my coat. Whoever's holding me by the ankles is dragging me across the snow, and half of the stuff's getting directly into my jacket!
Cold!
The only thing I can say, is I'm glad my arms were flopped above me, so at least the snow's not getting into my sleeves. Having fresh powder snow stuffed into the back of my jacket is bad enough already.
This is going to be a fun trip.
"Hhhnnn…" I fail to stifle a groan of pain, as I once again bounce over a particularly rocky section of the ground. The snow here seems thinner, and the ground's definitely harder: we're probably on concrete. I've attempted to stay as quiet as I can, but it's becoming increasingly difficult, what with the fact that I can actually hear the scraping of my jacket against the sidewalk now. Here's to hoping my jacket is just as indestructible as the ASIC soldier's uniform!
Suddenly, we stop. My legs are dropped, and it suddenly becomes clear why I'm not getting any colder: My jacket is entirely filled with snow. The weight of my legs being dropped over the impromptu wedge makes my cramped hips groan in protest. On the plus side, no more snow can make it into my jacket.
"Do you think this guy is waking up yet?" asks Rom, poking me in the chest. Or maybe it's Ram poking me, I'm not risking cracking my eyes open to see.
"No, I don't think so… C'mon Rom, we've only got a little bit more to go…"
There's a grunt of assent, before my legs are once more picked up, and the dragging once more continues.
Actually… isn't my hood partially obscuring my eyes? If I'm elevated like this, then maybe I might actually be able to get a glance...
Carefully, I open my eyes a sliver just to check that the coast is clear, before opening them fully.
Around me, and slowly moving, are several short buildings. Residential, if I were to guess.
We're in town already… hopefully we'll reach the Basilicom before I either get a concussion, or my back freezes solid.
Straining my ears, I can hear whispers in the distance. "Wait, aren't those the CPU Candidates?" murmurs a particularly loud one, belonging to a male. "What are they doing?"
I have no idea what time it is, but it makes sense for people to be up with the sun… I can't help but try to imagine the rumors that'll be knocking around by this time tomorrow: after all, it isn't every day that your country's two pint-sized Goddesses drag two grown people leg-first through the streets. Or at least, one fully grown; Nepgear still looks like she's in her middle teens.
Actually, maybe it'd make sense if they were in chariots. Then it'd probably be good as a publicity stunt. 'Drag the bodies of your foes through the town to show your dominance', and all.
Slowly, the many smaller buildings leave my narrow cone of vision, being replaced by a single, larger building decked out in all sorts of stained glass. Is this the Basilicom?
"Eugh… Rom… I can't wait to go back to bed…"
"Me too…"
Guards decked out in pearlescent armor come into view, armed with spears, axes and blades. A few glance down towards me and Nepgear in confusion, but regardless of what they think, they part around the two returning Goddesses.
We pass through a threshold, and enter a much warmer locale.
My jacket begins to rattle and click as we transition from snow-covered concrete to bare tiles. I grit my teeth as the vibrating echoes in my head… my headache definitely hasn't lessened during the trip. I'm practically chewing on my own tongue to keep quiet now. In here, I doubt I'd be able to make a noise without being found out.
Nepgear somehow hasn't made a sound or managed to wake the entire trip save for the occasional snore: it seems she's got a lot more of her sister in her than is shown in the games. She's slept like a log the entire time. It's almost admirable.
"Ah, Rom, Ram, you're back!" exclaims an elderly voice. "Did you find what caused the…"
The voice takes on the unmistakable tone of confusion. "Rom? Ram? What are you two doing with those people?"
My feet are once more dropped, where they fall to the ground with a thud. I grit my teeth and bear the pain. My eyes are once more squeezed shut.
"They're the ASIC meanies from yesterday, Mina!" chirps Ram. "We found them sleeping in the snow outside the World Labyrinth."
"It was really silly…" adds Rom. "Everyone knows you shouldn't sleep outside!"
"Sleeping in the…" begins Mina, before she clears her throat. "Do you mind if I take a look at them?"
There's a pause, followed by the clicking of shoes on the tiles. She's probably bending down.
"Heavens! This is Planeptune's CPU Candidate! Are you sure that she was the one who attacked you yesterday? And what is she doing out here… or out in the snow?" exclaims the Oracle.
"It was her, alright. Her and that guy over there." pouts Ram. "She tricked us into not paying attention while he dropped all that snow on us! All because they're a bunch of cheaters!"
"We would have won too…" murmurs Rom.
I can feel warm breath on my face as Mina probably bends down to inspect me. "I don't recognise this one… Then again, male adventurers are rather rare these days… I wonder what he was doing with the CPU Candidate?"
"So what should we do with them, Mina? Can we throw them in the dungeons?" begs Ram. "I always wanted to throw someone into the dungeons!"
"The dungeons are scary though, Ram…"
"I know, but these meanies deserve it!"
Mina takes a breath. "Girls, despite what these two did, I'm pretty sure they had a reason. Why don't you put them in a room, and we can question them when they wake up? That way, you can go back to your naps."
"Fiiine." "Okay, Mina." answer the twins, as my feet are once again lifted.
"Wait just one second…" adds Mina, as I feel something approach near my head.
"I can tell that you're not actually asleep." whispers Mina directly into my ear, an octave lower and with a unmistakable edge of threat. "The twins tried pulling that trick on me dozens of times, but it never worked for them, and it won't work for you. I'm going to let you have your rest, just because you seem to be legitimately exhausted, but you two better have a VERY good reason for doing what you did ready when you wake up, understand?"
I bite back an urge to shiver, or to let out a gasp of fear. Beware the quiet ones, indeed.
A short while more of being dragged later, tiles give way to a carpeted section of the floor, and moments later, we once again stop.
"We should probably take off this guy's coat, right?" asks Rom, poking me. "I wouldn't want to sleep in that, that's for sure…"
Someone unzips my coat and flips me out of it, before I am grasped by both my shoulders and my legs, and lifted onto something soft.
Something really, really soft…
Something incredibly soft and warm…
Warm…
I awaken feeling refreshed. My body's heavy, sure…
Wait, why can't I move my arms? It feels like I'm sleeping with a body pillow, but heavier.
My right arm isn't moving… it seems to be trapped under something. My left is resting on something soft...
Sluggishly, I open my eyes.
And then blink.
Nepgear?
Okay, what the hell happened last night?
Directly in front of me is Nepgear, still snoring away. And by in front of me, I mean sharing a bed with me, and I think… no, my arms are definitely wrapped around her. Was I hugging her while I was asleep?
My right arm seems to be supporting her neck, while my left seems to be resting on her breasts...
I can feel my face beginning to heat up. What the hell happened? I move my legs to make sure I'm clothed as I move my free hand somewhere less intimate.
Okay, that's good. At least I'm clothed… That'd be hard to explain...
But this leads to a completely different problem. Namely, I can't move, since Nepgear's sleeping on top of my arms. What if she wakes up?
Do I go back to pretending I'm asleep? I mean, it worked on the twins...
Or should I cough or something? Try to wake her up?
A small part of me is laughing maniacally. Of course the first time I sleep in the same bed as an attractive girl, and I don't remember a damn thing. And I'm actually HOPING that nothing happened last night. Aren't guys like me supposed to be horndogs?
Oh god she's moving! Please don't wake up…
Nepgear shifts slightly, as her eyes slowly flutter open. "Huh? How did I get…" she begins, before she blinks, and attempts to shuffle her left arm, the arm that is pinned between mine. Even as a human, she's strong enough to force my arm into a painful position.
"What?" murmurs the drowsy CPU Candidate, before she blinks to herself, and begins to turn her head towards me.
Oh crap!
Our eyes lock for a moment, as her half-awake mind attempts to process what exactly she's seeing. For four seconds, we just sit there, staring at one another. I don't think either of us breathe during that time.
She practically dyes her entire face scarlet, but makes no motion to move away, nor any attempt to say anything.
What do I say? 'Hi?' 'Good morning?' 'Did you have a good rest?'
I can't think of a single thing that doesn't sound either creepy or perverted!
"Whe… where are we, Derek?" asks Nepgear, attempting to fight back her blush. Mine is probably just as bad, but I've been told that I'm a little bit harder to read.
"We're in the Lowee Basilicom." I sputter. Explanations… I can fall back on explanations… Just pretend nothing embarrassing is happening...
"Rom and Ram took us here after you fell asleep outside the World Labyrinth." I continue.
Nepgear blinks, before her eyes widen in panic. "The others! Did they make it out? Where are they?"
"Yes. They definitely made it out. I saw them all before we got seperated." I answer, reassuring the frantic girl. "I just don't know where they are, because I was sort of messed up coming out of the Labyrinth as well. I don't think Rom or Ram captured them, though, otherwise I would have heard them talking about other captives."
Nepgear sighs in relief. "Phew... I was worried about the…"
Our eyes widen within moments of one another.
"THE KILLACHINES!" we both shout at the same time, as we both attempt to catapult out of the bed.
Unfortunately, my arms are still wrapped around her, and even in human form, she's definitely a lot stronger than I am. Her momentum's enough to pull me out of the bed as well, but not quite enough to clear the bed fully. We both fall to the ground in a heap, with me on top.
I attempt to unhook my arms from her midsection, but we both freeze as we hear a door opening slowly behind us.
A blonde with a maid's hat steps inside the room holding a broom, but pauses the instant she sees the two of us.
There's several seconds of silence as we make awkward eye contact, before she flees the room, softly closing the door behind her.
Nepgear's face is rather red as we finally separate, brushing ourselves off. I have the urge to whistle innocently, but let's face it, that never helps. Instead, I stumble around to make sure my stuff's all here.
My jacket's in a heap on the floor, rather than on a coat rack. I can't help but groan with disgust as I pick the thing up and shake out the water. It's going to be cold, but still better than nothing. My watch is still on my arm, and while my jacket's soaked, there's nothing in there that isn't either waterproof, or would get damaged by water.
At least, I'm hoping that my inventory bag is waterproof. It'd probably have to be, with the amount of underwater adventuring some people do.
With everything in place and my jacket once more donned, I open the door.
I'm almost out the room, before Nepgear pauses and speaks.
"Uh… Where are you going?"
Right. She was asleep, rather than pretending to be asleep like I was.
"The Oracle said she wanted to talk with us when we woke up." I answer. I'm still holding the door, so at least I can pretend I was being chivalrous.
"Oh, that makes sense. Won't she be mad, though, about the whole…" murmurs Nepgear, scratching the back of her neck.
"I've heard she's a bit more… human than Kei. We should be fine, as long as we tell her the truth." I reply. "Plus, if push comes to shove, I'll take the blame. I'm good at that. So just relax."
Nepgear takes a breath, and follows me outside into the corridors. We don't know where exactly we're going, but the hallways seem to widen towards a single point...
Gingerly, we step into a large room, where in the very back, the Oracle of Lowee awaits. She turns to face us, a slight frown plastered across her face.
"I assume the two of you had a decent rest?" questions the Oracle, nodding towards us as we enter.
We both affirm with nods of our own.
"Good." states Mina, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Now, it would be best if you explain."
"The twins scare me, and need be grounded for attacking random civilians whenever they want to." I state, keeping my expression as neutral as I can. Probably not the best opener I could have chosen, but my mind's coming up blank.
I point to Nepgear. "Okay, she can explain the rest."
Nepgear nods her head, before she blinks back at me in confusion. "Huh? That's all your saying? Derek… I don't think now's the time to joke."
I shrug. Mina glances back at me in annoyance. "Oh, and we raided the ASIC outpost that was in the World Labyrinth too. Stole the Mascot before they could break it. Had to blow up the entrance to stop the giant killer robot from escaping. You know, the standard stuff."
Mina goes from looking at us in anger, to a look of shock. "Wait… giant killer robot… and you were found outside the World Labyrinth…"
"I'm no good with details." I shake my head. "I can give the overview, but Nepgear really would be the one to fill you in on the rest."
Mina takes a breath. "You said that you had to stop a giant robot…"
"The Killachines are active." I state. There's no point pussyfooting around this. This is actually important stuff.
Mina's face pales, as what I've said finally sinks in. "But… how? The Mas… Wait… Stole…?"
"ASIC has a camp inside the World Labyrinth." I continue. "They successfully broke through the barrier protecting the Mascot, and had begun to do… something… to it. I thought they were copying it, but I could be wrong. It was mostly luck that we were able to retrieve it from under their noses."
Mina takes in a breath. "Rom! Ram!" she calls, to which a bleary set of "Coming!" and "Okay!" echoes back a moment later.
"If you're telling the truth… Then this is truly a dire situation." nods the Oracle. "Do you have the Mascot with you?"
I shake my head. "The rest of our team has it… Nepgear, do you have a way of contacting them?"
Nepgear blinks, before she retrieves a purple doohickey from a previously-unseen pocket. Her N-Gear, I think. "Yeah. I'll tell them to come to the Basilicom?"
Mina takes a seat in a nearby chair. "That'd be ideal. I'll direct the guards to allow them in. Tell them to let the guards know that Mina Nishizawa is looking for them."
"Is there anything else you can tell me about the situation?" asks Mina, as Nepgear wanders off to dial her friend in peace. The Oracle's hat's off now, and she's fiddling with the tassels…
"I know that Nepgear in HDD wasn't able to even put a dent in the Killachine, and there's about eighty more of them down there."
Mina takes in a breath, just as Rom and Ram stumble into view, rubbing their eyes. Ram's eyes widen comically in delight upon seeing me, although her smile is far from benevolent.
"Hey! Can we throw them into the dungeons yet? Can we? Can we? Pleaaase?" squawks Ram, the moment she sees me. Wow, is that what she was dreaming about?
Mina shakes her head. "Rom, Ram, do you two remember what your older sister was talking about before she left? About the World Labyrinth?"
There's silence from the two girls, as the words sink in. I'm hoping that they're trying to remember, rather than try and think up more elaborate punishments for me.
Rom is the one to respond, after several seconds of looking hesitant. "Yeah… The bad robots, right?"
Ram turns to her sister confused. "Wait, bad robots? When was this?"
"Three years ago, remember?" answers Rom, straightening her cap as she does so. "Blanc was saying something about the World Labyrinth… but then she said something I'm not supposed to say..."
I can hear Mina murmur under her breath about foul language in front of children. I can't help but crack a smile. Blanc will be Blanc, I suppose.
There's a bit of awkward silence, which is quite handily broken by Nepgear, although she's definitely looking a bit sheepish. "Okay! The others should be over here in a few minutes. They couldn't get back into the Embassy without me though, so they just rented a room in a hotel. Oops."
Well, hopefully they at least had a rest somewhere nice.
I leave Nepgear to fill Mina in on the details, and spin around to wander off in search of food. Of course, I'm stopped by Ram, who ois looking rather upset that she can't move me to confinement.
"Hey! Where do you think YOU'RE going?" jostles the pink-garbed girl. "Just because… Well… Even if Mina says you had a reason, I still don't like you."
I pause, pretending to look interested, before I nod back. "Yeah, I can get that. Which way to the kitchen? I'm hungry."
Ram looks at me like I'm an idiot. Maybe I am, but I'm a hungry idiot.
"Please?" I ask, tilting my head to the side. I don't actually know how to do puppy-dog eyes, but I'm doing my best.
Ram gives me an annoyed look, but eventually relents and points in a direction.
I leave without another word.
Wheat, dairy, dairy, wheat, eggs.
God, I forgot how painful it is to find food I can eat without actually controlling what's in the kitchen.
Ooh, this looks promising… Oh wait, wheat tenth ingredient. I put it aside in disgust.
So far, I've only found a few packages of breakfast sausages, a thing of instant rice, and ketchup. And not even good instant rice: this is the dollar store crap.
There's like fifty different kinds of frosted or chocolatey cereals up here, and every single one of them has a different cartoon mascot, with a different upbeat slogan on it. Even better, I can't recognise a single one of them: it seems cereals don't map 1:1 across universes. I can't even begin to imagine the sheer amount of sugar those two consume on a daily basis.
Sighing, I tear open a package of breakfast sausages, throw the contents onto a plate, and stare blankly at the instant rice. Ten minutes… Yeah no. I'm not wasting ten minutes waiting just to eat terrible 'instant' plain rice. I put it back in the cupboard. It seems I'm having meat for breakfast.
They're not frozen, so two minutes into the microwave they go.
As I stare at the glass plate inside the microwave spin around, the sound of an opening door behind me draws my attention.
"Oh, there you are." states Nepgear. "What'cha cooking?"
"Food." I grunt, not turning around. "I found some breakfast sausages that I could eat. Did you know that there are over ten different kinds of sugar cereals over here? TEN!"
Nepgear chuckles quietly, before she pokes me in the back. "C'mon. The others are here, and Mina's busy explaining the situation to them… Or at least, I think she is, but since you sorta already told us most of it already..."
I retrieve the plate from the microwave, and attempt to grab a fork from a nearby cupboard. I find one in the third cupboard I try. "Lemme guess, Mina wants to know how I know about the Killachines?"
Nepgear shakes her head. "Not yet, at least. She mostly just wants to put the Mascot back in place before too many of them get fixed. Or at least that's what she was telling the others before I went to get you."
Brilliant. I might be able to avoid that particular question.
"Lead the way!" I chirp, sticking a fork into a sausage just as we leave.
Salty, sorta tangy, and tastes like it should be fried instead of microwaved.
Mmm. This is the stuff.
The others are deep in a conversation with Mina when we arrive back at the main room.
On a table in between them are two discs that were in the machine. The clone disc looks pristine, although the Mascot definitely has seen better days.
"Hey, we're back!" exclaims Nepgear, as we draw closer.
"Oh good. You're here." smiles Mina, although she glances towards the half-depleted plate in my hand with a flat look. She doesn't say anything though, so I think I'm in the clear.
"So you're saying that we need Datanium and Rare Metal to repair the Mascot?" states IF, still in a conversation with Mina, "Are you sure that there aren't other alternatives? Like, materials names that are less dumb?"
Mina turns back to the agent. "If there were other options, I would tell you. To the best of my knowledge, repairing the Mascot physically would be the fastest way to fully recharge it. The only other feasible option would be to expose it to the Sharicite for an extended period of time. I do not believe we would be able to take that long."
IF shakes her head. "Marvy, do you know where we can find either of those two things?"
Marvy nods. "I've heard that the Datanium is native to…" She pauses for a moment. "Yeah, that'd be pretty hard to get. Datanium is native to the World Labyrinth."
"And the Rare Metal?" continues the agent, almost pleadingly.
"No idea, sorry." replies Marvy.
Nepgear cuts in now. "Wait, wasn't the Expo about rare materials? Maybe we'd find some of the metal over there!"
"That's a great idea, Gear!" exclaims IF, before her face sours. "Although I don't know if we'd be able to find anything, what with the massive pile of snow in the center of it now…"
"We got rid of some of it…" murmurs Rom, from another table to the right. She's eating a bowl of some chocolatey cereal beside her sister… I never saw either of the two fill her bowl. That means there must be even more of the stuff laying around somewhere… Their poor teeth...
"So that's still a no on the Rare Metal, and a no on the Datanium." states IF through gritted teeth. "Great."
I think this is the time to step in, right?
"So uhh… Guys?" I begin, to which everyone turns towards me. "Rare Metal and Datanium…"
I stutter in place for a second, unable to really come up with an excuse. "Screw it." I state, reaching into my inventory and placing the two pilfered plot items onto the table. "Bam."
The stares range from shock, to confusion, to just flat out irritation. IF, in particular, is giving me an exasperated look, far more than my escapades usually result in.
"And you didn't tell the group about these because…" groans IF as she stares at the two materials in irritation.
"I like pretty rocks." I answer.
That gets a sigh, but no further questioning.
"Okay. We've got the materials now, somehow." continues IF, her finger now pointed towards the cloned disc. "But what do we do with this ASIC disc?"
RED scratches her head, before she jolts to her feet. "Wait…~ if you said we need a disc thingy to fix the whole barrier thingy, then why not just use the bad one, instead?~ Then we could take the good one with us!~"
"That's not going to-..." begins IF, before she pauses.
"That might actually work." picks up Mina. "We'd need to ensure that the mimic disc is able to maintain the barrier, of course, but I don't see a reason why it wouldn't be able to keep the Killachines secured."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" asks IF, face in her hands. "I swear-…"
"Oooh!~ Oooh!~ I know this one!~" exclaims RED, practically vibrating in place. "Let's ask the other disc to teach it how!~"
"But that doesn't even-…"
"That's brilliant!" answers Mina, clapping her hands. "Once we repair the Mascot, we should begin that immediately."
IF lets out a noise halfway between a snarl and a moan, and just flops her face down into her lap. "I'm done… Okay guys, do whatever… Just let me lay down here for a while…"
Compa quickly reassures her friend with a comforting pat on the back. "It's okay Iffy… Today might just not be your day…"
Nepgear is dragged off with Mina to go repair the Mascot. That just leaves me, RED, and Marvy. RED's reading a manga which really shouldn't be allowed anywhere near Rom or Ram, but Marvy seems to be free to talk.
I turn towards Marvy, and grab her attention. "Hey Marvy, what exactly happened while we were gone?"
"Well…" begins the ninja, gesturing me to take a seat beside her, "IF spent all night trying to figure out how to get the discs out of the case. At around two in the morning, Compa found her passed out on the rug, before accidentally knocking the case over, which hit a switch that released the contents."
"Ouch." I wince. "Let me guess, it gets worse?"
"It gets worse." Marvy nods. "So after all of this, IF went to have a shower, but we chose a really fancy hotel. You ever been to one of the really high-class ones? It had a fancy shower head and everything. So, IF, who was still half-asleep and used to a specific kind of faucet, managed to turn the hot water up all the way and scald herself. Then she tried to turn it down, and it went down all the way back to ice cold. We could hear her screams all the way from our room."
Taking my pained silence as acceptance the ninja continues her story. "Long story short, she was super sore for about twenty minutes. Oh, and she forgot her towel in the other room too."
I glance over to the agent, who is still sitting with her head in her arms. "Will she be alright?"
"She'll be fine. She gets like this sometimes…" shrugs Marvy. "Oh, and here's your share of the chips we recovered. Hold out your wallet, would you?"
She slowly walks me through how to sync up our wallets, and soon enough an alert ping draws my attention down to my own device. From there, it's merely another touch to approve a credit transfer.
My profits were nearly eight thousand, five hundred credits. A windfall, if I've ever seen one: I might have to do some shopping when I'm down in Leanbox!
Who knows, maybe the phones are cheaper down there than in Lastation.
Of course, after I get paid, there's the scheduled awkward silence, as the few of us not actually doing anything just sit around, waiting for Nepgear to be done fixing the Mascot. RED's still reading, Marvy's pulled out a scroll or something of her own to glance at, and me?
Well… I guess… ummm…
This room is really, really quiet. Like, it's so quiet, I can only hear the sound of flipping pages from RED. The Lowee sisters finished their cereal, and have already wandered back to the kitchen with their dishes. I should probably go do that with my plate.
Yeah, I'll go do that.
Nepgear's going to be a while, anyway.