A little bit more difficult to write this one than I had expected. But it's still on time, and that's good.

Ant, Draxinus, BrokenLifeCycle, RedBurningDragon: Yes. Pizza and Mcdonalds. Light and Darkness. All that remains is weird salad, and you have the Void too.

Guest: 1 and 2. I don't think Kei is even capable of understanding love.

Ligoya: I'm just going to say this now: the fourth wall here is multi-layered. Derek is aware that he is in a video game, but no further. Neptune, our resident master of the fourth wall, can go above and beyond such new blood.

Nht Desu: And a new chapter for you! :D

As I blink away the sleep from my eyes, I can't help but hear the faint sound of voices nearby. Am I missing something important? I should probably check.

I turn my head, and yeah, Compa and IF are over whispering in the corner. Still, it seems like they're not trying to wake up anyone else, so it's probably personal. I'll just…

Well, we're in Leanbox now. What exactly needs to be done? From what I remember, Leanbox one, or however I should refer to it, is a relatively calm arc…

We just need to ruin Linda's day, extract Chika from the dungeon, and that's pretty much it. I don't remember if the Mascot was with Chika, or if they pick it up in the Basilicom, but either way I don't think there was more than a single mandatory dungeon out here.

I mean besides the bit where Linda tries and successfully manages to get Nepgear to nearly commit suicide-by-monster, but we can avoid that this time. We'll miss out on meeting Cave, but we might bump into her later.

Uni was the one to see through Linda's disguise in game though, so we're actually golden in that regard. I'm hoping she'll stick around with us…

Well, with luck we might even be able to wrap up saving Chika by around three in the afternoon. It'd be nice to have an entire day or two to relax...

I wonder if the 5pb. concert has happened yet. If it hasn't, it'd be interesting to listen to it live. It's essentially JPOP, right? Even if I can't understand the lyrics, it should still be a treat.

So yeah. Save Chika, check out the concert, maybe eat lunch somewhere? Seems good, although I'm still missing a few crucial steps in between those things.

Also the step involving profit. Can't forget that.

With my shaky schedule in place, I slowly lift myself from my bed, and gaze about the room.

RED, Nepgear, and Uni are all still asleep, Marvy seems to be out of the room, and IF seems to be done talking to Compa. I don't know what time it is, but if the dim light filtering in through the blinds is any indication, it can't be much later than sunrise.

"Hey, is the shower free?" I ask as quietly as I can, as I walk towards the two. Compa looks… sad about something, but I don't think it's my place to ask about what. Either way, I don't think I'm interrupting anything now.

"Huh?" replies IF with an irritated look on her face, before she blinks it away, "How…" she begins to state, but she cuts herself off with a clearing of her throat. "Oh. Yeah, Marvy's just gone out for her morning run, so you should be able to squeeze in a shower before she comes back."

With a nod, I head off in search of a way to clean myself.

Warm weather's great and all, but man, I need a shower.

I enter the room to the sound of muffled laughter.

IF and Marvy are in the corner, whispering to each other, making frantic gestures and laughing, RED is leaning against a wall still half-asleep, and Compa and Nepgear are also doing their own thing, alternatively scribbling on a sheet of paper as they both sit cross-legged on the floor.

Actually, I bumped into Marvy on her way in earlier, but I never really stopped to chat. I just pointed her towards the showers. Judging by the amount of sweat that was dripping from her though, I think that was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Uni, on the other hand, is just watching all of this happen. She's sitting at the back of the room atop her bed, lost expression across her face.

I walk up to our newest member. "Hey Uni, what's up?"

Uni sighs, and then turns towards me.

"It's nothing." she states, rolling her shoulders. "You're up early… I'd have thought someone like you would be up at noon at the earliest."

"It's way too warm over here." I respond as I take a seat beside her. "But yeah, I'm not buying that. What's really the matter?"

"Am I really that obvious?" she frowns, gazing towards one of the windows.

"Nah, well… whenever I say 'It's nothing', I'm either about to fly off of the handle or curl up into a ball and cry. Well… maybe not quite that, but you get the idea." I retort, although I do my best to keep my tone light. "I mean, I don't think you're going to do either of those two things, but it never hurts to check, right?"

Of course, that's when 'It's nothing' doesn't mean 'Go away'...

Uni lets loose another sigh as she points towards the groups of people before her. "It's just… well, ever felt like a stranger in a crowd?"

I roll my eyes back at her. "I can think of a few dozen times… when I haven't felt like that, I mean."

That gets a small smile back.

"C'mon. The shower's free, and I'm thinking we'll be heading out soonish. It'd be a good idea to have yours before we're out of hot water." I respond as I lightly tap her on the back.

Uni blinks back at me. "We're in the Embassy. I don't think we're at any risk of running out of hot water."

"Get going!" I smirk back, as I give her a light push on the shoulder. "You know what I mean!"

I wait for Uni to fully exit the room, before I wander over towards Nepgear and Compa.

IF and Marvy are still giggling away, which is quite an accomplishment, considering it's been a good minute since I've entered the room.

Still, it's probably Guild business, and not meant for my ears. Either that or girl talk, which is something not meant for the male mind to ever understand.

"Hey Nepgear." I greet, as I sit down beside her. "What's on the paper?"

Nepgear smiles at me as I take my seat. "Well, Compa and I were trying to come up with a list of places to check out while we're in Leanbox!"

"Yeah!" chirps Compa. "After all, it's Ge-Ge's first time off of the mainland, so we should have some fun while we're out here, right?"

I never really thought of it like that. Still, it's a bit early to be making plans. We're really hoping that everything goes off without a hitch.

I nod towards them. "Sounds good, but we still have a job to do over here, right?"

The smile doesn't fade from Nepgear's face as she hands me to the list. It's still relatively sparse, with a few words on it that don't seem to directly map to anything I've ever heard of. If I were to take a guess… they'd be big-name shops. I can't help the smile that crosses my face when I see the words 'Machinist Shop' circled three times halfway down the list.

Nepgear will be Nepgear, I guess.

Still, the two at the very top are 'Visit the Oracle' and 'Get Groceries', so I don't see any problem with it, assuming of course I don't need to carry all of their bags for them.

"Do you have any suggestions, Derek?" asks the purple Candidate, as I hand her back her list.

I shake my head back. "Sorry Nepgear, but it's my first time in Leanbox as well. I don't really know much about this place."

"Why don't we go through a phonebook then?" replies Compa, as she retrieves a massive book from who-knows where. It's an old-fashioned Yellow-Pages-esque tome.

I gaze towards the door, and then back to the girls. You know what? I have nothing better to do.

And that's pretty much the next ten minutes: just me, Nepgear and Compa, sitting back and sifting through the book, jotting down the locations of anything that seems cool.

It's mindless, fulfilling, and several times, we lose the topic altogether to just make stupid jokes, or to make fun of particularly strange names.

And even as the time slips by, nothing has ever been this clear.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

A small bit later, and we're out of the Embassy, ready to make our way to the first item on our now-six-pages-long itinerary.

I can just barely see the Basilicom coming up. I'm at the back of the group, with Nepgear, Compa, and IF taking the lead.`

I wonder what kind of disguise Linda will be wearing? After all, Chika's a bit rounder than Linda, in pretty much every way imaginable. I can't imagine how much she'd need to pad the outfit, but with as much skin as Chika shows… And the game just re-used Chika's sprite, rather than giving Linda her own disguised sprite…

I think I'll be able to see it, but would I be able to if I wasn't already aware of it?

"Hey, what's up?" asks Uni, from my left. She's been staying near the rear of the group the entire trip, which makes sense, being a ranged combatant and all.

I could lie, but it just feels wrong to do so. I don't want to lie if I don't have to, and I'm already hiding far too much.

"I have a bad feeling about this." I state, eyes focused on the doors rapidly approaching us.

There don't seem to be any guards on duty, which is weird for a government building this important to be entirely…

"Uhh...?~" murmurs RED, and the rest of the group stops. "There's supposed to be guard guys over here, right?~"

There's silence from all of us, before Nepgear jolts forward in panic. "The Oracle!" she shouts, as she throws open the door. "She could be in danger!"

That definitely gets us all moving.

The inside of the Basilicom is definitely fancy, with an intricate carpet overtop of hardwood flooring.

Of course, I really don't have much time to admire it, what with the rate our feet are devouring the floor below us.

The inside of the Basilicom is just as empty as the outside - we haven't bumped into a single living person, not even a housekeeper.

It's actually quite disconcerting. We've all long since drawn our weapons, since none of us know what could have happened.

Room by room, we check the Basilicom, but find nothing but dust or papers piled haphazardly. There's even a few dishes left about. Not a single person.

Of course, sooner or later we draw the crappy straw, and find Vert's fabled Yaoi collection. It's just as horrifying as in the games, if not even moreso. It's all over the walls, floor… shelves… and I never checked the ceiling but I'm pretty sure I'd find some up there too.

Unfortunately, while Nepgear, Uni, and Compa are dissuaded from needing to experience the agony of undressed butlers first-hand, IF's curiosity gets the better of her, and soon enough, she's back out beside me trying her best to bleach the images from her eyes.

Needless to say, that takes a good couple minutes.

Finally, we enter a room that doesn't seem to be deserted.

Leaning back in a comfortable chair, giving us a confused look, is Chika.

At least, I'm pretty sure it's Chika.

Is it?

"Goodness, are you all right?" asks Nepgear, stepping forwards into the room.

If it's a disguise, then it's potentially one of the best that I've ever seen.

"Oh, I'm all right." responds the green-haired woman in an even tone. "Is something the matter?"

"We couldn't find anyone else in the Basilicom." replies Marvy. "We were worried that something had happened."

"Oh, that?" the woman in the chair waves her hand dismissively. "It's their day off. Ever since Lady Green Heart was incapacitated, they've demanded more vacation time."

Red flag. Chika never refers to Vert as Lady Green Heart.

Some of the girls let out sighs of relief. Uni and I exchange glances. I don't know if she's recognising the same prompts I am, but the raised eyebrows say it all. We both know that something fishy's going on.

"Oh!" jostles Nepgear. "We're just looking for the Mascot. Do you know where we might find it?"

The Oracle seems hesitant for a moment, before nodding. "I would, but well, finding it is always such a hassle. Perhaps you could help out by hunting a few monsters while we track it down for you?"

As Nepgear fumbles with her map, I take a closer look at the Oracle. I don't see any flaws in her uniform, nor hairstyle. I can't find a single visible problem with her outfit, although I don't know enough about Chika to identify her by either smell or feeling.

Although either of those would be pretty creepy.

Whoever designed her costume knew what they were doing, that's for sure. Either that, or it's holographic.

But I can't call her out, not without having real evidence behind me. The others are sharp though, so they should be able to follow up once I get it going.

"Hey Chika! Long time no see, huh? Why do you never return my calls?" I venture, throwing a glance back over my shoulder towards the rest of the group. Mostly confusion, but that's to be expected.

The Oracle blinks once at me, before a confused look crosses her face. However, I don't change my expression, doing my best to keep it neutral and benign.

After a moment's hesitation, the Oracle seems to gather her bearings. "Oh hello Derek. It has been a while, hasn't it."

"Really?" I respond, as I begin to lean backwards. "It really does warm my heart, knowing that you've been so kind as to remember my name, especially since I've never met you, and I doubt a random person like me would be of interest to an Oracle such as yourself."

The Un-Chika holds her hands up before herself in a defensive gesture.. "W… Wait! I heard… I heard about you through my contacts, that's all! The uhh… Lastation's Oracle told me all about you?"

"Go on?" I ask, gesturing for her to continue digging herself into a deeper hole. "I mean, what did she tell you? In between the sporadic profanity, of course."

Uni pushes me aside wearing a mischievous look. "Let me handle this."

I shrug take a step back, and let the Lastation Candidate do her thing.

"Wh… what? What's going on?" the fake Oracle sputters as she backs away from the slowly-approaching Candidate. "W… We're friends, right? This is some kind of sick joke, right?"

"Well, I'm certain you'd remember me and Nepgear at least." smirks Uni, "After all, it'd be pretty hard to forget the beating we handed you back in Lastation. How are those bruises working out for you, by the way? Still sore?"

It's like watching a volcano erupt. It's a thing of absolute beauty.

In an instant, the woman's up, face flushed a vivid crimson and eyes narrowed in primal rage. She's reaching for Uni's neck with both hands, shrieking like a banshee the entire way.

"As if I'd ever forget that! I was bedridden for the whole day!" screams Linda as she lunges forward, but a quick sweep of the leg from behind is more than enough to faceplant her. Her clothing seems to shimmer slightly, before it fades entirely, revealing the familiar, and clearly identifiable form of Underling below it.

Huh, so it was a hologram. Cool.

Except she's still wearing heels. I guess it's hard to put a visual thing over someone who's obviously shorter than who they're impersonating.

A quick locked gaze with Uni's enough to reveal that she's shaken from the surprise, but still fine. I throw her a quick smile and a thumbs up.

"Dammit! Why do you and these broads need to keep raining on my parade?" whines Linda from her new position on the floor, no longer even attempting to disguise her voice. "So much for two promotions in a row… Stupid cheap disguise kit… Stupid annoying heels..."

"Miss Underling?" asks Compa, stepping forward, although her syringe is in her hands now too. "Is that you?"

"That's Miss Field Agent to you!" shouts Linda, with more than a little pride in her voice even as she slowly picks herself up off of the floor. "The higher-ups finally gave me the promotion I deserved!"

"Wow!~ That's cool!~" replies RED, head tilted to the side. "But we can still call you Underling, right?~"

"Thanks! And no, you can't, my name is -" begins the ASIC agent, but I cut the girl off.

"Your name is irrelevant. Where is the Oracle being kept?" I step forward, knives out and ready. I take a step forward towards her.

"Yeah no, How about I don't?" smirks Linda, and before any of us can react, she hurls herself out of a nearby window.

Which was left open.

Dammit! I didn't think she'd be crazy enough to jump out of a window a floor up!

"She's getting away!" shouts someone, but at least this time we're all moving before anyone has to state the obvious.

We're in luck.

Linda's just barely still in sight, and while she's definitely going all out, it's nowhere near the speed she usually possesses.

Probably because she's still wearing massive heels. I can't help but thank that the ground underneath us is a mess, otherwise she'd be able to ditch the heels entirely and go barefoot.

What follows is a mad dash as we slowly gain ground on the ASIC agent. Unfortunately, we can't quite catch up to her before she charges headlong through the entrance of a dungeon.

We're here.

"Damn. She must've run here for a reason." states IF, doing her best to regain her breath as she draws her katars. "Be prepared for anything! We don't know what sort of surprises are in store for us."

The swarm's coming up, right? I don't think my usual arsenal will be any good against it… I think I'll be better to just pull out an explosive.

Dynamite seems a bit overkill though. Don't want to bring down the tunnel by accident.

IF raises an eyebrow upon me retrieve a single short fuse bomb rather than my usual loadout, but she says nothing.

We've got an Oracle to save.

Welcome to the… whatever this dungeon is named. I don't actually remember.

Good god, compared to the heat in here, the outside heat is goddamn Lowee.

I'm all but cooking on the inside of my jacket, and I'm cursing the fact that I don't have any way of storing the damn thing without losing its carrying capacity. I guess I'll have to tough it out.

Either that, or pass out from heat stroke, although hopefully that won't happen. If I start feeling faint, I'll just have to sit down before I lose my balance and fall into the lava or something like that.

The girls around me aren't really doing much better. I'm certain that if we stood around for more than a second, we'd all be forming our own puddles of sweat below ourselves.

Eugh. I'm definitely going to go for a shower after this.

Maybe even two.

An extended arm from in front of us pauses our progress. "Wait, do you hear that?" asks Marvy, raising a finger to her lips.

In the silence that clearly follows, we can hear one thing.

Well, lots of things, but they're all saying the same thing.

"Gooey!"

"OH DEAR GOD NO. I AM NOT DEALING WITH THIS. NOT RIGHT NOW." I shout, as I light my bomb in a single fluid motion and hurl it over the rest of the group into the darkness.

For an instant, the glowing fuse illuminates countless Dogoos, their beady eyes glowing back at us from the walls, floor and ceiling.

But just as soon as the light appears, it's enveloped by the swarm.

"Gooey?" "Goo?" responds the darkness, before… well…

About zero point five seconds after the explosive leaves my hand, a rather important fact dawns on me.

Namely, I just threw a bomb which was exploiting the explosive properties of Dogoo Jelly...

Into a horde of Dogoos.

"I REALLY DIDN'T THINK THIS THROUGH!" I shout, as I drop to the ground clutching my head. "HIT THE DECK!"

The girls blink at me, but follow me down.

Not a moment too soon, because a blink later, the deafening sound of chained explosions fill the air. Just barely over it, I can hear the shrieking of the slimes as their bodies vaporize into data. Once or twice something solid clicks off of my jacket, probably a credit chip launched by the explosions.

About a second later, a massive wave of fire rushes down the corridor. And it's not a single thing either… the air's unbreathable for a good couple of seconds.

After what feels like an eternity of being cooked alive, and being pelted with low-value credit chips, the heat finally lowers from scorching back down to uncomfortable, and we all shakily rise back up to our feet.

"Derek." groans IF. Portions of her jacket are still aflame, and her hair's a mess, although she doesn't seem to be burned. "What the hell was that?"

I reach forward to extinguish one of the small blazes still atop of her jacket. "Sorry 'bout that." I murmur, scratching the back of my neck. "I saw a big group of them, and didn't think before I threw."

The girls all throw me their own looks of exasperation. Or well, most of them. Nepgear and Compa are busy looking over everyone's injuries.

Luckily, besides the slight smell of burned hair, we're all unscathed. I still don't stop myself from making sure, just in case.

Still, it doesn't save me from being scolded by my now-singed party members.

Well, that was embarrassing.

The tunnel opens up into a massive stone cavern, and the source of the heat becomes clear. Below us, is a veritable river of lava, which is slowly flowing from one end of the cavern to the other.

As I gaze down below, I can even see the occasional bubbling from below as gas escapes from within the lava.

It's actually quite amazing that the air is as cool as it is. If it was just a tiny bit more realistic, the explosion from the Dogoos would have nothing on the sheer heat from simply being near this stuff.

Carefully, we tiptoe through the cavern, occasionally beating down the few monsters brave enough to stand before our group.

I can't help myself from punting a particularly unlucky 'vader over the edge, to fall into the molten death below.

Finally, we seem to reach another room, slightly cooler than the others.

"What do you mean 'Just let them have the Oracle'?" yells Linda, just up ahead. "Where are my reinforcements?"

Another few steps. None of us are willing to reveal ourselves quite yet, it seems.

"You're telling me we lost everything up in Lowee? Seriously? How dumb can the recruits get?"

"Yeah… I get ya… doesn't mean I have to like it, though. I'll see you back at base." sighs Linda.

Linda's in plain sight in the center of the room, unarmed and facing away from us. Maybe if we sneak up on her…

"Yeah. So let's just call this one a draw." speaks Linda, not even facing towards us. "Turns out the idiots up north somehow managed to lose half a million credits worth of supplies, and now, I don't even have backup."

We all glance between each other. Is this a trap?

"So as much as I'd love to beat you morons into a pulp, apparently HQ needs all of the competent people they can get, so I'm being redeployed." shrugs the ASIC agent. "Enjoy your free win. Because trust me, it's going to be the last one you get."

"So." states Linda, pointing towards a large box in the corner of the room. "Your precious Oracle is over there. I mean, you could chase me, but well, I wouldn't recommend leaving a person in a place like this. Especially since we cut the air conditioning."

With one final mocking bow, Underling walks up to us, and then past us, towards the front of the complex.

Not a single one of us try to stop her. Despite how much I want to, it's just not worth it.