Part-Time Prick: Good to see you're still interested in the story.

Nht Desu: I'm warning you that there will be moments of that. Things aren't always sunshine and rainbows, especially not in this story. I hope to keep the tone light, however, regardless of what's happening.

Ant: Except you can't distract women with laser pointers.

Draxinus: Sadly not an option.

RedBurningDragon: Sadly no loot. It was all blown to pieces by more explosions.

None of the group were particularly happy with our decision to let Linda go. Even though no one attempted to stop her, that didn't stop the angry grumbling, nor from the arguments afterwards.

But still, regardless of whether or not it was the right thing to do, we eventually came to the conclusion that capturing a single member of ASIC, no matter how important, just simply isn't worth risking an innocent life.

At the back of the cavern, we find ourselves facing a small door carved into the cavern wall. It's on one of the few walls which do not dead-drop into the lava below, of course.

The door itself is made of metal. It looks like it was installed to perfectly fit the cavern… I can't see any flaws in the door itself from here.

"Underling said the Oracle would be in here, right?" asks Compa, as she steps towards the door, hand extended.

Before she draws her hand back wincing in pain. "Owie! The door's super hot!"

As Compa draws back to tend her wounds, IF is the next to step forward, her hand wrapped in her sleeve as a temporary mitt. I don't know why she isn't letting the guy with gloves do it, but I guess I'd still need to touch the metal with my fingers…

IF takes a breath, before she jerks backwards with the handle.

The handle which isn't moving.

"OPEN!" shouts IF, as she yanks on it again. "C'MON! OPEN!"

But the door still isn't moving.

"It's locked…" murmurs IF, as she finally gives up on budging the door. "That… She… She still had the key!"

We all blink. No key means…

I don't know how to pick locks. I don't even have the tools for it. "Does anyone her know how to pick a lock?" I ask, hoping desperately for a positive.

Not a single aye in the crowd.

Compa's the one to offer a solution. "Hey Ge-Ge… can you transform and try to pull this door open?"

Resorting to brute force isn't the most elegant way to do this, but it's the only one we've got. With a nod, there's a flash of light, before once more Purple Sister is standing before us.

"Stand back everyone!" she says, as she steps towards the door. "I don't know when this'll give, so I might come flying back."

Carefully, we clear away from the forty-five degree cone directly behind her.

Three tugs, and the door hasn't moved an inch. Whoever designed this door obviously knew what they were doing.

"Eugh… not enough!" states Nepgear, as she tugs once more. She's bracing her legs against the wall beside the door, and is throwing her entire body into it now.

Uni's watching the entire time, unsure of what to do. Well, if one godlike being isn't enough force, then…

"Hey Uni?" I ask, poking the girl on the shoulder.

"Huh?" is her response. "What's up, Derek?"

"Do you think you can transform and help out Nepgear?"

That gets a blink back, but soon afterwards, I get a nod back in understanding. There's one more flash of light, and then Uni's right beside Nepgear.

The two goddesses glance towards each other, before they each rest their hands on the handle and legs on the wall beside it. "On three, okay?"

Uni nods to her counterpart. "Okay. You count?"

"One… Two… Three!"

Together, the two pull at the same time. There's a groan of failing steel from the door, before a loud 'SCHAAANG' fills the air. Pretty much all of us flinch back, afraid of potentially-incoming sharpened fragments of metal.

The two Candidates are launched backwards a few meters, but luckily they are able to slow themselves before they leave the platform. I don't think either of the two would be at any risk of falling into the lava, but I'd rather that never even be an option in the first place.

Okay, whoever designed this door really knew what they were doing.

The door's still intact, but the handle and the plate where the handle had connected to the door are just gone. The internals of the door are clearly visible now though, so I should be able to work on it now even with the tools I've got.

I quickly make eye contact with the others, before I slowly walk forward to get a better look at what exactly. I'm dealing with.

Wow.

No wonder the bar wasn't moving: the lock bar's thicker than my wrist. What the hell were they trying to keep in here? Giant monsters?

That doesn't matter. If it's a monster, we'll beat it.

Carefully, I retrieve my crowbar, before I stick it into a ridge in the door's solid lock bar. I don't know if it's where the key goes in, or it's for the gears, but it looks solid and enough to serve my purposes. From there, it's a slight struggle as I leverage the bar against the wall, but eventually the bar is fully retracted, and the door slowly opens outwards.

Beyond the door, is the limp form of the Leanbox Oracle. She's passed out in a chair, face practically buried in the table in front of her. The faint smell of evaporated sweat hangs in the air, but her clothing bears no sign of moisture.

"Oh no!" shouts Compa, as she rushes forwards to examine the unconscious woman. "Heat stroke. We need to get her out of here as soon as we can. She needs cold water, stat!"

When the doctor tells you to get someone to safety, you do what she says. Marvy volunteers to use her Eject Button to get Chika out right away, and wait for us outside.

In a flash of light the two are gone. We all let out a sigh of relief. The hostage situation has been resolved, at least.

By now, Nepgear and Uni are back with us, still in their Sister forms. "We're done here?" asks Uni.

"Almost." states IF, as she steps into the room that they were keeping Chika locked in. She gazes amongst the group, before her eyes turn towards me with a raised eyebrow. "Derek, can you help me look in here? Compa, RED, can you stay outside?"

I nod as I follow IF into the room. IF seems to tense up as we step inside, but I don't blame her. Who knows what we could find in here?

It's a relatively nice place. I mean, it's rather small, and while it's definitely cooler than the blast furnace we have just stepped out of, it honestly just looks like a cheap condo. There's a bed in the corner, a small dresser, and even a table, fridge, and a small water cooler.

The cooler is entirely drained though, and there's not a single thing in the fridge which hasn't spoiled from the heat. I shake my head in disgust as I close the fridge. The temperature on the inside has long since equalized.

I know there wasn't really a chance of finding anything in there, but you always have to try. You never know when you might find something important in between the withered, dessicated lettuce and heat-broiled tofu.

Slowly, we turn over the room, discovering little besides a few changes of clothes, some jewelry which IF immediately pockets to return to the Oracle, and a beauty magazine. Nothing of real importance.

At least, that's what we found before I, half-crazed from the heat, decided that someone might've stored something inside the mattress, because they always do in the movies.

I think, maybe? It's been a while since I've seen movies.

"What are you doing?" asks IF, as I summon a knife and begin to strip the sheets off of the bed. They're green, like everything else.

"I'm cutting open the mattress." I respond, like it's the simplest thing in the world. "I don't think anyone will need it again, yeah?"

"But why, though? I know you like to break things, but this is just dumb."

I flip the now-bare mattress over, and blink once.

There's a section that's a different color than the rest of the mattress. The stitching is different too.

"No way… I didn't really think..." I utter, as I poke the off-colored aberration with a finger. I can't feel anything on the inside, nor a cavity… But it's worth a shot, right?

Tanking the disapproving glare as best as I can, I cut around the section with my knife, and flip the now-freed patch upward to reach into it with my fingers. I grasp something small and hard.

Carefully, I retrieve the object.

It's a key, although it's actually quite small. The teeth are miniscule and it's barely half as long as my finger. Like, it looks like it'd be for a drawer, rather than a door or a chest. Carefully, I stuff it into one of my quick-access pockets, before I pull myself back upwards.

IF's still gazing at me, although I can't really gauge her emotions right now. "How did you know that was there?" she asks.

"I didn't." I answer, as I get back up onto my feet. "But there's no way I'm not going to check everything I can while I'm here… I mean, it beats having to walk back here again, yeah?"

IF lets out a small sigh of relief as we exit the room, and I don't blame her. The heat's definitely still horrifyingly hot, but I think I just don't care anymore. I'm no longer sweating, instead I'm just really sticky and uncomfortable.

That probably means I'm about to pass out from heat exhaustion. We need to keep moving.

Uni and Nepgear are waiting for us outside, and both of them just leaning against nearby rock formations. They're still in their Sister forms. None of the mortal members of our party are out here with them though.

"Where are the others?" asks IF, glancing at the two Candidates. She wipes her brow, and her sleeve comes back soaked.

"They're at the entrance. They couldn't handle the heat any more." answers Nepgear, rising into the air.

"And you two aren't?" I throw in, watching the two laze about, not even attempting to fan themselves or do anything at all to keep cool.

Uni shrugs. "Perks of being a Goddess Candidate, I suppose. The heat really doesn't bother me when I'm like this, I guess."

"No fair." IF pouts, but either way, she retrieves her own Eject Button. "Derek, we're leaving."

I nod my head and grasp her hand, and soon enough, we're out of the oven, and into the relatively refreshing stifling tropical air instead.

We find the others clustered in the shade of a few trees, all in various states of exhaustion. RED's just flat on the ground asleep, but the others are all awake at least.

Chika's asleep too, but I don't really hold it against her. She's in rest position beside RED, and IF is busy looking over her.

Compa offers each of us a glass of something as we approach.

It's just water, but at this point it could practically be ambrosia. It's cold, which is pretty much all that I could have ever wanted. I drain it in a single gulp.

I momentarily debate whether or not I should have just dumped it all over myself, before I shake the thought away.

In a jerky motion, I lower myself to my rear at the base of a tree. My coat's off and on the ground, and I know that I'll need to wash the thing as soon as I can, lest I'll have to deal with a jacket which reeks of mildew.

There's two small flashes from behind me as Nepgear and Uni shift back to their Candidate forms. I can see the two accept their own cups of water, and take seats nearby as well.

"The Oracle's doing better." says Compa, stopping by to refill each of our cups from a large glass pitcher. "I found some ice packs and cold water in my inventory."

Marvy nods from her spot. "We should be able to move her to the Basilicom within a couple of hours."

"And… It was still cold?" I asks, but it's more of a rhetorical question. I get another nod back.

For every second that I stare at the sleeping form of RED, more and more of my amusement and mockery becomes agreement. I know that, physically, I've done much, much worse to myself, but I can't seem to convince my body of that.

"I… think I'mma pass out for a bit." I murmur, as my eyes begin to half-lid involuntarily. I chug my refilled cup of water, before I set it down beside me gingerly.

"We'll wake you up before we leave." reassures Compa. "Feel free to have a nap."

"Sounds… good…" I slur.

And then everything's black.

I awake to the feeling of being poked.

It takes everything I have to avoid lashing out. I really, really don't like being touched when I'm asleep.

In a minute my eyes have cleared enough for me to recognize the person poking me. It's Uni. Behind her, the sky's slowly approaching the color of her hair. Night must've fallen while I was out cold.

"Hey, we're about to head back to the Basilicom." she says, the moment she sees my eyes open. "Chika just woke up a few minutes ago. She was talking about a key or something, but IF said that you found it and gave it to her."

I blink back at the girl. "Wait. I had it in my jacket pocket." My jacket's over to the right neatly folded, which is definitely nice, so I reach over and retrieve the discarded garment.

My hand grasps as nothing within the pocket the key was in.

Yeah. There's nothing else in the pocket.

"You… They... went through my pockets… through my stuff, while I was asleep?" I ask, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. I'm digging through the rest of my pockets even as I speak.

Uni frowns, but she flinches back. "Wait, what? No… No! I wouldn't do that!"

"No… I know you wouldn't." I reassure the offended girl, as I rise to my feet. "Sorry. I'm just a bit protective of my things. I tend to forget what I'm carrying… so having people mess with it…"

I let loose a sigh. Making excuses doesn't help me. More lies, which don't need to exist.

"I'm afraid of people taking my things." I state, eyes cast downwards. Everything else seems to be here. "I just am."

I shake my head clear as I put my jacket back on. The air's a bit cooler now, so it won't hurt me too badly. It'll definitely reek if I don't clean it by tomorrow, though.

"I need to tell IF to never do that again…" I state, trailing off, with my eyes staring off into the distance as I don my hood.

"You do that." nods Uni. "C'mon, the others are waiting up ahead. No one else was really willing to try and wake you up for some reason."

Together, we proceed out of the trees, and out onto the road.

It's time to finish things up.

The moon is high in the sky by the time that we arrive back at the Basilicom. My watch reads that time-wise, it's just a little bit past seven. The lights of the Basilicom are all off.

Chika takes one step into the Basilicom, and then taps a button on a device she pulls from her pocket.

And then waits.

And then waits some more. She taps her foot impatiently on the ground, the noise echoing through the empty halls.

"Alright." mutters Chika, before she clears her throat. "I mean, I didn't want to have to do this, but…"

"CORTANA. WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" she suddenly bellows, startling every single one of us. Wow, she has some volume!

Wait, what?

There's silence for a moment, before the quiet stepping of someone walking towards us from another room draws our attention.

Out of the hallway steps a short, pale girl wearing glasses with a headband emblazoned with a hollow blue circle. "A-are they gone?" the girl whispers, gazing from the left to the right. She's got a manilla envelope containing several papers in her left hand.

Huh. Wait, wasn't the Windows virtual assistant named Cortana? Same blue circle pattern too.

"Yeah, they're gone." nods IF. "We didn't see you when we were here last, where were you?"

Cortana looks at us sheepishly, "I uhh… might have been hiding in a closet. I thought you were more ASIC forces."

Chika lowers her face into her hands. "And where is the rest of the staff?"

"Well… After the ASIC goons broke into here, they were talking about how you told them it was a false alarm and that they were to have the week off." is the reply.

"And you were…" Chika's eyes narrow.

"I was filing." pouts Cortana. "I'm paid by the hour, not by the day. Do you have any idea how much paperwork I need to sort each day? I swear, I need to memorize where each type of document goes… and then the date… year… it really bites..."

Chika doesn't say anything, but her pointed look's enough to put the archivist back on track. "I uhh… Well, I was just heading back to the break room to get a coffee, when I nearly bumped into a few dozen bad guys. On the plus side, no one ever remembers me until they need me for something, so it was pretty easy to just sneak back into the records room."

Chika takes a deep breath as she massages her forehead. "Okay. Get the rest of the staff here… right now. You're promoted."

Cortana raises her arms over her head.

"Your promotion consists of a one dollar per hour raise and more responsibilities."

Cortana's arms go back down. She lets out a quiet groan.

"You may now return to your duties."

With a small bow, the petite girl flees from our presence, off to wherever she was before.

Chika takes one more breath before she turns back towards us.. "I want to thank you for your timely rescue. Unfortunately, it seems our kitchen staff is currently… indisposed, and it will likely be an hour or more before they are able to prepare an adequate meal."

I can barely hear her grumble the words "heads will roll" and "fucking blind idiots", but it's faint enough that I could be imagining things.

Maybe.

"No… no! You don't have to do that!" smiles Nepgear, eyes wide. "We'll just eat out tonight."

Chika shakes her head. "I insist. After all, you did rescue me, and it therefore obligates me to treat you as best as I can."

We all let out sighs. It seems dinner will be late tonight.

"So uhh… Can we use your showers?" I venture.

"Yes. The bathroom is located in the west wing." replies Chika.

Pretty much all of us blink.

And then there's a mad dash as we all attempt to get there first.

It takes some serious pushing, hair pulling, and even some elbowing, but I manage to force my way into taking the fourth shower.

What? There's no way I'd be able to outstrength either of the Candidates, and Marvy managed to lock herself in before any of us could get over there.

Regardless of struggles, we all eventually get ourselves clean. I even have enough time to throw my jacket into a washing machine and prevent it from reeking.

Thus, about an hour and a half later, we all head to the dining room in a single group.

Awaiting us is a veritable feast. Fish, a pork dish, and even a ribs plate. In the corner, there's a spiced tofu dish, various grilled vegetables, and even some quinoa.

I can almost hear RED's mouth watering from here. It definitely smells heavenly.

Slowly, we all take seats around the table. I personally sit between Uni and Compa, directly across from Chika.

There's silence as we all stare at the food.

"What are you waiting for? Dig in!" urges the Oracle.

The motion around me is nearly a blur.

The girls all help themselves. I personally grab some fish, along with a bit of tofu and quinoa. It's always nice to have a balanced meal.

I'm about halfway through shovelling my second spoonful into my mouth before I realize that Chika is staring at me.

"Uhh…" I speak, putting the spoon down. "Is something the matter?"

Chika blinks, before she replies. "Are you on a diet, or something?"

I shake my head. "No, why do you ask?"

"Then why are you eating my tofu?" She's giving me a blank stare now, and the rest of the girls are starting to notice our conversation.

Said tofu is actually tasty. Whoever cooked it deserves praise.

"I like it?" I answer, not sure where this is going.

"That's pretty weird, Derek." comments Compa. She's got mostly meat on her plate, and quite a bit of salad as well.

Chika glances at me, then at my exposed skinny arms, and then down at her own plate. She lets out a sigh, before murmuring, "The things I do for my figure."

The rest of the meal is finished in relative calm. Marvy somehow manages to spill her drink all over herself, but besides that, we end up all agreeing that it was one of the better meals we've ever had.

Compa, being the ever-vigilant cook that she is, even wandered off to ask the chefs for their recipes, for later reproduction.

Now, with the table bare, it is time to get down to business.

"We originally came to Leanbox to acquire the Mascot." states Nepgear.

"Oh, that?" answers Chika with raised eyebrows. "I assume you're going to be using that to rescue my darling Vert, correct?"

IF gazes towards me, before she flinches back and turns towards Marvy instead. It seems I might've been a bit too hard on her earlier.

"Uhh… Vert is Lady Green Heart, right?" continues Nepgear, look of confusion on her face.

"Yes."

"Oh, then yes. She is currently being held in the Gamindustri Graveyard, and we need the Mascots to…" Nepgear's speech halts abruptly as she turns back towards us.

"Why do we need the Mascots again?" she asks.

"REASONS." I loudly declare.

Chika bobs her head, before she rises from the table, retrieves something from her pocket, and opens a dresser behind us.

Then she turns back around. She's holding the Mascot.

"Here. Just bring my dearest Vert back as quickly as you can." she answers, placing the disc atop the table.

We all just stare at it.

"Wow, that was easy." states Uni.

Indeed.

"So uhhh… We can just take it, right?"

And with that, we collected all four Mascots.

Now what?