Happy new year. Sorry for the delay, but I got massive writers block.

Plus low motivation. I can't promise more common updates, but I'll try my best.

Thanks for sticking with me. ~Soul

I wake up with the sun. With no alarm set, with no emergency to spur me to action…

Yesterday, Histoire had been adamant on providing each of us with our own rooms as some kind of favor, despite the fact that the communal room was more than functional. Thus, for the first time in weeks, I wake up alone.

It's… a weird feeling. I've gotten used to the rustle of nearby sheets, the grumble of others sleeping… It's eerie, sleeping by myself… Who'd have thought I'd become a people person, huh? With a distinct lack of urgency, I climb out of the bed, slake my thirst on the contents of a nearby water bottle, and dress myself. There's guest clothes in the room, but they're all mauve and lavender and pink, and I'd much rather feign humility than wear those hideous things. Underclothes are of course an exception, mostly because I seriously doubt anyone will get a good look at them. And if they did, who cares? I'd be screwed anyway.

I lumber over towards a chair, which was ever so graciously lent to me, and slump into it, face in my hands. And there I sit, frozen in thought.

So.

What next?

Yesterday, we finally accomplished what the group had set out to do. What I was hired to do. Now what? I don't… really have a reason to be here anymore. The CPUs are free. The Candidates are safe. If I were to fade into the background, would anyone notice? I'm just a human here, way out of my depth… In fact, sooner or later I'll become a liability more than a boon… I spent more than half of our fight with Judge prone, for crying out loud…

Am I just slowing them down? I'm sure they'd have eventually overcome it without my help. From what little of the game I can remember, it was at this point that the "Makers", and likely me, just… phase out. They're relegated to backup, either have special powers to make CPUs better… Or they just are forgotten. Left in base. Never used. With a team full of Goddesses, what's the point of an underperformer?

I sigh as I stare into a nearby mirror, my own unfocused eyes gazing back into the room around me. I hate self-doubt. If I don't have a direction, a goal, something to strive for… I just wallow around doing nothing. It's what I did before, and I'd rather I'd just die than have it happen again. I need a leader, someone to give me direction… Without such, I just...

I'll find a goal. Something. Anything. Hopefully. Maybe I can-

A sudden knock on my door interrupts my thought process. Probably for the best.

I pause for a few moments as I try to force myself out of my stupor, turning slowly towards the still-locked door, long enough for whoever is knocking to lose their patience.

"Heeey! What's going on in there? You've been in there not doing anything for like… I lost count how many months now! Did you go and die in your bedroom or something?" chirps back a slightly sarcastic, but still more than a little energetic voice.

"That's hyperbole, right?" I answer back, not getting up from my seat. It's too early in the morning for this. "Unless I missed breakfast or something?"

A quick glance at the wall clock reveals it can't be past ten in the morning… Of course it can't. It's only eight thirty-two. I shake my head a few times to get rid of the last of my drowsiness.

There's another pause. Maybe she went away? Please go away. Or at least have food. I'm starting to realize that I'm hungry.

"Oh. Hey! You are up! C'mon, get out here! You can't just sleep all day, right?" speaks the voice that is probably definitely Neptune.

"I'm not asleep though. I'm just… waking up." I grumble.

With a groan of defeat, I slowly lift myself, and move to open the door, dreading what I'll find on the other side.

Yep.

Neptune, in all of her 'glory' stands outside, garbed in her usual hoodie-parka-cord thing. Somehow though, her hair isn't an entire mess.

"Good morning, Neptune." I state, staring down at the comparatively-shorter CPU. Sure, everyone here is short… But wow, she's even shorter than Nepgear. Am I just really tall? Or did I end up growing when I arrived here?

With a cheerful shrug, Neptune barges into my room. I can't really force her out, not with the fact it's her building and all. With another, muffled sigh, I debate closing the door, before just relenting and following her. No point in starting weird rumors over a wake-up call. Purple Heart has a body to kill for, but… Neptune definitely isn't my type. In any sense of the term.

With an ease born of living centuries in a building full of what I assume are identical guest bedrooms, Neptune takes three steps, before catapulting herself onto the bed which I slept on. It's impressive, to say the least. I'd give it a seven out of ten for a standing leap. Good one-eighty degree rotation to land facing the right way.

"Say!" chirps Neptune, kicking her feet up and leaning against the wall, "You've been all over Gamindustri now, right? I mean the big cities. Not the little islands off in the middle of nowhere, I mean."

I nod, sitting on the chair once more. "Yeah, and? There's probably a few places I've missed, but I think I've hit the capitols, at least..."

"So, what'dya think?" smiles Neptune, leaning forward. "Are we better than Lonely Heart's city? We gotta be better than Lowee or Leanbox… Right? Right?"

There's a slight, confusing, but definitely-there presence of hunger in her eyes.

"Is this really important to you?" I ask, confused. "Wait… Why ask me? Why not IF…- Oh wait, she's your friend and lives here… Uhh… Why not ask RED? Or MAGES.? I haven't really been around long enough to form an educated opin-"

Neptune shrugs, and cheerily leans back against the wall, "Well, I might not seem like I care that much all of the time, but I do care about this place, y'know? It's my home, and I really missed it for sure. So, it always feels good to hear what others think of it! Besides, you're not from this dimension, right? That means you only just got here! So! Planeptune's number one, one hundred percent. It's gotta be the best, right?"

A few moments pass as I consider what to say…

On one hand, I could lie, and make the being in front of me, which is…

Wait, why am I scared of Neptune? And why am I referring to her as a "being"? Sure, she's CPU and all, but if she were to punish me for speaking my mind, then she wouldn't be worth her title, much less her friends. Plus, she's supposed to be the easygoing one, right?

"It's okay." I reply, shrugging. "Not going to lie. In my opinion, it's a tie between Leanbox and Lastation."

Neptune pouts and crosses her arms. "Awww… Why? I worked so, so hard to make this place awesome. It's the awesomest Nation, hands down!"

"And by you, you mean Nepgear, right?" I can't help but notice there's an awkward pause.

"Hey! I do some work!" whines the CPU, arms crossed, but definite smile on her face. "I'm not a total layabout. And the last few years don't count!"

"Oh? Name one thing you've done to improve this nation." I twist the handle of the metaphorical knife a bit. Hopefully she can see my smile as well.

Four second pause. I can practically see smoke coming out of her ears. Her smile temporarily falters.

"T-that's not important! Why're we only number three?" sputters Neptune. "Just because I can't remember what I've done doesn't mean that I didn't do anything!"

"Bold of you to assume that I like you better than Lowee." I smirk, leaning forwards.

"Pshaw. No one likes Lowee. Sorry Blanny, but it's true." shrugs the purple-haired CPU. "She really was unlucky, getting that quarter of the world. There's a reason that land up there is so cheap. Frigid wasteland, it is."

Ouch. Painful, but true. Every other part of Gamindustri has been either comfortably warm, or practically tropical. Lowee makes Canadian winters look… Actually, now that I compare it to what I've heard about Winnipeg winters, it's really not that bad. Still, to be that cold all year round… No thanks. At least there's no frozen fog flash-freezing absolutely everything it touches.

"Well…" I close my eyes, to better recall my opinion. "Lastation has that whole 'lived in' feel that I can't say that this place does. Sure, it's a bit smoggy, but it's nowhere near the 'I'm afraid to touch anything here because it feels mint-out-of-packaging' feel that this place does. And as for Leanbox… It's less of a 'I want to live here', and more of a 'Wow, this place is a great vacation spot.' I doubt I'd be able to get anything done down there… I nearly fell asleep standing up a few times."

Neptune sighs. "Dammit Nowa, you win this round." she utters under her breath.

We both are silent for another few moments, before a stray thought bubbles to the surface.

"So, how did you know I was from a different dimension, anyway?" I ask, honestly curious. "Was it just an automatic thing, or did you find it out afterwards?"

Neptune's fourth wall aware, I think… If that translates to some kind of second sight or somethin… Either way, it's not too out of the box to say that she probably knows. The only question is how she knows.

Neptune blinks at me, and her eyes slowly begin to drift downwards.

"Besides what's in between my legs?" I interject, sighing at the far-too-informal CPU. "Besides, there are males here too. I've seen dozens of them. Not every male is the equivalent of a space alien."

Dozens. Only dozens. God, that sounds weird to say out loud. I need to get out more… Then again, I've only seen dozens of females as well. At least most of them are relatively attractive.

Neptune smirks. "Name one that's of any real importance."

I blink back at her, knowing answering to avoid the question is a lost cause. "I'm sure I'd know one… But I don't get out much. Give me a week and an internet connection, and I'm certain I could find you one... Seriously. How did you know for sure?"

"Duh!" smiles Neptune. "I read your bio!"

I have a bio? I definitely remember seeing them in game… But the thought of having a writeup of myself… is kind of...

"My bio?" I ask, far too awkwardly. "What's in it? How long is it? Errr… can I see it?"

"Mhm!" chirps the Goddess. She pokes at the air a few times… before a small, translucent screen pops up in front of her. It looks a lot like the menu… Wait, is it the menu? I squint my eyes at it, and I can definitely see mirrored text. Unfortunately, the screen changes before I can properly decode it.

"Can I touch it?" I ask, blinking away dizziness as she rapidly taps through screens. Stupid brain is trying to decode it continually...

"Nope!" she chirps, shooting me a cheshire cat grin. "You'd break everything. But I'll show you your page…"

She pokes at a few more buttons, before a big block of text appears beneath a mirrored picture of me. One more press, and it turns around, facing me rather than her.

My picture is… A neutral pose it seems. Me in my jacket with my hood up… Without a weapon though.

Let's give this big chunk of text a quick read…

…

Huh.

Well, it definitely has the dimensional traveller thing here… But no mention of my real name, nor anything about my game knowledge. It does have a bit of text about my mental state and inferiority issues, which is both concerning, and very, very personal...

"Who wrote this?" I ask, scrolling further down. More and more stuff. No mention of height. It brings up my love of spicy food. This thing's bizarre… Unfocused. Like it's drawing from a pool of information that is far too shallow to get anything good from. Three quarters of this stuff are things I've told the cast so far… And the rest feels like educated guesses.

"Nopers! It's just part of the system. You should know that, dummy!" she smiles. "Gonna have to get used to it if you want to stick around!~"

"Right." I state, and I hit the bottom of the bio log. There's a little button on the bottom, which I press… I assume it's a 'next page' sort of thing. It's even got a little slider.

Neptune blinks… and then her eyes widen in horror. So much so, I don't pay attention to my hands as I turn away to look at her. I think I poke a few more buttons...

"Stop! Stop! Get your hands away before…" There's two clicks in the air as I apparently press two buttons. "Sono botan o osanaide kudasai!"

I blink at the sudden onset of Japanese. Glancing at the menu… Oh. That's the option menu. I exited out of bio.

I sheepishly step back, as Neptune flicks the menu again… I can temporarily see the words 'voice acting' being set back to 'English', before the menu closes with a quiet 'blip'.

Neptune stares at me. "Please don't do that again. Sure, we can understand the language being set… But we can't read or even write in the inactive one."

I wince. "Yuck. Sounds like a mess of paperwork."

Neptune shrugs… smiling…

"Right. You don't need to worry about that."

That gets a muffled chuckle.

Neptune smiles one more time, and gestures out of the room.

"C'mon! Let's go talk to the others!"

And with that, I'm dragged by the arm and pulled from the room.

Even with our large party, the main lounge of the Planeptune Basilicom is hardly halfway full. Then again, we're missing the other three Candidates… And Nepgear appears to be asleep against the wall of the couch. At least she's smiling, and snoring lightly.

"Mornin' IF… Compa… Marvy… MAG-" I murmur.

RED blinks. "Hey!~ You forgot me!~"

"Morning… Everyone…" I correct myself.

IF pauses for a moment, before nodding towards me. "So, uhhh… Derek."

I blink back, before nodding for her to continue, a confused look on my face.

There's a pause, before she holds up the contract I signed, way back when I first joined… The one Histoire had made me sign.

"Well… Uhhh…" begins IF, before she cuts herself off, unable to find the words.

Compa is the one to pick up the slack. "Iffy here was wondering if you wanted to extend the contract, or uhh… Just… Ummm… leave?"

The nurse definitely seems less than excited for the prospect of me leaving… I can't really blame her, she is one to form attachments quickly, but it's good to feel wanted, at least.

"Well… Is the contract really necessary? I'm more or less working out of goodwill anyway." I respond, not sure what to make of it. "Are you asking me to leave?"

There's a three second pause, before the agent shakes her head. "It's more that… Errr… Do you expect to be paid now? We can definitely pay you, now that the CPU is here again… Approving transactions is much easier, and ASIC can't pin the blame on us paying you through 'unapproved fraud'..."

"No need to be so formal when talking about your old pal Nep, Iffy!" chirps Neptune from behind me. "But yeah, we can totally pay you now! Except not out of my pocket. That's my allowance! No one's touching that!"

Wait, Neptune's being only given an allowance?

On second thought, that makes perfect sense. The only question is how much is it?

I shake my head. "Can you give me a day or so to think? I want to check my funds, and future plans..."

I need the money, that's for sure… But I don't want to be paid for this. I know it's stupid… But I want to stick around because I'm wanted, not because I'm being paid out of someone else's pocket. I'm sure there's a saying about how paying for a service removes the emotional impact of it altogether.

IF pauses, and then nods back. "Take as long as you need… We're all going to rest up for a day or two before we get back to cleaning up Planeptune… And the other three nations as well. With the CPUs-"

"That's me, Nowa, Blanny, and Vert!" cuts in Neptune,

"... The CPUs able to fully approve making ASIC's operations illegal, they're finally no longer able to spread as quickly, and adventurers are starting to raid their operations as well!" finishes IF, who rolls her eyes.

I blink. "Wait, you mean… Uhh… Other adventurers are raiding ASIC now?"

IF gives me a confused look. "Well, yeah… Now that they've been declared a criminal organization, which has been approved by the CPUs, they were able to sign paperwork with the Guild to designate their buildings as dungeons. That means that adventurers can do some of the dirty work too, picking apart their weaker bases."

Neptune smiles. "It was my idea! This way, we can get the layabout explorers to do our dirty work for us!"

I sigh. Yeah, delegating work seems to be a Neptune thing for sure… But if it gets results, who can I argue.

With a halfhearted sigh, I look around the room. "So, I was thinking of grabbing breakfast… Anyone want to join me?"

I didn't expect a real response, much less the entire room getting up and following me.

Strangely enough, the cafeteria seemed to be a buffet, rather than the 'ask for what you want' it was last time.

"Hey, um… Is there something going on?" I ask, as I scoop up a ladleful of mashed potatoes to go on my plate, amidst some breakfast sausage. I debate getting some fruit salad… But I'll grab it when my plate is clear.

"Oh…" says IF, shrugging. "Yeah. Neptune's always loved the idea of 'get me some of everything', but we had to cut back when the CPUs weren't around to approve buffets every day. Don't worry though, it's not the cheap stuff…"

Neptune nods, her own plate piled high in protein. "I never know what I want until I get it! Y'know what I'm saying?"

Yes, I kind of do… But what about all of the wasted food?

I shake my head, and just take a seat on the table, staring warily back at the still-filled containers of food. I guess I'm just not used to dealing with the wealthy.

The meal itself is a long, but kind of irritating ordeal. I've never been one to talk much when eating, and instead, it's filled with Neptune cracking jokes. Bad jokes. I can see IF and Compa cracking smiles the entire time, and Nepgear seems to be enjoying it immensely, but me? I'm not so sure.

I just end up nodding my head and eating quietly. It gives me time to think.

If this is what my life will be from now on… I'm not sure I'm happy with where it's going.

But I suppose I can't tell the future, can I?

Before I can do that… I guess I need to sort out the present.