Lastation Ghost Game

A Hyperdimension Neptunia & Digimon Crossover Fan Fiction

by Derald Snyder

Episode 10: A Silent Plea For Help

The next day, Black Sister was going on an aerial patrol over the capital city, seeing as Noire was still trying to catch up on paperwork. Though the skies were overcast, the temperature was relatively pleasant, which suited Uni just fine. (Sometimes the sun's reflection off the high-rises blinds me on clear days...) While she was silently grateful that Lilithmon hadn't made a move since Kyoko's kidnapping and subsequent rescue, she knew that the momentary peace wouldn't last forever... (Not to mention if another errant Digimon stumbles through the portal to our world... wait, what's that?) Stopping in midair, she closed her eyes to focus her senses... (I sense something... something powerful... but where?) Opening her eyes again, she looked around the rooftops... Then she spotted what appeared to be an open dining area on one of said rooftops. (Must be a high-class hotel/restaurant,) the CPU Candidate mused... that presence she sensed was definitely in that area.

Thus she descended toward the rooftop in question, though she did not equip her rifle so as not to panic the patrons... a few of the customers greeted her with mild surprise and respect, though she subtly waved them off as she zeroed in on one table in particular. Her nose wrinkled a bit at the smell of cigarette smoke, courtesy of the two women sitting across from each other... the one on the left was a long-haired blonde with fair skin, red eyes, and a sizable bust, wearing an off-the-shoulders white evening gown with matching full-length opera gloves. The woman on the right was slightly less endowed, platinum blonde hair rolling down her back in waves, with brown eyes and pale skin, wearing a silver gown with thin shoulder straps, with gloves that went just past the elbow. (Wait, haven't I seen her before...?)

"Oh my, look who's come to grace us with her presence," said the blonde on the left, taking a nonchalant pull from her cigarette and blowing smoke into the air above her head.

"Lady Uni," the other woman nodded in respect. "You remember me, don't you? Lisa Paler, from that court case with Rei Ryghts...?"

"Oh yeah! The vampire case, right?" Black Sister nodded in comprehension. "Ah, the victim was your brother-in-law, wasn't he?"

"That's right," Lisa nodded.

"Oh dear, a vampire? How scary," the blonde said in a slightly mocking tone.

"You don't know the half of it! That guy ended up covering Lastation in eternal night! And it would've spread to the rest of Gamindustri if we hadn't nipped him in the bud when we did!" Uni shot back.

"And I am very grateful that you and Lady Noire put an end to that bastard," Lisa said as she took a quick drag from her cancer stick and exhaled away from Uni's direction.

"So who's your new friend, here?" Black Sister asked next.

"You may call me AB," the beautiful blonde introduced herself. "Apologies, but I don't feel comfortable giving out my real name to strangers..."

"Oh really?" Black Sister raised an eyebrow. "You realize that just makes you seem suspicious..."

"Lady Uni, please, there's no need to antagonize her," Lisa cut in. The two locked eyes, and in that moment, Uni saw a twinge of desperation, a look that screamed 'I'm in big trouble and need help!'

"So why are you here, Miss Goddess?" AB inquired.

"I sensed something..." Black Sister began, before catching herself. "Er, you see, there's been some really strange creatures coming through a portal that's opened up in the city, so Noire and I have had to keep a constant vigil in case they start wreaking havoc..."

"...Well, I haven't seen any strange creatures around here," AB shrugged. "Have you, Lisa?"

"No, can't say I have," Lisa shook her head. "Perhaps it was a bird that flew by here?"

"Maybe," Uni shrugged. (Phew, looks like she bought it. Gotta watch my tongue...) Aloud she said, "So, how's your sunscreen business been doing after all that?"

"Business is doing just fine," Lisa replied, somewhat stiffly. "My husband, on the other hand, he hasn't been doing too well as of late..."

"Really? What's wrong?" Uni inquired curiously.

"Oh, he's just a little under the weather," AB replied in Lisa's place. "There's no need to worry, though, the new vice-president he's hired is picking up the slack quite well..."

"Uh-huh... and where do you fit in?" Black Sister pressed.

"Well, I may not look like it, but I help with running security," the blonde responded, taking another pull from her cigarette. "After that awful murder, it's been necessary to tighten things up, in order to keep out... undesirables." She looked the CPU Candidate in the eye with that last word.

"I can't deny that you're quite good at keeping unwanted people out," Lisa sighed.

"Anyway, it seems our lunch is here," AB said, looking at an approaching waiter holding two trays. Extinguishing her cigarette, she stated, "Perhaps you can leave us to eat in peace, Miss Goddess?"

"Alright, enjoy your meal," Black Sister nodded, turning to leave, then glancing back at Lisa. "If you ever need help, don't hesitate to call me or Noire, okay?"

"I'll... keep that in mind," Lisa sighed. With that, the CPU Candidate extended her processor wings and flew off...

(Yeah, doesn't take the world's greatest detective to realize that something's rotten in Denmark, as they say,) Uni thought as she glided down from the high-rise rooftops. (Probably should let Noire know first before anything else...) Thus she altered her course, heading back to the Basilicom...

*Noire's Office*

"So you think Vlad and Lisa Paler are in trouble again?" Noire reiterated.

"Seemed like that AB woman had Miss Lisa under her thumb," Uni nodded, having reverted to normal. "And she said that Vlad was quote-unquote 'under the weather', but I saw that look in Miss Lisa's eyes..."

"So you believe that Mr. Paler is actually being held hostage by this woman and this new vice-president?" Kei Jinguji spoke up from nearby.

"Yeah... but Miss AB gave me a not-so-subtle warning that she was in charge of keeping out undesirables, AKA me and Noire," Uni asserted. "I was thinking of maybe calling Agent Duane about this, but I figured I should run it by you first, Noire..."

"Well, that doesn't sound like a bad idea... What do you think, Kei?" Noire turned to address her Oracle.

"I think that before we put boots on the ground, so to speak, we should consult with Miss Kuremi and her new assistant; see if they can use their computer skills to discreetly find out what is happening at Paler Sunscreen Industries nowadays," Kei suggested. "After all, we know next to nothing about these two persons of interest, and we should avoid going in blind if at all possible."

"All right, I'll give Kyoko a call," Noire nodded. "But I've still got paperwork to do, so can you go over there in my place?" she addressed her sister.

"Sure," Uni nodded. "I think I know the address, but I'll give you a call if I can't find them..."

*And so, at the Kuremi Detective Agency...*

When Uni arrived, she saw Erika sitting on the floor in front of the couch, typing away at her laptop on the coffee table, Kyoko herself sitting behind her on said couch. "Ah, Lady Uni, good timing," the blonde greeted. "Erika's just about to start hacking into the Paler Sunscreen website..."

"Did you look up the vice-president and security staff?" Uni asked after shutting the door behind her.

"I didn't find anything about security personnel on the website, but I did look up the vice president," Erika responded without looking up. "His name is apparently Aviel Kyokoku, and he appears to be a handsome redhead in his twenties... the description for him on the website seemed to heap on a bit too much praise, though."

"Maybe he wrote it himself," Uni half-snarked. "But how will hacking the website help?"

"The website is connected to Paler's main server," Erika replied. "If I can get into the encrypted files, maybe I can find out more about the security and this mysterious AB..." Suddenly there was a buzzing sound, causing her to recoil. "What the-?!"

"What? What happened?" Uni said as she walked over to get a look, seeing a large '!' symbol inside a red circle on the screen... then suddenly a creature resembling a yellow armadillo with a mace tail appeared on the screen, which curled into a ball and raced at the screen- which suddenly went white, then blue with an error message!

"Ahhh!" Erika cried in shock, typing furiously on the laptop to no avail. "System crash...? Reformat required?! That'll take a half hour at least!"

"What was that creature just now?" Uni wondered.

"Could that have been a Digimon?" Kyoko suggested.

"It was a Digimon. An Anklyomon, to be exact," Erika said. "A Champion-level, to boot. But what would one of those be doing on Paler Sunscreen's server?!"

"There's only one place it could have come from- the portal to the Digital World," Uni pointed out. "And if it's part of the online security, there's no way it came by itself..."

"Then it appears that this case is much more complicated than a simple hostage situation," Kyoko noted grimly. "Tell me, Miss Uni, this AB woman... did anything about her seem... inhuman to you?"

"...Well, she seemed completely human, except maybe the red eyes... but I have red eyes myself, so... but there was something else about her..."

"What, exactly?" Kyoko asked.

"Well, the reason I flew down there to begin with was because I sensed a strange presence. And I'm almost certain that she was the one I sensed..."

"What exactly was strange?" the detective pressed.

"I... I dunno, like, she had... power of some sort," Uni said uncertainly. "Actually, when I approached her and Lisa, it was almost like her... aura, or whatever, shot up dramatically, even though she seemed completely relaxed in my presence. Almost like, she was subconsciously raising her defenses, or something like that..."

"That doesn't sound like a Digimon to me," Erika shook her head.

"What about that vice president? That Aviel guy? You saw his picture, right?" Uni suggested. "Does he resemble a Digimon at all?"

"Hmm..." Erika looked away in thought. "I'm not sure... I'd have to take another look. Miss Kuremi, you can still access the website from your computer, can't you?"

"Should be no problem," Kyoko nodded, standing and walking back to her desk. Uni and Erika gathered around her as she brought up the web browser and typed in the address... "All right, here it is... staff page... here. Aviel Kyokoku."

"He seems human enough," Uni observed the small picture next to the vice president's profile. "What do you think, Erika?"

"Hmm... it's possible that he's disguised himself as a human... if that's the case..." Her brow furrowed as the gears turned in her head. "If I had to hazard a guess... he looks similar to a Myotismon. But I wouldn't put money down on that, so to speak."

"What's a Myotismon?" Uni queried.

"A vampire type Digimon, and an Ultimate-level," Erika elaborated. "But the only thing that connects the two is having the same hair color. Like I said, there's no way to tell for sure from this picture alone..."

"Hmmm... then it seems that it's time to take a more hands-on approach," Kyoko decided. "Perhaps that Batman could try infiltrating the business at nighttime..."

"That's actually what I was thinking earlier," Uni nodded in agreement, "but Kei said we should consult you first. At least now Agent Duane has an idea of what to look for..."

"Wait, are you serious about Batman?!" Erika gave Uni and Kyoko a look of disbelief. "Isn't he just a comic book character?"

"He is. Agent Duane bumped into my sister one night when she was on patrol not long after the previous case with this business was resolved, and he told her about his not being very effective in the field due to his pretty boy face, not to mention his refusal to use guns... so Noire whipped up a Batman costume for him, and the rest is history!"

"Oh, I get it now. Your sister is an avid cosplayer, so when an opportunity came to apply her costume skills in a somewhat practical way, she jumped on it," Erika summed up.

"Y-yeah, pretty much," Uni sweat-dropped. "But Agent Duane's been doing a great job as the Caped Crusader! I've worked with him on cases a few times, so I should know!"

"That makes sense. Since he refuses to use guns, being partnered with a sniper like yourself is good synergy," Kyoko said. "Unfortunately, if the enemy is expecting you, it's probably not a good idea for you to go with Batman this time..."

"But I don't think it's a good idea to send him in alone, either," Erika countered. "If not Miss Uni, then who?"

Just then, an idea occurred to the CPU Candidate. "Wait... Erika, didn't you say you were more of a support type of Digimon?"

"Yes, but... oh no," Erika said as it clicked. "You're not serious, are you?"

"They'll be expecting me or Noire, but they won't be expecting an opposing Digimon," Uni argued. "And I remember Sister Noir saying she'd never seen a Digimon like you before... which means there's a good chance they won't know about you either!"

"Even if that's true, I wouldn't really stand a chance against a Myotismon..." Erika sighed, averting her gaze. "And if that AB woman gave you pause, I wouldn't want to face her either..."

"But we're not going to fight them yet. This would just be reconnaissance," Kyoko pointed out. "All you would need to do is help Batman if he gets caught while investigating, like a surprise attack so you can escape..."

"A surprise attack... hmmm..." Erika closed her eyes in thought for a few moments. "I might be able to pull off something like that..." She then fixed her gaze back on Uni. "All right, I'll do it. But I suggest you call Agent Duane here first so we can make a plan of attack. Also, is there a picture of the factory itself on the website, Miss Kyoko?"

"I think so. Let me check..." the blonde grunted as she clicked her mouse a few times. "Ah, here's an overhead shot of the factory."

"Perfect. Once my laptop's finished reformatting, I'll enter that picture into a 3D simulation so we can figure out where to try and sneak in at," Erika stated.

"Okay, I'll call Brian and see if he can come over here," Uni said as she pulled out her Sand-Song mobile device...

*Episode 10- End*