F3: Welcome to chapter 14 of my Neptunia story. Last time we left off with Blanc and her group finding out more about Project Liberator. What else could be in store? I do not own Hyperdimension Neptunia. With that said Let's Dive In.
Chapter 14: Leanbox Autumn Festival.
Two days have past as the sun shined bright over Gamindustri but everything was a buzz in Leanbox as its citizens were waiting anxiously for the festival to begin. Standing among the crowd was IF as she too was waiting as she looked around at the entire crowd of people that had shown up.
"Wow now this is big event. I even see a few from Planeptune that are here for this too. Guess Vert and Chika really wanted this to be a big turn out." IF said.
"Iffy!" Compas voice cried out in the crowd as IF turned to see her friend coming toward her.
"Compa. You're here too. I thought you were still back in Planeptune?" IF said.
"The hospital approved my time off so I could come to the festival. There was no way I was going to miss chance. I even heard that 5pb is coming back." Compa said.
"Well, you heard right. I talked to Vert a few days ago and she confirmed that 5pb is returning here to restart her tour. Maybe I'll even get another autograph." IF said just thinking about it made her shiver in anticipation.
"Yoah IF!" A familiar voice to her came into view as she saw Croire coming toward her as well.
"Croire! You made it. Didn't think you were interested in the festival." IF said.
"Well, it only comes by once a year so I might as well before it's gone till next year." Croire said however Compa wasn't sure who this person was but it seemed the Croire beat her to it.
"So, who's this good-looking chick?" Croire asked playfully looking over Compa but mostly at her chest. IF saw this and gave her a slap on the back of the head.
"Croire be nice and don't stare." IF scolded.
"What? I'm just saying you two are basically the same size right." She said in response. Compa could only giggle at the two.
"It's fine Iffy. I've gotten used to people complimenting me about my chest. Anyway, my name is Compa." She introduced herself.
"Croire. Nice to meet yah. Though it seems like the two of you have known each other for quite a bit haven't you." Croire said.
IF nodded "Yeah. We've known each other for several years now. Though we don't get to hang out much often thanks to Compas job and my work with the guild but it's the little moments that certainly count." IF said.
"Well let's make sure to enjoy ourselves okay." Compa replied as the others cheered with her as they waited for the festival to start.
Thankfully they didn't have to wait long as the intercom came to life as a voice spoke through it.
"Thank you all for waiting ever so patiently. The final preparations are now completed as I declare the Leanbox Autumn Festival open! Please enjoy the festivities to your hearts content and don't forget that 5pb herself will be holding her concert this evening so make sure not to miss it!" Chikas voice said as the crowd started to fill the festival.
Not even ten minutes into the festival and it was bustling with people trying out all sorts of events and even the rides as well. IF and company were at one of the events as she was shooting a water pistol at a face in order to fill a balloon. The bell rang for her victory as she chose her prize which was a plushy of a fenrir monster.
"That was great IF! That's some pro level shooting right there." Croire complimented.
"Thanks, but it's really nothing. Plus, I was going to bring back some souvenirs for Mina and dad back home. I'm sure she'll enjoy them." IF said.
"That's nice to consider her and your dad too since they couldn't make it." Compa added as the three continued to enjoy the festival.
However, something or more like someone caught IF's eye as she noticed a familiar green hair girl standing near the food court looking at her phone but she was wearing more standard clothing which consists of black skinny jeans, gray shirt with a red graphic design and a black hoodie zip up hoodie.
"No freaking way. What is she doing here?" IF said aloud which caught Linda's attention as she looked toward where IF was standing as she let out an annoyed grunt.
"Great. What do you want?" Linda questioned.
"You're not here to cause trouble are you cause if you are then we're going to have a problem." IF said however Linda wasn't impressed.
"Really? That's what you're concerned about. Look I'm no longer with those goons okay. Besides I'm kind of waiting on someone." Linda replied.
"I'm here!" A woman's voice called out.
"Speaking of her." Linda said as they turned to see who it was. It was Rei Ryghts as she ran toward Linda but she was wearing a bright blue yukata like attire as it exposed some of her cleavage with a purple sash around her waist.
"Sorry to keep you waiting Lindy I thought I could wear this for this occasion of the festival." Rei said.
"Nah it's okay besides you look good in it any way." Linda commented which made Rei blush a little.
"Thanks Lindy." Rei said giving the girl a head pat which in turn made her blush as well.
"R-Rei stop it." Linda said to avoid any further embarrassment.
"Alright." She chuckled before seeing the others in front of them.
"Oh, I don't believe we've met before I'm…" Before Rei could answer IF spoke up.
"Rei Ryghts but you must be this dimension version of the one we've fought before." IF said.
Rei only sighed "I see… so you know of that version of myself but not the actual me but who are you three?" Rei said.
"My name's Compa. And I'm a nurse at the Planeptune hospital." Compa introduced herself.
"Name's Croire. I'm just a traveler." Croire introduced herself.
"And I'm IF. I work for the guild back in Lowee." IF said introducing herself.
Rei simply stared at IF for a moment almost like she was admiring her which IF seemed to notice.
"Um… is something the matter? You're staring at me." IF said.
Rei shook her head "Sorry I was just lost in my thoughts for the moment. Say since there are five of us here why don't we all enjoy the festival together." Rei suggested.
"That would be a great idea. It'll be fun having all of us enjoying the festival." Compa said agreeing with the idea however Linda didn't seem to share the same idea.
"I think me, and Rei were going to check it out for ourselves if that's okay." Linda added but Rei gave her a pout.
"Oh, c'mon we're all friends here so we might as well enjoy it while we can. Besides the 5pb concert is tonight that I know you've been dying to hear." Rei said making Linda blush again.
"F-Fine they can come. The more the merrier… I guess." Linda said giving in as now the five of them went to explore the rest of the venue.
Meanwhile Vert was doing her patrols with Chika to make sure everything was running smoothly plus Chika wanted to spend time with Vert as well, so this was a win-win for her.
"I must say Chika you most certainly outdone yourself this year. These venues are simply exquisite." Vert commented.
"Well, I did them according to your preferences." Chika stated as the two ventured into the venues.
"Why don't we try this one first?" Vert said pointing out a shooting game to try out.
After a round of playing the shooting game that Vert suggested surprisingly Chika came out on top and won as she was present a prize which was a festival exclusive necklace that was made for the festival. The necklace itself has a silver chain with a medium size gray orb with a big green stylized X in the middle of it as it glowed bright green.
"Wow that looks very good on you Chika. Though I didn't know you were good at shooting games. Were you practicing?" Vert questioned.
Chika chuckled a little "Yeah I was. I figured it would come in handy someday." Chika said as the two ventured forward to explore the rest of the festival that they themselves put on.
=HDN=
Meanwhile with the group of five they had tried out all the other vendors but there was still so much of the festival to check out as they were carrying bags with souvenirs in them.
"Wow Vert really out done herself when coming up with this festival. There's so much to see that this might take all day to get through." IF commented.
"I agree. This is truly amazing what she has done." Rei replied as the group continued looking at the festival.
However, their attention was distracted when Compa noticed a particular vendor that had candles around at table and a lady with a crystal sphere in front of her. The vendor read 'Fortune Telling.'.
"Oh, this looks interesting. Can we look Iffy?" Compa asked.
However, IF was a little skeptical about the vendor "Fortune Telling? I'm not sure if that's a good idea. It's probably someone just trying to rip you off." IF said.
"Who knows? I could be fun. Let's give it a try." Rei replied as Linda seemed to agree as well.
Figuring that she was outvoted the five of them approached the fortune teller.
"Ah come to have your fortunes read have you. Come sit." The lady said Compa was first as she sat down across from the lady.
"Um… how does this work exactly?" Compa asked.
"Simple. Please place your hand on the sphere." The lady replied as Compa did just what the lady said. Once she did the sphere glowed a mystic purple color.
"Now let us peer into what you seek my dear." The lady replied as she hovered her hands over the sphere peering into the sphere.
"Ah I see something. Your past, you assisted a young girl in finding her memories is that correct." The lady replied.
Compa gasped slightly "That's right. But how did you know?" She questioned.
"My dear. Nothing is hidden from my sight. Now for your future." The lady replied as she hovered her hands over the sphere again but this time the sphere turned a deep purple color which brought concern to the woman.
"Hm… interesting. Very interesting." The lady replied.
"What is it?" Compa asked.
"I sense… pain… hurt and many tribulations ahead. Be wise to avoid such things." The lady warned making Compa gulp nervously as she got up from her seat.
"Would anyone else like to try? See what is in their future?" The lady asked.
IF was next as she sat down "Might as well humor this lady for a while." IF thought thinking this lady was only just tricking them.
"Now then place your hand on the sphere please." The lady said as IF repeated the same motion that Compa did.
"Now then. Let us dive into your past." The lady replied as she repeat the same motion she did before however the sphere glowed a soft white color which made her hum in thought.
"Hm… this is interesting. It appears to me that your deep past is clouded in a fog that I cannot penetrate. Something that I was not expecting." The lady replied.
"Seriously?" IF questioned.
"This normally never happens before. This normally means that you do not fully know about you're past but there might be someone that is linked to that past." The lady replied which made IF think a moment but kept it to herself.
"Now for your future." The lady said as she repeated the process but this time the sphere glowed a blood red color.
"Oh dear. This is not what I was expecting at all." The lady said with worry.
"What is it?" IF asked now curious as the lady looked at her.
"You my dear… will be your own worst enemy." The lady replied worry in her voice.
"My own worst enemy? What are you talking about?" IF questioned.
"I'm sorry dear but that is all I see. I can only wish you the best of luck is your endeavors." The lady replied as the group of five walked off from the vendor.
"Just ignore her Iffy. I mean you being your own worst enemy. That's impossible. Let's just enjoy the festival." Croire said as they walked on. Although IF wasn't so sure if what the woman said was true or not especially with her ability turning into a CPU herself. However, Rei was looking at IF with worry as she too was worried about what the woman had said to IF.
=HDN=
The hours waned on as it was now near evening as the sun was starting to set with everyone making their way to the main event.
"Ladies and gentlemen please take your seats as the concert is about to begin. You wouldn't want to miss it." Chika's voice said over the intercom.
"Time to put my plan into action." Croire thought smirking at the end as she suddenly doubled over holding her stomach.
"Oh. My stomach." Croire moaned.
"Croire are you okay?" Compa asked kneeling down next to her.
"I think it's something I ate." Croire said groaning holding her stomach as she slowly got up.
"I'm going to take care of this. I'll meet you girls later at the concert." Croire said as she ran in the opposite direction still holding her stomach.
"Think she'll be, okay?" Linda asked.
"Probably just a stomach bug or something. Or indigestion. C'mon we don't want to be late." IF replied as the four of them entered the concert.
However, close by Croire gave an evil smirk as she held a tranquilizer dart in her hand along with the gun to fire it.
"Now just to find my target. Once I knock dear Green Heart out cold, I can only imagine how her shares will fair after I unleash another swarm of monsters on this place. IF will have no choice but to go HDD and without Green Heart to help her shares will only plummet while IF's will rise. Perfect." Croire replied as she put her plan into action.
In the stadium it was packed with people from not only Leanbox but from the other nations that could make it. The crowd was abuzz with a certain idol that everyone was waiting to appear.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for all being ever so patient. Now I know you've been waiting but the wait is over so everyone get on your feet for her comeback tour. Please welcome, 5pb!" The announcer shouted as everyone cheered in the audience as the stage lit up with stage smoke coming across it and the lights focused on the center stage.
Appearing in front of them is a young girl with white skin, long blue hair, and magenta-colored eyes. On her head is a pair of Speaker-embedded headphones. Her outfit consists of a black brasier-like top with pink and silver accents that shows off her slim stomach. She wears a black frilled skirt with a pink and black belt and thigh high black stockings. On her arms are pink and black bands and on her stomach is a tattoo of a treble-clef with a pink heart attached to it. On her neck is a black choker with a pink heart pendant attached to it.
Holding in her hands is well known guitar.
"Hello Leanbox!" 5pb shouted to the crowd as they cheered back.
"When I was told that I had a chance to go back on tour this I knew I wanted to start here where my career began. So, I hope you all are ready cause it's showtime!" 5pb cheered as so did the crowd as the 5pb went straight into a song that got crowd to sing along to.
Everyone was enjoying hearing 5pb sing as this was the start of her comeback into the spotlight but most importantly, she was enjoying herself listening to the crowd sing with her. The next few songs were huge hits as well with the crowd.
Linda was cheering her head off alongside Rei who was just as well enjoying the soothing music she played.
However, on top of the stadium outside of everyone's sight Croire stood with a dart gun in hand before loading in the dart that she wanted because she had a target in mind. A certain blonde-haired goddess she was targeting. Vert wasn't hard to spot in the crowd seeing the blonde CPU near the front of the stage.
She smirked at this and aimed her scope at Vert as she put her finger on the trigger.
"Portal Shot." She declared pulling the trigger firing the dart but then a small portal appeared in front of the dart and went through it.
Then a small portal appeared behind Vert as the dart hit its mark that dart piercing her skin.
"Ow!" Vert shouted reaching behind her back but the dart had already vanished from sight.
"You okay Vert?" Chika asked.
"Something stung me in my back. Felt like a needle." Vert replied as Chika checked but didn't see anything.
"Hm… I don't see anything." Chika stated.
"Well, whatever it was it really hurt." Vert replied.
Croire, however, was glad that the dart was delivered. Now all she had to do was wait and then strike as she decided to go back and rejoin the others before they got suspicious but not before leaving behind a small portal for her monsters to come through.
The concert continued without a hitch as 5pb waved to the crowd one last time before running off backstage.
After the concert there was a scheduled meet and greet with 5pb for people to get autographs and get their picture taken with her. Linda was excited to meet her face to face like a little kid meeting their idol.
However, the line was long but she was lucky to get there early before the line got long.
"Calm down Linda. You're going to embarrass yourself if you act all giddy." Rei said trying to calm a jumpy Linda.
"Sorry it's just rare for me to meet someone like her. Besides she'll be going back on tour so she'll be moving to another nation to perform and we might not be able to get to another performance." Linda argued.
"I know just try and not to embarrass yourself." Rei replied as it was her turn.
IF and the others stood back and watch as Linda and Rei were getting 5pbs autograph seeing her sign something of Linda's.
"Never seen her excited like this. She's like a little kid." Compa complimented.
"Yeah. Getting a chance to meet an idol like 5pb isn't something that's happens every day." IF added with a small laugh.
"Say why don't we go get some dinner? I know I great place here in Leanbox that will certainly rock your worlds. Linda and Rei can come along." Croire added.
"That's great. Let's invite them when they're done." Compa said.
"I'll go set it up. Be back soon." Croire said as she took off toward the restaurant.
Just as she left Rei and Linda came up to them with Linda holding a small plush toy of the idol herself holding it close.
"I take it you enjoyed yourself." IF said almost teasing Linda.
"Y-Yeah. Totally. Meeting her in person was worth coming here. She even gave me this as a gift." Linda said pointing out the plush toy.
"It was actually kind of cute seeing her get all red in the face meeting her for the first time." Rei said with a smile.
"S-Shut up!" Linda shouted blushing from the comment which got all of them giggling.
Meanwhile, Chika and Vert were about to head back to the basilicom for some rest but Vert wasn't looking too good as she was holding a hand to her head and she was groaning.
"Vert are you alright? You don't look to good." Chika said looking at the goddess with worry on her face.
"I'm fine… just a little… winded is all…" Vert said but she then fell to a knee before collapsing forward on the ground.
"Lady Vert!" Chika shouted as she caught her before she hit the ground.
"Vert! Lady Vert! Wake up!" Chika shouted trying to wake her but to no avail.
The shouting caught the attention of IF and the others as they ran to her seeing the fallen goddess.
"What happened?" IF asked.
"I-I don't know. We were about to head back to the basilicom and then she just fell over like a sack of bricks." Chika said terrified of what just happened.
"Let me see her." Compa said as Chika laid Vert on her back. The nurse then took out a small flashlight as she opened one of Verts eyes and carefully guided the light over her eye.
"Well, her pupils are responding that's a good sign." Compa said before putting a hand just above Verts mouth before feeling a breath of air touch it.
"And she's breathing. Did anything happen before all this?" Compa asked.
Chika thought a moment before she spoke "She… said that something stung her in the back. Like a needle." Chika stated.
"Let's roll her on her stomach so I can look at her back." Compa said as they gently rolled Vert on her stomach seeing her bare back only to see nothing according to Chika.
"I don't see anything." Linda said. However, Compa carefully guided her hand over Verts back before she felt something tiny near her lower back.
"Ah ha. Found it." Compa said.
"Found what?" IF asked.
"An entry wound. It's small almost like someone used a thin needle to poke at her." Compa said.
"But who would be able to get close to Vert in order to stab her with a needle?" Rei asked.
"That could've been anyone. But I don't think anyone would want to hurt her." Chika added just then her communicator went off as she answered.
"Yes, what is it?" Chika questioned.
"Lady Chika, we have spotted monsters coming this way from the forest." The guard stated.
"What!? Just how many monsters are there?" Chika questioned.
"There's around thirty of them. Worse is there are a few Ancient Dragons among them as well. What are the plans?" The guard questioned.
"Ready the anti-ground cannons and ready any hunters in the area. Sound the alarm throughout Leanbox to a full red alert!" Chika ordered.
"What of Lady Vert?" The guard asked again.
"She's currently unconscious by an unknown source. We are currently trying to wake her. Sound the alarm and send out the broadcast." Chika ordered.
"Yes ma'am!" The guard stated.
Not even a moment later did a loud sound blared throughout the festival that got everyone's attention.
"Attention all civilians! Return to your home immediately! Monsters are invading Leanbox! All available hunters report to the south gate immediately!" The guard spoke over the intercom as the people of Leanbox ran to their home's while other guards and fighters were heading toward the south gate.
"Compa. Get Vert to the basilicom and try to wake her up. I get the feeling we're going to need her for this if things get rough." IF ordered.
"Wait! Where are you going then?!" Compa asked.
"I'm going to go help them. They're going to need everyone that can fight." IF said.
"I'll go too. About time I saw some action." Linda added brandishing her bat.
"The both of you be careful. And don't do anything reckless." Rei warned as they both nodded and ran toward the south gate.
"Rei give me a hand with her." Compa said as Rei and Chika helped lift the unconscious CPU. They decided to place her on Rei's back as the three of them ran straight toward the basilicom for safety.
Meanwhile about them Croire was watching the whole event unfold with a recording device in her hand.
"This is going to be sweet. With Vert down and no CPU to protect them Leanbox is headed straight for a monster invasion by yours truly. Although, how will you respond IF? Will you transform again to safe this nation or will you leave it to its destruction?" Croire questioned as she kept her sights on IF seeing what she was going to do.
All Croire could do was grin seeing her plans coming to life.
F3: And that's chapter 14. The autumn festival in Leanbox has begun and is introducing 5pb as well. Croire up to no good again. How will this end for Leanbox? Don't forget to leave behind a comment and please make sure to follow and/or favorite as well. With that said this is Fireuser3 and I'm Out.