All rights are reserved to their respective owners. I own nothing in this piece of fiction except my OCs and the story itself.
In Planeptune...
"We're back, Histoire!" Nepgear shouted, entering the Basilicom.
"Again!" Nebula blurted, a goofy expression on his face.
The party trailed behind him, with the large group of members soon filling up the hall that the oracle resided within.
"Welcome back. I see that you have gathered the other Candidates." The tome directed her gaze to Uni, Rom, and Ram.
"I'm just doing Nepgear a favor, that's all." Folding her arms, she gave the fairy-like Oracle a smug look.
"And the quicker we help her out!-" Rom started her response.
"-The quicker we can see our sisters!" Ram finished the sentence.
"That's nice to hear." Kei chimed in, standing next to Histoire.
"Kei? When did you get here?" The Lastationite CPU Candidate inquired, curious as to how the tomboyish oracle made her way to Planeptune.
"I came here a while back. All the Oracles did." She brandished the standing forms of Mina and Chika, to the surprise of the party.
"Talk about fast travel." AL nodded, impressed.
"I'll move at the speed of light for my darling Vert!~" Chika declared, imagining the moment of being reunited with her 'sister'.
"I don't doubt that." Vergo sweatdropped.
"Nobody asked you!" The green-haired Oracle snapped a tick mark on her head.
"I hope you two have been well-behaved while traveling with Miss Nepgear." Mina turned to the twins.
Rom and Ram nodded with bright smiles on their faces, indicating their obedience to their caretaker.
"So now that everyone and I mean EVERYONE-" Gris stressed on the last word, gazing at the thanksgiving table that was the party, "-Is here, let's get down to business." He turned to Histoire.
"Right." Histoire gave the GPU a curt nod, before facing the party.
"Since the Mascots have been successfully collected, and all of the CPU Candidates have been gathered, it is almost time for us to retrieve the CPUs." Finally, after what felt like ages, the Oracle of Planeptune was hinting at the rescue of the goddesses.
"Almost? Why can't we just go get them?" Domio tilted his head, confused at the prefix.
"Because we still need to create an apparatus that will be able to magnify the share energy to an extent capable of awakening the goddesses from their slumber," Kei told the Loweean, who began to understand the concept.
"Hmm..." MAGES. pondered audibly, before turning to the tome. "And how long will this process take until the device is fully operational?" Asking the Lastationite Oracle, Histoire took it upon herself to answer.
"Around three hours. And another three hours to ensure that the device works as intended. Which is why I will send you all to recover the CPUs tomorrow morning." The tome elaborated."Understandable, have a nice day." Nebula gave a thumbs up before walking to his room in the Basilicom hallways."Where are you going?" IF gave the pseudo-protagonist a slightly narrowed gaze.
"To nap. I mean, there's nothing better to do anyway now that we're waiting." The GPU shrugged.
"You could play UM at my house. Iffy says that we can stack plus cards on each other!" Compa cheered.
"Hmm..." Nebula pondered with a hum.
'You think they'd notice if we shuffled the cards so that we always get the best deck each round?'
Aluben's voice rang in the deity's mind.
'If you can factor in the positioning of my seat, the chance and frequency of a draw two, draw four, and skips with reversals, be my guest.' In a rare showing of intelligence, the blue adventurer responded.
'...Tsk.' Conceding, the alter ego grew silent.
"Sure! Let me change, though. Don't wanna propagate the same clothes protagonist cliché." Nebula accepted before leaving the room.
AL walked next to the Guild Agent before continuing the conversation.
"UM with stackable pluses? You know they say you can't do that on their official Chirper, right?" The human martial artist reminded.
"Do I look like I care, AL?" IF deadpanned. A curt smirk of defiance radiated from the Guild Agent, to which the fellow flame user nodded with respect.
"I like the way you roll, Iffy. Count me in." He pointed a thumb at himself as a snigger spread across his lips.
"Yessy! We have four people now!" Jubilation filled the heart of Compa, excited to play a fun game with her friends.
5pb. nervously approached the Nurse-In-Training, seeing her as the most approachable.
"U-Um..." The idol raised her finger timidly, but Compa had already noticed her, quickly responding.
"Do you wanna play UM too, 5pb.?" Piecing together her entire sentence from a single word, the bubbly nurse asked her what she had on her mind.
"Y-Yes! I hope you all enjoy my c-company...!" She mustered all the self-condifence she had around others to form a complete sentence with minimal stuttering.
"Of course, we'd enjoy it! You're 5pb. for crying out loud." IF took a more direct approach to accepting the company of the Leanboxian idol.
"S-Shucks. Thanks, you two." Becoming bashful, the reddening idol didn't know what to do with herself.
"We're just waiting on Nebula right now, I hope he doesn't change into something stupid." The childhood friend of the meme lord sighed.
"OK, I'm back." Dressed with his orange bandana scarf, the GPU simply went for a black shirt that read 'I PAUSED MY GAME TO BE HERE', dark jeans with orange shoes with white tips.
"I expected worse so good job, Neb." AL gave a perfect sign with his fingers.
"Hey, I wear the drippiest swag. I got this shirt from Lastation, anyway." The pseudo-protagonist defending his fashion.
"You share the fashion sense of a Neppit mod." IF held back a giggle.
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" The blue deity pointed with offended fervor. "My chronically online wardrobe offers me infinite possibilities."
With his fists on his waist, he used his gravity to rotate his body akin to a character customization screen.
"Enough goofing around, Neb-Neb. We can do that at my house!" Compa beckoned the lad.
"LET'S GOON AROUND AT COMPA'S HOUSE!" Exclaimed the blue immortal.
"Please never say that again." Vergo shook his head with a facepalm, as AL cackled with boisterous volume.
"Let's go, you four." IF held Compa's hand before leaving, followed by Nebula and AL with 5pb. standing a little closer to the GPU as she followed the group of five.
"He gets worse with every chapter." Gris let out an exasperated sigh.
"What chapters?" Domio looked around for any books that weren't Histy's seat.
"Don't think about it." The time traveler spoke for the young teen's thoughts.
"But I like it. These hijinks are soothing to me." The blonde CPU Candidate admitted.
"Gooning is soothing to you?" A sly remark was made by the hitman.
"Not that, you albino arse. Taking the piss with you all is truly the few comforts I have left." A surprisingly solemn smile took over the blonde's face.
"Vergo?" Domio's juvenile perspective on his friend's emotional state made him rather concerned.
"What does that even mean, Vergo?" Chika, on the other hand, was not so empathetic to the blonde.
The fact that was beyond a reasonable doubt related to Vert made her dislike his entire existence.
"Not something that you'd understand." The Leanboxian CPU Candidate dismissed her question.
"Highly unlikely. You're just not intelligent enough to explain what you're talking about." Chika haugtily replied.
"Well, you can't expect him to tell you if you're going to antagonize him like that." Mina told her fellow Oracle.
"Don't worry about it, Mina. She couldn't bear whatever I had to say anyway. It would break her stuck up heart." The dystopian deity spat.
"I'm only tolerating you because you saved my darling Vert's nation. If it weren't for that, you'd be banished from Leanbox for life." She spat with equivalent contempt.
"Chika! Such a sentence is preposterous!" Histoire spoke with shock.
"Y'know wot." Slipping into his accent, a telltale sign of anger surfaced from the blonde bloke.
"If you banned me from coming back to Leanbox, how would you even enforce that banishment?" Getting up, he came face to chest with the Oracle.
"Exiling a CPU is difficult. Some might say impossible. And the only goddess in Leanbox who can stand up to me is wrapped up like a present in ASIC's clutches."
Vergo exhibited an unnerving aura standing over Chika, his face covered in shadows with his blue eyes narrowing at her nervous red irises.
"So before you start prattling off absurdities..."
ゴゴゴゴ!
"Know your place."
The comical saucers that the narrative knew and loved returned to the spotlight, particularly on Chika's face with her mouth wrenched with quivering.
"Ight, imma head out. Since the Vert simp wants to act all high and mighty, you all won't be seeing me until we rescue the CPUs." Vergo announced, giving the group an over-the-shoulder glance.
Walking out of the room, most of the group watched the blonde silently leave before he did something that he would come to regret.
"Vergo, wait!" Nepgear, with the large amounts of sympathy she had for others, quickly pursued the blonde.
"Ugh... Is this something like how I acted?" Uni felt a twinge of secondhand embarrassment, huffing under her breath.
"Yes." Gris and Kei unanimously answered.
"Who asked you two!" Snapped the tsundere before the Lastationite CPU Candidate went after the time traveler with Nepgear.
"Congratulations on making one of the only reasons Leanbox isn't a smoldering crater dislike you." The Oracle of Lastation monotonously spoke, with what contextually possessed sarcasm yet verbally lacked such a tone.
"Strongly at that." Gris commented.
"Hmph. It's not my fault he can't take criticism." Chika harrumphed. "Some CPU he is. Nothing like my darling Vert!" She continued.
"You're booing him because he's right, though." Domio aptly brought up.
"Certified hater." Rom pointed at the green Orac
"Yeah, stop being a poopy pants!" Ram shook her fist.
"I won't be lectured by a bunch of kids." Folding her arms, Chika remained steadfast on her position.
"Even if you act like one?" Gris let out a small smile at that.
"I'm going to work on the Sharicite! " Huffing with a reddened face, the green Oracle stomped out of the room.
"What a wet blanket." Ram giggled at her sibling.
"Soggy..." Rom smiled back at her sister.
"Now, now, children. It's not nice to talk behind people's backs." Mina chided the twins.
"Yes, Miss Mina." The twins nodded in sync.
Domio looked around before being called upon.
"Kid." Gris' voice summoned. "You look idle, want to do something fun?" He appealed to the child's boredom.
"I'm not quite sure what your idea of fun is, Mister Gris." Domio nervously looked to the side, a sweat drop forming.
"So you're telling me you don't want to ride a high-powered hoverboard around the city?"
"...What's the occasion?" Domio carefully questioned.
"Stop that. You're not old enough to seek insight into my actions and understand." He wagged his finger sporadically.
"Consider this an early birthday gift." Gris took out the board, futuristic in design.
"It's straight out of Sanic Riders!" Sparkles emitted from the young teenager's eyes.
"This is gonna be so freakin' cool!" The boy couldn't help but gush, his new hoverboard held tightly under his arm.
"Hey! How come he gets a hoverboard!" Ram complained.
"Well, Mister Gris said that it was a birthday gift..." Rom tried to placate her younger sister.
"Then I've decided that it's my birthday too!" Ram declared before making her way to Gris with cute stomps.
"That's not how birthdays work, Ram." Deadpanned the assassin.
"Yuh-huh! I said so!" Pouting, she was not going to be deterred by facts and logic.
"Well, I can give you a different sort of present." MAGES. made her way to the pink goddess.
"Like what?" Raising her eyebrow, the kid grew suspicious.
Taking out a broom, the Mad Magician offered it to her.
"... I said I wanted a gift, not a chore!" Ram blurted with exasperation.
"Ok... How about you, Rom? Care for a magic broomstick?" The blue-haired magician asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Magic?"/"MAGIC?!" Gris and Ram both spoke, respectively.
"Yes, please." The blue goddess took hold of the broom before she placed it between her thighs.
FLOAT...!
"W-Whoah!" Rom shouted, pleasantly surprised by the gift.
Taking out her own broom, MAGES. began to float in the air, albeit much quieter than the younger rider beside her.
"I'll have to teach you the basics, Rom. But it will be a marvelous experience." The Mad Magician smiled.
"No fair, I want a magical broomstick too!" Ram brewed closer to throwing a tantrum, yet her caretaker stepped in.
"Ram, if you want to have your own broomstick, you must apologize to Miss MAGES." The Oracle of Lowee instructed.
Ram pouted at the accountability she'd have to exhibit, yet a sigh indicated the relinquishment of her ways.
"I... I owe you an apology, MAGES. I wasn't familiar with your game." Ram apologized to the Mad Magician."
Well, I can't really be that angry at you. Kids these days overlook the value of the classics." MAGES. retained a nonchalant expression with a small smirk.
"Besides, there's something behind your ear." She reached behind the goddess' head.
"What? No, there isn't-" The child's face scrunched in denial.
YOINK!
Ram's face brightened with glee at the broomstick of magical proportions in front of her.
Grabbing the household tool, she hugged it with a newfound sense of gratitude.
"Come along, girls. I have much to teach you if you are to become nearly as Henry Porter." She referenced to the renowned book series.
"Yes, ma'am!" Both CPU Candidates responded, jubilant at the opportunity presented to them.
The three magic users left the Basilicom, with Rom shakily floating with MAGES. and Ram beside her.
Then there were four.
"Guess that leaves us." Gust noticed, with the sole party members in the Basilicom.
"No matter how small, the arbiters of altruism will always remain steadfast!" Nisa cheered, putting her fists on her hips.
"What a wonderful name, Nisa." Kallen smiled at the heroine's epithet.
"...Have I really fallen so far that I'm some cheesy superhero...?" Murmured the edge lord just quiet enough for the Makers to ignore.
"Not quite, Gris." Histoire, who DID hear his tribe, approached the trio of characters.
"I have questions about you and Vergo's possession of shares." Planeptune's Oracle told the GPU, with a curious expression.
"It would benefit our cause to know more about your skillset and the origin of your powers to wield something only the goddesses should have access to." Kei chimed, with a sweatdrop from the Lastationite deity.
'More like intel to use against me in the future.' An internal deadpan was made.
"You could even spark the creation of an encyclopedia! Since your existence was never mentioned in ancient texts, this could be a historical phenomenon!" Mina sounded excited about making history.
'Immortilization through information. Sounds tempting...' The GPU continued to mull it over.
"All great heroes have tales about their epics and sagas. You should totally tell them, Gris." Nisa encouraged the manslayer.
"It'll make you more dreamy." Gust winked.
Another sweatdrop from the edge lord.
"For the betterment of mankind, I must implore you, Gris!" Kallen pleaded, the golden intentions almost too much to bear.
Looking amongst the faces of the Basilicom, a sigh exited his lips.
'I can't believe I'm about to do this...' Holding back his brooding nature, he took a deep breath.
"Now this is a story all about how-"
"My life got flipped turned upside down-"
"And I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there-"
"I'll tell you how I became a god that can stop time in mid-air!-"
"Stuck up bitch." Vergo grumbled, stomping streets of Planeptune were clean and futuristic, with many buildings resembling skyscrapers and offices that rose to meet the heavens.
Trudging through the street was a good way to prevent the fledgling deity from jumping off the rails and letting Chika meet her future self.
"Even in this timeline, she's still such a prick." Muttering, the blond exhaled before he ran his fingers through his hair.
"It's not like I can just outright tell her the truth, especially with her feelings towards my very existence," Vergo remembered his pretenses.
"I need to save Vert if I want her to even consider listening to whatever I have to say with her goddess present." Devising an idea to deal with Chika's attitude ahead of time, the blonde continued to walk down the street.
"Which means my sister's liberation stands above even the inclinations of my Oracle, as it always has." A curt smile crossed his lips.
"Yet in terms of my actual mission... I feel no closer to my goal." The time traveler took out the bloodied fabric that belonged to his previous sister.
"No, my dream." Vergo reaffirmed, gripping the temporal artifact.
"I must kill the VPUs. Every last one of them." Vergo's hold on Vert's accessory became a vice grip, with the object shaking to the brink of cracking.
"Those abominations will not go unpunished for their desecration upon my Gamindustri." Thr deep blue eyes that the brother of Green Heart vibrated with something closer to obsession.
"DIO was a test run for them. I fear that an actual move on the chess board will be catastrophic." Some beads of sweat appeared on the CPU Candidate's face.
"Kars is the only person intelligent and powerful enough to begin preparations as an individual entity." He murmured, walking into a more desolate area of Planeptune.
Near the Basilicom was far too lively for the topic he was currently discussing.
"A tracker ant should be somewhere on my body." Using the air that surrounded his body, he pinpointed the insect's location.
Putting away his late sister's accessory, the ant replaced what he held, making his way away from people.
The antennae that the ant possessed most likely worked as a transmission to Kars to relay information without being too obvious, despite the ants' already inconsequential size and placement.
But Vergo had already roughly guessed this from the conversation that Kars had with the party about his proxies.
Moving forward, the blonde made his way to an abandoned subway not too far from the capital.
It was similar in aesthetic to the one that he was in while at the previous timeline's Lastation.
From the rubble and degradation of structural integrity to the rusting of the tracks and the smell of dust with the eerie silence only broken by his lone footsteps being the end of similarities.
The difference was the lack of decaying bodies present.
Making his way just before the darkness could completely blind his path, the light of day shined behind him as he spoke.
"Kars. I know you can hear me. I need you to show yourself, it's something important." Vergo requested.
Yet he got no response.
"It's pertaining to you." The blonde deity continued.
Silence. The ant even tilted its minuscule head.
"It's how you die." Vergo grew tired of being ignored and hence developed a growling manner of speech.
FLASH!...
A bright light of magical energy overtook the dark halls that permeated the sea of darkness within the subway.
Kars stood there, dressed in a fedora with his clothes consisting of a wide collar short-sleeved trench coat with an esoteric double button design.
He wore baggy pants that sported knee guards with shin plates and dress shoes, the coat of his trench reaching near his calves in length.
His hands were in his pockets, and his hair was rarely somewhat covered by a hat, and even more seldom was the alien wearing pants.
"Elaborate." The pillarman folded his arms, not amused.
"I would, but how come you're wearing pants?" A confused look made its way to Vergo's face.
"Infiltration in Lastation. This sense of clothing allows me to blend in well with the locals." The alien warrior informed.
"I see. Well, back to my previous subject. I need you to teach me a technique so that I can prevent your death." Vergo explained, yet this did not move Kars to cooperation.
"As if I could be felled by anything on this planet." Dismissing the claim, the hair of the alien swished with the shaking of his head.
"Perhaps as of now, but I wouldn't make such a staggering claim without the burden of proof." Vergo took out his into his Chirper feed, he put the device to Kars' face.
"In the year 203X, Gamindustri is destroyed by an extradimensional faction known as the Viral Pernicious Units, or VPUs abbreviated."
Pictures of landmarks such as Planeptower and the Green Box were shown to be extensively damaged with the other buildings surrounding them mostly.
Lastation and Lowee's Bascilicom's fared no better with thousands of bodies and destroyed cars with burning debris scattered throughout the ' eyes slightly widened before narrowing them.
"How far is this from now." Kars' tone was downright a command from what was grammatically a question.
"Roughly twenty years. Give or take a week from my arrival." Vergo responded.
"And you are Green Heart's brother from that time, I assume?" The Ultimate Life Form gathered.
"Indeed," Vergo responded. "None except for Nebula, Gris, Domio, and myself survived their onslaught." A depressive tone took the bloke's voice.
"Gris sent me here to prevent that outcome. But DIO taught me that we were tested not too long ago. And his defeat signifies a more suppressive approach." The green god explained.
"Why haven't you told your friends yet?" Kars grew suspicious.
"The VPUs monitor their targets. If I released too much intel at once, they might trigger a large scale attack early and doom us all." Vergo reiterated what he told his circle at the hovercraft back in Leanbox.
"So you plan to keep them in the dark until it's almost too late? Do tell me the functionality in that course of action, Vergo." The alien was not impressed at his prerogative either.
"I know the plan is shite, but nothing is worth the risk." Vergo pulsed his KI, and surveyed the air to locate any living and non-living organisms that may have been eavesdropping.
"Once the VPUs attack, I can tell them everything. They'll ease up and I can give them the information we need to set up a proper strategy-"
"And what if their first attack in this time is the equivalent of your future's?" Kars cut him off.
"I surmise that you're one of the smarter members of the circus Nebula calls a party, but you must have realized that this plan is the equivalent of swiss cheese when it comes to holes?" Kars facepalmed.
"..."
Looking down at his feet, the blonde felt his mind start to click.
"Explain, please." A crack of inexperience was shown in the eyes of the CPU Candidate.
The inversion of ignorance was also somewhat amusing for Kars as he began to consult.
"Firstly, even if you told everyone who by your standards is allowed to know, what should they do? Do you have an extensive enough reference point of the VPUs to confidently give out meaningful advice? Or is the squinting leading the blind?" The Ultimate Life Form raised a brow.
"I know some of the more important ones, Xero and Citadel for instance." Vergo described.
"Their abilities? Their backstories? Their motives, personalities, relationships with other VPUs and their associates?"
"... Not THAT well."
"Then we have a problem." The egotistical extraterrestrial glared.
"I understand that my tactics are shoddy at best. But it's not like you were there to refine them in the future since you got ambushed by 2 VPUs simultaneously in the middle of nowhere."
"Inconceivable!"
Showing the picture of his crown in a large crate, Kars eyes bugged out at the sight.
"What were their names!"
"Not sure, but it couldn't be Vhestora since she was in Lastation. Xero was in Plneptune, Citadel in Leanbox, and Dr. Hazard in Lowee..." Listing off the ones he knew, the blonde drew blanks.
"So there are more than those four you listed. Figures, from those names lining up with what you told your fellow group members I. the Leanboxian forests."
"Wait, so you knew...!" Vergo's jaw dropped in exasperation.
"To a certain extent. For what I had in raw data I lacked in context when it came to personal information." He clarified the information he lacked.
"And with your plan's intricacies... Or at least the ones I believed it had." A side glance at the blonde was made.
"I will review your constructive criticism when you teach me those skills, Kars."
"And pray tell, what ARE these skills you seek to gain?" The alien appeared bemused.
Vergo's face darkened, only leaving his eyes and the intent behind them.
"Reptilian Regent of Scarlet Destruction."
"...Wha-"
"And the Red Ring of Death."
"...ARE YOU MAD!?" Kars' voice echoed, his voice reaching incredulous pitches for the first time in a long while.
"I need to know these! Your future counterpart told Gris you learned these years ago!"
"And you expect me to teach them to you why?" Kars lifted his chin, looking down on the CPU Candidate.
"I won't allow even the slightest chance of victory for those fuckers! I must be able to pull out every stop in the eleventh hour!" Vergo justified.
"And you assume you'll last that long with your current situation?" The alien's brows furrowed.
"Of course not. It's not like you haven't made it painfully obvious up until this point, but I will do what must be done to exterminate them." The blonde glowered.
"So why gatekeep? What, does the mighty Kars fear seller's remorse?"
"Of course not. I'm simply not going to teach two life-threatening skills to a greenhorn who can't even get his resistance tactics in order."
"Fuck off! Or do you want to end up dead in a ditch, dethroned from your position until the end of time." Vergo grew impatient with the negative answers he received.
"Do you really think that learning two skills can change the future to such a degree?" Kars scrutinized the blonde with a superior glare.
"My EXISTENCE can change the bomboclaat future, Kars! I didn't exist at this point back then, don't you get it?!" Vying for some sort of agreement, the time traveler argued.
"I'm not enough of an egoist to believe my own hype can solve the world's issues, but I'm bloody sure that I'm competent enough to learn those skills." Vergo continued his side of the conversation.
"I picked you because you're capable of decent teaching on paper, not because of some shoddy acquaintance that vaguely resembles friendship." Putting away his phone, the blonde bloke used his hands to gesture.
"And I don't need the patronizing of the Ultimate Drag Queen to spare my friends a fate worse than death!"
"It's not patronizing to tell you the truth." A dull look from the alien meant that Vergo's words were going nowhere.
"What will it take for you to give me the power I need?" The brother of Vert inquired.
"You have nothing that I wish to possess." Kars became adamant on that notion.
Biting his lips nervously, the blonde deity truly had nothing on the table that he could being up right now to entice the extraterrestrial.
At least, those that were not going to potentially jeopardize all of their livelihoods.
Left with few options, he went for...
"All of Leanbox's classified information on the other nations." He put in the air.
"... Are you joking? A goody-two-shoes could never sell out his friends for some-" Even the chaotic alien couldn't take his words at face value.
"Planeptune's nuclear mecha blueprints for their superweapon; Nepgeardam. Lastation's Kaiju Killachines and their manufacturing locations. The restricted books that Lowee's Bascilicom only allows close associates of the CPU to gain access to." Vergo offered.
Kars lowered his head to look at the blonde CPU Candidate.
"And what about Leanbox? Quite two-faced to leave your own nation out of the equation."
"I will divulge my nation's resources when I learn the techniques." Vergo gave a condition.
"It wouldn't be fair if I gave you everything at the start, since you have to be able to proficiently teach me as much as I need to effectively learn them." The CPU Candidate stated.
Kars remained silent.
The Ultimate Lifeform needed to know as much of this world's culture and secrets as he possibly could.
Ever since he landed in Lowee's outskirts, the alien warrior desired knowledge above all other resources.
And the divine neophyte before him was the perfect method for achieving that objective.
"Very well." The Ultimate Lifeform accepted.
"I will teach you these skills under one additional condition." Kars outstretched his hand and opened his palm.
SHINE...!
"Teach me the fundamentals of share energy. As one of Leanbox's patron deities, that should not be difficult for you."
Within a magical sphere of containment magic, bolstered a small cluster of shares separated from natural existence.
It's ethereal glow lit up the dark hallway, the small blip of divine power very concentrated in Kars' possession.
"Consider it a pardon for the revelation of Leanbox's deeper secrets. After all, the destroyed state it was in gave me plenty time to gain restricted information on my own." The egotistical extraterrestrial explained.
Putting away the energy, he stuck out his hand.
"Do we have a deal, young one?"
ゴゴゴゴ!...
Kars' face darkened, only his sly grin and eyes with mysterious intentions evident in the darkness.
Vergo's own face mimicked his negotiation partner's, yet his showcased that of revengeance.
ドドドド!...
"Deal." The time-traveling tyro stuck out his own hand.
The two shook on it, closing their deal without the utterance of spiel.
Within the end of the sea of darkness, VPN observed the two with absolute silence.
A coat of fear energy masked her presence completely. It was blue, resembling her color composition.
'So they have an informant... Interesting...' She observed in silence.
'But he's so inexperienced, that he can't even tell them the right details, and sounds like one of those crackheads that hold up an armageddon sign on a busy street!'
The mole giggled, before continuing to write down on her digital notepad.
"Did you hear something?" Kars' ear twitched, causing him to look behind.
Vergo pulsed his KI once more and felt nothing, but his wind...
"FEAR ENERGY!"
BLAST!
Sticking out his hand, the blonde god sent a share-laced energy blast at the hallway.
"Shit!" The spy cursed.
¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?
Opening a portal, she quickly descended into the opening moments before the green attack singed her hair.
BOOM!
The hallway roared with flame, rushing to the two.
Vergo attempted to use his aerokinesis to kill the flames via vacuum, neutralizing the explosion.
"Let's be off." But Kars spoke, a magic circle appearing under their feet, wide enough in diameter to encompass both individuals.
"Greater Teleportation."
"Wait! I need to stop the flames-"
FLASH!-
Before the CPU Candidate could quell the inferno, they disappeared in a brilliant flare of magical energy, letting the explosion spread into the surface.
CRASH!...
"Waaugh!" A bystander screamed in fright before a brick smacked his noggin.
Bricks and burning stones flew into several buildings, shattering windows and striking several innocent civilians.
A large fire was erected from the attack, continuing to rage unchecked.
"Someone call the fire department!" A concerned samaritan alerted.
The wailing of sirens indicated the approaching of authorities, with the smoke billowing amongst the collateral.
Nepgear and Uni appeared on the scene, only to see destruction left in the wake of where they last saw the blonde.
"Goodness! What happened here!?" She shrieked, seeing the disaster unfold before them.
Tending to the NPC who got hit with a brick, comical swirls were on his eyes with a large bump on his head.
"Ground went boom, and so did my head..." Groaning, the man passed out with a concussion in store.
"Could Vergo have been behind this?..." Uni narrowed her eyes with suspicion.
"That can't be true! He saved Leanbox, there's no way he can be behind this." The Planeptunian CPU Candidate vigorously denied.
"Then where is he, Nepgear?" Lastation's CPU Candidate inquired harshly.
"We can't even find him and then this happens. So it can't be ruled out." The tsundere put her hands on her hips.
"We have to report back to Histoire, come on!" The twin-tailed girl grabbed her hand, before pulling her along.
Nepgear became fretful at the condition of her fellow CPU, feeling helpless to aid him in his difficult time.
'I've managed to solve everyone's problems with me, but why not yours?...' A somber thought trickled into Nepgear's mind with her return to the Basilicom.
"UM OUT!" Roared Compa, winning for the umpteenth time.
"FUCK!" AL threw his cards into the ground, causing them to fly all over the table.
"Don't be a potty mouth, AL!" Compa chided the martial artist.
"Sorry, Compa." Clearing his throat, the flame user muttered something.
"Estúpido dibujo cuatro..." (Stupid draw four.) He unconsciously muttered.
"Dude, your taco speak is slipping." Nebula pointed out.
"Is it? Lo siento, I guess. ¿Y tú?" (And you?) The mortal buddy raised a brow.
"Kaiwa-chū ni kotoba o kirikaeru koto ga dekimashita because you understand what I say." Nebula justified. (I can afford to switch languages mid-conversation)
"¿Y tú no?" (And you don't?) AL deadpanned.
"I do, I'm just being difficult." The meme lord beamed.
"Bruh." A reasonable response seemed from exasperation with the human fighter.
"I didn't think you two spoke so many languages." 5pb. admitted with some awe in her expression.
"I know 4 on paper. But ever since I became a GPU, I suddenly know this one." Nebula brought up.
"Tes yeux sont beaux à voir, ma dame~." (Your eyes are beautiful to behold~) Grabbing IF's hand, Nebula planted a soft kiss on the back of her palm after a husky tone escaped his lips.
"Ack!" The Guild Agent grabbed her hand away, slightly flustered from the unnatural suave that exuded from Nebula moments ago.
"See? Totally uncalled for. I was NEVER that hot." Using his barokinesis, AL'S scattered cards were neatly stacked onto the table.
"I don't know about that one, Neb-Neb..." Compa murmured bashfully.
"What was that?" AL gained a suggestive look, as the face of the Nurse-In-Training resembled a tomato.
"Nothing!" She shook her head vigorously.
"Compa, you're going to give yourself a headache if you wing your head around that much." 5pb. warned, oblivious to the girl's actual reason for her behavior.
"Take it from a girl who's rolled around her own noggin with guitar solos." The idol laughed at her past self's experience.
"Clockwise or counterclockwise?" Nebula asked a question only the idol could answers.
"Who in their right mind head bangs counterclockwise?" An incredulous 5pb. guffawed.
"We're friends now, Lyrica." Nebula stuck out his fust, to which the singer shyly reciprocated once her name was mentioned.
"I-I guess we are, Nebula." She awkwardly smiled, trying to get a feel on being called her actual name.
"So what's next? Another round of UM?" IF held up a wild card."
"Um, no." AL made a pun out of a declination. "I think we should chill before I crash out from chronic loser syndrome."
"You mean you suck and don't want to taste defeat again?" Nebula had a snide expression.
"On mah momma you better not say I suck at UM!" AL snapped.
"Um, what?" Nebula snickered, joined by the suppressed laughter of Compa and 5pb.
"Dammit, Nebula! You know what I mean!" The best buddy angrily dismissed the trivial attempts of humor.
As the group continued to speak, Compa's television suddenly made a loud noise.
"BREAKING NEWS!" The news anchor downright shouted, startling the group.
"There has been a massive explosion in East Planeptune, at the entrance to the abandoned subway station within the Jet Set District injuring several people with a possible death count-"
"Womp womp."
FLICK!
Nebula had grabbed the remote, and switched the channel to a boy with a stop sign rapping against a ginger kid.
The room became silent at the action.
"... Did you just say womp womp to a national incident?..." IF slowly inquired, a very concerned look on her face.
"Cry harder. Me personally, I'd simply not be affected." Nebula shrugged.
"Nebula, what the fuck!" AL stood up, glaring down at his friend.
Compa visibly jumped at the insult, causing Lyrica to mimic her from the proximity of the nurse.
"You've never said anything like that when it came to the pain of others. So why now?" AL grew suspicious.
"Are you a skinwalker?" A sus gaze came from the martial artist.
"What? No. I thought we dealt with him already." Nebula returned with some scrutiny.
"Wait, you two killed a skinwalker?" The idol raised a slender brow.
"Yeah, my grandpa even burned his remains for extra measure." AL did a thumbs up for verification.
"Guys, I'm fine. What, am I starting to act like an edge lord or somethin'?" The GPU gave a joshing scenario.
"...Kind of." Compa compared their personalities before answering.
"Pfft- Hahahaha... MWAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" 'Nebula's' regular laughter developed into a villainous archetype at the drop of a pin.
"Yeek!" Lyrica hid behind the Guild Agent at the meme lord's outburst.
"Scared? Grow a spine. AL gets it. He tore DIO's out of his back!" 'Nebula's' voice grew uncanny, faintly distinguishable yet completely unlike his regular vocals with a more accented tone.
"Wait, what?" IF gazed at the martial artist with some awe.
"You girls missed a LOT in Leanbox." AL blankly stared as he responded with a deadpan.
"What my charcoal chum is sayin' is that I'm the result of somethin' you girlies weren't there to witness. Pure awesomeness!"
'Nebula's' hair lightened briefly, alongside his sclerosis darkening before returning to normal.
"Pure cringe." AL booed.
VINE BOOM!
"Wilhelm scream dot mp3-"
A sudden pulse of gravity sent the man flying through an open window without the raise of a finger.
"A-AL!" Lyrica shouted in anxious concern.
"What the hell's gotten into you!" IF shouted, reaching for her Qatars.
Yet her body stopped responding to whr entirely.
"Don't do it. Ya ain't winning this fight, IF." Wagging his finger, 'Nebula' shook his finger.
"Neb-Neb, please stop this!" Compa begged, the fear present in her eyes.
Lyrica shuddered with the intimidating composure that 'Nebula' now possessed.
From the two, a mysterious stream of dark energy unbeknownst to them flowed from the girls into 'Nebula's' body.
"The emotion of fear. Such cowardice brings me sustenance." Salivating over the inkling of negative emotion, the GPU bared a toothy grin of uncharacteristic malignancy.
"Nebula wouldn't be this evil. Something's happened to him. Messing up his brain." IF deduced.
"Correct. I guess the flatter they are, the smarter they are." A taunting smile erected a snarl from the Guild Agent.
"Who are you!" IF snapped.
"I..." 'Nebula' paused. "I can't believe it took ya this long ta notice!" Laughing shortly after his sentence, 'Nebula' maniacally grinned.
"Refer ta me as The One Who Knocks... People out-"
PHASE!-
GRAPPLE!
"What?!" 'Nebula' Exclaimed, Fighting Fire with Fire's arms manifesting to prevent any counters.
"Scorching Schneider!"
BOOM!
Reappearing with a sudden burst of speed, AL kicked the head of his mentally unwell friend, flames exploding from the area of contact.
Nebula's eyes blanked from the sudden blunt force trauma.
SUMMON!...
F2WF's form fully manifested to brace the GPU to prevent his dazed frame from toppling over.
"YOWCH!" A more friendly cadence returned to Nebula's lips.
"What the fuck was that for?!" Nebula with a comical bandage lump on his head with angry eyes glared at his friend.
"You weren't yourself. Something sinister was controlling your body." IF explained, unstuck from her previous position.
"And you were talking about f-fear and stuff!" Lyrica stuttered, still shaken up by the experience.
"Fear?..." Nebula looked at himself, a pit stirring within his stomach.
He never saw himself as someone who could genuinely make others, let alone his own friends scared of him.
Beads of sweat collected on his face, sharing an unnerved look with his buddies.
'Aluben...' The deity put two and two together, yet heard silence for a response within his mind.
"I was scared, Neb-Neb!" Compa ran up to the GPU and embraced him, her eyes welling with frantic tears.
"I don't want you to end up like that again!" She rubbed her face into his shirt, slightly dampening it.
Patting her head, he snorted before a smile spread on his lips.
"Don't worry, Compa. I'm not gonna become Gris anytime soon. Or evil for that matter." A warm expression was visible from his face.
"You promise?" She looked up at him, still wrapping her arms around his torso.
"You betcha." Returning her gesture, the GPU wrapped his arms around Compa's waist with the two sharing a fluffy embrace.
"Alright, you two. That's enough making up." IF interrupted the moment between the two friends.
"Afraid they might make out?" AL made a snide remark, with a matching facial expression.
"Shut up!" IF's cheeks flushed as she barked at the taller comrade.
"So what now?" Lyrica, who had calmed down a bit, interjected.
"We probably missed the news because of whatever happened to Nebula, so..." She trailed off.
"I got it on my phone. Intel and all that." The Guild Agent took out one of her phones from her coat.
"Abandoned subway terminal explosion injuring 20 people, 5 of which children, and 3 senior citizens." IF read out.
"What?! That's terrible!" Compa covered her mouth.
"Wanna check it out?" Nebula asked the group.
"It's probably wrapped up with yellow tape by now." The martial artist responded.
"Unless Iffy wants to use her Guild Agent status?" He turned to the brunette.
"Unless it's a threat to national security or a monster attack, I can't use my jurisdiction to intervene." IF notified the party of her status, or lack thereof to properly investigate.
"I'll just transform and tell them to let us through." Nebula offered.
"And make Planeptune think they're being attacked by a foreign CPU?" IF arched a brow.
"I think the people would be more in awe than defensive." AL thought about it.
"Tell them you're with the Basilicom. I'm sure Histy could clear things up pretty easily." Compa had confidence in the Oracle.
"That might actually work." Lyrica seemed o optimistic at the idea. "If they're anything like Leanbox's people, they'll be pretty chill about it once it's an official concept." The idol referred.
"Are you sure we shouldn't run this BY Histoire first? The last thing I wanna do is give that poor fairy even more work." IF was reminded of the abysmal state of affairs that the Oracle of Planeptune had to manage.
"Right. I wonder if I get privileges like being able to walk in people's houses uninvited and talking to strangers." Nebula anticipated.
"Like an RPG?" AL tilted his head.
"You'd be breaking several laws, on top of setting a bad example as an exalted figure, so no." IF rained on the GPU's parade.
"Ugh... In that case, only let high-ranking government personnel know, so the general public doesn't make me take responsibility for my actions." The deity swatted the idea away.
"Spoken like a true politician." Compa beamed.
"That's not a good thing, Compa..." Lyrica sweatdropped with a curled finger.
"We're not gonna be able to investigate without Histoire's approval, so let's go, people." IF corralled the party.
"Woooohoo!"
Domio screamed with exuberance, the breeze of the streets of Planeptune City rushing through his ears.
Balancing on his hoverboard, the Loweean warlock rushed through the streets
VRRR...!
The hover feature of the board allowed him to even scale the side of buildings, as the preteen scaled the wall of a strip mall.
"It's not quite like flying, but it sure does come close!" Domio squealed, the adrenaline pumping through his veins.
WOOSH!
Spinning horizontally on the hoverboard, Domio pulled off his first trick, earning him a pulse of agility.
Traveling along the road, the child spotted a conspicuous ramp, almost egging him on to ride across it.
Who was he to deny the ramp its purpose?
Kicking off of the ramp, Domio practically flew in the air, rising far above some of the single and double-story buildings.
Taking the opportunity, he brought his legs up, carrying the board to the skies whilst twirling his body, corkscrewing for a nifty trick.
He was even able to catch a glimpse of himself through the reflection of a window on one of Planeptune's taller office buildings.
The shocked expression of the workers made the trick feel even cooler in the boy's eyes.
BOOST!
Landing evenly, his board rocketed forward, the scene around him momentarily becoming lines of color before slowing down to regular hi-speed.
Lowering his body, the boy managed to increase the speed of his board but suddenly regretted that decision when he saw a path of narrow passageways ahead of him.
CHILL!
Domio raised himself up, just in time for a chilling sensation to hit his left side.
To which he veered his feet to the right, narrowly missing the wall next to him.
CHILL!
Then he erred to the left, near missing once again.
CHILL!
Right back at ya.
CHILL!
To the left now, y'all.
CHILL!
Right hand.
CHILL!
To the left, to the left.
The passages widened, letting the warlock breathe a sigh of relief, avoiding the fate of becoming one with the brick walls.
Soon, a tunnel was within the sights of the boy, who was ecstatic to test out the anti-gravity function inside a cylindrical environment.
BEEP BEEP!
SWOOSH!
BEEP!
Cars populated the area, yet to someone who avoided a series of quick-time events, it was nothing to avoid the vehicular commuters.
"AWESOOOOOOOME!"
Their annoyance at the child melted into awe, Domio riding the side of the tunnel, zooming around on the side and ceiling with jubilee.
Reaching around to the other side, the boy made it back on the ground before continuing his joyride through Planeptune.
"Hahaha!" Feeling this alive for Domio made him feel something he thought he never could; freedom.
Free from his troubles and all their consequences.
If even for a little while, the only thing he had to think about was the fun he was having.
Zooming ahead, he recognized a familiar face walking and made an effort to decelerate.
"...Dad?" Domio said after breathing a couple of times, his body still shaking from the adrenaline, with IF, AL, Compa, and 5pb. stared at the floating warlock.
"Hey, Dom. Where did you get that hoverboard?" A curious tone left his foster father's tone.
"Gris gave it to me. He said it's my birthday gift." Domio jumped off of the hoverboard, kick-flipped, and landed on the board with slight instability.
"Today's your birthday?! Happy birthday, Domio!" Compa joyously cheered.
"Actually, it's tomorrow. But thanks, Compa."
The Loweean beamed at the Nurse-In-Training.
"I never thought of Gris being the kind of person to do that." IF raised her brows with intrigue.
"Wait, that Gris? Isn't he kind of a jerk?" Lyrica recalled the assassin's personality.
"If he can become a GPU, there's gotta be some level of humanity left in him somewhere." AL shrugged.
"I'm just glad Domio got something good for a present." The meme lord grinned.
"That, and the fact that Gris got him a present before his own father." AL gave the GPU a snide look.
"Oh shit." A blank look flashed across the face of the deity.
"Don't worry, Dom. I'll totally get you a good birthday gift by tomorrow. But first, we gotta check Histoire." Nebula nodded.
"What for?" Domio quirked a curious brow.
"A subway exploded, and we need clearance to investigate." Lyrica summarized.
"Sounds official. Good luck, you guys!" Domio sped ahead with his hoverboard.
"Have fun!" The quintet unanimously shouted, waving at the lad.
Surfing on the air, the hovering Loweean soon glanced in the air, spotting even more familiarity.
"Whee!" Rom squealed, flying on a broomstick, and whisking through the air.
"You're really good at this, Rom!" Ram shouted on her own broom.
"But I'm not gonna get left behind!" A mischievous smile appeared as the oink twin accelerated.
"Flying broomsticks? That's so cool! But I got a flying device of my own.
"Technically, it's not flight." MAGES. spoke, her voice suddenly next to Domio.
"GAH! MAGES.!" The color left the boy's body, causing him to wobble on his board.
"Calm down, Domio. I see you've been enjoying yourself, haven't you?" The Mad Magician gave a caring smile to the warlock.
"Hehe. Why does everyone keep saying that?" A cheeky chuckle followed by a bright smile accompanied a genuine question.
"I haven't seen you smile this much since the first time I met you." The more experienced magic user admitted.
"But I'll never discourage any child from being delighted. Just look at them." The blue-haired magician pointed up.
"This is so fun!" Ram twirled around and around on her broomstick with her world spinning all over the place.
"Look at the fluffy clouds!" Rom flew through some of the low-lying clouds, feeling the cool sensation.
Domio had a glazed gaze of appreciation for the CPU Candidate's enjoying themselves, as he did.
"As long as I'm with my friends... I guess you can say I'll always be happy." Domio looked at the magician before she grinned, outstretched her hand, and rubbed his head.
"So you used a CPU Memory the same way Nebula did to transform?" Mina inquired.
Everyone in the meeting room sat around a table as this was discussed.
"Affirmative. However, those VPUs have the ability to corrupt them, so if Nebula hadn't purified it, I may have joined their ranks instead."
"And the people who you got from it were two beings from an alternate world called Negadimension?" Kei chimed in.
"Two gods, Viral Pernicious Units, to be exact. They're not the friendliest nor the smartest since I managed to ultimately get one up on them." Gris subtly bragged.
"And they want to destroy our dimension?" Histoire had beads if sweat on her small head while recalling their motives.
"That's all we know for now. Their higher goals are still in question, but as a baser objective, destruction seems to be their intention." Gris glanced at the Oracle of Planeptune.
"So they're just like ASIC." Kei spoke, looking at the GPU.
"Worse. Far worse." Gris gained a dark shade across his face. "Arfoire wishes she could do half of what those who reside within that place are capable of." The hitman iterated.
"They pillage, conquer, and even outright destroy worlds for the will of their leader. I only remember Xero and Vhestora faintly talking about it." Gris admitted.
"Leanbox's cut from communication was caused by their interference, so they can cause nationwide isolation one way or the other." The manslayer recalled.
"So it seems Gamindustri has more than one threat to deal with simultaneously."
Kallen reflected on the information.
"I believe that their stronger members may be able to outclass the likes of ASIC's finest." Gris stated.
"Even CFW Magic?" Histoire slightly gaped.
"When I felt Citadel's strength, it was almost as if it was a bottomless void of fear energy." The dark GPU paled in remembrance.
"Fear energy. Is it their main source of their strength?" Nisa rose a brow.
"Correct. It's the total opposite of share energy. When Nebula and Xero clashed, their energies caused distortions through space itself." Reminiscing of the time in Lastaion, the deity brought up the example.
"And fear is how they gain power? Invoking it in others, I mean." Mina hypothesized after asking a question.
"Logically, if we mirror share energy's mechanics, it makes sense. But to understand the finer details, we'd have to get information directly from one of the VPUs themselves, a herculean task in itself." The hitman admitted.
"Then how about someone you're more familiar with?" Broccoli inquired, causing the present Oracles to face her.
"Who would that be?" Kei seemed suspicious.
"Vergo." Histoire took the opportunity to know more about the only other male she knew capable of using share energy.
"What about him?" It was Gris' turn to quirk a sharp eyebrow.
"He stormed off after an argument with Chika. I was hoping that by understanding more about his past, I could figure out why he acted that way." The tome truthfully explained.
"..."
The edge lord remained silent on that. While it would ultimately benefit the group as a collective, Vergo made explicit instructions not to reveal his purpose to too many.
"I sensed share energy within him. Perhaps he may be a GPU like you and Nebula?" The tome assumed.
"It's not out of the realm of possibility." Kei agreed with the speculation somewhat.
"But it's quite odd that so many male share energy users are appearing. It's almost as if the VPUs are behind that as well." Mina thought aloud.
"That's... only half true." Gris broke his silence.
"What do you mean, Gris?" Historie faced him.
"Nebula's godhood was by pure probability. Yet Vergo and I gained our power from the direct influence of VPUs."
"How so? Elaborate at once." Kei almost demanded in her monotone voice.
"While I was the result of recruitment gone awry, Vergo's a bit different... Or should I say, a lot different." The assassin clarified.
"Stop beating around the bush and tell us already." The Lastationite Oracle twitched her brows.
"He's a CPU." Gris revealed.
"..." The Oracles remained silent, giving the assassin a skeptical Makers and Kallen looked between each other before back at the edge lord.
"Don't you mean GPU?" Histoire attempted to correct his statement.
"Nope, CPU. He's a bonafide Console Patron Unit." Gris reiterated.
"But we would have definitely known about him if that was the case!" Mina tried to justify the claim's uncertainty.
"You three weren't sure where Nebula and I came from and want to act knowledgeable about VERGO?" An incredulous look flashed across the edge lord's face.
"What's his nation's name?" Histoire pressed the matter.
"... He never disclosed it." The hitman lied through his teeth.
"He does bear a striking resemblance to Lady Green Heart, though." Gris sprinkled another facet of truth.
"Now that you mention it, he does resemble the goddess of Leanbox." Mina cupped her chin.
"But he can't have any affiliation with her. I would've sensed some connection with Leanbox's Sharicite if that were the case." Histoire shook her head.
"So if he's not a sibling, but a CPU... Could he perhaps be from the PC Continent?" Kei inquired with a reasonable assumption.
"That could be true, but to confirm would be tedious since they're an isolated civilization for the most part." The tome admitted.
"Either way, Vergo is here to assist us." Gris interjected.
"I can only provide so much intel, so your best bet is to ask the source." Gris got up from his seat.
"Thank you for your time." Histoire remained courteous as she made sure to respect the god's cooperation.
"You all should probably inform Chika about this conversation. Alongside working on the sharicite." Gris spoke, walking away from the table.
SLAM!
Yet the doors swung open, with Nepgear and Uni rushing inside.
"Histoire! We have urgent news!" Nepgear shouted, stopping the assassin in his tracks and alerting the Oracles.
"What is it, Nepgear?" The tome turned to the CPU Candidate.
"A subway exploded recently while we were looking for Vergo." The lilac goddess explained.
"Goodness! What a horrible event!" Mina covered her mouth with shock.
"And we have reason to believe Vergo is behind it." Uni answered with some suspicion laced with prejudice.
"W-What?" The blonde Oracle stuttered.
"Bullshit." Gris growled. "Why assume that Vergo's the perpetrator? Wouldn't ASIC benefit more from causing a ruckus?" A valid point was made by the edge lord.
"We were chasing after him when we heard the explosion! We can't just assume that it was ASIC without undeniable proof!" Uni made a counterpoint.
"The same way we can't assume that for Vergo?" Folding his arms, the GPU continued.
"Better yet, what are the odds an ABANDONED subway could have a gas leak from lack of maintenance and explode all on its own, especially if it's from Planeptune's earlier years of infrastructure, not holding up to today's safety measures?" A salient point by the manslayer.
Uni tried to respond, yet the logic that Gris used was practically sound.
"It's too early to assume anyone until a proper investigation is carried out. Which Planeptune's authorities are carrying out as we speak, no doubt."
Unfolding his arms, Gris looked ahead of an angered Uni and concerned Nepgear upon hearing more footsteps.
"We heard about the subway." Nebula walked into the room. "I need clearance from Histoire to investigate with IF and AL in HDD."
"Why in HDD?" Kei gazed at the blue adventurer.
"Skips a lot of filler dialogue. 'Who do you think you are!', 'Get lost, kid!', 'Ack! A foreign CPU!' and so forth." The pseudo-protagonist explained.
"Extend that privilege to me, as well. Make it something akin to divine intervention so that our involvement is not challenged or questioned." Gris let a smile form on his lips.
"What? That's not fair! How do they just get to go meddling in everyone's business?" Uni scrunched her face at the agency that the GPUs would possess.
"Because they're deities, just like you. They want to get to the bottom of this, just like you. and they want to do good, just like you." AL responded.
"I think that having more CPU-like beings might help encourage people that they should still put their faith in the Goddesses." Compa contributed to the conversation.
"What if they end up worshipping Nebula and Gris instead of our sisters and us?" Nepgear asked a fair question.
"Wouldn't mean anything," Nebula answered.
"How so?" Mina turned to him.
"Not only were we not given form from any of the nation's Sharicites, we are incapable of gathering shares through faith." Nebula revealed.
"WHAT?!" The room says Gris and Histoire shouted.
"It's true," Histoire confirmed. "Before rescuing Nepgear, Nebula tried to gather some of the shapes that ASIC stole. Yet he was unable to harness it into himself, only attributing it to the Sharicite used to free Nepgear." The Oracle of Planeptune confirmed.
"Then how are they so strong? CPUs-" Kei began.
"Ah, off to a bad start already. We're GPUs. We share the same power source and the same transformation sequence with CPUs. After that, it's divergence." Nebula clarified.
"Then what makes us so strong?" Gris turned his head to the blue god.
"Probably the fact that we can grind like humans, transform like CPUs, and adapt in the middle of battle. It's like we're warrior gods." Nebula looked to his hands before clenching them.
"It might be impossible to have humans give us shares. But we can't lose shares through lack of faith. Our share pool is outside the total shares available for the nations, so think of us as heavenly reinforcements."
Nebula painted the mental picture of him and Gris descending from Celestia during a fight between the CPUs and a formidable foe.
"Sounds purposeful." 5pb. had the idea in her head.
"Kind of messianic, actually." Nepgear concurred.
"Says the goddess designated to protect her people," AL remarked with a twinge of snide.
"It might even put the administrative order at ease knowing that there's some kind of higher power still there to watch over them despite not exactly being their goddess." The blue GPU shrugged.
"Very well. I'll see to it that authorities are notified of your existence and treat you two akin to divine executives." Histoire nodded before floating away.
"Make sure to let us walk into people's houses and take stuff without permission!" Shouted the blue adventurer.
"I second that," Gris smirked with mirth in his eyes.
"What? No!" Histoire comically denied before the two GPUs shared a laugh alongside AL.
A/N:
Done!
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Arrivederci.