Snyderverse Neptunia Snippets
by Derald Snyder
Snippet 73- Dragon Warriors' First Mission
Timeline- Shortly after 'Turnabout in Ultradimension'.
"We're going up to the surface?!" Alear gasped, Laeur looking shocked silent as he stood beside his twin sister.
"Yes, the time has come for your first real test," Ghetsis nodded. "You will emerge in what is known as Faerghus Province; your job is to visit the smaller villages and perform reconnaissance. Specifically, what the locals think of the current governor. He is the younger brother of the previous governor whom our group assassinated several years ago; we wish to know what life has been like under his rule. If there is discontent, we may be able to capitalize on that in order to undermine faith in the fell CPU..."
"But what do we do if they ask who we are?" Laeur inquired.
"I was just getting to that. You will tell them that you are traveling mercenaries from Leicester Province. If they ask who you are currently working for, give them the name Dennis Harmon. Do NOT tell them my true name under any circumstances," Ghetsis insisted.
"Understood, Father. We will not fail you," Alear nodded.
"I would expect not. And if you are forced into combat, fight only to disable, not kill. The last thing we need is that fell CPU Rei Ryghts catching scent of your trail due to a murder..."
"Rei Ryghts... she's the fell goddess that works as a lawyer, right?" Laeur asked.
"You've been paying attention. Good," Ghetsis nodded curtly. "She usually stays in the capital city, but not always, as Dr. Williams can attest. Should you happen to see her, escape with all due speed, preferably discreetly. You are not ready to handle a final boss yet, understand?"
"We understand," the twins said in unison.
"Good. Now go, and may the true goddess Arfoire watch over you," the monocled man dismissed them, the twins bowing and leaving.
*Eastern Faerghus Province, Lowee*
"I can't believe how bright it is up here," Alear said as she and her brother walked down the side of the road, both wearing sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sun in the sky. "How can the people up here put up with such brightness, day after day?"
"They have lived up here their whole lives, so they're probably used to it," Laeur mused. "Anyway, let us not be distracted from our mission, Sister."
"Right... hopefully we come upon a village soon," Alear nodded. Just then, she saw something gleaming down the road. "What is that...?"
"Probably just another transport on wheels," her brother shrugged.
"But that one's... bigger," Alear responded, pulling down her shades to try and get a better look. "Oh, I think... there's- there's a cannon on the front!"
"What?!" Laeur gasped as he doffed his own sunglasses. "You're right! But why is that one equipped with a weapon?! Did the fell CPU send it after us...?"
"We need to hide! Jump in the ditch!" Alear cried, she and her twin promptly doing so, putting their heads down and trying to ignore the water soaking into their boots and pants. The twins all but held their breath as they heard the tank approaching... but when it was practically right on top of them, they heard the engine slow, then shut down. (I hope the cannon can't hit us here...!)
"Hey! You two! In the ditch!" cried a deep female voice. Alear and Laeur popped their head up, seeing a tall woman with red eyes and short black hair staring down at them, a naginata in her right hand, though she was currently holding it like a staff or walking stick. "What are you doing down there?" The tank and it's cannon were clearly visible behind her.
"Are... are you the pilot of that thing?" Alear dared to ask.
"No, I'm a passenger," the woman replied with no sarcasm. "Now come on out of there already."
The twins looked at each other. "(She does not seem to have any malicious intent,)" Laeur whispered. "(Her spear would be in attack position otherwise...)"
"(I think you're right. Let's just do as she says for now,)" Alear concurred, the two promptly standing and walking up and out of the ditch, the woman stepping to the side as they did so. "We're sorry, we thought perhaps this vehicle was gunning for us, no pun intended."
"Why? Are you fugitives?" the woman asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, we're mercenaries," Laeur responded. "But this is our first time in Faerghus, so we don't really know the lay of the land..."
"We're from Leicester Province," Alear cut in. "I'm Alear, and this is my twin brother Laeur."
"Nel deSombron," the woman gave her name. "Just Nel is fine, however. So where exactly were you two headed?"
"We wanted to find a village or town, to ask the local citizens how they fare under the governor's rule," Laeur replied. "Our employer, Dennis Harmon, wants to meet with the governor to discuss a business deal, but he won't deal with someone who can't rule competently..."
"Is that so..." Nel grunted, looking down. "Well, I can't help you there, I come from even farther away... and my companions make their home in the east. We're actually bounty hunters ourselves."
"Really? What bounty are you hunting?" Alear asked.
"There's rumors of some large monster to the west of here. We were hired to look into the rumors and kill the monster if it does exist," Nel explained.
"I see..." Alear looked down in thought. "Well, how about this- we help you kill the monster, and then you can drop us off at the nearest town afterwards?"
"Wait, are you sure about this?" Laeur said to his sister.
"It's the perfect chance to put our combat skills to the test," Alear argued. "And riding in that vehicle would definitely be faster than walking..."
"True," the other twin nodded. "What do you say, Miss Nel?"
"...Let me ask my companions, see what they think," Nel deferred, turning and heading back to the mobile tank, opening the hatch and partially stepping inside. The twins could hear a male and female voice within, but couldn't make out their conversation... a minute or so later, they saw Nel nod and step back, before walking back up to them. "They're willing to take you along, but it's going to be a bit cramped for five people. It probably won't be a comfortable trip," she cautioned.
"It's fine; we've had to sleep on stone floors before," Alear responded. "We can handle it."
"All right, come on in, then," Nel nodded and turned away, the twins following her to the hatch, climbing inside after her... Inside, they met a young woman with blonde hair in a high ponytail dressed in a pink mechanic's uniform, and a man with black hair clad in red and white armor sitting in the driver's seat. "This is Sophia Grove and Jacob Fredrick."
"Oh! You don't seem to be much older than we are," Alear noted. "Oh, pardon my manners..." She then introduced herself and Laeur.
"I actually have a Master's Degree in engineering," Jacob grumbled. "Anyway, nice to meet you. We could probably handle this monster ourselves, but more help is never a bad thing."
"That's some unique armor you've got," Laeur observed. "Is it custom-made?"
"Yeah, Sophie's mom- my teacher- built it for me. She's the one who designed this mobile tank, actually," Jacob elaborated.
"I was supposed to be the pilot, but Jacob proved to be more adept with the controls than I was," Sophia added. "So I basically assist with navigation and maintenance. Anyway, welcome aboard. I hope we can all work well together."
"As do we," Alear nodded, she and Laeur sitting on the floor as the hatch closed, leaving just enough room for Nel to stand. "Ah, shall we be off, then?"
"All right, hang on," Jacob said as he put the tank in gear, shooting off down the road, causing the twins to nearly fall over from inertia. "Yeah, it's a little jarring on startup. Nel here actually face-planted the second time she got in here..."
"You didn't have to tell them that..." Nel grunted, her face reddening slightly.
*Some time later...*
The mobile tank had gone off-road and into the wilderness, causing the ride to become much more bumpy for Nel and the twins. "Are we there yet?!" Laeur complained, trying to brace himself against the side from all the shaking.
"We should be getting close," Sophia confirmed. "I do seem to be picking up a heat signature ahead, but... something's interfering with the sensors, I can't get a bead on it's size or shape..."
"Guess we'll have to be ready for anything, then!" Alear grunted through gritted teeth as she bounced uncontrollably from the rough ride. She then screamed in surprise as Nel fell on top of her. "I wasn't ready for that-!"
"Sorry-!" Nel grunted as she tried to right herself- only to lurch toward the pilot's seat as Jacob hit the brakes, narrowly avoiding hitting her head. "Did you find it?!"
"It just flew into the sky!" Sophia gasped. Nel and the twins looked through the windshield, and caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a massive raven of sorts. "It's much bigger than I thought...!"
"Opening fire!" Jacob yelled, hitting the trigger for the main cannon. To the twins' surprise, the sound of the cannon firing wasn't nearly as loud as they were expecting, seeing balls of white plasma shooting into the sky. They then felt the tank rising slightly as the cannon pointed up into the sky before firing again. "Argh, it's too agile! I can't get a bead on it!"
"Let me out, I can handle it!" Nel spoke up.
"What are you gonna do, throw your spear at it?" Laeur said in disbelief.
"If you're letting her out, let us out too!" Alear requested. She then cried out as the raven suddenly started clawing at the tank with it's talons!
"Full reverse!" Jacob cried, everyone lurching forward as the tank ran backwards, the hunter taking a few shots as they retreated, scoring a few glancing blows, which caused the oversized bird to break off and fly back into the air. "Okay, now's your chance! Go!" he cried, opening the hatch, Nel and the twins promptly jumping out and rolling as they hit the ground, running to put some distance between themselves and the vehicle.
"Okay, so what's your plan, Nel?" Alear asked once they got into some open space, seeing the giant raven soaring overhead.
"Stand back from me," Nel requested, Alear and Laeur promptly doing so. "Now watch and learn!" With a mighty roar, she was engulfed in a flash of light, the woman replaced with a large winged lizard with black and blue scales! The dragon then flapped it's wings and took off into the sky...
"That's... it can't be!" Laeur cried in shock, Alear too stunned to even speak. The dragon then roared to get the raven's attention, before blasting a beam of light from it's mouth, nailing it dead-on! The raven quickly recovered however, trying to lunge at the dragon with it's talons, only for Nel to grab one of it's feet and shift her weight, causing the giant bird to plummet toward the earth. The raven tried to arrest it's descent, but the dragon came down and tackled it into the ground, throwing up a plume of dust.
"They're on the ground! Now's our chance, Laeur!" Alear exclaimed as she drew her sword, her brother following suit as they ran to where the two beasts were struggling. But then the raven managed to throw Nel off, getting back to it's feet, albeit still somewhat disoriented... Laeur let out a battle cry as he leapt and landed on the raven's back, before stabbing his sword into it's feathered hide. The raven cried out in agony, thrashing about and soon throwing Laeur off, who went into a roll and tumbled across the ground a fair distance.
"Take that!" Alear cried as she hurled her own sword at the monster, which stuck into it's wing. The raven cried out as it tried to take off, only to get hit in it's other wing by a beam from Nel's dragon form! While it managed to get airborne, the giant raven was flapping awkwardly due to it's injured wings, practically stationary in the air...
"It's having trouble flying! Now's our chance, Jacob!" Sophia observed from the cockpit.
"I'm on it!" Jacob grunted as he turned the mobile tank toward the monster, charging energy in the cannon. "NEL, GET CLEAR!" he called over the PA. He saw the dragon promptly shrink down to Nel's human form, who scrambled out of the line of fire. "Firing explosive shell!" he intoned, said shell ejecting from the cannon and arcing through the air, hitting the giant raven and exploding with considerable force!
"Ahhhh!" Alear cried as the shockwave sent her head over heels, tumbling a bit before coming to a stop in a face down position. Shaking her head, she looked up, just in time to see what was left of the monster dissolving into hexagons.
(Neptunia Victory Jingle!)
"I think they got it...!" Laeur grunted as he walked over to his sister, his right hand nursing his left shoulder where he'd hit the ground.
"Are you all right, Brother?" Alear asked as she slowly climbed to her feet.
"I'm sore, but I'll live..." The twins then heard footsteps, seeing Nel marching up to them with a frown on her face...
"You idiot! What the hell were you thinking?! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Nel yelled at Laeur.
"I was trying to deliver a finishing blow..." Laeur winced.
"And you failed, miserably! You need to start using your brain, like your sister here!" Nel pointed at Alear, before turning to face her. "That was good thinking, trying to disable it's wing. We managed to slow it down enough for the tank to finish the job. Good work, Alear."
"Thank you," the redhead nodded. "But... we've both lost our swords now..."
"Let's go look for them. Maybe they didn't get blown up with the bird," Laeur suggested.
"No, you go back to the tank have Sophia look at your arm and shoulder," Nel ordered him. "I'll help your sister with the search. Go on, now."
"...all right," Laeur sighed, dejectedly walking in the mobile tank's direction.
"Don't you think you're being a bit hard on him?" Alear couldn't help but ask.
"He keeps doing stuff like that, he'll be pushing up daisies sooner than later," Nel rebuffed her. "You had better hope your brother learns his lesson from this... come on, let's go look for your swords."
"All right," Alear nodded with a frown, following the other woman's lead.
*To be continued...*