Neptune felt a wave of comfort when she entered the Share Core room. It did not look the same as Neptune remembered in the past, but it still felt good to be at the center of where her Shares manifested. Neptune could feel the people's faith, and it was steadily growing back with her actions. She just had to be diligent in recovering the belief people should have in someone that had been a myth once. A purple sphere floated into Neptune's point of view, who she knew was Caelus. Plutia had explained that Caelus could only manifest a physical form within the Share Core area. That told Neptune that Caelus had connections to Shares as a CPU, even if this Caelus was a shell of the original. Neptune would have liked to have met the real Caelus and know more about their history from one fellow Planeptune goddess to the other.

"CPU Purple Heart, please follow me to the center." Caelus spoke, and Neptune found it cute that Caelus moved a little while when they talked. "I will also need you to transform before you physically touch the Share manifestation."

"I can do that." Neptune nodded before transforming into her CPU form. "So what's this evaluation you have in mind for me, Caelus? What does this have to do with the Shares? Haven't I already connected back to Planeptune when Plutia gave me the Share fragment?"

"It is true that you are reconnected to Planeptune, and your Processor Unit upgrades show that." Caelus started her explanation once they both reached the room's center as Neptune placed her hands on the embodiment of her people's faith. "However, your upgrade was very sudden, and your body is still trying to adapt to the improvements to your HDD."

"Basically I'm getting kicked out of my CPU form while it's trying to update." Neptune reduced what Caelus said in more simplistic terms for herself than to Caelus. "You're going to check how long it'll take until it's done?"

"Correct, CPU Purple Heart." Caelus moved directly across from Neptune. "I will be able to accurately assess the progress for your adaptation to your improved Processor Unit. If I am able, I may be able to accelerate your progress as long as you are not harmed in any way."

"What's going to happen to me while all this is going on?" Neptune asked as she closed her eyes.

"Your mind will enter a state of slumber, but your physical body will hold in place." Caelus told Neptune she would be a sleeping statue. "When you are ready, I will begin."

"Do it."

If Caelus said anything after Neptune's confirmation, she did not hear it. Neptune opened her eyes to find herself in the comfort of her room. It was not the version she knew in the present, but the one in the past. This was Neptune's room before she departed for Celestia. Neptune felt her focus drift to the nearest mirror like something was pulling her there. What Neptune saw in the mirror was none other than herself, but a new change to her hair. Up until this point, Neptune had short hair, but now it grew down to her waist area. First it was Neptune's outfit that changed, but now her hair had grown too.

"You've changed a lot since last we met, Neptune." A voice spoke from behind her. "How long has it been?"

"Only a day, Histoire."

Neptune wondered when the mysterious tome girl would reveal herself again in her dreams. Turning around, Neptune saw a dim, glowing, golden figure in the shape of a tiny girl on a book. If this projection of Histoire was accurate and not just tied to Neptune's dreams, then Histoire was really small. Neptune wondered if Caelus could see Histoire too since she imagined the AI might also be connected to her here. The sound of a doorknob turning alerted both Histoire and Neptune to the entrance door. Who stepped into the room was another Neptune, but this one retained her short hair and old parka. The alternate Neptune had CPU eyes on and seemed a little shorter too. This was starting to get a little confusing and unnerving until the other Neptune spoke.

"CPU Purple Heart, I came to inform you of..." Caelus' voice spoke from the alternate Neptune before realizing the other individual in the room. "It seems you have already encountered the anomaly, CPU Purple Heart."

"Uh...Caelus, why are you me?" Neptune asked Caelus, who turned to look at Neptune before looking down at herself. "Don't tell me you didn't realize it?"

"No, I was unaware when I entered your dream state." Caelus answered back as she placed her hands on her hips and turned back to Histoire. "Intruder, state your name and affiliation, or I shall use the necessary force for invading CPU Purple Heart's mind."

"Hold on there, Caelus." Neptune held up her hands to placate Caelus from starting a fight in her dream world. "Histoire is a bit of an uninvited guest, but she hasn't been a bad person."

"It is okay, Neptune." Histoire assured Neptune before looking back at Caelus. "I still remember you fondly, Caelus. Even if the you standing before me does not. It saddens me that your image is lost to time, but I hope that when I am unsealed...I can show you your true self."

"My... true self?" Caelus sounded confused but hopeful at the same time.

"M-K-2." Histoire spelled out letters as Caelus straightened up and held out both her hands. The small girl approached and placed her own hands on top of Caelus'. "In faith we find strength..."

"...May it protect our people forever." Caelus responded back instinctually before returning back to normal. "Those were the words she said back then."

"Yes, it was." Histoire nodded her head knowingly. "The Planeptune you held so dear is still remembered in my book. Your history mattered just as much as the new Planeptune makes its own mark."

"Thank you, Histoire." Caelus stepped back before turning to Neptune. "CPU Purple Heart, I have recognized Histoire as an ally. I will leave you two alone and continue my previous task."

Caelus departed, and Neptune could see the small smile on Caelus' face before she exited the room. There was a lot to infer from the conversation. The original Caelus had a story that was already finished. Histoire clearly lived up to the role she said before that she records the history of the goddesses. Neptune just could not imagine there being another Planeptune that was seemingly wiped out due to some catastrophic event. Neptune wanted to know more, but that would be for another time when she could sit back and listen to Caelus. Another part of Neptune wondered if Caelus was back in the Share Core room as her previous self. It would definitely give Plutia a shock if she visited the Share Core and saw two Neptunes inside.

"You weren't lying when you said you had history with the goddesses." Neptune grabbed Histoire's attention. "Who sealed you away? I feel like Caelus deserves to see who she really is."

"Who sealed me away would be the enemy you need to face, Neptune." Histoire spoke before pointing to the balcony. "It may be a dream, but I would like to see the night stars while we talk."

"Sure, it's better than me standing near this mirror." Neptune agreed as she started walking alongside the floating book girl. "Better scenery than the first time we met."

"I apologize for that, Neptune. Your consciousness was in disarray, so I had to focus, which expended a lot of my energy." Histoire explained once they entered the balcony as she looked up at the night sky. "I wanted to establish contact with you as fast as possible, but I overestimated what strength I have."

"Well, with you being sealed away and being unable to even show your full form, I think you're plenty powerful as is to even connect with a CPU in their dreams." Neptune leaned onto the railings as she preferred to look down at the past version of her city. "I wish I could help you, but I've got problems to deal with in my own nation."

"If things were different, I would have asked that of you." Histoire replied as she almost sounded wistful at the thought. "I'm afraid you're too rooted in Planeptune right now, and you have an enemy to face that is connected to the monster threat."

"Yeah, I wanted to get around to that since you didn't answer me last time." Neptune looked at Histoire, who had lowered her gaze from the sky back to Neptune. "You said something before about there being other forces at play in Gamindustri."

"I did mention that before, yes." Histoire nodded her head as her tone took a more serious tone. "The enemy you are facing with the leader at the helm is known as Arfoire."

"Is she the reason why the monsters exist now?" Neptune wanted to know how much of a threat she is to Gamindustri's peace by getting a grasp of this Arfoire's ability. "Did she seal you away?"

"Yes to both of those questions." Histoire answered Neptune's initial questions without hesitation. "I do not know the specifics of how she creates the monsters, but I do know Arfoire commands strong leaders she treats as her generals."

"Give me names, Histoire." Neptune did not like it, but she deemed it necessary to create a hit list for these types of people. "Who are they?"

"They all share the title CFW alongside their names, but the four she works closely with are Judge, Brave, Trick, and Magic." Histoire ran down the names she knew. "Magic is the one considered the most lethal of the four, and it is well-deserved."

Receiving this information is a boon for Neptune, as she now has names for her true enemies. The issue is that until Neptune finds physical evidence to present to the Basilicom, Neptune has to keep this to herself. She obviously cannot wake up from her dream now and tell Plutia or Iris about a mystery force she found out from a person in her dreams. Perhaps if Caelus stuck around to vouch for her, the Oracle and General would believe her to a degree. For the time being, Neptune's hit list would be personal until she could officially post it to the government. Neptune took a moment to think of the names of Arfoire's generals. If CPU were the titles to the Hearts as CFW was to those generals, then there had to be a meaning to the acronym. Their forces were clearly organized, so more info on them would help Neptune.

"What does CFW stand for?" Neptune asked while wishing she had her Nep-Note to write all this information down.

"It stands for Criminal of the Free World." Histoire answered, and though Neptune could not see Histoire's face, Neptune could imagine her scowling. "I do not know where they all are, but I believe from a tactical perspective that there may be one general in each nation trying to overtake the influence of the CPUs. Except for yours, Neptune... your followers have never given up on you no matter how much the CFW has tried."

"Instead of trying to take over Planeptune, they would rather besiege my nation with monsters." Neptune grunted as she tried to contain her own anger. "Thanks for telling me all this, Histoire. I've got an enemy to focus on and destroy."

"I wish you the best of luck, Neptune." Histoire's figure started to become transparent, and she noticed it too. "It seems my strength is waning once again. I do not know when I will be able to contact you, but I hope to see you soon."

"When I finish up my fight with Arfoire's forces and solve the monster threat here in Planeptune, I'll try to look for you." Neptune offered since Histoire did give her information. "You said you were sealed, but I'll find a way to unlock you."

"Kind of you...to offer...but there's..."

Like before, Histoire could not finish her sentence before vanishing completely. Neptune was alone again, but whether it had been minutes or seconds, the world around her started to change. The room and balcony changed to what she knew in the present. Planeptune also matched what she saw outside of the dream world. That told Neptune Caelus she had finished what she had set out to do. Hopefully that meant Neptune would not be falling out of the sky anytime soon if she wanted to fly to her destination. This had been a nice intermission, but it was time for Neptune to get going. Neptune headed to the doors out of her room to head back into reality.

Reality decided to be very silly right now when she turned around.

"Oracle Plutia, please calm down." Caelus still retained Neptune's old form in the Share Core.

Even the voice is starting to sound like me-

"Impostor!" Plutia's eyes darted between Neptune and Caelus. "We have an impostor among us!"

Uh-oh, time for an emergency meeting!

Neptune spent time clearing up the misunderstanding. She also instructed Caelus to not use her old form too.

Planeptune was not ready for two Neptunes.

The restaurant that IF chose was called the 'Speedy Blue-Thru,' which had a mascot of a hedgehog to go with its sign. Although the name implied it was a fast food place, the restaurant did not actually have any other establishment that officially shared its name brand. The place was reasonably packed for an evening night and had two floors to serve different types of customers. Speedy Blue's first floor was where people ate food and the more kid-friendly option since it even had a small arcade room installed. The second floor had a bar and only opened during nighttime for service to people that were looking for a night out drinking. There were also various games to play, such as pool, darts, and air hockey, to name a few. IF and MAGES. went up to the second floor while Marvy and Falcom stayed on the first floor to hold a table and order their foods. True to its name, the service for food was indeed speedy, and it was on their table within twenty minutes for four plates.

"How's your novel coming along?" Marvy asked Falcom, who had just finished taking a sip of water.

"Eh?" Falcom blinked her eyes several times at the unexpected question as her cheeks began to redden. "I don't remember telling you that."

"Sorry, Falcom. I found out myself, though unintentionally." Marvy rubbed the back of her head and laughed sheepishly. "You had almost forgotten some of your belongings as you were preparing to leave for the night after one of our training sessions. I stuffed your books back into your bag, but I couldn't help noticing one book saying that it was written by you."

"It's…not a novel yet." Falcom looked down as she no doubt felt embarrassed at someone knowing her secret hobby. "I'm trying to get it published here in Planeptune, but getting in contact with some companies has been difficult."

"How about other nations?" Mary suggested. "Applying to other publishers would increase your chances of getting an offer back."

"I've had mixed results." Falcom sounded disheartened as she started to recall her experiences. "Lastation tried to get me into a binding contract with Avenir, but my agent advised I didn't take that."

Avenir was the major business name in Lastation that started from a humble business to a megacorporation. They were directly responsible for the evolution of Lastation's technology in the absence of Black Heart. That is not to say they did so out of the goodness of their heart and devotion to the goddess. Last Marvy heard from her fellow ninjas in Lastation, a lot of the old Basilicom staff were replaced by Avenir's people. Avenir extended its hand to aid people and other businesses, but there were legal bindings that were involved. Anyone who knew anything about Lastation knew that a lot of services were brought under Avenir's control. Lastation's Gamindustri Guild was one of the few exceptions that could stand on its own. That is not to say that Avenir has not attempted to offer tempting deals to the Gamindustri Guild, but all contracts were intensely investigated and refused.

"Leanbox wants nothing to do with my work because I'm from Planeptune. It's in their business policies mandated by the Basilicom's Oracle Yvoire." Falcom sighed heavily and shook her head. "It's sad because the people I showed my novel to genuinely wanted my book, but if the government pried and found out about it later, their company would go under from the investigations and fines."

"Yvoire...I remember him being the Archbishop a few years back." Marvy said as she recalled the changing of duties in the Leanbox Basilicom. "He gave Gamindustri Guild a lot of headaches when we were establishing ourselves in Leanbox. At least the new Archbishop Chika Hakozaki is in support of our efforts against the monsters and bandits."

"Not to mention 5PB's support too. The Basilicom had to back down when even their number one idol in Leanbox said so." Falcom grinned as she remembered the videos 5PB posted criticizing the Basilicom when the Gamindustri Guild had protected 5PB during a concert performance.

"So what about Lowee?" Marvy asked as she figured Lowee would be accepting of Falcom since White Heart loved literature.

"I haven't heard anything back from them, so I gave up on that end." Falcom started to take bites of her meal once it cooled down. "In the time it took me to show my books to Lastation and Leanbox, I still did not hear anything from Lowee. It almost feels like they ignored my book entirely!"

"I'm sure Planeptune will be the one to accept your book then." Marvy nodded her head assuredly and prayed silently in her head too. "I'll buy a copy for myself when your book goes public."

"Thanks, Marvy." Falcom said before looking off to the side. "Um... When you eventually read it, I'd like to hear what you think about every chapter. If you don't mind, that is."

"I'll be happy to do that." Marvy found Falcom absolutely adorable when she was bashful like this. Their personal conversation came to an end as Marvy spotted her two returning teammates. "I was wondering when you guys would come back down to eat."

"Sorry, I was having a small drink and chat with the bartender and MAGES. and challenged some guys to darts." IF answered as she took a seat alongside Marvy. "MAGES. asked if they served Doc P up there, and that prompted the dudes nearby to say something."

"That something was slander to Doc P." MAGES. sounded indignant as she sat down with Falcom. "They dared to call the drink 'mid,' and so I demanded an apology from them. A bet was made that I would buy a round of drinks for them, but if I won, then they needed to bow down and apologize... and pay for IF's drink."

"I ended up getting a free drink." IF chuckled and took a drink from her glass cup full of ice and soda. "They thought MAGES. cheated using magic, but then MAGES. demonstrated what it would have looked like if she actually used magic with her darts. That shut them up real good."

"I'm sure they'll think twice before disrespecting the sweet nectar that is Doc P." MAGES. looked proud of herself as she held up her can of Doc P. "Anything interesting happen while we were gone?"

"No, not at all." Marvy decided to not bring up the topic of Falcom's literature hobby to the other two. She looked over at the rookie and winked. "Falcom actually wanted to hear more about how you met Lady Purple Heart, IF."

"You did give us the short explanation, but you must have left out a few details." Falcom followed up on changing the topic. "All you said before was that you met Lady Purple Heart and then the official announcement went live from the goddess herself."

"There's also the fact you refer to Lady Purple Heart as Nep." MAGES. stated once she put down her Doc P. "You're quite casual with a goddess, IF."

"Fine, I'll run back the full story."

Marvy and the others listened to IF's tale as they ate their meals. It was funny to hear that IF attempted to recruit Purple Heart into the Gamindustri Guild. That would certainly be an incredible feat for any Gamindustri Guild recruiter. The sad truth of that matter is that Purple Heart would place Gamindustri Guild in a precarious position in the other nations. A Planeptune goddess employed in their ranks would stir up a lot of controversy on Gamindustri Guild's neutral stance. The last thing Gamindustri Guild officials wanted was to be seen as aligning themselves with Planeptune. Working with Purple Heart to take down monsters as a business contract was fine, but anything more would likely aggravate the ceasefire agreements between nations. However, if Purple Heart were to officially announce she no longer wanted to participate in the Console War, then that would be another historical event.

"Wow, I can't believe you still tried to recruit Lady Purple Heart after knowing who she is." Falcom giggled as she was the first to finish her dish.

"I figured I might as well double down on it but treat it as a joke." IF grinned as she leaned back in her seat. "Oracle Plutia and General Iris laughed, so I figured I made the right move lightening the mood when Nep addressed her employees."

"Is Nep her nickname?" Marvy asked as she did not see the connection between Nep and Purple Heart as names.

"When I first met Lady Purple Heart, she introduced herself as Neptune. I figure that was either her alias or real name." IF explained as she rubbed her chin. "Didn't feel like she was lying to me, so I guess that's her human name. She wanted to be called Nep, so that's what I did, and Nep told me she was okay with calling her that even after her big reveal."

"Maintaining good relations with Lady Purple Heart will be good for us." MAGES. nodded her head approvingly as she looked at IF. "Congratulations on becoming Gamindustri Guild's ambassador in Planeptune, IF."

"Thanks, but no thanks." IF rolled her eyes. "We'll be friends out of work and proper business partners when it's time to earn our pay on what job she sends our way."

"The last job paid pretty well." Marvy had looked into her personal account and saw her share of cash deposited. "It might have been a really tough job if Lady Purple Heart had just left it to us."

"I don't think that will be the last time she'll be hiring us for a job like that." IF grabbed one of her phones. "If Falcom can complete quests under her belt before the next job, she can join in on the fun. Right now, I'd imagine Planeptune wants to make sure that the town site we cleared gets built up and properly defended so that it doesn't fall again."

"That's going to take a few months at minimum with how quick Planeptune's construction companies are." Marvy knew Planeptune building services were very enthusiastic about building as they were about demolishing old areas.

Everyone eventually finished their meals and left Speedy Blue-Thru to go their separate ways. IF had to go pick up an order of parts she needed to perform maintenance on her bike. Their squad leader loved their precious motorcycle, so IF would be busy. MAGES. decided to go back to the Gamindustri Guild offices to begin filing their report of quests for this month. The spellcaster was the most organized of their group, despite all her eccentric experiments that sometimes resulted in explosions and a very long bill number for repairs. As for Falcom, she went home to sleep and be ready for her first job. Marvy hoped that Falcom's first adventure was a simple in-and-out job so that she could rack up more within the day. As for Marvy, she took off in a direction away from the lights and eyes of the public.

"MarvelousAQL reporting in." Marvy spoke into her earpiece microphone after climbing up a building and perched herself on a high vantage point. "Ryuka, are you there?"

The woman Marvy was attempting to contact lived a double lifestyle. On one end, she lived the life of a doctor that helped me. The other was a legally gray area working as an information dealer. Marvy preferred not touching the illegal sides of the law, but she had her reasons. It was a personal affair she had been pursuing for a very long time. This was before Marvy signed up for the Gamindustri Guild and even further back when she was a student at her ninja academy. A series of beeping noises meant her call was connecting to the proper channel. It was good to know the place was still in business despite it being some time since she last used it.

"It has been a while since this channel was activated." The woman on the other end responded. "MarvelousAQL, welcome back to Planeptune."

"I followed up on the lead you gave me." Marvy said as she watched the cars and people below. "There were some issues, but... all the clues led me back to Planeptune. Someone in Planeptune tipped off my enemies all those years ago. All I have is a set of weird scrambled coordinates and packet data I can send to you."

"Tenacious as ever, MarvelousAQL." Ryuka chuckled in amusement. "I suppose you'll be cashing in one of your favors?"

"I'll send you the details, and you can figure it out." Marvy opened her phone and sent the data to the unspecified contact. "Received it?"

"I see it. My tech boys will figure it out, but the packet data might take some time. I just glanced at it, and I can tell whoever created it did some serious work on the security protocols to it." Ryuka sounded curious about what could be behind the intel Marvy picked up. "Still, my boys like a challenge. It's what they're paid to do too."

"I'll be waiting." Marvy ended the call and just admired the Planeptune nightlife.

Getting closer to fulfilling my promise to you two, my old friends.

Marvy's hands touched the holstered swords that once belonged to people she knew and loved.

Just another step closer to revenge.

In an unknown cavern, a girl with pink hair in a dirtied wool sweater awoke. She had been out cold for some time and woke up to the sensation of pain. The girl opened her eyes, and she appeared disoriented and afraid of the darkness pressing in around her from all sides. She groaned in pain as she pushed herself upright, hands scraping against the stone beneath her. Once she finally stood up, the girl clutched the back of her head as the pain nearly caused her to fall forward. The girl managed to stop herself by kneeling as she gasped for air. She took slow, deliberate breaths before standing up again with full confidence. Though injured, she did her best to peer through the darkness in search of something.

"Ah, there's my bag."

The injured girl picked up a bag, and inside was a small first aid kit. Illuminated on the medical box was the name 'Compa,' glowing a luminescent pink. Compa opened the first aid kit and began to treat herself as best she could in the dark. Antiseptic was poured on a gauze pad and pressed into the cuts on her body. Compa whimpered at the pain but pushed through the sensation. She repeated that same step several times for the cuts on her body that she could feel and wrapped bandages afterward. Although she was heavily bruised and cut, Compa patched herself up as best she could in her situation. A small blessing was that no splint needed to be applied.

I can't see where I fell from, so I must have dropped down pretty far. Compa looked up to see no light above. It's amazing in itself I didn't break any of my bones.

Compa had returned home and made some pudding to distract herself that night. The exam results from her time at medical school arrived a week ago, and it turns out she did not pass. Compa thought she had studied well and even spent time in cram schools on her days off. The written exam was harder than she imagined, which caused her to get a less than satisfactory score. It had been hard to call her family, who had been waiting to hear of her success, but Compa only gave them disappointment when she broke the news to them. She would be lying if she did not spend one entire night crying her eyes out in frustration at her own failure. Compa's family came from a long line of successors in the medical field. Her mother was the most successful of her class, and her father was a known medic who helped save over forty lives during service.

I didn't think chasing after a shooting star would land me in a cave underneath Virtua Forest.

After eating her homemade dessert, Compa saw something flying towards Planeptune lands. Other people must have seen it too but thought nothing of the object. Compa had nothing better to do than wait for school to open up and try again at obtaining a medical license. An adventure outside would help ease her mind better than sitting around in her apartment. There were safer ways to distract one from stressful matters, but Compa always had a little adventurous side to her. Her adventures did not involve falling into caves and getting several injuries. Once she made it back to Planeptune, a visit to the clinic was in order. Compa could feel her eyes fully adjusted to the darkness now and proceeded very slowly.

Sure wish I had brought my syringe with me, but that might have broken during the fall too...or stabbed me somehow. Compa had no feasible way to defend herself if she met a monster that could not take her slaps or punches. Oh, I see more dim lights up ahead! Looks like I have to do some free soloing.

Compa did not have much experience with rock climbing. She knew that climbing without gear was dangerous and at times fatal. However, Compa did not have a lot of options in her circumstances. A deep breath steadied her nerves as she took the first hold on an outcrop that felt firm. Due to a lack of proper lighting, she had to feel for places that could be grabbed and pull her up higher. Luckily the distance to the top was not far, so she managed to climb out of the dark pit she had been in. Compa wanted to enjoy her small victory, but her stomach churned with hunger. She grabbed a ration bar out of her bag and took a bite out of it once she removed the wrapper.

For a cave, it's surprisingly more structured than I thought it would be. Compa remarked as she saw bridges and even remnants of what could have been guardrails. Maybe people lived down here a long time ago? Will I find skeletons? zombies? Or even ghosts!?

The hairs on the back of Compa's neck stood up. A loud thump from behind Compa startled and sent her heart pounding. Compa did not want to turn around. She just wanted to believe that maybe some giant rock was behind her that fell from above. Yet there was an undeniable presence of something alive and huge. Its shadow completely blocked out the outline of her own figure. Against all instincts, Compa turned around slowly and looked into the eyes of two creatures combined into one. One was a spider, and attached to the top of its head was something humanoid, and it carried a large sword.

Definitely not any of those!

The creature hissed loudly, and that triggered Compa's adrenaline to kick in. She screamed and surged forward as she pushed through the terror in her heart to escape. Compa ran for the bridge, and as she made her way across, she glanced back at her pursuer. The creature had stopped and looked at the bridge before raising its sword up. Compa realized its intention and ran faster but knew she could not make the distance in time. The bridge had been cut, but Compa grabbed onto the rope railings. Compa braced herself as she collided with the wall. She still managed to hold on, and the creature likely assumed she was dead.

I sure hope this bridge holds on long enough for me to climb back up...

Compa began to ascend once more from the dark pits. She had no idea how deep this hole was, but she was not looking forward to finding out. The distance to safety seemed shaky and uncertain with each creak as she climbed. This is twice she has had to climb in quick succession, but the difference was in intensity. The first climb was tutorial in darkness, but now this climb was a race against a timer she had no idea when it might end. She finally hauled herself over the broken edge just as the bridge broke from its support. Compa did not hear the bridge hit the ground in the pit it fell in, but she was sure that wherever it fell, she would not have survived. She got back up on her feet and glanced over at the other end of the pathway.

Looks like it did run off thinking I was dead. That's good...I don't need that thing stalking me. Compa said before turning and beginning to walk down the dimly lit path only illuminated by glowing crystals embedded into the walls. I hope the exit wasn't that way. I'll just have to find another way around and out of here.

That monster was not a native beast to the Virtua Forest. Compa may not know most monsters by name, but she certainly knows the types that roam Virtua Forest. The common Dogoo and Dogoo-Man were plentiful and had to be cut down when their numbers grew too big. They were not evil, but if they combine into one big Dogoo, then lots of problems can arise when they decide to roam outside of the Virtua Forest. Tulips and Boxer-X resided in the deeper sectors of Virtua Forest and were the more aggressive monsters. Sometimes the Tulips and Boxer-X even fought each other. Virtua Forest was the training grounds area for rookie adventurers to get a taste of live combat with monsters. To find a cave underneath with a much more dangerous monster could prove to be very fatal to newcomers.

I'll have to get in contact with the Gamindustri Guild or the Basilicom about this place. Can't have this place go unchecked; otherwise, curious new adventurers could die. Compa stopped and noticed a crevice in a wall. Looks big enough to fit in. I'll have a rest for now.

Compa squeezed herself inside and used her bag as a makeshift pillow. It was by no means a comfortable place to sleep, but better than being out in the open. As she closed her eyes, Compa thought of home and wondered if anyone knew she was missing. Planeptune records would show her leaving the city at night and never returning. Either tomorrow or the day after, someone she knew would realize she had not returned. The worst-case scenario would be being unable to escape on her own and having a rescue squad find her. They could possibly get ambushed by that new monster and get injured or worse. Compa did not want to have people's deaths on her hands because of her blunder, so tomorrow would be the day she escaped from the cave.

She thought of home, her friends, and family waiting for her as she drifted to sleep.

I will make it back, Mom and Dad.

That is what she wanted to believe.

Hello, Nep Readers! Back at it again with another update and even more new scenes for you to read.

May I just say that we reached another milestone?

That's right! Thanks to your reviews and interests, we've reached past 20 reviews.

That is an incredible feat I'm proud to have accomplished and I couldn't have done with you guys leaving those reviews, both guests and signed users.

You guys leaving reviews are awesome and I thank you for your support.

Speaking of reviews, it's time for the reviewer responses section from chapter 4! Of which there are...4!

Lyrista: Speaking of bridges, one bridge surely dropped here. Quite literally! Thankfully no lives were harmed for making this bridge drop.

Ha ha and we have to always acknowledge that our goddesses are eternally young. Which is a fact confirmed by the Basilicom! *Red dot on head slowly moves away*

Thank you for review and I hope you recover from your injuries and come back around to read and comment on the current and new chapter.

IsekaiFanBoi: Thanks for noticing the lore, but there's still more being built here. Lots of implications for you to find out. Thank you for leaving a review! I hope to hear from you again in this chapter!

Tony Anderson: There's plenty of more characters to show themselves. Making the mother of all dimension crossovers here, Tony! Can't fret over every Nep! Thank you reviewing and I hope to see you again next time.

Project 0mega: I'm sorry to hear about the issues you're having with FFnet! Yeah, it's a bit of a pain. Regardless of the problems, I'm glad you took the time to leave a review and I hope to see you read and comment on this one if you're willing. It would mean a lot to me!

That's all the responses for chapter 4 at the time of this update!

I see one particular guest reviewer is also an avid reader of the original story and making comparisons.

Thank you all for tuning in and reading this story. As always, thank you for reading and thank you especially for leaving a review for me to talk to you on what you have to say.

Happy reading!