Reading Chapter 15 - Reminiscence

The night came rolling by, and by the time they did the group had reached the hotel that Nico had recommended them. The male had suggested that they get some rest before going to do any quests, as they all had a trying day, physically and mentally. On that, they could agree wholeheartedly even Neptune didn't have any complaints, and that was coming from someone who had a hyper streak to go by.

So, when they entered the hotel Nico walked up to the Clerk who was seated at the Desk typing away on the computer. The layout of the reception room had a black tiled floor with white lining between the tiles. The walls were a silver-ish colour with black sword designs into the wallpaper, with a fully black ceiling. There were various portraits lined up on one side of the wall, some of Scenery around Lastation most likely, and others of a white-haired woman taking down monsters with a sword matching the designs of the ones on the walls. At the back of the room, was the Desk of the Receptionist, with a door to the desk's right that led to the upper floors. The clerk herself was a woman in her late 30's wearing a black uniform with gold lining, and a silver choker around her neck. Nothing else could be seen thanks to the Desk hiding it from view.

"Ah, so this is what the Author's going to show my Nation's hospitality as..." Noire muttered, reading the chapter's description of the Hotel. Normally she'd brag about Lastation's superiority in this field to the other CPUs... but seeing and hearing what she had of the Nation's state did NOT paint a very good picture in her mind, so she had stayed quiet.

Whilst having an idea as to why she hadn't been that braggy self of hers, Vert then looked over to her. "Is this Hotel actually a real one in Lastation, Noire? Or is it just a make-believe one?" she questioned.

In response, Noire puffed out her chest, a proud smile on her face which also served the purpose of hiding away her anxieties. "Why, of course its a real one, Vert, YOU and the others just don't know about it since you all generally like to stay in MY Basilicom whenever you come over." She explained, before aiming a hard glare at a certain CPU. "Especially when a CERTAIN somebody barges in unannounced and ruins my carefully constructed paperwork!"

"Aw, c'mon Lonely Heart, you know you love me..." Said CPU of Planeptune responded teasingly.

"I'm NOT lonely!"

"Ooooh, so this is a Lastation hotel huh?" Neptune commented, looking around in awe of her surroundings as she soaked everything in like a sponge. Her eyes were practically twinkling like they were filled with outer space as she looked at one portrait of the white-haired woman taking on several shadowy figures, one of them oddly resembling the HDD form that Neptune herself used. "This is so different from Planeptune."

IF nodded her head in agreement, though she couldn't help but comment. "Of course, it would be, Lastation's known for being the Land of Black Regality, so it's only natural to see that theme around." She also felt the need to point something out, "The fact that the hotel shows respect to the CPU with those portraits means that what happened earlier isn't the common norm."

"Of course..." Commented Histoire. "For those uncouth ruffians to disrespect their Goddess like that is most unheard of... not to mention very rude."

"Histy looks mad..." Compa mused, eyeing the Oracle who did NOT Look too pleased at the memories spawned by the previous chapters.

IF shook her head, not as fazed by it as she had once been and this came from one of the people whom had SEEN this incident with her own eyes. Not only that, but her instincts were telling her that things were going to get worse, REAL fast. "Its all in the past now, Histoire. I admit it did bug me initially, but it was forgotten by the arc's end so don't worry."

"Maybe for YOU lot, but I still had to deal with their ilk off screen." Noire countered, though IF didn't rebuke this since she had a point.

Soon enough, Neptune ran back to join the others as Nico walked up to the receptionist, who looked up at him when she detected his presence. "Yes, Welcome to the Regality. How may I help you today, sir?" she greeted politely with a smile. Her eyes glanced over him and then went to the others in the room, her smile never wavering. "And I assume those ladies are with you?"

Nico nodded with an equally polite smile. "Yes, they are, Mrs." He answered, before inquiring. "I made a reservation for a room online, it should be under N…" he started, before the woman turned to the Computer, bringing up the information that he said to her. The sounds of typing filled the room as the girls waited for the result of this conversation.

The woman's face changed from its intent expression which she used while she was looking up the list of reservations on her computer, back to her previous smile. "Ah yes, Mr Nico, Mrs IF, Mrs Compa and… Mrs Nep, is that right?" she asked getting nods from the male, who smiled back at her.

"Hey, he used my nickname for the booking, why is that?" Neptune asked when she heard this, though it was under her breath as she leaned over to IF's ear and whispered it. She even had her hand over her mouth to make it quieter. She didn't think he was doing it without knowledge of his promise to her about always being the one to call her by name.

The Guild Agent responded in a similar manner to Neptune as she placed her mouth by her ear, her hand beside her mouth as she replied, "It's because he believes your name being misspelt would be universal, so he's stopping that train before it starts." Her eyes then rolled around the top of their sockets as she continued. "Don't worry about that promise, Nico isn't the type of guy who'd break his word."

"Well, that's a relief..." Neptune mused, sighing in a mixture of relief and annoyance. "I know I get that a lot of people don't know how to Nepping spell my lovely name, but after a while it does get grating..."

The others would have made to say something, but nothing came out since a lot of them didn't have much room to talk. Even the CPUs sometimes went with her nickname for quickness from time to time.

A low hum off realisation escaped Neptune's throat as she began to comprehend what Nico was doing, though she felt a bit flattered at the curtesy he was showing her. It was accompanied by a sigh of relief at IF's explanation. "Your so wise, Iffy…" she praised with a beaming look on her face. "How did you get so smart for someone so young? Who by the way faked their resume when joining this party."

"You won't let that go, will you?" IF remarked while rolling her eyes again, doing her best not to shout in indignation at Neptune's jab at her previous blunder. "And even if I stayed in Planeptune, it's a large landmass so it's only natural I learn things. I know way more than you do with your memory loss, you know." She pointed out with a smug smirk, liking the scandalised expression Neptune had with response to her snarky comments.

"Ugh! I just got... roasted... Ooooh…!"

IF hid the amused smirk at the response her other made towards the other Neptune, whilst the one she knew acted out a person being burned alive.

Before Neptune could counter the attack on her fortress by the army known as Iffy, Nico broke into the conversation while walking back to them with a card in his hand. "Alright, we got the room. Just so you guys know, the room we got was a three bed one, so well have to bunk up." He explained, frowning while trying to rein in his embarrassment. It largely succeeded if his face being only a twinge pink was any indication. "Sorry I never brought it up earlier, I was distracted with… other matters." He admitted shamefully.

This earned a few blushes from the girls as they realised that, with the arrangements, one of them would have to sleep in the same bed as a guy, something that usually was reserved for couples, married or not. Though they didn't blame him for not saying anything sooner, after all the 'other matters' Nico said were definitely distracting enough. This was spoken from personal experience.

"W-Well, I wouldn't mind if we did it, Ni-Ni…" Compa suggested, indirectly volunteering to be the one Nico slept with, much to the surprise of the other girls. Seeing their disbelieving looks, she hastily explained why, "I-I-it's nothing, me and N-Ni-Ni used to do it all the time when we were k-kids…" she stuttered with her blush getting darker and darker red with each second that passed.

"Oooooooh, looks like little innocent Compa's trying to get ahead of everyone..." Vert commented with a teasing grin, aiming a suggestive gaze to the blushing Nurse as she held her head down.

Fortunately Histoire managed to prevent things from getting out of hand, causing the poor girl to sigh in relief though that didn't mean she didn't blush at the implications. She'd never slept in the same bed as a boy before after all, so she wondered what would happen in that situation.

IF, whose blush was the weakest compared to the rest of them, tried to make a point she saw with that arrangement. "Th-that's when you were KIDS, though Compa!" she then looked to Nico, who was trying not to look at them, then at Compa or to be more specific her… melons. She blushed a bit harder, "you two are not kids now, so won't it be a bit awkward…?"

At this, Compa shook her head firmly, her confidence only matched by the blush she was sporting. 'N-No, not for me. I don't mind, Ni-Ni would always let me when I pleaded with him. He couldn't resist my cuteness." She said with a beaming smile, reminded of memories from the past. While she looked like she was embarrassed, maybe a little nervous, it was matched by stubborn determination, determination to reconnect with her childhood friend on s deeper level.

"Ah, that makes sense." Noire commented, thoughtfully. "I read online that guys tend to not be able to resist something called, what was it... oh yeah! The puppy dog eyes thing."

"Women's secret weapon..." Blanc stated firmly, remembering a few times where her sisters Rom and Ram would do that trick to try and get the male staff members of her Basilicom to help them get out of trouble. It rare worked out for them though.

Elsewhere, every man in Gamindustri (which wasn't that many since well, its Gamindustri) shuddered as if they had been traumatized by something, what that something was however wouldn't be known.

The male in question rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, the power of a puppy dog eyed Compa was something to be feared. "W-Well, you'd usually come in when a storm hit Planeptune, you never liked the thunder." He explained, just in case the girls got the wrong idea, seriously they were just kids back then! Why would anyone think they would do anything indecent?

"Aww, I'm picturing a little Compa in my head, and it's so cuuuute!" Neptune squealed at the images in her head, girlishly giggling while holding her hands over her cheeks with her blush now at the image of a smaller Compa and not… the other thoughts in her mind. Though they were enough for her to ignore the part of her that was emitting an ugly feeling of jealousy in her heart. She wondered why she would be jealous of Compa, seriously it wasn't like she had any interest in that kind of thing, right? … right?

"Awwwwww, that reminds me of the Ultradimension's Compa and Iffy!" Neptune gushed as she recalled those experiences fondly. With the portal between their dimensions still stable at this point, which had convinced Histoire that it was a permanent thing now, she often got chances to visit her friends there along with some of her own companions doing the same thing.

She recalled how Blanc would go to book conventions over there that her other would recommend she'd visit, or how Vert would try to claim little Peashy as her little sister from her other...

Ahhh, good times, good times...

Meanwhile the aforementioned people hummed happily, closing their eyes as they too thought about these exact same experiences.

Getting tired of this banter, IF decided to get the ball rolling by returning their attention to the task at hand. "We can cross that hurdle when we get to it. Right now, we should just get to the room, we have a lot of stuff to think about in the meantime." She said, to which the others nodded as they calmed down from their previous embarrassment. With that, the Party passed through the door to the upper floors in single file.

Later, after they took multiple staircases and walked down multiple corridors, they found the room that they were looking floor and went inside. The room itself was pretty, with a black caret rug over a whitish silver floor, black wallpaper with white circular designs on them adorning the walls. The ceiling looked plain in comparison, with a pair of doors to the left and a single door to the doors on the left had black painting on them, with golden frames and a silvery-white handle. This likely meant those were the bedrooms, and the white painted door on the right was a bathroom. At the back-right corner of the room there was a black and silver TV on a matching stand, with a series of black and silver Consoles lined up neatly under a shelf of Games with multiple Controllers.

"I'm tireeeed, so maaaaany staaaaaaaiiiiiirssssss!" Neptune whined, looking like she had become a zombie. She swayed left and right as she stumbled into the room, groaning and moaning before she fell onto one of the sofas in the centre. She began to snore almost the second her head met the soft material the sofas were made of, out like a light.

"There is a reason why there's more elevators within Planeptune's Basilicom after all..." Histoire remarked, nodding sagely as she too remembered how she had to remodel the whole building to include more Elevators... just to get Neptune to come out of her room more often, which wasn't saying that much honestly.

Her laziness knew no bounds.

Compa giggled at the sight with a hand on her lips, although she herself was getting tired too as evident when she stifled a cute yawn of her own. "Nep-Nep's worn out like a pair of used undies. She needs her beauty sleep." She pointed out, watching the girl like a mother hen would her chicks.

Nico chuckled at the maternity that he was sensing from his childhood friend. Sometimes, Compa and Neptune were friends, yet other times their relationship became more like a parent and child. Since Neptune behaved like a child, and there was little known about her like her family or relatives, she sometimes took the roll of a parent for her, keeping her in line yet also coddling her. It was always an interesting sight to see, yet also it fit her character well, to him at last. Compa had always been the maternal figure, even in childhood as she would carry a massive Syringe and try to take care of her grandfather. Heck, she'd even tried to give him shots, although Nico would always convince her that he was alright out of fear of that massive syringe.

"Man, you really outdid yourself with this Hotel Room, Nico." IF remarked with an impressed look on her face as she observed the room breaking the male out of his thoughts and drawing his attention to her. It was rather spacious, with a small kitchen to the side that nobody had noticed before. The sofas that the preteen currently was using looked comfortable, with the wooden table at the centre of the sofas. "I'm amazed, I didn't expect you to go all out."

The male smirked at the praise, it boosted his pride that their resident Guild Agent, who was likely the hardest to impress, had shown her amazement at how far he had gone to earn their forgiveness. "Thanks, though what's so surprising?" he remarked, hands dug into his Trench Coat's pockets. "I mean, through my stay with the Guild I accumulated a fair amount of funds. I just used some of them for our benefit."

He could have sworn he heard the sound of a record played on a music box suddenly stopping, resulting in a scratching sound as the brunet twirled to face him. "Wait, you used your OWN funds for this?!" IF screeched, spinning around to face him when he said that. Her eyes were all that he needed to see to know what she thought of that, if her gaping jaw didn't convey the message enough. "You didn't have to do that, we have enough credits as a party, you know."

Her words earned him a stern look as Nico's head swung towards her faster than Neptune devoured Pudding. "Yeah, no." he stated bluntly, catching the brunette off guard. She had almost jumped at how intense he suddenly got over this, it was like staring into the fire of hell itself. Kind of ironic considering what he was now. "I will NOT allow the party's credits to be used for something so mundane. It should be better focused on supplies, and besides," he paused his speech while activating one of his Bracers, making a few typing motions. "If what I investigated was true then we would have been swindled by any other Hotel, apparently the economic state for this land isn't as good as it should be."

"Ah yeah, I remember that." IF mused, thinking back to those days and bringing everyone's gaze back to her. "I can't tell you how many sketchy Hotels were secretly bought out by Avenir, so that those who came from the outside had to pay more to be able to stay in them. I think that the term 'Black Hotels' got made because of that." it also amazed her more than irritated her, that Neptune and Compa were so innocent and energetic at the time that they unintentionally brought the group to the most sketchy of all the Hotels on a regular basis, it only being damned plot armour that they had managed to find one moderately decent.

Thus, she could appreciate Nico's contribution all the more.

Noire however, frowned as she remembered having to close down and reopen loads of Hotels across Lastation for such conduct, back then she had WAY more work to do in order to regain her people's faith in comparison to the easy-going Planeptune. There was a reason why it stayed ahead of her and the other nations despite their CPU being so lazy and the whole business side of things...

"Really sounds like you had it rough, Noire..."

"You have NO idea how right you are with that statement, Vert."

Histoire decided against mentioning that she could perhaps measure Vert's accuracy by bringing up Lastation's records, which would have taken about 30 hours to do...

IF gazed at her companion's eyes, and as shocked as she was, plus how grateful she was to him for getting them decent lodgings, she couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than that. It was only a few seconds later when she figured it out. "You wanted to repay us, didn't you? For scaring us like that." While IF did ask, it felt more like a statement between the two of them. While they were having this conversation, Compa had left the room to take Neptune to one of the bedrooms, it wouldn't be good for their leader to be out of shape when they began their questing tomorrow.

With the look on his face right now, the woman knew he wouldn't even try to deny it, and her thoughts were proven with his next words. "You could say that. I've always held my comrades-in-arms in high regard, until they betray or try to kill me. You girls? It's hard to imagine any evil exists in you. True none of you are perfect, but who is? Anyways, I'm getting off track. Point is, your fear cut deep, and this was the least I could do to make it up to you all."

After he said his piece, Nico turned his head to the side, closing is eyes to avoid the gaze that the Guild Agent was giving him. He expected her to be disgusted with him, or angry for some reason that he hadn't thought of. What he DIDIN'T expect, was to have a hand placed on his cheek, forcing his eyes to shoot open in alarm. It took all his willpower not to skewer the person touching his cheek until he recognised the hand and its owner. 'W…What…?'

Slowly, his eyes turned their gaze over to IF, who had a small, soft smile on her face. None of her normal snarkiness or amusement was present in this smile, it was a genuine one filled with kindness. This made his heart skip a beat, his cheeks becoming a tad pink as the woman spoke to him. "Like we said before, you have nothing to be afraid of. Nor do you have anything to be sorry for. it wasn't your fault, got it?" she asked, her question accompanied by her expression morphing to that of a stern one. "If you have problems controlling these instincts of yours let us know and we'll do what we can we can get your drugs, until you get your armour back. You can trust enough to do that, can't you?"

Nico stared at her in awe for a moment, completely flabbergasted by her words and her actions. Was it just him, or did IF just get even hotter than she usually was? Also, why was the temperature so high in here? It took a while for him to realise he had gotten lost in thought again, so he hurriedly covered his mouth with a fist and coughed into it, looking away for a second before meeting her gaze. "W-Well, when you put it like that, it makes me feel like I have nothing to worry about. I'll hold you to that bet, IF. Don't be a chicken now." Nico said while smirking at the end, one that IF mirrored.

"Now Iffy's the one getting some Ni-Ni points here..." Compa remarked with a sad pout, puffing her cheeks out so that they looked like they had small balls inside of them. "No fair..."

"Come on Compa, your other had your chance to shine here, so let my other have hers too..." IF responded in an attempt to appease her friend, though the smirk on her lips pretty much said the exact opposite here.

Removing her hand, the brunette placed it on her hip as she kept her smirk level with his own. "You bet your ass I won't chicken out. Have you seen me chicken out of anything before? if I can fight against the Banshees like I did until you three came along, I'm pretty sure your instinct problems aren't gonna be a problem." They both had to chuckle at that, finding humour in the truth that IF had just stated. The horrors that the Banshees can dish out, seem to make his instinct problems feel tame in comparison.

Looking to the clock behind him at the wall his back was facing, IF saw the time and judged that it was getting late. "Anyways, we should head to bed. Nep's probably going to be asleep already, and I have the joy of sleeping beside her." She remarked with a grimace. It wasn't like she didn't like the preteen, but she just got the feeling that she was a chaotic sleeper. It was just her opinion, and tonight as her first night as part of this party, she was going to find out for herself.

'… I suddenly feel lots of pity for IF…' Nico thought as he watched her make for the bedroom she and Neptune would be occupying. He could have offered to switch beds for her, but he didn't for two reasons: One, her gut instincts with Neptune's sleeping habits were spot on, and two: Compa would throw a gasket if she learned he switched out with another girl. She was an angel most of the time, but was super scary when she was angry enough to act. Thing is, when Compa got angry, she didn't really show it in her expression, she always had this pleasant smile on her face, but instinctively one is aware of her emotional state just by that smile alone. She could make someone feel at complete peace, or shudder in fear as if facing the reaper himself. He'd seen the aftermath of that first hand…

It wasn't pretty.

All at once, did the four CPUs shudder at that, some... bad memories concerning the Planeptune CPU's attempts to have a sleepover party not go so well, for a VARIETY of reasons though the primary one had been due to her putting them all in the same room...

Crankiness in the mornings became the LEAST of Histoire's concerns in those times.

Neptune's room had sound proofing to isolate the sounds inside for a reason, after all, nobody wanted to hear that girl snoring like a foghorn throughout the entire Basilicom.

Once she was inside the room, the door having closed behind her with a CLICK, Nico went and did the same as her, approaching the room he and Compa were sharing tonight. He raised his knuckles and knocked on the door with the back of his hand, a sign of respect. "Hey Compa, you decent?" he asked her through the door. Leaning close to the door, Nico listened for her response.

"Um, just a sec, I'm almost done changing!" Compa's call came back, along with the sounds of shuffling and something sliding into place. Nico figured she was in the middle of changing, and wisely showed considerable restraint, backing away from the door and leaning against the frame, waiting for his companion to be ready.

"Respecting women changing... nice!" IF responded, smirking as she offered a thumbs up. "That gets some points from me, dog."

"That, and I bet that he'd rather not get pierced by Compa-Pompa's syringe of doom..." Neptune added, sweat dropping slightly as she paled a little at the memory of that Syringe in particular. Lets just say it was always the quiet ones... which was why she had even issued an official decree (in her mind) that NOBODY dared to cross...

Do NOT make Compa mad. You'll be in for a hellish experience.

Compa, the girl in question, never wondered why people had been so universally kind to her for a while before things had gone back to normal after a few months.

While he waited, Nico activated his right Bracer and checked on some of the documents he had been devising, research notes he'd gathered while nobody was looking. They were brief and small considering he had just started, but the notes were of what he had observed of Lastation's economy and the reactions of the people. Unfortunately, the small amount of research he had done served to paint a severe, bleak and negative picture of the situation overall.

'This is not good. The economy seems to be plummeting day by day, and there seems to be much civil unrest within the populace.' Nico thought, narrowing his eyes at the Documents, which were presented to him as holograms which he moved so they were in front of him and he could manipulate them with both hands. 'These events... that started shortly after I left back then... THAT group seems to be the culprit, as according to these documents they began to pull an overhaul on the economic market. This reminds me an awful lot of a Parasite, eating away at its host organism to feed itself. But once the host dies, the parasite should die off too. However...'

His right hand clicked its fingers and a holographic Pen formed in the hand, allowing him to make a few key notes about his observations on a separate screen that floated in front of him, with the other screens surrounding it and forming an arch behind it. His eyes occasionally glanced away from the main screen to the other documents for brief instances, likely looking through certain pieces to record through his own research. 'If events continue to spiral down this path, then this land may be done for… one of the unknown factors is the CPU and what she is doing. If I could get an audience with her, I would have asked her what she was doing to counter these problems, however with what I saw in the Basilicom… something tells me there is little she can do. With their disrespect for her, it isn't unlikely that they would ignore her. If that's the case-'

"Alright, I'm ready Ni-Ni!" the sound of Compa's angelic voice cut him from his thoughts as Nico deactivated his Bracer, the documents swiftly vanishing out of existence as the power supplying their holographic forms was cut with the deactivation. It was likely going to be a reoccurring thing for him, losing himself in his thoughts for the girls to break him out of it. If they weren't around, it would likely take him hours to snap back to reality, unless he was in a battle. Slowly, Nico grasped the handle and turned, opening the door and pushing it forwards. There, he saw Compa having rolled back the covers to get in, before she turned to look at him and smiled, albeit a nervous one.

When was the last time he saw Compa in her PJ's? when they were kids she dressed in a cream coloured gown that went to her knees, with a small teddy bear she would hug along with whoever she was sleeping with (not that way) at the time. Now? she wore a simple pair of creamy yellow bottoms and a top, both with white outlines and white frills on the cuffs. Her feet were bare, and there was no sign of her teddy bear anywhere. Guess she grew out of it though Nico didn't know how to feel about that. "What happened to your teddy, Compa?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I couldn't take Mr Paddington with me, he'd be destroyed on our adventures." She replied with a pout before getting into the covers. "Are you coming in already? It'll get cold if you don't." she asked him, prompting Nico to sigh in nervousness, before he activated his left Bracer and in a few moments, his clothes were replaced by a matching set of PJs' as Compa's, although his were black and red instead of creamy yellow and white.

"Oooooooh, we get to see Nicky and Compa in sleepwear! Nooooiiiiice!" Neptune exclaimed as she pretty much grinned like a pervy old man at the sight of the PJ's that Nico wore. Since well, they didn't really hide how well built the guy looked, likely from all his exercise as a Spec Ops Agent.

"Ah, I remember those jama-jamas, I used to have those way back in the day. But they got worn down too much so I had to replace them with new ones..." Compa mused, smiling fondly at the memories of her grandfather tucking her 12 year old self in, kissing his sweet little nurse on the forehead before singing her a sleep-lulling lullaby. In actuality, she remembered it so fondly that she pretty much fell asleep right then and there.

This caused several sweat drops from the rest of the room's occupants...

IF did have a point, he thought, as he started walking towards the bed, his mind imagining things that he tried his hardest not to think about. He soon stopped thinking about it when a flash of... something appeared in his mind, sneering laughter accompanying it making him mentally wince. This was way too different from when they were kids, back then they had this young, naïve innocence about them, an innocence that resembled a simple snow field. White would be all that could be seen through the distance. However, right now, that snowfield was tainted with crimson red, and on one side as well, while the other remained pure. That snowfield was no longer completely pure and white, half of it had been tainted, twisted by the horrid sins that had been committed, the bloodshed that had scarred that half.

They used to do this, but 4 years is a long time, nearly too long, for this to be the same as it once was. No, nothing shall ever be the same as it once was back then, nothing... nothing at all.

With a gulp, he crawled into the bed and they both folded the covers over them so only their heads were visible. Sleep followed afterwards, quickly for Compa, not so much for the troubled Spec Ops Agent.

"Ahhh, the ol' Harem MC Trope of sleeping next to the harem candidate. Seems like some things will never change."

Vert glanced at Neptune when she said that. "Neptune, I don't think tropes are necessarily bad, unless they're overdone... which is sadly the case for a lot of stories in a saturated genre..."

That statement held more weight than one could ever comprehend, given how true it was. Plus, since a GODDESS of GAMING had said it, only made the sting worse.

Waking up the next morning next to Compa was the first thing Nico noticed when he opened his eyes. Momentarily, he froze in horror, thinking something bad had happened before memories of the previous night returned to him. Nico sighed in relief when they did. 'Whew, I didn't do anything untoward to her… that's a whole load off my chest.' The male thought with a small smile on his lips as he gazed over at Compa's sleeping form. Glancing behind him, Nico found an alarm clock on a small set of draws, which told him it was 7:45.

'Neptune doesn't get up until 10 AM, while IF gets up at 8, so I have some time to get ready…' he thought to himself, before glancing back at Compa to gauge her sleeping face. It just looked so adorable and child-like that he couldn't help but get sucked into it. 'Awwww, doesn't she look like a puppy right now, or what?' Nico fanboyed as he gushed at her peaceful face. 'She truly is one of the greater gifts to mankind… I wonder if I'll be given hate mail from any of the perverts if they found out about this… heh, like they'll ever know.'

"Oh, don't underestimate the power of pervy weebs, Nicky! Just look at that anime about reviewing those pleasure centers that got all controversial!"

As he stared at her sleeping form, Nico lifted his upper body upwards while using a forearm as a support. He had deposited his Gear: his Bracers, Holsters etc, over to the table on the opposite side of his bed so it wouldn't be far to go to get them. One of his favourite features that his Bracers had, was connected to his Void Storage, where he could group a set of clothes together into a single outfit and then deploy them whenever he wished. His basic attire was what he wore under his… armour… though he had various other sets saved into his Bracers' Database. His PJ's, base attire, hell even his armour counted as a Set.

Though he preferred his Basic Spec Ops outfit because he used it the most, and it looked awesome.

"Do guys like being all cool-looking and stuff?" Compa questioned, putting a finger on her lips.

IF then answered. "Its usually just a matter of preference, though considering how there was a game release a couple years back about "stylish action" that broke over 3 million sales before the end of the year, I'd say young boys do like cool stuff."

In addition, the Void Storage gets rid of any bacteria, resulting in the clothes being fresh and ready for use when they are deployed once again. This was one of his most useful skills, and because of this Nico valued his Bracers highly, like with his beloved Armour. Right now, however, without his Armour he was slightly nerfed with regards to his capabilities, but nothing too severe that it would cause him to be too unreliable to the girls.

Sounds of someone moaning broke him out of his musings, and Nico looked down to see Compa beginning to stir. He let a small smile form on his face as he greeted her good morning, "G'morning sleepyhead, how was your nap?" he asked like a parent would to their child.

Compa giggled at his antics, lifting herself up as her hair fell over her shoulders since nothing was restricting it as of right now. "I'm good, Ni-Ni. That was the best sleep I've had in a long while…" she admitted, blushing slightly as she realised what she just said, memories of last night playing in her mind. "We… haven't slept like that in ages…" she whispered, poking her index fingers together to show how nervous she was about that revelation.

It was no less true however, Nico and Compa hadn't slept like this since they were kids, and that was four years ago. They could still remember the first time Compa came into his bed to sleep next to him. Her grandfather was out on business for a few days, and wouldn't be able to make it back. One night, there had been a large thunderstorm that rocked Planeptune, which was one of Compa's worst fears. She didn't like thunder and lightning, and since her grandfather wasn't around to comfort her, she had gone and chosen the sleeping Nico to hold her for comfort. It made for one INTERESTING morning…

"Yeah… I can agree with you there…" Nico trailed off as those same memories played out in his mind. A small smile tugged at his lips when he reminisced, until he noticed that the time was 7:55 Am. "Whelp, looks like we have to get up soon, IF'll be up soon If I'm not mistaken." He said, before making to get out of bed.

However, an arm shot out of bed and stopped him, pulling Nico back into the bed. Its owner and his assailant, pouted with puffed cheeks, her stare focused intently on the male Spec Ops Agent. "Mou, can't we stay a little longer… I wanna enjoy sleeping with you a little more, Ni-Ni…" Compa whined as she tried to pull him back into her embrace.

"Wah!" Noire exclaimed, blushing red at the claims the Nurse-In-Training was making on the boy on the screen. "What the goodness?!"

"Hey, that's my little Nep Jr's tick, Nowa! Don't go stealing from her, she's seen as a doormat enough as is!"

"You're not helping that any with rebirth 3, Neptune! Or need I 'remind' you?"

The male knew though, that if he adhered to those demands, she would likely stay like that the whole day. It had happened before, and was not something he'd be comfortable doing again. At first it had been pleasant, but as his energy pent up Nico had to struggle to break free from Compa's hold that day. She had been in a huffy mood for the next few weeks afterwards. "Sorry, Compa, you know I can't do that, you would keep me here all day and we have stuff to do today." He tried to reason with her while resuming his attempts to break free.

Compa's cheeks didn't die down, nor did the intensity of her stare. "Mou, but still…" she tried to counter him, but trailed off when she found she didn't have anything to say. This left a depressing cloud over her head as her grip began to weaken. "Ni-Ni doesn't want to sleep with me…" she mumbled in depression.

Nico sweat dropped at her childish antics. Sometimes she was as bad as Neptune was. Right now, he could see the similarities as he manoeuvred himself around the opposite side of the bed and hugged her from behind. "You know that's not true, Compa." He whispered into her ear, his breath trailing down to her nape, electing several shivers and a red hue on Compa's lips. "Now come on, we must look after the others, and see what the heck's going on with Lastation."

The Nurse-In-Training was silent for a moment, and for a time he thought his attempts had hit rock bottom, until he felt her grip loosen and Compa mumbled something he couldn't quite make out. "Atta girl…" he praised just barely above a whisper, reaching out and affectionately rubbing the side of her head before making to get his Bracers and holsters. He soon slapped them on before heading into the Bathroom, proceeding to do his morning routine.

"My..." Vert mused to herself. "Is it just me, or do I detect some affection from Nicky over there...?" Vert wondered, smugly smirking as she drunk in the glare that Neptune gave her for stealing her nickname for Nico from her.

A reply came from Histoire, who also looked a little scandalized at his actions, though the red hue made the look oh so much more adorable. "I-It's not just you, Vert..."

Meanwhile, Compa sat up and stretched her arms towards the ceiling. She groaned in satisfaction as she felt the tension leave her limbs, until she lowered her arms down again with a sigh. She then looked outside, noticing to her disappointment that the grey clouds overhead blocked out the sunlight. She liked getting up with the sun on her face in the mornings, it filled her with her daily dose of joy. So, not having it was a big downer to her mood.

Then, she remembered what she and Nico did the previous night and her happiness meter returned to normal. Really, while he didn't know it, Nico really did give great hugs, especially when asleep. When she had seen him lash out like that, Compa had never felt so scared in all her life. It made her feel horrible that she feared someone who was, for all intents and purposes, her first crush, and still was. Nico had done a lot for her, and what did she do in return? Get scared of him when he lost it.

When he explained about his Armour and what it really meant, her guilt had increased tenfold, like the already heavy weight on her chest multiplied by 1000. In the end, it wasn't completely his fault, it was a combination of the Guild and the Basilicom Staff Member's, although she was certain the latter wouldn't care. The Guild was at fault for not telling him of the Armour's function to suppress and control his instincts, and that man shouldn't have acted like he did.

Yesterday when they reached the hotel and Nico stated that they had to bunk up, Compa had seized her chance and volunteered to do something they hadn't done in so long. it was a way to show herself that despite this new information, it was still Nico in there. Now, she knew it had worked, when she felt her heartbeat when she thought of him, no longer did she feel any fear from him, not even when she remembered his actions. It thoroughly pleased her, it did. Now it was both Neptune and IF's turn. She felt that the brunette didn't fear him as much as they did, seeing as she had fought things like the Banshees and lived as a Mercenary most her life.

But Neptune….?

Compa wasn't a fool, especially when it concerned the heart of her childhood friend. She had an inkling that Neptune was beginning to develop an… interest, in Nico, a similar interest to her own. in a way, she couldn't blame her, Nico did his best to differentiate himself from other males, he was kind, humble, and understanding. He was also supportive from what she could tell when she heard Neptune tell the story of what happened when he woke up after the loss of his Armour.

Whilst they listened to the alternate Compa's inner monologue (with the Nurse blushing at the crush admission) each of them became stunned at the depths of her feelings towards the situation that had happened.

"Whoooaaa... that's actually kinda deep..." Neptune mumbled, taken aback slightly to the point where she didn't have many jokes to comment with... and if THAT happened then one KNEW just how impacted she felt at this scene. "As mushy as it sounds... I can imagine Compa-Pompa being like this if she hurt someone, even if unintentionally."

Compa, after hearing her other's words, looked down at herself, a frown on her lips. "Y-Yeah..." One moment came to her mind, when the truth about her going to med school had been revealed back in Leanbox during rebirth 1. She had felt super awful about lying to them up till that point, but she'd hidden it well... though that had been mostly due to Neptune and IF not really approaching the issue with her. She didn't know what kind of response she'd have if they had actually asked her, though.

Blanc, as silent as she became, had to admit that this Author must have had good writing skills, to invoke such feelings from the character in this story and express them... although she internally wondered how many hour's he'd played their games if he knew Compa's personality so well. She might have to... pay this person a visit. "Compa, message your friend." She stated, catching the Nurse by surprise. "Ask her how the author knows you so well..."

"O-OK..."

"I'm done, Compa, you can use the shower now!"

The sound of her childhood friend's words and their volume broke her out of her musings. Turning, Compa felt a brief flash of disappointment when she saw that Nico had dried himself off and was now wearing his base attire. He looked refreshed and new, ready for the day. Flinging off her disappointment, Compa smiled at him as usual and replied. "Thank you, Ni-Ni, I will!" before she went into the Bathroom to begin her normal routine.

When the duo exited the room, chatting about what they were planning to do with regards to questing, they were greeted to a… rather odd, sight

"Iffy?"

"What the hell? IF why the fuck is this?"

Sprawled out on one of the sofas, using her coat as a makeshift cover while her clothes were scattered around the sofa, a dishevelled mumbled incoherently. They didn't catch what she said, but Nico didn't need to when he glanced at her, then at the room that Neptune was using, an idea popping into his head and a grin forming on his features.

"Lemme guess, Neptune's a chaotic sleeper?"

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe, Nico."

"Heeeeeeeey, i'm not THAT bad, Histy!"

"Might I remind you that we have had to soundproof MULTIPLE rooms because of your snoring habits?"

"..."

He had asked this, though it was really a rhetorical question. The brunette's response? Was to mumble something else, but this time Nico was able to hear it, "and a big snorer. Seriously, did you guys not hear it?" she slowly raised her head to look at them, and they noticed the bags under her eyes. Both winced, while Nico also had a hidden smirk of amusement tugging at his lips.

"Nope, but I had my suspicions. Thanks for confirming them for us, you were a loyal test subject." He said teasingly, earning a glare from the brunette as she flipped him the bird, too tired to bother with anything else. Nico chuckled even more at her response, not offended in the least.

"Ahhh, friendly banter..." Vert remarked, smirking in amusement at the exchange whilst IF felt the urge to do the same to the real Neptune. "It just never gets old..."

Noire however, huffed as she crossed her arms under her chest and turned her head to the side. "Humph, I'm not so sure about that..."

"Awwwww, does Lonely Heart want to banter with her imaginary friends right now?"

"I do NOT do that, Neptune! And I DO HAVE FRIENDS!"

Compa pouted at him, her eyes filled with scolding like a parent would to their rebellious child, akin to what Nico did to Neptune. "Ni-Ni, don't be mean. Iffy had a long night with Nep-Nep and now she's resting from it."

"Sorry, sorry, but I couldn't help it. Slight innuendo aside though, we should get something to eat before we head out for questing. Something tells me we'll need a lot of aspirin though." Nico mused while holding his chin. Looking to the brunette, he gave a sigh at seeing her state, before he pulled from his Void Storage a bottle of ice cold water. "Here, IF, this should help you wake up when you're ready. Sleep for now, me and Compa will see to breakfast."

The brunette caught the bottle in one hand when he chucked it to her, almost dropping it with how cold it was. "What the hell, was this made in Lowee or something?" she mumbled, but didn't care too much right now. she did send a grateful look to Nico though. "Thanks for the drink. Now let me sleep." She said bluntly, before falling back into slumber.

"Iffy is super rowdy if she doesn't get much sleep…" Compa commented, stating the obvious while smiling weakly. She had only seen this once before during their time together, and it wasn't easy to handle, yet Nico handled it like a pro.

"Oh yeah, Iffy's SUPER like that, she gets REALLY grumpy, to the point where I-MMPH!"

IF quickly covered Compa's mouth whilst sweating profusely, looking as pale as a ghost right now.

Though, everyone chose not to say anything when she gave them the 'do not ask for your own safety' kind of gaze.

Said male waved it off dismissively. "While true, it's nothing I haven't seen it before. Some Agents I worked with in the past were like that. Anyways, shall we make breakfast? Neptune will want pudding, as usual." He remarked dryly at the end there. Compa giggled awkwardly at the correct statement, while IF rose her head to glare at him.

"Don't talk about her right now…"

"Don't talk about who and what now?"

They turned to the door to the bedroom that IF had been using, to see Neptune, refreshed and ready to go. She had a beaming smile on and was fully dressed, ready for the day. "Hey guys, G'morning!" she cheered while raising an arm and waving at them. "You guys ready to take some quests and ick monster booty?"

"While Iffy seems to have trouble in the mornings, Nep-Nep seems to be the opposite…"

"Meh, I bet it's because she had a stash of pudding or something."

"Who says I have only one?"

"Nepu! How's you find my deepest, darkest Nep-secret?!" Neptune cried out in dramatic shock, causing Nico to twitch his brow irritably. However, he didn't do anything thanks to the stare from Compa. Knowing what she wanted him to do, he held his tongue just this once. "Nepu! Now I hafta try harder to hide it… eh? Iffy what's with you? Why are you glaring at me like that? Did I do something?" she then asked, noticing the brunette glaring at her.

The brunette the released a frustrated groan as she slowly rose to her feet, though Nico made a point to turn away to hide his red face as well as to preserve her modesty since she had nothing but her bra and panties on underneath her coat. "Looks like Nep won't let me get any more sleep. Ah hell, I'll just get up now. this drink of water'll helps." She mused, bringing the water in her hand to her lips and taking a swig like someone who was downing alcohol. Removing it from her lips with a sigh, IF moaned in satisfactions she felt the drink cool her body and wake up her senses. "Man, this water is good…" she mumbled, before noticing that Nico wasn't staring at her for some reason. her tired gaze shone with a mixture of annoyance and confusion towards the male as she decided to investigate his behaviour, not realising the truth herself thanks to er fatigue. "Hey, Nico, what's up? Why are you looking away like that?"

Neptune and Compa shared a look, before the preteen let out a giggle that only a prankster could have. She then gave a Cheshire cat grin as she gestured to her body. "Oh nothing much, just that Nick's trying to protect what little modesty your hot bod has left. I mean, damn girl, you fine!" she exclaimed, making a wolf whistle at the end while Compa blushed at the tone she was using. She knew Neptune was only teasing, but still…

The brunette looked down at her body, wondering what the problem was, until it finally clicked in her brain after a couple seconds. Her face turned bright red as she cried out "Kyaaa!" before she quickly grabbed her clothes and ran into her and Neptune's bedroom, yelling, "Don't look, don't look!" over and over.

"Awwww, and I was enjoying the view of cute little Iffy..." Vert playfully 'whined', causing IF to go beat red like a tomato. Much to the other girls' amusement since they all knew that the blonde like to tease her secret 'fan'. It didn't stop, not even outside the games.

As the door slammed shut behind her, it was quiet for a moment, before Neptune doubled over, holding her gut while laughing hard. "Ahahahahahaha! Now that was some interesting sights!" she exclaimed through her laughs as her stomach threatened to burst from her activity. Not that she cared right now, the look on IF's face when she realised she was 'flashing the goods' was priceless. She glanced to Nico and aimed her next sentence at him, "Good job on playing the straight man of the group, Nicky. By any chance are you gay or something, It'd explain why you wouldn't wanna see that hot bod."

Why did Nico get the feeling he'd be dead if he didn't answer correctly? He swore he felt KI emitting from somewhere but he didn't know where it was. "N-No I'm not gay!" he retorted his face red as he turned to face the grinning preteen. "I-I just didn't want to offend her and get myself bitch slapped for seeing something I shouldn't!" he stuttered, which made Neptune have a difficult time buying it.

"At least he's got his priorities straight, unlike the majority of the male population..." IF remarked grumpily, remembering two certain boys from Lowee who... only paid attention to women who had 'special arrangements'.

Each of the other girls sweat dropped at this... alongside their fearful looks when they glanced towards the growling Blanc (alongside looking like she'd become like a certain, large angry green rage monster) whose thoughts aligned VERY well with the brunette's.

"Nep-Nep." Compa began as she proceeded to scold the lilac haired girl for her conduct. "Ni-Ni doesn't do that to girls, when have you ever seen him willing try to peek at us when we change or go into baths, or do anything perverted in general towards us?" she asked her.

Neptune brought a hand to her chin and thought for a moment before sighing in defeat and replying. "No…" she groaned. When she looked at Compa's eyes and saw them shift slightly in Nico's direction, she took a moment to get the message. When she did, Neptune turned to him and lowered her head in apology. "Sorry Nicky, I shouldn't have assumed anything."

While he had no doubt that te bubbly girl would assume such things in the future if situations like this came about, Nico nevertheless calmed down and smiled at her, forgiveness in his eyes as he rubbed the top of her head affectionately. "No biggie, Neptune. I know you were just playing around as usual." He said as his hand ruffled her hair.

To Neptune, it felt weird at first, to be petted like this, but that didn't last for long. Soon, she found herself shyly looking away from him with a tinge of red on her cheeks, 'Nicky's so good at making me feel weird…' she thought absentmindedly. She didn't notice the jealous look that Compa sported while she received this treatment.

Once IF had properly dressed herself, coming back to the group with a flustered look on her face, they decided to have something light for breakfast. Compa went and made pancakes for everyone, none of the girls being aware of the dread within Nico's stomach at having to eat human foods. Fortunately, he managed to endure it till they finished, when he promptly excused himself and went to the Bathroom in his and Compa's room, making sure to keep the vomiting quiet so they didn't get suspicious. Afterwards, he'd cleaned himself up and drunk some water to get the taste of Vomit out his mouth and freshen his breath.

"Oh geez, that vomiting stuff is happening again..." Noire remarked, looking rather disgusted yet concerned for the male's health. The thought of not being able to sample well-cooked foods sounded like a nightmare to her, especially if her adorable sister Uni were to try and make something for her. How would she have reacted if Noire threw up at the mere taste of such things? Pretty negatively, Noire believed, and Uni had enough self-esteem issues as it were! "What the hell happened to make him like that?"

Histoire shook her head, just as lost as the rest of them were. "My other may know, but from what I've seen so far, I get the feeling there is so much more to this secret than meets the eye..." she said, though she wished she didn't have this feeling at all. Every time she saw a mention of this 'secret' made her stomach churn in discomfort, as well as worry for Neptune and her friends.

Such feelings also disturbed the rest of the cast, with the question that presided over their minds being thus:

If Nico couldn't eat human food...

what COULD he eat?

After they got their breakfast done, the group began talking about what they would do today. "I say we have some chill out time!" Neptune suggested with excitement, kicking the airspace by her feet under the table they all sat at while raising her hand like a student wanting to answer a question to the teacher. "I wanna sample some of Lastation's games, the Nep needs her games and her pudding!" she proclaimed further, before pointing to the corner of the room. The stand that everyone had seen with the TV, consoles and controllers was still there, and thanks to the resting they had, the Party felt that the games looked much more inviting than before.

Nico made to interject on this decision, until Compa beat him to it. "Well, since I'm in charge of item accounting, I noticed that we're a little low on supplies. I think we should go to the groceries to get some, though not too much since things don't look so good here." she suggested, a concerned frown on her lips. Compa had seen several shops during their short stay in Lastation, and sometimes she had managed to get a short visit to them into her schedule. the prices here were way higher than what Planeptune had to offer, so she wasn't sure that they would be able to last for long time periods since items and other supplies were more expensive. Not even Nico disagreed with her there.

IF pondered this, a hand on her chin as she crossed one leg over the other while her other arm reached for one of her phones, taking it out and flipping the screen upwards. "Well, you do that, Compa. You're right though, we need to watch our supplies, the economics in Lastation are way worse than Planeptune. Something bugs me about these prices, but a more important matter is a source of income. I'll check the Guild Website to see if they have any Quests available. I'm sure something will pop up." she stated, already logging into the Guild Website through its home page.

At this point, Neptune had practically flew over to the games, choosing one and inserting it into the Console, the 'L-station 3' as it was called when she saw the top of its roof. She chose a game that seemed to be about two rivalling factions riding dragons and fighting each other, even though they worshipped the same god and had other similarities to each other. Seeing that they each had something in mind, Nico gave a small sigh, but kept a smile on his face. This was perfect for him too, since he could get some more research into what had happened to Lastation since his last visit here. With that in mind, Nico opened his right Bracer and resumed his research, letting the outside world fade away as they spent their morning in relative peace.

Shame that peace would be the LAST thing they would have for a while after this, huh?

"End of the Chapter. I guess the next one is where we meet Chian…" Noire mused as Compa prepped for the next chapter.

IF nodded as she got over the morbid thoughts circulating through her mind. "Yeah... that stuff aside, this story's really shaping it up, guess the Author must have been trying something different with these new concepts. Wonder how things will play out in comparison to our original adventures." She mused, since it had become VERY obvious t her that things wouldn't be the same in this Gamindustri. She just felt it in her gut.

Neptune nodded in agreement, literally one step away from bouncing up and down on her sitting spot. "Cantwaitformorecan'twaitformorecan'twaitformore!" she stated so fast the others could hardly tell what she had said.

With similar consensus from the others, the next chapter was uploaded onto the projector which then began to play...

Chapter end!

Whelp, here's another reading chapter. Like I said, irregular updates. Anyways, people PLZ give me humor ideas, my humor is nonexistent and the more ideas you give, the faster these chapters can come out.