Hyperdimension Dwarf Fortress Quest 74

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You are Urist Twelfthbay, and you are the moe personification of Dwarf Fortress. You are on the phone with the moe personification of Mega Man, the moe personification of Dragon Quest, and the goddess of all things Xbox. You are standing outside the room of the two goddesses of all things Sega, since they are playing the off-label video games of their constituents.

This is exactly why you just call everyone by their damn names. It's moe personifications all the way down.

Here in Gamindustri, moe personifications are a dime a dozen, but most everyone else has adapted to the whole cutesy anime bullshit better than you ever will (or would ever care to). While you're just a short, sturdy creature fond of drink and industry who happens to look like a beardless waif, the world is packed full of syrupy-sweet girls with big glittery eyes and voices like gelded cats.

... not that there's anything wrong with that, since you call a whole bunch of them your friends.

You manage to extricate yourself from your four-way phone call with Estelle, Rokko, and Vert- though not without some difficulty. Not that you can blame them for freaking out; you only gave them the extremely short version of your trials thus far- your time in the hyperdimensional void and your time spent inhabiting Neptune's big dumb body- and it DOES sound pretty fucked up.

You decide not to mention how you accidentally created a new goddess out of whole cloth. There's really no good way to describe that without raising more questions, all of them terminally embarrassing.

(Cont.)

"None of that should be possible," Vert muses, the older woman's voice sounding somewhat skeptical. You muffle a snort; oh, she ain't seen nothing yet. "But as long as Mojang and the rest are alright..."

"Exactly! Just- just sit tight, okay? Big sis is coming to help you!" Goddammit, you can't deal with the sheer good-heartedness gushing from Estelle right now. "No more splitting the party! We'll get our adventuring group up and running again!"

"Except for you, Lady Vert," Rokko interjects smoothly. You'll never get used to how /smooth/ her mental voice sounds without all that static gumming up her mechanical vocal chords or whatever. "It would be best if you stayed put. Leanbox needs you now, more than ever."'

"We'll see you in Planeptune, Urist!" Estelle chirrups, talking over Vert's protests. Before the connection cuts, you catch a bit of CPU Green Heart bellyaching about wanting to see her Mojang again.

... with a sigh, you lower the cellphone-slash-Key-Fragment monstrosity you'd been using to contact your friends. Right, well, at least you've got backup coming. Armok knows how long it'll take for them to get to Planeptune from Leanbox, but you can't help but feel a weight lift from your shoulders.

You turn to re-enter Neptune's room and nearly bump into Nepgear, who yelps and... just sort of hops out of the way, dodging you with ease. Sure, she was literally /just born/, but with that agility? She's definitely a freaking goddess.

"Oneechan!" The littlest Nep pokes her index fingers together, ignoring how that makes her ever-present immolating flames spark and sputter. "Sorry! I was trying to get your attention, but you were really wrapped up in your phone call, so..."

(Cont.)

... shit, you can't even chew her out for standing so close behind you. Poor girl's got this aura of kicked puppy-ness or something. You shrug and look past her- where's everyone else?

"Um, oneechan and her friends left already," Nepgear replies, referring to her /literal/ big sister. "They're waiting down at the Sharicite node. So..."

It takes you a moment to process why she's holding her hand out to you. You blink at her big, guileless eyes before gingerly taking the taller girl's hand. Honestly, you're half-expecting the flames to leap over and turn you into a !!dwarf!!, but they're as harmless to you as they are to Nepgear.

Yeah, speaking of which- as you walk through the Planeptune Basilicom's halls, you take a moment to study Nepgear. It's surprisingly hard to get a read on the fledgling goddess; when she's not emoting insecurity or embarrassment or absolute horror, she tends to look... serenely cheerful, in a low-key sort of way. You don't know how much of that is because Nepgear is Nepgear, or because she's just too young to have a fully-formed personality. That little smile could be hiding anything.

Not for the first or last time, you pray desperately that Nepgear doesn't turn out anything like her big sister.

>CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
[ ] [NEPTUNE] Ask Nepgear's opinion of her big sister. Er, y'know, her actual literal big sister, not whatever-you-are to her.
[ ] [PLANEPTUNE] Ask Nepgear's opinion of her home country. She's one of the goddesses of this place, right? How's that working out?
[ ] [PLANS FOR THE FUTURE] What's Nepgear going to do once you get her synced to her country? She's not seriously thinking of coming back with you to the hyperdimensional void, right?
[ ] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS] Nepgear's bound to have something on her mind, right? Offer to hear her out and answer her questions, now that you've got some temporary privacy.
[ ] [WRITE-IN]

[ ] [PLANEPTUNE] Ask Nepgear's opinion of her home country. She's one of the goddesses of this place, right? How's that working out?

0-4

>[ ] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS] Nepgear's bound to have something on her mind, right? Offer to hear her out and answer her questions, now that you've got some temporary privacy.
Be a good Onee-chan/Okaasan

PRAISED BE! It's been some time, hasn't it?

>[ ] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS] Nepgear's bound to have something on her mind, right? Offer to hear her out and answer her questions, now that you've got some temporary privacy.
Notyourmom

IT'S BLORPING TIME
>[x] [PLANS FOR THE FUTURE] What's Nepgear going to do once you get her synced to her country? She's not seriously thinking of coming back with you to the hyperdimensional void, right?

>[ ] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS] Nepgear's bound to have something on her mind, right? Offer to hear her out and answer her questions, now that you've got some temporary privacy.

My god I'm in time for the start of a Blorp Quest, I don't think that's happened since Ogres.

[ ] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS]

>[ ] [NEPTUNE] Ask Nepgear's opinion of her big sister. Er, y'know, her actual literal big sister, not whatever-you-are to her.

>[ ] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS] Nepgear's bound to have something on her mind, right? Offer to hear her out and answer her questions, now that you've got some temporary privacy.

>dont_believe_his_lies.png

>[ ] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS] Nepgear's bound to have something on her mind, right? Offer to hear her out and answer her questions, now that you've got some temporary privacy.

[X] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS] Nepgear's bound to have something on her mind, right? Offer to hear her out and answer her questions, now that you've got some temporary privacy.
Bloorp makes his return! Huzahh!

...

Is that Rokko after the new Megaman?

Well, you did say 8-ish rather than straight out 8.

Maybe Urist should act like how Gamindustri wants her to act for a day and see how things go.

>[ ] [PLANS FOR THE FUTURE] What's Nepgear going to do once you get her synced to her country? She really doesn't want to let Neptune go unsupervised?

Welcome back, Blorp.
I wait warmely for your long pauses and good penmanship.... at ~ 3o'clock AM.

No, that would be this!

Also, glad to be back, guys. Figures the one day I was free to run last month(-ish) would be the day(s) that new board rolled into town!

>[X] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS] Nepgear's bound to have something on her mind, right? Offer to hear her out and answer her questions, now that you've got some temporary privacy.

I had faith you'd be here tonight Blorp. Third time's (usually) the charm!

YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME FEEL SO BAD WHENEVER I RUN ON A WEEKDAY

[ ] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS] Nepgear's bound to have something on her mind, right? Offer to hear her out and answer her questions, now that you've got some temporary privacy.

Come on, we can build that self esteem!

Bullying you is half the fun of playing the quest

And don't ever think about using that place.

That way lies us getting nepped.

Is that what you want, you madman?

I think that'd be pretty funny. Dealing with the consequences would take hundreds of threads.

OH GEE WILIKERS, BLORP, I WONDER WHY THAT COULD BE

>No, that would be this!

Someone put on Lifesupport, for whom it would be more mercieful to be killed? That forced, uneccessary, mislabeled as "the human option", too short and bad?

Don't feel bad Blorp, at least it is something better than what those ........... "beings" who camp/try to camp before Apple shops each time they announce something new change their sleeping schedule for.

Who knows, maybe by acting with Gamindustry, things will go well for her instead of acting against it.

Spires of not-hollow adamantine being found, sun berries abound, etc.

>I think that'd be pretty funny. Dealing with the consequences would take hundreds of threads.

Well, with a crueler QM, that could happen. Urist would be like Kaska post-Eclipse then, which is an existence wich you should wish upon nobody.
I would rather have to deal with Urist having too fight of Yandere Simulator or another harem "hero" vermin tentacle swarm.

Came in here expecting Dwarf Fortress mod that added an alpha-level to the already existing spacial dimensions.

Is there a reverse of pic related?

>Not fighting Taimanin Asagi

Well, if all fails, Urist could try to summen an forgotten beast which uses acid, like that Elephant thing we summoned and let lose upon the Trolls of Myrra when we tunneled into Leanbox, or something which uses a base, who are way more effective at dissolving things. (Like soap.)

...

>[X] [ANSWER HER QUESTIONS]

As you walk down the hall, hand in hand, a comfortable silence stretches between you and Nepgear. It's nice, being able to do this without the universe screaming "BUT THAT'S FORBIDDEN LOVE" and promptly giving birth to a goddamned abomination of reality.

You take a moment to soak in the sights. Immediately, it's blindingly obvious that Planeptune's Basilicom is nearly as old as Lowee's. This time, it's nothing as poetic as the weight of history pressing down on your shoulders, or the unbearable feeling of ages long past. The age shows through by the cobwebs in the corners of the high ceilings, and the dust motes drifting through the air. Your footsteps echo forlornly through the hallways, broken only by the murmurs of some ancient priest or bureaucrat behind closed doors.

Surprisingly, though, walking through the Planeptune Basilicom doesn't depress you; it's not like you're walking through some gutted skeleton of a building, and you don't feel the presence of any ghosts or bogeymen. This place is faded, and has fallen far from its glory days, but it's... alive. Some of the decorations are shiny and new, frescoes painted over broken walls, and the better-traveled hallways are squeaky-clean. Some furniture is either repaired or replaced. Even the stained-glass windows are being polished, though it's a herculean task.

The representative realm of Sega bears the ugly wounds of age, but it's like a war torn fortress staffed by a handful of surviving dwarves and inching back toward some semblance of habitability.

You shake yourself from your thoughts and steal a glance at Nepgear. She hasn't noticed your lapse; rather, the CPU candidate is staring straight ahead, thin-lipped and slightly pale.

... nervous?

(Cont.)

She reflexively squeezes your hand, and you swear you feel your bones grinding together briefly. "N-No!" Nepgear squawks, her back rigid. The ever-present flames surrounding her seem to waver, spiraling up before settling back down. "I'm fine! I'll be fine. This is fine."

Heh. Nepgear would be fucking abysmal at cards. You think for a moment. Empty reassurances aren't exactly your thing. Armok knows you've /tried/, back when you were getting to know Mojang, but for some reason, "it is inevitable" doesn't seem to lift anyone's spirits.

No, that wouldn't be the way to go. You decide to distract her, instead. It seems to work pretty well, and you have the goddess's full attention.

"Huh? Anything I'd like to ask you?" Nepgear murmurs, doing that distinctly anime-esque thing where she repeats something you just said for the benefit of an invisible audience. "Um, let's see..."

As she ponders this with a finger to her chin, you brace yourself for the oncoming barrage of hideously embarrassing questions, because you know damn well how this universe works.

You are not disappointed.

"How was I born?"

... what's worst about this is that Nepgear doesn't even sound /scandalized/ by that question- she's not even trying to drive you up a wall, or embarrass you, or watch you twitch. It's so innocently matter-of-fact that you briefly feel like a terrible person just for screaming internally, especially as she gazes down at you with those big damn guileless eyes of hers.

Shit. Uh-

>CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]
[ ] [POETIC EUPHEMISMS LIKE YOU'D TELL A KID]
[ ] [OUTRIGHT UNTRUTHFUL CUTESY SHIT]
[ ] [THIS IS A JOB FOR NEPTUNE, THE POOR SOD]
[ ] [WRITE-IN]

[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]

>[ ] [THIS IS A JOB FOR NEPTUNE, THE POOR SOD]
>[ ] [AND NOT IN A PUBLIC PLACE]

[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]

[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]
But more along the lines of what we told her when she thought she was a mistake

>[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]

Then we should quote Mewtwo and then realize thats Lowee and curse

>[x] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]

Summon the Nep

[ ] [THIS IS A JOB FOR NEPTUNE, THE POOR SOD]

>[ ] [POETIC EUPHEMISMS LIKE YOU'D TELL A KID]
"You see, when the moe personification of dwarves and industry and a CPU love each other very very much..."

We can't tell her she was an accident, guys.

[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]
Never, she traumatize her for life

[ ] [THIS IS A JOB FOR NEPTUNE, THE POOR SOD]

Fuck it, I wanna see this.

>[Neptune]

It was no accident. It was DESTINY.

>[X] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]
>[X] [WRITE-IN] But explain it in Dwarf Fortress terms. With carefully given dates. Staring from the moment we met Neptune (Yes, including her protagonist rant). Carefully describe her creation as "Of Legendary Craftsgoddessship."

>[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]

We are a Dwarf, we have to tell the truth. That is one of the constant Dwarf traits.
Also, Urist hasn't spent her formative years in a purityrannical environment, so she shouldn't have any problems explaining it.

But, to add:

>[ ] (Stall until Estell arrives)

I do not think responsibility is in our character traits, therefore, i nominate this shitfaggotry to be delegated elsewhere.

[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]
[ ] [POETIC EUPHEMISMS LIKE YOU'D TELL A KID]
[ ] [OUTRIGHT UNTRUTHFUL CUTESY SHIT]
>[X] [THIS IS A JOB FOR NEPTUNE, THE POOR SOD]
[ ] [WRITE-IN]

>[X] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]

Fuck it, changing to this.

[Estell]

Estelle probably isn't coming for a while; I forgot to mention that Urist's mental estimate places her and Rokko's arrival at roughly a few-ish hours!

[X] [THIS IS A JOB FOR NEPTUNE, THE POOR SOD]

Hmm, then, i change my Addition to support this one:

>[X] [WRITE-IN] But explain it in Dwarf Fortress terms. With carefully given dates. Staring from the moment we met Neptune (Yes, including her protagonist rant). Carefully describe her creation as "Of Legendary Craftsgoddessship."

[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]
HWG

>[ ] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]

[X] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]
You are the hope for Planeptune to not be asociated with the term "lazy". Also. Nepgear, I am your mother.

Come to think of it, are there even any mothers in Gameindustri?

Else there still is Histoire, although she knows even less.

[GIVE HER THE NEP]

[Rokko will save us.]

WHOOO URISTS BACK!!!
Hows the moe personification of DOOM going?

[ ] [THIS IS A JOB FOR NEPTUNE, THE POOR SOD]

Just got here and its already getting googly.

I reconsider my vote
add a [POOR SOD], she can make this istuation even worse. ... I mean !!FUN!!

>Else there still is Histoire, although she knows even less.

Well, histoire would probably try to explain it while talking entirely in Heptameter so...... that could be surprisingli cute, so why not.

[Let Doomgirl explain]

>Neptune

>[X] [THE TRUTH, AS PLAIN AS DAY]

[ ] [THIS IS A JOB FOR NEPTUNE, THE POOR SOD]

The only logical answer, let pinky mc'mememaster take the reigns for a bit. Who knows? it might work out.

>Captcha: Planets

The stars have aligned.

Okay, looks like [THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH] wins by a lot! Writing!

She's still in Hyperdimension, mucking about in the sealed-off caverns, just her, the underground wildlife, and whatever poor Forgotten Beasts happen to spawn!

She'll be fine.

Everything is okay.

What's the worst that could happen?

I have a theory.
You won't like it
Pic related

Only people who where there could explain it with any semblence of truth, which where: Urist, Blanc, Unconscious Shovel Knight..... Sadly, we couldn't hear Blanc do that explanaition...

[X] [THIS IS A JOB FOR NEPTUNE, THE POOR SOD]
[ Doom ] [WRITE-IN]

Rip and Tear solves everything.

Nigger you better not TPK Doomgirl.

But she's just been updated with a new game

How will her abilities upgrades be affected in the abyss?

I think the "worst" wouldn't be a TPK'd Doomgirl, I am more worried about the cave then her. She knows how to handle demonic spawns.

I also want to know this. Maybe she finds a trove of upgrade cubes down there?

She loses powers when with others, has minor creative abilities and is now a religious figure.

None to shabby.

I'm actually not too sure how this would affect her!

Honestly, from what I've seen, the new game basically amps her up to her fan portrayal. So with all that time spent down in the caverns with limited healing supplies and possibly limited ammo, Doomgirl would have a chance to polish her in-fighting skills...

Would amped up doomgirl be able to solo MagicMasterGirl? (ForgotName)

Master of Midbosses?

Myrra? I would think that that would heavily depend on where they would fight, how effective Doom's Guns are against the Units (eg Trolls, Paladins, the Summoned stuff), how Myrras magic would affect Doom etc.

All in all: Pretty even, with Myrra having slightly better chances if we have seen most of what she can do. If she had held back, than no BFG will help you.

>then no BFG will help you

I think I have someone who would try to differ.

>[TRUTH]

But let's make sure no one's close enough to "hilariously" overhear us and misunderstand, first

Hold on, let me go grab my Slowpoke, its here somewhere...

Why is she cri?

Because she will never have a proper successor/little sister.

She probably just needs a nice hot dicking.

Well, the only try to give her a successor lead to a strip mining of Ardanian Lore. Apparently people are not willing to produce such deceptively simple yet compley games anymore with such a big amount of different races.

Found it.

>[X] [THE TRUTH, PLAIN AS DAY]
>[X] [... AS LEGENDS MODE]

- shit. Thinking fast, you take refuge in the only thing your brain has available to you on short notice: the truth, told the only way you know how.

Clearing your throat, you glance up at Nepgear's expectant expression, mentally set her birth from [CURRENT_YEAR] to [1], and start running your mouth off.

>Nepgear is a deity that occurs in the myths and reality of Planeptune. Nepgear is most often depicted as a purple-haired girl and is associated with Sega, mechanisms, and conquest.
>In 1, Urist Twelfthbay settles in Hyperdimension.
>In the early summer of 1, Urist Twelfthbay becomes the expedition leader of The Nepped Tunes.
>In the early summer of 1, Urist Twelfthbay falls into a deep sleep.
>In the early summer of 1, Neptune makes a journey to Urist Twelfthbay's dreams-

"That's how you met?" Nepgear squawks in surprise, her eyes lighting up for some reason. "In both your dreams??"

Well, no, you met that idio- Nepgear's sister earlier, over in Lowee. She thought you were the main character, and had some big crazy rant about protagonist-ing, but- look, that's not important right now.

The CPU candidate settles down, listening to you with renewed interest as you keep walking and talking, listing dates and minor events. Somehow, it's soothing when you break it down into this kinda regimented list.

>In the early summer of 1, Neptune becomes a member of Hyperdimension.
>In the early summer of 1, Urist Twelfthbay becomes a member of Neptune.
>In the early summer of 1, Neptune becomes a member of Urist Twelfthbay.

... you're not sure you like how Nepgear is taking notes here- you don't even know where she pulled that notebook from- but you press on, nevertheless.

(Cont.)

>In the early summer of 1, Urist Twelfthbay strikes down the tentacle beast.
>In the early summer of 1, Urist Twelfthbay uses the body of the deity Neptune to forge Nepgear.
>In the early summer of 1, Urist Twelfthbay completes the legendary artifact Nepgear. All craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality.

"I see... so that's how I was born," Nepgear murmurs, tucking her notebook back into her inventory. She squeezes your hand and treats you to another one of those bright, honest smiles. "Thanks, Oneechan!"

Huh. After that time she freaked out about the possibility of being accidental, you'd been worried about setting off some sort of depression spiral. Good to know she's doing okay.

"I always wondered how you and Oneechan met, but that was even more dramatic than I'd thought!"

... wait, what?

Before you can explore that further, one more set of stairs and you're there. Right in the bowels of the Planeptune Basilicom, in what would be a dimly-lit basement if not for the big fat glowing lode of Sharicite floating smack-dab in the middle of the room, tall enough to stretch from floor to ceiling.

... jeez. The security in this place is pretty abysmal; all you had to do was follow the most recent footprints imprinted in the dust.

(Cont.)

Honestly, you have no idea how any of this works, but it looks hella complicated. The equipment surrounding the Sharicite is a surreal blend of ancient old-time temple stuff and modern-day number-crunching computers. Smaller crystals orbit the bigger lode, and it's all floating over a sleek base of archeotech-looking bricks. Wires and sensors stretch from that base to the supercomputers set up haphazardly, all displaying numbers that are meaningless to you. Chains of golden rings are draped across the Sharicite, stretching in from the ceiling; as you watch, links of the chain slowly disappear into the glowing rock.

"Oh, there they are. I thought I was going to have to come up and get you myself."

"Nep Jr.~!"

You tear your eyes away from the decor to find IF waving you over. Behind her, Compa talks to some nameless technician or other, while Neptune walks right on over and takes Nepgear's other hand, leading her away from you.

The whole time, IF watches you warily, like she's not quite sure what to make of you. That doesn't bug you; in fact, given everything, that's pretty damn sensible, so your estimation of her bumps up a notch.

After a moment, she turns away. "Right. Let's get started. Bring her up, Nep."

"Yeth, marthter!" Neptune giggles, lisping like some mad scientist's assistant as she wraps an arm around Nepgear's shoulders and leads her in. You follow along, keeping your distance. Not that you'd be able to do anything if something DOES go wrong, but even going through the motions of being prepared for horrible shit puts you more at ease.

"This won't hurt, will it?" the CPU candidate asks, not taking her gaze away from the Sharicite.

"It's kind of a long process," Compa says, looking up from her station to smile warmly. "Don't worry, we'll walk you through it! Um, first, according to this, you have to-"

"Boop," Neptune sing-songs, taking Nepgear's hand and plastering it against the rock.

(Cont.)

Haha, Legends mode doesn't know what to make of swapping minds so it interpets it as joining the "group" that is the other one, perfect.

"Oh my /god/, Nep!" IF barks immediately. "We /just/ talked about this-"

A bright flash of light interrupts her, forcing every mortal in the room to cover their eyes- even then, part of it seems to sear through the hands over your eyes AND your eyelids, making you grit your teeth. Once it's over, you blink rapidly, trying to clear away the tears. The first thing you see is Neptune supporting a stunned Nepgear- who is no longer on fire, and looks refreshingly reassuringly /solid/.

"See? I know what I'm doing! It worked, just like it did for me, back in the day!" Neptune babbles. "Nepgear's totally okay! Put away your battle claws, Iffy, you're scaring me!" she adds, backing away from IF.

"This isn't 'back in the day,'" IF growls. "I swear, if you hurt her-"

Nepgear suddenly shimmers again; when the light clears, she's no longer in her battle bikini, but in some sort of... weird casual dress thing that isn't too far removed from Neptune's. For a heart-stopping moment, she nearly slides to the ground like a limp rag doll, but she then catches herself- if barely.

There's a beat. Then the room erupts into chaos as everyone starts speaking, all at once.

"- she's still transformed-"

"- looks exactly the same-"

"- whaaat, that's impossible, /I/ grow like a foot when I transform-"

"- absolutely exhausted, get the medical staff up here-"

In moments, there's more people in the room than you thought lived in the entirety of the Basilicom. Through the press and the chaos, you (almost literally) fight your way to Neptune and Nepgear's side, yelling your theoretically little sister's name- no dice, she's just about out cold, her eyes fluttering as she struggles to stay awake. Then there's no time to keep her company at all, as a buncha old people with the healthcare labors enabled arrive to cart her away-

(Cont.)

Some minutes later, you're down in the lower echelons of the Planeptune Basilicom, outside the tiny little hospital wing, and you are abso-fucking-lutely relieved.

"It's just exhaustion," Iffy deadpans, her arms crossed as she glowers at- well, not quite at you, but just in general. "She's been transformed from birth, so she's burned up an incredible amount of energy; she'll be fine with some rest." She swipes a hand down her face. "Aaaah, god, I nearly died of fright."

You and her both, though you'd never admit it.

"Mmhmm," Compa replies. She's seated in a chair, that horrific syringe of hers resting against the wall; she'd basically been the first responder, getting all that medical bullshit arranged. "I was really surprised! Her transformed form looks the exact same as her non-transformed form. I thought something was seriously wrong..."

"H... hahah..." Neptune leans against the wall, laughing weakly. She rallies magnificently, bounding to her feet and spinning in place. "Welp! All's well that ends well! But wow, none of us caught that she'd been transformed for a while, huh? So-"

She yelps as IF masterfully grabs her ear. "OH no. You and I are having words, Neptune," the brunette growls, dragging her caterwauling cargo down the hallway.

"W-Wait! That's not fair!" Neptune wails. "I'm a victim, too! I was cursed earlier, right? Ambushed? Otherwise preoccupied?"

"If you hadn't skipped town," IF grates out, "then that wouldn't have /happened/!"

You watch them disappear around the corner. Godspeed, Neptune. May you survive the fruits of your own idiocy and maybe LEARN something for a change. With a grunt, you stand back up and glance over at the door, thinking about taking a peek at Nepgear-

(Cont.)

Nooo, she misunderstood the term "uses the body of", darn it Urist!