Ultradimension Neptunia: Big Nep and Smolgear

Chapter 12: Double the Nep! Part 1

It was the day before the weekend. Mercury had come home with Nepgear a few hours ago, and put her to sleep for a nap, when the pair of Neptune and Uzume had returned in a heated debate.

"...I mean come on! How hard is it to catch some bird?" Uzume said as she was walking inside. "I mean, isn't it supposed to be huge?"

"Yeah, but it's fast, too," Neptune replied, following behind her friend. "Lightning fast."

"How are you both fast and huge at the same time, while also being a bird that flies?"

"So... what's this all about?" Merci asked.

"Oh, so uh, there's this high priority quest at the guild right now," Uzume answered. "We haven't taken it, because we haven't been going to that area recently, but it's been up for the whole week. We ended up talking about it on the way back."

"Yeah, apparently there's been this large bird that's been hunting around the southwest of Planeptune, and it's been stealing people's livestock," Neptune added. "Apparently, it's super quick, too. According to the guild clerk, Plutie and Peashy went after the thing, and THEY couldn't catch it."

"So even the CPUs couldn't stop it?" Merci replied. "This really is concerning. Do they know where it's nesting?"

"Unfortunately, no," Uzume said.

"Well, maybe you should consider helping out. Perhaps they could use a little extra help from another CPU."

"Yeah, we should totally help!" Neptune replied.

Uzume thought about it for a second, and nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'm going to let you two talk about it," Merci said. "This guild business is yours, so..."

"Yeah, we got it," her daughter told her.

As Mercury left, Neptune turned to Uzume to continue the discussion. "So, what SHOULD we do? This bird sounds like it'd be tough."

"Well, you're at a disadvantage, since you can't fly..."

"Well, yeah. So the first thing we got to do is knock it out of the air..." Neptune started to think. "What about your megaphone. Maybe it's sensitive to sound, or the soundwaves might disrupt its flight?"

"Maybe, but it doesn't cover THAT much distance. If it's too fast, I might have a hard time catching it. Could you maybe shoot it?"

"...Maybe, but... I don't think my gun has that much range. And again, I can't fly..."

"Right... Maybe we should ask for help. From the other CPUs, perhaps!"

"But... Plutie and Peashy already tried," Neptune reminded her.

"Yeah, but they use swords and claws. Close combat weapons," Uzume explained. "I'm talking about someone more suited to deal with this. Perhaps our Candidate friends back home?"

"Yeah, great idea! Nepgear's got her gunblade in HDD, Uni's a sniper, and Rom and Ram can cast spells at a distance. They could totally handle that giant bird!"

"Yeah, so we just need to head over and-"

Uzume was interrupted as the doorbell rang.

"Huh, I wonder what that could be about?" Neptune asked as she answered the door.

And standing in the entryway was none other... than Plutia.

"Oh, Plutsy!" Uzume greeted. "What bring's you here?"

"Oh, I want to show Nep-mommy something," Plutia said cheerfully.

"Um, you mean my mom...?" Neptune asked. "...Sure. Hey, mom, it's for you!"