Re;birth Hacker

Realize: Claiming The Golden Next

Neptune and I arrive at the Golden Summit of Planeptune, the golden tower standing tall in front of us. Neptune exhales, "Whew... I'm finally here! Seriously, though, this tower is super gilded. And now that I'm getting a good look at it from down here, this thing is gigantic. I know! If it's this huge, I bet the view from up top is amazing! If I just shimmy up this thing, I'm sure I'll know where I am! I'm so smart! Alright, open sesame!" Neptune tries to pry the door open, but it doesn't budge, "Hey, wait just a sec! It won't open, no matter how hard I push or pull! Oooh, I get it. The joke's that it was a sliding door this whole time, right?" That doesn't work either, stop trying, "...Guess not. If I transformed, I could fly all the way up, but I can't seem to do that... It might be because of the damage from that brawl with Gold Third." Neptune looks over to me, "Hey, can't you put your faith in me like we did earlier?" ~ "Unfortunately, even my faith isn't enough to keep your HDD active for longer than five minutes, Lady Neptune. I keep telling you all to put your own faith in yourselves, but that doesn't seem to be enough either." ~ "I'm not giving up just because I can't transform! If I can't climb from the inside, then I just gotta scale the outside! Tower climbing, here I go!" ~ "That doesn't sound very safe, Lady Neptune... And, you're already climbing..." While Neptune is climbing the tower, someone approaches, oh, it's IF, "So, this is the Golden Summit. As a tower enthusiast, I'd love to go in, but work comes first. It seems worth trying to climb it, though. Maybe I'll come back if I get some vacation time." Neptune proceeds to slip. IF sweatdrops, ".....Hmm? What is that, someone's voice? But from where?" ~ "I'm falliiiiiiiiiiing! Move! Move, move, mooooove!" ~ "...Wait, from above?" ~ "I said moooooooove!" ~ "W-Why is that kid falling from the sky?!" ~ "Kid...?! I could say the same thing about you, squirt! Who are you, anyway?!" ~ "The name's IF. I'm a gust of wind blowing through-" ~ "Wait, it's Iffy!" Neptune proceeds to crash into IF... however they managed to have a conversation while falling is beyond me. Neptune hums, "To think I'd reunite with you like this, Iffy! It reminds me of the first time we met! If I remember, I accidentally slipped off the top floor of the True Neptral Tower, and landed right in front of you!" IF looks to Neptune, "...Um, who the heck are you? And how do you know my nickname?" ~ "Awww, come on. Don't you think that's pretty cold even coming from you, Iffy? I didn't mean to disappear from the arena so suddenly, so I don't think it's right of you to get angry over it." ~ "...What in the world are you saying? Did you hit your head when you fell? Do you have a concussion right now? Because if you do, I'm going to need to call an ambulance to take you to a hospital." ~ "Not cool, Iffy! Even I could get angry if you keep poking fun at me like that!" ~ "This girl's no good. Maybe it's cause she hit her head so hard, but everything she's saying is complete garbage." ~ "...Huh? Just a minute. You're not angry, and you're not pulling my leg?" ~ "I'm not angry and I'm not joking at all. Jeez, you're a rude person." ~ "Uhh, that sounded like a serious reaction." ~ "Sounds like? It IS a serious reaction, weirdo. But that's a relief. You can actually hold a normal conversation. For some reason I don't see any injuries on you either, so I'll be going. I'm in the middle of a job right now. Oh, I know. Since you're here, I'd like to ask you for help with my investigation. Have you seen anyone suspicious around here?" ~ "A suspicious person?" ~ "Yeah, like a really suspicious old lady." ~ "Nope, I haven't seen anything." ~ "Crap. That probably means it was a hoax..." ~ "Something wrong with this lady? If you're after her, Iffy, then she must have done something bad." ~ "I can't give you all the details, but she's the perpetrator of several thefts. I came here after looking into a few eyewitness testimonies, but I guess they were cold leads. I better head back to the Basilicom and investigate some more before I make a move..." ~ "The Basilicom?! That means you're going to Planeptune, right?" ~ "Yeah, but... Well, it'd be a problem to leave a kid in a place like this. Why don't you come with me?" ~ "Yeah, I'll tag along!" I follow Neptune and IF on their trek back to Planeptune.

(Location Update: Planeptune)

IF stops in the middle of downtown Planeptune, "You should be fine here. By the way, there's no way you're not injured after that fall, so you need to get over to the hospital ASAP, got it?" Neptune looks to IF, "You headin' to the Basilicom, Iffy?" ~ "That's what I was thinking, but there's a change of plans. I'm gonna gather some more info here before heading out." ~ "Oh, cool! So, do you think I could-" ~ "Nope. Don't need your help." ~ "Awwww..." ~ "This is my job. I can't let a kid like you just shadow me into some dangerous situations. I'm sure you'd just get in the way, anyhow." ~ "Hmph! You're so stingy!" ~ "Yeah, yeah, sure thing. Just get yourself to the hospital, alright?" ~ "Okaaaay, fiiiiiine..." IF walks off, Neptune turning to me, "Now then, putting aside the fact that Iffy doesn't know who I am... I made it to Planeptune, so I should figure out what the heck's goin' on around here..." ~ "I could ask the locals for information..." ~ "But it didn't seem like Iffy noticed you. Did you accidentally leave invisibility cheats on?" ~ "If that's the case, it'd be an extremely unfair advantage..." I take a moment to walk around within the perimeter of the tether, it seems to have a distance of about thirty meters. "Excuse me, would you have a moment to talk about-" The citizen walks right past me, not even acknowledging my presence. "Okay then..." I try a few more citizens, but all of them don't seem to see me, "Lady Neptune, I believe my cheats have been turned on...and I don't know how to turn them off." Neptune sighs, "That's strange. No one remembers me, and you're invisible. Quite the dynamic duo, I blame that author of yours." I sweatdrop, "I wish not to take credit for whatever it is that's going on." I notice someone walking nearby, "Is that...?" I approach the one in a black and red hoodie, "Draq, been a while. How've you been?" Draq looks over to me, "Am I supposed to know who you are?" ~ "Uh... Yes?" ~ "......." ~ "Maybe not?" ~ "...right." Draq walks off, as I walk back over to Neptune, "Okay, so he can see me... just doesn't remember... This is quite a predicament we're in..." Neptune nods, "Oh yeah. Now that I'm here, I should contact Noire and the others. Let's see, the number is... there. ...Hrm? No one's answering... Not even Nepgear. Is something wrong? I wanted to talk to them about this strange phenomenon, too." A nearby news broadcast catches our attention, "Moving on to our next news. We've received news that wanted suspect Noire, self-proclaimed CPU whose age and address remain unknown, has been apprehended." Shocked Neptune is shocked, "...What." The broadcast continues, "According to our sources, suspect Noire has been on the run for some time, but has now voluntarily surrendered herself." Mind's going blank Neptune's mind's going blank, "Mind... going... blank..." I pause, "Hmm, never thought she'd actually do it." ~ "Noire's been arrested?!?!?!" ~ "Ah, Lady Neptune, I must kindly ask that you refrain from yelling in my ear." ~ "Sure, she might act self-important, and is a giant tsundere who can't show her true feelings to Uni... And she hides the fact that she cosplays, and fakes her name and occupation to secretly debut as a VO, and is a big grump... But there's no way someone with cute clothes and pigtails like Noire could be a criminal! This has to be a mistake!" ~ "My previous statement still stands." ~ "Based on the report, it looks like they didn't catch Uni, though... what the heck's going on?" Neptune continues to question citizens until she tires, "Why doesn't anyone remember who I am? This is mentally exhausting, even for me..." I look over to Neptune, "Lady Neptune, our best option is to check in with Histoire. From what I've seen, she's willing to take anyone in, as long as they act like they hit their head in the last day." ~ "Do I sense a hint of snark in that sentence?" ~ "It's just your imagination, Lady Neptune."