The Test Model
Another request from Chian. The party heads to the restaurant filled with the scent of delicious food.
Chian announces that she's completed a test model for her showcase at the Tech Expo. Compa wonders how much of her efforts are going to be worth it, since Parliament could choose not to look at any non-Avenir entries just for the hell of it. The final decision lays in Black Heart's hands, so there may be hope for Chian yet. She wants to girls to show off her weapons at the Passe booth, and promises that they get to keep them at the end of the Expo. IF objects, of course, but is overruled by Neptune and Compa (Nep because they're getting new weapons for free, and Compa because they might prove useful in their quest).
Chain gives Neptune the test model, a blade called Mech Sword Armas, and asks her to find any bug—er, "undocumented features" in the sword before returning it. (For the record, this sword is weaker than Nep's Lazer Bamboo sword on account of it not being obtained from a DLC dungeon, but I'm equipping it now for storyline purposes.)
Warning! The Boy is Violent! (cont'd again) (skit)
The party returns to the Lastation park to check on the boy, only to learn the truth behind his actions. Compa seems to be a sucker for troubled young souls, including the brat who tried to get a new game console out of her earlier. ('Greedy Boy appears! Command?') He then tells the girls that he actually got the console he was begging for because his dad's a member of the development team. (Prick.)
Another slightly-out-of-their-league-for-now quest appears on the quest board:
Operation Bounty
Client: Moderator
Witnesses have sighted multiple Augustuses in Massive Storage 5. We need someone to go take care of them, as they can be quite dangerous. Anyone out there confident enough to take this job?
Recommended Level: 27
The girls choose to take their three-person show back on the road to see if there are more quests elsewhere that need completing. The sight of glistening skyscrapers and a bright blue sky is a relief to the girls after spending several quests shrouded in the darkness of Lastation.
Truth About Urban Legends (skit)
It's just the usual sticker-picture booth...but with a surprising anti-flirt function...?!
The girls head toward an arcade near the park at Neptune's behest, as she sees a sticker-picture booth nearby. A couple coming out of the booth is approached by a police officer, who hauls the "boyfriend" away for some unknown reason, and the girl shakes the officer's hand. No one, including the girls, has any clear idea what just happened.
After spending a bit of time in Planeptune improving their scores by clearing some easy dungeons (where I'd only received A grades instead of S grades), they head on over to the rolling hills of Leanbox, ruled over by Green Heart.
Nightmare
While visiting Leanbox, Neptune has a dream about Histoire. Who is Histoire speaking with in this dream?In this dream, Histoire gets chewed out by the witch Neptune fought close to the beginning of the game. Since she mentions that she had sealed away Histoire, as well, one can readily assume this freaky lady is Arfoire, our main antagonist (even if the game doesn't say so). When Arfoire demands to know why Neptune was sent away, Histoire responds by saying Neptune "chose to fall of her own volition" (sure, if by "of her own volition" you mean "after the other three goddesses told her she drew the short straw and violently tossed her out of heaven"). Arf doesn't believe Histy's claim, and suggests that she has something in mind for her and the rest of the world.
...and then Neptune wakes up and tells her friends of the nightmare she just had, right before attempting to snuggle with Compa to try to go back to sleep.
The Archbishop and the Evangelist
Following Histoire's advice that the Key Fragments are guarded by powerful monsters, the party first heads to Leanbox's Basilicom. They are greeted by Lowee's Basilicom evangelist, Conversation, who unfortunately doesn't have any information that can help them out. Luckily, Archbishop Yvoire is here to lend a hand. He gives them a map of monster nests for the girls to "avoid". One such area is the Remnant Tower, a tall tower that can easily be seen from the middle of town.Before heading off to check out the tower, they take a peek at Green Heart's Leanbox blog, a PR piece explaining the benefits of her Medieval European Fantasy land. As long as you've got enough money to live comfortably, you'll find nothing to worry about in Leanbox.
The local quest board, empty when they got to Leanbox in the first place, has one quest on it...
Dragon with a Blue Shadow (DLC dungeon)
Client: Boy
Help! My shadow has turned into a dragon. It's going out of control and destroying towns. Please go defeat my shadow. It ran towards the tower!
Recommended Level: 20
Moonlight Show (5pb skit)
IF is awakened by an unexpected ambush. She heads into a nearby forest, led by a mysterious song. What awaits her there? It's none other than Hi-Five Radio's star MC, 5pb. IF counts herself among her large fanbase, so she goes to take a closer look...a much closer look. So close, in fact, that she scares her idol off in the midst of a song.
Wrong Person (5pb skit)
IF heads to the forest again while everyone else is sleeping. She finds 5pb again, who promptly freaks out when the two of them meet. She appears to be a lot less confident when she isn't singing or talking, and definitely doesn't feel up to talking to IF at the moment, trying poorly to hide her identity by stating that he name is actually "Lyrica" before running off again.
Great March (Red skit)
Neptune and her party enter a Leanbox forest to resume a job, but the party gets separated by a monster ambush. IF is left to fend for herself against a love-crazed RED and the horde of monsters she brought along for IF to fight. Obviously and grossly outnumbered, IF makes a break for it, scolding RED for such a dangerous act, but isn't angry enough to chase RED away. This seems to make Red a little bit happier...
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