The Old Basilicom Sanctuary
The old Basilicom, used before the construction of the current one, turns out to be where the Sanctified are gathered. Compa thinks the place is scary and wants to leave, but Neptune barges in anyway. One of the Sanctified asks if they're here to attack them, as Avenir has already done so a couple of times before, and wants to exterminate the lot of them.
The man allows the girls to enter, and tells them that he helped remodel the Goddess' chamber to resemble that of the new Basilicom. However, the CPU's been missing for almost three years, and the Sanctified haven't seen or heard from her for years. Despite seeing the robots in action against Chian's factory, they can't act against Avenir due to their close ties with Parliament, which also gives them the power to make certain bits of evidence of malfeasance...disappear.
IF and Compa tell the man that a Basilicom member acted as an intermediary during one of their contract missions with Avenir, asking for monster tissue. He thinks that any Avenir equipment made with that monster tissue might be all the proof they need that the two entities are connected.
The Proof
To obtain the bio-hardware developed by Avenir, the crew heads off...
They return to the scene where Avenir gave them one of their early contracts. IF figures that since they're now enemies, they might have released one of their robots to attack. Their search turns up nothing, and Neptune is worried that her party's going to have to do a lot of backtracking to find it.
Just as they're ready to give up on their search and go home, they bump into Ganache again. IF finds the notion of a fully-automated factory ridiculous. Ganache tells her that it is indeed possible, and that he was the one controlling them in the first place. He now claims to have had a change of heart, and is willing to help them out this time. Naturally, the girls are still suspicious of him even after he gives them the hardware they need, so they force him to meet with the Sanctified from the old Basilicom. Neptune suggests a more friendly environment for them to meet, so they all convene at Chian's diner. The priest says that Avenir's base of operations is in the center of the city, and has made plans for the girls to infiltrate it on the day of the Tech Expo, hoping to have everything wrapped up before the event actually starts.
Reunion (skit)
The party finds a familiar face in a restaurant, but there's no smiling this time...
Zach is talking to someone who wants him to make a game similar in scope to GG10, but he says there's no way anyone, especially his tiny development house, could make anything as good or as big as GG7 or GG10 without a boatload of money.
To the Avenir HQ
Finally, the party prepares to raid Avenir's headquarters. It was expected they wouldn't have a large defensive force, but...?!
The Avenir main building looks a lot creepier up close, according to Compa. The party is surprised they aren't even bothering to "not be evil". Their main goal is to find and capture Singe and get him to spill his guts.
The team slips through a large storage facility, believed to lead them right to the headquarters.
- Enemies: PT-00X-ZL, Giant, Micro Burst, Wave Cannon
- Treasures: Used Liquid (hidden), Gelatin x3, Detoxin x5, Reflex x18 (3 chests)
When they reach the exit, Neptune transforms and tries to intimidate Singe into surrendering.
Of course, their expectations are shattered when Ganache shows his nondescript face again instead of the president, who has gone on to attend the Tech Expo. In addition to controlling the robots, Ganache says that he was the one who forged an alliance with Avenir and the Parliament, and that he's also the leader of a group of extremists from Lowee who worship Lady Black Heart. His complex plan was to create a weapon utilizing all of Lastation's advanced technology to give Lastation an upper hand in the Console War by destroying Black Heart's so-called "most hated rival", Neptune. The new weapon is on display at the Tech Expo, and Ganache dares them to try and stop it.
The Tech Expo
The Expo site is unexpectedly silent. The party prepares to face the source of some strange, mechanical sounds emanating from the end of the hall...!
The girls run into Chian, who is bored out of her mind listening to Avenir President Singe talk about his company's robots...more specifically, the ones his grunts made, because an unexpected manufacturing accident has shaken his confidence in his own creations. Chian gives Neptune her somewhat-upgraded Mech Sword Armas, asking her to give the crowd a "live demo" of her new toy. Neptune threatens to use the sword to "strike Avenir's robot in its weak point for some crazy damage".
Neptune and her friends face off against the giant CPU Breaker, a strong but slow robot that gets even more dangerous when it Turns Red. Neptune transforms into her flashy CPU form and lets loose with Chian's sword while her friends provide as much support as they can. Singe is outraged that his magnificent machine got taken down by a couple of meddling apes.
Suddenly, Black Heart (in her transformed form) bursts in to gloat about Avenir's defeat. Neptune, still fired up from her victory over the CPU Breaker, wants one last go at her CPU rival, but Black isn't in the mood to fight. Instead, she gives Neptune a Grudging "Thank You" and leaves. Chian asks for their help in cleaning up the mess while she alerts the Basilicom to Avenir's shenanigans.
