Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Land of Green Pastures

"Are you serious? But… why? How did you even-"

"Magnavox. She forced me to do it."

Falcom stared blankly at her altered companion. "But why- ...You're not even bothered by it."

"Well, she warned me way in advance. I had a lot of time to mentally prepare myself."

Falcom dragged Samuel - female Samuel! - by his(her?) hand through Leanbox's Gapain Fields. Falcom has seen and experienced a lot of strange things throughout her life (mostly in the more recent parts of it): people coming back to life, ghosts, rocket jumping, Saxton Hale, even death itself.

But nothing prepared her to see a man, a man she knew was a male, suddenly grow a pair of boobs and be turned into a woman in the span of a few minutes… It was really weird and Falcom didn't know what even to think about it.

Falcom stopped and let go of Samuel's hand, letting her - him rub his sore wrist. "N-No. No. Just… Why? How, and more importantly, why?"

"You're going into denial." Samuel commented.

"Of course I'm going into denial! You're a guy, and then I look away for a bit and poof, you're a girl now! I just- gaaaah…"

Can she go back to when the weirdest thing that Falcom had to deal with was her own abysmal luck with boats? She knew that weirdness was the meat of any adventure but… this is getting a bit TOO weird. Was this just some bad dream? An elaborate joke from Samuel and Magnavox just to mess with her? Knowing what she knows of the two it's actually really plausible...

Meanwhile, Samuel was examining his recently acquired breasts. "I had no idea these things can be so… heavy. How can Vert or Fay live with these things? I have… B or A and I can already feel their weight."

"This is a joke, right?" Falcom said, catching Samuel's attention. "Both of you are just messing with me again, aren't you? You're gonna be like 'Ha ha! Pranked!' and laugh at me and turn yourself back... Right?"

Falcom looked at Samuel with an uneven grin, hoping that he'll chuckle and decide to transform himself back as the joke was over. However Samuel only stared at her long and hard, a passive expression on his… admittedly softer features than before.

Samuel sighed.

"Sit down." He ordered.

"Huh?"

"Sit. Down." He repeated, a bit more forcefully.

Falcom gulped and sat down on the grass, putting her guitar case next to her. Once she was seated, the Overseer put his hands together - as if in prayer - and rested his forehead on it, thinking what to do next.

"This… isn't a joke, Falcom." The Overseer told her. "When I started working for Magnavox, one of the first things she told me was that if I were to ever step down into Gamindustri myself, she'd turn me into a woman… for whatever reason she had. I don't know, but even if I wanted to change back right now I can't."

He knew he was shattering her hopes, but she needed it. This woman is stuck with him and so she needed to realize the reality of their circumstances. It would be for the best after all, both his and hers.

"Am I happy with this?" The Overseer continued. "...Kinda, actually." He answered. "You see, I've been quite curious what it's like honestly, new experiences are hard to come by for me so-"

"Stop. Just stop." Falcom cut him off. The adventurer stood up, picked her case, and turned around. "...Let's just go."

She walked away without looking back at him- her now. Samuel understood that she didn't like this predicament - more so than her - so the Overseer followed her without comment.

The Gapain Fields were a pretty beautiful place. It had a single beaten path, but the flora surrounding it had some kind of special effect on the travelers. It was very hard not to smile and relax while watching the bright green grass or the beautiful flowers and trees, the air here was also cleaner than in the city.

It was a paradise on earth. The maps and books Samuel read didn't do it justice.

For most of the way they traveled in silence, which gave both of them time to cool off and think about their predicament. Samuel was already making plans ahead: where they should go, where they could get money and supplies, their objectives and how they should accomplish them. She already had a general idea on where to go and what they should do next.

Falcom meanwhile was getting eaten by guilt. While the pain of hurting Blanc was dulled thanks to Samuel and Magnavox's words, it was still her own fault for putting the CPU through this. She lost control of herself. Nothing will change that.

Once they were at the edge of Leanbox, the silence was finally broken.

"You know, I'll have to change my name." Samuel said.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well 'Samuel' isn't exactly a name for a woman, right?" The Overseer reasoned. Falcom looked away and narrowed her eyes in thought. He had a point, Samuel is a name usually picked for men.

"I guess…? So what do you have in mind."

"Well…" She paused as she tried to pick a name. "How about Samantha? Samantha Neikan!"

Falcom scratched her cheek. "That seems… I dunno. Lazy?" Samantha was just a feminine form of Samuel. It could work, but it just seemed too lazy. As if she just spent less than 5 minutes thinking up the name.

The Overseer however didn't seem to mind. "Yes, but why not? I don't need anything fancy like 'Maria von Rosenberg' or 'Theodore G. Vaccaro'."

"Theodore is also a guy's name." Falcom pointed out.

"That was just an example. You have to admit it that those names were over the top, yeah?"

The adventurer imagined someone introducing themselves as Theodore G. Vaccaro. The mental image was just like Samuel said, an over the top name as if it was taken straight out of some bad book.

"...Y'know what? I don't really have any opinion on this. You do you." Falcom shrugged.

And so, Samuel Neikan became Samantha Neikan.

And because a majority of people will perceive him as a woman, and for the sake of simplicity, we shall now refer to 'him' as 'her'.

At first glance, it could be said that Leanbox was just a green copy of Planeptune, but upon a closer look, one could see more differences between them than just the predominant color.

While both of these cities had a futuristic theme, looking much more modern than a magical village that is Lowee or Lastation which seemed to be in the middle of the industrial revolution. Beyond that common theme however, Planeptune had a sleeker aesthetic, its engineers trying to make each building as rounded as possible and that made the city interesting to look at.

Leanbox meanwhile… was bigger, as if most people decided to make their city as tall as possible, which resulted in Leanbox having way more skyscrapers than any other nation. Everything in Leanbox had to be bigger than anywhere else, and the biggest structure in the city was the Jewel of Leanbox - the CPU's Basilicom. While not as tall as the Basilicom of Planeptune, it was far wider and more awe-inspiring than a simple skyscraper.

Samantha had to suppress her own amazement as she gazed upon the buildings. The books certainly didn't do any justice for this nation, they didn't make her feel small as the whole city loomed over her - something like that could only be experienced by being there.

The Overseer cleared her throat. "First things first. We, and by that I mean I, need some gear. And also supplies."

"I'm broke, so I can't help you there." Falcom said.

"That's fine, I already know how we can get some. Do you know where the Guild is?"

"Yes? But why? Are we going to do some quests?"

The adventurer knew the area pretty well, as by her title she was used to constantly going to new places and meeting new people. Therefore she had a pretty good network in all nations, and also general knowledge about each city.

Samantha shook his head. "No. Have you heard about the Guild's 'Adventurer Start-Up Program'?"

Falcom scratched her chin in thought. "...Yes? But wasn't that only in Planeptune?"

Histoire received a request for that project a few chapters ago. The Guild would recruit the homeless and unemployed, give them free weapons and supplies, and assign a bunch of those people to a veteran Guild member.

...But wasn't that only for Planeptune?

"Nope, it's global." Samantha corrected. "However, other nations signed up for it way earlier than Planeptune, so they already have it set up while Planeptune was still in the process."

"Ahh." Falcom nodded in understanding. Now she knew what Samantha wants to do. "Okay then, let's go to the Guild."

As Falcom led her new partner, Samantha took more mental notes about their surroundings.

Not every building was built to be as large as possible, there were normal sized buildings that surrounded the gigantic skyscrapers. Those were mostly small shops where people could buy supplies or services. They actually passed by a small post office, Samantha took a note of their opening hours.

The people around them concerned her, she could see people with ASIC insignias freely walking among the public, hiding in the alleys or inside buildings. If someone were to act against them in public, they could quickly find themselves overwhelmed by the help literally waiting around the corner. If Samantha wanted to clean this place off these guys, she would need to get Vert and Chika out of captivity first.

"So… what can you do in a fight?" Falcom asked.

"Physically, I'm a jack-of-all-trades. You tell me what role I need to fill, and I can do it with the right gear. Magically, I'm useless without Fay. With her though I have lots of debuffs and some crowd control."

"Uh-huh." Falcom hummed. "So you're bad all around?" She said jokingly.

"No. I focus on flexibility and adaptivity." Samantha deadpanned. "I'm good for any situation; in and out of combat."

"But aren't jack-of-all-trades worse than actual masters of certain trades?"

"Yes, but I had a lot of time to master what I know."

"...How old are you, actually?"

"...Uhh."

Samantha stopped as she thought of an answer, clutching her head as her brain struggled to count the years she lived through. It was an offhand question that the Adventurer thought Samantha will have no trouble answering… but the reality begged to differ.

"You serious?" Falcom asked.

Samantha gave her a small nod. "...I don't remember actually. I stopped counting after some time." She tried to laugh it off, but that just showed how pathetic it was.

Falcom sighed and gave her another look over. "Well… You - the you right now - look to be around late-twenties."

Samantha frowned and shook her head. "Definitely more. I'm torn between 3 or 4 digits."

Falcom's shoulders fell as she stared at the woman in front of her. The very old woman in front of her.

This person just said she's somewhere between 100 and 9999 years old. An age that mortals could only dream of and the generally accepted age of CPUs.

...She looks good for her age. Both her and her male body.

"Okay." Falcom turned around, a bit bothered by the answer. "Let's just go, okay?"

At least now she was more confident with Samantha's overall abilities, with that kind of time to hone them. Now Falcom was curious how she'd perform in a real fight… and what it was like to live that long.

The Guild building wasn't that far away, so they would soon arrive at their destination. However Falcom didn't want the conversation to die right there, she wanted to know more. "So... who's Fay?"

Just from the mere question a smile grew on the Overseer's face. "She's the best woman I could've asked for. Kind, beautiful, loyal to a fault. She was always by my side, watching my back."

"Sounds like a good woman." Falcom commented. "What happened to her?"

"Some prick decided it would be funny if he separated the two of us. She's finishing up my previous job, while I was forced into Magnavox's hands."

"Uhh…" What was Falcom supposed to say to that? "You miss her, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm alone and vulnerable without her. Without her, all I have is my body and whatever is on it, with her I'm stronger, can use magic and a few… special gimmicks."

Samantha grinned smugly as she said the last part. It earned a raised eyebrow from Falcom.

"Hmm?"

"Do you know the term 'Hammer Space'?"

Falcom has heard about it. A Hammer Space is a pocket dimension where objects come from when needed, and where they go back to when not. A storage with no defined capacity. "Yeah, so?"

"Just being with Fay grants me that, my own magic, and my primary weapon; a magical shape shifting sword that I can transform into any form I desire, with mere thoughts."

Falcom snorted. "Right."

"Hey, it's true." Samantha shrugged.

"I said nothing." Falcom said. A shapeshifting sword didn't sound very plausible, but because of what Falcom saw in her recent adventures she won't question any of it. That didn't stop her from teasing the brunette though. "Though that doesn't change the fact you don't have it anymore."

"...Fuck." Samantha grumbled.

"Welcome to the life of a typical adventurer."

"Thanks, I hate it."

"It's been minutes." Falcom rolled her eyes. "I heard about people quitting after a day, but you didn't even last that long."

"Now you can just fuck right off with this teasing."

Falcom obliged and stopped, because the Guildhouse was already in sight. "Hey, look. There's the Guild, let's go."

"Good day, how can I help you?"

"I would like to register for the Adventurer Start-Up Program."

The receptionist's eyes briefly widened before she laid a stack of papers onto the counter. Apparently even in a world as advanced as Gamindustri, they still used paper. The receptionist cleared her throat before speaking, her words seemed to be rehearsed several times already.

"The Adventurer Start-Up Program grants you equipment necessary to become an adventurer. That includes; a weapon of choice, a set of healing and anti-status items, a set of protective gear and a survival kit. You'll be grouped together with other newly signed up people, and form a group with a veteran adventurer or Guild agent acting as your guide and teacher to help you grow into a proper monster hunter, and a helper of people. Bear in mind that by applying yourself to the Adventurer Start-Up Program, you're burdening yourself with a debt of seven-and-half thousand credits. The debt can be paid with credits, or by finishing a set of three quests that will be handed to you with your Start-Up gear. Any questions?

"Uhh…"

Samantha blinked and snapped back to reality as the receptionist finished her speech. She was surprised by how long she could talk for.

Was- was she forced to say this each time someone wanted to sign up? The entire thing? Poor girl.

"Yes. Can I take two weapons and just add that to my debt?"

It was the receptionist's turn to be caught off-guard. She went for her coworker that was servicing a woman next to Samantha, and both receptionists talked in hushed tones. Falcom and the same girl gave the Overseer a look while she just shrugged.

Once the receptionists finished talking, Samantha learned her verdict.

"This is not disallowed, but this will add additional four thousand credits to the predicted debt, and also one more quest to complete before we could count the costs as paid off. Is this acceptable?"

Samantha smiled.

"Yes. Also, I already have a veteran adventurer helping me. So I don't need a new mentor."

The receptionist looked at Falcom who Samantha was pointing at, and nodded.

"This is fine. Let me prepare the forms."

Once the receptionist finished adding a few changes to the paperwork, it was time for a boring session of signing Samantha's name on every page, sometimes even multiple times. Falcom also wasn't spared by the paperwork because she was dragged into the whole thing to act as Samantha's 'mentor'.

Both of them were asking themselves why there were so many pages.

Samantha stopped reading what she signed after she reached the 18th page, she just put her name down where the receptionist pointed and moved next. If the Guild put something shady there, like a possession of her soul or her house, then it would be completely missed by Samantha.

Fortunately she had no house, and they would have little luck getting her soul.

Once the receptionist said everything was done a sigh of relief escaped from their lips. The receptionist gave Samantha and Falcom a badge and the two of them went and collapsed on the chairs in the lobby.

"Holy. Shit." Samantha said.

Falcom just groaned.

"My hand hurts."

Samantha could relate with Falcom's pain. Her hand also hurt from all that writing, and the Overseer had a fatter stack of papers than Falcom. She felt like she burned through a whole pen in one go, but that was just her exaggerating from the pain.

"Let's take a break for now." Samantha suggested.

"Mhm."

For the next few minutes none of them said anything. Both women were relaxing in their chair as people came in and out of the building. Two exhausted women certainly caught a few looks, but none of them were noteworthy.

"So what now?"

After taking enough rest, Falcom gathered enough energy to pose a question. The gear that Samantha ordered won't be here until tomorrow, there's nothing else keeping them in the Guildhouse.

"...Have you heard of 5pb?

Falcom frowned at the question, but nonetheless she nodded. "She's a very popular idol, yeah. Why?"

"We're going to become her new bodyguards."

Falcom needed a few seconds to process this information. The new objective Samantha has placed upon them was… how should Falcom put it… surprising. Becoming a bodyguard for an idol wasn't something Falcom would consider as a step towards helping the world.

Also she questioned the safety of discussing their plans out in the open, for everyone to pick up. But Samantha didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"Uhh… why?"

"I dunno, the job seems fun and apparently it pays well. And I need money to pay off the debt I got myself in."

Samantha answered while shrugging, leaving Falcom even more confused. "Huh?"

The Overseer slammed her hands on the table and stood up, smiling at the confused adventurer. "C'mon, let's go!"

She said and left the Guildhouse, leaving Falcom alone to hurriedly pack her things. "H-Hey! Wait for me!"

For reasons unknown to Falcom, Samantha has led them out of Leanbox and again onto the Gapain Fields, every time Falcom tried to demand answers Samantha just answered the question with some rubbish, or outright shushed her. Also as they walked, the Overseer discreetly peeked behind her - but that was outside of Falcom's knowledge.

"Okay." Samantha said, stopping. The Overseer turned around and scanned her surroundings. "No silhouettes, broken twigs or grass. No one's following us."

And just now, Falcom realized her plan. Samantha wanted to throw off any potential listeners that may have heard their discussion, and also bait anyone here where they could spot and take them out.

A clever plan, Falcom had to admit.

"So our talk at the Guildhouse was to bait any listeners?"

Samantha nodded. "Yes, but just the details. We're still going to get 5pb to our team."

"And the reason is…?"

"There are 3 people crucial to stopping ASIC in Leanbox; the CPU of Leanbox - obviously; the Oracle of Leanbox; and 5pb - she's keeping people's morale high and a vocal supporter of Vert. Without her we won't have a chance to keep the public's faith in Vert - they would fall into ASIC's pressure."

"So with 5pb safe, we can make sure that people keep believing in Vert, right?"

"At least a small group, yes." Samantha nodded. "The hard part is her bodyguard. You see - she's dead."

"Oh." That escalated quickly.

"But 5pb doesn't know this - because her new bodyguard is Miss Pauling's goon disguised as her old bodyguard."

Miss Pauling… Miss Pauling… Falcom knew that this name popped out a few times during her stay with the mercenaries, but the adventurer had trouble recalling who she was. She knew that she came with Saxton Hale, and then stayed a little in the Hotel… but nothing more.

"Umm… who was Miss Pauling?"

Fortunately Samantha was with her to fill the blanks, and she was generous with the information.

"Miss Pauling was the mercs' former supervisor. She's working for… ah, 'the Administrator'" She made air quotations as she said the title, "and right now Pauling is making a mess here in Leanbox."

"And that's bad, yes?" Falcom asked.

"...I think?" Samantha scratched her head.

"..."

"Don't give me that look. I don't know what the hell they actually want from here - I do have a few guesses though - but how bad this is depends on what they actually want."

Falcom took the intel with a click of her tongue. Not even the all-knowing Overseer knew the plans of the merc's former allies… and that's pretty bad.

"I can tell you however that once they settle themselves in, they won't go away easily. They're a skilled bunch."

Once the CPU of Leanbox resumes her control over her nation, she would have her work cut out for her, trying to get rid of both the ASIC and Miss Pauling's men won't be an easy task. Nothing short of the Administrator's word would make them fall back, especially if they prepared their own Re;Spawn Systems.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Falcom said.

"The plan is actually pretty easy - your role that is. And we also have some free time before, we can make preparations…"

Samantha and Falcom spent hours telling and perfecting the Overseer's plan of becoming 5pb's bodyguards. Time passed by slowly, but they had a lot of kinks to readjust before nightfall - the time where 5pb would usually take a stroll outside of Leanbox. When the brunette told Falcom about what they were going to do, the blue haired adventurer sighed as she saw several problems with it. Problems that Samantha was aware of, but she explained that she didn't actually have time to come up with a better idea. According to her they needed to act quickly.

It was also when Falcom started questioning herself. Why was she here? Helping someone she barely knew assault a person. Nothing stopped her from standing up, packing her things and leaving… She could go back to Leanbox, do a quest and earn some credits just like she used to do before; or outright disappear from the surface of Gamindustri and make sure that the Gehaburn inside her won't harm anyone. She could leave the fighting against evil to Samantha, to the mercs, to Histoire and Blanc.

When they finished, it was almost night already. Soon they will spring their plan into motion.

"Okay, last chance Falcom. if you wanna back out, you can do it now. Once we start, you're in it until we finish."

But at the same time, nothing stopped her from staying and helping. To try to make the world a better place with her own two hands, just like before she met Nepgear. Falcom can remember what she did before she met the Candidate: she assaulted a group of ASIC goons that tried to scam off a few people. At best it was a small, insignificant change that resulted in her being arrested.

But she did it with her own hands.

...And Histoire released her quickly afterwards. So there was no loss.

Now Falcom again had an opportunity to change the world, just like she had when she was about to join Nepgear, or when she attacked those ASIC goons.

Falcom smiled, confusing the Overseer.

"What's so funny?"

"N-Nothing, I'm in."

Samantha heard Falcom's decision and nodded her head several times. The brunette was tense, and Falcom could see that. Nonetheless she followed their plan. "Okay. I'll be back shortly." Samantha took a few steps away from Falcom, who closed her eyes and covered her ears. The Overseer raised her hand towards the blue sky.

"To Celestia I ascend."

The thunder was loud and bright, even more so than when Samuel descended from True Celestia. What little protection Falcom prepared for her senses didn't seem to change anything. The sound of thunder was still deafening, and her ears were ringing. The brightness of the thunder made her temporarily blind, despite Falcom closing her eyes.

Falcom didn't move, as she knew that the Overseer will be back. She kept protecting her senses in advance because they'll be assaulted again.

The first phase of their plan was to locate 5pb. Just doing that would be hard, as no one knew where she could be during one of her walks. However they had a genius idea to utilize Samuel's omnipotence while in Celestia, 'something that Magnavox will reprimand him for' as the Overseer put it. Once he/she locates the idol, the brunette will descend back to Falcom's position and together they will 'accidently' encounter her.

That was their plan at least.

"W-What?! W-What was that?"

Despite the ringing in her ears, Falcom picked up someone shouting. Her eyebrows shot upwards in surprise when she also heard footsteps and bushes being rustled as people emerged into Falcom's vision.

One was a woman with red hair kept in pigtails, wearing a white maid outfit.

The second one was a tall, beautiful girl with blue hair. She had a very revealing outfit, a black bikini top and a similarly colored skirt. Her stockings were ripped all over and she had many accessories on herself; bracelets, shoulder bands and a choker.

The Adventurer recognized those people, and she cursed her luck for it. It was 5pb and her bodyguard - Falcom's and Samantha's targets. They appeared in the worst possible moment.

Falcom stared at the idol like a deer caught in headlights, the idol and her bodyguard stared back. Both sides were surprised over meeting the other.

Falcom swallowed as the rest of her body struggled to act. She wasn't supposed to say much to them, Samantha - the one who held all the cards - was planned to be the one to start the conversation. Falcom was just supposed to step in once they engage the doppelganger.

And she was right there, in a maid outfit and standing in front of 5pb, keeping the act of a bodyguards to the max.

What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say?!

While Falcom tried to come up with a way to handle the situation, the other party decided to take the initiative.

"Umm… H-Hello." 5pb meekly greeted.

"Erm… Hi?" Falcom responded.

"Good day to you. I must say it's a surprise to meet anyone here." Fake!Cave said.

"Well… I was just taking a stroll and all… hehe."

Falcom could feel herself dying inside after she said this. It was too sudden, she wasn't prepared for this and she definitely wasn't prepared to have to lie on the spot. Where was Samuel? He was supposed to be talking to them, not her!

Cave and 5pb shared a look. Cave's poker face betrayed little emotion while 5pb was clearly nervous. There were even some weird radio wave patterns appearing in 5pb's eyes, Falcom could see them from where she stood.

Cave turned back towards Falcom. "Alone? In the dark forest full of monsters?"

"Aren't you here as well?" Falcom deadpanned.

"...I can offer no rebuttal to that."

The conversation seemed to die at this point. Cave scanned over Falcom's features, as if she was searching for something while the blue haired adventurer had no idea what to do next. Mind games were not her forte.

So she decided to cut straight to the chase. "5pb."

The idol perked up, rapidly looking right and left as if she was guilty. "W-What? Me? I-I'm not her… unfortunately. Sorry." She denied, but neither Falcom nor Cave bought that. The blue-haired idol was looking just like she was on the stage, down to the outfit.

And there was the bodyguard doppelganger with her, just like Samantha said. This solidified the notion that this girl was the famous idol known as 5pb.

Falcom mustered all her courage, every single bit, and breathed deeply. That was it.

"This woman with you, she's a fake."

Cave's head snapped back towards the adventurer, an expression of pure shock on her face. 5pb was surprised as well, recoiling from the words Falcom said. "W-What?"

Fake!Cave said nothing, she observed the adventurer in front of her in a critical fashion. Both of them slowly reached for their weapon and just as it appeared that a fight would break out, their vision went white and they became deaf from the thunder that appeared close to them.

When Falcom regained her hearing, she heard someone screaming. She realized it was 5pb's scream. The idol was cowering underneath a tree, while her bodyguard was pinned to the ground by another woman. She had short brown hair, ugly eyes and a dark blue jacket with leather straps on the sleeves.

Samantha had Cave's doppelganger's hand locked firmly behind her back, while 5pb - who fell onto her knees - watched the violence unfold in shock. While Falcom was a little annoyed by how she got caught by Samantha's blinding entrance, it was an effective ambush as the doppelganger was swiftly apprehended.

"Sorry for that, everyone. It's just how this thing works." The Overseer said.

The doppelganger's disguise was gone, her or rather his paper mask was in Samantha's hand. He was a man in his forties, with black hair and a rather thick moustache. He was wearing the same trench coat all other Miss Pauling's men seemed to be a fan of.

The Doppelganger struggled against the brunette's grip and he was doing good work doing it, Samantha was too weak to keep his hand in place. But his hopes of freedom were beaten down with a quick blow to the back of his head. Samantha felt around his neck and found a small, almost invisible bump near his spine.

She pressed her finger on it and he immediately froze.

"Careful now, or I might damage the Chip in your neck. You wouldn't want that, right?"

All she need to do was to apply a bit of force on the bump, and she could damage his Re;Spawn Chip. That would kill him immediately.

Realizing that his life was in Samantha's hands, the doppelganger calmed and put his hand where Samantha could see it. It was a sign of surrender and total submission.

"W-Who are you?" He asked.

"It's nothing personal. I'm just doing what's asked of me and that requires her safety." Samantha nodded towards the frozen idol. "Safety from people like you."

"...RRoD? The Basilicom?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not gonna answer anything."

"W-Wait!"

It came not from the doppelganger, but from 5pb herself. Samantha could hear the man sighing. "Oh, thank god…" He breathed out.

Samantha ignored him and instead trailed her eyes onto the idol. The blue-haired girl appeared to be a little shaken by the little 'talk' both of them had.

"Yes?" Samantha asked. Her voice much nicer than when she was speaking towards the doppelganger.

"P-Please, don't hurt him. He's a good man."

That wasn't what the Overseer expected to hear. 5pb trembled under Samantha's gaze, her eyes made her look menacing and it made her think that speaking out probably wasn't the best idea. Who knows what this woman might do to her... If she could just find some hole to hide herself.

Meanwhile the Overseer's thoughts could be summed up as "What?"

"What?" Falcom said.

"She knows who I really am. She knew I wasn't her friend. I told her everything." The doppelganger explained.

"I see." Samantha said. She looked calm and her voice betrayed no emotion, appearing to be unbothered by this turn of events.

Internally however she was screaming and began readjusting every sketch of a plan she had. Samantha was prepared for a case where 5pb was unaware of the doppelganger, where she didn't want to believe her, if they couldn't find 5pb, if there were witnesses around or they couldn't actually take out the doppelganger.

There was also a scenario where 5pb was already dead, and was replaced with another doppelganger.

With all her heart Samantha hoped that wouldn't be the case, but she needed to find out.

"Could you come here for a moment, I just want to check something." Samantha asked.

"Screw this, run 5pb!"

Samantha pressed the chip a bit stronger, not enough to damage it but enough to drive a point home. The doppelganger shut his mouth but the damage was done, the idol seemed to seriously consider turning tail and run.

"Come here, and I might not harm him."

"R-Really?"

Why does she care? Samantha asked herself. Was it because she was just that nice? Was it just the act of an another doppelganger? Was it something else that Samantha has failed to see?

"Yes." She answered.

If this really was 5pb, then killing this guy would be shooting herself in the foot… for whatever reason.

If this was a fake, then they would have to kill both of them. And it would mean that Leanbox would be much harder to save.

Her promise didn't put much courage into 5pb though, as she still hesitated. Samantha could sit there and sweet talk her all night, but that wouldn't change anything. Samantha Neikan was a patient woman, but this required something different than patience.

"Oh for the love of- just come over here already!"

"O-O-Okay."

5pb flinched and marched right to Samantha's side. Falcom raised her eyebrow at the Overseer for basically ordering the idol to do what she said. With the idol within arm's reach, Samantha reached out and stroked her cheek.

"H-Huh?" 5pb's eyes widened she swallowed some saliva but otherwise stood still, afraid of what the strange woman might do to her or her the doppelganger. Samantha gently searched each inch of her cheeks, looking for that one defect, a clue, something that would hit towards her wearing a disguise.

She found nothing.

"Fuck… you are 5pb." Samantha sighed and retracted her hand.

So for whatever reason, the idol has decided to get on good terms with one of the men that killed her close friend. A man who they were planning to kill somehow got protection and trust from the person they were trying to save.

"You. Your weapon, where is it?" Samantha asked the friendly doppelganger.

"Here ma'am." He slowly reached into his coat and pulled out a Mann Co. Enforcer, before placing it on the ground. It was one of the Mann Co.'s make for certain, further confirming his identity. Samantha took it and released the man. As she did so, Falcom also relaxed a bit.

The man stood up and dusted off his coat, 5pb at his side.

"So…" Samantha said, the small revolver in hand. "Who the hell uses an Enforcer? It sucks."

The man shrugged and pointed his thumb at himself.

"Me."

While the previous events had been resolved without bloodshed, there were still questions that remained. While Samantha and Falcom were comfortable talking in the forest, the man actually has invited them to an apartment where him and 5pb were staying.

The idol was unneeded for this, so she retired for the night.

While 5pb went to sleep, the doppelganger and Samantha were sitting on the opposite sides of the table. Guns were placed at their sides; the Enforcer at Samantha's, and a Mann Co.-made Revolver at the doppelganger's side. One wrong move and their talk would break into a shootout.

Falcom was sitting at their side. Her attention was not on them, but rather on the green silhouettes that were talking at the same table. There was a Wraith Manifestation in this room, and it was showing the doppelganger and 5pb.

"Let's start with introductions. I'm Machias Vanessa, from America."

"Samantha Neikan, also from America."

"Neikan doesn't seem like an American name."

"My father was Asian."

Machias nodded and turned his head towards Falcom. "And you?" He asked Falcom… who was so engrossed in the Wraiths' conversation that she didn't realize they were waiting for her answer. Samantha lightly kicked the adventurer in the leg.

"Huh? Oh, right. I'm Falcom, just Falcom. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." Machias said.

"She's a native." Samantha told him, and then turned towards the adventurer. "Do you see anything?"

"Yes. Wraiths of him and 5pb… they're talking."

The man in question raised his eyebrow. "A what of me?"

"Just think of it as a lie detector. If you try to bullshit something, she'll know." Samantha answered.

"Uhhh… huh?"

The Overseer's choice of giving Falcom a permanent Wraith Manifestation ability was already paying off. If this is the same room he 'told 5pb everything' as he said, then Falcom would know and tell her the truth. And as an added bonus, there could be some other info she could dig up from the Wraiths' talk.

"Anyway, why do you care so much about 5pb's safety? ...And why have you told her everything? Isn't that a breach of your contract with Miss Pauling?" Samantha asked back.

"...So you know about her, huh?" Machias gulped. "But you weren't with us when we entered. Who are you?"

"Samantha Neikan, from America."

Machias gave her a dull look.

"...Would it kill you to be a bit more cooperative? We seem to have a common goal here."

"And that is?" Samantha raised her brow.

Machias pointed at 5pb's bedroom. The Overseer sighed and fell silent, this was part of her plan; Be a pain in the ass so she can create a controlled way of getting information out of him. "Do you have a coin?" Samantha asked and Machias nodded. "How about this, an answer for an answer. Whoever wins a coin toss gets the first question."

That way he wouldn't be able to refuse giving her info, unless he didn't want to learn more about her, and Samantha could play the censorship card to avoid touchy subjects. Being physically unable to share certain knowledge had its benefits.

Of course, he could refuse to answer a question and deny Samantha her information. But she had alternative means of getting it out, courtesy of Falcom. The brunette had a clear advantage here.

"Fine by me." Machias took out a coin, it was an american quarter. "Heads." He called.

"Tails."

With a practiced flick of Machias's thumb, the coin soared through the air before landing in the middle of the table. Both sides saw the result - heads. Machias got the first question. He opened his mouth, but Samantha cut him off.

"Who-"

"Before you ask anything, I'll let you know that I am unable to speak about certain topics. It's not by my will, I am just physically unable to say anything about them."

Machias blinked before nodding. Now Samantha had a shield to protect herself from touchy subjects.

"Who do you work for?"

"I don't work for anyone, I am a 3rd party. Neither with Gray Mann nor with Miss Pauling. For what reason have you confessed to 5pb?"

The man didn't answer at first, he gathered his thoughts and weighed his options.

"I'm not a heartless man, and also I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up the act for long. So I've decided to come clean, as it would be best for the both of us."

"Falcom?" Samantha turned towards the adventurer.

"He never told 5pb anything about his motives, but he did reveal himself to her." Falcom answered.

Machias was understandably confused, while Samantha nodded. The Overseer turned back towards Miss Pauling's goon. "Your turn."

"How did you know I'm a fake?"

Samantha subconsciously tensed, which tipped Machias that he put her on the spot. The Overseer mentally cursed her female body, she doesn't have as much control over it as with her male one. The truth was she knew that because she checked on Miss Pauling from her domain in True Celestia.

But she also can't say a word about her being an Overseer of this dimension. But this is why she has prepared her shield.

"^ !#%^- I'm sorry I am unable to say anything about this. Please ask something else."

Falcom blinked and looked at the brunette. The adventurer has understood what Samantha just said. Vile God. Why did she - but apparently not Machias - understand this?

"Okay then." Machias leaned forward and glared at the woman in front of him. "This thing that prevents you from talking; what is it and how does it work?"

Of course he would ask about that. This was one of the questions that Samantha knew would pop up. The Overseer leaned back and crossed her arms. "Deep in my mind, there's a magical seal placed upon me. Any intent of sharing forbidden knowledge will be censored, and be heard as gibberish by everyone nearby."

"Magical seal? Really?" Machias gave her a dull look.

Samantha shrugged. "You're in a completely alien world, way more advanced than Earth and where literal magic is a thing. What's hard to believe that there's something to prevent people from talking?"

Actually, Miss Pauling and the Administrator would love to get their hands on something like this.

Machias gave her a tired sigh in response and used his thumb and index finger to rub his eyes. "Fine."

"My turn. Does Miss Pauling know what you did?"

Machias shook his head. "No. She doesn't."

Samantha's eyes widened. Now this was a surprise, and also a potential concern. What would Miss Pauling do if she learned that one of her goons spilled the beans? What would the Administrator do if she caught wind of this?

"How do you know about Miss Pauling?"

Samantha hesitated before answering. It was also an obvious question to ask, especially once Miss Pauling's name left her lips. But there is no easy answer to it. To know about Miss Pauling is to be 'in the know' and to be 'in the know' you have to...

"I've worked for the Admin before. I've met Miss Pauling a couple of times during my work with her."

It wasn't a lie, it was how Samantha learned about Team Fortress. However now he knows about it, she feels like there's no going back from that. Machias's eyes slightly widened, and his hand inched towards his gun.

Samantha quickly added. "I don't work for her anymore, I'm working solo now." She also inched towards her gun, which Machias also saw.

"You're lying. How can someone simply stop working for her?!" Machias snapped.

"Thanks to some... complicated circumstances." She answered calmly. "How much health do you have?"

She was asking about if he was biologically enhanced, just like the mercenaries were. Machias's gun was already pointed at the Overseer, but his finger was away from the trigger. Samantha also had her gun pointed at him.

The atmosphere was tense, but none of them started shooting yet.

"...One-hundred-seventy-five. You?" Machias answered. At this distance Samantha would need to shoot him 4 or 5 times with the Enforcer to kill him. Meanwhile-

"I'm not enhanced."

-Samantha could take from 1 or 2 shots from his Revolver.

No more words were exchanged between them. The both of them were waiting, staring at each other like two gunslingers in the middle of a duel - waiting for the bell to draw.

A smallest thing could spark a fight to the death.

But all of a sudden Falcom slammed her hand on the table, and caught the attention of the other two. "No! Stop!" The adventurer grabbed both guns, and ripped them away from Machias and Samantha. They let go of the guns immediately, not wanting to accidentally shoot an innocent girl.

With both guns in her hands - holding them by their barrels, the adventurer sat back and placed both guns in her lap. "We're here to talk, not kill each other. 5pb is in a room next door, how do you think she would feel if someone died in her own living room?"

They didn't answer her.

Falcom stood up. "So none of that." She went to the kitchen and placed both guns in a drawer. "Just talk it out- Samantha, I think it was your turn."

The brunette took a deep breath, and nodded. "Do you think Miss Pauling could be a threat to 5pb's life?"

Machias glared at the Overseer. Mentioning Helen the Administrator damaged their relationship even further, but Samantha didn't know any other way to answer without blatantly lying (which could be easily debunked) or tipping off Machias, which would result in a similar ending except with a few additional steps.

However if he wanted to know anything, he would have to answer her own question.

"I'm not sure. I don't think she has anything that Miss Pauling would want. At the same time, Miss Pauling is a crafty woman so she could think up of few uses for a popular idol… or just use her to pay off a favor."

So while uncertain, the danger wasn't imminent. It was better than Samantha expected, but worse than she hoped.

"Now tell me; who really are you? No person can simply walk away from the Administrator."

…

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. It's that magical seal again."

Crash! The table was thrown away by a furious Machias. Before Samantha could react, the bodyguard was on top of her, his hands wrapped around her throat. "Don't give me that bullshit! She never really lets go of anyone! Are you in cahoots with her?!"

Falcom stepped forward, loudly unsheathing her sword.

Machias glanced at her, then at her weapon, before looking back at the struggling Samantha. The Overseer was pressing her fingers into the webbed area between his index finger and the thumb. Against a normal opponent that would be enough to make him release her, but against someone with a dulled sense of pain that was a pathetic attempt at breaking free.

If Samantha was alone, Machias could easily kill her. She was vulnerable and too weak to break free from his grasp. Just a bit more pressure and he could break her windpipe.

However Falcom was also in the room, and she had a sharp sword pointed at an unarmed Machias.

Samantha realized that her efforts had no effect, so she did something different.

Samantha kicked him in the crotch.

Even with a dulled sense of pain, a kick to the nuts always hurt.

"So? How do I look?"

Samantha posed while Falcom tilted her head, looking up and down at the Overseer.

Her shins and right arm had armor strapped over her clothes, bluish metal shone in the Guild's lights. It was… a weird placement of armor. While it would certainly protect her limbs from attacks, her core, and thighs were exposed.

"...You look like you couldn't decide between wearing and not wearing any armor. Or like those female 'knights' from Visual Novels."

All Samantha needed to do was to show some skin and she would certainly look like a character from a fanservicey Visual Novel.

"Seriously, if you want armor then just go all out." Falcom added.

"Well, I needed to stay light and also protected so-" Samantha started pointing out several parts of her body.

Her thighs. "Reinforced pants with kevlar. Good for small calibers and friction, weak against cuts and stabs."

Her shins. "Metal armor. Actually not that heavy, and good all around."

Her core. "Jacket with kevlar. Comfortable and protective."

And she raised her left hand, where a rectangular shield was strapped to her forearm. "And a shield as a finishing touch."

The shield was a part of her 2 free weapons package. It was light, not too big nor too small and also had good stats. Samantha had no idea what the metal was, but it felt lighter than actual steel. Hopefully it wasn't weaker than steel.

Falcom nodded and hummed. "Okay, and show me your weapon."

Samantha gleefully obliged, unholstering a pair of white and green pistols from her hips… at least Falcom thinks those were pistols. While they had a trigger and a barrel like the usual firearm, the whole underside of it was turned into a blade. The handles were also at an angle, allowing one to hold the firearms like daggers.

In Samantha's hands were weapons dubbed as 'Pistol Swords'.

Something like that probably shouldn't be in the hands of a 'rookie'.

"You have no idea how lucky I felt when I found those. Range AND melee capabilities. And apparently they're meant to be dual wielded, so they gave me a pair and wrote it as one."

So that explained why she came back with 3 weapons instead of 2, Falcom almost believed that her shield was counted into the whole 'armor' set.

"So you have 3 weapons at the price of 2?"

"Yup." The brunette said

"Fair enough." Falcom shrugged. "You know, this stuff is much better quality than I expected. Especially this."

The adventurer lifted a bag full of the 'other' items. Inside was everything an adventurer needed to survive in the wilds. Ammunition, preserved food and water, survival kit, healing items, tools to maintain weapons and even some stat boosters.

The thing is, the items in this bag weren't something that Falcom would call a rookie or F-rank grade. Those were something D or C rank adventurers could afford.

"And especially when they're giving it out for anyone who asks."

Her point was this stuff wasn't cheap, especially with a 11,500 credit budget.

Samantha smiled and checked her nails. Something in this gesture just made the overseer look guilty. "I… ah, have my ways… Just don't tell Magnavox."

So she did it and abused her powers to get better gear. "Uh-huh…" She could ask the receptionist if this was the right gear for a rookie, but if they were to take this away then it would just hurt their party.

"Bloody hell… when was the last time my bag was this full?" Samantha commented. "This is heavy too, I miss my Hammerspace."

Falcom rolled her eyes. "Anyway. What's next? We've forced ourselves into 5pb's life, what do we do now?"

This was a private room inside the Guild, so they could safely talk here without privy eyes. Falcom knew that the cameras here have no audio, so whatever they say won't be recorded.

Before Samantha and Falcom left, they notified 5pb and Machias that they'll come back. Surprisingly it wasn't 5pb, but rather her new bodyguard who supported this idea. Probably because he wanted to keep Samantha as close as possible.

"We don't know anything about Machias, so for a few days we'll test if we can trust him or not. We'll also need to create rapport with 5pb. Once we're comfortable with 5pb's safety, we can move onto the next stage and rescue the Oracle of Leanbox."

Falcom blinked "The Oracle?"

"Yeah." Samantha nodded. "The Oracle we see now, is ASIC's and Miss Pauling's puppet. The real Oracle is tied up and hidden away. I know where she might be, but right now we have 5pb to worry about… Also we'll have to write a letter to Histoire."

Falcom winced. This wasn't unnoticed by the Overseer.

"We need to explain to them what happened. They need to know you're fine, but you can't stick around them. Also they might need some help waking up Nepgear and Neptune."

"Oh… wait what?"

"Ah." Samantha lightly facepalmed. "While the mercs were fighting CFW Trick, Pyro actually found and rescued Neptune from captivity… I'll spare you the details on how it did that, but I'll say it was brutal to watch."

"Ehm… I see."

It was nice to know that her (former?) friends are doing okay. Nepgear really wanted her sister to be safe, and now she achieved it. Neptune is rescued and will join the fight pretty soon.

"Tell me… what do you think of Machias?" Samantha said.

"Huh?"

"What do you think of Machias?"

What did she think of him? Falcom had no idea. She didn't know him for too long, so the adventurer didn't have time to form an opinion on him.

"What did you see in his Wraith Manifestation?" Samantha added.

…

"It was his confession to 5pb. He dropped his disguise in front of her eyes, told her that her friend was dead and gave his condolences. He apologised to her as she cried, and explained who he was. He did 'tell her everything'."

Samantha frowned, but nodded at the information provided by the adventurer. While the Overseer thought about this, Falcom decided it would be a good time to ask some questions.

"So...uh. Are you actually from the merc's world?"

Falcom remembered that there was a world different from Gamindustri, and that's where the mercenaries came from.

"No, I'm not. I'm not from their world, or this. I'm from a different world."

"Oh." So there's a 3rd one too.

"Before you ask. Yes, I was in the mercs' world working for the Administrator and I've met mercenaries during that time. My circumstances are… very hard to explain, but I was working there. Just like I'm working here now."

"Who is the Administrator?" Falcom asked.

This question gave Samantha pause. The Overseer fell silent as she gathered her thoughts and tried to find an easy way to explain it.

"The Administrator… controls their entire world. The goverments, the corporations, politicians, police, the public, the Administrator controls all of them from the shadows. It's a sort of open secret between people high in the ranks."

"And nobody is doing anything? Not even the CPUs?"

"Nobody can do anything, and there are no CPUs in the mercs' world. Every person who tries to oppose her disappears without a trace… and ends up dead."

Falcom's eyes widened.

"I'm not surprised when Machias didn't buy when I said I stopped working for the Administrator. Because under normal circumstances, there's no escape from her. If you say you quit, she won't send more jobs to you. But you'll be watched."

"To make sure you won't talk." Falcom said.

Samantha nodded.

"Yes. If you forget about everything you can live comfortably under her gaze, she does reward loyalty after all. If you need money for something, there'll be a stack of cash anonymously mailed to you. If you're in debt or awaiting trial? She pulls a few strings and there's no debt, and your opposition didn't show up in court. If you were on her good side, your life will be comfortable. But if you try to cross her..."

Falcom gulped.

"There will be hell to pay."

Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Land of Green Pastures

I've made a horrible mistake in my previous author's note, so let me clear it up here.

No, there won't be any harems in this story. While I would actually read a male-turned-into-a-female Neptunia fanfic with a harmed, this won't be it. As for Samuel/Samantha (I picked this name exactly for this)… he/she already has a clear love interest.

As for the OP part… I'll try hard to not make it into bullshit-op level like Saxton Hale or Magnavox.

Now tell me, how do you rate my take on the canon characters? Are they too OOC without an explanation (like a character development) or are they fine? Because it's been a while since I touched Re;Birth 2 so I could be a little out of touch with the canon characters.

Responses:

Guest (times 2)

This is mk2/Re;Birth 2. Plutia doesn't appear until Victory/Re;Birth 3 so she won't appear in this fanfic as well.

DatMeeM

Your review is fine, it doesn't actually sound that rude.

The reason why previous chapter didn't progress the story that much, was because it was still Mercs vs Trick. It's kinda hard to progress the story during a major fight.

As for the gas can (It's named Gas Passer in TF2)... it's underpowered in PVP games, but overpowered in MvM. In PVP being gassed just gives you 10 seconds of afterburn after getting hit, (which is 40 dmg). But in MvM, you can buy a 'Explode on Ignite' upgrade which deals a whooping 350 dmg. You can delete medics for free with it.

YORCHspartan117

Valve should remove sketchek's bequest thing from the axtinguisher. It was a dick move to fake an illness.

The medic's part came to me when I was editing the story. At first it was him cutting a huge gash in Trick's stomach and Heavy forcing it open while the rest are shooting him. Also brutal, but I don't think it would be possible for Medic to do something like that, so I changed it to something that Medic could actually do with his medical knowledge.

Trick is dead, and I'm not planning to bring him back.

You know, I think a lot of Neptunia girls are straight until proven otherwise. But again, there are barely any males in there so I might be wrong.

You know, Samuel turning into a woman actually suits with Mangavox's preferences. Magnavox created Gamindustri, and Magnavox is into women. So it would make sense to make as many girls as possible while reducing the amount of males.

Also Magnavox's direct assault was a part of a Distraction Play. Falcom couldn't be sad over harming Blanc while she was flustered by Magnavox's attempts or shocked by Samuel's… randomness.

No comments about Miss Pauling or Gray Mann. Just wait and see.

Eh, okay. No harems, happy?

Metastable

...It could be a viable nerf, huh. But even then Phlog's crits would wreck everyone crossing its path.

- Harmless Orange