Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Day of Recollection

Sitting on Vert's chair in her own office, Samantha released a moan as she learned just how comfortable her place was.

"Oooh. I like this one." Samantha reached down and pulled a lever, the chair's back lowered so far down that it was practically in parallel to the floor. If Samantha had access to her Hammer Space she wouldn't hesitate to steal this chair from Vert, such comfortable furniture was a rare find. Enough to keep it forever.

The Overseer would love to enjoy this moment a bit more, but the CPU of Leanbox was standing right there, looking quite angry.

"How did you escape your handcuffs?" Vert demanded, pointing at another chair across the table. While it was a nice looking chair, its cushions were rather stiff. Samantha's ass started to hurt after sitting there for quite a while. Attached to its armrests were a pair of handcuffs… both of them unlocked.

Samantha faced the chair towards Vert and said. "I am a woman of many skills, lockpicking is one of them. Also, where did you get that chair? I want one too!"

Vert huffed and waved her hand. "I would prefer if you get off my chair now, its mine."

Samantha sniffed in sadness but she stood up nonetheless. "Alright, alright. Don't worry, I didn't touch anything else, you can check your camera over there." The brunette pointed at the small camera hiding in the corner of the room. "But really, where did you get this chair?"

"I will check it, don't worry."

"And the chair?" Samantha pleaded.

"It was a gift from Chika." Vert answered, her tone annoyed. "Speaking of her, your information… was correct. I did manage to find her held captive in Underverse. Thank you for your help."

"No problem." Samantha sat down on the chair she was once strapped to. "How is she by the way?"

"She's fine and… what are you doing?"

Samantha took what appeared to be a pair of bent hair clips and jammed them into the keyhole of one of the handcuffs. It took Samantha 10 seconds to unlock the other cuff and then the Overseer simply pocketed it.

Vert had no words.

"Gathering supplies. What? You need those cuffs?" Samantha asked, showing Vert the second pair of handcuffs.

"Yes, give those back. Also give me those wires you used."

Samantha placed her hair pins on the desk, which Vert pocketed, and placed both pair of handcuffs in the CPU's hand. The Overseer didn't resist when she was being restrained once more and Vert released an annoyed sigh as she sat down.

Vert took her eyes away from the brunette for a single second, and Samantha was free once more.

"Could you stop that?" Vert demanded.

"Freedom is one of humanity's needs. I'm not going anywhere - you're here, and you're armed and immortal - you can interrogate me without restraints. They hurt by the way."

Vert's sighed in annoyance while considering smacking the girl blue. It would be a very unladylike thing to do but between everything that was happened so far, and the fact that Samantha was really asking for some smackdown, Vert's frustration began to grow.

"Okay. Then could you tell me how you came by this information? You said that you can't really explain why you know it, but why can't you say anything?"

"Because," Samantha raised her finger and then pressed it against her temple. "there's a seal put on me which censors everything I'm not meant to say."

A censoring magic? Really? "...Does such magic even exist?" Vert asked.

"Yes? Otherwise I wouldn't be in this situation."

Vert stared skeptically at her, not buying this explanation at all. Samantha noticed her skepticism and sighed. "Trust me." She said, "What would I gain from lying to you?"

"Many things." Vert answered. "Then how about you write it? I have some pen and-"

"Tried that many times, it won't work." Samantha cut her off.

"That's very inconvenient." Vert commented.

"I can't say it, I can't write it and also I'm immune to any truth serums, mind controls or mind reading abilities." The Overseer added.

"I see they've put a lot of effort into keeping you quiet, which means you must know a lot."

"Mhm, I do." Samantha nodded. "Can't share anything, though." The brunette stared at the CPU in front of her. "This line of questioning won't grant you anything, best you change topics."

"Okay, though keep in mind that we'll return to this one later." Vert said. "You said you're not working for Miss Pauling, but you're also not with Gray Mann. So where do you stand in all of this?"

"I'm a third party with my own goals and desires in all of this."

"And what are those goals and desires?" Vert pressed.

"Some peace and quiet?" The overseer shrugged.

"…" Vert didn't buy it.

"Look, I know you're tired of this 'secret war' between Miss Pauling and Gray Mann already. I'm tired of it too, that's why I'm taking matters into my own hands." Samantha said.

It's been a mere few days since Vert has returned to her own nation, she had nothing to be tired of. Although the amount of work she needed to catch up on meant she could afford less time playing her MMOs, and through these years 4 Goddess Online has received a vast amount of updates and new content, it was overall not that bad. That didn't mean she appreciated this underground war between people that aren't even from this world though, especially one happening within her domain.

The CPU took a cup of tea and leaned back on her chair, making Samantha jealous because her own couldn't move like hers. Vert took a sip of her tea and savored it for a moment.

"What do you know about these factions?" The CPU asked.

"Both of them are evil, but in a different way. Miss Pauling, or rather Miss Pauling's boss, blackmails and manipulates all important people from the shadows." This would be a great moment to light up a cigarette, but Samantha didn't have any. "Their world isn't ruled by immortal and benevolent CPUs, it's led by greedy and corrupt politicians that wouldn't hesitate to sell their own country to make a quick buck. And people like that are in charge of a nation."

Vert frowned and tried to imagine a world like that… the mental image wasn't pleasant.

"Gray Mann meanwhile doesn't know how to draw a line. So far none of you have seen him doing anything wrong, but just wait until Miss Pauling makes any sort of move in Lastation. He won't hesitate to destroy everything just to kill her. Back on Earth he killed both of his brothers and then created an army of robots to take over a shop that once belonged to his father."

Vert's eyes widened from this revelation. Meanwhile Samantha was playing with the straps of her outfit, as she was doing so she noticed a tiny little bloodstain that survived the Medi-Gun and laundry and tried to rub it off… but to no avail.

"A-And you won't tell me how you know all of this?" Vert asked.

"I can't tell you how I know all of this, no matter how much I want." Samantha corrected. "Nisa and Uni probably don't know about what I told you, you could ask Gray Mann though. I wonder how he might react to that. Although be careful when you're using his robots in your nation, these things don't care about collateral damage."

Vert sighed and rubbed her head.

"Do you realize how suspicious you are right now?" Vert asked "You claim to not be working with either Miss Pauling nor Gray Mann, but you also possess in depth knowledge about both sides, the source of which you refuse to share. I already asked Mr. Mann about you, so I know you're not with us."

"...And?" Samantha said.

Vert took a deep breath. "Unless you come clean how you got that info, I cannot trust you with good conscience. I thank you for helping me find Chika, but our cooperation ends here. I hope you understand."

If Samantha was hurt by this, she didn't show it. "So no deal, alright."

Also Vert didn't say anything about the missing handcuffs.

"My staff will escort you back to your cell. You and your partner will remain there until this entire thing has been resolved, then I'll think about what to do with you later." Vert pressed a button on her desk which summoned a pair of people inside. They were clad in a typical Basilicom Staff uniform, except green this time.

"Escort her back to her cell." Vert ordered.

"Yes ma'am." They saluted and walked towards Samantha. Each one placed a hand on her shoulder, signalling it was her time to go.

Samantha didn't struggle as she was being led back to her cell, completely unrestrained.

"...25 ...26… 27..."

With each swing of her sword Falcom counted up, the repeated motions soothed her mind and gave her muscles some long needed exercise. She has no idea for how long they'll be there so keeping her skills sharp and body in shape could be useful.

Angela stared at her from her own cell.

"Hey Falcom." The Magician called out.

"Hmm?" The adventurer responded.

"Do you know what she's planning?"

Falcom stopped her blade on the 29th swing. She lowered her sword and turned her head towards Angela. "She?"

"Samantha. Do you know what she's planning?" The magician spat out.

There were four main objectives that Samantha setup: Get all mascots to Nepgear, don't let any of the Nations fall, kill all CFWs and keep Falcom alive. That was the gist of what Falcom remembered from her first meeting with Samanth- Samuel back then. There was also Samantha's plan to rescue the Oracle and CPU of Leanbox, although the latter was already free.

...Falcom wasn't sure if she should tell her any of this. With how hostile Angela was to Samantha (and the other CPUs), she could try to sabotage their plan as her act of revenge.

"I don't… think saying it here is a good idea." Falcom said, looking at the wall of her cell. Angela looked around, and all she saw were fellow inmates. People that would, voluntarily or not, overhear their conversation. There was also Linda in the same cell that would certainly butt in when she gets bored.

"I see." The magician said.

Falcom bit her lip and nodded, she raised her blade again and resumed her exercise. Angela walked away slightly miffed, but she understood why Falcom didn't want to speak. If the Overseer planned to make some big changes here, then saying it here, surrounded by other people all too willing to eavesdrop, wouldn't be the best idea.

"...30 … 31… 32…"

Falcom's mind started to wander and focus on her own body, she felt a bit hungry and her side ached a bit - these beds aren't as comfortable as they looked, the spring was biting into her side. There was even one time where Samantha took her blanket and pillow and slept under the bed, which earned them a false alarm because the guards thought she somehow escaped. Now there's a 'No sleeping under the bed' rule.

...Actually, if they needed to, how easily could they escape from here?

Samantha could certainly just teleport herself to True Celestia and go anywhere from there, so she was basically uncontainable. Could she also get Falcom away from here if she needed? Well, she did teleport Angela from LAN Castle to Planeptune after she was defeated.

This realization made Falcom stop. It was the 57th swing.

Samantha could break every law in the Gamindustri, and the only one who could stop her would be... Magnavox. She could easily run away from any other danger, be it a Guild Member, a mercenary, CPU or even a CFW. All she needed to do was to teleport away from that place.

And Samantha said she was powerless here. What a load of BS.

Falcom resumed her exercise, only to hear footsteps coming here. The adventurer didn't stop until she saw a pair of guards escorting one Samantha Neikan back into her cell. The brunette came in without any resistance while the guards locked the cell.

"Hi." She waved. "Training, I see."

"Hi." Falcom greeted back. "So how did it go."

Samantha shrugged uncertainty. "Uhhh… eugh?"

Well, that was helpful.

"The Oracle's alive and resting, which is great. But Vert basically marked me as her enemy, so I'm not sure I'll be asking her for favors. Which is not great." The brunette said.

"Uh-huh." Falcom hummed and swung her sword. "So what now?"

"Well, we're kinda at an impasse. While we basically got everyone we wanted alive, there was one more thing I wanted to do, that now I'm not able to."

"Because no CPU?"

"Because no CPU. And just two of us will not cut it."

Falcom nodded as she reached her 70th swing. Her arms started to feel tired and asked her to stop, but she didn't and swung again.

"You know, this would work better if you used your whole body." Samantha pointed out. "Swinging your sword up and down is nice to build some arm muscles, but legs are important too… if not more."

"Not enough space." Falcom answered.

Samantha looked around their cell. While big enough for 2 people, there wasn't really that much space to practice various swings besides overhead swings. "I see."

Suddenly the guards came back, banging their batons on the bars of the cell. "We're confiscating your gear. CPU's orders."

There was a cry of "Aha!" coming from the opposite cell. Falcom's shoulders fell while Samantha reached out for her bag and simply handed it to them. The guards briefly looked over the bag's content while Falcom packed her Dragonslayer into her own case.

The guard pulled Samantha's bag aside and took Falcom's case, opened it, and closed it. The guards took both containers and left without saying a word.

"...Great." Falcom sighed. Samantha said nothing.

On the opposite end of the room Linda the Underling was laughing at them. Angela's expression was hidden by the book she was reading, but Samantha just knows she was pleased by this event. Falcom turned towards the Overseer, her expression troubled.

"So how do we do this without our weapons?" She asked.

You don't have a weapon, I still have one of my pistols. Samantha thought as she took the book and laid on the bed. "Wait and see. Worst case, I break us out."

Falcom nodded and started doing push ups.

Samantha's reading was abruptly interrupted by a crumpled paper ball hitting her book. The overseer looked around at whoever might've done it, but everyone around her looked fairly innocent. Samantha unwrapped the ball and saw that it had a message written on it.

wtf you and falcom did to get urself in CPU's jail? also wheres 5pb? - Mach

Oh.

Oh.

Samantha Neikan scanned the message again, making sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her. The writing was rushed and the grammar horrible, but it was certainly an interesting development. Samantha grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper and wrote her reply.

The lack of proper security here was really playing to their advantage.

what's your callsign?

Once the message was done Samantha crumpled up the paper and threw it into the trash can, she purposely missed and the paper ball hit the trash can's edge and rolled all the way to the bars. The brunette faked a groan as if irritated by this.

Then the ball of paper suddenly disappeared, proving that someone with a Cloak and Dagger was next to their cell. She waited for them to read it and write their reply, which she got a moment later in a form of another ball hitting her book.

Actual here, Zero-Three where is 5pb?

So Machias came back here, either because of orders or on his own. If it's the latter then this was very sweet of him.

Samantha wrote him a message and sent it the similar way.

CPU busted 5pb place after you left, she thinks we're with Miss P. I dunno where 5pb is, but she's apparently living somewhere in the Basilicom. These two know each other u see.

Also where the fuck were you, asshole?

Boss got spooked and told everyone to hide. Was Machias's answer, followed by. u guys okay there

dude, we chill. I even got one of my pistols here.

...wat how

Samantha suppressed a chuckle.

"What are you doing?" Falcom suddenly asked her, causing Samantha to shrug. "I'm getting bored."

That answer satisfied Falcom, she shrugged and continued her push ups. Then shortly after Samantha received another message.

u know morse?

Samantha stared at the paper for a moment before a small grin appeared on her face.

-.- - ..- / ... ..- -.-. -.-

Samantha was grinning as she sent Machias this message. The response made it even better.

.- -. -.. / ..- / ... .- .- .-.. .-.. - .-

Damn. Samantha chalked this one as Machias' victory. Falcom was now staring at Samantha, starting to think that there was more to it than it seemed. That notion became very clear when Samantha turned her head towards her and winked, before throwing another ball at the trash can.

The adventurer tried her best to ignore the paper balls and focus on anything else, like the floor and her push ups. The Overseer said that their plan was 'Wait and see' and it was clear that she's working on some development. As much as she was curious, she didn't want to screw things up.

Then something exploded and people started screaming.

Samantha, and several other inmates, went towards the bars to see what was going on. Falcom was next to her as well, trying to squeeze her head through the metal bars.

What they saw made the brunette go 'oh shit' and consider going back, that sentiment was shared between other inmates who retreated into their cells once they realized who was on the other side of the bars.

CFW Magic and CFW Brave walked towards them, the former looked uncaring while the latter had his weapons ready to cut down any opponent. That was enough for most people to do about their business and hope they weren't there for them.

Falcom was an exception, she stood there and watched what they were doing. Samantha seemed to be reading, but her head was slightly turned so she could see the outside easier.

A loud alarm assaulted everyone's ears, but the guards hesitated to engage both CFWs and some outright ran away to call for reinforcements. Brave batted aside anyone who stood in their path.

"Are they?" Magic asked.

"No." Brave shook his head and raised his - one of his - blades. "But the next one might not be this lucky."

They were now right in front of Samantha's cell, and the Overseer saw something she hasn't seen before.

During what she might call a 'planning phase', Samantha has studied the strengths and weaknesses of all CFWs in order to develop various tactics for when she'll fight them. Judge was tough and strong, but one of the slowest of CFWs. Trick had superb regeneration capabilities but a crippling vulnerability to fire. Brave's stats were good all around, but he was chivalrous and lacked range.

Magic had no weaknesses.

But now as Samantha watched Brave hold not one, but two swords, she realized that Brave must've undergone some readjustments… which meant her information about him was outdated.

In his right hand was a sword made out of pure ice, in his left hand one of pure fire. If Fay was here, she could've used her Appraisal ability to determine what they do, but unfortunately Samantha's partner was absent.

All Samantha had was one of her pistol swords and no armor, and Falcom was unarmed too. If the CFWs were here for them, then Samantha's only option would be to retreat to True Celestia.

In the cell across the hallway, Linda grabbed the bars and gaped at her superiors.

"W-Wha? B-Boss?!" She exclaimed. Whether she wanted it or not, now the attention of both leaders of ASIC was on her. CFW Magic towards her cell, with Brave keeping overwatch on anyone that might try to stop them.

No one tried.

"Oh, so this was where they put you." Magic said, caressing her lip with her finger.

"Yeah… I dunno why you're here, but could you let me out? That busty broad said she'll keep me here for life!"

"Yes, but before that…"

The CFW bent down and run her finger across the cell's bar, that slight touch of her nail was enough to leave a scratch on it. Linda blinked as she stared at her boss.

"What do you know about a woman named Miss Pauling?" Magic asked.

"She kidnapped me and then threaten me to do stuff for them or I'll die! I'm sorry boss, I had no choice but to work-!" Magic placed a finger on Linda's lips, immediately shutting her up.

"I'm not asking what they did to you, I'm asking what you know about her." The leader clarified.

"She has people who can turn invisible, shapeshift to other people and are very good at making people disappear." Linda reported the instant Magic's finger left her lips. "She was asking me to get her information about our Neptulium stuff, some kind of stuff named Australium, ownership of a few houses and info about some dumb broads in high ranks. Also how to utilize shares and create Sharicites."

CFW Magic nodded as she took this information. Processing it took her a moment but when she was done the Leader of ASIC ripped out the bars and let Linda free. "I see you got a lot of information about her. Good job."

Linda grinned as she stepped out. "Thanks boss!"

Then she yelped as Magic grabbed her and threw her onto her back, "Uwah!?"

"Sorry, but we don't have a lot of time. Hold tight until we're back at our base." Magic ordered.

"A-Ah, uh… got it boss." Linda said as she wrapped her hands around Magic's waist. The Underling blushed at the proximity of her boss's half-naked body, while an idea to motorboat her boss's breast has crossed Linda's mind she was afraid of the repercussions. Underling decided to play it safe and not do that.

With the VIP in tow Magic was about to return to HQ, however Angela stopped her.

"Excuse me, CFW." The Magician said.

Magic turned towards her, her eyebrow raised.

"If you wish to learn something about Miss Pauling, you should ask that woman over there. The one with brown hair." She pointed at the cell across her. Samantha's face went pale as she felt Magic's eye focus on her.

"Oh? And why would you say that?" Magic asked.

"She was in contact with 5pb's bodyguard, who was an agent of Miss Pauling. Am I correct, Linda?"

"Huh? Oh, right yeah. She was sending someone disguised as that maid broad to collect intel from me. Yeah, she was 5pb's bodyguard."

Samantha just got sold out, for free, just for revenge. The brunette finally turned her head towards them, and found all three of them looking at her. Samantha's gaze fell on Angela, and the Magician sent her a wink.

It just occurred to her that Machias was right there, somewhere near the CFWs. It was a miracle that neither CFW Magic nor Brave has sensed him already. Whatever intel Magic will get from Underling will become outdated once Machias sends a report to Miss Pauling.

Before Samantha could say anything she heard a loud crash and saw the doors flying towards CFW Brave, who swatted them aside with his hand.

"CPU is here." He said, brandishing his swords for a fight.

"Oh my, it is rude to barge into someone's house, you know." Vert, already in her HDD, stepped forward and brandished her spear. "It is even more rude to help criminals escape."

"Brave, can you hold her off for a moment?" Magic said.

Brave said nothing and charged at the CPU, he swung at her and the CPU dodged his blow. He swung again but she reflected it and hit his chin with the end of the spear. The CFW didn't even grunt as his head was thrown back.

While CFW Brave kept the CPU busy, CFW Magic started walking towards Samantha's cell. "It appears we don't have much time, so…"

For a brief moment Samantha considered pulling out her weapon and shoot Magic, but she realized that would be suicide. Falcom was frantic, looking between the CFW and Samantha without knowing what to do, and even Samantha felt a pang of fear gnawing at her.

Magic was right in front of her cell, staring down at the Overseer.

She could run, she could easily escape Magic's grasp. Just go back to True Celestia and then return anywhere else, Magic will have a hard time finding her. That was low risk, no reward approach.

With a light tug of her arm, CFW Magic ripped out a metal bar of her cell. With another tug, she ripped out another one.

However Samantha feared this would be a waste of opportunity. Yes, she could run right now but then she wouldn't learn anything and she would end up worse off than she was. Hunted by both the CPU and the ASIC, without Falcom and with only one of her pistols to defend herself.

Which was why Samantha didn't struggle much when Magic grabbed her, in fact Samantha tried to make herself more comfortable as the Leader of ASIC held her close.

"It's good that you're cooperating." CFW Magic noted.

"Well, I'm not suicidal. You could kill me in an instant." Samantha responded. As long as she didn't give Magic any reason to kill her Samantha could easily escape at any moment, even when their bodies were touching. All she needed was to utter one sentence and she would be back in True Celestia.

Magic released a mirthless chuckle while Samantha wrapped herself around Magic's thigh. Falcom stared wide-eyed at the brunette as if she was mad and insane, but Samantha simply gave her a grin and a thumbs up.

She felt like she was making some kind of mistake, but she was used to it by now.

As time went on and the landscape of Gamindustri quickly moved beneath her, Samantha found herself becoming less and less scared. The main source of her fear was how unexpected this encounter was but after getting some time to think about it, Samantha realized that this was a blessing in disguise.

CFW Magic was looking for Miss Pauling.

Samantha was also looking for Miss Pauling.

Their goals aligned.

With some luck and the right words she could fix her problem by sending someone else to do it, or better yet turn her enemy into an ally. And she even had some hunches on how to do that. Samantha had something Magic needed, and as long as she has it she was safe from harm. She just needed to be careful to not push it too hard.

...Maybe that's why Angela winked to her, because she believed Samantha would somehow turn it to her own benefit.

Or because she felt really smug about selling her out to the 3rd most dangerous person in Gamindustri.

So as Samantha sat in the Gamindustri Graveyard, tied up to a chair with a woman that could kill her at any moment, she didn't really feel threatened.

"So that's where you've been hiding. All I knew was that your hideout was 'somewhere in the Graveyard', but to think you were hiding this close to where you kept the CPUs."

It was either that or this wasn't actually the CFWs' hideout. Magic was… uncaring, but Samantha doubted even she would lead an outsider to their main base, even if she planned to kill that outsider after she was done with her.

The binds on her arms and legs were tight and uncomfortable, they also cut off blood to her limbs. But despite that there wasn't anything preventing her from returning to the True Celestia. If something went awry she could go back to her cell, have a little chat with Vert and then break Falcom out.

Easy. But then they still would be at an impasse.

At least there's a plan B.

So how she would proceed depended solely on CFW Magic, who was giving her a funny look. "I may have said it before, but it's really curious how cooperative you are."

Samantha couldn't even shrug. Her binds felt like they would rip her arms out. "Well, do I have any other choice? I could fight back but I know I wouldn't win that fight. I would end up injured no matter what I do, by the way could you loosen my restraints a little? They hurt."

Magic chuckled and brushed her hand over Samantha's face. "If you'll be as cooperative as now, I'll look into that. So tell me what you know about the woman who calls herself Miss Pauling."

Straight to the point. Now how could she shift the topic from Miss Pauling to that little tidbit Magic said before?

"It's very hard to get any intel on her. She keeps everyone on need-to-know basis and is cautious as hell. Those addresses you got from your underling, Pauling already knows they're exposed so don't expect much from them."

Samantha considered outright changing the topic, but that would be swiftly dismissed by the CFW. First she needed to appease Magic's thirst for knowledge before she could do anything else.

"How powerful is she?"

"If either you or Brave met her that would probably be the end for her, she's not really good at fighting superhumans, or head-on in general. Her strength lies in scheming and deception though, so she'd likely have some kind of trap or countermeasure prepared for any scenario, including you finding her, if you can find her."

Samantha thought, speaking from experience as she remembered one little nasty surprise she had been given herself. Magic nodded at the information she gave her.

"Where do you think her hideout is?"

"I dunno." The overseer said. "She can have her hideout literally anywhere. Remember the mercs in Planeptune? She could order her men to do the same thing, but then she'll clean it up and then use that building as her HQ. And because she has access to very sophisticated disguises, her people could disguise themselves as the residents and no one would suspect a thing."

Any building in Leanbox could be her hideout, from a tiny convenience store to multi-floor apartments. Hell, she could even hide in the Basilicom and disguise her men as the Staff. Their face-concealing helmets would certainly help her to blend in.

"About those disguises… how do they work?"

"You know… I have no idea. I kid you not, all they do is to put a paper mask over their face… and somehow that's enough to make you see and hear them as someone else. I don't know how to explain it other than some kind of magic or hidden tech."

"Curious. What other things do they have access to?"

"Uhh… excellent medical care, explosives, invisibility watches. Stuff that would make things like reconnaissance or mass murder really easy. I would also bet on automated defenses."

Hopefully Magic won't catch on the fact that Miss Pauling and the mercs share technology, because once she does she could ask Samantha on how the Re;Spawn work… and she really didn't want to answer that.

"I see." Magic nodded. "What about that agent that you were in contact with?"

"He disappeared shortly before the CPU arrested me, I don't know where he is now." At least she didn't know exactly where Machias was, but he was probably in the Basilicom looking for 5pb.

"Oh, that's too bad. But I don't think you really don't know, do you?" Magic said, a small smile plastered on her face… it sent chills into Samantha's spine.

"He ran away-ARGH?!"

She- She scratched her!

Magic casually flicked off the blood from her nails, the Overseer sucked some air through her teeth while three jagged lines on her face leaked blood. The pain was annoying.

Samantha considered teleporting away while the CFW walked behind her. "You were so cooperative until this moment." She whispered to her ear and pressed her sharp nail into her other cheek, it still had some blood on it. "I was actually thinking of rewarding you for your cooperation, but if you want to do this the hard way."

She moved her hand higher, with her finger poised to strike.

Right at her left eye.

"I can make you hurt even more."

Magic waited patiently for her words to sink in. Samantha's breath grew more rapid with each moment, afraid of the possibility that she might lose one of her organs.

If I say 'I don't know.' she'll stab my eye out. This was a very, very dangerous situation she was in right now. And the urge to run was immerse.

"The- The Basilicom!" Samantha said quickly. "When you barged into the jail, we were exchanging notes. He was just outside my cell, invisible."

She gulped and closed her eyes in anticipation, bracing herself for Magic to gore her eye out and leave her half-blind until she finds a Medi-Gun.

Relief washed over her when Magic asked a question instead.

"Hmm… him, you say?"

"Y-Yeah, he's actually a man… disguised as a girl."

Samantha cracked her eye open and saw the finger gone from her vision, as good news as it was Magic was still gripping her head.

"And how does he look like when he's not disguised?"

"He wears a trench coat and fedora… actually everyone of her men seems to favor this style."

"What about his facial features?"

"Black hair, looks in his forties, has a thick moustache."

After Samantha said this, the hand which gripped her face was gone… only for it to affectionately ruffle her hair.

"Good girl. I knew you could do it." Magic whispered to her.

Samantha didn't feel anything as she sold Machias out. That guy had a Cloak and Dagger and a disguise kit, she doubted Magic will ever find him wearing his own face.

And also how many of you wouldn't say anything when someone was threatening to stab your eye out?

Samantha felt her hands being tugged for some reason, before she realized it was Magic loosening up her restrains. "There you go." The CFW said. Now Samantha could feel her hands again… and the very annoying sensation of pins and needles.

"Thanks." Samantha said.

Magic didn't say anything as she took a rag, put it in water, and started cleaning the blood from Samantha's face. The brunette stared at her in confusion, but the CFW only smiled at her.

Was that because I was being so cooperative? Samantha thought while Magic dumped the blood stained rag into a bucket.

"Do you have anything else that might help me?" CFW Magic asked.

Samantha thought for a moment only for this opportunity to hit her like a brick. This was that opportunity she has been waiting for this entire interrogation, and Magic willingly gave it to her.

"Back at the Memorial you told Blanc and Nepgear you wanted knowledge, what knowledge were you talking about?"

She was rewarded with a sight of CFW Magic being completely flabbergasted. She never expected this interrogation to go into that direction.

"Oh my, so you heard that?" Magic said as she caressed her lip, her eye staring at the Overseer. "And why would you want to know?" She added after a moment of silence.

"Because like Nepgear said, if you have that knowledge then you don't need to summon Arfoire anymore." Samantha said.

"Well… like I said last time, the knowledge I seek can't be found in Gamindustri, the only way I can get it is through Arfoire."

"What if I can get that knowledge from somewhere else? Like the Time Library?"

Magic chuckled mirthlessly. "The Time Library is just a myth, it doesn't really exist." Now Samantha was surprised because she didn't expect Magic to actually know that location… even if it was, according to her, just a myth.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But what could you lose by just telling me what you want?" Samantha said.

"And what do you gain by giving me that knowledge?" Magic said back.

"Not having to deal with an eldritch abomination? A possible business partner?" Samantha shrugged.

She dropped a hint on what she wanted, and Magic caught onto it.

"...Aren't you clever? Trying to butter me up into letting you free, so then you could run away." Magic said, a hint of amusement present in her voice.

...But she took it the wrong way.

However Samantha was ready for that.

In the most deadpan voice she could manage, Samantha said "Here's the thing, I could leave anytime I wanted."

"Oh, really? Then why didn't you do that before?" CFW Magic chuckled.

Instead of answering verbally Samantha teleported herself out of the room before returning back, this time free of her binds. The brunette sat on the chair that she was once bound to and crossed her legs. She watched the CFW squirm as her sense of vision and hearing were stunned by two thunders crashing into the room in quick succession.

Once she was confident that the Leader of ASIC could see and hear her clearly, the Overseer of NEO Dimension proclaimed

"Because I let myself get tied up."

Samantha just flexed on CFW Magic.

She tried not to grin, as that would ruin the moment, but she found it hard not to do so.

Samantha dared to say that her little trick really impressed CFW Magic.

Because if the roles were reserved, Samantha would be impressed just from the execution alone.

Also she would shoot to kill.

Magic was understandably surprised when she saw the brunette free, after personally tying her up so carefully. Fortunately for Samantha Magic didn't blast her to hell when she recovered, although the wall behind her was gone so perhaps she did try to blast her to hell. It just so happened that Magic's target wasn't in that dimension anymore.

Anyway, Samantha proved her point that no matter what Magic tried she couldn't keep the brunette contained. She could harm her, but that would defeat the point of getting that knowledge that was so valuable to the CFWs.

So instead Magic took Samantha to Brave, so all three of them could talk.

So far Samantha has been keeping to the best case scenario, which was an unexpected lucky break for her. That made her a little wary as while Samantha could've used Magic's… devotion to bring her onto her side, Brave's rationality could get in the way.

It was easy so far, but now it's gonna be harder.

"If you're really going to keep your end of the bargain, then I see no problems working with you."

...wat.

Samantha stared blankly at CFW Brave, completely off put by his immediate willingness to join her. No catch, no additional conditions, just give him the knowledge they've been searching for and they're good to go. Samantha was more prepared to coax him with words, subtly prepare his mind that her method was better than resurrecting what was basically a God of Destruction.

And she was getting worried that she might've been unable to persuade him.

"J-Just like that? Seriously? No threats, no questions, no proving myself, you're gonna believe me just like that?"

"I would like to see some evidence of your claims, but if what you speak is true then our actions to revive the Deity of Sin will become… unnecessary."

Bloody hell… it was like she won the lottery, or something.

CFW Magic stepped into Samantha's view, her arms crossed. "Then it seems like we're in agreement."

"Yeah…" Surprisingly so. "But you guys do realize I want compensation for it?"

As much as she wanted to keep this hype going, she needed to make them realize she wasn't doing this for free. She wanted their strength as much as they wanted her information. Fortunately Samantha doubted they would have any problems with her conditions, as their interests matched.

"We do." Brave told her. "Name your price."

"I'm going to help you, but I want you to help me as well. I have two… three things that I could use your… assistance." The Overseer said. "First, help me kill Miss Pauling. You're already searching for her, so I don't think you'll have any problems with that. Second, prevent the revival of Arfoire. Again, you've said that this whole thing will become unnecessary when you get that knowledge, so I'm sure you also won't have any problems with that."

"Agreed. And the third?" Brave asked.

"And the third…" Samantha placed her hands on the table. "You guys know Gray Mann?"

"Never heard of him." Magic said.

"I have. He's in Lastation, keeping a close alliance with the CPU Candidate. He also seems to be in control of the machines that suddenly appeared in Lastation. Those were the reason why the Candidate bested me and rescued the CPU of Leanbox." CFW Brave informed.

Samantha nodded at the Leader's words, impressed by the amount of intel he had on him. "That's right, and we're going to chase him and his army of robots out. Either peacefully… or by force."

"So you want us...: to kill an annoying pest, dissolve an organisation that we might not need anymore, and basically go out for war against an entire nation." CFW Magic concluded.

"Yeah. Go against an entire nation that was weakening through the last 3 years." Samantha nodded.

"Which also has the support of an endless army of machines, and a CPU Candidate." Magic pointed out.

"These robots are basically cannon fodder, and just one Candidate should pose no problem against a CFW who beat four proper CPUs." Samantha said, looking at CFW Magic.

The Leader of ASIC stared at her for a moment, Samantha rose to the challenge and stared back. CFW Brave made neither a comment nor any moves to dissuade their little duel, he was busy considering the cons and pros of allying with Samantha.

Pros: An alternative that didn't require unleashing a powerful monster onto the world.

Cons: Going against an entire nation, which might be ruined if the fight become too heated.

Pros: Potential help in their quest.

Cons: Possibility of being conned by said help.

...Wait.

"And what sort of insurance do we have that you won't scam us off?" Brave asked.

Before he was so willing to join me, now you're asking that?! Samantha sighed and broke her gaze away from CFW Magic. "Because I'm not sending you alone, I'm going to be fighting with you the entire time."

"You?" Magic asked in amusement.

"Lady, I'm a woman of many skills. In and out of combat." Samantha put her arm to her chest. Some of which are locked until my girlfriend comes back. She thought to herself. "Better question would be, how should I know you won't screw me over? If I give you everything then there's nothing keeping you with me."

"Then don't give us everything. Just enough to let us know that you know, and tell us the rest after the job's done."

Magic's hands fell limp and she slowly turned her head towards her colleague. Samantha wasn't sure if that was Brave being chivalrous or naive, but Magic wished he never said that line. Samantha was already planning to keep some intel until she was sure that they didn't pose any threat, but that slip-up was an equivalent of turning your back towards your enemy to get backstabbed.

"Alright, if you say so." Samantha grinned, now she had a really strong position in this discussion. "Now that we have this out of the way, it's time for the big reveal; what kind of knowledge do you two want?"

Magic turned her head back towards Samantha. If there was any lingering resentment directed at Brave, Magic didn't show it.

The CFW Brave said few words and Samantha just froze.

She couldn't believe it, there was no way.

There's no way she's this lucky.

Screw Vert and Leanbox, Samantha already has the whole ASIC working for her.

"We're looking for information about our Lady Goddess. Something happened and then… everyone forgot about her… everyone but the four of us."

Brave was talking about the person Falcom saw in the LAN Castle, the girl with Twintails.

About Uzume.

"To this day we're unsure what actually happened back then, our memories grew hazy from the passage of time. What I remember is that me and some other people were fighting, not monsters but a group of people, we were buying time for our Lady Goddess.

Then I saw light and I was back in Planeptune, but it wasn't like we remembered it. Things… have changed. I asked around but most people had no idea what I was talking about, however we managed to meet up: me, Magic, Trick and Judge… the four that still remember our Lady. We knew something has happened, but we were unsure if this was our Lady's choice or the result of her enemies' victory.

We tried to find any information about her, or try to get into contact with her… but we failed at both tasks. And to make matters worse our own memories of her were disappearing too. First we forgot the smaller details of how she looked like, then we forgot her voice, and finally… her own name.

We searched everywhere to find something, anything about our Lady but it was… it was l-like- like she-"

"It was like she didn't even exist, right?" Samantha finished for him, as Brave looked more distraught as he kept talking. It was weird to see a robot become sad, as he had no facial expression, however the movement of his body couldn't hide his melancholy. Especially not from Samantha's trained eyes.

"...Yes." Brave said. "Then in some old tomes Trick has found a mention of the Deity of Sin, Arfoire. We remembered that she was the Oracle of our Lady, and a close friend too. If anyone knew what happened to our Lady… it would be Arfoire."

And that's why the four of you created ASIC and tried to summon Arfoire… sheesh, the books about Hyper Dimension didn't have any of this. Samantha thought to herself. There wasn't any mention of this in the books she got from the Time Library, and neither it was revealed in the events of the original Hyper Dimension. This was a story that wasn't ever recorded, neither Magnavox nor Histoire knew about this.

She'll say it again: Neither Magnavox nor Histoire knew about the CFWs backstory. In the millions or even billions of dimensions Magnavox has created, she has never given the CFWs any focus.

Samantha took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "Oh my god… I knew this info will become relevant someday, but I didn't know it will happen like this." The Overseer muttered.

Magic raised her eyebrow.

Samantha released the air she was holding. "Uzume. Does the name Uzume ring any bells."

She gave them some time to think. Magic's expression didn't change at first, but then her brows slowly moved into a frown. Her mind kept repeating this one name over and over again, forcing itself to remember where she has heard it.

"Before Neptune started to rule over Planeptune, Uzume was its CPU. Besides her HDD, she also had a certain ability; she could turn her own dreams…" Samantha drawled out, trying to force both CFWs into remembering things.

"...into reality." Brave breathed out.

Samantha smiled and continued. That sealed it, this entire time they were searching for clues about Uzume's whereabouts. "Yes, she was a CPU who could turn the sky pink if she simply wished for it. Then on one fateful day… she suddenly lost control of her powers."

"And people died because of it." Magic supplied in.

"It was a tragic accident, something Uzume never wanted. She tried to apologize to their families, but they didn't accept her apology."

"They wanted justice." Brave said.

They're remembering it quickly, good. Samantha nodded to Brave. "No matter how much she tried, no matter how… penitent she was, the public grew outraged and afraid. A group of people tried to attack her and her retainers… and Uzume was forced to kill them."

"It was either her and her friends, or them." Magic said.

"Uzume returned to the LAN Castle, which was Planeptune's Basilicom at that time, crying, Arfoire and Histoire tried to comfort her but they both knew… this will only get worse."

"Histoire ordered us to be vigilant, there were assassins trying to get inside and people were preparing for siege." Brave said.

"There was a rebellion going on, an attempt to remove Uzume from power. It was led by none other than Hilda Gehaburn."

Magic's fists tighten. "She was the head of the guard and Uzume's friend, she even got Uzume's Blessing… her family died in that tragedy."

Samantha briefly stopped. Was that how the sword Gehaburn got created? From Hilda wishing she has a sword that could slay a CPU? Why didn't she wish for her family's survival? Or revival of all of those who lost their lives? "Once the rebels breached the LAN Castle they engaged the staff, murdering whoever resisted and sparing those who surrendered. Arfoire herself joined the battle, using her own Uzume's Blessing to give herself power."

"And become the Deity of Sin." Brave commented.

"Back then it was just a name that Hilda gave her as an insult, 'the one who sinned by making a deal with the devil, the Deity of Sin', despite the fact she had a sword created from the same power."

"Uzume's Blessing… they allowed you to turn your own wish into reality, right?" Magic asked.

"Yes. Uzume gave them to people she knew she could trust, so to have Hilda spearhead the rebellion hurt her deeply. She… asked Histoire to seal her."

"Huh?" Both Brave and Magic were surprised by this.

"Uzume didn't want to hurt more people, so she thought that by sealing herself she could prevent more casualties. She also asked for the memory of her to be wiped away as well, so her absence won't hurt her friends."

It was also why her whole story was censored out.

Magic's eye grew wide.

"That was probably the light you saw, the ritual being completed and everyone's memories being wiped clean. You won't find any information about Uzume, because she didn't want any information to exist."

Everything they did was a fool's errand. If they summoned Arfoire, she wouldn't have any information to give them. She would just try to destroy the world and she'll either be stopped by Nepgear and her friends, or succeed and the world will become a wasteland. There was no information to be gathered from a mindless beast, despite the fact she was once a close ally of Uzume.

"So Magic and Brave, is this enough to convince you that I do have information about your Lady?"

Interdimensional RED-Coded Contract

Day of Recollection

In the Re;Birth 2, the reason for CFWs to revive Arfoire was basically 'for the Evulz'. I thought this had more potential than that so I decided to give them an actual reason to summon an evil deity. It was also a good opportunity to thicken the lore a little more.

And so we're nearing the climax of Leanbox's arc, in fact it's going to start with the next chapter and end… I have no idea when. I have many things I wanna do in that period of time.

I think you guys will love at least one of them.

Responses:

- Not my photoshop

Welp, hopefully this is quality content you've been waiting for.

- Doom King of Latveria

Yes, Hatty is in love with Nepgear and thinks of her as his mate.

As for IF, that's her HDD skill from SeHa spin off.

- YORCHspartan117

Yes! Someone noticed the pun.

Flame Awakening basically boosted IF's stats, so it was basically a HDD for her. However I'll be doing some changes to this so it will fit its name more.

I had to actually stop writing once got to the part where Rom asked Blanc if she was in love, I was giggling too hard and couldn't focus on writing. I'm glad it had the desired effect.

As for the hangover part… it was inspired by John Mulaney.

"It was always weird when I would go out for the night with like some money and then black out and wake up with no money, it was even weirder though when I would go out for the night with some money, blackout, and then wake up with more money. Because that means I earned money. That means I traded goods… or services." - John Mulaney

And I really, really wanted to put myself into the story… think I overdid it?

- Harmless Orange